《MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith》


 Chapter 1 A Second Chance

    "If only we had realized what was happening sooner¡­"


    "If only we were stronger¡­ this wouldn''t have happened."


    Those words echoed throughout Valyr''s mind as he watched the world he had lived his whole life in, the world he knew as Earth, gradually crumble into nothingness due to a game.


    A game everyone had no choice but to partake in.


    Thinking about what had transpired up to this point, Valyr could not help but wonder what had gone wrong. All of them were informed a long time ago as to what kind of battle they were about to head into, even going so far as to prepare ns, countermeasures, and skills for certain situations in advance. With that in mind, one would normally think that their side would win. After all, there was a saying that went ''Knowing the enemy means winning half the battle.''


    Yet, against all odds, the exact opposite happened.


    Even with all of the ns they''ve made, the countermeasures they''vee up with, the spells and skills they''ve devised for it, all of it had be utterly useless in the final battle, with Valyr being one of the people at the frontlines that witnessed how the opposing side utterly ravaged their side. Wherever he looked at that time, all he could see was pure hopelessness and despair.


    With those memories shing through his very eyes as his body gradually drifted off into space, he could not help but make a wish to the heavens above, knowing very well that he''d die in the vacuum very soon. Closing his eyes, he uttered out words only he could hear as he let the void around him do its task.


    "If there''s ever a being up above listening to me¡­ I hope you could give me a second shot. A second chance to make things right."


    "Let me start all over again. Let me correct all the mistakes I''ve done."


    "Please."


    As he had finished saying those words, Valyr felt like his body was gradually slipping away from reality, the fluids in it gradually evaporating off into space as he felt his body be chillingly cold. Eventually, his consciousness also headed towards the same path, slowly slipping off as Valyr embraced the sensation of true darkness.


    However, not even a minuteter, this darkness was quickly reced by light, jolting Valyr''s consciousness awake as he could not help but find the current situation odd.


    ''Have I¡­ have I been sent to the afterlife?'' he asked himself, thinking that the best way to find out was to move his body. Surprisingly, in ordance to his thoughts, his arms and legs moved in response, allowing him to feel that he was lying on something prickly, yet soft at the same time.


    Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he eventually opened his eyes, being greeted by the sight of a vast blue sky far above him.


    At this point, Valyr had realized that the heavens had indeed given him a second chance, giving him the opportunity to be reborn. Though, as he looked around for a bit more, he could not help but be a bit despondent, thinking that the heavens had only granted a part of his wish.


    Currently, far above him was a vast blue sky with billowing clouds simr to that of Earth''s. However, thendscape that greeted him was anything but, showing him the beauty of nature. His sight was filled to the brim with vast ins, rock formations that could make a grown man cry, as well as nts and trees as far as the eye could see.


    Of course, that wasn''t all. He also noticed that he was lying on top of a cart of hay, which was on top of a wooden carriage.


    Scratching his head as he let out a light sigh, Valyr could not help but mutter, "I guess the heavens are telling me that a wish like mine is too far-fetched. Do the heavens just want me to rx and enjoy the life I''ll live in this medieval world?"


    ? Ding!


    Just as he thought that it was better for him to ept his current situation, a bell chime resounded throughout the area, prompting Valyr to look around as he wondered where it came from. For a second, his eyes could not help but widen in slight shock, remembering that he had heard a chime like that from somewhere before.


    Ding!


    Fortunately, the chime had sounded once more, this time giving Valyr something more tangible as something he had never expected to see in a medieval world had appeared in front of him.


    A screen.


    Rubbing his eyes in slight disbelief, Valyr sat up straight as he looked at the screen in front of him. At first, he could not help but think that the heavens had taken pity on him as it had not granted his entire wish, giving him a system that could help him out in this world. But then, as he read through the lines of text that were shown on the screen, this thought was instantly dispelled as great excitement filled his body.


    [Initializing the Non-yer Character Advancement System¡­]


    [Initial stages have been initialized. Modifying system to Variant GB¡­]


    [Identity confirmed. Current being has been identified as Valyr Zeihardt¡­]


    [Character has been fully examined. Information has been added to the system.]


    [System fully initialized. Being can ess the system at anytime.]


    ''You''re telling me¡­ the heavens actually listened to my wish?'' At this point, no other thought could be found in his mind other than this. Clenching his fists in excitement before raising it up into the air, tears started to brim around Valyr''s eyes before streaming down his face as he had now be certain that he had been given a second shot, just like what he said before his death.


    Taking a few deep breaths as he wiped away the tears of joy on his face, Valyr then thought about his current situation a bit more, making sure to examine every inch of what he could see. While thinking about this, he could not help but mutter, "To think such a small change in mindset would make a great impact."


    With that, he continued to look around his surroundings as the carriage he was on continued to move. Eventually, there were a few nuances he had noticed in his surroundings, prompting him to try and browse through his memories from his past life.


    Surprisingly, as he tried to recall where he was at the moment, he had noticed that nothing in his memory was erased during his death. In fact, if he tried hard enough, he felt like he could recall every bit of information if he wanted to. Deciding to find out the limits of this memory of his sometimeter, he eventually found a piece of information that matched with his current location.


    "Considering the general terrain and the direction this carriage is heading in, we''re currently near the north side of the Veleos ins," he murmured. "As for the ce this carriage is heading to¡­ if my memory serves me correctly, then it''s heading towards a vige."


    "Of course, it''s better to ask the person directly instead." He lightly smiled, looking above the stack of hay to find a young man at the front, rxedly holding onto the reins of a decently sized horse.


    "In any case, it''s quite surreal to find out I''ve been reborn into the game itself," he said, lying down on the hay as he gazed up at the sky once more. "Although it seems that I''ve turned into an NPC, that''s not much of a problem."


    "After all, that will just allow me to do far more than what a yer can."

 Chapter 2 The Greater Beyond

    Around an hour had passed since Valyr realized he had reincarnated into the game that dictated their death, turning into one of the numerous NPCs that existed in-game. Currently, he was talking to the person driving the carriage he was previously lying down on, gradually bing closer with him.


    "We''ve already talked about so much, but I still haven''t gotten your name yet," the man said, lightly chuckling as he wrapped his arm around Valyr''s shoulder.


    "It''s Valyr," Valyr said in response with a light smile. "How about you, sir? What''s your name?"


    "No need to call me sir. I don''t think a person like me deserves to be called that," the man replied, waving his hands soon after. "Anyways, you can call me Tryndall. d to be having someone apany me throughout this boring journey."


    "Likewise." Valyr nodded. "Speaking of which, there''s something that has been bothering me for a while."


    "As long as it''s not a problem regarding money, then this guy here is willing to listen," Tryndall joked in response. "I''m all ears. What''s up?"


    "I''m just somewhat curious as to how I got on your carriage. For some reason, I''ve somewhat forgotten the specifics," Valyr said. "I am incredibly grateful for having you take me on your carriage, but don''t you think it''s a bit weird for a person to be on a carriage all of a sudden?"


    "Well, if you put it that way, then sure. It kind of is." Tryndall shrugged his shoulders. "However, I''ve seen my fair share of young people hitching a ride on random carriages in hopes of exploring the world beyond their vige walls. The likelihood of theming back to their homes bawling their eyes out is higher than you''d expect, actually."


    "In your case, you hopped on my carriage a couple of nights ago after giving me a bit of money to let you hop on. In fact, I was kind of worried since you were dead asleep throughout the journey so far. For a while, I thought I''d also be hauling along a corpse to where I was heading," he added.


    Listening to Tryndall''s narration, Valyr could not help but ponder over it for a bit, wondering if his character was a unique case. In the end, he did not find anything that stood out in his memories regarding his current name. The only thing that really stood out was the surname he had been given.


    "Zeihardt¡­" he muttered, only to ce the thought at the back of his head for now as he talked a bit more with Tryndall regarding a few things. Eventually, after some time, he offered to Tryndall that he would drive the carriage while thetter could take a rest, to which thetter unsurprisingly agreed to.


    After notifying Valyr regarding a few things about where they were heading, Tryndall headed to the back of the carriage while Valyr was left at the front, looking at the sight in front of him with a hint of expectation.


    "I still find it surprising that I''ve been directly reincarnated into Greater Beyond as an NPC," Valyr could not help but mutter.


    Being the game that led to the demise of him and many others, Greater Beyond was a worldwide hit in his past life, being the only True Immersion VRMMORPG to ever have every person in the world ying the game, even though that was only achieved in the game''ster versions. However, because of this fact, thepany behind it decided to control the lives of actual people through the game, turning them into mindless beings that only existed for the game.


    Eventually, a faction opposing this had been established, with Valyr being part of this faction. Of course, with how he had been given a second shot at making things right, it went without saying that their faction had lost, realizing what was happening just a little bit toote. With that, Valyr was determined to make sure that their faction this time around would actually have a chance at winning the final battle, with him making preparations before it even reached that point.


    "From what Tryndall told me, our carriage will be heading to Astarto Vige," he murmured sometimeter. "When we get there, I''ll probably stay there and start grinding levels and skills while also increasing my influence."


    Thinking about the things he would do once he got to the vige, he could not help but think about something else. "Now that I think about it, I''m quite lucky to be reborn in the world of Veldanyr. Then again, being reborn on Azgares wouldn''t be much of a problem either."


    Although Greater Beyond was a game that allowed yers to travel to multiple universes at theter versions, at the beginning versions, yers were only limited to certains, which were called the starters. Depending on the race one chose, they would spawn in a certain. For those who chose to be humans, there were only twos to choose from: Azgares, a where magic ruled supreme, and Veldanyr, a simr to the multiple medieval fantasy worlds people had seen and read.


    As for the vige he and Tryndall were heading to, it was actually a starter vige in the world of Veldanyr. In other words, a ce where yers gradually limated to the world of Greater Beyond and gradually branched off from there.


    "System, show me my stat screen." After idly looking at thendscape before him for a few minutes, Valyr softlymanded, prompting a small screen to appear in front of him, containing various numbers and texts that would normally confuse a person.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 1


    Power Level: 9 (C)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 10/10


    MP: 10/10


    Stats: 1 VIT, 1 STR, 1 AGI, 1 DEX, 1 INT, 1 WIS, 1 PER, 1 LUK (1 unassigned point)


    Remarks: Nothing stands out. Incredibly normal.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As he looked at his status screen, Valyr could not help but focus his attention on the line of text located near the very bottom of the screen.


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond starts in 60 days!]


    "Version 0.1b¡­ wait a minute, isn''t that the closed beta version?" Rummaging through his memories, he eventually recalled that there existed a version before the first public version was released, a version only avable to a select lucky few that were chosen. Though, because of the hype it generated by the people who were able to y it, all stock of the game in various stores were sold out once the public version was released. At that time, Valyr was one of the unfortunate few to be forced to buy it from scalpers.


    "Considering how thepany was the first to introduce cutting-edge time dtion technology, these 60 days only apply to us NPCs, probably," he muttered, closing the screen as hemitted the information from his status screen to memory before performing a few calctions in his mind. "If the time ratio is still seven days to one, then that means a couple dozen yers will be able to ess this game in about a week or so from now."


    Pondering over it for a bit more, a light smile eventually appeared on his face as he decided to change a few of the things he had nned to do once he got to the vige.


    "Well then. I wonder if I canplete the first few ns I''ve made before the 60 days are up?"


    "Hehe. I guess only time will tell."

 Chapter 3 Arriving At Astarto

    Although Valyr was the one driving the carriage, causing a bit of unease in Tryndall as he tried to rest, not much happened during the rest of their journey, only having to stop at some point as the sun had set. As they had set up camp for the night near the road they were traveling on, the two of them continued to talk for a bit more, with Valyr doing more asking rather than talking.


    Nevertheless, Tryndall did not mind the small interrogation they had, instead finding it refreshing as he had been traveling alone for quite some time. With all of Valyr''s questions answered, as well as Tryndall''s boredom appeased, they eventually ate their dinner and fell asleep, knowing that a long day awaited them once they woke up.


    Fortunately, the weather was quite pleasant by the time they had woken up, prompting them to return on their journey without much problems. Unsurprisingly, Tryndall took over the reins and drove the carriage to its final destination. However, Valyr was there by his side, allowing them to idly converse as their destination gradually got nearer and nearer.


    Eventually, once the sun seemed to be an hour away from reaching its zenith, the two were greeted by the sight of tall stone walls from a few kilometers away, enveloping what seemed to be a small yet lively settlement. Noticing this, Valyr could not help but look at Tryndall, who looked back at him before lightly nodding. "If you''re thinking what I''m thinking, then yeah. That''s the ce, alright."


    "Up ahead, Astarto Vige." With a grin, Tryndall used the reins to give the horse pulling their carriage a signal, notifying thetter to hasten its pace. In response, as if it had been waiting for this moment all this time, the horse hastily sped up as it made the carriage slightly shake, wanting nothing more than to end the journey once and for all.


    With that, their carriage had traveled the remaining distance within a matter of minutes, prompting Tryndall to pull on the reins once they were around a hundred meters away from the vige gates. Sensing something pulling on its mouth, the horse slowed down as fast as it had sped up, reducing their speed to a trotting pace as the carriage entered Astarto Vige without much problems.


    While they were gradually making their way deeper into the vige, Valyr could not help but look around, finding it somewhat nostalgic to be in a starter vige once again. ''Of course, unlikest time, I''m now an NPC, not a yer.''


    Then again, that change did not stop him from admiring the sights that the humble vige offered, showing him a lively settlement that seemed to be self-sufficient. Most of the buildings within his field of vision were made out of roughly cut stone, with roofs made out of thatched wood. And, as far as his eyes could see, the vige seemed to only span a kilometer in diameter.


    Nevertheless, a light smile could not help but creep up on his face, prompting Tryndall, who nced at Valyr for a bit, to lightly smile as well.


    Unfortunately, all good things had toe to an end, with the carriage stopping in front of what looked like a three story building made out of chiseled stone. Realizing what was happening, Valyr looked at Tryndall before nodding, getting off the carriage to allow thetter to do what he had to do.


    As Tryndall got off the carriage to haul the hay from the carriage into the building in front of them, he decided to ask Valyr something. "So, what are you nning to do next?"


    "I''ll probably stay here," said Valyr in response. "Although I''ve definitely enjoyed yourpany during thetter portion for this journey, I don''t really want to be a burden for you. I''ll stay here and establish a foothold of sorts. Perhaps, by the time you get back here, I might surprise you."


    Hearing his words, Tryndall could not help but let out a hint ofughter. However, thisughter did not contain any mocking intent whatsoever. Instead, it contained feelings of interest towards the words Valyr had just uttered out. "Is that so? Well, if that''s the case, I might probably surprise you by the time I get back here as well. Wanna bet on who''ll surprise the other more once we meet up again?"


    "I''ll probably take you up on that." Valyr grinned in response, feeling like the person in front of him was a friend he had made years ago, even though they''ve only met for a day.


    With their conversation done, Tryndall went ahead and hauled the hay from his carriage into the building,ing out a few minutester with a smile on his face as he looked at Valyr. After that, he rummaged something from his pocket before throwing it at Valyr. "Here. Catch this."


    "Hmm?" As Valyr caught the item that was thrown at him, his eyes could not help but slightly widen in surprise before looking back at Tryndall. "Are you sure?"


    "Take it as a thanks for apanying me throughout the journey," replied Tryndall. "Don''t go using that money in indulgences, you hear?"


    "I won''t." Valyr wryly smiled in response while looking at the item, a small money pouch, once more. Opening it, he counted the number of coins that were in the bag, which amounted to 100 copper coins. Inwardly nodding as he ced it in one of his pockets, Valyr then gave Tryndall a long embrace as the two were about to bid farewell to each other.


    However, before the two could truly part ways, Tryndall stopped Valyr, telling him, "Ah! Before we forget, let''s add each other on our friend list first."


    Hearing that, Valyr nodded in response as he pulled up the system, adding the man in front of him into his friend list. While doing so, he could not help but realize once more about how the NPCs in Greater Beyond were far more realistic than any of the other NPCs he hade across in other games.


    ording to what thepany mentioned in his previous life, each of the NPCs in Greater Beyond had brains powered through quantum supeputing, allowing their movements, actions, and responses to be as lifelike as possible, making the yers feel like they were talking to actual humans in the game.


    Though, their uniqueness didn''t stop there.


    Aside from being incredibly lifelike, they also had ess to almost all of the features yers had ess to, including the system. With that, it was no surprise that there existed some parties in Valyr''s previous life that wasposed of both NPCs and yers. In fact, some NPCs were even part of the rankings due to their illustrious achievements.


    Looking at his friend list gain the name of the man before him, Valyr nodded at Tryndall once more as he finally bade farewell, turning around to walk around the vige as he could not help but mutter sometimeter, "It seems I should really start getting stronger."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Friend List:


    [Tryndall Valtherin] - Level 7, Rank 0 ss ¡ª Civilian


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Once we meet up again in the future, you''ll definitely be in for a surprise, Tryndall." With that in mind, Valyr closed the screen in front of him as he walked around the vige for a while, eventually finding himself in front of a building that seemed to stand out among the other buildings in the area.


    For one, the material making up the building gave off the feeling that it was sturdier than the stone making up the other buildings. Not only that, but a wooden sign stating the building''s purpose could be seen on top of the building''s entrance.


    "Astarto Guard Barracks¡­" Valyr murmured as he read the text written on the sign. Afterwards, a knowing grin appeared on his face as he walked into the building.


    "This is the ce."

 Chapter 4 The First Move

    Heading deeper into the building, Valyr could not help but admire the simplistic design of the ce, which gave off the feeling that the building reflected the type of people living in this space.


    People who made no room for wasted movement.


    While walking around the corridors to find a person he could ask a few questions to, Valyr allowed his body to absentmindedly wander as he brought up all of the ns he hade up with so far to the surface of his mind.


    ''For now, I can only set broad goals. However, as time passes and my capabilities growrger, I''ll be able to set more specific ones,'' he muttered inwardly. ''In any case, there are only two goals I have in mind at the moment: to form an organization capable of withstanding the final battle, and choose the ss that''ll bring me to the very end.''


    As to how he had decided that these two goals were the most importantpared to everything else, Valyr could not help but recall the period before the final battle, where those part of the faction he was in moved without a certain goal inmand. Although a basic sense of unity could be found, there was still disarray prevalent throughout every move, which would have been easily resolved if there was a strong unifying voice among the ranks.


    With that in mind, he thought that an organization forming the core of that voice would probably the best option, with each member of that organization acting as a pir.


    Thinking about this, he could not help but scratch his head as he wryly smiled. ''Well, I should probably put this at the back burner for now, considering that I don''t even have the strength nor influence to form such an organization yet. Though, that leads me to the other goal.''


    ''A ss that''ll take me to the end.'' Unlike the first goal, this one was self-exnatory. After all, not having the required strength to take part in the final battle would mean that everything Valyr had done to reach that point would be for naught. With this line of thought, an urge welled up inside him to choose one of the six main sses of the game, thinking that having a ss would definitely give him the firepower he needed for the end.


    However, after pondering over it for a bit more, this urge died down as a sobering thought surfaced in his mind.


    ''I have no experience with the six main sses.''


    Warrior, Defender, Pugilist, Assassin, Arcanist and Acolyte. These were the six main sses avable for all yers to choose in Greater Beyond as long as they reached Level 10. Of course, these sses were also avable for the NPCs at the same level. To some, it could be said that these were the worst sses to choose at the start as they could be obtained without even having to put in any effort.


    Naturally, when there were sses that could be obtained without even needing to do anything, there were also sses that could be obtained by meeting certain prerequisites. In fact, the ss Valyr took up in his previous life was one of thetter. As to what it was, it was considered one of the three production sses with the greatest renown in Greater Beyond alongside Alchemist and Tailor.


    The cksmith.


    As he recalled the ss he chose in his previous life, he could not help but think that choosing it in this life wouldn''t be a bad idea as well, considering that he had information that would allow this ss of his to shine further. ''Hmm¡­ although I could choose the six sses, I don''t really have a lot of experience in them. On the other hand, if I choose to take up the cksmith ss again, I could hastily speed through the ranks and reach an even greater height than before.''


    ''Hmm¡­'' Although he was rubbing his chin in ponderation, once he hadid out the facts in that manner, the choice for Valyr became incredibly simple.


    ''Guess I''m bing a cksmith again,'' he thought to himself as he let out a light chuckle. ''However, to reach that point, I''ll have to meet the prerequisites first.''


    ''And that''s why I''m going to join the vige guards.'' Thankfully, after wandering around the building''s corridors for a while, he had eventually spotted the back of a man wearing a dark blue uniform, prompting Valyr to walk up to him. ''It''ll take me forever to be a cksmith if I don''t establish a footing of some sort.''


    ''In any case, for someone like me, who has no strength nor reputation whatsoever, joining the vige guards is probably the easiest way to do that.'' Ending his thoughts there, he tapped on the shoulder of the man he had walked up to, prompting thetter to look back at him. "Eh?"


    Noticing the person''s confusion, Valyr gave the man a small respectful bow before saying his piece. "Hello there, sir. I was wondering if it was possible to join the vige guards?"


    Hearing Valyr''s words, the confusion on the man''s face instantly disappeared as he quickly connected the dots as to why Valyr was behind him. Bing silent for a bit, the man lightly nodded before replying, "Although I''d be lying if I said we need more guards, I don''t have the authority to do that. If you walk in that direction, you''ll find the leader''s office. You should ask him instead."


    With that, the man pointed in a certain direction, prompting Valyr to start heading in that direction as he thanked the man. "Thanks for the help. Can I get your name?"


    "The name''s Leon." Leon lightly smiled in response. "If the leader does ept you as a vige guard, let me know."


    "I definitely will." Saying those words, he thanked Leon once more before bidding farewell, slowly making his way to the end of the direction Leon had pointed in.


    A few minutester, Valyr stopped in front of a closed door, feeling a small hint of nervousness as he looked at the words written on the door''s window.


    "Damian Waters. Astarto Guard Leader." Muttering the words written on the door, Valyr could not help but gulp a bit of his saliva before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. Then, with a light sigh, he knocked three times on the door in front of him.


    "Come in." In response to his knocks, a deep yet masculine voice resounded from the other side of the door, giving Valyr the feeling that such words should not be ignored. With that, Valyr took yet another deep breath before opening the door, eventually facing eye-to-eye with the man on the other side of the door.


    At first, a hint of incredulity could be seen on Valyr''s face as he did not expect such a voice toe from the man he was looking at. In his mind, a voice like that woulde from a middle-aged man who had weathered through multiple trials and tribtions. However, the man in front of him showed anything but, looking more simr to a man in histe twenties.


    "Is there anything I could help you with?" the man asked as Valyr closed the door. "If you just came in to waltz around, please leave the building. Civilians like you shouldn''t be here, after all."


    "Actually, I was nning to apply as a vige guard," Valyr said in response, the personality he thought he had discarded near the end of his life appearing once more as his voice at the end became somewhat meek. For some reason, he could not help but think that the man sitting down in front of him would take his words as a joke. However, what happened instead could only be summed up as¡­ odd.


    "Is that so? Well, I''m d you asked."


    "¡­huh?"

 Chapter 5 A Simple Induction

    Hearing the man''s response to his words, Valyr could not help but tilt his head in confusion. Although he understood what the man said, at the moment, he could not help but feel like the two were on different wavelengths. With that in mind, he cleared his throat as he decided to repeat himself. "I''m not sure if you''ve misunderstood me, sir, but let me repeat just in case. I want to be a part of the vige guards."


    "Oh yeah. I understood you loud and clear," the man said in response. "That''s why I said I''m d you asked."


    "But that¡­ that''s not the usual response to that?" was the only thing that coulde out of Valyr''s mouth after noticing the man''s nonchnce. "Also, what does that mean anyway?"


    "It means you''re now part of us," the man replied, standing up from his seat toe closer to Valyr. "To be honest, I was already wondering for sometime where I''d find another person that wants to be a vige guard. I guess the skies have decided to grant my wish."


    "Thanks?" Scratching his head in response, Valyr could not help but feel like this whole process was far too simple. From what he could recall through his memories, even small organizations like the vige guards would have the yer undergo through a test whenever they wanted to be a part of them. As he mulled over this, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. ''Is it because I''m also an NPC?''


    ''If that''s the case, then that''s definitely a weight off my shoulders. However, it still feels too fishy for it to be this simple,'' he thought soon after, looking at the man before him. "Is it really that easy to join the vige guards? Shouldn''t I have to go through a test or something?"


    "You''ve already went through a test, actually," said the man in response, prompting Valyr to perk up his ears. However, the man''s next words only made him want to cough up blood.


    "A test to see whether you''re willing to be part of the vige guards or not. Since you''ve decided to volunteer for the position, then that means you''ve passed the test."


    "Does that answer your question?" the man asked, to which Valyr shook his head. "I didn''t mean a test like that. What I meant was a test that checks one''sbat capabilities."


    "Well, if you put it that way, there''s not really any need for that," the man said in response as he decided to sit back down. Noticing the curious expression on Valyr''s face, the man went ahead and exined. "Here''s the thing. The strongest people in this vige have only reached the peak of their Rank 1 ss, only amounting to around five people or so. On the other hand, the majority of people in this vige still haven''t reached Rank 1 yet."


    "Now, with that in mind, do you still think such a test like that is necessary?" the man asked Valyr, exuding a bit of the power he had towards him. At that moment, Valyr quickly realized that the man in front of him was included in the number of people who had reached the peak of Rank 1, feeling his body slightly shuddering from the pressure.


    Knowing when to stop, Valyr shook his head in response as he took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "I understand."


    "As long as you understand, then that''s good," said the man as he stood up once more, cing his hand on Valyr''s shoulder as he looked at him. "Wee to the Astarto Vige Guards. The name''s Damian Waters, your guard leader. You could call me Damian, Sir Waters, anything is fine."


    "How about you? What''s your name?" Damian asked in response.


    "Valyr, sir. Valyr Zeihardt," replied Valyr, which made Damian''s eyes slightly widen for a brief moment before quickly returning to normal.


    "Well, nice to have you be part of the guards, Valyr. I hope you''ll help us maintain the vige''s peace and prosperity." Saying those words, a smile appeared on Damian''s face, making Valyr think that the man in front of him wasn''t actually that scary if one ignored him being at the peak of Rank 1.


    Just as he thought that their conversation would end there, Damian went ahead and dragged Valyr by the arm as the two of them left the room. "Since you''re now officially part of the vige guards, then it shouldn''t be a surprise that I should take you on a tour around the barracks, no?"


    "I guess¡­?" Realizing that it would take a while for him to grasp the whole personality of the man before him, Valyr decided to just go with the flow for now, allowing Damian to do whatever he wanted.


    With that, the two of them walked around the various portions of the barracks. Damian was at the front, exining everything Valyr needed to know about the purpose of the certain portion they were in, as well as the history that came along with said portion. While on this impromptu tour, Damian stopped all of a sudden as he looked back at Valyr, pping his forehead. "Damn, to think I almost forgot. Give me a second, let me add you to the organization''s roster."


    Soon after, a screen appeared in front of Damian''s face as he tapped a few buttons and made a few gestures. A few secondster, a notification sound resounded within Valyr''s mind. In response to that, hemanded the system to bring up his notification screen, allowing him to read through the notifications he had received.


    Ding!


    [You have affiliated yourself with the ''Astarto Vige Guards''.]


    [Your current rank is [Guard]. Increase your merit to raise your position.]


    [You have unlocked the contribution point shop. Do tasks for the organization to earn contribution points.]


    Closing up the screen in front of him after reading through the notifications, Valyr looked at Damian, prompting thetter to exin as Damian understood what Valyr wanted to know. "We have two systems in ce: the merit point system and the contribution point system. Although both of those points could be earned by doing tasks as a vige guard, the two of them have different purposes."


    "The merit point system dictates what positions you could take up. The lowest rank is [Guard], followed by [Veteran Guard], [Guard Captain], andstly, [Guard Leader]." Taking in a deep breath, he continued, "As for the contribution point system, it''s what allows you and the other guards to purchase certain items that couldn''t be purchased out in the vige."


    "As long as you have enough contribution points, you could choose to get better weapons, better equipment, better skills, better items, better everything really." Damian shrugged his shoulders as he said this. "Well¡­ since you''re part of us, I should also let you know that we also have Special Skills avable here, but we don''t really have a great selection of them. Plus, that''s only avable if you''re a [Guard Captain] at the very least and have a lot of contribution points to waste."


    Hearing the term ''Special Skills''e out of Damian''s mouth, Valyr could not help but nk out for a bit, only to snap back to reality sometimeter as he decided that now wasn''t the best time to think about it. cing the thought at the back of his head for now, Valyr nodded in response to Damian''s exnation as the two of them continued to walk once more.


    "Well, with that out of the way¡­"


    "Let''s have you choose your weapon, shall we?"

 Chapter 6 Oddball

    Nodding in response to Damian''s words, the two of them continued to walk through the barracks'' corridors, with Damian continuing to exin the purpose and the history of the sections they passed by. At that point, Valyr was halfheartedly nodding in response to every exnation, wanting nothing more than to get away and be able to do his own thing.


    Eventually, this monotony was broken as they had arrived at a certain portion of the barracks, prompting Damian to stop walking. Looking at the sight before them, Valyr could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of awe, not expecting a starter vige to have a ce like this. ''Then again, I haven''t really joined any organization at the early stages back then. I should probably keep in mind that this might bemonce in viges.''


    Although it looked somewhat empty, the makings of what could be a priceless armory in the future was in front of them. To the left were uniforms simr to the uniform Damian was currently wearing. On the other hand, the right was filled with racks and boxes filled to the brim with weapons made out of wood. As for the center, actual weapons made out of metal were shown on disy, their des truly having the property to kill anything that touched it. Unlike the weapons made out of wood, there was an air of ferocity around these weapons.


    "Wee to the equipment room, Valyr. In here, all the weapons and uniforms you might use as a guard could be obtained," Damian exined, heading to the left section. "As for skill books and misceneous items, those are in another section."


    Snapping his fingers to catch Valyr''s attention sometimeter, Damian then gave him three sets of the uniforms he currently wore. "Here you go. As per custom for any neer to the Astarto Vige Guards, they''re given three sets of the usual guard uniform. If your uniform gets dirty, you can alwayse here and have your uniform cleaned free of charge."


    "Of course, better uniforms, as well as equipment that can go over your uniform, are also avable here," he added. "But that''s only if you have contribution points to spend."


    "Speaking of contribution points, you could join the night patrolter," Damian said after that. "Unlike day patrols, the amount of contribution points you could get from it is around twice or thrice as much. Naturally, the same goes for merit points."


    "Let me think about it for now," replied Valyr, making Damian nod as he headed to the right section of the room. He then gestured Valyr toe closer, to which thetter lightly nodded in response as he moved to where the racks and boxes of wooden weapons were.


    As Valyr looked at the various types of weapons avable for him to choose from, Damian opened his mouth to speak. "Do you have your own weapon?"


    In response to the question, Valyr shook his head. Lightly nodding, Damian spoke once more. "Since that''s the case, as per custom for any neer to the Astarto Vige Guards, they''re given the freedom to choose any wooden weapon free of charge. Of course, the wooden weapon is just a stand-in until you have enough contribution points to buy an actual weapon made out of metal."


    "Though, if you end up sticking with the wooden weapon you chose, that''s also fine." Damian shrugged his shoulders. "Weapons aren''t the only thing that dictate a person''sbat power, after all."


    "Anyways, go ahead, Valyr. Choose the weapon that you think will suit you the best." Saying those words, Damian nudged Valyr a bit, prompting thetter to take a step forward as he looked at the weapons in front of him. After looking at his choices for a while, Valyr could not help but look back at Damian. "What if I don''t end up choosing a weapon?"


    "Prefer fighting with your fists? Yeah, that''s not a problem either," Damian replied with a light nod. "If you end uping to the conclusion that you prefer to fight with your fists, we''ll give you a set of leather knuckles. However, it''ll be on loan, needing you to undergo through multiple patrols to pay off the cost of contribution points to get it."


    ''Not really what I had in mind, but sure.'' Nodding in response to Damian''s words, Valyr returned his attention to the weapons he could choose from, picking up some of them from time to time to test them out. However, even though he picked those weapons to test them out, all of them made him shake his head, giving him the feeling that he wouldn''t be able to wield them well.


    Eventually, after exhausting the various weapon types he could choose from, Valyr stood in front of a rack containing what looked like glorified poking sticks. Picking up one of them, he instantly felt like a connection had been made between him and the weapon, eliciting a wry smile to appear on his face as he scratched his head. ''Well, I guess it makes sense. I did use this as my main weapon in the past, anyway.''


    ''If I think about it, that also probably exins why the other weapons don''t give me the same feeling. After all, unlike this weapon type, I don''t have much experience in them.'' Looking at the weapon he had picked up once more, he looked back at Damian before raising up the weapon he held. "I''ll be choosing this one."


    "The spear, eh?" Damian raised his eyebrow with a hint of interest. "That''s definitely a rare choice in this ce. However, if you think that weapon is the perfect fit for you, then by all means, I won''t stop you."


    After saying those words, he gave Valyr a long strip of fabric, which he had picked up from a box nearby. Receiving the fabric strip, Valyr then used it to securely tie the wooden spear to his back, making Damian nod in satisfaction. "With just the weapon alone, you''re now giving off the air of a vige guard."


    "Once I finish touring you through this ce, go ahead and change into the uniform," he said. "It''s definitely morefortable than what you''re wearing right now."


    Hearing those words, Valyr could not help but look at the clothes he currently wore. Comparing the coarse and chalky fabric his clothes were made out of to the smooth and soft fabric of the uniforms, Valyr made a mental note to change into the uniform as the two of them moved away from the equipment room.


    "Aside from the treasury, which you could ess through the contribution point shop in your system, this is the final room in this barracks that''s of importance." After walking through the corridors for a bit more, the two of them stopped in front of a wide field with the ground visible. Multiple training dummies could be seen scattered on the field, with some of them being upied by a few people as target practice.


    "Naturally, there''s not much point in having the skills, but not the experience to use them. After all, a skill means the difference between life and death," Damian said. "And that''s why we have the training field."


    "Speaking of which, one of the other guards who chose the spear is at the training field right now." Looking at the man Damian pointed at, a thought instantly surfaced in Valyr''s mind as he watched the man fight against the dummy with his spear.


    ''That''s definitely an oddball.''

 Chapter 7 Getting The Ball Rolling

    Continuing to watch the man attack the dummy in front of him with his spear, Valyr gradually grew more certain of the first impression he had of the man.


    Unlike other people, who would repeatedly utilize their skills or do a string of basic attacks against their dummies, the man Damian pointed at instead looked at the dummy in front of him with an eerie calm, muttering something under his breath as the grip over his spear changed from time to time. After a moment of silence, the man would then step back, strike once with the spear, then nod in satisfaction before repeating the cycle all over again.


    Watching the man repeat the cycle for a few times, Valyr eventually looked at Damian, who nodded at him as he knew what the former was thinking. With that in mind, Damian told him, "Well, with that, the tour has been concluded. If you have any other questions, you could always head to my office if I''m there. If I''m not there, just ask around."


    Nodding in response to Damian''s words, Valyr gave him a few words of gratitude, prompting a light smile to appear on Damian''s face as thetter turned around, gradually making his way back to his office. However, before he had even taken a single step, his head turned around to look back at Valyr. "Thankfully, I remembered this time around. Are you going to join the night patrolter, or are you going to join the day patrol tomorrow?"


    "Hmm¡­" Now that he had the time to ponder over it for a bit, Valyr finally gave him an answer. "I''ll probably join the night patrol. However, is it fine if I change my mindter?"


    "Sure." Damian nodded. "Just head to my office and inform me beforehand."


    "Will do." With Valyr nodding in response, the two finally went their separate ways, leaving Valyr to his own devices.


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr eventually let out a long sigh of relief as he headed to another part of the barracks, specifically the cafeteria to grab a bite. ''Now that I''m officially part of the vige guards, I can finally start making progress towards the goal of having my Rank 1 ss be a cksmith.''


    ''System, show me my status screen,'' he inwardlymanded not long after, causing a small screen to appear in front of his field of vision.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 1


    Power Level: 9 (C)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 10/10


    MP: 10/10


    Stats: 1 VIT, 1 STR, 1 AGI, 1 DEX, 1 INT, 1 WIS, 1 PER, 1 LUK (1 unassigned point)


    Remarks: Nothing stands out. Incredibly normal.


    ? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking at his status screen, which hadn''t really changed, Valyr could not help but focus on the upper portion of his status screen. ''Once I reach Level 10, I''ll be able to ascend to a Rank 1 ss, as well as evolve my species.''


    In Greater Beyond, there were certain levels that acted as watersheds that one would have to pass through if they wanted to increase their power even further. The first watershed any yer and NPC woulde face-to-face with was the Level 10 watershed, being the crossroads that would mark the path of a being''s specialization.


    As all beings had the same Rank 0 ss at the beginning, the Civilian ss, it went without saying that one''s Rank 1 ss would have the greatest level of importance in terms of choices a being would make. Because of that, Valyr was going to make sure that he would be able to have the cksmith ss as an option in his ascension.


    However, that was only his baseline.


    With the memories he had carried from his previous life, he knew that there were variants to the cksmith ss, with most of them being far better choices. Considering the feasibility of some of them with his current capabilities, he had narrowed his choices down to a couple variant sses, all of which he felt he would be able to achieve before the beta version began.


    As for his species, which would change once he had ascended to a Rank 1 ss, there wasn''t really much he could do to obtain a better choice. Instead, he already knew what species he would choose once he had ascended to Rank 1. ''With that species and with one of the Rank 1 sses I''m thinking of, my strength will definitely snowball in the long run.''


    ''In any case, I should start increasing mybat power first,'' he thought as he ced everything else at the back of his head, arriving at the cafeteria. After grabbing some food, he sat on one of the free tables in the area before munching on the food he chose. ''I wouldn''t be able to get the skills I need if I don''t have the strength to back it up. Plus, if I want to make sure our side gets a fighting chance at the final battle, I''ll have to increase my strength either way.''


    As he chowed down on his food, he continued to think about the things he could do right now. Specifically, things he could do to bolster hisbat power before the night patrolter.


    Feeling revitalized from the meal he ate, he then left the cafeteria as he looked out one of the windows, noticing that the sun had already gone past its peak. With that in mind, he hastened his steps slightly, eventually arriving at the training field once more sometimeter.


    Entering the ce, he noticed that the odd man with the spear was still there, making Valyr wonder for a bit as to whether the man had eaten yet. However, he ced the thought at the back of his head as he headed to one of the many unupied training dummies in the space, eventually choosing one that was somewhat far away from the other upied dummies.


    Looking at the odd man for a bit more, Valyr unfurled the fabric affixing the wooden spear to his back before tightly gripping onto thetter. Getting a feel of the wooden spear he had chosen for a bit, he then took a few steps back as he focused on the training dummy in front of him. ''Well, everyone has their own way of improving. If that''s what works for him, then there''s no reason for me to change his ways.''


    ''Then again, my method for improvement is pretty weird.'' Chuckling at his inner thoughts, he then charged forward before thrusting out with his spear,nding a clean strike on the training dummy. After a few seconds, he then retrieved the spear before gripping it with his other hand. Then, with no hesitation, he thrust his spear out once more,nding yet another strike on the dummy.


    With the cycle in ce, Valyr went ahead and repeated the same thing over and over again, feeling a hint of pain coursing through his arms by the time each arm had struck against the dummy around 20 times. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and ignored it, allowing his muscle memory to take over as he continued to strike against the dummy.


    At first nce, one would think that he was training himself to be ambidextrous with the spear, allowing him to fight against the enemy even if one of his arms were unusable. However, in reality, the reason why Valyr was doing this seemingly monotonous cycle was not for that exact reason. Instead, it was for an entirely different reason.


    Ding!


    [You have gained a hint on how to wield the spear better.]


    Seeing the notification, a light grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he continued attacking the dummy.


    "Bingo."

 Chapter 8 Basic Spear Mastery

    "Since I obtained the notification, then that means I''m heading in the right direction," Valyr muttered to himself, continuing to strike against the dummy with the spear, feeling that both of his arms were on the verge of falling off. However, he still persevered and gritted through the pain, thinking that this pain was just a small price to obtain a skill he would rely on in the long run.


    Indeed, a skill. The reason why he was using both arms to strike the dummy with his spear was to obtain a skill.


    In Greater Beyond, there were three main methods as to how one would obtain new skills. The first and most obvious method would be to obtain it through the use of skill books. These skill books would either be avable in certain shops, such as the contribution point shop of the vige guards, or they could be obtained through happenstance. Of course, there were those who weren''t bounded by morality, obtaining their skill books through the murder of yers and NPCs alike.


    The second method would be to ascend to a higher ss and evolve one''s species. Although skill books were the most obvious method to obtain new skills, ascending to a higher ss was considered the mostmon method of obtaining increasingly stronger skills. As for evolving one''s species, the chances of obtaining a skill from it was lower. However, when it did give a skill, it would definitely bring a great increase to the person''sbat power.


    With that, the third and final method of obtaining skills was to obtain them through quests as rewards. Depending on the type and difficulty of the quest one took, the quality of the skill would differ. Though, unlike skills obtained through ascension, wherein the strength of the skill would be limited by the person''s level, obtaining skills through quests allowed for a person to wield a skill far beyond their level at a lower level. In fact, that was what most yers did at the beginning to gain an edge over other yers.


    Of course, Valyr was also going to do that once he had gotten stronger.


    However, unlike the first three methods, there was one more method of obtaining a skill that went under the radar for a very long time. It was only when a certain yer had revealed that their strongest skills were obtained through this method was it finally made known to the masses. As to what method it was, it was considered the most tedious among the four.


    Repetitive movement.


    Ding!


    [You have gained a sense of how to wield the spear better.]


    Obtaining another notification from the system, Valyr decided to stop for now as the feeling of his arms screaming out of pain could not be ignored anymore. Dropping the wooden spear in front of the training dummy, he went ahead and moved towards one section of the field to grab some water to quench his thirst. While doing so, he took a look outside, noticing that about a couple of hours had already passed since he started the grind for the skill.


    A few minutester, Valyr returned to the front of the training dummy, picking up the wooden spear once more as the pain in his arms had somewhat subsided. With that, he allowed his muscle memory to take over once more as he struck against the dummy with a bit more force than before.


    With the passage of time, the feeling of striking out with his spear gradually became more and more familiar to him. With each strike, he would notice the slight errors in his movement, prompting him to correct it on the next strike, where it would be able to hit the dummy with a bit more force than before. This feeling spurred Valyr on, telling him that his hard work would eventually pay off as long as he stuck to it.


    Eventually, wanting to ignore the pain radiating from his once more, he decided to watch the odd man while his body continued to strike against the dummy in front of him. ''I definitely have to admire his tenacity to still be at the training field even though many hours had passed.''


    Looking at the entire training field, Valyr could not help but notice that a great portion of the people that were here when he came had already left. In fact, the only person that was still here from when he came was the odd man with the spear. ''I wonder how long he''s been at it? Wait¡­ wasn''t he already here even before I upied a training dummy? Has he even eaten yet?''


    Although Valyr could not help but feel a bit of worry towards the man, he returned his attention to the training dummy before him, deciding that he would ask the man if he ever saw him again. ''Well, everyone''s responsible for their own choices.''


    With that, he continued to strike against the training dummy, eventually having to support his striking arm with the free arm whenever he struck with the spear. Even though every fiber of muscle on his arms were screaming out in agony at this point, Valyr ignored it and gritted his teeth, getting the feeling that what he wanted was near.


    And near, it indeed was.


    After taking a one minute break to let the pain radiating from his arms gradually subside, Valyr took in a deep breath as he looked at the training dummy in front of him, now covered in multiple strike marks from the incessant number of strikes he had made. As he gripped on the spear with his dominant hand, he could not help but feel like this strike would be the one, getting into a battle-ready stance as he thrust the spear out once more.


    Whoosh!


    As the spear moved through the air, Valyr instantly felt like everything had finally clicked, causing the spear to move with greater speed, giving off the feeling that it was like a serpent aiming to deal the final blow.


    Thud!


    With far more force than any of the strikes he hadnded before, the spear collided with the training dummy as a dull thud faintly resounded throughout the field. Soon after, a sound Valyr was waiting to hear for quite some time had finally resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You have gained a basic grasp of wielding the spear.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Spear Mastery''.]


    Seeing the notifications he had been waiting to see for quite some time, Valyr dropped the spear he was holding before clenching his fists in excitement, raising them both up in the air. Instantly feeling a shooting paining from both arms, he quickly put both arms down as he silently celebrated the first step he took towards his goals.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm down from the excitement, Valyr went ahead and picked up the spear before affixing it to his back once more. Looking at the training dummy he had been hitting for the past few hours for onest time, he then left the training field, his steps having a slight spring to them.


    While walking along the corridors, he took a look outside, noticing that there were still a couple hours before the sun had set. With that in mind, he stood in ce as he pondered over something for a bit. Then, with a slight shake of his arms, he continued to walk.


    However, instead of heading to the barrack''s dormitory to take a rest, which was what he was going to do at first, he instead made his way to the barrack''s entrance as an enticing thought echoed out in his mind.


    "Since there''s still time before the night patrol¡­"


    "How about I gain some actual experience?"


    "¡­"


    "Man, my arms are definitely going to be sore after all this."

 Chapter 9 Out In The Field

    As he made his way to the entrance, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the skill he had just obtained.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Basic Spear Mastery] (Lv. 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A skill given to those who have gained a basic understanding of the spear, allowing them to stand out among the crowd. Increases damage dealt with a spear by 1%.


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the skill, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle as he finally left the barracks, slowly making his way to the vige gates. ''Why was I expecting the skill to be good from the get-go? The skill I just got is only Common rarity. The only way for it to get better is if I level up with a bit of experience.''


    ''¡­which is exactly what I''m about to do.'' Thinking about this, a determined expression appeared on his face as he touched the spear affixed to his back.


    Unlike other games of the same genre, the system Greater Beyond had in ce for leveling was somewhat different. Normally, in a game, one would gain experience that would go towards one''s level if they killed a monster or did a task that would give them experience. As for one''s skills, it would gain experience as long as one continued to use it.


    On the other hand, the experience in Greater Beyond was considered a type of universal currency. The methods of gaining experience were still the same, which was either through killing monsters, doing quests, or doing misceneous tasks that gave experience. However, rather than having the experience be automatically allocated towards one''s level or one''s skills, the person would instead have the choice of allocating it towards their level or towards their skills.


    Due to this, there were a lot of people in the game that had incredibly strong skills, yet had low levels. Of course, the opposite could also be said, their minds thinking that having a high level would attract more attention towards them, only for their skills to be sorelycking inparison.


    ''Speaking of which, should I have asked permission from Damian first that I was heading out of the vige?'' At some point in his trek, this question could not help but surface in Valyr''s mind as he rubbed his chin. Because of it, his pace gradually slowed down as he turned around to gauge how far he was from the barracks. Then, he returned his gaze to his front, gauging his distance from the vige gates out in the distance.


    Afterparing his proximity between the two, he eventually decided that he would continue heading for the vige gates, considering that he was closer to thetterpared to the former. ''In any case, I''ll have to ask Damian about it by the time I get back.''


    With that question answered, he continued to walk along the streets, taking in the sights surrounding him as he eventually left the vige through the gates around half an hourter.


    ¡­


    As he walked along the only road that extended past the vige gates, Valyr could not help but flex his arms for a bit, noticing that the pain he had felt before was now more or less gone. With that in mind, he unfurled the fabric around his chest as he grabbed the spear behind his back. Tightly gripping on it, he continued to walk for a while in search for a monster to fight against.


    ''I should really get the [Analysis] skill as soon as possible,'' he thought to himself, continuing to keep an eye out for monsters that were alone. ''Although I have the ability to identify monsters before I fight them, I''ll only be able to obtain information on their levels.''


    ''Plus, having [Analysis] would allow me to identify far more than just the enemies I''ll face.'' As he thought this, his eyes noticed a lone wolf not far away from where he was. Checking around the area to see if the wolf had just parted from a wolf pack nearby, Valyr slowly made his way to the wolf once he found out that the wolf was truly alone.


    Making sure to have the initiative once he started fighting against the wolf, he put less weight on his steps, reducing the amount of sound he made. Thankfully, by the time he had gotten close enough to identify the wolf''s level, the wolf still hadn''t noticed his presence, prompting him to let out an inward sigh of relief as he identified his enemy through the system.


    Ding!


    [Level 1 | Wolf]


    ''I really need to get the [Analysis] skill,'' muttered Valyr inwardly as the information he had received from the system further reinforced the need. ''In any case, this wolf in front of me is definitely a good first target to get used to fighting again.''


    ''Taking into consideration that our stats are probably on par, it''s all up to how muchbat experience I have if I want to be victorious.'' Taking in a long and deep breath, Valyr tightly gripped on his spear, bending his knees as he waited for the right moment to charge. Fortunately, that moment did not take long to appear, with the wolf''s behind facing him a few secondster.


    Whoosh!


    Exerting all of his strength towards his legs, he dashed towards the wolf at the greatest speed he could muster. In response to the sound Valyr made with the dash, the wolf''s ears perked up, hurriedly turning towards the sound''s origin to find out the identity of the being that intruded on its space.


    Unfortunately for the wolf, before it could even find out who the intruder was, Valyr came to an abrupt halt before the wolf, redirecting the momentum as he swept out with his spear, aiming for the wolf''s front legs.


    Pah!


    ''-5''


    With a dull thud, the blunt side of the spear tip collided with one of the wolf''s legs head on, causing the wolf''s stance to somewhat falter. Letting out a pained howl, the wolf tried to stabilize itself with its other front leg as it bared its teeth towards its aggressor. However, rather than make another move to take advantage of the wolf''s current situation, Valyr instead stood in ce, gazing at the wolf for a bit as he took a few steps back.


    Through the crippling move he sent out to the wolf, a small portion of thebat experience he used to have in his previous life gradually resurfaced, prompting Valyr to grip on his spear once more as he charged forth yet again.


    Seeing as its aggressor was going to make another move, the wolf was on full alert, keeping track of the being''s movement in front of him with its eyes. With light steps, its aggressor dashed forward, prompting the wolf to open its jaw in a bid to inflict a severe injury on the being''s limbs. However, at the veryst moment, its aggressor swiftly moved to the side as the wolf''s jaw closed, biting on nothing more than thin air.


    ''It''ll take a while for me to recover all of my pastbat experience, but what I''ve already recovered is enough for me to do something like¡­ this!'' With a light grin on his face, giving off the feeling that he now controlled the tempo of the battle, he circled around the wolf, taking advantage of the wolf''s limp leg to attack once more with a sweep.


    Pah!


    ''-8!''


    "Awoooooo¡­!!!"

 Chapter 10 Level Up

    Without hesitation, Valyr swept out with his spear, aiming for one of the wolf''s hind legs, making sure that it was on the same side as the front leg he attacked earlier. In response to the attack, the wolf let out a loud pained howl as it fell over to its side, realizing that its aggressor now had the ability to dictate its life and death.


    Realizing this, the wolf tried to escape, utilizing its still sturdy legs to trudge itself forward. However, without its other legs crippled with its aggressor''s moves, the distance it could travel was nowhere near enough to get away from the aggressor before it.


    "Awooo¡­" Seeing as there was no other way for it to escape its current predicament, the wolf howled out towards Valyr, telling him through its howl that it had no ability to fight anymore. It told him that it was willing to submit to the man before him, as long as it could be spared from death.


    Unfortunately, Valyr wasn''t looking for apanion, nor could he understand the wolf''s howl.


    Bang!


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m ''-7!''


    Feeling no shred of mercy whatsoever, he went ahead and thrust out his spear at full strength, piercing a hole through the wolf''s throat before retrieving it soon after. As the wolf''s eyes widened in shock at the sudden move, its consciousness slowly disappeared as it breathed out itsst. Eventually, the wolfid there on the ground, its gaze nk as it continued to wonder till its veryst breath why it had suffered such an abrupt yet cruel fate.


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 1 Wolf. You have gained 15 XP.]


    On the other hand, Valyr was satisfied with how swift the fight against the wolf was. As he looked at the notification he received, he could not help but thank thebat experience he had recovered from his first attack. Though, now that his first target had given him his share of experience, more and more of his previousbat knowledge continued to gradually surface, instilling a bit more confidence into Valyr as he continued to traverse the vige''s outskirts in search for more lone monsters to fight against.


    ¡­


    By the time the sun was about to set, Valyr looked at the monster in front of him with a solemn expression, watching its body continue to writhe as it struggled to hold on for dear life. Unfortunately, with the grievous injuries he had inflicted on the monster with his spear, it had eventually lost the battle, the strength it previously had slowly dissipating into thin air.


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 1 Wild Boar. You have gained 15 XP.]


    "I think this is enough for now," Valyr muttered as he shook off the blood still dripping from the tip of his wooden spear. After shaking it a couple more times, he then affixed it to his back with the strip of fabric given to him before making his way back to the vige.


    "In any case, I''ve recovered quite a bit of thebat experience I used to have in the past. Though, I''m not sure if it''ll keep up once I get stronger," he muttered to himself,manding the system to show him the amount of XP he had amassed so far. "After killing eight Level 1 monsters, I now have a total of 120 XP."


    "Hmm¡­" As he kept the value in mind, he went ahead and checked the amount of experience it would take for him to increase his level by one. After that, he took a look at the amount of experience it would take for him to level up [Basic Spear Mastery] to Level 2.


    "So, I could increase my level to Level 2 at the cost of 100 XP¡­ or save it for now and use it to upgrade [Basic Spear Mastery] to Level 2 in the future, which costs 250 XP¡­" Pondering over it, it did not take long for Valyr to make a decision as 100 XP was instantly deducted.


    Ding!


    [100 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 2.]


    [All of your stats have been increased by 1 point.]


    [You have gained 1 unassigned stat point.]


    Whoosh!


    Not long after he had received the notification that he had leveled up, energy that came out of nowhere surged throughout his body, giving him the feeling that he had the ability to do anything if he set his mind to it. However, this feeling was ephemeral at best, disappearing a few secondster.


    Nevertheless, as Valyr moved his body, he instantly noticed the difference an additional point to all of his stats made. After all, from another perspective, his power had more or less doubled. With that, he decided to stop for a bit to gauge how much stronger he had gotten, slightly bending his knees down to stabilize his center of gravity before sending out a straight jab.


    As he sent it out, Valyr instantly understood that the power behind it would allow him to thrash the monsters from before without even breaking much of a sweat. Mulling over it for a bit more, he had a feeling that Level 2 monsters would also pose no problem to him as long as he used the spear to attack.


    ''I''ll allocate the unassigned stat points I have once I get back¡­ or better yet, I''ll allocate it whenever I need it.'' Satisfied with what he had figured out from the jab, he hastened his steps as he arrived at the vige just a few minutes before the vige gates would be closed for the night.


    Making his way to the barracks, he instantly headed towards the dormitory. Eventually, he found the room that was assigned to him, closing the door behind him before taking a whiff of the clothes he was wearing so far.


    "Heugh. I stink," he murmured as he took his clothes off, wanting nothing more than to throw them in the trash. Dropping the wooden spear and the strip of fabric on the floor, he then headed to the bathroom to take a shower, feeling great delight and relief from it as he made sure to scrub every inch of his body.


    Around ten minutester, he left the bathroom, patting himself dry as he wore one of the uniforms Damian had given him earlier. "Thankfully, I made a detour earlier to drop off the uniforms Damian gave me before I arrived at the cafeteria. If I didn''t, I would''ve been probably searching for my room right now."


    After he was finished changing clothes, he folded up the clothes he wore earlier and ced them at a spot he would easily notice, making a mental note to have them washed when he came back. Picking up the wooden spear and the strip of fabric to affix the former to his back, he could not help but notice the standing mirror located on one side of his room.


    Standing in front of it, it was only then did Valyr finally get a first glimpse on his appearance in this second life of his, muttering out in slight surprise, "Well¡­ aren''t I quite dashing?"


    Although his dark hair seemed somewhat messy, it greatly contrasted against his irises, which were silver gray in color, looking quite simr to pearls. Adding on his slightly chiseled jawline and his slim body, Valyr had a feeling that he would attract the attention of a couple of people just with his appearance alone. Even more so with the uniform he was currently wearing.


    Deciding that he had gotten his dose ofpliments for the day, Valyr headed out of his room, making his way to the office where Damian was.


    It was time for him to do his night patrol.

 Chapter 11 Night Patrol

    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Come in." Hearing the deep voice on the other side of the room, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he entered,ing face to face with the leader of the vige guards once more.


    Although Damian had a slight frown on his face, considering that no one would knock on his office door at this hour, this frown quickly disappeared as he looked up to see who had knocked. In fact, a calm expression had reced this frown, soon nodding in approval. "I see you''ve changed into the uniform. It fits you quite well."


    "Thanks," replied Valyr with a light smile.


    "I suppose you came here to ask me a few questions regarding the night patrol, right?" Damian asked after a moment of silence. Seeing Valyr nod in response to the question, he nodded back as he continued, "Well, for one, you''ll only have to patrol until it turns midnight, or once the moon reaches the zenith. After that, you could return to the barracks and head to sleep. Or if you still feel restless once you get back, do whatever the hell you want."


    "I''ve already mentioned to you earlier that those who decide to participate in the night patrol gain more contribution points and merit pointspared to those in the day patrol," he continued. However, just as he was going to continue exining more things about the mechanics of the night patrol, he could not help but sense that Valyr had gotten a bit stronger.


    With that in mind, he could not help but stand up from his seat before walking around Valyr, thetter slightly confused as to what he was doing. After a bit of circling, he stopped in front of Valyr, his eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Well then. Color me surprised. It seems you''ve been busy since thest time we''ve seen each other. And that''s only been a few hours ago."


    "Yes." Even though the man in front of him said he was surprised, Valyr could not bring himself to believe that, considering the former''s somewhat indifferent tone. "I''ve been practicing my skill with the spear after we parted ways. After that, I went outside the vige to gain a bit of experience. I only came back to the vige just recently, actually."


    As he said this, he decided to keep the fact that he had obtained [Basic Spear Mastery] to himself for now. After all, such a thing was already unbelievable to hear, even more so if it came from someone like him, who was only Level 1 not long ago.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Damian ced his hand on Valyr''s shoulder before giving him a thumbs up. "That''s how a vige guard should act, always finding time to improve themselves to protect the vige far better."


    "Though, since you mentioned that you''ve only just recently returned to the vige, I''d suggest you opt out from participating in the night patrol today and take a rest," he continued, his eyes showing a hint of concern as he looked at him. "After all, the human body can only withstand so much."


    "Don''t worry, sir Damian. I know my limits," said Valyr in response as he thumped his chest. However, not long after, a faint sound resounded throughout the room, telling Damian otherwise.


    Rumble¡­


    Out of nowhere, Valyr''s stomach started to grumble, prompting an awkward smile to appear on his face. In response to that, Damian raised his eyebrow for a bit before letting out a light sigh. "Well, everyone''s responsible for their own choices, so I can''t really dissuade you if you still want to participate. Just make sure to grab something to eat before heading to the entrance."


    As Valyr nodded in response to his advice, Damian returned to his seat before a screen appeared in front of him. Tapping a couple of things on the screen, he then looked at Valyr, who received a notification from the system not long after as he opened up his screen.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Night Patrol]


    Difficulty: E


    As a guard of Astarto Vige, you have been tasked by the guard leader, Damian Waters, to patrol around the vige at its most precarious period, the night. Although not much happens during this time, it''s still highly advisable to remain vignt.


    Quest Rewards: 20 contribution points (Astarto Vige Guards), 10 merit points (Astarto Vige Guards), 25 XP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Would you like to ept the quest?]


    Seeing the prompt at the very bottom of his screen, Valyr quickly epted it as he soon bade his farewell to the man before him, leaving thetter on his own not long after.


    As for Damian, after watching Valyr''s silhouette gradually get farther from the door to his office for a while, he returned to his seat, focusing his attention back on the documentsid out on his table. As to what was going on in his mind at the moment, only he knew.


    ¡­


    Following the advice given to him, Valyr made a quick detour to the barracks'' cafeteria, grabbing a light meal that made him feel full for the meantime. After that, he made his way to the entrance, noticing that three other people were already there, seemingly waiting for something.


    Hearing a bunch of footsteps gradually get louder from behind them, one of the three guards at the entrance turned to look back, quickly noticing Valyr get closer. Seeing that, the man waved at Valyr as a greeting, prompting thetter to wave back, albeit sheepishly.


    "I haven''t seen your face around these parts before. You a neer?" the man asked, to which Valyr nodded in response. "Yeah, I just enlisted as a vige guard a few hours ago."


    Just as Valyr said those words, one of the other guards could not help but look at him with a smile. Then, cing his hands on Valyr''s shoulder, he let out a cackle. "I had a feeling Damian would ept you in a heartbeat. In any case, d to see you again!"


    "Hmm?" Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, Valyr redirected his gaze towards the person who just talked, eliciting a light smile to appear on his face as he thanked the man before him. "Ah, d to see you as well, Leon. Thanks for giving me the directions to Damian''s office."


    "No problem, no problem! After all, it''s always great to have more people protecting the vige," replied Leon with a grin.


    "Anyways, I''ll save the banter forter," he said not long after, his joyous expression instantly bing stern. "For now, I''ll just do basic introductions since we have to start our night patrol pretty soon."


    "This man right here is Jonas. His specialty is fighting with the longsword. Specifically, the one around his waist," he said, cing his hand on the shoulder of a tall,nky man with short reddish-brown hair. "As to why he''s only good with that specific longsword, no one knows."


    "As for the one who waved at you, his name''s Louie," Leon said not long after, cing his other hand on the shoulder of a slightly hefty man with his ck hair tied up into a ponytail. "He''s actually pretty good at tracking people."


    "Andst but not least, there''s me, Leon." Pointing at himself, he concluded with a light smile, "My specialty is taking hits. So, if you ever get yourself into a bet where one side needs to endure the most hits, I''m your man."


    "You can introduce yourself to uster after we finish patrolling," he said soon after, noticing that Valyr was about to open for mouth. "For now, since it''s just the four of us patrolling this time around, we''ll naturally have to split the vige into four sections."


    "Well, since you''re the neer, how about you patrol over the southeast section?"

 Chapter 12 Window Shopping

    Hearing the words that came out of Leon''s mouth, Jonas and Louie could not help but look at each other for a bit, murmuring something as they nced at Valyr with a hint of pity on their faces. Noticing this, Valyr looked at Leon, who was in the midst of splitting up the vige into far more specific sections.


    Snapping his fingers to catch his attention, Valyr went ahead and asked him a question. "Is there a specific reason why you''re giving me the southeast section?"


    In response to those words, Leon looked at Valyr for a bit before looking at the two other people with them. After looking back and forth between the two sides a couple of times, a dry smile appeared on Leon''s face as he told Valyr, "Although I would prefer not exining it to you, seeing as you''ve probably noticed something weird about the two when I said you''re going to patrol the southeast section, you deserve to know a bit."


    ring at Jonas and Louie for a bit, he returned his attention back to Valyr as he exined. "The southeast section is an initiation of sorts for any person that has been newly inducted to the vige guards. However, this only applies to those who decide to participate in the night patrol. For those who decide to participate in the day patrol, a different section is instead used as the ce for initiation."


    "Now, you might be wondering, why the initiation?" he said, prompting Valyr to lightly nod in agreement. "Consider it the main way the guards find out if other guards can actually do their job properly, or if they''re just there because of the prestige a vige guard gets."


    "Just like the section chosen for the day patrol, the southeast section for the night patrol is chosen as the spot for initiation since, more often than not, a great portion of the problems in the vige arise there. Though, that''s not to say other sections don''t have problems of their own."


    "Does that answer your question?" asked Leon as he concluded his exnation. Seeing Valyr nod in response, he lightly nodded as the four of them talked about the specifics of where they were going to patrol for the night. After reminding each other once more about the time they were to return to the barracks, the four of them went their separate ways, with Valyr heading to the part of the vige Leon demarcated as the southeast section.


    While walking along the streets that made up the southeast section, Valyr quickly noticed that most of the people along the streets were heading in the opposite direction, their somewhat hasty steps having purpose in them. As for the remaining few, they did not have to walk as far, with their houses being somewhat near to where they were by the time Valyr walked past.


    Surprisingly, even as the surroundings began to dim, a few of the people stopped walking for a bit and came up to greet him, thanking him for the work he was doing to keep the people of the vige safe. Hearing their words of sincere gratitude, a light smile was stered on his face as he continued to walk around the streets, his steps gaining a slight bounce to them.


    Nevertheless, seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned to hours. Before he knew it, the moon was already up high in the sky.


    At this point, only a few people still walked along the streets aside from him. Some of them were somewhat intoxicated, making Valyr inwardly shake his head as he told them to return home as soon as possible. Then, there were those whose movements seemed somewhat suspicious, prompting him to tail them for a bit, only to find out that they would enter a house not long after. Listening to the sounds that faintly resounded behind the walls of the house those people entered, Valyr could not help but scratch his head for a bit before starting to walk in the opposite direction.


    "Hmm. Leon made it seem like patrolling over the southeast section would be difficult, but it''s not really much of a problem," he muttered to himself, noticing that he was the only one walking along the streets at some point. Taking a look at the sky to check the moon''s position, Valyr decided to do onest sweep of the streets, wanting to make sure that there were no more people on the streets.


    Thankfully, by the time he had finished checking, no other people aside from him could be seen on the streets, making him let out an inward sigh of relief as he took a look at the moon''s position once more. "Judging by its current position, there''s only around an hour or so before we can head back to the barracks."


    Rumble¡­


    Feeling his stomach grumble once more, a wry smile appeared on his face as he sat down on a nearby porch. "I should also probably get something to eat once I get back."


    "In any case, what can I do to pass the time¡­" Valyr muttered to himself, eventually thinking of checking the contribution point shop, which he now had ess to after joining the vige guards. With a quickmand from the system, a small screen appeared before him, with tabs at the top to separate the items that could be bought from the shop into various categories.


    "Weapons, armor, essories, skills, and items¡­" Looking at the five tabs at the very top of the screen, he decided to check the skill tab for now, thinking that the equipment he had at the moment was more than enough for the current him.


    In an instant, a plethora of skills were shown to him on the screen, with a short description of the skill''s purpose, as well as the cost to buy it with contribution points apanying each one.


    "There''s a lot of offensive and defensive skills here," he could not help but say, clicking his tongue from time to time at the prices each skillmanded. "On the other hand, there are lot less utility and support skills here."


    "Fortunately, they have [Analysis] avable," he said sometimeter after scrolling through the list for a bit, bringing up more information about it as a second screen appeared beside the first.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Analysis]


    Rarity: Common


    A skill capable of identifying monsters and items. Increasing the skill''s level allows the user to gain more detail into what they''re identifying.


    Prerequisites: [Guard] rank


    Cost: 200 contribution points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "200 contribution points¡­ with each night patrol giving me 20 contribution points, I''ll have to toil away at it for 10 days straight," he muttered, keeping a mental note of the price as he continued to scroll through the list. "Huh. To think they actually have a rudimentary healing skill avable."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Inferior Heal]


    Rarity: Common


    A skill capable of healing light injuries. Increasing the skill''s level allows the user to heal more grievous injuries.


    Prerequisites: [Veteran Guard] rank


    Cost: 1500 contribution points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking at the prerequisites needed for him to buy the skill, Valyr could not help but click his tongue. "Aside from the fact that I need to raise my rank to [Veteran Guard], the fact that I would have to toil at it for over 2 months already makes me not want to get it."


    "I wonder what other skills I could get from the shop that I could use¡­" Just as he said these words, his ears picked up a sounding from nearby, prompting him to stand up as he grabbed the spear behind his back.


    Rustle¡­ rustle¡­


    "Who goes there?!"

 Chapter 13 A Moment Of Reflection

    Moving closer to the origin of the sound, his nerves taut while tightly gripping on his spear, Valyr eventually let out a long sigh of relief when he found out what made the noise, or rather, who made the noise.


    Snickering, a man with spiky orange hair hunched behind a barrel near an obscure alleyway, trying his best to stifle hisughter. Though, once he found out that the man he was hiding from had found him, a grin appeared on his face as he waved at the man.


    "And here I thought you wouldn''t find me," said Leon with a chuckle. In response to those words, Valyr rxed his grip on the spear before slowly affixing it again behind his back. "Leon, why are you here? The patrol doesn''t end for an hour more, no?"


    "Normally, that would''ve been the case." Leon nodded in agreement with Valyr''s words. "However, at this moment, there are no more people wandering around the streets in my section. All of them have already returned to their respective homes."


    "Then again, I could also say the same for your section," added Leon not long after, whistling at how barren the streets in Valyr''s section were. "If you''re worried about our quest not beingpleted if we return to the barracks early, Damian told us to inform him if there were no more people in the streets if we nned to go back. Just so you know, we already did."


    Hearing those words, Valyr could not help but go slightly ck-jawed as he processed all of the information that had been given to him. After a while, he scratched his head as a wry smile appeared on his face. "Mind telling me more about these things whenever you''re free?"


    "Sure, sure." Leon chuckled as he urged Valyr toe along with him. "It took me about a month to get used to the entire system in ce for us guards, so no rush."


    "Well, I could tell you a few things while we meet up with Jonas and Louie," he continued as Valyr started to walk beside him. "First off, there''s the messaging system. Since we''re all part of the same organization ording to the system¡­"


    ¡­


    During their walk back, Leon had imparted quite a lot of useful information to Valyr, specifically information rted to how organizations operated under the system Greater Beyond distributed to its NPCs. At some point, Jonas and Louie had met up with them, deciding to give Valyr information they knew as well as their bonds gradually grew closer.


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Eventually, the four of them had arrived at the entrance of their barracks just as the moon had reached the zenith.


    Ding!


    As if it was timed, Valyr obtained a notification from the system, prompting a screen to appear in front of him soon after. However, he wasn''t the only one to do so, with Leon and the others opening up screens as well to check on their notifications.


    "Good job on your first night patrol," Leon said to Valyr while smiling, with Jonas and Louie also smiling as they nodded in agreement. "Although I was just nning to y a prank on you earlier, you''ve showed that you still remain vignt even when everything is fine, something a guard should always have."


    "I''ll probably give Damian a small piece of my mind regarding your performance during this night patrol, but don''t worry too much. What I say will definitely help you out," he said before waving farewell at the three, heading into the barracks first. Not long after, Jonas and Louie also bade farewell to Valyr, eventually leaving thetter alone on his own once more.


    Seeing as he was now alone, he decided to take a look at his notifications in greater detail, his eyes slightly widening in surprise as one notification stood out.


    [You havepleted the quest ''Night Patrol''.]


    [You have been rewarded 20 XP.]


    [You have been rewarded 20 contribution points.]


    [You have been rewarded 10 merit points. Earn 490 more merit points to raise your rank to [Veteran Guard].]


    "Huh. So that means I need to do around 50 more night patrols if I want to increase my rank," Valyr muttered, nodding soon after as he headed into the barracks. However, rather than heading straight to the dormitory to take a rest, he instead made a detour to the cafeteria, recalling how he only had a light meal before going on the patrol.


    Surprised that there were still people manning the cafeteria at this hour by the time he arrived, Valyr quickly ordered a hearty meal from them, making sure not to waste their time. A few minutester, he grabbed the tray of food given to him before making his way to a vacant seat to eat histe dinner.


    ''Now that I think about it, I''ve done quite a lot, considering it''s just my first day,'' he thought to himself, savoring each bite of the meal he had ordered. Not wanting to be stingy on himself, he ordered a b of meat cooked to perfection, as well as sides that perfectlyplemented the smoky yet savory taste of the meat.


    ''I''ve obtained a passive skill, leveled up my stats, and even went on my first quest.'' As he thought about this, he could not help but nod in satisfaction, though he wasn''t eager to experience the aftereffects of overexerting himself. ''However, if I want to make the most of the 60 days before the beta version starts, I''ll have to do at least this much, if not, more than what I''m already doing.''


    ''After all, it wouldn''t make sense for a low-leveled NPC to entice yers into joining his organization.'' Now that he was an NPC and not a yer anymore, the methods avable for him to entice yers and other NPCs in joining the organization he would make for the final battle was now limited. If back then, he could utilize his real-life connections in order to amass a great number of people, as an NPC, the only thing he could rely on was his strength and the reputation he had.


    ''I''ll have to start thinking of ways to increase my reputation,'' he thought soon after, recalling multiple quests he could take in order to do just that. Though, the more he thought about it, the more his brows furrowed as he eventually let out a sigh. ''The earliest quest I could take to increase my reputation is after I ascend to a Rank 1 ss, but that means I need to increase my strength as quickly as possible.''


    ''Haah¡­ strength and reputation truly go hand-in-hand.'' Letting out yet another sigh, Valyr quickly finished the remaining food on his tray before returning the tray to the people, thanking them for the meal. After that, he slowly made his way to the dormitory, finally feeling the effects of exhaustion as his eyes started to close every once in a while. Noticing this, he pped himself in the face a couple of times, making sure that he stayed awake until he arrived at his room.


    Though, by the time he entered his room, he allowed his body''s needs to take over, lying down on the bed with his uniform still on as Valyr quickly closed his eyes, gradually falling into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 14 Planning

    "Mngh¡­" Feeling like he had gotten his best sleep to date, Valyr''s consciousness gradually sprung to life as the sun''s faint rays pierced through his window, shining a light on his face. Tossing and turning around on his bed a couple times to move away from the rays, he eventually stopped doing so as he felt the bed start to absorb some of the sun''s heat. Inwardly letting out a sigh, he gradually roused himself, sitting on his bed to do some light stretching with his upper body.


    "Gah¡­!" However, rather than feel a sense of pleasure from stretching out his limbs, an indescribable pain instead spread throughout his body whenever he did so. Noticing this, he could not help but wryly smile as he softly muttered, "I knew my body would be sore by the time I woke up, but never did I expect myself to be this sore."


    Taking in deep breaths as he forced himself to stretch his body amidst the pain, he eventually got out of bed, stretching his lower limbs only to find out that they, too, felt sore as well. epting the fact that he felt sore all over, he sat down on the side of his bed for now, wondering if there was anything he could buy from the contribution point shop to alleviate the pain.


    "Let''s check the item section¡­" Valyr muttered to himself, scrolling through the list of items shown on the screen. After some time, his eyes slightly widened in surprise as he inwardly let out a sigh of relief, his attention focused on a certain item. "Ah, thank the heavens."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pain Relief Pills]


    A bottle of pills designed to alleviate bodily pain within minutes. Highly advisable to only take one pill when needed.


    Prerequisites: [Guard] rank


    Cost: 10 contribution points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Seeing as he had twice as much contribution points than what was needed, Valyr unhesitatingly bought the item, wondering how the item would be delivered to him. However, contrary to his expectations, once he had epted the prompt to buy the item, a small pill bottle manifested out of thin air in front of him, smoothlynding on his palms.


    Getting over his initial feelings of amazement from the unique delivery mechanic, he went ahead and opened the pill bottle, quickly counting that the number of pills in the bottle wouldst him for quite some time. Popping one out of the bottle, he then swallowed the pill alongside a few gulps of water, feeling immense relief wash over his body a few secondster.


    "Although the pain''s still somewhat there, it''s not as intense as earlier," he muttered, taking less effort to stand up before making his way to the bathroom to take a shower.


    ''In any case, I should rest my body for the time being. There''s no point in me pushing my body to its limit if it means my health can take a turn for the worse,'' he thought, making sure to be thorough while scrubbing his body from head to toe.


    Once he got out from the bathroom a few minutester, he took a quick whiff of the uniform he had worn to sleep, lightly nodding when he still smelled hints of a pleasant scent emanating from it. With that, he wore the uniform once more, smoothing out the wrinkles on its surface before affixing the wooden spear he had haphazardly ced on the groundst night on his back.


    After that, he left his room, making his way to the cafeteria to get some breakfast.


    By the time he got there, he noticed a few familiar faces, with a couple of them waving at them with a light yet tired smile on their faces. Obtaining the tray of food he had ordered, he gradually made his way to the people who waved at him before sitting beside them.


    "Good morning, Valyr. How was sleep?" Leon asked as Valyr took a bite of toast thered with fruit jam.


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c "It was good for the most part¡­ then I woke up," said Valyr in response, eliciting a bit ofughter from the others.


    "Well, that''s no surprise," Jonas said, his tone somewhat deep since he had just woken up like the others. "Damian told us you pushed your body to the limits. Then, you went ahead and participated in the night patrol on top of that."


    "I did tell him to take a rest after what he had done," replied a voice from afar, which gradually got closer to them. Seeing as their guard leader wanted to sit beside them, Valyr and the others quickly made space. "But I guess that''s also a kind of learning experience."


    "In any case, how does it feel to be a vige guard now that you''ve gone through your first day?" asked Damian soon after.


    Finishing a piece of toast before starting to scarf down another, Valyr replied. "It feels nice, that''s for sure."


    "d to hear that." Hearing those wordse out of Damian''s mouth, Leon and the others could not help but smile as they continued to talk about some things while they ate their respective breakfasts.


    Eventually, everyone was done eating, prompting them to go their separate ways. But before they did, Damian gave Valyr a piece of advice. "Since you''ve overexerted yourself yesterday, take a rest for today. If you''re feeling restless, you could train a bit in the training field, but that''s all. A bnce between work and rest is also important."


    After saying those words, Damian finally left the premises, with Valyrmitting his words to memory. Looking around the cafeteria for a while, he eventually decided to take a stroll for today, thinking about buying a couple of clothes to change into aside from the uniforms he was given. Recalling the money pouch Tryndall had given him before they parted ways, he quickly made a detour to his dormitory as a certain memory shed in his mind.


    ''Now that I think about it, I could''ve gotten a sizable chunk of money from selling those monster corpses,'' he thought, slightly regretting the fact that he had not considered doing so yesterday. Although he felt like the corpses were still there, considering how sparsely scattered the monsters in the area were, he decided that it was better for the ground to im the corpses instead. After all, no one wanted to buy rotting corpses.


    cing the money pouch into his pocket, Valyr leisurely made his way to the barracks'' entrance before leaving, strolling around the vige as he thought about some of the things he wanted to do before the beta version began.


    ''First off, I need to get my hands on the basic cksmith skills,'' he thought to himself, gazing far away at a building with a seemingly tall chimney. ''Speaking of which, I should probably make a trip to the vige smithyter. I have to unlock the cksmith Technology Tree if I want to make progress.''


    Recalling what he knew about the requirements to obtain the cksmith ss, he knew that he would have to dip his hands into the Technology Tree, something he could not avoid in the long run.


    From the name of the feature alone, one could easily infer that the Technology Tree had something to do with a system that branched out like a tree, and one would be correct. However, the Technology Tree''s purpose went far beyond that, with most yers considering it to be the most important thing for a yer to focus on aside from skills.


    The Technology Tree could be split up into three broad sections: Combat, Production, and Innovation. Naturally, all of these sections had their own branches, with the Combat section''s branches being the various weapons, and the Production section''s branches being the various fields of production one could undertake, with cksmithing being one of them.


    However, if one were to ask any yer which section of the Technology Tree was of paramount importance, they would unanimously agree that the title would have to go to the Innovation section.


    Now, one might wonder why that would be the case. Well, the answer to that would be simple.


    The Innovation section gave ess to more advanced technology.

 Chapter 15 Ones Chosen Class

    In a world like Veldanyr, which had a level of technology more or less equivalent to the Renaissance Era, having ess to a higher level of technology meant having ess to a great source of power. Since Greater Beyond was a game that allowed yers to traverse through multiple universes in itster versions, it went without saying that highly advanced technology was a requirement if one needed to get around the universe, aside from relying on one''s own strength.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m With that in mind, Valyr was going to rely on the disparity between the technology currently avable in Veldanyr, and the level of technology he''ll reach in the future to establish a mark on this world, utilizing the properties of the cksmith ss as much as possible.


    Pondering over it, he knew that something like this had been done before by a couple yers in his previous life, utilizing a production ss and the Technology Tree to establish a period of dominance in their respective worlds. Though, since no one had used the strategy before in this one, it could be said that Valyr was going to be the pioneer to make the strategy something to be feared.


    It went without saying that he was going to use it to leave a longsting image in the minds of yers and NPCs alike, achieving the reputation necessary for his future organization to recruit people in droves.


    ''Aside from unlocking the Technology Tree and getting those skills, there are some other skills I need to get.'' At some point, Valyr sat on an open bench along the street, admiring the somewhat idyllic sight before him. ''I wonder if the contribution point shop has some of them?''


    With that thought in mind, he went ahead and opened a screen in front of him, perusing through the contribution point shop''s skill section in search for the skills he needed. While doing so, he could not help but think about the ss he was going to take as his Rank 1 ss.


    Although he had narrowed his choice down to a couple variant cksmith sses yesterday while at the training field, it was only sometime ago did he decide to settle on a single one, deciding to take a ss that was far better than what a cksmith could normally do, yet was not restrictedpared to the other variants he had in mind.


    Of course, there were variant sses far stronger than the sses he had set his mind on getting. However, all of them had requirements far more stringent than the ones he chose, with a couple of them even needing the being to undergo multiple high difficulty quests in a row to just obtain the qualifications to ascend to that ss. There was even a ss that needed one''s stats to all be at 100, a number only achievable once one had a Rank 2 ss if one didn''t use other means to do so.


    As mentioned before, he narrowed his choices down to a couple sses, taking into consideration of the beta version that was about to begin in about two months. As to how many sses exactly did he narrow it down to, it was actually three.


    The first ss was a cksmith ss that pursued the pinnacle of control when forging, which meant that one of the requirements was a high DEX stat. As for the other ss, it pursued the pinnacle of knowledge, relying on a cksmith''s ability to memorize and recall dozens, if not hundreds of blueprints. Naturally, such a ss called for a high INT stat.


    Contemting over these two choices, Valyr eventually discarded the two of them, considering that the third ss was the best choice if he did not want to limit himself. Unlike the first two sses, which aimed for an extreme towards a certain stat, it instead aimed for a bnce between the two previously mentioned stats, something Valyr preferred more.


    After all, the DEX stat not only increased one''s control while forging, it also increased one''s control over one''s weapon while fighting. As for the INT stat, other than allowing him to retain more information and the like, it also increased the size of one''s mana pool, something he knew he would rely on in the long run.


    Nevertheless, one would think that the third ss would be overshadowed by the first two sses, giving off the feeling that it was a jack of all trades, but a master of none. With that, the other requirements to obtain the ss came in, allowing it to be ssified as a variant ss one tier higher than the two.


    "Oh! They actually have two of the skills I need," Valyr eximed in slight surprise, his attention focused on the skills currently on the screen. Though, this slight surprise was quickly reced with a frown once he noticed the prerequisites that he had to fulfill before being able to buy them. "Haah¡­ at the very least, I have this as a backup n if all else fails."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Deft Hands]


    Rarity: Common


    Increases the user''s DEX for a limited amount of time in exchange for MP. Increasing the skill''s level improves the efficacy and potency of the skill.


    Prerequisites: [Guard] rank


    Cost: 500 contribution points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Robust Arms]


    Rarity: Common


    Increases the user''s STR for a limited amount of time in exchange for MP. Increasing the skill''s level improves the efficacy and potency of the skill.


    Prerequisites: [Guard] rank


    Cost: 500 contribution points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Considering that the guards I''ve seen so far all use weapons of some sort, it''s no surprise that such skills are avable the lowest rank," he muttered, clicking his tongue soon after. "But to patrol for at least a month straight to get one of the two? I''d rather go with the first idea I have in mind."


    "Though, I''ll have to save that for when I get a bit stronger," he continued, scratching his head as he let out a light sigh. To surmount the gap brought about by focusing on a bnce between the two stats, one of the requirements to obtain the variant ss Valyr wanted to get was to obtain skills capable of temporarily enhancing a certain stat. In his case, he needed to obtain [Deft Hands] and [Robust Arms], which enhanced DEX and STR, and [Astute Eyes] and [Astute Mind], which enhanced PER and INT.


    Although he was d to find out that he could buy two of the skills he needed through the contribution point shop, with how much time it was going to take to umte the points to buy them, he would rather go with the first n he had in mind, which was to head to a certain city and retrieve a quest there.


    ''That only leaves the final requirement for the ss, which is to achieve a stat of 20 for both DEX and INT,'' Valyr thought, slightly frowning as he rummaged through his memories, trying to recall methods that allowed him to achieve what he needed in the early game.


    With the Civilian ss giving one point to all stats and a free point for the person to allocate wherever they wanted, by the time he had reached Level 10, he would only be able to achieve 15 points for both DEX and INT if he allocated all 10 free points he would obtain evenly between the two stats. That meant that he had to find a way to obtain 5 more points for both stats.


    Fortunately, after a bit of thinking, his eyes slightly widened as a certain memory surfaced in his mind, eliciting a smile to appear on his face. pping his thighs as he let out a light chuckle, he muttered, "I almost forgot about those things."


    "Those damn Reinforcement Elixirs!"

 Chapter 16 Tristans Trial

    As he recalled the Reinforcement Elixirs, a few other memories also surfaced into his mind, prompting another light chuckle toe out of Valyr''s mouth as he found the memories hrious.


    In his previous life, back when everyone was still trying to understand how the game worked, a few of the yers relied on the power of money to obtain an item that allowed them to reach a level of power that was unachievable at the time. With this newfound power, they reigned as tyrants in their respective beginner areas, bing both feared and despised by the yers who had to toil away to reach the same level of power they got through whaling.


    Nevertheless, because of that, all yers were introduced to the existence of Reinforcement Elixirs, items that, when consumed, gave a yer an increase of one point to all stats. Although a yer could only consume 10 of these Reinforcement Elixirs at most, doing so would mean that a yer at Level 1 would have the stats of a yer exceeding Level 10, allowing them to thrash any yer below that level without much problem.


    Unfortunately for those people, their reign of terror was short-lived once people found out that there was actually a way to concoct Reinforcement Elixirs without having to resort to in-game purchases. Not only that, but they also found out that the Reinforcement Elixirs those who bought them got were of the lowest level, being termed as Basic Reinforcement Elixirs.


    With this newfound knowledge being quickly spread throughout the yer base, the ying field was quickly leveled as every new yer from that point onward knew the importance of consuming the various levels of Reinforcement Elixirs.


    Since it would be a while since the knowledge of Reinforcement Elixirs would be widespread once more in this new life, Valyr was going to use it to his advantage to gain an edge, grinning as he started to browse through the contribution point shop''s item tab.


    ''If I remember correctly, Reinforcement Elixirs are split into two categories: Physical Reinforcement Elixirs and Mental Reinforcement Elixirs,'' he thought, trying to recall the recipe for both. ''Although the bought ones give a boost to all stats, consuming both of them would still give the same effect. Plus, unlike the bought ones, they''ll also give a little something extra once one consumes 10 of each.''


    Thinking about the extra item that came along consuming 10 Physical and 10 Mental Reinforcement Elixirs, the grin on Valyr''s face grew slightly wider, ecstatic to find out that the contribution point shop had the materials necessary to concoct the two elixir types.


    ''Lizard Dragon Blood, Mountain Bull Hoof, Shadow Serpent Meat, and Scarlet Tiger w. To think the shop would have every important material needed to concoct a batch of Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir,'' he muttered inwardly. ''On top of that, they have Erudite Owl Tongue, Silver Wolf Eyes, and Wise Rabbit Essence. Even the important materials needed for Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir are avable here.''


    Checking the amount of contribution points needed to buy each one, Valyr eventually totaled all of them together,ing to a total of 140 contribution points. Seeing as he would only need to patrol for a week within the vige rather than risk his life in the wilderness to obtain the necessary materials, he quickly thought that it was a good trade-off, considering that one batch of materials was enough for him to concoct five vials of each elixir.


    Coming to the conclusion that he would only have to patrol for two weeks straight to be able to consume both basic elixirs to the limit, Valyr closed the screen in front of him before standing up from the bench, continuing to stroll around the vige for a bit more.


    After a few minutes of walking, he stopped in front of a building made out of incredibly sturdy material that looked simr to cut stone. Noticing therge chimney at the back of the building that stuck out like a sore thumb, Valyr took a quick nce at the sign hanging above the entrance, nodding that he had gone to the right ce as he stepped inside.


    "For a vige smithy, it''s quite well-equipped," Valyr muttered to himself, taking in the sight in front of him that was ever so familiar. On the right side of the building was an L-shaped counter that had a selection of weapons hanging on its wall, while a couple wooden racks could be seen on the left side, all of them containing weapons that seemed to be of far greater quality than the ones in the barracks'' equipment room.


    At the very back of the building was a stone furnace, containing mes that radiated an immense amount of heat, giving off the feeling that it was going to burst out at any moment. However, in front of the furnace was a man wearing a fireproof apron, hammering away at a piece of hot metal on the anvil before him.


    Hearing the sound of metal shing against metal reverberating throughout the ce, Valyr could not help but close his eyes for a bit as he allowed his mind to wander back to the memories of his early days as a cksmith. Unfortunately for him, this trip was short-lived as the man in the smithy came up to him. "Wee to the Astarto Vige Smithy. What can I do for you?"


    As the calm tone of the man entered Valyr''s ears, thetter was quickly jolted back to reality,ing face to face with a young man that looked to be in histe twenties. Though, quickly noticing the fireproof apron the man wore and the calloused hands only obtained from incessant hours of menialbor, Valyr stopped himself from talking about the man''s age as he nodded in response. "I¡­ uh¡­ I would like to learn the basics of cksmithing, actually."


    "Is that so?" the man raised his eyebrow, slightly suspicious why a guard of their vige woulde to his smithy. "Surely a guard like you would already be busy polishing theirbat skills, no? Why submit yourself to grueling hours in front of a hot furnace on top of that?"


    ''Although his question makes sense, that limitation doesn''t really apply to me.'' Thinking about his response, Valyr eventually opened his mouth. "That may be the case for other guards, but not me. Plus, what''s wrong with a guard picking up cksmithing? Why the need for a hostile tone?"


    "Hostile?" Hearing Valyr''sst question, the man had a puzzled look for a bit. Shaking his head, he rified, "If you thought my question seemed hostile, then let me apologize. I was just curious why a guard would pick up cksmithing, considering that they already have to spend most of their time polishing theirbat skills."


    "In any case, you''re right. There''s nothing wrong with a guard picking up cksmithing. That there was my mistake," he continued, looking at Valyr''s eyes. After a while, he turned around before letting out a light sigh as he returned to the anvil. "Unfortunately, I can''t teach you cksmithing. You don''t have the strength necessary for it yet."


    Although Valyr was initially disheartened by the fact he wouldn''t be able to learn cksmithing from the man, after hearing the reasoning behind it, a light grin appeared on his face as his eyes grew determined. Letting out a hint ofughter, he then asked the man, "What if I did reach the necessary strength for it? Would you teach me?"


    "Well, that depends," the man replied, his attention mostly focused on the anvil. "How long do you think would it take you to reach my requirements?"


    "How does two weeks sound?" As those words came out of Valyr''s mouth, the man could not help but stop what he was doing as he looked at Valyr. Although he could not help but feel like the guard before him was bluffing, the confident smile Valyr had on his face made the cksmith think that it was worth a gamble. ''Eh. It''s been getting boring in here just hammering away on my own anyway.''


    With that, a screen appeared in front of the cksmith, tapping a few things on it not long after. Soon after, he looked at Valyr. "Alright then. You have two weeks. Good luck."


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Tristan''s Trial.]

 Chapter 17 Changing The Approach

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tristan''s Trial] (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    Although you haven''t met the minimum qualifications Tristan wants to learn the basics of cksmithing, you''ve decided to mention that you would be able to achieve it within two weeks. Skeptical of your ims, he gives you this quest to see if you have the ability to back up your words. If you do end up seeding, perhaps he might teach you more than what you bargained for.


    Quest Requirements:


    > Reach a STR stat of 7 (2/7)


    > Reach a DEX stat of 7 (2/7)


    > Reach an AGI stat of 7 (2/7)


    > Reach a PER stat of 7 (2/7)


    Quest Rewards: Affinity +30 with Tristan, Reputation +50 within Astarto Vige, 1,000 XP, early ess to the Technology Tree


    Quest Penalty: Affinity -20 with Tristan, Reputation -100 within Astarto Vige


    Remaining Time: 20 days


    [Note: Completing the quest in less time increases the chance of obtaining a quest linked to the current quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Well then. This definitely wasn''t something I was expecting to get,'' Valyr thought to himself, pleasantly surprised that he had obtained a quest from what he had just done. ''Then again, with me making such a boastful im, it''s no surprise he wants to see if I have the ability to back up.''


    ''But a B rank quest, huh. That''s also rare. Is it possible that there''s more to this cksmith than I thought?'' he muttered inwardly, recalling that the rank of questsmonly given out to yers reached C rank at most. With a grading system that went from E to S, Valyr quickly recalled that most quests at B rank had rtions to arger quest line, with the remaining two ranks above it, A and S rank, having something to do that might upset the bnce of a world at the very least. Naturally, he also noticed this on the quest he was given.


    Although the requirement for the continuation was somewhat gimmicky, needing him toplete the quest before time ran out, it only stimted him to do better, curious as to what woulde after.


    ''Aside from the decent chunk of XP I''d get from the quest, which is always nice, I''d also get an increase in my reputation, though it would only be effective around the vige. Well, it''s definitely better than nothing.'' Continuing to read through the quest''s description, Valyr''s eyes could not help but fixate on the rewards, only for it to focus on another portion of the screen not long after.


    "Hey, uh¡­ Tristan, was it?" Valyr called out all of a sudden, prompting the man in the smithy to look back at him in response. "I said I''d be able toplete your requirements within two weeks. Why are you giving me another week toplete it?"


    "Hmm¡­" Hearing the question, Tristan rubbed his chin for a bit as he pondered over it. After a while, he raised a finger. "Well, for one, why not? Consider it me being kind towards a guard who wants to pick up the art of cksmithing."


    "But on a serious note, although I want to believe your im of being able to do it in two weeks, think of it as me just erring on the side of caution. After all, I don''t want you to lose interest in cksmithing just because of this," he continued. "Also, I don''t really want to be on the bad side of one of the vige guards if I can afford to. I might be capable of fighting, but you guys are the ones specialized in that matter."


    "In any case, no rush. Reaching Level 7 is more difficult than one might think, after all." After saying those words, Tristan returned his gaze to the anvil in front of him, picking up the bar of metal on the surface with tongs before cing it into the roaring furnace near him.


    Feeling as if it would be useless to talk to the guy for longer, Valyr closed the screen in front of his face, scratching his head before turning around to leave the smithy.


    ¡­


    ''The quest requires me to reach 7 points on four stats, which would only be possible if I reach Level 7, considering I don''t know other ways to increase it.'' While making his way back to the barracks, Valyr pondered over the requirements of the quest he had gotten. ''Even Tristan mentioned earlier that I would need to reach Level 7 if I want toplete the quest.''


    Feeling a slight rumble in his stomach, Valyr slightly hastened his pace as a knowing smile appeared on his face. ''Well, if he knew that I had ess to something like the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs, he would have probably believed my im. Then again, there''s not much point revealing secrets to strangers for the sake of bragging.''


    ''In any case, with Tristan giving me over two weeks toplete the quest, I could go ahead with my previous n of participating in the night patrols for two weeks straight.'' Scratching his head, he pondered over how he was going to go aboutpleting the quest. ''After that, I''ll buy the materials from the contribution point shop and have an alchemist concoct the elixirs for me¡­''


    ''Which would have been the ideal n for sure, but then I remembered alchemists that are capable of squeezing out everyst drop from the materials could only be found in the cities. On top of that, obtaining the services of those alchemists would take far more money than I currently have.'' Realizing this, Valyr could not help but frown.


    ''Though, if I settle for alchemists in the nearby towns and viges, or find the alchemist in this vige, it''s certain that they wouldn''t be able to concoct a full batch of the elixirs. What should I¡­'' Just as he had arrived at the barracks'' entrance, a thought surfaced in his mind, prompting him to stop in his steps as the pain relief pills he had bought earlier shed in his mind not long after.


    ''It seems I''ll have to grin and bear through the pain for some time. I almost forgot to consider increasing my levels with XP.'' With that in mind, a n was quickly drafted in Valyr''s mind as he made his way to the cafeteria, giving him the feeling that he would not only be able toplete the requirements, but do so in less than half the amount of time he was given.


    ''New n. I''m going to participate in the night patrols for a week straight to get one batch of the materials needed to concoct the two basic elixirs. While doing that, I''ll head outside the vige in the morning to get some XP from monsters to increase my level. I guess I''ll umte enough XP to reach Level 4 or 5? Something along those lines.''


    ''In any case, I''ll have to base that on the number of vials the alchemist is able to concoct from the materials I give them. If they make three vials or more, that would be great, but if they only make two vials¡­ eh. I guess it''ll work out.''


    ''For now, I''m going to let my body get as much rest as possible.''


    ''¡­''


    ''Crap. I forgot to buy clothes along the way.''

 Chapter 18 A Week

    After making a slight detour to the nearby tailor shop to buy a decent amount of clothes he could change to once he was done eating, Valyr spent the remainder of his day recuperating, allowing his body to naturally heal from the soreness brought about by overexerting himself on the day.


    Though, that did not mean that he spent it idling around in his room. Around the afternoon, he made his way to the training field in one of his newly bought clothes, striking against one of the training dummies with his wooden spear in order to recall more of hisbat experience. An hourter, he left the field, satisfied with what he had recalled, as well as the fact that he got his blood boiling.


    By the time night fell, he met up with Leon and the others in the cafeteria, conversing about various topics as they ate. At some point, Valyr brought up the topic of finding an alchemist, which quickly piqued the others'' interest.


    "So, do you guys know if we have an alchemist in this vige?" Valyr asked, looking at the others'' expressions to see if they knew anything.


    "Well, you could always try checking the vige clinic," Louie said in response, putting a spoonful of the stew he ordered in his mouth. "That''s probably the best ce to start looking for an alchemist."


    "They do sell a lot of basic alchemical concoctions, so I''d say head to the clinic first as well," said Jonas soon after.


    "There''s also the off chance that all of those alchemical concoctions they selle from one of their connections. If that''s the case, try getting their information from the clinic. It might lead you to an alchemist," Leon said after he finished chewing on his food. "Worst-case scenario, just head to Concaux Town. Pretty sure you could hire an alchemist''s services for a fee."


    "In any case, why are you looking for an alchemist?" Louie could not help but ask. "You need a specific concoction made?"


    "Pretty much." Valyr nodded, prompting the others to look at him with interest, wondering if he would tell them what he exactly wanted to be concocted.


    Unfortunately for them, a light chuckle was the only response they got from him, which naturally elicited multiple frowns and tongue clicks from the others. Seeing their response, Valyr''s chuckle eventually turned intoughter. "Although I really can''t say anything about it for now, just know that you''ll be in for a surprise within the following week or two."


    With only those words to work off of, the others begrudgingly finish their dinners, giving Valyr a cold re before they left. In response to those res, he could only wryly smile. ''Well, if they knew what I wanted to get concocted, they''d probably lose their minds.''


    ''It''s better if I keep it to myself for now.''


    ¡­


    Waking up from a good night''s sleep, Valyr felt that his body had been reborn, with the soreness from two days agopletely gone, as if it wasn''t there in the first ce. Feeling revitalized, he went ahead and washed up his face before taking a quick shower, changing into a set of loose fitting clothes once he had gotten out.


    Affixing his trusty wooden spear to his back, he grabbed a quick breakfast from the cafeteria before making his way to the barracks'' entrance sometimeter. However, rather than stay around the entrance, giving off the feeling that he was waiting for the other guards to start their patrol, he instead walked past it, making his way to the vige outskirts to find some monsters to kill.


    Indeed, his n was now in motion.


    Now that he was Level 2, that meant that the ideal targets for him had changed from Level 1 monsters to Level 2 ones. However, curious as to how vast the difference an increase of a single point on all stat was, he decided to start off the day with a Level 1 monster, quickly finding one after searching around the periphery of the vige around 10 minutester.


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 1 Boar. You have gained 10 XP.]


    "Huh. I gained less XP from the kill," muttered Valyr as he recalled the fight that had transpired earlier. Though, it would be more urate to call it a one-sided beating, given how he had not given the boar he fought even a single opportunity to retaliate. "Ah, right. Almost forgot that system was in ce so high-level yers can''t abuse it."


    "Anyways, let''s move onto some actual opponents." With that, Valyr searched for monsters around the same level, eventually killing 20 of them by the time the sun had reached its zenith. Feeling his stomach rumble in hunger, Valyr went ahead and grabbed two of the monster corpses, lifting both on each shoulder as he returned to the vige. "This makes for some good endurance training."


    After some time, he had arrived in front of the tailor shop he bought his clothes from, plopping down the monster corpses on the ground as he asked the tailor if he wanted to buy the hides from the monsters he brought. Leaving with skinned corpses and a decent amount of coins, he then made his way to the vige inn, where he sold the corpses for them to use as meat for their meals.


    Getting yet another decent chunk of money out of the exchange, Valyr then left the inn, making his way back to the barracks as he summed up everything that had transpired so far. "So, each Level 2 monster gives me 20 XP per kill. I killed 20 monsters earlier, so that means I have 400 and some XP I could use. I''ll use some of it to increase my level to Level 3, which will allow me to start fighting against Level 3 monsters, thereby increasing the amount of XP I get."


    "Aside from that, hauling along those two corpses back gave me a total of 100 copper coins, which is equivalent to one silver coin. Considering that I spent half of what Tryndall gave me on clothes yesterday, I currently have one and a half silver coins to my name."


    Chuckling at how poor he was, Valyr was satisfied with the routine he had going on, deciding to stick to it as he made his way to the cafeteria to get some lunch, only to head to the training field around an hourter. Once night fell, he participated in the night patrol, coordinating with the other guards to make sure the people of the vige got back to their homes respectively.


    And with that, Valyr kept up the routine the following day, heading outside the vige to kill a bunch of monsters before hauling a couple back to the vige to sell. After that, he would spend his time in the barracks either talking with the other guards or training in the training field, only to change into his guard uniform once it was time for him to begin his night patrol.


    Unexpectedly, a week had passed in this fashion, with Valyr being none the wiser.

 Chapter 19 Progress

    "Haah¡­" Feeling the sun''s rays peer through his window for the umpteenth time, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh, stifling a yawn as he slowly got out of bed. Going through his usual routine, he left his room to head to the cafeteria sometimeter in a set of clean looking clothes.


    By the time he had arrived, he quickly noticed a few familiar people sitting on a certain table, prompting him to quickly grab his breakfast and make his way there.


    "Morning," Valyr said to these people, receiving light waves, nods, and yawns in response. Sitting down, he took a cursory nce at the bowl of soup he got, putting a spoonful of it into his mouth before inwardly nodding in satisfaction. "Ahh¡­ good soup."


    "Morning, Valyr," Leon replied, his hair still somewhat messy. "Us here were just talking that it''s been over a week since you''ve be a vige guard. Damian also told us you enlisted as a vige guard the first day you came to the vige, so there''s also that. Anyways, how have you been enjoying your stay in the vige so far?"


    "It''s been pretty good, I guess," answered Valyr with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don''t really have anything else topare it to, but having ess to free food is definitely nice."


    "Call it a perk of being a vige guard," said Louie with a light smile on his face. "In any case, didn''t you tell us you were going to head to the vige clinic today?"


    Hearing those words, the others'' ears perked up, their eyes gaining a bit of vigor as they listened in on the conversation. As for Valyr, he lightly nodded in response to those words after pondering over it for a bit. "Yeah, I think I did say something like that."


    "So? Are you going to tell us?" Louie asked soon after, eliciting nods of agreement from the others listening in.


    "Tell you what?" Although Valyr knew what they wanted to know, he acted oblivious, continuing to put spoonfuls of hot soup into his mouth. "I don''t think I have anything to tell you."


    "Don''t y dumb," Leon could not help but say, pointing his spoon at Valyr. "You asked us a week ago if we knew any alchemists in the vige. Sure, you mentioned to us that you''ll attempt to meet up with an alchemist today a couple of days ago, but you still haven''t told us what you wanted that alchemist to concoct. After all, that''s the reason why you''re meeting up with one, right?"


    "Yep." Valyr nodded in response, slurping up the remaining contents in the bowl before returning his tray. Returning to where the others were, he scratched his head as he pondered over it for a bit, deciding to reveal a bit more than what he revealed before. "Well, let''s just say the vige will go into a frenzy if word got out."


    "Still vague as always." Hearing Valyr''s response, everyone could not help but let out a light sigh. For some, their imaginations ran amok as they tried to form a conclusion with the vague information Valyr was giving them.


    "Since you''re being so secretive¡­ are you asking an alchemist to help you concoct¡­ poison?" Being one of those who allowed their imaginations to let loose, Jonas decided to ask Valyr, eliciting wide-eyed stares from the others as they looked at Valyr in slight shock.


    "Do you want me to?" said Valyr in response, receiving wry chuckles not long after. "In any case, no. I''m not concocting poison."


    Standing up from his seat, Valyr soon bade farewell to the others, only to stop in his tracks after taking a few steps. Scratching his head in slight fury, he looked back at the others, deciding to satiate their curiosity once and for all. "Agh¡­ fine. I''ll tell you guys what I had the alchemist concoct once I back."


    With the others loudly cheering in excitement from those words, which quickly earned the ire of the others in the cafeteria, Valyr finally made his way back to his room, sitting down on his bed as he opened up his status screen.


    Ding!


    As a small screen appeared in front of his field of vision, it was only then did Valyr realize that a lot had actually changed for him during the past week.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 5


    Power Level: 42 (C)


    Unused XP: 2,369


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 50/50


    MP: 50/50


    Stats: 5 VIT, 5 STR, 5 AGI, 5 DEX, 5 INT, 5 WIS, 5 PER, 5 LUK (5 unassigned points)


    Remarks: Far stronger than the average person for sure, but nothing still stands out.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh. To think I''ve actually leveled up this much during the past week," Valyr muttered. "I guess it is possible to reach Level 7 within the time Tristan gave me."


    During the past week, Valyr hade to the decision to kill 20 monsters a day, bringing two back to the vige for selling. Because of this, he had amassed a great amount of XP, allowing him to reach Level 5 while having enough stored to increase his level to Level 6 if need be.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "Should I raise my level to 6?" he pondered. "I mean¡­ I could, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the routine I''ve been doing for the past week."


    "Speaking of which, I should grab the stuff I need from the shop, lest I forget." With that in mind, Valyr closed his status screen, opening up the contribution point shop on another screen soon after. With great haste, he scrolled through the shop''s item tab, buying all of the materials he needed for the elixirs as his contribution points quickly returned to how it was on his second day.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, a few eye-catching items manifested out of thin air,nding on Valyr''s palm as he ced each one on the floor. After that, he stood up from his bed and grabbed a bag he had bought a couple of days ago, cing all of the items that had manifested inside it. "Thankfully I had the hindsight to actually bring back some corpses to the vige for selling. If not, I would probably be contemting how I was going to bring all of this with me."


    Although the two corpses he had brought back to the vige only gave him a silver coin, the corpses he brought back on the days after that were of a higher level, reflecting his level at that moment. With that, the quality of the hide and meat from the corpses were better, allowing him to get more money from every transaction.


    Because of that, he now had close to 10 silver coins to his name, though it would''ve been over 10, if not for a couple of it going toward the bag he had bought. Nevertheless, he thought it was a worthwhile purchase.


    Affixing the wooden spear on his back while slinging the bag over his right shoulder, Valyr looked around his room to make sure that he did not forget anything. After double checking that everything important was on him, he then left the dormitory to make his way to the vige clinic. While doing so, he finally came to a decision over a certain question he had.


    "Well¡­ better to be safe than sorry, I guess."


    Ding!


    [2068 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 6.]


    [All of your stats have been increased by 1 point.]


    [You have gained 1 unassigned stat point.]

 Chapter 20 Vera

    Feeling a wave of energy wash over his body from the level up, Valyr''s pace slightly hastened, making use of the energy to head towards the vige clinic faster. With him asking Leon and the others as to where it was, even going so far as to have them walk him to it, it did not take long for him to arrive in front of a modest looking building.


    Although the exterior of the building was made out of wood, Valyr felt that there was a hint of mana imbued into it, which made it give off the feeling that it had rooted itself into the ground. Stepping inside the building, he was greeted by the sight of a minimalistic yet clean exterior, with multiple wooden benches neatly arranged in one corner, while multiple shelves containing vials of liquid and other various trinkets could be seen on the other.


    In one corner were two stools, with a young boy sitting on one of them. Extending out his right arm, he showed a light wound to the young woman in front of him. The young woman, who sat on the other stool, said a few reassuring words to the boy in response before cing her hands above the wound. Soon after, a soothing green light emanated from the person''s hands, allowing the young boy to watch in amazement as the light wound on his arm closed up within minutes.


    Stepping down from the stool, the young boy looked at his right arm before moving it around, a smile soon adorning his face as he thanked the young woman. Giving her a small pouch of money, the young boy quickly left the building as he bade farewell.


    In response, the young woman waved back at the young boy, bidding farewell to thetter, only to notice that there was another person in the building.


    "I apologize for not noticing you earlier," said the young woman in a slightly apologetic tone. After that, the person gave a light bow before asking, "How may I help you today?"


    "This is the vige clinic, right?" Rather than answering the question, Valyr instead asked a question of his own.


    "Yes. This is indeed the vige clinic," she replied, a light yet cheerful smile adorning her face. "Do you have an ailment of some sort? Perhaps a wound you would like to have treated?"


    Hearing the question, Valyr shook his head. "I actually came here because people said an alchemist could be found here."


    "Is sir in need of an alchemist''s service?" asked the young woman in response to his exnation.


    "Indeed. I need something to be concocted." Valyr nodded. "So, does the clinic have an alchemist?"


    "We do." The young woman let out a light chuckle as she nodded. "In fact, you''re looking at them right now."


    "Hmm?" In response to those words, Valyr could not help but raise an eyebrow, taking a better look at the woman in front of him. With her burgundy hair tied up into a bun, being held in ce by a thick stick of graphite, round silver-framed spectacles adorned her face,plementing her sky blue irises. As she wore a light gray robe that covered her petite figure, it wouldn''t be surprising for one to think that the woman looked more like a schr than an alchemist.


    "My name''s Vera Aschel. I''m a Novice Alchemist, as well as the doctor manning this clinic," she said soon after, introducing herself to Valyr. Not long after, she asked in a cheerful tone. "How about you, sir? May I know who you are?"


    "Valyr Zeihardt, one of the vige guards." Nodding, Valyr went ahead and introduced himself, prompting Vera''s eyes to slightly widen in surprise before giving a respectful bow.


    "Thank you for protecting the vige," said Vera, making him scratch his head in slight embarrassment from the sudden gratitude. "Anyways, sir Valyr, what do you need have to concocted exactly? Some medicine? A potion of some sort?"


    "Er¡­ before I answer your question, can we move to some ce more private?" replied Valyr, prompting a light frown to appear on the woman''s face. "I know it sounds selfish, but believe me when I say I don''t want others knowing of this."


    "Hmm¡­" Pondering over the question, a thought eventually surfaced on Vera''s mind as she led him to a more secluded portion of the clinic. Casting a crude barrier made out of mana around them, a slight frown appeared on her face as she asked, "Would this be enough?"


    "This would be enough, yes. Thank you," Valyr thanked her before removing the bag slung over his right shoulder, dropping it on the floor. He then spoke in a slightly hushed tone, "Well, to answer your earlier question, I need you concoct two types of elixirs for me."


    "Have you heard of Reinforcement Elixirs before?" he asked soon after, which made Vera look at him with widened eyes. "Guessing by your reaction, it seems you have."


    Nodding, she replied, "Although I haven''t really tried concocting one before, I''ve heard my mentor mention it in passing. If I can remember her words correctly, Reinforcement Elixirs are capable of giving an increase to one''s stats?"


    "That''s the one." Valyr nodded in response. Giving the bag to Vera, he then told her, "In here are the important materials you need to concoct a batch of Basic Physical and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir. Do you think you can concoct them?"


    "Eh?" Hearing Valyr''s words, a look of great incredulity appeared on Vera''s face. As she gave the bag back to Valyr, she could not help but ask, "But why me, sir? I''m just a Novice Alchemist. Wouldn''t it be better for you to head to the nearest town and have a true alchemist concoct it instead?"


    "Well, that''s definitely an option, but unfortunately, I can''t afford to do that." Valyr shook his head, wryly smiling as he thought about the remaining time on his quest. "Besides, I consider this to be my own gesture of giving back to the vige after it has been so amodating to me."


    "In any case¡­" With a knowing grin, he asked her, "Although you''re giving it back on the surface, you actually want to try your hand at concocting it, right?"


    "Yes¡­" Vera subconsciously blurted out, only to realize what she had said as she scratched her head. "I mean¡­ yes, I do want to try concocting it, but these precious materials would be wasted on me if I used them. After all, I''m just a Novice Alchemist. I don''t even know the recipe to the elixirs. It would truly be better for you to find an actual alchemist to concoct it instead."


    Normally, at this point, one would heed Vera''s advice and head off to the nearest town to get it concocted. However, for some reason, Valyr had a feeling that it would be better to have Vera do it. Although he didn''t know exactly why he got that feeling, he decided to trust his gut. "I don''t really mind if you waste the materials. As long as you sessfully concoct at least one vial of each, that''s enough for me. I just have to patrol for another week to get another batch of the same materials anyway."


    Seeing as his words were having the opposite effect on her, Valyr could not help but scratch his head. "Seriously, it''s no problem. Er¡­ how about this? Think of it as me wanting to help you improve in the path of alchemy¡­ is that helping?"


    "No, not really¡­" Vera murmured in response. As she looked at the bag of items given to her, even though she was ecstatic to try concocting something that was somewhat above her skill level, Vera could not help but wonder why a person like Valyr decided to put their trust into a Novice Alchemist like her.


    ''Is there something about me that stands out? Is this a confession of some sort? Or am I just making it all up and he actually just wants to concoct the elixir?'' Vera could not help but ask herself, her imagination running wild as she looked at Valyr.


    Eventually, their gazes locked onto each other, dispelling all of the random thoughts swirling in Vera''s mind. Soon, a determined expression could be seen on her face as an air of professionalism soon emanated from her. "Alright. I''ll concoct the elixirs for you."


    "But as I''m a Novice Alchemist, remember that there''s a high chance I might waste your materials," she added, her tone calm. "If you want to grab the bag and have another alchemist concoct it for you, you still have the chance to do so."


    "There''s no need." Valyr smiled in response. "You do it."


    "Oh, for heaven''s sake¡­" Muttering out these words, Vera could not help but let out a long sigh as she gazed at her slightly trembling hands. Taking a couple more deep breaths to calm her nerves, she then asked Valyr to follow her as they headed to the back of the clinic.

 Chapter 21 Concocting The Elixirs

    "We''re here," said Vera as the two of them stood in front of a wooden door a few minutester. cing the bag on the floor, Vera went ahead and opened it, revealing the insides of the room before them to Valyr.


    Though, just as he took a look inside, a thought quickly surfaced in Valyr''s mind. "Should I¡­ should I leave you be and wait here?"


    Although there weren''t a lot of amenities in the room, a bed could be seen on one side of the room, with multiple pillows slightly scattered on top of the mattress. Beside it was a simple wooden bookshelf, containing books that seemed to exude the feeling that they hade from a time before he had even been born.


    On top of the shelf were a couple picture frames that held photos of Vera, as well as photos of her and another woman that looked like her older sister.


    Btedly realizing what Valyr meant by his question, Vera wryly smiled in response as she swung the door wide open, revealing a set of alchemical instruments surrounding a decently sized cauldron, neatly arranged near the side of the room covered by the door. Heading inside, she grabbed the bag and turned to look at Valyr, urging for him toe in. "Since I''m the only one in the vige who knows how to use it, as well as the fact that there''s not much purpose in moving it, my alchemical instruments are here inside my sleeping quarters."


    "As long as you don''t mind the mess on the other side, you''re free toe in." Vera wryly chuckled, scratching her head.


    After saying those words, she went closer to the cauldron, cing the bag of ingredients beside it before heading to the other side of the room. "Wait here for a bit. I have to grab something."


    Lightly nodding in response, Valyr waited by the cauldron as Vera brought out a few boxes underneath her bed. Blowing off the built-up dust on the surface, she then opened them as she searched for a certain item.


    In the meantime, Valyr allowed his curiosity to get the better of him, getting a closer look of everything that was in this room. As Vera told him to not mind the other side, he focused his attention towards the alchemical instruments she owned, though he did think that she was more organized than him, considering how her bed looked neat and tidy even though she said it was messy.


    Seeing as the instruments seemed to be devoid of any dust on their surface, Valyr quickly got the idea that Vera took good care of her instruments, making sure to clean them at least once a day. ''Then again, from an alchemist''s perspective, it makes sense. Even a small speck of dust can dictate the sess or failure of a concoction, so it''s not surprising that she cleans them often.''


    ''However, such instruments like these wouldn''t normally be found in a vige,'' he thought. ''Did she buy all of this herself?''


    Curious, Valyr decided to ask. "Did you buy all of the instruments you have here, miss Vera?"


    "I wish I did," replied Vera as she looked back at Valyr with a wry smile. Returning her attention to the boxes, she continued, "Anyways, I didn''t buy them. Instead, they were gifted to me by my mentor after I became a Novice Alchemist."


    "What a kind mentor," Valyr could not help but say, to which Vera nodded in agreement.


    "She definitely is."


    "Ah, found it." After rummaging through the boxes for quite some time, she ced a light gray orb on the floor before putting the boxes back in their original ce. Bringing along the orb with her, she headed to where Valyr was, cing the orb on a pedestal near the cauldron.


    "I wonder if she''s busy¡­" Vera murmured, taking in a deep breath as she ced one of her hand on the orb. Soon, a pale blue light emanated from her hand, which was slowly absorbed by the orb not long after.


    After a while, a light of simr light to the one emanating from Vera''s hand appeared in the middle of the orb. Little by little, it grew in size until it eventually burst, turning into strands of light that looked simr to confetti.


    Soon, an oppressive aura emanated from the orb, prompting Valyr''s eyes to slightly widen in surprise. However, this aura onlysted for a few seconds before disappearing as a voice resounded from the orb a few secondster.


    "Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to contact me," said a voice on the other side, her tone slightly raspy.


    Twiddling her thumbs in slight nervousness, Vera could not help but act meek as she replied. "It''s not that I don''t want to, Mentor¡­ I thought you were busy¡­"


    "Busy? Me? Hah! As if." The voice let out a light chuckle in response. "In any case, it''s rare for my only student to contact me. Knowing you, you wouldn''t contact me for no reason."


    Hearing those words, Vera inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she returned to her original behavior. "It''s like this, Mentor. Someone asked me if I knew how to concoct Reinforcement Elixir, specifically, Basic Physical and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir. In response, I told them they would be better off having another alchemist concoct it instead. However, they were adamant that I should be the one concocting it, confident that I had the ability to do so."


    "Of course they should be confident! You learned under my tutge, after all," the voice replied. "Anyways, have they left you on your own to concoct it?"


    "No, the person that asked me is actually here." Vera shook his head. Turning around, she looked at Valyr. "Mind speaking for a bit, sir Valyr?"


    Scratching his head for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in response as he opened his mouth. "Hello? Can you hear me?"


    "I can hear you loud and clear," said the voice. "Mind telling me who you are, if you don''t mind?"


    "Would it be alright if you introduce yourself first, ma''am?" asked Valyr back in response. "Although you say you''re miss Vera''s mentor, I can''t help but be a bit suspicious."


    "A cautious one, eh? Well, I don''t mind." The voice giggled. "I am Mystia Aschel, the alchemy mentor of the young woman in front of you. Now, would that be enough for you to reveal your identity to me? Or would you like me to tell you more?"


    "No, that would be enough. Thank you." Valyr shook his head in response. Though, while doing so, he could not help but think, ''I wonder how they''re rted to each other. They do have the same surname, after all.''


    Taking in a deep breath, he then said, "It would be impolite for me to renege on my promise, so let me introduce myself. My name''s Valyr Zeihardt, currently a guard in Astarto Vige. I''m the one who asked miss Vera to concoct the elixirs."


    Hearing Valyr''s response, Mystia could not help but focus on a certain part, murmuring, "Zeihardt¡­? Is he¡­?"


    "Is there a problem?" Naturally, Valyr heard her murmurs thanks to his heightened stats, making him wonder if there was anything peculiar about his name. After all, he had also thought about his surname for a bit on his first day. However, before he could obtain an answer to his question, Mystia quickly changed the topic.


    "Ah. There''s no problem. No problem at all," said Mystia, which made Valyr raise his eyebrow in response. Though, as Mystia did not want to pursue the topic, he could only leave the matter to the back of his mind, inwardly letting out a sigh.


    "Anyways, let''s have the elixirs concocted, shall we?"

 Chapter 22 Success

    "Vera, darling," Mystia said not long after, catching the attention of her student. "Which elixir do you want to start concocting first? The Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir or the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir?"


    "Which one among the two is easier, Mentor?" asked Vera in response, eliciting a light chuckle toe out of the orb.


    "Well, I wouldn''t me you for thinking that way. Slowly making your way to harder concoctions guarantees greater sess, after all," said Mystia. "Anyways, if you''re to ask me on which among the two is easier, start with the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir first."


    As Vera nodded in response to her mentor''s words, Mystia continued to speak. "While filling up the cauldron with water, make sure you have Lizard Dragon Blood, Mountain Bull Hoof, Shadow Serpent Meat, and Scarlet Tiger w set aside."


    Just as she finished giving her student a couple instructions, she threw a question at Valyr. "Speaking of which, Valyr. Did you only bring enough ingredients for one attempt of each elixir? If so, I''ll have to make amendments to the procedure."


    "I brought enough for five attempts, actually," said Valyr in response. "Although it would be ideal if all five attempts for each elixir were a sess, it''s not a problem if she fails one or two if it means her rate of sess increases."


    Hearing those wordse out of his mouth, Mystia''s impression of Valyr had slightly changed. After a moment of silence, she asked him, "Since you''ve brought enough for five attempts each, I''m guessing you''re trying to get the skill thates along consuming 10 of each elixir, no?"


    "Is there a reason for you to need to know that, miss Mystia?" Valyr could not help but ask in response.


    "Oh, lighten up, will you?" said Mystia, letting out a bit ofughter. "I know you''re trying to be cautious, but with how you''re acting so far, you seem more paranoid than cautious. Don''t worry, Valyr. Neither I, nor Vera, will tell a soul of what had transpired here? So, is the answer to my question a yes?"


    Scratching his head at the sudden berating he got, Valyr let out a light sigh before nodding. "Yes, that would be correct."


    Unlike the Reinforcement Elixirs yers bought through in-game purchases, a skill could be obtained once a yer had consumed 10 of each elixir. Although it was always mentioned that all stats would be increased once one consumed the elixirs, the truth of the matter was that it didn''t as the elixirs did not increase the LUK stat at all.


    As if thepany of the game wanted to remedy that, they added a skill that did just that.


    Not only did the skill increase all of the stats increased by the elixir to greater heights, it also gave increased the LUK stat by a few points, which was considered by almost every being, both yers and NPCs alike, to be the most important stat to increase.


    "I see," Mystia said in response. "I presume you''ll also be consuming the higher tier elixirs in the future, but let''s leave that conversation for some other time."


    "Vera, have you already started to infuse mana into the cauldron?" she asked, focusing her attention on Vera.


    "I did, Mentor. The water in the cauldron is already boiling," said Vera as she nodded in response.


    "Good. Make sure that the water isn''t bubbling over," Mystia advised, making sure to remind her student to focus on the cauldron. "We''re not here to cook the materials, we''re here to extract the essence from them."


    "With that, cut up the materials I''ve just mentioned earlier," she said soon after, prompting Vera to grab a knife nearby. "Make sure you cut each material into five even portions. Although I may not be able to see what you''re doing at the moment, I can sense the amount of ingredients Valyr had given you through the orb."


    "Understood, Mentor." Taking in a deep breath, she skillfully cut each of the ingredients into five even portions, cing a portion of each ingredient near the cauldron while moving the remaining portions aside. "Should I add the ingredients now?"


    "One by one," Mystia replied. "Make sure most of the essence from the material you added has been extracted before adding the next one. Once all of the ingredients have been added in, cover the cauldron before infusing more mana into it. At that point, we want the essence to meld with one another."


    Nodding in response to those words, Vera did what her mentor had told her, adding the portions she had set aside one by one into the cauldron, making sure that the essence of the materials were extracted. With that, the water in the cauldron started to change color, with each additional material making the color more vibrant than it previously was.


    "Well, since it''ll be a while before I give my student another instruction, how about we talk for a bit more, Valyr?" Mystia said out of nowhere, prompting Valyr''s ears to perk up in response.


    "Er¡­ sure, I guess?"


    "Since you know the effects of the Reinforcement Elixirs very well, what do you n to do with them?" Mystia asked.


    "I''ll consume them to get the skill, just like what you asked me earlier. After that, I''ll consume the stronger versions of the elixirs to get those versions of the skill," Valyr replied.


    "Is that so?" said Mystia in response, her tone slightly persuasive. "Have you ever thought of sharing the Reinforcement Elixirs with other people? After all, having other people know the existence of Reinforcement Elixirs can bring great change, you know? In fact, even introducing it in the vige you two are in won''t only allow the general strength of the vige to increase, you two could also probably form a monopoly around it and earn a massive profit."


    Hearing those words, Valyr could not help but feel like Mystia wanted him to do more with the Reinforcement Elixirs. ''What''s with the persuasion? From what she''s saying, it seems like I might trigger a quest if I agree to it. Unfortunately for her, I seriously just want to have the elixirs concocted so I could increase my advantage.''


    Of course, Valyr had already thought everything Mystia had thought about what he could with the Reinforcement Elixirs. However, with her being a mentor, which probably meant she wielded great power, there was one thing she failed to consider.


    His current level of strength.


    Reminding himself of his ultimate goal of forming an organization for the final battle and not causing a revolution before yers had even entered the game, Valyr indirectly declined, saying, "I''m just going to use it on myself for now, miss Mystia. There wille a time where I would tell others of its existence, but not now."


    "Well, if you say so¡­" Hearing his words, Mystia''s tone could not help but be glum for a bit, only for it to return to normal soon after. "Since that''s your answer, then so be it."


    "Then again, I am quite curious as to where you''ve obtained the knowledge of Reinforcement Elixirs," she said a few secondster. "Only a small portion of those that live in the cities and kingdoms know of its existence, after all. Although I have an idea on how you also know of it, would you mind telling me why directly?"


    "Let''s just say I came from a faraway ce and decided to stay in the vige after bing a guard. Is that a good enough answer for you?" Valyr intentionally gave her a vague answer, knowing that telling her he was a yer in his previous life would be the worst thing to do. Nevertheless, herst words made him somewhat confused. ''An idea on how I know? Does it possibly have something to do with my surname again?''


    "I guess that''ll suffice," Mystia replied, her tone somewhat nonchnt. After that, she focused her attention back on Vera, who was now infusing mana into the cauldron after she had ced all four portioned materials into it. "Are you already infusing mana into it, Vera?"


    "Yes, Mentor." Vera nodded. "Do I just have to continue infusing mana into it until I hear a sound from the cauldron?"


    "Correct," answered Mystia. "Anyways, that''s pretty much how you concoct the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, Vera. Since all four ingredients are more or less of the same nature, it''s not that difficult to extract the essences from them before melding them together as one."


    "I see," said Vera, nodding in understanding. "How about the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir?"


    "We''ll talk about it once you start concocting it," replied Mystia. "In any case, I think the concoction is close to beingple¡ª"


    Bang!


    Out of nowhere, an explosion resounded from the inside of the cauldron, making the ground rumble for a bit. However, rather than bing worried over the sound, a smile adorned Vera''s face as she looked at Valyr.


    "Congrattions, Valyr," announced Mystia a few secondster.


    "The first attempt''s a sess."

 Chapter 23 Complete

    As Vera removed the lid off the cauldron, the strong metallic scent of blood quickly wafted throughout, prompting one to think that a massacre had taken ce in her sleeping quarters if one were to smell it.


    Knowing the implications of such a smell, Vera skillfully created a bubble of mana above her cauldron, catching most of the scent that had wafted out as she grabbed an empty vial from a nearby box.


    Removing the stopper from the vial, she then manipted the bubble of mana above the cauldron to transform into a scoop of sorts, carefully removing the contents that remained inside the cauldron before moving it into the vial. Soon, a viscous red liquid filled up the inside of the vial to about halfway, with Vera putting the stopper back on once she was certain there was nothing in the cauldron left.


    cing the filled vial aside, she then rubbed her hands to quell some of the excitement she felt as she started her second attempt.


    And with that, a few hours had unknowingly passed.


    Enamored and slightly intrigued by the entire process, Valyr silently watched Vera do her thing as if he was in a slight trance. In the meantime, Mystia''s voice would resound from the orb from the time to time, informing Vera of a few movements she could''ve done better, or a few things she could have added to make the process more efficient.


    Eventually, Vera had gone through all five attempts of concocting Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, surprisingly only failing one as four vials with red liquid were ced neatly on a nearby desk. As to how one attempt had failed, Vera asked her mentor if she could do one attempt on her own without her mentor''s advice, which allowed the previous sesses to get to her head as she became slightly overconfident. Because of that slight overconfidence, she had ruined the bnce of the concoction as a faint fizzle resounded from the cauldron.


    With the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixirs concocted, she then moved on with concocting the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixirs. ording to Mystia, thetter was slightly more difficult to concoct, due to the fact that the nature of the materials were shing against one another. With that in mind, the alchemist would have to manipte the extracted essences in a way that a harmonious bnce could be achieved.


    In fact, this was the reason why Vera had failed her first attempt at concocting the elixir as she recalled her previous bout of overconfidence, causing her tock the level of control necessary for the essences to harmonize and meld with one another. Because of this blunder, Vera had received an earful from Mystia, which only made Valyr be even more silent, making a mental note to always be on her mentor''s good side.


    Fortunately, after that mistake, the next four attempts at concocting Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir were a sess, with Vera making sure that she didn''t allow her emotions to affect the entire process.


    By the time she had gone through all 10 attempts, the sun was already at its peak.


    ¡­


    cing the four vials of red liquid and dark blue liquid into the bag she had been given earlier, a light yet satisfied smile could be seen on Vera''s face as she gave the bag back to Valyr. "Here you go, sir Valyr. Four vials of Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, as well as four vials of Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir."


    Receiving the bag with a nod, Valyr took a short look at the vials in the bag as a light smile adorned his face. "I knew I made the right choice to trust you. I''m pretty sure even experienced alchemists would have a hard time doing what you just did."


    "I just followed the guidance of my mentor," Vera said in response, lightly scratching her slightly flushed cheeks. "If anything, she should be the one you should be thanking."


    "That was all you, dear." Surprisingly, Mystia was of the same opinion as Valyr. "I only taught you the recipe. Even though I gave you a bit of advice from time to time, that was all you, Vera."


    "In any case, I''m pretty sure this man right here wille back here at ater time to have more of the elixirs concocted, so you better polish your alchemy skills," she said, chuckling. "Is that right, Valyr?"


    "Well, you''re definitely not wrong." Valyr chuckled as well. After that, he went silent for a bit as he looked at the inside of the bag once more. Scratching his head, he eventually took out a vial of red and blue liquid before giving it to Vera. "Here. As a token of gratitude for fulfilling my request, take this."


    "Eh? But these are your materials! This is too precious¡­ I can''t take them." Naturally, Vera was surprised by Valyr''s sudden action, waving her hands back and forth in refusal.


    "They may be my materials, but they wouldn''t serve me any purpose if not for the fact you turned them into what I needed," Valyr said in response, his expression now somewhat stern. "Please. Take it."


    "But¡­" Just as Vera was about to refuse once more, Mystia''s voice echoed from the orb once more.


    "Just take it, Vera. Think of it as him wanting to foster a better rtionship with you," she told Vera. "After all, if he''s not heading to a nearby town to have it concocted, you''ll be the one he''ll be asking to concoct them."


    Hearing those wordse from her mentor, her cheeks turned slightly red as she inwardly let out a light sigh, receiving both vials with her head slightly down.


    Seeing as Vera had taken the vials, Valyr could not help but nod in slight satisfaction. "With that out of the way, how much do I have to pay you for the service?"


    "Ah, there''s no need for that anymore, sir Valyr," Vera politely declined. "The experience I''ve obtained from concocting the elixirs, as well as these vials you''ve given me are more than enough payment for me."


    "Are you sure?" Although Valyr did not mind paying for the service even after he gave her a couple vials, Vera nodded in response.


    "Yes," she told him. "If you still feel like paying me back, how about having me concoct more elixirs for you?"


    In response to those words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter before nodding in agreement. "Alright then. I''ll make sure toe find you once I get another batch of materials."


    With that, Valyr waved farewell to Vera as he left the clinic, leaving both Vera and Mystia alone.


    "You should form a closer rtionship with that Valyr boy," Mystia said all of a sudden, which Vera found surprising. After all, it was rare for her mentor to be interested in a person.


    "Why is that, Mentor?" Vera asked soon after.


    "Although it doesn''t seem like it, he''s actually¡­"


    ¡­


    As he walked out of the clinic, Valyr could not help but look around as he was walking, deciding to take a detour into a secluded alleyway.


    Once there, he dropped the bag on the ground before retrieving a vial of red liquid from it. Removing the stopper on the vial, he then went ahead and downed all of its contents, feeling a burning sensation quickly envelop his body.


    Ding!


    [Your VIT has increased by 1 point.]


    [Your STR has increased by 1 point.]


    [Your AGI has increased by 1 point.]


    [Your DEX has increased by 1 point.]


    [You havepleted part of the quest''s requirements.]


    As the burning sensation gradually disappeared, he then retrieved a vial of blue liquid from the bag before downing its contents as well. Soon, a cooling sensation coursed throughout his body, which mostly concentrated around his upper region.


    Ding!


    [Your INT has increased by 1 point.]


    [Your WIS has increased by 1 point.]


    [Your PER has increased by 1 point.]


    [You havepleted the quest. Head to Tristan to receive your rewards.]


    Checking the notification he had received, a grin could be seen on his face as he downed the remaining vials in the bag.


    "Now we''re finally getting somewhere."

 Chapter 24 The Next Step

    With a bag containing empty vials slung over his right shoulder, Valyr had a wide smile on his face as he made his way to the vige smithy. While on his way, he could not help but be curious about his current stats. After all, even though he had consumed three vials of each elixir, the changes were quite subdued due to his current level, unlike the substantial change he felt once he had gone from Level 1 to Level 2.


    Ding!


    With that, he opened up his stat screen, somewhat pleasantly surprised that he was only one point shy from reaching the double digit mark on most of his stats.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 6


    Power Level: 99 (C)


    Unused XP: 301


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 90/90


    MP: 90/90


    Stats: 9 VIT, 9 STR, 9 AGI, 9 DEX, 9 INT, 9 WIS, 9 PER, 6 LUK (6 unassigned points)


    Remarks: If I were you, I''d try adding up my stats. It''s quite a nice surprise, if you know what I mean.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Seeing how effective the elixirs were in boosting his stats, he could not help but imagine the time he had consumed 10 of each elixir type, allowing his stats to undergo a substantial increase. Wondering how strong he would be once the time, he continued to make his way to the smithy.


    Ding!


    [Your affinity with Vera has increased by 100 points. Current rtionship: Acquaintance.]


    "Wasn''t the maximum affinity around a thousand points or so?" Valyr could not help but mutter to himself, slightly stupefied at the increase in affinity with Vera. Although he expected his affinity with Vera to increase with the kind gestures he had shown to her, never in his wildest dreams did he expect it to increase this much. After all, an increase of this level was only achievable through a couple special quests.


    And he didn''t even have a quest rted to her.


    Nevertheless, even though he was curious as to why his affinity with her increased so much, he decided to put the matter at the back of his head for now, considering it a lucky omen for what was about toe. With that, he increased his pace, utilizing most of his AGI to shorten the time it took for him to reach the smithy.


    Growl¡­


    "I should really grab something to eat along the way."


    ¡­


    By the time the sun had gone past its peak, Valyr stood in front of the entrance of the vige smithy, noticing that Tristan was hard at work once he took a peek inside. Deciding to take a few steps in while waiting for Tristan to finish, thetter turned his head around like an owl, as if he was already expecting Valyr to appear.


    cing the hammer he held on top of the anvil, Tristan got up from his seat before lightly stretching his back. Making his way to where Valyr was, he could not help but say, "To think you would exceed all expectations and reach my requirements in just one week. Are you that eager to start learning cksmithing or something?"


    "To be honest, I''m quite surprised I was able toplete your quest this early as well," said Valyr, feigning ignorance to the question hidden beneath Tristan''s words. Lightly chuckling, he continued, "However, I am quite eager to learn how to forge."


    "Alright, alright." Nodding in response to those words, a screen popped up in front of Tristan as he interacted with it for a bit. "Since you''ve kept your part of the deal, it''s time for me to uphold mine. Though, of course, I''ll be adding a bit more extra. After all, great efforts beget great rewards."


    Ding!


    As the screen in front of Tristan closed, a couple notifications resounded within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to open up his notification screen. However, rather than be greeted by a couple of notifications, a string of notifications instead bombarded him, its contents bringing a light grin to his face.


    [You havepleted the quest ''Tristan''s Trial''. Remaining time: 12 days, 10 hours, 34 minutes, 12 seconds.]


    [Due to your exemry performance, the quest giver has decided to double your rewards.]


    [Your affinity with Tristan has increased by 60 points. Current rtionship: Acquaintance.]


    [Your reputation in Astarto Vige has increased by 100 points. Current reputation: Slightly well-known.]


    [You have received 2000 XP.]


    [Talk to Tristan to gain early ess to the Technology Tree.]


    Satisfied with the notifications he had received, Valyr went ahead and closed the screen before looking at the man in front of him. Noticing the meaning hidden beneath the gaze, Tristan could not help but wryly smile as he asked, "I''m guessing you want me to unlock the Technology Tree, huh? Alright then,e with me for a bit."


    Saying his piece, Tristan moved closer to the furnace as Valyr followed him from behind. Eventually, Valyr felt the scorching heat radiating from the furnace, making him close his eyes for a bit as he reminisced over his past memories when the warmth of the furnace would embrace for hours and days on end.


    Seeing as Valyr had no reaction to the heat from the furnace, even going so far as to seemingly enjoy it, Tristan could not help but think, ''I think I got my hands on an unpolished gem here.''


    Snapping his fingers to return Valyr back to reality, Tristan went ahead and asked a question Valyr already knew the answer to. "Now, before I unlock the Technology Tree for you, what''s your understanding of cksmithing?"


    "cksmithing is a craft normally neglected by many, but it''s what I consider the foundation for the civilizations we''vee to live in," Valyr said just as Tristan was finished talking, making thetter''s eyes widen in surprise. "Sure, it may be a thankless job just like any other upation, but unlike the other upations, it''s what allowed us to be who we are today. If not for cksmithing, we would still be vying for dominance with other species."


    Although most of these words came from the description of the cksmith ss he had gotten in his previous life, Valyr felt like it was the best way to describe the ss as a whole. In fact, he wholeheartedly agree with the statement, knowing very well how many people relied on cksmiths without them knowing.


    After a moment of silence, Tristan ced his hands on Valyr''s shoulders, looking at him directly in the eye with a fervent expression. Profusely nodding in agreement, he said, "Yes, yes, yes! That''s exactly what cksmithing is! Although it has been forgotten by many, it is the cornerstone of our civilization."


    "And here I thought I''d never find someone as passionate as I am when ites to cksmithing," he continued, sniffling from the slight upheaval of emotions he had experienced. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he then gazed at Valyr once more. "Let''s unlock that Technology Tree, shall we?"


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, a faint gray light started to radiate out of Tristan''s body, gradually making its way to Valyr''s body as it coalesced around his forehead. Soon, a small ball of gray light hovered a few centimeters away from his forehead, only to ram into it and disappear as a great influx of information quickly filled Valyr''s mind.


    Fortunately, as he was used to receiving multiple influxes of information in the past, Valyr quickly sorted the information he had received as a notification sound resounded not long after.


    Ding!


    [Tristan Melphon (Rank 2 ss ¡ª Experienced cksmith) has given you a key to ess the Technology Tree.]


    [Congrattions! You have gained ess to the Technology Tree.]


    [Due to your current ss, your ess to the Technology Tree has been limited to Basic level advancements. Please ascend to a higher ss as soon as possible.]


    Just as Valyr was reading through the notifications he received, Tristan told him something. "Now that you have ess to the Technology Tree, you could choose to learn cksmithing on your own and juste to me for Technology Points. Though, if you were to ask me, that would just be a huge waste of your talent."


    "With that, how about you learn cksmithing from me? Rather than rely on guesswork to get to the same point, I could you teach everything you need to know about cksmithing and make sure you have a solid foundation," he suggested, to which Valyr nodded in response as he closed the screen in front of him.


    Seeing Valyr agree to the suggestion, Tristan could not help but let out a chuckle. "Alright then. Since you''re going to be learning under me, we''ll be going through the basics first. But before that, I want you to do something for me."


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (1).]


    Receiving a notification that he had obtained a quest, Valyr went ahead and read through its description. However, by the end of it, a frown could not help but creep up his face as he thought to himself, ''Are you kidding me?''


    ''What''s the point of the previous quest, then?''

 Chapter 25 An Experienced Blacksmiths Suggestion

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (1)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    Tristan is quite surprised that you''ve met his minimum requirements within a week. Because of that, he thinks that you have a lot of potential hidden within you, just waiting to be unearthed. Although he''s quite eager to help you unearth this potential, he wants you to focus on polishing your foundation first before letting you to start trekking the arduous path of cksmithing.


    Of course, he knows how much you want to start as soon as possible, the impassioned exnation you''ve given him earlier still vivid in his mind. Nevertheless, he''s adamant that you shouldn''t be hasty, giving up long-term stability for short-term gains.


    To make up for this, he''ll greatly reward you for the effort you put in¡­ if you achieve his requirements, that is.


    Requirements:


    > Reach Level 10 (6/10)


    > Reach either a DEX or INT stat of 15 (9/15)


    Quest Rewards: Affinity +50 with Tristan, Reputation +150 within Astarto Vige, 2,500 XP, 15 Technology Points, [Analysis Lv. 1]


    Quest Penalty: Affinity -50 with Tristan, Reputation -150 within Astarto Vige, removal of ess to the Technology Tree, Level -2


    Remaining Time: 14 days


    [Note: Depending on your performance, the rewards of your current and subsequent quests may improve, or the quest giver may opt to stop the linked quest altogether.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''The rewards for this quest is great. Experience, Technology Points, and even the skill I want to get,'' Valyr thought to himself, the frown on his face deepening even further. ''However, I can''t help but have a sour taste in my mouth when I look at these requirements.''


    With the previous quest Valyr got from Tristan needing him to raise his stats to 7 points, the quest that thetter just gave to him seemed redundant in his eyes, considering that both quests needed him to raise his level if he didn''t know any other methods to increase his stats. Aside from that, Valyr could clearly recall that the quest he had previously epted was for him to reach the minimum requirements Tristan had in mind before one could start cksmithing.


    With all of that in mind, he could not help but wonder as to why he was given a quest that needed him to increase his stats once again. Curious, Valyr went ahead and asked this question to Tristan, trying his best not to yell at the person who would be teaching him how to forge.


    In response to the question, a light smile appeared on Tristan''s face as he exined, "Well, the answer to that is simple. The stats I made you reach before giving you this current quest is the minimum requirements I consider one should have before starting on the path of cksmithing. On the other hand, this quest will need you to bring your stats up to what I consider the ideal requirements one should have."


    "Although there''s not much difference between a stat of 7 and a stat of 10 in terms of what one can achieve in the early stages, having a lower stat tends to make you form bad habits while forging. Think of it as your body''s natural mechanism topensate for the lower stat," he said. "On the other hand, having a stat of 10 allows you to do all of the basic movements in forging without having to need topensate for anything. Sure, you might say that a person can just unlearn all of those bad habits once they be stronger, but you know that''s easier said than done."


    "Does that answer your question?" As Tristan said those words, Valyr responded with a solemn nod, not expecting to get a serious answer out of it. However, even though the response Tristan gave did answer his question, that was not the type of answer he wanted to hear. He wanted to know why he got another quest that required him to level up just after he finished one.


    With that, he decided to be more blunt in his questioning. "Although it does, that''s¡­ actually not the answer I wanted to get. Instead, I wanted to know why you gave me another quest that needs me to level up, even though I''ve just finished one."


    "Ah¡­?" At first, Tristan was slightly confused by what Valyr meant that. Though, after a short moment of silence, everything clicked in his mind as he looked at Valyr with a calm expression. "Oh¡­ that."


    "Here''s the thing, Valyr. You were the one who told me that you could reach my minimum requirements with two weeks, so I gave you a quest that needed you to do that in response, thinking that you would be more motivated in doing so."


    "Although you didplete the quest, and I''m quite surprised you did it in less than half the time I gave you, I wasn''t pressuring you whatsoever to do that whole thing. In fact, I would have been fine waiting for you to reach Level 7 at your own pace and I would''ve probably given you the same quest you just got," he told him.


    "In short, you did that to yourself, not me."


    "I¡­" Just as Valyr was about to say something in response to Tristan''s words, he could not help but go silent, recalling everything that had transpired this past week. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he did do that to himself, prompting him to shake his head as he noticed Tristan looking at him. "Never mind."


    At this moment, a slightly awkward atmosphere surrounded the two of them, with Valyr slightly fidgeting around to remove the feeling of awkwardness he felt. Taking a nce at Tristan, who seemed to be waiting for him to say something else while looking at his smithy, Valyr could not help but recall one of the notifications he had received from the system, specifically the ones pertaining to the early ess of the Technology Tree.


    "Moving the previous topic aside, I actually have another question to ask you," said Valyr as he scratched his head.


    Tristan raised his eyebrow in response. "And that would be¡­?"


    "Do you actually have a Rank 2 ss?" Valyr asked. "Well, I did get a notification from the system, telling me that you have a Rank 2 ss, but I just wanted to hear it from you directly. After all, ording to the guards, the strongest people in this vige are only at the peak of their Rank 1 ss."


    "That would actually be correct¡­ if you asked me two weeks ago," Tristan replied. "In fact, I think you''re the first one in the vige to find out that I have a Rank 2 ss. It would be great if you don''t talk about it with the others for a bit more, but I wouldn''t be surprised if you did."


    "In any case, any cksmith you see in a vige that owns their own smithy has a Rank 2 cksmith ss most of the time. Rarely would they ever have a smithy at the peak of Rank 1, me two weeks ago being a good example of that," he continued. "That''s because Rank 0 and Rank 1 cksmiths are considered greenhorns by most, if not all veteran cksmiths. Only when they ascend to a Rank 2 ss could they be considered a true cksmith that could carry their own weight."


    "Either way, that''s something I''ll exin to you in due time. For now, focus on reaching Level 10 within two weeks." With that, Tristan gestured Valyr to head out the door. "I''m sure you can do that with your monstrous talent. But if you don''t¡­"


    "Say goodbye to being Level 7 for a while." With a light chuckle, Tristan sat in front of his anvil before picking up his hammer to continue with work. On the other hand, Valyr looked at Tristan for a bit before turning around to leave the vige smithy as he made his way back to the barracks.


    ''Oh, right¡­ the quest actually had that penalty.''

 Chapter 26 Helping Out

    By the time he had returned to the barracks, it was already well into the afternoon. As Valyr did not have any other ns for the day other than meeting up with Vera to get the elixirs concocted, as well as meet up with Tristan after his quest waspleted, he decided to head straight to the dorm and get some well-needed rest until the time for night patrols came up. With the routine Valyr had gone through the past week, he thought that he deserved to get that much rest.


    However, as if it was destined to happen, a man Valyr rarely saw appeared in front of his field of vision just as he was about to head to the corridor that led to the dormitory. Naturally, the man noticed Valyr''s presence as well, looking at him in the eye as his expression turned to that of slight relief. "Oh, Valyr. Just the man I was trying to look for, actually."


    "Is there anything you need from me, Damian?" Valyr asked in response, noticing the somewhat relieved expression on Damian''s face.


    Damian nodded. "There is. To be honest, I kind of feel bad for asking you about this since it''s only been a week and a half after you''ve arrived here. However, we need all the help we can get."


    "We?" Valyr raised his eyebrow as he scratched his cheeks. "What''s wrong?"


    Taking in a deep breath, Damian let out a long sigh before exining. "It''s like this. In about a week or so, a monster tide is going to hit this vige."


    "A monster tide?" Hearing these wordse out of Damian''s mouth, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen in shock, recalling how dangerous monster tides were.


    From the name itself, monster tides were events where a great number of monsters would attack a settlement like a tide, its goal nothing more than to destroy the settlement it collided with. Although yers and NPCs alike have spected that there was a greater reason as to why these monster tides happened, such as the world trying to maintain a precarious bnce between people and monsters, everyone knew that they had to fend off against the tide if they didn''t want to end up bing homeless, or worse, dead.


    "Yes, a monster tide," Damian replied with a nod. "We''ve recruited everyone with Rank 1 sses to aid the vige guards in defending against the monster tide, although we''ve also been recruiting all of the able-bodied people who want to volunteer and help out in the cause. We need as much help as we can get for a matter like this, after all."


    "In any case, this is actually the main reason why the vige guards was established. Our main purpose is to help the vige defend against monster tides. After all, one is enough to remove the vige off the map," he continued. Just as he was about to continue persuading Valyr to help out in the monster tide, he could not help but notice that Valyr had grown stronger yet again, giving off the feeling that he was nearing a Rank 1 ss holder in terms of power.


    ''When he first arrived here, he was only Level 1. How did he get this strong in just a week and a half?'' Although Damian was curious as to how Valyr had achieved his current level of strength, he ced the matter at the back of his head for now, thinking that Valyr would be able to contribute more than the others just from the power he sensed from him so far.


    "Hmm¡­" As monster tides were events that signified a lot of danger, that meant that a plethora of rewards awaited those who helped and survived the ordeal. In fact, that alone was enough reason for Valyr to ept, thinking about the possible things he could obtain if he participated. However, he did not want to make it seem like he was too eager about the cmitous event, deciding to mull over it for a bit. "Do we know how big the monster tide is?"


    "Originally, it was a medium-scale monster tide," Damian told him. "However, with the monster tideing from afar, portions of the tide separated from the original tide and attacked the settlements they passed through, gradually making the tide smaller with each separation. Best-case scenario, we''ll be facing up against a small-scale monster tide. Worst-case, a small-scale monster tide nearing medium-scale."


    "I see." Valyr nodded, recalling everything else he could remember about monster tides. ''If I remember correctly, small-scale monster tides are capable of demolishing viges, while medium-scale monster tides are capable of demolishing towns. On top of that, the strongest monster in a small-scale tide is on par with the strongest person one could find in a vige¡­ well, that''s not good.''


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr looked at Damian before nodding. "Alright, I''ll help out in defending the monster tide."


    "Thank the heavens," replied Damian, letting out a light sigh of relief. Looking at Valyr with a more relieved expression than before, he told him, "Of course, your efforts in helping us defend against the monster tide won''t go unnoticed."


    As he said that, a screen appeared before Damian as he interacted with it for a while. After that, a notification sound resounded in Valyr''s mind, prompting him to check what Damian had sent him.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Monster Tide.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Monster Tide] (Emergency Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    In a week, a small to medium-scale monster tide shall pass through Astarto Vige, with the vige taking the brunt of it. Because of that, Damian and the others have been recruiting all of the help they could get in the vige in order to defend against the cmity. You have decided to volunteer in helping the others defend against the monster tide, which the others will naturally thank you for.


    However, don''t go thinking your efforts will go unnoticed. Rewards far greater than your wildest imaginations await you if you put in the work.


    Requirements:


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c > Help defend against the monster tide (0/1)


    > Make sure at least 50% of the vige remains intact (100% > 50%)


    Quest Rewards: 50 contribution points (Astarto Vige Guards), 25 merit points (Astarto Vige Guards), and 50 XP per kill (Maximum of 1000 kills). Reputation +500 within Astarto Vige


    Quest Penalty: Reputation -100 within Astarto Vige, Level -1


    [Note: This quest shall automatically appear in 7 days!]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Per kill?'' As his eyes focused on the reward section of the quest, Valyr could not help but go wide-eyed, considering that he could possibly earn up to 50,000 XP if he was able to kill a thousand monsters. However, what piqued his interest even more was the amount of contribution points he could stand to earn. After all, if he killed 20 monsters in the tide, he would have enough contribution points to buy two of the other skills he needed for his Rank 1 ss. With the possibility to earn more, only the heavens knew what he was able to buy.


    Closing up the screen, Valyr looked at Damian, who looked back at him with a slight smirk on his face. "I''m guessing you noticed the rewards, huh?"


    "Yes." Valyr nodded. "However, I''ll only be able to earn a lot if I kill a lot."


    "That is indeed true." Damian nodded in agreement.


    Just as Valyr thought that their conversation would end there, a screen appeared in front of Damian once more as he tapped on it for a bit.


    "Since you''ve only been in this vige for a week, think of this as an apology and a gift from me. Use it wisely."


    Ding!


    [You have received 500 contribution points.]

 Chapter 27 New Leveling Area

    "Eh?!" Naturally, Valyr wasn''t expecting to obtain something like this, thinking that the rewards from the quest was more than enough. With that in mind, he looked at Damian directly in the eye, telling thetter through his gaze that he wanted to know the reason behind the great amount of contribution points he had just received.


    In response to the gaze he received, Damian could only shrug his shoulders. "Although the vige guards have been made for the purpose of defending against the monster tides, not everyone joined the guards with that in mind. Because of that, less than half of the guards in our ranks volunteered to help out in defending against the monster tide. To show my gratitude to those who''ve decided to volunteer, I''ve decided to give contribution points for them to spend however they like."


    "Now, you might be wondering at this point if the others got the same amount of contribution points as you." As he those words, Damian shook his head. "The answer to that is no. Unlike you, they''ve grown up in the vige and became vige guards for the reason of protecting the vige. You, on the other hand, might have joined the vige guards for other reasons. Nevertheless, you still opted to help the vige out in a time of need, which is why I gave you that much."


    "Is there anything else you want to ask me? If not, I''ll be leaving. I still have to recruit more people," he asked not long after, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    "Actually, I was wondering if I could get a map of the general area around Astarto Vige," replied Valyr. "It doesn''t have to be incredibly detailed. It just needs to have information of nearby viges and other ces I should keep in mind."


    Hearing those words, Damian quickly brought out his screen, interacting with it once more for a bit before closing it not long after. "There you go. Normally, information like what you requested would have cost you around 50 contribution points. But as I''ve mentioned before, since you''re helping the vige out in a time of need, think of it as a gift from me."


    Ding!


    [You have received geographical information of Astarto Vige and its surroundings.]


    [A minimum threshold has been surpassed. The World Map has been unlocked.]


    As Damian waved farewell at Valyr as he gradually moved farther away from him, Valyr could not help but look at the notifications he had received for a bit before closing his screen sometimeter. Just as he was about to wave back at Damian, he noticed that Damian was already long gone, making him scratch his head before deciding to continue heading back to the dormitory.


    ¡­


    Once he was back at his room, he ced everything he had brought along with him on the floor before heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Coming out of the shower after changing into a new set of clothes, he then went ahead andid down on his bed, letting his body bask in the warm rays of the sun peering through the window.


    Letting out a yawn, he then opened up the contribution point shop, his mind already set on where he was going to spend a great portion of the contribution points he received.


    Ding!


    [You have bought 2 vials of Lizard Dragon Blood.]


    [You have bought 2 pieces of Mountain Bull Hoof.]


    ¡­


    [You have bought 2 vials of Wise Rabbit Essence.]


    In less than an instant, a great number of items fell beside where heid, prompting him to sit up and grab the bag he had ced on the floor. Removing the empty vials that were inside, he then ced all of the materials he had bought into it before setting the bag aside.


    "Hopefully this is enough for her to concoct enough vials of elixir for me to get that skill," he muttered before returning his attention to the screen in front of him. "I still have 230 contribution points left. Hmm¡­ what should I buy?"


    "Oh, right. I should buy some skills," Valyr said to himself, recalling the main reason why he had asked Damian for a map of the general surroundings.


    Back when he was still killing monsters for a week straight, the time it took for him to find a monster at the same level as him gradually increased the higher his level went. By the time he had reached Level 5, the time it took to find 20 simrly leveled monsters had gotten so long that he only finished once the sun had already gone past its peak.


    Although he had a feeling that he would still be able to find monsters at Level 6 roaming around the vige outskirts, he was certain that it would take him at least 10 times as long to find onepared to killing one. With that, he thought about getting a map, wanting to find a new area where he could kill monsters without having to worry about searching for one.


    Opening up another screen beside the contribution point shop, a stylized map of the vige and its surroundings soon appeared on the newly opened screen, prompting Valyr to zoom out of the map to gain a general idea of where he currently was and how far a certain ce was.


    "The nearest town from this vige is Zasmol Town, located about 200 kilometers to the north. Considering how much distance a carriage can trek in a day, it would take me about 3 to 4 days to go one way, so a week if it was a round trip." As Valyr was voicing out his thoughts, he could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief. "It''s a good thing I trusted my guts and had Vera concoct those elixirs. If not, the rewards from that quest wouldn''t have been doubled."


    "No, wait. I was supposed to be looking for a new leveling area." Refocusing his thoughts, Valyr searched through the map once more, reducing his scope to ces that were near Astarto Vige and the other viges. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find a ce that suited his needs.


    "Found it. A leveling area that houses monsters around Level 8 to 15 and is only about 10 kilometers away from this vige," Valyr muttered, nodding in satisfaction at what he had found. "Although it wouldn''t be much of a problem for me to head to the area and return at night, it''ll be easier for me to just stay at the nearest vige. After all, the nearest vige is just a couple kilometers away from the area."


    "Mak''aroni Forest, huh¡­ guess I''ll be staying there for a while until I reach Level 10," Valyr muttered to himself as he closed up the screen with the map, returning his attention back to the contribution point shop he had left open.


    "Since I want to maximize the speed at which I kill monsters, I should really get some active skills," he murmured, heading to the shop''s skill tab. "I should also probably get a movement skill if I still have points left over."


    "Nope¡­ not that one¡­ not that either¡­"


    "Aha. Found it."

 Chapter 28 A New Skill

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pierce]


    Rarity: Common


    A skill capable of dealing damage through a thrusting motion. Best used with a spear or a rapier. Increasing the skill''s level increases the amount of damage the skill deals.


    Prerequisites: [Guard] rank, a spear or rapier


    Cost: 200 contribution points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Although the description of the skill on the contribution point shop was more or less bare-bones, Valyr could vividly recall the times he used the skill in his previous life, evolving it to a point where it was indistinguishable from its original version. Even though it was an incredibly basic offensive skill if all things were considered, to Valyr, it was the skill that fit his needs the most at the moment, as well as one of the best skills he could get that would pair greatly with his regainedbat experience.


    With that in mind, Valyr bought the skill from the shop without hesitation, leaving him with 30 contribution points to spare.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the active skill ''Pierce''.]


    Seeing as he didn''t have any more points to buy anything significant, Valyr went ahead and closed up the contribution point shop,manding the system soon after to bring up the description of the skill he had just received.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pierce] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A skill capable of dealing damage with a quick thrust. Best paired with a spear or a rapier. Deals 105% damage based on the user''s Attack stat.


    Cost: 10 MP


    Cooldown: 5 seconds


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Just like how I remembered it," Valyr murmured to himself, feeling great joy at obtaining a skill that he had considered one of his bread and butter skills.


    Although the Attack stat wasn''t a stat that couldn''t normally be seen on one''s status screen, it was generally understood by yers and NPCs alike that it was abination of the person''s STR stat and the damage the weapon dealt. In fact, the Defense stat worked the same way as well, being abination of the person''s VIT stat and the defense modifier of the equipment the person wore.


    Closing up the description screen, he then brought up his status screen, focusing his attention on the line that told him how much unused XP he had remaining. "I currently have over 2,000 XP, huh? Then again, most of the unused XP I have right now came frompleting Tristan''s quest."


    "Should I save this XP for the next level up¡­ or should I spend it on leveling up my skills by a couple levels?" he asked himself, only toe to a decision not long after. "With the disparity between my current level and the monsters, I''ll probably get all of the XP back I spent on the skills within a day, perhaps even more."


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 958 XP to upgrade ''Basic Spear Mastery'' to Level 3?]


    [Would you like to spend 958 XP to upgrade ''Pierce'' to Level 3?]


    "Yes." epting the prompts that had appeared in front of his vision as he hade to a decision, Valyr felt a small surge of information enter his mind not long after, making him take a quick nce at the wooden spear that was on the floor. While looking at it, he felt like the connection between him and the spear had marginally improved. At the same time, he felt the urge to pick it up and thrust it with all his strength, only for that urge to die down not long after.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, he went ahead and checked how much the skills had improved after upgrading them by a couple levels. For [Basic Spear Mastery], the amount of increased damage he dealt with the spear had gone up from 1% to 3%. On the other hand, the damage modifier for [Pierce] had increased from 105% to 115% after upgrading to Level 3.


    Satisfied with the small yet significant changes to the skills he now owned, Valyr took a look outside and noticed that there was still some time before he had to participate in the night patrol. Closing his eyes, he decided to take a nap, only to wake up a couple hourster.


    ¡­


    Scratching his head as he stifled a yawn, Valyr slowly made his way to the entrance, somewhat regretting the fact that he woke up. Nevertheless, with him in uniform and his wooden spear affixed to his back, he looked more than ready to take part.


    "Hmm?" By the time he had arrived at the entrance, he noticed that three people were already waiting there. However, rather than people he only became acquaintances with, the three people ahead of him were familiar, being the people he talked to on a daily basis.


    Bing slightly more awake than before, Valyr hastened his steps as he waved at the trio. "Leon! Jonas! Louie!"


    "Oh! If it isn''t Valyr!" Hearing Valyr''s voice echo out from the corridor, Leon could not help but let out a chuckle as he waved back. Soon after, Jonas and Louie waved back as well with light smiles on their faces.


    Once he had arrived where they were, Valyr went ahead and struck up a conversation with the three. "Were you three of you approached by Damian already regarding the oing monster tide?"


    "Yeah," Jonas said with a nod, Leon and Louie nodding soon after. "Since the main reason why we joined the vige guards was because we wanted to protect the vige we were born in, we agreed to it in a heartbeat."


    "How about you, Valyr?" Louie asked soon after. "Did you agree to help out in the monster tide? Well, it would make sense if you didn''t. You''ve only been here for a week or so, after all."


    "I did." Valyr nodded, letting out a bit ofughter soon after. "Who could say no to those rewards? Plus, it''s a good way for me to test my newfound strength."


    "Newfound strength?" Hearing those words, Leon could not help but raise his eyebrow, only to sense that the pressure he felt from Valyr had grown significantly stronger. "Holy shit, Valyr! How the hell did you get so strong in just a span of a day?"


    As Leon blurted out those words, Jonas and Louie went ahead and checked Valyr''s strength as well, their eyes widening in shock.


    In response to those words, Valyr let out a chuckle and shrugged his shoulders as he walked outside. "Who knows? Perhaps someone with a high ss passed by me and took interest in my talent."


    "Bah! As if that would happen!"


    ¡­


    After a slight skirmish between Valyr and the others, with Valyr surprisingly winning thanks to his higher strength, the four continued on with their night patrol, returning to the barracks by the time the moon had reached its peak. Changing into a set of loose fitting clothes after taking a shower, Valyrid down on his bed once more and closed his eyes, resting up for what he was about to doter.


    Once the sun''s rays pierced through his window once more, rather thanin about waking up so early, Valyr was quite alert, going through his usual morning routine before grabbing breakfast from the cafeteria. After that, he went to the training field to be ustomed with his upgraded skills, noticing that the man who had a unique method of practicing the spear was already there.


    After an hour had passed, Valyr left the training field, satisfied to have worked up a sweat. However, rather than head back to his dormitory to take a shower and rest for a bit, he instead made his way to the other side of the building, eventually arriving in front of the door that led to Damian''s office.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Come in."

 Chapter 29 Leaving The Village

    Hearing the deep voice on the other side of the door, Valyr inwardly nodded to himself as he swung the door open, closing it behind him soon after as he met up with Damian face-to-face once more.


    "Oh, it''s you," Damian said, a light yet perfunctory smile adorning his face. After Valyr had agreed to help the vige out in defending against the monster tide even though he hadn''t been part of the vige for that long, he could not help but have a generally good impression of the man before him. "What is it that I can help you with?"


    "I was actually wondering if I could ask you for permission over something," Valyr said in response, prompting Damian to raise his eyebrow.


    "Well then. That''s not something you''d hear on the daily," Damian could not help but say. Looking at Valyr in the eye, he continued, "As long as the request isn''t too much of an inconvenience, I''ll give you the green light."


    "It''s like this actually." Listening to Damian''s response, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief, rying his request to the former. "I wanted to ask for your permission if I could head out of the vige for a few days."


    "Where would you be going, if I might ask?" asked Damian in response.


    "us Vige," Valyr sinctly replied.


    Although us Vige seemed like a random ce for Valyr to mention, this vige was, in fact, the vige that was situated closest to Mak''aroni Forest. ording to the n he hade up withst night, he would head out to Mak''aroni Forest in the morning and the afternoon to fight against monsters in a bid to gain XP. Then, once night fell, he would return to us Vige and take a rest there, repeating the process until he reached Level 10.


    Of course, Damian had no clue as to what was going on in Valyr''s mind, so it was no surprise that he shook his head after hearing where Valyr was nning to go. "Normally, I wouldn''t have minded even if you went out on a journey to the nearest city. However, with the threat of the monster tide looming over us, I don''t want to risk losing another person before the tide even starts."


    "But¡­" Scratching his head, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh. Even though he knew he had the ability to return to Astarto Vige as soon as possible once he had reached Level 10, Valyr knew that Damian was thinking about his selfish request from the perspective of an entire vige.


    After all, in an event like a monster tide, a missing person that had the ability to help out could very well dictate whether the vige would live to see another day or have everything destroyed before their very eyes.


    With that in mind, Valyr pondered over a few things he could say to make Damian agree to his request. Though, after pondering over it for a while, Valyr thought that the best way to get him to be straight to the point ande clean. "What if I told you I was heading to the vige for a different reason?"


    "And that reason would be?" Damian asked, his expression solemn. However, after hearing Valyr''s words, this solemn expression was quickly replied with that of slight surprise.


    "Mak''aroni Forest," Valyr told him. "us Vige is where I''ll be resting for the night, but my actual aim is Mak''aroni Forest located near it. I''ll be heading there to farm XP to raise my level to the peak of what a Rank 0 ss can reach."


    "Surely you don''t need to do that, right?" Damian could not help but ask in response. "After all, judging from the aura you''ve been exuding so far, you won''t need to farm a lot of XP for you to¨C"


    Just as he was about to finish his sentence, only then did Damian realize the underlying meaning behind Valyr''s words. Taking in a deep breath to quell down the surprise he felt from this realization, a stern expression soon adorned his face once more as he asked Valyr, "Tell me, Valyr. What level are you at right now?"


    Raising his eyebrow in slight surprise, Valyr pondered over his answer for a bit, deciding to be somewhat vague with his response. "Around halfway to the peak of Rank 0, why do you ask?"


    Hearing Valyr''s response, Damian''s eyes could not help but widen in shock. Looking at Valyr with great incredulity written all over his face, he calcted the level of power Valyr could exhibit if he did allow him to head to Mak''aroni Forest and reach Level 10. ''If I let him go to the vige, he''ll reach a level of power simr to those who have been in their Rank 1 sses for a while in terms of stats.''


    ''Hmm¡­ on one hand, I could have him stay here and have him fight at the power of a near Rank 1 ss holder. However, I could also have him head out and have him return to the vige, fighting with the power of someone solidly in Rank 1.''


    After mulling over it for a bit, Damian eventually came to a decision, letting out a long sigh as he chose the decision that would allow them to save more people in the long run. "Alright, Valyr. You''re free to head to us Vige. However, you better make sure you return to this vige before the monster tide arrives, you hear?"


    "I will," said Valyr with a nod. However, since Damian wanted to make sure that Valyr did return before the monster tide came, he brought up his system in front of him before interacting with it for a bit, giving Valyr a quest that he literally could not refuse.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Return to Astarto Vige.]


    Although Valyr had already given out his verbal agreement, he wasn''t surprised to see Damian issue him a quest, checking through its contents. All in all, what the quest told him was that he should return to the vige in a week or less, lest he became ineligible to participate in the defense against the monster tide.


    After talking with Damian for a bit more regarding where he was heading, as well as the preparations the vige and the vige guards made for the uing monster tide, Valyr eventually took his leave, making his way to the dormitory sometimeter.


    Once in his room, he picked up the bag of materials he had boughtst night and slung it over his shoulder, leaving the barracks soon after to head to the vige clinic.


    Taking a quick look at the materials that were in the bag he carried, a light smile could not help but appear on Valyr''s face, making him wonder how shocked Damian and the others would be once he returned from Mak''aroni Forest. After all, by the time he returned, he wouldn''t just rival a Rank 1 ss holder in terms of stats¡­


    His stats would even rival that of a peak Rank 1 ss holder.

 Chapter 30 Basic Reinforced Body And Soul

    Not long after leaving the barracks, Valyr had arrived at the entrance of the vige clinic, taking a look inside to see if Vera was busy with other tasks. Fortunately, there were none, with a somewhat sleepy Vera walking out of the back of the clinic with a cup of what looked like coffee on one hand.


    Letting out a yawn, Vera lightly scratched her back as an expression of slight satisfaction appeared on her face. Taking a look at her surroundings to see if there was anything amiss, her gaze eventually stopped on a certain man looking through the entrance, prompting her mind to instantly be alert.


    "V-Valyr!" Vera could not help but exim, eliciting a light wave from Valyr in response.


    "Sorry to be disturbing you this early in the morning," said Valyr as he let himself in,ing closer to where Vera was. "However, I urgently need you to concoct something for me."


    "Hmm?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Vera could not help but raise an eyebrow as she took a sip from her cup. Just as she was about to ask him what he wanted her to concoct, her eyes quickly noticed the same bag she had seen yesterday slung over his shoulder. However, unlike yesterday, where it seemed that the bag was only halfway full when he arrived, the bag in front of her was filled to the brim with materials.


    Specifically, the important materials needed for her to concoct the two elixirs from before.


    Naturally, Vera was left at a loss for words, looking at Valyr with a shocked expression on her face, only to shift her gaze to the bag over his shoulder soon after. "Eh? I thought you said it would take you a week to procure another batch of materials?"


    "Indeed, I did." Valyr nodded. "However, what I didn''t expect was that, by the time I returned to the barracks yesterday, I was given a chance that allowed me to buy all of the remaining materials necessary for me to concoct the remaining vials I need."


    "A chance? What chance?" asked Vera, taking yet another sip from her cup. Though, when she heard the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, she tried her hardest not to spit out what she drank, barely stopping herself from doing so.


    "I don''t know if you''ve heard yet, but a monster tide will befall our vige within this week," Valyr exined, making Vera stare at him wide-eyed. "As for the chance that brought about our current situation, I volunteered to help out the vige in defending against the monster tide. Because of that, the guard leader somewhat gave me a lot of money, which allowed me to buy the materials you see slung over my shoulder."


    By the time he was finished exining, Vera took in a few deep breaths before letting out a long sigh to calm down her emotions. Looking at Valyr, she asked in a solemn tone, "Do we know how big the monster tide is?"


    "ording to the others, we''ll be up against a small-scale monster tide," said Valyr in response, deciding to keep the worst-case scenario of the situation to himself. After all, with how she reacted at him mentioning a monster tide, he had no doubt that her reaction would be more intense once she found out that the vige might face a tide close to medium-scale.


    "Will the vige be safe?" Vera asked soon after, her hands slightly trembling from the thought of chaos enveloping their vige by the time the tide arrived. "Will I be able to treat all of the injured from the tide?"


    Noticing that Vera''s train of thought was heading towards a downward spiral, Valyr went ahead and assured her that everything was going to be fine.


    "The weakest among those who''ll be volunteering to defend against the tide are us guards, who have been training for situations like these. Aside from that, every person who has a Rank 1 ss and above have been recruited as well," Valyr said to her with a light smile. "In other words, if therees a time where you''ll be treating injuries, it''ll only be light wounds at the very least."


    Hearing those words, Vera went silent for a bit before letting out a long sigh. As she looked at Valyr once more, thetter could not help but notice that there was a hint of concern in her gaze.


    "Is that the reason why you''vee to the clinic so early in the morning? To have more of the elixirs concocted?" Vera asked, cing the cup she held on a nearby table.


    With a nod, Valyr removed the bag around his shoulder before giving it to her. "But of course. The more strength we have as a whole, the better."


    Receiving the bag given to her, Vera looked at the contents for a bit before deeply inhaling. In an instant, the expression that adorned her face changed to that of determination, nodding at Valyr as she told him to follow her to the back of the clinic.


    Once there, Vera did not hesitate to start the concoction process, the experience and feeling of concocting both types of elixirs still vivid in her mind. With great haste, she went ahead and started concocting the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, making sure to not let her previous sess get to her head and affect her ability to make the subsequent attempts a sess.


    After she was finished with the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, she moved onto concocting the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, only taking a small break to satiate the hunger and thirst she felt after cing her full attention on the cauldron for hours straight.


    Eventually, just like the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, she went through all 10 attempts of concocting the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, a tired yet satisfied smile adorning her face once she was done. After that, she looked at Valyr, who gave her a thumbs up in response.


    As Vera rested for a while, recuperating the physical and mental energy she had exhausted throughout the whole ordeal, Valyr looked at the final results of the entire process, surprised that she was able to sessfullyplete eight attempts out of ten. On a nearby table, 16 vials were neatly arranged into two rows, separated ording to the color of the liquid they contained.


    Looking at the vials for a bit, Valyr went ahead and ced most of it into the now empty bag, leaving a vial of both liquids for Vera to take once more.


    "Once more, you''ve gone above and beyond, miss Vera. How much should I pay you for your service?" Valyr could not help but say.


    In response, Vera profusely waved her hands in refusal. "You don''t really have to, sir Valyr. The vials you''ve given me and the experience I''ve obtained from the entire process is enough payment for me. Plus, think of it as me indirectly helping out in the defense against the monster tide."


    WIth his mind focusing on herst statement, Valyr could not help but let out a light chuckle. "Since you don''t want me to pay you for your service, how about I treat you to a meal once we pass through the monster tide?"


    Unsurprisingly, Vera''s face could not help but turn slightly red at the straightforward offer. However, she did not refuse it at all, instead lightly nodding as she said, "I''ll be helping everyone as much as I can from the rear lines. After all, I''m the only doctor in this vige."


    "Our lives are in your hands, doctor." Saying those words, Valyr finally bade farewell to Vera, leaving the clinic as he took a look at how much time was left before night fell.


    "Early afternoon." Noticing that the sun had already gone past its zenith, Valyr walked closer to the vige gates before taking a detour into a secluded alleyway, not hesitating to consume all of the vials in his bag in one go.


    Whoosh!


    To no surprise, the burning sensation from the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir and the cooling sensation from the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir shed with one another, making Valyr feel a hint of pain from the whole ordeal. However, after some time, this sensation gradually became more and more pleasurable to the senses, making him feel as if he had unearthed a bit of the untapped potential in his body.


    Ding!


    [As you have consumed 10 vials of both Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, your body has reached the initial state of tempering, achieving Basic Reinforcement.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Reinforced Body and Soul''.]

 Chapter 31 Makaroni Forest

    Ding!


    [Your VIT has increased by 7 points.]


    [Your STR has increased by 7 points.]


    [Your AGI has increased by 7 points.]


    ¡­


    [Your PER has increased by 7 points.]


    Looking through the notifications he had received after consuming all those vials at once, his eyes eventually focused on a certain one, prompting him to bring up the notification in greater detail in front of him not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Basic Reinforced Body and Soul] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Rare


    The body contains tons of untapped potential, waiting to be unearthed. Realizing this, multiple methods have been devised and created throughout history to do just that, with some even bing well-renowned for years toe. However, only one method stood up to the test of time, bing the de facto standard for all beings that seek to grasp the entirety of their body''s power.


    Combining the pure essence of special beings into a concoction, one could use the energy from this concoction to unearth a portion of the potential hidden within one''s body, allowing them to stand head and shoulders above their peers.


    This skill is given to those who have reached the initial stage of tempering through this concoction, also known as the Basic Reinforcement stage. This skill increases all stats by 5 points.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I guess this is my first Rare skill, then?" Valyr asked himself, trying to recall how many Rare skills he had in the past. Although he eventually remembered that he had dozens of it around theter versions, he knew for a fact that obtaining a Rare skill this early on was incredibly difficult.


    For reference, if one were to evolve a Common skill to a Rare skill, that person would have to ascend to a Rank 5 ss first before meeting the minimum requirements necessary to evolve their skills to said grade. With that, it was no surprise that yers coveted skills of high grades, even going into a frenzy once rumors of a high grade skill could be obtained through simple means.


    "I wonder how high my stats have gotten?" cing the question at the back of his head, Valyr changed his train of thought,manding the status screen he requested from the system to rece the screen in front of him. While in the midst of properly disposing the now empty vials in his bag, a notification sound resounded in his mind, informing him that the system had done what he requested.


    ? With that, Valyr stopped what he was doing and took a look at his new stats, only for his eyes to widen as his mouth went agape, speechless at the massive improvement his stats had undergone.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 6


    Power Level: 174 (C+)


    Unused XP: 301


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 210/210


    MP: 210/210


    Stats: 21 VIT, 21 STR, 21 AGI, 21 DEX, 21 INT, 21 WIS, 21 PER, 11 LUK (6 unassigned points)


    Remarks: Your stats are definitely far beyond what a normal civilian can achieve. However, it''s a waste that you''ve decided to be an all-rounder.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Taking a deep breath to calm down from the excitement he was feeling, Valyr could not help but stare at his screen with widened eyes, feeling that it was difficult to take his eyes off it. Fortunately, the excitement he felt eventually died down, wanting to test this newfound strength out as he made his way out of the alleyway. Of course, with how his stats had gone through a drastic increase, Valyr tried his best to limit the amount of strength he used, knowing that it would take a while for him to limate.


    Though, once he was back on the main street, he positioned his body to face the vige gates, bending his knees before exerting all of the strength his body could muster through his feet.


    Whoosh!


    With his greatly increased AGI, Valyr zoomed through the remaining portion of the main street separating him from the vige gates, garnering the attention of multiple people along the way. To most of the people Valyr had passed by, all they felt was a sudden gust of wind that swiftly disappeared. However, to a select few, they could not help but gaze at the silhouette that zoomed past the vige gates, all of them having the same thought in mind.


    ''Did a Rank 1 ss holder just pass by?''


    ¡­


    While Valyr continued to zoom through the terrain at full speed, he went ahead and opened up a screen in his peripheral vision, bringing up a map before taking a quick nce at it to see if he was heading in the right direction. After making a few adjustments, he closed the screen not long after, allowing his eyes to enjoy the sight in front of him as he basked in the feeling of having achieved greater strength.


    "Although there''s still a long way to go till I return to how strong I was in my previous life, it feels nice that I''m making significant progress," Valyr muttered to himself, taking delight at how everything in his peripheral vision was a blur thanks to his AGI that had already reached Rank 1 standards.


    Unlike the Rank 0 Civilian ss, which increased all stats by 1 point per level, the stat distribution for a Rank 1 ss differed depending on the ss one obtained. However, one thing about these sses weremon, being that a great portion of the stats went towards the stats that were important for the ss. In fact, because of this, yers considered ascending to a Rank 1 ss the true start to one''s journey in Greater Beyond, making the transition from generalists to powerful specialists.


    Aside from that, the level limit for a Rank 1 ss was much higher, needing one to increase their level by 15 levels before being told to ascend to the next rank at Level 25. With both the specialized stat distribution and the increased level limit working together, it''s no surprise that the capabilities of a Rank 1 ss holder far surpass even a yer at peak Rank 0.


    ¡­


    After running through the terrain for a while, he eventually arrived at the ce he wanted to go to, surprisingly with a couple hours of sunlight left to spare. In contrast, his original estimation was for him to arrive at the ce near sunset.


    Taking a look at the sight in front of him, Valyr could not help but feel that his heart gradually started to beat faster, feeling the adrenaline course through his body as every cell in it screamed out to fight against the monsters that lived in the forest before him.


    Indeed. Rather than head straight to the nearby vige to take a rest, he instead headed straight to Mak''aroni Forest after seeing there was still time before nightfall, wanting nothing more than to test out his current level of strength as he retrieved the wooden spear behind his back.


    Tightly gripping onto his spear, he started to head deeper into the forest, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief once he found out he had fully limated to his newfound strength. With this realization, his body gained a bit more confidence as he slowly searched through the forest, utilizing the entirety of his vision to look for a suitable first target.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find the right one, noticing a lone wandering bear not too far away from him.


    Without hesitation, he dashed towards the bear at full speed, retracting his spear before thrusting it out with full strength at the right moment, catching the bear unaware as his spear gravitated towards its abdomen.


    "[Pierce]!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 32 Disparity In Levels

    Bang!


    ''-20''


    As a faint thud resounded throughout the vicinity, the wooden spear Valyr held pierced through the bear''s thick skin, even going so far as to dig into its muscles. Though, with the force behind the attack, that moment was only short-lived as the bear was sent flying for a couple meters, crashing into a nearby tree as it let out a pained growl.


    Retracting the spear he held, he could not help but look at the spear he held, then at his hands, surprised that his strength was now at the level that he could sendrge monsters like the bear before him flying. Recalling that he was still engaged in a battle against the bear, Valyr snapped back to reality as he dashed closer to the bear, making sure to not thetter get any chance to recover from the pain.


    With the amount of pain inflicted on it, the bear was greatly annoyed and incensed, wanting to find who or what decided to fight against it all of a sudden. Fortunately, just as it turned around, it caught a glimpse of a blur getting closer to it, prompting the bear to raise one of its paws and swing it downward with all of its strength.


    Thud!


    Unfortunately, the bear hit nothing but thin air as a dull thud resounded from its paw colliding with the ground. Still furious, the bear looked around once more to find its aggressor, only to realize that the blur it had seen for a brief second had appeared before it, revealing itself to be a human wielding a spear.


    Finallying face to face with its aggressor, the bear let out a growl before charging forward, aiming to dish out a headbutt. In response to that, the human lightly chuckled, swiftly taking a step back before jumping into the air with all its power.


    Although Valyr knew he was vulnerable in the air since he could not maneuver, his opponent did not have any method to capitalize on this vulnerability. With that in mind, he brazenly extended his spear once more, exerting all of his strength as he thrust his spear towards one of the bear''s eyes.


    Bang!


    ''-24!''


    "Graaaaoooo!" This time, a far louder growl than before came out of the bear''s mouth, embodying the amount of pain and fury the bear was feeling at the moment. As Valyrnded on the ground, the tip of the spear he held covered in the blood and juices of the bear''s eye, a grin could be seen on his face, bing etched in the bear''s mind as its remaining eye red at him, wanting nothing more than to see him dead.


    Without a care for the world, the bear let out another growl as it pounced on Valyr, raising the front half of its body to utilize its greater body weight to its advantage. However, as the bear looked at Valyr, expecting the human before it to be scared and run away from its attack, a grin still adorned Valyr''s face as he muttered out a word.


    "Gotcha."


    "[Pierce]!"


    Whoosh!


    With great haste, Valyr extended out his spear once more as he took advantage of the bear being in mid-trajectory of its attack. Imbuing all of the strength his body contained to the tip of the spear, he thrust it towards the bear''s chest before cing his hands behind his back, letting the momentum the bear had built up to do the remaining work for him.


    Bang!


    Although it was by no means sharp, the wooden spear pierced through the bear''s skin once more, only to be hampered by the bear''s dense bones not long after. At first, the bear looked at Valyr with a feeling of smugness, thinking that the human''s n had been foiled by its sturdy body. However, once it noticed that the grin on his face had never disappeared, instead deciding to get out of the way, it was only then did the bear realize what the human wanted to happen.


    Knowing very well that it would die from the human''s attack if it seeded, the bear tried its best to rotate its body in midair, aiming tond on the ground on its back at the very second. Unfortunately for the bear, just as it was about to rotate, a being appeared on top of it, kicking down on its abdomen to make sure it stayed on course.


    "Oh no, you don''t."


    Bang!


    Crack! Puchi!


    Appearing above the bear''s falling body, Valyr kicked on its back, hastening its descent as thew of gravity finally did its work. With the wooden spear being the first to touch with the ground, it dug into it for a bit before getting stuck. Not long after, the spear finally broke through the bear''s dense bones as more of the bear''s weight pushed down on the spear, eventually piercing through its heart as it poked out its back, its bloody tip and shaft now avable for all to see.


    ''-61!!''


    "I''m surprised the spear didn''t snap from the weight." As blood gradually trickled out of the monster before him, Valyr retrieved the spear jutting out of the bear''s back and shook off the excess blood. After that, he struck against the bear a few more times, only stopping once a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    Looking at the injury that had solidified the bear''s death for a bit, he went ahead and closed his eyes,mitting the fight scene into memory. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes once more, lightly nodding in respect towards the corpse before walking away from it, opening his screen soon after to check the notification he had received.


    "With my current stats, I can show more of thebat experience I''ve umted in my past life," Valyr muttered to himself, satisfied with the oue of the battle. "However, I shouldn''t let this get to my head. After all, the reason why I could do what I did was because of the great disparity between our stats. After all, it''s just Level 11."


    The fact that the bear was Level 11 was the reason why Valyr chose it as his first target, being at the precipice of one''s stats starting to be more specialized. Aside from that, he also chose a monster at Level 11 because he knew that the strongest monsters in this forest would have stats that exceeded his in some areas, reducing the advantage of his high yet all-rounded stats to nil. As for choosing a monster that was Level 10 and below, he thought that it would be meaningless, certain that it wouldn''t take long for him to obtain their experience.


    "This is definitely a lot more experience than I was expecting. Almost forgot the game had a system like this in ce," said Valyr as he looked at the notification he had received. "In any case, I should find a way to maximize this advantage. After all, Damian wants me to return to the vige as soon as possible."


    "Then again, I''m here because of Tristan''s quest in the first ce."


    Ding!


    [With a 5 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 100%.]


    [You have in a Level 11 Forest Bear. You have gained 348 XP.]


    Finding out that the experience he had obtained from killing the bear was equal to just a bit more than one-tenth of the experience he needed to level up, a wide smile could not help but appear on Valyr''s face as he checked how much time he had left before sunset. Seeing that there was still a lot more time before then, he left the vicinity, deciding to head in deeper to the forest in search of monsters that were of a higher level than the bear.


    "Since it''s not much of a problem for me to kill a Level 11 monster, I should try searching for one that''s around Level 12 or 13," Valyr muttered to himself, wondering how far his current stats could take him to maximize the amount of experience he could get from the level disparity.


    Grrr¡­


    Unexpectedly, just as he had started to move deeper into the forest, a small pack of wolves had appeared before him, all of them baring their teeth at him as they growled in unison. Noticing that the wolves had encircled him, leaving no way for him to escape, Valyr went ahead and checked the level of one of the wolves in preparation for the battle, only for a chuckle to escape his mouth soon after.


    Ding!


    [Level 12 | Forest Wolf]


    "Well then. What perfect timing."

 Chapter 33 One-Sided

    As the wolves surrounding him continued to growl, waiting for Valyr to make a move, Valyr went ahead and scanned the other wolves with the system, wanting to see what levels they were.


    "Three at Level 12, and two at Level 13," Valyr murmured, tightening the grip on his spear as he wondered what had attracted these wolves to him. Fortunately, thanks to a bit of pondering, his query was swiftly answered as he took a look at his bloodied spear. "They must''vee running to where I am because of the pungent blood still stuck on my spear, thinking they gained the opportunity to feast on a fresh corpse."


    "Unfortunately, the only corpses avable for feasting will be theirs." With a quick bend of the knees, Valyr darted towards one of the wolves, prompting two of the wolves behind his back to lunge forward and attempt to bite him.


    However, as if he was prepared for such a scenario, he came to an abrupt halt at the veryst second, just as the wolf in front of him lunged to bite him as well. Ducking before shifting his body to the side, he allowed the three wolves to collide with one another as he caught the wolf by his side unaware, unhesitatingly kicking it on the jaw with all its strength.


    Bang!


    ''-15''


    "Howl!" Wailing out in pain, the wolf Valyr unceremoniously kicked squarely hit a nearby tree as it fell to the ground. In the meantime, the three wolves that previously aimed to attack Valyr bit down on each other''s jaws, quickly letting go of each other''s maws as they realized that their intended target had disappeared. Fortunately for them, a howl from the remaining wolf that hadn''t attacked told them where to look, with the three turning their heads to find their target attacking one of their kin.


    Angered by this fact, the three wolves lunged forward once more, minding each other''s presence as they opened their maws to take advantage of their target''s vulnerability. Yet, once again, as if he had eyes behind his back, Valyr took a few steps forward before turning around, utilizing the momentum from the rotation to sweep out with his spear.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    ''-21''


    ''-20''


    ''-22''


    In session, the three wolves were sent flying backwards, leaving only the remaining wolf that hadn''t been attacked within his vicinity. With that, Valyr charged forward before thrusting out his spear, aiming it directly at the wolf''s throat.


    "[Pierce]!"


    Puchi!


    ''-76!!''


    With the direction of the strike being upward, the wolf Valyr targeted was sent flying in the air as it tried to let out a howl. However, with its throat pierced, it failed to do so, a hiss being the only sound it could make before it eventually fell to the ground with a thud.


    "Howl!" Just as Valyr was about to strike out once more with his spear to deal the final blow, the wolf he had kicked earlier had finally arrived where he was, lunging forward before swiping with its paws. Though, just like how it was sent flying earlier, Valyr kicked the wolf squarely on the side of its abdomen after stepping aside, narrowly avoiding the attack just as the wolf collided with another tree soon after.


    Bang!


    ''-22!''


    Seeing as four of the five wolves were down and out of the count for now, he went ahead and continued what he was going to do, attacking the wolf with a couple sweeps with his spear beforending the final blow with [Pierce].


    Bang!


    ''-76!!''


    Ding!


    Seeing that one of their kin had died under their target''s hands, the remaining four wolves instead became enraged at the target rather than finding something amiss and running away. Utilizing all of the strength in their bodies, the wolves lunged forward once more, attacking with their paws this time after realizing biting their target down wouldn''t work.


    In response to the move, Valyr stood still, allowing three of the wolves to sessfullynd their attacks on him as he focused most of his attention on the wolf he faced.


    "[Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-125!!!''


    Ding!


    Catching the remaining wolf unaware, Valyr struck down with his spear, aiming for its skull. To no surprise, the spear was able to pierce through its skull as Valyr channeled all of his strength, leaving him with three wolves as he retrieved his spear from the opened skull of the wolf.


    Psh! Psh! Psh!


    ''-3''


    ''-5!''


    ''-2''


    As the attacks of the three wolvesnded on his body, Valyr was slightly surprised that their damage was only in the single digits, only to recall that his VIT was over 20 points. ''I guess their stats lean more towards STR and AGI, considering how they fought against me so far.''


    ''Anyways, it''s time to end this. My hands are going numb.'' With this in mind, he went ahead and struck down once more, piercing through one of the wolves'' skulls with [Pierce], leaving no room for the other two to react as he sent both of them flying with a sweep.


    Bang!


    ''-125!!!''


    Ding!


    While in midair, Valyr dashed towards one of the wolves before forcefully pulling it down to the ground. Then, with another [Pierce], his spear pierced through the wolf''s abdomen, rupturing its heart. With a quick sh using the spear tip, the wolf was quickly sent to the afterlife, its injuries now far too grievous for it to handle.


    ''-76!!''


    ''-31!''


    Ding!


    "Only one left," Valyr said to himself, taking in a deep breath before running once more to the only wolf that remained. With a growl, the wolf got into a battle-ready stance before dashing in Valyr''s direction. At that moment, the only thought in its mind was to avenge its fallen kin somehow.


    Unfortunately, Valyr would never give it that chance.


    "[Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    Coming yet to another abrupt halt, Valyr raised his spear before striking it down at the veryst moment, breaking through the wolf''s skull before piercing all the way through to the other side as all of the remaining vigor the wolf gradually disappeared without a trace, eventually turning limp as a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    ''-125!!!''


    Ding!


    Now that all of his foes were down for the count, Valyr let out a sigh of relief before leaning on the side of a tree. "Although it feels exhrating to be able to move like this again, I forgot to consider how tiring it was at the end."


    "Well, at least the XP I got from the battle makes up for it."


    [With a 6 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 120%.]


    [You have in a Level 12 Forest Wolf. You have gained 532 XP.]


    ¡­


    [With a 7 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 140%.]


    [You have in a Level 13 Forest Wolf. You have gained 785 XP.]


    "In just two battles, I''ve already amassed enough XP to increase my level to Level 7." After calcting all of the XP he had obtained from the two previous battles, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle. "Making sure I consumed all 10 elixirs of each beforeing here was definitely worth it."


    Taking a look at the sun to see how much time has passed, Valyr went ahead and shook off the blood from his spear as a light smile adorned his face. "There''s still over an hour or so before sunset. I should make the most of it and kill a few monsters."


    With that in mind, Valyr ced his wooden spear above his shoulder as he started to wander around the forest once more. "Hmm¡­ should I allocate the XP I just got to leveling up?"


    "¡­nah. I''ll do that once I amass more XP. For now, I should take advantage of my low level and maximize my XP gain."

 Chapter 34 Signs Of The Tide

    By the time the sun was about to set, a man with a bloodied spear behind his back got out of Mak''aroni Forest with a slightly exhausted expression, carrying two wolf corpses on top of each shoulder.


    Taking a look at the amount of time he had before the sun fully set, the man swiftly hastened his pace, pushing his body to what it could handle while carrying two corpses at once.


    "Although all I want to do right now is to lie in bed and get some rest, it goes without saying that I''ve amassed a lot of XP during these past couple of hours," Valyr said to himself, letting outughter as he ran across the wilderness with two corpses in tow.


    After going through those two battles, which allowed him to roughly gauge his current strength, Valyr decided to take things down a notch and settled for lower-leveled monsters for the remaining time he was in the forest, lone Level 11 monsters being his weakest target. In the end, he had killed five monsters at Level 11, as well as five monsters at Level 12, increasing the amount of XP he had to a bit over 10,000.


    "Then again, I probably wouldn''t have finished that second battle with the wolves so quickly if I didn''t utilize Vital and Brutal Hits," Valyr murmured, recalling the adrenaline-pumping fight he had with the wolves. Then, letting out a light sigh, he said, "In any case, I should increase my Critical Rate¡­ and also probably upgrade my weapon, now that I think about it."


    In any game that involved dealing damage, one would quickly be familiar with critical hits, or hits that dealt increased damage. In Greater Beyond, there were four types of critical hits, each dealing far more perverse damage than the previous.


    The first type was the normal critical hit. Unlike other games, which indicated a 50% increase in damage when a hit like thatnded, Greater Beyond''s critical hit warranted a 100% increase in damage, the chances of which are reliant on a being''s Critical Rate. Unsurprisingly, with the increase in stats and skills that increased Critical Rate, critical hits were a given in theter versions of Greater Beyond, with it bing a hallmark for true experts.


    As for the next three, these were not reliant on stats and skills. Instead, they were reliant on the opponent they were up with, the technique of the one attacking, and in the case of the final type¡­


    A bit of luck.


    The type that came after a critical hit was a Vital Hit, allowing one to deal thrice the damage their attacks originally would. For one to deal a Vital Hit, one would have to attack a part of the enemy that was of vital importance to their lives, hence the name. Vital Hits were generally denoted with two exmation points instead of the one Critical Hits had, with the damage text bing a shade of blood red.


    ? After the Vital Hit was the Brutal Hit, a hit that allowed one to deal five times as much damage as their attacks would originally cause. Simr to the Vital Hit, a Brutal Hit relied upon attacking a part of the enemy that was vital to their lives. However, unlike a Vital Hit, a Brutal Hit would only ur if the attacker aimed for the most important vital part of the enemy. For enemies made out of flesh and blood, this would be the brain. For other beings, itrgely depended on their structure. Nevertheless, these hits were denoted with three exmation points, with the damage text taking on a shade of dark red.


    Last but not least was the Fatal Hit, a hit that could only be triggered once a Brutal Hit also triggered a critical hit. At first, this requirement was misunderstood by many, thinking that they would be able to trigger Fatal Hits every time with a 100% Critical Rate. However, once they reached a level where they could guarantee critical hits with every attack they did, it was then did they realize how mistaken they were.


    For a Brutal Hit to trigger a critical hit, the chances of doing so were a thousandth of the being''s current critical hit. So, even though a yer could easily achieve guaranteed critical hits in theter versions, they were still at the mercy of RNG if they wanted to get a Fatal Hit.


    Though, if one did sessfullynd a Fatal Hit, they would have felt like they had hit the jackpot. After all, the damage of a Fatal Hit was twice as much as what a Brutal Hit could deal, allowing one to deal 10 times the damage they originally would. On top of that, it would be denoted by four exmation points, with the color of the damage text being as dark as the abyss.


    "We''re finally here," murmured Valyr as he gazed at the vige gate that stood before him, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as there was still a few minutes before sunset. Taking in a deep breath, Valyr walked through the gates, only to be stopped by one of the vige guards.


    "Halt. State your business," the vige guard told him.


    Raising the two corpses above his shoulders for a bit, Valyr replied, "I''m here to sell the corpses I brought with me. Also, I''m nning to rest in this vige for the night."


    Hearing Valyr''s words, the guard went silent for a bit, only to letting out a light sigh soon after. Nodding, the guard then said to him, "You may proceed, sir. However, please don''t wander around the vige in the night."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." With a nod, Valyr thanked the man as he walked deeper into the vige, quickly noticing that the atmosphere surrounding it was somewhat tense. Although he was curious as to why, he decided to ce the matter at the back of his head for now, prioritizing to drop off the corpses he carried and sell them for a bit of money.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find the vige inn, staring at the three story building in front of him before heading in.


    "And here I thought this vige wouldn''t be receiving any guests for quite some time. Wee, wee!" Just as he had entered the inn, a boisterous voice resounded from the far back of the inn, revealing the origin of the voice toe from a slightly plump man in his thirties. "I presume you''re here to sell the carcasses you''ve brought with you?"


    "Indeed." Valyr nodded. cing the corpses he brought on the ground with a thud, he gazed at the man before him. "I was also wondering if I could stay here for the night."


    "Oh, certainly. That is why the inn was built in the first ce," the man grinned, only for it to be reced by a solemn expression soon after. "However, by the time the first rays of the sun appear, you should return to where you came from, kind sir."


    "And why is that?" Valyr asked, watching as a few people carried the carcasses he brought to the back of the inn.


    "Haven''t you heard? A monster tide is about to befall this vige at any moment now," the man said, which finally answered the question Valyr had earlier regarding the tense atmosphere in the vige.


    "I see. I''ll keep that in mind," Valyr said with a nod, thanking the man before him as thetter gave him 10 silver coins as payment for the carcasses. "Since I''ll be staying here for the night, is it possible to know your name?"


    "Call me Adrian, kind sir," Adrian said with a light chuckle. "Well, since you''re the only customer of this inn for tonight, and because you''ve given us a great amount of meat to use, the inn shall whip up a dinner that shall satisfy your taste buds."


    "Consider it the least the inn could do."

 Chapter 35 To Get Stronger

    Nodding in response to Adrian''s words, Valyr went ahead and seated himself on a table, waiting for the free dinner to arrive. While doing so, Adrian went up to him and struck up a conversation to pass the time, talking about various things regarding their lives.


    During that conversation, Valyr revealed that he was actually a vige guard for another vige, making Adrian look at him a bit differently, his gaze now containing a hint of respect and admiration. Sometimeter into their conversation, he thanked Valyr for his selfless sacrifice of being a protector for a vige.


    After that, the two continued to talk for some more, only for their topic to eventually be the uing monster tide.


    "How prepared do you think us Vige is for the uing monster tide?" Valyr asked, which only made Adrian bitterly smile in response.


    "Although we have full faith in our guards that they would be able to protect our vige and keep it standing for years toe, we still can''t help but think of the worst-case scenario," Adrian replied as he let out a wry chuckle. "ording to what I''ve obtained, a small-scale monster tide will hit our vige within the next few days at the earliest, which might not seem like too big of a problem for a vige like ours to handle."


    "However, the bare minimum for a vige to more or less survive a small-scale monster tide is to have ten people at the peak of Rank 1," he continued, only for tears to well up around his eyes soon after. "We only have three of those, for fucks'' sake! On top of that, one of them decided to leave the vige just as the threat of the tide was getting closer!"


    Realizing that he had gotten heated with his words, Adrian cleared his throat before letting out a long sigh, a sigh filled with dejection, anger, but most of all, eptance to what fate might befall them.


    With a wry smile on his face, he looked at Valyr and apologized. "Apologies for getting a bit heated there. I guess I just wanted someone to remember my existence. After all, there''s no saying if the vige will remain standing once the monster tide passes."


    Just as Valyr was about to say something to Adrian, his dinner had finally arrived. With his words stuck in his throat, he looked as the tes before him were filled with delectable and hearty dishes that could fill even the hungriest of men up.


    "Eat up, sir. You''ll need to have a lot of energy before your departure tomorrow." After saying those words, Adrian turned around and left Valyr on his own, thinking that thetter wanted peace and quiet while eating. However, before Adrian could even take a single step, Valyr stopped him, grabbing him by the arm.


    "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Adrian raised his eyebrow as he turned his head around.


    "I''m quite satisfied with what I''ve gotten." Valyr shook his head. Though, soon after, he looked at Adrian with a gaze of determination. "However, I just wanted to say that, even though it looks like all hope is lost, don''t ever sumb to those thoughts. Sometimes, the world will respond in ways that would surprise you."


    Hearing that, a genuine smile appeared on Adrian''s face as he nodded in response. "I appreciate the words, sir. I kind of needed to hear that."


    "Anyways, let me not disturb you from your meal any further," he added before taking his leave, finally allowing Valyr to eat his dinner in silence.


    As he watched Adrian''s silhouette gradually move farther away from him, Valyr could not help but think about the words he told him as he dug into his dinner. Although it might seem that the words he said sounded like words of constion from a stranger that wouldn''t even be affected by such an event, Valyr knew that those words of his held a bit of truth. After all, the world had given him a second shot at life, even though he expected none.


    If not because of that, he wouldn''t have told Adrian those words, words that came from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡­


    After finishing the hearty dinner that was given to him, Valyr went to find Adrian, asking him where he could stay for the night. In response, Adrian told Valyr the room that was assigned to him before giving him a key.


    With that, Valyr thanked Adrian and asked him how much the amodation was for the night. However, Adrian''s response to his question made Valyr''s eyes slightly widen, making him wonder whether the man in front of him was alright.


    "You don''t have to pay for the amodations, sir," Adrian told with a smile. "The carcasses you''ve given us are more than enough payment for your food and your amodations."


    Although Adrian told him that, those words didn''t sit well with Valyr. Because of that, he rummaged out the 10 silver coins that Adrian gave him as payment and gave it back to him. As a look of surprise adorned Adrian''s face, Valyr told him, "Don''t consider this as payment for the amodation, consider this a gift from a stranger."


    Hearing that, a peal of lightughter escaped Adrian''s mouth before nodding in response, thanking Valyr as he allowed thetter to head to his designated room.


    Once he was there, Valyr was quite surprised that the room contained more or less the same amenities his room back in the barracks had. However,pared to the somewhat cramped space of the dormitory, the room he had rented was more spacious, making him wonder if it was possible to get a space of his own back in Astarto Vige.


    Nevertheless, he ced the thought at the back of his head for now, recalling that he had arrived at this vige for the sake of increasing his level to peak of Rank 0. With that, he took off his clothes and entered the bathroom to take a shower, allowing the water to flow through his body as thoughts of his earlier conversation with Adrian resurfaced in his mind.


    Even though Valyr could not help but feel like he had to help us Vige after hearing Adrian''s words, he knew for a fact that his existence there would only be dying the inevitable. After all, unlike bona fide Rank 1 ss holders, he didn''t have the skills that came along with the ascension to Rank 1, skills that could unleash great amounts of destruction. The only thing he had going for him were his stats, though it still paled inparison to peak Rank 1 ss holders with specialized stats.


    Feeling thecerations he received from the wolves earlier as he scrubbed his body, Valyr could not help but let out a long sigh as he got out of the shower, changing into a set of clothes he had brought along with him as he lied down on his bed. Gazing at the wooden ceiling above him, he could not help but mutter to himself, "I need to get stronger."


    "Not only for the sake of Adrian or for the sake of Astarto Vige, but also for the sake of myself, my goals, and my people."


    "I need to get stronger."

 Chapter 36 Reaching The Limit

    With the rays of the morning sun, piercing through therge window in his room, Valyr could not help but slightly crack his eyes open as he lightly frowned, turning around to avoid direct sunlight. Although he was sessful in getting a bit more shuteye, the moment of bliss onlysted for another half hour as the room gradually grew brighter, eventually forcing Valyr to get out of bed as he let out a slightly annoyed yawn.


    Scratching his back before doing a series of light stretches, Valyr could not help but think about how he sleptst night, which he found to be less pleasant than usual. Even though the bed heid down upon was somewhat betterpared to the bed he slept at in the barracks, he knew that the reason why he couldn''t sleep that well was due to the thoughts swirling in his mind as he tried to fall asleep, some regarding the uing monster tide, and some regarding the need for him to level up.


    After going through his usual morning routine, Valyr eventually left the room he had stayed in, heading towards the lobby to find Adrian already awake.


    "Good morning, sir," Adrian said with a light smile. "Have you gotten good sleepst night?"


    In response to that, Valyr wryly smiled. "Is it possible to get some breakfast before I leave?"


    "Most certainly, sir." Adrian nodded before gesturing Valyr to head towards the dining area. "Consider it aplementary service of your stay."


    Shrugging his shoulders in response, Valyr made his way to the dining area, seating himself in front of a random empty table as he waited for breakfast to arrive. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for breakfast to be arrived, consisting of a few pieces of toasted bread and a small assortment of cured meats, as well as a mug of what looked like coffee on the side.


    Taking a small sip of the coffee, Valyr went ahead and ate the simple breakfast that was given to him, enjoying the entire meal as he stood up from his table around ten minutester.


    Returning to the lobby, he then bade farewell to Adrian as he thanked him for the hospitality he had shown to him. Waving goodbye, Valyr left the inn, swiftly making his way to the us Vige''s gates as he headed towards Mak''aroni Forest.


    ¡­


    As the distance between the vige and the forest wasn''t that far, it only took around half an hour for Valyr to arrive at the periphery of the forest, considering that he wasn''t going at full speed. Basking himself in the slightly harsh rays of the sun for a bit, he then sat down on a nearby rock as he pondered over what he was going to do for today.


    "Since I''ve decided to have most of the day today allocated towards hunting monsters for XP, it could be said that it''s certain that I''ll have enough XP to raise my level to Level 10," Valyr muttered to himself, wondering as to how much XP he truly needed to reach Level 10. Unfortunately for him, he could only view the amount of XP he needed to reach the next level, and not any of the levels after that. ''With how the levels at the hundreds need hundreds of millions of experience per level, it''s no surprise that I''ve forgotten how much XP I need to level up at the beginning."


    "In any case, before I leave, I should probably try finding monsters at Level 14 and 15," he said soon after, thinking about his chances against monsters at this level. "I''ll have to try fighting against a lone Level 13 monster first. But then again, considering the only injury I got from that fight was a fewcerations on my skin, as long as I find a lone monster at Level 14 or 15, I should probably be fine."


    With that in mind, Valyr unfurled the fabric affixing the wooden spear on his back, standing up as he firmly gripped on his spear. Taking a deep breath, he then headed into the forest, looking for a lone monster at Level 13. Fortunately, after about 10 minutes of wandering about, the world had answered his prayers, allowing him toe face-to-face with a bear at Level 13.


    Just as he had expected, with the fight being a one-on-one, there wasn''t much problem with Valyr fighting against monsters at Level 13. With renewed confidence in fighting against Level 14 and 15 monsters, he left the bear he had killed and moved deeper to the forest, looking around for monsters that fit his current criterion.


    Of course, while looking for a monster at Level 14 and above, he did not pass up on wandering Level 13 monsters, killing four more monsters at that level before finally finding what seemed to be the ideal target he had in mind. Hiding behind a tree, he eyed a bear that was quite a distance away from him, which seemed to be idly gazing at the river before it.


    With spiky ck fur and a silver stripe running along its back, the bear before him exuded a level of power he wasn''t expecting. ''That''s weird, shouldn''t the feeling I''m getting from a monster like this only be marginally stronger than a Level 13 monster?''


    Curious, Valyr went ahead and identified the bear through the system. However, once he read through the system''s words, all color was drained off his face as he silently moved away from the premises.


    "There''s no way in hell am I going to face off against an Elite!"


    Ding!


    [Level 14 | Silver-striped Bear (Elite)]


    Just like how variant sses existed, which dictated the level of strength a being wielded at a certain ss, variants also existed among the monsters one coulde across, the weakest and the mostmon variant among them being the Elite monster.


    Unlike a normal monster, an Elite monster had stats that were 25% higher than a normal monster at the same level. Even though Valyr had almost all of his stats in the low 20s, he knew for a fact that he wouldn''t be a match for an Elite monster, considering that their important stats were most likely at least twice as high as his.


    Hastily running away from the Elite monster he had passed by, Valyr went ahead and searched for monsters at that level that weren''t Elite. However, no matter how much he tried, all of the monsters at that level and above were considered Elite, with one of them even being a variant far more dangerous than a normal Elite.


    Ding!


    [Level 15 | Windw Wolf (Umon Elite)]


    Although it was only the addition of a prefix, an Umon Elite monster was far more terrifying than a normal Elite, with inexperienced yers even 5 levels above it bing its prey. After all,pared to an Elite, an Umon Elite had stats 50% greater than a normal monster of the same level, which was enough for yers and NPCs alike to be wary of their existence.


    Much less to say for Rare Elites and above.


    Eventually realizing that every monster he came across that was Level 14 or 15 was an Elite monster, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh and settle for Level 13 monsters. Including the first five he killed beforeing across his first Elite, he had killed a total of 50 Level 13 monsters by the time the sun was about to set,ting him about 39,000 XP.


    Taking a seat on a decently sized boulder, Valyr went ahead and looked at the amount of experience he currently had, being left at a slight loss for words as he noticed that he had amassed close to 50,000 XP within these past two days.


    "Surely, this is more than enough to raise my level up to the limit, right?" Hoping for the best, he then went ahead and allocated all of his XP towards leveling up. Fortunately, by the time he had reached Level 9, he still had enough XP left over for the final prompt, allowing a light smile to appear on his face.


    Ding!


    [12,260 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 10.]


    [All of your stats have been increased by 1 point.]


    [You have gained 1 unassigned stat point.]


    [You have reached the level limit of your current ss. To increase this limit, it is highly advised for you to ascend to a higher ss.]


    [Would you like to ascend?]

 Chapter 37 Return To Astarto Village

    "No. I haven''t even gotten all of the skills for the variant ss I''m aiming for yet." Unsurprisingly, after reading the notification of having to advance to level up further, Valyr declined the prompt, saving the ascension for the time he had gathered all of the skills he wanted. "In the meantime, I should really return to the vige as soon as possible."


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest''s requirements for ''An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (1).'' Head to Tristan to receive your rewards.]


    Receiving a notification that his quest with Tristan had finally beenpleted, Valyr stood up and took in a deep breath, slightlymenting the fact that he wouldn''t be able to carry some of the corpses he killed if he wanted to return as swiftly as possible. However, he ced the matter at the back of his head, dashing forward in the direction of Astarto Vige not long after.


    Whoosh!


    With the slight increase to his AGI thanks to reaching the level limit, the speed at which Valyr ran through the ins was significantly faster than before. At some point, he was curious as to what his current stats now looked like, only to recall that he still had 10 unassigned stat points he could allocate.


    "Since the variant ss needs me to both have a high DEX and INT, then it''s no surprise as to how I''m allocating," Valyr muttered as he allocated five points each to both stats. Soon, he opened up his status screen in his peripheral vision, whistling in admiration as he subconsciously hastened his pace from excitement.


    "Now that''s a status screen!"


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 10 (ascend to increase level limit)


    Power Level: 225 (C++)


    Unused XP: 20,171


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 250/250


    MP: 300/300


    Stats: 25 VIT, 25 STR, 25 AGI, 30 DEX, 30 INT, 25 WIS, 25 PER, 15 LUK (0 unassigned points)


    Remarks: You''re definitely an anomaly.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Slightly surprised that he still had over 20,000 XP left over from leveling up, Valyr could not help but let out a peal of lightughter. "What a perfect coincidence. After I hand in the quest to Tristan and receive the [Analysis] skill, I''ll use the XP I have to level it up, finally allowing me to gauge my enemies beforehand."


    "Of course, it''ll also finally allow me to check the details of other things, which is definitely handy since it''s a given that I''m going to handle a ton of items as a cksmith," he continued, allowing his mind to wander for a bit as he daydreamed about being able to handle precious materials in the future. "Then again, although it''s be normal in theter versions, having a power level of C+ while still being Rank 0 is definitely a weird feeling."


    In Greater Beyond, the general method for NPCs to figure out other people''s strengths aside from using [Analysis] is by obtaining their power level from a reputable organization. With that in mind, the lowest grade one could obtain was C, which was given to people who hadn''t begun leveling up, or those that were on their way to leveling up. After that was C+, a power level normally given to those that had just broken through to Rank 1 or were in the process of progressing through their Rank 1 ss.


    After that was C++, which was normally given to those who had broken through to their Rank 2 ss, with a power level of B being given to those that were more or less halfway to reaching the peak of Rank 2. After that was A, S, SS, SSS, and X, each having their own separate stages simr to the previously mentioned grades. Although more grades existed after X++, where beings were already considered existences that could traverse the darkness of space on their own, those were all still far away from the current Valyr.


    "Well, I wouldn''t have probably reached Level 10 this quick if not for the level disparity system. Then again, there was also the fact that monsters from Level 11 onwards have a different system for XP gain," he continued, his body trembling with excitement from recalling how he had amassed close to 40,000 XP in just one day.


    As the first 10 levels were considered the tutorial phase in Greater Beyond, the amount of XP gained from killing monsters at these levels reflected this nature, with each increase in level garnering an arbitrary increase to the amount of XP one would get.


    However, once one went past this point and entered the true world of Greater Beyond, the amount of XP they would gain was significantly higher. After all, unlike the arbitrary increase one would notice from Level 1 to 10 monsters, the XP one would obtain from killing a certain monster was equivalent to a portion of the XP needed for a being to level up to the monster''s level, specifically a hundredth of the XP necessary to level up.


    With that and the level disparity system working together, it was no surprise that Valyr was able to amass a great amount of XP in such a small amount of time, though he was certain that his needs for XP would only get worse with time.


    ¡­


    By the time Valyr had returned to Astarto Vige, the moon was already halfway to reaching its peak. Gasping for air in exhaustion, he then took in a few deep breaths before passing through the vige gates as he made his way back to the barracks.


    Unexpectedly, while on his way there, he came across one of the guards that were on night patrol, thetter being slightly surprised to see a person still walking along the streets at this time. However, once the guard figured out who the person passing by was, a light smile could not help but adorn his face as he came closer. "Valyr!"


    "Oh? If it isn''t Jonas," said Valyr with a chuckle before giving Jonas a quick embrace. "How have you been?"


    "I''m doing fine," Jonas replied with a light smile. "Leon and Louie didn''t join me for night patrol today, so it''s just me and a few other guards doing the patrolling."


    "In any case, I shouldn''t be the one asking that question," he continued. "How have you been? To be honest, we were surprised Damian allowed you to leave the vige to head somewhere, even though the monster tide ising up in a week."


    "I''ve been doing fine as well," Valyr said with a nod. "As for the reason why he allowed me to leave¡­"


    Whoosh!


    All of a sudden, an overbearing pressure emanated from Valyr, prompting Jonas to take a few steps back as he looked at the man before him with widened eyes. "What the hell¡­"


    "You''ve only been away for a couple days, but you''ve gotten this strong?" Jonas could not help but exim. "What the hell have you been doing outside the vige for the past couple days, Valyr?"


    "Let''s just say I''ve been staking my life out there, battling foes I shouldn''t be battling at my current level." Leaving those words for Jonas to think about, Valyr went ahead and continued walking towards the barracks, making his way to Damian''s office.


    ¡­


    Seeing that the light behind the door was still open, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief. ''Thankfully, I don''t have to wait till morning, unlike with Tristan''s quest. I''m pretty sure that guy''s already deep asleep.''


    With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up the notification he had received just as he had entered the vige.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Return to Astarto Vige. Head to Damian to receive your rewards.]


    ''I guess the other reason why Damian gave me this quest is to find out the results of my journey, huh.'' Thinking about this, a slightly mischievous grin appeared on his face as he knocked on the door before him. ''Well, he''s going to be in for a big surprise.''


    "Come in."

 Chapter 38 Getting Rewards

    Just like any other time he entered Damian''s office, Valyr was greeted by the sight of the man before him sifting through various documents on his desk, all with a pensive expression on his face. Closing the door before him, Valyr waited for Damian to finish what he was doing, deciding to take a seat on a nearby chair.


    Fortunately, he did not have to wait that long, with Damian neatly arranging the documents he was going through on the side a couple minutester. With that, he looked at Valyr, who, at first nce, instantly made Damian''s pupils shrink in surprise as he did not expect Valyr to return to the vige this early. There was still some time before the monster tide, after all.


    "Did you finish what you needed to do?" Damian asked.


    Nodding, Valyr replied, "Yeah. I''m finally Level 10."


    Just as Damian was about to ask a question that seemed to be a natural follow-up to his words, Valyr interrupted him, telling him, "If I''m thinking what you''re thinking, then no. I haven''t ascended yet."


    "You haven''t?" At this moment, Damian''s mouth could not help but go agape, certain that Valyr had undergone through his ascension to Rank 1. After all, that alone would exin the feeling he felt from Valyr at the moment.


    To him, Valyr seemed to emanate the feeling that he was only slightly inferior in power, if not his equal.


    ''You''re telling me he hasn''t ascended yet, but he already exudes a level of powerparable to those at the peak of Rank 1?'' With this thought circling around his mind, Damian could not help but scratch his head, wondering how such a man like Valyr ended up in this vige with his talent. ''For him to have the power of a Rank 1 while still at Rank 0, there''s no saying what kind of achievements he might aplish in the future.''


    ''I guess it''s the Astarto Vige''s good luck that he decided to stay here.'' With that in mind, a genuine smile appeared on Damian''s face as he let out a light chuckle, surprising Valyr as he hadn''t seen the man before himugh before. Nevertheless, Valyr knew that Damian wouldn''tugh like that for a reason.


    ''Is it because he''s relieved that there''s finally another person in the vige with power on par with a Rank 1?'' Valyr thought to himself. ''After all, the more people with power on par with a Rank 1 ss holder, the better our chances at winning the monster tide.''


    If Damian were to hear Valyr''s thoughts right now, then he would have nodded in agreement, saying that he would be correct. However, that was only one reason as to why he chuckled. Instead, the main reason why he let out a chuckle was the relief he felt after realizing Valyr''s monstrous potential, thinking that if Valyr were continued growing at this pace, then the safety of their vige would be more or less guaranteed.


    Clearing his throat to catch Valyr''s attention, Damian looked at Valyr directly in the eye before saying, "Although I''m curious as to why you haven''t ascended yet, that''s something I shouldn''t be privy to. After all, every person has their own for choosing what they did."


    "However, I should reward you for your loyalty to the vige, considering that I haven''t attached any reward to the quest I gave you." After saying those words, a screen appeared in front of Damian''s field of vision, prompting him to interact with it for a bit as a notification sound resounded in Valyr''s mind soon after.


    Ding!


    [The quest ''Return to Astarto Vige'' has been modified by the quest giver.]


    [You have received 1,000 XP.]


    [You have received 200 contribution points.]


    [You have received 200 merit points.]


    Looking through the notifications he had received, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen slightly as he looked at Damian, who looked at him with a light smile on his face. "Consider it a thanks from me that you''ve upheld your promise."


    "Anyways, I won''t have you stay here any further. You''re free to leave," he said soon after. "Just remember to not leave the vige for the next week."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Valyr nodded, turning around before leaving the office. "Thank you, Damian."


    With that, Valyr left the premises as Damian looked at fleeting silhouette for a bit with a smile. While Damian returned to his work, Valyr made a quick detour to the cafeteria to grab a slightly heavy meal, considering that he hadn''t eaten lunch nor dinner yet. After he felt that his hunger was satiated, he then went to his dormitory and took a quick shower, changing into a fresh set of loose clothes sometimeter.


    Lying down on his bed, Valyr allowed the exhaustion he had been enduring so far to envelop his body as he eventually fell into a deep sleep.


    ¡­


    Once morning had arrived, Valyr gradually opened his eyes, feeling that his body had more energy in it than ever before. Although he wondered why he felt more awake than any previous morning, Valyr eventually thought that it had something to do with the drastic increase in his stats as he took a quick shower.


    After getting out of the shower, he changed into a set of clean clothes before affixing the bloodied spear he had dropped on the floorst night to his back, feeling that his connection with it seemed to be growing, though it felt somewhat intangible. Nevertheless, he ced those thoughts at the back of his head as he recalled the main reason why he woke up early.


    With that in mind, he left the barracks at a slightly brisk pace, deciding to forgo breakfast for now as thepletion of Tristan''s quest was more important to his eyes.


    Eventually, just as the sun had fully peaked out of the horizon, Valyr had arrived at the vige smithy, the doors of which were just opened by the man that lived in the smithy.


    Still somewhat groggy, Tristan looked at the man that had appeared in front of the smithy before it was officially open, only to realize that he recognized the man somehow. After a few seconds, his consciousness eventually became fully alert as his eyes widened in surprise. "V-V¡­ Valyr?"


    "It''s been quite some time since we''vest met, but I''ve aplished your quest," said Valyr with a grin, letting Tristan feel a hint of the power he currently held.


    Naturally, with the power he felt from Valyr, Tristan quickly noticed that Valyr''s current power exceeded what was possible for a Rank 0 to wield. With that, it was no surprise that he asked him, "Did you ascend to Rank 1?"


    "Not yet." Valyr shook his head. Nevertheless, Tristan was still somewhat skeptical.


    "[Analysis]," Tristan muttered a few secondster, his eyes gaining a light blue tint to it as mana swirled around his eyes. A few secondster, this light blue tint disappeared as his mouth went slightly ck-jawed. "To think you''re actually still Level 10¡­"


    "I did say the truth." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "It was you who didn''t believe me."


    "My doubts have reasons to them, alright?" Tristan slightly frowned. "After all, who would believe a Rank 0 ss holder to have a level of power equivalent to someone at Rank 1? What kind of experience did you even go through?"


    Just as Tristan thought Valyr would answer his question, Valyr instead beat around the bush, making Tristan feel somewhat disappointed. "An experience that allowed me to reach my current level of power, of course."


    "Anyways, give me the rewards for the quest."

 Chapter 39 Exploring The Technology Tree

    "You could''ve waited until the smithy was fully set up, no?" Tristan let out a light sigh.


    "And risk reducing the rewards I''d get from finishing early? Not a chance," said Valyr in response, making Tristan shrug his shoulders in indifference. After all, he understood where Valyr was getting at, recalling he had a phase like that as well in the far past.


    With that, Tristan opened up his screen and interacted with it for a bit, prompting a notification sound to resound within Valyr''s mind. Though, at the very moment he looked at it, a frown could not help but appear on his face as he looked at Tristan, who looked back at him with a light yet mischievous chuckle. "At the very least, you can''tin that I''m intentionally reducing the time remaining from the quest."


    Ding!


    [The remaining time for the quest ''An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (1)'' has been frozen by the quest giver.]


    "Can''t you just give me the rewards for the quest right now?" Valyr could not help but ask after looking at the notification.


    "I could, but I''d rather eat breakfast first," Tristan replied as he lightly scratched his stomach. Seeing Tristan''s action, Valyr''s stomach could not help but rumble, prompting a light grin to appear on Tristan''s face. "It seems you''ve forgone breakfast just to get the rewards as soon as possible, eh?"


    "Well¡­" Valyr scratched his head in response, letting out an awkward chuckle after being caught red-handed. Looking at Tristan with an awkward smile, he then suggested, "How about we get some breakfast, then?"


    "Now you''re speaking mynguage." Unsurprisingly, Tristan agreed to the suggestion, following Valyr as they headed to a nearby ce that sold hot food in the morning. While eating their respective breakfasts, Tristan went ahead and asked Valyr what he had done to reach Level 10 so quickly, to which Valyr recounted what he had during the past few days outside the vige. Of course, Tristan could not help but look at Valyr with surprise written all over his face after that, wondering what kind of courage Valyr had to face against high-leveled monsters with his current level.


    Nevertheless, with some of his curiosity satisfied and his hunger satiated, Tristan didn''t really have muchints after that.


    After paying for their respective breakfasts, the two of them returned to the smithy and went inside, allowing Valyr to see a glimpse of the smithy that wouldn''t normally be seen by peopleing by. Without the roaring fire zing within the furnace, there was a slightly chilling feeling to the entire sight before him, making him feel as if the smithy was abandoned.


    While Valyr was engrossed in the current sight, Tristan went ahead and opened his screen once more, interacting with it as he told Valyr, "Before I go change into my work clothes, let me give you the rewards from the quest."


    "Since you''ve aplished it far earlier than I thought you would, I''ll give thrice the rewards I initially promised," he continued, a notification sound resounding within Valyr''s mind as he snapped back to reality soon after.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (1)''. Remaining time: 11 days, 9 hours, 11 minutes, 9 seconds.]


    [Due to your spectacr performance, the quest giver has decided to triple your rewards.]


    [Your affinity with Tristan has increased by 150 points. Current rtionship: Friend.]


    [Your reputation in Astarto Vige has increased by 450 points. Current reputation: Well-known.]


    [You have received 7500 XP.]


    [You have received 45 Technology Points.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Analysis''.]


    With a smile adorning Valyr''s face after receiving the rewards, Tristan told Valyr to wait in the smithy for a while as he changed into his work clothes, leaving thetter to his own devices.


    "I finally got my hands on [Analysis]," Valyr muttered with slight glee,manding the system to allocate all of the XP he had towards upgrading the skill to as high it could go.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 19,199 XP to upgrade ''Analysis'' to Level 7?]


    As his eyes slightly widened in surprise at the fact that he had enough XP to raise [Analysis] to such a high level, Valyr went ahead and confirmed the prompt, deducting close to 20,000 XP from the XP he still left untouched as a small influx of information entered his mind sometimeter.


    Quickly processing and organizing the information he had received in his mind, he thenmanded the system to show him information regarding his newly upgraded [Analysis] skill. Not long after, a screen appeared in front of his field of vision, prompting a satisfied smile to appear on his face as he through its contents.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Analysis] (Level 7/10)


    Rarity: Common


    To understand the world around oneself is to be curious towards everything in one''s surroundings. To seek greater knowledge is to peer through the curtain shrouding everything in existence. This skill allows the user to obtain detailed information on whatever target the user is using the skill on. The depth of the information obtained is reliant on the skill''s level, as well as the resistance of the target towards the skill.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Although there existed variants of [Analysis] that allowed one to obtain far more detailed information, the reason why this skill was hailed as the utility skill all yers and NPCs needed to have was due to the fact that it did not consume any mana to activate the skill, with the only downside being less information. However, that was easily remedied by upgrading and evolving the skill to its higher rarities, something every being did when they got their hands on [Analysis].


    "Let''s try it out," Valyr muttered to himself as he closed the skill description screen, unfurling the fabric tied around his torso to grab the spear affixed behind his back. Looking at the wooden spear before him with dried blood covering most of its surface, he then activated the skill. "[Analysis]."


    Ding!


    For a brief moment, a light blue tint covered Valyr''s eyes as he felt that his vision could peer through the surface of the spear, allowing him to view the very molecules that made up the spear he held. However, this feeling was ephemeral at best, disappearing a few secondster as a screen containing information on the wooden spear he held soon appeared.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Wooden Spear] (Level 1)


    Rarity: Common


    Attack: 4-7


    A spear given to those newly enlisted with the vige guards of Astarto Vige, being deemed by most people as a training weapon until one could afford a proper weapon. Nevertheless, the material it is made of and the level of attention to it allows it to keep up in battles somewhat.


    Remarks: You have outgrown this spear. It is rmended you change to another spear.


    *A rudimentary connection could be faintly sensed between the spear and the user. It is rmended to keep using the spear to solidify this connection.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So the connection I was feeling from the spear sometime ago wasn''t just my imagination, huh?" Reading thest few lines on the screen, Valyr could not help but look at the spear he held, a hint of excitement in his eyes. Although it might not seem much at the moment, he knew that this connection was incredibly importantter on. In fact, in his previous life, a deep connection with one''s weapon was one of the requirements for one to be part of the frontlines in the final battle, something Valyr had achieved easily thanks to him being a cksmith.


    "In any case, since it''s going to be difficult to cultivate a connection with another weapon this early on, I''ll stick with this spear for now. After all, I''m pretty sure there''s still a lot this spear has to give," he muttered, looking at the spear with a light smile. Soon after, Valyr closed the screen before him as he affixed the spear behind his back once more. Coincidentally, Tristan had appeared in front of Valyr at that moment, now in his work clothes.


    With a light smile, he told Valyr, "Before I give you your next task, let us tackle something else first. After all, you more or less need to ess it if you want to continue."


    "And that would be?" Valyr raised his eyebrow, only for excitement to cover his face as he heard Tristan''s response.


    "The bread and butter of any cksmith, of course." Tristan grinned.


    "The Technology Tree."

 Chapter 40 An Unexpected Task

    Whoosh!


    Just as he had finished saying those words, arge screen appeared in front of Tristan, which he turned around to allow Valyr to see what was on his screen. To no surprise, Valyr''s mouth went slightly agape at the sight before him, not expecting Tristan to have already gotten so far even though he had just recently ascended to Rank 2.


    ''Aside from the progress he has made in the Combat Technology Tree, almost all of the necessary Basic advancements he would need until he reached Rank 5 has already been unlocked. On top of that, he''s already begun unlock Intermediate advancements,'' Valyr could not help but think to himself, wondering how the man before him had obtained so much Technology Points even though he was still at a low rank.


    As someone who took the cksmith ss in his previous life, Valyr knew very well that the progression in the Technology Tree, specifically the Production and Innovation branches of the Technology Tree, was what mostly dictated the limits of a cksmith. Although it would seem easy to progress through those two branches at first, with each advancement only needing a couple points at most, once one continued to progress further and further into their respective trees, it wouldn''t be a surprise if one needed hundreds to thousands of Technology Points just to advance one level. Naturally, the same could be said for the Combat Technology Tree, which also contained its own unique quirks and bottlenecks.


    Nevertheless, that was the reason why he looked at Tristan''s Technology Tree with a slightly agape mouth, to which thetter misinterpreted as awe and surprise, but mostly curiosity towards what Valyr was looking at. Closing up the screen, Tristan went ahead and exined to him, "What I''ve shown to you is the Technology Tree, specifically, the Technology Tree that you might have in the future."


    "There are three major branches to the Technology Tree: Combat, Production, and Innovation. However, as a cksmith, you''ll allocate most of your points towards the Production and Innovation branch," he continued. "Now, open up your Technology Tree and head to the Production branch."


    Lightly nodding in response to those words, Valyr went ahead and did what he was told, prompting a screen to appear before him not long after.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Technology Tree | Production Branch]


    Avable Technology Points: 45


    - <Basic Understanding: cksmithing Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock


    - <Basic Understanding: Alchemy Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock


    ¡­


    - <Basic Understanding: Tailoring Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At that moment, a great plethora of choices appeared before him, forming a long list of things he could unlock if he ever so chose to. Seeing Valyr''s engrossed expression as he looked at the screen, Tristan went ahead and snapped him back to reality. "Now, I want you to unlock <Basic Understanding: cksmithing>. After that, try to unlock the things  that appear after that."


    "Alright." Inwardly nodding in response to those words, Valyr did what he told, consuming a Technology Point to unlock the thing Tristan told him to unlock.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: cksmithing Lv. 1>.]


    [As you have met the prerequisites, you have unlocked the following advancements: <Basic Fire Control Lv. 1>, <Basic Material Knowledge Lv. 1>, <Basic Equipment Knowledge Lv. 1>, <Basic Forging Lv. 1>, <Basic Enhancement Lv. 1>.]


    As he read through the notification he had received, he spared a bit of his attention towards the Technology Tree, noticing that five smaller branches had extended out of the advancement he had unlocked, a somewhat surprised expression appearing on his face because of that.


    Simultaneously, on the inside, Valyr could not help but let out a groan, feeling that their pace in exploring the Technology Tree was incredibly slow. Of course, he knew that he could setup his Technology Tree to the point that it would allow him to start forging equipment as soon as possible. After all, his memories from his past life were still intact for the most part, including the part where he went through the necessary advancements in his Technology Tree.


    However, even though he had shown Tristan that he had the talent and potential, thetter only knew him as that. He did not know that the knowledge and the experience of an expert cksmith at all. With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and used one Technology Point each on the advancements that had just been unlocked, knowing that these advancements wouldn''t unlock as he had to unlock a few advancements on the Innovation branch before that.


    Ding!


    Sure enough, a notification appeared in front of him soon after, telling him the same exact thing he had in mind while unlocking the five advancements.


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c [You do not meet the necessary prerequisites to unlock the advancement.]


    "Tristan, it says that I don''t meet the necessary prerequisites," Valyr said, to which Tristan lightly smiled in response. It was as if he was waiting for Valyr to say those words.


    "Now, you might be wondering: What do I need to unlock since there''s nothing else to unlock in the Production branch?" said Tristan soon after.


    As Valyr nodded, he then replied with a grin, "Well, here''s the thing. The reason why I told you that a cksmith''s Technology Tree will mostly focus on progression between the Production and Innovation branch is because¡­ you can''t progress in the Production branch if you advance enough in your Innovation branch!"


    Knowing what kind of expression Tristan wanted to see, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he headed to the Innovation branch of his Technology Tree. Looking at the advancements that he could currently unlock on the Innovation branch, Valyr could not help but look at Tristan and tell him, "But there''s only one advancement here."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Technology Tree | Innovation Branch]


    Avable Technology Points: 44


    - <Basic Knowledge: Paleolithic Age Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan lightly chuckled. "Go ahead and unlock it. You''ll see."


    As a curious expression appeared on Valyr''s face, he spent one Technology Point on the only advancement avable on the Innovation branch, a notification sound resounding in his mind soon after.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Paleolithic Age Lv. 1>.]


    [As you have met the prerequisites, you have unlocked the following advancements: <Basic Knowledge: Neolithic Age Lv. 1>, <Basic Fire Making Lv. 1>, <Basic Stone Knowledge Lv. 1>, and more.]


    Watching multiple branches extend out of the unlocked advancement in slight shock, Valyr looked at Tristan with faux surprise, giving off the feeling that he was wondering how thetter knew something like that was going to happen.


    Although Valyr already knew, Tristan went ahead and exined in a slightly prideful tone. "It may not seem like it, but the advancement you just unlocked is the first advancement every being will unlock in the Innovation branch if they want to progress through the various levels of technology. It''s just like how unlocking <Basic Understanding: cksmithing> would allow you to progress through the levels of mastery in cksmithing."


    "Anyways, since you now know the basics of progressing through the Technology Tree, go ahead and unlock the necessary advancements from the Innovation branch so you can unlock the ones on the Production branch," he continued. "In fact, that''s the reason why I gave out a reward of 15 Technology Points on the quest since there''s so much to unlock before we can really start forging."


    "Well, you did get triple the rewards from that quest, so it''s up to you on how you allocate the remaining Technology Points you have after that." Tristan shrugged his shoulders once he was done. Just as he was about to head to the furnace at the back of the smithy, Tristan stopped in his footsteps before turning to look back at Valyr, who was going through the various advancements on the Technology Tree.


    "You know what? Let me give you your next task while you do that." With that, a screen appeared in front of Tristan and interacted with it. A few secondster, a notification sound echoed in Valyr''s mind as he went ahead and opened it.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (2).]


    Just as he had begun reading through the quest''s description, his eyes could not help but widen in shock as he could not help but look at Tristan.


    "Are you serious?! I don''t even know how to wield a hammer properly!"

 Chapter 41 A Blacksmith At Work

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (2)] (Linked Quest)


    Difficulty: D


    As you have met the ideal requirements Tristan has for any person that wishes to embark on the path of cksmithing, he has introduced you to the system any cksmith would eventually be well-acquainted with, the Technology Tree.


    Since you have shown a spectacr performance in the previous quests he has given you, he is certain that you''ll be able to surprise him one more time. However, unlike the previous quests, there''s no race against time. He knows very well that what he asks for is beyond what you can currently do, but he''s certain that, with enough time, you''ll be able to do it.


    Depending on how well you seed in your task, he might give you more than what you bargained for.


    Quest Requirements:


    > Forge a piece of equipment (0/1)


    Quest Rewards: Affinity +80 with Tristan, 5,000 XP, 25 Technology Points, a set of Common grade blueprints


    Quest Penalty: Affinity -100 with Tristan, Level -2, end of the quest line


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Is there something wrong with the quest?" Tristan asked as he slightly tilted his head in confusion. In his mind, he was certain that Valyr would receive the quest he had just given him quite well. In fact, he thought that Valyr would be eager to start as soon as possible. However, the shock written all over thetter''s face as he frowned said otherwise.


    "There''s nothing wrong with the quest." Valyr shook his head, taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "But don''t you think it''s too early to give me a quest like this? Shouldn''t I have gotten a quest from you where I hone my hammering skills first or something? I haven''t even wielded a hammer before."


    "To be honest, that was what I nned to give you as my second quest," Tristan said in response, heading towards the furnace to start a fire. Kneeling to get deeper into the furnace, he continued, "But then I thought, since you''vepleted all of the quests I''ve given you so far in a small amount of time, I eventually thought a quest like that would seem useless for you."


    "With that, I''ve decided to skip the part where I have you be familiar with wielding a hammer and have you start forging a piece of equipment instead." As he said this, a small fire finally started to burn inside the furnace, prompting him to take a few steps back before chucking a couple pieces of firewood into it. After nodding in satisfaction at the current size of the fire, he turned around to look at Valyr. "Of course, no race against time for this one. People have their own pace when ites to finally learning a new craft."


    "So, how about it? You up for the challenge?" Tristan asked as he headed to another part of the smithy, rummaging through boxes to eventually find a piece of metal that suited his needs. "If not, I could modify the quest for you."


    "You better be grateful I have experience forging already," Valyr could not help but murmur in response.


    "What was that?" Fortunately, as Tristan was in the middle of find a perfect piece of metal to forge with, he did not hear the words Valyr muttered.


    "I said sure. I''ll ept the challenge." Valyr let out a light sigh after that.


    "d to hear." Tristanughed as he made his way to the anvil, dropping the metal he had chosen on top of it before picking it up with a pair of tongs. Chucking the metal into the ripping hot furnace to heat it up, he ced the tongs to the side as he asked Valyr, "Have you finished unlocking all of the necessary advancements yet?"


    "Just about¡­ finished," Valyr replied, a notification screen appearing in front of him a few secondster.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the following advancements: <basic 1="" fire="" control="" lv.="">, <basic 1="" material="" knowledge="" lv.="">, <basic 1="" equipment="" knowledge="" lv.="">, <basic 1="" forging="" lv.="">, <basic 1="" enhancement="" lv.="">.]</basic></basic></basic></basic></basic>


    [Since you do not meet the minimum ss rank, Intermediate advancements on the Production Technology Tree have been sealed for the meantime.]


    [As you have unlocked <basic forging="">, you have gained the passive skill ''Basic Forging Mastery''.]</basic>


    [As you have unlocked <basic fire="" control=""> and <basic forging="">, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Equipment Creation''.]</basic></basic>


    [As you have unlocked <basic material="" knowledge=""> and <basic equipment="" knowledge="">, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Equipment Modification''.]</basic></basic>


    [As you have unlocked <basic enhancement="">, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Equipment Enhancement.'']</basic>


    After closing the notification screen, Valyr went ahead and opened up his skill list, a light chuckle escaping his mouth as he looked at the four additional skills he had obtained. Although all of them were still at Level 1, he could not help but feel like he was getting even closer to ascending to his desired Rank 1 ss.


    "Finally feeling like you''re getting one step closer to bing an actual cksmith, huh?" Tristan said as he heard Valyr chuckle, letting out a chuckle of his own soon after. "I know the feeling. Back when I unlocked those skills from the Technology Tree, I couldn''t help but feel excited as well."


    "Oh, it''s ready." Just as he was reminiscing about his past, Tristan picked up the metal he was heating up in the furnace with the tongs he had ced by the side earlier. After that, he ced it on the anvil, sitting in front of it as he picked up his trusty hammer.


    Ttang!


    Soon after, the sound of metal shing against metal could be heard filling up the entire smithy, which had a somewhat melodic tone to it. While hammering away, Tristan looked at Valyr and asked, "Hey, Valyr. If you''re not busy today, wanna watch me forge a weapon from scratch? After all, that''s the task I''ve given you on the quest."


    "Sure, why not? I''m free for the whole day anyway." Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response, standing beside Tristan to get the best view of the entire forging process. While watching Tristan work the metal, he could not help butpare it to how he worked with metal in his previous life. ''He''s definitely not wasting any movements whatsoever. On top of that, I could feel his enthusiasm and passion for cksmithing with each hit.''


    "Before forging a weapon out of metal, you first have to heat it up in a furnace so it bes more malleable. After that, you hammer away on it, gradually molding it to take on the form of the weapon you want," Tristan said in the middle of him hammering. "Of course, after some time, the metal eventually cools down, so you have to put it back into the furnace before repeating the same process all over again."


    "All in all, that''s the essence of cksmithing," he said as he shrugged his shoulders, cing the metal he was hammering on back into the furnace. "For now, you should focus on those parts, the heating and the hammering, I mean. As for tempering and other processes, I''ll teach you that at ater time."


    "Speaking of which, once I''m done with this one, how about you try your hand at forging?" Tristan asked soon after.


    "Sure, why not?" In response, Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "Now that I think about it, why are you forging another weapon? Haven''t you forged a lot already?"


    "That may be true¡­" Tristan nodded. "However, I''m forging this weapon in preparation for the uing monster tide. Damian specifically requested me to forge one for him."


    "Eh? How did you know about the monster tide?" Of course, after listening to Tristan''s answer, Valyr''s focus wasn''t on the purpose of the forging anymore.


    Of course, in response to Valyr''s question, Tristan could not help but look at the young man beside him as if he was an idiot. "Valyr¡­ you do know I''m a Rank 2 ss holder, right?"


    "¡­ah."


    Only silence met Tristan''s question after that.

 Chapter 42 Trying It Out

    After the awkward end of that conversation, a deafening silence enveloped the two as only the sound of metal shing against metal broke it. Amidst the continuous switch between silence and mor, Valyr continued to watch Tristan mold the metal he was handling. At first, he was uncertain of what Tristan was trying to make, his only clue being the fact that he was ttening out the metal into a long sheet. Fortunately, now that about half an hour had passed since he had begun, the metal had taken on a more defined shape, finally allowing him to figure out what Tristan was making. ''The de of a broadsword.''


    "Does Damian use broadswords?" With that thought in mind, Valyr could not help but ask.


    "Have you not seen him in action yet?" Tristan asked back in response, looking at Valyr soon after. Seeing Valyr shake his head, a light grin could not help but appear on Tristan''s face. "If that''s the case, you''re going to be in for a treat once you see him in action during the monster tide."


    "He''s a monster with the broadsword," he continued, letting his muscle memory take over as he ced the metal into the furnace once more to make it more malleable. "I''ve been in this vige before Damian even became the leader of the vige guards, so I can say without a doubt that he''s probably one of the best, if not the best in the vige when ites to fighting with broadswords."


    "The only thing holding him back from showing his full power at the moment is the broadsword he''s currently wielding," Tristan said, prompting Valyr to focus a bit more attention to the de the former was forging. "It''s a de I forged for him under the behest of the previous guard leader. However, I made that de with a fledgling Rank 1 ss holder in mind."


    "If he gets his hands on this new de, I don''t know how powerful he''ll be." Finishing his piece, Tristan lightlyughed as he exerted more strength into each swing, finalizing the overall shape of the broadsword''s de. Eventually, with one final swing, Tristan looked at the de he had hammered topletion, wiping off the sweat on his forehead as he grinned.


    Picking it up, a faint luster could be seen on the surface as the light interacted with the metal. Checking it from various angles, Tristan nodded in satisfaction as he felt that the de he was holding was as perfect as it could be. cing it in the furnace once more to heat it up for tempering, Tristan looked back at the still standing Valyr and said, "Alright, this is probably the only thing I''ll be forging for today. With that, it''s your turn to try your hand at forging."


    "Take a seat." When Valyr heard those words, his mind could not help but go nk for a bit, wondering if all the experience he had rued in the past woulde back, just like how hisbat experience came back after all of the fighting he had gone through. Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, Valyr went ahead and sat down in front of the anvil, picking up the hammer Tristan had ced on its surface.


    "[Analysis]," Valyr muttered soon after, curious as to what kind of hammer Tristan wielded during forging.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Refined Forging Hammer] (Level 15)


    Rarity: Rare


    A forging hammer made with the finest metal Astarto Vige could offer. Although it might not seem like it, an experienced cksmith had put in a great amount of effort and passion into creating the hammer they wielded, increasing the sess rate of a creation by 7%.


    Remarks: You''re not worthy to hold this.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "You made this forging hammer yourself?" Valyr could not help but ask Tristan after reading through the item''s description.


    "Indeed, I did." Tristan nodded, continuing to keep an eye on the de he had put in the furnace. "In fact, it''smon for cksmiths to craft their own forging hammer, or any tool they need for that matter."


    "Anyways, here''s some copper for you to mold to your liking," he said, throwing a small block of copper towards Valyr. While waiting for the de to reach the optimal temperature for quenching, Tristan had rummaged for some copper beforehand in the same few boxes where he had gotten the metal he had used for his own forging.


    With the help of his high stats, Valyr caught the block of copper with ease, cing it on the anvil before looking at Tristan once more. Although he knew what to do with the piece of metal before him in terms of the process, there was something he needed to obtain from Tristan before he could really start. "Tristan, isn''t there like some sort of guide I can follow while forging?"


    "Ah! I almost forgot!" Hearing those words, Tristan pondered over it for a bit, only for his eyes to widen as he opened up his screen and interacted with it for a bit. Just as a notification sound resounded in his mind, he told Valyr, "I almost forgot that there''s one crucial step before you could start heating and hammering on metal¡­"


    "¡­which is to have a blueprint."


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the blueprint for ''Copper Dagger'' from Tristan Melphon.]


    As a surge of information entered Valyr''s mind, Tristan continued to exin. "Although it''s possible in the higher ss ranks to forge a weapon without following any blueprint whatsoever, for us at the lower ss ranks, it''s more or less mandatory for us to follow a blueprint. However, that does not mean we have to follow what the blueprints say to a tee. After all, it''s only there to serve as a guide."


    "Anyways, go ahead and start your attempt," Tristan said. "I still need to keep an eye on the de I''m heating up."


    Seeing as there were no more reasons for him to dy beginning the forging process, Valyr lightly nodded and grabbed a pair of tongs nearby, using it to pick up the copper that was given to him before cing it in the furnace.


    A couple of minutester, Valyr retrieved the copper from the furnace, hastening his pace by quite a bit as he knew the best time to hammer metal was when it was still glowing yellow-orange. With that, he sat down in front of the anvil and gripped the hammer tightly before raising to the air. And then¡­


    Ttang!


    With a decent level of strength, Valyr had done his first hit on the copper, causing an ever familiar sound to resound throughout the smithy as Tristan looked at everything with a light smile. Though, he could not watch for long as the de had reached its ideal temperature, prompting him to take it out before quenching it in a barrel of cold oil.


    Psssshhhh!


    While that was happening, Valyr continued to move his hand, gradually hammering the copper out into a tter shape. At the very first moment he had swung the hammer down, it was as if a dam had been burst open in his mind, allowing the experience he had in forging in his past life toe up to the surface as the way he wielded the hammer grew better and better with each swing.


    At some point, Valyr had found a rhythm of sorts, increasing the speed at which he hammered down on the copper.


    As he waited for the de to cool, Tristan took a look at Valyr to see how he was faring, inwardly chuckling as he imagined Valyr hammering the copper he gave him into a lump. Instead, what he saw was Valyr wielding the hammer as if it was an extension of his arm, hammering down on the metal as if each swing had a specific purpose. At that point, he could not help but let his jaw hang slightly as a question surfaced in his mind.


    ''Did I¡­ did I juste across a natural cksmith?''

 Chapter 43 A Natural... Or A Fraud?

    As he continued to watch Valyr hammer away on the copper, Tristan''s mouth went more and more agape from the shock he felt, wondering how a beginner like Valyr had such skill and finesse when it came to the hammer, considering how it was thetter''s first time wielding one.


    ''Did I¡­ did I inadvertentlye across a natural cksmith?'' he could not help but think to himself. However, the more he watched Valyr work the metal in front of him as if it was child''s y, the more certain he became of that thought.


    Although they were rare, natural cksmiths weren''t unheard of. Recalling his past where he was still an apprentice under a cksmith, Tristan remembered a time where he had met with a person at around the same age as him, who was being touted as the future face of cksmithing. Naturally, as he was still a young man, Tristan could not help but let his jealousy take over his rationality, eventually challenging that person into a duel on who could forge the better weapon.


    Because of that event, Tristan had been enlightened to the world of natural cksmiths, people who seemed to have a natural talent for cksmithing, as if it was their purpose in life to be one. Unsurprisingly, the person he had challenged was one of those natural cksmiths, their final product being a weapon that was one rarity higher than what he had produced.


    Now having grown from that phase, Tristan could not help but feel giddy that he was going to be the teacher of a natural cksmith, letting his mind wander about as he wondered how renowned Valyr''s name would be in the years toe. Though, as he thought about it, there was also another possibility Valyr could be aside from a natural cksmith. Thinking about this other possibility, Tristan''s eyes could not help but darken as he thought, ''Either he''s a natural¡­ or he''s just hiding all of the past experience he actually has on cksmithing before deciding to learn under me.''


    If Valyr were to hear what was going on in Tristan''s mind at the moment, Valyr would probably tell him that he was somewhat correct, considering that he did have past experience in cksmithing¡­


    In his past life, that is.


    Nevertheless, the more Tristan thought about it, the more usible it seemed. ''The way he''s wielding the hammer feels like he already has experience wielding it beforehand. On top of that, the way he''s hammering the metal feels like there''s purpose and intent behind each one. It doesn''t feel erratic or anything¡­''


    Eventually, he let out a light sigh. ''There''s no reason for me toe to hasty conclusions. Now that I think about it, Valyr came to me with his Technology Tree still locked, so there''s a higher chance he''s a natural instead of being a fraud. Then again, who knows if that''s really the case?''


    ''I''ll just have to find that out on my own.'' With that thought in mind, Tristan removed the de from the barrel before inspecting it once more. Nodding in satisfaction at how the de turned out, he ced it by the side for now, deciding to postpone sharpening the de after Valyr was done with his attempt.


    Coincidentally, at that very moment, Valyr realized that he had gotten too engrossed in hammering the metal as he allowed his past experience to take over. Shifting the gear into manual, he slowed down his pace considerably, noticing that the metal before him had roughly taken on the shape of the dagger in the blueprint Tristan gave him, with some spots even showing detail not seen in the blueprint.


    ''I almost forgot this is supposed to be my first attempt at forging,'' Valyr thought, inwardly cursing at himself for getting engrossed. Though, not long after, he inwardly let out a sigh, recalling that it had been a long time since he hadst forged something. In fact, thest time he had forged something was about a year and a half before the final battle, which was more or less a reason as to why Valyr had be engrossed in forging out of nowhere.


    ''Although I could show that I definitely have the skills for it, the worst thing I can do is show that I can sessfully forge something on my first attempt,'' he inwardly muttered, his hammering bing more and more sloppy as time passed. ''If I do that, Tristan will definitely be suspicious.''


    ''In fact, I think he already is.'' As he took a quick nce at Tristan, wondering if thetter was still in the process of tempering the de he had forged, he instead saw Tristan staring at him intently, which could not help but make Valyr feel a little bit nervous.


    Thankfully, with a few deep breaths, he was able to calm his nerves down, allowing him to continue heating and hammering the metal before him, though at a much slower pace than before.


    "Hey, Tristan. When Damian asked you if you could help defend the vige against the monster tide, were you against the idea at first?" At some point, Valyr asked this question to Tristan, finding a slower, yet more understandable rhythm to work with.


    Surprisingly, Tristan shook his head at the question, moving closer to Valyr to get a better view of his progress. "I wasn''t against the idea. In fact, when I heard about the monster tide, I thought it would be nice if I could help out."


    "Eh? But wouldn''t it be more beneficial for you to just keep crafting weapons instead of fighting against the monsters?" Valyr asked in response, the dagger before him seemingly only needing a few dozen more hits to beplete.


    "If I was another cksmith, then I would''ve probably said yes," Tristan replied. "However, in my opinion, if you only keep crafting weapons but not take the time to experience yourself using them, the weapons you end up making are subpar, considering that the essence of the weapons aren''t in there. In my eyes, those who only craft weapons but not use them are the worst kinds of cksmiths."


    "Of course, you could probably say that I don''t practice what I preach, but I do," said Tristan afterwards as a bloodthirsty aura soon emanated from his body. "Although you may know of my main ss, which is an Experienced cksmith, I''m certain you don''t know about my subss yet."


    "Well, unlike other people''s subsses, which would most likely be a useful production ss, my subss is a battle ss, specifically a battle ss that focuses on using all means to defeat the enemy before you," Tristan said as he reined in his aura. "What''s the name of the subss, you might ask? Well, you could ask Damian¡­ or use [Analysis] on me, I don''t really care."


    "Anyways, finish that first,." Hearing those words from Tristan, Valyr refocused his attention on the piece of metal before him, hammering it at a few more spots with a bit of finesse. A few secondster, he looked at the progress he had made, a light smile adorning his face as he noticed that the dagger was a couple hits away from beingplete. However, as he recalled that he didn''t want Tristan to know he could sessfully forge something on his first attempt, he inwardly apologized to the metal before mming his hammer on it a few times at full strength, causing sizable dents to form on its surface.


    As he inwardly grimaced at the final product, Valyr lightly scratched his head as he ced the hammer he wielded by the side. Then, picking the dagger up, he gave it to Tristan, who had a slight frown on his face as he looked at what Valyr gave him.


    "Er¡­ I think this is done?"

 Chapter 44 Advent Of The Tide

    Looking at the deformed dagger that was given to him, Tristan could not help but have a light frown on his face as he tried to assess Valyr''s first attempt at forging. Trying to find the right words to say, he went silent for a couple of minutes before eventually opening his mouth. "Well, for your first attempt at forging something, I''d say this is pretty good."


    Hearing that, Valyr could not help but lightly smile in response, nodding. Though, while he listened to Tristan talk, he inwardly thought, ''If only sessfully forging something on the first try wasn''t suspicious. Sure, I could tell Tristan that me sessfully forging the dagger on the first try was a fluke, but he''d definitely catch on that I have experience in the long run.''


    "To be honest, your form at the start was superb," Tristan continued. "You had a stable rhythm going on. At the same time, you hammered down on the metal with great purpose and intent, something all cksmiths should aim to achieve during forging."


    Then, he let out a light sigh. "However, as time passed, it was as if I was watching another person hammering the metal entirely. You became sloppier, your rhythm became slower, your control over your strength became messier, in short, everything became worse."


    "If you stuck with your form at the start till the very end, then I would''ve been holding aplete copper dagger at the moment," Tristan said, prompting Valyr to look down. "Of course, there''s still a few more processes after that to truly make it a dagger, but you know what I mean."


    "At the start, I thought I was onto something, so I kept at it," Valyr said sometimeter, quicklying up with an excuse for his gradually worsening performance. "Though, as time passed, I became more and more unsure if what I was doing was correct, so I tried correcting myself. Near the end, I didn''t know if what I was doing was right anymore."


    As Valyr let out a sigh, Tristan looked at the dagger he was given once more before looking back at the man before him. After looking back and forth between the two for a while, he eventually gave Valyr a bit of advice. "Here''s the thing, Valyr. It''s impossible for us cksmiths to not second guess whether what we''re doing is wrong or right."


    "However, what separates true cksmiths from amateurs is the fact that true cksmiths don''t let their doubts waver them. They keep their doubts in mind, but they don''t act upon them. Instead, they follow through with their actions till they reach the end." Tristan looked at Valyr directly in the eye. Then, with a solemn expression, he told him, "What I''m saying is, have a bit more confidence in yourself, Valyr. Don''t let your doubts affect what you''re doing. Follow through your actions and see it to the end."


    As he listened to these words, Valyr could not help but nod in agreement, recalling the many other times he had heard these same words said to him in the past. Even though it seemed like such a piece of advice coulde naturally to any person, this part was what eluded most amateur cksmiths from bing cksmiths of their own right. In fact, it took Valyr a few months in his past life to fully understand this quote,mitting mistakes in the hundreds before his mind finally got into the right mindset.


    Unsurprisingly, with his vigor renewed by such advice, Valyr was eager to try his hand at forging once more. However, noticing the enthusiasm writing all over Valyr''s face, Tristan shook his head. "Although I''d like to have you practice your forging skills, we can''t really do that in the meantime."


    "Why''s that?" Valyr asked, wondering what was stopping Tristan from having him continue practicing.


    "Have you forgotten what''s gonna happen a few days from now?" In response, Tristan looked at him with a hint of confusion. "The monster tide? You''re not gonna sharpen yourbat skills or anything?"


    "Ah¡­" Rather than get a surprised expression from Valyr, what Tristan got instead was his indifference. "But that''s not really a reason to stop me from giving it a second shot, no?"


    "Valyr, there''s no time limit to your quest," Tristan reminded him. "You could focus on the quest after the monster tide, or if you want, pick it up after a month, I don''t care."


    "For now, we gotta focus on the uing monster tide. After all, what''s the point of your quest if there''s no smithy toe back to after it?"


    Hearing those words, it was a switch had been flipped on inside Valyr''s mind. Letting out a sigh, he looked at Tristan, his gaze somewhat pleading thetter to give him a second shot. Unfortunately for him, Tristan was adamant, shaking his head in refusal. With that, Valyr stood up from his seat and turned around to leave the smithy, his gait despondent.


    Of course, as Tristan watched Valyr walk out of the smithy in low spirits, he could not help but feel a bit bad for the guy''s enthusiasm. Eventually, with a light sigh and a scratch of his head, he told him, "How about this? I give you one attempt at forging every day until the monster tide. Then, once the monster tide passes and the smithy survives, you''re free to try your hand at forging as much as you want?"


    In that instant, the somewhat listless gaze on Valyr''s face from before had disappeared, turning into one filled with determination and perseverance as he looked back at Tristan with renewed vigor. "Deal!"


    Whoosh!


    With that, he left the smithy to return to the barracks, leaving a somewhat speechless Tristan alone in the smithy. For some reason, he could not help but feel like he had been yed with by Valyr.


    "Well, as long as it helps out defending the vige against the monster tide, I don''t mind." Shrugging his shoulders soon after, he then went to pick up the de he had tempered before cing it on top of the anvil. Now that the hard part was over, it was time for him to turn the de into an actual weapon.


    ¡­


    Once Valyr had returned to the barracks, he headed to the cafeteria to get some lunch. After he was done eating, he headed into the training field to hone his control over his spear, noticing that there were a lot more people than usual. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to realize that these were other people trying to get as much as improvement out of theirbat skills as possible before the monster tide arrived.


    After a couple of hours in the training field, he then went to his dormitory and rested, only to get up for the night patrolter that night.


    ? All in all, that was Valyr''s routine for the next four days. In the morning, he would head to the smithy and get an attempt at forging a dagger, then after some time, he would return to the barracks and spend some time in the training field before heading out on a patrolter that night.


    On the night before the supposed monster tide, Valyr checked his status screen and noticed that he still had about 10,000 XP left over. Recalling the rewards he would obtain from the quest rted to the monster tide, while at the same time thinking about how every ounce of power helped in making sure the smithy would be left unscathed, Valyr went ahead and upgraded the twobat skills he had.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 4433 XP to upgrade ''Pierce'' to Level 5?]


    [Would you like to spend 4433 XP to upgrade ''Basic Spear Mastery'' to Level 5?]


    "Yes." After epting the two prompts that had appeared before him, Valyr went ahead and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep in preparation for the onught that was about toe.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [The emergency quest ''Monster Tide'' has been activated!]


    [Head to the Astarto Vige''s walls as soon as possible!]

 Chapter 45 Monster Tide: Prelude

    "Mnnhh¡­" While still in the middle of his sleep, Valyr could not help but open his eyes, his consciousness still half-awake as he had been hearing the sounds of sirens for quite some time now. As his consciousness became more and more awake, he noticed how the sun''s rays hadn''t pierced through his window yet, which he took as a sign that meant he could still sleep in for a bit more. However¡­


    Weeeennnnggg!!!


    Just as his eyes were about to close once more, the sound of a ring siren resounded throughout the room once more, forcing his eyes to widen as his consciousness fully woke up because of it. With a frown, he sat up on his bed, wondering where the siren sound had beening from. Fortunately, the answer to his question was quickly obtained as multiple red screens filled withrge text appeared before him, all saying the same thing.


    Ding!


    [The emergency quest ''Monster Tide'' has been activated!]


    [Head to the Astarto Vige''s walls as soon as possible!]


    For a short while, Valyr looked at the words on the screens in silence, blinking in slight confusion. Though, not long after, realizing what the screens were trying to say, he closed all of the screens in front of him before quickly getting out of bed, hastily going through his morning routine before changing into a set of the vige guards'' uniform.


    Once he had confirmed that he had tied the wooden spear to his back tightly, he then went ahead and dashed towards the vige gates as fast as his AGI could take him, forgoing the notion of breakfast for now.


    ¡­


    After leaving the barracks in posthaste, he noticed the sky was still a deep and dark red, which meant that there was still some time before sunrise. Recalling how he thought he could still sleep in a few minutes earlier because the sun hadn''t fully risen yet, Valyr could not help but have the urge to p himself, only to rein it in soon after.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to arrive at the vige gates thanks to the streets still being devoid of people at this hour. Once he was near, he noticed that there were already a few people waiting by the gates, their expressions either anxious or nervous.


    "d to see you up, Valyr." By the time he arrived at the gates, Damian was the first one to greet him. In response, Valyr nodded, looking at the man before him as he had not seen him in this get-up before. Although Damian wore the vige guards'' uniform underneath, only a small bit of it poked out of the set of armor he wore, which gave him the feeling that he could battle with tens or hundreds of monsters and still leave unscathed.


    "I presume you haven''t eaten breakfast yet?" he asked soon after, to which Valyr also nodded in response. Pointing towards a certain direction, Damian told him, "Head in that direction and you''ll be able to get some light snacks that''ll fill you up. Make it quick, though. There''s no telling when the monster tide is arrivi¡ª"


    Rumble¡­


    Just as Damian was telling Valyr where to fill up his stomach, the ground started to rumble, making Damian mutter out a curse under his breath as he let out a light sigh soon after. Noticing that Valyr looked at him with slight confusion, Damian told him, "Go and grab something to eat for now. Most of the people here at the moment have ranged sses, so I''ll be instructing them to head up the vige walls very soon."


    "For us, Valyr¡­ our battlefield is outside the vige." Damian gave a rare smirk. "Now go. Meet me once you''ve satiated your hunger somewhat."


    With that, Valyr nodded before dashing in the direction Damian pointed in earlier. After a bit of running, he had arrived at a temporary camp, which was separated into two parts. One part of it was a section dedicated for cooking and serving meals to those that would participate in the defense against the monster tide. The other was an area solely made for those participating in the defense, allowing them to chow down on their food in silence. Surprisingly, once he was there, a lot of people had upied the second part, with some deciding to eat their breakfast while standing up.


    Knowing that time was of the essence at this moment, Valyr swiftly made his way to the first section and got himself a light meal, getting a tray of food sometimeter before making his way to the second area. Coincidentally, while he was in the middle of searching for a spot to eat his food in silence, he noticed a familiar person wearing a set of leather armor, silently eating their breakfast amidst the somewhat somber atmosphere emanating throughout the area.


    "Mind if I sit beside you?" Valyr asked the person, making thetter look at him for a bit in shock before eventually nodding. "So, got some good sleep, Tristan?"


    "I wish," Tristan said in response, shaking his head as he urged Valyr to eat his breakfast. "I''ve been up for hoursst night, preparing everything I was going to bring for the monster tide."


    "Speaking of which, wear this." Rummaging under the table they sat in front of, Tristan brought out a simple iron chestte, giving it to Valyr. "It may not be much, but it''ll help out in the long run."


    Receiving the chestte, Valyr could not help but look at Tristan in shock, wondering why thetter would give him such a precious piece of equipment. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to understand why, eliciting a chuckle toe out of his mouth as he heard Tristan''s next words.


    "Of course, once this is over, you better return that to me, okay?"


    "I will, I will." Nodding in response, Valyr went ahead and identified the chestte before putting it on, continuing to devour his breakfast soon after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Light Iron Chestte] (Level 10)


    Rarity: Common


    Defense: 12-19


    A simple iron chestte made by an experienced cksmith. Allows the user to mitigate some damage received from attacks on the chest.


    Remarks: For some reason, it suits you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    A couple minutester, Valyr finished his breakfast, prompting him to stand up and make his way outside the vige. However, for some reason, Tristan stood up from his seat as well. Because of that, he could not help but ask, "Where are you heading, Tristan?"


    "Outside the vige, obviously," Tristan said as if it was a matter of fact. Noticing the slight confusion on Valyr''s face, he exined, "My subss leans more heavily towards closebat."


    Although he wanted to ask more about Tristan''s subss, Valyr decided to ce the matter at the back of his head for now as the two hastily made their way outside the vige, noticing that a long line of defenders had already been made. As the two of them looked at the line of defenders in silence, Damian came up to them with a solemn expression on his face. "Valyr. Tristan."


    With the two nodding in response to his words, Damian nodded back before continuing. "Valyr, head to the east section. You''ll be apanying one of the guard captains I stationed there as their deputy leader."


    "As for you, Tristan, you''ll be apanying me at the center, where the brunt of the monster tide is," he added, looking at Tristan.


    With a nod, Tristan apanied Damian to the frontlines while Valyr hastily made his way to the east section. Once in their positions, Damian could not help but look beyond the horizon, his eyes instantly noticing arge wave of monsters rapidly heading their way.


    "Men! It''s time to show the vige the reason why we''ve trained so hard! It''s all for this behemoth in front of us!" Taking in a deep breath, Damian yelled out all of a sudden, prompting all of those in his vicinity to listen. "We''ve already gone through so many monster tides¡­ are we going to let this one do us in?!"


    "Sir, no, sir!" everyone in the vicinity eximed.


    "That''s exactly what I wanted to hear!" Damian nodded in satisfaction.


    "The first wave ising at us, men. You know what that means, right?"


    "It''s time to let all hell loose!"


    "Show no mercy!"

 Chapter 46 Monster Tide: The First Wave

    While Damian was preparing all of those in the center section to fight against the monsters of the first wave, Valyr had just arrived at the east section. Unsurprisingly, all of the people that were already there looked at him with curious expressions, wondering what his purpose was foring to their section.


    Gasping for a bit of air, Valyr looked around to see who the guard captain Damian mentioned earlier was, only to notice a familiar face among the people. With a light smile, he moved closer to the person. "I didn''t expect to see you here, Leon."


    "Were you assigned to this section as well?" In response, Leon shed a light grin before embracing him.


    Valyr nodded. "Yeah, Damian told me to head here. ording to him, I''ll be the deputy leader of the team or something?"


    Hearing the term ''deputy leader''e out of Valyr''s mouth, some of the people could not help but talk to each other in a murmur, wondering how the young man before them was assigned deputy leader, even though appearance-wise, he did not seem to have the qualifications for such a position.


    As for Leon, when he heard the same terme out of his friend''s mouth, his eyes could not help but widen in surprise. "Seriously? Damian actually told you that? What the hell have you been doing since thest time I saw you for Damian to give you that much responsibility?"


    Just as Valyr was about to answer his question, a woman had appeared in between the two of them, emanating a chilling aura throughout the immediate surroundings that made a couple people shudder before taking a few steps back. Surprisingly, even Leon had taken a few steps back as he looked at the woman with a hint of fear on his face. Noticing this, Valyr looked at the woman before him in silence.


    If one were to exclude the chilling aura she currently exuded, Valyr was certain that a lot of yers would fall head over heels for her appearance once Greater Beyond was released to the public. Her long silver-gray hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, entuating the overall shape of her face. In contrast, her irises were a vibrant light green, giving off a refreshing feeling if one looked into it.


    Nevertheless, this refreshing feeling was negated by the dark gray garbs she wore, with a leather breastte and arm guards being her only source of defense aside from her clothing. Overall, the feeling she gave Valyr was that she had chosen a ss focused on high AGI. Curious to see whether his hypothesis was correct, he went ahead and used [Analysis] on her, the result of which appeared in his mind.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Myst Verielle] (Level 18)


    ss: Gale de (Rank 1 ¡ª Umon)


    HP: 312/312


    MP: 216/216


    Stats: 26 VIT, 26 STR, 61 AGI, 45 DEX, 18 INT, 18 WIS, 18 PER, 18 LUK


    Remarks: I''d get on her good sides if I were you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the very moment he looked through her stats, Valyr could not help but inwardly suck in a lot of cold air in his mind, getting a firsthand look at how drastic the difference was between his stats and the stats of a bona fide Rank 1 ss holder. Her AGI was already more than double his current AGI.


    And she hadn''t even reached the peak of Rank 1 yet!


    While Valyr had renewed his impression of the woman before him, the woman went ahead and asked Valyr a question. "Are you the one Damian sent to be the deputy leader of this section?"


    "That would be me." Valyr nodded in response. "Would you perhaps be the guard captain Damian told me earlier?"


    "Correct." The woman nodded back, extending her hand soon after. "Myst Verielle, Rank 1 Gale de."


    "Valyr Zeihardt." Seeing her extend her hand out, Valyr received it and gave a firm handshake. "Rank 0 Civilian."


    Hearing Valyr''sst few words, a small mor arose in the surroundings, making them wonder once more how someone at the same level as them had gotten such an important position. In response to that, Myst looked at Valyr in the eye, to which Valyr surprisingly understood in an instant as he emanated the entirety of his aura.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, an aura far stronger than what any of the others could exude appeared around Valyr, prompting all of them to go silent. Even Myst, who wasn''t really expecting much from the show of force, could not help but slightly widen her eyes in surprise at the scene. A few secondster, Valyr retracted his aura as silence enveloped the entirety of the east section.


    "Alright." Taking advantage of the silence, Myst went ahead and spoke up. ncing at the monsters that wereing ever closer to their section, she said, "Since all of the people defending this section are here, let me go over what I''ve mentioned before."


    "For the first wave, all those Level 8 and below shall proceed to the frontlines. Those at Level 9 and above shall stay at behind the defensive line, only to move when someone in the frontlines is in danger." As she said this, Mystmanded a few people to move forward. "For the second wave and every subsequent wave after that, we''ll formte a n once we find out who our opponents are. Do I make myself clear?"


    "Yes, ma''am!" everyone eximed in unison, getting into their respective positions as they prepared for the wave of monsters that were about to head their way. As for Valyr, he looked at everything that was going on for a bit in silence, only for his attention to be caught by Myst, who was snapping her fingers at him.


    "Come with me, Valyr," she said, prompting Valyr to nod in response as he hastily made his way to where she was.


    After that, the two of them walked for a bit, with Myst rearranging people as she deemed fit while Valyr continued to watch on in silence. Eventually, after a couple minutes of Myst changing the arrangement of people in their section, Valyr could not help but ask, "Why did you ask those with the low levels to act as the frontlines for the first wave? Wouldn''t it make more sense to have us as the frontlines?"


    From what he could remember in his past life regarding monster tides, most of the time, high-leveled yers were the ones that made up the bulk of the frontlines. Then, the farther one went from the front, the lower the levels got, with those at the rear lines having the lowest levels among those participating in the monster tide.


    ? Of course, Valyr knew that the reason why high-leveled yers were at the front was because they would be able to get more XP that way. However, he didn''t know why the vige didn''t employ the same tactic, considering that it was incredibly effective.


    Fortunately, Myst had an answer to that. "It''s to give them the chance to gain enough XP to raise their levels. The more high-leveled people we have in the vige, the better we can protect the vige in the long run. Aside from that, we don''t have enough high-leveled people to do that. Though, at some point, our positions will be swapped, where they''re behind the defensive lines while we''re at the frontlines."


    "In any case, always keep an eye out if you see someone struggling against a monster," she said, renewing Valyr''s impression of Myst once more. ''It may seem like she''s aloof and cold-hearted, but in fact, she''s the exact opposite.''


    Rumble¡­


    By the time the two of them had finished their conversation, a crescendoing rumble echoed throughout the surroundings, prompting everyone in the east section to look in front of them as a swarm of monsters were swiftly heading their way. With that, everyone gripped tightly onto their weapons as Myst''s expression turned aloof once more.


    "Frontlines¡­"


    "Advance!"

 Chapter 47 Monster Tide: Gale Blade

    "Charge!" As Myst gave out themand to advance, all of those at the frontlines eximed in unison, soon letting out battle cries as they engaged against the monsters that wereing at them. At that moment, a cacophony of sounds erupted from the battlefield in front of the east section, the squeamish sound of metal cutting through flesh echoing throughout the surroundings amidst the beastly roars and cries of monsters being in.


    While that was happening, all of those behind the defensive line watched the fight unfold from afar, their nerves taut from the uncertainty of whether their side would win or not. Nevertheless, although all of them remained vignt and made sure to be aware of any trouble that might arise in the battlefield, most of them had somewhat rxed, with some of them engaging in idle chatter as the number of monsters the east section was facing against gradually dwindled over time.


    In fact, at some point, Valyr wandered around the defensive line, keeping an eye at what was happening in the battlefield from time to time as he passively listened to the conversations that were happening all around him. Just as he had found a sense of peace amidst all the chaos happening on the battlefield, a familiar man had appeared before him, prompting a light smile to appear on Valyr''s face. "Aren''t you a bit too d to be staying behind the defensive line, Leon?"


    "Is there anything wrong with that?" Leon grinned, wrapping his arm over Valyr''s shoulder before walking alongside him. "I''m just making most of the situation before we have to head out to the battlefield. After all, we''re the ones fighting the high-leveled monsters of the subsequent waves."


    As Leon said those words, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on his friend, the results of which slightly surprised him as he inwardly muttered, ''To think he''s actually one level from reaching the peak of Rank 0.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Leon Astrol] (Level 9)


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    HP: 120/120


    MP: 90/90


    Stats: 12 VIT, 12 STR, 12 AGI, 9 DEX, 9 INT, 9 WIS, 9 PER, 9 LUK


    Remarks: You could fight against this guy no problem, but that would be bullying.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Just like with Myst, Valyr made Leon''s result appear within his mind, remembering to keep his field of vision free from any distraction in a situation like this one. Closing the screen soon after, a thought eventually surfaced in his mind, making him look at Leon. "Speaking of which, where are Jonas and Louie?"


    "The west section," Leon said in response, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "Yesterday, we told Damian that it''d be great if us three were positioned at the same section. However, due to somest minute additions to the various sections, there was an imbnce of power, so¡­"


    "Jonas and Louie had to be moved to the west section, huh?" Hearing Leon''s exnation, it did not take long for Valyr toe to that conclusion.


    In response, Leon lightly nodded.


    After walking around the defensive line for a bit more as the two talked about a few more topics, the two eventually parted ways by the time only a few dozen monsters remained on the battlefield, prompting both of them to return to their respective positions.


    Once he had returned to his respective position, Valyr could not help but look at Myst a slight distance away from him, who was looking at the battlefield with a solemn expression. Deciding to do the same thing as her, he looked at the battlefield soon after, deciding to use [Analysis] on some of the monsters those at the frontlines were fighting against.


    "Level 5 and Level 6 monsters¡­" Valyr muttered to himself, lightly shrugging his shoulders sometimeter. "They''re losing out on a bunch of XP from not fighting monsters at the same level as them, considering that most of them are around Level 7 or so."


    "Nevertheless, they''ll still gain a lot of XP from this. After all, quantity can make up for quality," he continued.


    After looking at the battlefield for a couple of minutes, inwardly calm as the monsters now numbered in the tens, he turned his head to look at Myst and asked her a question, pointing at the people on the battlefield. "Will they be at the frontlines on the second wave as well?"


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Most of them." Myst nodded in response. "If our predictions are correct, then the monsters in the second wave will be made up of ideal targets for most of the people on the battlefield at the moment."


    "Of course, we''ll be telling all those below a certain level to stay behind the defensive line and get some rest once the wave is over," she continued, nodding in satisfaction soon after as she yelled out, "Frontlines, head back to the defensive line and get some rest!"


    Hearing that, most of the people on the battlefield cheered in excitement, while some of the people let out loud sighs of relief. Nevertheless, all of them hastily made their way back behind the defensive line, as if the exhaustion brought about by fighting against multiple monsters wasn''t there in the first ce.


    However, just as all of those in the east section thought that they could rest easy, a voice from beyond the east section eximed something that made some of the people stop in their tracks.


    "Rogue monster! Rogue monster heading to the east section!"


    In an instant, all of those that hadn''t made it behind the defensive line yet ran as fast as their tired legs could take them, while some of the high-leveled people made their way to the front of the defensive line, ready to engage with the rogue monster that had been announced.


    As for Valyr, once he heard this announcement from afar, his pupils could not help but shrink for a bit as he utilized his perception to its fullest, eventually finding a monster from afar making a mad dash towards the defensive line of the east section. Although the faint aura he could sense from the monster from afar was enough for him to realize that none of the people at the front lines could hope to fight against it, he went ahead and made sure of the monster''s level through [Analysis].


    Unfortunately, the results from [Analysis] only exacerbated his worries even more, eventually shouting, "Everyone, fall back! It''s a Level 11 monster!"


    Hearing that a monster way beyond what they could handle was heading their way, almost everyone around the front of the defensive line retreated as far as possible, prioritizing their own safety instead of the others.


    Naturally, the sight could not help but make Valyr frown, retrieving the spear behind his back as he thought he would have to make a move. But before he could even do so, a dark gray streak zoomed past the defensive line, with only Valyr being the only one there having the perception necessary to follow.


    Swish!


    In just a few seconds, the dark gray streak had stopped before the rogue monster, only for the monster''s head to fall off its neck soon after as its headless body fell to the ground with a thud. A deafening silence covered the entire battlefield after that, which was soon reced with cheers and yells of excitement and admiration from those behind the east section''s defensive line, as well as those from the right portion of the center section''s defensive line.


    "Well, I guess that exins the name of the ss a lot," Valyr said to himself, chuckling soon after as he recalled the speed at which the dark gray streak had arrived before the monster, far faster than what he could yearn to achieve at the moment.


    As for the one who killed the monster, Myst looked at the monster before her with silence before letting out a light sigh. Shaking her head, she shook off the blood that dripped off the de she used to kill the monster before heading back to the east section''s defensive line.

 Chapter 48 Monster Tide: The Second Wave

    While Myst hadnded a clean hit on the rogue monster that made its way to the east section, a man from the center section watched the scene unfold from afar, his mouth bing ck-jawed as he had never seen a person from the vige so effortlessly and cleanly decapitate a monster''s head in one swift move.


    "Who the hell did that?!" Tristan could not help but exim, his expression that of awe as he looked at the armored man beside him. Nudging the man, he asked, "Is that person a neer to the vige?"


    "A neer? Not at all." In response to the question, Damian shook his head. Then, with a light smirk, he told Tristan, "In fact, you''re very familiar with that person already."


    "Well? Come on, spit it out! Don''t leave me in suspense!" Tristan frowned soon after, noticing that Damian was intentionally not mentioning the name of the person that did the feat he had just seen. Turning his head to what was in front of them, he repeated, "Come on, Damian! Just tell me already! The second wave ising!"


    "Fine, fine, fine." Hearing how badly Tristan wanted to know who it was, Damian could not stop himself fromughing for a bit. Eventually, after taking in a few deep breaths, he told him, "It''s Myst, Tristan. Myst did that."


    "Myst?" Tristan tilted his head, trying to rummage through his memory as the name was familiar to him. After some time, his eyes widened in surprise. "Wait¡­ you''re telling that little girl from a few years ago had actually done what she promised to do?"


    As he said this, Tristan could not help but remember the first time he had met with the girl. It was on a fateful day when two people had arrived at the smithy, Damian, who had just be the leader of the vige guards at that time, and the girl he eventually knew as Myst.


    ording to what he could recall, Damian asked him if he could forge a specific weapon for Myst, a thin aerodynamic de that resembled a sword more than a rapier. In response to that, Tristan could not help but ask why, telling them that any sword would do just fine.


    Surprisingly, the one to answer that question was the young Myst, who looked at him with eyes filled with determination before opening her mouth, saying words that had stuck to his memory since then.


    ? "That''s because¡­ I want to be the fastest sword user there is!"


    "She''s definitely the fastest sword user I know." Tristan chuckled at the memory, a hint of pride on his face, feeling that he had made an impact on how Myst had grown into what she was today. Letting out a light sigh soon after, he looked at Damian before lightly nodding. "Mind if I craft a de for her once this monster tide is over?"


    "Be my guest." Damian lightly shrugged his shoulders. "I''m sure Myst would be d to receive a new de from you."


    Receiving a smile from Tristan in response, Damian then focused his attention to what was before them. Narrowing his eyes a bit as a light frown appeared on his face, he then ordered a couple people toe closer to him. "Tell the west and east section to move a bit closer to the center."


    "It''s almost time for the second wave to arrive."


    ¡­


    By the time Myst had returned to the east section, almost everyone there was cheering for her, with some of them talking about how effortlessly she killed the monster that had gone rogue. In response to those words, Myst lightly smiled and nodded at them, thanking them before returning to her original position.


    "It seems like there''s something on your mind," Valyr could not help but say to Myst once she had returned, prompting thetter to look at him with a raised eyebrow. Seeing that he had caught her attention, he scratched his cheeks and continued, "Judging by your expression, it feels like you''re dissatisfied."


    "I guess so." Myst shrugged her shoulders in response, obtaining a message from the center section for the east section to move closer sometimeter. As shemanded everyone to move a bit closer to the center section, she continued to talk with Valyr. "Let''s just say I don''t feel like I''m moving fast enough."


    "You''re already moving plenty fast to me," Valyr told her. "In fact, out of everyone in the east section, I think I was the only one who could see where you were headed, though I''m pretty sure I lost track of you at times."


    "That''s the thing," Myst replied, lightly sighing. "I want to move so fast that no person could track me."


    "Well, that''s definitely a lofty goal," Valyr could not help but say. "Have you gotten skills that increase your AGI?"


    "More or less, I guess," Myst said in response before taking a quick nce at the battlefield in front of them. Calcting that there were only a few minutes until the second wave arrived, she ordered everyone to hasten their pace. "I bought every passive skill in the contribution point shop that boosts my AGI. I also bought every active skill that does the same thing, but I can only activate so much of them until my mana runs out."


    "Hmm¡­" After pondering over it for a bit, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on the equipment Myst was wearing. By the time the east section had finished their relocation to be nearer to the center section, Valyr finally noticed the one part she hadn''t been using to its full advantage. ''Her equipment doesn''t boost her stats at all.''


    Although rare at the early stages of the game, equipment that boosted stats gradually became more and moremon once one went through the various ss ranks. In fact, it could be said that a huge part of the reason why high-leveled yers were able to achieve incredibly high stats was mostly due to the equipment they wore, boosting all of their stats to insane degrees.


    ''The only thing she has that boosts her AGI is the sword around her waist,'' Valyr thought. ''On top of that, the boost from it isn''t the maximum you could get from a weapon made for a Rank 1 ss holder.''


    "When was thest time you changed your equipment?" Valyr asked while Myst was in the middle of choosing people to fight at the frontlines.


    "A couple of days ago. Why do you ask?" Myst said in response, asking Valyr if he could help out in the arranging of personnel to tackle the second wave.


    "Well, I feel like I have an idea on how you could get one step closer to achieving your goal," Valyr said in response, which instantly piqued Myst''s interest. However, just as she was about to ask how¡­


    Rumble¡­


    A rumble far stronger than the first wave was felt throughout the entire defensive line, making a couple people at the frontlines stumble and fall from the sheer intensity of the rumble. Unfortunately for Myst, seeing as the second wave of monsters was already in front of them, Myst could not help but inwardly sigh, cing the matter at the back of her head forter as she refocused her attention towards the battlefield.


    "Advance!"

 Chapter 49 Monster Tide: Anomaly

    "Graaahhh!" Just like in the first wave, those that were assigned to the frontlines had gone past the defensive line once more, charging forward to meet their opponents in the battlefield. However, as Myst watched the people she had assigned to fight on the second wave move past the battlefield, she had stopped a couple of them before they could move any further. "Halt."


    Naturally, hearing thatmande out of their section leader''s mouth, there was nothing those people could do but to stop in their tracks, wondering why they were stopped by their leader before they could move any further. Thankfully, the answer to that question arrived before them soon after, with Myst informing them what could have happened if they had continued, causing their bodies to shudder. "It was my oversight to have you guys be assigned to the second wave. The monsters in this wave are Level 7 at the very least."


    "I won''t stop you if you choose to step beyond the defensive line and punch above your weight." She looked at them with a stern expression. "However, you are also free to head back behind the vige walls as you''ve already done your respective tasks."


    "The choice is yours."


    After pondering over Myst''s words for a bit, the people she called to stay looked at each other for a bit, only to look at the battlefield before them soon after. Eventually, after a few more seconds, they went ahead and thanked Myst before making their way back to the vige.


    Seeing as the people she stopped were making their way to the vige, she shifted her attention towards those who had stayed behind the defensive line during the first wave. After scanning through all of the people she could choose, she eventually picked out those who seemed fit for the type of monsters those at the frontlines were currently up against, pointing at them. "You, you, you, and you. You''re all a level or two above the monsters during this wave, so you better help the others if the chance arises."


    "Yes, ma''am!" Surprisingly, all of them didn''tin that they were chosen. Instead, the people she chose took in a deep breath before gripping tightly onto respective weapons, dashing towards the battlefield a couple of secondster.


    Seeing that the people she chose had no problems filling in for those that left, watching them get into the rhythm of killing monsters while helping out the others when they could, Myst let out a light sigh of relief, heading back to her original position once she noticed that the fight would be more or less smooth sailing, just like the first wave.


    "So, Valyr. Since our conversation earlier was interrupted by the second wave, would you mind telling me that idea you had?" Myst looked at Valyr beside her, her expression brimming with curiosity, as well as expectation.


    "The idea that would get you one step closer to achieving your goal, right?" Valyr asked to make sure.


    With Myst nodding in response to his question, Valyr nodded back and opened his mouth¡­ only to be interrupted by a voice that gradually got louder and louder as it came closer to them. "Oho? Who knew these two would actually be acquainted with one another?"


    Hearing the familiar voice enter his hearing, Valyr turned his head around to look at the man that had appeared before them. "Tristan? What are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be at the center section with Damian?"


    "I was, but Damian told me to wander around since I looked so bored while watching those at the frontlines shred through the monsters like nothing." Tristan let out a chuckle. "In any case, since the center section had no problems dealing with the second wave, I''ve decided to pay a visit to the east section to meet up with you, Valyr."


    "Though, I''d never expect to see another familiar face in the same section." Saying that, he turned his head to look at Myst with a smile. "It''s been a while since we''vest met, Myst. It seems you''re getting closer and closer to achieving your dream."


    "I''m still far away. If anything, I''ve only made a bit of headway into it." Myst shook his head. "Though, Valyr was about to tell me an idea that would allow me to get closer to achieving that goal."


    "Is that so?" Hearing Myst''s words, Tristan could not help but raise his eyebrow before turning to look at Valyr. "Mind if I listen?"


    "Would''ve still told her about it even if you didn''t ask." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "Then again, I''m sure you already know what I have in mind to make her faster, Tristan."


    "I do?" Tristan scratched his head, slightly confused. "This is the first time you two have met, right?"


    In response to the question, Valyr and Myst nodded in unison.


    "If that''s the case, then why do you think I know what you''re thinking, Valyr?" Tristan looked back at Valyr.


    "Think about it for a bit, Tristan," Valyr said in response. "Myst has a ss that leans towards AGI, has skills that boost her AGI, yet there''s still one thing she''s missing. I''m sure you can figure it out from there, right?"


    Listening to Valyr''s words, Tristan could not help but go silent, his eyes gaining a light blue tint as he stared at Myst for a bit. As the light blue haze around his eyes gradually disappeared, he could not help but look at Valyr, his expression that of understanding as he lightly smirked. "That''s what you meant, huh."


    "It''s the only thing she can do aside from leveling up and upgrade her skills." Valyr nodded, a light smile appearing on his face.


    "Mind telling me what''s going on?" Of course, Myst still had no clue what the two of them were thinking. "What idea does Valyr have to help me be faster, Tristan?"


    "Well, let me answer that for you." Just as Tristan was about to open his mouth, Valyr interrupted him and started to speak. "Do you have a skill that allows you to identify things?"


    "I have [Monster Analysis], what about it?" Myst replied, prompting the two to look at each other as everything finally made sense to them.


    "That actually exins a lot of things," Valyr said soon after. "To cut things short, you''re not making full use of your equipment."


    "Eh?" Myst tilted her head in slight confusion. "But I''ve upgraded my equipment just a couple of days ago?"


    "You may have upgraded your equipment, but only your weapon increases your stats." Tristan was the one to respond this time around. "If you had [Analysis], you would have been able to see information on your current equipment. If you did, you would''ve noticed that your sword increases your AGI stat by a couple points."


    Grraaaaoooo!!!


    Though, just as Tristan was about to continue exining to Myst what she could do to improve her stats, a loud roar resounded throughout the surroundings, prompting everyone to look at the battlefield, noticing that another wave of monsters from afar were heading their way, their auras far stronger than any of the monsters on the battlefield.


    "What the hell?!" Tristan cursed. "I thought the third wave wouldn''t being any time soon!"


    With that, Tristan hastily bade farewell to the two as he swiftly made his way back to the center section. "We''ll have to cut our conversation short here. Just a heads-up, I''m sure Damian is going to ry a couple orders to all sections sometime soon."


    Surprisingly, just as Tristan had darted off into the distance, a yell reverberated throughout the defensive line, echoing so far as to reach even the end of the west and east sections.


    "All sections, heed my orders!"


    "All guard captains and deputy leaders are to head into the frontlines as soon as possible!"


    "It''s time to make a move!"

 Chapter 50 Monster Tide: Making A Move

    Surprisingly, once Damian''s voice was finished reverberating throughout the surroundings, an odd lull enveloped the defensive line. At that moment, everyone looked at each other, wondering if they had heard the announcement correctly. Of course, expecting something like this to happen from the suddenness of themand, Damian shook his head with a sigh before yelling out once more, finally jolting everyone back to reality as those called made their way to the frontlines.


    "Guard captains! Deputy leaders! Your hesitation will undoubtedly jeopardize the lives of those in the battlefield!"


    "If you don''t want to be the cause of deaths that could have been easily avoided¡­"


    "Then move your fucking asses!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At the very instant he was finished talking, a few people from each section had moved past the defensive line, all of them having solemn expressions as they tightly gripped on their weapons. Without much difficulty, these people zoomed past the battlefield at the front, avoiding all of the people and the low-leveled monsters these people were fighting against.


    Bang!


    Before the subsequent wave could even reach halfway to the front of the battlefield, those people had appeared before them, unleashing their strongest moves as they brought down a dozen monsters in one fell swoop. Of course, as he was delegated as deputy leader, Valyr was also one of those who had arrived to meet the third wave, killing intent emanating from his body as he dodged a monster''s attack before lodging his spear into the head of another.


    "[Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-144!!!''


    With the great amount of strength behind Valyr''s attack, his wooden spear pierced through the monster''s head without a problem, appearing on the other side for a bit before Valyr retracted it back. Then, leaving the monster no time to think, he ducked downwards and thrust his spear towards its neck, taking a step forward to regain his bnce.


    Fsh!


    ''-69!!''


    Ding!


    As a notification sound resounded in his mind, he looked at the monster for a bit, watching it gradually lose its vigor as it fell to its side with a thud. Taking in a deep breath, he then stepped on top of the fresh corpse, using it as a tform to head to another side of the battlefield, deciding to handle three monsters in a row with a mix of basic movements, as well as [Pierce].


    "[Analysis]." While fighting against these monsters, Valyr went ahead and examined the stats of one of them, wondering why it seemed somewhat easy for him and the others to kill these monsters that made up the third wave. As the result of the skill had appeared in his mind, he quickly understood as to why, finishing off the monsters in front of him before exerting all his strength into one giant leap. Soon after, he maneuvered his body in the air, pointing his spear downwards to strike at the monster that was nning to ambush him.


    "[Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-144!!!''


    "Aside from the monsters being Level 10 and Level 11, there''s one other thing that makes it easier for me to kill them," he muttered, punching the monster with all its strength as hended on his feet. In response, the monster was sent flying for a few meters, colliding with a few monsters along the way as coteral.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Monster] (Level 10)


    HP: 90/90


    Remarks: You''re definitely a bully if you''re fighting against something like this. Pick on someone your own size.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''For some reason, they have less health than normal monsters.'' Gasping for air, he looked around the battlefield, noticing that all of those that were called to action had made a dent to the number of monsters making up the third wave. To his right, Myst was zooming through the battlefield,nding multiple hits on monsters she passed through, effectively killing them before they even realized what was happening.


    To his left, a bulky man wielding a greatsword charged into the center of a bunch of monsters, only to rotate his body at high speeds soon after. Surprisingly, the weight and the momentum behind the greatsword was enough to cleave through the monsters and kill them, making Valyr''s eyes slightly widen in incredulity as he could not help but recall a certain memory while watching the scene unfold from afar. ''Isn''t this a skill of that hero from that one game?''


    However, unlike the memory he recalled, this person''s momentum gradually increased as he continued to move around the battlefield, turning into a rotating de solely made for killing monsters. At some point, Valyr could not help but wonder if the man would ever get nauseous from what he was doing, seeing that the man had kept it up for over a minute already.


    Nevertheless, as there were still a ton of monsters before him, he knew he could not afford to watch what the others were doing for any longer, charging in once more to fight against the monsters. As he was not a true Rank 1 ss holder yet, he utilized his knowledge of Vital and Brutal Hits to make up for hiscking stats, always making sure to aim for the monsters'' weak spots. Because of that, the speed at which he killed his portion of monsters, which would normally be the worst among them, was on par with the others that were also fighting.


    "Huh. I totally forgot I could unlock those." After killing a couple dozen more monsters on his side, Valyr could not help but stop in his tracks as a certain memory surfaced in his mind, telling him that there was something he still hadn''t used that could improve his killing efficiency. "System, open up the Technology Tree."


    Ding!


    As the screen containing the Technology Tree had appeared in his peripheral vision, Valyr continued to move around, relying on his muscle memory he had honed in his past life to fight against the monsters while he perused through the Technology Tree.


    "I still have 30 Technology Points left over after unlocking the advancements I needed from the Innovation and Production section," he muttered, spending a certain amount of them without hesitation as a string of notifications appeared in his mind soon after.


    "The upgrade to that skill may not seem like much, but as long as I y my cards right, I''ll be able to rack up more kills." Skimming through the notifications he had received, Valyr closed all of them as a grin appeared on his face, fearlessly looking at the monster in front of him before jumping forward and thrusting his spear out, aiming for the monster''s head.


    "Then again, this other upgrade is already overkill."


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-201!!!''


    With how destructive the force behind the attack was, the monster''s head was blown clean off as a dark red number appeared above the monster''s body for a few seconds before disappearing. For a moment, all of the monsters in the surroundings became silent at the sight that had just unfolded in front of them, their gazes containing a hint of fear towards the man that stood before them. However, not long after, this fear disappeared, instead being reced with unadulterated rage.


    Distancing himself from the monsters that seemed hellbent on killing him, Valyr could not help but recall the number that had appeared above the monster''s head earlier, making him let out a loud cackle before halting in his steps, turning around to look at the monsters chasing after him with a slightly devilish grin.


    Taking in a deep breath, he bent his knees before exerting all of his strength through them, darting speedily towards the monsters. Letting out a light chuckle, he leaped into the air once more before striking down on one of the monsters with his spear.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"

 Chapter 51 Monster Tide: Awakening

    While Valyr and the others were making easy work of the monsters that made up the third wave, Damian and Tristan looked at the sight from afar, both of them nodding in satisfaction as it seemed that the second wave of monsters would be gone by the time those fighting against the third wave were around halfway to killing all of the monsters.


    "Your men still surprise me with their power as always, Damian." A light smile appeared on Tristan''s face, his expression that of slight relief. "If you have more people like that in your ranks, then there wille a time where we don''t have to worry about monster tides anymore."


    "If only it was that easy to get them to reach that level." Damian bitterly smiled. Nevertheless, a slightly prideful expression still remained on his face. "Most of the people that join the vige guards are only there to increase their reputation and meet the status quo. To have more people like those fighting the third wave in our ranks, they would have to be willing to go out of theirfort zone, which they''re not."


    "Except for one person, that is." Looking at Tristan, it seemed that the two of them had thought of the same person in mind. With that, the two redirected their vision towards the portion of the third wave where they remembered that person was fighting. However, instead of seeing a person struggle somewhat against arge number of monsters, what they saw instead was a person moving through the monsters like it was nothing, his hits all dealing great amounts of damage, especially once that person had aimed for a monster''s head.


    Bang!


    Although the explosion sound they heard was faint due to their distance from it, both Damian and Tristan were both ck-jawed as they looked at Valyr fighting against the monsters with incredulity written all over their faces. What they had just seen was the head of the monster exploding into bits as Valyrnded on the ground, moving onto another monster before repeating the same thing all over again.


    With that in mind, the two of them could not help but look at the ground on Valyr''s side, their eyes widening as they were left aghast, not expecting Valyr''s side to get that bloody. Adding on the chunks of flesh and brain matter that were scattered throughout that portion of the battlefield, it wouldn''t be surprising for a person to outright vomit at the sight of it.


    As for Tristan and Damian, what was going in their heads was not that. Instead, what they wanted to know was when Valyr had achieved that kind ofbat power.


    "Are you sure he hasn''t ascended to a Rank 1 ss yet?" Tristan could not help but look at Damian with a hint of doubt. After all, among the two of them, Damian had been the first one to interact with Valyr.


    "I wish I wasn''t joking." Damian shook his head, his expression solemn. Nevertheless, his eyes still contained the shock he felt when he watched Valyr kill those monsters without much difficulty. "I used [Analysis] on him when we met up earlier¡­ wanna know what I got?"


    "What did you get?" Tristan asked, his curiosity piqued.


    "Just like what he''s been telling us all this time, he''s still Level 10," Damian said in response, making Tristan scratch his head. "However, his stats are a different story. Almost all of them are over 20 points. If not for the fact he''s still Level 10, I would''ve thought he''d chosen to take an all-rounder ss for a Rank 1 ss."


    "Seriously?" Tristan raised his eyebrow before taking a nce once more at Valyr from afar. At this moment, the number of monsters on Valyr''s portion of the battlefield was around a couple hundred or so, which was slightly more than those on the other portions. However, unlike the other portions, some of the monsters on Valyr''s side started to not even move at this point, just from how brutal Valyr killed the other monsters.


    "Where the hell did he get his extra stats, then?" he asked.


    In response, Damian could only shrug his shoulders. "I don''t know. I only started to notice his presence bing stronger than the others just recently. If I were to hazard a guess, he might havee across a treasure of some sort that increases his stats."


    "Wonder if Valyr is willing to tell us how he increased his stats?" Letting out a light sigh, Tristan looked at Damian with a smile, his eyes conveying a message to thetter.


    "I''m pretty sure he won''t." Damian shrugged his shoulders once more. "But if it''s for the sake of the vige¡­"


    "It''s worth a shot."


    ¡­


    While the two were wondering how Valyr had statsparable to a Rank 1 ss holder, Myst looked at the scene unfolding to her left with great bewilderment.


    As her Rank 1 ss was one that specialized in AGI, the speed at which she killed her share of monsters was significantly faster than the others, allowing her to get a bit of time to rest before going on an onught once more. While taking a respite, she decided to take a look at how the others were faring, only for her eyes to widen greatly as she noticed how bloody Valyr''s side of the battlefield had be.


    "Where did all of the bloode from?" Left aghast, Myst continued to watch Valyr weave through the monsters and fight against them, ignoring the conditions of the others. With that decision, she soon found out the answer to her previous question, which was in the form of one gruesome¡­


    Bang!


    Before her eyes, the head of a monster exploded into chunks as its headless body soon fell to the ground with a thud. At this point, her mouth went agape as a thought gradually surfaced into her mind. ''Is this the reason why Damian chose him for the position of deputy leader?''


    ''Did he allocate all of his points towards strength or something?'' she could not help but think. After pondering over it for a bit, she thought it made sense. After all, since she excelled in speed, then there was a need in their section for someone to bnce that out, which was Valyr with his superhuman strength.


    Of course, such a thought was nowhere near the truth.


    ¡­


    "Unlocking those advancements have definitely helped increase my killing efficiency, but I still feel like the upgrade to that skill is overkill," Valyr muttered as he rested on a boulder after moving away from the monsters for a bit. "Then again, I would have unlocked them sooner orter."


    As he opened his notification screen, he looked at the sight before him, the ground taking on a deep red color due to how it was saturated with the blood of the monsters he had killed. Scratching his head as he wondered if the vige would be mad at him for destroying a piece ofnd by saturating it with blood, he soon focused his attention on the notifications he had received.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancements <Basic Knowledge: Spear Lv. 1>, <Basic Techniques: Spear Lv. 1>, <Basic Understanding: Spear Lv. 1>, <Basic Essence: Spear Lv. 1>.]


    [As you have unlocked the advancements <Basic Knowledge: Spear>¡­, the passive skill ''Basic Spear Mastery'' has been upgraded with your renewed understanding of the spear.]


    [As you have unlocked the advancements <Basic Knowledge: Spear>¡­, the active skill ''Pierce'' has been upgraded with your renewed understanding of the spear, transforming into the active skill ''Strong Pierce''.]


    "I had a feeling I''d unlock you sooner orter." Surprisingly, Valyr had glossed over the notifications regarding the upgrades to hisbat skills. Instead, his attention was on the string of notifications that had just recently appeared, a light chuckle escaping from his mouth not long after.


    Ding!


    [The traces of a soul are awakening within your weapon due to how many monsters you''ve killed with it so far.]


    [The weapon yearns for more bloodshed, wanting to utilize the essence from the blood to have these soul traces congregate and form a true soul. However, it knows that it cannot achieve this alone, so it asks for your help.]


    [A nascent weapon bond has been made between you and ''Wooden Spear''. Current bond level is 1.]

 Chapter 52 Monster Tide: Interrogation

    As he read through the notifications, Valyr could not help but let out a light chuckle. "I guess I have no choice but to stick with this spear for real. As long as I get to the 3rd bond level, the fact that it''s a basic wooden spear wouldn''t even matter more."


    Although part of the reason why Valyr had not changed to a better spear yet, even though he had the means to do so, was because he felt that it would take precious time to limate to a new spear, the main reason why he did not do so was due to the connection he had felt brewing between him and the spear.


    Of course, with the system making the connection official, Valyr was even more adamant in continuing to use the spear, even though he was way above the required level to wield it. For most people, weapon bonds were nothing more than a special feature of the game that gave yers a reason to keep using their weapon even after they had outgrown them.


    "[Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Wooden Spear] (Level 1)


    Rarity: Common


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Valyr)


    Attack: 4 - 7 (+10%)


    A spear given to those newly enlisted with the vige guards of Astarto Vige, being deemed by most people as a training weapon until one could afford a proper weapon. Nevertheless, the material it is made of and the level of attention to it allows it to keep up in battles somewhat.


    As the user has continued to use the spear even though they have already outgrown it, traces of a soul have awakened inside the spear, allowing it to somewhat grow to meet the needs of the user.


    Remarks: I don''t know if you''re hardworking, or just incredibly stupid.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    However, as Valyr looked at the newly updated description of his wooden spear, he was gradually reminded of the true reason why weapon bonds were sought after in theter versions. Aside from increasing the weapon''s main stat by a certain percentage, which was what most people knew, the higher levels of weapon bonds changed the nature of the weapons themselves, allowing yers who owned weapons with high-leveled weapon bonds to do far more than what a yer without one couldn''t.


    "The requirement to reach those higher levels are¡­ time-consuming, to say the least." Recalling what he needed to do to reach the higher levels, a wry smile could not help but appear on Valyr''s face as he stood up to face the monsters once more, dashing into their territory to fight them.


    Though, with how brutal Valyr was in killing the other monsters, those that had arrived to fight him seemed to have less of an edge than before, making it seem like they were only moving to meet with Valyr just because they were forced to.


    Of course, Valyr was oblivious to what was going on in the minds of the monsters he fought, brandishing his spear for the sole purpose of increasing the number on his quest.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-199!!!''


    Once more, with the power behind his strike, a monster''s head was obliterated once more, prompting slightly angered roars toe out of the mouths of the monsters surrounding Valyr. In response, Valyr looked at the monsters with a light grin, charging towards one of them before executing the same move as earlier.


    Bang!


    ''-119!!''


    While killing the monsters, he could not help but notice that the connection between him and the spear he wielded gradually deepened with each kill. On top of that, he felt that the wooden spear gained a bit of heft to it as well, giving him the feeling that the spear was gradually growing more resilient the more he killed.


    Aside from that, he also focused his attention on [Strong Pierce] and the high amount of damage it dealt even when he only aimed for a Vital Hit. "I don''t even have to hit them on the head anymore to kill them. I can just strike at their necks with [Strong Pierce] and they''d still die."


    Although unlocking the Technology Tree''s advancements gave a person skills most of the time, such as the case with Valyr unlocking four skills at once after progressing through the Production section, the main reason why NPCs and yers progressed through the Combat section was for a different reason.


    Sure, unlocking certain advancements from the Combat section also yielded a couple of skills here and there, but the main reason why people progressed through the Combat section was the fact that the unlocked advancements tended to upgrade skills already owned by yers and NPCs alike. At times, the knowledge from the advancements would even evolve skills.


    A great example of this was Valyr''s active skill, [Pierce], which had transformed into [Strong Pierce] after he had unlocked a couple advancements rted to the spear in the Combat section.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Strong Pierce] (Level 5/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A skill capable of dealing great damage with a quick thrust. Best paired with a spear or a rapier. Deals 175% damage based on the user''s Attack stat.


    Cost: 9 MP


    Cooldown: 4 seconds


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the skill description as he continued to fight against the monsters, Valyr could not help but whistle in awe at the change. "So you''re telling me I''m basically dealing 50% more damage with the skill than I used to."


    "Well, that works for me!" Laughing, he closed the screen before continuing to fight against the monsters on his side of the battlefield.


    ¡­


    "Guard captains! Deputy leaders! Fall back!" Seeing that the second wave of monsters had finally been taken care of, Damian made the announcement, putting a bit more strength into his voice to make sure it would be heard from afar. Fortunately, his voice was indeed heard from where they were, prompting those that were previously fighting against the third wave to retreat and return to the defensive line, Valyr being one of them.


    Once Valyr had returned to the defensive line, he could not help but let out a light sigh of relief as he noticed Myst appear near him sometimeter.


    "Those who have been assigned to the frontlines for the third wave, get in formation!" Taking in a deep breath, Myst soon opened her mouth. "As the monsters for this wave are all a couple of levels above you, attack the monsters in pairs! Do you hear me?"


    "Yes, ma''am!" In response, a thunderous shout resounded from the frontlines of the east section.


    "Advance!" After saying those words, Myst nodded in satisfaction before turning around, letting out a long sigh of relief soon after.


    "So, Valyr. Mind telling me what happened out there?" Though, rather than head to the rear lines and take a rest, she instead looked at Valyr, the scene from earlier still fresh in her mind. "You still haven''t ascended to Rank 1, right?"


    Valyr nodded in response. "Yeah?"


    "How were you able to deal that much damage even though you haven''t ascended yet?" Myst''s expression was currently that of immense curiosity, wondering how someone like Valyr was able to achieve a level ofbat power on par with Rank 1 ss holders.


    "Mind if I join in on the conversation?" Just as Valyr was about to respond to the question, a familiar face had appeared within their surroundings, prompting the two to look at the man that had arrived.


    "Tristan? What are you doing here¡­ again?" At this point, Valyr could not help but be a bit suspicious.


    In response, a light chuckle escaped Tristan''s mouth as he looked at Valyr. "Well, you''re definitely the reason why I''vee back here. After all, what you''ve done out there is definitely something a normal Rank 0 ss holder can''t do."


    "Anyways, mind enlightening us both how you did what you did out there?" With that question asked, Tristan and Myst looked at Valyr, their expressions that of curiosity.


    "It wouldn''t hurt to tell us, right?" Tristan lightly smiled.

 Chapter 53 Monster Tide: An Odd Decision

    Surprisingly, rather than beat around the bush and remain tight-lipped regarding the method as to how he was able to dish out that much damage, Valyr instead shrugged his shoulders, opening his mouth to exin he had done so. Naturally, both Tristan and Myst went wide-eyed at this decision, not expecting the man before them to give out his secret that easily. "Well, it''s not really too difficult to figure out how I did that if you knew what I was doing."


    "I''m sure both of you have heard of [Pierce], right?" Valyr looked at them, waiting for them to respond. Obtaining light nods from the two, Valyr nodded back. "Well, what if I told you that was the skill I was using to kill those monsters?"


    Hearing that, Tristan and Myst looked at each other for a bit, knowing very well that such a skill wouldn''t be deal that much damage in the hands of a Rank 0 ss holder. Just as they were about to tell Valyr this, a light grin appeared on his face as he knew what they were thinking. Noticing the light grin on his face, the two decided to remain silent, allowing Valyr to continue speaking.


    "Of course, it''s obvious that you two wouldn''t believe me." Valyr lightly chuckled. "After all, such a skill shouldn''t be able to deal that much damage."


    "But what if I told you there was a way to make it do just that?"


    "Let me tell you beforehand that I have no buffs whatsoever. If I did, I would''ve told you that already." cing his hands behind his back, Valyr waited for the two to figure it out for themselves.


    Fortunately, he did not have to wait that long as everything clicked inside Tristan''s mind, prompting him to look at Valyr with a hint of surprise. "Did you¡­ did you spend points on that section?"


    shing a smile at Tristan in response, Valyr nodded. "Exactly. I spent a couple Technology Points on the Combat section of the Technology Tree."


    "Eh?" Surprisingly, Myst tilted his head in slight befuddlement as she heard the term ''Technology Tree''e out of Valyr''s mouth. "Shouldn''t the Technology Tree only be essible to those with Rank 1 sses and above?"


    "Normally, that would be the case." Valyr nodded in agreement. "However, you can have someone unlocked your Technology Tree while still being at Rank 0. Though, that''s only as long as you''re willing to give a Rank 1 ss holder free reign over your mind for a bit."


    "What do you mean free reign over your mind?" Tristan scoffed. "I just sent a bit of my mana into your body. You exaggerate too much."


    "Hehe." Naturally, Valyr could not help but chuckle. "Anyways, unlocking a couple advancements in the Combat section upgraded [Pierce] to [Strong Pierce], which is more or less the reason I could dish out that much damage."


    "Now does that answer both of your questions?" With his exnation, Valyr looked at the two, wondering if they were satisfied with his answer.


    In response to the question, Tristan nodded at him. However, from how Myst was still looking at him with a hint of confusion, it seemed that she still had something more to ask. "Why did you unlock your Technology Tree early, though? Surely that''s not the only reason why you''d do such a thing, right?"


    "Progressing into the Combat section was more or less an afterthought," Valyr said in response. "As for the main reason why, you''re better off asking Tristan about it."


    With that, Myst looked at Tristan beside her, who shrugged his shoulders as he looked back. "He wants to be a cksmith."


    "Speaking of cksmith¡­" While Myst looked at Valyr with a face filled with surprise, Valyr asked Tristan. "Mind if I could borrow a forging hammer and a knife?"


    "I could have someone bring it to you in a couple minutes, but what do you need those for?" Tristan raised his eyebrow, curious as to what Valyr was going to do with the items he requested.


    "Well, I''ve been thinking of upgrading my spear." Saying those words, he extended his bloody wooden spear towards the two, prompting expressions of confusion to appear on both Tristan and Myst''s faces. What they didn''t know was that, all this time, Valyr''s wooden spear was still at Level 1, which meant that he was nine levels over the rmended level to wield the weapon. Fortunately, cksmiths had a method to circumvent that problem, which was more or less one of the reason why weapon bonds were ced with great importance in theter versions.


    The solution? Enhancing the weapon.


    To enhance a weapon was to increase the weapon''s rmended level. With that in mind, Valyr was going to increase the weapon''s rmended level to his current level, his mind imagining the potential damage he could deal once he had so. ''Thankfully, I don''t need to upgrade [Basic Equipment Enhancement] right now. All the upgrades to that skill do is just reduce the time it takes for me to increase the weapon''s rmended level by one.''


    Gazing at the battlefield, he noticed how their side was somewhat struggling against the monsters, yet still gained an edge as a whole. Inwardly nodding, he returned his gaze back at the two before him. ''Well, I think I have enough time to do that.''


    "Upgrade your spear? Would upgrading your spear really change anything?" After getting over his initial confusion, Tristan wondered if Valyr had a n in mind.


    "Can''t you just change to a better spear instead?" On the other hand, Myst didn''t know why Valyr continued to use the wooden spear.


    In response, Valyr scratched his head for a bit before tossing his spear to Tristan. "Go ahead and use [Analysis] on it."


    "Alright?" Although confused, Tristan''s eyes gained a light blue tint around them as he stared at the spear Valyr gave him. Soon after, his pupils shrank as he looked back at Valyr with widened eyes, expressing his great bewilderment. "You''ve been wielding something like this all this time?!"


    After saying those words, a hint of excitement appeared on Tristan''s face as he gave the spear back to Valyr. Soon after, he dashed back towards the entrance of the vige, presumably to obtain the forging hammer and knife Valyr requested.


    Of course, such a drastic change in behavior had left Myst at a loss for words, making her wonder what was so special with the spear Valyr was wielding. Noticing the curiosity still written all over her face, Valyr used [Analysis] on the spear before turning the screen around to face Myst.


    With that, Myst read through the weapon''s description, her eyebrows raised once she noticed that there was something special about it. "A weapon bond?"


    "Yeah. That''s the reason why I haven''t changed into a different spear." Valyr nodded in response.


    "I see¡­" Myst went silent for a bit, pondering as to what weapon bonds might be. Eventually realizing she had no clue what they were, she looked back at him, changing the topic of their conversation. "What''s the reason behind wanting to be a cksmith?"


    "That''s something I''d rather keep to myself, sorry." Valyr bitterly smiled.


    "Well, I had a feeling you''d say that." Myst shrugged her shoulders, expecting Valyr to give her answer along those lines. "In any case, deciding to upgrade your spear in the middle of battle is¡­ an odd decision, to say the least."


    "This won''t be thest of those odd decisions, I''ll tell you that much." Valyr let out a hearty chuckle in response, only for him to stop as he heard footsteps heading in their direction.


    Turning around, both Valyr and Myst saw Tristan running as fast as his legs could take him, bringing along with him a somewhat crude forging hammer and a slightly rusty knife.


    "This was the best I could get, considering the current circumstances," Tristan said as he panted, gasping for air. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Valyr. "Would this be enough?"


    In response, Valyr nodded with a smile.


    "More than enough."

 Chapter 54 Monster Tide: The Fourth Wave

    "Are you gonna upgrade the spear right now?" Hearing Valyr''s reply, Tristan could not help but ask in response, his bodynguage showing the immense excitement he felt towards what Valyr was going to do.


    In response, Valyr nodded at his question. Though, the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth instantly dampened the mood he felt, causing a slightly sad frown to appear on his face. "Yes, I will. After all, we still have more waves we have toplete."


    "Though, I''ll be heading to the back of the defensive line to do the upgrade. It would do no good for me to block the passage for those fighting, after all."


    "Is it possible for me to apany you and watch you do the upgrade?" Although he had a glum expression on his face, the expression on Tristan''s face quickly changed into that of pleading as he asked Valyr this question. At this point, Myst could not help but look at Tristan weirdly, wondering why the most renowned cksmith in the vige was treating a neer this way.


    Unfortunately for Tristan, Valyr''s words once more crushed his hopes as thetter shook his head with an apologetic smile. "For now, it''d be better if I do this upgrade on my own. Since this is my first time enhancing a weapon, you mightugh at me during the process."


    "Why would Iugh?" Listening to his words, Tristan decided to be assertive onest time. "Every cksmith has to start from somewhere, after all."


    "That''s definitely true but¡­" A hint of hesitation appeared on Valyr''s face, only to let out a sigh sometimeter as he looked at Tristan. "Could I do this on my own for now, Tristan? Let me explore the entire process for myself? I promise you can watch the next time I do something like this."


    Hearing those words, Tristan''s hopes were thoroughly crushed, prompting him to let out a sigh as well. After that, a bitter smile appeared on his face before lightly nodding. "Alright, alright. I won''t stop you anymore."


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Valyr thanked Tristan before leaving the vicinity, heading towards the rear section of the defensive line. While he did that, Myst could not help but look at the despondent Tristan, wondering what he saw or realized that made him treat Valyr that way. "Why were you acting like that towards Valyr? It''s so¡­ unlike you, Tristan."


    In response, Tristan shed Myst a wry smile. "Since you''re not a cksmith, you don''t understand how important weapon bonds are."


    "Are they really that special?" At this point, Myst''s interest towards the topic could not help but be piqued.


    Nodding, Tristan exined. "Special only scratches the surface of what weapon bonds are. If you were to ask me what I think about weapon bonds, they''re probably the difference between victory and defeat."


    As Myst''s eyes slightly widened at those words, Tristan continued to speak. "At the first couple levels, the only thing they do is increase the power of the weapon by a certain percentage, which doesn''t seem like much in the long run. However, the reason why weapon bonds are considered important is because of their higher levels. Even the lowest rung of those levels is enough to transform a shitty weapon into a weapon capable of writing legends."


    "On top of that, it''s incredibly rare for one toe across a weapon bond, especially a weapon bond at the higher levels." Tristan looked at her, his face regaining its earlier vigor. "So far, I''ve onlye across three weapons that have a weapon bond. The first was a weapon I came across when I was still an apprentice, the second was Damian''s sword, and the third¡­"


    "Well, that''s none other than Valyr''s spear." Tristan finished his exnation there. "A weapon bond is a strong enough reason for someone like Valyr to stick wooden spear. After all, there are multiple ways to enhance his weapon''s capabilities to match his future strength. On the other hand, obtaining a weapon bond is as difficult as finding phoenix feathers, especially the high-leveled ones."


    With her now having a bit of knowledge towards the topic, a question soon formed in Myst''s mind, prompting her to ask Tristan about it. "Hmm¡­ do you think I could get a weapon bond as well?"


    In response, Tristan let out a light chuckle. "Fortunately for you, you''re in the right ce for that to happen."


    "And that would be¡­?" Myst raised her eyebrow in curiosity, to which Tristan replied to by extending his arm out and pointing in the direction where the monsters were.


    "The battlefield." He lightly smiled.


    ¡­


    While the two were talking about weapon bonds and how to get them, Valyr had finally found an ideal spot for him to do his upgrading, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. Arriving at the spot, he looked around for a bit, wanting to see whether there were people who might see what he was doing while he was passing through. Thankfully, after a few minutes of surveince, none of the people that passed by seemed to have noticed his presence at all, allowing his mind to be at ease as he dropped his wooden spear on the ground.


    Taking out the forging hammer and knife Tristan gave him, Valyr took in a deep breath before trying to recall all of the experiences he had in the past regarding the enhancement of the equipment. Naturally, the reason why he didn''t want Tristan to watch him upgrade the weapon was not because he wanted to explore the process of enhancing on his own. Instead, it was because he didn''t want him to know that he was well-versed in enhancing equipment.


    After recalling everything he needed to know about enhancing, Valyr focused his attention towards the spear before him, slightly tightening his grip around the knife before using it to gradually carve the spear''s surface.


    "[Basic Equipment Enhancement]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Basic Equipment Enhancement] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A basic skill any cksmith should know. This skill allows the user to enhance the rmended level of equipment of their choosing by one after a certain interval. Note that the user cannot enhance their equipment to a level exceeding theirs.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As if falling into a trance, Valyr''s eyes darted about the spear''s surface, finding any minute imperfections it had before carving it down with the knife he held. Then, at other times, he would ce the knife down before picking up the forging hammer, hammering out the imperfections that couldn''t be carved out with the knife.


    Gradually, the speed at which he went through this process increased, eventually reaching a point where his muscle memory took over as he spared a quick nce towards what was happening on the battlefield. "Oh, it seems the east and west sections are moving closer to the center section again. Are they finally preparing for the fourth wave?"


    "If that''s the case, I should hurry up." With that in mind, the speed at which he found and fixed imperfections on his spear sharply increased.


    Rumble¡­


    Coincidentally, by the time he had ced both forging hammer and knife down as he admired his newly upgraded spear, a strong rumble could be felt throughout the area, prompting a light smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he stood up and affixed the spear behind his back. Pocketing the forging hammer and knife, he soon exerted all of his strength through his feet, zooming through the defensive line as he swiftly made his way to where the east section was now located.


    "I can''t wait to test this spear out on the battlefield."


    "I wonder how much damage I''ll be dealing by then?"

 Chapter 55 Monster Tide: Fighting Once More

    After running for quite some time, Valyr had eventually arrived where the east section was now located, gasping for a bit of air once he recognized a couple of familiar people appeared in his field of vision.


    While he was catching his breath, Myst came up to him, prompting Valyr to look back at her before giving her a quick thumbs up.


    Nodding in response, she then told Valyr to follow her, only for the two of them to stop near the boundary of the east section''s defensive line.


    Letting out a light sigh, Myst looked at Valyr with an expression of relief written all over her face. "To be honest, I thought you wouldn''t make it in time before the fourth wave."


    In response, Valyr looked at the battlefield in front of them, quickly noticing that only a couple dozen monsters remained to be in before the fourth wave would begin. With that in mind, he could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief that he finished his upgrade in time. "Well, I thought I wouldn''t make it in time either."


    Hearing that, a light smile appeared on Myst''s face for a bit, only for it to disappear as she stared at the battlefield solemnly. "I know this might sound grating to the ears, but we''ll be the ones making a move for the fourth wave."


    "Just the two of us again?" Valyr raised his eyebrow.


    Myst shook her head in response. "Although us two will be moving again, we''ll be apanied by everyone else who''s at Rank 1."


    Turning around to look at who would apany them, Myst could not help but scratch her head before letting out a sigh. "Then again, the number of people in the vige that have a Rank 1 ss are only in the low double digits, around 30 or so. Add on the fact that all of them have to work in groups of three against the uing wave, we''ll probably be making the most difference again."


    "It sucks that our forces are being stretched thin, but we have to make do with what we have."


    After Myst was finished saying those words, silence covered their surroundings, which made Valyr ufortable for some reason. Retrieving the spear behind his back, he decided to take a look and see how everyone was faring while also being mindful of the progress on the battlefield.


    In an instant, it quickly stood out to him that almost everyone behind the defensive line had somber expressions on their faces. Whether it was those up in line to fight the monsters against the fourth wave, or those who had just returned from fighting the monsters in the third wave, all of them seemed despondent, as if they had epted something before it even had the chance to happen.


    "What''s with the somber mood?" Curious, Valyr decided to ask Myst beside him.


    Surprisingly, in response to the question, Myst gave him a bitter smile. "Right. I almost forgot this is the first time you''re helping the vige out against a monster tide."


    "Well, to answer your question, the fourth wave is when the vige''s forces are finally spread out so thin that monsters inevitably pass through the battlefield and finally deal considerable damage to the vige." She let out a light sigh. "Then again, we don''t really have anything to stop it from happening. Those who have the strength to deal with the fourth wave are out in the battlefield, while those staying behind the defensive line are all weaker than the monsters who barge through."


    "We could have those at the defensive line give it their all to make sure the vige doesn''t get hit, but that would just mean piling up sacrifices that could have been avoided in the first ce." Myst looked at Valyr. "It''s easier to rece broken parts of the vige than find more people to defend the vige, after all."


    "Though, that doesn''t mean we''ve epted the fact that we''re helpless against the fourth wave and the waves after that. Not even one bit." As she said those words, a faint killing intent emanated from her, slowly unsheathing her de. "We''re still going to give it our all to kill every monster we can."


    "For the sake of the vige."


    After listening to Myst''s words, Valyr could not help but grip tightly on his wooden spear, his mind wondering whether his presence in this vige was helping reduce the damage the vige received from the monster tide. After all, he was only one person. There was only so much he could do with his current level of strength, something he took pride in, but knew that it wouldn''t change how the vige fared that much by the end of the tide.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Just as the doubts in his mind intensified regarding his participation in the defense against the tide, Valyr looked at the people behind him, noticing that some of them were looking at him. From their gazes alone, he quickly felt that these people had ced all of their trust that he would try his best to defend the vige from the fourth wave''s monsters as much as possible. Of course, he was not the only recipient of this kind of gaze. Myst, Tristan, Damian, everyone who had a Rank 1 ss all felt these gazes behind their back, feeling as if multiple intangible hands were pushing on their back, prompting them to move forward.


    Realizing this, Valyr looked at his upgraded wooden spear before shifting his gaze to the battlefield. Focusing his attention on the next wave of monsters that he and the others would be fighting against, he took in a deep breath before letting out a light sigh, a killing intent gradually emanating around him.


    ¡­


    "Men! As the fourth wave is looming before us, it''s time for us to make adequate preparations!" As the number of monsters in the battlefield was now less than ten, Myst, as well as the leaders of the other two sections, decided to prepare for the uing wave, knowing that their next fight''s goal was to reduce as much damage the vige took as possible. "All of those near and at the limit of Rank 0, you''ll be making us the first line of defense for this section! Group yourselves up into four and attack any monster that passes through the defensive line!"


    "However, don''t be foolish to sacrifice your life for just one monster. If you feel like you''re no match for it, let it ram against the vige walls before attacking it from the back!" Myst''s voice was stern, prompting everyone who heard it to listen to hermands. "Those that aren''t included in the first line of defense, Imend your bravery to still be here! You shall make up the second line of defense. Your goal is to aid the first line in killing any monster that passes by as quickly as possible!"


    "Do I make myself clear?"


    "Yes, ma''am!" Multiple voices responded to her question in unison, the somber atmosphere surrounded them just a while ago now gone. Instead, what reced it was a feeling of immense determination, a determination to make sure that their vige wouldn''t sumb to the tyranny of the monster tide.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Myst then focused her gaze on the ones who would be apanying her and Valyr into the battlefield. "As for you guys, you''ll be grouping yourselves up into three against the monsters. Just like what I''ve said earlier, don''t be foolish to sacrifice your life for just one monster. If you know you can''t fight against it, just retreat."


    "Am I clear?"


    "Yes, ma''am!" Unlike before, only a few voices responded in unison to Myst''s question. Nevertheless, the unyielding feeling from before was still there.


    Once she was done talking, Myst spared a nce towards Valyr, who nodded back at her in response. Seeing that, she took in a deep breath before looking at the others, nodding at them before starting to make her way to the battlefield. Naturally, the others followed suit, apanying her as all of them stared at the monsters they were up against, knowing that they had to give it beyond their all.


    "Advance!"

 Chapter 56 Monster Tide: Accumulating Damage

    Roar!


    As a couple dozen people in total emerged from the three sections defending the vige, a loud roar resounded from the far end of the other side of the battlefield, a faint rumble apanying it. Within seconds, a great number of monsters charged in the direction of the vige, all of them emanating auras far greater than those in the third wave had. It went without saying that their goal was the same, wanting nothing more than to destroy the vige and reduce it to fine rubble.


    Seeing as the monsters had finally made a move, the people that had entered the battlefield quickly went their own ways, with a great portion of them moving forward in a group of three. Of course, as someone capable of dishing out a great amount of damage, Valyr was one of those who moved out on his own, quickly shing against a monster in the battlefield soon after.


    Bang!


    ''-30''


    Thrusting his spear forward, he instantly stopped the momentum of the monster he had chosen as his target. Naturally, this enraged the monster, lunging forward to attack Valyr in response. However, before its attack could evennd, Valyr sidestepped and utilized the entirety of his AGI to move to the monster''s abdomen, shing out with spear in a cross pattern soon after.


    ''-26''


    ''-23''


    With its attention caught by the paining from its abdomen out of nowhere, the monster hastily turned around, only for it to stand still soon after as it felt something poke through its neck.


    Puchi!


    ''-78!!''


    Just as the monster was about to turn its head around to see what had dealt the final blow to it, all of the light in its eyes quickly dimmed as its body soon limped to the ground without making much sound.


    Ding!


    [With a 3 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 60%.]


    [You have in a Level 13 Tide Monster. You have gained 523 XP.]


    "So the fourth wave is made up of monsters at Level 13, huh?" Valyr murmured to himself, closing the notification screen in front of him before finding another target to fight against. Though, unlike the first monster he had killed, which seemed slow to keep up with his actions, the monster he currently fought against seemed to have greater agility, allowing it to dodge Valyr''s attacks, albeit barely.


    Of course, realizing this, Valyr knew that there was no point in continuing the fight, stopping in his tracks before sending out a quick thrust to the monster''s skull.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-263!!!''


    Before the monster could even react to his sudden attack, its head had burst open and exploded into chunks of flesh and blood. Not long after, its headless body fell to the ground with a thud, eliciting a hint of fear to appear within the monsters surrounding the two earlier as they witnessed this sight.


    Ding!


    [With a 4 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 80%.]


    [You have in a Level 14 Tide Monster. You have gained 780 XP.]


    "Make that Level 13 and Level 14." Valyr revised his earlier hypothesis, his body continuing to move as he fought against monsters that entered his field of vision.


    ¡­


    As those in the battlefield continued to fight against the monsters of the fourth wave, a couple monsters eventually slipped through them, madly dashing towards the vige in a bid to destroy it. Seeing this, those at the defensive line got their weapons ready and met up with the rogue monsters at a moment''s notice, making sure to prioritize their safety first before attacking.


    At first, those at the defensive line had no problems defending against the monsters that had slipped through the cracks, with a great portion of them already having reduced HP by the time they arrived by the defensive line. Unfortunately, as time passed, more and more monsters got past the battlefield, gradually overwhelming the defensive line as they fought monsters at full HP.


    Eventually, one of the monsters had gotten past the defensive lines that were set up and rammed against the vige walls, finally dealing damage to the vige. Of course, just like how the defensive line was getting overwhelmed, more and more monsters slipped past the defensive line and rammed against the vige walls, with their collective efforts eventually destroying a portion of the vige walls.


    Naturally, the monsters in the battlefield quickly noticed this, instilling them with great vigor as they fought against those in the battlefield with greater speed and power behind every back. This, in turn, allowed more monsters to get past the battlefield as they joined theirrades in destroying more of the vige.


    "Hey, Damian. Aren''t we gonna make a move yet?" While that was happening, a man in the center section looked at the man beside him, only to jump above a charging monster beforending a barrage of punches on its head, effectively killing it.


    "Just wait for a bit more, Tristan. We haven''t reached the point of no return yet." In response, thetter looked back at the former before dashing past the defensive line for a bit. Soon after, the man unsheathed his sword before running along the side of a rampaging monster, sending a flurry of shes on its abdomen.


    Swoosh!


    At the very instant the monster took another step, a great amount of blood burst out from the side of its abdomen, causing it to fall to the ground on its side as its consciousness eventually disappeared.


    Hearing Damian''s words, Tristan could not help but let out a sigh before shaking his head. Looking back to take a look at how the defensive line was faring, he then moved to where Damian was. "Are you seriously only going to make a move once the situation looked dire? Our defensive line is already on the losing end, Damian. We should be helping them out since we''re still here. Do you really want to make meaningless sacrifices?"


    "Of course, I don''t." Damian shook his head in response. Though, not long after, he shed a light grin at Tristan. "But¡­ regarding the problem with the defensive line, we''re not the ones going to take care of it."


    p! p!


    pping his hands twice, Damian shifted his attention towards the defensive line, prompting Tristan to take a look as well, wondering what the former was nning. Fortunately for Tristan, it did not take long for him to find it out, noticing that a great number of monsters previously ramming against the vige walls had already fallen to the ground with a thud.


    Whoosh!


    Within minutes, the burden on those manning the defensive line hastily lessened, allowing them to allocate more attention towards the rogue monsters that appeared before them. At that point, Tristan was greatly curious as to what had just happened, looking at Damian to see if thetter would tell him. In response to the gaze he was getting, Damian could only shrug his shoulders. "I just had a few Rank 1 ss holders wait near the defensive line, that''s all."


    "Anyways, while the defensive line is not having much of a problem in the meantime, we should help out those fighting against the fourth wave." Saying that, Damian shed a smile at Tristan. "You asked me if I was only going to make a move if the situation seemed dire, right?"


    "Well¡­" Taking a look at the great number of monsters that had slipped past the battlefield, making their way towards the vige, a strong killing intent emanated from Damian as he licked his lips. "Consider the current situation dire enough."


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, Damian madly dashed towards one of the rogue monsters,nding a flurry of shes on the monster''s body before moving onto the next one. Seeing this, Tristan could not help but shake his head. "Acting cool as always in front of me."


    "Then again¡­" Tristan grinned,ing face to face with a rogue monster before sending out a punch that sent the monster flying.


    "It''s not like I don''t enjoy it either."

 Chapter 57 Monster Tide: Sword Dancer And Battle Junkie

    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-158!!''


    "One more down¡­ still a hell of a lot more to go." As Valyr activated his skill, cleanly piercing through a nearby monster''s throat, he could not help but let out a sigh as he retracted his spear. Although he had already killed his fair share of monsters for this wave, the number of monsters in the battlefield were still in the hundreds, even after considering the fact that a portion of them had gotten past their grasp and ran towards the vige walls.


    Unfortunately, even Valyr could not avoid a couple monsters in his field of vision from getting past him. These monsters would get past him through a various number of ways, though the mostmon way for them to pass through was to take advantage of the time where Valyr was preupied with fighting other monsters. There were also those who had gotten past him by relying on their insanely high AGI stat, though that was something he did not have control over anymore.


    "In any case, I wouldn''t be having such an easy time fighting against these monsters if I hadn''t upgraded the spear." With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on his wooden spear, the results of which appeared in his mind as his body moved to fight against the nearest monster to him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Wooden Spear] (Level 10)


    Rarity: Common


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Valyr)


    Attack: 9 - 15 (+10%)


    A spear given to those newly enlisted with the vige guards of Astarto Vige, being deemed by most people as a training weapon until one could afford a proper weapon. Nevertheless, the material it is made of and the level of attention to it allows it to keep up in battles somewhat. An apprentice cksmith has upgraded it to a considerably high level, allowing it to unleash more damage and withstand more strain.


    As the user has continued to use the spear even though they have already outgrown it, traces of a soul have awakened inside the spear, allowing it to somewhat grow to meet the needs of the user.


    Remarks: I know what you''re trying to do, but you''re still stupid.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Although the increase in damage after upgrading the wooden spear to Level 10 did not seem that substantial, Valyr knew that the true effects of upgrading the spear would only appear whenever he used an active skill, such as [Strong Pierce].


    Unlike basic attacks, wherein a random value within the range of the weapon''s Attack stat was pulled, any active skill utilized the maximum Attack value of the weapon in terms of calcting damage. Of course, because of this fact, many people in Valyr''s past life would often collect weapons that had abysmal ranges for their Attack stat, their goal being to use them for their maximum Attack value when activating skills.


    In fact, a new y style was born because of it, with the people who utilized the new y style being known as skill mages, known for their insane damage output when it came to active skills. Their only caveat was their basic attacks, which greatly varied depending on how abysmal the range of damage their weapon dealt.


    ¡­


    While continuing to fight against the monsters, with most of them falling down just from one [Strong Pierce], Valyr could not help but redirect his attention towards the monsters who had gotten past the other people in the battlefield. Though all of them were already trying their hardest to make sure none of the monsters got past them, he still could not help but feel disappointed. "If only I was fast enough to catch up to those that got past, that would be great."


    Swoosh!


    As if his inner thoughts were being answered by a higher being, a couple people were speedily making their way through the area that separated one from the defensive line to the battlefield, killing all of the monsters they passed through within a couple of hits.


    Naturally, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen at this sight, wondering who these strong people were. Of course, he also wondered why they''ve only made a move now, thinking that a great portion of the monsters that had gotten past could have been stopped from damaging the vige walls beforehand.


    Though, once the two had gotten closer to the battlefield, Valyr finally realized who the two were, feeling a bit more hope that they had a chance at sessfully defending against the fourth wave. "Tristan and Damian¡­ they''re finally making a move."


    "[Analysis]." With how effortless their moves were in killing monsters, as well as the fact that the two of them were speedily moving through the battlefield, Valyr could not stop himself from identifying their stats, only to be left aghast a momentter.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Damian Waters] (Level 25)


    ss: Sword Dancer (Rank 1 ¡ª Umon)


    Subss: Guard Leader (Umon)


    HP: 900/900


    MP: 348/348


    Stats: 75 VIT, 91 STR, 82 AGI, 92 DEX, 29 INT, 29 WIS, 47 PER, 25 LUK


    Remarks: Why bother thinking you can fight this one?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Being jolted back to reality by the roar of monsters near him, Valyr focused his attention on the monsters in front of him before relying on his muscle memory to fight them. After all, what he had just seen had shocked him to his core.


    ''I know I''ve seen my fair share of high stats in the past, but three stats that are near 100 at Rank 1?'' Valyr inwardly eximed in shock, knowing very well how hard it was to achieve such feat if one didn''t rely on something like the Reinforcement Elixirs. ''On top of that, both his ss and subss are Umon grade.''


    Subsses were something that could only be obtained once one had ascended to a Rank 1 ss. Aside from the fact that subsses allowed one to gain ess to more skills than what their ss could give them, subsses also gave a certain number of attributes every time one increased their level, the amount of which relied on the rarity of the ss they had, as well as the rarity of the subss they had.


    For an Umon grade subss, one would gain 30% of the attributes one would obtain per level from their ss, although it would be distributed differently. Forparison, a Common grade subss would only give one 20% of the attributes per level, while a Mythic grade subss would effectively double the attributes gained by a yer per level.


    ''As for Tristan¡­'' With that in mind, he redirected his attention towards the screen that corresponded to Tristan, his pupils shrinking after finding out his subss. ''He actually has that subss?!''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tristan Melphon] (Level 26)


    ss: Experienced cksmith (Rank 2)


    Subss: Battle Junkie (Rare)


    HP: 1230/1230


    MP: 810/810


    Stats: 82 VIT, 74 STR, 68 AGI, 110 DEX, 54 INT, 26 WIS, 29 PER, 26 LUK


    Remarks: Ever wanted to meet the grim reaper?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''So that''s why he described his subss back then that way. Now it makes sense.'' Letting out a light sigh, Valyr closed all of the screens in his mind as he refocused his attention towards the monsters before him.


    As a Rare subss, Tristan was able to obtain 50% of the attributes he would gain from his ss per level, which Valyr was certain that it was the reason his DEX stat had surpassed the 100-point mark. However, what interested him even more was the subss itself. After all, if his mind served him correctly, the Battle Junkie subss also had another name in his past life.


    The Berserker.

 Chapter 58 Monster Tide: Tidemother

    ''Then again, obtaining the Battle Junkie subss only gives one the ideology of the Berserker for the most part, not the skills itself.'' Valyr recalled a moment in his past life where everyone was trying to obtain the Battle Junkie subss due to the fact that it allowed one to adopt a more free-form fighting style. In their minds, not being limited by the weapons they wielded were a great boon, only to realizeter on that it would hamper their progress in finding a suitable fighting style.


    Of course, the Berserker ss also existed, which was considered a Rare grade ss by the game, a ss that heavily leaned on a y style that allowed one to deal more damage the longer they fought. It could be said that the Berserker ss and the Battle Junkie subss were a match made in heaven, with the subss allowing the ss to show far greater power than normal, allowing the ss to transcend its original grade.


    In fact, Valyr could recall that there was a yer who had both the Berserker ss and the Battle Junkie subss in his past life. Once that yer had ascended to the next ss rank, he had evolved his ss to the True Berserker ss, a ss that was not just one grade above his original ss, but two, being ssified as a Legendary ss.


    ''I wonder if that yer will do the same thing this time around, considering that I''ve been brought back to before the beta version even began.'' cing this thought at the back of his head, Valyr continued to fight against the monsters, relying on the lethality of [Strong Pierce] to reduce the burden on himself, as well as the defensive line far behind him.


    ¡­


    "Are we anywhere near finishing the fourth wave?" Valyr could not help but mutter to himself, his breathing ragged as he sent his spear towards a monster''s throat, effectively killing it in one hit.


    Seeing that the number of monsters in his area had thinned out quite a bit, he decided to take a rest for a while, sitting down on ground that hadn''t been tainted with blood yet. Taking in a deep breath, he took a look at the sky, only realizing just then that they had been fighting nonstop for many hours already as the sun had already gone past its zenith.


    Apanying that realization, Valyr''s stomach slightly rumbled, which elicited a sigh to escape from its mouth as he rubbed it for a bit. Standing up after feeling that he had rested enough, he gripped his spear before running for a bit to find the ideal target. However, just as he was about to lunge forward to attack a certain monster, a certain being had beaten him to the punch, sending the monster flying on its side as it knocked over multiple monsters as coteral.


    "What the¡­" Taking a look to see who the person who stole his target was, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen in slight surprise as he had never expected this person to appear before him. "Tristan?"


    "Yo!" In response, Tristan waved back at him and cheekily smiled. "I thought you were having difficulty with the monsters in the area, so I decided to help out a bit."


    "Anyways, how are you holding up?" As he said that, Tristan charged towards a couple monsters, sending them flying with a single blow each. Because of that, the burden on Valyr and the others in the vicinity had significantly lessened.


    "Well, I''m getting by, I guess." Valyr shrugged his shoulders at the question. "Then again, it''s not like I could turn tail and return to the vige."


    "You could, but the people in the vige definitely won''t like it." Tristan joked, prompting a wry smile to appear on Valyr''s face. "In any case, if you were wondering where Damian is, he''s at another part of the battlefield, currently helping the others clear this wave as quickly as possible."


    "Eh? Is there really a need to?" Valyr asked, gazing far beyond the battlefield to see that there were no wave of monsters waiting for them. "There doesn''t seem to be a fifth wave though."


    "For now, that might be the case." Tristan nodded in response. But soon after, his expression turned solemn. "However, if we don''t finish this wave quickly enough, we might have to fight against a few more waves instead of having the next one as the final wave. Just so you know, we''re ill-equipped to fight against the former."


    "The final wave? Isn''t this already the final wave?" Tilting his head in confusion, Valyr looked at Tristan.


    In response, Tristan shook his head before pointing far beyond the battlefield. "I wish it was."


    Looking in the direction where Tristan was pointing, Valyr only saw arge yet faint silhouette at first. Though, as he continued to utilize more and more of his perception, he eventually saw the silhouette in its entirety, his mouth bing ck-jawed as he could not help but look at Tristan. "We''re¡­ we''re fighting against something like that?"


    "We are." Tristan slowly nodded as he lightly sighed.


    Hearing his response, Valyr redirected his attention once more towards the entity on the other far end of the battlefield as Tristan took the initiative to fight the monsters surrounding them.


    From what he could see, the entity looked simr to a spider, but was hundreds of timesrger in every aspect. If he were to hazard a guess, he would estimate that the entity was around 40 to 50 meters tall.


    Not only that, but multiple orifices could be seen on its underside, giving Valyr the feeling that they had a specific purpose as to why they were on the entity''s body. After looking at it for a bit, he decided to use [Analysis] on it from afar, wondering if the skill would even register his usage. Fortunately, the skill did activate, giving him information within his mind regarding the entity he saw from afar.


    But of course, the information he had received was not in any way good at the very least.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Lesser Tidemother (Rare Elite)] (Level 25)


    HP: 2500/2500


    Remarks: Don''t you even think about it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the information, Valyr could not help but sharply inhale a great amount of air. Aside from the fact that it was 15 levels above his own, it was ssified as a Rare Elite by the system!


    Unlike Elites and Umon Elites, which could be found in leveling areas if one looked hard enough, Rare Elites were existences that would only bemonly found in ces where monsters were in their most ferocious state¡­


    Dungeons!


    Finally feeling the gravitas and the importance of how they needed to clear the current wave as soon as possible, Valyr went ahead and charged against a monster, shamelessly utilizing [Strong Pierce] to increase the speed at which he killed it.


    "Now that''s what I''m talking about!" Finally being able to see the sight from up close, Tristan could not help but give Valyr a thumbs up as he chuckled,nding a ferocious kick on a monster''s face soon after.


    Screeeeee!


    Just as the two were about to engage with another monster, a loud screech pervaded throughout the entire battlefield, bringing everything to an abrupt halt as everyone looked at the entity from afar, noticing that it was gradually getting closer to where they were.


    "Well shit." Tristan cursed all of a sudden.


    "The Tidemother''s pissed."

 Chapter 59 Monster Tide: To Live Another Day

    "It seems we''ll have to part ways once more, Valyr." As Tristan said those words, a solemn expression could be seen on his face as his body started to radiate a faint red light. Soon after, his eyes gained a slight crimson hue to them, making him seem as if he were going to go berserk at any time.


    "[Battle Mania]."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he had uttered the name of the skill, the red light surrounding him instantly intensified, transforming into a billowing me that gave off the feeling that it could burn anyone who touched it.


    "I''m sure Damian will say somethingter, but let me give you a head start." Cracking his knuckles, Tristan eyed the monsters that he would target, licking his lips before letting out a slight maniacal grin as he spared a quick nce towards Valyr.


    "Fight like your life depends on it."


    Swoosh!


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Utilizing his stats to its maximum potential, Tristan seemingly disappeared within Valyr''s field of vision, appearing a secondter beside the head of a monster before punching it off not long after. As the monster''s decapitated head flew in the air for a while, a string of red energy came out of the headless body, which Tristan surprisingly absorbed as the aura emanating from him experienced a slight increase.


    Lightly cackling, he continued tond attacks on any monsters he chose to target, the power he exuded gradually bing more terrifying the more monsters he killed.


    Watching this scene unfold from afar, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh of awe as he wryly smiled soon after. Gripping tightly onto his spear, he then eyed the monsters in his surroundings, eventually choosing one as he gave it a swift death through [Strong Pierce]. ''Well, I can see why Tristan chose to get Battle Junkie as his subss.''


    ''But with him activating [Battle Mania]¡­''


    "It seems we''re going for one more push before the final bout." Realizing this, Valyr took in a deep breath as his eyes gained a slight chill to them. From this point onwards, he was going to contribute as much as an anomalous Level 10 being like him could in this wave.


    After all, the fight with the Tidemother was still something way out of his league.


    ¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    While everyone was still engaged in battle against the monsters in their vicinity, some of them cursing out that some monsters in their grasp had escaped, therge entity at the other end of the battlefield had finally started to move, taking steps closer to the battlefield where Valyr and the others were.


    Noticing this, Tristan sharply inhaled air as his attacks were sent out at a greater speed for an instant, quickly killing all the monsters in his surroundings. Then, while still in the process of whittling down the number of monsters in the battlefield, he mustered up the loudest voice he could, directing his message towards the other person who had apanied him.


    "Hey, Damian! The Tidemother''s starting to move!"


    "I know! You don''t have to tell me!" In response to his words, Tristan received a loud snarl from another side of the battlefield, eliciting a light smile to appear on his face as he continued to kill more monsters.


    On the other hand, the recipient of Tristan''s words could not help but let out a long sigh before shaking his head. Nevertheless, Damian knew that Tristan wouldn''t just say those words out of nowhere, prompting him to take a look at the horizon beyond the battlefield, confirming that the entity known as the Tidemother was indeed making its way to where they were.


    Getting into a battle stance, Damian took a deep inhale as his sword started to shimmer a faint blue light on its surface. Leaning his body a bit more, he then darted towards a monster, inflicting a long yet deep gash on its abdomen before moving to the monster adjacent to it, ducking beforending a brutal sh across its throat.


    "[Flowing Sword Dance]."


    Thud! Thud!


    While he continued to move throughout the battlefield, his every sh rendering a monster incapable of fighting any further, his voice soon echoed to the far ends of the area as he bellowed out, "Men, heed my words!"


    "Increase your killing speed! Go all out! This next move shall dictate whether our vige lives to see another day or if it crumbles under the wrath of the Tidemother!"


    Hearing the word ''Tidemother'' enter their ears, almost everyone in the battlefield slightly shuddered for a bit. Though, in exchange, the speed at which they fought against their enemies experienced a sharp increase, their minds thinking that they needed to follow Damian''s words, lest they wanted to witness the wrath of the Tidemother firsthand.


    And so, with Tristan employing [Battle Mania], Damian employing [Flowing Sword Dance], and most of the people on the battlefield spurred on by Damian''s words, the number of monsters on the battlefield quickly reduced in a matter of minutes. At that moment, most of them did not care whether their bodies felt like it was on the verge of breaking. In their minds, there was no other goal than to kill the monsters making up the wave as soon as possible.


    Fortunately for those fighting in the battlefield, the speed at which the Tidemother moved towards where they were was negligible. Though it was able to cross a great distance due to its massive body, the distance separating the two of them negated this advantage. Of course, those in the battlefield took advantage of this, rendering all monsters unable to continue fighting just as the Tidemother was only a quarter of the way to where they were.


    As each and everyone on the battlefield let out cheers of joy, as well as sighs of relief after finally being able to clear the fourth wave, Damianmanded everyone to congregate to where he was. By the time a couple minutes had passed, everyone who had been tasked to fight in the frontlines had appeared before him, their appearances at various levels of dishevelment.


    Looking at those who had sacrificed their time and energy to help the vige in defending against the monster tide so far, Damian thanked each and everyone of them, prompting smiles to appear on the faces of the others, no matter how tired they felt or how battered they were. "As we''ve cleared this wave quickly enough, the only remaining enemy we have to face against until we sessfully clear the monster tide is the Tidemother heading our way."


    Listening to Damian''s words, almost everyone looked far beyond the battlefield, noticing the massive spider-like entity gradually make its way to where they were with every passing step. However, knowing that Damian still had more to say, they redirected their attention back to him.


    However, what they did not expect were the next few words that came out of his mouth. "Since you''ve all worked hard so far, although it may be difficult for us, we would understand if you choose to return to the vige and aid those in the defensive lines instead."


    "Of course, should you choose to remain here and help us fight against the Tidemother, we''d highly appreciate that."


    "You''ll given a couple minutes to make your choice before Tristan and I move to face the Tidemother." Saying those words, the entire surroundings went silent for a bit. Everyone in that area looked at each other for a while in silence, the gazes they gave each other unsure as to whether they would leave or stay. Though, as time passed, the gazes in everyone''s eyes eventually leaned towards a certain decision.


    A decision that made Damian gave the others a rare smile.


    "I see you''ve made a decision," he said with a nod, noticing that not even one among them had made the decision to leave. Even Valyr, which he wouldn''t be surprised if thetter decided to leave, was still there, his gaze filled with determination just like the others.


    Turning around to look at the Tidemother with a solemn expression, Damian then turned back to face the others, an intent to kill the Tidemother brewing within him.


    "This shall be our final bout. I don''t know whether all of us would be able to leave unscathed, but I will do my utmost to make sure everyone can return to the vige safe and sound."


    "For now, lend me your strength. Let us fight to live another day!" he eximed.


    "To live another day!" everyone eximed back in unison.

 Chapter 60 Monster Tide: The Final Bout

    As Damian allowed everyone to take a rest for the meantime, all of them stared at the Tidemother heading their way, feeling a hint of trepidation at the idea that they were going to fight against something like this. Nevertheless, as they had decided to stay with Damian and the others in the fight against the Tidemother, they would see to it till the bitter end.


    Finally being able to catch his breath, Valyr could not help but lie down on the ground, gazing at the sky for a bit as he gathered his thoughts. Although his body had already gone past the point of being drained of energy, for some reason, he felt like he could still tap into a source of energy deep inside his body to continue fighting.


    ''Then again, since I''ve pushed myself far beyond my limits, I''m sure the quest will reciprocate that.'' Thinking about this, he brought up a screen in front of him, containing information on the emergency quest rted to the monster tide. Looking at the number of kills he had racked up so far, a light smile could not help but appear on his face, pondering as to how he was going to spend his rewards once everything was done.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Number of kills: 272/1000


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Just as he closed the screen in front of him and closed his eyes, wanting to rx his mind for a bit before the final bout against the Tidemother, something blocked the sunlight over his face all of a sudden. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Damian looking back at him, which prompted him to get up. "What''s up, Damian?"


    "Not much." Seeing Valyr stand up, Damian told him that he could remain seated if he wanted to. "I just wanted to thank you for helping out the vige in defending against the monster tide, even though you didn''t really have to. Once all of this is over, the vige will make sure to properly reward you."


    "Well, it''s not like I''m not getting anything out of it at all." Valyr chuckled in response. "The rewards I''ve umted from the emergency quest so far is enough for me to buy a lot of stuff from the contribution shop. Perhaps I could even kit myself out with better gear with the points I''ll get."


    "Either way, you still deserve to be rewarded." Damian shrugged his shoulders. "Among those in the vige guards, you are probably the one closest to embodying the true purpose of it."


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Tell me, what made you decide to help the vige out in defending against the monster tide?"


    Hearing that, Valyr thought about it for a bit and decided to say that he did it more or less for the rewards he would obtain from the quest. Though, as he pondered over it for a bit more, he could not help but find it a bit peculiar that he had epted the request outright when Damian asked him to participate back then. ''Now that I think about it¡­''


    ''What made me ept the request in the first ce aside from the rewards?''


    Fortunately for him, it did not take long for him to find the answer, his expression turning solemn, only to turn slightly glum soon after. In his mind, memories of their side losing the final battle surfaced, making him realize that he had decided to ept the quest as a way to remind himself of the past. It was as if he had joined the defense against the monster tide to cope with the loss.


    Nevertheless, delving deeper into his reasons behind joining also made him realize that he had joined it because he knew he had the strength to actually make a change in the oue of the tide. ''I only revealed my full strength near the end of the final battle¡­ if I revealed it from the start, the oue might have changed.''


    ''Well, there''s no point thinking about the past.'' Focusing on his train of thought, Valyr could not help butugh inwardly. ''There''s nothing I can change about that. But now¡­''


    ''Since I have the strength to make a positive change, why not use it?''


    "Let''s just say I''ve got a couple of reasons in mind." Consolidating all his thoughts, Valyr eventually opened his mouth to respond to Damian''s words.


    "Plus, Astarto Vige has done nothing but treat me well, so think of it as a way for me to give back to the vige."


    ¡­


    "Now that everyone has gotten sufficient amounts of rest, we''ll be assigning roles to everyone before we fight against the Tidemother." pping his hands, Damian attracted everyone''s attention, prompting everyone to stop what they were doing and focus on what he had to say.


    "First, Tristan and Rampart, you''ll be our tanks. Tristan will be the main tank, while Rampart will be the sub tank." Hearing those words, Tristan nodded in response, as well as another man that Valyr recognized. Rampart was the name of the man who fought with the greatsword beside him during the third wave.


    "Lythia, you''ll be the mage. As for Malek, you''ll be the healer." Saying those words, Damian shifted his gaze towards two people, a mature woman in her 30s that radiated the pure feeling of mana around her, as well as a young man in histe 20s that looked to be a devout believer of a religion. If not for the fact that both of them currently wore tattered clothes soaked in a mix of their own blood and monster blood, one would not think that these two people would be able to fill in those roles.


    "Myst, you and I shall act as mid-range DPS." Damian looked at Myst, who looked back at him before nodding.


    "These six people shall make up the main striking force against the Tidemother. Are there any questions?" As Damian looked around to see if there were anyints, his eyes slightly widened when he noticed that Valyr raised his hand. "Yes, Valyr?"


    "Is it possible for me to be part of the main striking force?" Valyr asked in response, prompting almost everyone there to look back at him with a hint of curiosity.


    Unfortunately for him, Damian shook his head. "Unfortunately, the level gap between you and the Tidemother is toorge. I know you''re able to dish great amounts of damage, but in front of a level gap that wide, that damage bes moot."


    "I understand." Rather than get angry at the fact he couldn''t participate, Valyr nodded, clenching his fist as he inwardly cursed hisck of strength. ''Once this monster tide is over, I should ascend to Rank 1 as soon as possible.''


    Nodding in response to Valyr''s words, Damian then returned his attention to everyone. "Now, for those whose names haven''t been called, you shall be making up the quick response team. Your task is to exterminate each and every minion the Tidemother spawns."


    "Do I make myself clear?"


    "Sir, yes, sir!" Unsurprisingly, everyone eximed in unison, some of them letting out inward sighs of relief from the fact that they wouldn''t be the ones fighting against the Tidemother. Although the Tidemother''s minions were also a nuisance to deal with, in their minds, they were far easier to handle.


    With that, Damian ordered the five people he had called out earlier to move forward as everyone beelined for the Tidemother ahead of them.


    "Move forth!"

 Chapter 61 Monster Tide: Incurring Wrath

    Screeeee!


    Noticing that the ones who had killed all of its spawn were heading towards its way, the Tidemother was greatly incensed, letting out a loud screech that could even be heard from the defensive line in front of the vige. Naturally, those moving closer to the Tidemother could not help but grit their teeth at the sound, covering their ears as best as they could while still trying to take a step forward.


    Eventually, the Tidemother stopped screeching, its attention focused on the people that had somehow appeared in front of it. In its field of vision, it saw how six of the people had separated from the rest, moving closer towards it as they seemed to radiate immense killing intent. In response to this action, the Tidemother looked at them in silence, as if it was trying to tell them that it was waiting to see what they could do against it.


    "Quick response team, move a bit further away from us." Damian looked back at the remaining people that came along with them and gestured them to move back. In response, a small portion of them lightly nodded, increasing the distance between the two groups as those who hadn''t heard the order followed suit.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Damian then looked at the five who apanied him and rearranged them ording to the roles they had been assigned earlier. Taking in a deep breath to calm his taut nerves, he then focused his attention towards Tristan. "Make the first move."


    "You got it!" Being given the green light, Tristan grinned as a billowing me of intangible energy emanated from him, which took on a deep crimson color.


    Whoosh!


    Condensing the energy he emanated, he then darted towards the Tidemother in front of them at speeds he knew were normally unachievable. If not for the fact that he had killed tons of monsters during the fourth wave beforehand, he knew he wouldn''t have been able to achieve the speed he was traveling at the moment.


    Eventually, he stopped in front of the Tidemother''s legs, collecting all of the momentum he had created thus far before beginning to rotate in ce. Gradually, the speed at which he rotated gradually increased as the energy surrounding him eventually disappeared, congregating around one of his fists.


    "[Whirlwind Strike]!"


    Bang!


    ''-132!''


    In an instant, all of the momentum Tristan had built up was released in one punch, prompting a small explosion of energy to appear in the area he had punched. Naturally, the Tidemother did not take kindly to the gesture, letting out a loud screech as it deftly moved one of its legs to retaliate.


    Bang!


    "I''ve got its aggro!" Nimbly dodging the sharp end of the leg that tried to attack him, Tristan could not help but look at the crater it had formed before turning around and madly dashing. With a hint ofughter, he signaled to the five that they were ready to engage.


    Whoosh!


    Hearing Tristan''s words, the five went ahead and moved forward at the greatest speed they could muster. Swerving around one of the Tidemother''s attacks, Rampart inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he eventually appeared beside Tristan. Seeing that the leg in front of them seemed to not have any ns to move, the two looked at each other and nodded, jumping into the air beforending devastating attacks on the leg''s joint.


    "Graaagh!!!" Unsurprisingly, the Tidemother shrieked out from the pain it had received, enraged by the fact that one of its legs had been crippled without it even being able to retaliate. Fueled by the anger it felt, the Tidemother bent its legs as the orifices on its underside opened, multiple smaller-sized versions of itself appearing on the ground as they all madly charged towards the six.


    "[de Blossom]!" With graceful execution, Damian jumped over one of the beings the Tidemother had spawned beforending a deadly blow on its upper torso. Conserving the momentum he had used in the attack, he then flowed the attacks towards a couple more of the spawned monsters, rendering the Tidemother''s retaliation towards him useless.


    Of course, he wasn''t the only one affected by this sudden ambush. Myst, Tristan, and the others had be targets as well, though they also easily dealt with the portion that were in their immediate vicinity.


    "Quick response team, it''s time to move!" Turning around tomand therger group, Damian then signaled a few gestures to Myst before running towards one of the Tidemother''s legs. In response, Myst lightly nodded before congregating where Damian was, jumping into the air as she unsheathed her de and struck out. Naturally, seeing how Myst had made her move, Damian attacked as well, brandishing his de in a way that allowed their attacks to meld together and form an X-shaped pattern around the leg they targeted.


    "[Tempest Blow]!"


    "[River sh]!"


    Bang!


    As Damian and Myst had attacked the leg on the other side of the one attacked earlier, the Tidemother quickly lost its bnce, letting out a loud shriek as it utilized its remaining legs to try and bnce itself. Fortunately for it, the remaining legs it had were more than enough for it to regain bnce. However, it knew for a fact that if the people it was fighting attacked one of its legs once more, it would undoubtedly topple over.


    "Screeeeee!!!" Letting out a screech, an orifice opened on the Tidemother''s underside, spawning a version of itself that was farrger than the ones that hade before it. Noticing this, the quick response team, which was already facing a bit of trouble with the spawned monsters that had appeared before, could not help but feel a sense of dread while looking at it.


    "[Analysis]!" While fighting against one of the smaller monsters, Valyr went ahead and identified the monster that had been spawned, his pupils shrinking for a bit in slight fear before it regained its earlier determination.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Inferior Tidespawn (Elite)] (Level 18)


    HP: 750/750


    Remarks: I wouldn''t really fight against that if I were you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Activating [Strong Pierce] multiple times in a row, Valyr had cleared his portion of the spawned monsters from earlier while making sure to keep an eye on the newly spawned monster, tracking its movements. Helping the others fight against their portions, Valyr and the others making up the quick response team were eventually able to clear all of the monsters the Tidemother had spawned, their attention now focused on the Inferior Tidespawn that seemed to be headed their way.


    Although everyone knew that the Inferior Tidespawn was heading in their direction, not even one person from the quick response team made a move to take the initiative, with everyone looking at each other to see which among them would be brave enough to do just that. Noticing this, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh before dashing forward, seemingly acting as the impetus for the others to make a move against the Inferior Tidespawn.


    ''I wonder how I''d fare against a high-leveled Elite monster at the moment?'' he thought as he continued to run, a bitter smile soon appearing on his face.


    In the meantime, the six continued tond attacks on the Tidemother, with Lythia finally being able to deal enough damage on one of the legs to cripple it, turning the Tidemother''s already precarious bnce even more precarious than before. In response to another one of its legs being crippled once more, the Tidemother bent its knees to lower its center of gravity. However, this finally allowed Damian and the other close-range damage dealers to deal attacks on its main body.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    With one destructive attack after another, the health of the Lesser Tidemother gradually declined, its vigorous screeches from earlier gradually turning into shrieks filled with pain. Eventually, at some point, the six had dealt enough damage to reduce its HP down to 50%, causing everyone to be more hopeful as they only needed to keep up the pace and they would eventually win the fight.


    Whoosh!


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Unfortunately, it wouldn''t be that easy.


    "Graaaagghhh!!!" As if clutching onto a source of energy hidden deep within its body, the Tidemother straightened out its legs as a ferocious aura soon emanated from it, its legs now giving off the feeling that even being grazed by it would result in fatal damage.


    Seeing the Tidemother''s current state, Damian''s expression darkened, ordering everyone to congregate at the front of the Tidemother as soon as possible.


    "Get away from there! Head to the front!"


    "The Tidemother''s gone berserk!"

 Chapter 62 Monster Tide: Fall Of The Tidespawn

    While the six dreaded the fact that the Tidemother had regained its earlier vigor, the quick response team, which Valyr had be the leader of all of a sudden, were currently fighting against the Inferior Tidespawn the Tidemother had spawned against them.


    "Screee!!!" Letting out a high-pitched screech, the Inferior Tidespawn focused its attention on Valyr as he was the one at the front of the group. Charging forward, the Tidespawn swept out with both of its front legs, prompting Valyr to jump over it while the others stopped in their tracks, some of them even taking a few steps back in fear.


    Landing on his feet, he then took the opportunity the Tidespawn was dazed by his sudden disy of skill to thrust his spear forward, sending it towards one of its eyes.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Puchi!


    ''-116!''


    In response to the move, a light squelching sound could be heard from the attack as some from the quick response team shuddered at the sound. Naturally, with it taking a great amount of damage from one attack, the Tidespawn could not help but shriek as it shed out with one of its legs.


    Swoosh!


    Unfortunately, as it was an Elite monster, the speed at which the leg attacked Valyr was too fast for him to react to, causing arge gash to appear on the chestte he wore, going so far as to cut his chest as he was sent flying.


    ''-120!''


    Thud!


    "Gah!" Falling to the ground on his back, Valyr could not help but cough out a bit of blood as those near where he hadnded sharply inhaled air, wondering if he could even move after such an attack.


    Unexpectedly, even though therge gash on his chest sent wave upon wave of pain coursing throughout his body, Valyr gritted his teeth and stood up, knowing very well that only a few of the people in this team would take the initiative to fight. With that, he needed to set an example and give them a reason to think that the monster in front of them was not unbeatable.


    "Aaaahhhh!!!" Letting out a loud yell, Valyr dashed towards the Tidespawn once more as a bit of blood started to drip from the fresh wound the Tidespawn had inflicted upon him. Knowing that the being in front of him had sustained damage from its earlier attack, the Inferior Tidespawn doubled down on its ferocity, utilizing the same attack it had dealt earlier to force Valyr to dodge.


    However, instead of dodging, Valyr hadpletely changed the direction of his run instead, quickly making a sharp turn before jumping in midair tond an attack on its neck.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-171!!''


    Watching as Valyr had sessfullynded yet another attack on the monster before them, those at the front could not help but tightly grip on their weapons, hesitating whether or not to move in.


    Noticing this hesitation, Valyr let out a peal ofughter as he allowed his body to be sent flying once more by another attack.


    Swoosh!


    ''-61''


    "Although the monster in front of us might be difficult to handle¡­"


    Thud!


    "It''s not¡­ gah!"


    "It''s not¡­ impossible!" At the very moment Valyr finished his words, a fire seemed to have been lit inside everyone''s bodies as those at the front finally gained the courage to move forward, utilizing the advantage they had in numbers to overwhelm the Tidespawn''s senses,nding attacks on its body.


    "We''re not dealing enough damage!" Though, once they started tond blows on its body, they quickly realized that all of the damage they were dealing to the Tidespawn only resulted in single-digit numbers, with double-digit numbers being a rare urrence. Noticing this as they dodged the Tidespawn''s attacks to the best of their abilities, they knew what they had to do.


    "Distract the monster as much as possible! Give the man from earlier the leeway to attack!" Soon, a yell resounded out in the surroundings, prompting everyone to yell in unison as everyone made it their mission to give Valyr the freedom to attack the Tidespawn as much as he wanted.


    "Heh." Standing up once more, Valyr could not help but stifle a chuckle as he looked at the damage dealt to the chestte he wore. What was once arge gash on it had now turned into a X-shaped cut that showed the same wound on Valyr''s chest. "To think Tristan''s chestte wouldn''t withstand the attack of an Elite monster¡­"


    "Then again, it''s an Elite monster we''re talking. It''s already a miracle it''s still holding up." With that, Valyr took in a deep breath as he mustered up all of the energy in his body, dashing forth once more tond an attack on the Inferior Tidespawn.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, he had arrived in front of the Tidespawn once more, nodding in gratitude towards the people who were distracting the monster for him. With enough leeway to attack however he wanted, Valyr lunged forward before thrusting towards its skull, aiming to end the battle as quickly as possible.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Crack!


    Thrusting his wooden spear forward, the tip quickly collided with the Tidespawn''s skull, causing a faint fracturing sound to echo for a bit as everyone looked on in silence. For a while, those in the surroundings could not help but feel a hint of disappointment, wondering if the attack Valyr had sent out was effective in any way. But then¡­


    Bang!


    ''-600!!!!''


    As if the spear Valyr had gained the might to pierce through anything in its way for a second, the spear cleanly pierced through the Tidespawn''s skull as it soon exploded into bits, scattering a great amount of blood and flesh in the surroundings. At that moment, everyone looked at that sight in shock, their eyes wide open and their mouths fully agape.


    In fact, even Valyr was not exempt from this reaction, his eyes fixated on the deep ck number that gradually floated up from the Tidespawn''s body. "Is that¡­"


    "A Fatal Hit?"


    Thud!


    As the headless body of the Tidespawn fell to the ground, everyone from the quick response team cheered in joy as they had surpassed the challenge that had appeared before them. Naturally, all of them knew that it wouldn''t have been possible for the man standing before them, his expression the same level of aghast as they were previously.


    "Three cheers for Valyr!" While Valyr was still engrossed in the feeling that he had dealt his first ever Fatal Hit, he was swiftly jolted back to reality as those from the quick response team gathered around him and threw him up into the air with great glee written all over their faces, prompting a light smile to appear on his face as he could not help but hiss from the pain on his chest.


    Nevertheless, the fact that he had defeated an Elite monster eight levels above him filled him up with great pride, even though it was mostly due to luck, considering his final hit. Curious as to what he had obtained from killing such a high-leveled monster, he went ahead and took a look at his notifications, his mouth slightly agape from what he had just read.


    Ding!


    [With a 8 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 160%.]


    [You have in a Level 18 Inferior Tidespawn (Elite). You have gained 3708 XP.]


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Signs of a True Elite''.]

 Chapter 63 Monster Tide: End

    Just as Valyr and the others from the quick response team had finally mustered up the courage to attack the Inferior Tidespawn heading their way, Damian and the others had finally congregated at the front of the Tidemother, their senses at full alert with the enemy before them going berserk.


    Bang!


    Without any sign whatsoever, the Tidemother sent two of its working legs down on the six, prompting everyone to scatter and dodge the attack as well as they could. For those who had high AGI like Damian, Tristan, and Myst, they had no problems dodging the attack at all, their eyes widened in slight fear at the possible repercussions. As for the remaining ones who didn''t have that high of an AGI stat, all of them were also able to dodge the attack. However,pared to the others, the margin for error was smaller, making their pupils shrink as they felt the strong breeze caused by the motion pass by them.


    "Do any of you have an idea on how we can beat this one?" Ordering everyone to congregate once more, Damian initiated a conversation with the other five, prompting everyone to wrack their brains as they continued to dodge the attacks of the Tidemother that came their way. "We may have beaten our fair share of Tidemothers in the past, but this is the first time we''ve ever fought against one that went berserk."


    "Hmm¡­ does anyone have an incredibly destructive attack in their arsenal?" Tristan asked in response, which made everyone listen up to what he had to say. "If we do, the remaining five could distract the Tidemother to the best of their abilities, giving the one with the destructive attack the leeway to hit the Tidemother with it."


    "Well, I''ve got a spell that allows me to conjure a massive fireball." Lythia opened her mouth all of a sudden, her voice surprising the others as they jumped far away from the trajectory of a nearby attack as all of them sent out basic attacks towards the leg that hadnded. Naturally, the Tidemother did not take kindly to the move, causing more of its legs to rain down on the six. "However, I''ve tried using it once earlier, and it only dealt around a couple hundred damage to the Tidemother. Is that enough damage?"


    Seeing as everyone went silent at the question, Lythia could not help but wryly smile. "I''m guessing that''s not enough damage, huh."


    Noticing that some of them wryly smiled in response to the question, she quickly confirmed that her suspicions were indeed correct, bringing the ns of the six back to square one regarding what they were going to do to defeat the Tidemother.


    Bang!


    Just as the six continued to think up of possible strategies they could use to finish the fight once and for all, a faint explosion sound echoed far away from where they were, making them look in the direction of the sound''s origin. Surprisingly, what they saw was Valyr risking his life to fight against the Inferior Tidespawn,nding brutal attack after brutal attack on it in exchange for a portion of his health.


    At first, the six could not help but find that a move like that seemed like something they would only do if they were at their wits'' end. However, once they listened to the words Valyr uttered once he was sent flying once more, their eyes could not help but widen as the others from the quick response team swiftly surrounded the Tidespawn, giving Valyr the leeway to deal as much damage as he liked.


    In response, he reciprocated the gesture bynding an attack that killed the Tidespawn in one go, making the quick response team cheer in joy as they had surpassed what seemed to be an impassable challenge in their eyes.


    Looking back at each other, it seemed that a fire had been kindled after witnessing the selfless act Valyr had done for their team to win against the Tidespawn. At that moment, a n was being drafted in their minds, a n which they knew quite well that they would only do if they were at their wits'' end. Then again¡­


    They already were.


    "[Manic Frenzy]!" As they dodged against one of the Tidemother''s attacks once more, Tristan''s skin faintly glowed red as the energy he exuded gradually became more and more ferocious. However, if one looked closely at him, it seemed that hisplexion grew paler by the second. Noticing this detail, Damian looked at Tristan in shock, wondering what was going on in his mind.


    Naturally, Tristan noticed Damian looking at him as well, making him let out a chuckle as he soon dashed towards the Tidemother''s underside. "We can''t let ourselves be beaten by a Level 10 brat in terms of bravado now, can we?"


    "[Raging Barrage]!" With the aura surrounding Tristan growing ever stronger by the second with his speed following suit, he eventually transformed that momentum into a jump, allowing him to leap multiple meters into the air. Once in midair, he sent out a flurry of punches towards the Tidemother''s underside, causing intangible fists of energy to collide with the orifices that were still open.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "Screeeee!!!" With the people it thought it had beaten earlier attacking its underside all of a sudden, the Tidemother could not help but let out a shriek in pain, trying its utmost to send its leg to where Tristan was to retaliate. However, with [Manic Frenzy] still active, it was no problem for Tristan to dodge the attack, heading towards one of its working legs before unceremoniously kicking it at the joint.


    Bang!


    With that, the Tidemother had finally lost all means to bnce itself, causing it to topple on its side as Tristan looked back at the five who were gawking at him in disbelief. "What are you doing just standing there?"


    "Attack!"


    "You know you could''ve done this earlier, you bastard!" As Damian yelled a small string of curses at Tristan, he took in a deep breath before dashing towards the now more vulnerable underside of the Tidemother, raising his de up in the air before infusing with great amounts of energy as he shed down.


    "[River Blossom Crash]!"


    Bang!


    "Graaaaggghhhh!!!" With no way to see where it had been attacked, the Tidemother iled its remaining working legs around, hoping to see if it would get lucky and hit one of the six along the way.


    "[Tornado Cleave]!"


    Bang!


    Unfortunately, the fact that the Tidemother now made erratic moves meant that the fight had simplified, prompting Myst and the others tond their most devastating moves, with Rampart taking the lead with a spiraling sh on the side of its abdomen.


    "[Colossus ze]!"


    Bang!


    "Grahhhhh!" Letting out another pained shriek, the Tidemother was left with no choice to take the brunt of Lythia''s attack, the top portion of its abdomen singed by a massive fireball. At this point, only a quarter of its HP remained, instilling a bit of excitement in the six as Myst made her move.


    "[Great Tempest Strike]!"


    Swoosh!


    "Screee!!!" Deciding to send out a high-pitched screech as ast ditch effort to make the six move away from it, the Tidemother was unsessfully in doing so. Instead, the screech fueled the six with greater vigor as only a sliver of health was what remained after Myst''s attack.


    "Let me do the honors!" Just as Damian was able to deal the final blow, Tristan used the Tidemother''s body as a tform, standing on top of it within seconds thanks to the help of [Manic Frenzy] before performing the strongest jump he could muster, a devilish grin adorning his face.


    "[War Hammer Blow]!"


    Bang!


    Fueled by the buff brought about by [Manic Frenzy] and the high STR he originally had, the Tidemother''s abdomen caved in response to Tristan''s attack, eventually allowing him to puncture through its tough exterior as he disappeared from the sight of the five soon after.


    For a while, the five could not help but look at the Tidemother''s body with a hint of worry, even though they had done all they could to beat it. Though, once a man fully covered in blood reappeared where he previously was,rge grins could be seen on the five''s faces, their expressions that of great excitement as Damian let out a yell that could be heard by everyone near his vicinity.


    "We did it!"


    "The monster tide is over!"


    Of course, with those from the quick response team being nearby, everyone jumped for joy at the announcement, with Valyr also bing excited as a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the emergency quest: Monster Tide.]


    [Head to Damian to receive your rewards.]

 Chapter 64 Aftermath

    While everyone was still at the height of their excitement, relishing in the reality that their vige had survived yet another monster tide, Valyr went ahead and separated from the quick response team. Then, he headed in the direction of the six, being greeted by the sight of them lying down on the ground with smiles on their faces, ignoring the fact that the ground was saturated with the Tidemother''s blood.


    Naturally, Valyr could understand the reason behind their actions, knowing very well that their nerves throughout the whole fight had been taut, with their bodies being pushed beyond their limits. With that, he shed a smile at them and thanked them for their efforts before looking at Damian and Tristan. "So you guys defeated the Tidemother, huh?"


    "Surprised we did, actually." Damian looked back at Valyr, a light yet rxed smile adorning his face. "This is actually the first time it''s gone berserk."


    "Sure, it may have gone berserk, but we''ve fought against the Tidemother multiple times already." Surprisingly, just as Damian had finished his words, Tristan appeared beside Valyr, wrapping his arm around thetter''s shoulders. Grinning, he looked at the man beside him. "Instead, I''m curious as to how the hell you pulled off that stunt earlier, Valyr."


    Hearing those words, the other five shifted their gazes towards Valyr, who instantly felt like the spotlight was focused on him the very moment they did. Of course, even he did not know he had been able to pull off what he had done earlier, knowing very well that it would have probably taken him a couple more Brutal and Vital Hits to defeat the Inferior Tidespawn if not for the sudden Fatal Hit.


    With that in mind, the nervousness Valyr felt gradually disappeared, prompting him to shrug his shoulders as he opened his mouth. "To be honest, I don''t know either. I guess I was just incredibly lucky to pull off that attack."


    "Is that so?" Although Valyr knew how he had achieved it, the clueless expression on his face was enough for Tristan to decide to not pursue the matter any further. Instead, he focused his attention on the chestte Valyr wore, which now had arge X-shaped hole on it. "Anyways, you really showed no mercy on the chestte I gave you, huh."


    In response, Valyr bitterly smiled. "You know, if I wasn''t forced to make a move against the Tidespawn to get the others moving, it would have stayed intact."


    As he said this, Valyr could not help but feel a hint of guilt at the fact that he had damaged something that was temporarily given to him. Though, just as he was about to ask Tristan what he could do to pay for the damage to the chestte, thetter waved his hands off nonchntly, getting an idea of what Valyr was about to say before he could even open his mouth. "If you''re nning to repay me for the armor, you don''t have to. Consider your safety the perfect repayment for it."


    Then, with a chuckle, he continued. "Plus, I have like a few dozen more of what you''re wearing tucked away in the smithy, so it doesn''t really matter that much."


    "Well, I guess it''s time for us to head back." Seeing that the conversation between the two was over, Damian went ahead and stood up, prompting the other four to stand up as well, getting prepared to return to the vige. "Are youing along with us, Tristan?"


    Just as Valyr was about to ask what Damian meant by that, Tristan shook his head, pointing at the huge corpse before them. "Of course not. I gotta harvest the spoils from the Tidemother since no one else is gonna do it."


    "Just make sure you have someonee to the corpse toe pick up the stuff." With that, he removed his arm around Valyr''s shoulder, turning around to head closer to the Tidemother''s corpse. "Oh, and also, can you have someone bring a couple boxes of empty ss vials?"


    "I''ll have someone to do that once we get back." Nodding in response, Damian then bade farewell to Tristan, returning to the vige with his bodynguage how much at ease he was. Naturally, as the other four had no other business there, they all followed behind him back to the vige, with Valyring along as well.


    Sometimeter, their group had congregated with the quick response team from earlier, returning as one whole group back to the vige. Once they had arrived, everyone cheered for them with great vigor and excitement in their voices as their vige had survived yet another monster tide.


    While being enveloped in a joyous atmosphere once more, Valyr could not help but take a look at the sky, noticing that only a couple hours remaining before the sun would set, making him realize once more that he had not eaten anything yet aside from the meal he took before the monster tide began.


    Aside from that, he also noticed how the walls adjacent to the vige gates had been destroyed by the rogue monsters from the fourth wave, inwardly hissing as his eyes glossed over some parts of the walls that almost destroyed houses in the process, thinking it was too close forfort. Nevertheless, none of the buildings inside the vige walls had been affected, which prompted to let out a sigh of relief while wondering how long it would take the vige to gain enough strength to survive a monster tide unscathed.


    Swerving through the crowd that surrounded Damian''s group and their quick response team, they had eventually made it past the vige gates, being greeted by the sight of Vera and a few other volunteers in the vige tending to those who had been severely injured during the tide.


    With that in mind, Valyr headed to where Vera was. Though, just as she was about to greet him with a smile, her eyes could not help but widen in shock as she noticed therge gash on his chestte. "Are you fine, Valyr?!"


    "Aside from therge X-shaped cut on my chest, I''m fine for the most part." Cracking a joke that Vera didn''t receive well, Valyr went ahead and removed the chestte Tristan gave him, cing it by the side for now as he allowed the woman before her to look at the wound the Tidespawn had given him.


    In fact, it was only now did he find out how grievous of an injury the Tidespawn had dealt him, sharply inhaling a bit of air as he realized just then that one more hit would''ve sent him to the afterlife. Naturally, Vera had realized this as well, causing her to look at him with worry, while at the same time letting out a light sigh of relief. "At the very least, the wound has healed up somewhat, so you''re not in a precarious situation."


    Rummaging through the various pockets on her robe, she then gave a vial containing pale green fluid to Valyr, which prompted thetter to use [Analysis] on. "Have this."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Inferior Rejuvenation Potion] (Item)


    Rarity: Common


    A healing potion made by a novice alchemist. Although the original recipe of the potion has been downgraded multiple times to be suitable for novice alchemists to concoct, the alchemist that made this potion put their utmost focus and effort into it, allowing it to reach the limits of what could be ssified as an Inferior grade potion.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Thanks." Although Vera hadn''t exined to Valyr what she had given him, thetter unhesitatingly removed the stopper on the vial and downed all of its contents, quickly feeling a soothing energy course throughout his body as all of it congregated towards his chest. Surprisingly, the wound on his chest closed up considerably at a visible rate, bringing a bit more color to hisplexion as Valyr felt better than before.


    "Since you gave me this healing potion, can I help you guys out in any way?" Giving back the now empty vial to Vera, Valyr decided to offer a bit of his aid. After all, that was the very least he could do.


    In response, Vera looked at him for a bit as a glum expression appeared on her face. Soon, an apologetic smile reced it as she went silent for a bit, letting out a light sigh soon after. Eventually, she looked at him straight in the eye as she opened her mouth.


    "Could you¡­ tally up how many casualties we''ve gotten during this monster tide?"

 Chapter 65 Casualties

    Listening to the words that came out of Vera''s mouth, Valyr''s expression darkened, being reminded of the dark side that came along with defending against a monster tide, or participating in any event that involved battling in general.


    Death.


    Taking in a deep breath, he could not help but wonder if anything would have changed if he and the others were in any way stronger than they were earlier. Would the number of deaths have decreased? Would it have stayed the same? Such questions lingered in his mind for a bit as the drive to get stronger was faintly rekindled inside him.


    Nevertheless, as he thought about it for a bit more, he could not help but let out a sigh. Sure, the number of casualties could be reduced to a minimum, perhaps even zero if all odds were in their favor. However, even if they tried their hardest to make sure everyone was safe, a person or two would still find a way to defy expectations and meet their maker, even if unintentional.


    With that, Valyr lightly nodded in response to Vera''s request as he scratched his head, turning around to head outside the vige, where all of the casualties were. "I''ll try to get the information back to you as soon as possible."


    "Take your time." Vera nodded, thanking Valyr as she refocused her attention on the injured soon after, continuing with her duty as the vige''s only doctor.


    ¡­


    Once he had gotten past the vige gates, Valyr was quickly greeted with a gloomy atmosphere that greatly contrasted the joyous atmosphere they had seen earlier when they had arrived. Looking around, he noticed that a few people were congregating around certain spots. Some of them had tears streaming down their faces, while there were those who looked downward with an apologetic frown, trying their hardest not to cry in front of the others.


    Letting out a slightly long sigh, he then made his way to where the people gathered, confirming his hypothesis that these people gathered around the corpse of their loved one. Giving his condolences to the people surrounding the corpse, he quickly made a mental tally of the number of casualties before heading to another spot and doing the same thing all over again.


    Eventually, he had passed through all of the spots where people gathered. But with how gloomy the atmosphere around the outside of the vige was, he had a feeling that there was more. With that, he utilized a bit of his AGI to speed up his pace, finding out that the corpses with people surrounding them were the minority. Instead, the majority of the corpses were left alone on the ground, their bodies left to rot with no one to grieve over their loss.


    Feeling a bit of heartache over this realization, he stood before these unvisited corpses for a while in silence, closing their eyes if they had died with their eyes open. After that, he would move to search for another unvisited corpse before doing the same thing. By the time he had finished tallying up the casualties around the vige gates, he could not help but let out a sigh filled with relief and disappointment that the number of casualties had reached double digits.


    "At the very least, the number isn''t any higher." Muttering these words, he then gazed out into the blood-soaked battlefield, heading in its direction as he had a feeling there might be one or two casualties there that people would have missed.


    Surprisingly, just as he was about to head in the direction of the battlefield, a familiar person had appeared beside him, carrying a box of what seemed to be empty ss vials.


    "Damian? What are you doing here?" Naturally, seeing Damian outside the vige at this moment greatly bewildered him, thinking that the man beside him would have been helping out inside the vige instead.


    "Off to deliver a box of ss vials to Tristan, of course." On the other hand, Damian found nothing weird with what he was doing, thinking that he was doing something normal since he had already done this a few times in the past. "How about you? Why are you heading in the same direction as I am?"


    "Vera told me to tally up the number of casualties for this monster tide," replied Valyr, instantly making Damian go silent as he could not help but feel a hint of sadness from those words. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to return to normal, focusing his gaze towards the Tidemother corpse from afar. "Now that I think about it, what are you guys nning to do with the ss vials?"


    "Collect the Tidemother''s blood," said Damian, making Valyr''s eyes widen in slight confusion. Knowing that the man before him would be confused by the statement, Damian quickly exined. "Well, we''ve only been collecting the blood of the Tidemother pretty recently. Though, we''ve figured out that Tidemother blood actually has some good effects when mixed in during forging or during a concoction."


    "As to how we found that out, it was birthed from a mix of immense curiosity and immense boredom." Finishing his exnation, Valyr could not help but look at Damian weirdly, wondering what was going on inside their heads at that time to experiment on something like the Tidemother''s blood. Nevertheless, to say he wasn''t interested to try and use the blood for himself was a lie.


    "Ah. We''ve reached the battlefield." Saying those words, Valyr stopped in his tracks before utilizing the entirety of his PER to check if they were any corpses. Surprisingly, Damian had stopped as well, his expression pensive before changing to that of realization as a thought surfaced in his mind.


    "I almost forgot to tell you, but we''ll be having a celebratory feast at the vige innter this night to celebrate how we survived through yet another monster tide." He looked at Valyr, who was still in the midst of looking for any corpses they might have missed. "In fact, some people have started moving the monster corpses from the tide into the vige after we returned, carving them up for the feastter."


    "Then again, with everyone having a lot to do for the next couple of days to return the vige back to normal, it''s no surprise everyone wants to eat a lot. Fortunately, we have a surplus of meat because of the tide, so everyone can eat their fill." Letting out a hint ofughter, Damian then went ahead and bade farewell to Valyr to head to where Tristan was. But just as he was about to take a step forward, Valyr stopped him and asked him something.


    "Er¡­ if it''s not too much of a bother, could I get the rewards from the emergency quest right now?"


    Hearing Valyr''s question, Damian stopped in his tracks as he looked at Valyr weirdly for a bit. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he ced the box he was carrying down on the ground before a screen appeared in front of his field of vision.


    "Well, you did contribute a lot to the tide, so I don''t see why not."


    Ding!

 Chapter 66 Tidebreaker

    As a notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr went ahead and opened up a notification screen in front of him. On the other hand, seeing that he had be preupied, Damian decided to leave Valyr off to his own devices as he continued on his merry way to where Tristan was.


    Ding!


    [You have killed 289 monsters in total during the monster tide.]


    [You have been rewarded 14,450 XP.]


    [You have been rewarded 14,450 contribution points.]


    [You have been rewarded 7225 merit points. You have been promoted to [Guard Captain]. Earn 17,455 more merit points to raise your rank to [Guard Leader].]


    [Your reputation in Astarto Vige has increased by 500 points. Current reputation: Legend (MAX).]


    [As your reputation in Astarto Vige has reached the maximum level, any excess reputation shall be converted toary Reputation (Veldanyr) at a ratio of 10:1.]


    [Yourary Reputation (Veldanyr) has increased by 5 points. Current reputation: No-name.]


    Reading through the string of notifications he had received, Valyr could not help but clench his fists in excitement, taking note of how much contribution points he now had at the moment. "Thanks to the monster tide, I now have more than enough contribution points to buy those two skills from the shop. On top of that, I could buy a few more things there that could help out in the long run."


    "My position in the organization has changed to [Guard Captain], huh?" Focusing his attention on how much merit points he had obtained from one monster tide, Valyr could not help but think it was possible for him to reach the highest position during the next tide once he gained more strength. "I remember a couple skills I''ve looked at in the past needing my position to be [Veteran Guard] or higher before I could buy them. I should also take a look at those sometime."


    "Speaking of which, I''ve finally started gainingary Reputation." Not expecting his reputation in the vige to reach the maximum of 1000 points and even surpass that slightly, Valyr found these notifications a wee surprise, recalling that there were only a few ways one could directly increase theirary Reputation during the early stages of the game. After all, a high enoughary Reputation was enough for one to move unhindered, with kingdoms and empires bowing down to a person because of it. "Then again, it''s not like I could do much with it at the moment."


    "In any case, I''m quite satisfied." Closing the notification screen, Valyr went ahead and did what he originally nned to do in the battlefield, btedly noticing the fact that Damian was already gone. Shrugging his shoulders at the realization, he utilized the entirety of his AGI to scour through the entire area, which resulted in him only finding one corpse after checking every nook and cranny twice.


    Paying his respects to the somewhat disfigured corpse in silence, Valyr then turned around and headed back to the vige, hastening his steps after noticing that it was gradually getting darker by the minute. Though, by the time he had returned to the vige, the sun had already set.


    Nevertheless, even though the sun had set, the vige was still filled with bright lights, the joyous atmosphere from when they had arrived now more intense than ever.


    Passing through the vige gates, Valyr gasped for a bit of air, only to stop in his tracks as he noticed Vera leaning on the side of the gate, seemingly waiting for him.


    As it had been quite some time since he had left, Vera''s gaze was currently fixated out into the horizon, not even noticing the fact that the man she had been looking for was already in front of her. With that in mind, Valyr tapped on her shoulder, snapping Vera out of her daze as she wondered which person tapped on her shoulder. Quickly realizing that it was the man she was waiting for, a wry smile appeared on her face.


    "So, how many casualties did we have during the tide?" Scratching her cheek, Vera went ahead and opened her mouth, her tone bing somewhat somber as she remembered what she asked him to do.


    "Around 17 people." Responding to the question, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh. In response, Vera looked down at the ground for a bit in silence, feeling the atmosphere surrounding the two of them bing tense.


    "Have you finished tending to the injured already?" Of course, noticing this, Valyr went ahead and decided to change the topic to a more lighthearted one. Because of that, a light smile with a hint of gratitude on it appeared on Vera''s face when she looked back at him.


    "Yeah, I have." Vera nodded in response to his question. "However, there''s still one more person I have to tend to before I can say my job is done."


    "And that would be¡­?" Curious, Valyr decided to ask. Though, this curiosity turned into confusion as Vera pointed at him. "Me?"


    As Valyr realized what Vera meant by her pointing at him, thetter rummaged out yet another healing potion from the pockets on her robe, giving the vial to the former. "Drinking another Inferior Rejuvenation Potion is enough for the wound on your chest to fully heal. Unfortunately, I can''t do anything about the scar on your chest. Sorry about that."


    While an apologetic smile adorned Vera''s face, Valyr pulled out the stopper from the vial given to him and swiftly downed its contents, feeling the soothing energy from before wash over his body yet again. As this soothing energy congregated around his chest, closing up the remaining parts of the wound on his chest, Valyr gave back the emptied vial to Vera as he waved his hand in slight nonchnce. "It''s fine, it''s fine. It''s not like a lot of people would see the scar anyway."


    "Plus, it''s a good reminder that I still have a long way to go to be able to protect the vige properly."


    Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, a light chuckle could not help but escape Vera''s mouth, finding his words somewhat ironic. "If only you knew how many people in the vige have been talking about your feats during the tide. People would probably look at you in shock if you said the same words to them."


    Naturally, Valyr was confused what Vera meant by that, slightly tilting his head to the side in confusion. With that, Vera urged him toe along with her to the vige inn, telling him that almost everyone was there celebrating the vige''s survival of yet another tide. Although this only left him more confused, Valyr epted the offer, with the two arriving at the inn a couple minutester.


    "Hey guys! The Tidebreaker''s here!" Unexpectedly, once Vera and Valyr had arrived at the inn, a voice eximed out all of a sudden, prompting everyone to go silent before erupting in loud cheers as they uttered the word ''Tidebreaker'' and phrases that had something to do with it.


    "Tidebreaker? What''s that?" Of course, Valyr was clueless as to what they meant by that. Fortunately, Vera was eager to rify everything to him.


    "The Tidebreaker''s not a what, it''s a who." She giggled. "And just in case you''re wondering, that who is you."


    "¡­huh?"


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! Your reputation in Astarto Vige has crystallized to form a vige legend: The Legend of the Tidebreaker.]


    [You have gained the title ''Astarto''s Tidebreaker''.]

 Chapter 67 Spoils From The Tide

    Hearing a couple notification sounds resound in his mind all of a sudden, Valyr was greatly bewildered, wondering about the reason why the word ''Tidebreaker'' had been attributed to him. Though, just as he was about to check the title he had obtained and ask the others about what they meant by it, an intrusive thought soon surfaced in his mind. Thinking about the thought, an expression of slight fear appeared on his face as he recalled something he had forgotten earlier.


    "Vera, remember the chestte I ced near where you were earlier?" Seeing as she was the only other person to know where the chestte was, Valyr looked at her and asked.


    "Yeah? I''ve actually got it here with me." In response, Vera nodded as she rummaged inside her robe, bringing out the damaged chestte Valyr wore earlier for everyone in the inn to see. Naturally, once Vera brought it out, loud gasps and yells quickly spread throughout the inn as they were left aghast by the gruesome damage inflicted on the chestte.


    However, not long after, these sounds were quickly drowned out by another wave of cheers, the wordsing out of their mouth more or less talking about the grievous injury inflicted by the Inferior Tidespawn to Valyr, damaging the chestte he wore in the process. Because of that, Valyr quickly got the gist of how the Tidebreaker name came to be and how it became associated to him.


    Scratching his head, he then asked Vera to give the damaged chestte to him, which thetter readily did. Thanking her for safekeeping it, as well as giving it back, the two then sat themselves in front of a somewhat vacant table, with the other seats being taken up by people Valyr knew very well.


    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t Valyr the Tidebreaker." Hearing a familiar voice say those words, Valyr could not help but nce in the direction of the voice''s origin, only to be greeted by the sight of three people looking at him with grins on their faces.


    Naturally, Valyr could not help but grin as well, inwardly letting out a long sigh of relief that the three weren''t part of the casualties he had tallied. "Leon, Jonas, Louie. It''s been a while."


    "Definitely has been." Leon nodded in agreement. "What took you so long toe to the inn anyway? Had trouble with people blocking your way to the inn to get a closer look at you?"


    "To be honest, I didn''t even know I''d gain this huge of a reputation." Shaking his head, Valyr pointed at Vera beside her. "Instead, I was out helping miss Vera here with a couple tasks regarding the monster tide."


    "Truly an idol of the masses," Jonas could not help but say, eliciting a peal ofughter from the other two. Nevertheless, their attention had been shifted to Vera, who they maintained a modicum of respect around, considering she was the vige''s only doctor. "Miss Vera, is it fine if we could find out what you had Valyr do?"


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "I had him tally up the deaths during this monster tide." Hearing such grim wordse out of such a young woman''s mouth, a couple people eavesdropping into the conversation could not help but sharply inhale on a bit of air, while the trio could not help but look at Valyr with slightly darkened expressions on their faces. Noticing their expression, Valyr could only bitterly smile.


    "Someone would have to do it sooner orter." Valyr shrugged his shoulders, telling them soon after that it''s better for them to not think what they could''ve done to reduce the casualties and instead think about what they could do to reduce it in the future. Gradually, the atmosphere surrounding them returned to normal as the tales of the Tidebreaker was narrated all throughout the inn.


    ¡­


    "With great fervor, the Tidebreaker called upon the masses and led them with his trusty spear, rekindling the courage they once had to vanquish the Tidespawn that had appeared before them once and for all." As narrations simr to these continued to echo throughout the inn, a great portion of the people ate and drank their fill, including Valyr.


    After fighting nonstop during the monster tide, as well as the fact that he had drank two Inferior Rejuvenation Potions, his fuel tank ran on empty for hours already. With that, he took great delight in the fact that he could eat as much as he wanted thanks to the abundance of monster corpses brought into the vige from the monster tide.


    Of course, due to his newfound fame thanks to his seemingly impossible feat of bridging the level gap between him and the Inferior Tidespawn, and killing it into three hits on top of that, a portion of the people in the inn came up to him and interrupted him from time to time while he was eating. Fortunately, with Leon and the other two around, this interruption was reduced to a minimum.


    "It only felt like yesterday that us four were patrolling the vige at night, idly chatting about our aspirations in life." While continuing to watch Valyr eat, Leon could not help but let out a sigh, taking a bite of the food on his te. "Now, our friend Valyr here has be a legend, bing the Tidebreaker everyone aspires to be."


    "Well, us four did do the night patrol the previous night, so you''re not wrong on that regard." Hearing Leon''s words, Valyr quipped back, making a wry smile appear on Leon''s face.


    "You do know what I''m trying to do, right? It''s a saying, Valyr. A saying." Wondering if his friend was dense when it came to jokes, Leon decided to ask.


    "Of course. I''m not that stupid, you know?" Valyr replied back as he took arge bite of the meat on his te. While he did so, the three could not help but let out a chuckle as they were reminded that they were still talking to the same Valyr they knew.


    "We''re just happy for you, man. After all, it''s been like, what¡­ almost three weeks since you''ve arrived in this vige?" Louie opened his mouth after Valyr was finished talking. "In almost three weeks, you''ve already be famous in the vige. In fact, I can''t help but find that slightly absurd."


    "So do we." Leon and Jonas nodded in agreement.


    "Well, if you frame it like that, then I can''t help but agree as well." Hearing Louie''s words, Valyr also nodded in agreement.


    However, just as they were about to continue their conversation, a pair of people had appeared at the entrance of the inn, with one of them carrying a box filled to the brim with items. Seeing these two appear, the people in the inn went silent for a bit before erupting into a round of cheers. After all, these two people were part of the vige''s strongestbat force.


    Surprisingly, rather than make their way to an empty table and eat and drink their fill, they instead headed to where Valyr were, both of them lightly smiling as they looked at him.


    "Is there something I can help you two with?" Naturally, Valyr could not help but be slightly weirded out by the sight of the two smiling, especially the other one since he had only seen the man smile a couple of times.


    In response, they ced the box they brought to the floor before letting out a light sigh of relief. Returning to his previous solemn expression, Damian looked once more at Valyr. "Feel free to continue eating, Valyr. We just have something to announce."


    Slightly confused but still agreeing to Damian''s words, Valyr went ahead and continued eating as Damian''s voice echoed throughout the entire inn. "As one of the greatest contributors to this monster tide, I, Damian Waters, shall be awarding Valyr Zeihardt, our Tidebreaker, a couple important spoils from the tide. Does anyone have anyints with that?"


    Surprisingly, everyone shook their heads at the question. In fact, some of them even urged Damian to be quicker with bestowing the rewards to Valyr, allowing their imagination of how the Tidebreaker fought to linger in their minds. Of course, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise at the announcement, making him look at the two with his mouth slightly agape.


    Seeing Valyr''s bewildered expression, Tristan could not help but let out a light chuckle as he retrieved an item from the box before giving it to Valyr. "Did you really think the only rewards you''d be getting from this would be the rewards from the emergency quest? With the performance you pulled off during the monster tide?"


    "Naturally, your rewards don''t end there. Here you go."


    "You deserve it."

 Chapter 68 Unexpected Reaction

    As Tristan said those words, he handed Valyr over a pair of boots, the appearance of which was incredibly familiar to thetter. After all, the design of the boots was quite simr to one of the monsters they fought during the monster tide. Although he wasn''t part of those who fought against the monster firsthand, he was definitely near to see it from up close. Naturally, such a monster to warrant the need of the strongest banding together would be none other than the final boss of the monster tide.


    The Lesser Tidemother.


    Realizing the origin of the boots he was holding, Valyr could not help but look back at Tristan with his eyes widened in shock. Of course, thetter took great delight in his reaction, trying his best to stifle a chuckle, only to fail at the very end.


    Ignoring theughtering out of Tristan''s mouth, Valyr looked at the boots that were given to him, being left at a slight loss for words at the intricateness of the design, as well as the power exuding from the equipment. Akin to how the Lesser Tidemother looked, the portion that covered the ankles and part of the thighs were covered in a tuft of soft dark gray fur, with intricate carvings blood red in color covering a great portion of it, mimicking the pattern that could be found on the Tidemother''s underside.


    As for the part that protected the foot, it seemed to be made from a strong type of metal that resembled the exoskeleton covering the Tidemother''s legs. Knocking on it with his hands to see the thickness of the metal, Valyr could not help but be slightly surprised, judging from the sound that echoed from the knock that the metal making up the foot portion was significantly thick.


    "So, did you just give this to me as a joke and you''re actually nning to take it back?" Once he was finished examining the boots, Valyr ced them on the floor before focusing his attention on the two in front of him.


    In response, Damian shook his head as he opened his mouth to speak. "We fully intend to give these boots to you, Valyr. After all, your contributions during this monster tide are the greatest after the six of us who fought against the Tidemother. You truly deserve to obtain rewards far more than the ones given by the emergency quest."


    Scratching his head as he let out an awkward chuckle, Valyr then shifted his attention to Tristan, who looked at him with a hint of confusion. "Why are you looking at me? What Damian says is true. We''ve decided to give it the equipment we''ve received this time around from the Lesser Tidemother to you because of your selfless sacrifice."


    "But if you''re still doubtful, you could always ask the other four who also agreed to it." Saying those words, he pointed at the four that fought alongside them against the Tidemother, who stood up and nodded back at Valyr before returning to what they were previously doing.


    Seeing that the others truly intended to give the boots to him, Valyr let out a light sigh before thanking everyone, identifying it with [Analysis] as he red at Tristan for a bit, inwardly ming thetter for making him misunderstand the reason behind them giving the boots.


    Ding!


    Soon after, a screen appeared in front of his field of vision, which piqued the curiosity of the trio, as well as others surrounding him as they took a peek at the description of the boots. Though, after reading through all of it, all of them could not help but let out a hiss, thinking that the boots were way above Valyr''s league at the moment. Nevertheless, as they thought about it for a bit more, they could not help but agree on the fact that someone like the Tidebreaker should get this much at the very least.


    As for Valyr, his mouth could not help but go ck-jawed as a hint of excitement could be seen in his gaze.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Lesser Tidemother Greaves] (Level 15)


    Rarity: Umon


    Defense: 25-33


    A pair of boots crafted from the parts of the Lesser Tidemother, maintaining the ferocity and the tenacity of the monster before it met its demise. A small portion of the Lesser Tidemother''s power is imbued within the boots, allowing one to ess one of the Lesser Tidemother''s skills, albeit reduced in power and scope.


    These boots are radiating a faint yet unique type of energy that seem to resonate with other equipment. If the user finds other equipment that radiate the same type of energy, special effects might ur.


    <Innate Skill: Tidemother Stomp - Allows the user to stomp heavily on the ground, dealing damage equivalent to 50% of the user''s Attack stat within a 2 meter radius. Has a small chance to inflict Stun on enemies. Cooldown: 10 seconds.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Lesser Tidemother Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces - Attack +5%


    - 4 pieces - Defense + 5%


    - 6 pieces - VIT and STR +10%


    Remarks: Get stronger. You can''t even use it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Set equipment¡­" Valyr could not help but murmur, his body quaking with excitement as he knew how important such items like these were. Rummaging through his memories, he recalled that equipment dropped from the monster tides were highly sought after all throughout the various versions.


    Although it was partly due to the fact that the equipment dropped from the bosses was one tier higher than what dungeon monsters would normally drop, even being two tiers higher in rare asions, the main reason behind it was the fact that it was the easiest way to obtain set equipment without breaking a sweat.


    From what the name suggested, set equipment were pieces of equipment that, when equipped together, would achieve a unique resonance, allowing one to get more out of their equipment and exceed their peers. Because of this fact, Valyr instantly thought of the boots given to him as a some rare treasure, wanting nothing more than to obtain all of the other pieces and don the entire Lesser Tidemother Set.


    ''Unfortunately, I have to reach Level 15 to be able to equip this.'' However, even though he was excited to be able to obtain such a precious piece of equipment, Valyr could not help but let out an inward sigh as the rmended level of the item was five levels higher than his current level. In any case, this realization did not make him disappointed, but instead stoked the fire that urged him to ascend to Rank 1 as soon as possible.


    cing the boots aside for now, Valyr looked back at the two, wondering if the boots were the only other reward he would obtain aside from the ones from the emergency quest. Noticing his expression, Tristan could not help but let out a light chuckle, grabbing a vial from the box before tossing it to Valyr in front of him. "I don''t know if it''s as precious as the boots you just got, but as a cksmith, the contents of the vial are definitely interesting, to say the least."


    Hearing the words that came out of Tristan''s mouth, Valyr''s interest could not help but be piqued, tilting the vial to the side, only to find out the crimson red fluid contained within was incredibly viscous. In terms of consistency, it was more akin to syrup than water.


    Though, just as Valyr was about identify the contents of the vial through [Analysis], the connection between him and the weapon suddenly awakened as he felt the spear he had affixed on his back sometime earlier lightly tremble. Wondering what was going with his wooden spear, a couple of words resounded in his mind, prompting him to stare at the spear for a bit before raising up the vial that was given to him.


    ''I¡­ need it¡­''


    ''Give¡­ me¡­''

 Chapter 69 A Gift

    Hearing the faint words tinged with desire resounding throughout his mind, Valyr could not help but spare a nce at the spear affixed to his back once more as it continued to faintly tremble. Then, redirecting his attention, he looked at the vial given to him, activating [Analysis] as the spear''s sudden reaction made him all the more curious as to what contained inside.


    Ding!


    Reading through the information that had appeared on the screen in front of him, Valyr could not help but widen his eyes as he looked at the two for a bit. After that, he redirected his gaze towards the box on the ground, noticing that there were over a few dozen vials in there, all contained the same viscous red fluid in the vial he held.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Lesser Tidemother Blood] (Item)


    Rarity: Umon


    A vial containing the blood of the Lesser Tidemother, the origin of the monster tide that wreaks havoc on viges and towns alike. It is said that its blood contains special properties that one could use to their advantage if used properly. Though, direct ingestion of the blood to one''s body shall only result in it bing the most nefarious poison known to man.


    However, when used on equipment and concoctions, one might find themselves delighted by the surprises the blood may bring.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''So that''s the reason why Tristan decided to stay near the corpse. It''s so he could collect the blood.'' With this thought in mind, he could not help but take a look at the spear behind his back once more, moving the vial closer to see what would happen. Surprisingly, the closer the vial was to the spear, the more it trembled. At some point, the spear gave off the feeling that it wanted to devour the vial that was in his hand, only because he had ced the vial too close to it.


    Although he was curious as to what would happen if he poured the blood on the wooden spear, seeing that its description informed him that there would be positive side effects to bathing his spear in blood, he opted to keep the vial hidden for now. After all, there was too many eyes focused on him at the inn at the moment due to his Tidebreaker legend.


    "Is it possible for me to get more vials of this stuff?" Though he could not use the vial of blood on his spear right now, that didn''t mean that he couldn''t ask for more vials to use on his spear.


    Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Tristan lightly grinned as he looked at Damian. In response, Damian nodded back before turning his head to look at Valyr. "That wouldn''t be a problem¡­ but you''ll have to ask Tristan about that. After all, he''s the only one who''s making use of the blood at the moment."


    "Although I don''t really mind giving you the vials, I feel like I''d be on the losing end to give you the vials for free." Seeing that it was his turn to speak, Tristan went ahead and opened his mouth, looking at Valyr with a smug expression. "With that in mind, what will you give me in exchange for the vials?"


    "Hmm¡­" Valyr''s forehead scrunched up slightly as he thought about the question, thinking about the things he could offer up. At some point, a thought surfaced in his mind as he gave Tristan an offer thetter quickly agreed to.


    "How about I let you watch how my spear reacts to what''s inside the vial?"


    "Deal!" Unexpectedly, that alone was enough for Tristan to budge, giving Valyr a couple more vials without hesitation as arge grin adorned his face. "I was waiting for you to say that."


    "Can''t you just get a weapon and wield it until it awakens a weapon bond?" Naturally, hearing the words that came out of Tristan''s mouth, Valyr instantly knew that Tristan was still curious about the weapon bond he had formed.


    "No can do." Tristan shrugged his shoulders in nonchnce. "I don''t really use weapons. I just rely on my fists."


    "And what''s stopping you from forging metal knuckles?" Valyr could not help but ask back. "That''s a weapon made for fists, no?"


    "I¡­" At that moment, Tristan went silent, pondering over Valyr''s words for a bit. After a while, he picked up the box of vials and quickly left the inn, heading back to his smithy with a solemn yet excited expression. If one looked at him at that instant, it would seem that he was in a trance of some sort. "Just head to my smithy tomorrow if you want to get more vials. You''ve just given me an idea."


    While Tristan decided to leave the inn, Damian looked at Valyr and gave him an awkward smile. Turning around, he decided to bid farewell to Valyr. "Well, since I''ve given you your rewards, I''ll be heading back to the barracks. Enjoy the feast a bit more."


    "Why not join us, Damian?" As the night was still young, Valyr offered Damian toe join them. After all, it was an incredibly rare asion in the vige for everyone to gather together. "Let loose a little, you know?"


    "I still have a bit of work to do once I get back." Damian shook his head, his tone somewhat apologetic. "Gonna need to help the others draft a n for the vige''s restoration, after all."


    With that, the others decided to leave Damian be, bidding him farewell. Though, just as he bade farewell to the others and was about to leave the inn like Tristan, Valyr stood up and walked beside him.


    "You know what? I''m feeling a bit full," Valyr said with a light smile, telling the others that he was going to head back to the barracks and get an early night''s rest. Since he was the new legend of the vige, no one had any problems with that, with some even telling him to get a good night''s sleep. "How about we both head back to the barracks, Damian?"


    Of course, Damian, who somewhat expected Valyr to stay, could not help but be slightly surprised by Valyr''s sudden action. Looking at Valyr beside him for a bit, he lightly nodded as the two headed out of the inn, leisurely walking their way out of the barracks. "Sure, why not."


    And so, leaving the mor that was going inside the vige inn, both Valyr and Damian walked their way back to the barracks. While Valyr was enamored by the sights of the beautiful night sky, Damian could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief, his bodynguage somewhat rxed after getting out of the inn.


    "I had a feeling you weren''t good with crowds." With those wordsing out of Valyr''s mouth, Damian could not help but flinch in surprise. "Kind of ironic, considering you''re the leader of the vige guards."


    "I just don''t like the social interaction part of it." Wryly smiling, Damian decided to humor Valyr as they conversed while they walked. "Imagine having to talk to over 10 people at once. Before you know it, your mind is overwhelmed."


    "Well, you''re definitely not wrong." Hearing Damian''s exnation, Valyr lightly nodded before letting out a chuckle, seeing another side of Damian he hadn''t seen before. "Were you actually full when you decided to leave with me?"


    "Let''s just say I''m in the same boat as you." With those words, Damian cracked a bit ofughter, to which Valyr apanied him byughing as well.


    "Although you''ve gotten the rewards from the quest, the boots, and the vials of blood, I still feel like the vige hasn''t rewarded you enough for your efforts." At some point in the walk back to the barracks, Damian opened up a conversation with Valyr. Just as Valyr raised his eyebrow at the words he spoke, his eyes widened as he heard Damian''s next few words.


    "Hmm¡­ want me to give you another reward?"


    "Eh?" Naturally, Valyr was caught off guard by the question, perplexed as to where the question hade from. With that, he politely declined, thinking that the rewards given to him were more than enough for now. "You don''t really have to. I''m quite satisfied with what I''ve gotten."


    "Is that so?" Though, rather than being disappointed by Valyr''s response, a knowing smile instead appeared on Damian''s face as he decided to rephrase his question. "Alright then. How about this?"


    "I''ll give you a gift to thank you for the hard work you''ve put in as a vige guard." Hearing the words that came out of Damian''s mouth, Valyr could not help but scratch his head as Damian''s smile widened.


    "Now, are you going to ept my gift?"


    "It would be rude to decline a gift, no?"

 Chapter 70 Special Skills

    Being left at a loss for words by Damian''s question, Valyr could not help but scratch his head for a bit before letting out a sigh. Gazing at the man before him, he scratched his head once more, knowing that Damian would not take no from him as an answer. "Alright, fine. I''ll ept the gift."


    "What kind of "gift" are you giving me anyway?" Seeing that the smile on Damian''s face widened for a bit before he returned to his neutral expression, Valyr decided to ask, quoting in the air to remind the man beside him that it was a reward disguised as a gift.


    Of course, Damian knew the reasoning behind Valyr''s gesture, considering that he was the one who proposed the idea in the first ce. With that, he went ahead and quoted in the air as well as he spoke up. "Well, the "gift" that I''m going to give you is something you would''ve definitely regretted declining.


    "And that would be¡­?" At this point, Valyr''s curiosity was piqued.


    "I''ll give you one chance to pick a skill from the contribution point shop and get it for free." As these words came out of Damian''s mouth, Valyr could not help but stop in his tracks. After all, there were many skills in the shop that he wanted to buy, yet never had enough contribution points to do so.


    However, Damian wasn''t done yet.


    "Of course, to sweeten up the deal even more, you can choose any, and I mean any, skill you want from the contribution point shop. Even the ones where you need a [Guard Leader] position is not off-limits from this. I''ll give them to you for free." Finishing his words, Damian went silent, allowing Valyr to take his time to ponder over the gift he had given him.


    Naturally, hearing that there was no limits to what skill he could obtain from the shop only left him speechless for far longer. Only after taking a few deep breaths did Valyr gradually snap back to reality, thinking about the amount of contribution points he currently had, as well as the position he currently had in the organization. Thankfully, it did not take long for him toe to a conclusion on what kind of skill he wanted to obtain.


    But just to make sure, he decided to ask.


    "Are Special Skills off-limits?" Hearing the question that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Damian looked back at him and shed a knowing smile, which made thetter quickly understood that those skills were also avable for him to obtain.


    After being told on his first day in the barracks that it was possible for him to obtain Special Skills in the shop as long as he had the necessary position and contribution points to buy them, the thought of getting a Special Skill from the shop had never left in his mind. In fact, it had be his n to buy a Special Skill with his newfound position and contribution points once he returned to the barracks.


    That was because, unlike normal skills, Special Skills epassed multiple moves in one, being known by multiple names. Forbat sses that relied on physical weapons, the Special Skills they had were called Combat Styles. For magic sses, Magic Styles. Even production sses were not exempt from this, with Forging Styles, Concocting Styles, and Tailoring Styles being the mostmon.


    However, the main reason why Special Skills were highly sought after was the fact that these skills grew with the person. To be more exact, higher-level skills within the Special Skill would be avable for the person to use once they had met the increasingly stringent requirements. Because of this, the skill one would unlock once they had met the most stringent requirement of their Special Skill was called an Ultimate Skill, its firepower even putting skills made for pure destruction to shame.


    "They''re not. In fact, I was hoping you''d ask." While a smile continued to adorn Damian''s face, he responded to Valyr''s question. "Anyways, let''s return to the barracks first. We don''t want others to know of this, after all."


    Seeing that Damian seemed to be slightly mischievous at the moment, Valyr could not help but lightly chuckle before nodding, with the two soon making their way back to the barracks at higher speeds.


    ¡­


    "Alright. Peruse the contribution point shop and tell me which Special Skill you want." Now that the two had returned to the barracks, Damian went ahead and allowed Valyr to choose his free skill. At the moment, the two of them were in his office.


    Nodding in response, Valyr opened up the contribution point shop and headed to the section for skills, ignoring all of the skills that could be bought at the [Guard] and [Veteran Guard] rank. After that, he focused his attention on every skill that could be bought at the [Guard Captain] and [Guard Leader] rank, ignoring all of the skills which, although he could find use for with his current strength, only had one purpose.


    Eventually, he had found the skill he wanted to obtain from the contribution point shop, his eyes slightly widening in surprise as he hadn''t expected the skill to appear in a small ce like Astarto Vige. ''To think I''d find another one of my bread and butter skills in a ce like this.''


    ''On top of that, it''s the one with an upgrade path.'' With that in mind, Valyr unhesitatingly told Damian of the skill he had chosen, prompting Damian to let out a chuckle as he nodded soon after.


    "Good choice."


    Opening up a screen before him, Damian interacted with it for a bit, pushing on certain spots before closing it. After that, he refocused his attention on Valyr. "There we go."


    Ding!


    [You have gained the active skill ''Serpent Spear Combat Style''.]


    As a notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr went ahead and took a look at his notification screen, a satisfied grin appearing on his face as he nodded at Damian and thanked him.


    In response, Damian nodded back as his expression returned to what Valyr was familiar with. After that, he took a look at the documents on his desk and told Valyr that he was now free to do whatever he wanted. "Alright. Since I''ve given you my gift, you''re free to go."


    Nodding in response, Valyr then made his way to the door. Though, just as he was about to leave, Damian said something that prompted him to say a few words of gratitude back with a smile before finally leaving altogether.


    "Once again, thank you, Valyr, for helping the vige."


    ¡­


    Returning to his dormitory, Valyr let out an intense and long sigh of relief as heid down on his bed, cing the wooden spear on his back down on the floor as he retrieved the vials of blood Tristan gave him out of his pocket, cing them on a nearby table.


    Closing his eyes for a couple minutes, he stood up once more, removing his uniform as he went to the bathroom and took a shower before changing into a set of clean yet loose-fitting clothes. Feeling refreshed, he lied down on the bed once more as he opened up the contribution point shop, quickly buying two skills he didn''t n to buy in the first ce.


    "Since I have more than enough points for it, why bother going out of my way toplete a quest and get the same skills if I could just buy it?"


    Ding!


    [You have gained the active skill ''Deft Hands''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Robust Arms''.]


    "Two skills down, two more to go." With two of the four other skills he needed for his Rank 1 ss obtained, a satisfied smile appeared on Valyr''s face as his eyes felt a bit heavy. For a while, he fought against the urge, thinking that there was a bit more he could do. But eventually, the exhaustion his body felt won out against his mind, the screen in front of him automatically closing as he soon fell into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 71 Being Recognized

    Once Valyr had woken up once more to greet a new day, the sun''s rays had already pierced through his windows, prompting a light frown to appear on his face as he sat up, scratching his back before getting out of bed to do a light stretch.


    While doing the stretches, Valyr was surprised to find out that other than a bit of soreness in some areas, his body felt limber. Recalling what he had done during his first day in the vige, which rendered him incapable of moving if not for the pain relief pills he bought, he could not help but be astonished. After all, the magnitude of things he had done yesterday during the monster tide was tens, if not hundreds of times more strenuous than what he did back then.


    Chalking up his body''s greater endurance towards his higher stats, he then went about his morning routine, putting on a set of casual clothes once he had gotten out of the shower. After that, he affixed his wooden spear on his back, ready to head out and do what he needed to do. However, just before he could open the door, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, prompting him to grab the vials of blood Tristan gave him before pocketing them.


    With that, he made his way to the cafeteria, a light smile on his face as he decided to take a look at the skills he had obtained the previous night.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Deft Hands] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A skill that allows the user to temporarily increase their dexterity for a short amount of time. Increases the user''s DEX stat by 10% for 5 seconds.


    Cooldown: 10 minutes


    Cost: 50 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Robust Arms] (Level 1/10)


    A skill that allows the user to temporarily increase their strength for a short amount of time. Increases the user''s STR stat by 10% for 5 seconds.


    Cooldown: 10 minutes


    Cost: 50 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''At its current state, it''s only useful in certain situations where I need to deal a bit more damage.'' Reading through the descriptions of the two skills he had bought for his Rank 1 ss, Valyr could not help but wonder how these skills allowed him to obtain the variant cksmith ss he wanted. ''I guess leveling them up would allow me to find out the reason why the variant ss needs it?''


    ''Anyways, I''ll save that forter.'' With that in mind, he closed the two screens before him,manding the system to bring up the description of the skill he had gotten from Damian for free.


    Ding!


    With a smile, he read through its description, feeling a hint of nostalgia from it as he recalled all of the memories he had in his previous life with the Special Skill. ''It''ll be a while until I can reach its former glory, but I''m definitely d to have found this earlier thanter.''


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Serpent Spear Combat Style] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common+


    There are various ways to wield the spear. Some wield the spear as if it was an extension of their arms, focusing on the simplicity of the spear to show its greatest power. Some wield the spear as is, focusing on amplifying the benefits of wielding the spear to its greatest limit. Then, there are those who wield the spear as if it was a living creature, turning into a far more lethal weapon than the other two.


    This skill teaches the user the Serpent Spearbat style, a style of spear wielding that focuses on the idea that the spear is a serpent, an elusive predator that kills its prey in one swift strike. The style consists of 5 moves, 1 defensive and 4 offensive, with each move being more lethal than the previous.


    <first 15="" move:="" descending="" fang="" -="" allows="" the="" user="" to="" attack="" their="" opponent="" with="" an="" arcing="" motion,="" imitating="" motion="" of="" a="" serpent''s="" fangs.="" deals="" 175%="" user''s="" stat="" as="" damage.="" cooldown:="" seconds.="" cost:="" mp.=""></first>


    <second 50="" move:="" ???="" -="" user="" must="" reach="" dex="" first.=""></second>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "To think the first move is already as destructive as [Strong Pierce]," Valyr could not help but say with a chuckle, trying to recall whether the first move already had that much power at the start. After all, he had unlocked a couple advancements in the Technology Tree''s Combat section, so there was a chance it could have been upgraded by the tree, just like [Strong Pierce]. Thinking about it for a bit more, he decided to ce the thought at the back of his head for now.


    Closing up the screen in front of him, he then continued on his way to the cafeteria, ordering a light breakfast as he soon sat on a vacant table, eating his breakfast in silence. While eating, he could not help but notice that only a few people aside from him were awake at the moment, prompting him to think that most of those who participated in the monster tide were still sound asleep, dead tired from the multiple waves they had to deal with.


    "Now that I think about it, this is the first skill I''ve gotten with a plus modifier," he muttered to himself, continuing to eat his breakfast as he wondered if there were any other skills with a plus modifier that he wanted and was easy to obtain in the near future.


    Although it may not seem like much, skills that had a plus modifier on them meant that they were considerably stronger than skills of the same grade, their strength being closer to the grade above it rather than the one below it. Aside from that, skills with plus modifiers all had the ability to evolve to the next grade, considering that the wielder of the skill found the right method to upgrade it.


    "I think I should be able to find the upgrade requirement for this skill once I ascend to Rank 1." Now finished with his breakfast, Valyr gave the tray back to the cafeteria workers and thanked them before leaving the premises, heading out of the barracks to make his way to the smithy.


    Unsurprisingly, with his reputation in the vige now at max, including the fact that he had a vige legend revolving around him, a lot of the people in the vige went out of their way to greet him. In response, Valyr greeted them back, shing a smile or two at people while waving at them. Though, while that was happening, he inwardly sighed at the current situation, pondering whether to take a more secluded route next time.


    ''Then again, the monster tide just finished yesterday. People will eventually forget about it. Just gotta give it some time.'' Repeating that thought in his mind over and over to think better of the situation, he eventually arrived at the smithy, closing the door behind him as he let out a sigh of relief.


    "Well then. To think the Tidebreaker would personally make an appearance in my smithy." However, just as Valyr thought he was safe from the effects brought about by his title, Tristan stood up from his seat and looked back at Valyr, deciding to tease the man.


    "So, you''re gonna do it that way, huh? Well, two can y that game." Unfortunately for Tristan, his joke quickly backfired, with Valyr hastily turning around to leave the smithy. "Guess I''ll just head outside the vige and check the effects of the blood on the spear myself."


    "Wait, wait, wait! I was just kidding!" Naturally, with how enamored he was with Valyr''s spear, Tristan utilized the entirety of his AGI and stopped Valyr from even taking a single step out of the smithy. With a bitter smile on his face, he said to Valyr, "It was just a joke, jeez."


    "Have you ever experienced the feeling of having people follow your every move just because you did something amazing once? That''s what I''m feeling right now, and not gonna lie, I hate it." Trying his best not tosh out at the man behind him, Valyr turned around and exined to Tristan what he felt at the moment.


    "Alright, alright. That was my mistake. I''ll stop." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan went ahead and apologized, distancing himself from the former as he made his way back to the anvil. As he sat down, he turned to look at Valyr. "But just so you know, Damian and I have gone through what you''re going through right now. In fact, Damian''s opinion on it is more or less simr to what you think of it."


    "As for me¡­ I relished in the feeling of being recognized. I bathed in it. It''s a great feeling, that''s for sure." Saying those words, Tristan extended his arms out and looked up at the ceiling as he lightly closed his eyes, reminiscing of a time when people cheered out his name.


    "Alright, narcissist. Enough monologuing for now. It''s time for me to keep my part of the promise." Sadly for Tristan, Valyr wasn''t having any of it, unfurling the fabric tying his wooden spear as he grabbed thetter. Then, making his way to where Tristan was, he ced the spear on the floor before retrieving a vial of the Lesser Tidemother''s blood out of his pocket, raising it up in front of thetter.


    "Let''s see what happens when the two mix, shall we?"

 Chapter 72 Transmutation

    With those words said, Tristanpletely forgot about what had transpired earlier, his attention fully focused towards the spear that had been ced on the floor beside him. After that, he focused his gaze towards the vial of blood Valyr held, watching as thetter pulled out the stopper before tilting it downward, pouring out the contents all over the surface of the wooden spear.


    Although a small amount of it had gotten on the stone floor of the smithy, Tristan did not mind it at all. Or better yet, he ignored the fact that the floor of the smithy had been sullied, his gaze fixated towards what might happen when the blood from the Lesser Tidemother came into contact with Valyr''s wooden spear.


    Even though Tristan had utilized the Lesser Tidemother''s blood in some of the equipment he had forged in the past, this was the first time he was going to see what the Lesser Tidemother''s blood would do to a weapon with a weapon bond attached. He knew that the blood would either give the equipment a small bonus to its stats, or either change its appearance to have a motif rted to the Lesser Tidemother, but he did not know how a weapon bond would affect that.


    ''It would have been nice if I could have experimented with Damian''s sword in the past and poured it with the Tidemother''s blood. In any case, betterte than never.'' With rapt attention, he watched as the wooden spear gradually absorbed the blood poured all over its surface. Naturally, Valyr was watching as well, his eyes slightly widening in surprise as he felt that the connection between him and the spear was gradually strengthening the more blood it absorbed.


    Eventually, the blood of the Lesser Tidemother that stuck onto the wooden spear''s surface had been all siphoned by the spear itself. Soon, it started to tremble, slightly moving to and fro on the floor as the two watched it intently, thinking of the spear as something with life in it rather than something inanimate.


    Fortunately, this phenomenon did notst for longer, gradually waning a couple minutes in before fully ceasing around five minutester. With that, the wooden spearid there on the ground, seemingly waiting for either of the two to pick it up. Seeing as it did not move any further, Valyr bent down and picked up the spear, examining if there were any changes to the spear whatsoever.


    "Wait¡­ what the hell?" After looking at it for a short while, a change soon became apparent to Valyr, prompting him to raise an eyebrow as he noticed that the wood of the spear had taken on a tinge of light red. Though it was a subtle change if one looked at it from afar, with how closely he examined it, it was more or less inevitable for him to discover it.


    "What''s wrong?" Naturally, Tristan could not help but be curious, wondering what Valyr had seen on the spear. In response to the question, Valyr handed his spear over to Tristan, with thetter eventually noticing the slight change as well. "Huh¡­ it''s slightly red."


    "Do you think it''s because of the dried blood on the surface?" Valyr could not help but ask, recalling how he had not washed the spear clean after using it, nor had he done maintenance on it.


    "We could wash it down with a bit of water if you want." Tristan shrugged his shoulders as he suggested, to which Valyr nodded in agreement. With that, Tristan headed to the back of the smithy for a bit, returning with a bucket of water and a dirty washcloth a couple minutester.


    Pouring the water all over the spear, Tristan then wiped off the dried blood on its surface, putting a bit of force into it to make sure every bit of dried blood was removed from it. Surprisingly, even after he had wiped off the dried blood from the spear, the wood making up the spear still had a light red tinge to it. "With this, we''ve confirmed that it wasn''t the dried blood on the spear making it red."


    "The wood has really turned light red?" Making a mental note to routinely wash his spear clean every so often, Valyr had a slightly incredulous expression on his face. After that, he checked the connection between him and the spear, wondering if there were any changes to it aside from the strengthening.


    Thankfully, after sensing it for a bit, he noticed that the spear seemed to be telling him that it desired even more of the blood he had poured all over it. Slightly fearful yet at the same time curious as to how many vials of the Lesser Tidemother''s blood it could absorb until it was satisfied, he told Tristan to put the spear down on the floor once more before pouring another vial of the blood on its surface.


    "You''re¡­pouring another vial?" Satisfied with the information he had found out from the experiment, Tristan was left at a slight loss for words after seeing Valyr poured yet another vial on his spear. At first, he thought that nothing was going to happen to the spear. After all, he had also experimented pouring a second vial on other pieces of equipment in the first, with the end result him having to mop the floor clean.


    However, his skepticism quickly turned into stupefaction as the wooden spear started to absorb the blood once more, the wood turning more and more red as the blood on its surface gradually disappeared. With his expression slightly aghast, he looked at Valyr with confusion. "Did you know this would happen?"


    "I''m as clueless as you are." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "All I did was sense the connection between me and the weapon. It told me that it wanted more of the blood, so I gave it more."


    "Speaking of which, we might need more of those vials." Hearing those wordse out of Valyr''s mouth, Tristan quickly stood up and headed to another part of the smithy, cing the box of vials he had broughtst night to the inn near the wooden spear a few minutester. At this moment, his attention was fully on the wooden spear, fascinated that a spear could absorb so much blood just because of a single weapon bond.


    With that, more and more vials of the Lesser Tidemother''s blood were dumped onto the spear, with the spear greedily gobbling it up as if it were itsst meal. While that was happening, the wood making up the spear eventually turned a bright red, then gradually darkened as it became more and more crimson.


    Eventually, by the time Valyr had poured the 20th vial of Lesser Tidemother Blood on the wooden spear, the connection between him and the spear seemed to have reached its limit for strengthening, with the spear telling him that it could not handle any more blood. With that, Valyr told Tristan that the spear had reached its limit, prompting thetter to ce the box of blood vials to the side as the two watched the spear undergo its final transformation.


    Thump!


    At the very instant the spear had absorbed the final bits of blood from the Lesser Tidemother on its surface, a loud thump resounded from within the spear, echoing throughout the entire smithy as both Tristan and Valyr watched as the spear''s outermostyer ked off, as if it were a creature shedding its skin.


    Little by little, the new appearance of the spear was shown to the two, with the spear''s surface bing smooth as the entire spear was a dark yet elegant deep crimson. Surprisingly, a few intricate-looking tendrils extended out of the spear tip''s base, which looked quite simr to the legs of the Lesser Tidemother.


    Though, aside from the visual change to the spear, the connection between Valyr and the spear had also changed as well, giving Valyr the feeling that he could understand more of the spear''s thoughts, as if the two had gotten closer in an instant. However, there still existed a big chasm between him and the two, though Valyr did not mind that at all. After all, the chasm between him and the spear had gotten smaller because of this transformation, which meant that their bond was getting closer to reaching a higher level.


    Seeing that the spear waspletely saturated with the Lesser Tidemother''s blood, Valyr went ahead and slowly picked it up, feeling that the spear had gained a bit more heft to it after absorbing all of those blood. Soon after, a notification sound resounded in his mind, prompting him to take a look at the notification that had appeared, only for his eyes to widen in surprise.


    "What?!"


    Ding!


    [Your ''Wooden Spear'' has undergone a transmutation.]


    [Due to its transmutation, its name has changed to ''Tideblood Spear''.]

 Chapter 73 Ones Current Limits

    As Valyr eximed out in shock due to the notifications he had received rted to the changes in his spear, Tristan was teeming with curiosity, wondering what kind of notification Valyr had obtained to warrant such a reaction. "What happened?"


    "My spear underwent a transmutation." Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr redirected his attention towards Tristan, his expression a mix of both excitement and curiosity towards the new capabilities of his spear.


    Though, as if putting a dampener on his mood, Tristan gave Valyr a look of understanding before lightly nodding, shrugging his shoulders in nonchnce. "Well, with how much Lesser Tidemother Blood we''ve given that spear of yours, it would''ve been more surprising if it didn''t undergo a transmutation."


    "Speaking of which, have you checked it out with [Analysis] yet? Wouldn''t be surprised if the blood did more than it normally would." Hearing those wordse out of Tristan''s mouth, Valyr''s somewhat dampened mood regained a bit of previous vigor, activating [Analysis] as he gazed at his spear. Soon, his eyes gained a light blue tint to it as a screen containing the description of the new spear appeared in front of his face a few secondster.


    Ding!


    Unsurprisingly, while reading through the spear''s description, Valyr''s eyes lit up with excitement, his free hand clenching into a fist as he suppressed the urge to scream out in joy. Nevertheless, with the wide smile prevalent on Valyr''s face, it would not take long for one to understand that the changes in the spear were far greater than he had initially expected.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tideblood Spear] (Level 10)


    Rarity: Common+


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Valyr)


    Attack: 18 - 30 (+10%)


    Previously a training weapon given to newly enlisted guards of Astarto Vige, after undergoing through various events, the wooden spear of before had broken through its limits, achieving a form that it had deemed far more suitable for its current wielder. Due to the copious amounts of Lesser Tidemother Blood absorbed by it, it has taken on a small portion of the Lesser Tidemother''s characteristics, transforming it into something that the wielder could use in battle.


    As the wielder has continued to use the spear even though they have far outgrown it, traces of a soul have awakened inside the spear. With the Lesser Tidemother Blood in it, this soul has be more solidified, allowing it to grow further and surpass its limits. Nevertheless, it knows that there is still more potential within it.


    <Innate Skill: Blood Drive - Propels the user forward with a small jet of blood from the end of the spear''s shaft, increasing the user''s speed temporarily beforending a quick thrust. Deals 50% of the user''s Attack stat and 20% of the user''s VIT stat as damage. Converts 5% of the damage dealt into HP. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Cost: 20 MP.>


    Remarks: Due to your immense stubbornness, you''ve finally gotten yourself a diamond in the rough.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aside from the fact that the spear''s rarity had gained a plus modifier to it, as well as the fact that its Attack stat had increased, Valyr was most excited about the fact that it had gained an innate skill after undergoing through a transmutation.


    Though it seemed quitemon for items at higher rarities to have innate skills, given how Valyr had two, the first one being the Lesser Tidemother Greaves he had stowed away in his dormitory room, the chances of an item having an innate skill was far lower than one might think. Because of this, many yers had gone into a frenzy when news of a groundbreaking innate skill had been found in a weapon, causing them to go on a witch hunt for the weapon itself.


    Nevertheless, as he had been a cksmith in the past, Valyr paid no heed to these groundbreaking innate skills, instead being satisfied with the innate skills he would imbue in the weapons he wielded in the past, with some even being on par with a few of them. With that, although Valyr was excited by the fact that he had gained another skill in his repertoire for free, his reaction to it was more subdued than most.


    ''Then again, lifesteal is a hard thing toe by if you''re not part of the Vampire race¡­ or if your ss doesn''t have anything to do with blood.'' cing these thoughts at the back of his head, Valyr closed the screen in front of him and affixed the spear to his back, shing Tristan a satisfied smile as he told thetter a bit of the changes that had urred to the spear because of the blood.


    Unsurprisingly, the information Valyr had given Tristan was more than enough to satisfy him, prompting a light smile to adorn his face as he let out a carefree sigh. "To think the blood I''ve been collecting on a whim would have such effects on a weapon with a weapon bond."


    "You know what? I''m going to push ahead with the idea of forging a pair of metal knuckles for myself. The transformation your spear had undergone is enough of a reason for me to do that." Saying those words, Tristan shed a toothy grin towards Valyr, prompting thetter to let out a chuckle in response.


    "At the very least, you should credit me for the idea, no?"


    "What idea? I came up with the idea all by myself." Not willing to give Valyr the satisfaction of being the one who came up with the idea, Tristan let out a chuckle as he stood up from the anvil, urging Valyr to sit down as a look of understanding appeared on thetter''s face. Realizing what Tristan wanted him to do, he rubbed his hands in excitement, picking up the forging hammer by the side of the anvil.


    "Aren''t you quite eager?" Tristanughed, heading to the box of materials located near the furnace before throwing a couple chunks of copper metal towards Valyr. "Anyways, with the monster tide now over, you''re now free to attempt forging a dagger as much as you want."


    "Though, we can only do three attempts a day for the next few days." Hearing such contradicting wordse out of Tristan''s mouth, Valyr shot him a look of incredulity, tilting his head in slight confusion.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for Tristan to realize what he had just said, shrugging his shoulders as he opened his mouth to exin. "The vige walls are still broken even though the monster tide has ended. Since the vige doesn''t really have any skilled stonemasons, they could only ask me to help out in repairing it¡­ which is better than nothing, I guess."


    "Now, does that clear up your confusion?" Seeing as Valyr nodded in response to this question, Tristan nodded back at him, telling the former that he was free to start his attempts whenever he wanted.


    And thus, hours quickly passed within the smithy, with sounds of metal hitting against metal reverberating throughout the four corners of its walls. As Valyr was able to have one go at forging for the past few days that led up to the monster tide, more and more of the cksmithing experience he had rued from his past life was unearthed, allowing his skills with the hammer to be more refined than usual.


    Of course, to Tristan''s eyes, it only seemed that Valyr was finally getting the hang of it.


    By the time the three attempts had been finished, Valyr stood up from the seat and left the smithy after bidding farewell to Tristan. Due to the fact that he wanted it to seem that he became more and more skilled with forging the more attempts he got, the quality of his work increased with every attempt, though he made it seem like his second attempt felt like the attempt that was going to sessfully create a dagger. Unfortunately, even with Tristan intently looking at his work with incredulity, he failed that attempt at the veryst moment, causing his three attempts at forging daggers to be nothing more than subpar des.


    Nevertheless, he had a feeling that the day he could sessfully forge a dagger in front of Tristan had gotten closer.

 Chapter 74 An Unlikely Companion

    By the time he had returned to the barracks, it was already in the afternoon. At this point, Valyr''s stomach could not help but lightly rumble, prompting a slightly awkward smile to sh across his face as he unhesitatingly made a detour to the cafeteria.


    Expecting all of the people that had participated in the monster tide to have woken up by now, Valyr was quite surprised that the number of people in the cafeteria was more or less the same as the number of people he had seen earlier in the morning. Nevertheless, seeing that a small portion of these people seemed to be still in their sleepwear, he quickly came to the conclusion that the others had already woken up before lunch had begun.


    Grabbing a tray of food from the cafeteria workers, he then looked for a vacant spot to sit on, only to notice a familiar man with a slightly groggy expression on his face, yawning as he spooned himself a bit of the soup from the bowl in front of him. Seeing him, Valyr could not help but lightly chuckle as he seated himself opposite the man, causing thetter to look at him for a bit.


    Realizing that Valyr was in front of him, a bit of the grogginess the man felt was washed away, making him a bit more alert as a light yet slightly crooked smile appeared on his face. "Well you''re up and early, Valyr."


    "Well, with how you''re currently dressed, it seems that you want to sleep in a bit more, Leon." Hearing the words that came out of Leon''s mouth, Valyr quipped back, causing the former to lightly chuckle in response before letting out a light sigh.


    "To be honest, I pretty much do. Almost every guard that participated in the monster tide yesterday got hammered to bits." shing a bitter smile at Valyr, Leon then went ahead and recounted the experiences that had urred in the inn after Valyr and Damian had left. Although he had to stop every once in a while, feeling some of the side effects from drinking too much finally kicking in, Leon didn''t hold back while narrating, describing everything in great detail.


    Naturally, such a vivid recounting ofst night''s happenings in the inn made Valyrugh to no end, with others joining in on their table as some of them had not been part of the feast held in the innst night. But just like Valyr, they all let out a bit ofughter thanks to Leon''s narration, allowing a joyous atmosphere to spread throughout the cafeteria as everyone continued to eat their meals.


    Eventually, Leon''s narration hade to an end, with everyone''s trays devoid of the food it previously had. Surprisingly, almost everyone there had treated Leon''s narration as entertainment, finding it enjoyable to listen to him recount what had happened in the inn. Because of that, some of them told Leon that he''d be a great storyteller if he wished to pursue that path. In fact, even Valyr was of the same opinion, thinking that Leon was blessed not only with brawns, but brains as well.


    Thanking Leon for the entertainment he gave them, everyone headed to the cafeteria workers and gave their trays before they all went their own separate ways. Being Leon''s friend, Valyr was thest one to give his tray to the cafeteria worker, ncing at Leon beside him. "You nning to participate in the night patrolter?"


    "Probably not. I feel like a migraine''s gonna pop up if I do." In response, Leon shook his head, to which Valyr told him to get a ton of rest and get well soon.


    With that, the two headed their separate ways, with Leon heading back to his dormitory room. On the other hand, Valyr made his way to the training field, his hands itching to try out the new skills he had obtained.


    Due to the fact that most of the people had joined in on the feast celebrating the vige surviving yet another monster tide, Valyr only saw a couple people in the training field busying themselves. In fact, one of the people in the training field made him raise his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering whether this person knew anything else other than to be in the training field and train their spear.


    Of course, that person was none other than the man he thought of as an oddball during his first day in the vige, practicing the ways of the spear in a manner that seemed more like how a schr would do it rather than a fighter. Naturally, with how much time had passed since then, he had be acquaintances with the man, giving him a perfunctory greeting, to which the man responded in kind.


    Nodding in response, Valyr then made his way to a vacant training dummy, retrieving his newly upgraded spear from his back. Feeling his body quiver with excitement, Valyr took a couple deep breaths to calm his nerves, closing his eyes for a bit to ground himself. Feeling as if he had regained control over his body, he then took a few steps back, distancing himself from the dummy in front before thrusting forward.


    "[Blood Drive]!"


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant he had uttered those words, a small jet of blood fired out of the dull end of the spear, instantaneously increasing the speed at which he moved forward as the spear dug deep into the dummy''s body.


    Thud!


    Before he knew it, the spear had pierced through the dummy, the tip appearing out the other end as a faint thud resounded from the attack. With a hint of incredulity, he retracted his spear, only realizing now how much his strength had improved. Adding on the fact that his spear had undergone an upgrade as well, it was no surprise that his attacks had be more lethal than before.


    However, rather than thinking about controlling his strength to not destroy the dummy in front of him, Valyr was instead curious as to how much damage he could deal if he went all out. Taking in yet another deep breath to calm himself down, he distanced himself from the dummy before moving his spear in arcing manner, attacking the dummy from the top rather than from the front.


    "[Robust Arms]!"


    "[Descending Fang]!"


    Bang!


    Due to how the spear was positioned during the attack, the spear tip had pierced through the dummy''s head without much problem, even having enough momentum to pierce all the way through its torso. By the time all the momentum in the attack had been used up, the dummy had been destroyed into bits, its broken parts strewn all across the ground within Valyr''s vicinity.


    "If it''s already this destructive with the skills still at Level 1, I wonder how destructive they could get once I level them up." Sharply inhaling air from the destructiveness of the attack, Valyr could not help but lick his lips soon after, eager to allocate the XP he had earned during the monster tide into his skills sometimeter.


    Satisfied with the results of his quick test, Valyr affixed his spear to his back once more and turned around, thinking about thest two skills he needed for a Rank 1 ss. ''[Astute Eyes] and [Astute Mind]¡­ the closest ce I could get those two skills would be from Anadhar City. However, the travel to there and back would take a couple weeks at the earliest.''


    Seeing as he had no other way to get those skills other than from that area, he made up his mind to talk to Damian about it sometimeter. ''Well, I''d still have to do it either way if I want to ascend to that Rank 1 ss. Any other method thates to mind is currently far above my reach, after all.''


    "Too bad I''ll have to make the journey to Anadhar City on my own, though. It would''ve been nice to have apanion during the journey." Murmuring those words, Valyr let out a light sigh before heading out the training field, only to be stopped by the person he least expected to stop him.


    "I heard you mention Anadhar City, is that correct?" the man before him asked, to which Valyr nodded in response. Nevertheless, he was incredibly confused. After all, the man before him was the man who had a weird way of training with the spear.


    Seeing as Valyr nodded to his question, the man''s expression seemed to have grown rxed as a light smile appeared on his face. "Mind if I apany you? I was nning to travel to Anadhar City sometime ago, but just needed someone else to keep mepany."


    "Well, I don''t mind¡­ but before that, shouldn''t you tell me your name first?" Rather than agree outright, Valyr looked at the man before him with a hint of suspicion. Noticing Valyr bing slightly suspicious of him, the man went ahead and introduced himself properly to him, giving Valyr a polite half-bow.


    "Ah, where are my manners? Let me introduce myself."


    "My name is Wells."


    "Wells Anadhar."

 Chapter 75 Reasons For Joining

    Naturally, hearing the name that came out of the man''s mouth, Valyr could not help but blink a couple of times, wondering if he had heard correctly that the man''s surname was Anadhar. Asking the man before him to repeat what he had just said, he could not help but scratch his head when the man mentioned the surname once more.


    ''Aren''t those with the surname Anadhar part of the Anadhar noble family? If that''s the case, what''s a nobleman like him doing out here in a remote vige?'' Recalling his experiences with noble families in his past life, Valyr could not help but frown lightly as he gazed at Wells in front of him.


    Although Astarto Vige and many other settlements were under the rule of one kingdom, the Algerie Kingdom, the kingdom''s control over this power could only extend so far. Wanting to obtain a greater level of control over the far-away settlements without the kingdom having to make a move, the kingdom appointed certain ns and families to lord over these far-flung portions of the kingdom''s territory, giving them the same level of power and authority the kingdom had in their portion of the territory. Because of this, these lucky ns and families had been bestowed the title of noble ns and families.


    Although these noble ns and families had followed what the kingdom tasked them word for word at the beginning, with the passage of time, a great portion of them eventually forgot their original tasks. Instead, they unted around the power and authority their statuses gave them and made sure everyone else remembered it.


    Unfortunately, the Anadhar noble family was one such noble family who had forgotten the original purpose. On top of that, it was a noble family Valyr had personally met in the past, quickly earning his ire due to their behavior towards him.


    However, that was then and this was now. Realizing this, Valyr took in a deep breath and faced the current situation without his previous prejudice. Nevertheless, a bit of anger still seeped into the question that came out of his mouth. "If I remember correctly, only those with the surname Anadhar are part of the Anadhar noble family, right? What''s someone so esteemed like you doing in such a ce like this?"


    Hearing Valyr''s words, Wells could not help but bitterly smile, feeling the faintly palpable angerced in his question. Though, rather than retaliate anger with anger, he took in a deep breath and decided to reintroduce himself to the man in front of him. After all, with how knowledgeable he seemed, he was Wells'' only ticket in this vige to get back to Anadhar City.


    "Before I answer your question, let me reintroduce myself." He opened his mouth before giving Valyr another polite half bow. "My name is Wells Anadhar. I am the oldest son of the Anadhar noble family, as well as the eventual heir of the position as Anadhar City''s mayor."


    Seeing as Valyr was intently listening to his words, he continued. "The reason why I''m here in Astarto Vige is because my parents have sent me here to make sure I did not grow up spoiled and conceited, thinking of myself as someone above the masses."


    Hearing the words that came out of his mouth, Wells could not help but lightly scoff. "Then again, when my parents sent me out to this vige, disgust and contempt were greatly apparent in their expressions, which meant that even though they had gone through the same thing as me, they ended up thinking highly of themselves once more."


    Once Wells was finished talking, Valyr''s eyes were slightly widened in surprise, not expecting the man before him to berate his parents without hesitation. Because of this, Valyr''s impression of Wells had improved, prompting him to wonder where he had been in his past life. However, even though he had rummaged through all of his memories, he could not find any mention or sighting of Wells in any of it.


    Although curious as to what would happen to Wells in the future because of this, he ced this thought at the back of his head for now, deciding to go ahead and ask Wells the reason why he wanted to join him on his journey to Anadhar City. In response, a slight grimace appeared on Wells'' face for a brief instant before turning into a bitter smile, the former of which was out of Valyr''s range of perception. "I was signaled by the family during the monster tide to head back to the city. From the looks of it, the monster tide had given them a reason to call me back to the city, even though returning to the city would just mean me engaging in things I don''t even really like."


    "And what''s stopping you from heading back to Anadhar City on your own? Since you''vee from there, you know your way back, no?" Valyr raised his eyebrow, considering the fact that Wells asked him if he could join him out of nowhere as something quite suspicious. Though, once Wells responded to the question, Valyr''s suspicions were quickly thrown out of the window as he scratched his head with a slightly concerned frown on his face.


    "Well¡­ the thing is¡­" Wells awkwardly chuckled as he twiddled his thumbs. "I don''t really know my way back. I know I could ask the people in the vige how to get back to Anadhar City and they''d tell me¡­ but I think I can''t handle the pressure of doing that."


    "And I''m guessing you decided to ask me if you could join since you know me better?" Letting out a light sigh, Valyr finally connected everything together, with Wells nodding in agreement to his question.


    "Well, since that''s the case, then fine. You can tag along when I head to Anadhar City." Saying those words, Valyr looked at Wells, who looked back at him as if he was his savior. "Are you not in a rush to head back to the city as soon as possible?"


    Though it seemed that the question was directed towards Wells regarding the signal he had received from his family toe back, it was also a roundabout way for Valyr to tell Wells that it would be fine for him to head to Anadhar City today or tomorrow. After all, the quicker he got to Anadhar City, the quicker he would obtain [Astute Mind] and [Astute Eyes]. And the quicker he obtained those two skills, the quicker he could ascend to his Rank 1 ss.


    Fortunately for him, Wells was of the same mind to head to Anadhar as soon as possible. "Is it a problem for you if we head outter today? Though, I would also understand if we decide to depart the following day."


    "It''s not a problem at all." In response, Valyr shook his head, inwardly excited. "However, before we leave, we should at least inform Damian of our whereabouts during this."


    "I see." Nodding at Valyr''s words, the two then left the training field, making their way to Damian''s office as the two bantered for a bit, wanting to know each other a bit more.

 Chapter 76 Making Preparations

    By the time the two had arrived in front of the door that led to Damian''s office, the two knew a bit more about each other, prompting a somewhat amicable air to surround the two of them as Valyr knocked on the door.


    "Come in." Hearing those words resound from the other side of the door, the two went ahead and let themselves into the room, their sights being greeted by Damian surprisingly looking at who had arrived for once.


    "Oh? Well, that''s quite a surprise." Unsurprisingly, seeing that Valyr had arrived in his office with another person in tow made Damian raise his eyebrow in curiosity, wanting to get a better look of who apanied him. Fortunately, it did not take long for the man show himself to Damian, with the former giving him a polite half-bow. "To think I''d see Valyr and Wells in my office at the same time."


    Although Valyr was somewhat left at a loss for words from the fact Damian recognized Wells, this shock quickly died down as he recalled that everyone who became a vige guard had to go through him to get enlisted. On the other hand, Wells was far more shocked than Valyr was, knowing very well how he had enlisted in the vige guards. "You recognize me, sir Damian?"


    "How could I not?" Damian let out a bitter smile. "Your parents gave me a hard time when they told me to enlist you as a vige guard, unting their positions as nobles and whatnot."


    "Anyways, what can I do for the two of you?" While Wells felt secondhand embarrassment from recalling the actions his parents took to enlist him as a guard in Astarto Vige, Damian continued with the conversation, thinking of the incident with Wells'' parents as nothing more than a moment in passing.


    Just as Valyr was about to say what the two of them were nning to do, it was only then did he realize that from a certain perspective, heading to Anadhar City at such a time seemed insensitive, considering that the vige was in the middle of its repair efforts. Thinking that there was a chance their request could be rejected, he took in a deep breath before opening his mouth. "We just wanted to ask if it was possible for Wells and I to take a leave for a while."


    "Ah, there''s a chance I might note back," Wells added just as Valyr was finished talking, prompting Damian to raise his eyebrows.


    Taking it as a sign to borate on what they meant, Valyr went ahead and exined. "Wells and I will be heading to Anadhar City. I''ll be heading there to do some things before heading back once I''m done with them."


    "I was called by my family to return to the city as soon as possible." Wells lightly sighed. "Which is the reason why I said I might note back with Valyr."


    "Though it would be great if we got your permission to take a leave, we would understand if you reject us for the meantime," Valyr said, setting his expectations low. "After all, the vige is in the middle of its repair efforts. It would be insensitive for us to leave the vige in a precarious condition."


    Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Wells could not help but be silent, only realizing now that he hadn''t thought of that aspect. With that, he lowered his expectations as well, thinking that there was a high chance their request would be rejected.


    However, surprisingly, Damian shrugged his shoulders in response to their words. "Well, although the vige is in a precarious condition, it''s not like it can''t take care of itself. Valyr, Wells, you''re free to go to Anadhar City."


    "Eh?" Although Valyr was happy that they could leave as soon as possible, he was somewhat confused by the instant approval. Noticing his slight confusion, Damian''s expression became somewhat soft as he exined.


    "Valyr, you''ve helped the vige out a lot during its time of need. The least the vige could do in exchange for your contribution is to let you do what you need to do."


    Hearing that, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh as a smile appeared on his face soon after. Nodding, he thanked Damian for allowing them to leave the vige at such a precarious time. Though, before they left his office altogether, Damian told them to add him to their friend list, which allowed them to have a Level 25 Sword Dancer on their lists a couple minutester.


    After that, the two headed to their respective dormitories, grabbing all of the items that they would be bringing along during the journey. By the time the two of them met up once more near the barracks'' entrance, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle, seeing that Wells had brought along a couple bags with him.


    Nevertheless, as the two had decided to depart for the city before the sunset, the two did not waste any time, heading to a certain shop in the vige that sold almost everything they needed for the journey. As Valyr only had a dozen or so silver coins to his name, Wells decided to foot the bill for everything, throwing money at all of their problems as Valyr promised himself to pay Wells back when he had the chance.


    While buying the items needed for the journey, Valyr made a brief visit to Tristan''s smithy, telling him that he would be out of the vige for a while. Although Tristan was slightly surprised by Valyr''s sudden decision, he shrugged his shoulders in response to it, asking Valyr the reason why he even told him he was leaving.


    Knowing very well that the man would be slightly concerned while he was away, Valyr told Tristan that he would only be out for a couple weeks before returning to the vige. With that, Valyr and Wells continued to buy the remaining things they needed for their journey.


    Fortunately, just as there was only half an hour left before sunset, the two of them had finished buying everything they need, being greeted by the wooden carriage and the horses they bought just a small distance away from the vige gates. Wanting to make sure that the journey was somewhatfortable for the two of them, Wells opted to buy a wooden carriage that had a roof on it, as well as a system that dampened the effects of uneven terrain inside the carriage. Naturally, Valyr told him that a normal wooden carriage was already fine as is. But as Wells was paying for everything, he eventually decided to let him be.


    As for the horses, with how fine their carriage was, they decided to buy two of the finest steeds in the vige, which gained Wells'' thumbs up of approval. Then again, both of them had noints about it, considering that the stronger the steeds were, the faster they could get to Anadhar City.


    cing all of their rations and utilities inside the carriage, as well as the items they had brought from their respective dormitory rooms, the two of them securely tied the horses to the carriage before sitting at the front. After double checking to make sure that they hadn''t forgotten anything before they left, Valyr went ahead and took the reins, signaling to the horses to start moving.


    And with that, their journey to Anadhar City began.

 Chapter 77 Heading To Anadhar

    For the first few days into their journey to Anadhar City, both Valyr and Wells did not do anything remotely interesting or exciting. Instead, the two of them decided to banter from time to time, staving off the boredom they felt as they went about their somewhat uneventful journey. The same could be said during nighttime, where the two of them huddled around a makeshift campfire they made and ate their rations as they continued to get a feel of each other.


    Around the third day, the rtionship between two had marginally improved, allowing the two of them toe to an agreement that they would take turns on whoever would be in front of the carriage and whoever would be inside the carriage. Though, more often than not, Valyr would be the one in front of the carriage. However, with the atmosphere surrounding the two of them became more amicable as time passed, he didn''t mind.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m By the time the fifth day had arrived, the awkwardness between the two had more or less disappeared, allowing them to chat for hours on end, only to stop when they realized that a great amount of time had passed. In fact, on this very day that the two had finally warmed up to each other, Wells decided to share a bit more behind the reason why he was in Astarto Vige rather than be in Anadhar City.


    "I''ve already mentioned a few days ago that I''m part of the Anadhar noble family, right?" Wells looked at Valyr beside him, with thetter nodding in response. "I''ve also mentioned before once a nobleman in the family reaches a certain age, they would have to head to some other ce for a while to make sure they don''t end up growingcent, relying on the power and authority the noble family''s reputation offered them."


    Thinking about what he was going to say next, he could not help but let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, there''s no rule orw that stops them from heading to a town connected to our family''s territory, allowing them to still utilize the perks given by the noble family''s name. In fact, that''s more or less themon decision people made when the time came."


    "And you''re an exception to that?" Valyr raised his eyebrows, finding it intriguing for a noble to intentionally distance themselves from the power and authority given by the prestige of their nobility.


    "Well, I wouldn''t be in Astarto Vige if I wasn''t an exception," Wells joked, prompting a light chuckle toe out of Valyr''s mouth in response. "In any case, there''s a reason why I unhesitatingly chose to head to Astarto Vige once I was of age. Well, if you think about it from the perspective of a noble, the reason''s pretty simple."


    "I hate being involved in the politics of nobility." Hearing those wordse out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr now had a hypothesis as to why he hadn''t seen Wells back then in his previous life. But of course, he wouldn''t tell Wells about it.


    "Of course, I can''t escape politics as a whole. It''s something every person would have toe across eventually." Wells shrugged his shoulders. "However, the politics of nobility¡­ now that''s something I could escape from. The schemes, the ploys, the lies, all of those would be easily out of reach with just one choice."


    "With that in mind, when I found out that I could head to Astarto Vige when I had be of age, knowing that I would be far away from all of that, I instantly jumped the gun, much to the chagrin of my parents." Recalling the confused and disappointed expressions on the faces of his parents when he chose to head to Astarto Vige, a light smile could not help but appear on his face. "In any case, I''ve learned a lot during the past couple of years while I was in the vige."


    Picking up the spear he had brought along for the journey, Wells looked at Valyr and shed a grin. "For one, I learned that I want to study the ways of the spear and reach the peak."


    "Though, I really can''t do that anymore since I''m heading back now, can I?" Realizing where they were heading, a bitter smile reced the grin he had as he soon let out a light sigh. "Well, I guess it''ll be a dream I''ll strive to achieve."


    Saying those words, Wells eventually fell silent, allowing the rhythmic stepping of the horses to fill their surroundings. After some time, Valyr opened his mouth, prompting the former to focus his attention on what Valyr was about to say. "You know, just like you, I have a reason why I joined the vige guards."


    Naturally, such words quickly piqued Wells'' interest, making him perk up his ears as he waited for Valyr to continue. Of course, Valyr wasn''t nning on dawdling around, taking in a deep breath as he reminisced about the past. "Way before I came to Astarto Vige, I hadmitted a grave mistake that ended up destroying the life that I knew. Then again, I wasn''t the only one tomit it. Multiple others hadmitted the same mistake as me."


    "Yet, even though we realized what we had wrong, it was already toote for us to try and change it. Because of it, I ran away and decided to wander, wanting to start anew. I wanted to forget about what I had done." Looking at Wells, Valyr noticed that the man before him had be engrossed in his words. "Eventually, I found my way to Astarto Vige and enlisted as a vige guard."


    "Surprisingly, once I got my spear from Damian, a thought appeared in my mind."


    "Hey, there''s no point mulling over the past. What''s done is done."


    "With that thought, it made me realize that there was still a chance for me to make things right, even if the chance given to me in the past was already gone. In a way, I was trying to redeem myself just for the sake of it, focusing on the present and the future that lies ahead of us." Letting out a sigh, a light smile soon adorned Valyr''s face. "Well, if what I''ve done during the monster tide wasn''t me redeeming myself, then I don''t know what is. After all, who would''ve expected I''d be a vige legend because of it?"


    With those words ending Valyr''s monologue, the atmosphere between the two had be warmer as the two felt like they understood each other far better than they previously had. Even though it had only been almost a week since the two of them started talking to each other, they felt like they knew each other for far longer than that.


    After the personal conversation between the two, the two of them continued on their journey, with Wells showing Valyr the fruits of his odd method of training in the barracks'' training field one day. Surprisingly, even though Wells had next to no actual battle experience as he fought against a wild monster they hade across, all of the attacks he had used with the spear seemed to exude an aura of perfection. From Valyr''s perspective, it was as if he was watching the textbook example of a skill being brought into the real world.


    ''Not gonna lie, him wielding the spear suits him.'' As he continued to watch Wells gradually get used to fighting the wild monster, he could not help but take in the man''s appearance. Slightly messy dark auburn hairplementing the man''s chiseled jawline and sky blue irises. With the gunmetal gray spear he wielded, to Valyr, it felt like the man fighting the monster before him seemed more like an adventurer rather than a nobleman.


    Nevertheless, after that small skirmish, the two of them continued off into their journey once more, with the gates of arge settlement appearing far away in the field of vision a few dayster.


    "We''re finally here. Anadhar City." Muttering out those words, Valyr signaled for the horses to move faster as he looked at Wells beside him with a light grin. Wells lightly smiled at him in response, though a hint of discontent could be felt hidden beneath it.


    Just as Valyr was about to ask Wells as to which part of the city they would stop at, a notification sound resounded in his mind, prompting Valyr to check it out. Though, once he did, his eyes could not help but widen, only to notice that Wells was looking at the same notification as well.


    "A month remains, huh," Wells could not help but mutter.


    Ding!


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond starts in 30 days!]

 Chapter 78 Open Assassination

    Being notified that only 30 days remained before the beta version would be open, allowing the first batch of yers to enter the world of Greater Beyond, Valyr could not help but try to recall what had transpired in the world during this time. With the ratio between the time here and the time on Earth being 7:1, he thought about what was happening roughly four days before everyone got a first glimpse into Greater Beyond.


    Unsurprisingly, his memories of that time were all about how he and a great portion of the people he knew were excited that such an advanced VRMMORPG was going to be avable to y. Although theymented the fact that they weren''t able to be part of the beta testers, they knew that these lucky people would upload their experiences for the world to see, allowing people to live vicariously through them.


    cing the thought at the back of his head as he made a mental note that yers would appear in Greater Beyond in 30 days, he turned his head to look at Wells, who seemed to have a more subdued reaction towards the notification he had received.


    "Any idea on what''s gonna happen in 30 days?" Valyr looked at Wells, to which thetter shrugged his shoulders in response.


    "To be honest, I have no clue," Wells said to him. "All I know is that I have a feeling that I should be preparing for something. Then again, even that I have no clue."


    "I see." Hearing the words that came out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr realized that the hypothesis he had from back then was false, where he thought that NPCs already had an inkling of an idea that yers would arrive in Greater Beyond before thetter even came. ''I guess NPCs would only start gaining knowledge of yers once the beta version begins.''


    ''Then again, that makes for a more realistic experience.'' With that statement serving as the conclusion to his train of thought, the two continued to move closer to the gates that appeared before them. Eventually, the entirety of the gates had been shown to the two, prompting Valyr''s mouth to go slightly agape as it had been a long time since thest time he had seen a city gate this big.


    "Halt!" Just before their carriage could pass through, a couple guards in slightly worn metal armor appeared before them, prompting Valyr to pull on the reins as their carriage was gradually brought to a halt. "Your purpose in entering the city?"


    "Returning to the city." Surprisingly, while Valyr was mulling over what response would be best to the guards'' question, Wells took the initiative to respond first, his amicable expression from earlier gone. Instead, a solemn yet stern expression adorned his face as he looked at the two guards. "I suppose you two recognize me, right?"


    "Hmm?" Hearing the words that came out of Wells'' mouth, one of the guards could not help but move a little bit closer, only for the guard to let out an audible gasp a few secondster. Returning to where the other guard was, the guard then whispered a few things to the other guard before facing Wells and Valyr. Soon, the two guard gave them a respectful bow as they bellowed out.


    "We greet the Esteemed Sir on his safe return!"


    Of course, such a quick shift in attitude made Valyr''s eyes widen in slight surprise, though this surprise quickly disappeared as he recalled the identity of the man beside him. After that, the two guards allowed their carriage passage into the city, to which Wells responded to them by nodding and giving them a few words of gratitude.


    Unexpectedly, as their carriage passed through the gates, the two guards could not help but watch as the carriage gradually disappeared from their field of vision, only to look at each other soon after in disbelief. At the moment, they were wondering whether what they had experienced earlier was real. "Did¡­ did the Wells Anadhar actually say thanks to us?"


    "He¡­ did? He did! A nobleman actually paid attention to us guards!"


    "Man, I guess I have a story to tell my family once I get back home."


    "Same here."


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 ¡­


    Oblivious to the happenings that transpired after they passed through the gate, Valyr was filled with feelings of awe and wonder as he took in the sight Anadhar City brought him. Unlike Astarto Vige, all of the buildings here seemed to be built with design and purpose in mind, with the road their carriage was on also being included. On top of that, hundreds of people moved to and fro along the streets, showing Valyr firsthand how active and bustling the city was.


    Then again, given how the city was around 25 kilometers in diameter, covering over 20 times as much area as Astarto Vige, it was no surprise that such a city would be able to support such a huge poption.


    "So, where are we heading?" While Valyr continued to look at the sights that surrounded the two of them, he went ahead and asked Wells this question. After all, from what Wells had told him during these past few days, the man was certain that he would not be apanying Valyr back to the vige.


    Taking in a deep breath, Wells looked back at Valyr with a light sigh before pointing in a certain direction. "The Anadhar manor. Once we''re there, you could drop me off and we can go our separate ways."


    "Why the glum mood, man?" Naturally, Valyr took note of how Wells'' demeanor had changed the moment they entered the city. "Did I do something to tick you off?"


    "No, it''s just¡­" Responding to Valyr''s question, Wells let out another sigh. "Just as I thought I missed being back here, I just realized that I actually don''t."


    "Then again, I can''t really disobey my parents'' orders¡­ or to be more exact, the family''s. Who knows what kind of punishment I''d end up getting if I do." Hearing these words, Valyr could not help but scratch his head in response, deciding to cheer up his new friend a bit before they would have to part ways. Thankfully, a couple jokes and a few stories was enough to bring a bit of the lost vigor in Wells as he lightly chuckled at some of the things he said.


    However, just as the two had finally gotten on the path that led to the ce Wells needed to go, a man in ck garbs appeared in front of them out of nowhere, prompting Valyr to pull on the reins to bring the carriage to a screeching halt. In response, the man took advantage of the situation by dashing forward before jumping in midair.


    Just as Valyr was about to ask what was going on, his expression turned solemn once the man in ck garbs unsheathed a dagger coated in what seemed to be poison. With great speed, the man in ck garbs looked at Wells with murderous intent, shing down with great strength at the veryst moment, aiming to slit Wells'' throat open.


    "Die!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 79 Parting Ways

    Just as the assant''s de was only a few centimeters away from cutting Wells'' throat, Valyr swiftly made a move, utilizing the entirety of his stats to grab the spear from his back before moving out in retaliation. With the huge difference between his and the assant''s stats, he was able to position his spear in a way that would reduce the damage he dealt to the assant, but increase the pain received to its absolute maximum.


    Bang!


    At great speeds, Valyr hit the assant at his sternum, forcefully shoving the dull end of his spear towards it as the assant''s momentum was cut short. Soon, the assant was sent flying, colliding with a nearby stall that sold foodstuffs as everyone in the vicinity could not help but look at the origin of the ruckus.


    "Urgh¡­" While Valyr ced the spear back in its original ce, the man with ck garbs groaned out in pain, clutching his chest as he looked around, noticing that quite a few people were staring at him. Soon, his ears picked up words being spoken to him,shing him out for crashing into the food stall. Taking a look at the origin of the sound, the man met the stall owner''s eyes, increasing the anger felt by thetter as he continued tosh out at the man, asking for reparations.


    At that moment, only then did the man finally understand what had happened, attributing his current situation to the man that sat beside the target which he sought to kill. After all, the target''s family was the reason why he was the only one barely alive amongst his siblings. In his eyes, anyone who got in his way of seeking revenge for his family was an aplice.


    Feeling immense embarrassment for implicating others into his mess, this emotion quickly turned into incessant rage as the man in ck garbs stood up, enduring the intense pain he felt in his chest as he pointed at the carriage Valyr and Wells sat on. While pointing at it, he eximed with fury, "Protecting a nobleman¡­ do you have no shame?!"


    Hearing the words that came out of the man''s mouth, the passersby shifted their attention to the carriage, their eyes widening as they seemed to have an inkling of an idea of what was going on. As they had no context of the matter beforehand, their understanding of the current situation had be misconstrued, eliciting murmurs to arise from the crowd as Wells could not help but let out a sigh.


    Valyr, on the other hand, was confused at the current situation, wondering what he had done wrong. For some reason, while he looked at the passersby who appeared amidst the ruckus, they looked at him with expressions of slight disgust and contempt, increasing his confusion even further. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to realize the reason behind their reactions, a notification sound soon resounding in his mind.


    Ding!


    [Your reputation in Anadhar City has decreased by 10 points. Current reputation: Slight disdain.]


    Reading through the sudden notification he had received, Valyr had finally pieced two and two together, prompting him to look at Wells, who took in the current situation with indifference. Letting out a sigh, Valyr lightly shook his head before signaling the horses to continue moving forward, leaving the hubbub the man in ck garbs had caused.


    "I''m surprised someone would make a move on you. After all, it has been a while since youst arrived here, no?" Valyr looked at Wells beside him as they continued to head towards the Anadhar manor.


    In response, a bitter smile appeared on Wells'' face. "Although it has been a while, people look at the defining characteristics of the noble families, not the nobles themselves."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he added, "You get used to it."


    "Do the people in this city hate your family or something?" Valyr could not help but ask after that, finding Wells'' nonchnce over the whole ordeal slightly off-putting. "To think the people would take the side of the one who attempted to kill you."


    "You''ve basically answered your own question." As Valyr let out a sigh after finishing his words, Wells shrugged his shoulders once more. "The people would rather take the side of the assant of the nobles. That alone exins how deep-seated the hate for our family here in this city is, no?"


    "Is everyone else in your family really that bad?" Valyr looked at Wells in the eye, wanting to see if he could find out more from his gaze.


    Nevertheless, the bitter smile on Wells'' face was more than enough of an answer for his question, prompting him to sigh out once more as they continued to move through the city.


    ¡­


    As they passed through the various parts of the city, Valyr could not help but notice one thing. For some reason, the closer they got to the Anadhar manor, which Valyr presumed to be where Wells and everyone else from the Anadhar noble family lived, the more furious the people were when they noticed that Wells was returning to the manor. At some point, it had escted to where the passersby would shout out profanities towards the nobleman beside him, yet Wells shrugged it off as if it was nothing.


    Eventually, the two had arrived at the entrance to the Anadhar manor, its surroundings being a stark contrast to what they had passed through to get here. For one, none of the people that passed by them had the gall to scream out profanities at Wells, which probably had something to do with the line of guards in full armor around the manor''s entrance.


    Noticing the carriage stop in front of the manor, one of those guards approached them, only for the guard''s demeanor to undergo a huge shift once he found out that the eldest son of the family had arrived. Getting off the carriage, Wells grabbed the things he had brought along for the journey before being soon approached by the other guards, all of them excited to see the eldest son make a return after what seemed to be years.


    As for Valyr, he watched the whole scene unfold in front of him, prompting a light smile to adorn his face as he eventually told Wells that they would now have to part ways. In response, Wells thanked Valyr for apanying him during the journey, soon tossing out a small satchel towards thetter.


    "What''s inside?" Receiving the satchel, Valyr could not help but open it up, his eyes widening as he looked back at Wells in slight shock.


    Seeing Valyr''s reaction, Wells could not help but let out a bit ofughter. "Consider it thanks for bringing me here safe and sound. It''s the least I could do for a good friend like you."


    Hearing the words that came out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr let out an awkward chuckle. Feeling that the atmosphere surrounding him was gradually turning more awkward, he decided to bid farewell to the nobleman. Though, just as he was about to tell the horses to start moving again, Wells stopped him as a question escaped his mouth.


    "Now that I think about it, I never got your full name," Wells said to him. "On the other hand, you got mine. Mind telling me your full name?"


    "Oh, sure. I don''t mind." Nodding, Valyr went ahead and told Wells of his full name, eliciting thetter''s eyes widen in great shock as he wondered if he had heard correctly. However, before he could ask if what he heard was correct, Valyr already bade farewell to him once more, the carriage disappearing from the vicinity of the manor not long after.


    Reeling in from the shock he had felt from hearing the name, Wells took in a deep breath as he made his way into the manor. While walking, a light smile appeared on his face, prompting him to let out a chuckle as thoughts whirred around in his mind.


    "To think the man I''ve befriended would actually be above me in status."


    "Zeihardt¡­ huh."


    "I think I''m going to owe you one, Valyr."

 Chapter 80 Learning To Gamble

    After dropping Wells off at the entrance of their family''s manor, Valyr went ahead and rode the carriage to another part of the city, stopping every once in a while to ask some of the passersby regarding directions to the area he was heading to. Due to his reputation in the city bing negative thanks to the incident earlier, some of those he had asked looked at him with slight disdain. Thankfully, with a bit of friendly banter, all of them responded to his question.


    With that, Valyr had arrived at the area of the city he wanted to be in just as it had be midday, eliciting a light smirk to appear on his face as he reduced the speed of the carriage, taking in the sight before him. "I''m finally here. The entertainment district."


    As with anyrge settlement, Anadhar City had a district made for buildings with the purpose of giving entertainment for the people, a great portion of which were restaurants and bars. However, if one knew who to ask and where to look, a darker part of the entertainment district would be shown to them, allowing them to seek pleasures that satisfied deeper desires.


    Stopping in front of a considerablyrge restaurant, Valyr hopped off the carriage and asked one of the workers there to take care of the carriage while he was gone. Just as the worker was about toin that Valyr was not allowed to do that, thetter had given the worker a few silver coins, making the worker''s demeanor do a full 180 as the man obliged.


    Giving the worker a rough idea of how long he would be gone, Valyr then walked through the streets of the entertainment district, noticing that a great portion of the restaurants were filled to the brim with people. In fact, even the bars were not exempt from this, with some of them even heading out of the bars to drink alcohol in broad daylight.


    Eventually, he grew tired of looking at the sights surrounding him, hastening his pace as he tried to rummage the memories he had regarding his current whereabouts. ''If I remember correctly, the location for the specific quest I''m finding is only a few minutes from where I am.''


    Naturally, the main reason why he had arrived at Anadhar City, specifically the entertainment district of the city, was all in order toplete the quest that would allow him to obtain the two final skills he needed for his Rank 1 ss: [Astute Eyes] and [Astute Mind]. Though he knew that such arge city would have skills like these in stock if he took a look in a shop that sold skill books, the current Valyr did not have the financial assets to afford the price requested by these shops, even with the small satchel Wells gave him, which actually contained a dozen gold coins.


    Aside from that reason, all of the other methods that came to mind either simply needed a far higher level than he currently had, or was simply too far away for him to traverse before the beta version began. With that in mind, he opted for the closest method to obtain the two skills from where he was, with the quest in Anadhar City being one of the easier methods in his memories.


    "Found it." Stopping in front of an alleyway between tworge restaurants, Valyr looked at his surroundings, wondering if any person had followed him to where he was going. Seeing that everyone seemed to be minding their own business, Valyr took in a deep breath before walking through the alleyway, his surroundings gradually bing darker before eventually turning bright once more as a new sight appeared in front of him.


    Unlike the carefree atmosphere he felt while walking through the entertainment district, this part of the entertainment district seemed to have a dangerous air to it, the sight before him lit up with various colored lights powered by mana.


    Although curious as to how the lights were powered and how many advancements in the Innovation Technology Tree he would have to unlock to gain ess to the technology in front of him, Valyr ced the thought at the back of his mind as he recalled his purpose in arriving at this part of the entertainment district. With that, he brought up his memories of the quest once more, walking along the somewhat dark streets before stopping in front of arge building that housed more people than it should.


    ''The Silver Gambling Den,'' Valyr inwardly muttered as he gazed at the illuminated sign above the entrance, thetter of which showed Valyr a sneak peek of what he would see once he entered. Seeing as he didn''t have much of a choice if he wanted to get the skill, he stepped inside the gambling den, his senses quickly being bombarded by the various lights and sounds that resounded throughout the building.


    Standing in ce for a while, Valyr gradually limated to his surroundings before heading to the rear section of the building, trying to recall the various tasks he had to do in order to obtain the quest he needed. Thankfully, after swerving through multiple rows of people, he had arrived at the rear section a few minutester, the person he wanted to talk to already being there.


    "Hi there. I was just wondering if Jekyll was around?" Valyr asked the person in front of him, a man in histe twenties with a somewhat nonchnt expression on his face. "I have something to tell him."


    "What do you need to tell the boss? I''ll ry your words to him." In response to his words, the man''s eyes slightly narrowed as he brushed off the light gray hair covering his eyes. Taking a look at Valyr, he waited for thetter to speak.


    "Tell him that someone willing to inherit his legacy has arrived." Making sure that the words he said were exactly what he recalled in his memories, Valyr looked at the man intently, thetter''s eyes widening for a brief moment before returning to normal. Soon after, the man nodded and turned around, disappearing from Valyr''s field of vision a momentter.


    ''Thankfully, the man I talked to is the exact one who triggers the entire quest line.'' Rummaging through his memories, he recalled that he had done the quest back then during nighttime. Remembering the reason why, he was told that attempting the quest at nighttime increased the chances of being able to talk the man that triggered the quest line. ''And here I thought I would have to wait till nighttime.''


    Fortunately, after a few minutes of waiting, the man Valyr had talked to earlier returned, alongside a man who seemed to be in histe thirties. At the very moment his eyes noticed thetter, he knew that he only needed to reenact the things he had done in his memories to assure that he would obtain the quest. ''The fact that I''m at a lower level than when I attempted this back then makes him more intimidating to look at.''


    Although the man was wearing a dark gray tuxedo, the aura he emanated was more in line with what one would expect from someone who fought a lot. Add on the fact that arge scar ran from the right side of his forehead through the underside of his right eye, one would be inclined to think that the man was a gang leader rather than the owner of a gambling den.


    "I''m guessing you''re the one who asked this guy right here to have mee here?" The man looked at Valyr, narrowing his eyes in suspicion as he recalled the words said to him by the light gray-haired man. Aside from the light gray-haired man, only a few more people he deemed close were privy to the fact that he was looking for someone to inherit his legacy. "So, who told you? Was it Harmann? Cruz? Cerves?"


    "Dante told me," Valyr said in response, prompting the man to lightly curse under his breath as faint killing intent emanated from him for a brief second.


    "That bastard, always running his mouth off." Letting out a long sigh, the man''s gaze towards Valyr returned to normal. "Anyways, I''m guessing you''re not really here for my legacy, right? Your eyes tell me you want something else from me."


    Seeing that he was quickly found out, Valyr decided not to beat around the bush, lightly chuckling as everything had unfolded just like how it did in his memories. Opening his mouth, he then told the man before him his true purpose.


    "I want to learn how to gamble."


    Ding!

 Chapter 81 A Twist Of Events

    Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, a hint of confusion briefly appeared on Valyr''s face. After all, he remembered that he wouldn''t obtain a notification regarding the quest he sought after talking with Jekyll for a bit more. With that, he checked the notification he had received, his eyes slightly widening in surprise as he had a foreboding feeling of what was about toe.


    [Your affinity with Jekyll has increased with 10 points. Current rtionship: Stranger.]


    Feeling as if the current situation was slightly deviating from what he wanted to happen, Valyr could not help but internally panic for a moment, inwardly letting out a light sigh soon after to calm his nerves down. With his emotions back to normal, he looked back at Jekyll, who seemed to be chuckling at the words he had spat out earlier.


    "Out of all the things you could have asked me to do, that''s what you''re going for?" Jekyll continued to chuckle, wiping off the small tears that formed around his eyes before letting out a somewhat rxed sigh. After that, he looked at the light gray-haired man and nodded at him, prompting thetter to nod back before leaving the premises. "I don''t know if you''re ignorant or just in stupid."


    "Then again, if there''s any person you''d want to ask to teach you how to gamble, there''s no better person who can do that in this district other than me." Pointing at himself, Jekyll slightly puffed his chest out before taking a nce at Valyr, who seemed to be taking in the current situation with a hint of indifference.


    Noticing the slight indifference in Valyr''s expression, he slightly shrugged his shoulders before ducking under the counter that separated the two of them. From the slight mor he was making, Valyr had a feeling that Jekyll was searching for a couple of things. "So, tell me¡­ uh¡­ what''s your name?"


    "Valyr."


    "Right. So, Valyr. What made you decide toe to the Silver Gambling Den, look for me, and ask me to teach you how to gamble?" Finding the items he was searching for, Jekyll popped up in front of Valyr once more, his expression slightly curious. While doing so, heid out the items he had been looking for on the counter.


    Seeing that the man before him had brought out a couple of cups and a red ball, Valyr instantly knew what was going to happen. However, rather than approach the situation withposure, he instead panicked once more, recalling through his memories that this part wouldn''t happen until after he had epted the quest given to him. ''Am I doing something wrong here? Did I mess up on a certain part?''


    Eventually, the panic ate away at hisposure so much that he needed Jekyll to attract his attention to snap him back to reality. "Hello? Am I talking to a rock or something?"


    "Ah." Realizing that he still hadn''t answered the man''s question, Valyr decided to put the matter about the current situation deviating from his original memories to the back of his head for now. Instead, he wracked his brain to the utmost limit, thinking up of an answer that would possibly allow him to return to the original progression of events ording to his memories. "Could you uh¡­ could you repeat your question?"


    "Was I talking to someone else a while ago?" Jekyll lightly frowned. Soon after, he let out a light sigh, thinking that Valyr was probably intimidated by the aura he naturally exuded. "Anyways, let me repeat my question. What made youe to the Silver Gambling Den and ask me to teach you how to gamble? Is there a specific reason?"


    "Er¡­ what if I told you I had no specific reason in mind?" Unfortunately, even after wracking his brain for a while, Valyr couldn''te up with an answer. Instead, he decided toe clean, prompting the light frown on Jekyll''s face to worsen.


    "So you''re telling me¡­ you made mee out here¡­ just so you could waste my time?" Feeling as if he was being yed with, a murderous aura soon started to emanate around Jekyll''s body, making Valyr''s body shudder as he tried to fight against the pressure exerted on him. However, no matter how much he tried to fight against it, he felt that the pressure pushing down on him was getting heavier by the second.


    ''[Analysis]!'' he inwardlymanded, wanting to gain more information on Jekyll to see if he could find a way to escape his current predicament. However¡­


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Jekyll Voreis] (Level ???)


    ss: ???


    HP: ???


    MP: ???


    Remarks: Well, it was nice meeting you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''You''ve got to be kidding me¡­'' Valyr could not help but inwardly curse, wondering how he could escape a seemingly inescapable situation.


    "I''m going to give you three seconds." At this moment, Jekyll''s expression had be ice cold as he stared at Valyr. Unsurprisingly, with the murderous aura surrounding him gradually bing more and more intense, the people closest to the two started to run away from the vicinity, leaving the gambling den in fear for their lives.


    "If you don''t give me a good reason in the next three seconds¡­"


    "Alright, I''ll speak! I''ll speak!" Without hesitation, Valyr conceded, deciding to tell Jekyll the true reason why he had arrived at the gambling den in the first ce. Double checking their surroundings to make sure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation, Valyr let out a long sigh before opening his mouth. "The real reason why I asked for you¡­ was to obtain a few skills."


    "And those skills would be¡­?" Unfortunately for Valyr, the pressure exerted on his body was still as heavy as ever as Jekyll waited for him to respond.


    "[Astute Eyes] and [Astute Mind]¡­" At this point, Valyr hadpletely given up on being able to sessfully obtain the two skills through this method. After all, from how the situation had deviated from the original progression and had devolved to something worse, it would be no surprise if Jekyll decided to ban him from the Silver Gambling Den altogether. ''It seems I''ll have to find another way to get the two skills.''


    And yet¡­


    Whoosh!


    "You should have told me that in the first ce!" In an instant, the pressure pushing down on Valyr''s body swiftly disappeared as Jekyll let out a light chortle, a stark contrast to the eerie silence covering their surroundings. Naturally, such a reaction left Valyr at a loss for words, eventually prompting him to tilt his head in confusion while Jekyll continued to speak.


    "If you told me you wanted to those two skills from the start, then we wouldn''t have needed to go through all this mess." Jekyll let out a lighthearted sigh before shaking his head with a light smile. "Just so you know, aside from people who stab me in the back, I hate liars the most."


    "Thankfully, you know when to concede. If not¡­" With a light smile, Jekyll briefly released the full extent of his aura towards Valyr, prompting thetter to take a few steps back as he endured the urge to faint from the pressure. "You wouldn''t have wanted to see what would happen next."


    Reining in the aura he had released, he then snapped his fingers to bring Valyr''s attention back to him. After that, he pointed at the cups and balls ced on the counter before them. "So, you wanna learn [Astute Eyes] and [Astute Mind] from me, huh? They''re definitely skills any skilled gambler would normally have. Of course, I''m not gonna give you those skills for free. Instead¡­"


    "Let me first see if you''re worthy of the skills you''re asking from me."


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Jekyll''s Test.]


    ''And somehow, I still got the quest I was expecting to receive if everything went ording to the original n.'' Inwardly chuckling at the absurdity of the entire ordeal that led to this current situation, Valyr took in a deep breath, mocking himself for not adapting to the situation that had unfolded earlier before letting out a long sigh. cing the thought of inwardlyshing out at himself to the back of his head, he soon focused his entire attention on what was about toe.

 Chapter 82 Testing For Talent

    While shifting his gaze to the cups and balls that were ced on the counter between him and Jekyll, Valyr went ahead and checked the quest he had received, making sure that the quest rewarded the two skills he needed for his Rank 1 ss.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Jekyll''s Test]


    Difficulty: D


    After telling Jekyll the plight you''re going through, the man has epted to teach you the skills you sought out to obtain from him. However, as they say, nothing in the world is given for free. You have to prove yourself that you''re worthy of the skills you ask of him.


    Quest Requirements:


    > Sessfully pass Jekyll''s test (0/1)


    Quest Rewards: Affinity +100 with Jekyll, [Astute Eyes Lv. 1], [Astute Mind Lv. 1]


    Quest Penalty: Affinity -10 with Jekyll, Level -5


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''It seems he hasn''t fully forgiven me for what I''ve done earlier.'' Reading through the description of the quest, Valyr was pleased to find out that everything was more or less the same with the quest in his memories. However, after finding out the penalty in failing the quest, he could not help but inwardly hiss and curse at how cruel Jekyll was. After all, the penalty meant that he had toiled to allocate 30,000 XP towards his levels for nothing.


    Seeing that half of all the levels he currently had were at stake, Valyr looked at the items in front of him with a solemn expression, his gaze giving Jekyll the feeling that the man in front of him did not want to miss every single detail. Noticing this, a light smirk briefly appeared on Jekyll''s face as he went ahead and exined the test he was going to give Valyr.


    "Since you''re only here for the skills and not to actually learn gambling, I''m going to give you the most basic of tests." Jekyll raised up one of the cups with a light smile. "I''m sure you''ve already heard of the cup guessing game. I''m gonna ce the red ball under one of the cups, shuffle it around, and see if you could guess where the red ball ended up. Doesn''t sound too hard now, does it?"


    Seeing that Valyr was following along, Jekyll nodded in response. "Good. For this test of mine, we''re going to do this game three times, with each consecutive round being significantly harder than thest. If you guess where the ball is correctly on all three rounds, then you get the skills you want. Perhaps, you might even be able to obtain the legacy you used as a reason to bring me out here."


    While Valyr''s eyes briefly widened at the mention of Jekyll''s legacy, Jekyll continued to speak. "However, if you fail even one round out of the three, then say goodbye to your chances of getting the skills from me."


    "Now, do you wanna start? Or do you wanna back out and find some other ce to get the skills instead?" Hearing the question that came out of Jekyll''s mouth, Valyr could not help but look at the man in front of him for a brief second, his brows furrowed as he pondered over it.


    ''The only other method avable to me at the moment would be to buy it from a skill shop. However, I don''t even have the funds to buy it from those ces even I haggle the price down.'' Valyr rubbed his chin in silence. ''As for the other methods, they''re either too far away from me to be able to ascend to Rank 1 before the beta version begins, or I would need to ascend to Rank 1 to be able to ess them.''


    ''I guess I''m being reminded that this is the only shot I have at getting the Rank 1 ss I want.'' As a bitter smile appeared on his mouth, his expression quickly became determined as he nodded at Jekyll. "Let''s begin."


    "Good answer." shing a grin at Valyr, Jekyll ced three cups upside down in between the two, only to raise one up soon after and ce the red ball beneath it. Reminding Valyr of the cup with the ball inside, he then started to shuffle the three cups in various ces, with Valyr keeping track of the cup with the ball with his keen perception.


    After a while, Jekyll stopped shuffling the cups around, giving Valyr the chance to pick out the cup with the ball inside it. Unsurprisingly, as it was only the first round, Jekyll had gone easy on the shuffling, allowing Valyr to pick out the cup with the ball inside.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Jekyll went ahead and repeated the same thing all over again, shuffling the cups around while Valyr kept track of the cup with the ball. However, just as he had mentioned before, with each consecutive round, the difficulty of finding the cup with the ball would grow increasingly harder. With that in mind, small gusts of wind arose in their surroundings as Jekyll swiftly shuffled the cups around, prompting Valyr to utilize the entirety of his perception just to barely keep up.


    Thankfully, even after all of the swift shuffling Jekyll did, Valyr was able to point out the one with the ball inside, which meant that he only had one round to go before he would be able to obtain the two skills he needed. At this point, Jekyll could not help but be curious of the man in front of him, wondering how far he could push the third round and have Valyr still figure out which one had the ball. ''Out of all the people I''ve given this test to so far, only a couple people have been able to sessfully pick out the one with the ball in the second round.''


    ''I wonder if he could give me a surprise and pick out the right one in this final round.'' Inwardly smirking, Jekyll hade to a decision. ''If he does¡­''


    ''Then he''s the one.''


    "Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for this one, because I''m not gonna hold back." Saying his piece, Jekyll went ahead and shuffled the cups around onest time. Though, unlike the second round where everything was just shuffled swiftly, to Valyr, it seemed that the cups on the counter had multiplied all of a sudden. He didn''t know whether Jekyll had utilized an illusion skill out of nowhere or if Jekyll was shuffling the cups so fast that the cups left afterimages behind. All he knew was that he had to figure out which cup had the ball, or a great portion of his efforts so far would have gone down the drain.


    ''There''s gotta be a way for me to figure out which one has it.'' While Valyr was intently looking at the cups being shuffled, pushing his perception to its utmost limits to make sure he took in every detail, he eventually noticed that there was a slight peculiarity in Jekyll''s movements. Whenever he touched a certain cup, he would lift his arm ever so slightly at a weird angle before it returned to normal. However, with how fast he shuffled the cups around, Valyr was certain that not even a single person would be able to figure that out at his level.


    Nevertheless, as he had no other way to figure out which cup had the ball, he decided to trust his instincts and focus on the cup he touched with the weird movement beforehand. Surprisingly, Jekyll noticed the change in Valyr''s focus amidst the shuffling, prompting a wide smile to appear on his face as he finally wrapped it up, lining up the three cups in front of Valyr.


    "So, Valyr. Which of these cups among the three has the ball?" Jekyll looked at him, wondering if Valyr had figured out the trick.


    "This one." In response, Valyr let out a light sigh before picking out the cup in the middle. For a brief moment, Jekyll''s eye widened in surprise as he eventually let out a bit of carefreeughter. Looking at Valyr with a smile, he then lifted up the cup in the middle, revealing the red ball hidden underneath.


    Naturally, seeing the red ball under the cup, Valyr could not help but be ecstatic, as well as relieved that he wouldn''t have to find other ways to obtain the two remaining skills he needed. However, just as he was about to end it there and leave the gambling den, Jekyll''s next few words quickly piqued his interest.


    "I''m surprised that you''vepleted my test. Because of that, I''ll keep my word and give you the skills you want. However¡­"


    "Aren''t you curious to find out how far you can go?"

 Chapter 83 Breaking The Shackles

    Unsurprisingly, with such wordsing out of Jekyll''s mouth, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow in curiosity. In response, only one question came to mind, prompting him to open his mouth as he asked, "What do I get in exchange if I agree?"


    Though, just as he finished asking this question, a sense of realization hit him, making his pupils shrink as he lightly shuddered in fear. After all, the man he had just responded to was too strong for the system to identify, his status screen being shrouded in question marks to Valyr.


    Only beings with a 25 level disparity and above to the user would warrant that kind of treatment from the system.


    Fortunately, although he was expecting the man before him to be furious due to the disrespect he had given, Jekyll instead let out a heartyugh in response to the question. Looking at Valyr with a light grin, he opened his mouth. "Being wary may seem cowardly, but in situations like these, it''s definitely the right attitude to have."


    "Anyways, what do you get in exchange if you agree?" Saying these words, the grin on Jekyll''s face grew wider.


    "Well¡­ how about a shot at inheriting my legacy?"


    Not expecting to hear such words toe from Jekyll at all, Valyr''s mind went nk for a moment, only to snap back in reality a few secondster as he looked at the man in front of him in disbelief. As he looked at him, he could not help but think about what he had done to garner such attention from Jekyll, which only ensued more confusion to arise in his mind.


    Noticing the confusion tantly written all over Valyr''s face, Jekyll went ahead and exined the entire situation. "Here''s the thing. The cup guessing game you''ve gone through is actually the test I give to those who I think could inherit the legacy I have. However, out of all the people who have gone through the test, only a few have gotten past the second round, only to fail at the third round."


    "And then, there''s you." Pointing at Valyr, he continued. "Not only did you go past the second round, you even noticed the telltale sign I had given away during the third round and correctly guessed the cup that had the ball."


    Listening to Jekyll''s exnation, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen in slight shock. After all, from how he exined it, it seemed that Jekyll''s limits was far beyond what he could fathom. "Wait¡­ you''re telling me the thing I noticed during the third round was intentional?"


    "Yep." With a light smile on his face, Jekyll nodded before shuffling the cups between the two around. In an instant, the speed at which he shuffled the cups was far greater than the speed he had shuffled the cups during the third round.


    Aside from that, Valyr could not find any telltale signs whatsoever during the shuffling, which only further worsened his chances of guessing the cup with the ball as the cups in front of him seemed to form a blurry blob.


    With that, it was no surprise that Valyr had guessed the wrong cup after Jekyll was finished shuffling, making him look at the man in front of him with a renewed impression.


    "So, wanna try your hand and see if you can inherit my legacy?" Jekyll asked once more, to which Valyr pondered over the question for a bit.


    ''Since I''ve already gotten the skills I needed, I could go ahead and just decline,'' Valyr thought. ''But then again, I''m also quite curious to see and find out how it ys out, even though I don''t know what might happen in the end.''


    For the greater portion of his previous life, Valyr was one of those yers who relied a lot on guides posted by other yers in order to progress. In fact, it was only at the final version of Greater Beyond did Valyr rely less on the guides, eventually forgoing guides altogether as he became one of the scant few that fought at the frontlines during the final battle.


    Thinking about it for a bit more, it was only then did Valyr realize that he had already been adapting to the situations thrown at him so far, doing incredibly well at adapting to the point he had be a legend in Astarto Vige. If that''s the case, then why the need to fear the unknown?


    With that realization, a great portion of the shackles that had unknowingly formed ever since he entered the Silver Gambling Den quickly broke off, the same shackles that reminded him of his previous ways. Within seconds, the aura Valyr exuded had subtly changed, containing a bit more confidence than before, which did not go unnoticed under Jekyll''s senses.


    In fact, this subtle change made Jekyll smirk for a brief moment as Valyr let out a light sigh, his expression a bit more rxed than before as he opened his mouth.


    "Well, it would be rude for me to decline an offer like that, no?" Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Jekyll could not help butugh before nodding in agreement. "Though, it''d be great if you could give me the skills first. After all, I did seed in passing your test."


    "Cautious and confident at the same time. A good attitude to have." As an interested smile adorned Jekyll''s face, a screen appeared before him, prompting him to interact with it for a bit as a string of notification sounds soon resounded in Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''Jekyll''s Test.'']


    [Your affinity with Jekyll has increased by 100 points. Current rtionship: Acquaintance.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Astute Eyes''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Astute Mind''.]


    With thest two skills he needed for his Rank 1 ss finally obtained, the slight anxiety Valyr felt wondering whether he would be able to ascend to the ss he wanted had finally disappeared, his mind now as rxed as it could be.


    While a rxed smile crept up Valyr''s face while taking a look at the notifications he had received, Jekyll went ahead and moved the items he had brought out for the cup guessing game to the side, ducking under the counter once more to grab something else. After a couple minutes, a small box appeared on the counter between the two, which instantly caught Valyr''s curiosity, making him wonder what was inside.


    In response, Jekyll opened up the box, revealing an intricate set of cards that seemed incredibly out of ce for a gambling den like the Silver Gambling Den to have. Seeing that he had caught Valyr''s attention with the set of cards, Jekyll went ahead and posed a question to Valyr.


    "Now, Valyr."


    "Care for a game of ckjack?"

 Chapter 84 A Game Of Blackjack

    In response to the question, Valyr nodded at Jekyll, prompting thetter to nod back. With that, Jekyll took out the set of cards from the box before pushing the box aside, spreading the cards out on the counter for Valyr to look at soon after.


    "Have you yed ckjack before?" Jekyll looked at the man before him, to which thetter shook his head.


    "Well, the rules of ckjack are pretty simple. In short, the one who has a hand closest to 21 wins," he exined soon after. "Of course, if your hand totals to 21, which is called a ckjack, you win. However, if your hand exceeds 21, which is called a bust, you lose."


    "I''ll be the dealer, and you''ll be the yer." As Jekyll continued to exin the rules, he went ahead and utilized the skills he had shown Valyr while shuffling the cups earlier on the cards, leaving thetter mesmerized as his eyes were glued to how the cards were shuffled. "We''ll bepeting against each other to see who gets closest to ckjack."


    "Since you haven''t yed ckjack before, we''ll only be using the most basic rule set of ckjack. Hit or stand," Neatly piling up the cards the way they previously were, Jekyll moved the cards aside as he had Valyr focus his attention on him. "Hit means the dealer gives you another card on your hand. On the other hand, stand means you''re satisfied with your current hand and you''re passing it onto the next yer. Since it''s only the two of us, once you stand, that means it''s my turn."


    "Are we clear on that?" Asking the question to Valyr, Jekyll wanted to make sure that both sides understood the rules of ckjack very well. Although he had heard of the game before and had yed it a couple of times, it wasn''t wrong for one to say that Valyr did not know how to y ckjack, prompting him to ask Jekyll a couple more questions until all of his doubts were cleared up.


    Once all of Valyr''s doubts were cleared up, Jekyll offered to Valyr to y a few practice games first so thetter could get used to ying ckjack. Unsurprisingly, Valyr agreed, taking every chance he could get to increase his understanding of ckjack.


    After all, Jekyll would test him in ckjack once all was said and done.


    Unexpectedly, the practice games Valyr had with Jekyll went smoothly. At certain games, Jekyll would win, while at others, Valyr would win.


    Then, there were times where Valyr would get a ckjack, which undoubtedly increased the enjoyment he felt while ying the game. Naturally, the opposite also happened, stoking the mes ofpetition within Valyr as he wondered if there was a strategy he could use to increase his chances.


    Eventually, after what seemed to be about an hour of practice games, Jekyll ced the cards to the side, his expression solemn as he looked at Valyr. "Now that we''ve warmed up, you think you have a shot at inheriting my legacy?"


    "Well, one thing''s for sure." In response, Valyr shrugged his shoulders before giving him a confident grin. "I won''t be going down without a fight that easily."


    Responding back with a toothy grin, Jekyll went ahead and grabbed the cards before shuffling it to the best of his abilities. In the meantime, a notification sound resounded in Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Budding Curiosity.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Budding Curiosity] (Linked Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    As you have passed through the preliminary test Jekyll gives to people he deems fit for his legacy, his curiosity is piqued, wondering if you have what it takes to truly be able to inherit his legacy. With that, he decides to find out in what he thinks is the best way possible, through a game of ckjack.


    Do note that Jekyll will undoubtedly try to mess with your senses. However, as long as you remove the veil he has fabricated, you''ll win.


    Quest Requirements:


    > Sessfully win a game of ckjack against Jekyll (0/1)


    Quest Rewards: Affinity +500 with Jekyll, Jekyll''s approval to inherit his legacy


    Quest Penalty: Affinity -100 with Jekyll, Level -3


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Although the penalty of the quest was still somewhat harsh in Valyr''s opinion, rather than fearing the possibility of failing toplete the quest, he instead turned that fear into determination.


    A determination to win the quest and see what Jekyll''s legacy was about.


    "Unlike the previous test, there''s no limit to the number of games we y," Jekyll said as he continued to shuffle the cards. "As long as you win one game of ckjack against me, you win."


    Thud.


    Neatly stacking up the cards once he was done shuffling, Jekyll went ahead and dealt Valyr his initial hand with a grin. "Now then¡­ let''s start."


    Looking at the two cards he had been dealt with, Valyr could not help but ponder over whether he should hit or stand. ''My current hand has a value of 16¡­ if I choose to go with hit, I could end up with a high value card and bust. However, if I stand, there''s a chance Jekyll might get a hand that has a higher value than mine.''


    Eyeing the two cards in front of Jekyll that were flipped over, Valyr eventually made his decision and settled to hit, increasing the value of his hand to 18. Feeling that another hit would put him in a precarious situation, he told Jekyll he was going to stand.


    Nodding in response to the move, Jekyll went ahead and flipped his cards over, revealing the value of the initial hand he had to Valyr. Seeing that the value of Jekyll''s hand was 17, Valyr could not help but think that there was a high chance for him to win the first game. After all, there was a great chance that Jekyll would get a high value card if he went with a hit.


    Unfortunately for him, contrary to his expectations, Jekyll went ahead and pulled a hit, adding a card to his already high value hand. Though, once he noticed the card that Jekyll had obtained, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen in disbelief, wondering what kind of insane luck did Jekyll have to get a ckjack on their first game.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "A four¡­" he muttered, sharply inhaling as Jekyll collected the cards that had been dealt during the game before shuffling the deck once more.


    After shuffling it for a while, Jekyll started the game once more, dealing Valyr his initial hand. Surprisingly, the value of Valyr''s hand was already at 20, reducing the need for him to ponder over his decision as he told Jekyll he would stand without hesitation.


    With that, Jekyll nodded once more, revealing the initial hand he had dealt himself to Valyr. Coincidentally, his initial hand had the same value as Valyr''s hand, being a 20.


    Realizing this, Valyr was certain that Jekyll was also going to stand, bringing the game to a draw. Although that wasn''t exactly a win in his books, it was definitely a step in the right direction.


    However, just like the first game, Jekyll made a move contrary to his previous expectations, deciding to hit as he added a card to his initial hand. Though, thinking that the added card would make Jekyll go bust, Valyr''s eyes instead saw that Jekyll had pulled an ace, bringing the value of his hand to 21 once more.


    At this point, Valyr''s expression had turned to solemn, prompting him to look at the man before him as the man responded back with a carefree smile. Taking in a deep breath, he remembered that he was fighting against a man that had always basked in the world of gambling.


    In other words, it was a losing fight to begin with.


    "This is going to be a long game of ckjack." Letting out a light sigh, Valyr asked Jekyll to start another game, to which thetter happily obliged.

 Chapter 85 Figuring Out The Trick

    As seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours, Jekyll and Valyr continued to y game after game of ckjack against each other, the concept of time lost to the recesses of their minds. In fact, the only reason they realized it had already be night was the fact that the gambling den had be bustling once more, with their little game attracting a couple bystanders.


    Noticing this, Jekyll suggested to Valyr that they take their game to the back, where they wouldn''t be disturbed by the noise the supposed audience was causing around them. In response, Valyr agreed to the suggestion, prompting Jekyll to lead Valyr to the back amidst the boos and jeers those in the surroundings let out.


    Nevertheless, by the time the two had gotten to the back of the den, their surroundings filled to the brim with boxes upon boxes of various items, the two returned their attention to the multiple games they were ying, their minds not even registering what had urred earlier.


    Just like how their first two games of ckjack had gone, Jekyll won every game with a ckjack, eliciting a light frown to appear on Valyr''s face, which only worsened with every consecutive loss he faced. Eventually, Valyr had gotten fed up with the fact that Jekyll tantly won every single game with a ckjack,shing out at the man before him.


    "y fair for once, won''t you?" Valyr eximed, which only made Jekyll let out boisterousughter. Though, the dimness of the area made theugh feel slightly malevolent.


    "And what? Lose against you? You''re too naive." Jekyll shook his head, an arrogant smile stered on his face. "You''re in a gambling den, Valyr. Never once has a gambling den operated on fair y. Its only purpose is to rake in tons of money. And you know what that means?"


    "It will cheat no matter how much you cry foul." Hearing those wordse out of Jekyll''s mouth, Valyr could not help but let out a long sigh as he told Jekyll to start another game.


    Unsurprisingly, even though Jekyll had admitted in a roundabout way to the fact that he was cheating, he felt no shred of remorse at the fact, continuing to win the subsequent games with a ckjack. With yet another loss under his belt, Valyr could not help but wonder if there was even a way for him to win a single game.


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c However, it was then that a thought appeared in his mind.


    ''Now that I think about it, Jekyll wouldn''t cheat for no reason, no? After all, he gave me an opening to exploit during the final round of the cup guessing game, that telltale sign of his.'' Valyr pondered over his thoughts for a bit as he continued to lose more and more games of ckjack.


    Eventually, as he pondered more over it, Valyr finally realized what Jekyll wanted him to do, his eyes briefly widening in excitement. ''Although the game has changed, what he wants me to do hasn''t. Just like the third round of the cup guessing game, he wants me to find an opening and exploit it to win the game.''


    ''But now, the question is¡­ where''s the opening?'' With that in mind, Valyr shifted his attention away from the cards Jekyll was dealing, instead focusing more on the man''s hands.


    Naturally, Jekyll noticed this subtle change, making him inwardly let out a sigh of relief. ''Took you long enough to figure it out.''


    ''Now then¡­ will you find the opening I''ve given you?''


    With most of his attention focused on Jekyll''s hands, Valyr pushed his perception to its utmost limit, quickly finding results thanks to it as he noticed a slight peculiarity in the way Jekyll handled the cards. Thinking that he had caught onto the opening, Valyr focused on this slight peculiarity during their next game, only for him to go bust.


    Wondering what had gone wrong, Valyr intently watched Jekyll''s movements once more, noticing that the peculiarity he had previously caught onto was nowhere to be found. Hiding the slight shock he felt from this realization, he looked at Jekyll, who had a wide smug grin on his face as he looked back.


    ''From the looks of it, Jekyll has figured out the limits of my perception.'' Valyr lightly scratched his head in puzzlement. ''In other words, I need to figure out a way to increase it to find the opening.''


    ''But how do I do that? I don''t even have a skill that increases my¡ª'' Just as Valyr thought he was going to have to think outside the box in order to even out the ying field, he could not help but inwardly let out a sigh as he suppressed the urge to p himself on the face.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 10,561 XP to upgrade ''Astute Eyes'' to Level 6?]


    [Would you like to spend 10,561 XP to upgrade ''Astute Mind'' to Level 6?]


    ''Although upgrading [Astute Eyes] would be more than enough, the temporary increase in my INT stat mighte in handy.'' With that thought in mind, Valyr went ahead and epted both prompts, decreasing his stock of unused XP by 20,000 as the effects of both skills had undergone a significant increase.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Astute Eyes] (Level 6/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A skill that allows the user to temporarily increase their dexterity for a short amount of time. Increases the user''s DEX stat by 20% for 8 seconds.


    Cooldown: 8 minutes


    Cost: 40 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I hope this is more than enough for me to find it,'' Valyr thought to himself, taking a deep breath before asking Jekyll once more to start another game of ckjack. Once Jekyll started handing out their respective initial hands, Valyr went ahead and activated [Astute Eyes], instantly feeling that his perception had gotten wider.


    Knowing that the boost to his perception was temporary, Valyr focused his entire perception on Jekyll''s hands once more, finally noticing an opening Valyr was certain Jekyll wanted him to exploit. With that, Valyr activated [Astute Mind], utilizing his increased intelligence to n out his winning move.


    "Hit!" With his voice bing slightly louder, Valyr told Jekyll of his move. In response, Jekyll dealt Valyr a card, increasing the value of his initial hand from 13 to 17.


    "Hit!" However, just as Jekyll thought Valyr was going to stand, Valyr called for another hit, briefly being taken aback as he wondered what made Valyr change his mind. With that, he took a look at Valyr''s face, swiftly realizing that Valyr had finally done what he wanted him to do.


    Suppressing the smile that tried to creep up his face, Jekyll gave Valyr another card, increasing the value of thetter''s hand at 20. ''Now, your next choice will tell me whether you''ve truly found my opening or not.''


    Fortunately, Valyr had made the move he wanted to see, allowing the smile he had been holding back to appear on his face, swiftly turning into a wide grin.


    "Hit!"


    "Congrattions, Valyr." As Jekyll dealt Valyr his third hit in a row, thetter watched with rapt attention as he wanted to find out if he had truly found the opening Jekyll gave him. Seeing that an ace was added to his hand, Valyr could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he responded to Jekyll''s grin with a grin of his own.


    "You''ve finally got yourself a ckjack."

 Chapter 86 Discerning Eyes

    With Jekyll telling him he had finally gotten a ckjack, all of the thoughts previously in Valyr''s mind vanished in an instant, his tense body swiftly bing rxed. As he allowed his body to rx, he could not help but think for a second that Jekyll was messing around with him, prompting him to take a look at his hand once more. Seeing that he indeed had gotten a ckjack, he could not help but grin once more, letting out a bit ofughter soon after.


    Allowing the adrenaline that coursed throughout his body from the victory to die down, Valyr eventually stood up from his seat, his face adorning a light smile, with Jekyll standing up soon after. Responding in kind with a light smile on his face, Jekyll brought out the box the cards were kept in from who knows where, cing the cards into it before closing it up.


    cing the box of cards on the table between them for the meantime, Jekyll moved closer to Valyr before cing his hand on thetter''s shoulder, his gaze akin to that of a proud father. "To be honest, I was close to losing hope that you''d find the opening. Thankfully, you pulled through at the very end."


    "It''s not my fault you intentionally made it hard to find." Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response.


    Lightly chuckling at Valyr''s words, Jekyll shrugged his shoulders as well. "Well, you did grab those two skills from me before we started to ying ckjack. I had to even out the ying field somehow."


    "So you''re telling me you actually wanted me to use those skills to find the opening?" Realizing this, Valyr could not help but lightly shudder, feeling as if he had been seen through.


    Jekyll nodded. "You know what they say. Use everything around you to your advantage."


    "Anyways, since you''ve eventually figured out the trick despite losing over a couple hundred times, you''ve shown me that you''re more than worthy of inheriting my legacy. Not only have you shown me that you have the tenacity, you also have the quick wits needed for it." Saying these words, a screen appeared in front of Jekyll, with him interacting with it as a string of notifications soon appeared in front of Valyr.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''Budding Curiosity''.]


    [Your affinity with Jekyll has increased by 500 points. Current rtionship: Confidant.]


    [You have obtained the rights to inherit Jekyll''s legacy.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Gambler''s Discerning Eyes''.]


    Reading through the notifications he had received, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow as he noticed that he had obtained a passive skill. Wondering if this was the legacy Jekyll mentioned, he asked at thetter. "Is [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] your legacy?"


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Yes and no." Jekyll''s expression was that of uncertainty. "It would be more correct to say that it''s only a small portion of it. Then again, the fact that you own the skill means that you''re the only one who can inherit the full legacy from me."


    "Why not give me the full legacy, then?" Valyr tilted his head in slight puzzlement. "Surely it wouldn''t be too hard to do so, no?"


    "That''s not the problem." Jekyll shook his head. "The problem is that you''re still too low of a level to ept the other parts of the legacy."


    "In any case, I''m pretty sure you''re going to find that skill of mine incredibly handy." With a grin, Jekyll urged Valyr to follow him. Soon, the two ended up back at the main hall of the gambling den, with Valyr subconsciously taking in the sight before them.


    In an instant, he noticed that his perception seemed to extend far greater than it originally would, allowing him to see more than half of the main hall with just one nce. On top of that, he felt that if he so willed, he would be able to look at any object in greater detail, allowing him to see the fine imperfections on its surface.


    Wondering if his assumptions were correct, he went ahead and tried to focus his sight on his fingers, being left at a loss for words that he was able to see the fine ridges on the surfaces that collectively made up his fingerprints.


    At that point, Valyr could not help but look at Jekyll beside him with a perplexed expression, with thetterughing at the stupefaction he felt. "Surprised?"


    With Valyr nodding in response, Jekyllughed once more. "I told you you''d find it handy. Then again, you''ve only barely scratched the surface of what the skill can truly do."


    "Unfortunately, I''ll only be able to teach you those things once you''ve gotten stronger. Probably around Level 30 or so." Jekyll let out a light sigh, looking at Valyr with a bitter smile. After that, he patted Valyr on the back before pushing him in the direction of the exit.


    "Come meet me here once you''ve gotten stronger. If you don''t have anything else to do in this ce, the exit''s that way." Leaving those words behind, Jekyll nodded at Valyr before turning around, heading to the back of the gambling den before disappearing. In response, Valyr looked at Jekyll''s fleeting silhouette for a bit, turning around and leaving the gambling den soon after.


    Committing Jekyll''s words to memory, Valyr made a promise to himself. "I''ll try toe back as fast as I can. After all, what I''ve seen the skill do so far has already astounded me. But once I do¡­"


    "You''re gonna be in for the shock of a lifetime."


    ¡­


    Although he had left the gambling den during the night, by the time Valyr returned to the main entertainment district, it was still as bustling as ever, with the streets lit up with lights powered by mana. Heading to the restaurant where he had parked his carriage, he was surprised to find out that the worker he had told to keep an eye on it had fallen asleep.


    Awkwardly smiling, Valyr nudged the worker awake, alerting thetter of his presence. Funnily enough, just as the worker was about toin about how Valyr had gone past the time he promised he''d be back, he solved the problem once more with silver coins, the worker''s attitude making a full 180 once more.


    After thanking the worker for keeping an eye on his carriage, he hopped on and gave a signal to the horses to start moving, their slow gait quickly turning into a gallop as the carriage left the gates of Anadhar City within a span of minutes.


    Deciding to traverse a small portion of the journey back during the night, Valyr went ahead and checked the specifics of the skill he had gotten from Jekyll, already bing bored of the scenery afforded to him by the man''s iplete legacy.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Rare+


    To gamble to is bet everything up to luck and hope it goes your way. On the other hand, to be a gambler is to utilize everything in your surroundings to your advantage, even using the house''s tricks to win. However, not all gamblers are able to manipte the house''s tricks into their favor. Only great gamblers with the discerning eyes can do so.


    This skill increases the user''s PER stat by 10%. This skill also grants the user the ability to temporarily hyperfocus on an object, allowing them to view the surface of the object in greater detail.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Lightly hissing in wonder at the skill''s effects, Valyr could not help but think of the many situations where this passive skill woulde in handy. ''The percentage boost to PER is already good in and of itself, but add the ability to hyperfocus into the mix¡­ wouldn''t this elevate my future crafts to another level since I could see the imperfections and remove it?''


    Allowing his mind to wander about, dreaming of all the things he could forge in the future with the aid of the skill, he went ahead and took a look at how much unused XP he had, only for his jaw to drop as he looked at the six digit number on the screen in front of him, being left at a loss for words.


    "To think I''ve actually amassed over 100,000 XP¡­ then again, I did kill a lot of monsters during the monster tide." With this thought in mind, Valyr pondered as to whether he should upgrade all of his skills up to Level 6.


    Though it may not seem like it, upgrading a skill to Level 6 was the optimal move yers had figured out to maximize the increase the skill''s effects in exchange for the amount of XP consumed.  To many, it had be a bottleneck of sorts for many yers who could not afford the expenditure needed to max their skills out.


    After all, one would need at least ten times as much XP to max a single Common grade skill than to bring it up to Level 6.


    Eventually, he had made up his mind, quickly bringing the amount of unused XP he had left down to five digits as all of the skills that weren''t Level 6 were brought up to that level. Though a part of him pained at the sight, thinking about the benefits leveling his skills brought in the long run, he eventually came to terms with it.


    Aside from it, most of Valyr''s journey on the way back to Astarto Vige had been more or less uneventful. He would traverse the wilderness during the day, and set up camp and feed the horses before resting for the night.


    Just as how long it had taken him and Wells to reach Anadhar City, by the time 10 days had passed since he had left, the sight of walls gradually appeared within Valyr''s field of vision, the smile on his face widening once he noticed that it was the walls he hade to recognize.


    "I''m finally back."

 Chapter 87 Flow

    Crossing through the ever familiar gates of Astarto Vige, a light smile adorned Valyr''s face as he alighted off the carriage, bringing the horses to a halt. Once he stepped down, a few of the passersby greeted and waved at him, prompting him to respond in kind.


    After that, he had gone to the shops where he and Wells had gotten the carriage and horses, telling them that he hade back from their journey and was about to return them. In response, the owners of the shops amicably smiled at Valyr and thanked him for upholding their part of the deal.


    Seeing that the people he had interacted with so far had more or less gotten past the phase of fanaticism for his feats during the vige tide, Valyr could not help but be more at ease, iming the deposit he and Wells had given to the shop owners before walking along the streets once more.


    ''I guess this is also part of Wells'' way of saying thanks to me.'' Valyr humored himself, lightly chuckling as he greeted those who waved at him with a nod and a smile. ''Then again, I would be the only one left between us to im the deposit, considering we''ve just rented the carriage and the horses.''


    ''Anyways, now that I''ve returned, it''s time to go all-out.'' With that in mind, Valyr increased the pace of his walking, his gait resembling more of a run than a walk. Though, rather than head to the barracks and tell Damian he had returned, he instead made his way to another part of the vige he frequently visited.


    The vige smithy.


    ¡­


    Entering the vige smithy, Valyr took in a deep breath before letting out a light sigh, a light grin adorning his face as it had been quite some time since he hadst been in the ce. Though, just as he was about to tell Tristan he had returned, thetter seemed to be one step ahead of him, getting up from his stool before heading to where he was.


    Seeing the slightly furious expression on Tristan''s face, Valyr decided to be silent, feeling as if the man in front of him was about to give him a piece of his mind. And give him a piece of his mind, he did.


    "Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up in my smithy, even though he told me he would only be away for a couple of weeks."


    "But I was though?" Valyr tilted his head in confusion. "I''ve only been away for like¡­ what? Three weeks? That''s a couple of weeks, no?"


    "A couple of weeks means two weeks," Tristan replied, a frown still prevalent on his face. "Three is already considered a few weeks."


    "What''s with you all of a sudden?" At this point, Valyr could not understand what Tristan was trying to imply. Thankfully, it did not take long for him to realize what Tristan was doing, a smug grin appearing on his face.


    "I see¡­ you missed me, huh?"


    "Huh?" Not expecting his true motive to be figured out that easily, Tristan was taken aback, eventually scoffing at Valyr''s question in response. "Who''s missing who?"


    Knowing that he had hit the nail on the head, Valyr doubled down on his current act, the grin on his face bing wider. "Come on, just admit it. You missed me."


    "Alright, fine. I missed you. There, you happy?" Seeing as the man before him wouldn''t take no for an answer, Tristan eventually came clean. In response, Valyr could not help but chuckle, which made Tristan feel slightly embarrassed.


    "What? I was just worried you wouldn''t finish the quest I''ve given you, that''s all." After saying these words, Tristan let out a sigh as his expression returned to what Valyr was used to. "Have you even made use of the time you were gone?"


    Hearing Tristan''s question, a light smile appeared on Valyr''s face. "I hadn''t been idling away while I was gone, Tristan. In fact, I have a feeling I could finally forge an actual dagger without any problems, much less to say other equipment you throw at me."


    Though most of the time he had been away from the vige was taken up by the time it took for him to reach Anadhar City and return, Valyr thought it was a good excuse for him to finally show more of his forging experience to Tristan without it seeming weird, thinking of it while he was on the way back to the vige.


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Naturally, such a im piqued Tristan''s interest, with him urging Valyr to head to the anvil before tossing him a chunk of copper. "Oh? Is that so? If that''s the case, prove it."


    "With pleasure." Contrary to Tristan''s expectations, Valyr responded to the challenge with great confidence, cing the chunk of copper he was given into the furnace in front of him. While waiting for the metal to get hot, he grabbed Tristan''s hammer and got a feel for it, utilizing the hyperfocus from [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] soon after as he intently watched the copper heat up.


    Watching as the impurities on the metal''s surface burn away from the heat of the furnace, Valyr deactivated the passive as he grabbed the metal from the furnace, cing it on top of the anvil before hammering away at it.


    Ttang! Ttang!


    Relying on the experience he had rued during his past life, Valyr quickly found a suitable rhythm to work with, hammering at a pace that was more in-line with what was to be expected from a somewhat adept cksmith. Of course, such consistency in hammering made Tristan raise his eyebrow, making him wonder if this attempt was going to be simr to all of Valyr''s previous attempts.


    ''As long as I sessfully forge this dagger, I''d be able to receive the Technology Points from his quest and use it to max out the advancements I''ve unlocked on the Production Technology Tree,'' Valyr thought as he continued to hammer. With how much free time he had while on his way back, he also nned out his process of ascending to Rank 1,ing to the decision of ascending after finishing Tristan''s quest.


    ''After that, I could upgrade a few more skills with the remaining XP I have before ascending.'' Going through his ns once more, Valyr inwardly nodded as he refocused his attention on the metal he was hammering, which gradually took on the shape of a dagger.


    Taking it a notch further, Valyr went ahead and activated [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], allowing him to see the areas on the metal he hadn''t hammered properly yet. Surprisingly, with the skill activated and his thoughts all telling him toplete the dagger he was forging, Valyr eventually fell into a trance, his speed reaching at least double of what it previously was.


    At this point, Tristan could not help but watch Valyr work with widened eyes. After all, this was the first time he had seen Valyr so engrossed in the forging process. To him, it seemed more like he was watching a master at work, with each movement seemingly calcted to ensure maximum efficiency.


    Unfortunately, this sight did notst long, with Valyr snapping out of his trance about 15 minutester. However, rather than be dismayed by this fact, Valyr looked at the metal he had been hammering away on the anvil, a smile adorning his face as he raised it for Tristan to see.


    "You did it¡­" Tristan muttered out in disbelief as Valyr ced the forging hammer to the side, dropping the de he had hammered into the furnace for tempering soon after. At this moment, shock and excitement filled his every being.


    "I told you, didn''t I? I hadn''t been idling away while I was gone." In response to Tristan''s words, Valyr shed a grin at him, taking out the de from the furnace a few minutester before quickly quenching it in a barrel of cold oil.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr went ahead and retrieved the de from the barrel, shaking off the excess oil that dripped off it before patting it down with a used towel. Looking at the de he had sessfully, Valyr felt carefree as he gave the de to Tristan, letting him take a close look at it.


    In the meantime, he took a look at the notifications he had received, only for his eyes to widen his shock as his mouth went agape in disbelief.


    [You have sessfully forged the item: Refined Copper Dagger. Quality has been rated at Exceptional.]


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Flow''.]

 Chapter 88 True Prodigy

    ''[Flow]¡­ Isn''t this a skill only given at the higher ss ranks?'' Although left at a loss for words, Valyr was ecstatic to find out that he had obtained the skill before even ascending to his Rank 1 ss. Though he was more than satisfied with the ss he was nning to ascend to, the fact that he had [Flow] meant that he had ess to sses far stronger than the one he had chosen.


    In fact, the weakest among those was considered an Epic ss!


    With that in mind, he went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the description of the skill, wanting to see if the skill he had obtained was truly the prerequisite skill for those higher tier sses. Hearing the notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr read the contents on the screen that had appeared in front of him, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as he had confirmed that it was indeed the same skill he knew.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Flow] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Umon


    There are times when people put their focus towards a certain task, increasing the quality of the eventual result. Then, there are times when people ce their undivided focus, allowing them to tap into the full potential of their mind as they ignore everything that urs around them. This phenomenon has multiple names, but it ismonly known as Flow.


    While in the state of Flow, the effectiveness of one''s stats increases by 20%, allowing unprecedented feats to be achieved by the user. Once one harnesses the ability to achieve the state of Flow at all times, arger gate shall await them.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Just as he had closed the screen in front of him, Tristan called his attention, prompting Valyr to look at thetter and noticed the man''s expression of immense disbelief. Raising up the dagger given to him, he asked Valyr, "What the hell have you gone through to forge something like this?"


    "What do you mean?" Of course, Valyr was oblivious to what Tristan was trying to say. Aside from the fact that he had entered the state of Flow while forging the dagger, he did not know anything else.


    Seeing Valyr that was confused, Tristan could not help but let out a sigh, giving the dagger Valyr had forged back to him. "Take a look at it with [Analysis] and you''ll see."


    "Okay?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr went ahead and activated [Analysis] on the dagger, the details of the weapon appearing in front of his screen soon after. Thankfully, that alone was enough for Valyr to realize what Tristan was trying to say, letting out a small gasp in surprise.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Refined Copper Dagger] (Level 5)


    Rarity: Common+


    Attack: 9 - 15


    Originally a normal copper dagger, the person who has forged this dagger ced great care and attention to the overall detail of the weapon, increasing thetent potential of the weapon to a higher level. As long as the wielder of the weapon finds a way to realize this potential, this weapon shall apany them till the very end.


    Remarks: What a surprise. For your first attempt, you actually crafted something decent.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At that moment, it was only then did one of the notifications Valyr received earlier finally dawn on him. Recalling the original name of the blueprint Tristan had given him, he should have already noticed that something was off when the word ''Refined'' was attached to the beginning. However, not only that, but the system had given it a rating of Exceptional!


    There were five ratings one could obtain when crafting an item: Substandard, Average, Great, Exceptional, and Transcendental. For a being at Rank 0 to be given an Exceptional rating on their first sessful attempt at forging a weapon¡­ it was simply unheard of!


    Calming down from the shock both had experienced, the two looked at each other for a moment before letting out a bit of heartyughter. After a while, Tristan gave Valyr a thumbs-up, proud in the progress Valyr had achieved. "Though I haven''t really taught you much about forging except for the Technology Tree, I''m still incredibly proud of what you''ve done."


    "To think I''d teach someone who''d forge a Common+ grade dagger on their first sessful attempt¡­ it definitely feels weird." As a smile continued to adorn his face, a screen opened up in front of Tristan, prompting him to interact with it before shifting his attention to Valyr.


    Ding!


    "Well, you''ve went above and beyond once again, Valyr. Unfortunately, there is nothing else I can instruct you on, considering what you''ve shown me today." As a notification sound resounded in Valyr''s mind, Tristan spoke to him, his expression somewhat somber. "However, if you need new blueprints or some Technology Points if you still haven''t ascended to Rank 1 yet, then I''m your man."


    "Why are you making it sound as if I''m leaving?" Valyr could not help but joke, feeling that the atmosphere around them had taken on Tristan''s current expression. "Unless¡­ you want me to leave?"


    Hearing those words, the somber expression on Tristan''s face quickly changed into that of fury as he shooed Valry away from the smithy. Though, seeing Valyr chuckle in response as he thanked Tristan while he made his way back to the barracks, Tristan could not help but lightly sigh before shaking his head with a light smile, turning around to head back to the anvil and get back to work.


    "I have a feeling I''ll have to forge a new anvil for someone."


    "I wonder when that day wille."


    ¡­


    After being shooed away from the smithy by Tristan, Valyr leisurely made his way back to the barracks, continuing to greet some of the people that he passed by as he took a look at the list of rewards he had obtained from the nowpleted quest.


    ''Tristan multiplied the rewards yet again.'' Valyr inwardly muttered, shaking his head as a knowing smile appeared on his face.


    [You havepleted the quest: An Experienced cksmith''s Suggestion (2).]


    [Your affinity with Tristan has increased by 160 points. Current rtionship: Close Friend.]


    [You have received 10,000 XP.]


    [You have received 50 Technology Points.]


    [You have obtained the blueprints for ''Astarto Defense Armor (Set)'' from Tristan Melphon.]


    ''Well, even if he hadn''t multiplied the rewards, I would''ve still had more than enough Technology Points to max out the advancements of the Production Technology Tree. Though, I am quite curious as to what Astarto Defense Armor is.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr hastened his steps, arriving at the barracks a few minutester.


    ''It''ll have to wait until after I ascend, though.''


    ¡­


    Arriving at his dormitory room, Valyr took off the spear on his back and ced it on the ground. After that, he headed into the bathroom and took a long shower, only realizing at that moment how long he had gone without a shower. Feeling a hint of embarrassment at the thought, he eventually got out of the bathroom, changing into a new set of clothes.


    Sitting on the edge of his bed, Valyr went ahead and opened up the Technology Tree. Heading into the Production section, he allocated all of the Technology Points he could towards the advancements in that section, being left with around 40 points or so as a string of notifications resounded in his mind.


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Understanding: cksmithing> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Fire Control> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    ¡­


    [You have unlocked the following advancements: <Intermediate Understanding: cksmithing Lv. 1>, <Basic cksmithing Essence Lv. 1>, <Basic Refinement Lv. 1>¡­]


    ''Though I do have enough points to unlock more Basic level advancements and max them out, none of them are a prerequisite for any of the Rank 1 sses I want.'' With that, Valyr went ahead and closed the Technology Tree, opening up his skill list as he briefly looked at how much XP he had to set aside for the ascension.


    Eventually, he decided to upgrade all of the cksmithing skills in his skill list by one level, nodding in satisfaction as he soon told the system that he wanted to ascend.


    Ding!


    [17,443 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 11.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your VIT to HP coefficient has changed from 1:10 to 1:12.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your INT to MP coefficient has changed from 1:10 to 1:12.]


    [Please select the species and ss you would like to ascend with.]


    Just as he was about to read through the notifications he had received, two screens soon appeared in front of his field of vision, with the left one containing the species he could transition to, and the right one containing the sses he could take as his Rank 1 ss.


    Having already decided on what species to transition to, he focused his attention on the list of sses he could take, ignoring the initial six on the very top of the list. ''Here we go. Let''s see what kind of cksmith sses I could take.''


    Whoosh!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Please select the ss you would like to take as your Rank 1 ss:


    ¡­


    cksmith


    Dexterous cksmith (Umon)


    Defthand cksmith (Rare)


    Intelligent cksmith (Umon)


    Talented cksmith (Epic)


    Erudite cksmith (Rare)


    ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Unsurprisingly, with how much preparation he had done in order to obtain the ideal Rank 1 ss, it was no surprise that Valyr was given a myriad number of options when it came to the Rank 1 cksmith ss he would take. Some of them were based off one of the skills he had, while some leaned into the weapon he had specialized in. Of course, somebined the two together, allowing for the ss to be of a higher tier.


    However, it did not take long for him to choose his ss as his eyes was soon fixated on the name of a certain ss. Checking its description, a grin soon adorned his face as he finalized his choices. And then¡­


    Thud.


    Within seconds of confirming his choices, Valyr fell on his back on the bed as he fell unconscious. A few secondster, a notification sound resounded throughout the four walls of his dormitory as a string of notifications appeared in his mind. Though, with him unconscious, it was only when he woke up would he be able to see it.


    Ding!


    [You have ascended to Rank 1.]


    [Your species ''Human'' has been changed to ''Human (1st Unsealing)''.]


    [Your ss ''Civilian'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious cksmith (Mythic)''.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''?4E$%6!F42.6C45-20#4#26!C4?F6?F!4$4''.]

 Chapter 89 Greater Than Human

    By the time Valyr had regained consciousness, it was already the next day. Expecting to feel stiff and whatnot due to how he fallen unconscious on his bed, Valyr was slightly surprised to find out that he felt no such thing as he sat up.


    Instead, he felt as if every cell making up his body was filled to the brim with energy, even though he had not eaten anything ever since he had gone through the process to ascend to Rank 1.


    Recalling this, Valyr''s consciousness had be wide awake within a couple minutes, prompting letting out a yawn before standing up to do some light stretching. In fact, while doing body stretches, he felt as if his body was limber than usual, a light smile inexplicably creeping up on his face.


    After that, he went through his usual morning routine. Though, just as Valyr got out of the shower to put on a fresh set of clothes, he noticed that all of it seemed a size smaller than he was used to, making him wonder as to whether he had set out his clothes to dry for too long that it had shrunk. However, once he took a look at himself in front of the mirror, his question was quickly answered.


    ''And here I thought the change to the body during Rank 1 was purely cosmetic back then.'' As this thought coursed through Valyr''s mind, he could not help but admire the aesthetic changes his body had undergone through.


    For one, he had grown slightly taller, being a couple inches taller than before he had ascended. With that, his body had also adjusted ordingly, bing broader in some ces, and slimmer in others. All in all, in his current state, Valyr could not help but think that his current appearance had the makings of a model.


    Deciding to buy a few sets of clothes in his new sizeter, an awkward smile could not help but adorn Valyr''s face as he left his dormitory room, swiftly making his way to the cafeteria.


    ¡­


    While making his way there, he went ahead and checked through the list of notifications he had received after he had fallen unconscious, feeling slightly overwhelmed at the sheer number of it.


    Ding!


    [Your species ''Human'' has been changed to ''Human (1st Unsealing)''. As you have transitioned to a higher-level species, you have gained +2 VIT, +2 STR, +2 AGI, +3 DEX, +3 INT, +2 WIS, +2 PER, and +1 LUK.]


    [Your ss ''Civilian'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious cksmith (Mythic)''.]


    [You have gained +3 VIT, +3 STR, +2 AGI, +5 DEX, +5 INT, +2 WIS, +3 PER, and +1 LUK.]


    [You have gained 4 unassigned stat points.]


    ''To think I''d gain effectively 4 levels'' worth of stats in just one.'' Looking through the notifications regarding his increase in stats, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle.


    Whenever one ascended to a higher ss, a portion of one''s current stats at Level 10 would be added during the process, being one of the many reasons why Basic Reinforcement Elixirs were highly sought after in the early stages of the game. After all, the greater one''s stats were, the greater the amount of extra stats they would get during the ascension, which was what had happened for Valyr.


    Removing the extra stats he had gained from consuming the Reinforcement Elixirs, Valyr was certain that he would have only gained one extra point to all stats after changing his species instead of obtaining two to three points on most of his stats like what happened now.


    ''Well, I would''ve probably been able to gain more stats if I opted to change into a rarer species.'' Just as this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr had finally made his way to the cafeteria. Ordering a hearty breakfast from the cafeteria workers, he then made his way to a vacant table after receiving his order, only to dig into it soon after.


    ''Then again, considering how many yers would certainly choose to go with Human as their race at the start, this is probably the best species one could transition to, except if they had ess to some of the rarer variants of the Human race.'' Allowing the taste of the food to spread throughout his mouth, he went ahead and brought up the description of his current species in front of him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Human (1st Unsealing)] (Species)


    It is said that there exists nine seals within a human''s body. As to how these seals came to be, no one knew. Though, it is said that these seals had been put in ce due to the havoc humans wreaked during the past without it, bing a race many feared throughout the entire universe.


    Though humans of the current day do not possess the power it used to have to instill great fear into its foes, humans can still remove the seals within their bodies, with each seal unlocked a great portion of thetent potential hidden within one''s body.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''If nothing odd urs, I would undoubtedly transition to Human (3rd Unsealing) by Rank 3, allowing me to be a High Human at Rank 4,'' Valyr thought to himself, deciding to grab seconds as the entirety of his hunger was awakened by the meal he ate.


    ''But in the off chance I go past the third unsealing, there''s a shot that I might be able to transition into a Grand Human. Perhaps, even transitioning to a True Human wouldn''t be far-fetched.'' Allowing his mind to daydream a bit, Valyr eventually finished eating his breakfast, letting out a chuckle as he ced his current train of thought to the back of his mind.


    After earning a couple stares from people he had passed by the barracks'' corridors due to his poorly fitting clothes, he eventually returned to his dormitory room and grabbed the satchel of coins Wells gave him, intending to head out to the nearby clothes shop to buy new clothes.


    Leaving his dormitory room, he decided to employ the entirety of his AGI, causing gusts of wind to blow throughout the corridors he had passed through as he left the barracks a couple minutester. With the thought of having people stare less at him for his clothes if he ran at full speed, Valyr continued to run at full speed for a while, only stopping once he had arrived at the clothes shop.


    Once there, he asked the owner of the shop if there were articles of clothing fit for his current size. Fortunately for him, the owner nodded and responded that he did, telling Valyr to wait as the owner grabbed clothes Valyr''s size from the back of the shop.


    Seeing as he had gained the time to do so, he perused through his notifications once more. Though, rather than focus on notifications rted to his new species, he instead focused on notifications regarding his new ss. ''To be honest, I thought this ss would only be a bit better than the first ss I had in mind. But now that I''ve looked at it for a bit more¡­''


    ''It definitely blows it out of the water.''


    Ding!


    [Due to your new ss, your passive skill ''Basic Forging Mastery'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious Forging Mastery''. The skill''s level has been reverted back to Level 1.]


    [Due to your new ss, your passive skill ''Basic Equipment Creation'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious Equipment Creation.'' The skill''s level has been reverted back to Level 1.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have gained the active skill ''True Prodigious Forging Style''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''True Prodigious Blueprint Creation''.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''True Prodigious Equipment Resonance''.]

 Chapter 90 Perks Of A Mythic Class

    Though he wanted to find out what some of the new skills he had obtained from the ascension did, he decided to suppress this urge for now, telling himself that he had more than enough time to do so once he was finished buying new clothes for himself. However, this did not stop him from checking out the description of his Rank 1 ss, bing enamored by it even though it was his second time looking through it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious cksmith] (ss)


    Rarity: Mythic


    There are cksmiths who follow the paths of those who have gone ahead of them, allowing them to be great cksmiths in their own right. However, restricting themselves to the paths already trekked by many, these cksmiths lose the limitless imagination provided by their craft, bing the barrier that hinders from making a mark in the annals of history.


    Then, there are those who decide to forge their own paths in cksmithing, going against the conventions of learning how to forge from those who had gone ahead of them. Instead, they allow themselves to learn the craft in its most natural state, one not shackled by stringent rules. With this, anything they touch transforms into their craft, each piece bing the centerpiece of a legend. Only those who have trekked this path have the right to call themselves True Prodigies.


    For each level gained in this ss, the user gains +3 VIT, +3 STR, +2 AGI, +5 DEX, +5 INT, +2 WIS, +3 PER, +1 LUK, and 4 unassigned stat points.


    Prerequisites:


    > Have [Flow]


    > Have [Basic Equipment Creation Lv. 6], [Basic Equipment Modification Lv. 6]¡­


    ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Letting out a chuckle as he had finished reading through it once more, Valyr could not help but think that he had definitely lucked out in obtaining this ss, thanking the heavens that he had obtained [Flow] before he had ascended to Rank 1. Though the Rank 1 ss he first had in mind was no pushover, which was the Talented cksmith ss, an Epic ss he was able to choose during the ascension process, the amount of stats one would obtain from an Epic ss was far less than what one would obtain from a Legendary ss.


    And this difference was even more pronounced whenpared to a Mythic ss.


    Simr to how a higher-tiered subss gave out more points, a higher-tiered ss meant that one would obtain far more fixed attribute points and unassigned attribute points per levelpared to a lower-tiered one. Forparison, an Umon ss gave 20% more fixed stat points and unassigned stat points, with each seeding rarity increasing that disparity by another 20%.


    With that in mind, a Mythic ss gave out double the fixed stat points and unassigned stat points per levelpared to a normal ss, which was a lot when one looked at it in the long term.


    ''Then again, there''s still the Ancient and Divine sses, but the requirements for those are so stringent that I''d have to head a kingdom at the very least to obtain those¡­'' Letting out a light sigh as he shook his head at the thought, Valyr''s attention was soon caught by the owner returning from the back of the shop, carrying what seemed to be a few articles of clothing in his new size.


    With the owner telling him that he should check if the clothes she had brought were of the right size, he was then directed to a fitting room, allowing him to check if the new clothes fit his current size well. Pleased with the fact that the clothes that had been brought to him were indeed of the right size, Valyr told the owner to give him a few more articles of clothing of the same size.


    A few minutester, the owner returned with a couple more sets of clothing, asking Valyr if he would be buying more clothes. Shaking his head, Valyr went ahead and gave the owner a gold coin as thanks for the effort she had put in and the trouble he had caused her.


    Naturally, the shop owner was left at a loss for words, thinking that Valyr was giving her the gold coin so he could obtain the change for it. Though, as if he had realized the look on her face, Valyr told her to keep it, carrying the bag of clothes that had been given to him over his shoulder, only to stop in his tracks when the owner asked him the reason behind giving her the gold coin.


    "I''m in a good mood today." Saying these words, Valyr soon left the vicinity of the shop, walking through the streets once more as he pondered as to where he should go next. Considering that he had already ascended to Rank 1, he was more or less done with what he needed to do before the beta version begun. With that in mind, he nned to take it easy for a while, giving himself a well-deserved break.


    ''Hmm¡­ I should probably pay a visit to Tristan.'' As he continued to leisurely walk through the streets, Valyr eventually came to a decision, prompting a light smile to creep up his face as he hastened his steps in the direction of the vige smithy. While doing so, he looked through the remainder of his notifications, soon noticing one notification that seemed to be out of ce inparison to most of the notifications he had received.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''?4E$%6!F42.6C45-20#4#26!C4?F6?F!4$4''.]


    ''What kind of skill is this?'' Curious as to whether the game system had given him a skill with a garbled name for no reason, Valyr went ahead and identified the skill through the system. Though, once he read through its description, rather than gaining answers to his questions, more questions instead appeared in his mind as the skill seemed to be veiled in obscurity.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [?4E$%6!F42.6C45-20#4#26!C4?F6?F!4$4] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Umon


    A skill only given to those worthy enough. Increases all of the user''s stats by 3%.


    Note: Though veiled in obscurity, that does not mean that all hope is lost. The key lies in your true identity. Find this and the truth shall be revealed.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "My true identity? What does it mean by that?" Befuddled, Valyr could not help but murmur to himself after reading through the obscure skill''s description. Though he appreciated the fact that the skill increased all of his stats by 3%, he could not help but have a feeling that this buff came with a caveat he did not know yet.


    Unfortunately, even after mulling over what the system meant by his true identity for a while, Valyr found no leads whatsoever, rummaging the entirety of his memory for even a small clue he couldtch on. Of course, he knew that this true identity of his had something to do with his surname, with the reactions of some people in the past being his reason for this.


    "But what does the surname Zeihardt even signify?" Deciding that there was no point mulling over it for now, Valyr let out an exasperated sigh before closing his eyes for a bit. Opening it sometimeter, with his emotions returned to its initial tranquility, he then continued on his walk to the vige smithy, arriving there around 10 minutester.

 Chapter 91 New Responsibilities

    Entering the vige smithy, Valyr was greeted by the sight of a somewhat sleepy Tristan stoking the mes of therge furnace at the rear of the smithy, making sure that the me didn''t grow too big too quickly. Hearing footsteps echo throughout the ce just as he was in the midst of preparing, Tristan could not help but let out a yawn as he shifted his attention to the person that had just appeared.


    "We''re still not open yet, so if you want, you could¡ª" However, at the very instant his eyes shifted towards the familiar figure of the man that stood at the smithy''s entrance, all of the grogginess in Tristan''s body was swiftly washed away, being reced with exuberance as his eyes widened in surprise.


    "I definitely wasn''t expecting you to arrive at this ce so early, Valyr? Eager to forge a few things?" Letting out a peal ofughter, Tristan headed to where Valyr was, wanting to give thetter an embrace. Though, just as he was about to do so, he stopped himself in his tracks as he could not help but feel that something was off with Valyr.


    Slightly confused, he took a couple steps back, jogging his mind to full alertness as he looked at Valyr from head to toe. ''Wait a minute¡­ doesn''t it look like he grew a couple inches?''


    ''Plus his aura¡­'' Closing his eyes, Tristan went ahead and sensed the faint aura emanating from Valyr, only to be shocked soon after as Valyr''s aura gave off an incredibly familiar feeling to him.


    Opening his eyes with an expression of incredulity, Tristan returned his gaze to Valyr, asking the question that consumed his entire mind just now. "Did you¡­ did you ascend?"


    In response to the question, Valyr lightly grinned before releasing the entirety of his aura, aiming it towards Tristan. Feeling Valyr''s aura wash over his body, Tristan felt a bit of pressure from it, which only changed the incredulous expression he had on his face into that of excitement. After all, the only ones who could make him feel this pressure when they released their entire aura were Rank 1 ss holders.


    Seeing as the aura Valyr exuded pretty much confirmed his suspicions, Tristan could not help but jump for joy, proud at the fact that Valyr had ascended to Rank 1, yet at the same surprised that he had done so in such a short time. Nevertheless, he ced his surprise at the back of his head, giving the man before him a tight embrace before letting go sometimeter.


    With a wide smile stered on his face, Tristan urged Valyr to follow him nearer to the furnace, to which thetter did. Continuing to stoke the fire in the furnace, Tristan opened his mouth. "To think you''ve already ascended to Rank 1¡­ it only felt like yesterday that you were still at Rank 0."


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "That''s because it was yesterday," Valyr said in response, a light chuckleing out of his mouth soon after. "Anyways, the reason why I passed by your smithy instead of heading back to the barracks was because I knew you''d be ecstatic to find out I''ve already ascended."


    Noticing therge bag of clothes Valyr carried around with him, Tristan told him to ce it by the side for now as he talked with him for a bit more. "Have you told Damian and the others of your ascension yet?"


    "Nope." Valyr shook his head. "You''re the first one to find out¡­ aside from me, that is."


    "Well, I''m honored." Hearing those words, Tristan shed Valyr a light smile. "Care to tell me what ss you got?"


    "You could always check it with [Analysis] if you want." Valyr shrugged his shoulders with a smile as a thought popped up in his mind. Seeing that Tristan had indeed done what he told him to do soon after, he could not help but inwardly grin mischievously.


    "Huh. That''s weird. Your ss is all question marks for me." As the light blue tint around Tristan''s eyes gradually disappeared, he could not help but give Valyr a slightly perplexed expression. "On the other hand, everything else I can see just fine."


    Hearing that, Valyr let out a yful chuckle, inwardly d at the fact that his idea had worked.


    Recalling what he had heard back then, if a person with a low-tiered ss used [Analysis] on a high-tiered ss, thetter''s ss would be obscured on the former''s screen. Though there were many ways to circumvent this problem, such as using higher-tiered versions of [Analysis], such as [Greater Analysis], this only applied if the high-tiered ss was at least three tiers above the low-tiered ss.


    In other words, a person with a normal ss would be able to view sses up until Epic, only for it to show question marks on their screen when the ss was Legendary or higher.


    Though he did not know of this fact, Tristan could not help but lightly frown as he heard Valyr''s chuckle, thinking that using [Analysis] was what Valyr wanted him to do. With that, he went ahead and asked once more as to what Valyr''s ss was, to which thetter responding by telling him it was a secret.


    At this point, it wouldn''t be wrong to say that Tristan was slightly irked by the fact that Valyr was keeping his Rank 1 ss a secret from him. Nevertheless, a light smile still appeared on his face, cing the matter at the back of his head.


    ''Well, the skill wouldn''t show question marks for no reason. If that''s the case, then that means Valyr''s ss must be more special than I initially thought.''


    With this thought in mind, Tristan eventually finished stoking the mes in the furnace a few minutester, coloring the immediate vicinity a dim orange. Fanning it for a while, he then went ahead and grabbed a chunk of metal from his storage, chucking it in the furnace as he waited for it to reach the optimal temperature for forging.


    "Since you''re now Rank 1, I must inform you that you now have new responsibilities to tend to, given your increase in ss rank." While waiting for the metal to heat up, Tristan engaged in conversation with Valyr once more.


    "However, most of these responsibilities would mostlye from Damian, so it would be better for you to ask him about it instead." Naturally, Valyr perked his ears up, eager to hear what Tristan had to say. Though, hearing these wordse out of Tristan''s mouth, his eagerness was quickly dampened, prompting a light frown to appear on his face as he looked at Tristan.


    Of course, Tristanughed at Valyr''s current expression, thinking of it as payback for what thetter had done to him earlier. "Anyways, as the only cksmith in this vige¡­ well, the only Rank 2 cksmith in this vige, I''ll inform you of the responsibilities you now have as a bona fide Rank 1 cksmith."


    "First, you must head to the nearest cksmith Guild and get yourself registered as soon as possible," Tristan told him. "If not, it would be difficult for you to progress through the higher levels of the Technology Tree in the future. On top of that, a great portion of the usual cksmithing skills could be obtained there."


    Listening to Tristan''s words, Valyr was swiftly reminded of this fact, rummaging through his memories to confirm that he indeed had to get registered to the cksmith Guild. Then again, it was not only him that had to go through his process. All of those that had recently ascended to Rank 1 would have to get registered to their respective ss guilds, allowing the to tally the number of people they have at certain ranks.


    Aside from it being mandatory, ss guilds also offered the Technology Points necessary for one to advance through their Technology Trees, as well as skills and equipment that greatly fit their needs. With that in mind, Valyr could not help but find it odd that he had forgotten this small piece of information, inwardly thanking Tristan for reminding him.


    "So, where is the nearest cksmith Guild?" Naturally, since Tristan had brought it up, Valyr had to ask.


    In response, Tristan lightly smiled. "That would be in Danyhris Town."


    "Did you just say the nearest town?"


    "Yes? I did say Danyhris Town."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Yeah¡­ I think we aren''t on the same wavelength here."

 Chapter 92 Guard Captain

    After Tristan cleared up the slight confusion Valyr had with the town''s name, he continued exining to Valyr the importance of registering with a cksmith Guild. Then again, as someone who had gone through all of this in his previous life, Valyr would have rather not gotten an exnation on the registering process and what the cksmith Guild offered. Unfortunately, he still had to put up a facade of sorts as his current identity was that of a newly ascended Rank 1 cksmith.


    "Registering for the cksmith Guild is pretty simple," Tristan told Valyr. "You just have to let the guild identify if your ss is rted to cksmithing, forge any piece of equipment in front of them, and hey presto, you''re registered."


    "Once you''re officially registered to the cksmith Guild, you''ll be given an official identification badge, simr to this one." As he finished saying these words, Tristan headed to another part of the smithy before returning to where Valyr was, holding up a copper badge that had a forging hammer engraved on its surface. Under the engraving was Tristan''s name, his current ss rank and his current position in the guild.


    "As long as you show your official identification badge to the guild, you''ll be eligible to obtain Technology Points from the guild in exchange for XP. Aside from that, you''ll also be able to give a certain amount of Technology Points to other people. In fact, both have a limit to that, which depends on your ss rank and position in the guild."


    "If you''re a normal Rank 1 member, you can obtain 50 Technology Points from the guild every month for you to use. If you''re nning to give other people Technology Points, you can give only 5 Technology Points per person every month," Tristan exined, with Valyr''s current expression that of false interest.


    "Above a normal member would be an elite member, which is actually my current position in the guild." Saying this, Tristan slightly puffed out his chest with pride. "As a Rank 1 elite member, you can obtain 100 Technology Points from the guild every month, and be able to give people 10 Technology Points a month."


    "After that would be the true member and the legacy member, with their allotment being twice as much and four times as much as what an elite member would get a month, respectively." While continuing to halfheartedly listen to Tristan''s exnation, Valyr noticed that there was an expression of admiration on the former''s face when these words came out of his mouth, prompting him to think that the man''s wish was to reach those positions in the future.


    "Once you go up in rank, the same thing applies. The amount of Technology Points you could get from the guild doubles, so a normal Rank 2 member would get 100 Technology Points a month, an elite 200, and so on, and so forth."


    "Speaking of which, I should renew my identification badge, considering that I''m already a Rank 2 cksmith." With this thought in mind, Tristan looked at Valyr for a bit before shing a light smile. "Since that''s the case, how about we head to the guild branch at Danyhris tomorrow? I can get my badge renewed while you can get registered."


    "Sure, why not?" In response, Valyr shrugged his shoulders before nodding, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as he was d Tristan was finally finished exining. Though he hadn''t listened to most of his exnation, thetter portion of Tristan''s exnation served as a good refresher of his knowledge regarding ss guilds, which he greatly appreciated.


    After talking with Tristan for a bit more regarding the time and ce they would meet up tomorrow, Valyr then left the smithy, carrying the bag of clothes he had bought earlier as he made his way back to the barracks. Once there, he headed straight to his dormitory room and ced the bag of new clothes on the floor, cing all of the clothes that did not fit him anymore to the side.


    After that, he headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower, changing into a set of the newly bought clothes not long after. Feeling that the new clothes suited him well, he then went ahead and arranged his new clothes neatly before leaving his room, making his way to Damian''s office.


    While on his way to Damian''s office, Valyr could not help but wonder what kind of responsibilities Damian would give him now that he was Rank 1. Though, as he pondered over this, an intrusive thought soon popped up in his mind, telling him that he should request a new set of guard uniforms since he had grown in size.


    ''I should probably inform Damian of that after I ask him about the new responsibilities Tristan mentioned.'' Surprisingly, rather than discard the thought, Valyr made a mental note to ask Damian the question as he arrived at the office door a few minutester.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Come in." Given the permission to enter, Valyr went ahead and entered the room, only to be greeted by the sight of Damian looking through the documents on his desk before signing on some of them a few secondster.


    Closing the door behind him, Valyr made himself at home as he seated on a nearby chair, waiting for Damian to finish his work. Fortunately, it did not take long for Damian to finish, his gaze shifting towards Valyr a few minutester as he ced all of the documents on his desk to the side.


    "I see you''ve finally ascended to Rank 1. Congrattions." Expecting Damian to ask him the reason why he hade into his office, Valyr was naturally taken aback when he heard these wordse out of his mouth. With that in mind, he stared at Damian with slight incredulity, wondering how thetter knew of his ascension beforehand.


    As if he was reading his mind, Damian opened his mouth to answer the question Valyr''s face tantly asked, a light smile adorning his face. "If you''re wondering as to how I knew, I sensed great fluctuations from your cest night, so it didn''t take me long to put two and two together."


    "Anyways, I''m guessing you came here to inform me that you''ve ascended to Rank 1?" With Damian asking this question to the man on the other side of his desk, Valyr could only go silent as he nodded, feeling as if he was being read like an open book.


    "Although there''s not much reason anymore for you to inform me of your ascension, I am quite d that you came of your own ord to my office. After all, as an official Rank 1 ss holder, more responsibilities shall be vested upon you thanks to your increased capabilities." Nodding back, Damian finally informed Valyr of his new responsibilities, which thetter listened to with rapt attention.


    "For one, you shall now be ssified as a Guard Captain, bing the leader of your own guard team," Damian said soon after. Though Valyr had a question in mind when he heard this, he was interrupted by Damian as thetter continued. "I''ve taken the liberty of naming your guard team Tidebreaker. I presume you don''t have any problem with that, no?"


    Just as Valyr was about to respond to the question, he was interrupted once more. "Aside from that, since you are now Rank 1, you can now take on advanced missions. Unlike patrols, which only involves the vige proper, advanced missions are missions the vige receives from the Mercenary Guild, their scopes extending far beyond the vige. Nevertheless, these missions have greater rewards than patrols."


    Hearing the term ''Mercenary Guild''e out of Damian''s mouth, Valyr''s interest was greatly piqued. Compared to guilds that were rted to one''s ss, the Mercenary Guild was considered a guild that stood far above ss guilds in terms of prestige and power. In fact, Valyr could recall that the Mercenary Guilds that existed in variouss were all part of a greater organization found in the universe. Though, with how far away such an existence was from him at the moment, he eventually ced the matter at the back of his head.


    "Andstly, the vige chief would like to speak with you regarding a couple of matters. I''ve already informed her of your ascension to Rank 1, and she wants to congratte you." Finishing his words, Damian went silent once more, as if seemingly waiting for something.


    On the other hand, Valyr could not help but be somewhat curious as to who the vige chief was, considering how he hadn''t interacted with them at all. "How long would it take them to get here?"


    In response to his question, a voice sounded from behind, slightly surprising him as he hadn''t sensed the new persone in whatsoever.


    "I''m right behind you."

 Chapter 93 Plans Of Expansion

    Turning around in the direction of the origin of the voice, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as a girl in her twenties stood in the middle of the doorway that led to Damian''s office. Though she wore clothes simr to those to what other people wore in the vige, she exuded an air of ss and grace around her, making one think that she might be a noble mingling with the localmunity.


    This thought was further spurred on by the fact that her hazelnut brown eyes gave one the feeling that they were looking at the world surrounding him, as if her gaze epassed everything they knew. Adding on her dark brown hair, which was neatly tied into a ponytail, as well as how she handled herself in social situations, it would make sense for one to think that way.


    shing a light smile after Valyr gazed in her direction, the woman lightly nodded as she opened her mouth. "Though I have heard of your feats as the Tidebreaker during the monster tide, as well as your name being mentioned by many people multiple times, I presume this is the first time we''ve seen each other face-to-face, yes?"


    With Valyr nodding in response to the question, the woman went ahead and introduced herself. "Well, my name is Alfaera Astarto. I am the eldest daughter of the founding family of the vige, the Astarto family, as well as the current vige chief."


    "Would it be fine for you to enlighten me on your identity?" Hearing these wordse out of the woman''s mouth, Valyr lightly shrugged his shoulders before nodding.


    Standing up from his seat, he gave her the same level of respect he had given him, lightly bowing before going ahead and introducing himself to her. "Valyr Zeihardt. Part of the Astarto Vige Guards. A Rank 1 ss holder."


    Though Valyr''s introduction of himself was brief and concise, Alfaera did not take any offense to it whatsoever, finding it normal for someone like Valyr to be wary around someone they had met for the first time. Nevertheless, when the man before him mentioned his surname, her eyes could not help but widen for a brief moment, looking at Valyr with a hint of surprise before her expression eventually returned back to normal.


    "I''m pleased to make your acquaintance, Valyr," Alfaera said with a light smile, cing the thought of Valyr''s surname at the back of her head for now. "Has the vige been treating you well ever since you''ve arrived?"


    "It has." Valyr nodded in response. "If not for the fact the vige has treated me so kindly, I wouldn''t have probably reached Rank 1 this quickly."


    Although Valyr had multiple ways to reach Rank 1 without relying much on other people, it went without saying that it would have taken longer for him to do so if not for the opportunities the vige had given him, as well as the people he had met along the way.


    "Since you have already mentioned it, I would like to congratte you on your ascension to Rank 1." Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Alfaera congratted him on his achievement, to which Valyr replied with a nod and perfunctory thanks.


    After that, the room had be silent, with the atmosphere surrounding them bing more awkward as time passed. Unfortunately, there was no easy way to go around it as both Alfaera and Valyr had met each other for the first time.


    Eventually, at some point, Valyr could not handle the awkwardness anymore, opening his mouth as he asked Alfaera a question. "I was told earlier by Damian that you would speak to me regarding a couple of matters. Would it be fine to ask what those are?"


    "Ah, yes." Seeing as the awkward atmosphere surrounding them had been finally broken, Alfaera inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she recalled the reason why she hade here in the first ce.


    "Well, the first matter would be me congratting you on your ascension to Rank 1. I''ve made a habit of mine to congratte everyone who has ascended to Rank 1." Alfaera lightly smiled as Valyr nodded while he listened. "As for the second matter¡­"


    "Well, let''s just say this would take a bit more time to exin." As she said these words, a bitter smile appeared on her face, prompting Valyr to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    Taking in a deep breath to collect her thoughts, she then let out a light sigh as she looked at Valyr, her expression solemn. "Hmm¡­ how should I go about this?"


    "I''m not sure if you know of this, but Astarto Vige has been established by the first ancestor of the Astarto family five generations ago," Alfaera started to exin. "At first, only a couple houses were built in this area, but as time passed, it has be the vige we know and see today."


    "As the fifth generation vige chief, the dreams of the first ancestor have been passed onto me, which is to see that Astarto Vige eventually expands to amodate more people." She looked at Valyr, wanting to see if he followed. "In other words, no matter how long it took, the ancestor wanted the vige to go beyond being a simple vige. He wanted it to grow into a town, then a city, and possibly, an earldom."


    "Fortunately for the ancestor, the chiefs that came before me haveid out most of the foundations needed for the vige to expand into a town. As for me, I''ve solidified these foundations further and improved it to the point that there''s not much that''s stopping us from expanding." Just as she had finished her words, she noticed the slight look of confusion on Valyr''s face, prompting her to follow up with a question.


    "Now you might be wondering: why hasn''t the vige expanded into a town if there''s not much stopping it from expanding?" Hearing the question, Valyr nodded in agreement.


    Seeing his response, Alfaera wryly smiled. "Well¡­ although there''s not much stopping it from expanding, the thing that''s stopping it is quite a big problem for the vige, actually."


    With that, a screen appeared in front of her field of vision, prompting her to interact with it for a bit as a notification sound soon resounded within Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [You have gained detailed geographical information on the nearby surroundings of Astarto Vige.]


    Seeing this notification, Valyr went ahead and brought up the system map in front of him. Within seconds, he quickly noticed how many new symbols and signs were littered around Astarto Vige. Though, among all of these new symbols, one stood out among the rest, taking on the shape of a dark skull.


    "It seems you''ve noticed it as well, huh?" Alfaera noticed where Valyr was looking. "That right there is the thing stopping Astarto Vige from expanding into a town. What is it, you might ask?"


    "Well, ites in many names, but it is the bane of many unprepared viges." Hearing Alfaera''s words, Valyr closed the screen before him and listened once more. "It is none other¡­ than a dungeon."


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Roadblock to Expansion.]


    [Would you like to ept the quest?]

 Chapter 94 Flames Of Ambition

    Hearing the word ''dungeon''e out of Alfaera''s mouth, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrows in curiosity, his interest greatly piqued. At that moment, he ignored the notification sound that had resounded in his mind, which informed him of the quest that had been triggered by her words.


    In the world of Greater Beyond, there were four things a yer could participate in if they wanted their equipment to be up to date and up to par. The first one was quests, specifically main quests that rewarded special equipment. This was generally the most preferred method for many yers to obtain strong equipment, with every piece of equipment they get from itsting them far longer than any normal equipment.


    Next up were world raids, which would only be avable to yers and beings of a higher level. These raids would only be essible when one owned the key that unlocked that respective raid, allowing them to receive great fortune in the chance that they sessfully beat the raid. Naturally, it went without saying that superb equipment was included among the rewards, their quality only losing out to equipment obtained from the hardest of quests.


    After that were reurring field events, such as the monster tide. Unlike the first two methods, reurring field events were one of the easier methods for a being to obtain decent equipment, with those able tond a final hit on the boss being eligible for equipment of a far greater quality.


    Unfortunately, due to how it was more essiblepared to the first two methods, most high-leveled yers would monopolize on the equipment dropped during the monster tide, only leaving the scraps behind for those weaker than them to pick up.


    Andst but not the least was the topic of Valyr''s current interest, dungeons. Being the most essible method for beings to obtain equipment for their levels, equipment that''s dropped from dungeons were considered as the baseline standard by many.


    Nevertheless, even though dungeon equipment lost out inparison to equipment obtained from the three earlier methods, it had still its advantages, such as the fact that almost every piece of dungeon equipment made up a set. In fact, once Valyr had returned from registering to the cksmith Guild, he had ns to find a dungeon at his current level and clear it for its equipment.


    ''I wonder how difficult the dungeon near the vige is?'' Valyr thought to himself, returning his attention to the words that came out of Alfaera''s mouth.


    "We''ve already had multiple people enter the dungeon in the past. After collecting all of the information we''ve gotten from them, we''ve concluded that it''s a dungeon made for beings around Level 10 to 15," Alfaera said, her gaze focused on Valyr''s face.


    "Is that the reason why those at a higher level haven''t entered the dungeon and solved the problem yet?" Valyr asked in response, to which Alfaera nodded with a bitter smile.


    "To be honest, I''ve offered this same exact request to every newly ascended Rank 1 ss holder in the vige. Even Damian was not exempt from this. However, even though most of them entered the dungeon at the highest level it could ept, all of them stillcked the firepower necessary to kill the final boss." Alfaera lightly sighed.


    "Do we have any idea as to what kind of monsters lurk within the dungeon?" With the dungeon bing more and more unique in Valyr''s mind, his urge to attempt it gradually increased with every passing second. At this point, the n to find a dungeon suitable for his current level had been discarded outright, being reced by the thought of clearing this dungeon instead.


    "Goblins. All of the monsters you''ll be fighting against in the dungeon are goblins and goblin variants." Hearing Valyr''s question, Damian took the initiative to respond, slightly shuddering in fear as he recalled his memories of entering the dungeon. "As for the final boss¡­ let''s just say it''s an incredibly strong goblin."


    "Hmm?" Noticing the hesitation in Damian''s words regarding the dungeon''s final boss, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow. However, as Damian went silent after saying what he had to say, he ced the matter at the back of his head, making a mental note to try and find out what kind of final boss the dungeon contained.


    Seeing as Damian had responded to the question for her, Alfaera lightly nodded before bringing Valyr''s attention back to her. "And that pretty much sums up the second matter I wanted to discuss with you. Naturally, if you seed in clearing out the dungeon, removing the final obstacle that''s hindering the vige from expanding, I assure you that you''ll be rewarded handsomely for your efforts."


    Hearing those words, Valyr took it as his cue to check out the quest that the system notified him about earlier, wondering if what Alfaera had said so far matched up with what was written.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Roadblock to Expansion]


    Difficulty: B


    Finding out that you have newly ascended to Rank 1, the chief of Astarto Vige has decided to ask for your help in removing an obstacle that has been hindering the vige from expanding for a long time. ording to her, a dungeon only those at the lower levels of Rank 1 could attempt was what blocked this expansion from happening. Of course, as she had approached you about the dungeon, you fit the criteria to enter it.


    Although she has high hopes in you being able to create a miracle as the Tidebreaker, she also understands if you ever fail in clearing it. After all, she has already asked many before you to do the same thing, but to no avail.


    Quest Requirements:


    > Clear the dungeon [Astarto Goblin Den] (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    - Affinity +500 with Alfaera


    -ary Reputation +20


    - +50,000 XP


    - Improvement to [Astarto''s Tidebreaker] title


    - [Astarto''s Beacon of Hope] title


    - [Knight] nobility title


    Quest Penalty:


    - Reputation -100 within Astarto Vige


    [Note: Though Alfaera is not urging you toplete the quest as soon as possible, understanding that preparation is key, the mes of ambition roar greatly within her. Perhaps you could earn better rewards if you finish it faster.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the quest''s description, Valyr could not help but inwardly take in a deep breath, being left at a loss for words at the rewards that he would obtain if he seeded in clearing the dungeon. Aside from the fact that he would gain a decent chunk of XP and a good amount ofary Reputation, the fact that he had the chance to obtain effectively three titles at once shocked him, with thest title among the three shocking him the most.


    ''A nobility title¡­'' Valyr thought to himself, thinking that having one early on would definitely help out in the creation of his organization in the future. Eventually, he hade to a decision, gaining a new impression of the woman before him as he read the note at the end of the quest.


    Commanding the system to ept the quest, Valyr nodded at Alfaera as a smile appeared on his face. "Alright. I''ll try my best to clear the dungeon. It wouldn''t make sense for the Tidebreaker to not have the same level of ambition as you, after all."


    Hearing Valyr''s words, Alfaera was slightly taken aback, only to let out carefreeughter soon after as she extended her out for a handshake. "I do hope you clear the dungeon. After all, you''d be fulfilling the dreams of my ancestors from a long time ago. No pressure, though. If you end up failing, then that just means I have to wait for another person to clear the dungeon instead."


    "You say no pressure, but it feels like you are." Letting out a chuckle in response, Valyr reciprocated the handshake as Alfaera looked at him with a slightly mischievous smile.


    "You''re Astarto''s Tidebreaker, after all. If it isn''t you who does it, then who else?" Saying those words, Alfaera went ahead and bade farewell to the two, informing Valyr of her residence before congratting him once more on ascending, eventually leaving the two on their own.


    Once he was certain that Alfaera hadpletely left, Valyr could not help but let out a long sigh, to which Damian responded by shing him a bitter smile. Seeing the bitter smile on Damian''s face, Valyr could not help but wear a bitter smile as well, eventually opening his mouth to ask a question.


    "Has she always been that way?"


    "Pretty much. Well, you''ll eventually get used to it."


    "I see¡­ say, would it be possible for me to get a set of uniforms in my new size?"


    "Ah, yes. I''ll get that sorted outter."


    "Thank you."

 Chapter 95 Off To Danyhris

    After the talk with Alfaera regarding the nearby dungeon that stopped the vige from expanding, Valyr went ahead and talked a bit more with Damian regarding his need for a new set of uniforms. After that, he asked Damian to rify the first responsibility that had been given to him, which was him being appointed as a Guard Captain.


    "I''ve had this question in my mind ever since you mentioned it earlier." Valyr looked at the man in front of him with a slightly confused expression. "You said earlier that I''m now ssified as a Guard Captain, but wasn''t my position in the organization Guard Captain already even though I wasn''t Rank 1 yet?"


    Hearing his question, Damian quickly understood what perplexed Valyr, nodding as he opened his mouth. "That would indeed be true. Your position was indeed Guard Captain even though you weren''t Rank 1 yet. However, appointing you as a Guard Captain is different from the Guard Captain position in the system."


    Seeing the confusion on Valyr''s face deepen, Damian pondered in silence for a bit as he tried to exin it from another perspective. "Think of it this way. The Guard Captain position in the system is like the level of reputation you have in the organization, while the Guard Captain appointment is your actual position in the organization. Does that make it easier for you to understand?"


    "I guess?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he slowly nodded. "But what''s the difference?"


    "Being appointed as a Guard Captain is only given to those who are officially Rank 1 ss holders," Damian responded, finally allowing the puzzle pieces in Valyr''s mind to fall into ce. "On the other hand, anyone can reach the rank of Guard Captain in the organization as long as they have enough merits to reach the rank."


    "So basically, one''s a rank and the other one''s a position." Seeing Damian nod at his words, Valyr finally felt like he understood. "Yeah, that''s definitely not confusing at all."


    Damian bitterly smiled at the statement. "This rank and position system was designed by the first leader of the vige guards, not me. If I had the option to modify the system, I would have already done so a long time ago."


    With that part rified, Valyr then asked Damian about the new set of missions he could take now that he was Rank 1. In response to that, Damian sent Valyr a list of missions, all of which had a corresponding number of stars that dictated their level of difficulty. Though he was not sure how many stars corresponded to what grade of quest would obtain, the fact that a four star mission was on the list slightly intrigued him.


    Then again, as he was nning to head out to Danyhris Town tomorrow with Tristan, he decided to ce the matter of taking advanced missions at the back of his head for now, thanking Damian for the time as he headed back to his dormitory room, rxing for the greater portion of the day as he allowed his body to get some well-needed rest.


    ¡­


    By the time Valyr made a move once more, it was already the next day. Gradually opening his eyes in slight annoyance at the sun rays that pierced through his window, Valyr lightly grumbled as he scratched his head, slowly getting up from bed as he eventually went through his usual morning routine.


    After changing into a new set of clothes once he was done taking a shower, he affixed his spear to his back before making his way to the cafeteria, feeling more alert at this time than he would usually be. Chalking off it as a perk of ascending to Rank 1, he went ahead and grabbed a quick breakfast, wolfing it down within minutes before heading out of the barracks around 15 minutester.


    Feeling the slightly cold breeze of the morning air blow against his body, Valyr could not help but take a more leisurely pace while making his way towards the gates, which was the ce the two had agreed to meet up at. Nevertheless, with his high AGI, even his leisurely pace was quick, arriving at the gates a few minutester as a familiar man greeted him with a wave.


    "It seems both of us got up early." After waving at Valyr, Tristan let out a chuckle.


    "To be honest, I thought I''d be the first one to get there." In response, Valyr chuckled back, his eyes affixed to the clothes Tristan currently wore.


    As he had always met up with him in the smithy, this was the first time he had seen Tristan wear such casual clothing. Even during the monster tide, Valyr saw Tristan in a getup more akin to what he wore in the smithy. Wearing a light gray sweater, dark gray pants, coupled with dark leather boots, Tristan''s current appearance made it seem like he was going on a vacation rather than going on a trip to get his identification badge removed.


    After talking for a bit more, the two of them then walked outside the vige gates, hopping on a small carriage Tristan had rented for the journey. Being notified that Danyhris Town was only a dozen kilometers or so away to the northeast from us Vige, Valyr thought that the current size of their carriage made sense.


    Once they were finished double checking if they had forgotten any other things to carry for the journey, Tristan went ahead and signaled to the horse pulling the carriage to start moving, beginning their somewhat rxed journey to Danyhris Town.


    "At our current pace, we''ll reach Danyhris Town within two days. In total, we''ll take four days to head to Danyhris and back." Deciding to break the silence as the walls of Astarto Vige gradually disappeared from their field of vision, Tristan went ahead and took the initiative to start a conversation.


    "Is it possible for us to get there faster?" In response to Tristan''s words, Valyr surprisingly asked this question, which made Tristan raise his eyebrow at the former in curiosity.


    Seeing Tristan''s expression, Valyr bitterly smiled, thinking about the note at the end of the quest he had obtained yesterday. "The vige chief tasked me with clearing the dungeon near the vige. I was hoping to finish it as soon as possible."


    Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan quickly understood. "I see. So, she also requested for your help, huh?"


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "You too?" Naturally, from his words, Tristan implied that he had been offered the same thing as well, prompting Valyr to ask this question.


    In response, Tristan nodded at the question. "I was around Level 15 or so when she approached me regarding the dungeon. Of course, just like many others before me, I failed at the final step, failing to kill the final boss."


    "What''s the final boss like anyway?" Hearing Tristan mention the final boss, Valyr decided to ask him about it, hopeful that he would finally get a detailed answer.


    Unfortunately for him, Tristan''s response to his question would crush that hope. "Did Damian tell you about the boss?"


    "He wasn''t that specific," Valyr replied. "He only told me that it was an incredibly strong goblin."


    "An incredibly strong goblin¡­ yeah, that more or less sums it up." Just as Valyr was expecting Tristan to expound more on the final boss, thetter instead agreed with Damian''s words and decided to be silent about it. Of course, Valyr tried a couple of times to ask Tristan more about the final boss, but to no avail.


    Seeing as Tristan wouldn''t budge on telling him about the final boss, Valyr eventually gave up and let out a long sigh, deciding to focus his thoughts on what he was going to craft during the registering process at the cksmith Guild.

 Chapter 96 Registering

    Following Valyr''s request of wanting to arrive at Danyhris Town faster, Tristan went ahead and signaled the horse to increase its pace. With that, rather than arriving at the gates of the town within a couple days, they had arrived a few kilometers away from it on the afternoon of the following day.


    Employing the effect of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to great use, Valyr mouthed out a faint wow as he looked at the town within their field of vision with a hint of awe. Though Danyhris Town was ssified as a town, from howrge the walls surrounding the town were, Valyr could not help but think that it seemed more like a city, given its grandeur.


    With its upied area being around 80% of the area Anadhar City upied, Valyr could not help but feel like those that thought of cing a cksmith Guild branch in this town had the right idea. Unsurprisingly, following the theme of the town feeling more like a city instead of a town, the buildings lined up on the sides of the main street had a simr design to the ones found in the cities Valyr could recall, prompting him to think that Danyhris Town might transform into Danyhris City in the near future.


    As their carriage passed through the town gates, eventually parking it at a designated area for carriagesing from the outside, Valyr and Tristan eventually hopped off the carriage, paying the entrance fee to the town guard that had apanied them to the area. After that, the two of them then walked along the town''s main streets, with Valyr finding a sense of belonging in the town.


    From what he could see in his field of vision so far, the entire town seemed to be in a festive atmosphere, making him curious as to whether or not something special was happening in town just as they had arrived.


    While Valyr was wondering as to what this event may be, Tristan looked around for a while before eventually nodding. "Ah. It seems we''ve arrived at Danyhris at that time of the year."


    "That time of the year?" Naturally, Tristan''s words piqued Valyr''s interest, wondering what the former meant by that.


    "Let me fill you in on a couple things, Valyr." Seeing as it was an opportunity to flex the greater amount of knowledge he had, Tristan slightly puffed out his chest with pride as they continued to make their way to the branch of the cksmith Guild located in the town.


    "Danyhris Town is a town that focuses on forging, with its founder, a well-renowned cksmith, bing the reason why the town had been established in the first ce. In fact, it has a nickname that fits this same thought, being called the Little cksmith Haven," Tristan exined, with Valyr listening attentively as they continued to walk.


    "As their founder was a cksmith, and the town being mostly focused on forging, they eventually decided to dedicate a whole week to celebrate the founding of the town, as well as the craft of forging itself, gaining the name of the Forge Festival." Hearing those words, Valyr finally understood what was going on, thinking that they hade at the town while the Forge Festival was still ongoing.


    "I''ll show you around the townter to let you see the Forge Festival from up close. For now, let''s prioritize my badge renewal and your registry to the cksmith Guild." Saying those words, Tristan went ahead and increased his pace, to which Valyr had no choice but to follow suit. Eventually, after walking for a few minutes, they arrived at the front of a building that undoubtedly stood out among the various buildings in its vicinity.


    Aside from the sheer scale of the building before them, the grandeur it exuded and the attention to detail on its exterior was enough for one to think that the building served a far greater purpose. Taking a peek through the entrance with [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] activated, Valyr could not help but notice a few furnaces at the far end of the main hall, with multiple people seemingly engrossed in the process of forging equipment.


    Briefly ncing at the exquisitely crafted sign hanging above the entrance that said "cksmith Guild, Danyhris Town Branch", the two of them went ahead and entered the building, swiftly being greeted by the warm air that came about from the residual heat emanating from the furnaces Valyr had noticed earlier.


    Looking around, Valyr noticed that the right section of the main hall had many people congregating around it, eventually noticing the counters that were lined up at the edge of the right section. With that in mind, it did not take too long for him to realize that the right section was dedicated for the registry of new members, as well as the renewal of identification for old members.


    In contrast, the left section of the main hall more or less felt like Tristan''s smithy back in Astarto Vige, being littered to the brim with anvils, furnaces, forging hammers, crafting materials, and sweaty people toiling away at forging equipment.


    With Tristan cing his hand on his shoulder, Valyr''s attention quickly shifted towards Tristan as thetter pointed in the direction of the multiple counters on the right section. "You go on ahead and line up to get yourself registered. I''ll head to another counter for my renewal."


    Nodding in response, the two of them went their separate ways as Valyr lined up in front of one of the queues that was near the entrance. On the other hand, Tristan headed to the far end of the right section, lining up on the shorter queues after showing his identification badge to a person that seemingly barred non-members from queuing there.


    While on the queue, Valyr passively listened to the conversations that were happening around him, hearing mentions of a forging-rted tournament happening in town tomorrow. Though, just as he was about to gain more details on the specifics of the tournament, he had arrived in front of one of the counters,ing face-to-face with one of the attendants working for the cksmith Guild.


    "Wee to the cksmith Guild''s Danyhris Town branch. My name is Michael. How may I help you today?" Hearing those words, Valyr shifted his attention to the man on the other side of the counter, nodding before opening his mouth.


    "I would like to register as a member."


    "Certainly. Please pay a silver coin as registration fee and we shall proceed with the registration process." In response, Michael nodded before informing Valyr of what to do. Seeing as Valyr had plopped a silver coin on the counter separating the two of them, he nodded once more in agreement as he smoothly moved the coin away from their field of vision.


    "Your name?" As he asked this question, Michael brought out a thin tablet that faintly glowed a light blue color, giving Valyr the feeling that the tablet was powered by mana.


    "Valyr Zeihardt." Of course, even though he was curious, Valyr went ahead andplied with the instructions, with Michael nodding as a few strands of mana came out of his body before entering the tablet he held.


    "Current rank?"


    "Rank 1."


    Once more, a few strands of mana came out of Michael''s body, being engraved on the thin tablet he held. After that, he sent out a few more strands of mana to the tablet before cing it to the side as he directed Valyr to another part of the building.


    "Alright, sir Valyr. With all of that done, the cksmith Guild shall now record your current ss and affirm that you are indeed a cksmith by having you craft a piece of equipment under the supervision of a proctor. Do you have any problems with that?"


    "None at all." In response to the question, Valyr shook his head, earning another nod from Michael.


    "Alright then. Please follow me."

 Chapter 97 Appraisal And Crafting

    Following behind Michael, Valyr was swiftly led to another part of the cksmith Guild''s building, a part that was far more secluded than the main hall he was in earlier. Entering one of the various rooms lined up against one of the building''s multiple corridors, Valyr was soon greeted by the sight of a decently furnished room containing most amenities one would need to live afortable life.


    In there was a middle-aged man that seemed to be in his fifties, idly gazing out therge bay window as he sipped on a cup of tea. Hearing people enter his room, the man shifted his attention to those who had appeared before showing an amicable smile.


    "This a new member, Michael?" the man asked, to which Michael nodded in response.


    "They''re currently undergoing the registering process. Please identify their current ss," Michael said before telling Valyr he was going to take his leave.


    Being left alone in a room with a middle-aged man, Valyr could not help but feel a hint of nervousness. Noticing his nervousness, the man let out a light chuckle before standing up and moving closer to Valyr, extending his hand out for a handshake.


    "Nice to meet you. The name''s Baltazar. I''m one of the resident ss appraisers here in this branch of the cksmith Guild." Hearing the words that came out of the man''s mouth, the nervousness that Valyr felt quickly disappeared as he reciprocated the handshake, smiling back as he opened his mouth soon after.


    "Valyr. As you''ve heard from Michael, I''m applying as a member of the cksmith Guild."


    "And so you should." Baltazar nodded in agreement after looking at Valyr from head to toe. "Most Rank 1 ss holders tend to ignore the fact that it''s necessary for them to join their respective ss guilds if they want to go far."


    "Then again, not all people would be willing to listen." Shrugging his shoulders in nonchnce, Baltazar went ahead and instructed Valyr to take a seat on the chair he was sitting earlier. Following the instruction, Valyr sat on it, waiting for the former to tell him what to do next.


    "You just sit there and look pretty. While you do that, I''ll use a skill to check your ss. Once I certify that you have a ss or subss rted to cksmithing, you can head to the door on your left and proceed with the final step of the process." As he said these words, Baltazar pointed at the wooden door to his right, prompting Valyr to look at his left before nodding in response.


    "[Greater Analysis]." Without any countdown or warning, Baltazar soon activated a skill, causing a light blue tint to cover his eyes. A few secondster, this light blue tint gained a secondyer, taking on a slightly darker blue color, giving off the feeling that Baltazar was currently wearing sses of some sort.


    With the skill activated, he gazed at Valyr, prompting a screen to appear in front of his field of vision a few secondster. With that, he dispelled the skill, reading through Valyr''s status screen, only for his eyes to briefly widen in surprise before returning to normal.


    "I must say, you''ve got quite the special cksmith ss." Closing up the status screen in front of him, Baltazar looked at Valyr with a knowing smile, prompting thetter to bitterly smile back.


    "It would be great if you could keep my ss a secret." In response to his words, Valyr gave a request to him, only doing so after he was certain that the man before him was truly amicable with him.


    Hearing the request, Baltazar wryly smiled before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I can''t do that. It''s standard protocol for all ss appraisers in any ss guild to send all of the information they''ve received to the guild. I apologize."


    "It''s fine. I didn''t have much hope anyway." Wryly smiling after hearing Baltazar''s words, Valyr could not help but let out an inward sigh. Though he knew it was impossible for his ss to be hidden during the registration process, he still tried nevertheless, knowing the types of repercussions that might befall on him in the future if people were to find out his current ss.


    ''Let''s just hope this information doesn''tnd under the wrong hands.'' With that thought in mind, Valyr consoled himself as he thanked Baltazar for his time. In response to that, Baltazar apologized once more, telling him that he would make sure that only the higher-ups in the guild would be eligible to find his current information, which made Valyr smile as he thanked the man one more time.


    After that, he made his way through the door Baltazar had mentioned earlier, eventually arriving at a room that looked simr to the smithy back at Astarto Vige.


    Just as he was wondering where the proctor was, a man in his thirties with ash blonde hair appeared before him all of a sudden, prompting him to turn around and take a few steps back in surprise.


    Seeing Valyr''s reaction to his move, the man could not help but lightly chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. I just like doing that to all of the people who are registering to the guild."


    "Anyways, let me introduce myself. The name''s Niall. I''m a Rank 2 cksmith, and I shall be your proctor for today." The man went ahead and introduced himself, prompting Valyr to do the same soon after.


    "Considering that you''ve appeared in this room, I presume my father was the one who appraised your ss, no?" Hearing these words, Valyr''s eyes could not help but slightly widen as he took a better look at the man before him, quickly noticing a few simrities between the facial features of the two.


    Nodding in response, Niall smiled. "d to find that out. Well, let''s not waste any more time. What you have to do is choose a blueprint from the nearby shelf and craft the equipment on the blueprint under my supervision. However, do note that the guild will take your final result once you are done."


    "As for the blueprint you choose, consider that the thing you obtain from the registration fee you paid for."


    After asking Niall a couple more questions, Valyr went ahead and perused through the various blueprints he could choose from on the shelf, eventually settling for a Common grade blueprint of a broadsword. After the information of the blueprint was added to his memory through the help of the system, he went ahead and ced the blueprint back on the shelf before chucking in the metals the blueprint called for into the already roaring hot furnace.


    Eventually, once the metals were at the right time for forging, he took them out with a pair of tongs before cing them on the anvil, hammering away at it soon after. Within minutes, he had found a suitable rhythm to work with, heating up the metal he was hammering at in the furnace every once in a while, before returning to shaping the metal into the de of a broadsword.


    As it was just a piece of equipment he had to craft to get registered to the guild and not a piece of equipment he would use, Valyr opted not to use the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes]. Nevertheless, the final result of his forging still made Niall whistle in slight admiration as he quenched the de in a barrel of warm oil.


    Wiping off the excess oil that dripped off the de, Valyr then gave it to Niall for inspection. Moving the de closer to his face, Niall looked at the entire surface of the broadsword de, eventually cing it down as he nodded at Valyr in satisfaction.


    "Attach a handle and a suitable guard on it and you''ve got yourself a well-crafted broadsword," Niall could not help but say.


    "With what you''ve shown me here, you pass the final test. From this day onward, you''re now officially a member of the cksmith Guild."


    "Congrattions, Valyr."

 Chapter 98 Talks Of The Tournament

    Valyr could not help but smile and nod after hearing Niall''s words, responding back at him with words of gratitude, thanking him for taking the time to be the one watching over him during the registration process even though he could have been doing something else. In response, Niall could not help but chuckle, nodding before pointing at a door located to the right of the one he entered.


    "I''ve already notified those in the guild of yourpletion of the registration process. As long as you head through this door and walk to the end of the corridor, you''ll return to the main hall." Niall looked at Valyr with a light smile. "After that, just queue up on one of the counters on the far left to im your badge. Once more, congrattions on bing an official member of the cksmith Guild."


    With that, Valyr made his way to the door Niall pointed at, only to stop just as he had opened it. Noticing this, Niall raised his eyebrow in his curiosity as Valyr looked back at him. "Hmm? Is something the matter?"


    "I''ve been curious about something for quite some time now," Valyr said in response, feeling a hint of embarrassment for having the thought of asking this question to Niall. "Mind if I ask you about it?"


    "As long as it''s something I can answer, I don''t mind." Fortunately for him, Niall nodded at his request, prompting him to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he asked his question.


    "Before signing up to register for the guild, I''ve been hearing mentions of a tournament going on in town, with a lot of people talking about while I queued up at the counter. I''ve just been wondering as to what this tournament is about." Hearing Valyr''s question, a look of understanding appeared on Niall''s face as he lightly nodded in response with an understanding smile.


    "From how you phrased your question, you''re not from around here, huh?" Niall posed the question to Valyr, to which thetter shook his head in response.


    "Well, to make things simpler, the town hold a week long event, celebrating the founding of the town, as well as the craft of forging as a whole, being known as the Forge Festival." Nodding back at Valyr, Niall started to exin. "The tournament that you''ve probably heard while you were queuing up at the counter was probably the tournament made for fledgling Rank 1 cksmiths. For that same reason, it''s called the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament."


    Just as Valyr was about to ask if any Rank 1 cksmith could enter the tournament, Niall seemed to be a step ahead of him, answering the question in his mind before he could voice it out. "And before you ask, only those that are members of the cksmith Guild can enter the tournament. After all, if any Rank 1 cksmith could enter the tournament, it would take a long time for everything to be set up and to be finished."


    "And yes, if you wondering, you can also enter the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament since you''re now a member of the cksmith Guild." With that, Valyr finally had a better idea of what was going on, thanking the man once more.


    "To be honest, you''re in luck. You just arrived in time for the third and final day of the tournament tomorrow." Just as Valyr was about to head out, thinking that it wouldn''t be a bad idea to join the tournament next time, Niall''s words stopped him in his tracks, prompting him to attentively listen once more.


    Seeing as he had caught his attention, Niall lightly smiled before continuing. "The Fledgling Forgers'' Tournamentsts for a day, being repeated three times for a total of three days. ording to what I''ve heard, there are three rounds to the tournament that focus on the practical aspect of forging rather than the theoretical. On top of that, the prizes for those who make it to the top ranks are quite generous, all of them being incredibly valuable for a fledgling cksmith such as you."


    "If I were you, I''d try and join the final day tomorrow, even if it''s only for the experience." Saying that, Niall shrugged his shoulders before chuckling. "Of course, it''s just a suggestion. It''s still up to you whether you join or not."


    Though thoughts lingered in Valyr''s mind on joining the tournament on its final day, it was only when he heard there were valuable prizes at the tournament did he make up his mind to truly join it. As Niall had mentioned that all of the prizes one could obtain at the tournament were suitable for a Rank 1 cksmith like him, the mes ofpetition lit up inside Valyr, thinking that it wouldn''t be bad to im some of the prizes to speed up his progress.


    With that, he finally left the room, appearing at a corridor that seemed somewhat different from the corridor he had walked through to get his ss appraised. Albeit curious, he suppressed his curiosity as he made his way to the end of the corridor, ending up at the main hall once more as he attempted to line up at the leftmost counter.


    Wondering if he would be stopped by the person he noticed earlier that stopped non-members from queuing up at these counters, he was instead allowed ess, even hearing a congrattions from the man as he queued up at the counter.


    Compared to the counters at the right, the counters made for members had a far shorter queue, allowing him to end up at the counter within minutes as the attendant at the counter assisted him in procuring his identification badge. After waiting for a couple minutes, the attendant at the counter gave him an iron badge with the same design as Tristan''s, with the only difference being his name on the badge and his current position in the guild, which was that of a normal member.


    Ding!


    [You have affiliated yourself with the ''cksmith Guild (Danyhris Town Branch, Veldanyr)''.]


    [Your current rank is [Rank 1 ¡ª Member]. Increase your rank or your merit to raise your position.]


    [You have unlocked the contribution point shop. Do missions for the organization to earn contribution points. These missions are essible through the Missions tab.]


    As he thanked the attendant for giving him his badge, he then went ahead and pocketed the badge, instantly gaining a string of notifications from the system as he left the main hall, making his way out of the exit. Briefly reading through the notifications he had received, Valyr could not help but think that the system in ce was more or less simr to the one in ce with the vige guards.


    Continuing to read through the notifications, he noticed that the only difference between the two, aside from the rank system, was the fact that he could take missions through the system. ''I guess they implemented that since not all cksmiths would be near or stay at a cksmith Guild.''


    Closing up the screen in front of him, he soon looked around, wondering if Tristan was already done renewing his identification badge. Thankfully, Tristan was already waiting at the entrance of the building, waving at Valyr to let him know where he was. Noticing that, Valyr went ahead and walked closer to him, a smile adorning his face as he brought out his identification badge.

 Chapter 99 Making Up Ones Mind

    Seeing the iron identification badge Valyr was waving around as he got closer, Tristan could not help but let out a bit of heartyughter, wrapping his arm around Valyr''s shoulders as he felt a bit of pride seeing Valyr sessfully register as a member of the guild. "So, how did the registration process go?"


    "It went as well as you''d think it did." Saying these words, he narrated a bit about the things he went through before being given the badge, omitting the part where he had asked the ss appraiser to keep his ss a secret. Nevertheless, Valyr''s narration made Tristan nod as he could not help but reminisce doing all of those same things back then when he was still a Rank 1 cksmith.


    "How about you? Did you renew your identification badge?" After he was done narrating what he had gone through, Valyr went ahead and shifted the topic to Tristan''s badge renewal. In response to the question, Tristan shed a light grin before showing Valyr his newly renewed identification badge.


    Though it did not seem like Tristan''s badge had changed at all at first nce, once Valyr focused a bit more of his attention on it, he noticed that there now existed a star below the engraved forging hammer. Aside from that, the ss rank written on Tristan''s badge had also been changed to Rank 2, prompting Valyr to connect the two together ande to the conclusion that the higher one''s rank was, the more stars one would have on their badge.


    "Well, we still have a couple of hours to kill before nightfall. How about we walk around town and check out the Forge Festival for ourselves?" Pocketing his renewed identification badge, Tristan suggested to Valyr that they check out the festival and see what it was about. In response to the suggestion, Valyr nodded profusely, eliciting the two of them to share a bit ofughter as they soon left the cksmith Guild, walking through the streets the town allocated for the Forge Festival sometimeter.


    ¡­


    While the two were making their way to where the Forge Festival was situated in town, the father and son duo Valyr had be acquainted with earlier during his registration process had met up, talking about what kind of people they hade across during the registration process. As they talked about it over a cup of tea in Baltazar''s room, their topic eventuallynded on Valyr, prompting Baltazar to have a solemn expression on his face.


    "How did Valyr do on the forge, son?" Baltazar took a sip of his tea as he posed this question to his son.


    In response, Niall pondered over the question for a bit in silence, eventually noticing that something felt off. "He did well. He seems to have a good grasp of the basics and was able to produce a solid broadsword de without a problem. However, now that I think about it, it feels like he''s holding back."


    "That''s because he is holding back," Baltazar said in response, making Niall''s eyes slightly widen as he looked at his father in curiosity. In response, Baltazar brought up the status screen he had obtained from Valyr earlier through [Greater Analysis], showing it to his son.


    "Make sure that word of this does not get out of the four walls of this room. Only the higher-ups and I should know of this. I''m only letting you know of this since you''re my son," Baltazar reminded his son, to which thetter nodded as he solemnly read through Valyr''s status screen. Eventually, once he was done, he looked at his father with incredulity, wondering why a figure with such a renowned ss would be in a small town.


    "A Mythic cksmith ss, and on top of that, his surname¡­" Niall could not help but murmur, feeling a hint of shock at how much Valyr had hidden from him. "What shall we do about this, father?"


    "What shall we do about it?" Hearing the question, Baltazar shook his head. "There is nothing we''ll do about it. Instead, we''ll ry this information to the Branch Head¡­ though, we have to send a letter about this discovery to the Imperial Production Guild as well. After all, they did inform us that if we ever came across a person with a Mythic production ss, we have to send them a letter as soon as possible."


    "But the person who owns the ss¡­" Listening to his father''s words, Niall could not help but scratch his head, eventually letting out a sigh.


    "That''s not for us to worry about, son." Seeing his son in such a state, Baltazar wrapped his arm around his son''s shoulder, bringing thetter to an embrace. "If anything, we''ve more or less aplished our mission here."


    "Do you mean¡­?" Hearing the words that came out of his father''s mouth, Niall''s eyes could not help but light up with hope, to which Baltazar responded back with a nod and a smile.


    "Indeed, son. It''s time for us to return back home," said Baltazar as he gazed out therge window in the room, letting out a light sigh before turning around to look at his son once more.


    "Back to where we belong."


    "The Algerie Kingdom."


    ¡­


    After walking through the streets of Danyhris for a while, Tristan and Valyr both found themselves at the center of the Forge Festival, their sights being greeted by events and the like that mostly catered to cksmiths. On one end was a stall that seemed to be selling anvils and forging hammers at a discounted price, on the other was a live showcase of how a cksmith forged their equipment.


    Eventually, the two of them noticed therge event at the middle of it all, making their way to it to witness multiple cksmiths at Rank 1 toiling away to forge equipment of varying sizes and shapes.


    Seeing as Valyr was engrossed at watching the cksmiths work, Tristan could not help but nudge on Valyr''s shoulder to snap thetter back to reality before shing a light smile. "Interested? I''ve been to the town a couple times already, so I more or less know what''s happening at the moment."


    "This tournament right here is Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament, where only Rank 1 cksmiths registered with the cksmith Guild are eligible to enter. The prizes you could get from this tournament would make a lot of Rank 1 cksmiths drool with jealousy. In fact, the constion prizes from this tournament also aren''t that half bad." Oblivious to the fact Valyr had already asked his proctor about the tournament, Tristan went ahead and exined what''s going on.


    "I''ve joined the tournament a couple of times while I was Rank 1, and I can say for a fact that joining it is already more than worth it for the experience," he added soon after. "Of course, winning a prize would make it even more worth."


    "Unfortunately, we have to head back to the vige by nightfall since you still have to clear out the dungeon the vige chief tasked you with clearing." Saying this, Tristan let out a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders in nonchnce. Naturally, Valyr picked up the mocking tone Tristan used while talking, to which he inwardly sighed as he shrugged his shoulders soon after.


    "Well, we don''t really have to head back to the vige as soon as possible. After all, the task given to me by Alfaera has no time limit. We could spend a couple more days here if you''d like." Knowing very well that it seemed like he was buying into Tristan''s words, Valyr still opened his mouth. "Since you''re saying joining the tournament for the experience is more than worth for a Rank 1 cksmith like me, then I should at least witness it for myself, no?"


    Hearing his words, Tristan could not help but let out a cackle as he wrapped his arm around Valyr''s shoulder once more. "Have my words persuaded you to join the tournament? Great! As expected of myself, truly having a way with words!"


    ''I was already nning to join the tournament after asking my proctor, but sure. I''ll let him immerse himself in his delusions.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he let out a light sigh. After that, the two of them explored the Forge Festival more, taking in more of the sights that the town offered them.

 Chapter 100 The Top Contenders

    Eventually, by the time night came, the two of them found an inn to stay in for the night, taking into consideration the fact that they would only be staying in town till the next day. Once they woke up from their slumber, the two of them went through their respective morning routines before heading down to the inn''s cafeteria to dig into theirplementary breakfast.


    After checking out from the inn, the two of them then made their way to the center of the Forge Festival, being greeted by a different view of the festivalpared to the one they''ve seen yesterday. Unlike the hustle and bustle the Forge Festival radiated all throughout while the two of them wandered around the ce, most of the people at the area for the Forge Festival seemed to still be in the process of gathering enough energy tost through the day, raising their spirits up.


    Aside from that, a great portion of the stalls the two hade across yesterday were also in the process of being set up, prompting them to move away from the stalls for now and check if it was possible for Valyr to list himself as a participant in the final day of the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament.


    Fortunately, even though it was somewhat early in the day, the portion of the Forge Festival dedicated to the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament was already brimming with vigor, with a great portion of people congregating around it to witness fledgling cksmiths show their level of skill and craft in front of others.


    Looking around, Valyr eventually noticed that there was a line of people registering to be a participant of the tournament. With that in mind, he informed Tristan that he was going to sign up for the tournament, to which thetter nodded in response as he told Valyr that he was going to find seats for them as they waited for the tournament to start.


    Nodding back, Valyr soon made his way to the line of applicants, leisurely waiting for his turn to arrive as he passively listened to the conversations that happened around him once more. Though most of them seemed to be conversations regarding people catching up on their friends'' lives, some of them had piqued his interest, prompting him to tune out the former as he focused on thetter.


    As for what kind of conversation had piqued his interest, it was conversations that talked about the participants for this day of the tournament that had a high chance of winning the top spots. Although he would have liked to listen in more to those kinds of conversations, his turn had finally arrived,ing face-to-face with a man that had the emblem of the cksmith Guild emzoned on his right chest.


    "Identification badge?" The man looked at Valyr, holding up a thin tablet that looked simr to what was used in his registration process. In response to the question, Valyr brought out the iron identification badge he had gotten from the guild yesterday and gave it to the man.


    After validating that the identification badge was genuine, the man gave the badge back to Valyr with a nod, infusing a bit of mana into the tablet he held as he asked Valyr for his name. "Your name?"


    "Valyr." Hearing that, the man nodded once more, infusing a bit more mana into the tablet before cing it to the side.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "Alright. You''re assigned to Forge No. 42. We''re still in the middle of preparing for the tournament, so you cane backter if you want," the man said to Valyr, to which thetter nodded. "In any case, even if you''re at another part of the town, we''ll announce the start of the tournament beforehand, so you don''t have to worry."


    Committing the information to memory, Valyr went ahead and thanked the man before making his way to where Tristan was. Once he was there, Tristan took the initiative to start the conversation. "Wanna know what I found out while I was waiting for you to sign up?"


    "Is it possible the same thing I''ve been listening to while waiting in line?" Valyr asked in response, the two of them raising their eyebrows in curiosity. Thinking that they would get nowhere if they waited for the other to start talking, the two decided to say what they had in mind at the same time. Surprisingly, once they did, the two of them quickly realized they had the same thing in mind, which was about the ones who had a high chance of winning the tournament for the today.


    "Since it''ll be a while before the tournament begins, wanna walk around town and talk about it?" Afterughing at each other for a bit about the fact they had the same thing in mind, Valyr gave Tristan a suggestion. Nodding in agreement, the two of them started walking around the area allotted for the Forge Festival, then beyond that not long after. "So, what did you find out while waiting?"


    "ording to what I''ve heard, as well as some people I''ve talked to while waiting for you, there are three contenders for the top spot for today''s tournament." Seeing as Valyr had initiated the conversation, Tristan went ahead and continued it. "The first one is the son of the cksmith Guild''s branch head, Nathan Forgers. The reason why people are confident that he''d take the top spot is because of his cksmith ss, an Epic ss called Forger of the Red ze."


    "Aside from that, he''s shown multiple times that he could be given any blueprint and craft something that''s one grade above the specified grade on the blueprint." As he said this, he shrugged his shoulders. "As to whether this has been rigged or not, I have no clue. How about you? What did you find out?"


    "Well, I''ve also heard mentions of Nathan while I queuing up to be registered. Though, the second person they mentioned was quite unique. Unlike Nathan, he doesn''t have a name at all. All people know is that he goes by the name Shadow," replied Valyr.


    "Ah, that guy. Yeah, I''ve also heard of him being mentioned." Tristan nodded. "He''s the one whose forging style leans heavily towards DEX, right? I''ve heard that the equipment he has forged in the past are all at the highest limit of the grade specified on the blueprints given to him."


    "Yep, that''s the one." Valyr nodded in agreement. "From what I''ve heard, his forging style came about due to his cksmith ss, Shadowhand cksmith."


    As he said this, Valyr could not help but recall that Shadowhand cksmith was one of the possible sses he could have chosen during the ascension process. ''If I remember correctly, that ss was ssified as Epic, being a better version of the Rare ss Defthand cksmith.''


    "Thest one''s definitely unique, though. Unlike the first two, she''s only been ssified as a contender for the top spot due to her recent feats thanks to her Rare ss, Erudite cksmith," Tristan said after Valyr was done talking. "Imagine crafting an Umon+ grade variant of a Common grade blueprint¡­ unreal."


    "That''s definitely an achievement she could be proud of for years toe." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Denise Stephenson¡­ now that I think about it, I guess I joined at the worst time."


    "Compared to them, you''re still a newly ascended cksmith. Don''t push yourself so hard." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan consoled him. "I''m sure this experience will help you out in the long run."


    "It definitely will." Valyr nodded, bitterly smiling in response. After walking around for a bit more, an announcement regarding the start of the tournament echoed throughout the entirety of Danyhris Town, prompting the two of them to head back at a slightly hastened pace. While doing so, a thought popped up in Valyr''s mind, eliciting a light smirk to adorn his face the more he thought about it.


    ''Man¡­ I wonder how my ss fares against these other sses?''


    ''I can''t wait to find out.''

 Chapter 101 Consecutive Forging

    Returning to where the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament was being held, the two were eventually greeted by the sight of a great number of people congregating around the tournament proper, with most of them doing whatever they could to get as best of a view of the entire tournament as possible. Watching the sight before them, Tristan could not help but sh a bitter smile at Valyr, telling thetter to head to his spot in the tournament while he found a spot to watch Valyr from afar.


    With a nod, Valyr squeezed his way through the crowd, eventually arriving in front of the man he had interacted with earlier while he was applying for the contract. Looking at each other in silence, Valyr eventually remembered a key instruction the man had mentioned to him, revealing his identification badge soon after.


    Seeing Valyr''s identification badge, the man nodded before moving to the side, allowing Valyr to enter the tournament proper as he was reminded of the forge slot allocated to him. Thanking the man, he then passed through the various rows and columns of adequately sized forges, eventually arriving at Forge No. 42, the forge slot he was given.


    Once there, he looked at the tools and materials that were avable to him for this tournament, finding all of the equipment and materials given for him to use somewhat better than the ones avable in Tristan''s smithy. After certifying that the contents of his forge were notckingpared to other forges in his vicinity with a volunteer proctor, Valyr''s expression eased up as he looked at his surroundings, wondering how many people he was up against in the tournament.


    Thankfully, with the announcement that signaled the start of the tournament echoing throughout Danyhris, it did not take long for most of the forges to be filled up, prompting Valyr to utilize [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] by the time only a few participants remained that hadn''t arrived at their respective forges yet. Once those people arrived at their forges, he was quite surprised to find out that over 200 people had participated in the final day of the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament, himself included.


    Looking around for a bit more, he noticed that a great portion of the people participating in the tournament had their gazes congregated towards three specific people. The first person had neatlybed blonde hair, forming a nice contrast with his clean, pale green eyes, both elements giving others the feeling that the man was part of nobility. However, this air was quickly dissipated by the thinyer of soot and dirt over his skin and clothes, instead making one feel as if they were looking at a young man who had his fair share of experiences.


    ''Nathan Forgers¡­'' As Valyrmitted the man''s appearance to memory, he then shifted his gaze to one of the other three, finding the man''s current appearance unique. Unlike Nathan''s slightly rugged look, this person seemed to have no speck of dust on their clothes whatsoever. On top of that, most of their body was covered in dark gray and ck fabric, with the only visible part of the man''s body being his eyes.


    ''And I''m guessing that would be Shadow.'' Inwardly shrugging his shoulders in nonchnce at Shadow''s appearance, he then redirected his eyes towards thest of the top contenders, finding her appearance slightly refreshing. With her brte hair tied up into a messy ponytail entuating the shape of her face, her pale red irises looked simr to a pair of topaz crystals under the light of the morning sun. Complementing it was her current getup, giving everyone the feeling that they were looking at a participant that seemed to have joined the tournament for fun.


    But of course, knowing who they were looking at and what feat she had achieved, her purpose in the tournament was anything but fun.


    Aftermitting the appearances of the three top contenders into his mind, Valyr then looked at the participants in his surroundings, noticing that a great portion of them were shaking in nervousness. Just as he was about to initiate a conversation with some of them to help them calm down, a slightly overbearing presence appeared at the raised tform at one of the far ends of the tournament proper, prompting everyone to nce in the direction of that presence.


    "From what I can currently see, a lot more people than expected have applied," the man said as everyone went silent.


    Soon after, he let out a chuckle before nodding in satisfaction. "Then again, that makes the final day of this tournament all the more interesting, no?"


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Well, let me introduce myself before we start. My name is Hyun, a Rank 3 cksmith affiliated with the cksmith Guild. I shall be your host for today''s Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament." With those words escaping his mouth, the audience watching the tournament from afar let out cheers and rounds of apuse, all of which eventually died down a couple minutester.


    With the surroundings bing silent once more, Hyun continued. "I know all of you are eager tomence with the tournament, so I shall not dy it any further."


    Snap!


    Just as he had finished his statement, Hyun snapped his fingers, to which a blueprint appeared on every participant''s desk in response. Slightly surprised by the fact that Hyun was able to do something like that, everyone gazed at the blueprint in front of them for a bit before returning their attention to the host of the tournament.


    "On your desks is a blueprint. Specifically, a blueprint for a Common grade dagger," Hyun said. "Though it would have been nice if that was the first round of the tournament, it''s only the beginning."


    "The first round of this tournament is called Consecutive Forging. You will have to craft five pieces of equipment in a row, though you would only need to craft the first three in order to move onto the second round."


    "Naturally, the equipment you''ll have to craft shall be given to you in the form of blueprints to make sure that everything is fair. The first two blueprints are Common grade, the next two are Common+, and thest blueprint is Umon."


    "As I''ve mentioned earlier, you only need to craft the first two Common grade blueprints and the first Common+ grade blueprint in order to move onto the next round." As he said this, a light smile appeared on Hyun''s face. "However, you could also choose to proceed with the fourth and fifth piece, allowing you to earn a small reward that you could take home with you, regardless of whether you get to the top three or not."


    "Of course, reaching the fifth piece would give you a far greater reward than only reaching the fourth one." Chuckling, he continued. "Also, there''s no catch to proceeding with the fourth and fifth piece. Everyone is free to try and forge the fourth and fifth piece even after they''re eligible to move onto the next round."


    "Any more questions?" Hearing this statement from Hyun, a couple of the participants went ahead and raised their hands, asking questions that sought to rify the doubts they had. Once those people had obtained the answer to their questions, Hyun nodded before looking at each and every participant for a bit.


    Then, taking a deep breath, Hyun''s voice soon reverberated all throughout the area, causing the audience to erupt into a maelstrom of cheers and yells.


    "Let the first round¡­ begin!"

 Chapter 102 Holding Back

    With Hyun signaling the official start of the first round, almost all of the participants went into a frenzy, gazing at the blueprints on their desks for a bit before hastily grabbing the metal they needed before chucking them into the furnace beside them. Because of that, it did not take long for a few of them to spew out profanities before retrieving the metal they chucked into the furnace with a pair of tongs, realizing that they had grabbed the wrong type of metal.


    Watching this sight unfold a couple of times around him, Valyr tuned out the noise surrounding him as he focused his attention on the blueprint on his desk, reading through it as the system registered the blueprint andmitted it to his memory. After that, he retrieved the metal needed for the blueprint and chucked it into his furnace, fanning the mes for a bit to slightly speed up the heating process.


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c As he waited for the metal to reach the optimal temperature for hammering, Valyr went ahead and looked through the blueprint given to him once more. "As long as I more or less follow the instructions on this blueprint, I''ll be able to forge the weapon ''Iron Dagger''."


    "I wonder where the others got the idea that the first round is all about reaching the third blueprint as fast as possible." Muttering these words, Valyr watched the other participants around him try their hand at forging the first blueprint, with most of them finding their footing aftering to the realization that the first round wasn''t a race against time. However, some of them still thought they had to finish as fast as possible, causing them tomit more mistakes as time passed.


    Eventually, by the time Valyr had retrieved the metal he had chucked into the furnace, the first participant had finally been escorted out of the tournament, being disqualified due to the fact that the participant panicked so much to the point they wasted all of the materials given to them. Watching as the participant made the walk of shame, Valyr inwardly shook his head before returning his attention to the hot metal on top of his anvil.


    Ttang! Ttang!


    Swinging the forging hammer he had be familiar with during the exnation for the first round, Valyr quickly found a rhythm to work with, swiftly shaping the metal on his anvil into a dagger. At times, he would have to stop the hammering process, cing the iplete dagger into the furnace to make it malleable again, taking it out sometimeter to hammer on it once more.


    And with that kind of routine, Valyr made progress in forging the dagger, the sound of metal colliding against metal reverberating throughout the area as everyone else was engrossed in the same process. Some of them hammered their metal at a faster rate, while some of them took their time. Nevertheless, the current atmosphere had been filled with that sonorous sound, putting the audience into a trance as they silently watched the participantsplete the blueprints.


    "Done." At some point, one of the participants was finally finished forging their dagger, quenching it into a nearby barrel of oil as a volunteer proctor appeared before them. Once the volunteer proctor certified that the quality of the forged dagger was sufficient, a second blueprint was ced on the participant''s desk, prompting thetter to repeat the process once more.


    Naturally, with a participant now beginning on the second blueprint, the other participants could not help but feel pressured to speed up, causing small mistakes to be more pronounced on their forged products the more they hammered at it. Although they had been able to finish their daggers earlierpared to the rest, once they heard that their products did not meet the minimum level of quality that allowed them to proceed to the next blueprint, it was only then did they realize that they should have continued with what they already had going.


    Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.


    With that kind of atmosphere enveloping all of the participants, the first round continued to progress, some proceeding onto the second blueprint, and some being disqualified even before they could reach the second blueprint. Due to the experience Valyr had with forging in his past life, it was not a problem for him to finish his first piece of equipment, with the second blueprint being ced on his desk soon after.


    "A chestte, huh." Registering the new blueprint to memory, Valyr swiftly began on his second piece of equipment, thanking the fact that he had been tasked to craft armor more than weapons in his previous life. With that,bined with his current skills as a True Prodigious cksmith, he had the confidence to finish the second blueprint, eventually doing so while more participants were disqualified.


    Receiving the third blueprint, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow as he checked the information written on it. After that, he shifted his gaze to the top three contenders, noticing that they were all close to finishing the third blueprint. "I''m quite surprised they''re not having a problem with crafting this one, considering there''s a unique mechanism integrated into this weapon. But then again, I don''t have problems with it either."


    Compared to the first two blueprints, aside from the fact that the third blueprint resulted in a Common+ grade weapon, it also contained a unique mechanism, being a broadsword that had the ability to inject poison into its enemies. With this in mind, Valyr decided to take it a bit slower than usual, making sure that the unique mechanism on the broadsword worked every time.


    Nevertheless, with how he did not face any difficulties in crafting the unique mechanism, he still finished at an above average speedpared to the others, being one of the few dozen people that already gained the rights to move onto the second round.


    Though Valyr knew that he could stop at this point and wait for the second round to start, he went ahead and asked one of the volunteer proctors to give him the fourth blueprint, illustrating a pair of Common+ grade boots. cing the metals needed to craft the boots in the furnace, he looked around his surroundings once more, quickly noticing that over half of the participants had already been disqualified.


    "Aside from the fact that I have the experience needed to craft these equipment without a problem, my forging skills also give me a great advantage." As he waited for the metals to reach the optimal temperature, he went ahead and checked the skill he was using to its greatest limit at the moment, its description screen appearing in his mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious Equipment Creation] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A normal prodigy takes the norm and ascends it to a level few can reach. On the other hand, a true prodigy takes the norm and transforms it into something greater, bing something even prodigies yearn to achieve.


    This skill allows the user to craft any piece of equipment up to Umon grade, as long as they have the blueprint and the materials avable to do so. Due to the user being a true prodigy, all attempts at forging are 3% more likely to be sessful.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Although sess rate isn''t something that could be viewed on the status screen, the fact that I have skills that increase it is definitely helping out," Valyr muttered to himself. "On top of that, I can craft equipment up to Umon grade, whereas I can only craft Common grade stuff with the normal equipment creation skill."


    "Then again, even though I have the ability to craft Umon grade equipment, I''ll tap out once I finish crafting these boots." As he came to this decision, he could not help but let out a light sigh, his head turning in the direction of where Tristan was. From what Tristan knew, Valyr only had the ability to craft Common+ grade equipment at most, with that fact already giving the former great shock.


    Adding on the fact that he knew Valyr from before thetter had even ascended to Rank 1, if Valyr showed that he had the ability to craft Umon grade equipment without a problem, it wouldn''t be surprising if Tristan became suspicious of him. With that, it also wouldn''t be surprising if Tristan spread word of this feat throughout the vige, causing everyone in the vige to question his true origins.


    Of course, Valyr knew that such thinking teetered on the edge of paranoia, being certain that the vige would instead be joyous of the fact Valyr was able to do so much more. But after experiencing so much in his past life, especially with the final battle opening his eyes to the reality of human nature, he decided to err on the side of extreme caution for now.


    In any case, it wouldn''t be the first time he had done something like this. After all, his entire journey so far revolved around that mindset.


    He just didn''t show it on the surface.

 Chapter 103 Innovation

    At some point, Valyr had taken out the metals for the boots and ced them on the anvil, deftly shaping them ording to the instructions that were written on the blueprint he was given. With it being somewhat monotonous in nature, he went ahead and allowed his muscle memory to take over at brief moments while his gaze was focused on the other participants.


    Currently, most of the remaining participants in the area were at the fourth blueprint, with only a scant few still forging ording to the specifications of the third blueprint. On the other hand, the three top contenders, as well as a couple more people, were already on the fifth blueprint.


    Shrugging his shoulders at the thought that he could''ve continued till the fifth blueprint but chose not to, Valyr eventually finished crafting the Common+ grade boots, asking a volunteer proctor toe over and check on the quality of his work.


    Obtaining a thumbs-up from the volunteer proctor, Valyr responded back with a smile and a nod, thanking the former before asking for a copy of the fifth blueprint. However, before the proctor could even give the blueprint to him, Valyr told the proctor if it was only possible to view the fifth blueprint and not craft it, telling them that he did not have the confidence to sessfully forge the equipment specified on the fifth blueprint.


    In response, the volunteer proctor told him it was fine, understanding where Valyr wasing from as he gave Valyr a copy of the fifth blueprint. While thetter was in the middle ofmitting the blueprint to memory, the volunteer proctor recorded the progress Valyr had made during the first round, congratting him on being eligible for the second round soon after.


    Hearing words of congrattions escape the mouth of the volunteer proctor, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle as he thanked the proctor for doing their job. Returning the copy of the fifth blueprint given to him by the proctor, Valyr then left the premises out of his own ord, only to stop in his tracks when the volunteer proctor mentioned something he was interested in.


    "The second round shall begin after a brief respite, making sure that all of the remaining participants in the first round have finished with their attempt," the proctor said to him. "Also, considering that I''ve alreadye across a couple participants who asked the question, the bonus reward from this round shall only be given once the entire tournament is finished."


    "d to hear." Committing the proctor''s words to memory, Valyr resumed leaving the premises, eventually ending up in an area allocated by the town for participants to wait and rest in. Surprisingly, once there, he noticed that there were a few stalls lined up in the area that sold a small selection of drinks, as well as a couple of snacks and light meals.


    Finally feeling the fatigue sink into his body, Valyr could not help but wryly chuckle, reminiscing the times in his past life where fatigue was non-existent. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from ordering a small meal and a drink from the stall to recharge his body, being pleasantly surprised that he didn''t have to pay for them at all.


    With that, he sauntered towards a section of the area that had tables, upying one of them as he watched the remaining participants progress through the first round while eating. Though most of his attention while eating was fixated on the three top contenders, he also shifted his attention towards some of the other participants from time to time, his interest piqued by the fact that they were only slightlygging behind the three top contenders in terms of progress.


    ''I wonder what kind of cksmith sses they have?'' Valyr inwardly muttered, soon attempting to use [Analysis] from afar. Unfortunately, even though the distance between him and the other participants was far less than the distance separating him from the Lesser Tidemother during the monster tide, the skill failed to achieve its purpose.


    However, rather thanment over it, he shrugged his shoulders in response, throwing the tray and cup he had emptied into a nearby waste can as a rted thought soon surfaced in his mind. ''Either way, I should try and be acquaintances with them at the very least. After all, from what I can see, all of them have the potential to be great cksmiths in their own right.''


    With that in mind, Valyr continued to watch the number of participants in the area dwindle down before only one participant was eventually left in the area on their own. Sadly, this participant was neither one of the three top contenders, nor those that somewhat matched the three top contenders in terms of skills, with their progress in the fourth blueprint ultimately ending up in failure.


    Nevertheless, thest participant''s failure marked the end of the first round, with the number of participants remaining after the first round cut to half of what it originally was. Knowing how much energy and stamina all of the participants have consumed during the first round, all of the participants, both eligible and non-eligible for the second round, were given ess to free food and drinks.


    Of course, such a gesture was positively received by everyone as Hyun announced to everyone that the second round shall start half an hour from now. Hearing that, almost everyone who had passed the first round let out loud sighs of relief before ordering food and drinks from the nearby stalls, intending to replenish their energy before the next round began.


    As Valyr had finished his first round earlier than the others, he decided to stroll around on his own around town for a bit, sparing a brief nce at Tristan before leaving, only to find out that thetter had fallen asleep. While wandering around town on his own, he could not help but ponder over the possible things he could do after the tournament and the dungeon back at the vige.


    Eventually, just as the half hour respite was over, Valyr had returned to where the tournament was being held, arriving just in time to be able to hear Hyun discuss the mechanics of the second round.


    "To all of the participants that have passed through the first round, I can say without a doubt that all of you have solid foundations, being able to follow blueprints to the letter." As Hyun said this, a light smile adorned his face.


    Though, this smile turned into a slightly mischievous grin as he continued. "However, as we all know, most of the skills us cksmiths have are not meant to be used to follow what the blueprints tell us to do. Instead, we use the blueprints as a guide, allowing us to go beyond the limits of the blueprints and craft enhanced versions of the items on the blueprints."


    "In fact, that''s what the second round shall be testing in all of you," Hyun said. "To see if you have the ability to think outside the box and exceed the specifications of the blueprints given to you. With that, this second round is called¡­"


    "Innovation."

 Chapter 104 Unintentional Result

    Hearing the general motive behind the second round, most of the participants in front of the raised tform could not help but murmur as they looked at each other, slightly nervous as they wondered whether they had what it took to innovate on an existing blueprint. Of course, the three top contenders were an exception to this, with Nathan and Shadow having solemn expressions while Denise approached the second round with arge grin on her face.


    After all, the reason why she had be a top contender in the tournament was due to her feat of improving the result of a Common grade blueprint to Umon+ grade.


    Aside from those three, a few more participants listened to Hyun''s exnation without any changes in expression, being confident in their ability to innovate beyond the specifications of blueprints. Naturally, Valyr also fell under this category, already knowing what he had to do in order to achieve such a feat.


    Watching the reactions of the remaining participants, Hyun could not help but let out a light chuckle before exining the overall mechanic of the second round. "For this round, the participants are free to choose a Common grade blueprint of their liking from the selection of blueprints, courtesy of the cksmith Guild, that everyone can see in front of me."


    As he said that, a volunteer had coincidentally brought out a bulletin board for all of the participants to see, with the blueprints they could choose from already being attached on the board.


    Just as everyone was about to start choosing the blueprints they would like to forge during the second round, Hyun told them to stay where they were, informing them that his exnation regarding the second round''s mechanic still wasn''t over. "All of you will have the chance to choose your blueprintter. For now, listen to what I have to say."


    "So, as I''ve said mentioned earlier, the participants are free to choose a blueprint of their liking from the bulletin board in front of them. Now, this blueprint that they have chosen shall be the blueprint that they would have to improve upon, the goal of which is to forge an enhanced version of the specified item on the blueprint," he said, nodding in satisfaction once everyone had gone silent.


    "Now, you might be wondering: what separates an enhanced output from a normal output?" He looked at the participants, his expression slightly yful. "Well, for this round, we have enlisted the help of one of the cksmith Guild''s item appraisers, Marion."


    "Marion, would you take it from here?" As Hyun asked this question, a man in his prime had appeared beside him, emanating a schrly aura around him as he nodded at the former''s words.


    "The minimum threshold for an output to be considered ''enhanced'' is for it to have a plus modifier," Marion started to exin. "For those in the audience that still don''t understand, say for example that we have a Common grade blueprint. Now, a normal output with that kind of blueprint would be Common grade equipment. With that in mind, an enhanced output from a Common grade blueprint would be Common+ grade equipment."


    "Of course, the word ''enhanced'' is a catch-all term, which means that plus modifiers are not the only indicator that the result from forging a blueprint is enhanced," he continued. "An enhanced output could also appear in the form of an increase in item grade. For example, a Common grade blueprint creating an Umon grade output."


    "Hopefully that enlightens our audience, as well as our participants regarding the objective for this round of the tournament." With that, Marion nodded at Hyun beside him before turning around to leave. Taking in a deep breath, Hyun focused his gaze at the participants in front of him before lightly nodding.


    "Are there any more questions?" he asked, to which he obtained no response.


    "Alright, since it seems all of you understand what you need to do for this round, please form a line in front of the bulletin board and choose a blueprint from the selection one by one." Nodding in satisfaction, Hyun then instructed the participants on what they needed to do. "One of the volunteers shall be recording the blueprint that you have chosen, so make sure to choose your blueprint wisely."


    Hearing Hyun''s words, everyone in the area lined up in front of the bulletin before choosing a blueprint out of the multiple ones posted on the bulletin board. While waiting in line, Valyr pondered over which blueprint to take, only for his train of thought to shift as Hyun btedly gave them more information regarding the second round.


    "I almost forgot to mention." Hyun had an apologetic smile on his face. "Unlike the first round, where all of the equipment you forge shall be given to the cksmith Guild, anything you forge during the second round¡­ you can keep."


    Naturally, a bit of mor was raised after the announcement, with those that have already chosenining that they hadn''t been informed of that fact beforehand. In response, Hyun gave them a brief apology before giving them a chance to choose another blueprint if their decision regarding the blueprint they would forge had changed.


    With a few hups here and there, the line eventually started to once more, with Valyr''s turn eventuallying up. Standing in front of the bulletin board, Valyr pointed at the only spear tip blueprint without hesitation, prompting the volunteer beside the board to nod before recording the decision Valyr had made.


    ''Since Hyun said that we''re free to keep the equipment we forge during the second round, well I don''t see why I shouldn''t craft a metal spear tip,'' Valyr thought to himself, walking towards the forge he had upied in the first round after being told by the volunteer to head to his respective forge.


    ''After all, a metal spear tip is far sharper than a wooden one. Plus, given that the spear tip I''ll use to modify my spear with is Common+ grade at the very least, there''s a chance that the spear overall will be upgraded to Umon. Who knows?'' With those thoughts in mind, Valyr pondered over his forging process for the second round while he waited for all of the participants to choose their respective blueprints and head to their respective forges.


    Once thest participant had arrived at their respective forge, Hyun signaled the start of the second round without hesitation, earning a round of cheers and apuse from the audience as all of the participants read through the blueprints that they have chosen.


    Being one of the earlier ones to arrive at his forge, Valyr went ahead and chucked the metal the blueprint asked for into the furnace as he recalled what he had done during Tristan''s quest where he had forged an improved version of the copper dagger. ''As long as I utilize [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] properly, it wouldn''t be a problem for me to craft a Common+ grade spear tip.''


    With that in mind, Valyr confidently took out the metal from the furnace once it had reached the optimal temperature for forging, cing it on the anvil as he started to hammer at it. At some point, he had found a rhythm to hammer the metal into a spear tip, activating the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] once the metal had roughly taken on the shape of a spear tip.


    At that moment, multiple inconsistencies on the surface of the metal had been revealed, prompting Valyr to try and hammer out these inconsistencies while heating up the metal from time to time to maintain its malleability. Eventually, after checking that there were no more inconsistencies he could find through [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], he heated up the spear tip in the furnace onest time before quenching it in a nearby barrel of oil.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound echo in his mind, Valyr wiped off the excess oil dripping from the newly crafted spear tip as he looked at the notification he had received.


    [You have sessfully forged the item: Exquisite Spear Tip. Quality has been rated at Great.]


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c Nodding in satisfaction, a light smile soon appeared on his face when he noticed that a prefix was added to the original name of the blueprint. Soon after, he went ahead and used [Analysis] on the spear tip, curious as to what its grade was. However, once he found out, he could not help but hiss out in surprise, letting out a sigh soon after.


    ''Well¡­ this is definitely unexpected.''

 Chapter 105 Standing Out

    As he read through the description of the spear tip he had just forged, a wry smile could not help but appear on Valyr''s face.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Exquisite Spear Tip] (Level 5)


    Rarity: Umon


    Attack: 11 - 19


    Originally a normal metal spear tip, the person who forged this has ced great care and attention to detail towards the overall feel and bnce of the spear tip, allowing it to transcend the shackles of its original blueprints and unlock a portion of thetent potential hidden within.


    As the person who forged this is considered a true prodigy, this unlockedtent potential is transformed and realized into actual power, allowing it to ascend to a higher rank, befitting of a craft made a true prodigy.


    Remarks: It''s very useless in its current form, unless if you used it as an improvised dagger. Turn it into an actual spear.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I''m pretty sure I did all of the things the way I did them back when I was crafting the dagger for Tristan''s quest," Valyr muttered to himself, watching as the others gave their forged works to the volunteer proctors, thetter having the item''s grade verified. "If so, then the output should have only been a Common+ grade spear tip. How the hell did I end up making an Umon one?"


    Scratching his head in slight confusion, Valyr closed the screen before him as he heard some of the participants'' works not being an enhanced version of the item they''ve chosen to forge. As he continued to ponder over the main reason why his spear tip had ascended to the next grade, he called for a volunteer proctor.


    Once a volunteer proctor had arrived, he gave the spear tip to the former for it to be verified by one of the multiple item appraisers on standby for the second round. Eventually, once his spear tip had arrived at one of the item appraisers, Valyr had finally figured out the reason for the change.


    "To think I''ve forgotten to consider the fact I''ve ascended to Rank 1¡­" With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and perused through the list of skills he currently owned, finding the one that caused the increase in grade not too long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious Forging Mastery] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A normal prodigy takes the norm and ascends it to a level few can reach. On the other hand, a true prodigy takes the norm and transforms it into something greater, bing something even prodigies yearn to achieve.


    This skill allows the user to be more familiar with forging, as well as the various techniques that go into forging, increasing the user''s sess rate in forging an item by 3%, as well as increasing the user''s chances of crafting an item of a higher grade by 0.1%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "A one in a thousand chance, yet it still happened." Closing up the screen before him, Valyr could not help but let out a bitter chuckle, thinking that the spear tip being Umon grade would definitely attract the attention of others.


    And unsurprisingly, it did.


    "Hmm?" As one of the item appraisers identified the spear tip Valyr had crafted with [Analysis], their eyes could not help but widen in surprise, thinking that the most the participants could do in this round was to add a plus modifier to the equipment''s grade.


    Wanting to make sure they weren''t seeing wrongly, the item appraiser used [Analysis] on the spear tip multiple times after that, verifying with their own eyes that the spear tip was indeed at Umon grade. However, rather than call a volunteer proctor and end it there by announcing Valyr''s eligibility for the third round, the item appraiser instead gave it to the most important appraiser among all of them.


    "What''s this?" Receiving the spear tip given to him by one of the volunteer proctors, Marion could not help but look at the item with a hint of dubiousness, wondering why such an item had been given to him. However, simr to the reaction of the first item appraiser that had identified it, when Marion used [Greater Analysis] on the item, his eyes widened in surprise as his mouth went slightly agape.


    "U-Umon grade!" Marion eximed all of a sudden, causing most, if not all of the participants to stop what they were doing and sharply inhale a bit of air in shock. In their minds, the chances of them being able to produce an item with a plus modifier was already incredibly low¡­ yet someone among them was still able to produce an Umon grade version of their chosen blueprint?


    "Is it through sheer luck?" Naturally, as her reason for being a top contender was the fact that she had greatly improved an equipment''s grade, Denise could not help but raise her eyebrow in curiosity while she continued to forge her equipment. "Or¡­ does the person have a skill that allows them to do that like me?"


    Realizing what he had just done, Marion cleared his throat and quicklyposed himself, his shocked expression to the stoic one he had earlier. Taking in a deep breath, he then announced to everyone, "The creator of this spear tip is eligible to move onto the third round of the tournament."


    Hearing that, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief. At first, he was fearful that his name would be mentioned by the item appraiser, or perhaps the number of the forge he was upying. But with how the item appraiser phrased it, such a dilemma had quickly disappeared from his mind¡­


    Only to appear in his mind once more not long after.


    "Congrattions on bing eligible for the third round. You may head to the waiting area, sir." Just as Valyr thought he was safe from being recognized, a volunteer proctor hade up to his forge and told him that he may head to the waiting area. Naturally, with how the two events seemed to have happened one after the other, it did not take long for many of the participants there to put two and two together.


    Of course, even the audience had connected the two events together, prompting most of them to look in the direction of Valyr as he slowly made his way towards the waiting area for the participants that had passed the current round. Unsurprisingly, such a feat had caused the audience to cheer for what Valyr had achieved, though thetter did not acknowledge the cheer at all, instead continuing to walk with his head down.


    However, while he was walking, he heard a familiar voice resound from the crowd, prompting Valyr to stop in his tracks and look in the direction of that voice, only to find Tristan cheering him on with great fervor and enthusiasm. Seeing that, Valyr could not help but have conflicting emotions stirring up inside him for a bit, wondering whether he should continue to try and ignore the feat he had done to stay low-key, or respond to the feat somewhat.


    Eventually, just before he had truly entered the waiting area, Valyr shed a thumbs-up in Tristan''s direction before grinning, showing how proud he was of his achievement to thetter.

 Chapter 106 New Creation

    By the time Valyr had entered the waiting area and sat on a vacant seat, while continuing to watch the second round unfold, a carefree smile gradually crept up his face, his body feeling somewhat rxed for some reason. Letting out a light sigh, this smile soon turned into a chuckle, thinking about the reaction Tristan gave him in response to the feat he had just done.


    "It really feels nice to have people you know find out that you can actually do more than they think you do," Valyr muttered to himself, cognizant of the fact that the worst-case scenario in his head was highly unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, a wry smile soon appeared on his face, reminding himself to hide his abilities once he and Tristan returned back to the vige.


    "Well, since I''ve already gotten this far, why not see it to the very end?" With that in mind, Valyr took in a deep breath before letting out a sigh, his expression solemn as he remembered a promise he had made to himself at the beginning of his journey. In his mind, it would be in his best interest to act like a newbie while he was in Astarto Vige, given the fact that he was Level 1.


    Of course, there were many ways for him to increase the speed at which he was leveling since he had a treasure trove of knowledge in his mind. Unfortunately, it would be difficult for him to exin to others in the vige how he had such a great amount of knowledge while still being at Level 1. With that, it was just better for him to not let others know that he knew of such things instead.


    Naturally, it would be unwise for him to act like a newbie for his entire journey to the top while having such vast knowledge. And thus, he added an addendum to his promise, telling himself that he would drop the act once he left the vige for good.


    Continuing to watch the second round unfold, Valyr could not help but ponder over how he was going to approach the third round of the tournament, thinking that the third round would probably need him to show more than what he was currently doing. Eventually, after recalling the pride Tristan felt from what he had done in the second round, he came to a conclusion.


    ''Well, it''s a given I''m going to fade into obscurity after this. After all, it''ll be a long while till I do something like this again,'' he thought to himself. With that, he cracked his fingers and grinned, hispetitive me rekindling back into existence.


    ''It wouldn''t hurt showing a bit more of my skills onest time.''


    ¡­


    Eventually, by the time the sun had passed its peak, the second round was officially dered to be over, with Valyr surprisingly being one of the only few that had forged an Umon grade variant of the blueprint they''ve chosen. Realizing this, Valyr could not help but have a wry smile on his face as some of the participants that had passed the second round went to him and asked for some tips regarding the feat he had achieved.


    In response to the multiple rounds of questioning, Valyr decided to stay humble, telling those that asked him that he had just gotten lucky to be able to craft that product. In fact, he had also said the same thing to Denise, who went out of her way to also ask him regarding the feat he had achieved.


    Naturally, Denise didn''t buy it. "I feel like you''re hiding something."


    With this thought in mind, she tried every method she could think of to try and have Valyr tell her his secret, curious if they had a simr skill. Unfortunately for her, Valyr didn''t even budge a single bit under her incessant questioning. Eventually, Denise grew tired, prompting thetter to inwardly let out a sigh of relief after she turned around and headed to another part of the waiting area. "Fine. Keep your secrets, then."


    "What''s her problem?" As her silhouette gradually disappeared from his field of vision, Valyr could not help but have a slight frown on his face, wondering why she was forcing him to spill his secrets. Coming to the conclusion that it might be rted due to her rise to poprity, he swiftly ced the matter at the back of his head. "If that''s the reason behind her questioning¡­ how narrow-minded."


    Thankfully, after that small incident, not much else happened aside from a few more people sincerely asking him for tips. With that, he was able to face the third round with a tranquil mind as him and the other participants that passed the second round stood in front of the raised tform once more.


    "These cksmiths standing in front of us have passed through the past two rounds, showing everyone that they have what it takes to be great cksmiths." Being the one who informed the participants and the audience regarding the mechanics of every round, Hyun decided to shift the limelight to the remaining participants for now, earning a round of apuse from the audience thanks to his words.


    "However, only a certain few have what it takes to go beyond great and stand on a league of their own. With that in mind, this third round would allow us to find out just that." Hearing these words, almost everyone went silent, curious to hear what Hyun would say next.


    "The first round tests the cksmiths'' ability to follow blueprints and forge equipment in general. On the other hand, the second round tests the cksmiths'' ability to go beyond the blueprints, allowing us to see if they have what it takes to think outside the box." At that moment, most of the participants had a feeling of what the third round was going to be, having bitter expressions on their faces as they hadn''t gotten much practice in that aspect of forging yet.


    Noticing the bitter expressions on the remaining participants'' faces, Hyun had an apologetic smile on his face as he announced the third round''s mechanics. "With that in mind, the third round tests the cksmiths'' ability to not rely on blueprints at all, essentially returning to the essence of forging in general."


    "To forge something from scratch."


    Hearing Hyun''s words, the bitter expressions on most participants'' faces had be despondent, epting the fact that their possibility of iming one of the top spots had be next to nil. But of course, there were still those who had confident expressions on their faces, such as the three top contenders, and those who were inwardly confident, such as Valyr.


    ''What I''ll do during this round will rely on the mechanics Hyun tells us,'' Valyr thought to himself, a bitter smile appearing on his face after he thought of a few oundish rules Hyun could say. ''In any case, I hope the mechanics don''t force me to go overboard.''


    "For this third round, all of the participants are instructed to create a blueprint from scratch that outlines the new piece of equipment they shall make. As long as the equipment that the participant forges is something that has never been seen before in some way, then they pass the third round."


    When the participants heard this, a few of the people''s faces lit up in response, thinking that they would just substitute one material for another on an existing blueprint before iming it as a new one. But of course, Hyun already knew something like that was going to happen. "Of course, changing the materials or the dimensions of an already existing blueprint doesn''t count as a new piece of equipment. So, if you''re thinking of doing that for this round, stop it."


    "What the cksmith Guild wants to see in this tournament is the creativity the pioneers of the new generation of cksmiths have. And I do hope you show us that," Hyun said with a solemn expression.


    "Show us your new creation."

 Chapter 107 Red Blossom

    As the audience cheered on for the participants, excited and expectant to see what kind of new things the cksmiths standing in front of them would forge, most of thetter had sullen expressions on their faces, sauntering to their respective forges as they wondered if they could think of a new piece of equipment that could be considered never seen before.


    While most were despairing over the rules of the third round, Valyr could not help but inwardly curse as he made his way to his forge, scratching his head as he pondered over what he was going to do for this round. ''And here I thought I could just swap materials for an existing blueprint and call it a day.''


    ''Then again, that really wouldn''t count as making something from scratch, so there is merit to the rules.'' Shrugging his shoulders as he came to terms with the rules, he continued to ponder over what type of equipment he was going to create, taking into consideration that it shouldn''t go beyond what a Rank 1 cksmith can do. Eventually, after going through multiple ideas in his mind, a certain idea soon surfaced in his mind, a smile appearing on his face as he thought more about it.


    ''That might just be unique enough to pass the third round.'' With a light chuckle, he went ahead and called over a volunteer proctor to his forge. Once the volunteer proctor was there, Valyr then asked them if it was possible for him to ess the Technology Tree during the third round, thinking that there was a chance for his request to be denied.


    On the contrary, the volunteer proctor gave him a thumbs-up and told him it was fine, eliciting a slightly confused expression to appear on Valyr''s face for a bit as he could remember that essing the Technology Tree in most tournaments in his previous life was not allowed. After mulling over the reason for a minute or so, he decided that it was useless to think about, cing the matter at the back of his head as the screen containing Technology Tree appeared in front of him.


    Heading over to the Innovation section of the tree, he looked at the advancements he had unlocked thus far before checking how many Technology Points he had still left over after ascending. "Currently at the Neolithic Age and I have around 40 points to spare¡­ yeah, I think it''s enough to get there."


    Chuckling at the idea he had in mind for the equipment he was going to make for this round, he swiftly unlocked more advancements on the Innovation section, his mind being inundated with knowledge from the Copper Age and the Iron Age, only stopping himself once he had unlocked a couple advancements from the Ancient Age.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancements <Basic Knowledge: Copper Age Lv. 1>, ¡­]


    [You have unlocked the advancements <Basic Knowledge: Iron Age Lv. 1>, ¡­]


    ¡­


    [You have unlocked the advancements <Basic Knowledge: Ancient Age Lv. 1>, ¡­]


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Ancient Age Lv. 1>.]


    Feeling an influx of information regarding a specific set of knowledge from the Ancient Age enter his mind, Valyr quickly processed and organized through it, eventually finding the knowledge he needed as he went ahead and activated [True Prodigious Blueprint Creation].


    Ding!


    At the very instant he had activated the skill, an adequately sized screen appeared beside the screen that contained his Technology Tree, which currently contained a small string of words, as well as a holographic cube that slowly rotated on its axis.


    Looking at the slowly rotating cube for a bit, Valyr went over his idea once more, thinking as to whether something like it was feasible. After a couple of minutes, he inwardly nodded to himself as he closed up the Technology Tree, allowing him to focus his full attention on the blueprint creation screen.


    "This mechanism would be moremonly found in the more modern ages, but thank the heavens the game system also decided to add knowledge of fictional weapons for certain technological eras into the Technology Tree." While starting to manipte the cube to take shape of the weapon he had envisioned, Valyr could not help but let out yet another chuckle.


    "Who knew I''d be adapting the mechanism of a hidden de for a new blueprint?" With such a thought in mind, Valyr went ahead and fine-tuned the design of the new weapon he was going to craft, with the general design of the weapon being a simple dagger.


    However, since the goal for the third round was for one to craft a piece of equipment never seen before, Valyr added a function to the dagger wherein if he pushed the button affixed to the end of the handle, the lower half of the dagger would spread outwards in the middle as a smaller de extended out of it. In his mind, such a weapon would most likely be used by assassins since it allowed one to deal great damage while still being portable.


    "Hmm¡­ I''ll have to take into consideration that the dagger before the activation must stay rtively sharp in order to pierce through the flesh, allowing the de inside to deal the greatest amount of damage." While continuing to form his blueprint, Valyr thought about the pros and cons of such a weapon, utilizing his past life''s experience to the fullest. "Since the de inside the dagger would have to cut through muscle, it would probably be better if I used a sturdier metal for it."


    "Perhaps iron for the outeryer, then azure iron for the de inside. I guess that kind of configuration would work."


    "Now that I think about it, it''s also possible for me to just have the inner de be shot deeper into the person''s body rather than extending out and retracting." Unsurprisingly, he had be engrossed into the creation process of his entry for the third round, bing a repeat of what had happened during the first time he had forged in front of Tristan.


    Fortunately, the period at which he had be engrossed was far shorter, his thoughtsing to a consensus by the time he snapped back to reality. "Do I want a dagger that can deal a monstrous amount of damage one time, or do I want a dagger that deals a lot of damage again and again?"


    "Yeah, I think I know what I should do at this point."


    With his mind made up, Valyr swiftly modified the piece of equipment shown on the blueprint creation screen in front of him, pulling up snippets from his past life''s experience here and there as an exquisite-looking dagger was eventually shown on the screen. Looking at the minimum grade the system gave the equipment, Valyr could not help but scratch his head with a wry smile. "A Common+ grade dagger¡­ on second thought, that actually makes sense."


    Commanding the system that his blueprint wasplete, he then asked a volunteer proctor to procure him some of the materials he would need for the item he was going to forge. By the time the proctor had left to obtain those items, a prompt appeared in front of him.


    Ding!


    [Please name your blueprint.]


    Thinking about the purpose of the equipment, as well as the aftermath that possibly came once used, it did not take too long for him toe up with a fitting name.


    "Red Blossom."

 Chapter 108 Final Ranking

    As he checked through the blueprint he had created once more to make sure nothing was wrong, the volunteer proctor he had asked earlier had returned to his forge, carrying along the items Valyr requested. Nodding in response as he received the items, Valyr thanked the man for taking the time as he redirected his attention once more to the equipment he was going to craft.


    However, just as the proctor was about to head to another part of the area to help other participants, Valyr opened his mouth and asked the man a question, stopping the former from his tracks. "I''ve only thought about it just now, but I am kind of curious. What happened to the spear tip I forged during the second round?"


    Listening to the question for a bit, the proctor went silent before retrieving a small tablet from their pocket, infusing it with mana. After interacting with the tablet for a bit, a look of understanding appeared on the proctor''s face as he returned his gaze to Valyr in front of him. "Well, as the host has mentioned earlier, you''ll be able to keep the equipment you''ve forged during the second round. With that in mind, the equipment you''ve forged shall be given to you once the final rankings have been announced. I hope this eases your worries."


    "It does. Thank you." Letting the proctor return to what he was doing, Valyr shifted his gaze back to the forge surrounding him, chucking in the metals he had specified on the blueprint into the furnace. With a solemn expression, he attentively watched the metals with [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] active, fanning the furnace''s mes from time to time to make sure the metals were reaching the optimal temperature smoothly.


    Eventually, he took out the metals from the furnace, hammering them into the parts he needed in order to craft Red Blossom. Finding a rhythm within minutes, it did not take long for the two major parts of Red Blossom to be forged, prompting him to grab the items the proctor had given him earlier as he started tobine the two into a single piece of equipment.


    Thanks to the knowledge he had obtained from the Technology Tree, as well as his copious amounts of experience tinkering with mechanisms more intricate than the one he was currently making, it did not take long for Valyr toplete the new piece of equipment, looking at what he had done with a light smile on his face. ''I guess this is the first piece of equipment I can consider I''m proud of forging.''


    With that, he grabbed a whetstone he had been soaking in water ever since the round began, cing it on the desk before using it to sharpen the edges of the weapon''s outer de. Once he was done sharpening the outer de, he then proceeded with the inner de, making sure to not bend the inner de too much to the point that it would crack.


    After he was satisfied with how sharp the inner and outer de was, he ced the whetstone to the side before returning the weapon to its initial form, waving it around the way a dagger user would use it. Then, after feeling that there were no problems with the initial form, he changed his grip on the dagger, pressing down on the button on the end of the handle as he thrust the weapon forward. In an instant, the outer de split into two as the inner de quickly extended out of it.


    Seeing Valyr test out his new piece of equipment in their peripheral vision, some of the other participants that surrounded his forge could not help but take in a breath of cold air at the sight, feeling as if all hope was lost. As for the others, the sight of Valyr testing his weapon''s effectiveness sparked a new idea in their minds, causing blueprints toe into fruition. Of course, there were also those who looked at the sight with jealousy, thinking of ways to make the original piece of equipment they were crafting even better.


    Nevertheless, Valyr ignored all of the looks he had gotten, returning the dagger into its initial form as he went ahead and identified it with [Analysis], nodding in satisfaction not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Red Blossom] (Level 10)


    Rarity: Common+


    Attack: 12 - 20 (outer de) | 15 - 25 (inner de)


    A piece of equipment that has taken inspiration from the whimsical stories of fiction and fantasy. This dagger allows the user to deal more damage than they should, with the initial form of the dagger being akin to anymon dagger. However, once the user presses on the well-disguised button on the tip of the handle, the dagger blossoms, revealing a far deadlier de that would turn any injury grievous.


    The cksmith that crafted this piece of equipment has ced great care and attention into every step, allowing the materials making up the weapon to show more of its hidden potential.


    Remarks: It''s surprisingly good¡­ but of course, it could always be better.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Closing up the screen before him, Valyr then called for a volunteer proctor and gave the dagger to the person, telling them to be careful with it. Nodding, the volunteer proctor responded back by telling him that since he had finished the third round of the tournament, he was now free to leave the premises and return when the final rankings were announced.


    Thanking the man, Valyr soon left the designated area for the tournament, only to be greeted by a familiar person at the very moment he had finally squeezed his way out of the crowd that surrounded it.


    "Care to tell me where you learned all that stuff?" In front of him, Tristan had a wide yet proud grin on his face.


    Seeing the man''s grin, Valyr grinned back, deciding to use the same excuse he came up with back then. "Learned all of that while I was gone from the vige. Surely you didn''t expect me to only learn how to forge equipment ording to a blueprint while I was gone?"


    "Why would I?" Hearing Valyr''s response, Tristan could not help but let out a chuckle, wrapping his arm over the former''s shoulders. "In any case, you''ve definitely showed what you''re capable of out there."


    "You think I have a shot at getting one of the top spots?" Inwardly sighing in relief that Tristan did not pursue the matter of his skills any further, Valyr posed this question to him.


    "Well, I don''t see why not." Tristan shrugged his shoulders. "After all, you''ve definitely surprised the crowd with what you did during the second round, including me."


    "In any case, you''ve reached the end of the tournament on your first go at it."


    "That alone is already something to be proud of."

 Chapter 109 Shards, Crystals, And More

    Feeling his heart warm up from Tristan''s words, Valyr went ahead and gave the man a sincere thanks as the two of them continued to watch the remaining participants in the third round finish up their entries. While doing so, they talked about which new piece of equipment the participants seemed the most interesting, with a couple of the equipments making them go ck-jawed in slight wonder.


    Eventually, all of the participants that remained in the third round had finished forging their entries, with most of them having despondent expressions as they left the premises. Nevertheless, hidden beneath the despondence on their faces was the feeling of satisfaction, inwardly proud of themselves that they had been able to reach the end of the tournament with their own effort.


    With that, the audience surrounding the designated area for the tournament dispersed for now while the judges of the tournament assessed the performance of every participant that hadsted until the end of the third round. As it seemed that it would take quite a while for the final rankings to be announced, most of them wandered through the other areas where the Forge Festival was being held, with Tristan and Valyr visiting most of the food stalls they came across along the way.


    By the time the sun was only a couple hours away from setting, an announcement soon resounded throughout the town, prompting a great portion of the people in town to head towards the area for the tournament, including the participants. Fortunately, as they had only roamed within the periphery of the tournament area, Tristan and Valyr were able to get prime spots for themselves, their curiosity of who won what bursting at the seams.


    Thankfully, the one to satiate their curiosity had arrived a couple minutester, with Hyun standing at the center of the raised tform with a calm smile on his face.


    "Before I start my announcement, I would like to tell everyone that I am honored to be the one announcing the rankings of this year''s Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament." Hearing those words, a great portion of the audience let out cheers. On the other hands, most of the participants that reached the third round watched on with bated breaths, nervous as to whether they had upied one of the top spots.


    "Well, let''s not dy this any further, shall we?" With a grin, Hyun retrieved a scroll from one of the pockets in his inner robe, unfurling it before hoisting it up in the air with a bit of mana. Taking a couple steps back to see the entire contents of the scroll with one nce, he then cleared his throat, his voice booming throughout the vicinity soon after.


    "In first ce, Nathan Forgers with his zing Cuss!" As he said these words, a man appeared beside Hyun, brandishing the de that was forged by Nathan as the entire de portion of the weapon zed with a fiery red me.


    Looking at it, Valyr inwardly nodded in understanding as to how he had gotten first ce. ''As expected from a Forger of the Red ze.''


    "In second ce¡­ Denise Paulson with her Rainfall Star!" Just like what was done for Nathan''s weapon, Denise''s weapon was soon brought out, revealing a throwing star that, when thrown, split up into smaller throwing stars. Watching Denise''s weapon in action, he could not help but think about adapting the same mechanism in his entry, only to ce the matter to the back of his head soon after with a chuckle.


    "In third ce¡­ Julianna Meyers with her Whitesh Lance!" Hearing this name, most of the audience were taken aback, thinking that Shadow would be the one taking third ce. This thought soon became the main thought of many when the weapon was brandished. Unlike the first two weapons, there were no mechanisms at all.


    Only pure speed.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With every wave, thrust, and chop of thence, a strong gust of wind would arise, prompting most of the participants toe to an unanimous agreement that Julianna was deserving of third ce. After all, none of them could say that they had a level of foundation as solid as her to be able to do that.


    "After that, we move onto fourth and fifth ce, with Shadow''s Nightfall Dagger and Valyr''s Red Blossom taking those spots respectively." Hearing his name mentioned, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise, only for it to return to normal soon after as he looked at Tristan beside him. Seeing the man genuinely happy for him, Valyr could not help but sh a grin as the two of them celebrated his victory.


    ''To be honest, I was expecting myself to be ced lower. After all, I haven''t even utilized everything in my arsenal,'' Valyr thought to himself as he continued to listen to Hyun announced the ones at sixth to tenth ce. ''Hmm¡­ it''s probably because of that mechanism I implemented.''


    ''Either way, I can''t change anything about that. I am quite curious as to what kind of rewards I can obtain, though.'' With that in mind, Valyr perked up his ears to listen to Hyun''s next words, expectant of the prizes he and the others would get.


    Seeing as everyone''s attention was fixated on him, Hyun did not waste any time and told everyone of the prizes those at the top 10 would get. "For the one at first ce, they would get 100 Technology Points, the freedom to choose four recipes up to Umon grade from the cksmith Guild''s blueprint archives, a promotion to Elite Member¡­"


    "¡­as well as a Common grade Skill Crystal."


    At the very moment Valyr heard the term ''Skill Crystal'', his mind went nk for a second, not expecting a town to have ess to such a precious resource. In his memories, only those living in cities andrger settlements would be able to get their hands on something like that.


    And that would only be avable in auctions!


    However, it did not take long for Valyr to find out the reason why such a precious resource was found at a town-level tournament. ''Since the cksmith Guild is behind this tournament¡­ then it makes sense.''


    With that in mind, he eagerly listened to the prizes of those at second ce and below, wanting to find out what he would get.


    "For second ce, they would obtain 80 Technology Points, the freedom to choose three recipes, a promotion to Elite Member, as well as seven Common grade Skill Shards."


    As he heard Hyun mention Skill Crystals before, hearing Skill Shards being mentioned did not surprise him as much. Though, he was definitely curious as to how many he would get. After all, having ess to a couple Skill Shards would definitely allow him to save a great amount of time grinding.


    Why? That was because Skill Shards and Skill Crystals had the ability to raise a skill''s level without needing to spend XP!


    Considering how Hyun announced that the prize for the one at first was a Skill Crystal, it was quite apparent as to how precious one waspared to the other. A Skill Shard increased a skill''s level by one. Inparison, a Skill Crystal increased a skill''s level to their maximum. However, only Skill Shards and Skill Crystals of the same grade to the skill could be used.


    Aside from that, higher rarity Skill Crystals would only be able to increase a skill''s level to the nearest 10 rather than maxing them out. Though he knew the exact reason behind it, Valyr ced the thought at the back of his head for now, attentively listening to Hyun talk about the prizes for the one at fifth ce.


    "For fourth and fifth ce, they would obtain 40 Technology Points, the freedom to choose one recipe from the cksmith Guild''s blueprint archive, a promotion to Elite Member, as well as three Common grade Skill Shards."


    ''Coincidentally, that''s enough Skill Shards for me to max out [Analysis].'' Chuckling at the thought, Valyr pondered over how he was going to allocate the Skill Shards. Though, this thought onlysted for a while as he thought about the recipe he could obtain from the guild''s blueprint archives. ''I wonder if they have that recipe avable?''


    As he continued to ponder over how he was going to use his prizes wisely, Hyun eventually finished announcing the prizes for those at sixth to tenth ce, as well as the bonus rewards for those who had finished the fourth and fifth blueprint in the first round, which was more or less a considerable chunk of Technology Points.


    "And with that, I announce that today''s Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament is officially over."


    "Congrattions to everyone that took the time to participate and I hope to see you the following year."

 Chapter 110 Claiming Prizes

    With Hyun''s announcement signaling the end of the tournament, almost everyone in the audience dispersed and went their own ways, spending the remaining daylight on other stalls that were part of the Forge Festival. In fact, the participants were also of the same mind, thinking that there was no point staying around the tournament area anymore. However, once they heard Hyun''s voice resound once more, almost all of them stopped in their tracks.


    "Since the crowd is now gone, may I ask all of the participants to head to the cksmith Guild?" Hyun opened his mouth as he looked at the people that remained. "For those part of the top ten, you may head to the leftmost counters in the main hall to receive your rewards. As for those who obtained bonuses from the first round, you may head to the middle counters."


    "And for those who participated in the tournament to gain experience¡­ you may head to the rightmost counters and im 10 Technology Points from the guild. Consider it the least the cksmith Guild can give you for your efforts." Hearing this, all of the participants made their way to the cksmith Guild''s building as Hyun watched them move with a light chuckle.


    Of course, as part of the top ten, Valyr was also obligated to head to the cksmith Guild. With that, he told Tristan that he would be in the guild for a while, to which thetter told him to take his time.


    And so, Valyr, Nathan, and many others made their way to the cksmith Guild, quickly lining up on the counters that were next to empty at the current time. With how many participants were disqualified during the first and second round, it was no surprise that the rightmost counters were the ones with the most lines.


    Inparison, the leftmost counters were all barren, with only the top ten from the tournament there. Naturally, because of that, the speed at which they were attended to was swift, allowing Valyr toe face-to-face with the attendant behind the counter a few minutester.


    "Name?" The attendant on the other side looked at Valyr.


    "Valyr." After responding to the question, Valyr watched as the attendant brought out a thin tablet before infusing mana into it from time to time. Eventually, the attendant ced the tablet to the side, nodding before extending his arm out.


    "Identification badge please." Hearing that, Valyr retrieved the iron identification badge from his pocket before giving it to the attendant. Nodding, the attendant said to him, "It''ll take a while for your identification badge to be updated, so let us move onto the other rewards for now."


    At the very moment the attendant finished saying that, a screen appeared in front of the man''s field of vision, interacting with it for a bit. Not long after, a couple notification sounds resounded within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to take a look at what he had received.


    Ding!


    [You have received 40 Technology Points.]


    [You have been rewarded 5,000 merit points. You have been promoted to [Rank 1 ¡ª Elite Member]. Earn 10,000 more merit points to raise your position to [Rank 1 ¡ª True Member].]


    After reading through the notifications, Valyr went ahead and closed the screen before looking back at the attendant, who was seemingly waiting for him to finish reading. "Have you received the Technology Points and the promotion?"


    Hearing the question, Valyr nodded in response. "I did. Speaking of which, would it be possible to im the bonus rewards from the first round?"


    "Most certainly." Somewhat expecting to be told to head to the middle counters, Valyr shed a smile at the attendant once thetter told him that there were no problems with the request. With that, the attendant opened up a screen in front of him once more, prompting Valyr to gain another notification from the system.


    Ding!


    [You have received 10 Technology Points.]


    Once he had confirmed to the attendant that he had received his bonus reward, the attendant then told Valyr to stay where he was for a bit as the man headed to another part of the building for a bit. Seeing as there was a bit of time to kill, Valyr decided to converse a bit with those lined up behind him, their topics revolving mostly around forging.


    Around five minutes, the attendant serving Valyr had returned while carrying a couple items. At the very instant he looked at what the attendant carried, a hint of confusion appeared on Valyr''s face. ''The small satchel around the man''s waist probably has the Skill Shards, while the spear tip I crafted is on his right hand¡­''


    ''But why does he have Red Blossom with him?'' Just as this question popped up in his mind, the attendant ced the items he had brought onto the counter, pushing them towards Valyr.


    "Please confirm that you have received the following items: a satchel containing three Common grade Skill Shards, an Exquisite Spear Tip, and Red Blossom." Saying these words, the attendant looked at Valyr, quickly noticing the slight confusion on thetter''s face as he nodded at the former''s words. "Is something the problem, sir?"


    "I expected to obtain the spear tip from the second round since it was mentioned that it would be given back," Valyr responded. "With that, I also expected to not get the weapon I''ve crafted in the third round back. Is there a reason as to why it''s being returned?"


    "Ah." Hearing Valyr''s question, the attendant nodded and gave him a look of understanding. "It''s like this, sir. As the weapon you''ve crafted during the third round is an invention you''vee up with on your own, the cksmith Guild does not have much use for it¡­ unless you offer the blueprint for the weapon."


    "If you make that choice, you''ll have to give up the weapon, as well as the blueprint for the weapon you''ve created. But of course, the cksmith Guild shall reward you handsomely for this action." Listening to this exnation, Valyr was greatly enlightened as to how the cksmith Guild seemed to have a plethora of low-ranking blueprints in his past life.


    ''So this is how they got the blueprints they had back then. I see.'' With that thought in mind, Valyr pondered over giving the weapon and the blueprint for a bit. Eventually, he decided to keep it to himself for now, telling the attendant that he might give the guild the blueprint for it in the future.


    Naturally, the attendant did not have any qualms with that. After all, he was just doing his job. Nevertheless, the man knew that there was one more reward Valyr was eligible to im, prompting him to ask the question to thetter once Valyr had tucked away all of the tangible rewards he had received. "Since your new identification badge is still being crafted, would you like to head to the guild''s blueprint archives and choose your recipe?"


    Hearing that, Valyr swiftly agreed to the suggestion, telling the attendant to direct him to where the archives were. In response, the attendant left the counter sometimeter as he told Valyr to follow him.


    "Follow me, sir."


    "I''m right behind you. Lead the way."

 Chapter 111 Upgrade Alloy

    After walking through multiple corridors, Valyr and the attendant serving him eventually arrived at the end of the corridor,ing face-to-face with a slightly weathered yet intricate wooden door. Taking a few steps forward, the attendant went ahead and opened the door, allowing Valyr to take a look at the room behind it.


    In an instant, his field of vision was greeted by the sight of multiple shelves that were seemingly filled to the brim with scrolls of parchment. Naturally, once Valyr saw this, he quickly understood that these parchments were the blueprints this branch of the cksmith Guild owned.


    ''If I remember correctly, the prize given to me was the freedom to choose a recipe from the cksmith Guild''s blueprint archives¡­'' As he entered the room, the overall state of it was revealed to Valyr. The shelves near the wooden door seemed to only have a fineyer of dust on the surface, while those farther away from the door were caked in dust and cobwebs.


    Although Valyr thought that this guild branch should have someone clean this ce every once in a while, he ced the thought at the back of his head as he looked at the attendant waiting behind him. "Just to rify¡­ by the cksmith Guild''s blueprint archives, that means the entire guild''s blueprint archives, right?"


    "That would be correct." The attendant nodded.


    In response, Valyr headed closer to the center of the room, which was surprisingly the only part of the room that seemed clean. At the center was a dark gray orb no more than a meter in diameter, being held up by a somewhat intricate pedestal. Pointing at it, Valyr inwardly smiled as he asked, "Is this where I can ess the entire archive?"


    Hearing the question, the attendant nodded once more. "Correct. Just ce your hand on it and infuse a bit of mana to gain ess. The ones controlling the orb have already been informed that you''ve been given the right to choose one recipe from the archive, so feel free to choose as you see fit."


    ''I guess that''s why the attendant used a tablet earlier.'' With such a thought in mind, Valyr inwardly shrugged his shoulders as he ced his hand on the surface of the orb before infusing a bit of his mana into it. As he already had experience releasing mana while activating his skills, it was not difficult for him to release a sliver of it on his own.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the dark gray orb came to life, taking onto an iridescent color as the room instantly brightened up from the light the orb gave off. While that was happening, a small screen appeared in front of Valyr''s vision, giving him ess to a list of blueprints far more extensive than the one he could ess in this room.


    Looking through the list, a wave of nostalgia could not help but hit Valyr, reminiscing the times he used to peruse the same orb in his previous life. If anything, this orb in front of him was the thing he recognized the most from the cksmith Guild, feeling a light yet carefree smile creep up his face as he continued to scroll through the list.


    ''Most of the blueprints I''vee across in the past are all in this list, yet some of the important ones haven''t been added yet,'' Valyr inwardly muttered. ''Well, there''s the fact that Veldanyr hasn''t experienced the age of industrialization and modernization yet. Aside from that, they''ve yet to make contact with others, where the most important blueprintse from.''


    ''Well, there''s no point thinking about that just yet since it''s somewhat still far away.'' cing the thought at the back of his head, Valyr went ahead and asked the attendant what grade of blueprints he could grab from the archives, being told that he could only grab a Common+ grade blueprint at most. Nodding, he perused through the list once more as he returned his train of thought to its previous topic.


    ''Then again¡­ it would be kind of interesting to think that I might be the reason why the''s technological revolution was moved forward in the future. I can''t wait.'' Inwardly chuckling, Valyr eventually stopped on one blueprint, thinking that it was the best choice one could make when given the chance to grab a Common+ grade blueprint from the archives.


    ''Of course, it would''ve been better if I got the higher grade versions of this blueprint, but oh well. It''ll still help out a lot.'' With that, he called the attendant over to confirm his blueprint choice. Once the attendant was able to view the choice Valyr had made, the man nodded before bringing out a tablet, infusing mana into it as he told Valyr to obtain the blueprint.


    Hearing that, Valyr went ahead and infused a bit more mana into the orb, recalling the steps of iming a blueprint from his past life as a notification resounded in his mind soon after.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Ding!


    [You have obtained the blueprint for ''Tier 1 Upgrade Alloy''.]


    Feeling the influx of information regarding the blueprint enter his mind, Valyr removed his hand from the orb, which returned it to its original state. After that, he nodded at the attendant once he was certain he hadmitted the blueprint''s information to memory, prompting the attendant to nod back as the two made their way back to the main hall.


    While making their way back to the hall, Valyr thought about the choice he had made, pondering whether any other choice was better suited for his current circumstances. Eventually, a conclusion was formed in his mind. ''Nah, this is definitely the best choice I could make.''


    From the name of the item itself, Upgrade Alloy was an item that allowed one to upgrade any type of equipment they wanted to a higher tier. With that in mind, Tier 1 Upgrade Alloy allowed one to upgrade Common grade equipment to Common+ grade equipment, which meant that one could keep their equipment for longer before needing to switch it.


    Although there were many caveats to using Upgrade Alloy on old equipment, many yers who did not have easy ess to high-level dungeons and the like opted to use the item, ushering in a brief era where many yers at the early to early-mid game of Greater Beyond wore Common grade equipment that was upgraded with Upgrade Alloy.


    But naturally, as time passed, yers started to rely less and less on Upgrade Alloy, resorting to the original methods of obtaining equipment instead. For one, Upgrade Alloy only went up to Tier 5, which was equivalent to Rare+ grade equipment. Aside from that, Upgrade Alloy could only be used on Common grade equipment, which limited yers on what equipment to upgrade even more.


    However, the greatest reason why people stopped using Upgrade Alloy was because Upgrade Alloy only upgraded the equipment''s stats. Compared to other equipment at the same grade, the one upgraded with Upgrade Alloy would only have the stats on par with other equipment, but not the innate skills and other perks, which only widened the gap between them.


    ''Well, I''ll only be using the Upgrade Alloy to upgrade the armor set I got from Tristan once I start crafting it. Gonna need all of the defense I could get before tackling the dungeon, after all,'' Valyr muttered to himself. ''Hmm¡­ I could also upgrade Damian and Tristan''s weapons to Common+ with the alloy.''


    ''I''ll have to ponder over that one.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr appeared in front of one of the counters once more, with the attendant that had apanied him all this time giving him his newly upgraded copper identification badge. Seeing that the position written on the badge was now Elite Member, Valyr thanked the attendant for his time before turning around to leave the premises, walking to find where Tristan was.

 Chapter 112 The Trip Back

    Fortunately for Valyr, it did not take long for him to find Tristan, who was loitering around near the entrance of the cksmith Guild, waiting for thetter toe out. Seeing Valyre out of the building, a grin appeared on Tristan''s face as he came closer to the man. "So, how did it go?"


    "Got all of the rewards," said Valyr in response, smiling as he brought out his new and improved identification badge. Looking at the copper identification badge Valyr brandished in front of him, Tristan could not help but chuckle as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders as the two of them decided to eat some dinner before traveling back to the vige.


    "Say, Valyr. Who taught you how to do all of the stuff you did during the tournament?" While they were eating their dinner, Tristan decided to ask this question to Valyr opposite him. Of course, Valyr could not help but choke a bit on the food in his mouth, coughing as he sipped a bit of water soon after.


    "What''s with the question all of a sudden?" Naturally, not expecting such a question to be thrown at him during such a time, Valyr decided to throw a question back.


    "Well, if you think about it, I haven''t really taught you anything about the main techniques rted to forging." Tristan looked at Valyr for a bit before continuing to eat the food on his te. "If anything, I''ve only shown you what the Technology Tree was and how to ess it, as well as given you a ce to try your hand at forging. Other than that, I haven''t taught you anything else."


    "Which begs the question¡­ who taught you?" With this question, Valyr could not help but go silent, feeling like the best course of action was to use the same excuse he had already used for Tristan''s past questions. However, he had a feeling that, if he did use it, Tristan''s impression of him would change.


    ''Should I just tell him I already have knowledge on forging beforehand?'' Valyr thought to himself, thinking that it would be a good idea since that meant he was being true to him. Though, considering what he had shown Tristan before the tournament, that would make Valyr seem disingenuous, which was something he did not want Tristan to think of him.


    Eventually, his thoughts hade to apromise, letting out a light sigh as he looked at Tristan with an apologetic smile. "Would it be fine if I told you about it some other time? Apologies if I got your hopes up."


    As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, he could not help but inwardly let out a long sigh. ''At moments like these, I can''t help but wonder why I even thought of keeping what I know to myself in the first ce. But since I''ve already gotten this far¡­''


    ''Just to ease my mind, I''ll tell Tristan and the others of the knowledge I have before I leave the vige. They deserve to know that after everything they''ve done for me.'' Expecting Tristan to have a negative reaction to his words, Valyr had a nk expression on his face once he saw Tristan nod at his response.


    "It''s fine if you don''t tell me right now, or if you don''t tell me at all. We all have our own secrets, after all. I''m not gonna go out of my way to force you to tell me. That was just my curiosity speaking," Tristan said soon after, which made Valyr feel conflicting emotions in his body. Inwardly thanking the man before him for not pressuring him into telling him the truth, the two of them continued to eat their dinners, eventually finishing before setting out to leave the town on the carriage half an hourter.


    ¡­


    While Tristan and Valyr had already left the town on the carriage, nning to travel a bit of the distance back to the vige under the veil of the night, two shadowy figures seemed to be following them from behind, making sure that the two of them wouldn''t be caught.


    Hiding behind arge bush, the two of them stopped for a bit, seeing that the carriage they were following had slowed down its pace. Letting out light sighs of relief, one of the shadowy figures, a tall man, looked at the other person beside him. "Are you sure we''re following the right target?"


    "I mean¡­ he''s the only one among the top ten in the earlier tournament to be not from town." In response to the question, the other shadowy figure answered back. "Plus, those from the cksmith Guild gave us a picture of his appearance. I passed by the two of them earlier and noticed our target hopping on the carriage."


    "Do we really have to do this?" the tall man asked with a sigh. "I mean¡­ can''t the cksmith Guild just approach the guy normally?"


    "Just so you know, I don''t know what''s going on in the minds of the higher-ups either." The man beside him shrugged. "All I know is that we''re getting paid with a tinum coin if we do our jobs sessfully. That''s worth a thousand gold coins right there!"


    "To think this is how the guild tests people they deem eligible for the inheritance¡­" Letting out a sigh, the two shadowy figures soon darted out of the bushes, hastily making their way to where the carriage was, noticing that its pace had slowed down considerably.


    ¡­


    Seeing as their carriage had traversed a considerable amount of distance from Danyhris Town, the two of them decided to set up camp in the vicinity, hopping down from the carriage to assess their surroundings. While in the midst of assessment, both Tristan and Valyr could not help but look at each other, getting a foreboding feeling that something might befall them sometime soon.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Just as they had asked each other if they were feeling the same thing, two shadowy figures had appeared in front of them, both of which sent out punches that made Tristan and Valyr go flying for a few meters.


    As the two shadowy figures looked at where the two were going tond, the tall man gave a heads-up to the other person that came along with him. "You stall the other one. I''ll go for the target."


    "You better be quick." Nodding in response, the other shadowy figure, a man that was about a head shorter than the tall man, bent his knees before dashing towards where Tristan was, soon engaging in a fistfight with him. As for the tall man that remained, he took in a deep breath before running to where Valyr was.


    "Gah¡­" Landing on his back, Valyr could not help but loudly hiss from the pain he was feeling, finding it somewhat difficult to stand up. However, just as he was about to check out who attacked the two of them, one of the assants appeared in front of him, forcing him to retrieve the spear on his back as he blocked the fisting straight at his face.


    Pah!


    Using all of his strength on the block, Valyr was surprised to find out that he had only moved the fist from the assant by a few centimeters. With his eyes widening in surprise, he swerved his body to the side, avoiding the fist that had generated a gust of wind as it passed by.


    Seeing that the assant was wide open, Valyr retaliated without hesitation, getting into a battle stance before thrusting his spear forward.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Thud!


    In less than an instant, Valyr''s spear had made contact with the assant, his goal to disable the person by aiming for one of the person''s arms. However, rather than pierce deeper into the assant''s flesh and meet bone, the tip of the spear only dug a couple centimeters into the assant''s flesh.


    "Hoh¡­ not bad." Sensing the injury Valyr had inflicted on him, the tall man retracted his extended fist as he gave Valyr a couple words of praise, though to Valyr, it seemed more like wordsced with mockery. Considering the disparity in level between the two of them, inflicting a superficial injury was already achievement for a Rank 1 ss holder like Valyr.


    But of course, Valyr did not know that.


    Bang!


    Being distracted from the shock he felt from his spear only dealing that much damage, the tall man went ahead and sent an uppercut towards Valyr''s chest, prompting thetter to go flying once more. While that was happening, the tall man made his way to where he thought Valyr was going tond, grabbing thetter at the veryst second as Valyr felt indignance at the current situation.


    "Finally getting mad, are we?" the tall man said to Valyr, who responded by sending a hook towards the former''s face. In response to the attack, the tall man stopped it before it could evennd, even gripping on it tightly to the point Valyr slightly cried out in pain.


    "Then again, it wouldn''t be interesting if you didn''t get mad."


    "Show me what you''ve got."

 Chapter 113 Get Stronger

    While the tall man had sent Valyr flying once more into the distance, the other person that apanied him looked at Tristan before him with cold sweat dripping down his forehead, recalling the goal of stalling for time given to him. Though, as he thought about the goal, he could not help but think about the attacks he had received from the man before him so far. ''I swear I''ll ask those fuckers from the guild for a bonus even if it''s thest thing I''ll ever do.''


    ''Who knew the target would have a Rank 2 ss holder with him?!''


    Whoosh!


    Dashing towards his opponent, Tristan had an angered expression on his face as he sent out a punch, with the shadowy figure barely dodging the attack by a hair. Retaliating, the figure sent out a barrage of strikes, most of which were received by Tristan.


    However, rather than grimace in pain from the strikes, Tristan shed a cruel grin at the man,nding a kick straight on the figure''s stomach as thetter was sent flying for a few meters. While the shadowy figure was sent flying, Tristan could not help but look at the fight happening not far away from him, a hint of worry in his eyes.


    Seeing that his opponent got up and was in the midst of charging at him, he could not help but inwardly let out a sigh. "I hope you find a way out of this."


    With that, he refocused his attention back on his opponent, ducking under the jab the figure had sent beforending a hook on his opponent''s face.


    As the shadowy figure received the hook head-on, he could not help but think that it would be a while before he could leave this fight.


    ¡­


    Thud!


    Landing on the ground, Valyr cried out a bit in pain as he stood up once more. At first, rage and indignance at what was happening to him filled his entire body. However, now that the waves of pain he felt from being sent flying had finally settled in, he could not help but look at the whole situation with a hint of confusion.


    After all, it was all too sudden.


    Letting out a light hiss as he gritted his teeth from the pain, Valyr was forced to move to the side as his opponent dashed past him, thetter''s stance aiming tond a headbutt. Noticing that his attack hadn''tnded, the tall man stood up and turned around, quickly closing the gap between the two of them beforending a flurry of hits.


    In retaliation, Valyr held up his spear and tried to block the attacks as best as he could. However, with each hit, he felt as if his entire body quaked from the strength contained behind each hit. With that in mind, he could not help but find the current situation even more absurd than it already was.


    "Who sent you two to ambush us?" Valyr asked, hoping that the person he was fighting against would answer. Thankfully for him, the man did answer¡­ though the answer he received was not something he expected.


    "Someone who wants you dead," the tall man replied, causing Valyr to go into a daze. Seeing the obvious opening in front of him, the tall man went ahead andnded a stomp on Valyr''s chest, sending thetter tumbling for a couple meters.


    ''If only I could tell him the cksmith Guild was behind this,'' the man thought to himself as he inwardly let out a sigh. ''Unfortunately, they had me sign an oath before undertaking this mission.''


    While the tall manmented the fact he could not tell their target the truth behind the current situation, Valyr could not help but stare at the man a couple meters away from him before turning his gaze to the shadowy figure Tristan was fighting against, taking everything in as he felt even more confusion. "Someone wants me dead? I''m pretty sure I haven''t offended anyone¡­"


    "Gah! This is too confusing!" Feeling as if the only way to get actual answers regarding the current situation was to defeat the man before him, Valyr''s expression turned solemn, brandishing his spear before dashing forward at his full speed.


    Channeling the confusion he currently felt into rage, he aimed his spear at the tall man, to which thetter responded by extending one of his arms out, seemingly aiming to catch the spear with just one hand. Seeing this, Valyr''s eyes narrowed as he activated one of his skills, instantly increasing his speed as a jet of blood shot out of the dull end of the spear.


    "[Blood Drive]!"


    Thud!


    To the tall man''s surprise, Valyr''s spear made contact with his chest rather than his hands. Seeing this, Valyr gained a bit of confidence as he felt a hint of vitality enter his body, retracting the spear before rotating, increasing the spear''s momentum.


    "[Robust Arms]!"


    "[Descending Fang]!"


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    At the moment he had activated [Robust Arms], the speed at which the spear rotated increased by a considerable degree, increasing the momentum the spear had when itnded on the tall man''s head. As a result, a faint explosion sound resounded from the collision, making Valyr think that his opponent would have taken grievous damage by now.


    However, once he took a look at the tall man, a frown could not help but appear on his face.


    Aside from a bit of bleeding on the man''s head, the man seemed mostly fine. In fact, he could not help but feel like the man was grinning at him, feeling as if the man was silently mocking him for his seemingly futile actions.


    Gritting his teeth, Valyr retracted his spear and sent out another [Strong Pierce], aiming towards one of the man''s vital spots. Unfortunately, before it could evennd, the man stopped its momentum midway by clenching down tightly on the spear''s shaft.


    Seeing this, Valyr let go of the spear for now as he took out Red Blossom from his waist, thinking that he had inadvertently made the right choice for not giving the weapon back to the cksmith Guild. As the tall man had dropped his spear to the ground, Valyr brandished the dagger and plunged it behind the man''s back, using most of his body weight and momentum to do so.


    Though, just as the tall man thought that was all, Valyr went ahead and pressed the button on the end of the dagger, causing the part of it that was plunged into the man''s body to open. Unsurprisingly, the man could not help but let out a hiss of pain from the attack, finding the mechanism the weapon employed quite devilish.


    However, rather than retaliate against the attack, he instead let out a low chuckle, slowly turning around to face Valyr as he felt that he had exhausted thetter''s options in fighting. With that in mind, he reached for the dagger and yanked it out without hesitation, causing a bit of his blood to spill on the ground. Watching the scene unfold before him, Valyr could not help but think that the man was not only ruthless to him, but to himself as well.


    Just as Valyr thought he could recuperate for a bit after what the man had done, the man instead dashed at him, pinning him down on the ground as Valyr still felt the man grin at him. Then, without any shred of mercy, the mannded fist after fist on Valyr''s body, causing thetter to cry out in pain.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    With each consecutive fist, Valyr''s wails grew louder and louder. However, with the number of fists the mannded on his body, he eventually lost the will to cry out, feeling great indignance at the situation.


    At some point, the man stopped pummeling him, thinking that he had done enough damage. "Consider that payback for the dagger you plunged behind my back."


    Listening to the man''s words, Valyr could not help but think about the current state of his body, feeling as if every bone in his body was broken to bits. He wanted to respond to the man''s words, yet with how injured he currently was, he could not bring himself to do so.


    "In any case, you''ve put a good fight against me, a Rank 4 ss holder. That''s already an achievement in itself." Hearing the man''s next statement, Valyr''s eyes widened in shock and fear, prompting him to mull over everything he had done so far to warrant someone with a Rank 4 ss to make a move against him.


    After all, a Rank 4 ss holder was over Level 55 at the very least! Such a gap was impossible to close, even for him!


    Just as he thought the shadowy figure before him was now going to deal the final blow, he heard wordse out of the man''s mouth once more as he closed his eyes, causing it to open once more as he listened to it. "In any case, since you''ve shown me a good fight, I''ve decided to spare your life. I''ll just find a way to prove to that person who hired me that you''re dead."


    "Wuh¡­" Though what Valyr really wanted to say was ''why the sudden change of heart'', with how beaten up his body was, he could only utter out unintelligible sounds.


    As if he understood what Valyr was trying to say, the man replied, "As I said, you''ve shown me a good fight, even with the disparity in our strengths. In fact, I''m quite curious as to who would be the victor if we ever cross paths again someday."


    "Get stronger. I have a feeling we''ll meet again someday. Plus, it wouldn''t be interesting if you didn''t." With that, the tall man left Valyr on the ground.


    Although he felt a mix of confusion, rage, and indignance at the current situation, wanting to find out more as to why he was ambushed, Valyr''s body eventually sumbed to the injuries even though he resisted against it through sheer willpower, falling unconscious as Tristan''s cries were thest thing he heard before everything turned ck.

 Chapter 114 Crushing Defeat

    Sometimeter, within the vast wilderness.


    "Hey man, don''t you think you went a bit too far there?" Removing the ck fabric covering their faces as they simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, the shorter man among the two could not help but re at the man in front of him. "You''re Rank 4 for crying out loud! Can''t you stop yourself from being inclined to kill everything you fight against?"


    "On top of that, you had me stall that other guy for longer than what we initially agreed upon!" the shorter man continued to berate him. In response, the tall man listened to the short man''s words in silence. "I better get at least a quarter of the pay you''re getting from this!"


    "Fine." Surprisingly, rather thanin that he was being chewed out by the shorter man, the tall man decided to acquiesce to his words, causing the shorter man to do a double take, wondering if he had heard correctly.


    Blinking a few times in slight surprise, the shorter man eventually let out a sigh as he looked at the man. "Forget it. It''s not like I was serious anyway."


    "But seriously though, what made you go so far that you even went and beat the shit out of the target?" Hearing the man''s question, the tall man scratched his cheeks as he pondered over the best way to exin why.


    "Well¡­" Eventually, the man found the words he was looking for as a grin appeared on the tall man''s face. "What can I say? He got me excited."


    Once again, the short man was taken aback by the tall man''s words, looking at the man''s face for a bit before redirecting his attention to the lower region of the man''s body. With a hint of disgust, he responded, "Gross."


    "Misconstruing my words as always." Seeing the short man''s reaction to his reply, the tall man shook his head before sighing. "What I meant to say was¡­ that target I fought earlier was the best fighter out of all the targets that we''ve tested."


    "Really?" Of course, the short man found that hard to believe. "If you were topare it to someone we''ve tested before, how does he stack up?"


    "He''s about as good as the one you were stalling earlier in terms ofbat experience," said the tall man. "If he was at least Rank 2, he would''ve probably put up an actual fight against me."


    "But at that point, he would''ve already been contacted by the cksmith Guild, no?" At that point, the short man lightly gasped in shock.


    "The most terrifying part is that he isn''t even peak Rank 1 yet. In fact, judging by the aura he was exuding, he was just Level 11." Nodding in agreement, the tall man continued. "In terms of overall talent, he''s definitely on par with Hal."


    "That good?" Hearing that, the short man finally believed in the tall man''s words. After all, he wouldn''t have been designated as the one stalling others, if not for the tall man''s acuity forbat talent.


    "In any case, we''ve done our job for today. Let''s head to the nearest settlement, get some rest, and then send a rmendation letter to the cksmith Guild head." Feeling as if he had sufficiently exined the prowess of the target he had tested, the tall man stood up before heading towards a certain direction. Naturally, the short man soon followed suit.


    "Wait¡­ why would you send a rmendation letter to the head?" the short man could not help but ask as they ran. However, it did not take long for everything to click in his mind as he looked at the tall man with his mouth slightly agape. "Is he¡­?"


    "Yeah." The tall man nodded. "Out of all the targets we''ve tested, Valyr is the most eligible."


    "It''s as if he''s destined to be one of the Four Pirs."


    ¡­


    Morning.


    "Nngh¡­" Feeling as if the ground underneath him moved up and down, Valyr could not help but slowly open his eyes, the sight that greeted him being the ceiling of the carriage. Realizing where he was at, he quickly sat up, only to stop midway and lightly cry out in pain as his body ached all over.


    "Oh, thank the heavens you''re awake!" Just as he had lied down on the floor of the carriage once more, Valyr heard an audible sigh of reliefing from his left as the carriage gradually came to a halt. Not long after, Tristan appeared before him, his expression filled with worry. "How do you feel?"


    "How do I¡­ feel?" Valyr looked back at Tristan, a wry smile adorning his face as it soon contorted into an expression of pain. "How else would I feel? I feel like utter shit."


    As he said this, he recalled everything that had happenedst night, filling in the gaps to how he had appeared on the carriage. With great rity, he could recall how one-sided thetter portion of the fight against his assant was, with his only action being to cry out in pain as the man pummeled his body over and over again.


    "Well, it would be surprising if you didn''t." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan bitterly smiled. "By the time I was able toe to your side, you were beaten to a bloody pulp. In fact, it''s been an entire day since you fell unconscious."


    "That long?" Slightly shocked, Valyr tried once more to sit up, only to feel pain as he did so once more. Thankfully, Tristan was there to aid him, allowing to sit upright as he gazed out of the carriage.


    Seeing that the walls of Astarto Vige was only quite a fair distance away from where they were, Valyr could not help but look at Tristan with a slightly apologetic expression. "It''s been tough on you."


    "Tough? If anything, that should apply to you," Tristan replied, thinking back to what had transpiredst night. With that in mind, he could not help but have a slight frown. "Did you offend someone while we were at town?"


    "I didn''t." Valyr slowly shook his head.


    "Then¡­ why were we ambushed?" Responding to Valyr''s words with another question, Tristan looked at the former''s face, only to see genuine confusion on it.


    "I¡­ don''t know." Valyr truly didn''t know what to answer. If he did, he would have already told Tristan. However, the truth of the matter was that it was all sudden, even to him.


    Hearing Valyr''s response, Tristan eventually let out a long, exasperated sigh, wanting to know the reason why they were ambushed. Nevertheless, with Valyr being grievously injured from the fight, he decided to ce the matter at the back of his head for now, telling the former to rest up as the carriage moved once more, returning to the vige sometimeter.

 Chapter 115 Indignation And Change

    Astarto Vige, at the vige clinic.


    "Wee to the vige clinic, how may I help yo¡ª?!" Sensing a couple people enter the clinic just a couple of hours before sunset, Vera was left at a loss for words as she looked at the sight before him. Though battered and bruised all over, Tristan carried Valyr on his back, who seemed to be in a far worse state than the former.


    "What happened to you two?" With slight panic in her voice, she rushed over to where the two were, aiding Tristan in carefully transporting Valyr. cing thetter down on a nearby bed, Vera could not help but look at the two with an expression filled with worry.


    "We got ambushed on the way back to the vige," Tristan said in response, making Vera cover her mouth in shock as she felt tears start to well up in her eyes. Just as she was about to ask Tristan further regarding what happened, thetter reminded her that there was a far more important matter at hand.


    "We can talk about what happenedter. For now¡­ take care of Valyr."


    Hearing those words, Vera lightly nodded as she redirected her attention towards the man on the bed near them. With Valyr looking at her with a bitter smile, Vera went ahead and ced her hand on the former''s body, causing him to wince in pain for a bit.


    Apologizing for the pain she was inflicting, she then told Valyr that she would be quick, hastily channeling her mana through Valyr''s body to get a better idea of how the man before her fared. Unsurprisingly, Valyr could not help but let out a light cry in pain, feeling as if every wound on the inside of his body was being torn open again by Vera''s mana. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and endured it, knowing very well that she shouldn''t be disturbed at this moment.


    Once Vera was done assessing the severity of Valyr''s injuries, the tears that threatened to flow down earlier now gradually streamed down her face, wondering how the man before him was even awake. "Torn muscles, broken bones¡­ it''s horrible what they did to you."


    "I''m sorry you had to see me like this." Valyr shed a wry smile at Vera, which changed into a slight frown soon after as the pain he felt somewhat red up. After a while, he let out a sigh. "If only I was stronger¡­"


    "It was a losing battle from the very start, Valyr." Moving closer, Tristan lightly ced his hand over Valyr''s shoulder as he shook his head. "There''s no point mulling over the past."


    At that point, the curiosity Vera felt had reached its peak, deciding to ask the two as to who ambushed them, as well as why they were ambushed. Naturally, Valyr mentioning that the one he fought against was a Rank 4 ss holder took Vera aback, thinking that if the opponent didn''t decide to spare his life at the end, he would''ve been a goner.


    Then again, Tristan''s opponent was no pushover either, being a Rank 3 ss holder. Though, with the disparity in strength between him and his opponent being far less than what Valyr had to go through, he had only rued bruises and superficial wounds at most.


    Nevertheless, with how the ones that attacked them out of nowhere were of a significantly higher rank than the two of them, both Tristan and Valyr could not help but ask themselves once more as to why they were ambushed, with Vera offering a few possible ideas regarding the reason behind it. However, just like the two earlier, the three came to the conclusion that they had no clue, prompting them to ce the matter at the back of their heads for now as they thanked the heavens no one had died.


    Still feeling sorry for the two of them, Vera gave Tristan an Inferior Rejuvenation Potion, which thetter said was enough to heal all of the injuries he had gotten. Surprisingly, he was correct, with all of the welts, bruises, and light wounds he had received from the fight disappearing within minutes.


    As for Valyr, an Inferior Rejuvenation Potion was far from enough to heal him. Instead, Vera brought out a Lesser Rejuvenation Potion and helped Valyr consume it. Soon, a far more soothing energy than what the Inferior Rejuvenation Potion gave washed over his body as the pain he had been enduring seemed to disappear for a while. By the time the pain returned, it was at a level that Valyr had no problem enduring.


    After that, she gave Valyr a Bone Reconnecting Potion, a potion that helped heal the broken bones all over his body. Unlike the soothing feeling the Lesser Rejuvenation Potion gave him, Valyr felt like all of the bones in his body were being sewn back together into ce, prompting him to grit his teeth as the peculiar pain the potion made him experience eventually disappeared after a couple of minutes.


    Channeling her mana into Valyr''s body once more, Vera let out a sigh of relief once she found out that most of the injuries Valyr had were more or less healed. With that, she gave him yet another Lesser Rejuvenation Potion as Tristan watched the entire scene unfold in front of him.


    "I''m sure all of the potions you''ve been giving him all cost a pretty penny, right?" Tristan could not help but ask Vera. "If so, I''ll pay for all of it."


    "You don''t have to, Tristan." Valyr looked at him in response, slowly shaking his head before turning to look at Vera. "Tell me how much the potions cost after everything is done."


    "I insist, Valyr." Unfortunately for him, Tristan did not relent. "It''s partly my fault why you ended up in that situation. I¡­ wasn''t able to help you out."


    "Enough." Feeling as if the conversation was eventually going to go nowhere, Vera decided to interrupt. Looking at Tristan and Valyr, she then opened her mouth. "Valyr doesn''t need to pay for the potions. This is the least I can do."


    Hearing that, both Valyr and Tristan looked at each other with a bitter smile. With the matter settled like that, they ced all previous thoughts at the back of their heads.


    Eventually, Tristan told Valyr that he was going to return to the smithy, reminding to get tons of rest. In response, Valyr was about to stand up from the bed and head back to his dormitory, only to be stopped by Vera as she suggested that it would be better for him to rest here for the day. Seeing as the woman before him was adamant, Valyr could only acquiesce as he bade farewell to Tristan with a sigh.


    Sometimeter, Vera told him to get plenty of rest, to which Valyr nodded in response. After that, Vera left him on his own, finally allowing the man to be alone with his thoughts.


    Bang!


    Once he was certain he was alone, Valyr bit on his lips in rage as he mmed a fist on the ground. Eventually, a bit of blood started to trickle down as tears started to well up in his eyes. ''I was a fool.''


    ''I was a fool to think the world was going to give me ample time to get stronger.'' Valyr inwardly berated himself. Clenching his fists tightly, he could not help but recall the helplessness he felt while being beaten up by the Rank 4 ss holder. ''I''ve already been given a second shot to make things right, so why did I think the world would be that merciful to also give me time?''


    Although he did not know the real reason why he and Tristan were ambushed on the way back to the vige, he did have his guesses. In his mind, the only thing that would make people of that level move was if he had something precious on him. Unfortunately for him, he did have something precious.


    His Mythic ss.


    ''I don''t know who told those two that I have a Mythic ss, but whoever they may be, I''ll pay it back tenfold.'' At that moment, murderous intent enveloped the entire hall of the clinic, reaching an intensity only Valyr in his past life had unleashed a few times. ''And to that fucker who decided to y around with my life, I swear I''ll make yours a living hell.''


    ''Mark my words.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr took in a few deep breaths, calming his emotions down as he felt his rage gradually consume him. After a while, he let out a long sigh as he reflected on all of his actions so far. ''In actuality, the speed at which I''ve been progressing isn''t half bad. However, with how danger lurks in every corner¡­ I need to get stronger faster.''


    With his mind fixating on the phrase ''get stronger'', the words of the assant that knocked him unconscious resounded in his mind, feeling his rage bubble up once more. Thankfully, he calmed it down once more, taking in a few deep breaths as heid down on the bed allocated to him.


    ''I hate the feeling of having my life being used as a y toy.'' Staring at the ceiling of the vige clinic, Valyr could not help but feel like the personality he had cultivated in his past life sh with the one he had inadvertently cultivated during his time in Greater Beyond so far. Eventually, one of them triumphed over the other as a thought surfaced in his mind.


    "I said I was going to reveal everything before I left the vige for good¡­ but you know what?"


    "Fuck staying low-key. What''s the point of hiding my true abilities if that just results in me being thrashed around? Didn''t I get a second shot at all of this in order to make sure that doesn''t happen?"


    Letting out a sigh, he sat upright on the side of the bed as his demeanor changed in an instant. At that moment, gone was the Valyr that decided acting like a newbie was the ideal thing to do early on. Instead, taking its ce was the old Valyr, the Valyr that had already experienced everything life had to offer. The same Valyr that treaded on the boundary of life and death during the final battle.


    The same Valyr¡­ that would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.


    "Since I have the knowledge¡­ then it should only be natural that I use it to the fullest."

 Chapter 116 Sharing Knowledge

    By the time Valyr left the vige clinic, it was already the next morning. Of course, Vera made sure that his body got the nutrition it needed before then, making sure that he had fully healed from his injuries before he was discharged. Naturally, once he was out, making his way back to the barracks, a ton of people looked at him with slightly shocked expressions.


    After all, he still wore the bloodied clothes from when he and Tristan was ambushed.


    Not minding the looks he got while walking as he continued to greet those who knew him, he eventually arrived at the barracks, heading straight to his dormitory room to take a long-needed shower. Once he was done, he changed into a new set of clean clothes before heading to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast.


    Surprisingly, the news of him and Tristan being ambushed outside the vige did not spread, with most of the topics he decided to join into being mostly about mundane matters regarding happenings within the vige, as well as nearby viges. At some point, Leon and the others joined him as well, deciding to brag to Valyr about the fact that all of them had finally reached the peak of Rank 0.


    In response, Valyr lightly grinned before radiating a part of the aura his current ss gave him, causing the three great shock as it seemed that whenever they moved forward, Valyr was already one step ahead of them. Nevertheless, the three of them were d that their friend had be one of the vige''s Guard Captains, imagining what it would be like under his leadership.


    Eventually, all of them had finished eating breakfast, prompting them to go on and head their separate ways. Going over the idea he hade up with while in the vige clinic, he made his way to Damian''s office, knocking on the door soon after.


    "Come in." Hearing Damian''s voice resound from the other side, Valyr allowed himself into the room, closing the door behind him as he sat on a nearby chair, waiting for the former to finish what he was doing as always.


    "I guess you''re here to inform me regarding the ambush you and Tristan experienced a couple nights ago?" cing down the document he was reading, Damian raised his eyebrow as he looked at Valyr. Naturally, with how he hadn''t heard anything about it from the other guards, Valyr was somewhat taken aback.


    "Let''s just say I have my own methods of getting that information." Just as he was about to ask the question, Damian seemed to be one step ahead of him. However, this mysterious veil surrounding thetter was quickly destroyed when he heard his next words. "And that method would be Tristan informing me."


    Hearing that, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh as he shook his head. "Well, that''s not what I was actually nning to tell you. After all, it''s pointless to tell you that since both Tristan and I don''t even know the reason behind it."


    "What are you nning to tell me then?" Seeing as his guess was wrong, Damian''s interest was somewhat piqued.


    "Well, before I do that, could you ask Tristan toe here?" Valyr said in response. "It would be better if I tell you both at the same time. After all, aside from a few other people, you two are the people I probably trust the most."


    Nodding in response, Damian went ahead and sent out a small strand of mana out of the window in his room, headed to who knows where. Noticing that, Valyr thought to himself that it would not take long before Tristan arrived. After all, he had used the same technique thousands of times back then.


    With that in mind, it was no surprise that a couple of minutester, a familiar man entered the room. "What''s the matter, Damian? Need my help on something?"


    As Tristan looked around the office, he soon noticed Valyr sitting one of the chairs. "Oh! Well if it isn''t Valyr. Feeling better?"


    "Yep. Thanks for the concern." In response to the question, Valyr shed a light smile.


    "Anyways, why did you call me here? And why is Valyr here?" Smiling back in response, Tristan redirected his attention back to Damian.


    "I called you here because Valyr has something to tell the two of us." As those words came out of Damian''s mouth, Tristan shifted his gaze to Valyr, who nodded in response to the words spoken.


    "Well, to be honest, I''ve only decided to tell you two this after experiencing the ambush. It gave me a well-needed wake-up call." Saying those words, Valyrmanded the system to bring up his status screen. Once in front of him, he discarded most of the details on it, leaving only his current level, as well as his current ss before turning it around to let the two see.


    Naturally, once they read the portion of the screen that showed his ss, both Damian and Tristan''s eyes widened in surprise, with thetter gasping in shock as a question soon came out of his mouth. "A Mythic cksmith ss?! How the hell did you get that?!"


    "It''s a very long story." Valyr bitterly smiled. "In any case, the fact that I''m showing you I have this ss means I trust you two to not spread this information."


    "Consider my lips sealed." Damian nodded in response, only for his gaze to turn towards Tristan not long after. "Tristan?"


    "I don''t have any reason to tell others about it, but still¡­" Hearing his name called, Tristan could not help but grumble in jealousy. "A Mythic cksmith ss¡­ doesn''t that basically mean you can forge stuff as well as I can?"


    "Probably a bit better than what you can do." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "After all, I haven''t really shown everything I can do during the tournament."


    At that point, Tristan could not help but slump down on a nearby seat before letting out a light sigh. "Haah¡­ I feel like I''ve been made a fool."


    "Pretty much why I''ve only decided to tell you now," said Valyr in response.


    "Well, if I think about it, it''s only surprising at the first instance. But when I take into consideration your surname, it''s not really that surprising," Damian said all of a sudden, prompting the two to pay attention. "In fact, it would probably be more surprising if you didn''t have a high tier ss."


    "Huh? Why''s that? What''s Valyr''s surname?" Naturally, Tristan and Valyr''s interest were both piqued, with thetter trying to find clues to his surname all this time. Thankfully for him, Tristan asked the question he had in mind.


    "Mind telling him your surname?" In response, Damian looked at Valyr, prompting Tristan to look at him as well.


    "It''s Zeihardt." Valyr looked back at Damian, only to shift his gaze towards Tristan soon after. However, rather than expect a nonchnt expression on thetter''s face, he instead saw Tristan looking at him as if he were a ghost.


    "You''re a Zeihardt?!" Tristan could not help but exim, to which Valyr could only nod in slight confusion. "If you told me this from the get-go, then I wouldn''t have been too surprised about your ss either!"


    "Eh? Why''s that?" In response to Tristan''s words, Valyr could not help but tilt his head in slight confusion. Seeing Valyr''s reaction, Damian and Tristan could not help but look at each other, wondering to themselves as to how they knew what the surname signified, while the one with the surname didn''t.


    Not bothering to question why that was the case, Tristan went ahead and told Valyr what he needed to do. "Didn''t you know that the Zeihardt family is a well-known noble n in these parts?"


    Ding!


    Just as he had gained a bit of information on his surname, a string of notification sounds resounded from the system, prompting him to take a look at it. Though, as he read through it, his eyes slightly widened in surprise.


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    [The true name of the passive skill ''?4E$%6!F42.6C45-20#4#26!C4?F6?F!4$4'' has been revealed. The skill''s name has been changed to ''Noble Blood''.]


    [Though you may have gained an idea as to who you truly are, that is only a small portion of the truth. There is still a lot about you that you don''t know.]

 Chapter 117 Repaying Gratitude

    Once he was finished, the surprise in his eyes subsided as he could not help but inwardly frown. ''So, I''m part of a noble n. That''s cool.''


    ''But since it''s a noble n in Veldanyr, why can''t I remember any n with that surname?'' While reading through the notifications, he rummaged through all of his memories, focusing on the ones rted to the''s noble ns. After not finding any trace of the surname in those memories, he then checked his memories regarding the royal and imperial ns in the off chance the two only had surface level knowledge about it.


    However, even after scouring through those memories, none of them mentioned the surname Zeihardt at all.


    It was as if his current surname didn''t exist in his memories in the first ce.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh at the feeling of gaining more questions than answers from what Tristan said, Valyr closed the screen in front of him. Though slightly annoyed that his identity seemed to have a deeper veil to it, he found sce at the fact that he at least now had a lead to follow if he ever wanted to find out more about his true identity.


    While Valyr was pondering over his true identity, Tristan looked at Valyr for a bit before nodding in understanding sometimeter. "Now that I know you''re part of a noble n, then everything you''ve done so far actually makes a lot of sense. The fact that you finished my quests easily, you exuding greater strength while still being Rank 0¡­ yeah. It totally makes sense."


    Hearing Tristan''s words, Valyr lightly nodded, even though he knew very well that the true reason behind his feats was his treasure trove of past knowledge. Nevertheless, he still went with the flow, agreeing to the former''s thoughts. After all, it was a good cover-up.


    "So, what''s the reason behind you showing us your ss?" Seeing that the conversation seemed to have gone off track, Damian decided to return the attention of the two back to the original topic. "Surely it''s not only because you wanted to brag to us two about your ss, right?"


    "Of course not." Valyr shook his head in response, closing the greatly simplified status screen he had been showing them all this time. "I showed you my ss in order for you to know that my next statement isn''t unfounded."


    "And that is?" Damian raised his eyebrow while Tristan listened in silence, curiosity written all over his face.


    "What if I told you¡­ there''s a way to significantly reduce the damage the vige takes during monster tides?" In response to the question, Valyr''s expression went solemn while the two looked at him with a hint of incredulity. "What if there was a way to let the vige have an easier time during monster tides?"


    "Hold on for just a second." With Valyr''s words in mind, Tristan decided to interrupt. "So you''re telling me that you have a method to help the vige out during a monster tide all this time, and you''re only telling us this now?"


    "Well, would you have believed me if I didn''t show you my ss beforehand?" Valyr questioned back. "What if you didn''t find out my surname? What if I told you of the method before I had even ascended?"


    "Would you have believed me?"


    "That¡­" In response to Valyr''s string of questions, Tristan went silent, pondering over the former''s words before letting out a light sigh. "You know what? You''re right. I wouldn''t have believed you."


    Nodding in response to Tristan''s words, Valyr then shifted his attention towards Damian, who was silent all this time. After another minute or so, thetter opened his mouth, asking the important questions he had in mind regarding the method Valyr would offer to them.


    "Can it be used by the vige?" he asked. "Plus, will it need a substantial amount of funds?"


    Listening to Damian''s questions, a confident smile appeared on Valyr''s face. "To answer your first question, yes. It can be used by the vige. And for your second question, it doesn''t need a lot of funds. In fact, I''m already using the method I''m about to give to you two as we speak."


    "Hmm?" Naturally, both Tristan and Damian could not help but look at each other once they heard Valyr''sst statement. Fortunately, it did not take long for them to understand what he was trying to say.


    "Are you perhaps talking about¡­ the method on how you had stats on par with a Rank 1 ss holder while still being Rank 0?" After looking at each other for a bit, Tristan decided to be the one to ask. Thankfully for him, his idea was correct as Valyr nodded in response to his question.


    However, as he thought about the impact of such a method to the vige, Tristan could not help but have a solemn expression on his face, with Damian having the same expression as well. After all, with that kind of method, even those at Level 1 in the vige would be able to help out in the vige''s defense against the monster tide.


    Much less to say to those at the higher levels.


    "Why tell us about it?" At some point, this question could not help but pop into their minds, with Damian being the one to voice it out. However, rather than obtaining an answer from Valyr regarding theplex politics of nobility and such, what the two got instead was far from it.


    "I mean¡­ why not?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "You two have helped me a lot more than you think while I was in and outside the vige. Consider this just another way for me repay my gratitude."


    "Anyways, enough dawdling around. Let me tell you of the method I used to be able to do all of those things during the monster tide." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, the two instantly became silent as all of their attention were focused on Valyr''s next few words.


    On the other hand, a thought surfaced in Valyr''s mind as he said this, inwardly chuckling as he recalled the conversation he had back then with Mystia, Vera''s mentor. ''I''m still not nning to cause a revolution before the yers appear anytime soon¡­''


    ''But it would be nice to see the vige that took care of me since the beginning of my journey be stronger.''


    With that in mind, hemanded the system to bring up the description of one of his passive skills. Then, he turned the screen around, allowing the two to read through it as he asked them a question.


    "Have you two heard of Reinforcement Elixirs?"

 Chapter 118 Assessing Progress

    As Valyr had initiated the topic of Reinforcement Elixirs to both Tristan and Damian, expression of shock soon covered their faces as they found out just how simple it was to concoct the elixirs. On top of that, they could not wrap their heads around the fact that the benefits of ingesting the two elixir types ten times would be that substantial.


    After all, the elixir and the passive skill that came along with it was more or less equivalent to 15 free levels.


    Of course, Valyr withheld information regarding the more powerful versions of the Reinforcement Elixirs to the two, thinking that them being informed of Basic Reinforcement Elixirs. Aside from the fact that the three of them did not even meet the minimum requirements to ingest the next tier of Reinforcement Elixirs, Valyr was also certain that this knowledge would cause them to go crazy.


    Thankfully, after getting over the initial shock of such a cheap and simple method that could be mass produced given enough time, both Tristan and Damian already had ideas as to how they would distribute the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs in the future, feeling that the day their vige faced a monster tide unscathed had gotten far closer than they thought it would.


    After Valyr informed them that the vige doctor knew how to concoct the Reinforcement Elixirs, Damian and Tristan decided to test out the elixirs on themselves first, but only after promising Valyr that the knowledge of the elixirs wouldn''t quickly spread. In fact, to ease Valyr''s worries of the knowledge falling into the wrong hands, Damian went ahead and removed the raw materials used to craft the elixirs from the organization''s contribution point shop, telling Valyr that the other guards wouldn''t even notice that those items had disappeared from the list.


    Once that was done, Damian then added the two types of Basic Reinforcement Elixir from the shop''s list, setting a price worth thousands of contribution points per vial as he considered them to be as important as Special Skills. After that, he set the prerequisite to be able to view and buy the elixirs to the [Guard Captain] rank, though he told Valyr that he would bump it down to the [Veteran Guard] rankter on.


    After talking about it for a bit more, with both Tristan and Damian eager and expectant to see the effects of the elixir in the next few days, the three of them went their separate ways, with Tristan and Valyr leaving the office once it seemed that everything they needed to know about Reinforcement Elixirs had been said. By the time thetter two split up once more, Valyr asked Tristan if it was possible for him to procure a set of materials for him, to which thetter told him toe by the smithy tomorrow.


    With that, Valyr made his way back to his dormitory room, sitting down on the side of his bed before letting out a long sigh of relief. ''To think my body would feel this light after I''ve decided to not keep things to myself anymore. It feels¡­ nice.''


    ''In any case, since I''ve decided to be true to myself, I could bring a couple of ns forward¡­ such as the matter of my subss.'' At the very instant he found out he had sessfully ascended to his Rank 1 ss, Valyr already pondered over the subss he was going to take. Well, to be more exact, he already had a subss in mind, but due to the fact that his current ss was of a far higher tier than he had initially expected, he could not help but think that his subss should be of a high rank as well.


    ''Then again, the subss I already have in mind is already good. In terms of rarity, it''s already as good as Tristan''s Battle Junkie.'' Pondering over his subss for a bit more, he eventually recalled a certain memory regarding the subss he obtained in his previous life. Perusing through the memory, a smile crept up his face as he let out a light chuckle soon after. ''Now that I think about it, the yer who took the higher rarity version of the subss I had back then hasn''t appeared yet. Of course, that''s because the public version hasn''t even started.''


    ''But since that''s the case¡­ hehehe.'' With the matter of his eventual subss more or less a done deal in his head, he then moved onto the most pressing matter he currently had at hand.


    "Now what the hell do I about this dungeon?" Lying on his bed as he gazed at the ceiling, Valyr pondered over the things he knew so far about the dungeon Alfaera tasked him to clear. "For one, only those at Level 15 and below are eligible to enter the dungeon. Then, ording to what Damian said back then, it''s a goblin dungeon, with the name of the dungeon in the quest supporting that."


    "As for the overall difficulty of the dungeon¡­ the only clue I''ve gotten so far is the boss." Scratching his head at the current thought, a slight frown appeared on his face before letting out a sigh. "An incredibly strong goblin¡­ I wouldn''t have any problems with that if they told me the boss'' level or something, but to form assumptions only based off that¡­"


    "Guess I''m using the tried and tested route of bing as strong as possible before attempting it." With that in mind, he went ahead and checked through the skills in his arsenal, recalling the three Common grade skill shards he had obtained from the tournament. Sitting upright to grab the satchel of skill shards, he soon made up his mind on which skill to give it to, thinking that it was the best choice.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to consume 3 Skill Shards to upgrade ''Analysis'' to Level 10?]


    "Yes." Confirming his decision, the skill shards inside the satchel he held started to glow vibrantly before transforming into specks of light that made its way to his forehead. Soon after, he felt an influx of information enter his mind, feeling as if he had gained a better understanding of the world around him.


    As the feeling subsided, he ced the now empty satchel to the side as he perused through the titles he had obtained. ''I wonder if any of these titles will help me out in the dungeon.''


    Ding! Ding!


    Bringing up the description of both titles, Valyr''s eyes widened in genuine surprise as a light cackle swiftly escaped his mouth. Though he had not obtained any of the titles in his previous life, the effects he had read from both of them were enough to instill a bit more confidence into him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Signs of a True Elite] (Title)


    Rarity: Umon


    To be able to ignore the great disparity in level between you and your opponent and emerge victorious, you''ve shown the makings of a true elite, a being most people look up and aspire to.


    Effects:


    > +3% damage tomon monsters at least 5 levels higher than the user


    > +5% damage to Elite monsters at least 5 levels higher than the user


    > +3% Attack and Defense


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Astarto''s Tidebreaker] (Title)


    Rarity: Rare


    You''ve be the wall that protects the vige. You''ve be the spear that rekindles hope. You''ve be the person those in the vige aspire to be. Your feats in the monster tide shall be sung by the people for ages toe. You are their bastion, Tidebreaker.


    Effects:


    > +10% damage to all monsters within a five kilometer radius around Astarto Vige


    > +10% reduction to all damage received within a five kilometer radius around Astarto Vige


    > +10% boost to VIT and STR within a five kilometer radius around Astarto Vige


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I think I know where to grab a few more titles with simr effects to these before I tackle the dungeon." Done reading through the descriptions of both titles, he made a mental note in his mind to leave the vige and grab the easy to obtain titles he thought of, smiling at the idea of all of his titles'' effects stacking together.


    "Hmm¡­ what else can I do?" Lightly scratching his head as he pondered over what other things he could do to make his attempt at the dungeon in the future easier, he soon opened up his Technology Tree, recalling that he had a boatload of Technology Points he could spend.


    "Well, now that I''m looking at it, I should really unlock it." With the Production section of the Technology Tree currently in front of his field of vision, he went ahead and unlocked all of the Basic level advancements on it, only to max them all out soon after.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic cksmithing Essence Lv. 1>.]


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic cksmithing Essence> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Refinement> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    [As you have unlocked <Basic Refinement>, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Equipment Refinement''.]


    [Due to your current ss, your active skill ''Basic Equipment Refinement'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious Equipment Refinement''.]

 Chapter 119 Forging And Upgrading

    Looking at the skill he had received from unlocking advancements, Valyr went ahead and read through its description. While reading through it, a thought surfaced in his mind all of a sudden, prompting him to think about other ways of getting stronger for a bit. ''It kind of sucks that Advancement is only essible by Rank 3 cksmiths and above. Even a 1st Tier Advancement on all the equipment I''ll use for the dungeon will be enough to put me at ease.''


    ''Then again, using both Refinement and Enhancement on equipment is better than only using Enhancement.'' Shrugging his shoulders, he closed the screen in front of him, satisfied after knowing that the change brought by the ss to the skill was an increase in the speed and sess rate of the refinement.


    Being one of three most used features in strengthening equipment, Refinement relied on tapping into the unearthed potential of the equipment and awakening it, before melding it to be a part of the equipment itself. This was unlike Enhancement, where the focus was to polish what was already there to greater heights, which in turn increased the level of the equipment.


    Aside from that, Refinement was highly reliant on the rarity of the equipment, with each tier of rarity allowing for five refinements at most. With that in mind, Common grade equipment could be refined up to +5, Umon to +10, Rare to +15, and so on and so forth.


    On top of that, once one went past a refinement level of +10 on a piece of equipment, the chances of one seeding to increase it to +11 be smaller, with +15 already being considerably rare to see on a piece of equipment, if not for the fact that Refinement Jewels were avable to obtain in dungeons at the higher levels.


    Then again, with his current level, Valyr did not have easy ess to something like Refinement Jewels, which was why he was d to find out his Refinement skill also increased sess rate.


    Feeling a bit sleepy at this point, Valyr could not help but let out a light yawn. Though, this sleepiness momentarily disappeared as he recalled the spear tip he had forged during the tournament in Danyhris Town. Grabbing it to get a better look, thoughts of his spear possibly rejecting the spear tip could not help but linger in his mind.


    However, rather than feel a bit of hesitation at modifying his spear to have the metal spear tip due to the negative thoughts swirling in his mind, he let out a deep exhale, putting his faith in the boundless amounts of experience he had rued in his past life regarding the modification of equipment.


    ''Well, if it fails, I could always increase the weapon bond to Level 3.'' cing the spear tip by the side as he lied down on his bed once more, he let out a light chuckle before closing his eyes, thinking of taking it easy for the rest of the day.


    ¡­


    By the time next morning came, Valyr felt energized, his mental condition as best as it could be since he leisurely spent most of his time yesterday. Feeling incredibly motivated about what he was going to do sometimeter, he went ahead and did his usual morning routine, leaving the barracks around an hour after he had woken up.


    Then again, even though an hour had already passed since he had woken up, most of the people in the vige were still in the process of pulling away their consciousnesses from dreand. Deciding to grab a small breakfast to go for Tristan along the way, he eventually arrived at the smithy sometimeter, being greeted by the sight of Tristan in the process of opening up shop.


    "Well, aren''t you up early?" Valyr could not help but say as he entered, raising up the bag of food he carried for thetter to notice. Unsurprisingly, with the wafting aroma of food faintly spreading throughout, Tristan moved closer before grabbing the bag off Valyr''s hands.


    "I could say the same to you. Does it have something to do with the materials you asked me to procure yesterday?" As Tristan said this, he removed the food Valyr had bought from the bag, asking thetter if the food was for him. Seeing Valyr nod in response to the question, he thanked him before digging in. "Thanks for the breakfast."


    Chuckling at Tristan''s current sight, Valyr nodded at the man''s first question. "Well, I wouldn''t be here if not for the materials I had you procure. Speaking of which, how much did it cost?"


    "I had to use my connections to get a couple of them, but all in all, you owe me two gold coins." Listening to the question, Tristan stopped eating for a bit. "Though I have a feeling I know what you''re going to use most of them for, I have zero clue regarding the remaining ones."


    Hearing that, Valyr shed a knowing smile as he made his way to Tristan''s workspace. "You''ll see very soon. Also, mind if I use your tools for now?"


    "Well, you''ve used my tools many times in the past already, so why would I stop you?" replied Tristan with his mouth still somewhat full with food. "Plus, I was nning to only forge a couple pieces of equipment for the day. Feel free to use ''em as you see fit."


    "With pleasure." Grinning, Valyr headed to the area of the smithy where Tristan told him the materials he had procured could be located. Grabbing a bunch of them, he chucked most of them into the furnace, making sure that the mes inside were hot enough to have them reach their needed temperatures.


    Keeping a close eye on each material in the furnace, he took out one of them sometimeter, making a mental note of when the other materials would reach their ideal temperatures. cing the material he took out on the anvil, he then started to hammer away at it, molding it into the shape the blueprint in his mind dictated. ''Using azure iron on something like this feels a bit wasteful, but it''s the only armor set blueprint I have.''


    Inwardly shrugging his shoulders, he eventually fell into a rhythm he found suitable, utilizing the hyperfocus ability given to him by [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] from time to time as the piece of azure iron on the anvil gradually took on the shape of a helmet.


    At that point, Tristan was already finished eating the breakfast Valyr bought him, standing behind thetter as he watched him work. "You forging the Astarto Defense Armor set?"


    "It''s the only armor set I have," said Valyr as he ced the iplete helmet into the furnace. Then, he turned to look at Tristan. "Unless if you have a blueprint for another armor set that''s better."


    "The Astarto Defense Armor set is the best set I have, unfortunately." Tristan bitterly smiled. "Of course, I have blueprints for better armor, but they''re all separate pieces. Guessing that you''re crafting the set for the dungeon near the vige, none of the separate ones are gonna be of any help."


    "Anyways, are you just gonna craft the entire set as is or are you gonna add something to it?" he asked soon after, only to answer it not long after. "Then again, now that I know you better, I feel like you''re going to go for thetter."


    In response to the statement, Valyr beamed a smile as he took out the iplete helmet from the furnace before continuing to work at it.


    "Naturally."

 Chapter 120 A New Armor Set

    As he was nearing thepletion of the first piece making up the Astarto Defense Armor set, Valyr stopped midway, taking out all of the materials he had chucked into the furnace aside from the azure iron he had retrieved early on before stacking them on top of one another as he allowed the materials to cool down. Seeing them gradually melding with one another, he inwardly nodded before returning his focus on the helmet.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c "And¡­ done." Wiping off a bit of sweat from his forehead, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he ced the now forged helmet on the side, preparing to chuck in another hunk of azure iron into the furnace for the next armor piece. However, just as he was about to do so, a thought popped up in his mind, prompting him to plop the helmet into the furnace for a bit before pouring a vial of Lesser Tidemother Blood on it.


    Hiss!


    Unsurprisingly, due to how hot the helmet got in the furnace, most of the blood from the vial burned off into a putrid smoke that neither of the two wanted to inhale. Nevertheless, by the time Valyr took out the helmet and allowed it to cool down, a faint tinge of crimson covered its entire surface.


    "Huh. It feels sturdier." Tossing the helmet in the air for a bit, Valyr eventually arrived at this conclusion. Finding the change brought by the vial of blood interesting, he ced the helmet by his side once more before chucking another piece of azure iron into the furnace.


    ''While I''m waiting for that to get to the right temperature, I should focus on that first.'' Stoking the mes in the furnace for a couple minutes, he then shifted his attention to the materials he had stacked on top of one another earlier. Looking at how far the materials have melded with one another, he lightly nodded in satisfaction before putting it inside the furnace.


    Watching Valyr do his thing, Tristan could not help but be mesmerized for a bit, finding the way Valyr forged equipment somewhat enchanting. However, this thought was quickly broken by the shock he felt after watching the pile of materials Valyr put into the furnace turn red hot within seconds.


    With widened eyes, Tristan could not help but move closer to the furnace, deciding that he would retrieve the materials from the furnace if he noticed that the materials were starting to burn. Fortunately, before it had even reached that point, Valyr removed the materials from the furnace and plopped it on the anvil before using a chisel to divide it into six equal portions.


    "So, there''s the helmet, the pauldrons, the chestte, the vambraces, the greaves, and the boots. Yeah, I portioned it correctly." Muttering to himself as he double checked to make sure he had portioned it correctly, he soon hammered on the portions as if there was no tomorrow, ttening the portions into discs before throwing them into the furnace not long after.


    Then, once they reached the optimal temperature for forging once more, he retrieved them from the furnace before doing the same thing all over again, repeating the process until six dark blue orbs the size of tennis balls were disyed on the anvil.


    "With that done, I can return my focus on the other armor pieces." Nodding in satisfaction, Valyr ced the six orbs on a nearby table, making sure that they didn''t touch the helmet he had forged earlier. After that, he focused his attention on the chunk of azure iron he had put in the furnace earlier, which was coincidentally at the perfect temperature for forging at that very moment.


    Just like the helmet, he continued forging the other parts of the Astarto Defense Armor set. Once he was done with the pauldrons, he moved onto the chestte. After the chestte, the vambraces, and so on and so forth.


    In the meantime, while watching Valyr forge the entire armor set, it was only then did Tristan see Valyr truly engrossed in forging for once. It was also only then did he find out how passionate and determined the man before him was when it came to forging.


    To him, it felt like he was born for the profession. He breathed, walked, and lived for the profession from how efficient and graceful his movements were.


    Nevertheless, this spectacle eventually came to an end once Valyr had finished forging the final piece of the Astarto Defense Armor set, the boots. Letting out a long sigh of relief, Valyr stood up from his seat and stretched his body as much as it could handle before turning to look at Tristan with a smile.


    "Wanna grab some lunch before I continue?" Seeing that the time had already be afternoon, Valyr made the offer, to which Tristan unhesitatingly agreed with. With that, they left the smithy for a while and headed to the vige inn for their lunch, with Valyr ordering a hearty lunch as he told thetter that there was one more thing he would forge.


    Digging into their food, Tristan looked at Valyr after sometime as a question popped up in his mind. "Hey, Valyr. Mind telling me what those dark blue orbs you made earlier were?"


    Surprisingly, Valyr nodded in an instant to the question, prompting Tristan to perk up his ears with great eagerness. However, as he heard the former snicker soon after, this eagerness quickly down as he saw the man before him with a cheeky grin on his face. "I could tell you what they are¡­ but you''ll have to give up on the elixirs. Your choice."


    Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Tristan scratched his head for a bit before letting out a light sigh. "You''re driving a hard bargain, you know that?"


    "Well, I have to at least keep some for myself, you know?" In response, Valyr let out a bit ofughter. "In any case, you''ll see what they doter."


    With that statement ending their topic, the two continued to eat their lunch as they talked about some gossip they''ve picked up around the vige.


    ¡­


    Returning to the smithy with their hunger satiated, Valyr went ahead and held up one of the dark blue orbs in front of Tristan, prompting thetter''s attention to be fixated on it. After that, he ced the helmet piece of the armor set on top of the anvil.


    Then, without any warning, he mmed the dark blue orb into the helmet, making Tristan think that a huge dent would appear on it once Valyr took his hands off. However, once thetter did do so, there was no dent to be found.


    In fact, there was no dark blue orb to be found either.


    "Wha¡ª" Just as Tristan''s face was filled with incredulity, wanting to ask the man in front of him what just happened, this incredulity became more exaggerated once the helmet started to give off a faint dark blue light. At this point, Tristan''s mouth went slightly agape as he gawked at the sight before him.


    A couple minutester, the faint dark blue light around the helmet disappeared, prompting Valyr to pick it up as he ced the chestte on the anvil before dropping one of the dark blue orbs on it. While the chestte was emitting the same dark blue light as the helmet from earlier, Valyr gave the seemingly transformed helmet to Tristan with a smile. "Identify it with [Analysis]."


    With his eyes still widened from shock, Tristan did what he was told. Soon after, he could not help but look back and forth between the helmet he held and Valyr, his eyes now as wide as they could open. "Is this¡­ still the same Astarto Defense Armor set I know?"


    "More or less." Valyr nodded in response as he ced the chestte to the side before cing the pauldrons on the anvil. "I haven''t checked if it changed descriptions yet, so I''m not too sure. Then again, thisst step was pretty much an experiment."


    "An experiment?" Tristan doubted what his ears were hearing. "You''re telling, this great of a change to the set''s stats¡­ is an experiment?!"


    "From how you''re reacting so far, it seems the experiment''s a sess." Valyr chuckled in response. "Well, look at it this way. I can repeatedly do this future armor sets like this one. I guess what you''re holding in your hands right now is considered the enhanced version of Astarto Defense Armor set."


    "The enhanced version? With this kind of disparity in stats?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan could not help but shake his head as he showed the screen he was looking at earlier to the man before him. "You must be kidding me."


    "It would be better to say I''m holding one of the pieces making up the first ever Supreme Astarto Defense Armor set."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "That sounds a bit too overbearing, don''t you think?"

 Chapter 121 True Tideblood Spear

    "Overbearing? Oh, definitely. I agree with you on that part." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan nodded in agreement. Then, he motioned Valyr to look at the screen he was showing him. "However, that''s the system''s words, not mine."


    "Is that so?" With that in mind, Valyr''s interest was somewhat piqued, finally taking a look at the description of the helmet he had given Valyr. Unsurprisingly, a solemn expression appeared on his face once he was finished reading through it. "Well¡­ that''s definitely worthy of being called supreme alright."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Supreme Astarto Defense Helmet] (Level 8)


    Rarity: Common+


    Defense: 6 - 10


    A helmet forged by a true prodigy using azure iron. Although the original blueprint of the helmet wastes most of the potential the material has, the one who had forged this helmet was able to awaken it with exotic materials, allowing it to achieve a level of defense normally unreachable by the original version, gaining the potential to reach higher levels. However, with the intervention of this maker, this potential shall forever remain untapped.


    This helmet is radiating a faint yet unique type of energy that seem to resonate with other equipment. If the user finds other equipment that radiate the same type of energy, special effects might ur.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Supreme Astarto Defense Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces - HP + 250


    - 4 pieces - VIT + 10


    - 6 pieces - Damage Reduction + 5%


    Remarks: Well, it''s definitely better than having no armor.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With the help of the Tier 1 Upgrade Alloy he had pped onto every piece of the armor set, Valyr was not surprised to see the rarity of the helmet reach Common+, with the description of it mentioning that it would never be able to tap into its true potential. However, once heid his eyes upon the set effects of the new set, he could not help but raise his eyebrows in surprise, recalling the effects of the old Astarto Defense Armor set.


    ''If I remember correctly, that set would only give 100 HP once three pieces were equipped, and +5 to VIT if all pieces were equipped.'' Once this information surfaced in his mind, Valyr could not help but wonder if he had inadvertently created a new armor set. ''On the other hand, the effects on this set have been doubled. Add on the fact that it gives the user an additional 5% damage reduction¡­''


    ''I think I just made a scary early-game armor set.'' Chuckling at the thought, Valyr told Tristan that he was finished reading through its description, informing thetter that he had no intention of making an improved version of the Astarto Defense Armor set in terms of its set effects. Hearing that, Tristan only became more motivated to find out how Valyr had done just that, asking thetter the question regarding the dark blue orbs once more.


    But of course, Valyr gave him a knowing grin like before, telling him that if he wanted to find out how to craft this new armor set he had created by ident, he would have to give up on the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs. Thankfully, that was enough to deter Tristan once more, though it came with a bit of grumbling where he mentioned he''d find a way to craft a set simr to that.


    Retrieving the helmet back from Tristan, he then tried wearing the entire set of armor on, instantly feeling the set effects activating as his body felt brimming with energy. After that, he walked around, quickly noticing that the armor only slightly hindered his movements, which was natural. Testing to see its limits, he then did a few basic moves inbat, finding the hindrance the armor brought more or less tolerable.


    Satisfied with the armor set he had crafted, Valyr then took it off and ced all of it off to the side before asking Tristan if it was possible for him to store the armor set here for now until he entered the dungeon. In response, Tristan nodded and said he did not mind, informing Valyr soon after that he looked like a knight in faint crimson armor with the armor set on.


    Chuckling at the thought, he then asked him another question. "Anyways, is that all you''ll be forging for today?"


    "Of course not." Valyr shook his head as he smiled at Tristan. "Naturally, if I''ve crafted a set of armor, I should also craft a fitting weapon for it, no?"


    "But you already have the spear, right?" Tristan asked back, his expression somewhat confused. "Are you actually going to craft a new weapon for the dungeon?"


    "Technically." With a light smile still adorning his face, Valyr retrieved the spear affixed to his back and ced it on the anvil. After that, he rummaged out the spear tip he had ced in his pocket before he left to head to the smithy, throwing it into the furnace to get it red hot. "What I''m actually doing is that I''m going to modify my current spear."


    Hearing those wordse out of Valyr''s mouth, Tristan''s eyes could not help but widen in shock. "Seriously?! You''re seriously going to modify a spear with a weapon bond?! Aren''t you afraid it''ll be lost?!"


    As he said these words, Tristan recalled all of the times he had tried modifying a weapon in order for it to reach a higher tier. Unfortunately for him, most of them ended up in failure, with only one being sessful.


    That one sess was the weapon he forged for Damian for use during the monster tide.


    In response to Tristan''s string of questions, Valyr let out a bit ofughter, taking out the heated spear tip from the furnace before cing on top of his spear''s wooden tip. Hammering the two together, he responded, "Why would I be afraid? Don''t you remember my ss?"


    As Valyr''s words entered his ears, Tristan''s anxiety regarding what Valyr was doing mostly disappeared in an instant, the thought that a Mythic cksmith ss would definitely have something that assured a sessful modification lingering in his mind. Nevertheless, he still could not help but worry. "I know what kind of ss you have, and I believe in it, but what if it does happen?"


    "Then it happens. It is what it is, after all." Seeing Valyr so nonchnt as to whether or not the spear would break during the modification, Tristan could not help but wonder if he had truly prepared for it to break, or if he was confident that it would be sessful. Then again, with the armor set Valyr had forged so far, his thoughts could not help but lean towards thetter.


    Of course, Valyr also had the same thoughts, confident in his rued experience and the boost in sess rate given by his Mythic ss. Opening up the skill in his mind to double check its description, Valyr continued to meld the spear tip and the spear together, feeling as if a higher level of power was being unearthed.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious Equipment Modification] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    A normal prodigy takes the norm and ascends it to a level few can reach. On the other hand, a true prodigy takes the norm and transforms it into something greater, bing something even prodigies yearn to achieve.


    This skill gives the user to modify weapons as they see fit, given that they have thepatible materials needed for the modification to happen. Due to the user being a true prodigy, this limitation in materials is somewhat loosened with their talent, with the user gaining a 5% increased chance at a sessful modification.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Whoosh!


    Eventually, the metal spear tip he had forged back then hadpletely melded with the spear, turning into one entity as a faint ringing sound soon resounded from the spear while a faint breeze spread throughout the smithy. Sensing the connection between him and the spear, Valyr could tell that the sound the spear was making was its way of expressing joy, feeling as if it had be more useful to him.


    Soon after, the metal spear tip took on the same color as the shaft it had been transferred to, only for it to turn a deeper crimson not long after as a string of notifications resounded in Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''Tideblood Spear''.]


    [Due to the modification you have done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a higher level of power, increasing its rarity to Umon.]


    [Thanks to this change, its name has changed to ''True Tideblood Spear''.]

 Chapter 122 In Search Of Titles

    Reading through the notifications he had received, Valyr could not help but smile as he picked up the newly modified True Tideblood Spear. Heading to a more open space before starting to wield it like he normally would, he swiftly noticed that the difference the metal spear tip brought to the spear overall was more or less negligible in terms of handling.


    On the other hand, attacking with the spear felt smoother, as if the metal tip was guiding the air in the surroundings to go around the spear, feeling as if the spear generally moved faster every thrust and sh he did with it. Eventually, he ced the modified spear back on the anvil, nodding in satisfaction as he went ahead and refined it to +10.


    Whoosh!


    With his past experience and the boost in speed and sess rate brought by his refinement skill, it did not take long for Valyr to increase his spear''s refinement level to +10, with the spear emanating a faint red glow around its body because of it. Picking it up, he instantly felt the increase in stats brought about by the refinement, grinning as he identified the spear with [Analysis].


    ''With each refinement level increasing the equipment''s stats by 2%, I''ve basically improved my spear''s stats by a fifth of the original.'' With this thought in mind, he went ahead and looked at the status screen of his modified and upgraded spear, eventually letting out a light cackle filled with pride as he finished reading through it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) True Tideblood Spear] (Level 10)


    Rarity: Umon


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Valyr)


    Attack: 29 - 48 (+10%)


    Previously a training weapon¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill: True Blood Drive - Greatly propels the user forward with a small jet of blood from the end of the spear''s shaft, increasing the user''s speed temporarily beforending a quick thrust. Deals 80% of the user''s Attack stat and 30% of the user''s VIT stat as damage. Converts 8% of the damage dealt into HP. Cooldown: 8 seconds. Cost: 30 MP.>


    Remarks: Rejoice. You''ve finally gotten yourself an actual weapon you can be proud of owning.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aside from the fact that the weapon''s stats had substantially increased after its rarity became Umon, Valyr was pleasantly surprised to find out that the innate skill on the weapon had upgraded as well, dealing more damage while also converting more damage into HP. Though the amount of MP needed to activate it had slightly gotten higher, the slight decrease in cooldown made up for it, all in all making Valyr satisfied.


    Just as he was about to call it a day and leave the smithy to let Tristan do his own things, the thought of the armor set popped up in his mind, deciding to go ahead and enhance all of the pieces to Level 10 before refining them all to +5. Because of this, the sun was already in the middle of setting by the time Valyr was finished.


    cing the enhanced and refined armor pieces on the side for Tristan to store once he left, Valyr then profusely apologized to thetter, feeling sorry that he had upied his workce for so long that thetter wasn''t able to do his job for the day at all. Surprisingly, Tristan only shrugged it off and chuckled, easing Valyr''s worries as he told him that the equipment he was supposed to craft today wasn''t on a deadline anyway.


    "In any case, I should really craft a new set of tools for you to use. I wouldn''t always be free to let you use my workce, after all." As Tristan said those words, Valyr dragged the former into an embrace, prompting Tristan to have a light smile on his face as he responded in kind. Soon, they let go of each other, with Valyr bidding farewell as he returned back to the barracks.


    ¡­


    After grabbing a hearty dinner from the cafeteria, feeling a bit of the exhaustion disappear with each bite, Valyr eventually returned to his dormitory room, taking a long hot shower to give his body the rxation it sorely needed. While wondering if there was a ce nearby that offered treatment simr to massages and spas, he changed into a set of clothes more suitable for sleeping, lying down on the bed as he thought about what he was going to do next.


    ''Well, I''ve already crafted the armor I''m going to use for the dungeon. But if I find a blueprint for a better armor set, I''ll swap to that.'' Gazing out at the nighttimendscape that existed past his room''s window, thoughts and ideas soon started to swirl within Valyr''s mind. ''In any case, modifying my spear was definitely a good idea, though upgrading it to the next rarity would be somewhat difficult. Then again, Umon is more than enough for now.''


    ''Hmm¡­ what else should I do in preparation for the dungeon?'' he asked himself, pondering over it for a bit in silence. After a couple minutes, a thought soon surfaced in his mind as he opened up the contribution point shop for the vige guards. ''Now that I think about it, I do need to grab a couple skills.''


    Heading to the skill tab, he went ahead and bought a couple skills, ignoring the contribution points it cost since he still had a lot left over.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the active skill ''Inferior Heal''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Offense Aura''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Defense Aura''.]


    ''A rudimentary healing skill, and then an offensive and defensive buffing skill.'' Inwardly nodding in satisfaction, he then scrolled through the list of skills as a certain skill popped up in his mind. ''I wonder if that skill is avable from the shop. If it is, it would definitely save me a lot of time finding it.''


    ''After all, it''s one of the requirements for the subss I''m aiming for.'' Fortunately, after scrolling for a while, he had found the skill he needed, only for him to notice that he did not meet the prerequisite rank to be able to buy it. Pondering over it, he decided that he would talk to Damian about the skill next morning.


    ''Well, with equipment and skills more or less settled for now, I guess that only leaves the titles I''m getting before heading into the dungeon.'' Unlike the skills, which only took him a while to make a decision, thinking about the titles he could obtain that would his time in the dungeon easier took longer. After all, just like skills, there were a plethora of titles that did the same thing, yet had different requirements in order for one to obtain them.


    Thankfully, after rummaging through all of his memories regarding his titles, he eventually set his eyes on two titles around half an hourter, thinking about the uses of the titles he had chosen beyond the dungeon. ''Spear Novice and Combat Novice are definitely good titles to get, though I was initially going to just get the first one. Then again, it''s a waste to not get the second one since I could pick up along the way.''


    As for his reason behind choosing these two titles, both of the titles were actually part of a series of titles, with each seeding title needing the previous title as a prerequisite. Aside from that, the Spear Novice was one of the things he needed if he wanted to obtain the subss he was aiming for.


    Making up his mind to grab those two titles, he soon closed his eyes, eventually drifting off into a deep sleep.


    ''Guess I''m heading to Clossbay City tomorrow.''

 Chapter 123 Three Star Mission

    Once he had finished going through his daily morning routine, Valyr made his way to the cafeteria and ate a bit of light breakfast. After that, he made his way to Damian''s office, the thoughts he hade up withst night lingering in his mind.


    "Come in." Hearing the ever familiar voice on the other side after knocking on the door, Valyr let himself into the room, with Damian watching him enter as he seemed to be doing nothing for the day. "So, what brings you here, Valyr? Does it have something to do with the Reinforcement Elixir?"


    In response to the question, Valyr shook his head. Nevertheless, it did make him think of the progress the two had made regarding the elixirs since he had introduced them to him.


    For one, both Tristan and Damian had already ingested one vial each of the two elixir types, with the notifications they received supporting the im Valyr made back then. With this renewed confidence, they asked Vera if she could concoct more of the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs, to which she replied that they would have to pay for her time.


    Though her response was a far contrast to how she responded to Valyr''s request back then, Tristan and Damian did not mind forking up the cost since she was the only one among them who had the skills and the knowledge to concoct the elixirs. When Valyr and Tristan met up yesterday thanks to the former''s forging spree, Valyr was updated on the progress of the two regarding the elixirs, being told that they were already about halfway to obtaining the passive skill.


    Realizing that his train of thought had meandered off to another path as he stared out into nothingness, Valyr lightly coughed as he looked back at Tristan, recalling all of the thoughts he pondered overst night. With that, he went ahead and told Damian the thought that needed thetter''s help the most. "I actually came to here to ask if it was possible to get a skill from the contribution point shop from you?"


    Ignoring the fact that Valyr seemingly nked out for a minute or so, Damian nodded in response to the question. "Considering that you headed straight to me, I presume it''s a skill that needs you to be at the [Guard Leader] rank to be able to buy it, right?"


    Seeing Valyr nod at his question, he nodded back before opening up a screen before him, perusing through the list of skills in the contribution point shop. "Well, inparison to what you''re doing for the vige''s future with the knowledge of the Reinforcement Elixirs, helping you get a skill from the shop is only a drop in the bucket."


    "But of course, for the sake of fairness, you''ll have to fork up the points needed to buy it. All I''m doing is helping you bypass the prerequisite," he soon added, to which Valyr nodded in agreement. "So, what skill are you nning to get?"


    "The [Serpent Steps Movement Style]," Valyr said in response, recalling making up his mind on getting this skillst night. With how his currentbat style and the movement style he was going to get both had the same first word, one might be inclined to think that the two skills were connected somehow.


    Well, if one were to think that way, then they would be correct.


    In fact, Valyr could vividly remember that the [Serpent Spear Combat Style] would only show its true colors when used in tandem with the [Serpent Steps Movement Style], allowing the user to not only move like a serpent, but attack like a serpent at all. With the two skills working together, its might wasparable to most Umon gradebat styles, and even a couple Umon+ gradebat styles.


    The might the two had together was the reason why Valyr had chosen to obtain the skills in his past life, with the subss that was rted to it being a bonus. Then again, the fact that the skills had a set upgrade path was also a bonus.


    Hearing Valyr''s choice, Damian asked him one more time if he was certain of his choice before nodding. After that, while interacting with the screen before him, he told Valyr to give him the contribution points needed to buy the skill. Of course, with most of the contribution points Valyr got as a reward from the monster tide, he had more than enough to cover the cost of the skill, prompting a notification to appear on a screen in front of him not long after.


    Ding!


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c [You have gained the active skill ''Serpent Steps Movement Style''.]


    "Did you get the movement style because you have the apanyingbat style?" Closing up the screen before him, Damian looked at Valyr and asked this question. In response, Valyr lightly nodded as he closed the screen in front of him as well.


    "Well, it''s definitely a goodbination to have, that''s for sure." Seeing Valyr nod at his question, Damian took it as a cue to continue talking. "Then again, I do find it peculiar that you''ve only decided to grab the movement style now and not back then, even though you also had enough contribution points to buy it back then."


    "In fact, I think I wouldn''t have minded giving it to you as a gift after the monster tide if you asked." With this thought in mind, he looked at Valyr with slightly narrowed eyes, finding the thought suspicious, yet at the same time feeling as if there was something more to it.


    Feeling as if Damian wouldn''t let the matter pass that easily, Valyr bitterly smiled in response, deciding to bepletely honest about it. "Well¡­ itpletely slipped past my mind at the time."


    "Then again, if I did think of getting the movement style back then, I still wouldn''t have gotten it since I didn''t want to abuse your kindness," he continued. "Plus, I think I would stand out too much if I got two Special Skills while I was still Rank 0."


    Listening to Valyr''s words, Damian could not help but be confused by the former''s final statement. Nevertheless, he more or less understood where he wasing from, though that came at a cost of slight mental gymnastics. Nodding sometimeter, he then focused his attention on Valyr once more, noticing that thetter didn''t seem to have any intentions of leaving the office just yet. "Is there something else you want to tell me?"


    "There is." Valyr nodded. "I''m heading to Clossbay City for a while to do some things. Just wanted to give you a heads-up."


    "The heads-up is always appreciated." Damian nodded back before telling Valyr that he was free to take as much time as he wanted. In response to that, Valyr asked him if it was possible for him to inform Tristan of what he had told him, eliciting a light chuckle to escape Damian''s mouth as he nodded soon after.


    With that, Valyr thanked Damian and turned around to leave the office. Though, just as he was about to do so, a thought popped up in Damian''s mind as he recalled something that had something to do with Clossbay City, prompting him to stop Valyr from heading out any further. "Ah, wait just a second, Valyr. I just remembered something."


    "You''re heading to Clossbay City, right?" Damian asked for rification, to which Valyr nodded in response with a hint of puzzlement. Seeing thetter nod, he then opened up his screen and interacted with it a bit as a notification appeared in Valyr''s mind soon after. "Since that''s the case¡­"


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the three star mission: The Clossbay Killer.]


    [Would you like to ept the mission?]


    "¡­could you do this mission for me?"

 Chapter 124 An Old Acquaintance

    Unsurprisingly, once Valyr heard the question that came out of Damian''s mouth, the former responded back with a question of his own. "Why me, though?"


    In response, a bitter smile appeared on Damian''s face. "Well, you''re heading to Clossbay City anyway and the mission is something you could do while you''re in the city¡­ I thought you wouldn''t mind taking a mission along with you."


    "I mean¡­ I don''t really mind that much. In fact, I''ll probably take it once we''re done here." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "But let me ask once again¡­ why me? Why give me a three star mission, a mission that I probably think is one of the more difficult ones toplete?"


    Feeling as if he had misunderstood the question Valyr asked him, Damian went silent for a bit as he mulled over it. After some time, he looked back at the former before responding with a light sigh. "Let me be honest, Valyr. This mission has been on our list for a long time already, with none of the other Guard Captains taking it. As for those who do, they end up heading to the city before returning back to the vige empty-handed, informing me that it was impossible for them topete the quest."


    "In fact, that''s the reason why it''s considered a three star mission. Back then it was only considered two star," he added, only for him to go silent once more before continuing. "In any case, this thought of giving you the mission was just a spur of the moment thing. If you ept it and you actuallyplete it, then you get the boosted rewards from the quest, as well as my gratitude."


    "Of course, if you choose to decline, that''s fine as well. I did say giving it to you was a spur of the moment thing, after all." With that, Damian finally went silent, allowing Valyr to ponder over it as he decided to check the description of the mission. While reading through it, he could not help but raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Clossbay Killer] (Mercenary Guild Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    There have been reports of a person on the loose, killing the innocents of Clossbay City as if it were as normal as breathing. Though many people have seen the man''s appearance, none of them have been able to capture and arrest them. In fact, to this day, they continue to kill the innocents of the city from time to time, eventually gaining the moniker of the Clossbay Killer.


    Although the problem still hasn''t gotten out of hand, the mayor of the city has put up this quest in order to stop it from getting worse, in the hopes of increasing the trust the citizens have towards the city''s safety. With how elusive the Clossbay Killer is, the mayor only hopes that you figure out the killer''s whereabouts. However, if you do find a way to apprehend them, you shall be handsomely rewarded.


    Quest Requirements:


    pAn,Da-n0v e1,c > Locate the whereabouts of the Clossbay Killer (0/1)


    Optional Quest Requirements:


    > Apprehend the Clossbay Killer (0/1)


    Quest Rewards: Affinity +100 with the mayor of Clossbay City, Reputation +100 within Clossbay City, 50,000 XP, 100 gold coins


    Optional Quest Rewards: Affinity + 400 with the mayor of Clossbay City, Reputation +400 within Clossbay City, 200,000 XP, 400 gold coins


    Quest Penalty: Affinity -10 with the mayor of Clossbay City


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''So, a three star mission is equivalent to a quest with a difficulty grade of C¡­ good to know.'' Once he was done reading through the mission''s description, Valyr went ahead and closed the screen in front of him beforemanding the system to ept the mission. Of course, once he had found out that Valyr had epted the mission, Damian could not help but beam a smile at him before thanking him.


    While Damian thanked him, Valyr could not help but think that there was more to the quest than what it described. ''Considering how the mayor of the city is willing to give up 200,000 XP as long as the Clossbay Killer is apprehended¡­ I feel like it wouldn''t be bad looking a bit deeper into it once I''m there.''


    ''Plus¡­ getting 100 gold for just telling the mayor someone''s whereabouts ain''t a bad deal.'' Chuckling at this thought, he then went ahead and bade farewell to Damian, leaving the office as he made his way out of the barracks to get a carriage for the journey to the city and back.


    Although the city was close, Valyr decided to not skimp out on the speed of the carriage, going with a one-person carriage that would be pulled by two steeds in order to ensure it could achieve the highest speed possible while still being able to bring along more items with him than just his essentials. After all, since he had the money to do so, why would he not spend a bit more for a couple creatureforts?


    And thus, Valyr set off on a journey to Clossbay City once the sun had reached its peak, trekking a great amount of terrain by the day while resting and pondering over his actions in the future during the night. Eventually, once four days had passed, the walls of Clossbay City had finally appeared within his field of vision. Though, knowing that he was able to see it that far was mostly thanks to [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], he knew that it would be quite some time before he actually got close to it.


    In fact, it was only when it had hit noon was he finally a couple kilometers away from the city walls, finally being able to see the true grandeur of the city from up close. Giving a signal to the horses to pick up the pace, his carriage passed through the city gates around ten minutester after paying an entrance fee to the city guards.


    While passing through, one of the guards escorted him to an area designated for carriages that came from the outside, informing Valyr that personal carriages were only allowed up to a certain point in the city. Nodding in response to that, he and the guard parked his carriage at the area, thanking thetter for his help before tossing him a silver coin, to which the guard beamed a light smile before leaving Valyr to his own devices.


    Taking in a breath of the air in the city, he then strolled around the streets for a bit, wanting to see if there was anything in the city that didn''t exist before he and the other yers came in his past life. While doing so, he could not help but take in the sights surrounding him, a smile adorning his face all the while he walked.


    Compared to Anadhar City, Clossbay City seemed to be more bustling as there were more people crossing the streets, as well as stalls and shops beside the main road that led to the heart of the city. Then again, the scale of the city was double of Anadhar City''s, spanning over 50 kilometers in diameter.


    As to how this was possible, this was due to the fact that the city had a system dedicated to the safety and security of the citizens living in the city, which increased the confidence of many traveling merchants to stop by the city before deciding to live in the city long-term. With how the city also focused evenly onbat and production sses, it could be said that it was not surprising for the city to be this bustling.


    "Hmm¡­ since there''s no time limit on the quest Damian gave me, I should probably find the ce to get those titles first.'' Pondering over what he was going to do first while in the city, Valyr went ahead and started to head in a certain direction, relying on the memory from his past life regarding the cities. However, just as he had entered a new street, he could not help but stop in his tracks, staring at a man slightly far away from him that looked familiar.


    Feeling as if he was being stared at, the man looked back at Valyr, only for his eyes to widen as his mouth went agape. Wondering if he was seeing correctly, he called out to him.


    "Valyr?"


    Hearing his name being called out by the man, Valyr''s question had been answered. Being made known to the fact that he hadn''t seen wrongly, a hint of excitement appeared on his face as he ran towards the man.


    "Tryndall!"

 Chapter 125 Catching Up

    Once the two had gotten close enough to one another, both Valyr and Tryndall lightly embraced each other for a while, only to let go soon after as they looked at each other with light grins on their faces.


    "What are you doing here, Valyr?" Not expecting Valyr to appear in the same city he was in, Tryndall was eager to know the reason behind the former being in Clossbay. Though, just as he asked that, he could not help but notice that the aura Valyr was emanating was significantly stronger than when they had first met.


    In response to the question, Valyr let out a soft chuckle. "Well, I just arrived at the city, actually. I was just going to grab a couple things from the city and take my leave. Then again, since you''re here, I think I''ll have to change my ns."


    "Anyways, how about you, Tryndall? What are you doing in Clossbay?" Naturally, Valyr had to ask the question back. After all, both of them had not seen each other for over a month.


    "Oh? You''ve just arrived? Who knew we''d arrive at Clossbay City on the same day?" Hearing Valyr''s earlier, Tryndall could not help but let out a peal ofughter as he made Valyr privy to this information. "Well, to answer your question, I''m here under the orders of the Adventurer''s Guild toplete a quest. Can''t tell you too much about the quest, though."


    "Oh? You''re under the Adventurer''s Guild now?" Listening to Tryndall''s words, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow in slight surprise, inwardly thinking that the two of them had truly gone through a lot while they were away from one another. "When did that happen?"


    "All I can say is that it''s a very long story." Tryndall looked back at Valyr with a bitter smile, recalling all of the trials and tribtions that he had to go through in order to get to where he was now. Nevertheless, he ced these memories at the back of his head soon after, offering Valyr a suggestion that thetter agreed to.


    "Well, if you want me to tell you how I got into the Adventurer''s Guild, we could do that over a light meal. In exchange, you tell me what you''ve gone through so far."


    "Alright, where to?" With that statement, the two of them wandered around the city for a bit, eventually heading into a somewhat popr restaurant that served breakfast even though it was already afternoon.


    ¡­


    "¡­and that''s more or less how I got into the Adventurer''s Guild. Though, I''m only a One Star Adventurer at the moment." As Tryndall was finished narrating everything on his side that led him to where he was right now, it was only then did Valyr snap back to reality, who did not know when he had gotten engrossed in listening to Tryndall narrate his life experiences.


    In any case, with Tryndall keeping up his part of the deal, it did not take long for Valyr to start sharing what he had gone through so far with the former. Of course, Tryndall was surprised to find out that his friend had be a cksmith, thinking even before Valyr started narrating that he might have gone with abat ss that leaned towards the usage of the spear in his ascension.


    Aside from that, Valyr talked about how he had traveled to a couple towns and cities during the past month, only to mention sometimeter that he had also helped the vige defend against a monster tide. Hearing that, Tryndall could not help but have a hint of worry as he asked him if the vige made it out fine, to which Valyr responded that it did, save for a few unfortunate casualties.


    As Tryndall let out a light sigh in response to hisst statement, Valyr thought about whether or not to tell his friend about the Reinforcement Elixir and how it could help him out. However, after pondering over it for quite a bit, he decided not to do so, even though the man before him was his friend.


    ''In any case, for him to take up the Shadowde ss¡­ now that''s unexpected.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr looked at the man before him, who had dark hair and dark eyes, which contrasted greatly with his current clothes, being told by Tryndall that it was the uniform of the Adventurer''s Guild. ''Then again¡­ he does kind of fit the ss, given his appearance and body type.''


    Although he looked like the type of person that did not stand out amongst the crowd, the aura he exuded was a different story. On the surface, his aura made one feel like they were looking at a normal person. However, just like a wolf in sheep''s clothing, a slight darkness mixed with faint bloodlust and fighting intent could be sensed underneath, which he seemed to be keeping under wraps at all times.


    ''A cksmith, huh? With the aura he''s exuding, it makes more sense if he chose the Lancer ss or something.'' Naturally, while Valyr was looking at his friend, Tryndall did the same thing back, his eyes gaining a light blue tint for a brief second before disappearing. ''Hmm. His stats do resemble what a cksmith would normally have.''


    ''Though it is quite peculiar that I can''t identify his ss.'' As this thought surfaced in his mind, Tryndall could not help but narrow his eyes for a bit as he continued to look at the man before him. Though, after a while, he eventually shrugged his shoulders as he ced this thought at the back of his head. ''Then again, my [Analysis] is only at Level 3. It isn''t the first time [Analysis] hasn''t given me everything I wanted to know.''


    ''I wonder if he allocated all of his unassigned status points towards AGI? I did hear AGI is everything for Shadowdes.'' In the meantime, Valyr had just used [Analysis], looking at the information screen that had appeared on his mind.


    In an instant, his attention fixated on Tryndall''s high AGI, surpassing the triple digits even though he was still halfway to reaching the peak of Rank 1. Though he was curious as to whether it was all unassigned status points or if there were skills and equipment involved to reach this value, he decided to forget it, opening his mouth as he noticed the two of them had gone awfully silent for quite some time now.


    "Well, since we''ve both caught up onto our respective lives, mind if I ask about the quest you''re taking?" Taking a bite of his half-eaten sandwich, Valyr looked at the man opposite him.


    "I can''t tell you much about the intricate details of the quest, but in short, I''m looking for a man in this city." In response, Tryndall shrugged his shoulders before taking a bite of food from his te, only to devour the remaining bits of food on it soon after.


    Hearing Tryndall''s words, Valyr thought back to the quest Damian gave to him before he left. With the quest in mind, he could not help but get the feeling that the two of them had possibly epted the same quest. ''Surely that isn''t the case¡­''


    ''¡­right?''


    Mulling over whether or not to talk about it, Valyr eventually decided to ask Tryndall, consoling himself with the thought that there was a higher chance of them not having the same quest. "A man, huh. Speaking of men, I was just wondering¡­ is the man you''re looking for called the Clossbay Killer?"


    Unexpectedly, Tryndall''s eyes widened in slight fear, wondering how his friend knew about the man he was looking for in the city. Fortunately, after thinking about it for a bit, he eventually came to a conclusion that seemed the most usible in exining how Valyr knew.


    Taking in a deep breath, Tryndall asked. "Correct me if I''m wrong¡­ but do you have the same quest as well?"


    ''Huh.'' Listening to Tryndall''s response, it did not take long for Valyr to realize that his friend indeed had the same quest as him. ''I wonder if lotteries were a thing in Veldanyr at this time¡­''


    Feeling that his mind had instantly gone off on a tangent, Valyr returned his train of thought back to him and Tryndall having the same quest. Unsurprisingly, his train of thought eventually asked the question if teaming up with his friend would allow him toplete the mission faster. Of course, he also thought about it from the perspective of the rewards, wondering ifpleting the quest together would divide the reward in half.


    Eventually, Valyr came to a conclusion, nodding as he replied to Tryndall''s question with a slightly awkward chuckle. "What if I told you that I might have an idea on what kind of quest you''ve taken?"


    "Does that mean your quest is about finding the whereabouts of the Clossbay Killer?" Tristan asked back in response, being slightly taken aback by this unexpected coincidence. Seeing Valyr slowly nod in response to his question, he could not help but scratch his head for a bit, only for a thought to surface in his mind soon after.


    Noticing that his friend started to look at him with a knowing smile all of a sudden, Valyr could not help but get the feeling that Tryndall was going to ask him a question that seemed to be natural route of their conversation at this point. And just as thetter had opened his mouth to ask him, Valyr instantly knew¡­


    He was probably right.


    "Say¡­ would you want to work together onpleting this quest?"


    ''¡­called it.''

 Chapter 126 Closed

    Eventually, after Tryndall had offered that the two of them should team up on the quest they were doing, the two of them went their separate ways, reminding each other to keep each at least once a day. With that, Valyr left the restaurant with a light smile on his face as he waved Tryndall goodbye, thinking about how nice it was to catch up with an old friend.


    Though, once he turned his head to face away Tryndall, this smile was quickly reced with a solemn expression as two thoughts lingered in his mind. The first one was regarding the quest Damian had given to him.


    Naturally, with how the two of them reminded each other to keep in contact before they left to do their own devices, it went without saying that Valyr had agreed to the proposition, even after considering the fact that there was a chance the reward would be split between the two of them. After all, he had no clue how to even start the quest.


    He had no leads to follow at all.


    On the other hand, Tryndall, being part of the Adventurer''s Guild, was surprisingly given a lead to follow regarding the quest, which he unhesitatingly shared with Valyr once thetter had epted to the proposition. ording to the intel the Adventurer''s Guild had given him, the Clossbay Killer was determined to have either a ss or a subss that was rted to cooking.


    As to how the Adventurer''s Guild had reached that conclusion, Tryndall exined to Valyr that the guild had recorded all of the incidents that involved the Clossbay Killer, noting down how thetter went about their way in killing their targets. From what he was told, the Clossbay Killer made sharp, clean cuts in between their target''s joints, as well as a plethora of other reasons that eventually certified that the person had great knowledge or experience in cooking.


    Aside from that, he was also told that the Adventurer''s Guild wouldn''t have been able to reach this clue if not for the aid of the Mercenary Guild, which answered one of the questions he had early on regarding how he and Tryndall got the same quest even though their quests came from different guilds.


    Then again, after taking a look at the sun''s current position, Valyr decided to ce the thought regarding the quest with the Clossbay Killer for now, soon focusing on the other thought that lingered in his mind.


    Of course, that thought was none other than the two titles he could obtain from the city, his original goal.


    "If my memory serves me correct, the ce I have to find in the city is the city''s Combat Training Hall," Valyr muttered to himself, trying to recall as much memories as possible regarding him traversing the city in his past life. "Hopefully it''s still open by the time I get there."


    With ss guilds being established in order to certify that one had a ss aligned with the ss guild they entered, it went without saying that a need for certification regarding various skills eventually came to fruition, with training halls being the answer to that problem.


    Simr to ss guilds, training halls could be found all over the world of Veldanyr, with the smallest level of settlements housing them being towns. However, unlike ss guilds, which stood as a separate entity from the kingdoms and empires that were scattered all over the, training halls were buildings set up by the settlements themselves, being directly funded by the settlement they were located in.


    Then again, that did not stop training halls from being simr to ss guilds in another aspect, which was to have all things that each training hall owned to be essible from any training hall, may it be a technique, a skill, or even a piece of equipment. In any case, the thing that separated training halls from ss guilds the most was the fact that there existed only two types of training halls.


    On the other hand, the types of ss guilds numbered in the hundreds.


    With there only beingbat and production training halls, it was no surprise that each type of training hall catered to a wide array of skills. Combat training halls catered to multiple fighting styles,bat arts, and weapons, while production training halls catered to multiple lifestyle skills, as well as professions such as forging, tailoring, and the like.


    Unfortunately, even though Valyr had employed most of his AGI stat, by the time he had found where the city''s Combat Training Hall was located, he was left standing at the closed entrance of the hall with a somewhat glum look on his face. Looking at the position of the sun before returning his vision to what was in front of him, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh. "So close."


    "If I headed straight to the training hall rather than talk about the quest with Tryndall, I would''ve probably gotten the two titles already." With this in mind, Valyr could not help but scratch his head in slight frustration. After that, he asked one of the people that loitered near the hall as to when it would open, which he obtained without much fuss.


    Reminding himself to head to the training hall early tomorrow, Valyr decided that he should find an inn to stay at while he was in the process of obtaining the title, as well aspleting the quest from Damian. Walking down the streets, the somewhat glum expression on his face lingered, finding it somewhat regrettable that he missed the chance to get the titles earlier.


    "Then again, it''s not like it''s the end of the world if I don''t get the titles today." After some time, Valyr lightly shrugged his shoulders as he spoke his thoughts out in a soft mutter. "The only thing I''m losing from not getting it today is the extra time I could''ve used to enhance the title. Comparing it to the fact that I met up with an old friend and even found a lead to follow for the quest Damian gave me out of nowhere, I''ve definitely gained more than lost."


    Thud.


    Just as he was lost in his thoughts thinking about what had transpired today, Valyr bumped into a young girl without him knowing, making thetter fall on her butt as she slightly sobbed. Noticing what he had done, he quickly apologized before extending out his arm to the girl to pull her up. "I''m sorry. I didn''t know where I was looking. Are you alright?"


    However, just as the girl was about to grab onto his arm so Valyr could pull her up, the young girl''s gaze shifted towards his face, prompting her pupils to slightly shrink in fear as she stood up on her own before hastily wiping off the tears that started to stream down her face.


    "Yes! I''m fine! Apologies for bumping into you!" Stammering her words, the young girl swiftly responded to Valyr''s question before hastily leaving the premises, leaving thetter in a bout of confusion as he could only stare at the young girl''s gradually fading silhouette.


    "What the¡­?"


    "Did I do something wrong?"

 Chapter 127 Combat Training Hall

    As he wondered as to what he had done wrongly to the young girl, Valyr could not help but take a look around him, quickly noticing that a great portion of the passersby had stopped and taken a look at what had unfolded earlier. Noticing this, Valyr found it natural, recalling that the young girl''s voice was somewhat loud when she hastily said farewell to him.


    However, when he continued to look at the passersby, he soon noticed that some of the passersby shifted their gaze from him when they noticed he was looking at them. As for the remaining passersby, the expressions on their faces varied from nonchnce to curiosity, to even disappointment. Though, just like what Valyr felt earlier from the young girl''s actions, once these passersby noticed the other passerby avoiding Valyr''s gaze, they could not help but have slightly confused expressions on their faces, wondering if Valyr was someone popr or something.


    Feeling as if he had stayed there for long enough, Valyr swiftly continued walking along the streets, prompting the crowd that had formed around him and the young girl earlier to disperse as if nothing had happened in the first ce. Nevertheless, rather than thinking about the quest or the titles while on his way to find an inn, what upied his mind at the moment was the incident earlier.


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Did I do anything distasteful before entering the city? After all, that would be the only logical reason why those people decided to avoid my gaze." Scratching his head in slight confusion, Valyr eventually stopped in front of an inn that spanned three stories, quickly heading inside to rent a room for himself in the meantime.


    Fortunately, unlike those passersby who avoided his gaze, the manager he talked to in order to obtain a room in the inn was simr to the others, saving him a ton of headache as he headed up his room, just as he was told that dinner for all guests was going to be served a couple hours from now.


    Entering the room he had rented while staying in Clossbay, Valyr was quite surprised with howvish the amenities in the room were. Lying on the king size bed found at the far end of the room, his train of thought could not help but deviate back to what had happened earlier, thinking about the reactions of the young girl and some of the passersby.


    "Well, I''m pretty sure I haven''t broke any rules or did anything distasteful that would warrant such a reaction. On top of that, my reputation in the city is neutral. There''s no reason for them to have that kind of reaction." Muttering out his thoughts, the gears in Valyr''s mind continued to spin as he eventually thought of something he hadn''t considered. "Now that I think about it¡­"


    "Does it have something to do with the fact that I''m from a noble n?" With this thought in mind, Valyr felt like this was the most usible reason why he was treated that way. After all, he had experienced his fair share of mistreatment under the noble and royal ns in his past life. In fact, avoiding a noble''s gaze was the tamest kind of reaction one could get in that situation.


    As he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. However, there was thing about the whole situation that felt off. "How did they know I''m a noble in the first ce? After all, I haven''t told anyone my name in this city yet."


    Naturally, Valyr pondered over this question for quite some time,ing up with a few answers that seemed usible. But in the end, he discarded all of them, thinking that he would find an answer to this question eventually.


    ¡­


    After eating a sumptuous meal for dinnerst night, Valyr felt incredibly energized once he woke up, going through his usual morning routine before heading down to the inn''s ground floor. Once there, he headed towards the dining area, getting a te of breakfast, which wasplementary with his type of stay in the inn.


    Then, once he was finished with breakfast, he left the inn and made his way to the Combat Training Hall at a leisurely pace. Arriving in front of its entrance sometimeter, Valyr could not help but let out an inward sigh of relief as its entrance was wide open for anyone to enter. Thinking that he was now one step closer to getting the titles he needed, he entered the hall, only to be greeted by a wide lobby, with counters that had attendants behind them in the dozen.


    Seeing as the hall was already bustling even though it was still early in morning, he let out an awkward smile as he queued up on one of the shorter lines. Fortunately, those that came before him only had minor problems to resolve, allowing him to be in front of the attendant less than ten minutester.


    "Wee to the Clossbay Combat Training Hall. How may I help you?" With a light and cheery tone, the attendant on the other side of the counter asked Valyr this question.


    "I would like to get tested on my proficiency with the spear, as well as my overall proficiency inbat." Nodding in response, Valyr opened his mouth as the attendant jotted down the information she was hearing on a piece of parchment.


    After jotting down a few more notes, the attendant brought a thin tablet before infusing a bit of her mana into it. A minute or soter, the attendant looked back at Valyr. "Is this your first time entering a training hall of any sort?"


    "Yes. Is there a fee I have to pay?" In response, Valyr nodded before asking a question.


    "That would be correct. Please pay 10 silver coins." Hearing those wordse out of the attendant''s mouth, Valyr went ahead and grabbed 10 silver coins from the satchel Wells had given him back then before cing them on the counter, to which the attendant grabbed before cing the coins at a spot behind the counter.


    Nodding soon after, the attendant infused a bit more mana into the tablet she held before asking Valyr a couple questions. "Your full name?"


    "Valyr Zeihardt."


    "ss rank?"


    "Rank 1."


    "Alright." Infusing a bit more mana into the tablet, the attendant eventually ced the tablet to the side before looking at Valyr and giving him a nod. "An identification badge shall be made with the information you''ve given us, and you can use this in other training halls you may visit in the future."


    "As the badge creation process takes a while, you can go ahead and head through that corridor there to have the tests you wanted done. I''ve already notified the people who will be doing the testing. Your designated room shall be at the end of the corridor" Hearing these words, Valyr nodded and thanked the attendant before heading in the direction that thetter pointed in, eventually arriving in front of the door at the end of the corridor.


    Taking in a deep breath, he then went ahead and opened it, his sights being greeted by something he didn''t expect to see this early on.

 Chapter 128 Testing Spear Prowess

    Standing by the entrance to the room, Valyr could not help but stop in his tracks and stare at what was before him, his mouth somewhat ck-jawed from the sheer awe he felt.


    In the center of the mostly empty room before him was a woman that looked to be only a few years older than him, exuding great grace and skill as she wielded the azure-colored spear she held. Going through all of the basic movements of the spear, smoothly transitioning through each movement with great speed, Valyr instantly realized that this woman in front of him was the one who would test his prowess with the spear.


    ''From how she''s wielding the spear, she''s definitely spent the majority of her life polishing her control over it. In fact, I feel like the spear has already be an extension of her, indistinguishable from her body if we''re talking about the aura they exude.'' As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr continued to watch the woman wield the spear as if she were performing in front of a crowd, eventually bing entranced.


    After some time, the woman threw the spear as if it were a javelin, causing Valyr to snap out of his engrossed daze as he wondered why the woman had threw it all of a sudden. Fortunately, it did not take long for the answer to reveal itself as the woman swiftly extended a sturdy thread of mana towards the spear, barely grasping it at the dull end as the spear''s momentum was brought to an instant halt, only for her to execute the same basic movements soon after.


    ''Using one''s mana to wield one''s weapon¡­ that''s definitely only something those at Rank 2 and above can do.'' Looking at what currently unfolded before him, Valyr''s expression quickly turned solemn. Although it was general knowledge that most people wielded weapons with their hands, at higher ss ranks, it was possible to substitute one''s hands with mana, allowing one to be far more flexible in wielding the weaponpared to wielding it with one''s hands.


    In fact, Valyr recalled that if he ascended to his Rank 2 ss, he was certain that he would be able to unlock a skill simr to what the woman was using, though it would lean more towards forging. ''Though the level of fine control she''s showing with it is at a lower level than what''s achievable with something like [Mana Arm], it''s stillmendable since she''s probably rely on pure mana maniption here.''


    With this in mind, he continued to watch the woman wield her spear, with the only difference this time around being the fact that she was wielding it with her mana. Eventually, the woman stopped brandishing her spear, allowing it to slightly hover in the air before executing another move.


    Bang!


    In an instant, the spear had elerated to a great degree, only for the woman to instantly halt the spear''s movements before elerating it once more. Due to the speed at which she executed the move, the spear''s movements were superimposed on top of each other, prompting a sound simr to faint thunder to resound throughout the room.


    Hearing the sound of faint thunder, Valyr''s eyes could not help but widen in slight surprise, only for him to be solemn once more as he changed his impression of the woman. ''She''s definitely Rank 3 at the very least. To think I''d see witness someone execute a Double Strike firsthand before even entering the core cities.''


    From the name itself, a Double Strike was a movement that relied on swift movements in order to send out an attack that looked like it was only one attack, but was actually two attacks at the same time. Though there were skills that existed throughout the world that allowed one to achieve a Double Strike without worries, those skills paled inparison to a Double Strike, which was considered an advanced movement for every weapon.


    Indeed, a Double Strike could be done on any weapon one wielded.


    Even though the requirements were stringent, needing one to have high AGI and DEX, as well as great mastery and knowledge over one''s weapon, being able to utilize Double Strike during fights sometimes meant the boundary between life and death. On top of that, being able to do a Double Strike meant that one had the ability to learn Triple Strike and the variants beyond it in the future.


    As Valyr continued to watch the woman execute Double Strike after Double Strike while only relying on the strand of mana she extended to the spear, thetter eventually stopped as she finally noticed Valyr''s presence near the entrance of the room, bringing everything to a halt as she dispelled the mana strand she used before catching the spear that fell from the air.


    "How long have you been watching?" While affixing the azure-colored spear behind her back, the woman looked at Valyr and asked the question in a slightly embarrassed tone. "I presume you''re the one''s getting their spear prowess tested, right?"


    Nodding in response, Valyr closed the door behind him as he moved closer to the woman. "Yes, that would be me. Also, I''ve been watching since you wielded the spear and did a couple sets of basic movements with it."


    "That''s¡­" Just as the woman was about to respond to Valyr''s words, her demeanor changed in an instant as she could not help but take a look at Valyr, focusing specifically at his irises. Noticing this, she decided to cut her answer short as her expression turned solemn before shaking her head. "Never mind. Let''s start the test."


    "Your full name?" she asked.


    "Valyr Zeihardt," said Valyr in response, extending his hand out for a handshake. "You?"


    "Arcenne," the woman replied back, epting the handshake with a slight frown on her face. Soon after, she tightened her grip around Valyr''s extended hand, prompting thetter to frown as he wondered why her demeanor had changed all of a sudden. Thankfully, it did not take long for him to receive his answer.


    "Arcenne Stelyra," Arcenne said as she continued to shake Valyr''s hand with a tightened grip. It was only after a few seconds had passed did she finally let go of Valyr''s hand, causing thetter to shake his hand to relieve some of the pain he felt. Nevertheless, with Valyr now privy to the woman''s full name, he now had an idea of what was going on.


    ''To think such a talented woman with the spear would be part of the Stelyra noble n,'' Valyr inwardly muttered, feeling the faint hostility emanating from Arcenne''s eyes as she stared at him in silence. ''Then again, everything she''s done so far makes sense. The Stelyra noble n is known to side withmoners more than nobles, after all, treating most of thetter with disdain.''


    ''I just don''t know how much disdain the n has for the Zeihardt noble n, though.'' Thinking that it would be next to impossible for him to ask the woman before him regarding the rtionship of their ns, Valyr ced the thought at the back of his head for now, thinking that everything would eventually unfold in front of him.


    "So? Are you going to take the test or what?" Arcenne looked at Valyr and opened her mouth, inwardly wondering why he had gone silent for quite some time. "We''re both wasting our time here if you''re just going to dawdle around."


    "Or perhaps you entered the training hall and scheduled a test for your spear prowess after you found out I was around?" As these words came out of Arcenne''s mouth, she could not help but look at Valyr with a slightly disgusted expression. On the other hand, Valyr was left at a loss for words, wondering once more what his noble n had done for the woman before her to have such a biased opinion on him.


    Letting out a light sigh, Valyr went ahead and took out the True Tideblood Spear from behind his back, gripping its shaft tightly with both hands before taking in a few deep breaths to make sure his emotions were tranquil. At this point, the expression Arcenne had on her face had changed into that of slight confusion, then to that of understanding as she quickly realized that she was in the wrong here.


    But of course, she wasn''t going to admit that.


    Instead, in response to Valyr brandishing his spear, she went ahead and retrieved the azure-colored spear behind her back, wielding it more or less simrly to how Valyr wielded it as she opened her mouth sometimeter. "I don''t know if you''re going to take this test seriously or not, but let me tell you the mechanics of the test. We''ll be going all out against each other in terms of skills and spear movements. However, there will be no hitting of body parts, only the spears."


    "At the start, I''ll be fighting you with the prowess of a beginner with the spear, and then I''ll gradually increase my level of prowess as time passes. The level of prowess you will obtain highly depends on the level of prowess you end up being defeated or give up on. Naturally, the higher the level, the better."


    "Also, don''t hold back just because I''m a woman," she added at the end. "I have the power to kill you many times over. If I wanted to, I would''ve done so already."


    "If you''re ready, go ahead and¡ª!"


    "[True Blood Drive]!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 129 Going All Out

    Without even letting Arcenne finish her words, Valyr went ahead and activated [True Blood Drive], narrowing the distance between the two as the former was left with no choice but to defend with her spear.


    Bang!


    Even though the mechanics of the test only limited the two of them to hitting each other''s spears, the strength behind Valyr''s sudden attack was still enough to push Arcenne back a couple of meters, her arms bing somewhat numb soon after. Then again, even though it was numb, it was then that Arcenne truly realized that her words earlier were nothing but baseless usations.


    The man before her was serious in taking the test.


    Unfortunately, even though there existed a great disparity in strength between the two of them, ording to the mechanics of the test, she could only exhibit the prowess of a beginner at the spear at the early stages, which forced her to try her best to deflect all of the attacks she received to the side with moves that were sloppy, even for Valyr.


    Nevertheless, Valyr''s goal in surprising Arcenne with a [True Blood Drive] was for this exact reason, to gain the initiative at the very beginning of the test in order for thetter to be put on the defensive. In his eyes, it was far simpler to be on the offensive if the opposing side was at a lower level of prowess. Of course, the opposite applied once the opponent was of a higher level of prowess, but only to a certain extent.


    In any case, he was going to make sure that he would pass the Novice stage of the test, at least. After all, that was the main reason why he was in the city in the first ce. As for the higher levels of prowess?


    Well¡­ that depended on how much his body was willing to go.


    Bang!


    With the initiative obtained from underhandedly using [True Blood Drive], Valyr went ahead and relied on the basic spear movements in his attacks, which had be ingrained into him at this point thanks to his past life. From time to time, he would activate [Strong Pierce] from an abstruse angle, catching Arcenne off guard as she was forced to defend against it.


    Fortunately, as seconds turned to minutes, the level of prowess she could show in her fighting gradually increased, with her level of prowess already being enough to reflect some of the attacks back at Valyr by the time five minutes had passed. Though Valyr had avoided all of the attacks that were sent back to him due to the disparity in skill, the leeway Arcenne had at this point was more than enough for her to exin a bit more regarding the mechanics of the test.


    "Although I find it kind of rude that you would interrupt me before I was finished talking, I do understand that every moment could be an opportunity, and you showed that very well with the initiative you''ve had in this test so far," Arcenne said amidst the shing of their spears, sending a few attacks Valyr''s way, only to be deflected with his superior level of skill at the time.


    "In any case, let me inform you that there''s a limit to the level of prowess I could test you on, which is mostly in part due to my limits," she continued. "In case you might not have known, there are seven levels of prowess one could achieve, whether it be inbat or in production skills. From lowest to highest, it goes: Novice, Adept, Veteran, Elite, Expert, Master, and Transcendent."


    "Currently, my level of prowess with the spear only goes up to the Elite stage, so I can only test you up to that level." At this point, the level of prowess Arcenne showed was seemingly nearing a bottleneck, prompting Valyr to think that, either in the next few seconds, or in the next minute, her level of prowess would undergo a massive shift.


    "Then again¡­"


    "The Elite stage is more than enough for someone like you."


    Bang!


    Just as he had expected, Arcenne''s level of prowess swiftly increased, with her exploiting an opening he faintly had knowledge of tond an attack on Valyr, only for him to defend against it at the veryst second. Unsurprisingly, with the disparity in their ss ranks, the strength behind her attack was enough to shake Valyr''s entire body, causing him to feel ufortable overall.


    However, rather than feel like giving up after realizing just how much of a difference there was between him and Arcenne in terms of strength, it only stoked the mes ofpetition he had rekindled during the forging tournament, remembering that the test he was undertaking relied on one''s prowess and not strength.


    ''Judging by the attack she just used, we''ve already gotten past the Novice stage.'' Gauging the level of prowess Arcenne currently showed with his past life''s experience, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as that meant he was guaranteed to obtain a title once this test was over.


    But of course, he was going to try and see how far he could go in his current state.


    ''Although I feel like I''mcking inparison to her, only bing a Spear Elite once I had ascended to my Rank 5 ss in my previous life, I''ve still reached the pinnacle of spearmanship before the final battle.'' With this in mind,bat intent started to emanate around him as a slightly ferocious grin appeared on his face. ''I wonder how much of my past experience I can show with my current body.''


    "[Offense Aura]!"


    Whoosh!


    As a faint red haze covered the entirety of his body, Valyr went ahead and used the entirety of his AGI to close the gap between the two within mere moments, his attacks far more aggressive than they were earlier. At first, Arcenne was surprised that there was still a lot more Valyr hadn''t showed her, but her thoughts eventually shifted into thinking that the man was nearing his limit.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if our small skirmish ends within the next few minutes, but let me congratte you for passing the Novice stage." Saying these words, Arcenne added a bit more force into her attacks, her level of prowess slowly but surely reaching the Adept stage as time passed.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Surprisingly, even though the level of difficulty when one went from nothing to Novice and from Novice to Adept was equivalent toparing a firefly''s light to the light of the sun, Valyr was still capable of holding out against Arcenne''s flurry of attacks, even going so far as to retaliate against a couple of them from time to time.


    Though, once the level of prowess Arcenne showed was around the halfway between the Novice and Adept stage, Valyr was forced to rely on some of the temporary buffing skills he had before utilizing [Descending Fang] from the [Serpent Spear Combat Style] to gain a bit of respite. Unfortunately, just as the level of prowess Arcenne showed during their fight was nearing the minimum threshold of the Adept stage, Valyr felt like his body seemed to be incapable of going any further.


    However, rather than stop there and admit defeat, Valyr went ahead and eked out every single bit of remaining energy he had in his body, allowing him tond a couple more attacks that were destructive enough to push Arcenne over the Adept stage as she congratted him for reaching it.


    Hearing those words, a proud yet tired grin appeared on Valyr''s mouth as he soon let out a chuckle. After that, he released his grip on his spear as he fell to the ground out of exhaustion.


    "I concede."


    Thud!

 Chapter 130 Shock

    Though the man before himid down on the ground visibly out of breath, that could not conceal the immense shock that Arcenne felt when the man before her had reached the Adept stage, even if it was only barely. Out of all the people she had tested in the training hall so far in regards to the spear, almost all of them failed to break through the Novice stage, while a scant few of them did pass through the Novice stage, only to concede soon after.


    In her eyes, thetter was possibly the greatest talent the city had to offer when it came to spear wielding. However, in front of her was a man that defied all odds, not only breaking through the Novice stage without so much as a problem, but even going so far as to push himself to his limits in order to pass the Adept stage.


    At this point, thoughts of him being part of the noble circle she knew of suppressed some of the shock she felt, thinking that this was something to be expected from someone that came from a noble n like hers. However, when she utilized [Analysis] on the man and had be privy to his current level, the shock she felt was instead magnified hundred times over, wondering how and where he had learned his spearmanship in order to be able to achieve his earlier feat.


    ''Though he only barely passed through the Adept stage with the spear¡­ for him to do it at Level 11?'' Arcenne truly could not believe what she had read as she spared a nce at the still exhausted Valyr. ''Aside from the fact that he came from a noble n, he''s definitely a prodigy with the spear.''


    Just as she was about to go ahead and ask Valyr regarding his secrets about how he had achieved what he had achieved, thetter gradually sat upright and looked at Arcenne before giving her an awkward yet bitter smile. "Er¡­ I know this is too much to ask, but could you give me a stamina potion?"


    Rather than find it dubious that a noble like him did not have a stock of potions at all times, Arcenne lightly nodded and told him to wait where he was for a bit before leaving the room. After a couple minutes, she returned with a small ss vial that contained a liquid that reminded Valyr of the energy drinks he used to drink back then, which he caught with both hands after she tossed it.


    pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Pulling out the stopper from the vial, he went ahead and identified it with [Analysis] before downing its contents, only for him to briefly stop drinking it midway as he found out that he had been given a Greater Stamina Potion. To him, it was already more than enough if he had gotten an Inferior Stamina Potion or a Lesser Stamina Potion since she was someone he didn''t know that well.


    But a Greater Stamina Potion? Though they existed in cities of this scale, there were only a few of them in cirction in each city¡­ and he had consumed one of them.


    ''Is it because she''s a noble?'' With this thought lingering in his mind, Valyr eventually downed the remaining contents of the vial, but not without feeling a bit of heartache from the fact that he wasted a ton of the potion''s effects with his current ss rank. Nevertheless, from what the name suggested, a Greater Stamina Potion was truly great at replenishing stamina, with Valyr feeling revitalized and ready to fight once more only a few secondster.


    Standing up, he grabbed the spear he had dropped before affixing it to his back. After that, he gave the now empty vial to Arcenne and thanked her, to which she responded with a nod. Thinking that it was the best chance to ask about the questions she had in mind earlier, Arcenne went ahead and opened her mouth once more, only to be interrupted by Valyr as he asked her a question first.


    "I reached the Adept stage, right?" he asked.


    "Although you only fought against me beyond that stage for a brief moment, you did indeed reach the Adept stage." Though she felt a hint of annoyance at being interrupted twice now, Arcenne held it in and responded to the question, which elicited a light smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he let out a chuckle soon after.


    "Thank goodness." Valyr let out a light sigh of relief, feeling that pushing his body beyond its limits was worth it. After that, he thanked Arcenne once more as he made his way to the entrance of the room, thinking of taking on thebat test since he had returned to prime condition. However, before he could do so, Arcenne stopped him in his tracks as she asked him a question.


    "Before you go, can I ask you how you train in order to be able to reach the Adept stage while being at the start of Rank 1?" She looked at him, her gaze telling thetter that she was curious. In response, Valyr let out a wry smile, instantly giving Arcenne the feeling that the answer she was going to get wasn''t the one she wanted.


    "As a Spear Elite yourself, I''m pretty sure you know the answer to that already," Valyr replied. "Relentless training."


    Feeling that it would be pointless to force him into giving her a real answer, Arcenne decided to ask another question she had in mind, which was rted to her and him being nobles. "I see¡­ now that I think about it, how have I not seen you in the noble gs before? With that kind of talent, you would have naturally garnered everyone''s attention and be one of the rising stars among the younger generation of nobles."


    Hearing her next question, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle, inwardly thanking her for giving him information regarding his Zeihardt noble n, albeit indirectly. With his knowledge of the Stelyra noble n from his past life, he was able to extrapte the level of nobility his Zeihardt noble n held, thinking that it was at least at grand as Arcenne''s n since she had mentioned the noble gs.


    For reference, noble gs could only be attended by noble ns that governed over core cities at the very least, which was a tier above Clossbay City in terms of splendor and prestige.


    "I wasn''t really interested in attending any of the noble gs," Valyr replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a wry smile. After that, he asked Arcenne if she could move aside since he had to go somewhere.


    "Where are you going? Are you nning to certify the results you''ve just obtained during our test?" At this point, Arcenne''s opinion of Valyr was far different from what it was earlier, giving him the respect he had earned from her during the test.


    In response to the question, Valyr shook his head, dropping a statement that made Arcenne feel as if a bomb had detonated in her mind. "Although I could do that, I''m not nning to anytime soon."


    "After all, I still have another test to take."

 Chapter 131 A New Friend

    "Oh? You didn''t schedule only one test today?" Raising her eyebrows in slight surprise, Arcenne posed the question to Valyr, thinking that the man before her would have preferred to rest for the remainder of the day and take the test to tomorrow in order to make sure he was in truly prime condition. After all, that''s how most of the nobles she knew did it.


    However, what she thought differed from what he aimed to do, with Valyr shaking his head in response. "Why would I? It would be a waste of time if I could just do my tests one after the other, especially with the stamina potion you gave me."


    Feeling as if the conversation had finally ended between them, Valyr made his way to the room''s entrance, hoping to finally get out and continue on with his test. Unfortunately for him, Arcenne stopped him once more as she asked him another question, making him wonder why her earlier impression of him had disappeared after the test. "Could I ask what test you''re going to take next?"


    Thinking that the change stemmed about from the feat he had achieved just sometime earlier, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he decided to humor her, thinking that it wouldn''t be bad to get on the good side of some of the nobles. "I''m going to get my prowess in overallbat tested."


    Hearing his response, Arcenne instantly became curious as to what kind of result he''d get out of it. ''If he''s already at the Adept stage with the spear, then how would he fare in overallbat?''


    Out of all of the tests one could take at thebat training hall, the one for overallbat was the one that was most respected by many. After all, it was the most urate representation of how good someone was on the battlefield, with all tests regarding prowess in weapons only testingbat against the same weapon.


    In fact, Arcenne had also taken the test for overallbat in the past, reaching the Expert stage with her prowess at the spear still being at the Veteran stage. She was certain that she would cross over to the Master stage or at least be close to it with her current prowess if she got tested again.


    ''At the very least he would be close to reaching the Veteran stage.'' Looking at Valyr before her, Arcenne had a feeling that this possibility was the worst case scenario. With how he had barely eked out a pass to the Veteran stage while fighting against her, she was certain that Valyr''s true limits lied at the Veteran stage, perhaps greater.


    With that in mind, it was no surprise that Arcenne wanted to watch Valyr''s attempt at the test for overallbat, solely for the fact that she was curious as to how he was going to do. But of course, she knew that she would be rejected if she t out told him that, so she asked in a roundabout way. "Is it fine if I tag along and watch the test?"


    In response to the question, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity, but did not think that there was any deeper meaning to it. In his mind, he only wondered if her watching his test would affect other people that would be tested on their spear prowess. "Wouldn''t it be a problem if other people wanting to get their spear prowess tested came along and you weren''t there?"


    "It''ll be fine," Arcenne said in response, assuring him with her words. "I''m not the only one that tests spear prowess, after all. If anything, it''ll just be delegated to the other people who also test the same thing."


    "Plus if I find out how well you''ve done during thebat test, I could tell those from your n of your feats, allowing you to gain more resources that could speed up your progress," she added, prompting Valyr to raise an eyebrow as he asked soon after as to what she meant by that.


    Though she came up with the suggestion on the spot, Arcenne surprisingly had an answer ready for a question like that. "Well, considering that you''ve taken your tests here, it''s either because the Zeihardt n doesn''t ce great importance on you, or it''s because they want to keep you hidden for the meantime due to your monstrous talent. Then again, it''s rarely thetter, which is why I offered that I could help you out."


    ''Although she''s nowhere near the truth of my current situation, it would be nice if I could make contact with the Zeihardt noble n and find out my true identity through them.'' Though he wouldn''t have minded agreeing to her request at the very start, the fact that Arcenne offered to help him talk to the Zeihardt noble n only made Valyr more eager to agree, nodding as the two of them left the room as they returned to the main lobby of the hall.


    Since Arcenne was one of the staff at the training hall, it was no surprise that the people queuing up on the counters had given her face, allowing the two of them to end up at the front of one of the counters within a matter of minutes. After obtaining information on where the overallbat test was going to be held, Valyr thanked the attendant that served the two of them as he followed Arcenne after that, who knew theyout of the training hall as if it was the back of her hand.


    While making their way to Valyr''s second test, Valyr decided to engage in small talk with Arcenne, bing more privy to the reasons as to why she had be a staff at a training hall in Clossbay City rather than in Aste City, the core city where their noble n was based in. Of course, Valyr was also asked a couple of questions by the woman from time to time regarding his life in the noble n, to which the former only gave vague answers, much to Arcenne''s dismay.


    Nevertheless, while he was talking to her, he could not help but think that she had an amicable personality, unlike the nobles from the Stelyra noble n he had interacted with in the past life. On the other hand, Arcenne felt like she and Valyr connected well while talking, to the point that she eventually asked thetter if they would like to be friends just as they had arrived at the room''s entrance.


    Of course, he agreed.


    Entering the room together, Valyr and Arcenne looked around the circr room in front of them, wondering where the one that would test for overallbat was.


    Whoosh!


    As if to answer the questions in their minds the very instant they came up with it, a man in his early thirties wearing a ck robe hovered down in front of the two of them, lightly bowing before looking at Valyr with a smile. "I suppose you''ll be the one taking the test for overallbat?"


    "That would be me." Valyr nodded in response.


    "And I''m guessing you''re here to watch his attempt, Lady Stelyra?" Nodding back, the man then shifted his gaze to Arcenne, who nodded at his question.


    Nodding once more, the man released a few strands of mana, making a chair made out of the very floor they stood on to appear beside the entrance. Telling Arcenne to take a seat there, the man then instructed Valyr to head to the center of the room, which thetter did.


    After that, the man started to hover once more, heading to the edges of the circr room as his voice echoed throughout not long after. "Wee to the Clossbay Combat Training Hall, Valyr. The name''s Gabriel, and I shall be the one overseeing your overallbat test today."


    "Of course, before the test begins, let me exin the mechanics." With a light smile on his face, a wave of Gabriel''s mana spread throughout the room, soon enveloping Valyr''s body.

 Chapter 132 Trials Of Combat

    For a brief moment, Valyr could not help but tense up, slightly wary of what Gabriel was nning to do with the wave of mana he had sent out. Though, once the mana passed through his body and nothing ended up happening, this feeling of slight fear quickly turned into that of confusion as he looked at the man that continued to hover in the air.


    In the meantime, the mana Gabriel sent out had returned to him, prompting him to close his eyes as he inwardly nodded soon after. Looking at Valyr, whose expression screamed out that he wanted to know what had just happened, Gabriel went ahead and filled him in as to what he had just done. "The first mechanic of this test is that your opponents shall be the average fighter at the same level as you. The wave of mana I sent out just now allowed me to gauge your current level."


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but are you currently Level 11?" Gabriel asked soon after, to which Valyr nodded in response. As Arcenne listened in on this conversation, a light smile could not help but creep up her face, expectant of the time when Gabriel eventually found out that Valyr was no ordinary Level 11 being.


    Nodding back, Gabriel continued with his exnation. "Since I''ve received your confirmation, the opponents you shall be facing are those with the averagebat proficiency and strength to be expected of those at Level 11. With that in mind, the test shall be conducted in waves, with the first wave having you fight against one opponent."


    "For every wave thates after, another opponent shall be added, with the second wave needing you to defeat two opponents at once on your own, third wave three opponents, and so on and so forth," he added. "Since Lady Stelyra has apanied you here, then there''s no need for me to go over the various levels of prowess you could obtain during this test. Instead, I shall tell you the requirements to achieve said levels."


    "Once you clear the second wave, you''ll be considered a Combat Novice. Clearing the fifth wave warrants you the title of Combat Adept, while clearing the tenth wave makes you a Combat Veteran."


    "Reaching the twentieth wave in this test, or sessfully defeating 20 opponents at once on your own in other words, makes you a Combat Elite." Gabriel decided to end his exnation there. "Just so you''re informed, I do know the requirements needed to reach the higher levels of prowess, but for the most part, most people whoe to the training hall to get theirbat proficiency tested only reach Adept or Veteran at most, with only a scant few barely entering the Elite stage."


    "Anyways, is my exnation clear? Would you like me to rify anything?" In response to the final question, Valyr shook his head, telling the man in charge of the test that the exnation was clear. With that, Gabriel nodded once more as he soon released a great amount of his mana into the room, with all of them entering the floor Valyr stood on.


    Rumble¡­


    Not long after, the ground started to rumble as an entity that vaguely resembled a human appeared a couple dozen meters away from Valyr, only to charge at him as it seemed that the entity was gearing up for an attack. Noticing this, Valyr retrieved the spear from his back and brandished it, swiftly sending out a diagonal sh to end the first wave before anything eventful could even happen.


    With that, the entity crumbled down into the very material the floor was made out of before melding with it, making it seem as if the entity hadn''t even appeared in the first ce. Though, a few secondster, two entities soon appeared around the same distance as the first entity, running in Valyr''s direction as they seemed hellbent onnding an attack.


    But of course, just like the first one, the second wave was also finished within seconds, with Valyr swiping horizontally with his spear that bisected his opponents crosswise.


    Thud. Thud.


    As the materials making up Valyr''s two previous opponents melded with the ground, Gabriel''s voice swiftly boomed throughout the room. "Since you''ve cleared the second wave, you are now officially a Combat Novice."


    "Note that this is the only time I''ll be making an announcement. After this, the waves shall continue to appear one after the other until you either concede or I deem you unfit for furtherbat," he said. "Are there any questions?"


    Shaking his head in response, Gabriel nodded once more as he infused a bit more of his mana onto the ground, causing three opponents to appear a fair distance away from Valyr. However, unlike the two previous waves he had "fought" against, these opponents now wielded rudimentary weapons.


    Nevertheless, with the disparity that existed between his stats and the stats of an average Level 11 being, even the inclusion of weapons did not affect how fast Valyr cleared the next three waves, swiftly clearing out the fifth wave of opponents while only relying on the basic spear movements.


    At this point, Gabriel could not help butnd on the ground beside where Arcenne sat, watching as Valyr proceeded to go through the waves of opponents without so much as breaking a sweat. Feeling a hint of curiosity as to why Arcenne had apanied Valyr, Gabriel went ahead and asked her a question. "Lady Stelyra, how did youe to know Valyr?"


    "I was the one who administered his test before yours," said Arcenne in response, eliciting a bit of surprise to appear on Gabriel''s face as his eyes slightly widened.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "So, you''re saying that he took a test to gauge his spear prowess before taking this test for overallbat proficiency?" Seeing that Arcenne nodded at his question, a bit more curiosity filled up Gabriel as Valyr seemed to ze through the subsequent waves without a problem. "Would it be possible to find out what kind of result did he get?"


    In his mind, he thought that the man before him would have just barely passed through the Novice stage. After all, the results one would obtain in one''s test for overallbat were usually one to two stages higherpared to tests regarding weapon proficiency.


    Of course, it was that same thinking that left Gabriel at a loss for words when Arcenne told him that the one taking the test at the moment had passed the Adept stage. Sharply inhaling air in slight shock, Gabriel could not help but nce at Arcenne for a moment before returning his attention towards the center of the room, getting a signal from the mana he sent to the ground earlier that Valyr had already finished the 10th wave.


    "He''s already passed the Veteran stage¡­" Muttering out these words, Gabriel''s gaze was fixated on Valyr, wondering if thetter was nearing his limits. However, what he saw instead was the exact opposite.


    At the moment, a faint battle intent emanated from Valyr as a slightly ferocious grin adorned his face. Tightly gripping onto his blood red spear, he waited for the next wave of opponents to arrive as he got into a battle-ready stance, giving off the feeling that he was a predator waiting for its prey to arrive at its trap.


    If anything, it felt like he was just about to get started.

 Chapter 133 Beyond Veteran

    Whoosh!


    As the 11th wave began, Valyr quickly noticed that how his opponents were arranged this time around vastly differed from the first to tenth waves. If the opponents he fought against back in the previous waves were arranged in a manner that all of them came to him in one direction, the opponents in this wave were now arranged in a fashion that encircled him, which meant that he also had to take into consideration the higher possibility of being attacked while attacking.


    ¡­as if Valyr had a hard time doing that.


    Swoosh!


    Before his opponents could form a tight circle around him, which would leave him with no avenue of escape, Valyr utilized his vastly superior AGI to make his way past the gaps between the opponents, exiting the encirclement as he mowed down each and every one of them without difficulty, just like the first 10 waves that came before this.


    As he continued tond hit after hit on his opponents that swiftly toppled one of them down, he could not help but let out a light chuckle, recalling the time he had helped the vige defend against the monster tide. When hepared what he fought against during the monster tide to what he was fighting right now, the chuckle he let out eventually turned intoughter, which continued until he had finished the 12th wave.


    By the time Valyr had sessfully cleared the 15th wave, both Arcenne and Gabriel went silent before looking at each other with shock written all over their faces. In Gabriel''s case, the fact that Valyr still had the mental acuity to fight against 15 opponents at once left him at a loss for words. Out of all the people he hade across so far who took thebat proficiency test, Valyr was not the first one at the beginning of Rank 1 to take it.


    However, when it came to reaching the Veteran stage and going beyond, he was definitely the first.


    As for Arcenne, even though she expected the man before him to reach the Veteran stage without much problems and clear a couple more waves after that, the fact that Valyr seemed to clear the 15th wave without much problem and still had the energy to keep moving forward at Rank 1 truly bewildered her. In fact, it was to the point that she could not help but wonder what she had been doing while she was at the same stage of power as him.


    Nevertheless, aside from the great surprise they felt from Valyr''s feat, they also became expectant and somewhat excited to find out as to whether Valyr would be able to reach the 20th wave and be given the title of Combat Elite. After all, even though the two of them knew Combat Elites at Rank 1 existed in the world, they had never met one in person¡­


    Until Valyr, that is.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Maintaining the momentum he had kept up so far in the previous waves, Valyr zoomed through the 16th to 19th waves without much difficulty. Though, at this time, his opponents were now utilizing strategies that would be used in small-scale battles, prompting Valyr to use [Strong Pierce] every once in a while to give himself some leeway.


    By the time the 20th wave came around, his opponents were now split into four smaller groups of five,nding coordinated attacks on Valyr, which forced him to activate [Astute Mind] and [Astute Eyes] to briefly gain an edge on his opponents in terms of strategy. With the help of a couple activations of [Strong Pierce] and a single [Descending Fang], he was fortunately able to find a way to defeat all of his opponents, seeding in clearing the 20th wave.


    Witnessing firsthand a Rank 1 ss holder clear the 20th wave, both Arcenne and Gabriel could not help but cheer out in joy, only to stop themselves soon after as they remembered that the test still wasn''t over. Though, with how their clenched fists were still trembling from the excitement of witnessing the appearance of a Rank 1 Combat Elite in front of their very eyes, it was apparent that their excitement wasn''t abated at the very least.


    Naturally, Valyr was also jubnt of the fact that he had cleared the 20th wave since that meant that he would now obtain the [Combat Elite] title rather than the [Combat Veteran] title from the 10th wave. In fact, he felt like now was a good time to concede and take a rest after all the mental and physical strain he had put himself into during these past 20 waves. Yet, for some reason¡­


    There was a part of him that wanted to know how far he could go.


    Whoosh!


    Taking in a deep breath to limate his mind to the fact that he was about to push it to its very limit, the 21st wave arrived before him, which utilized some of the strategies the previous wave had used while fighting against him. Thankfully, he was able to notice this early on, allowing him to clear the 21st wave, albeit with a bit of difficulty.


    The next four waves that came after that introduced more and more strategies that came from the 20th wave, with the 25th wave containing the same amount of strategies he found in the 20th wave, yet had 5 more beings attacking him. At this point, although Valyr had been sessful in clearing this wave, exhaustion finally settled in his body.


    Nevertheless, he still continued to push himself through the wave after that, recalling the feeling he had when he pushed his body to the brink while fighting against Arcenne, hoping to reach the Adept stage. Channeling in that feeling, he proceed to mow through the next few waves, though the exhaustion he felt both physically and mentally after it was now far worse than before.


    Watching Valyr proceed through the next seven waves after the 20th wave, both Arcenne and Gabriel were left at a loss for words. In their eyes, there was not much of a reason for Valyr to push his body anymore, considering that the requirement to reach the Expert stage was to clear the 40th wave. Yet here he was, exactly doing just that.


    As to whether he was doing that for the sake of wanting to find out limits or whether he truly believed that he had the ability to reach the Expert stage, the two of them did not know. All they knew was that exhaustion was finally affecting Valyr, and it wouldn''t be long until he would concede.


    And it indeed wasn''t.


    pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Thud!


    Barely eking out a victory at the 29th wave, Valyr intensely shook his head as he panted out of exhaustion, dropping his spear to the floor before falling on his back to the ground. Seeing this, Gabriel swiftly manipted all of the mana he had infused into the ground and recalled it, stopping the 30th wave from beginning just as the opponents were forming.


    After that, he went closer to the man, wanting to check if Valyr was fine. Not too long after, Arcenne did the same thing, standing up from her seat before moving closer to Valyr.


    "Are you fine?" Gabriel asked Valyr as thetter continued to gasp for air, feeling the effects of his body being sapped dry of energy once more. Though he strained out a light nod to respond to the question, Valyr knew for a fact that he was truly spent.


    Then again, even though his body was as tired as it could possibly be, there was a sense of fulfillment in his body as a bit of energy appeared out of who knows where. Sometimeter, Valyr mustered out a question that left both Arcenne and Gabriel slightly confused.


    "How¡­"


    "How did I do?"

 Chapter 134 The Experience Pit

    "How did you do?" Arcenne repeated Valyr''s question back at him before looking at Gabriel for a brief moment. Then, looking back at Valyr, she replied, "You reached the 29th wave while still at the beginning of Rank 1. Is that enough of an answer?"


    "More or less." Valyr grinned in response before letting out a chuckle, though he was still in the midst of catching his breath. Nevertheless, even though he was tired, he was quite content with what he had achieved so far, much less to say what he could do in the future if he raised his levels and equipped proper equipment.


    ''Speaking of proper equipment, if I had a set of light armor on that boosted my stamina, I would have probably been able to get past the 30th wave without a problem. It''s quite unfortunate that, even though the stamina I have at Rank 1 is far greater than what I had at Rank 0, it''s stillcking in areas like these.'' Though he had this thought in mind, Valyr did not voice out. After all, what he had done just now was already mind-boggling to both Arcenne and Gabriel.


    Even he knew that.


    With that, he focused on recuperating his energy, eventually feeling a hint of soreness and pain in some areas. Noticing this, he went ahead and activated [Inferior Heal] a couple times, quickly feeling some of the soreness and pain go away as he let out a sigh of relief. Then again, with the immense exhaustion he felt, it would still be a while before he would be able to move again.


    Fortunately for him, Gabriel offered him a Lesser Stamina Potion while he was in the midst of recuperating, which Valyr swiftly thanked him for. Hearing Gabriel chuckle in response as he waved his hands in nonchnce, Valyr went ahead and emptied out the vial, feeling the speed at which his stamina regenerated significantly increased.


    Within seconds, he had enough energy to sit upright. By the time a couple minutes had passed, he already had enough energy to stand up and move around. Of course, it was nothing inparison to the Greater Stamina Potion Arcenne had given him, which filled him up with stamina within seconds.


    Nevertheless, Valyr thanked Gabriel once more for giving him the Lesser Stamina Potion, to which Gabriel replied that he was the one thankful since he had witnessed the appearance of a Rank 1 Combat Elite with his own two eyes. Since she had decided to wait for Valyr to return to a condition where he could move around at the very least, Arcenne was there as well, who nodded in agreement with Gabriel''s words.


    Giving the now empty vial back to Gabriel, Valyr bade farewell to Gabriel as he aimed to head back to the main lobby to obtain the titles he had worked for. Though, just like what had happened earlier to him during Arcenne''s test, Valyr was stopped by Gabriel as thetter asked him a question.


    However, it was a question that neither him nor Arcenne expected.


    "Before you leave, would you be interested in bing abat instructor for the Clossbay Combat Training Hall?"


    Naturally, Valyr instantly declined, his mind currently upied with the titles and the dungeon he had to clear back in Astarto Vige. "I apologize, but I decline since I''m not from this city. With the time it takes me to get to where I live to here, I wouldn''t be able to teach others aboutbat everyday."


    Thinking that this would be the end of their conversation, Valyr turned his head towards the exit, only to be stopped once more by Gabriel''s words. "You don''t really have to teach others every day. You could juste any day you feel like and the training hall shallpensate you for your time."


    At this point, Valyr could not help but look at Arcenne beside him, who could only look back at him with a shrug of her shoulders. Though she was more or less acquainted with the man, Arcenne had not seen this side of Gabriel before, which was why she did not know what to tell Valyr.


    Thankfully, Valyr had an inkling of a feeling of why Gabriel was persuading him to be an instructor at the training hall. ''I guess Gabriel wants me to be the poster child of thebat training hall since I''m a Combat Elite at Rank 1. Then again, it wouldn''t be surprising if the training hall gains an influx of people with that kind of advertisement. I wonder if he''s part of the core staff of the training hall?''


    ''Unfortunately, even if the pay is good, I don''t really have a need for that much money¡­ yet.'' With that in mind, Valyr ended the conversation between the two of them, telling him that he would think about it as he and Arcenne left the room before Gabriel could even say anything back.


    While heading to the main lobby, Valyr went ahead and asked Arcenne what that was all about, to which thetter replied that it was the first time she had seen the man act that way. Thinking that his idea from before would be the most usible reason for his offer, Valyr stopped his train of thought there as he lined up at one of the counters, queuing up normally while Arcenne waited by the side.


    After waiting for a few more minutes, Valyr had finally arrived at the front of the counter, with the attendant on the other side asking what they could do to help him. In response, he told them that he was here to certify the results he had obtained from the tests he had just taken.


    Nodding, the attendant went ahead and brought out a thin tablet, which they infused with a bit of their mana soon after. Looking at the tablet for a bit, the attendant jotted down a few things before telling Valyr to wait as they headed to another part of the training hall. After a couple minutes of waiting, the attendant returned with a rectangr te of metal, giving it to Valyr with a bit more politeness behind their actions.


    Though he noticed this slight change, Valyr ignored it for the most part, receiving the rectangr metal te with both hands as he thanked the attendant for their help. After that, he left the counter as he took a look at what was on the rectangr te.


    On the very top was the emblem of the Clossbay Combat Training Hall, which was a small aegis with a dragon engraving on its surface, and a sword and a spear going through its middle in an X-shaped pattern. Below that was his name, his ss rank, and then the levels of prowess he had gotten tested in the hall so far.


    Ding!


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Spear Adept''.]


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Combat Elite''.]


    Coincidentally, just as he had read through the part of the te that mentioned his levels of prowess, the system responded by giving him the notifications he wanted to obtain regarding the titles that came along with the tests. Unsurprisingly, once he had read through it, Valyr let out an inward sigh of relief as the only thing he needed to do in order to be ready to tackle the dungeon was to reach Level 15.


    With that in mind, he ced the rectangr te in his pocket as he headed to where Arcenne was. "Say, Arcenne. Do you know where I could get a ton of XP in this city in a short amount of time? Like¡­ do you know a dungeon or anything like that?"


    "A ce where you could get XP¡­" Hearing the question, Arcenne pondered over it for a bit as she rubbed her chin. "The closest dungeon to the city would be around a couple dozen kilometers away from here, and it''s a dungeon made for those at least Level 20."


    Naturally, when Valyr heard that, he made a mental note to take a detour to Mak''aroni Forest to gain the levels he needed before returning to the vige, reminding himself to make the journey back to the vigeter this day. However, Arcenne''s next statement quickly dispelled that notion.


    "Then again, there''s always the option of heading to the Experience Pit."


    "¡­the Experience what now?"

 Chapter 135 Moment Of Self-Reflection

    "The Experience Pit? You know, the one that just newly opened in the city since the dungeon is so far away?" Arcenne responded back, expecting the man before him to know about it. Fortunately, it did not take long for her to recall that Valyr was not from the city, inwardly admonishing herself for forgetting that part as she tapped her forehead. "Ah, right. You''re not from here, I forgot."


    "How do I exin this¡­" Rubbing her chin in ponderation, Arcenne took a while to find the words that would best describe the ce. "I''m sure you know that dungeons are located in fixed areas and have fixed requirements before being able to enter, right?"


    Nodding in response, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity, wondering where Arcenne was heading with her words as he continued to listen in silence.


    ? "With that in mind, the level of the monsters you would face in those dungeons would be fixed as well, which is fine if you were to enter the dungeon at the same level as the monsters. However, for those who repeatedly enter the dungeon at a lower level, only to level themselves up with every run, they would lose out on a ton of experience." As Arcenne took in a deep breath, Valyr felt that she was now about to start exining the Experience Pit in detail.


    And indeed she did.


    "To make sure that the time wasted on traveling could be used to earn experience instead, the Experience Pit was born, situated near the west edge of the city," Arcenne said. "Unlike dungeons that have monsters with fixed levels, you could set the levels of the monsters you fight to as high as you want or as low as you want."


    "Aside from that, you wouldn''t have to fear about losing out on possible XP gains even when you level up. Normally, the solution to this problem would be to not allocate the XP one gained while traversing the dungeon, leaving one''s growth stagnant until one left the dungeon. On the other hand, the levels of the monsters in the Experience Pit would automatically adjust to your levels as you continue to level up."


    "I see." After listening to Arcenne''s exnation, Valyr recalled a couple memories from his past life that he used to frequent these Experience Pits whenever he needed a great amount of experience. Though the cost to enter these pits was slightly high and there was the fact that you would have to give part of the experience you earn back to those manning the pit, the overall efficiency in gaining experience was still far greater than delving a dungeon.


    Thinking that the man before him seemed interested in entering the Experience Pit, Arcenne went ahead andid out the costs to enter it, as well as the time the pit usually opened. "The pit usually opens around an hour after the sun starts to peek out of the horizon. To enter it, you would have to pay a gold coin for entry, plus you would have to give the people manning the pit 30% of the experience you gain from. However, there''s no limit to how long you can stay in the pit, though the pit does close around an hour after sunset."


    At this point, Valyr could not help but notice that Arcenne''s knowledge regarding the Experience Pit was incredibly detailed, far more detailed than those who had exined the Experience Pit to him back in the past. Wondering if she had anything to do with the Experience Pit, he asked her, "Why does it feel like you know the ins and outs of that ce while I was listening to your exnation?"


    Hearing his question, Arcenne let out a light chuckle. "That''s because I do. The Stelyra n is the main proponent of the Experience Pit, after all. That''s one of the other reasons why I was sent here to this city, to supervise over the construction and the overall workings of the Experience Pit."


    In response to the question, Valyr could only nod in silence, not expecting that one of the features he had taken for granted as something to be abused in the past was actually the creation of one of the world''s noble ns. ''The gamepany really did a good job at making everything feel lifelike. I never would''ve thought the Stelyra noble n was behind the Experience Pit. But now that I do, it makes a lot of sense.''


    After that, Valyr asked Arcenne a few more things regarding the Experience Pit, mostly the directions that would allow him to head to the ce. Once he was certain that he had memorized the directions he had been given, he then thanked Arcenne for her time and bade farewell, telling her that he might drop by the training hall from time to time in the future.


    With that, he left the training hall, only for his stomach to start rumbling all of a sudden out of hunger. Looking at the sky, a wry smile soon appeared on his face as he noticed that it was already past noon. Thinking that he should listen to his body''s needs, he walked around the city''s streets for a bit before stopping in front of a restaurant that looked like they served sumptuous meals for cheap.


    Sitting himself at one of the seats before calling for a waiter to take his order, Valyr idly sat there for a while, thinking about the things he was going to do after he had cleared the dungeon at the vige. ''Once that dungeon is cleared, Astarto Vige can expand into a town and then¡­ whates after that? What do I after that?''


    ''I mean¡­ there''s the fact that I have yet toplete the quest Damian gave me, but seeing how there''s not much progress being made, it''s not a problem for me to focus on that after I finish the task Alfaera gave me.'' Lightly scratching his head, Valyr then rhythmically tapped his fingers on the table just as the waiter that took his order earlier served him an appetizer.


    Taking a bite out of it, his mind continued to wander once more. ''I guess I''ll have to think more about what I''m going to do next after clearing the dungeon. I know what my end goal is, but there are so many paths I could take to reach it that I effectively don''t know what to do next.''


    "Hopefully the Experience Pit helps me clear my thoughts¡­" Just as these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, a familiar person appeared in front of him and sat on the opposite side of the table with a smile. At first, Valyr was about to ask the person to leave, but when he recognized the get-up the man before him was wearing, he only responded back with a light smile.


    "Mind if I sit here, Valyr?"

 Chapter 136 Possibilities And Doubts

    In response to the man''s question, Valyr could not help but let out a light chuckle as he gestured towards the seat on the opposite side of the table. "By all means, be my guest. Then again, you''re already upying it, Tryndall."


    Listening to Valyr''s reply, Tryndall let out a brief peal ofughter as he called for the waiter that was serving Valyr, informing thetter of his order. Just as the waiter nodded in response to his words and headed to the kitchen portion of the restaurant, Tryndall looked back at Valyr with a light smile. "I haven''t eaten lunch yet."


    "Same goes for me." Nodding in response with a light smile, the expression on Valyr''s face somewhat became solemn as he looked at Tryndall with a hint of curiosity. "So, what brings you here aside from having lunch? After all, we''ve agreed that the time we''ll meet up everyday regarding the quest would be around an hour before sunset."


    "You''re not wrong in that regard." Tryndall nodded in agreement. "However, as I was walking through the streets to find a ce to eat, I inadvertently noticed you sitting here. Lo and behold, we''ve ended up in our current situation."


    Letting out a light sigh after listening to Tryndall''s words, a slightly wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he told Tryndall soon after that they wouldn''t meet upter in the day, considering that they were already talking to each other right now, which thetter agreed with.


    With that, Valyr decided to make the most of the time waiting for their orders to be served to ask Tryndall if there was any progress in their quest. "So, have you made any headway into the quest?"


    Hearing the question that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Tryndall shed a bitter smile before shaking his head. "Ever since we''ve met up yesterday, I''ve been asking around the city regarding the various people that have sses rted to cooking, following the lead the Adventurer''s Guild had given me. Unfortunately, after watching them work for a while, none of the people I''ve asked so far match the proficiency of the Clossbay Killer."


    As they were in a restaurant, Valyr reminded the man opposite him to talk in a hushed tone midway thetter''s response, to which Tryndall nodded as he finished the remainder of his statement in a softer voice.


    Pondering over Tryndall''s words for a bit, Valyr went silent as he rubbed his chin. Just as all of their orders were served in front of them, a thought popped up in his mind as he looked at Tryndall, who looked like he was just about to dig into his meal. "Those people you''ve asked and watched, what ss rank were they?"


    "Most of them were at Rank 0 and at the beginning of Rank 1, though there were some in the middle of Rank 1," Tryndall responded, only for him to go silent as he realized what Valyr was trying to say. "Are you telling me to check those at the peak of Rank 1 and beyond?"


    In response, Valyr nodded. "Think about it. If the Clossbay Killer was still at the beginning or at the middle of Rank 1, he would need to have a ss that''s at least Rare in rarity in order to be able to do those sharp and clean cuts. If that were the case, we would have already found a few people that fit that criteria."


    "However, if he were at the peak of Rank 1 or higher¡­"


    "I see." Saying these words, Tryndall went ahead and dug into the food he ordered as he nodded sometimeter. Seeing that, Valyr went ahead and dug into his food as well, his eyes slightly widening in surprise from how delicious the food he ordered was.


    "In short, we should expand our range to those at the peak of Rank 1 and above." With his mouth still partly filled with food, Tryndall said these words, only for a slightly bitter smile to appear on his face as he swallowed the food in his mouth. "Then again, it would be somewhat risky since we''re not even peak Rank 1 yet."


    "We''re just going to check if they fit the criteria with [Analysis]. Nothing more, nothing less," said Valyr as he finished one of the tes of food he had ordered. "If you want, I could help you out with the search."


    "Though, if you agree, that would have to wait for a bit since I have to return to Astarto Vige for a short while." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tryndall nodded before shrugging his shoulders, telling Valyr to take his time since there wasn''t a time limit to the quest anyway. Aside from that, he told him that he would keep record of the people he had already checked, which Valyr appreciated.


    With their talks regarding the quest they both took now done, they then changed the topic of their conversations to their lives,ughing every once in a while as they continued to fill up their stomachs with the food they ordered. Eventually, the two of them were done, going on their separate ways after each of them paid their respective bills.


    Heading in the opposite direction of where Tryndall was heading, Valyr recalled the directions Arcenne had given him earlier regarding where the Experience Pit could be located, employing a bit of his AGI to slightly speed up his walking speed. Although he had gotten lost at the start of the journey, going through a few twists and turns that led him to a dead end, he eventually found the path Arcenne talked about earlier, which was a path that led straight to the Experience Pit.


    Around ten minutester, Valyr had arrived at the ce Arcenne mentioned where the Experience Pit could be found, which looked like a dozen meter tall block of rough cut stone that had a hole cut into it to serve as its entrance. Seeing that there was no signage above the entrance that mentioned the Experience Pit, Valyr felt like he would only find a few people inside, which meant he would be able to enter one of the pits quite easily.


    However, it was, in fact, quite the opposite.


    Just as he had taken a couple steps inside the building, he was greeted by the sight of multiple doors spanning a long corridor, with sounds of metal colliding against flesh, screams, and overall mor swiftly resounding throughout the ce. Although they were all muffled by the stone walls that spanned at least a third of a meter thick, it made Valyr realize that the simple external appearance of the building was not because the Experience Pits were being kept hidden or were not popr.


    Instead, the Experience Pits were so popr that there was no need for a sign. In their eyes, advertisement through word of mouth was more than enough.


    Looking around his surroundings to see where he could get one of the pits for his own, he eventually found a counter at the very far left of the corridor, with a young man in histe twenties manning it.


    Heading there, the young man instantly looked back at him with a slight frown before letting out a long sigh. "I''m guessing you''re here to book an Experience Pit?"


    Sensing the apparent disinterest the young man had while manning the counter, Valyr could not help but ask himself a question as he nodded in response.


    ''Am I even in the right ce?''

 Chapter 137 Entering The Pit

    Nevertheless, even though he wondered whether he was in the right ce, the young man nodded back in response to his nod, bringing out a thin tablet from under the counter before infusing it with a bit of mana. "Name?"


    "Valyr," said Valyr in response.


    "Let me just check if there are any avable rooms for you to enter right now." As the young man nodded, these words came out of his mouth in a nonchnt and slightly disinterested tone. After that, he looked at Valyr. "Unless if you''re here to ce a reservation for a pit on a future date."


    "I would like to enter right now." Valyr shook his head at the man''s final statement, prompting the man to nod in response before continuing to infuse mana into the tablet he was holding, reading through the information that shed on its surface.


    "Alright. We still have a few vacant pits that you could enter at anytime," said the young man as he looked at Valyr before extending one of his hands out. "One gold coin for entry."


    Nodding in response, Valyr rummaged out a gold coin from the satchel of coins he had and gave it to the young man, who received it and ced it in area under the counter before infusing a bit more of his mana into the thin tablet. After a bit of silence, the young man gave Valyr a reminder. "Although there''s no limit to how long you stay in the pit, mind you that the Experience Pit will be closed one hour before sunset. The staff that''ll be assisting you in your pit shall remind you of the time, so you don''t have to keep track."


    Though the man''s voice was somewhat monotone and made Valyr feel like he was listening to a robot talking, thettermitted the young man''s words to mind while recalling some of the times he had used the Experience Pits in the kingdoms and empires he had visited in his past life.


    "Aside from that, there will also be a section of refreshments and stamina potions free of charge in the room you upy, should you need to take a break," the young man continued, to which Valyr nodded in response. "Before I tell you which room to head to, can I know what level you''re currently at?"


    As the young man looked at him with an expression of inquiry, Valyr went ahead and opened his mouth. "Level 11."


    "Good to know." The young man nodded after recording the information on the thin tablet he held. "You might not know this, but the Experience Pit currently cannot serve those at the peak of Rank 1 and higher. Only those at Level 24 and below are eligible to enter in the meantime."


    "Speaking of which, don''t forget to give 30% of the experience you obtain from the pit to the staff assisting you," the young man continued to speak in his nonchnt tone. Though, as he said this, there was a hint of coldness to it. "Mind you that we have people there keeping track of how much experience you earn, so¡­ you know what I mean."


    "Got it." Although the young man attending to him did not continue his words, Valyr swiftly knew what he was trying to imply, nodding in response.


    Though, just as he nodded, it was only then did he finally understand why a portion of the experience he and the others earned from the pits had to be given back to the staff. Wanting to know if his idea was correct, he asked the man, "Am I right to think that the reason why we have to give part of the experience we earn back to the staff is because it allows the capabilities of the Experience Pit to be expanded?"


    "Correct." The young man nodded in response. "At some point, the Experience Pit shall be able to amodate those at the peak of Rank 1, then those at Rank 2, and so on and so forth."


    As Valyr nodded in understanding, he could not help but think that Clossbay City was able to be as big as it wasrgely in part due to the Experience Pit and the Combat Training Hall, which allowed the city to have sufficient strength to be able to protect its citizens, and therefore warrant a huge number of people living in one ce.


    After being told by the young man regarding the room he was assigned to, Valyr thanked the young man before heading through the corridor, only to take a brief nce at the young man sometimeter, who had returned to his disinterested demeanor from earlier. Turning his head back to the corridor, he then looked at the signs on the various doors before eventually stopping in front of the door that the young man had told him earlier.


    "Here we go. B-4." Muttering these words, Valyr opened the door and headed inside, instantly being greeted by the sight of a room that looked far more modern that he had initially thought. Most of the floor was covered in white tiles, save for the pit at the center that went down a few meters to make sure even monsters that jumped wouldn''t be able to get out of the pit.


    On one side of the room was a table filled to the brim with snacks, foodstuffs, drinks, as well as a couple types of potions such as rejuvenation and stamina potions. On the other were a few people, all of them sitting down at a bench as they conversed with each other.


    Noticing that Valyr had entered the room, the people stopped what they were doing as one of them went towards him. As for the others, they situated themselves around the pit, with some of them on guard duty in the off chance a monster got out, while the others were managing the other aspects of the pit.


    "I suppose you''re Valyr?" The person who went towards him asked, being a woman in schrly clothing.


    As Valyr nodded in response to the question, the woman nodded back before opening her mouth once more. "Wee to the Experience Pit, Valyr. Considering that this is your first time using the pit, let me instruct you on the things you can and cannot do while in here."


    "First off, there is a passage at the far end of the room that directly leads to the pit proper, though we also don''t mind if you directly jump down into the pit." As the woman said this, she could not help but lightly shake her head. "I don''t rmend doing it unless if one is at a higher level, though."


    "After that, you shall inform us of the number of monsters you would like to face against, as well as the level of the monsters. Once you kill the monster, another monster will swiftly take its ce to ensure that your momentum is not lost." Looking at Valyr, she added, "Since it''s your first time here, I''d rmend fighting against one monster at a time with a three-level disparity for now. But of course, you can adjust it as you see fit."


    "Aside from that, you can take a break at anytime if you feel exhausted. You just have to inform us beforehand by telling us or by giving us a signal." Taking in a deep breath, the woman''s expression then turned solemn.


    "As for the things you cannot do, you cannot force any of the staff to join you in the pit, nor can you force the staff to fight for you in the pit. Only you alone can enter the pit, unless if we deem you to be in an emergency, which rarely urs in a ce like this."


    "Intentional destruction of the pit and the surroundings is also prohibited. We''ve already had our fair share of people who did that in the past." At this point, the woman let out a light sigh.


    "Andstly, no intentional prolonging of the death of monsters in the pits." As these words came out of the woman''s mouth, Valyr could not help but raise an eyebrow in curiosity, wondering the reason behind it.


    Noticing Valyr''s expression, the woman quickly exined. "It messes with the entire system the Experience Pit has in ce regarding the replenishment of monsters, which is why we outright prohibit it."


    "Any other questions?" Hearing the woman asked this question, Valyr shook his head in response, informing her and the others that he was ready.


    Nodding in response, the woman then led Valyr to the passage that directly led to the center of the pit. Heading through the passage on his own, he eventually ended up at the center of the pit, with the staff that had encircled the pit earlier a few meters above him.


    "How many monsters and what level?" Just as he was looking at his surroundings, one of the staff around the pit asked.


    In response, a light grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he replied.


    "Let''s go with¡­"

 Chapter 138 A Surreal Experience

    "Let''s go with five monsters at a time, all of them Level 14." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, the staff around the periphery of the pit could not help but look at each other for a bit, briefly wondering whether the person that had booked the pit had the ability to back up his words.


    Nevertheless, they did as they were told, setting up everything that was needed to prepare the continuous replenishment of five Level 14 monsters in the pit. Just as they were doing so, one of the staff asked yet another question to Valyr. "What type of monsters would you like to fight against?"


    "Even that is customizable?" As far as Valyr knew from his experience with the Experience Pit in the past, the only thing that could be customized was the number of monsters that came at once, as well as the level of monsters one was up against. Never once had he evere across an Experience Pit that allowed for customized monster types as well.


    ''Is it because the demand for Experience Pits isn''t that high yet?'' With this thought in mind, Valyr felt that it was most likely the case. After all, Experience Pits were highly sought after by yers in his past life, being one of the easiest and safest ways to gain XP without having to delve a dungeon.


    After he had gotten over the initial shock of finding out he could also customize the monsters he fought against, he pondered over the question before asking, "What''s the easiest monster I could kill with a weapon?"


    As if to respond to the question, faint murmurs could be around the pit for a while before going silent, prompting Valyr to tilt his head in slight confusion as he wondered what those at the surface were talking about. However, just a few secondster, a few of the gates on the walls of the pit, which he had noticed by the time he was inside the pit, soon opened, revealing five monsters that instantly made Valyr ferociously grin.


    "That''s definitely the simplest monster I could kill with a weapon." Letting out a light cackle as the monsters came closer to him, Valyr went ahead and identified one of the monsters with [Analysis], reading through its information for a brief moment before going ahead and brandishing his True Tideblood Spear.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pit Golem] (Level 14)


    HP: 280/280


    MP: 170/170


    Stats: 23 VIT, 23 STR, 22 AGI, 22 DEX, 14 INT, 14 WIS, 14 PER, 14 LUK


    Remarks: You look like you''re just taking out your anger if you fight against this.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With [Analysis] at its max level, Valyr was now able to view other information regarding the monsters he fought against, such as the amount of MP they have, as well as their stats. In fact, once he noticed the monster''s stats, he could not help but recall his stats from before his ascension, thinking that they were simr in a way. ''The golems here focused on all the physical stats, while I focused on DEX and INT.''


    ''Either way, let''s see if it''s easy to kill them.'' Gripping onto his spear, he swiftly dashed towards the five golems as the five were just about to charge towards him. Noticing that they had lost track of their initial target, the golems looked around, only for the sound of rock crumbling to resound throughout the pit soon after as Valyr stood atop the remnants of one of the golems.


    Ding!


    [With a 3 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 60%.]


    [You have in a Level 14 Tide Monster. You have gained 693 XP.]


    ''I think I could handle five golems at Level 15.'' With this thought in mind, he swiftly disposed of the remaining four golems, who made their way to him in a frenzy due to how one of theirrades had been killed in one fell swoop. Standing on top of the rubble making up the five golems he had just in, he looked at the opened gates for a bit before shouting towards the staff at the top.


    "Increase their level to 15!"


    Hearing that, the staff swiftly adjusted the level of the golems to Level 15 as they had just obtained the answer to their previous question of whether Valyr had the ability to back up his words.


    In short, he did.


    And he had the ability to go further.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Relying on thebination of [Strong Pierce] and Vital Hits, Valyr was able to dispose all Level 15 golems at more or less the same time it took to clear the previous wave. Seeing that he wasn''t anywhere reaching his limit yet, he asked the staff to increase the difficulty by yet another level.


    And with that, for a while, a cycle had been formed wherein Valyr would find out that he had not reached his limit yet, prompting him to tell the staff above the pit to increase the difficulty by another level. In response, the staff would do as they were told, with Valyr fighting against the next wave without much difficulty.


    Thankfully for the staff, this cycle eventually ended by the time the five golems Valyr fought against were Level 20, finding it somewhat difficult to kill them on his own, but not difficult enough for him to find himself overly exhausted by the end of it. Telling them that he had found the sweet spot, he then went on a rampage, killing all five Level 20 golems that appeared out of the gates surrounding him within a matter of minutes.


    On the other hand, as they watched Valyr kill wave after wave of Level 20 golems with rtive ease, the staff watching above the pit could not help but be left at a loss for words, with the question in their mind now being where Valyr hade from. Amongst all of the people they had seen fight in the pit before, most of them found their limits at a four-level disparity. Some of them reached their limit at a six-level disparity, and a couple found theirs at a seven-level disparity.


    However, here was Valyr, an anomaly that only found his limit at a nine-level disparity, having no problem fighting against five monsters that were past the middle of Rank 1 while still being at the beginning of Rank 1. Though they were curious to find out how he was able to do so, they weren''t allowed to ask those who booked the pits this information.


    Oblivious to the fact that the staff manning his pit were now making up stories about a man who could surmount a nine-level disparity and still end up victorious, Valyr continued to fight against the Level 20 golems as they came, taking breaks every once in a while to replenish the stamina he had exhausted before returning to the pit to do it all over again.


    Unfortunately for him, even though he had eventually gotten into a rhythm that allowed him to kill the wave of golems he fought against faster, this all came to an end as no more monsters came out of the gates after some time. Wondering why no more monsters were appearing, Valyr looked up at the periphery of the pit, noticing that one of the staff was looking back at him.


    As the staff''s words reverberated throughout the pit, it was only then did Valyr understand why, wryly smiling as he muttered to himself, "I guess I got a bit too engrossed there."


    "Sir Valyr, we''ll unfortunately have to stop here. It is now an hour before sunset."


    "The Experience Pit is now closing."

 Chapter 139 Upgrading In The Night

    Nodding in response to the staff''s words as he told them he was gonna get out, Valyr took in a deep breath before letting out a satisfied sigh, shaking off the blood on his spear before affixing it on his back. After that, he went through the passage connected to the pit, eventually ending up on the surface once more sometimeter.


    Seeing as some of the staff were making their way towards him, Valyr quickly understood that it was time for him to give part of the experience he earned from the pit to them. With that in mind, he went ahead andmanded the system to show him how much unused XP he had, only to left at a slight loss for words at the six figure digit that was shown in front of him.


    ''I''m already used to seeing bigger numbers than this, but wow. This just shows that the Experience Pit truly is the best way to gain experience in a short amount of time.'' Letting out a light chuckle, he made a few calctions in his mind, stopping once the staff were in front of him.


    "ording to what we''ve recorded, you have killed a total of 120 monsters during the past three hours or so," one of the staff said to him. "Except for the first 30 that ranged from Level 14 to Level 19, the remaining 90 monsters were all at Level 20."


    Looking at the tablet the man held for a bit as he infused a bit of mana, he then looked back at Valyr as he opened his mouth once more. "Taking into consideration the level disparity between you and the monsters, you have earned a total of 491,290 XP during the session. Since 30% of the experience you earn has to be given back to the pit, we need you to give us 147,387 XP."


    ''Half a million XP in just a bit over than three hours.'' Hearing the words that came out of the staff''s mouth, Valyr could not help but let out a light chuckle yet again as he soon nodded, opening up a screen in front to send part of the experience he earned to one of the staff. ''I wonder how much XP I could gain from the Experience Pit if I were of a higher level? Or perhaps, if I could grind XP all day?''


    ''Unfortunately, I''ll have to save those thoughts for the future for now.'' Once he had sent part of the experience to one of the staff, Valyr went ahead and asked them to confirm if they have obtained the correct amount. Obtaining nods in response to his question, he then thanked the staff for taking care of him while he was in the pit before proceeding to leave the premises.


    Taking a look at the sky to see that the sun was around halfway to setting, Valyr then made his way to the inn that he stayed in the previous night as he wondered whether there was anything else in his list of tasks in the city he hadn''t finished yet.


    Naturally, the thought of the quest Damian gave him popped up in his mind while thinking about it, but since he came to an agreement with Tryndall regarding the fact that he would return to the vige for a while, Valyr more or less came to the conclusion that he had finished all of the tasks he wanted to do before returning.


    With that, he hastily made his way to the dining area of the inn he previously stayed in, ordering a slightly hearty dinner as he ate his food at a rxed pace. While doing so, he took a look at the amount of unused XP that remained with him after giving part of it back to the staff, which was about 50,000 XP shy of reaching 400,000.


    Pondering over how he was going to allocate his experience aside from using part of it to reach Level 15, he continued to savor the taste of the food he had ordered, finishing around an hour and a halfter as he headed to the room he had booked yesterday.


    Once there, he swiftly entered the bathroom and took a long warm shower, thinking about how much he moved around today during the tests in the training hall and the Experience Pit. Coming out of the bathroom feeling refreshed and rxed, he changed into a set of clothes more suited for sleeping as he lied down on the bed, thinking of heading to bed early.


    However, before doing so, he opened up his status screen and his skill screen before proceeding to allocate most, if not all of the XP he had earned earlier, starting off with increasing his level to Level 15.


    Ding!


    [156,656 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 15.]


    [You have gained the following stats: +12 VIT, +12 STR, +8 AGI, +20 DEX, +20 INT, +8 WIS, +12 PER, and +4 LUK.]


    [You have gained 16 unassigned stat points.]


    Not too long after receiving a string of notifications regarding his increase in level, Valyr instantly felt the effects of the increase in stats, prompting him to get out of his bed as he did a few basicbat movements to get limated to it.


    Making sure to not go all out lest he wanted the room to be messy, Valyr eventually got used to his newfound stats¡­ only to repeat it once more as he allocated his unassigned stat points evenly between DEX and INT, putting 10 points each into both stats.


    Once he felt like he had truly gotten used to his increased stats, Valyrid himself down on the bed once more, opening up the status screen to check out his new and improved stats before letting out a chuckle. "To think both my DEX and INT are already close to reaching 70 points thanks to this ss of mine¡­ I think I can fight against a newly ascended Rank 2 fighter to a draw with my current stats."


    "Anyways, time to put my attention on the skills." With this statementing out of his mouth, Valyr opened his skill list once more, his mind already made up before even looking at the screen.


    Ding!


    [10,561 XP has been allocated. ''Inferior Heal'' has been upgraded to Level 6.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [10,561 XP has been allocated. ''Serpent Steps Movement Style'' has been upgraded to Level 6.]


    Since he was going to tackle a dungeon for the meantime, Valyr focused on upgrading all of thebat skills he had to Level 6 first, specifically the three skills he had gotten from the contribution point shop, as well as the [Serpent Steps Movement Style] he personally asked Damian to obtain.


    After that, he took a look at the amount of XP he had remaining, which amounted to around 150,000 XP. Thinking that the remaining amount was more than enough to max out one of hisbat skills to Level 10 and upgrade another one by a couple levels, he went ahead and did as such, maxing out [Strong Pierce] to Level 10, only to find out he still had more than enough XP remaining to max out another one.


    And so he maxed out [Serpent Spear Combat Style] after that.


    With only slightly above 4,000 XP remaining after the two massive upgrades, Valyr felt content with how he had allocated the experience in preparation for the dungeon, lightly yawning before eventually falling into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 140 Last Minute Preparations

    Once the following day had arrived, Valyr went through his usual morning routine, ordering himself a hearty breakfast at the inn''s dining area before paying the fees for staying at the inn for the past two nights.


    After making sure he had not forgotten anything at the inn, he then left the premises, making a short stop at a general store to replenish the rations he had consumed during the journey to Clossbay City.


    Though, just as he was about to check out the items he was going to buy at the cashier, he decided to add in two vials each of health and mana rejuvenation potions as well, specifically the Lesser versions of the potions, thinking of the possible worst case scenario happening in the dungeon.


    ''Well, I''ll also be grabbing the Inferior versions as well, just to be sure.'' Stowing away all of the items he had bought in a bag he brought along for the journey, Valyr then made his way to where his carriage was, bing d to find out that the horses that were going to pull his carriage once more were well taken care of while he was gone.


    Hopping on the carriage as he signaled for the horses to start moving, he went ahead and thanked the man who had taken care of his horses while he was away, tossing a silver coin to thetter before proceeding to start the journey back to Astarto Vige.


    Outside the protection of a settlement once more, Valyr could not help but wonder how much time remained before the beta version began while moving through the vast ins. Recalling that he and Wells had been reminded sometime in the past that only 30 days remained, he thenmanded the system to show him the remaining time until the beta version began, his eyes slightly widening from surprise.


    Ding!


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond starts in 6 days!]


    "To think only less than a week remains before a few dozen yers get their first taste of Greater Beyond," Valyr could not help but mutter, his gaze focused on the surroundings before him. As he thought about the things he had done so far, he could not help but feel a sense of aplishment for achieving the first goal he had set for himself when he came to this world, which was to ascend to a Rank 1 ss before the beta version began.


    Though he had indeed achieved his goal, that did not mean that he would ck off. Instead, Valyr knew that things were only beginning for him as the storyline Veldanyr had during the first version of Greater Beyond popped up in his mind. "The War of the Three Sovereignties."


    "I should try to prepare a bit for that during the beta version. Though, whether I make a lot of progress or not during the beta version, it doesn''t matter much," he thought out loud. "After all, most of the important things I need to do shall only be feasible once Greater Beyond goes public."


    After that, Valyr continued on with his journey, appearing at the periphery of Astarto Vige around four dayster.


    By the time he had gotten past the vige''s walls, the sun was already in the midst of setting. Nevertheless, finally seeing familiarnds surrounding him, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief. Getting off the carriage, he went ahead and returned the items back to their respective shops, obtaining the initial deposit he had given the shop owners soon after.


    After that, he hastily made his way back to the barracks, heading straight to the dormitory room to take a quick nap, only to find himself waking up by the time it was already deep into the night. Lightly scratching his head as he bitterly smiled, he headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower, changing into a set of loose fitting clothes before heading to the cafeteria.


    Thanking the heavens that the cafeteria was still open at this time, Valyr ordered a light meal before sitting down on a vacant seat, taking in the somewhat calm silence that came along with being awakete at night. Once he was done eating, Valyr gave the now empty tray back to the cafeteria workers before heading back to his dormitory room, only to fall asleep once more.


    Wondering how he had fallen asleep just as he had gotten up, Valyr scratched his head for a bit in confusion before going through his usual morning routine, though he only sshed his face with water since he had already taken a shower the previous night. After that, he changed into one of the new guard uniforms Damian had ced in his room while he was gone, recalling that he had asked for it before he and Tristan had even set off on their journey to Danyhris.


    Finding the new uniform quitefortable to wear, he then made his way to the cafeteria and grabbed a light breakfast to go before leaving the barracks a couple minutester. Once outside the barracks, he headed to the vige clinic, being greeted by the sight of a still sleepy Vera in the midst of waking herself up.


    Naturally, Valyr''s presence in her clinic swiftly jolted Vera to being fully alert, asking the former as to what he was doing here so early. In response, Valyr asked her if he could get a few vials of Inferior Health and Mana Rejuvenation Potions in preparation for his attempt at the nearby dungeon.


    Hearing his words, Vera''s eyes slightly widened as she nodded in surprise, telling Valyr to wait for a bit as she headed to the rear portion of the vige clinic. A couple minutester, Vera appeared in front of him once more, carrying a few vials of the potions Valyr had asked.


    After Valyr had paid Vera for the cost of the potions, he then stored them all into the bag where the Lesser Health and Mana Rejuvenation Potions he had bought back in the city were before making his way to Tristan''s smithy. Surprisingly, unlike Vera, who was still in the process of waking up when he entered the clinic, Tristan was already in the process of preparing for the day by the time Valyr had entered the smithy.


    "Oh, well if it isn''t Valyr. And here I thought you''d be out for longer before I see you again." Noticing Valyr''s presence, Tristan stood up from his seat and made his way to where the former was, giving him a light embrace. After Valyr reciprocated the hug back, he then headed to where the set of armor he had crafted was ced, asking Tristan if he could use his tools for a while to upgrade them.


    At that moment, Tristan quickly understood what Valyr was about to do, leaving him no choice but to nod in response as he allowed thetter to do what he needed to do. After that, he sent out a couple strands of mana outside the smithy, their destinations heading to who knows where.


    In the meantime, Valyr went ahead and upgraded all of the pieces making up the armor set to Level 15 before retrieving the spear behind his back and upgrading it to Level 15 as well. Once he was done, he then went ahead and wore the full armor set before making his way out of the smithy, telling Tristan to inform Damian and Alfaera that he was about to attempt the dungeon.


    Coincidentally, just as he said those words, the two people he had mentioned had appeared in front of him.

 Chapter 141 Heading To The Dungeon

    As both Damian and Alfaera looked at the fully armored Valyr standing in front of them, exchanging a few words as they let out a chuckle soon after, thetter was naturally surprised to see the two of them in front of him. After all, he had never called for the two, nor let his presence known after he had returned from Clossbay City.


    Of course, it did not take long for him to figure out how the current situation unfolded, shifting his gaze towards Tristan, who onlyughed at him in response as he shrugged his shoulders. "I had a feeling you were going to delve the dungeon without letting the two of them know."


    Hearing that, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh inside his helmet, shaking his head. "It would''ve been a good surprise, you know? Imagine the greatest of their worries just disappearing one day without them knowing?"


    "Well, you would''ve still had to go to me if you wanted the quest to be trulyplete, but that does seem like apelling reason," said Alfaera in response to his words, letting out a bit ofughter after that.


    "In my case, I would''ve found that more suspicious than reassuring." After Alfaera, Damian decided to give the others a piece of his mind as well. "After all, wouldn''t you think more about who or what removed the problem in the first ce than feeling relief at the fact the problem went away on its own?"


    Though their conversation continued with that topic, the four of them decided to make their way to where the dungeon was while talking. Of course, with Alfaera and Damian speaking out their thoughts regarding the topic, Valyr and Tristan went ahead and shared their thoughts as well, with the four of them eventuallying to terms with what each other had said.


    After that, the topic of their conversation shifted towards the dungeon, with Damian and Tristan doing most of the talking since they were the ones who had truly delved the dungeon. Alfaera also sneaked in a couple statements here and there regarding some aspects of the dungeon, due to the fact that most of the people who came to ept her quest informed her regarding the reason for their failures. Then again, she had also delved the dungeon once in the past.


    Nevertheless, even though the three of them went into great detail regarding the various parts of the dungeon, there was one part of it Valyr noticed that all of them avoided mentioning.


    The final boss of the dungeon.


    "Now that I think about it, you three still haven''t told me what''s up with the final boss of the dungeon," Valyr could not help but interrupt the conversation, prompting the three to go silent. "Other than the fact it''s an incredibly strong goblin, what else is there? Surely you three can tell me now that I''m about to enter the dungeon, right?"


    Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan and the others looked at each other before wearing bitter smiles on their faces, making Valyr slightly frown inside his helmet as he let out a slightly exasperated sigh. "Even now?"


    "It''s not that we don''t want to, Valyr," Damian said in response, a bitter smile still on his face. "It''s the fact that we can''t."


    Seeing the other two nod in agreement with Damian''s words, Valyr stopped in his tracks, pondering over the former''s words in silence for a bit. As the gears continued to turn in his mind, a couple ideas eventually popped up in Valyr''s mind regarding the reason why they weren''t allowed to tell him about the final boss.


    "Hmm¡­" Discarding some of the ideas in his mind as he started to walk again, Valyr looked at the others for a bit before opening his mouth. "Is there something within the dungeon that''s not allowing you three to talk about the final boss of the dungeon?"


    In response to the question, the three looked at each other for a bit with slightly widened eyes. However, silence was their only response to Valyr''s question.


    Of course, Valyr did not mind that, feeling that their reactions from his words earlier were more than enough for him to find out that he was correct. Seeing that his train of thought was on the right track, he decided to think out loud, muttering out the couple possibilities that could exist within the dungeon that exactly did what he mentioned earlier.


    "For a dungeon at that level, there''s only two possibilities thate to mind when talking about being barred from sharing information," Valyr said sometimeter. "There''s either the possibility that there''s binding prompts that pop up before the final boss, or perhaps the dungeon has a binding oath."


    Noticing that the eyes of the three widened at thetter possibility, Valyr could not help but inwardly hiss.


    Comparing the two, binding prompts were quite amon urrence in dungeons, being used by the game as a way to make sure that the yers couldn''t obtain information from NPCs beforehand regarding a certain dungeon boss or a secret that existed in the dungeon. In fact, due to it being somon, most yers had be naturally inclined to think that every dungeon they entered would have a binding prompt somewhere.


    On the other hand, binding oaths, though simr in appearance to binding prompts, were a whole different story. Unlike binding prompts, which were done through the system to add ayer of secrecy to dungeons, the existence of a binding oath meant that the dungeon was not a naturally urring dungeon, but instead an artificially built dungeon with a purpose in mind.


    ''It seems there''s more to the dungeon than I initially thought¡­ and it might have to do with something regarding the vige itself,'' Valyr inwardly muttered. ''After all, knowledge regarding binding oaths could only be found in core cities and above, yet the three of them were surprised to hear those wordse out of my mouth.''


    ''In any case, I''ll save that forter. For now, I should focus on the task at hand.'' With that, Valyr hastened his pace, utilizing the entirety of his AGI to get to where the dungeon was quicker. Unsurprisingly, the three followed suit, deciding that one of them should go on ahead to make sure that Valyr wouldn''t get lost.


    Eventually, the four of them arrived in front of a cave, which stuck out like a sore thumb due to the fact that vast ins surrounded it. Then again, if one''s attention weren''t focused on the cave, one would think that the sight before them was only made up of vast ins.


    Taking note of the faint swirling light somewhat deep within the cave, Valyr went ahead and told the three that he was going to go on ahead and enter the dungeon, telling them that they could either wait here or wait back at the vige for good news.


    In response to that, the three asked him a couple of questions regarding his preparedness. Naturally, being someone who had delved multiple dungeons in his past life, Valyr knew what kind of items to pack, patting on the bag slung around his chest as he reassured them that everything would be fine.


    After saying another round of temporary farewells to the three, Valyr then went ahead and entered the cave, stopping in front of the faint swirling light as he extended his hand towards it.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to enter the dungeon ''Astarto Goblin Den''?]


    ? [Note: Only those at Level 11 to 15 may enter this dungeon. Those above this level range, as well as those below this level range are prohibited to enter.]


    Looking at the prompt that had appeared before him, Valyr took in a deep breath before confirming that he wanted to enter. Soon after, his entire presence disappeared from where he previously stood, being teleported to somece else not long after.

 Chapter 142 The First Room

    Whoosh!


    Appearing at the center of a slightly spacious room, Valyr looked around his surroundings, swiftly noticing that the four walls of the room were made out of rough-cut stone. Affixed on the walls were a few torches, bringing a bit of illumination to the slightly dreary room.


    Focusing his attention to what was in front of him, a double door spanning a few meters tall could be found, sticking out like a sore thumb whenpared to the dull surroundings due to the intricacy of the detail on the door''s surface.


    "It''s been a long time since Ist delved a dungeon, so let''s see what kind of room I''m in right now¡­" Valyr muttered to himself sometimeter, jogging his memory as he paced around the room for a bit. After a while, he stopped in his tracks, finally recalling the type of room he was currently in before letting out a peal ofughter.


    "A room specifically made for respite¡­ how long has it been since Ist encountered one of these in a dungeon?" Rummaging through his memories regarding this room, he recalled that he had only delved two dungeons with this kind of room in the middle. In fact, these rooms for respite were even a secret in the dungeon, which they had inadvertently found while trying to clear those dungeons through sheer trial and error.


    "Though I''m ready to delve the dungeon at any time, I should take this chance to double check if I forgot anything." Saying those words, Valyr went ahead and checked through the items he carried on the bag slung around his chest, taking note of the health and mana rejuvenation potions he had in stock for emergency situations. After that, he checked if he had a sufficient amount of rations in the off chance he took longer to clear the dungeon, as well as water.


    Lightly nodding after making sure all of the items he would need were in the bag, Valyr then went ahead andmanded the system to show him his full status screen to get a better idea of his capabilities while delving in the dungeon. Naturally, with equipment on, the stats currently shown to him on the screen were quite substantially different from the stats he had seen a few days ago.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 1 ¡ª Mythic)


    Species: Human (1st Unsealing)


    Level: 15


    Power Level: 681 (C++)


    Unused XP: 4,326


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 934/934


    MP: 816/816


    Attack: 121 - 140


    Defense: 101 - 131


    Stats: 57 VIT, 46 STR, 37 AGI, 68 DEX, 68 INT, 37 WIS, 48 PER, 21 LUK (0 unassigned points)


    Remarks: You may have the ss of one, but with your stats¡­ are you really a cksmith?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As this was his first time seeing his full status screen, Valyr could not help but whistle out as he looked at his Attack and Defense stat, noticing first that his Attack had surpassed triple digits. In other words, Valyr was now able to dish out damage in the triple digits with a normal attack, something he could have only done during the monster tide with the aid of skills, as well as Vital and Brutal Hits.


    "For a Common+ grade armor set, the Supreme Astarto Defense Armor is truly deserving its name. I don''t think I''ll even take damage from the goblins at this point." Muttering these words, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle before letting out a slightly carefree sigh. Taking in a deep breath, his expression soon became solemn as he made his way to the door, opening it as he went ahead and proceeded to the official first room of the dungeon.


    "Woah there." Expecting to walk for a while through a dimly lit corridor before reaching the first room, Valyr was instead greeted by the sight of a huge drop a few meters before him, prompting him to stop walking as he assessed his current surroundings.


    Within seconds, he swiftly noticed a door at the far end of the room he had just entered, which Valyr noted as that meant that he was now in the first room of the dungeon. However, as he looked at the door, he could not help but scratch his head for a bit.


    The reason behind this was because, unlike normal dungeon rooms, the dungeon room he was currently in was split into two different sections: the high section, which he was in at the moment, and the low section, which was where the door was located. Connecting the two sections was a ramp on both sides of the high section that circled around the room.


    As he continued to look at the low section of the first room, his attention soon shifted towards the monsters that popted the first room, beings of short stature with rough green skin that wore crude clothes made of leather. Of course, these monsters were none other than goblins, a staple monster in any role-ying game.


    Focusing his sights on one of the goblins, Valyr went ahead and identified the monster with [Analysis], obtaining its results not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Goblin (Elite)] (Level 13)


    HP: 300/300


    Stats: 26 VIT, 29 STR, 26 AGI, 19 DEX, 16 INT, 16 WIS, 16 PER, 16 LUK


    Remarks: They''re quite annoying.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Since the goblins in the first room are Elite monsters, then that means the boss would be an Epic Elite at the very least," Valyr muttered to himself after he was finished checking, recalling the general rules governing dungeons.


    The weakest type of monster that one could encounter in a dungeon was an Elite monster, whose stats were 25% higher than theirmon counterpart. Using that as a baseline, through the coboration of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of yers, people were able to deduce that mini-bosses were usually one tier higher than the weakest monster in the dungeon, while bosses were usually three tiers higher.


    "Using the goblin''s level as a baseline, then that means I would be facing a Level 26 monster at the end of the dungeon as a boss?" As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr now felt like he understood as to why Damian and Tristan told him that the final boss of the dungeon was an incredibly strong goblin. After all, Level 26 meant that the monster was officially considered Rank 2.


    Deciding to not head down the spection rabbit hole for now, Valyr looked at the goblins that were in the low section before counting them. Coming to a total of 25 goblins, he then went silent for a bit before retrieving the True Tideblood Spear affixed to his back. After that¡­


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Chaos ensued.

 Chapter 143 A Small Oddity

    "Grieeegghh!"


    "Graghhh!"


    Without hesitation, Valyr went ahead and mmed his spear on the side of the high section, creating a sound that attracted the attention of the goblins at the low section in less than an instant. With that, the goblins looked up at the high section and noticed Valyr''s presence, swiftly flipping a switch in their minds as they headed to where he was through the ramps.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr could not help but grin from inside the helmet as he watched the goblins head up the ramps. After all, the reason why he did such an unexpected action in the first ce was for the goblins to head up the ramps, reducing the avenues of the goblins'' attack to two.


    On the other hand, if he had remained silent and went down the ramps, he would have been susceptible to attacks from the goblins on all sides. Though he had no problem fighting against five Level 16 monsters at once in the Experience Pit, the same could not be said while fighting against 25 of them at once.


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    ''-350!!''


    Just as the first goblin had arrived in front of him to attack, Valyr deftly maneuvered the spear as if it were a flexible stick,nding a fierce attack straight through the goblin''s chest. Unsurprisingly, with how he had targeted one of the vital organs, inbination with his high Attack stat, the goblin was rendered dead in one hit.


    Of course, seeing how Valyr had killed one of their brethren without much effort, some of the goblins could not help but think twice about charging forward, wanting to stay at the rear lines. Unfortunately, most of them had be greatly incensed after witnessing the sight, seeking to avenge their fallen brother no matter what.


    At times like these, Valyr could not help but appreciate the game system, ending the lives of the goblins in one clean hit as they charged at him one by one. Though there was a slight surprise at the end in the form of the few remaining goblins attacking him simultaneously, with the activation of a single [Strong Pierce] and a few sidesteps, this problem was also taken care of without much difficulty.


    Creak¡­


    Just as he hadnded the final blow on thest remaining goblin in the room, the door that led to the next room gradually opened by itself. Noticing this, Valyr decided to take a break for a few minutes, sitting down at a spot that was free from the blood dripping from the goblins'' corpses as he took a swig of the water he had packed in his bag.


    Letting out a satisfied sigh as he felt that he had sufficiently quenched his thirst, Valyr stood up once more to head down the ramps, only to stop in his tracks as he noticed that there seemed to be an item underneath the corpses that gave off a faint light.


    Slightly curious as to what it was, he unceremoniously pushed off a portion of the goblin corpses off the edge of the high section, letting them fall to the low section with a thud as he tried to find the item he saw earlier. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find the item, picking it up from a shallow puddle of pooled blood before shaking off the blood that stuck on its surface.


    At first nce, the item looked quite simr to any ss shard one would obtain if one were to break windows or any items made out of ss. Though, aside from the fact that there was no ss to be found in the room whatsoever, the item radiated a small amount of energy simr to mana. With that, Valyr identified the item with [Analysis] without hesitation, the true identity of the item far more special than he had initially expected.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Dungeon Key Fragment] (Item)


    Rarity: Rare


    The fragment of a dungeon key made for a special passage located in the dungeon ''Astarto Goblin Den''. If one were to collect all of the fragments andbine them to form the key once more, one would gain the chance to ess said passage.


    However, be warned that though some passages may lead to great riches, some passages may also lead to great peril.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Taking into consideration the unusual level limit of the dungeon, as well as the fact that the dungeon has a binding oath at the end, the fact that this dungeon also has a dungeon key doesn''t surprise me anymore," Valyr said to himself, cing the Dungeon Key Fragment in his bag before proceeding to head down the ramp.


    From the description of the item itself, dungeon keys allowed one to either ess a great amount of riches or a great amount of peril while in a dungeon. Though people faced great peril while using a dungeon key more often, most were foolhardy enough to try their luck with the dungeon keys, with a lucky few ending up obtaining great equipment and skills from it.


    Nevertheless, dungeon keys were a telltale sign that the dungeon one entered was artificially built, further proving Valyr''s im that there was a binding oath stopping the three from telling him about the final boss of the dungeon. Aside from that, dungeon keys were also a sign for another possibility.


    "Could this dungeon actually be an inheritance of some sort?" As this thought popped up in Valyr''s mind, he could not help but think that it seemed usible. "After all, most of the things one would find in a dungeon hiding an inheritance are already here. The only thing that''s left to find out is whether or not the dungeon is actually hiding an inheritance."


    "Either way, that part doesn''t concern me¡­ unless if I could im the inheritance for myself, that is." Inwardly shrugging his shoulders as he ended his train of thought, Valyr passed through the door that led to the next room, walking through a corridor for quite some time before ending up in a wide space once more.


    Stopping in his tracks as he took in the sight before him, Valyr could not help but wonder if the maker of the dungeon had a liking towards weird dungeon designs.


    "This is far worse than the dungeon room from earlier."


    In front of him was a series of paths he could take that led to the door at the far end of the room. In between those paths were nodes that contained goblins, with some of the nodes emanating a stronger aura than the others.


    Though some of the paths intersected with one another, prompting some nodes to appear in those intersections, the most daunting part about the room for him was the fact that a seemingly bottomless chasm could be found under the paths. In other words, one misstep would instantly cost him his life, given the fact that the paths he could take was only wide enough for one person to tread.


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr calmed his slightly turbulent emotions as he looked at the paths he could take. Then, after choosing the path that seemed to pose the least amount of resistance to him¡­


    He walked.

 Chapter 144 The Second Room

    Keeping in mind that a single misstep may lead to his untimely death, Valyr walked through the path he had chosen at a leisurely pace, his gaze focused on the node that he would step on sometimeter. Taking note that the number of goblins on the node before him only amounted to three, he then shifted his gaze towards the other nodes, shaking his head as their numbers were at least double.


    Although the mechanics of the second room were different from the room from earlier, Valyr could not help but think that both of the rooms were testing a simr thing from him.


    Hismon sense.


    In the first room, the area was split into two sections: the high and low section. With two ramps connecting both sections together, it wasmon sense for one to lure the enemies to the high section, tiring the enemies out while also reducing the area for possible attacks at the same time.


    As for the room Valyr was currently in,mon sense dictated that he should take the path to the door at the end that would pose the least amount of resistance to him. Naturally, there was a small part of him that wondered what would happen if he chose the path that posed the greatest amount of resistance, thinking that some of the yers in his past life definitely would''ve chosen to head that route since doing so meant obtaining special rewards.


    However, with how mundane the previous room was, the chances of special rewards appearing from such a foolish choice in this room were definitely slim to none. With that in mind, Valyr continued to walk through the path he chose, finallying face to face with the first round of monsters he would fight against.


    "[Analysis]." As he charged towards one of the goblins on the somewhat spacious node, a light blue haze appeared around Valyr''s eyes. Wanting to see if the monsters he was currently facing differed from the ones in the previous room, he obtained his answer not long after as a status screen appeared in his mind.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Goblin (Elite)] (Level 14)


    HP: 350/350


    Stats: 29 VIT, 35 STR, 29 AGI, 20 DEX, 18 INT, 18 WIS, 18 PER, 18 LUK


    Remarks: Proceed with caution, especially if there''s a lot of them.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Basically one level higher than the ones in the previous room." With his question answered, Valyr thrust his spear onto the nearest goblin''s chest at full strength, sending it flying as it fell into the bottomless chasm beneath them with a horrified shriek.


    Ding!


    [With a 1 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be reduced by 20%.]


    [You have in a Level 14 Goblin (Elite). You have gained 433 XP.]


    Witnessing one of theirrades fall off the node and into the abyss beneath them, the remaining two goblins on the node charged at Valyr with all their might, not wanting to be the next one to experience a simr kind of fate. Unfortunately, being the one that had the superior stats, Valyr went ahead and did the same thing to the two, sending them flying off the node as they fell to the chasm, eventually being enveloped by its darkness.


    Receiving two notification sounds after the two goblins had fallen into the chasm, Valyr inwardly nodded before proceeding forward on the only path beyond the node, taking a look at how many nodes he would have to stop on before he was able to proceed to the next room.


    Thankfully, with his [Gambler''s Deceiving Eyes] boosting his PER, he was able to see that he still had three more nodes to stop on before reaching the next room, with all nodes leading towards the final node that barred him from reaching the next door.


    Taking note of the aura of the sole goblin that stood on the final node, Valyr continued through the next three nodes, finding the ordeal quite simple toplete as all he had to do was push the goblins off the nodes and into the chasm below. Even with the fact that each subsequent node had two more goblinspared to the previous one, he found the journey towards the final node slightly rxing, if not therapeutic.


    Nevertheless, that all changed when he stepped on the final node,ing face to face with the only goblin on the node.


    Compared to the goblins he had fought against earlier, which all stood at a stature slightly more than half his height, the goblin before him reached up to his chin, sporting a height most teenagers had. Aside from that, the goblin''s body was more plump than most goblins, its body giving off a feeling that a decent amount of strength was contained in it.


    As the goblin took notice of Valyr and positioned itself in a way that it was ready to battle, Valyr went ahead and identified the goblin before him using [Analysis], his eyebrows raising up in slight surprise as he dodged the sh the goblin made with the crude de it wielded.


    "A mini-boss at the second room?" Valyr could not help but mutter, retaliating against the goblin''s attack with a thrust of his spear towards its chest.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Goblin (Umon Elite)] (Level 15)


    HP: 500/500


    Stats: 39 VIT, 47 STR, 39 AGI, 26 DEX, 23 INT, 23 WIS, 23 PER, 23 LUK


    Remarks: You might end up losing if you don''t be careful.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Seeing that his attack hadnded, which took off a decent chunk of the goblin''s health, Valyr took in a few deep breaths before dashing towards the goblin. In response to the move, the goblin dashed as well, heading towards Valyr at a slightly faster speed.


    Naturally, with the knowledge of the stats of the goblin before him, Valyr knew not to take the goblin''s attacks lightly, given that the monster in front of him surpassed him in both strength and agility. With that, rather than utilizing the momentum from the dash in his attack, he abruptly stopped in front of the charging goblin, prompting thetter to alsoe to an abrupt halt as he swiftly sent out a [Strong Pierce] towards its chest.


    Bang!


    ''-743!!''


    Ding!


    As a couple notifications popped up in Valyr''s mind, the goblin''s eyes widened in incredulity as it looked at Valyr''s face for a bit, only to shift its gaze soon after towards the grievous injury on its chest. Just as it was about to look back at the man that had ended its life, the vigor in the goblin''s eyes swiftly disappeared, its body turning limp as Valyr retracted his spear.


    Letting out a light sigh of relief, Valyr then went ahead and searched through the goblin''s corpse, recalling the Dungeon Key Fragment he had found in the previous room. Fortunately, he had found the fragment tucked away in one of the pockets on the goblin''s clothes within minutes, keeping the second fragment in his bag as the door before him slowly opened with a creak.


    While making his way to the next room, Valyr could not help but ponder if the goblin he had just fought against was a true mini-boss or not. "Although it has the stats of a mini-boss, the fact that it''s alone is quite peculiar. After all, every mini-boss I''ve encountered back then had at least one minion apanying it."


    Pondering over it for a bit more, he could not help bute to a somewhat grim conclusion. "Perhaps this is a warning, telling me that the mini-boss I might face sooner orter is stronger than what I would initially think."


    Eventually, while he was still pondering over the entire matter, Valyr had arrived at the third room,ing face to face with a goblin donning an attire simr to that of a well-established mage. Around the goblin were four smaller goblins in shabbier, yet simr attires, their expressions that of worship towards therger goblin.


    Realizing he had arrived at the third room, Valyr swiftly used [Analysis] on therge goblin, reading through its status screen the very instant it appeared. Though therge goblin''s stats made him realize that he was up against a true mini-boss, it also made him realize that the goblin he fought earlier was not a mini-boss.


    pping himself on the head through his armor, he let out a light sigh as he looked at the screen before him once more, realizing he had forgotten one more tidbit that separated mini-bosses and bosses from normal monsters.


    "I forgot the system tells us whether we''re up against a boss or not."

 Chapter 145 Nuisance

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Eir, Great Goblin Pyromancer (Umon Elite)] (Level 15 | Mini-Boss)


    HP: 450/450


    MP: 650/650


    Stats: 36 VIT, 23 STR, 23 AGI, 23 DEX, 53 INT, 39 WIS, 23 PER, 23 LUK


    Remarks: I mean¡­ the title already says it all.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Once he was done admonishing himself for forgetting that tidbit of dungeon knowledge, he then refocused his attention on the status screen before him, finding it slightly refreshing that the mini-boss he was about to fight specialized in magic. Aside from that, he also noticed that the mini-boss had a proper name and title, unlike the goblins he faced earlier.


    For a monster to have a name, that meant that their level of cognition was on par with a human, which meant they had the ability to converse with humans and other beings of higher intelligence. Generally, monsters with high INT and WIS were more likely to have a name, which was the case for the mini-boss in this room.


    As for titles, these operated simrly to how yers and NPCs gained titles, requiring one to achieve a feat that was significantly difficult for others to do. In the case of Eir, who had the title of Great Goblin Pyromancer, Valyr spected that the goblin''s feat had something to do with the fine control over mes.


    Once he was finished checking Eir''s stats, he then used [Analysis] on one of the four smaller goblins, swiftly finding out that they were inferior versions of therge goblin in the middle. Aside from the fact that they were one tier lower than Eir and were all Level 11, the distribution of their stats were more or less the same, being focused on VIT, INT, and WIS.


    With this knowledge in mind, Valyr went ahead and took a few steps forward, catching the attention of Eir and the four smaller goblins as they all looked at him. However, rather than charge at him with all their might, small magic circles giving off faint red light appeared before the four smaller goblins as Eir opened his mouth. "Human, what is your reason for being here?"


    "To reach the end of the dungeon." Seeing that Eir decided to initiate a conversation, Valyr went ahead and responded in kind, replying in a somewhat calm tone.


    "Ah, yes. The end of the dungeon, where the ancestor resides." Surprisingly, instead of being outright hostile towards Valyr after hearing of his reason, Eir instead had a longing expression on his face, seemingly reminiscing over memories of his youthful past. "He has taught me many great things, introducing me to the world of magic and mes, allowing me to be who I am today."


    "Although I understand that you want to meet the ancestor, he has given me the mission of making sure that no outsider reaches where he resides." Saying these words, a magic circle at least three timesrger than the ones the four smaller goblins created appeared before him, a crimson light emanating off it as faint battle intent radiated from his body.


    "Though, if you are to defeat me here, then who am I to stop you from meeting with him?" Eir said soon after.


    Hearing those words, Valyr grinned from inside his helmet as he got into a battle ready stance. Gripping tightly onto the True Tideblood Spear, he responded to Eir''s words before dashing towards thetter. "If that''s the case, then I''ll just have to defeat you."


    "In my eyes, you''ve made a foolish choice. But since that''s the choice you''ve made, witness its consequences." Seeing as Valyr was heading towards him, Eir went ahead andpleted the magic circle before him, sending out arge crimson fireball towards the former as four smaller fireballs apanied it.


    "[Crimson ze]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Seeing the fireballse at him, Valyr responded to all of them by executing a series of evasive maneuvers, making use of his greater AGI and DEX to make sure he wasn''t hit by any of them. Just as he had dodged all of the fireballs sent at him, another wave was already in the midst of arriving to where he was, prompting him to activate one of his skills in a bid to turn the tides in his favor.


    "[Elusive Dash]!"


    As if all of the bones in his body didn''t exist, Valyr deftly bypassed through all of the fireballs shot at him by contorting his body in various ways as he appeared a few meters forward, shortening the gap between him and the five goblins. Noticing that the next wave of fireballs were still in the middle of being formed, Valyr used the entirety of his AGI and went all out, his targets being the four smaller goblins apanying Eir.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    "[Descending Fang]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Channeling all of his strength into the spear, Valyr pierced through one of the goblins'' heads, causing it to burst as he used the momentum left over from the attack to swing his spear in an arc. With the spear tipnding directly on top of the second target''s head, the difficulty of avoiding the fireballs had been reduced by 50%, with Valyr avoiding the three fireballs shot at him with a simple duck.


    Then, with great haste, he attacked the two remaining smaller goblins with anotherbo, leaving Eir thest remaining goblin in the room as thetter shot a [Crimson ze] at him.


    Whoosh!


    Finally noticing that all of the fireballs shot thus far had a straight trajectory, Valyr stepped to the side, avoiding the fireball altogether before closing the gap with an [Elusive Dash]. After that, he sent a [Strong Pierce] directly to Eir''s chest, causing thetter''s eyes to widen in shock as he looked at Valyr, his gaze seemingly filled with regret.


    Nevertheless, the vitality in Eir''s body gradually disappeared into nothingness as his body turned limp, prompting Valyr to retract his spear. Recalling the goblin''s earlier words at him, Valyr could not help but scratch his head. "So much for all that talk about making sure no one reaches the end of the dungeon."


    Lightly shaking his head, he then went ahead and searched through the five corpses to see whether any of them had a Dungeon Key Fragment. After bing unsessful in finding one, Valyr spected that the Dungeon Key Fragments might only be found in rooms where only normal monsters resided.


    With that in mind, he made his way to the door that led to the fourth room, hoping that the next dungeon room had goblins that could cast magic to add a bit of variety to his subsequent fights. Though, just as he was about to start moving, he felt a searing heat swiftly approaching his way, prompting him to turn around before ducking, his eyes wide with incredulity as he wondered where the fireball came from.


    Looking at the direction where the fireball originated, Valyr''s eyes widened even greater as he saw Eir standing where he originally was unscathed, with three of the smaller goblins already in the process of casting fireballs that would apany Eir''s. Just as he wondered where the fourth smaller goblin was, he noticed that its corpseid there on the floor, with the injuries Valyr inflicted on it still there.


    With that, it did not take long for Valyr to recall a certain mechanic some dungeon bosses had, dodging the four crimson fireballs sent towards him with an [Elusive Dash] before letting out a light sigh.


    ? "So you''re telling me I have to kill you three more times, huh?" Valyr asked Eir, to which the goblin responded with a light smirk and a crimson fireball.


    "As long as I stand, you shall not have your way." While Valyr dodged the fireballs shot at him once more, Eir opened his mouth to respond.


    Hearing Eir''s words, Valyr could not help but lightly shake his head as he let out yet another sigh.


    "Ah yes. The boss with multiple lives mechanic. Some may find it a challenge. Others may find it amusing."


    "I¡­ find it a nuisance."

 Chapter 146 An Obvious Choice

    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr was in the midst of his short monologue, a wave of crimson fireballs were sent his way. With the knowledge of the fireballs'' trajectory, Valyr hastily moved to the side, letting the fireballs pass him as he closed the gap between him and the goblins.


    Seeing the speed at which Valyr closed the gap between them, Eir and the three remaining goblins hastily cast their fireballs at him, shooting them one by one in a bid to have one of themnd on his body. Unfortunately, none of the fireballsnded, allowing Valyr to stand in front of the goblins,ing face to face with the fireballs in the midst of casting.


    ''So, with one of the four goblins down, that means Eir can revive three more times before my fourth and final beating kills him for good.'' Gazing at the three small goblins surrounding Eir, thinking of the ideal path to take in order to kill them in one swift motion, Valyr could not help but take a few steps back as a thought surfaced in his mind regarding the mechanic he was currently facing.


    Dodging all of the fireballs shot at him with ease, Valyr''s gaze focused on the three small goblins for a short while before it shifted to focus on Eir. Then, while the four were upied in preparing their next wave of fireballs, he went ahead and used [Elusive Dash], swiftly narrowing the gap between him and Eir.


    As Valyr appeared behind Eir''s back thanks to the skill, thetter was forced to turn around and cast a quick fireball, fully knowing that any attack Valyr made from where he was would undoubtedlynd on his body. Though Valyr was somewhat caught off guard by the sudden fireball heading his way, he was still able to swerve around it at the veryst second, charging forward before thrusting his spear directly at Eir''s head.


    "[Strong Pierce]!"


    Bang!


    ''-1254!!!''


    Unsurprisingly, the merciless attack Valyr sent out caused Eir''s head to explode from the sheer strength behind it, leaving the three small goblins in a temporary state of shock as their leader''s headless body fell to the ground with a thud sometimeter.


    While retracting his spear, Valyr could not help but let out a light whistle, recalling the deep red value that hovered above Eir''s body after he had dealt a killing blow to the goblin. However, even though he was impressed with the damage he had dealt, he still knew that there were still the three small goblins he had to kill, using their stupor to his advantage as he swiftly attacked them in their vital areas.


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    Before the three goblins could even react to the attacks, all of them quickly fell to the ground, their bodies bing as lifeless as they were earlier. Looking at the headless corpse of Eir before panning his gaze towards the small goblins, he then distanced himself from the group as he recalled the thought that had surfaced in his mind earlier.


    "Though the mechanic forces the yer to kill the boss multiple times no matter what most of the time, there are some instances wherein killing the boss first before the minions would render that mechanic useless," he muttered to himself, waiting to see if this mini-boss before him fell into the former or thetter category. "After all, the whole mechanic revolves around the minions acting as vessels for extra lives."


    After waiting for a couple minutes, Valyr noticed that none of the corpses showed any signs of reanimation whatsoever, deciding toe closer to the corpses and make sure that all of them were truly dead. Though, just as he was about to do so, the door that led to the next room started to creak open, prompting him to flinch as he cocked his head towards the origin of the noise, only to let out an inward sigh of relief soon after.


    Seeing that the path leading to the next room was avable for him to take, Valyr instantly discarded his earlier thoughts of taking a closer look at the goblins, with the opened door being sufficient proof that the goblins were truly and utterly dead.


    However, after thoughts of the Dungeon Key Fragment surfaced in his mind once more, he decided to head to the corpses nevertheless, checking them one more time to see if the fragment would only appear if they were dead.


    "Nope. No fragments." With no Dungeon Key Fragment to be found in any of the corpses even after double checking, Valyr could not help but be inclined to believe his earlier conclusion that rooms with only normal monsters in it had a Dungeon Key Fragment.


    With that thought in mind, he took onest nce at the lifeless corpses of Eir and the four small goblins apanying him before proceeding through the door, thinking that the mini-boss was quite an affable being from the interaction before their fight. If not for the fact that they were in a dungeon setting, he would have probably be close acquaintances with Eir.


    Nevertheless, with the goblin as dead as it could be, Valyr discarded all of those thoughts as he eventually arrived at the next room, which, at first nce, seemed to serve a simr purpose to the room he had initially appeared in.


    "Is this room made for respite?" Valyr wondered, shifting his gaze towards the door located a dozen meters away from him. Deciding to use the opportunity given to him to take a brief respite, he went ahead and sat down on the floor, grabbing a sk of water and a bit of the rations he had packed in his bag.


    Though, just as he had taken a bite of the rations he brought out, a disembodied voice started to resound throughout the room, causing him to stop as he listened to the words spoken by the voice.


    "I congratte you for being able to reach this far, human," the voice said. "Though your efforts are admirable, you are not the one destined to receive the true treasure of the dungeon."


    "The true treasure of the dungeon?" Hearing this phrase, Valyr could not help but slightly tilt his head, mulling over what it was supposed to mean. However, his thought process was swiftly interrupted as the voice resounded throughout the room once more.


    "Nevertheless, since you''ve made it this far, I must give you a reward at the very least," the voice continued. "However, I shall only give it to you on the condition that you must not speak of the creature you''ve faced earlier to anyone outside the dungeon. Not even the destined one."


    "If you abide by this condition, yourudable efforts shall be rewarded."


    As he heard the voice''s words, Valyr pondered over the condition that had been given to him. "I guess this is the dungeon''s binding oath. With that in mind, is the voice telling me not to speak about Eir to anyone?"


    Pondering over the condition for a bit more, he noticed that Tristan, Damian, and Alfaera had not mentioned the mini-bosses in any way while the four of them were making their way to the dungeon. At most, all they told him was the final boss, an incredibly vague description of the final boss at that.


    With that in mind, he was inclined to think that the three had epted the condition he was being given at the moment. Though there seemed to be no disadvantage to epting the condition, Valyr decided to ask to make sure.


    "What happens if I decline?"


    "You shall be sent back to where you originallye from," replied the voice, slightly surprising Valyr as he did not expect the voice to respond. Nevertheless, the voice''s response was more than enough for him toe to a decision. Aside from the fact that he didn''t have anything to lose from epting¡­


    He had a quest toplete.


    "Alright. I ept your condition."


    "You''ve made a fine choice."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 147 Dungeon Skill Book

    Clossbay City.


    Within one of the well-furnished houses lining up the main street that led to the heart of the city, a well-dressed Arcenne paced back and forth in the living room in slight anxiety, feeling a hint of regret at the fact that she had sent out a letter to her family for an unimportant reason.


    However, once she recalled the reason behind her writing it, as well as the letter''s contents, this feeling of regret quickly disappeared, transforming into a feeling of anxiousness as to whether the other side would take the time to respond.


    As she had promised Valyr when he had undergone through his tests at thebat training hall, she was going to tell those from the Zeihardt noble n of the feats Valyr had achieved in thebat training hall.


    Though, as she had no direct contact to any members of the Zeihardt noble n, she used the connections she built up in her own n instead, telling them through the letter if they could inform the Zeihardt n about one of their talented n members.


    "It''s almost been a week since I sent out that letter¡­" Arcenne muttered to herself, taking in a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves. "Surely the response letter they sent should arrive anytime now, no?"


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    Coincidentally, just as she had uttered these words, a few knocks resounded from the door, prompting Arcenne to head towards the door in slight anticipation, wanting to see the response her family had given to her. However, rather than being greeted by a messenger carrying her family''s response letter, she was instead greeted by a middle-aged man in slightly formal clothes, with some of his facial features being quite simr to Arcenne''s.


    Seeing the person in front of her, Arcenne''s eyes could not help but widen in surprise as she took a few steps back. Then, soon after, arge grin adorned her face as she embraced the man before her. "Father!"


    In response to the embrace, Aster could not help but let out a light peal ofughter before reciprocating the embrace back. "Oh, how I''ve missed you, Arcenne."


    Eventually, the two of them released their hold of each other as Arcenne led her father towards the living room. While her father made himselffortable as he sat on therge yet plush sofa, Arcenne made her way towards the kitchen, bringing out a small tray of snacks and drinks for her father to consume a few minutester.


    As Arcenne ced the small tray on the table in front of the sofa, a light smile was stered on Aster''s face. "To think half a year has already passed since I''ve sent you to this city. You''ve grown a lot since thest time I saw you."


    "The same could be said to you, father." Arcenne smiled in response. Though, her expression turned solemn soon after as she opened her mouth once more. "Although I''m d to see you again, it''s quite odd that you''ve personallye here to Clossbay City. After all, it takes quite some time to arrive here from Aste City. Plus, the contents of the letter I''ve sent are mostly unimportant, no?"


    "To you, it might seem unimportant since your reasons for writing it are different." Aster nodded in agreement, to which Arcenne nodded in response. "However, the letter you''ve sent has far greater repercussions than you''d think."


    "Tell me, Arcenne." With a calm expression, he asked his daughter. "Have you trulye into contact with a Zeihardt in this city?"


    "Yes." Arcenne nodded, her eyes faintly twinkling as she recalled the happenings that had urred almost a week ago. "Although he was Rank 1, his proficiency with the spear has already reached the Adept stage, while his overallbat proficiency has already reached the Elite stage. As far I know, only a select few from the Zeihardt n has that kind of monstrous talent."


    "And you would be correct to think that." Aster nodded in response. "However, none of those have a good reason toe to this city to have their tests done. As my daughter, I''m certain you already know why."


    Hearing her father''s words, Arcenne could only nod.


    "Are you sure the man you''ve met was a Zeihardt?" After a bit of silence, Aster looked at his daughter and asked, to which Arcenne profusely nodded.


    "I swear to the ancestor of our n that the man I''ve met was a Zeihardt," Arcenne said in response. "After all, the eyes of a Zeihardt can''t be mistaken."


    "The Zeihardt''s silver irises¡­" Muttering these words, Aster''s expression could not help but be solemn, seemingly pondering over something. After a while, he looked back at his daughter. "Is that man still in the city?"


    "Unfortunately, that man has left the city almost a week ago," said Arcenne in response, leading Aster to slightly shake his head. Though, his slight disappointment was swiftly reced with expectation as he heard his daughter''s next statement. "However, from what I''ve gathered, that man has only left the city toplete some urgent tasks. He''ll return sometime in the future with great certainty, so if you want, you could stay here for the meantime."


    "There''s no need." Aster declined his daughter''s offer, standing up from the sofa as he made his way to the door. "The fact that I know he''ll be returning to this city is enough for me."


    Opening the door to leave, he looked at his daughter onest time. "Before I return to Aste, have you ever caught his name perchance?"


    "He did tell me his name." Arcenne nodded. "If I remember correctly, he said his name was Valyr."


    m!


    At the very instant his daughter was finished talking, Aster unhesitatingly mmed the door shut, his expression turning grim as he made his way back to the living room. Sitting on the sofa, he took in a few deep breaths before looking at a somewhat confused Arcenne with a smile.


    "Change of ns," he told her. "I''ll be staying here till he returns to the city."


    Hearing that, Arcenne squealed with joy, embracing her father as she was d that they could spend more time together. In response, the grim expression on Aster''s face disappeared as it turned into that of doting, letting out a chuckle as he embraced her back soon after.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Just as the disembodied voice''s words resounded throughout the room, an old looking book and a shard that looked like ss appeared a small distance away from where Valyr was, prompting the man to stand up and take a look at what had just appeared.


    Once he had taken a closer look at what he had gotten, a grin could not help but appear on Valyr''s face as he picked up the shard, cing it into his bag where the two other shards he had grabbed earlier were. "And that makes this the third Dungeon Key Fragment."


    "As for the book¡­" Picking up the book from the ground, Valyr stared at it for a bit before wiping off the dust that seemed to have gotten stuck on its surface. Getting a clearer view of the book''s design, his heart started to beat wildly all of a sudden as a possibility popped up in his mind, deciding to confirm whether his thoughts were true or not with [Analysis].


    Ding!


    Reading through the description written on the screen in front of him, his heart started to beat even wilder as the possibility he had thought of was verified to be true, feeling quite giddy as he realized then and there that he had truly obtained a dungeon skill book.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Dungeon Skill Book] (Item)


    Rarity: Epic


    Prerequisites: Rank 1 ss, affinity towards the Fire element, 50 INT or greater


    A skill book obtained from the dungeon ''Astarto Goblin Den''. If the person who owns this book meets the necessary prerequisites, they would be able to obtain the Common+ grade skill [Basic Crimson me Maniption].


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ding!


    [Would you like to use this skill book?]

 Chapter 148 Round Two

    Though dungeon skill books and normal skill books had the same purpose of giving one a skill, the strength of the skill contained in each one was akin to putting a tennis ball beside a basketball. Simr to how there existed various tiers of equipment, tiers of skill books also existed, with the ones most sought after only being obtainable from world raids.


    After that were those that came from reurring field events, then those that came from dungeons, and at the bottom of the barrel were skill books that could be bought from shops. As for skill books obtained from auctions, though the quality of the skill in it generally varied, the worst one could obtain was a dungeon skill book.


    Considering how dungeon skill books only became amon drop in dungeons made for Rank 5 ss holders, it was no surprise that Valyr felt a great amount of excitement at being able to obtain a dungeon skill book this early on.


    But of course, the novelty of the discovery eventually wore off, with Valyr taking note off the prompt that asked him if he wanted to use the skill book. Taking a look at the prerequisites written on the skill book''s description screen, a hint of puzzlement could be seen on Valyr''s face as he returned his gaze back to the prompt.


    "Sure, I''m currently Rank 1 and I have over 50 INT, but I don''t have an affinity with the Fire element," Valyr muttered to himself, lightly scratching his head.


    Generally, when an item had a requirement for the user to have an affinity with a certain element, that meant the person had to have an elemental affinity skill. In Valyr''s case, he needed to have the skill [Fire Affinity] or any of its variants to be able to use the skill book and im the skill as his own.


    But even though he did not have such a skill, the system told him that he could use the skill book, causing him quite a bit of confusion.


    Fortunately, as if it was waiting for him to discover this peculiarity, the disembodied voice resounded throughout the room once more, answering the question in Valyr''s mind regarding the reason why he could use the skill book, even though he had not met the prerequisites.


    "Although you may not have the prerequisite skill that shows your affinity to the Fire element, your current ss still resonates quite well with the element. If not for that, I would not have been able to bypass the limitation," the voice told him. "After all, what''s a reward if you do not have the means to use it?"


    Though he understood what the disembodied voice was trying to tell him, the fact that he could use the skill book without meeting all of the requirements still confounded him. Nevertheless, since the disembodied voice went out of its way to help him bypass the need to fulfill all requirements, he decided to suppress this curiosity he felt and ept the prompt in front of him.


    Whoosh!


    At the exact moment after he had epted the prompt, the two screens in front of him closed in an instant as the skill book he held disappeared into thin air, making it seem as if it had never been there in the first ce.


    However, not long after, an influx of information swiftly filled his mind, giving him knowledge regarding the element of Fire, how he could control the element, and what kind of specific type of me he had control over.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the active skill ''Basic Crimson me Maniption''.]


    As this notification appeared in his mind, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the skill''s description, wondering what kind of differences the skill had inparison to [Basic Fire Maniption], the usual skill one would obtain when wanting to manipte mes.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Basic Crimson me Maniption] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common+


    There are two aspects to a me, that of creation, and that of destruction. A Crimson me focuses on the aspect of destruction, its entire existence created for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc and terror to one''s enemies and surroundings.


    This skill allows the user to harness the power of the Crimson me, allowing them to manifest the Crimson me, as well as manipte it to whatever the user seeks. Due to the current grade of the skill, the user can only manifest the weakest type of Crimson me, the Red Crimson me.


    <First Skill: Crimson ze - Allows the user to cast a ball made out of Crimson me and shoot it at an opponent, dealing damage equivalent to 100% of the user''s INT stat. Has a range of 10 meters. Can be charged to twice its initial cost for increased damage. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Cost: 25 MP.>


    essible me Types: Red Crimson me


    MP Cost: 10 MP for first 5 seconds, 5 MP for every seeding 3 seconds


    Cooldown: 30 seconds


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Aside from the fact that I only have control over something called the Crimson me, it truly lives up to the name of a Pseudo-Special Skill, already having one I can use. Neat," Valyr said after he was finishedparing the two skills in his mind.


    The reason why some skills, such as the [Basic Crimson me Maniption] skill Valyr had just obtained, were called Pseudo-Special Skills, was due to the fact that they were simr to Special Skills in the sense that having one gave them ess to much more skills.


    However, unlike Special Skills, wherein each subsequent skill unlocked was stronger than the previous, Pseudo-Special Skills did not follow such a rule. In fact, Pseudo-Special Skills did not have Ultimate Skills either. Nevertheless, they were still highly sought after, being far easier to obtain than actual Special Skills.


    Sometimeter, he went ahead and tested out the main feature of the skill, manifesting a small wisp of crimson mes above his pointer finger before trying to make it revolve around his body, only to fail in doing so.


    Wondering if the reason behind the failure might be due to the fact that the skill was Level 1, or the fact that he hadn''t gotten familiar with the skill yet, he ced the question at the back of his head as he tested out the skill attached to it, extending out one of his palms soon after.


    "[Crimson ze]."


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    Within seconds, a mass of crimson mes the size of a tennis ball barely hovered above Valyr''s extended palm, which he threw at a nearby wall not long after. To no surprise, the ball exploded on impact, bursting out into multiple small wisps of crimson mes as part of the wall that collided with the fireball had been discolored ck.


    Letting out a light whistle at what the first skill was capable of in its base form, Valyr was greatly satisfied with the skill, feeling thankful once more that the disembodied voice had found a way to help him use the skill book.


    "Now that I think about it¡­" Though, it was only that moment did Valyr think that it was odd for a voice to actively respond to his questions¡­


    Unless if it was alive.


    "Are you alive?" asked Valyr not long after, voicing his question out towards the disembodied voice further. However, no matter how many times he repeated the question, he did not obtain a response from the disembodied voice whatsoever.


    Seeing as it was fruitless to ask any further questions, Valyr eventually let out a light sigh as he slung the bag he carried around his chest before proceeding through the door that led to the next room. "I guess my question will only be answered once I get farther in the dungeon."


    With that thought spurring him on, he walked through the corridor behind the door, eventually arriving at a room that was at least twice as wide as the room he had just taken a respite in. Looking around the surroundings to see if there were any opponents in the room, his eyes eventually stopped on a goblin wearing te armor on its chest while wielding a scimitar, its stature more or less the same height as him.


    Aside from that, five goblins around half the tall goblin''s height surrounded thetter, all of them donning leather armor while wielding crude wooden weapons.


    Though he felt a foreboding feeling of what was about toe, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on therge goblin, only to retrieve the spear behind his back soon after as he prepared for the uing battle with a light sigh.


    Ding!


    "Guess it''s time for round two."

 Chapter 149 Increasingly Dangerous

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Nak, Goblin Barbarian (Umon Elite)] (Level 15 | Mini-Boss)


    HP: 500/500


    MP: 280/280


    Stats: 39 VIT, 50 STR, 35 AGI, 27 DEX, 23 INT, 23 WIS, 23 PER, 23 LUK


    Remarks: It would be wise to be cautious.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So we''re back to fighting with physical attacks," Valyr said as he swiftly closed the gap between him and the goblins at the center of the room. By the time Nak and the others had sensed Valyr''s presence, the distance separating them from him only spanned a couple meters, leaving them no time to react to Valyr''s next move.


    "[Venomous Strike]!"


    Having only met the requirements to gain ess to the second move of the [Serpent Spear Combat Style] once he had leveled up to Level 15, Valyr was eager to test the next move out inbat, which he just did.


    Unlike the forward arc [Descending Fang] made whenever he attacked with his spear, the trajectory [Venomous Strike] made was ramrod straight, emphasizing onbining the user''s strength and agility together to achieve an attack so grievous, the resulting attack appeared like the venomous bite of a serpent.


    Bang!


    ''-1276!!''


    With great force behind the attack, Valyr''s spear pierced through the te armor Nak wore, as if it were a hot knife cutting through butter.


    While Valyr could not help but admire the four digit value gradually floating above Nak''s head, seeing that he had dealt damage equivalent to over twice his opponent''s HP, Nak looked at his assant with widened eyes filled with incredulity, feeling his connection to the world gradually slip away as the man before him retracted his spear and watched to see its eventual demise.


    However, just as Nak felt great indignance at how he had not even retaliated against his assant, one of the smaller goblins came closer to him and shouted out in anguage that only they could understand, thetter telling him that it shall sacrifice its life so Nak could take revenge.


    Though multiple conflicting thoughts passed through Nak''s mind as he felt his vitality continue to run out, he eventually agreed to the smaller goblin''s words, recalling the promise he had made to the being that allowed him to be who he was today.


    With that, he went ahead and gripped one of his hands around the smaller goblin''s head before clenching it as tight as he could with his weakening vitality, causing a squelch sound to resound throughout the room as Valyr watched everything before him unfold in slight horror.


    Recalling the multiple lives mechanic he had to face against during his fight against Eir, once Valyr knew that another mini-boss was in the room, he decided to act swiftly and kill the boss outright, thinking that this mini-boss before him would also have the same mechanic as Eir.


    "But even though he''s still on the brink of death, he can still do something like that?"


    As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, he knew that he had no choice but to fight against Nak again, realizing that the mini-boss before him was just as annoying as the one before. However, just as the headless body of the goblin Nak killed fell to the ground, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face once he noticed that, not only did Nak return to his original strength¡­


    It seemed that he had even gotten stronger.


    "[Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Nak, Goblin Barbarian (Umon Elite)] (Level 16 | Mini-Boss)


    HP: 550/550


    MP: 300/300


    Stats: 44 VIT, 56 STR, 38 AGI, 29 DEX, 24 INT, 24 WIS, 24 PER, 24 LUK


    Remarks: I wouldn''t get hit by his attacks if I were you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So you''re telling me¡­ this mini-boss doesn''t only just have multiple lives, but every minion he kills also increases his level by one?" Getting a feeling that the boss he would face in the final room would have a variation of this mechanic that was far worse, Valyr now wholeheartedly agreed with the statements Tristan and the others gave regarding the final boss of the dungeon as he let out a sigh.


    "In short, I''m not just up against an incredibly strong goblin at the end¡­" Valyr closed the gap between him and Nak once more, activating [Descending Fang] as his spear arced forward.


    "I''m up against an incredibly strong goblin that has multiple lives¡­ and gets stronger the longer the fightsts."


    "How great."


    Bang!


    ''-1518!!!''


    Showing no mercy in his attack, Nak''s head exploded into multiple chunks as the True Tideblood Spear collided with it. However, rather than his headless body falling to the ground with a thud, the headless body showed the will to keep living Nak had, its hands clutching onto the nearest small goblin so he could regenerate and grow stronger.


    Unfortunately for Nak, just as one of the small goblins was about to head closer to Nak and ept its fate as a sacrifice, Valyr had appeared along the path the small goblin was taking before proceeding to kick it in the chest with all of his strength.


    Bang!


    Though his STR stat was somewhatcking whenpared to the current Nak''s stats, it was still enough to send the small goblin flying, forming a small crater in the shape of its body as it collided with the wall.


    Unsurprisingly, the three small goblins within Nak''s vicinity witnessed this sight, with all of them looking at each other for a slight bit before one of them decided to head closer to where Nak was. From how desperate Nak''s hands were swerving around its surroundings, the small goblins knew that there wasn''t much time left before their leader disappeared for good.


    But of course, just like before, Valyr was there to impede the goblin heading towards Nak, sending thetter flying with a single kick. Naturally, the two goblins that were still near Nak also attempted to sacrifice themselves for their leader, yet Valyr was there to stop it from happening, with Nak''s body eventually running out of vitality.


    Thud.


    Akin to a robot instantly losing its power source, the desperate headless body of Nak abruptly stopped moving before turning limp soon after, its upper torso falling to the ground with a thud.


    Thinking that he still had to kill all of the remaining small goblins in order to proceed to the next room, Valyr headed to where they were, with most of them being partly embedded into the stone wall. However, once he had arrived to where they were while maintaining great vignce, he was surprised to find out that the other goblins had died as well.


    Though he was slightly curious as to what kind of connection was needed for something like that to happen, seeing as they were thoroughly and utterly dead, Valyr instead decided to search their corpses in the hopes of finding a Dungeon Key Fragment.


    Being unsessful in finding one in any of the four corpses, he then headed to the headless corpses of Nak and the other small goblin, only to end up not finding a Dungeon Key Fragment on their bodies as well.


    "Am I going to get my next Dungeon Key Fragment from the disembodied voice again?" Thinking back to what he had gone through before entering the current room, Valyr could not help but scratch his head for a bit before deciding to head through the door that was already open quite sometime ago.


    While walking through the corridor that led through the next room, Valyr wondered what kind of reward he would obtain from the disembodied voice. However, rather than being greeted by the sight of a room purposefully made for respite, what greeted him instead¡­


    Was a room filled with something else.

 Chapter 150 Dungeon Shop

    "Huh." This was the only sound Valyr could utter at the very moment he had gotten a better look of what was in the room he had entered as he scratched his head in slight confusion.


    Though the room looked like it mostly served the purpose of brief respite, there existed five pedestals at the center of the room, equally spaced apart, with items on them. As Valyr looked at the items that the pedestals were disying, he quickly noticed the aura all of them were exuding, leading him to believe that this room was a shop of sorts.


    However, just as he was about to move towards the pedestals to get a closer look, a barrier had manifested in front of him out of nowhere, barring him from getting within a meter of the pedestals before him. At this point, Valyr could not help but feel somewhat annoyed, only for that annoyance to disappear as the disembodied voice resounded throughout the room.


    "I must congratte you once more for being able toe this far, human," the voice said. "Though you may not be the destined one, yourudable efforts still need to be rewarded."


    "In front of you are five pedestals, each of them containing items that may serve you to help you out during the final battle, as well as your future endeavors." Hearing these wordse from the disembodied voice, Valyr could not help but ask after that if the next room beyond this was the room where final boss resided, to which the disembodied voice confirmed.


    Though he felt a hint of pressure from the answer, Valyr ced those thoughts at the back of his head, continuing to listen to the disembodied voice''s words in the meantime.


    "However, to be able to obtain these items, you must exchange a corresponding amount of Dungeon Key Fragments," the voice said, making Valyr raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "If you have collected Dungeon Key Fragments in the previous rooms, this is their main purpose. To be exchanged for the items you see in front of you."


    "But as you are not the destined one for this dungeon, you may only gain ess to the pedestals in front of you if you agree to the condition that you shall not talk about the being you fought against in the previous room." Though Valyr had a feeling that the disembodied voice was purposefully making him use his Dungeon Key Fragments in this ce so he wouldn''t find the secret passage the dungeon possibly contained, the disembodied voice continued talking nevertheless.


    "If you ept, not only shall you be able to exchange your Dungeon Key Fragments for the items on the pedestal, I shall also give you a few extra Dungeon Key Fragments to be used for purchase." Since there was no con to epting the oath, as well as the fact that he had already epted a simr oath earlier, it was no surprise that Valyr had agreed to the disembodied voice''s words, prompting five ss shards to appear before him not long after.


    While picking up the five Dungeon Key Fragments he had obtained from the disembodied voice, the barrier surrounding the five pedestals disappeared, finally allowing Valyr to move closer to them and get a closer look.


    However, just before he did so, he decided to ask the disembodied voice the question that gued his mind earlier in the room after Eir''s, hoping that thetter would respond. "Just before I take a look at these items, I was just wondering¡­ am I talking to a real being? Are you alive?"


    "Your question shall be answered as long as you head to the next room." As a reply, the disembodied voice gave him a cryptic response, which Valyr was naturally unsatisfied with. Asking the same question a couple more times, only to receive the same answer, Valyr decided to give up asking and focus on what was in front of him.


    Looking through the items that were on disy on the five pedestals, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on each and every one of them, with each item leaving him feeling with great awe as he wondered if the prices attached to them were correct.


    "You''re telling me¡­ I could either get a Rare grade sword for one Dungeon Key Fragment, a set of vials of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir for two, an Umon+ grade skill for three, an Epic+ grade chestte for four¡­"


    "¡­or this special item for five Dungeon Key Fragments." Though all of the items in the four previous pedestals piqued a bit of his interest, only the item on the rightmost pedestal caught his attention. After all, unlike the items on the four previous pedestals, which would give him immense benefit in the long run, this final item only showed its effects in the final dungeon room.


    Yet for some reason, Valyr felt like the price of five Dungeon Key Fragments for this item was far too cheap in his opinion.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Goblin Suppressing Incense] (Special Item)


    Rarity: Epic


    A special item that greatly reduces the strength of goblins once lit. Manufactured tobat against the goblins of the Astarto Goblin Den, this incense reduces the maximum HP of the final boss by 99%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So, if I take into consideration the types of mini-bosses I''ve fought against thus far, the final boss is not only an incredibly strong goblin that has multiple lives and has the ability to grow stronger¡­"


    "It also has an insanelyrge health pool," Valyr muttered to himself, unhesitatingly exchange all five Dungeon Key Fragments he had obtained from the disembodied voice to obtain the item on the rightmost pedestal.


    cing the Goblin Suppressing Incense in the bag he carried, he then looked at the four remaining items still on the pedestals as he remembered that he still had three more Dungeon Key Fragments. However, after pondering over it for a while, he decided not to spend any of his remaining fragments at all, still hoping that the fragments would allow him to gain ess to a secret passage.


    "Considering that all of these remaining items are things that I can only use once I''ve reached Level 30 at the very least, having other people know that I have something like this would definitely invite malicious intent, especially since I''m still quite low-leveled." Making up his mind, Valyr walked past the four remaining pedestals as he proceeded through the door, feeling a hint of trepidation, as well as expectation towards what kind of challenging mechanic he might encounter while fighting the boss in the final room.


    Though he had his ideas regarding what kind of mechanics he might encounter in this final room, none of them prepared him for when he had actually entered it. Standing at the center of the room was neither a goblin specializing in magic like Eir, nor a goblin with great physical strength like Nak.


    Instead, it was a normalmon goblin.

 Chapter 151 The Final Boss

    Wondering if the goblin at the center of the room was just a wolf in sheep''s clothing, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on the goblin, thinking that behind the mundane appearance were stats that befitted a final boss.


    Ding!


    However, once the screen containing the goblin''s status appeared in front of his field of vision, all thoughts of the goblin''s appearance being a facade instantly disappeared without a trace, making Valyr wonder whether this dungeon was all an borate joke.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan] (Level 15 | Boss)


    HP: 300/300


    MP: 280/280


    Stats: 26 VIT, 27 STR, 23 AGI, 16 DEX, 23 INT, 15 WIS, 15 PER, 15 LUK


    Remarks: It would probably just take you one hit to kill it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Continuing to look at the goblin''s status screen, Valyr could not help but inwardly admonish himself for being a fool, thinking that buying the Goblin Suppressing Incense was just a waste of Dungeon Key Fragments. Nevertheless, he did not let himself get consumed by the feeling of anger he felt towards his actions, taking in a few deep breaths as he approached the entire situation from another perspective.


    "If the goblin at the center of the room is just a normal Level 15 goblin, then why did Damian and the others tell me that the final boss is an incredibly strong goblin?" Recalling back to the time when the three tried to skirt around the oath they swore while the four of them headed to the dungeon, he could not help but focus on the tone they spoke and the expression they had on their faces when they were talking about the final boss.


    At that moment, Valyr felt a foreboding feeling. Whether the statements of the three regarding the final boss was true or not, he prepared himself for the worst case scenario, taking the Goblin Suppressing Incense out of the bag he carried before cing the bag at the entrance to the room.


    Then, with unhurried yet cautious steps, he moved closer to the goblin, with thetter eventually sensing his presence.


    With a light shriek, the goblin charged towards Valyr, wanting to remove the intruder that had entered his room. However, before the goblin could evennd an attack¡­


    Bang!


    ''-583!!!''


    Its head burst into chunks of flesh and blood as Valyr pierced his spear through the goblin''s head,nding a Brutal Hit. For a couple seconds, the intact portion of the goblin''s body stood there, as if it was still processing what had just happened. But eventually, it fell to the ground with a light thud, bringing an end to an anticlimactic fight.


    However, even though the fight had already ended, Valyr could not help but feel a hint of nervousness, shifting his gaze towards the still closed door on the other side before returning to the boss'' headless corpse. In his mind, he thought that since the door on the other side was still closed, then that meant there was something else in this room that he had yet to face. The problem was¡­


    He didn''t know what he would have to face against.


    Rumble¡­


    Around a minute after the boss'' corpse fell to the floor, the ground started to rumble. Feeling the foreboding feeling intensifying, Valyr looked at the corpse of the goblin he had just killed, quickly noticing that its skin was starting to glow.


    Feeling an immense amount of energy emanating from the goblin''s corpse, even though Valyr knew that what he was going to go up against was unlike any of the mini-bosses he had gone up against, he felt joy at the fact that his initial thoughts of the boss being a wolf in sheep''s clothing were, in fact, correct.


    Perhaps¡­ a bit too correct.


    Bang!


    At some point, arge wave of energy burst out of the corpse, sending Valyr flying as he collided with the wall behind him with a hefty m. Though he was wearing a set of armor, mitigating a great portion of the pain he should have felt, the collision still made Valyr let out a groan as he fell to the floor soon after with a thud.


    As he stood up, his gaze gradually shifted towards the center of the room, realizing that themon goblin from earlier was nowhere to be found. Instead, what reced the goblin was a being that was of the same height as him, donning robes that wouldmonly be worn by nobles. Wielding a silver longsword on its right, the being looked at Valyr before opening its mouth.


    "Human, thank you for freeing me from that miserable vessel," said the being before letting out a chuckle. "You don''t know how long I''ve been waiting for my true self to be in set free in the real world once more."


    While the being was in the midst of talking, Valyr went ahead and identified the being with [Analysis]. Though, once he had obtained information on the being, his legs could not help but buckle slightly as he felt like he might faint at any moment. ''I take back what I told myself earlier.''


    ''I made the right choice.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan, Magic Goblin Swordsman (Mythic Elite)] (Level 15 | Boss)


    HP: 700,000/700,000


    MP: 1000/1000


    Stats: 73 VIT, 68 STR, 55 AGI, 55 DEX, 80 INT, 38 WIS, 38 PER, 38 LUK


    Remarks: It was nice knowing you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aside from the fact that the being in front of him had 700,000 HP, which has hundreds of times greater than what a boss with the being''s tier and level would have, the being was also two tiers higher than a usual boss, being a Mythic Elite.


    Forparison, fighting against a Level 15 Epic Elite boss would feel like fighting against a normal monster at the peak of Rank 1. As for fighting a Mythic Elite boss at the same level, it would feel like fighting against a normal monster at Level 35!


    In other words, it would be simr to fighting against a being solidly in the middle of Rank 2!


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Valyr then moved closer to where the being was, noticing that thetter was waiting for him toe closer.


    "As I was saying," Riekan said to him. "Since I''m feeling magnanimous today, I''ll let you choose between two options. The first option, you could leave the dungeon unscathed as long as you tell no one of my return."


    "The second option, I''ll teach you how to be as strong as me as long as you remain in this dungeon."


    "So, human. What will it be?" As Riekan asked this question, a light smile could be seen on his face as he waited for Valyr''s response.


    "I¡­" Seeing that the being was waiting for him to respond, Valyr opened his mouth, only for him to bring out the Goblin Suppressing Incense soon after.


    "Choose neither."


    Seeing the Goblin Suppressing Incense in Valyr''s hands, Riekan''s expression instantly turned into that of fury as he tried his best to snatch the incense out of the former''s hands. Unfortunately for him¡­


    It was already toote.


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 152 Playing Dirty

    Manifesting a small wisp of crimson me on his left hand, Valyr brought the Goblin Suppressing Incense to the me and lit it, instantly causing a great amount of light gray smoke to spread throughout the room within seconds. Though Valyr could not help but cough a bit at the fact that the smoke swiftly bombarded his field of vision, the smoke in the room coalesced soon after, all of them congregating towards Riekan.


    "Graaagh!" With the majority of the room now devoid of the smoke the Goblin Suppressing Incense had produced, Valyr was able to clearly see how the smoke affected Riekan, seemingly through all of the orifices in the man''s body as the tyrannical aura he radiated was swiftly whittled down.


    Knowing that he would be the target of his wrath once the smoke had subsided, Valyr went ahead and moved closer towards the entrance of the room, thinking that this distance was more than enough for him to react to any attack Riekan might send at himter.


    Eventually, the smoke surrounding Riekan had disappeared, revealing a tall goblin covered in a thinyer of soot, with his aura being significantly weaker than before. Nevertheless, this did not hide the rage overflowing out of his eyes as his gaze shifted towards Valyr.


    "Human¡­ you dare?!" Riekan eximed in great fury, swiftly dashing towards Valyr with great murderous intent.


    In response to the action, Valyr dashed towards his right in a curve, thinking that this would reduce Riekan''s speed to a level where he would be able to dodge any attack thetter sent out. Unfortunately for him, rather than be slower, this action of his only made Riekan move faster, unknowingly appearing before Valyr out of nowhere as hended a ferocious punch on his chest.


    Bang!


    ''-56!''


    With the strength behind the attack, the portion of Valyr''s chestte that made contact with Riekan''s fist slightly crumpled inwards while the remaining force sent him flying, the final result being him colliding with the wall soon after, forming a small crater in the shape of his armor.


    ''-5''


    Then, just as Valyr got himself out of the small crater to reduce the chances of him being hit by another of Riekan''s attacks, the silver de Riekan held started to glow a bright orange light all of a sudden, giving off a feeling of immense heat as he soon shed out in Valyr''s direction.


    "[Ardent de]!"


    Whoosh!


    With great speed, a de made out of mes hastily made its way towards where Valyr was, prompting Valyr to activate [Defense Aura] before getting out of the way with a quick [Elusive Dash], appearing a few meters to his left.


    However, just as he thought that he had avoided all of Riekan''s attacks, another one was speedily making its way to where he had appeared, carrying the destructive properties of lightning.


    "[Fulgurous de]!"


    Bang!


    ''-411!''


    With the next attack Riekan shot out having the properties of lightning, the attack unfortunately dealt greater damage to Valyr due to the armor he wore, causing him to scream out in pain as he was sent flying back once more.


    nk!


    "I was going to help you reach the same level of power as me, human." As Valyr fell to the ground with a slightly cacophonous ng, Riekan opened his mouth as he slowly made his way towards the former. "But to think you would use the Goblin Suppressing Incense on me¡­ the same incense the man that locked me here used to defeat me."


    "You could have chosen to be on my side, human, and all would be fine¡­" Raising his de as he continued talking, indicating to Valyr that another attack was about toe, Riekan eventually shed down, causing a torrent of winds to swiftly head towards Valyr.


    "But you didn''t."


    "Beg for mercy all you want, human¡­ but it''s already toote."


    "[Zephyr de: Torrential Gust]!"


    Whoosh!


    "[Inferior Heal]! [Elusive Dash]!" Activating two skills together, Valyr barely escaped the area of effect of the attack heading his way, letting out an audible sigh of relief as he regained a portion of the health he had lost from the two previous attacks.


    After that, he went ahead and ran around the entire room, trying his best to avoid all of the attacks sent at him by Riekan, which were mostly in the form of des made out of specific elements.


    Though his mind was on full alert, utilizing the entirety of his senses to make sure he wouldn''t get hit by any of them, Valyr could not help but go back to Riekan''s earlier words, mentioning how the Goblin Suppressing Incense was an item made by the one that locked Riekan in this room.


    ''So, if I''m getting this correctly, this dungeon actually isn''t an inheritance, but a prison instead?'' With that thought in mind, Valyr could not help but think that the disembodied voice he had been talking to earlier came from the man that had locked Riekan in this room.


    ''Agh! I''ll think about itter!'' However, since he had no proof that his thoughts were true, and since he was in the midst of battling for his life at the moment, he ced the thought at the back of his head for now, noticing that Riekan had taken a brief respite.


    ''Now''s the chance!''


    "[Elusive Dash]!"


    "[Offense Aura]!"


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, rather than continuing to maintain a great distance away from Riekan, Valyr instead headed closer to the being, which ignited a bit of the former''s rage as he sent out a de made out of mana to deter Valyr from getting closer.


    Surprisingly, even though the disparity between their stats was quite substantial, Valyr was able to dodge the de sent at him, continuing to move forward before thrusting out with his trusty blood red spear.


    "[Venomous Strike]!"


    Bang!


    Mustering up all of the strength and agility in his body, Valyr swiftly thrust his spear towards Riekan''s head, aiming tond a Brutal Hit in order to shave off a chunk of his enemies'' HP. Unfortunately, Riekan seemingly had a feeling that such an attack woulde at him, swiftly raising his sword to meet the spear before deflecting thetter''s momentum away from him.


    Lightly clicking his tongue, Valyr conserved the remaining momentum from the failed attack before attempting to attack once more, aiming for the opponent''s chest. Of course, noticing that the human before him was aiming for his vital spots once more, Riekan moved his sword over his chest before shing a smirk at Valyr, thinking that thetter was too naive to do such a thing.


    However, all of that changed when Riekan noticed the smirk that had appeared on Valyr''s face just as he had redirected the spear''s momentum towards the ground. Then, while Riekan''s gaze was directed towards the spear impaled on the floor...


    Bang!


    ''-134!!''


    Valyr ferociously kicked Riekan in the area between his legs, making thetter''s eyes pop out of its sockets as an excruciating amount of pain washed over thetter''s body. Then, taking advantage of the fact that the pain made Riekan open to any attack¡­


    "[Descending Fang]!"


    Bang!


    ''-1716!!!''


    Valyr''s spear moved in a forward arc, squarely hitting Riekan on the top of his head before following it up with a square kick to thetter''s chest.


    ? Thud!


    ''Who says I''m going to beg for mercy? If anything, you''ll be the one doing that.'' As Riekan fell to the ground with a thud, his de a considerable distance away from him, this thought could not help but enter Valyr''s mind, recalling Riekan''s earlier words.


    However, he could not help but slightly shudder soon after, thinking that such words should be kept to himself in times like these.


    With that, he proceeded to where Riekan was, hoping to maintain the momentum he had just created.

 Chapter 153 A Turn For The Worse

    Unsurprisingly, once the debilitating pain Riekan felt had subsided as heid on the cold, stone ground of the room, multiple profanities could not help but escape his mouth as he noticed Valyr heading to where he was.


    "To think you would resort to such boorish tactics, human!" he eximed as he summoned the silver sword that was slightly far away from him back to his hands. "You''re no different from the man that locked me here!"


    "Is that so?" In response to Riekan''s words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight intrigue, opening his mouth to reply just as he had arrived in front of the still lying Riekan. After that¡­


    Bang!


    ''-75!!''


    Without any shred of hesitation whatsoever, Valyr unceremoniously kicked the being in that area once more, feeling like he had to do so out of spite after hearing something like that.


    Naturally, yet another wave of debilitating pain washed over Riekan''s body as his face contorted into various weird expressions, vividly expressing the amount of pain he felt from having that part of his body kicked twice. Of course, seeing that his opponent was open to attacks once more, Valyr sent a quick [Strong Pierce] towards Riekan''s chest, thinking that the attack would connect without much problems.


    However, contrary to his expectations, Riekan was still able to move his body amidst the debilitating pain, moving the silver sword he had summoned up to his chest to meet with the tip of Valyr''s spear.


    ng!


    Seeing that his attack was ineffective, Valyr chose to strike out once more, aiming for a general spot this time just to increase his progress in killing the opponent before him. Unfortunately, before he could do so, Riekan fired a ball of mana at him through the de he held, forcing Valyr to distance himself from the being to dodge the attack as the former took this opportunity to finally get back up.


    "[Mana Barrage]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Then, seeing that Valyr was a fair distance away from him, Riekan extended out his free hand, shooting out a barrage of magic bolts towards Valyr, to which thetter all dodged with great ease thanks to all of the attacks having a straight trajectory.


    Nevertheless, such an attack from Riekan made Valyr realize that the opponent he was up against was not just proficient in the fighting style of a magic swordsman, he was also proficient in using magic spells as well.


    ''A magic swordsman fighting style, and a pure magic fighting style,'' Valyr inwardly muttered. ''Given the possibility that he might also be greatly proficient with just the sword, I think it''s understandable for someone like him to be locked up in this dungeon.''


    ''The only thing that sucks is that I''m the one up against him.'' Letting out a light sigh, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on Riekan, wanting to see how much health was still remaining before Riekan breathed out hisst.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan, Magic Goblin Swordsman (Mythic Elite)] (Level 15 | Boss)


    HP: 4886/7000


    MP: 1000/1000


    Stats: 73 VIT, 68 STR, 55 AGI, 55 DEX, 80 INT, 38 WIS, 38 PER, 38 LUK


    Remarks: What a miracle. You''re still alive.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I just need tond a few more attacks like the one I did earlier and this boss I''m fighting will be good as gone." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, Riekan sent out a string of attacks that were purely magic, as well as shes imbued with magic, which most of them Valyr was able to dodge.


    As for the unlucky few that hit Valyr, only a small part of them had truly hit him, dealing a small amount of damage that he healed with a single [Inferior Heal]. Nevertheless, while he was in the midst of figuring out how he was going to get closer to Riekan andnd an attack, a thought could not help but pop up in Valyr''s mind, causing his expression to turn somewhat grim.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ does Riekan have a berserk phase?"


    Whether it was a field boss, a dungeon boss, or a world raid boss, all of them would enter a berserk phase once a respectable chunk of their health was removed. Generally, the berserk phase drastically increased the boss'' AGI and STR, leading to more ferocious and hard-hitting attacks, such as when the Lesser Tidemother during the monster tide had reached its berserk phase.


    With that in mind, Valyr could not help but wonder if Riekan, being the boss of this dungeon, had a berserk phase as well. Eventually, he just decided to think that the being he was fighting against did enter a berserk phase at some point, constantly reminding himself of it as he shortened the gap between him and Riekan.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Forcing Riekan to rely on his swordsmanship that Valyr thought he might have, Valyr sent out a string of normal attacks with his spear, with all of them aiming for various parts of the former''s body. In response to the attacks, Riekan could not help but scoff as he deflected most of the attacks Valyr sent at him, using some of the other attacks to get back at Valyr with an attack of his own.


    ng!


    Of course, Valyr fully expected Riekan to use some of his attacks to get back at him, swiftly deflecting the sword attacks heading his way with a quick sweep of his spear. After that, the two of them engaged in armedbat for quite some time, with all of their attacks containing the intent to kill.


    Though Valyr wasn''t able to parry or block as much of Riekan''s attacks as he would have liked to, the damage he had rued from every hit was greatly mitigated by the set of armor he was waiting, reducing it to single digits as he healed the lost health with a swift [Inferior Heal].


    On the other hand, with a robe being the only thing closest to ayer of protection Riekan had, not much of the damage he received from Valyr''s attacks were mitigated, with values ranging from the mid 60s to high 80s appearing above his body with each sessful hit. In fact, there were two asions that Valyr hadnded a critical hit on Valyr, causing triple digit values to appear as Riekan slightly winced in pain.


    Nevertheless, Valyr knew that if the two were to continue fighting like this, with both of them having high proficiency over their respective weapons, he would have long lost the stamina to continue fighting before he could reduce Riekan''s HP down to 0. With that, he went ahead and took Riekan by surprise.


    "[Crimson ze]!"


    While continuing to fight against Riekan while holding the spear with one hand, a ball of crimson mes appeared above Valyr''s free hand before swiftly ballooning to the size of a basketball, throwing it at Riekan''s face at an opportune time.


    Bang!


    ''-249!!''


    "Agh!" Naturally, a fireball thrown at his face was not something Riekan had ounted for, nor the fact that the human in front of him knew magic. Nevertheless, seeing as he had given himself the opening he needed, Valyr unceremoniously went ahead and sent a spear straight towards Riekan''s head.


    "[Offense Aura]!"


    "[Robust Arms]!"


    "[Venomous Strike]!"


    Bang!


    ''-3062!!!''


    As his eyes widened in incredulity at the damage he had dealt to Riekan, Valyr felt his spear pierce through the skin of Riekan''s head before hearing a faint cracking sound resound from the impact. Unsurprisingly, Riekan was sent flying soon after, colliding with one of the walls before falling to the ground with a thud.


    Though, just as Valyr thought that Riekan would take a while to recover from such a gruesome attack, what happened instead was that Riekan stared at Valyr with wide, bloodshot eyes, giving off the feeling that daggers could shoot out of them from any moment. Not long after, a faint red haze started to emanate out of Riekan''s body, informing Valyr of the fact that his opponent did indeed have a berserk phase.


    "To think you''d actually return to using boorish tactics once more after engaging with me in proper armedbat. You''re truly despicable, human," said Riekan as he slowly stood up. Gradually, the red haze surrounding him became more and more tangible, while the aura he radiated grew stronger with every passing second.


    "Nevertheless, you''ve shown me once more why a culling of the human race is needed. And to start off this culling¡­"


    "You shall be the first."


    Boom!

 Chapter 154 Second Wind

    At the very instant Riekan finished talking, a great amount of energy burst out of his body once more, prompting arge wave of mana to envelop the entire room as Valyr was pushed back a couple of meters in response.


    Though, having gone through the phenomenon before, Valyr already knew how to mitigate the mana wave''s effects, employing a quick [Elusive Dash] just as he had been pushed back, only to reappear in the spot he previously stood sometimeter.


    Gripping tightly onto his blood red spear, Valyr then watched as the aura radiating off of Riekan''s body gradually grew stronger with each passing second, eventually reaching a point where it seemed to have reached its limit.


    However, just as Valyr thought that Riekan was about to make his move, the aura emanating from Riekan seemingly broke past its limit as it ballooned to a far higher level within seconds. Apanying it was yet another wave of mana, which Valyr promptly avoided with a quick [Elusive Dash].


    Seeing that the aura emanating from his opponent had finally stabilized sometimeter, Valyr finally got a closer look of what he was up against, activating [Analysis] to see if there were any changes to his stats.


    While doing so, he could not help but look at the external changes Riekan had gone through amidst the transformation of sorts. For the most part, there was a vengeful air about him, with his body exuding the same feeling, which seemed to have aged at least 10 years thanks to the transformation.


    As for the intent to kill Riekan had brewed during his fight with Valyr, after undergoing through the transformation, it seemed to havepounded thanks to the vengeful air he gave off, giving one the feeling that the only eptable oue for him was Valyr''s death.


    With all of that in mind, as well as taking into consideration the feeling Valyr had that Riekan''s proficiency with swords and magic had undergone a substantial increase thanks to the transformation, an expression of dread could not help but appear on his face as he looked at the status screen that had appeared in front of him, informing him of Riekan''s current stats.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan the Vengeful Magic demaster (Ancient Elite)] (Level 15 | Boss)


    HP: 5000/5000


    MP: 373/1000


    Stats: 83 VIT, 88 STR, 63 AGI, 61 DEX, 102 INT, 41 WIS, 41 PER, 41 LUK


    Remarks: You were definitely lucky to have gotten this far.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "An Ancient Elite¡­" At this point, Valyr could not help but let out an exasperated sigh, only for it to be cut short as Riekan sent out a mana-infused sh at him. In retaliation, Valyr activated [Crimson ze] and threw a quick fireball at him. Unfortunately, with the disparity in their stats only bing greater due to the transformation, Riekan avoided the fireball without any difficulty.


    Seeing how effortless Riekan dodged his attack, Valyr knew that his only choice at this point was to run around in circles once more if he wanted to avoid most, if not all of the attacks Riekan sent back at him. However, while starting to run around the room, he could not help but curse the game for the fact that he was fighting against an Ancient Elite in a dungeon made for a Rank 1 ss holder.


    Aside from the fact that it was the tier of rarity that came after Mythic, for something to have reached Ancient tier meant that their power was unsurmountable. Or, if they had not yet reached a level of power that could shake the world with their every move, that meant that the potential they had was vast, if not limitless.


    Though, as he pondered over it for a bit more, Valyr eventually recalled a few quests with dungeons connected to them that one could obtain at the same rank he was currently in, recalling that these quests also had Mythic Elite and Ancient Elite tier bosses. Nevertheless, that did not excuse the fact that an Ancient Elite tier boss would normally be found in a dungeon made for Rank 3 ss holders and higher.


    Of course, with his life teetering between the boundary of life and death, Valyr ced all of the tangential thoughts and countless profanities he wanted to spew out at the back of his mind, wondering how he was going to get closer to Riekan. After all, with how constant and how destructive the attacks were being sent at him, Valyr knew that Riekan had gained his second wind.


    Fortunately for him, at some point, Riekan stopped sending out attacks at him, allowing Valyr to take a bit of respite. Though, just as he thought that his opponent was gearing up to send a highly destructive attack at him, Valyr instead saw something else as he took a look at Riekan.


    Out of nowhere, two magic circles had appeared on both sides of where Riekan stood, the expression on his face that of murderous intent as he gave Valyr a deathly re. Yet, surprisingly, he reined in his murderous intent from acting on the urges he felt, continuing to channel energy towards the magic circles to his left and right.


    Eventually, once he had exhausted a certain amount of energy, two figures appeared on each of Riekan''s side, both of which were beings Valyr did not expect to see in this final room.


    I may be grateful for having you free me from my miserable vessel, human. However, with what you''ve done so far, you''ve only caused me to exhaust more and more of my energy. But as long as I can see you die with my own two eyes, all of the energy I''ve exhausted so far will be worth it," said Riekan in a grim tone, halting the infusion of more energy onto the two magic circles. Then, pointing at Valyr, he gave an order to the two figures that had appeared.


    "Eir¡­ Nak¡­"


    "Remove the human out of my sight."


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant Riekan had given the order, Nak speedily dashed to where Valyr was, forcing thetter to start moving as he used [Analysis] on his charging opponent. Then, seeing that a crimson fireball was heading towards his way, Valyr took a quick nce at the goblin pyromancer near Riekan and activated [Analysis] as well, jumping in response to avoid the fireball.


    ''And here I thought I was only going to face against a strengthened Riekan. Then again¡­ it would''ve probably been worse if he had the same mechanic as the other two.'' Valyr inwardly cursed as he checked the information he had received from the system on the two.


    Fully expecting the two to have gotten stronger in some way, shape, or form, Valyr was pleasantly surprised and relieved to find out that the two retained the stats they had from when he fought them earlier, instilling a bit of hope in him.


    Now, with the relief of knowing that the two mini-bosses'' stats remained unchanged, as well as the fact that no minions apanied them, Valyr dodged both of the attacks Eir and Riekan sent out before turning around to face Nak, who was still running tond an attack on him.


    Though, rather than dodge the attack he would receive from Nak before retaliating, Valyr decided to interrupt Nak''s rhythm instead, throwing an overcharged [Crimson ze] at Nak''s face, which caused thetter to scream out in pain. Then, simr to what he had done earlier to Riekan, while Nak was still blinded, Valyr focused all of his strength towards his arms as he thrust his spear towards Nak''s head.


    Bang!


    ''-539!!!''


    Though a quick attack to his chest would have killed Nak thanks to the damage dealt by [Crimson ze], Valyr wanted to let Riekan know that he wouldn''t go down without a fight, with the blood red spear piercing through the other side of Nak''s skull as all of the vitality contained in his body disappeared within seconds.


    "Definitely far easier than facing Nak from earlier¡­" Whilementing on how easier it was to kill Nak with the mechanic from earlier non-existent, Valyr shifted his gaze to see if Riekan''s fury towards him had reached greater heights.


    However, what he saw instead only served to make the mes of battle within him burn even brighter.

 Chapter 155 Final Blow

    "Gah!"


    As Valyr turned his head to look at Riekan, thetter felt a throbbing pain radiate from his chest as he tightly clutched at it, kneeling on the ground before taking a few deep breaths soon after. Then, once he felt that the pain had subsided somewhat, he went ahead and took a look at Eir who stood beside him, oblivious to what had just happened.


    After that, Riekan shifted his gaze to look at Valyr, whose expression only served to stoke the mes of anger in his body. Though the man''s expression seemed neutral, Riekan knew that the gaze this human had towards him contained hints of mockery towards his current condition.


    Nevertheless, seeing as one of his trusted aides had fallen to the ground due to the human''s boorish tactics, the mes of anger within Riekan''s body burned even brighter, prompting him to send more energy towards the other being that stood beside him, causing him to feel yet another wave of pain envelop his body.


    Even though he had the urge to contort his body in various positions, Riekan tightly gritted his teeth, clenching his fist in the meantime while enduring the pain he felt. At some point, he felt his nails dig into skin as blood started to drip out of his clenched fist. However, that did not deter him from continuing to infuse more of his energy towards Eir.


    In the meantime, seeing that Riekan had entered a state of weakness after making Nak fall to the ground, Valyr went ahead and shot a [Crimson ze] at him, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity where he was open to any attack. Unfortunately, just as it seemed like the crimson fireball he sent would connect, Eir intercepted the fireball with a fireball of his own, causing the two to explode in midair as the aura emanating from Eir gradually increased.


    Naturally, Valyr noticed that the aura emanating from Riekan had be substantially weaker after what he had just done, with Eir''s aura experiencing a substantial increase in power. With that, he went ahead and ran around the room once more to avoid any attacks sent at him while he gauged the current situation, using [Analysis] on both Riekan and Eir.


    Sometimeter, after avoiding a couple of the attacks both Eir and the seemingly weakened Riekan sent at him, the system had finally sent him information of the two''s stats in his mind, causing his eyes widen in slight surprise, only for a slight grin to appear on his face soon after as he felt like there was finally hope in beating this boss.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan the Vengeful Magic demaster (Legendary Elite)] (Level 15 | Boss)


    HP: 5000/5000


    MP: 237/1000


    Stats: 65 VIT, 61 STR, 50 AGI, 50 DEX, 72 INT, 34 WIS, 34 PER, 34 LUK


    Remarks: You probably have a good chance of killing him. Stay cautious, though.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Eir, Great Goblin Pyromancer (Rare Elite)] (Level 15 | Mini-Boss)


    HP: 500/500


    MP: 700/700


    Stats: 42 VIT, 26 STR, 26 AGI, 26 DEX, 61 INT, 46 WIS, 26 PER, 26 LUK


    Remarks: Always be alert at all times.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Since Eir''s tier increased to Rare Elite thanks to what Riekan just did, Riekan basically went down a tier after I killed Nak," Valyr muttered to himself as gears turned in his mind. Soon after, he tightly gripped on his spear once more as he changed direction, directly making his way to where Riekan and Eir stood.


    "If what I''m inferring is correct, then killing Eir would take Riekan''s strength down by another tier." With the thought in mind, Valyr went ahead and dodged a mana-infused sh from Riekan and a massive fireball from Eir with an [Elusive Dash], appearing a few meters closer to the two as he sent out a [Crimson ze] in response.


    Seeing that the [Crimson ze] was heading towards Eir beside him rather than himself, Riekan could not help but let out a furious growl as he felt great offense from Valyr''s action, moving in front of Eir to deflect the fireball with his de.


    However, just as Riekan thought he would be facing against another of Valyr''s attacks head-on, what he instead received was a strong kick to the side of his abdomen, briefly glimpsing a ferocious grin on the human''s face before flying for a few meters.


    "It''s only you and me, Eir." With Riekan out of the picture in the meantime, Valyr looked at the goblin pyromancer before him and decided to say a few words, only to receive a string of crimson fireballs in response. Letting out a sigh after realizing that the mage he had fought earlier was now just a shell of his former shelf, Valyr unhesitatingly sent a spear towards Eir''s head, causing thetter''s head to burst into multiple chunks as a crimson red number appeared atop it.


    Bang!


    ''-682!!!''


    "Agh!" Just as Valyr heard Riekan scream out in pain once more from afar, a de of lightning directly hit him on the side of his abdomen, being sent flying for a couple of meters as he felt a wave of pain wash over his body.


    nk!


    ''-154''


    Then, as if that attack alone wasn''t enough for Riekan, just as Valyr stood up from the attack, two more des of lightningnded on Valyr''s armor once more as a maddened Riekan dashed at him.


    ''-152''


    ''-304!''


    "Die!" Riekan shouted as he shed down in front of Valyr, prompting thetter to take a step back as he fired a [Crimson ze] at the former''s face.


    Bang!


    ''-310!!''


    Surprisingly, even though Riekan knew that Valyr would do something like this, his sword could not move fast enough, allowing the attack to connect as he was temporarily blinded.


    "[Inferior Heal]!" Healing up the portion of health he had lost from the three attacks, Valyr went ahead and activated [Offense Aura] beforending a [Descending Fang] on Riekan.


    Bang!


    ''-2119!!!''


    "Graagh!" With arge chunk of his health being removed in one instance, Riekan could not help but let out a cry in pain, only to be sent flying as Valyr squarely hit him with a full-powered kick on his chest.


    Whoosh!


    ''-55''


    "[Analysis]." Deciding that now was the best time to retaliate, Valyr ran to where he predicted Riekan tond, activating [Analysis] along the way to see if the idea he had in mind earlier was right.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan the Vengeful Magic demaster (Rare Elite)] (Level 15 | Boss)


    HP: 2516/5000


    MP: 154/1000


    Stats: 42 VIT, 37 STR, 30 AGI, 30 DEX, 46 INT, 26 WIS, 26 PER, 26 LUK


    Remarks: Thrash him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Seeing that Riekan''s tier had gone further down to Rare Elite tier rather than Epic Elite tier, Valyr could not help but wonder how Riekan''s tier had decreased by one more tier, only to recall the energy Riekan had given to Eir earlier before their brief bout.


    With his curiosity satisfied, Valyr went ahead and closed the status screen just as he had arrived at where he predicted Riekan was going tond, kicking Riekan on his back seconds before thetter made contact with the ground.


    "Gah!"


    ''-110!''


    Thud!


    Landing face first onto the ground, immense pain coursed throughout Riekan''s battered body as he heard footstepse closer to where hended. Feeling the energy coursing throughout his body earlier had now mostly disappeared, a faint feeling of fear emerged from within as he turned around to look at Valyr.


    "Die!" Nevertheless, he was adamant to not show the human any possible signs of weakness, shing out with the silver de he held. Though he had consumed most of the energy he had towards summoning Nak and Eir through the magic circles, even going so far as to infuse Eir with even more energy, Riekan promised himself that he wouldn''t go down without a fight. Unfortunately for him¡­


    There was no fight to begin with.


    "[Venomous Strike]."


    Bang!


    ''-2911!!!''


    Seeing that Riekan had basically left himself open to attacks, Valyr went ahead and sent a [Venomous Strike] towards Riekan''s head, noticing that the effect of [Offense Aura] was still active.


    In response, Riekan could only watch as Valyr''s spear pierced through his skull without difficulty in a daze, with Valyr inwardly thanking past him for buying [Offense Aura] and [Defense Aura] before tackling the dungeon.


    He especially thanked his past self for buying [Offense Aura], as well as leveling it up to Level 6 since it increased the damage he dealt, to the point where a Fatal [Venomous Strike] was enough to shave off the remaining HP Riekan had.


    Eventually, thetter fell to the ground with a light thud as Valyr retracted his spear.


    "It''s finally over," muttered Valyr as he caught his breath, taking in deep breaths from time to time, allowing his body to finally rx. After all, after fighting against what was basically three bosses in one, he was certain that Riekan didn''t have any more surprises up his sleeve.


    Rumble¡­


    "Motherfucker¡­"

 Chapter 156 A Dance With Death

    Feeling the ground quake once more as Riekan''s corpse started to glow, Valyr could not help but spew out a few profanities, swiftly distancing himself from what was about toe.


    Boom!


    Though, just as he had arrived near the entrance to the room, consuming an Inferior Health Rejuvenation Potion to regenerate the remaining portion of his lost health, a wave of energy far more massive than the previous ones spread throughout the entire room.


    With it moving at great speeds, it swallowed Valyr whole as even an [Elusive Dash] was not enough for him to avoid the wave, sending him mming into the walls.


    Bang!


    ''-12!''


    "Agh¡­" Due to how massive the wave of energy was, Valyr eventually became embedded into the wall he mmed into. Nevertheless, after the wave of energy had subsided, he was still able to pry himself out of it, though feeling a bit of muscle strain in the process.


    However, all feeling of pain and the like instantly disappeared once his gazended on the being that stood where Riekan''s corpse previouslyid. Of course, Valyr knew that the being before him was none other than Riekan, yet for some reason, he felt like he was looking at an entirely different being.


    Previously being at the same height as Valyr, Riekan now had a stature at least twice as tall as him, with the size of his body adjusting ordingly. Naturally, the robe he wore and the de he wielded also adjusted to conform to his current size, with his silver de being wide enough for Valyr to use as a tform if he wanted to.


    Aside from that, the dark green skin he used to have changed into a dull ash gray color, with the distinct facial features a goblin would usually have being less pronounced on his face, instead resembling the facial features of a human more.


    However, what surprised Valyr the most was the fact that Riekan''s body seemed transparent. To him, it felt as if he was looking at an illusion, rather than an actual being slightly far away from him.


    Nevertheless, all those thoughts swiftly disappeared when he used [Analysis] on this new Riekan, with his pupils shrinking in an instant as he took a look at the status screen that had appeared in his field of vision. At that moment, all thoughts of fighting against this Riekan had gone down the drain. After all¡­


    How could one surmount such a vast disparity in stats?


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan the demaster of Wrath (Lesser Boss)] (Level 40 | Boss)


    HP: 119,700/119,700


    MP: 128,200/128,200


    Stats: 532 VIT, 712 STR, 444 AGI, 384 DEX, 712 INT, 220 WIS, 340 PER, 160 LUK


    Remarks: What can you even do in this situation?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Kill¡­ kill¡­" While Valyr felt like he would truly faint at any moment, wondering how he would even bridge such a massive gap in stats, Riekan''s gaze gradually shifted to where Valyr currently stood. Radiating unmistakably murderous intent, he gradually made his way to where Valyr was, dragging the silver de along the ground as it sparked from time to time.


    Though Valyr knew that the current opponenting towards him was unbeatable in his current state, the mes of tenacity zed brightly within him, reminding himself of his journey''s end goal. With that, he went ahead and activated [Defense Aura] before activating [Elusive Dash] soon after, distancing himself from Riekan as he looked around the room to see if there was any way for him to escape.


    "I''m pretty sure Tristan and the others had only gotten to Riekan''s second form, possibly his berserk form," Valyr muttered to himself as the gears in his brain rotated at great speeds, using all of his senses to their utmost limits. "After all, if they had faced against something like this, they wouldn''t tell me the final boss was an incredibly strong goblin."


    "They wouldn''t even mention the dungeon in the first ce!"


    "Come on¡­! Is there any way for me to escape from this room?!" Frantically searching for even the slightest chance of him being able to escape this living hell, his search eventually came to a halt once Riekan boxed Valyr into a corner, the former''s expression that of solemnity as he raised his silver de.


    Watching the silver de reach the top of the ceiling, Valyr thought about his next move.


    Naturally, he thought about using [Elusive Dash] to get away from the corner and continue searching. However, as he thought about howckadaisical Riekan moved about up to this point, he knew that the being in front of him would only need to exert a bit more strength to be able to corner him once more.


    With that, he resigned himself to what was about toe, letting out a despondent sigh before closing his eyes, deciding to leave it up to fate as he asked the heavens once more to let a miracle happen.


    After all, they were listening to him, right?


    ''It can''t just end here, right? Heavens, I know you''re listening to me right now,'' Valyr inwardly muttered. ''I haven''t even gotten anywhere near to making progress towards my goals!''


    Whoosh!


    Feeling the gusts of wind generated by Riekan''s falling silver de, the thoughts in Valyr''s mind became even louder. ''Don''t tell me you''ve given me a second shot, just so I could fall into despair¡­e on, heavens!''


    "RESPOND TO ME!!!"


    BANG!


    Coincidentally, at the very instant Valyr shouted his thoughts out loud, the gusts of wind generated by Riekan''s de came to an abrupt stop, making Valyr wonder whether the heavens had heard his pleas or not. Eventually, Valyr decided to open his eyes, feeling a bit impatient to see whether his prayers had worked.


    Though, once he did, he was swiftly greeted by an unimaginable sight.


    Before him stood Riekan, whose expression was that of immense rage, trying to push the silver de he wielded down with all of his strength. However, try as he might, it wouldn''t even budge.


    On the other hand, a human no more than a few inches taller than Valyr gripped onto the silver de, sporting a nonchnt expression as he looked at Riekan with a slight hint of relief. Noticing that Valyr had finally opened his eyes, the human looked at him with a light smile before opening his mouth. "Oh, hey. I appreciate everything you''ve done so far. You''ve made my job way easier than it should be."


    "What¡­" In response, Valyr could only utter out a word, his mouth going ck-jawed from the sight before him. At that moment, all the fear he previously felt from what was about toe had swiftly disappeared, being reced with immense curiosity, as well as awe and dread towards the human holding Riekan''s de in ce.


    Naturally, multiple questions quickly arose in Valyr''s mind as he continued to look at the scene before him. However, before he could ask any of them, the human looked at him and let out a light chuckle before shaking his head. "I know you have a ton of questions to ask me, but let''s save that forter. For now¡­"


    "Let me take it from here."

 Chapter 157 The Enlightened One

    "Kill¡­!" Seeing that he couldn''t push the de down any further, Riekan decided to retract the silver de, prompting the human to release his grip from the de as he looked the former with a light grin.


    "Finally got your attention, huh?" The humanughed soon after, taunting Riekan as he led him away from Valyr, allowing thetter to move away from the corner and distance himself as much as possible from what was about toe.


    Seeing that Valyr had sufficiently distanced himself from the two, watching the two from afar from the entrance of the room, the human went ahead and looked at Riekan before him, whose murderous intent was now focused solely on the human.


    Though Valyr had infuriated him to a great extent with what he had done to him in his previous forms, this fury paled inparison to the abhorrence he felt towards the human that stood before him.


    After all, this human was the reason why he had been locked in this dungeon in the first ce!


    "KILL!" With a furious bellow, Riekan raised his silver de once more, which soon emitted a bright silver light as he spared no strength in bringing the de down on the human. In response, the human looked at the de for a bit before the expression on his face turned solemn.


    Whoosh!


    "Halt." At the very instant the human had uttered this word, the shackles that suppressed his aura hadpletely broken loose. In an instant, a billowing aura swiftly radiated out of the human''s body, its might many times stronger than the one Riekan emanated.


    Even though Valyr was already far as he could be from the two, he still could not help but feel a hint of immense dread from the aura the man radiated.


    Much less for Riekan, who took the brunt of the aura the man exuded.


    "Graaah!" Noticing that his de had gotten stuck in midair for some reason, Riekan instantly knew that the reason behind it was all thanks to the human that stood in front of him. Feeling great humiliation from this sight, he channeled all of this humiliation into rage, exerting more force on the de''s hilt to try and send the de down to meet his greatest enemy.


    Unfortunately, no matter how much force he exerted on his de, it wouldn''t budge, which only left Riekan no choice but to look at the human with unabated fury.


    Seeing that Riekan''s gaze was directed at him, the human could not help but lightly smirk as he opened his mouth. "You know, you wouldn''t have been locked up in this ce if you hadn''t made that choice. Your de has not just swallowed the lives of innocent humans, but innocent goblins as well."


    "You could have continued to learn under my tutge, my friend. Unfortunately, you desired to attain a level of power far greater than what I could give you. Because of your greed, you sumbed to the temptations of the underworld," the human continued, the smirk on his face gradually disappearing. "You fell into the darkness, my friend. This is merely your just deserts."


    Feeling that the aura surrounding him had be filled with terrifying bloodlust and murderous intent, the rage Riekan felt towards the man before him swiftly disappeared. Instead, fear quickly took its ce, his gaze the only thing he could use amidst his fear to tell the human in front of him that he knew he was in the wrong.


    Sadly, the human before him had seen Riekan do the same thing before, the expression on his face bing cruel as he ignored Riekan''s pleading expression. "Don''t think I''d fall for your stupid lies again, my friend. I''ve bided my time for this day, just so I could remove you myself from this world for good. After all, as the one who gave you your sentience, it should only be right that I''m the one to remove it."


    At this point, the aura surrounding Riekan had be suffocating, the silver de that was stuck in midair cracking from the pressure the human exerted on him. "Time and time again, your true form remained elusive, hiding beneath many facades, many lies you''ve deluded yourself into believing. However, thanks to the human that fought against you, that all ends here."


    "To you who took my name, I bid you my final farewell." Saying these words, the pressure the human exerted on Riekan increased to a terrifying degree, causing Riekan to scream out in pain. With the threat of death looming near, Riekan gazed at Valyr for a brief moment before focusing his attention towards the human in front of him, eventually screaming out what seemed to be his final words.


    "Damn you¡­ Riekan!!!"


    "Perish."


    BANG!


    As if to apany the word the human had uttered, both Riekan''s body, as well as the silver de he wielded, disintegrated into tiny bits and pieces, exploding into clouds of dust that gradually disappeared due to the billowing of the human''s aura.


    While this happened, the human looked at the sight before him with a solemn expression, watching as the particles that made up the friend he had apanied in the past, only to lose in the end, disappear into nothingness.


    Recalling all of the joyous memories he had with the being in the past, the human eventually let out a long sigh, suppressing the aura he had released as everything in the room returned to the way it was before, with the only exception being Riekan''s disappearance.


    "So, with all of that done, how about I answer all of the questions you''ve been meaning to ask me?" After that, the human looked at Valyr before slowly heading his way to where thetter stood. Unsurprisingly, after witnessing what had just transpired firsthand, Valyr could not help but have pessimistic thoughts, wondering if he would die under the human''s hands as he took a couple steps back.


    Naturally, the human noticed the expression Valyr had on his face, eliciting an awkward smile to appear on his face as he decided to stop walking midway, sitting cross-legged at the center of the room instead.


    "Almost forgot to consider what a lower-ranked ss holder would think after what I did earlier. Of course, I don''t me you for thinking that way. Anyways, I have no intentions of harming you. After all, you''re the reason why I was able to finally kill that guy. Feel free to ask any question you might have for me. We have all the time in the world."


    Taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves down, it was only then did Valyr notice that the man''s voice sounded oddly simr to a voice he had heard sometime earlier. After mulling over it for a bit in silence, his mind put two and two together sometimeter, eventually opening his mouth to ask the man a question.


    "Are you¡­ the disembodied voice I''ve been talking to earlier?" Valyr asked, to which the human nodded in response.


    "The one and only." The human smiled in response. "I still find it quite unfortunate that the person to clear this dungeon was you and not the destined one."


    "Then again, that person must have their reasons." After that, he shrugged his shoulders before wryly smiling at Valyr. "Anything else?"


    "Who are you?" With the mystery of the being behind the disembodied voice now solved, Valyr went ahead and asked the most obvious question one could ever ask in this situation. Though, once he heard the human''s response, only immense confusion appeared on his face.


    "I go by multiple titles, but most beings know of me as the Enlightened One," the human replied with a light smile. "As for my name though¡­"


    "You can just call me Riekan."

 Chapter 158 Original Intention

    "Riekan?" Hearing the name that came out of the human''s mouth, Valyr''s expression instantly turned into that of confusion. "But¡­ isn''t that the name of the being you just killed?"


    "That is true¡­" The human nodded in response. "However, the being''s name originally came from me."


    After that, the human could not help but let out a light sigh. "I had a feeling something like this would happen eventually, which was why I advised him not to do it back then. Unfortunately, he always pestered me to no end about it, so I just gave up and let him do what he wanted."


    "Of course, if you doubt my ims, you''re free to use any identification skill on me. I don''t mind." As he heard those wordse out of the human''s mouth, Valyr lightly nodded in response as a light blue haze appeared around his eyes soon after.


    Ding!


    From the aura emanated by the human earlier, Valyr knew that the thing he would mostly see on the screen that appeared in front of him would be question marks. After all, for him to beat Riekan, who was already Level 40 at that time, without even needing to move a finger, he was certain that he was at least Level 75, perhaps even higher.


    Nevertheless, that did not bar him from being able to see the man''s name, which only left him at a loss for words, looking back at the human with his mouth slightly agape.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Riekan the Enlightened One] (Level ???)


    HP: ???/???


    MP: ???/???


    Stats: ???


    Remarks: You''re lucky you''re on his good side.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Seeing the expression on Valyr''s face, Riekan let out a peal ofughter as he opened his mouth soon after. "I told you so."


    Awkwardly smiling in response to the words said to him, Valyr closed the screen in front of him as he lightly scratched his head, multiple thoughts coursing through his mind. After a moment of silence, he stood up, slung the bag he carried around his chest, and made the decision to move closer to where Riekan sat.


    Seeing that Valyr was moving closer to him, Riekan could not help but smile widely, nodding in satisfaction as the former eventually sat a fair distance away from him not long after. Though Valyr went silent once more after that, Riekan knew that the man in front of him was thinking of questions to ask him, so he allowed him to be alone in his thoughts.


    Eventually, Valyr found a suitable question to ask Riekan after the two seemingly basic questions he had asked earlier, shifting the topic to things regarding the dungeon. "Who is Riekan? Of course, I''m not pertaining to you."


    "Well, if you''ve been listening to what I''ve been saying earlier while I ''fought'' against Riekan, then you would already have a greater idea of who he really is." Nodding in response to the question, Riekan opened his mouth to answer. "Long story short, Riekan was a goblin I decided to teach sometime in the past. I noticed how would stare at me while watching me fight against monsters, so I asked him if he wanted to learn. Naturally, he said yes."


    "At first, our rtionship was that of teacher and student, but as time passed, I considered Riekan as a brother of sorts." As he said these words, Riekan could not help but let out a light sigh. "I don''t know if Riekan felt the same way as I did during that time, but I was certain that he idolized me, wanting to reach the same level of power I''ve achieved at that time."


    "Unfortunately, his lust for power overtook his rationality, causing him to ept the temptations of the underworld." Riekan''s expression turned slightly grim. "Without hesitation, he went on a genocide to fulfill the deals he had made, ughtering both innocent civilians and goblins alike, just so he could be my equal someday¡­ or so he told me back then."


    "At that point, knowing that I was partly to me for that incident, I went ahead and created an artificial dungeon to seal him in." He took in a deep breath before letting out a sigh.


    "The main reason why this dungeon was built was to sever the connections Riekan had made with the underworld, which did eventually happen. However, just as I was about to give what remained of my friend a proper farewell at that time, the side effects of the deals he made had finally erupted, causing a great portion of his lifespan to be robbed from him as my friend transformed into a vengeful spirit in front of my eyes."


    "That vengeful spirit was the Riekan I had killed earlier," Riekan said, looking at Valyr with a slightly forlorn expression. "I was hoping a part of him would reappear at the very end, but s¡­"


    "I apologize for asking." After listening to Riekan''s exnation, Valyr felt the need to apologize to the man, thinking that he had inadvertently brought up bad memories for the man. In response to the apology, Riekan shook his head before letting out a long sigh.


    "You don''t have to apologize. What''s done has already been done." Saying these words, Riekan sighed once more before trying to dispel the somber atmosphere surrounding the two of them, only being partly sessful in doing so. Nevertheless, he told Valyr to ask him any other questions he had in mind, which thetter eventually did after sometime.


    "Does the dungeon serve another purpose aside from what you''ve mentioned earlier?" Valyr asked soon after. "After all, you did give me a skill book and a chance to obtain some incredibly powerful items. If you hadn''t told me about the reason why you built the dungeon in the first ce, I would''ve continued to think this dungeon was an inheritance."


    "But it is," replied Riekan with a light smile, which only served to increase the confusion Valyr felt towards the dungeon he had just delved. At that moment, thoughts of whether the dungeon was an inheritance or a prison was all discarded in Valyr''s mind, deciding to just focus on what Riekan had to say instead.


    "While I was in the midst of building this dungeon, I''ve be acquainted with a man that came from a vige quite a decent distance away from where I was building," Riekan exined soon after.


    "Although he told me why he was in such an out of ce vige was due to the fact he was its leader, he and I eventually became great friends, with my dungeon being finished around a few yearster."


    "Though he eventually died of old age since he could not ascend through the ranks quickly enough, he asked me if I could help his daughter, the one he elected to be vige leader after him, achieve what he couldn''t." As he reminisced through these memories, a light smile could not help but adorn his face.


    "Naturally, I agreed, telling him that I was willing to give his daughter a subss I''ve been making that would allow her to do just that. Of course, his daughter is the destined one I''ve been mentioning to you in our brief conversations earlier."


    At that moment, Valyr felt like all of the questions in his mind regarding the dungeon and the vige had been more or less answered. From why the dungeon was so close to the vige, to how the dungeon was connected to the vige, all of it had been answered thanks to Riekan''s exnation.


    The only thing left for him to find out was the identity of the destined one.


    Though he already had his ideas as to who it was thanks to knowledge he had about the vige beforehand, Valyr decided to ask the question anyway. "Who''s the destined one exactly?"


    "And here I thought you''d never ask." Riekan chuckled in response. "For one to be privy to this dungeon''s location, one would have toe from that man''s vige. If I remember correctly, he said it was called Astarto Vige."


    "Youe from there, right?" He looked at Valyr as he asked, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    "Well, the destined one to clear this dungeon and receive my inheritance is actually none other than the current leader of your vige." Hearing these wordse out of Riekan''s mouth, Valyr was expecting to hear a name he was familiar with. But instead¡­


    An entirely different name came out.


    "If my memory serves me right, her name''s Veriona Astarto."

 Chapter 159 Subclass Change Scroll

    "Veriona Astarto?" At the very instant Valyr heard the name that came out of Riekan''s mouth, a slightly perplexed expression appeared on his face. "Who''s that?"


    "The name of that man''s daughter, as well as the current leader of Astarto Vige," Riekan said in response, only for him to ask a question soon after as he felt like Valyr was doubting his words. "Veriona is the name of the vige''s current leader, right?"


    In response to the question, Valyr lightly shook his head. "It''s not. Alfaera Astarto is the current vige chief. I''m not sure if you remember her, but she did tell she attempted this dungeon sometime in the past."


    "What does she look like? That might help jog my memory a bit." As a slight frown adorned his face as the gears in his mind gradually turned, Riekan posed the question to Valyr, prompting thetter to inform the man of Alfaera''s physical characteristics.


    After rummaging through his memories for a bit, Riekan eventually recalled a woman with the same characteristics Valyr mentioned delve through the dungeon in the past, though she was unable to get past the final boss'' second form.


    With a wry smile, he looked back at Valyr. "Fortunately for you, I can still remember a woman with the appearance you described attempt the dungeon before. However, if the person you mentioned is the current leader of Astarto Vige, then why hasn''t Veriona attempted the dungeon yet?"


    "Unless¡­" At that moment, a thought surfaced in Riekan''s mind, prompting the frown on his face to be reced with a grim expression as a screen appeared in front of him. Then, turning to look at Valyr, he posed a question to him.


    "What day is it today?"


    "It''s¡­" Commanding the system to show him the exact date, Valyr casually read through the contents of the screen that had appeared in front of him before looking back at Riekan. "The 7th day of the 3rd Winter Month, Year 25 of the 100th Caelestis Era. Is there something wrong?"


    "I had a feeling this might happen." With Valyr''s words only reinforcing his earlier thoughts, Riekan could not help but spew out a couple profanities before letting out a long sigh. "300 years have already passed since I finished building this dungeon."


    "Did you just say¡­ 300?" Hearing Riekan''s words, Valyr could not help but widen in surprise as he looked at the man before him. After all, he looked more like someone in his mid-30s.


    Nevertheless, he ced this thought at the back of his head for now, the gears in his mind constantly spinning as he pondered over how Riekan was unable to recall Veriona delving the dungeon over that much time.


    "Well, at this point, it''s no surprise why she hasn''t delved the dungeon. She''s long dead." However, before Valyr could evene to a conclusion, Riekan came to a conclusion of his own, thinking that Veriona had forgotten to enter the dungeon in the first ce.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr disagreed with the statement, being more privy as to how many people in the vige knew of the dungeon. With that, he informed Riekan of what he knew. "It''s impossible for her to not delve it at least once. After all, Alfaera asked everyone that ascended to Rank 1 in the vige had been asked to try clearing the dungeon. She told us to do so since it was the only thing hindering the vige from expanding to a town."


    "In any case, I''m certain that the other vige chiefs before Alfaera would have done the same thing, including Veriona," he continued. "You''ve had a lot of people enter the dungeon in the past, right?"


    "Yeah¡­" Riekan slowly nodded. "Now that you mention it, I thought it was kind of odd that many people tried delving the dungeon everyday¡­ but now that I realize that 300 years have passed, it''s probably closer to people attempting it every three to six months. Time truly passes faster the older you get."


    Letting out a light sigh at his final statement, Riekan pondered over the question once more. "Well, if that''s the case, then why don''t I recall Veriona ever attempting the dungeon?"


    Fortunately, at that moment, a memory from the recesses of Riekan''s mind had surfaced, reminding him of something from the past that finally answered the question he currently had in mind.


    However, rather than be joyous at obtaining the answer, he instead became furious, letting out a rage-filled scream as his voice bellowed throughout therge room.


    "Damn you, Alveron! You forgot to tell your fucking daughter the secret phrase!" Riekan shouted at the top of lungs, the aura he suppressed earlier faintly leaking out, instantly making Valyr feel as if something was pressing down on his body.


    Thankfully, Riekan noticed this slip-up, swiftly suppressing the aura that leaked out before distancing himself from Valyr, heading towards one of the walls before punching it numerous times.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Rumble¡­


    After the room quaked for a bit, everything eventually returned to the way it was, with the exception of arge and deep crater on one of the walls.


    After that, Riekan returned in front of Valyr with a somewhat glum expression. Sighing, he sat once more as he bitterly smiled at him. "I finally know the reason why Veriona hasn''t received the inheritance yet. It''s not that she hasn''t attempted the dungeon before¡­"


    "It''s because her father forgot to tell her the secret phrase that would''ve allowed me to find out she was his daughter."


    "Ah¡­" Listening to Riekan''s words, Valyr could only utter out a sound in response as he lightly nodded, his mind faintly wondering what Astarto Vige would have been like if Veriona did obtain the inheritance she was supposed to get from the dungeon. Though, he decided to cut his train of thought short, instead wondering what Riekan would do, now that he knew the truth.


    "You said the current leader of the vige is Alfaera Astarto, right?" Surprisingly, after feeling glum at the realization, Riekan''s expression swiftly returned to normal as he focused on making amends instead. "Is she still alive?"


    Though Valyr could not help but find the question even though he knew why Riekan asked it, he still nodded in response to the question. "Yes."


    "Is she a sword user? The subss I was supposed to give to Veriona is best suited for a sword user. Now that I think about it, any de could work, really." Nodding at Valyr''s response, Riekan asked yet another question.


    "I don''t think so, no." Unfortunately for Riekan, Valyr shook his head, causing the former to scratch his head for a bit as he figured out apromise.


    "How about you? Are you a¡ª" Being told that the current vige leader was not a sword user, Riekan decided to give the subss to Valyr instead, only to stop himself midway as he looked at the blood red spear Valyr owned that poked out of his back. "Never mind."


    "On second thought¡­ how about I do it this way?" Saying these words, Riekan extended out his hand as a small piece of parchment manifested above it. Not long after, thousands upon thousands of words in anguage Valyr did not understand appeared on the parchment, with the words briefly emanating a faint white light before swiftly dimming.


    Grabbing the parchment from midair, he rolled it up before giving it to Valyr as he told him, "Well, It''s already been 300 years since I first established this dungeon. With the main recipient of the inheritance long dead, there''s not much point in me keeping this dungeon here any longer."


    "With that, I''ve decided to give you this scroll that contains the subss instead. You could choose to use it on yourself and switch over to a sword, or you could choose to give it to a sword user in the vige, specifically one that would help the vige out during a time of need."


    "After all, the main reason why I offered to give a subss in the first ce was all because that damn Alveron was afraid of monster tides destroying the vige."


    Ding!


    [You have received a Subss Change Scroll.]


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Valyr nodded in response as he stashed the scroll he had obtained into the bag around his chest.


    "Say¡­ if I use it on myself, what kind of subss would I get?" Though, not long after, he asked Riekan the subss the scroll contained out of curiosity. After all, if it was a powerful subss, even if he had to change his main weapon of choice, he wouldn''t mind doing it as long as he got more stats.


    "The subss embodies the culmination of my journey so far." Hearing Valyr''s question, Riekan could not help but recall the memories of his past.


    "I have sought to reach the pinnacle of de arts. I yearned for all my strikes to be evesting and unyielding, for it to carry the weight of the world. I wanted the de I wield to instill great fear to all my enemies, and great relief to all of those I know."


    "With that in mind, I''ve named the subss¡­"


    "Perennial demaster."

 Chapter 160 More Rewards

    "Perennial demaster¡­" Repeating the name of the subss Riekan had just mentioned, Valyr swiftly searched through all of the memories in his mind, wondering if he had seen the subss in action before to see if it was worth the shift. Unfortunately, even after being silent for a couple minutes, no memory regarding the subss could be found.


    With that, he looked at the man before him and opened his mouth, asking what was considered a natural follow-up to Riekan''s earlier words. "What grade is the subss?"


    Though Valyr had many ways to obtain higher-rarity subsses in the future, as well as the fact that changing to another subss always applied its additional stats retroactively, he did not want to use the scroll on himself to get the subss, only to find out that the subss he was nning to get in the first ce was far better in terms of skills and rarity.


    In response to Valyr''s question, Riekan scratched his head for a bit before wryly smiling. "It''s been a long time since I created the subss, so I have mostly forgotten the specifics."


    "Fortunately for you, I think you could use an identification skill on the scroll to find that out," he added soon after, removing the slight disappointment Valyr felt from his words.


    With Riekan''s statement in mind, a light blue haze appeared around Valyr''s eyes once more as he brought the scroll out of the bag, activating [Analysis] as a screen appeared in front of him a few secondster.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Subss Change Scroll]


    Rarity: Legendary


    A scroll that contains a greater power, allowing those who use it to obtain or change their subss to the subss attached on the scroll.


    The subss attached to the scroll is the [Perennial demaster] subss, a subss that focuses on achieving the pinnacle of the de. This subss is a Growth type subss, starting off at the Rare grade, with its limit being the Legendary grade.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the scroll, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrows in slight surprise, not expecting that the subss Riekan would offer to the vige was a Growth type subss.


    For something to be considered Growth type, that something would have to have the ability to ascend at least two rarities beyond its initial rarity, such as the case for the Perennial demaster subss, which reached the Legendary grade from the Rare grade. Of course, aside from subsses, there were also Growth type sses, skills, items, and equipment, though the chances of one obtaining something like that would be next to none if one didn''t know where to start looking.


    Though, aside from Growth type items, there were also Pseudo-Growth type items, which also had the ability to ascend past its initial rarity, but only one grade. A good example of this would be Valyr''s True Tideblood Spear, which was originally a wooden spear at Common grade. Then again, it wasn''t a true Pseudo-Growth type item.


    Nevertheless, after finding out that the Perennial demaster subss had the potential to reach Legendary gradeter down the line, all thoughts of using the scroll on himself instantly disappeared from Valyr''s mind. Of course, the subss was by no means subpar in his eyes, but whenpared to the subss he had in mind¡­


    It was akin toparing a stone to a diamond.


    After informing Riekan of the subss he had given him the responsibility to give being Growth type, as well as its final rarity, Valyr closed the screen in front of him before stowing away the scroll in his bag once more. While doing so, Riekan thanked Valyr for jogging his memory regarding the subss, only to mutter to himself not long after that if he tried making the subss again, he could have given it the power to reach Mythic grade.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s interest was instantly piqued when he heard those words. After all, a Mythic grade subss was incredibly difficult to obtain, unlike a Mythic grade ss, which more or less relied on obtaining certain skills and advancements.


    Aside from the fact that one would have to undergo through a series of quests, as well as meet stringent requirements just to be able to obtain a subss of that rarity, it was incredibly hard to find even in core cities and kingdoms, let alone in a barren ce like the outskirts of Astarto Vige.


    Unfortunately, just as Riekan had uttered those words and seemingly had the intent to do so, he swiftly decided otherwise, discarding the thought from his mind as Valyr let out an inward sigh in slight disappointment. In his mind, if the Perennial demaster subss had the possibility of reaching Mythic grade, he would have used the scroll on himself and unhesitatingly changed his weapon of choice.


    Sadly, that did not happen.


    Tossing all thoughts of what-ifs aside, silence enveloped the two once more as it felt like there was nothing else to talk about. Of course, a bit of banter was done in order to avoid silencepletely, with Riekan asking Valyr how life in Astarto Vige was.


    While responding to the question, a thought could not help but surface in Valyr''s mind sometimeter, thinking that it made a lot of sense. Eventually, once he had finished answering Riekan''s question, he opened his mouth to ask the question that had just popped up. "Now that I think about it, the rewards I''ve gotten from the dungeon so far are incredibly disproportionatepared to the amount of effort I''ve put into clearing it."


    "Although I thank you for the fact that you helped me learn [Basic Crimson me Maniption] without me having met all the requirements, don''t you think I should get more aside from a scroll I wouldn''t even use myself?"


    "Well¡­" Listening to Valyr''s question, Riekan pondered over it for a bit. "That is true¡­"


    "You still have the three Dungeon Key Fragments you''ve saved, right?" he asked, to which Valyr nodded in response, rummaging the three ss-looking shards out of his bag before giving it to Riekan.


    Nodding back, Riekan opened his mouth as he received the shards. "How about this? In exchange for the three Dungeon Key Fragments you''ve saved, you can have all of the items from the four remaining pedestals in the previous room."


    Hearing Riekan''s words, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise as a hint of excitement could be felt from it. Though, not long after, this excitement swiftly died down as he recalled the reasons why he didn''t choose the four items in the first ce.


    Naturally, Riekan could not help but find it somewhat weird that Valyr was not all that excited to be able to obtain those items from the pedestals. After all, all those items would serve to give him a great boost in powerter down the line.


    And it was at that moment did Riekan understand why.


    Bitterly smiling as he looked at Valyr, Riekan thought about rewards that Valyr could use the very instant he left the dungeon. Of course, it did not take long for his mind to shift towards the Umon+ grade skill on one of the pedestals, opening his mouth to tell Valyr about it.


    Though, just as soon as he opened it, he closed it not long after, wondering if such a skill would even help Valyr out. Eventually, another skill at a simr grade to the one on the pedestal came to Riekan''s mind, opening up a screen before him as he figured out what rewards to give Valyr.


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr''s eyes could not help but slightly widen as he read through it, only to look at Riekan, who looked at him with a knowing smile. "I just realized giving you most of the items on the pedestal would be counterintuitive. After all, you don''t have the strength necessary to keep them."


    "With that, I thought about giving you the Umon+ grade skill on the pedestal, but after pondering over it for a bit, I thought about what a minuscule increase to your HP and MP regeneration rate would do to help you."


    "In the end, I''ve settled on giving you this Umon grade passive skill. Surely this would help you out, right?" Riekan looked back at Valyr and asked.


    In response, a wide smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he nodded. "Though I don''t really have any ns to fight anytime soon after leaving the dungeon¡­"


    "This will definitely help me out when I do."


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Intermediate Combat Mastery''.]

 Chapter 161 Necklace Of Enlightenment

    After closing the notification screen that popped up in his mind, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to show him the description of his newly obtained skill, which appeared on a screen before him a few secondster.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Intermediate Combat Mastery] (Level 1/20)


    Rarity: Umon


    A skill only obtained by those who have a thorough understanding ofbat. Those who own this skill could be said to be elite amongst skilled fighters, their feats known by everyone throughout the battlefield.


    This skill increases all damage dealt by 5.5%, as well as the user''s Attack stat by 2.2%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Nodding in satisfaction at the effects of the skill, Valyr closed the screen before him, only to be greeted by the sight of Riekan with his eyes closed as he muttered out a series of iprehensible words.


    Whoosh!


    Secondster, a faint wind started to circte around Riekan''s body, which gradually grew into a strong breeze, prompting Valyr to distance himself from him as he wondered what the former was doing. Fortunately, by the point the wind surrounding Riekan had reached the might of a small storm, all of it swiftly disappeared in an instant as Riekan opened his eyes.


    "Realm of Enlightenment, heed my call." Muttering out these words, Riekan soon extended his hands out as he made a few gestures with them while releasing mana at the same time.


    Within seconds, arge white magic circle appeared before Riekan, to which he infused more mana into as a ck dot appeared at the center of the magic circle. Gradually, this ck dot grewrger, eventually allowing Valyr to realize that the ck dot at the center was, in fact, a rift to another space.


    Plop.


    Around a minuteter, an item fell out of the rift,nding on one of Riekan''s extended palms. Looking at the item that had appeared, Riekan lightly nodded in satisfaction before making a few gestures with his remaining free hand, quickly dispersing the rift and magic circle he had created.


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr wondered why Riekan decided to do everything he had witnessed earlier all of a sudden, thetter''s eyes shifted towards the now slightly distant Valyr, beckoning him toe closer to him. Noticing the faint excitement contained in Riekan''s eyes as he said those words, Valyr lightly nodded as he sat down where he previously sat, waiting for Riekan to give him the item he was nning to give.


    "While I was pondering over what skill to give you after thinking that the skill on the pedestal wouldn''t suit your needs, I also thought about what type of item to give you, specifically what type of equipment," Riekan said, extending out one of his hands towards Valyr soon after to reveal the item he had gotten from the rift.


    "I thought about giving you a new spear, but then noticed that you had already formed a connection with the spear on your back."


    "I also thought about giving you new armor, but then I checked your ss and found out that you had the ability to craft them yourself."


    "In the end, I''ve decided to just give you an essory." As Riekan said this, Valyr''s attention was focused on the item on top of the former''s extended palm, being a seeminglymon-looking ne.


    However, beneath that mundane facade gave him a feeling that the ne could allow him to peer through the world, which he could not help but find a bit odd. Nevertheless, as he knew he would find the reason for this feeling sometimeter, he ced the thought at the back of his head for now as he continued to listen to Riekan.


    "Though this ne looks incredibly normal, it actually contains the ability to aid you in unlocking any Basic level advancement from the Technology Tree you haven''t unlocked, or upgrade any Basic level advancement you''ve already unlocked without the need for Technology Points." At the very moment Riekan said those words, Valyr''s eyes looked like they could pop out of his eye sockets at any moment from the sheer unexpectedness of the ne''s ability.


    From what Valyr knew in his previous life, items that had the ability to upgrade or unlock advancements without the need for Technology Points were only in the form of consumables. On the other hand, the closest ability a piece of equipment had to what Riekan mentioned that he could remember was the ability to reduce the cost to unlock or upgrade an advancement to a certain degree.


    In contrast, the ability to unlock or upgrade advancements without any cost was truly absurd!


    Of course, the fact that the ne was only limited to Basic level advancements somewhat made the ability less imposing as before. Nevertheless, with the fact that Valyr hadn''t unlocked all Basic level advancements yet, this ne would allow him to save hundreds, if not thousands of Technology Points.


    Unfortunately, there was a catch to the ability which Riekan had yet to mention.


    "However, just before you consider using the ne''s ability over and over again, it can only be used once a week," Riekan said to him, quickly dampening the excitement Valyr felt towards getting the ne, only for it to be further dampened with the former''s next statement.


    "Aside from that, the advancement it unlocks or upgrades ispletely random. However, for unlocks, it''ll choose among the advancements that you could unlock through natural progression. Also, it won''t unlock an advancement you haven''t met the prerequisites for yet, so the ne won''t randomly unlock a Basic level advancement that could only be unlocked further down the line."


    At this point, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh, all of the excitement he had from receiving the ne now extinguished. Nevertheless, he knew how useful the ne still was even with those limitations, so he kept hisints to himself.


    Fortunately for him, Riekan was not done exining the ne yet, his next words rekindling a bit of the excitement Valyr had lost from the earlier statements.


    "Well, aside from the ne''s ability, there''s the fact that there''s still untapped potential inside the ne. For the meantime, it''s well-suited to your current level."


    "But when you reach a higher level someday, the ne will lead you to where I am, allowing me to upgrade it to its full potential." As he said this, Riekan could not help but lightly smile. "Don''t you think this ne is great?"


    "Just from the ability alone, it is." Valyr nodded in response, prompting a light chuckle to escape Riekan''s mouth. "What is it called, though?"


    "I''m d you asked." Riekan grinned. "As I am known as the Enlightened One, then it should only be right to call this ne¡­"


    "The Ne of Enlightenment."

 Chapter 162 Request

    "The Ne of Enlightenment¡­" As Riekan gave the ne to Valyr, thetter could not help but ponder over the name choice for a bit, nodding in agreement not long after. "Well, considering its ability, the name makes sense."


    Receiving the ne, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on it to find out what other things the ne did aside from its ability, such as what kind of stats it increased.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr read through the contents on the screen that appeared in front of him, his eyes instantly focusing on how much the ne increased his stats.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ne of Enlightenment] (Level 15)


    Rarity: Umon


    A ne previously owned by the being known as the Enlightened One, the Enlightened One has imbued a part of their knowledge into the ne, giving it properties and abilities it originally didn''t have. This ne is a gift personally made by the Enlightened One for the one that had cleared his dungeon, sealing most of its full potential in order to suit the recipient''s current level.


    This ne increases all stats by 5 points.


    <Innate Skill: Enlightenment - Allows the user to unlock a random Basic level advancement from their Technology Tree, or upgrade a random Basic level advancement already owned by the user by one level. Cooldown: 7 days. Cost: 10 MP.>


    Remarks: It''s far more precious than you''d think. Don''t lose it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In Valyr''s mind, it would have already been great if the ne increased a couple of his stats by a few points. After all, the essories that were essible to him at his current rank were able to do at least that much. However, not only did the ne increase all of his stats, it even went so far to increase all of his stats by five points.


    In short, he more or less obtained a copy of the [Basic Reinforced Body and Soul] skill in terms of stats!


    Closing the screen before him, Valyr thanked Riekan for the ne, instantly putting it on as he felt the marginal increase in stats brought by the essory take effect not long after. In response, Riekan waved his hand in slight nonchnce as he let out a peal ofughter, replying to Valyr''s words of gratitude with words of his own, thanking him once more for clearing the dungeon, as well as the problem regarding the inheritance.


    "Well, now that I''ve given you a skill, as well as a ne that you could upgradeter down the line, I think that''s sufficient enough of a reward, no?" Riekan said not long after, looking at Valyr, who seemed to be pondering over something. After a while, Valyr nodded in agreement with Riekan''s words, though he let out an awkward chuckle not long after as he opened his mouth to ask thetter something.


    "Now that I think about it, could I get the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir from the pedestals for myself?" Valyr asked, an awkward smile adorning his face. In his mind, there was a high chance that he would be rejected. After all, he had already gained another skill and a special ne from him.


    "Oh, sure. I don''t really have any other need for those anyway." Yet surprisingly, Riekan nodded in response to Valyr''s words, leaving Valyr at a loss for words as he eventually smiled and thanked Riekan.


    Smiling back, Riekan went ahead and conjured a small magic circle in front of him, causing a rift to open up between the two of them as the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir on top of the pedestals from the previous room appeared before them. Using his mana to catch the vials in midair, Riekan carefully ced them in front of them, separating them into two portions by their colors.


    "Now that I think about it, the only reason you''d ask for the Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir is if you''ve already obtained the skill from consuming the Basic Reinforcement Elixir." After neatly arranging the vials in front of Valyr, Riekan looked at the man that sat before him as he opened his mouth.


    In response to his words, Valyr nodded in response. "Yeah. I''ve already consumed 10 vials each of Basic Physical and Mental Reinforcement Elixir to obtain the skill. Though I would only be able to consume the Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir after I ascend to Rank 2, at the very least I wouldn''t have to toil in procuring the materials and the alchemist that would concoct them."


    "Oh, definitely." Riekan chuckled in response to Valyr''s words. "I can''t fault you for making such a choice, especially since I told you earlier that you could have any of the items on the pedestals for yourself if you so choose."


    "Though, at this point, you''ve received more than enough of a reward from what you''ve done, no?" he asked not long after, to which Valyr nodded in agreement.


    Seeing Valyr nod in response, Riekan nodded back. "Alright then. Since that''s the case, if you don''t have any other questions to ask me, I shall send you to the cave where you arrived from and dismantle this dungeon for good."


    "Well, I do have a few questions to ask." Unsurprisingly, with Riekan before him being a treasure trove of information, it would be a wasted opportunity for Valyr to not ask the man a couple questions regarding what he had in mind. Though he already had his answers to these questions after experiencing them in his past life, he wanted to obtain answers from the perspective of an NPC.


    "Ask away." In response, Riekan nodded as he changed into a morefortable pose for him, lying down sideways as he used his arm to prop his head up.


    "I''ve been wondering about this ever since I saw you fight against Riekan earlier," Valyr said soon after, with Riekan perking up his ears to listen. "How were you able to kill him without having tond a hit on him or use a weapon?"


    "Well, the answer to that is quiteplicated." After listening to Valyr''s words, Riekan quickly understood what the former wanted to know, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face as he replied. "All I can say is that it''s something you''re still far away from being able to touch."


    "I see¡­" Somewhat expecting to receive such an answer from Riekan, Valyr remained unperturbed as he decided to ask him a string of questions that were a bit more blunt, being closer to the true question he had in mind.


    "Well, would it be possible to know what ss rank you''re currently at? Perhaps your current level? Surely you could tell me that, no?"


    "I can, but what purpose would that serve you?" Riekan asked in response, a cunning smile adorning his face.


    "To widen my horizons, naturally," Valyr replied, already expecting to receive such a question. "After all, you''re the strongest being I''ve ever met so far."


    "Well, I''m quite ttered to hear you say that, but I''ll have to refrain from giving you such personal information." As he replied, Riekan lightly smiled. Though, not long after, a pondering expression appeared on his face as he rubbed his chin for a bit. "Then again, it wouldn''t be a problem to tell you a bit about the level of power I''ve reached, though I''ll be quite vague about it."


    "I don''t mind. It''s only to widen my horizons, after all." Valyr smiled in response. "I''m all ears."


    Nodding in response, Riekan went ahead and opened his mouth to tell Valyr what he wanted to know.


    "Well¡­"

 Chapter 163 Legends And Myths

    "As you may know, the act of ascending to a higher ss rank increases one''s overall capabilities, eventually surpassing the limits of what a human could achieve once one ascends to a higher ss rank. Even the capabilities of someone at Level 10 would be enough to astound those at Level 1," said Riekan.


    "However, those at Level 10 are still within those limits. Only those who ascend to Rank 1 and beyond are said to have broken past those limits and have be superhuman."


    "Naturally, the higher one''s level and ss rank gets, the more unbelievable one''s capabilities be. At some point, it wouldn''t even be surprising for one to have the capability to fly at high speeds, or to shatter mountains into rubble with a single punch."


    "Nevertheless, even that is child''s y to those at my level of power, having already formed a connection with the world itself, allowing us to wield part of its might in every move we make." Taking a deep breath, Riekan continued as Valyrmitted all of his words to memory.


    "Of course, there are those who have gone beyond this level, transforming the might of the world into their own as even a single move of theirs would be enough to destroy half, if not the entirety of Veldanyr. Though those who achieved this level are few in number across the entire world, each of them upy highly esteemed positions, all feared and respected by everyone due to their feats."


    "Now, you might be wondering. What would call someone at this level of power?" Seeing Valyr enamored by his exnation, Riekan could not help but chuckle. "Well, this level of power has gained multiple names thanks to the passage of time, but for those at my level, as well as those who have surpassed it, it is only known by two names."


    "Legends and Myths."


    ''I had a feeling he was at that level.'' At the very moment Riekan had uttered the phrase that hadste out of his mouth, Valyr instantly knew that his hunch earlier was correct. After all, from Rank 1 to Rank 5, the ability to engage inbat by only relying through one''s sheer aura was unheard of. Though there was a ss that allowed one to be able to achieve simr results, being the Aura Fighter ss, that still mostly relied on expenditure of mana.


    Of course, there were other high-rarity sses that came to Valyr''s mind aside from Aura Fighter that could exin Riekan''s earlier feat. However, once those words came out of Riekan''s mouth, all those previous thoughts were swiftly discarded as his eyes glistened with interest. ''Now, the question is¡­ is he a Legend or a Myth?''


    Although Riekan mentioned that Legends and Myths were at the same level of power, there were a few things that separated one from the other.


    All Legends were at the highest level a Rank 5 ss holder could achieve, being at Level 100. However, unlike normal Rank 5 ss holders that have reached the peak, Legends had formed a connection with the world they live in, gaining partial authority regarding a certain element of the world that they had great understanding of. It was all due to that reason that Legends were regarded as dangerous existences, having the ability to fight even multiple peak Rank 5 ss holders at once and emerge victorious.


    As for Myths, their connection with the world was deeper, gaining full authority over the element of the world they had great understanding of. In fact, establishing a full connection with the world was the main reason Myths were vastly superior to Legends. After all¡­


    Only when one had established a full connection with the world would one be able to break past Level 100 and ascend to the next rank, reaching Rank 6.


    Indeed. Aside from the fact that all Legends were at the precipice of Rank 5, all Myths were at Rank 6, entering what Valyr and all the other yers considered as true mid-game.


    Unsurprisingly, once the thought of Legends and Myths passed through Valyr''s mind, he could not help but think about the various methods he knew that would simplify and guarantee his chances of ascending to Rank 6 without much difficulties. However, he discarded all of those thoughts for now as Riekan had opened his mouth once more.


    "Those who have formed a connection with the world are called Legends, while those who have transformed the might of the world into their own are called Myths," Riekan told Valyr, to which thetter nodded in response. "With that categorization, I would be considered a Legend, though I am quite near to reaching the requirements needed to be a Myth."


    Hearing that Riekan was a Legend, Valyrmitted the information to memory, though he could not help but find it weird that such a powerful existence was out in such a barren ce. Then again, after recalling Riekan''s earlier exnation as to why the dungeon was built, everything eventually made sense for him again.


    "Well, my exnation ends there," said Riekan as he looked at Valyr. "Hopefully that was more than enough to satiate your curiosity."


    "It definitely was." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Your exnation has definitely expanded my horizons."


    "I''m d to hear that." Riekan chuckled in response. "Do you have any other questions you would like to ask me? Preferably something I could answer without having to be vague."


    Listening to Riekan''s words, Valyr could not help but have a mischievous smile on his face, recalling Riekan''s earlier mention that the dungeon he was in had been built 300 years ago. With such a thought in mind, it was quite easy to figure out what question Valyr was going to ask next.


    "How old are you?" asked Valyr in an innocent tone. Hearing Valyr''s question, Riekan''s eyes could not help but slightly widen as he looked at Valyr with a knowing smile before scratching his head for a bit, causing Valyr to sh a cheeky grin.


    "I know you''re asking this in purpose just so you could remind me how much time has passed since I''ve been in this dungeon for the entire time it was here," said Riekan in response, which elicited an expression of shock to appear on Valyr''s face as he had never expected Riekan to be in the dungeon for the past 300 years.


    In his mind, since the man in front of him was a Legend, Valyr thought Riekan would generally be away from the dungeon and only check in from time to time. At the very moment he heard that, a pang of guilt washed over Valyr''s body.


    "Well¡­ I haven''t been really keeping track of my age ever since I''ve built this dungeon." Nevertheless, amidst the slight guilt Valyr felt, Riekan answered nevertheless. "I think I''m only a bit older than when Astarto Vige was first founded. Around 30 to 50 years older, give or take."


    "In any case, I think you''ve asked me more than enough questions, no?" Just as Valyr had kept a mental note to ask Alfaera how old the vige was by the time he got out, these words came out of Riekan''s mouth, prompting Valyr to pay attention.


    "Well, let''s end it here. Once again, I appreciate you for helping me take care of Riekan. From the moment I teleport you out of this ce, this dungeon shall cease to exist, marking the end of a page that I''ve been stuck on for the past 300 years." As Riekan said these words, an expression of faint relief appeared on his face. Soon after, he conjured a magic circle under Valyr''s feet, saying his parting words not long after.


    "May we meet each other again in the future." With those words, a huge sh of light appeared around the magic circle as Riekan infused a great portion of his mana into it. Not long after, as the light subsided, all traces of Valyr being in the room earlier had disappeared, prompting a light smile to adorn Riekan''s face as he let out a light sigh of relief.


    "Hopefully, we''ll be equals the next time we meet again."

 Chapter 164 Exiting The Dungeon

    As Riekan thought about how strong Valyr might be in the future, he eventually ced those thoughts at the back of his head before lightly chuckling. "Well, even if he doesn''t be a Legend, as long as he has enough strength to weather the tides that shalle in the future, that''s more than enough."


    "Anyways, it''s been over 200 years since Ist checked on my n," Riekan muttered to himself, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. "I wonder how they''re faring as ofte? Or better yet, are they still around?"


    Thinking of his n as nothing more than a pastime, Riekan let out another chuckle as he went ahead and conjured a magic circle beneath his feet, disappearing from the vicinity of the room a few secondster.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Appearing in what seemed to be a ce with its surroundings covered in full darkness, Valyr could not help but think to himself that Riekan had teleported him to the wrong ce. However, this thought was quickly discarded as he felt a faint amount of mana swirling quite a distance away behind him.


    Turning around to see where the mana came from, his sight was quickly greeted by the entrance to the dungeon, the light emanating from it barely illuminating a one meter radius around it. Though he felt that the mana it exuded was gradually weakening with every passing second, recalling Riekan''s earlier words, he soon oriented himself in the direction that led him out of the area, eventually being greeted by the vast ins surrounding Astarto Vige a few minutester.


    "To think it''s already close to bing night," Valyr could not help but mutter with a chuckle, noticing that the sun was around an hour away from setting. After that, he opened up the bag around his chest, taking a look if he had brought everything given to him by Riekan out of the dungeon.


    Seeing the vials of Intermediate Physical and Mental Reinforcement Elixir in his bag, Valyr went ahead and counted them to see if any were missing, letting out a sigh of relief once he had double checked that all 10 vials of both elixir types were in there.


    "Well, I should probably head back to the vige as soon as possible. Pretty sure Damian and the others are waiting for me to tell them the good news." With this thought in mind, Valyr lightly stretched his body, recalling that he had been sitting cross-legged for quite some time as he conversed with Riekan.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Roadblock to Expansion.]


    [Head to Alfaera to receive your rewards.]


    Obtaining a couple notifications that the quest he had gotten from Alfaera was finallypleted, Valyr became even more eager to return to the vige as soon as possible, wondering if some of the rewards listed on the quest would be increased.


    Finishing his stretch, Valyr decided to take a look around his surroundings, specifically the cave to see if he had forgotten anything before returning to the vige. However, just as he did so, his peripheral vision instantly caught the vision of three people on the ground, all of them deep asleep.


    "So, they didn''t return to the vige, huh." Lightly scratching his head at the sight, Valyr moved closer to the three of them before nudging the three of them awake. The first person he had woken up was Alfaera, who was fortunately a fair distance away from the other two sleeping.


    Wondering who had woken her up from a somewhat peaceful nap, Alfaera''s consciousness was swiftly jolted awake once she noticed a man in faint crimson red armor standing in front of her.


    "V-Valyr!" Alfaera could not help but exim as she hastily stood up, her expression that of part concern and part excitement. Though, just as she was about to ask Valyr if he had sessfully cleared the dungeon, thetter ced his finger over her mouth before pointing towards the other two that were still asleep.


    At that instant, a mischievous smile appeared on Alfaera''s face as Valyr could not help but smile as well, nodding at each other as the two of them stood on opposite sides of the two. Surprisingly, Tristan was hugging Damian as if he were a huge stuffed toy, while thetter snored without a care for the world.


    Finding it a slight disappointment that they could not save this memory in any form, Valyr and Alfaera soon went ahead and made a great amount of noise, instantly waking the two up to the point that they stood up and entered a vignt state.


    However, just as their groggy minds were wondering what had urred, both Damian and Tristan soon heard gigglinging from their left and right, being greeted by the sight of Alfaera already being awake and that Valyr already out of the dungeon.


    Feeling a hint of embarrassment from the fact that the two of them were seen sleeping, Damian and Tristan excused themselves for a bit as they got a bit of fresh air, returning to the two of them were fully alert minds.


    "So, what happened in the dungeon, Valyr?" By the time the two hade back, Tristan went ahead and asked the question that the three of them were dying to know the answer to.


    In response to the question, Valyr went ahead and recounted his experience through the dungeon, with the three of them surprisingly nodding in agreement at the mention of two mini-bosses. Though, while discussing about the two mini-bosses, Tristan identally mentioned the name of first mini-boss, instantly fearing the repercussions that might arrive.


    But there were none.


    Deciding to say the mini-boss'' name a couple more times, the three quickly found out that the oath disallowing them from mentioning any of the mini-bosses, as well as the final boss had be null and void. Naturally, Valyr thought about it for a bit, eventuallying to the conclusion that Riekan had probably disable the oath now that the dungeon''s purpose had finally been fulfilled.


    "So, what did you choose at the pedestal room?" Damian asked Valyr sometimeter, prompting the other two to perk up their ears.


    "The one that cost five Dungeon Key Fragments," Valyr said in response, to which the three of them asked him why he had chosen that item if any of the other four on the left would help him out in the long run. In response, Valyr asked them if they had identified the item before choosing, only for him to receive the simultaneous shaking of the three''s heads.


    Letting out a sigh after seeing their responses, Valyr then exined that the rightmost item decreases the final boss'' HP by 99%, causing Tristan and the others to look at him with faces filled with incredulity. However, this expression was swiftly changed into that of expectation and excitement as it did not take long for them to put two and two together.


    "Did you¡­ clear the dungeon?" Being the vige chief and the one who gave Valyr the quest in the first ce, Alfaera decided to ask.


    Hearing the question, Valyr lightly nodded in response, causing the faces of the three to light up with glee.


    Rumble¡­

 Chapter 165 To Whom Should I Give

    ?Just as the three were about to celebrate the fact that the dungeon near the vige had finally been conquered, their immediate surroundings started to madly quake all of a sudden, prompting the three of them to look around to see where the quaking wasing from. As for Valyr, though he felt a bit of panic at first, this panic quickly subsided as he realized what was happening, a light smirk adorning his face.


    Bang!


    Out of nowhere, a sufficiently loud explosion happened within the cave, causing Damian and the others to look in the direction of the cave as the quaking increased in intensity. Eventually, the cave could not handle the quaking anymore, caving in on itself as therge cave swiftly turned into a tall pile of rubble.


    Whilst that was happening, Valyr quickly noticed that, slightly far away from the cave, a man with a familiar appearance was in the midst of flying away.


    Feeling as if someone was looking at him, that man turned around to look back, only to notice Valyr staring at him with a smile before nodding. In response, the man let out a light peal ofughter before nodding back, mouthing a few words at Valyr as he proceeded to fly farther away from Valyr''s field of vision.


    "May we meet again," Valyr softly muttered to himself the words the man had mouthed to him, lightly chuckling before he returning his attention to the three, who had finally recovered from the shock that the cave''s copse had brought to them.


    "Why did the cave copse all of a sudden?" Tristan could not help but ask sometimeter, proceeding to look at Valyr as he had a feeling that thetter knew what was happening.


    In response to the question, Valyr lightly shrugged his shoulders as he gave them a usible answer. "Perhaps the cave copsed in on itself since the dungeon was finally cleared. After all, the cave was housing the dungeon, no?"


    After listening to Valyr''s answer, the three looked at each other for a bit before nodding in agreement, thinking that his answer made sense. Though, this answer only increased the excitement they felt at the fact that the dungeon had finally been cleared, wanting Valyr to narrate to them how his fight with the final boss was like.


    Chuckling, Valyr nodded as he told them that he would narrate what had transpired in the dungeon while they made their way back to the vige. Fortunately, the three of them agreed, seeing that it was going to be night time soon.


    With that, Valyr went ahead and narrated his experience in the dungeon as best as he could, adding a few flourishes here and there to make the story more engaging. Unsurprisingly, the three of them were engrossed in listening to the story, imagining themselves as the ones attempting the dungeon.


    Of course, while narrating the story, Valyr omitted the part where he had faced against a Level 40 being at the very end, as well as the part where he met the creator of the dungeon and gained rewards far better than the items the pedestals in the room before the boss room could ever give him.


    Nevertheless, hearing about how the final boss actually had three forms instead of two made the three look at Valyr with concern, only for this concern to be further intensified once Valyr mentioned that the final form summoned the two mini-bosses as minions.


    Noticing the expression of concern on their faces, Valyr could not help but let out a peal ofughter as he told them to stop where they were at the moment, being around a third of the way remaining to reaching the entrance of the vige.


    Curious as to the reason why Valyr decided to stop their trek back to the vige, Valyr went ahead and rummaged the Subss Change Scroll he had received from Riekan out of the bag and brought it out in the open for the three to see. "Do all of you have [Analysis]?"


    With the three of them nodding in response to the question, Valyr then told them to identify the scroll he was holding, causing the eyes of the three to pop out of their sockets from the sheer shock the Subss Change Scroll brought them.


    Sure, all of them knew what subsses were, with Tristan even having a subss that was Rare grade. However, a scroll that would give them a subss that started at Rare grade and had the ability to reach Legendary grade in the future? Never once in their lives did they expect they''de across something like this.


    Though, just as they were about to ask if this scroll was an item Valyr obtained as a reward for clearing the dungeon, Valyr interrupted them before they could even ask, telling them to listen up to what he had to say.


    "After I cleared the dungeon, there was a corridor that led to a small room. In that room was an old book ced on top of a pedestal, as well as the scroll I''ve shown you on another," Valyr said, whipping up a good backstory as to how he got the scroll on the spot.


    "Naturally, after identifying the scroll, I instantly became ecstatic. After all, who would pass up on the chance to obtain what was basically a Legendary grade subss?" As he said these words, the three nodded in agreement. "However, just as I was about to grab it, I decided to take a look at the book and read through its contents."


    "What did you find out from the book?" With her interest piqued, Alfaera decided to ask.


    "The book told me that the dungeon contained an inheritance that was solely made for the purpose of helping Astarto Vige prosper," Valyr said in response, causing the three of them to look at each other as looks of understanding soon came across their eyes.


    "It seems you''ve arrived at the same conclusion as me." Of course, Valyr noticed the change in their expressions, nodding as he raised up the scroll once more. "The inheritance the book mentioned is exactly the scroll I''m currently holding."


    "In it, it said that the scroll should go to the vige chief, or to a sword user that was loyal to the vige and would help the vige weather its tides no matter what," said Valyr not long after, focusing his gaze on both Alfaera and Damian.


    "Now, the three of you know that I''m no sword user. I specialize in wielding the spear." As he said this, a bitter smile was stered on his face. "Though keeping the subss for myself was tempting to the point that I thought it would be fine to change to a sword as my main weapon, I eventually decided against it."


    "For one, although I am thankful for the help Astarto Vige has given me, allowing me to be who I am today, I''ll eventually leave the vige for good." Hearing these words, a hint of surprise appeared on Tristan''s face, while Damian and Alfaera nodded in response.


    "Aside from that, I thought that it would simply take too much time for me to learn the sword from scratch. I''d rather find a subss that increases what I can already do with the spear and work from there." With that, he eventually asked the question that was weighing on the three''s mind at that moment.


    "Now¡­ Alfaera. Damian."


    "I know the answer to this question is hard, but¡­"


    "Who should I give the scroll to?"

 Chapter 166 Eventual Decision

    ?For a while, Damian and Alfaera looked at each other in silence, with Tristan watching by the side in silence to see what the final verdict was.


    Simr to Valyr, he was not a sword user by any means. Aside from that, even if he was given the choice to change to the subss attached the scroll, he would decline. After all, he had already spent a long time getting used the skills of his subss to the point it eventually became second nature.


    He was certain that he would take far longer to get used to the new subss since it meant having to change his main weapon of choice to a de.


    Eventually, both Damian and Alfaera hade to their respective decisions, voicing them out for Valyr to hear. Though the responses of the two were exactly the same in terms of intent, the problem was that¡­


    Their intent was for the other person to get the subss.


    "I think it would be better for you to give Damian the subss," said Alfaera, taking the initiative to tell Valyr what she thought. "After all, if youpare the two of us, he''s done more for the vige than I did, being the one responsible for coordinating everyone during monster tides. Plus, he''s the current guard leader of Astarto Vige. It only makes sense for him to be the one to receive the subss."


    Hearing Alfaera''s words, Damian lightly shook his head. "Though that may be true, I''d suggest you give the subss to Alfaera instead, Valyr. Sure, I may be the guard leader of the vige, but if I were to obtain that subss, wouldn''t it seem like I was the one leading the vige instead of Alfaera? As the vige chief, it is only proper for you to obtain the subss. After all, even the book mentioned by Valyr said it would go to you."


    "But I''m not even a sword user," said Alfaera in response, causing a light frown to appear on Damian''s face soon after. Seeing the frown on Damian''s face, an expression of slight triumph appeared on Alfaera''s face as she opened her mouth once more.


    "I''m sure we''ve both seen the name of the subss through [Analysis] earlier, no? With the fact that the book Valyr mentioned that the subss should go to a sword user, which I am not, it should only be right that the subss goes to you."


    After listening to the reasons the two of them had given him, Valyr felt like the subss would be given to Damian. However, unlike Damian and Tristan, whose main weapon of choice he knew, Valyr did not know what Alfaera''s main weapon of choice was. Recalling the conditions Riekan had given him while he was in the dungeon earlier, he decided to pose the question to Alfaera. "What weapon do you usually use, Alfaera?"


    "Me?" Pointing at herself, Alfaera pondered over the question for a bit. "Well, I generally use a rapier while fighting. What about it?"


    "Just when I was about toe to a decision¡­" Hearing Alfaera''s response, Valyr could not help but bitterly smile. "I was about to finalize my decision of giving the scroll to Damian since he was a sword user. However, the book also mentioned that the user does not necessarily have to wield a sword to be able to obtain the subss. Any de would work with the subss, actually."


    "And so we''re back at square one," Tristan could not help but say, to which Valyr let out a sigh in response before nodding in agreement.


    "I really hope the two of you coulde to an agreement since I don''t really want to be the one to decide on who gets the scroll." Valyr lightly scratched his head with a slight frown. In response to his words, both Alfaera and Damian looked at each other once more as they thought about who should get the scroll.


    "Seriously, Alfaera. You should get the subss," Damian told her sometimeter. "Although I''ve lived most of my life so far in this vige, it wouldn''t be right for me to im the subss. After all, Valyr mentioned that the subss is an inheritance meant to help Astarto Vige prosper. As the vige chief and as a member of the founding family of the vige, don''t you think it''s only right for you to obtain it."


    "But that doesn''t mean you should downy your contributions like that, Damian." Alfaera slightly frowned. "Compared to all of the guards the vige has had over the years, you are the only one to have invested so much time and effort towards the safety of the vige, even going so far as to lead the defense against the monster tide. With a subss like the one on the scroll, don''t you think the vige would have an easier time defending?"


    "Haah." At this point, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh once more, heading towards Alfaera before giving her the Subss Change Scroll. Naturally, Alfaera could not help but feel a bit bewildered at the fact that Valyr had decided to give the subss to her, with Damian nodding in agreement.


    However, just as the two thought the problem was over, Valyr went ahead and rified the reason why he had given the scroll to Alfaera. "Since the two of you can''t make up your mind yet on who gets the Subss Change Scroll, I''ve decided to just give the scroll to Alfaera, given that she is the rightful inheritor of the scroll anyway."


    "From here on out, it''s up to you on who you give the subss to." A solemn expression adorned Valyr''s face as he looked at the woman before him. "Of course, there''s always the choice of using the scroll on yourself, but that''s solely up to you."


    For a while, Alfaera''s gaze shifted between Valyr and the scroll she had received a few times. Though, in the end, she eventually let out a sigh before nodding, telling the three that she would eventuallye to a decision that the three of them would agree with, to which the other three nodded in response.


    With that, the four continued heading towards the vige once more, eventually heading past the vige gates by the time the sun had fully set.


    Heading their separate ways, Damian made his way to the barracks, while Valyr decided to apany Tristan since he would still have to remove the armor he was wearing. As for Alfaera, she decided to apany thetter two, to which Damian nodded in response as he told them to take care before heading off to the barracks on his own.


    While the three were heading their way to Tristan''s smithy, Alfaera moved closer to Valyr before initiating a conversation with him. "Hey, Valyr."


    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr looked at Alfaera beside him.


    "Since you''re the one that cleared the dungeon, would it be fine if I hold a celebration regarding this achievement tomorrow? After all, you''re more or less the reason why Astarto Vige is finally going to expand into a town." Listening to the words that came out of Alfaera''s mouth, a slight frown could not help but appear on Valyr''s face.


    "Does the vige really have to celebrate it?" Valyr could not help but ask soon after, to which Alfaera nodded in response.


    "It has to. After all, expanding into a town is a great milestone," said Alfaera, leaving Valyr no choice but to let out a sigh as he acquiesced to the celebration. Though Alfaera was d that he eventually agreed, she swiftly noticed the somber expression on his face, prompting her to wonder what she could do to remove that.


    Attracting his attention, Alfaera then gave Valyr a proposal. "How about this? In exchange for the celebration happening tomorrow, I''ll give you the rewards from the quest now, and even multiply some of them. Is that fine with you?"


    "You''ve got yourself a deal, Alfaera." At the very instant Alfaera was finished with her proposal, Valyr swiftly agreed as he grinned, causing a weird expression to appear on the former''s face.


    "That¡­ was easier than I thought."

 Chapter 167 The Next

    Having obtained Valyr''s full agreement on celebrating the clearing of the dungeon tomorrow, Alfaera went ahead and discussed a few of the matters regarding the specifics of the celebration with him, considering how he was going to be the center of attention during the celebration itself.


    Of course, even though it seemed that he was fully on board with the celebration itself, that was only due to the fact that Alfaera had enticed him with the promise that his rewards from the quest would be increased.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr was reluctant to do a few of the things Alfaera wanted him to do during the celebration. But fortunately, thanks to the discussion the two were having while they continued to walk, apromise had been made regarding these aspects, giving Valyr a peace of mind as the three of them eventually arrived at Tristan''s smithy.


    "I still have to coordinate everything for tomorrow, so I''ll be on my way first." Though, just as both Tristan and Valyr entered the smithy, Alfaera told the two of them that she would head back to her ce first to prepare for the celebration tomorrow. In response, Valyr reminded her about the deal they made earlier, causing a light chuckle toe out of Alfaera''s mouth as she nodded soon after.


    "Would it be fine if I saved the titles for tomorrow?" she asked as a screen opened before her, prompting her to interact with it. Seeing that Valyr''s eyebrows were raised in curiosity due to her words, she continued. "Don''t you think the titles would get stronger the more people from Astarto know about it? After all, most of the titles you''ll get have the name of the vige attached to it."


    After pondering over it, Valyr eventually agreed to Alfaera''s words, eliciting a light smile to appear on her face as a couple notification sounds resounded in his mind not long after.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''Roadblock to Expansion''.]


    [Some of the rewards from the quest have been withheld in the meantime.]


    [You have received 150,000 XP.]


    [Your affinity with Alfaera has increased by 500 points. Current rtionship: Close friend.]


    [Yourary Reputation (Veldanyr) has increased by 40 points. Current reputation: No-name.]


    After reading through the notifications he had received from the system, Valyr went ahead and thanked Alfaera for having increased the rewards from the quest. In response, Alfaera replied that it was the least she could do since his achievement would allow the vige to finally expand into a town.


    Eventually, after talking with her for a bit more, Alfaera eventually left the premises to head back to her home as Valyr entered the smithy with Tristan. While taking off the armor he had worn for the dungeon, he could not help but bitterly smile as he looked at the slightly mangled chestte, recalling the attacks the final boss had sent at him that led to this situation.


    Making a note to repair the chestte sometime tomorrow, Valyr went ahead and removed all of the armor making up the set and stored them in an area where it could be easily seen with the help of Tristan. While doing so, Tristan could not help but ask Valyr what he and Alfaera had been discussing earlier, telling him that he had only listened in on a few sections of their conversation.


    ? A mischievous smile adorning his face, Valyr said to Tristan in response that he had to first give something exchange for that information, causing Tristan to lightly frown as he took Valyr''s words seriously. Though, just as he hade up with a certain item to give Valyr for it, thetter told him he was joking, quickly spilling out most of the discussion he and Alfaera had along the way to the smithy.


    Hearing from Valyr''s mouth that a celebration regarding his friend''s achievement would be done tomorrow, Tristan could not help but look at Valyr with an expression of pride, thinking to himself that he had contributed to who Valyr was today. Eventually, Tristan could not help but have the urge to forge something in preparation for the celebration, telling Valyr that he could head back to the barracks since it was already turning to night.


    Of course, Valyr could not help but find it somewhat odd that Tristan was shooing him away from the smithy, prompting him to ask thetter for the reason. Though the man did give him a couple of reasons such as him needing to take a rest and whatnot, Valyr still thought that Tristan was hiding the true reason for him. Nevertheless, he still agreed with Tristan''s words and headed back to the barracks after bidding farewell.


    Once back at the barracks, Valyr swiftly made his way to his dormitory room and dropped off the bag he had carried into the dungeon before taking a shower, changing into a set of loose fitting clothes after he was done. After that, he made his way to the cafeteria and grabbed himself a hearty dinner, recalling the rations he had eaten in the dungeon while taking bites.


    As he was in the midst of eating his dinner, he could not help butmit the current surroundings to memory, inwardly letting out a light sigh as he thought to himself that he had more or less done everything he could do in this vige. Giving the tray now devoid of food back to the cafeteria workers, Valyr then made his way back to his dormitory room once more, lying down on his bed as he let out a long sigh, the thought of having to leave the vige finally sinking in.


    "Hmm¡­ what should I do next?" Valyr thought to himself out loud, feeling as if he had already done everything the vige had to offer. Though there was no problem with him staying in the vige, continuing to stick around after it had expanded into a town, Valyr knew to himself that staying here would make his growth stagnant, reducing the rate of progress he was making in order to achieve his final goals.


    With that in mind, he could not help but think about the things he wanted to do during the beta version as preparation for the first public version. As he thought about how he was going to begin with any of them, hemanded the system to show him the time that remained before the beta version truly began.


    Ding!


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond starts in 9 hours, 25 minutes!]


    "So, it''ll finally begin tomorrow, huh," Valyr could not help but mutter to himself, reminiscing over the time when the beta version of Greater Beyond was first announced in his past life. At that time, many people, including himself, tuned into the livestreams of those lucky to be chosen for the beta, wanting nothing more than to enter the game after watching for a while.


    "And now, I''m in the world of the game itself." Valyr chuckled at the thought.


    After a bit more pondering, he decided that he should finish the quest Damian gave him for now, thinking that staying at Clossbay City in the meantime wouldn''t be a bad idea. Nevertheless, now privy to the fact that the beta version would begin tomorrow, he could not help but find it disappointing that he would spend the first few days of the beta version traveling.


    "Then again, all of the yers during the beta version would be spawned in the cities rather than the starter viges," Valyr said, recalling what had happened during the same time in his past life. "I guess thepany did it so that the yers who joined the beta would only have an advantageter on and not at the beginning."


    "I wonder if some yers would spawn in Clossbay City once I''m there?" Allowing his mind to daydream of multiple possibilities, Valyr eventually closed his eyes as he fell into deep sleep sometimeter, dreaming of what was toe.


    "And thus, the current chapter ends¡­"


    "And the next chapter begins."

 Chapter 168 The Beta Begins

    Earth, Year 22XX.


    Within a giant building, crowds upon crowds of people and journalists had their eyes glued towards therge raised tform at the very front, their expressions all eager for something to happen. Thankfully for them, it did not take long for their wishes to be granted as six people went up the tform, with five of them wearing slightly formal attires, while thest one wore a suit that exuded the feeling of business.


    Unsurprisingly, a cacophony of cheers, screams, and questions soon resounded throughout the entire building once the six people had appeared, with the journalists at the very front of the crowd capturing pictures of the six at the tform, asking a set of questions that none of the six answered, or telling some of the crowd that tried to squeeze in between them to move back.


    "Silence." After looking at the crowd beneath the tform for a while, the man in the business suit eventually opened his mouth, radiating a sense of pressure that made almost everyone in the crowde to an abrupt silence as their attention was fixated on the man that had spoken. Seeing that he had caught his attention, the man lightly smiled before nodding.


    Making his way to the podium located to the front right of the tform, he then told everyone to focus their attention towards therge screen behind the five, asking the five that came along with him to sit on the chairs near the podium in the meantime. Responding in their own ways to the request, the five eventually sat down on the chairs, allowing the man to proceed with what he had to say.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, I am d to wee you all to the premiere of the beta version of ourpany''s newest game, Greater Beyond." Hearing the name of the game mentioned by the man, a small portion of the crowd cheered for him, only to be silent once more once they noticed that none of the other people were cheering along with them.


    "Before I begin, let me introduce myself." As the man said these words with a light smile, the contents on therge screen changed, allowing the crowd to be more privy to who the man on the podium was.


    "My name is Azazel Silvers, the current CEO, as well as the representative of the Far Universe Company for this event," the man said. "I am proud to announce that, after five years of development, Greater Beyond is finally nearing a state where it could be enjoyed by the masses."


    "Though we are certain that the current state of the game is already more than enough to appease even the most stringent VRMMO yer, we shall be conducting a beta test of the game in order to ensure that once we do release it to the masses, it would be in its optimal state."


    "For this beta test, thepany has handpicked 100 yers that have great experience and a wide set of skills in VRMMOs, with some of them being household names among fans of the greatest organizations VRMMOs have to offer." As the contents on the screen changed to one that exined the various features Greater Beyond, causing great awe to those in the crowd, Azazel asked the five from earlier to make their way to the front of the tform. Naturally, this did not go unnoticed, with a great portion of the journalists at the front taking pictures of what was happening.


    Of course, with the sense of pressure Azazel had radiated earlier, the journalists stopped what they were doing once they had noticed that the man was looking at them, allowing the five to line up at the front of the tform as the crowd gave a round of apuse for them.


    Smiling, Azazel went ahead and introduced the five that hade along with him. "I''m sure most of the people attending this event today know of the five leviathan organizations of the VRMMO world: Starry Night, Red Sky, Wanderlust, New Frontier, and White Gxy."


    At the mention of these names, a great portion of the crowd could not help but gasp, putting two and two together in their minds as expressions of excitement adorned their faces, their gazes fixated on the five that stood before them.


    Of course, Azazel noticed the excitement on the crowd''s faces, chuckling as he revealed the identities of the five. "Indeed, your thoughts are correct. We have brought Moonlight_Desire from Starry Night, Tianshen01 from Red Sky, Avaris from Wanderlust, Belial from New Frontier, and Astra_Aeterna from White Gxy for this event today. As part of the beta test, we have requested the leaders of these five organizations to be a part of the beta test of Greater Beyond."


    "I shall not go into further detail regarding the feats they''ve achieved in the past since most of you know of them by heart already. Nevertheless, I assure you that their inputs would be used in the optimization of the game before the public release." With these wordsing out of Azazel''s mouth, the crowd went into a round of cheers and apuse, with the five responding to it in their ways.


    After that, the five returned to their seats as Azazel continued to introduce the features of the game that made it stand out amongst other VRMMOs. While that was happening, five pods that seemed to fit one person each were being lugged over to the center of the stage.


    "Aside from the previous features I''ve mentioned so far, thepany would like to focus once more on the incredible lifelikeness of the in-game characters. As we have configured them to have ess to the same system as you, in conjunction with the quantumputing servers we have built, these beings shall feel no different from any yer. You could even have them join you during a dungeon, and even befriend them."


    "However, the greatest feature the game has to offer would be its Extreme Time Dtion technology. With it, we have been able to cram in 7 days'' worth of game time within the span of a day." As Azazel said these words, a great portion of the journalists could not help but write it down, knowing that something like that would make for a great article.


    "With that in mind, even though the beta test shall onlyst for roughly five days, those in the beta test would actually experience a month''s worth of time in the game," said Azazel as he finally allowed those from the crowd to ask him questions. While doing so, he asked the five to head towards the pods as he informed them that the beta would start very soon.


    With the five making their way towards the pods, Azazel attended to the multiple questions the journalists and the crowd wanted to ask him, making sure to not spoil any information that he and thepany hadn''t already mentioned in the past, phrasing all of his answers in a way that left the one asking satisfied.


    Eventually, once the five had gotten inside the pods and were ready to begin at anytime, Azazel announced that the question and answer portion of the event was finally over, telling everyone to focus their attention on the five pods at the center of the tform.


    "We have configured these pods in a way wherein we could obtain a live feed of what the five are doing in the game world, allowing everyone in the crowd to view it through therge screen behind them." Azazel moved closer to the five pods, asking the five inside the pods if they were ready through gestures. "Of course, thepany shall be monitoring the feeds from the pods in real time, omitting part of the audio and video from the feed whenever necessary."


    Obtaining a thumbs-up from the five in response, Azazel nodded at them before nodding to a person outside the tform. "Nevertheless, we''ll try to make sure that most of it shall be unedited, allowing everyone to view the game as it was meant to be."


    "And with all of that said, let the beta¡­"


    "Begin!"

 Chapter 169 Five Leviathans

    As the five could still hear the muffled cheers and apuse of the crowd from inside the pod, all of them eventually closed their eyes at the same time, causing their senses to seemingly be transported into another world altogether as the five of them eventually arrived in their respective spaces of pure white.


    After undergoing through their own respective character creation screens, the five of them were transported once more, all of them appearing at what seemed to be the center of a bustling city a few minutester.


    At the very moment they had appeared in this city center, all five of them could not help but be enamored for a bit, their mouths slightly agape at how realistic their surroundings felt. After that, the five of them tried to move their bodies around, instantly noticing that there was next to no dy between the thought in their minds and the action of their bodies.


    "I don''t know what kind of trickery thepany had done in order to achieve something like this, but this¡­ I can get behind this." A man among the five broke the silence surrounding them, to which some of them nodded in agreement once they understood what the man was implying.


    In terms of appearance, the man did not stand out that much, being 5''7" in height, having short dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Nevertheless, even with the basic clothes that the game gave them after they were finished with their character creation, an air of nobility faintly radiated around him, befitting of the name that slightly hovered above his head, Tianshen01.


    "I definitely have to agree with Tianshen on that one," one of the women among the group of five replied, having ash blonde hair, gray irises, and slightly pointed ears. With the name Astra_Aeterna hovering above her head, she continued.


    "We''ve all established our respective organizations ever since the second generation of VRMMO games came out, so I''m sure we''ve all experienced our fair share of games withtency issues between the mind and body. From what I''ve seen so far, I have a feeling I''ll spend most of my time in this game once the public version is released."


    "That''s good and all, but we''re here to collect precious information regarding the game, no?" said another woman in response, the name Moonlight_Desire hovering above her head.


    "From the features the game has to offer alone, it''s no surprise that it wouldn''t take long for Greater Beyond to take the spot for the most yed VRMMORPG on Earth. With that in mind, we should collect as much as information on the game as possible before the beta test ends, giving our organizations a head start once the game goes on public release."


    "Loosen up a little bit, Moonlight." One of the five chuckled, being a somewhat burly man with the name Belial hovering above his head. "Didn''t you hear what that Azazel guy said earlier? We basically have a month''s worth of in-game time to collect as much information as we want for our organizations. Why not take it easy for today and see what the game has to offer us?"


    "Speaking of what the game has to offer¡­ have you checked if you could take your clothes off yet?" asked a somewhatnky man in response to Belial''s words, the name Avaris hovering above his head. In response to the question, Belial and Tianshen looked at Avaris for a bit before proceeding to take off their pants, causing Moonlight and Astra to shake their heads as they turned around before letting out a sigh.


    "Hahaha! This game is awesome! You can take off your pants!" eximed Belial in wonder not long after, eliciting a few of the passersby that came across the group of five to give them weird looks before proceeding to continue walking.


    "Not just your pants, Belial," Azazel and Tianshen said at the same time, causing the two of them to look at each other beforeughing. Naturally, Belial asked the two of them what they meant by their words after that, to which the two of them replied that it would be better for him to discover it himself.


    "We''re currently in Aste City, which is considered a core city ording to the system map¡­ whatever a core city might mean." Once the three men had satiated their curiosity regarding part of the freedom Greater Beyond had to offer, Moonlight soon spoke up, prompting the others to take a look at their maps.


    "Either way, this city is huge enough that it would probably take us a week to fully explore what it has to offer. I''d suggest we split up and ask some of the NPCs regarding where to gain experience, where to gain equipment, as well as the power system the game has."


    Hearing that, the other four agreed with her suggestion, making sure to add each other on their friend lists before heading their separate ways, exploring what Aste City and Greater Beyond had to offer at their own pace.


    ¡­


    "Haah¡­" Feeling the warm rays of the sun peer through the window, Valyr could not help but toss and turn in his sleep, lightly frowning as he tried to avoid it. Unfortunately for him, the rays of the sun peering through the window expanded to cover his entire bed at some point, leaving him no choice but to get up, sitting upright as he let out a long yawn.


    Then, rubbing his eyes for a bit as he stared off into nothingness for a few minutes, Valyr''s consciousness eventually became fully alert, lightly scratching his head as he got out of bed, thinking about the things he had to do today.


    "Ah, right. The celebration is today." Recalling the discussion he and Alfaera had the previous night, Valyr could not help but feel a tinge of regret at the fact that he had agreed to it. Nevertheless, as he had already agreed to it, he might as well see it to the bitter end, going through his usual morning routine before heading to the cafeteria to get some breakfast.


    Surprisingly, at the very moment he had arrived at the cafeteria, though the number of people in it were sparse, almost everyone there were informed of what Valyr had achieved yesterday, with all of them congregating around him as they asked him if he could narrate what had transpired in the dungeon.


    In response, Valyr asked them as to who told them what he had done, grabbing a light breakfast from the cafeteria workers in the meantime.


    Hearing Valyr''s question, one of the men there replied that the vige chief had told them of what he had done, making Valyr feel even more regret for agreeing to the celebration. Lightly sighing, he sat down on a vacant table, only to be apanied by the people that had congregated around him earlier, eagerly waiting for the man of the hour to start telling them his adventure in the dungeon a great portion of them had failed to clear.


    Ding!


    However, just as he was pondering on how he was going to tell the story to the others even though he wanted not to, a couple notifications appeared in his mind, prompting him to read through them as Valyr fell into an abrupt silence.


    ''So, it has already begun.'' Inwardly muttering to himself, a light smile adorned his face as he read through the notifications, letting out a light chuckle soon after.


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond has begun! Remaining time: 30 days, 23 hours, 32 minutes, 42 seconds.]


    [As Greater Beyond has entered its beta version, the Non-yer Character Advancement System has unlocked the Extended NPC Feature Set.]

 Chapter 170 Celebration

    ''I''m quite curious as to what the Extended NPC Feature Set might contain, but I can check that out once I''m finished with the celebration.'' With that thought in mind, Valyr removed the notification screen from his mind as he started eating his breakfast, narrating parts of his adventure in the Astarto Goblin Den to everyone that gathered around him.


    At some point, Leon, Jonas, and Louie had arrived at the cafeteria, prompting Valyr to bitterly smile as he ordered himself another tray of breakfast, allowing him to continue his narration of his journey up to the point where he hade face to face with the dungeon''s final boss.


    Unfortunately for those listening, just as Valyr was about to get to the final boss, he was finally finished with his breakfast, telling the others that he would save his story for another time. Naturally, these words caused a bit of mor in the cafeteria, causing Valyr to let out a peal ofughter as he told them that he would tell the full story during the celebrationter.


    Only when the people in the cafeteria made him promise multiple times that he would tell the full story during the celebration was Valyr finally allowed to leave the cafeteria, letting out a light sigh before chuckling, thinking to himself that he would definitely miss this kind of atmosphere once he left the vige in the future.


    Nevertheless, as he still had to celebrate the clearing of the dungeon after acquiescing to Alfaera''s words, he ced those thoughts of slight longing at the back of his head for now, deciding to prepare for his eventual departure back to Clossbay City by buying a carriage and a couple steeds in advance.


    With that, he returned to his dormitory room and carried the satchel of money he usually brought when he was outside the vige beforepletely heading out of the barracks. Though, just as he thought that the vige would hold its celebration of his featter in the day, Valyr was swiftly greeted by the sight of the entire vige in a festive mood, with bright colors adorning the main street of the vige.


    ''Guess I won''t be able to buy those things anytime soon.'' Bitterly smiling as he watched the scene that had unfolded in front of him, the bitter smile on his face was quickly reced with that of slight fear once one of the people at the streets noticed that Valyr had left the barracks, causing a swarm of people to move closer to Valyr to ask him how he cleared the dungeon.


    Recalling what he had discussedst night with Alfaera, he replied to their questions by telling them that he would narrate his journey through the dungeonter, thinking about the events Alfaera had prepared in store for the celebration.


    Naturally, a great portion of the people that had congregated around him could not help but have glum expressions on their faces, all of them showing various levels of visible disappointment. Though, that did not dispel the joyous atmosphere that could be seen throughout the vige.


    After all, aside from Valyr''s achievement, from this point onward, Astarto Vige could now expand to a town.


    While walking through the main street of the vige, Valyr engaged in a few conversations with a few people he had be acquainted with, asking them how they were able to set up everything within the span of a night. In response to the question, all those he asked gave him the same answer.


    "You''ll have to ask the vige chief about that."


    Wryly smiling in response before nodding and thanking those he asked, he proceeded to walk throughout the vige for a bit more, eventually finding Alfaera helping out a couple of the people in putting up decorations for the celebration.


    Seeing how Alfaera wore avender dress that faintly entuated the air of nobility around her, Valyr could not help but chuckle as he called for her attention, prompting the former to look around for a bit to see who was calling her, only to find Valyr waving at her.


    Excusing herself to the others still putting up decorations, Alfaera eventually appeared in front of Valyr with a light grin on his face. "So, what do you think? Quite a grand celebration for such an achievement, no?"


    "It''s definitely a feast for the eyes, that''s for sure." Valyr nodded in agreement, only to voice the question he had asked others earlier to Alfaera. "Speaking of which, I''ve been asking around earlier as to how the vige had gotten everything set up for the celebration within the span of a night, but they''ve all told me to ask you about that. And so, here I am."


    "How''d you do it?"


    "Let''s just say it came at the cost of a sleepless night," Alfaera said in response, to which Valyr could not help but scratch his head after. To anyone in his ce, it would not take long for one to put two and two together,ing to the conclusion that the vige chief before him had not slept a wink in order to make sure this celebration was a sess.


    With such a thought in mind, Valyr told Alfaera in response that she shouldn''t really sacrifice sleep for something like this. In response, thetter lightly shook her head. "You don''t understand, Valyr. It''s not just me. Everyone that has spent most of their lives in the vige have always wanted to see the vige prosper at some point."


    "And you clearing the dungeon will finally allow the vige to do just that."


    "One sleepless night is a small price to pay, especially when taking in the cost you had to pay to clear the dungeon." As Alfaera said this, Valyr could not help but be solemn for a bit, internalizing the words she had said to him.


    After a while, he nodded and apologized that he did not take her perspective into consideration. In response, Alfaera could only smile. "It''s fine, it''s fine. In any case, since this is a celebration of what you''ve achieved, you should enjoy the most of it."


    "Speaking of which, once the sun is at its peak, everyone will be at the center of the vige, expecting you to be there," she told him. "I sure hope you''re there at that time. After all, that''s what we''ve agreed uponst night."


    Hearing Alfaera mention the discussion they hadst night, Valyr let out a bit ofughter before allowing her to continue with what she doing. "Don''t worry. Since you''ve kept up your part of the deal, I''ll keep mine."


    With that, the two went their separate ways once more, with Valyr slowly making his way to the part of the vige that sold carriages and horses. While making his way to where the items he needed were sold, the thought that popped up in his mind earlier in the barracks came back, causing him to let out a light sigh as a bittersweet smile soon adorned his face.


    "Man¡­"


    "I''m definitely gonna miss this atmosphere."

 Chapter 171 Astartos Light

    As word of his achievement spread throughout the vige within the span of a night, Valyr had somewhat expected the fact that the owners of both the carriage and horse shop would give him a substantial discount, recalling his conversation with Alfaera earlier.


    Nevertheless, he told the two owners that he would pay for the carriage and horses at its original price, eliciting a light frown to appear on their faces, telling him that they insisted on Valyr following the price they had given him.


    Not wanting to take advantage of their kindness, Valyr eventually settled on a price that was lower than the original price, but higher than the price given to him by the owners, which the two fortunately agreed with.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, he then told the two that he woulde pick up the carriage and horses at ater time before proceeding to stroll through the vige streets once more, wanting to see what the people were doing during the celebration. From time to time, some of the people would greet him and thank him for the fact that he had given the vige the path to expansion, prompting him to respond back with a wave and a thanks.


    Then, there were times where people came up to him for the sole fact that they had heard of the feat Valyr had achieved, wanting to know how strong Valyr was in order to be able to clear the dungeon. With most of the people that asked this question being children around 8 to 10 years of age, Valyr went ahead and showed them a bit of the might he had used in the dungeon, thrusting outward with his spear at full strength, which caused a small sonic boom in response.


    All in all, the joyous and festive atmosphere surrounding the vige had not dissipated, with Valyr even obtaining free food from the vigers at some point, as well as looks with hidden meanings from women that were beautiful in their own right.


    Nevertheless, all of that eventually came to an end once the sun had reached its peak, prompting everyone in the vige to head to the center, with Valyr utilizing a bit of his AGI in order to arrive there first.


    Once there, he noticed that a raised wooden tform was built at the vige''s center, only for his eyes to shift towards Alfaera soon after. Seeing that she was talking to a few people regarding the progression of events for the celebration, he slowly swerved through the gradually growing crowd and eventually appeared in front of her, waving as a bitter smile adorned his face.


    Noticing Valyr''s appearance, Alfaera lightly nodded as she took note of the bitter smile on his face, conversing with the people in front of her for a bit more before dismissing them, allowing her to finally focus her attention on Valyr. "So, are you ready?"


    "It''s only sunk in that I have to narrate my adventure in the dungeon to hundreds of people at once." Valyr wryly chuckled in response. "I''m basically the first performance for this celebration, right? Is there a time limit? Do I have to make the story more engaging? Add a few flourishes here and there?"


    "Just tell the story like how you told me and the other two the storyst night," said Alfaera, telling him to calm down and rx. "Also, there''s no time limit. Take as much time as you need."


    "After that, I''ll give you the titles thate along with the quest, plus a little surprise after that," she added, piquing Valyr''s interest. Unfortunately, when thetter asked her what she meant by a little surprise, Alfaera responded by telling him that he would eventually find outter.


    Seeing as it was useless for him to pester Alfaera regarding what the little surprise meant, he eventually gave up, asking Alfaera instead as to when he would start narrating the story.


    "You could start now, if you want," said Alfaera to him. "Or if you want to startter, we could do that as well."


    "I''ll start now." Looking at the crowd surrounding the raised wooden tform, patiently and eagerly waiting for the sequence of events for the celebration to start, Valyr took in a deep breath before heading up the raised tform, eliciting a round of cheers and apuse from the vigers as he waited them for finish their apuse.


    "For those who don''t know me, my name is Valyr. I''m not originally from this vige, but because of how kind and helpful has been to get to where I am today, you could say that I feel like I''m a part of it." Taking in yet another deep breath, Valyr went ahead and introduced himself to those that did not know him before proceeding to tell the story of how he had cleared the dungeon, even giving some backstory along the way, thanking Tristan, Damian, and Alfaera, as well as Vera for their help.


    Within minutes, everyone in the crowd was engrossed in listening to Valyr narrate his story, who decided to tell the same story he had told Tristan and the others when they were on their way back to the vige. Though, thinking about how this was the opener to the events making up the entire celebration, he decided to add a bit more flourish to his storytelling, invoking quite a few emotions from the vigers as he narrated how he fought against the two mini-bosses.


    However, most of the reactions from the vigers came when he talked about how he fought against the final boss, causing them to gasp out in shock, or look at Valyr with widened eyes as he recounted the experience of fighting against a boss with three forms, as well as the resurrection of the mini-bosses.


    By the time Valyr was done narrating, the crowd had gone silent, looking at Valyr for a bit in silence as they processed everything the man had said thus far. After that, a sonorous apuse spread throughout the vige, with the crowd saying words of gratitude to him. At that very moment, Valyr felt his heart warm up from the sincerity of their words, thanking everyone back as he slowly made his way down the raised tform, only to be stopped by Alfaera before he could even do so.


    Stifling the tears that welled up around her eyes while she listened to Valyr''s narration, Alfaera urged Valyr to return to the center of the tform as she took in a deep breath. "As the chief of Astarto Vige, I am incredibly thankful for the fact that someone like Valyr, even though he had not been born in the vige, was selfless enough to aid the vige in solving its biggest roadblock to expansion."


    "I''m sure all of you know of him as Astarto''s Tidebreaker, being one of the brave few to remain at the frontlines during the defense against the recent monster tide," she continued, prompting others to nod in agreement to her words. Sometimeter, a screen appeared before her, interacting with it as words continued to escape her mouth.


    "However, with Valyr''s recent feat of clearing the vige''s only roadblock to expansion, although the title does embody his capabilities during the monster tide, it does not embody what he has be for the vige, especially after clearing the dungeon. I''m sure all of you feel the same way, no?"


    Seeing the crowd nod in agreement to her words, Alfaera nodded back. "Valyr is not only Astarto''s Tidebreaker¡­"


    "He is Astarto''s beacon of hope."


    Ding!


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Astarto''s Beacon of Hope''.]


    "However, even that is an understatement to what effects his actions have given the vige. He has opened up the vige in preparation for an era of prosperity, for its expansion into a town." Taking a swift look at Valyr, a light smirk adorned Alfaera''s face as she continued.


    "Not only is he Astarto''s beacon of hope¡­"


    "He is also¡­ Astarto''s light."


    Ding!


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, the title ''Astarto''s Tidebreaker'' has been upgraded to ''Astarto''s Light''.]

 Chapter 172 Knighthood

    Hearing notification sounds resound in his mind, the smile on Valyr''s face gradually grew wider and wider as Alfaera announced the titles he would rightfully obtain from clearing the quest. ''I should take a look at the effects of the titlester.''


    "As the current chief of Astarto Vige, as well as a member of the vige''s founding family, I, Alfaera Astarto, am honored to announce that I shall bestow Valyr the titles [Astarto''s Beacon of Hope] and [Astarto''s Light]." Once Alfaera had said these words, the entire crowd surrounding the raised tform went into an uproar, all of them chanting the new titles Alfaera had given Valyr.


    Listening to the crowd chant his titles, Valyr could not help but feel somewhat embarrassed, only for it to disappear as he recalled that there was one more title Alfaera had yet to bestow to him.


    Leaning closer to her, he asked her in a whisper. "You forgot to give me one more title."


    "Let the crowd''s excitement die down first." Alfaera responded back, whispering as well. "Conferring nobility is a rare and special asion in this vige. In fact, I''ve only conferred nobility to two people so far."


    "Do I know who those two people are?"


    "If you''re thinking what I''m thinking, then yes. It''s those two."


    "Tristan and Damian, huh," Valyr muttered in response, sparing a nce at the crowd to see if they were near to bing silent. Seeing as they were not, he continued to converse with Alfaera a bit more, recalling what he knew about nobility.


    "What rank of nobility did you confer to them?"


    "The highest rank of nobility I can confer."


    "And that would be¡­?"


    "Knights."


    "And your rank of nobility?"


    "I''m considered a Baroness," said Alfaera in response before gesturing Valyr that they would continue their conversationter. Just as he was about to ask why, he noticed that the crowd''s mor had finally died down, allowing Alfaera to finally continue with her bestowal of titles.


    "Aside from the titles I have bestowed Valyr, as a Baroness of the Aste Region, I shall now use the right bestowed upon me to confer Valyr a rank of nobility." When these words came out of Alfaera''s mouth, a great portion of the crowd could not help but gasp in shock, not expecting their chief to confer nobility all of a sudden.


    However, recalling the feat that the man beside her had just achieved, this shock was soon turned into understanding, which then turned into excitement as the crowd kept their eyes peeled for the conferring of the rank.


    "Valyr Zeihardt, please kneel." In response to Alfaera''s words, Valyr went down on one knee as he looked down at the floor with his eyes slightly closed.


    "For his services towards the protection of the vige during the recent monster tide, as well as his services towards the prosperity of the vige through the clearing of the Astarto Goblin Den, I, Baroness Alfaera Astarto, now confer the rank of Knight to Valyr Zeihardt."


    As these words came out of Alfaera''s mouth, a person soon came up on the tform and handed her a sword. After that, she tapped the sword on Valyr''s shoulders before allowing the man to stand up once more.


    Ding!


    [You have been conferred the nobility rank of Knight.]


    [You have gained the title ''Knight''.]


    ''I guess my journey through the ranks of nobility start here.'' Receiving a notification from the system regarding his third and final title from the quest, Valyr could not help but inwardly recall how the nobility system worked in Greater Beyond.


    Unlike the title system, which would give one a title as long as a feat is achieved, the nobility system relied on whatever those with a higher nobility rank felt like doing. There were those who swiftly went through the ranks of nobility due to the fact that the higher ranked noble fancied them, while there were also those who were doomed to stay at the lowest rank due to the fact that the higher ranked noble abhorred their existence.


    Though Valyr did not really mind if he rose through the ranks of nobility or not, he did agree to the fact that having a nobility rank was far better than having none, especially in a like Veldanyr where nobility meant greater ess to everything.


    From lowest to highest, the ranks of nobility went: Knight, Lord, Bar, Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and Duke. However, there existed ranks of nobility than Duke, which were Prince, King, Grand Prince, and Emperor. However, that relied on having a blood connection with the one with said title.


    Aside from that, there were also tiers to nobility, which were separated into three: Common, Royal, and Imperial nobility. Royal and Imperial nobility followed the same progression as Common nobility, with the only exception being the precedence of the word Royal and Imperial before the rank.


    Nevertheless, a person with Royal nobility was of greater importance than one with Common nobility, while one with Imperial nobility was more important than one with Royal nobility. In terms of importance, a Royal Knight was as important as amon Lord, while an Imperial Knight was as important as a Royal Lord.


    Though this categorization only applied up to the rank of Duke, Valyr thought about a few quests he hade across back then that would allow him to easily upgrade his nobility to Royal nobility. ''That''ll have to wait for now, though.''


    After thanking Alfaera for conferring a rank of nobility to him, Valyr then headed down the raised tform, bing the center of attention for a bit. Fortunately for him, Alfaera called for everyone''s attention, prompting everyone to shift their gazes towards her once more as she opened her mouth.


    "Though the bestowal of titles is now over, that does not mean I''m finished." Lightly smiling, Alfaera brought out the Subss Change Scroll she had gotten from Valyr.


    ''Has she and Damian finallye to a conclusion on who should get it?'' Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr watched and listened as Alfaera continued to speak.


    "What I have in my hands right now is a scroll that would give one a special subss. This scroll was found by Valyr at the end of the dungeon, informing me that it was an inheritance made by the maker of the dungeon for the sake of the vige''s prosperity."


    "After a long period of debate on who should obtain the subss, we have finally found the person most suitable for the subss."


    As Alfaera took in a deep breath, everyone in the crowd, including Valyr, watched with bated breaths as they wondered who Alfaera had chosen.


    Letting out a light sigh of relief, the smile on Alfaera''s face grew wider as she announced the person she chose for the scroll.


    "Myst Verielle, head to the tform and receive your new subss."

 Chapter 173 Golden Age

    Unsurprisingly, most of the crowd started to murmur among themselves regarding the person Alfaera had chosen to obtain the scroll, finding the name somewhat unfamiliar. However, as time passed, people started gradually remembering who Myst was, eventually recalling her feats during the past few monster tides. At that point, everyone was cheering for her as they all agreed with Alfaera''s judgment.


    On the other hand, when Myst''s name escaped Alfaera''s mouth, Valyr''s eyebrow raised in curiosity, not expecting the leader of the team he was in during the recent monster tide to be chosen. However, just like the crowd, after a bit of ponderation, he eventually agreed with the decision, lightly chuckling as he thought that Alfaera and Damian decided to remove the headaches they were having by giving the subss to a third party rather than among themselves.


    "Then again, she is a sword user, so she does fit the main requirement of the subss." Noticing the smile on Alfaera''s face turn into a light smirk, Valyr could not help but inwardly snicker, expectant of what was going to happen next.


    In the meantime, after hearing her name be called, Myst went up the tform in slight confusion, oblivious to what was currently happening. Nevertheless, that obliviousness instantly disappeared when Alfaera gave the Subss Change Scroll to her, causing Myst''s eyes to widen in surprise as she used [Analysis] on it.


    "Is this real¡­?" Myst could not help but ask the woman in front of her in shock. After all, the rarest subss she had seen before was Tristan''s subss, being Rare grade. Though she was ecstatic to finally get a subss of her own, she knew for a fact that a subss like this was way out of her league


    In response, Alfaera ced her hand on Myst''s shoulder before lightly smiling. "It is. Valyr, me, and a few other people have been debating on who to give the scroll to, with the most important requirement being a sword user that would always help the vige at a time of need."


    "Are you not that kind of person, Myst?"


    "But to get a subss like this¡­" Myst looked down at the floor in silence before looking back at Alfaera. Seeing the confident smile Alfaera was donning, she eventually let out a sigh before nodding.


    "I''ll try my best to be worthy of this subss." Hearing these wordse out of Myst''s mouth, the smile on Alfaera turned wider as she nodded in agreement.


    "You don''t have to try, Myst. You already are." Alfaera chuckled. "After all, you''re the fastest sword user in the vige. If you''re not worthy of the subss, then who is?"


    Chuckling in response to her words, Myst lightly nodded as she thanked Alfaera for the opportunity. Then, without hesitation, she used the scroll on herself, causing her body to radiate a multitude of colors not long after.


    In the midst of this transformation, Alfaera shifted her gaze back to the now curious crowd as she exined what was happening. "This woman standing beside me is the one that shall protect Astarto Vige''s new age of prosperity."


    Confused as to what she meant by that, the crowd stared at her, waiting for her to further exin.


    "Though I''ve mentioned that the scroll contains a subss, I haven''t mentioned the subss specifically." As these words came out of her mouth, Alfaera grinned.


    "The subss that Myst is obtaining from the scroll is called the Perennial demaster subss, a subss made by the maker of the dungeon to be given to the vige for the sake of its prosperity."


    "Aside from the fact that it''s a subss that would only shine under the hands of a de user, which in this case, our friend Myst here uses a sword, it''s a subss that starts at the Rare grade."


    Hearing that the subss started at Rare, a part of the crowd could not help but gasp in shock, wondering how strong a person with a Rare grade subss would be. However, this shock only intensified once Alfaera continued with her exnation, with some even getting the feeling of wanting to faint.


    "However, its limits doesn''t stop there. Aside from starting at the Rare grade, it has the capability to grow, eventually reaching the ever-elusive Legendary grade!" At this point, the crowd was deafeningly silent, all of them processing the words spoken by Alfaera.


    However, once they did, the crowd went into an uproar, all of them feeling a sense of security now that there was a person in the vige that had the strength to protect them from the monster tides, as well as those beyond it.


    Capitalizing on the excitement the crowd felt towards the future of the vige, Alfaera opened her mouth once more. "With the future guardian of Astarto Vige and its beacon of hope working together, let us wee a new chapter to the vige''s history."


    "It''s time for the vige to enter its golden age!"


    ¡­


    Algerie Kingdom, Algerie City.


    Within the capital of the kingdom was a building whose size did not pale inparison to the royal pce, spanning five stories tall as its exquisite architecture made it a spot that all neers to the kingdom woulde to admire. However, past its astonishing exterior contained some of the world''s most elite craftsmen, all of them legends in their own respective fields.


    This building was none other than the headquarters of the Imperial Production Guild, specifically the Algerie Kingdom''s branch of the guild.


    Inside one of its corridors, a man that looked to be in his thirties with a slightly sparse head of silver hair could not help but adorn an expression of slight nervousness as he walked through the corridor, his gaze fixated towards the double door at the end that exuded a feeling of grandeur.


    "Shouldn''t the head of the kingdom''s branch be the one to introduce something like this to the Imperial Production Guild?" the man murmured, channeling his rage towards the person that was supposed to be in his ce. "I''m just the head of a town branch, for crying out loud!"


    "Then again, my branch was the one who discovered him in the first ce¡­" After spewing out a few profanities in a hushed tone, the man eventually regainedposure, letting out a sigh as he stood in front of the double door.


    Lightly gulping, he took in a deep breath before opening the door, instantly being greeted by the sight of elderly men in raised seats, circling the center of the room in a wide arc. However, rather than feel relief at the fact that elderly men were looking at him, the man instead felt even greater pressure, sensing the tyrannical aura emanating from each of their bodies.


    Taking in a deep breath once more to calm his nerves, he then moved forward to the center of the room, allowing the elderly men in their seats to scrutinize his appearance as he gave them a respectful bow.


    Clearing his throat, the man then opened his mouth. "Greetings, elders of the Imperial Production Guild. My name is Nathaniel Forgers, the head of Danyhris Town''s cksmith Guild branch."


    "I havee under the behest of Julian Pyrrhia, the head of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild branch, to inform the elders of a discovery the cksmith Guild has made."


    "Speak, Nathaniel Forgers. What is it that you wish to inform the Council?" One of the elders said in response, prompting Nathaniel to take in another deep breath before letting out a sigh.


    Then, with a solemn gaze, he looked at the elders one by one before opening his mouth.


    "The cksmith Guild has found a worthy candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."

 Chapter 174 Nomination

    In response to the statement Nathaniel had uttered to them, the elders making up the Imperial Production Guild''s Ancestral Council could not help but converse with one another in hushed tones. In the meantime, the one who had responded to the former''s earlier words, the elder at the center, remained silent.


    "Silence," said the elder at the center not long after, causing everyone to go silent in an instant. He was known by many as Elder Faulerei, the head of the Imperial Production Guild''s Ancestral Council.


    "rify yourself, Nathaniel Forgers." Faulerei directly look at Nathaniel, his expression as stoic as it was when Nathaniel had first entered the room. "What is it that you mean by the cksmith Guild finding a worthy candidate?"


    "Er¡­" In response, Nathaniel scratched his head for a bit, thinking to himself that his words from earlier were already clear enough. Though, after pondering over it for a while, he eventually understood what Faulerei meant, lightly nodding before opening his mouth.


    "To answer Elder Faulerei''s question, what I meant was that the cksmith Guild has found a candidate for the cksmith Division of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "Surely you jest, child," responded the elder at the seat leftmost to where Nathaniel stood. He was known as Elder Alvin, the second most senior cksmith of the Imperial Production Guild''s cksmith Division, as well as its representative for the Ancestral Council. "It isn''t that simple to find a suitable candidate for the inheritance, especially in such a ce like your town."


    "Am I correct in presuming that the candidate was found in your town?" Alvin asked Nathaniel, to which thetter could only nod in response.


    "You know how stringent the guild''s requirements are finding a candidate for the inheritance." Alvin nodded back as he continued to speak. "Aside from theirbat proficiency, the candidate must have a Legendary cksmith ss at the very least."


    "Does the candidate you speak of have such a ss?" he asked, to which Nathaniel slowly shook his head.


    "If that''s the case, then¡ª"


    "The candidate I speak of does not have a Legendary cksmith ss." Just as Alvin was about to tell Nathaniel to leave, he interrupted the former with his own words, causing a light frown to appear on Alvin''s face. However, once Alvin listened to the man''s next statement, his expression was that of slight incredulity.


    "Instead, the candidate has a Mythic cksmith ss."


    At that moment, the elders making up the council could not help but converse with one another once more, with Elder Faulerei''s eyes slightly widening from the words Nathaniel had uttered. However, even though his interest was piqued at the candidate Nathaniel had mentioned, he requested everyone in the council to be silent, allowing him to ask Nathaniel an important question.


    "Do you have any proof of your ims, Nathaniel Forgers?" At the very instant this question came out of Faulerei''s mouth, a sense of relief washed over Nathaniel as he nodded with a light smile. Then, rummaging something out of his pocket, he ced the item he had taken out onto the floor, being a mundane-looking coin.


    Though, at the very instant he had tossed a few crystals filled to the brim with mana towards the coin, the coin swiftly siphoned all of the energy contained in those crystals, allowing the coin to expand as an apparition of a figure appeared in front of the council.


    Fortunately, this figure was a man everyone in the council knew quite well, prompting everyone''s expressions to turn solemn as a light smile appeared on the figure''s face.


    "Julian," Faulerei said at the very moment the figure had appeared.


    "Elder Faulerei." Julian responded back before lightly bowing. "It seems you''ve asked my representative here if he has proof of his ims. After all, that would be the only reason he would bring me out here."


    "That would indeed be the case, Julian." Faulerei nodded in response. "However, why have a representativee at your stead instead of telling us yourself?"


    In response to the question, a bitter smile appeared on Julian''s face as he replied. "Unfortunately, the orcs to the east of the city have breach our defensive line, thus the cksmith Guild needs every cksmith it could get to craft the equipment needed to push them back. Even sending my representative here was somewhat difficult due to the spike in demand."


    "In any case, that does not mean I am free to answer any questions the council has through this apparition of mine," he continued. "However, do keep in mind that there might be a dy in my response as I am in the middle of forging."


    "That is not a problem, Julian." After getting a brief summary of the reason behind Julian being unable toe in person, Faulerei nodded as he looked at the other elders before proceeding with his questioning.


    "Now, does the cksmith Guild have proof of the ims your representative has mentioned earlier?"


    "It does." Julian nodded in response. "We have certified that the candidate does have a Mythic cksmith ss. Aside from the fact that a well-renowned ss appraiser from the kingdom has identified the person''s ss during their registration, we have put the information the ss appraiser has given us through multiple veracity skills, all of them telling us that what the appraiser has sent us is the truth."


    "Naturally, we''ve already appointed a messenger from our guild to send a letter with our official seal stamped on it containing this information to the Imperial Production Guild," he continued. "Also, I think the appraiser has sent a letter directly to the Imperial Production Guild back then about this discovery? His first name was Baltazar, if I remember correctly."


    "Ah, yes. Baltazar Neimann. We did receive a letter from him a week ago." Faulerei nodded soon after. "However, he only mentioned that he had found a person suitable to be a candidate for the inheritance. He did not mention anything about the ss at all. Do you perhaps know what Mythic cksmith ss that candidate has, Julian?"


    "I do." Julian nodded, only for a slightly mischievous smile to appear on his face soon after. "Though, if I inform you and the other elders of the council about it, you have no choice but to take him in as an official candidate."


    Hearing that, some of the elders could not help but frown in response. After all, they weren''t sure if Julian was bluffing or not. However, after having known the man for a long time, Faulerei knew that when Julian said something like this, that meant that thetter was confident. "Alright, Julian. You have my word."


    Unsurprisingly, the other elders in the council could not help but reprimand Faulerei for being rash.


    "Silence!" However, as the head of the Ancestral Council, the weight of Faulerei''s decision was far greater than theirs when it came to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Without hesitation, he radiated a hint of the aura he had been suppressing all this time, reminding the other elders that Faulerei had the strength to take them all on at once.


    With silence throughout the room achieved once more, Faulerei looked at Julian with a solemn expression as he opened his mouth. "Tell me, Julian. What is the candidate''s Mythic cksmith ss?"


    In response, Julian chuckled. "Let''s just say that this will probably be the only time the inheritance would be explored in its full glory."


    At those words, some of the elders'' eyes could not help but widen in surprise, knowing what Julian meant by his words.


    "Could it be¡­?" Naturally, Faulerei, the head of the council, knew what Julian meant by his words as well.


    "It is as you think, Elder Faulerei." Julian grinned.


    "The True Prodigious cksmith has appeared."

 Chapter 175 Four Pillars

    At the very instant Julian had confirmed their suspicions, all of the elders in the room could not help but make noise, their expressions that of great excitement. Unsurprisingly, Faulerei could not help but be excited as well.


    "To think the Four Pirs'' Inheritance could finally be explored in its entirety," Faulerei murmured to himself before gazing at the ceiling. Then, letting out a long sigh of relief, he looked back at Julian with a relieved expression.


    "With your discovery, Julian, you''ve allowed this old man to have no more regrets before passing onto the next life."


    "You still have hundreds of years left in you, Elder Faulerei." Julian chuckled in response, the sound of metal colliding against metal being heard in the background. "Are you telling us you don''t want to see what kind of rewards they could pull out from the full inheritance?"


    At those words, Faulerei eventually let out a rare chuckle, causing some of the other elders to look at him in slight surprise. "This is the first time I''ve seen Faulereiugh¡­"


    "Hey, Alvin. Aren''t you d the cksmith Guild finally discovered a true prodigy among the cksmiths?" asked one of the elders to the left of Faulerei''s seat to Alvin, a hint of arroganceced in his tone. This elder was known as Elder Raylot, the head of the Imperial Production Guild''s Tailor Division, as well as its representative for the Ancestral Council.


    In response, rather than feeling d that there was now a cksmith candidate of the same caliber as the others for the three other divisions, Alvin could not help but feel a hint of anger towards Raylot''s words. Taking in a deep breath, this anger quickly dispersed as he looked at him with a solemn tone, deciding to respond against thetter''s expectations.


    "Sure am." Alvin nodded before lightly smiling. "Though it''s not fully certain that the candidate Julian found does have the True Prodigious cksmith ss, what we''ve got so far is already a step in the right direction."


    "Plus, isn''t a True Prodigious cksmith good news for everyone, though? After all, with someone like that, the Four Pirs'' Inheritance could finally be explored in its entirety. Am I right, Raylot? Alcheon? Sergei?"


    Hearing Alvin''s response to his question, the smug grin on Raylot''s face quickly disappeared as a faint hint of anger radiated from him. Nevertheless, knowing what Alvin was doing, he took in a deep breath before solemnly nodding. "That is true. A True Prodigious cksmith, a True Prodigious Tailor, a True Prodigious Alchemist, and a True Prodigious Sage. With this line-up, I''m certain the remaining secrets of the inheritance will finallye to light."


    "I''m just d for the chosen candidates, to be honest," said an elder to the right side of Faulerei''s seat, sporting thick ck-rimmed sses. This elder was known as Elder Alcheon, the representative of the Imperial Production Guild''s Alchemist Division for the Ancestral Council.


    "After all, they would be getting all of the rewards from the inheritance. Our council only aims to obtain any extra information they gain from the inheritance," he added.


    "I do wonder where the cksmith candidate currently is, though," said an elder whose seat was to the left of Faulerei''s, donning a head that rivaled even the brightest of suns. This elder was known as Elder Sergei, the head of the Imperial Production Guild''s smallest division, the Sage Division.


    "Even though the inheritance is set to only open at the end of following month, it would be better to have the candidate close by, rather than having to scour the entire continent for their whereabouts." Hearing these wordse out of Sergei''s mouth, a thought could not help but pop up in Faulerei''s mind, prompting him to have everyone be silent.


    Noticing that the surroundings had be silent once more, Julian''s apparition could not help but look at Faulerei, waiting for the question that woulde out of thetter''s mouth.


    "Do you have information on what rank that candidate has achieved that ss, Julian?" At that moment, Faulerei''s excitement was nowhere to be seen. Instead, if one looked closely, there was a hint of worry on his face. "After all, the candidate can only be Rank 3 at most before the inheritance rejects them."


    Unsurprisingly, the excitement covering the entire room from earlier was swiftly reced with that of slight anxiety, with everyone in their seats murmuring with one another about the possible worst case scenario. Nevertheless, everyone gradually quietened down as they stared at the one who had the answer to Faulerei''s question.


    "I thought you''d never ask, Elder Faulerei." Julian chuckled, the sounds of forging still reverberating under his voice. "Be at ease. The candidate has obtained the True Prodigious cksmith ss¡­ at Rank 1."


    "Heavens!" At the mention of the candidate''s feat, a great portion of the elders could not help but let out a gasp in incredulity. Even Alvin and the other elders were not spared from this shock, their eyes widening from the talent of the candidate the cksmith Guild had found.


    However, not long after, this fact only made them think of another person in mind, a person that the Imperial Production Guild had already found quite a long time ago for the inheritance, who also had a simr level of talent.


    Naturally, Faulerei could not help but think of the person as well, taking in a few breaths before posing the question everyone had in mind to Julian. "Although achieving a Mythic cksmith ss is truly a feat worthy of praise, the inheritance unfortunately does not test the candidate''s talent alone. Are you privy to the candidate''sbat proficiency, Julian?"


    "I have indeed had someone test the candidate''sbat proficiency, yes." Julian nodded, causing the elders in the room to give him nods of agreement for his preparation. "Since the one who tested the candidate''sbat proficiency was a Rank 4 ss holder, the elders here could rest assured that the information I shall give is as urate as possible."


    "Of course, I also added this information in the uing letter," he added.


    Taking in a deep breath as the sounds of forging quietened down in his background, Julian''s apparition looked at all of the elders in the room before opening his mouth.


    "From what the one who tested theirbat proficiency told me, the candidate''sbat proficiency hovers at around the Veteran and Elite level, though the one who tested it was certain that it was more likely to be thetter instead of the former."


    "Aside from that, he also mentioned that the candidate''s talent inbat was quiteparable to Hal."


    Hearing Julian mention the name of the person most, if not all of the elders had in mind, a light mor erupted throughout the room once more as the anxiety they felt earlier was swiftly reced with that of excitement, with most of the elders voicing out to Faulerei that the candidate should be brought to the kingdom as quickly as possible.


    Unsurprisingly, Faulerei was of the same mind, finding the candidate Julian and his representative Nathaniel had introduced to them more than a wee surprise. Thinking that it wouldn''t take long for the candidate to arrive at the kingdom, he then asked Julian for the candidate''s name.


    However, rather than outright respond to the question, a bitter smile appeared on Julian''s face as a hint of hesitation could be seen on it. Noticing this, all of the elders went silent, wondering what was hindering Julian from mentioning the candidate''s name.


    Of course, Julian knew what was going on inside their heads, so he asked them, "Can all of the elders make sure that word of this does not spread out of this room, as well as any of the reputable organizations of the kingdom?"


    "You''re also included in this, Nathaniel." He looked at Nathaniel after that, who merely nodded in response as he gestured that he would keep his mouth shut.


    Looking at each other for a bit in response to the request, all of the elders eventually nodded in agreement, finding it a small matter if it meant the inheritance could be finally explored in its entirety. With that, Faulerei lightly nodded before opening his mouth. "You have the elders'' word, Julian."


    Lightly nodding, Julian took in a deep breath before letting out a light sigh. Then, with aposed face, he responded. "The candidate''s name is¡­"


    "Valyr Zeihardt."

 Chapter 176 Connections

    Once Valyr''s name escaped out of Julian''s mouth, all of the elders'' expressions went solemn as a deafening silence swiftly covered the hall. Not long after, some of the elders'' expressions went slightly grim as they shifted their gazes towards Faulerei.


    "Faulerei¡­" Sergei could not help but say, to which Faulerei lightly nodded before taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh soon after.


    "I see now why you were hesitant to mention the candidate''s name earlier, Julian." Hearing these words from Faulerei, Julian bitterly smiled in response as he nodded.


    "But of course," Julian said soon after. "I''m sure all of us here know that Valyr is being chased by his n to the ends of the world. It''s the only reason why I''ve decided to keep my mouth shut for the most part."


    "You''ve definitely brought us a headache, Julian," Faulerei could not help but say in response. "Nevertheless, as we''ve promised to keep our word, we shall see it to the bitter end."


    "However, it''s now a race against time," he said soon after, to which the other elders nodded in agreement, knowing what was going on in Faulerei''s mind. "I presume you haven''t gotten someone to keep track of his whereabouts?"


    "After testing hisbat proficiency, I have not." Julian lightly shook his head, eliciting a light smile to appear on Faulerei''s face as he nodded.


    "Good. Thest thing we want to happen is for the rebel faction of his n to obtain his current whereabouts through that person," Faulerei replied. "Though that would make things somewhat difficult in the short term, it''s not that much of a problem."


    "Although the rebel faction is currently upied with the ever-confusing politics making up their n, try and find a way to send real-sounding information of Valyr''s current whereabouts to them when you have the time, Julian," he said to Julian soon after. "Let me repeat myself. Real-sounding information. Not real information."


    "I''ll see what I can do." Julian solemnly nodded in response.


    "As for the other elders in this room with me¡­" At these words, Faulerei looked at the other elders, representatives of their own division within the Imperial Production Guild.


    Taking in a deep breath, a chuckle soon escaped Faulerei''s mouth as he told them. "I''m certain all of you know what to do at this point."


    "If the guild wants to explore the Four Pirs'' Inheritance in its entirety¡­"


    "It''s time for all the guild''s divisions toe together."


    "Send out the reconnaissance teams and have them bring Valyr to Algerie as soon as possible."


    ¡­


    After Alfaera had conferred Valyr with a rank of nobility and gave him a couple titles, as well as announced Myst being the inheritor of the Perennial demaster subss, the festive atmosphere surrounding Astarto had be more intensified than ever, with the events scheduled for this celebration more than enough to make everyone in the vige mingle with one another and party.


    Nevertheless, there were still those that opted to stay out of the limelight and enjoy the celebration at their own pace, just like Valyr and the others currently having a group meal at the vige inn.


    "You''re leaving tomorrow?" Once she heard the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Alfaera could not help but ask in response with a hint of incredulity. Of course, she wasn''t the only one to feel that way, Damian, Tristan, as well as Myst, who tagged along with them, felt the same way.


    "Yeah." Hearing Alfaera''s question, Valyr could only bitterly smile as he nodded. "Though I still haven''tpleted Damian''s quest yet, I''ve pretty much done everything I can in the vige. With that, it''s time for me to head onto greener pastures."


    "However, that does not mean I don''t appreciate what you''ve done for me. I love staying in the vige, I really do," he soon added. "But I can''t help but think that if I continue to stay here, I can''t reach the full potential that my ss can achieve."


    Hearing that, Tristan and Damian looked at each other for a bit before nodding. Noticing this, Alfaera could not help but look at the two, only for Damian to send a small strand of mana to her, prompting an expression of understanding to appear on her face as she nodded not long after.


    Though Myst was not privy to the kind of ss Valyr had after ascending to Rank 1, it did not take long for her to infer from his words that the ss Valyr currently had would only be hampered if he continued to stay in the vige.


    With a somewhat reluctant expression, Alfaera let out a sigh as she looked at Valyr in the eye. "Though it would be hypocritical of me to say that someone of your caliber is being hindered by the vige, you''re not originally from the vige, so you''re free toe and leave as you please. Nevertheless, we''ve appreciated the help you''ve given the vige so far, especially the fact that you helped remove the vige''srgest problem."


    "I''ll make sure toe back to the vige whenever a monster tide arrives," Valyr said in response to her words, only to let out a chuckle soon after. "Then again, I''m pretty sure the vige will be able to handle the monster tides without my help soon enough."


    As Alfaera slightly tilted her head in confusion, wondering what Valyr meant by that, thetter looked at Tristan and Damian before shing them a smile. "How''s progress?"


    "Both of us have alreadypleted the 10 vials for each type, so we both have the skill thates along with it." Tristan nodded at Valyr''s words before shing a smile of his own. "You''re right, Valyr. With this, Astarto''s going to have an easier time clearing the monster tides in the future."


    "What are you two talking about?" At this point, Alfaera could not help but interrupt.


    "Consider it my final gift to the vige before I leave." In response, Valyr looked at Damian, prompting thetter to nod before sending out another small strand of mana to the woman beside him.


    Closing her eyes for a while, Alfaera processed all of the information Damian gave her, instantly changing her impression of Valyr as she could not help but let out a light gasp. "This is only something cities andrger settlements have ess to¡­ how¡­?"


    "Connections." At the moment this word came out of Valyr''s mouth, Alfaera could not help but ponder for it, recalling the surname the man before her had. After that, it did not take long for her to put two and two together, eventually nodding in response, albeit still somewhat confused.


    "In any case, considering that the two of you have already finished the first level, give Myst the vials. After all, she''s the future guardian of the vige." In response to these words from Valyr, Damian and Tristan nodded in agreement, telling him that they''d give Myst the vialster, only causing thetter a great amount of confusion as she wondered what was going on.


    At that, all four of them could not help but let out a chuckle as Damian told her that he would exin everything to herter. With that, the five of them finally continued digging into the food they ordered, talking about the interesting experiences they''ve gone through in their lives.

 Chapter 177 Memories

    Later that day, Alfaera had signaled the official end of the celebration, prompting everyone to return to their respective homes with smiles and satisfied grins on their faces. Although some of them wouldn''t have minded celebrating for a bit longer, the thoughts in their minds were simr to those who went back home early, that of a positive outlook towards the vige''s future.


    Naturally, Valyr and the others had also returned to their respective homes, with Valyr first making a quick detour to the carriage and horse shop owners to inform them that he would be picking up them up early tomorrow. With them giving him the green light, Valyr thanked the two of them before making his way back to the barracks, looking at the vige where his journey in Greater Beyond began.


    "Well, it won''t be a true goodbye yet. I still have toe back here to receive the rewards from the quest Damian gave me once Iplete it." Muttering these words out to himself, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle, only to let out a sigh soon after.


    Continuing to walk through the vige''s main street, he went ahead and pulled up his friend list, taking a look at the people he had added as friends throughout his journey in Greater Beyond so far. At the top was Tryndall, who he knew was waiting for him toe back to Clossbay City so they could finish their quest together.


    After that was Damian, who decided to add him and Wells once they were about to make their way to Anadhar City. Thetest additions were Alfaera, Tristan, and Myst, who he had added to his friend list while the five of them were in the midst of celebrating among themselves at the vige''s inn.


    As he thought about the things that he had done in the vige, as well as the people he had met, a thought could not help but resurface in Valyr''s mind, thinking that he would definitely miss the vige once he left it for good.


    Nevertheless, he ced this thought at the back of his head once more as he recalled his earlier words, eventually arriving at the barracks and heading straight to his dormitory room since he had already eaten dinner outside thanks to the vige feast.


    Recalling some of the shenanigans that had transpired earlier during the celebration, Valyr could not help but lightly chuckle as he got into the bathroom and took a shower,mitting all of them to memory, as well as all of the precious memories he had made so far. By the time he was finished showering, a rxed yet content smile donned his face as he changed into a set of clothes made for sleeping, lying down on his bed as he let out a slight carefree sigh.


    "I should take a look at the titles Alfaera gave me." As he tried to fall asleep, he recalled that he had not seen the effects of the titles yet. With that in mind, it did not take long for him to recall that he had also not checked the effects of the titles he gained from thebat training hall back in Clossbay.


    Lightly scratching his head for a bit, he eventually came to the decision to check on the titles Alfaera had given him for now and check on the titles from thebat training hall tomorrow while he was in the middle of his journey.


    "Speaking of which, I should also take a look at that Extended NPC Feature Set thing while I''m on my way to Clossbay¡­ whatever that may be." With his mind made up, Valyr went ahead and brought up the three titles he had gained from the celebration.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Astarto''s Beacon of Hope] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic


    You have cleared the evil that lurks beneath the vige. You have given the vige a sense of relief. Your feats shall be sung for eons toe and spun into talesmanding great awe, for you have given the vige hope. You are the beacon of hope.


    > All vigers of Astarto Vige who know of your feats shall look at your actions and words in a positive light


    > Shop owners in Astarto Vige shall give you a 25% discount when purchasing wares from them


    > +50% gain in affinity from quests and tasks from Astarto Vige


    > +50% gain in reputation from quests and tasks from Astarto Vige


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Astarto''s Light] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    You are the wall that protects the vige from the tides of ruin. You are the being that everyone seeks to be. You have given the vige a future filled with prosperity, a future filled with greatness. The vige shall never forget you, the one who has given them hope. The one who has given them light.


    Effects:


    > +20% damage to all monsters within a five kilometer radius around Astarto Vige


    > +20% reduction to all damage received within a five kilometer radius around Astarto Vige


    > +20% boost to VIT and STR within a five kilometer radius around Astarto Vige


    > +2% to all stats


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Knight] (Nobility Title)


    Rarity: Umon


    The first rank of nobility to be obtained, as well as the easiest to obtain. You have gained this title due to a feat that has garnered the interest of a higher-ranked noble. Work hard, new noble. Your journey through the ranks has only begun.


    > +10% gain in affinity from quests and tasks


    > +10% gain in all types of reputation from quests and tasks


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I see¡­ that''s why the owners of those carriage and horse shops were adamant that I ept their lowered price." After reading through the effects of the titles he had gained, Valyr now had a greater understanding of the situations he had got caught in earlier, only to find it odd. "But wait a minute¡­ I didn''t have the titles earlier."


    After pondering over this peculiarity for a bit, he eventually came to the idea that Alfaera had probably given him the effects ofpleting the quest, even though he hadn''t obtained the titles yet. Though he was not sure if that was indeed the case, it would definitely exin the situations he had been in.


    Aside from that, he took note of the fact that [Astarto''s Light], which used to be [Astarto''s Tidebreaker], now contained an effect that gave a small boost to all stats. Though he could not help butment the fact that most of the effects from the upgraded title would be useless for the most part, he was quite curious how much of an effect it would have once he came back to the vige for the monster tide.


    "Other than the upgraded title, the two other titles focus on increasing the amount of affinity and reputation I gain from quests and tasks. Then again, I have the [Spear Adept] and [Combat Elite] title to still look at, so it''s fine." Closing up the screen before him, Valyr lightly nodded in satisfaction, contemting whether to take a look at the two remaining titles now or stick to his decision from earlier.


    In the end, with a light yawn, he went with thetter, his eyes gradually closing as he eventually fell into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 178 A Solemn Departure

    By the time Valyr woke up from his slumber, his body felt surprisingly energized, prompting him to get out of his bed just as the warm rays of the sun were about to peer through his window. Inwardlyughing to himself that he had gotten out of bed before the sun''s rays peered through his window for once, he then went through his usual morning routine, only to recall in the midst of his showering that he would be leaving the vige today.


    "Ah, fuck." Cursing at this realization, Valyr''s mood swiftly soured after that, only returning to normal after he had changed into a new set of clothes and made his way to the barracks'' cafeteria.


    Looking around the cafeteria, which was somewhat devoid of other people due to how early he had gotten up, Valyr went ahead and grabbed a hearty breakfast, thinking about the long journey he would take to get back to Clossbay. While doing so, he could not help but think about the vige once more, and how he was going to miss it.


    Fortunately, unlike yesterday, this slight forlorn feeling he felt swiftly disappeared, allowing him to finish the breakfast he had ordered within minutes. Nevertheless, he pondered as to why this feeling disappeared so quickly today, while it lingered for quite some time yesterday, eventually attributing it to the joyous and festive atmosphere surrounding the vige during the celebration.


    With that, he returned the now empty tray back to the cafeteria workers, thanking them before making his way back to his dormitory room to grab all of the items he would need for his stay in Clossbay. Unsurprisingly, he decided to bring the set of Intermediate Reinforced Elixir he had gotten from the dungeon to the journey, thinking that there was a possibility for him to break through to Rank 2 while at the city thanks to the Experience Pit.


    Aside from that, he also grabbed all of the items he usually carried when in a long journey, eventually slinging arge bag around his chest before double checking to make sure that he had brought everything he would need during the journey, as well as his stay at Clossbay.


    Once he was certain that he hadn''t forgotten anything, he then made his way out of the barracks, being one of the only few people to be out and about in the vige during this time of day. While making his way to where the carriage and horse shop were located, Valyr could not help but think about Tristan and the others, certain that Tristan and Damian would have definitely wanted to give him a farewell before he made his departure to Clossbay City.


    "Then again, I''ve already talked about my departure today to Alfaera and the others yesterday. Plus, I''ve also spent most of the day yesterday along with them." With this thought in mind, Valyr could not help but chuckle to himself, thinking about the incidents that had urred yesterday with either Damian or Tristan being the culprit. "Pretty sure that''s more than enough of a farewell for them."


    As he continued thinking about the stupid things the group had done during the celebration yesterday, Valyr eventually arrived at where the carriages and horses were being sold, d to see that the shop owners were already awake. Apologizing to them for having them wake up early, he then got the carriage and the horses for the journey sorted with the help of the shop owners, lugging in all of the items he had carried onto the back of the carriage before doing a fewst minute purchases for a few necessary items.


    Thanking the two shop owners once more for their help, Valyr eventually got onto the carriage he had rented and signaled to the horses pulling the carriage to start moving. With how long it had taken for him to get to Clossbay in the past, Valyr decided to invest in one more steed pulling on the carriage, now having three steeds to pull on the carriage instead of the previous two.


    Though he was unsure if a third steed would reduce the time it took for him to arrive at Clossbay and return to Astarto, the price he paid was more or less the same as paying for two steeds back then, solely thanks to the effects of [Astarto''s Beacon of Hope].


    With that, it did not take long for Valyr to be in the outskirts of Astarto Vige once more, pulling up the system map to make sure the carriage was heading in the right direction before allowing the horses to do their thing.


    As he kept a watchful eye on the surroundings beyond them, Valyr went ahead and pulled up the two titles he had gained from thebat training hall back in Clossbay City. While doing so, he recalled the effects of the titles in his past life, wanting to see if anything about the titles had changed once the first public version of Greater Beyond had been released.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Spear Adept] (Title)


    Rarity: Umon


    A title only given to those who have reached the Adept stage of proficiency in the usage of a spear. Those at the Adept stage of spear proficiency are a cut above the rest, showing exemry usage of the spear that would warrant great awe from those who witness it.


    > +10% increase to all damage dealt with a spear


    > +5% increase to the user''s Attack stat when a spear is equipped


    > +1% boost to DEX


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Combat Elite] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic


    A title only given to those who have reached the Elite stage of proficiency in overallbat. Those at the Elite stage of overallbat proficiency are said to be masters of their immediate surroundings,manding great awe and terror to foes and friends alike with every single of their moves. Though few in number, all Combat Elites are a force to be reckoned with in any battlefield.


    > +20% increase to all damage dealt


    > +5% increase to the user''s Attack stat


    > +2% boost to VIT, STR, AGI, and DEX


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the very instant he had finished reading through the effects of the titles, aside from the fact that the titles were somewhat better than the titles he hade to know of in the past, the mes of battle in Valyr''s body started to rekindle, his hands itching to fight someone.


    Thankfully, this feeling eventually died down as he redirected his thoughts somewhere else,manding the system to show him what unlocking the Extended NPC Feature Set truly entailed.


    Ding!


    As a notification sound resounded in his mind, which apanied a string of notifications that had appeared in his field of vision, the expression on Valyr''s face changed to that of interest when he started reading through them, only to change into that of slight confusion as he continued to read.


    "Huh."


    "That''s weird."

 Chapter 179 Unanswered Questions

    Ding!


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, you have gained the ability to chat with people you''ve added to your friend list.]


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, you have gained the ability to appoint quests to both yers and NPCs alike.]


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, you have gained the right to ess the Greater Beyond Forum.]


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, you have gained the right to ess the World Net.]


    As Valyr read through the notifications he had received from the system, a look of slight confusion appeared on his face as one of the notifications stood out to him. "Huh. That''s weird. Why did I only unlock the ability to appoint quests just recently?"


    With this thought in mind, he could not help but recall the multiple times he had obtained quests from various people in the past, making him wonder why the system had given him the function just recently. "Aren''t I an NPC as well?"


    Unfortunately, even after pondering over the question for quite some time, Valyr had no answer to it. With an exasperated sigh, he ced the question at the back of his head, making a mental note to ask other NPCs about it whenever he could.


    After that, he focused his attention on the other functions the Extended NPC Feature Set had given him, specifically the one that gave him the ability to chat with the people on his friend list.


    Whoosh!


    Commanding the system to bring up a screen that was rted to the function, the thought that instantly entered Valyr''s mind when he got his first look at it was the fact that the screen looked oddly simr to the interface of a couple messaging services he had used in the past.


    On the left side of the screen was the list of people on his friend list he could to, while on the right was nk space, which did not take long for him to conclude that it was space for the conversation itself once he had chosen a person to talk to.


    Looking through the five people he could choose to contact with the function, Valyr eventually chose Tristan as he was certain that the man was already awake at this hour.


    Deciding to send a quick ''Hello'' to Tristan, a small strand of mana soon manifested out of Valyr''s body before heading back in the direction of Astarto Vige. Seeing that, Valyr finally understood what technique the NPCs were using in his previous life when they had another NPC appear before them at short notice. "So they were actually using the chat function all this time. I wonder why yers don''t have something like that when they chat with other yers?"


    "Either way, that''s a question answered." Sometimeter, Valyr received a strand of mana from the direction of Astarto Vige as he continued on his journey. Taking a look at the chat function, he noticed that Tristan had replied to his earlier message, asking him why he sent him a message so early in the morning.


    In response, Valyr told him through chat that he had already departed the vige and was on his way to Clossbay City, leaving Tristan at a loss for words as he asked Valyr after that why he hadn''t informed any of them before he left.


    Bitterly smiling, Valyr then brought up what the five of them were doing yesterday, telling Tristan that he thought that was more than enough of a heads-up for his departure today. Unsurprisingly, Tristan replied that he still had to give them a heads-up today so they could properly say farewell to him.


    At this moment, Valyr felt his heart warm up from the message, telling Tristan that he would keep that in mind the next time he departed from the vige, apologizing as he asked him if he could tell the others where he had gone. In response, Tristan told him that he would tell Damian and Alfaera about his departure, which Valyr naturally thanked him for.


    "Speaking of which, do you know why I only unlocked the ability to appoint quests and chat with those on my friend list just recently?" With the issue of his unannounced departure out of the way, Valyr went ahead and asked Tristan the question that was on his mind earlier, deciding to get his answer on it now rather thanter.


    Receiving a strand of mana from the direction of the vige sometimeter, Valyr read through the response Tristan sent him.


    "Well, all I know is that once a new version begins, everyone who doesn''t have those abilities you''ve mentioned unlocks them. Since you''re asking me this question, you only unlocked the abilities when the new version began, right?"


    "Anyways, I unlocked those abilities when the previous version began. In fact, Damian and the others also unlocked it when the previous version began. The ones older than us probably unlocked them in the versions before ours."


    "But yeah. Once a new version begins, those who don''t have the abilities yet unlock it."


    As Valyr sent a response back to Tristan, thanking him for exining the reason why he didn''t have those abilities beforehand, instead of feeling satisfied that his question was answered, more questions arose from his mind after reading Tristan''s reply.


    For one, Tristan mentioned that he and the others obtained the Extended NPC Feature Set when the version before the beta began. In other words, they obtained these abilities during Greater Beyond''s alpha.


    However, he also mentioned in passing that there were multiple versions before Greater Beyond''s alpha, which Valyr eventually inferred as the prototype versions of Greater Beyond before the alpha version came to being.


    With all of this in mind, Valyr could not help but wonder if the entire universe of Greater Beyond was the first thing to be created by thepany before proceeding through the various versions that eventually came to be known as Greater Beyond.


    Though this conclusion did make sense to him, thinking that it seemed highly usible for it to be the case, Valyr could not help but have a feeling that this idea of his was far from the truth.


    "If only there was someone I could talk to that was knowledgeable on the matter¡­" As these words came out of his mouth, Valyr could not help but think of Riekan, finding it a wasted opportunity to have not asked the man about the current question in his mind.


    Then again, he had no clue that the system would unlock something like the Extended NPC Feature Set, so he could not me himself from the past either.


    Letting out an exasperated sigh, Valyr furiously scratched his head in annoyance as he ced the thought at the back of his head for now, taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down before deciding to focus on the other features he had unlocked in the meantime.

 Chapter 180 The World Net

    Of course, even though Valyr decided to focus on the other features the Extended NPC Feature Set had to offer for now, he still wanted to find out the real answer to the question that boggled his mind earlier. Nevertheless, he knew for a fact that he would only grow more exasperated once he continued diving into that rabbit hole, so he eventually epted the fact that his idea was the best answer he could get for now.


    With that, he closed the chat screen before him,manding the system to bring up the screen that contained the quest appointment feature soon after.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, akin to the simplisticyout of the chat function he had checked earlier, the quest appointment function he had unlocked through the Extended NPC Feature Set was of a simr nature. On the screen was an area where he could set the quest''s name, the quest''s difficulty level, its objectives, and then its rewards.


    With the first three parts of the quest appointment feature being more or less intuitive to understand, Valyr went ahead and focused on the rewards section of the feature, noticing that the choices were mostly split up into four sections: experience, Technology Points, affinity and reputation, and misceneous.


    Naturally, having experience as a reward was self-exnatory. After all, most quests would give a decent amount of experience as a reward, depending on the difficulty of the quest. However, what Valyr didn''t expect was the fact that the experience reward when appointing a quest would be obtained from the stockpile of unused experience he had.


    With that in mind, he could not help but wonder how much unused experience Alfaera had, considering how she had increased the experience reward of the quest he had gotten from her to 200,000 XP.


    Nevertheless, choosing the experience option as a reward allowed him to see how much unused experience he currently had, which was roughly 25,000 points short of reaching 200,000. After experimenting with the selection for a bit more, he eventually discovered that appointing a quest had a fee attached to it in the form of experience, with the fee changing depending on the difficulty level of the quest.


    Though curious as to where this experience fee went towards, he decided there was not much point thinking about it as he focused his attention on the other reward types he could select. Simr to how the experience reward worked, choosing Technology Points as a reward meant that the quest would obtain it from the unused Technology Points one had.


    However, unlike the former, choosing Technology Points as a reward also gave one the option to obtain the points had not imed from one''s respective ss guild yet, with Valyr being notified that he still had 100 Technology Points to im from the guild. Of course, Valyr also took note of the 10 Technology Points written below it, which was the exact amount of Technology Points he could give each month per individual with his current rank.


    As for affinity, reputation, and the misceneous rewards, they were more or less self-exnatory like the experience reward. Though, Valyr did take note of the fact that when choosing to give a misceneous reward for a quest, he could choose to give items, equipment, titles, and so on.


    Finding thest choice of rewards he could use in appointing a quest quite useful for when he was finished with the quest Damian gave him, he then moved onto the forum function of the Extended NPC Feature Set, a knowing smile adorning his face as the contents of the screen before him changed.


    "Already expected as much," Valyr muttered to himself as he looked at the screen before him, letting out a light chuckle as the screen was as barren as it could be. Aside from the fact that there were a few buttons he could choose to press on the side that allowed him to head to the different sections of the forum, there was no content that could be found in the forum whatsoever.


    "Then again, Greater Beyond is only in its beta version. It''ll only start to gain traction once the first public version is released." As he recalled how the forum function worked in his previous life, being a ce where both yers and NPCs could post anything they wanted on it, Valyr could not help but wonder why there were no posts on the forum from NPCs, recalling Tristan''s earlier words that they had unlocked the same abilities he had when an earlier version of Greater Beyond began.


    Pondering over whether to ask Tristan about it again, Valyr eventually decided not to, thinking that he would be better finding off the answers to his questions at Clossbay City''s library. Or perhaps, if the library did not have the answers he sought, then he would ask Arcenne about it.


    After all,pared to Tristan, both the library and Arcenne had ess to a wider range of information that might allow them to answer the questions he sought to find a proper response to.


    Seeing as there was not much point in him perusing the forum function in the meantime, Valyr shifted his attention onto thest feature the Extended NPC Feature Set unlocked for him.


    "The World Net." Unlike the first three features, which he knew that the NPCs often used in his previous life, Valyr was pleasantly surprised to find out that he had ess to the World Net while being an NPC. After all, having ess to the World Net meant having ess to everything that was going on in Earth, not only being limited to information rted to Greater Beyond.


    With that, hemanded the system to bring up the World Net with bated breaths, wondering if the system would restrict him to information only pertaining to Greater Beyond. Though, he eventually let out an inward sigh of relief as the ever familiar homepage of the World Net appeared on the screen before him, deciding to check what was currently going on in Earth through the world news, keeping in mind the time ratio existing between Greater Beyond and Earth.


    "As expected. Everyone''s hyped to enter the world of Greater Beyond as soon as possible." Reading article upon article written by journalists that mentioned how Greater Beyond was the pioneer of the next generation of True Immersion VRMMORPGs, Valyr knew at that moment that a great portion of the world''s poption was only biding their time until Greater Beyond was publicly released, recalling his reactions back when the beta version was announced in his previous life.


    Chuckling at the memory, he then recalled that a hundred yers were chosen by thepany to participate in the game''s beta version, deciding to take a look at their livestreams through the World Net to see in which settlement they ended up spawning in.


    "So, the Five Leviathans have been spawned in Aste City." Valyr inwardly nodded as he muttered, swiftly noticing the trend that all of the 100 yers of the beta version had been sent to either a core city or a city. Thinking about the clueless expressions the 100 beta testers had when they entered Greater Beyond once the public version was released, Valyr could not help but let out a bit ofughter once more, thinking that thepany had an ulterior motive behind that action.


    Though, as he was clueless on what ulterior motive was, Valyr decided to check on the livestreams of the other yers, eventually focusing his attention on the yers that had spawned in Clossbay City, which amounted to four people.


    However, as he took a look at the yers that were in Clossbay City, one of them could not help but pique Valyr''s interest, finding the yer quite familiar. Thankfully, it did not take long for him to recall who the yer was, letting out a light gasp in shock as he never expected the man to appear this early on in the game.


    "Wait a minute¡­ isn''t that¡­"


    "The guild leader?"

 Chapter 181 Pandoras Crafts

    "Isn''t that the guild leader? What''s he doing here during the beta?" Not expecting a familiar face to appear this early on in the game''s lifespan, Valyr could not help but rummage through memories from his past life, specifically memories that contained information regarding the guild he had been a part of, as well as its core personnel.


    The person Valyr was currently watching through the World Net was the leader of the Pandora''s Crafts guild, taking on the in-game name of Nephilim. Though his in-game name said otherwise, Nephilim was someone Valyr came to know in his past life as someone who had a cheerful and outgoing personality when interacting with his fellow guild members, making them feel as if they were part of arger family.


    As for the guild itself, Pandora''s Crafts was a guild where most of its members were focused on production sses and lifestyle skills. Unlike most guilds, where the main purpose of the establishment of their guilds was forrge-scalebat, Pandora''s Crafts was made with the purpose of giving a safe haven to those who sought to pursue production sses to the pinnacle, allowing them to use their time more on honing their craft rather than spending it on bing more experienced inbat.


    However, even though Pandora''s Crafts was a guild that focused on production, that did not mean that there were no members from the guild that excelled inbat. Aside from Nephilim, the leader of the guild, there were also a handful of members from the guild that specialized inbat.


    Though, with how all of these members still took up production sses as their subsses, incorporating their production skills into theirbat style, Nephilim had given the group an apt name, calling the group Pandora''s Box.


    Nevertheless, the cheerful and outgoing Nephilim Valyr could remember from the past was nowhere to be found in the livestream he was currently watching, which allowed to see all of the yers that had spawned in Clossbay City. At the moment, Valyr watched Nephilim follow each and every order of one of the other yers that had spawned alongside Nephilim in the city, as if thetter had full control over the former''s life.


    Watching the yer that ordered Nephilim for a bit as he rummaged through his memories, Valyr eventually recalled who the yer was, slightly tilting his head in confusion as he did not know that the two had that kind of rtionship before he had met Nephilim. "The leader of Halcyon¡­"


    Void_Guardian, the leader of Halcyon, was someone Valyr rarely interacted with in his previous life, even though he was part of Pandora''s Crafts'' core as an above average cksmith. From what he could recall whenever he saw Nephilim and him converse with one another, Nephilim was all smiles, while Void_Guardian would look at the former in disgust.


    However, even though Void_Guardian was like that to Nephilim in his previous life, the two guilds were in an alliance up to theter versions of Greater Beyond, with Pandora''s Crafts providing the items that Halcyon needed, while Halcyon offered the manpower Pandora''s Crafts needed for certain tasks.


    With that in mind, he could not help but find the current interaction between the two yers odd. "Did Nephilim go through something during the beta version and the time I met him in the past for his personality to change that much? Why is Void_Guardian treating him that way?"


    Lightly scratching his head in curiosity as he continued to watch the livestream on the screen before him unfold, Valyr eventually thought that there was not much point in him finding out the reason behind his previous guild leader''s change in personality, only thinking that it would''ve been interesting if he did find out. "Then again, I don''t have the right to meddle in his affairs, especially now that I''m an NPC."


    "But that doesn''t mean I can''t help him out a bit while it''s still the beta version." Nevertheless, that did not stop him from thinking of aiding his previous guild leader during the beta version, recalling the kindness Nephilim had shown to him in his previous life. "Though all of their progress would be wiped once the beta ends, at the very least, I''ll give him a better idea of what to do once the public version starts."


    "The only problem is¡­ how do I start interacting with them first?"


    As he pondered over the various possible ways he could make first contact with the yers in the city, Valyr went ahead and pulled up the chat function, informing Tryndall that he was already on his way to Clossbay. In response, Tryndall told him through chat that he should have a safe journey and to not rush.


    After that, Valyr asked him if there were any updates on the quest the two of them had, with Tryndall telling him that there was. However, rather than tell Valyr what updates had transpired since he left Clossbay through the chat function, Tryndall said that it would be better if the former heard it from him personally, prompting the two to set a time and ce for them to meet up once Valyr had returned to Clossbay.


    "Speaking of which, I should probably start finding ways to make money while at the city." Closing the chat function as he moved the screen with the livestream to his peripheral vision, this thought soon surfaced within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to take a look at the satchel of money he had brought with him, which contained the value of roughly 10 gold coins.


    Though 10 gold coins would be more than enough for Valyr to live like a king in Astarto Vige for months on end, that same amount would onlyst him slightly over a week at most in Clossbay City.


    Bitterly smiling as he thought about how much money the satchel contained when Wells first gave to him, Valyr thought about setting up a smithy of his own in the city, making a mental note to ask Arcenne and Tryndall about the specifics of setting up one once he had arrived.


    "I should also add Arcenne to my friend list once I get to Clossbay." As he pondered over other ways he could make money while in the city, Valyr eventually recalled the offer Gabriel had given to him at thebat training hall before he left Clossbay, wondering if the offer was still valid.


    With all of these thoughts in mind, Valyr went ahead and made a mental list of things he would do once he had arrived in Clossbay City again, spending most of his time during the journey watching the yers'' livestreams through the World Net at day, while allowing the horses and himself to rest at night.


    Eventually, three days had inadvertently passed.

 Chapter 182 One Out Of Five

    "I''m finally back at Clossbay." Letting out a long sigh of relief, Valyr directed his attention to the walls that had appeared in his field of vision, which gradually grewrger with every passing second.


    Though the boredom he felt during the past three days was alleviated thanks to him gaining ess to the World Net, and the fact that adding a third steed to the carriage reduced his travel time by a day, there was a part of him that wondered if it was possible for him to reduce the time it took to travel between settlements any further.


    Whether this was due to the fact that he felt like he could''ve used the time it took for him to get to Clossbay on interacting with the yers, or whether it was due to the fact Valyr had recalled all of the creatureforts he had taken for granted in his past life after gaining ess to the World Net, Valyr was uncertain.


    However, he did know that he had the power to answer the question, having more than enough Technology Points to progress through the Innovation branch of the Technology Tree, which would give him ess to the various pieces of technology that made up the creatureforts he came to know and love in his previous life.


    Though, once he thought about it, he could not help but bitterly smile. After all, unlocking the knowledge that would allow him to create the technology was one thing, making it a reality was another. Nevertheless, it was a good enough reason for him to continue unlocking more of the Technology Tree, as well as recall the function the essory around his neck contained.


    With that, he made a mental note to unlock more advancements on the Technology Tree, as well as use the ne''s ability once he had settled down in Clossbay City, eventually arriving at the city gates around half an hourter.


    After being guided by one of the city guards to the area designated for carriages that came from outside the city, Valyr eventually hopped off the carriage, tossing a silver coin to the one of the people that took care of the carriages while the owners were away. Receiving a thanks in response to the kind gesture, Valyr lightly smiled in response before walking through the streets of Clossbay City, arriving at a modestly sized restaurant a few minutester.


    Recalling that he had not eaten breakfast earlier in the day, he took note of the sun''s current position, eventually deciding to order a hearty meal that would serve as his breakfast and lunch while one of the waiters came up and took his order.


    While waiting for his meal to arrive, he went ahead and sent a message to Tryndall through the chat function, informing thetter that he had already arrived at Clossbay, as well as giving him information on where he was currently located.


    Obtaining a response from Tryndall that he would be on his way, Valyr went ahead and closed the screen before him, letting out a light sigh of relief before continuing to wait for the meal to arrive once more. At some point, Valyr opened up a small screen on the side, allowing him to view the progress the yers had made, specifically the ones that had appeared in Clossbay City for the beta version.


    Surprisingly, within the span of three days, all of the yers in Clossbay City had already reached the halfway point to ascending to Rank 1, with all of them kitted out in Common grade equipment that Valyr presumed was all enhanced to Level 5. Finding the rate of progress the yers had made quite interesting whenpared to his own speed, he then redirected his attention to the livestreams of the Five Leviathans, wondering how they were faring during the beta.


    Unsurprisingly, the Five Leviathans were faring far better than the ones in Clossbay City, with their level and equipment surpassing all of the yers in the other cities in general.


    "As expected of the Five Leviathans." While Valyr continued to watch the Five Leviathans'' livestreams, he took note of their progress. Within three days, they were able to raise their levels to either Level 7 or 8, with their Common grade armor sets being upgraded to that level as well.


    Then again, what surprised him the most was the fact that a couple of the Five Leviathans had gotten their hands on Common+ grade weapons, showing the importance of higher grade equipment in the early stages of the game during the experience grinding sessions the Five Leviathans underwent through from time to time.


    Returning his attention to the livestreams of those that had appeared in Clossbay City, Valyr could not help but take note that, unlike the NPCs, yers did not have the need to sleep at all. Of course, he took into consideration the time difference that existed between the world of Greater Beyond and Earth, as well as the fact that some of the yers would disappear from the world from time to time. Nevertheless, his thoughts still rang true.


    "I guess it''s the fact that all of them truly treat the world of Greater Beyond as a game." It did not take a long time for Valyr to find out the reason why, having experienced the game from the perspective of a yer in his previous life. "Then again, most, if not all of the yers that are part of the beta version revolve their lives around VRMMORPGs, treating the game as a job. If I were topare their productivity to, say, casual yers, then thetter would be more or less simr to us NPCs."


    Just as Valyr muttered out his thoughts, the waiter that had taken his order earlier had finally arrived with the food, cing all of them in front of Valyr as thetter closed the livestream he had been watching. Coincidentally, a familiar man had appeared just as he was about to dig into his food, causing a light smile to appear on his face as he ced the utensils he had picked up to the side.


    "So, did you take care of all the business you had back at Astarto Vige?" Noticing that Valyr was just about to eat his meal, Tryndall lightly chuckled as he told the former to go ahead, seating himself opposite Valyr as he ordered a light meal for himself.


    "Yeah. It''s more or less resolved now." In response to the question, Valyr lightly nodded, only opening his mouth once he had chewed his food thoroughly. "But enough of me for now. How''s progress on the quest?"


    "Well, let''s just say that the suggestion you gave me back then finally allowed me to make headroom once more." Tryndall lightly smiled. "Once the scope of possible suspects was expanded to include those at the Rank 1, we''ve actually found a few people that have sses and skills that closely match the abilities of the Clossbay Killer."


    Hearing Tryndall''s words, Valyr''s interest was naturally piqued, prompting him to stop eating for a while as he reminded Tryndall that the two of them were in an open area. Then, with a hushed tone, he asked the man before him the question he wanted to know the answer to. "Is that so? How many of them do we have to keep track of?"


    "At first, it used to be a few dozen. Though, thanks to the help of the Adventurer''s Guild, I''ve reduced that down to a more workable number." Listening to Tryndall''s words, Valyr could only nod in response. Though, once he heard the number that came out of the former''s mouth, Valyr''s mouth went slightly agape, being left at a slight loss for words.


    "At the moment¡­"


    "There''s a high chance that one of the five people out of all the suspects I''ve taken note of so far is, in fact, the Clossbay Killer."

 Chapter 183 Aster Stelyra

    Taking a couple seconds to take in what Tryndall had said earlier, Valyr eventually took in a deep breath as the man''s words finally sinked into his mind. At that moment, he could not help but find it surprising that Tryndall, with the help of the Adventurer''s Guild, was able to narrow down the possible suspects to five people within one and a half weeks.


    All because he told Tryndall to expand his scope to include those at the peak of Rank 1.


    Then again, after mulling over it for a bit, Valyr understood why Tryndall limited his scope to only those at the middle of Rank 1 and below in the first ce. For the Adventurer''s Guild to give Tryndall a quest, then it naturally meant that Tryndall had the capability to clear the quest with rtive ease.


    With that in mind, Tryndall was inclined to think that the Clossbay Killer was around the middle of Rank 1, taking into consideration that he was Level 12 when he had epted the quest, as well as the fact that he could fight people a few levels above him without much problem.


    Nevertheless, now that the number of people who could possibly be the Clossbay Killer that they had to find for the quest was less than 10, Valyr decided to put those thoughts at the back of his head, taking in a deep breath once more before opening his mouth.


    "How certain are you that those five are highly likely to be the Clossbay Killer?"


    "With the help of the Adventurer''s Guild, pretty certain," Tryndall said in response as a waiter had arrived the meal he had ordered.


    Taking a few bites of the food, he then opened his mouth once more. "We''ve taken into consideration their sses, their stats, as well as the skills they own. Though the amount of help I can employ from the Adventurer''s Guild is limited, only allowing me to look at the suspects'' information at the surface level, it''s more than enough for me to find out who''s not the Clossbay Killer among the few dozen suspects I''ve kept tabs on back then."


    Lightly nodding, Valyr went ahead and took a few bites of food, sipping a bit of water from his ss before asking the question that came to his mind. "Is there a way we can find out which among the five is the Clossbay Killer?"


    In response, Tryndall nodded as he ate a bit more of the meal he had ordered, though his expression had turned slightly grim. "For some reason, the rate the Clossbay Killer has been killing innocent people has be consistent for the past month, doing so once every week. I have no clue behind the reason why he has be consistent, but it''s something we could use to find out who among the five it really is."


    "Hmm¡­" As Valyr pondered over it, he continued digging into the food he had ordered, deciding to do so as he found it somewhat difficult to think on a slightly empty stomach. Seeing what the man before him was doing, Tryndall went ahead and did the same thing, allowing his friend to finish his food since thetter hade from a faraway ce.


    Thankfully, by the time Valyr and Tryndall had finished their meals in silence, a thought had surfaced in the former''s mind. Having a eureka moment as his eyes widened in understanding, Valyr looked at Tryndall with a hint of excitement as he asked thetter a question. "Can you employ the help of the Adventurer''s Guild one more time?"


    "Why?" Though he noticed the look of excitement on Valyr''s face, Tryndall could not help but ask in response.


    "How long do we have till the Clossbay Killer strikes again?" However, rather than respond to the question with an answer, Valyr instead posed another question to Tryndall.


    "About three days or so." At this point, Tryndall had no clue what was going inside Valyr''s mind, yet he still answered nevertheless. "Again. Why do you ask?"


    Fortunately for him, Valyr''s response to the question finally cleared all of his confusion.


    "Is it possible to enlist the help of a few members from the guild with Assassin sses?"


    For a brief second, Tryndall pondered over the reason why Valyr asked for help from the Adventurer''s Guild. Thankfully, it did not take long for him to put two and two together, his eyes widening in understanding before eventually lightly nodding. "Am I thinking what you''re thinking? Keeping tabs on all the suspects three days from now?"


    "Exactly." With a light grin adorning Valyr''s face, the two then ironed out all of the specifics regarding what they were going to do three days from now, making sure to prepare for any possibilities, just in case some things didn''t go ording to n.


    Eventually, the two of them went their separate ways, reminding each other to contact the other person through the chat function if there was any update regarding the situation of their quest.


    With plenty of time left before the sun would set, Valyr swiftly made his way to the city''sbat training hall, recalling the offer Gabriel had given him before he left for the vige. After asking one of the attendants behind the counter as to where Gabriel was, Valyr eventually found the man in the same room where he had hisbat proficiency tested, noticing the man practicing with his magic at the center of the room.


    "Ah." Sensing that someone had entered his room, Gabriel immediately stopped what he was doing, taking a nce at the door who had entered. Though, once he realized who had appeared, an expression of excitement swiftly appeared on his face as he unhesitatingly dispelled the magic he had cast, making his way towards Valyr.


    "Valyr! You''re back!" With great glee, Gabriel greeted him, leaving Valyr no choice but to nod and lightly smile back. "Have you considered my offer?"


    "Well, I wouldn''t be here to meet up with you if I hadn''t." In response, Valyr had a knowing smile on his face, prompting Gabriel to talk with the former regarding the schedule that they could work around, as well as the amount of pay Valyr would obtain.


    While that was happening, a man and a woman leisurely walked past the open door that led to Gabriel''s room, only to stop in their tracks once they noticed that another person was conversing with Gabriel.


    Deciding to head into the room where Gabriel was in, the two appeared in front of Gabriel and Valyr unannounced, with the woman being familiar to both of thetter.


    "Oh, Arcenne!" Realizing who had appeared in the room, Valyr was all smiles. "I was actually nning to find you after talking with Gabriel regarding the offer."


    "Oh? Did he ept?" In response, Arcenne''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as she shifted her gaze to Gabriel, who nodded back with a smile on his face. With that, a hint of excitement adorned her face after obtaining Gabriel''s response.


    Though, before she could act upon this excitement, the man that apanied her decided to clear their throat, letting Arcenne remember who she had brought along with her. Apologetically smiling to Gabriel, she then shifted her gaze back to Valyr as she took in a deep breath. "Though I''m quite curious to find out what we have to talk aboutter, let me introduce someone to you first."


    As she said this, Arcenne gestured her hands towards the middle-aged man behind her, prompting Valyr to look at the man from head to toe.


    "This man is Aster Stelyra, the current leader of the Stelyra n''s Aste City branch," Arcenne said, causing Valyr to do a double take as he blinked a couple of times to make sure if the man behind was real. Though, what Arcenne said next snapped him out of his trance, his gaze towards the man slightly aghast.


    "Well, aside from being the branch n''s leader¡­"


    "He''s also my father."

 Chapter 184 Discussion Between Nobles

    Once Valyr heard from Arcenne''s mouth that the man that was apanying her was not only the Stelyra n''s leader, but her father as well, only shock remained within his body, filling it to the brim as he looked at the man slightly aghast with his mouth agape. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to recover his senses, closing his mouth before looking at the man behind Arcenne with a light smile and a nod.


    In response, Aster lightly nodded back, ncing at Arcenne for a brief moment before opening his mouth to speak. "Although my daughter has already given you an exemry summary of my des, let me introduce myself properly."


    "My name is Aster Valerion Stelyra, the 10th and current patriarch of Aste City''s Stelyra n. I am also a Marquis of the Aste Region, which is a title that has been bestowed to me by His Royal Majesty of the Algerie Kingdom."


    "Nevertheless, those des pale inparison to the fact that I am this young woman''s father, something I will always be proud and grateful for." Saying these words, Aster could not help but have a light smile on his face, with Arcenne''s face bing slightly red from her father''s final statement.


    After that, Aster moved closer towards Gabriel and Valyr, shifting his gaze towards the former as an apologetic smile adorning his face. "I apologize for intruding upon your conversation. May I have a word with the man you''re talking to? It''ll only be for a while, I promise."


    "You would have to ask the man beside me, Marquis Stelyra. If it were up to me, I would''ve readily said yes," said Gabriel in response with a bitter smile. Nevertheless, he decided to distance himself from both Aster and Valyr, giving the two enough space to talk.


    With that, Valyr was finally able to see Aster from up close, inwardly nodding as he finally obtained a conclusion to the shock he experienced earlier once he found out this man was Aster Stelyra. ''Indeed. This is the Aster I know from my previous life, only younger.''


    ''Since that''s the case¡­ what happened in between the beta version and the first public version for his appearance in thetter to have changed so much?'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr could not help but recall the Aster Stelyra he knew from his previous life.


    Though the aura emanated by both Asters were the same,manding a great amount of respect and awe from those who stood close to them, the Aster in his previous life looked more like someone who already had a foot into the grave.


    A slightly hunched back, a sparse head of white hair, a face filled to the brim with wrinkles, as well as an expression that told anyone who looked at him that he was tired of it all, that was the Aster Stelyra Valyr knew from his memories.


    On the other hand, the Aster that stood before him seemed like a different person altogether. Though he seemed like he was already past his prime, his body still exuded great amounts of energy as an air of nobility that inspired both terror and awe to those who knew him emanated out of his body.


    Aside from that, he had a full head of jet-ck hair thatplemented his jade green eyes, as well as a visage that showed the wisdom and experience he had rued through multiple battles and hardships in his life.


    "Care to introduce yourself to me, young man?" Aster lightly smiled at Valyr. "I just want to make sure if you''re the man I''m looking for."


    Though he did not know why Aster was looking for him, Valyr decided to answer anyway, knowing that his queries would be answered in due time.


    "My name is Valyr Zeihardt, a Rank 1 cksmith, as well as a Knight of the Aste Region. It is an honor to meet you, Marquis Stelyra." After saying these words, Valyr lightly bowed towards the man, with his actions and his earlier words causing the eyes of those in the room to slightly widen in surprise.


    In response to Valyr''s introduction, Aster could not help but let out a light chuckle before patting the former''s shoulders. "Indeed. You''re the young man I''ve been looking for. Care if we continue our conversation somewhere more secluded?"


    Hearing Aster''s question, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he shifted his gaze towards Gabriel. "It seems we''ll have to continue our conversation some other time."


    "No worries, no worries!" In response, Gabriel hastily waved his hands back and forth as he lightly chuckled, telling Valyr that there was no problem. "Take as much time as you need."


    "Is it fine you stay here for now, Arcenne?" Soon after, Aster looked at Arcenne and posed the question to her.


    "My response is the same as Gabriel''s." Arcenne could only smile in response. "Take as much time as you need. Father. Valyr."


    With the two lightly nodding to her words, Valyr and Aster then made their way out of the room, heading to a more secluded portion of thebat training hall. In the meantime, Gabriel could not help but look at Arcenne in shock.


    "I know you''re part of the Stelyra n and all that, but why didn''t you tell me your father was the leader of your city''s Stelyra n?!" Gabriel could not help but ask, causing Arcenne to look back at him with a slightly confused expression.


    "Would you have believed me if I did?" As these words came out of Arcenne''s mouth, Gabriel could only respond with silence, bitterly smiling at the former before letting out a long sigh soon after.


    "Now that I think about it, why is your father looking for Valyr? Is it because he''s a Combat Elite at Rank 1?" Gabriel asked, allowing his imagination to run wild as he asked another question after that. "Is the Stelyra n recruitingbat prodigies or something?"


    "If they did, I would have already given the entirebat training hall a heads-up weeks in advance." In response, Arcenne lightly shook his head. "However, that''s not the reason why my father was looking for him. It''s for an entirely different reason."


    "Then again, I didn''t expect Valyr to obtain a rank of nobility after he left Clossbay," she added, causing Gabriel to ask what she meant by that. In response, Arcenne exined the entire process of obtaining nobility, leaving Gabriel at a slight loss for words as he gained newfound respect for Valyr.


    "Do you know what the two are going to talk about?" Sometimeter, Gabriel allowed his curiosity to get the better of himself, deciding to ask Arcenne the question that had surfaced in mind. Unfortunately for him, Arcenne shook her head in response, her next words only making him let out a sigh.


    "He may be my father, but even I don''t know what''s going in his mind sometimes."


    "Our only choice is to wait and find out from them once theye back."

 Chapter 185 True Identity

    "So¡­ Valyr, right? Is it fine if I may know where you''ve been staying so far?" While the two were making their way to a more secluded part of thebat training hall, Aster looked at the young man to his side, posing the question to him.


    "Though this may be a rude question, why should I tell you that?" Naturally, Valyr could not help but be suspicious after getting a question like that, even though he knew that the one beside him had multiple methods to find it out. After all, he still did not know the reason why Aster sought out to find him and ask him questions.


    Hearing Valyr''s response, Aster could not help but stop in his tracks, a light yet malevolent smile adorning his face as Valyr stopped in his tracks as well not long after. Soon after, a hint of the aura Aster had been suppressing was released, directing it all towards Valyr as thetter was sent back a couple meters.


    Thud!


    Though they had not reached the more secluded part of thebat training hall yet, Valyr''s fall to the ground went unnoticed as the number of people in the immediate surroundings was only two, him and Aster.


    "Young man, I''m certain that you know us nobles have multiple ways to find out that information." At that moment, the slightly amicable aura surrounding Aster had disappeared, being reced with a chill that seeped into one''s bones as he nced at Valyr. "While I''m still being kind to you, it would be better if you cooperate. If not¡­"


    "Stripping you of your low-ranked nobility isn''t the only thing I''ll do."


    ''For a n that''s inclined to help outmoners, their leader is definitely nicer, alright. If I were talking to the leader of any other noble n, they would have already found a way for me to be an indentured servant of some sort.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr let out a long sigh as he stood up.


    Dusting off his clothes, he looked back at Aster before opening his mouth with an expression that seemed to say he had given up. "I''m not sure if you''re just double checking whether the information you''ve obtained is certain or not, but to answer your question¡­ I''ve been spending most of my time at Astarto Vige, though due to a quest I''ve received, I n to stay here for the meantime until the quest ispleted."


    "Does that suffice to satiate your curiosity, Marquis Stelyra?"


    "I see. So that''s why we haven''t been able to find any of your traces." Though Aster heard the final question Valyr asked him, he ignored it, instead murmuring a few words to himself that only serve to increase the confusion, as well as the curiosity Valyr felt towards the current situation.


    "My traces? Why is that?" Valyr asked.


    "I''ll exinter. For now, cooperate with me in the meantime," said Aster in response as he took in a few deep breaths to calm his emotions down. On the other hand, Valyr lightly nodded at the man''s words with a neutral expression.


    "Have you ever experienced an incident where you were being followed by someone?" Aster posed the question to Valyr soon after. "If not followed, have you been ambushed before?"


    "Well¡­ there was one time when I was ambushed." Hearing these wordse out of Valyr''s mouth, a hint of panic appeared on Aster''s face. Though, his expression swiftly turned into that of relief once he heard the next statement.


    "I''m not sure as to why I was ambushed, but it took ce just as I was heading back to the vige after registering with the cksmith Guild and participating in a forging tournament."


    "What purpose do these questions serve, Marquis?" After answering Aster''s question, Valyr could not help but wonder what the questions were for. Thankfully, Aster''s response allowed him to gain a faint understanding of the topic of their conversation.


    "What do you know about yourself, Valyr?" Aster asked the question just as he urged Valyr that they should continue heading towards a more secluded part of thebat training hall.


    "Aside from what I''ve mentioned earlier?" While the two of them started to walk once more, Valyr asked if the man beside was referring to his introduction from earlier, to which Aster nodded in response.


    "Well¡­ aside from that, all I know is that I''m a part of the Zeihardt n. I don''t know what kind of reputation I have in the n, what position, nothing. Just that." Now that Valyr had a faint idea of where their conversation was heading, as well as getting the feeling that Aster was about to tell him a bit more about his true identity, Valyr decided to be a bit more cooperative.


    "Do you know which branch of the Zeihardt n you''re part of, Valyr?" Aster posed the question to him after that, eliciting a look of confusion to appear on Valyr''s face.


    Seeing that the young man beside him was utterly clueless, Aster could not help but inwardly let out a sigh. ''He''s forgotten more than I expected. Then again, it''s for the better.''


    "Listen well, young man, for I''ll only exin this once." Aster started to exin. "Aside from fledgling noble ns, noble ns are known to have multiple branch ns based in multiple settlements. This is done in order to ensure that the blood of the n continues to live far off into the future."


    "A great example of this is our Stelyra n," he continued. "The main n is based in Algerie Kingdom, though branches of our n exist in other core cities and bustling cities, such as Aste City, which I am the leader of."


    "In your Zeihardt n''s case, your n has also achieved the same level of grandeur as the Stelyra n. The main n is also based in Algerie Kingdom, with multiple branch ns also existing throughout multiple core cities."


    "However, this is where the simrities of our two ns end, Valyr." Aster looked at him with a solemn exnation, inwardly contemting whether to inform the man beside him far more than his true identity. Then again, it did not take long for him toe to a decision, viewing Valyr as nothing more than someone who had gotten caught up in the politics of the nobles.


    "Unlike me, you''re not from any of the branch ns the Zeihardt n has established, Valyr. In fact, it''s already evident in your appearance." Wondering what Aster meant by his final statement, Valyr asked him.


    In response, Aster took in a deep breath before responding. "Your eyes. The Zeihardt n''s silver eyes. They''re also known as the Silver Eyes of Royalty."


    At that moment, Valyr''s mouth went agape as everything Aster had mentioned so far finally clicked in his mind.


    "Indeed, Valyr. You''re part of the Zeihardt''s main n."


    "The Zeihardt Royal n."

 Chapter 186 Borrowed Time

    Ding!


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    [The skill ''Noble Blood'' has transformed due to the piece of information you''ve gained. The skill''s name has been changed to ''Royal Blood''.]


    [Although you have learned more about your true self, a thick veil still shrouds the true extent of your identity. Nevertheless, you shall eventually find out who you truly are.]


    Just as Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise from the name of the n that Aster had mentioned, a string of notifications appeared within the former''s mind. However, when he read through the notifications that he had obtained, the surprise he felt turned into shock once his eyes fell on the final notification.


    ''I''ve already found out that I''m part of the Zeihardt Royal n, yet even that isn''t the full extent of my true identity?'' At that moment, Valyr went ahead and rummaged through his memories once more, using not only the information he had coted so far regarding the Zeihardt noble n, but the information he had received from Aster as well regarding the Zeihardt Royal n.


    Surprisingly, with the new piece of information he had obtained from Aster, a couple memories eventually surfaced in his mind, making Valyr hopeful that he would possibly find out more about his true identity. However, rather than find out his true identity, what he found out instead only made him feel more dread.


    ''The War of the Three Sovereignties¡­'' Not only was this the main storyline of Greater Beyond''s first version for those that had spawned in the of Veldanyr, this was also where the thoughts that had surfaced in Valyr''s mind revolved around.


    ''In a vie for total control over the, the three only sovereignties on Veldanyr waged war against one another, with each of the sovereignties'' end goal bing the victor of this deste war.''


    ''The first sovereignty is the ruling body of the elf race, the Lumie Sovereignty.''


    ''The second sovereignty is the ruling body of the orc race, the Khael''gazar-i Sovereignty.''


    ''Andst but not the least, the third sovereignty is the ruling body of the human race, where most, if not all of the strongest humans on Veldanyr could be found¡­''


    ''The Zeihardt Sovereignty.'' Feeling a headache going on, Valyr took in a few deep breaths as Aster watched him process the information he had given to the former in silence. Though, what thetter did not know was that the young man beside him was processing far more than what he had mentioned.


    ''The Zeihardt Sovereignty¡­ the Zeihardt Royal n¡­ what is my body''s true identity, really?'' After pondering over he had figured out for quite some time, Valyr eventually decided to ce everything he had found at the back of his head for now. With that, he recalled his circumstances when he had first appeared in the world of Greater Beyond, on a carriage that was headed to Astarto Vige.


    ''Does that incident have any greater significance?'' Asking himself this question, Valyr realized that he knew too little about his body''s past circumstances, inwardly letting out a sigh as the yearning to figure everything about his true identity zed with far greater fervor.


    Aside from that, the fact that hecked the strength, as well as the connections to be able to figure that out on his own became ring to Valyr at that moment. With that, he looked back at Aster, hoping that the man beside him would have more information to give him, feeling that his time in Greater Beyond in the near future wouldn''t be as peaceful as it seemed.


    Unfortunately, Aster''s next few statements would make him realize that his time in Greater Beyond so far was in no way peaceful at all.


    "Has the realization of being part of a royal n finally sinked in, young man?" Aster posed the question to Valyr, who could only bitterly smile in response as he nodded, thankful that the former had brought their conversation to a secluded ce.


    Bing silent after that, Aster contemted over his decision of informing Valyr regarding the happenings that urred far beyond thetter''s radar once more. Fortunately, he remained adamant in his decision, letting out a sigh before opening his mouth. "Though my life may be at risk once people find out I did this, let me warn you now, Valyr."


    "You''re on borrowed time, young man. Although the days you must''ve spent in Astarto Vige were peaceful in your eyes, to the nobles, as well as to everyone else¡­ it wasn''t as peaceful as it seemed."


    Recalling his train of thought from earlier, Valyr took in a deep breath before opening his mouth. "What do you mean by that, Marquis?"


    Scratching his head for a bit, Aster eventually responded. "Currently, there are two factions that exist within the Zeihardt n: the supportive faction and the rebel faction. Among the two factions, the rebel faction has scoured the entire continent for any traces of your whereabouts, wanting to be the first ones to get their hands on you before the other faction."


    Listening to Aster''s exnation, Valyr could not help but wonder if it had something to do with the War of the Three Sovereignties itself, bing one of the reasons for the war to ur in the first ce. Of course, he also came up with other possibilities, thinking that the situation Aster exined being an internal fight that had transpired within the n, which might affect the overall results of the war greatly depending on the oue.


    Either way, he was not privy to the situation Aster exined, so Valyr went ahead and asked for further information. "Why do they want to be the first ones to get their hands on me, though?"


    As he asked this question, Valyr thought that his body before he had appeared in the world of Greater Beyond might have stolen a precious treasure from the n, or perhaps a powerful skill that would shake the world at its core if people were to find out.


    However, Aster''s answer was neither of them.


    "Well¡­ let''s just say you''re the reason why the n split into two in the first ce."


    "¡­eh?"


    Ding!


    [You have received a world quest: The Future of Humanity.]

 Chapter 187 World Quest

    "What do you mean by that, Marquis?" Naturally, Valyr was bewildered to hear from Aster''s mouth that he was the reason why the Zeihardt n had split into two factions, prompting him to ask this question, which caused Aster to fall into a state of ponderation.


    In the meantime, he went ahead andmanded the system to show the quest he had received in his mind, feeling a hint of dread at the thought that he had received the quest just as Aster said that.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Future of Humanity (1)] (World Quest) (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: S


    The Zeihardt Royal n is one of the very few human ns in existence to have existed ever since the human race rebelled against their oppressors over one hundred thousand years ago. The n is also the main reason why the human race was able to liberate themselves, with the founder of the n eventually establishing the greatest power of the human race.


    However, with the passage of time, those from the n eventually forgot their pitiful beginnings as a race, instead pursuing to vie for greater control over the n at every opportunity as corruption worsens within the n with every generation. Though this internal fight had been subtle for multiple decades, it had only be a true problem within the past decade or so due to the existence of a single person.


    You.


    Amidst the tensions building between the three races that live on the world of Veldanyr, you must head to the origin of your blood and resolve the problem at its roots. If left unchecked, the existence of the human race might be different as you know it.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Head to where the Zeihardt Royal n is located (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > 300,000 XP


    > Level +1


    Quest Penalty: End of the linked quest, future repercussions


    Remaining time: 3 months


    [Note: It is rmended that you head to where the Zeihardt Royal n is located as soon as possible.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''A World Quest¡­'' Though he was doubtful earlier when he had received the notification, Valyr now had no choice but to ept the fact that what he had obtained was a bona fide World Quest.


    From the name of the type of quest itself, World Quests were quests wherein the oue would affect the future of the entire world, with the destruction of the world normally being the oue when the one who obtained the quest failed to seed inpleting its objectives.


    Though more difficult versions of World Quests would appear in the future versions of Greater Beyond, all of them, including World Quests, had three things inmon. First, if one were toplete them, they would be able to obtain rewards that could not be crafted, nor obtained through any quest.


    Second, the quest could only be obtained once. Even if one found out the various steps that led to unlocking the quest, one would not be able to receive it if another person already had the quest.


    And third, the difficulty grade of a World Quest was always S no matter what.


    ''Judging from the description of the quest, it seems that the problem that''s currently running amok in the n has a connection to the oue of the War of the Three Sovereignties.'' As this thought surfaced in his mind, Valyr could not help but inwardly let out a long sigh as his shoulders slightly sagged.


    His n at first was toplete a few tasks during the beta version in preparation for Greater Beyond''s first public version. Then, with these preparations, he would obtain a specific World Quest revolving around the''s storyline during the first version before any of the yers had the hopes of obtaining it.


    Though he knew that he could still carry on with his initial ns and do it alongside the World Quest he had just received, the fact that he now had to deal with two World Quests in the future somewhat overwhelmed him. With that, he reminded himself to take everything one step at a time.


    ''Well, if there''s anything positive to getting a World Quest this early, it''s the fact that even a simple task such as heading to where the Zeihardt''s main n is located would me great rewards.'' Inwardly taking in a deep breath, Valyr decided to shift his perspective and view the World Quest as an opportunity, thanking his body for the chance after that.


    Coincidentally, just as Valyr had wholly epted the fact that he had obtained a World Quest, Aster had finally returned back to reality, letting out a long sigh as he looked at the man before shaking his head and bitterly smiling. "Unfortunately, if I tell you the reason, there''s a risk of putting the entire Stelyra n into jeopardy. What I''ve mentioned earlier to you is as far as I can go."


    Hearing those words, Valyr could not help but let out an inward sigh of relief, thankful that he would not obtain any more information from Aster. After all, the information that he had received from him was already far more than what he had expected to find out in the first ce.


    With that in mind, a question eventually popped up in his mind as he looked at the middle-aged man that stood before him. "Why did you decide to tell me all of this? Do you gain anything from this?"


    "I have a lot to gain, and nothing to lose." Aster let out a light chuckle, causing Valyr to tilt his head in slight puzzlement. "As part of the n that has decided to take the side of the Zeihardt Royal n''s supportive faction, I seek to gain a lot once I tell them that I''ve aided you by reminding you to stay far away from the rebel faction."


    At those words, Valyr could not help but bitterly smile for a brief moment, recalling the objective of the World Quest he had just received.


    "Then again, now that you know the reason why I did it, you might be inclined to think of my earlier actions as selfish. Though I apologize, I wouldn''t hesitate to do it again since the fate of the Stelyra n is at stake," Aster added soon after, to which Valyr replied that he could understand. After all, the man before him was the leader of a branch of a noble n, which meant that every action he made affected the fate of not only the branch n he led, but the noble n itself.


    Donning a light smile after hearing that Valyr understood his current position, as well as the fact that he had more or less achieved his main goal in meeting with Valyr, Aster''s mind could not help but wander for a bit, recalling Valyr''s response towards one of his questions from earlier.


    "Now that I think about it, what was the reason behind the ambush you''ve experienced, Valyr?" As this question came out of Aster''s mouth, a grim expression briefly appeared on Valyr''s face before recalling what had transpired in that incident.


    Letting out a light sigh, Valyr replied. "The one who ambushed me told me that someone wanted me dead. I''m more or less certain that it''s because of my current ss, considering how it only happened after I registered at the cksmith Guild and participated in a forging tournament."


    "Your current ss?" Not expecting that kind of response, Aster could not help but raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "Is there something unique about your ss?"


    "There is." Valyr lightly nodded in response. "Though I''ve already told you a lot of things about myself during our conversation so far¡­"


    "Would you mind if you swear an oath before I continue?"

 Chapter 188 Mana Oath

    "An oath?" At that exact moment, the curiosity Aster felt towards Valyr''s current ss had intensified. However, even though his curiosity wanted to know what the young man''s ss was, he felt like swearing an oath was kind of pointless since there were many methods to break through them.


    Then again, as he thought about how this was the only time the young man before him asked him to swear one, considering that their conversation so far had been filled with information that would leave the masses at a loss for words, Aster could not help but be inclined to do so.


    "Alright, young man. I''ll swear an oath." After a bit of silence enveloped the two, Aster eventually agreed to the request, asking Valyr as to what uses he would have to abide by. In response, Valyr told him that he would not, under any circumstances, spread information to any other person other than Valyr regarding his current ss.


    Of course, Aster could not help but find it somewhat weird to swear an oath that only had one use, a straightforward one at that. Recalling how most oaths he had to swear in the past usually had multiple meanings, as well as loopholes to them, though he could not help but find Valyr''s oath somewhat refreshing, Aster went ahead and asked him if he was certain that it was the only use to the oath.


    Nodding, Valyr replied that the statement he had told earlier was the only use to the oath, only to add not long after that Aster should swear a mana oath, which thetter nodded in response, being used to having swear mana oaths and far worse oaths in the past.


    Nevertheless, even though Aster brushed off the fact that he had to swear a mana oath, a mana oath was by no means lenient. Failure to follow the uses of a mana oath meant that one''s mana would be stripped out of their bodies in one go, causing one to return to Rank 0 in the best case scenario, or causing one''s body to shrivel up into a dried corpse in the worst case scenario.


    With that, Aster took in a deep breath before releasing a bit of mana throughout his body. After that, he manipted the released mana to circle around his body, resonating with its surroundings as he began his oath-taking process.


    "Under the witness of the omnipotent and omniscient mana, I, Aster Valerion Stelyra, hereby dere to follow the following uses till my final breath."


    "Under any circumstances am I not allowed to disclose any information regarding the current ss of Valyr Zeihardt, as well as sses and subsses that the man might obtain in the future."


    Just as he had said the use Valyr told him to swear by, Aster could not help but feel like the oath wascking in substance, feeling that there were many loopholes for him to use to be able to break it. Considering how he was swearing an oath rted to the person that would make or break their noble n, he decided to add a few more uses.


    "Under any circumstances am I also not allowed to disclose any information regarding Valyr Zeihardt''s current strength, as well as any other information making up the man''s strength in the future."


    "Under any circumstances am I also not allowed to disclose any information regarding Valyr Zeihardt''s whereabouts, whether it be now or far into the future."


    "Andstly, under any circumstances am I not allowed to disclose any information regarding the conversation that I, Aster Valerion Stelyra, and Valyr Zeihardt have spoken in this location."


    Listening to the uses that Aster had sworn by, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity and surprise, knowing very well that he had only told the man to ensure that information regarding his current ss would not be spread. However, what the man did instead was not just ensure that he wouldn''t spread information regarding his current ss and future sses, he also wouldn''t spread information on his skills, his titles, and even his whereabouts.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to figure out the reasoning behind Aster''s additional uses, understanding it from the perspective of someone who was taking a huge risk to tell Valyr regarding the danger that would befall him in the future if he wasn''t careful. ''With him adding those additional uses, it would be far harder for the rebel faction to pry any information from him regarding what had transpired here today.''


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant he had finished going through all of the uses making up the oath, the mana circling around Aster soon expanded before dispersing multiple motes of mana as a ray of light from who knows where shone down on him not long after.


    "If I fail to follow said uses, may the mana in my body disperse into nothingness and return to the origin."


    Whoosh!


    After a slightly strong breeze blew around the vicinity of the two for quite some time, the surroundings eventually returned to how they were, with Aster looking at Valyr with a calm expression. "Well, young man, I''ve done what you told me to do. Would you now tell me what''s so unique about your ss?"


    In response, Valyr lightly nodded, only to have an expression of hesitation on his face before bitterly smiling. "Before I show you my ss, are the noble ns the only ones taking sides regarding the problem the Zeihardt n is currently facing, Marquis? Are there any other organizations I should take note of?"


    Though he could not help but find it a tad annoying that Valyr only decided to ask the question now, Aster took in a deep breath to calm himself down before nodding. "The noble ns aren''t the only ones who have chosen to take sides. The ss guilds have also decided to take sides as well."


    "For reference, the cksmith, Tailor, Alchemist, and Sage Guilds, the four most renowned production ss guilds, have taken the side of the supportive faction. As for production ss guilds that have taken the side of the rebel faction, the Enchanter and Lapidarist Guild are the only ones that I know of."


    "Forbat ss guilds, five out of the six most renowned ss guilds have chosen to take the side of the supportive faction, with only the Assassin Guild being the only ss guild among the six to have taken the side of the rebel faction."


    "Naturally, more ss guilds exist aside from the ones I''ve mentioned, but a great portion of them are still neutral." Seeing that Valyr nodded in response to his exnation, Aster went ahead and returned the topic of their conversation to what it previously was.


    "Now, would it be possible to see your current ss, Valyr?"


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr lightly nodded beforemanding the system to show his status screen, omitting most of the information that was in it. Leaving only his name, level, and current ss behind, he turned the screen that had appeared in front of him around for Aster to see, prompting thetter to take a closer look as he soon looked at Valyr with incredulity.


    "This is¡­"

 Chapter 189 Inheritance

    Though he was certain that he had read it correctly, Aster could not help but blink and rub his eyes a few times to make sure that what he was reading was not a mere hallucination. Seeing that the ss on the screen did not change even after a while, he eventually got over his disbelief as he looked at Valyr with a newfound sense of awe.


    "A True Prodigious cksmith¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths, Aster eventually told Valyr that he had seen enough, prompting thetter to close the screen as he gave the middle-aged man time to process what he had just seen.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for Aster to ept the fact that Valyr had the True Prodigious cksmith ss, even thinking that it was only proper for someone like him to obtain a ss with that high of a rarity.


    Though, now that he knew Valyr''s current ss, Aster''s mind could not help but return to the incident where Valyr had been ambushed, now gaining a far better understanding of what might have been the reason for the ambush.


    ''With a Mythic production ss¡­ the chances of the reason being that is very likely.'' After pondering over it for a bit, Aster decided to tell Valyr his findings, catching thetter''s attention before opening his mouth.


    "I think I know why you were ambushed, Valyr," he told him. "In fact, I have a feeling that you''ve thought about the reason in the past, but just didn''t have enough concrete evidence to ascertain it."


    In response, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, pondering over what Aster meant by him thinking of the reason behind the ambush in the past. Though, once he figured out what Aster meant, his eyes slightly widened, waiting to hear the words from Aster''s mouth that might confirm his suspicions. "You mean¡­?"


    "It''s highly likely that the ambush was done because of your ss, Valyr." Hearing those words, Valyr could not help but pump his fists in his mind from the feeling of having someone think the same way as him. Though, just as he expected to hear from Aster that the ambush was also because someone wanted him dead, Valyr was instead given something else.


    "However, it''s not because someone wants you dead. Instead, there''s a high chance it was a test."


    "Hmm?" Hearing Aster''s words, Valyr could not help but knit his brows in slight confusion as he tried to recall what had transpired during the ambush.


    "Think about it, Valyr. If something truly wanted you dead, you wouldn''t be here right now." Saying these words, Aster looked at Valyr, waiting for thetter to process the information he had just dropped on him.


    Fortunately, even though it took a few minutes, Valyr eventually noticed that the whole incident felt somewhat peculiar, especially the part before where he lost consciousness. At that moment, the words of the man that fought against him echoed in his mind.


    ''In any case, since you''ve shown me a good fight, I''ve decided to spare your life. I''ll just find a way to prove to that person who hired me that you''re dead.''


    ''Get stronger. It wouldn''t be interesting if you didn''t.''


    "Ah¡­" With these words lingering in his mind, Valyr could not help but look at Aster, hoping that the man would talk more about it.


    "So, I was right, huh." Seeing as Valyr''s attention was fully focused on him, Aster inwardly nodded before deciding to exin the conclusion he had arrived at after finding out the most likely reason for the ambush.


    "Before I continue, keep in mind that there is only a possibility that the words that wille out of my mouth are true, not the truth itself." Of course, knowing that he was just basing it off the greater bank of knowledge afforded to him by living most of his life at a core city, Aster decided to warn Valyr that there was a chance his conjecture may be wrong.


    In response, Valyr told him that he would keep that in mind, prompting Aster to lightly nod before continuing.


    "So, as I''ve mentioned before, the ambush you''ve experienced was a test, specifically a test done by the cksmith Guild. After all, ss guilds keep records of their members'' sses, no matter if it''s just amon ss or an incredibly rare one."


    "But why would they do that?" Valyr could not help but find it odd that the cksmith Guild would use an ambush as a test. Fortunately, Aster''s response would rify it for him.


    "It''s because the cksmith Guild is wanting to test yourbat strength."


    "Isn''t the cksmith Guild more focused on forging, though? Why would they test mybat strength instead of my proficiency in forging?"


    "That''s because they''re checking to see if you''re fit as a candidate." Hearing these words, Valyr only felt even more confusion.


    "A candidate? A candidate for what?"


    "A candidate for an inheritance," Aster told him, prompting Valyr to go silent as he waited for the former to continue.


    "They''re checking to see if you''re fit as a candidate for an inheritance. Specifically, the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "What''s the Four Pirs'' Inheritance?" Hearing this questione out of Valyr''s mouth, Aster recalled the multiple times a few of his n members were chosen in the past to take part in this inheritance.


    With the knowledge he had umted regarding the inheritance, he soon opened his mouth to respond. "The Four Pirs'' Inheritance is considered the most important inheritance to ever exist. Though I''m not sure as to why it''s considered to be the most important inheritance, the inheritance needs four candidates in order for it to open, specifically candidates with Legendary production sses and above."


    "To be more exact, a tailor, an alchemist, a sage¡­"


    "And a cksmith."


    At that moment, Valyr could not help but scour through his memories in his past life, wondering if he had evere across the Four Pirs'' Inheritance before. From how Aster was making it sound, the Four Pirs'' Inheritance seemed to be an incredibly important inheritance for those who had any of the four sses the man mentioned.


    Yet after searching for quite some time, he had found no memory regarding the inheritance at all. Wondering as to why, a thought eventually surfaced in his mind. ''Is it because the inheritance only existed before the first version of Greater Beyond even began?''


    Keeping a mental note to find out the answer to this question in the future, Valyr continued to listen to Aster''s exnation.


    "With how the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is considered an incredibly important inheritance, a guildprised of the four production sses I''ve mentioned earlier was created, solely for the purpose of nurturing candidates that would enter the inheritance. Its name?"


    "The Imperial Production Guild."


    "And I have a feeling that they''re already searching the entire continent to find you after that test."

 Chapter 190 An Important Question

    "Hold on just for a moment, Marquis." With how sudden Aster had mentioned that an entire guild was on the lookout for his whereabouts, Valyr could not help but ask the man to give him some time to process his words. After a while, Valyr took in a deep breath before looking back at Aster.


    "You''re saying an entire guild is on the lookout for my current whereabouts?"


    "To be more specific, there''s a chance," Aster rified. "After all, I am uncertain whether or not they have considered you as a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Nevertheless, the chances of you being chosen are higher than not being chosen, young man."


    "What''s the name of the guild again?" Taking yet another deep breath, Valyr posed another question to Aster.


    "The Imperial Production Guild. Although it''s considered a ss guild, its members areprised of cksmiths, alchemists, tailors, and sages," Aster said in response, prompting a question to pop up in Valyr''s mind as he recalled the man''s words from earlier.


    "But didn''t you say earlier that the ambush was a test from the cksmith Guild? How is the Imperial Production Guild involved in all of this?"


    Hearing the question that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Aster pondered over it for a bit before giving an answer. "The Imperial Production Guild is considered as the main ss guild for the four sses I''ve mentioned. Consider the guilds for each separate ss as a subsidiary of the Imperial Production Guild in a way."


    Seeing Valyr lightly nod even though an expression of slight befuddlement still graced his face, Aster took it as a cue to continue where he had left off earlier, which was the part where he had told Valyr that the Imperial Production Guild was on the lookout for him.


    "The reason why they''re on the lookout for you is to escort you to Algerie City as soon as possible, the capital city of the Algerie Kingdom," Aster said. "In fact, it''s also where our main ns are located."


    At Aster''s final statement, Valyr could not help but perk up his ears, finding it quite a lucky coincidence that the World Quest he got needed him to head to where the Zeihardt Royal n was located, which he found out from Aster was located in the Algerie Kingdom. In other words, once the Imperial Production Guild located his whereabouts, he would be brought to the Algerie Kingdom for the inheritance, thus killing two birds with one stone.


    ''Then again, I should keep in mind that Aster''s words are only what-ifs.'' Valyr reminded himself after that. ''It''s not certain that the Imperial Production Guild is on the lookout for me. Though¡­''


    "Why do they want to find me as soon as possible?" Valyr could not help but ask soon after.


    "That''s because the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is set to open at the end of the following month," said Aster in response. "The Imperial Production Guild likes to have everything prepared for the inheritance in advance."


    "I see¡­" Valyr nodded after that, pondering over something for a bit before a question popped up in his mind, prompting him to look at Aster. "Should I just head to Algerie City before they find me, then?"


    "Although it''s solely up to you on what choice you make, I''d suggest you stay here if you don''t have any ns to head to the Algerie Kingdom." Aster looked back at him with a calm expression. "After all, everything I''ve said so far is purely spection."


    "Though that may be the case, you have broadened my horizons, Marquis," Valyr said with a grateful expression. "I also thank you for warning me of the problem that''s happening in my n."


    "As long as you understand." Nodding back with a light smile, Valyr and Aster talked for a bit more before heading back to where Arcenne and Gabriel were, arriving around 15 minutester.


    ¡­


    Seeing that the two men were finally back, Gabriel and Arcenne, who decided to make use of their time waiting by sparring with one another, could not help but have excited and expectant expressions as Arcenne moved closer to the two of them.


    Sensing the slightly arid atmosphere within the room, making it feel as if they''ve stepped into a desert of sorts, Valyr and Aster could not help but focus their attention onto Arcenne, who had appeared in front of them. "So, what did you two talk about?"


    In response to the expectant expressions on both Gabriel and Arcenne''s faces, Valyr and Aster looked at each other for a bit before lightly nodding. After that, Valyr looked at Arcenne before shrugging his shoulders. "Nothing much, really. He just wanted to tell me thanks for being your friend. In fact, he even showed me a few things I could learn aboutbat."


    "You''ve found a good person to be friends with, dear." Aster lightly smiled after hearing that, causing all of the excitement Gabriel and Arcenne to disappear within an instant.


    "¡­Are you two serious?" Arcenne decided to ask the two one more time, knowing for a fact that her father''s reason for staying in the city in the first ce was because of Valyr. With that, she was certain that what the two of them told her was nothing but a facade.


    Hearing Arcenne''s question, Valyr and Aster looked at each other before bitterly smiling.


    "Let''s just say that we discussed about something only men would talk about." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, he shifted his gaze towards Gabriel. "I''m sure you already know what that topic is, Gabriel."


    "Ah¡­? Ah!" Surprisingly, Gabriel ''understood'' what Valyr was trying to say, nodding in response as he gave thetter a thumbs-up. Seeing Gabriel give Valyr a thumbs-up in response to his words, Arcenne could not help but let out a light sigh as she decided to just give up on asking.


    Though Arcenne still tried a few more times to make either Valyr or Aster tell her what they actually talked about, she ended up being unsessful till the very end.


    With Aster apologizing to Gabriel for intruding upon the conversation he and Valyr were having, both Aster and Arcenne then thanked the two for their time before they left the room. However, just as they were about to leave, Valyr stopped them in their tracks for a bit as he asked Arcenne if he could add her to his friend list since he had something to ask her.


    Hearing that, Arcenne lightly nodded, adding Valyr to her friend list as she told him that she would be in the room where he took his spear proficiency test until sundown if she wanted to meet her. Surprisingly, Aster had Valyr add him to his friend list as well, causing expressions of shock to appear on both Arcenne and Gabriel''s faces as they wondered what the two of them talked about for a marquis to add a young man like Valyr.


    Nevertheless, with that, the Stelyra duo eventually left both Gabriel and Valyr to their own devices, prompting thetter two to continue where they had left off before they were interrupted.


    "So¡­ are you fine with the hours and sry I''ve offered earlier?" Gabriel looked at Valyr, a slightly hopeful expression adorning his face.


    "Let''s put that topic aside for the meantime. I actually have something else to ask you." However, rather than respond to the question, Valyr instead brushed it off for now, piquing a hint of Gabriel''s interest.


    "What is it?"


    "Do you know how to set up a business in this city?"

 Chapter 191 Founding A Business

    After talking with Gabriel for a bit more regarding the instructor position that was offered to him, Valyr eventually left the room and bade farewell to the man before making his way to where Arcenne was.


    While doing so, he could not help but recall the deal that the two of them eventually agreed upon. ording to Gabriel, he would hold three sessions a week in thebat training hall, with the main focus of each session being to teachbat to people for four hours. For each session he taught, he would be paid 40 gold coins, which Valyr thought was a hefty sum for city standards.


    Of course, the original offer Gabriel gave Valyr was lower, with him having to hold two sessions per day, only to be paid five gold coins for each session. Knowing how his reputation as a Rank 1 Combat Elite would definitely make more peoplee to thebat training hall, he used that as leverage to sweeten the deal for himself.


    "Then again, I guess my only choice is to ask Arcenne regarding that matter." After finalizing the deal regarding his instructor job, Valyr then asked Gabriel if he knew anything about setting up a business in the city.


    Surprisingly, Gabriel shook his head in response to the question, telling him that he would have a better chance knowing the requirements from Arcenne rather than him. He also told Valyr that he was already satisfied with what he made as an instructor and proctor of thebat training hall, which Valyr quickly understood.


    Opening the door that led to the room where he fought against Arcenne for his spear proficiency test a couple minutester, Valyr was instantly greeted by the sight of Arcenne sparring with her father with a wide grin on her face, not holding back on her power.


    On the other hand, Aster defended against all of the attacks his daughter sent his way with the sword he was wielding, casually flicking them away with a light smile on his face. At times, he would return the favor and retaliate, though most of the time it ended up with him having to reduce the momentum behind his de to a halt, teaching Arcenne what she could do to retaliate.


    Sensing that a person had entered the room at some point, both Aster and Arcenne shifted their gazes towards the entrance, only to have smiles at their faces as they realized who it was.


    "We meet again, young man." Aster lightly nodded at Valyr, to which Valyr nodded in response back, thanking him once again for his earlier words.


    "So, you''re here to ask me something, right?" As for Arcenne, she recalled the words Valyr had mentioned to her earlier. Though she still had a bit of an urge to ask Valyr what he and her father talked about earlier, after being unsessful even when both her and Aster were alone in the room, she eventually gave up.


    "I tried asking Gabriel about it when we were finalizing the job offer, but he told you probably knew more about the matter than him." Nodding, Valyr nced at Aster for a bit before returning his gaze to Arcenne. "In any case, I was wondering if you knew the requirements needed to establish a business in this city."


    At that moment, both Aster and Arcenne''s eyebrows raised in curiosity, not expecting a question like that toe out of Valyr''s mouth at all.


    Naturally, Valyr had an idea as to what they were thinking when he said that, but he ignored it. "So, do you know the requirements?"


    Being brought back to reality by the question, Arcenne looked at Aster, to which thetter nodded back at her. With that, she looked back at Valyr before nodding. "What kind of business are you nning to establish in the first ce? After all, the requirements differ for every type of business."


    "I''m nning to set up a smithy," Valyr said in response. "As far as I''ve checked, there''s not muchpetition for a new smithy in this city."


    Hearing that Valyr was nning to set up a smithy, Arcenne''s interest could not help but be piqued, curious as to why he would set up one. As for Aster, who already knew of Valyr''s current ss, remained silent. Nevertheless, a smile still adorned his face as other thoughts went on in his mind regarding the situation.


    "Hmm¡­" Pondering over what she could recall regarding the requirements to establish a new smithy, Arcenne spent quite a bit of time in silence before opening her mouth. "Well, first and foremost, for you to set up a new smithy, you must already have a location for where the smithy would be built."


    "Do you have a location in mind already?" Asking this question to Valyr, Arcenne was not surprised when she noticed Valyr slowly shaking his head in response. With that, she thought about possible locations Valyr could take in the city, using the information she hadpiled about the city in the past as reference.


    However, just as she had narrowed the possible locations down to a couple ces, Aster ced his hand over her shoulder, causing her to lose her train of thought as she looked back at him with a slight frown. Though, once she heard the words that came out of her father''s mouth, the frown on her face was reced with a light gasp as she gazed back at Valyr.


    Once more, she could not help but wonder as to what the two talked about for their rtionship to be this close this quick.


    "I''ll take care of the location," Aster said, which was heard by Valyr. Naturally, Valyr thanked Aster for his help, to which thetter onlyughed in response.


    At this point, Arcenne could not help but scratch her head as she continued enumerating the requirements. "Aside from the location, you would need an official permit from the city to run a business."


    "Since it''ll normally takes a long time for a permit to be signed by the mayor, I''ll help you out on this one," she said to Valyr soon after, though thetter told her it was fine if the permit was processed the normal way. Nevertheless, Arcenne insisted, telling Valyr that since her father was helping him out, then it was natural for her to help him as well. With that, Valyr was left with no choice but to thank her.


    "Aside from the location and the business permit, you need a supply chain for raw materials, especially metals since you''re running a smithy." Arcenne pondered in silence for a bit before looking back at Valyr. "I know a few people you could talk to regarding that, so it''s up to you to strike a deal with them."


    After that, Arcenne told Valyr all of the people and stores she knew that could possibly supply him with raw materials, prompting thetter to keep all of it in his mind as he made a mental note to ask themter. "Anything else aside from those three?"


    Seeing Arcenne nod in response to his question, Valyr went silent, wondering if the next requirement was difficult to procure, just like the previous three she mentioned. However, all of those thoughts instantly disappeared once he found what the next requirement was, lightly smiling with confidence instead.


    "There''s only one more requirement, but it''s probably the most difficult to procure in short notice," Arcenne told him. "The final requirement is basically to show proof that the owner is a certified cksmith. Preferably, that proof would be a badge from the cksmith Guild, though a badge from one of the Production Training Halls showing your forging proficiency would also work."


    "Though, considering how you''re incredibly proficient in spearmanship andbat, you''re still in the process of acquiring one of the two badges, right?"


    In response to the question, Valyr let out a light chuckle before lightly shaking his head. Just as Arcenne was about to ask if he hadn''t begun the process yet, he brought out the copper identification badge he received as a reward for finishing top 10 in the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament.


    "You''re talking about this, right?"

 Chapter 192 Nascent Rebirth Elixir

    Astarto Vige.


    "I know the package is going to arrive today, but why do they have to send it so early in the morning?" Letting out a stifled yawn, Vera stood near the vige gates, grumbling with a light frown.


    Though the sun had only been up for an hour or so, she was already dressed in her usual clothing, keeping a lookout on the path that led to the vige''s main streets as she sipped a bit from the cup she brought, which contained a dark liquid that gave her energy.


    Fortunately, a few minutes after she had murmured herints of being awake so early in the morning, Vera noticed a small carriage from afar making its way towards the vige, causing all of theints she had in mind to go down the drain as she felt slightly nervous yet expectant that the carriage would have her package.


    Thankfully, before the carriage couldpletely pass through the vige gates, the carriage driver noticed Vera waiting by the side of the gates, prompting him to bring the carriage to a halt. Recalling the instructions that were given to him, the carriage driver then rummaged a small box from inside the carriage, reading the name written on the box before looking at Vera. "Are you Vera Aschel?"


    "That would be me." Vera nodded, trying to suppress the excitement she felt once she sensed an ever familiar energy faintly emanating from the crystal.


    "That would be one gold coin." Hearing the carriage driver''s words, Vera went ahead and gave a gold coin to the man before retrieving the box from the man''s hands. Thanking the man for his service, she then hastily made her way back to the vige clinic while the carriage driver continued to head deeper into the vige to drop off the other goods it carried.


    Once at the vige clinic, Vera could not suppress her excitement anymore, looking around first if there were any people that would enter the clinic before deciding to open the box.


    Tearing off the multipleyers of parchment that kept the package safe, Vera''s sight was eventually greeted by a small mass of ck vines in the shape of a ball. Taking in a few deep breaths to calm her emotions down, she then inspected the ball of ck vines in greater detail with her mana, finally confirming that the energy she felt earlier from the package was, in fact, the one she should sense from the item.


    After infusing the ball of ck vines with a hint of mana, the vines gradually unfurled, revealing a flower with petals that were as ck as the void, with its center taking on a glistening silver.


    "The Crystal Voidblossom¡­" Knowing how much time and money it had cost her to procure the item, Vera slowly made her way to the back of the vige clinic, entering her room as she ced it on top of her alchemical instruments for the meantime.


    Conjuring a small barrier of mana around it just in case it fell, Vera then made her way to her bed, retrieving a great number of the boxes under the bed before pushing them all towards the instruments. cing the Crystal Voidblossom in a more secure spot, she then opened up all of the boxes she had brought from under her bed, which showed a plethora of rare alchemical ingredients.


    "Inferno Thistle, Zephyr Vine, Ethereal Azurewater¡­" Confirming that all of the boxes contained all of the ingredients she would need, Vera could not help but be excited once more, thinking about the item that she was about to concoct. Then again, her mentor did not specify what item she was going to concoct with these ingredients she had been collecting for the past two months.


    Nevertheless, she was certain that her mentor would finally tell her since she had all of the ingredients needed for it. After all, an item that would need this many rare alchemical ingredients was definitely something that was best kept a secret until the opportune moment.


    Infusing some of her mana towards a light gray orb on a pedestal, Vera went ahead and removed the alchemical ingredients she had procured from the boxes, conjuring small barriers of mana around them before cing them where she had ced the Crystal Voidblossom.


    While she was in the midst of removing the alchemical ingredients from the boxes, a demure yet slightly raspy voice resounded from the orb, prompting her to stop what she was currently doing. "Well, if it isn''t my dear student, Vera. What made you contact me out of the blue?"


    "Mentor," replied Vera, trying her best to hide the excitement she felt. Nevertheless, a hint of it seeped through her voice. "I''ve finally collected all of the ingredients."


    "You mean¡­?" For a while, Mystia did not know what Vera was talking about. Though, once it all clicked into her mind, she could not help but let out a light gasp. "You finally found a Crystal Voidblossom?"


    "Yes, Mentor. Every ingredient for that item you want me to concoct has all been procured." As Vera said these words in response, Mystia could not help but let out a lot ofughter, feeling great ecstasy at the fact that Vera had finally done it.


    "You''ve done well, Vera. It''s time for your patience to finally off, and it will all begin with this elixir," said Mystia after she was finished celebrating in her own way. At that moment, Vera decided to ask the question that had been bugging her for the past two months.


    "Mentor, what kind of elixir am I concocting exactly?"


    "It''s an elixir that can only be crafted by a Novice Alchemist, as well as consumed by that same alchemist. I wouldn''t have told you to not ascend if not for that reason," said Mystia through the orb. "Not only does it increase your perceptivity towards the elements and your surroundings, it also increases your overall talent, your vitality, as well your mana. In fact, it even allows you to tap into a purer form of mana."


    "Because of its seemingly miraculous effects, it''s called the Nascent Rebirth Elixir."


    Hearing the effects of the elixir she was going to concoct, though she could not help but be excited that she had the opportunity to concoct it, Vera could not help but doubt her skills. "Would it really be fine for me to concoct the elixir, Mentor? If I fail, it would be a great waste."


    "You''ve learned your craft under me, Vera. You don''t have to worry about a thing." In response, Mystia reassured her, reminding Vera of her proficiency in alchemy. "Plus, you just have to follow my instructions to the letter. As long as you do that, the chances of the concoction being a sess is high."


    "Speaking of which, have youpleted the dosage of Basic Reinforcement Elixir?" she asked not long after. "To be honest, I almost forgot that having a reinforced body and soul, even at the basic level, would make you morepatible with the Nascent Rebirth Elixir, allowing you to receive more of its effects."


    "Thankfully that Zeihardt kid reminded me of it."


    "I did." Vera nodded, even though she knew Mystia wouldn''t be able to see it. "I''ve consumed all 10 vials of Basic Physical and Mental Reinforcement Elixir, Mentor. I''ve also obtained the skill thates along with it."


    "Good, good, good." Mystia''s tone was filled with glee. "Alright, dear. Let''s begin concocting the Nascent Rebirth Elixir."


    "After this, Veldanyr won''t just have one Mystic Alchemist¡­"


    "¡­but two!"

 Chapter 193 The Crimson Forge

    As Valyr brought out his identification badge from the cksmith Guild, Aster could not help but have an amused expression on his face, lightly chuckling as he recalled that Valyr had mentioned he had already registered with the cksmith Guild. ''An Elite Member of the cksmith Guild, huh.''


    On the other hand, Arcenne''s eyes widened in shock once she saw Valyr bring out the badge. However, this feeling of shock swiftly disappeared as she felt that it was slightly suspicious for Valyr to have an identification badge from the cksmith Guild.


    After all, in her eyes, he was a prodigy inbat. There was no way he would find the time to pursue cksmithing¡­


    Right?


    With that, she moved closer to get a better look at the badge, even asking Valyr to give it to her for a moment. In response, Valyr nodded as he gave his badge to her, a light yet carefree smile adorning his face as he did so.


    With the badge now in her hands, Arcenne checked every part of it, ncing at Valyr every few seconds or so once she sensed the familiar energy of an official badge from the cksmith Guild emanating out of it. At that instant, she discarded the possibility of the badge being a knockoff of some sort.


    ''So, you''re telling me¡­ aside frombat, he''s also a well-aplished cksmith?'' Suppressing the shock she felt from this thought, her attention was soon focused on the lower portion of the badge, which showed his current ss rank, his name¡­ as well as his position in the guild.


    "You''re an Elite Member?" At that point, Arcenne was left with no choice but to believe that the man in front of him, who was alreadybat prodigy in her eyes, was also a certified cksmith. "Where¡­ where do you even find the time to pursue cksmithing even though you''re already so good inbat?"


    "What do you mean by finding the time to pursue cksmithing?" Hearing the question Arcenne asked him, Valyr could not help but chuckle as he retrieved the badge from Arcenne''s hands. As for Aster, a smile continued to adorn his face, not letting others know what was going on in his mind.


    "My main ss is actually that of a cksmith," Valyr said, wanting to clear the confusion Arcenne felt. "As forbat, that''s something I focus on when I have free time."


    ''Well, I don''t really have to train mybat skills¡­ but that would leave not just Arcenne, but Aster as well at a loss for words.'' As this thought popped up in Valyr''s mind, causing him to inwardly chuckle, Arcenne could not help but feel great dejection from Valyr''s words.


    "So, this is what the others meant when they told me to not getcent and that there was always a person that could do what I did with less effort." Soon after, Arcenne let out a long sigh. "Some people truly are just born with monstrous talent."


    Hearing the murmurs thate out of Arcenne''s mouth, Valyr felt obligated tofort the woman, even though he had not really done anything intentional to make her feel dejected. However, just as he was about to get closer to her and pat her on the shoulders, Arcenne retrieved the spear from the back all of a sudden before sweeping out in Valyr''s direction, giving thetter no choice but to distance himself from her.


    Wondering what had gotten into Arcenne all of a sudden, Valyr swiftly noticed the gaze she had towards him, sensing the mes of ambition and determination madly burning within her. With that, he retrieved the spear from his back before shing a mischievous grin. "Is this a spar to prove whether hard work or monstrous talent has greater importance inbat?"


    "Not at all." In response, a slightly malevolent grin appeared on Arcenne''s face as she closed the distance between them within seconds, shing down with her spear as Valyr swerved his body to the side posthaste.


    "This is just my way of saying congrattions to you for bing an instructor at thebat training hall."


    "Congrattions, my ass!"


    ¡­


    After sparring against one another for a while, their fight eventually came to a draw. With Aster surprisingly acting as the referee to the spar, he imparted the somewhat tired duo with tips that would make their attacks more lethal and effective.


    Unsurprisingly, as she was his daughter, Arcenne took all of his words to heart, reminding herself to apply his words into actual practice. As for Valyr, he also took his words into consideration, cross-referencing it with hisbat experience from his past life as he thought about spending a bit more time onbat. After all, starting tomorrow, he was going to be an official instructor of the Clossbay Combat Training Hall.


    Nevertheless, a couple days inadvertently passed.


    During those days, Valyr held his first everbat training session in thebat training hall, teaching the basics, as well as the intricacies ofbat to those who attended his session during those four hours. Though he did not have the knack for teaching, with the experience he had amassed in his past life, he was still able to impart and widen the horizons of those he taught, his reputation of being a Rank 1 Combat Elite now including the fact that he was also a greatbat instructor.


    Aside from that, he also talked to the people Arcenne had rmended to him regarding the supply chain of raw materials for his future smithy. Thankfully, all of the people he had talked to were all easy to work with, especially once they found out he was an Elite Member from the cksmith Guild.


    Arcenne also sent a few messages to him during the past couple of days through the chat function, telling him to give her his identification badge from the cksmith Guild for the meantime to get the paperwork done. When they met up for Valyr to give his identification badge to Arcenne, thetter looked at him for a bit before posing a question to him.


    "Those from the government asked me as to what kind of name the smithy would have," she told him, thanking him as she received the identification badge. "I presume you already have a name in mind for it?"


    "Yeah." With a light smile, Valyr nodded, recalling the time when he had first unlocked the [Basic Crimson me Maniption] skill. Though the skill said that it was a me made for destruction, Valyr felt like the uses of the skill extended beyond it.


    Feeling like he would use the skill in many aspects of cksmithing in the future, the name for the business eventually came out of his mouth, as if it was seemingly meant to be.


    "Let''s call it¡­"


    "The Crimson Forge."

 Chapter 194 Setting Up Shop

    "I wonder why Arcenne told me toe to this ce." Following the day where he and Arcenne met up regarding the badge, as well as the name of his business, thetter sent a message to him early in the morning through the chat function to head to a certain ce.


    Looking around his surroundings at first nce, Valyr thought that Arcenne just chose a random arbitrary ce within the city that would be easy for him and her to reach within minutes. After all, ever since he had arrived at Clossbay once more, he had been staying at an inn for the meantime.


    However, after looking around for a bit more, he eventually noticed that one of the buildings felt empty. Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, he walked closer to it before looking inside, a light grin adorning his face once he did.


    Though the building was only one story and did not stand out that much among the other buildings due to how narrow the building looked, Valyr had a feeling that the building made up for it with it being longer than wider, thinking that there would be more space in the building once he started looking back.


    But as he wasn''t sure if what he had in mind was what Arcenne also had in mind when she had hime here, he decided to limit himself to the front of the building for now, bing acquainted with how the space at the front of the building was decorated.


    Though there was a thinyer of dust over everything, Valyr could not help but notice that one section of the building contained all of the tools and items that anyone that dabbled in forging might use. Aside from that, tworge furnaces could be found in the rear portion of the building that was visible to Valyr.


    Just as he was about to take a few steps closer to the building and take a closer look, a notification sound resounded in his mind, informing him that he had received a message from someone in his friend list. With that, hemanded the system to bring up the chat function, only to see that the one who sent him a message was actually Tryndall.


    "Hey, Valyr. Just wanted to remind you that today''s the day we finally find out who among the five suspects is the Clossbay Killer." Reading the message that Tryndall had sent to him, it did not take long for Valyr toe up with a proper reply.


    "Did you enlist the help of those from the Adventurer''s Guild, just like I suggested a few days ago?"


    "Yeah. Five people that have variants of the Assassin ss that focus on greater stealth." Valyr received a message from Tryndall not long after his reply. "They''re actually following the five people around as we speak, updating me from time to time regarding what the suspects are doing."


    "What time do we have to start moving?" Valyr asked not long after.


    "Sometimeter into the night, but I''ll just give you a go signal through these messages. In fact, I noticed you''ve been busy for the past couple of days." As Valyr read this message from Tryndall, he could not help but imagine thetter chuckling as he sent this.


    With that, he let out a chuckle as well, sending a response to it soon after. "In the process of establishing a smithy in the city. Once it''s up and running, you shoulde by sometime."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind." After exchanging a few more messages with Tryndall, Valyr eventually closed the chat function, a bitter smile adorning his face once he noticed that Arcenne hadn''t appeared yet.


    Though, this bitter smile swiftly turned into a genuine one once he noticed a young woman slowly making her way to where he was, carrying a pair of rolled-up parchment with her.


    Eventually, the young woman stopped in front of Valyr before shifting her gaze towards the building that was in front of them. Looking back at Valyr, she let out a chuckle before posing a question to him. "So, have you already checked out where the Crimson Forge shall be established?"


    "It seems my hunch was correct." Hearing that, the smile on Valyr''s face became wider as he nodded in response to her question. "I only checked out the part that was visible from where we''re standing since I wasn''t sure of the reason why you had mee here. But now that I know, I should have entered."


    "Speaking of which, here''s the deed to the building, as well as the official business permit from the government." In response to Valyr''s words, Arcenne gave the rolls of parchment to Valyr, prompting thetter to unfurl the parchments and read through it as the former continued to speak.


    "For the business permit, the agreement is basically to pay a base fee of five gold coins to the city every month, as well as 5% of the profit you''ve made from the sales for that month."


    Seeing Valyr nod in response to her words, she continued to speak, a smug smile stered on her face. "To be honest, if you took the normal route to process the business permit, the agreement you''d get would be to pay 10 gold coins to the city a month, plus 20% of the profit you make from sales."


    "Of course, I was able to reduce that thanks to the reputation and prestige my n holds." Feeling as if she was waiting for him to give her words of praise, Valyr went ahead and did just that, causing the smug smile on her face to grow more smug.


    Recalling that she hadn''t given back Valyr''s identification badge yet, Arcenne rummaged the badge out of her pocket and gave it back to him as she continued to talk about the second parchment. "As for the deed to the building, the building actually used to be a failing smithy since it ran out ofpetent cksmiths that could forge good quality equipment. With that, Father struck a deal with the owner and got the smithy for a good price."


    "In fact, the owner even agreed to leave the tools and remaining materials behind." Saying this, the smug smile on her face turned into a grin as Valyr inwardly suppressed the urge tough.


    ''Then again, who would turn down the offer of a marquis?'' With this thought in mind, Valyr posed the question he had in mind to Arcenne.


    "How much does the building cost?"


    Naturally, Valyr nned to pay for the building, not wanting to owe Arcenne and Aster even more than the help they''ve already given to him through processing the paperwork. However, once he heard the price that came out of Arcenne''s mouth, he instantly shifted gears, wondering if it was fine for him to owe them for a just bit longer.


    "With the deal Father made, we were able to reduce it to 2,000 gold coins¡­ or 20 tinum coins, in Father''s case," Arcenne said to him. Noticing the incredulous expression Valyr had when he heard her words, she stifled the chuckle that wanted toe out of her mouth.


    "Though we expect you to pay us the 2,000 gold coins back, there''s no time limit whatsoever. There''s no interest as well," she continued. "Just make sure to pay us once you have the capability to do so."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind." Nodding in response to her words, Arcenne thanked Valyr once more for her help, which the former definitely appreciated. After that, Arcenne told him that the building had a partitioned space at the back specifically made for living, to which Valyr nodded in response, telling her that he would relocate to this ce as soon as possible.


    "Well, it''ll be a while before I get this smithy fully up and running." As the two of them walked into the building to get a better look of the ce, Valyr headed towards the section that contained all of the forging tools before looking back at Arcenne. "Aside from cleaning the ce, I''ll also have to contact the suppliers, as well as a few other people."


    "In any case, you and Marquis Stelyra have been a huge help. With that¡­"


    "How about I forge a weapon for you?"

 Chapter 195 Enhancement, Refinement, Attribute Awakening

    "Really?" Unsurprisingly, Arcenne could not help but be excited once she heard the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth. After all, this would be the first time she would see Valyr''s other side, the side that she hadn''t be acquainted with yet.


    While Arcenne''s curiosity made her wonder as to what kind of proficiency Valyr had in forging to be able to be an Elite Member of the cksmith Guild, Valyr retrieved the forging hammer and tongs from the selection of tools, wiping off the dust from them before cing it on the anvil near the two furnaces.


    Wiping the dust off the anvil''s surface before cing the tools down, he then headed to another part of the building, taking a look at the remaining materials the previous owner had left for him to work with. Though he could not help but bitterly smile, thinking that he could''ve worked with more exotic materials if he contacted the suppliers beforehand about this ce, he still thought that he could make a decent weapon with the materials at hand.


    With that, he grabbed a decent amount of coal before cing them into one of the two furnaces. After that, he conjured a small wisp of crimson me, which he threw at the small pile of coal, causing it to turn into a sufficientlyrge me within seconds.


    Taking note of the temperature through the ambient heat it released, Valyr went ahead and added more fuel to the fire, eventually stopping once he felt that the furnace had reached its optimal temperature.


    "Before I ask you what kind of weapon you want me to forge, I''ll let you know beforehand that I''m only working with the materials the previous owner left in the building, so I won''t be able to forge to the best of my abilities." Bing entranced while watching Valyr stoke the mes in the furnace, Arcenne was swiftly brought back to reality once she heard Valyr''s words, nodding in response soon after.


    "So, what kind of weapon do you want me to forge?" Seeing Arcenne nod at his words, Valyr went ahead and posed the question to her.


    In response, a light frown appeared on Arcenne''s face as she rubbed her chin in contemtion. After a while, a specific weapon surfaced in her mind as she looked back at Valyr and nodded.


    "I''ve been meaning to try wielding the de at some point since I''ve already reached a sufficient level of proficiency with the spear," she told him as she wryly smiled. "Well, to be more specific, I think I''ve reached a bottleneck in terms of my proficiency with the spear, so I thought I should try wielding another weapon to find a way to break past it."


    "So, yeah. If you could craft me a de, that would be nice."


    "A de, huh?" Valyr nodded and took note of Arcenne''s words, keeping an eye on the furnace from time to time before heading to the sections where the remaining materials were stored.


    ''Since I haven''t started forging yet, I should allocate all of my Technology Points first.'' While looking through the pile of remaining materials, finding one that would perfectly suit a de, Valyr eventually recalled one of the things he told himself he would do during the journey once he had settled down in Clossbay, which was to use up all of his Technology Points and progress further into the Technology Tree.


    ''But first, I should use the ne''s ability.'' Then again, as he recalled this reminder, he remembered that he hadn''t used the Ne of Enlightenment''s ability yet, causing him to inwardly admonish himself as he could have used the ne a second time the following day if he had used it once he had left the dungeon.


    However, he swiftly got over it as he told himself that there was no point regretting over what he could have done in the past. Reminding himself to use the ne''s ability as soon as possible from now on, he went ahead and activated its innate skill, telling the ability to unlock advancements rather than upgrade existing ones.


    Ding!


    [Selecting a random Basic level advancement to unlock¡­]


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: Attributes Lv. 1>.]


    ''Huh. The ne actually unlocked an advancement I was nning to unlock.'' Checking out the Technology Tree to see what advancement the ne''s ability had unlocked, Valyr eventually noticed that the other Basic level advancement that branched out of <Basic cksmithing Essence> was now lit up.


    Seeing that the ne had already started his job for him, Valyr went ahead and unlocked the Basic level advancements that branched out of <Basic Understanding: Attributes>, maxing out all of the advancements along the way.


    ''And with this, I''ve unlocked all of the Basic level advancements in the Production branch for the meantime.''


    Ding!


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Understanding: Attributes> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: Additional Equipment Attributes Lv. 1>.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: Equipment Attribute Awakening Lv. 1>.]


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Understanding: Equipment Attribute Awakening> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    [As you have unlocked <Basic Understanding: Equipment Attribute Awakening>, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Equipment Attribute Awakening''.]


    [Due to your current ss, your active skill ''Basic Equipment Attribute Awakening'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening''.]


    ''Enhancement, Refinement, and finally, Attribute Awakening.'' As he ced the materials he would use for the de to the side, Valyr went ahead and allocated the remaining Technology Points he had to the other branches of the Technology Tree. At the same time, he wondered what kind of changes his current ss brought to the [Basic Equipment Attribute Awakening] skill.


    Though the Attribute Awakening feature did not directly increase the Attack or Defense stat of the equipment, from the name of the feature itself, it allowed the equipment to give the user additional attributes, with weapons focusing on the user''s offensive stats, while armor focused on the user''s defensive stats.


    Unlike Enhancement and Refinement, where the improvement was constant, the level of awakening was always random, with the highest value being reliant on the rarity of the equipment. Nevertheless, there were ways to increase the chances of getting the best Attribute Awakening, such as the usage of items, or by having those with rare cksmith sses awaken the attributes of equipment.


    In fact, Valyr could recall many people in his past life chasing those with incredibly rare cksmith sses to obtain the best Attribute Awakening on their equipment. Then again, the reason behind that was because, in theter versions of the game, a great portion of one''s stats was made up of the equipment one had equipped.


    Eventually, Valyr was finished retrieving the materials he would use, carrying them all to the anvil as he started to throw some of the materials into the furnace, increasing the heat from the mes soon after. While doing so, he took a look at his Technology Tree, inwardly nodding as he noticed therge zero that served as his counter for Technology Points.


    Since he didn''t have a lot of blueprints for des, Valyr allocated most of his Technology Points towards maxing out all of the advancements he could in the Innovation branch, which would give him arger base of knowledge to work with while making a blueprint. Though, before doing so, he maxed out all of the advancements he had already unlocked in the Combat branch first.


    With the amount of Technology Points he had, he was able to max out all of the advancements from the Innovation Branch up to the Copper Age, which Valyr deemed a respectable age of innovation to stop on. However, just as he had activated [True Prodigious Blueprint Creation], Valyr went ahead and took a look at the description for [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening], only for a light grin to appear on his face after he was finished.


    "Well then."


    "Now I see why the others were like that back then."

 Chapter 196 Frigid Thorn And Glacial Edge

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    Once a cksmith reaches a high level of mastery, they gain the ability to awaken part of thetent potential hidden within the equipment, transforming it into a power that would bolster the strength of the equipment''s wielder even further. That ability is known as Attribute Awakening.


    Due to the user being a true prodigy, the user is guaranteed to awaken one of the attributes that could be awakened within a piece of equipment. There is a 25% chance for the user to awaken most of the attributes that could be awakened within the equipment, as well as a 10% chance for the user to awaken all of the possible attributes that could be awakened within the equipment.


    Due to the user being a true prodigy, the lowest possible value for the attributes that the user could awaken through the equipment is 40% of the maximum value for the equipment''s rarity, with a 10% chance for the user to obtain the maximum value for the equipment''s rarity.


    Due to the user being a true prodigy, the attributes that have been awakened in the equipment shall adjust ordingly to the wielder''s strength, scaling proportionally to the wielder''s stats while keeping the awakened value in mind.


    Due to the user being a true prodigy, the user can overwrite any attributes that have already been awakened within a piece of equipment.


    Cost: 50 MP


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Now I see why the others were like that back then, chasing all of those with incredibly rare cksmith sses," Valyr could not help but mutter once he was finished reading, a light grin adorning his face.


    Unlike the other forging skills that were transformed by his current ss, which either increased his sess rate regarding certain aspects of forging or increased the overall quality of his forged equipment, the [Basic Equipment Attribute Awakening] skill had basically gone through an overhaul due to the effects of his current ss, any traces of the former skill nowhere to be found.


    Compared to its normal version, wherein even awakening one attribute on a piece of equipment was up to luck, the [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening] skill allowed Valyr to awaken at least one attribute at all times, even having a higher chance to awaken more attributes, and potentially all of the possible attributes that could be awakened at once.


    The other changes to the skill also followed the same concept, though the changes that truly caught Valyr''s attention were the final two effects: the fact that the awakened attributes would scale ordingly to whoever wielded the equipment, as well as the fact that he could overwrite any awakened attributes on any piece of equipment he wanted with his own. To him, these two were the greatest changes to the skill.


    As well as the most important.


    Closing the screen before him, Valyr was itching to try out the skill on a piece of equipment, wanting to obtain a better understanding of it as he thought about the de he was going to forge for Arcenne. As a few thoughts passed through his mind, he eventually turned his head to look at Arcenne, who was standing not far away from him.


    "Mind if I borrow your spear for a bit?" Valyr posed the question to her, prompting Arcenne to awaken from her slight daze as she responded with a question, asking him why he needed her spear.


    Hearing her question, a light smile appeared on Valyr''s mouth as he replied, taking note that Arcenne''s face expressed a great want to see how he forged equipment firsthand. "I noticed that your spear was emanating a specific type of energy, so I wanted to make sure that the de I''m going to forge also emanates a simr type of energy."


    "Of course, I could also forge the de in a way where it doesn''t emanate any energy. However, there''s a part of me that says that it would probably be better for me to forge one that does." Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he let out a chuckle soon after.


    "Aside from that, I think I can squeeze out a bit more of your weapon''s potential¡­ if you want me to, that is." At these words, Arcenne''s interest could not help but be piqued, eventually retrieving the azure-colored spear from behind her back before giving it to Valyr after a bit of hesitation.


    "You better not break it." After giving her spear to Valyr, a solemn expression covered her face as she focused her sole attention on the spear, hiding the fact that she would go on a rampage if Valyr did break it.


    In response to her words, Valyr lightly nodded before letting out a chuckle, telling her not to worry. Unsurprisingly, the words he said to keep Arcenne at ease did not have that much effect, with thetter''s expression still solemn as she continued to keep her eyes on Valyr and her spear.


    Deciding to ignore Arcenne''s gaze for the meantime, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on the spear, a light smirk adorning his face once he read through the contents of the screen that had appeared before him.


    "This is a good weapon."


    ? Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+8) Frigid Thorn] (Level 35)


    Rarity: Umon


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Arcenne)


    Attack: 82 - 137 (+10%)


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR +2


    > DEX +1


    A spear forged from materials that are heavily attuned to the elements of Water and Ice. The cksmith that forged this weapon considers this spear as their magnum opus, being the culmination of the cksmith''s experiences in the usage of Water-based and Ice-based materials.


    As the user has continued to use the spear in numerous battles, traces of a soul have awakened inside the spear, allowing the spear to amodate more of the user''s strength.


    <Innate Skill: Frosted Strike - Allows the user to deal damage equivalent to 150% of the user''s Attack stat. Has a small chance to freeze the targeted enemy. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 50 MP.>


    Remarks: Though it may be a spear, you''re not suited for this weapon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Once he was done reading through its description, he then focused on the slight chill that was being faintly emanated by the spear, allowing the chill to permeate through his body for a bit. Feeling that he had now gained a greater understanding of the energy the spear was emanating, he then perused through the treasure trove of memories in his mind, eventually finding a suitable de he could craft that emanated a simr type of energy to the spear.


    Unfortunately, the de in his memories utilized advancements that he still hadn''t unlocked in its fabrication. Nevertheless, with the vast amount of experience he had rued, he was able to adapt the de in his memories, creating a blueprint for a weapon that utilized all the knowledge and advancements that he had unlocked so far.


    Ding!


    [Please name your blueprint.]


    Since the spear that Arcenne owned had a name rted to the elements of Water and Ice, it did not take long for Valyr toe up with a name with the same concept, the words rolling off his tongue with great ease.


    "cial Edge."

 Chapter 197 Beyond Expectations

    After obtaining a notification from the system that his blueprint for cial Edge wasplete, Valyr went ahead and opened up a screen before him that disyed the blueprint he had made in greater detail, wanting to see if there was anything he had to adjust during the forging process to improve the final product.


    Seeing that he only had to do a few modifications to the stepsid out in the blueprint, Valyr inwardly nodded in satisfaction before heading to the pile of remaining materials the previous owner had left for him, grabbing a few more items from the pile before chucking them into the furnace to make sure he was following the material requirements of the blueprint.


    Stoking the mes of the furnace for a bit to maintain its heat, Valyr then focused his attention towards Frigid Thorn, the spear Arcenne had given to him. Taking note of the fact that the weapon had not reached its maximum refinement level yet when he used [Analysis] on the spear earlier, he ced the azure-colored spear on the anvil before swinging his hammer down on it, causing Arcenne''s expression to warp into that of panic.


    Ttang!


    However, just as she felt fury course throughout her body as she thought that Valyr had intentionally broken her spear, when she took a closer look at what Valyr was doing, all of her previous thoughts swiftly down the drain as she noticed that every hit of the hammer he did to her spear gradually improved the appearance of the spear.


    Not only that, she also noticed that the aura, as well as the faint chill emanating from the spear gradually increased with power as Valyr continued to refine the weapon.


    With her anger cated, Arcenne continued to watch Valyr work on her spear, stopping every once in a while to check if the materials he had put into the furnace had reach a suitable temperature for forging.


    Once Valyr had checked that the azure-colored spear had reached its maximum refinement level, he then went ahead and grabbed the spear by the hilt, lifting it a few centimeters above the anvil before gradually closing his eyes.


    Focusing all of his senses towards the spear he held, Valyr then released a bit of his mana and directed it towards the spear, causing the spear to faintly glow a light cyan as Arcenne watched this scene unfold in front of her with her mouth slightly agape.


    "[True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening]."


    Whoosh!


    As Valyr muttered the name of the skill wherein only he could hear what he had said, the faint light cyan glow covering the spear grew in intensity, briefly enveloping the entirety of the space in a silver light before swiftly disappearing as the spear''s appearance returned to how it previously was.


    Sensing this change, Valyr opened his eyes before activating [Analysis] on it to see what attributes he had awakened on the equipment, bitterly smiling soon after as he found out that he had only awakened one attribute. ''In exchange for the previous STR and DEX stat, I awakened a high value AGI stat.''


    ''Again.'' Deciding to try and awaken all of the possible attributes in Arcenne''s spear before giving it back to her, Valyr closed his eyes once more and repeated the process, causing Arcenne to wonder at this point as to what Valyr was doing with her weapon.


    Thankfully, it would not take long for her to find out what he had done as Valyr identified Frigid Thorn with [Analysis] once more, a grin covering his face as he noticed that he had awakened STR, AGI, and DEX on her spear, all of the possible attributes that could be awakened in a weapon that utilized physical attacks.


    ''Though the values are on the lower side of what my skill can do, since the additional attributes scale to whoever wields it, I''m sure Arcenne would be in for the shock of a lifetime once she wields it.'' With this thought, Valyr let out a light chuckle.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Frigid Thorn] (Level 35)


    Rarity: Umon


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Arcenne)


    Attack: 85 - 141 (+10%)


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR +2


    > AGI +2


    > DEX +3


    A spear forged¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill: Frosted Strike - Allows the user to deal damage equivalent to 150% of the user''s Attack stat. Has a small chance to freeze the targeted enemy. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 50 MP.>


    Remarks: You may have allowed the spear to unleash more of itstent potential, but it''s still not a suitable weapon for you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Satisfied with the results he had obtained from the few attempts he had with the Attribute Awakening skill so far, Valyr gave Frigid Thorn back for Arcenne to check before focusing all of his attention on the materials in the furnace, which he noted were close to reaching the optimal forging temperature.


    While Valyr focused his attention on the furnace, Arcenne had a weird expression on her face once she felt her body gain strength out of nowhere once she got her hands on the spear. Recalling the words Valyr told her wherein he would try to squeeze out a bit more of the spear''s potential, she went ahead and used [Analysis] on the skill, only to be left at a loss for words as her eyes widened in shock.


    "How¡­?" As this word barely came out of Arcenne''s mouth from the amount of shock she felt, Valyr had retrieved all of the materials from the furnace and ced them on the anvil, hammering them down to take on the shape of a de. Naturally, he had heard Arcenne''s question, falling into a suitable working rhythm for the de first before proceeding to look at her with a smile.


    "I just did what I said. I squeezed out a bit more of your spear''s potential."


    "The additional attributes¡­" Arcenne muttered in response, only for her voice to gradually get louder with every seeding word. "My spear now also boosts AGI¡­ on top of that, my STR and DEX is now boosted by six points¡­"


    "How did you do it?" In response to the question that came out of Arcenne''s mouth, Valyr looked at her with a knowing smile before focusing his attention back on the de he was forging, cing it back into the furnace from time to time before hammering it to shape once more.


    Feeling as if all her queries would be answered at some point, Arcenne decided to keep silent, watching Valyr forge the de she had requested as she slowly became more and more entranced watching him work.


    As it had been quite some time since he hadst forged something, Valyr went somewhat all out, utilizing the hyperfocus ability given to him by [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to hammer out the imperfections from the de, eventually nodding in satisfaction as he ced the de into the furnace for a bit before quenching it in a nearby barrel of warm oil.


    Thankful that the previous owner had ced the barrel of oil near the furnaces, Valyr then wiped off the excess oil that dripped off from the de, looking at it under the light of the sun before nodding in satisfaction once more as he ced the nowplete de on the anvil.


    With a solemn expression, he then grabbed a few items from the pile of remaining materials before returning to the anvil, ncing at Arcenne''s hands and arms for a brief moment. Nodding as he took note of what he had seen in mind, Valyr then fashioned a quick handle and guard for the de out of the materials he had grabbed before affixing the de to it.


    Wielding the de a bit to see if it had the right bnce, Valyr eventually had a smile on his face after adjusting the handle and the guard of the de a few times. After that, he went ahead and enhanced the de to the same level Arcenne''s Frigid Thorn was at, only to refine it to its maximum refinement level not long after.


    Of course, once he was done enhancing and refining the de to its limits, he then used his Attribute Awakening skill on the de, awakening all of the possible attributes within five attempts. In fact, a pleased grin could not help but appear on his face once he checked that he had obtained somewhat high values for all three attributes.


    Using [Analysis] to get a more detailed description of the weapon''s stats, the grin on Valyr''s face eventually grew wider as he finished reading through its description, incredibly pleased with the weapon he had crafted from limited materials.


    "This de has definitely gone past my initial expectations."

 Chapter 198 Custom Order

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) cial Edge] (Level 35)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Attack: 127 - 211


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR +3


    > AGI +3


    > DEX +5


    Wanting to emte the energy of a different weapon, the cksmith that crafted this de took inspiration from a legendary de they had seen in the past, utilizing their proficiency in forging as a true prodigy to the utmost limits, even though the materials used in forging are only slightly umon.


    Nevertheless, it is a peerless de in its own right, emanating a faint ghastly chill that could instill fear into those that it shes against, containing power to behead foes with one strike. Untapped potential still exists within it, only waiting to be unearthed once the necessary requirements have been found.


    <Innate Skill: Frigid Bloom - Allows the user to sh out at every enemy within a two meter radius, dealing damage equivalent to 75% of the user''s Attack stat. Has an extremely small chance to freeze targeted enemies. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 150 MP.>


    Remarks: You''ve forged something pretty decent. Too bad you can''t use it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through its description, Valyr noticed that the vor text of the de contained a small part in it where it mentioned that he had taken inspiration from a de in his past memories. With this in mind, he could not help but wonder what kind of vor text the system woulde up with if he forged a piece of equipment that exactly mimicked the equipment he had in mind during that time.


    Nevertheless, he discarded those thoughts as swiftly as they came, instead focusing on the fact that the de he had crafted was surprisingly of Umon+ rarity.


    ? Then again, after mulling over it for a bit, he eventually thought that it made sense, considering that the blueprint he made told him that the lowest rarity the de could reach was Umon grade as long as he followed its instructions to the letter.


    Of course, Valyr had no intention of purposefully sabotaging the forging process, instead amending part of it with the knowhow he had gained from his past life. Adding in the hyperfocus ability given to him by [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], it was more or less a given for him to craft a version of the weapon with a plus modifier to its rarity, with the amendments he had made only increasing that likelihood even further.


    "This de I forged has definitely gone past my initial expectations." With a grin adorning his face, he gave cial Edge to Arcenne before lightly chuckling. Noticing the slight confusion that appeared on her face after hearing her words, he added. "You''ll see what I mean once you identify it."


    Though slightly skeptical of his ims, Arcenne lightly nodded and used [Analysis] on cial Edge, her expression unsurprisingly aghast once she finished reading through its description. With widened eyes, she looked at Valyr, then back at the de she held, feeling a hint of difficulty in believing that Valyr had forged the weapon she was currently holding.


    "You¡­ you actually forged this?" Great disbelief filled the entirety of Arcenne''s body, while the expression on her face had changed to that of excitement.


    From what she knew, a Rank 1 cksmith would only be able to craft Common grade equipment, perhaps Common+ grade if they were lucky. With that in mind, she expected Valyr to be able to consistently craft Common+ grade equipment since he was an Elite Member, perhaps even Umon grade through pure luck.


    However, cial Edge was an Umon+ grade weapon!


    With this newfound knowledge, multiple thoughts spurred within Arcenne''s mind regarding what she could have Valyr craft for her, thanking the heavens that she had helped the man out.


    Nevertheless, she knew that the weapon Valyr had forged for her was far too valuable to be even considered a gift anymore. Being brought up with the knowledge that nothing in the world came for free, she retrieved her money pouch and offered to give Valyr a tinum coin.


    Just as Valyr had a confident and rxed smile on his face in response to Arcenne''s earlier question, that smile instantly disappeared when he noticed her giving him a tinum coin. It did not take long for him to put two and two together, causing him to wave his hands back and forth in refusal as he looked at her with a slight frown. "Since I said it''s a gift for helping me out in getting everything I needed to start a business, there''s no need to pay for it."


    "But this de is far too valuable to even be considered a gift at this point," said Arcenne in response as she shook her head. "I insist, Valyr. I would be a fool to not pay for a weapon like this."


    "And I insist that you keep it as a gift. The payment for the de has been all the effort you''ve put into helping me get the requirements needed for this smithy," said Valyr in response to Arcenne''s words, his expression telling thetter that he would refuse the tinum coin no matter what.


    Hearing that, Arcenne let out a low sigh before eventually nodding, stowing the tinum coin back into the money pouch she brought out. Nevertheless, she felt a great amount of guilt at the fact that she had obtained such a valuable weapon for free, with the de''s rarity even being a smidgen better than her Frigid Thorn.


    With that, she pondered over what she could do in order to show Valyr her thanks for crafting the weapon. Thankfully, it did not take long for a perfect idea to surface in her mind, inwardly smiling as she thought about it a bit more.


    While thanking Valyr for the de and asking him if he could make a sheath for her to put the de in, Arcenne posed a request to him, causing the former''s eyebrow to raise in curiosity.


    "Are you only capable of forging weapons?"


    "I can also forge armor. Why do you ask?" As he responded to her question, Valyr had a feeling that Arcenne still wanted to pay him back for cial Edge, which prompted her to ask him the question he responded to. However, unlike before, where he adamantly stood his ground, he decided to ept.


    "Is it possible for you to forge a set of light armor for me?"


    "I suppose so. However, I don''t really have a blueprint for a set of light armor as of yet. Either you could supply me a blueprint for a set of light armor you want, or you could wait for a while as I head to the cksmith Guild and get a blueprint there."


    "How much time would it take for you to obtain a blueprint from the cksmith Guild?" Arcenne looked at him with a hint of curiosity.


    "Probably a week at most." Valyr shrugged his shoulders, recalling that he had no contribution points he could spend in the cksmith Guild whatsoever.


    "I''ll just source a blueprint for you instead," Arcenne said in response, prompting Valyr to ask her if there were any modifications he had to make to the light armor when the time to forge it came. After talking about the specific modifications he would make to the light armor for a bit more, Arcenne eventually left Valyr on his own in the building, thanking him once more for cial Edge as a sheathed de could be seen around her waist as she walked away.


    Watching Arcenne''s fading silhouette for a short while, Valyr then returned his attention to the interior of the building, taking in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. With a bitter smile, he scratched his head as he made his way back to the anvil.


    "I should really start cleaning the building in preparation for the smithy''s official opening."


    "But first¡­"


    "I should upgrade my spear."

 Chapter 199 The Search Begins

    After using [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening] multiple times on his spear, having to take a break every once in a while to replenish his mana, Valyr eventually awakened all of the possible attributes on the True Tideblood Spear, a wide grin adorning his face since all of the awakened attributes were near the highest values obtainable for an Umon rarity weapon.


    cing his spear on his back, he then went outside and headed to a nearby general store, buying a few cleaning supplies as he decided that he should make use of the remaining time he had to clean the building in preparation for its eventual opening, keeping in mind that the time when Tryndall and him had to make a move regarding the Clossbay Killer was nearing.


    Paying for the supplies he bought, he eventually returned to the somewhat empty feeling building before taking a deep breath. Letting out a light sigh, he bitterly smiled at the thought of his clothes getting dirty, only to discard it soon after as he began cleaning the building''s storefront.


    As there was only a thinyer of dust over everything in the storefront, Valyr was able to make considerable progress by the time the sun had set. Nevertheless, since he was only one person, he could only do a rough cleaning of the storefront at most, focusing most of his attention on the tools and items he would use for forging instead.


    With that, it was no surprise that the forging tools and items were spic and span by the time it was sunset, looking as if they were only used sparingly. Inparison, the walls and floor of the building''s storefront looked as if there was still a faintyer of dirt on it. However,pared to before he started to clean, it was noticeably cleaner than before.


    Wiping off the sweat slowly dripping from his forehead, Valyr heaved out a long sigh as he took note of how much cleaning he still had left, only for his attention to shift towards the notification sound that resounded in his mind.


    Finding out that he had obtained a message, hemanded the system to open up the chat function, swiftly reading through the message Tryndall had sent him.


    "See you in an hour. Make sure to wear dark clothing. Meet me at this location."


    Taking note of the location that Tryndall had sent him, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he ced all of the cleaning items to the side and left the building, making his way back to the inn where he had been staying at for the past few days.


    Heading straight to the room he rented, he went ahead and took a slightly long shower, making sure to wash the dust and dirt that stuck to his skin while he was cleaning. After double checking to see if he was truly clean, Valyr then changed into a set of dark clothing, just like what Tryndall told him to.


    Then again, even if Tryndall didn''t tell him to wear dark clothing, Valyr would''ve still worn dark clothing either way, considering the fact that their presences had to blend with the darkness of the surroundings due to their current undertaking. Naturally, colorful or bright clothing wouldn''t help in that regard.


    Deciding to buy a piece of dark fabric along the way to cover his mouth, Valyr eventually left the inn, making a swift detour to a fabric store before heading to the location Tryndall told him to head to.


    Surprisingly, by the time he had arrived, Tryndall was already there, seemingly waiting for him to arrive for quite some time now. Just like him, Tryndall wore dark clothing from head to toe, with the lights radiating from the mana-powered streetmps making him stand out from his surroundings.


    Making sure his presence was noticed as he moved closer, he and Tryndall eventually talked about what the other side was up to during the past couple of days, with thetter being pleasantly surprised to hear that his friend was in the process of opening up a smithy. After promising Tryndall that he would have a spot ready for him to request a custom weapon once the smithy was up and running, Valyr asked the important question at hand.


    "So, what''s the n for tonight?"


    "We''ll have to wait for a few more people," said Tryndall in response, to which Valyr nodded as he knew which people Tryndall was referring to. Thankfully, the two did not have to wait long for the people Tryndall mentioned to arrive, with a group of five people in ck garbs appearing in front of the two of them.


    "Let''s save the introductions forter." Once the five had arrived, Tryndall took a step forward to make sure both sides had his attention. "For now, let me introduce the person who will be working with us."


    Gesturing towards Valyr, Tryndall looked at the five people. "This is Valyr, a friend of mine, as well as someone who epted the same quest as I did. If not for his advice and suggestions, this current situation wouldn''t be possible."


    After that, he gestured towards the five before looking at Valyr. "These five are people from the Adventurer''s Guild, all of them having stealth-based variants of the Assassin ss. They''re the ones who have been keeping track of the movements of the five possible suspects for the whole day, as well as the ones who will be helping us track their movements for tonight."


    Seeing as everyone''s attention was still on him, he continued. "To bring everyone up to speed, we''re going to track the movements of five people we suspect is the Clossbay Killer, the man that Valyr and I have been tasked with to find their whereabouts for our quest."


    "With that, I''ll be having the five of you separate and tail each of the five suspects, making sure to update the others regarding each other''s actions from time to time." Tryndall looked at the five, who nodded in response.


    "To aplish that, I''ll be creating a party chat where everyone can message each other at real time, though Valyr and I will stick with one of you five, apanying you on the tracking."


    "Who''s fine with having us stick around with them?" As this question came out of Tryndall''s mouth, the leftmost person among the five raised his hand, prompting Tryndall to nod in response.


    After that, he created a party chat through the chat function wherein he, Valyr, and the five other people were included.


    Once everyone confirmed that they could ess the party chat, Tryndall then told the five to split up, with Valyr and him apanying the person who had raised his hand earlier.


    And with that, the search for the true Clossbay Killer among the five suspects began.

 Chapter 200 Conundrum

    After going their own separate ways to track their respective targets, Tryndall, Valyr, and one of the assassins got acquainted with one another for a bit more as they moved, though it was mostly Valyr and the assassin the two were apanying that were doing the acquainting.


    Finding out the assassin''s name was Dous, the three of them then made their way up to the rooftops, making sure that the steps they took were as silent as possible in order to make sure that the suspect they were about to track did not notice their presence. Fortunately, all of them had an AGI stat high enough in order to pull off this feat.


    Considering that even whispering to one another would give their location away to the person they were tracking, Valyr opened up the chat function in his mind as he sent a message to Tryndall on the party chat.


    "Now that I think about it, you haven''t told me about the specific details regarding the five suspects we''re tracking tonight."


    Obtaining the message Valyr sent to him, Tryndall looked at Valyr with a bitter smile and sent a message in response before returning his attention to where they were stepping.


    "Yeah, that was my bad. Anyways, the suspect that the three of us are currently tracking is a well-known butcher in Clossbay City, famed for the fact that he usually sells premium meats and cuts at slightly lower pricespared to other meat shops in the city."


    "As for the other suspects, one''s a chef, one''s a fishmonger, the other one''s a swordsman, and thest one''s a hunter."


    "Although I do know each of their names, it''ll only be important once we narrow down the suspects to just one, so I''ll save that forter. For now, let''s head to the butcher''s shop." Seeing this message from Tryndall, Valyr looked back at him and gave him a nod.


    With that, the three of them swiftly made their way to where the butcher''s meat shop was located.


    ¡­


    Due to how their meet-up spot was located close to the center of the city, it took everyone more or less the same amount of time to arrive at their specific locations, with each of the assassins sending a message on the party chat that they had arrived at where the suspect was currently. Of course, Tryndall''s group had also arrived near where the butcher was, standing on top of the rooftop opposite the butcher''s shop.


    Nudging Tryndall on the shoulders to catch his attention, Valyr pointed at the slightly stocky man that was in the process of closing up shop, silently asking his friend if this was the suspect they were nning to track. Obtaining a nod in response to the question, Valyr nodded back before shifting his attention towards the butcher, who surprisingly had all of the des he used for butchering meat affixed on a belt around his waist.


    Nodding in satisfaction after making sure the entrance to the shop was securely locked, the butcher then walked away from the shop, presumably to head back home. Nevertheless, the trio intently kept an eye where the butcher was heading, making sure to remove any trace of their presence as they went about it.


    With that, the trio watched as the butcher turned a corner every once in a while, prompting Tryndall to ask Dous at some point through the party chat if the butcher was on his way home, recalling that thetter found out where he lived. In response, Dous told him that the butcher was indeed on the path that would take him home, though he also mentioned that it was odd that the butcher was taking a detour.


    Feeling a hint of suspicion towards the butcher''s decision, the three continued to follow the man through the rooftops, eventually noticing that the butcher seemed to look around his surroundings more often, as if the man had be paranoid.


    Wondering if it was due to the fact that the butcher had subconsciously caught onto their traces, or the fact that the road he was on was significantly darkerpared to other roads under the veil of the night, the trio did not know. However, just as they thought that the butcher had a cowardly personality of some sort, this action of his eventually stopped when he noticed a passerby moving in his direction, causing all traces of paranoia from the man to swiftly disappear.


    "Take out the memory crystal." Getting the feeling that the butcher was about to make a move, Tryndall swiftly sent a message to Dous through the party chat, prompting thetter to take out a small pale blue crystal as they slightly hastened their steps.


    By the time the trio had gotten to a vantage point that gave them a better look at the butcher and the passerby, the butcher had already covered the passerby''s mouth, preventing thetter from screaming out as he dragged the man into a nearby alley.


    Then, without hesitation, the butcher sent a powerful chop at the back of the passerby''s neck, rendering thetter unconscious as the man''s body turned limp. Gently cing the now unconscious passerby on the side of the wall, the butcher took out one of the knives around his waist and proceeded to dismember the man into various parts using a method which would have been more apt for other types of meat.


    Nevertheless, the clean cuts the butcher made during this process confirmed to the trio that the man they were tailing was none other than the Clossbay Killer, with Dous activating the memory crystal with a bit of mana to record the entire incident itself.


    Of course, thoughts of stopping the butcher from dismembering the passerby altogether shed in both Valyr and Tryndall''s mind. However, they eventually thought that once they told the receiver of the quest regarding the whereabouts and identity of the Clossbay Killer, their words wouldn''t bepelling if they didn''t have sufficient proof to back it up.


    With that, they fought the urge to jump in and let the butcher get a taste of his own medicine, tightly clenching their fists with indignant expressions while they continued to watch the butcher cut the man up into pieces.


    Eventually, the butcher was finished with his deed, wiping off any excess blood on the knife he used before cing it back on the belt he wore. Then, taking a few nces to see if the coast was clear, the butcher then left the alley, eventually making his way back to where he lived as if nothing had happened.


    Once the butcher was in the privacy of his own home, the trio, who had followed the butcher through the rooftops till the very end, distanced themselves a bit from the butcher''s home before letting out a long collective sigh.


    "At the very least, people won''t have to suffer under the Clossbay Killer''s attacks in the future anymore." Consoling himself with this thought, Tryndall sent out a message through the party chat that the suspect they were tracking was the Clossbay Killer, thinking that this whole situation would finallye to an end.


    However, the messages the others sent in response instead told him¡­


    It was only about to get worse.


    "Chef killed an innocent passerby. We''ve got the Clossbay Killer."


    "Fishmonger killed a passerby. Pretty sure I''ve got the Clossbay Killer."


    "Swordsman killed an innocent woman. The Clossbay Killer''s where I''m currently at."


    "Hunter cleanly cut a guy into pieces. Clossbay Killer''s here."

 Chapter 201 Whats Next

    After obtaining messages from the other four assassins in the party chat that the suspect they were tracking was the Clossbay Killer, Tryndall told everyone to meet up where all of them had congregated before splitting up, with the trio being the first to make their way there.


    Ding!


    While continuing to move through the rooftops to make sure no one was following them, a notification sound resounded within Valyr''s mind, getting a foreboding feeling as he looked at Tryndall. Seeing that Tryndall had also turned his head to look at him, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face as hemanded the system to show him what notification he had obtained.


    [You havepleted the main requirement for the quest: The Clossbay Killer.]


    [You may head to the mayor of Clossbay City to receive your rewards, or you mayplete all of the quest''s requirements before doing so.]


    "Did you get a notification from the system that youpleted the quest''s main requirement?" Once he was finished reading through his notifications, Valyr swiftly sent a message to Tryndall through the party chat.


    "Yeah." It did not take long for Tryndall to send a response back, even nodding at Valyr after doing so. "To be honest, once we found the true suspect among the five, I would have apprehended the guy with you so we could get all of the rewards, but now¡­"


    "Let''s talk about itter." After Valyr sent this message to the party chat, the two stopped messaging each other in the party chat for the meantime, focusing all of their attention on heading back to the meet-up spot for now.


    ¡­


    With Tryndall, Valyr, and the five assassins back at the meet-up spot sometimeter, Tryndall went ahead and opened his mouth after making sure that there were no people eavesdropping on their conversation.


    "So, it turns out all of the suspects we''ve been tracking so far is presumably the Clossbay Killer." Tryndall awkwardly chuckled before scratching his head. "Though, just to make sure if that''s indeed the case, let''s have everyone watch through the memory crystal recordings."


    "Of course, everyone recorded it, right?" With this question, Tryndall looked at the group of five, who nodded in response as they retrieved the memory crystals that were given to them, which now contained the memory of their respective suspects being caught in the act of murder.


    One by one, everyone in the group watched through all five recordings, showing how the suspect they were tracking cleanly cut their victim into specific body parts, giving everyone the feeling that they were watching someone carve meat instead. After everyone was finished watching through the recordings, a somber air surrounded the entire group, their expressions tantly showing how clueless they were.


    Even Tryndall and Valyr had clueless expressions on their faces, both of them wondering what to do next. In the end, with a long sigh, Tryndall thanked the group of five before allowing them to leave. However, before letting them leave for good, he told them to keep tracking the five suspects for the entirety of the following week.


    In response, the five told Tryndall to increase the reward they would get from the task, to which thetter told them to not worry. Only after making the promise did the group of five finally leave, leaving both Valyr and Tryndall on their own as thetter suggested that the two to stroll around the streets as they sorted out their thoughts.


    With Valyr nodding in response, the two of them then proceeded to walk, both of them eventually letting out long sighs at some point.


    "So, what''s our next n?" Valyr looked at Tryndall, who looked back at him in silence, a conflicted expression adorning his face.


    After a bit more silence, Tryndall shook his head. "I don''t know. I thought this quest would be done once we find out who the true killer is among the five, but to think all of them would be the Clossbay Killer¡­"


    Of course, Valyr could not help but find it suspicious. The fact that five people that did not have any rtion to one another would go ahead and murder an innocent person at more or less the same time did not sit well with him. His instincts told him that there was more to this matter, but s, he did not even know where to begin to make headway.


    Aside from that, he had a feeling that Tryndall also felt that there was more to the entire matter. Though, just like him, even though he had the aid of the Adventurer''s Guild through the progression of this quest so far, he was in the same boat as Valyr, with no idea on how to progress from their current situation.


    "Should we just forget about the optional requirement and hand it in?" At some point, Valyr posed the question to him. "After all, we''ve alreadypleted the main requirement, plus we''re not even duty bound to this city. We could just forget about everything we''ve witnessed so far and move on with our lives."


    "And let more innocent people die?" Tryndall looked back at Valyr in response with a grim expression, trying his best not to scream due to the sensitive nature of their current topic. "Do you really think your conscience would ept the fact that you chose not to prevent any further deaths, even though you had the option to?"


    "Of course not." Valyr shook his head with a sigh. "But here''s the thing, Tryndall."


    "We''re only in the middle of Rank 1. Do you think this level of strength is enough for us to weather the tides that mighte our way?"


    Hearing that, Tryndall fell silent, a frown stered on his face. Though he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, the frown on his face grew deeper and deeper, eventually reaching his limit as he screamed out a few profanities.


    "I know that, Valyr¡­ I truly do¡­ but this situation just doesn''t sit well with me!"


    Scratching his head as a slight frown adorned his face, Valyr mulled over what they could do in order to make headway regarding the peculiarities of the quest they took. Though he had epted this quest from Damian on a whim in the first ce, since he had already gotten this far¡­


    He might as well see it to the bitter end.


    "Argh! This is infuriating!" Stopping in his tracks, Valyr furiously scratched his head for a brief moment before letting out an annoyed grunt. Then, just as he thought that there was no way for them to progress from their impasse, an idea coincidentally surfaced in his mind at that moment, prompting him to take in a deep breath as he beckoned Tryndall toe closer to him.


    Curious, Tryndall did what he was told, only for Valyr to lean closer to him and whisper a few things into the former''s ear. Listening to the words Valyr was whispering to him, a slight frown gradually appeared on his face, then to that of interest, then to that of slight incredulity.


    Once Valyr was finished whispering, Tryndall looked back at the former and asked, "Are you sure that''ll work?"


    "It''s probably the only thing we can do for now, unless wee across more clues along the way." Valyr shrugged his shoulders.


    After mulling over Valyr''s words for a bit, Tryndall eventually let out a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders soon after. "I guess that''s our only option for now. I just hope it would give us more insight."


    "I hope so as well."


    With that, the two of them talked about where they would meet up the following day, as well as what time. Once the two finally came to an agreement on a time and ce which worked with their respective schedules, they eventually returned to their respective ces, bringing an end to what was an event-filled night for them.

 Chapter 202 Moving In

    Gradually opening his eyes to greet a new day, Valyr stared off into nothingness for a couple minutes before getting out of bed, giving his consciousness time to be fully awake, remembering that he was in Clossbay City. Scratching his back, he then went through his usual daily routine before heading down to the inn''s dining area located at the ground floor of the inn.


    Since he now had a building for himself in the city, he carried along with him all of the things he had stowed away in the room he rented for the past few days, paying all of the fees that had racked up during his stay before proceeding to eat the hearty meal he ordered.


    Thanking the people that helped him during his stay in the inn, Valyr then left the premises, leisurely making his way to where his future smithy was, arriving at the storefront around 15 minutester.


    Just as he had dropped all of the things he had brought with him to the side, thinking of cleaning the living quarters before moving all of his things in, an elderly woman lightly tugged on the back of his clothes, prompting him to shift his attention towards her. "Is there something I can help you with, ma''am?"


    "I was just wondering if this smithy would be open again, young man." The elderly woman looked back at him with an amiable smile. "It''s been closed for about half a year already."


    "Eventually, ma''am." Hearing the woman''s question, Valyr gave her a light grin. "I''ll still have to clean up the storefront, but once everything is nice and ready, this smithy in front of you will be back in business."


    "Is that so?" The smile on the woman''s face grew wider before nodding. "Are you perhaps the new owner of the smithy, young man?"


    "That I am." Valyr nodded. "I''ll let you be the first to know when the smithy opens, ma''am."


    At those words, the elderly woman let out a light chuckle before nodding once more. "I see, I see. Well, keep it up, young man. If you want to inform me of its opening, or just apany this old woman for a cup of tea, I live a few houses away in that direction."


    Keeping the location of the elderly woman''s house in mind, Valyr eventually bade farewell to her as he headed to the living quarters of the building with cleaning supplies in tow, pleasantly surprised by how clean it waspared to the building''s storefront.


    Nevertheless, a faintyer of dust still enveloped a great portion of the living quarters, thus Valyr swiftly got into work, being mindful of the time since he had to hold a session today at thebat training hall. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to remove all of the dust and dirt that had built-up since it wasst upied, proceeding to bring in all of the items he had brought with him to the living quarters.


    After that, he made his way to the area of the building where the bathroom was, taking note of the fact that there was running water as he took a quick shower. Whether the fact the water hadn''t been cut even though the previous owners abandoned the building, or whether it was only returned just as he had gained ownership of it, Valyr didn''t know. All he knew was that he had running water.


    Changing into a set of clean clothes, Valyr kept a mental note to tidy up everything in the living quarters once he got back before leaving the building, swiftly making his way to thebat training hall as he headed to the room that was allocated for him to teachbat.


    Upon entering the room, he was instantly greeted by the sight of a great number of people sitting on the floor, with some of them making small talk with one another, discussing about their learnings from a few days ago.


    It went without saying that he was left somewhat aghast by the sight, expecting to teach around the same number of people during this second session. Then again, it did not take too long for him to adjust and understand how the current scene in front of him came to be, taking in a deep breath before letting his presence be known.


    ''The word of mouth is truly a scary thing.''


    With everyone''s attention now focused on him, Valyr proceeded with the session, teaching those that had attended the previous session the continuation of his lessons from a couple days ago, while he taught the basics to those that had just arrived in this current situation.


    Whether it was the former or thetter, all of the people Valyr taught seemed to have gained a greater understanding regarding the nuances ofbat, with most of them being eager to test out their learnings in actualbat.


    Thinking that there was a chance the number of people during the next session might growrger, he decided to advertise the opening of his smithy by the end of the session, causing a few of them to look at him with shock in their eyes, not expecting theirbat instructor to also be a sessful cksmith.


    Eventually, all of those that attended the session left the room, leaving Valyr alone on his own as Gabriel entered the room sometimeter.


    "Because of you and your teaching sessions, more and more people are entering thebat training hall." Gabriel gave him a satchel of money, which Valyr swiftly noticed was significantly heavier than the one he got a few days ago. "I don''t know how you''re exactly teaching them, but keep it up, Valyr."


    Joking that Gabriel should attend one of his sessions sometime in the future, Valyr then thanked the man before leaving thebat training hall, only to open the satchel of money given to him to find out that he had been given 80 gold coins instead of 40. Gaining a burst of motivation from the amount of money he got, he then headed to a nearby restaurant and ate a light lunch before waiting near the entrance of thebat training hall by the time it was past noon.


    "Have you been waiting for a while?" Around a few minutes into his waiting, Tryndall appeared in front of Valyr, waving at thetter with a light smile.


    "I just finished eating lunch a few minutes ago, so I didn''t wait that long." In response, Valyr waved back and smiled before proceeding to head in the direction opposite of where Tryndall arrived from.


    "So, are you ready, Tryndall?"


    "As ready as I''ll ever be. How about you?"


    "Slightly nervous, but that''s normal. Anyways, let''s not waste time any further."


    "It''s time for us to meet the mayor."

 Chapter 203 Something Amiss

    After walking through the streets of Clossbay for a while, Tryndall and Valyr eventually arrived in front of a two story building, which spanned about five houses in width and depth. Taking note that most of the people that entered and exited the building wore clothes that exuded authority and professionalism, the two looked each other for a bit and nodded before entering.


    While making their way through the various corridors and halls in the building, the two of them stopped a few people along the way and asked them for directions, with the general response to their questions being that of annoyance. Nevertheless, a few people still helped them out, allowing them to eventually arrive in front of what appeared to be a help desk sometimeter.


    "Excuse me. Where can we find the mayor?" Noticing that the woman behind the help desk was waiting for either one of them to open their mouths, Tryndall apologetically smiled before posing the question to her.


    Hiding the faint annoyance she felt from their arrival, the woman let out a faint sigh before remembering that she was told to be as cordial as possible to whoever came up to her. "He''s currently busy at the moment with a meeting. If you could tell me your reasons as to why you''re looking for him, I could inform him and possibly have him see you about half an hour from now."


    Nodding in response to the woman''s words, Valyr took the initiative to answer. Though, recalling their purpose as to why they came here, he leaned in closer to the woman before talking in a soft voice. "We''re here to inform him regarding the Clossbay Killer''s whereabouts."


    As a citizen of Clossbay City herself, the woman''s eyes could not help but widen after hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth. After all, the Clossbay Killer was an issue that the city had been having for quite sometime now.


    Fortunately, it did not take too long for her to recall a certain memory, her expression turning solemn before nodding. "Since your reason is due to the Clossbay Killer, I''ll make an exception and tell him toe meet with you two as soon as possible."


    "Speaking of which, the name is Samantha. I''m the mayor''s secretary," she said soon after.


    "Thank you for helping us out," said Tryndall in response, prompting Samantha to respond back that they were doing the city a greater favor than she was.


    After telling the two of them that they were the only ones who had the courage to ept the mayor''s request at this moment, Samantha left the help desk and headed to where the mayor was, leaving the two alone at the front of the help desk in their own thoughts.


    Unsurprisingly, once they heard from Samantha that they were the only people to have epted the request, Tryndall and Valyr could not help but look at each other, the feeling they were getting from the whole matter being more than what it really was bing greater by the second.


    "It feels weird that we''re the only ones to ept the quest," Valyr could not help but say, to which Tryndall nodded in agreement.


    "I''m getting the feeling that there''s a greater conspiracy happening behind all of this," thetter muttered not long after, prompting Valyr to shrug his shoulders in response. After all, even though that was the feeling they got, they had no evidence that it was indeed the case.


    After talking a bit more about the peculiarity of the quest, Samantha eventually returned to the help desk with a smile that expressed relief on her face. Looking at the two, she then told them to head towards a certain room through the corridor beside her desk, informing them that the mayor would meet up with them shortly.


    Thanking Samantha for her help once more, the two of them headed towards the room the former told them to enter, slightly surprised once they realized that they were led directly to what appeared like the mayor''s office.


    After getting over their initial shock, the two of them sat beside each other on nearby chairs before bing silent, waiting for the person that woulde meet them at some point.


    Fortunately, after ten minutes or so of waiting, the door to the room opened, revealing a tall, stocky man to the two that wore slightly casual clothing. Nevertheless, the air of authority and grandeur radiating from him instantly revealed to them that this man was none other than the person they were hoping to talk to.


    "I apologize for making you two wait for quite sometime," said the tall man as he gave the two an apologetic smile. After that, he made his way to the desk located at the end of the room and sat on the chair behind it before beckoning the two toe closer.


    As the two moved closer to him, the man looked through some of the documents that were scattered on the desk, eventually finding the one he wanted to look at as Valyr and Tryndall took their seats on the opposite side of the desk.


    "Just to make sure, you two are the ones who epted my request to find the whereabouts of the Clossbay Killer, right?" The tall man looked at them, prompting them to nod in response to the question.


    "Tryndall Valtherin and Valyr Zeihardt¡­" Reading the names that were written on the document, the man looked at Tryndall for a bit before focusing his gaze on Valyr for a while, thetter making him narrow his eyes for a bit.


    "To think I''d inadvertently enlist the help of a noble." After a while, he shrugged his shoulders before cing the document down. "Before I ask you two regarding the quest, since you two are not from here, let me introduce myself."


    "The name''s Merdus Clossbay, current heir for the position of patriarch within the Clossbay n, as well as the 18th and current mayor of Clossbay City."


    "With that out of the way¡­ considering that the two of you are here, I presume you two have made progress?" Merdus looked at them with a slightly curious expression, to which the two nodded.


    "Indeed, er¡­" Taking the initiative to answer his question, Valyr opened his mouth, only to have an awkward smile hanging on his face.


    "You can choose to call me whatever you want, I won''t mind." Merdus waved his hand in slight nonchnce before returning the topic of their conversation to what it was earlier. "So? What kind of progress did the two of you make so far?"


    "Here''s the thing, Sir Merdus." Valyr took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "We''ve already figured out who the Clossbay Killer is, as well as their whereabouts."


    "Is that so? How splendid!" In response, Merdus let out a carefree chortle, thankful that their city''s problem would finallye to an end after being at an impasse for a few months. Though, just as he was about to ask the two regarding the Clossbay Killer''s whereabouts, he noticed the bitter smiles on their faces, prompting him to realize that Valyr was not finished.


    Seeing that Merdus had be silent, seemingly waiting for him to continue, Valyr looked at Tryndall for a bit, then at Merdus before opening his mouth once more. "We''ve figured out who the Clossbay Killer is, as well as their whereabouts. However, there''s just one problem."


    "And that would be?" Merdus raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "The Clossbay Killer isn''t alone, Sir Merdus." Valyr looked back at him with a solemn expression.


    "There''s five of them."

 Chapter 204 Suspicion

    "There''s five?" Hearing the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Merdus furrowed his brows as a frown adorned his face. "Are you certain of your words?"


    "Indeed, we are, Sir Merdus." At this moment, Tryndall was the one who responded to the question. "We have even brought memory crystals for you to look at as evidence of our ims."


    "What nonsense." Merdus scoffed. "The Clossbay Killer has always been one person all this time. Even you two, who are not from this city, surely know that."


    "We do, but¡­"


    "But what?"


    Listening to the conversation between the two so far, Valyr could not help but let out a sigh as he looked at Merdus. "Sir Merdus, if you could just take a look at the memory crystals, everything would make sense."


    "And what reason can you two give for me to believe that the recordings of these memory crystals are not falsified?" Merdus looked back at them, the frown on his face deepening as faint killing intent started to radiate from him.


    Listening to the question that was aimed at the two, the two could not help but look at each other before letting out respective sighs. Although the two of them knew that what they saw was the truth, they indeed had no way for them to prove to Merdus that what they had recorded was not falsified, lest they thought about it before they started recording.


    Then again, one of the reasons why Merdus had be suspicious of their ims was due to the fact that they used memory crystals as evidence, an item used multiple times in the past by many people in order to create false evidence.


    People would infuse great amounts of mana into the crystals, creating audio and video that did not exist in the first ce to create false evidence, even though that was never the original intention behind the creation of the memory crystals.


    ''I''m sure this situation wouldn''t have happened if we just told him that there was only one killer,'' Valyr muttered inwardly. ''He would have even probably believed the recordings we saved on the memory crystals and wouldn''t suspect a thing.''


    However, just as they were thinking that they would probably have to find another way to convince the mayor, the door to the room was mmed open, revealing a young man in uniform, wearing a frantic expression as he looked around for Merdus. "Mayor, bad news!"


    "What is it?" Deciding to leave the matter regarding the two in the meantime, Merdus focused his attention on the young man that had juste in. "Calm down. Take your time."


    Hearing that, the young man caught his breath, gradually slowing his breathing as he eventually calmed down. Then, noticing Valyr and Tryndall near Merdus, the young man asked, "Would it be alright for them to listen to my report, Mayor?"


    "We could leave, if you want." In response to the question, Valyr gave a suggestion, with both of them proceeding to stand up. However, Merdus gestured for them to sit down and shook his head, informing them through his gaze that their conversation was still not over.


    "You can continue. I''m certain they won''t spread a word." With these wordsing out of Merdus'' mouth as he radiated a bit of killing intent towards the two, the young man lightly nodded before proceeding to talk.


    "Rookie Guard Alex shall be presenting a report from the Clossbay City Guards to the Mayor of Clossbay City."


    Nodding in response to the young man''s words, Merdus gestured for them to continue.


    "ording to the information the guards have collected, we have found five corpses in the alleys, all of them swiftly and cleanly cut into various pieces, as if all of them were being carved like meat. From our investigations, as well as cross-referencing of past incidents, it is safe to assume that these victims were all killed by the elusive Clossbay Killer. Protocol regarding the burial of the victims, as well as the ry of information to their loved ones has already been enacted."


    "That concludes my report." After giving a salute to Merdus, the young man gave him a respectful bow before proceeding to leave the three on their own once more.


    Unsurprisingly, after listening to the young man''s report, Merdus had a look of shock on his face once he shifted his gaze towards Tryndall and Valyr, the killing intent surrounding them earlier now nowhere to be found. On the other hand, the two looked at each other, seemingly having the same thought in mind.


    ''It seems that luck is on our side.''


    Though the two of them wanted tough at the irony of the current situation, they suppressed all of those urges as Tryndall lightly coughed to catch the mayor''s attention. "Would you like to take a look at the recordings?"


    After he was done getting over his shock, Merdus eventually let out a sigh before nodding.


    "Yes."


    ¡­


    While watching through the recordings on the memory crystals, Merdus apologized to the two of them that he doubted their words, which the two responded that it was fine. After that, the two asked the question that was weighing on their minds earlier, which was the fact that they were only ones who had epted the quest.


    In response, Merdus told them that they didn''t want the Clossbay Killer to find out that he was being tracked, nor did he want to alert all of the citizens regarding the problem. Thus, he opted to limit the number of people that would ept the quest during a certain duration.


    Once he was done watching through the recordings on the memory crystals both Tryndall and Valyr brought, a solemn expression appeared on his face as he pondered over something for a bit. After sometime, he looked at the two. "This is definitely more than enough evidence for the city to detain the five. However, there''s one thing that''s been bothering me."


    "Why didn''t you two apprehend the five on your own?"


    "That was because these five murders were all happening at the same time," said Tryndall in response, bringing up the party chat that they had createdst night to Merdus, scrolling to the part where all of the assassins mentioned that the suspect they had tracked was the Clossbay Killer. Fortunately, the party chat recorded the time when the message was sent, allowing Merdus to believe in Tryndall''s words.


    After that, he exined that the assassins were only hired to track the suspects and inform the two of the suspects'' every move. "If it were only one suspect, we would have probably apprehended the man before heading here. But now that there''s five¡­"


    "I see." Merdus nodded after that. "Well, I appreciate that you''ve given the city the aid it needed. In any case, even though the Clossbay Killer is actually five people, the city shall take it from here."


    "I probably wouldn''t do that if I were you, Sir Merdus." Though, just as Merdus finished his statement, Valyr uttered these words to him, causing the former to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "And why is that?"


    "The two of us feel that there''s more to this matter than it seems."

 Chapter 205 Conspiracy Afoot

    "More to the matter, huh?" With a curious expression still on his face, Merdus briefly thought that the two were talking nonsense yet again. However, recalling the rookie guard''s words from earlier, as well as the evidence they had to back up their ims, he decided to listen to what they had to say.


    "Alright, I''m all ears." Seeing that Merdus had gone silent, gazing at the two as he waited for either of them to start talking, the two nced at each other for a bit before Tryndall took the initiative to open his mouth.


    "Sir Merdus, there are quite a few reasons as to why us two think that there''s more to the matter than it seems." Tryndall looked at Merdus with a calm yet stern expression. "First of all, the number of people involved."


    "As you''ve said earlier, even us people who aren''t even born in this city know that the Clossbay Killer has always been one person. However, out of nowhere, that number has increased to five. On top of that, the time at which they found their victims and killed them is more or less the same, giving me the feeling that this incident was all orchestrated."


    "Don''t you think it''s kind of suspicious?" Listening to Tryndall''s exnation, Merdus pondered over his words for a bit before eventually nodding in agreement.


    "Anything else?" As this question came out of Merdus'' mouth, Valyr took the initiative to talk about the other reason the two of them came up with, letting out a brief sigh before opening his mouth.


    "The second reason we have is the simplicity of finding them and tracking them down," said Valyr as a neutral expression appeared on his face. "Though we''ve employed the aid of the Adventurer''s Guild in this regard, once we were able to deduce who the possible suspects that could be the Clossbay Killer were, we were able to swiftly ascertain whether they were the Clossbay Killer or not by waiting for the usual time an incident arose by keeping track of their movements."


    "In this case, all the suspects we''ve tracked the previous night ended up being the Clossbay Killer."


    "However, for some reason, the description of the quest you''ve given out states that the Clossbay Killer has remained elusive." At this point of Valyr''s statement, Merdus opened his mouth to rify something.


    "Let me remind you that multiple people have already seen the Clossbay Killer''s appearance, even the ones who have epted the quest in the past," said Merdus with a stern expression. "It''s the fact that the Clossbay Killer hasn''t been captured and arrested yet being the reason why he remains elusive, even taking into consideration many people have already seen the person''s appearance."


    "Though, I definitely do admit that I did not know that the Clossbay Killer was actually five people."


    Listening to Merdus'' exnation, Valyr found it odd that the Clossbay Killer, even though their identity had already been discovered multiple times, was still not captured and arrested. For some reason, as he thought about this, he could not help but think that the Clossbay Killer not being captured and arrested was purposefully done.


    Thinking about the things that he found odd after hearing Merdus'' side, Valyr opened his mouth once more. "That''s what makes it even more odd, Sir Merdus."


    "From what we''ve narrowed our scope down to, the five people, which we presume is the Clossbay Killer, are all people that are only at the peak of Rank 1 at most. For a city of this scale, it''s highly unlikely that there''s no Rank 2 ss holder or Rank 3 ss holder that would be able to apprehend them without a problem."


    "With that in mind, I''m certain that the city guards also have Rank 2 and Rank 3 ss holders amidst their ranks." Reading between the lines of Valyr''s words, Merdus could not help but frown as he furrowed his brows.


    "Are you saying that the city guards are ipetent?" Merdus asked Valyr. "That the ranks they''ve achieved are all for show?"


    "I don''t think that at all, Sir Merdus." Valyr shook his head. "I''m sure that with a mayor like Sir Merdus, all of those that have enlisted as city guards are exemry fighters in their own right, capable of handling themselves on their own."


    "It''s just that I have a feeling that there''s something else going on between the city guards and the Clossbay Killer." Ending his exnation, Valyr looked at Tryndall, who nodded at him in approval.


    After that, the two of them waited in silence as Merdus pondered over the words the two of them have said to him earlier, his forehead creasing from time to time as a frown adorned his face. Eventually, he scratched his head before letting out a light sigh, looking at the two as if they had enlightened him regarding a certain matter.


    "I''ll take your words into consideration," said Merdus to the two of them. "Though I have great confidence that the city guards would not intentionally ignore the fact that they had the strength to capture and arrest the Clossbay Killer at any time, it''s still worth looking into."


    "That''s what you were trying to infer through your earlier words, right?" Merdus looked at Valyr, who nodded in agreement.


    Nodding back in response, Merdus continued. "Either way, the reasons you''ve given me to be more mindful regarding the matter have merit to them. However, from this point onward, consider this problem regarding the Clossbay Killer something the city shall handle on its own."


    "Nevertheless, you''ve helped the city out by giving us information on who the five people making up the Clossbay Killer are, as well as the fact that you''ve given us an idea regarding their whereabouts. With that, it is only apt that your efforts should be rewarded."


    After saying those words, Merdus willed a screen to appear in front of his field of vision, interacting with it for a bit before proceeding to look at the two once more. "I guess this is more than enough of a remuneration for your efforts."


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''The Clossbay Killer''.]


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr went ahead and looked at the notifications he had received. Though, once he did, a look of incredulity appeared on his face as he turned his head to look at Tryndall.

 Chapter 206 Looking For Valyr

    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''The Clossbay Killer''.]


    [You have received 250,000 XP.]


    [Your affinity with Merdus has increased by 500 points. Current rtionship: Close friend.]


    [Your reputation in Clossbay City has increased by 500 points. Current reputation: Well-known.]


    [Receive your mary rewards from Merdus.]


    With looks of incredulity on their faces, Valyr turned his head to look at Tryndall, only to find out that thetter was looking at him as well. Feeling that the two had the same thoughts in mind, they turned their heads to look at Merdus, who looked at them with a raised eyebrow as he noticed their expressions. "Is there something wrong?"


    "The rewards we''ve received¡­" Tryndall faintly muttered in response, only for his voice to return to normal volume after that. "The rewards we''ve received include the ones frompleting the optional requirement."


    "Ah, that." As Valyr nodded in response to Tryndall''s words, Merdus opened his mouth to tell the reason why they had gotten all of the rewards. "Well, I wouldn''t have given you two all of the rewards for the quest if the Clossbay Killer was only one person. But as you''ve said, as well as shown, the Clossbay Killer is actually made up of five people. With there only being two of you, the thought of you apprehending all five of them swiftly disappeared from my mind, even taking into consideration that you employed the help of other people to track their movements."


    "With that in mind, as well as the fact that you''ve given me evidence, as well as far more information than I was initially expecting regarding the abrupt change in the identity of the Clossbay Killer, you two are more than deserving of all the rewards that could be obtained from the quest."


    "Speaking of which¡­" Merdus leaned down under the desk for a bit, opening a drawer as both Valyr and Tryndall heard the faint clinking of metal for a while. Not long after, Merdus'' head appeared in front of their vision once more before cing two small stacks of tinum coins on the desk.


    "Five tinum coins each, equivalent to 500 gold coins. With that, you''ve truly received all of the rewards from the quest." Pushing the small stacks of tinum coins towards the two, Merdus gazed at them for a bit, only for a light smirk to appear on his face once he heard the two thank him, their eyes glistening at the fact they had received that much money at once.


    Nevertheless, now that their job was over, the two of them got up from their seats and retrieved their share of tinum coins before thanking Merdus once more, bidding farewell as they eventually left thetter to his own devices.


    After watching the two leave the room as they closed the door behind them, the expression on Merdus'' face turned into that of great displeasure as he mmed his hands on the table, letting out a guttural roar in fury.


    "You bastard!"


    ¡­


    After thanking Samantha along the way for helping them meet up with Merdus as soon as possible, the two of them eventually left the building, heading towards a nearby restaurant to celebrate the whole ordeal with a small meal.


    While digging into the food they ordered, the expression on Valyr''s face turned solemn as he looked at Tryndall. "Are you still gonna have them track the five?"


    "Yeah." Tryndall nodded in response, his expression bing solemn as well. "I get the feeling that Merdus would only do the bare minimum response to the situation now that he knows what''s happening. Perhaps he might not even give out a response at all."


    Hearing Tryndall''s words, Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, this isn''t our main priority anymore. We can move onto doing other stuff, such as me preparing the smithy for opening."


    "How about you? You nning to stay in Clossbay City for a while longer?" Valyr asked soon after.


    Tryndall nodded. "Yeah. There''s an Adventurer''s Guild branch in this city, so there''s not really much reason for me to leave the city, unless if I epted a quest that needs me to head somewhere else."


    "In any case, I''ll update you from time to time regarding the situation with the Clossbay Killer." With that, the two of them continued digging into their respective meals before heading off their separate ways sometimeter.


    While making his way back to the smithy, a thought popped up in his mind, prompting him to wonder whether he should head back to Astarto Vige and update Damian regarding the situation about the quest. Pondering over it even further, he thought about bidding farewell to the vige for good after that, only returning to the vige during the monster tide.


    Coincidentally, just as he had made his mind up regarding what to do, a notification sound resounded in his mind, informing him that he had received a message from someone through the chat function. Opening it up, Valyr swiftly found out that Damian had sent a message to him.


    Continuing to make his way back to the smithy, Valyr read the message Damian sent. "Hey, Valyr. I just received a notification that the quest I gave you waspleted."


    "Yeah. I justpleted it, actually. To be honest, it was far harder than I thought since there was no lead for me to work with. Thankfully, a friend of mine had the quest as well, so we were able to work on the quest together andplete it." Sending a response back, Valyr received a reply from Damian by the time he had entered the smithy.


    "Well, that''s good to hear."


    Seeing the reply Damian sent to his earlier message, Valyr could not help but get the urge tough, finding it somewhat hrious that he had received a short reply to his long message. However, this urge tough was cut short as Damian sent another message not long after, just as he was a few buildings away from his smithy.


    "Anyways, aside from the fact that I''ve gotten a notification that the quest I gave you waspleted, I have something else to tell you. Remember Wells Anadhar? That young noble you apanied on your journey to Anadhar City?"


    "Well, he''s surprisingly returned to the vige..."


    "And he''s looking for you."

 Chapter 207 Forging Duel

    "Looking for me?" Muttering out these words in slight confusion, Valyr went ahead and grabbed some of the cleaning supplies he had bought in preparation for the arduous task he was about to undertake. While doing so, he sent a response to the message Damian sent him.


    "Why''s Wells looking for me?"


    After sending out his response, he ced the cleaning supplies he would be using to the side before heading to the living quarters, changing into a set of clothes he had worn a couple days ago while cleaning the storefront. By the time he had returned to the storefront once more to start cleaning, he had received a reply from Damian.


    "He told me he has something important to tell you. Speaking of which, he also told me to ask you as to when you''re returning to the vige."


    Since he had made up his mind earlier that he would stay in the city for a bit more to get the smithy fully up and running, as well as find out the aftermath alongside Tryndall regarding the Clossbay Killer incident, his response to Damian''s message contained these thoughts, though he omitted thetter since he thought that it didn''t have anything to do with the quest anymore.


    "Well, if what Wells has to say to me is incredibly important, please tell him that he could head to Clossbay City and search for a ce called the Crimson Forge." With this message being the end of the conversation between the two, Valyr went ahead and closed his screen, taking a look at the still dirty storefront as a bitter smile hung on his face.


    "At the very least I now have more funds to get this smithy into a better condition." Repeating this thought over and over in his mind, Valyr took in a deep breath before proceeding to try and remove all of the dust and dirt that had built up in the storefront, making a mental note to routinely clean the living quarters along the way.


    And with that, a week had inadvertently passed.


    ¡­


    During the past week, Valyr spent most of his time cleaning the storefront in preparation for the smithy''s eventual opening. Aside from that, he allocated part of the morning tomunicating with the suppliers he had already talked with back then, informing them to start sending raw materials to the smithy ording to a certain schedule.


    Of course, he did not forget the sessions he had to teach at thebat training hall every few days, being pleasantly surprised every time he came to thebat training hall to find out that the number of people that were attending his sessions increased with every meeting. Naturally, Gabriel took note of that, increasing the pay Valyr got with each session.


    As ofte, Valyr now got 100 gold coins per session, almost thrice the original amount the two had agreed upon.


    Naturally, with the number of people that attended his sessions, Valyr went ahead and advertised the eventual opening of his smithy, telling them toe to the smithy if they wanted quality weapons, wanted something to be repaired, or wanted something custom to be forged. Surprisingly, a great portion of them told him that they woulde, even going so far as to ask the specific date as to when the smithy would open.


    With that kind of motivation, Valyr headed back to the smithy with a light grin on his face, utilizing the energy he had gained from their words to swiftly clean the remaining areas of the smithy, with the storefront finally fully cleaned around the half week mark.


    Around the half week, the materials he had requested from the suppliers had starteding to the smithy as well, prompting Valyr to let out a chuckle as he thought that it was great timing for the materials toe just as he had fully cleaned the storefront.


    With a wide grin on his face, he thought about the items and equipment he would be forging in preparation for the smithy''s opening, eventuallying face to face with the question of what would make his equipment stand out from the rest.


    "Good thing I grabbed that Tier 1 Upgrade Alloy blueprint from the cksmith Guild back then." It did not take long for him to figure out the thing that would make his items out, deciding to use the perks of his ss to the fullest, which was the fact that he could consistently craft items of higher rarity, as well as awaken all of the possible attributes his forged equipment could have.


    "Speaking of which, I should ept a few missions from the cksmith Guild to start earning contribution points and redeeming them for blueprints. On second thought, I should head to the cksmith Guild. I still haven''t received my Technology Points for the month."


    With multiple thoughts swirling in his mind regarding what he had do, the remainder of the week was spent with him forging items and equipment for the opening of the smithy, allocating a day to head to the cksmith Guild for Technology Points, as well aspleting a few missions for contribution points.


    In fact, with the Technology Points he had gained from the guild, he was able to max out most of the Iron Age advancements on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch. On the other hand, with the contribution points, he was able to redeem a blueprint for each major weapon type.


    ¡­


    "And with that, I dere the Crimson Forge¡­ open!" Amidst the apuse the people had given in response to his opening speech, Valyr went ahead and finally opened his smithy to the masses, inwardly surprised at the fact that there were more people who hade at opening day than he had initially thought.


    ''Word of mouth truly does wonders.'' With a light smile on his face, he attended to the needs of the people that entered his smithy, with most of them being surprised by the fact that lowest rarity item they could find in his smithy was Common+ grade.


    Surprisingly, this fact became the reason as to why many of those who came on the opening day bought an item, finally allowing Valyr to reap the benefits from his hard work as money finally started to flow into his pocket. Nevertheless, he kept this excitement of his to himself, continuing to tend to the customers'' needs as some of them had him repair a few of his items.


    "Well, well, well. It seems the Crimson Forge is booming." Just as he had finished writing down a customer''s custom order, a familiar person appeared in front of Valyr, causing a light smile to appear on his face.


    "I''m guessing you''re here to make your custom order official?" Valyr let out a light chuckle as Arcenne nodded in response with a light smile.


    "Well, there''s that, but there''s also the fact that I''m here to support a friend''s business," said Arcenne soon after. "In any case, I already got the blueprints for the light armor set I want you to forge for me. I have no specific modifications to request whatsoever. Just try to make it the best light armor set I could ever have as possible."


    "That''s a tall order, don''t you think?" Valyr joked, to which Arcenneughed in response.


    Though, just as Arcenne was going to send the blueprint for the light armor set to Valyr, out of nowhere, a loud voice boomed throughout the entire storefront of the Crimson Forge.


    "Owner of the Crimson Forge¡­"


    "Those from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium request a forging duel!"

 Chapter 208 Hekaetos Forging Emporium

    "I repeat¡­" After the entire storefront became deafeningly silent, the voice from earlier resounded throughout once more.


    "Owner of the Crimson Forge¡­"


    "Those from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium request a forging duel!"


    "Sigh¡­ it''s those guys from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium again¡­" Unlike earlier, where everyone went silent at the voice''s announcement, the people that entered the Crimson Forge now started verbally expressing their dislike for the voice''s actions, with many of them conversing with one another as to how they were sick of the announcement.


    Naturally, this displeasure visibly written on most of the people''s faces did not go unnoticed, with Valyr taking a look at the person who had voiced out those words from earlier. Surprisingly, the person who had made the abrupt announcement was dressed in a kempt suit, a drastic contrast to what Valyr had in mind regarding the person''s appearance.


    After all, the man was talking about a forging duel with the Hekaetos Forging Emporium. It wouldn''t be odd for one to think that the one saying those words was a fellow cksmith, right?


    Nevertheless, Valyr discarded that thought for now, watching the man stand there in silence as the people continued to murmur about their displeasure regarding the man''s actions. Even Arcenne had a frown on her face when she heard the announcement, looking at Valyr with a light sigh. "I had a feeling they woulde to annoy you at some point once they heard a new smithy was opening. I just didn''t expect them to appear on your smithy''s opening day."


    In response, Valyr shrugged his shoulders, not finding it surprising that a nuisance would appear, recalling the multiple experiences he had with such nuisances in the past. Though, his thoughts focused on a certain phrase the man had uttered, prompting him to wonder whether what he knew in the past as a yer was still the same now that he was an NPC.


    With that, he looked at Arcenne and posed a question to her. "What''s a forging duel?"


    "It is what it is. It''s pretty self-exnatory." Arcenne nced at the man for a bit before looking back at Valyr. "A duel between cksmiths where both of them could choose the type of equipment they would be forging. Most of the time, these forging duels are done for the sake of experience. Veteran cksmiths would engage in a forging duel against novice cksmiths in order to impart thetter a few lessons in forging. With that in mind, there''s no bet between the two sides whatsoever."


    "However, that does not mean that one can''t add bets to a forging duel, and that''s what the Hekaetos Forging Emporium does." As Arcenne said these words, a slightly grim expression appeared on his face. Though, just as she was about to continue, the man''s voice bellowed throughout the room one final time.


    "Owner of the Crimson Forge¡­"


    "You have three days to respond."


    Seeing that the man from the forging emporium had finally left, the customers who were in Valyr''s smithy inwardly let out sighs of relief as they continued on with what they were doing earlier. Unsurprisingly, Arcenne let out a sigh of relief before continuing her exnation.


    "As I was saying, the Hekaetos Forging Emporium uses the forging duel mechanic to harass newly built smithies, which, in this case, is your Crimson Forge."


    "They would bet that the winner would own 10% of the profits the opposing smithy makes, which was more than enough for the owner of the newly built smithy to gamble and agree to the forging duel. After all, the Hekaetos Forging Emporium was the most well-known smithy in the city."


    "However, more often than not, the forging emporium would win the duel, causing the newly built smithy to give 10% of their profits to the emporium. Now, have the forging emporium request a forging duel with the newly built smithy a few more times with the same bet and win all of them, and hey presto, another smithy has gone out of business yet again."


    "The worst part is that the bets are made under a legally binding contract, which means the losing side has no choice but to do it, lest they want to incur great fines from the government by not following it." Taking in a deep breath, Arcenne let out a long sigh as she recalled all of the newly built smithies she had encountered in the city in the past. Unfortunately, all of them were now gone thanks to the Hekaetos Forging Emporium''s misdeeds.


    Processing all of the information he had received from Arcenne''s exnation, Valyr rubbed his chin for a bit before asking her the question that came to his mind. "So¡­ should I respond to the forging duel or not?"


    "I''d say no. After all, the binding contract only takes ce once the forging duel bes official." Arcenne lightly shook his head. "Though, considering the weapon you''ve forged for me sometime ago¡­ I''d say saying yes wouldn''t be a bad idea either."


    "Anyways, let''s move that topic aside for now and talk about the light armor set I want you to forge." Hearing these words that came out of Arcenne''s mouth, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle before acquiescing, talking about her custom order as he attended to the needs of other customers along the way.


    ¡­


    "That was mentally draining." Noticing that there was only an hour left before the sun went down, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief, taking note of the few remaining people that were still looking through the selection of items and equipment he had for sale.


    During the rush of the opening day, Arcenne finalized the custom order she wanted him to forge, with its set effects prompting Valyr to ask her if he could forge a set of the armor for himself as well. Unsurprisingly, she told him that he was free to do whatever he wanted with the blueprints she gave him, making him think that this was her way of repaying for cial Edge.


    Nevertheless, recalling the amount of money he had made during the first day, a wide grin could not help but appear on his face. With that, he suppressed the urge to close up shop and count his earnings for today, reminding himself that the time he would close up shop was exactly at sunset.


    "And here I thought your smithy was already closed." Just as he was about to remind the few remaining customers that the smithy was nearing its closing time, a familiar face appeared at the smithy, who had a light smirk on his face as he moved closer to Valyr and embraced him.


    Reciprocating the hug, the two eventually released each other as Valyr looked at the man that had appeared with a smile. "To be honest, I thought you''d appear at the smithy some other day, Tryndall."


    "And miss out the opening day of my friend''s smithy? No way!" Tryndallughed. "Anyways, I''m here to request a custom order for a weapon, specifically a saber."


    "Got any specifications and modifications in mind?" In response, Valyr nodded, grabbing a nearby piece of parchment to write Tryndall''s custom order down.


    As Tryndall nodded in response to Valyr''s question, the expression on his face turned somewhat grim. "I do. Though, before that, I almost forgot to tell you something."


    "What is it?"


    "The five suspects have been detained."

 Chapter 209 Reasons For Establishment

    "I see." Listening to what Tryndall had to say to him, Valyr nodded in response. After all, the two of them were told by Merdus a week ago that the city would handle the incident regarding the five Clossbay Killers after they had given information. To him, detaining the five seemed like the most logical step.


    Though, this train of thought quickly disappeared once Tryndall continued talking.


    "Let me rify myself. The five suspects we''ve discovered to be the Clossbay Killer have all been detained yesterday." Seeing that Valyr did not find anything amiss with his words, Tryndall worded his statement differently, as well as added another statement to let the former realize what was wrong.


    "And today¡­"


    "All of them were released from prison."


    "Huh?" At the very instant Valyr''s ears registered Tryndall''sst statement, a look of incredulity mixed with confusion appeared on his face, not expecting the situation to progress that way.


    Of course, both he and Tryndall had considered these kinds of scenarios happening regarding the incident. However, he considered all of those scenarios purely what-ifs, not really something that actually had the possibility to happen.


    Yet lo and behold, the opposite had just happened.


    Although they were talking in a soft voice all this time, Valyr went to the few remaining customers that still lingered within the smithy and apologized to them before kindly asking them to leave, telling them that they would get a discount to their purchase the following day if they did. In his mind, the continuation of their conversation should never be heard by anyone other than just them.


    Fortunately, all of the remaining customers were understanding, bing even more so once they heard they would get a discount once they left. With that, Valyr was able to partly close the storefront, informing those that might pass by the smithy at this time that the smithy was already closed.


    After that, he returned his gaze back to Tryndall, voicing out the thought that had popped up in his mind. "At this point, there''s no point in wondering whether there''s more to the entire matter or not. After all, with what you''ve just told me, we have proof that there really is more to the matter than what it seems."


    "Though I''ve already asked you this back then, let me bring up the question once more. Should we just stop pursuing this incident even further?" Noticing the solemn yet grim expression that adorned Tryndall''s face as Valyr posed this question to the former, a bitter smile hung on thetter''s mouth.


    "Well, I already expected as much."


    Taking a deep breath before letting out a short sigh, Valyr''s face returned to a neutral expression as he returned his train of thought to what it was earlier. "Are you still having the assassins track the five of them?"


    "Pretty much." Tryndall shrugged his shoulders. "After all, they''re the best lead we''ve got regarding the deeper meaning into this whole ordeal."


    "From the looks of it, we''ll probably have to apprehend at least one of them to actually gain progress in that regard." In response, Valyr scratched his head as he bitterly smiled. "As always, inform me through a message as to when we''ll do just that."


    "You know me very well." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tryndall could only let out a chuckle before nodding.


    "So, about the saber I want you to forge for me¡­"


    ¡­


    "It''s been a long day today." Letting out a sigh filled with contentment, Valyr looked at the state of the smithy''s storefront, chuckling as he noticed that over half of the items and equipment he had forged for opening day were now nowhere to be found. Most of the disy racks only had a few pieces of equipment remaining.


    Deciding to record the sales for the smithy''s opening day, recalling that he had to set aside a bit of it towards the business permit, a foolish grin eventually appeared on his face once he totaled the amount of money he had made, double checking to make sure he had not calcted wrongly. "Over 800 gold coins on the opening day¡­"


    "With the amount of money I''ve made from teaching at thebat training hall, I already have half of the money needed to pay back Arcenne and her father." Thinking about how the time that he would repay the two for their kindness was closer than he thought, he kept all of the money he had earned for the day into arge satchel before moving it to a hidden area within the building''s living quarters.


    After that, he returned to the storefront to record the numbers of items and equipment, as well as the types of equipment he had to forge in preparation for the following day. "Fortunately, I went on a forging spree to past half week or so in preparation for something like this. As long as I allocate a good portion of my time in forging, I think I can make sure I won''t run out of stock anytime soon."


    "In any case, I hope the yerse to the smithy sometime soon." As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr made his way to the bathroom and took a long shower.


    Although he initially established the smithy as a way for him to earn the necessary funds he needed for his future endeavors, it was also the most logical solution that popped up in his mind back when he was pondering over how he would start interacting with the yers without having it seem too forced.


    In his mind, he thought that once the yers discovered the smithy and entered to take a look at what he had to offer, he would offer all of them a linked quest that would allow them to obtain a piece of equipment from him at the end of it.


    Of course, the quest he would give the guild leader from his past life, Nephilim, was going to be slightly different, recalling the kindness the man had shown him back then. Though Nephilim would also be able to obtain a piece of equipment from him, he decided to craft a custom weapon for the man as well, making sure that it was enhanced and refined to the highest level possible, as well as have all of the possible attributes on the weapon awakened.


    ''I guess this is how I''m going to increase my reputation among the yers once the first version goes public, an NPC that can give them insanely powerful equipment.'' Chuckling at the thought, he eventually got out of the shower and changed into a set of clothes more suitable for sleeping.


    Lying down on his bed, he nned out the things he would have to do tomorrow as he eventually drifted off to dreamnd.


    ''I''ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.''


    ''I should go to sleep.''

 Chapter 210 Visitor

    Gradually opening his eyes as he felt the temperature in the room raise by a few degrees, Valyr eventually got out of bed, absentmindedly staring off into the distance for a couple minutes as he allowed his consciousness to return to its usual state.


    Gazing out the window beside the bed for a bit, Valyr then went through his usual morning routine, recalling the mental notes he had taken down before he went to sleep.


    After that, he changed into a set of clothes befitting that of a cksmith before making his way to the front part of the building, taking notes of what items and equipment were missing from the disy racks. Double checking to make sure he had not forgotten anything, he then headed to the part of the building he designated as the smithy''s storage room, grabbing a portion of the stuff he had forged beforehand before returning to the storefront and preparing for another day of sales.


    Opening up the smithy for new customers to enter, he was swiftly greeted by the few remaining customers that lingered near the smithy''s closing time yesterday, who reminded him of the promise he had made them that he would give them a discount on any purchase they made today.


    Of course, Valyr had no intentions of reneging on his promise, even going so far as to help them in choosing the items they wanted to buy from the smithy in order to make sure that they got the most out of their purchases.


    With these customers leaving the smithy with grins on their faces, as well as new equipment in tow, the atmosphere for how the smithy would operate for today was set, with the customers that came after the first ones being in a pleasant mood, bringing well-needed liveliness to the insides of the smithy.


    Unfortunately, just like yesterday, an entity eventually arrived at some point to drag the atmosphere in the smithy into an entirely different direction.


    With a slight frown on his face, Valyr watched as the well-dressed man from yesterday appeared at the entrance of the smithy once more, taking in a deep breath before announcing that he had two days left to respond to the Hekaetos Forging Emporium''s request of a forging duel.


    Unsurprisingly, murmurs and remarks filled with displeasure faintly echoed throughout the smithy while Valyr remained all the while, giving a bitter smile to any customer that came near him. On the other hand, the man acted just like he did yesterday, remaining silent.


    It was as if he hadn''t heard the words being spoken by the Crimson Forge''s customers at all.


    Thankfully, the man eventually left the smithy after some point, reminding Valyr once more regarding the forging duel request before truly leaving. Nevertheless, with the man Valyr assumed came from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium now gone, the atmosphere in the smithy eventually returned to how it was earlier, with Valyr even getting a few of the custom orders done as he helped out the few customers that came into his smithy every once in a while.


    ¡­


    "I wonder if the yers heard about the Crimson Forge''s opening already." With the sun at its peak, Valyr briefly closed up the smithy for the meantime, heading to a nearby restaurant to eat lunch. Lightly scratching his head as he continued to dig into the food he ordered, he wondered if word regarding the Crimson Forge had already reached the yers.


    "Should I ask Arcenne if there''s a way for me to advertise the forge''s opening near the city center?" As he thought about what actions he could take to entice the yers into heading to his forge, hemanded the system to ess the World Net and open up the yers'' livestreams, a look of understanding appearing on his face before a wry smile reced it not long after.


    From what he could see through their livestreams, the yers that spawned in Clossbay City were currently at the outskirts, fighting against monsters in order toplete what seemed to be a material collection quest that all of them had epted at the same time.


    Taking a look at the progress they''ve made during the past week or so, Valyr nodded in satisfaction once he noticed that all of them had already reached the level limit of Rank 0 ss holders, which was Level 10. However, watching them for a bit longer, he noticed that two of the yers making up the group had already ascended to their respective Rank 1 sses, though they were only at Level 11.


    "I guess it makes sense. After all, Void_Guardian and Nephilim are the only yers among the group that could be considered toe from significantlyrge guilds." With his curiosity now satiated, Valyr closed up the livestream and swiftly finished the remaining portion of his food within minutes. After that, he left the restaurant and made his way back to the smithy, sending a message to Arcenne if there was a way for him to advertise the smithy''s opening at the city center while walking.


    By the time he was finished talking to Arcenne, he had arrived at the closed entrance of the smithy, noticing that a couple customers were waiting for him to return to lunch. Thanking them for waiting for him, he then went ahead and opened the smithy once more, allowing the waiting customers and enter and buy what they needed.


    Though, just as he and the customers were entering the smithy, he noticed a familiar face among them, the man looking at him with a wide grin on his face.


    "Wells!" Valyr eximed in slight glee, approaching the man before giving him a brief hug.


    "It''s nice to see you again, Valyr." In response, Wells reciprocated the action, with the two of them releasing their grasp of each other as they made their way to a more private section of the smithy.


    "Did you just arrive at the city?" Heading to the living quarters for a brief while, Valyr returned to the storefront with a ss of water, giving it to Wells as he posed the question to thetter.


    Drinking all of its contents within a few gulps, Wells nodded. "Yeah. Damian told me the contents of the messages you sent him a week ago in response to my questions. It was only around half a week ago did I make the decision to head to Clossbay."


    "Of course, you already know the reason why I''vee here. It''s to tell you something important. Something that would be better said in person." Hearing these words, Valyr could only nod in response.


    "But before that, I have something else to say."


    "I''m all ears."


    "Valyr¡­"


    "Thank you."

 Chapter 211 Myriad Prodigies

    "Thank you? Thank you for what?" Unsurprisingly, a hint of confusion appeared on Valyr''s face after hearing the words that came out of Wells'' mouth. After all, he did not know what thetter was thanking him for.


    Fortunately, Wells already knew Valyr wouldn''t know the reason behind his words of gratitude, a light chuckle escaping his mouth soon after before saying a few words that gave more rification to the matter. "Thank you for helping me leave my family''s manor and giving me the opportunity to continue pursuing the pinnacle of the spear."


    "But I didn''t even do anything?" Nevertheless, even though Wells had given Valyr the reason behind his gratitude, thetter still had confusion written all over his face, oblivious to what he had done.


    Though Wells was just about to exin to him how he was grateful to Valyr, thetter had to stop him in his tracks for a while, apologizing to the former before helping out a few customers that seemed to be looking for aid. Once he had helped them out thoroughly and made sure that none of the other customers had any queries for him in the meantime, he went back to where Wells was, giving the man a look that told him he was ready to listen some more.


    "To answer the question you asked me earlier, it was all thanks to the prestige of your n that I was able to leave the family manor." At the very moment those words came out of Wells'' mouth, a look of understanding finally sh on Valyr''s face as he nodded in response.


    ''So, in short, I didn''t do anything to help him out. Instead, it was my surname that helped him out.'' While this thought briefly lingered in his mind, Valyr noticed that a bitter smile hung on Wells'' face, prompting him to ponder over the man''s expression for a bit.


    With Valyr asking if he had something more to say after that, wondering if there was more to the matter, Wells'' eyes slightly widened in surprise before his expression turned solemn.


    Nodding in response, Wells scratched his head for a bit as he pondered over how he was going to make sure Valyr understood his exnation. "Remember the reason why I was told to head back to Anadhar City to return to the family manor in the first ce?"


    Listening to the question, Valyr went silent for a bit before eventually nodding. "You mentioned that it was due to the monster tide that was happening in Astarto. Because your parents were worried about your safety during the monster tide, they told you head to back to Anadhar City, specifically back to your family''s manor."


    "At that time, that''s what I also thought. However, once I returned to the manor and heard the real reason as to why they made me return, it was then that I realized that wasn''t the case." Wells slowly shook his head before letting out a low sigh. "And that brings me to the important thing that I have to tell you."


    "The reason why I was told to head back to the family manor was because the family wanted all of the talented family members from the younger generation to head to Algerie Kingdom."


    Listening to Wells'' exnation, Valyr wondered what the Algerie Kingdom had for a great portion of the things he had to do in the future to be situated there.


    The World Quest he had received while talking with Aster sometime ago needed him to head to the Algerie Kingdom for him to make progress. The Imperial Production Guild was on the lookout for him since he was a suitable candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Though the possibility of them looking for him, in his opinion, was low, they would bring him to the Algerie Kingdom if it was true.


    And now, out of Wells'' mouth, he heard the Algerie Kingdom one more time.


    Although he wanted to say what was on his mind, Valyr kept silent, waiting for the man before him to continue with his exnation. "Naturally, as part of the Anadhar family''s younger generation, as well as the eventual heir to the position of Anadhar City''s mayor, the older members of the family deem me as someone with a high level of talent. To them, my level of talent was more than enough to warrant the need to send me to the Algerie Kingdom."


    "However, once they looked through all of the talented members of the family''s younger generation, I was eventually told that I wouldn''t head to the kingdom, but instead stay put in the family manor as sort of a reserve that could head to the kingdom if one of the members that were chosen to head to the kingdom fell ill on the day of departure."


    "And here I thought my parents had a change of heart all of a sudden." Saying these words, Wells let out a chuckle filled with mockery towards himself, sighing soon after. "I was foolish to think they''d change."


    "In any case, with the prestige of your n, I was able to eventually leave the manor, though they told me that I had to stay by your side and encourage you to head to the kingdom and participate on behalf of the Anadhar family."


    "Of course, whether you choose to head to the kingdom or not is none of my concern. After all, they only told me to encourage you to do so, not force you to head there." Wells shrugged his shoulders after that. "The part where they told me to stay by your side isn''t really a problem with me. After all, I''d still be able to pursue the pinnacle of the spear.


    "Well, now that I think about it, I kind of appreciate that they told me to stay by your side, considering that we''re good friends." With that, Wells shed a light smile at Valyr, who pondered over the words the former said to him all this time.


    Eventually, he voiced out the question that had popped into his mind at Wells. "What does your family want me to participate in that involves having to head to the Algerie Kingdom?"


    "It''s probably the most awaited tournament in the Algerie Region among the younger generation, where all talented fighters and prodigies gather to find out who among them is the best." In response, Wells'' expression turned solemn as he replied to the question.


    "It is none other than the Myriad Prodigies Tournament."

 Chapter 212 A Better Class

    "The Myriad Prodigies Tournament¡­" Repeating the part of Wells'' statement that had piqued his interest, Valyr rummaged through his treasure trove of memories, eventually finding a memory that tackled the tournament Wells mentioned in greater detail.


    Though it was indeed thergest and most prestigious tournament to be held within the Algerie Region, it was not unique by any means. Valyr recalled through his memories that there were simr tournaments held in the other regions of Veldanyr, their purpose being more or less the same, which was to find out who among the talented fighters and the prodigies were the best.


    With that, he thought about the rewards one could hope to obtain during the tournament, recalling the rewards some of the yers that had reached high ranking spots in the tournament in his previous life. In fact, he could even remember the reward one yer got when that person became the champion of the tournament, the prize the man had received being so precious that it was talked about in the forums for days on end.


    Naturally, many envious yers tried to snatch the reward from the man''s hands, only to realize in the midst of their attempts that the man had not be the champion of the tournament for no reason.


    Nevertheless, ever since that day, none of the yers dared to steal the rewards of those that had participated in the tournaments and obtained high spots anymore¡­ unless they were confident that they had the strength to overwhelm them.


    "That was the true reason as to why they had me return to the family manor." Of course, Wells was oblivious to what was going on in Valyr''s mind, instead responding to the murmurs of Valyr from earlier. "If my sense of time and memory still serves me correctly, then the tournament shall be held exactly six months from now."


    ''Six months¡­'' Hearing these wordse out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr rubbed his chin as he pondered over it in silence, thinking about the other things he had to do in the Algerie Kingdom once more. ''I need to head to the Algerie Kingdom within three months if I want to progress through my World Quest. That alone means that I''ll be at the kingdom way before the Myriad Prodigies Tournament even starts.''


    ''However, Aster did say that there was the possibility of the Imperial Production Guild searching high and low for any traces of my movements since I''m a suitable candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. If his spections were true, then I''d be brought to the kingdom far earlier.''


    "Should I head to the kingdom¡­?" Faintly voicing out the thoughts that lingered in his mind, Valyr lightly scratched his head as Wells watched him with a solemn expression.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him toe to a conclusion, recalling that there were a few things still shackling him to the city. "Aside from the fact that I just recently opened up the smithy, there''s still that incident. I have to see that one to the bitter end."


    "So, does that mean you''re heading to the Algerie Kingdom sometime in the near future?" Wells looked at him with curiosity, to which Valyr shook his head in response.


    "The opposite, actually. Then again, I''ll be heading to the kingdom before the Myriad Prodigies Tournament starts due to some personal reasons."


    Valyr let out a slightly awkward chuckle after that. "Now that I think about it, I''m still kind of fulfilling the goals your family gave you when they allowed you to leave your family''s manor, even though I''m not intentionally doing so."


    "I guess I''m just lucky." In response, Wells shrugged his shoulders before letting out a chuckle as well.


    "In any case, what are you nning to do, now that you''ve escaped from your family''s clutches once more?" Valyr looked at him with a curious expression. "Though your family did tell you to stay by my side, you''re not really going to follow that, are you?"


    "I mean¡­" Wells shrugged his shoulders once more. "Nothing really changes if I decide to stay by your side or not. After all, I only n to continue pursuing the one thing I was pursuing back when I was still outside the surveince of my family."


    "The pinnacle of the spear, right?" As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, Wells nodded in agreement.


    "Exactly," said Wells in response. "In fact, I feel like I would make greater progress in doing just that if I were to stay by your side. After all, you also use the spear."


    "Well, I''ve already been certified to have reached the Adept level of spear proficiency, so I could definitely help you out on your journey." As Valyr said these words, leaving Wells in a slight stupor, he left thetter for a bit to attend to some of the customers, only to return to where thetter was a couple minutester.


    At this point, Wells'' gaze towards Valyr seemed to be glistening, as if thetter was the beacon that would light the way towards his ultimate goal. Of course, Valyr noticed this gaze as well, which elicited a light chuckle toe out of his mouth, telling the former to not go overboard in asking him questions.


    "Now that I think about it, have you ascended to Rank 1 yet?" Just as Valyr was about to impart a bit of his knowledge regarding the spear to Wells, this thought popped up into his mind all of a sudden. With his curiosity getting the better of him, he activated [Analysis] on him as the man responded to his query.


    "I''ve already reached Level 10 a long time ago, but the all of the choices that were given to me regarding my Rank 1 ss didn''t seem to suit the goal that I had in mind." Saying these words, Wells had a bitter smile on his face as he shook his head.


    ? Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Wells Anadhar] (Level 10)


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Power Level: 98 (C)


    HP: 120/120


    MP: 100/100


    Stats: 12 VIT, 13 STR, 12 AGI, 13 DEX, 10 INT, 10 WIS, 10 PER, 10 LUK


    Remarks: Has a decent level of proficiency with the spear. Pretty knowledgeable in topics regarding nobility. Could be a goodckey... if you want him to be.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With the information that had appeared in his mind regarding Wells confirming the man''s words, Valyr closed the screen before continuing to listen to him speak, somewhat curious as to what choices he had regarding his ss.


    "I did get Spearman of the Flowing Waves as a possible ss choice, which bolsters my strength with the spear, as well as my fighting style. However, in terms of purpose and intent, I feel like it''s stillcking that little something." As these words came out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr swiftly checked through his memories as to how rare the ss Wells had mentioned was, finding out that it was a Rare ss a few secondster.


    "What kind of ss are you looking for, then?" Hearing the question that came out of Valyr''s mouth, it did not take long for Wells to respond, giving off the feeling that he already had an idea of what his ideal ss wanted to do.


    "If possible, I want it to be simr to Spearman of the Flowing Waves wherein it would focus on a flexible fighting style. However, I hope for the ss to not focus mainly on the fighting aspect of wielding the spear. Instead, I want the ss to focus mainly on the art of the spear itself, achieving a high level of mastery and understanding with it." Saying these words, Wells'' eyes seemed to glisten. Though, not long after, his eyes dimmed as a bitter smile hung on his face soon after.


    "Then again, that''s only if a ss like that exists in the first ce." Letting out a wry chuckle, Wells let out a sigh.


    "But it does." In contrast to Wells'' gloomy mood, a light smirk adorned Valyr''s face.


    "You mean¡­?" Reading between the lines of Valyr''s words, a faint glimmer of hope appeared on Wells'' face, gazing at the former, wondering if the next words that woulde out of Valyr''s mouth were the ones he wanted to hear.


    Fortunately, they were.


    "Want me to tell you how to get it?"

 Chapter 213 Spear Scholar

    Though Valyr did not directly respond to the question Wells had asked him earlier, it wasn''t difficult for thetter to figure out what he was implying.


    "You know of a ss that has the properties I want?" Wells looked at him with expectation, his gaze filled with hope that the man before him wasn''t just leading him onto something that wasn''t actually there.


    "I do. I even know the prerequisites to get it too." In response to the question, Valyr let out a chuckle as he took a quick nce at the customers, checking to see if any of them needed help. Seeing that there were none, he returned his gaze back at Wells before continuing.


    "In fact, one of the requirements for the ss I''ll be telling you can actually be obtained in this city."


    "Really? Is it easy to achieve?" With an excited expression on his face, Wells gave off the feeling that he was ready to leave the smithy at the very instant Valyr told him about the requirement he could obtain from the city. "Also, how many requirements do I need to fulfill before getting it?"


    "Well, you''ll have to fulfill five requirements to be eligible to obtain the ss as your Rank 1 ss, with four of them being specific skills and titles." Valyr lightly scratched his head as he pondered over something for a bit.


    "If you don''t mind telling me what skills and titles you own, I can tell you how many requirements you have left to get it." Hearing these words escape Valyr''s mouth, Wells looked at the man before him from head to toe.


    Although he did appreciate the fact that he was able to use the prestige of the man''s name to leave the manor, the time they''ve spent together was only days at most. With that, he felt a bit of apprehension at the thought of having someone else be privy to what was more or less incredibly private information.


    While Wells was at a crossroads on what to do, Valyr double checked through his memories from his past life regarding the ss he was about to give to the former, making sure that the requirements he remembered was indeed the requirements needed to obtain the ss.


    ''For an Epic ss, the requirements to obtain it are pretty simplepared to simr sses.'' Just as this thought popped up in his mind, Wells'' expression turned into that of determination as he let out a light sigh before nodding.


    ''Since I''m nning to stay by his side from now on, there''lle a point where we''ll have to share this information to each other anyway.'' With this thought in mind, Wells requested he and Valyr head to a more private area in the meantime, to which thetter nodded in response with a solemn expression, realizing that he had forgotten to take that into consideration.


    Swiftly apologizing for the slight blunder, Valyr then brought Wells to the living quarters, fulfilling the man''s request. After that, he used a bit of his mana to create a barrier that blocked the corridor that led to the living quarters, telling Wells that he could now be at ease that only the two of them would be able to hear the words that woulde out of his mouth.


    Taking in a deep breath, Wells lightly nodded before proceeding to inform Valyr of all the skills and titles he had rued so far, some of them even piquing thetter''s interest due to the difficulty of obtaining some of them. Feeling that it was somewhat unfair, Valyr then revealed all of the skills he had that were geared towards fighting, to which Wells naturally appreciated.


    "Hmm¡­ if we take the skills and titles you already own into consideration, then you pretty much only need to fulfill two requirements left before being able to obtain the ss that perfectly suits you." Saying these words, Valyr then went ahead and described the requirements Wells needed to fulfill in great detail, as well as the steps he needed to take in order to obtain them.


    Naturally, Wellsmitted all of the words Valyr had told him just now to memory, telling thetter that he would probably fulfill one of the two remaining requirementster since there was still a ton of sunlight. Hearing that, Valyr encouraged him to do so, telling him that thest requirement was actually simple toplete since he would help him out in that regard.


    With that, Wells psyched himself up to go and fulfill one of the requirements before the sun went down, prompting Valyr to dispel the barrier of mana he had propped up as the two of them returned to the smithy''s storefront. Just as Wells told Valyr that he would be staying at this smithy for the meantime, which thetter did not mind, a question swiftly popped up in his mind, one that he felt like he should have asked before their entire conversation so far.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ what''s the name of the ss?"


    "Spear Schr." With a light grin, Valyr then bade farewell to Wells for the meantime as thetter made his way to thebat training hall to fulfill one of the two remaining requirements he had toplete. Now on his own once more, he helped a few of the customers still lingering in the smithy in making up their minds on what to purchase before proceeding to the part of the smithy that made up his workshop.


    "I should get topleting those custom orders." Recalling the specifications and modifications Tryndall had mentioned to him yesterday regarding his custom order, Valyr looked through the selection of raw materials he could use, perusing through the cksmith Guild''s contribution point shop in the meantime to find a suitable blueprint he could just modify during the forging process.


    With both the materials and the blueprint now obtained, he then fired up the furnace, prompting customers who had just walked in, as well as customers who were still lingering around the smithy all this time to make their way towards the workshop, curious as to how the owner of the smithy forged equipment.


    "Since it''ll take a while for me to create the light armor Arcenne asked me to forge¡­"


    "I should focus on Tryndall''s saber first."

 Chapter 214 Refusal

    About two days had passed since Valyr informed Wells regarding the Spear Schr ss, as well as the remaining requirements thetter needed to fulfill in order to ascend to it as his Rank 1 ss.


    Unsurprisingly, by the time Wells had returned to the smithy on the day Valyr informed him of the requirements, he was sessful inpleting the one requirement that required him to head to thebat training hall. With that, he and Valyr talked about the final requirement needed for the man to ascend to the Spear Schr ss.


    Thanks to his past experience, the process inpleting the remaining requirement was smooth sailing for the most part, with Valyr aiding Wells along the way. Though, as luck would have it, the two of them were halted at the very final step of the remaining requirement, causing both of them to be somewhat glum as they thought about what they could do to make sure they''d get the requirement done on the following day.


    Fortunately, luck was on their side after the two of them woke up the following day, with there being no hups in the overall process as Wells finallypleted the final requirement needed to ascend to the Spear Schr ss. With that, it went without saying that Wells went through the ascension process in the smithy''s living quarters, officially bing a Spear Schr by the time the sun had set.


    In the meantime, after helping Wells out with his remaining requirement, Valyr spent most of his timepleting the custom orders that had piled up during the past couple days, focusing onpleting Tryndall''s saber, as well as Arcenne''s light armor set first.


    During that time, he had also allocated over half of his unused XP towards increasing his level, bringing it up to Level 18. Naturally, he had evenly allocated the free stat points he had gained from the level up towards both DEX and INT.


    ¡­


    "Phew. Finally done with the chestte. Three more pieces to go and I''ll be done with Arcenne''s armor." Wiping off the sweat from his forehead, Valyr ced the forging hammer he had been wielding all this time to the side as he activated [Analysis] on the chestte he had just finished refining. After reading through the entirety of its description, he nodded in satisfaction before taking a look at how the smithy was operating.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+15) Azure Cyclone Chestte] (Level 35)


    Rarity: Rare


    Defense: 109 - 182


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +5


    > STR +4


    A chestte mainly forged using azure iron infused with Water Essence and Wind Essence, the cksmith that had forged this piece of armor made sure to not leave any imperfections behind, utilizing their mastery over forging as a true prodigy to make sure that it would bolster the wearer''s defense to its utmost limits.


    This chestte¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill: Cyclone Infusion - Empowers all of the user''s physical stats by 10% for 1 minute. Requires all pieces of the Azure Cyclone set to be worn. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 200 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Azure Cyclone Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces - Damage Increase and Damage Reduction +15%


    - 4 pieces - Attack +15% and Critical Chance +15%


    - 6 pieces - VIT, STR, AGI, and DEX +15%


    Remarks: Probably your finest work. Probably.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    cing the chestte to the side with the other pieces of the set he had already gathered, Valyr looked at the materials he would need for the next piece of the armor set. While doing so, he took a quick look at Wells, who was currently seated in a cross-legged position near the entrance with his eyes closed.


    After Wells ascended to his Rank 1 ss and became a Spear Schr, Valyr asked him what thetter would do now that he was Rank 1. In response, Wells told him that he didn''t really have a massive goal in mind, his only focus being to reach the pinnacle of the spear.


    Nevertheless, he did tell Valyr that he would repay him for allowing him to ascend as a Spear Schr, as well as make himself useful by acting as a guard of the smithy, to which Valyr replied that he could do whatever he wanted, shrugging his shoulders in response.


    Seeing Wells in his current state, Valyr knew that the man currently had [Technique Introspection] activated, a skill Wells gained after bing a Spear Schr that would allow him to slowly increase his understanding and mastery of the spear while still being aware of everything that was happening in his surroundings.


    Just as Valyr thought that the entire day would more or less be uneventful, a group of three people had appeared at the entrance of the smithy, prompting Wells to deactivate [Technique Introspection] as he looked at the trio that had appeared with a light frown.


    On the other hand, the customers that were in the process of buying something from the smithy stopped what they were doing, shifting their gazes near the entrance after feeling that the atmosphere within the smithy had drastically changed. To no surprise, all of them started murmuring once they noticed the group of three people near the smithy.


    "It''s those guys from the emporium again. To think they''d be so stubborn in requesting a forging duel that they woulde to the Crimson Forge every day."


    "Haven''t three days already passed since they started requesting the owner of the Crimson Forge to engage in a forging duel with them? After all, the two other people wouldn''t have apanied that man if that wasn''t the case."


    "Aren''t you guys tired of the emporium throwing their weight around? Can''t even support newly built smithies in peace since they''re always pulling this shit off."


    Hearing the murmurs that faintly reverberated throughout the smithy, the person at the center of the group of three, the well-dressed man that had beening to Valyr''s smithy for the past few days could not help but frown.


    Unlike before, where he remained oblivious to the words that were being thrown around the smithy, the well-dressed man finally responded, radiating a great portion of his aura as his voice bellowed throughout with great fury.


    "Silence!"


    Unsurprisingly, all of the customers within the smithy went silent, with Valyr dropping his things as he slowly made his way to the entrance with a frown. ncing at Wells for a bit, Valyr nodded at him before shifting his gaze back at the trio.


    "Are you the owner of this smithy?" The well-dressed man looked at Valyr with a condescending expression.


    "What if I am?" In response, Valyr raised his eyebrow, a frown still adorning his face.


    "More than three days have already passed, but you have yet to agree to the Hekaetos Forging Emporium''s request to a forging duel."


    "The emporium shall give you one final chance before we take¡­ drastic measures," the well-dressed man said to him. "Shall you ept our request¡­ or not?"


    Listening to the man''s question, Valyr went silent for a bit before letting out a chortle that could be heard by everyone in the smithy, including the trio. Then, taking in a deep breath, he raised his middle finger at the trio as his next words voiced out what everyone in the smithy felt at that moment.


    "Fuck off."

 Chapter 215 Disdain

    "What did you just say?" Naturally, the well-dressed man, as well as the two other people that came with him did not take Valyr''s words that well. With grim expressions on their faces, great amounts of killing intent exuded out of their bodies as they released the entirety of their auras not long after, focusing it all on Valyr.


    In response, Valyr retaliated by releasing the entirety of his aura as well, making sure that none of the customers in the smithy would be harmed by what was happening. Nevertheless, the thought of the customers being in danger was swiftly thrown out once he noticed that his aura was equal to their auras¡­bined.


    ''[Analysis].'' Looking at Wells for a bit, he sent him a message through the chat function to be ready to fight against the trio at any moment, prompting Wells to lightly nod at him in response. While doing so, he identified what kind of stats the trio had for his aura to be equal theirs, only for him to suppress the urge tough as much as possible.


    ''Two at Level 11 and one at Level 12¡­ on top of that, the strongest ss among them is a Rare ss¡­'' Now being privy to the strengths of the opposing side, Valyr decided to act a bit rougher than usual, raising yet another middle finger at the trio.


    ''Are they seriously just relying on the prestige of their emporium or whatever?''


    "Do I really have to repeat myself?" Valyr looked at them with a frown, doubling down on the pressure of his aura. "I told you three to fuck off."


    "Do you not know who you''re messing with?" In response, the well-dressed man gritted his teeth in his fury, his hands itching to grab the dagger he had sheathed around his waist. "We''re from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, you know?"


    "And you''re inside the Crimson Forge." At this point, Valyr told Wells that he would take care of the situation on his own through the chat function, retrieving the spear that was strapped on his back all this time. "So, are you three going to get out of my sight on your own ord¡­ or do I have to force you?"


    "You asked for it!" Finally realizing that the man before them wouldn''t have acquiesced to the forging duel request either way, the well-dressed man gave a signal to the two that came along with him to show Valyr who was boss, unsheathing the dagger around his waist as he lunged to stab Valyr in the chest.


    In the meantime, the two people behind the man moved to Valyr''s sides, aiming to catch him off guard while his attention was wholly focused on the well-dressed man. After all, the man before them was just a measly cksmith. There was no way a man like him would know how to retaliate in this situation, right?


    "[True Blood Drive]."


    Bang!


    Changing his grip to where the dull end of the spear was at the front, Valyr utilized the entirety of his strength to speedily stab the well-dressed man at the sternum, activating [True Blood Drive] at the very moment the two made contact.


    Due to the speed at which the spear arrived in front of him, the man was unable to defend against the attack in time, being sent flying towards the building on the other side of the street, crashing against the wall with a loud bang.


    Seeing how easily the well-dressed man was disposed of, the two men that came along with him stopped in their tracks, looking at the being in front of them with fear evident in their eyes. After all, whenever they did this in the past, their targets would just give up and ept the forging duel request, even though they didn''t want to.


    Yet, here was someone who would rather fight with them instead of giving in.


    "Get lost." With the two still immobilized in fear, Valyr took advantage of the opportunity and swung his spear as if it were the bat, flinging one of the two remaining men towards the same building the well-dressed man crashed into, forming yet another crater on its wall.


    Realizing that he was the only one among the three still standing, the remaining man looked at Valyr, who was looking back at him in silence, waiting to see what the man does next.


    Surprisingly, rather than give up, the man charged towards Valyr and tried to attack him with his fists, eliciting a light smirk to appear on thetter''s face. However¡­


    Bang!


    Just like the two that came before him, thest man was sent flying towards the building on the other side of the street, being sent there in the most unceremonious way possible.


    Being kicked in his behind.


    At that moment, all of the customers in Valyr''s smithy, as well as passersby who came to see what was going on, were left silent with their mouths agape, not expecting someone to actually stand up to the Hekaetos Forging Emporium and actually emerge victorious.


    On the other hand, the well-dressed man was filled to the brim with great fury, not expecting their target this time around to be so defiant that they would even fight back against them. Just as thoughts of retaliating against Valyr entered his mind, all of those thoughts swiftly disappeared once the man in person appeared before him with his spear in hand, gazing at him with a condescending expression.


    Crippled with fear, it took a while for the well-dressed man to spew out a few words at Valyr, his voice quivering as he spoke. "You''re gonna regret antagonizing the Hekaetos Forging Emporium! I swear to the heavens that I''ll make sure your smithy is gone from the face of this city!"


    Bang!


    In response to that, Valyr''s spear appeared between the man''s legs, its tip piercing the ground only a few inches away from the man''s most private spot. With a grim expression, he looked at the well-dressed man in the eyes before speaking. "Go ahead and try."


    "If you can, that is."


    Trying his best to not let his fear overwhelm his senses, the well-dressed man eventually left the vicinity with the two other men in tow, spewing out a few curses here and there, but mostly words that mentioned how Valyr was going to regret making the Hekaetos Forging Emporium his enemy. In response, Valyr scoffed at those words, watching as the trio''s silhouettes gradually disappeared from his field of vision.


    Turning around to head back to the smithy, he noticed that most, if not all of the people near the smithy were looking at him with shock and amazement in their eyes. However, those feelings paled inparison to what Valyr thought was the most obvious feeling everyone exuded at that moment.


    Awe.


    Letting out a light chuckle at this realization, Valyr ced his spear behind his back and made his way into the smithy, beckoning the passersby that stopped to watch the fight to head into his smithy and see if there was anything they needed.


    And with that, word of the Crimson Forge swiftly spread throughout the city within that day, with all of them mentioning how the people from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium finally got what they deserved after meeting with the Crimson Forge''s owner.


    In fact, word of the owner being an instructor at the city''sbat training hall, as well as being a Combat Elite swiftly spread throughout the city, greatly bolstering Valyr''s reputation, as well as the Crimson Forge''s name even further.


    Both Valyr and the Crimson Forge''s reputation had superbly increased to the point that, on the following day, a few people Valyr hoped to meet in person had finally appeared within his smithy.

 Chapter 216 Ambition And Caution

    "You''ve got more customers than usual, Valyr." Deciding to watch Valyr do his job, Wells looked at him as these words came out of his mouth, chuckling before shifting his gaze towards the customers not long after. Naturally, he hadn''t forgotten that he was there to make sure that none of the items in the smithy were stolen.


    In response to Wells'' words, Valyr remained silent as he hammered out the remaining imperfections on the piece of equipment he was forging. After making sure that there were none that remained, he lightly nodded in satisfaction, cing the finished work to the side.


    cing his forging hammer on the anvil''s surface after that, he wiped off the sweat that dripped from his forehead before looking back at Wells with a light grin. "Who knew beating the shit out of people that threw their weight around would be great advertising?"


    Hearing that, Wells could onlyugh in response.


    Though word of Valyr''s feats swiftly spread throughout the city like wildfire, it was only until the following day did both Valyr and Wells realize the effects of what Valyr had done, with a great portion of the customers that appeared at the smithy wanting to see Valyr in person.


    Naturally, as someone who decided to make himself useful by bing a guard of the smithy, Wells asked some of them regarding the reason behind their visit, which eventually allowed both him and Valyr to realize that the current state of the smithy all stemmed from the incident that had urred yesterday with the forging emporium.


    As Valyr returned to forging the custom orders he had obtained during the smithy''s opening day, Wells looked at his back for a bit before lightly clenching his fists, his mind vividly reying the scene that had transpired yesterday.


    Wondering what would have happened if he were the one fighting against the trio, he eventually came to the conclusion that he probably would have won against them without much problem, but he would have taken a far longer time to finish itpared to Valyr. At that moment, the mes ofpetition and ambition zed inside him, increasing his desire to reach the pinnacle of the spear even faster.


    Clenching his fists even tighter, he made a promise to himself.


    ''Since I''m going to stay by Valyr''s side from now on, I shouldn''t burden him in any way.''


    ''I need to get even stronger.''


    ¡­


    "Hey, Valyr! It''s been a while! How''s the progress on my armor?" Around an hour after the sun had reached its peak, a familiar being appeared within the Crimson Forge, causing Valyr to stop what he was doing as the person''s voice reached his ears.


    "It''s definitely been a while, Arcenne." With a light grin, Valyr turned around and made his way to the person that greeted him, hugging the woman for a brief moment before letting go. "As for your armor, I just finished forging thest piece yesterday."


    "Really? Could you show it to me, then?" Hearing that her armor was done, an excited yet expectant expression appeared on Arcenne''s face, wondering as to whether Valyr was able to forge the parts of her armor set to the same level of quality as cial Edge.


    However, once Valyr revealed the pieces that made up her new armor set, Arcenne discarded all of those thoughts. After all, Valyr had not just reached the same level of quality for all the pieces making up her armor, but even exceeded it!


    Seeing how Arcenne''s face was basically telling him that she wanted to wear the light armor as soon as possible and experience its effects for herself, Valyr let out a light chuckle as he told her that she could try the armor out, only to witness Arcenne swiftly equip all of the pieces making up the Azure Cyclone set in front of him.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Arcenne had worn the helmet, a faint cold breeze spread throughout the vicinity, bringing a bit of a chill to some of the customers that were nearby. Wondering where this breeze hade from all of a sudden, these customers quickly noticed the dark blue armor Arcenne was wearing, sensing a monstrous aura emanating from within.


    "So, what do you think?" Oblivious to the reactions of the other customers, Valyr shed a smile at Arcenne as he posed the question to her. In response, Arcenne took off the helmet before shing a wide grin back at Valyr.


    "It''s great!"


    "I''m d to hear that." As Valyr said these words in response, Arcenne removed the other parts of the Azure Cyclone set before cing them to the side. After that, she brought out her money pouch and grabbed four tinum coins from it, giving them to Valyr soon after.


    "Though we''ve agreed that I''d pay you two tinum coins for my armor, that was on the basis that the armor set you craft was Umon+ grade as a whole. Since the armor set you crafted for me is actually Rare grade, then it''s normal for me to increase the payment, no?"


    Listening to her words, Valyr thought about rejecting the increase in payment, only to recall that he had already rejected her offer of paying for cial Edge in the past. Deciding that the money would go towards repaying the father and daughter duo of the Stelyra n for the building, he epted the four tinum coins with a smile, thanking her as he decided to continue working on the other custom orders he had.


    Though, just as he was about to start working on one of them, Arcenne said a few words to him that had piqued his interest. "Before I take my leave, remember that the forging emporium isn''t going to take the result from yesterday lying down. It''s more or less a given that they''ll retaliate against you in the future."


    "It would be more surprising if they didn''t take any further action." Valyrughed, turning his head to look at Arcenne. "With how the well-dressed man acted yesterday, I already had a feeling that the emporium was like that."


    "Aren''t you worried about the repercussions of messing with them, though?" asked Arcenne in response. "Though most people in the city detest what they''re doing and hate the emporium with a burning passion, it''s not like the emporium doesn''t have the power to back up their actions."


    "I am, but how''s worrying going to help me?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "Instead, I''ve been preparing for the day the emporium finally bares it fangs at me. Speaking of which, I''ll be needing your help in this preparation of mine."


    "My help?" Arcenne pointed at herself in response, a slightly puzzled expression appearing on her face. "Do you need me to get you something?"


    "Exactly." Valyr grinned. "Since you''re part of the Stelyra n, as well as the fact that you know more about this city than I do, you''re the only person I know that could probably get the item I want."


    "That entirely depends on what the item is." Arcenne lightly frowned. "What do you want me to get you anyway?"


    In response, Valyr snickered as he replied to the question.


    "Half Wyvern Blood."


    "As many vials as you can get your hands on."

 Chapter 217 Meeting The Players

    "Woah. Who knew the Crimson Forge would be this busy." Later that day, a group of five people had appeared at the entrance of Valyr''s smithy, all of them wearing equipment from head to toe.


    For a brief moment, the customers that were already in the smithy looked in the direction of the five, wondering if a simr incident to the one that happened yesterday would ur. However, these thoughts were quickly discarded once the five entered the smithy and perused through the items and equipment that were for sale, causing the customers to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    Naturally, Valyr took note of the group of five as well, not wanting a simr incident involving the trio from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium to happen yet again. Though, once he stopped his work in the meantime to take a look at the people that had arrived, the neutral expression on his face was swiftly changed into that of excitement.


    ''They''re here! The yers are finally here!'' Recalling that he was supposed to be someone who did not know of the yers at all, the expression on Valyr''s face quickly returned to normal as he took in a deep breath. Nevertheless, his brief moment of excitement was noticed by Wells, who sent him a message through the chat function in a moment of curiosity.


    "Is there anything special about the five? To me, they just look like an ordinary group of adventurers." Wells looked at him with a curious expression, letting his message do the talking to Valyr.


    "Not really." Surprisingly, it took a while for Valyr to respond to the message, keeping his eyes trailed on the five''s movements for a short while. "Aside from the fact that all of them are at the early stages of Rank 1. You do know what that means, right?"


    "They''re here to buy new equipment that''s better suited for their current sses?" Pondering over the question Valyr threw at him for a bit, Wells eventually sent a message in response, which earned him a thumbs-up from the former.


    Of course, Valyr had done all of that to mislead Wells'' train of thought into thinking that the yers were not that different from a ragtag group of adventurers. Though it wouldn''t be much of a problem for him to exin to Wells what kind of people the yers were, Valyr felt that something like that was better saved for ater time.


    For now, he had to establish a rtionship with them.


    ''And here I thought I''d have to force a scenario to happen.'' Seeing that one of the five picked up a weapon from one of the disy racks, Valyr went ahead and slowly made his way towards the five, waiting for the right moment to initiate the conversation as he heard some of them talking.


    "A gold coin for a Common+ grade staff? Might as well empty my pockets instead!" As a light blue haze appeared in front of his field of vision, the man that had picked up the weapon started to grumble, noticing the price tag that was affixed to the base of where the staff was ced.


    "You haven''t taken into consideration that it''s already been refined to the highest level." Hearing the man''s words, Nephilim slowly shook his head. "Aside from that, the equipment also boosts your INT stat when you have it equipped."


    "Are you saying we should get the staff, then?" Void_Guardian raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he looked at Nephilim. "Even though we already deal more than enough damage as a group?"


    "That''s not what I was trying to say¡­" Nephilim lightly frowned as his tone turned slightly meek. "It''s just that¡­ we already deal too much physical damage¡­"


    "Wee to the Crimson Forge. What brings you to this ce?" Just as Void_Guardian was about to respond to Nephilim''s words, Valyr felt that it was the perfect moment to interrupt the conversation, causing all five of the yers to look at him with slightly confused looks.


    Fortunately, it did not take too long for them to recover from their confusion, with Void_Guardian deciding to take the initiative in interacting with Valyr. "Er¡­ we were nning to buy this staff, but we''ve changed our minds after talking to each other for a bit."


    "Hmm?" Valyr''s expression changed to that of curiosity before shifting his gaze to the man that had picked up the staff earlier. "I''m pretty sure the staff would be a good fit for your fellow adventurer there, no?"


    "That''s¡­" In response, an awkward smile appeared on Void_Guardian''s face as he lightly scratched his head. cing the staff back where it previously was, he looked back at Valyr before opening his mouth.


    "It''s definitely a good fit for my friend, but we can''t really afford the price."


    "Is that so?" Hearing that, Valyr crossed his arms as he went silent, prompting the five to look at each other for a bit as they slightly wondered what was going on. Eventually, Valyr nodded to himself, looking at the five with a calm expression before letting out a sigh.


    "Well, I can see that the five of you are fledgling adventurers, wanting to outfit yourselves with equipment more befitting of your sses," said Valyr to the five. "I know how hard it is to earn money as an adventurer. After all, I, too, was an adventurer once."


    At this moment, something clicked inside the minds of the five as they awaited Valyr''s next words with a hint of expectation, thinking that the man before them was going to give them a quest.


    On the other hand, seeing the expectant expression on the five''s faces, Valyr inwardly let out a chuckle as he acted ording to what the yers were thinking, opening the quest appointment feature in front of him as he posed a question to the five.


    "So, how about this? What if you five collect a couple materials for me, and in exchange, I''ll give you a chance to select an item from the smithy?"


    Ding!


    Just as these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, quest screens appeared in front of the five''s field of vision, dictating the objectives that they had to fulfill, as well as the rewards that they would obtain. Eventually, their gazes were fixated on the lower portion of the screen, which prompted Valyr to continue with his words.


    "To make things a bit interesting, the first one among you toplete the task shall be able to receive a few more things from me. Then again, I''m not even sure if all of you are willing to ept the task."


    "With that in mind, are you willing to fulfill the task I''ve given you?" As Valyr''s previous statement answered the query that was in their minds, the five looked at each other for a bit as the screens before them disappeared. With a nod, the five replied to Valyr in unison.


    "Of course we are!"

 Chapter 218 Hidden Agenda

    "You were right, Void! Heading to the Crimson Forge would actually give us something good as long as we went there!" Moving to the outskirts of Clossbay City, one of the five yers looked at Void_Guardian at the center of their formation before praising thetter.


    In response, Void_Guardian let out a hearty chuckle. "What can I say? I''ve been hearing rumors of the owner''s feats ever since we''ve returned to the city afterpleting that other quest we got. Though I was unsure whether or not we''d get something good if we came there, I can finally say without a doubt that we definitely made the right choice."


    "Speaking of which, does anyone mind if I get to submit the quest first?" Asking the question to the four that were apanying him during the journey, Void_Guardian was all smiles once he received responses from three of the four, telling him that they were fine giving up the bonus of being first.


    "How about you, Nephilim? Do you have any problems?" With the only person not responding to his earlier question being Nephilim, Void_Guardian looked at the man with a light frown. After that, Nephilim felt a hint of pressure as he noticed that the other three that apanied the two of them were looking at him, their expressions obvious that they were wondering what kind of answer he was going to give in response.


    Just as the other three thought that it would be somewhat interesting for Nephilim to say no this time around, considering how he acted subservient to Void_Guardian all this time, Nephilim shed a bitter smile at Void_Guardian as he inwardly let out a sigh, lightly shaking his head soon after. "No problems. If you want to be the one to submit the quest first¡­ feel free."


    Listening to Nephilim''s response, Void_Guardian eventually let out a cackle before nodding in agreement. After talking for a bit about how he was thankful to the four of them in agreeing to his wishes, the five swiftly continued with their journey, their goal being toplete the material collection quest Valyr had given them as soon as possible.


    ¡­


    Clossbay City.


    "Lucas, you''ve got to help me out!" Within a modestly sized manor, the door to a room was unceremoniously swung open, revealing a man in a kempt suit with an incredibly exasperated expression adorning his face. On the other hand, an older man that shared simr facial features to the man that had opened the door was inside the room, a frown adorning his face as he listened to the well-dressed man''s words.


    "And why should I do that, you good-for-nothing younger brother?" Lucas looked back at the well-dressed man, crossing his arms as he waited for thetter''s response.


    Though the fact Lucas had called him a good-for-nothing younger brother, the well-dressed man suppressed the fury he felt from that phrase as he recalled the humiliation that was inflicted on him and the ones that apanied him the previous day, memories of what had transpired yesterday still lingering in his mind.


    Taking in a deep breath, the well-dressed man eventually calmed down as he faced Lucas in the eyes. "Because the reputation of the Hekaetos Forging Emporium would be at stake if you don''t, older brother. After all, you were the one who nominated me to be the vice leader of the emporium, even though I didn''t want to."


    "And all I told you after you obtained that position was to stay put within the emporium and increase your influence for the foreseeable future," said Lucas in response. "But what did you do instead?"


    "Mind reminding me?" Feeling that Lucas was just taunting him with his words, the well-dressed man tried his best not to let his older brother''s words affect him. Surprisingly, even though Lucas continued to taunt him with phrases such as how the well-dressed man was a failure and whatnot, thetter was able to persevere, insteading up with an idea that would allow him to be closer to achieving his goals of retaliation.


    Thud.


    Amidst Lucas'' taunting, the well-dressed went down on both knees before deeply bowing towards the former. "Alright, I admit that I was in the wrong, Lucas. Could you please help me out? Just this once?"


    "Oho?" In response to the well-dressed man''s actions, Lucas raised his eyebrows in interest. "Who knew there woulde a day that our little Luke would eventually admit that he was wrong?"


    "Well, since this is the first time you''ve admitted you were wrong, I''ll help you out¡­ but only just this once, got it?" Hearing the question that Lucas asked him, Luke profusely nodded in agreement, eliciting a slightly malevolent grin to appear on the former''s face. "So, what do you need my help with?"


    "I need you to process a request for a life and death duel as soon as possible, brother." Feeling that he was finally getting closer to retaliating against the humiliation he had suffered, Luke went ahead and told Lucas outright what thetter had to do.


    "I assume you''re going to have the best fighter of the emporium fighting against your target in this request?" In response, Lucas let out a light yawn before scratching his back.


    "But of course." Luke did not deny Lucas'' words. "Out of all the people in the city, you know best as to how weak I am."


    "That is true." Lucas nodded. "So, who''s the target of your wrath?"


    "The owner of the Crimson Forge." As Luke said these words, a faint killing intent radiated out of his body, prompting Lucas'' eyes to slightly widen in interest. "His name is Valyr."


    "Valyr, eh?" Hearing the name Luke had uttered, Lucas went silent for a bit, pondering over the request his younger brother wanted him to do. Eventually, a light grin appeared on his face as he nodded, eliciting a wide smile to appear on Luke''s face.


    "Alright, Luke. I''ll help you process that request."


    "Fortunately for you, this ain''t the first time that guy has gotten in our way."


    ¡­


    "Is it really fine for you to give those quests to the five?" As Wells helped Valyr clean up the storefront now that it was nighttime, he went ahead and posed the question to thetter, who let out a light chuckle in response.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine." Valyr waved his hands in nonchnce before returning his attention to listing down the equipment and items he had to forge to replenish his stock. "If they don''t end up finishing the quest, the only thing I lose is time. If they do return sometime in the future with the materials I''ve asked of them, then I only lose a bit of money. After all, I''m only nning to give them Common+ grade equipment at most."


    "In any case, it''s not a bad thing to help people like them out," said Valyr soon after. "After all, people like them are the reason why cities could be built in the first ce."


    As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, Wells'' mind could not help but recall Astarto Vige, specifically the monster tide that had urred at the vige sometime ago. After recalling the incident for a bit, he eventually let out a light chuckle as he continued what he was doing, nodding in agreement soon after.


    "Well, I can''t argue with that."

 Chapter 219 Visitors From Afar

    Astarto Vige.


    "Our sources tell us that this is the ce where Valyr Zeihardt wasst sighted." Under the warm rays of the sun, a group of five people dressed in light gray te armor stood at the entrance of the vige, attracting the attention of passerby once they had entered the vige.


    "Will we even find an answer from this ce, boss?" One of the five asked the man at the very front with a slightly doubtful expression. "It wouldn''t make sense for someone in his ce to be staying at a vige. Wouldn''t it make more sense for someone like him to hide in a city or a kingdom instead?"


    "And that''s why it''s better for him to stay in a vige," another one among the five responded to the previous person''s question. "After all, a vige is thest thing people would expect him to stay in, considering his upbringing."


    "Stop it, you two." The man at the front looked at the two that were talking with a stern expression, prompting one to respond with an apologetic smile, while the other one responded with a smirk.


    Returning his gaze back to the front, the man took in a deep breath before radiating the entirety of his aura, allowing everyone in the vige to be notified of their presence. "Our goal here is to find out Valyr''s current whereabouts. If we don''t get anything from this ce, we move on. But if we do¡­"


    Whoosh!


    With the pressure being emanated by the aura, as well as the overall threatening feeling everyone felt from the aura, it did not take long for a couple notable people to appear in front of the group of five, the two of them looking at each other for a bit before looking back at the five with a frown.


    "Got any clue on why they''re here, Damian?" Tristan sent a message to the man beside him through the chat function, taking in a deep breath as he tried his best to endure the pressure the aura was giving him.


    "No idea." In response, Damian sent back a reply before lightly shaking his head.


    Knowing that silence wouldn''t get them anywhere, Damian decided to initiate the conversation, focusing his gaze towards the man at the front. "Would you mind reining in your presence, sir? It''s making many people in the vige feel ufortable."


    "I presume you two are notable people in this vige?" In response, the man at the front lightly nodded, suppressing the aura he had released as he posed a question to the two.


    "That would be correct." Tristan nodded before introducing the two of them to the man. "My name is Tristan, the only cksmith in this vige. Beside me is Damian, the current leader of the vige guards."


    "Would it be possible for you to introduce yourself to us, uh¡­ sir?"


    "Where''s your vige chief?" Rather than respond to Tristan''s question, the man frowned.


    "That would be me." Coincidentally, just as the man had asked the question, Alfaera had appeared beside the duo, causing the two to inwardly let out sighs of relief as all of them sent each other a few messages, all of them clueless as to what was going on.


    Seeing as the man at the front of the group was just staring at her, Alfaera took the hint and lightly nodded before introducing herself. "My name is Alfaera Astarto, the current leader of Astarto Vige, as well as a Baroness of the Aste Region. May I ask what brings you five to the vige?"


    Though some of the people among the five raised this eyebrow in interest once they heard of Alfaera''s nobility, this swiftly died down as the man at the front finally introduced himself to the trio. "I go by the name of Braum. Behind me as myrades, making up one of the multiple reconnaissance teams of the Imperial Production Guild."


    Hearing the phrase Imperial Production Guild escape from Braum''s mouth, Alfaera''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he told everyone, except for Tristan and Damian, to leave their group alone for the meantime. After that, she offered the group of five to head to a ce that was somewhat more private, to which the five lightly nodded in agreement.


    Apologizing for the slightly cramped nature of Tristan''s smithy, Alfaera took in a deep breath as her expression turned solemn, her gaze focused on Braum. "Sir Braum, may I ask why the members of a prestigious guild from the Algerie Kingdom are here in our humble vige?"


    "As expected of a Baroness to be more knowledgeable of our identity." In response, Braum lightly smiled, with Damian and Tristan somewhat confused as to what the two were talking about. Nevertheless, this confusion of theirs disappeared once they heard the reason for the group''s visit.


    "Well, to answer your question, we''ve been tasked by the Imperial Production Guild to find a certain individual," Braum said to the three. "Do you perhaps happen to know of a man named Valyr Zeihardt?"


    At that moment, the three were taken aback by Braum''s question, not expecting Valyr to be the reason for their visit to the vige. Because of that, the three of them frowned not long after, thinking that the guild was searching for Valyr due to nefarious intentions.


    Of course, Braum and the other four were quick to pick up on the change of the trio''s mood, prompting Braum to lightly nod as he exined a bit more about the situation. "From the looks of it, the three of you indeed know him. Well, that makes things a lot simpler."


    "The reason as to why we''ve been tasked to find him is due to the fact that he''s being sought after by the Imperial Production Guild due to his forging capabilities." Hearing this, the suspicion the trio had regarding the group''s intentions decreased, with Tristan and Damian''s suspicion swiftly disappearing as he had more knowledge regarding the matter.


    "Does this have something to do with his ss?" Tristan posed the question to Braum, who nodded in response.


    "Indeed. The cksmith Guild has tested Valyr''s capabilities not only in forging, but inbat as well, deeming him a suitable candidate to be sent to the Imperial Production Guild."


    "Test?" Finding some of the man''s words odd, Tristan traced his memories back to the only time Valyr had interacted with the cksmith Guild, wondering which part of it was the test inbat. He knew that Valyr had to show his capabilities in forging during the registration, but he didn''t know how the man''sbat capabilities were tested.


    "The ambush?" At that moment, he recalled that the two of them were ambushed just as they were heading back to the vige, prompting a look of understanding to briefly sh on his face as he shifted his gaze back at Braum. "Is that how he was tested inbat?"


    "ording to what the cksmith Guild had given us, that seems to be the case." Braum nodded, causing Tristan to let out a sigh of relief before letting out a chuckle.


    "I see, I see. To think that was the reason all this time." With that in mind, Tristan looked at Damian and Alfaera, sending the two of them a few messages through the chat function regarding the current situation. Eventually, the two of them nodded at him, prompting him to nod back as he posed a question to the man.


    "Can you swear that your group''s reasons for finding Valyr aren''t malicious?" Hearing the question, the expressions of the five went solemn as Braum responded on behalf of the entire group.


    "As part of the Imperial Production Guild, it would be a disgrace for us to have any malicious reasons for our actions. Doing a misdeed is equivalent to bringing shame to the name of the Imperial Production Guild itself."


    "Is that so?" Tristan lightly smirked at the man''s words before nodding. "Since that''s the case, then I guess I could trust you guys a bit more."


    "I have a feeling there''s more to the reason as to why you''re finding him, but he''s currently in Clossbay City, ording to what he told me."


    "However, if I ever find out that you five actually had malicious intent towards finding Valyr, I swear to the heavens that I''ll find the five of you no matter what." As these words escaped Tristan''s mouth, a palpable killing intent radiated out of him, prompting some of the five to gulp in slight nervousness.


    "We would rather die than do something like that." In response, Braum promised them that they truly asked them for Valyr''s whereabouts due to their earlier reason, not having malicious intent at all.


    Thanking the trio for their time, the group of five then left Astarto Vige, with the three watching as the group''s silhouettes gradually disappeared from their field of vision. At the moment the group''s silhouettes from their vision, the three looked at each other before lightly scratching their heads as all of them had the same question in mind.


    ''Have we done the right thing?''

 Chapter 220 Delivery

    Clossbay City.


    "I guess the highest Gabriel''s willing to go is a hundred gold coins per session." Tossing the pouch of money Gabriel had given him for today''s session up and down, Valyr appeared at the entrance of the smithy with a smile on his face, receiving a few greetings from a couple of customers as he made his way to where Wells was.


    "So, did you manage the smithy well while I was gone?" Seeing that Wells had his eyes closed and was sitting cross-legged, Valyr lightly tapped on the former''s shoulder before posing a question to him.


    "There were times where it was a bit too much for me to manage. Though, for the most part, I was able to manage just fine." Letting out a light sigh at the fact that he was interrupted, Wells looked back at Valyr, prompting thetter to sh an apologetic smile in response.


    "In any case, you should really hire a helper in the smithy sooner orter, even if we don''t take into consideration the fact that you have to hold a few sessions every week at thebat training hall," Wells said to him not long after. "Even if the helper''s only duty will be managing sales, that alone will save both of us a ton of headache. Well, to be more exact, save you a ton of headache."


    "Believe me when I say I''ve been searching for someone to do just that." Valyr bitterly smiled. "I''ve already asked Arcenne about it, as well as a couple of our regr customers regarding people that were perfect for the job. Sadly, they had none to rmend. Well, they did rmend me a couple people, but they told me that they were all working for another business."


    "Is that so?" Hearing those words, Wells bitterly smiled in response, patting Valyr on the shoulder. Telling Valyr to take a bit of rest for now before proceeding to do work for the smithy, Wells eventually returned his attention to the customers, watching them for some time before closing his eyes, activated [Technique Introspection] sometimeter.


    In the meantime, Valyr did what Wells suggested him to do, heading to the living quarters at the rear of the building as he lied down on his bed for a bit to rx his body. Just as he was about to sit up and think about whether to get a meal before starting to work, a notification sound resounded in his mind, prompting Valyr to check out what the notification was about.


    Seeing that the notification was a message from Tryndall, Valyr went ahead and opened up the chat function, reading the message Tryndall had sent to him as his eyes slightly widened in surprise at the very end.


    "Hey, Valyr. Just giving you a heads-up that the five suspects are about to take action today. We might have to meet upter tonight."


    "Don''t they only take action once a week? After all, the Clossbay Killer only killed someone once a week." Naturally, Valyr sent a message in response, its contents asking for rification regarding the current situation. From the looks of it, what he knew from back then was now obsolete.


    "Ever since we''ve found out that the Clossbay Killer was actually five people, they''ve changed a lot of things." Not long after, Tryndall replied to Valyr''s question. "With the help of the five assassins from the Adventurer''s Guild, I was able to find out that the five of them actually met up a couple days ago, nning out what they were going to do today."


    "Because of that, I feel like we should change our ns as well." Seeing that Tryndall had sent him another message, Valyr read it. "Didn''t we agree back then that we would only apprehend one person among the five for us to make headway into this incident?"


    "How about we scratch that idea and apprehend all five of them instead?"


    "But we don''t have enough manpower for that." As he was reading Tryndall''s message, a frown slowly crept up Valyr''s face. "Even if we split up, we''d only be able to apprehend two people¡­ unless if the five assassins you''ve hired are going to take action as well."


    "Unfortunately, they''ll still be acting as scouts." As Valyr read this message, he imagined Tryndall shing a bitter smile at him. "However, I''ve enlisted the help of a few seasoned fighters from the Adventurer''s Guild in order for us to apprehend all five of them. Even chose ones that knew how to interrogate people."


    "I''ve wondered about this from time to time before, but at this point, I just have to know." Lightly scratching his head at the response he obtained, Valyr posed a question to Tryndall. "What position do you even have in the Adventurer''s Guild for you tomand this much power? With how fast you''ve enlisted more help, I''m pretty sure it''s far above my current position in the cksmith Guild as an Elite Member."


    "Let''s just say that I''ve caught the attention of a higher-up from the Adventurer''s Guild." Obtaining this message from Tryndall, Valyr knew that it would be a while before the man would tell him more about it. Then again, he was already expecting to obtain a message like that from him.


    "Either way, let''s meet up at the same ce as before, same time as well. Oh, and also, could you bring the saber I requested from you if it''s done? I''ll pay you once we meet up."


    "Alright, see youter." Concluding the conversation there, Valyr closed the screen before him as he let out a light sigh. After staring out into the window beside his bed for a bit, he eventually stood up, deciding to head outside the smithy for the meantime to grab a meal before heading back to work.


    ''I wonder if Wells has already eaten lunch?'' Just as he asked himself this question, Wells had appeared before him, telling him that there was a man carrying a box at the entrance, telling Wells if Valyr was at the smithy.


    Pondering over it for a bit in silence, a possibility soon appeared in Valyr''s mind, causing a light smile to appear on his face as he made his way to the entrance, easily finding the man that Wells was talking about.


    "Is your name Valyr, sir?" Noticing that Valyr had appeared before him, the man swiftly asked for his identity.


    Nodding in response, Valyr then asked the man a question as thetter ced the box on the floor. "May I ask who this package came from?"


    "From uh¡­ Lady Arcenne Stelyra, sir." Hearing the man''s response, a hint of excitement appeared on Valyr''s face as he paid the delivery fee for the package.


    While the man that had delivered the box had already disappeared from the smithy''s vicinity, Wells came up to Valyr, who was currently carrying the box the man had brought to the workshop portion of the smithy. "What''s in the box?"


    In response to the question, Valyr shed a grin.


    "Half Wyvern Blood."

 Chapter 221 Special Quest

    "So, did everyone get the necessary amount of materials everyone needs to submit their respective quests?" At the entrance to the city, Void_Guardian went ahead and took the initiative to start a conversation with the others, noticing the slightly exhausted looks on everyone''s faces.


    Nevertheless, that all changed once Void_Guardian asked his earlier question, causing everyone to slightly cheer up as they nodded in response.


    With that, the five of them distributed the materials they''ve collected during the past day evenly, with all of them d that they were able toplete the quest they were given within a day.


    Then again, though all of them were all smiles, Nephilim inwardly let out a sigh at the current situation, recalling what the five of them were doing before they went on their separate ways to collect the materials needed toplete the quest.


    On the previous day, after the other three were praising Void_Guardian for his idea of heading to the Crimson Forge, the five of them eventually stopped at some point on the outskirts of the city, splitting up the tasks they needed toplete the quest evenly among them. Though there was not much problem in doing that, Void_Guardian had given Nephilim the task of obtaining what was basically the hardest material among the five to obtain in the quest.


    Recalling the hardships he had gone through on his own just to obtain enough for the five of them to submit their quests, Nephilim inwardly let out a sigh once more before proceeding to follow the others to the Crimson Forge, arriving at the smithy around ten minutester.


    At the very moment the smithy''s storefront appeared within their field of vision, Void_Guardian and the others instantly had expectant expressions on their faces, their mind already thinking about the piece of equipment they would get from the smithy once they turned in their quests. Nephilim was no exception to this, a light smile adorning his face as he wondered what item he would get from the smithy as well.


    With that, they slowly made their way through the disy racks, eventually arriving at the workshop portion of the smithy where Valyr was in the middle of forging what seemed to be a piece of armor.


    Bing somewhat entranced while watching Valyr forge equipment for quite some time, the four eventually snapped out of this daze once Valyr had ced his forging hammer to the side in the meantime, seemingly noticing the presence of the five watching him.


    Turning around to look at the five, Valyr looked at each yer for a bit, eventually focusing his gaze on Nephilim, who was still seemingly entranced by what he was doing earlier. Inwardly smiling at the thought, he did some light stretching with his body before posing a question to the five, even though he already knew what they were here for. "How may I help you five today?"


    "Er¡­ we were the ones you gave quests to yesterday." Hearing the question, Void_Guardian took a step forward, instantly giving Valyr the feeling that Void_Guardian was most likely going to submit the quest first.


    "Fortunately, we were able to find all of the materials you''ve tasked us to find, so we''re here to submit it." With that, Void_Guardian brought out all of the materials he currently had and gave them to Valyr. In response, thetter looked at the items he had been given for a bit before inspecting each and every item closely.


    Eventually, after what felt like eternity to the yers, Valyr gave them a nod of satisfaction as he grabbed a decently sized pouch and ced the items Void_Guardian gave him into it. With a smile, he then said to Void_Guardian, "Color me surprised. I was expecting you five to take a bit longer inpleting the quest, but here we are. Who knew you''d be able toplete it within a day?"


    "In any case, since you were able to uphold your end of the deal, it''s time to uphold mine." As these words came out of his mouth, Valyr felt the excitement oozing out of Void_Guardian''s body, prompting him to suppress the urge to chuckle as he continued. "Since you''re the first one to submit the quest''s requirements to me, feel free to grab two Common+ grade items from this smithy. Once you do that, show me what you''ve obtained and you''ll be free to leave."


    "Thank you!" Hearing Valyr''s words, Void_Guardian quickly thanked the man before heading towards the disy racks to choose the items that he would grab from the smithy.


    On the other hand, after hearing the bonus that Void_Guardian got from being the first to submit the quest, the others felt a hint of jealousy, though this swiftly died down once they recalled that he was the one who suggested they head to the Crimson Forge in the first ce.


    With that, the other three submitted their portion of materials to Valyr as well, causing the smile on his face to widen as the three joined Void_Guardian in searching for the item they would take from the smithy and keep as their own.


    Gazing at the other four for a short while, seeing how all of them were ecstatic to finally obtain the fruits of theirbor, Nephilim lightly scratched his head before giving his portion of materials to Valyr, bitterly smiling in their process. "Can I go ahead and choose an item?"


    "Feel free." Valyr nodded, prompting Nephilim to nod back as he turned around to head to the disy racks. Though, just as he was about to make his way to the racks, Valyr posed a question to him.


    "But before you do so, can you answer my question first?"


    "What would the question be, sir?" Slightly wondering if this conversation would lead to another quest or not, Nephilim decided to just continue the conversation either way.


    "Are you being treated well by your fellow adventurers?" Valyr looked at Nephilim with a slightly concerned expression, prompting thetter to lightly smile in response. Though, just as he was about to say yes, Nephilim felt hesitant as to whether he should do so. After all, what he had experienced so far was mostly the opposite.


    "You don''t have to answer if you don''t want to." Of course, Valyr noticed Nephilim''s hesitation, prompting him to wonder whether he was too hasty in his questioning. Fortunately, those words were enough for Nephilim to gain the courage to respond, lightly shaking his head soon after.


    "I see." cing his hand on one of Nephilim''s shoulders, Valyr looked at him in the eye before giving the man a suggestion.


    "How about this? Instead of having you choose a Common+ grade item like the others, how about I give you something else?"


    "Something else?" Nephilim tilted his head in slight confusion, causing Valyr to sh a grin in response.


    "A different quest."


    Ding!


    ?You have obtained the quest: Choosing One''s Path.?

 Chapter 222 The Second Operation

    Sometimeter, the five yers left the smithy with smiles on their faces, with most of them already equipping the items that they obtained from the smithy at no cost. However, there was one out of the five with a wider smilepared to the rest, even though he had none of the new equipment equipped whatsoever.


    Waving at the five goodbye as he thanked them for their help in procuring the materials he needed, Valyr eventually returned his attention back to what he was doing, picking up the hammer once more to continue hammering down the imperfections on the armor piece he was forging.


    Though, just as he had activated the hyperfocus ability from [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to aid him in this process, Valyr noticed Wells moved closer to him, prompting him to stop what he was doing before turning around to look at thetter with a raised eyebrow.


    "I was already curious when you gave those five a task to collect a few materials for you yesterday. But even though I''ve finally seen the materials they''ve collected in person, I still have no clue what those materials are." Wells looked at Valyr with a slightly puzzled expression.


    "Of course, I won''t ask you on what they are since I could find that out right now with a quick [Analysis]. Instead, what I want to know is¡­ what are you nning to do with the materials they got you?" As this question escaped out of Wells'' mouth, a light smirk appeared on Valyr''s face as he let out a chuckle not long after.


    "Well, it''s not really anything special. Those materials I had them collect for me make up part of something, a certain something I should have forged for myself a long time ago, actually." Saying those words, Valyr grabbed one of the armor pieces he had forged beside the anvil, deciding to give the vambraces for Wells to look at.


    Receiving the vambraces, Wells instantly took note of its design, feeling that Valyr had given it a lot of thought, even though it was simplistic in appearance. With its color being a dull ash gray, the vambraces glistened under the light of the sun, glimmering a faint red under certain angles.


    Aside from that, Wells got the feeling that there was an entity slumbering within the vambraces, seemingly waiting for the other pieces of the armor to be forged and worn before it would awaken.


    Curious as to why he had gotten this feeling, Wells went ahead and used [Analysis] on the vambraces, causing his pupils to shrink in shock as his mouth went agape, looking at Valyr with incredulity written all over his face.


    Seeing Wells'' reaction, Valyr could onlyugh as he retrieved the vambraces from Wells'' hands before cing it beside the other pieces of armor he had finished forging. "Well, other than the fact that I should have forged something like this a long time ago, there''s also a chance that those guys from the emporium will get revenge on me in the future, which is the other reason why I''m forging this."


    "In any case, does this answer your question?"


    In response to Valyr''s question, Wells could only stare at Valyr for a short while, as if he was looking at a monster straight in the eyes. Then, after taking in a deep breath, he turned around and headed back to the entrance of the smithy before closing his eyes, activating [Technique Introspection] sometimeter.


    Letting out a brief cackle in response to Wells'' actions, Valyr returned his attention to the armor piece he was currently forging, activating the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] before proceeding to continue working once more.


    "Since you didn''t answer my question¡­"


    "I''ll just take that as a yes."


    ¡­


    Whilst Valyr and Wells were in the middle of closing up shop, the former received a message from Tryndall through the chat function, reminding him that they were going to meet up around an hour or two from now. With that, Valyr slightly hastened his movements, prompting Wells to stop what he was doing for a bit to look at Valyr in slight confusion, only to shrug his shoulders before continuing to do what he was doing soon after.


    Sometimeter, after telling Wells that he wouldn''t be joining himter when he ate dinner, Valyr made his way to the bathroom and took a quick shower, changing into a set of dark clothing before tying the dark fabric he had bought back then around his face.


    Taking a brief nce outside the window to check if the sun had already set or not, Valyr then made his way to the workshop portion of the smithy, retrieving the saber he had forged ording to the specifications and modifications Tryndall had given him.


    Wanting to make sure that he had gotten Tryndall''s saber, considering that he had forged a few more sabers thanks to other custom orders, Valyr went ahead and activated [Analysis] on the saber he retrieved, lightly nodding after he was finished skimming through its description screen.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Refined Calchrodite Saber] (Level 13)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Attack: 48 - 80


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR +3


    > AGI +3


    > DEX +5


    A saber forged from¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill: Null de - Allows the user to deal damage equivalent to 150% of the user''s Attack stat to an enemy. Has a chance to tap into the negative emotions of the enemy and deal twice the damage. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Cost: 150 MP.>


    Remarks: It''s a saber. A fated saber.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Affixing the saber around his waist, Valyr eventually left the smithy after bidding farewell to Wells. Making sure that there was no one following him, he then made his way to where he, Tryndall, and the five assassins had met up in the past, swiftly noticing that Tryndall was already there yet again.


    Feeling that another person had appeared in his vicinity, Tryndall gazed in Valyr''s direction with a solemn expression, only for his expression to be all smiles once he realized that the one heading closer to him was Valyr.


    After talking about what the other side was up to for quite some time, Valyr gave the saber he had brought along with him to Tryndall, who received it with great gratitude before testing the weapon out then and there.


    Swinging the weapon for a while, as well as doing a basic attacks with it, Tryndall eventually nodded in satisfaction as he affixed the saber around his waist, pulling out a tinum coin from his money pouch sometimeter before giving it to Valyr. "You''ve forged quite the exquisite saber, you know?"


    "Naturally." Valyr lightly chuckled in response. "After all, my forging skills aren''t just for show."


    "In any case, are we waiting for the others to arrive again?" he asked after that.


    "Pretty much." In response, Tryndall shrugged his shoulders. "Though, we''ll probably have to wait a bit longer than usual, considering how we''ve got a few more people this time around."


    Fortunately, the two only had to wait for a couple more minutes for the five assassins to arrive at where they were, with Dous greeting Valyr with a wave. A few minutes after that, four people in dark clothing had appeared in front of the group, with all of them radiating palpable killing intent, giving off the feeling that anything they came across would undoubtedly die under their hands.


    Not long after, these four suppressed the killing intents they gave off, prompting Tryndall to nod as he attracted everyone''s attention.


    "Alright. Since everyone''s finally here, let us begin the briefing."

 Chapter 223 Briefing

    Hearing Tryndall''s words, everyone''s attention was instantly focused on what he had to say.


    Looking at the group of assassins, then at the group of four that had just arrived, Tryndall lightly nodded at them before proceeding to shift his gaze towards Valyr. "I don''t have to introduce the two groups to each other, no? I''m certain that the two of you have already be acquainted with one another a couple days ago."


    In response, a representative from each group nodded, prompting Tryndall to nod back as he then shifted his gaze towards the group of four. "I also don''t have to introduce Valyr to you four, no? With your group''s work ethic, I''m certain that the four of you have already obtained information on Valyr''s identity."


    At those words, the four that had just arrived nodded in unison, with Valyr being the only one clueless as to who the four were out of all of them. Fortunately, thisck of knowledge regarding the four would be quickly fixed with Tryndall''s next words.


    "Since that''s the case, then that only leaves you, Valyr," Tryndall told him, to which Valyr nodded in response. "You''ve already been acquainted with the assassins during thest time all of us worked together, so let me introduce the four to you. Of course, considering the limited time we have, I''ll only do a brief introduction as to who they are."


    "These four in front of you is well-known in the Adventurer''s Guild as the Reaper Group." As Tryndall introduced the identity of the four to Valyr, thettermitted the man''s words to memory, nodding every once in a while. "Just like what their name suggests, the Reaper Group specializes in assassination missions, being one of the only few groups in the Adventurer''s Guild that boasts an over 80% sess rate inpleting such missions."


    "Aside from that, the members of the group are all at the peak of Rank 1, which is why I''ve enlisted their help for this operation this time around."


    After exchanging a few pleasantries with those from the Reaper Group, eliciting those from the Reaper Group to nod in response, Valyr posed a question to Tryndall, a question that had surfaced in his mind while he was listening to thetter''s exnation. "You said that the Reaper Group specializes in assassination missions, right?"


    "That is correct." Tryndall nodded.


    "Doesn''t that seem like something the Mercenary Guild would do instead?" As these words escaped Valyr''s mouth, he recalled what he knew about the Adventurer and the Mercenary Guild.


    Though they were more or less the same in terms of structure, being guilds made for people of all sses, the part of society they chose to undertake were vastly different from one another.


    From what Valyr knew, the Adventurer Guild would mostly ept missions that were inclined towards doing good, such as protecting a vige from a monster tide, or aiding to find a lost person. On the other hand, the Mercenary Guild''s missions were somewhat inclined towards having to get one''s hands dirty, with assassination missions being quite amonly found mission in the guild.


    In response to his question, Tryndall looked at the two groups for a bit before letting out a light chuckle, with Dous even briefly shing a light smile at him. Nodding, Tryndall responded to Valyr''s question. "That''s definitely something the Mercenary Guild specializes in. However, that does not mean that the Adventurer''s Guild doesn''t undertake assassination missions, and vice versa."


    "With that being said, the Reaper Group was actually a group that originated from the Mercenary Guild," Tryndall told Valyr, causing thetter to swiftly put two and two together in his mind. "But because of their high talent, as well as the fact that the Mercenary Guild already had their hands full with their own set of talents, the Reaper Group was poached by the Adventurer''s Guild, turning into the group that they are today."


    At that, Valyr could only nod his head in understanding. "Now that I have a better idea of how much influence you wield in the Adventurer''s Guild, you scare me more and more."


    "Let''s save that discussion forter, Valyr." In response, Tryndall gave him a knowing smile before redirecting the topic back to the main reason why all of them had gathered. "For now, let me talk about our n for this operation."


    "For the most part, the operation is simr to the previous one, which is to track the movements of the five people that we''ve confirmed is the Clossbay Killer." At these words, everyone nodded in understanding, prompting Tryndall to continue exining. "However, unlike the previous one, rather than watch the scene unfold by the side, we''ll be catching them in the act, apprehending them before interrogating them regarding the whole situation."


    "That''s where you four shalle in." Tryndall looked at the Reaper Group, who merely nodded in response. "In this case, the four of you will split up and apany an assassin to track and apprehend one of the suspects."


    "Are there any problems with that?" Seeing that the four shook their heads in response to his question, a light smile soon appeared on Tryndall''s face.


    "I''ll be relying on you four to apprehend four of the five suspects." Saying these words, he then shifted his gaze towards Valyr, who had a knowing smile on his face, already having an idea of what was going to happen this time around.


    Noticing Valyr''s smile, Tryndall could not help but smile as well. "I guess I don''t have to tell you what the two of us are gonna do."


    "I can read you like an open book, Tryndall." Valyr chuckled before pondering over something for a bit in silence. "Considering that the members of the Reaper Group are all at the peak of Rank 1, I presume we''ll be working together to apprehend thest remaining suspect topensate for theck inbat power?"


    "That''s exactly what we''re going to do." At these words, the various groups talked with one another for a while to sort out a few misunderstandings that arose during the briefing of the entire operation. Once everyone was certain that there was no misunderstandings anymore, Tryndall took center stage once more, catching everyone''s attention.


    "Just like before, we''ll be messaging one another through the party chat to make sure no one follows us through our voice. Oh, and also, make sure to update everyone regarding what''s happening on your side. Got it?"


    With everyone nodding in response to Tryndall''s words, thetter nodded back as a solemn expression covered his face.


    "Alright then."


    "It''s time for us to get to work."

 Chapter 224 Taking Initiative

    As all of them went their separate ways, with four out of five assassins pairing up with one of the members from the Reaper Group before making their way to their designated suspects, Tryndall and Valyr were left behind at the meet-up spot with one of the assassins. Fortunately, both of them knew who the assassin was, with the assassin shing a light smile at them in response.


    "It seems we''ll be working together yet again, Dous." As Valyr said these words, the three of them slowly made their way up the rooftops once more, ensuring that no one was following them as they made their way to where their designated suspect was located.


    "So, which suspect among the five are we going to track this time around?" With the three of them now swiftly moving through the rooftops, making sure that their steps were as light as possible, Valyr sent a message to Tryndall through the party chat, a curious expression adorning his face.


    "The same suspect as before. The butcher." In response, Tryndall looked back at Valyr for a bit before sending a reply through the party chat.


    Reading the message he had received, Valyr looked at Tryndall for a bit as he pondered as to whether or not he should ask the question that had surfaced in his mind. Though, not long after, this question eventually disappeared as he pondered over the entire situation for a bit more.


    Taking in a deep breath, he then refocused his attention to where they were heading, making sure to notg behind the other two as they gradually made their way to where they first started to track the butcher back then.


    ''We''re finally here.'' Around ten minutes or soter, the trio stood on the rooftop opposite of the shop that the butcher owned, watching as the butcher double checked as to whether or not the entrance to the shop was securely locked. Nodding in satisfaction, the butcher then checked if he was missing any tools around his waist, thinking that he should check before he made his way back home.


    Seeing that he had not missed anything, the butcher proceeded to make his way back home, leisurely walking through the sidewalk as a calm expression was stered on the man''s face. On the other hand, the trio started to follow where the butcher was heading, moving through the rooftops as they made sure that they did not lose sight of the man.


    Simr to back then, the butcher made a few twists and turns here and there at certain intersections, prompting Dous to send a message to the two through the party chat that the butcher was taking a long detour back to his home once more.


    Being given a heads-up of what was about toe, Valyr and Tryndall looked at each other for a bit before taking in a deep breath, steeling themselves for what they were about to do. Letting out sighs soon after to calm themselves down, the three continued to follow the butcher wherever he went, with all of them wondering in their minds as to when the butcher was going to make a move.


    Fortunately, it only took a bit more time for the question in the trio''s minds to be answered, with the butcher''s movements bing more suspicious than usual, which was a sign for the three to be more vignt of the butcher''s actions. Noticing the seemingly paranoid movements of the butcher, the three felt that the butcher was going to kill someone any minute now, with only a passerby being the only thing he needed for him to continue.


    However, just as a random passerby had passed by the butcher, rather than the trio witnessing the butcher silencing the passerby before proceeding to do what the Clossbay Killer did best, the man instead stared at the passerby in silence, watching as the passerby''s silhouette disappeared from the man''s field of vision before proceeding to continue making his way home.


    Taking note of the butcher''s actions, the three looked at each other for a bit in slight confusion, only for them to focus their attention back on the butcher as they wondered what the man was up to. Lightly shrugging their shoulders as they thought that they would find out eventually, the three continued to follow the butcher, watching the man do the same thing a couple more times with a few more random passerby.


    Eventually, the butcher stopped after what the three counted was the fifth time, gazing at the fading silhouette of the passerby that had moved past him for a while before returning his gaze towards where he was walking. Though, just as the three thought that they would have to follow the butcher for a bit longer, thetter instead headed into the nearest alley before looking around to see if anyone was nearby.


    "Come out." After he was certain no random passerby would appear out of nowhere, the butcher''s voice soon bellowed throughout the alley, causing the three to look at each other for a bit before sending one another a couple messages through the party chat.


    "How''d they find out?" Valyr asked through the party chat, to which Tryndall and Dous shrugged their shoulders in response.


    "Someone helping the five probably found out that we informed the mayor about the Clossbay Killer actually being made up of five people." Sometimeter, Tryndall sent a message through the party chat, just as the butcher told for them toe out once more. "The problem is that¡­ we have no idea who that person is."


    "Well, I guess there''s only one way to find that out." As Dous sent this message to the party chat, the three refocused their attention on the butcher, who continued to beckon for them toe out of hiding.


    "I know you''re following me," the butcher bellowed. "You better show yourself¡­ or else."


    "So, what''s the n?" Briefly activating [Analysis] to get a gauge of the butcher''s stats, Valyr sent this information to the party chat as he initiated a conversation with the other two regarding what they were going to do in response to the butcher''s taunting.


    "Well, the butcher thinks that there''s only one person following him, so how about we use that to our advantage?" Sending this suggestion to the party chat, Tryndall initiated a swift brainstorming session on their n of action regarding on how they were going to apprehend the butcher. Fortunately, it only took them a minute or so toe to a consensus on what they were going to do, with Dous eventually tossing a throwing dagger near where the butcher was.


    ng!


    "I found you!" With a nefarious grin, the butcher retrieved one of the knives around his waist as he shed in the direction of the sound. Unfortunately, the man hit nothing but thin air, his gaze soon focusing on the throwing dagger slightly embedded into the ground.


    Though, just as he was about to exim once more for the person following him toe out, he swiftly felt a strong killing intent radiate behind him as a sharp air apanied it.


    "Right behind you."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 225 Drastic Situation

    Whoosh!


    Just as the butcher had sensed the sharp air behind his back, a spear tip barely scratched the right of his face, inflicting a small wound on the butcher''s cheek. Feeling the slightly cold sensation that slowly dripped down, the butcher turned around with a furious expression, swinging the knife he wielded with great strength.


    However, contrary to his expectations of his de shing against a spear tip, the butcher instead came face to face with a saber, the sound of colliding metal resounding throughout the alley in response.


    Noticing that the strength of the one wielding the saber was significantly lower than his, judging by the fact the saber moved downwards whenever he put a bit more force into his de, the butcher took note of this, a malicious grin appearing on his face as he exerted all of his strength on his knife in one go.


    ng!


    Caught off guard by the sudden increase of the butcher''s strength, the one wielding the saber lost his grip over the weapon, effectively leaving him open for the butcher''s wrath.


    "I don''t know where that spear came from, but I guess I''ll find out once I kill you." Letting out a light cackle as he charged forward to sh down on the now unarmed man''s torso, the butcher''s attempt was quickly rendered ineffective as a blunt item collided with his chest, forcing him to stop his charge midway.


    "[True Blood Drive]."


    Just as the butcher had taken grasp of the blunt item on his chest, a jet of what seemed to be blood vapor shot out of the end of the blunt item, containing enough force to send the butcher flying, crashing into the wall behind him with a thud.


    Thud!


    "You alright, Tryndall?" Retrieving the spear as he picked up the saber on the ground, Valyr sent a message on the party chat, wondering if the one that had apanied him was unharmed.


    "I''m fine." Receiving the saber from Valyr''s hands, Tryndall let out a light sigh as he sent a message through the party chat in response. "I underestimated the difference between our stats."


    Obtaining the message, Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he turned to face the butcher, who was cursing from the pain of his back mming into the wall behind him.


    "No problem. After all, the stats we obtain on the butcher from [Analysis] only tell a part of the story. Only by experiencing it firsthand would we be able to truly gauge how big of a difference there is in strength." "Anyways, think you can continue?" As Valyr asked this question through the party chat, Tryndall looked at him and nodded in response before gripping onto the handle of his saber even tighter.


    On the other hand, after standing up once the pain he felt finally died down, the butcher shifted his gaze onto the two presences that were in his field of vision, his face expressing the great fury he felt from being unable to retaliate against Valyr''s attacks.


    "Die!" Using the rage he felt to fuel his actions, the butcher abandoned all thoughts of protecting himself as he threw himself headfirst towards the two, swinging his de without a care in the world.


    Taking note of the butcher''s actions, Tryndall and Valyr looked at each other for a bit and nodded before heading in opposite directions, forcing the butcher to decide on which among the two to follow.


    "You!" Unsurprisingly, the butcher decided to chase Valyr down, recalling how utterly weakless he felt during the times his de shed against the man''s spear.


    With that, the butcher exerted the entirety of his strength to hasten his steps, swiftly reducing the distance between them as both Valyr and the butcher eventually left the alley.


    Fortunately, even though the two of them had left the alley, there were no random passerby that the butcher could take advantage of, allowing Valyr to taunt the butcher as he sent a message through the party chat in the meantime.


    Eventually, the butcher caught up to Valyr and let out a maniacal cackle, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief after he had finally cornered Valyr to a wall. Gazing at the indifferent eyes beneath the dark fabric covering most of Valyr''s face, the knife the butcher wielded started to glow a faint blue, showing that the butcher had infused a bit of his mana into the weapon.


    "Now... will you tell me who you are? Or will you resist till the bitter end before I find that out for myself?" Hearing the question that came out of the butcher''s mouth, Valyr could not help but snicker as the gaze he had towards the butcher now contained a hint of ridicule.


    "Did you really think I''d tell you that easily?"


    Puchi!


    Just as Valyr had responded to the butcher''s question with a question of his own, a dagger unknowingly pierced through the back of the butcher, causing thetter to stagger forward as his expression swiftly turned into that of panic.


    Noticing the panic that was now evident on the butcher''s face, a light smirk crept up on Valyr''s face as he briefly let out a malevolent chuckle. After that, he took in a deep breath before mming his head against the butcher''s head at full force, swiftly putting thetter''s senses into disarray.


    Thud!


    "Arghhh!!!" Unluckily for the butcher, instead of falling forward, the butcher fell on his back, allowing the dagger that was already embedded on his back to plunge even deeper.


    Not long after, four more throwing daggers seemingly appeared out of thin air, piercing through the butcher''s limbs with enough force to pin the man on the ground.


    Letting out yet another wail of pain from the throwing daggers digging deep into his limbs, it was only then did the butcher question himself as to why he had antagonized such ferocious people in the first ce.


    Just as he was recalling the main reason why he eventually found himself in the situation he was currently in, a sharp de appeared in front of his neck, causing him to freeze up as he noticed that the other person from before was now apanying Valyr once more.


    "It seems the tables have turned, don''t you think?" Nodding at Tryndall, Valyr moved closer to the butcher before posing the question to thetter. "In any case, let me take a page from you and ask you this."


    "Will you tell us what we want to know..."


    "Or will you resist till the bitter end before we find that out for ourselves?"

 Chapter 226 Drastic Measure

    "Let me take a page from you as well and tell you this." In response to Valyr''s question, the butcher let out a slightly maniacalugh before proceeding to spit in the former''s direction. "Do you really think I''d tell you that easily?"


    "Of course not." Hearing the butcher''s response, Valyr lightly shook his head. Sending a message to Dous through the party chat to make sure that the immediate vicinity had no other people in the area, Valyr then leaned closer to the butcher''s face and slightly tilted his head to the side before giving a mocking grin beneath the dark fabric. "However..."


    "There are ways for me to make it easier."


    "Arrgghhhh!!!" Just as Valyr was finished saying those words, Tryndall went ahead and removed the saber near the butcher''s throat. After that, hended a swift sh on the butcher''s torso, making sure that the wound he inflicted was surface level at most.


    As the butcher cried out in pain from his attack, Tryndall wondered for a brief moment if what they were doing was right. After all, what he was doing right now was, for theck of a better term, straight up torture.


    However, after recalling the numerous innocent people that had died not only under the butcher''s hands, but under the hands of the other four suspects as well, Tryndall swiftly discarded this thought as his gaze grew determined,nding yet another shallow sh on the butcher''s torso soon after.


    "So, will you tell us what we want to know?" Amidst the pain Tryndall was inflicting on the butcher with his saber, Valyr''s voice resounded throughout the area once more.


    Surprisingly, even though the butcher experienced a lot of pain from what Tryndall was doing, the man regained a bit of rity amidst the pain before looking at Valyr with great fury. "Over my dead body."


    "Over your dead body, huh? That''s a great idea." However, rather than be offended by the butcher''s words, Valyr instead twisted the butcher''s words in a way where he would benefit from it as he let out a chuckle.


    With Valyr raising his spear, which allowed the butcher to see the blood red spear tip from up close, it was only at that moment did the butcher''s feeling of fear from earlier intensify to greater heights.


    Compounded by the fact that Tryndall had not stopped inflicting surface level wounds on the man''s body, sending wave after wave of pain that dulled the butcher''s mind, the butcher eventually broke down just as Valyr had partly moved his spear closer to him.


    "Please...! Please stop! I''ll tell you.... I''ll tell you what you need to know...!" As these words escaped the butcher''s mouth, tears streamed down the sides of the man''s face, prompting Tryndall to stop what he was doing and look at Valyr.


    In response, Valyr looked at the butcher for a bit before giving Tryndall a light nod, prompting thetter to move his saber away from the butcher''s vision.


    "Now, that wasn''t so hard, was it?" shing a smile towards the butcher, even though his smile was covered by the dark fabric on his face, Valyr went ahead and started interrogating the butcher. "Before we begin, can you tell us your name?"


    "Antoine... It''s Antoine..." Wanting to get this nightmare quickly over with, the butcher swiftly answered Valyr''s question.


    Nodding in response, Valyr then asked through the party chat if the butcher was telling the truth regarding his name, with Dous responding that he was not long after.


    After asking a few more questions to Antoine to ascertain whether he was telling the truth to them or not, Valyr eventually asked him the question that all of them wanted to know the answer to.


    "So, Antoine. Are you and four other people the Clossbay Killer?"


    "Yes... we''re all the Clossbay Killer..." In response, Antoine swiftly answered Valyr''s question, though it took the threat of Tryndall''s saber to speed up his answer.


    "Mind exining why the five of you decided to kill a person each the previous week at the same time, even though the Clossbay Killer was known to only kill a single one from time to time?" As this question escaped Valyr''s mouth, Antoine went silent for a bit before responding.


    "We were told to do so... back then, it was only one out of the five of us that would do it... but then, we were told all of a sudden to kill five at the same time..."


    Hearing Antoine''s response, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he briefly nced at Tryndall. After asking Dous if he was recording the conversation through a memory crystal the entire time, Valyr then proceeded to rify the information Antoine had just given them.


    "You were told to do so? That means none of you did it out of your own ord?"


    "We were forced... if not, we''d be banished from the city... none of us wanted to do it..." Saying these words, Antoine started to sob once more, prompting Valyr and Tryndall to think that the question had brought up some unsavory memories for the man.


    Nevertheless, with Antoine rifying the situation a bit more, Valyr eventually asked the question that he and Tryndall knew would bring them closer to the truth. "Since none of you wanted to do it, then who was forcing you five to do it?" At this question, Antoine went silent. For a while, he would open his mouth, only to stop at the very moment as he hesitated on whether to tell Valyr and Tryndall what they wanted to know.


    Even threatening to inflict more pain on Antoine''s body was ineffective for thetter, prompting the two to think that the question they had asked was seemingly more important than they initially thought.


    Fortunately for them, Antoine eventually made up his mind on what to do as he let out a sigh. Opening his mouth, he then told the two a statement that both of them would have never expected to hear.


    "It was the city... the city that sheltered us... they forced us to do this..."


    Ding!


    [You have received a city quest: The Clossbay Conspiracy.]

 Chapter 227 City Quest

    As both Valyr and Tryndall were listening to Antoine''s response, a notification sound resounded within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to take a look at the notification he had just received. After he was done reading the description of the notification, he then shifted his gaze towards Tryndall, who was looking at him with a gaze that conveyed surprise, as well as a hint of excitement.


    "Did you also get a quest?" Instead of using the party chat, Tryndall sent a message to Valyr directly through the chat function. In response, Valyr lightly nodded as he asked Tryndall as to whether the name of the quest they got was the same.


    Once the two of them had confirmed that they had obtained the same quest, Valyr went ahead and opened up the quest''s description within his mind.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Clossbay Conspiracy] (City Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    Though you have been able to find the whereabouts of the Clossbay Killer, as well as the Clossbay Killer''s true identity, they continue to remain rampant to this day due to circumstances you do not know. With that, you wonder to yourself. What is their goal? What is their purpose? What do they aim by doing these killings?


    Such an answer to those questions has remained elusive¡­ until now.


    After interrogating one of the people that''s part of the Clossbay Killer identity, you find out that the people doing the killing are forced into their current situation, informing you that there''s an entity greater controlling them. Your mission is to find the mastermind behind this operation once and for all.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Figure out the mastermind of the operation (0/1)


    > Apprehend the mastermind of the operation (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > 500,000 XP


    > Level +1


    > [Arbiter of Clossbay] title


    Quest Penalties:


    > Affinity -1000 with the mayor of Clossbay City


    > Reputation -100 in Clossbay City


    > Future repercussions


    [Note: Don''t take anything for granted.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''A city quest, huh. I guess the system thinks the world quest wasn''t enough for me.'' Lightly scratching his head as he felt his head slightly ache due to the quest, Valyr pondered over the reason behind him and Tryndall obtaining the city quest, only then realizing that the situation had now taken a turn where the entire city was at stake.


    From the name itself, a city quest was a type of quest that involved the entire city, with quests of this type most of the time dictating the survival or the disappearance of a city. In that regard, it was simr in nature to a world quest.


    However, unlike a world quest, failing a city quest did not just stop at the city rted to the quest disappearing. Instead, its repercussions spread far greater than that, with a core city quest being forced on the person who had epted the city quest beforehand being a highly likely result.


    If one were to fail the respective core city quest, then it would escte into a kingdom quest, then an empire quest, and eventually, one would find themselves forced toplete a world quest.


    Fortunately, unlike the Clossbay Killer quest from back then, where he finally obtained a lead to work with once he worked together with Tryndall, Valyr was d to find out that their current interrogation with Antoine was leading them closer topleting the city quest they had received.


    Aside from that, they found out through the objectives of the quest that Antoine was still hiding a few more things from them regarding the situation with the Clossbay Killer. With that in mind, it went without saying that the direction of the interrogation had now shifted to squeezing out more information from Antoine that would allow them to make more progress on their quest.


    "The city forced you five to kill innocent people? Is that correct?" As Valyr asked this question to Antoine, thetter felt his consciousness slipping away as he lightly nodded in response.


    Feeling somewhat grateful that his body was giving him a way to get out of his mess, Antoine embraced the feeling of unconsciousness sinking in¡­ only to be jolted awake once more as Valyr stabbed his spear into the man''s inner thigh.


    "Aagh!!!" Crying out in pain once more, it was only then did Antoine realize that the two people in front of him would stop at nothing to keep him awake, feeling as if the two still had more questions to ask him.


    Inwardlymenting to the heavens as to why the ones that were following him were heavy-handed in their actions, Antoine eventually epted the fact that he wouldn''t be left alone until the two before him were finished asking him questions.


    "Is there a specific reason as to why the five of you were forced to kill innocent people?" Hearing this questione out of Valyr''s mouth, Antoine pondered over the question for a bit before proceeding to answer.


    "They told us¡­ it would allow the guards'' reputation to increase within the city¡­"


    "The guards¡­ the city guards?" Muttering these words in response, Valyr lightly scratched his head before sending a message to Tryndall through the party chat. "Does that mean the city guards and the Clossbay Killer are in cahoots all this time?"


    "Well, that would definitely exin the incident from a few days ago where the five were detained by the guards. Remember how they were released the following day?" Sending a response to the question Valyr asked him, Tryndall then looked at thetter as he shrugged his shoulders.


    "Yeah. I have a couple more ideas regarding the rtionship between the Clossbay Killer and the city guards, but I''ll leave that for when we finish the interrogation." Nodding in response to the question Tryndall sent him, Valyr decided to finish their conversation for the meantime as he returned his gaze back to Antoine.


    "For now, we have to figure out who the mastermind is."


    "So, if I''m getting this correctly, the reason why you five are killing innocent people is so that the guards can do their job and increase their reputation within the city." As these words escaped Valyr''s mouth, Antoine lightly nodded in agreement before wincing in pain. "And you told me earlier that the city is the one that''s forcing you five to do this."


    Nodding as he looked at Antoine in silence, Valyr then told thetter, "Since you''ve been so cooperative throughout this interrogation, you only have to answer one more question, and we''ll allow you to leave."


    "I''ll tell you everything you want to know¡­" Unsurprisingly, with Valyr telling him that he was free to leave once he answered the man''s next question, Antoine became more cooperative than ever before. "Please¡­ just let me leave¡­"


    "I will. Don''t worry about that." Valyr reassured him, to which Antoine nodded in response.


    "So, can you tell us who exactly forced you to five to be the Clossbay Killer?" As this question came out of Valyr''s mouth, a hint of expectation covered his face. After all, if Antoine told them the identity of the mastermind, then they would be able toplete the quest the following day. However, rather than respond to the question as soon as possible so he could be free¡­


    Antoine instead remained silent.

 Chapter 228 Trails

    "Hmm? I thought you were going to tell me everything you know?" Seeing that silence was the only answer he received from Antoine in response to his earlier question, Valyr moved closer to the man and radiated a hint of killing intent, invoking the feeling of fear into the man to possibly have him answer the question.


    However, even with that, all Antoine did was shiver in fear as Valyr''s killing intent washed over his body, choosing to continue remaining silent.


    Lightly scratching his head in slight confusion, Valyr asked Antoine the question a few more times, thinking that thetter would eventually budge at some point. Though Antoine did open his mouth to respond to his question eventually, the answer Valyr got from him was not what he had expected.


    "I''m willing to tell you¡­ everything I know¡­ but this¡­ this I cannot say." Antoine looked at Valyr with a slight frown, his expression steadfast. "I''d rather die¡­ under your hands¡­ than tell you¡­ his identity."


    "Is that so?" Though Valyr gave Antoine the feeling that thetter wasn''t going to escape so easily, he could not help but inwardly let out a long sigh, feeling that he had already gone too far on a person that, even though he had killed multiple innocent people, was forced into a situation he did not even want to be in.


    With that in mind, Valyr sent a couple messages to Tryndall and Dous through the party chat before moving closer to one of the throwing daggers that pinned Antoine to the ground. Then, while thetter was expecting Valyr to push the throwing daggers even deeper, Valyr instead did the opposite, removing it outright.


    Letting out a low sigh, Tryndall moved closer to Antoine and did the same thing, proceeding to help out Valyr in removing the throwing daggers that were pinning Antoine on the ground. After that, the two of them worked together on helping the man sit upright before proceeding to remove the throwing dagger that dug deep into his back.


    Sometimeter, Dous had appeared before the three, bringing a great amount of shock to Antoine as it was only then did he realize where the throwing daggers that pinned him to the ground had possiblye from. With that in mind, he looked at Dous with grudge evident in his eyes.


    However, this grudge somewhat subsided once Dous offered him a Lesser Rejuvenation Potion, healing Antoine up to the point that the man was in a state that he was able to walk somewhat. Noticing that the man did not have enough energy to return back home, Dous then offered him an Inferior Stamina Potion, which finally reduced the grudge Antoine held towards Dous to nothing.


    "Are you¡­ are you letting me leave?" Even though the three people in dark clothing did not tell him that he was allowed to leave, the things that they''ve done for him so far were definitely giving him that feeling.


    Just as Antoine was about to ask the three once more as to whether he could leave, Valyr eventually gestured to the man that he was allowed to leave, causing a gleeful expression to appear on the man''s face as he thanked the trio before disappearing from their field of vision.


    "To think he''d even thank us." Finding Antoine''s actions before he left somewhat ironic, Valyr let out a light chuckle, only for his expression to turn solemn as he shifted his gaze towards the two in front of them. After looking at each other for a while, all of them let out a collective sigh as they proceeded to head back to the ce where all of them previously met up.


    Whoosh!


    "It''ll probably be a while before the others update us on what''s happening on their end." Sending a message through the party chat as they moved through the rooftops, Tryndall could not help but let out a low sigh. "Though, considering what Antoine told us, the other suspects will probably tell them more or less the same thing."


    "The city forced the five to be the Clossbay Killer with the purpose of increasing the guards'' reputation in the city¡­" Sometimeter, Valyr sent his spections to the party chat for the other two to look at. "If you think about it for a bit, then the mastermind is most likely someone within the city guards, no?"


    "Anyways, what''s our next n of action?" While Tryndall and Dous pondered over Valyr''s earlier words, Valyr sent a question to Tryndall, who replied that their goal from this point onward was to find out the identity of the mastermind, the one that orchestrated the whole thing.


    With the three exchanging a few more messages between one another on what they were going to do for the next few days regarding this incident, they eventually arrived at the spot where all of them met up earlier, with the others eventually arriving at the same spot at some point, informing the others of their discoveries.


    ¡­


    "Sir! Sir! We have bad news!" Late into the night, within a modestly sized manor, a door that led to a certain room was mmed open by a man that seemed to be in histe twenties. On the other hand, within the room was an older looking man who appeared to be in the process of falling asleep, only for him to greatly frown as he shifted his gaze to the man that mmed his door open all of a sudden.


    "This reason better be good," said the man to the one who had opened the door. "If not, you better be ready to disappear from my sight."


    Though the man''s words made the young man panic for a bit, thetter took in a deep breath to calm himself down, reminding himself of the reason why he had disturbed the older man''s sleep in the first ce. "Sir, we''ve received reports that a few people have caught onto our trails regarding the five you''ve designated for the special operation."


    "Any notes on who those people are?" Raising his eyebrow in slight interest, the older man focused his attention on what the young man was going to say next.


    "ording to what was written, it says that you already know who those people are." Saying these words, the young man tilted his head in slight confusion, wondering to himself whether what he recalled was right. Feeling as if the older man wouldsh out at him, thetter instead nodded in response to his words before proceeding to try falling asleep once more.


    Waving his hands towards the young man as if to shoo him away, the older man then told him, "Alright. I know what to do. Just tell them to keep an eye on those people."


    "Speaking of which, assign someone to ry my message tomorrow." At these words, the young man solemnly nodded,mitting the older man''s words before apologizing to him once more, to which the older man said that it was fine. Sometimeter after the young man had left the older man on his own, thetter turned on his bed to look at the ceiling before letting out a light sigh.


    "Who knew my younger brother''s request woulde in handy at such a moment like this?"

 Chapter 229 Life And Death

    Crimson Forge.


    "Haah. I''m finally done. I finally finished these goddamn boots." Letting out a long sigh of relief, Valyr raised the armor piece he was working on, activating the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to see if he had missed any imperfections.


    Once he had fixed all of the imperfections he had missed on the piece, Valyr nodded in satisfaction before cing it to the side, putting it beside the other pieces of armor that made up the set.


    With a content smile on his face, he ced the forging hammer on the anvil before shifting his attention to the pieces of armor on the side, rubbing his hands in excitement, wanting to experience the effects of the armor set firsthand.


    However, just as he had finished putting on the chestte, Wells appeared in front of him with a slightly grim expression, only easing up once he hade face to face with Valyr.


    "Valyr, there''s a guy at the entrance looking for you... and it seems like he doesn''t have any good intentions." Hearing the words that came out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr scratched his head for a bit before letting out a low sigh, removing the chestte he had just worn before cing it beside the other armor pieces.


    "From the forging emporium, I presume?" As Valyr asked this question, he thought about the slight skirmish he had with the Hekaetos Forging Emporium sometime ago, recalling the words the well-dressed man from the emporium said to him before his group left.


    Though, not long after, Valyr was left with no choice but to discard the idea once he noticed Wells shake his head in response to his question.


    Looking at Wells, he pondered over other reasons why a man woulde to his smithy out of nowhere, specifically reasons that he knew he was the cause.


    "He always dodged the question whenever I asked him where he came from," said Wells as he shrugged his shoulders. "All he told me was that he was looking for the owner of the Crimson Forge, and that he had something to tell him."


    ''Could this possibly be rted to the incident fromst night?'' Listening to Wells'' words, another possibility popped up in Valyr''s mind, thinking about what he, Tryndall, and the others didst night. ''Could this possibly be something the mastermind has control over?''


    Knowing that he would only find out whether his hypothesis was correct or not once he listened to what the man had to say, Valyr nodded at Wells before heading to the entrance,ing face to face with a rugged-looking man with dark gray hair, who looked to be in his early thirties.


    "Are you the owner of the Crimson Forge?" Noticing that Valyr had appeared in front of him, the man at the entrance instantly asked for his identity, his toneced with a hint of arrogance.


    "That would be me, I guess." Though Valyr nodded in response to his question, the man slightly doubted his im.


    Then again, it did not take long for his doubts to disappear, only noticing at that moment that Valyr''s get-up suited that of a cksmith. Aside from that, he also took note of the respect in the gazes of the customers whenever they looked in Valyr''s direction.


    "I''ve been waiting for you to appear for quite some time, actually." After he was sure that he was talking to the actual owner of the smithy, the man''s expression eased up as he initiated the conversation with Valyr. "Well, I''ve been tasked to inform you that a certain person is requesting your appearance in a life and death duel set to happen tomorrow."


    Hearing the phrase ''life and death duel''e out of the man''s mouth, Valyr''s thoughts went back to what it was earlier, feeling more certain that the mastermind behind the whole Clossbay Killer thing had something to do with his current conversation with the man.


    Being the only way yers would settle things between them where the stakes were truly great, a life and death duel was something incredibly familiar to Valyr.


    From the name itself, a life and death duel was a duel in which only one side would survive. For NPCs, they would only engage in a life and death duel with someone if the grudge between them could not be reconciled through normal means, or if they were to settle a dispute that both sides could not agree upon.


    As for yers, even though they had the ability to respawn after death, they utilized life and death duels in the same way as NPCs. However, in a life and death duel, both sides would give up precious items. That item could be a priceless material, an incredibly rare piece of equipment, an extremely powerful book¡­


    Even bing a servant for the winning side was not out of the question when it came to stakes for life and death duels.


    Of course, Valyr had not fully confirmed that the current situation was all orchestrated by the mastermind. He only felt like there was a high chance that the mastermind had something to do with it.


    With that, he posed a question to the man that would swiftly clear up a great portion of his doubts. "Do you know who I''m going to duel against?"


    "I was told that you would be fighting against someone from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium." Once these words came out of the man''s mouth, Valyr threw his hypothesis from earlier down the drain, returning his train of thought to what it was before he thought of the possibility that the mastermind behind the whole Clossbay Killer thing was behind it.


    ''I''ve got to give it to that man from the emporium for sticking to his words¡­ but seriously? A life and death duel?'' As he thought about what he had done to the well-dressed man and hispanions when they threatened him in front of his smithy, and then about the response of the forging emporium because of it, all Valyr could do at that point was let out a long sigh.


    "Can I not show up to the duel?" Though Valyr already knew the answer to the question, he went ahead and asked the man in front of him to make sure, scratching his head as a bitter smile appeared on his face once the man shook his head in response to the question.


    "Unfortunately, you have to show up no matter what. After all, not showing up to a life and death duel means that you''ve basically given your life up to the opposing side." Saying these words, the man bitterly smiled.


    "I had a feeling." While listening to the man''s words, Valyr pondered as to whether he should show up in the duel or not. After all, with how low of a level those people from the emporium had when they showed up in front of his smithy to threaten him, he had a feeling that the person he would fight against would be of a low level as well.


    ''I guess that person would be around Level 15 at the very least. Worst case scenario, around my level or above it.'' For a brief moment, he nced at the man before him. ''And since the guy''s from a forging emporium, then it''s a given that my opponent would be kitted out in the best armor set and weapon they could get their hands on.''


    "Hmm¡­" Just as he thought of telling the man that he was still unsure as to whether he would show up or not, he looked around the smithy for a bit, only to stop his gaze on the armor set he had just finished forging the final piece of earlier. Not long after, his mind was made up as he turned around to look at the man with a smile.


    "Where''s the venue?"

 Chapter 230 What Friends Are For

    "¡­And with that, I guess I''ve prepared everything I can for tomorrow." Wiping off the sweat from his forehead, Valyr had a content smile on his face as he removed the forging hammer he wielded from the chestte on the anvil. Moving the chestte to where the other pieces of the set he had forged were, he identified all of them with [Analysis] to make sure he hadn''t missed improving any of them.


    With the smile on his face turning into a grin as he wondered what it would be like to use the armor set in action tomorrow, Valyr moved away from the workshop portion of the smithy and tended to the needs of the customers, reminding himself from time to time that he needed to hire a helper for the smithy sooner orter.


    ''I should also probably get a cksmith that would man the smithy while I''m gone.'' While helping some of the customers out, this thought surfaced in Valyr''s mind, recalling that he would have to head to the Algerie Kingdom within the next two months or so, considering that almost three weeks already passed since he obtained the World Quest.


    Deciding to ask some of the smithy''s regr customers not only about a helper he could hire for the smithy, but a cksmith that would work for the smithy as well, a familiar person eventually appeared in the smithy sometimeter, concern greatly evident in her expression.


    "Valyr? You there?" Looking around the smithy for a bit in slight panic, Arcenne eventually let out a sigh of relief once she saw Valyr talking with a customer, a rxed smile adorning his face.


    "Just give me a moment, okay?" Of course, Valyr had noticed Arcenne''s presence ever since she stepped foot within the Crimson Forge. With that, he excused himself to the customer he had just been talking to before beckoning Arcenne to follow him to somewhere a bit more private.


    "So, what''s gotten you so worried that you were looking for me?" With the two of them at the workshop portion of the smithy, Valyr went ahead and started the conversation with him asking why she hade to his smithy all of a sudden.


    "I heard that you were requested to show up in a life and death duel." Arcenne lightly frowned as she gazed at Valyr, who raised his eyebrow in surprise, not expecting word of what had transpired in the morning to spread that quickly.


    "But seeing how rxed you are, I guess that doesn''t seem to be the case." Saying these words, she let out a light sigh of relief, only for concern to appear on her face yet again once she heard Valyr''s response.


    "Yeah, someone did approach me earlier." Valyr nodded, informing Arcenne that what she heard was the truth. "They said I had to show up in a life and death duel tomorrow."


    "And you didn''t even bother telling me about it?" Arcenne looked at him with disbelief.


    In response, Valyr scratched his head as he looked back at her. "You do know life and death duels can''t be rejected, right?"


    "You do know I have the power to cancel them, right?" Hearing these wordse out of her mouth, Valyr instantly became confused.


    "But why would you go out of your way to do that?" Though Valyr had a hunch on what her reasons were to help him out on canceling the life and death duel, he decided to ask the question anyway.


    "Well, there''s the fact that you and my father seem to get along well," said Arcenne in response. Not long after, a slight frown appeared on her face as she looked at him. "But more importantly¡­ aren''t I your friend?"


    "Friend¡­" At those words, Valyr bitterly smiled, not surprised that his hunch was correct. Though Valyr did consider Arcenne as a friend of his, he thought of himself as more of a nuisance rather than a friend to Arcenne, recalling the help he got from her when it came to the requirements for the Crimson Forge.


    With that in mind, he thought about his rtionship with Tryndall as well, only noticing just now that thetter was doing most of the work regarding the Clossbay Killer incident, realizing that he was more of a burden rather than an aid.


    After pondering over his thoughts for a bit in silence, Valyr let out a light sigh. He then shifted his gaze towards Arcenne and told her that he would inform her of matters like these from now on, apologizing soon after to her as he voiced out the thoughts that were in his mind regarding their friendship.


    Unsurprisingly, Arcenne found Valyr''s impression of their friendship weird, telling him that she thought that she was the one bing a nuisance to him, considering the amazing equipment he had forged for her. Nevertheless, the two of them eventually sorted everything out, prompting the two of them to look at each other with a smile as they felt like their friendship had be stronger somehow.


    "So, do you want me to cancel the life and death duel?" Tracing back their discussion to what it was before the whole conversation regarding their friendship, Arcenne offered her help to Valyr regarding the life and death duel once more. However, rather than agree, Valyr shook his head, telling her that it was fine for her to not help him.


    Naturally, Arcenne asked in response as to why that was the case, only for her expression to be slightly grim as she listened to Valyr''s reply.


    "Remember those guys from the emporium that came here to request a forging duel against me? Well, it turns out that those people are the same people that want me to show up in a life and death duel."


    "All the more reason to cancel the duel, then," said Arcenne in response.


    "If it were any other time, I would have probably epted your offer." Valyr nodded in agreement with her words. "However, I''m confident that I''d be the one winning the duel."


    "After all, I''m not participating in the duel empty-handed." As Arcenne raised her eyebrow in curiosity as to what Valyr meant by that, thetter grabbed the chestte he had forged for his own armor set and gave it to Arcenne. Afterwards, he told her to use [Analysis] on the armor set, which caused her to gasp in shock once she was done reading through its description.


    Giving the chestte back to Valyr just as the screen in front of her disappeared, a light frown crept up her face as she soon posed a question to Valyr.


    "Why didn''t you forge this armor set for me back then?"

 Chapter 231 Emulation

    Hearing the question that came out of Arcenne''s mouth, Valyr let out a bit ofughter in response, already expecting the former to ask him that question once he had given her part of the armor set. Naturally, he already had an answer for it.


    "Just so you know, I was only able to forge this armor set thanks to the light armor set blueprint you gave me." As Valyr said these words to Arcenne, he recalled the other armor set blueprints he had gotten from the cksmith Guild, buying all of them with his hard-earned contribution points.


    After all, it was only throughbining the light armor set blueprints Arcenne had given him, the various armor set blueprints he got from the cksmith Guild, as well as the knowledge of a certain set of legendary armor from his previous life was he able to craft the armor set he had just given to Arcenne to identify.


    Receiving the chestte back from Arcenne, Valyr decided to activate [Analysis] on the chestte to refresh his knowledge regarding the armor set''s effects.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Half Wyvern Chestte (Emtion)] (Level 20)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Defense: 36 - 60


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +5


    > STR +5


    Forged by a true prodigy in the field of cksmithing, this chestte is inspired by the Empyrean Dragon Armor of legends, with the cksmith hoping that part of the legendary armor''s strength could be emted. Utilizing materials that were simr in nature yet incredibly subpar whenpared to the materials used to forge the Empyrean Dragon Armor, the cksmith was fortunately sessful in emting part of its strength.


    Though it could only be considered an incredibly subpar imitation of the real thing, it is still an item that is highly sought after by many people. Great potential still slumbers within the chestte, with the possibility of it reaching a level of strength close to the Empyrean Dragon Armor not being low.


    <Innate Skill 1: Grandeur of the Half Wyvern - Thanks to the power of Half Wyvern Blood infused within the armor, the level requirement for the armor has been reduced by 2 levels.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Wyvern''s Breath - Allows the user to shoot out a wave of mes in front of them, targeting all enemies within a 5 meter radius, dealing damage equivalent to 200% of the user''s Attack stat. Also inflicts Burn damage that deals 10% of the user''s Attack stat every second,sting for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 300 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Half Wyvern Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces: Attack and Defense +10%


    - 3 pieces: HP +500 and MP +250


    - 4 pieces: Damage Increase and Damage Reduction +10%


    - 6 pieces: All stats +3


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I didn''t even think the system would even consider the Half Wyvern Armor I forged as an imitation armor set.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr ced the chestte back to where the other pieces of the Half Wyvern armor set were. ''After all, the materials I used are nowhere close to the things used to forge Empyrean Dragon Armor.''


    Though almost every item in Greater Beyond fell under a certain rarity, there existed items that transcended the definition of rarities, their abilities far surpassing the scope of an item under the rarity designated to them. At times, these items would even be considered Growth type or Pseudo-Growth type, allowing their abilities to reach tyrannical heights.


    These items were known under multiple names depending on one''s location within the universe of Greater Beyond. But for yers, these items were only known under one name.


    Artifacts.


    Artifacts took on multiple forms. Some of them were in the form of armor, some were weapons, and some were misceneous items that fulfilled a certain purpose. Nevertheless, these items were one of a kind, which meant that no other copy of that artifact could be found within the universe.


    But that didn''t mean one couldn''t mimic the abilities of an artifact.


    With that kind of thinking, Replicas, Imitations, and Emtions were eventually born, all of them made with the purpose of copying the abilities of an artifact.


    In terms of how close they were to the original artifact, Replicas were considered the closest, being able to emte around 60% of the artifact''s strength, with 90% being the best case scenario. After that were the Imitations, which were usually able to emte around 25% of the artifact''s strength, with 50% of the artifact''s strength being considered the best of the best.


    Last but not the least were the Emtions, such as the Half Wyvern Armor Valyr had forged. Whenpared to the artifact it was based off of, which in this case was the Empyrean Dragon Armor, it was only able to emte one percent of the Empyrean Dragon Armor''s strength.


    In the best case scenario, an Emtion was only able to emte 10% of the original artifact''s strength, which Valyr knew he was able to do with the Half Wyvern Armor as long as he found the right materials to upgrade it.


    After telling Arcenne once more that he was only able to craft the Half Wyvern Armor thanks to the blueprints she had given him, Valyr asked her who he could possibly be up against in the life and death duel tomorrow, rifying that the man that informed him about the duel said that he would be up against someone from the emporium, not giving him a specific name.


    With that, the two of them spent quite some time specting on who he would be up against on the following day, categorizing the people from the emporium as to whether they would be the best opponents to test his armor against or not.


    ¡­


    Ding!


    Just as Valyr was about to head to sleep after having a hearty dinner with Wells outside, a notification sound resounded in his mind, which he swiftly found out was a message from Tryndall.


    Opening up the message Tryndall sent him, the man asked him regarding the life and death duel that was going to happen tomorrow, as well as whether Valyr''s participation in the duel was true or not. In response, Valyr sent back a reply that the duel was true, and that it was going to happen tomorrow.


    "Did what we dost night have something to do with the duel?" Reading the message that Tryndall had just sent him, Valyr swiftly replied that he also had the same thoughts when he first heard about it, eventually telling him that the life and death duel was actually requested by people from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium.


    After the two of them talked about how the people from the forging emporium were sore losers for forcing Valyr into a life and death duel just because he didn''t ept their forging duel request, as well as the fact that they were humiliated in front of his smithy, Valyr then decided to apologize to Tryndall on how he wasn''t of much help throughout the Clossbay Killer incident, recalling his conversation earlier with Arcenne.


    Unsurprisingly, just like Arcenne, Tryndall told him that it was fine, saying that Valyr was only one person and how he had the authority tomand other people to help him. Eventually, the two of them sorted out their misunderstandings, prompting Valyr to tell Tryndall how he appreciated his concern and how he was going to go sleep for the night.


    Though, just as he was about to send the message to the man, a thought popped up in his mind, prompting him to change the message he was going to send to Tryndall.


    "How''s progress on finding the mastermind''s identity?"

 Chapter 232 Sudden Quest

    After Valyr sent the question to Tryndall through the chat function, the former had to wait for a couple minutes before receiving a response back. Though, once he was finished reading through the response Tryndall sent, he quickly understood why it took him so long.


    "If you want the short answer to your question, then we haven''t made much headway into finding out the mastermind''s identity."


    "But if you want the long answer, one of the suspects we''ve apprehended the previous night swiftly surrendered to us once that suspect found out what we were doing. Surprisingly, that suspect told us that they were long sick of what they were doing, and that they wanted to get back at the mastermind of the whole operation somehow."


    "With that, the suspect that surrendered decided to cooperate with us on figuring out the mastermind''s identity, telling us about all the people they''ve interacted with regarding the whole Clossbay Killer thing."


    Reading through this portion of Tryndall''s message, Valyr felt inclined to think that luck was finally on their side for once, a light smile unknowingly appearing on his face sometimeter. Noticing that Tryndall was still in the midst of sending him messages, Valyr took a look at them, realizing that they were a continuation of what was sent to him earlier.


    "For the most part, all of the people that the five suspects interacted with regarding the incident, ording to what the suspect told us, is mostly people with low levels of authority in the city. Fortunately, the suspect recalled a couple people in the city with middle level authority, which is what we''ve been considering as our most substantial leads into finding out the real identity of the mastermind."


    "Speaking of which, the suspect also decided to be our insider regarding the whole Clossbay Killer thing, informing us that the five of them would meet up on the following day. I don''t know if your life and death duel and their meeting is rted or just pure coincidence, but I''ll make sure to keep you updated on whatever''s happening."


    Sending a message to Tryndall once he was finished reading to thank thetter for what he was doing, Valyr eventually closed the screen in his field of vision before gradually drifting off to sleep.


    ''I''ve got a long day ahead of me.''


    ¡­


    "Today''s the day, huh." Letting out a long yawn as he sat upright on his bed, Valyr stared off into nothingness for a bit, giving his consciousness time to be fully awake. Sometimeter, he got out of his bed and did a few light stretches before going through his usual morning routine.


    Coincidentally, once Valyr was done with his usual morning routine, Wells had woken up from his slumber, taking a while to be fully alert as well before going through his own morning routine of sorts. During his routine, Valyr approached him and asked him whether he would be able to man the Crimson Forge on his own while he was partaking in the life and death duel or not.


    Pondering over it for a bit, Wells eventually told Valyr that it would be better if the Crimson Forge was closed today, considering how almost everyone in the city already knew about the life and death duel that was going to happenter in the day.


    With Wells informing Valyr soon after that next to no customers woulde to the smithy since something like that was going on, it was a no-brainer for thetter to go with what Wells told him, heading to the workshop portion of the smithy to grab the Half Wyvern Armor before chucking pieces of it into a backpack he purposefully requested a crafter to make that would be able to fit armor.


    Unfortunately, only three of the six pieces making up the set fit into the backpack, prompting Valyr to put the remaining pieces of armor into a simr bag before telling Wells to bring the other backpack as they made their way to the venue.


    As they headed outside the smithy, a few regr customers that woulde to the smithy early in the morning appeared in front of Valyr and Wells, telling Valyr to prioritize his health first during the duel and that they were rooting for him to win the duel. After that, they apologized to Valyr that he was caught up into the mess of the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, to which he told them that it was normal for fledgling businesses to butt heads withrge, established businesses.


    Of course, not in the way the Hekaetos Forging Emporium did it.


    Waving to the customers that went out of their way to give him their good luck before the duel, the two headed to a nearby restaurant to get some food into their stomach, with Valyr choosing to get a light breakfast as he thought about how much he would move during the duelter.


    While they were digging into their respective breakfasts, Wells asked Valyr at some point as to how he could remain so calm, even though he knew there was a chance he would die in the duel. In response to the question, Valyr brought up the Half Wyvern Armor he had forged before leaving Wells with a sentence that left the man somewhat confused.


    "Just so you know, this isn''t the first time I''ve danced with death."


    Left to wonder whether Valyr was giving him an important life lesson or was just giving him a cryptic message for him to decode, the two eventually finished their breakfasts and left the restaurant to continue making their way to the venue.


    ¡­


    "Here we are. The Farraway Coliseum." Standing about a dozen meters away from what appeared to be arge circr building made out ofrge blocks of chiseled stone, Valyr looked at Wells beside him and asked thetter to give the backpack with the armor to him.


    As Valyr received the backpack Wells gave, the two looked around the perimeter of the coliseum for a bit, eventually finding the entrance that led into the inside of the coliseum. Unsurprisingly, with how widespread the news of the life and death duel that was happening today was, a long line to the entrance greeted the two, prompting Valyr to wonder whether the two could get into the coliseum first since he was the one partaking in the duel.


    Fortunately, his hypothesis was correct as the guard at the entrance of the coliseum swiftly allowed Valyr to enter the coliseum alongside Wells, with one of the guards within the coliseum guiding the two deeper into the coliseum.


    Waving farewell at each other as the two went their separate ways, the guard apanied Valyr to the section of the coliseum that was specifically made for those who were going to appear on the coliseum''s battleground, an area that would allow the participants to prepare and rest.


    ''I''m actually doing this.'' As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr inwardly let out a light chuckle as the mes ofpetition and battle burned with greater fervor than ever before.


    Though, just as Valyr had stepped foot in the area designated for those who would appear on the battleground, a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained a sudden quest: Schemes Behind Grudges.]

 Chapter 233 Behind The Veil

    Though he was curious as to what kind of objectives the quest he had received contained, Valyr was left with no choice but to put that thought on hold for now, noticing that another person was already within the area he had just stepped foot in.


    Appearing to be in histe twenties, the man that was in the area before Valyr arrived had short ck hair and pitch ck irises, giving him the feeling that the man did not like standing out that much.


    Then again, that feeling was negated by therge scar that spanned from the man''s right cheek down down to his left shoulder, instead giving Valyr the feeling that he was looking at a wolf in sheep''s clothing.


    Trying to recall what he and Arcenne talked about the previous day regarding the possible opponents from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium he would be fighting up against in the duel, Valyr ced the backpacks he had been carrying all this time to a somewhat distant spot before heading to where the man with a light smile.


    "Nice to meet you, the name''s Valyr." With Valyr extending his hand out, the man was left with no choice but to respond in kind, grabbing the hand Valyr extended before introducing himself soon after.


    "Leron," said the man in response to Valyr''s introduction. As the two of them let go of each other''s hands, Leron looked at Valyr from head to toe for a bit before posing a question to him. "You the one I''m fighting against?"


    "Life and death duel?" questioned Valyr in response, thinking that the possibility of the man in front of him participating in a different duel was not low. However, he was forced to discard that thought once Leron nodded his head as a response to his question, prompting Valyr to nod back with a solemn expression.


    Turning around to head to where his backpacks here, Valyr left Leron on his own for the meantime as he sat near his backpacks, deciding to take a look at the description of the quest he had received just as he had stepped foot into the room.


    ''I wonder if the bad feeling I''m getting from the man has any rtion to the quest.'' With this thought in mind, hemanded the system to show him the quest through his mind, not wanting Leron to see what he was doing, even though thetter was just minding his own business.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Schemes Behind Grudges] (Sudden Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    Thanks to a deep-seated grudge that had been cultivated between you and a person with high authority within the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, you have been forced to engage in a life and death duel against someone who was deemed the strongest person within the Hekaetos Forging Emporium.


    However, after interacting with your opponent for a bit, you''ve instantly taken note that the man seemed off, as if he hade there with a different purpose. The possibility of a third party having something to do with this life and death duel you''re partaking in is not low. But for you to figure out more about it, you''ll have to win the duel first.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Win the life and death duel (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > 50,000 XP


    > Additional information regarding one of the user''s ongoing quests


    Quest Penalties:


    > Reputation -100 within Clossbay City


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Guess that answers my earlier question.'' Once Valyr was finished reading through the description of the quest he had received, he inwardly let out a long sigh. Aside from that, he realized from how the quest was worded outthat the life and death duel he was going to partake in had a third party involved in the matter.


    ''At this point, I wouldn''t even be surprised if the mastermind of the Clossbay Killer operation is the third party the system is talking about.'' Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, he then opened up the chat function and sent a message to Tryndall regarding the quest he had received, telling him that there was a possibility for his life and death duel with the Hekaetos Forging Emporium and the mastermind of the Clossbay Killer operation to be rted somehow.


    Not long after, Tryndall sent back a response to Valyr that the suspect that decided to help them told them that they had actually interacted with someone from the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, one of the middle level authorities at that.


    After that, he informed Valyr that they would delve deeper into this lead in the meantime and update him about it once they found out more, wishing thetter good luck on his duel at the very end of his message.


    Lightly scratching his head as he closed up the screen in front of him that contained the chat function, Valyr looked back at Leron, who was currently in the process of sharpening his de. Recalling the list of people he and Arcenne talked about yesterday regarding his possible opponents, a light frown eventually crept up his face as he could not recall Arcenne informing him of a Leron.


    ''Did Arcenne forget about him? But didn''t she tell me yesterday that all of the people she mentioned were more or less all of the people within the emporium?'' Feeling that the foreboding feeling he was getting from Leron earlier seemed to be worsening with every passing second, Valyr decided to move closer to where Leron was and ask thetter a couple of questions.


    "Say, Leron. When they told you to participate in this duel, how did you react?" As Valyr asked Leron this question, thetter pondered over it for a bit before opening his mouth.


    "I don''t know." Leron shrugged his shoulders. "All I know is that the boss told me to participate in the duel, and so I did."


    "I see." Nodding in response, a frown crept up on Valyr''s face once more. "What were you doing in the emporium before you were told to participate in the duel?"


    "I¡­ uh¡­ I was tasked with lifting heavy materials for the emporium. Yeah." Unlike his previous answer, where he approached it with a hint of nonchnce, Leron''s eyes briefly widened as it was then that he had an idea as to why Valyr was asking him questions. Coming up with an excuse on the spot, Leron recalled the orders he was toldst night beforeing here to the Farraway Coliseum, inwardly cursing at himself for being too rxed.


    "I see." Nodding once more, the frown on Valyr''s face went deeper as he headed back to where his backpacks were. Then, removing the pieces of armor from the backpacks, he went ahead and put on the Half Wyvern Armor set he had brought along with him.


    ''Judging by how Leron responded to my questions, it seems the mastermind of the Clossbay Killer incident has a rtionship of some sort with forging emporium. Then again, I don''t have enough concrete evidence to say that''s the case. Either way¡­''


    ''This duel might just kill me if I''m not careful.''

 Chapter 234 Equipment Resonance

    Farraway Coliseum.


    "That''s a lot of people." Just as Arcenne had arrived at the coliseum''s seating area, she was instantly greeted by the sight of thousands of people with varying expressions on their faces. Nevertheless, all of them were eager to watch the life and death duel unfold on the battleground below.


    Taking a brief look at the empty battleground at the center of the coliseum, a light frown appeared on Arcenne''s mouth as she made her way through the seating area, eventually arriving at an area that was nearest to the battleground. Sitting down on her designated seat, the frown on her face deepened as she thought about the life and death duel that was going to unfold sometimeter.


    ? ''I know you''re confident in winning the duel with that armor of yours, but I just can''t help but get the feeling that something bad is going to happen.'' With this thought lingering in her mind, the level of worry Arcenne felt towards Valyr shot up, twiddling her thumbs to distract herself from her worries, gradually returning her train of thoughts to the confidence Valyr exuded yesterday.


    In fact, the confidence Valyr had in winning the duel today was the main reason Arcenne hade to the coliseum, thinking that she might get to see another side of Valyr in action, a side that even she, during their spar at thebat training hall, had not seen.


    However, now that she had arrived at the coliseum, only then did that feeling start to falter, causing her to have second thoughts ining. After all, if things went awry for Valyr, she wouldn''t witness her friend be victorious in the duel.


    She would instead witness how her friend was mercilessly killed.


    ''Hmm? Isn''t that guy¡­?'' Amidst the process of distracting herself from the worry she felt towards Valyr, her gazended near the entrance to the seating arena at some point, her attention focused on a young man with messy auburn hair. Recalling that the young man was a friend of Valyr''s, as well as a person she usually saw in his smithy, she waved her hand back and forth, hoping to catch the young man''s attention.


    "Hmm?" Fortunately, Wells did notice Arcenne waving her hand back and forth at him, a confused expression briefly gracing his face as he wondered why she was waving at him. Thankfully, it did not take long for things to click in his mind, recalling that the woman was a friend of Valyr''s.


    With that, he gradually made his way to where Arcenne was seated, stealing nces at the still empty battleground every once in a while, his body filled to the brim with worry for Valyr as well.


    Just like Arcenne, Valyr''s confidence in winning the duel infected him to the point he had apanied the man to the coliseum. However, even though he knew what the man''s armor could do, Wells also started having second thoughts once he made his way to the seating area,ing face to face with the thousands of people that were there to more or less watch Valyr''s possible demise.


    "A friend of Valyr''s?" By the time he sat beside Arcenne, Wells asked thetter a question to make sure. As Arcenne nodded in response to his question, Wells inwardly let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he didn''t sit beside a stranger that was waving at someone else.


    "The name''s Arcenne. Arcenne Stelyra." With Arcenne extending her hand for a handshake, Wells was taken aback as he focused on the woman''s surname, wondering to himself how Valyr had made someone from a big noble n his friend.


    "Wells. Wells Anadhar." Nevertheless, Wells responded in kind, receiving the handshake as Arcenne''s eyes briefly widened in interest before returning to normal. To her, it was more surprising that someone from a smaller noble n was a friend of Valyr''s, taking into consideration that most, if not all of therge noble ns wanted to curry favor with people from the Zeihardt n no matter what.


    ''I guess Valyr''s really shut himself in the n.'' With this thought in mind, Arcenne shifted her gaze at the empty battleground for a bit, taking in the mor that was faintly bubbling throughout the seating area before returning her attention to Wells. "Do you think Valyr can win?"


    "At this point, I don''t know." As Wells responded to the question, he spared a nce at the battleground as well, faintly hoping that the life and death duel would be canceled due to some random reason. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked back at Arcenne. "You?"


    "No clue either." Arcenne also shrugged her shoulders in response. "He does have that armor of his, so¡­"


    "Yeah. That''s pretty much the reason why I was confident in him." Wells nodded. "But now¡­"


    "We can only believe that he''ll stick to his words at this point." In response, Arcenne let out a light sigh before shifting her gaze back to the battleground. After looking at Arcenne for a bit, Wells focused his gaze towards the battleground as well, letting out a sigh of his own soon after.


    "I guess that''s the only thing we can do."


    ¡­


    "Wearing it doesn''t feel half bad." After putting on the helmet piece of the Half Wyvern Armor on top of his head, Valyr moved around for a bit to get a better feel of the armor, as well as find out the limit for his movements. While testing his armor out, he spared a nce at Leron, who was in the process of wearing his own set of armor, a calm, somewhat nonchnt expression adorning the man''s face.


    Making a mental note to use [Analysis] on Leron before they fought against each other, Valyr then decided to test the armor out while wielding his trusty weapon. Grabbing the True Tideblood Spear he had ced on the seat before putting on the armor, a notification sound resounded in his mind just as he was about to make a move, prompting him to stop in his tracks and find out what the notification was.


    "Hmm? Ah." Taking a look at the notification he had received, Valyr swiftly understood what was going on, bringing up a screen beside it soon after, which contained the description of a certain skill. "Now that I think about it, I guess I did meet the minimum requirements."


    Ding!


    [Due to all of the items you currently have equipped are modified or forged by you, and are all at least Umon grade, the effect of ''True Prodigious Equipment Resonance'' has activated, boosting your Attack and Defense stat by 5%.]


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious Equipment Resonance] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    As a true prodigy, you have wholeheartedly put your all into everything you create. Because of that, a small part of yourself integrates into those that you forge, into those that you modify, into those that you create. Unknowingly, these small parts resonate with one another, bringing miraculous effects about once those items are close to each other.


    However, the only one who can tap into that resonance is none other than you.


    As long as the user has a full set of armor and a weapon equipped that has been forged, modified, or brought about by the user, a resonance urs between the items, increasing parts of the user''s stats depending on the overall rarity of the items.


    Effects:


    > Umon grade - Attack and Defense +5% (Activated)


    > Umon+ grade - Attack and Defense +8%


    > Rare grade - Attack and Defense +10%, STR +3%


    > ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "It''s quite a shame my spear isn''t Umon+ grade, but oh well." Closing the screens that had appeared before him, Valyr continued to test how his armor felt while he wielded the spear, lightly nodding once he noticed that most, if not all of the movements he usually did with the spear were only slightly hampered by the armor.


    Affixing his spear to his back, he sat back down for now as he waited for him and Leron to be called to the battleground, recalling the guard''s earlier words to him as they made their way to the area he was currently in.


    Though, at some point, a question popped up in his mind while waiting for the coliseum''s signal. Deciding to find that out while he still had the time, Valyr soonmanded the system to bring up his status screen.


    "Now that I have the armor on¡­"


    "How much have my stats changed?"

 Chapter 235 Before The Duel

    Ding!


    Hearing the ever familiar notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr viewed the entirety of his status screen for once, making sure that Leron would not be able to see it by opening it in his mind. Though, once he was finished looking through it, he was left staring at the screen with his mouth agape, speechless at how much his stats had improved.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 1 ¡ª Mythic)


    Species: Human (1st Unsealing)


    Level: 18


    Power Level: 1,399 (B)


    Unused XP: 124,789


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 1,748/1,748


    MP: 1,498/1,498


    Attack: 262 - 296


    Defense: 293 - 406


    Stats: 104 VIT, 83 STR, 72 AGI, 128 DEX, 104 INT, 55 WIS, 79 PER, 34 LUK (0 unassigned points)


    Remarks: Compared to other Rank 1 ss holders¡­ you''re scary.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I''m pretty sure most of the increase in my stats are all thanks to that attribute awakening skill.'' Closing the status screen as he took in a couple of deep breaths topose himself, Valyr instantly thought about [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening], only now realizing how overpowered such a skill was when every piece of equipment was awakened to the limit.


    Naturally, he also thought about the various titles and skills he had obtained along the way that bolstered his stats even further, as well as the set effects of the Half Wyvern Armor he currently had equipped. With that in mind, he knew for a fact that at this moment, he was near his strongest state, which would only be achievable if he activated all of his buffing skills at once.


    Nevertheless, even without the buffing skills activated, he had a feeling that early Rank 2 ss holders would be nowhere near to achieving his current level of strength. To him, only middle Rank 2 or peak Rank 2 ss holders would be able to do so.


    Feeling a couple of heavy weights being removed off his shoulders now that he found out he had more than enoughbat power to salvage a terrible situation, Valyr went ahead and looked through his skill list to see if he could upgrade any more skills to bolster this advantage even further. After all, he still had over a hundred thousand XP left unused.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for Valyr toe to a decision, upgrading [Basic Crimson me Maniption] to Level 6 and [Intermediate Combat Mastery] to Level 10, reducing the XP he could still allocate down to almost 30,000.


    Pondering over which skill he could use the remaining XP on, he eventually settled on upgrading [Offense Aura] and [Defense Aura] to Level 7, recalling how both of the skills were indispensable during the fight against Riekan, allowing him to deal enough damage, as well as tank enough damage.


    After pondering in silence for a bit more, he allocated a bit more of his remaining XP towards upgrading [Serpent Steps Movement Style] to Level 7, noticing in its description that he had inadvertently unlocked the skill''s second move due to his current AGI stat. With that, he decided to check on [Serpent Spear Combat Style] to see if he had also unlocked another move.


    Unsurprisingly, with how much his DEX stat had improved, he noticed that another move was avable for him to use aside from [Descending Fang] and [Venomous Strike], eliciting a wide grin to appear on his face as he imagined multiple scenarios where he wouldbine this new move alongside the second move from the movement style.


    With only less than four thousand XP remaining after the small upgrading spree he did, Valyr thought that he had done more or less everything he could to increase his advantage during the duel as much as possible.


    At some point, he turned his head to look at Leron for a bit, only to see the man sharpening his de once more. However, unlike before, Leron was now donning a set of dark gray leather armor as a piece of dark fabric covered the lower portion of his face.


    In a way, it reminded Valyr of what he wore whenever he aided Tryndall in their operation to find out more regarding the Clossbay Killer incident.


    Nevertheless, the two of them did not speak to each other during the entire time they waited for their signal to head to the battleground, deciding to confide in silence instead as they mentally prepared themselves for what was about toe.


    "You''re up." Eventually, a guard appeared within the area the two were waiting in, informing both Valyr and Leron that they were told to head to the coliseum''s battleground.


    Looking at each other for a bit, the two then followed the guard to where they had to head, with Valyr being led to one of the multiple gates lining the walls of the battleground. After waiting for a while, he noticed Leron appear on the other side, behind one of the gates on the opposing side of where he was.


    Surprisingly, at the very moment both he and Leron showed themselves behind the gates, the mor that covered the entire coliseum had reached an all-time high, with everyone in the seating areas cheering their hearts out for something that was considered a rare urrence in their city.


    However, once a man in slightly formal get-up appeared at the center of the battleground all of a sudden, this cacophony swiftly settled down, with everyone''s attention now focused on the man that had just appeared.


    "Ehem." Clearing his throat, the man that had just appeared took in a deep breath, his voice swiftly reverberating throughout the coliseum with great loudness soon after. "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls!"


    "Wee to the Farraway Coliseum!"


    In response to the man''s words, a wave of cheers and apuse swept throughout the whole coliseum, causing a light smile to briefly appear on the man''s face as he allowed the excitement of the audience to die down.


    "My name is Natsu Farraway, the eldest son of the Farraway family, and I shall be your announcer for today''s event." With his voice resounding throughout the coliseum once more, the announcer swiftly introduced the reason why everyone in the audience had arrived at the coliseum.


    "I''m sure everyone here knows of the Crimson Forge, the smithy that has taken the city by storm thanks to its reputation of selling quality wares at considerably low prices. In fact, I''m certain that a great portion of the people that have attended today''s event have visited the Crimson Forge at one point in time." At these words, some of the people in the audience nodded, agreeing with the announcer''s words.


    "With that in mind, I''m also certain that everyone has also heard of the situation that had been brewing between the Crimson Forge and the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, with thetter requesting a forging duel against the owner of the Crimson Forge to find out which among the two smithies were better."


    "Unfortunately for the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, no matter how adamant they were in having the Crimson Forge ept their duel, thetter did not relent, instead denying the forging emporium the favor of having a forging duel against both smithies."


    "Now, you might be wondering why I''m talking about such an incident." As the announcer asked this rhetorical question to the audience, part of the audience nodded in anticipation of the man''s next words. Though, once they heard of the man''s reasoning, some of them let out a light gasp in surprise.


    "Well, that''s because today''s event has everything to do with that incident," said the announcer, giving the audience time to process what they had just heard before continuing. "The Hekaetos Forging Emporium decided that enough was enough and took matters into their own hands, deciding that a life and death duel with the Crimson Forge was the best course of action."


    "With all of that said, let me introduce everyone to the twopetitors that shall represent their respective smithies in this life and death duel!"

 Chapter 236 A Despicable Matchup

    "Woooo!!!" At the announcer''s words, the audience went in an uproar as the two gates that had Leron and Valyr behind them were opened, allowing the two to make their way to the center of the battleground.


    Being seated near the battleground, Arcenne and Wells quickly took note of Valyr and Leron''s appearance as thetter two made their way to the center, quickly sensing the difference in strength between their auras.


    Leron, who was dressed in a full set of dark gray leather armor with dark fabric covering the lower portion of his face, exuded an aura that gave off confidence rued through multiple experiences, giving off the feeling to the audience that he would eventually emerge victorious all due to the strength behind his aura.


    On the other hand, Valyr, who was dressed in dull gray light armor that glistened a faint crimson under the rays of the sun, also gave off a feeling of confidence through his aura. However, whenpared to the aura Leron was radiating, Valyr''s aura seemed to pale inparison, even though both of them gave off the same feeling.


    With this in mind, Arcenne and Wells hoped that luck was on Valyr''s side during this event, inwardly praying in their mind as they watched the scene before them unfold with worry embedded in their neutral expressions.


    ¡­


    "Hmm?" While making his way to where the announcer was, Valyr swiftly sensed the aura Leron was exuding, instantly noticing that thetter''s aura was significantly stronger than his. Though he had the ability to match the aura Leron was exuding in terms of strength, Valyr decided that he would stay low-key for now as he recalled his conversation with Arcenne the previous day regarding the strength of the people from the forging emporium.


    ''If I remember what Arcenne told me correctly, she said that the strongest person I could possibly fight against in the duel was at the peak of Rank 1.'' With this thought in mind, a frown appeared on Valyr''s face, which Leron could not see due to the armor covering it. ''However, the aura this guy''s exuding is definitely beyond that level.''


    ''Then¡­ that means there''s the possibility that my opponent for this duel is from that third party the system mentioned.'' Standing just a meter away from each other in front of the announcer, Valyr activated [Analysis] on Leron, opening up the man''s status screen in his mind to find out if what he sensed was correct.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Leron Enelron] (Level 30)


    ss: Adept Shadowde (Rank 2 ¡ª Umon)


    Subss: Shadow Disciple (Umon)


    HP: 2,052/2,052


    MP: 612/612


    Stats: 114 VIT, 119 STR, 103 AGI, 93 DEX, 34 INT, 34 WIS, 88 PER, 34 LUK


    Remarks: You have the power to fight against him evenly, but if you want to defeat him¡­ fight wisely.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Rank 2¡­'' With his attention being taken up by Leron''s level, a frown soon appeared on Valyr''s face, feeling anger at how despicable the forging emporium was. Though Valyr wasn''t sure if his opponent was truly from the third party or not, the fact that they employed a Rank 2 ss holder to fight against someone in the middle of Rank 1 was already enough reason for him to be infuriated at them, much less what they''ve done back then.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, a malevolent grin soon appeared on his face as he continued to look at Leron. ''Since your side is employing a Rank 2 ss holder to make sure I die from this duel¡­''


    ''Then I guess there''s no problem with me going all out.''


    ¡­


    "With hisbat expertise being the way of the dagger, to your left is the representative of the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, Leron Enelron!" Gesturing to Leron as the announcer introduced him, a wave of cheers erupted from the audience, which prompted the aura Leron was radiating to gradually increase in intensity in response to the support the audience showed.


    "And to your right is a man that I''m sure a great portion of the audience already knows through his various feats." After allowing the apuse for Leron to die down, the announcer then gestured to Valyr as he introduced thetter. "If you don''t know of his identity as an instructor in our own Clossbay City''s Combat Training Hall, then I''m sure you''ve heard of him as a Combat Elite, a title only those with great levels of experience could achieve at higher ranks. However, unlike those other people, he became a Combat Elite at Rank 1!"


    "Aside from his superbbat prowess and his proficiency in the way of the spear, he''s also a capable cksmith in his own right, being recognized by the cksmith Guild as an Elite Member. This man is none other than the owner of the Crimson Forge, the man of many great talents, Valyr Zeihardt!"


    "Woooo!!!" Unsurprisingly, with the announcer introducing Valyr through the multiple feats he had achieved within the Clossbay, the audience went into a far louder uproar whenpared to their reaction to Leron''s introduction. In response to the cacophony that greeted him, Valyr took off his helmet for a brief moment before waving at everyone with a smile, thanking them for supporting him through this gesture of his.


    While Valyr was waving at the audience, Leron furrowed his brows in slight annoyance as a faint killing intent briefly radiated off of him. Though, before Valyr could even sense this killing intent from Leron, thetter had already suppressed it as his expression returned to normal. ''I''m up against a hotshot, huh. I guess it sucks to be you.''


    ''After all, with me around, your journey ends here.''


    After Valyr put his helmet back on as the audience''s excitement died down, the announcer informed the two to distance themselves from each other even more, stopping both of them once the gap between them spanned over 10 meters.


    Nodding in satisfaction, the announcer then distanced himself from the two as he introduced the format of the fight to the audience. "As this is a life and death duel, only when one side dies would the remaining side be deemed the victor. However, one side could also choose to surrender in the middle of the fight, though their fate would be up to the winner."


    "In any case, anything goes in this fight, so feel free to go all out."


    "Are you two ready?" Posing this question to the two, the announcer nodded back once the two confirmed to him that they were ready to start the duel. Distancing himself even more from the two as he gave them enough space to move around, his voice eventually resounded throughout the coliseum once more.


    "Since both of you are ready, let the duel¡­"


    "Begin!"

 Chapter 237 Predator And Prey

    Whoosh!


    Amidst the ecstatic cheering of the audience, Leron and Valyr charged at each other at the greatest speed they could muster. However, with his superior AGI stat, Leron was able to get the first move in, brandishing his daggers in a cross pattern.


    Fortunately, Valyr was able to halt his momentum at the veryst moment, leaning backward to barely dodge the two daggers. Though he had armor covering most of his body, due to the fact that it was light armor, and the fact that Leron had triple digits in his STR stat, he was certain that his armor would be pierced through without a problem, as if Leron''s daggers were a hot knife cutting through butter.


    With that, he retrieved the spear behind his back as Leron continued with his onught of attacks against him, hoping tond at least one of them on Valyr by relying on his high STR and AGI stat. Unfortunately for Leron, even though Valyr wascking somewhat in the AGI stat, he made up for it with his greaterbat experience by dodging all of his opponent''s attacks with the smallest possible movements.


    Of course, this sight did not go unnoticed by the audience, who were left looking at the scene in silence as they wondered whether what they were seeing was a hallucination or not. In fact, even Wells and Arcenne were left at a loss for words as they watched Valyr maneuver his way through the various attacks Leron sent at him from various angles, all of which seemed to be dodged by him without much of a problem.


    Eventually, a question appeared in their minds as they watched Valyr wield his spear in retaliation against one of Leron''s attacks, swatting both of Leron''s daggers away from the man''s body as he made use of the opening he had created.


    ''Is this even the same Valyr that we know?''


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Just as Valyr utilized the entirety of his strength to propel his spear towards his opponent''s chest as best as he could, Leron used the entirety of his strength to bring his daggers in front of the spear''s trajectory, barely blocking the attack in time.


    "Mn?" Though Leron inwardly let out a sigh of relief that he had barely blocked Valyr''s attempt at getting the first strike between him, he also noticed that he had been pushed back a few steps backward from the force behind Valyr''s spear, eliciting a light frown to appear on his face.


    "I won''t let you have your way that easily." Swatting Valyr''s spear away from his vicinity, Leron then moved to his opponent''s nk, attempting tond an attack on the man''s shoulders, failing to do so as Valyr''s spear swatted his daggers away.


    Nevertheless, the man did not relent as he approached Valyr from various angles once more while thinking about the strength Valyr showed in the attack that he barely blocked in time. ''Didn''t they say Valyr is only in the middle of Rank 1?''


    Allowing his muscle memory to take over as he continued to bombard Valyr with attacks, Leron pondered over the question for a bit before eventuallying to a usible conclusion. ''He must have put all of his free points on strength. After all, forging needs a lot of strength in order to be able to shape metal.''


    ''If that''s the case, then shouldn''t his other stats be low? How is he keeping up? Does he have a Rare ss or something?'' Though Leron was curious on what the answer to his question was, the orders that were given to him continued to linger in his mind, which was to end the battle against Valyr as swiftly as possible.


    ng!


    With Leron''s daggers and Valyr''s spear shing against one another, the force behind both attacks pushed both sides away from one another, giving both sides the space they needed in order to n out their next move. Unsurprisingly, with how aggressive one side had been in attacking so far, Leron swiftly made his way where Valyr stood, his speed doubling in the process as he generated a great amount of momentum.


    "[Defense Aura]." Noticing that Leron''s daggers started to glow a faint red, Valyr went ahead and activated one of his defensive buffing skills as assurance in the off chance Leron''s attacknded on him. But of course, he had no ns of getting hit by it.


    "Take this! [Crimson Tempest Cross]!"


    "[Elusive Dash]."


    Whoosh!


    With the gap between the two almost non-existent, Leron swiftly raised both of his daggers before shing down in a cross pattern, leaving a red X in front of him as he thought to himself that Valyr had definitely received a grievous injury from his attack.


    However, amidst his attack, he noticed that there was no resistance to his attack whatsoever, prompting him to take a look in front of him, only to see Valyr standing a couple meters away, giving Leron the feeling that thetter was watching him make a fool of himself.


    "You fucker!" Gritting his teeth beneath the dark fabric, Leron darted towards Valyr once more, employing his superior agility to close the gap between the two of them.


    "[Serpentine Sprint]." In response, Valyr activated the second move he had unlocked from [Serpent Steps Movement Style], which allowed Valyr to do the opposite.


    Unlike [Elusive Dash], which acted as a short-range teleport skill that moved him a few meters away from his original point at most, [Serpentine Sprint] was a buffing skill that greatly increased his movement speed for a certain amount of time.


    With the skill activated, Valyr continued to increase the distance between the two of them, leaving Leron no choice but to chase Valyr down as he employed his superior agility to its limits.


    "You can''t escape, Valyr!" Realizing that it would be difficult for him to close the gap in the short term, Leron decided to resort to taunting. "You''re my prey and you know that!"


    "The fact that you''re running away from me means that you know you can''t beat me! Your silence already tells me what I need to know!" As he said these words, Leron let out a slightly maniacal cackle, which Valyr felt was quite odd. Though, after mulling over the actions and the words Leron had spoken to him so far, he then came to the conclusion that Leron was just showing his original personality.


    ''I don''t know why he decided to hide his personality up to this point¡­''


    ''But this just makes the next part even better.''


    "Silence, huh?" After a bit more running, Valyr decided to respond to Leron''s taunt. "Well, I have been silent for the most part during this duel, so you''re not wrong."


    "But to say that I''m your prey? You''re getting something wrong here." At these words, Valyr decided to stop running, prompting the expression on Leron''s face to turn into a devilish grin as he closed the gap between them within an instant before swiping down with his dagger.


    Whoosh!


    Though Valyr retaliated with his spear in response to the attack, the spear seemed to hit nothing but air in the eyes of the audience. On the other hand, a long diagonal gash appeared on the surface of Valyr''s chestte, eliciting the grin on Leron''s face to be even wider. "Hahahaha! I''m getting something wrong here? You''re the one who''s wrong!"


    "Is that so?" In response to Leron''s words, Valyr pointed down on the floor, prompting the former to wonder why thetter decided to point down all of a sudden. However, once he did, his pupils shrank in fear as a bloodied fingerid there on the ground.


    His bloodied finger.


    Watching as only then did Leron realize what had urred, clutching the hand that had one of its fingers cut off in pain, Valyr let out a slightly malevolent chuckle as he finally went all out, his aura swiftly surpassing Leron''s.


    "As I''ve said earlier, you''re getting something wrong here."


    "After all, you''ve been my prey all this time."

 Chapter 238 A Shadowblades Wrath

    Within the Farraway Coliseum, there existed a special spot in the seating area that was reserved for those with high authority, being a private room that allowed those within it to be able to get what was considered the best view of the battleground.


    Normally, the people that would usually be invited to this special spot would be visiting high-ranking nobles from faraway cities, or perhaps even the rulers of cities and kingdoms themselves. However, at this moment, two men stood within this private room, with one being older than the other, yet both having simr facial features.


    "As expected of my brother!" As the two watched the duel between Leron and Valyr unfold from the private room, Luke turned his head to the man beside him, showering thetter with praise as a wide grin adorned his face. "Not only did you find a fighter that''s willing to fight against him, you even found someone that''s an entire ss rank above him!"


    "Just so you know, this situation you see in front of youes at a great cost." As the man watched Leron bombard Valyr with an incessant barrage of attacks, only for thetter to start running around the battleground not long after, the man opened his mouth as he looked back at Luke. "After this, you better make sure you stay put in the forging emporium and curry favors with everyone there. Got it?"


    "You don''t have to worry about a thing, Lucas." His expression carefree, Luke responded to his brother''s words with a nonchnt wave as he let out a light chuckle. "Since you''ve helped me exact my revenge on this thorn to the emporium, staying put and helping our influence within the emporium is the least I can do."


    "You better." Lucas looked back at him with a solemn expression. "If not because of your shenanigans, I wouldn''t have sacrificed one of my men out on the battleground to possibly die for your cause."


    "Trust in me for once, Lucas," replied Luke as he shifted his gaze back to the battleground. "Since I said I''ll stay put in the forging emporium after this, then I''ll stay p¡ª?!"


    With his mouth wide agape as he was left at a loss for words, Luke witnessed as to how Valyr swiftly turned the tables around, cutting off one of Leron''s fingers thanks to an unexpected move.


    As he watched Leron cry out in pain from having one of his fingers cut off, the anger that had subsided ever since the duel begin now came back with even greater fervor, with only his rationality stopping him from heading out to the battleground and fighting against Valyr on his own.


    "Well, that''s a slight nuisance." Naturally, Lucas witnessed the scene unfold before him as well, causing a frown to appear on his face as he looked at his brother, who currently an extremely incensed expression.


    "Brother¡­" Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Luke looked at his brother beside him, his tone stillced with hints of anger. "Is there any way we could end this duel and kill Valyr for good?"


    "Patience, Luke," Lucas said to him, causing thetter''s fury to burst out for a bit in response. However, this brief show of fury was quickly contained as Lucas put great pressure on Luke''s body through his aura, forcing thetter to calm down. "Then again, I was already expecting you to burst out in a fit of rage."


    Watching as small wisps of dark energy started to emanate out of Leron''s body, a light smirk eventually crept up on Lucas'' lips as he removed the pressure pushing down on Luke, allowing thetter to finally breathe freely once more.


    "Now, my younger brother. Be patient and watch the duel unfold before you." Pointing at Leron, the smirk on Lucas'' face turned into a grin. "You thought Leron was already giving it his all?"


    "He''s just getting started."


    ¡­


    Sucking in cold air through his teeth, Leron endured the throbbing pain he felt from getting one of his fingers cut off, grimacing as he took off the dark fabric covering his face with his still good hand. Then, through skillful maneuvering of both hands, he tied a tight knot around where the finger that was cut off originally was, stopping all blood from flowing through that area.


    "I was initially nning to just toy around with you and kill you off with one swift blow¡­" Taking in a deep breath, Leron red at Valyr straight in the eyes of multiple wisps of dark energy started to emanate out of his body. "But since you decided to do what you did¡­"


    "No more games."


    Whoosh!


    Allowing the dark energy around him to converge towards his two daggers, Leron lunged forward at far greater speeds than ever before, his daggers containing far greater strength in them as Valyr hastily activated [Elusive Dash] to dodge the daggers that seemed to be more dangerous than ever before.


    "Gah!" However, as if his opponent was already prepared for Valyr disappearing from his vicinity, a de made out of dark energy manifested out of thin air before attacking Valyr in the back, piercing through his light armor before digging into his skin.


    "Ngh!" Not long after, more and more des of dark energy appeared behind Valyr, all of them embedding themselves into Valyr''s skin through the chestte he wore. Enduring the waves of pain that radiated from each de digging into his skin, Valyr swiftly noticed that Leron''s shadow had taken on an elongated shape, extending itself behind Valyr''s back.


    Realizing that Leron''s weird shadow was the reason why there were multiple des of dark energy on his back, Valyr employed [Elusive Dash] once more to increase the distance between the two of them, prompting the des of dark energy on his back to disappear as it lost contact with the opponent it was dealing damage to.


    ''I already found out that he was an Adept Shadowde, but here I am, forgetting that he had skills of that ss to use.'' Frowning as he continued to distance himself from Leron, Valyr inwardly admonished himself for allowing his confidence to get the better of him. ''I let myself be fooled with his speedy dagger attacks.''


    ''Not anymore. I won''t fall for it again.'' Though, just as he decided to take the duel more seriously than before, Leron, who he had been watching all this time to see if he would make a move, disappear from his field of vision all of a sudden, prompting Valyr to look around the battleground to find the man''s whereabouts.


    Whoosh!


    However, this search was quickly stopped as the man he was looking for appeared in front of him, swiftly plunging both daggers into Valyr''s shoulders as a malevolent grin crept up on Leron''s face.


    "Where are you looking at?"

 Chapter 239 Retaliation

    "Argh!!!" Naturally, Valyr let out a cry of pain in response to Leron''s daggers plunging into both of his shoulders.


    With a malevolent grin still adorning his face, Leron applied more strength onto both daggers, allowing both of them to dig deeper as he added insult to injury by bombarding Valyr''s back once more with des upon des of dark energy.


    "Enough!" Feeling that the pain he felt was somewhat bing overwhelming, Valyr hastily ducked down, removing both of Leron''s daggers from his shoulders before activating [Elusive Dash], only to activate [Serpentine Sprint] after that. With him being free from Leron''s clutches, he went ahead and activated [Inferior Heal], healing all of the health he had lost from Leron''s attacks thus far.


    "Let me ask you once more. Where are you going?" Unfortunately, even though he had healed all of the damage Leron dealt to him, his opponent appeared in front of him yet again, infusing his daggers with the dark energy before shing down in a cross pattern,nding a ferocious attack that pierced through the front of Valyr''s chestte.


    ng!


    Though he could block and deflect Leron''s attacks with his spear earlier, even with the significant difference in strength and agility between them, with the inclusion of the dark energy Leron had summoned, even blocking an attack from him was next to impossible.


    With great strength propelling the attack Leron dealt, Valyr was sent flying for a couple meters,nding on his back with a thud as he felt Leron''s presence get closer to him. Then, without even giving Valyr the choice to stand up, Leron shed out all over Valyr''s body in a frenzy, the dark energy still infused within the daggers he held.


    ng! ng! ng!


    As sounds of colliding metal reverberated through the silent battleground, the light armor Valyr wore was gradually being stripped off with every attack, revealing the clothes that he wore underneath. Naturally, parts of his clothes were stripped off, revealing skin that gradually became more and more red with each consecutive attack.


    "Ngh!" Allowing Leron tond attack after attack on his body as more and more of his armor became damaged thanks to it, Valyr eventually found the opening he needed to break his opponent''s rhythm, mustering all of the strength within his body as he swung his spear in a wide arc, meeting against Leron''s daggers in the middle as both of Leron''s arms were sent flying back.


    "[Elusive Dash]!"


    Whoosh!


    Hastily standing up while Leron was in the midst of regaining control over his daggers, Valyr swiftly put distance between him and Leron with a single [Elusive Dash], taking the time to activate [Inferior Heal] to recover the health that he had lost thanks to his opponent yet again.


    ''It''s only the first time I''ve worn this Half Wyvern Armor, but it''s already worse for wear.'' As a bitter smile appeared on his face, Valyr assessed the damage Leron had dealt to the Half Wyvern Armor he was wearing, noticing that most of the damage was concentrated around the chestte, with the front filled to the brim with both shallow and deepcerations, while the back of the chestte was covered to the brim with holes.


    Speaking of holes, the pauldrons he wore hadrge ones due to the sneak attack Leron had employed earlier. Aside from that, the other parts that made up his armor were more or less in the same state, being somewhat covered inyers uponyers of shallow cuts and deepcerations.


    ''In any case, this armor is seriously doing its job.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr watched as Leron appeared before him once more, the grin on his face now devilish rather than malevolent. Soon after, hended a flurry of attacks on Valyr''s body with the dagger, all with the intent of dealing as much damage to him as possible in order to render him dead.


    Though Valyr reacted to his attacks the same way as before, grimacing and letting out cries of pain with every attack, it was only then did Leron notice that Valyr had received a great amount of attacks from him already, yet his opponent still seemed to be brimming with vigor.


    Fortunately, a swift look above Valyr''s head was enough for him to answer this curiosity of his, though the sight left a question lingering his mind.


    ''What kind of armor does Valyr have?''


    ''-2''


    ''-1''


    ''-3''


    ''-2''


    Acting as a stark contrast to the incessant amount of attacks Leronnded on Valyr''s body in the hopes of killing him, each attack only dealt damage in the single digits to his opponent, making it seem to the audience that he was just intentionally toying around with Valyr.


    Nevertheless, now that he knew that each of his attacks only dealt minuscule damage to Valyr at most, Leron swiftly adjusted the way he adjusted, increasing the speed at which hended attacks on Valyr as he infused both his daggers and himself with the dark energy surrounding him.


    Not long after, the des of dark energy made another appearance as they dug into Valyr''s back, only for another batch of dark energy des to appear in front of Valyr as the man eventually gradually turned into a gruesome human porcupine of sorts.


    Feeling great delight in the fact that he had inflicted an incredible amount of pain to his opponent, Leron eventually decided to end it once and for all, taking a look at the man before him whose body and armor was covered in a thinyer of crimson.


    "You know, it''s been a while since I''vee across an opponent like you," said Leron, watching as Valyr slowly moved the tip of his spear towards him, only to put his pointer finger at the tip of it to stop it from moving any further.


    "In any case, your only fate at this point is to die by my hands." Pushing Valyr''s spear downwards, Leron retrieved one of his daggers before posing a question to the man. "Before I do just that, I have onest question to ask you. Something that''s been bothering since earlier."


    "Whose prey is whose again?" As these words came out of his mouth, Leron let out a maniacal cackle. However, this cackle was swiftly interrupted as he noticed Valyr starting to lean towards his left, a light grin adorning his opponent''s face.


    Just as he wondered why his field of vision started to change all of a sudden, it was only then did he realize¡­


    He was falling on his side.


    "Whose prey is whose?" Valyr said as Leron was in the midst of falling, as if he had been waiting to say these words all this time. "As if it had ever changed at all."


    "You''ve always been my prey, Leron."


    Bang!

 Chapter 240 Final Hit

    As the audience witnessed Leron overwhelm Valyr by bombarding thetter with a flurry of attacks made out of dark energy, worry was written all over a great portion of the audience''s faces as Valyr''s pained cries resounded throughout the coliseum.


    Unsurprisingly, the regr customers of Valyr''s smithy, as well as Arcenne and Wells, had even more unsightly expressions on their faces, feeling each hit thatnded on Valyr''s body as the worry on their faces became more and more obvious.


    To them, the current duel had transformed into nothing more than a one-sided beating, with the only hit Valyr was able tond on Leron being the finger he cut off. On the other hand, Valyr gradually became more bloodied thanks to Leron''s relentless attacks, some of them shallow, some of them digging deeper into Valyr''s skin.


    "I have something to ask you. Something that''s been bothering me since earlier." Deciding to finally end it all with a killing blow, Leron pushed down on the spear Valyr had extended towards him as he asked him a question. "Whose prey is whose again?"


    At this moment, some of the regr customers from the Crimson Forge closed their eyes, not wanting to see the owner of the smithy they''ve grown to like to die a merciless and brutal death. As for Arcenne and Wells, their eyes were wide open as they watched the scene before them unfold with bated breaths, hoping that there was a way for Valyr to turn things around.


    And turn things around he did.


    Bang!


    Under the witness of thousands of people within the Farraway Coliseum, the spear Valyr was holding, which was being pushed down by Leron all this time, disappeared for only a brief moment, with Leron oblivious to what the man before him had just done with his spear.


    Then again, he wouldn''t remain clueless for long.


    All of a sudden, Leron started to fall to his right side, his eyes frantically looking around his surroundings in a slight panic to find out what had just happened. Coincidentally, just as he had figured out what was happening, Valyr''s voice resounded throughout the coliseum in response to his earlier question.


    "Whose prey is whose? As if that had even changed at all."


    "You''ve always been my prey, Leron."


    ...


    Thud.


    Silence. Silence consumed the entirety of the coliseum for that brief moment as everyone was left at a loss for words at how easily Valyr had turned the tables around. In their minds, they all thought that his death was imminent under the bombardment of attacks Leron sent his way. But instead...


    "Woooo!!!" Cheers swiftly erupted throughout the coliseum as Valyr remained standing where he was, looking down at his opponent that had just fallen to the ground.


    On the other hand, Leron let out a long wail of pain before gritting his teeth, enduring the pain that crippled his entire body as he looked at Valyr with a gaze that could only be said to hold the epitome of fury.


    After all, his right leg had disappeared without him knowing.


    Bellowing out in anger, Leron summoned all of the dark energy that he had used throughout the duel and congregated it towards where his right leg should have been. Within seconds, this dark energy took on the crude shape of a right leg, allowing Leron to stand up once more.


    ''I guess surpassing 100 points in DEX does have its perks.'' In the meantime, as he gave Leron time topose himself and stand up, Valyr thought about the move he had just used to make Leron''s right leg disappear from existence, inwardly letting out a light chuckle soon after.


    The move that he used was called [Tyrannous Bite], the third move that he unlocked from [Serpent Spear Combat Style]. Unlike [Descending Fang] and [Venomous Strike], which had Valyr follow a certain trajectory for the attack to be effective, [Tyrannous Bite] was an attack that could be shot out in any direction, condensing all of the power behind the attack into a single point, swallowing everything that it touched before making it disappear before their very eyes.


    Such was the case with Leron''s right leg.


    Taking a quick look at how many seconds still remained before [Tyrannous Bite] was off cooldown, Valyr looked back at Leron and asked, "So, wanna risk your life to find out who among us is the true prey?"


    "Die!" Consumed by his rage, Leron lunged forward towards Valyr as he shot dark energy out of the soles of his feet, propelling him forward at great speeds. Then, with the gap between them now non-existent, Leron swung his daggers inward, the dark energy infused into them far greater than before as he aimed to kill Valyr with the energy.


    "[Elusive Dash]!"


    Whoosh!


    However, due to the fact that he had lost his right leg, Leron was unable to showcase the superior agility he had in its fullest, allowing Valyr to dodge the attack with a swift [Elusive Dash], appearing behind Leron just as thetter was looking for his whereabouts.


    "[Tyrannous Bite]!" Then, just as Leron had sensed Valyr''s presence and turned around, Valyr extended his spear out once more, which swiftly made contact with Leron''s left leg.


    Bang!


    Once more, Leron was sent falling to his side as he cried out in pain. However, unlike before, where he allowed his body to fallpletely to the ground, he hastily summoned more dark energy towards where his left leg originally was, forming another crude leg out of the energy once more as he stabilized himself.


    "I wonder... how much of that energy do you still have to rece parts of your body?" Though Valyr was covered from head to toe in his own blood, with parts of his armor being soaked in it as well, he knew that he had dealt far more grievous damage to Leron, taunting thetter with his words.


    "[Shadow Immtion]!'' In response to the taunt, a great wave of dark energy burst out of Leron''s body before enveloping it, causing the aura he was radiating all this time to reach a higher level of intensity.


    To those in the audience, it seemed as though Leron had brought out his trump card, giving off the feeling that he was not going to hold back anymore to end the duel once and for all.


    But to Valyr, who still had a plethora of skills he had not shown to the audience yet, as well as the fact that the damage he rued was surface level at most, Leron activating his skill seemed more like ast-ditch effort to him.


    As if he didn''t want the audience to think that he died doing nothing.


    "Since you''re going all out, I should respond in kind." Dodging the attacks Leron sent out at him in wanton, Valyr went ahead and activated all of the offensive buffing skills he had in his arsenal.


    "[Offense Aura]!"


    "[Robust Arms]!"


    "[Crimson ze]!"


    Bang!


    Catching Leron unaware with a crimson fireball to the face, Valyr swiftly closed the gap between them before activating two more skills in session.


    "[Descending Fang]!"


    "[Venomous Strike]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Before Leron could even react to the two attacks Valyr sent, both of his arms were swiftly cut off by each skill, showing the audience a far more gruesome sight than what Valyr had done through [Tyrannous Bite].


    Surprisingly, the audience was in an uproar at this moment, cheering on for Valyr tond even more devastating blows on his opponent.


    On the other hand, with all of his limbs now effectively cut off from his body, it was only did Valyr''s earlier words to him echoed in his mind, realizing that the man''s words wasn''t a baseless usation.


    ? He had the means to do so.


    With this realization sinking in, Leron stood frozen in ce as Valyr stepped closer, a light smirk adorning his face. "Only now did you realize, huh?


    "Too bad. There''s no prize for figuring it out."


    "I surre--!" Not wanting to give Valyr the satisfaction of having thestugh, Leron''s voice resounded throughout the coliseum, showing his intentions to surrender. Unfortunately, before he could even finish his words...


    "[Tyrannous Bite]!"


    Bang!


    At that very instant, Leron''s head disappeared under the witness of the audience as all of the dark energy covering his body gradually disappeared.


    With a thud, Leron''s limbless and headless body fell to the ground, bringing an end to what could be summed up as a bloody and gruesome life and death duel.

 Chapter 241 Turn Of Events

    Within Farraway Coliseum''s special seating area.


    As they watched the duel reach its ultimate conclusion, both Luke and Lucas stood frozen in ce, their mouths agape as they were at a loss for words. After all, in their minds, Leron''s victory was more or less in the bag, considering how his opponent looked like he was only one step short to looking like a monster made out of pure blood.


    But instead, what they thought was an overwhelming advantage Leron held against Valyr was actually nothing but a lie, the tables being swiftly turned on Leron as Valyr brought that advantage to nothing with just one tyrannical move.


    And then, dealing a few more tyrannical moves after that, Valyr gradually cut off Leron''s multiple avenues of retaliation, saving the best for thest, his avenue of escape, the ability to surrender.


    But of course, Valyr removed that as well.


    "What the fuck?! That fucker won?!" With the realization of Leron''s death finally sinking in, the anger Luke felt towards Valyr now surged with even greater intensity. After all, he had suppressed this rage of his twice, once before the duel had even begun, and the second during the time Valyr cut off one of Leron''s fingers.


    "This is unexpected." On the other hand, a deep frown appeared on Lucas'' face as he furrowed his brows, fully confident in the fact that a Rank 2 ss holder would beat a Rank 1 ss holder, which was more or less the way the world worked. However, a man that went against that natural flow stood in the middle of the battleground, with the audience loudly cheering on for the man''s victory.


    "What next, Lucas? Are we just gonna let that guy leave the coliseum?" Though he was still furious, Luke knew that this rage wasn''t best directed at his brother. Forcefully calming his down, he asked his brother as to what their next n of action was. "He rebelled against the emporium''s actions and even killed one of your men. Are we really going to let that guy get away scot-free?"


    "Don''t add your matters into this mess, you good-for-nothing brother." In response to Luke''s questioning, Lucas looked back at him with a grim expression, putting his younger brother under the pressure of his overwhelming aura. Unsurprisingly, Luke had no way to fight against it, only being at Level 12.


    "However, you''ve definitely got one thing right. He killed one of my men." As these words came out of Lucas'' mouth, he reined in his aura, giving Luke the freedom to breathe in fresh air once more. Taking a brief look at his younger brother, who seemed to be grateful to just be able to breathe again, Lucas turned around and made his way out of the private room.


    "Where are you going, brother?" Luke asked just as Lucas had opened the door. In response, Lucas looked back at him for a bit before leaving Luke on his own, but not before leaving his younger brother with a few words.


    "Just going to take care of a few matters with my own hands."


    ¡­


    As the cheers of the audience resounded throughout the coliseum to dere the life and death duel''s ultimate winner, Valyr basked in the glory of this victory, only his body to turn limp as he fell to the ground on his back. Naturally, the audience went silent at this sight, slightly panicking at what had caused Valyr to fall to the ground all of a sudden.


    However, once they heard a light chuckle escape the man''s mouth, all of them inwardly let out a sigh of relief before continuing to cheer for Valyr''s victory once more.


    "Who knew tanking hits takes a lot more out of you than dishing them out?" Valyr muttered to himself, taking in a deep breath before deciding to take a look at the current state of his body. "I should reward myself with a long shower after this. But for now¡­"


    "[Inferior Heal]."


    Activating his one and only healing skill, all of the wounds he had rued from Leron''s bombardment of attacks thus far were swiftly patched up, quickly returning his health to full bar. Taking in a few more deep breaths, Valyr stood up once more, bitterly smiling as he made a mental note to repair his Half Wyvern Armor once he got hometer.


    "What a fight it has been, don''t you think?" Though, just as Valyr was about to head through the gates to leave the coliseum and head back to the smithy, the announcer from earlier appeared before him out of nowhere, thetter''s voice echoing throughout the coliseum once more.


    "Even though his opponentsnded hundreds to thousands of attacks on his body, Valyr was able to endure to the bitter end before swiftly turning the tables around, ending his opponent''s life for good within just a few tyrannical moves!"


    "With that, I am proud to announce to everyone witnessing this event today¡­ that Valyr Zeihardt is the winner of today''s life and death duel!"


    Once more, the people that were able to witness Valyr achieve victory firsthand cheered on for him, with Arcenne and Wells being some of the few people that cheered the loudest for him.


    However, just as everyone thought that all of them would return to their normal lives after this, a group of people in guard uniforms appeared at the battleground all of a sudden, asking the announcer to move back or else he would also be implicated into what was going to happen next.


    Unsurprisingly, the announcer''s expression became awry as he faintly understood what was going on, shing an apologetic expression towards Valyr before turning tail and leaving thetter on his own.


    On the other hand, Valyr remain standing where he was, watching as these people surrounded him before unsheathing their des.


    Ding!


    Then, as a notification sound resounded in his mind, these men then extended their des at him as one of the men''s voices resounded throughout the coliseum soon after.


    "Valyr Zeihardt¡­"


    "You are under arrest!"

 Chapter 242 Another Turn Of Events

    "What?!" As those in the audience heard what one of the guards said to Valyr, everyone was left at a loss for words, their expressions ranging from fear to shock as some of them started to murmur as to what was going on. Of course, Arcenne and Wells were no exception to this, with shock being written all over their faces.


    "Did Valyr break thew or something after he came to the city?" Looking at the woman beside him, Wells posed a question to her.


    In response, Arcenne shook her head. "As far as I know, he hasn''t broken anyws within the city at all. Did hemit crime beforeing to the city?"


    "I''m certain he didn''t." Wells shook his head as well. "If that''s the case, why is he being arrested by the city guards all of a sudden?"


    "I have no clue." Arcenne shrugged her shoulders before letting out a sigh. With a worried expression on his face, she looked at what was unfolding on the battleground for a bit before determination started to ze within her eyes.


    "Either way¡­" Looking back at Wells, who seemed to havee to the same conclusion as her, both Arcenne and him nodded at each other as they voiced out their thoughts out loud where only the two of them could hear.


    "We need to help Valyr get out of this mess."


    ¡­


    As Valyr listened to the words one of the guards had spoken, the gears in Valyr''s mind swiftly started to turn, going through all of the things he had done so far which could be considered as grounds for arrest. ''I should probably focus on the things I''ve done in the city since it''s most likely that these guards here are from the city itself.''


    With that in mind, he was able to swiftly narrow down the possible reasons for the current situation unfolding to just a couple of incidents. ''The first thing thates to mind would be the operations Tryndall and I did in order to make headway in the Clossbay Killer incident. Now that I think about it, the time when we apprehended the suspects could be grounds for arrest, but we made sure that no other person was nearby to catch us in the act.''


    ''Aside from that, there''s also that incident with the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, where I basically embedded those people into the front wall of the building opposite mine.'' Recalling the event that had transpired just recently, Valyr remembered how he profusely apologized to the owner of the building opposite his, even going so far as to give the owner money to repair the damages he had caused to the building.


    Lightly frowning, he continued his train of thought. ''But then again, none of the guards showed up during that time, meaning that it couldn''t be the reason why this is happening. Unless¡­''


    ''The guards and the Hekaetos Forging Emporium are working together in some way.'' Pondering over this new idea, Valyr eventually thought that there was merit to it, considering how the forging emporium had forced him to ept a life and death duel after he rejected their request to a forging duel. With how the opponent he fought had died under his hands, it wouldn''t be surprising for the emporium to take things up a notch.


    ''Then, there''s a chance that the third party meddling into this matter is actually the city guards.'' Deciding to see if his hypothesis was true, Valyr took in a deep breath before asking the guards surrounding him a question.


    "On what basis are you arresting me for?"


    "On the basis of murder." Just as one of the guards was about to open their mouth to respond, a figure appeared on the battleground all of a sudden, gradually making his way to where Valyr and the guards were.


    Though he was not in the clothing of the city guards, the imposing aura he radiated was simr to that of the city guards, prompting a light frown to appear on his face as he felt that his hypothesis was more and more correct by the second.


    "In front of all these people in the coliseum, you engaged in the act of murder, brutally and mercilessly killing an innocent man." As these words came out of the man''s mouth, the frown on Valyr''s face became deeper as he asked the man a question soon after.


    "Who are you?"


    "Lucas Hekaetos," the man replied with a solemn expression. "Leader of the Clossbay City Guards."


    ''Hekaetos¡­ so, they really are the third party.'' With Valyr continuing to remain silent in front of Lucas and the other guards, he checked the notification he had received from the system, knowing that they came from the sudden quest he had received before the duel.


    [You have received 50,000 XP.]


    [You have gained additional information regarding one of your ongoing quests.]


    [The mastermind of the whole operation has something to do with the city guards.]


    ''I''m guessing this man has something to do with the Clossbay Killer incident as well.'' Mentally noting to send this information to Tryndall after everything was sorted, Valyr decided to respond to Lucas'' im.


    "As leader of the city guards, I''m sure you know that this is no act of murder, but instead the oue of a life and death duel." Valyr looked at Lucas. "Both sides fought, knowing that either side could die under the opposing side''s hands at any moment."


    "Oh, I know the rules of a life and death duel very well." Lucas nodded. "However, have you ever checked if the life and death duel you''ve just participated in was permitted by the city itself?"


    At that moment, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as a light smirk adorned Lucas'' face. "I was told that the request for the duel was already given the go signal by the city."


    "But did you certify if that im was true or not?" Listening to Valyr''s words, Lucas lightly shook his head as a smirk was stered on its face. "Though I could absolve you of your charges on the basis that you had no clue to this fact, we still have to detain you for a while in the city prison to make sure you don''t do anything rash."


    At these words, the guards surrounding Valyr told the man to start heading towards one of the gates as the audience in the coliseum continued to murmur about what was going. However, just as the group started to move, two figures appeared on the battleground out of nowhere as they made a mad dash towards Valyr.


    "Now wait just a second!"

 Chapter 243 Yet Another Turn Of Events

    As those words echoed throughout the coliseum, a great portion of the audience stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of the origin of the voice. After realizing whose voice that was, a few people in the audience let out light gasps, surprised that such people were willing to jump away from the seating area and head straight to where Valyr and the guards were.


    As a frown adorned Lucas'' face as he watched two figures from the seating area make their way to where they were, aposed smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he watched the two figures moved closer. Nevertheless, he was inwardly filled with worry for the two, even though he appreciated their gesture.


    "Are you two going to bar the city guards from carrying out their duties to detain this person?" Lucas shifted his gaze to the two that had appeared before them, his expression solemn. "If so, then we would have to detain you two as well on the count of hampering the city guards'' duty."


    "We won''t." In response to Lucas'' words, Arcenne lightly shook her head. "Instead, we just wanted to ask if there was a way for Valyr to not have to go to prison."


    "There is none." Lucas shook his head. "Though he had no clue that the life and death duel he had participated in was not permitted by the city, he stillmitted murder nevertheless. That alone is more than enough reason for him to be detained."


    "And here I thought I wouldn''t have to resort to doing this." Letting out a low sigh, Arcenne took in a deep breath before releasing her aura in its entirety, allowing the guards, Valyr, as well as the entire audience to feel the air of nobility emanating from her. "As a Countess of the Aste Region, I, Arcenne Stelyra, order you to free Valyr right this instant. He shall be under my supervision after this, so you don''t have to worry about him wreaking havoc in the city."


    "So it''s actually Countess Stelyra." Finally realizing who one of the two figures were, Lucas gave Arcenne a respectful bow as a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Even though I would be willing to grant any of your other requests, this request of yours is somewhat difficult to fulfill as this involves the safety of the city."


    "In front of two nobles? Really?" In response to Lucas'' words, Wells allowed his aura to cover the entire battleground. Though it was weaker in terms of intensity due to his inferior strength, the nobility it gave off was only slightly inferior to Arcenne''s. "As a Viscount of the Aste Region, I, Wells Anadhar, order you to free Valyr right this instant."


    As those words escaped Wells'' mouth, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise. Though he knew that his friend was from a noble family, he expected the man''s rank to be around the Lord or Bar level at most. Never in his wildest dreams did he think his friend was a Viscount.


    Naturally, Arcenne was left surprised as well, thinking all this time that Wells was just a friend that Valyr made while he was in the vige he stayed in. Of course, that part was true since Valyr and Wells met each other back at Astarto Vige. However, she thought that Wells wasn''t of nobility at all, which made his reveal of being a Viscount all the more surprising to her.


    On the other hand, a frown appeared once more on Lucas'' face after Wells revealed himself to be a Viscount. It was still okay for him to decline the request of a single noble since he had ways topensate them for the rejection. However, dealing with two nobles or more that requested the same thing was a different story.


    After all, if he failed to appease all of the nobles, then the reputation of the city guards, as well as the city itself would swiftly disappear.


    But of course, Lucas had other reasons as to why he wanted to detain Valyr in prison, so he remained adamant in not giving him to the two nobles. "I sincerely apologize for not being able to agree to your requests. As I''ve said earlier, this request of yours is difficult to fulfill since it involves the safety of the city."


    "What if I were to make the request?" Out of nowhere, another voice resounded throughout the coliseum, prompting everyone on the battleground to turn their heads in the direction of the voice''s origin. With that, everyone was greeted by the sight of a five man group that radiated imposing yet regal auras, all of them wearing light gray te armor.


    "Let me ask you once again. If I were to make the request, would you set Valyr free?" Looking at Lucas, the man at the very front of the five man group posed the question to him once more, causing the frown on Lucas'' face to deepen.


    "And you are?" Though he had a feeling that the man at the front of the group was highly likely to be a noble as well, Lucas thought that the man would only be around the same level as Arcenne at most, with the other four people apanying the man possibly being nobles as well.


    However, once the man started to talk, it was only then did he find out that he was incredibly and utterly wrong.


    "Braum dios, Marquis of the Aste Region," the man said in response to Lucas'' question before shifting his gaze to the four people behind him. "Behind me are Neia, Paul, Tyrst, and Madeline, the lowest rank of nobility among them being Earl."


    After that, as if the words he had just spoken to Lucas weren''t enough to persuade thetter to giving Valyr to the five man group, Braum brought out a piece of parchment out of his pocket before unfurling it, allowing Arcenne, Wells, Valyr, Lucas, and the guards to read what was written on it.


    "Just like the two nobles before you, we request that you free Valyr right this instant. However, unlike them, we have a Royal Decree, signed personally by the king of the Algerie Kingdom, that states that we have been tasked by the kingdom itself to bring Valyr to the kingdom at any cost. You could choose to help us make our lives easier by letting him go, or you could choose to continue withholding his freedom from us."


    "However, be prepared to face the consequences thate along with such a choice." As Braum said these words, he released his aura in full swing, the strength emanating from his body far greater than what Arcenne gave off, making it seem as if Arcenne was just a firefly standing in front of the sun.


    "Now then."


    "What shall you choose?"

 Chapter 244 Yet Another Turn Of Events Once More

    As everyone throughout the coliseum listened on to the conversation that was unfolding on the battleground, incredulous expressions could be seen on most of the audience with their mouths agape. At this moment, their attention was focused on the person that seemed to be at the center of it all.


    In fact, Arcenne and Wells felt great surprise at how the current event unfolded as well. To them, they were certain that Valyr only knew of them as the two nobles that could possibly help him escape detainment. Yet, out of nowhere, five nobles, with the lowest rank among them being one level above Wells, appeared on the battleground to save Valyr from his predicament.


    With that in mind, they reevaluated their understanding of Valyr, as well as wondered how far Valyr''s connections stretched out. However, what they didn''t know¡­


    Was that Valyr hadn''t expected their appearance either.


    Nevertheless, from the words Braum had spoken to Lucas, it did not take long for him to figure out what was going on. With a faint smile appearing on his face, Valyr inwardly thanked Arcenne''s father for informing him of one possibility, something that was now a certainty as there was proof of it in front of him.


    ''I guess the Imperial Production Guild really was on the lookout for me.'' Inwardly chuckling at how timely the appearance of Braum and his group was, he then shifted his gaze to Lucas, whose frown appeared as if it could reach the ground at any moment due to how deep it was.


    ''I wonder what decision he''s gonna make.''


    Of course, Lucas already knew what decision he needed to make. After all, he wasn''t fighting against the wishes of two nobles anymore. Even if only one person spoke on behalf of the group of five that came, making the total number of nobles he was fighting against three, Lucas knew that this number was actually seven, with the people behind the man giving off the feeling that they would support the man''s decisions no matter what.


    ''To think he''d even be acquainted with nobles from the Algerie Kingdom. What kind of connections does this guy even have?'' Nevertheless, with how Valyr knew a lot regarding some certain matters that fell under his control, Lucas knew that letting him go would just make things worse for him. ''I know he''s part of the Zeihardt n, but am I wrong to think that he''s just part of one of their branch ns?''


    ''In any case, unlike that other guy, his background is nothing to talk about.''


    ''He already knows too much.''


    Inwardly letting out a long sigh as he knew that going against a Royal Decree was a moronic decision, Lucas looked at Braum with a bitter smile before opening his mouth. "I choose to keep him here in the city and detain him in prison for the meantime. His actions put the city''s safety in jeopardy, after all."


    "Does that mean you''re doubting the authenticity of this Royal Decree, then?" In response, a frown appeared on Braum''s face as the aura he emanated slightly increased in intensity, focusing part of it towards Lucas to put pressure on thetter.


    "Not at all." Lucas shook his head as he wiped off the cold sweat that dripped from his forehead. Naturally, he knew that he was in the wrong for going against the wishes of someone who held a Royal Decree, especially a Royal Decree from the kingdom that had jurisdiction over the entire region where the city was located.


    But even with that, he remained adamant in keeping Valyr in the city for the meantime, lest others find out from thetter information regarding a certain incident. "I just think we would do a better job in making sure that Valyr doesn''t do inflict any more harm to other innocent people."


    "Is that so? You really think you can do a better job?" Listening to what Lucas had to say, Braum scoffed in response before releasing his aura to its utmost limits, with the four behind him releasing their auras in entirety as well. Within seconds, everyone in the audience felt like they were being pressed down to the ground by five people at once, causing some of them to faint from the overwhelming pressure being generated by their auras.


    Even those at the battleground weren''t spared from this, with Arcenne frowning as she did her utmost tobat against the pressure. Wells and Valyr were more or less in the same boat, relying on sheer willpower and the power they had in their bodies to fight against the pressure as much as possible.


    As for Lucas and the guards, they took on the brunt of the pressure from the five, causing all of the guards surrounding Valyr to fall unconscious as their bodies and minds could not endure the pressure any further. Even Lucas, who was considerably strong in his own right, gritted his teeth as he tried his best to not be overwhelmed by the auras they exuded.


    "Still standing, huh?" Still feeling greatly offended at the answer Lucas gave him earlier, Braum decided to take his aura up a notch, tapping into a specific power as his aura soon gave off the feeling that the world was helping him, even though that was feeling was incredibly minute. Nevertheless, those in the audience who were more knowledgeable let out gasps of shock, their eyes wide as they inwardly thanked the heavens for being a witness to a special being.


    Even Arcenne and Wells sensed this feeling Braum gave off, their expressions turning solemn as they looked at each other for a bit before shifting their gazes towards Valyr. Though they wanted to ask him a question at this instant, due to the pressure the group of five were giving off, especially Braum, even remaining conscious was proving to be difficult.


    Naturally, Valyr took note of the aura Braum gave off as well, his eyes slightly widening in surprise as he recalled experiencing an aura simr to what Braum gave off back then. Afterparing the aura he was experiencing right now to the aura he felt back then, Valyr eventually became certain that Braum was one of those people.


    People who already took a step to bing a Legend before even reaching Rank 5.


    The Epics.

 Chapter 245 An Epic Resolution

    Simr to Legends and Myths, Epics had a level of authority regarding a certain element of the world due to their great understanding of it. However, unlike Legends, who had partial authority due to that understanding, and Myths, who had full authority, the level of authority that Epics had due to their understanding could be said as nothing substantial whenpared to the former two.


    If the level of authority the three had were interpreted in numbers, Myths would get the number 100, while Legends would have a number that spanned between 5 and 25, showing that there was a ton of improvement one could hope to achieve even after bing a Legend. Nevertheless, even a Legend with the lowest number in that range could thrash any peak Rank 5, even multiple of them at once thanks to them still being partly supported by the world.


    Now, one might wonder at this point: what number would represent the level of authority an Epic had over the element of the world they greatly understood? While pondering over this question, one would be inclined to think that it would be represented by the number 1 at the very least.


    However, the scope of their authority Epics had weren''t even anywhere near reaching that number.


    Among the Epics, the worst among them would have their level of authority be represented by the number 0.01. On the other hand, the strongest among them would be represented by the number 0.5, exactly 10 times smaller than what even the weakest Legend could attain.


    Then again, that representation wasn''t without good reason.


    After all, unlike Legends, who were undoubtedly at the peak of Rank 5, and Myths, who had broken through to the next rank¡­


    Epics could appear as early as Rank 3. There was no need for them to even reach the peak of Rank 3 to be one, unlike bing a Legend.


    Of course, all three of them relied on immense amounts ofprehension regarding a certain element, may that element be a tangible concept or not. However, the level ofprehension they''ve attained would dictate what level of authority they had.


    For Epics, the understanding they had regarding a certain element only allowed them to form an Intent, which was actually considered the starting point for anyone who wanted to be a Legend, and eventually a Myth. In fact, a great portion of people at the Rank 5 would be considered Epics due to them having alreadyprehended their own Intent, with some evenprehending two or more of them at once.


    Then again, the only thing that was stopping them from bing a Legend was their understanding of that Intent.


    After one deepened their understanding of the Intent they had formed, as well as the certain element they had chosen, the Intent would evolve and undergo a qualitative transformation into what was called a Force. And if one were to go one step further and push their Force to its limits?


    They would be able to ascend to Rank 6 and be a Myth as their Force¡­


    Naturally transforms into a Concept.


    ''Even though I''ve already met with Riekan, who''s a Legend, it''s still surprising that I''ve alreadye across an Epic and a Legend even though I haven''t reached the peak of Rank 1 yet.'' Curious as to how the situation would now turn out once Braum had revealed himself as an Epic, Valyr remained silent as he awaited Lucas'' response with an inward smile. ''Then again, I''ll embark that path at some point as well.''


    ''I have to, anyway.''


    ''Valyr even has connections to an Epic?! Come on!'' Being the one who took most of the brunt of the pressure from Braum and the others, Lucas felt the connection Braum with the world the best, prompting his expression to be unsightly as he swiftly came to a conclusion. Although he still wanted to detain Valyr in order to make sure no more slip-ups would happen in the future¡­


    He had to give Valyr to the man or else he would undoubtedly die!


    Gritting his teeth, Lucas looked at Braum with an apologetic smile before trying to speak amidst the pressure weighing down on him. "You¡­ can have him¡­"


    "Took you long enough."


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant Lucas had said those words to Braum, thetter swiftly retracted the aura he had been giving off all this time, with the four behind him following suit not long after. Though the current situation now appeared as if nothing had urred in the first ce, everyone there still remained silent, telling themselves they had just witnessed something special.


    "Let''s leave." Sending an order to the four that had apanied him, Braum moved closer to Valyr and extended a hand to thetter, his demeanor more gentle than how he was while interacting with Lucas.


    Nodding in response, Valyr followed the group of five as they made their way out of the coliseum, with Arcenne and Wells tagging along behind them as multiple questions they wanted to ask Valyr now lingered in their mind. By the time Valyr and the others had disappeared from the coliseum, the audience erupted into cheers once more, celebrating the victory Valyr had achieved against Leron before the whole incident.


    Amidst the audience''s cheers, Lucas took in a few deep breaths before waking up the unconscious guards that surrounded Valyr earlier one by one, with all of them briefly shuddering in fear as they wondered if Braum was still in front of him.


    Quickly finding out that Braum was nowhere to be found, the guards looked at Lucas, who gave them the order that they were to leave the coliseum at this instant and return to their usual tasks.


    Briefly ncing at the limbless and headless corpse that remained on the battleground throughout the entire incident, he let out a low sigh before turning around, making his way towards one of the gates as the guards followed behind him.


    While making his way out, fury started to bubble up within him, recalling how useless he felt in front of an Epic like Braum. However, since the disparity in strength between the two of them simply could not be made up for within mere moments, he redirected this rage to another person instead, the man who knew far more than what he should know, as well as the one who brought in someone who humiliated him in front of thousands of people.


    "This isn''t over, Valyr," muttered Lucas.


    "No matter how long it takes... I''ll find a way to get back at you."

 Chapter 246 Breaking The Ice

    Once out of the coliseum, Valyr and the group swiftly made their way to the Crimson Forge, with none of them talking to each other along the way. Of course, Arcenne and Wells still had the questions they wanted to ask Valyr after what had transpired back in the coliseum, but due to the fact that the group of five tagged along with them, they felt like it wasn''t the right time to ask those questions yet.


    Naturally, Valyr felt the same way as those two, having multiple questions in his mind that he wanted to know the answers to. However, unlike Arcenne and Wells, whose target of questioning was Valyr himself, Valyr''s target were the five people that had, ording to what they told Lucas earlier, appeared to escort Valyr to the Algerie Kingdom.


    Though, with his current appearance being the exact opposite of how one should look like before engaging in a conversation, Valyr apologized to the group of five, as well as to Arcenne and Wells once they arrived at the Crimson Forge, hastily making his way to the bathroom to clean off the blood and dirt that enveloped his entire body with a long and thorough shower.


    Amidst the faint nking of metal that echoed from the living quarters of the smithy, Arcenne, Wells, and the group of five looked at each other for a bit in silence, with the first two wondering which side would take the initiative to break the awkward atmosphere that was forming between them.


    Thankfully, the five decided to focus their attention on the items and equipment that Valyr had put up for sale inside the smithy, perusing the various disy racks that made up the smithy''s storefront as Arcenne and Wells inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    "Do you know any of the five?" Being more or less separated from the five, Wells started a conversation with Arcenne as he asked her a question.


    In response, Arcenne looked at the five for a bit before lightly shaking her head. "The Stelyra n has a lot of connections, so some of the other members might recognize them. However, if you''re asking me, I don''t know any of them."


    "Then again, if there''s one thing I do recognize, it''s the armor that they''re wearing."


    "Does their armor have any significance?" Watching as the five''s eyes glistened with faint excitement from time to time as they continued to browse through the wares Valyr had for sale, Wells posed the question to Arcenne, to which thetter nodded.


    "My father mentioned it to me a few times in the past when he taught me about the variousrge-scale organizations in the region." Hearing Arcenne''s words, Wells lightly nodded. "He told me back then that members of this organization wore armor that looked simple on the outside, yet contained a lot of power when used in its entirety."


    "Assuming that they came from the Algerie Kingdom, considering how they told Lucas earlier that they were tasked to escort Valyr back to the kingdom, they could onlye from that one organization in the kingdom."


    "Is it abat organization?" Wells asked as he felt it was the most logical answer, only to be somewhat surprised when Arcenne shook her head in response.


    "Theye from an organization that specializes in production. Well, to be more exact, theye from thergest ss guild in the region," said Arcenne. "Specifically, the Imperial Production Guild."


    "Of course, I could be wrong in my assumptions." As these words left Arcenne''s mouth, Braum appeared before the two, causing the two to freeze up in ce.


    With a light smile on his face, Braum let out a chuckle. "As expected from a member of the Stelyra n to be knowledgeable. Indeed, wee from the Imperial Production Guild."


    "Lady Arcenne, right?" Hearing the question Braum asked her, Arcenne could only nod in response, still feeling tense as she recalled the might the man before her held.


    Though, that all disappeared once she heard Braum''s next words.


    "It makes all the more sense for you to know about the Imperial Production Guild, then. After all, your father used to be a regr in the guild."


    "You know my father?" With her eyes slightly widened in incredulity, Arcenne instantly forgot the disparity in strength as she proceeded to ask Braum multiple questions about her father. In response to this shift in personality, Braum could only let out a light chuckle.


    And with that, the awkward atmosphere surrounding the two groups gradually disappeared, with Arcenne and Braum finding amon bond through Arcenne''s father. On the other hand, Wells found the one that would break the ice through one of the four that apanied Braum, Tyrst, who found amon bond through their shared dislike of stuck-up nobles.


    However, these conversations eventually came to an end once Valyr got out of the bathroom, changing into a set of clean clothes as he ced the damaged Half Wyvern Armor at the workshop portion of the smithy, making a mental note to repair them once everything was settled.


    Making his way to the seven, Valyr looked at the two sides in silence before his gaze eventuallynded on Arcenne and Wells. "I''m sure you have a lot of questions to ask me."


    "How did youe to know them?" In response, Arcenne and Wells nodded in agreement before Arcenne posed the question to him, eliciting a smirk to appear on Valyr''s face as he replied.


    "That''s the thing. I don''t."


    Naturally, both Arcenne and Wells had confused expressions on their faces once they heard this, looking at each other for a bit before looking back at Valyr to see if he would borate on his words a bit further.


    "I don''t know them. However¡­" Of course, Valyr knew what they wanted to find out. "I know the reason why they came here."


    Hearing these words, the question that instantly popped up in the minds of the two was to ask Valyr this specific reason. However, as if already prepared for that possibility, Valyr opened his mouth before they could ask the question.


    "Arcenne, please thank your father for me." Listening to what Valyr told her, Arcenne went silent for a bit as the gears in her mind started to turn, eventually recalling a certain incident that had transpired between Valyr and her father sometime ago.


    Finally gaining a faint understanding of what was going on, Arcenne lightly nodded in response, prompting the expression on Valyr''s face to turn into that of gratitude. "You could ask your father if you''re curious, though I''ll tell you about itter once we''re done here."


    "Alright." Understanding what Valyr meant by his words, Arcenne thanked Braum for his time and his help in helping Valyr escape detainment before leaving the smithy. After that, Wells looked at Valyr, who looked back at him with a bitter smile.


    "Mind helping me find a cksmith that could help me out in the smithy for the meantime?" As Valyr asked him this question, the gears in Wells'' mind started to turn, finally getting an idea of what was going on as well. With that, he nodded in response, prompting the smile on Valyr''s face to turn genuine.


    "I''ll tell you more about it as well once youe back."


    "Alright. I''ll be back before sunset." Leaving these words for Valyr, Wells thanked Tyrst before bidding farewell to the five, leaving Valyr and the group of five alone on their own not long after.


    Watching Wells'' silhouette gradually disappear from the vicinity of the smithy for a bit, Valyr eventually returned his attention to the five before him, taking in a deep breath as a light smile adorned his face.


    "Before we begin our conversation, mind if you introduce yourselves first?"

 Chapter 247 Invitation

    In response to Valyr''s request, the five looked at each other for a bit, sending a few small strands of mana between one another from time to time as they talked about who should go first. Eventually, the five of them agreed upon an order, prompting the man at the front to let out a light sigh as he muttered, "Do I always have to be the first?"


    "You are our leader, after all," said a young woman at the back in response, lightly chuckling soon after.


    Letting out yet another sigh in response to the young woman''s words, the man at the frontposed himself by taking a few deep breaths before focusing his gaze towards Valyr. "I''m sure you''ve heard me introduce myself before back in the coliseum, but since this is the first time we''ve met each other in a proper setting, let me introduce myself again."


    "My name is Braum dios, a Marquis of the Aste Region, as well as the leader of the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment of the Algerie Kingdom''s Imperial Production Guild." Listening to Braum''s introduction, Valyr was able to confirm that the reason why they hade to the city was indeed the possibility Aster had informed him back then. Nevertheless, he continued to remain silent for now as he listened to the others introduce themselves to him.


    "Neia Starlight. Countess. Member of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment." After Braum was done introducing himself, a woman in herte twenties spoke up, her overall expression giving off the feeling of not enjoying long conversations with other people. Then again, this expressionplemented her dark gray hair and dark gray irises quite well.


    "Name''s Paul Aubrahim. I''m a Marquis of the Aste Region as well, just like Braum. Naturally, I''m also part of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment." After Neia was a man that appeared to be in his early thirties, the aura he radiated filled with the vigor of a man in his prime. Simr to Neia, his hair and eyes were of the same color, being a deep brown.


    "A pleasure to meet you. My name''s Tyrst Aubrahim. Simr to Neia, I''m an Earl of the Aste Region." Beside Paul was the man that introduced himself next, his appearance bearing a few simr facial features to Paul. Of course, Valyr took note of that, causing him to stare at Tyrst in greater detail.


    In response to Valyr''s stare, a light smile appeared on Tyrst''s face as he understood what Valyr wanted to find out. "We''re brothers."


    Nodding in response to Tyrst''s words, Valyr then shifted his gaze to the only person in the group that hadn''t introduced themselves yet, which was a woman in her mid-twenties. Naturally, the woman noticed that and took it as her cue to introduce herself.


    "Nice to meet ya! I''m Madeline Rosendale, and I''m a Countess, soon-to-be Marchioness!" Having blonde hair and jade green eyes, Madeline introduced herself in a way that made apologetic smiles appear on some of the others'' faces as they looked at Valyr. "With us around, you''ll definitely get to Algerie Kingdom a-ok!"


    "d to hear that." In response to the energetic Madeline, Valyr could only smile and nod to her words. Of course, with the five introducing themselves to him, it made sense for him to introduce himself to the five as well.


    "I''m sure that you five probably have an idea as to who I am beforehand since you were tasked to find me, but let me introduce myself."


    With a light smile adorning his face, he opened his mouth. "My name is Valyr Zeihardt, a Knight of the Aste Region. Aside from that, I''m an Elite Member of the cksmith Guild, which I presume is one of the reasons why you''ve been tasked to find me."


    "That would be correct." Though Braum and the others were slightly surprised to find out Valyr already partly knew why they hade to find him, they decided to keep that to themselves since it wasn''t rare for candidates to have a faint idea of why they were being summoned. "We have been tasked to find you, as well as escort you to the Algerie Kingdom due to the kingdom needing your presence."


    "The Four Pirs'' Inheritance, I presume?" At these words, the five could not hide their surprise anymore. After all, ording to what they knew, all of the ones that were chosen to be candidates for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance only found out they were candidates for the inheritance once they arrived at the Imperial Production Guild.


    Yet, here was one such person who already knew he was a candidate.


    "Would it be fine for us to find out how you came to know about your candidacy for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance?" Curious, Braum decided to ask Valyr, causing a smirk to appear on thetter''s face in response.


    "Let''s just say that someone informed me of the possibility," Valyr told Braum and the others. Naturally, the five tried to obtain more information from Valyr regarding the person that had informed him, but Valyr remain tight-lipped all throughout their questioning, leaving the five no choice but to give up on finding out.


    "So, you''re here to safely escort me to the Algerie Kingdom so I could participate in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, right?" Deciding to change the topic, Valyr posed a question to the five, who could only nod in response.


    "Though I have an idea on what the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is, what kind of inheritance is it exactly?" Though none of the five were truly obligated to inform Valyr regarding the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Braum decided to answer the question, considering how the man before him already knew of his candidacy.


    "The Four Pirs'' Inheritance is an inheritance that''s been told to contain a great amount of knowledge regarding advanced technology that we aren''t even close to achieving," Braum told him. "It is said that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance was the culmination of the civilization that made it, containing all of the advanced technology the civilization had created before they disappeared due to the passage of time."


    "However, to enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, four people are needed to enter: a cksmith, an alchemist, a tailor, and a sage," Braum continued, prompting Valyr to continue listening. "Aside from needing people with these four sses, the inheritance is also said to adjust to the rarity of the participants'' sses ordingly, only allowing those with higher rarity variants of the sses I''ve mentioned to ess more of the inheritance."


    ''The inheritance contains highly advanced technology, huh?'' Nodding in response to Braum''s exnation, Valyr pondered over what he heard from him. ''And on top of that, the ones that would enter the inheritance need to have a high rarity production ss if they want to ess more of the inheritance, which is something I currently have.''


    ''Though it does possibly solve one of the problems I''ll be facing in the future if I continue to stay in this, what do they seek to gain from it?'' Pondering over it for a bit more, Valyr eventually came to a conclusion.


    "So, if I''m getting this correctly, the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is an inheritance that relies on its candidates to have high-rarity variants of the four sses you mentioned to be able to ess the entirety of the inheritance." Valyr looked at Braum, who nodded back in response.


    "That is correct."


    "And the reason behind your appearance is to escort me to the Algerie Kingdom, since I have a high-rarity variant of the cksmith ss. Is that correct?"


    "That is correct."


    "I see." Nodding at Braum''s words, Valyr went silent for a bit more as he pondered over a few things. Though, eventually, Valyr looked back at the five with a bitter smile as he opened his mouth, telling them something they weren''t expecting to hear from him.


    "I appreciate the offer, but¡­"


    "I''ll have to decline."

 Chapter 248 Change Of Plans

    Unsurprisingly, the five were left at a loss for words thanks to Valyr''s response. After all, ording to what they knew and what they were told, everyone that was informed of their candidacy to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance agreed without hesitation. Heck, even being invited to the Imperial Production Guild alone was enough for them to unhesitatingly agree on what the other side had to say.


    With that in mind, it took a while for Valyr''s words to register within the minds of the five, with Madeline being the first to pose the question that started to linger within the group''s minds. "Why decline?"


    "As I''ve just said, I appreciate the offer." In response to the question, Valyr bitterly smiled. "However, I have no choice but to decline for now since I still have something to do within this city."


    "Does it have something to do with the smithy we''re currently in?" asked Braum as he gave Valyr a curious nce.


    Hearing Braum''s question, Valyr shook his head. "If that was the only thing shackling me down to this city, then I would have already agreed to your invitation in the first ce. After all, I just need to find someone to take my ce as the cksmith for this smithy."


    "That means you''re the owner of this smithy?" Listening to Valyr''s response, Paul looked at the man with slight incredulity, who nodded back at him in response to his question. Naturally, the five stared at Valyr for a while, looking at him as if the man that stood before them was a monster, only to then remember¡­


    He was one.


    Of course, not in the literal sense. In their minds, Valyr was a monster in the sense of being a prodigy inbat, which they saw firsthand earlier in the coliseum, as well as being a prodigy in forging to the point of having his own smithy.


    Recalling the main reason once more as to why they had been tasked to find Valyr and escort him back to the kingdom, it did not take long for the five toe to terms with the idea, nodding in unison as Madeline opened her mouth once more. "Then¡­ what''s stopping you?"


    "A quest," said Valyr in response, a calm expression on his face. "To be more specific, it used to be a quest that involved a small problem that the city wanted to get rid of. However, it''s now turned into a quest wherein the entire city is at stake if I and another person don''t resolve it."


    "Is that so?" Though Valyr heard these words came out of Braum''s mouth, he didn''t feel any disappointment in it whatsoever. In fact, the feeling that they gave off at the moment had no hints of disappointment at all. Instead, what he felt was¡­


    Relief?


    "And here we thought you had to take care of something beyond our capabilities." Feeling as if a weight had been removed from their shoulders, there was a slight carefree air surrounding the five as Braum had a light smile on his face. In response, Valyr felt that Braum''s words seemed kind of odd, especially towards the end of his statement.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to put two and two together as something clicked in Valyr''s mind, looking at the five with a hint of excitement as he nced back at the five for confirmation.


    Seeing as they nodded back at him, Valyr let out a bit ofughter, deciding to ask the five outright to dispel his doubts. "Are you serious?"


    "We were also informed by the guild that we were to help you out in any way in order for you to arrive at the kingdom as early as possible." With Paul responding to his question, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh of relief as he pondered over how he could use the help of the five inpleting the City Quest he and Tryndall had received.


    Then again, formting a n involving the five did not need a lot of in-depth thinking, a light grin shing on his face as he told the five to stay where they were for now. After that, he distanced himself somewhat from the five before opening up the chat function.


    "Hey, Tryndall. Any progress on finding out who the mastermind is?" Sending this message to Tryndall, Valyr expected thetter to take a while in responding, thinking that he might be busy with some other matters in the meantime. However, what he got instead was a quick reply back from Tryndall, answering the question he had just asked.


    "What a coincidence! I was just about to contact you sometimeter regarding the same thing." Reading this part of Tryndall''s message, Valyr inwardly let out a chuckle. "Though, before I continue, congrats on winning the duel. Those guys from the emporium totally deserve it."


    "Anyways, with the lead you''ve given me yesterday regarding the connection between the forging emporium and the mastermind of the incident, we were actually able to narrow it down to one person thanks to the help of the suspect that chose to help us out."


    "Let me guess¡­ Lucas Hekaetos?" With a light smirk creeping up on his lips, Valyr sent back a reply to Tryndall, who swiftly responded back to tell him that he was correct, as well as ask him how he came to that conclusion before he and the suspect could.


    In response, Valyr told him about the sudden quest he had gotten before the duel, the information he obtained due topleting the sudden quest, as well as the connection between the duel, the forging emporium, and Lucas.


    "So, what do we do now that we have this information?" After Valyr was finished exining his side of the story, Tryndall went ahead and sent a message back, asking him as to what they should do next. In response, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as heposed his response.


    ? "Naturally, we apprehend him and find out the truth directly from the source."


    "And how are we going to do that? As far as I know, Lucas is a veteran Rank 3 ss holder. We can''t surmount that gap that easily." Of course, even though Tryndall was on board with Valyr''s idea, he still asked thetter the specifics of how they were going to do just that, wanting to make sure his friend did not let their progress get to his head.


    "Oh, we can." Grinning, Valyr sent a message back to Tryndall. "In fact, I already have a n on how we''ll do just that."


    "However, there''s no need for us to rely on reconnaissance and stealth anymore."


    "Instead, we''re going all out on power."

 Chapter 249 Bound By Duty

    "Power? Where the heck did you get that idea?" Naturally, Tryndall was skeptical of Valyr''s im, showing through his message that he was incredibly doubtful of what Valyr might tell him. Though, after this message from him, Valyr had not received any messages from Tryndall for quite sometime, prompting him to look back at the five, who seemed to be minding their own business in the meantime.


    Fortunately, after what seemed to be a few minutes or so, Valyr finally received a response back from Tryndall, causing a grin to appear on the former''s face as he read through it. "Does your n have something to do with the group of five that appeared after your duel?"


    Laughing for a bit, Valyr replied that Tryndall was correct in his assumption, informing him that they would be the most important element for the n to seed. Of course, thetter asked after that as to how Valyr hade to know them, and why they were willing to help the two of them out in a quest that only they had.


    With that, Valyr exined to Tryndall that the five were actually from a guild that was trying to recruit him, being told that they were tasked to bring him to where the headquarters of the guild was located, as well as how they were also told to help him out so he could head to the headquarters earlier.


    Then again, he made sure to not mention anything about the Imperial Production Guild and the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, even though he felt like Tryndall would have knowledge about it already due to the level of authority he showed that hemanded within the Adventurer''s Guild. To him, he felt that it was best for Tryndall to find that out on his own, considering how a faction of the noble n was on the lookout for any traces of him.


    Of course, Valyr was nning to do the same thing to Arcenne and Wells, which was to give them enough information behind the appearance of the group of five that would satiate their curiosity. Though, after mulling over it for a bit, he felt like Arcenne would probably pester her father for more information regarding the whole ordeal, though he was certain that Aster would take care of that problem on his end.


    With Tryndall''s curiosity regarding how the group of five were on board to help themplete the City Quest they both had, the two sent messages back and forth between each other for quite some time, ironing out the parts of the n that they thought would give the n away.


    Thankfully, it only took around ten minutes or so for them to finalize the n, allowing the two to return to what they were doing as they reminded each other to meet upter into the night.


    Closing up the screen that was in front of his field of vision all this time, Valyr made his way back to where the five were, who all looked back at him with curiosity evident in their expressions. Meeting their gazes, he took in a deep breath before answering the question that probably lingered in their minds.


    "Was talking to the other person I''m working with regarding the quest I have toplete." Hearing these wordse out of Valyr''s mouth, the five lightly nodded in response. Though, once they heard the next statement toe out his mouth, the expressions of the five instantly went solemn, even turning slightly grim.


    "Speaking of which, this quest we''re working on is categorized as a City Quest."


    "Care to borate on what the City Quest is?" Deciding to take the initiative, Tyrst was the one who asked the question to Valyr, who merely nodded back in response as he started exining the entire timeline that led him and Tryndall to their current situation.


    He started the exnation by introducing the Clossbay Killer quest he had obtained from Damian, and then talked about how he and Tryndall worked together toplete it, only to find out that the Clossbay Killer actually consisted of five people instead of one.


    After that, he talked about how the two of them mentioned this to the mayor, only to talk about the mayor''sck of response soon after. With that, he exined that the two of them took matters into their own hands, collecting more and more information regarding the incident, ending the whole thing with how the two of them suspected Lucas Hekaetos, the one that rebelled against Braum''s wishes earlier, to be the mastermind of the whole operation.


    Once Valyr was finished exining the whole thing, he noticed that the expression the five had were incredibly grim, as if they had just witnessed a massacre before them.


    While he was curious as to why that was the case, the five looked at each other for a bit as a few small strands of mana were sent back and forth among one another for quite some time. Eventually, Madeline excused herself from Valyr and the others as she headed towards the entrance, retrieving a small talisman from her pocket before infusing it with mana.


    Gazing at where Madeline went for a bit, Valyr then shifted his gaze back to the four that remained, who seemed to already have an idea of what Valyr wanted to find out from them.


    "We''re informing the royal pce of the situation you just told us," Braum told Valyr as he thanked thetter for informing them. "Though we''re part of the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment of the Imperial Production Guild, all of therge organizations part of the Algerie Kingdom are duty-bound to aid the kingdom in apprehending those in core cities and smaller establishments, specifically the ones that are putting the safety of the majority in jeopardy."


    "In this case, we''re asking for an arrest warrant from the kingdom itself, considering that the mastermind that you''ve just mentioned is the leader of this city''s guard regiment," he continued. "People like him are considered to have high-level authority, and these people tend to have a lot of ways to escape arrest without punishment. However, with a warrant, even if they find ways to show that they''re not guilty, justice would still be delivered."


    "Of course, if he was someone with middle-level authority or lower, there would be no need for an arrest warrant whatsoever. We could just apprehend him at this very instant."


    "Anyways, that''s something you shouldn''t bother yourself with," said Braum once he had wrapped up his exnation.


    With a hint of curiosity on his face, he then asked Valyr, "So, how are we going to apprehend this person?"


    "I''m d you asked." In response, aposed smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he began toy out the n he and Tryndall had formted just a couple minutes earlier to the four.


    "So, what we''re going to do is¡­"

 Chapter 250 Arrest Warrant

    "¡­And that''s more or less how we''re going to go about apprehending him." Taking in a deep breath the very moment he was finished exining, Valyr shifted his gaze towards the four''s faces, their expressions telling him that they understood what he and Tryndall wanted to happen. "Any questions?"


    "Just to clear up any misunderstandings, Braum would be the only one apanying you alongside that friend of yours?" Hearing the question Valyr brought up, Paul took the initiative to ask the former to rify certain parts of the n.


    Nodding in response to the question, Valyr exined the part of the n Paul brought up once more. "Indeed. However, my friend wouldn''t being alone. There would also be someone apanying him, though that person''s specialty would be in reconnaissance and stealth instead ofbat."


    "To lead you guys to that Lucas'' residence, right?" Paul asked once more, which earned a nod from Valyr as confirmation.


    "Since my role has been thoroughly exined at this point, let me just ask for rification. The other four are tasked to take care of Lucas'' henchmen, right?" Seeing that Paul was finished asking his questions, Braum took it upon himself to ask a question of his own, wanting to rify the role that the other four were going to do.


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded. "ording to what my friend told me¡­ well, to be more specific, one of the five suspects that''s helping us out, Lucas lives in a modestly sized manor within the city. As leader of the city''s guard regiment, he has a lot of guards patrolling his manor at all times, though it would be better to consider them as his henchmen than just mere guards."


    "However, that does not mean the four would be making the first move," he rified. "Think of it this way. The n mostly revolves around me, Braum, my friend, and hispanion. Us four would act as the vanguard of the operation and apprehend Lucas and find out the truth of the whole incident from him."


    "Naturally, now that we know he has henchmen, it''s more or less certain that they would stop at nothing to bar us four from reaching Lucas in the first ce. And that''s where the four wille in. To stop the henchmen from blocking us." After he was finished with his rification, Valyr looked at the four once more, who nodded back at him in understanding.


    Nodding back, he then turned around to make his way towards the workshop portion of the smithy. "Once Madeline returns, please tell her about the n I just exined."


    "Hmm? What n?" Coincidentally, just as he was about to start moving, Madeline had appeared inside the smithy once more, prompting Valyr to turn back around.


    "I''ll exin it in greater detailter." Braum looked at Madeline for a bit in silence, who shed a smile at him before nodding. Understanding what she meant by her gesture, Braum inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he posed a question to her. "You were sessful?"


    "Even I was surprised." Madeline chuckled before extending out one of her hands. Soon after, an intricate sigil made out of mana manifested above her extended hand, which radiated off a strong feeling of purity, might, and justice. "They usually take hours to process requests like these."


    "Perhaps it''s just that time of day where people request arrest warrants less." Seeing the sigil of mana Madeline manifested, Braum released a bit of his mana in response and extended it towards the sigil. At the moment his mana and the sigil made contact, the sigil swiftly disappeared from their vision as the aura the sigil radiated soon emanated off of Braum''s body.


    Not long after, the sigil appeared on Braum''s forehead, which gave off a faint glow for a few seconds before disappearing, making it look as if it had never been there in the first ce.


    "I''ll tell you when we''ll move out." Committing what he had just seen into memory, Valyr went ahead and gave the five time to prepare for the operation they were about to undertaketer, with the four exining to Madeline the specifics of the n.


    Arriving at the workshop portion of the smithy, Valyr looked at the bloodied and damaged pieces of metal that made up the Half Wyvern Armor, bitterly smiling before proceeding to fire up the furnace.


    cing one of the pieces on the anvil as he took a look at the materials he had in stock, he then took in a deep breath before grabbing the forging hammer to start repairing the armor in preparation forter.


    "It seems like tonight''s gonna be noisy."


    ¡­


    "I know the arrest warrant allows us to be above board in our actions and all that, but are you not going to hide your identity at the very least?" While walking to the meet-up spot he and Tryndall had used for the past two operations that involved the Clossbay Killer, Valyr posed a question to the man walking beside him.


    "What is there to fear?" Braum looked back at Valyr with a solemn expression, wondering why thetter was so insistent on covering up his face at the least. "Do you perhaps fear the repercussions that mighte from this operation failing?"


    "Well¡­ I am in the middle of Rank 1. It should only make sense for someone like me, no?" Valyr could only shrug his shoulders in response.


    "It does¡­ however, don''t you think your current actions are different from your words? The armor you''re currently wearing is the exact same armor you''ve worn in the coliseum." Saying these words, Braum continued to stare at Valyr, who could only chuckle after that.


    "I guess you being around has instilled a sense of confidence within me."


    "Is that so?" Braum raised his eyebrow in doubt. "From the looks of it, the reason behind you wearing your armor is all because I and myrades are here to aid you."


    "Hehe." With his intent fully seen through by Braum, Valyr could only chuckle once more as they continued to make their way to the meet-up spot, only to find out that Tryndall and hispanion were already there.

 Chapter 251 Revenge Is Best Served Swift

    "Oh! You''re finally here!" Noticing Valyr and Braum''s presence getting closer, Tryndall waved at the two of them, causing Valyr to wave back at him in response as the two slightly hastened their footsteps.


    Arriving in front of the two, Valyr went ahead and greeted thepanion that had apanied Tryndall. Unsurprisingly, the one that apanied Tryndall was Dous, one of the five assassins that made up the reconnaissance group for the Clossbay Killer incident, as well as only one among the five to have interacted with Valyr during the past two operations.


    "As this is our first time meeting each other, let me take initiative and introduce myself." On the other hand, Tryndall moved closer to Braum and introduced himself, giving a polite bow in the meantime. "My name is Tryndall Valtherin, a friend of Valyr''s, and a member of the Adventurer''s Guild."


    "Braum dios, Marquis of the Aste Region." Recalling what Valyr told him while the two of them were making their way to where they were, Braum made sure to not mention that he was part of the Imperial Production Guild in his introduction. Then again, even if Valyr didn''t tell him to do that, he would''ve done it either way.


    "A pleasure to be your acquaintance, Braum." With a light smile adorning his face, Tryndall extended his hand out to Braum for a handshake, to which thetter reciprocated by receiving the handshake soon after. "We''ll be relying on your strength for this operation."


    "Valyr has already informed me of my tasks for this operation. Though, if you don''t mind me asking, don''t I recognize you from somewhere?" Hearing the question that left Braum''s mouth, Tryndall looked at the man for a bit in slight confusion before shaking his head. Nevertheless, even though Tryndall denied meeting Braum before, thetter squinted his eyes as he looked at Tryndall closely, truly feeling as if he had recognized the man somewhere before.


    "Adventurer''s Guild¡­ Tryndall¡­ ah! Does that mean you''re the¡ª!" It did not take long for the thoughts in Braum''s mind to click, his eyes widening in incredulity as he finally recalled where he had recognized the man before him.


    However, before Braum could finish his words, Tryndall frantically ced his hand over the man''s mouth, telling the former to stay quiet. In response to the action, Braum looked back at Tryndall, whose gaze was telling him to not talk about his identity for the meantime, prompting Braum to shift his gaze towards Valyr and Dous.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr and Dous both stared at the two, with Dous remaining indifferent as if he already had an idea of what was going on. On the other hand, questions regarding Tryndall''s identity popped up in Valyr''s mind, making him wonder as to whether his friend was simr to him, who had an identity whose importance extended beyond kingdoms.


    Unfortunately, even though Valyr wanted to ask Braum and Tryndall regarding this small incident, the two had formed a silent agreement to not mention anything else regarding what had just happened, causing Valyr to ce the matter at the back of his head for now as he let out a low sigh.


    "So, where are the other members of the group Sir Braum is leading?" Forcefully changing the topic of the conversation as he cleared his throat, Tryndall shifted his gaze towards Braum and the slightly dejected Valyr.


    "They''re already on their way to the residence ording to the directions you''ve given Valyr." While Valyr was still in the process of regaining his spirits, Braum took the initiative to answer the man''s question. "How about your side, Sir Tryndall?"


    "The other members making up the reconnaissance group have already moved to the residence as well." Tryndall nodded in response to Braum''s question. "A party chat has already been established between our side and your side, so the only people left that haven''t made their way there yet are us four."


    "The Reaper Group isn''t joining us?" With his emotional state more or less normal again, Valyr posed a question to Tryndall, who shook his head in response as a wry smile adorned his face.


    "You know who we''re up against, right?" Hearing this questione from Tryndall, it did not take long for Valyr to put two and two together, pping himself on the forehead as an apologetic smile crept up on his lips not long after.


    "Yeah. I forgot."


    "It''s fine, it''s fine." Tryndall lightly chuckled before opening up a screen before him. Closing it not long after, he looked at the three around him, who swiftly understood the intent behind his gaze, nodding back in response.


    "They''re already in position. It''s time to go." As Tryndall said these words, the four began to dash through the empty city streets of the night. With Dous being the one that guided them through the fastest route that led to Lucas'' residence, it did not take long for the four toe into contact with the other people that''s part of the operation, standing slightly far away from the gates surrounding Lucas'' manor.


    "Now¡­" Taking in a deep breath, Tryndall looked at the three other people that would join him, who nodded back at him with a solemn expression. In response, a faint smile appeared on his face as the four proceeded to move closer to the manor.


    "Let us begin."


    ¡­


    Crash!


    "That bastard¡­" With the humiliation he experienced from Braum still fresh in his mind, Lucas took out his anger on every item that could be tossed in his bathroom, causing the floor to be covered in fragments of various items, which took on all sorts of shapes and sizes. "I will find a way to get back at you. No matter what."


    "Sir! Sir! We have bad news!" Though, just as Lucas was about to start venting his anger out once more, the door to his room was mmed open, revealing a man in his mid-twenties with a frantic expression on his face. "We have terrible news!"


    "Stop panicking and tell me what''s going on." Suppressing the anger he felt, Lucas took in a long and deep breath topose himself before proceeding to talk with the man. "What bad news are you talking about?"


    "Sir, we have intruders." Following Lucas'' words, the man took in a deep breath as well before exining to Lucas what was going on. "We''ve already tried to stop them, yet we''re no match."


    "Now who would even dare to intrude in my residence?" Frowning, Lucas asked the man where the intruders were, to which thetterplied by having Lucas follow him.


    Along the way, the sounds ofbat faintly resounded throughout the manor, with it bing gradually louder as Lucas and the man got closer to the source. Sounds of metal shing against metal, bodies crashing against the walls, and groans and moans filled with pain all came to a roaring crescendo as Lucas appeared before the source.


    In fact, once he found who was causing all of it¡­


    He immediately regretted following the man.

 Chapter 252 The Mastermind...

    Earlier¡­


    "State your identity and your purpose." As Tryndall and the other three slowly made their way to the entrance of Lucas'' manor, the two henchmen Lucas had stationed at the entrance barred them from entering, wanting to know the purpose of the four for appearing at the manor. "If you four are just here to loiter around, then you better get lost."


    "Our identities? You have no need to know that." Taking the initiative to respond, Valyr took a step forward before opening his mouth with a slightly arrogant grin, causing frowns to appear on the faces of the two henchmen. Though, the frown on their faces was swiftly reced with a look of rage after they heard the next statement that came out of his mouth. "As for our purpose¡­"


    "I guess beating your leader''s ass would be more than enough of an answer."


    "How dare you!" Unsurprisingly, the two henchmen charged at the four in response to Valyr''s words, intending to make the four regret ever saying those words. "You dare tarnish the reputation of our leader?"


    "But of course." In response, a devilish grin appeared on Valyr''s face.


    "How could I not after he tried to tarnish mine?"


    Bang! Bang!


    Swiftly retrieving the spear behind his back, Valyr went ahead and deflected the attack the two henchmen had sent his way before turning his spear around. With the dull end of the spear now at the front, he then utilized the disparity in strength between him and the two henchmen, knocking them out cold by hitting them at the back of their head at the same time.


    Thud. Thud.


    "Let''s hurry. It won''t be long until their reinforcements arrive." After checking that both of the henchmen were truly unconscious, the four went ahead and let themselves into the manor, swiftly noticing a few people making their way towards the entrance they just came from.


    Knowing that these people made their way to where they were after hearing themotion, the four looked at each other for a bit before nodding, prompting Dous to disappear from the sights of the three as he was tasked to give the three of them support from the shadows.


    With Dous gone, Tryndall, Valyr, and Braum looked at each other for a bit before shifting their gazes towards the people heading their way. Then, without hesitation, the three charged forward.


    As for what happened next¡­


    ? It could only be described as a one-sided beating.


    Once the three came face to face with the group of people, the three took the initiative tond attacks on thetter before they could even react, rendering all of them incapable of fighting before proceeding to head deeper into the manor. Of course, simr to the two henchmen at the entrance, they made sure to not go overboard in their attacks, considering that their main target in this whole operation was Lucas.


    At first, both Tryndall and Valyr would take care of those that arrived to stand in their way, considering that most of the ones stopping them were around thete stages of Rank 1. Once the strength of the people that came to stop them rose to reach the peak of Rank 1, Braum started to aid the two of them in fighting, with Valyr and Braum doing most of the fighting once the strength of the ones stopping them had reached Rank 2.


    By the time the opponents had the strength of someone at the middle of Rank 2, Braum was doing most of the attacking, with Valyr and Tryndall sending out support attacks from time to time to help ease the pressure Braum was feeling. Though, by then, they had already arrived deep into the manor.


    And it did not take long for the man they were looking for to appear before them.


    ¡­


    "Argh¡­" As faint groans resounded throughout the space he had entered, Lucas stared at the scene before him with widened eyes, left at a loss for words at how swift everything had been settled before he could retaliate.


    Before his very eyes, a great portion of the people in the manor that worked under him were on the floor, their bodies littered with bruises and injuries of varying severity. Some of them could be found near the space''s walls, leaving little to Lucas'' imagination once he noticed the human-shaped craters above their bodies, while some of them were already unconscious, prompting Lucas to think that the pain they felt had overwhelmed their senses.


    In contrast to the surroundings, three men stood at the center of the entire space, with their bodies having no injuries whatsoever. With that, Lucas'' attention was swiftly fixated onto them as he felt the rage he had suppressed earlier be unshackled once more, erupting with far greater fury.


    "AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!" Letting out a rage-filled scream, Lucas released the entirety of his aura, instantly making two of the three people that stood there shrink back, while the man that had apanied him already fled away for his life.


    In response to this aura, the person that wasn''t affected by his aura blocked it with his own aura, allowing the other two to return to normal.


    Naturally, this scene among the three did not go unnoticed under Lucas'' eyes, finding their actions a greater provocation in addition to what they''ve already done to his men.


    To his manor.


    Taking in a deep breath, he let out yet another scream to vent out his rage as mana started to wrap around his fists, prompting him to clench both of them once the mana around them partly condensed.


    "Utterly useless¡­" Muttering out words that only he could hear, Lucas summoned all of the strength he could muster towards his legs, taking in a deep breath once more as he made sure to not let rage consume him. "You already have the advantage in numbers, but you''re telling me all of you were defeated by just three people? Did all of you even put up a fight against them?"


    "How utterly useless."


    Whoosh!


    "Then again¡­" Dashing towards the three before him, the mana surrounding Lucas'' fists gradually intensified with every passing second, slowly taking on a shade of red as a strong aura of bloodlust and killing intent started to radiate out of his body.


    "I guess I''m the only one who can put up a fight against them."


    Bang!

 Chapter 253 Is Not Who He Seems

    Whoosh!


    While Lucas dashed forward to where they were as his fists carried both a terrifying energy and terrifying momentum for both Valyr and Tryndall, the three at the center looked at each other for a bit, with Braum lightly nodding at the two of them before taking a few steps forward.


    Taking in a deep breath, he bent his knees to get into a stable sentence before clenching both of his fists. Then, at great speeds, energy a simr color to the armor he wore started to manifest around his fists, gradually condensing before taking on the shapes of gloves that went over his fists.


    "Hah!" Bellowing out his breath, Braum sent out one of his fists just as Lucas was in position tond an attack of his own. With all of his strength gathered into this single fist, as well as the insurmountable gap that existed between the two of them, it was no surprise that Braum''s fist hadnded on Lucas'' body before thetter could evennd his own.


    Bang!


    With Braum''s fisting in contact with his stomach, Lucas was sent flying back at great speeds, crashing through a few walls before eventuallying to a halt. As the dust settled down, the three noticed through the holes Lucas had made that a crater in the shape of his body had formed on the wall that finally stopped his momentum.


    Unsurprisingly, with the strength Braum had put into his attack, Lucas'' body was slightly embedded into the wall, which thetter found it somewhat difficult to get out of, especially after having the wind knocked out of him as he was also hit in the diaphragm, finding it somewhat difficult to catch his breath.


    Nevertheless, once he did catch his breath, Lucas removed himself from the wall as he let out a groan in pain, the entirety of his back, as well as his stomach aching from the attack he had just received. Seeing that the three had appeared before him at the very moment he got himself out of the wall, he clenched his fists once more, hoping tond an attack on either Valyr or Tryndall to even out the ying field.


    Though, this thought of his stopped for a brief moment as Valyr opened his mouth.


    "Just tell us what we want to know and we''ll stop." Valyr looked at Lucas, who seemed to have the urge to attack him at any moment. Though, once he noticed that the man hadn''t made a move even after he was finished talking, he went ahead and asked the man a question. "Are you the one behind the Clossbay Killer incident?"


    "Why the fuck should I tell people who decided to barge into my manor all of a sudden?" Of course, Lucas wasn''t going to reveal the answer they wanted that easily, spitting in front of them. "And why the fuck should I tell someone who''s hiding behind someone stronger?"


    "Says the one who wanted me to die from my opponent in the life and death duel earlier," Valyr scoffed, which earned a brief expression of surprise to appear on Lucas'' face. "It was a mistake for you to tell me your surname, Lucas."


    As Lucas looked at the man that stood before him with an expression of rage, Valyr looked at Braum beside him and lightly nodded, prompting thetter to clench his fists as dull gray energy covered them once more.


    "Since you don''t want to tell us what we want to know, then we''ll just find other ways to get it from you." While Valyr uttered out these words, Lucas finally took in the situation he was currently in and gritted his teeth, swearing to himself to not let the three before him find out what they wanted from him no matter what.


    Once they did, it would all be over.


    Bang!


    Once more, Braum sent out one of his fists towards Lucas, this time hitting the middle of his chest instead of his stomach.


    With how the force behind the attack was concentrated into that one fist, the bones in Lucas'' chest cracked as he was sent flying once more, letting out a cry of pain as he formed holes through yet more walls, eventually ending up on the ground as he clutched his chest in pain.


    Of course, Valyr asked Lucas the same question once more, telling thetter that everything woulde to an end as long as he told them what they wanted to know. In response, Lucas told Valyr that he regretted not killing thetter. After that, Lucas told them that he wouldn''t obtain the information they wanted from him even if he died.


    And thus, they put that to the test.


    Bang!


    Yet again, Braum sent out an attack at Lucas, sending both fists towards his stomach and his chest at the same time, causing thetter to have the wind knocked out of him yet again as his chest slightly caved in now that the force from the attack had thoroughly broken his bones.


    However, unlike before, Braum only put in enough strength into the attack that would allow him to inflict the greatest amount of pain to Lucas, who was slightly embedded into the wall after the man''s third attack. Nevertheless, he still did not relent, cursing Valyr for making an enemy out of him and how he would regret it once Lucas found a way to escape from this ordeal.


    With that, Braum attacked once more.


    And surprisingly, this one was thest.


    Seeing that the disparity in their strength wasn''t enough for Lucas to start telling them answers they wanted to know, Braum tapped into the faint connection he had with the world, awakening his Intent as everyone in Braum''s vicinity instantly felt like the world hade down to support Braum''s move.


    Clenching his fists yet again, dull gray gloves made out of energy appeared around Braum''s hands as he was about tond another punch to Lucas'' fist. Though, before this fist could even make contact with the man''s body, it seemed as if a wall had finally been broken within Lucas'' mind as he eximed, "Please have mercy! It wasn''t me! I''m not the one behind the incident! It wasn''t me, I swear!"


    With Lucas starting to talk all of a sudden, Valyr, Tryndall, and Braum looked at each other for a bit before Braum decided to retract his fists. Nevertheless, the power of his Intent was still in full swing, applying pressure on Lucas as Valyr asked the man for rification. "What do you mean?"


    "I was just being ordered to do these things! If my n wasn''t under this man''s control, I wouldn''t even have epted it!" Listening to Lucas'' words, Valyr and Tryndall looked at each other before sending a few messages to one another that Lucas might be telling the truth. After all, the City Quest they received hadn''t updated its progress yet.


    "Someone else is behind this incident, I''m telling you! Believe me!" As these words came out of Lucas'' mouth, Valyr looked back at the man before asking the question that would finally put this incident to a close.


    "Who''s behind all of it then?"


    Hearing the question, Lucas went silent for a bit, hesitating whether or not to tell the three in front of him who that person was. Eventually, he came to a decision, deciding to break the promise he had made to himself earlier before being beaten up.


    ''Compared to that man¡­ the man before me is a far scarier opponent.''


    Taking in a deep breath, Lucas let out a low sigh before opening his mouth. "The person behind all of it¡­"


    "The mayor."


    "Merdus is the one behind all of it."


    Ding!

 Chapter 254 Addendum

    Hearing the ever familiar notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr brought up a screen in front of his field of vision as he took a brief nce at Tryndall, wondering if he had gotten the same notification as him. Sure enough, from the face his friend was making, which had shock written all over it, that seemed to be the case.


    Coincidentally, just as he had shifted back his gaze towards the screen before him, he was notified that he had received a message from his chat function. Even though he knew who sent a message to him, he still went ahead and opened up a screen for the chat function beside the one for notifications, taking a brief look at his friend, who was looking at him with a solemn expression.


    "He''s telling the truth." At the very instant Valyr was finished reading the short yet obvious message he had gotten, he looked back at Tryndall before rolling his eyes, sending a response not long after that he knew Lucas was telling the truth. After all, both of them had the same City Quest.


    Closing up the screen he had just brought up, Valyr went ahead and redirected his focus back to the screen for his notifications, skimming through them one by one. Though, once he was finished, a look of slight incredulity could be seen on his face as a thought surfaced in his mind.


    ''There''s more?''


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: The Clossbay Conspiracy.]


    [Due to one of the quest''s requirements being fulfilled, additional information has been added to the quest.]


    [Due to one of the quest''s requirements being fulfilled, an additional requirement has been added to the quest.]


    [Due to the additional information obtained regarding the quest, the rewards forpleting the quest have been adjusted ordingly.]


    Curious as to what the system meant by the quest gaining additional information and additional requirements, Valyr went ahead and closed the notification screen in front of him beforemanding the system to bring up the description of the City Quest he was currently tackling.


    Unsurprisingly, he swiftly noticed the additions to the quest, with the system helping Valyr out by making those parts of the quest''s description stand out. Nevertheless, once he was done reading through the additions, a bitter smile swiftly appeared on Valyr''s face, only realizing just how fortunate he was for Braum and the others to have been tasked in helping him get to the kingdom as swiftly as possible no matter what.


    ''I should really forge something for the five once this is all hopefully said and done,'' muttered Valyr inwardly. ''I don''t even know how we would evenplete this requirement with just the two of us working.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Clossbay Conspiracy] (City Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    Though you have¡­ description has been omitted.


    After interrogating one of the people that''s part of the Clossbay Killer identity, you find out that the people doing the killing are forced into their current situation, informing you that there''s an entity greater controlling them. Your mission is to find the mastermind behind this operation once and for all.


    || Addendum: By working your way through the various connections the suspects had to the mastermind of the whole operation, you eventually found someone that would be able to lead you in the right direction, finally obtaining the information you need in order for this case to be closed.


    Unfortunately, through that person, you found out that the mastermind is a far greater personality than you initially thought. Fortunately for you, that person does not know that you know their connection to the operation yet.


    Find a way to apprehend the mastermind, as well as make them confess to what they have done. Only then shall this mattere to a close. Only then shall this city be clean of its sins. ||


    Quest Objectives:


    > Figure out the mastermind of the operation (1/1)


    > Apprehend the mastermind of the operation (0/1)


    > Have the mastermind confess their knowledge and contribution to the operation (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > 800,000 XP


    > Level +1


    > [Adjudicator of Clossbay] title


    Quest Penalties:


    > Affinity -1000 with the mayor of Clossbay City


    > Reputation -100 in Clossbay City


    >ary Reputation -10


    > Future repercussions


    [Note: Justice shall always prevail.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though the requirement that was added to the quest was simple in nature, it was more urate to say that it was easier said than done. Having someone confess to their sins was normally incredibly difficult to achieve, relying upon one''s wits and words to get the exact oue they wanted. Though, as long as one had strength far superior to the opposing side¡­


    A confession was as simple as just forcing the opposing side''s hand.


    As for the rewards, two of them were significantly improved, with the first one being the amount of XP he would get. With the amount of XP the quest gave him, it wouldn''t be long till he reached the peak of Rank 1, especially with the level-up reward from the quest helping him out in that matter.


    As for the title, he wasn''t sure how ''Adjudicator'' was better than ''Arbiter'' since he hadn''te across any quests that gave out a title of simr nature in his previous life. Nevertheless, even though he did not know the changes the word had made, there was one thing he was sure of.


    Adjudicator sounded bad-ass.


    Ignoring the fact that the penalty of failing the quest now included the deduction ofary Reputation that he worked hard to earn, now that Valyr heard from Lucas that Merdus was the one who had orchestrated the entire incident surrounding the Clossbay Killer, it made quite a lot of sense, especially if he considered the connections the mayor had.


    Pondering over it for a bit more, he realized that the clue the system gave him after hepleted the sudden quest hinted towards Merdus being the mastermind of the whole operation, informing him that the mastermind had a connection with the guards.


    However, with how Lucas had decided to meddle into the matters between his Crimson Forge and the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, he was inclined to think that the mastermind was Lucas instead of Merdus, considering that the former was also connected to the guards.


    Directly connected at that.


    In fact, some of the situations that had connections to the Clossbay Killer incident could also be easily exined once Valyr took into consideration that Merdus was the one behind all of it. The greatest example of it would be how the five suspects that both he and Tryndall found out made up the collective identity of the Clossbay Killer were arrested and put into prison in one day, only to be let out the following day.


    Mulling over it for a bit more, it was only then did Valyr realize that signs of Merdus being the mastermind of the whole incident had already been in front of their eyes since the very beginning, recalling how the man reacted when the two of them told him that the Clossbay Killer was not just one person, but was made up of five people that were doing the same thing that made the Clossbay Killer stand out.


    Letting out a sigh as he closed the screen before him, he turned his head to look at Tryndall, only for him to see that the man was already looking at him with a bitter smile on his face.


    shing a bitter smile in response, he briefly nced at Braum before returning his attention to Lucas before them, taking in a deep breath before asking thetter a question.


    "What do you mean by the mayor is the one behind the entire incident?" Hearing this question escape Valyr''s mouth, Lucas went silent for a bit as he thought about what he had to say.


    "It is what it is." Lucas lightly shrugged his shoulders in response, only to slightly grimace in pain after doing the motion. Taking sometime to recover from the pain, he then continued with his exnation, feeling as if a weight was gradually being removed from his shoulders with every word.


    "The mayor is the one who orchestrated the entire incident. His goal in having something like the Clossbay Killer was for the citizens of Clossbay City to be more trustful of the guard regiment. Then, once the citizens fully believed in the guard regiment''s capabilities of protecting them, this trust would then extend towards the entire government itself, with Merdus hoping that the citizens would eventually listen to everymand he had to say through this trust."


    Listening to Lucas'' exnation, Tryndall, Valyr, and Braum could not help but look at each other with weird expressions on their faces, only for them to look back at Lucas. Of course, Lucas understood the reason behind the expression on their face, bitterly smiling as he told them, "Even I don''t know how he got to that conclusion."


    "In any case, since I was threatened that the Hekaetos n would be a relic of the past if I didn''t follow his words, I went ahead and did what he wanted me to do, with the guards under my leadership following themands Merdus was rying through me." Lucas let out a low sigh. "In fact, the five people that are acting as the Clossbay Killer are actually guards who left the regiment for various reasons."


    "Wasn''t he afraid of someone finding out about his connection to the entire matter eventually?" After Lucas was finished exining, Tryndall decided to pose a question to the man.


    "With his position?" Though, once he heard the words that came out of Lucas'' mouth, he realized that this question of his was somewhat stupid. "As long as he didn''t outright admit to it, no one would know. With me being part of the incident as well, the chance of anyone finding his connection to the whole matter decreases even further."


    Bitterly chuckling at the thought, Lucas looked at the three for a bit before letting out a long sigh of relief.


    "I guess you''re going to give him what he truly deserves after this?"


    "If so, I would just like to say from the bottom of my heart¡­"


    "Thank you."

 Chapter 255 Under Arrest

    Listening to the words Lucas said to them, the trio looked at him in silence before looking at one another soon after as slightly confused frowns crept up on their faces. After all, they thought that Lucas was on Merdus'' side all this time, only being forced to respond to their questioning due to the strength Braum exuded as an Epic. However, after hearing Lucas thank them for what they were going to do¡­


    Were their thoughts misguided?


    Noticing the expressions on their faces, Lucas let out yet another chuckle as he said to them, "I''ve been forced to do what he wanted me to do for the past couple of years, all due to the fact that he''s stronger. Just because I''vee to ept I can''t escape his clutches doesn''t mean I approve of his ways."


    "Speaking of which, if you''re going to try and apprehend him, you should be careful." Saying these words, he shifted his gaze at Braum before letting out a light sigh. "Though he''s only Rank 3, the same rank as me, he''s already formed an Intent."


    As both Tryndall and Valyr inwardly sucked in cold air through their teeth, wondering once more how they wouldplete the City Quest if they did not have Braum and the others helping them, Lucas continued to ramble. "In any case, although I''ve enjoyed the feeling of power the whole thing gave me, the fact that innocent people have died due to things I had control over is definitely something I can''t rewind back to."


    "I don''t even know how I would even start repaying those affected by the incident." Finishing his monologue, Lucas let out a deep sigh as he looked up at the night sky, finally feeling the weight of the sins he had indirectlymitted push down on him.


    Though he had finally informed the three before him of the long term n Merdus had for the city, giving him the feeling that his chest felt lighter, that feeling unfortunately onlysted for a brief moment.


    As Lucas went silent, Tryndall, Valyr, and Braum looked at each other as both Valyr and Tryndall scratched their heads after Braum sent them a message on what they should do next. Considering that the man before them was just implicated to be one of the main forces of the entire incident, that did not mean that the atrocious things that were done under his jurisdiction were something that could be easily forgotten.


    Receiving a message from Tryndall and Valyr sometimeter, Braum took in a deep breath before stepping forward, focusing the force generated by his Intent towards Lucas as his voice resounded throughout the area soon after. "As you have been found to be colluding with other people in an operation that jeopardizes the safety of an entire city, I, Braum dios, dere you to be under arrest."


    "An arrest warrant has already been obtained from the kingdom, so I shall remind you that anything you say or do at this point shall be used against you in the future." Moving even closer to Lucas, he focused even more of the force being generated by the Intent on the man as he formed shackles that would bind the man using condensed mana.


    As he did so, he expected for the man to try and resist the arrest by moving erratically to slow down the creation of the shackles. However, Lucas instead approached the arrest with a faint yet rxed smile on his face, epting the consequences that came from the actions he had helpedmit.


    "Can I say something?" At the very instant Braum was finished forming the shackles around Lucas, thetter decided to pose a question to the man before him. In response, Braum reminded him of the words he had spoken earlier, prompting Lucas to lightly nod as he looked at the two behind Braum.


    "If you''re nning to try and apprehend Merduster, you wouldn''t find him in the city government office. Unlike mayors of other cities, he has his own secluded residence within the city." As these words came out of his mouth, all three of them remained silent, looking at Lucas before gesturing to him that he could continue.


    Picking up on their gesture, Lucas lightly nodded before taking in a deep breath. "Fortunately, as someone who had to talk with him in private from time to time, I know where that residence is."


    "His residence is at¡­"


    ¡­


    Sometimeter in the night, three people in various armor and clothing left Lucas'' manor through the entrance, carrying an unconscious man along with them as other people appeared before them not long after.


    "I''m guessing that''s the guy?" Madeline was the first one to speak, prompting Braum to nod as he was the one carrying Lucas as they left the manor.


    "Madeline, go and request another arrest warrant from the kingdom." cing Lucas on the ground as he told one of hisrades to keep an eye on the man, Braum gave an order to Madeline. "ording to what Lucas has told us, as well as what both Valyr and his friend have confirmed along the way, there''s a farrger mastermind behind the incident."


    "Who''s the mastermind, then?" Paul decided to ask the question everyone wanted to know the answer to, with Braum''srades, as well as the reconnaissance group Tryndall had brought along silently and eagerly waiting for any of the three''s response.


    "It''s Merdus," replied Tryndall, eliciting expressions of faint shock to appear on the reconnaissance group''s faces. On the other hand, Valyr decided to exin who Merdus was to Paul and the others, prompting solemn expressions to cover the group''s faces as Madeline let out a soft sigh.


    "It''ll take a while to request an arrest warrant of a higher grade, but I''ll try my best to get it as soon as possible," Madeline said to the three of them, who could only nod at her words in response. "So, when are you going to apprehend this Merdus guy, then? After all, it would be stupid to apprehend a city mayor in broad daylight."


    "We know." Valyr nodded in agreement with her words, only to sh a light grin soon after. "And that''s why we''re going to try and apprehend Merdus right now."


    "Well, that doesn''t surprise me." Madeline chuckled as she nodded. "I was already partly expecting something like that to happen."


    In response, Braum thanked Madeline for her aid once more, causing thetter to tell him that if he''s really thankful for what she''s doing, he should treat the entire group to a meal. Hearing her words, Braum let out a bit ofughter before agreeing.


    On the other hand, Tryndall and Valyr briefly nced at each other for a bit before Tryndall looked at the reconnaissance group. "Since we''re nning to end this problem as quickly as possible, this is what we''re going to do."


    "First¡­"

 Chapter 256 Closing Curtains

    With Tryndall being the first among the group to start talking about the course of action they would take in making sure that they would be able to apprehend Merdus, everyone in the group went ahead and listened to what instructions he gave to the reconnaissance group.


    ording to what he told the reconnaissance group, one of the assassins would have to head towards the location that Lucas had told the three of them earlier to make sure that Merdus'' residence was indeed there, confirming that he was present in the residence as well. Then, if that assassin were to find out that the residence was not there, they would search the immediate area of that location to find out where the residence truly was.


    After that, he told the group that the remaining assassins would search throughout the city for Merdus'' residence, or, in the off-chance Merdus was making his way back to his residence, they would trail them to what building Merdus entered. However, if the first assassin were to find out that the residence was indeed in the location Lucas told them, the other assassins would be tasked with finding the quickest and most efficient route that would lead them to the residence.


    Of course, the same applied vice versa. If the other assassins were to find out that his residence was in another part of the city, then the remaining assassins would be tasked to find the quickest and most efficient route that would bring them there.


    With that, Dous, as well as the other assassins that made up the reconnaissance group swiftly disappeared from the sight of the others, reminding everyone else to check the party chat they had created from time to time regarding updates on the whereabouts of Merdus'' residence.


    After that, Valyr decided to take the initiative on nning out the actions of Braum''s group, with Tyrst and Paul rmending that Valyr and Tryndall were to stay in the sidelines, telling them that they did not have the sufficient strength to be able to apprehend someone like Merdus.


    In response to that, Valyr and Tryndall brought up the City Quest they had received which had everything to do with the entire incident the group was currently tackling. Aside from that, Valyr brought up the entire reason why the group was helping them out in the first ce, though he made sure that he did not mention anything about the Imperial Production Guild or the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Recalling Valyr''s importance in general, as well as the fact that they were informed before they left that he was the missing the guild needed in order for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance to explored in its entirety, Paul and Tyrst let out an awkward chuckle as they decided to change topic, proceeding to ask about the identity of Valyr''s friend.


    Though he was curious why Braum''s group had decided to change the topic all of a sudden due to Valyr''s words, Tryndall decided to let it be for now, considering that his friend did not know the full extent of his identity within the Adventurer''s Guild.


    Naturally, after telling the other people in Braum''s group of his name, as well as his affiliation, Madeline and the others looked at him with visible shock on their faces, prompting Tryndall to tell them to stay silent about the matter for now before briefly ncing at Valyr beside him.


    Realizing what was going on, they respected Tryndall''s wishes by remaining silent, nodding in response to his words not long after. On the other hand, Valyr could only bitterly smile at the whole exchange, bing more and more curious about Tryndall''s identity.


    But as he was also hiding his candidacy to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance from his friend, he decided to let it be for now.


    After talking for a bit more as to how they would approach the arrest, Valyr, Tryndall, Braum, and everyone else received a message from the reconnaissance group through the party chat, informing the trio to head to the meet-up spot as Dous would be there to guide them through the optimal route that would lead to the residence.


    With that, the trio parted ways from the other members of Braum''s group, with Braum telling them before the three left for good to head to the residence as soon as possible once Madeline was able to obtain the arrest warrant from the kingdom. In response, Madeline would inform Braum and the others about it in the party chat once they did.


    Nodding in response, the three made their way to the meet-up spot as quickly as possible, with Braum even using his Intent for a bit to propel the two forward, much to the surprise of the two. Nevertheless, both Valyr and Tryndall appreciated this gesture from Braum as they were able to meet up with Dous a few minutes earlier than they should have.


    Oblivious to what happened to the three on their way to where he was, Dous then led them through the various dimly lit streets of the city, leading the trio towards the outskirts of the city as he confirmed to them that the information they obtained from Lucas was, in fact, correct.


    With that, they continued to make a few turns here and there through the various streets, eventually arriving at a manor that was slightly smaller than Lucas in terms of area. However, unlike Lucas'' residence, which had multiple people guarding it, the trio were informed by the reconnaissance group that one guard was the only thing that stopped them from reaching Merdus, which was the guard at the entrance of the manor.


    With Valyr rendering the guard unconscious with a single thwack of his spear on the back of the guard''s neck, the three silently passed through the entrance as they quickly noticed that only a single room within the manor still had lights on.


    Taking note of this information, the three went around the perimeter of the manor''s walls, making sure that their steps were as light as possible, as well as suppressing their auras as much as possible so that Merdus wouldn''t be alerted by their presence.


    Being informed by the reconnaissance group regarding theyout of the manor, which made both Tryndall and Valyr slightly shudder as they wondered where the reconnaissance group got the information, the three eventually made it to the rear entrance of the manor before entering.


    Continuing to make sure that they were as silent as possible, they made their way through the manor before eventually arriving at the door that led to the only room that was lit, expecting that Merdus would be on the other side of the door.


    Taking in deep breaths as they were nearing the end of this entire incident, Valyr, Tryndall, and Braum looked at each other and nodded before¡­


    Bang!

 Chapter 257 Confrontation

    With a great portion of the city already asleep as it was already deep into the night, Merdus looked out of the only window in his room before letting out a satisfied sigh, taking in the sight of the city he had helped manage into what it was today.


    However, even though Clossbay City had developed to the point where it could even rival the size of some core cities within the Aste Region, Merdus felt like his calling as a mayor of the city would only truly end once Clossbay City had gone past the point of a city and became a true core city.


    ''For that, I would need the entire city to agree with every word I say.'' Thinking to himself, Merdus looked down at the pile of documents on the desk before him, bitterly smiling as he reminded himself that he was doing all of this for the sake of the city''s prosperity.


    ''I wonder how that n ising along¡­''


    Bang!


    Though, just as he was about to continue processing all of the documents on his desk, the door to his room was blown open, sending bits and pieces of rough stone and wood throughout the room as Merdus instantly cast a barrier of mana around himself and the desk.


    Frowning, Merdus stood up from his seat and turned around to see who had the gall to barge into his room thiste into the night, and into his private residence no less. Diverting part of the mana within his body to his fists, he was fully prepared to fight against the trespassers, fully expecting the people that had barged into his residence to be bandits that did not know the difference between being brave and being foolhardy.


    However, he was instead greeted by the sight of two familiar people once the dust in the room had settled down, causing all of the mana around his fists to dissipate. As the barrier of mana surrounding him and his desk disappeared not long after, a frown soon crept up on his face as he asked the two people in front of him a question.


    "How do you two know where I live?" Hearing the question that came out of Merdus'' mouth, the two looked at each other for a bit, with the one in dull ash gray armor opening his mouth to respond to the question soon after.


    "How? That''s not really that important, no?" Valyr lightly shook his head. "What''s important instead is our reason for finding out where you live."


    "We''ve heard that there was someone orchestrating the entire Clossbay Killer incident behind the scenes." Tryndall looked at Merdus with a calm gaze. "And it turns out, that someone was actually you."


    As he listened to the words both Valyr and Tryndall said to him, Merdus'' eyes briefly widened in shock as the thought of other people finding out his involvement to the entire Clossbay Killer incident never crossed his mind. Naturally, two people at the middle of Rank 1 finding this information out was even more unbelievable for him.


    "Me? You two must be joking." Of course, he wasn''t going to admit to this involvement of his that easily, vehemently rejecting the notion that he was involved in the incident in anyway. "Would a mayor like me really go out of his way to bring harm to its citizens?"


    "Normally, that wouldn''t be the case. However, you''re an exception." Letting out a light sigh, Valyr looked at Tryndall, who nodded back at Valyr as he rummaged a small crystal out of his pocket.


    At first, Merdus had no clue what crystal Tryndall had brought out, wondering if the ims they had brought up was purely usation on their part. However, once Tryndall infused a bit of mana into the crystal, the thoughts of his all disappear as he looked at the moving image that had formed within the crystal.


    On the crystal, Merdus could see Lucas, with his body battered and bruised to oblivion. In contrast, the expression on the man''s face was calm as words started toe out of his mouth. "The person behind all of it is the mayor. Merdus is the one behind all of it."


    ''You¡­!'' At the very instant he had heard the sound that came out of the crystal, Merdus'' pupils briefly shrunk in panic as this fear he felt was swiftly reced with rage. However, he decided that now wasn''t the right time to reveal that rage, considering that Lucas had only said something that could be considered as a wild guess.


    Though, as Lucas continued to speak, this rage Merdus felt gradually intensified with every passing second, to the point that Valyr and Tryndall were able to notice the killing intent that was seeping out of him by the end of Lucas'' response to their question.


    Unsurprisingly, just like their previous operations, the two had a few people from the reconnaissance group record the important parts of the operation with memory crystals, especially the parts that gave them a lead on where they should head in order to obtain the truth of the entire matter.


    ''He''s definitely gonna kill us.'' Just as the image of Lucas within the crystal gradually disappeared, both Valyr and Tryndall looked at each other and faintly nodded, the same thought popping up in their minds as they took a few steps back, with Tryndall hiding the crystal in his pockets once more.


    "So, are you still not going to admit that you were the one behind the entire incident?" Valyr asked to Merdus as the two continued to distance themselves from Merdus. In contrast, killing intent started to radiate out of Merdus, eventually covering the entire room as he took in a deep breath.


    "Why should I?" Merdus looked back at them with an expression of superiority. Then, without hesitation, he released the entirety of his aura, the pressure of his aura swiftly pushing down on the two as they kneeled down on one knee in response.


    Not long after, the feeling of the world aiding Merdus in every move soon appeared within the room, putting more pressure on the two as a devilish smile appeared on Merdus'' face, as if he still had everything under control. "As long as I kill the two of you, none would be the wiser."


    "I had a feeling this was going to happen." Letting out a faint chuckle, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face as a man in dull gray armor appeared behind Valyr and Tryndall.


    At the very instant this man appeared, Merdus let out a cackle, finding it hrious for Valyr and Tryndall to think that a third person would increase their chances of escaping the predicament they got themselves into. "You really think a guard like him would help you escape from this mess?"


    "Who says we''re the ones trying to escape?" In response, Tryndall could only grin.


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 258 Clash Of Two Epics

    As those words left out of Tryndall''s mouth, Braum swiftly released the entirety of his aura in response, pushing Merdus'' aura back to his side as the pressure weighing on both Valyr and Tryndall swiftly disappeared in an instant. Letting out light sighs of relief, Valyr and Tryndall thanked Braum as they moved behind him, giving Braum the space to go all out.


    "First of all, I have tomend you for having such strong Intent," said Braum to Merdus, who could only frown in response as his aura, coupled with his Intent in full swing, was being matched by the ''guard'' that stood before him. "However, do you really have enough experience and control to continuously wield it at that level?"


    ''A Rank 4 ss holder?'' Then again, it did not take long for him toe to a conclusion as to why that was the case, instantly wondering where someone like Braum hade from. After all, as the city mayor, he was privy to all the powerful and influential people that passed through his city.


    Yet, for some reason, Braum''s appearance was unknown to him. He did not know where he came from, nor when he arrived.


    ''I''ll figure it out once I beat him.'' Taking in a deep breath, Merdus radiated a bit of mana out of his right hand, prompting a staff around three-quarters his height to appear soon after. Gripping on it tightly, he channeled his Intent through the staff as he swung it down towards Braum.


    "[Serpentine Staff: Skyfall]!"


    Bang!


    In response to the falling staff, Braum crossed his arms in front of him before forming a shield out of energy. Surprisingly, the force behind Merdus'' staff was enough to break the shield, though the momentum that apanied the staff was nullified.


    Just as Braum was about to grip on the staff and remove it from Merdus'' hands, thetter already seemed to have an idea on what his opponent was going to do, retracting the staff before thrusting it out in a series of random attacks, all of which were still apanied by his Intent.


    "[Serpentine Staff: Hundred Fangs]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With him being at the peak of Rank 4, Braum had great ease in dodging a great portion of the attacks Merdus sent at him, owing it all to the great disparity between their agility. However, at the times where he did not have the time to dodge it¡­


    ? Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Braum coated his fists in energy before punching out at the area where the staff would make contact with his body, deflecting the attack before it could evennd. In fact, due to the force he had infused into each of his punches, aside from deflecting the one attack that would hit him, his attack also messed up the rhythm Merdus had in striking out, prompting the man to start all over again.


    Nevertheless, the exchange between the two at this point had be more or less the same.


    Naturally, with none of the attacksnding on his opponent''s body, Merdus grew more and more infuriated with every passing moment. In response to this fury, the attacks he sent towards Braum became more and more aggressive, though, in turn, the uracy of his attacks lessened, allowing Braum to dodge even more of them.


    "For fucks'' sake, hit!" Letting out an enraged scream, Merdus retracted his staff before infusing the entirety of his mana and his Intent into it, rotating his entire body to gain momentum beforeing to an abrupt stop. Then, by maneuvering the staff, he conserved the momentum that he had built up into the staff before shing it down towards Braum. "Take this!"


    "[Serpentine Staff: Nine Hells]!"


    Bang!


    Crossing his arms once more, Braum came face-to-face with Merdus'' staff as he blocked with a swiftly conjured shield, causing all of the momentum it had to dissipate. However, just as he thought the attack was over, the staff gained momentum out of nowhere, colliding with the vambraces on his arms as the force the staff had gained was enough to send him face first to the floor.


    "Hahahaha!" Cackling, Merdus took advantage of Braum''s predicament and continued the subsequent attacks that came with the skill, hitting Braum at the arms and legs before proceeding to aim for his vital spots. By the end of it, Braum was embedded to the ground as an arrogant grin appeared on Merdus'' face, shifting his gaze towards both Valyr and Tryndall.


    "You may have surprised me by having someone at Rank 4 fight against me¡­" Noticing the slight panic written on Valyr and Tryndall''s faces, Merdus started to move closer to them. "However, that''s all there is to it. A surprise."


    Raising his staff once more, he infused his energy and Intent into it as he gave them what he considered to be thest words they got from him. "Repent making an enemy out of me in the underworld."


    "Alright, that''s enough."


    Rumble¡­


    Just as Merdus had swung his staff horizontally, sending a de of energy and Intent towards the duo, a wall made out of dull gray energy appeared out of nowhere and intercepted the de, nullifying its effects.


    Wondering where it hade from, Merdus could only stare at the man before him as he gradually stood up and looked at him with a calm expression. However, if one looked closely, one could see frown on the man''s face as he continued to gaze at Merdus.


    "I''ve got to admit, I''ve underestimated the Intent you''ve formed," Braum said to him. "However, the question I have still stands."


    "Do you have enough experience and control to continuously wield it at that level?"


    "Why would someone without any Intent even bothering a question like that?" Merdus frowned as he infused his energy and Intent into his staff, deciding to hit Braum with another [Serpentine Staff: Nine Hells] to bring the man down once and for good. Though, just as he had finished infusing his staff with his Intent¡­


    Whoosh!


    "W-what¡­?" Within seconds, the Intent he had infused into the staff disappeared into smoke, prompting a light smile to appear on Braum''s face as he opened his mouth.


    "As expected. You were just using it with reckless abandon." As he said these words, the aura Braum emanated gradually intensified in strength, with Merdus eventually bing ck-jawed once he felt a familiar feeling from Braum''s aura.


    The feeling of the world helping Braum.


    The feeling¡­


    ¡­of an Intent.

 Chapter 259 The Hard Way

    "Let me show you how to wield your Intent properly. Maybe you could even pick up a thing or two along the way." As these words came out of Braum''s mouth, a feeling of despair swiftly enveloped Merdus. After all, throughout their fight, he thought of Braum as a mere Rank 4 ss holder. Sure, he was at the peak of Rank 4, but even that gap was enough for his surmount as long as he utilized his Intent.


    ? Yet, in front of him was not only a man at the peak of Rank 4¡­


    But also someone who had an Intent just like him.


    Gritting his teeth in anger, Merdus felt like he had just made himself look like a fool to his opponent, to both Valyr and Tryndall. With that in mind, he felt the urge to take revenge against Braum for the humiliation, only to remind himself that his opponent having an Intent meant that he would undoubtedly lose.


    And thus, he set his eyes on the two behind Braum.


    "Graagh!" Letting out an enraged roar, Merdus bent his knees as he circted a great amount of energy throughout his body, making up for theck of Intent with buffing skills he had in his arsenal. Ducking as he charged forward, he swiftly closed the gap between him and Braum, with thetter already prepared to take a hit from the man''s staff.


    However, rather than hit Braum with the staff, Merdus instead deftly swerved around Braum''s body, appearing behind thetter as he shed a devilish grin towards the two behind him. Swinging his staff diagonally as there was nothing block him from attacking the two, Merdus sent a de of energy towards the duo, thinking that the attack he sent out was more than enough to end the lives of both Valyr and Tryndall.


    "Halt."


    Whoosh!


    Unfortunately, just as the de of energy from Merdus'' staff had reached the staff''s tip, the de was quickly stopped in its ce as dull gray energy manifested out of nowhere, binding the de to its current spot before the gray energy dismantled it into particles of mana.


    Then, after destroying the de of energy, the gray energy then headed towards Merdus'' body, binding him in ce as his pupils shrunk in slight fear when he noticed Braum turn around, looking at him with a cold expression. "The most important rule of wielding Intent: contain all of the energy from your Intent into a specific spot as much as possible. Letting all of that energy radiate into the surroundings might enhance your power for a bit¡­"


    "But only for a bit."


    "[Mountain Fist: First Fist]."


    "[Quake]."


    Bang!


    With Merdus still bound in ce by the dull gray energy Braum had manifested, thetter retracted his right fists before condensing all of his strength into it, imbuing his fist with a bit of Intent before sending it flying towards Merdus'' chest. At that very instant, the dull gray energy holding Merdus in ce dispelled as he was swiftly sent flying through the room with his chest slightly caved in.


    Thud!


    Though the force Braum put behind his attack was more than enough for Merdus to crash through the wall and be sent flying towards the dimly lit city streets, Braum had conjured a barrier of energy around the walls at the veryst minute, reinforcing the part that would collide with Merdus with a small portion of his Intent as thetter fell to the ground with a thud.


    "Ack!" Forcing himself to stand up, Merdus gritted his teeth through the pain that spread throughout his entire body, only for him to cough out blood as a result of taking Braum''s attack head-on. Coughing out a bit more blood after that, Merdus'' gaze contained a bit more ferocity to it as he looked at Braum, who looked back at him with nonchnce.


    "[Serpentine Staff: Molt]."


    Whoosh!


    Ignoring the warning signals his brain sent him to not fight any further, Merdus stared daggers at Braum as he thrust his staff towards Braum, infusing a great portion of energy and his Intent into it, thetter of which he followed Braum''s words to a certain extent.


    Unsurprisingly, Braum raised his eyebrow in interest as he noticed the subtle change in how Merdus controlled his energy and Intent, prompting a light smirk to appear on his face. "So, you do know how to take advice. I''m d to see that.


    "Though, unfortunately for you¡­" Letting out a light sigh soon after, Braum sent out a fist to meet with Merdus'' staff, infusing it with a great amount of his Intent.


    "You learned too little toote."


    "[Mountain Fist: Second Form]."


    "[Landslide]."


    Bang!


    At the very moment Merdus'' staff and Braum''s fist collided, the former quickly snapped into two under the force behind Braum''s fist, prompting thetter to continue its momentum as it made contact with Merdus'' body not long after, punching him straight in the gut.


    However, just as Merdus had buckled to his knees from the overwhelming pain the punch gave him, another wave of Intent radiated out of Braum''s fist, sending a fist purely made out of energy and Intent towards Merdus'' face as he fell backward,nding on his back at great speeds.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Then, punching out with his other fist, a barrage of fists made out of energy and Intent bombarded Merdus'' body from head to toe, causing the man to let out a wail of pain that could be heard throughout the entire city from its sheer loudness. Sadly, this wail could only be heard by Braum and the other two as the former blocked any sound froming out by conjuring a barrier of energy around them.


    "Now, we could do this the easy way or the hard way." Moving closer to Merdus, Braum looked down at the man before opening his mouth. "Are you the one who started the entire Clossbay Killer incident?"


    "Why should I tell someone like you something like that, especially a group of people who decided to barge into my manor all of a sudden?" Hearing the words that came out of Merdus'' mouth, the three could not help but look at each other for a bit as bitter smiles appeared on both Valyr and Tryndall''s faces.


    "I see." In response, Braum lightly nodded before clenching his fists once more, imbuing both of them with his Intent before sending both of them downwards.


    "The hard way, it is."

 Chapter 260 Taste Of Death

    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "So, are you still going to continue to be stubborn, or are you going to admit to your wrongdoings?" Utilizing the second form of [Mountain Fist] on Merdus once more, pummeling his opponent''s body with a barrage of fists made out of Intent and energy, Braum decided to ask the man once more, already feeling a bit of pity from having to beat up someone so much.


    "N¡­never! I''ll never¡­ never tell you!" Nevertheless, Merdus continued to remain unyielding, enduring all of the pain Braum had inflicted on his body as he ignored the multiple warning signals his brain was sending him.


    At that moment, only a few strands of consciousness continued to stay strong within Merdus'' mind as he forced himself to stay awake through the debilitating pain. Consoling himself that there would eventuallye a point where Braum would get tired of asking him, he continued to persevere.


    Fortunately for him, Braum had indeed gotten tired of asking him the same question over and over again, only for him to get the same response every time. Unfortunately for him¡­


    Braum was already done ying around.


    "Since you''re unwilling to tell us what we want to know, then I might as well end your life right now." With his voice exuding great chill, Braum looked at Merdus as if he were nothing in his eyes, clenching his right fist as a great amount of energy surrounded it not long after, forming an intricate glove of sorts.


    Soon after, he infused his Intent into the fist, with the energy surrounding it taking on a dull gray. However, after a few more seconds, this dull gray energy gradually became darker, eventually taking on a pitch ck color as Braum''s fist at that moment exuding the feeling of death.


    "[Mountain Fist: Ultimate Form]."


    "[Earth Asunder]."


    "Begone." Letting out a brief exhale, Braum then sent out his right fist towards Merdus, causing thetter to wonder whether his opponent was serious or not on killing him, thinking that the man would hesitate at the veryst moment. However, this wishful thinking of his was swiftly dispelled as Braum''s fist eventually made contact with Merdus'' body, causing him to feel that he was gradually being suffocated by a mountain above him.


    With the feeling of looming death finally sinking in, Merdus instantly felt regret for not having told Braum his involvement in the entire incident. In fact, he felt great regret at the fact that he had not told Braum his involvement in the first ce, thinking that he could have avoided his death if he had just admitted to his wrongdoings.


    Wanting to at least die without regrets, Braum summoned the remaining strands of energy he could muster amidst his death, his voice reverberating throughout the room soon after.


    "I¡­ I started it! I was the one who created it in the first ce!"


    "Is that so?"


    Whoosh!


    "¡­" At the very instant those words came out of Merdus'' mouth, the feeling of looming death surrounding his entire body quickly disappeared, causing him to feel great confusion as he looked at the man who was about to make him disappear from the surface of the world.


    Looking at Merdus with a light grin on his face, he then said to him, "Another tip to wielding your Intent, though it would be better to say that it''s a tip to improve your Intent."


    "Figure out other aspects where your Intent could be applied."


    At those words, Merdus looked at Braum with even more confusion, wondering why his opponent would give him tips on improving his Intent at such a weird time. Though, before he could even voice out the question in his head, the final strands of consciousness in his mind finally broke apart, eventually rendering Merdus unconsciousness as he fell to the floor with a light thud.


    ¡­


    Ding!


    Hearing notification sounds resound in their minds at the very instant Merdus fell unconscious, Valyr and Tryndall looked at each other with expectation in their eyes as they went ahead and took a look at the notifications they had received.


    [You havepleted the City Quest ''The Clossbay Conspiracy''.]


    [You have gained 800,000 XP.]


    [Your level has been increased by one. You are now Level 19.]


    [You have gained the following stats: +3 VIT, +3 STR, +2 AGI, +5 DEX, +5 INT, +2 WIS, +3 PER, and +1 LUK.]


    [You have gained 4 unassigned stat points.]


    [You have gained the title ''Adjudicator of Clossbay''.]


    Coincidentally, at the very moment Valyr was finished reading through his notifications, he felt a surge of power spread throughout his body, causing a light smile to appear on his face as he clenched his fists. Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief that a quest both he and Tryndall could not handle on their own was cleared, he shifted his gaze towards his friend to his right, feeling thetter''s aura surge in intensity as well.


    "I''m guessing your quests are finallypleted?" Unsurprisingly, Braum felt the surge in power emanating from both of them, prompting him toe closer as the two responded to his question with a light nod. In response, a light smile appeared on his face as he looked at Valyr. "With this, I think it''s time for us to finally depart."


    "Yeah." Valyr lightly nodded, prompting Tryndall to look at the two in silence as he listened in on their conversation. "Though, might I suggest postponing the departure to the morning two days from now? I still have a few more things to settle."


    While listening to Valyr''s suggestion, a light frown crept up on Braum''s face, only for him to nod in understanding soon after as he took note of Valyr''s gaze. "Alright. We''ll also have to settle matters regarding this entire incident with this city''s mayor anyway."


    "d to hear." Naturally, Valyr shed a grin at Braum, prompting thetter to smile before shaking his head as he took a look at the unconscious Merdus.


    "So, what next?" Braum asked the two, prompting Tryndall and Valyr to look at each other before looking back at the man in front of them as they shrugged their shoulders.


    "We''ve alreadypleted our quests, so we can move onto other things after this," said Valyr to Braum. "What are you going to do about Merdus, though?"


    "Well¡­there''s nothing else I can do but wait for him to wake up." In response, Braum let out a light sigh as he moved closer to the unconscious man before leaning closer to his face, only to¡­


    p!


    p the man on the face.


    "Though, I could also just do this."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"

 Chapter 261 Separate Ways

    "Agh!" With both Valyr and Tryndall watching in silence as Braum unceremoniously pped Merdus on the face, the unconscious man was swiftly jolted awake, the stinging pain of the p waking him up.


    With a furious expression on his face, he looked around his surroundings to see who had pped him, only to meet Braum eye-to-eye as he remembered the situation he was previously in. Freezing up in ce for a moment, Merdus took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh.


    "I''ve already told you what you needed to know, right?" Merdus looked at Braum with a light frown. "What? Do you still need something else from me?"


    As the man shifted his gaze towards Valyr and Tryndall, the two shook their heads before Valyr opened his mouth to respond. "We''ve already gained what we needed from you."


    "The only one who still has something to settle with you is him." Noticing that Valyr was pointing at the man that stood in front of him, Merdus let out yet another sigh as he wondered what Braum was going to do to him.


    With the difference in their strengths, Merdus wouldn''t be surprised if he were to turn into Braum''s punching bag of sorts, thetter possibly giving him advice on controlling and improving his Intent by the side.


    Though the thought of getting stronger somewhat tempted him, he still recalled the great amount of pain he felt with every punch Braumnded on his body, making him slightly shudder in fear as he dispelled the idea.


    Of course, he also considered the possibility of him bing a henchman of some sort under Braum, having to do whatever thetter wanted to do at the very moment he asked for it. However, after fighting against Braum, even being pummeled by the man to oblivion, he had be certain regarding one part about Braum.


    Braum wouldn''t have any reason to do that, nor was he the type of person to do something like that.


    With that, Merdus awaited what Braum would do next, only for a nk expression to adorn his face as the man before him conjured shackles of condensed mana out of nowhere, using the shackles to restrict Merdus'' movements to a degree.


    Just as he was about to ask what Braum was going to do to him, thetter''s words echoed throughout the room, causing Merdus to remain silent for a bit as the words Braum spoke to him eventually sinked in.


    "Merdus Clossbay, as you have been discovered to be the instigator and the mastermind of an operation that jeopardizes the safety of all the citizens within an entire city¡­"


    "You are under arrest."


    "Arrest?" Naturally, Merdus was in disbelief. After all, even though he was the reason why the Clossbay Killer incident came to be, he was still the mayor of Clossbay City.


    "I''m the mayor of Clossbay City, you know?" With that in mind, Merdus vehemently resisted against the arrest through his words, considering that he was already in chains. "You can''t arrest me."


    "We can." In response to Merdus'' words, a feminine voice resounded throughout the room, revealing Madeline as she appeared beside Braum, shing a slightly apologetic smile at him as a sigil manifested above her extended palm.


    "Took longer than I thought."


    "You still made it in time." Listening to her words, Braum thanked Madeline for her hard work as thetter transferred the sigil of mana to Braum, causing another sigil to appear on his forehead before it disappeared not long after, making it seem as if nothing had happened in the first ce.


    Seeing that her job was done, Madeline looked at Valyr and Tryndall before ncing at Braum for a bit, thetter of which nodded at her as the two of them silently exchanged messages through their gazes. Nodding back, Madeline then shifted her gaze back to Valyr and Tryndall, helping them safely leave the manor as Merdus and Braum were eventually left on their own.


    Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Braum looked at shackled man before him, radiating the aura the sigil had instilled into him as Merdus felt like the one standing before him was the only one who could dictate whether he lived or died.


    "With the power of the core city-level arrest warrant bestowed upon me by the kingdom, I, Braum dios, now dere Merdus Clossbay guilty of his actions." As these words came out of Braum''s mouth, all thoughts of resisting had already disappeared from Merdus'' mind, instead hoping that he wouldn''t be treated harshly once he was detained.


    With Merdus'' head bowed down, Braum continued. "As you are under arrest, I must remind you that anything you say or do at this point can and shall be used against you."


    "Then again, it would be a waste for a talented man like you to be locked up in prison forever." Hearing these words, Merdus looked up at Braum, his expression that of confusion as he wondered what the man was talking about.


    Though, once he listened to the next words Braum told him, his dejection was swiftly reced with that of enthusiasm.


    ¡­


    As Braum brought along a silent Merdus with him outside the manor, thetter having a calm yet excited expression on his face, everyone looked at the duo that had just appeared as they all nodded at Braum, prompting thetter to nod back.


    "Where''s Paul and Tyrst?" asked Braum soon after, looking at hisrades. In response, Paul and Tyrst stepped forward, prompting them to wonder why the two of them were called by their team leader. Though, once Braum passed off Merdus to the two of them, the two quickly understood what they needed to do, lightly nodding as Paul asked Braum a question.


    "Should we bring Lucas along as well?" Hearing this question, Braum nodded in response, informing the two that they don''t have to return to the city since they would head to the kingdom either way.


    Bidding everyone a farewell, Paul and Tyrst went ahead and did what was tasked of them, with Tyrst carrying the still unconscious Lucas with them as they eventually disappeared from the sight of everyone in the group.


    "What did you tell Merdus after we left?" Sometime after Paul and Tyrst left with Lucas and Merdus in tow, Valyr moved closer to Braum and asked him a question, the question that popped up in his mind the instant he saw Merdus walking side by side with Braum. After all, unlike within the room earlier where Merdus'' expression was full of dejection after the arrest, his expression instead exuded a feeling of faint excitement and expectation.


    "You''ll find out once we arrive at the kingdom." In response, Braum could only snicker, keeping the answer to Valyr''s question a secret for now as thetter was left with no choice but to ce the matter at the back of his head for now.


    "Anyways, I must remind you that we''ll be departing for the kingdom the morning after tomorrow," Braum said soon after, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    "I know, I know." Valyr let out a faint sigh. "I''ll be using the time to wrap up a few things in the city before I could leave for good."


    "Speaking of which, do you mind if you tell me what kind of weapons your group uses?" Listening to the question Valyr asked him, Braum instantly responded as to what he would do with that information. In response, a yful yet slightly mischievous grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he let out a soft giggle.


    "You''ll find that out once we set off for departure." Of course, Braum already had a feeling as to what Valyr was going to do with the information, adding Valyr on his friend list before sending a message regarding the weapons their group used. After sometime, he also sent a message to Valyr regarding their respective levels, prompting thetter to reply back to him with a genuine thanks.


    Having gained information on the group''s weapons, their respective levels, as well as a peak Rank 4 ss holder in his friend list, a light smile adorned Valyr''s face as he looked at Tryndall and suggested that they should head their separate ways and rest for now. Unsurprisingly, Tryndall agreed with the notion, telling everyone that they all did a great job before thanking Braum''s group for helping them out in solving the incident once and for all.


    After the others congratted each other for their great work in thepletion of what seemed to be the final operation, everyone eventually went their separate ways, with Valyr returning to his smithy while Braum''s group decided to head into one of the inns to rest for the night.


    "I guess we should call it a day as well." With the reconnaissance group the Adventurer''s Guild had given freedom for him tomand being the only group left behind, Tryndall looked at the five with a smile. "You know what? I''m feeling generous tonight. Drinks are on me."


    "Young Master¡­" However, just as the group was about to head to a nearby restaurant, one of the assassins from the reconnaissance group stopped them in their tracks as the man told Tryndall to listen to what he had to say. "I''ve received a message from His Excellency."


    "Master?" In response, Tryndall raised his eyebrow in curiosity as a solemn expression appeared on his face. "What did he say?"


    "His Excellency told me to inform you that he has registered you up for a special tournament." The assassin looked back at him, making Tryndall furrow his brows.


    "Did he mention what kind of tournament it was?"


    "He did." The assassin nodded. "His Excellency said that the name of the tournament is¡­"


    "The Myriad Prodigies Tournament."

 Chapter 262 Tag Along

    Crimson Forge.


    "I''m tired." Letting out a long sigh at the very instant he entered the smithy, Valyr quickly made his way to the workshop section and took off the Half Wyvern Armor, making a mental note to repair them the following day. Fighting the urge to head to the living quarters and fall asleep, he went ahead and did some light stretching with his body.


    Just as he was about to head to the bathroom to take a rxing shower before bed, Valyr stopped in his tracks as he noticed another person inside the storefront. Slowly turning around to look at the man, wondering if someone was waiting to ambush him in the dark, he inwardly let out a sigh of relief once he found out the man was someone familiar to him. "Just arrived right now?"


    "Nah. I''ve actually been waiting for you for quite sometime." Shaking his head in response, Wells slowly stood up from where he sat before moving closer to Valyr. "After all, I felt like I had to inform you regarding cksmiths that could take your ce as soon as you came back."


    "Did you find one?" In response, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, only for him to let out a peal ofughter once Wells nodded at his question. Not long after, Wells let out a bit ofughter as well, the joy radiating from Valyr at this moment being somewhat infectious.


    Nevertheless, at some point, the two of them stoppedughing, looking at each other with faint smiles on their faces.


    "Well, it''s alreadyte into the night, so tell me more about it the following day." As Valyr said these words, a thought popped up in his mind all of a sudden. With the faint smile on his face gradually disappearing, he looked at Wells in the eyes as he posed a question to the man. "Speaking of which, why are you still up? Though I do understand you needing to tell me about what I asked you as soon as possible, we could''ve just talked about it the following day, no?"


    "Of course." Wells nodded, his expression calm. "However, that''s not the main reason why I''m still up."


    "In fact, I have a feeling you already know why."


    "I already know¡­" Muttering part of Wells''st statement to him, it did not take long for everything in Valyr''s mind to click into ce, a bitter smile appearing on his face not long after. "I see."


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr sorted out the thoughts in his mind for a bit in silence before eventually telling Wells what he wanted to know. "This is about the group of five, right?"


    "Yeah." Wells nodded.


    "Remember what the leader of the group said back in the coliseum? Specifically, their purpose ining." Nodding back, Valyr posed another question to Wells, prompting thetter to go silent for a bit as he pondered over the question.


    "If I remember correctly¡­ they said they were there to escort you to Algerie Kingdom." Hearing Wells'' response to his question, Valyr nodded in agreement.


    "Exactly. Now, do you remember the task your family gave you involving me?" At this question, a look of confusion appeared on Wells'' face, wondering what Valyr was trying to imply with his words. Though, once he thought about it a bit more, a look of understanding reced his confusion as his mouth turned slightly agape.


    "Are you telling me¡­ their purpose in escorting you to Algerie Kingdom is due to the Myriad Prodigies Tournament?" In response to Wells'' question, Valyr beamed a grin before nodding¡­


    Only to let out a bit ofughter soon after.


    "Oh, how I wish that were to be the case," he said soon after, returning the expression on Wells'' face back to that of puzzlement. Looking at Wells for a bit, Valyr went silent as he pondered whether or not to tell the former regarding the main reason for the five''s appearance.


    ? Letting out a low sigh, Valyr made up his mind as he looked at Wells with a neutral expression. "The five didn''te here to escort me to the kingdom due to the tournament. It''s for something else."


    "Have you heard of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance?" As this question came out of Valyr''s mouth, Wells lightly nodded.


    "As someone from a noble family, I have knowledge regarding the inheritance, yes. Though, how does that rte to¡­" Just as Wells was about to ask the connection between the five and the inheritance, everything clicked inside Wells'' mind once more as his eyes widened in shock.


    "Are you saying¡­ you''re a candidate?" Asking this question to Valyr, Wells felt like there was a chance it could be a repeat of what Valyr did earlier with the task his family gave him. However, unlike earlier, a solemn expression appeared on Valyr''s face as he slowly nodded.


    "It''s actually the reason why I''ve been asking you to find a cksmith that could take my ce," Valyr said to him. "After all, once I head to Algerie Kingdom, who would be the one forging equipment for the Crimson Forge?"


    "In any case, on the day after tomorrow, I''ll be leaving Clossbay City for a long time." Saying these words, Valyr inwardly sighed. "Perhaps, I might not evene back to the city at all."


    "I know your family told you to stay by my side and persuade me to participate in the Myriad Prodigies Tournament under their banner, but you could always not do that, you know?" he said.


    "You could always choose to stay here and ponder over the way of the spear at your own pace. I could even give you the Crimson Forge as a whole so you don''t have to worry about money and shelter."


    "Or you could choose to follow your family''s wishes and continue apanying me so we could head to the kingdom together. It''s all up to you." After these words, Valyr remained silent, silently telling Wells that he was now being given a choice on whether he should stay at the city, or whether he should continue tagging along with Valyr.


    Then again, ever since the two of them reunited, Wells had alreadye to a decision on what he should do. Thus, with a smile on his face, he said something to Valyr that made thetter chuckle in response.


    "I''ve made my decision."


    "And that is¡­?"


    "To apany you, naturally."


    "I had a feeling you''d say that."

 Chapter 263 Maxed Out

    Feeling a bit of joy at the fact that Wells decided toe along with him on his journey to Algerie Kingdom, Valyr said to him that they would have a lot of things to do tomorrow in preparation for their departure to the kingdom, though they would talk more about it after they got a good night''s rest.


    While the two were making their way to the living quarters, a thought popped up in Valyr''s mind as he looked at the man beside him. "Now that I think about it, you''re still Level 11, right?"


    "Yeah?" Wells nodded in response, his expression that of curiosity.


    "Do you have any unused XP you could use to increase your level?" Hearing the question Valyr had asked him, Wells swiftly shook his head as he replied that almost all of the XP he left unused all went towards upgrading the skills he had obtained as a Spear Schr.


    As he heard Wells'' response, Valyr thought to himself that he should upgrade some of the skills he had to their limit, especially all of the skills he had gained after bing a True Prodigious cksmith. After all, with 800,000 XP, it was more than enough for him to upgrade all of the forging skills he had to their max levels.


    Aside from that, he was also curious as to how much his forged equipment would improve once he had maxed out his forging skills. Though, in actuality, the main reason why he thought about upgrading his forging skills was due to the fact most of his XP in upgrading skills went towardsbat skills, even though his ss was a variant of the cksmith ss.


    ''If other cksmiths found out my forging skills were still at Level 1 all this time, they would definitely think of me as aughingstock.'' With the thought in mind, Valyr thought about the ce Arcenne had rmended to her back when he asked her if there was any ce within the city where he could grind a ton of XP.


    "You know, there''s a ce in the city where we could obtain a ton of XP." At the very moment the two of them arrived at the living quarters, Valyr said these words to Wells, piquing thetter''s interest. "If you want, we could head there tomorrow so you could increase your level."


    "Sure, why not?" Unsurprisingly, Wells agreed with Valyr''s suggestion, telling thetter that he''ll ask for the specifics after they woke up tomorrow.


    With Wells heading to bed, Valyr then made his way to the bathroom and took a long shower, letting the water flowing down his body take away all of the stress that had built up throughout the entire day. At some point, he let out a satisfied sigh, his mind at ease since the City Quest he and Tryndall had obtained was finally done.


    ''Now that I think about it, I should send Arcenne a few messages regarding the five tomorrow.'' Though he knew Arcenne would have already contacted her father regarding the appearance of the five and their connection to Valyr, thetter did tell her that he would tell her about it after everything was done.


    ''Should I inform Tryndall about it as well?'' Aftering to a decision regarding his chat with Arcenne, Valyr then thought about his friend Tryndall, the water flowing down his body allowing him to enter a deeper state of contemtion. Eventually, he decided on doing the same thing he was going to do for Arcenne. However, he would also ask Tryndall regarding his position in the Adventurer''s Guild as well, considering the shock Braum and the other four felt when they found out his friend''s identity.


    Getting out of the shower after being in there for quite a while, Valyr dried himself off before quickly changing into a set of loose-fitting clothes. Heading to his bed, he thenid down on it beforemanding the system to bring up the amount of unused XP he still had, as well as the list of skills he currently owned.


    Ding! Ding!


    As notification sounds resounded in his mind, two small screens appeared in his field of vision, allowing him to confirm that he indeed had over 800,000 XP to use wherever he wanted. Wondering if it would be better to just allocate the XP towards increasing his levels instead, Valyr reminded himself that all of his forging skills were at Level 1.


    With that, as well as the thought of apanying Wells to the Experience Pit tomorrow, Valyr allocated a great portion of his unused XP towards maxing out all of the forging skills in his skill list, feeling a bit of pain at the fact that he was about to use 80% of the unused XP he had in one go.


    [Would you like to spend 84,452 XP to upgrade ''True Prodigious Equipment Creation'' to Level 10?]


    [Would you like to spend 84,452 XP to upgrade ''True Prodigious Equipment Modification to Level 10?]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Would you like to spend 84,452 XP to upgrade ''True Prodigious Equipment Resonance'' to Level 10?]


    [Would you like to spend 84,452 XP to upgrade ''True Prodigious Forging Style'' to Level 10?]


    "Yes." Nevertheless, he continued to stick to his decision, tears welling up in his eyes as he had confirmed all of the prompts from the system, only for his mind to nk out soon after.


    Within seconds, an influx of information far greater than anything he had experienced in the past entered his mind, rendering Valyr mute as it took a few minutes for him to regain control over his mind, organizing and processing all of the information he had just obtained as efficiently and as quickly as he could.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh as he finished organizing all of the information, he made a mental note to himself to not upgrade multiple skills to max level in a row, especially in a situation where his vignce was greatly needed.


    ''Then again, it could''ve been worse.'' Valyr consoled himself soon after, slightly thankful of the fact that he wasn''t allowed to evolve his Common grade skills to Umon grade until he had ascended to Rank 2. If that were the case, he would have probably stayed in a daze for far longer.


    "Hmm¡­ I still have over 100,000 XP left. Where should I use it?" After getting over the feeling of being bombarded by tons of information, Valyr then pondered over where he could use the remaining unused XP he had, finding out that he had more than enough to increase his level by one.


    However, in the end, he decided to allocate the XP to upgrade some of his other skills to the max level, upgrading [Serpent Steps Movement Style], as well as the long-forgotten [Basic Spear Mastery] to Level 10.


    Seeing that he had no other skill to allocate his remaining XP on after that, as well as the fact that the remaining XP he had was far from enough to increase his level, Valyr closed the two screens before him, closing his eyes not long after as he soon fell into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 264 Returning To The Pit

    "Mngh¡­" Feeling the warm rays of the sun wash over his body, Valyr gradually roused from his slumber as he gradually opened his eyes. Giving his consciousness time to be fully awake, he slowly sat upright before turning around to look out of the window, only to notice that the sun was already quite high up in the sky.


    Though this gave Valyr quite a bit of shock, it was not to the point that it would warrant him getting out of the bed as soon as possible. With the fact that he had fought in a life and death duel and joined an operation that solved a citywide problem before it got worse yesterday, Valyr thought that he should take it somewhat easy for a while.


    Feeling the body aches he was expecting to suffer throughst night finally take hold of his body, a bitter smile appeared on his face as he got out of the bed before pushing his body to do some light stretching, alleviating a bit of the soreness and pain he felt. After that, he made his way to the bathroom as he took a brief nce at the storefront, only to see Wells arranging the equipment they would put up on sale for today.


    Letting out a soft chuckle, Valyr went ahead and took a long and warm shower, letting the warm water wash away the soreness that rampaged throughout his body as he eventually let out a long sigh of relief. Once he was finished drying himself up, he then changed into a set of modest-looking clothes before heading to where Wells was.


    "Oh, you''re finally awake." At the very moment Wells noticed Valyr enter the smithy, he briefly shed a smile at the man before nodding, continuing to do what he was doing soon after. "It''s quite rare to see you wake up sote in the morning."


    "I''ve been through a lot yesterday, so I was just giving my body the proper rest it needed." Valyr chuckled in response. "In any case, I have no ns to open the smithy today."


    "You should have told me earlier." Hearing his friend''s words, Wells let out a bitter chuckle, to which Valyr let out a chuckle as well. "Are you still nning to meet the cksmith today, though?"


    "How could I not?" Valyr nodded. "Though we may be leaving for the kingdom tomorrow morning, someone should take up the mantle of the Crimson Forge in my stead. After all, I''m pretty sure that the forging emporium''s reputation within the city has tanked after the duel."


    "Speaking of which, did anything interesting happen while I was asleep?" At those words, Wells gave Valyr a knowing smile before nodding in response.


    "A lot of things," said Wells to him. "For one, the city was in chaos after everyone found out that the mayor had been involved in the whole Clossbay Killer incident, with many people heading to the mayor''s office to hopefully beat the man up."


    "Were they sessful?" Though Valyr already knew the answer to the question, he still decided to ask Wells about it, eliciting a shake of the head from thetter.


    "Not at all," Wells replied. "In fact, when they mmed the door to the mayor''s office open, the mayor was nowhere to be found. Instead, people with authority from the kingdom were actually inside the mayor''s office, informing all of the citizens that decided to barge in that they were under the kingdom''s jurisdiction for now until they found another person that was suitable for the position."


    "Aside from that, the people from the kingdom told those citizens that they were informed by a few people from the city in secret regarding the whole ordeal, allowing them to take care of matters before anything worse happened," he continued, a knowing smile adorning his face once more as he looked at Valyr.


    "Because of that, a ton of people in the city are on the lookout for the so-called saviors of Clossbay City. Then again, we don''t really have anything to do with that, no?" As Wells concluded his exnation, Valyr knew for a fact that his friend already had an idea on what was going on, prompting him to inwardly snicker as he remained a neutral expression on the outside, nodding before posing another question to Wells.


    "How about the forging emporium? Is there any news about them?" Not getting the reaction he wanted out of Valyr, Wells became briefly dejected as his expression returned to normal not long after. Recalling the gossip he had heard from people who knew Valyr and him from the time he went outside earlier, he eventually gave Valyr a response.


    "As you''ve mentioned earlier, the reputation of the forging emporium greatly soured after the life and death duel, only for it to worsen even further after they were found out to be colluding with a few people that were involved in the Clossbay Killer incident." Hearing these words from Wells, Valyr nodded in silence as he motioned for the man in front of him to continue.


    Nodding back, Wells continued with his exnation. "ording to what I''ve heard, because of that, the monopoly the forging emporium had over the forging industry was finally broken, with many people flocking towards fledgling independent, as well as medium-sized smithies. Naturally, our Crimson Forge is also included in this list."


    "However, unlike the other smithies, the reputation of the Crimson Forge went above and beyond after the entire ordeal, with your victory in the life and death duel only bolstering that reputation even further." Saying these words, Wells looked at Valyr with a light grin. "In fact, a great number of people had stopped me while I was outside earlier to ask me if we were going to open the smithy today."


    In response to Wells'' words, Valyr could only bitterly smile, inwardly apologizing to those that have be regrs of the establishment, especially after taking into consideration that it had only been a bit over two weeks since the Crimson Forge was first opened.


    Though he felt a bit of pain from this fact, he eventually got over it, reminding himself of the goals he had for himself to achieve in the future. Nevertheless, he wasn''t going to put the newfound reputation of the Crimson Forge to waste, hoping that the cksmith Wells found to take his ce would be able to maintain a rtively simr level of quality in his works.


    With his stomach slightly rumbling from hunger, Valyr told Wells toe along with him as they made their way outside, only to be stopped by a few regrs that had asked Valyr if the Crimson Forge was going to open today. In response, Valyr gave them an apologetic smile as he told them that the smithy wouldn''t be open.


    Though dejected, the regrs understood the reasoning behind Valyr''s decision, recalling the life and death duel he had participated in yesterday. With that in mind, their dejection turned into understanding as they told Valyr to get a lot of rest, prompting thetter to reply back that they should get some rest as well, only to bid farewell to them after he told them that the Crimson Forge would be open tomorrow.


    With the regrs that came across the duo being instilled with newfound hope and excitement towards the following day, the two continued on their merry way to a nearby restaurant, swiftly ordering the meals they wanted to eat as Wells looked at Valyr with a slightly curious expression. "Are you sure you should have told them that?"


    "It''ll be fine. I know what I''m doing." In response, Valyr gave Wells aposed smile as a question surfaced in his mind not long after. "Speaking of which, let''s meet the cksmith you found after this, then head to the ce I mentioned where we could gain a lot of XP."


    "Alright." With Wells nodding in response, the two of them passed the time by talking about what things they wanted to do after they arrived at the kingdom, their meals arriving in front of them just as their conversation seemed to have reached a climax.


    Surprisingly, rather than stop their conversation there and continue it after they were finished eating, they instead continued their conversation amidst their meals, prompting grins to appear on both of their faces as they imagined themselves doing the things they wanted to do in the kingdom.


    After paying for their respective meals, the two of them left the restaurant before stopping by at a slightly popr meet-up spot, with Valyr finally meeting the cksmith Wells had found yesterday face-to-face. Though he was slightly bewildered by the fact that he was finally able to meet the cksmith that would take his ce, wondering how Wells had contacted him ahead of time, it did not take long for a few usible ideas to pop up in his mind, causing a smile to appear on Wells'' face as Valyr looked at him.


    Fortunately, the conversation Valyr and the cksmith, Magis, held was quite positive, with both sides learning from each other regarding the art of forging. Naturally, the two of them also discussed what they were going to do with the Crimson Forge, with the two of theming to an agreement as Magis eventually separated from Valyr and Wells.


    Though Wells was curious as to what the two had talked about, considering that Magis had erected a barrier surrounding both him and Valyr during the conversation, he decided to ce the question at the back of his head for now as he and Valyr eventually arrived at the ce where thetter told he could earn a lot of XP.


    The Experience Pit.

 Chapter 265 Forgetting Something

    As both Valyr and Wells entered the unassuming building that housed the Experience Pits, the disinterested young man manning the counter instantly went ahead and opened his mouth to ask the usual question he would ask to those that entered the building.


    However, just as the young man was about to do so, the words got stuck in his throat as he recalled Valyr entering the Experience Pit around a month ago. Taking into consideration the newfound reputation Valyr had entered after standing victorious in a life and death duel, the young man put a bit more energy into his voice as his tone became somewhat more cordial.


    "Wee. I suppose you''re nning to book an Experience Pit?"


    Unfortunately, the indifference in the young man''s voice still couldn''t be removed.


    "Can we get two Experience Pits? One for me, and one for my friend." Recalling how the young man behind the counter treated him the first time he arrived at the building, Valyr was already expecting such a question from the man. Though, the tone the young man used in his questioning briefly intrigued him.


    "Let me check." Nodding in response, the young man took out a thin tablet under the counter before infusing it with a bit of his mana. Staring at the tablet''s surface for a while, with the glow from the mana dyeing his face a faint light blue, the young man eventually ced the tablet on the counter as he looked at both Valyr and Wells with another nod.


    "We have two vacant rooms avable," said the young man to Valyr. "Are you two nning to use it right away, or are you two nning to reserve the rooms for a future date?"


    "We''re going to use it now," replied Valyr, prompting the young man to extend his hand out as he waited for the payment from the two. Continuing to remain silent all this time, Wells watched as his friend rummaged two gold coins out of his pocket before giving it to the young man.


    Though he was quite surprised as to why such a ce warranted the payment of a gold coin for a room, it did not take long for him to find out the answer to his question as he listened to the young man''s next words.


    "The rooms you''ll be upying are B-1 and B-2." Grabbing the thin tablet from the counter, the young man infused a bit more mana into it as he eventually told Valyr and Wells the rooms they''ve booked. "Note that you can use the Experience Pits for as long as you want, though you''ll be asked to leave an hour before sunset."


    "Is this your first time using an Experience Pit?" As these words came out of the young man''s mouth, he shifted his gaze towards Wells, who could only nod in response. Nodding back, the young man continued. "Since that''s the case, I must inform you that each Experience Pit is equipped with refreshments and stamina potions, should you ever need to take a break from grinding XP."


    "Aside from that, a few staff members would apany you in the room as they would make sure that the amount of XP you gain from the Experience Pit is as high as possible, while making sure that you''re as safe as possible." The young man let out a soft sigh, faintly wondering when he would ever stop saying these words to neers to the Experience Pit.


    "With that in mind, you can adjust the level of the monsters you face against to as high as you can go or as low as you want it to be. Then again, the generally rmended level disparity for beginners is around three levels above your current level. Of course, if you think you can handle stronger monsters, or perhaps more monsters at once, you can always ask the staff to increase the monsters'' levels or the number of monsters you''re fighting at once at any time."


    "Speaking of levels¡­" Seeing that the young man was somewhat done in giving Wells a quick overview of how the Experience Pit worked, Valyr decided to ask the young man a question that popped up in his mind after he recalled one thing the young man had mentioned to him roughly a month ago. "What''s the highest level monster avable for me to face? Is it still the peak of Rank 1?"


    "The Experience Pit already has monsters beyond that level." The young man softly shook his head. "However, you can only face up against Level 35 monsters at most, which puts the monsters solidly in the middle of Rank 2. Though, from another perspective, these monsters could also be considered at thetter stages of Rank 2."


    "I see." Nodding in understanding, Valyr and Wells then made their way to where their rooms, with the young man shouting before the two could fully disappear from the former''s field of vision that they had to give 30% of the XP they earned to the staff after they were done grinding XP.


    Naturally, Wells looked at Valyr after that and asked if the man''s words were true. After all, this was his first time using something like the Experience Pit, so he wasn''t sure if the young man said those words because he thought Wells was easily fooled.


    Letting out a chuckle in response, Valyr told Wells that the young man''s words were indeed true, informing thetter that this was an irond rule enforced by the Experience Fit in order to make sure that stronger and stronger monsters could be added to the Experience Pit to fight against.


    After that, he also told Wells that by the Experience Pit doing something like this, they would be able to cater to them and make sure they earned the optimal amount of XP, even though they would already be at a higher level in the future.


    At that point, Wells had noints regarding the giving of XP to the staff, a determined expression appearing on his face by the time the two of them found their respective rooms. Seeing that the two rooms were adjacent to one another, the two did not really think too much on which person got what room, with Valyr taking B-2, while Wells entered B-1.


    ¡­


    Taking only a few steps into the room he had chosen, it was quickly apparent to Valyr that a lot about the rooms had changed. For one, the decor that surrounded the entire room had be morevish than before, apanying the modern feeling the rooms gave off the previous time he went into an Experience Pit.


    Even the refreshments and potions that were avable for him to consume had been improved, with all of the refreshmentsid out on the tables giving him the feeling that they would instantly replenish part of his stamina, though not to the extent of an actual stamina potion.


    Speaking of potions, the stamina and various rejuvenation potions avable for his consumption had also increased in quality, giving him the feeling that they were incredibly close to being ssified as Lesser grade rejuvenation potions, perhaps even being actual Lesser grade potions themselves. Nevertheless, with a quick scan of [Analysis], he swiftly found out that the potions were only infinitesimally close to being considered as such.


    ''And to think they were still able to keep the price of a single room to one gold coin.'' Feeling somewhat amazed by that fact, he then shifted his gaze to the staff that would be tending to him while he made use of the Experience Pit, finding all of them biding their time through their own various ways.


    Watching the staff do what they were already doing for a while, Valyr quickly noticed that the aura emanating from each of the staff was significantly stronger than it was before, eliciting a slight smile to appear on his face as he thought that he had helped contribute to the strengthening of the staff that would take care of him today.


    ''Well, if there''s one thing that doesn''t change, it''s got to be the pit.'' Though most of the things within the room he booked had changed since the time hest used an Experience Pit, the pit that he fought monsters inst time hadn''t changed even one bit, spanning a few meters below the ground to ensure that any monster he fought against wouldn''t be able to get out.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr then retrieved the True Tideblood Spear from behind his back before making his way to the passage that led to the pit, prompting the staff to finally focus their attention on Valyr. Within seconds, the staff got into their respective positions, with some being allocated towards guard duty, some towards the difficulty control of the monsters Valyr would fight against in the pit, and some being allocated towards other aspects of the pit.


    Sometimeter, a man in histe twenties wearing clean clothes that gave off a schrly vibe appeared beside Valyr, introducing himself to Valyr as he gave thetter a respectful bow. "We''ve been informed that you have used the Experience Pit before, so I shall skip all of the exnations that usually came with using the pit for the first time."


    "With that in mind, what monster level would you like to start off with?"


    "Monster level¡­" As this phrase lingered within Valyr''s mind, an expression of panic eventually crept up on his face as he inwardly cursed himself for forgetting something that would effectively allow him to earn more XP from the pit.


    His Half Wyvern Armor.

 Chapter 266 The Spears Request

    Though the Half Wyvern Armor didn''t really grant him anything significant that would improve his fighting efficiency, perhaps save for [Wyvern''s Breath], which he didn''t really know how effective it was since he hadn''t used it in the life and death duel against Leron, it did grant him something that made him regret not wearing it beforeing to the Experience Pit.


    ''Then again, if I think about it for a bit more, most of the stats the armor boosts are based on survivability.'' With him utilizing [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening] on all the pieces that made up the Half Wyvern Armor, the amount of stats that he got from having the armor on was more than enough for him to fight someone at Level 30 at an even level, even aiding him in victorious till the very end.


    Naturally, Valyr knew that he had the capability to fight monsters above his own level even without having the armor on, but with it, he would be able to fight against monsters at Level 30 without much problem, allowing him to gain far more experience than he would have if he were to continue entering the pit without the armor on.


    ''Now that I think about it, with the strongest monster avable to fight against in the pit being Level 35, I could have probably upgraded [Signs of a True Elite] if I had brought my armor along.'' Though, with how rxed his duel against Leron went, even with the gap between their levels being slightly above 10, he had a feeling that he could fight monsters at Level 31, perhaps even higher.


    ''On second thought, probably not.'' As the thought of upgrading [Signs of a True Elite] to a higher rarity entered his mind, he went ahead and asked the man that attended to him if it was possible for him to fight against Elite monsters. In response, the man shook his head, informing him that all of the monsters avable to fight against in the pit are allmon monsters.


    Though surprisingly, the man went above and beyond, telling Valyr not long after that if he wanted to fight against Elite monsters in a safe and controlled environment simr to the Experience Pit, he could head to Algerie Kingdom and enter the kingdom''s Akashic Battlefield.


    Hearing the man utter out the phrase ''Akashic Battlefield'', multiple memories surfaced in Valyr''s mind in response, all of them reminding him of the various Akashic Battlefields he had gone through in the past, only toe out of them with insane amounts of XP once he was done.


    Pondering over his dilemma a bit more, Valyr eventually made his decision, deciding to enter the Experience Pit without the armor for now, though he made a mental note to not forget it whenever he went outside next time. For now, he decided that this current situation would be a great chance for him to find out how strong he was inparison to him having the Half Wyvern Armor equipped.


    ''I wonder if I could find a mage specializing in spatialpression once I arrive at the kingdom?'' With his mind made up, he then told the man beside him that he would start off with Level 22 monsters for now, wanting to see how well he fared against them. ''If I don''t, then it''ll be a while before I can carry the armor with me at all times.''


    ''After all, it ain''t easy to fabricate your own method ofmunicating with Type 1 civilizations if you''re in a medieval world. Sucks that they''re hard to find, even though they''re the easiest way for me to get my hands on the material folding andpression advancement.''


    Letting out a low sigh as he ced the tangential thought he went through at the back of his head, Valyr was just about to head to the pit, only to be stopped by the man as thetter asked him a question.


    "Did sir not hear the question I was asking?" The man lightly frowned. "I was asking you as to what type of monster you would like to fight against."


    "What monster types are avable?" Hearing the man''s words, Valyr quickly apologized for his somewhat rude behavior, allowing the frown on the man''s face to smoothen out. "Did the pit gain more monster types it could handle alongside the increase in monster level limit?"


    "It has." The man nodded, only to give Valyr a brief rundown of how much the Experience Pit had changed since hisst visit. "Aside from the monster level limit now being Level 35, the Experience Pit now offers energy-type monsters and elemental-type monsters to fight against. Naturally, if sir could also choose to fight against flesh and blood-type monsters, as well as golems."


    "What kind of monsters could I choose from if I were to go with flesh and blood-type monsters?" Valyr posed a question to the man in response, thinking that he could skip fighting against golems for now. As for energy-type and elemental-type monsters, he decided that he would not fight against them at all, considering that they were only weak to magic.


    In any case, the skills [Basic Crimson me Maniption] offered to him were far from enough to make fighting against them in the pit worthwhile.


    "You could choose to fight against ferocious beasts, such as wolves, jaguars, bears, and lions," said the man in response to his question. "Or, you could choose to fight against other flesh and blood-type monsters, such as snakes, birds, scorpions, spiders, and so on."


    "Hmm¡­" As he listened to the man''s words, Valyr pondered over whether he should just fight against one of the ferocious beasts and get it over with. However, just as the man told him that he could fight against other creatures, the crimson spear he held started to faintly vibrate as a connection was formed between him and the spear.


    His eyes briefly widening in response to this abrupt connection with his spear, Valyr waited on what it had to tell him in silence, only for him to obtain a short response from the system not long after.


    [Go with spiders.]


    ''Is it because the Lesser Tidemother looked like a giant spider?'' Though he wondered the reasoning behind the spear''s request, Valyr eventually followed the spear''s advice, thinking that choosing it might improve the weapon bond that had remained stagnant after he imbued his spear with a great amount of Lesser Tidemother Blood.


    With that, he told the man that he would fight against spiders, prompting the man to nod in response as he informed the other people within the room of the choice Valyr had made.


    Making his way to the pit, Valyr was then asked by one of the staff as to how many Level 22 spiders he would choose to fight against at once. By the time he had appeared at the center of the pit, he responded that he would be fine fighting against five of them at once, the same number he chose back when he used the Experience Pit for the first time.


    Obtaining a response from the staff around the pit that it would be a while before the monsters would start appearing, Valyr faintly nodded as he brought up the chat function in his mind, recalling the list of things he had madest night regarding what he would do today.


    "Hey, Arcenne. Are you free at the moment?" Preparing for what he was about to do by doing a few basic warm-ups in the meantime, Valyr shot Arcenne a message through the chat function.


    "Currently testing someone''s spear proficiency at the moment, but I can manage. What''s up?" Surprisingly, it did not take long for him to receive a response from Arcenne back, causing him to let out a soft chuckle as he read through her message. After all, he was about to do the same thing soon enough.


    "Remember what I told you yesterday regarding the group of five?" As Valyr sent a question to Arcenne, the staff above the pit told him that the monsters were about to appear soon, causing him to nod back at them in response as he got into fighting stance.


    Not long after, the sounds of gears turning faintly resounded throughout the walls of the pit as some of the gates opened, revealing the monsters that Valyr had decided to fight against.


    "[Analysis]." At the very moment the spiders noticed his presence, all five of them charged towards him, prompting a light grin to appear on his face as he activated [Offense Aura].


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pit Spider] (Level 22)


    HP: 590/590


    MP: 280/280


    Stats: 49 VIT, 49 STR, 38 AGI, 38 DEX, 23 INT, 23 WIS, 23 PER, 23 LUK


    Remarks: Do you really enjoy fighting against weaker enemies? What are you? Some kind of psychopath?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In response to all five of them charging at him, Valyr swept out with his spear, controlling his spear in a way that punctured some of the eyes these erged spiders had as they were sent flying to the wall soon after with faint thuds. Coincidentally, it was at that same moment did Valyr obtain a message from Arcenne in response.


    "Yeah. I asked my father about it and he told me that he couldn''t believe the possibility he mentioned was actually true. Of course, I asked him about what he meant by that, eventually telling me that you''re a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "That''s pretty much what I was about to tell you, actually. But since your father decided to tell you before I could, let me ask you a question instead." After he was finished reading through the message Arcenne sent, Valyr then went ahead and increased the pace, swiftly killing all five spiders without much difficulty as he asked the staff above to increase their level by one.


    "What is it?" With Arcenne''s response arriving just as the staff were in the midst of adjusting the spiders'' strength, it did not take long for Valyr to send a message back, a message that contained a question that lingered in his mind from earlier.


    "Do you know any mages that specialize in spatialpression?"

 Chapter 267 One Path

    "Huh?" With Valyr swiftly changing the previous topic of their conversation to another one, it was not surprising for the former to obtain a reply from Arcenne just a few secondster. From how she phrased her message, Valyr could already imagine her putting more pressure on the person she was testing.


    "Are we seriously just going to move on from that topic? You really don''t have anything else to tell me about your involvement with the inheritance?" Nevertheless, after reading through the question Arcenne had sent him, Valyr pondered once more over whether or not he had something more to add.


    At the very moment the five Level 23 spiders had appeared to try and kill him, he eventually thought that what Aster told Arcenne was probably more or less what he would have told her, so he sent a message back to her with this train of thought in mind.


    "Well, there''s not really anything else I could say that your father has already told you so," Valyr said through his message. "After all, he''s the reason why I knew I became a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance in the first ce."


    Whoosh!


    Waiting for a response from Arcenne after that, he swept out with his spear once more as he took a look at the stats of one of the spiders. Though the spiders he was now up obviously had better statspared to the Level 22 spiders he fought earlier, the difficulty of fighting them was still more or less the same, with him being able to kill the entire group within a simr amount of time.


    ''Should I just bump their levels up to the peak of Rank 1?'' Briefly taking at the notifications he received from killing the spiders, it was only then did he receive another response from Arcenne, informing him first that she was now unupied since she had just finish her testing. Of course, after that message was the response Valyr was somewhat expecting to receive from her.


    "Really? He only told me that you became a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance and that the group of five that came from the Imperial Production Guild are truly there to escort you to the kingdom."


    "Surely there must be more to that, right? After all, how did you be a candidate for the inheritance in the first ce?"


    "As someone from a noble n, I''m sure you already know how they choose candidates for the inheritance." As Valyr sent this message to Arcenne, he notified the staff above the pit to increase the monsters'' levels to the peak of Rank 1, to which the staff swiftly followed.


    Seeing as there was time before the new wave of monsters began to appear, he continued with his message. "The higher the ss, the more of the inheritance they could explore. With that, you could easily infer that I became a candidate because of my high ss¡­ though it was actually more like the cksmith Guild deeming me a suitable candidate now that I think about it."


    "That''s what I was talking about earlier." Surprisingly, Arcenne quickly sent a reply back. "As someone who dabbles more in the realm ofbat, I didn''t even know about the requirements to be a candidate for the inheritance. All I knew was that being able to explore the inheritance in its entirety would mean a lot to the human race."


    "Hopefully that''s more than enough to satisfy you." Being notified by the staff that the new wave was about to start soon, Valyr slightly hastened the sending of his message, the end result making him put on a slightly weird expression as he realized his message could be understood in multiple ways.


    "Oh, definitely. Far much more than you''d think." Though, just as he received Arcenne''s message the moment the new wave had begun, a weird expression appeared on Valyr''s face once more as he read through it, only for his expression to turn neutral as he felt like he was thinking too much into it.


    Activating [Analysis] on one of the spiders, only to see that his stats were still roughly double theirs in various areas, Valyr charged forward once more, using basic movements with the spear to take care of all the spiders as the thought of fighting against five Level 35 spiders at once not seeming impossible anymore popped up in his head.


    Nevertheless, he ced this thought at the side for now as he read the next message Arcenne had sent him, which was a response to his tangential question from earlier. "Speaking of which, were you serious about your question earlier? The one about the mage specializing in spatialpression?"


    "I wouldn''t have brought it up in the first ce if I wasn''t," Valyr replied back, deciding to finish the entire conversation for now as he stood at the center of the pit. After that, he allowed his muscle memory to take over as he deftly dodged all of the attacks the spiders threw him, sometimes even retaliating with a swift thrust to the face.


    Unlike the previous responses Arcenne sent before, the next message took a while to arrive, prompting Valyr to think that she had pondered over the question for a bit. "I do know quite a few mages that do specialize in that thanks to my father, but all of them cost a lot to hire. And by a lot, I really mean a lot."


    "In fact, the price they charge is so high that you''d actually save money learning spatialpression magic instead." Reading this part of Arcenne''s message, Valyr inwardly nodded with her words, recalling the amount of money he''d have to fork over back then just to imbue spatialpression magic into a single piece of equipment.


    The amount of money he had forked over to mages in total had reached such an obscene amount that he eventually decided to learn how to cast it on his own at some point in the past. Though Valyr could also choose to pick up spatialpression magic to save himself the hassle of losing a ton of money, he decided not to.


    As to why, it all came down to one resource.


    Technology Points.


    By picking up magic on the side, he was effectively doubling the number of advancements he had to unlock in the Innovation branch of the Technology Tree. With the amount of Technology Points he could obtain at the moment already being limited, he did not want to hamper his progress any further by splitting his focus between two branches of innovation. Aside from that, in thetter stages of both paths, the two would be indistinguishable from one another, in fact even ovepping at some points.


    With that, he told Arcenne through a message that he was fine with paying the fee, he just needed to know where he could find one.


    Fortunately, after persuading Valyr to think about it once, Arcenne did not persuade Valyr any further, instead deciding to help out as she gave him a list of mages she knew through her father that specialized in spatialpression. Feeling that it would be a while before he coulde to a decision on which mage to hire, Valyr decided to end the conversation between the two for now, returning all of his attention towards the spiders before swiftly killing them soon after.


    "Increase their level by one." Informing the staff above the pit to increase the difficulty even further, Valyr took this brief moment of silence to rest his body up before contacting another person through the chat function.

 Chapter 268 In Due Time

    "Tryndall. You busy at the moment?" Sending a message to the other person he nned to inform about the group of five, Valyr took in a deep breath as he waited for Tryndall to reply back. Doing a couple warm-ups to make sure that his body wouldn''t feel sore by the time he got home, a new wave of spiders soon appeared through the opened gates, prompting him to use [Analysis] on them to see if them ascending to Rank 2 significantly increased the difficulty.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pit Spider] (Level 26)


    HP: 1170/1170


    MP: 520/520


    Stats: 65 VIT, 65 STR, 51 AGI, 51 DEX, 29 INT, 29 WIS, 29 PER, 29 LUK


    Remarks: Now there''s good reason for you to be careful.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Unsurprisingly, one of the spiders now posed a significant threat to Valyr, considering that the gap in their agility was now easily surmountable as long as they relied on their numbers. Nevertheless, rather than feeling fear from the situation, Valyr instead grinned as he activated [Offense Aura] and [Defense Aura] as his body was filled to the brim with excitement, finally using some of the offensive skills he owned in his repertoire.


    "[True Blood Drive]."


    Whoosh!


    As a jet of blood vapor shot out of the dull end of the spear, Valyr swiftly closed the gap between him and the spiders, catching thetter unaware as he swept out once more with his spear.


    "[Robust Arms]."


    Bang!


    With his strength momentarily improved thanks to the skill, the force behind the sweep was enough to send the spiders flying, all of them crashing into the pit walls as Valyr made his way to one of the spiders.


    Ding!


    Activating [Strong Pierce], Valyr swiftly thrust his spear out as the force behind it was enough to make the spider''s head explode. At the same time, a notification sound resounded in his mind as he made his way to the four remaining spiders, prompting him to take a brief look into it as he knew the notification came from Tryndall.


    "Not really. What seems to be the matter?" Feeling a slight grin creep up on his face as he read through the message, Valyr hastened his pace a slight bit, dealing with three of the four remaining spiders with a stab to the head, a [Strong Pierce], and then a [Descending Fang] respectively.


    Pondering over how he was going to segue into talking about the group of five, he then took care of thest remaining spider with a [Tyrannous Bite], making its head disappear in front of the staff watching him fight as they all witnessed a headless spider eventually fall limp to the ground.


    With shock written all over their faces, wondering as to what skill Valyr might have used at the very end to render thest spider dead, thetter decided to take a break for now, deciding to get the conversation with Tryndall over with before proceeding to continue grinding for XP. Though conversing with Arcenne through the chat function while fighting wasn''t really that taxing, he did feel like it had hampered hisbat efficiency a slight bit.


    With that, he went through the passage that led out of the pit as he told the staff that he was going to take a quick break for now, heading towards the table of refreshments and rejuvenation potions. Grabbing one of the stamina potions, he took a seat near the table before downing the contents of the sk in one go, instantly feeling the effects of the potion not long after as he felt ready to do what he did earlier once more.


    However, instead of acting upon this impulse, he instead focused on his conversation with Tryndall for now, eventuallying up with a response to Tryndall''s earlier message. "Not much. I just wanted to talk about the group of five that helped us out in our final operation."


    "The one from the Imperial Production Guild? What about them?" Reading through Tryndall''s response to his words, Valyr was left pondering for a while as to what he was going to say after that, his eyes briefly widened in shock. Though, in the end, he eventually decided to go with¡­


    "Since when did you know?"


    "Ever since you left the coliseum, I guess," Tryndall told him. "Also, I already know the fact that you''ve been chosen as a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Already felt like that was a no-brainer after using the saber you forged for me. With that in mind, let me congratte you in advance."


    "Huh¡­" At that moment, Valyr went silent for a long while as the question of how popped up in his mind, specifically how Tryndall already knew all of what he was about to say. Of course, he already knew the answer to his question, which was the subject of his curiosity ever since he had worked with Tryndall on the Clossbay Killer incident, only for it to intensify further once Braum and the others appeared.


    With that, it did not take long for him to reply back to Tryndall with the question he really wanted to ask him. "For you to know all of this before I could even tell you¡­ what kind of status do you really have in the Adventurer''s Guild?"


    Hopeful to obtain a quick response from Tryndall, Valyr was instead left waiting for quite some time, which was something that he had already expected to happen. Letting his friend take his time, he took a ss of refreshments from the table, containing a cold liquid that was bright blue in color.


    Taking a sip of the drink, he instantly felt his body cool down and rx as he continued waiting for his friend''s response. Eventually, after a few minutes of waiting, a notification sound resounded in his mind, prompting him to take a look at the message Tryndall had sent him.


    "Though I don''t really mind telling you outright what my position in the guild is, there are many people telling me to not do that, lest you go around telling others of my position." Reading these words, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face, thinking that Tryndall knew he wasn''t the kind of person to do something like that¡­ which made him softly chuckle once he read the next part of his friend''s message.


    "Of course, I have a strong feeling you''re not that kind of person. However, since I''m being restricted by others, I can only tell you that with my authority, I can help you with anything you need as long as you ask me."


    "Then again, it''s not like you''ll only find out once you''re at your deathbed. At some point, I''ll be allowed to tell you of my position, but unfortunately, that time isn''t now."


    "In due time, my friend. Once that timees, you''ll find it out directly from me."


    "For now, it''ll have to be a secret I need to keep."

 Chapter 269 Going Beyond

    As Valyr read the string of messages Tryndall had sent to him in response to his question, the bitter smile on his face continued to linger, wondering if he should try and force Tryndall to just tell him his position, disregarding the consequences that maye about in doing such a thing.


    Fortunately, after he was finished reading through all of the messages, thoughts of forcing Tryndall to tell him were all removed in his mind, thinking that he should just wait until his friend told him about it out of his own ord. After all, it was out of his own ord that he decided to tell Wells, Arcenne, and Tryndall about the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    "And here I thought I''d be given the pleasure of exining how important the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is. To think I didn''t actually have to tell you anything about it." With that in mind, Valyr finally stood up from his seat as he made his way back to the pit. While making his way, he informed the staff to increase the level of the spiders by yet another level.


    With expectation in their eyes, wondering if Valyr was going to match the gap he had achieved in the past, or find a way to increase the gap to a higher number, the staff quickly followed the order given to them as Tryndall swiftly sent a response back to Valyr, just as he had gotten back to the pit.


    "Hey, it''s the thought that counts." Naturally, Tryndall took note of the tone Valyr went with his message, which felt like he was slightly joking, yet at the same time not. Nevertheless, he replied back to his friend''s message with a level of sincerity that made Valyr feel his heart slightly warm up. "You know, even though I do know about the whole inheritance thing revolving around you, I really appreciate that you took the time to even tell me that. You''re a really good friend, you know that?"


    Letting out a bit ofughter at the question Tryndall asked him at the end, Valyr continued to read through the message Tryndall had sent him, only for him to freeze up in ce as his eyes widened in surprise, fixated on thest portion of his friend''s message.


    "In any case, we''ll probably see each other much sooner than you''d think."


    "See you at Algerie Kingdom, Valyr."


    "This fucker¡­" Muttering out these words, Valyr soon let out a bit moreughter as he replied to Tryndall that thetter would definitely be shocked at his improvement once they meet again. After that, he closed the chat function for good as the mes of ambition andpetition burned with far greater intensity than before, thanks to the words Tryndall had sent to him.


    "Since I''ve pretty much taken care of business in this city, it''s about time I focus on getting that subss." Thinking out loud about the list of things he was in the process ofpleting, the next wave of enemies came to greet him, all of them considerably faster and stronger than the previous wave. In fact, facing off against the Level 27 spiders now seemed a bit difficult to Valyr, even though the gap in their agility was still somewhat substantial.


    Nevertheless, with the aid of his strong offensive skills, as well as the temporary buffing skills he had in his arsenal, he was still able to clear the wave of Level 27 spiders without a problem, deciding to ask the staff to increase their level to Level 28, matching the nine level gap he had achieved the first time he came to the Experience Pit.


    "Hmm¡­ am I still missing something?" Recalling the requirements needed for him to get the subss he wanted, he went over through them one by one, inwardly nodding after he came to the conclusion that he had not missed a single requirement. "I have the [Spear Adept] title, [Serpent Spear Combat Style], and [Serpent Steps Movement Style]. Yeah, I think I have all of them."


    "Ah." Though, just as he was about to return his train of thought to what was in front of him, a thought surfaced in his mind, reminding him that he had forgotten one more requirement that would allow him to obtain the subss.


    The most important requirement at that.


    "I need to upgrade the two Special Skills." With that in mind, he reminded himself that he would first upgrade the two skills to a higher quality, which needed him to obtain a special item in order for him to do so.


    "I wonder if Braum and the others could help me find that once we''re in the kingdom?" As this thought lingered in his mind, he eventually thought that the five would definitely find the item he needed, considering that they were part of the Imperial Production Guild.


    With that, he finally focused all of his attention towards grinding more XP, thinking that after the session would be a good time to max out all of his skills to the highest possible levels they could go, as well as improve his level as much as possible.


    And thus, the ughter began.


    ¡­


    After taking care of the wave of Level 28 spiders, Valyr requested the staff to give him a wave of Level 29, prompting everyone in the room to have excitement written all over their faces as they were witnessing history in the making, specifically, history within the Experience Pit''s Clossbay City branch.


    Pushing the disparity to a 10 level gap between the fighter and the monsters, Valyr quickly found a way to separate the Level 29 spiders before killing them one by one, utilizing the experience he had rued after fighting spiders from the three previous levels before the current one. Nevertheless, it was after this current wave that Valyr knew that he had finally found his limit on how far he could push himself.


    "It''s kind of funny to think that my limit is at the same level as Leron." Saying these words to himself, Valyr went ahead and told the staff to raise the level one final time, increasing the gap to 11 levels as Level 30 spiders appeared before him. "Then again, this session would''ve been even better if I had brought the armor along."


    "Sure, I can only triple the amount of experience I gain at most¡­" At these words, Valyr grinned as he finally went all out.


    "But at least I''d be tripling the experience I get from monsters at Level 35, not 30."

 Chapter 270 An Amazing Experience

    Though he could have pushed the gap to 12 levels and fought against Level 31 spiders, Valyr opted to stay with the Level 30 spiders, taking into consideration the disparity between his stats and their stats, as well as the advantage they had in numbers. Fortunately, with thebat experience he had rued from his previous life, he was still able to maneuver his way around the spiders, always ending up victorious.


    Naturally, the title of Combat Elite wasn''t just for show.


    Of course, if he really wanted to see how far he could truly go within the Experience Pit, he could reduce the amount of monsters he would have to fight at once to one before cranking up the difficulty of the monsters to the highest it could currently go, which was Level 35.


    Even though his chances of winning against a match-up like that was high since he only had to focus all of his offensive skills on one enemy instead of five, the amount of XP he gained from killing one high-leveled enemy every once in a while would be less than what he could gain from killing five lower-leveled enemies at once within the same duration.


    With that, he eventually found a suitable rhythm that would allow him to kill all of the Level 30 spiders without much difficulty, taking into consideration the amount of mana he had, as well as the time each skill went into cooldown. Coincidentally, it was only after he had found his rhythm was he made aware by the staff that they could increase the speed at which the enemies appeared, allowing him to increase his killing efficiency.


    Of course, it was no surprise that he ordered the staff to increase it, allowing the staff to witness the sight of a one-man killing machine right in front of their eyes.


    With every attack he made, a spider would go down, only to be reced by another not long after. After that, he would use a skill on a spider, causing that one to go down, being reced soon after as well, forming an endless cycle of attacking with either basic spear movements or swift spear skills.


    Nevertheless, even though his stamina had improved after reaching thete levels of Rank 1, the stamina Valyr had was enough for him to continue attacking the Level 30 spiders forever. From time to time, he would tell the staff to stop for a bit as he took a quick break to replenish his stamina, only to return to the pit a few minutester to do it all over again.


    While in the middle of the monotonous task he had put himself in, at some point, Valyr thought about the message the spear had sent him, telling him to choose spiders as his targets. Though he did follow the spear''s request, which brought him to his current situation of fighting against five Level 30 spiders at all times, he still wondered as to why the spear decided to ask him that.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to get his answer.


    Ding!


    [A resonance is being formed between the Lesser Tidemother Blood imbued in the spear and the spider blood in your surroundings. The connection between you and the spear has slightly improved.]


    "I see. So, that''s how it is." Hearing a notification sound resound throughout his mind, Valyr focused a bit of his attention towards the notification he had received, prompting him to look at his spear for a bit as he let outughter not long after.


    With a grin on his face, the battle intent he radiated throughout his surroundings slightly intensified as he became more aggressive with his movements, causing more blood from the spiders to be spilled throughout the surroundings as the connection between him and the spear gradually improved over time.


    With every kill he made, the chasm that separated him and the spear slightly grew narrower, giving him the drive to continue killing the spiders before him as if it was the only thing he could do. After all, thest time the connection between him and the spear had improved was back when he had imbued Lesser Tidemother Blood into the spear in front of Tristan, so he definitely wasn''t going to say no to a chance at improving that connection.


    Especially a chance that was right in front of him.


    Unfortunately, the rhythm of killing he had found eventually came to a halt as the staff informed him that everyone was mandated to take a one hour break from the pit to rest up and replenish themselves. Slightly confused for a bit as the sun''s rays from outside told him that it wasn''t anywhere near sunset yet, he eventually recalled the other rule the Experience Pit had, prompting him to let out a light sigh as he eventually made his way out of the pit.


    Heading out of the room he had upied for the past few hours, he noticed that many other people were heading out of the rooms as well, with some of them having dissatisfied expressions on their faces, simr to him. Knowing the reason for their glum expressions, he eventually found Wells among the group, who had a nk expression on his face all this time.


    ? "So, how was your experience in the pit so far?" As Valyr tapped Wells on the shoulder, thetter was swiftly brought back to reality, prompting him to beam a wide grin at Valyr in response.


    "Amazing." Though Wells'' response was short, Valyr already understood what he meant by that, nodding in response as he smiled back. "You should have told me there was a ce like this in the city."


    "Well, now you know." Hearing Wells'' words, Valyr chuckled before wrapping his arms around Wells'' shoulders. "In any case, wait till we head to the Experience Pit in the kingdom. I''m sure you''ll ask me the same thing once we do."


    "Now you''ve got me curious." Letting out a chuckle of his own, Wells asked Valyr what he meant by his words, prompting thetter to tell Wells a bit about it as they made their way outside to have some lunch.

 Chapter 271 A Closer Bond

    As the two of them headed outside the pit to get some lunch, Wells recounted the experience he had with the Experience Pit so far, causing a light smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he reminisced about the first time he had entered an Experience Pit in his past life.


    Nevertheless, he ced those thoughts at the back of his head once the two of them had arrived at a well-known family restaurant, taking note of the fact that quite a few people from the pit chose to eat at the restaurant as well. Taking their seats, they quickly ordered their respective meals before Wells continued narrating.


    By the time Wells got to the part of his narration where he talked about the enemy he had chosen to go up against, as well as the level disparity between the two, he had the entirety of Valyr''s attention as thetter attentively listened. Though, after he was finished listening, a light frown crept up on his face as he gave Wells advice.


    "Once we return to our respective rooms, increase the number of monsters you''re fighting at once to five," Valyr said, prompting a curious expression to appear on the face of the man in front of him as he asked him why.


    In response, Valyr exined that five was the sweet spot for maximizing the amount of XP one could get from the pit, making sure that most, if not all of time spent in the pit was spent on killing monsters and not waiting for them to spawn.


    Of course, he also told Wells that if he were to follow his advice and fight against five monsters at once every wave, thetter should reduce the level disparity between the two sides by a considerable margin, which would reduce the amount of XP he got per monster, but would increase his overall gain in the long run.


    Once Valyr was finished giving advice to Wells, a light frown adorned thetter''s face as he seriously considered Valyr''s advice. Fortunately, just as the meals they ordered were served to them, the frown on Wells'' face had disappeared, nodding as he told Valyr that he''ll experimentter.


    Listening to Wells'' words as he dug into his meal, Valyr inwardly nodded in agreement. Though five monsters at once was the sweet spot for most yers in his past life, with many of the top yers still following it even though they were already very high-leveled, there were still exceptions, with some finding their sweet spot at a lower number, while some found it at a higher one.


    ''Then again, those who couldfortably kill more than five monsters at once have Ancient sses at the very least.'' Inwardly shrugging his shoulders, Valyr went ahead and continued digging into his meal, savoring every bite with a smile on his face. Surprisingly, Wells was in the same situation, a grin adorning his face as he continued funneling in food into his mouth.


    Eventually, the two of them were finished with their meals, deciding to stay in the restaurant for the meantime to let their bodies digest the food they just ate, as well as to pass the time before they had to go back to the Experience Pit.


    While they chatted about random topics, such as how effective the Spear Schr ss was and what type of things they were going to do once they were at the kingdom, a certain thought eventually popped up in Valyr''s mind as he looked at Wells with a calm expression.


    "I just remembered something." Hearing these words, Wells raised his eyebrow in curiosity, only for a look of understanding to sh upon his face once Valyr continued. "Could you tell Magis toe to the smithy early in the morning tomorrow?"


    Already privy to the reason behind Valyr''s words, Wells nodded in response as he brought up a screen before him, interacting with it for a while after that. Sometimeter, he closed the screen in front of him as he gave Valyr a light nod, which prompted thetter to nod back in response as the two got up from their seats and made their way back to the Experience Pits.


    After paying for their respective meals, of course.


    Once back at the building that housed the Experience Pits, they were swiftly greeted by the sight of quite a few people making their way back to the rooms they had reserved, with both Wells and Valyr following suit once they had reached their respective rooms.


    Telling one another that they''d see each otherter, the two of them then entered their rooms, with Valyr hastily making his way to the pit once he noticed that all of the staff assigned to his room were already there. Giving them the green light to continue sending waves of Level 30 spiders at him, Valyr continued the grind for XP once more, eventually finding his earlier rhythm around a few minutes into the session.


    However, unlike earlier, the rhythm at which he killed the spiders was considerably faster than before, prompting Valyr to think that the mandatory one hour break everyone had to take was there for a reason. Deciding to make use of this slightly hastened rhythm, he soon told the staff above the pit to increase the number of monsters he fought against to six at a time, wanting to see if he could handle fighting against six Level 30 spiders at once.


    Surprisingly, during the first few waves with the new configuration, Valyr was able to remain victorious, keeping up a rhythm that allowed him to kill all six spiders just as the new batch had appeared. Though, by the time he had gone through 20 waves with the new configuration, the rhythm he had earlier eventually returned to its normal speed, prompting him to order the staff to return the configuration to how it previously was.


    Taking a quick break to replenish the great amount of stamina he had lost, he took a look at the connection between him and his spear, feeling that it was only a matter of time before something about their connection would change. Downing a couple stamina potions to return him to peak condition, he submitted himself to the pit once more, fighting against more waves of spiders until eventually¡­


    Ding!


    [A resonance between the Lesser Tidemother Blood imbued in the spear and the spider blood in your surroundings has been formed.]

 Chapter 272 Transformation

    Whoosh!


    Just as a couple of Level 30 spiders had appeared behind the gates surrounding the pit, ready to rece the ones that Valyr had killed, a strong wave of energy radiated throughout the entire pit, prompting the staff to halt operations as they took a look at what was going on.


    Being in the middle of the entire phenomenon, Valyr remained silent as more and more energy radiated out of the crimson spear he held, taking note of the notification he had received sometime earlier.


    Swoosh!


    At some point, the crimson spear stopped radiating energy, instead generating a strong suction force that made a couple of the staff brace onto something as they felt their bodies being pulled by the force. Fortunately, this strong suction force eventually found its focus, sucking up all of the spider blood that had formed a thinyer on the pit as all of it went towards the True Tideblood Spear.


    Not long after, the ground covered by the spider blood had been revealed, taking on a faint tinge of dark blue that made all of the people within the room understand that part of the blood had been absorbed by the ground. However, in response to this sight, the suction force generated by the spear instantly became stronger, siphoning all of the blood that had been absorbed by the ground as the ground eventually returned to its original color.


    Nevertheless, none of the people in the room took note of this change, instead focusing their attention on what was happening to the spear Valyr held. At the moment, a great amount of spider blood circled around the True Tideblood Spear, making Valyr wonder as to what his spear was going to do with all of the blood.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to find out, with every bit of spider blood surrounding the spear being absorbed by it as a wave of energy far stronger than the waves that came before it radiated out of the spear. Simultaneously, Valyr noticed that the connection between him and the spear had significantly improved, feeling the chasm separating the two being reduced to a quarter of what it originally was.


    All because his spear had absorbed spider blood.


    Whoosh!


    For a while, the spear he held switched between shades of crimson and blue, as if the two types of blood within the spear were fighting against one another. Though, the blood within the spear eventually settled down, with the crimson blood bing victorious as it took on a deeper shade, giving Valyr the feeling that he could now tap into a greater amount of power from the spear.


    Wondering if his spear would undergo any other transformations, this question was quickly dispelled once he heard a notification sound resound in his mind, prompting him to bring up the notification screen in front of his field of vision as a grin appeared on his face.


    Ding!


    [Using higher-leveled spider blood as a catalyst, the Lesser Tidemother Blood contained within thehas undergone a transformation, evolving to contain the power of a Greater Tidemother.]


    [Due to the newfound power residing within the weapon, the soul traces within the weapon has solidified. Nevertheless, there''s still quite a ways to go before it bes a true soul.]


    [The weapon bond between you and the ''True Tideblood Spear'' has improved. Current bond level is 2.]


    ? [Due to the newfound power residing within the weapon, the weapon has been ressified to a higher rarity. Its rarity is now Umon+.]


    [Thanks to the multiple changes to the weapon, the name of the weapon has changed to ''Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother''.]


    Done reading through the notifications, Valyr then went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the description of his newly evolved spear. In the meantime, he told the staff that they were going to continue where they left off, prompting thetter to snap back to reality as they swiftly brought the Experience Pit back to life again.


    Seeing as the gates around the pit gradually opened to reveal the new set of foes he was up against, the grin on Valyr''s face widened as his hands were itching to test out the improvements his spear had undergone.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother] (Level 15)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 2 (Valyr)


    Attack: 67 - 111 (+10%)


    Previously a training weapon¡­ most of the description has been omitted.


    Due to a resonance forming between the blood contained within the spear and blood from a simr species, parts of the blood within the spear had evolved to a higher level, allowing the spear to contain part of the might of a Greater Tidemother, a being far stronger than a Lesser Tidemother.


    <Innate Skill: Tideburst - Greatly propels the user forward through a strong force generated from the end of the spear''s shaft, increasing the user''s speed temporarily beforending a quick thrust that affects the immediate surroundings. Deals 100% of the user''s Attack stat within a 1 meter radius. Converts 1% of the damage dealt into HP. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 75 MP.>


    Remarks: Though born out of multiple uncertainties, at this point, it is undoubtedly a good weapon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "[Tideburst]." At the very moment he was finished reading through the weapon''s new description, Valyr dashed towards the spiders and used the new and improved skill the weapon contained. In less than an instant, the gap between the two sides had been reduced to nothing as Valyr thrust out his spear soon after, causing a wave of faint red energy to radiate from the spear tip.


    Bang!


    Surprisingly, the power contained within the wave of energy was enough to send all of the spiders within its range flying towards the walls, making Valyr grip on the spear more tightly as he gradually incorporated the new skill into the rhythm he had created to make the most out of his time within the Experience Pit.


    Unexpectedly, the addition of [Tideburst] was enough to significantly increase the speed at which he killed the spiders, considering that [Tideburst] was the second AoE skill he had in his arsenal, aside from [Tyrannous Bite]. Though, unlike [Tyrannous Bite], which had a high MP cost, as well as a long cooldown, [Tideburst] had a short cooldown, and took less mana to activate, which prompted him to eventually transition to using [Tideburst] as an opener.


    Unfortunately, just as he had gotten immersed into the new rhythm he had created, the staff above the pit had informed Valyr that the Experience Pits were finally closing, causing thetter to let out a low sigh as he eventually made his way out of the passage.

 Chapter 273 Foreboding Signs

    As he made his way out of the passage that led out of the pit, he eventually came face to face with the staff once more, with all of them looking at him with a hint of gratitude written on their faces. After all, he had allowed them to watch as he surmounted an 11 level gap between him and his opponent with ease, as well as watch his weapon ascend to a higher level of power.


    Oblivious to the fact that the staff had made up their minds to share what they had witnessed Valyr do with other staff, Valyr made his way to the table of refreshments and rejuvenation potions, grabbing arge cup before filling it up with the same drink he had chosen earlier, downing it within a fewrge gulps.


    After that, he grabbed a stamina potion, as well as a health rejuvenation potion before downing its contents, swiftly returning his body''s condition to how it was before he even began the grind for XP. If none were the wiser, it would seem like he had just gone to the Experience Pit for the refreshments and potions they offered.


    Allowing himself to catch his breath, Valyr remained where he was as one of the staff made their way to where he was, opening their mouth to inform him of the cut of XP he had to give back to the Experience Pit.


    Lightly nodding towards the staff as he already knew what to do, he went ahead and opened up a screen before him in preparation for the transfer. Though, once he did, he was left at a loss for words after seeing the amount of unused XP he currently had, only to be silenced even further once he heard the words that came out of the staff''s mouth.


    "I shall not mention the number of monsters you have killed throughout the entire session, though I should say that the level of the monsters you killed started at Level 22, only for you to stop once they had reached Level 30," said the staff to him, reminding Valyr once more that the level he stopped at was the same level Leron was before he died.


    "Taking the disparity in level into consideration, you have earned a total of 12,592,740 XP from this session." Bringing out a thin tablet to make sure the number he had just mentioned was correct, the staff looked at the tablet for a bit before faintly nodding. "As 30% of the experience earned is needed to be given back to the staff as per the policy, that means that you need to give us 3,777,822 XP in order to reach that 30%."


    Sucking in a bit of cold air through his teeth, it took a while for Valyr to finally transfer the amount of XP the staff had been requesting from him, feeling a great amount of heartache from what he had just done. Of course, inparison to what remained after the transfer, Valyr still had a lot of XP he could allocate wherever he wanted to.


    But that didn''t mean he didn''t want more XP.


    After the staff confirmed that the amount of XP he had received from him was the exact amount he had asked, the staff then politely bowed towards Valyr before thanking thetter for his patronage, only for the other staff still surrounding the pit to follow suit not long after.


    Feeling a bit of awkwardness from the current situation, considering that he had not gotten this type of treatment the first time he came to the Experience Pit, Valyr let out an awkward chuckle as he scratched his head, reciprocating the words of gratitude he had received from them before making his way out of the room.


    Once he had left the room he had reserved, he then made his way to the entrance of the building, only to find out that Wells had already gotten out of his room before him.


    Pacing back and forth as he wondered when Valyr would leave the Experience Pit, a smile appeared on Wells'' face as Valyr came up to him, with thetter suggesting that they eat dinner earlier than usual.


    Though Wells agreed with the suggestion, he decided to ask the man beside him as to why he had the sudden urge to get dinner early. In response, Valyr told him that he still had to craft weapons for the group of five that was going to apany the two of them to the kingdom, grinning as he mentioned that there was a high chance he wasn''t going to get a wink of sleep tonight.


    Of course, Wells felt that the excitement Valyr had towards the idea of not getting even a wink of sleepter was quite odd, though he just shrugged it off as the two of them eventually found themselves at the entrance of a considerablyvish restaurant.


    Being led to one of the tables by a waiter, the two of them quickly gave their orders, feeling their stomachs rumble as the effects of pushing their bodies to their limit finally kicked in. With bitter smiles on their faces once they noticed they were experiencing the same thing, Valyr looked at Wells before letting out a soft chuckle. "I guess there are things a stamina and a health rejuvenation potion can''t solve."


    "You could definitely say that again." In response, Wells nodded in agreement as he let out a bit ofughter. "Anyways, what made you decide to eat at a fancy restaurant all of a sudden?"


    "Well, it is ourst day in this city, after all." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, he let out a low sigh. "Might as well treat ourselves a bit before we depart for the kingdom."


    At those words, Wells let out a sigh as well, feeling that the atmosphere surrounding the two of them had be somber all of a sudden, even though they were just going to head somece else. Fortunately, this somber atmosphere swiftly disappeared as the slight frown on Valyr''s face was reced with a curious expression, asking Wells a question he wanted to know the answer to.


    "So, how much XP did you get from the pit?" Hearing this question, the slightly somber expression on Wells'' face was reced with that of curiosity and interest, answering Valyr''s question with a light smile on his face.


    With that, the two of them talked about the amount of XP they had earned from the Experience Pit, as well as the amount of XP they had to give to the staff. By the time the meals they ordered were served to them, Wells felt a great amount of heartache once Valyr mentioned to him that he had to give almost 4 million XP to the staff due to the policy.


    Nevertheless, the two of them enjoyed their meal to the fullest, savoring each and every moment of their meal as they discussed about a few topics, such as how they were going to allocate the XP they had just earned. Eventually, the two left the restaurant with satisfied expressions on their faces, making their way to the smithy sometimeter.


    Once at the smithy, both Valyr and Wells instantly felt a wave of drowsiness hit them, simultaneously letting out a yawn as they forced themselves to stay awake for a bit longer. Making their way to the living quarters, Wells made his way to his bed before bidding good night to Valyr, who instead made his way to the bathroom to take a cold shower.


    "Brrr¡­" Slightly shivering from the cold water coursing down his body, Valyr''s mind quickly returned to full alert by the time he had gotten out of the bathroom, shivering once more as a cold breeze passed by him.


    Drying himself off, he then changed into the set of clothes he used whenever he was forging before making his way to the workshop portion of the smithy, feeling a bit of sadness at the thought that he would have to part ways with it tomorrow.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to regain hisposure, Valyr looked through the various stacks of metals and misceneous materials he still hadn''t used, pulling up a screen in front of him that contained the message Braum had sent to him regarding their preferred weapons and current levels.


    Mulling over what kind of materials he should use, Valyr eventually made a list of things he would use for forging in his mind, starting a fire in both of therge furnaces as he kept an eye on their temperatures. In the meantime, he skimmed through the memories of various weapons he hade across or had used in the past, wondering if any of the weapons he would be forging for the five could be an Emtion.


    Eventually, he finalized the specific weapons he would be making for the group of five as he went over the blueprints for each of the weapons, with someone of them warranting the usage of [True Prodigious Blueprint Creation].


    Making his way to the storage section of the smithy, he picked up the materials he had listed down earlier, as well as the additional materials the blueprints he made needed before returning to the workshop section, chucking a great portion of the materials he had brought along with him into the furnaces as he waited for them to reach the optimal forging temperature.


    "Since I feel like I''m not gonna get a wink of sleep tonight, I should probably do a few tasks from the cksmith Guild as well. I am pretty close to running out of contribution points, after all." Feeling a hint of boredom from waiting for the materials to melt, Valyr opened up a screen before him to take a look at the tasks the cksmith Guild currently offered.


    Though, as he continued to look through the avable tasks he could take, he noticed that most of them were referencing amon event, causing a question to form in his mind soon after.


    "There''s an orc outbreak?"

 Chapter 274 Passing The Mantle

    Frowning at the thought, Valyr looked through the descriptions attached to the various tasks rted to the outbreak, hoping to obtain a bit more information regarding the outbreak itself.


    "So, the outbreak is happening near Algerie Kingdom, huh." Rubbing his chin as he pondered, the frown on his face deepened, briefly wondering whether he was truly set to head to the kingdom for the inheritance.


    Discarding the nonsensical thought he had juste up with, Valyr went ahead and epted a few of the tasks rted to the orc outbreak, taking advantage of the fact that most of them had something to do with forging weapons.


    "Hmm... should I ask Arcenne about it? I have a feeling she knows more regarding the situation." As he took out some of the materials from the furnaces since they had already reached the optimal temperature for forging, the thought of the orc outbreak surfaced in his mind once more, wondering if he should ask more knowledgeable people about it.


    "Nah. It''s already nighttime. I should just ask Braum and the others about it once we set off for the kingdom instead." However, in the end, he decided not to do so, taking consideration of the current time, as well as the fact that the materials he had taken out were already starting to cool down.


    Picking up his trusty forging hammer, he took in a deep breath before starting to forge the weapons he wanted to give to the five tomorrow, making a mental note to forge the weapons asked by the tasks he had chosen afterwards.


    And with that, the sound of metal shing against metal faintly echoed throughout the streets that night.


    ...


    "Haaahh..." Letting out a long yawn as he was woken up by the sun''s rays, it took a while for Wells to get out of bed, giving his consciousness enough time to rouse from slumber.


    Standing up from his bed to head to the bathroom, Wells soon heard the faint sounds of shing metal echoing from the workshop portion of the smithy, prompting him to recall the words Valyr had spoken to himst night.


    "He really didn''t get a wink of sleep." Slightly shaking his head as he let out a soft sigh, Wells had a bitter smile on his face as he continued making his way to the bathroom, taking a quick shower before changing into a fresh set of clothes.


    After that, he made his way to the workshop portion of the smithy, wondering if he should suggest to Valyr that they get breakfast before they departed with Braum and the others for the kingdom. Though, once he finally got a close look at Valyr, he quickly discarded the thought.


    At that moment, the expression on Valyr''s face told Wells that he was just forcing himself to stay awake at this point, letting his muscle memory take over as he continued to hammer out the imperfections on the weapon he was forging.


    Though, just as Wells was about to suggest to Valyr that he should take a bit of rest before they departed for the kingdom, thetter stopped him in his tracks, telling him that he only needed a bit more time before he was finally done.


    Hearing that, Wells could only remain silent, the sound of metal shing against metal being the only thing heard within the smithy as Valyr eventually put on the finishing touches to the weapon he had just forged.


    Imbuing a bit of his mana into the weapon he had just forged several times, Valyr eventually nodded in satisfaction once he had gotten the attribute awakening he wanted, letting out a long sigh of satisfaction as he ced the nowpleted weapon to the side.


    "Hey, Wells. Could you get me a Rousing Slumber Potion from the nearest apothecary?" Letting out a long yawn as he moved away from the workshop, Valyr suppressed the urge to head to sleep as he asked Wells to buy him a potion that would wake him up.


    In response, Wells nodded as he made his way out of the smithy. Though, before the man truly left, he reminded Valyr that Magis, the cksmith he and Wells had talked to yesterday, was heading to the smithy a few minutes from now.


    Nodding back, Valyr watched as Wells'' silhouette gradually disappeared from his field of vision before turning around, letting out yet another long yawn as he endured the strong feeling of drowsiness he currently felt.


    "I should have stopped myself after I was finished forging the weapons for the five." With a bitter smile on his face, Valyr muttered a few words to himself as he took a look at the weapons he had forged throughout the night.


    "Thankfully, none of the weapons dropped in quality." After that, he separated the weapons he had forged into two groups: the weapons he would be giving as gifts to the five for their help in the Clossbay Killer incident, and the weapons he would be giving to the cksmith Guild in exchange for contribution points.


    "Is anyone there?" Just as he had finished separating the bunch of weapons he had forged into two groups, a voice echoed from outside the smithy, prompting Valyr to head outside as he already knew who that person was from voice alone.


    "Apologies for having youe to the smithy this early." As he responded to the voice''s question, a bitter smile adorned Valyr''s face as he greeted Magis with a casual handshake.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine. I don''t really have any ns for today, after all." Brushing off Valyr''s words with a chuckle, the expression on Magis'' face quickly returned to normal as he posed a question to Valyr. "So, what''s the reason for having mee here?"


    "Well, do you still remember what we talked about yesterday?" In response, Valyr asked Magis a question of his own.


    "Aside from the talks we had regarding forging techniques and the like?" asked Magis back, prompting Valyr to nod in agreement.


    "Yeah, aside from those talks."


    "Hmm..." Pondering over other topics he and Valyr talked about yesterday, a frown gradually crept up on Magis'' face as he eventually shook his head. "Yeah, I don''t really remember anything else."


    "You really don''t remember?" As he said these words, Valyr let out a soft yawn, continuing to endure the urge to fall asleep. Looking Magis straight in the eyes, Valyr then told the main reason why he had Magise to the smithy, leaving thetter at a loss for words as he could not believe what he had just heard.


    "Didn''t we agree on the fact that you''ll be taking over the Crimson Forge today?"

 Chapter 275 Out Of Luck

    "Eh? Did we really agree on something like that?" In response to Valyr''s question, a look of confusion covered the entirety of Magis'' face as he tried his hardest to recall the conversation he and Valyr had yesterday.


    Surprisingly, most of what he could recall talking with Valyr about was the art of cksmithing, bing intrigued by Valyr''s perspective on forging that he could still vividly remember each topic they talked about.


    However, as he continued recalling their conversation, he eventually remembered that there were some parts of their conversation that did not focus on the art of cksmithing, but instead on something else rted to it.


    And that''s when it hit him.


    With Valyr still fighting against the urge to fall asleep, a look of realization reced the confusion on Magis'' face as he eximed, "Ah! You did say something like that!"


    "To be honest, I thought that was a joke or something," he added soon after, his gaze focused on Valyr as he asked, "You are joking, right?"


    "¡­right?"


    Though he could have replied to the question, Valyr remained silent even as Magis repeated it, letting his silence tell what thetter wanted to know. With that, it did not take long for Magis to get the hint, letting out a sigh as a wry smile crept up on his face. "Not a joke, then."


    "Why me, though?" Finally epting the fact that Valyr was offering the Crimson Forge to him, Magis decided to ask Valyr a few more questions, wanting to make sure that the offer was serious. "Compared to you, I''m not really anything that special. Even if it was just a normal spar, I don''t even think I could bridge a level gap that wide."


    "What''s that got to do with taking over the Crimson Forge?" Of course, Valyr had an idea of why Magis brought it up. However, he quickly dismissed it since it had nothing to do with what Magis was going to do, as well as the fact that he felt a headache creeping up whenever he talked about. "All you gotta do is just forge some items and equipment, and that''s it."


    "Really now?" Magis still remained a bit skeptical. "Don''t they have to reach a certain level of rarity or something since the Crimson Forge is famous and all that?"


    "Well, as long as you can consistently forge stuff at Common+ grade and above, you''ll basically be forging the same grade of equipment I usually do." In response, Valyr could only shrug his shoulders before letting out a brief yawn. "Unless¡­ you can''t?"


    "You think I''m not up to par?" Replying to Valyr''sst statement, Magis had a frown on his face as he radiated a bit of murderous intent towards the man in front of him. However, rather than shrink back from the murderous intent, Valyr instead smirked at it, even though his eyes drooped from time to time due to extreme drowsiness.


    Noticing how Valyr had no reaction to his murderous intent, even going so far as to show how sleepy it made him, instead of bing furious at Valyr, Magis instead let out a bit ofughter before nodding. "Alright, alright. I''ll do what you want me to do, oh, owner of the Crimson Forge."


    "From now on, that title belongs to you." Hearing Magis'' words, Valyr could only grin. "Speaking of which, if you''re wondering how we''re going to do this, there''s no sharing of profit. You wholly own the Crimson Forge now. Whatever you sell from this point onward, you get to keep all of it for yourself."


    "I was just about to ask that, to be honest," replied Magis, causing Valyr to let out a chuckle before yawning once more. "But since you answered that question, what do you typically sell?"


    "I mostly sell armor and weapons, with a few trinkets here and there." Pondering over the question for a bit, Valyr recalled through his somewhat foggy mind that there existed types of cksmiths where each type specialized in a certain area of forging.


    In fact, even yer cksmiths weren''t exempt from this, their specialties falling into these various types. "I guess you could say I''m a weapon smith and armorer based on what I sell."


    "Would it be fine if I sold more trinkets, then?" asked Magis as he nodded at Valyr''s words. "Unlike you, I''m a general cksmith, so I''m not really limited on what I could forge in that regard. Of course, if you want me to stick with selling mainly weapons and armor with a few trinkets on the side, I could do that as well."


    "You own the Crimson Forge from now on, so it''s really up to you." Unsurprisingly, Valyr couldn''t care less what Magis did with it. "In fact, I think business for you would be more bustling since you could do more things."


    "Got your potion." Coincidentally, just as Magis was going to ask Valyr once more if thetter was serious about giving the smithy to him, Wells had appeared with the Rousing Slumber Potion Valyr asked him to get, giving it to thetter the very instant he could.


    "Thanks." In response, Valyr removed the stopper from the sk before downing all of the sk''s contents, feeling the sleepiness he was trying his hardest not to sumb to disappearing within seconds. "I feel so much better."


    "What potion was that?" As he watched Valyr''s demeanor drastically change within seconds, Magis posed a question to the neer.


    "A Rousing Slumber Potion," said Wells in response before letting out a soft sigh. "Valyr didn''t get a wink of sleepst night since he was up forging, so he asked me to get him one."


    "But doesn''t the Rousing Slumber Potion have a drastic side effect?" Though Magis understood the reasoning behind getting a potion such as the Rousing Slumber Potion, he instead wondered why Valyr asked Wells to get him that specific potion instead of other potions that also removed drowsiness.


    "Of course. That''s the reason why I had him buy it." In response, Valyr told him that he already knew of the potion''s effects, his current demeanor a stark contrast to how it was before. "I fully expect the side effect to kick in sometimeter."


    "I see¡­" Hearing what Valyr said to him, Magis could only nod. However, just as he was about to redirect the topic he and Valyr were talking about back to the Crimson Forge, a trio wearing dull gray armor appeared before Valyr and the two, causing a wide grin to appear on Valyr''s face not long after.


    "Just the people I wanted to see."


    ¡­


    "I hope he doesn''t find it a bother¡­" Walking alone through the streets of Clossbay City, Nephilim recalled the experience he had just gone through the past couple of days, being a stark contrast to the experience he had with the other yers. In many more ways than one, Nephilim found the experience exciting, as well as enlightening.


    Though, unfortunately, all good things had toe to an end as the quest he obtained from Valyr hade to a close. Having faint hopes of obtaining a quest that continued where his previous experience left off, Nephilim arrived at the Crimson Forge, only to find out that a different face was manning the smithy.


    Noticing this, Nephilim felt a bit anxious, thinking that he should juste back to the Crimson Forge some other time, a time where Valyr was avable.


    But just as he turned around to leave, a feeling of regret lingered within him, telling him that he mighte to regret heading to the smithy some other time. With the feeling taking over his mind, he gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve, making his way to the cksmith that seemed to have taken over Valyr''s position.


    "Good afternoon. I was just wondering if I could talk to Valyr?" As this question left Nephilim''s mouth, he fully expected that the cksmith in front of him would give him the answer he wanted. However, he soon came to find out that it was anything but.


    "Valyr, huh? Sadly, you''re all out of luck, bud."


    "He just left the city a few hours ago."

 Chapter 276 A New Frontier

    In one of the vast ins dotting the world of Veldanyr, arge carriage could be seen. Being pulled along by five steeds, which were all emanating an aura reminiscent of a peak Rank 0 ss holder, to ensure the passengers would get to their destination as soon as possible, the carriage zoomed under the harsh rays of the sun.


    "How much longer do we have to wait until Valyr wakes up?" Sitting at the back of the carriage as he looked at the movingndscape from time to time, Wells looked at the man that slept on the carriage floor, the man''s expression the epitome of delight.


    "You said he drank a Rousing Slumber Potion, right?" Madeline, one of the other people stuck at the back of the carriage, decided to answer Wells'' question. "Usually, the amount of time they''ve spent awake under the effects of the Rousing Slumber Potion is equivalent to a quarter of the time they''ll spend asleep."


    "Of course, that ratio might differ depending on how skilled the alchemist that made the potion is. They could even make it so that the time you spend awake is equivalent to twice the amount of time you''ll spend asleep." She shrugged her shoulders soon after. "But since it''s already a bit past afternoon, I''d reckon he''d get up a few minutes from now."


    "Is that so?" As he nodded in response to Madeline''s exnation, Wells recalled the only time he had drank a Rousing Slumber Potion in the past, only to be told that he had been asleep for a few days because of it. "In any case, I wonder what question Valyr wanted to ask you guys."


    "Beats me." Shrugging her shoulders once more in response, Madeline decided to head to the front of the carriage where Braum and Neia were, leaving Wells and the sleeping Valyr at the back on their own.


    Left alone in his own thoughts, Wells decided to recall everything that had transpired before they left the city, hoping to stumble upon a clue at some point to get an idea on what possible question Valyr might have in mind.


    With that, he started at the moment Braum and the other two arrived at the smithy, with the awake Valyr leading them into the workshop portion of the smithy, telling them that he had been forging weapons for them throughout thete hours of the night, which was quite a surprise to the two behind Braum, while thetter just smiled in response.


    All this while, Wells and Magis was at the back of the group, both of them being at a loss for words as Valyr gave the three weapons that seemed to have touched upon a higher level of power. For Wells, he felt like the weapons Valyr had given them could be considered heirlooms in his family. On the other hand, Magis felt like the weapons had touched upon a level of craftsmanship that had gone beyond the level necessary to be famous in the city.


    Nevertheless, they were left alone in their own shock as the three epted the five weapons Valyr had given them, with Madeline being the most vocal out of the three in showing her gratitude to Valyr. Unsurprisingly, all of them got a bit of a chuckle out of it.


    Not long after, Braum asked Valyr and Wells if they were ready to depart, prompting Magis to interrupt the conversation as he asked Valyr if this was the reason why he was giving the Crimson Forge to him. In response, Valyr nodded before cing his arm over the man''s shoulders, telling him to not waste the reputation he had forged for the smithy, even though most of it was unintentional.


    Aside from that, he also told him to not turn out into something like what the forging emporium was in the past, with Magis responding to Valyr''s words with a disgusted expression, telling thetter that the thought of turning out into something like that had never even crossed his mind. With a few words of gratitude in response to that, Valyr and the others then left the city on a carriage, with Valyr''s parting words to Magis being the fact that he''ll be back to check up on him in the future.


    Pondering over everything that happened during that time, Wells eventually came to the conclusion that there was no background reason to Valyr''s action just as they had departed for the city, telling everyone that he would ask them a question after he woke up before going to sleep.


    However, as he thought about it a bit more, there was one part that seemed peculiar to him, being the fact that Valyr carried three normal-looking weapons with him as they departed. Though Valyr did say that the weapons were something he forged in exchange for contribution points he could use in the cksmith Guild, Wells felt like this was the reason he was looking for, mulling over what other possible connection there could be to the weapons.


    Fortunately, he did not have to get lost in his thoughts any longer, with Valyr graduallying to sometimeter.


    Feeling a bit of soreness from his back due to having to sleep on a hard floor, the overall feeling of rxation Valyr felt from a good rest was enough for Valyr to gloss over the soreness, lightly stretching the various parts of his body as he then sat down on the carriage properly.


    "How long was I out?" Letting out a brief yawn as he scratched his head, Valyr looked at Wells beside him with a faint knowing smile.


    "Around seven hours, I think," said Wells in response.


    "Hmm¡­ sounds about right." Pondering over Wells'' words for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in agreement before slightly grinning. "You''ve bought quite the good Rousing Slumber Potion, then."


    "You''re finally awake, huh." Hearing the faint hubbub that was going on at the back of the carriage, Braum left Madeline and Neia at the front to man the carriage before making his way to the back, quickly noticing that Valyr was finally awake. "Got some good sleep, I presume?"


    "I''ve gotten better sleeps in the past." Valyr let out a chuckle in response. "I''d put this one somewhere around the middle."


    "Let''s put that topic aside for now," said Braum as a solemn expression appeared on his face. "What question were you nning to ask us once you woke up?"


    "Remember how I brought along three weapons with me, telling you that I''m submitted them to the cksmith Guild in exchange for contribution points?" asked Valyr in response, prompting Wells and Braum to nod as they listened. "Well, all of them were for tasks that had something to do with an orc outbreak."


    "What? An orc outbreak?" Unsurprisingly, Wells had no clue at all that this was the question Valyr nned to ask.


    "I see." On the other hand, the expression on Braum''s face turned slightly grim as he nodded. Looking at Valyr, he then asked, "And I guess you want to get an idea of what''s going on?"


    "I wouldn''t have brought up in the ce if I didn''t." Hearing these words from Valyr, Braum nodded once more, with Madeline and Neia popping their heads through the curtain to take a quick listen to the conversation that was unfolding.


    "I presume you already know that three races rule our world, right?" Wondering where to begin his exnation, a question quickly popped up in Braum''s mind that seemed to be the perfect start.


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded. "Humans, orcs, and elves."


    "Correct." Noticing that Wells seemed to have no clue on what they were talking about, Braum decided to exin a bit more. "In terms of whether or not there''s an ovep between the races'' territories, the humans and elves have no ovepping territories, thus there is no conflict in that regard. The same could be said for the elves and orcs."


    "Though, if one were to ask that same question regarding human and orc territories, there are tons of ces where the two territories ovep. Naturally, this problem erupted into conflict on both sides, with the fact that the orcs always resorting to battle to settle it once and for all only making the problem even worse."


    "With that in mind, this outbreak is just another one of those multiple conflicts we''ve had with the orcs in the past," said Braum, only for him to let out a long sigh as his expression turned grim. "However, unlike those previous conflicts, this outbreak urred near the Algerie Kingdom, one of the main kingdoms of the Meltierre Empire. If the orcs take over the kingdom, the empire will definitely spring into action. And not before long¡­"


    "It might turn into an all-out war."


    At those words, everyone in the carriage went silent, with the galloping of the horses being the only sound they could hear amidst the silence. Thankfully, sometimeter, Valyr broke the silence as he took in a deep breath, looking at Braum with a faint smile on his face. "All the more reason for me to get to the kingdom, then."


    "Indeed." In response, Braum nodded before letting out a bit ofughter as the five continued on their journey to the kingdom.


    ¡­


    "We''re almost there." As Valyr and Wells were in the process of waking themselves up, Madeline''s voice echoed from the front of the carriage, giving them a bit more energy to get themselves ready as they quickly made their way to the front.


    At the very moment they got there, a sight both Wells and Valyr had never seen before swiftly greeted their eyes. Compared to therge city walls of Clossbay, the walls before them were farrger, spanning tens of meters tall, with their ends being far beyond the scope of their vision.


    Aside from that, both of them could already hear the bustling mor behind the walls, something that only got louder and louder the closer they got.


    With that, even though they already knew what ce they were entering, they still felt a hint of excitement when Madeline looked at them and grinned as she told them, "Valyr, Wells, wee to Algerie Kingdom."


    Then, at the instant she had finished saying those words, a notification sound resounded within everyone''s minds at the same time.


    Ding!


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond has finally ended!]

 Chapter 277 Hiding Ones Identity

    "Alright, we''re here. Time to get off." As the carriage gradually came to a halt, Wells and Valyr looked at the building before them, its size making the government building they entered back then in Clossbay pale inparison.


    Though the walls of the building seemed to have been made from rough cut stone, its exterior was lined to the brim with exquisite carvings, serving as a stark contrast to the feeling of modernity the overall design gave off. Spanning five stories tall, the two were certain that the building in front of them was thergest they''vee across so far.


    If one were to exclude Valyr''s past experiences, of course.


    "Where are we?" As Braum, Madeline, Neia slowly made their way off the carriage, Valyr posed the question to the three as he picked up all of the things he had brought along for the journey.


    "The Imperial Production Guild." Hearing these wordse out of Braum''s mouth, he then paused his actions for a bit, wondering if what he had heard was correct. Fortunately, a bit of reassurance from Madeline and Neia was enough to dispel those doubts.


    "Is Valyr going to head inside, then?" Carrying the items he had brought along with him as he made his way down, Wells decided to ask the question that popped up in his mind, only to be told in response to leave his items in the carriage in the meantime.


    "Not today, unfortunately." As Wells did what he was told, Madeline let out a soft sigh as she shook her head. "Though it would have been nice to just have Valyr enter the guild right now so our escort mission would be consideredplete, there''s still an order to everything that we have to follow."


    "It sucks if you ask me, but we don''t make the rules." After that, she shrugged her shoulders.


    "We''ll have to notify the guild of your arrival first before you could enter without a problem," said Neia soon after, prompting Valyr to nod as he asked Braum and the others if he put the weapons he forged for the cksmith Guild in the carriage for now.


    Responding to Valyr that he could leave the weapons in the carriage for now since the Imperial Production Guild is considered the hub of the cksmith Guild, Braum continued where Neia left off. "With that in mind, I''ll be heading to the guild to set up the meeting you''ll be attending tomorrow, while Neia and Madeline will be in charge of finding your lodging during your stay within the kingdom."


    "Is there anything we can do to help?" Wells asked in response to the question, getting off the carriage before taking in a breath of the kingdom''s air.


    "Not really." Braum shook his head as he shed an apologetic smile. "Us three are enough to handle everything, much less to say if Paul and Tyrst are with us."


    "In any case, feel free to do whatever you want in the kingdom for today, though remember toe back here before sunset." Already getting the idea behind Braum''s final statement, Wells and Valyr nodded as they assured the trio that they won''t cause any trouble, eliciting nods of affirmation toe from the three in response.


    However, just as Valyr was about to get off the carriage while only carrying the most basic of necessities, Braum quickly stopped him from doing so.


    "What''s wrong?" Unsurprisingly, a frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he wondered why Braum stopped him from getting off the carriage. Fortunately, after pondering over the possible reasons why Braum did it, it did not take long for a look of understanding to appear on his face.


    "I guess I don''t have to remind you." Noticing the look on Valyr''s face, Braum bitterly smiled. "Unlike in the other ces you''ve been to in the past, many people in the kingdom are quick to recognize people that originate from the Zeihardt n. Aside from the fact that they''re one of the oldest ns of the human race, the silver irises you and other people from the n have are easily noticeable."


    "That problem is only worsened by the fact that we''re in the capital city of the kingdom right now, which means that almost every person you mighte across will quickly figure out who you really are." Listening to Braum''s exnation, Valyr wryly smiled in response as he put on the Half Wyvern Armor he had brought along before getting off the carriage.


    "I guess I''ll be stuck wearing this armor whenever I head outside?" Letting out a low sigh as he posed this question, bitter smiles crept up on the faces of the others.


    "Not necessarily." Braum slowly shook his head in response. "If you have [Polymorph] or any other skill that allows you to change some of your features, you''d be able to roam the streets of Algerie City unhindered. Though, if you really want to be safe, you could activate stealth magic and the like."


    ''I guess the choice of not picking up any magic along the way so far is biting me in the ass right now.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr wondered why he hadn''t picked up even the simplest of magic in the first ce. Sure, picking up magic would effectively double the number of advancements he would have to unlock in the Innovation branch of his Technology Tree, but having to allocate Technology Points into it was not mandatory.


    Pondering over the question for a bit more, feeling as if there was more to the reason behind him not picking up magic, Valyr eventually came to the conclusion that he did not really have a need for magic so far, which he did not find any fault with. In fact, the only time he thought about possibly needing to learn magic was to spatiallypress his armor so it could be portable.


    With him finding the answer to his own question, Valyr eventually nodded in response to Braum''s words as he told them that he''ll pick up the skill along the way, causing Braum and the other two to nod in agreement.


    Seeing as they had nothing else to talk about for the meantime, the five eventually went their separate ways. Braum and the other two were headed to the Imperial Production Guild, while Wells nned to roam around the streets of the city and familiarize himself with it. As for Valyr, he nned to pick up magic along the way while he went sightseeing.


    Though, before all of them could truly part ways, Valyr stopped them in their tracks as he asked them for a favor.


    "Ah, right. If any of youe across some Shadow Serpent Essence along the way, could you help me get it?"

 Chapter 278 Sightseeing And Reminiscing

    "Although Shadow Serpent Essence is not that rare, I wonder if they could get their hands on it?" As this thought lingered in Valyr''s mind, he roamed through the streets of Algerie City with a full set of Half Wyvern Armor on, causing some of the people that passed by him to stare at him every once in a while. Nevertheless, he remained oblivious to all of the stares, instead taking in the sights surrounding him as he formed a mental map of all the important ces he came across.


    Of course, with him wondering whether the others could get their hands on Shadow Serpent Essence or not, he would stop in front of a store every once in a while before entering, asking if they had any Shadow Serpent Essence. Most of the time, the reply he would get was that they had no Shadow Serpent Essence, informing him that the Mage Guild, Assassin Guild, and Alchemist Guild had a monopoly on it.


    Then, there were times where a store would have Shadow Serpent Essence for sale. However, the amount of Shadow Serpent Essence they would offer was far from enough for what Valyr was nning to do.


    With the added fact that they would try to extort as much money out of Valyr as possible, he knew that he could only rely on the others while he still kept finding a ce that sold Shadow Serpent Essence at a cheap price.


    ''Then again, there''s always the chance that Shadow Serpent Essence used to be expensive before the first version released.'' Thinking about why there wasn''t much Shadow Serpent Essence avable for him to buy at the moment, Valyr eventually thought that the price and avability of the item might have only gone down after the first version of Greater Beyond was released, though he wasn''t certain if that was truly the case.


    ''Either way, I guess I''ll have to wait for a bit longer to get my subss.'' Letting out a low sigh, Valyr continued to roam through the streets of the city, stopping at some point to buy some food from a vendor on the side of the street. After that, the thought of the notification from before they arrived at the kingdom popped up in his mind.


    As he recalled the notifications he had received, a long sigh unexpectedly escaped Valyr''s mouth as hemanded the system to bring up the notification screen in his mind.


    ''And here I thought the first version would begin right away.''


    Ding!


    [Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond has finally ended!]


    [Version 0.5d of Greater Beyond has begun! Remaining time: 364 days, 18 hours, 12 minutes, 7 seconds.]


    "Version 0.5d, huh," Valyr muttered to himself, his expression a deep frown within the helmet. Though, after pondering over it for a bit, the frown on his face smoothened out. "I guess it wouldn''t be wrong to consider this version the version where thepany is making its final push for polish before the public release. After all, the beta yers gave feedback on what parts of the game could be improved upon."


    As this train of thought continued in his mind, Valyr felt that it made sense. Rummaging through his past memories, he recalled that quite some time had passed after the beta version had ended before Greater Beyond was publicly released to the world. Though, as he thought about it for a bit more, a question soon popped up in his mind.


    "Would they apply the feedback the beta yers gave during this version, or would they apply it all in one go once the public version is released?" Feeling as if trying to answer the question on his own would just be incredibly futile, Valyr decided to ce the thought at the back of his head for now as he continued to walk through the streets.


    By the time lunchtime had arrived, he stopped his sightseeing for the meantime before heading into a small family-owned restaurant, the meals he ordered being served to him within minutes. Recalling the reminder Braum had given to him before they went their separate ways, Valyr let out a low sigh as he opened the hatch at the front of his helmet, slowly but surely getting the food he ordered delivered to his mouth.


    Unsurprisingly, this action of his had earned quite a few stares here and there from some customers, as well as a few people that passed by the small restaurant. Nevertheless, he continued doing it, eventually leaving the restaurant as he felt a greater need to pick up the skills and magic Braum had mentioned earlier.


    With that in mind, he slightly hastened his pace, stopping a few passerby from time to time as he asked them which ce had thergest collection of skill books he could get his hands on. Thanking them for taking the time to answer his queries, Valyr soon continued with his sightseeing, eventually feeling a deep sense of sadness welling up within his body out of nowhere.


    Though slightly surprised at the fact he started to feel sad without knowing the reason why, Valyr did not take long to figure it out, a bitter smile adorning the face within the helmet as he sat on a nearby bench, taking in the sight before him as he took in a deep breath.


    ''Now that I think about it, yers wouldn''t be able to see Algerie Kingdom in this state.'' Faintly sighing, Valyr thought about how Algerie Kingdom looked for him back when he was a yer.


    As the entire theme of the first version, specifically for those who decided to start on the world of Veldanyr, was the War of the Three Sovereignties, almost every kingdom, empire, and sovereignty the yers went to seemed to have an oppressive atmosphere about them, with parts of their territory even containing the marks of war.


    From what he could recall, Algerie Kingdom was considered one of the less important kingdoms of the human race during the war, so the battles they had to defend against were smaller inparison to the more important kingdoms. With that, they were able to avoid having everythingpletely obliterated by the opposing side, yet Valyr could see at that point that the kingdom was already a former shell of itself, just barely holding on.


    Of course, everything turned around for the better after the first version had ended, but the Algerie Kingdom of that time was already far different from the Algerie Kingdom Valyr was currently witnessing, with some of the changes the kingdom underwent even being considered incredibly drastic.


    Letting out yet another sigh as he wrapped up reminiscing about the Algerie Kingdom he had been used to, Valyr stood up from the bench before continuing to walk down the streets, eventually finding himself in front of one of the ces he decided to go to.


    "I sure hope that man''s rmendation was right."

 Chapter 279 Boundless Skill Emporium

    "This is the ce." Standing at the entrance of a three-story building spanning a few hundred meters in width, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief as he thought back to the reason why he came. "This is that skill book shop that man had rmended to me earlier."


    While he was roaming around the streets of Algerie City on the lookout for Shadow Serpent Essence, he also decided to ask some of the passerby as to which shop had the mostplete collection of skill books he could get his hands on. Naturally, people rmended the skill book shops they frequented, which Valyr went to, only to be somewhat disappointed by theck of options.


    However, at some point in his sightseeing, he obtained a rmendation from one of the passerby he had stopped of a skill book shop that was well-known by almost everyone throughout the city, touting it as the skill book shop with the mostprehensive collection of skill books.


    Of course, from the sheer size of the building in front of him alone, Valyr was inclined to believe that the man''s words were correct. After all, only a building of great size would be able to handle such arge collection of books. Though, there was still a small part of him that doubted the man''s ims, the reason for which he didn''t know why.


    "Well, I sure hope that man''s rmendation was right." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr then walked into the building, being swiftly greeted by a space that was farrger than what it appeared to be from the outside.


    With his mouth wide agape from the disbelief he felt, it took a while for him to collect his bearings as he took a look at what the building offered, instantly seeing multiple skill books on pedestals as far as his eyes could see. He also noticed quite a few people here and there being attended to by people in uniforms as they stood before some of the pedestals, making him wonder if the skill book shop was popr or not.


    ''Then again, the space inside this building is farrger than what it makes it out to be from the outside.'' In the end, Valyr felt that he had no business to find the answer to that kind of question, instead shifting his curiosity towards how the space inside the building was farrger than what it seemed to be from the outside.


    ''I could probably ask about it after I finish buying some skills.'' Then again, Valyr already knew the answer to that question, which was spatial expansion magic. However, what he wanted to know was the figure who had cast that spatial expansion magic within the building, wanting to get in touch with the person aside from the mage Arcenne had rmended to him before he left Clossbay.


    After all, if a mage was proficient in expanding space, then there was a high chance they were proficient inpressing space.


    "Wee to the Boundless Skill Emporium, sir." As he continued to stand in ce for a bit, wondering where he should start heading to get the skills he wanted, one of the people in uniforms eventually came up to him, being a woman in her early twenties. "How may I help you today?"


    "I was nning to pick up a few skills actually," said Valyr in response. "Do you know where I could get [Mana Affinity]?"


    "The basics of magic, I presume?" Bringing out a thin tablet before infusing it with her mana, the young woman eventually looked at Valyr with a nod. "Follow me, sir."


    "Alright." Nodding back, Valyr went ahead and followed the woman as they walked through the various sections of the building, allowing him toe across some skills that he thought would be a good addition to his skill repertoire. Nevertheless, as the faint nging of his armor reverberated throughout the building, he decided to ce that at the back of his head and focus on what was important for now.


    "Here we are, sir." After walking through the building for a while, Valyr and the young woman eventually arrived at the northeast portion of the building''s first floor, prompting the young woman to stand in front of the skills before the two of them as she opened her mouth. "Before you are all skill books that will allow you to learn [Mana Affinity]. However, all of these books differ in rarity."


    "The skill book you see to your left will allow you to pick up [Basic Mana Affinity], the lowest grade possible for the skill," she exined to Valyr. "To its right would be [Intermediate Mana Affinity], which is considered an Umon grade affinity skill."


    "The Boundless Skill Emporium only has [Mana Affinity] skill books up to [Expert Mana Affinity] avable for sale within the first floor. However, if sir wants to buy a [Mana Affinity] skill book of a grade higher than Epic, we would be able to do that."


    "There''s no need. Just [Basic Mana Affinity] would do." Listening to the woman''s exnation, Valyr swiftly shook his head in refusal. Sure, obtaining [Expert Mana Affinity] or a [Mana Affinity] skill of a higher rarity would allow his control of mana to be far greater than what the lowest grade of the skill could offer, but he had no ns to focus too much on magic in the meantime, just the bare minimum to be able to roam the streets without having to rely on armor.


    Plus, why would he waste a ton of money on a skill that he could get as long as he had enough XP?


    "Understood, sir." With that, the young woman could only follow Valyr''s wishes, inwardlymenting the fact that she was not able to persuade the customer she was attending to spend more money on skill books. Nevertheless, she grabbed the skill book she was asked to grab as a thought soon popped up into her mind. "Since you''re buying [Basic Mana Affinity], would you also like to buy [Basic Mana Maniption], sir?"


    "Hmm¡­ I suppose I also need that skill." In response, Valyr faintly nodded, causing the mes of ambition to fire up within the young woman as she felt like she had a high chance she could make Valyr spend more.


    And with that, they continued roaming through the store.

 Chapter 280 Expanding The Repertoire

    After Valyr made his choice on what grade of [Mana Affinity] he would obtain, he and the young woman attending him then headed to the section containing all of the element maniption skills, which Valyr and many other yers considered as Pseudo-Special Skills.


    Of course, simr to before, Valyr chose to buy [Basic Mana Maniption], the lowest grade of [Mana Maniption] that he could buy from the emporium. After that, he went ahead and bought the element maniption skills corresponding to the four basic elements, causing the young woman''s eyes to glisten with delight as she felt like she could gain a slightly hefty bonus from the man she was attending.


    Looking to see if he was nning to buy any other element maniption skill while he was still in the section that had it, Valyr glossed over the element maniption skills he had elected to buy.


    [Basic Mana Maniption] was a no-brainer sincebining it with [Basic Mana Affinity] was considered the bread and butter to setting a foundation for magic. Where one skill was focused on attuning one''s self surrounding them, the other was focused on allowing one''s self to harness that energy and bend it to one''s will.


    As for the element maniption skills that corresponded to the four basic elements, Valyr felt like having the ability to control the elements would help him out in the long run, even if he were to only use them to speed up his travels. Then again, as he told the young woman that he would buy [Basic Fire Maniption], he wondered if it would sh with the [Basic Crimson me Maniption] skill he already had or merge into something greater.


    ''Speaking of which, I should get their elemental affinity skills while I''m at it.'' Recalling the fact that he still had no elemental affinity skill even though he already had [Basic Crimson me Maniption], Valyr and the young woman made their way to the section of the emporium that contained all of the elemental affinity skills, with Valyr naturally picking up the affinity skills for the four basic elements.


    Thinking as to whether or not he should get anything else aside from the [Polymorph] skill Braum had mentioned to him earlier, Valyr eventually thought that he should take the time to expand his skill repertoire, quickly thinking of many reasons where an expanded skill repertoire could prove to be useful.


    With that, he went ahead and picked up [Basic Spellcasting], [Basic Incantation], and [Basic Mana Magic Style] without hesitation. Curious as to how the magic system worked as he had never delved in-depth into it back when he was still a yer, Valyr felt like now was a good time to buy a few skills that would allow him to find out.


    Just as the two were about to make their way to the section that housed [Polymorph] and other simr skills that disguised one''s identity, Valyr stopped in his tracks as he picked up the Special Skills that pertained to the four basic elements, their naming scheme simr to the Special Skill for pure mana.


    Bitterly smiling at the fact that he would have to familiarize himself with a lot of skills after this buying spree, Valyr and the young woman headed to the section that contained the skill Braum wanted him to buy, slightly surprised to find out that the skill was considered Umon grade.


    Wondering if there was a more basic version of the skill, Valyr rummaged through his memories to find out, eventually encountering a memory that contained a guide on getting [Polymorph] without having to buy the actual skill itself.


    With the guide in his memory telling him that obtaining [Polymorph] in this manner would allow him to have even greater control over his disguise, Valyr decided to follow it as he grabbed all of the skills listed on the guide, which amounted to eight skills in total.


    "How much do all of the skill books I''ve grabbed cost in total?" While he and the young woman were making their way to the section of the building that contained physical skills, Valyr decided to ask how much everything he had gotten cost so far, briefly feeling the weight of the money pouch he had brought with him.


    Though the money he had earned from the Crimson Forge was quite arge sum, Valyr was nning to pay off the debt he owed Arcenne and her father with part of the money, which amounted to 2,000 gold coins. However, this thought of paying back debt slipped past his mind after pulling an all-nighter, causing him to forget about the debt he owed, only to recall the matter by the time they were already far away from the city.


    Feeling a tinge of regret, Valyr found sce from the fact that Arcenne told him that he was free to take his time in paying back the debt. Nevertheless, by not paying the debt he owed Arcenne and her father in the meantime, the amount of money he currently held amounted to around 50 tinum coins, or around 5,000 gold coins.


    "The pricing the Boundless Skill Emporium uses for its skill books is based on the rarity of the skill contained within the book, excluding some skills whose usefulness transcend their rarity," the young woman responded to Valyr''s question with an exnation. "For a skill book that contains a Common grade skill, its price would be 50 gold coins."


    "An Umon grade skill would cost four times as much, having a price of 200 gold coins," she continued. "For each increase in rarity, the price would quadruple, so a Rare skill would cost 800 gold coins, an Epic skill 3,200, and so on, and so forth."


    "In any case, you have currently picked up a total of 25 skill books that contain Common grade skills, which is equal to 1,250 gold coins." Once he was done listening to the young woman''s exnation, Valyr could not help but suck cold air through his teeth, feeling a hint of pain at the amount of money he was spending.


    Though, this feeling of pain swiftly disappeared as he thought back to the time he was in Astarto Vige, recalling the time he used to carry corpses back to the vige in order to sell them for copper coins. Realizing that he had not only improved in terms of strength, but also in terms of wealth, a faint smile soon adorned his face within the helmet as he nodded at the young woman soon after.


    Keeping the skill book pricing in mind, the two of them then proceeded to the section that housed physical skills.

 Chapter 281 Expanding The Repertoire Some More

    With the worry of needing to buy [Polymorph] now being gone, Valyr was quite eager to buy skill books that leaned more on the physical side to offset the great amount of skill books he had bought that leaned more towards the magical side. This eagerness was onlypounded by the fact that he now knew how skill books were priced within the emporium, quickly making a list in his mind of skills that would effectively make him a better fighter.


    "Could you get me [Sweep], [Cut], and [Parry]?" Informing the young woman attending him of the offensive skills he wanted to buy, Valyr went ahead and opened a screen that contained his skill list, checking what skills he currently had that needed a spear.


    Aside from [Serpent Spear Combat Style], which he had already considered a staple of his overallbat style, the only other offensive skill he had in his list that needed a spear was [Strong Pierce]. Of course, he also considered [Tideburst] as another offensive skill that needed a spear, but unlike the previous two, [Tideburst] was a skill imbued within the spear itself.


    Pondering over his selection of offensive skills to choose from, the only skill he had that did not cost a lot of mana, as well as existed in his skill list was [Strong Pierce]. If he were to exclude the usage of [Tideburst] and the moves he had ess to from [Serpent Spear Combat Style], hisbat style would mostly revolve around basic spear movements, with [Strong Pierce] being interspersed here and there.


    Of course, he already had experience with thatbat style since it was the mainbat style he had used while he was still in Astarto Vige. However, if he were to continue using that style in the long run, he knew for a fact that he would always be at a disadvantage not only in terms of unpredictability, but also in damage output, which was why people learned skills in the first ce.


    With that, to expand upon his currentbat style, he decided to grab offensive skills simr to [Strong Pierce] that embodied a basic spear movement, which would give him more options to deal more damage aside from relying on [Serpent Spear Combat Style] or on [Tideburst].


    At some point, he also thought about incorporating magic into his attacks as well, such as when he used [Crimson ze] while fighting against Leron to catch him off guard. Unsurprisingly, he came to the conclusion that if he were to do that, he would obviously be a tough opponent to fight against.


    Noticing that the young woman had returned with the three skills he nned on buying, Valyr was about to suggest they head to another section of the building when he noticed that she was having a hard time bncing all the skill books she was carrying. In response, Valyr offered that she gave half of the books she was carrying to him, telling her that he was still nning to buy a few more skills after this.


    At first, the young woman rejected the idea, telling her that it was the attendant''s duty to aid the customer no matter what. Though, after feeling a hint of pain radiating from both of her forearms, she eventually relented, apologizing to Valyr as she gave half of the skill books to him.


    After assuring his attendant that it was fine, the two of them then made their way to the east section of the building, which contained a great selection of buffing skills. Recalling the other buffing skills he already had, specifically the ones that boosted a certain stat for a short time, a memory soon surfaced within Valyr''s mind, reminding him of a skill that he could easily obtain.


    "[Fleeting Feet] and [Schr''s Sagacity]. Those are the ones I''m looking for." Looking through the various skill books in his surroundings, Valyr eventually informed the young woman of the buffing skills he nned to buy, specifically the ones hecked in order to obtain the skill that popped up in his mind.


    In terms of the mechanics on how one could obtain it, the skill that lingered within Valyr''s mind relied on the same process that would allow him to gain a variant of [Polymorph] by relying on eight Common grade skills. Though it came at the cost of losing all of the skills that was used in obtaining the skill, the effects of the skill that was obtained generally made the process worth it.


    ''It''s a shame that the really good skillbinations can only be used once I unlock the skill fusion feature.'' Inwardly letting out a low sigh at the thought, Valyr decided to ce the thought at the back of his head for now as they slowly made their way to what was one of thergest sections of skills within the building''s first floor.


    "Here we are, sir. The passive skill section." Hearing these wordse out of the young woman''s mouth, Valyr pondered over what passive skills he should obtain. Though, after recalling the reason as to why he had obtained the two skills from earlier, Valyr quickly made up his mind on what skills to obtain, thinking he had bought more than enough skills for now.


    ''My money pouch is going to be crying after this.'' Taking in a deep breath as he faintly nodded, Valyr then gave his attendant the list of passive skills he wanted to buy, which came to a total of nine skills. Surprisingly, the young woman informed him that one of the skills he wanted had a higher price than the others due to the skill''s long-term value.


    After finding out that the price of the skill was just twice as much as the other skills, Valyr told her to still get it, eliciting a delighted smile to appear on her face as she returned to where Valyr was with the skills he asked her to obtain.


    "Yeah¡­ I think that''s all of the skills I want to buy for now." Finally realizing how much skill books he was buying, it took quite some time for Valyr topose himself as he told the young woman that he was now going to pay for the skill books he had chosen.


    Though saddened by the fact she wasn''t able to make him spend even more, a smile still adorned the young woman''s face as they made their way to one of the cashiers, wondering how big of a bonus she was going to get from such arge sale.

 Chapter 282 Commonly Rare

    "In total, you''ve grabbed 39 skill books from the emporium, all of which contain Common grade skills. Aside from [Innate Luck] costing 100 gold coins, all the other skills you''ve grabbed cost 50 gold coins each." Listening to the cashier break down the cost of each skill book he had grabbed from the emporium, Valyr felt a twinge of pain in his chest as he calcted the overall cost in his mind.


    "All in all, you''ll have pay 2,000 gold coins." Nodding in response to the cashier''s words, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh as he brought out his money pouch. Effectively cutting the amount of money he had by around half, he ced down a small stack of tinum coins on the counter, causing the eyes of the cashier and the young woman to briefly light up in response.


    cing all of the coins into the register under the desk, the cashier aiding Valyr in checking out soon brought out a thin tablet, infusing it with a bit of his mana soon after. After that, the cashier picked up one of the skill books before also infusing it with a bit of mana, which caused the name of the skill book to pop up on the tablet''s surface.


    Finally getting an idea on how people used the thin tablets, Valyr stood in ce as he and the young woman watched the cashier scan all of the skill books one by one, cing the ones he had already scanned to another side of the counter.


    By the time the cashier was done scanning all of the skill books, he then looked at the young woman beside Valyr before sending a strand of mana to her. In response to receiving the strand of mana, the young woman faintly nodded as she told Valyr that she would have to leave him with the cashier for a while.


    Wondering as to what the young woman was going to do while he nodded in response, Valyr shifted his gaze back to the cashier, who took out a small bracelet from under the counter before infusing it with a bit of mana.


    Whoosh!


    In response to the infusion, a small space opened up within the bracelet, prompting Valyr''s mouth to be ck-jawed as he never expected toe across something valuable like a spatial bracelet this early.


    From what he could remember from his memories, spatial bracelets were a staple throughout the universe of Greater Beyond, with many powerful people owning spatial bracelets that could fit entires within it. However, within the world of Veldanyr, spatial bracelets were incredibly rare, being something that could only be obtained by the royalty, or by those who had achieved a great merit.


    Yet, even if one were to achieve such stringent requirements, the spatial bracelet one would be able to obtain would only have a space equivalent to a small room at most. With that, Valyr was left at a loss for words once he watched the cashier ce all of the skill books he had bought within the spatial bracelet he brought out, recalling how rare such items were in Veldanyr.


    ''Unless¡­ it used to not be rare? Was there something that happened before the first version that made spatial bracelets so rare after that?'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr watched as the cashier seal up the spatial bracelet before giving it to him with a charming smile.


    "As this esteemed sir has made a purchase beyond a total of 10 tinum coins, a spatial bracelet is given for you to store your skill books free of charge," said the cashier. "Not only that, but you''re also entitled to im a Basic-level VIP card from the emporium, reducing the price of anything you purchase from the emporium in the future by 10%."


    "Of course, that''s only if you show the card once you''re ready to check out." Wearing the bracelet given to him as he listened to the cashier''s exnation, Valyr watched as the young woman attending to him earlier made her way back to where they were, giving him a pitch ck card that seemed to be cool to the touch.


    "Please infuse a bit of your mana into it so the emporium''s system remembers your mana signature." Receiving the ck card from the young woman, Valyr nodded as he did what the young woman told him to do. In response, he felt a faint connection to the ck card forming, prompting the cashier and young woman to nod as they told him that the process wasplete.


    "I hope you''ve enjoyed your stay at the Boundless Skill Emporium," said the young woman to him as she gave him a polite bow. "If there''s anything else we can help you with before you leave, we''d be d to do so."


    "Is that so?" Listening to the young woman''s words, a grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he did not hesitate to voice out the question that was in his mind from earlier. "Since that''s the case¡­"


    "Would it be possible to contact the mage responsible for your emporium''s spatial expansion magic?"


    ¡­


    "Well, it was worth a shot." With a bitter smile adorning his face behind the helmet, Valyr walked out of the emporium with a long sigh, making a mental note in his mind of its location in the off chance he nned to buy some skills in the future.


    "I should probably contact the person Arcenne rmended to me tomorrow, or perhaps ask Braum and the others if they know any mages specializing in spatialpression." Still feeling a hint of disappointment on the fact that his request was swiftly refused, it took a while for Valyr to get his bearings back, taking in a deep breath as he took a brief look at the sky.


    "Who knew time would pass by so quickly even though you''re only buying skills?" Taking note of the fact that the sun was only an hour away from setting, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he started making his way back to the Imperial Production Guild, hastening his steps in the process.


    "In any case, I should head back to the guild first."

 Chapter 283 A Brief Conversation

    Returning to where the carriage was parked before they went on their separate ways, Valyr took in a deep breaths, calming himself down soon after once he noticed that he was the first out of all of them to return to the carriage.


    Deciding to rest inside the back of the carriage for now, he took a brief nce at the Imperial Production Guild before taking his helmet off. Then, once inside the carriage, he took off all of the other pieces making up the Half Wyvern Armor set, bitterly smiling as the thought of taking a shower as soon as possible entered his mind.


    "Haah¡­ haah¡­ I thought I wouldn''t make it in time." Allowing the cold breeze of the oing night to wash over his body, Valyr soon heard gasps for air from outside the carriage, prompting him to take a look, only to find a slightly exhausted Wells in front of him catching his breath.


    "What''s with the rush?" In the midst of him catching his breath, Wells noticed Valyr''s head pop out of the carriage, causing him to jump back in surprise, not expecting his friend to have arrived at the carriage earlier than him.


    "And here I thought I was going to be the first to the carriage." Bitterly smiling in response to Valyr''s question, Wells soon responded that he wanted to be the first to the carriage so he could surprise everyone else that came after him with his presence. Unfortunately for him, Valyr was the first to arrive.


    In response to his friend''s exnation, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he beckoned Wells to enter the carriage so he could rest his body. Taking up the offer, Wells went ahead and entered the carriage, feeling a great amount of relief once heid down on his back, even though the floor was made out of hardwood.


    "So, what did you do for the rest of the day?" As this question escaped Valyr''s mouth, a smile crept up on Wells'' face as he sat upright, proceeding to exin most of the activities he had done in the city on his own. Though most of the activities Wells described to Valyr were only something the former could enjoy, some of them had piqued Valyr''s interest, prompting him to make a mental list of the things Wells had tried that he wanted to tried out.


    After that, Wells mentioned to Valyr that he tried searching for Shadow Serpent Essence all throughout the city, only to end up bing unsessful since most of the stores he came across did not have any on stock. As for the ones who did, all of them were selling a small amount of the stuff at such an exorbitant price that he would be better off not buying it.


    Listening to Wells'' exnation regarding the search for Shadow Serpent Essence, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he told the man in front of him that he had experienced the same thing earlier while on the lookout for the stuff.


    Finding the exnation a perfect segue to tell Wells what things he had done while alone, he went ahead and did so, telling his friend that, aside from keeping track of some notable stores he hade across and eating meals from a few restaurants here and there, he bought himself a plethora of skills that would allow him to expand his repertoire.


    Raising one of his arms that had the spatial bracelet wrapped around it, he then told Wells of the exact ce he had gone to that sold the skill books he had bought, prompting thetter to respond that he might head to the shop tomorrow, believing in Valyr''s words that their collection of skills was incrediblyprehensive.


    Fortunately, just as the two of them ran out of things to talk about, Braum and the other four appeared at the carriage, waving at the two as they made their way inside.


    "Before we begin, you''ll have toe with us to the Imperial Production Guild tomorrow morning, Valyr." Just as Valyr was about to ask what the five had been up to while they were doing their own thing, Braum took the initiative to inform Valyr of the meeting tomorrow, leaving thetter no choice but to nod in response.


    "Speaking of which, here''s that item you asked us to get." Soon after, Braum took out an item from one of his pockets, giving Valyr a fist-sized orb that radiated dark energy. By the time his hands came into contact with the orb, feeling the somewhat oppressive feeling of darkness emanating out of it, Valyr already had an ecstatic expression on his face.


    "Shadow Serpent Essence!" With his eyes widened in surprise, Valyr swiftly thanked the group of five before focusing his attention on the orb, feeling a great urge to use the orb as soon as possible. However, he decided to suppress this urge for now, cing the dark orb within the spatial bracelet that contained the skill books he bought.


    Though Braum and the other four raised their eyebrows in curiosity, remembering that Valyr didn''t have a spatial bracelet earlier, the five of them were forced to stop their train of thought as Valyr asked them how much he would have to pay them in exchange for the Shadow Serpent Essence. In response, Braum told him that the essence was a gift from the Imperial Production Guild, which made Valyr raise his eyebrow in doubt.


    Fortunately, it did not take a lot of convincing from Braum for Valyr to ept the gift, with the former telling him that the Shadow Serpent Essence was just an investment from the guild on someone that would be able to explore the entirety of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Seeing as he wouldn''t be able to repay the favor by paying for it, Valyr eventually told them that he owed them a request to forge a custom weapon, which the five thankfully agreed with.


    "Well, with that out of the way, it''s time to talk about the lodging you two will be staying in for the meantime." Noticing that Braum was already finished with what he had to do, Madeline took the initiative to continue the conversation, piquing the interest of both Valyr and Wells as she asked them a question with a smirk.


    "Wanna check out where you''ll be staying for the night?" As this question escaped Madeline''s mouth, the two looked at each other before simultaneously giving her an answer that made herugh in response.


    "Isn''t that obvious?"

 Chapter 284 Expanding The Technology Tree

    "Here we are. The Hama Inn." Pulling on the reins once the lodging she reserved for the two came into view, Madeline brought the carriage carrying Valyr and the others to a grinding halt as a four-story building appeared within their field of vision. Looking at the building out through the window on the carriage''s side, both Valyr and Wells instantly felt like the building was made for people with a lot of money.


    Though, after looking at the building for a bit longer, they grew more and more certain that their lodging was indeed made for people with a lot of money. Without having to focus on their senses, the two felt a great amount of energy emanating from the exterior wooden walls of the building, most of which was congregating towards the two intricate stone sculptures found on both sides of the entrance.


    Aside from that, they were able to take a small peek into the interior of the building, with most of what they saw through that small peek screaming great opulence at the two of them. At that moment, the two of them thought that they would find another ce to stay for the night once Madeline and the others dropped them off at the building, taking into consideration their current financial situation.


    "This is where we''ll be staying for the night?" Asking this question, Valyr felt a hint of nervousness since he wondered how he was going to tell the group of five that they did not have the funds to even stay in the inn for a night. However, once he and Wells heard the words that came out of Madeline''s mouth, all thoughts of their initial n swiftly disappeared as great smiles adorned their faces.


    "Yeah," Madeline nodded as she responded. "However, you won''t just be staying here for tonight. From the information we''ve obtained from the guild, the two of you are free to stay in the inn as long as you want."


    "I see." With great enthusiasm, Valyr put on his Half Wyvern Armor as he stepped off the carriage with his items in tow. Not long after, Wells followed suit as the two of them then stood at the entrance of the inn, the excitement they were radiating at that moment ringly obvious to the group of five.


    Nevertheless, the group of five shrugged their excitement off, thinking that it might be due to the possibility that it was their first time into the city. With that thought lingering in their minds, the group of five went ahead and helped both Valyr and Wells check into the inn before allowing the two to get a good night''s rest, reminding Valyr once more that they had a meeting tomorrow morning.


    With the two of them watching the group of five disappear from their field of vision, their attention was quickly attracted by one of the attendants of the inn, prompting them to follow behind him as the attendant led them to the room they would be staying in.


    "If either of the sirs have anything else to request, you may infuse a bit of mana into the gray orb found within the room, and we''ll try our best to respond as soon as possible." Leaving these parting words to both Valyr and Wells, which both of themmitted to memory, the attendant soon left the two on their own, allowing the two to finally explore the room that they would be staying in.


    In less than an instant, both Valyr and Wells were left with their mouths agape as they took in the sights before them. Walking deeper into the room in silence, the two of them were quickly greeted by a well-furnished room that had all of the amenities one would need to live afortable life, but taken to a higher level.


    Aside from that, the decorations found throughout the room seemed to emanate an air of nobility, giving both of them the feeling that the room they just stepped foot in were made only for nobles to stay in, even though both of them were actual nobles of the region.


    Fortunately, after they recovered from the initial shock they received from the overallvishness of the room, the two of them eventually calmed down as the wow factor of the room gradually disappeared, prompting the two to choose as to which bed they would be sleeping in while they were in the city.


    After testing out the function of the gray orb the attendant mentioned by ordering dinner from their room, the two of them then freshened themselves up, changing into the set of clothes that the inn had given them as a wee gift. Receiving the meals they had ordered from an attendant that arrived at their door, the two of them swiftly enjoyed their dinner, with Wells deciding to head to sleep early by the time he was done.


    Savoring the meal he had ordered for a bit longer, Valyr then picked up the tes and utensils they had used during the meal before cing it at the room''s entrance, sending a message through the gray orb that they were done with their meals.


    "I''m surprised I''ve gotten used to this so quickly. Is it because my blood is part of a royal n?" Making his way to the bed he had imed for himself, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he thought about how quickly he had gotten used to his new surroundings. Though curious as to why that was the case, he discarded the thought for now, instead focusing on what he should have done ever since he left the Boundless Skill Emporium.


    "It''s time to learn all of the skills I''ve gotten." Muttering these words to himself, he sat on top of his bed before infusing a bit of mana into his spatial bracelet, taking a look at the skill books he had bought from the emporium. Inwardly thanking the cashier for arranging the skill books inside the bracelet in terms of their purpose, he brought out the skill book that he considered the most important to learn, infusing the book with his own mana soon after.


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Mana Affinity''.]


    [Now armed with the ability to sense mana, your Technology Tree has expanded ordingly.]


    [Magic-focused sub-branches within the Technology Tree have been unlocked.]

 Chapter 285 Loading Up On Skills

    As the skill book containing [Basic Mana Affinity] gradually disappeared into thin air, Valyr brought up the notification screen in front of his field of vision before moving it to their side, deciding to prepare himself in advance since he would have to sift through a lot of notificationster on.


    "Well then. This is quite the odd sensation." Reading through the notifications he had received from learning his first skill book, an influx of information regarding the knowledge of mana entered his mind, prompting him to quickly organize and process this information as he soon felt the ambient mana that could be found within the surroundings.


    Focusing his attention on a small particle of mana in his surroundings, Valyr then willed the mana particle to move ording to his thoughts, only for a bitter smile on his face to appear soon after as he muttered to himself, "Of course I''d need the maniption skill to do that."


    With that in mind, he then went ahead and brought out the skill book containing [Basic Mana Maniption], only to bring out the four other maniption skills he had bought soon after. As he took out the elemental affinity skills that corresponded to the four elemental maniption skills he had gotten, Valyr recalled the sensation he felt after being able to sense mana in his surroundings for the first time.


    Back when he was a yer, obtaining [Mana Affinity] allowed him to see ambient mana in his surroundings, even allowing him to control it if he had the corresponding maniption skill needed for it. However, now that he was an NPC, not only did learning [Basic Mana Affinity] allow him to see ambient mana just like his yer counterpart, this sensation also expanded to his other senses, as if being able to sense mana had created a new sense altogether.


    He briefly wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he was now a part of Greater Beyond itself, feeling as if it was a usible reason for the difference in sensation. However, in the end, he thought that there was not much point in thinking about it, instead epting the greater level of sensitivity for what it was.


    Taking in a deep breath, he then went ahead and learned the four elemental affinity skills he had obtained, which was followed up by the five maniption skills, causing a great amount of information to enter his brain in response.


    For a while, he felt as if he were underwater. Yet, no matter what he did, he wasn''t able to reach the surface. Fortunately, this feeling onlysted for around a minute or so as [Basic Mana Affinity] aided him inprehending the other affinities and maniption skills. Nevertheless, the sensation of not being able to breathe reminded him of the time he upgraded multiple skills to their maximum level in one go, prompting him to change his approach on learning the skills he had bought.


    "10 down. 29 to go." Psyching himself up for what was about toe, Valyr took out the remaining skill books that had something to do with magic, starting himself off with skills that tackled what was considered neutral magic. One by one, he learned [Basic Spellcasting], [Basic Incantation], and [Basic Mana Magic Style] in session, giving himself some time to rest his mind before continuing with the four other magic skills that remained.


    "17 down. 22 to go." Feeling as if he was on the verge of fainting by the time he had finished learning [Basic Earth Magic Style], thest of the four magic styles he had learned that corresponded to the elements, Valyr decided to rest for a bit longer, utilizing the gray orb to get a small snack, which was swiftly delivered to their door minutester.


    Noticing that the strain on his mind was gradually being washed away by the snack he ate, Valyr took a brief look outside through therge window adjacent to his bed in a bid to reduce some more of the strain his mind was experiencing before continuing.


    Considering that the Hama Inn was located in one of the busiest parts of Algerie City, Valyr entertained himself by watching the people that roamed the streets under the dim moonlight. By the time around ten minutes had passed, Valyr felt like his mind had been refreshed somewhat, giving him enough of a reason to continue what he was previously doing.


    However, rather than diving head first into the physical-focused skill books he had bought, a thought popped up in Valyr''s mind as he took out all of the remaining skill books he hadn''t absorbed yet from the bracelet, as well as the Shadow Serpent Essence Braum had given him.


    "Hmm¡­ yeah. I''d still need to get someone to apply spatialpression magic on my equipment." Taking a look at the avable space within the spatial bracelet given to him, Valyr let out a low sigh once he realized that his entire armor set wouldn''t be able to fit within the bracelet. From what he could infer, around half of the pieces making up his Half Wyvern Armor would be able to fit inside the bracelet.


    Then again, that was already pushing the bracelet''s space to its limits.


    "Now that I think about it, I could just have someone cast spatial expansion magic on the bracelet instead." Pondering over whether to take the spatialpression magic or the spatial expansion magic route in solving his problem, Valyr eventually decided that he would think about it after he was done absorbing all of the remaining skill books, starting off with the three offensive skills he had bought to diversify hisbat style.


    Whoosh!


    "Huh. Cool." Surprisingly, after he had absorbed the three skill books he had chosen, a far more manageable influx of information entered his mind, allowing Valyr to let out an inward sigh of relief as he swiftly organized and processed the information he had received.


    Sensing that he had gained knowledge regarding the spear movements that corresponded to the skills, Valyr went ahead and applied the knowledge he gained firsthand by wielding his trusty spear for a bit, nodding in satisfaction once he noticed that his movements seemed smoother than before.


    "Now, what should I go with next?" Looking at the selection of skill books he had yet to learn, Valyr noticed that most of them were prerequisites for a skill that would only be obtained after the prerequisite skills had merged together.


    Wondering as to which skill he should absorb next, Valyr did not take long to make his decision, picking up the skill book that seemed to be the obvious choice in his current situation.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Weapon Mastery''.]

 Chapter 286 Breaking Ones Limits

    "Guess I''ll start with the one that''s easiest to digest" Making sure that there was no residual strain from learning [Basic Weapon Mastery], Valyr went ahead and grabbed [Fleeting Feet] and [Schr''s Sagacity] before absorbing them.


    Allowing the strain he had rued from learning both skills to disappear, Valyr took in a deep breath before voicing out amand.


    "Merge."


    Ding!


    In less than an instant, a screen popped up in front of Valyr''s field of vision, acting as a response to themand he had just uttered. Reading through the prompt he had obtained, a light smirk soon appeared on his face, recalling how magical it was for him to discover this feature for the first time.


    [Would you like tobine ''Robust Arms'', ''Deft Hands'', ''Astute Eyes'', ''Astute Mind'', ''Fleeting Feet'' and ''Schr''s Sagacity'' into one skill?]


    [Note thatbining all mentioned skill into one shall remove all of the previous skills.]


    "I ept." epting the prompt once he was done reading through the screen''s content, Valyr soon felt multiple pieces of information in his mind move away from their original spot before shing against one another, making him feel a bit of headache whenever the pieces of information shed against one another.


    Fortunately, from what he could recall, most of the pain he would feel was from the beginning of the process, when the pieces of information seemed to act as separate entities. Though, as they continued to sh against one another, they gradually meld into one entity, with each seeding sh decreasing the amount of pain he would feel.


    With that in mind, Valyr endured the splitting headache he had experienced at the start of the process, which gradually disappeared into nothing by the time a notification sound resounded in his mind a few minutester, prompting him to take a look at the notification screen to his side.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the active skill ''Limit Break''.]


    [Due to the lowest level among the prerequisite skills being Level 1, ''Limit Break'' shall start off at Level 1.]


    Taking in a long and deep breath, Valyr had a wide grin on his face once he took a look at the notifications he had received. Though he did feel a hint of sadness at the fact that the skill that was formed from the merge returned to Level 1, this feeling was swiftly reced with excitement as he thought about the great number of things he could do with the new skill.


    However, rather than checking the skill''s description out, Valyr opted to finish learning all of the skills for now, picking up the skills the guide from his memories told him were the prerequisite skills needed to obtain [Polymorph].


    Or, to be more exact, a better version of [Polymorph].


    "Nngh¡­!" At the very moment he began learning all of the prerequisite skills needed for the [Polymorph] variant skill, Valyr instantly felt like his head was being pressed inward, feeling an inordinate amount of pain that even exceeded the pain he felt from absorbing multiple magic skill books at once.


    Thankfully, once he had absorbed one of the prerequisite skills, the skills that Valyr absorbed after that put less of a strain on his mind, prompting him to ponder over the reason why some skill books put greater strain on his mind, while others put less or no strain on his mind at all.


    ''Hmm¡­ I guess that makes sense.'' By the time he had absorbed the final skill needed to obtain the [Polymorph] variant skill, Valyr already had an idea on how the amount of strain a skill book would inflict could be predicted beforehand. Surprisingly, the reason behind it all came down to two words.


    Previous knowledge.


    With that, it now made sense for him that all of the skill books that contained magic within them put a greater amount of strain on his mind since he did not have any previous knowledge regarding magic at all.


    Though, as he pondered over this, he thought about the magic knowledge he had rued in his previous life, only toe to the conclusion that the system was only taking into consideration the knowledge his body had rued so far, not the soul that decided to settle within it. However, with the thought in mind, he could not help but wonder why his body had not decided to learn magic before he came along.


    In the end, he had no clue.


    Nevertheless, the requirement of previous knowledge also exined the excruciating amount of pain he felt while absorbing the first prerequisite skill for the [Polymorph] variant skill, considering that it had something to do with transforming parts of the body, even if it was just temporary. However, once he had gained a bit of knowledge regarding that area, the strain put on his mind lessened with every seeding skill he absorbed.


    "Merge."


    Ding!


    Commanding the system yet again once he had absorbed all of the necessary prerequisite skills for the skill he wanted, Valyr read through the prompt the system had given him, causing a faint smile to appear on his face as he took in a deep breath.


    [Would you like tobine ''Muscle Control'', ''Bone Control'', ''Skin Control'', ''Proportion Control'', ''Eye Color Control'', ''Hair Color Control'', ''Voice Control'', and ''Energy Concealment'' into one skill?]


    [Note thatbining all mentioned skill into one shall remove all of the previous skills.]


    "I ept." Reminding himself of the pain he had to go through earlier, Valyr braced himself as he epted the prompt, deciding to lie down on the floor as he allowed his body to contort however it wanted to endure the pain.


    As there were more prerequisite skills in the formation of the [Polymorph] variant skillpared to the number of skills needed to form [Limit Break], Valyr had to endure a great amount of pain for far longer, tightly gritting his teeth to the point that some of them cracked.


    Thankfully, the process eventually came to an end, allowing Valyr to finally sit up straight as he mustered the strength to do so, his body covered from head to toe in cold sweat.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr went ahead and took a look at the screen to his side as he allowed the residual pain from the process to subside. Though, once he read the name of the skill he had gotten, he forgot a bit of the pain he was enduring as he let out a soft chuckle. ''It literally is a better version of [Polymorph].''


    [You have gained the active skill ''Enhanced Polymorph''.]


    [Due to the lowest level among the prerequisite skills being Level 1, ''Enhanced Polymorph'' shall start off at Level 1.]


    "You know what? I''ll take a nap for now." Though Valyr wanted to absorb all of the skill books he had bought from the Boundless Skill Emporium, the amount of pain he had to endure so far was enough for him toe to the conclusion that he should rest his body for a while.


    Aside from the fact that the final skill he wanted, unlike the previous two, was a passive skill, Valyr knew that the amount of pain he would have to endure to get it was far greater than even what obtaining [Enhanced Polymorph] had inflicted on him. After all, if knowledge regarding transformation of the body already hurt like hell¡­


    What would knowledge regarding the unearthing of innate potential feel like?

 Chapter 287 Unearthing Ones Potential

    "Haah¡­" Letting out a light yawn, Valyr woke up from his nap as he gradually sat upright. Giving his body time to adjust to its current surroundings, he took a look out the window beside his bed, taking note that the moon was still high up in the sky.


    ''With how much pain I had to endure earlier, I wouldn''t have been surprised if my nap turned into a full-on slumber.'' Thankful that his body decided to follow his wishes of waking up in the middle of the night, Valyr went ahead and checked if his body had recovered from the pain he had to endure, only to be d that his body seemed to be faring better than ever.


    However, the grin that had adorned his face soon turned into a bitter smile as he thought back to the reason why he had decided to wake up in the middle of the night, heading to the gray orb to ask for a small drink that would keep him awake.


    Though he had decided to use the gray orb on a whim to find out if he could use the inn''s services even though it waste at night, Valyr was pleasantly surprised to find out that he indeed could do so, being greeted by the drink he had ordered once he heard someone knock on their door.


    Thanking the man that had delivered the small drink to their room, Valyr then returned to his bed, taking a sip of the drink before cing it to the side, focusing his attention on the eight remaining skill books he was yet to absorb soon after.


    "As long as I endure this short-term pain, I''ll be able to benefit from it in the long run." Muttering a few words to himself to increase his confidence, Valyr took in a deep breath as he infused a bit of mana into the skill book he had chosen, prompting thetter to disappear into thin air as an influx of information soon greeted his mind.


    "Nngh¡­!" At the very instant information started to enter his mind, a great wave of pain washed over the entirety of Valyr''s body, causing him to grit his teeth as he tried his best to not fall unconscious. Thankfully, after a couple of minutes, the pain he felt gradually subsided, instead being reced by the sensation of strength welling up within him, giving him the feeling that he now had the ability to tap into more strength than ever before.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Innate Strength''.]


    Letting out a sigh of relief as a notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr took a quick look at the notification he had received by bringing up a notification screen in front of him once more. Simr to what he had done earlier, he then moved the notification screen to the side as he continued absorbing the other skill books that remained, their names all starting with the word ''Innate''.


    "Mngh!" Though sessfully absorbing a skill with the same principle in mind had reduced the amount of pain he was feeling, Valyr was still subjected to a great amount of pain as each skill tackled a specific stat.


    While he was in the midst of absorbing [Innate Vitality], he felt his blood boil within his body. While he was enduring the pain brought upon him by [Innate Perception], he felt as if all of his senses were being ripped out. All of the other skills inflicted pain to Valyr in a simr manner, with [Innate Wisdom] and [Innate Intelligence] giving him a splitting headache the likes of which he had never experienced before.


    Fortunately, as if to console Valyr for having to go through all that pain, as well as reward him for having the tenacity to push through all of those skills, absorbing [Innate Luck] only took a short while as a notification sound resounded in his mind a few secondster. As for what difference [Innate Luck] had brought to his stats, it was only after sometime did Valyr notice that [Innate Luck] gave him an incredibly crude sense of how lucky he was.


    Taking another sip of the drink he had ordered, which had already returned to room temperature at this point, Valyr pondered as to whether he should go ahead andbine all of the ''Innate'' skills into one as soon as possible, or give his mind and body some time to rest from the pain he had to go through.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr chose to let his body and mind rx for a bit, getting the feeling that if he forced himself to continue with the skill merging, he would have definitely fallen unconscious.


    With that, he decided to take a look at what had changed to the Technology Tree after he had learned multiple magic skills, finding a great number of advancements that could be unlocked within the tree''s Combat and Innovation branch.


    Making a mental note to head to the cksmith Guild in the morning to get his Technology Points for the month, Valyr soon realized that he would be heading to the cksmith Guild either way, considering that the Imperial Production Guild was the headquarters for a few notable ss guilds including the cksmith Guild.


    Keeping in mind a few of the new advancements he wanted to unlock once he got his Technology Pointster, Valyr slightly found it a shame that the ability the Ne of Enlightenment had was still on cooldown, recalling that he had used the ability to unlock more advancements regarding knowledge of the Ancient Age within the tree''s Innovation branch.


    Thinking that he had rested his body for long enough, Valyr braced himself for what was about toe as he sent themand he now had a slight fear of to the system.


    "Merge."


    Ding!


    [Would you like tobine ''Innate Vitality'', ''Innate Strength'', ''Innate Agility'', ''Innate Dexterity'', ''Innate Intelligence'', ''Innate Wisdom'', ''Innate Perception'', and ''Innate Luck'' into one skill?]


    [Note thatbining all mentioned skill into one shall remove all of the previous skills.]


    "Yes." Though Valyr knew that there was no other way around his current situation, he felt a bit of regret at the fact that he had epted the prompt¡­


    Only to regret it even more.


    "Aaaaaagghhh!!" Letting out a scream of pain in response to the incessant amount of pain that now bombarded his body and mind, all Valyr could feel at that moment was the feeling that he was burned alive on the inside and the outside at the same time. Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s sudden scream startled Wells to wake up, prompting him to head to where his friend was as he wondered what thetter was doing¡­


    Only to be greeted by the sight of Valyr seemingly convulsing on the floor.


    Noticing that Wells had made his way to where he was, rather than feel bad at the fact that he had inadvertently woken him up, a deep part of his mind felt delight at Wells'' presence as all of a sudden, Valyr''s body and mind decided to shut down and fall unconscious.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Unearthed Innate Potential''.]

 Chapter 288 Shower Thought?

    "Mnh¡­" Gradually opening his eyes as he sat upright, Valyr felt soreness all over his body, prompting his groggy mind to wonder what he had donest night to feel like a sack of dirt.


    Allowing his consciousness to limate to its current situation, he instantly noticed that he had been sleeping on the floor all this time, causing his mind to wonder about the reason why he had been sleeping on the floor instead.


    And that''s when it hit him.


    "Ah!" Getting an idea of how he had gotten into his current situation, Valyr rummaged through his memories of the previous night, recalling that he was in the midst of fusing a few passive skills to form a stronger passive skill. With the final memory his mind could recall being the fact that Wells had appeared in front of him while he was feeling great agony, Valyr swiftly opened up his notification screen to check if the merging was sessful, inwardly cursing himself in the meantime that he had sumbed to the pain.


    Seeing that the merging of the skills was sessful, he then let out a long sigh of relief as he stood up before lying down on his bed, stretching his body as he took a look at the description of the new passive skill he had just gotten. After all, he was already finished absorbing all of the skills he had bought.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Unearthed Innate Potential] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common+


    Every being throughout the universe has potential within them that is yet to be unearthed. Some of this potential is awakened through the process of reinforcing one''s body and soul, while some of it would be awakened through the process of ascending to a higher rank. Nevertheless, a great amount of potential still remains.


    Some beings are born with part of this potential already unearthed, with a certain stat gaining a boost to its power. Then, there are those who are born with a great part of their potential already unearthed, allowing them to stand head and shoulders above their peers.


    Through an excruciating process, you have be one of those beings. However, a long road awaits you before you can stand beside them as equals.


    This skill increases all of the user''s stats by 0.1%, as well as the user''s HP and MP regeneration rate by 1%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though the small boost the skill gave him caused a bitter smile to appear on his face, Valyr was inwardly d to find out that the skill he had gotten was more or less simr to the skill he was used to in the past¡­ excluding the part where he had to endure an excruciating amount of pain. With that in mind, Valyr wasn''t disappointed by the fact that the skill only boosted his power by a small amount at the moment.


    After all, unlike other stat-boosting skills, [Unearthed Innate Potential] could be upgraded and evolved.


    Deciding to check the description of [Limit Break] and [Enhanced Polymorph]ter, Valyr eventually stood up from his bed, only toe face-to-face with Wells, who had a relieved smile on his face once he saw his friend up and about. "I''m d you woke up."


    "Sorry about that." In response, an apologetic smile adorned Valyr''s face as he recalled the Shadow Serpent Essence he had taken out from the spatial bracelet he wore. Looking around his surroundings, he eventually found the orb before cing it back into the bracelet for the meantime, reminding himself to absorb the orb once he was free.


    "What happenedst night?" Listening to Wells'' question, a bitter smile popped up on Valyr''s face as he exined to Wells what he had been up tost night while he was sleeping. Though Valyr omitted a bit of information here and there, such as the fact that he had fused skills into a stronger skill, the information he had given Wells was more than enough for thetter to look at him with his mouth agape.


    "You seriously absorbed close to 40 skills in a rowst night?" As these words came out of Wells'' mouth, he ced his hand on his forehead before softly shaking his head in slight disappointment. "I don''t know if I should be concerned or amazed after that."


    Noticing the slight confusion on Valyr''s face, Wells put two and two together in his mind as he continued, "Just so you know, there''s a limit to how many skills you can absorb in one sitting without it inflicting pain on your body and mind."


    "For Rank 1 ss holders like us, the average amount of skills we can absorb before feeling pain is five, though that varies from person to person." Committing all of the information that Wells was giving him, it did not take Valyr too long to realize that he had just done what was considered the dumbest among the dumbest things one could ever possibly do.


    "I don''t know how high your limit is, but there was a time where I absorbed 10 skills in a row," said Wells to him as he shrugged his shoulders. "It was only when I absorbed my 11th skill did I start feeling a bit of pain in my mind, so I stopped."


    "Anyways, what''s done is done. There''s not much point in talking about it any further." Deciding to end the topic then and there, Wells then suggested to Valyr that they get some breakfast from outside the inn, which thetter readily agreed.


    Though, just as the two of them were about to head into their respective bathrooms, Wells reminded Valyr that he had a meeting with Braum and the others at the Imperial Production Guild at some pointter in the day, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    Allowing the warm water flowing down his body to wash away the soreness his body felt all over, Valyr stood under the water in silence, pondering over a few thoughts that had popped up in his mind.


    After a while, he had acted upon some of these thoughts, causing a notification sound to resound in his mind not long after.


    Ding!


    [1,600,949 XP has been allocated.]


    [Your level has increased by 6 levels.]


    [You are now Level 25.]


    [You have gained the following stats: +18 VIT, +18 STR, +12 AGI, +30 DEX, +30 INT, +12 WIS, +12 PER, and +6 LUK.]


    [You have gained 24 unassigned stat points.]


    [You have reached the level limit of your current ss. To increase this limit, it is highly advised for you to ascend to a higher ss.]


    [Would you like to ascend?]

 Chapter 289 The Art Of Disguise

    At the entrance of the Imperial Production Guild.


    "You did remind Valyr that he had toe here early in the morning, right?" As both Braum and Madeline waited for Valyr to appear in front of him, the former slightly doubted that thetter had done her job properly, causing him to pose a question to her in response.


    "Of course! Why would I forget something like that?" In response, a light frown appeared on Madeline''s face as she felt slightly offended at the fact that Braum thought that she would forget something as simple as reminding Valyr of their meeting.


    However, just a few secondster, she tried to recall what she had donest night, not remembering mentioning to Valyr the meeting that they had to attend today. With that in mind, she began to doubt herself, muttering, "Wait¡­ did I actually forget?"


    "I sure hope you didn''t." Letting out a soft sigh, Braum tried his best not to let the faint nervousness creeping up on him show on his face, taking in a deep breath every once in a while to keep himself calm. "After all, you know how hard it is to get everyone from the Ancestral Council to gather together, especially for an asion like this."


    "Ah! Valyr''s friend is here!" Though the frown on Madeline''s face did not disappear after listening to Braum''s words, once she noticed that Wells was heading to where they were, the expression on her face changed into aposed smile. However, after looking at Wells for a while, expecting to see Valyr beside him, what Madeline saw instead was a man neither she nor Braum had met before apanying him, prompting her to specte on what might have caused the current situation.


    "Is his friend going to tell us that Valyr can''te due to some unforeseen reason?" Looking at Braum beside her, Madeline brought up the possibility that seemed most likely in her mind to the former. Sucking in a bit of cold air, Braum contemted over Madeline''s words in silence for a bit before eventually shrugging her shoulders.


    "I really hope that isn''t the case."


    "Braum. Madeline. Good morning to you both." Finally arriving to where Braum and Madeline were, Wells greeted the two with a smile as the man apanying him stood a few steps away from the trio, seemingly minding his own business.


    "Good morning to you as well." Nodding back in response, Braum and Madeline reciprocated the greeting Wells had given them, only for their expressions to turn solemn as Braum looked at thetter before posing a question to him. "Do you know where Valyr is at the moment? I don''t know if Madeline had informed you aside from Valyr the previous night, but your friend has to attend a meeting at the guild today."


    "Yeah. Madeline did indeed tell us." As Wells nodded in agreement to Braum''s words, Madeline let out a faint sigh of relief from the fact that she had not forgotten to remind Valyr of the meeting that was going to happen today. However, the relief on her face was quickly turned into confusion as both her and Braum became perplexed after Wells'' next words.


    "As for where Valyr is, you don''t have to worry about that." Wells had a light smirk on his face. "In fact, Valyr came along with me because he knew he had a meeting to attend within the Imperial Production Guild."


    "He''s here? I don''t see him anywhere." Unsurprisingly, the two quickly became skeptical of Wells'' im as they focused on their gazes on the man that had been apanying Wells.


    However, just as Braum was about to ask why the man behind Wells was apanying thetter, a thought swiftly surfaced in his mind as he recalled a certain statement he had mentioned to a certain someone the previous day. His eyes widening in realization, Braum slowly pointed at the man behind Wells before asking in a slightly doubtful tone, "Valyr¡­?"


    "Took you a while to figure out." In response to the question, the man behind Wells let out a deep chuckle as many of the man''s features started to gradually transform into something else. What was previously a head of dark brown hair that reached the man''s shoulders, a head of short ck hair took its ce as the proportion of the man''s face gradually took on the features of a man the others knew quite well.


    Humming out a single tone that was being apanied by a voice that sounded gravelly, the man''s voice gradually increased in pitch, with the man''s voice eventually transforming into something that all of them could easily recognize.


    Aside from the fact that the color of the man''s irises remain the same as they were, taking on a shade of dark blue, Braum and Madeline had no doubts anymore that the man apanying Wells was not Valyr, especially after they had briefly identified him with [Analysis].


    Seeing as how they felt that the man apanying Wells earlier was another person altogether, both Braum and Madeline were quite surprised with how Valyr went out of his way to disguise his identity as much as possible, with both of them even getting the feeling that he had even picked up a skill that allowed him to mask his own energy.


    Though oblivious as to what was going on in the minds of the two, it did not take long for Valyr to get an idea of what the two were thinking, a light smirk adorning his face as he now had an idea of how effective [Enhanced Polymorph] was in hiding his identity.


    After getting out of the shower earlier after making an impulsive decision to raise his level to the peak of Rank 1, Valyr went ahead and tested [Enhanced Polymorph] in front of Wells, which left thetter astounded since the concealment of his original identity was incredibly thorough. It was to the point that, if Wells had not been around to see Valyr take on a different identity, he would have thought that a random person had barged into their room.


    With that, he upgraded [Enhanced Polymorph] to Level 10 without hesitation, reducing the amount of mana consumed every minute to keep up the morph, as well as increase the level of control he had over the morph.


    "I guess we should head inside the guild, then?" Feeling as if the two in front of him had gotten lost in their thoughts, Valyr snapped the two back into reality with a simple question, prompting them to respond with a light nod as they beckoned Valyr to follow them into the inside of the guild.


    Nodding back in response, Valyr looked back at Wells with a light smile before bidding him farewell for the meantime. "I''ll be seeing youter, then."


    "Hopefully everything goes well on your end." With these words escaping Wells'' mouth as they went their separate ways, Valyr and the two went ahead and continued heading deeper into the guild, eventually arriving in front of an intricate double door.

 Chapter 290 Meeting The Ancestral Council

    "Before we go through this door, let me inform you beforehand that beyond this door lies one of the Imperial Production Guild''s most important divisions: the Ancestral Council." Feeling a bit of nervousness for Valyr regarding on what was about toe, Braum decided to give Valyr a bit of information on the people that were part of the meeting he was going to attend, prompting thetter to nod in response.


    "What does the Ancestral Council do?" As this question escaped Valyr''s mouth, Braum went silent for a bit as he thought about how he would exin the council to the man before him.


    "Well, if one were to take into consideration their overall contribution to the guild, then one could say that they''re not doing a lot." In the end, Braum decided to take the brutally honest route in exining the Ancestral Council''s purpose, briefly shrugging his shoulders before continuing. "However, the Ancestral Council is made up mostly of the guild''s most senior members, if not their founding members. With that, it means that, in terms of authority, the Ancestral Council wields the greatest level of authority... after the leader of the entire Imperial Production Guild, of course."


    "Aside from that, the Ancestral Council''s main focus is on the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, which is one of the reasons why you''ve been summoned to a meeting involved the council," he added. "However, if you want to ask me what about the Four Pirs'' Inheritance they''re specifically focusing on, then I''ll have to disappoint you since I have no clue."


    "That''s something you''ll have to ask them yourself." With these words capping off Braum''s exnation regarding the Ancestral Council''s purpose, Valyr faintly nodded in response as he looked at Braum and Madeline, then at therge double door before them.


    Thanking Madeline for all of her help thus far, Braum told Madeline that she was free to do whatever she wanted and that he would take on everything from here, causing thetter to thank Braum in response as she soon left the two to their own devices.


    Looking at each other for a bit before nodding, Braum and Valyr went ahead and opened the door in front of them before making their way inside, eventually being greeted by a sight that would easily intimidate people if they weren''t prepared.


    Being greeted by the sight of elderly men sitting down on seats on top of tall pedestals, Valyr quickly noticed that the seats were positioned a way that they formed a semicircle towards the person that would appear at the center of the room.


    Feeling a slight hint of pressure from the indirect aura the people on top of the seats were radiating, it took Valyr a minute or so to get used to the somewhat overwhelming pressure being emanated by them before making his way towards the center of the room, with Braum following behind him.


    At the very moment both Braum and Valyr had appeared at the center of the room, the faint mor that could be heard amongst the elders seated on top of the raised pedestals was swiftly reced with a deafening silence. With their gazes focused on the two that dared to appear in front of them, they waited for the other side to initiate the conversation.


    Noticing how everyone on the raised seats were all looking at them, Valyr deftly tapped on Braum''s shoulder as he had an idea of what was going on, causing thetter to inwardly let out a faint sigh as he took a few steps forward before taking in a deep breath.


    "Greetings, elders of the Ancestral Council," said Braum, his loud voice echoing throughout the room. "My name is Braum dios, leader of the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment."


    Hearing Braum mention that he was part of the guild''s Reconnaissance Regiments, the interest of the elders were instantly piqued as they recalled mobilizing the entire guild''s Reconnaissance Regiments in search for a certain person. Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for most of them to put two and two together as they took a look at the man that had apanied Braum, waiting for thetter to finish his statement with hints of excitement on their faces.


    "Sometime ago, the council has mobilized all of the guild''s Reconnaissance Regiment in search for a certain person." As these words escaped Braum''s mouth, a hint of confidence and pride crept up on his face. "With that, I, Braum dios, would like to announce to the elders of the Ancestral Council that the person you''ve been looking for has finally been found."


    Feeling as if Braum had given him a cue to start talking, Valyr looked at Braum for a bit before briefly nodding, taking a few steps forward not long after as he began to introduce himself to the elders. "Greetings, elders of the Ancestral Council."


    "My name is Valyr Zeihardt."


    At the very instant these words left Valyr''s mouth, the excitement on most of the elders'' faces finally blossomed in its entirety as they made a faint ruckus about how all of them could now be at ease since Valyr has already been found by their guild.


    However, just as the elders were about to continue talking amongst themselves about the inheritance and how Valyr was going to participate in it, the elder at the central seat gestured for everyone to be silent, which the elders surprisingly followed without muchint.


    Of course, unlike everyone else in the room, Valyr was bewildered to see all of the elders follow the wishes of the elder at the central seat, causing him to wonder what kind of position the elder at the central seat had in order to have that much authority. Unfortunately, this train of thought was cut short as the elder''s voice soon resounded throughout the room, asking Valyr a question.


    "Child... you mentioned that your name is Valyr Zeihardt, right?"


    "That would indeed be me." Nodding in response, Valyr felt a bit of confusion as to why the elder at the central seat made him confirm his own name. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find out why once he heard the elder''s next question.


    "Since you say you''re Valyr Zeihardt, child..."


    "Would you give us proof that you are indeed him?"

 Chapter 291 Silver Eyes, Chosen Blood

    As this question escaped the mouth of the elder at the central seat, all of the other elders started to engage in hushed conversations with one another as they gazed at Braum and Valyr every once in a while.


    At that moment, all of the elders, except for the one at the center, inwardly thought of themselves as fools, slight frowns adorning their faces as they waited for the two to respond to the elder''s question. After all, they had believed in the ims of another person so easily.


    Never once did they doubt Braum''s ims that the person that had apanied him was Valyr Zeihardt.


    Then again, with the fact that only less than a month remained before the opening of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, as well as the fact that the reconnaissance teams the Imperial Production Guild sent out had been searching for Valyr''s traces for a month, these two thingspounded into a pressure on the elders'' minds that prompted them to ept Braum''s ims in an instant.


    However, with the words spoken by the elder at the central seat, the faint haze covering their minds had been cleared, allowing them to realize what they should have done in the first ce.


    In response to the question the elder at the central seat had asked, a confident smirk appeared on Valyr''s face as he had an idea of what was going on. Seeing that Braum was looking at him with a calm expression after the elder''s question, giving off the feeling that he had full confidence in him, the smirk on his face grew wider as he took in a deep breath before deactivating a part of [Enhanced Polymorph] he had yet to remove.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the color of Valyr''s irises started to change. What was previously a dark blue color, reminiscent of the vast depths of the ocean, was now reced with a pearl-like silver, giving off the feeling that one was looking at an exquisite piece of jewelry.


    Unsurprisingly, a few of the elders reacted to the change in Valyr''s irises, the excitement they had suppressed after listening to the elder''s question now being awakened somewhat due to what they considered as undeniable proof. After all, from what they knew, only the people that originated from the Zeihardt n could have the specific iris color Valyr currently had.


    However, once these elders noticed that the other elders still remained silent, with the elder at the central seat continuing to stare at Valyr and Braum, it did not take long for them to realize what was going on in the other elders'' minds. Within seconds, the same question formed in their minds as they continued to watch.


    ''Since that man is able to change the color of his eyes on a whim, then who''s to say he''s not trying to pass himself off as the person we''re trying to find?''


    With that question in mind, the elders watched in silence as they waited for Valyr to reveal what would truly be undeniable proof that Valyr was indeed the man they were looking for.


    His energy signature.


    ¡­


    At first, Valyr thought that revealing his original eye color would be enough for them to realize that they were talking to the person they were trying to find. However, seeing that only some of the elders had a reaction to him reverting his eye color, a thought did not take long to form in his mind as he put himself in their shoes, letting out a faint sigh as he then deactivated the remaining parts of [Enhanced Polymorph] he had yet to remove.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the shape of Valyr''s body underwent a great change, gradually returning to a form that made all of the elders think that the body Valyr had reverted to now truly suited the face that he had. After that, a few more features all over his body started to change, gradually giving the elders a feeling that the person they were looking at seemed more and more like the Valyr they wanted to find.


    Nevertheless, they continued to keep their excitement in check, considering that the man standing before them had yet to reveal his original energy signature, the energy that resonated with the person''s soul.


    Fortunately for them, Valyr did just that soon after.


    Swoosh!


    After reverting most of his features back to what they originally were, Valyr went ahead and reverted his energy signature back to what it originally was, an aura all of the elders were familiar with entering their senses within seconds. At that moment, none of the elders had suppressed their excitement anymore as they finally had undeniable proof that the man standing before them was Valyr Zeihardt.


    Though the special feeling they got from the aura Valyr was emanating was still faint, that alone was enough for all of the doubts to dispel in their mind as the elder at the central seat finally reacted, opening his mouth as he said, "The Silver Eyes of Royalty, as well as the Bloodline of the Chosen."


    "You are indeed Valyr Zeihardt." A smile soon formed on the elder''s face as he began to introduce himself. "As you have already introduced yourself to the Ancestral Council, it would be rude for me to not introduce myself."


    "Though I go by multiple titles, many people in the guild know me as Elder Faulerei, the head of the Imperial Production Guild''s Ancestral Council," said the elder not long after. "I apologize that I had to test you, child. We''ve had people appear in front of the Ancestral Council before, trying to pass themselves off as the person we''re looking for."


    "I understand." In response, Valyr nodded in understanding. "I apologize for being difficult to find, if that''s the case."


    "That is not your fault, child." Faulerei shook his head. "It is the guild''s fault that we weren''t able to find you sooner."


    "Nevertheless, I am d to say that our search for you can finallye to a close." As these words came out of Faulerei''s mouth, a soft chuckle apanied it, prompting the elders to go silent as he continued talking to Valyr.


    "Though I am certain that the man that apanied you to this ce has already greeted you, I would like to greet you once more."


    "Wee to the Imperial Production Guild¡­"


    "Herald."


    Ding!

 Chapter 292 Reasons For The Meeting

    At the moment Faulerei had mentioned the term ''Bloodline of the Chosen'' to him, Valyr had the urge to ask the man in response what he meant by that. After all, unlike Silver Eyes of Royalty, which had been mentioned to him in the past by Arcenne''s father, the term ''Bloodline of the Chosen'' had never been brought up to him before.


    However, just as he found the right opportunity to ask Faulerei regarding the matter, thetter instead added anotheryer of mystery to what his identity was, calling him by the title of Herald.


    Fortunately, unlike when Faulerei had mentioned he had the Bloodline of the Chosen, the system had reacted when he had mentioned that Valyr was a Herald, prompting thetter to open up a notification screen in his mind to take a look at what additional information he had gotten.


    ''Well¡­ that doesn''t really answer anything.''


    Ding!


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    [The skill ''Royal Blood'' has transformed due to the piece of information you''ve gained. The skill''s name has been changed to ''Royal Blood of the Chosen''.]


    [You are getting close to finding out the entirety of your identity. However, many obstacles shall stand in your way to avoid you from realizing it. Figure out a way to get past all of that and the shackles binding you shall be released.]


    [You have gained a piece of information pertaining to the World Quest ''The Future of Humanity''. Additional quest information has been added.]


    Inwardly letting out a sigh as he berated himself for thinking that he would gain the answers to his queries from the notifications, Valyr closed the notification screen for now, making a mental note to check the notifications in greater detailter. ''For now, I should focus on what''s happening in front of me.''


    Nodding in response to Faulerei''s greeting, Valyr pondered in silence for a bit before opening his mouth. "I have been told that I would be attending a meeting within the Imperial Production Guild, but no one told me what the topic of the meeting would exactly be."


    "Is that so?" Elder Faulerei faintly nodded before proceeding to exin the topics their meeting would tackle to Valyr. "We shall only be discussing two topics during this meeting, one of which would be your involvement in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, while the second topic would be a brief discussion of your identity."


    "Braum dios, was it?" As Valyr nodded in response to Faulerei''s exnation, thetter focused his attention on the man that had brought Valyr to the Ancestral Council. "Would it be possible for you to leave the premises for now?"


    "Of course, your group has done a splendid job in bringing Valyr to the guild, so fret not that your efforts shall go unrewarded." Hearing the words that came out of Faulerei''s mouth, Braum faintly nodded in response before giving all of the elders in the Ancestral Council a deep yet respectful bow. Telling Valyr that he''ll be waiting for him at the guild''s main lobby, Braum then turned around and left the room, leaving Valyr alone in front of the elders that made up the Ancestral Council.


    "Shall we begin our discussion, then?" Nodding in satisfaction of Braum''s response, Faulerei went ahead and began the discussion of their meeting, with all of the other elders remaining silent as thetter continued to speak. "Are you perhaps knowledgeable of what the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is, Herald?"


    "All I know about it is that it''s an inheritance that holds technology far more advanced than what we''re used to, as well as the fact that it''s the reason why the guild''s Ancestral Council was formed." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, Faulerei silently listened, nodding in agreement every once in a while.


    "That would be correct. However, let me correct thatst statement of yours," said Faulerei in response. "The Four Pirs'' Inheritance isn''t only the reason why the Ancestral Council was formed, it is the reason why the entire Imperial Production Guild had been made in the first ce."


    "I see." Nodding, Valyr wondered if he had recalled Aster''s words wrongly, only to find out that he had indeed done so. "Would it be possible to find out what the inheritance contains?"


    "That would be fine." Faulerei nodded. "However, before I do so, could you swear to everyone within this room that you shall participate in the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance?"


    Though he already knew that he would participate in the inheritance no matter what since it contained highly advanced technology from what Aster had mentioned to him back then, the elders in front of him did not know that. With that, he softly nodded before making a solemn oath. "I, Valyr Zeihardt, under the witness of the elders of the Ancestral Council, swear that I shall participate in the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant he had finished his oath, a wave of energy enveloped the entire room, giving everyone in the room the feeling that a being far stronger than them was staring at all of them. Fortunately, the feeling onlysted for a brief moment, with most of the elders inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as Valyr was left somewhat confused by the sensation he had felt.


    "What you''ve experienced just now is a special version of the binding oath." Noticing Valyr''s faint confusion, Faulerei went ahead and exined what the man had gone through. "Unlike other binding oaths, which have a penalty attached to them, this version of the binding oath acts like a written contract of sorts, only making sure that you uphold your word."


    "In any case, since you have promised that you will uphold your word, we shall uphold ours." Saying these words, Faulerei took in a deep breath before giving Valyr a narration of what was inside the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, a slightly reminiscent expression adorning the elder''s face.


    "As someone who has delved the Four Pirs'' Inheritance himself, I shall inform you that, without a doubt, entering the inheritance feels like entering a different world altogether," said Faulerei to Valyr. "Aside from the fact that the inheritance feels like a world that was waiting to be explored, there is almost no trace of mana within the inheritance whatsoever."


    "However, even though there''s next to no trace of mana whatsoever, the inheritance still holds highly advanced technology from a civilization that had gained the ability to explore the world beyond our own."


    "A civilization that did not rely on mana in any way."

 Chapter 293 Quick Ticket To Advancement

    ''Now where have I heard that kind of thing before?'' As Valyr listened to Faulerei''s exnation of what the Four Pirs'' Inheritance contained, a thought surfaced in his mind after he heard the elder mention that the inheritance had technology from a highly advanced civilization that did not rely on mana. Unsurprisingly, as someone who had been part of a simr kind of civilization in his past life, Valyr was inclined to think that Faulerei might perhaps be talking about Earth.


    However, as Faulerei continued exining more and more about the civilization that soared the skies of Veldanyr''s past to him, the thought of the civilization being Earth gradually disappeared from his mind. Nevertheless, he inwardly grinned at his words, considering that the man had confirmed one thing he was still unsure of.


    ''The inheritance truly contains highly advanced technology. Plus, it''s the path of technology I wanted to take as well.''


    Though he believed in the exnation Braum had given to him in the past back when they were still at Clossbay City, there was still a small part of him that doubted it. After all, the only other reference he could work around was Aster''s brief mentioning of the inheritance. Fortunately, Faulerei, as someone who had gone to the inheritance himself, was able to dispel that doubt, telling him more or less the same things Braum had told him, but just in greater detail.


    ''Since Elder Faulerei mentioned that the civilization inside the inheritance had the ability to explore the world beyond their own, then it wouldn''t be wrong to assume that I could possibly reach the Space Age on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch.'' As this thought formed in his mind while he continued to absorb Faulerei''s narration of the inheritance''s insides, Valyr pondered over the amount of Technology Points he would have needed if he had note across the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    As the level of technology that existed in Veldanyr was up to the Middle Ages at most, that meant that the Innovation branch would pose no problems to Valyr if he were to advance his knowledge of technology up to the end of the Middle Age. However, if he wanted to advance his knowledge to the era of technology that came after that, the amount of Technology Points he would need just to unlock the advancement would be many times more than the cost of unlocking and upgrading an advancement from the Middle Ages to its max level.


    And it only worsened the farther one went.


    Of course, there were ways to circumvent the problem of having to fork out more and more Technology Points to get farther on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch, with Valyr exploring the Four Pirs'' Inheritance being one of those solutions. Nevertheless, no matter what kind of method was used to circumvent the problem, they all boiled down to one thing.


    Introducing one to a level of technology far greater than what existed on their.


    Deciding that he had delved more than enough into his train of thought, Valyr ced the matter at the back of his head for now as he gazed at Faulerei, who seemed to be nearing the end of his narration regarding the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    "All in all, the Four Pirs'' Inheritance would definitely widen your horizons regarding what''s possible without mana, Herald," Faulerei said to him. "It is one of, if not the most important reason why one should enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Aside from the rewards one might obtain through the inheritance''s trials, of course."


    "For people like the Herald, who are still at the lower ranks, even a single reward from the inheritance is enough to make one stand head and shoulders above one''s peers," he continued, only for his eyes to slightly widen in realization as a thought surfaced in his mind.


    "Speaking of which, I would like to notify the Herald in advance that the guild would hold a small test of strength a week before the inheritance opens in order to make sure that the candidates that have been chosen are strong enough to delve the inheritance on their without worries." As these words came out of Faulerei''s mouth, a question quickly popped up into Valyr''s mind.


    "Is there any specific reason behind the test?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, with Faulerei responding to his question with a nod.


    "Safety," mentioned Faulerei as if it were a matter of fact. "Though it''s theoretically possible for a candidate at the beginning levels of Rank 1 to enter the inheritance and leave it unharmed, it''s more likely for that candidate to die from one of the inheritance''s trials. From what we''ve obtained from the people that explored the inheritance in the past, the bare minimum level of strength one would need to have is the ability to fight a being at the peak of Rank 1."


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr wondered how much of a gap he could now surmount with his current level of strength, considering that he had been victorious in fighting a person near the middle levels of Rank 2 while only being at theter levels of Rank 1. "So, if I''m getting this correctly, it''s just to see if all of the candidates have the strength of someone at the peak of Rank 1 and above?"


    "That would be correct, Herald." Faulerei nodded. "However, for the current line of candidates appearing to enter the uing inheritance, which includes you, the test is nothing more than a mere formality. After all, for the uing inheritance, all of the candidates that would enter were confirmed to have a True Prodigy-level variant ss of their respective fields."


    ''Hmm?'' Listening to Faulerei''s words, Valyr raised his eyebrows in interest. As someone who now knew the requirements to be a True Prodigious cksmith, he knew how hard it would be for other people to stumble upon the ss if they did not know what they were doing. With that, he wondered if the other people that would be entering the inheritance alongside him hade across the ss in the same way he did, or if they were nurtured to take on that ss.


    ''I definitely wouldn''t be surprised if it was thetter.'' With the thought lingering in his mind, a bitter smile briefly lingered on his face, thinking about how all of the information needed to unlock a Mythic ss was handed to the others on a silver tter, just because their circumstances were better than his. ''Then again, who knows?''


    "Aside from that, I must also remind the Herald that if you n on ascending to the next rank within the next few days, I highly encourage you to not exceed the peak of Rank 2, if possible." Seeing that all of Valyr''s questions regarding the previous reminder had been answered, Faulerei went ahead and continued with the second reminder that came to his mind, prompting Valyr to ask yet another question.


    "Is the reason simr to the previous reminder you mentioned?"


    "Somewhat." In response, Faulerei nodded, albeit with slight uncertainty. "Unlike the previous reminder I''ve mentioned, which was only something we''ve obtained after coting all of the information those who had delved the inheritance in the past had given us, the fact that the inheritance does not ept any being beyond the peak of Rank 2 was quickly found out."


    "If any being beyond the peak of Rank 2 decided to try and enter the inheritance''s entrance, a thick barrier would swiftly form between them and the entrance, barring them from entry," he continued. "Of course, such a thing would pose no problem if one were still at the peak of Rank 2 and lower. The inheritance would not bar them from entering in any way, with the only exception being the fact if the person did not have one of the four sses needed to open the inheritance."


    Though Valyr was curious at first as to how the elder knew that he could ascend to the next rank at anytime, this question in his mind was swiftly dispelled as he remembered that there were multiple ways to find something like that out, [Analysis] being one of those multiple methods.


    Nevertheless, once Faulerei had finished his exnation regarding the second reminder he had given Valyr, thetter nodded once more in response,mitting the former''s words into memory as he made a mental note to not ascend to Rank 3 for the next month.


    After all, it would be a shame for him to lose what he considered the easiest way to unlock advancements that not even the normally had ess to.


    ''Then again, if I did have to ascend to Rank 3 for some reason and forfeit my chances of entering the inheritance, I still have another way to do the same thing,'' Valyr thought to himself, inwardly letting out a sigh the more he thought about it. ''However, I''ll have to wait for the public version to release first.''


    ''And that''s still a year from now.'' Inwardly letting out yet another sigh in response to this thought, Valyr refocused his attention towards Faulerei and the other elders, noticing that a few of them were engaging in a hushed conversation, including Faulerei himself.


    Fortunately, their conversation did notst for long as they swiftly returned their gazes back to Valyr as Faulerei opened his mouth. "Since I''ve more or less covered the first topic of our meeting, let us now move onto our second topic."


    "However, before we begin, I would like to ask the Herald something."


    Gazing at Faulerei, Valyr tilted his head a small bit in curiosity as he asked, "What is it?"


    In response, a question escaped Faulerei''s mouth.


    "Do you have any idea of what''s going on within the Zeihardt n at the moment?"

 Chapter 294 Problems Of Royalty

    "Not that much, unfortunately." Pondering over Faulerei''s question for a while, Valyr eventually shook his head in response. After all, the only information he had regarding what was going on within the Zeihardt n was what Aster had told him, as well as the description given to him by the World Quest. "All I know is that both factions making up the Zeihardt n are on the lookout for my whereabouts."


    "Both of the factions are indeed on the lookout for your whereabouts, Herald." Faulerei nodded in agreement. "However, did you know that the entire Zeihardt n has fallen into disarray after all traces of your whereabouts had disappeared on both sides?"


    "Really?" Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise.


    "That is indeed the case," said Faulerei in response. "Before the entire Imperial Production Guild sent out all of its reconnaissance teams in search for your whereabouts, we sent a letter to the Zeihardt n to mislead them into thinking that the person that they''ve been looking for is at a faraway ce."


    "However, we''ve only sent a letter like that to the rebel faction of the n, so be at ease, Herald," he added, causing a question to form in Valyr''s mind.


    "Did the guild do anything simr for the supportive faction, then?" Asking this question to Faulerei, Valyr expected the man to respond that they did do something simr for the supportive faction. Yet, the answer that Valyr got from Faulerei instead was a slow shake of the head.


    "We have done nothing of the sort," Faulerei told him. "At most, we have not contacted the supportive faction of the n in any way."


    "In any case, that is more or less what the Imperial Production Guild currently knows of the happenings within the Zeihardt n," he continued. "That is also the true focus of the second topic of this meeting, which is to update you regarding the situation within the Zeihardt n, Herald."


    "If I were to sum it up, then it could be said that not much has changed overall for both factions of the n."


    "Of course, if the n were to find out that you were currently within the Imperial Production Guild, especially your n''s rebel faction, then who knows what might happen?" Faulerei briefly shrugged his shoulders. "Nevertheless, it is truly the guild''s luck that neither the supportive or the rebel faction were notified of your presence, with your ownership of a concealment skill decreasing the chances of them finding out even further."


    "But I was told that the Imperial Production Guild was on the side of the supportive faction?" A brief expression of confusion appeared on Valyr''s face as he listened to Faulerei''s words, recalling what Aster had told him back then.


    "That would indeed be the case." Faulerei faintly nodded. "However, the supportive faction not knowing of your whereabouts works in their favor, Herald. After all, if the rebel faction decided to have their way and engage in a battle against the supportive faction to obtain information regarding your whereabouts from them, wouldn''t thetter faction''s obliviousness towards your whereabouts make the actions of the rebel faction useless overall?"


    "What''s the true goals of the two factions anyway?" Though Faulerei''s exnation made sense in his mind, another question instead formed, causing a slight frown to appear on Valyr''s face as he focused his attention on the elder.


    "Do you not have a smidgen of a clue about it, Herald?" asked Faulerei in response, only to be met by Valyr''s shaking of the head.


    Seeing Valyr''s response to the question, Faulerei briefly scratched his head as he contemted over the question. While doing so, he looked at the elders on the other seats, who were looking back at him, all of them gazing at him as if they trusted him that he would say the right thing.


    After a while, Faulerei let out a faint sigh as he looked back at Valyr with a slightly conflicted expression. "Unfortunately, all I know regarding their goals is that it has something to do with you, Herald."


    "Right, the title I''ve been referring to you as is also a clue regarding their goals. However, I do not know what significance the title contains." As Valyr listened to Faulerei''s response to his question, he had a hunch that the elder definitely knew something more about what''s going on within the Zeihardt n, as well as the reason behind the n''s frantic search for his whereabouts.


    ? However, since Faulerei did not want to say anything about it, as well as the fact that Valyr knew that repeatedly asking the elder about it would not yield any significant answer from him, then that meant that he was left with only one more way to get the information he wanted.


    ''Guess I''ll have to make a trip to where the Zeihardt n lives.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr let out a faint sigh, pondering as to when he''ll do just that. In the end, he decided that he''ll obtain his subss, as well as ascend to Rank 2 first in order to have enough strength to fight back against everything that would be possibly thrown at him once he was there.


    ''Then again, I do have [Enhanced Polymorph]¡­'' Thinking about how he would go about visiting the Zeihardt n''s residence sometime in the future, Valyr decided to ce the thought at the back of his head for now after seeing that Faulerei was about to tell him something else.


    "Since we''ve covered both of the topics of the meeting that I wanted to address, if there''s nothing else that needs to be discussed, then we shall adjourn the meeting here," said Faulerei as he looked at the other elders. In response, the elders faintly shook their heads, eliciting a nod from the elder as he soon looked at the young man still standing at the center. "How about you, Herald? Do you perhaps have anything else to discuss?"


    "Hmm¡­" Valyr went silent for a bit in response to the question as he pondered over it. Fortunately, it did not take long for a question to pop up in his mind, something he was curious about, even though Braum had already satisfied his curiosity about it somewhat.


    "Would it be possible to find out more information regarding the orc outbreak I''ve been hearing about?"

 Chapter 295 Shadow Serpent

    "Orc outbreak?" As Faulerei repeated the phrase Valyr had mentioned, all of the elders engaged in a hushed conversation with one another, ncing at Valyr down at the center of the room from time to time. Of course, Valyr tried to listen in on their conversation as best as he could, yet, for some reason, all of the words that came out of the elders'' mouths seemed to sound like gibberish to him.


    Unsure of whether it was due to some sort of magic stopping him from eavesdropping on their conversation, or the fact that the gap between his strength and theirs was more than enough to make their words incoherent if they so wanted it to be, Valyr decided to wait until their discussion was over.


    Thankfully for him, it did not take too long.


    However, rather than tell Valyr the information that he wanted to know, a bitter smile adorned Faulerei''s face as he told him, "Unfortunately, us elders of the Ancestral Council are not privy towards the orc outbreak that''s going on. At most, we only have surface-level information that even you could get your hands on, Herald."


    "If you want detailed information that''s up to date, then I''d suggest you ask the branch leader of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild, Herald. I''m sure they''d amodate you to the best of their abilities." Though Valyr nodded in response to Faulerei''s words, he now harbored a bit of resentment towards the Ancestral Council.


    However, it was not due to theck of information they knew as they made it out to be.


    Instead, it was the fact that he knew that they knew the information he wanted, yet they still withheld it from him, leaving him no choice but to go through a lot of hoops before even getting a smidgen of a clue regarding the entire situation.


    Of course, while listening to Faulerei''s words, Valyr thought about answering the question he had asked from their perspective, eventuallying to the conclusion that their action did make a lot of sense. After all, he was not an inner member of the Imperial Production Guild in any way. At most, he was just connected to the guild due to the fact that he was going to participate in the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    With that in mind, Valyr responded that he had no more questions after Faulerei had asked him one more time if he still had any questions to ask. With Faulerei announcing that the meeting between both sides was now over, Valyr went ahead and excused himself in front of the elders before leaving the room, eventually finding Braum at the end of the corridor that led to the Ancestral Council''s room.


    "So, how did the meeting go?" Braum looked at Valyr with a hint of curiosity as they made their way to the guild''s entrance.


    "Alright, I guess." In response, Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders as he let out a faint sigh. "The elders mostly talked about what things I should take note of before the inheritance, such as the fact that there''s a test a week before the inheritance, as well as the fact that I can''t exceed the peak of Rank 2 if I want to enter."


    "Sounds about right." Braum nodded in understanding once Valyr was finished talking. "That''s what they usually tell all of the candidates for the inheritance after they meet up with them at the Ancestral Council''s hall."


    "However, you and the elders discussed another topic after that, right?" asked Braum not long after. "Something about a discussion of your identity."


    "Oh, that." Valyr briefly nodded as he thought about how he would go about and phrase what had happened to Braum. "It''s mostly just to fill me in regarding the happenings that''s going within the n. Nothing more to it than that."


    "I see." Noticing that the two of them had finally arrived at the entrance of the guild, Braum decided to end the conversation with Valyr then and there. "Well, I guess this is where we''ll part ways. Of course, if you need my help, you always know where to find me. Or, if you want, you can just send a message."


    "I appreciate it." Nodding in response, Valyr went ahead and activated [Enhanced Polymorph], his appearance returning to how it previously was when he apanied Wells earlier. "Speaking of which, would it be possible for you to get some items for me?"


    "As long as it''s items that the guild readily has avable, then there wouldn''t be much of a problem." Braum nodded.


    ? "Do I have to pay anything for it, or should I think of it as a gift like the Shadow Serpent Essence?" Valyr joked in response, eliciting a faint chuckle to escape Braum''s mouth.


    "Unfortunately, you''ll have to pay for the items from this point onward," said Braum. "The items you''re requesting eats into my contribution points into the guild, you know?"


    "Alright, alright. I''ll pay for them, so don''t worry too much about it." Valyrughed soon after. "Anyways, here are the items I want you to get for me¡­"


    ¡­


    "I guess Wells decided to go sightseeing around the city again." Returning to their room at the inn, Valyr let out a long sigh as he sat down on his bed. Taking a look outside the window, a few thoughts lingered in his mind as he pondered over how he was going to make the most out of the remaining time of the day.


    "Well, since he''s not around, I guess now''s the best time to do that."


    Whoosh!


    Infusing a bit of mana into his spatial bracelet, a dark orb soon appeared on his other palm, prompting Valyr to stare it for a bit. "Shadow Serpent Essence."


    "With this, I''ll be able to grab the subss that I''ve always regretted not grabbing when I had the chance back then." Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he then infused a bit of his mana into the dark orb, causing the energy inside the orb to course throughout his body not long after.


    "Mngh¡­" Simr to when he absorbed a lot of skills in one go, the energy from the orb that was coursing throughout his body inflicted quite a decent amount of pain. However, unlike what he had to go through back then, this pain onlysted for a few seconds, quickly being reced by the feeling of gaining a connection to the darkness.


    After a while, a cool breeze washed over his body as he felt like he now had the ability to tap into another source of energy, a source that not many people had ess to. Coincidentally, at the very moment the energy from the orb stopped circting within his body, a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [Due to the user absorbing Shadow Serpent Essence, ''Serpent Spear Combat Style'' has undergone transmutation, transforming into a skill that better exhibits the abilities of a Shadow Serpent.]


    [The skill ''Serpent Spear Combat Style'' has transformed into ''Shadow Serpent Combat Style''.]


    [Due to the user absorbing Shadow Serpent Essence, ''Serpent Steps Movement Style'' has undergone transmutation, transforming into a skill that better exhibits the abilities of a Shadow Serpent.]


    [The skill ''Serpent Steps Movement Style'' has transformed into ''Shadow Serpent Movement Style''.]

 Chapter 296 Heading To The Lancer Guild

    Taking a look at the string of notifications he had received, a wide smile gradually crept up on Valyr''s face as he brought up the descriptions of the newly transformed skills in front of his field of vision, wanting to make sure if the differences brought about by absorbing Shadow Serpent Essence was simr to what he had been used to in the past.


    ''All of the techniques I could use in the skills more or less use the same movements,'' Valyr thought to himself, the excitement within him building up as he continued to read through them. ''However, the damage is around 50% higher than what it ispared to the skill I''ve been used to in the past.''


    ''On top of that, it uses less MP than before!'' Though Valyr''s hands were itching to test the new set of skills out, especially after finding out that a great portion of the skills'' techniques were stronger than what he remembered them to be, he restrained himself for the meantime, reminding himself that he was still inside an inn.


    With that, he instead familiarized himself with the description of the various skills, as well as rummaged all of the memories he had pertaining to both [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] and [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] in order to get a better feel for how he was going to use it when he had the chance to.


    While familiarizing himself with the transformed skills, he went ahead and upgraded both skills to the highest level they could go, which was Level 10.


    Ding!


    [To upgrade ''Shadow Serpent Combat Style'' to Level 11 and beyond, please obtain an Umon Skill Key.]


    [To upgrade ''Shadow Serpent Movement Style'' to Level 11 and beyond, please obtain an Umon Skill Key.]


    "Ah, right. A Skill Key." Obtaining a couple notifications out of nowhere, a low sigh swiftly escaped Valyr''s mouth after reading them.


    As the name implied, a Skill Key unlocked the ability to upgrade skills to higher levels to the user, with each rarity corresponding to a certain level range. With that, an Umon Skill Key allowed a skill to level up past Level 10, while a Rare Skill Key allowed a skill to level up past Level 20. This pattern would continue up to the highest tier of Skill Keys, which allowed a skill to level up past Level 90 and reach the highest level a skill could go, which was Level 100.


    However, Skill Keys were not only limited to being used in unlocking level limits for skills. These keys were also used in evolving skills to a higher grade as well.


    Most of the time, evolving a certain skill to a higher grade would need a Skill Key of the skill''s grade. Though, there were a few skills that needed a certainbination of various Skill Keys in order for them to evolve to a higher grade.


    Nevertheless, with the thought now in his mind, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a long sigh, pondering as to how he would get his hands on a great amount of Common and Umon Skill Keys. In the end, he decided to leave the matter be for now, taking into consideration the fact that the search for Skill Keys would only start once he had ascended to Rank 2.


    With that, after thoroughly familiarizing himself with the Shadow Serpent skills'' limits and specifications, as well as upgrading both of the skills to the highest level they could reach in his current state, Valyr eventually made his way out of the Hama Inn, walking through the streets of Algerie City with [Enhanced Polymorph] active as he eventually found himself at the entrance of the ce he wanted to go.


    "The Spearman Guild," muttered Valyr to himself.


    Just like how the various production sses had their own ss guilds,bat sses had their own ss guilds as well, with a few of them achieving a far greater level of renown throughout thends whenpared to ss guilds like the cksmith Guild and the Alchemist Guild.


    To most beings, the Spearman Guild was considered a subsidiary of the Warrior''s Guild, which was itself a part of the Adventurer''s Guild. Nevertheless,pared to other sses that could be considered offshoots of the Warrior ss, the Spearman ss was only slightly less popr than the most popr branch ss, the Swordsman ss.


    However, unlike the six basicbat sses that could only be obtained as a main ss, branch sses, such as the Swordsman and the Spearman ss, could be obtained not only as a main ss, but as a subss as well.


    Watching people enter and exit the Spearman Guild''s building for a while, Valyr eventually took in a deep breath before heading inside, arriving in front of one of the guild''s various counters not long after.


    "Wee to the Spearman Guild. How may I help you today?" With Valyr appearing in front of one of the counters, the attendant behind the counter went ahead and initiated a conversation with him.


    "Uh, yes. Would it be possible for me to obtain the Spearman ss as a subss?" Nodding in response to the attendant''s question, Valyr went ahead and asked a question of his own back to the attendant, making sure to keep [Enhanced Polymorph] active all throughout.


    "Please give me just a second." After listening to the request Valyr had, the attendant told him to stay put for a while, bringing up a thin tablet before infusing a bit of her own mana into it. Sending a few more pulses of mana into the thin tablet she held not long after, the attendant eventually looked back at Valyr before softly nodding.


    "I''ve just received confirmation that one of the instructors would be able to help you with your request." Hearing these wordse out of the attendant''s mouth, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face. "However, before we do so, please pay a gold coin in order to be registered with the Spearman Guild."


    Nodding, Valyr rummaged out a gold coin from the money pouch in his pocket before giving it to the attendant.


    Receiving the gold coin from Valyr, the attendant swiftly kept the money under the counter before infusing a bit more mana into the tablet she was holding. "All of the other information needed for your registration shall be obtained once your request isplete. For now, would it be possible to obtain your name?"


    "My name, huh?" Recalling what he had heard about how the rebel faction of the Zeihardt n acted, Valyr knew that even using his real name in registering would be enough of a sign for the rebel faction to find out that he was in the city. With that, he came up with a name to use on the spot.


    "Ylvar. My name is Ylvar."

 Chapter 297 Arves The Instructor

    "Sir Ylvar¡­ is that correct?" Taking note of the name Valyr had uttered, the attendant behind the counter asked Valyr to make sure that the name she had written down was correct. In response, Valyr briefly nodded, prompting the attendant to nod back as she interacted a bit more with the thin tablet she was holding.


    Eventually, the attendant kept the thin tablet under the counter as she beckoned Valyr to follow her while she made his way towards the back. "Alright, I''ve just been informed that the instructor that will aid you with your request is already making their way to one of the guild''s rooms. Please follow me, Sir Ylvar."


    Nodding in response, Valyr hastily caught up to the attendant before reducing his speed to what it was previously, taking in the sights that greeted him the deeper they went into the Spearman Guild.


    Though Valyr felt that the interior design of the Spearman Guild was more or less simr to how the cksmith Guild back in Danyhris Town looked, after looking at the decorations and motifs scattered all over the walls and ceiling, this feeling was gradually reced with slight awe, realizing that there was an addedyer of intricacy andplexity to the designs.


    ''Then again, I probably wouldn''t have noticed this if it weren''t for my high PER stat.'' As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr continued to upy himself by checking for differences between the Spearman Guild''s interior and the cksmith Guild branch''s interior while making sure that he was still following the attendant in front of him.


    "We''ve arrived." Eventually, the attendant stopped in front of a certain door within one of the guild''s expansive corridors, prompting Valyr to return his focus back on the attendant as he stopped not long after. Taking a look at the door before them, Valyr then shifted his gaze to the attendant beside him, who looked back at him before saying, "The instructor that will aid you with your request is just beyond this door."


    "I shall now take my leave." After that, the attendant politely bowed towards Valyr, to which Valyr thanked the attendant for her help as she eventually disappeared from his field of vision.


    Staring off in the direction as to where the attendant went for a while, Valyr eventually returned his attention to the door in front of him before opening it, instantly being greeted by the sight of arge room with a man in his prime sitting cross-legged at the room''s center with his eyes closed.


    Just as he wondered if the attendant had made a mistake and that he had inadvertently interrupted a person''s meditation, the man at the center opened one of his eyes before voicing out a question to Valyr. "Are you the one who put in a request to take up the Spearman ss as a subss?"


    "Ah, yes." Nodding in response, the previous thoughts that littered his mind quickly disappeared into thin air as he went deeper into the room, closing the door behind him. In the meantime, the man at the center took in a deep breath before slowly getting up, making a faint noise as he did a few stretches with his body.


    Taking a closer look at the man that was going to help him obtain his dream subss, Valyr instantly felt a bit of deja vu as he looked at the man, specifically the man''s short dark blue hair. For some reason, he was reminded of a certain person that he had met in the past, though he was unsure as to who that might be.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for a name to surface in his mind as his eyes briefly widened in realization.


    With the name of the person he was reminded of secured in his mind, Valyr decided to wait and see if the man was rted to the person he was thinking of.


    "Well, before we start, let me introduce myself," said the man as he beamed a smile towards Valyr. "The name''s Arves Stelyra, a member of Stelyra n''s Aste City branch, as well as the eldest son of Aster Stelyra, the leader of Aste City''s Stelyra n."


    "Pleasantries aside, I''ll be the one helping you obtain the Spearman ss as a subss, so it''ll be nice if we could work well from here on out." While listening to Arves'' introduction, Valyr inwardly let out a loud cackle, astonished that the feeling he got was actually correct.


    "If I may ask, do you happen to know who Arcenne Stelyra is?" Expecting that the man he was going to help would reciprocate what he had done by introducing himself to him, Arves instead received a question from the man he was going to help, a question that made him raise his eyebrow in suspicion.


    "That would be my younger sister," replied Arves in a solemn tone. "Did something happen to her?"


    "I did not mean to rm you." Realizing that his question could be interpreted in a different way, Valyr quickly assured Arves that he did not mean any harm with his words. "I just wanted to ask you about it since I''ve met her and Marquis Stelyra back in Clossbay City."


    "Father is in Clossbay City?" With a look of incredulity on his face, Arves brought up a screen in front of him before interacting with it for a bit. Though what Valyr could see on Arves'' screen was distorted from his perspective, he was certain that the man had contacted Aster to make sure if his words were true.


    Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for him to receive a response, causing Arves to look back at Valyr with greater incredulity on his face. "Is there any reason why you''ve decided to tell me about this?"


    "No apparent reason." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "I just had a hunch that you and Arcenne were rted from the color of your hair. I''m surprised I was even correct."


    "Is that so? Either way, that''s not important for now." Though Arves was now confused after Valyr informed him of the reason behind his action, the former decided to put the matter at the back of his head for now as he quickly focused on what he was meant to do.


    "Ylvar, was it?"


    "Let us begin the test to see if you are worthy of the Spearman subss."

 Chapter 298 Obtaining The Subclass

    "To pass the first test, the requirement is to have a spear of your own." As these words came out of Arves'' mouth, a slightly skeptical expression appeared on Valyr''s face as he recalled that the requirements to obtain the Spearman ss back when he was a yer was more stringent than what Arves was doing.


    Noticing the slight skepticism on Valyr''s face, Arves let out a faint chuckle. "In actuality, there''s not a lot that goes on into obtaining the Spearman ss as a subss. However, the Spearman Guild has made it mandatory to lengthen the process as much as possible, the reasons of which I don''t know."


    "Either way, the first requirement does kind of make sense from their perspective. After all, if you want to obtain the Spearman subss, then that means you''ve already practiced with the spear, which in turn means you already have a spear of your own."


    While listening to Arves dissuade him into thinking that there was something suspicious going on with the trial process, Valyr noticed that Arves'' manner of speaking seemed quite casual. Naturally, it did not take long for the pieces in his mind toe together as he felt that the reason behind the casual tone was due to him knowing Arcenne and Aster.


    Of course, he wasn''t sure if that was truly the case, yet he felt inclined to believe so as the man shifted his gaze towards the spear affixed to his back.


    "Is it fine if I could hold your spear for a bit?" With a slightly entranced expression on his face, Arves posed the question to Valyr, who responded by raising his eyebrow in slight suspicion. Nevertheless, thetter grabbed the spear behind his back before giving it to the man, making sure to keep an eye on him lest he ran away with it.


    Thanking Valyr for letting him hold the spear, Arves calmly examined the spear given to him as the slightly excited expression on his face was gradually reced with a neutral one. Every once in a while, he would stare at a certain part of the spear, only to nod in satisfaction before moving onto the other parts.


    After examining the spear, Arves then asked Valyr to move back a few steps before doing a few basic movements with it. At that instant, Valyr was made privy to the reason why Arves was an instructor of the Spearman Guild.


    ''He''s definitely at the Elite level of proficiency with the spear at the very least.'' This was the thought that popped up into Valyr''s mind as he watched Arves wield his spear as if he were doing a dance. However, if one looked closely, the graceful nature of the dance shrouded a highly destructive portion, which only appeared at the very end as Arves thrust out with the spear.


    "Hah!"


    Whoosh!


    Conserving all of the momentum he had generated before transferring all of it into the spear, arge shockwave was sent through the tip of Valyr''s spear as Arves stood in ce for a few seconds before giving the spear back to the former. "Am I right to assume that this spear has undergone a great amount of upgrades and modifications?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded. "It used to be a simple wooden spear when I first got it."


    "Really?" Arves'' eyes widened in slight surprise. "I had a feeling the spear had undergone through wear and tear by your side, but never did I expect for it to start from such humble beginnings."


    "Are you a cksmith by any chance?" Hearing the question that escaped Arves'' mouth after he was done speaking, Valyr swiftly responded with a firm nod, informing his instructor that he had upgraded and modified his spear into what it was today. At the same time, he could not help but inwardly shudder in slight fear as another thought surfaced in his mind.


    ''I take back what I said earlier. At least Master level proficiency.''


    "Ah! We''ve gotten sidetracked. I apologize." Though Arves was interested to know what kind of modifications and upgrades Valyr''s spear had gone through, the thought of the test he was currently holding for Valyr eventually surfaced in his mind once more, leaving him no choice but to ce all of those thoughts at the back of his head for now, including the thought of requesting Valyr to forge him a spear of his own.


    "With a spear like the one you currently own, it''s a given that you pass the first part of this test with flying colors," said Arves as he organized the thoughts lingering in his mind. "With that, let us move onto the second part of this test, which is to see if you have the capabilities to skillfully wield a spear."


    "There are actually two ways we can go about this part of the test," he continued. "The first way is to give me proof that your proficiency with the spear has reached a certain level. This proof coulde in many forms, but generally, proof from training halls of your proficiency is more than enough toplete the requirement."


    "On the other hand, the second way involves having to fight against me with the spear so I could assess what level of proficiency with the spear you currently possess."


    "In any case, if the proof of proficiency you show informs me that you haven''t reached the Novice level of proficiency at the very least, or if I assess your proficiency with the spear to be below that of a novice while fighting, then we''ll have to stop the process there, unfortunately."


    Nodding in response to Arves'' words, Valyr rummaged through his pockets before bringing out the rectangr te of metal he had gotten from Clossbay City''s Combat Training Hall. Making sure that he had gotten the right item out of his pocket, Valyr took a look at the te, only to notice that his real first name was written on it.


    At that moment, thoughts of Arves realizing who he was talking to just by reading the name on the te lingered in his mind, making him feel anxious. However, in the end, Valyr still gave the te to the man, hoping that he would give him the benefit of the doubt.


    Receiving the te from Valyr, Arves took a look at the te and immediately nodded in satisfaction, noticing that he had been given a certification te from abat training hall. With that, he swiftly headed to lower section of the te, which listed down all of the things Valyr was proficient with, which had been certified by thebat training hall.


    "Adept level with the spear¡­ Elite level inbat¡­" Muttering out the words he was reading in slight disbelief, a wave of greater disbelief washed over his body once he read on the te that Valyr was Rank 1 when he had gotten these proficiencies certified. Eventually, his gaze shifted towards the name written on the te, prompting him to look at Valyr and the te back and forth for a while.


    "I don''t know who made your te, but I''m surprised such an absurd misspelling of your name went through." At some point, Arves nodded as he gave the te back to Valyr while saying a few things, the words he spoke allowing Valyr to inwardly let out a long sigh of relief.


    "Either way, you''ve proven to me that you have the necessary qualifications in order to obtain the Spearman subss," said Arves not long after, prompting a hint of panic to appear on Valyr''s face as that was not the oue he wanted to obtain. Fortunately, Arves'' words removed that panic, instead recing the expression on his face with a faint smirk.


    "However, in order to make sure that the qualifications you''ve shown me are legitimate, would it be possible for you to show me a few moves with the spear."


    "dly." As the faint smirk on his face morphed into a pleasant smile, Valyr took out the Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother from behind his back once more before distancing himself from where Arves stood. Taking in a deep breath, he tightly gripped onto the shaft of the spear as he did a few basic movements with it, earning a brief nod from Arves as he watched from afar.


    Continuing to do basic movements with the spear, Valyr went ahead and activated the offensive skills that paired with the spear, such as [Strong Pierce]. Unsurprisingly, the gaze Arves gave him turned into that of respect as the man now confirmed with his own eyes that the qualifications were not falsified.


    However, just as Arves was about to tell Valyr that he had seen enough, thetter had unleashed a move out of nowhere that left him no choice but to stand frozen in ce as his mouth went agape.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Descending Shadow Maw]."


    Whoosh!


    Condensing all of the momentum he had built up throughout his exhibition so far, Valyr swiftly transferred all of it towards his spear as he swung it in a forward arc as he felt his body smoothly connect with the source of energy he had be acquainted with after absorbing the orb of Shadow Serpent Essence.


    In an instant, a dark haze covered the entirety of his spear as it collided with the floor, causing the room to quake with great intensity for a brief moment as everything soon returned to normal.


    Amidst the silence that covered the entire room after Valyr''s sudden move, Valyr went ahead and affixed the spear he wielded onto his back once more as he took a look at the aftereffects of the move he had just unleashed.


    Inwardly sucking in a bit of cold air through his teeth as he gazed at the small yet deep crater that had formed from his attack, he then shifted his gaze towards Arves, who looked at him in silence as immense stupefaction was written on his face. Fortunately, the silence between the two was broken as Arves awkwardly asked Valyr a question.


    "Could you¡­ uh... could you wait here for a moment?"

 Chapter 299 Proving Ones Self

    "Take as much time as you need." In response to the question, Valyr faintly nodded as Arves nodded back, thanking him not long after. After informing Valyr that he wouldn''t take too long to return, Arves eventually left the room, leaving Valyr off in his own thoughts.


    "Whew. And here I thought I''d have to make an excuse to showcase my skills to him." Unsurprisingly, once Valyr was certain that Arves had truly left the premises, he sat down on the floor before letting out a long sigh of relief, recalling the conversation that had transpired between the two earlier. "Fortunately, Arves made sure that the qualifications that I showed him were correct. If not for that, I don''t really know what kind of excuse I''d make up to show off [Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "Now that I think about it¡­ let me double check if I''m at the right ce." Sometimeter, in the midst of him dwelling in his thoughts, a specific thought popped up within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to rummage through his treasure trove of memories from his past life as he went over the various steps he needed to achieve in order to obtain the subss he wanted.


    ''The first step is to go through the process of obtaining the Spearman subss normally. Then, at the end of it, you show off your skills. Once the person aiding you in the process asks you to wait for a while, then you only need to do the task that is given to you before you sessfully get a better Spearman subss.'' Going over the things he had done just a while earlier, a rxed smile appeared on Valyr''s face once he realized that he had done everything correctly.


    "If I still had [Serpent Spear Combat Style] and [Serpent Steps Movement Style], I would still be able to get a better Spearman subss," muttered Valyr to himself as he remembered doing the same thing in his previous life. "However, the subss that I would get would be the subss I used to use back then, not the subss that I want to use right now."


    In many ways, Valyr''s old subss was by no means weak. Augmenting the art of the spear with the movements of a serpent, the Serpentine Lancer subss allowed Valyr to emerge victorious against his foes by taking advantage of the serpent-like movement the subss would make second nature to the owner, giving him the ability tond deadly strikes within the foes'' blind spots.


    Aside from that, the Serpentine Lancer subss was considered an Umon grade subss, which effectively gave Valyr more stats in the past if he were topare it to him obtaining the Spearman subss, which was only considered Common grade.


    Though there''s not really much of a problem with him obtaining the Serpentine Lancer subss in his current life, considering that he now knew multiple ways to upgrade the subss to a higher rarity, Valyr had already made his mind up on what subss he was going to get if he was given another chance to do so.


    "Hopefully, it all works out like I think it would," murmured Valyr to himself as he took in a few deep breaths. Letting out a low sigh, he then briefly shrugged his shoulders. "Then again, if it doesn''t, obtaining that subss isn''t that half bad either."


    "Apologies for having you wait for quite some time, Ylvar." Around a couple minutes after Valyr had settled his thoughts over his subss down, the door to the room was opened once more, revealing Arves alongside an elderly man that had a slightly hunched back.


    However, if one were to look past the decrepit exterior of the old man, with the man''s sparse gray hair and the numerous wrinkles on his face being prevalent, one would notice that there seemed to be a type of energy lingering within him, an energy that seemed to tell Valyr that he would undoubtedly lose if he fought against the old man.


    Of course, Valyr did not even consider fighting against the old man in the first ce, instead faintly grinning as he weed the two into the room. After all¡­


    The old man was his ticket to the subss he wanted.


    "Let me introduce you to the one that came with me," said Arves to Valyr as he gestured towards the old man beside him. "Ylvar, this is Elder Noel, the first elder of this branch''s Spearman Guild."


    "Elder Noel, this is Ylvar, the one I''ve mentioned to you earlier." Sometimeter, Arves gestured towards Valyr instead, introducing the old man to the man that stood in front of them.


    "A pleasure to be your acquaintance, Elder Noel." Keeping in mind that the old man in front of him was his ticket to his dream subss, Valyr went ahead and politely bowed towards him, causing Noel to let out a faint chuckle in response.


    "It''s quite a rarity for youngsters to be so polite nowadays." Noel gave Valyr a brief nod. "In any case, the feeling is mutual."


    "So, Arves here told me that you showed him something that I might be interested in," mentioned Noel not long after, raising his eyebrow in curiosity as he looked at Valyr. "Would you mind showing me the thing he was talking about?"


    Briefly nodding in response, Valyr took out his spear from his back before distancing himself from the two, making sure that there was enough space for the skill he was going to unleash. Then, after taking in a deep breath, he retracted his spear as far as his arms could retract before thrusting it out with all of the strength he could muster.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]."


    Whoosh!


    Simr to him unleashing [Descending Shadow Maw] earlier, in the midst of his thrust, he felt his body smoothly connect with the darkness the orb had made him acquainted to, only for his spear to swiftly be covered in a dark haze as a strong shockwave soon radiated from the spear tip.


    Bang!


    Apanied by a strong explosion sound, the dark haze around the spear converged around the spear tip before exploding, leaving a mighty breeze blowing throughout the room for seconds as silence soon covered the entire room.


    With widened eyes, both Arves and Noel looked at Valyr with surprise in their eyes, thetter even more so. Nevertheless, amidst the surprise Noel felt, a thought quickly surfaced in his mind, prompting him toe to a decision as he moved a bit closer to Valyr before asking him a question.


    "Say¡­ Ylvar, was it?"


    "Would you be willing to ept a subss that goes beyond the limits of a normal Spearman?"

 Chapter 300 A Spearman Beyond Spearmen

    "Is it possible for you to borate on what you mean by that, Elder Noel?" Although Valyr wanted to ept Noel''s offer at the very moment he was asked, he suppressed this urge of his for now, wanting to first know the specifics of the subss Noel was offering him.


    "Hmm... where should I begin?" Surprisingly, Noel was amodating to Valyr, faintly nodding as he pondered over how he was going to exin the subss he was going to offer him. On the other hand, Arves witnessed the sequence of events unfolding in front of him with his mouth slightly agape, feeling a hint of disbelief.


    As far as he knew, although Elder Noel was considered a kind and gentle man to many of the people within the Spearman Guild, he was someone that was stubborn in multiple things, leaving people no choice but to adjust to the whims of the old man beside them.


    However, what he was witnessing at the moment was the exact opposite of what he had heard, with the cause being a man that had onlye to the guild in order to obtain the Spearman subss.


    "You know what a Spearman is, right?" Finally finding a train of thought to work around, Noel went ahead and initiated his exnation by posing a question to Valyr, who merely nodded in response before opening his mouth.


    "Someone who can skillfully wield a spear, right?" Listening to the answer Valyr had given him, Noel slightly frowned for a brief moment before eventually nodding.


    "It''s a generalized description of what a Spearman does, but it''s not wrong," said Noel in response. "Though, if I were to be more specific as to what a Spearman is, then a Spearman is someone who can make use of the various limits of the spear inbat, transforming what was initially considered a disadvantage of wielding the spear into a great advantage in the battlefield."


    "Now, from the single skill you''ve shown to the two of us earlier, I''vee to realize that your foundation regarding the basic movements of the spear are incredibly solid, especially for someone of your rank." Noel looked at Valyr from head to toe. "All of the movements you''ve done up until the release of the skill was at a level that even I hadn''t reached when I was your age."


    Listening to Noel''s words, Valyr could not stop his face from slightly flushing, feeling a bit embarrassed at beingplimented left and right. After all, his proficiency with the spear had onlye about due to the fact that he had spent a long time with the spear in his previous life.


    As for Arves, the expression on his face had changed into that of incredulity, considering that he had never heard Elder Noel praise someone to that extent before. However, the part that bewildered him the most was the fact that Elder Noel mentioned to Valyr that he had realized that the man before him had a solid foundation with the spear.


    Even he, someone who had reached the Master level of proficiency with the spear, was uncertain in making that kind of judgment through just a single skill. In fact, the only reason why he knew Valyr had a solid foundation with the spear was because Valyr had shown him what he was capable of earlier.


    Nevertheless, the questions in Arves'' mind continued to pile up as Noel continued to talk to Valyr.


    "Aside from your solid foundation with the spear, you used [Strike of the Venomous Night], a skill only essible if one has [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] learned," Noel said not long after, prompting Valyr to remain silent as he faintly nodded in response. "However, [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] isn''t such a simple skill to obtain. With that in mind, let me ask you..."


    "Did you obtain [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] from the skill [Serpent Spear Combat Style]?"


    At those words, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise. After all, never once had he mentioned that he used to own [Serpent Spear Combat Style] in the past to Arves or Noel. However, in the end, he eventually nodded in response, exining to Noel that [Serpent Spear Combat Style] was a staple part of his fighting style before he evolved the skill to [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] just recently.


    After that, he also mentioned that he had [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] in his skill list, prompting a grin to appear on Noel''s face as he nodded with enthusiasm. As for Arves, more and more questions piled up within his mind, leaving him in a daze as he stood frozen in ce, nkly staring at the two as they continued talking.


    "[Shadow Serpent Combat Style] and [Shadow Serpent Movement Style], the two cornerstone skills of the subss I''m about to give you," said Noel as he gazed at Valyr with excitement. "Though, just before I inform you of the subss that would make you a spearman beyond spearmen, let me ask you something just to be sure."


    p¨£§ád¨£ §«?¦Í¨º1,§ã¨°§® "When you activated [Strike of the Venomous Night] earlier, did you feel a connection from your body forming with a special source of energy?" Hearing this question, Valyr merely nodded, somewhat curious as to what Noel was going to say to him. After all, he did not have much experience with his newly upgraded Special Skills in the past, considering that he had taken Serpentine Lancer as his subss.


    "Now, what if I told you that the energy you''ve formed a connection with can only be utilized to the fullest extent by people with the subss I''m about to offer to you?" At those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, now eager to find out the subss Noel was offering to give to him.


    Of course, Noel had already taken note of Valyr''s eagerness to find out the subss. However, he decided to inform the man a bit more regarding the various aspects of the subss he was about to give him. "To those without the subss, this energy you use while using [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] goes by a lot of names. However, to those with the subss I''m offering to you, it is only known by one name."


    "Shadow Energy. That is its name," said Noel to Valyr, who nodded as hemitted the term to memory.


    "Now, with all of that said..." Feeling that he had already exined enough to Valyr about the subss, Noel decided that now was the right time to pop the question.


    "Would you like to be a Shadow Serpentine Lancer?"

 Chapter 301 The Level Beyond Shadows

    "Shadow Serpentine Lancer¡­" As he repeated the name of the subss Noel had mentioned, Valyr inwardly let out a low sigh in his mind, a hint of disappointment briefly showing on his face.


    Though such an oue was already within his expectations, considering that there were rare subsses like the one he wanted that could also be obtained first by NPCs, hearing the subss he least wanted from the man that was going to give him the subss he truly wanted still left a bitter taste in his mouth.


    ''At the very least, it''s still better than just getting Serpentine Lancer again.'' Nevertheless, although he was disappointed by the fact that Noel only offered him to be a Shadow Serpentine Lancer, obtaining it was his bottom line. ''Aside from the fact that it''s considered a Rare grade subss, it also gives me ess to the Shadow Energy Noel mentioned earlier. That alone makes this worth the while.''


    However, just as he had internally epted the fact that his subss would be that of a Shadow Serpentine Lancer for the foreseeable future, a spark of hope was soon ignited by Noel''s next few words, prompting Valyr to think that not all hope was lost yet.


    "Of course, being a Shadow Serpentine Lancer is only the start for you," said Noel to him. "With the ability you''ve shown me earlier, I am certain that you''d be able to go beyond the limits of a simple Shadow Serpentine Lancer, reaching the level I''ve attained without much of a problem."


    "Perhaps surpassing me isn''t out of the realm of possibility either." Finishing his statement with these words, Noel looked at Valyr, whose eagerness to ept the subss he was offering him had increased by at least tenfold just from the words he had uttered. Taking note of this eagerness, he nudged Arves, who was still in a daze, on the shoulder, causing thetter to return to reality as he asked the old man if he could help out in anything.


    Though, instead of obtaining an order from Noel that he could not refuse, Arves instead received something that resembled more of a request from the man, with the former pointing at Valyr as he told him, "I''ll be taking care of Ylvar here from now onwards, alright? Of course, you''re always free to say no."


    Taking into consideration that he was talking to one of the most important personages within the Spearman Guild, Arves knew that it would be incredibly stupid of him to reject as a slight frown appeared on his face. "I have no problems with that, however¡­"


    "However?" Noel raised his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering what was stopping Arves from giving Valyr to him.


    "What should I say if one of the attendants asks me about the progress regarding his request?" As this question came out of Arves'' mouth, he pointed towards Valyr, which made Noel stand in ce for a while, rubbing his chin as he pondered over the question in silence.


    "I hadn''t really taken that into consideration," muttered Noel to himself before eventuallying up with an answer. Looking at Arves, he then told him, "Alright. If they ask you where Ylvar is and how much progress you two have achieved in his request, just tell them that I decided to take over the man''s request. You don''t have to worry about anything else after that."


    "A-alright." Left with no choice but to agree to Noel''s request, Arves could only nod in response as Noel left the room with Valyr in tow, a wide grin adorning his face as the two of them eventually left Arves in his own devices.


    Surprisingly, it was only a couple minutes after Noel and Valyr had left the room did the situation finally sink into Arves'' mind, causing him to take a deep breath as he wondered if what he had seen and heard earlier was real or not. After all, the First Elder, who was known for being stubborn and didn''t take no for an answer, had gone out of his way to amodate a person that, from his perspective, had a shy spear skill involving shadows.


    "Then again, he did say that if we were toe across someone with a spear skill that involved shadows, we were to contact him as soon as possible," Arves soon muttered to himself as he went over the entire situation, wondering what Ylvar had that made Noel undergo a drastic shift in personality.


    Going through the various topics both Noel and Valyr had discussed earlier within his presence, Arves eventually stopped his train of thought on the name of the subss both Noel and Valyr focused on. "Shadow Serpentine Lancer¡­ Shadow Serpentine Lancer¡­"


    "Why do I feel like I''ve heard that before?" As this question surfaced in Arves'' mind, a thought soon appeared within his mind not long after, causing his eyes to widen in realization as he let out a loud gasp. "Wait a minute¡­ isn''t Shadow Serpentine Lancer Elder Noel''s old subss?"


    "Then does that mean¡­" With everything finally clicking in ce in his mind, Arves took in a deep breath before letting out a bitter chuckle, which was soon followed up with a sigh. Sometimeter, he decided to head out of the room, but not before muttering a few words to himself before leaving.


    "I should really stop myself from meddling in matters like these."


    ¡­


    "Where are we heading?" As Valyr followed Noel in front of him while they made their way through the various corridors of the guild, a question eventually escaped the former''s mouth, prompting thetter to answer as they continued to move.


    "Training ground." Coincidentally, just as these words hade out of Noel''s mouth, the man decided to stop all of a sudden, causing Valyr to stop in his tracks as well. Just as he was about to ask Noel what the two of them were waiting for, a man wearing a uniform had appeared in front of them, the emblem of the Spearman Guild emzoned on the right side of the man''s shirt.


    "Which training grounds don''t have people in them at the moment?" asked Noel, to which the man went silent for a bit before opening his mouth.


    "The second and fifth training ground, First Elder."


    "Alright." Noel nodded before deciding to continue walking, with Valyr following behind him. "Tell the others that I''ll be upying the second training ground for now. Make sure that no one heads there without my permission."


    "Understood, First Elder." Nodding back in response, the man politely bowed towards Noel before eventually disappearing from Valyr''s field of vision, prompting him to ask Noel yet another question.


    "Why are we heading to a training ground?"


    "Good question." Noel faintly smiled. "Hmm¡­ let me put it this way."


    "The reason we''re heading to a training ground is so that I can show you¡­"


    "The level beyond shadows."

 Chapter 302 Dark Night, Endless Night

    "Here we are." After Noel told Valyr that he was going show thetter the level that existed beyond shadows, he remained silent all throughout the remainder of their journey to the training ground, even though Valyr was immensely curious as to what Noel meant by he said earlier.


    Nevertheless, Valyr was eventually left with no choice but to suppress his curiosity for the meantime as the two eventually arrived at the ce Noel had reserved earlier, a training ground which spanned an area that even his decently high PER stat could barely see the ends of.


    Taking in a breath of the fresh air within the training ground he had reserved for the asion, Noel picked up a spear from the rack of weapons located near the training ground''s entrance before making his way deeper into the area. In response, Valyr stood in ce for a while, wondering for a bit as to what Noel was nning to do, only for him to be told by thetter to follow him as the two of them made their way to the center.


    "Is there a specific reason why we''re at the center of the training ground?" Now at the center, Valyr looked at the old man beside him before asking the question that popped into his mind during the trek to where they currently were.


    "But of course." Looking back at Valyr while letting out a faint sigh, Noel briefly gazed at the young man in front of him before nodding. "Every action I make has a reason behind it, after all."


    "In any case, the reason why we''re here is I want you to show me all of the moves you''ve unlocked in [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] so far," said Noel not long after. "Of course, I haven''t forgotten you telling me earlier that you also have [Shadow Serpent Movement Style], but we''ll focus on thebat aspect for now."


    "Anyways, don''t hold back." After saying these words to Valyr, Noel took a few steps backward before slightly bending his knees. Then, before Valyr could wonder to himself what Noel was doing, thetter had exerted the entirety of his strength through his legs, distancing himself from the young man to the point Valyr could only barely make out the old man''s silhouette from the distance.


    However, aside from being left in a dazed state from the sudden move Noel had pulled off, what astonished Valyr more was the fact that the old man still had that much strength within him, prompting him to return to one of his earlier thoughts that he would undoubtedly lose if he fought against him. ''On second thought, I won''t just lose if I fight against him...''


    ''I''d probably die if I did.''


    ''Thank the heavens he doesn''t have a bad impression of me... yet." Muttering a few mocking words to himself as he let out a soft chuckle, Valyr took out his spear from his back before taking in a few deep breaths topose himself.


    Then, focusing a great amount of his attention towards the movements he was about to execute, Valyr went ahead and proceeded to begin showing the skills he had unlocked through [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] by going through the basic spear movements, generating momentum through them in order for the skills of focus to have greater force in them.


    "I''m surprised my eyes still haven''t failed me." While Valyr was in the midst of going through the basic spear movements, Noel watched everything unfold from afar as he let out a bit ofughter, using the spear he had grabbed earlier as a cane of sorts. "With such a foundation like that, if he wasn''t limited by his current rank, his proficiency with the spear would be gauged at Elite level at the very least, perhaps even Expert level."


    "Now... I wonder how his proficiency with [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] stacks up to his foundation." With the thought in mind, Noel continued to watch Valyr go through the movements, a faint smile eventually creeping up onto his lips as he felt a familiar sensation emanate from Valyr.


    "[Offense Aura]." Feeling like he had generated enough momentum, Valyr went ahead and activated what he considered to be one of his bread and butter skills in offense, deciding to leave his strongest buffing skill for thest technique. With the skill now activated, he then spun around in ce, conserving all of the momentum he had generated before transferring all of it towards his spear, swinging it in a forwards arc not long after.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Descending Shadow Maw]."


    Bang!


    Now used to the sensation of connecting with the source of energy he now knew as Shadow Energy, Valyr''s spear unsurprisingly hit the ground with great force, leaving a small yet deep crater on the tough training ground. Admiring the aftermath of his attack for a brief moment, Valyr capitalized on the momentum he had generated from the attack, moving his spear in a manner that reduced the loss of momentum to its momentum before proceeding to thrust his spear out with all of the strength in his body.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]."


    Bang!


    Rumble...


    In less than an instant, a dark wave of energy swiftly radiated from Valyr''s spear tip, causing the ground to quake as all of the energy from the attack was left with no choice but to transmit most of its energy towards it. Of course, now that he had used the skill twice, Valyr was certain that if this attacknded on his opponent, he was certain that thetter would receive a grievous injury at the very least, if not death.


    "Haah..." With his spear still extended outward, Valyr took in a deep breath before bending his knees to get into a stabler stance, activating [Limit Break] in the meantime in preparation for what was the final technique he had unlocked in [Shadow Serpent Combat Style].


    What was previously known as [Tyrannous Bite], which was an attack that made everything within a certain radius from the spear tip disappear from sight, Valyr activated the final skill as he tightly gripped onto his spear before swinging it upward with as much as speed as possible.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant Valyr started to swing his spear upwards, dark energy started to pile up in front of Valyr before being sent out as arge wave, prompting Valyr to think that the attack looked quite simr to a tsunami, with its pitch-ck color being the only thing stopping him from thinking it was an actual tsunami.


    "Scary..." Watching the wave of dark energy move through the training ground at great speeds, Valyr was left at a loss for words as he noticed that the ground the wave of energy had made contact with was significantly darker than the ground surrounding it, causing him to slightly shudder as he watched the tsunami eventually disappear around 10 secondster.


    With Valyr now done showing Noel all of the skills he had unlocked from [Shadow Serpent Combat Style], he then looked in the old man''s direction, wondering if what he was going to do next had something to do with the level beyond shadows.


    "I must say... you have superb control over your skills." Around a minute after Valyr had unleashed [Tide of the Dark Night], Noel''s voice reverberated throughout the training ground with great rity, prompting Valyr to think that the old man had infused his voice with mana. "Now, how about I show you one of those skills..."


    "But under the hands of someone greater than a Shadow Serpentine Lancer?"


    Whoosh!


    "[Abyssal Serpent Style]."


    "[Tide of the Endless Night]."

 Chapter 303 The Shadow, The Void, And The Abyss

    Whoosh!


    Although Noel had swung his spear upwards in a simr fashion to Valyr, perhaps even a bit sloppier than thetter, the wave of dark energy that had been generated by the movement was at least five times asrge than the one Valyr had generated with his skill.


    Aside from that, as the wave continued to move, it continued to growrger, at some point covering at least a third of Valyr''s field of vision. With that, it was no surprise that Valyr felt a great amount of dread once he realized that therge wave Noel had sent out was heading in his direction, the wave emanating the feeling that it devoured everything that came across its path and assimted it with the darkness.


    Fortunately, just as therge wave was only around 50 meters away from where Valyr stood, the wave of dark energy quickly dissipated into thin air, prompting him to wonder if the hundred meter tall waves of dark energy had almoste close to enveloping him in the first ce.


    Aside from that, just like how the wave he had generated through [Tide of the Dark Night] had left a trail of darkened ground wherever the wave went, the wave Noel sent out had darkened the ground that it traversed as well. However, unlike the darkened ground Valyr obtained from his wave, the resulting ground from Noel''s skill was pitch-ck, making it seem that the ground that separated him from Noel was instead a vast expanse of pure nothingness.


    Nevertheless, after seeing Noel unleash more or less the same skill he had in action, the level of eagerness Valyr had towards obtaining the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss had gone way past its peak. At the same time, his curiosity towards the level that existed beyond Shadow Serpentine Lancer had reached its peak as well, with the only clue he could go off on was the name of thebat style Noel had used before unleashing the same skill.


    "[Abyssal Serpent Style]¡­" Valyr muttered to himself, pondering over what rarity such a subss would be at to give such a skill that sounded overbearing. "Surely such a subss wouldn''t just be Epic grade, right?"


    "So, what do you think?" However, before he could obtain some sort of conclusion to his query, Noel had appeared before him, asking him a question with a proud smirk on his face. Though a slight frown briefly appeared on Valyr''s face since he was interrupted, this frown quickly disappeared as he recalled the sight Noel had shown him earlier.


    Of course, the first thought that came to his mind was that the power Noel had unleashed was incredibly overbearing, feeling as if the wave of dark energy he had seen earlier was the harbinger of death. With that, the way Valyr looked at Noel had changed slightly, thinking of the old man before him as the definition of a one-man army.


    However, as he continued thinking about how destructive and powerful the skill Noel had unleashed earlier was, a question eventually popped up in Valyr''s mind, causing him to look at the man in front of him before asking, "How could you unleash so much power even though you''re so old?"


    "Hey!" Unsurprisingly, Noel smacked Valyr at the back of his head, making thetter feel as if he would go unconscious at any moment from the strength behind it. Thankfully, that feeling quickly disappeared, forcing Valyr to instead endure the pain from the smack as Noel looked at him with a slight frown.


    "How rude," Noel said at the very moment Valyr looked back at him. "I might look old, but I''m only 82 years old, you know?"


    ''Isn''t that already old, though?'' thought Valyr to himself, wondering if it was wrong for him to call the man old in the first ce. Fortunately, Noel''s next words gave him the answer to that question.


    "Sure, being 82 might sound old to you, but I still have over 300 years left, you know?" said Noel not long after. "If anything, I''m still at the prime of my life."


    "Is that so¡­" At first, Valyr found it odd for Noel to mention that he still had over 300 years left to live on the, only to recall the conversation he had back then with Riekan, recalling that the man had already lived for over 300 years. With that, he made a mental note to head to the city''s library sometime in the future to find out how one could extend their lifespan.


    After all, even he wanted to live longer.


    "Anyways, we''ve gotten off track. What do you think of the skill I unleashed earlier?" After a bit of silence between the two, Noel asked the question once more, rifying what he meant this time. In response, Valyr told him that he had never seen such a destructive skill before, making the man before let out a brief cackle in agreement.


    "You''re definitely right in that regard." Noel looked at Valyr with a smile. "In fact, the current subss I have is considered one of the top subsses in terms of how destructive the skills are."


    "Of course, the strength one gains from it is nothing to scoff at either," he continued, the smile on his face turning into a smirk. "In fact, if you became a Shadow Serpentine Lancer at this moment, thatst skill you unleashed earlier would instantly be at least twice as powerful."


    "Then again, as I''ve said earlier, bing a Shadow Serpentine Lancer is only the beginning for you. If you obtain the subsses beyond Shadow Serpentine Lancer, then even a tenfold increase in yourbat power wouldn''t be far-fetched." At this point, Valyr was slightly annoyed that Noel still did not mention what the levels above Shadow Serpentine Lancer were. With that, he went ahead and voiced out his slight annoyance as he asked Noel what the levels beyond Shadow Serpentine Lancer were.


    "I was just about to get to them, actually," replied Noel in response with a chuckle, which only made Valyr more annoyed than before. Nevertheless, thetter suppressed the annoyance he felt once the man before him started exining.


    "The Shadow, the Void, and the Abyss. These three things correspond to many things in the path you would take as a future Shadow Serpentine Lancer, but mainly, they refer to the type of energy you wield at that subss."


    "The Shadow refers to Shadow Energy, which is the main type of energy used by those with the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss," said Noel with a calm expression.


    "A tier above would be the Void, which refers to Void Energy. Of course, this type of energy is used by the Void Serpentine Lancer subss, the level above the Shadow Serpentine Lancer." After saying these words, a light grin appeared on Noel''s face. "Of course, there''s one more level above that."


    "And that level corresponds to the Abyss. Abyssal Energy is what an Abyssal Serpentine Lancer would make use of inbat."


    "And that''s the level that I''m currently at."

 Chapter 304 Taking A Risk

    "The Shadow, the Void, and the Abyss¡­" Valyr repeated the phrase Noel had uttered at the beginning of his exnation before going over the various subsses that the man before him had mentioned. Pondering over everything he had just learned from Noel in silence, a question eventually formed in his mind as he looked at Noel, wanting to make sure that his understanding of the three subsses were correct.


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but is the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss considered a Rare grade subss?" Valyr asked Noel sometimeter, to which thetter nodded in response.


    "That would be correct, yes."


    "And does that mean that Void Serpentine Lancer is an Epic grade subss, while Abyssal Serpentine Lancer is a Legendary grade subss?" asked Valyr not long after, prompting Noel to nod once more.


    "Yes and yes."


    ''That''s odd.'' After nodding back in response to Noel''s answers, Valyr went silent once more as he pondered over everything again. ''If I remember correctly, the first yer who did this had obtained a Mythic grade Spearman subss. However, Noel is only giving me the possibility of a Legendary grade subss. Hmm¡­''


    ''Did I mess something up along the way?'' With this thought in mind, Valyr rummaged through his memories from his past life, recalling the name of the subss of the yer that had done what he was currently doing first. Though thest two words of the subss were simr to the subss he would obtain from Noel, the first word that was attached to the subss was vastly different from Abyssal.


    ''Don''t tell me I''m only limited to obtaining Legendary grade subsses at the moment?'' As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr thought that it made a bit of sense. After all, if a lot of NPCs had Mythic grade subsses and above, then the number of Mythic grade subsses avable to yers would be less, considering that both had an equal chance at obtaining one.


    However, the reason why he had gone through all of this in the first ce was in order to obtain the Mythic grade subss he hade to know from his past life.


    In the end, Valyr thought that there was no point mulling over it any further, thinking that a Legendary grade subss was still leagues better than any other subss a yer could possibly obtain at the beginning.


    Though, just as he had epted that he would only be obtaining a Legendary grade subss at most, he decided to ask Noel about the subss he hade to know in his previous life.


    "I''m asking this question just to satisfy my curiosity, but is there a tier above the Abyssal Serpentine Lancer?" As this question escaped Valyr''s mouth, Noel''s eyes briefly widened in slight surprise, only for him to raise his eyebrow in suspicion not long after.


    Eventually, the expression on the man''s face returned to normal as he thought about the various ways Valyr could have possiblye across such fact,ing to the conclusion that none of them were currently feasible for the young man. With that, Noel briefly nodded at Valyr before saying, "There is."


    "Would it be possible for me to know what that subss is called?" asked Valyr in response, feeling as if not all hope at obtaining the Mythic grade subss was lost.


    "Unfortunately, that''s something I''m not even close to fully understanding yet." Noel let out a faint sigh as he shook his head. "At most, I can tell you the energy that the subss could possibly wield."


    "And that would be¡­?"


    "Chaos." Hearing this worde out of Noel''s mouth, the slight disappointment Valyr felt had instantly disappeared without a trace, his body instead filled to the brim with hope.


    ''That''s the first word on the Mythic grade subss I came across back then!'' With his minding to the conclusion that the reason why he could not obtain a Mythic grade subss from Noel was because thetter had not reached that level yet, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh of relief as he looked back at Noel.


    "Coincidentally, that''s one of the reasons why I offered the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss to you in the first ce." Noel let out a slightly awkward chuckle. "At the very instant you showed me your skills earlier, a certain thought popped up into my mind."


    "This child would reach a level of power I could only hope to reach."


    "That''s the thought that came to mind." At these words, Noel''s expression turned solemn. "So, I acted upon it."


    Whoosh!


    As the surroundings around the two became silent once more, Noel brought up a screen in front of him before interacting with it for quite some time. Not long after, a notification sound resounded in Valyr''s mind, prompting him to look at it before looking back at Noel.


    Ding!


    [Noel Voragine (Lvl. ???) has decided to bestow you a subss. Would you like to ept?]


    "Why are you going out of your way to give me such a powerful subss?" Though Valyr wanted to ept the prompt at the very instant it appeared, he decided to suppress these urges once more as he asked Noel something he should have asked him in the first ce. "I''m not even a part of the Spearman Guild."


    "It doesn''t have anything to do whether or whether not you''re a part of the guild." Noel shook his head. "At first, it was because of the thought that came to mind when I met you. But now, I''m certain that it''s also due to the potential you hold."


    "The potential that made me think you could touch upon Chaos."


    "You know, I''ve been trying to find the right person to give the subss to, and I''ve given it to quite a few people in the past," Noel said to him. "Almost everyone of them were stuck as a Shadow Serpentine Lancer, with only a few of them breaking through and bing a Void Serpentine Lancer."


    "Of course, I wouldn''t be surprised if this thought of mine actually turned out to be wrong, but hey." Noel softly smiled. "What''s life without taking a few risks?"


    "A few risks, huh?" Valyr muttered in response. Then, with a slight grin, he epted the prompt from the system. "Well, let me tell you now¡­"


    "That this risk is one you won''t ever regret."


    Ding!


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have obtained the subss ''Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer (Umon)''.]

 Chapter 305 Benefits And Issues Of A Subclass

    "A risk I won''t ever regret, huh?" Listening to the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Noel let out a hearty chuckle, feeling that the young man''s personality seemed to meld well with his own. However, just as he was about to say something to the man, Valyr''s expression, which was that of an eager smile earlier, was now reced with a deep frown.


    ''What the¡­'' Reading through the first notification he had received after epting the prompt, a frown instantly appeared on Valyr''s face, focusing most of his attention on the first word that preceded the subss he was expecting to get in the first ce. ''Wasn''t I supposed to get Shadow Serpentine Lancer?''


    ''What''s with the Neophyte at the beginning of it all?''


    While the frown on his face deepened, Valyr decided to continue reading through the other notifications that came after the first, his eyebrows raised in slight surprise as he was greeted by a notification that he both did and did not expect.


    Ding!


    [Due to the user obtaining their subss at the peak of Rank 1, the effects of the subss shall be applied retroactively.]


    [You have gained 15 VIT, 15 STR, 30 AGI, and 45 DEX.]


    Whoosh!


    Coincidentally, just as his eyes had focused on these two notifications, a great wave of energy started to course throughout his body, imbuing within him the feeling that he had gained a lot of strength within an instant. Though the feeling subsided after quite some time, the feeling was enough for Valyr to forget about the small difference in the subss he had obtained for a while.


    ''I don''t know if the stats I should get from obtaining the subss should be higher or not, but at the very least, the other perks from the subss I was expecting to get are still there.'' A few secondster, the frown on his face returned, the thought of the subss he obtained not being the one he expected to get still lingering in his mind. Inwardly letting out a low sigh, he suppressed the feeling of rage welling up within him as he had a hunch that Noel might have a good reason for giving him his current subss.


    And with that, he took a look at the remaining notifications he had yet to read, the ones he was expecting to get in the first ce.


    [Due to the nature of your subss, your Attack stat now scales off of your DEX stat instead of your STR stat.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, you have gained the passive skill ''Shadow Energy Empowerment''.]


    ''With how higher my DEX ispared to my STR, mybat power has basically increased by more than half all because my Attack stat is now based off DEX.'' Bringing up his status screen for a bit, Valyr was briefly left at a loss for words at how substantial of an improvement obtaining the subss was, taking quite some time to calm himself down after. ''As for the passive skill I obtained¡­''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Energy Empowerment] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Umon


    You have gained ess to a type of energy that is unique only to Shadow Serpents, a type of energy that remains elusive to those that are not aware of it, but instills dread and fear to those who do. Through this energy, your skills grow more ferocious, allowing you to y your foes with greater ease.


    This skill increases the efficacy of techniques under [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] and [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] by 20%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Definitely something I''m greatly satisfied with.'' After going through all of the notifications that had appeared after epting the prompt, Valyr went ahead and focused his attention back on Noel, who seemed to be staring at him for quite some time with a pensive expression.


    "Is there a problem? You''ve been frowning for quite some time." Noticing that Valyr had focused his attention on him, Noel took the opportunity to ask the question that had been lingering within his mind ever since he noticed the frown on the young man''s face.


    "Not really a problem, but more of a question," said Valyr in response, the frown on his disappearing as his expression turned solemn. "You''ve been telling me all this time that I would get the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss. But when I epted it, the subss I got instead was the Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer."


    "Ahh¡­" After listening to Valyr''s words, Noel eventually nodded in understanding. "So that''s what''s been troubling you since earlier."


    "Well, I''d suggest you take a look at the description of the subss first before I continue with what I have to say." Hearing these wordse from Noel, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to do so, a screen appearing in front of him not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer] (Subss)


    Rarity: Umon


    Many spearmen throughout the ages have tried to forge their own path by taking inspiration from nature, with some ending up more sessful than others. However, there are those who forge their own path of spearmanship by taking from nature itself, allowing their way of the spear to stand head and shoulders above their peers.


    A Shadow Serpentine Lancer is one such path that takes from nature itself, taking the energy of an elusive beast, the Shadow Serpent, and making it into one''s own. Such ancer gains the ability tond deadly yet elusive attacks under the covers of the shadows, turning them into a foe that would be everyone''s worst enemy in the battlefield.


    However, unlike Shadow Serpentine Lancers, Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancers have gained the energy of the Shadow Serpent through impure means, causing the quantity and quality of the energy theymand to be subpar whenpared to true Shadow Serpentine Lancers.


    Nevertheless, even a being like them would be considered a deadly foe everyone must kill, sometimes ending up bing far scarier than actual Shadow Serpentine Lancers.


    For each level gained in this subss, the user gains +1 VIT, +1 STR, +2 AGI, and +3 DEX.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Are you telling me the reason why you gave me the subss is because of the Shadow Energy I havemand over?" Once he was done reading through the subss'' description, it did not take long for Valyr to gain an idea of what Noel wanted him to obtain from reading it.


    "Though I do admire the fact that you have gained ess to Shadow Energy even before obtaining the subss, the energy I have control over allows me to gain an idea on how you gained your source," Noel said in response. "Would I be wrong in saying that you gained Shadow Energy by absorbing an orb of Shadow Serpent Essence?"


    "¡­" At those words, Valyr remained silent, surprised that Noel hade to that conclusion without even asking him questions about it. Nevertheless, he responded back with a faint nod, causing Noel to nod back as he opened his mouth not long after.


    "The fact that you not only have a small amount of Shadow Energy within you, but an impure version of Shadow Energy at that, made me decide that although giving you the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss was an option, it was an option that would only hinder you than benefit you with your current Shadow Energy."


    "How would it hinder me?" Valyr had a curious expression on his face.


    "Let me put it this way, Ylvar." Noel looked at him with a calm expression. "If I were to give you the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss right now instead of the one you currently have, even ascending to the next rank, bing a Void Serpentine Lancer, would be next to impossible for you."


    "However, if you''re fine with wasting away such potential, then I don''t mind giving you the subss. Perhaps you might subvert my expectations." Saying these words, Valyr went silent for a bit. Gone was the eagerness he had in obtaining the subss before. Instead, what reced it was a man that weighed the gains and losses of each decision, especially after being told that it would limit him in the long run.


    "Is there a way for my Shadow Energy to improve, then?" Of course, after listening to Noel talk all this time, Valyr knew that everything revolved around his impure Shadow Energy. With that, he went ahead and asked the question that seemed to be something Noel was waiting to hear all this time, evident by the old man''s pleased smile after Valyr was done asking.


    "I''m d you asked." Noel nodded. "Considering how you awakened your Shadow Energy, there are three ways to improve the quality and quantity of your own Shadow Energy. However, if it wasn''t for that, then there would only be two."


    "Since you''ve absorbed Shadow Energy from an orb of Shadow Serpent Essence, then the first way would be to absorb even more orbs of Shadow Serpent Essence. Of course, there is a likely chance that these energies would sh with one another, so you would have purify the energy from the orb you absorb first before melding it into the energy you already have."


    "As for the second way, it''s simr to the first one I just mentioned, with the only difference being that you would have to attune yourself to your own Shadow Energy and gradually absorb the faint traces of Shadow Energy in your surroundings, refining and improving your own Shadow Energy bit by bit. Among the two, this would assure you that you''d be a Shadow Serpentine Lancer, but it would take quite some time before reaching that point."


    At Noel''sst few words, Valyr had a slight frown on his face. If the threat of the final battle wasn''t reminding him from the back of his head time and time again, he would have opted to go with the safest route since there wouldn''t be a reason for him to be a Shadow Serpentine Lancer so quickly.


    Sadly, there was.


    ''Since the first method''s too costly, and the second method''s too slow, I guess I''ll probably have to ask about the third method.'' Inwardly letting out a sigh, Valyr went ahead and asked Noel what thest method was. In response, Noel told him that it was the quickest way to improve the quality and quantity of his Shadow Energy, yet at the same time, it was the riskiest and most difficult. As to what it was¡­


    "Well, thest method is basically the method as to how the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss came about in the first ce."


    "And that would be¡­?"


    "To kill a Shadow Serpent, of course."

 Chapter 306 A Quick Trip

    After Noel mentioned that the final method to improve his Shadow Energy was to kill a Shadow Serpent, Valyr''s eyes widened for a bit in surprise. Though, not long after, his expression returned to normal as he inwardly facepalmed, thinking to himself as to how he had not gotten to that conclusion before.


    After all, since absorbing an orb of Shadow Serpent Essence allowed him to gain ess to Shadow Energy, then it would make sense that killing a Shadow Serpent would also work as well.


    "Now that I mention it, I just remembered that these three are also the methods one would have ess to in order to be a Shadow Serpentine Lancer in the first ce," Noel said sometimeter. "Of course, that''s considering they didn''t have [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] and had ess to Shadow Energy before obtaining the subss like you did."


    "In fact, it could be considered as a requirement to obtaining the subss in the first ce," he continued. "Either way, I''m going off on a tangent here. Those are the three methods that you could choose to use if you want to improve your Shadow Energy to eventually be a bona fide Shadow Serpentine Lancer."


    "How did you gain ess to Shadow Energy in the first ce?" Rather than ponder over the three choices he was given, Valyr was instead curious as to how the old man before him became a Shadow Serpentine Lancer in the first ce. With that, Noel briefly raised his eyebrow in slight interest.


    "Are you going to choose your method based on how I became a Shadow Serpentine Lancer?" Noel let out a soft chuckle. "Well, what if I told you I obtained the subss I currently have now as an ident?"


    In response to those words, Valyr remained silent, though the expression on his face was enough for Noel to know that he wanted to learn more about it.


    "A long time ago, I had a Spearman-based subss that I was incredibly satisfied with," Noel started narrating. "It had all of the abilities that I wanted, the stats that I wanted to grow stronger in, all in all, I was just satisfied with having it, considering that it was of a significantly high rarity."


    "Note that this happened at a time when I didn''t upy a position within the Spearman Guild yet," said Noel in the midst of his narration, wanting to rify his story''s setting. Obtaining a nod in response from Valyr, he then continued where he left off.


    "Of course, even though I wasn''t upying a position yet, I was someone that held a lot of importance to the guild." A light smile gradually crept up on his face as he continued to recall what had transpired in the past. "With that, I was the first person they asked when they were looking for someone that was willing to kill an incredibly ferocious beast."


    "I''m sure by now that you already know what kind of beast I''m referring to, right?" Noel asked Valyr sometimeter, to which thetter nodded.


    Nodding back, Noel continued. "I won''t get into the specifics of what happened along the way, but at the very end of it all, I had sessfully killed the Shadow Serpent that many people had died to. At that point, I thought I would just head back to the Spearman Guild, im my rewards, and then head home and rest easy."


    "Boy was I wrong." Noel bitterly smiled. "Instead, what happened was that all of the lingering energy from the corpse swiftly made its way to my body and gave me the ability to tap into a pure yet destructive source of energy that differed from mana."


    "With that, I eventually found someone who knew more about it, and eventually, I became a Shadow Serpentine Lancer." With Noel having finished his story of how he had be a Shadow Serpentine Lancer in the first ce, Valyr looked down at the ground for a bit and pondered once more over which among the three methods he would choose.


    However, with the looming threat of the final battle still lingering in his mind, and the fact that he needed to be as strong as possible for that final battle, it did not take long for him toe to a decision.


    "How easy¡­ are Shadow Serpents to kill?" As Noel heard this questione out of Valyr''s mouth, the former inwardly let out a low sigh as he responded.


    "Considerably easy¡­ if you were a Rank 3 ss holder at the very least." At this moment, Noel''s expression towards Valyr was that of slight concern. After all, to him, it seemed like the young man in front of him was making a rash choice.


    Yet, rather than thinking of Noel''s words as a cue to stop his train of thought there, Valyr instead nodded in response to his answer before asking, "Are there any Shadow Serpents nearby?"


    "I really wouldn''t rmend you do that if I were you." Noel shook his head. "Though killing a Shadow Serpent is the quickest way to improve your Shadow Energy, as I''ve mentioned earlier, it is the riskiest, especially for someone at your level."


    "You still have a long life ahead of you, Ylvar. There''s no need to rush it." He let out a faint sigh soon after before bing silent.


    Pondering over something for a bit, Noel eventually looked back at Valyr before giving him a proposal. "How about this? I''ll give you three days to think about which among the three methods you''re going to use to improve your Shadow Energy. If you''re still adamant on killing a Shadow Serpent, then¡­"


    "As much as I really don''t want you to do it, I''ll try my best to find one for you."


    "¡­" At those words, Valyr went silent, prompting him to ponder over his choices once more. On one hand, he was happy that Noel wasn''t stubborn in stopping him from wanting to kill a Shadow Serpent. After all, it would allow hisbat prowess to significantly improve within a shorter timespan.


    On the other, he felt grateful that the old man was looking out for his safety, yet guilty at the same time since he wanted to do something that was the exact opposite of safe.


    After mulling over it for a bit more, Valyr eventually told Noel that he''d think about it for the next few days, and he''ll tell him his final decision once the three days are up. In response, a relieved smile appeared on Noel''s face, nodding in agreement as the two of them eventually made their way back to the Spearman Guild''s building, with the two of them parting ways once Noel reminded Valyr to find him once three days had passed.


    "Huh. Time flies fast." Now at the entrance of the Spearman Guild, Valyr took a look at the sky to see how much time there was left before night. Seeing that there was only around an hour so left before the sun started to set, he decided that he should head back to the inn, lest he wanted Wells to worry about him.


    However, just as he had taken a few steps in the direction that lead back to the inn, a thought popped up in his mind.


    ''How about¡­''


    ''I take a look at where the Zeihardt n is residing?''

 Chapter 307 Forced Ascension

    As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr stood in ce for a bit as he contemted once more about how much sunlight there was left before the sky turned dark, thinking of the possibility that Wells might be on the lookout for him since the man had no clue where he had gone after the meeting at the Imperial Production Guild.


    In the end, he decided to act upon the thought he hade up with, utilizing the entirety of his agility to speed up the process of finding out where the Zeihardt n estate was located within the city.


    ''It won''t take too much time,'' Valyr thought to himself as he started to move about, recalling the objective of the World Quest he had received.


    From what he could recall, the objective of the World Quest was to head to where the Zeihardt Royal n was located, which, thanks to Aster, he now knew that they were located within Algerie Kingdom. With such an objective like that, it only made sense for him to do it now rather thanter with how simple the objective was.


    After all, the objective only told him to head to where it was. There was no such mention of having to head inside, having to find someone there, or anything else.


    Aside from that, he did not want to find out what would happen if he did notplete the World Quest within the three months that he had been given to head to the kingdom. From the description of the quest alone, it did not take long for him to realize that notpleting it would result in dire consequences.


    ''Speaking of the quest description, didn''t I get a notification during the meeting with the Ancestral Council earlier that I gained more information regarding the World Quest?'' In the midst of him roaming the streets of Algerie City, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the quest''s description within his mind, omitting the part that he had already read in the past.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Future of Humanity (1)] (World Quest) (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: S


    The Zeihardt Royal n¡­ description has been omitted.


    As the one that is considered by the n as the Herald of Fate, you are the key that would bring forth a massive change to the current era. However, with the internal strife going on within the Zeihardt n, it is still unknown whether your existence would bring forth a golden age to humanity, or its darkest age yet.


    With that, you must find out more about your identity, your existence, and your origin. Amidst the tensions building between the three races that live on the world of Veldanyr, head to the origin of your blood and resolve the problem at its roots. If left unchecked, the existence of the human race would head down a path of no return.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the very moment he was finished reading through the added description on his World Quest, a deep frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he inwardly let out a long sigh. ''It seems my identity is far more important than I thought.''


    ''All the more reason for me toplete the first objective and find out what I have to do next then,'' Valyr thought to himself not long after as his body continued to move. Though, sometimeter, as he pondered over the thoughts that had formed after reading the updated quest description, a question eventually formed in his mind.


    "If my identity is incredibly important to the future of humanity ording to the World Quest¡­ then why haven''t I heard of my name back when I was a yer?" Muttering these words to himself, the frown on his face deepened even further as his brows furrowed.


    With the question in mind, he rummaged through the memories from his past life of Valyr Zeihardt and the Zeihardt n, only to find out once more that none of them contained any information regarding the two whatsoever, just like when he tried to search for information regarding the Zeihardt n during his first few days in this world.


    Back then, he found it slightly peculiar, but did not think too much about it. However, now that he knew more about his body''s identity, as well as the n, he wondered whether his existence, as well as the Zeihardt n''s existence had something to do with the storyline of Greater Beyond''s first version.


    "Haah¡­" Though he could infer and deduce multiple things from what he knew at the moment, he knew that heading down the spection rabbit hole would only lead him to a dead end he could not get out of, reminding him once more that he should head to the city''s library whenever he was free to do so as he let out a long yet soft sigh.


    Faintly shaking his head, he ced the thought at the back of his head for the meantime, just like many of the other questions that gued him, and focused most of his attention on finding the Zeihardt n estate for now, eventually doing so by the time the sun was already near the horizon.


    ¡­


    "How extravagant¡­" Valyr muttered to himself as he gazed at the estate that appeared before him.


    Rather than being greeted by the sight of a decently sized manor that could be said to house an entire n, what appeared in front of him instead was a building that looked more simr to the medieval castles he had seen in his past life, which showed the great amount of power and authority they could wield.


    Mostly being made out of smoothly chiseled stone, the spires of the castle at the rearmost portion of the castle was colored a reddish brown, bringing a bit of color to the somewhat boring exterior of the castle. Nevertheless, the castle is covered to the brim with multiple trees and greenery, with all of the shrubs found at the entrance of the castle seemingly trimmed to perfection.


    Yet its extravagance did not end there.


    On both sides of the castle wererge manors that spanned at least four stories tall, prompting Valyr to wonder as to how much people were currently living within the Zeihardt n estate. However, just before he could take a closer look and make his way towards the estate''s gates, one of the guards patrolling around the estate stopped him.


    "Halt! State your business." With most of the guards'' attention now focused on him due to the guards'' words, Valyr stood frozen in ce for a bit as he wracked his brain toe up with a great excuse as to why he was loitering around. Though, as if the heavens were messing around with him¡­


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest ''The Future of Humanity (1)''.]


    [You have gained 500,000 XP.]


    [Your level has been increased by one. You are now Level 26.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [As you have exceeded the level threshold of a Rank 1 ss holder, you shall now undergo a forced ascension.]

 Chapter 308 Delaying The Process

    As the notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr went ahead and took a look at the notifications he had received within his mind. While looking through them, he felt a faint smile creeping up on his face as he thought that it was worth it for him to make a detour to the Zeihardt n estate before he made his way back to the inn.


    However, as he continued to look through the notifications, his expression was swiftly reced with a frown as his attention was focused on the final notification. ''If I remember correctly, something like this didn''t happen back when I was still a yer¡­''


    Rummaging through the memories he had from his past life, Valyr checked through all of them to see if he or any other yer he hade across had experienced a simr phenomenon to what he was currently going through, which was a forced ascension.


    Of course, Valyr quickly understood what a forced ascension meant, especially since the notification that talked about it gave him the information he needed to know to find out what caused it. Unsurprisingly, he had deduced the cause of this forced ascension to be the level increase reward frompleting the World Quest, thoughing to this realization made it all the more peculiar to him.


    ''Yeah¡­ this didn''t happen back then.'' After rummaging through all of his memories, he eventually found a couple that seemed to start off in the same way, wherein he or another yer hadpleted a quest that had a level increase reward, even though they were already at the level limit for their rank.


    However, rather than the system forcing them to undergo their ascension to the next rank, what happened instead was that the level increase reward did not apply. Instead, the reward adjusted itself and adopted part of the nature of the XP system, transforming into something that would onlye to effect once the yer had ascended to the next rank.


    With that in mind, Valyr went through multiple possibilities in his head as to why the current phenomenon he was experiencing was nowhere to be found in his memory whatsoever. Naturally, the logical conclusion that he arrived at was that the forced ascension feature was considered a bug during the beta, prompting it to be removed before the first version of Greater Beyond was even released.


    Though, just as he contemted a bit more as to the reason why it could be considered a bug, he felt a foreboding feeling wash over his body as the ever familiar chime of the system resounded in his head.


    Ding!


    [Due to the user not taking the initiative, instead ignoring their current situation, the system has taken it upon itself to begin the ascension process.]


    [Please select the species and the ss you would like to ascend with.]


    [Note: Further ignorance of the ascension process shall result in dire consequences. It is highly rmended for the user to interact with the ascension process as fast as possible.]


    "Mngh¡­" Just as he had finished reading through the notifications he had received, two small screens listing down the species and sses he could transition into had appeared before him, only for a slight wave of pain to wash over his body not long after.


    Gritting his teeth in response as he endured the pain, Valyr took in a deep breath as one of the guards repeated their question to him once more, asking him as to what he was doing loitering around the Zeihardt n estate. At first, he nned to reply to the guard''s question in order for them to not think of him as some person with malicious intent towards the Zeihardt n.


    Unfortunately, just as he was about to open his mouth to respond, yet another wave of pain far more intense than earlier coursed throughout his body, causing him to instead let out a shriek. Naturally, the guards had now be wary of Valyr, thinking that the man before them might do something rash towards them and the n they were protecting. Fortunately for them, just as they had gripped tightly onto their respective weapons¡­


    Whoosh!


    Valyr decided to dash away in the opposite direction of the estate while continuing to endure the pain as best as he could. Seeing that, the guards only remained vignt for a few more seconds before returning to their earlier states, making sure to note down the suspicious entity that decided to loiter near the Zeihardt n estate out of nowhere.


    On the other hand, that same suspicious entity now headed towards the inn at the highest speed he could muster, utilizing the entirety of his stats to their limits as his body went into autopilot. With the pain he felt gradually getting worse the longer he ignored it, most of the thoughts in his mind eventually turned into one unified thought.


    ''Get back to the inn¡­ and ascend!''


    Though Valyr had the choice to ascend in front of the guards to alleviate his forced ascension problem, there were many reasons why he opted not to. Among those reasons, the most important one was the fact that if someone were to recognize him even in his disguise and had a highly leveled [Analysis] skill, then he was basically serving himself to the Zeihardt n on a silver tter, giving them the information they needed to render his strengths ineffective before he could act.


    With that, he continued to grit through the pain he felt, eventually arriving at the inn with blood gradually trickling out of his eyes. Ignoring the various gazes he obtained from the people that he passed by, with most of them filled with horror, Valyr eventually arrived at the room he and Wells were staying in, quickly noticing that Wells was waiting near the room''s door all this time.


    "You''re finally back." At the very instant Valyr entered the room, Wells inwardly let out a long sigh of relief. Though, just as he was about to ask what his friend had been up to throughout the day, he took note of the pained expression on his face, as well as the blood that continued to trickle out from his eyes, only to notice that blood also started to trickle out of the man''s nose as well.


    With Valyr briefly gazing at him, getting the feeling that he was telling him through the gaze that he would exin everythingte, Wells could only nod in response as Valyr made his way to his part of the room, sitting down on the ground before making his choice on what kind of species he would like to ascend to.


    "Agh! Fuck!"

 Chapter 309 Entering The Next Rank

    Deciding to wait by themon area of the room for a bit more after Valyr made his way to his part of the room, Wells heard Valyr scream out a few times in great agony, causing an expression of concern to appear on the former''s face as he wondered what his friend was going through. After all, he had never expected his friend to show up in that state all of a sudden.


    Though, just as he eventually made a decision to find out what was going on with Valyr as he still heard his friend cry out in pain every once in a while, his mind briefly halted at the very moment he heard a faint thud resound from Valyr''s part of the room, causing Wells to head to where Valyr was with no hesitation.


    Once he was there, he stood frozen in ce, left at a loss for words at the sight that was in front of him.


    On the floor was Valyr lying down on his back with his face mostly covered in the dried-up blood that trickled down his face earlier. Continuing to look at his friend, Wells noticed that Valyr''s eyes were now closed, making him feel slightly worried that his friend had entered some sort of critical condition out of nowhere.


    Fortunately, that was not the case, with Wells letting out a long sigh of relief after examining his friend for quite some time. Still feeling a bit of worry towards his friend since he did not know what Valyr did after the meeting at the Imperial Production Guild, Wells decided to help his friend out in the meantime, wondering when his friend would wake up from his slumber.


    ¡­


    "Mnnn¡­" After what seemed to be a long time for Valyr, he eventually opened his eyes as he sat upright, gazing at nothing for a short while to allow his consciousness to be alert. Surprisingly, it took far less time for his consciousness to return to its usual state as memories of what had transpired before he had gone unconscious shed through his mind, causing him to look at his current surroundings with a hint of fear.


    However, after realizing that he was in his part of the room both he and Wells were staying in at the Hama Inn, this fear eventually subsided, being reced instead with the feeling of confusion as he recalled that he had passed out on the floor of his part of the room, not on his bed.


    "Took you long enough to wake up." Of course, it did not take long for him to find out the cause for his current situation, a bitter smile adorning his face as he looked at the man that had just entered his part of the room. "You do know you''ve made me stay up a bitter than usual since I had to clean off the blood from your face, right?"


    "You did?" Hearing the words that came out of Wells'' mouth, Valyr headed towards a nearby mirror as he lightly caressed his face, quickly noticing that his skin felt a bit softerpared to back then. Aside from that, he noticed that his body felt a tad stronger than before, making him remember that he had gone through the ascension process beyond his own volition before falling unconscious.


    Deciding to put the matter of ascending to the next rank at the back of his head, he returned his attention back to his face, taking note that none of the blood that trickled down his face could be seen anymore, causing him to feel a hint of guilt at the fact that he had forced Wells to see him in a horrible state, as well as take care of him while he was still unconscious.


    Though, just as he was about to apologize to him after what he had him go through, Wells seemingly already had an idea of what was going on in Valyr''s mind. "I don''t need any apology from you. After all, I''m sure you''d probably do the same thing if you were in my shoes."


    As Valyr nodded with a faint smile in response to his words, Wells continued. "Instead, what I want to hear from you is how you ended up in that statest night."


    "I''ve been out for half a day, huh." Muttering out these words as he let out a light sigh, Valyr took in a deep breath as he organized all of the thoughts in his mind before narrating to Wells what he had been up to after the two of them parted ways yesterday.


    With that, Valyr started off his narration at the moment he had left the Imperial Production Guild after the meeting, informing him that he had gone to the Spearman Guild to obtain his subss. Unsurprisingly, the question of Wells'' subss amidst this narration, with Valyr curious as to what kind of subss Wells was nning to obtain. In response, Wells told him that it would be a subss that suited him very well and synergized with his current ss, Spear Schr, to a considerable extent.


    After nodding in response to Wells'' answer, Valyr continued where he left off, telling Wells that he had gone on a detour toplete a quest that could bepleted along the way. Omitting the fact that it was a World Quest, he eventually told him that one of the rewards for the quest was a level increase reward, which made him go over the level limit for a Rank 1 ss holder.


    "With that, I had to go through something called a forced ascension," said Valyr to Wells. "At first, I ignored it since I still had toplete a few more parts of my quest, but then pain started to kick in after some time."


    "What you sawst night was the result of me trying to endure that pain for as long as possible." He let out a faint sigh soon after. "Of course, I don''t need to tell you why I decided to ascend here in the inn instead of where I was during the quest."


    "Definitely gives away a lot of information." Wells nodded in agreement before letting out a long sigh. "Well, I''ll leave you alone for the meantime. Just let me know if you''re heading somewhere or if you want me toe with you."


    "Will definitely do." Thanking Wells once more for taking care of him while he was unconscious as the man headed to his own part of the room, Valyr was eventually left to his own devices, finally allowing him to take a look at the massive amount of notifications he had gained while he was unconscious.


    ''Time to take a look.''


    Ding!


    [You have ascended to Rank 2.]

 Chapter 310 A Massive Jump

    Ding!


    [You have ascended to Rank 2.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your VIT to HP coefficient has changed from 1:12 to 1:18.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your INT to MP coefficient has changed from 1:12 to 1:18.]


    "With that much of an improvement in the ratio, I think I already match the amount of HP I had back in the duel against Leron." As he muttered to himself while going through the notifications he had received after going through the ascension process, Valyr''s expression was mostly neutral. After all, most of the notifications at the beginning were the ones he had already expected to see, such as the improvement in his HP and MP ratio.


    Though, as he continued going through the list, a faint hint of excitement appeared on his face, bing more and more intense as the notificationsid out the improvement in his stats after the ascension.


    [Your species ''Human (1st Unsealing)'' has been changed to ''Human (2nd Unsealing)''. As you have transitioned to a higher-level species, you have gained +7 VIT, +7 STR, +5 AGI, +13 DEX, +13 INT, +5 WIS, +7 PER, and +2 LUK.]


    [Your ss ''True Prodigious cksmith (Mythic)'' has been improved to adapt to Rank 2 standards.]


    [You have gained +4 VIT, +4 STR, +4 AGI, +7 DEX, +7 INT, +2 WIS, +3 PER, and +1 LUK.]


    [You have gained 4 unassigned stat points.]


    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® "What an increase." Reading through the notification that broke down the amount of stats he had gained from transitioning to a higher-level species, Valyr briefly whistled out in amazement. As he had already chosen Human (1st Unsealing) during his ascension process to Rank 1, then it only made sense for him to continue with its progression as the choice was avable to him.


    However, unlike his choices during the ascension process to Rank 1, there were far more species avable for him to transition into as a Rank 2 ss holder, with a few of them even deviating from being human and leaning into something that only appeared human-like. Nevertheless, since reaching the peak of the Human species was a tried and tested path by many yers in his past life, as well as the fact that the other choices were considerably worse than removing the 2nd seal within him, his eventual decision was natural.


    ''Then again, there was that one variant Human species among the choices that seemed to be better than undergoing through the 2nd unsealing,'' Valyr thought to himself, recalling the list of species he could choose during the ascension process. ''But for some reason, why do I feel like choosing that species would put me in greater danger?''


    As the question came to mind, Valyr pondered over it for a bit in silence, remembering the differences between the variant Human species he had seen and the benefits of undergoing through the 2nd unsealing. By the end of his contemtion over the matter, he concluded that choosing the variant species would give him quite a substantial benefit to his strength.


    Though, from the feeling of danger he felt back when he was about to select it, he was inclined to think that there had to be some sort of trade-off in obtaining the strength. With that, he ended up going with his first choice in the end, though he had a feeling that the choice would appear once more after he went through his ascension to Rank 3.


    Once he was done mulling over his choice of species to ascend into, he then looked at the improvement his ss had undergone through the ascension, being impressed while at the same time somewhat scared of the increase an ascension brought. "Mythic sses are definitely scary."


    "I can''t even begin to imagine how much stats someone with an Ancient ss would obtain." As the words came out of his mouth, Valyr''s body slightly shuddered from what he had imagined. Deciding that there was no point in thinking over multiple what-ifs, he then moved his attention to the notifications regarding the subss he had recently obtained.


    [Your subss ''Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer (Umon)'' has been improved to adapt to Rank 2 standards.]


    [You have gained +2 VIT, +1 STR, +3 AGI, +4 DEX.]


    "Definitely a substantial improvement." Valyr nodded after taking a look at the notifications, satisfied with the increase in stats the subss gave him per level. With that, he wondered how much stats the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss would give him, already getting the feeling that his DEX stat would reach an incredibly high number once he had reached the peak of Rank 2.


    And that was with his current subss.


    ''I wonder if bing a Shadow Serpentine Lancer would increase my PER stat every level,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''I feel like there''s a chance that it would be the case. After all, from the feeling I''m getting from the subss so far, I feel like it''s going to push me into abat style that takes greater advantage of the enemies'' weak points.''


    ''And PER is going to help with that.'' With the thought in mind, he took a look at the remaining notifications he had to read through, slightly left at a loss for words once he noticed that he had only reached the halfway point of the list.


    Seeing that the remaining notifications tackled the skills he had gained from the ascension, as well as other misceneous notifications, Valyr decided to take a look at how much his stats had improved. Though he had taken a brief look at his stats after obtaining his current subss, he still felt like the difference between his stats right now and his stats from the life and death duel wasn''t that much.


    Sure, he had gained a subss and all that, but during the life and death duel, he was wearing a set of armor that greatly boosted his stats to more or less the same amount as the subss. With that, he thought to himself that the increase wouldn''t be that much,manding the system to bring up his status screen in front of him.


    However, once he had taken a look at the screen in front of him that listed down all of his stats, it was then did he realize that he was very, very wrong.


    "Holy fuck."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 2 ¡ª Mythic)


    Subss: Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer (Umon)


    Species: Human (2nd Unsealing)


    Level: 26


    Power Level: 2,771 (B+)


    Unused XP: 9,376,020


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 2,568/2,568


    MP: 3,905/3,905


    Attack: 1,007 - 1,051


    Defense: 399 - 399


    Stats: 123 VIT, 135 STR, 135 AGI, 279 DEX, 187 INT, 79 WIS, 109 PER, 45 LUK (4 unassigned points)


    Remarks: There are no other words one could use to describe you at the moment other than the word ''monster''. Did you take illegal elixirs or something?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Sucking in a great amount of cold air through his teeth, Valyr stared at the screen in front of him with his mouth wide agape, with many parts of his current status screen leaving him at a great loss for words.


    "I could totally pass off as a dungeon boss of some sort with my current HP and MP." As Valyr muttered these words to himself in shock, he recalled the amount of HP and MP he had back then during the life and death duel.


    At the very instant he had recalled how much he had back then, he instantly took note that his current HP was substantially greater than the amount of HP he had during the duel, which was something he had expected due to the improvement in the ratio.


    However, what truly left him at a loss for words was the amount of MP he currently had, being roughly double the amount he had ess to while he was engaging against Leron during the duel. Fortunately, he eventually came to ept the absurd improvement as he pondered through it,ing to the conclusion that it was just the improvement in the ratio and the distribution of the stats he gained from his ss working to make it happen.


    "Four digit attack¡­" After getting over how much HP and MP he had, he then focused his attention towards his Attack stat, not understanding how his Attack stat had improved so much from just one ascension. Sure, the previous number was an absurdly high number for someone at Rank 1 to achieve, being something a lot ofmon Rank 2 sses and even Rank 3 sses had difficulty obtaining, but he still understood how it had gotten to that point.


    Thankfully, after looking the part of the notification list he had yet to read for a bit, he found his answer.


    Ding!


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your Attack stat coefficient has changed from 1:2 to 1:3.]


    "I see." After reading the notification, everything in Valyr''s mind swiftly fell into ce, finally allowing him to realize how he now had an absurdly high Attack stat. Of course, that did not excuse the fact that his Attack stat rivaled those withmon sses at the higher ranks, making him once more realize how utterly broken a Mythic ss was.


    Eventually, his eyes gravitated towards the amount of unused XP he still had, causing his body to shudder once more as he thought about the improvement his stats would undergo if he used all of his XP towards increasing his level. Though he knew that he was now a force to be reckoned with in many ways, he eventually decided to invest all of his XP into his skills first and max them out before proceeding to use his XP on his level.


    "Speaking of which, I should take a look at the skills I gained." With that, Valyr went ahead and looked through his remaining notifications.

 Chapter 311 An Arm And An Eye

    "Hmm. I guess my hunch back then was correct." Taking a look at the skills he had gained after his ss had ascended to Rank 2, Valyr nodded in slight satisfaction, recalling the thought he had in the past when he had just met Arcenne for the first time. From what he could remember, Arcenne was deftly wielding her spear through the pure maniption of her mana, prompting him to think that her level of control was quite fine even though she didn''t have a skill like [Mana Arm].


    Which eventually led to him thinking about the possibility of gaining a simr skill once he had ascended to Rank 2.


    "I wonder what differences exist between the normal version and the current version." With this thought in mind, Valyrmanded the system to show him the description of the first skill he had gained, causing a small screen to appear in front of his field of vision not long after.


    "[True Prodigious Mana Arm], huh."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious Mana Arm] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    Almost all cksmiths rely on their two arms to forge their works, with some transforming into items that would be remembered by the masses for the ages toe. However, there are those that feel constrained by being limited to only using their two arms to forge their craft, causing them to find various ways in order to alleviate this problem.


    Most of those with this problem took on drastic measures to gain their solution, transforming into a species that deviated from their original path, all for the sake of gaining more arms to work with. Fortunately, one man had gained inspiration from the plight of the previous generation and found a way to form more appendages that would aid one in the crafting process without having to sacrifice one''s original path.


    Through the usage of mana.


    Due to the user being a true prodigy, this skill allows the user to form two additional arms made out of mana that extend out of their body. The level of fine control one could obtain from their mana arm is reliant on the user''s DEX and PER stat, while the cost to maintain the arm is reliant on the user''s DEX and INT stat. Utilizing the skill during the crafting process increases the chances of the resulting forged item to be one minor grade higher than originally intended.


    Note that this skill could also be used outside a forging setting, though the sess one might find using the skill in these other fields may vary.


    Number of mana arms: 2


    Cost: 25 MP (initialization), 3 MP per second (maintenance)


    Cooldown: 2 minutes


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I see." Once Valyr was done reading through the skill''s description, he faintly nodded as he took note of the substantial changes the current version had over the normal version, with the most important one being the number of mana arms he could create, as well as the scaling his stats gave towards the level of fine control he had with the skill.


    Deciding to check out the skill for himself, he went ahead and activated [True Prodigious Mana Arm], causing a slightly translucent arm each to appear slightly above his actual arms, their bases being located near the top of his shoulder des. Bing slightly mesmerized by the azure color the mana arms emanated, Valyr then willed for the mana arms to move, quickly finding the task surprisingly easy to do.


    With how the mana arms were positioned, their range of motion was slightly limited, though he eventually came to the conclusion that the range of the two additional arms would be more than enough for him to work with in a forging setting. Eager to try them out in forging as soon as he could, Valyr stopped himself as he recalled that the normal version of the skill had the ability for the arms to form at a distance from the user''s body, giving these arms a wider range of motion.


    Though the ability only came about once the skill was upgraded to a higher rarity, Valyr was inclined to think that there was a possibility for it to be a hidden part of the current skill, considering that it was a variant based on his ss. With that, Valyr willed for the arms to detach themselves from his back, only for the two to dissipate at the very moment he had done so.


    "Welp. I tried." Bitterly smiling at the oue of the experiment, Valyr shifted his attention to the only other skill he had gained from the ascension, bringing up its description in front of him sometimeter.


    "It would''ve been nice if I gained a skill from the subss," he muttered to himself as he read through the contents on the screen before him. Surprisingly, by the time he was finished reading through it, his eyes glimmered with excitement, bing eager to test the second skill out in a forging setting as well.


    "I wonder if this effect stacks with Jekyll''s skill."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] (Level MAX)


    Rarity: Mythic


    A normal prodigy takes the norm and ascends it to a level few can reach. On the other hand, a true prodigy takes the norm and transforms it into something greater, bing something even prodigies yearn to achieve.


    Bing the trailzers of their own path, true prodigies gain insight on various aspects of forging that would normally be ignored by most cksmiths. This insight might appear within their control over heat, their method of hammering metal, or perhaps their method of tempering their forged items to be more durable. However, amongst all true prodigies in the field of cksmithing, there is one aspect of forging that all of them have an insight towards.


    The harmony of materials.


    This skill allows the user to gain the ability to see the areas where the materials used in the forging process are not unified, giving them the ability to resolve the problem and enhance the quality of their craft to a higher level as long as they have the ability to. If the user is sessful in harmonizing all of the materials into one unified entity, the resulting item shall be one minor grade higher than the originally intended rarity.


    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "It seems I have a lot of experimenting to do once I find a ce to start forging again." Closing up the screen before him, a slight grin crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he took a look at the remaining notifications he had left, which amounted to two. With that, he read through the first notification, only for a thought to pop up in his mind not long after.


    ''Hmm. I guess I need to start looking for Skill Keys then.''

 Chapter 312 Something Overlooked

    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the ability to upgrade your skills to the Umon rarity.]


    Staring at the notification that had taken up a great portion of his focus, a slight frown formed on Valyr''s face as he began to rummage through his memories in search of ces where he could obtain Skill Keys. ''There''s quite a lot of ces I could go to if the only thing I have to find is Common grade Skill Keys.''


    ''The only problem is that I also need to get Umon grade ones.'' As the frown on his face gradually deepened while he continued to look through his memories, the expression on his face eventually eased up once he had listed down the closest ces to him at the moment where he could get both Common grade and Umon grade Skill Keys.


    "Huh. To think I''de up with three spots to get them." Going through the locations that fit the criteria in his mind, a soft chuckle escaped his mouth as he scrutinized them even further, taking into consideration the difficulty of obtaining the Skill Keys in that location, as well as its proximity to where he currently was at the moment.


    "If that''s the case¡­ then heading to Virifarr Desert is a no go." Within seconds, Valyr had crossed out two of the three locations he hade up with, causing a bitter smile to rece the frown that adorned his face earlier. "Though the dungeon that contains the keys I want are considerably easier there, the journey there would take long."


    "Plus, it''s at the center of the desert, which is basically in the middle of nowhere."


    "On the other hand, there''s the Algerie Catbs, which could be found at the outskirts of the city." As these words came out of his mouth, Valyr let out a faint sigh before shaking his head. "It would have been worth going there if I were on the lookout for Epic grade Skill Keys, but the difficulty to effort ratio in getting Common and Umon grade Skill Keys is too much."


    "Which only leaves me with only one ce to head to."


    "The Lesser Meltierre Mountains." Though the ce was still considerably far away from Algerie Kingdom, taking about half a week to get there on carriage, it was still within the lines of what Valyr could find tolerable, considering that heading from Clossbay City to where he was right now took more or less the same amount of time.


    Of course,pared to Virifarr Desert, heading to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains instantly felt like the better choice among the two, considering that the former would take him almost two weeks to get there by even the fastest carriage he could get with his current wealth.


    Aside from that, Valyr recalled that the Lesser Meltierre Mountains was considered an important location by the Meltierre Empire, prompting them to put up the necessary infrastructure that would streamline the process of entering and exiting the dungeons that contained the Skill Keys, even establishing a core city surrounding it.


    After thinking about the ce for a bit more, he eventually recalled that the empire was able to segregate the dungeon into various portions depending on the rarity of Skill Keys they dropped, which would speed up his process of getting the Skill Keys he wanted.


    Making up his mind to head to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains sometime in the future, he then focused his attention onto thest notification on the list, which prompted him to take in a deep breath before letting out a long, low sigh.


    Ding!


    [You have received the continuation of the world quest: The Future of Humanity.]


    ''The first part of the world quest only needed to me to head to the Zeihardt n''s estate,'' thought Valyr to himself as he pondered over the possible objectives for the second quest. ''So, it would be safe to assume that the next quest would continue from there.''


    ''I really hope I don''t have to sneak into the estate or something.'' Letting out a faint sigh at the thought that popped up in his mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the World Quest, only to be pleasantly surprised by the objective that was given to him.


    Ding!<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Future of Humanity (2)] (World Quest) (Linked Quest)


    Difficulty: S


    The Zeihardt Royal n¡­ description has been omitted.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Obtain information regarding the existing hierarchy within the Zeihardt n (0/1)


    > Find out the leader of the supportive faction of the Zeihardt n and their whereabouts (0/1)


    > Find out the leader of the rebel faction of the Zeihardt n and their whereabouts (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Dependent on the speed at which the information is obtained, as well as how detailed the information is


    Quest Penalty: End of the linked quest, future repercussions


    [Note: There are ces you could head to that may give you the information you seek as long as you pay the corresponding price. Of course, the choice to scout the location itself is also open.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Information gathering, huh.'' Once he was done reading through the objectives that he had to fulfill toplete the quest, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief, thanking the heavens that he only had to gather information for now toplete it. Though he knew that having to head into the estate at some point was something that couldn''t be avoided, he hoped that such a quest would only appear once he was certain that he was strong enough to fend off against anything and everything that could fight against him.


    ''Of course, I could just forget about this quest for now and get stronger, but that would be a waste of rewards.''


    ''In any case, I never expected the quest to give me a tip onpleting the quest objectives.'' Finding the note at the very bottom of the quest description both intriguing yet peculiar at the same time, Valyr eventually closed up the screen in front of him before letting out a faint sigh, satisfied with the improvement he had gained after ascending to Rank 2.


    "I guess it''s time to make use of that massive amount of unused XP I still have and max all of my skills out before heading to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains." Pondering over what he should do next, Valyr decided to use up his XP in preparation for the mass grind he would do for Skill Keys in the near future. Though, just as he had brought up his skill list to find out that he still had a lot of skills yet to be upgraded to their max level, a thought surfaced in his mind, causing him to exim not long after.


    "Oh, right! The monster tide!"

 Chapter 313 Before The Tide

    Astarto Vige.


    Under the rays of the seemingly bleak-looking sun affixed at the peak of the clear blue sky, two men in theter stages of their twenties stood a few hundred meters away from the walls of the vige, gazing out into the horizon as they felt a vast yet ominous aura radiating from afar.


    "You think we''re ready for the uing monster tide?" Tristan briefly squinted his eyes before letting out a sigh, turning his head to look at the man beside him before asking a question. "With how things are developing within the vige, there''s a chance that we''ll be defending against a tide that''s far worse than the previous one."


    "Which is to be expected." Hearing Tristan''s words, Damian briefly let out a sigh before shrugging his shoulders in response. "With Valyr removing the final obstacle that was hampering the vige from expanding, the vige has spared no effort to expand itself as quickly and as smoothly as possible."


    "It''s just a shame that even expanding viges are considered towns in the eyes of the monster tide." As these words came out of Damian''s mouth, a bitter smile adorned his face.


    "But we''d still be able to defend the ce without a problem, no?" Tristan asked back, the expression on his face calm. "After all, ever since Valyr had given us knowledge regarding the Basic Reinforcement Elixir, the vige''s guards have grown stronger by leaps and bounds."


    "And the same applies for us." Saying these words, Tristan recalled how much the knowledge regarding Basic Reinforcement Elixir affected the vige after Valyr left to head to greener pastures.


    For one, a greater portion of the vige had made the decision to be part of the vige''s guard regiment, which fortunately worked in Damian''s favor since most of them were truly willing to defend the vige at all costs. In fact, these people told him that the only reason they didn''t enlist as a guard earlier was because they feared they didn''t have enough strength to do so.


    However, with the existence of the Basic Reinforcement Elixir, which allowed one to have stats rivaling that of someone at Rank 1 while still being at Rank 0, such worries swiftly disappeared.


    Of course, as someone who has interacted and met up with many people, Damian did not buy into their ims that easily, finding most of them skeptical since he had a feeling they were just in it for the Basic Reinforcement Elixir. Nevertheless, it still increased the number of guards within the regiment that were willing to fight for the vige, even though the method to obtain Basic Reinforcement Elixir was still as difficult as it was ever since Valyr first introduced it to the two.


    With how much time has passed since then, almost half of the guards within the regiment had been sessful in getting their hands on a small amount of Basic Reinforcement Elixir through the system Damian put up in ce, increasing their stats by one to two points at most.


    On the other hand, around a third of the half had been sessful in reaching the halfway mark, increasing their stats by five points, while only a couple dozen people within the regiment had been able to consume all the vials of Basic Reinforcement Elixir needed to unlock the corresponding skill.


    Among those who were able to max out their consumption of Basic Reinforcement Elixir, a specific person eventually appeared in Tristan''s mind, causing him to look at Damian before asking, "Myst said she was going to participate in the uing monster tide, right?"


    "Yeah, she did." Damian nodded at Tristan before returning his gaze back at the wide horizon before them. "She said she''ll arrive at the vige before the tide starts."


    "Really?" Tristan raised his eyebrow in interest before nodding back. "I thought those Experience Pit things would need you to take more time to really rake in a lot of XP."<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>


    "For someone like us, that might be the case." Saying these words, a wry smile appeared on Damian''s face. "But remember what kind of subss she has."


    "How could I forget?" In response, Tristan let out a wry chuckle.


    Myst Verielle, the one Alfaera had chosen after Valyr passed on the responsibility of finding its inheritor ever since he was given its scroll by Riekan.


    At the very moment she had epted the Perennial demaster subss, her level of strength, which allowed her to be one of the guard captains of the regiment, swiftly increased to the point that even Damian was impressed with how much her strength had improved. In their eyes, Myst had be a scarier person to fight against, with all of her attacks flowing into one another like a tsunami that didn''t dissipate.


    Even Damian, who had already progressed a bit into the levels of Rank 2, was defeated by Myst a couple times, solely by thetter relying on the new nature of her attacks, as well as the fighting style that had only been improved further by epting the subss.


    A style focused on pure speed.


    With her relentless effort into improving her strength, she eventually took on the mantle of what Valyr was when he was still a part of the vige, bing the person everyone aspired to be when they grew up, inspiring the multiple generations of the vige into sparing a bit more time into honing their strength. In essence, she had truly taken on the name as Astarto''s Guardian.


    Even though she told Damian and Tristan that there was still a long way to go before she could truly be called Astarto''s Guardian, telling them that she had only made a bit of headway towards upgrading the subss to Epic grade, the two of them that it was only a matter of time before they would be greeted by a future even they weren''t expecting.


    "Well, I think it''s time to head back and tell Alfaera a bit more about the situation." Feeling as if they had gotten a rough idea of what kind of monster tide they were up against, Tristan suggested to Damian that they head back to the vige, to which thetter nodded in response.


    "From the looks of it, we''ll be up against a medium-scale monster tide at the very least," said Damian as they made their way back. "But with how much the regiment has improved since then, we''ll probably be able to weather the tide without much problem."


    "Speaking of which, didn''t Valyr promise us before he left that he''d return to the vige before the monster tide erupts?" Tristan asked Damian not long after before letting out a faint chuckle. "You think he''s already forgotten it?"


    Ding!


    As if the heavens had responded to the question, a notification sound resounded within Tristan''s mind, prompting to stop in his tracks as he took a look at the message he had received. With his eyes gradually widening in surprise, it did not take long for Damian to put two and two together, letting out a bit ofughter soon after.


    "I guess you got yourself your answer."

 Chapter 314 Gearing Up

    "¡­So? What did he send?" By the time the two of them had returned to the vige proper, the screen in front of Tristan''s field of vision disappeared, prompting Damian to go ahead and ask his friend about the conversation he and Valyr had.


    "He didn''t forget." In response to the question, Tristan looked back at Damian before beaming a smile at the man, causing the gears in thetter''s mind to turn for a bit before beaming a smile as well. "He asked me when the monster tide would appear, so I told him that it would appear a few days from now."


    "I''m surprised he hasn''t forgotten about it," said Damian in response as the two of them made their way to the vige inn to get some brunch. "But don''t you think it would be inconvenient for him? After all, he might be at some ce that''s far away from the vige."


    "That may be true..." As these words came out of his mouth, Tristan nodded in agreement. Though, as time passed, a grin gradually crept up onto his lips. "But aren''t you curious how strong Valyr has gotten since thest time we''ve seen him?"


    "¡­" In response, Damian remained silent as the two continued to walk to the inn, with Tristan grinning all the while. Eventually, just as they were about to enter the inn, Damian looked at the man beside him before briefly scratching his head in slight frustration.


    "Why the hell did you have to make me think about it? Now I can''t help but be curious." Hearing Damianin under his breath, Tristan let out a soft chuckle as the two of them ced their orders.


    "Of course, all this curiosity would be useless if he didn''te." Taking in a few deep breaths after they sat down, Damian was able to return his emotions to the way it was before. "Did he tell you that he''d return to the vige before the tide erupts?"


    "Pretty sure you already know the answer to that since you saw me chat with him for a bit." In response, a rxed smile adorned Tristan''s face as he opened his mouth.


    "Naturally, the answer is yes."


    ¡­


    Algerie Kingdom.


    "Thank goodness they haven''t started yet." Closing up the screen in front of him, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh of relief after getting a message from Tristan that the monster tide still hadn''t erupted yet. With that, it did not take long for him to sort out his thoughts and affirm to himself that he was going to head to the vige to keep his promise.


    Though, as he thought about the amount of time it would take for him to reach Astarto Vige, Valyr eventually frowned. "I took around half a week to go from the vige to Clossbay City on carriage. Then, it took around the same time for Wells and I to reach Algerie Kingdom from Clossbay City."


    "In short, if I head out right now and go on carriage, I would only be able to arrive at the vige around a week for now." Slightly scratching his head as he mulled over the situation, Valyr thought out loud. "Even if I remove a day from the travel time if I don''t stop by Clossbay City along the way, the monster tide would long be over by the time I get there."<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>


    "I think I''ll have to ask Braum and the others about this." Making up his mind on what he was going to do, Valyr stood up from the floor before proceeding to do a bit of light stretching, alleviating the slight pain he felt after sitting cross-legged for too long. After that, he made his way to the bathrooms, checking in on Wells along the way, only to see that the man had activated [Technique Introspection] once more.


    Once he was finished showering and changed into a fresh set of clothes, he stopped by where Wells was sitting cross-legged before posing a question to the man, knowing that he could hear him. "I''m heading back to Astarto sometime around tomorrow to help them defend against the monster tide. Wanna tag along with me?"


    In response to the question, Wells gradually opened his eyes before contemting over the suggestion in silence for a bit. Eventually, a slightly apologetic smile appeared on his face. "Is it fine with you if I don''te along? I''m actually close to evolving my main spear skill to the next grade."


    "No worries." Valyr nodded in response, not minding Wells'' refusal at all. "I just thought it would be rude of me to not offer you the chance of heading back to the vige in the first ce. In any case, tell me more about your upgraded skill once I get back, okay?"


    "I appreciate the gesture, and I will." Nodding back, Wells took in a few deep breaths before returning to his introspective state, the apologetic smile on his face eventually disappearing around a minute into closing his eyes.


    "Guess I''ll be doing this all on my own." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr turned around and made his way to the door, activating the chat function to send a message to Braum that he was going to meet up with him at the Imperial Production Guild''s entrance. Obtaining a response from thetter that he''ll be waiting for him, Valyr went ahead and activated [Enhanced Polymorph] before proceeding to head to where he and Braum would meet up.


    ¡­


    "Hey, Braum. It''s me." Waving at the man dressed in dull gray armor waiting by the entrance of the Imperial Production Guild, Valyr moved closer to the man before briefly deactivating [Enhanced Polymorph], allowing the man in front of him to recognize who he was.


    "You''ve grown stronger." Nodding back in response, Braum was about to greet Valyr, only for him to notice that the aura Valyr was exuding had be significantly stronger. With that, the man pondered over multiple possibilities as to how Valyr''s aura could improve in just a day, eventuallying up with the possibility that seemed to be the most likely case. "Ascended?"


    "Also finally got a subss." In response, Valyr nodded, to which Braum congratted him on achieving both. "Anyways, I''ve got a couple of things to talk to you with. But before I go over those¡­"


    "Were you able to procure the items I asked for yesterday?" As this question escaped Valyr''s mouth, Braum went silent for a bit. Eventually, the man nodded before giving Valyr a confident smile.


    "Fortunately, I was able to do so."


    "Follow me."

 Chapter 315 Plans Of Upgrading

    "Alright. Here we are." After walking through the corridors of the Imperial Production Guild for a while, Braum and Valyr eventually arrived within a secluded room at the far corners of the guild, prompting thetter to stand where he stood for a bit as he took in the sight that was in front of him, his eyes slightly widened in surprise.


    "A private workshop?" Muttering these words to himself as he looked at Braum beside him, Valyr took a few steps forward before taking in the sight once more, a solemn expression adorning his face. Though a thinyer of dust shrouded more or less everything that could be found within the room, Valyr found it nothing more than something a little bit of elbow grease couldn''t remove.


    Nevertheless, the amount of forging tools and forging equipment that could be found within the room was enough to leave Valyr at a loss for words, with some of them even being able to mimic a decent chunk of what more advanced forging technology was capable of doing. Of course, as Veldanyr''s level of technology was still considered to be somewhere around the medieval ages, then it did not surprise him to find out that all of these more advanced forging equipment operated on mana rather than pure machinery.


    "Fancying the ce?" Noticing the eagerness within each movement Valyr made as he looked around the private workshop, a faint smile briefly appeared on Braum''s face as he posed the question to the man. In response, Valyr looked back in silence for a few seconds before nodding without hesitation, continuing to look at the more advanced equipment that was in the room after that.


    Eventually, thetter shifted his attention from the advanced forging machinery towards the cloth bag that was ced on top of an anvil, the only anvil that could be found at the center of the private workshop. Noticing that there was next to no dust buildup on its surface, Valyr looked back at Braum and stared at him for a bit, asking through his gaze if the items he had asked the man to get was within the bag.


    In response, the man in dull gray armor nodded, prompting Valyr to nod back as he unfurled the knot keeping the bag shut, revealing all of the items he had asked for within an instant.


    "Young Wyvern Blood, Half Wyvern Scales, Azure Iron Essence¡­" Taking a look through the items within the bag, Valyr''s body gradually filled up with excitement as his breathing turned slightly ragged. "You even got your hands on some Young Wyvern Scales¡­"


    "Just so you know, I had to exhaust a lot of my contribution points to get those scales." Hearing the words that came out of Braum''s mouth, a bitter smile appeared on the man''s face. Nevertheless, seeing the young man''s reaction towards the items he had procured, he felt that spending quite a great amount of contribution points on those items were more than worth it.


    "The Imperial Production Guild even has Impure Mithril Fragments in stock?" Continuing to sift through the items Braum had procured, Valyr eventually brought out a shard that did not look like much, its color simrly dull whenpared to other types of metals. However, once he had infused a bit of mana into the shard, blue veins started to spread throughout the shard as it soon gave out a faint blue glow, showing how conductive it was when it came to mana.


    "At first, the guild was unwilling to give them to me since such items were rare toe by from what they told me," said Braum in response to Valyr''s words. "However, once they found out that it was you who was asking for them, all of the obstacles stopping me from buying those things instantly disappeared."


    "In fact, the guild even wanted me to tell you that you''re free to use this private workshop for as long as you want while you''re within the kingdom." Recalling that he had asked Valyr a couple of minutes earlier regarding his opinion of the private workshop, Braum decided to bring up what he was going to say earlier, lest he forgot to tell the young man one more time.


    Unsurprisingly, once he heard from Braum that he was free to use the private workshop he was currently in, it was as if all of the circuits within Valyr''s mind stopped functioning properly, causing him to freeze up for a bit as he processed the information he had just gained. Eventually, Valyr returned to normal, taking in a few deep breaths as he looked back at Braum before asking the man, "Really?"


    "Really." Braum solemnly nodded.


    "Haah¡­" Seeing Braum nod back at his question, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a long sigh, part of it filled with the feeling of exasperation, while most of it was filled with the feeling of excitement. After all, although he knew how to forge equipment with basic forging tools thanks to his past life, the amount of time he spent tinkering with such stuff onlysted for a short time.


    But with ess to more advanced forging machinery, with some of them even having simr properties to tools he had used throughout the remaining time he yed Greater Beyond as a yer, he knew that the quality of his forged items would undergo a significant increase, with the chances of them being at a higher grade from the get-go not outside the realm of possibility.


    "It''s fine if you don''t want to answer, but ever since you asked me to get those items yesterday, I''ve gotten curious." Amidst the silence that surrounded the two of them after Valyr''s sigh, Braum decided to break it as he asked the young man the question that had been bothering him since yesterday. "What are you nning to do with the items?"


    "Use it in forging, of course," said Valyr with a slightly mischievous grin, causing Braum to roll his eyes in response.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>


    "Well, yeah. I know that." Braum let out a low sigh. "But in what way are you going to use it in forging?"


    "Going to use it to upgrade a set of armor you''ve already seen me wear." Surprisingly, Valyr responded to Braum''s next question without any hint of the mischievousness found in his previous answer. Soon after, a bitter smile appeared on his face as he briefly scratched his head. "Though, I''m not entirely sure if the upgrade would be sessful in the first ce."


    As Braum stared at Valyr with a nk expression after hearing those words, in slight disbelief of what he had just heard, Valyr rummaged through the memories he had in his past life, specifically the memories he had regarding the Half Wyvern Armor he had forged in the past as preparation for the life and death duel he was forced to participate in.


    Though the design of the armor set was inspired by the Empyrean Dragon Armor set he had seen in action back when he was a yer, that was not the reason why the system had ssified the Half Wyvern Armor as an Emtion. After all, with that kind of logic, one would be able to churn out a great amount of Emtions as long as they had a vague idea of what the legendary equipment they were trying to emte looked like.


    Instead, the reason why the Half Wyvern Armor was ssified as an Emtion was due to the materials he had used in forging the armor set, specifically the vials of Half Wyvern Blood he had asked Arcenne to get for him. Aside from that, the intent he had in mind while forging the set also made a significant contribution to the oue, allowing the armor to get the ssification he wanted from the system.


    However, that did not mean that it was guaranteed for the armor to be considered an Emtion after going through all of those steps. At most, it was only an increased chance.


    With that in mind, he thanked the guide he hade across in the past once more since it had allowed him to craft the Half Wyvern Armor set he now had. Though, the gratefulness he felt towards the guide gradually disappeared once he recalled the next step of the guide that would allow him to increase the rarity of the armor.


    In fact, the items he had asked Braum to procure was enough for the armor to increase by the two minor grades, which meant that his Half Wyvern Armor would end up at Rare+ grade if everything went smoothly.


    But that was the thing.


    Just like the Half Wyvern Armor being ssified as an Emtion, he wasn''t sure if it would even upgrade sessfully¡­


    Unless if he had something that could make sure it could upgrade to the next tier.


    ''The only problem is procuring that item.'' Recalling the item the guide mentioned that would guarantee the upgrade that would happen at the current step he was on, Valyr''s body briefly shuddered at the thought of having to procure it. Nevertheless, it was something he needed to do if he wanted to boost his strength even further.


    With that, he tied the knot around the cloth bag once more before making his way outside the private workshop, beckoning Braum toe join him as they began to head somece else.


    "Aren''t you going to upgrade your armor?" While they were walking, Braum brought up the question that came to his mind.


    "I am." Valyr nodded. Hearing that, Braum was about to ask him why he had left the private workshop if that was the case, only for the question to get stuck in his throat as Valyr continued his words.


    "But how am I going to upgrade my armor if I didn''t bring it with me in the first ce?"

 Chapter 316 Underground Transport Network

    "You didn''t bring your armor with you?" Braum raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, stopping in his tracks for a bit, which prompted Valyr to look back at the man who had a slight frown on his face. "When you sent me a message earlier that you wanted to meet up with me, I instantly thought that you wanted to meet up about the items you had me procure."


    "Well, I initially had something else in mind when I was nning to meet up with you earlier." In response, Valyr faintly nodded back at Braum, informing thetter that it wouldn''t be surprising for him toe to that conclusion. Letting out an awkward chuckle as he briefly apologized for having Braum expect something else, he then continued talking.


    "The items I had you procure for me was an afterthought I had once I arrived at the entrance. Then again, that''s because upgrading the armor with the items would help out in the task I want to do, which is something I need your help again." Listening to Valyr clear up the slight misunderstanding Braum had towards Valyring to meet him, the two of them eventually left the Imperial Production Guild, slowly but surely making their way towards the inn where both Wells and Valyr were staying for the meantime.


    "Something you need my help with?" Once more, Braum raised his eyebrow, curious as to what Valyr meant by that. "Aside from helping you procure items from the guild or acting as a sparring partner of some sort against you, what other thing would you need my help with?"


    "Finding a suitable method of travel," replied Valyr in a calm tone, gazing back at the man. "To be more specific, a method of travel that would allow to travel from this kingdom to a faraway vige within a couple days at most."


    "A couple days? From the kingdom to a faraway vige?" Hearing Valyr''s request, a frown adorned Braum''s face as he briefly scratched his head, letting out a faint sigh soon after. "Let alone two days, even two weeks on carriage probably wouldn''t be enough."


    "Which faraway vige are you nning to head to anyway?" the man asked Valyr a question he wanted to know the answer to, wanting to find out if the vige in the mind in the young man in front of him was more or less simr to the vige that he knew was connected to Valyr in more ways than one.


    "Astarto Vige." As these words came out of his mouth, both Valyr and Braum slowly made their way through the various corridorsid throughout the inn they were staying in, eventually being greeted by the sight of Wells at the room''s central space while being in the midst of improving his technique once Valyr had opened the door to the room. "We''re finally here¡­"


    "Not bad." While Braum tried to make himselffortable, his focus eventually shifted towards Wells, prompting the former to close his eyes for a bit before inwardly nodding to himself not long after. At some point, Valyr mentioned to Braum that his friend was aware of what was going on within the room at all times even though he was in an introspective state, causing thetter''s impression of Valyr''s friend to improve even further by a couple notches.


    "What''s with you saying ''not bad'' earlier?" As Valyr made his way to his portion of the room to grab the set of Half Wyvern Armor he had ced on the side of the bed that wasn''t easily visible, the words Braum muttered earlier as he looked at Wells surfaced within Valyr''s mind, which elicited a question toe out of the young man''s mouth as Braum pondered over his response for a bit.


    "Well¡­ ever since I''ve met the two of you, I''ve been getting a vague feeling from this friend of yours," replied Braum as he watched Valyr grab the pieces of Half Wyvern Armor before chucking a couple of them into the spatial bracelet. "At first, I was unsure if the feeling I got wasing from him. However, now that I''ve seen your friend in this state from up close, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he''s definitely the one giving me the feeling I''ve been getting."


    "Mind telling me what feeling you''re getting from him exactly?" Unsurprisingly, just like what Valyr had concluded back when he first had the idea, only his boots and vambraces could fit within the bracelet. With that, he asked Braum if he could keep the remaining pieces making up the Half Wyvern Armor within his spatial bracelet, to which thetter did not find any problem with.


    While cing the four other pieces making up the entire Half Wyvern Armor set within his spatial bracelet, which had far greater space than Valyr''s bracelet, Braum mulled a bit over the question Valyr asked him just a moment ago before eventually responding, briefly scratching his head in uncertainty in the process. "If I were to describe the feeling I''m getting, it feels like I''m looking at someone who could turn into a spear at any time. Or better yet, your friend feels like a human and a spear to me at the same time."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Though Valyr gained an idea of what Braum was trying to convey through his description, causing Valyr toe up with a few possibilities that would exin the phenomenon the man helping him out was feeling, all of the possibilities that came to his mind had more or less the same broad exnation Braum had given regarding its effects. With that, he was unsure whether the man beside him was telling him if his friend had achieved something rare or something far greater that had the possibility to shake the world.


    "In any case, there''s a high chance we could find out this exact feeling I''m getting as long as your friend is fine with heading to the Spearman Guild for registration," said Braum as he informed Valyr that he had stored the remaining pieces making up the Half Wyvern Armor within his bracelet and that they could head back to the Imperial Production Guild at any time. In response, Valyr nodded back before telling Wells that he was going to head to the Imperial Production Guild once more, which only elicited a faint nod from thetter.


    Taking onest nce at Wells, who had a pensive expression on his face as he sat cross-legged, Braum eventually shifted his attention back to Valyr as the two of them were now heading their way back to the Imperial Production Guild.


    While both Braum and Valyr were taking in their surroundings as they made their way back to the guild, the two of them looked at each other, causing a train of thought that previously dissipated into nothing in their minds to reappear once more, with Valyr taking the initiative to kickstart the conversation. "So¡­ got any idea on how I could get to Astarto Vige from here within a couple of days?"


    "Is it fine if you could tell me the reason why you have to head back to a faraway vige on such short notice?" In response, Braum looked back at Valyr, a nk yet solemn expression covering his face as the gears in his mind turned.


    "A monster tide will hit the vige within a couple of days." Finding no problem with Braum''s request, Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders before giving the former a bit more information regarding thetter''s need for swift travel. "I made a promise to the vige before I left that I''d return to the vige before the monster tide began, but with how things are turning out at the moment, I feel like there''s a high chance I wouldn''t be able to do that."


    "Well¡­ there is awork of teleportation constructs within the guild that would allow you to head to Astarto Vige in an instant." Fortunately, just as Valyr thought that the possibility of him upholding his side of the promise was bleak, Braum shone a bit of hope on the young man as he informed him of something not a lot of people within the guild knew. "In fact, it''s what my team and the other reconnaissance teams used to get a head start on the search for your whereabouts."


    "However, if you''re not part of the reconnaissance team, then you''ll have to reach a high position with the guild in order to be able to use these teleportation constructs within the first ce. After all, it costs a lot of mana to activate the teleportation constructs." Though, just like how Braum quickly instilled hope within Valyr that he''d be able to fulfill his promise, the former also took the same amount of time to crush his dreams beyond ruin, leaving a bitter smile hanging on thetter''s face after Braum was done talking.


    However, as if Braum was ying with the heartstrings of the young man beside him, he instilled hope within the man one more time, with a confident smile adorning his face as he said, "Of course, that doesn''t mean teleportation constructs are truly off-limits to normal people."


    Stopping in his tracks, he then turned around to look at Valyr before asking.


    "Ever heard of the Underground Transport Network?"

 Chapter 317 Reminiscing Over The Past

    Surprisingly, once Valyr heard Braum utter the words ''Underground Transport Network'' in his question, the former''s eyes briefly widened in slight surprise as he looked at the man in silence for a bit. Sometimeter, he faintly nodded, informing the man beside him that he had heard a few people mention it to him in the past, though he did not think too much about it back then since he had no clue what it was.


    However, in reality, Valyr was inwardly left at a loss for words once Braum told him about the Underground Transport Network, his familiarity with the service far beyond only knowing about it by name. Instead, he was someone who could be considered an avid and expert user of the service in the past.


    With how much he needed to constantly travel to and from far ces within Veldanyr back then as a yer, the Underground Transport Network was considered one of the staple travel methods he used, which could also be said to be same for most, if not all yers who chose to spawn in Veldanyr at the start.


    In fact, the Underground Transport Network was one of the possible modes of travel he thought about using to head to and from various settlements since the travel time was next to instant. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he had onlye across the Underground Transport Network and became a frequent user of the service by the time he was a few levels below the level limit Greater Beyond imposed for yers of the first version, he was inclined to think that it was only something that was implemented by the time the first version came around.


    But with Braum''s words confirming the existence of the Underground Transport Network to him before the first version had even begun, Valyr swiftly thought about changing his ns for the near future,ing to the conclusion that he would be able toplete more in less time than he initially thought with the aid of thework.


    As he thought about how he could fulfill his promise to Astarto Vige and head to the Lesser Meltierre ins just a few hours after the tide, Braum opened his mouth and exined what the Underground Transport Network was, thinking of the man beside him as someone not in the know. "I''m quite surprised you''ve heard a couple people mention about it back when you stayed in Clossbay City. After all, the Underground Transport Network is only something people from the kingdoms and empires have ess to in the meantime."


    "Anyways, from the name itself, the Underground Transport Network is awork of teleportation constructs that people could ess at anytime, with the building that houses these constructs being located underneath the surface of the city." Seeing that the two of them had finally arrived at the Imperial Production Guild, Braum moved in front of Valyr before leading thetter to the corridor that housed the private workshop Valyr had free reign over, staying silent all the while.


    Though, after making sure that the two of them were alone once more, Braum swiftly continued where left off. "There are multiple entrances that lead to Algerie Kingdom''s branch of the Underground Transport Network, but only those who have been referred by another person who has used thework in the past could enter."


    "Fortunately for you, I''m one of them." Hearing these wordse out of Braum''s mouth, Valyr looked at the man beside him for a bit as they stood in front of the door to the private workshop. Heading inside to begin the process of upgrading the set of Half Wyvern Armor he had brought, Valyr made his way to the furnace before infusing a bit of mana into it, noticing that the heat source of the furnace was magic-based.


    "But don''t you have ess to the guild''s teleportation constructs since you''re the leader of one of the reconnaissance teams?" Keeping an eye on the temperature inside the furnace from time to time, Valyr posed a question to Braum as he familiarized himself with some of the advanced forging machinery he was going to use in the upgrading process.


    "Only if the guild permits us to." Braum gave Valyr a bitter smile. "Permission to use the teleportation construct is harder to procure than you''d think. If anything, I was only able to use the guild''s teleportation constructs for the first time after we''ve been given the mission to search for your whereabouts."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "So, that means you use the Underground Transport Network more often." Looking at Braum after saying these words, Valyr returned his gaze back to the tool in front of him after getting a nod in response. "What kind of requirements do I need to fulfill to be able to use thework?"


    The purpose Valyr had in asking this question was to find out if the requirements to use the Underground Transport Network was the same as when he used it back then as a yer. Fortunately, after hearing Braum''s response to the question, he was able to find out that it was more or less the same, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief soon after.


    "Aside from needing a referral from someone who uses thework, you don''t really need to bring anything else aside from money." Braum nonchntly shrugged his shoulders as he informed Valyr about the furnace he was heating up. "The lowest price you could get is around 10 gold coins, which would have you end up somewhere around the outskirts of the city. Of course, the farther the destination, the higher the price."


    "I see, I see." Nodding in response, Valyr thanked Braum for the heads-up on the furnace before proceeding to infuse mana into the furnace to keep its temperature stable. Inwardly muttering to himself that he had missed small quality of life features like this, Valyr then summoned the pieces of Half Wyvern Armor out of his bracelet to prepare them for upgrading, only to recall something thanks to Braum''s earlier statement. "Price¡­"


    "Now that you mention it, how much did it all cost to procure the items I asked you to get?"


    "Surprisingly, not that much. In total, it came to around 10 tinum coins."


    "10 tinum coins¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­in what world is that not much?"

 Chapter 318 Equipment Overhaul

    Though Valyrined about the price of all the items he had Braum procure him, with thetter defending the price he gave out by informing him how much hardship he had to go through, he still paid the price Braum had given him in the end.


    Of course, that did not mean the price did not hurt him on the inside.


    With his material assets only amounting to around 30 tinum coins after spending close to half of what it previously was on a great number of skill books, 10 tinum coins was more or less equivalent to a third of what he currently had on hand. Sure, it wouldn''t have been a problem for him if he still earned money from having the Crimson Forge back at Clossbay City continue selling equipment since he could make it back within a couple of days, but as he had given his ownership to another cksmith before he left for Algerie Kingdom, he had no method of earning ie to speak of.


    Nevertheless, he consoled himself into thinking that paying 10 tinum coins for the items was an investment he made to improve his strength in the long-term, rationalizing that the price was something along the lines of a convenience. After all, multiple steps went into procuring the items in the first ce, such as find half-wyverns and young wyverns in the wild, killing them, skinning them, draining them of their blood, and then transporting said items to therge settlements.


    Inwardly letting out a low sigh as he felt that the grin Braum shed at him was telling him that he had been duped into paying for a higher price, he soon discarded all of the thoughts that continued to linger in his mind as he asked Braum to take out the other pieces of the Half Wyvern Armor the man had stored in his bracelet.


    Getting a nod from Braum in response, Valyr nodded back as he watched the man take out the four remaining pieces of the armor set from the bracelet before cing them beside the two he had taken out. Taking in a few deep breaths to gainposure and achieve a state of tranquility, he then grabbed the cloth bag on top of the anvil before cing it beside the pieces making up the Half Wyvern Armor, unfurling the knot around the bag in the process.


    "A few Half Wyvern Scales, a vial of Young Wyvern Blood, and a bit of Azure Iron Essence should do the trick." Taking out a few items out of the cloth bag, Valyr ced these items on a nearby table before shifting his gaze onto the pieces of Half Wyvern Armor, pondering over which piece he should upgrade first.


    "I guess you''d be the easiest to upgrade." Swiftly making his decision, he grabbed the vambraces before chucking them into the furnace, manipting the furnace''s temperature with his mana to make sure that the heating process would go without any mishaps. Sometimeter, he grabbed the Azure Iron Essence he took out from the bag before cing it in the furnace as well, finding out sometimeter that the furnace had the ability to have two spots inside it that had differing temperatures.


    "Neat." Making a note to himself that he would get his hands on an advanced furnace like the one in front of him someday, he went ahead and activated this new ability he had discovered the furnace had, infusing a considerable amount of mana in the process in order to make sure that the temperature of both spots would not bleed into each other. Thankfully, he had close to 4,000 points of mana on hand, which made the cost for him to maintain it negligible.


    Seeing that the heating process for both the vambraces and the Azure Iron Essence going smoothly, Valyr turned around in the hopes of passing the time by talking with Braum. Though, just as he had done so, he swiftly noticed that the man was nowhere to be found within the workshop, prompting him to wonder whether the man had left because he knew he was going to be stuck talking with him for a while, or if the man truly had something else to do.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Briefly shrugging his shoulders at Braum''s disappearance, Valyr turned his attention back to the furnace as he thought about some of the stuff he had going on, his mind soon pondering over other methods of travel he could gain ess to in the future aside from teleportation.


    ''It would be nice if I could get a car or an airne going on,'' thought Valyr to himself, thinking about how nice it would be to just drive off to his destination at a speed far faster than what even arge carriage could achieve. Though, not long after, this image soon transformed into him moving through the skies of Veldanyr on an airne, feeling that his travel time would be reduced to hours, if not minutes at most.


    ''Then again, I still have a long way to go if I want to do that.'' Eventually, he stopped his train of thought, letting out a faint sigh as a bitter smile adorned his face. ''After all, I still have a lot of advancements to go through on the Innovation branch before I could even unlock the advancement that would allow me to forge an engine.''


    As he thought about how many advancements he still had to unlock before bing capable of creating a car from scratch, he recalled the advancement the Ne of Enlightenment had unlocked in the middle of their journey to Algerie Kingdom, which put him a step closer to leaving the Ancient Age advancements of the Innovation branch.


    Then, not long after, he recalled that he still hadn''t submitted the weapons he had forged to the cksmith Guild in exchange for contribution points, deciding that he would head to the cksmith Guild to submit the weapons once he was done upgrading his armor.


    After waiting for a few more minutes, Valyr grabbed a pair of tongs from the rack of tools within the workshop before using them to take out the heated vambraces, as well as the heated Azure Iron Essence out of the furnace, cing thetter on top of the former as theyid t on the anvil''s surface.


    Hearing a faint sizzling sound resounding from the interaction between the Azure Iron Essence and the vambraces, Valyr swiftly grabbed a forging hammer before proceeding to meld the two together.


    "Alright. It''s time to get to work."

 Chapter 319 Birth Of A Greater Armor

    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Bringing the forging hammer he held down onto the Azure Iron Essence above his vambraces, Valyr put all of his focus into spreading out the metal over the vambraces'' surface, making sure that every nook and cranny was covered with the rare material. As he did this, he recalled the guide he followed in forging the Half Wyvern Armor set back then, setting his sights onto the steps that listed down how he could upgrade the separate pieces to the next tier.


    ''First, spread the Azure Iron Essence evenly over the front surface,'' muttered Valyr to himself as he ced the vambrace and the rare metal into the furnace from time to time, increasing the heat within the furnace to make sure they would fuse properly. ''After that,y the Half Wyvern Scales in a pattern that spreads out from the center of the armor piece, augmenting the defensive properties of the armor in certain areas.''


    ''Then, once all that is done, heat up the armor a bit before dropping a vial of Young Wyvern Blood on it, allowing the blood to seep into the armor, which would allow thetter to gain the blood''s properties.''


    "Yeah. That doesn''t seem too hard." Taking in a deep breath topose himself as he affixed his gaze onto the furnace, Valyr then went over the upgrading process for the other pieces of armor, eventually finding the part of arranging the Half Wyvern Scales on the armor''s surface tedious. Fortunately, with the eagerness he showed in upgrading his armor, the focus he ced in the process, and the overall calm he exuded as he took the vambrace out from the furnace and back on the anvil, the system decided to help him out a bit.


    Ding!


    [You have entered the Flow state.]


    Although the notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr did not put any attention on it, instead focusing it all back on making sure that the vambrace and the Azure Iron Essence melded together. Though, if one looked closely as he worked on the vambrace, a faint smirk could be seen on the edge of his lips.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With purpose and intent behind each of his blows, the Azure Iron Essence on top of the vambraces gradually ttened out to cover the entire surface, taking on the slight details Valyr had ced on the vambraces'' surface in the process. Eventually, after a couple more passes through the furnace and the forging hammer, the Azure Iron Essence had finally covered every inch of the vambraces'' surface, causing Valyr to nod in satisfaction as he chucked the vambraces back into the furnace, prepping them for the next step.


    Staring at the furnace in silence for a bit, Valyr eventually shifted his gaze onto the advanced forging machinery that was in the workshop, realizing that he had not used any of them yet. A faint bitter smile briefly appearing on his face, he thought about what he was doing at the moment did not warrant the usage of the advanced machinery in any way, finding them more fitting for when he would forge weapons instead.


    Aside from that, he thought about how he had gotten used to forging with simple tools, finding the entire forging process more enjoyable since his control over the hammer dictated the quality of the resulting oue.


    Surprisingly, by the time he shifted his attention back to the furnace, all of the tangential thoughts in his mind faded away, instead being reced with thoughts rted to the upgrading process as he took out the vambraces out of the furnace once more before cing it on top of the anvil, giving the vambraces a bit of time to cool down as he grabbed the Half Wyvern Scales he had picked out for this step of the process.


    Grabbing something from the rack of tools in the workshop that looked like an erged pair of tweezers, Valyr eventually returned in front of the vambraces with the item and the Half Wyvern Scales in tow, ncing at the vambraces for a bit to n out where he would ce the limited number of scales he had.


    Once he had an idea of his cement, he then held one of the scales with the erged tweezers before gently cing the first scale on the vambraces'' surface, nudging it in a few areas to make sure that it was roughly in the center before setting it in ce with a light tap of the forging hammer.


    As he prepared the second scale he would put on the vambrace, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as the fear of messing up the cement of the first scale gradually disappeared. After that, he returned his focus once more on what he had to do, continuing to ce the scales on the vambraces'' surface that blended well with where the first scale was ced.


    Gradually, Valyr found a rhythm and pattern to work with while he was cing the scales, only noticing by the time he was halfway through the scales he had allocated for the vambraces that he had inadvertently formed attice pattern of scales on vambraces'' surface. Faintly smiling at the realization, Valyr continued to ce more scales on the vambraces, eventually dropping the erged tweezers in slight exhaustion and relief as he took a look at what he had done.


    The dull gray vambraces from before had now been reced with one that shone a deep azure whenever light touched it, serving as a backdrop to the dark gray scales that were neatly spread throughout the vambrace. If one looked at the vambrace for long enough, one would think that the armor was mimicking how the skin of a wyvern looked to a certain extent, only for them to notice that deep inside the vambraces was the power of the exact creature they were thinking of.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Chucking the modified vambraces into the furnace onest time, Valyr went ahead and infused a bit of mana into the furnace, setting the temperature within the furnace to a set level mentioned in the guide he was following, a temperature that would allow the Young Wyvern Blood to settle in properly within the armor.


    Attentively watching the modified vambraces reach the optimal temperature within the furnace for the final step of the upgrade process, a thought gradually surfaced within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to think about the two cksmith skills he had gained from the ascension, specifically the one that did not involve the creation of two new limbs.


    "[True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight]." Activating his new sight-rted skill, Valyr shifted his gaze towards the vambraces within the furnace, wondering if he would see anything different, thinking of another skill he had used often back when he was a yer as reference.


    [cksmith''s Sight] had a description that was more or less simr to the description [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], mentioning about how the skill allowed one to find the areas within the item being forged that were in disarray, giving one the ability to resolve them as long as they knew how to do so.


    Whenever that skill was activated, he would see thin lines of bright white sprawled all over the surface of the item, something he quickly realized was something [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] already gave him ess to, only without making the lines obvious by highlighting the imperfections.


    With that, he grew more curious as to what kind of scene the skill would show him, only to be left at a loss for words as he took a few steps closer to the furnace, focusing all of his attention onto the item being heated up within it.


    Gone were the lines of imperfection [cksmith''s Sight] had made obvious to him back then. Instead, [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] showed the vambraces covered in one unified color, with multiple areas having a color that stood out from the majority. With the sight before him, Valyr finally understood what the skill meant by its description, focusing his attention on one of the areas that was of a different color from everything else.


    The scales.


    Deciding to experiment a bit more, Valyr activated the hyperfocus ability [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] granted him in conjunction with [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight]. Surprisingly, thebination had worked, allowing him to see the areas of mismatch on the item in greater detail, prompting him to focus his attention once more on the scales.


    Though a great portion of the scales were still of a different color to the color that took over the majority of the vambraces, with the aid of the hyperfocus ability, Valyr was able to find out that the discoloration was gradually shrinking the longer the vambraces were in the furnace, prompting him to focus his attention onto other areas that were of a different color than the rest.


    Fortunately, those other areas were also being resolved the same way the discoloration on the scales were, gradually disappearing the longer the vambraces stayed in the furnace. With that, he stabilized the temperature within the furnace with a bit of his mana, giving the discoloration time to go away before removing the modified vambraces out of the furnace to proceed with the final step of the upgrade.


    Pulling out the stopper from the vial of Young Wyvern Blood he held, Valyr then allowed the blood to slowly trickle down onto the surface of the vambrace, which didn''t sizzle off into blood vapor, surprisingly. Instead, it spread through the grooves between the Half Wyvern Scales he had ced out, gradually melding with the Azure Iron Essence underneath as it slowly took on a crimson tone.


    Eventually, by the time all of the Young Wyvern Blood within the vial had been dispersed throughout the vambraces¡­


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the armor ''Half Wyvern Vambraces''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the armor has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the armor''s rarity to Rare+.]


    [Thanks to this change, its name has been changed to ''Refined Young Wyvern Vambraces''.]

 Chapter 320 A Grade Above

    Hearing the string of notification sounds go off inside his mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notifications in front of him, his eyebrows raised in curiosity as his gaze was focused on the name of the upgraded vambraces, as well as the increased rarity of it.


    "Rare+¡­" Muttering out the rarity the system had affixed to his newly improved vambraces, it surprisingly did not take long for Valyr to figure out the reason behind it, continuing to maintain a tranquil yet efficient mind throughout the whole process as he inwardly nodded in agreement at his conclusion. "The effect of [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight]."


    From what Valyr could remember from the guide he was following, each step that involved an upgrade in rarity would only result in an increase of a minor grade, which was equivalent to having an item go from a rarity that had a plus mark, to the next rarity above it, such as going from Common+ to Umon grade.


    Yet, due to the fact that he had triggered the effect of [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], which involved making sure that all of the materials making up the equipment were in harmony, the upgrade, which was originally supposed to give him an increase of one minor grade in rarity, instead gave him two.


    "Does this mean that if I go through the second round of upgrading and the effect triggers again, the rarity will increase by a full grade again?" Though the thought of having armor of high rarity at such a rtively low level was quite enticing to Valyr, a slight frown lingered on his face as he thought about how the effect of [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] would affect his Half Wyvern Armor set in the long run.


    If it did not interfere in the upgrade process and only resulted in the final armor being a rarity or two above the intended rarity, then Valyr did not find it a nuisance, instead finding it a great blessing. However, if the activation of the skill stopped Valyr from reaching the final step of the guide¡­


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a faint sigh as he imagined the possibility of thetter happening, Valyr eventually shrugged his shoulders as he thought to himself that there was nothing he could do if that happened. Of course, he could always forgo the usage of [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] while he upgraded the armor set to its higher rarities, but he felt like doing such a thing would be a great disservice since, to him, it seemed like he was limiting it from reaching its full potential.


    With that, he decided to think of the second round of upgrading from a more rxed perspective, thinking to himself that whether or not [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] activates once more, he would still follow through all of the remaining steps listed on the guide.


    "How insane would it be to have a set of Epic+ grade armor though?" Entertaining the possibility of the skill activating once more to increase the resulting item''s rarity by an additional minor grade, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on the newly improved vambrace, his eyes briefly widening in surprise as he looked through its description.


    "Considering how vambraces give less defense than a chestte, this is surprising."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Refined Young Wyvern Vambraces (Emtion)] (Level 20)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Defense: 36 - 60


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +11


    > DEX + 24


    Forged by a true prodigy in the field of cksmithing, these vambraces were inspired by the Empyrean Dragon Armor of legends, with the cksmith hoping that part of the legendary armor''s strength could be emted. Utilizing the subpar imitation the cksmith had already forged in the past in the image of the legendary artifact as a base, the cksmith hadyered rarer and stronger materials on top of it, allowing the armor to emte a greater portion of its strength.


    Nevertheless, it is still a far cry from the real thing.


    Although it''s an improvement from the incredibly subpar imitation its base had achieved, this version of the armor is an item that could be considered an heirloom of arge n with the strength it allows one to tap into. Yet, just like its base, great potential still slumbers within the vambraces, the possibility of it reaching a level of strength close to the Empyrean Dragon Armor now being greater than ever before.


    <Innate Skill 1: Refined Grandeur of the Young Wyvern - Thanks to the power of Young Wyvern Blood infused within the armor, which has been amplified by the unity of all the equipment''s materials, the level requirement for the armor has been reduced by 4 levels.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Refined Wyvern''s Breath - Allows the user to shoot out a wave of mes in front of them, targeting all enemies within a 8 meter radius, dealing damage equivalent to 300% of the user''s Attack stat. Also inflicts Burn damage that deals 25% of the user''s Attack stat every second,sting for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 1,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Refined Young Wyvern Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces: Attack and Defense +15%


    - 3 pieces: HP +1,200 and MP +800<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    - 4 pieces: Damage Increase and Damage Reduction +15%


    - 6 pieces: All stats +6


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the newly improved vambraces, though Valyr was already expecting an increase in quality once the upgrade process was sessful, the knowledge of knowing the equipment would undergo an improvement was still different from seeing it first-hand, considering that the piece of armor before him was one minor grade higher than originally intended.


    "Since this innate skill upgraded, I can enhance this armor to Level 30 and I''d still be able to equip it." Focusing his attention on the first innate skill that had been improved thanks to the upgrade process, Valyr''s eagerness to see the entire set fully upgraded had gone through the roof, the fire of motivation inside him burning with ever greater fervor.


    With that, he went ahead and continued upgrading the five other pieces that made up the Half Wyvern Armor set he previously wore, all of them sessfully being upgraded to the Refined Young Wyvern Armor set by the time a few hours had passed.


    ¡­


    "I wonder if he''s still upgrading his armor¡­" Deciding to leave Valyr off on his own earlier since he knew he''d be stuck in the private workshop for hours if he did not leave while he still had the chance, Braum muttered his thoughts out loud as he made his way to where Valyr was, wondering how thetter was faring after a few hours had passed.


    "Sure enough, he still is." Eventually, by the time he was only a couple dozen meters away from the workshop''s door, he heard the faint sound of metal tapping against metal from time to time, which only grew louder the closer he got. By the time he was at the entrance, the sound had be considerably loud, echoing throughout the room as he felt the workshop quake for a second.


    Curious as to what was going on, Braum decided to head inside, instantly feeling the increase in ambient temperature as he felt the furnace at the far end of the workshop do its thing as he noticed a piece of armor ced in the center of it. Shifting his gaze, he eventually found Valyr ving away in front of the anvil, making his way towards thetter to find out what the man was doing.


    Once in front of him, Braum watched what Valyr was doing in silence, taking note of the tranquil expression on the man''s face as he deftly ced a considerably darker scale on top of one of the dark scales already on the armor, using the erged tweezers he held to nudge the new scale in position. Then, grabbing the forging hammer he had ced to the side, he tapped the new scale with a bit of force behind it, causing the scale underneath to turn into dust as Braum''s eyes widened in disbelief.


    "Shh¡­" However, before the man could even voice out to Valyr that he was destroying his equipment, Valyr stopped Braum from making noise, ncing at the man watching the entire process unfold for a bit before returning his attention to the armor before him, cing yet another new scale on top of one of the old scales. "This is part of the upgrade process."


    "Is destroying the scales underneath really part of the upgrade process?" With a slight frown, Braum grumbled in a mutter as he watched Valyr ce another new scale on top of one of the old scales, noticing that the new scales on the armor were ced in a way that they were spaced out the same distance from one another.


    Though, just as he was about to ask the one forging why he decided to do that, Valyr grabbed Braum''s attention and shifted it towards the new scale he had ced earlier, causing thetter to focus his gaze on it as he wondered why the young man called his attention for something he considered as trivial.


    Instead, what he saw was that the dust from the old scales were being absorbed by the new scales, which prompted the new scales to take on an even deeper shade of ck, now looking as if they were dark jewels polished to perfection.


    "And¡­ done." After putting thest new scale on the armor piece he was working on, Valyr briefly nodded in satisfaction as he picked the armor piece up with tongs before cing it in the furnace, taking out the piece of armor that was already in there earlier before cing it on the anvil.


    At first, Braum thought that Valyr was going to let the piece of armor on the anvil cool down first before taking a look at it, considering that some of the scales on the armor''s surface seemed to be new scales he had watched thetter ced on the piece of armor earlier. However, contrary to his mundane expectations, Valyr instead summoned forth a great amount of his mana before allowing all of it to be absorbed by the piece of armor in front of him.


    Whoosh!


    For a few seconds, the piece of armor on the anvil glowed a light blue as faint inscriptions lit up all over the armor''s surface, prompting the armor to give off an aura that even Braum found slightly intimidating. Nevertheless, this phenomenon gradually disappeared a few secondster as a string of notifications resounded within Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the armor ''Refined Young Wyvern Vambraces''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the armor has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the armor''s rarity to Epic.]


    [Thanks to this change, its name has been changed to ''Nascent Wyvern Vambraces''.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Due to the immense feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Forger of Epics''.]

 Chapter 321 Exchange Of Secrets

    Whoosh!


    As Valyr opened up a notification screen within his mind to take a look at the notifications he had just received, a wave of energy swiftly coursed throughout his body out of nowhere, catching him off guard. Though he did not know where the wave of energy hade from, he allowed the energy to do as it pleased after he was certain that there was no malicious intent behind it.


    With that, he stood in ce as he allowed the wave of energy to move through his body, noticing that he was slowly gaining a greater understanding of the inner workings of his body. By the time the wave of energy had reached the upper portion of his body, most of the energy making up the wave went towards his mind, bing absorbed by thetter as he felt like he now had a greater understanding of everything that was going on around him.


    Then, as if he was being led by this energy, he gradually shifted his gaze towards the piece of armor he had just forged topletion, only for another wave of energy to appear out of nowhere and course through his body once more. However, unlike before where he had gained a greater understanding of himself and his surroundings, he felt like he now had a greater understanding of piece of armor on the anvil, gaining the ability to dissect it into parts in his mind.


    Though, after mulling over the newfound feeling he had gained for a bit, he soon realized that the understanding he had gained from the piece of armor was not rted to the armor itself. Instead, he had gained insight into one of the mechanics that surrounded the armor he was currently staring at.


    Its rarity.


    Coming to this realization, Valyr focused his attention onto the list of notifications hemanded the system to show him in his mind, eventuallying across the final notification. ''So, it would be safe to assume that this newfound knowledge I''ve obtained came from this title, huh?''


    ''Then again, this isn''t the first time I''ve obtained the title.'' Slightly grinning at the thought, Valyrmanded the system to bring up the description of the title, wondering to himself if it was the same title he had obtained back then as a yer. However, just as a small screen containing its description appeared within his mind, he was left with no choice but to save the matter forter as Braum took up his attention.


    "What¡­ did you just do?" With his mouth slightly agape, Braum stared at Valyr, recalling the unique aura that was emanating from him just a while ago. After that, he shifted his attention onto the intricate-looking vambraces on the anvil, now getting the feeling that a strong creature was slumbering within it.


    Though, if he were to be a bit more specific, Braum felt as if a part that made up the strong creature he envisioned was slumbering within it.


    Nevertheless, even though that kind of thought lingered in his mind, he returned his gaze to Valyr, knowing that the young man in front of him was the only one capable of exining what just happened not long ago. Unfortunately, the answer that Valyr was going to him would disappoint him greatly as the young man faintly shrugged his shoulders in response. "I upgraded my armor."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Listening to the young man''s words, Braum could not stop himself from ring at him for a short bit since what the man had told him was something he already knew. With that in mind, he let out a faint sigh after a bit of silence, deciding to approach the situation from another perspective instead. "I know you upgraded your armor. After all, that''s what you told me earlier."


    "What I want to know instead is what happened after you infused mana into your armor." Braum looked at Valyr with a calm expression. "Your entire aura changed for a bit, you know? Plus, there''s the fact that your armor decided to glow after you imbued mana into it. It would definitely be nice if you could give me a good exnation."


    "Any specific reason as to why you wanna know?" In response, Valyr looked back at the man in armor as he took out the second piece of armor that had gone through the second step, moving the vambraces to the side as he ced the new piece of armor on the anvil to give it space to cool down.


    "So?"


    "Call it curiosity, I guess." Braum shrugged his shoulders. "Since I''m part of one of the reconnaissance teams that was tasked to find your whereabouts back then, I know that part of the reason why the guild was on the lookout for your whereabouts is due to your current ss. Even the weapons you had given us as thanks for helping you out on your quest was more than enough for me to realize that you''re no ordinary cksmith."


    "In any case, now that I think about it, you don''t really have to answer my question." Scratching his head for a bit, Braum looked at the young man. "I''ve got secrets you don''t know, so it''s a given that you have secrets I don''t know, so I''ll respect that."


    "The change in aura you felt from me was probably due to the title I just gained." Seeing as Braum had not beat around the bush regarding his reason, even going so far as telling him that he did not necessarily have to answer, Valyr decided to reciprocate the response. "Of course, I won''t tell you what specific title since, as you just mentioned, we both have secrets we want to keep to ourselves."


    "As for the glow on the armor¡­" Saying these words, Valyr shifted his gaze onto the upgraded vambraces before activating [Analysis], causing a light blue haze to form around his eyes as he gained information on the item. Then, looking through the item''s description for a bit, Valyr eventually looked back at Braum, a faint yet confident smile creeping up onto his lips.


    "A simple [Analysis] would be enough for you to find that out."

 Chapter 322 Weight Of Ones Actions

    "Is that so?" Though Braum was doubtful of Valyr''s im, he decided to follow the man''s words as he noticed the faint smile adorning the young man''s face, knowing that he would not tell him to do that for no apparent reason. With that, he activated his identification skill before focusing his attention towards the vambraces, a slightly darker blue haze forming around his eyes sometimeter.


    Not long after, a screen containing information on the vambraces appeared in front of him, prompting Braum to go ahead and read through all of it. Though, by the time he was finished reading through the entire description, he looked back at Valyr with slightly widened eyes, looking at the man not too far away with an expression that was a mix of disbelief and awe.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Nascent Wyvern Vambraces (Emtion)] (Level 20)


    Rarity: Epic


    Defense: 58 - 97


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +14


    > DEX + 27


    Forged by a true prodigy in the field of cksmithing¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Might of the Nascent Wyvern - Thanks to the power of Young Wyvern Blood infused within the armor resonating with the Young Wyvern Scales on the armor''s surface, the level requirement for the armor has been reduced by 5 levels.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Breath of the Nascent Wyvern - Allows the user to shoot out a wave of mes in front of them, targeting all enemies within a 15 meter radius in front of the user, dealing damage equivalent to 400% of the user''s Attack stat. Also inflicts Burn damage that deals 40% of the user''s Attack stat every second,sting for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 2,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Rage of the Nascent Wyvern - Allows the user to tap into the power of the Nascent Wyvern contained within the armor, boosting all physical stats of the user except VIT by 10% for 5 minutes. Stacks multiplicatively with other stat boosting skills. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 500 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Nascent Wyvern Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces: Attack and Defense +20%


    - 3 pieces: HP +1,800 and MP +1,000


    - 4 pieces: Damage Increase and Damage Reduction +20%


    - 6 pieces: All stats +8


    Remarks: You''ve got your hands on a piece of armor even the strongest beings within this world would be envious of.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You¡­ you forged this?" Taking in a couple of deep breaths topose himself, Braum went ahead and posed to Valyr the question that seemed incredibly obvious to ask. Unsurprisingly, Valyr raised his eyebrow in response as he looked back at the man in armor, wondering why he asked the question even though he already knew the answer.


    "You''re watching me upgrade my armor, right? Since that''s the case, where''d the questione from?"


    "I know the question''s incredibly stupid..." In response to Valyr''s words, a bitter smile appeared on Braum''s face. "But hear me out. Most of the high-end equipment I''vee across, even as someone at the peak of Rank 4, is at Rare grade, with only a few being at Rare+ grade."


    "In fact, the Rare grade weapons you''ve given to me and myrades make up a decent chunk of the high-end equipment I''vee across. As for the number of Rare+ grade equipment I''ve seen ore across, both of my hands would be more than enough to count it out."


    "Now, how many Epic grade equipment do you think I''ve seen ore across in the past?" Posing this question to the young man, Braum stood in silence as he listened to Valyr respond that he had seen a couple or a few at the very least. However, in response to Valyr''s answer, he slowly shook his head before opening his mouth once more.


    "The correct answer¡­ is one." Braum looked at Valyr with a solemn expression before briefly shifting his gaze towards the vambraces. "This piece of armor you''ve forged is the first piece of Epic grade equipment I''vee across in my life."


    Hearing those words, Valyr went silent for a bit, recalling the general rarity of equipment yers had on hand during the various versions of Greater Beyond. Rummaging through the memories he had regarding the first version of Greater Beyond, he focused on the equipment he had back then, as well as the equipment his friends had, quicklying to the conclusion that he was way ahead of the curve when it came to equipment.


    Most of the yers at the top rankings during Greater Beyond''s first version had equipment at Rare grade, with some at Rare+ grade. Those that were catching up, on the other hand, were not that far behind, with their equipment being Umon+ grade at the very least.


    At first, Valyr did not find it too much of a problem, considering that his equipment so far had been hovering around the Umon+ grade for quite some time. However, when he looked through his memories a bit longer, that''s only when he noticed the crucial piece of information that changed how he looked at what he was doing.


    All of the equipment he had mentioned earlier that yers had¡­ were only obtained by the time they were already nearing the level limit of the first version, which was Level 100.


    He was only Level 26.


    "Does the guild not have Epic grade equipment?" In the midst of sorting out his thoughts after this realization, Valyr looked at Braum and posed a question that he felt like he should find out the answer to. In response, Braum briefly shrugged his shoulders as a look of slight contemtion appeared on his face.


    "It does, but how many specifically¡­ I don''t know." Braum faintly shook his head. "All I know is that most of the equipment at that grade go to the elders of the guild, with the strongest ones ending up in the hands of the guild''s Grand Protector."


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr went silent for a bit before proceeding to infuse mana onto the piece of armor on the anvil, allowing it to reach the same stage of power as the vambraces from earlier. After that, he ced both the vambraces and the other piece of armor to the side before grabbing a new one, deciding to work on the chestte for now.


    "I don''t know if you''re just here to check up on me or whatever, but could you get me some food to eat?" cing the chestte into the furnace as he cranked up the heat, Valyr made a request to the man in armor as a wry smile adorned his face. "I''m starving."


    "You''re still not done?" With slight incredulity, Braum asked this question to the man, to which Valyr responded by slowly shaking his head with the smile still on his face. Briefly scratching his head at the answer he got, he eventually let out a faint sigh before nodding, asking Valyr what he wanted to eat before leaving the young man on his own once more.


    Seeing that he was alone yet again, Valyr shifted his attention back to the furnace, watching the chestte gradually heat up to the optimal temperature as he thought about the things he had pondered over earlier. For a while, a slight frown appeared on his face as he thought about how he would break the bnce of power within the world he was in due to the fact that he had the ability to forge high rarity equipment, constantly at that.


    Though, after some time, this frown was reced with a confident grin as he thought about his current situation from another perspective. "Then again, the fact that I could forge a lot of high rarity equipment is definitely a great way to kickstart the founding of an organization for the final battle."


    With that in mind, he decided that he was going to continue what he was already doing and not limit himself like what he had done to himself before.


    After all¡­


    Who were they to stop him?

 Chapter 323 Saving The Best For Last

    Whoosh!


    "Haah¡­ and that''s thest piece of armor for the set finally done with the upgrade." Watching as the aura surrounding the final armor piece to undergo through the upgrade process began to intensify, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief after he had received a string of notifications that confirmed to him that the upgrade had been sessful, finally giving his body and mind some quality time to rest.


    Ever since Valyr had returned to the private workshop after they grabbed his Half Wyvern Armor set from the inn, he had not allowed his entire being to take a rest at all throughout the two sessions of upgrading he had done on the armor. Then again, he did find some time to give a part of him some respite, allowing his mind to rest up as his body focused on a monotonous action, or allowing his body to take a rest as multiple things went on his mind while he kept an eye on the furnace.


    Nevertheless, due to how long he had been staying at the workshop, even the small break he had taken once Braum had returned with the food he asked him to buy was not enough time for Valyr''s body and mind to return to its peak condition. In any case, though he still had one more thing to do in the workshop before he was certain that he had done everything in his list, he found sce in the fact that he was finally finished with the tedious task that made up most of it.


    Unsurprisingly, the tedious task in mind was upgrading all of the armor pieces. Twice.


    Letting out a deep sigh as he thought that he should finish his task while he still had the time, he took a look outside the window that he could see from the door that led out of the private workshop, only to find out that it had already turned into night. Briefly scratching his head as a faint bitter smile appeared on his face, he turned his attention back to the private workshop, picking up one of the armor pieces that made up the new Nascent Wyvern Armor set before cing it on the anvil.


    "Let''s hope the heavens are on my side." Taking in a deep breath to regain hisposure as he inwardly made a quick prayer to the heavens for a bit of increased luck, Valyr grabbed the forging hammer he had ced nearby before proceeding to hit the piece of armor he had ced on the anvil, starting the final task he set out to do in the workshop before heading to Astarto Vige.


    Enhancing and refining all of his equipment.


    Thanks to the fact that he had a better version of the [Basic Equipment Enhancement] skill due to his ss, it only took around 10 minutes or so for Valyr to increase the level of the armor on the anvil to the highest it could go, which was Level 31.


    While doing so, he thought about enhancing the piece of armor to a level beyond that number, considering that he still had a lot of XP to allocate evenly between his skills and his level. In the end, he decided that he would only upgrade it to Level 31 for now and upgrade them once more after he was done allocating the XP he still had.


    With that, he swiftly enhanced all of the pieces making up the Nascent Wyvern Armor set to Level 31, taking only slightly a bit above an hour to go through all of them. Once he was done, he took a look at their improved stats through [Analysis], prompting him to whistle at how much of an improvement the equipments'' stats had undergone.


    After admiring the significant improvement the enhancement brought to the equipments'' Defense stat, Valyr psyched himself once more, telling himself that he would only need to enhance his weapon to his current level once he was sessful in refining all of the armor pieces to +20.


    Asking the heavens to be on his side once more through the process, Valyr swung his hammer down on the armor pieces yet again, this time activating his own version of [Basic Equipment Refinement] on the piece of armor as he began his attempt at refining equipment beyond what was deemed the safe limit of refinement.


    As mentioned in the past, one was guaranteed to refine their equipment to +10 as long as it was done under the hands of a capable cksmith, which was the reason why it was called the safe limit of refinement. However, if one aimed to achieve a refinement level that exceeded +10, the chances of going beyond +10 gradually became smaller the farther one went, with the only method avable to guarantee a refinement level beyond +10 being the usage of Refinement Jewels.


    Of course, Valyr had no Refinement Jewel on hand whatsoever at the moment, instead believing in the increased sess rate his version of the [Basic Equipment Refinement] skill contained as he began the refinement process.


    Deciding to take his time in making sure that he brought a great portion of thetent potential lurking within the piece of armor, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he obtained a notification from the system that the armor had been sessfully refined to +11. Gaining a bit of confidence that he could possibly refine all of his armor pieces to +20, he went ahead and continued to take his time during the refinement, obtaining a notification sometimeter that he had seeded in refining it to +12.


    Unfortunately, during the attempt to improve the refinement on the armor piece to +13, Valyr felt like thetent potential he had been pulling out of the armor went into disarray, dissipating not long after as he received a notification from the system that his attempt at refining the piece of armor to +13 had failed. On top of that, the system told him that he could still afford to fail two more times before he would be unable to refine the piece of armor for the day.


    Wondering to himself if there was a system like that for refinement back when he was still a yer, Valyr continued with his attempts at refinement, losing a bit of the cautiousness he had earlier after being told by the system that he basically had three attempts at achieving a refinement level of +20 for each armor piece before the system would stop him.


    Though he slightly sped up his movements as he thought about how he would only be able to return to the innte at night if he didn''t, it still took a couple of hours for Valyr to finish going through all of the refining attempts the system had allocated to him for each armor piece, the final result of which somewhat disappointed him, yet somewhat surprised him at the same time.


    For his helmet, greaves, and boots, Valyr was able to achieve a refinement level of +13 on all of them, exhausting all three attempts on each armor piece as he aimed to get a high refinement level on all of them. Unfortunately, he was forced to settle for a level that was far from the limit of what an Epic grade piece of equipment could have, though it was still a lot when taking into consideration the grand scheme of things.


    As for his pauldrons and chestte, he had achieved a refinement level of +14 on both of them, learning from the three pieces of armor from earlier to not push his luck too much, thinking that reaching a refinement level that was only one level below the limit of what a Rare grade piece of equipment could achieve was a superb result, considering that he still had no ess to Refinement Jewels.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With how this armor piece was the first to undergo through both upgrade processes, Valyr had saved the vambraces forst, hoping that the fact that this piece of armor was the first to go through both processes would work in his favor.


    And surprisingly, it did.


    By the end of his three attempts at increasing the refinement level on the vambraces, he had achieved a refinement level of +16, causing him to take in a few deep breaths to make sure that he stopped himself from acting on impulse and attempting another increase at the vambraces'' refinement level.


    Thinking that he should try to get his hands on some Refinement Jewels before he went through the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on his vambraces to see how much of a difference the increase in refinement and enhancement level brought to the equipment''s stats,manding the system to only give him a condensed version of the screen.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+16) Nascent Wyvern Vambraces (Emtion)] (Level 31)


    Rarity: Epic


    Defense: 101 - 168


    Additional Attributes:


    > ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Holy shit." Letting out a long sigh at the Defense stat his vambraces showed him, Valyr thought about how invincible he would be once he had all pieces of the Nascent Wyvern Armor set equipped, taking into consideration the fact that vambraces were one of the two pieces of armor that were on the low end when it came to stats.


    Deciding that he would find out how true this statement was once he returned to Astarto Vige, he then went ahead and ced his trusty spear on the anvil, his mind somewhat rxed as he thought to himself that he would only have to enhance his weapon to his current level and he would be done.


    While enhancing his weapon, he pondered over how there was now a great disparity in rarity between his weapon and his armor set, with the former still staying at Umon+ while thetter was now Epic grade.


    Contemting over ways how he could increase the rarity of his weapon, he rummaged through the general guides to upgrading spears he hade across in the past in his mind, eventually recalling that one of the easiest ways to upgrade spears was to upgrade the material that made up the spear as a whole.


    "Since my spear is somewhat rted to blood, I guess fusing some Sanguine Mithril into the weapon would make it upgrade." Thinking about what materials he could get his hands on to upgrade the spear to a higher rarity, Valyr thought about it for a bit and decided to focus the upgrade on one aspect of the spear that he felt like he could use as a base. However, not long after, a voice responded to his question.


    "I rmend you to choose another type of metal for the upgrade¡­"


    "Master."

 Chapter 324 An Unforeseen Conversation

    "Master?" Hearing someone respond to his statement out of nowhere, and in such a somewhat odd way at that, Valyr swiftly look around his surroundings, wondering if someone from the Imperial Production Guild had decided to enter the private workshop since it was alreadyte into the night. After all, there was a limit as to how long he could stay within the guild as a non-member.


    However, after looking around the private workshop for a couple minutes, Valyr was unable to find any other person inside other than himself. Even releasing a bit of his mana into the surroundings to act as a rough detector for life did not yield any results whatsoever, with the only other things to apany him within the workshop being inanimate.


    "I swear I must''ve heard someone talk." Scratching his head for a bit, he eventually returned to the anvil and finished enhancing his spear to the highest level it could go, the words from earlier still lingering in his mind. "I think I should really take a break."


    Pondering over his current condition for a bit in rtion to the response he had heard earlier, Valyr thought that he was now beginning to hallucinate since it had been quite some time since he had eaten what he considered to be his breakfast and lunch, with dinner still nowhere near in sight for the current him. Aside from that, he had pushed his body and mind to its utmost limits during the upgrade process for his set of armor, as well as during the enhancement and refinement process.


    Of course, he had pushed his body and mind even further in the past, with the time he had forged a set of weapons for Braum and his group being the most recent example of when he had done such a thing. However, unlike when he was forging the weapons, he felt like his mind was running on overdrive ever since he had begun the upgrading process, causing him to feel far more tired than usual even though he had spent around the same amount of time whenpared to the time he had spent forging those weapons.


    Deciding that he would wrap up work as soon as possible and get his body the nutrients and rest it sorely needed, Valyr slightly sped up his movements while enhancing his spear''s level, making sure that each level that he applied was still sessful.


    By the time around 15 minutes had passed since he had returned to working on his spear, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief as he looked at the newly enhanced spear on the anvil, the expression on his face that of a faint bitter smile as he affixed his spear to his back before proceeding to insert a bit of mana into the furnace to finally shut it off.


    "I''ll leave it up to Braum to take care of this." After shutting off the magic-powered furnace, he then took a look at the state of the private workshop he had been using for the entire day, noticing that there was quite a decent amount of random stuff scattered all throughout the workshop, with none of them even being remotely useful to him.


    Though, just as he thought about cleaning up the workshop a bit before he left to return to the inn, the wave of tiredness he had been suppressing all this time finally washed over him, causing him to inwardly apologize to the man who had helped him procure the items he had used in his upgrades as he made his way out of the Imperial Production Guild, thankful that there was still an exit he could use to leave the premises.


    "I''ll have to make it up to him one way or another." Murmuring to himself as he finally left the Imperial Production Guild, Valyr felt his mind start to gradually recover its energy, allowing him to regain his somewhat lost sense of rity as he thought about getting a light meal to eat along the way before returning to the inn to get a good night''s rest.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With that, he began to take a detour to a nearby restaurant he had noted down a couple of days ago as he allowed his mind to wander off for a bit, noticing that his mind still felt like it was immensely focused on a certain aspect for some reason. Though he now had an idea of what was causing it now that he was out of the guild, Valyr decided to leave it be, seeing that he would have to find a way to keep it constantly active at some point in the future anyway.


    While making his way to the restaurant, Valyr thought back to the statement he had heard from earlier, now being able to give the statement a bit more thought to it than he was able to earlier. Surprisingly, he hade to the conclusion that he was not hallucinating and that there was indeed someone else who was listening in on his brief brainstorming.


    "But who could it be?" Pondering over it for a bit more, he then tried to recall the characteristics of the voice he had earlier, quickly remembering that the voice was somewhat feminine in terms of pitch and tone. Aside from that, he felt that the voice had be soft when it had mentioned the word ''Master'', which Valyr had no choice but to think that the word was pertaining to him.


    "Hmm¡­" Allowing the thoughts in his mind to linger, Valyr found his mind''s currently abnormal state to be helping him out in this regard, quickly removing all of the what-ifs in his mind as he felt himself get closer to the answer he was finding. Fortunately, a bit of thinking outside the box was the only thing stopping him from getting his needed answer as he stopped in his tracks and slowly gazed at the spear behind his back.


    "Can you hear me?" Taking in a deep breath, Valyr softly asked a question through his spear, taking into consideration the current circumstances he was in. Aside from that, he had also voiced out the same question in his mind, considering that the connection that he and his spear had was rooted in his soul.


    Amidst the silence after his question, Valyrposed his emotions as he continued to look at the spear behind his back. Thankfully, it did not take long for the young man to get the response he wanted to get.


    "¡­Yes."


    "Is there something I can help you with?"


    "Master?"

 Chapter 325 Talks Of A Future

    "Master¡­" Though he was inwardly d to find out that his conclusion had turned out to be correct, Valyr still had a visceral reaction to his spear''s words, slightly shuddering for a brief moment as a bitter smile appeared on his face. "That definitely isn''t something I could get used to so easily."


    "In any case, I guess this is the first time we''ve properly talked with one another." Deciding to leave the matter of how he was called be for now, Valyr began to walk once more, continuing to make his way in the direction of the restaurant he had in mind as he moved what he considered to be a long conversation with his spear to his mind. "You can hear my thoughts, right?"


    "I can, Master." A soft voice resounded in his mind in response. "I also find it delightful that I am finally able to talk you, Master. After all, you''re the one who has made me the way I currently am."


    p¦Á§ád¦Á`no¦Í?1`§ão§® "For some reason, I can''t help but feel like you''re ming me, even though the emotions I''m sensing you say otherwise." Valyr inwardly chuckled in response to his spear''s words. "Anyways, you don''t mind if I ask you a few questions, right?"


    "That would not be a bother at all, Master." Feeling as if the spear had shook its head in response to his question, Valyr faintly nodded as a response to the answer, stopping for a bit to reorient himself to where the restaurant was before returning his attention back to the conversation he was having.


    "Alright," said Valyr. "Before I begin, do you have a name you came up with that you would like me to call you or something?"


    "I do not," answered the spear in response, giving Valyr the feeling that it had shaken its head. "If Master has a name that he would like to give to me, then I would dly ept it."


    "I''m not really that good with names, but let me see what I cane up with." Feeling a wry smile creep up on his face as he responded to his spear''s words, Valyr continued to walk along the streets of Algerie City as he pondered over a suitable name for it. By the time he had arrived in front of the restaurant, which was still fortunately open at this hour of the night, he hade up with a name for the spear, seating himself and having his order taken first before proceeding to continue his conversation.


    "Hmm¡­ since your color is a darker shade of blood red, I''ve been thinking about words that have rtion to the word ''blood''," Valyr said to his spear. "In the end, I''ve thought about naming you Sanguine, or Sana in short since you first responded to my words after I suggested upgrading you with Sanguine Mithril. Then again¡­ are you fine with that kind of name?"


    "Sanguine¡­" the spear, whose name was now Sana, muttered the word a few times as its voice resounded in Valyr''s mind for a while. After some time, a feeling of delight radiated from the spear as Sana replied to his question not long after.


    "How could I turn down such a beautiful name, Master?"


    Ding!


    [Your weapon ''Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother'' has now changed its name to ''Sanguine, Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother''.]


    "Well, I''m happy that you find it beautiful." Taking a look at the notification he had just received from the system, which caused a faint smile to appear on his face for a brief moment, Valyr went ahead and asked Sana the question that had been lingering in his mind even before he had proven his conclusion to be true.


    "Your name aside, mind telling me why you told me to choose another metal to use for your upgrade?"


    "That would be due to the fact that the material you suggested would be ipatible with me, Master." Hearing these words from Sana, Valyr went silent for a bit as he allowed the spear to exin itself. Concurrently, the meal he had ordered had finally been served, allowing him to start eating as he listened to the spear''s exnation.


    "Although Sanguine Mithril would be a great material for upgrading equipment rted to blood, the type of blood that I have absorbed has a different property whenpared to the blood Sanguine Mithril is leaning towards," exined Sana to him. "To be more exact, the Lesser Tidemother Blood you''ve made me absorb is considered cold-type blood, while Sanguine Mithril improves anything that involves hot-type blood."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Should I use something else like Frigid Crimson Essence to upgrade you, then?" asked Valyr after Sana was done exining, his body gradually rxing the more food he ate. "Or would it be better to give you something like Refined Cold Bloodsteel?"


    "Both of them would definitely upgrade my capabilities to the next level, but neither of them would be something I''d consider as the best path to take." Hearing Sana''s response to his suggestions of other materials, Valyr briefly raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he allowed his spear to talk once more, finding it somewhat refreshing.


    "Compared to the items you just mentioned, there''s one item that would allow me to obtain the best possible upgrade, Master. In fact, that itemes from a source that you have no problem in dealing with." At these words, Valyr had a hint of confusion on his face as he wondered what his spear meant by that. Though, with the help of his currently enhanced mental capabilities, it did not take long for him to put two and two together and realize what Sana meant.


    "How could I forget about the Tidemother¡­" pping himself on the forehead as he briefly shook his head, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he swiftly finished the remainder of his meal before proceeding to make his way back to the inn.


    "You''re talking about the Tidemother, right?"


    "I am, Master," Sana replied. "To be more specific, fortifying the material that makes up my entire body with parts from the Lesser Tidemother would be enough for me to upgrade to the next level."


    "And after that?"


    "I''m sure Master has already thought about that. Naturally, the blood and the parts of a Greater Tidemother would allow me to improve even further."


    "It feels like I''m upgrading the Half Wyvern Armor all over again." Finding the upgrade materials of both his weapon and his armor set simr in the way that they both utilize parts from strong creatures, Valyr let out a brief chuckle as he found the thought amusing. "In any case, I find that a great relief."


    "I''ll be heading back to Astarto Vige to help the vige defend against the monster tide, after all." In response to the words that Valyr said to Sana, thetter radiated a feeling of expectation and delight. Though, not long after, these feelings were swiftly reced with contemtion as Sana''s creator asked the spear a question.


    "Now that I think about it, it''s quite odd," Valyr said to Sana through his mind. "The level of our bond is currently at Level 2, yet we''re already talking with one another, which is only something that could be done once our bond has reached Level 3."


    "With that in mind, how are you talking to me right now?"


    "To be honest, I don''t know the answer to that question either, Master." Responding to Valyr''s question, Sana radiated a bit of a glum feeling towards its creator. "However, if there''s one thing I''m certain of, it''s that there''s something within your memories that prompted me to wake up and be able to converse with you, Master."


    "What memory?" Confused, Valyr went ahead and asked Sana as to what memory it was pertaining to, only for the expression on his face to be solemn as thetter responded not long after.


    "The specific details of the various memories are quite hazy, but I''m certain that they mention the same thing."


    "Something about the Age of the Grand Tide¡­"

 Chapter 326 Butterfly Effect

    "Are you sure those memories tackled something called the Age of the Grand Tide, Sana?" With a solemn expression still adorning his face, Valyr asked a question back to his spear as he stopped in his tracks, wanting to know more about the matter before continuing his way back to the inn. "Is it possible for you to go over through some of those memories with me?"


    "I''ll try to recall them to the best of my abilities, Master," said Sana in response, its voice echoing within Valyr''s mind. "After gaining the ability to talk with you, I''ve lost the ability to go through a great portion of the memories within your mind for some reason, so I apologize if the details I give to you aren''t the most specific."


    "That''s not a problem." In response to his spear''s words, Valyr assured Sana that he didn''t need any specific information regarding the memories it had seen, just some broad details that would allow him to narrow down through his treasure trove of memories and confirm his suspicions.


    Nevertheless, the fact that Sana mentioned to him that it had lost the ability to go through most of his memories made him raise his eyebrow in curiosity for a brief moment, wondering if weapon bonds had such an ability like that for NPCs in the first ce.


    Thinking that he could obtain the answer to this question alongside other questions he had racked up so far after making a quick visit to the city''s library in the near future, Valyr ced the matter at the back of his head for now, moving once more in the direction of the inn as he attentively listened to what Sana had to say.


    "If what I can remember from looking through your memories is correct, the images I saw from your memories was that of a sight of andscape where monsters of all various shapes and sizes covered a great portion of it. On the other hand, people like you, Master, covered a small portion of thatndscape." After a bit of silence, Sana proceeded to tell Valyr what it could recall from looking through thetter''s memories.


    "However, unlike the monsters, which all seemed to be filled to the brim with energy, all of you had multiple injuries, some light, some severe. Nevertheless, the overall feeling that I was getting from the side that was filled with people was that of hopelessness. It was as if it was only then did they realize that the number of monsters before them truly seemed to be never ending¡­ or something along those lines."


    "Hmm¡­" Pondering over his spear''s description of one of the memories it had seen, Valyr went silent as he rummaged through his memories while continuing to make his way back to the inn, eventuallying across multiple memories that more or less matched up what Sana had described to him.


    With the context behind these memories varying from one another, with some being memories regarding the highest level of monster tides, while others tackled monster tides far worse than even the highest level, he eventually came to the conclusion that he needed a bit more information regarding the memories Sana saw to confirm his suspicions, asking thetter if it was possible for it to recall yet another memory.


    Hearing Valyr''s request, Sana responded back that it would try its best to recall another one, going silent once more as Valyr waited with bated breath, gradually bing more and more nervous as time passed. Fortunately, by the time he was only a couple streets away from the inn he and Wells were staying at, Sana had recalled yet another memory that had triggered its awakening, causing the young man to stop in his tracks as he listened once more to what his spear had to say.


    "Unlike the memory I described earlier where there were a lot of monsters, there''s only one monster in this one." Sana began its description of the new memory with a stark contrast between the current one it was describing and the previous one it had already described. "However, in terms of size, this monster more or less spanned the same area those monsters from the previous memory covered, if not more."


    Continuing to listen in silence, Valyr rummaged through his treasure trove of memories once again, narrowing down the list of possibilities as Sana continued to give him more and more information regarding the specific memory it had seen.


    "This monster had 20 legs, with each leg giving off the feeling that it seemed to havee from the skies above whenever it touched the ground," Sana told him. "Inparison, there were over hundreds of openings on its underside, all of them giving me the feeling that the memory from earlier would ur if any one of those opened up."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Do you still perhaps recall the name of the specific monster, Sana?" By this point, Valyr had already narrowed it down to a single memory, a grim expression now adorning his face as this second memory had more or less confirmed his suspicions. To be honest, he didn''t really need to ask Sana this question as he already knew the answer.


    Then again, it was still better to find out to be sure.


    "Er¡­ I''m not too sure about this one, Master." As Sana responded to his question, it radiated off a feeling of uncertainty. "But from what I can recall, the first word was Arachnaris¡­"


    "Arachnaris¡­" Valyr muttered in response. "Arachnaris, the Ancestral Tidemother of Origin?"


    "Yes! That''s the one, Master!" Sana swiftly affirmed Valyr''s guess. "That''s the name of the monster in the memory."


    "I see." Nodding in response to Sana''s words, Valyr thanked his spear for cooperating with him as he contemted over everything he had found out from Sana thus far, a pensive expression adorning his face as he eventually returned to the inn.


    p¦Ánd¦Á`no¦Í?1~§ão§® Heading straight to the room they were upying, Wells quickly found Wells already sound asleep, prompting him to head to the portion of the room he upied as he inwardly let out a long sigh. ''Out of all the memories it had to go through, it really stumbled upon those ones, huh.''


    Though Sana stumbling upon those memories of his did not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, to Valyr, it signaled the start of something he had already expected to happen at some point, which was the fact that everything would begin to deviate from what he knew as a yer thanks to his actions.


    Of course, he had a feeling that it had already begun to deviate after he had obtained the World Quest concerning the storyline of Greater Beyond''s first version. However, Sana stumbling upon those memories only made him realize that it had deviated even more.


    That was because the Age of the Grand Tide Sana mentioned¡­


    ¡­was the storyline of Greater Beyond''s third version.

 Chapter 327 Heading To Ones Roots

    Allowing himself to immerse in his own thoughts, Valyr pondered over everything he had done so far to get to where he was right now, eventually wondering about something that he should have asked himself in the first ce.


    ''Is there some greater reason behind why I was reborn to a time before Greater Beyond had begun? Why I was reborn as an NPC?''


    Going over through every action he had done in the past, Valyr eventually thought that each of his actions had caused a slight change to happen to the storyline, with some of them being less pronounced than the others. Then again, that was due to the possibility that the small action would only cause a change at a point far into the future, which Valyr had a certain feeling that it would happen at that point in time.


    A great example of an action he had done in the past that might have some great repercussions far into the future was him introducing the existence of Basic Reinforcement Elixir to Damian and Tristan, and by extension, the entire Astarto Vige. As far as he could remember, it took a long time for yers to stumble across the existence of Reinforcement Elixirs in the first ce, with the first few yers toe across it having discovered their existence atrge cities and core cities.


    After discovering Reinforcement Elixirs, yers began to use these elixirs en masse, with the NPCs from the towns and viges eventually asking the yers about it at some point. It was only then did the NPCs from these smaller settlements begin to use Reinforcement Elixirs en masse as well.


    A point that was originally supposed to happen around half a year into Greater Beyond''s first version.


    A point over one and a half years into the future.


    On the other side of the spectrum regarding actions that caused changes to the currently storyline was the World Quest he had obtained quite some time ago from Aster, which pertained to the storyline of Greater Beyond''s first version.


    Though it could be considered that its effects would only be truly pronounced once the storyline was at full swing, after reading through the quest''s description, gaining information from others, as well as a bit of self-contemtion, he hade to the realization that the change the World Quest had on the storyline was, in fact, far greater than he thought.


    Unlike his initial thoughts where he thought thatpleting the World Quest would only have a greater effect once the first version of Greater Beyond were released, Valyr had a feeling that the progression of Greater Beyond''s first version as a whole would be dictated by his progress on this World Quest. There was the possibility that the storyline would remain as is, yet there was also the possibility that the storyline would be worse.


    Of course, there was also the possibility that the storyline would beplete even before the first version could even begin.


    Briefly scratching his head at the spection rabbit hole he had gotten himself into, he decided to stop his train of thought there and then, conversing with Sana for a bit more after that before eventually falling into a deep slumber.


    ¡­


    "I guess it''s time to head back to where it all began." Scratching his head as he gave his consciousness time to limate to its current surroundings, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he got out of bed, quickly going through his usual morning routine before leaving the inn, heading to a nearby restaurant not long after for a light breakfast.


    While he was in the middle of eating breakfast, Valyr brought up a screen containing the chat function in front of him, sending a message to Braum to ask if the man was already awake. Surprisingly, it did not take long for him to obtain a response, with the man asking him why he had decided to send a message to him at such an early time.


    Taking a bite of the meal he had ordered, he swiftly sent a reply back to Braum if he could help him enter the Underground Transport Network, only to mention the Nascent Wyvern Armor set he had left at the workshop not long after. Fortunately, Braum had the ability to read between the lines, prompting the man to respond to the first topic that he was fine with him doing so, while he responded to the second topic that he would bring the armor set along with him, as well as a spatial bracelet that Valyr could borrow, which could fit the entire armor set inside it.


    With a grin gradually creeping up onto his face, Valyr finished the remainder of his meal before sending a response back to Braum, thanking him for his help as he told him that he was already on his way to the Imperial Production Guild.


    And thus, he activated a great chunk of the agility he had, increasing the pace at which he made his way to the Imperial Production Guild, arriving at the ce only a few minutester.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡­


    "I thought you''d take a bit longer, actually." Waving back at Valyr, Braum quickly gave the spatial bracelet he had mentioned in his messages to the young man, prompting thetter who had [Enhanced Polymorph] to grin in response before wearing it around his wrist. "For some reason, you don''t strike me as a morning person."


    "I''ve just gotten used to waking up early." Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response, taking notice of Braum''s current get-up, which looked far more casual than the previous times he had seen Braum in the past as the man wore a in white t-shirt and dark gray pants. "Anyways, shall we go?"


    "I''ll lead the way." Nodding in response to Valyr''s statement, Braum proceeded to walk in front of the young man as the two of them roamed the streets of Algerie City. Along the way, Braum exined to Valyr the various rules surrounding the Underground Transport Network, as well as the various unwritten rules people hade to ept once one was inside the ce.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the two of them to arrive at a spot that contained an entrance to the Underground Transport Network, which looked like a slightly decrepit house on the outside. However, once Braum uttered out a few words to the old man who had opened the door for the two, he and Valyr were soon allowed entry to the depths of the Underground Transport Network, with thetter feeling a hint of nostalgia after returning to a ce he had frequented in the past.


    "Just head to any one of the dark-robed people you see that aren''t attending anyone else and they''ll take care of the rest." While taking in the sight of the Underground Transport Network he was in, Braum said a few things to Valyr, prompting thetter to nod in response, only for him to bid farewell to the man not long after as the former told him that he had already done his part.


    Watching Braum''s silhouette gradually disappear from his field of sight, Valyr took in a deep breath before making his way to one of the dark-robed people Braum had mentioned.


    "Destination?" The dark-robed person Valyr had gone to looked up at him as the man posed a question.


    "A few kilometers near the Astarto Vige gates." Valyr faintly nodded at the dark-robed person in response.


    "One way?"


    "Round trip."


    "That''ll be five tinum coins."


    Though he felt a bit of pain at having to part with such a great amount of money in his current situation, Valyr nevertheless gave the dark-robed man the amount he had asked, causing thetter to nod in response as he gave Valyr a small medallion with intricate carvings on its surface soon after. "Once you''re ready to head back to this ce, just infuse a bit of your mana into the medallion I''ve given you."


    "Now, step on the circle you see in front of you."


    Nodding in response, Valyr did what he was told, positioning himself at the center of the magic circle beside the dark-robed man. After a bit of back and forth between him and the man, thetter eventually nodded in satisfaction before infusing a great portion of his mana into the circle, causing Valyr''s body to disappear from the ce not long after.


    "Safe travels."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 328 Reuniting Out Of Nowhere

    Astarto Vige.


    "With each passing day, the situation out there looks worse than what it did yesterday." Standing a few kilometers away from the fortified stone walls that now protected the vige, Tristan gazed at horizon before him, a slight frown adorning his face as he checked for the small nuances in the aura he could sense from afar.


    Though he had done the same thing yesterday while he and Damian were at the outskirts of the vige to find out how much time they had left before the monster tide came knocking, the aura he and his good friend felt from the horizon was more or less a homogenous agglomeration of the multiple auras they normally sensed during a monster tide.


    Comparing it to that kind of aura, the aura Tristan sensed from afar was a bit more detailed in terms of which parts of the aura came from what monster, allowing him to roughly separate the various auras making up the aura he was sensing, forming a rough distribution of the monster tide''s strength in his mind as he pondered over what kind of enemies they were going to face by the time the tide came at full force.


    "Guess I''ll have toe back here a day or two from now to get a better idea of what the vige is up against," Tristan muttered to himself as he scratched his head for a bit, pondering over everything he had sensed so far before inwardly nodding to himself.


    "In any case, if there''s anything I''ve confirmed from all of this, it''s the fact that the vige is up against its first medium-scale monster tide." As these words came out of his mouth, a bitter smile gradually crept up his face as he let out a low sigh some timeter. "It would be nice if the vige had more people with tons ofbat power like Damian and Myst."


    "I wonder when Valyr''s going toe back?" Pondering over the thought of having more people in the vige with greaterbat power to fend off against the uing monster tide with greater ease, Tristan recalled the conversation he had with Valyr yesterday, prompting the question to pop up in his mind a few secondster.


    Coincidentally, just as he had turned around to make his way back to the vige¡­


    Whoosh!


    Apanied by a brief sh of bright light, a being appeared beside Tristan, causing thetter to squint his eyes before taking a few steps back to distance himself from the being that had just appeared. Then, as the light in the surroundings gradually returned to normal, Tristan slowly allowed the shape of his eyes to return to normal as he took a look at the being that had appeared before him out of nowhere.


    "¡­" Unsurprisingly, it took less than an instant for him to realize who had just appeared before him, his eyes widened in great shock while his mouth was wide agape. On the other hand, the man that had appeared before Tristan looked at thetter with a hint of shock in his eyes before the expression on his face quickly returned to normal.


    After that, the man let out a bitter chuckle before slowly shaking his head. "And here I thought I would be able to surprise you guys with my return. Guess the cat''s out of the bag before I could even reveal it."


    "Anyways, it''s nice to see you again."


    ¡­


    "I can''t believe you really returned to the vige the day after you asked." After Tristan eventually got over the shock he felt from seeing Valyr appear in front of him out of nowhere, the two of them began to make their way back to the vige, with Tristan contacting Damian and Alfaera to head to Damian''s office as he had a surprise to show them.


    "At first, I thought about taking a carriage back to the vige," said Valyr in response, a rxed smile adorning his face as he was d to see Tristan again. "But because I was already at a ce incredibly far away from the vige, taking even the fastest carriage would have taken me a week to get there. By that time, the monster tide would have been long gone."


    "And so, I decided to look for other methods to get back to this ce as quickly as possible¡­ which is more or less the reason why I appeared in front of you out of nowhere." As these words left Valyr''s mouth, he let out a brief cackle. "Didn''t expect you to make that face, though."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "If you were in my ce, even you would be making a face like that!" In response, Tristan grumbled, causing Valyr to let out a bit moreughter after that. Though a frown appeared on the man''s face as he watched the young manugh at him, this frown eventually disappeared as he told Valyr that he was d he was back at the vige, to which thetter told him that he felt the same way.


    After that, the two of them talked a bit more, with Tristan informing Valyr regarding what was going on in the vigetely after he had departed the vige a month ago, while Valyr told Tristan about the things he had been doing as ofte. Naturally, he had omitted mentioning a great portion of the things that had been going on in his surroundings, separating those matters from the matter he was going to tackle pretty soon.


    "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot to mention." As they made their way back at a leisurely pace, there was still some distance separating the two from the vige gates. "I''ve ascended to Rank 2 quite recently."


    "Already?" Tristan''s eyes widened in slight surprise. "Weren''t you still at the middle of Rank 1 before you left the vige?"


    "That I am." Valyr nodded. "How about you? Any improvements?"


    "Aside from the Basic Reinforcement Elixir you''ve given us, not really." In response to Valyr''s question, Tristan shed a bitter smile. "You''re rubbing salt on an open wound here, you know?"


    "Definitely not what I intended to do." Hearing Tristan''s words, Valyr quickly apologized, recalling theck of opportunities avable to Tristan and the other high-leveled yers of the vige when it came to earning XP. "But since you mention it, I do know a ce where you could get a lot of XP in a short amount of time."


    "Oh?"


    "Yeah, but I''ll save that for when we meet up with Tristan and Alfaera."


    "Why not tell me now? It''s not like anything would change if I know of the ce or not before meeting them."


    "That may be true¡­ but I have something else to propose to you." At these words, a mischievous grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he looked at one of the good friends he made in the vige. "Say¡­"


    "Wanna y a prank on the other two?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "What do you need me to do?"

 Chapter 329 Taking Charge

    "Any idea on why Tristan had us wait at my office?" Deciding to do some of the paperwork that had piled up on his desk as he waited for the man that made the two of them wait at his office, Damian posed a question to the woman that had a slightly bored expression on her face, her gaze darting around the entire room as she sat near the door.


    "Not a clue." Alfaera shook her head. "Then again, since he''s gone outside the vige to take a look at where the monster tide is currently at, it''s probably something rted to that."


    "Probably." Briefly shrugging his shoulders at her words, Damian soon returned his attention to the document he was looking through, only to ce it down once he noticed that the door had been swung open.


    With both Damian and Alfaera focusing their sights onto the being that opened the door, the two of them did not expect Tristan to bring along another person with him, the aura the other person emanated giving off the feeling to the two that his strength far surpassed theirs in every aspect.


    Sporting a set of short ash gray hair, the other person that came along with Tristan seemed to be in his early forties, with wrinkles and dark spots upying a few spots on his face as these features told the two that the man was already his prime age. Nevertheless, this feeling was quickly canceled out by the few scars that littered the sides of the man''s face, with a deep one running down from the left side of his forehead to his left cheek.


    Even though the man was wearing casual clothes, these features instead made both Damian and Alfaera think that they were looking at a battle-hardened warrior, the aura they felt from him earlier only making them even more certain of that fact.


    "Is he the reason why you called us out here, Tristan?" Seemingly getting an idea of why Tristan had called the two of them, Damian went ahead and initiated the conversation, proceeding to ask a question to his good friend.


    In response, Tristan''s eyes widened for a bit, not expecting his friend to catch on so quickly. Soon after, he nodded before replying, "Yeah. While I was taking a look at the monster tide from afar, this man appeared out of nowhere, telling me that he was on a mission to help viges defend against monster tides."


    Noticing that both Damian and Alfaera had slightly doubtful expressions on their faces as he said this, Tristan went ahead and exined himself. "At first, I was skeptical, just like the two of you right now. However, after he had showed me a few of his moves, I can tell you without a doubt that he has the same level of power as you and I, Damian. He''ll be of great help in the uing monster tide."


    "Is that so?" Still skeptical, Damian decided to focus his gaze on the middle-aged man behind Tristan and ask the man a few questions of his own. "Would it be possible to know your name?"


    "Aidan." The middle-aged man responded sinctly, instantly giving Damian the feeling that he was a man of a few words.


    "What is your current ss rank?"


    "Rank 2."


    "What weapon do you use inbat?"


    "The spear."


    "Are you really on a mission to help viges defend against monster tides?"


    "Yes."


    "You''re not doing this for anything else in exchange?"


    "I am not."


    "Hmm¡­" Though Damian had asked what he thought to be all of the questions he needed to ask to ascertain whether the man''s motive was legitimate or not, he still felt like something was off.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why not have him show his skills in front of us?" Noticing the hesitation on Damian''s face whether to ept the help or not, Alfaera stepped forward and gave him a suggestion. "After all, Tristan had already seen his skills, so our doubts might disappear once we see them as well."


    Briefly scratching his head for a bit as he pondered over it, Damian eventually nodded as he let out a faint sigh, proceeding to talk with Alfaera regarding areas where the man could showcase his skills in front of them. Surprisingly, in the midst of the conversation between the two, Tristan let out a faint giggle, causing the two to look at him as they asked him what was funny.


    Though he tried his best to suppress it, Tristan instead let out a bit moreughter in response to the question, with the middle-aged man apanying himughing soon after. At this point, both Damian and Alfaera both had somewhat grim expressions on their faces as they felt confused as to what was going on. Thankfully, the confusion they felt would swiftly disappear as Tristan said not long after, "Alright, alright. Let''s stop here."


    "Mind revealing your true identity, Aidan?"


    "I was waiting for you to say that." Grinning, the man''s appearance started to morph into something else, causing both Damian and Alfaera to stare at the man as they gradually found the man''s original appearance to be familiar. By the time the man was done, Alfaera and Damian had their mouths open so wide that it seemed like eggs could fit inside them, their eyes seemingly bursting out of their sockets.


    "That face never gets old to me for some reason." Seeing the faces Damian and Alfaera were making, the manughed for a short while before letting out a relieved sigh.


    "In any case, it''s definitely nice to see you again."


    ¡­


    "And that pretty much sums everything up, I think." After both Damian and Alfaera had gotten over the shock of seeing Valyr in front of them, the two of them had gotten furious at Tristan and Valyr, prompting thetter two to apologize in response, even though they were stillughing their hearts out.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for them to calm down, prompting Valyr to bring Damian and Alfaera up to speed on what he had been up to after he left the vige, as well as how he had appeared beside Tristan before meeting up with them. Naturally, he still omitted mentioning about things that he felt were unimportant to the uing monster tide, such as the World Quest he had and the like.


    Of course, Valyr had also mentioned to them that he had ascended to Rank 2, which prompted Damian to ask on behalf of Alfaera on how he had amassed so much XP to ascend to the next rank so quickly. In response, Valyr told them about the Experience Pit that was located in Clossbay City, telling them that it was the best ce to earn XP as long as they found the time to head there.


    Surprisingly, only Alfaera seemed to havemitted the new piece of information Valyr had shared to memory, with Damian and Tristan nodding instead in agreement with his words, as if they already knew of the existence of Experience Pits. With that, Valyr went ahead and asked the two if they knew what he was talking about, to which they responded that they did.


    "Well, moving past the topic of earning a ton of XP in a short time for now, is the vige prepared to face against the monster tide?" Shrugging his shoulders in response to the two''s answers, Valyr posed a question to the trio. "From what Tristan told me earlier, we''re very likely to be up against a medium-scale monster tide."


    "We''re more or less prepared against such a monster tide," said Damian in response. "Thanks to the Basic Reinforcement Elixir recipe you''ve given us, even though a lot of the guards are still at thete stages of Rank 0, theirbat power is equivalent to someone at the early stages of amon Rank 1 ss, which is more than enough to ensure that the vige won''t be fully destroyed by the tide at the very least."


    "Of course, there''s still you, me, Tristan, and Myst at the helm of this defense, so it would be better to say the chances of us sessfully defending against the uing monster tide is quite high."


    "I see." Listening to Damian''s words, Valyr nodded before going silent for a bit. After that, he grabbed their attention before asking a question to the trio that left all of them in a confused yet pensive expression in response.


    "Though I''m d to hear that the vige is more than ready to face the uing monster tide without worries¡­"


    "Is it possible for me to take charge of the whole operation when the timees?"

 Chapter 330 Further Discussions

    As the question left Valyr''s mouth, the three simultaneously looked back at him with raised eyebrows, the expressions on their faces easily making their curiosity known to the young man. Nevertheless, even though they all looked back at him with curiosity, if one looked closely at them, one would see a hint of confusion hidden beneath their expressions, as well as thoughts considering the proposition Valyr had given them.


    Noticing this confusion underneath their expressions, Valyr decided to rify his intent behind the request. "Well, to be honest, this request is something that I came up with while talking with you three, so I''d understand if you decline. However, the main idea behind me taking charge of the whole defense against the uing monster tide is to get a better sense of my strength now that I''ve ascended to Rank 2."


    "From my perspective, there''s a likely chance that other people would be implicated into what I would be doing during the defense against the tide, so it would be nice if I had such a level ofmand over everyone at that time." Listening to Valyr''s words, the confusion hidden beneath everyone''s expressions gradually disappeared, with the three contemting over the request Valyr had voiced out to them earlier.


    Unsurprisingly, as someone who was only participating in the monster tide thanks to his high level of strength as a Rank 2 ss holder, Tristan did not take long to end his train of thought as he allowed Damian and Alfaera, the ones who truly hadmand over the people during the monster tide, to let them ponder over Valyr''s request in silence.


    "Do you really need to havemand over everyone during the monster tide?" After a minute of silence, Alfaera initiated the new topic by asking Valyr a question. "Can''t you just tell Damian during the monster tide to have everyone fall back while you do your own thing or something?"


    "I¡­ haven''t really thought about that, to be honest." In response to Alfaera''s suggestion, Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head as he shed a bitter smile. "Hmm¡­ yeah. I think that''ll work as well. All I need is for everyone to move back when I start my testing anyway."


    "If that''s truly the case, then there''s not much of a problem," said Damian before nodding. "Of course, we''ll talk about it a bit more after we''re done here."


    "Then again, as someone who''s still considered a part of the vige''s guard regiment, with a rank of Guard Captain at that, you have the right tomand over arge section of the defense anyway. Even more so now that you''re Rank 2." Hearing these wordse out of Damian''s mouth, a light smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips before nodding back in understanding, thanking him soon after.


    "Well, with that sorted out, can I ask what are you testing specifically during the monster tide?" Seeing that the leader of the whole defense against the monster tide had sorted everything out with Valyr, Alfaera took the opportunity to ask thetter more about what he wanted to test.


    "I know that you want to test out your newfound strength as a Rank 2 during the defense, but do you really need everyone to move out of the way with such a level of strength?"


    As Alfaera asked this question to Valyr, she briefly spared a nce towards Tristan, causing Tristan to let out a bit ofughter in response. Not long after, a light smile appeared on Damian''s face as he looked back at his good friend, nodding at one another as they knew the reason behind Valyr''s request, being the only two in the vige to know of it, in fact.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    On the other hand, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he noticed the expressions both Tristan and Damian had, shifting his gaze back onto Alfaera not long after as he opened his mouth. "Believe me when I say that it''s for the better if we have everyone move out of the way when I make a move."


    Though Alfaera was still curious as to what basis Valyr had to make such a request, she decided to let it be for now, thinking that she would have to watch them defend against the monster tide when the time came, making sure to focus her full attention on Valyr at that point.


    After the details of Valyr''s request were more or less sorted out, the four of them talked a bit more about the vige''s n during the monster tide, as well as how it would impact the progress of the vige''s expansion into a town. Surprisingly, it was only through this conversation did Valyr find out the reason why Alfaera had not participated in the previous monster tide, even though her current level was more than enough for her to be part of the main offensive force.


    Aside from the fact that she was the leader of the vige, she was the one coordinating everything behind the scenes, making sure that every request Damian had in preparation for the uing monster tide would be met before they began their defense. She was also the one responsible for the creation of the camps that allowed the defenders to rest and refuel before the monster tide arrived, something Valyr had made use of during the previous monster tide.


    However, the most important reason why she hadn''t participated in the previous monster tide was the fact that both her ss and subss were purely nonbat. Of course, her stats were still far greater than the average human due to her being of a higher level, but she did not have the ability to capitalize on these higher stats unlike those withbat sses did.


    Naturally, once Valyr heard this, his mind thought about Tristan and himself, people who still took up abative role even though both of them had a production ss as their main ss. In the end, he thought that it was a matter of personal choice rather than whether or not she truly did not have the capability to take up abat role.


    After all, it took a lot of effort on his end to be someone capable of filling up a spot in the main offensive force, with Tristan putting even more effort than him.


    With that, the four eventually wrapped up their conversation, with all of them having faint smiles on their faces as they were d to have caught up with one another. Though, just as both Alfaera and Tristan were about to leave the office to do their own thing, Valyr asked the three of them a question all of a sudden that prompted them to stop in their tracks.


    "Now that I think about it¡­"


    "Where''s Vera?"

 Chapter 331 Sorting Things Out

    Naturally, the thought of asking for Vera''s whereabouts did note out of nowhere. As the four were wrapping up the conversation to go do their own things, a lingering thought surfaced in his mind all of a sudden, causing him to remember the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir he had obtained from Riekan back then as a reward forpleting the dungeon.


    Now that he was Rank 2, he now was free to ingest the entire set and gain the passive skill that came along with consuming 10 vials of each type, which would improve his stats even further. However, this set of Reinforcement Elixir was stored away back at Algerie City in the inn both he and Wells were staying at, which prompted him to think about having it concocted instead, causing the thought of Vera to pop up in his mind.


    "Vera, huh?" In response to the question, both Tristan and Damian looked back at him with bitter smiles before the former let out a faint sigh, which did not take long for Valyr to understand that the answer he would obtain was on the side of something that he did not want to hear. "Well, to cut a long story short, she left the vige."


    "Why?" Though Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh at the response, with a faint bitter smile creeping up onto his lips not long after, he asked the two of them for a reason why.


    "She didn''t really tell us anything," Tristan shrugged his shoulders as he replied. "All she said was that she was going to have to leave the vige to pursue some matters and that was it."


    "Did she leave just recently?" Valyr asked in response.


    "More or less the same as you, actually." This time, Damian was the one who responded. "If my memory serves me correctly, she left around a week or two after you left to head to Clossbay City the day after the celebration."


    "I see." At those words, Valyr let out an audible sigh, only to realize something a few secondster. "Wait¡­ then that means there''s no one capable of healing in the vige anymore, right?"


    "Don''t remind me about that." Surprisingly, Alfaera was the one who responded to his words, letting out an exasperated sigh as a slightly annoyed expression appeared on her face. "I found a healer from another vige toe to our vige and stay, but he asked a lot of things from me before he eventually epted."


    "I hope he didn''t ask for anything too important," said Valyr in response, which only prompted Alfaera to let out yet another sigh.


    "Aside from a small sum of money, he wanted me to be his lover out of all things." Recalling the entire scene as if it had just happened sometime earlier, an irritated expression appeared on Alfaera''s face as she told Valyr of what the man had asked her. "Fortunately, I was eventually able to work it out. If not, that guy would still be hounding me as we speak."


    "I¡­ see." Feeling as if any further exnation regarding the matter would only lead him down a rabbit hole that was hard to escape from, Valyr decided to leave the matter at that, letting out a sigh not long after as he thought about Vera leaving the vige. "In any case, it''s a shame that Vera left the vige."


    "It really is." Alfaera nodded in agreement, with Damian and Tristan faintly nodding not long after. "A healer is already hard to recruit for a vige, with an alchemist and a healer even more so."


    "Anyways, I''ll have to leave now. Gotta settle a few more things before the defense against the monster tide starts." Seeing as their conversation had finished, Alfaera took the opportunity to leave, bidding farewell at the other three as she disappeared from their field of sight not long after.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Sometimeter, Tristan decided that it was time for him to leave as well, bidding farewell to the two as he urged Valyr to stop by his smithy when he had the free time. In response, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he nodded, telling him that he would definitely be making a stop at the smithy before the monster tide began, inwardly thinking about upgrading the Nascent Wyvern Armor set a bit more.


    Eventually, with both Tristan and Alfaera gone, Damian and Valyr looked at each other, being the only ones left within the former''s office.


    "Say, has my dormitory room been upied by other people after I left?" Thinking that he had dyed the allocation of his unused XP for so long, Valyr went ahead and asked Damian if his dormitory was still free.


    "Nope." Damian shook his head in response. "For those at the rank of Guard Captain and above, even if they leave, the dormitory rooms they upied are made sure that they wouldn''t be used by other people. Of course, that is unless the guard regiment had a good reason to do so."


    "Got it." Nodding back in response, Valyr thanked Damian before turning around to leave the office. Surprisingly, just before he could fully leave the office, he heard the man behind him weing him back to the vige, causing a grin to appear on his face as he nodded, making his way to his dormitory room not long after.


    ¡­


    "Still looks the same as when I left it." After walking through the ever familiar corridors of the vige barracks, Valyr eventually arrived at his dormitory room, a slight grin adorning his face as he took in his surroundings. Feeling a hint of nostalgia from the ce even though it had only been over a month since he left the vige, he eventually sat on top of his bed, the expression on his face turning solemn as hemanded the system to bring up a list of his skills.


    Ding!


    "It would''ve been nice if I had Skill Keys on hand." Taking a look at the list of skills in front of him, which was multiple times longer than thest time he took a look at it, Valyr quickly noticed that a great amount of his skills were still at the base level, prompting him to inwardly curse himself for dying such a simple thing for far too long. "Too bad the ce where I can get them is incredibly far away."


    "Then again, it''s fortunate that I now have the means to teleport there." cing the matter of Skill Keys at the back of his head for now, Valyr focused his attention on the unleveled skills in his skill screen. "The only problem is the amount of money I''d have to fork out to teleport there in the first ce."


    "Oh well. That''s better saved for when the monster tide is over."


    "For now, it''s time to upgrade my skills."


    "¡­ Let''s just hope it''s not as painful as having to learn close to 40 skills in one sitting."

 Chapter 332 A Much Needed Allocation

    "Let''s see¡­ which skills should I upgrade first?" Aftermanding the system to hide the skills that he had already leveled up to their limits on his skill list, Valyr focused his attention on the skills that remained, taking into consideration the two general categories that separated the great amount of unleveled skills he had.


    Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for him toe to a decision, thinking that the answer to the question was a no-brainer, seeing as how one category had far less skills to upgrade than the other. "Guess I''ll start off this upgrading spree with you first."


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 84,452 XP to upgrade ''Basic Weapon Mastery'' to Level 10?]


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr responded to the prompt that had appeared before him with a faint yet stern nod, causing a small chunk from therge amount of unused XP he still had to disappear as an influx of information washed over his mind not long after.


    Due to the fact that he had endured far greater mental anguish thanks to him deciding to learn over 40 skills at once, only to then fuse almost half of them into three stronger skills, the amount of pain Valyr felt from the influx of information was next to non-existent, taking him about a minute or so to process and organize the information he had received regarding the usage of various weapons, including the spear.


    Of course, Valyr knew that the reason why the amount of pain he felt from the action was almost imperceptible was due to the fact that he was far from reaching his mind''s limit on how much skills it could handle per day. Aside from that, he had decided to only upgrade one skill to its maximum level, unlike back then where he decided to learn multiple skills of the same branch in a row.


    Since there was still a lot of time before the monster tide truly bared its fangs at the vige, Valyr was going to take it easy on upgrading his skills for the meantime, a shift of pacepared to what he had been doing back in Algerie City. With that, he rested for a bit before upgrading [Unearthed Innate Potential] to its max level, causing a surge of energy to circte throughout his body for a brief bit to amodate for the increase in overall strength.


    After that, he focused his attention onto the other unleveled passive skills that remained, all of which were inclined towards the magic side of things. Looking at the skills for a bit, he upgraded both [Basic Spellcasting] and [Basic Incantation] to their max level first, making sure to pace himself in order to make sure the pain he felt would be negligible.


    Once he was done upgrading those two, he thought about practicing the magic skills he had in his arsenal sometime in the future before shifting his train of thought back to what was important, upgrading all of the elemental affinity passive skills he had to the maximum level.


    Although the amount of skills his mind could handle per day had increased thanks to his ascension to Rank 2, by the time he was finished upgrading thest unleveled passive skill in his skill list to its max level, Valyr felt a bit of strain weighing down on his mind. Fortunately, after a bit of self-introspection, he eventually concluded that he could still upgrade a portion of his active skills as long as he paced himself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Deciding to give his mind a bit more time to rest from the strain it had felt from upgrading a bunch of skills earlier, a certain thought popped up in his mind once more, reminding him of the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixirs he had gotten from Riekan, the same set that reminded him of Vera while he was with Damian and the others earlier.


    "Should I go get it?" asked Valyr to himself in a mutter, briefly scratching the head of his back as he weighed the pros and cons of both choices.


    Compared to consuming an entire set of Basic Reinforcement Elixir, the amount of stats one would get from consuming an entire set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir was exactly double what a set of Basic Reinforcement Elixir gave, with its apanying skill also following the same line of thought.


    However, rather than have the set''s stats and skill overwrite the stats he had gained from the Basic Reinforcement Elixir, consuming the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir would instead have its stats stack on top of it, which meant that Valyr would effectively gain 30 points in each substantial stat if he consumed the Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir.


    Of course, 30 points did not mean much in the long run. But to Valyr, whose stats were already high for someone at the beginning levels of Rank 2, 30 points was still a substantial addition to his strength, which he thought would help out greatly during the monster tide.


    Unfortunately, at the end of his train of thought, he decided that he would just consume the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir when he returned to Algerie City, the main reason stopping him from doing so was the fact that it had cost him five tinum coins to get a round way trip to Astarto Vige.


    Sure, gaining a marginal increase in strength was great, but it wasn''t ''I would spend another five tinum coins to get it'' great.


    "It does kind of suck that I''m only recalling that I still have the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir after the fact that I teleported back to this vige." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, he let out a mocking chuckle, the target of his mockery being himself. "Then again¡­ my current stats are definitely far higher than what someone with amon Rank 2 ss would have. Even those withmon Rank 3 sses arecking in terms of stats, I think."


    "Anyways, I think that''s more than enough rest for my mind." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr psyched himself up for the next array of skills he would have to level, feeling that his mind had somewhat recovered from the upgrading spree from earlier.


    "Time to continue."

 Chapter 333 Straight To The Middle

    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 73,891 XP to upgrade ''Inferior Heal'' to Level 10?]


    [Would you like to spend 73,891 XP to upgrade ''Basic Crimson me Maniption'' to Level 10?]


    [Would you like to spend 65,253 XP to upgrade ''Offense Aura'' to Level 10?]


    [Would you like to spend 65,253 XP to upgrade ''Defense Aura'' to Level 10?]


    "Yes to all of them, of course."


    Whoosh!


    To start off his spree of upgrading his under-leveled offensive skills, Valyr went ahead and upgraded the four skills he had in his arsenal that were the nearest to the maximum level, all of them helping him out greatly in one way or another whenever he could use them.


    While upgrading these four skills, he was slightly surprised that [Basic Crimson me Maniption] had not disappeared, even though he had picked up [Basic me Maniption] since it was one of the basic maniption skills he needed to pick up if he wanted to gain control over the four basic elements.


    Then again, even though it was quite odd, that did not mean that he would not use the two maniption skills being separate to his advantage, wondering to himself whether using them together would result in a unique oue.


    With a great influx of information bombarding his mind, Valyr slightly gritted his teeth as he processed and organized the information he received from the upgrades, feeling that his mind was gradually nearing the limit regarding the number of skills it could handle each day. Nevertheless, he ignored the feeling for now, eventually letting out a long sigh as he obtained notifications from the system that the four skills had been upgraded.


    "Now onto the hard part. All of the skills I have that are still Level 1." Wiping off the cold sweat that slowly dripped from his forehead after what he had just gone through, a bitter smile briefly adorned Valyr''s face as he thought about how many skills he had left in his skill list that he had not upgraded yet, letting his mind rest for the meantime.


    "Oh, it''s actually not a lot." Surprisingly, after counting the number of skills he had yet to level up, Valyr found out that he only had 11 skills to upgrade before he was unable to upgrade any of them any further. Then again, that did not mean that upgrading all 11 skills to their maximum skills would be easy, considering that he was already nearing his mind''s limit. With that, he knew that he was going to be in for a world of pain sometime soon.


    However, that didn''t mean he wouldn''t try it anyway.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 84,452 XP to upgrade ''Limit Break'' to Level 10?]


    "Yes."


    Whoosh!


    epting the prompt that had appeared in front of his field of vision, an influx of information washed over his mind once more, with the amount of pain that apanied it this time around reaching a level that forced Valyr to grit his teeth.


    While allowing his mind to process and organize the information regarding the skill he was upgrading, Valyrpared the pain he was feeling to the great amounts of pain he had experienced back when he was fusing his skills together into greater skills. Inparison to something like that, the amount of pain he was going through right now was still negligible, which unsurprisingly gave him a boost in willpower, enough for him tost until the system notified him of the sessful upgrade.


    Letting out a brief sigh of relief as he wiped off the sweat from his forehead once more, Valyr took a look outside the window in his room, seeing that there was still a lot of daylight for him to make use of.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Thinking about how he would have to enhance his armor set and his weapon to match to his current level after he was done, he psyched himself up for the 10 remaining skills he had yet to upgrade, all of which were magic-based active skills.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 422,260 XP to upgrade all ''Basic Maniption'' skills to Level 10?]


    Deciding to speed up the process of upgrading the 10 remaining skills by a bit, Valyr made use of a quality of life feature the system had when it came to upgrading skills, something that he used often back when he was still a yer. Unsurprisingly, the amount of XP the prompt was asking from him was a considerable jump whenpared to upgrading a single skill to its max level, though Valyr knew that it was just the cost of upgrading all five ''Basic Maniption'' skills to their max levelsbined.


    With that, he made a brief prayer to the heavens above as he prepared himself for the wave of pain that was about toe, epting the prompt not long after as a considerable chunk of his unused XP was consumed. For a couple of seconds, there was a lull in the surroundings, making it seem to Valyr that he had returned to the vige for leisure reasons.


    Unfortunately, that thought swiftly disappeared not long after that.


    "AGH! FUCK!" Unsessfully stopping himself from cursing out, Valyr gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as tightly as he possibly could, causing a bit of blood to drip from his palms while some of his teeth started to chip out as wave upon wave of pain bombarded his body from the influx of information he had received.


    Thankfully, with the five skills he had decided to upgrade in unison having the same nature, the amount of time it took for him to process the information each upgrade had was equivalent to upgrade a single skill, though the intensity of the pain he felt was still equivalent to upgrading five.


    Nevertheless, this realization was more than enough for him to bite the bullet and upgrade all ''Basic Magic Style'' skills to their max levels in unison as well, which was naturally apanied with a bit of cursing, blood, and a few contorted expressions.


    "Haah¡­ haah¡­" By the time the pain had subsided after he was sessful in upgrading thest five remaining skills to their max levels, Valyr caught his breath as he sat down on the floor in the meantime, only to lie down on the cold floor not long after as he gave his body and mind some time to rest.


    A few minutester, he let out a faint sigh before sitting up straight,manding the system not long after to show him the amount of unused XP he still had left after going through what he considered a heavily dyed upgrading spree. "I still have over 7 million XP left to allocate, huh."


    "Well then. That''s quite the jump." After taking a look at how much XP he still had left, he then checked with the system regarding the number of levels he could obtain with the XP he still had. Though he found it slightly disappointing that he was only a few tens of thousands of XP short from getting another level, the level increase he would get from what he had at the moment was still more than enough.


    "Seven levels. To think I actually grinded enough XP to be solidly at the middle of Rank 2." Valyr faintly chuckled as hemanded the system to allocate most of the XP towards his levels. Taking a look at the prompt that had appeared in front of him in response, it did not take long for him to ept, muttering out a few words not long after with a slight grin.


    "Well¡­ it''s definitely a waste to not make use of it, that''s for sure."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [6,070,092 XP has been allocated.]


    [Your level has increased by 7 levels.]


    [You are now Level 33.]

 Chapter 334 Acclimation

    Ding!


    [You have gained the following stats from your ss: +28 VIT, +28 STR, +28 AGI, +49 DEX, +49 INT, +14 WIS, +21 PER, and +7 LUK.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your subss: +14 VIT, +7 STR, +21 AGI, and +28 DEX.]


    [You have gained 28 unassigned stat points.]


    "That''s gonna take some time to get used to." At the very instant a string of notifications had appeared in front of his field of vision, notifying how much of an increase seven levels brought to all of his stats, a great surge of energy quickly circted throughout Valyr''s body, imbuing him with the brief feeling of having limitless amounts of power.


    Unfortunately for him, this feeling did notst long, with his senses returning to normal only a few secondster. After that, he went ahead and tried doing a few simple tasks to test out how much of a difference his newly improved stats brought, proceeding to do a simple punch, only to imbue the entirety of his STR stat behind it.


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, with his STR now solidly at the triple digit mark, the amount of force behind that simple punch of his was far greater than what any normal Rank 2 ss holder could unleash, a faint sonic boom being generated not long after because of it. For a few seconds, the room faintly quaked, causing a slight grin to appear on Valyr''s face as he decided to do the other simple tasks he thought up outside his own dormitory room.


    Aside from the fact that the room was slightly small for him to test out the improvement in his other stats, he did not want to destroy his room for no reason.


    With that, he leisurely made his way towards the training field of the barracks, waving at the few people he had passed by that still remembered him from before he left along the way. Once there, hemanded the system to bring up his status screen, which made him whistle as he focused his gaze on his current stats.


    "Guess I''ll have to test DEX during the monster tide," Valyr muttered to himself as he looked at his DEX stat, which was now far above the 300 point mark. Though he eagerly wanted to find out how much damage he could now dish out with the moves from [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] with his increased DEX stat, he knew very well that he might destroy the entire training field if he went all out, prompting him to suppress his urge in slight disappointment as he shifted his gaze onto his other stats.


    "I guess AGI, INT, and PER are really the only stats I could test in great detail." After allowing his emotions to return to normal from the excitement he felt from the thought of testing his DEX stat, Valyr eventually went through the other stats on his status screen, deciding to start it off by utilizing his AGI stat to its limits.


    Whoosh!


    With him being the only person upying the training field at the moment, Valyr did not hesitate in going all out, going through all of the basic movements he used inbat and in general as he darted to and fro through the training field. Due to the speed he was going, a bit of dust had been kicked up by his movements, causing the entire field to be covered in a faint cloud of dust as a grin gradually crept up onto his lips.


    "I think I could cover a couple kilometers in a few minutes with my AGI stat being this high." Once he was finished gauging the improvement to his AGI stat, he then moved onto testing his INT stat, proceeding to head to a nearby training dummy before standing in front of it.


    "Hmm¡­ what skill should I use?" Extending out one of his palms towards the training dummy, Valyr mentally browsed through the list of magic-based skills in his arsenal, wondering which skill among all of them would allow him to get a good idea on how much of an improvement his INT stat had undergone, as well as how much improvement ascending to Rank 2 brought.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Well, if I really think about it, I''ve pretty much used only one magic skill so far." Making his decision, a small ball of crimson me manifested a few centimeters away from his palm, only to balloon in size with every passing second. By the time it had grown to the size of a basketball, Valyr was forced to distance himself from the training dummy even further, seeing that the ball was still continuing to grow.


    It was only when the ball of crimson me was a meter in diameter did it stop, causing Valyr to stare at it for a bit in slight shock, surprised that his INT stat could influence the size of a skill to this extent. Nevertheless, the size of the skill was one thing, the damage the skill dealt was another.


    "[Crimson ze]."


    Whoosh!


    With that, he threw the sphere of crimson mes towards the training dummy he had chosen, his expression continuing to stay the same as he watched the sphere engulf the training dummy into non-existence¡­ and the next one¡­ and the next one¡­ and the next one¡­


    Around 10 training dummies had been engulfed by the sphere of crimson mes, with the only remnant of their existence being the trail of charred ground the sphere had left behind. Then, after it had engulfed the 10th training dummy, it exploded into a cloud of crimson mes, making Valyr involuntarily take in a deep breath as he thought about how even he would not want to get caught up in something like that.


    "I think I can make [Crimson ze] return to its original size while still dealing the same amount of damage." After he was done seeing the effects of his improved INT stat, Valyr took down notes, mostly regarding gaining a great level of mastery when it came to magic-based skills and how he had to spend more time on them.


    "And that only leaves me with thest one." With the training field having served its purpose for testing two of the three stats he nned to test, Valyr went ahead and left the training field, making his way to the barracks'' entrance as he activated [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] not long after.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the hyperfocus ability that came along with the skill activated, allowing his heightened PER stat to be more substantial as his sight extended far beyond the vige gates. Nevertheless, with how shy testing his AGI and INT stat waspared to testing his PER stat, Valyr decided to make ament after some time to break the silence that currently surrounded him.


    "Yep¡­"


    "I can see very far, alright."


    "I can see¡­ very far, indeed."


    "Very good. Definitely good¡­ I think."

 Chapter 335 A Bit Of Catching Up

    After getting over the embarrassment he felt from the words he had spoken to himself while testing out his PER stat, Valyr took a look at the sky, noticing that the sun was already nearing the peak of its ascent to the sky.


    Coincidentally, his stomach rumbled after finding this discovery, causing a faint bitter smile to appear on his face as he made his way to the cafeteria, pondering over a couple of things along the way as he walked at a slightly rxed pace.


    ''With how much my stats have improved after I ascended to Rank 2 and gained a few more levels after that, there''s no doubt in my head that I would definitely cause a lot of destruction once the monster tidees crashing down on the vige,'' Valyr thought to himself, his hands itching for the monster tide toe to the vige faster. ''With [Shadow Energy Empowerment] also working behind the scenes, I''m definitely going to be in for a treat once I decide to use [Tide of the Dark Night].''


    ''Just a couple more days, Valyr. You''ll get to go all out, as well as get the materials needed to upgrade Sanguine to the next rank.'' Calming his emotions with a couple of deep breaths, he went ahead and initiated a small conversation with Sana along the way, talking about a few mundane things in order for him to get used to the feeling ofmunicating with his weapon.


    While in the midst of their conversation, a thought surfaced in his mind, reminding him of something someone had told him back then. ''Now that I think about it, I now meet the requirements to obtain the second part of Jekyll''s legacy.''


    As far as he could recall, the skill [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] Jekyll had given to him was only considered the first part of the legacy he owned, which he had chosen to give to Valyr. Since thetter was still at too low of a level back then, he was not allowed to inherit the entire legacy all at once, with Jekyll instead telling him toe back when he was around Level 30.


    ''I''d suggest you get the legacy once you''re done with upgrading me, Master.'' While he was pondering over it, Sana''s voice resounded in his mind, which he thought was the optimal decision. After all, he would still have to go to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains, as well as prepare for his entry to the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    ''Then again, I''ll probably still have to fork out a hefty sum to get to Anadhar City since I''ll be teleporting back to Algerie City after this.'' With the thought in mind, Valyr decided that he would think more about it after he was done with the monster tide,ing up with the idea of having Braum pay for his teleports until he was done with the Four Pirs'' Inheritance along the way.


    ¡­


    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t the Tidebreaker." After ordering a somewhat light meal from the cafeteria workers for lunch, Valyr brought his tray of food to a vacant table, only for other people to start surrounding him not long after.


    At first, a slight frown appeared on his face as he thought that a couple of strangers had decided to sit beside out of nowhere. However, once he heard a familiar voicee from one of these people, the frown on his face swiftly disappeared, instead being reced with slight shock as he looked at the three people that decided to sit with him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Am I d to see you three again. Leon. Louie. Jonas." shing a smile at the trio that had been one of the first few friends he had made at the vige, Valyr went ahead and asked the three of them as to how they were doing, deciding to catch up on what the other side was doing while they were gone.


    Unsurprisingly, the three told Valyr that they had finally ascended to Rank 1, with all of them being able to consume vials of Reinforcement Elixir since they had saved up quite a decent amount of contribution points. Among the three of them, both Leon and Jonas were already halfway topleting the dosage needed to get the passive skill, while Louie wasgging behind them by one vial each.


    Aside from that, they had informed him that they were pretty close to reaching the rank of Guard Captain within the regiment, which Valyr was happy about as he congratted all three of them on their advancement in advance.


    Naturally, once the three were done talking about what had been going on with their lives during the time Valyr was gone at the vige, thetter went ahead and talked about what he was doing while he was away from the vige. Surprisingly, the three of them were left at a slight loss for words when they heard him say that he had honing his skills as a cksmith, telling Valyr that they thought he had taken up abat ss.


    In response, Valyr rified to them that even before he ascended to Rank 1, his mind was already set to obtain the cksmith ss, deciding to share a bit of information on how much he had earned from short stint as an owner of a smithy. Of course, the three were left speechless once they heard how much he made, with Leon even joking not long after if he should switch to a production ss in the future.


    After that, he talked about obtaining a subss, as well as his recent advancement to Rank 2, ending off his recap with the reason why he had returned to the vige, which was to help out in the defense against the monster tide.


    Unsurprisingly, the three of them were grateful that Valyr had appeared to help in the uing monster tide, even though he was not really a part of Astarto Vige from the beginning. In response, Valyr told them that he was just reciprocating the kindness the vige had given him while he was starting out.


    After talking for a bit more as they ate their respective lunches, the four of them eventually separated ways, with the three telling Valyr that they were eager to see his performance in the battlefield during the uing monster tide, especially now that he was a Rank 2 ss holder.


    Chuckling in response, Valyr waved farewell at the three for the meantime, swiftly heading outside the barracks to head to Tristan''s smithy. After all, now that he had allocated all of the unused XP he could¡­


    It was now time for him to upgrade his armor set and weapon once more.

 Chapter 336 You Made This?

    "Look who finally decided to show up." By the time Valyr had arrived at the entrance to the vige smithy, Tristan stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at the young man with a slightly mischievous grin. "You know¡­ I''ve always wanted to say that."


    "As if it wasn''t that obvious." In response to Tristan''s words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter before moving closer to the man, embracing the man not long after as he faintly let out a sigh of relief. Surprisingly, Tristan reciprocated the embrace back, hugging Valyr a bit tighter than one normally would, which was something that did not go unnoticed under thetter''s senses.


    "It''s really nice to see you again." After some time, the two of them let go of each other, with Tristan initiating the conversation as he made his way back to the only anvil in the smithy that was ced a fair distance away from the furnace. "Sure, it''s only been a little bit over a month since you left the vige, but it''s around time does the feeling of longing for someone be strong."


    "Well, the feeling is mutual," said Valyr in response, taking in a deep breath before letting out a rxed sigh. "Though I may have been able to do a lot more things and progress even further in my craft after leaving the vige, there''s still arge part of me that misses the ambience of the vige from time to time."


    "I get what you mean." Tristan nodded in agreement, a slight smile adorning his face as he grabbed the metal he was working on with a pair of tongs before cing it in the furnace. "Whenever I''m forging something here, the peacefulness the entire vige exudes clears up and refreshes my mind quite a bit, making me feel like the thing I''m forging woulde out significantly better than it normally would."


    "Anyways, enough talking about missing the vige and all that." Tristan waved his hands after he was done reminiscing the various times he had been forging in the past, as if signaling to Valyr that they were changing to another topic.


    "What brings you to the smithy today, aside from wanting to talk with the great me?"


    "Still as narcissistic as ever, I see," replied Valyr as he listened to Tristan''s words.


    With that, Tristan responded back with, "It''s not narcissism. It''s called great self-confidence."


    "Whatever floats your boat." Feeling as if there would be no point in arguing over what Tristan''s personality truly was, Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders before proceeding to answer the question the former had asked him. "In any case, to answer your question, I''m here to enhance my armor set and weapon by a few levels."


    "Oh? You crafted a new armor set?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity in response to Valyr''s answer, Tristan went ahead and took out the piece of metal he was heating from the furnace before cing it on top of the anvil, proceeding to hammer it into the shape he wanted. "Now that I think about it, you did leave that Supreme Astarto Defense Armor set here before you left."


    "Is it still here?" Hearing Tristan mention the old armor set he used, memories of using the set in the dungeon he cleared gradually surfaced in Valyr''s mind, causing a faint smile to creep up onto his lips. As the original version of the set was only considered Common grade, Valyr went all out in upgrading it to the best of his abilities to increase his survivability in the dungeon, utilizing Tier 1 Upgrade Alloy to elevate their rarities to Common+ grade.


    Now that he had more experience utilizing the numerous memories of forging from his past life, as well as the fact that he now had ess to far better materials, Valyr had no doubt that he would be able to forge a better version of the first armor set he had forged, innovating upon the original blueprint multiple times.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Speaking of which, it would definitely be handy to get my hands on the higher tiers of Upgrade Alloy in the future,'' thought Valyr to himself as he recalled how many people flocked to the Crimson Forge back then due to the fact that he was selling a significant amount of items at Common+ grade.


    With that in mind, he was certain that if he got his hands on Tier 2 and Tier 3 Upgrade Alloy, which would upgrade any of the Common grade items he forged to Umon and Umon+ grade respectively, the amount of money he would earn at that point would allow him to live a carefree life.


    "It is, but at the same time isn''t." As he made a mental note to grab the blueprints for the two next tiers of Upgrade Alloy once he had returned to Algerie City, Valyr heard Tristan''s response to his question, causing him to slightly tilt his head as thetter rified soon after.


    "In other words, it''s been here at the smithy all this time, with me even enhancing it by a couple of levels," said Tristan amidst the hammering he was doing. "However, since Myst had gone outside, I gave her the armor set to wear for now, considering that she doesn''t have a proper set of armor yet."


    "I see." Once he was done listening to Tristan''s exnation, Valyr nodded in understanding as he began to retrieve the pieces making up his Nascent Wyvern Armor set from his spatial bracelet, much to the former''s interest. "Where is she at the moment?"


    "She''s at a nearby city¡­ grinding XP through an Experience Pit to prepare for the uing monster tide¡­" Unsurprisingly, Tristan was left staring at what Valyr was doing, bing incredibly silent once he was done responding as he watched Valyr retrieve the Nascent Wyvern Armor set from the spatial bracelet Braum had given him before he left. After that, he focused his gaze onto the armor set Valyr had brought out, instantly feeling the slightly oppressive aura emanating from it.


    "Is this the new armor set you''re currently using?" Moving closer to the pieces making up the set, Tristan used [Analysis] on one of the pieces, his eyes widening in disbelief as he read through the description of the item. Once he was done, he closed the screen before him as he was left at a loss for words.


    Looking for the right words to say as he could notprehend what he had just seen, Tristan eventually found what he wanted to ask Valyr, shifting his gaze towards the young man as he posed the question. "Where¡­ where did you buy this?"


    "Buy it?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in response before shaking his head. "I made it."


    "Huh?" Rather than find the response normal, considering that Valyr was a cksmith himself, Tristan instead felt even more disbelief from the young man''s words after hearing him say he made it. "You made this? Really?"


    Unknowingly, at that point, a slight frown adorned Valyr''s face as he looked back at Tristan. With a slightly annoyed tone, he asked back, "Are you trying to tell me something?"


    "Perhaps¡­ something you might want me to know?"

 Chapter 337 Forging Out Of Spite

    "I didn''t mean it like that!" Of course, hearing the slight annoyanceced within the words Valyr had spoken back to him, Tristan quickly understood how Valyr interpreted his earlier words, waving his hands back and forth as he rified himself. "I totally believe you that you made the armor set yourself!"


    "However¡­" Tristan scratched the back of his head not long after. "Even though I believe you made the armor set yourself, there''s just something about it that feels off."


    "Don''t get me wrong, Valyr," said the man as he looked at Valyr eye to eye. "You''re definitely a skilled cksmith. With the fact that you have a Mythic cksmith ss, that skill is elevated even further."


    "But don''t you think it''s kind of odd for a cksmith to forge an Epic piece of equipment even though it''s only been like¡­ what? A bit over two months since they picked up cksmithing?" As these words came out of Tristan''s mouth, the man watched as the frown on Valyr''s face gradually became deeper.


    "With that, it would be even more unbelievable for someone with that much experience to forge an armor set, an Epic grade armor set at that."


    "Is that so?" Though Valyr knew that Tristan''s words made sense from a realistic perspective, with his circumstances, he felt that he was basically the result of the phrase ''anything but''. He definitely agreed with Tristan that someone with only that much experience in cksmithing wouldn''t be able to forge a piece of Epic grade equipment, much less a piece of Common+ grade equipment.


    But that was only when that someone did not have the same level of experience Valyr had amassed in cksmithing in his past life.


    With that, it went without saying that Valyr was quite annoyed while listening to Tristan''s exnation, needing to take a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down as he responded back with a brief question. Nevertheless, at that point, he felt like he had to show Tristan what he was truly capable of when it came to forging, feeling as if his reputation as a cksmith so far was being tarnished.


    Suppressing the urge to let his rage get the better of himself, Valyr moved closer to Tristan, ncing at the Nascent Wyvern Armor set he had brought for a bit as he thought that he would have to postpone upgrading them forter. Asking Tristan if he could borrow his forging tools for the meantime, thetter asked back in response what had gotten into him all of a sudden.


    Hearing Tristan''s question, Valyr merely responded, "Oh, you know. I just got the urge to forge something all of a sudden in front of you. After all, it''s been a bit over a month since west met."


    ''It''s totally not because I''m doing this out of spite to prove to Tristan how far my skills in terms of cksmithing have improved ever since west met.'' Chanting this thought over and over in his mind as he conversed with Tristan, Valyr felt a bit of the annoyance and anger bubbling within him melt away as the owner of the smithy eventually agreed to his request, telling the young man that he was curious to see how much he had improved.


    But of course, there was no doubt within Tristan that Valyr had decided to forge for him out of spite. It was evident in thetter''s aura anyway.


    "Do you have any rare material I could perhaps use?" Allowing his emotions to settle down, Valyr went ahead and began the preparations for an impromptu forging session, with Tristan leading him to the smithy''s storage room located at the back. Once there, the two of them were greeted by the sight of an organized collection of materials, with Valyr briefly feeling the annoyance within him disappear for a moment because of it.


    Unsurprisingly, this annoyance soon came back as he recalled the reason why he decided to forge in the first ce, perusing through the materials in the storage room before choosing the materials he would be using.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Sand Serpent Fangs, Mfir Essence, Azure Iron, and zefield Stone.'' Looking at the items Valyr had chosen from the storage room as the two of them returned to the workshop portion of the smithy, the cogs in Tristan''s mind started to turn as he thought about the various pieces of equipment the young man could forge. ''Hmm¡­ I think he wouldn''t find any difficulty turning these materials into a dagger.''


    ''Then again, his line of thinking might be different than mine.'' Deciding that he would find out his answer once he watched Valyr start to forge, Tristan stood by the sidelines as he allowed the young man to use his forging tools, which he did not mind since there was not really much for him to do thanks to the uing monster tide.


    With that, Tristan watched as Valyr ce the Mfir Essence and Azure Iron into the furnace, adding a bit more fuel to the mes as thetter allowed the mes to reach a higher temperature. At some point, the two items started to melt under the heat of the furnace, with the two eventuallying in contact with one another.


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant the two came in contact with one another, it was as if Tristan was watching two creatures fight against each other to the death, watching as the Mfir Essence and Azure Iron engulf one another as they gradually shrunk in size. Eventually, the melding process was finished, prompting Valyr to take out the fused metal from the furnace and ce it on the anvil, deftly hammering out the metal t before contorting it into a shape that Tristan could not recognize at first.


    However, after a few more trips to the furnace and a bit more hammering, the general shape of the equipment Valyr was forging gradually came to light, allowing Tristan to realize as his eyes briefly widened in surprise. ''Is he forging a metal glove?''


    ''He''s definitely forging a metal glove.'' Just as the question had popped up in his mind, the answer to his question also came about not long after, watching Valyr bend parts of the metal that would act as the grooves for the finger as he added joints to them, giving them the ability to move once worn by someone.


    After that, he ced the rough metal glove in the furnace for a bit before taking it out sometimeter, using a chisel to bore a few small holes on the surface of the glove, something Tristan quickly realized as the ces where the Sand Serpent Fangs and the zefield Stone Valyr grabbed earlier would be put on.


    Unsurprisingly, Tristan''s train of thought was correct, with Valyr iying the Sand Serpent Fangs where the base knuckles of the fingers where, while the zefield Stone could be found at the center of the glove, acting as a centerpiece to the entire item.


    Once he had made sure that they were ced correctly, he then put the entire thing into the furnace for a couple of minutes, much to Tristan''s confusion, before taking it out once more, hammering out the small imperfections that Tristan felt was a useless endeavor.


    "Here you go." With the anger and annoyance he had been feeling earlier gone now that he was done forging the item, Valyr gave theplete item for Tristan to check, prompting thetter to faintly nod in response before proceeding to activate [Analysis] on the metal glove.


    After that¡­ what he found out next left him at a loss for words.

 Chapter 338 A Token Of Appreciation

    Silence.


    Silence filled the entirety of Tristan''s body as he read through the description of the item Valyr had given him, being a metal glove that had the Sand Serpent Fangs as protrusions on its knuckles. Under the rays of the sun, the metal glove had a faint orange-red sheen to it, mostly due to the zefield Stone embedded in the center.


    Nevertheless, even though the metal glove was aesthetically pleasing to look at, Tristan''s attention still remained fixated on the screen filled with text before him, his expression wide-eyed as it took a while for his expression to return to normal.


    "Rare+¡­" Tristan muttered in shock as he closed the small screen in front of his field of vision, shifting his gaze onto the young man that had just forged the metal glove he was holding. "You¡­ you really made this¡­"


    "I may have only been away from the vige for over a month, but I''ve honed my forging skills a lot since then." Valyr looked at his good friend, inwardly feeling great delight over the shock that was incredibly visible on the man''s face. "I''ve definitely picked up a lot of skills along the way."


    "I can definitely see that¡­" Taking some time to get over the shock the piece of equipment Valyr had given to him, Tristan took in a deep breath as the gears in his mind turned. Not long after, a faint light glinted his eyes as he posed a question to Valyr. "Mind if you teach me a thing or two on how you forged this metal glove?"


    "I thought you didn''t believe in the fact I have the ability to forge high rarity equipment?" Though he did not really mind teaching the one who had allowed him to trek the path of cksmithing once more a couple of things, Valyr thought that now was the best choice to rub salt in an open wound, evident by the bitter smile on Tristan''s face once he heard what the former said.


    "I mean¡­ I did have an idea back then you were something else." Tristan wryly chuckled. "After all, you could forge Common+ grade equipment without much problem even though you''ve only been forging stuff for a month at that time."


    "Who knew it would continue to snowball from there?" The bitter smile on Tristan''s face slightly widened.


    Responding to Tristan''s words with a bitter smile of his own, Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head before letting out a faint sigh, asking the former to give the metal glove back to him. "Who knew, indeed."


    "Anyways, even though I don''t really mind teaching you a bit of what I learned after I left the vige, the monster tide ising up in a few days, so how about we talk about it after the tide?"


    "Fine by me." In response to Valyr''s words, Tristan shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, you''re helping me out here since you''re giving me a shot at finally being able to craft a piece of Rare grade equipment."


    "Says the one who allowed me to walk the path of cksmithing in the first ce," said Valyr in response, causing Tristan to let out a faint chuckle not long after. "You really haven''t made a piece of Rare grade equipment yet?"


    "Not even once." Tristan shook his head. "The best I''ve done was a piece of equipment rated at Umon+ grade, and that item would be the metal knuckles I forged."


    "Speaking of which, I should thank you for giving me the idea to forge a pair of metal knuckles," Tristan added to his statement soon after. "Because of it, I was able to finally clear a dungeon I''ve been wanting to clear for a long time already."


    "Is that so?" Hearing Tristan thank him, a grin gradually crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he looked at the metal glove he had forged. Recalling the other reason why he had forged the metal glove in the first ce, the grin on his face turned into a smirk as he returned to the anvil.


    "Give me a second."


    "Hmm?" Seeing as Valyr returned to the anvil with the metal glove, watching as the young man started to hammer out the small imperfections on it, Tristan raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he decided to ask Valyr a question. "What are you doing?"


    "Just a few modifications to the glove," said Valyr in response. "You''ll see."


    "Take your time, I guess." At those words, Tristan shrugged his shoulders as he watched Valyr hammer the metal glove nonstop, watching as the faint imperfections on the metal glove''s surface gradually disappear with every swing.


    Not long after, he felt as if the aura being emanated by the glove gradually grew stronger with every consecutive swing, at some point even sensing that the immediate surroundings felt a bit warmer than it normally did.


    Eventually, Valyr ced the hammer to the side, prompting Tristan to think that the man was finished with his modifications. However, just as he was about to move closer to take a better look at the improved metal glove, the former started to infuse his own mana into the metal glove, causing thetter to take a few steps back as he felt a deeper part of the glove awaken in response to the infusion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Shaking his head a couple times as he felt the mana he had infused into the glove not doing its job properly, Valyr continued to infuse more and more mana into it, using [True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening] quite a lot on the metal glove to get an attribute awakening that met his standards. Fortunately, by the time he had spent around a thousand points of his mana into the glove, he had finally gotten the awakening he wanted, quickly identifying it with [Analysis] before giving it to Tristan.


    "Here you go. Take a look."


    "This¡­" Grabbing the metal glove once more, Tristan went ahead and used [Analysis] on it to see what kind of modifications Valyr had done to it, only to be left at a loss for words once again.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Glove of the zing Serpent] (Level 26)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Attack: 236 - 394


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR +8


    > AGI +7


    > DEX +8


    A metallic glove that utilizes the best properties of Azure Iron, Mfir Essence, Sand Serpent Fangs, and zefield Stone, the cksmith that had forged this piece of equipment had a certain person in mind, wanting to prove to that person that they had far improved since thest time they saw each other. However, the original intent behind the piece eventually changed, instead changing into something that the cksmith thought he should have done a long time ago.


    <Innate Skill 1: ming Vigor - With every sessful hitnded on a being the user deems as an enemy, the skill increases the user''s STR, DEX, and AGI stat by 0.1%, reaching a maximum of 2.5%.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Serpentine ze - Moving one''s arm in an uppercut motion, this skill allows the user to deal damage equivalent to 300% of the user''s Attack stat on a single enemy, with a slight chance of the damage doubling if the area the glovends on is considered vital. Has a chance to inflict a scorching effect on the enemy. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 1,500 MP.>


    Remarks: A weapon that definitely isn''t made with a berserker in mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It took a while for Tristan to get over the shock the description of the upgraded glove had given him, considering that the Attack stat it gave was far greater than what the pair of metal knuckles he had forged could give him. With that, the thought that Valyr had done this on purpose to show off in front of him appeared in his mind, prompting him to ask the young man sometimeter if he was taking it back after he had gotten a good look at it.


    However, the answer that he got from Valyr instead was¡­


    "Oh no."


    "That''s all yours."

 Chapter 339 The Calm Before The Storm

    Silence.


    Once more, silence filled the entirety of Tristan''s body. However, this time around, it was not due to the shock he felt from reading the description of the newly improved metal glove he was holding.


    Instead, the silence came from the words Valyr had spoken to him in response to his question.


    "That''s all yours."


    Those three words lingered within Tristan''s mind, the young man''s voice sounding simr to church bells that had been rung near his ears as he failed toprehend what Valyr had said at first. Fortunately, those same words eventually sunk in, causing Tristan''s attitude to go through a full 180 degree turn as he gave the metal glove back to Valyr before waving his hands back and forth in refusal.


    "Oh no, no, no! It''s too precious!" said Tristan in response to Valyr''s words, causing thetter''s eyes to briefly widen in surprise from the abrupt change in his good friend''s behavior.


    "It really is all yours." Valyr looked at the metal glove he had been given for a bit before proceeding to try and give it back to the man in front of him. "After all, the materials used to forge this metal glove came from your smithy in the first ce. Following that train of thought, wee to the conclusion that this metal glove is yours."


    "But you were the one who forged the metal glove!" Tristan responded with a slightly loud voice. "If anything, you have the right to do whatever you want with it!"


    "I do have the right to do whatever I want with it." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Thus, I choose to give the metal glove to you."


    "And before you tell me you can''t ept it one more time, let me tell you something." Just as Tristan was about to refuse the metal glove once more, Valyr interrupted him from doing so as the young man proceeded to tell the former a few things that lingered in his mind. "Earlier, you said that you didn''t believe I had the skills to forge a piece of Epic grade equipment, so I went ahead and showed you that I did, forging the metal glove I''m currently holding."


    "At first, I made it out of spite since your words ticked me off the wrong way." Valyr looked at Tristan with a solemn expression, briefly shrugging his shoulders as he told thetter the truth of the matter. "However, once you took a look at the glove and I noticed the genuine awe you had on your face when you realized I did have the skills, I started to look at the metal glove I had forged a bit differently."


    "What was a product of spite at first eventually turned into something I considered as a way to say thanks for allowing me to step on the path of cksmithing, something I should have actually done a long time ago now that I think about it." As these words left Valyr''s mouth, the young man slightly scratched his head as he let out a wry chuckle. "In other words, it would be nice if you could have it since it''s my token of appreciation to you."


    "Man¡­" Bing silent for a bit as he processed the words Valyr had said to him, Tristan eventually let out a low sigh, feeling a bit sentimental over the entire matter as he started to look at the metal glove from a slightly different perspective.


    However, just as he hade to the decision to ept the metal glove and thank the young man for forging such an item for him, Valyr decided to say something to Tristan that rubbed off thetter the wrong way as the young man''s attitude took a 180 degree turn as well.


    "Of course, if you really don''t wanna ept it, then that''s fine with me. I''ll just put it in the furnace and crank up the heat as high as possible so it turns into a puddle of unusable g."


    "Fuck you! That''s thest thing I want you to do with it!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡­


    After a bit of bickering between the two over what Valyr had said to rile up Tristan''s emotions, thetter eventually epted the metal glove the young man had forged, wielding it for quite some time to get a rough feeling of how it would feel when he was using it inbat.


    Surprisingly, after both Valyr and Tristan realized that only one of thetter''s hands would be covered by the metal glove, Valyr went ahead and forged a simr glove of a simr rarity, much to Tristan''s immense shock. Deciding to use materials of an opposite nature for the second metal glove to possiblyplement the first, the system unexpectedly rewarded Valyr for it, with the metal glove obtaining an innate skill that allowed it to deal greater damage when in contact with energy of opposing nature from the glove.


    By the time he was done forging and upgrading the two metal gloves to Tristan''s current level, it was already night time, causing Valyr to be slightly dejected as the main reason for himing to the smithy had been forgotten. Of course, with how much Valyr had given to Tristan in the form of the two metal gloves, it was no surprise that thetter told the young man that he was allowed to use everything in the smithy the following day.


    Which he did.


    Once the sun started to peek out of horizon, which signaled the start of a new day, Valyr beelined to the smithy to upgrade his armor set and weapon, making sure to do those things first in order for him to not forget and end up wasting time on other tasks once more.


    After he was done upgrading his items to the highest levels they could reach where he could still use them, he then urged Tristan to grab a meal with him for a breakfast, which thetter unsurprisingly agreed to.


    While eating their respective meals, Tristan brought up the topic of smithies, prompting Valyr to talk about the brief time he owned a smithy of his own back in Clossbay City. Naturally, Tristan was quite surprised to hear that the young man before him had be the owner of the smithy, even for a short time.


    Though, what truly surprised him was the amount of money Valyr had made within that short time.


    Even though Valyr talked a bit about how much money he earned, satiating Tristan''s curiosity in the topic, the thoughts in Valyr''s mind wandered off into something else, prompting a question to form in his mind, which he thought that he would act upon once he returned to Algerie City after the monster tide.


    After sharing a meal together, Valyr and Tristan then went on their separate ways, with the former heading back to the barracks, spending most, if not the entire next couple of days holed up in his dormitory to polish his considerably decent level of control over magic he had in the past even further.


    Eventually¡­


    Ding!


    [You have received the emergency quest: Astarto Monster Tide.]


    [Proceed to the outskirts of the Astarto Vige as quickly as possible.]

 Chapter 340 Monster Tide: Round Two

    "Mnnh¡­" Still in the midst of traveling the far expanses of dreamnd, Valyr was forced to cut off his journey short as the sound of loud sirens red in his mind, leaving him no choice but to return to reality as his immediate sight was greeted by screens filled withrge texts in red in front of him.


    Ding!


    [You have received the emergency quest: Astarto Monster Tide.]


    [Proceed to the outskirts of the Astarto Vige as quickly as possible.]


    Scratching the back of his head as he gave his consciousness time to adjust to his current surroundings, Valyr let out a low sigh as he removed all of the screens that had popped up in front of his field of vision, getting out of bed to go through his usual morning routine.


    While doing so, he took a look at the emergency quest he had received, checking to see the difference between the quest he had gotten now and the quest he had gotten back then now that he was more alert.


    "Hmm¡­ I see." Allowing the cold water to flow down his body as he took a quick shower to fully wake himself up, Valyr faintly nodded in understanding as he was finished reading through the description of the quest. "The objective has remained the same, but the rewards for participating in the monster tide has increased."


    "Then again, why would it not increase? After all, we''re up against a medium-scale monster tide this time around."


    Getting out of the bathroom, Valyr swiftly dried himself off before putting on a set of loose clothes, which he thought would act as a sort of undergarment for what he was going to put on next.


    Whoosh!


    Infusing a bit of mana into the spatial bracelet Braum had given to him for the journey, the pieces making up the newly enhanced Nascent Wyvern Armor set appeared out of thin air before falling on top of Valyr''s bed. Seeing as the scales covering the outer surface of the armor pieces slightly tore up the sheet covering the mattress, a bitter smile briefly appeared on his face as he scratched his head, wondering how he would exin to Damianter what happened to his bed.


    "I''ll think about thatter." Of course, as this thought lingered in his mind, he went ahead and put on the Nascent Wyvern Armor set, feeling the power contained within the armor fusing with the immensely highbat power he already had as a Rank 2 ss holder.


    A Mythic Rank 2 ss holder.


    As this was the first time he had put the entire Nascent Wyvern Armor set on, Valyr took a couple of minutes to familiarize himself with the feeling of newfound strength the armor set had given him. With that, he did a few basic movements with the armor on, inwardly d that the armor set still did not hamper his movements that much, just like its previous version did.


    Once he was done with the basic movements, he then moved onto movements that were a bit more intense, such asbat stances and a couple movements used in basicbat. After that doing for a bit, Valyr eventually thought that it was time for him to head to where the others were, affixed Sana behind his back as he sent a message to his spear.


    ''Ready to be stronger?''


    ''I''m always ready, Master.'' In response, an eager voice resounded within Valyr''s mind, causing him to let out a chuckle as he finally made his way out of his room and towards the outskirts of the vige.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡­


    "You''re finally here." Sensing an entity radiating an aura that far surpassed his gradually getting closer to him, Damian turned around to see who had such an aura, only for a faint smile to appear on his face as he greeted the young man that had appeared before him. "Did you eat breakfast beforeing here?"


    "Why would I not?" Taking off his helmet, Valyr shed a slight grin at Damian as he let out a chuckle not long after. "It''s probably the only thing inside the vige that''s reminding we''re up against a monster tide."


    "In any case, there''s quite a lot more people helping the vige defend the monster tide this time around," said Valyr after that, shifting his gaze towards the great number of people that surrounded both him and Damian. Turning his head to look back at the man beside him, he then asked, "How many people are we looking at here? A hundred or so?"


    "Around a hundred and fifty, actually," answered Damian in response, causing Valyr''s eyes to briefly widen in surprise, only for it to return to normal not long after as he had an idea why that was the case. "It''s all thanks to the Basic Reinforcement Elixir recipe you''ve given us that we could have this many people defending the vige this time around."


    "I had a feeling that was the case." With Damian''s words confirming his thoughts, Valyr turned his attention back to the people that surrounded them, noticing that only a small number of them gave off an aura that was at the level of someone below the peak of Rank 0.


    In contrast, most of the people that had participated to defend against the uing monster tide either gave off the aura of someone at the peak of Rank 0 or someone at the early levels of Rank 1, prompting Valyr to inwardly nod in satisfaction as he took a look at the wave of monsters they would be fighting up against, seeing that the first wave of monsters more or less matched the strength of the majority that had participated.


    Of course, Valyr also noticed that quite a few people gave off the energy of someone at the middle andter levels of Rank 1, causing him to look back at Damian as he wondered what he would have these people during the monster tide. ''Some of them will probably end up as leaders and deputy leaders of a couple teams. Probably.''


    "Now that I think about it, where are Tristan and Myst?" As Valyr asked this question to Damian, the former recalled that Tristan was still busy forging a piece of equipment the previous day, while Myst had returned from the Experience Pits around the afternoon of the same day.


    "Tristan told me that he''s on his way pretty soon, while Myst is at the makeshift cafeteria, getting some breakfast before heading here." Hearing those words from Damian''s mouth, Valyr nodded in response before shifting his gaze towards the monster tide out on the horizon.


    Looking at what they were up against in silence for a short bit, a thought eventually surfaced in Valyr''s mind, causing him to ask a question to the man beside him.


    "Say, Damian."


    "What is it?"


    "Is it possible for me to lead the first wave?"


    "Alone?"

 Chapter 341 Appearance Of The Dark Night

    "Did you get a bit of sleep at the very least?" Making their way through the Astarto Vige gates, a young woman and a man in histe twenties, both of which were donning a full set of armor, appeared in the outskirts, their expressions that of slight awe as they took in the surprising number of people that decided to participate in the current monster tide.


    "Look at my face and tell me." Once the awe the two felt had eventually disappeared, Tristan looked at the young woman beside him as the expression on his face became solemn. "Do you really think I got even a wink of sleep if my face looks like this?"


    "You tell me." In response, Myst shrugged her shoulders as the two of them weaved their way through the crowd, eventually appearing at the frontlines. "Because that thinyer of soot on your face is definitely not helping you out here."


    Hearing the young woman''s words, Tristan stopped in his tracks as he lightly rubbed his face, only to see that his hands had taken on a slight dark gray color after doing so. Sucking in a bit of cold air through his teeth, Tristan took out the cloth he took with him, which he was supposed to use to polish the metal gloves he currently wore from time to time, and used it to wipe off the soot away from his face.


    In the meantime, Myst had made her way to where Damian and Valyr stood, noticing that the two of them were discussing about something rted to the monster tide from what she could hear. Deciding to let them finish their topic, she stood behind them in silence before eventually letting her presence be known to the two, causing them to shift their attention to her as slight smiles appeared on their faces.


    "Got enough rest, I presume?" Valyr posed the question to Myst, who shed a bitter smile in response.


    "Enough rest to not mess up at the very least," said Myst before letting out a wry chuckle. "The journey back here definitely drained a lot more energy out of me than I thought it would. If anything, I want to sleep in bed for a couple more hours, but s, I am the vige''s guardian."


    "And I''m the vige''s Tidebreaker." Seeing that the young woman before him had referenced the title she had been given, Valyr decided to take the opportunity to reference one of his own titles as well. "But you haven''t seen me in the vige for the past month or so."


    "I mean¡­" Hearing Valyr''s words, Myst let out a bit ofughter, with Tristan finally appearing in front of the trio. "You''re here to help the vige out during its monster tide, so I can say without a doubt that you''re following the name of your title pretty well."


    "I forgot to ask you this when you returned to the vige yesterday." Letting out a peal ofughter in response to Myst''s words, Valyr shifted the topic to something he thought he should have asked the young woman yesterday. "Since you''ve gone through the Experience Pit and all that, what level are you currently on at the moment?"


    "I could only get to Level 25," said Myst in response, a wry smile adorning her face. "I''m still not fully used to the skills the subss gave me, that''s why I could only reach the peak of Rank 1. If I had a bit more time to grind in the Experience Pit, or if I had better control over the skills the subss gave me, I would definitely be Rank 2 right now."


    "Anyways, how do you know about the Experience Pit?" Once she was done answering Valyr''s question, Myst decided to throw back a question of her own to the man. "Did Damian or Tristan tell you about it?"


    "Found them myself while I was outside the vige, actually." As he responded to the question, a rxed smile adorned Valyr''s face. "Consider my surprise when I found out from the two that you were grinding XP in an Experience Pit."


    "Well, banter aside, shall we talk about the monster tide that we''re up against?" Feeling that they had already spent too much time talking about things that were not rted to the monster tide, Valyr went ahead and shifted the topic once more. "While we''ve been waiting for the two of you toe, the volunteer reconnaissance team has gathered enough information regarding the strength of the various waves making up the monster tide."


    "We''re all ears." Hearing these wordse out of Tristan''s mouth in response, Myst nodded in agreement as the two waited for either Damian or Valyr to start talking.


    "The general level of the monsters making up the first wave is Level 10, basically the peak of Rank 0." Nodding back in response to Tristan''s words, Valyr proceeded to go over what he, Damian, and the reconnaissance team had collected so far. "There would be no problem for the vige to defend against this wave, actually."


    "Sadly, that''s the only wave where there''s no problem," said Damian as he continued where Valyr had left off. "The second to fourth wave quickly ramp up in terms of strength, with each wave being made up of monsters five levels higher than the monsters from the wave that came before it."


    "So, Level 15, Level 20, and Level 25?" Frowning at the information he had heard from the two, Tristan looked at the people that had participated in the monster tide, instantlying to the conclusion that they would only be able to clear the fourth wave if they were willing to ignore a few casualties. "Is that all of the waves making up the tide?"


    In response to the question, Damian and Valyr shook their heads as a bitter smile appeared on thetter''s face. However, just as Damian was about to tell them the answer¡­


    Rumble¡­


    "It seems the monster tide has finally sent its first wave out." Letting out a low sigh, Damian quickly turned around to look at therge horde of monsters heading their way, rapidly closing the distance between the two sides in a span of seconds.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Infusing mana into his voice, Damian''s voice boomed throughout the field, causing everyone to look in the direction of the voice as they followed the orders he gave them.


    "Men! Get into position!"


    "Leaders! Deputy leaders! Command your members to get into defensive formation!"


    "Make sure to stand your ground no matter what!"


    "Alright." Taking in a deep breath after giving out orders, Damian''s voice returned to normal as he let out a soft sigh. Patting Valyr on the shoulder, the man looked at him directly in the eye and said, "I''ve done everything on my end."


    "Now give ''em hell."


    "With pleasure." Grinning in response, Valyr nodded as he looked at the three before nodding once more. Then, bending his knees, he utilized the entirety of his AGI stat as he dashed towards the horde of monsters that were continuing to near the frontlines.


    Whoosh!


    Noticing that one of the people participating in the defense against the monster tide had decided to dive in headfirst into the horde out of nowhere, all of their attention was fixated on the young man who decided to move on his own, wondering what was going on in the young man''s head for him to make such a rash move.


    However, it wouldn''t be long until they found out that this move¡­


    ¡­was not rash at all.


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Offense Aura]."


    "[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."

 Chapter 342 Clash Of Two Tides

    Whoosh!


    In response to him moving his spear in an upward arc, Valyr felt his body connect with another source of energy, an energy that seemed to only carry the intent of destruction and despair within its every strand. Not long after, this energy within him transformed into a dark wave that manifested only a few centimeters away, causing his eyes to open wide as he gazed at what he had just done.


    "This¡­" Recalling the previous time he had activated [Tide of the Dark Night], Valyr remembered that the dark wave that had been formed from the activation of the skill was only around a few meters tall, only to dissipate after moving in a singr direction for 10 seconds straight.


    In contrast, the dark wave that stood before him was close to 10 meters tall, spanning a width that would be more than enough to engulf even a decently sized house whole. If this wave of Shadow Energy in front of him took a simr path to the first time he had activated the skill, Valyr would just chalk it up to the significant increase in his stats and think of the skill as utterly terrifying.


    However, terrifying was not even enough to describe the scene that he and those at the frontlines were witnessing. If one were to think of a word that would perfectly describe the situation, then that word would ultimately be¡­


    Chaos.


    Rather than take on a straight path like how Valyr would expect [Tide of the Dark Night] to take, the wave of Shadow Energy instead expanded with every monster it engulfed, snowballing in size with every passing second. Because of this sight, all of those at the frontlines watched this scene unfold with their eyes wide and their mouths ck-jawed, utterly speechless as they wondered whether what they were seeing was real.


    Even Valyr felt a simr sensation to those at the frontlines, wondering if the power he wielded at the moment was truly the root cause of the sight that appeared before him, the ground taking on a ck tinge wherever the dark wave moved.


    At that moment, everyone on the side of the vige had turned silent, watching as painful cries resounded throughout the battlefield,ing from the monsters making up the first wave, all of them slowly but surely engulfed by the wave of Shadow Energy.


    Eventually, at some point, the wave of dark energy Valyr had summoned out of thin air more or less covered over half of the battlefield, with the only way they found out that the wave was still doing its job was through the wails and cries from the monsters they faintly heard from the other side.


    Naturally, the monsters that were yet toe in contact with the dark wave started to run back to where the main tide was, the fear of death having a greater control over them instead of the order the leader of the tide had given them. Unfortunately, with all of the monsters making up the tide all being Level 10, this action was only dying the inevitable, with all monsters of the first wave eventually sumbing to the [Tide of the Dark Night] as thetter soon disappeared without a trace.


    "¡­" At the moment [Tide of the Dark Night] had disappeared from the sight of both sides, silencepletely covered the battlefield, with only the wind blowing throughout the area serving as a faint reminder of time continuing to pass. Nevertheless, both the defending side and the attacking side still stood where they were, their minds reying the scene that they had just watched unfold earlier.


    "Holy shit." The first to eventually snap back to reality was the man who had summoned [Tide of the Dark Night] in the first ce, letting out a few curses in utter disbelief at what had transpired just a couple minutes earlier. "Holy fucking shit."


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, he slowly turned around to make his way back to the frontlines, all of them watching him return as he dashed at the greatest speed his body could muster. While doing so, hemanded the system to bring up his status screen, recalling the amount of damage each monster suffered from the dark wave.


    "Am I really that powerful?" With the thought of all those monsters basically disintegrating from the 10,000 damage they received froming in contact with the wave lingering in his mind, Valyr shifted his gaze to the screen that had appeared before him just as he appeared in front of Tristan and the others, only to be left at a loss for words once more at what he saw.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 2 ¡ª Mythic)


    Subss: Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer (Umon)


    Species: Human (2nd Unsealing)


    Level: 33


    Power Level: 7,460 (B++)


    Unused XP: 1,338,600<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 9,981/9,981


    MP: 6,603/6,603


    Attack: 2,060 - 2,157 (2,841 - 2,938)


    Defense: 2,361 - 3,158


    Stats: 364 (392) VIT, 268 (295) STR, 245 (270) AGI, 420 (473) DEX, 249 (285) INT, 100 (112) WIS, 154 (172) PER, 60 LUK (32 unassigned points)


    Remarks: With all due politeness¡­ what in the actual fuck.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "What the fuck¡­" inwardly cursed Valyr in great disbelief as he looked at the values that were on his screen. "What in the actual fuck¡­"


    Though he had alreadye to terms with how powerful having a Mythic ss in the early ss ranks were, giving him the ability to fight against Rank 2 ss holders and even win while he was still Rank 1, it was only now did the advantage a Mythic ss gave to him finally sink in, allowing him to thrash hundreds of beings at a lower ss rank with just a single move.


    Of course, he also took his Epic grade armor set and his subss into consideration, knowing that they were also key factors that contributed to the power he now had.


    "Hey, Valyr. You good?" While Valyr was in the midst of calming himself down by taking a few more deep breaths, Tristan came up to him and asked him if he was okay. In response, Valyr nodded only after taking a couple more deep breaths, letting out a long sigh as he closed the screen before him.


    Seeing that Valyr had returned to them, Damian went ahead and yelled out an order to the other wings making up the vige''s defense, prompting them to snap out of their shock as they prepared for the following wave. As Damian took a quick look at the side they were fighting against, noticing that they were fortifying the second wave, he looked at Valyr for a bit before deciding to ask him a question.


    "What was that?"


    "A skill," Valyr sinctly replied before shing a bitter smile. "A skill I wasn''t expecting to be that strong."


    "Really?" Tristan raised his eyebrow in slight doubt. "With how confident you made your way to the main part of the battlefield, it looked like you had an idea of what kind of attack you were unleashing."


    "I did have an idea of what I was doing." Valyr nodded in agreement, the bitter smile on his face still there. "It''s just that the attack ended up being far more than what I bargained for."


    "It would be nice if you could stop bickering for the meantime." At that point, Damian decided to cut their conversation short. "We still have a few more waves to go up against."


    "We aren''t bickering," replied Tristan, to which Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders.


    "Anyway." In response, Damian briefly shrugged his shoulders as well, only to turn his attention to Valyr soon after. "With how you were able to fight against the first wave on your own¡­"


    "Do you want to take charge of the second wave as well?"


    "Or do you want to let the others move this time around?"

 Chapter 343 Blademaster At The Frontlines

    "I''d suggest you have the others move for this next wave." Surprisingly, it did not take long for Valyr toe up with an answer, lightly scratching the back of his head as he let out an awkward chuckle. "I feel like I''ve already done more than enough for the defense anyway."


    "Are you sure?" Damian raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Using the move you unleashed earlier on this next wave would definitely help speed up the clearing of the monster tide. On top of that, you''d reduce the casualties from this defense if you make a move."


    "That may be true." Valyr bitterly smiled, only to shift his gaze towards the other people that apanied them in the defense. "However, I feel like I would be making a mockery of the sacrifice of the people who volunteered to participate in the defense if I were to move once more."


    "I don''t think so." Pondering over Valyr''s words in silence, Damian eventually shook his head in response. "Although these people did volunteer to participate in the defense against the monster tide, almost all of these people had joined the defense, confident that they''d be able to survive through the waves the tide would throw at us thanks to their heightened stats."


    "Only a few of them would be truly willing toy their lives for the vige," said Damian with a faint sigh. "Almost all of them would definitely turn tail and run."


    "I don''t know why you''re going about this in a roundabout way, Valyr." Taking a look at the monster tide far into the horizon, Tristan noticed that the number of monsters making up the second wave continued to gradually increase by the second, as if topensate for how the first wave was decimated by just one person. "You just have to pick one of the two. There''s nothing difficult about that, no?"


    "Unless¡­ that skill you unleashed earlier has a long cooldown?" As this question came out of Tristan''s mouth, Damian looked at Tristan for a bit in realization before turning to look back at Valyr, inwardly admonishing himself for forgetting about that fact. However, just as he expected Valyr to tell the two of them that his skill indeed had a long cooldown, what he heard instead was something he was sure to remember.


    "Not really." Valyr shook his head,manding the system to bring up the description of [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] in his mind, only to find out that [Tide of the Dark Night] only had a cooldown of about a minute or so. "It only has a cooldown of about a minute. If anything, it''s the mana cost that''s the problem."


    "But you can still use the skill, right?" Damian asked in response to Valyr''s answer, to which thetter responded with a faint nod.


    "If that''s the case, why do you still want the others to make a move if your skill could make sure there are no casualties?" Tristan asked with a slight frown.


    "Because we have someone else who''s also raring to show everyone how much she''s improved." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, Valyr looked in the direction of a certain person as a smile gradually crept up onto his lips. "Isn''t that right, Myst?"


    "I wouldn''t mind if you were to clear the monster tide on your own. It would be for the greater good of the vige, after all." With Tristan and Damian looking in the same direction Valyr was looking in, Myst responded to Valyr''s words with a shrug of her shoulders. Though, not long after, a faint grin appeared on her face.


    "Though, I do have to admit that I want to see how much stronger I''ve be."


    "As you should." Nodding in agreement with Myst''s words, Valyr let out a chuckle. After that, he pondered over a few things for a bit, gazing at the monster tide every once in a while before eventually looking at Damian. "Hmm¡­ how about this?"


    "For this wave, how about we let Myst move on her own, then have the other people back her up if she''s finding difficulty in clearing the wave?"


    "Of course, with the disparity between their levels, the others would group up before fighting against the monsters," said Valyr as he briefly scratched his head. "Then, if there''s still a problem in clearing the second wave, I make a move."


    "What do you think, Myst?" After Valyr was finished exining his idea, Damian looked at Myst in front of him, to which thetter briefly frowned before letting out a faint sigh not long after.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Though it feels like you''re saying that mybat power wouldn''t be enough to clear the second wave, it does kind of put me at ease to know that we won''t lose any people from this." As these words came out of Myst''s mouth, Valyr wryly smiled in response. "Let''s go with that, then."


    "Alright." Nodding, Damian infused mana into his voice before allowing it to resound throughout the area once more. "Men! Heed mymand!"


    "For this uing wave, make sure to be prepared to fight at any moment!"


    "Group yourselves into teams of four and wait for my signal!"


    "Sir, yes, sir!" With most of the people responding to Damian''s words in unison, the people surrounding Valyr and the others started to get into formation, following the orders Damian had given, with the people making up the other wings of the defense following suit not long after.


    Rumble¡­


    "Here theye!" Coincidentally, the monster tide far into the horizon decided to finally send out their second wave, being made up of monsters at Level 15, with their numbers at least thrice as much as the wave that came before. Seeing this, Damian looked at Myst, who had stepped forward, before giving her a nod.


    "You''ve got this." Seeing as Myst was in the process of preparing herself, Valyr decided to give her a few words of encouragement before she moved into the battlefield. In response, Myst looked back and nodded before getting into a battle stance, darting towards the horde of monsters not even an instantter.


    "Of course, I do."


    Whoosh!


    Though she moved at a speed that was considerably slower than what Valyr was able to muster, Myst was still able to cross the gap between the frontlines and the rampaging monsters of the second wave within a few seconds, with the monsters that were near her slightly wary as they recalled the attack that had appeared before.


    Taking note of this, Myst stopped earlier than she initially nned to, unsheathing the de on the side of her waist before raising up above her head. Then, not even a second after, a piercing white light covered the entirety of Myst''s de as she imbued more and more mana into it, causing the piercing feeling to grow even more intense.


    "[Nascent Perennial de Intent]."


    At that moment, all of the monsters that were heading in her direction stopped in their tracks, taking a look to see if they would need to turn tail and run back to the main tide. However, before they could even do so, Myst swiftly shed out in a wide horizontal arc, causing a wave of piercing white light to cascade over the monsters as they fell to their deaths one by one.


    "[Perennial de Arts]."


    "[Perpetual Crescent]."

 Chapter 344 Soloing The Second Wave

    Swoosh!


    "Huh." With his mouth slightly agape, Valyr watched the aura Myst was emanating undergo a massive strength boost within seconds, with her de being shrouded in a piercing white light not long after as she swung it in a wide horizontal arc, an apt response to the monsters that were nearing her.


    Though the damage she was dealing was a far cry from the damage Valyr''s [Tide of the Dark Night] was able to dish out, only achieving damage into the four digits instead of five, it was still more than enough damage to kill the Level 15 monsters that came into contact with the [Perpetual Crescent] Myst had unleashed¡­


    Which only grewrger as time passed.


    With every passing second, the arc of white light grew to arger size, allowing it to render more monsters dead within the same amount of time. At this sight, Myst briefly stood where she was, taking in a deep breath as she watched the arc of white light do its thing before proceeding to another section of the second wave.


    Seeing this, Valyr watched the entire scene unfold in front of him in silence for a bit before the gears in his mind started to fully turn, allowing him to realize what was going on. ''Since she''s heading to another part of the monster tide, then that means¡­''


    "[Perpetual Crescent]!"


    Swoosh!


    Appearing a fair distance away to the left of the first arc of white light she had unleashed, Myst shed out in a wide horizontal arc once more, causing yet another arc of white light to appear on the battlefield, which seemed to be the scythe of the grim reaper from the perspective of the monsters.


    However, at the very moment Myst had unleashed a second [Perpetual Crescent], many of the defenders at the frontlines, waiting for Damian''s signal to charge and fight, could not help but recall the scene that had transpired just a couple minutes earlier, recalling the tyranny Valyr''s attack had over the first wave whenpared to what they were seeing at the moment.


    "I knew it." With Myst unleashing a second [Perpetual Crescent] right in front of them, Valyr''s suspicions had been confirmed, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face as hepared the skill he had unleashed earlier to the skill in front of him right now.


    In terms of destructiveness, Valyr felt like [Tide of the Dark Night] and [Perpetual Crescent] were both at a high level, considering that both skills were able to wipe out a great number of monsters in just a single move. Unfortunately, unlike [Tide of the Dark Night], which aimed to spread like wildfire and engulf every monster it came across, [Perpetual Crescent] had a limit on how much it could expand, not even taking up a tenth of the area Valyr''s skill could cover.


    But where [Tide of the Dark Night] shone in being able to cover arge area, [Perpetual Crescent] made up for it with its insane longevity.


    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!


    Although it had already been a few minutes since Myst had unleashed first [Perpetual Crescent], the arc of white light was still there, cutting the Level 15 monsters horizontally into two as five of these arcs now roamed the battlefield. At this point, thoughts of Myst being weaker than Valyr had already been dispelled in the minds of the people that thought about it in the first ce, instead thinking that the two of them were just specializing in two different aspects ofbat.


    Seeing as Myst more or less had the second wave under control on her own, working in tandem with the arcs of white light she had unleashed by killing any monsters that made it past them with her de, Valyr decided to take a look at Myst''s stats through [Analysis], curious as to how strong she has gotten in order for her to dish out that much damage.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Myst Verielle] (Level 25)


    ss: Gale de (Rank 1 ¡ª Umon)<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Subss: Perennial demaster (Epic)


    Power Level: C++


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 1,359/1,359


    MP: 235/567


    Stats: 88 (107) VIT, 118 (149) STR, 170 (216) AGI, 126 (159) DEX, 45 INT, 44 WIS, 44 PER, 32 LUK


    Remarks: A monster in her own right. Has the ability to fight Rank 2 ss holders to a standstill. You''re still more monstrous, though.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Wait a second¡­'' While looking through the screen of information that had appeared in front of his field of vision, Valyr''s attention eventually focused on a certain line of text that caused him to raise his eyebrows in curiosity. ''She was already able to upgrade her subss to Epic grade?''


    As far as he could remember, he had given Alfaera the Subss Change Scroll that contained the Perennial demaster subss around a month ago, who gave it to Myst as she was better suited to be called the vige''s guardian. However, he was certain that the Perennial demaster subss started off at Rare grade, only having the potential to evolve to Epic and Legendary gradeter down the line.


    ''So you''re telling me that she was able to upgrade her subss to Epic grade within a month?'' At this thought, a slightly stupefied smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he shook his head. ''Crazy.''


    ''In any case, I''m surprised she''s still pushing the second wave back, considering how clunky the Supreme Astarto Defense Armor set is.'' Closing up the screen he had brought up, Valyr watched Myst continue to fight against the monsters of the second wave, unleashing a few other techniques from the [Perennial de Arts] from time to time to make sure she still had the upper edge.


    "Now that I think about it, did you awaken the attributes on the armor set Myst is wearing, Tristan?" As he continued to watch Myst fight against the monsters, noticing that she was slowly but surely losing her ground against the monsters, Valyr turned to look at Tristan before asking him a question.


    "Pretty sure I only enhanced the armor up to Level 20, as well as the de she''s using at the moment." Tristan briefly scratched his head. "I think I also refined all of them to the highest level they could go, but that''s pretty much all I did¡­ I think."


    "Is that so?" Nodding in response, Valyr turned to look back at the battlefield before letting out a faint sigh, prompting Tristan to think that there was a reason behind the question.


    "Is there anything wrong?" With that, Tristan posed a question to the young man, to which thetter shook his head in response.


    "Not really. But¡­"


    "But¡­ what?"


    "Well¡­ you''ll see."

 Chapter 345 Its Berserking Time

    "Graaaoooo!!!" Although it had already been around ten minutes or so since the second wave had begun, with Myst doing her best to keep the entire wave in check all this time, the limits of her strength finally started to be apparent at this moment, with a far greater number of monsters now able to slip past her and charge their way towards the frontlines.


    "Agh!" Nevertheless, even though she felt like almost all of the energy inside her body had been spent, Myst still shed out at the monsters that got past her, sending out a de of white light that was barely enough to kill the stragglers, keeping the status quo.


    "I think I''ve found my limit." Catching her breath as she watched the battlefield before her, Myst noticed that the power behind the five [Perpetual Crescents] she had sent out earlier was now less than half than what it was at first. Though it was still more than enough to kill the monsters it came in contact with in one hit, the speed at which these arcs of white light traversed the battlefield was significantly slower than before, allowing her to realize why it was gradually bing more and more difficult to keep the monsters in check.


    Letting out a low sigh, she turned around to look at the defenders at the frontlines, eventually focusing her gaze on Valyr and the others. After a couple of seconds, Myst noticed Valyr nod at her, which caused her to nod back in response as she had a feeling she knew what the young man was conveying through the nod.


    "I hope my hunch is right." Taking in a deep breath, Myst turned around to face the wave of monsters once again. Then, letting out a loud roar, the white light surrounding her de grew brighter than ever before as she felt energy well up in her body.


    After that, she raised her de up into the sky before shing down in one swift motion, causing a column of monsters to swiftly disappear from existence. At that moment, the monsters that seemed to have gained hope in being able to break past the young woman fighting against them had lost it once more.


    After all, it seemed that she still had more left in the tank.


    "[Perennial de Arts]."


    "[Ephemeral sh]."


    ¡­


    "I see what you mean now." Noticing that some of the monsters Myst was pushing back had finally been able to break past her, Tristan had a look of realization on his face as he shifted his gaze towards Valyr, his expression turning into a solemn frown not long after. "So, what now?"


    "What else?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response, turning his head to look at the man that had been watching the fight unfold all this time. "Damian, I think it''s about time."


    "I had a feeling." Damian nodded in agreement, letting out a faint sigh not long after. "Though I''m sure Myst could stillst for a bit longer, I don''t want to lose a strong member of the regiment from such a stupid decision."


    "But more importantly, I don''t want to lose a member of the vige like this." Taking in a deep breath, Damian infused his mana into his voice in preparation for the order he was about to give to the others at the frontlines. However, just as the first word barely escaped the man''s mouth, Damian was forced to stop as he felt someone ced a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn around to see who it was.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Mind if I give it a shot?" As the question escaped Tristan''s mouth, an eager grin appeared on the man''s face while looking at Damian.


    "You sure?" Unsurprisingly, Damian did not reject the idea outright, instead asking his good friend if he was certain with his decision.


    "Rx." In response, Tristan let out a light cackle. "I may not be as strong as Valyr here, but I''m still a Rank 2 ss holder, you know?"


    "Plus, my hands have been itching for action for quite some time already." Saying these words, Tristan clenched his fists in slight excitement as he raised them up. "Especially since I want to see how much of a difference these metal gloves Valyr made me would make."


    "Haah¡­" Listening to Tristan''s exnation, Damian eventually let out a low sigh as he looked back at him. "Pretty sure you''d still go there even if I say no, right?"


    "You know me very well." Tristanughed in response to the question as he nodded.


    "Go and give them hell, I guess." With that, Damian shrugged his shoulders as he gave Tristan the freedom to move out into the battlefield. "Just make sure to not get too caught up in fighting."


    "But that''s what makes it fun!" Grinning, Tristan nodded as he soon dashed at the fastest speed he could muster, prompting those at the frontlines still waiting for orders to focus their attention on the new person to arrive at the battlefield.


    Of course, Myst also took note of Tristan''s appearance in the battlefield while she continued to push the monsters back as much as she could, causing her to let out an inward sigh of relief as she felt like she would finally be able to take a break. With the thought lingering in her mind, Myst decided to push herself just a bit longer, hoping that Tristan would be more than ready to take her ce.


    "[Battle Mania]!" With a loud shout, Tristan''s body started to glow a faint red as his eyes gained a slight crimson hue to them. Not long after, the faint light surrounding him swiftly transformed into a billowing me, turning into a manifestation of his nature as a Battle Junkie as it gradually grew stronger the closer he got to the horde of monsters.


    "Let''s do this!" Letting out a loud cackle, he eventually ended up beside Myst, sending out a few punches around their immediate surroundings to give thetter some time to rest. Unsurprisingly, Myst took the chance as soon as possible, retreating a few steps back before thanking him as she caught her breath.


    In response, Tristan nodded with a smile before turning to look back at the monsters before him, his expression quickly turning serious as he clenched his fists as tightly as possible. Just as faint cracks resounded from his fists the tighter he clenched them, the translucent billowing me surrounding him grew in intensity, only to reach its peak as he sent both of his fists out.


    "[Pinnacle Blow]!"

 Chapter 346 A Swift Clearing

    Whenparing the variousbat styles that had been shown during the current monster tide, Valyr greatly focused on dealing a great amount of damage through his skills, specializing in burst attacks. On the other hand, Myst focused on longevity, giving her the ability to deal a moderate yet still lethal amount of damage over a long period of time.


    Though both of thesebat styles had their own advantages and disadvantages when it came to the battlefield, with one shining in short fights while the other shone in fights of attrition, there was one that did not shine in terms of duration, but instead in terms of the number of enemies one fought against.


    Abat style that gradually dealt more damage as time passed.


    Tristan''sbat style.


    Naturally, thisbat style was highly reliant on his Battle Junkie subss, specifically the [Battle Mania] skill he had ess to, which allowed him to build up power the more enemies he killed. In terms of the duration of fights thebat style specializes in, Tristan''sbat style leaned more towards favoring longer battles more. On the other hand, in terms ofbat power, hisbat style could achieve a great amount of damage simr to the burst attackbat style, especially afterting enough kills.


    Of course, abat style like his also had its own disadvantages, such as not being able to show one''s full potential in a short fight, or not being able to reach a high level of strength against a singr foe. Nevertheless, it was still thebat style Tristan swore upon, thinking of his subss as just an extension of his ideology.


    After all, to him, the greatestbat style was the style that allowed him to thrive in battle.


    Bang!


    Punching both of his fists out with great force, the translucent billowing me surrounding his body moved in response, traveling through his extended arms before turning into a pair of translucent fists that headed in a singr direction, the force behind the fists gradually growing stronger the more monsters it killed.


    "It definitely feels nice to be fighting again." Allowing the energy from the kills to course through his body as the billowing me surrounding him gradually grew in intensity, Tristan closed his eyes for a bit before grinning, only to move to another section not long after as he sent out yet another [Pinnacle Blow].


    Bang!


    In terms of how many monsters Tristan''s skill was able to kill, it sorelycked even whenpared to Myst''s [Perpetual Crescent]. However, with the number of kills he had under in his belt continuing to umte, the power behind his skill grew in kind, with the fifth [Pinnacle Blow] he had sent out showing everyone watching the fight unfold something they didn''t expect.


    Boom!


    After mowing down through a great number of monsters that made up the second wave, as if it had a mind of its own, the translucent fists Tristan had sent out seemed to have realized that they had finally gotten deep within the horde, which prompted the energy that they still had within them to burst out in one go.


    Not even an instant after, a dome of energy simrly colored to the billowing mes surrounding Tristan''s body appeared in the center of the second wave, causing a great portion of the monsters that had just barely missed the dome of terrifying energy to run back to the main tide, the fear of death controlling their bodies once more.


    "[Perpetual Crescent]."


    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Unfortunately, after having been given enough time to rest and replenish her energy, Myst joined in the fight once more, deciding to focus on killing off the monsters that had the intent to return to the main tide while also helping Tristan kill the remaining monsters that made up the second wave.


    "Guess it''s time for me to go all out." Of course, Tristan was d to have Myst fighting together with him, causing arge grin to appear on his face as he let out a loud cackle soon after. Rubbing his fists, he then allowed the energy within his body to umte before sending out in one go, punching out multiple times as translucent fists soon bombarded the battlefield, killing all the monsters that came in contact with it.


    "[Raging Barrage]!"


    "[Eternal Severing Array]!" Wanting to match the energy Tristan had shown during the fight, Myst decided to unleash a move that she had kept for purposes like these, being a skill that Riekan had helped her unlock after she had ascended her Perennial demaster subss to Epic grade.


    Thud!


    Embedding her de into the ground, with only a quarter of it being able to go through, Myst soon knelt on the ground as the piercing white light surrounding her de earlier appeared once more, its energy spreading through the ground like wildfire while illuminating the paths it took.


    Naturally, the monsters that hade across the white paths wondered to themselves as to where the white paths hade from, not feeling any malicious intent from them. However, just as their danger senses had alerted them to move away from the paths, it was already toote, with des made out of white energy appearing out of the ground like spikes, killing monsters en masse.


    "Now that''s more like it!" Seeing the move Myst had unleashed in response to the barrage of fists he sent out, Tristan let out yet another cackle as he continued to keep up the current energy they had, allowing them to start pushing the monsters back before proceeding to whittle their numbers down.


    Eventually, with Tristan''s attacks growing more lethal the more he fought, and with Myst supporting him through the [Eternal Severing Array] she unleashed, the second wave had eventually be a thing of the past, finally giving the two some time to rest as they looked at each other with tired expressions, satisfied smiles appearing on their faces not long after.


    Rumble¡­


    "Oh, you''ve got to be kidding me¡­" With the ground rumbling not even a minute after the two had sessfully cleared out the second wave, Tristan and Myst looked at each other with bitter smiles, thinking to themselves whether to retreat and have the others fight them or stay where they were and fight once more as the monsters making up the third wave were already on their way.


    "Hey there. Mind if I join?" Fortunately for them, as if already expecting such a situation to happen once the second wave was cleared, a young man had appeared before the two and shed a slight grin at them, which made them simultaneously let out inward sighs of relief.


    "Be our guest," said Tristan in response with a tired chuckle. "We''re utterly spent out here."


    "Get that well-needed rest, then." In response, Valyr nodded before chuckling as well. "We''re gonna need all of the energy we can muster for thest couple of waves, after all."


    After saying these words, Valyr took a few steps forward, distancing himself from the two before taking in a deep breath as the expression on his face turned solemn. Then, extending his spear outward, he swung it in an upward arc, causing a wave of dark energy to appear on the battlefield once more.


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."

 Chapter 347 The Deadly Trio

    Whoosh!


    Simr to what had transpired earlier during the first wave, a wave of dark energy appeared in response to the activation of Valyr''s skill, though the size of the wave this time around was considerably smaller than it was earlier. This was due to the fact that he had activated the skill without activating any buffing skills beforehand, which Valyr had no problem with.


    After all, the power behind the attack was still more than enough to clear out the third wave.


    "Graaaooo!!!" Surprisingly, rather than flee from the sight of the dark wave that had killed theirrades from the first wave, the monsters that were directly in the trajectory of the dark tide seemed to have gained determination out of nowhere as they gave off the feeling that they would try to disperse the dark tide no matter what.


    Naturally, Valyr and the others noticed how the monsters did not turn tail and run back to the main tide, instead wanting to face against the wave of dark energy head on as they all let out beastly roars with all their might. From the energy they were giving off in response to the dark tide, the defenders at the frontlines felt like the monsters had a chance to disperse the tide of death for a second, considering that the monsters making up the current wave were Level 20, monsters that were close to reaching the peak of Rank 1.


    Of course, reality proved them otherwise, with the dark tide instead weing the monsters crashing against it head-on as it engulfed them without hesitation, killing them in one hit as it quickly began to spread throughout the battlefield within seconds.


    At that moment, as if a switch was flipped in their brains, the monsters, who had made a foolhardy decision by deciding to charge at the wave of dark energy head-on instead of running away from it, began to feel immense fear once more as they watched theirrades disappearing into nothingness under the clutches of the dark tide. Without any other thoughts lingering in their minds, they began to turn around and dash as fast as they could en masse, wanting to get away from the wave of dark energy as much as possible.


    Unexpectedly, as if the wave of dark energy had a mind of its own, the speed at which it expanded underwent a marginal increase, allowing it to catch up to the monsters that had decided to run away. With that, the dark wave had gone on a frenzy once more, killing every monster it came in contact with, eventually killing all of the monsters making up the third wave once more as no traces of their existence had been left behind.


    "Haah¡­" Seeing as the dark wave started to dissipate on its own ord after doing its job, Tristan let out a long sigh as he shifted his gaze towards the young man that was making their way to where he and Myst stood. With a slight grin, he then said to him, "Now that I''ve seen it up close, I''ve made up my mind."


    Hearing his words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering what Tristan meant by that. Though, not long after hearing the man''s continuation, the former let out a brief cackle, while Myst beside Tristan listened to the side with a wry smile.


    "I definitely don''t want to fight against you, especially now that I know you have a move like that always at the ready." As these words came out of Tristan''s mouth, the expression on his face was as serious as it could be, causing the cackle Valyr let out to grow louder as Myst continued to wryly smile at the conversation of the two.


    "As if I don''t know you still haven''t unleashed that powerful skill your gloves have." After he was doneughing at Tristan''s words, Valyr responded back as he looked at the metal gloves Tristan wore. "If anything, I''m the one who''d rather not fight against you."


    "Though I''d hate to interrupt the conversation you two are having¡­" Seeing as they were still in the midst of defending against the monster tide, Myst decided to cut their conversation short as she brought up the topic of the uing wave. "We still have two more waves to fend off¡­ I think."


    "Do we have two more waves left?" At Myst''s words, Tristan posed a question to Valyr, considering that he was the only one among the three of them who had an idea on how the waves would progress.


    "Yeah." Nodding in response, the expression on Valyr''s face gradually turned solemn. "There''s the wave of Level 25 monsters I mentioned earlier, plus the final wave against the Tidemother."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Did you and Damian get any information on how strong the Tidemother is?" Tristan asked in response, prompting Valyr to nod back, only for a bitter smile to adorn his face not long after.


    "Remember how strong the Lesser Tidemother we fought during the previous monster tide was?" Asking this question to the two, Valyr was not surprised to see the two of them nod, considering that both of them were part of the main attack force back then.


    "Level 25, no? The peak of Rank 1," asked Tristan.


    "The Tidemother we''re going to fight this time around is also at the peak," said Valyr as he nodded in agreement with Tristan. "However, instead of the peak of Rank 1¡­"


    "It''s at the peak of Rank 2."


    "Level 40, huh?" Pondering over Valyr''s words in silence, Tristan eventually let out a low sigh as he thought about their chances of winning against a monster like that. However, the slight despair he felt quickly disappeared once he looked at Valyr, recalling the monstrous power the young man had shown during the first and third wave.


    At this realization, Tristan let out a chuckle in disbelief before letting out a sigh once more. "For some reason, I feel like I''m not even needed for the final wave."


    "What makes you say that?" Though Valyr had an idea why Tristan said that, he definitely wasn''t nning on doing something like that. "Just because I have the power to kill the Tidemother on my own doesn''t mean I don''t want you guys to help me out."


    "What are we going to do for the final wave, then?"


    Rumble¡­


    Coincidentally, just as Valyr was about to tell Tristan and Myst of what he had in mind for the final wave against the Tidemother, the fourth wave had begun, with monsters at the peak of Rank 1 proceeding to head where they were.


    "Let''s save that conversation forter." Seeing as they would have to fight once again, Myst decided to take initiative as she got into a battle stance. Looking at Valyr, she then asked him, "Are you going to use that skill again?"


    "I could¡­ but I''d rather not." In response, Valyr briefly smiled before shaking his head. Tightly gripping onto his spear, he soon got into a battle stance as well as he turned his head to look at the monsters that were heading their way. Then, looking at Tristan and Myst beside him, he grinned.


    "After all, it would be a waste to not fight against them alongside you guys."

 Chapter 348 The Deadly Trio Vs. The Fourth Wave

    "Guess we''ll be backing you up for this wave, then." Hearing Valyr''s words, Tristan responded by letting out a brief cackle, clenching his fists not long after as he activated [Battle Mania] once more. Within seconds, the billowing me surrounding his body earlier manifested into existence once again, allowing Tristan''s physical stats to reach greater heights.


    "If that''s the case, how are we going to do this?" Listening to the words being spoken by the two, Myst decided to ask a question that would further rify their strategy in clearing the wave that was continuing to move closer to them. "Should Tristan support you from the left and I support you from the right while you focus on the center? Or are we going at this with a different configuration?"


    "How did you two get to the conclusion that I''d be the one mainly attacking the fourth wave?" Briefly scratching the back of his head as he listened to the words they said to him, Valyr eventually responded with a chuckle before taking a couple of steps back. Seeing this, Tristan and Myst looked at each other for a bit, with expressions of slight confusion adorning their faces as they faintly wondered whether Valyr was going back on his words of fighting against the fourth wave together.


    However, after hearing the words that came out of the young man''s mouth in response to the move he had just made, it did not take long for the two to understand what Valyr wanted to happen, causing wry smiles to appear on their faces as they wondered whether they could do the same thing they did in the second wave for the current wave.


    "You''ll be the main attackers for this wave," said Valyr with a faint smile adorning his face, continuing to tightly grip onto his spear as he told the two to focus their sights on what was in front of them. "And I''ll be the one supporting you two."


    "You can still change your mind while we still have time, Valyr." Eventuallying to the conclusion that the tactics he and Myst had unleashed earlier would turn out to be less than half as effective in the fourth wave whenpared to them during the second wave, Tristan went ahead and persuaded Valyr that he should take the main stage, recalling the damage numbers he saw that popped up wherever the wave of dark energy went.


    "We would be able to finish the fourth wave faster if you take charge, Valyr." Of course, Myst had arrived at the same conclusion as well, backing up Tristan as the two of them continued to persuade Valyr to change his mind, even though thetter continued to remain silent all this time with a faint smile on his face. It was only when the monsters making up the fourth wave were a couple dozen meters away did Valyr open his mouth to respond.


    Though the words that came out were ones that Tristan and Myst dreaded to hear.


    "Let''s save that forter. Monsters areing!" Making sure that they wouldn''t be overwhelmed by monsters right from the get-go, Valyr dashed past the two of them before swinging his spear in a wide arc at the monsters. Without much fanfare, the force behind the attack was more than enough to send the monsters at the front flying, causing a domino reaction as multiple monsters were pushed back, while the ones at the brunt of the attack had moved onto the afterlife.


    "[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!" Seeing as the two were still standing where they were even though he had already made a move, a faint bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he softly shook his head. Soon after, he willed a great portion of the mana within his body to coalesce in front of his mouth, taking in a deep breath as a ball of fiery energy quickly manifested a few centimeters in front of it.


    Whoosh!


    Blowing on this ball of fiery energy, a wave of scorching mes soon covered the trio''s field of vision, finally causing Tristan and Myst to move from their spots as they felt the scorching heat from the mes Valyr breathed out from where they stood. Letting out long sighs as they thought about their unfruitful conversation from earlier, the two of them swiftly went off into their separate ways, eventually allowing them to see the aftermath of the fire breath Valyr had just unleashed.


    Thanks to his insanely high Attack stat, even though he still hadn''t used any buffing skills, all of the monsters that fell into the radius of the attack had been vaporized into nothingness. On the other hand, those that were near the monsters that died from the fire breath started to catch on fire, causing them lose health with every passing second before eventually sumbing as well.


    "I can only use this every 10 minutes!" Feeling that he had given them enough leeway to approach the fourth wave, Valyr swiped his spear a couple more times as if it were a walking stick, only that the force behind it was enough to send a bunch of monsters flying.


    Noticing that the two were charging up their respective offensive skills, a faint grin appeared on his face as he retreated a fair distance away from the wave, allowing the two to do their own thing as two sides showed great mayhem not long after.


    "[Pinnacle Blow]!"


    "[Nascent Perennial de Intent]!"


    "[Perpetual Crescent]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, with how both of them had ess to buffing skills that greatly boosted their offensive capabilities, the skills they unleashed more or less did the same thing against the fourth wave whenpared to the time they used it against the second wave, causing the initial doubt they felt from not being able to dish out enough damage, thinking that they would have to force Valyr to make a move, to disappear.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Within seconds, the two of them regained the determination they had shown during the second wave, sending out a great amount of AoE skills that left gaps within the ranks of the fourth wave.


    "Hmm¡­" Watching the two fight against the fourth wave and seeing them push them back on their own, a smile gradually crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he affixed his spear on his back, noticing that most, if not all of the attention the monsters had on him earlier were now redirected towards the two. Letting out a brief chuckle, Valyr faintly sighed before extending one of his arms out, a small magic circle appearing in front of the extended palm a few secondster.


    "I guess it won''t hurt to try using them out."


    "With the omnipresent mana acting as the source, and my body as the conductor, Imand the mana to bend to my will and transform into the might of the raging mes, giving my allies the ability to smite all foes that they mighte across!"


    "[Basic Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]!"


    Whoosh!


    Not long after Valyr activated the skill, the small magic circle glowed a faint red before transforming into two orbs of red energy that swiftly made their way to where Tristan and Myst were.


    With the two of them using their senses to their utmost limits, it was no surprise that the two noticed the orbs of energy heading their way, wondering if one of the monsters had sent it at them. However, once the orbs of energy had collided with their bodies, rather than feeling immense pain, the two instead felt like the strength within their bodies had reached a greater height, as if the difficulty of fighting against the fourth wave had been decreased.


    "Imand the mana to bend to my will and transform into the agility of the ephemeral breeze, giving my allies the ability to traverse their surroundings at greater speeds!"


    "[Basic Wind Magic Style: Fleeting Breeze]!"


    Wondering where the orbs of energy that boosted their strength had originated, it did not take long for the two to realize where it originated after they heard Valyr at the back chant from afar, only for orbs of green energy to appear before them not long after.


    Naturally, the two of them greatly appreciated what Valyr was doing, seeing as his buffing skills were making it significantly easier for the two to mow down their foes, with their defense being boosted by a simr skill from Valyr not long after, being Water-attributed this time around instead of Fire or Wind-attributed.


    Nevertheless, as they continued to fight the monsters of the fourth wave, being able to clear out a greater area thanks to the buffs Valyr had given them, the two of them could not stop themselves from looking at one another as a question simultaneously appeared within their minds.


    ''Isn''t Valyr a melee fighter?''


    "Hahahaha!" Oblivious to what was going on inside the minds of the two, Valyr let out a cackle as he dashed towards the part of the wave in front of them, closing the gap between them within seconds. Raising both of his hands as the monsters in his vicinity looked at him, a ball of crimson me swiftly manifested above his left hand while a ball of green energy swiftly manifested above his right.


    Not long after, he made the two collide together before sending it off into the wave, causing a tornado of crimson mes to appear in response.


    Grinning at the mayhem his attack was causing, Valyr looked at how the two were faring, taking note that they were still full of vigor even though they had already in a lot of monsters. With that in mind, the grin on his face grew wider as he proceeded to experiment with his magic skills.


    "Yeah¡­ it won''t be long till we clear this wave."

 Chapter 349 Whats The Plan?

    As both Tristan and Myst continued to focus their sights on the monsters that stood before them, gradually cleaving away the fourth wave''s numbers through their powerful attacks, the two of them thought about the buffs Valyr had given to them earlier and how it had made their lives easier.


    Nevertheless, this thought was quickly dispersed as they nced at the young man from time to time. Although he was helping the two in clearing the wave out by sending out a plethora of skills, to both Tristan and Myst, it would be more apt to say that the young man was just sending out whatever skill he had in mind, only for it to work due to the man''s incredibly strong power.


    At first, Valyr had sent out a tornado made out of mes, which elicited a nod from them as it cleared out a great portion of the monsters making up the wave. Of course, the thought of where Valyr had picked up magic still lingered in their minds, continuing to ponder over the answer to the question as the young man continued to send out more magic-based attacks.


    A wave made out of mes carried along by wind, spears of water propelled by wind, a giant wave of mud made by mixing earth and water together, the skills that Valyr had sent out at the beginning were all attacks that the two were somewhat aware of being used by mages, which prompted the two to continue watching him as the question of how Valyr picked up magic in the first ce disappeared from their minds.


    Instead, what reced it was the question of how far Valyr''s magic could go.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for them to find out their answer, which was¡­ not that far.


    A ball made by mixing fire and water, a wave made out of earth and wind, from how Valyr was mixing only a few magic skills together, Tristan and Myst eventually pieced two and two together in their minds as they came to the conclusion that he only had ess to magic corresponding to the four basic elements at most.


    Then again, even though his repertoire of magic was more or less limited, which caused him to unleash attacks that would normally be considered useless, Valyr was still able to dish out a great amount of damage through his magic experimentations, even showing off his ability to control pure mana by sending out a barrage of mana bolts one time.


    Eventually, the trio had killed all of the monsters making up the fourth wave, prompting them to simultaneously let out long sighs of relief, with Tristan and Myst''s sighs being significantly louder than the one Valyr let out.


    "With the fourth wave, we only have one wave remaining." Smiling as he said these words, the expression on Valyr''s face quickly turned solemn as he turned his head to look back at the only monster that still stood far into the horizon. Seeing this, Tristan and Myst shifted their gazes to briefly look at the monster as well, only for the three to turn around and head back to the frontlines to n out their course of action for the final wave.


    "Although I highly appreciate your participation in the defense, Valyr, you''re definitely making me feel like recruiting defenders for future monster tides is a useless endeavor." As the trio returned to where Damian was, their expressions somewhat visibly exhausted from what they had just done, the former moved closer to them as he looked at Valyr with a slightly bitter smile.


    "Is that so?" Responding to Damian''s words with a slight smirk, Valyr looked at the other people surrounding them, taking note that most, if not all of the people looking at them had awe and reverence in their expressions. With that in mind, he let out a light chuckle as he decided to sit on a nearby boulder. "Well, you should still continue recruiting them. Though I may have promised that I would participate in this monster tide, I can''t say the same for the monster tides that maye after this."


    "In any case, I''m surprised none of them harbor any grudge towards us for hogging up all of the monsters." Letting out yet another chuckle, Valyr pointed at the people surrounding them, prompting Damian and the others to turn their heads around and notice the awe and reverence that was evident in their expressions.


    "If you think about it, we''ve shown them that they could still get far stronger." Tristan grinned, to which Myst nodded in agreement. "The fact that we could handle a single wave all on our own, that''s something they definitely want to emte in the future."


    "The other defenders aside, what are we going to do for this final wave?" Feeling as if they''ve talked enough about their impact on other people''s aspirations and goals in life, Tristan decided to shift the topic back to what was more important, which was their n for the final wave. "Speaking of which, do we have an idea on how strong this Tidemother is?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Let me check." Deciding to volunteer, Valyr turned to look at therge silhouette far out in the horizon before activating the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], allowing him to see what they were up against at far greater detail.


    Though the Tidemother they were about to fight against and the Lesser Tidemother they fought before visually looked simr, the number of limbs this Tidemother had was two more than what the Lesser Tidemother had, while the number of eyes on its face surprisingly being double than the Lesser Tidemother''s.


    As for the openings that could be seen on its underside, there were a dozen of them, arranged in a way that formed a hexagonal shape, prompting Valyr to wonder whether there was a reason for the arrangement. Other than that, the Tidemother more or less looked the same as the Lesser Tidemother they had fought.


    Though, the [Analysis] Valyr had obtained said otherwise.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Prodigious Lesser Tidemother (Legendary Elite)] (Level 40)


    HP: 16,725/16,725


    MP: 6,390/6,390


    Stats: 223 VIT, 302 STR, 299 AGI, 293 DEX, 142 INT, 90 WIS, 108 PER, 90 LUK


    Remarks: Surprisingly, you have an actual shot at killing it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Well then." As Valyr bitterly smiled while taking a look at the screen that popped up in front of him, Damian and the others raised their eyebrows in curiosity as they shifted their heads, wondering what made him say those things. Noticing their attention all focused on him, Valyr turned the screen around, omitting the remarks he had received along the way before asking them a question.


    "So, what''s the n?"

 Chapter 350 Facing Another Tidemother

    "Over 10,000 HP¡­" Reading through the status screen Valyr was showing them, the expressions on Damian and the others'' faces quickly turned grim, only for it to worsen as they focused their attention on the Tidemother''s stats. "On top of that, its physical stats are all over 200 points at least."


    "I definitely wouldn''t be able to deal enough damage if the goal is to end it quickly." Pondering over her chances against the Tidemother in a one-on-one fight for a bit, Myst was the first to voice out her thoughts, informing the other three that she wouldn''t be a good fit. "With the damage I normally dish out, I can only deal hundreds per hit at most."


    "Unfortunately, I''m in the same boat as Myst over here." Not long after, Tristan voiced out his thoughts as well, his face adorned with a bitter smile. "I may grow stronger the longer these battles take, but even the damage I dish out at my strongest state would only deal a little bit over a thousand damage against the Tidemother¡­ give or take."


    Listening to their words, Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh as he thought about how they were able to urately give out how much damage they would deal against the Tidemother.


    Fortunately, after pondering over it for a bit, he recalled that the system had an obscure feature that would give yers an estimate of how much damage they would deal against a certain enemy, though yers generally relied more on the forms other yers had conceived, considering that the forms were more urate to them.


    Nevertheless, with the two reminding him of such an obscure feature, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up his damage estimates if he fought against the Tidemother. Unsurprisingly, the response the system gave him was that the damage he could deal at the moment was more than enough to kill the Tidemother, even if he were to be alone.


    ''Mythic ss plus Epic grade armor set. Truly OP.'' Of course, Valyr knew why the system had given him such a message, causing him to briefly sh a bitter smile as he soon inwardly let out a sigh. ''I guess they''re just waiting me for take the initiative.''


    "How about you, Damian? Confident in being able to take down the Tidemother?" Then again, even though he had a strong feeling that the three were just waiting for him to take charge of the fight against the final wave, Valyr decided that he wouldn''t give them the satisfaction that easily, focusing the attention of the other two on Damian as he asked thetter a question.


    "Myst and Tristan have already mentioned that they wouldn''t be able to dish out enough damage against the Tidemother if the n is to kill it as quickly as possible," replied Damian with a bitter smile. "Let alone me."


    "At most, my offensive capabilities would be slightly above Myst''s, but still below Tristan''s," he continued.


    "Who says we have to kill the Tidemother as quickly as possible, though? We could just slowly damage it to death." After listening to the words spoken by the three so far, Valyr noticed that the three were under the illusion that they''d have to kill the Tidemother as quickly as possible. "Though over 10,000 HP may be a lot, a hundred or a thousand is still a significantly huge chunk."


    "You forgot to take into consideration the Tidemother''s berserk state." In response, Damian informed Valyr about the berserk state the Tidemother undergoes at a certain health, prompting Myst and Tristan to nod in agreement as they listened in on the exnation. By the end of Damian''s exnation, Valyr looked at the three with a solemn expression before proceeding to ask them a question¡­ which only made them feel exasperation.


    "So what if the Tidemother goes berserk?"


    "The Tidemother bes harder to kill!" Feeling a bit annoyed at how Valyr was treating the Tidemother''s berserk state so nonchntly, Tristan responded to his question in a slightly loud voice. "Its movements be faster, its attacks be quicker, its defense bes sturdier, what part of that don''t you get?"


    "I definitely get that," said Valyr in response. "But as I said earlier, so what if the Tidemother goes berserk? It may take a longer time to deal damage to it and we would need to dodge more, but we''d still be able to kill it, no?"


    "You''re missing the point here, Valyr." Listening to Valyr''s words, Damian eventually let out a soft sigh. "Our stats are far below the Tidemother''s. Mine''s, Myst''s, Tristan''s. If our stats were only a couple dozen of points below the Tidemother, sure, we''d probably take the risk and slowly damage it to death. However, the disparity here is in the hundreds, Valyr. Hundreds."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I may pride myself in the fact that I can fight against a group of foes at the same level as I am and be victorious, but I am in no way confident that I''d be able to surmount a gap in stats that high." At these words, Damian slowly shook his head before looking back at Valyr.


    "Even Myst and Tristan pride themselves in theirbat proficiency, being able to fight against a group of foes on their own at the same level and emerge victorious. But just like me, they know their limits. They definitely won''t risk surmounting a gap that high."


    "Out of all of us, you have the highest chance of dealing a great amount of damage to the Tidemother, as if you clearing out the first and third waves on your own hadn''t already made that obvious." Saying these words, Damian went ahead and activated [Analysis] on Valyr, taking a quick look at thetter''s stats.


    "In fact, I have a feeling that out of all of us, you''re the only one here who could probably match the Tidemother in stats."


    "Well, would you look at that. I''m actually correct." Looking at Valyr with a bitter smile, Damian closed up the screen that appeared in front of him before telling the former a few things. "How about this? You take the lead in the fight, but we''ll aid you in the fight as much as possible."


    "You really had to take a look at my status screen¡­" Bitterly smiling in response to Damian''s proposal, Valyr let out a low sigh before eventually nodding. "Alright, fine. Let''s get this over with."


    "I''ll need someone to bind the Tidemother in ce while the others would distract the Tidemother." Though he inwardly frowned at the fact that Damian took a look at his status screen, Valyr thought about the various times he had checked into other people''s stats without their permission, thinking that it would be unfair for him to get mad at the man even though it was the first time thetter had done so.


    With that, he ced the thought at the back of his head for now as he began to formte a n with the other three.


    "I''ll do the binding," said Myst in response.


    "We''ll be the ones distracting it, then." Not long after, Tristan responded to Valyr''s words, prompting thetter to nod as he brought out his spear.


    "Guess we''ll do it that way, then." Turning around to look at the Tidemother far into the horizon, Valyr asked a question to his spear through his thoughts.


    ''You ready to fight against another Tidemother, Sana?''


    ''Always ready, Master.''


    ''Let''s give it our all, then.''

 Chapter 351 At A Loss For Words

    After the four of them talked about the specifics of what they were going to do for the final wave, Damian and the others went off their separate ways for the meantime, with Tristan, Myst, and Valyr deciding to take the time to rest and recuperate the stamina and mana they had lost during the fourth wave.


    As for Damian, since he had stayed at the frontlines all throughout the defense so far, his condition was still at its peak, which prompted him to infuse his voice with mana as it resounded throughout the vige outskirts not long after. "Men! Heed my words!"


    "We are now up against the final wave! To those that have stuck at the frontlines thus far, you have my greatest gratitude. As for those who have decided to retreat from the frontlines midway, you have my gratitude regardless."


    "Nevertheless, the time is nigh for the vige to push itself to its limits, with the only obstacle hindering the vige''s safety being the Tidemother far into the horizon!" As these words reverberated throughout the area, most of the people at the frontlines let out roars in unison, their morales surprisingly at an all-time high. Continuing to rest on nearby boulders, Valyr and the others watched the scene unfold with faint smiles on their faces.


    "For this final wave, the elite of the elite of our Astarto Vige shall be making a noble sacrifice, being the ones who shall y the Tidemother before us." Damian''s voice continued to echo throughout the outskirts. "These people are Valyr Zeihardt, Myst Verielle, Tristan Melphon, and myself, Damian Waters."


    "I assure you right now that all of us shall return to this ce whole, with the Tidemother in before you could even think about it." Saying these words, the expression on Damian''s face turned solemn. "However, to those that are willing to join us in killing the Tidemother, relieving us a bit of our burdens, you are free to do so."


    Within seconds after Damian was done talking, a great portion of the people started to murmur with one another, all of them talking about the words he had just spoken. Listening to their conversations, Valyr and the others felt interest from them at first, with all of them talking about how they wanted to be the second Tidebreaker or be someone simr to the vige guardian.


    Though, as time continued to pass, the confidence people had in themselves gradually waned, doubts gradually lingering in their minds until eventually, all of them came to the conclusion that they would be a far greater burden if they were to participate, thinking about how their strength would not make a difference in front of the Tidemother.


    "Is there anything you want me to do, Damian?"


    Almost all of them.


    "Lythia." Seeing a mature-looking woman in her thirties appear in front of him, Damian shed a bright smile as he took a closer look at the woman that appeared in front of him. Jet-ck hair that gradually took on a hint of dark blue at the tips, an aura that made him feel like she had control over all of the mana in their surroundings, as well as a few runes that glowed a faint blue on the surface of her hands, Damian turned around to look at the other three that would also participate in the final wave, smiling soon after as they nodded at him.


    "So, what do you need me to do?" Nodding back at Damian''s greeting, Lythia asked the man in front of her once more.


    "Do you have any binding skills on you?" In response, Damian answered Lythia''s question with a question of his own.


    "I do have a few, but the efficacy depends on how strong of a Tidemother we''re up against." Hearing those words, Damian went ahead and told Lythia of the Tidemother''s strength, causing thetter to frown for a bit before her expression eventually eased up.


    "I only have one skill that might be effective against a monster like that, but it''ll take a few seconds to cast it." As these words left Lythia''s mouth, Damian assured her that it would be fine, telling her that she would work together with Myst in binding the Tidemother in ce.


    With that, the two talked more about the n that they would execute during the fifth wave, with Tristan and the others joining them not long after.


    ¡­


    Rumble¡­


    "The Tidemother''sing!" Whilst the five were chatting with one another near the frontlines to get a better sense of everyone''s strengths, a person at the central defense wing of the vige yelled out all of a sudden, prompting the five to prepare themselves as all of them quickly had solemn expressions on their faces.


    Whoosh!


    "Let''s do this!" Amidst the panic the remaining defenders at the frontlines felt from hearing that the Tidemother was heading their way, Tristan and Damian took the lead in executing the n, dashing at the limits of what their bodies could handle as they soon moved at an even greater speed, activating their respective buffing skills.


    "[Battle Mania]!"


    "[Flowing Sword Steps]!"


    "Screeeeee!!!" As for the Tidemother, it instantly became incensed once it noticed the presence of two humans getting closer to where it was. Without hesitation, it increased its speed, its legs mming into the ground with great force, as if they were hammers that fell from the heavens.


    "[Basic Wind Magic Style: Fleeting Breeze]!" Casting a Wind-attributed skill that enhanced the agility of the two women before him, Valyr watched as Lythia and Myst moved away from the frontlines, heading towards the Tidemother to bind it in ce as Tristan and Damian were just a few seconds away from getting into position.


    "I should start moving as well." Seeing that thetter two had finally gotten into position, distracting the Tidemother as theynded attacks on its various limbs, Valyr took in a deep breath before proceeding to move towards their enemy at the fastest speed he could muster, activating all of his buffing skills in the meantime.


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Offense Aura]."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    "This is surprisingly easier than I thought!" Moving through the limbs of the Tidemother tond an attack before the former could retaliate, Tristan continued to do what he was tasked to do as he eximed out towards the other person that was doing the same thing as him.


    "That''s because we''re not the ones that are mainly dealing damage!" Of course, Damian also felt the same thing as Tristan, though he knew that the reason why the two of them felt like this was because the pressure of having to kill the Tidemother was not on them, instead being on the person that was swiftly making his way to where they were at great speeds.


    "[Eternal Sword Array]!"


    "[Vines of Greater Binding]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    While both Tristan and Damian continued to distract the Tidemother from what they had in mind, dealing a bit of damage here and there, Lythia and Myst eventually arrived at where the first two were, activating their respective binding skills as soon as possible. Within seconds, a field of white des and a great amount ofrge vines appeared beneath the Tidemother, with Tristan and Damian surprisingly being able to move through these obstacles without worry.


    "Screeeee!!!" Letting out yet another shriek as it now had an idea of what the humans were doing, the Tidemother tried its best to move away from the des and vines that had appeared underneath it, knowing that its chances of survival would be significantly lowered if it were to get caught up in the vines. With that, the Tidemother ignored the attacks beingnded by the two humans on its limbs for a brief moment as it quickly jumped into the air, mming all of its limbs on the ground soon after.


    Bang!


    "Gah!" As the skills both Lythia and Myst cast need immense amounts of concentration, it was no surprise that the move the Tidemother pulled out had deactivated both, causing the two immense mental strain as the ground continued to quake. However, rather than letting the pain wracking their minds defeat them, the two of them instead grit their teeth and endured it, forcing their bodies to move to where the Tidemother and the other two had gone before casting their respective binding skills once more.


    "Haah!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "Grieeeggghhhh!!!" Fortunately, this time around, Tristan and Damian had distracted the Tidemother enough to the point that both Lythia and Myst''s skills had sessfully attached themselves to the Tidemother''s limbs. Gradually extending to cover the Tidemother''s torso, the field of white des andrge vines soon dragged the Tidemother to the ground, tightly binding it in ce even though thetter still continued to resist.


    "I''ll take it from here!" With the final step of the n being the only stepcking, Valyr mustered up all of the strength in his body as he zoomed at far greater speeds, extending his spear out as he swiftly moved towards the head of the Tidemother.


    Whoosh!


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]!"


    Forcing his momentum toe to a halt, Valyr stopped just a few meters underneath the Tidemother''s head before jumping with all of his strength, converting the momentum he had umted thus far into force behind his spear as he thrust it out with great force.


    Bang!


    Unexpectedly, rather than pierce through the Tidemother''s head and make a clean hole that would undoubtedly kill the monster either way, the Tidemother''s head instead burst under the force of Valyr''s attack as a dark red number appeared above it, leaving everyone within the Tidemother''s vicinity, including Valyr, at a loss for words.


    ''-38,495!!!''


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the emergency quest ''Astarto Monster Tide''.]

 Chapter 352 After The Tide

    "Did you¡­" With everyone continuing to remain at a loss for words as therge number that appeared above the Tidemother''s head still vividly lingered within their minds, Tristan was the first to break the silence that quickly covered the surroundings, shifting his gaze to Valyr as he posed a question to thetter. "Did you just¡­"


    "¡­" In response to the question, a bitter smile adorned Valyr''s face, silently telling the man that had just asked the question that he had indeed done what the man was thinking. Seeing the bitter smile on the young man''s face, Tristan looked at him for a bit before shaking his head with a bitter smile on his face as well, letting out a low sigh not long after.


    "To think you were already dealing a lot of damage back then at Level 10. Then again, you could only aid the main force during the monster tide," said Tristan, only to let out a bit ofughter soon after. "And now, the roles have been reversed, with you bing the main force of the monster tide."


    "Time flies really quickly, don''t you think?" Letting out another faint sigh, Tristanughed once more as everyone eventually snapped back to reality, finallying to terms that the situation that had unfolded just a while ago had indeed happened. To no surprise, Myst and Lythia swiftly moved to where Valyr was and quickly bombarded him with questions regarding how he was able to dish out that amount of damage.


    As for Tristan and Damian, the former watched the scene before him with a smile while thetter appeared beside him, nodding at Tristan before proceeding to look at Valyr and the others as well. However, unlike the smile that adorned his good friend''s face, the expression on Damian''s face was neutral, his gaze focused on Valyr as multiple thoughts lingered within his mind, a hint of greed briefly shing through his eyes.


    Eventually, at some point, the five of them gathered together as they talked about what each of them would do now that the monster tide was officially done. Without hesitation, Lythia took the initiative to head back to the vige to tell everyone of the good news, with Myst deciding not long after to apany Lythia in informing everyone about it.


    Soon after, Damian decided that he would also apany the two women back to the vige, saying that he would have to manage a lot of things with Alfaera in preparation for the feast the vige had every sessful monster tide clearing. With that, Tristan and Valyr were the only ones left within the group that had not made a decision on what they would do.


    "Well, as the vige cksmith, you know very well that I harvest the parts of the Tidemother since I could use it in my equipment." As the three bade their farewell to Tristan and Valyr, Tristan looked at thetter before opening his mouth. "With that being said, I''ll be here at the Tidemother for the next couple of hours since there''s a lot of precious materials to harvest, especially with howrge this Tidemother is."


    "How about you, Valyr? What do you n on doing?" As this question left Tristan''s mouth, the expression on Valyr''s face contorted into a bitter smile as he asked a question of his own.


    "How do I go about saying this¡­"


    "Er¡­ is it fine if I take the corpse of the Tidemother for myself?"


    "And here I thought I''d finally be able to experiment with some more precious stuff." In response to Valyr''s question, a bitter smile adorned Tristan''s face as he pondered over it for a bit in silence. Letting out a faint sigh not long after, the bitter smile on the man''s face only widened as he said, "Then again, you did do most of the work out of all of us in this monster tide, plus I still have a lot of materials from the past Tidemothers to work with¡­"


    "I don''t n on taking all of it," said Valyr in response, feeling a bit of guilt at taking away Tristan''s excitement. "You could have the equipment thates with the Tidemother and uh¡­ 10 vials of its blood, I guess?"


    "Make that 30 vials of blood." Surprisingly, Tristan quickly bit onto the offer, haggling with Valyr to get a better deal.


    "12 vials." Of course, Valyr wouldn''t back down that easily.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "25."


    "15."


    "22."


    "18."


    "20 it is, then?" Finding their haggling somewhat hrious as they still ended up arriving at the middle ground, Tristan let out a faint chuckle, only for Valyr to let out a chuckle as well soon after. "Why did we even have to do that if we were going to end up at 20 vials anyway?"


    "Just go and get your stuff, will you?" yfully kicking Tristan in his rear in response, Valyr told Tristan to grab the materials he needed as quickly as possible, even going so far as to cast a movement speed buffing skill on thetter to speed up his gathering process.


    After a few minutes of waiting by the corpse, Tristan eventually arrived in front of Valyr once more with a small box of empty ss vials, nodding at the young man as the two of them quickly scaled up the monster''s body with the box in tow. Brandishing a de he had brought along to speed up the collection process, Tristan went ahead and made a wide incision on the Tidemother''s back, allowing Valyr to get a closer look at the insides of the Tidemother for once.


    Seeing Tristan jam his hands into the incision he had made quickly made Valyr feel an urge to vomit, though this quickly disappeared once the former eventually retrieved a pair of dark crimson vambraces from the Tidemother''s insides.


    "Well then. A pair of Umon grade vambraces at Level 25." Quickly using [Analysis] on the vambraces, a grin soon adorned Tristan''s face as he ced the vambraces in the box, only to grab the ss vials from the box soon after before shoving them into the incision to gather the Tidemother''s blood.


    Watching Tristan obtain the Tidemother''s blood through what he considered was a barbaric method, Valyr eventually parted ways with the man as the former held up his part of the deal, only grabbing 20 vials of blood from the Tidemother before heading back to the vige.


    Waving farewell at the man, Valyr watched the man''s silhouette for a bit before it eventually disappeared from his field of vision, prompting him to focus his sight on the incision Tristan had made before retrieving his spear behind his back.


    ''You ready to undergo an upgrade?'' Asking a question to his spear, Valyr sent a message through his mind.


    ''As ready as I ever will be, Master.'' In response, Sana replied back, the feeling of excitement and expectation filling the young man''s mind.

 Chapter 353 Mark Of The Alltide

    ''Now that I think about it, is there anything I need to do during the upgrade process?'' Taking in a couple of deep breaths to calm down his emotions, a thought swiftly surfaced in Valyr''s mind, prompting him to ask the question that came along with the thought to Sana. ''Speaking of which, I should have brought a forging hammer with me, huh.''


    ''There''s no need for that at all, Master.'' In response, Sana''s voice resounded throughout his mind, telling him that there was no need for a forging hammer at all. ''All you have to do is insert me within the opening your friend had made and I''ll take it from there.''


    ''For some reason, I find it wrong to do so, but alright.'' As his mind wandered about for a bit, briefly imagining of scenes that involved inserting things into openings, Valyr quickly shook the useless thoughts off his mind as he moved closer to the incision Tristan had made, ready to plunge Sana into the insides of the Tidemother.


    ''Wait a second¡­'' Just as Valyr was about to insert his spear into the incision, another thought popped up in his mind, reminding him of the conversation he and Sana had back then regarding thetter''s upgrade process. ''You said back then that you need the parts of a Lesser Tidemother to upgrade to the next tier, right? This is a corpse of a Prodigious Lesser Tidemother. Would it be fine?''


    ''More than fine, Master,'' replied Sana, its voice continuing to resound within Valyr''s mind. ''If anything, the parts of a Prodigious Lesser Tidemother would possibly allow me to upgrade to a far higher tier. Aside from that, there''s also the blood of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother.''


    ''Well, if you say so¡­'' Deciding to trust in his spear, Valyr took in yet another deep breath before proceeding to shove the spear into the incision Tristan had made.


    For a few seconds, nothing much happened, with the sight in front of Valyr being that of his spear barely sticking out of the incision. Fortunately, just as he thought that the upgrade process was unsessful, the spear started to leave the incision on its own, a thick strand of the Tidemother''s blood connecting to it as it eventually started to hover in mid-air.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Within seconds, Valyr''s spear started to radiate a faint crimson glow as the red blood of the Tidemother gradually crept up on its surface, eventually covering the spear in its entirety. However, the crimson glow of the spear still remained even after the Tidemother''s blood covered it, only for the glow to take on a tinge of gold as the power inherent within the blood fought against the blood that existed within the spear.


    Unlike before, where the blue blood the spear had absorbed back when he was in the Experience Pit lost to the crimson blood within the spear, the crimson blood from the Tidemother that had hints of gold within it won against the blood that already existed within the spear, taking its ce. Of course, not all of the crimson blood that existed before within the spear could be erased, instead melding with the crimson-gold blood of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother to reinforce and strengthen itself even further.


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr''s spear had finished absorbing all of the blood that had surrounded it, a far stronger wave of energy emanated from the spear, causing Valyr to look at the changes his spear had undergone. Within seconds, Valyr noticed that the spear had gained an ornate design around the boundary that separated the shaft from the spearhead, being made up of small crimson extensions that looked simr to the limbs of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother.


    Aside from that, the spearhead underwent a slight change due to the blood it had absorbed, taking on a slightly longer shape as Valyr felt immense sharpness just from looking at it. As for the shaft, it had gained faint intricate carvings on its surface, all of which were connected to the design surrounding the boundary.


    For a brief moment, Valyr wondered whether these carvings would aid in the delivery of energy through the spear, considering how they were connected. Though, before he could obtain the answer to his question, arge surge of energy moved through the strand of blood connecting his spear to the Tidemother''s corpse, causing the corpse to slightly rumble as he took a look at what had just happened.


    "Holy shit." Standing near the edge of the Tidemother''s torso, Valyr was finally able to see what had caused the slight rumble, his eyes instantly fixated on the syed limbs of the Tidemother.


    Before he had begun the upgrade process, the limbs of the Tidemother still appeared to be full of energy of vigor. In contrast, the limbs of the Tidemother now looked as if it had been siphoned of all its energy, causing it to look atrophied and emaciated, simr to the limbs of what a person in their old age would look like.


    With that, he returned his gaze to his spear still hovering half a meter above the Tidemother''s corpse, noticing that the energy from the Tidemother was continuing to transform the spear even further. However, just as he was about to watch the spear''s transformation unfold in real-time¡­


    Rumble¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Out of nowhere, the corpse continued to rumble once more. With that, Valyr stood up yet again to find out what was causing the rumble, only for a wave of energy from the Tidemother toe out of nowhere and hit Valyr from his back.


    Bang!


    "Gah!" Thinking that an enemy had appeared out of nowhere, Valyr swiftly turned around to see where the wave of energy hade from. However, just as he had done so, a great influx of information bombarded his mind, causing his eyes to roll as he fell on his back as a loud and shrill voice resounded in his mind.


    "To you who defiled the body of a Tidemother and transformed its strength into your own, I curse you till the ends of time."


    "Gone are your days of peace. Gone are your days of security. In every waking moment, any monster youe across shall attack you without hesitation, their attacks all aiming for one thing: death."


    "May you feel the wrath of the Tidemother whose body you defiled and stolen strength from. May you feel the wrath of the monsters that all seek to kill you."


    "May you feel the wrath of the Alltide."


    Chi! Chi! Chi!


    "Aaaaggggghhhhh!!!" As the words from the shrill voice resounded in his mind, his body was being subjected to an immense amount of pain. With Valyr enduring great physical and mental anguish, the wave of energy that hit his back earlier appeared once more, burning the flesh on the surface of his back as it slowly carved out a mark while he continued to scream out in pain.


    By the time a few minutes had passed, the small mark of a spider being surrounded by an intricate magic circle appeared on Valyr''s back, only being hidden by the armor set he wore.


    However, at that point, the amount of mental and physical pain Valyr had gone through had exceeded what even he had endured from the skill books back then, causing him to fall unconscious as his spear still continued to hover in mid-air.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [You have gained the Mark of the Alltide (Tier I).]

 Chapter 354 A Win-Win Situation

    ''Wake¡­ Mas¡­''


    ''Wake¡­ up¡­''


    ''Master¡­''


    ''Wake up, Master!''


    "Mngh?" Being waken up with a jolt, Valyr gradually came to his senses as he heard Sana''s voice resound in his mind over and over again, telling him to wake up. For a short while, he clutched his head in pain as he slowly sat upright, only to feel pain radiate from his back not long after.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for both types of pain to subside as Valyr''s consciousness eventually became fully alert, allowing him to hear Sana let out a sigh of relief in his mind.


    ''I was worried you wouldn''t wake up, Master,'' said Sana, causing a faint apologetic smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he apologized for worrying his spear. After that, the expression on his face turned solemn as he tried to recall what had transpired before he fell unconscious, only recalling brief glimpses of what had happened, as well as going through inordinate amounts of pain.


    ''Sana, mind telling me what happened before I fell unconscious?'' As he asked this question to his spear, Valyr looked around to find where Sana was, only to see that it was on top of the incision Tristan had made all this time. However, once he stood up to move closer to grab his spear, he quickly noticed that the skin of the Tidemother had taken on a dried-up texture.


    With that, he became aware of his surroundings, finally noticing that the entire body of the Tidemother had taken on the same appearance as the limbs he had seen before he fell unconscious, emaciated and wrinkled. Aside from that, he noticed that he felt no aura whatsoever from the corpse anymore, prompting him to think that his spear had siphoned up all of the blood and energy that could be siphoned from it.


    Rubbing his hands over the Tidemother''s skin, Valyr instantly thought about how its texture was simr to dried-up leather. Though, he quickly discarded that thought once Sana started telling him what happened to him before he fell unconscious.


    ''Well, at first, everything was fine. However, at some point during my upgrade process, the body of the Tidemother started to rumble a lot, which I felt from the connection I had to the corpse.''


    ''Not long after, I felt a wave of energy from the Tidemother hit you in the back, which caused you to fall to the ground.'' As these words left Sana''s mouth, his recollection of what had urred earlier became clearer, remembering that he thought that an enemy had appeared all of a sudden and ambushed him.


    ''After that, your expression went nk for a bit before your body started to contort in various ways while you screamed out in pain.'' Hearing these words, the expression on Valyr''s face had turned grim, the memories that now lingered in his mind reminding him of the pain he had to go through.


    ''Then, after that, you fell unconscious. It took a few hours for you to wake up, Master.''


    ''Is that so?'' Turning his head to look at the sky to see if Sana''s words were true, a bitter smile quickly appeared on his face once he found out that the sun had already gone past its zenith, its position still somewhat far away from the horizon. Thinking about how Tristan and the others were probably thinking as to where he had gone at the moment, Valyr decided to ce the thought at the back of his head for now as he took a look at his notifications, knowing that they''d give him a better idea of what happened.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the Mark of the Alltide (Tier I).]


    "The Mark of the Alltide¡­" Valyr muttered softly, as if imprinting the name into his memory. Soon after, hemanded the system to bring up its description, only to read through it not long after. "This¡­"


    "I can''t believe I got a curse." With a slight frown, he rummaged through his treasure trove of memories, wondering if he had seen any simr cases in his past life as a yer.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Mark of the Alltide (Tier I)] (Curse)


    Rarity: ???


    To you who has defiled a Tidemother and made its strength your own, monsters shall torment your every waking moment. They all seek to end your life, leaving no trace of your existence even after death. You have incurred the wrath of the monsters. The wrath of the Tidemothers. The wrath of the Alltide.


    Within a 100 meter radius around the user, any wild monster shall charge towards you without hesitation and aim to kill you no matter what. All monsters within this radius shall have their strength augmented to one tier above their usual level of strength. Killing monsters under the effects of this augmentation yield 10% greater XP.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As the frown on Valyr''s face deepened, he eventually stumbled upon a couple memories he had where other yers had gotten curses. However, the curses they obtained differed from his, with all of them due to the yers making contact with demons from the Underworld and not being able to uphold their part of the deal. On top of that, the effects of their curses were far more ruthless than the effect of the curse Valyr had at the moment.


    "Then again, it''s only at Tier I. That means there''s higher tiers to it¡­ which means it could only get worse from here." Letting out a low sigh, Valyr focused his thoughts on something else, deciding to focus it on the word ''Alltide''.


    "Alltide¡­ is it referring to the Grand Tide?" Pondering over the connection between the two, Valyr felt like there was a high chance that the Alltide was the Grand Tide, prompting him to recall how his ability tomunicate with Sana had been awakened in the first ce.


    "The third version, huh¡­" Letting out a long sigh, Valyrposed himself as he thought about how the curse would affect him in his day-to-day life from now on.


    "Well, I guess that means I can''t move through the wilderness without preparing anymore." Thinking about how he might end up attracting the attention of an incredibly strong monster without him knowing thanks to the curse, a bitter smile adorned Valyr''s face as he realized he had been wallowing himself in misery all this time.


    Shaking all of the negative thoughts in his mind, Valyr went ahead and picked up Sana, only to use [Analysis] on it not long after. ''Now then. Let''s see how much you''ve improved.''


    "¡­oh?"


    "¡­"


    "I see. Hehehe."


    "I guess this curse isn''tpletely a bad thing, after all."

 Chapter 355 An Unexpected Bonus

    Ding!


    As Valyr cast [Analysis] on his spear, hemanded the system to bring up a notification screen in front of him to see what kind of changes Sana had undergone during the upgrade process.


    Noticing that the screen containing Sana''s description was significantly longer than it previously was, he decided to focus his attention on the notifications for now, thinking that he would get a better idea of what he would read once he checked out how much his spear improvedter.


    [Using the blood and energy of a Prodigious Lesser Tidemother as a catalyst, the Lesser Tidemother Blood contained within the weapon has undergone a transformation, being reborn anew to contain far greater strength than it initially did.]


    [Due to the newfound power residing within the weapon, the weapon has been ressified to a higher rarity. Its rarity is now Rare.]


    [Thanks to the increase in rarity, the name of the weapon has changed to ''True Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother''.]


    [A surge of nefarious yet pure energy contained within the absorbed blood has awakened, allowing the weapon to achieve a far greater level of power, tapping into the wrath of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother it has absorbed.]


    [Due to the newfound power residing within the weapon, the weapon has been ressified to a higher rarity. Its rarity is now Rare+.]


    [Thanks to the increase in rarity, as well as the change in the weapon''s nature, the name of the weapon has changed to ''Wrath of the Prodigious Tidemother''.]


    "So Sana''s been affected by the curse as well, huh?" Once he was done reading through the notifications pertaining to the upgrade process his spear had undergone, a bitter smile adorned Valyr''s face as he closed the notification screen. Not long after, he shot his spear a question through his mind.


    ''How do you feel?''


    ''Stronger, yet at the same time weaker.'' As these words resounded within Valyr''s mind, the young man feel the spear make a bitter smile as it responded to his question. ''Does this have something to do with the wave of energy that hit you, Master?''


    ''I believe so.'' Responding back, the bitter smile on Valyr''s face turned wider as he grabbed Sana, admiring the changes it had undergone in terms of appearance. Under the harsh rays of the sun, the spear now glistened a faint gold, which prompted the young man to recall the blood of the Tidemother his spear had siphoned from earlier.


    Aside from that, the small limbs that surrounded the boundary connecting the shaft to the spearhead had grown more ornate yet at the same time grotesque in its design, now giving Valyr the feeling that each of the limbs contained the wrath and fury of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother he had killed.


    Once he was done admiring the transformation his spear had undergone, Valyr went ahead and exined to Sana what the wave of energy meant, as well as the curse that he had obtained thanks to the wave of energy that hit his back.


    ''I see.'' Surprisingly, Sana gave off the feeling that it had finally understood something as its words echoed within Valyr''s mind. Curious, thetter asked his spear what it understood, to which it replied.


    ''It seems I''ve now gained the power to harm you, Master.''


    Feeling his spear give him a bitter smile once more as it spoke through his mind, a look of confusion crept up onto the young man''s face as he wondered what his spear meant by that. With that, he finally took a look at the updated description of his spear, feeling like he would gain his answer once he looked there.


    And gain his answer, he did.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Wrath of the Prodigious Tidemother] (Level 33)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 2 (Valyr)


    Attack: 367 - 612 (+20%)


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR +15<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    > AGI +16


    > DEX +31


    Previously a training weapon¡­ description has been omitted.


    Submerged in the blood and energy of the being that had allowed the original weapon to ascend to a higher level of power in the first ce, although it had mostly turned out to be sessful, this spear now contains the wrath of the being it had stolen its strength from.


    With the wrath of the being''s origin also wreaking havoc on the sole wielder of this spear, an unlikely resonance has formed between man and weapon, causing what the man considered to be its trusty partner in the battlefield to also be its greatest enemy in the worst conditions.


    However, not all of it is a bad thing.


    <Innate Skill 1: Summon Lesser Tidespawn - Grants the user the ability to summon one of the lowest-ranking minions of a Tidemother, a Lesser Tidespawn. This Lesser Tidespawn is unwavering loyal to the user and has a level of strength equivalent to 10% of the user''s current level. May improve with prolonged usage. Maximum number of summons: 1. Cooldown: 2 hours. Cost: 2,500 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Tidemother''s Vengeance - As deep-seated wrath towards the defilement of the strength''s source courses throughout the weapon, wielding this weapon inbat invokes a 0.2% decrease in the user''s stats every 10 seconds, capping out at a 30% decrease in all stats.>


    Remarks: Consider yourself lucky. Or cursed. Or both.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I think I now see what you mean, Sana.'' Moving the description screen to the side as he processed all of the information he had just read, an expression of excitement gradually crept up on Valyr''s face, only for a bitter smile to rece it not long after as he thought about the additional innate skill the spear had gained.


    "The longer I fight, the weaker I be, huh." With his mind lingering around this sentence, he eventually let out a mocking chuckle, thinking about how he had basically be a reverse berserker in the literal sense. Nevertheless, it did not take long for him to get over it, instead calcting how much time it would take for him to cap out the decrease in stats.


    "25 minutes before I max out the stat decrease¡­" Wryly smiling at this discovery, Valyr soon thought about this detrimental innate skill from another perspective, finding it somewhat funny that his spear was now pushing him to lean more towards shorter battles.


    "Fortunately, I''m starting to gain enough strength to do just that." Deciding to focus his attention away from the detrimental innate skill, he returned his focus towards the description screen, letting out a whistle as he briefly looked at the substantial improvement the weapon''s Attack stat had undergone.


    After that, he shifted his gaze towards the first innate skill, which had taken the ce of the [Tideburst] skill the spear used to have. "A summoning skill¡­"


    "[Summon Lesser Tidespawn]."


    Whoosh!


    Feeling a great amount of mana within his body being siphoned away, Valyr extended the spear he was holding, prompting a beam of energy to shoot out of its tip as a monster a couple of feet tall soon appeared a couple of meters away from him.


    "Hmm¡­" Looking at the monster that had appeared in front of him, the young man was reminded of the Tidespawn he had killed during the first monster tide he participated in, noticing that it looked simr. However, unlike the appearance of the Tidespawn from the past, the Tidespawn that stood in front of him had less detailed features on its body, while its aura was also significantly weaker than the former.


    "I can definitely feel a connection between us." Sensing an intangible string tugging at the back of his head whenever he gazed at the Tidespawn before him, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on the Tidespawn he summoned to see whether the skill''s description was true.


    Ding!


    "Wait a second¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Are you serious¡­?"


    "¡­"


    "Hahaha¡­ hahahaha¡­ This is great!"

 Chapter 356 Finding An Exploit

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Lesser Tidespawn (Elite)] (Level 3) (Summoned by Valyr Zeihardt)


    HP: 50/50


    MP: 40/40


    Attack: 6 - 10


    Defense: 3 - 5


    Stats: 5 VIT, 5 STR, 5 AGI, 4 DEX, 4 INT, 4 WIS, 4 PER, 4 LUK


    Remarks: Would probably be better off just for show.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As Valyr took a look at the status screen he had obtained from using [Analysis] on the Tidespawn he had summoned, the young man quickly noticed that the screen contained far more information whenpared to times where he used the skill on monsters he fought against. Of course, it did not take long for him to realize that it was due to the fact that it was a monster he had summoned, giving him the ability to peer far deeper into the strength of the monster he had summoned.


    "Wait a second¡­" However, as he continued to look at the monster''s status screen, he soon noticed that something was amiss, realizing that the system ssified the Lesser Tidespawn he summoned as an Elite monster. Though, just as he wondered whether Lesser Tidespawns started off as Elite monsters when summoned, a thought shed in his mind, reminding him of a description he had just read sometime earlier.


    "Is¡­ is the Lesser Tidespawn affected by the curse?" Murmuring this question to himself, Valyr felt that there was a possibility for it to be the case. But as he was not certain that it was indeed the case, he went ahead and hopped down from the dried-up corpse of the Tidemother with Sana and the Lesser Tidespawn, only to feel a wave of pain radiate from his back at the very moment hended.


    "Agh!" Gritting his teeth as he endured the pain, Valyr decided to take off his helmet and chestte to take a look what was causing pain to radiate from his back. Dropping both armor pieces on the ground as the pain began to subside, Valyr activated [Basic Water Maniption] and cast a sufficientlyrge orb of water before manipting it to hover around his back.


    After that, he manipted the water in a way that the surface that was closest to the back was t, turning into a mirror that would allow him to see what was going on. Turning around to look at the makeshift mirror he had made, Valyr was left at a loss for words as he did not expect to see anything like the one he was looking at to appear on his back.


    "They really took the word ''mark'' literally."


    On his back was the mark of an intricately designed spider that was the color of his darkened skin, which gave off a nefarious feeling whenever he focused his sight on it. Surrounding the spider was a magic circle of the same color, beingposed of ayer of magic runes that Valyr had no clue on what it meant.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I guess the magic circle surrounding the spider will growrger once the mark reaches a higher tier?" Pondering over how the mark on his back worked for a bit, Valyr eventually ced those thoughts at the back of his head, deciding that he would try to find out more about it once he returned to Algerie City and headed to its library, answering it alongside the many other questions he had in mind so far.


    Wearing the helmet and chestte back on, Valyr then went ahead and roamed through the outskirts of the vige for a bit, eventually finding a lone wolf he could experiment his curse on.


    "At the moment, the wolf is beyond 100 meters away from me." Activating [Analysis] as he looked at the monster, Valyr quickly found out that the wolf was Level 5, having the stats he expected from a normal wolf at that level. After that, he gradually moved closer to the wolf, eventually closing the gap between them to less than a hundred meters.


    "Awooo!!!" At the very instant the wolf was less than a hundred meters from Valyr, its eyes gained a faint crimson tinge to it as its body and aura surged with greater power, dashing towards where he was. Seeing that the curse was now taking effect, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on the wolf once more, only to notice that it was now ssified as an Elite monster.


    "I guess that''s that, then." Satisfied with the quick experiment he had done, Valyr went ahead and ran away from the wolf at the fastest speed he could muster, increasing the gap between them to half a kilometer within a few seconds, only for him to disappear from the wolf''s field of vision not long after.


    With the effect of Valyr''s curse now gone, the wolf stood in ce for a bit in confusion, wondering what it was doing just a few seconds earlier. Thinking that it had probably done nothing significant, it soon returned to wandering the outskirts once more in search for prey.


    ¡­


    "Move." Now at another part of the outskirts devoid of monsters, Valyr sent amand to the Lesser Tidespawn he summoned, ordering it to move over a hundred meters away from it. Without hesitation, the Lesser Tidespawn followed the order, proceeding to head in a singr direction at the greatest speed it could muster.


    While the Lesser Tidespawn was doing just that, Valyr activated [Analysis] on it once more, wanting to see whether there would be a difference once it had gone past the 100 meter mark.


    Whoosh!


    "Hehehe." Once the Lesser Tidespawn was over a hundred meters away from where he stood, Valyr took a look at the status screen he had opened by the side, noticing that the stats of the Lesser Tidespawn was now more in line with what he expected from a Level 3 monster. Aside from that, the Elite tag at the end of the Lesser Tidespawn was now gone, confirming his suspicions.


    "Hahaha¡­ hahahaha¡­" Deciding to dispel the Lesser Tidespawn for now, Valyr cut off the link connecting the two of them, causing the Lesser Tidespawn to transform into motes of blue light before disappearing. After that, he turned around before making his way back to the vige, letting out aughter that only grew louder the more time passed.


    "This is great!" At the moment, multiple thoughts whirred through Valyr''s mind as a result of the two experiments he had just done earlier. With a grin adorning his face, he realized that the Mark of the Alltide, although a curse he did not know how to remove, was actually a blessing in disguise.


    "I guess I''ll have to make a stop at the Boundless Skill Pavilion once I get back and buy a few monster summoning skill books before heading to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains. It would definitely be a waste if I didn''t capitalize on this."


    "I guess this curse isn''tpletely a bad thing, after all."

 Chapter 357 Return To Algerie

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    "So¡­ what''s with you attracting rats all of a sudden?" As the entire vige of Astarto got into a festive mood, celebrating the great sess of their defense against the monster tide, Valyr sat behind a table with Alfaera, Damian, Tristan, and Myst, partaking in the delicacies that were on the table while chatting with the others. At some point, Tristan posed a question he wanted to ask to Valyr, causing thetter to give an innocent smile in response.


    "Oh, nothing," replied Valyr, though multiple thoughts were going on inside his head. At the moment, rats were appearing out of nowhere, all of which had eyes that glowed a faint crimson as they headed to Valyr''s feet in the hopes of biting him. However, with him still wearing armor, the rats were unable to deal any damage to Valyr, instead bringing themselves to their demise as small orbs of crimson mes hovered around the soles of Valyr''s feet, vaporizing the rats out of existence.


    "I got my hands on some incredibly strong rat bait back where I was in preparation for a dungeon run I was going to do, but I have a feeling that dungeon was already cleared. With that, I decided¡­ why not use it here instead?" Making up an excuse on the spot, Valyr watched as the four looked at him with hints of suspicion on their faces. Fortunately, after a while, they shrugged his shoulders and found nothing odd about it, deciding to continue where their previous conversation left off.


    "So, with the monster tide now cleared, what are you nning to do next, Valyr?" While everyone in the vige was enjoying their food within the vige inn, where the celebration was being held, Alfaera decided to ask this question to Valyr, hoping to satiate her curiosity. "Also, would youe back for the next monster tide?"


    "Now that''s the monster tide''s done, I n to head back to where I was before." In response to Alfaera''s words, Valyr pondered over both questions in silence. "As for whether or not I''de back for the next monster tide and help defend¡­ we''ll have to see in the future."


    "I see." At those words, Alfaera merely nodded before deciding to return her focus on the food on their table. Sometimeter, the others that were listening in on the conversation had returned to their food as well, prompting Valyr to grab a bit more food in response.


    Ding!


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but are you heading back to Algerie Kingdom by any chance?" Just as he was about to take a bite of the food he''d grabbed, a notification sound resounded in his mind, causing Valyr to take a look at it, only to find out that it was a message. Though, once he found out that this message came from Alfaera, a look of slight confusion appeared on his face as he looked at the woman, only to notice that she was gesturing for him to remain silent.


    Faintly nodding in response, Valyr went ahead and sent back a message of his own. "I am¡­ but how did you know?"


    "Mind us for intruding in your conversation, but let me answer that question." Surprisingly, Tristan was the one who responded to Valyr''s question, prompting thetter to realize that Alfaera had made a group chat. "Sometime ago, a group from the Imperial Production Guild came to the vige to ask for your whereabouts."


    "Really? What are their names?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr asked back.


    "Only the leader of the group had given his name. If I remember correctly, he said his first name was Braum." In response to the question, Damian took the chance to respond to it, prompting Valyr to take a look at Myst, who still seemed to be engrossed in eating her food. With that, he quickly came to the conclusion that only the three he were talking to at the moment hade across the group from the Imperial Production Guild.


    "Braum, huh?" Hearing the name of the man who had been helping him a lot ever since he arrived at Algerie City, a faint smile adorned Valyr''s face as he asked the three of them more about what had transpired during the appearance of the group in the vige.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With that, Tristan took the initiative, telling him about how they were on the lookout for his whereabouts, only to inform the three of them soon after about the reasons, such as his Mythic cksmith ss, and how the cksmith Guild had done a test on Valyr beforehand.


    "Did they say anything else after that?" As someone who had heard it from the source, Valyr nodded at Tristan''s exnation, only to ask after thetter was done if they had mentioned anything else.


    "Not really." With him receiving a response like that from Tristan, Valyr nodded once more before proceeding to end the conversation there, allowing himself and the others to enjoy the ambience and the food prepared for the celebration once more.


    ¡­


    "Say, Damian. Mind if you distribute my contribution points evenly amongst all of the members in the regiment?" As the five were about to head off their separate ways, Valyr stopped Damian before thetter could make his way back to the barracks, asking thetter for a favor. "I feel like the points would have greater use under their hands."


    "Are you sure?" Raising his eyebrows in curiosity, Damian asked Valyr in response if he was sure. Seeing that thetter had no qualms about it, the man shrugged his shoulders before proceeding to do so, prompting Valyr to give the man thanks before they truly separated ways.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a low sigh as he took a look at the night sky, Valyr slowly walked through the streets of the vige, imprinting the sight into memory as he thought about how long of a time would pass before he''d be able to return to this ce. "I wonder if I could even return to this ce at all."


    "Either way, this is the path I''ve chosen, so there''s no point in turning back." Taking in a deep breath, the expression on Valyr''s face changed into that of determination as he eventually walked through the vige gates, stopping around a kilometer away.


    Bringing out the medallion he had been given before he teleported to the vige, Valyr took in another deep breath, only to turn around and mutter a few words before proceeding to infuse his mana into the medallion.


    "Guess we''ll see each other again in the future."


    "Farewell for now."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 358 A Budding Friendship

    Whoosh!


    "Wee to Algerie City." Standing in the middle of a magic circle, Valyr took a while to reorient himself, feeling a hint of dizziness from the teleportation back to the city. After that, he took a look at his surroundings, recognizing that he had appeared back in the Underground Transport Network, noticing that only a few dark-robed people were attending to the others at the moment.


    ''Well, it is quitete in the night.'' Thanking the dark-robed man that had greeted him, Valyr gave the medallion he had brought along with him for the journey to the dark-robed man, eliciting thetter to nod in response before giving him the go ahead to leave the ce and return to the city.


    Taking in a deep breath of the air within the city streets after heading through the path that led him out of the ce, the young man went ahead and made his way back to the inn where he and a friend of his were staying at, deciding to take a leisurely pace in doing so as there was not much of a reason for him to rush anymore.


    With that, while his eyes were darting here and there, admiring the sight the city gave him under the dim moonlight, Valyr engrossed himself in his own thoughts, specifically thoughts that were rted to the Mark of the Alltide and the experiments he had done to further his understanding of it.


    ''It''s quite a shame that the Lesser Tidespawn scales off of my level instead of my stats.'' Recalling the interactions he had with yers back then that took on abat style that involved summoning monsters, Valyr remembered that the skills they had allowed the strength of the monsters they summoned to scale off their stats instead of their levels. ''If it scaled off my stats, even if it only like 10% of my stats, it would still be a force to be reckoned with due to my Mythic ss.''


    ''However, since it scales off my level, even if I reach the maximum level of a Rank 5 ss holder, the Lesser Tidespawn I summon would only be able to fight against monsters barely above Rank 1. Plus it has next to no use for me since I can only spawn one of it at most.'' At this thought, a bitter smile gradually crept up onto Valyr''s lips. ''Then again, the skill did say it would improve with prolonged usage, so I guess that''ll improveter on?''


    ''Either way, I''m surprised I could actually utilize the curse in that way.'' Recalling the experiments he had done in the outskirts of Astarto Vige before returning to Algerie City, a grin reced the bitter smile that graced Valyr''s face earlier, a hint of excitement evident in his expression as multiple thoughts and possibilities popped up in his mind once more.


    "Within a hundred meter radius, any wild monster shall charge at me without hesitation and aim to kill me no matter what. Aside from that, all monsters within that radius shall have their strength augmented to one tier above their usual level of strength." Muttering the effects of the curse he had gained, the grin on Valyr''s face became wider as he let out a chuckle. "However, the Lesser Tidespawn is a monster I summoned, which means it''s not considered as a wild monster. Therefore, it won''t attack me for no reason."


    "Yet the second effect still applies."


    "I should really get my hands on some monster summoning skills." Thinking about how he could engage in closebat alongside the monsters he summoned, all of which were buffed under the effects of the Mark of the Alltide, the pace at which he walked to the inn sped up considerably, with him appearing to be jogging more than walking. "Though, I have to make a stop at the city library first and obtain the answers to my questions there."


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    "¡­and kill these rats chasing me."


    "[Crimson Ring of Rat Extermination]."


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    The next day.


    "How was it using the Underground Transport Network?" As Valyr gave Braum the spatial bracelet he had borrowed from thetter back as both stood at the entrance of the Imperial Production Guild, thetter went ahead and posed a question to the young man with a faint smile.


    "I can definitely find myself using it more and more often. Though, I do have to save up a lot of money for it." Responding to the question with a brief chuckle, Valyr then thanked Braum for allowing him to borrow a spatial bracelet on such short notice, to which thetter did not mind, telling him that he was helping out someone important.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why not sell equipment, then?" Listening to Valyr''s words, Braum gave the young man a proposal. "Just the fact that you could craft an Epic grade armor set is more than enough for you to get customers from tons of ces waiting right before your feet."


    "I know that." In response, Valyr shed a bitter smile. "However, I would need to establish a smithy first and get a supply chain going. I''ve already gone through it before so I know how much it would cost me."


    "You could always sell it through the cksmith Guild''s channels, you know?"


    As these words left Braum''s mouth, Valyr was quickly reminded of the method Braum had just mentioned, a slight frown adorning his face as he looked through his memories. From what he could remember, considering he had used it in the past, the amount of money he would earn from it was a far cry to what he could earn from selling it through his own smithy, with only those that have a high profile in the cksmith Guild being able to earn more money through it.


    "Would I even earn enough there?" Feeling that Braum would not mention the idea for no reason, Valyr went ahead and asked.


    "I''d say you''d lose out in the short term, considering that they take amission fee for putting the equipment up for sale," said Braum in response. "However, with the grade of equipment you craft and how you''re a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, I feel like it wouldn''t take long for you to earn far more money than what owning your own smithy would make."


    "Is that so?" Pondering over it for a bit, Valyr decided that he would try it out with a couple pieces of test equipment first, prompting Braum to nod in approval. After that, they talked a bit more, with Valyr eventually telling the man that he would be heading to the library for the meantime.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ why have you been so helpful to me ever since I arrived here?" Though, just as he was about to bid farewell to the man, Valyr stopped in his tracks and turned around, posing a question to Braum.


    "I don''t know." In response, Braum softly smiled. "At first, it was out of obligation as the leader of the group that had brought you to this ce, but right now¡­ I really don''t know. In any case, I do appreciate the friendship that we''ve built up thus far and I hope it continues tost."


    "Same goes here." Hearing Braum''s words, Valyr smiled as well. Bidding farewell, Valyr waved at the man goodbye, only to stop in his tracks and turn around once more, this time a knowing smile adorning his face.


    "You want me to craft something for you, don''t you?"


    "How could I ever ask for something like that? As the leader of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team, it would be disrespectful to request such a favor."


    "Heh¡­ is that so? Forgot I ever said anything, then."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­can I get a new armor set?"


    "Called it."

 Chapter 359 The Myriad Archives

    After promising Braum that he would return to the Imperial Production Guild at ater time and ask the man regarding the specifics of the armor set thetter wanted him to craft, Valyr roamed the streets of Algerie City, realizing once more as to howrge the city was whenpared to other cities he had been in before, such as Clossbay City.


    ''Well, Algerie City is the capital city of Algerie Kingdom, so it''s no surprise that they turned it into a core city.'' Recalling the various settlements he had been in for a bit and how each ce had its own unique charm and aesthetic that differentiated it from the other, he eventually returned his train of thought to the matter at hand, which was to head to the library located within the city.


    With that, he rummaged through his treasure trove of memories to see if he could still recall the directions to the ce, swiftly finding out that he actually did. Armed with the general idea of where he needed to go, Valyr slightly hastened his pace, asking a few people along the way to make sure that he was heading in the right direction.


    ''I should really stop thinking my memories are the answer to everything.'' Though the people he asked did confirm to him that he was heading in the right direction, it was only through talking with these people was Valyr reminded of a certain fact about the library that would allow him to head to where he needed even without knowing how to head there in the first ce. ''They''re definitely nice to have, but they''ll eventually just turn into points of reference for me to use with how things are going.''


    "In any case, note to self, use moremon sense." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr continued to make his way to the library, a faint bitter smile adorning his face all the while.


    "When lost, remember that the library is an incredibly tall tower."


    ¡­


    "Man, to think that the library was an incredibly tall tower even before the first version." After asking a couple more people along the way as to where the library was, Valyr eventually arrived at the ce he wanted to be in, standing just a dozen steps away from the entrance to what seemed to be arge tower that spanned over 10 stories tall.


    The exterior of therge tower seemed to be made out of bricks that were formed from roughly cut stone, forming a slight contrast to the buildings surrounding it as it gave off an archaic air around it. However, the faint undtions of mana that emanated from the walls of the tower only made that archaic air all the more prominent, giving anyone who took a look at the tower the idea that the tower had been here even before Algerie Kingdom had been established.


    "The Myriad Archives." Looking at the old yet intricately carved wooden sign that hung above the entrance, Valyr muttered the words that were written on it, recalling multiple things involving the tower back when he was still a yer. "If this ce doesn''t have the answers that I seek, then only the empire''s library would have it."


    From what the name of the ce suggested, the Myriad Archives was a library that contained all types of documents that delved into a myriad topics, being a treasure trove of knowledge for the kingdom, as well as the various core cities and cities that surrounded the library. Multiple schrs and sages peruse the books and scrolls the Myriad Archives gave ess to every day in search for greater knowledge, though holders of production andbat sses also peruse it for the same reason.


    Of course, yers were no exception to this, though most of them only perused the Myriad Archives and other simr libraries in order to further their understanding of the world they were in, which would allow them to uncover hidden clues or gain an edge in the quests that they had. Valyr was also one of these yers, being someone who only looked through what the library offered in order to further progress in something.


    Then again, when he was bored, he would check through the various storybooks the library had, or read through the books that covered various aspects of the world he did not know.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Well, it wouldn''t hurt to read up more on the world of Veldanyr, considering that I''m now one of its denizens.'' As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr let out a faint chuckle before proceeding to head through the tower''s entrance.


    At the very instant he stepped foot into the tower, he was swiftly greeted by the sight of a great number of tables and chairs, with around half of the chairs being upied by people that were either jotting down notes on parchment, or were reading through books in silence, their expressions neutral.


    Surrounding these tables were tall shelves filled to the brim with various books, scrolls, and the like, prompting Valyr to realize that the tower had spatial expansion magic cast on it, even though it was already over 10 stories tall.


    "Wee to the Myriad Archives." Just as he was about to head further into the tower, a teenager wearing a light gray robe greeted him, prompting him to stop in his tracks. Noticing that she had gotten his attention, the teenager put on a faint smile before asking, "Is this your first time in this ce?"


    "Yes." Though Valyr had gone through the books the tower had to offer many times in his past life, this visit was indeed his first time stepping into the Myriad Archives, causing him to nod at the young girl''s question. "Is there something wrong?"


    "Oh, there''s nothing wrong at all." The young girl gave Valyr a slightly apologetic smile. "It''s just that you should have an Archive Card made before you could proceed."


    "I see." Hearing the young girl''s words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, slightly surprised that such a system was in ce. After all, from what he could remember in his past life, there was no need for an Archive Card or anything of the sort to enter the Myriad Archives, with everyone being able toe and go to the library as they pleased.


    ''All the more reason for me to think that something big happened before the first version went public.'' Deciding to not make it difficult for the young girl, Valyr cooperated with her, paying the necessary fees and going through a few simple tests. A few minutester, he and the young girl had returned to where they previously stood, though with the former now holding a small metal card with small runes engraved on its surface.


    "As a Rank 2 ss holder, your Archive Card has Rank 2 authority, which gives you ess to books and documents up to the 6th floor of the Archives." Listening to the teenager''s words, Valyr nodded in response, asking the young girl if he was now finally free to proceed. After getting the go ahead, the young man nodded and thanked the young girl for her time, deciding to head to the second floor of the Archives as the unanswered questions gradually popped up in his mind.


    "I''ll leave the harder questions forter," Valyr muttered to himself.


    "For now, I should find out how to extend my lifespan."

 Chapter 360 How To Live Longer

    "No¡­ not this one¡­ not this one either¡­" Once at the second floor of the tower that was the Myriad Archives, Valyr beelined towards the various bookshelves that were in his vicinity, looking through the selection of books and other documents the floor had given him ess to. At some point, he noticed that all of the documents on a certain bookshelf were focused on a certain topic, prompting him to change his search method and find the bookshelf that contained books regarding lifespan.


    While doing so, he would pass by the tables and chairs ced behind certain areas of the floor, briefly ncing at the people that were doing their own things, such as research or leisure reading. Unsurprisingly, within a couple of back-and-forths through a few bookshelves, Valyr noticed that there were a considerably less number of people that were on this floor.


    Of course, at the very instant he wondered why that was the case, the answer to his question swiftly appeared on the surface of his mind, with the young man recalling from the teenager''s words from earlier that his Archive Card had Rank 2 authority due to his identity as a Rank 2 ss holder. With that, he put two and two together, faintly shrugging his shoulders as he ced the thought at the back of his head before proceeding to look for the books he wanted.


    ¡­


    "Finally." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Valyr looked at the books and scrolls that were ced on the bookshelf in front of him, taking a look at the titles each document had. Seeing that a great portion of them mentioned the word lifespan or was referring to the act of extending one''s lifespan, it was then that he knew that he was standing in front of the right bookshelf.


    With that, he looked through the various books and scrolls he could grab from the bookshelf, eventually settling on one, which was a slightly thin book that had the title ''Theories on Extending One''s Natural Lifespan'' on its front cover. Heading towards a nearby table, he grabbed a chair and opened the book, going through its pages in the hopes that his query would be answered.


    "Hmm¡­" As it was a book that did not surpass a hundred pages, it only took a few minutes for Valyr to read through the entire thing, especially with the aid of his high INT stat. Nevertheless, by the time he closed the book, a slight frown adorned his face, closing his eyes for a bit as he digested what he read and got the gist of it.


    ''Basically, it''s a book that goes into detail on how one could extend their lives naturally.'' Opening his eyes, Valyr went over the main points of the book he had read in his mind. ''Though it says it''s a theory, with how much evidence the author has added in this book, as well as how in-depth the research the author has done on the topic, it''s better to say that it''s just a confirmation of one''s spections.''


    ''Unfortunately, it doesn''t answer the question I want to know at all.'' Softly shaking his head, Valyr let out a faint sigh before heading back to the bookshelf where he had grabbed the book and ced it back, only to grab a couple more articles of literature from the shelf to see if any of them offered another perspective.


    "I guess it''s time to head to the higher floors." Seeing that the first book he had grabbed from the shelf was the one that contained the most knowledge out of all of them, Valyr stood up from his seat and proceeded to head to the higher floors of the Archives, always making a beeline for the bookshelves that contained documents that talked about one''s lifespan.


    Sadly, just like the result he had obtained from the second floor, the third and fourth floor of the Archives gave him an answer that was only slightly better than the answer he obtained from the second floor, with the documents he read from thetter two floors acting as confirmation for the theory the book on the second floor had.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "So, aside from moderate exercise and a well-bnced diet, a high VIT stat allows one to get closer to reaching the maximum natural lifespan a person could have." Consolidating all of the information he had obtained from the books and documents he had read thus far, Valyr muttered these words to himself as he made his way up the staircase that led to the fifth floor of the Archives.


    "I hope this or the next floor has a book that contains the answer that I need."


    Taking in a deep breath as he entered the fifth floor, Valyr quickly noticed that the number of people that were on this floor only hovered around a couple dozen, making him feel a hint of tranquility at how few people there were. Not wanting to disturb any of them in their own work like how the others he hade across in the previous floors did not disturb him, Valyr searched through the various bookshelves of the fifth floor in a way that allowed him to only make little to no noise.


    Thanking his high DEX stat for giving him incredibly high control over the various muscles in his body, he eventually found the bookshelf that he was looking for, noticing that the number of books and documents on the shelf were significantly less than the number on the ones from the previous floors.


    Briefly wondering why that was the case, Valyr took the document on the bookshelf that seemed to contain the most information on the matter, being a leather-bound book that had its title engraved in silver. Heading to a nearby table, the young man sat down and took a look at the book''s title before opening it.


    "A General Guide to Lifespan and Its Methods of Improvement."


    While going through the first few pages of the book, Valyr quickly had a frown on his face as the information he read was more or less simr to what he had figured from the documents he had read beforehand. With that, he was inclined to think that the remaining pages would just expand on it and go into far greater detail, considering that it was a book that could only be found in the middle floors of the Archives.


    However, it did not take long for him to find out how wrong he was.


    "Hmm?" Continuing to read through the book, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, only for his eyes to slightly widen in interest and excitement as he quickly realized that the book was talking about something else other than what he already knew. "There are twoponents to lifespan: one''s natural lifespan and one''s potential lifespan. One''s natural lifespan is usually around 60-80% of one''s potential lifespan, though if one has a sufficiently high VIT stat, one''s natural lifespan could be equal to one''s potential lifespan, perhaps even exceed it by a small bit."


    "Here are the potential lifespans one could aim to achieve per rank¡­" As his eyes hovered over these words on the book, it was only then did Valyr realize that he had hit the jackpot with the book he grabbed.

 Chapter 361 A Long Life Ahead

    "Those at Rank 0 have a potential lifespan of 100 years." As Valyr began to read through the various values the book had given him on the maximum lifespans one could hope to achieve per rank, his eyes glistened with interest,mitting every bit of information he got from the book to memory. "Ascending to Rank 1 increases this by 50%, giving those at Rank 1 a potential lifespan of 150 years."


    "On the other hand, ascending to Rank 2 increases one''s potential lifespan by another 50 years, which allows a Rank 2 ss holder to live twice the maximum natural lifespan a Rank 0 ss holder could achieve as long as they have a high VIT stat."


    Though he was d to find out that ascending to a higher ss rank and achieving a high VIT stat was all he needed to obtain more than enough time to do the things he wanted to do in his current life, Valyr continued reading through the book, noticing that it also detailed the potential lifespans of those with ss ranks higher than Rank 2.


    "Ascending to Rank 3 increases one''s potential lifespan by a hundred years, though the same could be said if one were to ascend to Rank 4 and Rank 5. With that, the potential lifespan one would have at Rank 3, Rank 4, and Rank 5 were 300 years, 400 years, and 500 years respectively."


    ''Even if I didn''t focus on increasing my VIT stat once I hit Rank 5, I could still live for over 400 years.'' Taking some time to process the information he had just received, Valyr thought about how absurd it was for him to be able to live for an incredibly long time as long as he reached Rank 5.


    Totaling the amount of time he lived so far through his two lives, he had only barely surpassed one-twentieth of that number.


    Yet here he was, in a world that gave him an incredibly long lifespan as long as he continued what he was doing.


    Getting stronger.


    ''Hmm¡­ I guess that''s all the information I could get regarding lifespans from the book.'' Feeling that he had digested and absorbed the information he had read earlier, Valyr continued reading through the book''s pages, noticing that the book now tackled certain materials alchemists used in order to concoct pills that allowed one to get closer to one''s potential lifespan.


    Though he felt like the lifespan he would obtain even if he didn''t focus on increasing his VIT stat was more than enough for him for now, he stillmitted some of them to memory, considering that he knew the location of a few of them.


    ''Well, that was quite enlighten¡ªoh?'' Just as he had finished reading the part of the book that tackled materials used in alchemy for greater lifespan, Valyr was about to ce the book back where he had gotten it, satisfied with the information he had obtained.


    However, before he could stand up and head back to the bookshelf to return it, he noticed that there still remained a few pages at the end of the book, prompting him to flip to it, only to find out that there was still more information he could obtain from the book regarding one''s lifespan.


    Specifically, how bing an Epic or a Legend increased one''s lifespan.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Is this book really meant to be at the fifth floor? With this information, it should be ced at the floors made for Rank 3 ss holders at the very least.'' Naturally, aftering across this information, Valyr wondered whether the staff maintaining the orderliness of the Myriad Archives had misced this book, feeling that this information he was about to read could only be obtained with a higher rank of authority.


    ''Oh well.'' Of course, that didn''t mean Valyr wasn''t going to read it. On the contrary, he was eager to find out how having an Intent or a Force affected one''s lifespan. With that, he read the text written on the final pages, murmuring each and every sentence to himself.


    "Manifesting an Intent applies an increase of 25% on one''s potential lifespan, allowing Epics at Rank 3 to obtain a potential lifespan close to that of a normal Rank 4, totaling to 375 years. Epics at Rank 4, on the other hand, would have a potential lifespan that''s on par with a normal Rank 5, while Epics at Rank 5 would be able to outlive normal Rank 5 ss holders by over a hundred years."


    "However, if a Rank 5 were to deepen their understanding of their Intent and turn it into Force, that increase changes from 25% to 50%, allowing them to live for over 200 years more than normal Rank 5 ss holders, their potential lifespans totaling to 750 years."


    "As for the lifespan one would be able to achieve if one were to ascend to Rank 6 and turn their Force into a Concept¡­ that is something only a select few people are privy towards."


    Letting out a slightly disappointed sigh at the final paragraph he had read, Valyr took a few deep breaths before closing the book, briefly shrugging his shoulders as he stood up to put the book back in its original ce. "Well, I did get far more information than what I bargained for, so I can''t reallyin much."


    "In any case, I guess I now know why the rulers in this are seldom reced by their descendants. With a lifespan that long, they would undoubtedly be at their prime level of strength for hundreds of years." Valyr faintly chuckled as these words lingered in his mind.


    Feeling satisfied with the answer he had obtained, Valyr decided to move on to the other questions in his mind that were still unanswered, going through the various bookshelves within the fifth floor to see if he could answer the two questions in his mind that he considered were slightly harder than the question about lifespan.


    "Found it." Fortunately, after a few minutes of scouring, he eventually found the books that allowed him to obtain an answer to these questions, heading to another nearby table to sit down before taking a look at the titles written on their cover.


    "To my left, ''A Detailed Breakdown on Weapon Bonds and the Like''," Valyr muttered to himself. "And to my right, ''A General Compendium on Curses''."


    "Hmm¡­"


    "Guess I''ll start with the one on my left."

 Chapter 362 Answering More Questions

    "Weapon bonds are bonds formed between man and weapon, arising when the two unite as one in the battlefield after causing immense bloodshed. Due to this, only those who have spent a long time with their weapon in the battlefield, or those who have wreaked havoc with their weapon and caused a massacre in the battlefield have a high chance of awakening a weapon bond."


    ''Huh.'' Deciding to focus on answering his question involving Sana''s peculiar ability first, Valyr read through the book''s introduction on what weapon bonds were, noticing that the second method given by the definition was quite simr to the method he used to awaken the weapon bond between him and his spear in the first ce.


    ''As far as I remember, yers always told other yers that if you wanted to awaken a bond with your weapon, you should kill a total of 1,000 monsters or greater. Did that sayinge from this book somehow?'' Pondering over this thought, Valyr felt like the chances of his thought being true were likely.


    Then again, with how many books there were in the Myriad Archives tackling the same topic, he did not dismiss the possibility that the yer where the saying originated from came across a book that was simr to the one he was reading. In fact, even a book that could only be essed with a higher rank of authority did not escape his realm of possibility.


    Feeling like his train of thought had gone off on a tangent, Valyr shifted the topic back to what it was earlier, proceeding to read past the book''s introduction and into the main part of what the book tackled, which were the various types of weapon bonds that existed.


    ''Although I more or less know how these different weapon bonds work, it doesn''t hurt refreshing my knowledge of it.'' Concentrating all of his attention on reading the information contained within the book, Valyr proceeded to go through its various pages, muttering some of the passages along the way.


    "There are four types of weapon bonds: Nascent, Ignition, Ego, and Spirit. Nascent weapon bonds refer to weapon bonds that are ssified as Level 1 and Level 2 bonds on one''s weapon, allowing the user of the weapon to establish some form ofmunication with their weapon."


    "At Level 1, the form ofmunication mostmonly found is through the sensing of emotions, with the ability to talk being rarely observed, only being a few words at most." Nodding as he cross-referenced what he knew from back then to what he was reading, Valyr continued.


    "On the other hand, Level 2 allows the owner to engage in a greater form ofmunication, being able to hold basic conversations with one''s weapon. In conjunction with the ability to sense the emotions of a weapon, this allows the user to obtain more information from their weapon."


    ''Hmm. I do feel Sana''s emotions from time to time when it talks. Though, with how we''ve been talking to each other so far, would our level of conversation really be considered basic?'' Taking a bit of time to process what he had read regarding nascent weapon bonds, Valyr quickly noticed how his weapon bond with Sana seemed to be at a higher level even though it was ssified as Level 2 by the system.


    ''Aside from that, there''s no mention of the weapon gaining the ability to look through the user''s memories at the nascent weapon bond level.'' Rubbing his chin with his forefinger and thumb as he contemted over the matter, he also checked through his memories to see if what he knew about nascent weapon bonds talked about the ability to scour through the user''s memories.


    Surprisingly, there was no mention of it in his memories either.


    ''If I remember correctly, that''s only something that''s avable to weapon bonds of a higher level.'' Letting out a faint sigh, he decided to continue reading through the book.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Forming a Level 3 bond with your weapon now ssifies as an Ignition weapon, hence the bond being called an Ignition weapon bond. At this level, the user has no problem holding a full-on conversation with their weapon, even giving the owner the ability to tap into the potential of the weapon bond and allow their weapon to temporarily achieve a great level of power."


    "With that, a Level 4 bond only pushes that further, turning an Ignition weapon into an Ego weapon, which is also the name of the bond. Though the owner still has the ability to tap into the weapon bond''s potential, the weapon now has the ability to act on its own and fight alongside its owner, acting as if it were an entire entity altogether."


    "Still no mention of Sana''s ability¡­" Valyr muttered to himself, scratching the back of his head as he found his bond with his spear more peculiar by the second. Fortunately, the final level finally shed some light into his question, though the answer he obtained only made him realize that his bond with Sana was all the more peculiar.


    "Lastly, a Level 5 bond allows the weapon to take on the shape of a human, transforming into what is called a Spirit weapon. Weapons at this level are capable of shifting between their human form and weapon form at will, while at the same time being able to exert a level of power far greater than even Ego weapons."


    "It is also said that Spirit weapons gain ess to a rudimentary version of the system, allowing them to increase their strength even further, as well as gain ess to a portion of the owner''s memories, allowing them to synergize with their owners to a whole other level."


    Thud!


    mming the book shut as the paragraphs describing the final weapon bond level lingered in his mind, Valyr stared off into the distance in silence as he tried to make sense of the information he had just read. By the time a couple minutes had passed, he let out an incredibly long and exasperated sigh, the frustration he felt at arriving at aplicated answer felt through it.


    "So, if I''m getting this right¡­ my bond with Sana, even though it''s ssified as Level 2 by the system, functions like a Level 3 bond and a Level 5 bond at the same time. Then again, thetter function disappeared so it would be more correct to say that it''s simr to a Level 3 bond."


    "Ah, forget it. I''ll ponder more about itter." Furiously scratching his head for a bit, Valyr took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before deciding to proceed onto the next question he wanted to answer, which had something to do with the mark that was on his back.


    "Haah¡­"


    "I really hope the answer I get this time isn''t asplicated."

 Chapter 363 Only For Even More Questions To Come

    "Here we go. A General Compendium on Curses." Moving the book detailing weapon bonds to the side, Valyr ced the book on curses in front of him, briefly admiring the craftsmanship that went into its cover before proceeding to read through its pages.


    Unexpectedly, within the first few pages of the book, rather than mutter out some of the passages he came across, Valyr read through it in silence as his brain eagerly absorbed all of the information he was obtaining. As the book was a general guide on what curses were and what types existed, it was no surprise that the beginning pages detailed the definition of a curse, which he quickly found out his idea of a curse was wrong all this time.


    "Huh. And here I thought all cursese about from reneging on deals with those from the Underworld." Muttering out these words to himself in response to his ignorance, Valyr swiftly returned to bing silent as he read through more and more of the book, each page giving him a far better idea of how many curses there were.


    Being a generalpendium on curses, the book tackled the various types of curses that existed, with the mostmon ones being poison-based and magic-based curses. Naturally, these curses were self-exnatory, with the solutions to removing them being self-exnatory as well.


    Nevertheless, with how detailed the book was in breaking down the various parts that went into forming a certain type of curse, Valyr eventually had a thought surfaced in his mind, pondering whether it was possible for him to create a magic-based curse utilizing the crimson mes he had control over. After all, being mes that were highly focused on destruction, using crimson mes on a magic-based curse would surely bring the one cursed great amounts of pain.


    Quickly discarding the thought after realizing that a great portion of steps into making such a curse need a level of control over magic that he did not have at the moment, he then moved onto the more obscure types that thependium enumerated, eventually finding the type that he felt was describing the Mark of the Alltide on his back.


    "Authority-based curses," Valyr muttered as his eyes were glued to the pages he was currently on. "These types of curses take on the properties of the other curse types mentioned before, but these curses are separate from the other curses due to one reason."


    "The existence of a greater authority having control over the curse." As Valyr''s eyes glossed over these words, the engrossed expression on his face gradually had a slight frown on it, his mind recalling the description of the curse he had received.


    "A greater authority¡­ the Alltide, then." Deciding to see if this curse type was indeed the one he was looking for, Valyr continued reading through the pages detailing authority-based curses, only for the frown to grow deeper the further he went. By the time he had stopped reading, his eyebrows were furrowed as his expression had turned solemn.


    "Theyout for a magic authority-based curse is simr to what I have on my back," muttered Valyr to himself as he went over what he had obtained from the book. "The mark denoting the greater authority at the center and then magic circles surrounding it."


    "To remove the curse, one could either get stronger than the greater being that cast it in the first ce, kill the greater being that cast it, or die." Valyr scratched the back of his head as he let out a low sigh. "To obtain such a curse, one mustmit a deed that offends a greater being, such that they want one''s life to be a fate worse than death."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''I guess that deed is when Sana absorbed the blood and energy of that Prodigious Lesser Tidemother.'' Taking in a deep breath to calm his emotions, Valyr then returned to the book, wondering if he could obtain more information regarding authority-based curses.


    Though he did gain more information out of it, an incredibly bitter smile appeared on his face when he read it, only to let out a deep and long sigh as he closed the book. "Making an authority-based curse worse is quite simple to avoid. Just don''t do the deed that made the greater being cast the curse in the first ce."


    "Well, fuck me then." Standing up to ce the books back in their respective bookshelves, the lingering thoughts in Valyr''s mind focused on thest tidbit of information he had gotten from the book on curses, which tackled how one could make a curse worse. "So you''re telling me the mark on my back will get worse no matter what I do."


    "Or would it be considered better due to my circumstances?" Pondering over it, Valyr gradually made his way to the staircase as the gears in his mind started to turn. From what he had found out, the mark on his back getting curse was an inevitability since he would have to upgrade Sana to a higher rarity eventually.


    With that, he would have to y a stronger Tidemother and have his spear absorb its blood and energy, which would be him doing the same thing he had done to get the curse in the first ce.


    Of course, there was also the option of just keeping Sana at its current rarity, though Valyr felt like it would be a waste since the upgrade path was considerably simple once all things were considered. Aside from that, he felt like having a worse version of the curse might be an advantage rather than a detriment, though that would only be true once he picked up a couple of monster summoning skills to take advantage of it.


    ''In any case, I''ve more or less answered the simpler questions in my mind.'' Heading up the staircase, Valyr eventually arrive at the sixth floor of the Archives, the highest floor he could enter with his current level of authority. ''I guess it''s time to answer the harder questions.''


    Looking through the various bookshelves disyed all throughout the floor, Valyr eventually found the ones that contained books and other documents on the questions he wanted answers to.


    Questions¡­ that involved Greater Beyond itself.

 Chapter 364 A Peculiar History

    ''System, open up the forum.'' Wanting to see if his stats as a Rank 2 ss holder would allow him to obtain more information from things he initially thought of as mundane, Valyrmanded the system to bring up the forum, causing a small screen to appear in front of his field of vision as he looked through the bookshelf before him.


    "There''s still no posts, huh." Letting out a faint sigh as a wry smile gradually crept up onto his lips, Valyr stared at the screen before him, which contained buttons and tabs on its sides that he had be familiar with as an avid forum user in the past. Yet, even though the core buttons and tabs that made up a forum were there, the most important of a forum, the posts, were not there.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ do NPCs have ess to the World Net?" Closing up the screen as the question from before lingered in his mind, another question of a simr vein popped up into his mind as he took a quick look through the screen that contained the World Net, deciding to catch up on news regarding Greater Beyond now that the beta period was done.


    ''Well, it''s no surprise that many people are hyped to try out the game for themselves.'' Seeing multiple articles praising the graphics and high level of realism that Greater Beyond offered to its yers, a faint chuckle escaped Valyr''s mouth as he recalled how he was left in awe after watching a few trailer videos of the game in the past.


    In fact, because of those videos, he was not able to sleep properly for the week that followed after the release of those trailers.


    Returning his train of thought back to the matter at hand, Valyr closed the screen that contained the World Net before focusing his senses on the various books and documents that were disyed on the bookshelf. Eventually, he found a book that more or less contained everything he needed, bing certain of it being the case after doing a quick skim over it.


    Grabbing the book from the bookshelf, Valyr made his way to an empty table nearby, taking note of how the number of people on this floor, including him, only amounted a number slightly above 10. cing the previous thought aside, the young man then focused his attention on the book in front of him before proceeding to open it.


    "The World of Veldanyr and Its History and Geography."


    Skipping over the foreword that the author had ced at the beginning of the book, Valyr was quickly greeted by the sight of a few graphics within the book, something which he had not seen in the books he had opened before, save for the book that went into detail on curses.


    However, unlike the crude drawings on the book on curses, the graphics within the book Valyr was currently heading appeared to have taken painstaking effort.


    "Veldanyr is the name of the world that us humans live in. There are a total of five continents within this world, all of which are enveloped by two massive oceans." Feeling like he had gone back in time to where he would read the books within the game''s libraries for fun, it did not take long for him to get engrossed in what he was reading, muttering out some of the passages every once in a while.


    "The name of the continent we are on is called Zaveigest, and this book shall go into detail on the events that had transpired within it. All of these events could be categorized into three major ages: The Age of Darkness, the Age of Uprising, and the Age of Innovation."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    By the time he had gotten to the point of the book where it went into detail on the various ages of history that transpired within the world of Veldanyr, Valyr''s imagination was working on overdrive, allowing him to vividly imagine the scenes that had happened during those times, which gave him a better idea of how everything unfolded.


    As the first age to be exined in the book, Valyr was quite surprised with the events that had been described during the Age of Darkness, recalling that thenguage used to describe this part of Veldanyr''s history was more tame back when he was a yer. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from immersing himself, putting himself into the shoes of the humans during this time.


    Then again, if one were to think of two words that described the living conditions of humans during this time, then most of them would probably think of the phrase ''living hell''.


    The Age of Darkness, as the name implied, was the age in history where humans were treated like beings of lesser importance. Almost all humans during this age grew up under the notion that they would live and die as food for the races that reigned over Veldanyr back then, which were the orcs, elves, dragons, devils, and werebeasts.


    As for the humans that were lucky enough to not be the food of the five ruling races, they either became high-quality ves, ythings, or items of pleasure for these beings. All in all, humans had no say whatsoever whenever it cames to matters involving the world of Veldanyr.


    Though, that all changed when the system had appeared.


    On one fateful day, all of the humans through the world had gained ess to the system, giving them the ability to reach a level of strength that would allow them to match the five ruling races, and even go far beyond if they wanted to. With that, one person had devised a n that all of them would revolt against the rulers of that time, deciding to gather strength in secrecy and only make their move a year after the system''s appearance.


    By the time a year had passed, a great portion of the humans had revolted against the ruling races, waging a great war against them thatsted for hundreds, if not thousands of years. This part was the Age of Uprising, the part of Veldanyr''s history that piqued Valyr''s interest the most.


    Aside from the fact that humanity''s greatest strategists and fighters had been born during this time, there was a small bit of information that Valyr noticed as he read through this part of the book.


    A piece of information that might hold the answers to his question involving the forum and the World Net.


    "System updates¡­"

 Chapter 365 A Peculiar Self

    From the name itself, system updates referred to improvements that happened to the system, such as making certain features of the system more efficient, or adding more features that would help the user of that system do other tasks more efficiently.


    Of course, the author of the book Valyr was reading quickly rified that the term ''system updates'' did not catch on at first amongst the humans, instead referring the phenomenon under multiple terms rted to the word blessing, awakening, ascension, and so on. Though the author of the bookter went on to mention that even though that was the case in the past, the humans still recorded the differences between each system update, which Valyr was surprisingly able to read through this book.


    ''I wonder how long the author of this book took topile all of this information?'' Gaining newfound respect towards the author who had penned the book he was reading, Valyr began to go through the various updates that had urred to the system he and the others had.


    ording to what the book had written, the first version of the system was incredibly simple, only having the most basic features Valyr thought were essential to any RPG. The ability to look at one''s stats and level, the ability to level up through XP, and the ability to gain stats and allocate them. These were the only features the humans from the Age of Darkness had ess to before they could begin their uprising.


    Then, ten years after they began to fight against the five ruling races, the system the humans had underwent an update, now giving them the ability to gain sses at certain levels, which basically allowed them to focus their strengths into various areas. However, due to this update, all of the humans had their levels reset to one, which destroyed a great portion of the progress the humans had made so far in their escape from the clutches of the five races.


    Then again, gaining ess to a ss allowed them to retrieve their progress at far greater speeds, with a considerable portion of people gaining ess to a level of strength that could not be achieved during the first version of the system. Because of that, these people were the leaders of their respective field, gradually allowing the human race to stand up against the five ruling races.


    As Valyr continued to read more and more through the changes that happened to the system, a slight frown gradually crept up onto his face, only for a full-on frown to rece it not long after. To him, the improvements to the system were not the problem. Gaining ess to equipment, subsses, quests, and so on, these were things he thought of as normal in any RPG, or any MMORPG for that matter.


    However, the time it took for those changes to ur was what irked him.


    Gradually, the time it took between each system update increased, with one update taking over 50 years before it was implemented through the system. For a brief moment, Valyr wondered why that was the case, seeing that the changes it brought to the system were considerable at best.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to notice that this specific update¡­ happened during the peak of the Age of Uprising.


    ''Hmm¡­'' Though Valyr wondered whether the system had a mind of its own and only pushed out updates during certain times, he knew that there was not much point thinking about it, considering that his level of ess to information was just a bit below surface-level at best. Nevertheless, he kept the question in mind, feeling like he would be able to get an answer to it at some point.


    With that, he continued looking through the book''s pages, taking note that the updates now began to take less time after that specific update. Eventually, he found the piece of information he was looking for.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "By the time the Age of Uprising was over, the human race had been able to push three of the ruling races back in order to carve their own mark in the world, forcing the dragons to near extinction, sealing the devils in the Underworld, and moving the werebeasts underground," muttered Valyr as he read through one of the pages. Then, just as he had moved onto the next sentence, his expression turned solemn.


    "It was only at the exact moment the Age of Innovation had begun did the system undergo another update, allowing all of the humans to be more connected than they originally were."


    "The ability to appoint quests to other people, as well as the ability tomunicate with other people through the system." Reading this sentence on the book, Valyr''s focus swiftly narrowed down on any version of this passage being mentioned in theter pages of the book. Though he did notice that the book mentioned it a few more times at that, it was only after he reached the end of the book did hee to a slightly startling conclusion.


    ''No one has ess to the forum.'' These words lingered in Valyr''s mind as he looked through the book once more, wondering if he had missed a page or two talking about it. However, even after looking through it a couple more times, no mention of the forum had been made, with the same case happening for the World Net he also had ess to.


    ''Surely someone would make a mention of it in the other books.'' Standing up from his seat, Valyr headed to the bookshelf where he got the book he was reading, only to grab a few of them back with him as he quickly sat back down. Looking through them, all of them mentioned more or less the same thing as the first book he had grabbed.


    However, only one book made a mention of the forum¡­ as a suggestion.


    "It would be nice if the ability tomunicate was expanded upon even further by the system¡­" muttered Valyr as his eyes were focused on one passage from that book. "Perhaps the system would allow us to ess a hub that everyone could put messages on, allowing everyone from all over the world to interact with one another through this hub¡­"


    Thud.


    Closing the book before cing it to the side, Valyr stared off into nothingness for a while, allowing the thoughts in his mind to wander about as he processed and organized the information he had just read through. By the time a few minutes had passed, the thoughts in his mind had turned tranquil, with only a question directed himself being the only thing inside there.


    With a mocking chuckle, Valyr looked at the books that were scattered on the table he was using, only to tell himself soon after, "I guess I''m an anomaly."

 Chapter 366 A Peculiar Clan

    As these words faintly reverberated through the silence of the Archives, a bitter smile adorned Valyr''s face as he grabbed the books and documents he had grabbed before proceeding to head back to the bookshelf where he had gotten it all from. While doing so, he thought about the information he had just read earlier.


    ''None of the books I''ve picked up made any mention of the forum or the World Net whatsoever,'' Valyr inwardly muttered. ''At most, the only abilities the other people have that I also have is the ability to appoint quests to NPCs and yers alike, as well as the ability to add people to my friend list and gain the ability tomunicate with them.''


    ''Does this have something to do with the fact that I have memories regarding the forum and the World Net, therefore the system gave me ess to it beforehand?'' cing the books and documents back onto the shelf, Valyr stopped what he was doing for a second as the question popped up in his mind. Though he thought that it was usible at first, that feeling quickly disappeared as more questions popped up in his mind.


    ''But wait a second¡­ haven''t I traveled back to a time where Greater Beyond hasn''t been released to the public yet? The forum was a function that appeared during the first version, while ess to the World Net only came about during the second or third version.'' The more Valyr thought, the deeper the frown on his face became. ''In short, I shouldn''t even have ess to something like this in the first ce¡­ unless there''s someone or something that''s allowing me ess to this beforehand.''


    ''But what or who would that even be?'' Feeling a mix of helplessness and anger at the fact that he had more questions now even though he had gone to the Myriad Archives to seek answers in the first ce, Valyr let out a long, exasperated sigh as he felt like it would be a long time before he would gain the answer to this question.


    Deciding to move past the question for now, Valyr''s thoughts then shifted towards the peculiarity that was the time it took for the system updates toe out. ''The alpha version of Greater Beyond only began around two years ago in this world. On the other hand, the updates the system underwent to get to that point took over a thousand.''


    ''From what I could recall, thepany that developed and published this game said that Greater Beyond took a few years of development in order for it to get where it was today. With that, how the heck were they able to emte the passing of a thousand years within a few years?''


    Unlike the question from before where Valyr truly wanted to get an answer, the young man treated this current question as a what-if situation. As someone who used to dabble into game development from time to time, Valyr knew that there were many trickspanies could employ in order to make it seem that they had spent a lot more time making it.


    In Greater Beyond''s case, he thought that the developers of the game had put a painstaking amount of time to have their world building reach an incredibly high level. After all, reading through the books he had read, it felt as if he could feel the time it took for the authors of the book to collect the information they wrote down.


    Nevertheless, he still couldn''t shake off the slight possibility that everything in the world he was in so far had been emted by thepany to get to this point. With that, he thought about the level of technology required to achieve such a feat, thinking that thepany might have employed a few top-of-the-line supeputers to do just that.


    ''But would the supeputers even be able to emte a few thousand years andpress it down into just a few years?'' Thinking about thepany and how they had made a game that most, if not all people around the world yed before the final battle, Valyr was reminded of the goals he had set for himself at the beginning, as well as the anger he felt towards thepany for what they had done to the people.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    To his teammates.


    To him.


    ''Forget about that for now, Valyr. We still haven''t established an organization yet.'' Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, Valyr then proceeded to look through the other bookshelves, deciding to answer the question that had popped up in his mind back when he had passed by the Zeihardt n estate.


    Though, with how much information he had on the Zeihardt n and himself, this question instead felt like multiple questions to Valyr, which was why he wanted to find out its answer by reading up on the n''s history.


    "Found it." After spending a few minutes looking through the various bookshelves in the floor he was on, Valyr eventually found the book he was looking for, which was a considerably thick leather-bound book that had the text on its cover page embossed in gold. Blowing and wiping off a bit of the dust that was on its surface, Valyr went ahead and returned to where he sat earlier, cing the book before him as he read its title.


    "Zeihardt n: Its History and Its Members."


    Opening up the book, Valyr thought about the various things he might read regarding the Zeihardt n. In fact, for a brief moment, he was even expectant that he might obtain an answer to his true identity. However, just as he was a few pages into the book itself, the expression on Valyr''s face slightly contorted, soon wondering whether what he was reading was even correct.


    "Is this really a book on the history of the n?" Valyr asked himself, deciding to skim through its pages for now to get a better sense of what the book contained. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to obtain his answer, his countenance now slightly grim as he let out a faint sigh.


    "This¡­ this feel more like a book on a cult than a book on a n."

 Chapter 367 Herald

    Returning back to the first few pages of the book, Valyr began to read through it once more, taking his time tomit every word written on the pages into memory. However, even though he already had an idea of what to expect from the book, that still did not stop the young man from making a few weird expressions aftering across a few passages.


    At the beginning of the book, itid out how the founder of the Zeihardt n, who only went by the name Otto back then, was one of the first few people to revolt against the five ruling races and invoke a sense of courage into other people. Unfortunately, with how powerless the humans were during the Age of Darkness, there was only so much Otto could do, with his actions incurring him pain at most.


    Yet, all of that changed once the system had awakened in everyone, giving all of the people, as well as Otto, a newfound sense of hope that they would truly be able to revolt against the ruling races and fight for their freedom. Feeling like the world was telling him that it was his time to shine, he immediately started to rally the humans in secret, concocting a n that took a year before it came into fruition.


    Of course, as he had read through a book on Veldanyr''s history earlier, Valyr knew that this n was a sess, though he did find it interesting that the man named Otto was the one who started it all. ''Then again, the World Quest did mention about how the founder of the Zeihardt n was the one who allowed the human race to be free.''


    With that thought in mind, he soon wondered as to where Otto had gained the surname Zeihardt from, only for him to obtain his answer through the next pages, which tackled the first sessful uprising of the human race against the five ruling races.


    ''With a great amount of sacrifice, Otto and the others were able to im a piece ofnd for themselves through their own strength, establishing the first ever territory owned by the humans on Zaveigest.'' Reading the passage in his mind, Valyr shifted his gaze onto the next sentence, his eyes slightly widening. ''As the leader of the entire operation, Otto suggested that every human free from the clutches of the five ruling races should have a surname to differentiate themselves.''


    ''Unsurprisingly, all of them agreed.''


    ''And with that, Otto had chosen the name Zeihardt, allowing the Zeihardt n to be born.''


    With Zeihardt as his surname, Otto and the others quickly expanded their offensive, allowing more and more humans to escape from the clutches of the five ruling races and expand their territory even further. At some point, the man had even fallen in love, which in turn birthed the second generation of the Zeihardt n.


    Slowly but surely, the presence of the Zeihardt n gradually grew more and more prominent among the humans, with their surprisingly high level of strength being the thing that made them stand out from the rest. Naturally, with Otto being the leader of the Zeihardt n, this unique quirk instilled a bit of fear into the humans and gave them the thought that he needed to be kept in check.


    Though, with their fight for territory and freedom still continuing, the other humans knew better not to kill what they considered as the greatest asset humanity had during that age.


    Of course, that did not stop others from attempting whenever an opportunity arose.


    By the time the first system update had passed, introducing the concept of sses to every human on the continent, everyone''s strengths had been reset to Level 1, including Otto Zeihardt. With that, some of the people around him gained the courage to try and kill him, only to end up failing miserably as the man still had more strength than them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    At first, the other humans looked at the sight in fear, wondering what was fueling the abnormal strength Otto had. Fortunately, with the passing of time, these people eventually obtained their answer.


    Blood.


    It was the man''s blood.


    They did not know which part of the man''s blood caused the man''s abnormal strength. However, they were incredibly certain that the blood was where Otto gained his strength in the first ce, having the ability to fight for hours without tiring and having a higher regeneration ratepared to his peers.


    The reason as to how the others got to this conclusion was through inspecting the future generations of the Zeihardt n. From the first to fifth generation of the n, all of the members of the n showed a semnce of the abnormal strength Otto could wield in the battlefield.


    However, from the sixth generation onwards, the number who showed just that grew less and less, with only the prestige the founder had rued during the Age of Uprising being the only thing separating the members of the Zeihardt n from the other humans.


    In fact, by the time the seventh or eighth generation had arrived, almost everyone in the Zeihardt n began to worship the founder of the n in hopes of obtaining even traces of the strength he used to have in the battlefield. Though all of these prayers were left unanswered by the founder as he was busy helping the human race''s territory expand even further, the world had given these members of the Zeihardt n a response.


    On one fateful day, a member of the Zeihardt n from the younger generation had been born with the same abnormal strength as Otto had.


    It did not take long for this news to spread through the entire n, with everyoneing up with multiple names to refer to this special person. Of course, there were also those who yearned to be that person themselves, their minds thinking that killing them for their blood would be the right thing to do.


    "And thus, from that moment onwards, the Zeihardt n referred to these people as Heralds, beings who could tap into the abnormal strength the founder of the Zeihardt n had shown to the world up until his departure from the world of Veldanyr." Muttering out the passage he was reading, a bitter smile gradually crept up on his face as he continued. "The appearance of a Herald would be marked with multiple major events happening during their birth, with only a total of six Heralds from the Zeihardt n being found so far."


    "Thetest Herald of the n is a young man named Valyr Zeihardt, son of Augustine and Emilia Zeihardt from the Zeihardt Royal n."


    "As of the publishing of this book, his whereabouts are said to be unknown."

 Chapter 368 Going Through The List

    ''Whereabouts are unknown, huh?'' Though his name being written on the book had caught him slightly off guard, Valyr''s expression remained the same, adorning a bitter smile on his face as he eventually closed the book. ''If only they knew the person they were looking for is just in disguise all this time.''


    p¦Ánd¦Á`no¦Í?1--§ão§® ''In any case, I finally understand why both factions of the n are on the lookout for me.'' Feeling like he had more or less obtained the information he needed from the books of the Myriad Archives, Valyr proceeded to return the book on the Zeihardt n back where he had gotten it, only to start heading down the staircase sometimeter.


    ''And I guess that''s also why that elder called me the Herald of Humanity''s Fate during our meeting,'' thought Valyr to himself, his steps silent as he moved past the other people doing their own thing in the floor he was on. ''In other words, a Herald is someone who inherited the blood of the founder, specifically the abnormal strength the founder had.''


    ''So, it stems from [Primordial Blood of the Chosen] then.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyrmanded the system to bring up the skill''s description screen in his mind as he proceeded to head down the staircase, taking on a leisurely pace as the system responded to hismand not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Royal Blood of the Chosen] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Mythic


    The founder of the Zeihardt n is said to be a being of his own caliber, having the ability to wield great amounts of strength, as well as limitless stamina and vitality. As a descendant of the founder, you have inherited a greater portion of the man''s bloodpared to your peers, bing known as a Herald of the n.


    However, as part of the Zeihardt Royal n, a part of the n closely rted to the founder, this blood within you is stronger, allowing you to wield a strength far greater than other Heralds could ever hope to wield.


    With that, the target on your back is farrger, though surviving through these adversities would allow you to soar higher like never before.


    This skill increases all of the user''s stats by 10%. It also increases the user''s maximum HP and MP by 15%.


    Note: Though you have uncovered most of who you truly are, there still exists a part of you that still remains unseen. Find it, understand it, and be born anew¡­ for you are a being that stands far above even the Heralds.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "A being that stands far above the Heralds¡­" Muttering out thest few words on the note that was at the end of the skill''s description screen, Valyr''s face turned solemn as he wondered what the system meant by it. With how much he knew about his identity at this point, it could be said that he had already uncovered everything important there was to know about him.


    Yet the system said there was still more.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Is it something I''ll only be able to find out once I take a look at the Zeihardt n for myself?'' As this question popped up in his mind, he soon recalled the question he thought of in the first ce rted to the Zeihardt n, quickly realizing that he had not answered it at all.


    ''My existence and the n''s existence¡­ what does it really have to do with Greater Beyond''s first version?'' Armed with newfound knowledge after reading through the book on the Zeihardt n, Valyr felt like he would be able to obtain a more definite answer to the question. However, in the end, he decided to leave it be for now, thinking that he would leave it for when he headed to the Zeihardt n.


    ''Speaking of which, Augustine and Emilia Zeihardt¡­'' Recalling the names that were written alongside his name on the book, Valyr thought about his body''s parents and how they looked like, as well as how they treated the man before he took over.


    Pondering over it in silence for a while, he eventually made a decision. ''They''ll be the first ones I''ll contact regarding the World Quest. Though, I''ll still have to do some information gathering first before doing so.''


    ''Either way, the Myriad Archives has truly widened my horizons.'' Now at the first floor of the Archives, Valyr waved goodbye and thanked the teenager that helped him out earlier before leaving, making his way back to the inn soon after as he shifted his thoughts to the things that he nned to do before the Four Pirs'' Inheritance started.


    "I''ll head to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains to grab myself some Skill Keys to evolve my skills, but before that, I should consume the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir I got from Riekan before I forget again." Muttering out his thoughts out loud, Valyr roamed through the streets at a slightly brisk pace. "Speaking of which, I still haven''t submitted those weapons for those quests to the cksmith Guild. At this point, it''s already long overdue, I think."


    "¡­Would they still ept it?" Arriving at the decision to still submit the weapons to the cksmith Guild after he was done consuming the Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir a couple minutester, Valyr eventually arrived at the inn, swiftly making his way to the room he and Wells upied, only to find thetter sitting cross-legged at the man''s own room.


    "Any ns on heading to the Experience Pit to increase your level in the next few days?" Passing by Wells'' room, Valyr posed a question to the man, prompting the former to open one of his eyes as he swiftly responded.


    "Probably. It all depends on whether or not what I''m doing right now turns out to be a sess." Hearing those words, Valyr nodded back and gave the man a few words of encouragement before proceeding to head to his room.


    Once there, he searched through the things he had brought along with him, eventually finding the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir he had obtained from Riekan. Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at the fact that he had brought it with him to the kingdom instead of leaving it at the vige all this time, Valyr went ahead and proceeded to consume the vials one by one, allowing the energies from the elixirs to sh in his body as a feeling of newfound strength coursed throughout his body not long after.


    Ding!


    [After drinking vials of Intermediate Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Intermediate Mental Reinforcement Elixir, you have gained +20 VIT, +20 STR, +20 AGI, +20 DEX, +20 INT, +20 WIS, and +20 PER.]


    [As you have consumed 10 vials of both Intermediate Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Intermediate Mental Reinforcement Elixir, your body has tempered itself even further, allowing it to go past the initial stage. You have achieved the stage of Intermediate Reinforcement.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Intermediate Reinforced Body and Soul''.]

 Chapter 369 Visiting The Blacksmith Guild

    Simr to how it felt back when he had obtained [Basic Reinforced Body and Soul], the scorching hot energy from consuming Intermediate Physical Reinforcement Elixir coursed throughout his body, making Valyr feel as if he had been transported to a desert all of a sudden. However, not long after, the biting cold energy from consuming Intermediate Mental Reinforcement Elixir counteracted against it, making him feel as if he had been transported to a tundra instead.


    The swapping between hot and cold brought him mild difort at first, changing every few seconds or so. Though, as time passed, the shift between two temperatures became more and more frequent, causing him more and more difort until he eventually felt pain from the sensation itself.


    Fortunately, having gone through greater bouts of pain, such as learning multiple skill books in a row and having the Mark of the Alltide carved onto his back, the greatest amount of pain he felt from the shifting of temperatures only made him tightly grit his teeth at most, the pain going downhill not long after.


    In exchange for the subsiding pain, a wave of rxation washed over body. At that moment, it was as if all of the things making up his body had been liberated from some sort of shackle holding them down, allowing Valyr to feel that he had tapped into a bit more of histent potential. With that, he took a look at the notifications he had received, causing a faint smile to appear on his face as he brought up the description of the skill he had obtained in front of him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Intermediate Reinforced Body and Soul] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Epic


    The body contains tons of untapped potential, waiting to be unearthed. Realizing this, multiple methods have been devised and created throughout history to do just that, with some even bing well-renowned for years toe. However, only one method stood up to the test of time, bing the de facto standard for all beings that seek to grasp the entirety of their body''s power.


    This skill is given to those who have gone past the stage of Basic Reinforcement, giving themselves the ability to tap deeper into their body''stent potential, also known as the stage of Intermediate Reinforcement. This skill increases all stats by 10 points.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''It definitely takes longer to get used to.'' Closing up the screen after he was finished reading, an expression of satisfaction written all over his face, Valyr went ahead and did a few basic movements to limate himself to his increased stats, finding it somewhat difficult to do so. ''Then again, I did gain 30 points in every stat¡­ though I only gained 10 points in LUK.''


    ''In any case, let me just get used to this new level of strength then I''ll head out to the cksmith Guild.''


    With that thought in mind, the young man spent a bit more time getting used to his newfound strength, even going so far as to test out his strength in the mental department by conjuring items using the basic maniption skills he had in his arsenal.


    Finding significant improvements in both fields, Valyr eventually finished adjusting to his increased stats a few minutester,manding the system to show him a glimpse into his list of passive skills, causing a faint grin to appear on his face a few secondster.


    ''Imagine if I already had a set of Advanced Reinforcement Elixir avable,'' thought Valyr to himself, his gaze focused on the skill [Intermediate Reinforced Body and Soul]. Not long after, he shifted his gaze towards [Basic Reinforced Body and Soul], prompting him to let out a slightly maniacal chuckle as he thought about the increase in strength Advanced Reinforcement Elixir would give to him.


    ''Then again, there''s not much point in having it this early. After all, I can only consume it once I ascend to Rank 4.''


    ''Either way, the fact that the mechanic behind consuming Reinforcement Elixirs are the same from what I remember does put a smile on my face.'' Taking a look out of the window to check how much time was left before sunset, Valyr quickly got up and grabbed the weapons he had brought along with him from Clossbay City before putting them all in his spatial bracelet.


    Making sure that the weapons he grabbed were the ones needed for him toplete the quests he had epted from the cksmith Guild, Valyr then told Wells that he would be heading to the cksmith Guild for a while before bidding farewell, arriving at his destination only a few minutester.


    ¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It sure is convenient that the cksmith Guild''s building is only a fair distance away from the Imperial Production Guild." Standing in front of a building that had a simr exterior to the Imperial Production Guild, with the only difference being the amount of space the building upied, Valyr headed through its entrance as he briefly nced at the que that hung above it.


    "cksmith Guild ¡ª Algerie Kingdom Branch"


    Shifting his gaze to what was in front of him, the young man was quickly greeted by the sight of the guild''s main hall, the first sight he had noticed being the many people lining up in front of the various counters, with most of the expressions on their faces being that of calmness or slight panic. After that, he shifted his gaze towards the far end of the hall, noticing the spacious corridor that led through the guild''s other rooms, as well as the remaining counters that were reserved for official members of the guild.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Turning his head to the side, Valyr then saw a few people forging items in workshops located on the opposite side of the counter, prompting a few people from the lines to turn around and talk to the cksmiths themselves. Surprisingly, rather than be annoyed, these cksmiths instead approached these people with amicable smiles on their faces, stopping what they were doing before proceeding to hold a conversation with them.


    Though curious as to why that was the case, Valyr decided that he should finish his own tasks first, heading towards the counters that were allocated for the official members of the guild. Showing his iron badge to the guard that stopped him, thetter quickly gave the young man the right of way, prompting Valyr to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he lined up.


    ''And here I thought I''d have to deactivate [Enhanced Polymorph] before being able to get through.'' Thinking that he would probably have to deactivate the skill sooner orter while in the guild to prove his identity, Valyr began to think of contingency ns in the off chance that he was asked to dispel the skill, using the time waiting for his turn at the counters to do so.


    With the line in front of the counter for official guild members being half as short as the other counters, it only took around 20 minutes of waiting for Valyr to be served by the attendant behind the counter, being a man in his twenties wearing a uniform that had the crest of cksmith Guild emzoned on his chest.


    "Wee to the cksmith Guild, how may I help you today?" Hearing this question from the attendant, Valyr brought out the weapons from his spatial bracelet and ced it on the counter before him. Seeing that the attendant''s attention had been piqued by his actions, he then proceeded to answer the man''s question.


    "I epted a couple of quests from the guild sometime ago that involved forging weapons," said Valyr in a calm tone. "However, I feel like I''ve already gone past the deadline of submission for these quests. Would it still be possible to receive the rewards from these quests even though they''re long overdue?"


    "Hmm¡­ could you tell me the names of the quests you epted?" Furrowing his brows for a bit as he pondered, the attendant eventually asked Valyr for the names of the quests, to which thetter swiftly gave. Nodding in response, the man then brought out a thin tablet before infusing it with mana, tapping its surface a few times here and there before eventually looking back at Valyr.


    "Fortunately, there''s no time limit to the quests you epted so it would still be possible to im them." As these words left the attendant''s mouth, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh of relief as a smile soon crept up onto his lips. "Please give me your proof of membership, as well as any other requests you might have while I''m processing your rewards."


    "Ah. Would it be possible to im the Technology Points I have ess to for the month?" Nodding back, Valyr swiftlyplied by giving his iron badge to the attendant, only to ask the man regarding the Technology Points soon after. In his mind, he thought that enough time had passed since thest time he imed his Technology Points, thus he decided to ask the attendant about it.


    "Give me a second¡­" In response, the attendant looked at the badge for a bit, only for the man''s eyes to briefly widen in surprise as he stared at Valyr. Taking note of this, Valyr stared back at the man with a hint of confusion on his face, only for his body to shudder in fear not long after as he felt a wave of tyrannical energy wash over his body for a brief moment.


    Looking around to see where the energy he felt hade from, Valyr eventually gave up after being unable to find the source, returning his attention back to the attendant in front of him. At that moment, the attendant was already finished processing Valyr''s rewards, as well as the question he had asked him, prompting the man to give Valyr''s badge back to him as his tone sounded more polite than before.


    "The rewards for the quests you have epted have been sent to you, sir," said the attendant, causing confusion to appear on Valyr''s face once more as he continued to listen. "As for the Technology Points, I have also confirmed that you are eligible to im it for this month."


    "Though I would have preferred to give you your Technology Points and move on¡­"


    "I have been informed that there is someone important within the guild that wants to meet you, sir."

 Chapter 370 A Suspicious Meeting

    "Hmm?" In response to the attendant''s words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as the confusion on his face continued to remain. Pondering over whether he knew anyone within the Algerie Kingdom branch of the cksmith Guild, he eventually came to the conclusion that he did not know anyone.


    With that, he wondered even further as to who the person might be.


    ''He did say that someone is important within the cksmith Guild¡­'' Scratching the back of his head for a bit as his mind thought about the elders he had met from the Imperial Production Guild, the thoughts in his mind eventually clicked as Valyr''s eyes briefly widened, gaining an idea of who the person looking for him might be.


    ''I wonder if that person had something to do with the wave of tyrannical energy I felt earlier.'' Feeling like the chances of the person he had in mind meeting him were high, Valyr nodded in response at the attendant''s words, deciding to ask thetter about the person''s identity to see if his thoughts were correct.


    "Unfortunately, that person did not allow me to give you his identity." At those words, Valyr could only put on a bitter smile on his face, faintly nodding as he decided not to pester the attendant any further with the same question over and over. After all, the man before him was just doing its job.


    With that, he instead asked the attendant where he could find the person that wanted to meet him, causing the attendant''s body to visibly rx as the man quickly replied.


    "All you need to do is to head through the corridor and enter through the door at the very end. There you will find the person who wants to meet you, sir." Hearing these words leave the attendant''s mouth, Valyr nodded once more as hemitted the directions to memory. After that, he asked the attendant once more to make sure if he had indeed gotten the rewards from submitting the weapons he had forged, to which the attendant replied that he did.


    "What about the Technology Points? Didn''t you tell me I could im them?" Valyr asked after his first question, recalling that his question regarding the Technology Points had not been answered clearly. In response, the attendant let out a faint sigh as he adorned a faint bitter smile.


    "Indeed, I did. However, the person that wants to meet with you has informed me earlier to tell you that it would be better for you to im your Technology Points with him, sir."


    "Can''t you just process the Technology Points while I meet with them?"


    "Sadly, that person has also told me to not process it, lest I were to be fired, sir."


    "I see." Feeling a bit guilty that the attendant had been dragged into the current situation he had gotten himself into, Valyr decided to not make things any moreplicated than they already were, thanking the attendant for his time before proceeding to head to the room the attendant told him to head to.


    ¡­


    "That felt more like a maze than a corridor." Recalling the great number of twists and turns he had to pass through to reach where he was at the moment, Valyr could not stop himself from having a frown on his face, though it disappeared not long after he arrived at the door before him, hearing the sounds of metal shing against one another on the other side.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Standing where he was for a bit, he closed his eyes and began to perceive the energy that was being released from the other side, quickly noticing that the energy was more or less simr to the wave of energy that washed over his body while he was talking to the attendant earlier.


    Though this realization only made him more unsure of the identity of the person on the other side of the door, Valyr mustered up the courage to knock on the door before him, causing the sounds on the other side to quiet down as a gravelly voice resounded from the other side.


    "Come in."


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr faintly nodded before opening the door, only to be instantly greeted by a sight that he did not expect to see at all.


    Covering the entirety of the room were multiple machines tailor-made for forging, with each machine being made for a specific step in mind. All of the machines had runic engravings on their surface, prompting Valyr to think that all of them were powered through mana.


    Forming a contrast to the advanced machines within the room was the furnace that could be found at the back end of the room, taking up most of the space in the back. Being made out of roughly cut stone that seemed to have melted from the heat it had been constantly subjected to, the furnace gave off a barbaric feeling as the heat it gave off at the moment made Valyr feel as if he was standing in front of a gate that led to the Underworld.


    Eventually, his eyesnded on the man at the center of the room, who stood behind arge anvil that seemed to be made from refined Azure Iron, hammering away on the sheet of metal on its surface with all of its strength.


    Taking a look at the man''s face, Valyr thought that he looked to be in his early forties. However, now armed with the knowledge of how one''s lifespan increased with every ascension, he felt that it wouldn''t be far-fetched for the man before him to already be in histe eighties, perhaps even surpassing a hundred years of age.


    Aside from that, the man''s body seemed to be made for the purpose of cksmithing, with every muscle on the man''s body bursting out, filled to the brim with energy. This formed a contrast to the empty head of hair the man was sporting, with the only remnants of hair on his face being his eyebrows and his bushy mustache, both of which were reddish brown in color.


    "I guess this is the first time we''ve seen each other face-to-face." Just as Valyr was continuing to admire the room he was currently in, thinking of it as the closest thing to heaven for cksmiths in Veldanyr, the middle-aged man ced down his hammer before shifting his gaze towards Valyr, giving him a toothy grin as he chuckled.


    "You might be wondering why I told the attendant serving you to have you head here, right?" At this question, Valyr merely nodded in response. However, once he heard the man''s response, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he soon red his aura in its entirety.


    "Well, let''s just say I want to talk about a couple of things with you¡­"


    "Valyr Zeihardt."

 Chapter 371 Julian Pyrrhia

    Hearing his name being uttered out of the man''s mouth even though he had [Enhanced Polymorph] activated, Valyr instantly showed a hint of aggression towards the man, as well as a bit of suspicion towards the man''s intent as he red his aura in its entirety.


    "What a ferocious aura." However, rather than respond to the showing of aura by releasing his own aura as retaliation, the middle-aged man instead allowed Valyr''s aura to wash over his body as a grin soon crept up on his face, causing the man''s face to look somewhat nefarious. "Then again, with how I knew of your true identity without you knowing mine, this response is normal."


    "With that, how about I introduce myself?"


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment the man was finished with his words, he instantly let the entirety of his aura out, causing Valyr''s aura to quickly contract as the young man shuddered in fear at the ferocity and power that was contained within the man''s aura. Of course, he still tried to fight back against it through his willpower, but with the disparity in their strength being as wide as a chasm, such an attempt was eventually futile.


    "I guess that''s enough show of force." Just as the middle-aged man had begun to move closer to him, prompting Valyr to think that there was a chance he would die under the man''s hands, the man instead retracted his aura as his expression changed into an amicable smile, the air around him now giving off the feeling that he wanted to be friends with Valyr.


    Naturally, Valyr still remained wary and vignt of the man''s next move. Fortunately, these thoughts disappeared once the middle-aged man slightly bowed to Valyr.


    "Well, let me preface this introduction of mine by saying sorry," said the middle-aged man to Valyr, causing the expression on thetter''s face to gain hints of confusion. Though, this expression quickly returned to normal once he heard the man''s next words, inwardly bing jubnt that his feeling from earlier was actually correct. "And now, my introduction."


    "The name''s Julian Arthur Pyrrhia, but you can call me Julian. On second thought, just call me Guildmaster Julian. Wouldn''t want others to try and find out the rtionship we have."


    "Anyways, from my words alone, I''m sure you''ve already inferred that you''re talking to the Guildmaster of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild, though I guess it would be more urate to call me the guild''s branch leader."


    "I hope that''s enough to wipe out any suspicion you might have against me, Herald of the Zeihardt n." At the very moment Julian was finished speaking, Valyr took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh,posing himself as he stared at the man before him for a while.


    Taking note of the young man''s silence in response to his introduction, Julian pondered over what he might have done wrong, only to ask Valyr soon after, "Too formal?"


    "Just give me a second to process all of this." In response, Valyr told the man that he was in the midst of taking everything in, prompting Julian to merely nod in response before allowing the young man to take his time digesting the information he had just received.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a deep sigh, Valyr looked at the man in front of him for a bit before asking, "Why did you want to meet up with me?"


    "Well, Herald of the Zeihardt n¡­"


    "You could just call me Valyr."


    "Well, Valyr¡­" Nodding in response to Valyr''s brief interruption, Julian soon gave the young man the answer he wanted, giving him a toothy grin. "How could I not check on the person I''ve nominated as a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Mn?" At those words, Valyr''s eyes widened as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "You''re the one who nominated me?"


    "Yep." Julian nodded. "Choosing candidates for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance isn''t really done through a tournament. Instead, the branch leaders of the cksmith, Alchemist, Tailor, and Sage Guilds nominate people to the Imperial Production Guild for candidacy. Of course, the Imperial Production Guild has set criteria for what people should have before being nominated as a candidate, which you fortunately happen to check all the boxes of."


    "Speaking of which, the branch leader of the cksmith Guild you registered in was the one who gave me a heads-up of your identity," added Julian not long after, causing a frown to appear on Valyr''s face. "However, he did not know anything about your identity as a member of the Zeihardt n. Instead, he rmended you solely due to your ss alone."


    "Why the beating, then?" Though Valyr already had an idea to the answer to the question he had given to Julian, he still felt a great level of indignance at being unable to fight back at the man he fought against. With that, he decided to ask the man before him, wondering if there was a greater reason for it aside from checking hisbat capabilities.


    "To check yourbat capabilities." Hearing more or less the same words he had heard from Aster back thene out of the man''s mouth, Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh as he wondered why he was expecting to hear more in the first ce. Though, once he listened to the man''s next words, this thought of his quickly changed.


    "ording to the Imperial Production Guild''s criteria, those with the greatestbat capability among the four candidates chosen to enter the inheritance would be the leader of the exploration, allowing them to take a greater share of the loot once they leave the inheritance," said Julian, only to look at Valyr with a bitter smile soon after. "Unfortunately, at that time, yourbat capability was only second to the candidate with the highestbat capability, hence you were not chosen as a leader."


    "Hence the small tournament a week before the inheritance?" Connecting the information he had heard so far with the information he already knew, Valyr eventually asked Julian a question, to which thetter nodded.


    "Yep. It''s a tournament to reassess everyone''sbat capabilities."


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr went silent for a bit as the thoughts in mind continued to swirl. Eventually, a single thought out of all of the thoughts in his mind rose to the surface, causing him to look at Julian with curiosity as he asked, "Now that I think about it, why me though?"


    "Pardon?"


    "Why me? Why choose me as a candidate? Isn''t the criteria something along the lines of having a Mythic cksmith ss?" Although he found the inheritance a great boon to his ns, Valyr had already expected to go through most of the things he had in mind without an inheritance like the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, considering that he didn''t know anything about it. With that, he asked the man who nominated him in the first ce, only for the man to look at him with a bitter smile.


    "That is indeed the criteria." Julian nodded. "As long as the person has a Legendary or higher ss corresponding to either the cksmith, Alchemist, Sage, or Tailor ss, they would be considered a potential candidate for the inheritance. In fact, I already had someone else in mind to take the cksmith candidate spot."


    "However, you''re ultimately a far better choice."


    "A Herald of the Zeihardt n, the owner of a Mythic grade cksmith ss, plus superbbat capability for your rank."


    "How could I not choose you¡­"


    "Especially with the orc outbreak continuing to bring danger to the kingdom?"

 Chapter 372 Rising Tensions

    "Wait¡­ what do you mean by that?" After Julian was done talking, Valyr went silent for a bit as he thought about what the man had said to him. "Does the inheritance have anything to do with the orc outbreak?"


    "Not really." Julian shook his head. "The Four Pirs'' Inheritance generally opens once every decade. With that in mind, this opening is just like any other opening we''ve prepared for in the past."


    "It only happened to appear just at the right time where we need it the most."


    "And that has something to do with the orc outbreak?" Allowing the gears to turn in his mind, Valyr tried to make sense of how the two were connected. "From what I''ve been told by the elders from the Imperial Production Guild, the inheritance contains the remnants of a highly advanced civilization in the past."


    "That would be correct." Julian nodded in agreement.


    "And the goal of having us candidates explore the inheritance in its entirety is to be able to obtain this highly advanced technology for ourselves and help humanity''s technology reach a higher level."


    "That is also correct."


    "With that, how would¡­ oh¡­" Just as Valyr was about to ask Julian what the connection between the two were, it was only at that very moment when heid out the purpose of their exploration of the inheritance to the man did he finally put two and two together, a look of understanding adorning his face.


    Taking in a couple of deep breaths topose himself, the young man stared directly at the middle-aged man in front of him with a slight frown, thinking that there was the possibility of his realization being incorrect. Though, with the conversation both of them had been having so far¡­


    "Am¡­ am I correct to assume that the technology from the inheritance would be used to fight against the orc outbreak?"


    "Bingo." At those words, Julian nodded, a bitter smile quickly creeping up onto his lips. "As I said, it only happened to appear at the time where we needed it the most."


    "Why the need for the inheritance''s technology, though?" Valyr asked in response, knowing how simple it was to raise one''s strength if need be. "Wouldn''t it be better to just create abat force made out of peak Rank 5 ss holders to fight against the orc outbreak?"


    "If only it were that easy." Julian shook his head with a wry smile. "The kingdom does have the capability to do something like that on a small scale. If we were to obtain the help of the empire, then perhaps we could proceed with it on arge scale."


    "However, although we have multiple ways to increase the strength of people to the peak of Rank 5 at rapid speeds, even having them reach the realm of Epics if need be, there is one thing that can''t be cultivated that quickly."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Combat experience." Of course, after listening to Julian''s exnation, Valyr found the problem with the idea as well. After all, abat force made out of peak Rank 5 ss holders may look intimidating at first nce, but after knowing that almost all of them have next to no realbat experience, even a group of seasoned peak Rank 3 ss holders would not have much difficulty finding a way to defeat all of them.


    Nodding in agreement to Valyr''s words, Julian continued. "Combat experience has always been something that''s umted with time. Sure, we could give them the best skills, the methods to obtain the best sses, and even the best weapons and armor sets. But in the end, all of them will shrink in fear once they see the orcs dashing at them with intense bloodlust."


    "But did you guys really give up on the idea, though?" Though Valyr understood the downsides of the idea he had suggested, he knew that such abat force would be a great advantage as time passed. Fortunately, judging by the toothy grin Julian gave him as he shook his head, the young man quickly found out that they did not truly give up on it at all.


    "Of course not." Julian softly chuckled. "We may not be able to deploy such abat force in the near future, but who knows what kind of impact they might have in the long run."


    "Knew it." At the man''s words, Valyr shed a grin before letting out a soft chuckle not long after. Letting out a faint sigh as he was now privy to the fact that there was another purpose to the inheritance he and the other candidates were about to delve into, Valyr eventually decided to ask Julian about the orc outbreak, considering how most of the cksmith Guild''s quests were rted to it.


    "Before I arrived here, I''ve been hearing about an orc outbreak that''s appeared near the kingdom," said Valyr, piquing Julian''s interest. "Even the quests I''ve submitted earlier have something to do with it. I''ve tried asking the elders from the Imperial Production Guild about it, but they told me to ask you about it instead."


    "Not surprised." Julian nodded, a slight frown appearing on his face. "Those damn geezers will make a move only if the kingdom is in danger or if it has something to do with the inheritance, after all."


    "So, would it be fine to ask you for more information about it? Like how big the outbreak is and whatnot?"


    "I mean¡­ you''re bound toe across this information sooner orter, so I suppose why not." Surprisingly, Julian did not mind Valyr''s request, taking on ackadaisical approach to it as he shrugged his shoulders. Bing silent for a bit, Julian organized the thoughts he had regarding the orc outbreak before proceeding to exin it to Valyr.


    "Hmm¡­ I should probably begin with how we''re faring against the orc outbreak at the moment. Well, at the moment, we''re maintaining a precarious bnce between both sides, with the human and the orc race currently evenly matched in terms ofbat power. It''s also the reason why the orc race hasn''t reached the kingdom walls yet."


    "Nevertheless, they did breach through the defensive line we''ve set up around the city to the east, so we had to y a bit of catch-up to make sure it doesn''t affect us in the long run." Julian looked at Valyr. "By catch-up, I mean the cksmith Guild''s members frantically forging as much equipment as possible."


    "Right now, the orc outbreak is considered to be small-scale under the criteria of the empire, though they are keeping an eye on it in the off-chance it does increase in size. However, it wasn''t always like this."


    "In fact, there was once a time where both sides settled disputes peacefully."

 Chapter 373 A Bit Of Help

    Seeing as Valyr was attentively listening to his exnation, Julian inwardly nodded in satisfaction towards Valyr''s interest in the matter before proceeding to continue where he left off.


    "For what many people with high ss ranks in the kingdom havee to know as normal, the orc and human race had a mostly amicable rtionship between one another, only settling disputes through battle if it was truly irreconcble. In fact, the emperor of our own Meltierre Empire and the emperor of the orc race''s Khagarax Empire are considered to be good friends, even going so far as to host tournaments that would allow the young talents of their respective races to fight against one another and expand both sides'' horizons."


    "From what I''ve been told, this rtionship hassted for about 200 years or so, only for it to undergo an abrupt change over a decade ago." At these words, Julian''s expression became solemn as he soon let out a low sigh. "The emperor of the Khagarax Empire had stepped down from his throne and allowed his son, the heir, to ascend to the throne and be the new emperor."


    "During the first few years, there was next to no difference regarding the rtionship the human race had with the orc race. However, as time passed, our emperor found out more and more information regarding the personality of the new orc emperor, deciding to gradually distance himself from the orc race aftering to the conclusion that it was the safest decision."


    "See, unlike the previous orc emperor, which was said to be wise and looked at things from a long term perspective, the new orc emperor, although wise in his own terms, was someone who allowed his feelings to dictate his actions, thinking that the orc race was the only race in Veldanyr fit to rule the entire world."


    "Or at least, that''s what I''ve been told through my sources." Julian briefly shrugged his shoulders, reminding Valyr to take his words with a grain of salt.


    "Either way, after our emperor decided to distance himself from the new orc emperor, thetter decided to take offense at this andunch an offensive against our settlements. At first, the orcs would harass the smaller, less protected settlements, such as viges and towns. However, as time passed, the scale of theirbat force grewrger, while the settlements they targeted grewrger as well."


    "Eventually, the orc race decided to target their first human kingdom. The Algerie Kingdom."


    "And that''s more or less where we are at the moment," said Julian, wrapping up his exnation on the matter. "Depending on how it unfolds, we might be able to sessfully push the orc race back to where they came from, or the human and orc race would engage in arge-scale war against one another."


    "Either way, a great deal of stress." Julian let out a faint sigh. "Then again, it''s not like I epted this position without knowing of its responsibilities anyway."


    "Has the elf race been affected by the change in the orc race as well?" Nodding in response to Julian''s words, Valyr posed a question to him not long after, wondering if the third ruling race of the current age was affected in any way. Unexpectedly, Julian looked at him with a wry smile before shaking his head.


    "With how they''ve decided to seclude themselves from the rest of the world, as well as the fact that they''ve built a near imprable defense surrounding their territory, probably not," said Julian in response, only to ponder over the matter for a bit before adding, "Then again, rumors did say that they sent out a few groups to inflict a bit of damage to the elf race¡­ though no news about it appeared after that."


    "Hmm¡­" Rubbing his chin as he processed all of the information he had heard from Julian so far, Valyr decided to check with the man before him if he had gotten all of the information correctly. "So, if I''m getting this right, because of the orc outbreak, and the fact that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is close to opening, you''ve nominated me as a candidate for the position of cksmith as it would allow us to explore a greater portion of the inheritance¡­ I think."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You''re correct." Julian nodded. "The rarer the sses the candidates have, the more of the inheritance would be unlocked once they begin to explore its surroundings. I have no idea why that''s the case, but that''s how it is."


    "So, choosing me as a candidate increases the chances of us possibly discovering a piece of technology that would allow our side to gain an edge against the orc race?"


    "Pretty much, though we don''t really have much hopes on it."


    "I see." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr eventually nodded in understanding. Looking at Julian, he then asked, "Is this the actual reason why you wanted to meet me?"


    "Nope. I just really wanted to meet the candidate I''ve chosen in person and get an idea of how you and the other three might possibly fare once the inheritance opens," replied Julian bluntly. "The talk about the orc outbreak and such was just a tangent I did not mind delving into."


    At those words, Valyr scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassment at the fact that his thoughts on what the main reason behind their meeting could be was actually wrong. Of course, Julian noticed the slight embarrassment on Valyr''s face, letting out a bit ofughter in response, which only made thetter feel even more embarrassed.


    "Well, with all things considered, you''ve definitely exceeded my expectations, Valyr." Julian smiled at Valyr before deciding to head back to the anvil to continue working on the equipment he was in the middle of forging. "Remember how the attendant told you that you''d be better off iming your Technology Points once you''re done meeting with me?"


    "Yeah?"


    "I fully intend to follow through with that statement." cing the sheet of metal on the anvil into therge furnace behind him, Julian sent in a wave of mana through the furnace, causing the heat inside to raise at an rming rate. "Plus, with the fact that you''re a candidate for the inheritance and a Herald of the Zeihardt n, helping you out in this manner is the least I can do to increase your chances of finding something special within the inheritance."


    "With that, using the power vested within me as the Guildmaster of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild, I, Julian Arthur Pyrrhia, shall increase your rank from Elite Member¡­"


    "¡­to Core Member."

 Chapter 374 Good Ol Nepotism

    "Core Member?" At first, Valyr was slightly confused as to what position Julian had given him, recalling the four ranks Tristan had exined to him in the past. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to realize how much of a jump he had undergone in terms of rank, recalling the overall hierarchy of ss guilds after rummaging through his memories for a while.


    Oblivious to what was going on inside Valyr''s mind, Julian interpreted the young man''s response as a genuine question, prompting him to give Valyr an exnation on the hierarchy that was in ce within ss guilds. "Before I begin my exnation, do you happen to know the four ranks a member could reach in a guild?"


    "Normal, Elite, True, and Legacy, right?" Though Valyr already knew how significant bing a Core Member was, he decided to participate in Julian''s exnation, using it to refresh and jog his memory regarding the hierarchy.


    "That is correct." Julian nodded, shing a slight smile at the young man. Turning around to look at how the metal he ced in the furnace was faring, he quickly noticed that it had already reached the optimal temperature for hammering, prompting him to summon a few mana strands that reached out to the metal.


    "That is hot." Letting out a soft hiss as he swiftly ced the red hot metal onto the anvil, Julian did not waste time and grabbed his trusty forging hammer before proceeding to hammer the metal into shape. As sounds of the hammer shing against the metal reverberated throughout the room, the man continued where he left off in his exnation. "Oh, right. Where was I?"


    "So, everyone starts off as a normal member once they register," said Julian in between the hammering. "By doing a few deeds for the guild, you can increase your rank to Elite, eventually reaching True and Legacy after doing even more deeds for the guild."


    "However, what not a lot of people know at the lower ranks is that these four ranks are actually stages for the actual ranks themselves."


    "With that, the actual ranks that are in ce within the guild are as follows: Member, Core Member, Lesser Elder, Elder, Protector, Vice Leader, and Leader." Stopping his exnation for a bit, Julian looked at the metal he had been hammering for quite some time, faintly nodding in satisfaction after making sure that it had taken on a good rough shape of what he nned to forge. cing the shaped metal back into the furnace, he allowed the ambient heat already within the furnace to get the metal up to temperature.


    "The Member and Core Member rank are separated into four stages each, which are the ones you mentioned earlier, while the Lesser Elder, Elder, and Protector rank are separated into five stages each. In their case, they have an additional stage called the Honorary stage before reaching the Normal stage."


    "And then the Vice Leader and Leader rank don''t have stages at all. After all, why would there be multiple vice leaders and leaders in one guild branch?" At these words, Julian let out a faint chuckle. "Anyways, since you''re a Rank 2 ss holder, if you were a normal member, then you would be able to get 100 Technology Points each month from the guild."


    "However, you''re an elite member, thus you instead get 200 Technology Points each month." Taking a look whether or not the shaped metal was ready to be molded even further, Julian turned around to take a look at the furnace, only to take it out once more after noticing that a couple of the edges had begun to warp from the extreme heat.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    While fixing the warps on the metal through incessant hammering, Julian decided to ask Valyr a question. "Speaking of which, how did you be an elite member, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "Participated in the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament," replied the young man in response, causing Julian to nod before proceeding to continue with his exnation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I see. Well, it seems I don''t have to go into detail on the fact that the amount of points you could get per month doubles with each stage. Then again, with a normal core member only being one stage above a legacy member, how many Technology Points per month do you think the former gets?"


    "1,600?" Though he already knew the answer, Valyr decided to humor the man.


    "You thought that would be the case, but in fact, it isn''t." Julian wryly smiled as he shook his head. "Instead, a normal core member gets a thousand Technology Points per month, which is exactly ten times as much as a normal member at your rank gets per month."


    "Though, after that, the doubling rate applies once more, with a legacy core member getting ess to 8,000 Technology Points per month." Hearing how much points a legacy core member had ess to, Valyr thought about how nice it would be to have that much Technology Points at the moment, considering that it would be more than enough for him to increase his progress in the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch past the Medieval Age.


    ''Then again, a thousand points a month ain''t that small either.'' Of course, Valyr was still more than pleased to have his rank increased to Core Member, considering that he thought that he would be stuck as an elite member for a long while until he found ways to increase his rank by the time he reached the higher ss ranks.


    "Anyways, once I finish this, I''ll have someone increase your rank in the guild to Core Member, as well as update your ss rank to Rank 2," said Julian as he began to treat the metal he was working with through the annealing process, leaving Valyr no choice but to nod in response. "Aside from that, do you have anything else you want me to know?"


    "There is one thing I want to ask." Hearing Julian''s question, Valyr was reminded of his conversation with Braum back at the Imperial Production Guild. "Would it be possible to sell equipment I forge through the guild''s channels?"


    "No problem." Julian nodded, still keeping an eye on the piece of metal he was working on. "I could also have someone guide you through the selling process while upgrading your badge. Of course, the guild deducts amission fee from selling your equipment, though this fee is reduced since you''re now a core member."


    "Then again, I''d highly suggest you set up your own smithy if you want to keep all of the profits to yourself. Themission fee is still arge chunk of the profit, after all." At these words, Valyr could not stop a faint smile from creeping up onto his lips, only to tell Julian soon after that he did not have the capital to set up a smithy in the first ce, hence the request.


    "Are you going to use the money you earn from selling equipment through the guild to set up your own smithy, then?"


    "As of now, no." Valyr shook his head. "I n to use it to head to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains to grab some Skill Keys."


    "The Lesser Meltierre Mountains, huh?" Hearing those words, Julian stopped what he was doing for a bit as he pondered over something in silence. After that, he looked at Valyr and gave the young man a suggestion¡­ which only left thetter at a loss for words.


    "How about you use the guild''s teleportation constructs, then?"

 Chapter 375 Even More Nepotism

    "Eh?" For a few seconds, Valyr looked at Julian with a nk expression, feeling great disbelief at the words thetter had said to him to the point that he wondered whether he had heard correctly. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to get over his shock, though he was still hesitant to ept it outright.


    "What''s wrong?" Naturally, Julian noticed Valyr''s hesitation while concurrently having the piece of equipment he was working on now undergo through the tempering process. "Didn''t you want to use the teleportation constructs? After all, it''ll save you a lot of money than using the public ones."


    "I know that." Valyr nodded, his face containing a wry smile. "However, don''t you think it would be suspicious for a core member to head through the guild''s teleportation constructs for no reason? I may now have a considerably higher rank than before, but would it be enough for me to pass through the constructs without a problem?"


    "Ah." At those words, it was only at that moment did Julian realize his blunder, stopping what he was doing for a second as he thought about it for a bit. After a minute or so of silence, the man looked at Valyr with an apologetic smile. "I definitely overlooked that part. Thanks for reminding me."


    "Teleportation constructs are only avable to use for those at the Lesser Elder rank and above, so a core member like you would definitely be stopped even before you step a foot into the room where the constructs are." Scratching the back of his head, Julian ced the forging hammer he was wielding to the side as he pondered over the matter at hand. "Hmm¡­ what to do¡­"


    Of course, it did not take long for the answer to pop up in his mind, prompting him to continue working on the piece of equipment before him, albeit at a slightly faster pace.


    "Let''s do it this way. Let me finish forging this piece of equipment first and then I''ll apany you in upgrading your badge, as well as have you go through the teleportation constructs. Sound good?" Hearing Julian''s suggestion this time around, although it still left Valyr at a loss for words, it was not due to the immense shock he felt from the suggestion anymore. Instead, it was the slight excitement he felt towards the situation, which caused him to nod in agreement to what Julian had said to him.


    Seeing Valyr nod in response to his suggestion, Julian nodded back as he shed a slight grin, only to focus his attention back on the equipment before him. "Since it''ll be a while before I finish, you could either go ahead and wait for me outside, or you could stay here and watch me forge while we talk about a couple things. It''s not often that I have visitors in my room while I forge, to be honest."


    "I''d be d to take you up on your second offer, then." In response to Julian''s words, Valyr went with the second option, prompting the middle-aged man to let out a bit of heartyughter as he gave the young man a toothy grin. After that, Julian worked on the equipment for a bit more before cing the forging hammer to the side, staring at the air in front of him soon after.


    "What level and rarity is your disguise skill at the moment?" Whilst Julian was in the middle of staring at nothing, he posed a question to Valyr, which caused thetter to tilt his head in slight confusion for a bit, wondering the man''s intent behind the question. Thankfully, it did not take long for the young man to put two and two together in his mind, bing slightly expectant and excited as to what Julian might do in response to his answer.


    "It''s an Umon+ skill at Level 10. Currently at the bottleneck."


    "I''m surprised you could get a disguise skill at that rarity with your current ss rank." With his eyes briefly widening in surprise at Valyr''s answer, Julian closed his eyes for a bit, only for a rift to appear a few dozen centimeters away from him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    With Valyr staring at the scene before him wide-eyed in shock, Julian extended one of his hands into the rift before eventually retrieving a key that was silver in color, its overall design bearing great resemnce to keys from ancient times. Embedded within the bow of a key was a small green crystal, which gave Valyr the feeling that it contained the power to unlock something within him.


    "Here you go. An Umon grade Skill Key. Use it to upgrade your disguise skill. After all, we don''t want anyone else to find out your true identity." After giving the Skill Key to Valyr, Julian closed the rift he had opened before returning his attention to the piece of equipment he was working on, the sound of metal shing against metal resounding throughout the room once more.


    Staring at the key he had been given for a bit, Valyr took in a deep breath before proceeding tomand the system to use the Skill Key to unlock the bottleneck stopping him from upgrading [Enhanced Polymorph] to Level 11 and above.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to use 1 Umon Skill Key and spend 14,684 XP to upgrade ''Enhanced Polymorph'' to Level 11?]


    "Yes." At the very instant after he had confirmed the prompt that appeared in front of him, the key he was holding transformed into motes of light, all of which were making their way to his forehead. Then, without leaving a trace on his forehead, the motes of light passed through his forehead and entered his mind, eventually finding the skill that Valyr chose to unlock as the sound of a door unlocking resounded through his mind not long after.


    Soon after, an influx of information regarding the skill surged through Valyr''s mind, giving the young man a better idea of what he could do with the skill, as well as what limits the skill had now that it had broken through its bottleneck.


    Once he was finished organizing the information he had received from the upgrade, he then went ahead andmanded the system to upgrade [Enhanced Polymorph] to its max level, causing over 850,000 XP to disappear within an instant as he was soon bombarded with information once more.


    Though, with the experience he had regarding learning and upgrading multiple skill books at the same time, it did not take long for everything to return to normal, with the only difference being the fact that the disguise Valyr was using now seemed to be harder to figure out. Noticing this change, a faint smile appeared on Julian''s face as he briefly nced at the young man before returning his attention to what he was working on.


    And with that, the two of them decided to pass the time by talking about certain topics within the kingdom as Julian continued to toil away.

 Chapter 376 A Small Oversight

    "That was undoubtedly the most interesting conversation I''ve ever had with someone." Within the corridors of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild, a middle-aged man and a young man walked side by side with amicable expressions on their faces as the former looked to the man beside him beforeughing. "You''ve definitely widened my horizons with that one."


    "To be honest, even I was surprised when I first found out it was possible to do something like that. Of course, you doing it in front of me only made it all the more unbelievable." In response, the young man let out a peal ofughter, nodding in agreement as the two of them continued on with their conversation.


    Eventually, the two of them had arrived at the main hall of the guild, prompting them to stop their conversation as Julian had a slightly dejected expression at the realization. "And we were just getting to the good part."


    "We could still talk about it some other time, no?" Taking note of the slight disappointment hidden within Julian''s words, Valyr had to agree, thinking to himself that his conversation with the man was probably the most in-depth conversation he had about cksmithing so far in his current life. Through their conversation, his doubts regarding certain areas had been rified, while some of the knowledge he already knew in the world of cksmithing had been refined in greater detail.


    Then again, Julian felt the same way towards the conversation he had with Valyr. After all, thetter had brought him a perspective towards cksmithing that he did not think could be feasible in the first ce, getting the feeling that implementing even some of the ideas he and Valyr had talked about during their conversation would enhance his crafts to a whole other level.


    "That is true." Though Julian really wanted to continue his conversation with Valyr, he knew that the young man still had other things to do. Aside from that, there was the fact that he had promised a couple of things to him as well, such as the upgrade to Valyr''s rank. "In any case, the sun is only a couple of hours away from setting, so I think let''s get everything sorted before that happens."


    "I would definitely appreciate that." In response, Valyr beamed a smile to the middle-aged man, causing thetter to let out a hearty chuckle as the two of them headed towards the counters made for official members of the guild. Unsurprisingly, with Julian making an appearance in the guild''s main hall, everyone in that area stopped what they were doing as they watched the two make their way to one of the counters, only for them to see the two wait for their turn.


    Of course, those ahead of them in the line they entered and knew of Julian''s identity offered that the two of them could go ahead of them, while those who were oblivious to the identity of the Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild heard the slight panic in the others'' tones and did the same thing as well.


    Unfortunately, both Valyr and Julian declined their offers, instead deciding to continue where their conversation left off, utilizing strands of mana to form a line ofmunication between the two of them as they knew that the topic of their conversation would definitely have everyone in the hall listening to them, especially if they decided to just talk about it.


    With that, everyone in the hall was left with no choice but to eventually return to what they were doing before the arrival of the two, though they still sneaked nces at the two from time to time, only to see that the two were deeply engrossed in their conversation. Nevertheless, the line continued to move forward, and eventually, it was Valyr and Julian''s turn.


    "We meet again." Noticing that they were now at the front, Valyr turned his head to look at the attendant, only to notice that he had lined up for the same attendant that informed him to meet Julian earlier. "Hopefully, there won''t be a problem with iming my Technology Points anymore?"


    "T-There is none at all, sir." Naturally, with how the boss of the entire guild was standing before him, the attendant felt a level of nervousness he had never felt before as he tried his best to make sure that he wouldn''t do anything that would infuriate the man beside Valyr. "G-Greetings to the Guildmaster."


    "Loosen up, will you?" Noticing the immense nervousness the attendant felt towards his presence, Julian went ahead and retracted his aura as much as possible, even going so far as to remove any traces of the aura he passively emanated. "If it helps, we only need your help for a couple of things here and we''ll leave."


    "Give him your badge." As these words left Julian''s mouth, Valyr nodded in response before giving his iron badge to the attendant, who received it with both hands. Continuing to hold the badge he had been given as he wondered what the badge for, the attendant eventually realized what the leader of the guild wanted him to do, cing the badge to the side before proceeding to bring up a thin tablet.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Slightly grinning at the attendant''s quick wits, Julian briefly nodded before telling the attendant, "With the power vested in me as the Guildmaster of this branch of the cksmith Guild, I now hereby dere that the rank of this friend beside me shall be increased to Core Member."


    "Oh, and also, give him the Technology Points thate with the rank."


    "I-I''ll try my best to process it as quickly as possible." Nodding in response, the attendant took in a deep breath topose himself before proceeding to infuse a great amount of mana into the tablet he held, interacting with it for a bit before heading somewhere with Valyr''s iron badge in tow. A minute or soter, the attendant returned in front of the two with a badge that was made out of more precious material, its surface engraved with an incredibly exquisite design in the form of stars.


    "Here you go, sir." Extending his hands out towards Valyr, the attendant gave the young man his new badge, which thetter thanked the man for his efforts, only to receive it not long after. Unsurprisingly, at the very moment he had done so, a series of notification sounds went off in his mind as the two of them left the counter.


    Ding!


    [You have affiliated yourself with the ''cksmith Guild (Algerie Kingdom Branch, Veldanyr)''.]


    [Your previous rank [Rank 1 ¡ª Member] has been improved to [Rank 2 ¡ª Core Member]. Increase your rank or merit to improve your position.]


    [You have received 1,000 Technology Points.]


    Seeing the young man stare off into nothingness for a brief moment, a faint grin crept up onto Julian''s lips as he wrapped his arms around the young man''s shoulders, causing thetter to snap back to reality.


    "So, shall we head to the teleportation constructs?"


    "We could do that¡­"


    "But how about we take a detour to where I''m staying first?"

 Chapter 377 A Good Friends Concern

    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrows in curiosity as a response to Valyr''s suggestion, Julian took a look at how much time there was left before the sun began to set, which was only about one and a half hours away. "I don''t mind, but why the need to take a detour?"


    "My armor set that I use is still back at the inn I''m staying in." Responding to the question, Valyr had a slightly apologetic smile on his face as he looked at Julian. "Considering that I''m going to delve into a dungeon for Skill Keys, wouldn''t I have a greater advantage if I brought along my armor set with me?"


    "But don''t you have a spatial bracelet with you?" In response, Julian pointed at the bracelet Valyr wore, causing thetter to bitterly smile as he gave the bracelet to the former for him to take a look. At first, Julian did not understand why the young man had given him the bracelet, though after infusing his mana into it, it quickly became clear to him.


    "Now that I think about it, it''s actually rare for someone at your rank to own a spatial bracelet." Bitterly smiling as he gave the spatial bracelet back to Valyr, Julian made his way to the entrance, prompting Valyr to follow behind him as the two of them made their way to the inn. "Judging by its design and its storage capacity, you got it from the Boundless Skill Pavilion, right?"


    "I wasn''t even expecting to get a spatial bracelet after buying skill books from there," said Valyr in response as he softly chuckled. "In fact, my initial idea was to apply some spatialpression magic on my armor set so I could carry the entire set wherever as long as I had a backpack with me."


    "Spatialpression magic, huh?" As the two of them continued to walk through the streets of Algerie City, Julian pondered over the matter for a bit. "It''s definitely far cheaper than getting a spatial bracelet capable of storing your entire armor set, but it''s still quite expensive."


    "Fortunately for you, I know a couple of high level mages that could help you out with that problem." Hearing these words leave Julian''s mouth, Valyr stopped in his tracks for a bit as he looked at the middle-aged man before him as a savior, wondering where such a person like him had been all his life. "I could negotiate with them to get a lower price, but I guess that''ll have to wait until you return from the Lesser Meltierre Mountains."


    "Speaking of which, why that ce out of all other ces to get Skill Keys?" asked Julian not long after. "You do know we have a dungeon that drops Skill Keys inside the city, right?"


    "Of course I do." Valyr nodded. "However, the amount of effort to get one Skill Key from the Algerie Catbs is a lot. After all, you''d have to fight against the dungeon boss to get one, unlike the Lesser Meltierre Mountains, where every monster has a chance of dropping it."


    "That I cannot refute."


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom "I do n on heading there for Epic grade Skill Keys in the future, though. If I remember correctly, the Lesser Meltierre Mountains only has dungeons that can drop Rare grade Skill Keys at most."


    "Or you could just buy them," said Julian in response. "There''s not much demand for Epic grade Skill Keys, considering how the chances of one owning an Epic grade skill in this kingdom, perhaps in the entire empire, is pretty low."


    "Then again, the Lesser Meltierre Mountains also has a small chance to drop Skill Shards, so I understand why you chose that ce."


    "I''ll have to thank you in advance for helping me find a mage that could cast spatialpression magic on my armor, then." Seeing that Julian was done talking about the dungeon he was heading to, Valyr thanked the man for his offer from earlier, which thetter responded with a smile as they eventually arrived at the inn Valyr was staying in.


    ¡­


    "Oh, you''re finally back." Noticing that the door to the room was being opened, Wells went ahead and greeted Valyr, only to be silent as he looked at the middle-aged man that came along with him. "And that is¡­?"


    "Julian Pyrrhia, the Guildmaster of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild." As these words left Valyr''s mouth, Wells stood frozen in ce as he stared at Julian with his mouth slightly agape, not expecting the person to have such an identity.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Nice to meet you." Deciding to be intentionally oblivious towards the shock Wells felt towards his identity, Julian went ahead and struck up a conversation with Wells as Valyr made his way to his room to grab his armor set. "You''re Valyr''s friend, right?"


    "Wells Anadhar¡­" Wondering if the conversation he was having right now was even real or not, Wells responded to the question nevertheless, causing Julian to let out a chuckle as he gradually made the former morefortable around his presence.


    "Now that I think about it, what brings you and uh¡­ Julian here?" After the nervousness he felt from the entire situation gradually disappeared, Wells shifted his gaze to where Valyr was, only to find out that thetter was in the process of wearing his Nascent Wyvern Armor.


    "We made a quick detour to grab the armor set," said Valyr in response as he appeared in front of Julian, who briefly whistled in admiration at the craftsmanship of the set. "I''ll be heading to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains, actually."


    "Really?" At those words, Wells frowned. "Didn''t you juste back from Astarto Vige yesterday? And now you''re telling me you''re going to head to some other faraway ce right now?"


    "You should really take a break, Valyr."


    Feeling the concern behind Wells'' words, an apologetic smile appeared on Valyr''s lips, which were hidden underneath the helmet he wore. Nevertheless, he still ryed this emotion he felt through the tone of his voice. "I understand the concern, but I''m trying to prepare as much as possible for the uing inheritance."


    "That doesn''t mean you shouldn''t take some time off and rx, or at the very least go through your things at a slower pace." Wells let out a sigh as he looked at Valyr. "We still have a long life ahead of us, Valyr. There''s no need to rush."


    ''If only you knew what I was preparing for, Wells.'' At those words, Valyr could not stop himself from adorning a bitter smile, thinking about the main reason why he felt a sense of urgency to get stronger. However, he decided not to tell Wells about it, instead keeping it for himself as he replied, "Don''t worry. I understand what you mean."


    "Once I get back from the Lesser Meltierre Mountains, I promise you that I''ll take a long break and rest."


    "I really hope you do, Valyr. You may be a Rank 2 ss holder now, but your body still has a limit."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind." With that, Valyr bade farewell to Wells as he and Julian left the inn, making their way back to the cksmith Guild not long after.


    "You know, you''ve got yourself a good friend. Not a lot of people would care for others like that." In the midst of their walk back to the guild, Julian looked at Valyr beside him and talked about Wells. In response to those words, Valyr went silent as a smile crept up on his lips, only for him to nod in agreement soon after.


    "I really do."


    "He''s a great friend."

 Chapter 378 To The Other Side

    "You crafted this armor set yourself, right?" After the two of them were talking for a bit about Wells, Julian shifted their topic to the armor set Valyr was wearing, his admiration at the craftsmanship of the set still at the same level as it was the first time he saw it. "You''ve used quite the precious materials on it."


    "I definitely spent a lot of coins to get it to where it is right now," said Valyr in response, a bitter smile appearing on his face as he recalled how much money he only had to his name at the moment. "I think I''ve spent around 15 tinum coins on it so far? Around 15 to 20 tinum coins."


    "It ain''t muchpared to other pieces of equipment I''ve forged in the past, but it''s definitely a lot for someone like you." Slightly surprised at the amount of money Valyr had thrown towards the armor set he wore, Julian went ahead and activated [Analysis] to take a look at its description. "Taking into consideration that kind of budget, your current ss, and the general level of craftsmanship one would have at your rank, I''d take a guess that your armor set is probably Umo¡ª?!"


    "Epic?!" Gazing at the screen that had appeared in front of him, Julian was forced to interrupt himself from the sheer amount of shock he felt from reading the four letter word on the rarity portion of the armor set''s description. Realizing that he had just blurted out something that shouldn''t have been known by others in the first ce, the man quickly established a line ofmunication with Valyr through mana before proceeding to say his next words.


    "You really crafted an Epic grade armor set?"


    "Well, the first version of the armor set was actually Umon+ grade," said Valyr in response through the line as they continued to walk. "After that, I modified the armor with precious materials, which allowed it to reach the grade it currently has at the moment."


    "Someone who could craft an Epic grade armor set at Rank 2¡­ I mean, I know it''s possible, but still¡­" Still feeling immense shock over the true value of the armor set Valyr was wearing, Julian continued reading through its description, only for his attention to be piqued by the first innate skill the armor set had. "On top of that, an armor set that would allow a lower-leveled user to equip it¡­"


    "If you don''t mind me asking, how much experience do you have in forging?"


    Hearing Julian''s question, Valyr pondered over whether he should add in the experience he had rued back when he was a yer in his answer or count the time he had spent forging only after his current life had begun. In the end, he decided to respond with an answer that was a mix of both, telling the man that he had been forging for about three to four years or so.


    Nevertheless, that amount of time was still more than enough to leave Julian astounded. "Such a short amount of time¡­ on top of that, being able to obtain the best attribute awakenings on all armor pieces and refine every piece about +10¡­"


    "A True Prodigious cksmith is definitely terrifying."


    ''You''ve definitely got that right.'' Inwardly chuckling at how true Julian''s statement was, the two of them eventually arrived at the guild with half an hour of sunlight left to spare, slightly hastening their pace to arrive at the room where the teleportation constructs were located.


    ¡­


    "Wee to the Teleportation Hall, Guildmaster." At the instant Valyr and Julian arrived at the ce where the teleportation constructs, all of the staff inside the room greeted him with a high level of respect, causing thetter to respond back with a firm nod. "How may we help you today?"


    "I''m here to send this kid to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains." In response to the question, Julian ced his hand firmly on Valyr''s shoulder, giving off an aura of confidence as he responded. "You have my permission to authorize such a teleport."


    "Duly noted, Guildmaster." One of the staff within the room nodded in response to Julian''s words as another staff brought out a thin tablet before infusing it with mana. "Would the teleport be one-way or would it be a round trip?"


    "Of course, it''s a round trip." As Julian and the staff continued to talk about the specifics of the teleport, Valyr decided to take the time to take a good look at the room he was in, inwardly being awe at the sheer number of teleportation constructs that were built within the room.


    On top of that, arge teleportation construct was at the center of all these teleportation constructs, the runes and lines that made up the construct gradually glowing as the staff seemed to be in the process of powering it up with mana.


    Wondering whether he was going to use therge teleportation construct to head to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains, the conversation between Julian and the stuff was already finished, with the former tossing a token with the crest of the cksmith Guild on it to Valyr.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Don''t lose this token, you hear me?" reminded Julian. "This token is your only key to return back to this ce through a teleportation construct. Of course, all you have to do is just show it to the cksmith Guild near the Lesser Meltierre Mountains and they''ll take care of the rest."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind." Nodding in response, Valyr waited for therge teleportation construct before them to reach its full capacity, only for him to recall that he had actually forgotten a deal he had made with someone before he left for Astarto Vige.


    "What''s wrong?" Unexpectedly, Julian sensed the slight panic Valyr was feeling, prompting him to ask thetter this question.


    "I just remembered that Elder Noel told me that I have three days to respond to a question he asked me a few days ago," said Valyr in response. "It''s already been over three days."


    "Elder Noel?" Julian slightly tilted his head as he pondered over who Valyr was referring to. "Ah. Noel from the Spearman Guild?"


    "Yeah."


    "If you want, I could send him a message regarding your whereabouts." Hearing these words leave Julian''s mouth, Valyr was reminded of the things the man had already done for him earlier, prompting him to wonder why the man was so kind to him. Nevertheless, he decided to save the question for another time, quickly epting Julian''s request as he apologized to him.


    "Don''t worry about it." Noticing Valyr''s apologetic tone, Julian responded back with a hearty chuckle, waving his hand back and forth in nonchnce. "We''ve known each other for quite some time now, so he''ll be able to read the message."


    "In any case, the teleportation construct is ready." Pointing at therge teleportation construct before them, Julian urged Valyr to step onto the construct, to which thetter did.


    Standing at the center of the construct, Valyr looked back at Julian before deciding to thank the man for everything he had done for him. In response, Julian gave the young man a toothy grin as he assured him once more that everything would be fine on his end and that he should get as much Skill Keys as possible.


    "Guess I''ll see you in a couple of days from now?"


    "I''ll try my best to get all of the keys I need in one."


    "Hahaha! You better give me an Umon grade Skill Key once you get back, okay?"


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom "Hahahaha! But of course."


    "Alright then. See youter."


    "See youter."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 379 Lesser Meltierre Mountain Outpost

    As therge teleportation construct in the center of the room activated, a blinding light filled the entirety of the room as Valyr''s presence in the room disappeared within seconds. As the light subsided, Julian''s gaze remained affixed towards therge teleportation construct, only turning around to leave once the construct had been fully deprived of its energy.


    "Guildmaster." However, just as he was about to head back to his room in the guild and call it a day, one of the staff called for his name, prompting him to stop in his tracks as he turned his around and raised his eyebrow. Seeing that they had gained Julian''s attention, the staff looked back at therge teleportation construct for a bit before looking back at Julian. "Do you happen to know the identity of the person we teleported?"


    "I do." Julian nodded.


    "Would it be possible for us to know of their identity?" In response, the staff asked if it was possible for them to find out, to which Julian shook his head.


    "There''s no need for you guys to know their identity," said Julian to them. Then, with a faint smile, he continued, "All you have to know is that you''re doing a great service for helping me teleport him."


    After that, he turned around and bade farewell to the staff before leaving, making his way back to his room.


    ''After all, he might be the key to end this war against the orcs.''


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "Urk¡­" After a few seconds of feeling like he was zooming through the air at high speeds, Valyr eventually felt the weight of his body return to him in one go, causing him to feel an immense bout of dizziness as he briefly nced at where he had appeared. Deciding to focus on removing his dizziness for the meantime, he closed his eyes as he allowed the dizziness to subside, only opening them once he was sure the nausea he felt was gone.


    ''So, I guess I''ve finally arrived.'' Taking a look at his current surroundings, Valyr instantly noticed how he was standing on the only teleportation construct that existed within the room. Aside from that, he took a look at the walls and the floor of the room he was in, taking note that everything in this ce seemed to be made out of stone that was roughly sanded down.


    "Wee to the cksmith Guild, sir." Just as he was about to continue looking at his surroundings for a bit more, he heard a voice in front of him, causing him to look at a young woman eye to eye. "We have been informed of your arrival from the Guildmaster of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild beforehand."


    "Where am I?" Stepping out of the construct, Valyr took a look outside the windows within the room, taking note of the fact that only a few buildings sparsely scattered throughout the area existed, all of which were connected by a dirt road. With that, he turned his head back to the young woman who greeted him, only to be left at a slight loss for words at the woman''s response.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You''re currently within the cksmith Guild, sir. Specifically, the Lesser Meltierre Mountain Outpost branch of the cksmith Guild," said the woman, which prompted a question to pop up in Valyr''s mind not long after.


    ''Didn''t the dungeons in the Lesser Meltierre Mountains have a city connected to it? What''s an outpost doing here?''


    As far as he could remember from back when he was a yer, the dungeons within the Lesser Meltierre Mountains were connected to a thriving city on the same level as Clossbay, its main source of ie being the fact that one would be able to obtain a lot of Skill Keys through its nearby dungeons. In fact, he was certain that there should be a city near the dungeons, considering he had frequented the ce during theter stages of Greater Beyond''s first version.


    ''Yet why is there only an outpost here?'' Keeping this question to himself, Valyr thanked the woman before leaving the guild, deciding to take a look at the outpost as he continued to ponder over the question.


    Surprisingly, even though the outpost was not thatrge, only being around half the size of Astarto Vige the first time he got there, most, if not all of the important buildings one would find at a city could be found within the outpost. Of course, the cksmith Guild''s building was the greatest example of this.


    Aside from that, even though the roads weren''t paved whatsoever, plus the fact that there were not a lot of lights illuminating the dirt streets, a number of people than what should normally be found in an outpost roamed the streets at this moment, even as the sun was in the midst of setting. Naturally, Valyr attributed it to the dungeons that dropped Skill Keys being the reason why there were this many people.


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel After all, what''s the point of an outpost if not to protect something precious?


    ''I guess I have an idea as to why there''s only an outpost here.'' Heading to the only inn within the outpost, Valyr came to a conclusion with his spection, feeling like it was the most usible exnation for thepse in circumstances using the information he had readily avable. ''The war with the orcs must''ve triggered it.''


    In his mind, he imagined that the reason why the dungeons were connected to a city back when he was a yer was due to the fact that the orcs had be sessful in their outbreak, expanding their offensive even further during the beta version. With that, the Meltierre Empire spared no effort into speeding up the strengthening process of thebat force, which prompted them to build a city near the dungeons in order to amodate more people grinding the Skill Keys.


    ''Then again, I could be wrong.'' As it was just spection, Valyr did not have much hope that it was indeed the case, shifting his thoughts to getting a room in the inn before eating early dinner. After that, he headed into the room he had gotten to get an early rest, thinking to himself that he would have a long day ahead of him tomorrow.


    ''Hopefully it doesn''t take too long for me to grind the keys I need.''

 Chapter 380 The Three Entrances

    As the rays of the sun pierced through the window to Valyr''s room, bringing light to it, the young man had a slight frown on his face while he was sleeping, prompting one to wonder what was going on within his mind to warrant such a frown. Fortunately, that frown disappeared once the rays made contact with Valyr''s skin, jolting him awake as he felt the heat of the sun on his skin.


    Letting out a light hiss at how scorchingly hot the sun was at the outpost, Valyr moved to the side of the bed where less sunlight was making contact before staring into nothingness to give his consciousness time to be fully alert. Once done, he went through his usual routine, wearing the Nascent Wyvern Armor over his usual set of clothes before heading to the inn''s dining area to get some breakfast.


    ''There''s a lot of people here.'' Surprisingly, unlike the previous inns he had been to, the number of people that were in the dining area at the moment seemed more like the number of people he would meet on a day-to-day basis back in the cafeteria at the Astarto Vige barracks. With that, he swiftly found a vacant chair to sit on before proceeding to engorge himself in the food he got.


    ''Pretty sure all of them are here for the dungeons, just like me.'' While munching down on his food, Valyr looked at the other people in the dining area, noticing that the weakest person among them had a level of strength that was not lower than the peak of Rank 1.


    As for the strongest person within the dining area, that title went to a woman that looked to be in herte twenties, her hair a dark shade of burgundy, which formed a contrast to her light blue irises as the aura emanating out of her made even Valyr feel a slight chill.


    ''Probably Rank 3.'' Deciding to mind his own business from that point onward, Valyr swiftly finished the breakfast he had ordered before putting on his helm, leaving the inn not long after while the others who were still eating their food briefly stared at him.


    While walking through the dirt streets of the outpost that led to the dungeons, Valyr watched as a couple of people set up stalls for the wares that they were going to sell beside the prominent buildings, prompting him to think that they had ced them there in order to shelter their stalls from the elements. Aside from that, he thought that they had set up stalls in those areas since the buildings beside them were hotspots for human activity.


    Continuing to admire the unique charm the outpost had to offer as he continued to make his way towards the dungeons, a thought popped up in his mind, causing him to think about how many Skill Keys he would need to either upgrade his skills to the next grade or unlock the bottleneck on their levels.


    ''Hmm¡­'' With the thought now lingering in his mind, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system in his mind to bring up his current skill list, to which the system quicklyplied as a screen containing all of his skills appeared in front of him. Counting the number of Common and Umon grade skills he had on his list, he eventually got the figure he needed. ''So, I would need a total of 34 Common grade Skill Keys and 6 Umon grade Skill Keys.''


    ''Well, if I think about it, it would have been 7 if not for Julian giving me a key for [Enhanced Polymorph],'' thought Valyr to himself, only to realize that he would need the same amount of Umon grade Skill Keys once he had used up all of the Common grade Skill Keys to evolve the Common grade skills.


    ''In short, I actually need 34 Common grade Skill Keys and 40 Umon grade Skill Keys.'' Feeling a slight headache at the thought of having to grind in the dungeons for Skill Keys for a long time, Valyr took a few deep breaths topose himself before heading to the dungeons at a slightly faster pace than earlier, arriving around 20 minutester.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡­


    "Before I begin my exnation, wee to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains." By the time Valyr had arrived at the entrance to the dungeons, a group of people had already been waiting to enter, only being barred by a single person that had a level of strength far greater than what Valyr or the others could hope to unleash. Fortunately, with Valyr''s arrival, the person moved to the side as he weed everyone to the dungeons.


    "I''m sure all of you havee from various ces in the continent, all for the sake of obtaining a lot of Skill Keys from the dungeons," said the man as the others could only nod in approval. "With that, let me tell everyone that you''re only considered to be ''safe'' in the dungeons if you have a level of strength greater than the peak of Rank 1 at the very least."


    At those words, the few people who were at the peak of Rank 1 slightly frowned, causing them to wonder whether it was worth heading to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains in the first ce. Nevertheless, as they had already gotten this far, they decided to continue listening, even if it meant they were risking their lives doing so.


    "Of course, whether or not you choose to heed my words is not my problem." The man shrugged his shoulders before continuing. "Anyways, there are three entrances avable that would lead you to specific dungeons found in these mountains."


    "To your left is the entrance to the Common Caves, which generally has a high chance of dropping Common grade Skill Keys, though there''s also a small chance to obtain Umon grade Skill Keys from this ce a well."


    "To the right of that is the entrance to the Umon Depths, where the Umon grade Skill Keys have a higher chance of dropping, while the chances of Common grade Skill Keys dropping are lower."


    "Andstly, to your very right is the entrance to the Rare Abyss, the only dungeon that drops Rare grade Skill Keys in this ce. However, do be warned that you might spend a lot of time in this ce due to its low drop rate."


    "I don''t really have to exin anything else to you guys aside from the fact that you should make sure that you stay vignt at all times," said the man to Valyr and the others. "Also, keep in mind that the monsters are considerably stronger than the ones you find in the wild, so don''t get overconfident."


    "And with that, you''re now free to go ahead and enter any dungeon of your choosing."

 Chapter 381 The Common Caves

    At the very moment the man that barred them from heading into the dungeons in the first ce finally gave them the green light to move forward, a few of the people in the group made a mad dash towards the dungeons they''ve chosen, their bodies disappearing before they could make contact with the respective entrances.


    As for Valyr and the others, they took a more rxed approach to getting to the entrances, considering that each and every of them would separate after they entered their dungeons. To those that only had the strength at the peak of Rank 1, they surprisingly heeded the words of the man from earlier and decided to not take too much of a risk, entering the Common Caves to the very left.


    For those that had strength surpassing the peak of Rank 1, the choices they made differed, with some choosing to head to the Common Caves, while others chose to head to the Umon Depths. Unexpectedly, a couple of people who had a level of strength lower than Valyr decided to enter the Rare Abyss, which elicited the man who had informed them of the dungeon earlier to let out a low sigh as he shook his head.


    Watching other people go through the entrances one by one, Valyr eventually made his move, heading in the direction of the leftmost entrance as he thought about how he''d probably end up spending more time in the Umon Depths. By the time he had arrived at the entrance to the Common Caves, a notification sound resounded in his mind as a couple of prompts appeared in front of his field of vision.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to enter the dungeon ''The Common Caves''?]


    [Note: This dungeon is only essible to those at Level 25 or higher. Any being lower than Level 25 is barred from entering this dungeon.]


    epting the prompt that had appeared in front of him, Valyr''s body swiftly disappeared from where he stood, only for it to appear in a dim ce not long after.


    Whoosh!


    ''I guess I''m finally in the dungeon.'' Feeling a hint of nausea from the teleport, Valyr allowed the dizziness to subside first before taking a look at his surroundings, which caused multiple memories of the dungeon he was currently in from the past to surface in his mind.


    From the name of the dungeon itself, the walls, ceiling, and floor of the dungeon looked more or less like what one would find if one were to explore a natural cave. However, unlike a natural cave, the shape of corridor before him was rectangr, with a few torches that gave off a weak light being sparsely ced on the walls.


    ''Well, let''s start.'' Knowing that he was in a room that allowed him to rest, Valyr did a few basic movements with body, some with the purpose of stretching his ligaments, while some were done with the purpose of having his body get used to sudden movements. After all, it had only been an hour or so since he woke up.


    Then, after he was done doing his stretches, he grabbed the spear affixed to his back and tightly gripped it with both hands, double checking if he was truly ready to fight. Of course, it was only at that moment did he think about how he had not prepared either health potions or mana potions for the dungeon he was about to delve into, even though his spatial bracelet had more than enough space to carry a few of them.


    However, after recalling the amount of damage he was able to deal through his normal attacks and his skills, he thought to himself that he would be fine if he were to only rely on passive regeneration for the meantime. If anything, he only had to make sure that he would have the dungeon monsters attack him instead of the other way around.


    With that, he made his way to the entrance that led to the next room, being a door-shaped hole that had a dark grayyer of energy acting as its door. Looking at it for a bit, Valyr pushed his hand through the door-shaped barrier of energy, only to find out that it was allowing him to pass through.


    Seeing as there wasn''t really anything else he could do other than to pass through the barrier, the young man let out a faint sigh before proceeding to walk through the barrier of energy as if it wasn''t there in the first ce. By the time he had gotten through, the barrier of energy changed color, taking on a pitch ck color as Valyr now felt a sense of resistance from the barrier.


    "There''s no problem getting in, but you can never get out. Not surprised." Pushing a bit on the barrier after he had gotten through, it was only then did he feel the barrier push back on his extended hand. Seeing as the dungeon had now removed the option for him to return to the first room, Valyr turned around and proceeded through the corridor he had found himself in, walking at a leisurely pace as he remained vignt.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Rattle¡­


    After walking through the surprisingly long corridor for a couple of minutes, Valyr eventually felt a nefarious presence enter his senses, slightly hastening his pace for a bit to get a better look at who or what was causing the nefarious energy. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to see the origin of the energy, looking at what was undoubtedly a human skeleton.


    Hearing its bones rattle as it gradually turned around, as if surveying its surroundings, Valyr activated [Analysis] to get an idea of how strong it was. While doing so, he examined its appearance, taking note of the fact that its bones were pitch ck in color, while a faint light flickered behind the sockets where the eyes would normally be.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Skeleton (Elite)] (Level 25)


    HP: 732/732


    MP: 372/372


    Stats: 61 VIT, 64 STR, 64 AGI, 64 DEX, 31 INT, 31 WIS, 31 PER, 31 LUK


    Remarks: Surprisingly high physical stats for what is essentially a bag of bones.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''No need to use a skill, then.'' Closing up the screen before him, Valyr went ahead and made his presence known to the skeleton, causing its bones to rattle more as it madly dashed to where he was. However, before the skeleton could evennd a single hit¡­


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 25 Skeleton (Elite). You have gained 1 XP.]

 Chapter 382 Grinding For Skill Keys

    Swinging his spear upward with great force, Valyr was able to bisect the skeleton into two, causing the faint light sparking beneath its eye sockets to dissipate within an instant. Not long after, the charred skeleton fell to the ground into a pile of bones, only for a notification sound to resound in Valyr''s mind not long after.


    ''No Skill Key drop,'' thought Valyr to himself before gazing at the path before him. With the help of decently high perception alongside the hyperfocus ability given to him by [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], he was able to notice quite a few skeletons roaming about along the path, most of which he could kill along the way.


    In fact, with how the path was mostly straight, he found out that the end of the path led to arge space, which contained skeletons that number into the dozens at the very least.


    With that in mind, he bent his knees, allowing them to umte strength before bursting forth with his high agility propelling him forward.


    Whoosh!


    With how drastic the change in Valyr''s speed was, a gale would form wherever he moved, causing the skeletons he passed by along the way to take notice of his presence and try tond an attack as he moved past them. However, with therge disparity between his stats and theirs, what instead ended up happening was their death under Valyr''s attacks, with thetter only needing to do a simple strike to end their lives.


    ''I think I can finally feel the effects of the innate skill¡­'' Though Valyr continued to move at high speeds through the surprisingly long corridor, killing the skeletons he came across with one hit, the young man seemed to notice that his spear was gradually absorbing energy from his body, causing his speed to gradually be slower with the passage of time. In fact, this effect did not only extend to his speed as he felt that the strength behind his attacks was gradually getting weaker as well.


    ''You''re not intentionally doing this, right?'' Wondering if it had something to do with the soul awakened inside his spear, Valyr went ahead and sent a message to Sana, who unsurprisingly replied at the very instant it was allowed to.


    ''I''m not, Master.'' Listening to his spear''s words, Valyr could feel a sense of guilt hidden beneath the statement. ''After all, why would I hurt the one who had allowed me to be sentient in the first ce? I would be ungrateful to you, Master, if I did.''


    ''Though, with how I''ve gained the power to harm you due to the curse, I am not entirely sure.'' At these words, Sana fell silent, giving Valyr the feeling of immense guilt the more time passed, as if his spear was telling him that it was incredibly sorry through its feelings. Eventually, a sigh echoed within Valyr''s mind as Sana''s voice resounded once again.


    ''I''ll try to figure out the root cause of your weakening, Master,'' said Sana to him. ''You don''t have to do anything different. Just continue what you''re doing, and I''ll take care of it.''


    ''I''ll leave it up to you, then.'' Ending their conversation there, Valyr went ahead and increased the force behind his every step, wanting to make the most of every bit of strength he had before it dropped to its lowest point. Because of it, he took azier approach in killing the skeletons he came across, extending out his spear towards the skeletons as he allowed the momentum to do all of the heavy lifting for him.


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 25 Skeleton (Elite). You have gained 1 XP.]


    Fortunately, the system considered it as a valid attack.


    ¡­


    Around 20 minutes had passed since Valyr entered the Common Caves, his current location being thetter end of the long corridor. Just like before, his spear remained extended towards the skeletons, allowing the momentum he built up through his running to do all of the heavy lifting as he was still able to kill all of them in one blow.


    In fact, he had already collected 4 Common grade Skill Keys because of this.


    However, whenpared to earlier, his overallbat strength was now considerably worse, with his stats already down by 24% because of the innate skill his spear had. Of course, it was still more than enough strength for him to overwhelm the skeletons in one hit. Nevertheless, he inwardly let out a long sigh, thinking that he would have reached therge space by now if it wasn''t for the innate skill.


    ''In any case, I only need to run for a couple more minutes and I''ll be at the entrance to the space.'' Psyching himself up for what was basically a windfall of Skill Keys, Valyr took in a deep breath before doubling down on the force he put into his legs, causing him to temporarily speed up as he continued to traverse the absurdly long corridor of the Common Caves.


    ''I figured it out, Master!'' Coincidentally, just as he had begun to put in more effort into his running, Sana''s voice resounded throughout his mind, causing him to focus a bit of his attention to its voice while his body continued to y all of the skeletons it came across.


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel ''So, what''s causing the decrease in my stats?''<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Well, the good part is that I''m not the one causing it, even subconsciously,'' replied Sana, prompting Valyr to nod in understanding.


    ''And the bad part?''


    ''It''s my body that''s causing it.''


    Hearing these wordse from Sana, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face, while Sana gave off an immense feeling of guilt once more, allowing the former to feel how sorry thetter was at what it was doing, even if it had no control over the matter.


    ''To further rify, while you''re holding me duringbat, the body that contains my soul is passively siphoning energy from you every time a certain amount of time passes, causing you to grow weaker until the body reaches a limit on how much energy it could siphon.''


    ''Is there a way to make its effects weaker?'' asked Valyr, still keeping an eye on the path ahead of him. ''Or perhaps a way to negate it?''


    ''Unfortunately, there is none, Master.'' At these words, Valyr let out a slightly exasperated sigh as he returned his focus to what was ahead of him, channeling the slight rage and indignance he felt over the matter towards his attacks at the skeletons, which surprisingly gave him two more Common grade Skill Keys.


    Nevertheless, this rage and indignance swiftly disappeared as a thought surfaced in his mind.


    ''Well, it could be worse.''


    Though, not long after, a bitter smile adorned his face as he continued the train of thought. ''More like, it would be worse.''


    Thud.


    "Finally reached the end of the corridor." Reducing his momentum to a halt, Valyr now stood at the entrance of therge space he had seen earlier. However, unlike before, where he only saw skeletons that numbered up to dozens at most, he instead saw skeletons that numbered in the hundreds.


    With his mouth slightly agape in surprise, he took a look at therge space in detail, taking note of the fact that the space spanned over a few thousand square meters in area, though Valyr felt that it was bigger due to its slightly uneven interior. After looking at it for a bit more, he took note that there were five doors scattered throughout the walls of therge space, prompting him to recall where the five doors would lead him to.


    ''If I remember correctly, these dungeons seem procedurally generated, having different rooms to traverse every time you enter the dungeon.'' Fortunately, it did not take long for him to remember his delves in the Common Caves back when he was a yer, only taking a few seconds to do so. ''With that, I think I need to go through 10 rooms before I can leave the dungeon? I''m not too sure.''


    ''In any case, the more rooms I go through, the more Skill Keys I am bound to get.'' Psyching himself up once more, Valyr ignored the fact that his stats were significantly lowered as he took in a deep breath before assessing the situation in front of him. Once he was certain of his game n, he then dashed forward, allowing the skeletons closest to him to take notice of his presence before proceeding to start their offensive.


    "[Offense Aura]."


    Whoosh!


    As Valyr was making his way to where the skeletons were, with thetter group doing the same thing, a faint red haze gradually covered his body from head to toe, causing him to feel that his might had returned to what it was from before he entered the dungeon.


    Then, seeing as the skeletons were only a couple tens of meters away from him, a grin appeared on his face as he stopped in his tracks, forming a connection with Shadow Energy as he unleashed the skill he knew best that would wipe out the skeletons in one go.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."

 Chapter 383 A Bit Of Experimentation

    Whoosh!


    Though his stats had undergone a significant decrease due to the innate skill his spear had, the wave of dark energy that formed from the activation of the skill was stillrge enough to cause a feeling of fear to well up within the skeletons that were in its vicinity.


    Or at least, that''s what Valyr felt while looking at the skeletons.


    Unsurprisingly, just like how it had decimated the first and third wave of monsters back when he helped out in the second monster tide, the dark tide posed no problem in rendering all of the skeletons it passed through more dead than they previously were as its scope gradually expanded to cover the entire space.


    Simultaneously, multiple notifications resounded within Valyr''s mind, notifying him of the effectiveness of the skill once more, which caused a faint grin to appear on his face. ''It would''ve been better if I didn''t only gain a single point of XP from each kill, but then again, that''s how the system is.''


    Watching the wave of dark energy wreak havoc throughout therge space before him, the young manmanded the system to bring up a notification screen, focusing his attention on it from time to time as he began to tally the number of Skill Keys he would gain from the effortless ordeal.


    By the time the wave of dark energy had dissipated, leaving nothing in the space other than the floor being a charred mess, Valyr had counted that he had gained nine Common grade Skill Keys from the sweep, as well as two Umon grade Skill Keys, thetter of which caused the grin on his face to be wider than it previously was as he let out a loud cackle.


    ''Urk.''


    Though, as if the heavens wanted him to recall the situation he was currently in, a sinking feeling washed over Valyr''s body, reminding him that hisbat strength was still in the process of declining by the second. Letting out a low sigh as a bitter smile reced his earlier grin, the young man then made his way to the center of therge space,ing face to face with the five doors that would lead him to the other rooms.


    ''So far, I''ve obtained 15 Common grade Skill Keys and 2 Umon grade Skill Keys,'' thought Valyr to himself as he calcted how much Skill Keys he would have by the time he finished the dungeon. ''If luck is on my side, I would be able to obtain all of the keys I need just from this one run alone.''


    ''If not, then whatever. It''s not like I expected to get all of the keys in one run.''


    ''In any case, which door should I choose¡­'' Rubbing his chin with his forefinger and thumb whilst he pondered, Valyr looked at the five doors once more, their positions on the walls of therge space being asymmetrical. In contrast, their design was more or less the same, being a dark gray barrier of energy that was in the shape of a door.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr tried to check and see if he could feel the amount of energy that was radiating from the other side of the door, only to find out that the dark gray barriers were preventing him from doing so. At this realization, a wry smile appeared on his face. ''Thought something would change since it''s still before the first version. Turns out that still doesn''t work, even though I could do it in other dungeons.''


    ''Anyways, since that doesn''t work¡­''


    "Eenie meenie miney¡­"


    "Mo." Pointing his finger at the five entrances in random order, Valyr''s finger eventually stopped at the door that was left to the rightmost door. With how the dungeon was procedurally generated and how he knew nothing about what was on the other side, the young man did not know too deeply about the choice, shrugging his shoulders as he soon passed through the dark gray barrier that he chose.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Huh. Would you look at that. Another corridor." Unexpectedly, just as the barrier he passed through had turned pitch ck, Valyr was greeted once more by what seemed to be another absurdly long corridor, prompting a bitter smile to appear on his face as he went ahead and did the same thing he had done during the previous corridor.


    Whoosh!


    With the amount of time he had been in the dungeon now more than half an hour, the innate skill his spear had was now at its maximum potency, reducing all of Valyr''s stats by 30%.


    Or at least, that''s what he thought would happen.


    ''To be honest, I thought it would carry over. After all, it''s connected to the Mark of the Alltide.'' Pondering over the specifics of the innate skill his spear had, it was only now did Valyr finally understand how the skill worked. Though he knew that his stats would decrease while he was inbat, he did not know what would happen once he was out ofbat.


    Would the decrease in stats start over from the beginning once he began to fight again, or would it continue where he left off, bing a perpetual 30% decrease in stats as long as he was fighting?


    Fortunately, it was the former, which he had just found out while he was exploring the new corridor he was in. Then again, he had thought of the former being the case for the skill, but he decided to think about the worst-case scenario, lest he were to be disappointed by his expectations.


    "Now that I think about it, there are still a ton of vague areas regarding the limits of this thing," muttered Valyr to himself, his spear extended as far as it could go as he zoomed through the corridor at breakneck speeds. "Also, I just realized I could still fight at full power without having my stats gradually decrease over time."


    "Hmm¡­" Deciding to test the idea that had surfaced in his mind, Valyr retracted the spear he was holding before affixing it to his back, feeling the slight weakness that got worse while killing the skeletons instantly disappear once he had done so. Taking note of the discovery to mind as a faint smile adorned his face, he then extended both arms out, only for des made out of crimson me to manifest around them soon after.


    "[Basic Crimson me Maniption]."


    "[Crimson Dual des]."


    Whoosh!


    "Well, I guess I''ll be using these things for the meantime." Taking a deep breath as he slowly got used to the des of crimson me he was holding, Valyr burst forth with great speed once more, allowing the crimson mes to do its thing as it rendered the skeletons along his path into a pile of ashes.


    "Hahaha! It''s like nothing even changed at all."


    "Now¡­ I wonder what would happen if I were evolve the skill to Umon grade?"

 Chapter 384 Limits Of Ones Vengeance

    A considerable amount of time had passed since Valyr entered the Common Caves to grind for Skill Keys. With his small bout of experimentation during the second room allowing him to figure out how he could tap into his entirebat strength at all times, the young man was able to speed through the seeding rooms of the dungeon without much problem, reaching the eighth room within two hours of his entry.


    Of course, the experimentation he had done at the beginning of the second room did not end there, instead continuing it as he passed through the next few rooms he entered, wanting to know more and more about the limits of the innate skill his spear had.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Zooming through yet another absurdly long corridor, Valyr moved at insanely high speeds thanks to the help of Wind-attribute magic. Aside from that, both of his arms, which were extended during the beginning of the second room, were not extended anymore, instead allowing multiple des of crimson mes to circle around his body as it rendered every skeleton the des made contact with into a pile of ashes.


    At this point, if one were to look at Valyr, one wouldn''t even think of him as a spearman at all.


    ''I look more like a mage than a spearman right now.'' Naturally, even Valyr had simr thoughts as he looked at his current self. Though, with how fast he was proceeding through the rooms of the Common Caves, a grin slowly crept up on his lips, only for him to let out a bit ofughter soon after.


    While he was figuring out how far the effects of [Tidemother''s Vengeance] extended in detrimentally affecting his stats, it was only then did Valyr realize that his current fighting style more or less revolved around his trusty spear. Of course, one would not be able to fault him, considering that it was the weapon he had the most experience with, as well as the weapon he was confident in being able to dish out the damage.


    However, that was only when [Tidemother''s Vengeance] wasn''t taken into consideration.


    Because of [Tidemother''s Vengeance], the detrimental innate skill his spear had, Valyr was made privy to the fact that his bouts where he would mainly use the spear would now be short-lived. Though, after finding out more and more about it thanks to his experimentation in the Common Caves, he now found it more urate to say that his attacks with the spear, as well as the skills he had thatplemented the spear, were now considered his ultimate moves.


    After all, his Attack stat now scaled off of DEX rather than STR due to his subss.


    And his DEX stat was currently his highest stat.


    With that, he wondered for a bit as what would take his spear''s ce as his main fighting style. Then again, with how his stats were distributed, as well as his current circumstances in y, the answer to that question did not take too long to appear.


    Magic and summoning.


    "If not for that innate skill, I would''ve probably continued using the spear as my main method ofbat," said Valyr to himself as he noticed that he was getting near therge area of the eighth room. "Of course, there''s nothing really wrong with that."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "But because of the innate skill, I am left with no choice but to spread out and use other methods ofbat, utilizing magic and summoning to fight, both of which I don''t have a lot of experience in."


    "Then again, that''s only when Ipare it to how much time I spent with the spear." Chuckling at the thought, Valyr reminded himself to get a few rudimentary summoning skills once he returned to Algerie City, thinking that it would serve as a niceplement to his magic.


    "Huh. Now that I think about it, the threeplement each other. The spear is my arsenal of ultimate moves, the magic is my main line of offense and support, while summoning is my main line of defense." Finding the thought interesting, the young man went ahead and swiftly cleared therge space before him, manifesting Fire-attribute and Wind-attribute magic together to form a massive fire tornado that wiped out all of the skeletons within the space.


    ''It still doesn''tpare to [Tide of the Dark Night] on how terrifying it is, though.'' Commanding the system to bring up a notification screen to see how many Skill Keys had dropped, Valyr let out a soft chuckle at the thought. ''Or maybe that''s just me.''


    ''Three Common grade Skill Keys.'' While looking at the notification screen he had brought up, Valyr made his way to the center of the room before choosing a door by random, inwardly nodding in satisfaction as he headed through the door at the very center. ''With this, I now have more than enough Skill Keys to evolve all of my Common grade skills to Umon grade.''


    ''On the other hand, the Umon grade Skill Keys¡­'' Allowing the barrier of energy behind him to turn pitch ck after passing through it, Valyr briefly spared a nce at what was ahead of him, noticing that the path before him seemed to lead to abyrinth of sorts.


    Briefly shrugging his shoulders after having gone through the ordeal twice in the past eight rooms, Valyr cast Wind-attribute magic on himself to increase his movement speed before extending his hand to the right side of the wall, making sure to not let go as he began to traverse thebyrinth.


    ''Seven Umon grade Skill Keys so far¡­'' Closing up the notification screen he had brought up once he was done counting the number of Umon grade Skill Keys he had amassed, Valyr focused his attention on thebyrinth he was traversing, only for his mind to wander not long after as he thought about other things he had to do once he was done evolving his skills.


    "Hmm¡­ Once I get back to Algerie City, I should allocate all of my Technology Points as soon as possible. I think it would be more than enough to unlock that advancement?" Muttering these words to himself, a hint of excitement welled up within Valyr''s body as he thought about it.


    Though the advancement did not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, only being an advancement in the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch that could only be found in thetter portion of advancements corresponding to the Medieval Ages, to Valyr, it was his gateway to the second type of weapon he hade to know and love during his time in Greater Beyond as a yer.


    In fact, he felt like everything he had done so far was to unlock this specific advancement, an advancement that he felt would allow his progress to be faster than it already was.


    As to what this specific advancement was, it was something that could be summed up in one word.


    Guns.

 Chapter 385 The Runic Parchments

    Standing near the entrance of the final room as he watched a maelstrom of wind and water tear the great number of skeletons apart within therge space before him, a faint smile gradually crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he opened up his notification screen, making a final tally of the number of Skill Keys he had obtained.


    ''In total, I''ve gained 44 Common grade Skill Keys and 9 Umon grade Skill Keys from this run,'' thought Valyr to himself as he made his way to the only door that could be found on the walls of the final room. ''Compared to the results I''ve gotten grinding the Common Caves in the past, this run is surprisingly one of the luckier ones.''


    "In any case, time to head to the Umon Depths." With the thought lingering in his mind, Valyr stood in front of the door that would lead him out of the dungeon. Compared to the other doors he had gone through, which were just dark gray barriers in the shape of a door, the door before him looked just like any other door he had passed through, though it bore the greatest resemnce with the doors he had opened during his time at the Astarto Goblin Den.


    With that, he gripped the handle of the door and twisted it, only to stop all of a sudden once he felt something beckoning for his attention. Turning his head to look at the now empty final room, Valyr pushed his senses to their utmost limits to find out where the feeling wasing from, wondering whether what he had sensed was real or not.


    Unexpectedly, after a minute of looking around, Valyr eventually found the thing that was beckoning for his attention, staring at what seemed to be a slightly tattered piece of parchment on the floor. At first, Valyr pondered to himself as to what was so special about the parchment for it to catch his attention, picking it up to get a closer look at it.


    Of course, the answer to his question was swiftly obtained once he took a look at the other side.


    Bang!


    At the very moment he had gotten a nce of what was on the other side, a strong wave of pain assaulted his mind, causing him to tumble a couple of steps back as he tried to stabilize himself, confused as to what was going on. Clutching his head as he felt that the thing he had seen on the parchment was the root cause of this pain, Valyr tried to gaze it once more, only for another wave of pain to assault his mind.


    "Nngh!" As the first wave of pain had not fully subsided yet, the young man was forced to grit his teeth, allowing him to ignore the mental anguish he felt as he focused on the pain he felt from tight gritting. After that, he allowed the mental pain he felt to subside, taking in a few deep breaths as he pondered over the current situation.


    ''So, I''ve gotten my hands on a piece of parchment that inflicts great mental pain whenever I look at the side that has something on it,'' muttered Valyr inwardly. ''Should I just leave the parchment here and continue with what I should be doing¡­ or should I try and figure out what''s on the parchment?''


    Allowing these questions to linger in his mind for a bit as he weighed the pros and cons of each decision, Valyr eventually came to the conclusion that he was going to do thetter, looking at the parchment with something on it once more without hesitation.


    Bang!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "With high riskes high reward." Feeling the wave of pain from looking at the parchment wash over his mind once more, Valyr gritted his teeth in preparation for the same level of pain he had felt from the two waves earlier, only to find out that the pain he felt this time around was considerably less than what it was before.


    Realizing this, Valyr sucked in a breath of cold air as a thought quickly surfaced in his mind, a thought that he instantly deemed incredibly idiotic. ''This is going to fucking hurt for sure.''


    "Aaaaaggghhhh!!!" Steeling his mind in preparation for what he was going to experience, Valyr directly stared at the side of the parchment with something on it, allowing his mind to be constantly bombarded by the waves of pain he had gone through earlier.


    At first, he felt that the pain he experienced from constantly looking at the parchment was in no way worse than the pain he had gone through while he was learning the skill books he had bought en masse, only for him to fuse a great portion of those skill books en masse as well.


    Fortunately, after a minute or so, this pain started to gradually died down, giving Valyr more and more breathing room the more time passed. Eventually, by the time he had endured thirty minutes of constant mental anguish, the pain he felt from looking at the parchment now seemed to be a thing of the past, with Valyr finally bing able to look at the parchment directly.


    "Runes?" Once Valyr was finally able to look at the upied side of the parchment in its entirety, the first thing the young man noticed was the great number of runes etched on it, all of which were at a size that only seemed possible for a Rank 4 mage to etch at the very least.


    Though, with the energy he could sense from the runes, all of them containing a faint hint of terrifying intent to it, he was somewhat certain that the being who had etched these runes was possibly a Legend, perhaps even a Myth.


    ''Is this forming a magic circle of sorts?'' Looking at the cement of the runes for a bit longer, Valyr noticed that the runes were arranged in a way where they seemed to make up a part of arger magic circle, prompting him to think that the parchment seemed to have a part of an incredibly strong magic spell. However, just as he was about to rummage through his memories to see what kind of spell it might be¡­


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: The Runic Parchments.]

 Chapter 386 Entering The Uncommon Depths

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Runic Parchments] (Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    Stumbling across a random parchment at the end of the Common Caves, you decided to take a look at what it contains, only to be forced back by a wave of mental anguish. However, with your incredible tenacity and determination, you eventually found out that the parchment contains a set of runes, runes whose size was iprehensible for someone of your rank.


    Looking at it for a bit more, you noticed that the runes were arranged in a manner that would make a greater part of a whole, a part of a magic circle, to be more exact. With that, you''ve decided to find the other parts making up the magic circle, wondering what kind of secrets the parchments truly hold.


    Fortunately, all of them could be found within the dungeons you''re currently traversing.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Find the 1st Runic Parchment within the Common Caves (1/1)


    > Find the 2nd Runic Parchment within the Umon Depths (0/1)


    > Find the 3rd Runic Parchment within the Rare Abyss (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > ???


    Quest Penalty:


    > ???


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Question marks for the rewards and the penalty¡­" Rubbing his chin as he finished reading the description of the quest he had just received, Valyr eventually scratched the back of his head as he closed the screen before him, letting out a faint sigh as he decided to ce the parchment he had picked up in his spatial bracelet for the meantime.


    "Well, if it''s any constion prize, I don''t need to deviate from my original objective in this ce," said Valyr to himself as he finally passed through the final door, appearing back at the entrance of the Common Caves not long after.


    Turning to look at the sky to see how much time was left before sunset, Valyr looked at the two other entrances to his left before deciding to head back to the outpost for now, seeing that it was already a bit past afternoon.


    With that, he swiftly headed into the only eatery within the outpost and got his order taken by one of the waiters, giving him time to think about the quest he received at the end of his first dungeon run while he waited for his order to arrive.


    ''The runic parchments¡­ I definitely haven''te across any of this back when I was a yer¡­'' Rummaging through his treasure trove of memories from back when he was still a yer, Valyr eventually found no mention of the parchments in his memories at all, prompting him to think that the parchments weren''t a thing during the public release of Greater Beyond.


    ''Well, there is also the possibility that a yer might havee across the parchments while they were grinding in the dungeons of Lesser Meltierre Mountains and kept the quest all to themselves.'' At this thought, Valyr faintly shrugged his shoulders, letting out a faint sigh. ''In any case, it doesn''t change the fact that I''m going at this blind.''


    ''Then again, I could say the same thing for almost all of the quests I''ve epted so far.'' Valyr let out a soft chuckle, only for the te of food he had ordered to arrive a few secondster. ''After all, none of these quests I''ve had experiencepleting back when I was still a yer.''


    ''Moving all of that aside, what are the runic parchments for?'' Beginning to munch on his food, Valyr recalled the arrangement of the runes he had seen on the parchment he had picked up, getting to the conclusion that the runes formed part of arge magic circle.


    After that, he rummaged through his memories to see if there were any magic spells or the like that involved the usage of multiple runic parchments, only toe up empty-handed. Reminded of how he knew nothing about the runic parchments and what their purpose was, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he continued to eat his food.


    Fortunately, by the time he was finished eating, this frown was nowhere to be found, instead being reced with a look of determination as he promised himself that he was going to find out what the runic parchments'' purpose was, swiftly making his way back to the entrances of the three dungeons within minutes.


    ¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    While making his way to the entrance that led to the Umon Depths, Valyr noticed the man that stopped from heading straight to the entrances earlier, only allowing them to do so once the man was finished reminding them of the dangers of the dungeons.


    Seeing as the man had stopped another group of people from entering the dungeons, he briefly nodded at the man before focusing his attention on heading to the Umon Depths once more.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing within the beginning room of the dungeon, Valyr took a look at his surroundings, taking note of the fact that there was not much difference between the appearance of the Umon Depths and the Common Caves he had delved earlier.


    ''Then again, that''s also the case back when I was a yer. Same could be said about the Rare Abyss, actually.''


    Taking in a deep breath to prepare himself for the spike in difficulty that came alongside the change in name, Valyr went ahead and passed through the dark gray barrier that would lead him to the first area. Though, rather than be greeted by an absurdly long corridor, just like back in the Common Caves, what greeted the young man instead was arge circr hall, with a sparse number of dark skeletons roaming about.


    However, whenpared to the skeletons from the Common Caves, the color of the bones of the skeletons in the Umon Depths seemed more gray rather than ck, with the light behind their eye sockets now flickering at greater intensity.


    Aside from that, some of the skeleton parts were covered with dirty and tattered cloth, with all of them wielding a long staff that had a stone affixed to one of its ends.


    "[Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Skeleton Acolyte (Umon Elite)] (Level 33)


    HP: 1,515/1,515


    MP: 1,785/1,785


    Stats: 101 VIT, 119 STR, 101 AGI, 50 DEX, 119 INT, 65 WIS, 65 PER, 50 LUK


    Remarks: Though they may have sacrificed some of their physical stats for magic, they remain a force to be reckoned with¡­ even if they may still basically be a pile of bones.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "If I remember correctly, I''ll be facing against Skeleton Acolytes in this dungeon, while I''ll be up against Skeleton Mages in the Rare Abyss," muttered Valyr to himself, deciding to brush up on his knowledge regarding the three dungeons. However, after pondering over it for a bit, he noticed a peculiar pattern.


    "Wait a second¡­ now that I think about it, the three dungeons are arranged in a way that each dungeon exhibits greater usage of magic than thest."


    "I mean¡­ I''ve also noticed that back then when I was a yer, but I didn''t think too much about it. At most, I just found it a cool coincidence." At those words, Valyr looked at the runic parchment that was currently in his spatial bracelet. "What if these runic parchments I''m collecting¡­"


    "¡­would lead me to the true reason behind the creation of these three dungeons?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Well, there''s only one way to find out."

 Chapter 387 The Second Parchment

    Whoosh!


    Simr to what he had done in the Common Caves, Valyr relied on the magic skills he had picked up to deal all of the damage towards the Skeleton Acolytes he came across, utilizing the four basic elements to their entirety, as well as one of the basic elements'' destructive variants.


    ''Pretty sure this dungeon used to feel harder back then.'' At the moment, Valyr zoomed through a considerably long corridor filled with twists and turns, relying on Wind-attribute magic to make sure that the momentum lost with every turn he made would instead be conserved. Simultaneously, multiple des of crimson mes circled around the young man''s body, making sure that none of the Skeleton Acolytes would be able toe near him.


    ''Then again, I only had my trusty spear to rely on back then, plus the ss and subss I had wasn''t as good as what I have right now.''


    "[Crimson ze]." Noticing that one of the skeletons in his vicinity was preparing to throw a magic spell towards him, Valyr extended his palm outward in the skeleton''s direction before sending a scorching ball of crimson mes, which swiftly grew to double its size at the veryst moment.


    Bang!


    ''-1,642''


    Seeing the four digit number above its head gradually disappear as the skeleton transformed into a pile of ash, Valyr looked at the notification screen he had brought up to his side, a faint smile adorning his face as he took note of the amount of XP he had earned, as well as the additional notification that came alongside the kill.


    "Finally got another Umon grade Skill Key." Valyr briefly clenched his fists in excitement before proceeding to traverse the corridor before him. "With the 9 keys I''ve gotten from clearing the Common Caves, I''m now at a total of 17 Umon grade Skill Keys."


    "Not bad, considering that I''m still at the third room of the Umon Depths."


    Just like how the Common Caves consisted of 10 rooms that seemed to have undergone procedural generation, theyout of the Umon Depths was more or less the same, with one of the differences being the fact that one would have to go through 12 rooms to exit the dungeon instead of 10.


    Aside from that, unlike the Common Caves, one would have to fight against a mini-boss at the halfway mark, its strength around three tiers higher than the acolytes from what Valyr could remember. Of course, defeating the mini-boss would allow one to be rewarded ordingly, allowing them to obtain a considerable number of Skill Keys in one go.


    In fact, Valyr had heard from some yers back then that they had gotten Skill Shards to drop from these mini-bosses as well, something Julian had brought up during their conversation about the Lesser Meltierre Mountains back in Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild.


    As for those who had failed to defeat their mini-boss in time¡­


    Surprisingly, they were all teleported to the entrance of the Umon Depths, prompting Valyr and many others back then to wonder whether these dungeons were purpose built to be a training ground of sorts.


    "In three more rooms, I''ll fight against the mini-boss," muttered Valyr to himself as he eventually found himself at an area with multiple floating tforms, all of which had a group of Skeleton Acolytes on top of it.


    Assessing the number of foes that were on the tforms, the young man took in a deep breath before proceeding to conjure a maelstrom of earth and wind, deciding to decimate all of the skeletons by sending a barrage ofrge earth shards.


    "Of course, I should still keep an eye on that second runic parchment."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡­


    ''And with this, I''m finally done with the Umon Depths.'' Watching as the tornado of crimson mes and wind he had cast engulf all of the Skeleton Acolytes in its vicinity, only leaving their ashes behind, Valyr let out a soft sigh of relief as he took a look at his notification screen, ignoring the notification sounds incessantly ringing in his mind as he counted the number of Skill Keys he had gained from this run.


    "A total of 28 Umon grade Skill Keys and 12 Common grade Skill Keys," said Valyr as he inwardly nodded. "Common grade Skill Keys aside, I''m stillcking a few more Umon grade Skill Keys to make sure that all of the skills I could upgrade would be at the max level of Umon grade."


    "Normally, I''d just do another run of the Umon Depths and purposefully lose to the mini-boss to get the remaining keys." Seeing as the tornado he had cast had finished doing its job, Valyr went ahead and conjured arge gust of wind, blowing all of the ashes on the ground to the edges as he proceeded to look for the second runic parchment.


    "But of course, with the runic parchment quest, I guess I''ll head to the Rare Abyss instead."


    "Now where is it¡­" Pushing his senses to the limit, Valyr looked all throughout therge hall he had just emptied, making sure to not miss even a single nook or cranny in search for the second runic parchment. In fact, he had done the same thing to all of the previous rooms he had entered, not crossing out the possibility that the runic parchment would be found in the middle of the dungeon.


    "Weird. Can''t find any sign of it anywhere." Briefly scratching the back of his head, Valyr decided to bring out the runic parchment he had picked up from the Common Caves to see if it would help out.


    And fortunately, it did.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he brought out the first runic parchment he had picked up, the runes on the parchment proceeded to light up as a sheet of parchment at the far end of the empty hall began to float all of a sudden.


    Not long after, this sheet of parchment swiftly headed to where Valyr was, joining together with the first runic parchment to form arger piece of parchment as the runes on the two parchmentsbined to form arger rune.


    In terms of the runes'' current appearance, it was as if the two parchments had never been separated in the first ce, leaving Valyr no choice but to stand still at a loss for words as a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: The Runic Parchments.]


    [Find the 2nd Runic Parchment within the Umon Depths (1/1)]


    "¡­"


    "Well¡­ that was easier than I thought."

 Chapter 388 Preparing For The Rare Abyss

    After getting over his initial shock at how simple obtaining the second runic parchment was, Valyr took in a few deep breaths topose himself before proceeding to look at the rune arrangement on the nowrger piece of parchment he held.


    Shifting his gaze towards the side of the parchment where the runesy, Valyr closed one of his eyes in slight fear that he would have to endure multiple waves of pain once more to be able to look at therger parchment. Fortunately, even with his only open eye intently staring at the runes on the parchment, no such pain washed over his body at all, allowing him to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he opened both of his eyes to get a better look.


    "I still have no clue on what this does." With all of his attention focused on the nowrger parchment, the young man quickly noticed a specific detail that he had overlooked back when he only had one runic parchment in his possession. On two corners of therger parchment were two nted lines that seemed to intersect at a point past the current parchment he held, prompting Valyr to think that the intersection would only be found once he obtained the third andst runic parchment.


    "A triangle surrounding a magic circle¡­" Though Valyr felt that the triangle surrounding the magic circle was an aesthetic choice by the creator at best, he still pondered a bit deeply into it, thinking that there might be a purpose for the shape other than purely for design.


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders as he hade at a dead end in his contemtion over the triangle, he soon focused his attention on the runes that made up the magic circle, as well as the iplete magic circle himself, finally getting a better idea of what the magic circle''s purpose was.


    ''Thank the heavens I studied a lot about runes back then as a yer, even if it was just because I had nothing else to do.'' As these words lingered in his mind, a bitter smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips.


    ''In any case, the magic circle has something to do with the soul¡­'' Examining the structure of the magic circle in greater detail, Valyr was able to pinpoint certain elements of the magic circle that allowed him to deduce the general purpose of the magic circle. ''As to whether it''s a link to another soul, a ritual involving the soul, or whatever, that I have no clue.''


    "Once again, there''s only one way to find out what it really does." More or less satisfied with the additional information he had obtained from the second runic parchment, he stashed therge parchment into his spatial bracelet before proceeding to head through the exit, appearing at the entrance of the Umon Depths not long after.


    Whoosh!


    "How much sunlight is there left before the sun starts to set?" Seeing that he had appeared at the entrance to the three dungeons once more, he took a look at the entrances to his left and right, watching a few people enter the dungeons for a short while before proceeding to distance himself from the entrance to get a better look at the sky.


    "Only a couple or so hours left before the sun sets." Taking into consideration the amount of time he had spent in the dungeon as he looked at the position of the sun, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he pondered over whether or not to head to the Rare Abyss right now andplete the quest, or postpone his entry to the Rare Abyss for tomorrow.


    "Well¡­ I do feel like it would be a waste if the momentum I''ve built up so far in clearing the dungeons disappears¡­" Fortunately, it did not take long for him to make a decision, his gaze affixed towards the entrance to the Rare Abyss as a me of determination flickered in his eyes. "Plus, it''s not like there''s anything or anyone stopping me from entering the dungeons at night."


    "Then again, this is the Rare Abyss we''re talking about¡­" Bing silent for a bit, Valyr tilted his head downward with his eyes closed as the gears in his mind gradually turned. After a while, he looked directly at the three dungeons before distancing himself even further, only to take out the Skill Keys he had obtained from the two dungeon runs not long after.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Since that''s the case, I might as well evolve all of my Common grade skills to Umon grade."


    Ding!


    [Would you like to use 1 Common Skill Key and spend 100,000 XP to evolve ''Basic Crimson me Maniption'' to the next grade?]


    Making up his mind to evolve his Common grade skills to the next grade, Valyr went ahead and begun the upgrading process with the skill that had be his main method of dealing damage ever since he distanced himself from the effects of [Tidemother''s Vengeance].


    ''I have enough XP to evolve a decent number of the Common grade skills to the next grade, but would I have enough for all of them?'' As this question popped up in his mind while he looked at the prompt the system gave him, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to show him the amount of unused XP he currently had, only for a grin to appear on his face not long after.


    Ding!


    [Unused XP: 6,223,836]


    "Guess I was worrying for nothing." Closing up the screen he had just brought up, Valyr let out a brief cackle before proceeding to confirm the prompt that had appeared before him earlier, allowing [Basic Crimson me Maniption] to finally undergo the evolution process.


    "I actually have enough to evolve all of them, and then some more."


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully evolved ''Basic Crimson me Maniption'' to Umon grade.]


    [The skill ''Basic Crimson me Maniption'' has evolved to ''Intermediate Crimson me Maniption'' due to the change in grade.]

 Chapter 389 Under Pressure

    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    By the time Valyr had finished upgrading all of his Common grade skills to the next grade, an hour or so had passed, only leaving the young man an hour or so of sunlight before the skies turned dim. Nevertheless, that did not stop the young man from having sparkles in his eyes, a wide smile stered on his face.


    ''Eventually, most, if not all of the skills I have right now will be Rare grade. After that, they''ll reach Epic, then Legendary, then Mythic, and at some point, the highest grade possible.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he brought up his notification screen, taking a look at the changes the skills he evolved had undergone in terms of their naming.


    For the skills that began with the word ''Basic'' like the skill [Basic Crimson me Maniption], the only change to their name was the word ''Basic'' being reced with the word ''Intermediate''.


    However, even though the name of the skill made it seem like Valyr had an intermediate level of understanding how to manipte a certain element or such, the evolution the skills had undergone made him feel like he gained far more than that.


    Then, there were those skills that began with the word ''Inferior'', such as the skill [Inferior Heal]. In the cases of those skills, their names also underwent a change simr to what happened with the ''Basic'' skills.


    But instead of having the word be changed to ''Intermediate'', the word ''Inferior'' was instead reced with the word ''Lesser'', which gave Valyr the feeling that he could replenish more of his health with the improved skill, as well as even gain a chance at surviving situations that he considered precarious.


    Of course, there were also skills that did not follow the first two archetypes, their names undergoing a unique change that allowed Valyr to gain a better idea of the skill''s eventual scope. With that being said, his attention was currently focused on a certain skill that he found incredibly crucial not only in fights, but in day-to-day activities as well.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully evolved ''Analysis'' to Umon grade.]


    [The skill ''Analysis'' has evolved to ''Greater Analysis'' due to the change in grade.]


    ''Let''s see what kind of information I''ll be able to get with this evolved.'' Feeling satisfied after having to evolve multiple skills to the next grade, Valyr closed up the notification screen in front of his field of vision before proceeding to make his way towards the three entrances, keeping an eye at the sun''s position from time to time.


    "Halt." Just as he had arrived a fair distance away from the entrance that led him to the Rare Abyss, a certain person appeared before him, a slight frown adorning the person''s face. "The dungeons are about to close in an hour."


    "Really?" Looking at the person in front of him, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight incredulity as he looked at the man from head to toe. Unexpectedly, the man that stopped him from reaching the Rare Abyss was the same man who warned him and the others regarding the dangers of entering the dungeons at a low level. "I thought there was no time limit to essing the dungeon?"


    "There is none." The man nodded in agreement. "However, I would advise you to head to the outpost for now and prepare for the dungeon you wish to enter tomorrow. Not only will you be fighting at your peak condition, the chances of you clearing the dungeon of your choosing sessfully increases as well."


    At the man''s words, Valyr went silent for a bit as the man''s words made sense to him. After all, any person that had traversed the dungeons for an entire day like him would have been incredibly exhausted by now, needing to replenish their energy in preparation for the next day.


    However, he was not like any person.


    "I appreciate the warning, but I still wish to proceed to the dungeon behind you." As Valyr said these words to the man, he took on a slight apologetic tone, which did not go unnoticed under the man''s senses.


    "Are you certain?" The man looked back at him, a faint frown creeping up onto the man''s lips. "I may not know your true strength, but with how you''ve cleared the Common Caves and Umon Depths without problem, I really think you''d fare better against the Rare Abyss with a good night''s rest."


    "That may indeed be the case¡­" At this point, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face, only for him to let out a faint sigh soon after. "But I still wish to enter."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Know that you are the one responsible for your own decision." Seeing as Valyr was still adamant on entering the dungeon even with his multiple attempts of dissuasion, the man finally relented, letting out a low sigh as he moved to the side, finally allowing Valyr to head to the Rare Abyss. "I do hope that you know when to admit defeat."


    "I appreciate the concern." Hearing the man''s words, Valyr nodded with a soft smile. "However, never once have I bitten off more than I could chew."


    "Is that so?" In response, the man let out a brief chuckle before nodding, finding the young man''s words somewhat amusing. "Let me see if you have the strength to back up your words, then."


    Letting out a bit ofughter in response, Valyr finally moved away from the man and headed towards the entrance to the Rare Abyss, disappearing from the man''s vision before appearing in the dungeon''s room of respite a few secondster.


    Feeling that he did not have much time to waste, as well as the fact that he more or less knew what he was up against, the young man swiftly headed through the door-shaped energy barrier, only to be greeted by a light gray skeleton wearing what seemed to be a robe made out of tattered rags.


    "[Greater Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Skeleton Mage (Rare Elite)] (Level 45)


    ss: Skeleton Arcanist


    HP: 4,248/4,248


    MP: 5,088/5,088


    Stats: 177 VIT, 212 STR, 177 AGI, 88 DEX, 212 INT, 135 WIS, 121 PER, 79 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Spellcasting], [Basic Incantation], [Basic Mana Affinity]¡­


    Remarks: A strong foe when ites to the art of magic¡­ but surprisingly still ultimately a pile of bones.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I guess this is the first Rank 3 being I''ll truly be fighting up against." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr psyched himself up as he extended both of his palms towards the skeleton, only to send out a barrage of des made out of crimson mes soon after.


    Whoosh!


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"

 Chapter 390 A Bone Crushing Experience

    "Haah¡­ haah¡­" While making his way through the fourth room of the Rare Abyss, Valyr took the time to catch his breath, feeling a hint of exhaustion from the fights he had fought in the three previous rooms he was in. "It''s definitely more exhausting whenpared to my two previous runs, but man is it far better than my first attempt at the Rare Abyss back then."


    Gazing at the path before him to get an idea of how many Skeleton Mages he would have to fight before being able to proceed to the fifth room, Valyr rummaged through his memories to recall theyout of the Rare Abyss, which did not differ much from the first two dungeons in the fact that all three of them were procedurally generated.


    However, with the Common Caves'' exit being found after 10 rooms, and the Umon Depths'' exit being found at 12, one would only be able to exit the Rare Abyss once one has gone through 15 rooms.


    Not only that, but one would have to face against mini-bosses every five rooms, which meant that one would have to face a total of three mini-bosses before reaching the end of the Rare Abyss, which is two more whenpared to the number of mini-bosses one would have to defeat in the Umon Depths.


    Though, just like the Umon Depths, being unable to defeat the mini-boss did not mean that one would have to submit to fate and disappear from the face of the. Instead, one would appear at the entrance of the dungeon they had entered, resetting the progress one has made in the dungeon back to zero.


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style]."


    "[Cascading ze]."


    "[Intermediate Wind Magic Style]."


    "[Billowing Tempest]."


    Arriving at the portion of the fourth room that would allow him to proceed to the next room, Valyr took a look at the great number of Skeleton Mages loitering around therge space before him, prompting him to utilize abination of two elements he had used before to dish out great damage not long after.


    However, unlike before, all of the skills that went into its damage had increased by a grade, causing a far stronger maelstrom of fire and wind to wreak havoc at the skeletons that roamed about, all of which eventually sumbed to the damage before turning into a pile of ashes that sparsely covered the ground.


    "No sign of the third runic parchment anywhere." Dispelling the storm of fire and wind in less than an instant, Valyr then conjured a strong gust of wind to blow all bits of dust and ash to the edges of the space before proceeding to look for signs of the third parchment, even going so far as to bring out therge parchment to see if anything would react.


    Seeing as there was no trace of the third parchment in the fourth room whatsoever, Valyr''s thoughts of the third andst parchment being found at the final room grew stronger as he proceeded through the door-shaped energy barrier, entering the fifth room not even a couple secondster.


    "Facing off the mini-boss from the get-go, huh." Unexpectedly, there was no corridor whatsoever that Valyr had to go through to fight against the mini-boss. Instead, the other side of the door-shaped energy barrier led the young man directly to where the mini-boss was located, which appeared to be a skeleton a couple of heads taller than the other skeletons Valyr hade across earlier.


    Aside from that, the robe the skeleton wore was considerably nicer than the ragged robes of the Skeleton Mages he had fought, getting a feeling that the robe was infused with a decent amount of mana. To top it all off, the skeleton also wielded a staff that seemed to be carved out of an exquisite piece of wood with arge ruby crystal affixed to one of its ends.


    "[Greater Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Fib the Skeleton Archmage (Legendary Elite)] (Level 45 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Skeleton Archmage


    HP: 16,344/16,344


    MP: 17,808/17,808


    Stats: 227 VIT, 371 STR, 263 AGI, 113 DEX, 371 INT, 252 WIS, 158 PER, 101 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Spellcasting], [Intermediate Incantation], [Intermediate Mana Affinity]¡­


    Remarks: For once, you''re up against someone significantly difficult to defeat. Of course, there''s nothing else to say about the bone part.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hiss¡­" Sucking in a breath of cold air through his teeth, Valyr looked at the stats of the mini-boss before him, eventually concluding that it would take him a considerable amount of time to defeat the boss, even with his absurdly high stats as someone in the middle of his Rank 2 ss.


    "I guess it''s time to bring out the big guns." Feeling that he would only be able to leave the Rare Abyss by the time it was midnight if he fought against the mini-boss before him with pure magic, Valyr let out a low sigh as he retrieved the spear from his back, instantly feeling the spear gradually siphon a bit of his energy with every passing second.


    Knowing that he had to make the most of his time, Valyr swiftly formed a connection with Shadow Energy before swinging his spear upward, causing the ever terrifying wave of dark energy to appear before him not long after.


    "[Offense Aura+]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­"


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."


    "I wonder if the remaining mini-bosses also have something to do with a bone in the body¡­"


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    After ending the fight against the first mini-boss within a few moves thanks to his timely usage of his spear, Valyr was able to speed through the sixth to ninth rooms with the help of his magic, eventually finding himself up against the second mini-boss by the time he entered the tenth room. Activating [Greater Analysis] to get a better idea of what he was up against, what Valyr instead found left him at a loss for words.


    "I can''t fucking believe it¡­"


    "It actually fucking happened¡­"


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tibia the Skeleton Archmage (Legendary Elite)] (Level 47 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Skeleton Archmage


    HP: 17,352/17,352


    MP: 19,248/19,248


    Stats: 241 VIT, 401 STR, 277 AGI, 122 DEX, 401 INT, 266 WIS, 171 PER, 106 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Spellcasting], [Intermediate Incantation], [Intermediate Frost Magic Style], [Advanced Mana Affinity]¡­


    Remarks: Guess who''s back¡­ back again¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 391 A Bone Shattering Experience

    "In the fifth room, I fought against a mini-boss named Fib. Then, at the tenth room, I fought against someone named Tibia." Though the two mini-bosses Valyr fought against did not pose too much difficulty to him, having ess to incredibly destructive moves, the names of the mini-bosses remained lingering in his mind, prompting him to wonder what the name of the final mini-boss would be. "If that''s the naming pattern for the mini-bosses in this dungeon, then that means I would be facing against someone named Femur at the final room?"


    "If that''s the case, I''d probably justugh out of disbelief." Bitterly smiling at the thought that there was a chance the final mini-boss he would fight against would be named after thergest bone in the human body, Valyr proceeded to discard all tangential thoughts in his mind as he focused on what was up ahead, sending out wave after wave of magic attacks once more to clear out the path before him.


    "By now, I''ve more or less gotten used to fighting with magic," muttered Valyr to himself, assessing his control and mastery over magic by how he had handled the dungeons so far. "Though, it would take a while to really make sure that using magic as my main method of fighting is ingrained within me."


    "Of course, that''s a problem up to future me to solve."


    "Let''s see how many Skill Keys I''ve gotten so far¡­" Continuing to move through the pathways that made up the 14th room of the Rare Abyss, Valyrmanded the system to bring up a notification screen in front of him, allowing him to tally the number of Skill Keys he had gained from the run so far. "7 Umon grade Skill Keys and 3 Rare grade Skill Keys¡­"


    "Definitely not the best drop rate to obtain in a dungeon with a total of 15 rooms, but at the very least I''m done farming keys to evolve my skills." Briefly thinking about how his Skill Key drops were on the unluckier side of the spectrum, the young man swiftly shifted his perspective over the matter to something more optimistic, psyching himself up with the fact that he was now free to focus his entire attention on the quest he had received.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Arriving at the final junction of the 14th room, which was only a slightlyrger space whenpared to the pathways he had been traversing so far, Valyr went ahead and unleashed one of his highly destructive skills on the magic side of things, sending out a barrage of des made out of crimson mes towards the skeletons within the space.


    However, unlike his earlier activations of the same skill, the crimson mes propelling the des this time around contained a tinge of orange to it, causing not only the heat of the mes to be far more intense than what it previously was, but also the level of destructiveness of the mes.


    Of course, this option was only unlocked once Valyr had evolved [Basic Crimson me Maniption] to the next grade, which had given him ess to what was aptly called Orange Crimson mes.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With his INT stat being buffed by the spells and skills he had cast on himself, as well as the attacks being propelled by a higher tier of crimson me, it did not take long for the group of Skeleton Mages within the space to disappear from Valyr''s sight, eventually leaving an empty space for the young man to explore about a minute or soter.


    "Before I head to the final room, gotta check if the parchment is here." With the skeletons now gone from the space, Valyr proceeded to head to the center of the room before pushing all of his senses to their utmost limits, making sure to not miss even a single corner in search for the third runic parchment.


    Due to the fact that the crimson mes had not left any pile of ashes for Valyr to sweep up with Wind-attribute magic, it did not take long for Valyr toe to the conclusion once more that the parchment could not be found within the room he was in, even after bringing therge runic parchment out.


    "Well, it''s not like checking every room for signs of the parchment was useless." cing therge runic parchment back into his spatial bracelet, Valyr looked at the door-shaped energy barrier a few meters away from him before taking in a deep breath, briefly wondering to himself as to how the third runic parchment would show itself to him.


    After all, the second runic parchment only appeared once he brought the first runic parchment out.


    Determined to end the fight against the mini-boss as quickly as possible, Valyr swiftly passed through the dark gray barrier, only to be greeted once more by the mini-boss as he appeared in the room where it resided.


    "Another foolhardy challenger appears before me once more." At the very moment he appeared in the final room of the dungeon, the mini-boss, which looked to be a skeleton a couple of heads taller than the mini-bosses he fought against, began to speak, its voice apanied with the sound of its bones faintly rattling.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Of course, the oue shall be the same as always."


    "[Greater Analysis]." Ignoring the monologue the mini-boss recited at the very moment he appeared, as if to instill a bit of fear into the young man, Valyr went ahead and activated his newly improved identification skill to see what kind of enemy he was up against, only to be left at a slight loss for words as the enemy''s ss stood out to him.


    "Demilich¡­"


    As far as he knew, once a skeleton had gained a considerable level of sentience and had impressive control over the art of magic, they would transition into a being that transcended Skeleton Archmages, which were considered the pinnacle of skeletons who pursued magic. From that point onward, they would be a being that was considered immortal, though theycked a certain something that truly made them immortal.


    Those beings were called Demiliches.


    "I don''t even know what to say anymore¡­" However, what stood out even more to him was not the enemy''s ss, but instead the enemy''s name. He only thought of it possibly happening due to how the two previous mini-bosses were named, but now that the screen before him confirmed his spections, only one thought popped up in his mind.


    ''The heavens are really fucking with me this time around.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Demilich Femur (Mythic Elite)] (Level 50 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Demilich


    HP: 21,096/21,096


    MP: 23,520/23,520


    Stats: 293 VIT, 490 STR, 333 AGI, 150 DEX, 490 INT, 320 WIS, 208 PER, 125 LUK


    Skills: [Advanced Spellcasting], [Advanced Incantation], [Advanced Mana Affinity], [Intermediate Death Affinity], [Basic Life Affinity], [Basic Longevity]¡­


    Remarks: Pretty great with magic to the point they''re considered immortal. Pretty great with magic to the point they''re considered scary on the battlefield. Pretty great with magic, alright¡­ but still considered a pile of bones.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 392 The Final Parchment

    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]!"


    Whoosh!


    "[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]!"


    "[Limit Break]!"


    "[Offense Aura+]!"


    Whoosh!


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­"


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    After whittling down the demilich before him to about half of its health with magic, Valyr did not hesitate tond the killing blow, proceeding to increase hisbat prowess through thebination of magic spells and usual buffing skills to ensure that his spear would be at its strongest state at the moment hended it.


    Swiftly forming a connection with Shadow Energy, the young man went ahead and swung his spear upward, causing a tyrannical wave of dark energy to appear before the demilich, instilling into thetter the feeling that it could not escape the attack that it would receive.


    "Cease!" Of course, due to the fact that his opponent had a considerable level of sentience and felt that it would undoubtedly die if it allowed the attack to connect with it, the demilich dug deep into its power reserves to send out a flurry of attacks at its strongest state possible at the wave to dispel it¡­


    Only for all of it to be absorbed by the wave soon after.


    "How could such a foolish being hold so much power within their small stature¡­ I cannot ept this!" Seeing as all of its attacks had been absorbed by the wave of dark energy before it without any difficulty, a feeling of slight disbelief welled up within the demilich''s body, only for it to be reced with great rage as he sent out yet another barrage of attacks towards the wave before him, all of which contained greater power than before.


    Unfortunately, just like the previous barrage of attacks he had sent out to the wave, all of them were for naught as the wave absorbed all of it without any difficulty.


    Determined that it would be able to escape, the demilich was about to send yet another wave of attacks, only to notice that only a small distance separated from it making contact with the wave. With that, the demilich proceeded to distance itself from the wave, teleporting a few meters to the left.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, as if it had locked onto its target, the dark wave expanded to cover the demilich, even if thetter had teleported to escape its path. Gazing at how the wave before it had adapted to its current position, it was at that moment did the demilich finally feel a hint of despair, muttering out what seemed to be its final words as it was engulfed by the wave soon after.


    "Is this¡­ the end?"


    Whoosh!


    ''-11,261''


    As a five digit number appeared over the demilich''s head whilst the wave of Shadow Energy engulfed it, Valyr watched the demilich fall to the ground, only for him to feel a slight vibration emanating from his spatial bracelet. Raising his eyebrow in slight curiosity, the young man took a look at his bracelet to see what was causing the vibration, swiftly noticing that therge parchment seemed to be moving out and about within the confines of his bracelet.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Briefly wondering what was causing therge parchment to move in such a way, Valyr decided to remove the parchment from the bracelet for now, lest it destroyed any of the other things he had ced within the spatial bracelet aside from the Skill Keys.


    Surprisingly, this move of his to ensure his items within the spatial bracelet were safe had caused therge parchment to stop moving, hovering just a few dozen centimeters away from Valyr, stabilizing its height to where the parchment met the young man''s eyes.


    At the very moment the wave of dark energy disappeared from the vicinity of the room, therge parchment soon headed to where the demilich stood at its final moments, prompting Valyr to notice that the robe the demilich wore had not been destroyed by the dark wave at all. Curious as to why that was the case, the answer to his question was quickly obtained once therge parchment made its way to the robe, the runes on its surface glistening soon after.


    Swoosh!


    In response to therge parchment''s runes beginning to glow, faint lines on the surface of the robe began to give off the same color of light the runes on therge parchment gave off, only for it to congregate at a single point soon after as a tattered parchment filled to the brim with runes manifested slightly above the demilich''s robe after some time.


    With his mouth slightly agape, Valyr watched as the tattered parchment gradually made its way to therge parchment, only for a great burst of light to appear at the very moment the two parchmentsbined, causing the young man to squint his eyes as he looked away from the light for a bit.


    By the time he was able to return his sight to what was going on with the parchments, the tattered parchment had joined himself to therge parchment, the tattered parts of it gradually repairing itself to appear simr to therge parchment it hadbined with.


    Continuing to watch the three runic parchments interact with one another, Valyr watched as the rectangr edges of the parchment disappear, noticing that the nted lines he had on therge parchment back then had indeed connected to a certain point on the third and final parchment, prompting the final parchment to be in the shape of a triangle once the extra pieces of parchment dissipated into thin air.


    Moving a bit closer to get a better look at what the purpose of the magic circle on the parchment was, Valyr was forced to take a few steps back after the parchment decided to shrink all of a sudden, shrinking from a size that would allow the parchment to cover his upper torso and a bit more, to a size that would fit at the palm of his hand at most.


    Seeing as the small triangr parchment had finished undergoing through its various transformations, the young man decided to get closer to it once more, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as he proceeded to grab the triangr parchment whilst it was still hovering.


    Finally able to get a better look at theplete magic circle on the parchment, Valyr went ahead and focused his attention on the magic circle, only for him to fall unconscious not long after as he fell to the ground with a thud.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: The Runic Parchments.]


    [Find the 3rd Runic Parchment within the Rare Abyss (1/1)]


    ¡­


    [You havepleted the quest ''The Runic Parchments''.]


    [You have gained the eligibility to meet with the Sage of Erudition.]

 Chapter 393 The Sage Of Erudition

    "Mngh¡­ what the hell happened¡­?" After what felt like an incredibly long time, Valyr gradually opened his eyes as he sat upright, feeling a bit of soreness from his back due to how he fell. For a few seconds, he looked at his surroundings in slight confusion, only to be alert not long after as he realized that something was off.


    "Wait a second¡­"


    "Where am I?" Looking around his current surroundings, Valyr was greeted only by the sight of the purest white, with its sheer whiteness making him wonder how such purity was even possible in the first ce. Even as he stood up and walked around the surroundings to see if there was a limit to the space, he could not distinguish which part was the floor, the wall, or the ceiling at all.


    To him, it was as if he was looking at a nk white screen.


    "Let me try and recall what happened before I got here." Seeing as there was not much point in walking around, even after pushing his body to his utmost limit in terms of speed, Valyr eventually decided to sit down and mull over how he had entered this ce, tracing his steps back to when therge parchment and the tattered parchment from the demilich''s robe had fused together.


    "After the two parchments fused together, the extra portions of the parchments dissipated into thin air, with arge triangr piece of parchment being the only thing remaining on it," muttered Valyr as he thought out loud. "Then, out of nowhere, the triangr parchment shrunk in size, transforming into a piece of parchment that could fit within my palm, even though all of the runes were still there."


    "After that, since I was curious as to what the true purpose of the magic circle on the parchment was, I moved closer to grab the parchment and look at it¡­" At this point of his train of thought, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he let out a faint sigh. "But what happened after that was me appearing in this white space."


    "Well, that definitely helped out with sorting my thoughts, but not really helping out in giving me the answer as to why I''m here." Sitting in silence for a bit as he looked at his surroundings once more to see if anything would change, Valyr eventuallymanded the system to bring up his notification screen, thinking that he might obtain a clue to his current situation.


    Ding!


    "For one, the quest ispleted." With the notification sound resounding in his mind, the young man faintly nodded as he read through the notifications he received regarding thepletion of the quest. "If that''s the case, then I guess this is my reward forpleting it."


    "Eligible to meet with the Sage of Erudition¡­" Muttering out these words, Valyr rummaged through his memories to see if he hade across a being like that back when he was a yer, only toe up empty-handed soon after.


    "Some other yer probably came across this guy and kept it a secret," said Valyr to himself as he thought about a couple possibilities as to why he had note across the being in the past. "Or perhaps he wasn''t even in the public release in the first ce."


    "Either way, I''m incredibly curious as to who this Sage of Erudition is."


    "Curious, huh?" Hearing a voice behind him respond to his question, Valyr tensed up as his eyes briefly widened in shock, the gears in his mind turning at their fastest as he wondered when the owner of the voice had appeared. Continuing to remain vignt, the young man gradually turned to look in the direction of the voice''s origin, only to find a certain being sitting on what seemed to be a throne made out of carved marble.


    As for the owner of the voice he had just heard, it was a man that looked to be three heads taller than Valyr, wearing a set of clothes that would be best described as a white tuxedo that had a few gold trimmings and adornments here and there.


    Aside from that, multiple lines that glistened a faint blue coursed throughout the man''s olive green skin, forming a distinct contrast of color that surprisinglyplimented the man''s ash gray hair and golden yellow eyes.


    "After waiting for so long, a human has finally seeded inpleting my trial." Whilst Valyr was still wondering where the man hade from, thetter decided to speak out of his own ord. "In fact, you are the first one to do so ever since I created the trial."


    "I''m the first one? Really?" Unsurprisingly, Valyr felt a hint of disbelief at the man''s im, recalling that the dungeons of the Lesser Meltierre Mountains had been established by the Meltierre Empire a long time ago. "If you don''t mind me asking, when did you create the trial?"


    Surely, a trial made by the man would have been created at around the same time, no?


    Surprisingly, no.


    "Around a decade ago, if my memory serves me correctly," said the man to Valyr, leaving thetter with his mouth slightly agape as he felt even more disbelief. However, as he continued to look at the tall man on the throne and his stern expression, Valyr''s doubts regarding the matter gradually faded away.


    After all, why would the man need to lie to him about something like that?<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Though I still have a small hint of doubt regarding your words, I won''t ask about it any further," said Valyr while the man continued to look at him. "Instead, I would like to ask¡­ who are you?"


    "Who am I?" At those words, the man shed a faint smile. "Surely the system has already mentioned to you my identity, has it not?"


    "Are you the one that''s called the Sage of Erudition, then?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he asked back.


    "That is indeed me." The man nodded. "However, that title barely scratches the surface of who I am and what my achievements are."


    "I am the innovator and pioneer of a certain field of magic many in the world swear their life by."


    "I am the creator of a fighting style that caused millions on the battlefield to shudder at its sight."


    "I am the pinnacle of magic, the pinnacle of strength, and the pinnacle of intelligence in one entity."


    "My name is An''xhur Khagarax, the Sage of Erudition."


    "An''xhur Khagarax¡­" While listening to the man''s introduction, Valyr focused on the man''s name, feeling like he had heard the man''s name somewhere before. However, after pondering over it for a bit, he realized that it was not the man''s name that was familiar, but the man''s surname instead.


    After a while, a thought surfaced in his mind as he looked at An''xhur with a solemn expression.


    "Are you¡­ an orc?" As this question left Valyr''s mouth, An''xhur looked back at him for a bit before nodding.


    "Partly. I am what you would call a half-orc."


    "A half-orc¡­" Though Valyr had onlye across a few half-orcs in his journey in Greater Beyond back when he was a yer, all of them were considered famed existences in their own right, all boasting strength greater than an orc and intelligence greater than a human. With such abination, their names were known throughout multiples and star systems, with some even being known throughout gxies.


    Taking in a deep breath to collect his thoughts, Valyr decided to shift the topic away from An''xhur''s species. "You being a half-orc aside, what is the purpose behind this trial? What is the purpose behind this meeting of ours?"


    "If you''re pertaining to the collection of the runic parchments as the trial, then you could say that it was my method of assessing someone who had the strength and intelligence necessary to act out the task I would ask of them." An''xhur looked at Valyr with a calm and cool expression. "After all, it''s no easy feat for even a Rank 2 ss holder like you to clear the Rare Abyss. Even more so if you take into consideration the methods of obtaining the two remaining runic parchments."


    ''But I didn''t really put much thought into those¡­'' Listening to An''xhur''s words, Valyr briefly thought about how he had not really put much effort into obtaining thest two parchments. Though, he tossed those thoughts aside for now as the man continued talking.


    "As for this meeting we''re holding at the moment, it is to ry to you the task which I shall ask of you," said An''xhur. "Though you are free to decline after listening to my task, I''d suggest listening to everything first before making your decision."


    "I am all ears, then." Taking An''xhur''s words to heart, Valyr faintly nodded. "So, what''s the task that you want me to do?"


    "At your current level of strength, it is by no means simple, but I assure you that you will reap a lot out of it once you aplish it."


    "And the task would be¡­?"


    "That would be to exact revenge on my killer," said An''xhur, his expression still calm as always.

 Chapter 394 Coming To Terms

    "Exact revenge on your killer, huh¡­" Hearing the words An''xhur spoke to him, Valyr faintly nodded in response, thinking that a request like An''xhur''s would naturally warrant a level of privacy in a meeting like the one they were holding right now.


    Though, as he thought about it a bit further, it was only then did the man''s words truly sink into Valyr''s mind, causing him to look at the half-orc with eyes slightly widened in disbelief as he asked, "You''re dead?"


    As these words left his mouth, Valyr felt that the man before him being dead would be the greatest irony in existence. After all, judging from the aura that the man was passively emanating while they were talking, Valyr was more than certain that the power the man held was indeed more than enough to create the parchments he had been collecting in those three subsequent dungeon runs.


    Even looking at the man made him instinctively shrink back a bit in fear, giving him further evidence as to believe that An''xhur was at least a Legend, if not a Myth.


    Yet, against all odds, An''xhur responded to Valyr''s two word question with a bitter smile, letting out a long sigh before nodding. "Indeed. I may have done a lot of exemry things throughout my life to cause a great revolution to happen to the masses, but in the end, I was still felled before I could even react."


    "Before you could even react? Surely you would have been able to deal at least a bit of damage against your assant, no?" Slightly tilting his head in confusion at a certain phrase in An''xhur''s statement, Valyr continued to look at the man with a look of disbelief. After all, in a world like Veldanyr, Legends and Myths were considered invincible, able to live the entirety of their potential lives without a problem.


    "I was able to retaliate, yes." Noticing the disbelief in both the young man''s expression and tone, An''xhur continued to adopt a bitter smile on his face as he replied. "However, would what I did even be considered retaliation? Is it truly considered retaliation if your killer still remains living to this very day?"


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr felt inclined to tell An''xhur that thetter''s current show of strength made him feel like the killer would have already been long dead under thetter''s presence, An''xhur''s aura underwent a swift change, with the tyranny and oppression that came along with a high ss rank Valyr felt from the man gradually disappearing.


    Instead, what reced it was an aura he was incredibly familiar with, an aura that only served to make Valyr realize that An''xhur was not lying when thetter said that he was killed.


    "The aura of death¡­" With a slight frown adorning his face, Valyr watched as the aura of death gradually took over the feeling of tyranny and oppression he felt while interacting with An''xhur, eventually reaching a point where the aura of death emanating from the man saturated every nook and cranny of the white space they were currently in.


    "Apologies if my earlier appearance caused you to doubt my words." Taking in a deep breath after everything was done, An''xhur looked at Valyr with a slightly apologetic expression. "It was not my intention to deceive you into thinking that I was still alive and was about to give you an impossible task."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "If anything, the task I wish to ask upon you is as true as my demand for it to be a reality," said An''xhur, causing Valyr''s expression to be solemn. "In fact, even this meeting with you was incredibly difficult for me to pull off, considering that only a small wisp of my original soul remains in this world, which is what you''re interacting with at the moment, as well as the only thing connecting me to this world before I truly disappear."


    "If anything, you could say that I am entirely betting on the fact that you would ept my task during this meeting, even if there is the possibility that you may reject my proposition at the end of it all."


    At these words, Valyr went silent, his eyebrows furrowed as he went ahead and processed all of the information he had just obtained from An''xhur. Seeing that the young man was thinking over everything before continuing their conversation, An''xhur decided to remain silent, giving Valyr the time to think as the aura of death surrounding him subtly yet gradually grew more dense the more time passed.


    Eventually, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he let out a slightly exasperated sigh, returning his gaze back to An''xhur as he continued where their conversation left off. "At this point, I''ve more or less epted everything you''ve told me so far. The fact that you''ve created this trial around a decade ago, as well as the fact that I''m currently talking to someone dead."


    "If you could humor me for a moment, how strong were you before you died?" Though Valyr felt likeughing at the absurdity of the situation, his expression still remained as solemn as ever, prompting An''xhur to nod back as he opened his mouth.


    "At my strongest, I was a being that had transcended the level of mortality. If my memory still continues to serve me correctly, I had a Rank 6 ss before my death, my progress in it being halfway to ascending to the next ss rank." At these words, Valyr swiftly extrapted the man''s strength before his death, which unsurprisingly made him feel that the current situation was all the more absurd.


    Nevertheless, he kept those thoughts to himself as he merely nodded in response, instead moving onto a different topic that would allow him to gain more information regarding the matter. "Would it be possible to hear from you as to how everything had gotten to this point?"


    "Of course, now that I''ve heard more from you, I feel somewhat more inclined to ept your task. However, my efforts would prove useless if I were to go in blindly in proceeding through it, no?"


    "That is true." Listening to Valyr''s words, a slight apologetic smile appeared on An''xhur''s face as he nodded. "I have been focused on persuading you to aid my cause all this time that I even forgot to tell the one that would ept my task the most important thing for them to know."


    After that, An''xhur took in a deep breath as he sorted out his thoughts in silence.


    "Now, where should I begin my narration¡­?"

 Chapter 395 A Sages History

    "I guess it would be best if I were to start from the very beginning." Answering the question that came out of his own mouth, An''xhur came to a decision as he willed the space to transform to his liking, causing a chair made out of the material making up the white space to appear just a fair distance away from where An''xhur sat. "Please sit."


    "Now that I think about it, I haven''t gotten your name, human."


    "You may call me Valyr," said Valyr as he sat down on the chair An''xhur conjured. "Valyr Zeihardt."


    "A human from the Zeihardt n?" Raising his eyebrows in brief interest, the half-orc looked at Valyr for a bit before his gaze returned to the way it was before, though a wry smile now adorned his face. "It seems the heavens have finally decided to take a bit of pity on me."


    "Anyways¡­"


    Whoosh!


    While Valyr was wondering when the man before him would start his introduction, An''xhur took in a deep breath as the aura of death surrounding his body briefly dissipated, only for a small ball of blue light to manifest in front of the half-orc a few secondster.


    With a slight frown adorning his face, the half-orc extended his arms towards the ball of blue light, infusing some of his energy into it. In response, the ball of light grew in size, transforming into a considerably sized sphere that hovered only a couple tens of centimeters away from where Valyr sat.


    "I shall now begin my narration." Letting out a somewhat exhausted sigh as he slumped in his seat, An''xhur quickly returned to his usual sitting posture before gazing at the young man that sat the opposite the sphere that now separated them. Extending one of his arms into the sphere, An''xhur caused an image to appear within the sphere as he took in a deep breath.


    "Back then, the Khagarax Empire of the orcs and the Meltierre Empire of the humans had a great rtionship with one another," said An''xhur, shing a few images of friendly interactions between humans and orcs through the sphere for Valyr to see. "It was to the point that the Meltierre Empire would send some of their greatest humans to the Khagarax Empire to learn of orc culture, while the Khagarax Empire would do the same thing some point in the future after, sending some of their finest orc warriors to learn of human culture."


    "It was during those times that my father hade across my mother, instantly falling in love with her at first sight." At these words, An''xhur changed the images on the sphere to show a couple that greatly doted on one another, even though they vastly differed in race.


    With what An''xhur had told him, it did not surprise Valyr that the man was an orc, taking note of the fact that he wore what would be considered the usual warrior get-up, which only consisted of a loincloth and a belt made out of string and teeth fromrge beasts.


    Aside from that, Valyr also took note that the orc was considered handsome even whenpared to human standards, sporting a pair of golden yellow eyes that formed a contrast to the man''s tanned olive green skin and dark brown hair tied up into a bun as a deep scar ran from the man''s right cheek to the center of his neck.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    As for the woman, the young man felt that the word beautiful was far from enough to describe the otherworldly beauty he saw on the sphere. Wearing a red long-sleeved dress, the woman had a beauty mark under her right eye, while her lips was as red, if not more red than the dress she wore.


    Unlike the orc, who had his hair tied into a bun, the woman had her ash gray tied into a messy ponytail, whichplemented her deep blue eyes in a way that formed a somewhat jarring yet aesthetic contrast, considering her clothing and makeup.


    "On the sphere is a picture of my mother and my father." An''xhur looked at Valyr, who seemed to have his attention focused on the sphere at the moment. "As I''ve mentioned earlier, I am a half-orc, so one of my parents would have to be a human, which in this case would be my mother."


    "Would it be possible for me to know their identities?" Looking at An''xhur, Valyr posed a question to the man, prompting the former to be silent for a bit before eventually nodding.


    "I would have to inform you of my father''s identity at some point for you to get a better idea of how things came to be, so I don''t find any problem with that. However, I''ll have to refrain talking about my mother for now," said An''xhur in response, to which Valyr responded that it was fine. Seeing that the young man had respected his decision, An''xhur nodded once more before continuing.


    "The name of my father is Me''ierad Inryzaat Khagarax, the current ruler of the Khagarax Empire. Then again, I am not certain if he is still the current ruler of the Khagarax Empire, given how a decade has already passed since my death."


    Hearing the name An''xhur mentioned to him, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise, not expecting that a quest he had gotten out of nowhere would have a connection to the Khagarax Empire. In fact, if his mind had served correctly, he was certain that Me''ierad was the emperor that ruled the empire before the current emperor, thetter being the emperor that decided to turn hostile towards the humans.


    Seeing as Valyr was finished processing the information he had just received, An''xhur continued where he left off. "At some point in their loving rtionship, I had been born, being blessed with a level of intelligence and talent far greater than what an ordinary human would have, as well as being gifted with a level of strength that made even other orcs envious."


    "Because of this, my father and mother had decided to name me An''xhur. An''xhur is the word for ''hope'' in thenguage of the orcs, Khagaros."


    "Then, a couple years after my birth, another child would be born."


    "The one that would eventually lead me to my current situation."

 Chapter 396 The Genius And The Envious

    "Apologies for interrupting you in the middle of your narration." Feeling that An''xhur had skipped quite a few hoops in his story, Valyr decided to ask the man if he could go over every part in detail. "It''s just that I feel like you''ve missed out quite an important detail in your story. Would it be possible for you to go into more detail regarding your birth before the appearance of the other child you mentioned?"


    "Ah, my apologies." Though a slight frown appeared on An''xhur''s face after Valyr interrupted him, once he had finished listening to thetter''s statement, the half-orc went ahead and recounted his narration of his life so far, causing him to realize that he had indeed skipped what seemed to be quite an important detail.


    "I didn''t want to bore you with details regarding my upbringing, so I decided to skip it," said An''xhur a couple secondster, to which Valyr responded that there was no need for him to skip over the details, informing him that it would be better if he went into great detail to get a better idea of what he had to do.


    With that, An''xhur nodded in response to Valyr''s words before retracing his narration to before he had mentioned the other child that would be the cause of the situation he and Valyr were currently in. "Going back a bit, ever since I was born, I was considered a prodigy. I could engage in basicmunication by the time I was only two months old, only for it to improve to being able to engage in lengthy conversations by the time I was three months old."


    "Due to how I was blessed with great strength and talent, I was also quick in picking up the fighting style of the orcs, as well as the magic of humans, allowing me to wield both of them to a considerable degree by the time I was two years old," An''xhur continued.


    "At that point, many people that were close to my parents considered me as someone who would grow up to be a fine prince, if not the potential heir to the throne my father upied." At these words, An''xhur shed a couple of images in the sphere that pertained to his youth, giving Valyr more insight to how monstrously talented the half-orc was in his early years.


    "Of course, even though my intellect at that time had improved to be able to hold conversations with many people, all I aimed at the time was to make my parents happy. Thus, if they wanted me to grow up as someone who would take over father''s ce as emperor, then I would do so if it meant seeing the smiles on my parents'' faces."


    "Then again, an unstable element to achieving that dream appeared by the time I was three years old." Uttering these words, An''xhur adopted a grim expression as a faint hint of rage could be felt from the aura he emanated. "While I was furthering my proficiency in the magic arts, my father came to where I was training, holding a young baby with a smile."


    "Curious, I asked him if the baby was my sibling," said An''xhur before letting out a faint sigh soon after. "In response, my father told me that he was my half-sibling. In other words, my mother and his mother were different."


    "As I was still a young child, I did not really understand what father meant by him being my half-sibling. If anything, I was just d at the time that there would be someone else who would apany me in my goal of being the one to inherit the throne."


    "For the first five or so years, him and I were considered inseparable." Saying these words, An''xhur showed Valyr a set of images through the sphere that showed two young orcs, with one being considerably taller than the other. With a hint of disgust briefly shing through his expression, the half-orc continued.


    "He would always apany me whenever I tried in the fighting style of orcs, or whenever I was learning the magic arts, telling me from time to time that he would grow up to be someone like me someday."


    "However, by the time I had reached the age of adolescence, the close rtionship we''ve formed throughout the years gradually began to disappear."


    "Out of nowhere, he started to apany me less and less, first giving me excuses as to why he couldn''te, though he eventually began to just say that he couldn''te with me." Recalling the memories he had mentioned whilst he was in the midst of narrating, An''xhur could not stop himself from letting out a sigh as he bitterly smiled.


    "As I considered him my brother-in-arms, it definitely hurt me a lot to see him distance himself from me, especially when I have no idea why he began to do so in the first ce."


    "Nevertheless, I remained steadfast in achieving the goal I have given myself, improving my foundation of knowledge whilst strengthening mybat and magic prowess as well."


    "By the time I was around 16, I had found a way to utilize the magic arts that would make it inherently unique to the orcs."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "By the time I was 23, I had expanded upon the method of utilization I discovered and created an entirely new system of magic even normal orcs could pick up, which caused the entire empire to celebrate the achievement for over a month."


    "By the time I was 36, I was finished improving the new magic system to an eptable level. With that, I focused my sights on the fighting styles the orcs generally used inbat, wanting to achieve something simr to what I had done for magic."


    "By the time I was 38, I had optimized and improved upon the general fighting styles of the orcs, allowing those who had learned of it to fight against more foes inbatpared to those who hadn''t. It was also at that time I had finally be an Epic, utilizing all of my life experience at that point to form my Intent."


    "By the time I was 47, I had distilled the essences of the fighting styles and used it to create a brand new fighting style that minimize the disadvantages of the fighting styles that came before it while maximizing the advantages at the same time." Going through the things he had done in his life, the smile that adorned An''xhur''s face grew wider and wider as the images on the sphere changed ordingly.


    "Unfortunately, unlike the new magic system I had built to bepatible with all orcs, the fighting style I created was only suitable for me to use, with only the elite of the elite amongst the orcs being able to show a fraction of the fighting style I had made after I taught them."


    "Thankfully, even that small fraction they could show was far greater than the might shown by the conventional fighting styles, allowing the orc race to upy a far greater territory due to the might we now showed."


    "By the time I had approached myte fifties, I had already reached the peak of Rank 5, at that point being known as the one who would naturally inherit the throne my father continued to upy." At those words, An''xhur showed Valyr a set of images of the half-orc interacting with the masses, all of them having an expression of awe and admiration whenever they looked at An''xhur.


    "About a year or two after I had reached the peak of Rank 5, my understanding of the Intent had finally reached a qualitative breakthrough, transforming into a Force and thus making me a Legend."


    "It was at that point that I put a great amount of effort to improving the magic system I had made in the past, as well as the fighting style I had created. With how much I now knewpared to before, I found a ton of ws in both the magic system and the fighting style, which I would have not noticed back then if not for the greater understanding my Force had given me."


    "Within a few years after I began my undertaking, the effectiveness and the strength of the magic system had improved multiple times, only being pushed further with the establishment of an organization solely dedicated to improving it even further." Feeling great pride at what he had done, An''xhur beamed a grin.


    "At that point, even the Meltierre Empire had be envious of the magic system we had, asking our empire if a few of their people could pick up the magic arts we had created. Of course, we epted, seeing as how the rtionship between our empires were considerably close."


    "As for the fighting style I made, I took it upon myself to improve it where anyone among the orcs would be able to pick it up. Though it had taken almost a decade to do so, I was sessful, with my fighting style basically bing the standard fighting style of the orcs due to its flexibility and power."


    "Around that time, I was already in my seventies," said An''xhur, looking at Valyr to see if he was still listening. Seeing as thetter was still attentive, the half-orc faintly nodded before continuing. "Though I could still improve upon the two things I had given to the orc race and possibly create more things in the meantime, I''ve decided to focus on myself for a bit and achieve something only a select few within the orc race had done."


    "Transcend mortality and be a Myth." At these words, An''xhur''s eyes glistened like the stars, only for it to swiftly disappear as a wry smile appeared on his face soon after.


    "Coincidentally, it was at that time that my half-sibling decided to make amends."

 Chapter 397 The Other Side Of The Coin

    At the moment An''xhur mentioned how his half-sibling had returned at theter stages of his life to make amends with the former, Valyr proceeded to look at the half-orc that was on the opposite side of the sphere, looking at the man for a bit with an inquisitive gaze.


    ''I think I have an idea on how it''s gonna go down.'' Listening to An''xhur narrate his life up to this point, as well as introduce him to many of the things he had contributed to the prosperity of the orc race, Valyr felt hat he now had a good idea of the man''s general personality, thinking that the man was inherently selfless, even though the goal that started it all was somewhat selfish in the first ce.


    As the gears continued to turn in Valyr''s mind, hypothesizing how the inclusion of An''xhur''s half-sibling in theter stages of the half-orc''s life would lead to the man''s eventual demise, An''xhur took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, feeling slightly agitated as he recalled everything that happened.


    His agitation over the matter had reached the point where even the faint rage hidden beneath his area had be palpable to Valyr, making the young man feel as if the other side was out to kill him a hundred times over.


    Fortunately, An''xhur''s murderous intent onlysted for a few seconds, allowing Valyr to let out a sigh of relief after, thinking to himself that he might have fainted from the intent if it hadsted for a couple more seconds.


    Realizing his slight blunder, An''xhur apologized to Valyr for letting his emotions get the better to him, to which thetter replied that it was fine, considering how the former was digging up memories that were incredibly painful for him.


    Hearing how the young man was so understanding of his current situation, a faint smile appeared on An''xhur''s face as heposed himself for a bit longer, eventually continuing his narration from where he left off.


    "Though I was slightly perturbed by the fact that my half-sibling had decided to make amends with me even though a long time has already passed, you could say that I was already expecting something like that to happen at some point." As these words left An''xhur''s mouth, the images on the sphere showed An''xhur''s current appearance alongside an orc that was a head shorter than the half-orc, thetter''s expression giving Valyr the feeling that multiple things were going on in the orc''s mind.


    Although he was curious as to why this was the picture An''xhur had decided to show him, getting the feeling that he had chosen it due to the words he had spoken, it paled inparison to the curiosity he felt after hearing the half-orc mention that he had already expected his half-sibling to make amends with him.


    Taking note of the fact that Valyr''s interest was piqued, An''xhur shed a brief smirk as he spoke once more. "For a great portion of my life, I have focused my time on forming a unique magic system the orcs could greatly utilize, as well as creating a physical fighting style that brought out the best within an orc''s body."


    "With that in mind, you''d be inclined to think that I isted myself from the masses to focus most, if not all of my attention on what I was working, right?" Hearing the question that left An''xhur''s mouth, Valyr responded with a faint nod, feeling that it was the natural move one would make if one needed to put a great amount of their focus on something.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Seeing the young man''s response to his question, An''xhur nodded back. "Well, it is natural for one to remove all external distractions from their immediate surroundings if one needed to put in all of their focus on something. In fact, even I couldn''t avoid doing that during my work on those two achievements of mine."


    "However, ever since that half-sibling of mine decided to distance himself out of nowhere, I had a hunch that I needed to be aware of my surroundings at all times, with it only expanding to cover the entire empire at some point in the future."


    "With that, I employed an informationwork to keep me updated of what was going on at all times, allowing me to focus on my work regarding the magic system and the fighting style, while at the same time still being aware of the happenings surrounding the empire."


    "At some point, I started receiving news rted to my half-sibling." Saying these words, the image on the sphere shifted to a set of papers scattered all around a floor, prompting Valyr to move closer to get a better look at the text written on it.


    At first, he could not understand the words on the pieces of paper at all, which made sense to the young man due to the difference in thenguage they knew. Fortunately, noticing Valyr''s confusion whilst looking at the sphere, An''xhur infused a bit of his mana into the sphere, tranting the words on the pieces of paper to where Valyr could read it.


    "While I was focused on creating a magic system for the betterment of the orc race, he was focused on improving his rtions with the higher-ups of the orc race, trying to gather the noble ns and families of the orc race to be on his side," said An''xhur soon after. "By the time I had shifted my focus to a general fighting style, he was already try to curry up favor with the ones that made most of the decisions in the empire."


    "Though all of them eventually agreed to be on his side, my half-sibling seemed to have noticed that they weren''t fullymitted, prompting him to think about the possible reasons for it." At this point, An''xhur changed the images on the sphere to show Valyr some of the prominent figures of the Khagarax Empire while An''xhur was still alive.


    "Eventually, he found out that the reason for them still wavering in fullymitting to my half-sibling''s side¡­"


    "¡­was me."

 Chapter 398 A Sages Reason For Vengeance

    ''I had a feeling.'' By the time An''xhur mentioned to Valyr that he was the reason why the higher-ups of the orc race still wavered in their support for his half-sibling, thetter inwardly let out a chuckle, though his bodynguage still remained the same.


    Of course, it was not like he had to mull over it for a long time toe to such a conclusion. With how An''xhur seemed to be the ideal heir of the orc race, formting a new system of magic and a new physicalbat style that would increase the strength of the orc race to greater heights, it wasn''t surprising to Valyr that there would be a few others who would grow envious of his feats.


    It''s only unfortunate that one of those people would be his half-sibling.


    "As I''ve mentioned earlier, by the time I was already in my seventies, changing my goals to transcend the concept of mortality and be a Myth, my half-sibling had approached me one day in the hopes of making amends." Feeling the rage he had inadvertently released earlier bubbling up once more, An''xhur took the initiative to suppress it, taking a long and deep breath to calm his emotions.


    "Naturally, with the information I had on my half-sibling regarding his currying of favor with the empire''s higher-ups, I became wary of his intentions from the very start, wondering what he nned on doing. After all, I was a hindrance to his goal." As An''xhur began narrating this portion of his life, it was as if he had forgotten the existence of the sphere altogether, prompting Valyr to rely on his mind to imagine what had transpired through the half-orc''s words.


    "However, out of all the things I expected him to say to me after growing apart for a very long time, I definitely wasn''t expecting him to say that to me."


    "What did he say?" asked Valyr, his mind hard at work imagining the scenario An''xhur was narrating.


    "I know I was the one who distanced myself from you, but is it possible for us to still return to how we were back then?" As An''xhur said these words, Valyr felt a multitude of emotions from the man''s voice.


    Considering how the half-orc and his half-sibling had distanced themselves from each other for over six decades, it was no surprise that Valyr felt longing, relief, as well as a hint of sadness from An''xhur''s tone. To him, it felt as if An''xhur was conveying to him how the statement meant a lot to him at the time.


    However, amidst those emotions, there was one that stood far above all of those, being the most obvious emotion Valyr felt from the man''s tone.


    Pain.


    Unimaginable pain.


    Allowing the statement he had uttered to linger in his mind, tears started to well up around An''xhur''s eyes as his voice carried that same feeling. "At that moment, it was as if all my suspicion had disappeared within an instant. Then, for a while after that, I wondered how my half-sibling and I would''ve grown up to be if we had continued to stick together."


    "Of course, my suspicion towards him was still there, but¡­" An''xhur let out a deep sigh. "Man, was I a fool."


    "Because of just one statement, I thought to myself¡­ why not give the man a second chance?"


    "How utterly foolish I was to do so." Looking at An''xhur as he said these words, Valyr noticed that the tears that welled around his eyes earlier had now trickled down, even though the man tried his best not to make it obvious through his voice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Doing what he had been doing all this time, Valyr remained silent, allowing An''xhur to collect his thoughts andpose himself, sniffling from time to time as the man relived the memories he had brought back up in his mind. Eventually, after a couple of minutes, the half-orc let out a long and deep sigh, the feeling of pain An''xhur felt from making such a decision palpable to Valyr through the sigh he let out.


    "Apologies for letting my emotions get the better of me," said An''xhur after the sigh, shing a bitter smile at Valyr whilst his face remained stained with tears. "Also, thank you for giving me time to collect myself."


    "Haah¡­" Once more, An''xhur let out yet another deep sigh, being reminded of the foolish choice he had made. "After that meeting, it was if he and I had returned to our younger days, bing an inseparable duo that everyone in the empire knew of."


    "Whilst I was preparing for my ascension to a Rank 6 ss, he would apany me, asking me a couple of things from time to time regarding my understanding of my Force, as well as a couple of other things regarding the magic style and fighting style I had made."


    "In exchange, I would apany him to his meetings with the higher-ups, engaging in the pleasantries they generally took delight in as the rtionship between them and us two would deepen." At these words, a slightly pained expression took over An''xhur''s face. "With how much time had passed since we started apanying each other again and how he was transparent in everything he did in front of me, my suspicions regarding his intentions gradually disappeared."


    "This arrangement continued for about five years or so," said An''xhur, his expression returning to normal. "At that point, I felt that I was more than ready to ascend to a Rank 6 ss¡­"


    "So, I asked him and a few others to guard me while doing so."


    "With that, we headed to a secluded yet distant area in the empire, making sure that my ascension process wouldn''t be disturbed in any way." An''xhur let out a low sigh. "After everyone had made sure that they were ready, I then began ascending to Rank 6."


    "At first, everything was going smoothly. My Legacy was as solid as it could be, allowing me to choose the ss and species I would evolve into without any difficulty."


    "With that, the only thing left was to transform my Force into a Concept. Thanks to the environment the ascension process had put me in, I wholeheartedly focused on increasing my understanding of my Force to where it would achieve yet another qualitative breakthrough, eventually being sessful in doing so."


    "As you know, all of us need a period of rest to fully limate to our newfound power. Of course, ascending to Rank 6 was no different, with the feeling of lethargy taking over my body the very moment I was done."


    "However, just as I was about toy on the ground to get a bit of rest somehow¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­he went ahead and stabbed me in the back."

 Chapter 399 An Act Of Retaliation

    As these words left An''xhur''s mouth, a bitter smile gradually crept up onto his lips, containing hints of mockery around its corners. Being on the opposite side of the sphere, as well as being privy to the half-orc''s narration so far, it did not take long for Valyr to figure out that An''xhur was focusing the feeling of mockery on himself, giving the young man the feeling that he was inwardly admonishing himself for being a fool.


    "As my suspicions regarding his intentions of reuniting with me had disappeared by that point, it was no surprise that I felt a multitude of emotions after seeing my half-sibling, someone whom I thought had returned to my life in his entirety, stab me in the back just when I was at my weakest," said An''xhur with a sigh, slowly shaking his head soon after.


    "Was this when you began to retaliate?" Valyr asked An''xhur, recalling that thetter told him that he was able to inflict some damage to the one who had betrayed him. In response, a faint murderous intent emanated from An''xhur as a slight frown adorned his face.


    "How would I not?" replied An''xhur, his tone containing a hint of rage. "Even though I was at my weakest, hoping that the ones I had asked to apany me in my ascension would protect me to the very end, I was left with no choice but to retaliate. The weapon my half-sibling had used to stab me was incredibly nefarious, being a weapon that introduced a poison that would even kill Myths given enough time."


    "Aside from that, the other people I had asked to apany me, people whom I thought had no connections to my half-sibling whatsoever, were all under his wing at that point."


    "However, the most important reason as to why I retaliated¡­"


    "¡­was because he betrayed my trust."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment An''xhur was finished talking, Valyr felt a gust of wind blow throughout the white space as the murderous intent the former emanated began to disappear. Instead, what reced it was the feeling of oppression and tyranny the young man had felt from the half-orc earlier.


    The feeling that would only arise due to a great disparity in ss rank.


    The feeling of overwhelming strength.


    The feeling¡­ of the Sage of Erudition''s rage.


    "Though I had yet to limate to my newfound power as a Rank 6 ss holder, I went ahead and began my retaliation by reducing the number of enemies I fought against." Letting out a low sigh, the overwhelming aura An''xhur emanated gradually weakened, though the feeling of immense strength his body contained still remained.


    "Without hesitation, I allocated all of the unused XP I had at that point towards increasing my level, hoping to buy myself some more time before I sumbed to the poison, as well as give me more strength to ensure that my foes would perish from my wrath."


    "Of course, after taking the initiative in taking me down, my half-sibling and his ckeys'' did not dare to dawdle around. Seeing as they were left with no choice but to ensure that I died, all of them unleashed their strongest attacks at me, with my half-sibling acting as amander to coordinate the others."


    "Unfortunately, they underestimated how strong a newly ascended Myth was, especially one that was desperate to get back at his assants." Surprisingly, An''xhur had infused a bit of his energy into the sphere, showing Valyr a few images regarding how the half-orc''s retaliation unfolded.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    From what he could see through the sphere, the battle An''xhur had gotten himself into ced him at a great disadvantage. Not only were there ten people who sought to end his life no matter what, but they had also achieved the peak of Rank 5, with some even being considered Epics.


    However, just as Valyr was about to ask An''xhur how many of the ten he had dragged with him to the afterlife, the images on the sphere shifted to another portion of the scene, with An''xhur shing a somewhat proud smile while Valyr was left at a slight loss for words at what he saw.


    "With a few punches towards the ground,bined with my newfound control over the world with a Concept, I had eliminated almost all of my assants with a single move," said An''xhur, briefly ncing at Valyr. "Those who were most affected by it were those who had only reached the peak of Rank 5, turning into blood vapor just from my first punch."


    "After that were those who had achieved a higher level of power, the Epics," he continued. "Though theysted a bit longerpared to the ones at the peak of Rank 5, they were still rendered dead by the time I hadnded my third punch. At that time, I made sure the wrath I felt towards them was channeled entirely through my attacks."


    "Eventually, only one remained standing among the ten." Saying these words, An''xhur had a grim expression on his face. "My half-sibling."


    "To this day, I have no clue as to how he could endure wave after wave of attack I had sent his way." The half-orc deeply sighed. "Nevertheless, because of that, he was able to inflict more attacks on my body with the weapon."


    Swoosh!


    Finished with his narration, the sphere separating the two dissipated into thin air, allowing An''xhur and Valyr to look at each other face-to-face. With a solemn expression, Valyr processed everything the half-orc had said to him so far, waiting to see if the half-orc would tell him a bit more information.


    "I pushed myself far beyond my limits just to ensure that I couldnd even more damage on him, just so he could realize how much pain he had inflicted to me." At these words, An''xhur tilted his head slightly downward. "Yet, no matter how many skills I threw at him, all I saw was a nefarious smile on his face. It was as if he was telling me through his smile that his n was a sess."


    "Eventually, I gave up fighting back, instead asking him why he decided to betray me." As the half-orc said these words, he tightly clenched his fists, the anger within him bubbling as his half-sibling''s response at that time lingered in his mind.


    "There was a multitude of possible answers he could have said in response to my question, but never did I expect him to be so blunt."


    "You know what he told me?" Asking this question, An''xhur looked at Valyr, the rage the man felt towards his current situation evident on the man''s face.


    "What did he say?" In response, a somewhat curious expression appeared on Valyr''s face, though this expression swiftly turned into a frown once he heard An''xhur''s response.


    "I was in the way."

 Chapter 400 Passing A Dark Torch

    After An''xhur had said those words, silence enveloped the entire space, leaving both Valyr and the half-orc in their thoughts for a while as they both pondered over the situation An''xhur had narrated. By the time a couple of minutes had passed, An''xhur broke the silence as he let out a long and deep sigh while shaking his head with his head down.


    "I really thought he had returned to how he was before we grew apart." With his head still down, An''xhur spoke in a despondent tone,menting over how much of a fool he was to believe in his half-sibling. "I really thought he had changed for the better after reuniting with me."


    "But s, that was all a facade to achieve his true goal." Once more, the half-orc let out a deep sigh. "To remove my existence. To ensure that there were no obstructions to his n."


    "To ensure that he would be the best candidate for the throne." Though Valyr already had an idea as to the reason why An''xhur''s half-sibling had decided to betray him and kill him, he was still uncertain whether his ideas were true or not, considering that they were just deductions from the information the half-orc had given him.


    However, now that he had heard the reason for the betrayal from the source, it was as if all of the pieces he had collected while listening to An''xhur''s narration finally began to connect to one another, forming one massive image that allowed the young man to get to the crux of the matter.


    "Though I had to relive quite a few ufortable memories, I take it that you now have a better idea of the situation?" Taking in a deep breath topose himself, An''xhur''s expression eventually returned to how it was before the narration, looking at Valyr as he posed a question to thetter.


    "I do." Valyr nodded in response. "However, I still have a few doubts that need rification from you."


    "Hopefully it does not touch on some more ufortable memories." In response, An''xhur shed a bitter smile. "In any case, I shall try my best to respond to your questions."


    "Alright." Nodding in response to An''xhur''s words, Valyr went silent for a bit as he thought about how he would phrase his first question. "So, if my understanding of it is correct, the gist of your narration is that you were killed by your half-sibling due to a political struggle you did not even actively take part in?"


    "That¡­ would be correct. Somewhat." Pondering over Valyr''s question, An''xhur eventually nodded in agreement. "Though there were times where I thought my contributions on the orc race would lead to my eventual inheritance of the throne, it is true that I did not actively seek to inherit the throne."


    "If anything, my half-sibling had deluded himself into thinking that I was doing it for the throne in the first ce," said An''xhur, only to correct himself soon after. "Then again, there is reason to his train of thought, considering that I had done those feats earlier with the goal of making my parents happy, which had something to do with me aiming to be the eventual heir of the throne."


    "Either way, the original reason gradually disappeared with time, instead being reced with just wanting to make the orc race better." Finishing his response, An''xhur briefly shrugged his shoulders, prompting Valyr to proceed to his next question.


    "After you uh¡­ perished due to your half-sibling''s actions, what happened to you after that?" As these words left Valyr''s mouth, he looked at the man with a serious expression. "Considering that you''re from the Khagarax Empire, it would make no sense for your soul to be within human territory, especially with the distance that separates the two."


    As far as Valyr knew, once one ascended to their Rank 6 ss, one would be able to do even more things that would be unheard of for those at the lower ranks, such as separating one''s soul from one''s body even while one was alive.


    Of course, not a lot of people utilized this newfound power at Rank 6, considering how one''s soul at this point stillcked reinforcement. Instead, it would only be used by those who had refined their soul to greater levels, which would only bemon for those at ss ranks higher than Rank 6.


    However, the newfound power did give newly ascended Myths ess to something that was impossible for even Legends to do.


    Possession.


    If one were to die at Rank 6 and above, rather than both body and soul perishing to the afterlife, only one''s body would cease to exist, with the soul separating itself in order to find a new body to take over and be reborn anew. Unfortunately, not all bodies werepatible with the soul, with thetter having to make sure that one would achieve near, if not perfectpatibility with the body to ensure all of one''s power would be restored.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With that in mind, Valyr found it odd for An''xhur''s soul to be in human territory. Though, he found it more odd that the half-orc had not found a suitable body to take over, especially with how much time had passed since the man had established the trial. "If anything, your soul should have perished by now due to the passage of time."


    "That is true." An''xhur nodded before pondering over Valyr''s question for a bit. "Even I have no clue how my soul still continues to remain standing even after I had traversed a great distance and endured the great passage of time."


    "Well¡­ I guess you could think of it this way. Seeking revenge towards my half-sibling''s act of betrayal is the only thing that''s still keeping me connected to this world." As these words left An''xhur''s mouth, a wry smile appeared on his face. "I may not know why that is the case, but I have a strong feeling that''s why I''m still here."


    "Kind of ironic for a sage to say, right?" An''xhur let out a brief chuckle.


    "I''d say it''s to be expected," replied Valyr back, letting out a chuckle of his own soon after.


    "Well, I''ve definitely expended far more energy than I thought I would during this meeting with you." Taking in a deep breath, An''xhur looked at Valyr with a calm expression. "At this point, I could safely assume that you more or less understand my current situation, right?"


    "I do." Valyr nodded.


    "Then¡­ would you be willing to ept to take on the torch that I shall pass onto you?" As An''xhur said these words, a screen appeared in front of his field of vision, interacting with it a bit soon after. "At your current level of strength, this torch is undoubtedly fraught with danger, but I am left with no choice."


    "However, if you manage to survive through all of the ordeals and emerge victorious, not only will you have fulfilled my final wish, but I''m certain you would have also grown to be an exemry being the world would definitely not ignore." As the half-orc continued to interact with the screen before him for a bit more, An''xhur''s expression turned solemn as he asked Valyr onest time.


    "Once more, I shall ask you."


    "Are you willing to ept the torch I shall pass onto you? This dark torch that seeks nothing but vengeance?"


    "With how much I know about your current situation, it would be difficult if I were to refuse." In response, a slight bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face. "If anything, you could say that I am left with no choice but to ept."


    "With that, I guess my answer is a yes."


    "Well, I''m d to hear you say that."


    Ding!


    [You have received a main quest: The Will of An''xhur.]

 Chapter 401 More Than Bargained

    As the notification sound from the system echoed in his mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up the notification screen to check out the quest he had gotten from An''xhur. However, just as he was about to take a look at its description, he read through the notification he had received once more, only to realize¡­


    He had gotten far more than what he had bargained for.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The Will of An''xhur] (Main Quest)


    Difficulty: SS


    After listening to the story of how the Sage of Erudition, An''xhur, had been betrayed by his half-sibling due to him bing a hindrance to thetter, you have decided to take up the former''s mantle in terms of seeking revenge, wanting to correct the wrongs An''xhur''s half-sibling had done.


    Though, due to how much time has passed since An''xhur''s death, his half-sibling had finally achieved his goal of bing the current emperor of the Khagarax Empire. Because of that, he now wielded a level of authority that even the dead sage would have to answer to if he were still alive.


    Nevertheless, as you have decided to receive the torch of vengeance the sage had given to you, even going so far as to ept it after being warned that the journey would be fraught with danger, you shall do your utmost to avenge the Sage of Erudition.


    However, keep in mind that being sessful in fulfilling your promise shall change thendscape of Veldanyr as you know it, introducing a future that many would surely be unprepared for.


    Main Quest Objectives:


    > Kill the current emperor of the Khagarax Empire (0/1)


    Optional Quest Objectives:


    > Find out the truth regarding the matter of An''xhur''s death from the current emperor of the Khagarax Empire (0/1)


    > Find out those involved in the matter of An''xhur''s death (0/1)


    > Have those rted to the matter of An''xhur''s death confess their involvement (0/1)


    > Find out the truth regarding the matter of An''xhur''s death from those involved in An''xhur''s death (0/1)


    > y those involved in the matter of An''xhur''s death (0/1)


    > Hold an audience with the previous emperor of the Khagarax Empire and talk about An''xhur (0/1)


    > Hold an audience with An''xhur''s mother and talk about An''xhur (0/1)


    > Honor An''xhur''s contribution to the orc race by creating a new skill or technique that the orc race could use (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > ??? (shall be calcted once the main quest objective isplete)


    > Legacy of the Sage of Erudition


    > [Avenger of a Forsaken Sage] title<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    > [Emperor yer] title


    > [Harbinger of a New Era] title


    Quest Penalty:


    > Reset to Level 1


    > Permanent 99% reduction in all stats


    > Permanent 99% reduction in XP gain


    > A great number of future repercussions


    [Note: Make sure to know yourself and know your enemy. Think through all of your actions as much as possible, for even a slight misstep shall result in all of your rued efforts disappearing before you know it.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Out of all the types of quests I could''ve gotten from An''xhur, I ended up getting a main quest.'' Scratching the back of his head as he read through the long quest description, Valyr eventually let out a deep sigh as he felt a figurative weight push down on his shoulders all of a sudden.


    Generally, the grading system for quest difficulty ranged from E to S, with the grade being rtive to one''s current level. Simple quests such as material gathering and the like would be considered E rank quests, while quests that involvedbat or gathering rarer materials would be graded as any of the letters above E, depending on how difficult the fight would be for the quest taker.


    With that, S rank quests were considered the pinnacle in terms of difficulty, may it be inbat or material gathering or any task that could be ssified as a quest objective. In fact, these quests were so difficult that failure in aplishing these quests would result in a great number of consequences the quest taker would not even be able to fathom.


    A great example of this would be Valyr''s World Quest involving the Zeihardt n, a quest that made him fear the position of the human race once the War of the Three Sovereignties arose if he failed to aplish it.


    However, what if there was a quest that exceeded S rank quests in terms of their difficulty and the repercussions that came attached to their failure?


    The answer to that would be the main quests.


    From the name itself, these quests had a great effect on the setting''s main storyline whether one failed or seeded inpleting it. Of course, the rewards that came attached with it would allow one''s reputation and strength to soar through the skies, transforming into a being that all would look up to in awe and reverence.


    Naturally, the penalties that came attached to such a quest was brutal, with most yers that fail inpleting their main quests unhesitatingly deciding to start over on a new ount solely because of how ruthless the penalties were.


    Though the main quests and many other thoughts rted to it lingered in his mind once he was done reading the quest''s description, Valyr pushed all of them aside for now as he recalled a certain portion that the quest had mentioned.


    ''Although the quest has more or less confirmed it, it still wouldn''t hurt to find out from the source.'' Taking in a deep breath, Valyr called for An''xhur''s attention before proceeding to ask thetter a question.


    "Now that I think about it, you haven''t mentioned the name of your half-sibling at all."


    "Ah! I''ve definitely overlooked that. My sincerest apologies." In response, An''xhur apologized to Valyr after realizing that he had made what was considered arge blunder. "Proceeding in your quest would definitely be difficult if I had left out such an important detail. Plus, you would be in more danger if you were to use my name in finding out information regarding my half-sibling."


    "In any case, if my memory still serves me correct¡­ my half-sibling is called Khorza''an. Khorza''an Inryzaat Khagarax."


    "Definitely more than what I bargained for."


    "¡­?"

 Chapter 402 A Gift For The Journey

    While An''xhur was still left wondering what Valyr meant by his response after the former mentioned his half-sibling''s name, thetter inwardly let out a long sigh in response to his new undertaking.


    A massive undertaking that he had never even expected to obtain in the first ce.


    ''I guess obtaining this quest this early on has its upsides.'' Continuing to ponder over the quest he had received, Valyr thought about how he would be able to use the main quest to his advantage in regards to his ns in the future. ''For one, I would be able to reap a ton of rewards that would allow me to cement my position as a renowned being if I were to be sessful. From how An''xhur had introduced his achievements thus far, it wouldn''t be far-fetched to say that I would be the new Sage of Erudition, considering how I would inherit his Legacy.''


    ''Then again, if I fail, an incredibly brutal penalty even yers would avoid like no tomorrow awaits me.'' Recalling the list of penalties he had seen at the end of quest''s description, Valyr slightly shuddered in fear, not wanting to imagine his plight if he indeed were to fail the main quest. ''Not only that, but failing it would result in great repercussions, such as the orc race''s offensive against human settlements continuing to worsen.''


    ''However, if I were to take into consideration the story line during the first version back when I was a yer, failing would be the better option.'' Finding himself stuck weighing the pros and cons regarding what he was going to do in response to the main quest, Valyr scratched the back of his head. ''On the other hand, sessfullypleting the quest would certainly change the story line for the first version.''


    ''But why should I be afraid of causing another change to happen? After all, if I didn''t change anything, I wouldn''t even be talking with someone like An''xhur right now.'' Eventually, he came to the conclusion that what he was already doing was the ideal solution to what he would have to face in the future. As to what this solution was¡­


    It was to go with the flow.


    "Hello? Are you still with me?" Coincidentally, at the very moment Valyr had finished mulling over his new situation, An''xhur''s curiosity regarding the young man''s silence had reached its peak, causing him to snap his fingers as he called for Valyr''s attention.


    "I am." In response, Valyr nodded. "My apologies. I was just pondering to myself what tasks I would have to aplish first before I could even get a shot atpleting the task you''ve given me."


    ''And I mean it,'' muttered Valyr inwardly not long after. ''Attempting to kill Khorza''an is no joke.''


    Regarded as one of the most important causes for the eruption of the War of the Three Sovereignties, Emperor Khorza''an not only had the authority over the entire orc race to instigate such a war against the two other ruling races of Veldanyr, he also had more than enough strength to protect himself even when the war was at its peak.


    After all, who on Veldanyr would be able to kill a Rank 7 ss holder that easily?


    ''Even with my current ss, I''ll only have a slim chance of seeding at killing him once I be a Legend,'' Valyr thought to himself as he pondered over his chances of winning against such a powerful foe. ''But of course, killing him would be an afterthought as long as I be a Myth.''


    ''In any case, I guess I have more work cut out for me.'' As this thought lingered, Valyr let out a faint sigh. ''The Four Pirs'' Inheritance, the World Quest regarding the Zeihardt n, and now the main quest involving ns to kill the emperor of the orc race.''


    "At the very least, I won''t be bored out of my mind while I wait for the yers to start trickling in." Muttering out these words to where only he could hear it, Valyr let out a soft chuckle that contained a faint hint of the excitement he felt for what was about toe.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Hmm¡­" With Valyr''s response to his earlier question still lingering in his mind, An''xhur considered Valyr''s chances of seeding inpleting the task he had given him, going so far as to take his half-sibling''s strength before his death and Valyr''s current strength into ount.


    For a while, An''xhur gazed at Valyr in silence, causing thetter to faintly shudder as he felt that the entirety of his body and soul was being scoured by the half-orc currently gazing at him. Thankfully, this feeling did notst for long, with the half-orc taking in a deep breath as he looked at the young man in the eye.


    "You definitely have high potential, Valyr," said An''xhur. "However, I am not saying this due to your identity as a Herald of the Zeihardt n. I only say this with confidence after taking your ss into consideration, as well as the peculiar curse you currently have."


    "In fact, I am incredibly curious as to how you had gotten that peculiar curse of yours in the first ce." At these words, An''xhur''s eyes were wide open, giving Valyr the feeling that the former was gazing at him, yet at the same time gazing past him.


    Though, noticing how ufortable Valyr felt due to his stare, the half-orc swiftly retracted his gaze beforeposing himself. "Either way, after mulling over it for quite a bit, I must say that I feel a considerable amount of guilt at the fact that I had ced a great burden on you."


    "A burden that would be impossible to remove with your current strength."


    "Thus, I''ve decided to aid you out a bit in that regard."


    Whoosh!


    Manifesting a small ball of mana above his palm, An''xhur allowed the ball to hover before flicking it towards Valyr, passing through thetter''s forehead as an influx of information surged through the young man''s mind.


    "This is something I''ve created back then while I was still wholly focused on formting the orc race''s unique magic system. Though it is ultimately something I''ve created in passing after talking with a few human summoners, I suppose you would be able to make great use of it at your level, especially with that peculiar curse you have."


    "Perhaps, you might even be able to take it to further heights."


    Ding!


    "Only time will tell in that regard."


    [You have gained the active skill ''Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts''.]

 Chapter 403 A Half-Orcs Hopes

    While a notification sound resounded in his mind, the influx of information An''xhur sent to Valyr''s mind gave thetter the feeling that he was listening to multiple voices speaking to him all at once in variousnguages.


    Because of this, the voices sounded like a garbled mess to the young man, causing him to understand what they were trying to tell him through what he felt from the voices instead.


    Within seconds after changing his perspective into the matter, Valyr fell into a trance, allowing him to absorb more and more information from the voices even though he could not understand a single word they spoke.


    Gradually, a foundation for a unique set of knowledge formed within his mind, which Valyr noted was simr to the magic system the human race used, but still different in a way that it attuned itself to the forces and elements of nature.


    Something that would make more sense for an elf to have rather than an orc to have.


    Nevertheless, the voices in his mind eventually died down, allowing Valyr to take a look at what the half-orc had given him bymanding the system to bring up his notification screen.


    ''A summoning skill.'' At the very instant Valyr had read the phrase ''Summoning Arts'' attached to the name of the skill, his eyes lit up in excitement, prompting him to bring up the skill''s description to get a better idea of how the skill worked, as well as how strong it was whenpared to other summoning skills.


    ''This¡­'' Due to how the skill had something to do with the Sage of Erudition, it did note as a surprise that Valyr''s excitement increased even further once he read what the skill could do. ''If this is what the skill is capable of¡­ I don''t really need to head to the Boundless Skill Pavilion anymore.''


    ''Then again, it wouldn''t hurt to pick at least one up as a reference skill.'' Once he was done reading through the description of his newly obtained skill, Valyr took in a few deep breaths to calm his emotions down, closing the screen in front of him before letting out a faint sigh of satisfaction.


    "Though I am uncertain whether I would be able to use this aid you''ve given me to the fullest, I sincerely appreciate the generosity." Looking at An''xhur, Valyr shed a grateful smile to the half-orc before giving the man a brief yet respectful bow. "Nevertheless, I am certain that it would definitely serve a great purpose in my journey to fulfill the task you''ve asked of me."


    "Hopefully, that is indeed the case." In response, An''xhur let out a chuckle, the feeling he gave Valyr at the moment now contained a hint of ease and happiness amidst the death-filled aura he still emitted.


    "Mngh¡­" A few secondster, the half-orc''s body flickered in and out of existence for a bit, causing Valyr to have an expression of concern on his face as he had a feeling he knew why An''xhur started to flicker all of a sudden. Fortunately, the flickering did notst for too long, with the half-orc returning to its appearance around half a minuteter.


    "It seems I''ve pushed this remaining fragment of mine to its utmost limits." An''xhur looked at Valyr with a bitter smile. "I guess now is the time for us to part ways. It would serve no good for you to stay here, especially once I run out of energy to maintain this ce."


    "I''ll definitely try my best to fulfill your task." Feeling that he would escorted out of the white space soon, Valyr decided to reaffirm An''xhur''s trust in him, which caused a slight grin to appear on thetter''s face.


    "I''m sure you will," said An''xhur,ughing a bit. "Speaking of which, before I send you out of this ce, I must inform you now that I would only be able to create this white space one more time."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I hope that at that time, you would discuss how you were sessful in your endeavors."


    "I''ll try my best to do so."


    "Alright." Nodding in response to Valyr''s words, An''xhur took in a deep breath as the white space surrounding them began to shake. "As long as I am frugal in my energy expenditure, I would be tost for a few more years."


    "Farewell for now, Valyr," said An''xhur. "And I hope to see youter."


    "Likewise." In response, Valyr nodded before shing a confident smile at the half-orc, only to disappear from An''xhur''s sight as the white space finally copsed.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "And¡­ I''m back." Appearing at the entrance of the Rare Abyss, Valyr stood in ce for a bit to assess his surroundings, making sure that he had returned to the dungeons. After pinching himself a couple of times to ascertain that he had indeed returned to reality, a bitter smile soon appeared on his face as he took a look at the clear blue sky.


    "Already next morning, huh." As these words left Valyr''s mouth, the young man instantly felt a strong wave of sleepiness wash over his body, prompting him to leave the premises as he zoomed past a group of people that wanted to enter the dungeons. At that moment, the only thought in his mind was to get some rest before making any further decisions.


    Thankfully, even though his eyes were already half-shut at that point, Valyr was still able to return to the outpost, heading straight to the inn to rent a room that he instantly entered to get some shuteye.


    It was only by the time the sun had reached its zenith did Valyr return to the waking world, sitting by the edge of the bed for some time to allow his consciousness to return to its previous state before his long-needed slumber.


    "Do I still need anything from the dungeons?" Scratching the back of his head as he recalled the number of Skill Keys he had amassed through his three dungeon runs, Valyr obtained the answer to his question a few secondster, prompting him to stand up before taking in a deep breath.


    "Well then. Since I''ve already obtained all of the Skill Keys I would need to evolve all of my skills¡­"


    "I suppose it''s time for me to finally go and head back."

 Chapter 404 Returning To The Grind

    Whoosh!


    "Wee back to the cksmith Guild''s Algerie Kingdom branch, sir." Though he was gradually getting more and more used to the feeling that apanied teleportation constructs, Valyr still felt a bit lightheaded a few seconds after he had appeared within the cksmith Guild''s Teleportation Hall, standing in ce for a bit to let the dizziness subside.


    "Thanks." Once he was certain the dizziness he felt had disappeared, the young man went ahead and thanked the person who had greeted him, giving the token Julian had given him just before he teleported to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains to thetter.


    "Would you mind telling the Guildmaster that I have returned?" Receiving the token from Valyr, the person that greeted him gave the young man a respectful bow in response before proceeding to exit the room. However, just as thetter was only a few steps away from fully leaving, Valyr stopped the man in his tracks, asking the person to do him a favor.


    "I''ll make sure to ry your concerns, sir." Seeing as Valyr only wanted him to ry a message, the man did not mind doing it, faintly nodding at Valyr in response before leaving with the token.


    "Haah." Gazing at the man''s silhouette as it eventually disappeared from his field of vision, Valyr made his way out of the Teleportation Hall, deciding to roam the corridors in the meantime as he waited for the man''s response to his favor.


    While doing so, he pondered over the other tasks he had yet to finish, causing him to let out a long sigh as he realized that there was now a lot more things for him to do than he realized.


    "There''s not much point in overthinking it." Scratching the back of his head as he wondered how he was going to go about doing all of them, Valyr took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, realizing that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed with how much there was on his te. "Step by step, Valyr. Step by step."


    "Order your tasks by how long their deadlines are at the moment and work from there." Muttering these words to himself, the young man continued to roam the corridors as the gears in his mind continued to turn. "My current n aside, I would have to talk with Elder Noel first regarding my decision on whether to kill a Shadow Serpent or not."


    "After that, I would have to head back to Anadhar City to obtain the next part of Jekyll''s legacy." Recalling his interaction with Jekyll, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face. "Then, there''s the small tournament that would happen amongst the four candidates for the inheritance, and then the inheritance itself a week after that."


    "There''s also the World Quest and the Main Quest, but with how their deadlines are still pretty far away whenpared to the other tasks I have, I could work on them while doing the others." Feeling a bit more at ease after collecting his thoughts regarding his approach towards the tasks he had still yet to finish, Valyr continued to roam the cksmith Guild''s corridors for a bit more, only to stop at the main hall after being told that his presence was needed in front of the Guildmaster.


    ¡­


    "Back so soon, no?" Appearing within Julian''s personal workshop once more, Valyr watched as the man repeatedly swung his hammer on the piece of equipment he was working on, hammering out the imperfections on it that the young man could only see through [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes].


    "So, I take it that you returned to the kingdom since the dungeons are too hard?" Satisfied with the progress he had made, Julian ced the hammer to the side as he posed a question to Valyr, chuckling not long after.


    "Remember how I said I''d try my best to get all the keys I needed in one?" As he pondered over making a personal forging hammer to use in his future crafts, Valyr responded to the man''s question with a slight grin, taking out a certain something from his spatial bracelet soon after.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    "Well, here''s that Umon grade Skill Key I owed you." Letting out a bit ofughter of his own, Valyr gave the Umon grade Skill Key he took out to Julian, leaving thetter at a slight loss for words as he stared at the young man for a bit.


    "You''re full of surprises, you know that?" Eventually, Julian let out a cackle as he patted Valyr on the shoulder. "Not only are you able to forge an Epic grade armor set on your own, you''re even able to clear the dungeons of the Lesser Meltierre Mountains in one day."


    "I take it you only entered the first two?" asked Julian for rification, causing a proud smile to appear on Valyr''s face in response.


    "Why would I stop there if I have the strength to clear the Rare Abyss?" Valyr chuckled. "Then again, that demilich at the final room posed quite a bit of a challenge to me."


    "You even defeated the demilich?" At that point, Julian could not stop himself from letting out a loud cackle, with it instantly bing the only thing that could be heard from his workshop. "Since that''s the case, I think you have a shot at taking the leader position for the inheritance."


    "Talks of your journey in the Lesser Meltierre Mountains aside, what do you n on doing before the tournament and the inheritance?"


    "Well, I''ll definitely have to make a stop at the Spearman Guild to talk with Elder Noel." Listening to Julian''s question, it did not take long for Valyr to respond, considering that he had been thinking about it while waiting for the middle-aged man to call him. "Speaking of which, did he respond back after you gave him a heads-up of my whereabouts?"


    "He didn''t say much, but he did say that he was wishing for your safe return," said Julian in response, which unsurprisingly caused Valyr''s impression of the elder to improve.


    "Anything else?"


    "Well, seeing as I now have the keys to evolve my skills, I now need to obtain an obscene amount of XP to go along with it."


    "Already got a ce in mind?" Julian looked at Valyr with a slightly curious expression. "If you don''t, I have a few spots that I could rmend to you."


    "Though I already have a ce in mind, I definitely don''t mind listening to your rmendations." Valyr smiled in response. "Anyways¡­"


    "Do you know how to get to the Akashic Battlefield?"

 Chapter 405 Postponing The Grind

    "The Akashic Battlefield¡­" Hearing Valyr mention such a ce, a frown swiftly crept up onto Julian''s lips as he went silent. In response, the young man slightly tilted his head in confusion, wondering if there was anything about the Akashic Battlefield or his request that made the man before him frown.


    "Is there anything wrong with my request?"


    "No, that''s not it." Julian shook his head. "I could give you the directions to the Akashic Battlefield no problem. It''s just that¡­"


    "There''s something going on in the Akashic Battlefield?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he posed the question to the man, only for his curiosity to intensify once Julian nodded in response.


    "Though it would be more apt to say that we''re just preparing for the worst case scenario, the Akashic Battlefield isn''t really a good ce to enter for the meantime, even with the level of strength you wield at your current rank." At those words, Valyr went silent, wanting to know what the other side meant by what he said.


    Fortunately, Julian had picked up on what Valyr wanted him to do, prompting him to faintly nod as he continued where he left off. "Well, if I''m being honest here, the Akashic Battlefield is still running the same way it used to run all this time, being essible to those who wish to gain a lot of XP alongsidebat experience."


    "However, the problem has something to do with the orc outbreak the kingdom is currently trying to push back." Saying these words, Julian picked up his forging hammer before proceeding to hammer out a few more of the imperfections he could find on the equipment he was working on. With a slight frown on his face, he then chucked the equipment into the furnace before him, giving it time to be more malleable.


    "Since the orcs could not push through the point where their offensive first began, a considerable portion of the orcs decided to separate from the main group, heading to other points in the kingdom that would give them a greater chance at sess." Turning around to look at Valyr, Julian adorned a solemn expression. "One of those points would be the northwest section of the kingdom."


    Noticing that Valyr squinted his eyes in slight confusion while his eyebrows remained raised, Julian decided to borate on his exnation a bit more. "The strongest defensive lines of the kingdom could be found within the four cardinal directions. North, south, east, and west. In fact, the orcs choosing to strike the east defensive line for their first offensive is one of the main reasons why the orcs haven''t been sessful in infiltrating the kingdom yet."


    "However, the same could not be said for the directions between the four cardinal ones." Briefly shing a bitter smile at Valyr, Julian took out the equipment he chucked into the furnace earlier, cing it on his anvil not long after. After that, he swung his hammer a couple of times to remove the imperfections that were made obvious through heating the equipment, causing him to faintly nod in satisfaction.


    "Where was I? Oh, right." Feeling like he had more or less removed all of the imperfections that were on the equipment he was working on, Julian gave the equipment time to cool down as he continued where he left Valyr off in his exnation. "Compared to the defensive lines on the four cardinal directions, you could say that the defensive lines on the ordinal directions are only there to serve as a deterrent for those with ill intentions."


    "Of course, due to the orc outbreak, the kingdom has doubled down its efforts in fortifying all of the kingdom''s defensive lines, starting their reinforcement n with the defensive lines in the ordinal directions," said Julian, only to ask the young man after if he was still listening. Obtaining a nod from Valyr in response, Julian nodded back as he continued.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "At the moment, the southeast and southwest defensive lines are more or less on the same level of defensive prowess as the cardinal defensive lines, while the northwest and northeast defensive lines still have a ways to go before reaching that same level."


    "The orcs won''t attack the northeast defensive line since it''s in close proximity to the east defensive line." Julian let out a faint sigh. "If they did decide to attack it, the forces from the east defensive line would just send reinforcements to the northeast defensive line."


    "In other words, nothing significant would happen."


    "However, if they were to attack the northwest defensive line, then there''s a chance that something different would happen." At these words, Julian looked at Valyr in the eyes. "Though the north and west defensive line have already gotten a heads-up regarding the orc outbreak to the east, they still think that the outbreak would be contained in the east side at most."


    "Aside from that, a great portion of the noble authorities within the kingdom thought the same way as well, only sending a few patrols to the northwest defensive line at most as a show ofpromise to those who believed the orcs would attack the northwest defensive line." Julian let out yet another sigh as he shook his head. "An incredibly stupid decision to make if you''d ask me."


    "In any case, that''s pretty much the reason why I don''t advise you to head to the Akashic Battlefield in the meantime," said Julian in conclusion, taking in a deep breath after having to speak for so long. "Though¡­ I guess it would be fine if I were to have someone apany you to the Akashic Battlefield. After all, what I''ve told you so far is more or less spection on my end."


    "Is that fine with you, though?" asked Valyr in response, to which Julian shrugged his shoulders.


    "I wouldn''t be able to have someone apany you right now," replied Julian. "However, if you''re fine with postponing your session in the Akashic Battlefield to tomorrow, then I can probably arrange someone to escort you."


    "I mean¡­ I''m not really in a rush." In response, Valyr shrugged his shoulders, not minding the dy. "I''ll just do the other tasks I have yet to finish in the meantime."


    "Speaking of which¡­"


    "Do you know if Elder Noel is currently in the Spearman Guild?"

 Chapter 406 Meeting Noel Once Again

    "Is this about the question from him that you''ve yet to answer?" Asking this question in response to Valyr''s question to him, Julian obtained a nod from the young man soon after, prompting him to rub his chin for a bit as he tried to recall where the old man was.


    "As far as I can remember, he''s been staying in the Spearman Guild for the past few days," said Julian to Valyr after he was done pondering. "Usually, he would be in a secluded area only elders of the Spearman Guild would have ess to, only heading to the Spearman Guild''s building every once in a while whenever he was bored."


    At those words, it did not take long for Valyr to put two and two together in his mind after listening to Julian''s response, biting on his lip as he slightly frowned. Though he was uncertain for it to be the case, he had a strong feeling that the reason why the elder had been loitering around the Spearman Guild for the past few days¡­


    ¡­was to wait for his return.


    "I''ll keep that in mind, thank you." Letting out a low sigh, Valyr went ahead and told Julian that he would head to the Spearman Guild for now, to which thetter responded with a nod.


    Then, just as Valyr was only a few steps away from leaving Julian''s personal workshop, thetter reminded Valyr to return to the cksmith Guild tomorrow, telling him that he would probably have found someone that would apany him to the Akashic Battlefield.


    Committing the man''s words to memory, it was only then did Valyr finally leave the premises, swiftly making his way out of the cksmith Guild to head to the Spearman Guild.


    After all, more than three days had already passed since Elder Noel asked him that question.


    ¡­


    "Hello there." Just before he arrived at the Spearman Guild, Valyr reconfigured his current appearance through [Enhanced Polymorph], changing it to his appearance back when he had met the elder for the first time. Finding a counter that had no queue, Valyr made a beeline to it as he posed a question to the attendant on the other side. "Could I know if Elder Noel is here at the moment?"


    "Give me a few moments, sir." Fortunately, rather than ask questions regarding the reason for Valyr wanting to meet up with such an important person within the Spearman Guild, the attendant felt then and there that sticking her nose into where it didn''t belong would be an utterly stupid decision on her part, especially since it had something with one of the elders of the Spearman Guild.


    With that, the attendant brought out a thin tablet and interacted with it for a bit, infusing some of her mana into it in the process. Eventually, the woman ced the tablet down as she looked at Valyr with a slightly curious expression. "Would it be possible to obtain your name, sir? I''ve obtained a message from the guild that Elder Noel has been waiting for a certain person these past few days."


    Feeling a bit of pain from the feeling that he had inadvertently made someone wait for him, Valyr thought to himself that he would apologize to the elder once he had met up with him. "Would the name of that person be Ylvar by any chance?"


    "Yes." The attendant nodded in response. "In that case, that Ylvar would be you, sir?"


    "Indeed." Valyr nodded, prompting the attendant to nod once more as she left the counter, appearing before the young man not long after.


    "Follow me, sir. I''ll lead you to where the elder is currently staying at the moment." In response to the woman''s words, Valyr merely nodded as he followed the woman to where she went, with the two arriving in front of a clean yet exquisite-looking wooden door sometimeter.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Who is it?" In response to the attendant''s knocking on the door, a voice familiar to Valyr resounded from the other side.


    "I have brought the person you''ve been wanting to meet, First Elder." As the woman said these words, silence was the only thing that could be heard from the other side for the meantime. However, at some point, the familiar voice resounded once more.


    "Alright. You may take your leave."


    "Thank you, First Elder." Doing a respectful bow before the wooden door, the attendant turned to look at Valyr for a bit before proceeding to respectfully bow in front of the young man as well.


    Remaining silent, Valyr watched as the attendant''s silhouette gradually left his field of vision, focusing his attention on the door before him soon after.


    "Would it be fine for me toe in, Elder Noel?" Asking this question as he remained standing before the door, Valyr waited for a response from the other side, faintly nodding once he did.


    "You may."


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr went ahead and opened the door, only to be slightly left at a loss for words once he was greeted by the sight of the room''s interior.


    In his mind, he thought that the elder was staying in a room that only had the bare minimum amenities, getting the feeling that the old man liked to live a simple life from his interaction with him back then. However, what he saw before him was the exact opposite of that, with the amenities in the room being as extravagant, if not more extravagant than the amenities in the inn he and Wells were staying in.


    ''There''s even a mana-powered air conditioner¡­'' While looking at the avable amenities, he eventually noticed how there was a small magic circle at the upper portion of one of the walls, constantly sting a breeze of cold air throughout the room.


    "So, how was your small journey to the Lesser Meltierre Mountains, Ylvar?" Lying down on a soft bed all this time, it was only when Noel asked this question did he stand up to get a better look at the man.


    "Fortunately, I''ve aplished everything that I needed to do in that ce," said Valyr in response, twiddling his thumbs as he felt a hint of awkwardness between them. "Also¡­ I would like to apologize for making you wait."


    "At the very least, you know how to feel guilt." Surprisingly, just as Valyr said those words, the awkwardness surrounding the two of them instantly disappeared, with Noel shing a brief smile at the young man as he said, "In any case, I don''t mind it too much. I''ve consider these past few days a change of pace from what I usually do."


    "Aside from that, if I were in your ce, even I would do all I could to enhance my strength as much as possible."


    "Especially if it''s for something like the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "Isn''t that right, Valyr?"

 Chapter 407 A Show Of Determination

    In response to Noel mentioning his true name, Valyr remained silent for a while as a solemn expression on his face. Then, after staring at the old man for a bit, he went ahead and posed a question to the man, a question that lingered in his mind after hearing Noel''s words. "Did the head of the cksmith Guild inform you?"


    "Oh, none of the sort." Hearing Valyr''s question, Noel let out a chuckle, which the former found somewhat odd. "The leader of the cksmith Guild only sent me a heads-up regarding your whereabouts, which I should tell you once more that I appreciate you doing that."


    "In any case, finding out your identity was just a matter of reading between the lines, some cross-referencing, a few educated guesses¡­"


    "And from what I realized after what I just did, a little bit of luck." Whilst Noel let out yet another chuckle, Valyr inwardly admonished himself as it did not take long for him to realize what Noel meant by his words. Nevertheless, his expression more or less remained the same, with the only hint Noel could see on the young man''s face that thetter was thinking about it was the faint traces of a frown on the corners of Valyr''s face.


    ''In other words, Noel would''ve still thought of me as a different person if I did not ask him outright as to whether or not Julian mentioned my true identity to him.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh. ''Then again, with how the question I asked him was the final push he needed to confirm my identity, even if I didn''t tell him anything of the sort, he still would''ve doubted my identity as Ylvar.''


    "With how you''re still silent after my statements, I can safely assume that I''m indeed talking to Valyr, right?" As Noel asked this question, hoping that the young man before him would give him the answer he wanted, Valyr looked at the old man as he continued to remain silent, pondering whether or not he should respond truthfully to the matter.


    ''Haah¡­'' Eventually, since he still felt a hint of guilt at how he had made the old man wait for him for a time far longer than three days, Valyr decided to acquiesce to the man''s wishes, disabling a portion of his disguise to allow Noel to get a look at his true face.


    "Now that''s quite surprising." Slightly taken aback by how Valyr disguised himself, Noel let out a faint chuckle before nodding, telling the former that he could fully activate his disguise again. "If I weren''t focusing all of my attention on you, I wouldn''t have even noticed the disguise and thought you were another person altogether."


    "In any case, before I continue with my questioning, does anyone else aside from Julian know that you are currently within this kingdom?" Hearing this question escape Noel''s mouth, Valyr shed a bitter smile at the man before nodding.


    "Well, there''s you." In response, Valyr decided to take a jab at how Noel had figured out his identity through luck, causing thetter to let out a bit ofughter whilst the former had a bitter smile on his face. "Aside from that, there''s the elders from the Imperial Production Guild''s Ancestral Hall, a few people from the Imperial Production Guild''s reconnaissance team, and a friend that I had brought along with me when I came here."


    "Could I ask if your friend is affiliated with any organization or noble n?" Nodding after Valyr was finished enumerating the people within the kingdom that knew of his true identity, Noel posed yet another question to the young man.


    "We used to be part of the same guard regiment in a faraway vige," said Valyr in response. "But other than that, he''s the son of Anadhar City''s mayor if I remember correctly."


    "A fledgling noble family, then." In response to Valyr''s words, Noel nodded, letting out a sigh of relief soon after. "Fortunately, all of those who know of your identity at the moment have connections to the Zeihardt n''s supportive faction, may they be distant or close."


    "If even one of those who know of your identity is connected to the rebel faction, I''m certain that you wouldn''t even be able to stand here before me at this moment."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Of course, I''m also affiliated with the supportive faction. In fact, the Spearman Guild is one of thebat ss guilds that''s affiliated with your n''s supportive faction." Realizing that he had insinuated to Valyr with his words that there was a chance that he was affiliated with the rebel faction, Noel quickly rified to the young man that he was not, having to prove himself for quite some time before the young man''s doubts gradually disappeared.


    "So, is there any significant reason as to why you wanted to ascertain my true identity, Elder Noel?" Letting out a faint sigh, Valyr looked at Noel as he asked the man a question, only for a nk expression to appear on his face as thetter swiftly shook his head with a slight grin.


    "Purely to satiate my curiosity," said Noel in response. Though, after pondering over the question for a bit more, he gave the young man a genuine smile as he told him, "And I guess to take delight in the fact that I''m teaching a Herald of the Zeihardt n the subss I''ve put most, if not all of my efforts into."


    "Your identity and my reasons for asking aside, you came to meet me to tell me your answer to my question some time ago, right?"


    "That would be correct." Seeing as Noel pushed the matter aside for the meantime, Valyr went ahead and did so as well, nodding in response.


    "Alright." Nodding back at Valyr, Noel took in a deep breath before deciding to repeat the question he had asked the young man almost a week earlier. "Among the three options you have to improve your Shadow Energy, are you still adamant on killing a Shadow Serpent to improve it?"


    "Remember that you still have a long life ahead of you, even if we take in your identity and your preparation for the inheritance in consideration."


    For a while, the gears in Valyr''s mind turned as he thought about the question once more. Eventually, a thought surfaced in his mind, prompting the doubts in his mind to disappear as a confident smile soon appeared on his face.


    "You mentioned back then that a Rank 3 ss holder would have no difficulty ying a Shadow Serpent, right?" As Valyr asked Noel this question, thetter raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he nodded in response.


    "Yes? What about it?"


    Whoosh!


    "Since that''s the case¡­"


    "Would this level of strength suffice?"

 Chapter 408 The Shadow Plane

    Feeling the billowing aura Valyr emanated as the young man released the entirety of his aura for the old man to sense, Noel was left at a slight loss for words as he recalled that the young man only had the ability to go toe-to-toe against Rank 2 ss holders almost a week ago. With that in mind, he began to wonder to himself as to how the young man was able to increase his strength so dramatically in such a short span.


    "Do you mind if I use [Analysis] on you for a bit?" Wanting to know the answer to this question himself, Noel decided to ask Valyr for permission in having his strength be identified. In response, the young man retracted his aura before nodding, telling the elder that he would appreciate it if he only looked at his status screen.


    "Don''t worry. That was my intention to begin with." Reassuring Valyr that he would only look through the young man''s status screen, Noel soon went ahead and activated his identification skill on Valyr, causing a faint dark blue haze to cover the man''s eyes as Valyr felt that the old man in front of him could see right through him.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Whoosh!


    Not even a second after Noel had activated his identification skill, a screen containing a great amount of detail regarding Valyr''s status screen appeared in front of the elder''s field of vision, prompting the haze surrounding his eyes to disappear as he focused his attention to the screen before him.


    "That exins everything¡­" Unsurprisingly, Noel was once more left at a loss for words as he took a look at Valyr''s stats, most of which were only possible for one to achieve at a considerably higher level than what the young man had at the moment.


    Of course, it did not take long for Noel to deduce how the young man''s stats had reached such a level, factoring in the young man''s ss, the subss he had given him, as well as the set of equipment the young man was wearing at the moment, with the equipment Valyr wore giving him the feeling that it had be one with the man.


    "Haah." Letting out a low sigh as he closed the screen before him, Noel looked at Valyr before asking thetter a question. "You definitely have the strength of a Rank 3 ss holder ording to your stats, that''s for sure."


    "But have you tried fighting against a foe at Rank 3 before?" Asking this question, the elder was incredibly certain that the man before him would have only fought against those at the peak of his current ss rank at most, basically utilizing his superior strength to defeat weaker enemies.


    However, rather than respond to Noel''s question directly, Valyr instead asked the old man a question in response. "Before I respond to that question, have you gone through the three dungeons in the Lesser Meltierre Mountains before, Elder Noel?"


    "The Skill Key dungeons in that region?" In response, Noel nodded. "I have. It''s a good ce to grind Common and Umon grade Skill Keys in, after all."


    "Have you cleared the Rare Abyss, then?" Nodding in response to Noel''s answer, Valyr threw another question at the former, to which the man responded with a nod.


    "Since that''s the case, you know of the demilich then." Expecting to have to nod once more at another question, Noel instead remained silent once he heard Valyr mention the final boss of the Rare Abyss dungeon.


    Though the rooms that made up the entire dungeon was procedurally generated, the mini-bosses that one would have to fight against in the 5th, 10th, and 15th rooms were fixed, all of them being improved versions of the Skeleton Mages one would have to defeat during their run in order to proceed.


    "I''m sure you''ve heard of the demilich, right?" Noticing that Noel had gone silent, a faint grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he continued talking about the Rare Abyss'' final boss. "Demilich Femur? Level 50? A Mythic Elite tier monster many would face difficulty against?"


    "Alright, alright. I get it. You beat the demilich." Feeling that the young man before him was going to grow more annoying the longer he allowed him to speak, Noel decided to interrupt the young man from continuing, telling him that he already understood what he was hinting at. "And before you say I''m wrong, I can already infer that you beat the demilich without experiencing any difficulty. I did get to see your stats, after all."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "That more than proves that I have thebat experience to fight against a Shadow Serpent, right?" Deciding to make sure that he indeed had the qualifications to fight against the monster Noel thought would pose a difficulty to him, as well as wanting to annoy the old man one more time, Valyr posed yet another question to the old man.


    "Yes, yes, yes." Pinching his forehead as he felt his blood start to boil for some apparent reason, Noel took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down before deciding to look at Valyr yet again. Seeing the young man smile at him in a slightly mocking manner, the elder let out a low sigh before proceeding to pull up a screen in front of him, interacting with it for a bit soon after.


    Ding!


    [You have received a subss promotion quest: Returning to One''s Roots.]


    Hearing the ever familiar notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr went ahead and took a look at his notification screen, a slight grin adorning his face as he read that he had received a subss promotion quest from Noel. However, just as he was about to take a look at its description to get a better idea of what he needed to do toplete it, the old man interrupted him from doing so.


    "I''d suggest you save that forter," said Noel with a serious expression. "Since you''re incredibly determined to kill a Shadow Serpent, we''re now on a race against time."


    Whoosh!


    Taking in a deep breath, Noel called upon his connection with the Abyssal Energy he had ess to thanks to his subss before chanting a few words that sounded iprehensible to Valyr, cing his hands on the ground not long after as he coursed the Abyssal Energy through it.


    Swoosh!


    Within seconds, a magic circle made out of Abyssal Energy appeared on the ground before Noel, prompting Valyr to remain silent as he watched runes made out of the same energy write itself on the edges of the magic circle, only for a rift to appear a couple dozen centimeters above the magic circle some timeter.


    Feeling his connection with Shadow Energy surprisingly be stronger the closer he was to the rift, Valyr shifted his gaze to Noel, who was already expecting the former to ask about the rift.


    Clearing his throat, he exined. "In rtion to the quest I''ve given you, we''ll be heading to the ce where Shadow Serpents are aplenty, considering that we''ll be heading to the ce where the energy we connect with originates from."


    "Some call it the realm where darkness resides. Others say it''s a ce where allmon sense breaks loose."


    "But to us connected to the ce''s energy, it is only known¡­"


    "¡­as the Shadow ne."

 Chapter 409 Returning To Ones Roots

    "The Shadow ne¡­" Murmuring the name of the ce Noel had mentioned to him, Valyr thought to himself how it was slightly absurd that evolving a couple skills to a higher grade was the only thing hindering him from gaining ess to such a ce that not many would have ess to. With that, he felt a bit grateful that he had nned on taking the subss he had wanted to get back then, feeling a bit of excitement and nervousness at the same time as he continued to stare at the dark rift before them.


    Whoosh!


    "Alright. It''s stabilized." Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Noel released his hands off of the magic circle as the Abyssal Energy emanating from him gradually disappeared. Seeing as the rift remained where it was, he then took a look at Valyr, who was continuing to look at him all this time.


    With that, he then gestured to the young man to head into the rift first, only to stop thetter just as he had taken a step forward.


    "On second thought, I''ll take the lead." Saying these words, Noel called upon his connection with Abyssal Energy once more, shrouding his entire body in a faint ck haze as he soon headed into the rift, disappearing from Valyr''s field of vision the very moment he stepped in.


    Swoosh!


    "So¡­ should I head in?" Seeing as Noel had disappeared in front of him, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit, wondering whether to enter the rift or not due to how the old man had stopped him from doing so earlier. Fortunately, while he continued to remain standing, pondering over what to do, Noel''s voice soon echoed from the rift.


    "You better head in," said the elder in a slightly annoyed tone. "I didn''t create a rift to the Shadow ne just to waste my Abyssal Energy for no reason."


    "However, make sure to steel yourself for what you''re going to see on the other side." Leaving these parting words to the young man, Noel stayed silent after that, causing the young man to look at the rift for a bit as he decided to open up the description of the quest he had just received.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a low sigh as he closed the screen he had brought up, Valyr took in a deep breath before proceeding to move closer to the rift, eventually taking a step into it.


    "Then again, I never expected to get the subss this easily."


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    "Where am I?" Feeling that his feet had stepped on solid ground, Valyr went ahead and tried to check his current surroundings, only to find out that he could not see anything at all. A few secondster, he realized that his sense of hearing had gone out as well, tapping his fingers onto his ears multiple times, only for him to hear no sound from them at all.


    Though he felt a bit of panic due to two of his more prominent senses bing cut off, Valyr began to breathe slowly, trying to maintain a calm and collected mind as best as possible as he thought about the reasons why Noel had brought him to the Shadow ne in the first ce.


    ''Calm down, Valyr. Noel wouldn''t bring you to a ce that makes you lose your sight and hearing for no reason,'' Valyr thought to himself. ''After all, he''s a part of the n''s supportive faction. He would hope that I be stronger for the sake of the supportive faction, right?''


    ''¡­but what if he was lying to me? What if he was actually part of the rebel faction all this time?'' Continuing to take slow and deep breaths as he discarded all of the useless thoughts that surfaced in his mind, Valyr eventually regained his sense of calm, deciding to take a look at the quest''s description once more.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Returning to One''s Roots] (Subss Promotion Quest)


    Difficulty: A<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    As someone who has awakened their Shadow Energy and its connection through unorthodox means, bing a Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer, you have been given a chance by an Abyssal Serpentine Lancer to tread the proper path to power, giving you either the option to take a slow yet stable approach, a quick yet dangerous approach, or a difficult yet rewarding approach.


    You have decided to take the difficult yet rewarding approach.


    Because of this choice of yours, you have been given ess to the Shadow ne, the realm where Shadow Energy originates. With the Abyssal Serpentine Lancer that has taken you under its wing guiding you, you must now refine this impure Shadow Energy to its original state, returning it to its roots, lest your journey as a Shadow Serpentine Lancer ends here.


    Time is ticking.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Improve your Shadow Energy to the point the system recognizes its existence (0/1)


    > Improve your Shadow Energy Mark to the 1st Cleansing grade (0/1)


    > Improve your Shadow Energy Mark to contain 10 points of Shadow Energy (0/10)


    > y a Shadow Serpent (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Promotion to Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss


    > ??? (Additional rewards dependent on performance during the quest)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hello? Can you hear me, Valyr?" Just as Valyr was finished reading through the quest''s description a second time, the young man heard a familiar voice resound through his mind, letting out a deep sigh of relief in response. After that, he wondered whether the other side would be able to hear his response through his thoughts, deciding to test it out as he asked a question back.


    ''I can, Elder Noel. Can you hear me, though?''


    "Loud and clear," said the voice in response to his question, allowing the young man to finally feel a bit of weight being removed from his shoulders. However, this sense of relief swiftly disappeared once he heard the voice''s next words.


    "Unfortunately, we can''t maintain this kind of conversation for long. Even though the quality of my energy is superior whenpared to Shadow Energy, a great portion of it is consumed for every second we continue conversing."


    "With that, I''ll have to get straight to the point."


    "Valyr, what you have to do¡­"


    "¡­is form a Shadow Eye."

 Chapter 410 Shadow Eye

    ''A Shadow Eye?'' Hearing Noel bring the term up, Valyr went ahead and asked thetter what he meant by that. ''How do I form something like that? Do I have to use my Shadow Energy to create an artificial eye or something?''


    "You''re surprisingly close." Though Valyr could not see it, Noel''s eyes briefly widened in surprise at the young man''s guess. "However, to be more exact, forming a Shadow Eye isn''t really as easy as just using your Shadow Energy to create an eye."


    "If anything, forming a Shadow Eye involves utilizing the connection you have with the Shadow ne through your Shadow Energy, and then making use of that connection to be able to see your surroundings properly. If you have a considerably high level of control over your Shadow Energy, then forming a Shadow Eye would be a piece of cake for you."


    ''How about my sense of hearing, though? Do I have to form anything like the Shadow Eye to regain my sense of hearing as well?'' Committing the old man''s words to memory, Valyr posed another question to the old man, causing thetter to shake his head in response.


    "The Shadow Eye also allows you to regain your sense of hearing. It just takes a bit more effort after regaining your sense of hearing, really," said Noel as his voice continued to echo in Valyr''s mind. "If you still have more questions to ask, ask them now. With the amount of Abyssal Energy I have left, I can only answer a few more of your questions before I have to cut this conversation short."


    ''Can''t we just add each other to our respective friend lists and continue the conversation through there?'' Feeling a bit of pressure at how he only had a limited amount of time left to talk with Noel, the gears in Valyr''s brain madly spun as the question popped into his mind.


    In response, Noel bitterly smiled. "If that were the case, I wouldn''t have resorted to holding a conversation in your mind in the first ce."


    "I''ve already tried it with other people that havee with me to the Shadow ne, Valyr," said Noel, letting out a sigh soon after. Unfortunately, the system''s chat function is disabled while you''re in the Shadow ne."


    ''Is that so?'' Hearing Noel''s words, Valyr bitterly smiled as he let out a faint sigh of his own. Just as he was about to start trying to form the Shadow Eye Noel was talking about, a question popped into the young man''s mind, recalling thest line in the quest''s description.


    ''Now that I think about it, would I have enough time to form a Shadow Eye?''


    "If your talent and potential is the real deal, you definitely have more than enough time." As these words echoed within Valyr''s mind, Noel faintly nodded. "However, that does not mean you won''t run out of time. Though the time here in the Shadow ne is slowerpared to the real world by a factor of 7, you only have about 7/8th of a day''s worth of time to stay here before we have to return to the real world, considering that there''s only about three hours left before sunset."


    ''Mn? What happens after sunset?'' Taking note of Noel''s words, Valyr decided to ask a follow-up question to what the old man had mentioned, which made thetter scratch the back of his head in response as he wryly smiled.


    "For the sake of saving energy, something you and I don''t want to witness." Saying those words, Noel then told Valyr that he would have to end their conversation there for the meantime, but not before leaving the young man with a tip in forming a Shadow Eye.


    "Remember. Don''t force it. Just let things take its course."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I hope you seed in doing so before we have to go back."


    Whoosh!


    With the old man removing the connection made out of Abyssal Energy from Valyr''s mind, which facilitated the conversation happening between the two of them, thetter was left in darkness and silence once more, leaving him alone in his thoughts as he wondered how he was going to go about forming a Shadow Eye.


    ''From what I could recall Noel say to me, I got to use the connection I have to the Shadow ne through my Shadow Energy to form the eye.'' Deciding to start from there, Valyr gradually sat down on the ground, utilizing his sense of touch to make sure that he sat properly. After that, he took in a deep breath before focusing his attention on the connection he had to his Shadow Energy, which was something he only made contact with whenever he used skills from [Shadow Serpent Combat Style].


    Thump. Thump. Thump.


    Though the connection he had with his Shadow Energy was stronger due to how he was in the Shadow ne, Valyr could not sense the connection at all. If anything, the only thing Valyr could sense at the moment was the faint movement of his heart, prompting him to focus more of his attention towards the connection, slowly but surely cutting off the remaining senses he still had ess to.


    Whoosh!


    One by one, the remaining senses he had ess gradually turned numb, only to disappear once a certain amount of time passed. In exchange, he gained higher sensitivity towards the connection he had with the Shadow Energy, feeling that he was getting closer to what seemed like an entrance to a wider world.


    Feeling like he was heading in the right direction, Valyr continued with what he was doing, with only his sense of smell so far being the only thing disappearing. By the time his sense of taste had disappeared, he felt that only a small distance separated himself from the entrance that he felt.


    Of course, when he had finally made his sense of touch disappear, consciously shutting off all of his senses from the environment of the Shadow ne¡­


    Swoosh!


    He now stood in front of the entrance.

 Chapter 411 The World Of Darkness

    ''So, what do I do next?'' Now standing in front of the entrance he had perceived after consciously cutting off all of his external senses, Valyr stared at the entrance, wanting to capture every detail.


    In terms of how it appeared in Valyr''s mind, it looked simr to the rift Noel had opened that allowed them to enter the Shadow ne. However, rather than feel like his connection with Shadow Energy had be stronger because of it, Valyr felt like he was standing in front of the origin of Shadow Energy itself.


    Though, with howplex the overall feeling the entrance gave him, making him feel like he was staring at a small yet vast portion of the secrets of the universe, he also felt traces of the Abyssal Energy had control over, as well as two other energies that were of greater depth and breadth than the impure Shadow Energy he currently controlled.


    ''Should I just try opening it?'' Figuratively scratching the back of his head as he wondered what to do next, Valyr eventually decided to put all of his mental power into opening the entrance, considering that it was the only sense he had left after cutting off the external five.


    ''Hmph!''


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant Valyr set his mind to pushing the entrance open, a small gust of wind blew around Valyr''s body, prompting Noel, who was beside the young man all this time, to look at the former with a surprised yet solemn expression. "It''s only been three hours, yet he''s already touched upon the connection?"


    "As expected of a Herald. Truly monstrous even whenpared to prodigies amongst prodigies." Deciding to wait and see whether the young man would be sessful in breaking the entrance open on his first attempt, Noel sat down and used his control over Abyssal Energy to form a barrier that protected and shrouded the two at the same time, a faint smile now adorning his face.


    ''Mngh!'' As for the one trying to pass through the entrance himself, Valyr instantly felt a great amount of resistance from the entrance after he put all of his mental power into pushing it. Noticing that it became more and more difficult the more he forced it, the young man decided to retract his mental power for a while, feeling a hint of strain as he wondered how Noel was able to push through the entrance in the first ce.


    ''This has definitely got to be the connection Noel was talking about,'' Valyr muttered inwardly, examining the entrance from every angle to see if he had missed an important detail. ''Aside from the fact that the Shadow Energy I have control over just wants to leap out towards it at any possible moment, it ain''t the connection to a literal ne if it ain''t incredibly difficult to open.''


    ''Hmm¡­'' Forgetting that he and Noel could only stay in the Shadow ne before they had to go back and return, Valyr continued to examine the entrance in great detail, pushing his mental power to its utmost limits in the process to make sure he would not miss even a small opening.


    Eventually, after examining it for quite some time, the young man decided to try pushing the entrance open once more, feeling a bit more confident thanks to the information he had collected while examining the entrance.


    For one, he was now privy to the fact that there existed weak spots on the entrance that posed weaker resistance to his mental power. However, the number of these weak spots, as well as their positions, varied with every passing minute, which left Valyr with no choice but to keep his senses peeled at all times to find them.


    ''Agh!'' Focusing his mental power on the entrance to figure out where the weak spots were, Valyr began to allocate all of it towards pushing the entrance once more after he had found them, making sure that it would congregate towards those weak spots.


    Whoosh!


    Once more, a gust of wind blew around Valyr''s body, causing Noel to look at the young man once more in silence as he felt the earth start to gradually quake.


    "¡­already?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Hmph!'' Feeling like he was making more progress into opening the entrance than his first attempt, Valyr pushed his mental power even further, focusing a great portion of it towards the weak spots, which continued to move throughout the entrance all this time. Because of it, the young man now felt a great strain in his mind, yet he still persevered in the hopes that he would be able to break through soon enough.


    ''Push through!''


    Whoosh!


    A stronger gust of wind surrounded Valyr''s body as the young man focused all of his mental power towards the weak spots, while at the same time controlling each and every bit of it to make sure it would hit against those weak spots at all times. Eventually, he felt at some point like there was only a faint amount of resistance from the entrance that was holding him back from being able to connect with the Shadow ne.


    However, for some reason, this bit of resistance seemed to be the hardest thing Valyr was trying to push against.


    ''Don''t force it. Just let things take its course.'' Coincidentally, at that very moment, Valyr recalled thest bit of advice Noel had given him before their conversation abruptly ended, wondering to himself for a bit if the old man had given the advice in preparation for such times like this.


    Thinking that he would only have to rest for a bit to be able to attempt it again, the young man went ahead and applied the elder''s words in action, putting less force into his mental power as he instead moved it in a way that made it seem like it was eroding through the entrance, just like how water would eventually start to drip through cardboard once given enough time.


    Fortunately, after minutes of testing out the new approach inspired by Noel''s words¡­


    Pop!


    The entrance had finally given in, causing the connection he had with his Shadow Energy to grow deeper as all of his external senses were forcefully activated, sending him an influx of information regarding his surroundings.


    Regarding the Shadow ne.


    Ding!


    [You have formed a rudimentary connection with the Shadow ne.]


    [Your control over Shadow Energy has considerably improved.]


    [You have unlocked the passive skill ''Shadow Eye''.]

 Chapter 412 The World Of... Darkness?

    Unsurprisingly, after being deprived of all of his external senses for quite some time, the influx of information Valyr had received from it being forcefully opened caused the young man to feel a considerable level of mental pain.


    If he were topare it to something, then it would be more or less equal to the mental strain he had put his mind through forcefully pushing the entrance to the connection open.


    Nevertheless, as someone who had endured such types of pain before, Valyr knew what to do and quickly shut off two of his most important senses, closing his eyes and covering his ears to allow his other senses to limate to his current surroundings.


    Then, once he feltfortable with three of his senses active again, he removed his hands from his ears, allowing his sense of hearing to limate, before eventually allowing himself to limate his sense of sight, opening his pair of eyes in what was quite a considerably long amount of time.


    ''Mngh¡­'' Squinting his eyes as he limited the amount of light his eyes took in, Valyr''s sight eventually adapted to be able to see his current surroundings, which only left the young man at a loss of words as he stared at what was before him with his mouth slightly agape.


    "Elder Noel¡­" Shifting his gaze to the old man that was beside him all this time, Valyr tapped on thetter''s shoulder to catch his attention, considering that the old man had been staring out into the horizon for what seemed to be quite some time now. "Is this really the Shadow ne?"


    "Hmm?" Hearing his name be mentioned, Noel turned his head to look at the origin of the questioning voice, only to notice that the young man he had brought to the Shadow ne was now looking at him. With an expression of surprise briefly adorning his face, the old man''s mouth curved into a smile as he nodded.


    "What other ce would this be if not the Shadow ne?"


    "That''s not what I was trying to say¡­" Reading between the lines of Noel''s response, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he gave the elder a slightly bitter smile. "In my mind, I thought the Shadow ne would look like¡­"


    "¡­it would have an appearance rted to its name, I presume?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded, a bitter smile still adorning his face. "But don''t you think this sight before you is somewhat the opposite of that?"


    Shifting his gaze to the sight before them, Valyr took in the surroundings of the Shadow ne once more, taking in a deep breath to make sure he did not ask Noel the same question.


    When onepared the colors of the Shadow ne to the colors of the real world, then the colors of the Shadow ne were said to be slightly muted, leaning more towards a darker version of that color. The most prominent example of that would be the skies of the Shadow ne, which looked to be the same sky blue as the one he was familiar with, but mixed with a somewhat murky gray.


    However, if one were topare thendscape of the Shadow ne to thendscape of the real world, then one would easily notice that there was a drastic difference between the two, something Valyr took a long time looking at to understand why the ce was called the Shadow ne, even though it was not a literal world of darkness.


    For one,nd and water seemed to take on the opposite property in the Shadow ne. As far as he could see, the ground they were standing on could be considered arge body of water, with small waves propagating throughout as many creatures roamed thendscape. He did not know how he and Noel did not sink into the water, nor was he going to try and find out within the limited amount of time they had.


    As for thend, Valyr was fortunate that there was a decent plot ofnd only a fair distance away from them, taking on the shape of a smallke. Watching some of the creatures lean their necks towards thend and proceed to take a bite out of it, the young man was left scratching the back of his head for a considerable amount of time, which was only exacerbated by the fact that one of the creatures fell into thend while taking a bite out of it.


    Indeed. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Fell into thend.


    Even the trees and nts that one would be used to when out in the wilderness were also topsy-turvy within the Shadow ne.


    Trees would have trunks made out of leaves, and leaves made out of wood, with the fruits hanging from the leaf branches having a seed-like exterior. As for the flowers, their petals were made out of leaves and wood, while the stem and leaves were made out of a petal-like material, which prompted Valyr to think that all of them would droop due to how flimsy petals were.


    But they didn''t.


    Lastly, he noticed how the grass had its des made out of roots and its roots made out of grass des, prompting the bitter smile on his face to be wider. As to how he knew?


    Well, he could see the grass de roots through the water, after all.


    If anything, Valyr was d that the living creatures of the Shadow ne were not inverted as well, with their inner organs being their outer appearance and vice versa. Then again, he would eventuallye to know that the Shadow ne had taken on a different approach on how these creatures were the opposite of their nature in the real world.


    But that would be a story for some other time.


    "I''m guessing you''ve gotten an idea of why it''s called the Shadow ne?" Seeing as Valyr continued to stare at the sight before them, Noel decided to pose a question to the young man as he let out a chuckle.


    "The real world is considered the light, so the opposite of that would be¡­" Though still somewhat uncertain, Valyr faintly nodded as he voiced out the conclusion he hade to, which only made Noel let out another chuckle in response as he nodded in agreement.


    "The shadow. Correct." Noel faintly grinned. "The reason why this is called the Shadow ne is because the nature of this ce is the opposite of the real world, with only a few things between here and the real world being the exact same."


    "In any case, I definitely wasn''t expecting you to only take this much time to form your Shadow Eye," said the old man not long after. "I could only recall a couple of people having formed their Shadow Eye within a day. And that day is in real world time, not Shadow ne time."


    "On the other hand, you only took like¡­ what? Six hours within the Shadow ne to form it? Factoring in the time ratio between the two, you''ve only taken less than an hour in the real world."


    "You''re definitely a monstrous talent, Valyr." Saying these words, Noel''s grin became wider.


    "And man am I d I could pass on this subss of mine to such a talent."

 Chapter 413 Upside Down In More Ways Than One

    Listening to Noel''s words of praise for him, Valyr let out an awkward chuckle in response as he became a bit fidgety. Nevertheless, he felt his heart warm up from the words as he knew that the old man''s words were genuine, and not said solely due to his identity as a Herald.


    ''Did I really only take that much time to form [Shadow Eye]?'' Smiling at Noel before proceeding to return his gaze back to their surroundings, Valyr recalled the words Noel had said to him about the amount of time he had taken to form the skill necessary for him to travel the world of the Shadow ne. ''He said I only took less than an hour to form it¡­ that''s like five to six hours perhaps?''


    As the thought came to his mind, Valyr thought about how he pushed the entrance to the connection open again and again through the use of his mental power, feeling that the amount of time he had taken in that ce definitely did not feel like a few hours. ''If anything, I felt I took at least half a day or a day to open that entrance.''


    ''But then again, he''s already been to this ce many times, so¡­'' Inwardly shrugging his shoulders as he eventually considered the thought as useless, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the description of [Shadow Eye], wanting to see what was so unique about it that it was a necessary skill in the Shadow ne.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Eye] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Tier: 1


    To all visitors of the Shadow ne, their sense of sight and hearing are robbed from them, with the only way of getting it back is to utilize their connection with Shadow Energy and to convene with the Shadow ne to grant said senses back to them.


    To those who have no connection with Shadow Energy, their attempts in contacting with the Shadow ne are simply useless, lest they have an affinity with Shadow Energy itself. However, for those who have Shadow Energy, and have sessfully made contact with the Shadow ne, they are granted a proof of identity, a proof that they have what it takes to survive within the Shadow ne.


    The Shadow Eye.


    There are five tiers that one''s Shadow Eye would fall upon, all of which is reliant on the quality of energy the user has control over, which has its roots in the Shadow ne.


    This skill allows the user to regain one''s sense of sight and hearing within the Shadow ne, as well as passively boosts the user''s PER stat by 10%. This skill also allows the user to see their connection with Shadow Energy, as well as see the ambient Shadow Energy within their surroundings.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I see.'' Closing the screen he had brought up in front of him, Valyr went ahead and tried making use of the skill''s ability to view his connection with Shadow Energy, swiftly noticing a thin dark ray of energy extending from the tip of his forehead towards the seemingly infinite skies of the Shadow ne within seconds.


    After that, he shifted the skill''s focus to seeing the Shadow Energy within their surroundings, prompting his vision of thendscape to be a tad darker than it was previously. Satisfied with his small test of [Shadow Eye]''s abilities, he then briefly thought about the five tiers the skill had mentioned.


    ''Since the skill said that there are five tiers to [Shadow Eye] that correspond to one''s quality of energy, it would be safe to assume that Noel''s [Shadow Eye] is at Tier 3? I wonder what kind of abilities he has ess to with a [Shadow Eye] like that?'' Lightly scratching the back of his head as his curiosity towards the matter gradually increased, Valyr decided to ask the old man about it some other time.


    After all, they only had about 15 more hours before he and Noel would have to leave the Shadow ne.


    "So, I formed the [Shadow Eye]. What''s next, Elder Noel?" Feeling that he had already wasted enough time looking at thendscape before them, Valyr took the initiative to ask the man beside him the question that would get them going.


    "We would need to improve your Shadow Energy to the point it gets recognized by the system as a stat." Letting out a faint sigh, Noel stood up as he responded to the young man''s question. "To do that, we would have to y a few creatures of the Shadow ne."


    "Hmm?" Tilting his head in slight confusion as he also stood up, Valyr soon asked the old man another question. "But didn''t you say back then I could only improve my Shadow Energy by killing a Shadow Serpent?"


    "That''s only in the context of improving it for your subss," said Noel in response as he looked around their surroundings for a bit. "Compared to the Shadow Energy of other creatures, the Shadow Energy of a Shadow Serpent is incredibly ferocious, which is why using it in conjunction with the Shadow Serpent skills yields such destructive power."


    "On the other hand, most creatures'' Shadow Energy are quite mild in nature, making them the best way to purify the impure Shadow Energy you''ve obtained from the orb of Shadow Serpent Essence you absorbed since they would meld with it quite easily."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "With that in mind, we''ll be ying some non-hostile creatures for now until your Shadow Energy has improved to the point it gets recognized by the system." Feeling like he had gotten a good grasp of where they were in the Shadow ne, Noel began to move after he was finished saying these words, leaving the young man no choice but to follow him from behind.


    "So, are we going to be killing a few rabbits or something until my Shadow Energy improves?" In response to Noel''s words, Valyr asked the former a question while they traversed thendscape, to which the old man responded by looking back at him for a bit before returning his gaze to what was before them.


    "First, you''ll be the one doing the killing. I''m only here to apany you and protect you from attacks that would undoubtedly end your life," said Noel sometimeter. "And second¡­"


    "¡­on second thought, I''ll just show you instead."


    "Hmm? Show me what?"


    "Show you how ''brave'' you are to brush off killing rabbits in the Shadow ne so easily."


    "Eh? But aren''t rabbits one of the simplest creatures to kill?"


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "¡­that''s a rabbit?"


    "Now do you see what I mean?"


    "¡­is that seriously a rabbit?"


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Rabbit Emperor (Lesser Boss)] (Level 99 | Boss)


    ss: Sovereign of the Shadow Rabbits (Epic)


    HP: 565,500/565,500


    MP: 351,600/351,600


    Stats: 1,508 VIT, 2,056 STR, 3,248 AGI, 2,060 DEX, 1,172 INT, 2,148 WIS, 1,828 PER, 396 LUK


    Skills: ???? (skills unknown due to great disparity in level)


    Remarks: ¡­that''s a rabbit?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 414 An Exception To The Norm

    Standing over a hundred meters away from therge creature they were looking at, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words as he took a look at the status screen that had appeared before him. With the creature''s HP and MP being the six digits, as well as its stats being in the four digits, it took a while for the young man topose himself, taking in a few deep breaths as he eventually muttered to himself.


    "Well, it''s not like this is the first time I''ve encountered something this weird."


    "Nor would it be thest."


    "But still¡­ there''s no way in hell I''m gonna fight against that thing. Yet." Feeling a wry smile creep up onto his lips, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he closed the screen before him, shifting his gaze to therge creature before them once more.


    Without a doubt, the creature before them was a rabbit in its entirety, with its fur being a slightly lighter shade of gray. However, rather than it being at the size it would normally be in the real world, Valyr was certain that the rabbit was the size of an elephant at the very least, perhaps a couple of elephants if he were to talk about its overall length.


    Aside from that, the rabbit radiated a tyrannical aura that seemed to be intertwined with the feeling of high authority, prompting almost all of the creatures in the vicinity to distance themselves as far away from the rabbit as possible. Combined with its strength through its stats, Valyr felt that the word ''Emperor'' in its name was truly well-deserved.


    "Let me ask you once again." Seeing that the young man had finally internalized what he was looking at, Noel looked at Valyr beside him before asking the question he had asked him earlier. "Do you now understand why I said you were ''brave'' to brush off killing a rabbit in the Shadow ne so easily?"


    "I mean¡­ how would I not after seeing that?" In response, Valyr nodded as a bitter smile appeared on his face. "In any case, I think I''m getting an idea on why rabbits are this scary in the Shadow ne?"


    "Oh?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Noel raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "What''s your idea?"


    "Well¡­ considering that the appearances of the creatures here aren''t inverted like the world''sndscape, save for the fact that they''re slightly darkerpared to their real world equivalents, they would have to be inverted in a different aspect."


    "And that would be¡­?"


    "Their nature?" At these words, Valyr was uncertain whether or not it was the case since it was something he had only deduced from looking at the rabbit. However, after seeing the old man smile in response to his answer, the young man was quickly prompted to think otherwise.


    "It usually takes people far longer to deduce that sort of thing whenever I bring them to this ce," said Noel as he nodded in agreement with Valyr''s words. "In their minds, they thought that every creature in the Shadow ne was empowered, just like the rabbit before us."


    "But no, that''s not the case."


    "Instead, the ecosystem within the Shadow ne is aplete 180 of the ecosystem in ce out in the real world. The prey in the real world are the apex predators of the Shadow ne, while the predators in the real world are the prey of the Shadow ne."


    "Of course, there''s an exception to that norm. I''m sure you can already guess which creature that is." Saying these words, Noel looked at Valyr with a knowing smile, allowing thetter to not take long in formting his response.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Is a snake still considered a predator in the Shadow ne?"


    "Surprisingly, yes." Noel nodded in response. "I''ve tried looking into the reason why that would be the case, but that reason still eludes me to this very day."


    "Either way, snakes, or more specifically Shadow Serpents, are predators in the Shadow ne. However, whenpared to their real world counterpart, with those being somewhere near the end of the food chain, Shadow Serpents are considered apex predators in the Shadow ne, being capable of consuming even beings like the Shadow Rabbit Emperor before us."


    "I see." Nodding in understanding, Valyr looked at the Shadow Rabbit Emperor one more time, making a mental note in his mind to try and fight a being like that after he had be stronger. For now, he suggested to Noel that they should get going toplete the things that he had to do to improve his subss, to which thetter swiftly agreed.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Just like how they made their way to where a Shadow Rabbit Emperor was staying, Valyr and Noel zoomed through the weird looking wilderness, running side by side as Valyr decided to ask the old man a question all of a sudden.


    "Say, what''s the minimum level of strength a person needs to be able to fight against a creature within the Shadow ne?" Hearing this question, Noel looked at where they were going for a bit before proceeding to respond.


    "In terms ofbat strength, I guess that person would need to be at the early levels of Rank 2 in order to fight against some creatures that are weaker than the norm." Noel briefly shrugged his shoulders. "However, if we exclude that, then that person would need a level of strength at the peak of Rank 2, preferably the early levels of Rank 3."


    "Ah, we''re here."


    Gradually slowing down to a halt, Noel leisurely walked towards the ce where he thought was the best ce for Valyr to start improving his Shadow Energy, with thetter naturally following behind the former. Eventually, the duo had arrived at the area, prompting the young man to look at the sight before them, only to be left scratching his head once more.


    "As I''ve mentioned earlier, you first need to improve your Shadow Energy to the point it''s recognized by the system as a stat."


    "With that, you''ll be ying the non-hostile creatures in front of you for the meantime."


    "For reference, these small creatures are called Shadow Mammoths."

 Chapter 415 The Curse Strikes

    "Shadow Mammoths, huh¡­" Hearing the name of the creatures before them, an awkward smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he activated [Greater Analysis] to see whether Noel was telling him a lie. However, the status screen that appeared in front of Valyr''s face instead proved that the old man was indeed telling the truth.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Mammoth (Rare Elite)] (Level 30)


    ss: Shadow Mammoth


    HP: 2,970/2,970


    MP: 1,350/1,350


    Stats: 165 VIT, 140 STR, 110 AGI, 79 DEX, 75 INT, 138 WIS, 91 PER, 53 LUK


    Skills: [Headbutt], [Basic Shadow Energy Affinity], [Inferior Regeneration],¡­


    Remarks: They''re pretty cute for their size.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Of course, as Valyr looked at the status screen before him, he would nce at the Shadow Mammoths themselves for a bit. Being in the same condition as the Shadow Rabbit Emperor from before, their appearances were a tad darker whenpared to their real world counterparts. However, the opposite applied to their size, with them now being the same size as rabbits, even though their proportions were still that ofrge mammoths.


    "I''ll be there if you need me or if you want to ask me a question." Knowing that Valyr would take a while to ept the sight before him as reality, just like with the Shadow Rabbit Emperor, Noel decided to give the man some space as he gave him a heads-up that he would be idling at a nearby tree, sitting on one of its leaf branches.


    Nodding in response, Valyr let Noel do his thing as he eventually took in a deep breath, watching the Shadow Mammoths move about the area for a bit before proceeding to take a few steps forward. Though, at the very moment he did so, all of the Shadow Mammoths looked in his direction as their eyes all gained a faint tinge of crimson.


    "Ah, fuck." Noticing that the auras being released by the Shadow Mammoths had undergone an increase in power, Valyr could not help but let out a couple profanities as he took on a battle stance, conjuring a few balls made out of orange crimson mes before proceeding to throw it at the Shadow Mammoths.


    "[Crimson ze Barrage]."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "Groooogghhh¡­!" At the very instant the fireballs made contact with the Shadow Mammoths, thetter let out a pained cry that would be normal for a mammoth to let out, though at a higher pitch due to their smaller size. Nevertheless, with how all of the Shadow Mammoths had be hellbent on killing him due to a certain thing, Valyr ignored their pained cries as he threw fireball after fireball towards them, eventually causing the ground to be littered with their slightly charred corpses.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Not long after, the charred corpses of the Shadow Mammoths released a few faint motes of dark gray light that all swiftly made their way towards Valyr, prompting thetter to activate the [Shadow Eye]''s ability that would allow him to see Shadow Energy.


    Swoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, the motes of dark gray light were all condensed Shadow Energy that the Shadow Mammoths had been cultivating throughout their lives, all of which headed towards Valyr''s forehead as they directed themselves towards a specific part of his mind.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, Valyr felt his perception of the Shadow ne change, feeling like he could now see his entire surroundings in slightly better detail than before. Aside from that, he felt that the connection he had to Shadow Energy had improved, causing him to take look at the beam that extended from his forehead, noticing that it had be somewhat thicker than before.


    Staring at the beam for a bit longer, he also noticed how there now seemed to be less impurities within the beam, which was more apparent during the first time he had activated the ability to view his connection to Shadow Energy. All in all, he was quite satisfied with the rewards that he reaped from his first skirmish in the Shadow ne¡­


    Even though it was something he wasn''t aiming to trigger in the first ce.


    ''Who knew the curse would also be effective within this ce?'' Though Valyr had not felt the effects of the Mark of the Alltide for quite some time, it was still something that was stuck in the back of his mind, being a factor that he always considered whenever he would do something. Therefore, Valyr was quite surprised when he discovered that the curse still had an effect even in a ce separate from the real world, something that he definitely wasn''t expecting.


    ''Either way, thanks to this fight, I''m now more certain regarding a certain aspect of the curse,'' thought Valyr to himself, thinking about how the Shadow Mammoths were long within the 100 meter radius of the curse''s effect before the two decided to stop, but only decided to be aggressive when Valyr took a few steps forward. ''I''ll still have to check whether that''s indeed the case or not, but I think sound is the trigger for them to be hellbent on killing me.''


    Taking some time to ponder over how his first fight in the Shadow ne went, Valyr soon proceeded to y some more Shadow Mammoths within the area, with thetter always having the initiative due to the effects of the Mark of the Alltide. Naturally, with the curse in effect, Valyr experimented with making various sounds to trigger the aggressiveness of the normally docile Shadow Mammoths, as well as experimented on the loudness of these sounds to see if there was a minimum threshold.


    Eventually, he was able to deduce that any sound he made, whether it be his footsteps or his breathing, was the cause of the aggressiveness. Unfortunately, no matter how much he made sure that he made no noise, even going so far as to move like an assassin during one of his fights, the Shadow Mammoths still became aggressive,ing to the conclusion that there was no minimum threshold to the loudness at all.


    "Groooogh!" Sending yet another Shadow Mammoth to the afterlife with a quick st of orange crimson mes, the condensed Shadow Energy it had cultivated swiftly headed towards the young man''s body, reinforcing the connection he had with Shadow Energy to a small degree.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to limate to the slight improvement to his senses, Valyr eventually opened it once more, only to see Noel standing in front of him with a solemn expression.


    "Is there anything wrong, Elder Noel?" asked Valyr, to which Noel responded with a slight frown.


    "Not really¡­on second thought, there is one. I don''t mind the fact that you''re using magic to y the Shadow Mammoths, but there''s something that''s been bothering me."


    "And what''s that?"


    "Why haven''t you been using your spear?"

 Chapter 416 The Curse Strikes Again

    "Well¡­ about that¡­" Waiting for Noel to go on a tirade on how he should have used his spear while fighting against the Shadow Mammoths to increase hisbat efficiency even if sparingly, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he noticed the old man silently waiting for his response. Scratching the back of his head, Valyr grabbed his trusty spear from his back before giving it to the elder to identify.


    "It would be better for you to see it yourself, Elder Noel."


    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrow in slight confusion, Noel received Valyr''s spear with both hands, staring at it for a bit due to the ferocious aura he felt faintly emanating from the spear, as well as how brutal yet exquisite its design was. After that, he went ahead and used his identification skill on the spear, only for his eyes to focus on a certain innate skill that the spear held.


    "What kind of perverse skill is this¡­" Noel muttered in slight disbelief, staring at the description of [Tidemother''s Vengeance] for a long time as he worked out in his mind as to how the innate skill would work. Closing his eyes for a bit after that, he then gave the spear back to Valyr, who quickly affixed it on his back before looking back at the elder before him.


    "Correct me if I''m wrong in my spections, but that innate skill reduces more and more of your stats the longer you fight, right?" Still having a pensive expression on his face, Noel looked at the young man as he threw a question at him.


    "That would be correct, Elder Noel." Valyr faintly nodded.


    "And does it only apply during fights?"


    "Yes." Valyr nodded once more. "Whenever I''m not actively using it inbat, the innate skill doesn''t take any effect."


    "Is there a timer as to when the innate skill would disable after you''re out ofbat?" Noel rubbed his chin as he nodded, continuing to ask more questions for rification.


    "I''m not sure on that one." Responding to Noel''s question, Valyr shed a wry smile. "However, while I was exploring a dungeon, even though I had to traverse a great distance before arriving at another enemy, my stats continued to gradually decrease."


    "Well, with that kind of innate skill attached to a weapon, even I wouldn''t use the spear anymore." Letting out a low sigh after getting a better idea of how the innate skill on Valyr''s spear worked, Noel looked at the young man with a hint of pity in his eyes as he shed a wry smile of his own.


    "Anyways, I have a suggestion."


    "What is it, Elder Noel?" Raising his eyebrows in curiosity, Valyr watched as the old man took out a metal spear from his metal bracelet, causing the former to nk out for a bit as he instantly had a feeling he knew what the elder was going to suggest to him.


    "Have you tried using another spear aside from the one you currently have?" Giving the metal spear to Valyr, Noel watched as the young man looked at the spear he had received with a nk look, only to look back at the elder in silence soon after.


    Surprisingly, the thought of using another spear to see if the innate skill only applied to his current spear had not crossed Valyr''s mind. After all, even though it was a curse, he found its effects a great boon as long as he utilized it correctly, as well as the fact that he would not have to go through tons of experimentation to find out which material would improve his spear the best.


    Nevertheless, now that Noel had brought up the idea to him, the young man resisted the urge to p himself on the face with all his might, taking in a few deep breaths before deciding to do a few practice movements with the metal spear.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "So, is the skill activating?" Seeing as Valyr was getting used to the feel of the metal spear, Noel decided to pose the question to the young man, who only responded after he was done adapting to the spear.


    "Well, we''ll only find that out once I fight against something." shing a bitter smile at the elder, Valyr proceeded to move through the area they were in to possibly find a stray Shadow Mammoth they could test on. Unfortunately, with the effects of the mark still active, what ended up happening instead was a small group of Shadow Mammoths appearing within the duo''s field of vision all of a sudden, all of which were charging towards Valyr.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­" Taking in a deep breath as his grip on the metal spear tightened, Valyr watched as the group of Shadow Mammoths moved closer to him with every passing second, eventually deciding to make a move of his own as he interacted with the refined connection he had with Shadow Energy.


    "[Dark Serpentine Repulsion]!"


    Swoosh!


    mming the tip of the metal spear into the ground, Valyr conducted the Shadow Energy through the spear, which caused a small magic circle to form on the ground. Not long after, this magic circle glowed as a barrier of dark energy swiftly surrounded Valyr from all angles, which was what the Shadow Mammoths had collided against.


    Bang!


    "Grooooogh!" With the fact that they didn''t hold anything back in their charge, the momentum they had umted was swiftly sent back at them through the properties of the barrier, causing all of them to let out a pained cry as they were sent flying a couple of meters away. However, rather than remain where they were after they fell to the ground, as if their sense of pain was nullified, these Shadow Mammoths stood up once more and charged towards Valyr¡­


    Only to be met by the barrier once more.


    Bang!


    "Groooogh!"


    "What an impressive defensive skill." Considering that he was using the fourth technique of the [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] for the first time, Valyr looked at the sight before him with interest, staring as the Shadow Mammoths repeatedly mmed themselves onto the barrier as his mind came up with newbat strategies revolving around it.


    "So, is the innate skill taking effect?" As the Shadow Mammoths let out their pained cries for the final time, sending a decent chunk of condensed Shadow Energy Valyr''s way for him to absorb, Noel asked the young man the question he had asked earlier, wanting to see if his hypothesis was correct.


    "Surprisingly, it''s not triggering." In response, Valyr dispelled the barrier around him as he looked at the elder with a slight grin.


    "I guess I can finally return to using the¡ªgah!"

 Chapter 417 The Curse Strikes Once More

    Letting out a yowl of pain all of a sudden, Valyr swiftly fell to the ground as he released his grip over the metal spear, writhing and contorting in many different ways to try and alleviate the pain. As for Noel, he looked at the sight before him with a nk expression for a bit as his mind was still in the process of understanding what was happening.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for Noel to realize what was going on, thinking to himself that something rted to the innate skill had triggered within Valyr, which prompted him to take out a small pill from his spatial bracelet. "Here, drink this pain alleviation medicine."


    "Aaaagggh¡­" Even though the young man still continued to writhe on the ground in pain, Valyr tried his hardest to control his body, grabbing the pill of pain alleviation medicine from Noel''s hands before proceeding to ingest it. Surprisingly, at the very moment he had done so, the pain he felt all over his body gradually subsided, slowly allowing Valyr to take in a few deep breaths topose himself.


    However¡­


    "AAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!" As if it was an act of retaliation to the pain alleviation medicine he had ingested, the wave of pain Valyr felt mmed harder than ever before, causing his body to writhe and contort in more exaggerated positions than earlier.


    "But I''m sure I gave him pain alleviation medicine¡­" Now feeling worried for Valyr''s safety, Noel took a look at his spatial bracelet to see if he had indeed grabbed a pill of pain alleviation medicine, to which it did not take long for him to confirm. Closing his spatial bracelet as he wondered whether or not to give him a stronger dosage of the medicine, Noel''s eyes were quickly attracted by something on Valyr''s body.


    Something glowing.


    Though it was only faint, Noel noticed that Valyr''s back started to glow a faint crimson all of a sudden, prompting him to try and take off the chestte the young man was wearing, hoping to see if it would alleviate the pain Valyr was experiencing, as well as find out where the glow wasing from.


    ''This¡­'' By the time the old man had taken off Valyr''s chestte and moved it to the side, he was left silent, his gaze entirely focused on what he saw on Valyr''s back.


    Thanks to the faint crimson glow it had, what he saw was able to pass through the shirt Valyr wore, which was a mark of a spider surrounded by an intricate magic circle. Just as he was about to ponder to himself as to where the young man had gotten the mark, the glow the mark gave off started to intensify as a strand of crimson energy soon came out of the mark on Valyr''s back.


    Whoosh!


    At great speeds, the strand of crimson energy made its way to the metal spear Valyr was previously holding, corrupting the spear as Noel felt a ferocious and tyrannical aura emanate from it. Concurrently, the metal spear underwent a drastic change in appearance as veins of crimson spread throughout its entire shaft, while the tip took on a more aerodynamic shape, reminding the old man of how spider legs looked.


    Eventually, once the metal spear had finished undergoing its corruption, the glow that the mark on Valyr''s back gave off started to dim down, which brought along the wave of pain that the young man experienced. With that, the young man was finally able to breathe once more, while Noel went ahead and picked up the metal spear that had absorbed the strand of crimson energy from the mark on Valyr''s back.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Corrupted Metal Spear] (Level 20)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Weapon Bond: None


    Foundation Tier: None<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ascension Tier: None


    Attack: 62 - 103


    Forge Quality: Average


    One of many spears mass produced by a cksmith to be used by members of the Spearman Guild. Boasts great rigidity, strength, and flexibility due to the alloy used to make the spear.


    Has been corrupted by the vengeful energy of the Tidemother. Because of this, the spear contains a greater level of power whenpared to other spears, though ites at a cost.


    <Innate Skill: Tidemother''s Vengeance - A deep-seated wrath towards the wielder of the weapon exists due to the defilement of the strength''s source. Wanting to stop the wielder no matter what, its wrath spreads. Wielding this weapon inbat invokes a 0.2% decrease in the user''s stats every 10 seconds, capping out at a 30% decrease in all stats.>


    Remarks: It was a good spear.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I guess¡­ there''s more to it than it seems." Scratching his head as he finished reading the description of the metal spear, Noel let out a low sigh as he decided to chuck the corrupted metal spear into his spatial bracelet for now as he waited for the young man to recover from the pain he had experienced.


    "Haah¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths while he gave his body time to recover from the pain, Valyr gradually sat upright on the ground, only for the effects of the pain alleviation medicine he had ingested earlier to finally kick in.


    Letting out a faint sigh of relief, Valyr then took in a few more deep breaths, eventually noticing that Noel was looking at him. Looking at the old man''s expression, it gave him the feeling that he had a lot of questions to ask him, to which Valyr responded that he still needed a bit more time to recover.


    After a few more minutes of sitting on the ground, Valyr finally told Noel that he was ready to answer some questions, adorning a bitter smile on his face as he asked the old man, "You''re curious about the mark on my back, right? Elder Noel?"


    "Well, who wouldn''t be in that kind of situation?" Though Noel had a solemn expression on his face, there was still a faint hint of concern on it, inwardly wondering whether the young man was truly okay. "In any case, are you really fine with talking? You could still rest a bit more, you know?"


    "The pain alleviation medicine has taken away most of the pain that was left from that experience," said Valyr in response, slightly shrugging his shoulders. "In any case, it''ll eventually fade away the more I move about."


    "Hmm¡­ before I begin my exnation, would I be able to trust you to keep this information a secret, Elder Noel?"


    "If you want, I could swear a mana oath."


    "Hmm¡­ how about you do thatter, Elder Noel? Let the information I''m about to give you be the judge of whether or not it is worthy of such an oath."


    "Well¡­ if you insist."


    "Alright, so it all begins in¡­"

 Chapter 418 Recognition Of The Shadow Plane

    "So¡­ let me try and summarize everything you''ve told me so far." After asking Valyr a couple more questions amidst the young man''s narration of everything that had led up to the current situation, Noel took in a deep breath as he sorted out his thoughts, organizing all of the information he had just received from the young man in his mind.


    "Go ahead, Elder Noel." In response, Valyr nodded, waiting for the old man to begin.


    "To start off your entire narration, you used to have a wooden spear, transmuted it with Lesser Tidemother Blood, and eventually had your spear siphon the blood and energy of a recently killed Tidemother to improve the spear even further."


    "Yes." Valyr nodded.


    "And then, because of that, a higher being became enraged and gave you a curse that has a mark on your back."


    "That is also correct." Valyr nodded once more.


    "And that curse basically makes any wild animal within a certain distance away from you grow stronger and turn hostile towards you¡­ is that correct?" Seeing Valyr nod one more time in response to his words, Noel shed a soft smile at the young man, only for the smile to turn bitter as he thought about Valyr''s current situation a bit more.


    "It must suck living with that kind of curse," said Noel soon after, to which Valyr shed a bitter smile of his own.


    "It''s not bad when you''re in the cities or the kingdoms." Valyr bitterly chuckled. "Then again, there was a time where I more or less removed all of the rodents within a vige because of it."


    "Of course, I haven''t tried testing the effects of the curse in a monster-filled area yet, nor do I have a death wish to want to do so." At those words, the smile on Valyr''s face became more bitter than before. After that, he let out a faint sigh. "In any case, it''s not like I don''t have a way to turn the curse''s negatives into positives. I do know a couple ways on how to utilize it, fortunately."


    "But at the moment, the cons outweigh the benefits, right?"


    "Right again, Elder Noel." Valyr let out yet another bitter chuckle, causing Noel to be silent as he decided to shift the topic to something that was still rted to the curse, but at the same time wasn''t.


    "Hmm¡­" Rubbing his chin for a bit, a thought soon popped into the elder''s mind. "Now that I think about it, the blood of a Tidemother is amon material used in creating equipment, especially weapons made in the cities and kingdoms due to its properties of allowing the wielder to passively regenerate stamina and health."


    "With that, there should have been a case of someone being afflicted with the curse you currently have in the past, considering the amount of blood those cksmiths used whenever they would forge high rarity equipment." At this point, Noel''s expression became somewhat curious. "I wonder¡­ did the curse only appear because it has something to do with the fact you siphoned the Tidemother''s strength through your spear just as you killed it?"


    "I guess?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response. "Anything during that time could have been the reason as to why I got the curse."


    "Then again, when I handled Lesser Tidemother Blood for the first time to transmute my wooden spear into a stronger weapon, nothing of the sort had urred at all."


    "Hmm¡­" Deciding to ponder over the thought for a bit, Noel eventually gave up as he came to a dead end in his thought process, letting out a low sigh as he then shifted his thoughts to Valyr''s current condition of being unable to showcase his full might with the spear.


    "Well¡­ since there''s a short window of time that allows you to use the spear at your full might, I guess you should save the spear''s techniques as ast ditch effort to turn the tides around." Though he felt a bit of pity at the fact that the young man wasn''t able to use his spear right now, Noel was certain that there would eventuallye a time where Valyr would be able to showcase the might of his spear and his subss to its greatest extent.


    "For the meantime, continue to use your magic. Or, if you have a set of techniques stronger than the magic you currently use, feel free to use that instead."


    "So, pretty much what I''ve been doing all this time. Got it." Finding to take delight upon from Noel''s words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he nodded in response, to which Noel responded with a chuckle of his own.


    "What next, then?" After the two finished letting out a bit ofughter, Valyr posed a question to the old man, prompting thetter to shrug his shoulders in response.


    "What else other than to kill more Shadow Mammoths?" As Noel said these words, he activated his [Shadow Eye]''s ability to see Shadow Energy, focusing his attention on the connection Valyr had with Shadow Energy that extended from thetter''s forehead. "With how much your progress you''ve made, you would only need to kill a few more groups, actually."


    "And that would allow my Shadow Energy to be recognized by the system?" asked Valyr with a hint of expectation.


    "More like you would need to move to a stronger creature within the Shadow ne to continue improving your connection."


    "I see. Well¡­ that also works, I guess." Shrugging his shoulders in a way that told Noel he wanted his Shadow Energy to be recognized by the system as quickly as possible, Valyr let out a low sigh before proceeding to walk around the area in search of Shadow Mammoths to kill.


    But not before finding how much time the two of them had left before they would have to leave the ne.


    ¡­


    "Grooooghhh¡­!"


    "And that''s thest group of Shadow Mammoths I think." Taking note of the fact that the two of them had already been in the Shadow ne for about 10 hours or so, Valyr watched as the Shadow Energy from the Shadow Mammoths'' corpses slowly floated upwards before zipping through the air to make their way towards the young man''s forehead.


    After that, the Shadow Energy condensed themselves into a single orb before proceeding to head towards a certain spot within Valyr''s mind, reinforcing the connection he had with his Shadow Energy as he felt his perception of the Shadow ne grow a bit clearer.


    Eventually, while looking at the connection with [Shadow Eye], Valyr felt that his connection with Shadow Energy had reached a saturation point, only to feel the remaining bit of Shadow Energy left to be absorbed to dissipate into thin air soon after.


    "So, what creature would I have to kill next?" Turning around to look at Noel as he felt the remaining Shadow Energy eventually disappear into nothingness, Valyr threw a question at the old man, to which thetter quickly responded.


    "Fortunately, you don''t have to move that far." Watching Valyr fight from a high-up branch on a nearby tree, Noel looked at their surroundings for a bit before looking back at the young man. "Just move a couple of meters to your left."


    "A couple of meters to my¡ª!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Graaaooooo!!!"


    At the very instant he had done what Noel told him, Valyr heard a soft yet deep growl resonate throughout the area, prompting him to shift his gaze towards the origin of the sound. However, just as he was expecting to see arge creaturee his way, what he saw instead¡­


    ¡­was a dog-sized bear.


    "¡­"


    "[Greater Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Bear (Epic Elite)] (Level 37)


    ss: Shadow Ursa (Umon)


    HP: 4,860/4,860


    MP: 2,304/2,304


    Stats: 270 VIT, 272 STR, 188 AGI, 266 DEX, 128 INT, 136 WIS, 98 PER, 74 LUK


    Skills: [Charge], [Hibernation], [Basic Shadow Energy Affinity], [Basic Physical Damage Resistance],¡­


    Remarks: You definitely don''t see a dog-sized bear that often.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Haah¡­" Swiftly closing the screen he had brought up in front of him, Valyr took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, watching as the Shadow Bear gradually got closer to him. Then, seeing that there was only a fair distance between the two of them¡­


    Valyr sent out a barrage of des made out of orange crimson mes at the Shadow Bear.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "GRAAAOOOO!!!" Though it had be aggressive due to the effects of Valyr''s curse, the Shadow Bear''s behavior surprisingly returned to how it was originally at the very sight of des made out of orange mes heading towards its way.


    However, before it could turn around and flee away from the overwhelming threat of the des, the des bombarded the Shadow Bear''s body from every possible angle, leaving a charred yet disfigured corpse in its wake.


    Swoosh!


    Not long after, the Shadow Energy it had cultivated soon hovered above the disfigured corpse, zooming through the air to meld with Valyr and improve his connection with Shadow Energy beyond the saturation point.


    Weeeenggg¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [Your connection with the Shadow ne has undergone sublimation, increasing a level in quality.]


    [Your connection with Shadow Energy has undergone sublimation, increasing a level in quality.]


    [You have been recognized by the Shadow ne.]


    [Your connection with Shadow Energy has been recognized by the system.]


    [You have gained the ''Shadow Energy'' stat.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Shadow Energy Mark''.]

 Chapter 419 Onto Larger Foes

    Weeenngggg¡­


    At the very instant the condensed Shadow Energy from the Shadow Bear Valyr killed made contact with the young man, it swiftly headed towards the dark beam of energy that connected him to the Shadow ne, melding with it as it attempted to expand the connection even further.


    Fortunately, as the Shadow Bear''s Shadow Energy was considerably stronger than the Shadow Energy from the Shadow Mammoths he had been absorbing so far, even the energy from one Shadow Bear was more than enough for the connection to surpass its bottleneck and expand to even greater widths.


    Because of it, Valyr''s perception of the Shadow ne had changed greatly, allowing him to notice far more detail regarding the Shadow ne, even though the only difference he had done was that he had killed a Shadow Bear.


    Eventually, once the connection he had with the Shadow ne had been refined with the Shadow Bear''s Shadow Energy, the dark beam of energy that extended out of his forehead surprisingly contracted, causing Valyr''s expression to change into that of panic.


    However, swiftly realizing that the connection he had with the Shadow ne had not disappeared even with the beam''s disappearance, the young man pushed his [Shadow Eye] to greater heights, eventually noticing that the connection had now made its way to a small vacant spot near his heart.


    Whoosh!


    Then, as if it was a parasite, the connection attached itself to his heart, turning into a small ck mass that now fed Shadow Energy to Valyr''s heart, giving Valyr the feeling that he now had ess to Shadow Energy at any moment he wanted to.


    Wanting to confirm this, Valyr focused on the Shadow Energy from the small ck mass that melded with his blood and circted throughout his body, soon noticing that the small ck mass always stored a small amount of Shadow Energy for him to be able to tap into at all times.


    Though, just as he was about to check the changes to his body even further, a series of notifications resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [Your connection with the Shadow ne has undergone sublimation, increasing a level in quality.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have gained the ''Shadow Energy'' stat.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Shadow Energy Mark''.]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Returning to One''s Roots.]


    [Improve your Shadow Energy to the point the system recognizes its existence (1/1)]


    Stopping his introspection for the meantime, Valyr deactivated the other features of [Shadow Eye] for a moment before shifting his gaze to the old man that had appeared before him, shing a small grin. "Got it recognized."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I could definitely sense the change." In response, Noel nodded, giving Valyr a slight smile soon after. "However, what you''ve done is only the first step. There are still a lot of things for you to do in the Shadow ne before you are truly eligible to fight against a Shadow Serpent."


    "With that, there are two objectives on the quest I''ve given you that you could choose to do at the moment."


    "Improving the quality of my Shadow Energy or increasing the quantity of my Shadow Energy, right?" Asking this question, Valyr went ahead and asked another after the elder nodded at his first one. "Which would be faster among the two, Elder Noel?"


    "Hmm¡­" Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Noel rubbed his chin in ponderation for a bit before eventually giving Valyr an answer. "To be honest, increasing the amount of Shadow Energy you have ess to at once is generally harder than improving the quality. After all, you have to fight a ton of monsters to increase your quantity, while you would only have to sit down and condense the Shadow Energy that you have to improve its quality."


    "So, I should focus on improving my quality first?" asked Valyr in response to Noel''s exnation.


    "Eh¡­" Hearing Valyr''s question, Noel had a somewhat conflicted expression. "You could definitely go ahead and do that, but condense a single point of Shadow Energy to improve its qualitypared to condensing many points of Shadow Energy to improve its quality is leagues apart in difficulty. Unless if you have an affinity towards Shadow Energy, I would rmend you go for quantity first before quality."


    "So, quantity it is." Valyr nodded. "You could have told me to focus on quality first, you know?"


    "I could, but you wouldn''t have known which to prioritize first." Noel nodded in agreement.


    "Well¡­ I guess you may be correct." Though Valyr felt that he coulde up with a counterargument in response to Noel''s statement, the young man decided not to push it any further. "Since I''m going to focus on quality, which monster should I be hunting down, Elder Noel?"


    "Since you''re still far away from reaching a bottleneck from killing Shadow Bears, then kill those first. Only when you feel like your progress has stagnated will we move onto other monsters," said Noel in response, to which Valyr nodded.


    "Any idea on whates after Shadow Bears, Elder Noel?" Valyr nced at the old man with a slightly curious expression.


    "Shadow Lions and Shadow Tigers." In response, Noel looked back at the young man with a calm expression, as if he was already expecting such a question to be asked.


    "I''m guessing they''re far away from where the Shadow Bears are." Saying these words, Valyr took note of the old man''s faint nod before deciding to make progress in his quest once more.


    Taking a deep breath in preparation for what he was going to do, he nced back at Noel and asked, "How many hours left do we have in this ce before we have to head back?"


    "Considering you took quite some time to know the ins and outs of your [Shadow Energy Mark], around 10 hours left, give or take." Hearing these words, Valyr sucked in a bit of cold air before letting out a low sigh.


    Then, with a determined expression, two orbs of orange crimson mes manifested above his palms as he took a step forward, only to start dashing in the direction of the Shadow Bears not long after.


    "I see."


    "Then, I won''t take long."

 Chapter 420 Reaching A Bottleneck

    A couple of hours had passed since Valyr had obtained recognition from the Shadow ne and gained the [Shadow Energy Mark] skill.


    During those past couple of hours, he had been killing Shadow Bears left and right after being told by Noel to focus on improving the quantity of his Shadow Energy first before deciding to condense it and improve its quality.


    While doing so, he took note of the many changes having the [Shadow Energy Mark] skill had while inbat and while not inbat, with the most prominent change being the fact that he felt that his stats were slightly higher than they were without Shadow Energy.


    Wanting to ascertain this fact, Valyr tested his hypothesis by using a bit of his Shadow Energy in sending a lone Shadow Bear to the afterlife, faintly nodding after sensing that all of his stats had reduced by a point or two.


    With that in mind, he now understood that utilizing Shadow Energy was a bncing act between consuming it tond devastatingly strong attacks and conserving it to maintain a constant increase in his stats.


    ''Fortunately, using any of the skills from [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] would gradually reduce my stats, hence I am forced to not use Shadow Energy whatsoever.'' At that moment of understanding, Valyr muttered this thought to himself, only to let out a wry chuckle not long after. ''Or should it be unfortunately instead?''


    After taking note of the change [Shadow Energy Mark] had brought to hisbat style, he also took note of the fact that whenever he killed a creature from the Shadow ne, a notification would pop up in response as his body absorbed the remnant Shadow Energy from the creature he killed.


    Ding!


    [Your Shadow Energy stat has improved by 0.03 points.]


    On the very first Shadow Bear he had killed after obtaining the [Shadow Energy Mark], Valyr was quite surprised to obtain a notification from the system that his Shadow Energy stat had improved by 0.1 points, prompting him to think that it wouldn''t take long for him to umte 10 points and improve his Shadow Energy''s quality.


    However, recalling the words Noel had mentioned to him earlier about not reaching a bottleneck from fighting Shadow Bears yet, it did not take long for Valyr to change his mindset, going through all of the Shadow Bears as quickly as possible to ensure that the rate of improvement of his Shadow Energy stat was consistent.


    ¡­


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    "Graaaaaooo!!!" Watching as a swarm of des made out of orange crimson mes headed towards its way, the Shadow Bear''s instinct to charge towards Valyr no matter what swiftly disappeared, being reced with the strong urge to flee as it tried its hardest to turn tail and run.


    Unfortunately, just like the other Shadow Bears Valyr had in during the past couple of hours, the Shadow Bear was unable to distance itself from the des, with most of themnding grievous damage on its body as it was gradually debilitated with each consecutive blow.


    By the end of it, what was left of the Shadow Bear was nothing more than a slightly disfigured corpse, to which Valyr stared at for a bit, only to let out a faint sigh soon after.


    Whoosh!


    A couple of secondster, the condensed Shadow Energy the Shadow Bear had cultivated gradually extricated itself from the corpse before zipping through the air to enter Valyr''s body not long after, making its way to the small ck mass near Valyr''s heart.


    Ding!


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 0.01 points.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Your Shadow Energy has reached a bottleneck. From now onwards, killing Shadow Bears and lesser entities shall not you any increase in Shadow Energy.]


    "I finally reached that bottleneck Noel was talking about." Deciding to use the time to take a quick break, Valyr sat down on a nearby boulder to catch his breath,manding the system to bring up the description of [Shadow Energy Mark] sometimeter.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Energy Mark] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Shadow Energy: 3/3


    Grade: Impure (Common)


    Throughout the ages, a great number of beings havee into contact with Shadow Energy and have used its properties for their own uses, manipting it as they see fit. However, only a select few have truly tapped into it, with only those who have traversed its origin, the Shadow ne, being able to do so.


    As someone who has traversed the Shadow ne, your connection with Shadow Energy has gained the recognition of the system, as well as the Shadow ne itself, with thetter giving you a proof of identity that your control of Shadow Energy has now reached the level of a native creature of the Shadow ne.


    This proof of identity is none other than the Shadow Energy Mark, a mark that takes on multiple forms depending on the being the Shadow ne recognizes. It allows the one who has been recognized to improve the amount of Shadow Energy they control, as well as the quality of the Shadow Energy they control, eventually giving them the ability to traverse the Shadow ne unimpeded.


    This skill allows the user to tap into Shadow Energy at any time, not needing to form a connection with the Shadow ne anymore whenever the user wishes to do so. This skill also allows the user to store a small amount of Shadow Energy within their bodies, which could be improved by absorbing the Shadow Energy of other creatures within the Shadow ne.


    This skill also allows the user to gain a boosting effect from the Shadow Energy within their bodies, with each point of Shadow Energy the user currently has inside their bodies boosting all of their physical and mental stats by 0.5% (Current boost: 1.5%).


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Killing the Shadow Bears gave me an increase of two points, huh." Closing the screen once he was done reading, Valyr thought about how the Shadow Mammoths had more or less allowed his Shadow Energy to reach one point, with the increase the Shadow Bears brought to his Shadow Energy being double that.


    "Hmm¡­ since Shadow Lions and Shadow Tigers are next, would they increase my Shadow Energy by three points, or would they increase it by four?"


    "Hmm¡­" Pondering over it for a bit, Valyr scratched the back of his head, letting out a low sigh not long after as he stood up, feeling like he had taken a long enough break. "Well, whatever the answer may be¡­"


    "There''s only one way to find out."

 Chapter 421 The Tiers Of Cleansing

    Whoosh!


    "Finally done with the Shadow Bears, kid?" Seeing that Valyr had finally taken a break after killing Shadow Bears for so long, Noel jumped down from the branch he was sitting on, appearing in front of the young man he had keeping an eye on.


    "I guess so." Valyr nodded in response. "I just gained a notification from the system that killing Shadow Bears wouldn''t me any Shadow Energy, so¡­"


    "I see." Listening to Valyr''s words, Noel gave the young man a faint nod before proceeding to look at their surroundings, eventually focusing his gaze on a specific direction a few secondster. "Since that''s the case, I guess it''s time for you to start killing Shadow Lions, then."


    "Alright." Nodding in response to the old man''s words, Valyr went ahead and followed behind Noel, with the two of them zooming through the vast water ins of the Shadow ne at speeds iprehensible to a normal person. With the Shadow Energy faintly boosting Valyr''s stats, this speed was increased by a considerable margin, making the trip to the next area a bit shorter than it would normally be.


    "Say, Elder Noel. I''ve been curious about something." Whilst the two of them were making their way to the area where the Shadow Lions were, Valyr nced at the elder beside him and threw a question. "You put it as an objective on the quest you gave me to improve my Shadow Energy to the grade of 1st Cleansing."


    "That, I did." Noel faintly nodded, his eyes still glued to what was in front of them.


    "How hard is it to reach that grade?" Taking note of the old man''s response, Valyr went ahead and asked the question he wanted to ask him in the first ce, only to follow up with an additional question after that. "Also, how many grades are there in total?"


    "Well¡­" Hearing the question thrown at him, Noel briefly scratched the back of his head as the gears in his mind turned. "The difficulty of reaching the grade of 1st Cleansing depends from person to person. But from what I''ve gathered while imparting to others the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss in the past, you could say that achieving it is a bit on the difficult side."


    "After all, it''s the third grade of quality you could attain on your [Shadow Energy Mark]," said Noel soon after.


    Bing silent for a bit as the two of them continued to run, Noel eventually opened his mouth once more, proceeding to go somewhat in-depth in his exnation regarding the grades of Shadow Energy quality to Valyr. "As far as I''ve attained, there are a total of seven grades to the Shadow Energy you could tap into."


    "Would I be correct in saying that your current grade of Shadow Energy is Impure?"


    Hearing that question, Valyr went silent for a couple of seconds before nodding in response. Nodding back at the young man, Noel then continued, "Impure would be the first and easiest grade of quality one could obtain through their [Shadow Energy Mark], considering that it''s the default quality most people get when obtaining their mark for the first time."


    "However, for those who are a bit more talented or have a considerably high affinity for Shadow Energy, the quality of their Shadow Energy could reach a grade of Pure. With how the Impure grade corresponds to the Common rarity, then Pure grade corresponds to the Umon rarity, bringing along with it a great number of benefits those with Impure grade Shadow Energy don''t have."


    "Of course, the higher the quality grade of your Shadow Energy, the more prominent these benefits get." At these words, Noel looked at the young man and shed a slight grin. "After Purees the 1st Cleansing, which basically means that you''re turning your already pure Shadow Energy and condensing it into a far purer form, with the 2nd Cleansing and 3rd Cleansing grade after that being more or less the same thing."


    "However, after the 3rd Cleansing grade, rather than focusing on condensing your Shadow Energy to make it purer, you instead condense your Shadow Energy to transform it into a greater version of itself."


    "This grade is called the 1st Metamorphosis." Saying these words, Noel''s expression turned somewhat solemn, letting out a soft sigh soon after. "Out of all the people I''ve imparted the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss to thus far, only I have been able to reach this grade. In fact, I''ve even gone beyond it and achieved 2nd Metamorphosis."


    "I presume that the grade after that would be 3rd Metamorphosis, considering the pattern that exists in the previous grades, but I can''t be so sure." At these words, Noel took a look at Valyr. "In any case, I hope you could be the next person to achieve what I have achieved, especially since I''ve gone out of my way to apany you to the Shadow ne."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I won''t make any promises, but I''ll definitely try my best, Elder Noel. After all, even I think it''s a waste to only stop at bing a Shadow Serpentine Lancer." Committing all of the information he had obtained from Elder Noel to memory, Valyr gave the old man a response that more or less satisfied thetter.


    After that, the two of them redoubled their efforts in traversing the Shadow ne, eventually arriving at the area for Shadow Lions a few minutester.


    ¡­


    "Here we are." Gradually reducing their speed to a grinding halt, Noel took a look at the area in front of them before shifting his gaze to the young man. "I don''t have a lot to tell you about the Shadow Lions, except for the fact that they''re creatures solidly at Rank 3."


    "Oh, and also, they''re pretty territorial. Either way, I''m pretty sure you''ll be able to take them down without much of a problem." Taking Noel''s words to heart, Valyr waved farewell to the old man before proceeding to head deeper into the area before them.


    Surprisingly, not even a couple minutester, Valyr hade into contact with one of the Shadow Lions he had to fight against, blurting out what he thought about the Shadow Lions in his mind as he identified the creature before him.


    "That''s¡­ definitely a cat-sized lion."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Lion (Epic Elite)] (Level 45)


    ss: Shadow Lion (Umon)


    HP: 6,144/6,144


    MP: 2,640/2,640


    Stats: 256 VIT, 352 STR, 376 AGI, 298 DEX, 110 INT, 176 WIS, 184 PER, 90 LUK


    Skills: [Charge], [Swipe], [Basic Shadow Energy Affinity], [Inferior Regeneration], [Berserk], [Basic Physical Damage Resistance],¡­


    Remarks: Ever imagined a cat with a mane?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 422 Facing The Shadow Lions

    With Valyr moving onto the Shadow Lions to progress past the bottleneck he had obtained after ying a lot of Shadow Bears, yet another couple of hours had passed since the young man had begun his killing spree.


    Simr to the first Shadow Bear he had killed after obtaining the [Shadow Energy Mark], Valyr had earned a great level of improvement to his [Shadow Energy Mark] after absorbing the Shadow Energy of the Shadow Lion he had killed.


    However, aside from that, the great increase in his capacity apanied with it a feeling that was quite difficult to describe in great detail. Though, if Valyr were to sum it up into one word, then the feeling he felt from the absorption of Shadow Energy would be¡­


    An explosion.


    At the very moment the Shadow Energy from the Shadow Lion made contact with Valyr''s body and made its way to the small ck mass near his heart, the young man felt a small explosion ur within the small ck mass, which caused the ck mass to grow a small amount in size, while the amount of Shadow Energy it could now store at one time now seemed greater than ever before.


    If Valyr were to describe the difference between the amount of Shadow Energy the small ck mass could store previously to after the explosion had urred, it was akin toparing a small puddle to a considerably sizedke.


    Nevertheless, after that, Valyr ced most of his focus into killing the Shadow Lions as quickly as possible, taking into consideration that they only had less than eight hours left to stay in the Shadow ne after he had reached his first bottleneck.


    With that, the young man went into a frenzy during the past couple of hours, not holding back in his consumption of mana as he wantonly sent out all of the strongest magic-based attacks he could muster, trying to keep the samebat efficiency he had while fighting the Shadow Bears as much as possible.


    ¡­


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: Cascading ze]."


    "[Intermediate Wind Magic Style: Billowing Tempest]."


    "Combine."


    Whoosh!


    Watching a group of Shadow Lions hastily make their way to where he currently stood, Valyr had a solemn expression on his face as he conjured one magic spell after another, only tobine them together before sending them out in the Shadow Lions'' direction.


    With how Valyr had used thisbination of magic spells multiple times already, it did not take long for the effect he wanted to achieve to appear before him, causing a massive tornado of mes to appear in front of Valyr and the Shadow Lions, spanning a height over a few dozen feet within seconds.


    Whenever Valyr unleashed this move against a group of Shadow Bears, this move was more than enough to cancel out the aggressiveness brought about by the Mark of the Alltide, with the feeling of fear instead debilitating their bodies as they tried to run away.


    However¡­


    "Oh?" Raising his eyebrow in surprise, Valyr watched as the Shadow Lions continued to run in his direction, even though the zing tornado was on their path. Pondering over the reason why the group of lions showed no fear in front of therge tornado, the young man watched as the Shadow Lions ran through the tornado, allowing their bodies to be singed by the scalding mes as their eyes still contained a fierce crimson glint within them.


    "Hmm¡­ it probably has something to do with the disparity in levels and stats. Then again, the specifics of how far that disparity needs to be is something that could only be found out with a lot of experimentation." Scratching his head for a bit, Valyr slightly shrugged his shoulders as he watched the now somewhat burned Shadow Lions exit the ming tornado, continuing on their paths to head to where he was without any change in their expression.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Anyways¡­ I shouldn''t dy this any longer."


    "[Intermediate Crimson me Maniption]."


    "[Crimson de Torrent]."


    Whoosh!


    Taking a quick peek through [Greater Analysis] to see how much damage the zing tornado had dealt to the group of Shadow Lions, Valyr went ahead and conjured what he considered was one of the most destructive skills in his arsenal, sending out a barrage of des made out of orange crimson mes towards the Shadow Lions.


    Surprisingly,pared to therge ming tornado that appeared before them, the Shadow Lions hesitated for a bit as they saw a swarm of orange crimson des head their way, feeling a hint of fear rise up in their bodies for a brief moment. However, before this feeling of fear could take root, the crimson glint in their eyes grew brighter as the aggressiveness they had before appeared once more in full force.


    With that, the Shadow Lions unhesitatingly made contact with the des of orange crimson mes, causing more and more damage to pile up on their bodies as their skin became more and more charred. Eventually, the Shadow Lions realized that they were nearing their demise, finally allowing their instincts to flee in front of a stronger foe to take over.


    Unfortunately, before they were able to do so, their final strands of vitality had left their bodies, allowing the young man they had nned to kill to reap his rewards.


    Ding!


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 0.05 points.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has reached a bottleneck. From now onwards, killing Shadow Lions and lesser entities shall not you any increase in Shadow Energy.]


    Watching as the Shadow Energy from the Shadow Lions'' corpses made their way to the small ck mass near his heart, Valyr took a look at the description for [Shadow Energy Mark], taking note of the fact that he could now store six points of Shadow Energy instead of three, as well as the fact that his stats were now boosted by 3% instead of 1.5%.


    ''I guess it would be safe to assume at this point that reaching the bottleneck with the Shadow Tigers would allow me to reach the 10 point mark.'' Letting out a short sigh of relief as he sat on the ground to take a bit of rest, Valyr watched as Noel made his way to where he was, a faint smile adorning thetter''s face.


    "After this, you only have to kill the Shadow Tigers and you''ll have enough Shadow Energy to attempt improving its quality with a high chance of sess," said Noel to him. "Considering that there''s only six hours left before we have to leave the Shadow ne, I think there''s a chance you might finish all of the objectives needed to fight the Shadow Serpent."


    "A chance, huh." Staring out at the topsy-turvyndscape of the Shadow ne for a bit, Valyr breathed out yet another sigh before standing up, only to look at Noel with a confident smile.


    "Well¡­ with how everything''s progressing so far¡­"


    "It definitely feels like I can do it."

 Chapter 423 Testing A New Skill

    "And¡­ we''re here." After talking with each other for a bit regarding the progress Valyr was making inpleting the objectives he had given him, Noel and the former eventually made their way to the area where the Shadow Tigers resided, being in a location that was farther from the Shadow Lions, Shadow Bears, and Shadow Mammothsbined.


    Because of the distance they would have to traverse, Noel did not spare any hesitation in buffing the two of them with the strongest movement speed buffing skills he had in arsenal, allowing them to traverse the long distance that separated them to the Shadow Tigers in the same amount of time it took them to reach the Shadow Bears, possibly even less.


    While crossing through the vast wilderness of the Shadow ne, Valyr asked Noel as to how one would go about improving the quality of one''s Shadow Energy, seeing as how he was going to do so after he was done with the Shadow Tigers. In response, Noel gave him a more in-depth exnation on the refining process.


    "I mentioned to you earlier during the exnation on the various qualities that you would have to condense your Shadow Energy into a far purer form to increase its quality, right?"


    "Yes, Elder Noel." Valyr nodded in response.


    "Frankly, the process in improving your Shadow Energy to a higher quality is a bit moreplicated than that, but the choice of words I''ve used more or less sums up what you need to do," said Noel after nodding back. "In short, what you need to do is to manipte your Shadow Energy to congregate towards a certain spot and then control them to squeeze each other tightly."


    "Of course, if it were just that, then almost every prominent Shadow Serpentine Lancer in Veldanyr would have a Shadow Energy quality grade of 3rd Cleansing, perhaps even 1st Metamorphosis." At these words, Noel shed a wry smile.


    "Instead, while you''re forcing all of the Shadow Energy to congregate towards a certain spot, you must also remove the impurities within the Shadow Energy that arise from the squeezing you''re doing. Eventually, once you remove all the impurities within it while continue to force the Shadow Energy to squeeze in one tiny spot, the Shadow Energy itself will take over the process and improve in its quality."


    "The process to achieve 1st Cleansing and the higher grade are somewhat different than what you have to do to go from Impure to Pure, which was what I just exined." Noel briefly nced at Valyr before returning his gaze to what was before them. "But for the most part, the process is more or less the same, with just a few additions or omissions in certain grades."


    Nodding after Noel was finished exining, Valyrmitted the information he had just received to memory as the two of them continued to head to where the Shadow Tigers were, eventually arriving at its periphery around 10 minutester.


    ¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At the very instant the two had arrived at the periphery of the area where the Shadow Tigers resided, Noel swiftly jumped to a nearby branch, turning around to look at Valyr soon after to beckon the young man to get onto a branch as well. Slightly curious, as well as confused as to why he had to do just that, the young man still went ahead and did it, setting foot on a branch that was adjacent to where Noel stood.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What''s with the standing on branches, Elder Noel?" Taking a look at the old man in front of him, Valyr threw a question at the former.


    "Remember how I said the Shadow Lions were territorial?" However, rather than answer the question outright, Noel instead threw a question back at the young man, to which thetter responded with a nod.


    "Well, you could consider the Shadow Tigers a slightly worse version of the Shadow Lions," said Noel in response. "Of course, I don''t mean worse by them being weaker than the Shadow Lions."


    "Instead, they''re a worse opponent to fight against." At these words, Noel looked at Valyr with a solemn expression. "For one, their strength is solidly in theter levels of Rank 3."


    "As for how territorial they are¡­ I''m pretty sure us standing on branches more or less answers that question."


    "I¡­ see." Bing silent for a bit as he pondered over his strategy in fighting the Shadow Tigers, Valyr thought about how it was possible for him to aggro a lot of Shadow Tigers at once and kill them in one go. After all, all he had to do was sling his usual attacks from the trees and continue moving until he had amassed a great number of them.


    ''But then that would instantly put me at a disadvantage if I ever slip and fall down.'' Slightly frowning, Valyr then thought about how he could use [Tide of the Dark Night] to circumvent that problem, only to then think about the possibility of them having far higher health than the amount of damage he could with the skill at once.


    Of course, there was also the fact that he would be weaker the longer he remained inbat whenever he wielded the spear, which would eventually put him at a far greater disadvantage against the Shadow Tigers.


    "Hmm¡­" Deciding to sit on the branch to ponder over it for a bit more, a thought eventually surfaced in Valyr''s mind, prompting him to recall the skill that he wanted to test out after he had gotten it, but had no time to do so due to the sudden invitation to the Shadow ne.


    ''There''s also the fact that I was nning topare it to the conventional skills of the same type, but then again¡­ I guess this skill would solve one of the issues I would have while fighting against the Shadow Tigers¡­ probably.'' Briefly scratching his head as he wondered whether the skill would truly solve one of his problems or not, Valyr decided to take a look at its description once more, wanting to refresh his knowledge of its capabilities.


    "System¡­"


    "Bring up the description for [Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts]."

 Chapter 424 Orcbeasts

    Ding!


    Apanied with a soft chime sound, a small screen containing information on [Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts] appeared in front of Valyr''s field of vision, prompting the young man to take a look at it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common+


    Originally a haphazard attempt by the Sage of Erudition in modifying the unique summoning arts of the orcs to fit the capabilities of human summoners, this skill has given great attention by the Sage of Erudition in hister years, allowing its foundational levels to be sturdy and have no problems. However, due to the Sage of Erudition meeting an untimely death, the final stages of the skill have yet to be finalized.


    And thus, he passes it onto you.


    This skill allows the user to tap into the unique summoning arts of the orcs, giving the user the capability to summon beasts that have been specifically tamed and trained by the orcs to apany them in the wake of battle: the Orcbeasts. Orcbeasts summoned through this skill scale off the user''s stats at the moment they are summoned, with the user gaining the option to either consciously control their every movement or give simple orders that they shall unhesitatingly obey.


    Orcbeasts currently able for summoning: [Arx''has Boar]


    Maximum number of Orcbeasts: 2


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    Cost: Depending on the summoned Orcbeast


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''He said back then that he made this skill in passing after talking to a few human summoners, but this skill says that he actually put in a great amount of effort into refining it.'' Refreshing his knowledge regarding the capabilities of the summoning skill An''xhur had given him, Valyr thought about the words the half-orc had said to him about the skill before they parted ways.


    ''I don''t know if he just wanted to downy the fact he put in effort into the skill, or if it was a project he was embarking in secret to try and improve the rtionship between the humans and the orcs even more.'' Inwardly shrugging his shoulders as his mind briefly thought about what-ifs, Valyr thenmanded the system to bring up the description of the only Orcbeast he could summon through the skill, causing another screen to appear in front of his field of vision secondster.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Arx''has Boar]


    The Arx''has Boar is a species of boar native to the Khagarax Empire, achieved through multiple generations of selective breeding by thebat researchers of the orc race. Because of this, these boars have great resilience, strength, and speed, acting as mounts that orc warriors would generally use on the battlefield.


    However, due to the exact same reason why these boars have superb physical capabilities, their mental capabilities have be affected, with their mental fortitude weak enough to instantly turn tail and run under the presence of a mighty foe.


    Once summoned through the [Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts], this boar shall have 25% of the user''s VIT, STR, AGI, and DEX, 10% of the user''s INT and WIS, and 15% of the user''s PER and LUK.


    Cost to summon: 1,000 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''That''s actually pretty good.'' Closing the two screens before him after he was done reading, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he thought about the stats the Arx''has Boar would get once it was summoned. Compared to the summoning skill that came with his spear, [Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts] was leagues ahead in terms of flexibility and performance.


    ''Hmm¡­'' As the gears in his mind turned for a bit, the young man eventually brought out a couple of Skill Keys from his spatial bracelet, spending over 80,000 XP to bring the skill to its max level before proceeding to evolve it to the next grade with a Common grade Skill Key.


    Ding!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Would you like to use 1 Common Skill Key and spend 100,000 XP to evolve ''Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts'' to the next grade?]


    "Of course." Hearing the prompt resound in his mind, a faint smile shed on Valyr''s face as he proceeded to confirm his choice to evolve the skill.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully evolved ''Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts'' to Umon+ grade.]


    [The skill ''Basic Shamanic Summoning Arts'' has evolved to ''Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts'' due to the change in grade.]


    After looking through the notifications he had just received, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the newly evolved skill, wanting to see what changes had urred.


    ''Oh?'' Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for the young man to notice a couple ofrge changes to the functionality of the skill, bing silent for a bit before proceeding to spend a single Umon grade Skill Key and a bit over 900,000 XP to improve the skill to its max level.


    Ding!


    [You have upgraded the skill ''Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts'' to Level 20 (MAX).]


    [You do not meet the requirements necessary to evolve the skill to a higher grade.]


    Taking in a deep breath as thoughts of whether he had made the right choice or not started to fill his mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the skill once more, hoping to see that the choice he had made was, in fact, correct.


    Fortunately, after reading through its description, he became more certain that it was.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts] (Level 20/20)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Originally a haphazard¡­ description has been omitted.


    This skill also allows the user to spend more mana in the summoning process of the Orcbeasts, granting them the ability to improve their stats and evolve the more they fight, consuming part of the XP the user gains during these fights in the process.


    Eventually, once these Orcbeasts have improved enough, they would gain sentience and be beings that do not fall under the control of the skill. However, these sentient Orcbeasts still have undying loyalty to the user that has summoned them.


    Orcbeasts currently able for summoning: [Arx''has Boar]


    Maximum number of Orcbeasts: 5


    Cooldown: 1 minute


    Cost (Normal Summoning): Depending on the summoned Orcbeast


    Cost (Growth Summoning): 3x the cost of the summoned Orcbeast


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 425 A Round Of Combat Testing

    "So¡­ what are you nning to do to fight against the Shadow Tigers?" Seeing that it had been a few minutes since Valyr became silent, Noel decided to break the silence by asking the former a question, prompting the young man to stop what he was doing for a bit, closing the screen he had just brought up as he looked at the old man in front of him with a faint knowing smile.


    "Well¡­ let''s just say I have a skill up my sleeve that would probably help me out." As Valyr said these words, Noel raised his eyebrow in curiosity, soon asking the young man as to what he meant by that. In response, Valyr told him that he would have to wait until he was ready to start moving.


    Though Noel had a slight frown on his face after hearing that, the elder stayed put and allowed Valyr to do his own thing once more, which prompted thetter to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as hemanded the system to bring up the description of the [Arx''has Boar], wanting to see whether the changes to the skill brought by the evolution also applied to the Orcbeasts he could summon.


    "No way." As the notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr read through the contents of the screen before him, inadvertently blurting out his reaction to the change.


    Of course, the change was all positive.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Arx''has Boar]


    The Arx''has Boar¡­ description has been omitted.


    Once summoned through the normal summoning method of [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts], this boar shall have 35% of the user''s VIT, STR, AGI, and DEX, 20% of the user''s INT and WIS, and 25% of the user''s PER and LUK.


    However, once summoned through the growth summoning method of [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts], this boar shall also gain the ability to improve its stats by 0.5% of its original stats per gained level, with each subsequent tier the boar passes improving this percentage by 0.3%, reaching a maximum of 2% of its original stats per gained level before it achieves sentience.


    Cost to summon: 1,000 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''If I summon an Arx''has Boar through the growth summoning method the skill gained, considering that its stats ranges from a quarter to two-fifths of my current stats, factoring in the improvement per level it gains and how it changes per tier¡­''


    Naturally, Valyr voicing out his surprise piqued the interest of the old man, prompting thetter to ask the young man what had happened for him to react that way. Unfortunately for Noel, rather than obtain an answer to his question, Valyr instead shed a knowing smile at him, telling the elder through his expression that he would find out with due time.


    ''By the time the Arx''has Boar reaches the peak of Rank 5, it would probably be able to handle Rank 4 beings without a problem, perhaps a couple of weaker peak Rank 4 beings even.'' After responding to Noel''s question, Valyr returned his thoughts to how strong an Arx''has Boar would be through the new summoning method the skill gave him ess to, finding the conclusion somewhat satisfactory.


    ''Then again, with the curse in y, hehehe¡­'' Though, after recalling the fact that the skill would be affected by the Mark of the Alltide, a slight grin slowly crept up onto Valyr''s face as he let out a faint yet mischievous chuckle.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    Closing the screen that was in front of him, Valyr soon began to move in the direction of a Shadow Tiger, prompting Noel to follow behind him to see what n the young man had in store. While doing so, the gears in Valyr''s mind started to turn as he began to think out loud.


    "Considering how summoning a single Arx''has Boar through the growth summoning method costs at least half of my current mana pool, I could choose whether to summon five normal Arx''has Boars or summon two Arx''has Boars that have the ability to grow." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr thought back to his original n of dealing with the Shadow Tigers by aggroing a lot of them before finishing them off with one destructive skill.


    Bing silent for a bit, Valyr thought about how five normal boars would allow him to aggro a great number of Shadow Tigers at once, but at the cost of having to re-summon them every time due to the difference in strength between the boars and the tigers. After that, he reced the five normal Arx''has Boars with the two growth Arx''has Boars in his mind, imagining how thetter would fare in taunting a lot of Shadow Tigers at once.


    "At this point, it''s probably a no-brainer." Swiftlying to a conclusion in his mind, Valyr soon jumped down from the branches,nding at an area on the ground that he surveyed to not have any Shadow Tigers nearby. Noticing this, Noel stopped in his tracks, watching Valyr from the branches to see what thetter was up to.


    "Ih pyn''ah tt''wagg k''ahn haap nmal''kas at meht''tagg!" Expecting to see the young man on the ground either summon his spear or conjure a strong magic skill, Noel was left at a loss for words when he instead saw Valyr begin to chant a string of words that sounded gibberish to his ears.


    Though, just as he was about to head to where Valyr was and ask what the young man was doing, those thoughts disappeared in Noel''s mind in the meantime as he watched the young man ce both of his hands on the ground, chanting the string of gibberish-sounding words once more before proceeding to channel mana through his hands.


    Swoosh!


    Within seconds, aplex magic circle made up of multiple runes appeared before Valyr, consuming a great portion of his mana pool before giving the young man the feeling that it could continue operating without his input. With that, Valyr stepped back and allowed the magic circle to do its thing, keeping the cooldown of the summoning skill in mind as he watched the magic circle before him absorb the ambient mana in the surroundings.


    By the time the first magic circle he had conjured was around halfway to bing saturated with mana, Valyr felt that he was able to use the summoning skill once more. Without hesitation, he distanced himself from the first magic circle, only to do the same thing all over again, chanting a string of gibberish-sounding words before mming his hands to the ground and infusing it with mana.


    Swoosh!


    Taking in a few deep breaths as he allowed his mana to regenerate, Valyr sat on a nearby boulder as he watched the two magic circles absorb the ambient mana in the surroundings and do their thing. Eventually, the first magic circle had be saturated with mana, prompting the mana it had absorbed to congregate at the center as a boar spanning over four meters in length manifested on top of that.


    Sometimeter, the second magic circle had be saturated with mana as well, undergoing through the same process as a boar of the same size appeared before Valyr.


    "Well then¡­" With a somewhat excited smile adorning his face, Valyr stood up from where he sat as he moved closer to the boars, noticing that both of them were looking at him. With both boars giving off the feeling that they were connected to him in soul, the young man went ahead and identified their stats as he asked them a rhetorical question.


    "Let''s do somebat testing, shall we?"

 Chapter 426 The Game Plan

    "Gork!" In response to his rhetorical question, the two boars let out a deep yet brief snort in unison, causing the smile on Valyr''s face to be wider as he returned his attention to the status screen he had just brought up.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Arx''has Boar (Elite)] (Level 1)


    ss: Arx''has Boar


    HP: 1,765/1,765


    MP: 914/914


    Stats: 139 VIT, 110 STR, 120 AGI, 199 DEX, 72 INT, 34 WIS, 61 PER, 23 LUK


    Skills: [Charge], [Basic Physical Damage Resistance], [Basic Physical Damage Nullification], [Inferior Regeneration]


    Remarks: Although it iscking in the mental department, it is still a superbly strong being at Level 1.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Well, with these stats, they won''t be doing any of the attacking any time soon.'' Getting a rough idea of the capabilities of the two Arx''has Boars before him, Valyr proceeded to close the screen he had brought up before shifting his gaze to the two boars, taking a look at them in greater detail.


    Aside from the fact that they were over four meters in length, these boars stood at a height of just a little bit over a meter while standing, giving Valyr the feeling that the boars would overwhelm him in terms of body size. Then again, with the disparity that existed between their stats, that feeling had be more or less negligible, prompting him to move his attention onto the other parts of the Arx''has Boars.


    ''I wonder how much they''ll level up after taking on one round of Shadow Tigers?'' As this question lingered in his mind, Valyr moved closer to the boars, taking note of the fact that the two were still looking at every move he made. With that, he shifted his gaze to their ash gray fur, which surprisingly glowed a faint brown under the dim lighting of the Shadow ne.


    After that, Valyr grazed his hands over it, only to find it surprisingly soft to the touch.


    ''I guess that''s part of the reason why these guys were chosen as mounts for the orc warriors, aside from theirrge size.'' Seeing that the other boar was conveying to Valyr through its expression that it wanted its fur to be ruffled as well, the young man let out a faint chuckle before proceeding to do the same thing to the other boar, which made both of the boars let out a satisfied grunt in response.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Alright. Let''s talk about our game n." Feeling that he had spent enough time familiarizing himself with the two Arx''has Boars, Valyr moved in front of them before proceeding to initiate a conversation with them. Though their response to his words was nothing more but a simple snort, with the connection the two had to his soul, Valyr nodded back in response as he went silent for a bit.


    "Hmm¡­ how about this? I''ll be scouting ahead for signs of Shadow Tigers while you two will maintain a set distance behind me." Saying these words, Valyr looked at the two to see if they understood. Fortunately, even though it took a while for the gears in their mind to turn, the two boars let out an affirmative grunt in response, allowing the young man to continue with his exnation.


    "Then, once I find signs of Shadow Tigers, I''ll give you guys a signal and that''ll be your cue to wrangle them all up so I could deal with them in one hit."


    After Valyr had finishedying down his n to the two boars, he then proceeded to make a sharp whistle sound with his mouth, informing the two boars of the signal that they had to listen to. Of course, with how the mental faculties of the Arx''has Boars were somewhatgging behind their physical capabilities, Valyr was forced to exin the entire n to the two a couple more times, growing slightly more annoyed with every subsequent repetition.


    "Gork." Thankfully, the two boars eventually understood what Valyr wanted to happen, prompting the two to let out affirmative snorts in unison, causing the young man to let out a long sigh of relief while nodding.


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr turned around to look at the area in front of them before proceeding to hop onto a nearby branch. Then, nodding at the boars to signal that their n was beginning, the young man proceeded to move through the branches in search for Shadow Tigers, with the Arx''has Boars tailing behind Valyr, making sure that there was a decent amount of distance between them.


    ¡­


    "A summoning skill¡­" Watching Valyr and the two boars he had summoned move farther away from where he stood, Noel''s eyes were wide open as he was left at a slight loss for words. "You''re telling me he also uses summons in hisbat style?"


    "Him being a cksmith is understandable. After all, it''s what allowed him to be a candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance in the first ce," muttered Noel to himself as he tried to make sense of what he had just seen. "Him being a spearman is also understandable, since earningbat experience would help out in forging."


    "Him being able to cast magic is also understandable, since it''s an incredibly versatile system to use." At these words, the old man scratched the back of his head in slight fury. "But to even have ess to summoning skills, and strong summoning skills at that¡­"


    "Absurd." Feeling that he would only get a headache the more he thought about it, Noel shook his head as he ced his current train of thought at the back of his head, deciding to start moving if he wanted to see Valyr''s summons in action.


    "In any case, those boars Valyr summoned are unlike any type of boar I''ve seen in the past." Whilst he moved in the direction Valyr and the two boars were heading in, Noel thought back to the appearance of the boars the young man had summoned, rubbing his chin in the process. "I wonder if it''s a species of boar unique to the summoning skill he has?"


    "Well, whatever the case may be..."


    "Let''s see if these boars could stand their ground against the Shadow Tigers."

 Chapter 427 A Hundred And Eleven

    Whoosh!


    After darting around the area for quite some time, Valyr eventually stopped on a sturdy branch, taking note of a creature grazing within his field of vision from over a hundred meters away. Making sure that he did not trigger the curse, Valyr pushed his perception to its limit as he identified the creature with [Greater Analysis] while he continued to track its movements.


    Ding!


    As a notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr moved the screen that had popped up in his field of vision to the side as he watched the creature for a bit longer, wanting to see if there was a pattern in its movements. While doing so, he took note of its appearance, which was simr to all of the other creatures he had encountered and killed before in the way that its fur had a darker shade due to it being in the Shadow ne.


    However, rather than its size being simr to the Shadow Bears and Shadow Lions in the way that it was the same size as a cat or a dog, the creature the young man was looking at seemed to be asrge as a wolf.


    "I guess I''m up against one of the lowest level predators of the Shadow ne." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr finally took his gaze away from the creature and looked at the screen he had brought up, only to take in a deep breath as he focused on the creature''s physical attributes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Tiger (Legendary Elite)] (Level 50)


    ss: Shadow Tigris (Umon)


    HP: 8,592/8,592


    MP: 3,240/3,240


    Stats: 358 VIT, 513 STR, 506 AGI, 360 DEX, 135 INT, 140 WIS, 259 PER, 113 LUK


    Skills: ??? (skills unknown due to disparity in strength and level)


    Remarks: Better not get hit by one of those paws.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Even if I went all out in buffing my stats, I wouldn''t be able to escape its clutches even if I wanted to.'' Taking in a few more deep breaths as he thought about how he and the boars would go about gaining their attention and killing them, Valyr wondered what his chances of winning were on a one-on-one fight against one of the Shadow Tigers.


    ''If I only relied on my spearmanship, I''d definitely die.'' Of course, it did not take long for him to answer his question, a wry smile gradually creeping up onto his lips. ''Then again, even if I use magic and summoning to fight against the Shadow Tigers, I''d probably still be at the losing end¡­ but at least I''d have a shot at winning.''


    ''Either way, with the great disparity in stats, the only way to win against them is to catch them off guard.'' With that in mind, Valyr proceeded to make a sharp whistle sound with his mouth, prompting the two Arx''has Boars that were trailing behind the young man all this time to start making a ruckus.


    Running through the area with all of the speed they could muster, the Arx''has Boars let out loud squeals to attract the Shadow Tigers'' attention¡­ which unsurprisingly worked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Grooooaarrr¡­" Letting out a deep growl at the fact that its territory was being trespassed, the Shadow Tiger Valyr had kept his eye on all this time proceeded to head in the direction of where the Arx''has Boars were making sound.


    With that, he turned his head to look at what the boars were doing, inwardly nodding in satisfaction once he saw the two boars head their separate ways to attract even more of the Shadow Tigers to where they were.


    As time passed, more and more of the Shadow Tigers congregated in the general direction of where the two Arx''has Boars were causing a ruckus, all of them taking their time to head there since they felt that the strength of the beings making the sound were at a level that gave them the confidence to return everything to silence with one hit.


    By the time twenty minutes had passed, the two Arx''has Boars had returned to their original locations, with Valyr perched on a top of a nearby branch as he counted the number of Shadow Tigers that had been attracted by what the two boars were doing.


    "107¡­ 108¡­ 111¡­" Feeling like he had moved enough Shadow Tigers into one spot, Valyr stood up and retrieved his spear from his back, inwardly letting out a faint sigh of relief after sensing that his stats weren''t decreasing yet. Then, with a loud stomp, he redirected the attention of the Shadow Tigers from the Arx''has Boars to himself as he soon jumped down from the branch.


    "Hey!" Shouting out loud to make sure the attention of the Shadow Tigers were solely on him, Valyr proceeded to go over his buffing skills in his mind as he began to circte Shadow Energy through his body.


    Thud!


    "Gork!" As Valyrnded on the ground with a loud thud, the two boars spared a nce at him, prompting the young man to nod back at them for a job well done as they began to distance themselves from what was about to happen.


    "Groooaarrr¡­" Aside from the fact that the young man had invaded their territory, with how the young man had given their initial targets the opportunity to flee the scene, all of the Shadow Tigers had be incensed, letting out a deep growl as their auras started to re up.


    "Heh." In response to the hostility the Shadow Tigers were showing, Valyr red his aura in retaliation, only for it to grow stronger as he then began to activate some of the buffs he had been saving up for this moment.


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Offense Aura+]."


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the feeling Valyr''s aura gave off was in no way inferior to the auras the Shadow Tigers were giving off. However, because of this response, the Shadow Tigers became far more hostile than before, ring their auras to their utmost limits as they wanted to show Valyr who among them was the stronger side.


    Though, before any of the Shadow Tigers could even make a move on him¡­


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­"


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."

 Chapter 428 Unbelievable Improvement

    Whoosh!


    Just as the Shadow Tigers were about to make a move on the being that had stopped them from baring their fangs on their initial target, a wave of dark energy appeared out of nowhere, spanning a height over a few meters tall as it engulfed all of the Shadow Tigers in its vicinity one by one.


    "Groooaaarrr!!!" Unsurprisingly, those at the forefront of the group were the first ones to be engulfed by the wave of dark energy, leaving nothing behind from these engulfed bodies whatsoever.


    Naturally, a small portion of those at the middle and the back of the group felt a foreboding feeling that all of them would be engulfed by the wave at some point, thinking that the best course of action at this moment was to turn tail and run.


    However, before they could even do so, the majority of the Shadow Tigers focused their aggression on the wave of dark energy, forgetting about the being that had taunted them as the wave before them was now thergest threat to their lives.


    Watching as the wave grewrger andrger with every passing moment, these Shadow Tigers, whose thoughts were to flee from the area, were left with no choice but to move alongside the majority, considering that thetter had not given them any way out.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing as the wave continued to growrger with every passing moment, Valyr returned to the branch he previously perched on top of before proceeding to watch the aftermath of his attack, returning his spear in its original ce. Feeling some of the strength siphoned by the spear slowly return to him, a faint smile gradually crept up onto his face, only for it to be wider as he felt a wave of energy enter his body.


    Activating one of the abilities of [Shadow Eye], his vision was soon blessed by the sight of a great wave of Shadow Energy from the Shadow Tigers making their way to where he was, inundating his body with a great amount of it that eventually made its way to the ck mass near his heart, rapidly increasing the amount of Shadow Energy he had at the moment.


    Ding!


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 1.52 points.]


    Eventually, the wave of Shadow Energy he had conjured disappeared, leaving nothing but the watery ground that had turned dark under the effects of [Tide of the Dark Night]. Seeing that Shadow Energy still lingered near the periphery of the area he had unleashed his attack in, Valyr jumped down once more from the branch he was perched on top of, prompting all of the remaining Shadow Energy to head towards his body in a frenzy.


    Ding!


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 0.48 points.]


    "Only two points left." Taking a swift look at the description of [Shadow Energy Mark], Valyr soon shifted his gaze to the horizon as he felt the two connections on his soul tug on him. However, expecting to be greeted by a pair ofrge boars that wanted to be praised for their effort¡­


    He was instead by a pair of massive boars that wanted to be praised for their effort.


    "What¡­" Left at a loss for words, Valyr could only stare at the two boars that were in front of him. Though the connections to his soul told him that the boars before him were the same boars he had summoned earlier, their current appearances were an incredibly stark contrast to how they appeared before.


    Now, the boars before Valyr spanned a length of over seven meters, with their heights now above one and a half meters. Aside from that, their fur, which was previously ash gray fur, had now taken on a deeper gray tone, while the brown glow it gave off under the dim light of the Shadow ne had now be a shade of ck.


    Continuing to stare at the two boars, the young man wondered to himself what had urred during their bout against the Shadow Tigers for the two Arx''has Boars to grow so much, already taking into consideration the fact that he knew they would grow after the fight. Thankfully, it only took Valyr a single request to the system to show his notification screen to find out his answer.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 50 Shadow Tiger (Legendary Elite). You have gained 431,703 XP.]


    [Due to the effects of ''Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts'', 50% of the XP gained has been allocated evenly to your currently summoned Orcbeasts.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Over 400,000 XP from a single monster¡­" With his eyes wide open, Valyr''s mouth turned agape as he thought about the number of Shadow Tigers he had just killed. "Then, with half of it going towards the boars¡­"


    "[Greater Analysis]." Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr shifted his gaze to one of the boars before proceeding to use his identification skill on it.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr prepared himself for what he might see on the screen that would appear before him.


    Unfortunately, even preparing for it was far from enough to stop Valyr from feeling the urge to faint then and there.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Arx''has Boar (Elite)] (Level 35)


    ss: Arx''has Boar


    HP: 3,204/3,204


    MP: 1,674/1,674


    Stats: 178 VIT, 141 STR, 153 AGI, 255 DEX, 93 INT, 44 WIS, 78 PER, 30 LUK


    Skills: [Ferocious Charge], [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Lesser Regeneration], [Inferior Stamina Regeneration]


    Remarks: Incredibly powerful in their rank. Could fight against those of a rank above them, albeit with difficulty. Stillcking in the mental department.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Level 35¡­" Sucking in a breath of cold air at the level the Arx''has Boars had achieved from a single bout, it took a while for the increase in level to sink into Valyr''s mind, looking at the boars every once in a while in shock before eventually calming down.


    However, just as he had calmed himself down from the shock he had just received, a thought swiftly surfaced in his mind, which quickly gnawed at his curiosity due to the fact that it had been quite some time since hest checked it.


    ''Since the boars were able to level up to Level 35 from just one bout with the Shadow Tigers¡­''


    ''How much XP do I have at the moment?'' As this question continued to echo and linger in his mind, Valyrmanded the system to show him the amount of unused XP he had with a hint of anxiety.


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever familiar notification sound resound in his mind once more as a screen appeared before him, the young man took in a deep breath to calm down his nerves¡­ only for his legs to feel weak as he soon fell to the ground on his back, gazing at the sky with a nk stare.


    [Unused XP: 188,299,734]

 Chapter 429 Time To Refine

    "How the hell did I umte this much XP¡­?" Staring at the sky with a nk gaze for quite some time, Valyr was forced to sit upright after the two boars came closer to him, their expressions showing their concern for his wellbeing.


    Assuring the two massive boars that he was fine, the young man soon asked the two boars to give some time to think, taking in a few deep breaths to calm down his mind once more as the Arx''has Boars distanced themselves from him.


    ''So¡­ how did the amount of unused XP I used to have eventually snowball to this amount?'' Seeing that the two boars had made sure that their presence wouldn''t distract him, Valyr focused all of his attention inward, the gears in his mind starting to turn as he retraced all of the things he had done in the past that gave him XP.


    Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for him to recall that almost all of the XP he had gained as of recent were obtained from ying monsters. However, after pondering over it for a bit more, he soon came to think that he might have in a farrger number of monsters than he had initially expected, considering that the amount of unused XP he had right now was absurdlyrge.


    Thankfully, the answer started to unfold in his mind once he recalled the notification he had just seen earlier, eliciting a bitter smile to gradually creep up onto his lips as he muttered a few words to himself. "I guess I''ve been punching above my weight a little bit too much, huh."


    Though he had gotten used to fighting against monsters that were a few levels above him, even monsters over ten levels above him such as the Shadow Lions and Shadow Tigers he had just faced off, as well as the Skeleton Archmages he had fought back in the Lesser Meltierre Mountain dungeons, it was only at this moment did it dawn upon him how absurd his strength had be.


    "Setting aside all of the skills, titles, and equipment I have at the moment, the root of my absurd strength all boils down to the Mythic ss I have," said Valyr to himself, letting out a low sigh after being reminded how he wouldn''t be able to achieve what he had achieved so far if not for the ss. "All of what I have only augments that strength even further, allowing me to do what I do today."


    "In any case, since I have more than enough XP to do so, I should probably do that, considering it affects the strength of my summons." Closing his eyes for a bit, a calm expression eventually returned on Valyr''s face as he opened his eyes,ing to terms with the reality check the amount of unused XP he currently owned had given him. "Aside from that, I wouldn''t be able to improve past that point because of the inheritance anyway."


    Feeling that it was a waste for him to not use even a bit of the unused XP he left untouched all this time, Valyr went ahead and sent amand to the system, only for a notification screen to appear before him not long after that notified him¡­


    ¡­of his sessful level up.


    Ding!


    [13,790,287 XP has been allocated.]


    [Your level has increased by 7 levels.]


    [You are now Level 40.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your ss: +28 VIT, +28 STR, +28 AGI, +49 DEX, +49 INT, +14 WIS, +21 PER, and +7 LUK.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your subss: +14 VIT, +7 STR, +21 AGI, and +28 DEX.]


    [You have gained 28 unassigned stat points.]


    [You have reached the level limit of your current ss. To increase this limit, it is highly advised for you to ascend to a higher ss.]


    [Would you like to ascend?]


    Whoosh!


    "To think reaching the peak of Rank 2 didn''t even consume even a tenth of the XP I currently have." Feeling a strong surge of strength wash over his body as he read through the series of notifications he had received, Valyr found the current situation somewhat amusing, with his actions reminding him once more how much XP he still had left to allocate.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Doing a few basic movements to limate to his newfound strength, slowly pushing his body closer and closer to the increased limits his body could handle, Valyr eventually let out a satisfied sigh, allocating his unassigned stat points evenly between his DEX and INT as he pondered to himself whether or not to spend some more of his unused XP on leveling up all of his unleveled skills to their maximum level.


    However, rather than make a decision now, he decided that he would make the decision after fighting against the Shadow Tigers some more, calling the Arx''has Boars through the connection they had to his soul to head to where he was.


    "Gork." As the two boars did not go too far from where Valyr was, it did not take long for them to appear before him, the expressions they had while staring at the young man being that of curiosity, wondering as to why they had been called.


    "It''s time for us to continue ourbat testing." Responding to their expressions, an excited grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about his chances of winning against the Shadow Tigers with his newly improved stats.


    With how they were under the young man''s control, as well as the fact that they had undergone a great level of improvement from just running around to taunt the Shadow Tigers, it went without saying that the boars had be excited at Valyr''s words as well.


    And thus, they began their onught once more.


    ¡­


    Simr to the amount of time Valyr had spent fighting against the previous creatures, only stopping once [Shadow Energy Mark] had informed him that he had reached a bottleneck, Valyr and the two boars spent over a couple of hours wrangling all of the Shadow Tigers into one spot before proceeding to eliminate all of them with a single swift yet incredibly destructive move.


    Though the number of Shadow Tigers they were able to wrangle up was far lesser than the number of Shadow Tigers they had wrangled during the first bout, each group of Shadow Tigers they eliminated still hovered around the 30 to 40 range, allowing Valyr and the boars to still obtain arge amount of XP with every bout.


    Of course, wanting to maximize the amount of XP he had been obtaining from killing the Shadow Tigers, he had summoned three more Arx''has Boars through the growth summoning method, all of which had better base stats than the first two due to Valyr leveling up. Then again, with how much XP the first two Arx''has Boars had amassed throughout their fights so far, the two boars were still far stronger than the three that had been summoned.


    Nevertheless, with five boars now working together to congregate the Shadow Tigers into one spot, the efficiency of Valyr''s attacks had increased significantly, with most of the groups they were creating now numbering around 80 to 90.


    By the time they had killed around 400 Shadow Tigers, Valyr found out that he could change the ratio of gained XP that was shared between him and the Arx''has Boars. Seeing that the amount of unused XP he had at that moment had already surpassed how much he had before he chose to level up, he unhesitatingly changed the allocation ratio¡­


    ¡­to where all of it went towards his summons.


    Unsurprisingly, the decision drastically improved the leveling speed of the five Arx''has Boars, especially the three boars that were trying to catch up as much as possible to reach the same level of strength the first two had.


    Sadly, all good things had toe to an end as by the time Valyr had killed over 900 Shadow Tigers, a string of notifications had appeared in front of his field of vision.


    Ding!


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 0.03 points.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has reached a bottleneck. From now onwards, killing Shadow Tigers and lesser entities shall not you any increase in Shadow Energy.]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Returning to One''s Roots.]


    [Improve your Shadow Energy Mark to contain 10 points of Shadow Energy (10/10)]

 Chapter 430 Lurking Dangers

    "Good work everyone. We''ve achieved what we needed to achieve." Reading through the string of notifications he had just obtained after wiping out yet another group of Shadow Tigers, a bright smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he shifted his gaze to the five boars before him. "Go take a break. You deserve it."


    "Gork!" In response to Valyr''s words, the five boars looked at each other for a bit before returning their gazes back at Valyr, their expressions that of relief and excitement. Letting out snorts filled with gratitude in unison, the five headed to a more secluded area that was near the young man before proceeding toy down on the cool watery ground.


    ''With my Shadow Energy finally at 10 points, the only thing left for me to do is to improve its quality to the 1st Cleansing grade and kill a Shadow Serpent.'' Watching the boars lie down on the cold ground with satisfied expressions on their faces, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he decided to lean his back on a nearby tree, staring at the boars for a bit as he recalled the great number of Shadow Tigers they had killed.


    With the number of Shadow Tigers he had killed being far more than the number of Shadow Mammoths, Shadow Bears, and Shadow Lions he had killedbined, it went without saying that Valyr had amassed a great amount of XP from doing so.


    However, after discovering the ability to change the allocation ratio of XP between him and the boars around halfway into their hunt, he changed the ratio to where all of the XP they would get from the Shadow Tigers would go to the boars instead.


    Naturally, such a choice had a massive impact on the growth rate of the five boars.


    "Gork." As one of the first two boars let out a long yet rxed snort, with the others snorting in response, Valyr was reminded of the boars'' size once more, with the first two boars now over eight meters in length, with their heights now being tall as Valyr himself. As for the three other boars he had summonedter on, their sizes were slightlyckingpared to the first two, but not by much.


    ''It just goes to show how it gets progressively more difficult to level up the higher one''s level is.'' Though this thought lingered in his mind, the amount of XP the boars had obtained from killing the Shadow Tigers was actually more than enough for them to push past the Rank 2 barrier, all of them now solidly within the ranks of Rank 3 beings.


    Being the ones who had gotten most of the XP from killing the Shadow Tigers so far, the first two boars Valyr summoned were already at theter levels of Rank 3, onlycking a couple more levels to reach its peak. As for the remaining three, they were all solidly in the middle levels of Rank 3, which gave them a level of strength that did not lose out to the first two boars.


    "It definitely sucks that I can''t ascend to Rank 3 yet because of the inheritance," muttered Valyr to himself, gradually closing his eyes as he basked himself in the environment. "Then again, the gains I would obtain from participating would help me out in the long term."


    "Seeing as you''ve allowed your summons to take a rest, I suppose you''ve already achieved 10 points of Shadow Energy?" As Valyr continued to take in the surroundings with a rxed smile on his face, an old man eventually appeared beside him, throwing a question at the former that prompted him to open his eyes.


    "Can''t I give them a bit of rest, Elder Noel? After all, they''ve been helping me out all this time." In response to the question, Valyr let out a slight chuckle, only for his expression to turn solemn soon after. "Either way, I have indeed obtained 10 points of Shadow Energy."


    "I suppose I''m going to start improving its quality now?"


    "Unless you want to go and kill a Shadow Serpent?" Hearing this questione out of Noel''s mouth, Valyr looked at the old man in response, showing his eagerness to do so with a faint nod. Noticing this, Noel''s somewhat joking expression gradually disappeared, being reced with a solemn expression as he showed through his aura that the young man was far from ready to fight against a Shadow Serpent.


    Understanding that he might be possibly skipping steps by forgoing the improvement of his Shadow Energy''s quality, Valyr did not insist on fighting against the Shadow Serpent any further, instead shifting the topic by asking about how he would go about improving his Shadow Energy''s quality.


    "I believe I''ve already told you how to do that, no?" Raising his eyebrow in slight confusion, Noel began to distance himself from the young man, giving thetter ample space to focus all of his attention on himself. "In any case, achieve a Shadow Energy quality of Pure grade first. Only then will I start giving you more information on the upgrading process."


    "Condense the Shadow Energy into one spot and remove the impurities that appear out of it¡­" Going through the memories he had saved in his mind, Valyr soon recalled the words Noel had spoken to him a few hours ago regarding the upgrading process. "That''s all I need to do, right?"


    "That''s all you need to do, yes." Noel firmly nodded in response. "However, I will advise you to try and be quicker, though. With how much time you''ve taken to reach the bottleneck against the Shadow Tigers, we only have less than four hours left before we have to leave the Shadow ne."


    "I haven''t really thought much about it so far, but what would exactly happen if we were to not leave the Shadow ne before those four hours are up?" As Valyr asked this question to the old man, he began to sit on the ground cross-legged in preparation for what he was about to do, thinking that the only reason why Noel wanted them to leave the Shadow ne in less than four hours left was because the sun would set at that time.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    However, judging from the slightly grim expression that had appeared on Noel''s face in response to the question, it was only then did Valyr think that things might not be that simple.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a low sigh, Noel looked at the young man before proceeding to open his mouth. "To be honest, nothing much would really happen if we were to stay in the Shadow ne after the sun begins to set."


    "But why¡­"


    "However, that would only apply to me." Before Valyr could even begin asking his question, he was interrupted by Noel, with the man''s words causing the former to go silent. Seeing that Valyr''s interest was now piqued by his statement, the old man took in a deep breath before deciding to continue.


    "After the sun begins set, the true nature of the Shadow ne begins to appear."


    "This ambient Shadow Energy surrounding us at the moment? All of that disappears after the sun sets, being reced with a far more ferocious energy that would invade our bodies the very moment it appears." At these words, Noel''s expression turned even more grim, his mind bringing up some unsavory memories he already swore he had forgotten.


    "A few of those who had the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss tried to extend their stay in the Shadow ne in the past under my surveince, thinking that nothing would happen to them. In their minds, they thought the Shadow ne would only turn darker than it already was and that was it."


    "Oh, how they were very wrong." Noel shook his head, his body faintly trembling as more and more of those unsavory memories popped up in his mind. "Within seconds of that ferocious energy appearing, they were all turned into statues, their bodies gradually turning pitch ck in the process. In my eyes, it was as if the darkness itself was swallowing them whole."


    "Then how¡­"


    "¡­am I still alive, you might ask?" Knowing what question had formed within Valyr''s mind, Noel asked the same question before the young man could finish, only to answer that same question after that. "Quite simple."


    "The Shadow, the Void, and the Abyss. The three levels of energy I''ve mentioned to you before," said Noel in response. "The Shadow refers to Shadow Energy, the energy you and any other Shadow Serpentine Lancer would be able to wield inside and outside the Shadow ne. It is also the type of energy generally found within the Shadow ne¡­"


    "¡­during the day." Hearing this phrasee out of Noel''s mouth, Valyr''s expression turned slightly grim, putting two and two in his mind together as he now had a hunch as to why it was dangerous for him to stay in the Shadow ne after sunset.


    "The Void. Void Energy. Only Void Serpentine Lancers have the ability to wield it, also giving them the ability to stay in the Shadow ne after the sun begins to set." As Noel said those words, it was only then did Valyr confirm the hypothesis he hade up with. "It is also the same energy that invaded the bodies of those foolish Shadow Serpentine Lancers, their bodies forever trapped in darkness."


    "And if one were to extend their stay even further and reach the height of the night?"


    "Then one would only find the Abyss."


    "That is why I am the only one who could stay in the Shadow ne indefinitely¡­"


    "¡­ and the reason why you only have less than four hours left in this ce before we have to leave."

 Chapter 431 Removing Impurities

    "That¡­ was a far moreprehensive answer than I initially thought." Committing every word Noel had spoken to him regarding the reason why he could not stay in the Shadow ne after sunset as of yet, Valyr was silent for a minute or so before finally being able to respond, feeling a hint of guilt after recalling the expressions the old man had made during his exnation.


    "I¡­ also apologize for bringing up some bad memories, Elder Noel," said Valyr soon after, turning to look at the ground as he let out a faint sigh.


    "Why are you apologizing for something you don''t have control over?" Letting out a sigh of his own in response, Noel told the young man to look back at him, leaving the young man no choice but to do so. "It was my mind that decided to bring up some memories I thought I''d already forgotten out of nowhere. You don''t have apologize for it."


    "If anything, direct that apology to yourself." As Noel said these words to him, Valyr looked back at the former with confusion written all over his face. Fortunately, the old man''s statement was more than enough to clear that confusion up. "Because of that question of yours, you now have far less time to improve your Shadow Energy''s quality in the Shadow ne."


    "Is there something wrong with improving one''s Shadow Energy outside the Shadow ne, Elder Noel?" Noticing how the old man had focused in on him improving his Shadow Energy while they were still within its origin, Valyr wondered to himself if there was someplex reason to it as well, thinking that there might be restrictions to refining the energy outside the Shadow ne just like how he could not stay in the Shadow ne after sunset.


    However, what he got instead was¡­


    "Not really." Noel faintly shook his head with his expression that of slight confusion. "You could go ahead and improve your Shadow Energy quality just fine outside the Shadow ne. It''s just that it''s tens to hundreds of times slower since your level of sensitivity towards the energy is decreased."


    "Oh." Not wanting the other side to realize that he had just seeminglyplicated the answer to the question in his mind, Valyr decided to just nod in response before proceeding to close his eyes, cutting off his five external senses one by one as he focused his attention on the small ck mass near his heart.


    "I guess he thought he would get a simr answer out of me." On the other hand, taking note as to how Valyr''s behavior had swiftly changed after obtaining the answer to his question from Noel, thetter did not pursue the matter any further, instead letting out a bit ofughter before proceeding to sit near the young man.


    "Let''s see if you could improve your Shadow Energy quality by two grades before we have to leave the Shadow ne." Casting a barrier of Abyssal Energy around the two to make sure none of the Shadow Tigers in the area would disturb the two of them, Noel took a brief nce at Valyr before deciding to close his eyes, attuning himself to his surroundings before soon focusing all of his attention towards his internals as well.


    ¡­


    "Wow." At the very instant Valyr had cut off all of his external senses, with only his mental power being the only thing taking a look at what was inside the small ck mass, the young man was swiftly greeted by the sight of what looked like a field of dark particles, faintly glistening every once in a while as if they were stars in space.


    "So, I''m guessing the dark particles is a manifestation of the Shadow Energy I''ve collected from the creatures so far." Continuing to admire the sight before him for a bit longer, Valyr eventually recalled the main reason why he had focused all of his attention inwards, soon utilizing the connection he had with his Shadow Energy to begin manipting the dark particles within the space before him.


    Whoosh!


    "Surprisingly malleable." As his eyes briefly widened in surprise at how easy it was to move the dark particles around with his thoughts, Valyr went ahead and manipted all of the dark particles to congregate into one spot, choosing the center of the space as the dark particles were already more concentrated there.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Swoosh!


    Within minutes, almost all of the dark particles within the space Valyr was viewing had already moved themselves to the inner half, only leaving a fewrge particles behind that were far darker than the dark particles themselves. Trying to move theserge particles closer, it did not take long for the young man to realize that theserge particles were the impurities he was trying to remove from the Shadow Energy, prompting him to manipte theserge particles in a way that would make them head in the opposite direction.


    "I see¡­" Seeing that the impurities would eventually disappear after he had moved them away up to a certain point, Valyr went ahead and focused more of his mental power towards condensing all of the dark particles at the center, prompting ck particles to eventually appear amidst the dark particles squeezing into the center.


    Already equipped with the knowledge of what he had to do, he then moved these ck particles away from the dark particles, moving one step closer to achieving an improvement in his Shadow Energy quality.


    "It''s getting more and more difficult¡­" Of course, afterpressing the dark particles and removing the ck particles multiple times in a row, the amount of mental power Valyr had consumed to get to where he was currently had enough of an effect on his efficiency to remove the impurities, finding it more and more tedious as more time passed.


    Thankfully, seeing as the amount of impurities he had to remove with every cycle continued to decrease, he did not hesitate to psych himself up, telling himself that he would only have to do it a few more times before his Shadow Energy would improve.


    With that, by the time he had more or less squeezed his mental power to its utmost limits, Valyr had removed the fewst specks of ck particles that had been lingering around the dark particles, only for the dark particles to start vibrating in unison not long after.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [You have removed all of the impurities in your Shadow Energy.]


    [All Shadow Energy you shall control from now on is bereft of any impurities whatsoever, improving its efficacy and power.]


    [The grade of your Shadow Energy Mark has improved to Pure.]

 Chapter 432 Black Star

    "Phew¡­ and here I thought I was about to faint." Letting out an inward sigh of relief after obtaining a series of notifications from the system, Valyr watched as the dark particles in the space before him started to vibrate in unison, forming a resonance of sorts that caused a certain tone to reverberate throughout the space.


    Finding the tone generated by the dark particles somewhat jarring, the young man put on a relieved expression once the tone gradually disappeared, with the dark particles following suit as they stopped moving. However, just as Valyr thought that the process would end there, a great portion of the dark particles soon began to congregate around some of the dark particles, formingrger versions of the dark particles that contain more energy than before.


    Then, once all of the dark particles in the space before Valyr had clumped up together to formrger versions of these dark particles, theserge particles then condensed themselves in size, purifying andpressing the energy within them even further to the point that the condensed dark particles now looked more like dark pearls than particles.


    Seeing as all of the dark particles had finished transforming into dark pearls, Valyr looked at the sight before him for a bit to see if there were any other changes that would happen before the process wouldplete.


    Eventuallying to the conclusion that the process was now finished since the dark pearls had taken the dark particles'' ce in roaming around the space, Valyr went ahead and removed his focus from the small ck mass near his heart, activating all of his external senses once more as he gazed at the old man beside him.


    "Oh?" Sensing the feeling of someone staring at him, Noel opened his eyes to look at Valyr with a faint smile. "It seems you''ve already removed all of the impurities in your Shadow Energy."


    "Yes." Nodding in response to Noel''s words, Valyr spared a bit of his attention towardsmanding the system to bring up his notification screen, only to thenmand the system to bring up the description of [Shadow Energy Mark] soon after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Energy Mark] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Shadow Energy: 10/10


    Grade: Pure (Umon)


    Throughout the ages¡­ description has been omitted.


    This skill allows the user to tap into Shadow Energy at any time, not needing to form a connection with the Shadow ne anymore whenever the user wishes to do so. This skill also allows the user to store a considerable amount of Shadow Energy within their bodies, which could be improved by absorbing the Shadow Energy of other creatures within the Shadow ne.


    This skill also allows the user to gain a boosting effect from the Shadow Energy within their bodies, with each point of Shadow Energy the user currently has inside their bodies boosting all of their physical and mental stats by 0.45% (Current boost: 4.5%).<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Due to the quality of the user''s Shadow Energy being improved by one grade, a portion of the Shadow Energy''s boosting effect on the user''s body has be permanent, permanently boosting all of the user''s physical and mental stats by 2.5%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''So, improving the quality of my Shadow Energy converts some of the improvement I''m getting from keeping Shadow Energy within my body at all times into something more permanent.'' Swiftly reading through the additional information the skill had gained after Valyr had achieved Pure grade Shadow Energy, the young man briefly nodded in satisfaction as he closed the screen soon after, returning his attention to the old man before him.


    "Wait till you improve your Shadow Energy to the 1st Cleansing grade." Seeing as the young man was already finished looking through the improvements his [Shadow Energy Mark] had undergone through, Noel decided to tease the young man on what he could expect to obtain after improving his Shadow Energy even further, slightly grinning in the process. "The improvement you''ll get from it won''t just stop at a permanent boost in stats."


    "In any case, you''ve definitely purified your Shadow Energy far quicker than I thought." As Noel said these words, Valyr''s curiosity was instantly piqued, prompting him to ask the former as to how much time he had taken to remove all of the impurities in his Shadow Energy.


    "One and a half hours," said Noel in response, to which Valyr responded by slightly tilting his head to the side in confusion. After all, thetter had no clue whether the time he had taken was quicker than normal or¡ª


    "You''ve basically achieved what others would have taken a week in the real world in like¡­ what? Around ten minutes in the real world or something?" Of course, the old man was quick to clear up the confusion Valyr was experiencing, leaving thetter in a brief state of shock as he processed how much of a difference there was between his time and the time Noel had mentioned.


    "Hahahaha! You should definitely see the look on your face, brat!" Though, while Valyr was still wrapping his head around the great difference between his time and the others'' times, Noel let out a peal ofughter all of a sudden, wiping off some of the tears that were brimming around his eyes as he decided to not fool the young man any longer.


    "Though your time is still impressive, the average time people take to remove the impurities from their Shadow Energy ranges from one to two days in the real world." Letting out a sigh to calm himself down, Noel looked at the young man with a calm expression. "In fact, there''s someone who was able to improve their Shadow Energy quality to Pure grade in less than 30 minutes in the Shadow ne."


    "Some people are really just born with insaneprehension talent." Shrugging off his shoulders as he briefly recalled the being that had achieved such a feat, Noel quickly threw the thought to the back of his head as he remembered how much time the two of them had left to stay in the Shadow ne. "Anyways, with less than two and a half hours left before we have to leave the Shadow ne, let me exin the process of achieving the 1st Cleansing grade as quickly as possible."


    "In essence, it''s pretty simple. You just have topress all of the Shadow Energy again into one spot as much as possible until something happens."


    "Of course, in reality, it''s anything but simple," added Noel soon after, his expression now serious. "What you actually have to do is to force the Shadow Energy to copse on itself bypressing it into one spot and let the resulting structure from thatpression generate Shadow Energy on its own."


    "The Shadow Energy that would be generated won''t be infinite, but it would definitely be far purer and far more effective to use in conjunction with the [Shadow Serpent Combat Style]." As Noel said these words, a slight grin appeared on his face. "Speaking of the structure that you have to create with Shadow Energy, people actually have multiple names for it. But as all of these people have been taught by me, they''ve eventually alle to agree on a general name for the structure."


    "The first name I gave the structure when Iid my eyes upon it."


    "The ck Star."

 Chapter 433 In The Nick Of Time

    ''ck Star¡­'' Keeping the name of the structure he had to form to achieve the next stage in his mind, a certain thought surfaced within the young man''s mind, making him feel as if he heard of it somewhere before.


    ''Probably a reference to another game or something.'' Slightly shrugging his shoulders as he decided not to think about it any further, Valyr returned his attention to what Noel had to say, seeing that the old man wasn''t finished with his exnation yet.


    "You''ll know that you''ve formed a ck Star once it feels like there''s a suction force fighting against the control you''re exerting on your Shadow Energy," said Noel. "Of course, don''t just release your control over the Shadow Energy the very instant you feel that there''s a suction force counteracting against your own control."


    "Only when you feel like the strength of the suction force is more or less equal to the control you exert would you only then remove your control over the Shadow Energy and let it do its thing." Informing Valyr a few more things regarding the process to achieve the 1st Cleansing grade, Noel eventually returned his attention to what he was doing previously, closing his eyes as he left the young man a few more words before truly engrossing himself once more.


    "Remember. You only have less than two and a half hours before we have to leave the Shadow ne."


    "If you don''t achieve the 1st Cleansing grade by the time there''s only 10 minutes left before we leave, unfortunately, I''ll have to forcefully wake you up and you''ll have to do it all over again."


    "Good luck, brat. You''re definitely going to need it." With Noel leaving these words behind for Valyr as the former swiftly returned to his state from earlier, thetter looked at the elder beside him for a bit, faintly wondering what the old man was doing at the moment.


    However, just as he tried to take a peek into it, there seemed to be a barrier of energy surrounding the entirety of Noel''s body, making it difficult for Valyr to see what the old man was truly doing. Pondering for a while whether the barrier of energy shrouding Noel''s body was due to his high ss rank or due to his control over Abyssal Energy, Valyr eventually decided to discard the thought and focus on what was important, closing his eyes as he cut off all his external senses not long after.


    Whoosh!


    Now more or less used to the feeling of using his mental power to peer internally into his body, the young man soon found himself within the small ck mass once more, being greeted once again by the sight of dark pearls hovering around in space.


    "So, all I have to do is topress them into one spot and let the Shadow Energy copse on itself, huh." Muttering these words to himself as a reminder of the process, Valyr soon exerted his control over the dark pearls, forcing them to head to the center of the space to congregate once more. "Sounds like the process to achieve Pure grade, but with less steps."


    "Hmm?" Just as the young man had begun moving the dark pearls towards the center of the space, he noticed that there was now a repulsive force trying to force back the control Valyr had over the dark pearls. Fortunately, the repulsive force around the pearls seemed to easily bend under pressure, so Valyr went ahead and put a lot of his mental power on the dark pearls to dispel the repulsive force, allowing him to control it again.


    "I guess this is why Noel told me good luck." Though the rate of mental power he had used to control the dark pearls was only considerablyrger than the rate it took him to achieve Pure grade, Valyr knew that it would still be difficult for him toplete the process to achieve the 1st Cleansing grade, even with his mind tempered by subjecting it to inordinate amounts of pain.


    Taking in a deep breath as to not let his emotions get the better of him, Valyr went ahead and moved all of the dark pearls in the space towards the center, consuming a greater amount of mental power as he began pushing the dark pearls closer together.


    Surprisingly, by the time dark pearls began to interact with one another due to the pushing force Valyr was exerting, the weak repulsive force around the dark pearls from earlier seemingly returned with its strength considerably greater than before. Noticing that, Valyr put in even more of his mental power into the orb of dark pearls he was making, using part of it to dispel the repulsive force being created.


    "Ngh¡­" By the time Valyr felt like hours had passed since he began the cleansing process, the young man finally felt like he was now scraping the bottom of the barrel to grab every ounce of mental power he could get his hands on, feeling a headache gradually brewing. At that point, the dark pearls still showed no signs of copsing on itself as a repulsive force around the pearls was still being generated.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    But then¡­


    Pop!


    As if a thinyer of sorts was broken, the repulsive force swiftly disappeared without a trace as the dark pearls at the very center of therge orb started to fuse with one another, forming a suction force that began to counteract against Valyr''s exerted control.


    Feeling ted that achieving the 1st Cleansing grade was quite near, Valyr seemed to have grabbed a great amount of mental power out of nowhere, exerting more force on the orb of dark pearls to speed up the copsing process that was happening. Thankfully, it did not take much more mental power for the copsing process to speed up, with the suction force being generated at the very center now equal to the level of control the young man had exerted so far.


    "Phew." Seeing that he could now free himself from controlling the dark pearls, the young man inwardly let out a long sigh of relief as he watched all of the dark pearls gradually fuse into giant dark pearl before proceeding to copse even further.


    Bang!


    Then, apanied by a muffled yet loud explosion, the giant dark pearl grewrger for a bit, only to then begin rapidly shrinking in size as its outer surface grew more and more bright.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Within seconds, therge dark pearl at the center soon began to generate dark particles that resembled the dark particles Valyr had manipted to achieve Pure grade. However,pared to those dark particles, the dark particles being generated by therge dark pearl not only glistened simr to the dark pearls from earlier, but also contained far more power.


    Ding!


    Hearing a series of notifications resound in his mind, Valyr was just about to open his notification screen, only for him to instead activate all of his external senses to see whether there was still a lot of time left before they had to leave the Shadow ne.


    However, at the very moment he had done just that, he heard a voice that crushed that small hope in his mind.


    "You''ve definitely surprised me quite a few times today, brat."


    "You''re just in the nick of time."

 Chapter 434 Leaving The Shadow Plane

    "Is that so?" Letting out a slightly disappointed sigh after being told they needed to leave the Shadow ne, Valyr gradually stood up before proceeding to do a few basic movements with his legs. "I thought I took far longer actually."


    "Time is rtive," said the old man in response, dispelling the barrier of Abyssal Energy surrounding them, only to then use it to create a tform that the two of them could stand on. "Anyways, we only have less than 10 minutes left before bad things happen to you in the Shadow ne. Hop on."


    "Alright." Looking at the tform of Abyssal Energy for a bit, Valyr faintly nodded in response to Noel''s words before proceeding to get on. Following after the young man, Noel got onto the tform of Abyssal Energy as well, covering their feet in a coupleyers of Abyssal Energy to make sure that they wouldn''t fall.


    "I''d suggest you hold on tight to me." Circting Abyssal Energy throughout his body, Noel turned around to look at Valyr behind him. "This ride is going to be real quick so we return to the real world before night falls, but it won''t be a smooth ride by any means."


    "How bad could it be, Elder Noel?" Hearing the old man''s words, the young man felt the urge to show off all of a sudden, thinking that the ride wouldn''t be that fast for him to have the need to hold tightly onto the old man. After all, he was now a being at the peak of Rank 2, with a Mythic ss at that.


    "Surely our speed wouldn''t be that¡ª"


    Whoosh!


    Just before Valyr could finish his next question, Noel decided to give the young man a taste of his own medicine, sending all of the Abyssal Energy circting throughout his body onto the tform, creating a force that propelled them forward at great speeds.


    Thud!


    Unsurprisingly, due to the sudden increase in speed, Valyr fell on his back on the tform, with his legs instantly buckling due to how his feet were still affixed to the tform thanks to Abyssal Energy. Of course, the young man knew in his mind that falling on his back wouldn''t be the only thing to happen to him if he weren''t stuck to the tform.


    "Well, I did warn you." As for the one controlling the tform, Noel faintly shrugged his shoulders as he gave off an aura that made Valyr feel like the old man was telling him ''I told you so''.


    Recalling the multiple number of times other people had asked the same thing to him, only for them to fall on their backs as well, Noel then said, "Then again, it''s not like you''re the first person to ever ask me that."


    "If you can find a way to stand up and hold onto my clothes while we''re moving, then feel free to do so." Continuing to move through the air at great speeds, already halfway into the area where Shadow Bears were, Noel took a brief nce at Valyr before returning his gaze to what was in front of them. "If not, then just continue lying on your back until we reach the rift back to the real world."


    "Mngh¡­ hmph!" After being told that he had the option to stand up, Valyr unhesitatingly pushed his body to its utmost limits, exerting all of his strength through his arms to try andbat against the force that was pushing down on him. Thankfully, one forceful push was more than enough for the young man to get a considerable portion of his body upright, allowing him to hold onto the old man''s clothes as he gradually got himself to stand fully upright.


    ''Oho¡­'' Feeling that the young man was slightly tugging on his clothes, Noel took a brief nce at Valyr once more as a faint smile appeared on his face. After that, he infused more of his Abyssal Energy into the tform, increasing their speeds even further as they eventually arrived at the rift back to the real world a couple of minutester.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "I''m finally back." Appearing within the confines of Noel''s room within the Spearman Guild, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief as he lied down on the ground, allowing himself to catch his breath as he basked in the cold air that blew throughout the room.


    "Move a bit, will you?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, Noel appeared within the room as well, exiting the rift before proceeding to dismantle the magic circle that had been powering it all this time.


    Swoosh!


    Taking in a deep breath, the old man ced both of his hands on the magic circle, siphoning the Abyssal Energy he had infused into it as the magic circle slowly dispersed on its own.


    "Well, that takes care of that." Wiping off the dust that had gathered on his hands, Noel soon refocused his attention onto the young man still lying on the ground, thetter''s expression that of relief and delight. "You could lie down on the bed, you know?"


    "Just needed to take a quick breather, Elder Noel. That''s all." Responding to the offer, Valyr shook his head as he stood up, dusting off the back of his clothes before looking at the old man. "After all, I''ve been fighting nonstop for over 8 hours."


    "In any case, when am I going to fight against a Shadow Serpent?" As Valyr asked this question, Noel went silent for a bit as he rubbed his chin in contemtion.


    "If you want, you could go and fight a Shadow Serpent tomorrow if you feel like you''re up to the challenge," said Noel after he was finished thinking. "However, I''d suggest you take a couple days of rest first, not only to get your body in the best condition it could possibly be in, but to also limate yourself and get used to manipting Shadow Energy at the 1st Cleansing grade."


    "Is that so?" Hearing Noel''s words, Valyr grinned. "If that''s the case, then I''ll do just that."


    "Then again, Julian promised me that he would have someone apany me to the Akashic Battlefield tomorrow, so I guess I''ll be in a far better fighting condition for the Shadow Serpent than I''d ever be?"


    "The Akashic Battlefield, eh?" Recalling the news surrounding the Akashic Battlefield as ofte, Noel had a solemn expression on his face. "Well, just make sure to take a ton of breaks while you''re in there."


    "I will, Elder Noel." Feeling like their conversation had finally ended, Valyr decided that now was the time for him to take his leave, thanking the elder for allowing him to enter the Shadow ne and giving him the opportunity to improve his Shadow Energy. However, just as he was about to leave the elder''s room¡­


    "Say¡­ now that I think about it, there''s a chance you might disappear for a far longer time than usual again."


    "Er¡­ that''s¡­"


    "Of course, you could have the leader of the cksmith Guild send me another letter for that, but it would definitely be a nuisance to get it. So¡­ how about you add me to your friend list instead?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Pardon?"

 Chapter 435 Reuniting With A Friend

    "He really didn''t let me leave until I added him to my friend list¡­" Slowly making his way back to the inn where he and Wells were staying, Valyr let out a low sigh as he briefly turned his head back to look at the Spearman Guild''s building, being reminded of the happenings that urred between him and Noel just as they had gotten out of the Shadow ne.


    ¡­


    "Pardon?" Though Valyr understood the reasoning behind the old man wanting to add him to his friend list, the young man still found it somewhat confusing. After all, unlike Julian, who gave him a friendly vibe from the get-go, Noel still felt somewhat distant from him, even though they joked with one another from time to time.


    Though, if Valyr thought about the exact reason why he felt it was weird for him to add someone like Noel to his friend list, then it would be due to the disparity in their age. He could still find ways to foster a better rtionship with a middle-aged man like Julian, even more so with his rxed personality.


    But if he were to rece Julian with Noel¡­


    "What pardon? Is your friend list already full or something, brat?" Surprisingly, Noel took slight offense at the question, slightly frowning in response. Taking note of this, Valyr quickly rified to the old man that he was just surprised that thetter would even suggest adding someone like him to his friend list.


    "Wouldn''t it make more sense for your friend list to be full thanks to your position and power, Elder Noel?"


    "Bah! Those people have to earn the right to be on my friend list." Hearing Valyr''s question, Noel scoffed. "Aside from that, the only other reasons why people are on my friend list are: they owe me something, I owe them something, my friendship with them goes a long way back¡­"


    "¡­or in your case, they''ve piqued my genuine interest." Finishing his exnation then and there, Noel soon brought up a screen in front of his field of vision, interacting with it for a bit before shifting his gaze towards Valyr.


    Ding!


    [Noel Voragine (Lvl. 85) has sent you a friend request. Would you like to ept?]


    "You better ept it, or else I''ll make sure you won''t be able toplete that subss promotion quest of yours." Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr already knew what kind of notification he had received.


    Though, just as he was about to decline out of respect to the old man before him, the young man swiftly changed his mind after he had heard what Noel said, in fear that thetter might truly act upon it.


    Ding!


    [You have added Noel Voragine (Lvl. 85) as a friend.]


    "Good. You listen well." Obtaining a notification from his system that the young man had added him as a friend, Noel beamed a grin at the young man, telling the young man soon after that he could now leave and get some rest. In response to those words, Valyr nkly stared at Noel for a bit before nodding, leaving the confines of Noel''s room and the Spearman Guild not long after.


    ¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Well, it''s not all that bad I guess." Briefly shrugging his shoulders in response to what he had recalled, Valyr thought about how adding Noel to his friend list set a precedent for other possible people he could add to his friend list. "Since Noel was fine with it, I guess I could also add Julian to my friend list once I pass by the cksmith Guild."


    "Then again, I still regret the fact I didn''t add Riekan when I had the chance to." Letting out a faint sigh, the young man thought about the guy he had interacted with at the end of the Astarto Goblin Den, only to then recall that there was a chance they would meet again thanks to the ne the person had given him.


    "Speaking of which, would it have been possible to add An''xhur to my friend list?" After recalling Riekan, he then shifted his thoughts to An''xhur. Pondering over it for a bit, he then thought it probably wouldn''t have been possible, considering that the Sage of Erudition was already a small portion of its original soul.


    "In any case, it''s definitely been a long day." With this thought in mind, Valyr continued to walk through the streets of Algerie City, eventually finding himself at the room he and Wells were staying in.


    ¡­


    "Well, well, well¡­ look who finally came back." Sensing that the door to their room was being opened, Wells swiftly became vignt, only to then rx once he found out that it was Valyr who had opened it. Letting out a faint sigh, he looked at Valyr with a slight frown. "You definitely took your time toe back here."


    "What can I say? I had a lot of things on my te." In response to Wells''ints, Valyrughed it all off, apologizing to the former soon after for being away longer than expected.


    "Oh? You''ve gotten stronger while I was gone." After Valyr had finished apologizing to Wells, the two of them began to talk about some of the things the other side had been doing during the past few days they were apart, only for Valyr to notice something different about his friend.


    "That may be the case, but I could say the same to you." Though slightly happy that his friend had noticed the change he had gone through, that happiness was swiftly reced with shock as he noticed his friend undergoing through the same change as well. "Did you already reach the peak of Rank 2 or something?"


    "Yeah, I did." Nodding in response to the question, Valyr soon followed up with a question of his own. "And I''m guessing you''ve finally reached the peak of Rank 1?"


    "If you put it that way, it sounds like I''m trying to catch up to you." Though Wells nodded in response to Valyr''s own question, he thought that there was more to Valyr''s words hidden between the lines. "Then again¡­ I probably am."


    At those words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter, causing Wells to let out someughter as well, allowing the atmosphere in their room to lighten up. With that, the two of them caught up with one another on the progress each side had made during the past few days, with Valyr sharing tidbits of information to Wells that made thetter made his mouth open agape.


    Conversely, Wells had also shared a few things with Valyr that made the young man''s mouth open agape as well.


    With how much energy Valyr had wasted throughout the past few days, Valyr decided to hit the hay early, lying down on his bed to get some shuteye after eating a light meal for dinner. Though, just as he was on the brink of wandering off to dreand, a certain thought eventually popped up in his mind.


    ''Now that I think about it¡­''


    ''Where did the boars go?''

 Chapter 436 Opening Up Past Scars

    With how tired Valyr was after spending more than a day doing quite a lot of things within less than a day in the real world, it did not take long for the young man to be greeted by the morning sun once more, getting up at the very instant he had a chance to.


    "Mngh¡­" Lightly stretching his arms as far as he could after sitting himself upright, Valyr sat by the side of the bed for a couple of minutes to allow his consciousness to be fully awake. Once he felt awake enough to do his things, he then went about doing his usual daily routine.


    ''Since I''m finally back from the Shadow ne, I guess it''s finally time for me to upgrade all of those unleveled skills of mine to the max level.'' Allowing the cold and refreshing water from the shower head to rx and rejuvenate his entire body, Valyr opened up his skill list in his mind, deciding to upgrade his unleveled skills in batches to make sure his mind not be overwhelmed by an influx of information once again.


    ''Guess I''ll start with the important ones first.'' Continuing to soak his body under the cold and refreshing water, Valyr retrieved a few Umon grade Skill Keys from the spatial bracelet he still wore into the shower and gripped them tightly,manding the system soon after to upgrade 10 Umon grade skills in a row.


    [Would you like to consume 10 Umon grade Skill Keys and 9,499,860 XP to upgrade the 10 skills you have chosen to their max level?]


    "Yes."


    Ding!


    Obtaining a notification sound from the system as confirmation of his prompt, Valyr prepared himself for the wave of information that woulde¡­ only to still be incredibly unprepared for it as a far greater influx of information than he had expected surged into his mind without hesitation.


    Thud.


    Due to the suddenness and the volume of the information he had received from upgrading 10 skills to the max level, Valyr temporarily lost control over his body, prompting his legs to buckle as he fell to the ground with the water still streaming down his body. Thankfully, it did not take long for him to regain control soon after as a rxing feeling soon washed over his mind, brought about by the Skill Keys he had consumed to break the limits of the skills he had chosen.


    Then again, he only had a limited time to stabilize himself before being bombarded by yet another wave of information, stumbling for a bit before eventually regaining his footing. If not for the fact that the second influx of information was considerably weaker than the first wave, then Valyr was certain that he wouldnd on the bathroom floor once more with a solid thud.


    "I''ll¡­ upgrade another batch of skillster." By the time the mental strain brought about by the skill upgrades had subsided, Valyr had already dried himself off and put on a fresh set of clothes. Activating [Enhanced Polymorph] as he went over the things in his mind that he still wasn''t finished doing, Valyr headed to Wells'' room first to notify his friend where he was going for the day before he truly left the inn, walking along the streets of Algerie City a couple of minutester.


    ¡­


    "This should be a nice spot to test it out." Though Valyr had nned to head to the cksmith Guild to meet up with Julian regarding his journey to the Akashic Battlefield, the young man decided to head into an empty alleyway for the meantime as he recalled the thought that had appeared in his mind just as he was about to fall asleep.


    "Ih pyn''ah tt''wagg k''ahn haap nmal''kas at meht''tagg."


    "[Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts]¡­"


    "[Summon Arx''has Boar]."


    ''I really hope they aren''t stuck in the Shadow ne.'' Thinking about how he had forgotten about the boars'' existence after he upgraded his Shadow Energy quality by two grades, Valyr felt bad for them, especially with how he and the group had formed an intuitive understanding of what the other side wanted to do.


    Whoosh!


    As the magic circle before him became saturated with mana, Valyr looked at the boar that was appearing with expectation, only to be filled with worry not long after as the boar that had appeared had stats at Level 1. Taking in a few deep breaths to make sure his emotions did not cloud his rationality, Valyr tried to summon an Arx''has Boar once more, but this time utilizing the skill''s growth summoning method.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Ih pyn''ah tt''wagg k''ahn haap nmal''kas at meht''tagg."


    "[Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts]¡­"


    "[Growth Summon Arx''has Boar]."


    Ding!


    Surprisingly, rather than the magic circle he had created through the skill being saturated with mana, a small screen instead appeared in front of his field of vision, prompting him to read through it as he wondered why it had appeared all of a sudden.


    "Oh, thank goodness." Unexpectedly, the contents of the screen contained information regarding the five boars he had summoned within the Shadow ne, their stats and levels the way they were at the end of their Shadow Tiger hunting spree. Letting out a long sigh of relief as he found out yet another feature of the [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Art], Valyr went ahead and dispelled the Arx''has Boar he had just summoned, retrieving part of the mana he had consumed to summon it in the process.


    "I should really get going." Leaving the empty alleyway with greater knowledge regarding a skill he thought to himself he would use more often in the near future, Valyr returned to the streets of Algerie City, hastening his footsteps as he arrived at the cksmith Guild a few minutester.


    ¡­


    "I''m guessing Noel wasn''t too harsh with you, considering you''ve be stronger in just one day." At the very moment he stepped foot into the cksmith Guild, one of the attendants quickly recognized Valyr''s appearance and told him that he was allowed to head to the Guildmaster''s room whenever he wished to. With that, the young man did just that, being greeted by a middle-aged man''s chuckle just as he had arrived.


    "It''s mostly because I''ve finally reached the peak of Rank 2, but yeah. Elder Noel taught me a lot about the subss I''ve gotten from him." In response to those words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter of his own.


    "Is that so?" Grinning, Julian ced his hammer on the anvil in front of him before turning around to look at Valyr, a faint smile adorning his face as he took a brief nce at the young man''s Nascent Wyvern Armor. "Anyways, I presume you''re here to get an update on the Akashic Battlefield, right?"


    "Well, you did tell me I coulde by tomorrow."


    "True. I did tell you that." Julian nodded with a soft smile. "Well, fortunately for you, I was able to arrange an escort that would apany you along the way and within the Akashic Battlefield."


    "In fact, that person volunteered to escort you there after hearing that you were the one they would be escorting."


    "Ah! Speak of the devil. Your escort is right behind you."


    At those words, Valyr turned around in curiosity, wondering which person would be eager enough to escort him after hearing his name being mentioned. However, rather than his expression be that of surprise or delight, the young man''s expression turned into that of slight fear, his pupils dting as his body slightly quivered.


    "Well then." The man grimly chuckled. "It seems you''ve gotten stronger."


    "Then again... it wouldn''t be interesting if you didn''t."

 Chapter 437 Zeik

    "You¡­" Continuing to look at the man that would escort him to the Akashic Battlefield, Valyr''s body gradually stopped shuddering as the fear he had towards the man slowly turned into that of anger. Clenching his fists as he felt the urge to at leastnd a blow on the man''s face, the young man took in a deep breath to repress the urge, letting his anger simmer in his mind as memories of what had transpired in the past resurfaced.


    Lingering in his mind at the moment were memories of him whose strength had ascended to a Rank 1 ss, returning to the vige after participating in the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament in Danyhris Town. Under the shadows of the night, he and Tristan were ambushed by two men cloaked in ck garments, with one of them fighting against Tristan to stall for time.


    As for the other person, the person that fought against Valyr and left thetter in a precarious state, that same person stood in front of the young man, the ck garments that shrouded his appearance from before now long gone.


    Instead, what he saw was a man that looked to be in his early thirties, with skin tanned a fair shade of brown due to exposure to sunlight. This skin of hisplemented the contrasting head of silver gray hair the man had, faintly reminding Valyr of a certain fictional character he hade across in his past life.


    Aside from that, the man had muscles that fit the man''s body perfectly, a face that truly defined the vigor of a man in his prime, as well as a faint bloodlust that seemed to apany the man''s every move.


    "Stared for long enough?" Just as Valyr was about to turn to Julian to ask if there were any escorts he could choose from, the man before him took note of the young man''s long gaze at him, mischievously grinning in the process. "You could stare more if you want."


    "¡­" In response, Valyr looked at the man dead in the eyes with a slightly grim expression, remaining silent the entire time as he finally looked at Julian behind him.


    "Can I choose another person as my escort?" asked Valyr soon after, prompting a wry smile to appear on Julian''s face, while the man that had appeared continue to grin all the while.


    "You sure about that?" answered Julian back with a question of his own. "Aside from the fact that he volunteered to escort you to the Akashic Battlefield, he''s probably one of the only Rank 5 ss holders in the guild that''s free to escort you right now."


    "Rank 5¡­?" Hearing that specific phrase being uttered out by the middle-aged man, Valyr''s eyes widened for a brief moment in shock, turning around to look at the man once more as he recalled the words the man had spoken to him in the past. ''Wasn''t he already Rank 4 back then?''


    "What? Can''t a man put in the work to improve his strength?" Though Valyr hadn''t uttered out his thoughts out loud, the expression on his face alone was enough for the man to infer what he was thinking, taunting the young man with a faint chuckle.


    "Zeik¡­" Seeing that the young man was getting more and more incensed by the minute, Julian decided to put a stop on the man''s actions. "You should stop now while you still can."


    "Did I go too far?" Hearing Julian''s words, the demeanor the man had been putting all this time swiftly disappeared without a trace, allowing Valyr toe in contact with an aura that did not lose out in grandeur whenpared to Julian''s. In fact, afterparing the two auras he had felt from the man, it did not take long for him to feel that the man''s current aura was his true aura.


    "Take a look for yourself." In response to the man''s question, Julian pointed at the still frowning Valyr before letting out a faint sigh. "I know you had to make up an excuse to not let Valyr know that it was a test, but you didn''t have to take it that far, you know?"


    "I guess I did get a bit too carried away¡­" Scratching the back of his head as he thought about he acted towards Valyr just as they had met again, the man bitterly smiled as he looked at Valyr. "Just so you know, my intentions were not to aggravate you in any way. I just wanted you to be reminded that we''ve already met before."


    "Is that so?" Though Valyr still had a frown on his face after the taunting the man had done so far, he reminded himself once more that the ambush was a test to see if he was a fitting candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Telling himself that the man had no choice but to keep that information a secret from him, the young man took in a few deep breaths, calming himself down as he listened to the man respond to his question.


    "That really was my only intention." The man continued to bitterly smile. "Of course, I''d understand if you still hold a grudge against what I did, and I''d also understand if you wanted to fight with me to bury the hatchet or something."


    "In fact, with your current strength, I think we could even fight on equal footing." With his arrogant facade from earlier now gone, the man turned the conversation between them from that of taunting into that of praising Valyr for his progress so far. "If not for the fact that you can''t ascend to Rank 3 because of the uing inheritance, we could''ve fought against each other where the chances of winning were truly even."


    "I know you''re ttering me just so I forget about the indignation I suffered thanks to you." Letting out a low sigh, Valyr looked at the man with a calm expression, whose bitter smile widened in response to the young man''s words. "It''s definitely helping out, but I can''t just forget something like that so easily."


    "I would''ve been more surprised if you forgave me just from that." Not expecting the young man to say in a roundabout way that his words of praise was working, the man let out a bit ofughter. "In any case, though we have already met back in the past due to circumstances, let me properly introduce myself to you."


    "As you might have heard from Julian earlier, my name is Zeik," said the man soon after. "With that, my full name is Zeik Verrthorne, though I don''t really associate myself with the family anymore, so if possible, just call me Zeik instead."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Though I was Rank 4 back when I had to test out your level ofbat proficiency, which is incredibly superb if I do say so myself, I''m already a Rank 5 ss holder. Whether I''m an Epic or a Legend is up for you to figure out."


    "You know what Epics and Legends are, right?" Asking this question to the young man, Zeik faintly smiled when Valyr nodded in response.


    "Of course, I''m affiliated with the cksmith Guild. If not, I wouldn''t have done that to you in the first ce," Zeik added. "As for my position within the guild¡­"


    "I guess you could say I''m one of themanders of the guild''s Combat Specialist Division." At those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Though he had interacted with the cksmith Guilds hundreds to thousands of times in the past, he had never heard the cksmith Guild having a Combat Specialist Division at all.


    "It''s a division only some of the higher-ups in the guild know of." Noticing the slight confusion and curiosity written on Valyr''s expression, Julian decided to clear up some of it. "Think of it as the cksmith Guild''s strongest des and shields in the face of battle."


    "Whatever the Guildmaster said." Nodding in response to Julian''s words, Zeik looked at Valyr, who swiftly looked back at him after briefly pondering over something.


    "Should I properly introduce myself to you as well?"


    "There''s no need." Hearing Valyr''s question, Zeik shook his head with a smile. "I''ve already been informed by Julian of all the necessary things I need to know about you¡­ and I guess I did a bit more digging into you here and there."


    "Anyways, shall we head to the Akashic Battlefield?"


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "Dad!" Whilst Julian was in the midst of working on another piece of equipment that would be sent to the defensive lines, a young woman that had features simr to him barged into his personal workshop all of a sudden, a frown adorning the young woman''s face. "Why didn''t you tell me that guy passed by?"


    "Is this about the inheritance again?" Hearing the question the young woman asked, Julian let out a defeated sigh as he ced his hammer on the anvil, turning around to face his daughter. "I''ve already told you that my decision on who would take the candidate spot for cksmithing on the uing inheritance won''t change. Believe me when I tell you that his potential in forging is far greater than yours."


    "How great could he possibly be, Dad?" Unsurprisingly, the young woman did not relent, wanting to prove to her father that she was more worthy of the position.


    "Well, could you forge an Epic grade armor set that has a high item level, but could still be equipped by someone with a lower level?" Getting somewhat tired of having to bicker with his daughter over the matter multiple times, Julian decided to drop an incredible feat the young man had done to dissuade her from continuing.


    "That''s¡­ that''s got to be a joke, right?" Naturally, such a feat shocked the young woman to her core, her expression filled with disbelief as she looked at her father. "Even you take a long time to forge something like that, Dad."


    "I do." Julian nodded. "That''s why it''s all the more surprising for him to achieve such a thing, especially the fact that he had forged it just as he had ascended to Rank 2."


    "¡­"


    "¡­haah. Just let Dad do his work for now, Theraldine. I''ll let you know when he stops by again."


    "¡­alright."

 Chapter 438 The Akashic Battlefield

    "So, how does the Imperial Production Guild choose their candidates for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance exactly?" As both Valyr and Zeik made their way to the Akashic Battlefield, the two of them began to talk with one another along the way, hoping to decrease the feeling of awkwardness around them. At some point in their conversation, Valyr brought up to Zeik a certain topic he was curious about.


    "As far as I know, there''s a certain process to it." Pondering over the question, the gears in Zeik''s mind turned for quite some time before he was able to answer. "If I remember correctly, it''s a three-step process?"


    "Anyways, take my next words with a grain of salt." Briefly scratching the back of his head as he thought about it even more, an expression that seemed to say he hadtched onto something eventually appeared on his face as he continued. "First, the Imperial Production Guild sets down a list of criteria that they would like to see in the candidates that might possibly participate in the inheritance."


    "Yep." Nodding in response, Valyr then told Zeik that he had already known of the criteria the Imperial Production Guild had set down for the candidates. With that, he asked the man to proceed onto the two steps that came after the criteria.


    "Well, once the criteria for the candidates has been established, the four guilds under the Imperial Production Guild would go ahead and look through the list of members that had registered under their guild and see if they fit the criteria the Imperial Production Guild had given," Zeik said not long after in response to Valyr''s request.


    "Of course, with how many members there are within each guild, the number of potential candidates each guild ends up with still numbers around the double digits, with the lowest number being around 20 or so. Add on the possibility of candidates that fit the criteria but just registered themselves into their respective guilds, that number sometimes ends up being higher."


    "Then, whates after that?" asked Valyr once Zeik was done talking.


    "Information gathering," replied Zeik concisely. "First, the guilds verify whether the information that they''ve obtained from their list is true. After that, they do a few more tests revolving around the capabilities of that person, such as their capabilities in production and capabilities inbat."


    "And that''s what you did, right?" At those words, Valyr looked at Zeik, causing thetter to let out an awkward chuckle.


    "I''ll admit once more that I probably went a bit overboard back then." As Zeik looked back at Valyr, he had a wry smile on his face. "But yourbat capabilities at that time was something I could onlypare to another person that had also been recently tested around that time."


    "Compare in a good way¡­ or in a bad way?"


    "In a good way, of course," replied Zeik. "Amongst all of the Rank 1 and Rank 2 ss holders at that time that the four production ss guilds gathered information on, only one could be said to be standing at the peak amongst all of the four production ss guilds."


    "Of course, when we''re talking about members within the cksmith Guild, then you''re undoubtedly the best when ites tobat," added Zeik not long after.


    "What''s the name of that person that''s the best inbat?" Ignoring the words of praise Zeik had tacked onto his words near the end, Valyr thought back to the man''s earlier words.


    "Unfortunately, I have no clue which family that persones from." shing a slightly apologetic smile towards Valyr, Zeik went ahead and told the young man what he wanted to know. "What I do know is the name that those close to him call him."


    "And that is¡­?"


    "Hal," said Zeik, prompting Valyr to go silent as he rummaged through his treasure trove of memories from his past life.


    ''Huh. Nothing.'' Surprisingly, after rummaging through his memories for quite some time, Valyr found no mention or tidbits of information regarding the person named Hal. With that, he felt a sense of deja vu, recalling the time where he could not find out anything about himself or the Zeihardt n in his early days of setting foot in Greater Beyond. ''I guess I''ll only find out who that person is once we meet up for the tournament a week before the inheritance.''<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Thinking that he had gotten more information than what he bargained for from asking Zeik, Valyr decided to shift the topic to something else more mundane, which the two of them kept up until they arrived at the northwest defensive line outside Algerie Kingdom.


    ¡­


    "We''re finally here." Stopping in front of a rift that spanned over 20 meters in both height and width, Valyr and Zeik watched as people in uniforms moved around the vicinity, asking all of those that wished to enter the rift to arrange themselves in a line.


    With all of those with uniforms emanating an aura that surpassed most of the people that wished to enter the rift, the people quickly did what they were told, arranging themselves into a line as they waited for their turn to enter the rift.


    Naturally, Zeik and Valyr joined the line as well, considering that they were going to enter the rift as well. Though, while they were waiting for their turn, Zeik decided to ask Valyr a question.


    "You do know what the Akashic Battlefield is like, right?"


    "I do." Valyr nodded in response.


    "Then you know about the various entrances corresponding to certain monster levels and strengths, right?" Somewhat surprised that Valyr knew about the Akashic Battlefield considering the young man''s history, Zeik decided to ask more to ascertain whether the young man truly knew of its characteristics.


    "I do, but I forgot how many entrances there are in this Akashic Battlefield in front of us," responded Valyr as he nodded with slight uncertainty. "If I remember correctly, there are eight entrances, right?"


    "There are six entrances, actually," Zeik rified in response. "All of them are named after a certain being that had made a great contribution to the kingdom."


    "That I know." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Anyways, why the sudden question?"


    "Well, let''s just say you being knowledgeable of the Akashic Battlefield caught me a bit by surprise. After all, you''ve been away from the kingdom for quite a long amount of time." In response, Zeik looked at Valyr with a slightly awkward smile. "Anyways, it''s our turn to enter the rift."


    "Which point would you like to enter?" Now at the front of the line, Zeik and Valyr were swiftly greeted by a young man in a guard uniform, asking them their destination within the Akashic Battlefield.


    "Point Caelion, please." Just as Zeik was about to reply to the guard''s question, Valyr took the initiative to reply first, prompting the guard to nod in response as he infused a bit of mana into the rift, changing its coordinates.


    Whoosh!


    "Alright, the rift has been set to Point Caelion. You are free to enter." At these words, Zeik and Valyr thanked the guard before proceeding to step inside, disappearing from their original positions a few secondster.

 Chapter 439 Point Caelion

    Swoosh!


    Feeling their bodies be enveloped by a unique energy as they zoomed through space for a bit, Valyr and Zeik soon appeared on an elevated stone tform, allowing them to get a better view of what was ahead of them.


    "We''re here." Taking a look around their surroundings to get an idea of where they were, Zeik made his way down the elevated stone tform before looking back at Valyr. "So¡­ are we going to depart for the battlefield? Or do you need to prepare a couple of things before we do that?"


    "I need to stock up on some potions, actually." Briefly responding to Zeik''s question, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to turn as he took a look at his surroundings, trying to recall as much as he could regarding the Akashic Battlefields he frequently visited.


    From what he could recall, though it seemed like the Akashic Battlefields were a secluded ce in the real world that one could only head to through a rift, these ces were actually barren realms lingering within the fabric of space that were separate from the real world¡­ which one could only head to through a rift.


    As to how these barren realms were found and modified to be a space where people could gain great amounts of XP alongsidebat experience, Valyr did not know too much about it, even after frequenting the Myriad Archives and simrrge libraries in the past. As far as he knew, spatial mages at the peak of Rank 5 and beings at Rank 6 and higher were the ones that procured these realms and turned them into Akashic Battlefields.


    In fact, the Akashic Battlefield they were in right now, which was one of the Akashic Battlefields Valyr often frequented in the past, was procured by the founder of Algerie Kingdom himself. It was because of this sole reason that the first entrance of the kingdom''s Akashic Battlefield was named in honor of the founder, being named Point Alhazar.


    "Ah, found a potions shop." After standing on the elevated stone tform for a while to get a better sense of where they were, Valyr eventually made his way down after getting an idea of where he had to go, with Zeik being left with no choice but to follow the young man from behind.


    Simr to every other entrance to the Akashic Battlefield, Point Caelion was situated in the middle of a decently sized outpost that had more or less everything a person might possibly need in preparation for the battlefield beyond the outpost''s walls, being the elevated stone tform people would appear on top on after entering the corresponding rift.


    Of course, as the facilities within the outpost were made to be of great convenience to those heading to the battlefield, the merchants managing these facilities priced their services and goods at a marginally higher pricepared to the same services and goods outside. Though this had already been epted as a norm by those who frequent the Akashic Battlefield, it would still catch some of those who entered the Akashic Battlefield for the first time by surprise, which sometimes led to a small fight.


    "10 Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions and 20 Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions. Is that correct?" After making his way to the potions shop he found, Valyr listed down the potions he needed to the attendant, who swiftly grabbed the items within a couple of minutes. "In total, that would be 30 gold coins."


    "Mind bringing it down to 25?" cing the potions he had ordered from the attendant into his spatial bracelet, Valyr proceeded to haggle with the attendant, knowing that its true price within the outpost was lower than what thetter said.


    "You know how difficult it is to bring these items into the Akashic Battlefield, sir." Hearing Valyr''s words, the attendant shed an apologetic smile. "You also have to take in consideration the material cost, thebor cost to concoct and store the potions safely, as well as a quality assessment cost to ensure that the potions are deserving of the Lesser quality prefix."


    "So, I take that you won''t go down to 23?" Rather than be swayed by the attendant''s words, Valyr kept up aposed smile as he offered another price to the man.


    "Would you be willing to part with 28 gold coins, sir?" Realizing at that point that his normal excuses wouldn''t work, the attendant inwardly let out a sigh as he gave a counteroffer.


    "24 gold coins."


    "27?"


    "25."


    "26 gold coins, sir?"


    "25 gold coins and not one gold coin more."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Alright, alright." Letting out a slightly disappointed sigh, the attendant finally relented, prompting Valyr to give the man 25 gold coins with a smile on his face.


    After making sure that all of the potions he had asked for were in his spatial bracelet, Valyr then left the potions shop with Zeik, but not before promising the attendant as he left that he would frequent their potions shop more often. Leaving the attendant that now had a slightly grateful smile on his face, the two then began to make their way to the area beyond the outpost.


    "Say, why''d you choose Point Caelion, Valyr?" While making their way to one of the official exits out of the outpost, Zeik looked at the young man beside him as the thought popped up into his mind.


    "Didn''t you say earlier that the entrances have varying monster levels and strengths?" In response, Valyr looked back at him, his expression containing a trace hint of confusion.


    "I did."


    "Specifically, these entrances are arranged by increasing monster levels and strengths, right?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Then, it only makes sense for me to enter Point Caelion with my level of strength," said Valyr at the end of it, causing Zeik to be silent.


    "But Point Caelion''s strongest monsters are only around Level 55, though?"


    "What do you mean by that?" From their conversation so far, Valyr thought that his escort was telling him that he had chosen a point that would need a level of strength far higher than his. But from the question he had just received, it seemed like that wasn''t the case.


    "You have a Mythic ss, right?"


    "Yeah?"


    "And you''re at the peak of Rank 2, right?"


    "Then¡­ with yourbat capabilities, wouldn''t it make more sense for you to be in Point Devann or Point Exiem?" At this point, the pieces that appeared in Valyr''s mind finally clicked together, causing the young man to stop in his tracks as he looked at Zeik at a slight loss for words.


    "¡­You do know those points are filled with Rank 4 monsters, right? In fact, doesn''t Point Exiem have monsters that have Intents?"


    "Yeah? Shouldn''t you be able to fight against them no problem?"


    "¡­Sure, my current strength allows me to fight against foes of a higher level."


    "But do you really think I''m that strong?"

 Chapter 440 Makings Of A True Elite

    "Yes?" Responding to Valyr''s question, Zeik looked back at the young man, now with confusion written all over his face. "I may not have a Mythic ss of my own, but I''m pretty confident that you would be able to fight against Rank 4 monsters without worry."


    "I mean¡­" Seeing that Zeik was adamant that he had the capabilities to fight against Rank 4 monsters, Valyr became silent and decided to give it some thought, scratching the back of his head every once in a while. "I guess there''s some truth to the matter."


    "Though, I''m pretty sure I''ll only be able to fight against Rank 4 Elite monsters at most before I begin to be at a disadvantage against them." Comparing his own stats to the stats of some of the Rank 4 monsters he had faced in the past, Valyr eventually gave Zeik an answer, though it was still more or less in the realm of uncertainty.


    After all, there were a couple of reasons why he was uncertain. For one, he wasparing his currentbat prowess to the Rank 4 monsters he had fought in the past, which he had fought against with lower stats than what he had right now. And second¡­


    He had not fought against any Rank 4 monster yet.


    "Is that so?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity as a couple of thoughts popped up in his mind, Zeik decided to leave the matter be, shifting the topic to something else as they eventually made their way to one of the outpost''s official exits.


    ¡­


    "Which site are we going to head to? There''s like nine sites here." Near one of the official exits, Valyr and Zeik stood in front of what seemed to be a giant map outlining the entire territory surrounding Point Caelion. On the map werendmarks that showed where Point Caelion and the surrounding outposts was, as well asndmarks that outlined the various sites people could enter to fight against monsters and gainbat experience.


    "I think Site 7 would be a good choice." Looking at the map for a good while, Valyr eventually made his decision, taking note of the general level of monsters within the site, as well as their tier. "Not only are the monsters there at a level where it would be somewhat challenging to fight them, but the monsters in Site 7 are all Elite tier monsters as well, with some being Umon Elite tier."


    "Think of it as my warm-up before proceeding to the other sites¡­ and possibly other points as well." Noticing that Valyr had a confident smile on his face as he gave his suggestion, Zeik thought that the young man had probably thought about the ideal site for quite some time, possibly taking into consideration multiple variables in order to achieve optimal efficiency.


    However, what went on in Valyr''s mind was frankly the exact opposite of that.


    He knew that if he wanted to, he could head to thest site of Point Caelion and not have a problem fighting against the monsters there. After all, he had already fought against monsters that had stats on par or greater than those at Level 55, the same level at which the monsters at the final site were at. Aside from that, he also fought against monsters at Legendary Elite and Mythic Elite and became victorious, which the monsters at the final site were only Rare Elite tier at most.


    If anything, the reason why he decided to head to Site 7 was to see whether or not he could upgrade one of his titles.


    ''[Signs of a True Elite],'' Valyr thought to himself. ''Thest time I tried to upgrade the title, I was in an Experience Pit back in Clossbay City. The level gap that I needed to upgrade the title was already there, but because the monsters I fought against were all normal monsters, the title couldn''t upgrade.''


    ''I should really thank that staff person for reminding me about the Akashic Battlefield.'' Recalling that specific staff person back then in the Experience Pit that suggested him to go to one, Valyr inwardly thanked the man before proceeding to head through the official exit, with Zeik following him as they made their way to Point Caelion''s Site 7.


    ¡­


    "Let''s stop here for now." Noticing a small sea of monsters appearing from their field of horizon Valyr quickly stopped in his tracks as he reminded himself of the curse he had. Of course, with the young man stopping all of a sudden, Zeik had to stop as well, looking at the young man with slight confusion.


    "What are we going to do here?" Though they were already within the territory designated as Site 7, Zeik did not understand why they had to be so far away from the monsters Valyr would have to kill. "Do you have to take a break or something?"


    "Nah. I just wanted to confirm something." Telling his escort to be quiet, Valyr pushed his perception to its utmost limits, simultaneously activating the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to get a better look at the monsters he would be up against. Activating [Greater Analysis] every so often, it took a while for the young man to find the monster he wanted to fight against, bitterly smiling as a thought popped up into his mind.


    ''I overlooked the fact that the monsters would be one tier stronger than they originally are under the curse.''


    ''Fortunately, there are still some normal monsters among them.''


    Ding!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Metallic Centipede] (Level 50)


    ss: Metallic Centipede


    HP: 2,784/2,784


    MP: 4,296/4,296


    Stats: 116 VIT, 50 STR, 117 AGI, 50 DEX, 179 INT, 154 WIS, 90 PER, 50 LUK


    Skills: [Metal Bolt], [Basic Spellcasting], [Basic Mana Affinity], [Basic Metal Affinity], [Dash],¡­


    Remarks: An incredibly shiny centipede. Watch out for its metal magic.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Thud.


    Taking a few steps forward that allowed the normal Metallic Centipede to be within a hundred meters from Valyr, the Metallic Centipede soon gained a crimson haze around its head as it turned to look at the young man, its aura undergoing a swift increase in power.


    Then, empowered by the increase in strength, the enraged Metallic Centipede swiftly slithered towards the duo, prompting Zeik to alert Valyr of the rogue monster heading their way as he noticed the centipede charging up a ball of energy of sorts.


    However, before the centipede could even be within 20 meters from Valyr¡­


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 50 Metallic Centipede (Elite). You have gained 239,835 XP.]


    [Showing the world proof that you truly have what it takes to defeat monsters of a higher level and tier than you, your title ''Signs of a True Elite'' has been upgraded to ''Makings of a True Elite''.]

 Chapter 441 Ranks Of The True Elite

    ''At times like these, you can''t help but think that the system is stringent in its requirements sometimes.'' Obtaining a notification that [Signs of a True Elite] had been upgraded, Valyr let out a small chuckle, thinking about how ironic the requirements were, considering the monsters that he had been fighting against these past few days.


    ''Anyways, what kind of things did the title upgrade change?'' With a bright smile stered on his face, the young manmanded the system to show him the description of his newly upgraded title, causing a screen to appear in front of him not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Makings of a True Elite] (Title)


    Rarity: Umon+


    To be able to ignore the great disparity between you and your opponent not only in level, but in tier as well, you''ve shown that you have what it takes to be a true elite. You have now entered the ranks of the strong, beings that serve as the backbone and inspiration of the future generation.


    To improve this title to the next stage, you must kill one Umon Elite tier monster at least 10 levels higher than your current level.


    Effects:


    > +8% damage to monsters at Elite tier and below at least 10 levels higher than the user


    > +5% Attack and Defense


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Did the title ever mention the requirement needed to upgrade it in the past? I can''t remember." Closing the screen after he was done reading, Valyr uttered out a few words to himself, inwardly nodding in satisfaction as he thought about following the words written on the title''s description to take the title one step further.


    "What¡­" Though, just as he was about to make a move against another monster to upgrade his title, Valyr was reminded of his escort''s presence, whose current expression was that of someone at an immense loss for words. "You just killed that monster in one hit¡­"


    "Hmm?" Looking back at Zeik, Valyr raised his eyebrow as he nodded. "Yeah? What about it?"


    "And you were just telling me earlier that you would only be able to handle Rank 4 Elite monsters at most?" Seeing that Valyr was not getting what he was trying to convey, Zeik let out a soft sigh. "That kind of strength is more than enough to fight against high tier Rank 4 monsters without a problem!"


    "I''d still rather err on the side of caution." Gaining a stronger belief that he might just have what it takes to fight against Rank 4 monsters because of Zeik''s words, Valyr swiftly discarded those thoughts as he gave the man a wry smile. "If anything, the only way I would be certain I could fight against a Rank 4 monster without a problem is if I fought against a Rank 4 monster."


    "Let''s head to Point Devann, then." Unsurprisingly, Zeik took those words as an opportunity, suggesting that they head to a ce more suitable for his strength.


    Unfortunately for him¡­


    "I''m still getting warmed up. Not so sure about my strength once I go all out yet." Continuing to smile at Zeik, Valyr shifted his gaze back to the sea of monsters situated a fair distance away from them, utilizing his hyperfocus ability and [Greater Analysis] once more to find a monster that fit the requirements needed for him to upgrade his title even further.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to find one, taking a few steps in a certain direction to get an Elite tier Metallic Centipede to be within a hundred meters from Valyr.


    Whoosh!


    Simr to the normal Metallic Centipede from earlier, the Elite tier Metallic Centipede gained a crimson haze around its head as its aura underwent a significant boost in strength, crawling across the watery ground at great speeds as it sought to end Valyr''s life once and for all. However, just like the Metallic Centipede from earlier¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 50 Metallic Centipede (Umon Elite). You have gained 287,802 XP.]


    [Showing the world that even Umon Elite beings pose no difficulty against your onught, your title ''Makings of a True Elite'' has been upgraded to ''True Elite I''.]


    Leaving nothing more than the somewhat mangled and charred remains of what was an enraged Metallic Centipede around the same distance where the first Metallic Centipede had been in, Valyr took a look at the description of the upgraded title once more, nodding as he took note of the changes brought about by the upgrade, as well as the requirements needed to upgrade it once more.


    ''A Rare Elite monster 10 levels higher than me, huh.'' Taking a brief look at Zeik, whose eyes now seemed to be rolling inward due to the shock he felt, Valyr returned his gaze back to the sea of Metallic Centipedes near them, having to maneuver his movements in a way that he did not attract any of the normal and Elite tier Metallic Centipedes while finding an Umon Elite one.


    Though he had to kill about a dozen Metallic Centipedes along the way, with almost 75% of them being Umon Elite thanks to the curse''s effects, he eventually came across a lone Umon Elite tier Metallic Centipede near the outer region of the sea of monsters.


    Making sure to not attract any other Metallic Centipedes along the way, Valyr swiftly made his presence known to the Umon Elite tier Metallic Centipede, which swiftly improved to Rare Elite thanks to the curse''s effects as it swiftly made its way to where Valyr was.


    Sadly for the Metallic Centipede, just like the two that came before it¡­


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 50 Metallic Centipede (Rare Elite). You have gained 335,769 XP.]


    [With even Rare Elite beings bowing down under your might, your title ''True Elite I'' has been upgraded to ''True Elite II''.]


    ''Now I have to kill an Epic Elite monster 15 levels higher than my current level if I want to upgrade the title, huh.'' Skimming through the title''s new description, only to focus on the requirements needed to upgrade it, Valyr turned around to look at Zeik before asking him a question.


    "Say, you know where Site 9 is, right?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Thud.

 Chapter 442 Peak Of The True Elite

    After Zeik fell to the ground on his butt from the utter disbelief he felt from witnessing Valyr dispose of monsters near the peak of Rank 3 without much of a problem, the man eventually stood up after taking a few deep breaths, inwardly letting out a sigh as the two of them swiftly made their way to Site 9, the final site within Point Caelion.


    While making their way to the point''s final site, Zeik looked at Valyr every once in a while, wondering what was going on in the young man''s head at the moment. Though the young man mentioned that they had arrived at Site 7 for him to do a bit of warm-up before getting serious, he had killed only a couple dozen of monsters within the site without difficulty before proceeding to request for a change.


    ''Is he trying to find out his current limit?'' Zeik wondered to himself, thinking that there was some sense to the idea. ''After all, he moved from a normal Level 50 monster, to one at the Elite tier, and then the Umon Elite tier after that.''


    ''He''s probably trying to see how strong the monster would need to be before he would be unable to kill them in a short time or something,'' thought the man not long after, only recalling the barrage of orange crimson mes the young man would sent out in response to the monster''s charge.


    With that thought in mind, the two eventually arrived at Site 9, stopping once more in an area that was a fair distance away from the sea of monsters that existed within the site. Of course, unlike at Site 7, where almost all of the monsters in the site were Metallic Centipedes, the prominent monsters at Site 9 werepletely different.


    "[Greater Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Mana Stone Golem (Umon Elite)] (Level 55)


    ss: Mana Stone Golem


    HP: 4,944/4,944


    MP: 5,520/5,520


    Stats: 206 VIT, 231 STR, 209 AGI, 83 DEX, 230 INT, 167 WIS, 176 PER, 83 LUK


    Skills: [Basic Physical Damage Resistance], [Basic Physical Damage Nullification], [Basic Magical Damage Resistance], [Basic Magical Damage Nullification], [Basic Mana Affinity],¡­


    Remarks: Would make a great defender for precious items.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Say, Zeik. What''s the highest tier of monster I could possiblye across in this site?" Proceeding to scour the entire sea of monsters once more to find a monster that would fit the requirements needed to upgrade the title, Valyr threw a question at his escort, prompting thetter to go silent as he pondered over it.


    "Hmm¡­ I''m pretty sure Rare Elites are the strongest tier of monsters you wouldmonly find in this site." Zeik looked back at Valyr, whose attention was focused on finding the monster he needed. "Though, I think some people have said that if you''re unlucky, you mighte across an Epic Elite?"


    "I''m not so keen on that one." Scratching the back of his head as he wondered whether Valyr listened to what he said, Zeik eventually shrugged his shoulders as he watched what Valyr would do now that they were at the point''s final site.


    "Finally found one." Due to the fact that Mana Stone Golems had huge bodies made out of stone, Valyr had to kill quite around 20 of them, all of them Rare Elite due to the curse''s effects, to be able to finallye across a Mana Stone Golem that was at Rare Elite tier.


    Of course, with his target locked, he then moved a few steps forward, allowing the Rare Elite tier Mana Stone Golem to be within a hundred meters from Valyr, causing its eyes to glow a crimson red as its energy now seemed to match a monster of a higher tier.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    With its eyes locked on Valyr''s presence, the Mana Stone Golem seemed to go berserk as every step it made closer to the young man made the ground faintly tremble. At the speed it was going, it was enough to make Zeik briefly look at Valyr with a hint of worry, wondering whether thetter had finally bitten more off than he could chew.


    But just like before¡­


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Out of nowhere, a barrage of orange crimson mes manifested in front of Valyr, all of them darting straight for the Mana Stone Golem''s body as its destructive energy dealt massive damage to the monster with each hit. Eventually, the Mana Stone Golem''s regenerative capabilities were overwhelmed by the crimson des, causing it to crumble to rubble as a notification sound soon resounded within Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 55 Mana Stone Golem (Epic Elite). You have gained 560,496 XP.]


    [You are reaching the ranks where your might makes even those stronger than you tremble with fear, Epic Elite beings posing no threat to your domination. Due to the feat you have achieved, your title ''True Elite II'' has been upgraded to ''True Elite III''.]


    ''I wonder how far I could upgrade this title?'' Seeing that the title''s description still contained a part that exined the requirements needed to upgrade it even further, a question popped up into Valyr''s mind as he proceeded to look for another monster that would fit his requirements. ''Anyways, a Legendary Elite monster 15 levels higher than me¡­''


    ¡­


    "¡­" Watching as Valyr proceeded to fight against all of the Mana Stone Golems that came after him just as he had finished killing a Rare Elite tier Mana Stone Golem, Zeik wondered to himself as to why he was apanying Valyr in the first ce. After all, as far as he knew, a Rare Elite monster of a certain rank was already equivalent in strength to a monster of the next rank.


    "He says he''s not sure if he could take down Rank 4 Elite monsters with his current strength, but that level of strength he''s shown me is probably enough to even fight those at the peak of Rank 4 with ease." Taking a deep breath to make sure a repeat of what happened earlier would not happen, Zeik watched as Valyr eventually stopped being hounded by Mana Stone Golems, thetter keeping a close eye on one of the Mana Stone Golems near the periphery that seemed stronger than the rest.


    "Epic Elite tier¡­" Casting his own identification skill at the monster Valyr was looking at, Zeik soon became privy to the monster''s real strength, swallowing a bit of saliva from the anxiety of wondering whether the young man had finally met his match.


    Of course, seeing the Epic Elite tier Mana Stone Golem dash towards Valyr only exacerbated that anxious feeling.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    With the ground quaking once more under the Mana Stone Golem''s heavy footsteps, Valyr stood where he was, gazing at the monster that was getting closer to him with a calm expression. On the other hand, the worry Zeik felt towards Valyr''s safety became greater, inwardly cursing Valyr for not dodging what seemed to be an obvious attack.


    However, this concern swiftly disappeared as he witnessed Valyr''s next step.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­"


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]."


    Swoosh!


    Bang!


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 55 Mana Stone Golem (Legendary Elite). You have gained 630,558 XP.]


    [Killing Legendary Elite beings as if they were only normal hindrances to your path, you have truly shown the world that no one can make you bend to their will. Due to the feat you have achieved, your title ''True Elite III'' has been upgraded to ''True Elite IV''.]

 Chapter 443 Khorzaans Chosen

    Outside one of the entrances to Algerie Kingdom''s Akashic Battlefield¡­


    "For Algerie! For humanity!" Letting out a beastly roar, a man wearing a slightly bloodied uniform unsheathed the saber around his waist, his eyes filled with aggression and killing intent as he stared at the five tall beings with olive green skin looking back at him.


    ring his aura to its limits, the man swiftly dashed forward at the fastest speed he could muster, infusing the energy of his Intent into his saber along the way. With every step he took, the saber seemed to grow heavier and heavier under the vision of these five beings, yet the man still wielded it with ease.


    "Die!" Once the man was only a small distance away from the five, he unhesitatingly swung the saber down, letting out all of the energy from his Intent that had umted within his saber in one destructive move.


    Jumping back to not get caught in the aftermath of the attack, a proud smile gradually crept up onto his lips, thinking that the five would have been grievously injured by his attack, if not debilitated.


    Whoosh!


    However, contrary to his expectations, the attack that he had put all of his strength and energy into was casually swatted away by the being at the center, instantly turning all of the hope and courage the man had while fighting against them to dust.


    "Is this all you''ve got, human?" the being at the center asked with a deep voice, a slightly disappointed gaze in his expression. "If so, then your resistance is useless."


    "Guh¡­" Gritting his teeth in anger and indignance, the man looked at the five beings with far greater killing intent than before. Before his mind could even think about it, his body already began to move in the direction of the five beings, hoping to inflict at least a slight injury to all of them.


    Being thest one among them to remain standing, the man witnessed how the five beings appeared near the rift to the Akashic Battlefield out of nowhere, rendering almost all of the people wanting to enter the Akashic Battlefield dead with just a couple of moves.


    Though the people in uniforms, just like him, were stronger than the masses due to their job needing it, with some picking upbat experience before being hired, it only dyed the inevitable for them. Just like the people that came before them, they turned into nothing but a puddle of flesh and blood, staining the ground a crimson red.


    "Graaaahhhh!!!" Seeing as his body wanted to at least avenge the ones that had fallen before him, the man decided to go all in on what might just be his final attack, infusing all of the energy that remained within his body, channeling it towards his saber alongside the Intent he had used earlier.


    "Intent of the Mountains!"


    "[Mountain Cleaving Saber]!"


    Bang!


    Wanting to make sure that every possible ounce of strength he had in his body was sent through the saber he wielded, the man seemed to have a new state ofprehension, pushing his understanding of his Intent one step further. Naturally, this delighted the man, surprised that he would make a breakthrough in the midst of battle.


    However, just as he thought that the improvement to his Intent would be more than enough to at least deal a bit of damage to the five¡­


    "Truly useless¡­"


    Whoosh!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Bang!


    "Gah!" The man''s attack was casually dispelled once more by the being at the center, looking at the four other beings that apanied it for a bit before proceeding to send out a punch in the man''s direction. Infusing it with all the strength andprehension it could muster, the being''s punchnded squarely on the man''s chest, forming a hole as the man was sent flying.


    Thud.


    Falling to the ground a fair distance away from the five beings with a thud, the man tried to get up once more, a look of fear and desperation appearing on his face once he noticed therge gaping hole that now existed on his chest. Feeling energy gradually disappearing from his body, the man pushed his body to stand up¡­


    Only to breathe out hisst once he did.


    "With that, there are no more witnesses." Staring at the man that died while standing up, the being at the center eventually turned around to look at therge portal that existed behind them, feeling the connection it had to another space.


    "Gaar, are you sure we''ve killed all of the humans within this area?" Looking at one of the beings beside him, the being at the center threw a question.


    "Gaar made sure no one escaped." Hearing the question, Gaar nodded in response. "If you want to be really sure, Gaar suggest you ask Kraag as well."


    "Kraag also made sure no escaped." Hearing his name being mentioned, the being named Kraag backed up Gaar''s ims. "Went around the perimeter to kill all humans that tried to escape."


    "Don''t worry too much about it, Meirat. They made sure they did their job well." Just as the being at the center was about to ask yet another within their group if none of the humans had escaped, one of them decided to put the being''s mind at ease. "I know this is your first mission from the Emperor himself, but don''t sweat too much on the details."


    "Plus, as one of Khorza''an''s Chosen, shouldn''t you trust in yourrades more?"


    "Hreig¡­" Meirat, the one that had been asking questions all this time, looked at the man that spoke up for the others. After bing silent for a while, he slightly nodded before letting out a low sigh. "I got too caught up in the details."


    "How much time do you think we have till other humans are notified of this incident, Murak?" Staring at thest being that had yet to speak out, Meirat threw out a question at him.


    "From the information we''ve been given on how long the humans'' shifts are, about four hours, give or take." Briefly ncing at Meirat, Murak spat out an answer that prompted the former to nod in response.


    "Guess we have to make the most out of it." Taking in a deep breath, Meirat moved closer to the rift that led to the Akashic Battlefield, with Hreig and the others swiftly followed him. Looking at one another as they nodded, the five shouted in unison before proceeding to enter the rift.


    "For Emperor Khorza''an and the prosperity of the Empire!"


    "Long live the Emperor!"


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 444 Entering Point Devann

    Disappearing from the vicinity of the rift at the very moment they stepped in, Meirat and the others soon felt their bodies being enveloped by a unique energy that allowed them to travel safely in space. Taking note of this, Meirat looked at Murak, who looked back at him as the two of them soon nodded at each other.


    Swoosh!


    "Mngh¡­" Resisting the pull of the energy surrounding them as much as possible, Murak was eventually able to extend both of his hands outward, sending a great portion of his mana circting through it as the energy that was covering all five of them gradually lost its strength to send them to their intended location.


    "You don''t get to see the fabric of space this up close very often," said Hreig as he gave Murak a thumbs up. Seeing what he had done, Gaar and Kraag also gave Murak a thumbs up, though thetter ignored all of them as he focused on the space surrounding them.


    "Intent of the Void."


    Whoosh!


    Attuning himself to the energy he had be familiar with thanks to his intent, the mana Murak was circting through his extended arms gradually took on the property of the energy that existed throughout the space they were currently in. Making sure that the unique energy protecting them at the moment wasn''t dispelled, Murak then utilized the mana he had just converted to try and change their intended location.


    "[Calling of the Void]."


    "[Ten Dimensions, One Space]."


    Swoosh!


    Gesturing in the air for quite some time whilst chanting a few words that seemed to resonate with the mana he had control over, a set of six portals soon appeared in front of the five, giving them a brief glimpse of the locations that they could possibly end up appearing in.


    "From left to right, these portals are ordered from the weakest general aura to the strongest general aura." Taking in a few deep breaths as he made sure he had control over the portals and the energy, Murak turned around to look at the other four that were with him, only to shift his gaze towards Meirat. "Where are we going to appear first, Meirat?"


    "Hmm¡­" Rubbing his chin for a bit, Meirat thought back to the goal of the mission that had been given to him, which was to try and inflict as much damage to the human race as possible after infiltrating the Akashic Battlefield. Of course, as a new member of Khorza''an''s Chosen, he was going to try his best to make sure that would be the case.


    "How strong is the general aura in that portal?" Pointing at the portal that was at the fourth position in line, Meirat threw a question at Murak.


    "Roughly around the early and middle levels of Rank 4." Closing his eyes for a bit, Murak gave Meirat the answer he wanted.


    "And the portal to the right?"


    "Near the peak levels of Rank 4. A great portion of them even having Intents."


    "Let''s head to the first portal I asked about. Also, make sure that we appear as far away from the humans as possible." As these words came out of Meirat''s mouth, the four swiftly nodded as Murak made use of the converted mana once more, changing the intended location of the unique energy surrounding their bodies all this time to that of the location Meirat suggested.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Taking a couple minutes to fully reconfigure the unique energy, Murak eventually allowed it to pull on their bodies once more, now taking them to the location Meirat had chosen.


    "Now that I think about it, why''d you choose that portal?" Catching his breath after spending most of his energy manipting the fabric of space itself, Murak looked at Meirat and asked him a question. "Even though you''re only at Rank 4, wouldn''t you still be able to defeat those at Rank 5 without a problem?"


    "I would be able to." Meirat nodded in response. "However, the reason why I chose this portal instead of the one with the Rank 5 aura is to try and eliminate a great portion of talented Rank 4 beings. After all, with how aggressive the other orcs are fighting for the empire, it''s only a matter of time before the Rank 5 humans would need to be reced by other Rank 5 humans?"


    "And where would they get that?"


    "I see¡­" Though Murak thought that there was a couple of ws to Meirat''s logic, he decided not to refute it since he was only following the orders of Khorza''an''s Chosen.


    As for Meirat, after he was finished exining it to Murak, he soon realized that there seemed to be a few problems to his idea. However, he was still going to stick to it since his strength was more than enough to y even those in the middle of Rank 4 with one hit.


    Being one of Khorza''an''s Chosen, that meant that he would need to have a Rare ss at the very least, which meant that he would have a level of strength far exceeding those in the same rank as him. Though, rather than have the bare minimum Rare ss, he instead had an Epic ss, allowing him to surmountrge gaps in strength without much problem, especially with him being born with innate strength.


    Believing in himself as he was one of Khorza''an''s Chosen, as well as the strength he had cultivated so far through his Epic ss, Meirat believed that they would be able toplete the mission with an incredibly high level of sess under his leadership. After all¡­


    Who in the humans'' side could possibly be stronger than him?


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "I told you we should have gone to Point Devann in the first ce."


    "I did say we were heading to Point Caelion so I could do a bit of warm-up and find out my limits."


    "And killing only a few dozen monsters before deciding to move on is considered a warm-up?"


    "¡­haah. Could you just help me find an area within this point that might have Legendary Elites?"


    "Fine, fine. I''ll go ahead and ask around."


    "Thank you."

 Chapter 445 The Next Tier

    "I wonder what''s taking him so long¡­" Waiting by the stone tform where everyone entering Point Devann appeared on, Valyr watched multiple passersbye and go, taking note of some of their expressions from time to time. "A lot of people have serious faces for some reason."


    Eventually, after waiting for a time far longer than he had expected, Zeik hade back to where he was, with the young man thinking that the former finally had the answers to his questions. However, rather than have a neutral or calm expression like he always did, Zeik instead had a slightly grim expression on his face as he looked at Valyr.


    "What''s wrong? Was there not any information on the site?" Naturally, after seeing the man''s expression, Valyr stood up and moved closer, a slight frown adorning his face as he wondered what was going on.


    "There is. Don''t worry about that part," Zeik reassured him, only for his expression to turn even more grim as he continued. "However, I''ve heard reports from some of the merchants in the outpost of a certain sighting out in the battlefield."


    "To think the rumors are true." Muttering these words to himself, the man softly shook his head as he let out a sigh. "The kingdom is definitely not going to be happy once they hear about this."


    "What did you hear from the merchants?" Though he was inwardly relieved that he would be able to upgrade his title to higher levels, Valyr decided to ce that thought at the back of his head for now as he focused on the other topic Zeik had mentioned. "Wait¡­ don''t tell me¡­"


    "Julian was right in having me apany you to this ce." Hearing these wordse out of Zeik''s mouth, Valyr had more or less confirmed the possibility he hade up with, causing his expression to turn grim as well.


    "Orcs have infiltrated the Akashic Battlefield?" Deciding to not waste time, Zeik proceeded to make his way to one of the official exits, with Valyr following behind him. Along the way, the young man picked up where their conversation had left off.


    "Yeah. A group of five orcs have been seen in Point Devann''s battlefields, specifically thetter sites." Nodding in response, Zeik slightly hastened his steps, prompting Valyr to follow suit. "It''s quite surprising to think that the orcs appeared just as we had appeared in Point Devann."


    "I was definitely not expecting Julian''s words to be true, to say the least." Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders. "In any case, what''s the n now?"


    "Well, since your original intention in heading to the Akashic Battlefield is to gain somebat experience, you go ahead and continue doing that." Saying these words, Zeik then told Valyr the directions to the site within Point Devann that would have the monsters he needed, which was Site 2-S.


    "As for me¡­" Once he was done giving Valyr directions to Site 2-S, a wry smile appeared on Zeik''s face. "Though I have been tasked by Julian to be your escort, as amander of the guild''s Combat Specialist Division, I''m considered one of the many protectors of the kingdom when ites to invading foes."


    "With that, we''ll have to go our separate ways for now." At these words, Zeik went silent for a bit as multiple thoughts lingered in his head. After a while, he brought up a screen in front of him and began to interact with it, only for a notification sound to resound in Valyr''s mind a few secondster.


    Ding!


    [Zeik Verrthorne (Lvl. 89) has sent you a friend request. Would you like to ept?]


    Slightly confused as to why Zeik would send him a friend request all of a sudden, Valyr looked at the man, who instantly understood what thetter was trying to ask through his gaze.


    "This is so we could still maintain a sense ofmunication between us even though we''re separated," said Zeik in response. "It''ll also allow you to be up to date on the situation regarding the orcs within Point Devann. With that, if things go south, I want you to drop what you''re doing and leave the Akashic Battlefield as soon as possible. Ry everything that happened here to Julian, got it?"


    "You make it sound like you might die." Though a frown adorned his face, Valyr respected the man''s decision, nodding as hemitted the instruction to memory. "As a Rank 5 ss holder, surely you won''t be defeated by a small group of orcs, right?"


    "I definitely have a high chance of escaping, that''s for sure." Zeikughed in response. "Either way, I won''t push my luck while fighting against them."


    "After all, I still have to fight you sometime in the future."


    Leaving those parting words, Zeik bade farewell to the young man, faintly smiling as he waved goodbye. After that, he disappeared from the young man''s field of vision within seconds, pushing his movement speed to its utmost limits to reach the orcs as soon as possible.


    Whoosh!


    Allowing the strong gust of wind generated by Zeik''s movements to blow over him, Valyr looked in the general direction as to where his escort was heading for a while before deciding to head to Site 2-S.


    "I wonder if I could be of any help to the situation¡­"


    ¡­


    "Finally made it." Slightly gasping for air as he had arrived, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief once he had found a sea of bears appear before him, all of which had auras that far surpassed even the strongest golems that existed within Site 9 of Point Caelion. As he sifted through the bears'' strengths through the use of [Greater Analysis], he thought about how the generalndscape of the Akashic Battlefield confused his sense of direction.


    "I should really frequent this ce more often. Can''t just rely on my past life''s memories." Softly chuckling to himself, he thought about how he began to head in a different direction from Zeik, thinking that he was heading in a direction that would lead him straight to Site 2-S. However, what instead happened was he gradually veered away from his original course, eventually finding himself in Site 4, where some people were helpful enough to lead him to where he needed to go.


    "Of course, even after being helped out by other people in the area, I still ended up getting lost." Muttering these words to himself, he thought about how he continued to veer more and more away from Site 2-S, eventually finding himself in Site 11-S, which was considered the most dangerous site within Point Devann.


    Aside from all of the monsters within the site being at the peak of Rank 4, the weakest among them was at Ancient Elite tier, with the strongest among them even having formed their own Intents. Naturally, Valyr swiftly got away from the site, thankfully stumbling across Site 2-S around 20 minutester after reaching Site 11-S.


    "Thankfully, these bears are separated from one another. If not, I''d probably be facing against a bunch of them right now." Humming a little tune as he continued to sift through the sea of bears that existed within Site 2-S, Valyr eventually found the exact monster he needed to fight against, taking in a deep breath as he took a look at its stats.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Fulgurite Bear (Legendary Elite)] (Level 60)


    ss: Lightning Bear (Umon)<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    HP: 14,336/14,336


    MP: 10,432/10,432


    Stats: 448 VIT, 448 STR, 448 AGI, 448 DEX, 326 INT, 326 WIS, 151 PER, 135 LUK


    Skills: [Fulgurite w Arts], [Basic Lightning Magic Style], [Intermediate Lightning Affinity], [Intermediate Mana Affinity], [Basic Spellcasting], [Basic Magical Damage Resistance],¡­


    Remarks: Literally the definition of fast and deadly while you''re up against it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "The high agility is going to be a bit of a problem¡­" Scratching his head as he thought about how he would go about killing the bear he had chosen, a slight smirk eventually crept up onto his lips as a foolproof n surfaced in his mind.


    "Then again, I have the initiative."


    Thud!


    Jumping in a certain direction that would allow the Legendary Elite tier Fulgurite Bear to be within a hundred meters from him, Valyrnded on the ground with a solid thud, attracting the attention of some of the Fulgurite Bears, only to then be ignored by them soon after.


    "Grooooaaarrrr!!!" On the other hand, the Fulgurite Bear he was aiming to kill had been enraged to its utmost limit thanks to Valyr''s small move. Within seconds, its eyes gained a crimson red sheen as its aura ballooned to reach a level of power that the young man thought would be difficult to defeat in normal circumstances.


    Whoosh!


    Just like its name implied, the Fulgurite Bear swiftly closed the distance between the two of them with its high agility, with small sparks starting to form around its slightly yellowish fur. However, before these sparks could even culminate into anything¡­


    Valyr made his move.


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Offense Aura+]."


    "[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]."


    Swoosh!


    In less than an instant, Valyr''s offensive capabilities rose to a level that instilled a small sliver of fear within the Fulgurite Bear. Yet even with that sliver of fear lingering within it, the bear continued to dash in the young man''s direction, trusting in its newfound strength to be able to eradicate the fear it felt once and for all.


    As for Valyr, seeing that the bear still remained on its path to kill him, he took in a deep breath, extending out his spear at the very moment the distance between them was close enough for the spear tip to touch the Fulgurite Bear''s head.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]."


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]."


    Bang!


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 60 Mana Stone Golem (Mythic Elite). You have gained 990,375 XP.]


    [ying Mythic Elite beings with your weapon, you have demonstrated that you have what it takes to upset the natural order of the world. You have what it takes to upset the bnce and bring forth a new era under your strength.]


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, your title ''True Elite IV'' has been upgraded to ''yer of Ascendants''.]

 Chapter 446 Slayer Of Ascendants

    Gazing at the Fulgurite Bear, whose head had exploded into bits under the force generated by his attack, Valyr let out a long and drawn-out sigh as he slowly retracted his spear back, shaking off the blood that stuck onto it as he affixed it to his back once more. Then, after making sure that there weren''t any other Fulgurite Bears in the vicinity, the young man distanced himself from the sea of monsters once more, allowing any nearby Fulgurite Bears to take a bite at the corpse he had left behind.


    "I guess this is the final upgrade to the title, huh." Finally taking a look at the notifications he had received after killing the enraged Fulgurite Bear, Valyr was surprised that the title had finally reached its final upgrade. Though, at the same time, he was somewhat disappointed, considering that there were far more tiers beyond Mythic Elite.


    However, just as he had begun to ept the fact that his journey to improving the title had ended here, Valyr went ahead and took a look at the title''s description after making sure no monsters would be able to ambush him. Reading through the entirety of the title''s description in a solemn fashion, a slight chuckle left the young man''s mouth as a smile adorned his face.


    "I stand corrected. It seems the journey to upgrade this title isn''t over yet."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [yer of Ascendants (Stage I)] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    To have the ability to surmount the immense gap in level and experience between you and your opponent, while still remaining at a disadvantage in multiple aspects ofbat, you have truly shown the world that your identity is not only limited to being abat prodigy, able to surmount a single rank at most. Instead, you have shown the world the capability to upset the fine bnce of the world and turn it to ashes, bringing awe and reverence to your closest of friends, and immense despair to your worst of foes.


    You, who has the ability to y those that came before you, have be the greatest enemy of these beings. Or perhaps, you have be their greatest ally. It is up to you to decide on which you shall eventually end up bing.


    [Stage I | Recognition - You have shown the world that you have what it takes to turn even the most important aspects ofbat, experience and time, into nothing but a foolish variable. However, will you show them that your path has already ended? Or will you show them that your path has just begun?]


    Effects:


    > +25% damage to monsters at Mythic Elite tier and below that are at least 20 levels higher than the user


    > +15% damage to beings that are at least 20 levels higher than the user


    > +15% Attack and Defense


    > Reduces the efficacy of reduced damage against higher-leveled beings by 10% [Stage I - Recognition]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Upgrade requirements:


    > Either kill 1,000 monsters at Mythic Elite tier or greater, or kill 1,000 beings at least 20 levels above your current level (0/1000)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Closing the screen before him after he was finished reading, Valyr pondered over everything he had just acquired from the title with a satisfied smile on his face.


    Though he had not seen the changes the title underwent while he was on a killing spree to upgrade the title as much as possible, the first few effects of [yer of Ascendants] was enough to remind him once more that such a powerful title hade from the humble [Signs of a True Elite] title that he used to have.


    However, unlike before, where its effects had only given him a negligible benefit to hisbat at most, [yer of Ascendants] now allowed these effects to be more prominent, gaining a 25% boost to his overall damage, as long as he was fighting against a monster that did not exceed the Mythic Elite tier.


    Add on the increased damage to enemies that were at least 20 levels higher than him, whether the increase stacked additively or multiplicatively with the damage boost from before, Valyr was more than certain that his attacks had be far deadlier than before.


    Then again, the young man had more or less expected these effects to be more prominent after the title had undergone an upgrade more than a few times. What truly caught Valyr off guard was the final effect attached to the title.


    An effect that even he had note across in his past life while ying Greater Beyond.


    "I was told back then that there were a couple of titles that allowed yers to fight higher-leveled monsters with ease," muttered Valyr to himself as he went through his treasure trove of memories from his past life. "At some point, I dismissed it as some sort of myth since the Mythic ss I got allowed me to do the same thing."


    "But I never expected them to actually be true." As far as Valyr could recall, simr to how there was a system in ce wherein higher-leveled beings wouldn''t be able to gain as much XP from lower-leveled beings after some point, there was also a system in ce that discouraged lower-leveled beings from fighting against higher-leveled beings¡­ up to a certain point.


    Commonly known by all yers including Valyr back then as the Damage Restriction System, this system reduced the amount of damage an opposing monster or being took against a yer that was of a certain level below itself. Each consecutive level increased the reduction in damage by an additional 2%, which meant that a level gap of one equated to a 2% decrease in damage dealt to the higher-leveled side.


    On the other hand, a level gap of 10 equated to a 20% decrease in damage, while a level gap of 20 equated to a 40% decrease in damage, a gap that was only surmountable by yers in the past by relying on high rarity sses, as well as Vital and Brutal Hits.


    Of course, at the very end of the spectrum, a level gap of 50 equated to a 100% decrease in damage. This meant that whatever attack the yer sent out at this higher-leveled enemy, the only damage the opposing side would receive would be a staggering one point. In many more ways than one, yers havee to ept the fact that fighting against an enemy 50 levels higher than them was an impossibility.


    However, just because of one additional effect in what was once a simple title, Valyr now thought that he could make the impossible a reality.

 Chapter 447 A Fight Between Two Ranks

    "Reduces the efficacy of reduced damage against higher-leveled beings by 10%¡­ does that mean if I fight against a monster 10 levels higher than me, my damage will only be reduced by 18% rather than 20%?" Pondering over how the final effect of his newly upgraded title worked, Valyr began to think out loud. "Or would it work like a t reduction where my damage would only be reduced by 10% instead of 20%?"


    "Should I head back to Point Caelion and test it out?" Pondering over it for a bit more, Valyr eventually decided to head to Point Caelion in the meantime to see whether the effect applied multiplicatively or additively.


    "The damage a single punch deals is consistent, being equivalent to my main Attack stat, which is DEX, multiplied to my Attack stat coefficient, which is 3 thanks to my current ss rank." Making his way back to the outpost since that''s where the rift to Point Caelion was, Valyr continued to go over his thought process.


    "If the damage I deal to a Level 45 monster is equal to my Attack stat minus the monster''s defense, then the effect is additive. If it''s lower than what I calcted in my mind, then it''s multiplicative." With everything about what he was going to do in Point Caelion finally organized in his mind, the young man swiftly sped up his pace, disappearing from the periphery of Site 2-S as he began to head back to the outpost surrounding Point Devann sometimetter.


    ¡­


    "Agh!" Letting out a pained cry as a hole was torn open through his chest by a single fist, the man looked at the tall green being before him with abject horror, wondering why such beings were inside what they considered a safe ce. Unfortunately, before the man could even obtain his answer, his consciousness had already disappeared, his body nothing more than a lifeless shell of its former shelf.


    "Murak. Progress report." Retracting the fist he had used to kill a human for what was already a great number of times, Meirat briefly looked at the human he had in with a solemn expression before turning around to look at the orc beside him, whose clothes seemed more fitting for someone of the human race than that of the orcs.


    "So far, we''ve confirmed that we have arrived at an entrance named Point Devann by the humans," said Murak in response after a bit of silence. "There are a total of 21 sites within this entrance, with the number of the humans that are within this entrance totaling up to around 900 or so."


    "How many humans have we killed so far?" Nodding as he listened to Murak''s report, Meirat threw him a question.


    "We''ve currently killed all of the humans within thest nine sites, so around 250 humans, give or take."


    "I presume most of them would be at the outpost, right?"


    "That would be correct." Nodding in response to Meirat''s question, Murak briefly closed his eyes as he did a few gestures in the air, utilizing the converted mana he had used earlier for them to appear in Point Devann. "Around a third of the total humans within this entrance are located within the outpost, though most of them are only Rank 3 at most."


    "I see." Committing hisrade''s words to memory, Meirat soon told Murak to apany Hreig and the others in killing all of the remaining humans that were trying to escape the site, prompting thetter to nod in response before swiftly leaving the former off to his own devices.


    "Have I made the right decision in infiltrating Point Devann?" Once he was the only orc remaining in the surrounding area, Meirat took the time to sit on the ground and ponder over all of the decisions he and his group have made during the mission so far. Then again, as one of Khorza''an''s Chosen, it was more urate to say that he pondered over the decisions he had made so far.


    "Is it really correct to be ying these humans, even though they do not know of what is going on beyond their walls?" muttered Meirat to himself, thinking about the decision he made to head to Point Devann to reduce the chances of the humans sessfully defending against an offensive from the orcs.


    In his mind, it made a lot of sense. The offensive from the orcs would kill all of the Rank 5 humans that existed within the kingdom and force even the Rank 5 humans that remained hidden within the kingdom all this time toe out. Once those Rank 5 humans were gone, the only ones that would be able to rece them would be the Rank 4 humans, who would undergo special training to reach Rank 5.


    However, with the decision he had made, he would increase the effects of the offensive done by the orcs, solely based on the fact that the humans would need a far longer time to umte a force capable of fighting against the offensive due to theck of strong Rank 4 humans. With that thought in mind, Meirat thought to himself that he had more than fulfilled the objective of the mission he had received.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Yet, for some reason, Meirat felt a sense of guilt from what he was doing. After all, from what he had seen from the reactions of the humans he had killed, a great number of them were oblivious to the fact that the humans and orcs were on opposing sides. As someone who had been born before Khorza''an took his father''s throne, the sheer innocence the humans had towards the situation hurt him even more.


    "Are we¡­ am I doing the right thing?" Asking this question to himself, Meirat let out a low sigh as he stood up, deciding to think more about it once their mission was over. However, just as he was about to head to another site to apany hisrades¡­


    "Guess I''ve finallye face to face with the boss." Letting out a bit ofughter, a man with tanned skin appeared a couple dozen meters away from Meirat, taking on a somewhat rxed pose as he looked at thetter. "You do understand me, right?"


    "I do." Slightly confused by the sudden question, Meirat nodded.


    "Good." Hearing Meirat respond to him, the man grinned.


    Whoosh!


    "Since that''s the case, I won''t beat around the bush." Not long after, the man red the entirety of his aura, the feeling it gave off simr to what one would feel while standing in front of a zing inferno. Getting into a stance fit for battle, the man taunted Meirat to attack him.


    "I''ll be beating you to a pulp and ask you a couple of questions after we''re done."


    "How impertinent." In response, Meirat red the entirety of his aura as well, the feeling it gave off being a stark contrast to the man''s aura, giving off a feeling that was simr to a flowing river. Taking in a deep breath, the orc soon charged towards the man, deciding to take the initiative by attacking.


    "Since you haven''t been taught any manners, let me be the one to educate you."


    "Intent of the Flowing River."


    "[Cascading Azure Fist]."


    "Hah! I''d like to see you try!"


    "Intent of the Scorching Inferno!"


    "[zing Roundhouse Impact]!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 448 A Surprising Decision

    "Grooaaarrrr!!!" Letting out an angered cry, a bear with fiery red fur swiped down at the young man in front of it without hesitation, its every move filled with the intent to kill. Unfortunately, no matter how much force the red bear put into its attacks, the young man was able to dodge it in the nick of time.


    "I guess it''s time for me to make my move." Seeing as he had more or less gotten used to the attack pattern of the enraged bear before him, the young man sucked in a bit of air as he clenched his right fist, sending it out at the very moment the red bear had shown one of the openings he was aiming for.


    Bang!


    Crack!


    "Groooaaaarrrr!!!" With how much force the young man had put behind his attack, at the very moment his fist connected with the bear''s upper torso, thetter was swiftly sent tumbling backward, apanying it the bear''s now pained cry. The bear only stopped tumbling backward after colliding with a nearby tree, which increased the rage the bear felt even further.


    Whoosh!


    However, just as the bear was about to dash to where the young man stood, thetter decided to take the initiative after feeling like he had already stalled for so long, appearing a couple of meters in front of the bear before disappearing from its field of vision a few secondster.


    "Grooo¡­" Faintly wondering how the young man it had been fighting against had just disappeared like that, the bear swiftly looked around its surroundings, hoping to find any traces it could use to find the young man. With its strength being enhanced out of nowhere, it felt like there was a high chance for it to be able to find where the young man was and satiate the urge that had welled up alongside the gain in strength it had gotten.


    Yet, before it could even find a single hint as to where the young man was¡­


    "Hyah!"


    Bang!


    "Grooooaaarrrr!!!" Out of nowhere, the young mannded a solid punch towards the bear''s exposed back, which could only curve under the strength he had put into. Once more, the bear let out a pained cry, wondering to itself how the young man had gotten on top of the tree before it could find him.


    Bang! Bang!


    "Groooaaaaarrrgghhh!!!" Though, unlike before, where the bear would gain some sort of reprieve between the young man''s attacks, the young man decided tond a couple more hits on the red bear, a pensive expression adorning his face as he hit spots on the bear''s body that weren''t considered vital by any means.


    Nevertheless, with how much force the young man had put into his attacks, the red bear eventually sumb to the immense amount of damage it had umted, letting the pain it had received consume it as its consciousness gradually disappeared.


    Ding!


    [With a 5 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 100%.]


    [You have in a Level 45 Red Dusk Bear (Rare Elite). You have gained 147,305 XP.]


    "I guess I''ve already gathered more than enough data to confirm my hypothesis." Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh as he took a look at the notifications he had just obtained, Valyr decided to sit down on the ground for the meantime, recuperating the energy he had used so far. While doing so, he coted all of the information he had received from the fights he had done, closing his eyes every once in a while.


    "In total, I''ve killed about 10 Red Dusk Bears andnded an average of 5 hits on each bear before they died from the damage." Muttering these words to himself, the gears in Valyr''s mind madly turned. "Halving the damage obtained from some lucky critical hits, I could now say without a doubt that the effect the title has on the Damage Restriction System¡­"


    "¡­is multiplicative." Adorning a bitter smile on his face, Valyr thought about the title''s effect for a bit more, sooning to the thought that it did not really matter whether the effect applied multiplicatively or additively. After all, against a being that was 50 levels higher than him, whether the effect was applied multiplicatively or additively, the damage he dealt would still be reduced by 90% either way.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It''s just a matter of how I get to that 90% damage reduction in the first ce." Feeling a hint of regret that his small trip to Point Caelion seemed to be a waste of time due to his findings, the young man quickly thought about the other things he had gained from the experiment, such as an urate gauge of his strength now that he was at the peak of Rank 2.


    "In any case, now that I''ve confirmed how the effect works, I guess it''s time for me to focus on upgrading the title even further." Bringing up the description of [yer of Ascendants] in front of him, Valyr swiftly focused his sights on thest few lines written on the screen. "Kill a thousand Mythic Elite tier monsters or higher, or kill a thousand beings at least 20 levels higher than me¡­"


    "Well, considering how hard it is to find a Mythic Elite even with the help of the Mark of the Alltide, it''s a no-brainer as to what I should choose." Making up his mind as he now had an idea of where to go next, Valyr went ahead and made his way back to the outpost surrounding Point Caelion, hoping to head back to Point Devann once he was there.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "And we''re back." Giving himself time to limate to his surroundings after being sent to travel through space once more, a wry smile gradually crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he thought about the state of the outpost around Point Caelion before he teleported.


    "Since the people at Point Caelion already know of the orc infiltration going on in Point Devann, I guess it would make sense that the other entrances already know of it as well." Though it did not reallye as a surprise that the other entrances would eventuallye to know of what was happening at Point Devann, it was the fact that the other entrances already knew what was going on that truly surprised Valyr.


    After all, considering the amount of time that had passed between him and Zeik arriving at Point Devann and him just recently returning to Point Devann, only around three hours or so had passed since then.


    "There is a bright side to them finding out this quickly, though," muttered Valyr to himself. "After all, that would mean that the kingdom would make its move far earlier than expected."


    "However, I wonder if their move is early enough." Thinking about how much time had passed since he and Zeik had gone their separate ways, a hint of worry appeared on the young man''s face, wondering whether Zeik had alreadye across the orcs and was safe.


    "Well, he is a Rank 5 ss holder, so I shouldn''t worry too much." Deciding to believe in the man''s words from before they parted ways, Valyr sped up his pace as he made his way to one of the official exits. While doing so, he thought about the site he was going to head to in order to make progress in upgrading [yer of Ascendants] to the next stage.


    "Hmm¡­ I guess it would be better for me to fight against monsters that are beyond 20 levels in order to ensure that I''d make progress." Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head. "Off to Site 5-S then."


    "Whoa there, friend." Just as he had made up his mind on which site he was going, a man that looked to be in his early thirties stopped Valyr just as he was about to pass through one of the official exits. "I''d suggest you stay here in the outpost for the meantime, or leave the Akashic Battlefield and wait for another day."


    "There are orcs currently roaming around the various sites, killing all of the humans theye across," the man continued, gazing at Valyr with a hint of concern. "I''ve obtained reports that even peak Rank 4 ss holders are no match for these orcs, much less to say about a peak Rank 2 ss holder like you."


    "In fact, I''d highly rmend you to leave the Akashic Battlefield and return at some other time in the future." At these words, the man''s expression turned serious. "After all, a peak Rank 2 ss holder entering a site normally meant for Rank 4 ss holders only means one thing."


    "You have a great level of talent, and it would be a waste of that if you were to die because of them."


    "I mean¡­ you do have a point¡­" Though Valyr was slightly annoyed at first that a random stranger decided to block him from continuing onto the battlefield, as he continued to listen to the man''s words, the more Valyr thought about what he was doing.


    From the stranger''s perspective, it was borderline suicidal for him to still have the courage to head out into the battlefield, even though the orc were ying every human they saw on sight. With that, he eventually asked himself.


    ''Is it really necessary for me to upgrade the title as soon as possible?''


    "Alright." With the question in mind, it did not take long for Valyr to make up his mind as he turned around and thanked the man for his suggestion, making his way back to the center of the outpost not long after in the hopes of hearing good news from Zeik.

 Chapter 449 Save For Another Day

    "I wonder if Zeik is doing fine¡­" Deciding to stay within the outpost for the meantime after being dissuaded by a man with good intentions to not head into the battlefield, Valyr made the most of his time within the outpost by listening to reports regarding the orc infiltration, whether it be the number of casualties the orcs have taken with them, or the kingdom''s response from the outside and how it would pan out.


    Of course, while listening to these reports, the young man made sure to keep his eyes and ears open for any mention of a man that had simr characteristics to Zeik, or were pertaining to Zeik himself. Unfortunately, none of the reports he had listened to for the past couple of hours contained any mention of his escort fighting against the orcs, nor did it contain any mention of him appearing near the orcs in the first ce.


    Nevertheless, Valyr still chose to believe in the man''s words, waiting for Zeik to give him a sign as the reports continued to flood into the outpost.


    At some point while listening to the reports that came in, first-hand encounters with the orcs began to appear amongst the reports the people within the outpost had received, obtaining it from those that were lucky enough to escape the clutches of the orcs.


    Though a few people within the outpost looked at it from the perspective that these few had only been able to escape since the orcs wanted them to show the control they had over their lives, that thought swiftly disappeared once these people listened to the first-hand reports of those that had escaped.


    In the truest sense of the word, these people had luck on their side to be able to escape.


    One report from those that had escaped told the story of a woman that was part of the first few groups that hade into contact with the orcs. Coming into the Akashic Battlefield with a group of people that boasted greatbat power out in the battlefield, the woman''s reality was quickly shattered into pieces once the orcs made their move, killing almost all of herrades within a couple ofrge-scale attacks.


    After that, seeing that there were still a few people that remained standing after the barrage of attacks, with all of them now frantically running for their lives, the orcs sent yet another wave of attacks at them without hesitation, the woman included.


    However, unlike the others, who had unfortunately fallen due to the seemingly unending barrage of attacks the orcs had sent out, the woman had been able to rely on ast resort skill she had saved for times of great crisis, allowing her to escape, albeit in a condition that was best described as being a few inches short from dying.


    Simr reports continued to trickle in as more time passed, with each report showcasing the ruthlessness and the domineering attitude the orcs had when it came toing face to face with the humans. It was to the point that Valyr had a frown on his face after listening to all of it, reminding himself of the quest he had obtained from An''xhur.


    ''If every orc I''lle across in the future is as bloodthirsty as these orcs, then I guess I''m a few steps away from the starting point I initially thought I was at.'' Letting out a low sigh as he walked around the streets of the outpost to briefly distract his mind from the chaos that was happening, Valyr suddenly stopped in his tracks just as a notification sound had resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained a message from ''Zeik Verrthorne''.]


    Feeling his heart beat faster in anticipation as he took a look at the notification he had received, Valyr swiftlymanded the system to bring up the chat function, soon reading the message Zeik had sent him.


    "Hey, Valyr. Meet me at this location as soon as possible."


    Whoosh!


    Taking in a few deep breaths to not let the adrenaline get to him, Valyr eventually closed the screen he had brought up, mustering up all of the strength in his body as he soon dashed in the direction of the location Zeik had sent him.


    ¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What¡­" At the very moment Valyr had arrived at the location, the young man thought that he would be meeting a Zeik that was more or less unharmed. Worst case scenario, the man would have a few grievous wounds that did not affect anything vital at all.


    Yet¡­


    "What happened to you?"


    Hearing the question Valyr asked him, Zeik could only give the former a faint smile, which was already a miracle for him to achieve in his current condition. Almost every inch of his body seemed to be covered in wounds of all varying depths, some of which seemed to have been charred for a purpose.


    Aside from that, the overall structure of his body looked to be misshapen, as if the man had forced himself into a tight space that made his body contort the way it was at the moment. Naturally, the man was also covered in a great amount of dried blood, the remnants of the clothes he was wearing earlier dyed crimson red because of it.


    "Could you give me a health potion?" Just as Valyr was expecting Zeik to respond to his question, seeing as the man was trying to open his mouth, what greeted him instead was the chat function, within it the new message Zeik had just sent to him.


    Swoosh!


    Of course, seeing how his escort looked to be on the verge of death at any given moment, Valyr did not even waste a second in retrieving one of the health potions he had bought earlier from his spatial bracelet, removing the stopper before helping Zeik take a few sips of the viscous red fluid.


    "Ngh¡­ ahhh¡­" Letting out a faint cry of pain, Zeik felt the health potion do its thing within his body, fixing up his mangled internal organs first and foremost, which was something the young man did not notice. Fortunately, after his internal organs had been more or less fixed by the potion, the man gained a bit more strength, allowing him to take a few more sips of the health potion as his body''s strong vitality did more work.


    "Urgh¡­" Contorting his body in various ways as he worked with his vitality to realign his body into its proper form, Zeik was gradually returning to normal condition, prompting Valyr to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he went ahead and gave the man a few more of his health potions to aid in the healing process.


    Thanking the young man for helping him out at such short notice, Zeik went ahead and asked Valyr a question while he was still in the midst of healing.


    "Say, did you head deep into the battlefield after we went our separate ways?"


    "Pretty sure I didn''t." Valyr shook his head. "I only stayed a bit at Site 2-S, made my way back to Point Caelion to do a few things, and then returned here and waited by the outpost to see if you would message me."


    "That''s good. That''s good." Letting out a sigh of relief, Zeik nodded in response as he gave the young man a soft smile.


    "¡­say, Valyr. Mind if I suggest something?"


    "What is it?"


    "How about¡­ we end our journey into the Akashic Battlefield here and save it for another day?"

 Chapter 450 A Moment To Ponder

    "The thought of continuing never even crossed my mind." With his eyes briefly widening in response to Zeik''s suggestion, Valyr adorned a wry smile as he responded. "Well, it did at first while I was waiting for you."


    "As long as you understand my intentions." In response to the young man''s answer, Zeik let out a faint chuckle. "After all, it wouldn''t be great if you were trying to increase yourbat experience while death was lurking in every corner. Plus, even if you did want to continue, you''d be forced to leave the Akashic Battlefield either way, considering my somewhat precarious state."


    "I mean¡­ you did consume almost half of the health potions I bought. Even with that, you''re still considered to be in a precarious state?" Raising one of his eyebrows, Valyr looked at the man with a knowing smile.


    "Oh, definitely." Slightly grinning, Zeik took in a deep breath before standing up, proceeding to do a variety of basic movements in order to gauge how much he had recovered thanks to the health potions Valyr gave him. "All jokes aside, as someone who has fought against the orcs, it would be better for us to leave as soon as possible."


    "¡­" Looking at the man in silence, Valyr eventually nodded in response, prompting Zeik to take the lead as they made their way back to Point Devann, with the young man following behind him. After listening to a couple more reports that had juste in at the very moment they had arrived near the teleportation point, the two of them eventually disappeared from Point Devann, appearing outside the Akashic Battlefield a few momentster.


    ¡­


    "Even though you''re already a Rank 5 ss holder, you were still at a disadvantage against the orcs?" Once both Valyr and Zeik had left the Akashic Battlefield, a few people in guard uniforms quickly surrounded them as they asked the two a series of questions regarding the orc infiltration, as well as a series of questions to ascertain their identity. Knowing the intentions of the guards in their questioning, the two were highly cooperative, allowing them to make their way back to Algerie Kingdom a few minutester.


    "It''s not surprising for some at the lower ss ranks to be able to surmount the gap to fight against those at a higher ss rank, considering that someone like you exists. In any case, even though the orc I fought was one rank lower than me, I was still at a disadvantage in many aspects." Naturally, as one of the many protectors of Algerie Kingdom, Zeik gave the guards more information regarding the orcs before they left, with the man narrating his experience against the orcs to Valyr not long after as they made their way back.


    "Was the orc really that strong?" Still somewhat doubtful as to whether or not he had made the right choice in not continuing to head to the battlefield, Valyr threw Zeik a question.


    "Definitely." Zeik nodded without hesitation. "Not only were his stats on par against someone like me, the Intent he had control over had a nature that was the exact opposite of the Intent I have control over."


    "If not for that, I would have been able to escape only slightly injured." At these words, Valyr remained silent, trying to calcte in his mind the strength of the orc Zeik had fought against. After that, he pitted himself against this orc in his imagination, wondering what his chances of winning against such a foe roughly were.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a low sigh as he came to the conclusion that he would still undoubtedly lose even with his Mythic ss giving him greater stats, Valyr decided not to think about more what-ifs for the meantime, instead asking Zeik more about the orcs and the orc infiltration along the way.


    ¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Well, I guess this is where we''ll be truly heading our separate ways." Standing near the entrance of the cksmith Guild, Zeik looked at Valyr with a slightly awkward smile. "Of course, that''s just for the meantime. After all, as amander of the Combat Specialist Division, I need to report the happenings within the Akashic Battlefield and aid the kingdom in its retaliation against the orcs."


    "Naturally, I''ll try to find time for when we head out to the Akashic Battlefield again and finish that journey of yours."


    "Take as much time as you need," said Valyr in response as he nodded. "I still gained quite a bit from the Akashic Battlefield, even though I only did a bit of fighting there."


    "Anyways, please do keep me up to date on the situation regarding the orc infiltration if possible."


    "I''ll definitely try to do so." Leaving Valyr with these parting words, the two finally went on their separate ways, with Zeik heading deeper into the cksmith Guild, while the young man made his way back to the inn where he and Wells stayed.


    "What should I do next¡­?" As he made his way back to the inn at what was an unusual time for him to head back, Valyr began to think about all of the things that he still needed to do aside from heading to the Akashic Battlefield. Though, after going through these tasks of his, his mind briefly went nk, only for him to wonder why he was doing the tasks in the first ce.


    ''As far as I know, I''m doing these tasks in order to be stronger,'' thought Valyr to himself, inwardly nodding as the answer made sense. However, as he pondered over it a bit further, looking at the tasks he had set himself to aplish from a different perspective, he quickly noticed that there was something odd about how the tasks were arranged.


    With that, another question arose from deep within his mind.


    ''Am I doing everything too quickly?''


    "Haah¡­" With multiple thoughts swirling in his mind just as he asked this question, Valyr eventually arrived at the inn, with Wells greeting him on how his day was just as he had entered. Though, rather than respond to it like he would usually do and catch up on what the other side was doing, the young man looked at Wells for a bit before giving him an apologetic smile.


    "Sorry. Could you just give me a bit of time to think over some things?"

 Chapter 451 The Scope Of Things

    "Uh¡­ sure." Hearing the words Valyr had spoken to him, Wells was briefly left at a loss for words. After all, those words weren''t something he would usually hear from the young man, especially when he knew that this time would generally be the time when they would be privy to each other''s progress.


    Fortunately, sensing the seriousness in Valyr''s tone, as well as the expression the young man had, looking as if he was conflicted in his thoughts, Wells went ahead and headed back to his portion of the room for now, telling Valyr toe meet with him after he was done sorting out his things.


    Nodding as he thanked his good friend for being understanding, the young man then made way to his portion of the room they were staying in, lying down in bed as he gazed at the ceiling for a bit.


    "Haah¡­" Hearing the hubbub that still continued to ur outside the walls of the inn at this time, Valyr took in a few deep breaths to sort out the multiple things that continued to clutter his mind after a certain question had surfaced. One by one, he moved most of them to the side, letting out a low sigh once he had made sure that what was left in the center of his mind were questions that he deemed to be the most important ones.


    ''I guess it''s time to ask myself once more.'' Muttering these words to himself, he focused yet again on the question that had surfaced in his mind earlier while he was making his way back, trying his best not to let other thoughts cloud his thought process while concentrating on it.


    ''Am I doing things too quickly?''


    ''¡­or is it because the deadlines of the things I n on doing are close to one another that it feels like I''m doing things too quickly?'' Asking this question to himself, Valyr went over the multiple things he nned to do in the following days, such as forging equipment in order to sell it through the cksmith Guild''s channels, heading back to the Shadow ne toplete his subss promotion quest, and obtaining information regarding the family structure of the Zeihardt n.


    Of course, after pondering over this question for a bit more, he soon noticed that the things he nned to do would either fall under one of two categories: tasks that had been given to him, or tasks that he had made up himself.


    Then again, it did not matter much which among the two categories the things he nned to do would fall under. Instead, after noticing this small detail regarding his uing tasks, he soon focused on another detail that revolved around the tasks as well.


    ''As far as I can remember, there aren''t any deadlines to any of my tasks at all.'' Recalling the second part of the question he had asked himself earlier, Valyr went through his treasure trove of memories to see if any of the uing tasks, whether nned himself or not, had any deadlines attached to them.


    Eventually, he came to the conclusion that some tasks did have deadlines attached to them, such as the uing tournament to determine the leader of the inheritance expedition happening in less than a week, as well as the actual expedition a week after that.


    However, aside from that, almost all of the tasks he nned on doing did not have any deadlines. If anything, he instead looked at the tasks as if they had implied deadlines, such as the two World Quests he had obtained from Aster and An''xhur respectively.


    ''Then again, the threat of the War of the Three Sovereignties happening due to my failure inpleting these quests is enough to make me feel like a deadline has been attached to them,'' muttered Valyr to himself, pondering over the situation rationally as he calmed his emotions in slight turmoil. ''And I guess that''s also what the system wants to imply, rather than give an actual fixed deadline.''


    ''But now that I think about it, the ''deadline'' for these important things are still far away, especially now that I''m an NPC.'' Letting out a drawn-out sigh as he focused on his current train of thought, the confusion that Valyr had in his mind was gradually being cleared up. ''Aside from the fact that there''s still about a year left until the first version of Greater Beyond is publicly released, the climax of the War of the Three Sovereignties doesn''t happen until after half a year has passed since the first version came out.''


    With that in mind, he soon realized that he was scheduling all of the other tasks he nned under this implied deadline, with the thought of entering Point Devann''s battlefield even though the orc infiltration was ongoing being a great example of it.


    Of course, even though he now realized that he was nning all of his tasks under this implied deadline, he wouldn''t change the n he hade up with that easily, possibly just giving himself more time in between his tasks at most. After all, even though he had filled all of the uing days with tasks, it gave him a sense of purpose, a reminder of what he wanted to do with the second chance he had been given.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''But that still doesn''t exin the feeling I have that I''m in a race against time, a feeling that no matter what I do, it would all be useless in the end.'' As this thought surfaced in his mind, he continued to look at everything from multiple perspectives, trying to see if he could work out why he felt that way. Thankfully, it only took a bit more contemtion for him to get to the crux of the matter, feeling as if a light bulb had gone off in his mind after realizing it.


    ''The final battle¡­'' Remaining silent as he closed his eyes, allowing the sounds from outside to enter his ears, Valyr reminded himself of the final battle he had put all of his heart and soul into, only for it to all bear no fruit and end up with all of them dead.


    Though he was incredibly d that the heavens had given him a second chance to make things right, the final battle was something Valyr felt like he would be able to vividly remember even after a long time has passed, considering his position and the circumstances that revolved around the matter.


    Letting out a low sigh as he moved his memories regarding the final battle off to the side for now, Valyr pondered over the final battle for a bit, feeling like he was getting close to the answer he sought.


    And then, it clicked.


    ''Starting from when the first version was released, it took a total of eight years or so until the final battle actually came to light,'' Valyr inwardly muttered. ''Tacking on the fact that I still have about a year to go until the first version is released, I have a total of nine years to prepare until the final battle¡­"


    ''I''ve been looking at the time I still have from the wrong perspective!'' Feeling as if he had finally and truly gotten to the crux of the reason why he felt he was rushing things, Valyr could not help but shout this realization in his mind, his eyes wide open as he inwardly admonished himself for it. ''I''ve been looking at the time I have from the perspective of a yer!''


    ''But as an NPC, the time that''s left until the final battle is far longer than that!'' Taking in a couple of deep breaths to make sure that he did not lose his train of thought, Valyrputed the amount of time he had left until the final battle from the standpoint of an NPC, not factoring in the changes his actions might have to the timeline. ''Considering that I gain an extra year between each version¡­ I still have almost 70 years to prepare for the final battle.''


    ''Of course, if I also factor in the possible changes my actions would cause to the timeline, then the amount of time I have left to prepare would also change. Then again, it''s definitely better than the nine years I initially thought I had left.'' Letting out a long sigh of relief as the shift in perspective reduced the overall burden he felt, he continued to ponder over his current situation a bit more, knowing that the remaining time he had left until the final battle was only one of the reasons why he felt like he was rushing through things.


    ''I guess I''ve also forgotten to take into ount that I don''t have a weak main ss anymore.'' Surprisingly, it did not take long for him to pinpoint the other reason why he felt everything was rushed, letting out a mocking chuckle as he thought about how the shift in perspective had also changed his way of thinking. ''With a Mythic ss, I''m able to do more with less.''


    ''If it were the me from back then, he would have probably been forging a new set of armor and weapons by now, spending most of his time forging in order to gain a higher position within the cksmith Guild.''


    ''On the other hand, I already have an Epic grade armor set, as well as a Rare+ grade spear, even though I haven''t been doing any forgingtely.'' Faintly smiling at this thought, Valyr let out a long sigh as he soon muttered a few words that only he could hear.


    "The way you look at the world changes once you take into the consideration the overall scope of your actions."


    "Well, as someone who has finally experienced it firsthand, it definitely changed for the better."

 Chapter 452 Taking Things Easy

    After pondering over the things he had realized in his moment of introspection for a bit more, Valyr even let out yet another sigh of relief as he got out of bed. Making his way to the orb near the entrance of their room, he went ahead and ordered a few meals for himself, only realizing once he was done that he had not eaten his fill yet.


    "Feeling better?" Noticing that Valyr had left his portion of the room, Wells decided to head to the main area as well, looking at the man with a slightly concerned gaze.


    "Yeah. Thanks." Apologizing to his good friend once more regarding what had transpired earlier before his moment of introspection, Valyr gave Wells a smile filled with gratitude. After that, the young man joked whether the two of them should still catch up on what the other side had been doing, to which Wells unsurprisingly agreed that they should.


    With that, Wells went ahead and talked about the progress he had been making in improving all of his skills, as well as the ns he had been formting in the background regarding him eventually reaching the peak of Rank 1 and ascending to Rank 2. While listening, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise as he focused on a certain phrase the man before him had mentioned.


    "Wait¡­ did you just say all of your spear-rted skills are all Umon grade thanks to that [Technique Introspection] skill of yours?" Interrupting Wells'' train of thought, Valyr looked at the man with a gaze of slight disbelief as he asked the question.


    "Well, to be more urate, most of them are at Umon grade." In response, Wells scratched the back of his head as he let out a bit of an awkwardugh. "A few of them, I''ve been able to upgrade to Umon+ grade, while the most important ones, I''ve already upgraded to Rare."


    "Hasn''t it been only a bit over a month since you gained the Spear Schr ss?" Though Valyr was familiar with the concept behind the Spear Schr ss, allowing its wielder to upgrade their skills to higher grades regardless of whether they met the rank or not, he did not understand how Wells was able to raise his skills to such a level in such a small time frame.


    As far as he knew, those with the Spear Schr ss or any other ss within the same branch would experience a reduced rate of skill improvement, only allowing them to upgrade a couple of their skills to Umon grade after a month or so has passed.


    Yet, for some reason, Wells had seemingly found a way around it.


    "Yeah, it has." Nodding as he wondered why Valyr was so hung-up on how quickly he was able to level all of his skills, Wells finally put two and two together in his mind as his eyes briefly widened in understanding. "Wait¡­ are you perhaps curious as to how I leveled them so quickly?"


    "Isn''t that already obvious with how much I''ve been asking about it?"


    "You could''ve just said so from the get-go, you know?" Bitterly smiling in response, Wells went ahead and told Valyr the entire reason why he was able to upgrade his skills so quickly. "In any case, upgrading all of my skills to Umon grade was only possible due to the fact that I''ve focused on upgrading [Technique Introspection] first."


    "But wouldn''t¡­"


    "¡­that be slower? It was." Knowing what Valyr was going to ask since he was the one who suggested the ss to him, Wells already knew what he was going to answer. "However, that was only at the first few levels. After all, [Technique Introspection] had something like a 50% reduction in efficacy in gaining skill experience or something at the start, which gradually became better as I improved it."


    "With that in mind, it''s the first skill I upgraded to Umon, as well as the first skill I upgraded to Rare. Currently, it''s at Rare+, where the reduction in efficacy is now more negligible, around 15% or so." Finally understanding how Wells was able to upgrade his skills so quickly with [Technique Introspection], a thought soon surfaced in Valyr''s mind.


    ''Those guys from back then were incredibly stupid to not think of that approach in the first ce.''


    After Wells added a few more things regarding the things he did recently, it was now Valyr''s turn. Naturally, thetter went ahead and talked about his journey into the Akashic Battlefield, talking about how it felt more natural to be inpared to something like the Experience Pit. In fact, with how enthusiastic he was in talking about the Akashic Battlefield, Wells was gradually bing inclined in trying to use it as well.


    However, just before Valyr could talk more about the benefits the Akashic Battlefield had over the Experience Pit, he shifted the topic to the orc infiltration, talking about it in detail as he brought up some of the reports he had obtained while loitering around the outpost.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Unsurprisingly, such a drastic change in topic caused Wells to go pale, feeling dread at the fact that even Rank 4 ss holders, beings that were at a whole other level of strengthpared to the current him, posed no match to the orcs that decided to break into the Akashic Battlefield.


    Of course, with how much Valyr talked about the orc infiltration, Wells soon wondered whether his friend in front of him hade across the orcs or faced against the orcs at least once. In response to that question, Valyr gave his friend a wry smile. "If I dide across the orcs or fought against them, I wouldn''t be here standing in front of you right now."


    "Right¡­" With Valyr''s response reminding him of the ruthlessness the orcs had through Valyr''s narration of the story, Wells shed a wry smile of his own in response.


    Seeing that Wells did not have any more questions, Valyr added a few more things to say about the orc infiltration, eventually ending it as he decided to shift it to another topic. While doing so, he told Wells to keep the orc infiltration a secret between the two of them, even after omitting almost all of the important information regarding the situation.


    Once his friend swore that it would remain a secret between them no matter how much time had passed, Valyr nodded at his friend before deciding to talk about the moment of introspection he had just given himself, only to be interrupted by the inn''s service delivering him the food he had ordered.


    Deciding to eat whilst he talked, Valyr went a bit into detail regarding his thought process, such as the initial question of why he felt like he was doing too many things at once, and how changing his perspective helped for the better. Naturally, information such as World Quests and the like were omitted from his exnation, feeling that he did not need to burden his friend with the knowledge of how much he had on his te.


    "By the end of it, I realized that even if I take my time and go through things at a more rxed pace, I''d still be doing more than the average person," said Valyr, ending his overall exnation regarding his introspection.


    "I see. So, what do you n doing next? Gonna rx for the day?" Nodding in agreement with Valyr that he should do things at more rxed pace, Wells went ahead and threw a question not long after that was rted to the topic.


    "Probably." Valyr nodded, albeit with a hint of uncertainty. "I might head out and buy a couple of things here and there, but for the most part, I''ll be taking it easy for the remainder of the day."


    "Speaking of which, I just remembered something." Just as he was going over through the list of tasks he had yet toplete, a memory from over a month ago surfaced in Valyr''s mind, reminding him of a certain event Wells had mentioned to him.


    "Remember that Myriad Prodigies Tournament thing you mentioned to me back when we met up again at Clossbay?" Looking at his friend just as he had finished eating, Valyr posed a question at the man.


    "I do, but what about it?" Nodding in response, Wells looked at Valyr with a hint of doubt, wondering what the young man was hinting at. "Are you trying to remind me of the mission my family gave me to encourage you to participate in it as a representative of our family?"


    "Well, I guess that''s part of the reason why I was reminded of it." Valyr faintly chuckled. "But I wasn''t really pertaining to that."


    "Instead, I was wondering if you know where the Myriad Prodigies Tournament is going to be held, as well as how much time we have left before the tournament begins."


    "Oh?" Hearing Valyr''s response, Wells raised his eyebrow in slight surprise. "Did you perhaps change your mind?"


    "Perhaps. Perhaps not." In response, Valyr gave his friend a mysterious smile. "So, do you know?"


    "Well¡­"

 Chapter 453 A Slice Of Life

    ''So, there''s a bit less than five months left before the Myriad Prodigies Tournament kicks into full gear.'' After heading outside to buy a couple of essential items that the two werecking in their inn, Valyrid down on his bed and indulged in his thoughts once more. However, unlike before, the thoughts in his mind currently revolved around the conversation he had with Wells earlier.


    ''As for where the Myriad Prodigies Tournament is going to be held, Wells said that there was a high chance that it would be held at the kingdom''s main city of Alhazar.'' Allowing his mind to wander off every once in a while, the young man continued thinking about it, feeling like it wouldn''t be a bad idea to allocate some of his time in the future on it. ''However, he also mentioned that there were times back then when the tournament was held in a special area within the Meltierre Empire.''


    ''Either way, I''ll probably enter it for the sake of the prizes.'' Valyr faintly let out a chuckle as the thought popped in his mind. ''Then again, everyone else is there for the prizes as well¡­ or the fame thates attached to being a participant of the tournament.''


    ''In any case, I should probably do some forging for the meantime and make use of the great number of Technology Points I''ve gotten thanks to Julian.'' Whilst he was still engrossed in his thoughts, Valyr felt that it was a bit weird for him to not be doing anything for such a long time.


    Pondering over what he could do to pass the time, he decided to upgrade 10 more unleveled skills to their maximum level, gritting his teeth as he felt a great influx of information enter his mind soon after. Clutching tightly on his bed sheet for a while, the young man eventually loosened his grip once the initial wave of information subsided, with the subsequent waves of information being more manageable.


    "With this, I only have around 20 more skills to upgrade to the max level." Taking in a deep breath before letting out a low sigh of relief, Valyr thought about how he was going to space his skill upgrade process in order to not overwhelm his mind, deciding to follow the pattern he had done for the skills he had upgraded so far.


    "Hmm¡­ even though the trip to the Akashic Battlefield was cut short, should I still try and upgrade [yer of Ascendants] to the next stage?" With his body beginning to rx once more after he was finished with upgrading skills, a question popped up into Valyr''s mind, prompting him to think of locations that would have the monsters he needed to upgrade the title to the next level.


    "Yeah¡­ nah." However, considering his proximity to the locations he had in mind, most of which were located at the other end of the Meltierre Empire, the young man eventually opted not to do so for the meantime, taking into consideration that he had upgraded what was initially an Umon grade skill to Legendary grade with an iplete session in the Akashic Battlefield.


    "Aside from that, the buffs from the title are already great as is. If anything, it just makes me excited for the stages that I would unlock in the future." Reminding himself to be content with what he had and not be too greedy, Valyr soon pondered over what kind of equipment he would forge the following day, thinking about its sale value through the cksmith Guild''s channels.


    Once he had an idea of what he would forge, he then thought about he would allocate the Technology Points that had been left untouched all this time on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch. Eventually, the amount of thinking made the young man feel like his eyes had be heavy all of a sudden, only to doze off into dreamnd a few minutester.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¡­


    "Haah¡­" Yawning as he sat upright on his bed, Valyr did a bit of light stretching with his upper body before truly getting up. Once he felt like his consciousness had now be fully alert, he then went through his usual morning routine, upgrading yet another 10 unleveled skills in his arsenal to their maximum level along the way.


    By the time around half an hour had passed after Valyr was finished with his morning routine, Wells had finally woken up from his slumber, heading to their designatedmunal area of the room, only to find Valyr eating breakfast.


    "I didn''t know what you wanted to eat, so I just got a little bit of everything." Putting down his utensils for a bit, Valyr looked at his friend with a smile.


    "Thanks." Appreciating the kind gesture his friend had done, Wells nodded in response as he decided to go through his daily routine as well. "Oh yeah. You got something on the side of your lips."


    "Ah." Awkwardly smiling in realization that Wells wasn''t messing around with him, Valyr wiped off the bits of food around his lips with a napkin before deciding to finish the remaining portion of his breakfast.


    "I''ll be heading to the cksmith Guild for the meantime to do some forging." Once he was done cleaning the tes of food he had just eaten off of, Valyr made his way to his portion of the room to grab some stuff that he then stored in his spatial bracelet. After making sure that he did not forget anything essential that he should bring, he then bade farewell to Wells, telling thetter of his ns for the day.


    "Alright. I''ll be here as always." Once he heard Wells respond to his farewell, it was only then did Valyr truly leave their room, heading out of the inn and onto the streets of Algerie City. Thanks to his high agility as a peak Rank 2 ss holder, it did not take long for the young man to arrive at the entrance of the cksmith Guild as the day was just about to begin.

 Chapter 454 Rudely Interrupted

    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t the young man who decided to head to the Akashic Battlefield yesterday." After arriving at the cksmith Guild, Valyr swiftly made his way to the main hall''s counters that were specifically made for its members. Showing his Core Member badge to the attendant on the other side of the counter, he then requested to meet with the Guildmaster, which was unsurprisingly approved within a short time.


    "If this is about what happened in the Akashic Battlefield yesterday, please don''t remind me." Hearing the middle-aged man''s voice just as he had entered the man''s personal workshop, a wry smile appeared on the young man''s face as he already had an idea regarding the current topic of their conversation.


    "Unfortunately for you, as the Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild, I have no choice but to ask you more things about it, considering that you''re a secondhand witness to the events that transpired within the Akashic Battlefield." In response to Valyr''s words, Julian let out a brief chortle, cing down his hammer to the side just as he finished forging as always.


    Briefly staring at the piece of equipment Julian had just finished forging, which looked to be a longsword, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he let out a sigh,piling all of the thoughts regarding the orc infiltration in his mind before deciding to go over the whole incident chronologically. Unlike with Wells, Valyr did not withhold any information from the middle-aged man, going through everything in detail as he knew his information would truly help the man before him.


    "So, that''s how it is, huh." Scratching his head just as Valyr was finished narrating, Julian let out a low sigh whilst he shook his head. "People that had no clue regarding the tensions between the orcs and the humans, only for them to die under the orcs'' hands in vain¡­ the kingdom has no choice but to avenge them."


    "Did the kingdom finally make its move?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr looked at Julian with a hint of expectation.


    "They did, but I wouldn''t consider it an actual move yet." In response, Julian wryly smiled, telling Valyr to not expect too much from the kingdom in such short notice. "Aside from increasing the defenses around the Akashic Battlefield and being more stringent with who they would allow to enter the Akashic Battlefield, they''ve dispatched a couple reconnaissance teams into the entrance where the orcs first appeared, utilizing the help of a couple mages specializing in illusion to have the orcs stay there for a while."


    "That''s quite a lot." Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise. "And you''re telling me this isn''t the kingdom''s full move yet?"


    "They''re still coting information on the orcs to form attack squads that would counter them and make sure they''re dead for sure," said Julian in surprise, letting out a faint sigh as he made his way to the portion of his workshop that contained the materials he worked with, deciding to start formting a n on what kind of equipment he was going to forge next. "Of course, Zeik''s firsthand information on the leader among the orcs helped save a lot of time. Frankly, it''s the only reason why the kingdom could dispatch so many people in the first ce."


    "Anyways, I have a feeling you''re not here at the cksmith Guild to talk about the orc infiltration." Deciding to move past their initial topic, Julian threw a question at the young man. "Let me take a guess¡­ something about Technology Points?"


    "I still haven''t touched the Technology Points that came with the Core Member badge, actually." Hearing Julian''s guess, Valyr looked at him with a slightly awkward smile. "Instead, I''m here to forge a couple of things, which I''ll be selling through the guild''s channels once I''m done."


    "Are there any private workshops in the guild I could take for the time being?"


    "We do have quite a few, and it wouldn''t take long to get a hold of them since you''re a Core Member." Julian nodded in response. "Though, with the small tournament between the inheritance''s candidatesing up in a few days, are you sure you don''t want to put in a bit more effort into strengthening yourself? I do know a couple of ces that could act as a good alternative to the Akashic Battlefield."


    "I appreciate the offer, but I''ve pretty much done everything I could to strengthen myself." Smiling in response, Valyr then red the entirety of his aura for a brief moment, which prompted a slightly solemn expression to appear on the middle-aged man''s face.


    "I see." After going silent for a bit, Julian decided to stop what he was doing for the meantime and head outside his personal workshop, gesturing for the young man to follow after him. "Since that''s the case, let me help you find a private workshop you could¡ª"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Dad!" However, just as the two were about to head to the cksmith Guild''s private workshops, a young woman that sported a set of hair that was of a simr color to Julian''s appeared in front of them.


    "Ah! You''re the guy that took my spot!" Just as Valyr was going to ask the man beside him as to what was going on, feeling a bit of confusion from the current situation, the young woman before them pointed at him, eximing something that only made him feel even more confusion.


    "Huh? Are you referring to me, perhaps?" Scratching the back of his head, Valyr pointed at himself as he looked at the young woman.


    "Who else could it be if not you!" In response, the young woman harrumphed as she crossed her arms, a slight frown adorning her face. "The so-called genius that forged an Epic grade armor set at Rank 2¡­ from what I can see so far, you don''t look like a genius at all!"


    "???" Feeling even more confusion from the young woman''s words, Valyr decided to look at Julian beside him, who had an apologetic smile on his face as he looked back at Valyr. Gazing at the young woman for a bit, Julian decided to cast a barrier of mana around them for the meantime, allowing them to have a private conversation.


    "I''m so sorry my daughter is like that," said Julian to Valyr. "After I decided to have you take her spot in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, she''s pestered me to no end since she wants to meet the person that took her spot."


    "Is that so?" Now getting a bit of an idea as to why the young woman acted that way towards him, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face. "I''m guessing your daughter is quite the talented cksmith if that''s the case."


    "Definitely way more talented than me, that''s for sure." Julianughed in response.


    "What''s her name, if I might ask?" Looking at the young woman for a bit in the midst of their conversation, Valyr felt like she had seen the woman back then in the past. Deciding to confirm his suspicions, the young man went ahead and asked the man before him.


    Fortunately, the man''s answer was enough for him to be reminded of who she was.


    "Oho? Fancying my daughter, are you?"


    "Well, all jokes aside, her name''s Theraldine."


    "Theraldine Irideus Pyrrhia."

 Chapter 455 Dea Pyrrhia

    "Theraldine¡­" At the very moment Julian mentioned the woman''s first name, multiple memories in Valyr''s mind began to surface, quickly confirming his suspicions as his eyes briefly widened in surprise. "Out of all the ces I thought I''d be able toe across one of the Deities of Production, I definitely didn''t expect to meet one of them here this early."


    As the name of the title implied, the Deities of Production were beings in the world of Veldanyr that were renowned for their skill in their respective craft, all of them having great amounts of experience within their respective craft. Combined with their incredible talent in the field, almost every person that was fortunate enough to obtain one of their works or work alongside them would consider their prowess in their crafts to be transcendental.


    There are a total of four Deities of Production, with the four corresponding to the field of cksmithing, alchemy, tailoring, and erudition respectively.


    Out of the four Deities of Production, the person corresponding to the field of cksmithing was the most well-known throughout the world of Veldanyr, with most, if not all of those that were at the peak of Rank 5 back in Valyr''s previous life hoping to obtain even a single piece of her equipment.


    The difference in quality between the equipment she forged and the equipment others forged was so great that others thought she had found a way to be one with the forge, entering a level of forging that others would never step into in the first ce.


    Thus, she gained the moniker of the Goddess of the Forge¡­


    And that same Goddess of the Forge was now standing a few feet away from the two, grumbling to herself as she watched both Julian and Valyr engage in a private conversation.


    "Hello? Valyr? Are you still there?" Seeing that the young man was seemingly engrossed in his own thoughts after he mentioned his daughter''s name, Julian did a couple of things to gain the young man''s attention since he wanted to make their private conversation somewhat short. Fortunately, it did not take long for Valyr to snap back to reality, with the young man shing an apologetic smile at him.


    "My apologies. I just remembered something while listening to your answer," said Valyr to the man in front of him, prompting thetter to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "Theraldine, huh¡­ so she''s actually the one I''ve been hearing about in the past."


    "Oh? You''vee across my daughter before?" Surprised that someone like Valyr had heard of his daughter from somece else, the level of curiosity Julian had towards Valyr''s words considerably increased, prompting the young man to faintly smile in response.


    "I haven''te across her, just only heard of what she''s done in the past," Valyr told Julian, the gears in his mind turning as quickly as possible toe up with a usible-sounding answer. "Well, to be more specific, I heard from a friend of mine regarding the equipment she''s forged and how it''s substantially better than the simr pieces of equipment."


    "I wonder if you know the reason behind something like that?"


    "How could I not?" Hearing someone like Valyr speak praise of his daughter, Julian let out a loud cackle of glee, proud that his daughter was recognized by people even from beyond the kingdom. "As part of the same n, and especially as his father, I know the reason behind her superb prowess in cksmithing very well¡­ aside from her innate talent in the field, of course."


    "You''ve heard of the Pyrrhia n before, right?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I have." Nodding in response, Valyr thought about his first encounter with Julian back then.


    Back when the middle-aged man had introduced to himself, Valyr was actually in slight disbelief when he heard the man mentioned the surname Pyrrhia, thinking that he might havee across someone that was of the same n as the Goddess of the Forge. However, he quickly dispelled those thoughts, tamping down his expectations as he instead thought that Julian might havee from a far-flung branch family of the same surname.


    After all, if the Zeihardt n had multiple branch families under its wing, how could the Pyrrhia n not do the same thing?


    "Then, you''ve heard of the Pyrrhia n''s specialty, right?" Nodding back at Valyr''s answer, Julian threw another question at the young man.


    "cksmithing, right?" Considering that he was now more certain of the identity of the n behind the middle-aged man, it did not take long for Valyr to respond, relying on his memories regarding the Pyrrhia n.


    "Correct." Faintly smiling at the young man''s response, Julian went silent for a bit. "A great portion of the n''s members end up bing cksmiths, with those that don''t end up taking the path of forging bing renowned fighters in the battlefield."


    "However, within each generation, there''s a chance that there exists a member that has great affinity with the field of cksmithing from the moment they were born," said Julian, giving Valyr time to process the information he was giving him. "After having that member go through a couple of tests to see if they would be eligible, they would then be allowed to ess the n''s most well-guarded asset."


    At these words, Valyr recalled all of the times in the past where he talked with fellow cksmiths regarding the reason behind the Goddess of the Forge''s great prowess, even going so far as to ask the person herself during the rare couple of chances he had to interact with her.


    Eventually, with a bit of digging into the n''s information through the Myriad Archives and other simr libraries, he was able to find a piece of information behind the Goddess of the Forge''s prowess, hoping to now see if that was correct through Julian''s words.


    "Now this asset originates from the founder of the Pyrrhia n himself, havinge across a fortuitous encounter that allowed him to glimpse into a single forging art that would be considered world-changing even if it were fully revealed up to this day. Unfortunately, he was unable to emte the full power of this forging art in his craft, instead having to simplify it and transform it into a set of forging arts that he hoped would be fullyprehended by someone of his own blood in the future, since that was the key toprehending the sole forging art he hade across in the past."


    "Whether it''s the sole forging art the founder came across or the set of forging arts the founder had created based on that forging art, they both have the same name," said Julian. "And my daughter right there is one of only few in the Pyrrhia n''s history to be able toprehend over half of the forging arts the founder had created."


    "Its name is¡­"


    "The Dea Pyrrhia Forging Arts."

 Chapter 456 A Round Of Questioning

    ''Fortunately, the information I''ve obtained wasn''t wrong.'' Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as he listened to Julian mention to him the reason behind the Goddess of the Forge''s prowess, Valyr was more or less satisfied with what he obtained from the man regarding Theraldine, now having a clear idea of why she was mad at her.


    ''Hmm¡­ now that I think about it, the Four Deities of Production¡­ the Four Pirs'' Inheritance¡­'' Seeing that the man before him was giving him time to ponder over things for a bit, the young man decided to focus his thoughts on the weird coincidence he had noticed between the two, wondering if the inheritance had led to the birth of these monstrous geniuses in the field of production in the first ce.


    ''Considering the timeline, there''s a high chance that it may be the case.'' Eventually, Valyr came to his own sort of conclusion after pondering over it for a bit, thinking about his experience with interacting with the Goddess of the Forge back then. After that, he recalled what he had heard back then from his friends and fellow guild members regarding the other Deities of Production, bing more certain that the inheritance did indeed give rise to the Four Deities of Production.


    ''Wait¡­ since I took over his daughter''s position in the inheritance, then does that mean that I''ll take her ce as the Goddess¡ª I mean, God of the Forge?'' Noticing that his thoughts were gradually bing distorted, Valyr decided to discard the thought for the meantime, not wanting to think about what-ifs any further.


    "Got any more questions?" Seeing as the young man was finished pondering over the thoughts in his mind, Julian went ahead and asked him if he could dispel the barrier of mana surrounding him, taking note of his daughter bing more and more annoyed of their private conversation as time passed.


    "Nope. My questions have more or less been answered." Of course, Valyr also noticed the young woman growing more and more incensed with every passing second, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face as he shook his head.


    Seeing the bitter smile on Valyr''s face, Julian responded with a bitter smile of his own as he soon dispelled the barrier of mana surrounding him, finally allowing his daughter to move closer to where they were.


    "Took you two long enough¡­" Theraldine grumbled to herself as she looked at Valyr, then at her father. "What did the two of you talk about?"


    "Oh, it''s nothing too important," said Julian in response as he instantly attempted to give off a peaceful vibe. "Valyr here just asked me a couple of things regarding how to forge some specific items."


    "Valyr, huh¡­" Though she decided not to pursue the matter any further, Theraldine still had a slight frown on his face even after she shifted her gaze towards the young man, moving a bit closer. "I see. That''s the name of the guy who took my spot."


    "Nice to meet you, uh..." Wryly smiling as he listened to her words, Valyr took the initiative and extended his hand for a handshake.


    "Theraldine." Finding it rude to not reciprocate since the other side already took the initiative, Theraldine went ahead and received the handshake, though a faint frown still adorned her face. "Theraldine Pyrrhia."


    As the young woman was shaking Valyr''s hand as a greeting, thetter discreetly sent a message to the girl''s father, opening up the chat function in his mind.


    "Does she know which n Ie from?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "No, I haven''t told her about it. If anything, you''re the first one to give her information on you." Obtaining this message from Julian not long after, Valyr inwardly let out yet another sigh of relief as he released himself from the handshake.


    "So, I''ve heard from the Guildmaster over here that you''ve wanted to meet me for quite some time now." Deciding to start a conversation with the young man, Valyr put on a slight smile as he acted as if he did not know the reason for the young woman''s appearance.


    "Of course." Theraldine harrumphed, turning her head to the side slightly. "How could I not meet the person who decided to take my ce in the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance?"


    "Well, I definitely apologize for taking your spot in the uing inheritance, if that helps," said Valyr in response, wryly smiling. "However, the Guildmaster here was the one who decided to have me take your spot. If anything, you should ask the Guildmaster about it."


    ''Why''d you have to drag me into this¡­'' Hearing himself be mentioned, Julian looked at the young man with an awkward smile.


    "As if I hadn''t tried that already," said Theraldine in response to Valyr''s suggestion. "I''ve pestered him countless times to have me take your spot in the uing inheritance once more, but sadly, he wouldn''t budge."


    "Hence, I''ll just take matters into my own hands." At these words, Theraldine''s expression grew solemn as she gave off a slightly intimidating aura. "Dad mentioned that you forged an Epic grade armor set while just in the middle levels of Rank 2¡­ as someone with that kind of expertise, I wonder if you could answer some of my questions?"


    "I''ll try my best." In response, Valyr gulped a bit of his saliva in slight nervousness, though he still nodded.


    "Alright. What do you use to neutralize the conflicting effects between Hoarfrost Star Metal and Refined zebear Essence?"


    "Any material with the Earth attribute would work to neutralize its effects," said Valyr in response to her question. "However, rather than neutralize the conflicting effects, you can turn the conflicting effects into something more beneficial by adding Drops of Gold Panacea."


    "Wait¡­ you could do that?" While listening to Valyr''s response, Theraldine faintly nodded when she heard the young man mention about the Earth-attribute materials'' neutralizing effect, thinking that his level of knowledge should at least be of that level. However, when she heard that there was a way to turn it into something beneficial, that was when she felt a bit of disbelief.


    "Ehem." Realizing that the solemn visage she was trying to put it on had slipped, Theraldine cleared her throat as she thought about a more difficult question, something she only discovered a possible answer to recently. "Is there a way to emte part of the strength of an Artifact? Say, the legendary forging artifact Infernal Hammer?"


    "Well¡­" Hearing the question she asked, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight surprise as the next question was a sudden spike in difficulty. Nevertheless, as someone who had attempted it in the past and was even sessful in creating an Imitation of the Infernal Hammer, the young man went ahead and shared his thoughts.

 Chapter 457 Friendly Competition

    "Well then. That''s definitely something you don''t see every day." While listening to the conversation that was happening between his daughter and Valyr, Julian''s eyes widened in slight surprise as he heard the things the two were talking about, specifically the method to forge Emtions and Imitations of the Infernal Hammer.


    However, as he continued to listen, he eventually noticed how his daughter was incredibly silent in front of the young man, listening to Valyr''s every word with rapt attention as if each word he spoke to her was crucial in terms of detail.


    Taking note of this, Julian thought back to the various times he had seen his daughter interact with other people. As far as he could remember, Theraldine would usually take the leading role in the conversation, wanting to assert dominance over the other party as she would sometimes interrupt the other party in the middle of their response.


    Of course, as someone who had seen her grow up to the fine young woman she was right now, Julian knew the reason behind his daughter''s attitude very well, chalking it up to her innate talent in the field of cksmithing, as well as being one of the only few within the n''s history to be able toprehend a considerable portion of what was their n''s greatest asset.


    Because of those two things, Theraldine had grown to have a self-confident yet slightly arrogant personality. Then again, she did have the strength and the skills to back up her confidence.


    "And that''s pretty much all you need to know to forge an Emtion of the Infernal Hammer." While Julian thought about how his daughter acted a bit different than usual, Valyr had finally finished exining the process of forging an Emtion to the young woman before him, a process that he had been able to obtain only after multiple attempts of trial and error in his previous life.


    However, rather than keep something like that to himself, he decided to share it to Theraldine. After all, the method he had shared was only something that could be done by cksmiths that had the prerequisite skills and experience to forge an Emtion in the first ce. As the Goddess of the Forge in his previous life, the woman before him was more than capable of forging an Emtion of her own with the right process.


    Aside from that, if people were to start asking him regarding the methods to forge Emtions and Imitations and forced him to cough it up, he had the protection of the cksmith Guild in the form of Julian, with the Imperial Production Guild being a possible backer as well as long as he shared the method. Though, if that didn''t work, he could just feign ignorance.


    After all, who could prove that he, someone who had been separated from his main n for who knows how many years, had the knowhow to forge something like that in the first ce?


    If anything, they only knew of his true identity as a Herald of the Zeihardt n.


    "That¡­ actually makes a whole lot of sense." After mulling over Valyr''s exnation on how to forge her own version of the Infernal Hammer in silence, Theraldine looked at the young man before her with newfound respect in her gaze, her expression containing a hint of excitement as she hoped to test the method out as soon as possible.


    Though there was still a decently high chance that the method Valyr had shared to her wouldn''t work, taking into consideration the possibility of the young man giving her false information, Theraldine still believed that she might be able to finally seed in forging an Emtion of the Infernal Hammer as most of the concepts Valyr had talked about in his exnation madeplete sense to her.


    However, just as she was about to leave both Julian and Valyr and attempt forging an Emtion with her newly obtained knowledge, Theraldine was reminded of the initial reason why she hade to find the two in the first ce, stopping herself in her tracks as she thought about a couple of things.


    ''I really want to try it out, but it would be rude to just leave Dad and Valyr after thetter decided to share what is basically high-level information to me.'' With conflicting thoughts lingering in her mind, Theraldine nkly stared off into the distance as she thought about what to do. ''Plus, if I were to leave right now, the impression Valyr might have of me could possibly worsen¡­ though I''m pretty sure it''s already bad with how I''ve made my first impression on him earlier.''


    ''What to do¡­ what to do¡­'' Thinking about how she could apply her newly obtained knowledge in a practical setting and improve the young man''s impression of her at the same time, a light bulb eventually turned on in Theraldine''s mind as she came up with a great idea to kill two birds with one stone.


    "Dad, I have something to ask of you." Pondering over how she would put the idea into action, her answer swiftly arrived as she turned her gaze towards her father, prompting her to move closer to Julian as she whispered a few things to him.


    "Hmm?" Listening to his daughter''s whispers, Julian raised his eyebrow in curiosity, only for his eyes to slightly widen in surprise a few secondster. "That could definitely work¡­"


    "Am I missing out on something?" As for Valyr, who had no idea as to what kind of conversation the two were having, he decided to wait for the two to finish before asking about the private workshop he wanted to reserve for a forging session.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Though, it seemed like his ns of reserving a private workshop would have to be put to the side for now as both Julian and Theraldine looked at him.


    "First and foremost, I would like to say that you definitely have something that allows you to be eligible to take my spot in the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance." Clearing her throat to gain the young man''s attention, Theraldine began to speak. "Knowledge regarding the forging of artifact replicas isn''t aughing matter, after all."


    "However, there''s still a vast difference between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge," said Theraldine not long after. "I may havee to respect you for your great theoretical knowledge, but Dad''s ims of you having forged an Epic grade armor set at your current rank is still something I highly doubt."


    "Hence, I''vee up with a proposal." At these words, a faint confident smile appeared on Theraldine''s face. "Let us engage in a forging duel."


    "A forging duel, huh." Letting out a faint sigh, Valyr looked at Julian, who looked back at him with a slightly apologetic smile, conveying through his expression that it was something even he could not stop if he wanted to.


    shing a wry smile in response to message he had received through the man''s expression, Valyr looked back at Theraldine before nodding. "What are we going to forge, and what are the rules?"


    "Considering that you''ve given me the knowhow to forge an Emtion of the Infernal Hammer, how about we forge emtions of artifacts of our choosing and see who among the two of us could forge one better?" Theraldine suggested in response.


    "If that''s what we''re going to forge, then that''s fine by me." Valyr slightly shrugged his shoulders in response. "And the rules?"


    "Aside from sabotaging the other side''s work, anything goes, I guess." Responding to Valyr''s question, Theraldine shrugged her shoulders as well. "As someone who has taken my spot in the uing inheritance, I''m sure you have a couple skills that elevate your forged items to another level. The same applies to me."


    "I don''t want to limit the potential of the items we''ll be forging in any way just because of some stupid rule." Hearing these words, Valyr nodded in understanding, only for a rted question to pop up in his mind not long after.


    "How about the materials we''re going to use for the forging duel?"


    "I''ll be the one to take care of that," said Julian in response, shing a soft smile at his daughter before turning his head to look at Valyr. "Also, if you don''t mind, can we hold the forging duel between you two in an area that would allow the members of the cksmith Guild to watch? After all, having two of the guild''s greatest talents show how they forge emtions would definitely motivate them to get better."


    "As long as she doesn''t mind." In response to the request, Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders as he pointed at Theraldine. Noticing that Julian''s gaze was on her, Theraldine responded with a faint nod, informing her father that it was fine for their forging duel to be public.


    "Alright then." Seeing that the two had agreed to publicize the forging duel between them, Julian grinned. After that, he left the two to their own devices, but not before leaving them with a few parting words.


    "Make yourselves busy for the meantime and prepare the list of materials you might need for the item you''ll forge."


    "As for me¡­ I''ll be setting the stage where your talents could be fully showcased."

 Chapter 458 Hammer Of Primeval Origins

    "So¡­" With both him and Theraldine being left alone to their own devices, Valyr went ahead and struck up a conversation with the young woman near him. "I''m guessing you asked for this forging duel to happen since you wanted to find an excuse to see if the knowledge I''ve just given you was correct, right?"


    "Wha¡ª" Not expecting to have her intentions be found out so easily, Theraldine looked at the young man in front of her at a slight loss for words, only for her expression to be somewhat furious not long after. "I-It''s not like that at all!"


    "Is that so?" Faintly grinning at the young woman''s reaction, Valyr decided to tease her a bit more. "Well, considering that I now have a rough idea of how you act around others, I''m fairly certain that if I hadn''t shared the knowledge I have regarding the method to forge artifact replicas, we''d still be engaging in a forging duel at some point. However, the approach would be more on the aggressive side, wanting to prove to the Guildmaster that you''re the one more worthy of the spot for the inheritance."


    "That''s¡­" Listening to Valyr speak, Theraldine was about to refute the man''s words, only to think that she did not really have anything to say to refute him. After all, the words he had spoken resonated deeply with her, prompting her to think that it was the move she would have made, if not for the knowledge Valyr had graciously shared to her.


    "Then again, my conjectures could be wrong." Seeing the slight glum expression that appeared on Theraldine''s face after he had said his piece, Valyr briefly thought to himself that he might have guessed the woman''s original intentions a bit too correctly, which prompted him to try and salvage the situation as he swiftly shifted the topic. "If anything, I kind of find this nice, actually. In a way, it feels like you want to show me what you can do with the knowledge I''ve given you¡­ or something along those lines."


    "I definitely have no clue what you''re talking about." Seeing that the young man wanted to shift their conversation to another topic, Theraldine did not hesitate to do so, turning her head to the side as she feigned ignorance towards Valyr''s words.


    "Alright then." Valyr chuckled in response. "Keep your secrets."


    "So¡­ do you already have an idea of what kind of artifact you''re going to try and make an Emtion of?" After a bit of silence had surrounded the two of them, Theraldine took the initiative to start a conversation with the young man, hoping to improve the man''s impression of her through it.


    "I guess so." Looking at the young woman, Valyr stared off into the distance for a bit before eventually nodding. "I don''t know if I''d be able to pull off an Emtion of the artifact, though. Nevertheless, I''ll still try my best."


    "How about you?"


    "I''m pretty set on what I''m going to forge," said Theraldine in response, her expression exuding confidence. "With the knowledge you''ve shared to me earlier, there''s a high chance that I might actually be sessful."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Oh, really?" Feeling a faint smile creep up onto his lips, Valyr looked at the young woman. "Then, I guess I''ll be looking forward to the item you''ll be forgingter."


    Deciding to allow the two of them to go over their respective ns on what they were going to forge for the forging duel, Valyr went ahead and distanced himself from the young woman for the meantime, heading towards Julian''s personal workshop to possibly get a couple more ideas on what he was going to forge, as well as make sure that the young woman could not listen to his murmurs.


    "I definitely didn''t expect that I''d be participating in a forging duel all of a sudden," muttered Valyr to himself, only to grin not long after. "Then again, it''s a great excuse to finally forge something that I should have forged a long time ago."


    "In any case, she ns to forge the Infernal Hammer, huh." Sitting down on Julian''s anvil for a brief moment, Valyr thought about the item that Theraldine was hoping to forge, finding her choice of artifact somewhat peculiar, but not that surprising. "Compared to other legendary forging artifacts out there, the Infernal Hammer is one of the greatest artifacts one could get their hands on if they n on forging a lot of items and equipment of the Fire attribute."


    "Since that''s what she''s definitely going to forge the forging duel, I guess I should go one step further and make a forging hammer that''s better in many ways." Seeing the forging duel as the perfect excuse to forge his own forging hammer, with the materials that would have normally taken him a long time to procure now being avable to obtain from the cksmith Guild directly, Valyr went ahead and rummaged through his treasure trove of memories from his past life, trying to recall as much of the legendary forging artifacts he hade across as possible.


    "Though it would be hrious if I forged a forging hammer that''s better for Water-attribute equipment, I should think of the forging hammer as something I''ll be using for a long time," Valyr said to himself. "I should also probably take into consideration the possibility of upgrading it into an Imitation or a Replicater down the line. Perhaps, even the possibility of turning it into an artifact of its own."


    "With that in mind, I should probably focus on legendary forging artifacts that have no attribute, or those that are inclined towards multiple attributes at the same time." With the thought in mind, Valyr went through the list of legendary forging artifacts he hadpiled from his memories and swiftly discarded a great portion of them, leaving behind only a few that met his new criteria.


    "Well, then. I guess this is just the heavens telling me that it was fated to happen at some point." Eventually, after weighing the pros and cons of forging a replica of each artifact, the young man made his choice on what he would forge for the forging duelter, chuckling as he pondered over the materials necessary to create a replica of the artifact he had chosen.


    "The Hammer of Primeval Origins¡­"

 Chapter 459 A Clash Between Two Talents

    If the Infernal Hammer was considered one of the best forging artifacts one could get their hands on if one wished to create a lot of Fire-attribute items and equipment, then the Hammer of Primeval Origins thought of emting was one step above it, having the ability to forge Fire-attribute equipment that exceeded the Infernal Hammer in terms of quality.


    However, the Hammer of Primeval Origins was not only limited to equipment of the Fire-attribute. As Valyr had chosen to emte a forging artifact that either had no attribute or had multiple attributes, the Hammer of Primeval Origins was an artifact that fit the criteria, more specifically thetter.


    Items that had been forged with the help of the Hammer of Primeval Origins, whether it be Fire-attribute, Wind-attribute, Water-attribute, or Earth-attribute, had stats that were significantly greater than even forging hammers attuned to one of the specific attributes itself.


    Aside from that, items that were forged using the hammer that had no attribute showed a sharp increase in stats as well, which allowed the Hammer of Primeval Origins to ascend to a status that deemed it to be a transcendental artifact by the masses¡­


    Especially after the one that had created the artifact in the first ce had cemented her status as one of the legendary Four Deities of Production.


    ''I wonder if she''ll be able to forge the Hammer of Primeval Originster down the line just like what she did in my past life,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''Then again, with how I''ve already changed quite possibly a lot of things regarding the timeline, there''s a probable chance that she wouldn''t.''


    ''Since that''s the case, I guess I''ll show her the power of the artifact she forged in advance.'' Pondering to himself whether it would even be possible to forge an emtion of an artifact that would only appear in the future, Valyr decided to believe that it was possible, recalling the forging methods he had applied in the Nascent Wyvern Armor set he currently wore, as well as the few other pieces of equipment he had worked on in the past that were inspired by legendary artifacts.


    Believing that everything would go well while forging, the young man went ahead and activated his blueprint creation skill, beginning to draft up the blueprint of what would be his attempt at an Emtion of the Hammer of Primeval Origins. Allocating around half of the 1,000 Technology Points he had gotten towards maxing out part of the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch amidst the drafting process, Valyr eventually came up with the list of materials he would need to forge the item, a faint smile appearing on his face.


    "Since I already began allocating the Technology Points, might as well use all of them up." After taking a couple more peeks at the blueprint he had drafted, Valyr went ahead and finish what he had begun during the blueprint drafting process, allocating his remaining Technology Points to max out his Technology Tree''s Innovation branch.


    With the 1,000 points he had obtained as a Core Member of the cksmith Guild, he was able to fully max out all of the advancements that could be unlocked ranging from the Paleolithic Age to the Copper Age, with half of the unlockable advancements in the Iron Age still locked and not maxed.


    Deciding to ask Julianter if it was possible for him to get some more Technology Points to max out his Technology Tree, Valyr passed the time while they were waiting by taking a look at his blueprint every once in a while, making sure that the list of items would meld well in the final product.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Fortunately, after waiting for about another half an hour, one of the staff members from the cksmith Guild called him and Theraldine over to ask the two of them for the list of items they would need for the forging duel. With that, the two of them headed to where the staff member, only for thetter to ask to follow behind them not long after.


    ¡­


    "I''m surprised this many people have gathered in such a short amount of time." Arriving at what looked to be stage where they would be forging their respective items, Valyr could not help but look at the audience that surrounded him and Theraldine.


    Though the venue of the forging duel between him and Theraldine would be held at the cksmith Guild''s main hall, Valyr surmised that the number of people in attendance to watch this forging duel happen in front of him had exceeded a few hundred, perhaps even more. If anything, he felt that the number of people could have been greater than that if not for the fact that the entire main hall was already filled with people at this point.


    "Well, Dad definitely has a way to attract the attention of many people in a short span of time." Shrugging her shoulders in response as if the sight before her wasn''t that surprising, Theraldine looked at Valyr beside her and nodded.


    Nodding back, the two of them went ahead and made their way onto the stage as the audience, which had been making noise all this time, gradually reduced their noise to murmurs as Valyr and Theraldine took up the workshops they would be upying for the forging duel.


    "Before we begin this forging duel, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to attend." Whilst Theraldine and Valyr were checking to see if the items they would be using had any faults whatsoever, a booming voice resounded throughout the main hall as a middle-aged man appeared in front of the audience with a proud smile.


    "I am Julian Pyrrhia, the Guildmaster of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild," said Julian with a confident tone. "To those who havee to watch this event today as a member of the cksmith Guild, let this forging duel serve as motivation and drive for you to hone your skills in the craft to greater heights."


    "As for those who havee to watch this event today from outside, then I hope this forging duel allows you to have a brief glimpse at the cksmith Guild''s greatest talents."


    "Now then¡­ how about I introduce the two cksmiths that shall be partaking in the duel today?"

 Chapter 460 Unknown To The Masses

    "Wooo!" Hearing the crowd surrounding the stage loudly cheer in response to his question, the smile on Julian''s face widened as he suppressed the urge tough there and then.


    Taking a look at both Valyr and Theraldine for a bit, who were currently checking to see if any of the equipment they might be using had any faults with them, Julian soon gestured towards the audience to be silent as he began to introduce the two.


    "To my left is not only the greatest daughter a father could ever have, but is also one of the greatest talents to ever be a part of the cksmith Guild." Beginning his introduction of Theraldine, Julian gestured to the audience to look towards his daughter, who still looked to be oblivious of what was currently going on. "Being a part of the same Pyrrhia n as me, she has inherited the n''s strongest forging art and has made a name for herself within the Algerie Kingdom as the Queen of Forge''s mes."


    "With that, I introduce to you, Theraldine Irideus Pyrrhia!"


    "Wooo!!!" With the crowd loudly cheering once more in response to Julian''s introduction, the entire main hall was filled once more with noise as some of them began to talk about the feats they could recall that Theraldine had done.


    However, whilst the crowd was still in the midst of cheering for Theraldine, there was one specific group within that crowd that cheered louder than the rest, the words they eximed instantly making those surrounding them look at them with a hint of disgust.


    "You''ve got this, Queen!"


    "We, the Crimson Azure Knights, shall support you till our dying breath!"


    "What''s a forging duel for someone like the Queen? She''ll defeat her opponent no problem!"


    "Hey. If you don''t mind me asking¡­" Taking notice of the outliers among the crowd that were cheering for the two of them, Valyr briefly stopped what he was doing and turned his head to look at Theraldine. "Do you know them? It seems like they''re cheering on for you."


    "I do." Nodding in response, Theraldine let out a slightly exasperated sigh, showing Valyr how she felt about the cheers. "Ever since I started to gain a reputation in the field of cksmithing, a group of people within the cksmith Guild that admired my craftsmanship decided to band together in support of whatever I did. As you''ve heard from their screams, they call themselves the Crimson Azure Knights, even though they don''t really do anybat at all."


    "In other words, you''ve got a fan club going on." Hearing Valyr say these words, Theraldine thought about it for a bit before nodding in agreement.


    "Pretty much."


    "Have you tried asking them to not do something like that?" While the thought of the Crimson Azure Knights made Valyr think about his ns of creating an organization of his own once he was stronger, the young man threw a question at Theraldine that followed his original train of thought.


    "I''ve already tried." Theraldine bitterly smiled. "But rather than agree to it and disband, they instead began to praise me with even greater fervor, saying how I''ve taken note of their presence or something along those lines."


    "Yikes." At those words, Valyr slightly shuddered. From what the young woman had just told him, the Crimson Azure Knights to him now seemed more like a fanatic cult that revolved around Theraldine instead of a normal fan club.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With his curiosity regarding the outlier in the audience satisfied, Valyr soon returned his attention back to the equipment he would be working with, with the materials he and Theraldine had requested for the forging duel arriving whilst Julian continued to chat with the crowd in order to give the two of them more time.


    "Since your true identity is quite the special topic, I''d suggest you give me a name you want me to use to introduce you." Just as he had begun to assess the quality of the items he had gotten his hands on, keeping it in mind as he thought about modifying part of the blueprint''s steps, a notification sound resounded within Valyr''s mind, informing him that Julian had sent him a message.


    "Hmm¡­" Reading through the message he had received, Valyr pondered over the question for a bit. "Do you only need a first name, or should I also give ast name as well?"


    "It''s all up to you," Julian messaged in response. "Of course, if you want me to use Valyr, I''d be d to do so. However, I''m sure that neither I nor you want to see the consequences of doing something like that."


    "That''s definitely a given," replied Valyr. "I guess Ylvar would work."


    "The fake name you used while talking with that old man from the Spearman Guild, huh. Got it." With their conversation ending there, Valyr returned his attention back on the materials he would use in the forging duel, while Julian began introducing the young man to the audience.


    "As for the one on my right, unlike my daughter right here, this young man does not seem to be that impressive."


    "After all, if I were to ask you as to who he was, would you be able to answer?" Hearing this question being asked by Julian to the audience, Valyr wryly smiled, feeling a bit hurt from the words the man had spoken.


    Seeing almost the entire audience shake their heads in response to the question, a faint smirk appeared on the middle-aged man''s lips as he continued. "To no one''s surprise, all of you pretty much said no to my question. However, even though he may be unknown to everyone of you, his skills as a cksmith are, in many ways, on par with Theraldine right there. The cksmith Guild can attest to that."


    In response to the words Julian had spoken about Valyr''s skill, a few groups of people began to murmur with one another, doubting the former''s words, even though he was the Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild. Nevertheless, Julian did not mind, instead finding it somewhat amusing as he knew that not only he would probably be surprised with what Valyr might do¡­


    But the audience as well.


    "Though I''ve mentioned earlier that this forging duel is a brief glimpse into the greatest talents of the cksmith Guild''s younger generation, it''s also a way for everyone to see if our young friend here has the skills to indeed be considered on par with Theraldine."


    "With all of that being said¡­"


    "Let us begin."

 Chapter 461 An Odd Decision

    With the crowd cheering one more time in response to Julian''s words, thetter went ahead andid out the rules that would be governing the forging duel between Valyr and Theraldine.


    "First and foremost, I shall be the arbiter of the forging duel between the two young and talented cksmiths we have here today," said Julian once the crowd became silent. "Though I shall be enlisting the help of a couple high-tier cksmiths in the background to determine the winner of the forging duel, I shall have the final say on the judgment."


    "I presume none of the people here have anyints with that, right?" Asking this question to the audience surrounding the stage, Julian looked at them with rapt attention, wanting to see if anyone was going to voice any dissent towards the matter. Seeing that there were none, Julian faintly nodded before proceeding to move onto the next rule.


    "Second, the two duelists shall not disturb the other in any way, may it be through intentional distraction, sabotaging one''s work, or anything that would fall under the scope of affecting the other''s work."


    "The duelists shall be given a total of three warnings if they were to intentionally distract their opponent from putting all of their concentration on their work. Once a fourth warning has been given, the one that has been given the fourth warning shall be disqualified, while the other side shall be deemed as winner by default."


    "Of course, the duelists having conversations at idle times are allowed. After all, the early portions of the forging process more or less consists of having to wait for materials to reach the optimal forging temperature," added Julian, making it so that the rules were stringent yet not at the same time.


    "Aside from those two rules, the duelists are free to do whatever they want and use whatever means they have during the forging process. All special skills and special forging equipment that the duelist might have before the beginning of the forging duel could be used since those are considered a type of asset."


    "With that, the two of them shall be forging what is considered one of the most difficult types of equipment for a cksmith to forge." As Julian said these words, the interest of the audience had been piqued, prompting them to lean a bit closer to hear the man''s next words better.


    "To those that are part of the cksmith Guild, or perhaps a cksmith not affiliated with the guild yet has rued tons of experience, I''m certain that you already know what I''m talking about," said Julian, to which a considerable portion nodded in response, their expressions solemn. "As for those that only have a vague idea, or those that are truly not in the know, the type of equipment I am talking about are artifact replicas."


    "These types of equipment can be categorized into three stages, namely Emtions, Imitations, and Replicas. These artifact replicas are what our two duelists shall be attempting to forge for today''s forging duel."


    "The artifact they shall choose to replicate are up to their own discretion." After saying these words, Julian then headed to an area that allowed him to get a view of the entire main hall while remaining hidden from the audience. Seeing that some people from the audience still looked around in search of his presence, Julian''s voice soon resounded throughout the main hall, prompting everyone to focus their attention on the stage before him.


    "You may now begin."


    "Good luck." Saying these words to Valyr, Theraldine went ahead and began to light a fire in the furnace provided to her, keeping an eye on its temperature from time to time.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Same to you." Unsurprisingly, the young man also gave the young woman his well wishes before putting all of his focus on the task at hand. Lighting a small me that would kickstart the roaring mes of the furnace, the young man soon began to chuck in a great amount of fuel into it, fanning the mes as he gradually got the furnace up to the temperature he needed.


    ''Hmm¡­ have I upgraded my forging skills yet? Not sure.'' While continuing to watch the mes within the furnace getting to the required temperature needed for his materials, a thought surfaced within Valyr''s mind, causing him to bring up his list of skills in front of him not long after.


    ''Huh. I haven''t.'' Wryly smiling as he asked himself why he hadn''t prioritized upgrading his forging skills even after he had already gone through two batches of ten skills, Valyr decided to go ahead and upgrade all of his forging skills to the limit while the furnace was still in the midst of warming up.


    Taking in a couple of deep breaths as he reminded himself that what he was doing was an incredibly stupid idea, the young man soon took out 10 Umon grade Skill Keys from his spatial bracelet before proceeding to upgrade all of his forging skills to Level 20, the maximum level that was possible for an Umon grade skill to have.


    Whoosh!


    "Mngh¡­" Instantly being bombarded by multiple waves of information that shed in his mind, Valyr let out a faint groan as he sat down on the floor, trying to reduce the chances of him hurting himself as much as possible. Naturally, this action made quite a few from the audience look at the young man in curiosity, wondering to themselves why he had stopped focusing his attention on the furnace.


    "How reckless." As for Julian, who was currently watching the two start up their respective furnaces, a bitter smile appeared on his face as he quickly realized what Valyr was doing. "You could''ve upgraded your skills while the stage was being prepared, you know."


    "Oh well. I''m sure he knows what he''s doing. After all, he wouldn''t be doing it in the first ce if he didn''t." Though a hint of concern appeared on the man''s expression, Julian eventually decided to wait and see what would happen, trusting that the young man knew the consequences of his actions.


    "Haah¡­ I am never going to do something like that in this kind of situation ever again." Fortunately, after the initial waves of information had subsided, Valyr had more or less regained control over his mind, allowing him to return most of his focus towards heating up the furnace whilst he continued to gain more information regarding his skills. "Then again, I really should have prioritized upgrading those before any of thebat skills I have."


    "In any case¡­"


    "Let''s get this show on the road."

 Chapter 462 The Forging Begins

    Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    "Since I have all this time to think, I should probably go over the step-by-step process of forging the hammer again." With the information he had gained from upgrading his forging skills to their max level now processed and organized in his mind, Valyr focused all of his attention on stoking the mes once more whilst he muttered his thoughts to himself.


    "There are three steps to forging the replica," said Valyr to himself, bringing up the blueprint he had created in his mind. "Wait, I was wrong. There are actually four steps to forging it."


    "The first step is to obtain the purest essence of the four foundational elements from the materials I have requested specifically for this purpose." Continuing to watch the mes inside the furnace, the young man briefly shifted his gaze towards a nearby table where all of the materials he had requested were neatlyid out.


    Focusing his sights on one specific group of materials, a faint confident smile appeared on the young man''s smile as he sensed the aura of the four elements faintly emanating from them, waiting to burst out at any moment.


    "After that, the second step is to find a way to have these four elements exist in harmony, while also making it seem that there was no element in the first ce." Muttering these words, he then shifted his gaze to another group of materials he had chosen, taking in a deep breath as he thought about the difficulty of the task. "At my current rank, that''s the best material I could work with that could make it happen."


    "I really hope it bes a sess, even if partially."


    "Ah. Time to chuck some of them in." Seeing that the mes within the furnace had finally reached the optimal temperature in his mind, Valyr went ahead and threw in quite a few of the materials he had requested, arranging them neatly within the furnace with a pair of tongs. "With this, I''ll be able to keep track of which material goes where."


    "Now, where was I?" Now returning to a state where he had to wait for something toplete before being able to make a move, Valyr sat on the provided chair as he continued muttering the steps of the blueprint to himself, making sure that he went over every possible detail in mind. "First is to bring out the purest essence of the elements, second is to fuse them and make them stable, then the third one would be¡­"


    "Right. The third step is to forge a vessel that would be able to handle the energy from the four elementsbined," said Valyr to himself, shifting his attention towards a group of materials on the table that were made up mostly of metals. "Since it would be difficult for a single material to hold all of that energy, it would be better for me to forge an alloy that would do it better."


    "Of course, if I got my hands on some Refined Orichalcum, or even some Impure Orichalcum-Mithril Alloy, then that alone would have been more than enough to contain all of the energy."


    "Then again, Refined Mithril is already a rarity toe across, even in a kingdom like this one, so I shouldn''t beining, especially since I''ve gotten it for free." Recalling that he had not paid anything for the materials he would be using, Valyr reminded himself to be extremely careful in handling all of the materials, making sure that none of them would go to waste and would go towards thepletion of his forging hammer.


    "After I create the alloy and mold it into the shape of a forging hammer, the fourth and final step would be to fuse the elements and alloy together, making sure that the two fully meld with one another." As Valyr went over this step in his mind, the young man could not help but scratch the back of his head, wondering how high his chances of sess would be if the time to actually do it eventually came.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Though his current stats had already exceeded the scope of what a normal Rank 2 ss holder would have, Valyr got the odd feeling that it was stillcking in some way, recalling how high stats were back in his past life when he attempted to do something simr.


    "If I remember correctly, all of the significant stats need in the forging process at the time were already in the four digits," Valyr muttered to himself, letting out a faint sigh soon after. "Even with that, I was only able to emte around 3% of the properties of the forging artifact I chose."


    "And I chose to forge one of the strongest legendary forging artifacts at that. One that was simpler to forgepared to the others, even."


    "Well¡­ since I''m attempting to forge the strongest among the strongest legendary forging artifacts, even sessfully emting a single percent of its original properties is more than enough to be considered a sess." Deciding not to put too much pressure on himself, Valyr eventually stopped thinking about his attempts at forging artifact replicas from his past life, instead focusing his attention on what was in front of him as he threw a few more materials into the furnace a couple of minutester.


    "How are you holding up?" While keeping an eye on a couple of materials within the furnace that seemed close to reaching optimal forging temperature, Valyr heard Theraldine ask him a question, prompting him to look at her and respond.


    "Doing well so far. How about you?"


    "Also doing quite well. Gonna have to start hammering a couple of things in about a minute or so, though." As Theraldine said these words, she gave Valyr the feeling from her tone that the materials she had put in her furnace would actually take longer than a minute, and that she wanted to pass the time through conversation.


    Unfortunately, Valyr wouldn''t give him the chance to.


    "Is that so? You should keep a closer eye on your materials, then." Reminding the young woman of the materials in her furnace, Valyr returned his attention to the furnace before him as he deftly used a pair of tongs to remove a couple of materials from the furnace that were ready to hammer.


    "Refined Mithril and Hardened Manafrost." Valyr looked at the materials he had ced on the anvil, both of which were glowing a faint yellow-orange. After that, he grabbed the forging hammer that had been supplied to them and tossed it a few times to check its weight.


    "Guess I''ll start with the third step first." Inwardly nodding at the bnce of the hammer in satisfaction, he then began to hammer the two materials t, kickstarting the process in forging a replica of the Hammer of Primeval Origins.

 Chapter 463 Forming The Alloy

    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    At the very moment Valyr began to hammer the Refined Mithril and the Hardened Manafrost into the shapes he desired, a great portion of the audience had instantly shifted their attention towards the young man, curious as to what his initial steps were in order to gain an idea on the artifact that he wanted to emte.


    With a considerable portion of the audience being made up of cksmiths affiliated with the cksmith Guild, around half of them looked at what the young man was doing with a solemn expression on their faces, their eyes now fixated on Valyr''s every movement as the sound of metal shing against metal reverberated throughout the main hall.


    As for the other half of the cksmiths and the remaining part of the audience that had no clue as to what Valyr was doing, the former group asked the more knowledgeable cksmiths in their surroundings regarding Valyr''s decision, causing almost all of them to go silent once they got an idea on how hard it would be for them to work with the materials the young man was working with.


    On the other hand, thetter group mostly remained clueless, with some feigning a superficial level of understanding after listening to the more knowledgeable cksmiths exin what the young man was doing. Nevertheless, with these people onlying to watch the forging duel as entertainment, almost all of them did not see the significance in Valyr''s actions, deciding to switch between the two from time to time.


    ¡­


    "Refined Mithril and Hardened Manafrost¡­" With the materials she had chucked first into her furnace still a couple of minutes away from reaching their optimal forging temperatures, Theraldine decided to take a look at what Valyr was doing after noticing thetter take out a couple of materials from his furnace.


    Unsurprisingly, just like how the knowledgeable cksmiths within the crowd had gone silent after seeing what the young man was working with, the young woman''s expression had turned serious as well, watching the young man hammer out the two materials into t sheets before stacking them on top of one another with a pair of tongs.


    After that, she watched Valyr hammer the stacked sheets a bit more, instantly figuring out his intent of wanting the properties of the two materials to fuse and resonate as he eventually ced thebined stack back into the furnace for it to get to optimal temperature once more.


    "Is he going to make a replica of a magic artifact?" Seeing as a bit of time would pass before Valyr would make another move, Theraldine began to ponder over the possible artifacts the young man had chosen to emte as she took out her own materials from the furnace, neatly cing all of them on the anvil.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Then, using the forging hammer she always used when forging special equipment, she began to hammer the heated materials into the shapes she desired, circting a bit of mana through her hammer as the temperature within her station gradually rose by a couple of degrees in response.


    "Well, whatever artifact he may have chosen, it definitely wouldn''t be as good as emting the Infernal Hammer." With these words lingering in her mind, she proceeded to put all of her focus in bringing out the fiery energy contained within the materials, preparing them in advance for the steps that were about toe.


    ¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Mngh¡­" With thebined Refined Mithril and Hardened Manafrost glowing a bright yellow-orange once more, Valyr went ahead and grabbed the tongs he was provided for the duel before using it to fold the stack onto itself. Though the process had be somewhat easy thanks to the materials bing pliable under the heat, it still took a great portion of his strength, as well as a bit more heat from the furnace, before he was eventually sessful in doing so.


    ng!


    "I''ll have to fold the material onto itself one more time before adding Purified Skysteel into it." Taking out the folded stack from the furnace and dropping it on the anvil once more, Valyr began to hammer the rough alloy into a t te once more, infusing a bit more strength into his every strikepared to earlier. "After that, I''ll fold the material two more times before adding Purified Aquastone."


    "Then, after a couple more folds after I add in the Aquastone, I''ll add Purified Terra Essence, with Purified Pyresteel being thest thing I add into the alloy a few folds after the Terra Essence." Going over the process of creating the alloy he thought that would be capable of handling the energy of the four elements in unison, a wry smile gradually crept up the young man''s face as he realized then and there that it would take quite some time for him to sessfully create the final alloy.


    "Huu¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr soon put all of his concentration into the alloy he was creating, swiftly hammering down the alloy to a thickness that would allow him to fold the alloy on itself once more.


    cing the folded and ttened alloy back into the furnace, the young man decided to throw in the materials he had listed down earlier into the furnace to get them up to optimal forging temperature in advance. With that, he also ced the materials he would need for the first step of the forging process inside the furnace, cing them closer to the source of the heat as they needed far more heat to reach their ideal temperatures.


    With all of that said, Valyr began to move in a pattern that consisted of him waiting for the alloy to reach the ideal temperature, folding the alloy on itself once it did, and then hammering it down t before proceeding to do it all over again. With the alloy being folded on itself two times so far, the young man added Purified Skysteel into the alloy after ttening it out, only to hammer the whole thing down to a certain thickness before chucking the whole thing into the furnace again.


    As for Theraldine, she had fallen into some sort of pattern as well, consisting of her chucking in materials into her furnace, waiting for it to get to its ideal temperature before taking it out and hammering it out the shape she needed for the forging process. While doing so, she would use her mana to coax the energy from deep within the materials to arise, causing the temperature in her surroundings to continue climbing higher and higher.


    With both sides more or less fully engrossed in what they were doing as the sounds of forging echoed throughout the main hall, the crowd watched as both Valyr and Theraldine worked on their respective items, seeing them gradually progress through it as more and more time passed.


    Eventually, by the time the sun had moved past its zenith, one of the two put their hammer to the side as they looked at the item that was in front of them with a satisfied smile, wiping out the sweat that covered their entire forehead in the process.


    "Finally."


    "It''s done."


    "Time to move onto the first step."

 Chapter 464 Boundless Origin Alloy

    "Hyup." Wiping off the bits of dirt that stuck onto his hand as he ced the final material for the first step into the furnace, Valyr nodded in satisfaction. "As long as I keep the heat at a temperature that''s slightly lower than optimal, I''ll have more than enough time to work with all of the elements needed for the first step."


    "In any case, creating the alloy was a lot of work." Letting out a low sigh as he sat down on a chair, Valyr grabbed his portion of food that had been provided for the two of them during the forging duel and began to stuff his mouth with it. "Having to make sure that the materials corresponding to the four elements were fully separated definitely took up most of the time I used to create it."


    "Well, aside from having to wait for it to reach its optimal temperature, of course." While mulling over the entire process of creating the replica of the Hammer of Primeval Origins from scratch once more, Valyr eventually finished the food he was eating, giving him the necessary energy to continue with his work.


    Deciding to make use of the time he had while idly waiting for the materials in the furnace to reach the right temperature, Valyr took a look at the alloy he had forged for the third step in closer detail, activating the hyperfocus ability attached to [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] in the process.


    "There''s still a lot of imperfections on the surface," muttered the young man to himself, briefly scratching the back of his head as he thought that now was a good time to fix it. "Aside from that, I haven''t even checked the alloy through [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] and checked if the entire alloy was in one cohesive form."


    "[True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight]." Taking in a deep breath, he then proceeded to activate his other imperfection searching skill alongside [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], allowing him to see every minute detail on and within the alloy he had forged that seemed to be out of ce.


    "Yeesh. And I thought I was already thorough without it." In an instant, Valyr was greeted by the sight of the alloy containing multiple areas on its surface and within its internals that were of a different color from the majority.


    However, unlike the previous times where he had used [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] to look at the imperfections of his previous works, the mismatched colors he could see through the skill had instead taken on the color of a specific element, prompting him to wonder whether the imperfection was due to an imbnce in the elements.


    "Well, whatever it may be, it wouldn''t sit well with me for the alloy to be this rough." With his mind set on refining the alloy even further, the young man chucked it into the furnace without hesitation before proceeding to stoke the mes, increasing the heat to a temperature that it would rarely operate in.


    Keeping his eyes on the alloy with both skills activated, Valyr watched as the mismatched colors across the alloy began to disappear under the heat of the furnace, eliciting a slight relieved smile on his face to appear as he also kept the other materials he had thrown into the furnace in mind.


    "Ah!" Seeing that some of the mismatched colors had returned on the alloy after being exposed to heat for a prolonged time, the young man swiftly took out the alloy with a pair of tongs and plopped it onto the anvil, focusing on the imperfections on its surface by hammering it down.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Under the rhythmic noise of his hammering, more and more of the mismatched colors on the alloy gradually disappeared under his vision, causing Valyr to be d as the alloy was transforming into one cohesive material. Repeating the process of heating the alloy and hammering its imperfections a couple more times, the alloy eventually showed one cohesive color under the young man''s gaze, prompting him to grin as he inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    ''With how thorough I''ve been in making sure that the material was harmonious from all sides, I''m certain that the chances of me being able to sessfully emte the Hammer of Primeval Origins has increased.'' Sitting down to take a quick break as he watched Theraldine do her own thing, Valyr went through a couple of things in his mind regarding the forging process.


    ''Perhaps, it would even allow me to emte more of the artifact''s original properties.''


    ''Now that I think about it, I based this alloy off of the alloy she used to create the Hammer of Primeval Origins.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr recalled Theraldine from his past life, vividly remembering her working with an alloy that had features simr to the alloy he was making, but better in all aspects. ''However, she didn''t bother naming the alloy, even though it could be used in far more equipment than just the hammer.''


    ''Hmm¡­ should I give it a name, then?'' Pondering over the question for a bit, Valyr eventually decided to do so, wanting to flex his naming sense as he thought long and hard over the perfect name that would encapste the alloy''s properties. ''Since it was made to hold the energy of four elements at once, it could be said that the alloy has arge capacity when ites to storing or handling energy. Adding limitless or boundless would definitely fit its name.''


    ''Aside from that, its original purpose is to act as the main material for what would eventually be the Hammer of Primeval Origins, so it would only make sense if I were to add something to the name that signified its rtion to the artifact.'' Briefly ncing at the furnace, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he continued to think. ''Then again, it could also be said that the alloy has something to do with the four elements¡­''


    ''Limitless¡­ Primeval Origin¡­ Boundless¡­''


    "Huh. Boundless Origin Alloy as a name doesn''t sound half bad." Feeling the thoughts in his mind eventually click, Valyr had a proud smile on his face as he became satisfied with the name he hade up with. Taking a quick look at the alloy that now went under a new name, he then shifted his gaze back to the furnace, noticing that one of the materials was ready to be taken out from the furnace.


    "Alright."


    "Time to actually move onto the first step."

 Chapter 465 Visitor From Distant Lands

    Whilst both Theraldine and Valyr were hard at work in forging their respective artifact replicas, Julian watched the two from an area that allowed him to look at the entire main hall with a proud smile on his face, his expectations regarding the proficiency of the two towards forging more than subverted.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "You know, you could''ve just informed me you two were arriving instead of deciding to show up out of nowhere." Though he sensed the presences of two people appearing behind him, the middle-aged man did not bother turning his head around to look at them, instead speaking at them with an amused smile on his face.


    "You know, we were hard at work forging a couple of masterwork weapons for the empire''s higher-ups, right?" In response to Julian''s words, one of the two people, a man that looked to be in his early thirties, ced his hand on his forehead as he shook his head with a sigh. "If not for the fact that you said we''d be able to see the candidate you''ve chosen for the inheritance, as well as the fact that we just finished forging those weapons, we wouldn''t havee."


    "Oh,e on, Byron. Don''t be like that." Hearing the man''s words, Julian let out a bit ofughter as he gestured for the two to sit down beside him. Fortunately, the two that had arrived did not decline the man''s gesture, sitting themselves beside the man sometimeter.


    With him getting a better look at the two that had arrived, Julian went ahead and posed a question to the two. "So, it wouldn''t be wrong for me to assume that your list of orders on which weapons to craft still aren''t finished, right?"


    "With the orcs possibly nning a giant offensive at some point in the future, you''re correct." Wearing a dark blue suit that normally wouldn''t be worn by a cksmith, Byron, a man with silver hair and dark brown eyes, shed a bitter smile in response as he pointed at the woman that came along with her. "If not for her, I would''ve probably had no choice but to decline your invitation toe here. She''s the reason why I could finish so many masterwork weapons at once."


    "Oh?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Julian looked at the woman that came alongside Byron, only to stare at the woman with his mouth slightly agape.


    Sporting a head of long and luscious dark red-violet hair, the woman had a pair of light green irises that seemed to be able to peer through the entirety of Julian''s body, something that greatly contrasted the woman''s calm yet faint smile.


    Simr to Byron, the woman was also in a get-up that would not normally be worn by a cksmith, wearing a dark gray turtleneck shirt under a thick white coat that resembled what one would see researchers wear back on Earth. From how Julian stared at her, it went without saying that the woman was a beauty through and through, with her age and demeanor only highlighting that even further.


    "Though I don''t mind if you stare at me for a bit more, you do have apetition to arbitrate." Letting out a faint amused chuckle in response to Julian''s staring, the woman prompted the former to focus his attention back to the matter at hand.


    "Ah, right. My apologies." Awkwardly chuckling in response, Julian shifted his gaze back to the tournament, only to turn his head back at the woman. "To be honest, I assumed that the person that would being with Byron was someone he and I both knew."


    "If you''re referring to Sir Calvin, then he''s still busy with forging masterwork weapons, I''m afraid," said the woman in response with a slightly apologetic smile. "Though I dide alongside Sir Byron out of convenience, if you want, I could take Sir Calvin''s ce as an arbiter for the forging duel happening below."


    "Well, since Byron has brought you along with him, then that in itself is enough for me to understand that your skills are more than enough to be a judge of the works of the two." Looking at Byron, who nodded back at him in response, Julian nodded at the woman as he took her up on her offer. "Since that''s the case, would you mind letting me know who you are so I could get to know you better?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "My first name is Mystia, and my family name is Aschel. I am currently 53 years old, though they say I look to be perpetually in my thirties." Agreeing to Julian''s request with a smile, the woman gave him a respectful half bow as she softly giggled. "Aside from that, I''m currently working alongside Sir Byron in forging masterwork weapons as an assistant when ites to applying mana circuits onto the weapons."


    "Wait a second¡­" Just as he was about to greet the woman with a warm smile, the words the woman had spoken to him clicked in Julian''s mind all of a sudden, prompting him to go silent as he looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. "First name Mystia,st name Aschel¡­ Mystia Aschel¡­"


    "You''re telling me¡­ no way¡­" Seeing the woman smile at him, as if she was expecting the man to be informed of her identity, the expression on Julian''s face transformed into that of shock as he turned his head to look at his good friend. "You''re actually working with the Meltierre Heavenly Court''s Imperial Alchemist?!"


    "Well, it would be more urate to say that she requested to work alongside me," replied Byron as he gave a slightly smug grin. "Either way, I am indeed working with her for the time being."


    "How did that even happen in the first ce¡­?" Feeling great disbelief from the matter, it took a while for Julian to snap back to reality, taking quite a lot of deep breaths before being able to do so.


    "If you don''t mind, I could talk about it while we continue taking a look at the forging duel," suggested Mystia in response. "After all, it wouldn''t be fair if the winner of the duel was chosen due tock of information."


    "Talking about it would definitely help time pass¡­" Though Julian was slightly hesitant at first, the man eventually agreed to the proposition, causing Mystia to smile at him in response, which briefly left him at a slight loss for words. Clearing his throat as he felt his face slightly heat up, he turned his head to look back at Theraldine at Valyr, who were still both hard at work inpleting their respective replicas.


    "Before I begin narrating how Sir Byron and I eventually ended up working together, would you mind informing me on who the two currently dueling are?" While Julian intently looked at what the two were doing, he heard Mystia ask a question towards him, to which he responded with a faint nod as he opened his mouth.


    "The girl on the right part of the stage is my daughter, Theraldine," said Julian with a warm smile on his face. "She''s my pride and joy, as well as the pride and joy of the entire Pyrrhia n due to herprehending the [Dea Pyrrhia Forging Arts]."


    "And the young man on the left?"


    "Now that one¡­" Julian let outughter. "That one''s special."


    "In what way?"


    "Well¡­ for one, he''s the one I''ve picked to enter the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance."

 Chapter 466 Bringing Out the Elements

    "Yeouch. That''s hot." Taking out one of the materials from the furnace with a pair of tongs, Valyr took a long look at the material he was going to work with as he plopped it onto the anvil. From one perspective, it was a material that signified the pinnacle of Wind-attribute materials within Valyr''s capabilities, exuding a strong aura of Wind element even after undergoing through the furnace.


    However, from another, the material looked like nothing more than a ton of light green feathers stuck together and had clumped up into a ball.


    "The Griffin Tempest Orb," muttered Valyr to himself, bringing up memories from his past life regarding the method on how to prepare it for the second step of the forging process. "With how sensitive it is, even the slightest touch from any tool I use would cause it to release a strong gust of wind in my direction."


    "With that, I have to find a way to dull out its sensitivity first before working on it." Closing his eyes as he contemted over the method he would use to go about doing so, the young man also thought about the first step of the forging process in detail.


    Though he said to himself earlier that the first step of the process would be to obtain the purest essence from the four foundational elements andbine it with a couple more materials toplete the second step, what he was actually doing was prepping and priming the materials he had specifically chosen to represent the four foundational elements, allowing them to be at their strongest state before proceeding with the second step.


    "Hmm¡­ if I remember correctly, smothering it with a lot of mana has a good chance of dulling its sensitivity." Going through a couple of methods that hade to mind, Valyr went ahead and swiftly surrounded the Griffin Tempest Orb with a great amount of mana¡­ only for all of it to dissipate in an instant under a strong yet brief gust from the orb as retaliation.


    "Wait a second¡­ was the method actually trying to bombard it with mana from all sides instead?" Seeing that his first idea was unsessful, the young man swiftly moved onto the other method that came to mind. With that, he expended a great portion of his mana once more, raining down a barrage of mana bolts towards the orb in hopes of being able to prepare it.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Swoosh!


    Just like the first method, the effort Valyr had put into the second method was swiftly negated as the orb retaliated with a gust of wind that blew in all directions, rendering all of the other methods Valyr recalled that were in same vein useless.


    "Of course, touching it with a physical object won''t work either¡­" With him not making any headway in progressing through the first step, the gears in Valyr''s mind madly turned as he pondered over more possible ways of approaching the Griffin Tempest Orb. "I would assume that touching it with both physical objects and mana at the same time wouldn''t work as well¡­"


    "¡­but what if I used Shadow Energy?" Eventually, a radical thought popped up in Valyr''s mind, his curiosity towards its feasibility at its peak the very moment it appeared. "Aside from it being a whole different energy from mana, the approach in manipting it is different as well."


    "¡­I guess it won''t hurt to try." Deciding to test it out, Valyr summoned the Shadow Energy that was stored in the small ck mass near his heart, giving it the permission to course throughout his body as he felt a faint bit of his strength decreasing.


    Unperturbed by the sudden onset of weakness, he then coaxed the Shadow Energy to appear outside his body before proceeding to head straight towards the Griffin Tempest Orb, nketing its entire surface.


    Whoosh!


    "Huh." Expecting to feel a strong gust of wind blow at him once more, Valyr was left quite surprised when he did not receive any retaliation from the orb at all, prompting him to look at the oue of his experiment.


    Rather than a ball of light green feathers appearing on top of the anvil, what the young man saw before him was a pitch-ck ball that seemed to absorb all of the light in its surroundings, emitting a nefarious aura that contained traces of death and destruction to it.


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit from the sheer surprise of how simple the solution was with his current means, Valyr decided not to waste time and used the Shadow Energy to prime the Griffin Tempest Orb for the second step, removing all of the feathers that were on its surface, eventually revealing the pure green core that slumbered within.


    "With that done, up next is the Infernal Magma Core." Moving the green core to the side for now, cing it within what seemed to be a container specifically made for the core, Valyr soon turned his attention back to the furnace, taking out what looked to be a rough dark sphere that was oozing withva.


    "After preparing the Infernal Magma Core, there''s still the Azure Halcyon Essence and the Starstrike Terra Crystal." Going through his treasure trove of memories to see if he had any methods to prepare the Infernal Magma Core, Valyr also thought about the two other items he would be working with for the first step, keeping them in the back of his mind at all times.


    "Hmm¡­ though I don''t seem to recall any specific methods to refine this material, it really wouldn''t be wise of me to use the usual rough-handed methods for Fire-attribute materials, especially if it''s something as precious as this." Surprisingly, after rummaging through his memories for quite some time, a dumbstruck expression appeared on Valyr''s face, scratching the back of his head as he slightly frowned, wondering whether he should risk wasting the material or not.


    "Ah, right." Fortunately, it only took a nce to the side for him to scratch out that possibility entirely, noticing that Theraldine was waiting for some of her materials in her furnace to be ready for forging.


    "Hey, Theraldine. I have a question." Deciding that now was the perfect opportunity, Valyr went ahead and called for the young woman''s attention, to which she looked back at him in slight curiosity.


    "What is it?" asked Theraldine in response.


    "Do you perhaps know the methods to refine an Infernal Magma Core?"


    ¡¤?¦Èm "An Infernal Magma Core?" Raising her eyebrow in curiosity at the question, Theraldine looked at what Valyr was doing, only to notice that the young man was in the midst of working with the item he was currently asking about.


    At first, the thought of giving Valyr false information appeared in her mind, considering that the two werepeting to see who among them was the better cksmith when it came to forging artifact replicas. However, after recalling the rules of the forging duel, as well as the fact that the young man had given her information on forging artifacts even though they had only interacted for a short time, she eventually decided otherwise.


    "Well¡­ to refine an Infernal Magma Core, you need to smother it with mana, applying pressure on it andpacting the entire thing smaller and smaller until it turns into a pure red crystal."


    "Is that so? Any tips on how I would go about that?"


    "If you don''t have enough mana control, or if the amount of mana you have iscking, you could go aboutpacting the core in sections. Though it would impact the quality of the final product slightly, it would still be a better oue than the core transforming into dust."


    "I see. So that''s how it is, huh¡­ thanks!"

 Chapter 467 Bringing Out More Elements

    ''Huh. To think the method actually isn''t any different from the other methods I recall for Fire-attribute materials.'' Pondering over Theraldine''s advice as he looked at the ground for a bit, Valyr eventually shed a smile at the young woman as he gave her his words of thanks before returning his attention to the rough dark sphere on top of his anvil.


    "Anyways, I have to make a choice. Either I smother it with mana, or refine it in sections." Briefly surprised by the fact that the anvil had not even melted a bit under the heat being released by the Infernal Magma Core, the young man swiftly returned his train of thought to what was important, deciding to go with the option of covering the entire thing in mana first.


    Whoosh!


    "Mn¡­" Letting out a faint groan as he had a weird sensation that part of the insides feltpletely empty, Valyr focused his attention on the mana he had coaxed out of his body, sending thousands upon thousands of points of his precious mana towards the Infernal Magma Core.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    Unexpectedly, enveloping the entire core in mana had worked for the young man, allowing him to shave off a fewyers of the core''s surface as he felt the heat that the core was exuding faintly increased in temperature.


    "Well, that was easier than I thought." Muttering these words to himself as he was d towards his newfound sess, Valyr continued to apply more pressure on the Infernal Magma Core through his mana, shaving off more and more of theyers making up the rough dark appearance of the core.


    In fact, at some point, parts of the rough dark sphere had beenpletely removed, allowing Valyr to take a look at the condensedva that slumbered within the core''s center.


    Excited by the sight, the young man exerted a bit more pressure onto the core through the mana he was manipting, wanting to finish the priming process faster in order to proceed with the two other materials he had to work with for the first step. However, rather than the core cooperating with his actions¡­


    Fwoom!


    Out of nowhere, the condensedva within the core had retaliated against the mana Valyr had used to envelop the core, burning all of it off into nonexistence. After that, a few bits ofva sputtered out of the area that contained the condensedva, forming holes into what was considerably tough ground.


    "I guess I jinxed it." Scratching the back of his head as he looked at the aftermath, while still being surprised that evenva was not enough to deform the anvil he was using, Valyr let out a low sigh while wryly smiling as he thought about the safe method Theraldine had mentioned to him earlier, sitting down on the provided chair for the meantime to recuperate all of the mana he had lost.


    "Hmm¡­ while I wait for all of my mana toe back, I might as well prime and prep the two other materials first, considering that the two are more mellow in naturepared to the Griffin Tempest Orb and the Infernal Magma Core." Staring at the inside of the furnace for a while as he allowed his body to absorb the ambient mana within the surroundings, Valyr eventually stood up at some point and moved the partly refined Infernal Magma Core back into the furnace with a pair of tongs, saving it forter.


    After that, he took out the Azure Halcyon Essence and Starstrike Terra Crystal from the furnace, plopping them both on the anvil as he set a timer in his mind as to how much time he had before the Infernal Magma Core would have its properties ruined.


    "Let''s see here¡­" Rubbing his hands together as his expression turned solemn, Valyr looked at the two items on the anvil before rummaging through his treasure trove of memories in a bid to find the methods needed to refine the two materials into their purest forms.


    "I''ll start with you, then." Fortunately, it only took less than a minute for Valyr to find the refining method for Azure Halcyon Essence, picking up the Starstrike Terra Crystal with the tongs before cing it near the edge of the anvil, reminding himself that both of the materials were still scalding hot after sitting in the furnace for a long time.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With that in mind, Valyr took in a deep breath as he manipted some of the mana he had recovered to head towards his hands, forming a couple ofyers of protection over it as he intertwined theyers of mana together. Then, after making sure that the chances of his hands being burned were slim to none, the young man picked up the Azure Halcyon Essence, stared at it directly and¡­


    Crash!


    Forming a stark contrast to its appearance as a ball of hazy blue mist, the Azure Halcyon Essence made a sound simr to what one would hear when ss shards were being broken as Valyr exerted a great amount of its strength inpressing it.


    Within seconds, most of the hazy blue mist making up the essence had dissipated into thin air, leaving behind a teardrop-shaped gem that contained the purest Water element the young man had seen so far in his current life.


    "With that done, I only have the Starstrike Terra Crystal and the Infernal Magma Core left." ncing at the two items that remained hindrances towards hispletion of the first step of the forging process, Valyr swiftly moved the Starstrike Terra Crystal back to the center of the anvil, admiring the crystals making up the entire material as they formed a dazzling array of colors under the rays of the sun.


    Though, not long after¡­


    Crash!


    Simr to the method Valyr had used to refine the Azure Halcyon Essence into the teardrop-shaped gem, the method he had rummaged from his memories regarding the refining method for Starstrike Terra Crystal was of the same vein. However, unlike in the Azure Halcyon Essence, where he used all of his strength inpressing it, he instead pressed down on the crystal with both hands, sending a great mana through his palms as it eventually cracked after being inundated with his mana.


    Gradually, the vestigial parts of the Starstrike Terra Crystal fell off on their own, leaving a great amount of earth-colored crystals on the ground until a dark gray nugget the size of a single piece of popcorn was the only thing that remained on the anvil.


    "Three down, then," said Valyr to himself, briefly scratching the back of his head as he ced all of the refined materials into one spot on a nearby table.


    After making sure that none of them would be tampered with by external forces such as the wind or the weather, Valyr returned his gaze once more towards the partly refined Infernal Magma Core, retrieving it out of the furnace as he plopped it down on the anvil.


    "Well¡­"


    "You''re the only material out of the four that I''ve yet to sessfully refine."


    "Hopefully you cooperate with me this time around."

 Chapter 468 Primeval Origin Crystal

    "Phew." Wiping off the sweat from the forehead, Theraldine looked at the item she had forged with a proud smile on her face, cing her forging hammer to the side.


    Making up the portion of the Infernal Hammer replica that would make contact with the equipment she would forge in the future, the young woman admired the craftsmanship she had put into making the hammer''s head, with grooves and veins that glowed between red and orange covering its entire surface.


    "With the head finally done, I only need to connect the shaft, make sure that there''s no problem with the bnce of the entire thing, and I''ll be finished with forging my emtion of the Infernal Hammer." Deciding to take a bit of rest for the meantime after hammering for who knows how long, Theraldine sat on the chair and pondered over her next few steps, only to wonder how much progress Valyr had made with his own artifact replica.


    "Huh." Within an instant, a slightly dumbfounded look appeared on the young woman''s face, noticing that not even the skeletal structure of the replica the young man wanted to make was anywhere to be found. From her point of view, the only thing Valyr had made so far was a block of metal that seemed to contain unique properties, as well as a couple of refined materials that were attuned to a certain element.


    "At this point, I seriously wouldn''t be surprised if he was trying to create a replica of a magic artifact." Muttering these words to herself, Theraldine thought back to the times where she had to forge weapons that were attuned to magic, recalling that many of them took far more timepared to her forging physical weapons.


    Seeing that the young man was in the process of whittling down the Infernal Magma Core to its refined form, Theraldine looked at the materials Valyr had made so far one more time before pondering over the possible artifacts he had chosen to replicate. "The four basic elements, and then a unique block of metal¡­ could he be possibly aiming to create the Grand Origin Scepter?"


    "Considering its difficulty, it''s definitely harder to forge a replica of it whenpared to something like the Infernal Hammer¡­ unless if he was well-versed in controlling mana." Though a few artifacts had popped up in the young woman''s mind, she eventually thought that Valyr was making the Grand Origin Scepter, an artifact well-known for ascending any basic elementalist to the peak of the world with its innate strength. "However, in terms of how strong it ispared to the Infernal Hammer in its field¡­ the Infernal Hammer definitely has it beat."


    "Well, guess I''ll have to wait and see if he does forge it." Feeling that she had recuperated enough energy, Theraldine stood up once more as she prepared her mind for the final step of her forging process.


    Thepletion of her replica.


    ¡­


    "Agh¡­ I''m finally done with this piece of crap." Letting out a groan and a wide sigh of relief simultaneously, Valyr plopped his butt down on the chair as he tossed the item he had put a great amount of time into onto a nearby table, being a small crystal that looked to be far redder than even rubies.


    "With this, I can finally move onto the second step." Deciding to take some time to rest, Valyr briefly looked at the furnace, whose insides were currently empty, and thought about the mind-numbing and tedious task he had put himself into earlier, which was the refining of the Infernal Magma Core.


    Listening to the advice Theraldine had given him earlier, Valyr went ahead and used his mana to refine the core in sections, removing the outeryers of the rough dark sphere in a certain spot as the condensedva that slumbered within was eventually revealed.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    At first, the young man put in quite a lot of his attention towards making sure that the refinement process was going smoothly, keeping an eye that his mana was all being diverted towards a singr spot. However, after about half an hour or so of fully focusing on the core, he eventually became sick of the task and tried his best to not lose focus.


    "Well, if it''s any constion, I''m getting closer and closer to getting my hands of a replica of the Hammer of Primeval Origins." Letting out a faint sigh that contained hints of regret, Valyr psyched himself for the two remaining steps of the forging process, turning his head to take a look and see if a portion of the audience that surrounded them earlier had left by this point.


    Unsurprisingly, with how much time the two had taken to forge their respective crafts, a considerable portion of the audience that was clueless as to what the two were doing had left the cksmith Guild''s main hall and went off to do their own things.


    As for those that remained, even as the two were about an hour and a half from approaching sunset and still not being finished with their work, most of them were cksmiths either affiliated or not affiliated with the cksmith Guild, all of them intently watching the twoplete their respective artifact replicas.


    "Alright, time to get a move on. The hammer won''t finish by itself." Feeling that he had regained enough energy to move about after resting for a few minutes, Valyr stood up from the chair and proceeded to chuck in around three-fourths of the remaining materials from the list of materials he had requested into the forge, stoking the mes not long after.


    "Fortunately, unlike the first step and the third step, the second step is incredibly simple to do so," muttered Valyr to himself, going over the second step''s process as he kept an eye on the things inside the forge. "As long as the materials are sufficiently melted to flow like liquid, I''ll be able toplete the second step easily."


    With how the first step consisted of him preparing the elements in their purest form, the second step acted as a sort of continuation, wherein he would refine the elements even further while connecting them to one another by using materials that contained properties of two elements at once.


    Then, once all of the elements were sufficiently connected, he would then encapste the entire thing in a material that would allow him to harness the energy of any of the elements at any time, creating a crystal that would power the entire forging hammer once everything wasplete.


    With it being the most distinctive feature of the Hammer of Primeval Origins Theraldine used to wield in his past life, Valyr could still remember the name many yers and NPCs had given it, as well as the saying that came along with it.


    "The crystal that started it all¡­ the crystal that brought forth the eternal rise of the Goddess of the Forge." said Valyr to himself.


    "The Primeval Origin Crystal."

 Chapter 469 Piecing It Together

    "Alright. Looks like all of them are ready." After keeping an eye on the furnace for about half an hour or so, maintaining a consistent temperature within it all throughout, Valyr took a look at the materials he had chucked into the furnace sometime earlier, only to see that all of them had finally reached their molten states.


    "Let me just set up everything first." Leaving the furnace for the meantime, Valyr grabbed the four items he had refined during the first step and ced them on the anvil in a diamond pattern, making sure that there was a considerable amount of space between them.


    After that, he went ahead and grabbed one of the remaining materials he had requested, being a heat-resistant type of y, and create a perimeter around the four items to make sure that none of the molten materials he would pouring over them would spill out.


    Seeing that the final perimeter was more or less affixed to the anvil, he then proceeded to create smaller perimeters of y around the items, forming them in a way that would connect only one of the items to the other.


    "Alright, let''s begin." Taking in a couple of deep breaths, Valyr grabbed a pair of tongs and proceeded to retrieve one of the materials out of the furnace, making sure to not spill any of the contents.


    "First, Molten True Aquame Steel." Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh to make his hands stop trembling, the young man activated the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] at the same time, changing his visions of the item on the anvil into that of different colors as he proceeded to pour the molten metal on top of the items that represented the Fire and Water element.


    Fshhhh¡­


    Slowly tipping over the container that held the Molten True Aquame Steel, Valyr watched as two of the colors on the anvil graduallybined to form a single color as he gradually poured the Molten True Aquame Steel over them. At times, a few splotches of differing colors appeared due to him pouring a bit more of the molten material than he should have, thus he adjusted by reducing his pouring speed to where the colors would have time to be unified once more.


    "Next, Molten Azure Sand." Getting a good idea of how fast he should pour the molten materials onto the items he had refined for the first step, Valyr went ahead and moved onto the second molten material he had pour, now keeping a close eye on how fast he was pouring to make sure everything came out in a unified color.


    "Phew. Time for the Molten Tempest Meteor Fragments." Seeing that a homogenous color connected three of the four items he had refined so far, Valyr became a bit more careful in pouring the third molten material onto the anvil, which connected the Earth element to the Wind element with its properties.


    Fshhhh¡­


    "And toplete the cycle, Molten Magma Zephyr Crystals." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as the third molten material had not broken the homogenous color in any way, Valyr then proceeded to pour the fourth and final molten material that would allow the four elements to mingle with one another, making sure that the speed of his pour was consistent throughout.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, at the very moment he was finished pouring the final drop of molten material on the anvil, the entire piece shone a myriad number of colors, eliciting the attention of the entire audience to shift towards Valyr as they wondered what he had done. Even Valyr was left staring at the item he had made in slight awe, not expecting a light show to appear whatsoever.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    By the time the item had stop shining its lights, finally allowing everyone to feel the pureness of the four elements that was contained in the item, the young man removed the y that surrounded the item during the pouring process, double checking if he had removed every bit of y on the anvil in preparation for the process that wouldplete the second step.


    "With the four elements connected to one another, the only thing left is to encapste it and turn it into a crystal." Taking out the only container that remained within the furnace all this time, Valyr tightly gripped onto the pair of tongs he was holding as he gradually moved the container a few centimeters above the item he had made.


    "Molten Lesser Origin Fragment. Even if I wanted to get my hands on some of these, I wouldn''t be able to." Taking in a couple of deep breaths to keep hisposure, Valyr looked at his hands, which were now slightly trembling once again. "I definitely have to thank the cksmith Guild for giving me ess to these materials."


    "And that''s why I''ll repay them by showing them a replica of an artifact that would only appear in the future." Letting out yet another long and drawn-out sigh to stop his hands from trembling, Valyr soon began to pour the Molten Lesser Origin Fragments over the entire thing, keeping an eye on his pouring speed to make sure that the color would stay homogenous all throughout.


    Fshhhh¡­


    As the Molten Lesser Origin Fragments came into contact with the item Valyr had made, a faint sizzling sound resounded throughout the workshop, prompting a solemn expression to appear on Valyr''s face as a brief hint of concern appeared in his mind, wondering if he was doing everything correctly.


    Fortunately, by the time the final drops of Molten Lesser Origin Fragments he had been pouring all this time left the container, he obtained his answer.


    Whoosh!


    Once the Molten Lesser Origin Fragments had settled into ce, the item released a great amount of light once more, slightly blinding everyone that was looking at Valyr''s workshop as all of the items seemed to have taken on a single color for a brief moment. Not long after, this color changed to another one, only to go through multiple colors in a row before eventuallynding on white, intensifying for a second before eventually disappearing.


    Naturally, at this point, many of those in the audience, especially the cksmiths, were curious as to what Valyr was trying to achieve. After all, almost all of them hade here to watch two people create a replica of the artifacts they had chosen.


    Of course, it wouldn''t be long until Valyr showed the crowd the audience he had chosen, deactivating both [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] as he grinned at the crystal he had created.


    "Alrighty."


    "Time to piece it all together."

 Chapter 470 Forge Complete

    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    As the sounds of metal colliding against metal faintly resounded through Theraldine''s portion of the stage, the young woman eventually put the hammer she was wielding to the side, wiping off the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead as she looked at the item she had forged with a wide smile.


    "Finally¡­ my crafts can now be elevated to a higher level."


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully forged the item: Phoenix Forging Hammer (Emtion). Quality has been rated at Great.]


    [The heavens have seen the effort you have put into your craft and thus rewards you ordingly. Your item has sessfully gained part of the original properties of the artifact ''Infernal Hammer''.]


    With the smile on her face only growing wider as she took a look at the notifications she had received, Theraldine took a close look at the forging hammer she had forged, which she was more than certain she was going to use in forging from now onwards.


    Most of the hammer''s head were covered in grooves and veins that faintly gave off a pulsating light that alternated between shades of red and orange, emanating the feeling of slight heat whenever one got close to it. Attached to the head was a finely crafted shaft made out of wood that could bear the constant heat being emanated by the head whenever it was used actively in forging.


    With the wood carved in a way that it would be a perfect fit under Theraldine''s grip, as well as a few additional touches on the handle here and there, the Phoenix Forging Hammer she had forged was not only a work that had a lot of aesthetic value to it, but also a lot of functionality behind its beautiful exterior.


    "I was able to emte 3% of the Infernal Hammer''s original properties¡­" Examining the hammer she had just forged with her identification skill, an ecstatic expression swiftly appeared on Theraldine''s face as she focused on the part she was most interested in. "I¡­ actually did that?"


    As the significance of her craft gradually sunk in her mind, the thought of Theraldine winning the forging duel between her and Valyr felt more certain, considering that she had sessfully emted what was basically one of the most well-renowned artifacts amongst cksmiths.


    However, when she turned her head to look at the audience and see if they were in awe of what she had done, almost all of them were instead staring at the item Valyr was forging, with thoughts of the young man''s skills possibly not being up to par to Theraldine''s already gone from their minds.


    Slightly annoyed at how not even one of them spared a single nce that she had finished forging her item, Theraldine decided to take a look at what Valyr was doing for herself. "What is he even forging for everyone to stare at it so¡­ intently¡­"


    Thump!


    At the very moment Theraldineid her eyes at what seemed to be the skeletal structure of the artifact replica Valyr was forging, a heartbeat far stronger than she was normally ustomed to resounded within her body, causing her expression to be somewhat wide-eyed as she felt a feeling of familiarity towards the item.


    No.


    A feeling¡­ that she was the rightful owner.


    "What is going on¡­?" Not used to the feeling that she had just felt, Theraldine slightly shuddered as she gradually forgot about the feeling that had engrossed her into watching Valyr''s forging process.


    Taking a look once more at Valyr''s item that was still a work in progress, she still felt a sense of familiarity towards it, as if she had seen it somewhere before. However, the feeling had now be less intense, prompting her to try and forget the weird feeling in the first ce.


    "So, he was actually creating a forging hammer all this time." Breathing deeply a couple of times to make sure the feeling thoroughly vanished, Theraldine finally noticed the general structure of the artifact replica Valyr was forging. "Though, I don''t recall any of the top legendary forging artifacts having properties that suited the four basic elements."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Well, I''m already done with my replica, and I''m pretty sure I''ll win this duel..." Briefly scratching the back of her head, the young woman brought the chair to a spot that would allow her to see Valyr''s process better before sitting down.


    "Guess I''ll watch him finalize everything."


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "Finally! I can finally move onto the final step!" Letting out a long yet exasperated sigh, Valyr dropped the forging hammer he was using to the side as he took a look at the item he had been hammering all this time.


    Heating up the Boundless Origin Alloy he had created and refined earlier in the furnace, the young man gradually hammered the entire block of alloy down into the shape of a forging hammer, having to contort his arms in various ways in the process to make sure that some areas were perfect.


    Fortunately, with how high his DEX was for someone at the peak of Rank 2, as well as with both [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] active, he was sessful in shaping the block into a rough yet exquisite-looking forging hammer, with only thirty minutes to spare before the sun began to set.


    Taking a few deep breaths as he recuperated some of the energy he had expended in forging the hammer, Valyr took a brief nce at the audience, only to notice that all of them were staring at his portion of the stage. Faintly wondering what was going on, he shifted his gaze towards Theraldine''s workshop, only to see that the young woman was watching him as well.


    "All of us are waiting for you to finish your item," said Theraldine, conveying through her words that she was done with her item. "Don''t mess up."


    "I''ll try." Bitterly smiling in response to the young woman''s words, Valyr let out a low sigh as he took a look inside the furnace, specifically the only item that was in the furnace.


    "Let''s get this over with." After making sure that the Primeval Origin Crystal was at the ideal temperature to fuse it into the hammer made out of Boundless Origin Alloy, the young man went ahead and used a pair of tongs to pick up the crystal before iying it into the groove he had made on the hammer earlier, which was unexpectedly a perfect fit.


    After that¡­


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [Your title ''Forger of Epics'' has activated, enhancing the properties of your forged item by one level.]


    [You have sessfully forged an artifact.]

 Chapter 471 The Hammer Of Beginnings

    At the very moment Valyr dropped the Primeval Origin Crystal on the groove he had made for it on the hammer, as if the two were made for each other, the crystal gradually melded with the Boundless Origin Alloy making up the hammer, allowing its properties to spread throughout the entire alloy.


    Concurrently, the crystal slightly sunk into the hammer, allowing the still hot Boundless Origin Alloy to form a lip around the crystal, holding it in ce.


    For a couple of seconds, small and thin veins that had colors signifying the four basic elements covered the entire hammer, prompting Valyr to pay close attention to the forging hammer, hoping in his mind that it would be a resounding sess.


    Fortunately for him...


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment all of the veins disappeared on the hammer''s surface, the forging hammer radiated a blinding silver light, covering the entire main hall in the color as the hammer started to hover off of the anvil it was on.


    Ding!


    [Your title ''Forger of Epics'' has activated, enhancing the properties of your forged item by one level.]


    ''Huh. Definitely wasn''t expecting that to trigger. Especially since this is the first item I''m making after getting the title... if I remember correctly.'' Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr took a look at the notification he had received, prompting him to bring up the title in question on the side.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Forger of Epics] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic


    Countless cksmiths have forged items and equipment that have been used by the masses for ages. However, only a small portion of these cksmiths have the skill, experience, and knowhow to bring these forged items to a far higher tier, ascending to a level where any of their work could be regarded as better than the rest.


    As someone who has sessfully forged an Epic grade item, you have been regarded as one of these people, with your skill easily swaying thousands from all parts of the world just so they could be able to use your work.


    Effects:


    > Allows the title holder to gain an intrinsic understanding regarding any equipment forged


    > Allows the title holder to gain a general understanding of materials and items rted to forging high-level and high-rarity items


    > Increases the base stat of any equipment forged by the title holder by 5%


    > Reduces the time it takes for the title holder to forge equipment by 10%


    > Gives the title holder a small chance to awaken the potential of any equipment being forged, enhancing the properties of the equipment being forged by one level


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Closing the screen that he had brought up, he then returned his attention to the hammer he had just finished forging, noticing that the light had now changed to a deep gold color. At this point, he turned his head to look at Theraldine to his left, who currently had her mouth slightly agape at the sight that was happening before him.


    Faintly chuckling to himself as he heard a notification sound resound in his mind once more, Valyr thought about how the chances of him winning the forging duel were now more or less guaranteed thanks to the activation of [Forger of Epics].<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    ''Then again, even with the title not activating, I''m still quite sure I''d be able to win the forging duel, just from the properties of the hammer alone.'' With that kind of mindset, the young man went ahead and took a look at the notification he had just received...


    ...only to be left at aplete loss for words.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully forged an artifact.]


    Whoosh!


    As if the forging hammer was waiting for him to read the notification that just popped up, the golden color it was radiating all this time swiftly transformed into a dazzling array of myriad colors, hovering higher and higher into the air as everyone in the audience stared at the forging hammer Valyr had created.


    Eventually, once everyone''s sights were fixated on the forging hammer, all of the lights the hammer gave off swiftly disappeared as it slowly descended back down to the young man''s anvil, making it seem as if nothing had happened in the first ce.


    With his mouth still agape from the shock he felt after reading the second notification, Valyr gradually moved his gaze from the notification screen to the forging hammer, feeling a connection of some sort being made between him and the hammer as he continued to look at it.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully forged the item: Unnamed Blueprint (Artifact). Quality has been rated to be Transcendent.]


    [Though the craft you have made is stillcking in some aspects, the heavens have acknowledged the effort you have put into it, as well as the ingenuity of the craft itself, thereby granting it the status of an artifact.]


    [As the item has been made with an unnamed blueprint, the system has given the user one chance to rename the item, lest the user refuses to name it.]


    [Would you like to give a name to your item?]


    Reading through the series of notifications he had obtained while looking at the forging hammer, it was only at that moment did Valyr fully ept the fact that he had truly created an artifact, feeling a great amount of excitement at the thought. After all, it was no simple feat for anyone to create an artifact, even if that someone had all the luck in the world.


    However, even though he was excited, the young man still wondered as to why it was considered an artifact rather than a replica of an artifact, prompting a solemn expression to appear on his face as he recalled that he had based his forging hammer off of Theraldine''s Hammer of Primeval Origins from his previous life.


    ''Is it because the Hammer of Primeval Origins hasn''t been made yet?'' Asking this question to himself, Valyr felt that it was the most likely exnation as to why his hammer had been deemed as an artifact, letting out a low sigh as he became more certain that it was the case.


    "I guess I''ve twisted the timeline even more this time around." Bitterly smiling at the thought, Valyr decided to not mull over the matter any further, instead focusing his attention on the final notification he had received from the system.


    ''I haven''t given it a name, huh,'' thought Valyr to himself, putting on a pensive expression as he pondered over what name would suit it. ''Then again, this is the only blueprint I''ve made where I haven''t given it a name from the start.''


    ''Hmm...'' Thinking about how significant the artifact was to Valyr and how it probably changed the future timeline drastically, a name eventually popped up into his mind. ''Since it was originally made as a replica of the Hammer of Primeval Origins, the name has to be rted to it in some way.''


    ''Well... from a certain perspective, this artifact could be considered as a major turning point in the timeline, seeing as how I''ve introduced a legendary artifact a couple yearster than it should''ve appeared.''


    ''Though, aside from that, I guess this artifact also signifies the true start of my journey as a cksmith, as well as the true start of my journey in achieving the goals I''ve set at the start of this life. After all, a cksmith isn''t truly considered a cksmith if he doesn''t have his own forging hammer.''


    ''With that in mind, I shall call this...''


    ''The Hammer of Beginnings.''

 Chapter 472 A Monumental Event

    Ding!


    [You have renamed the item ''Unnamed Blueprint (Artifact)'' to ''Hammer of Beginnings (Artifact)''.]


    [Due to the immense feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Forger of Artifacts''.]


    Taking a look at the notifications he had received in response to his renaming of the forging hammer, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face as he brought up both the hammer''s description and the new title''s description in front of him, ignoring the noise the audience was making as he focused his attention on the screens that had appeared.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Hammer of Beginnings (Artifact)] (Level 40)


    Rarity: Epic+ (Growth ¡ª Special)


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Having seen a glimpse of a distant future, the maker of this artifact initially aimed to create a replica of the artifact he had seen, wanting to im even the slightest bit of its properties for his own.


    However, rather than create a replica of the artifact he had seen, he instead brought the future into the present, birthing an artifact that was akin to the artifact he wished to replicate, yet separate from the artifact he wished to replicate at the same time.


    Though still immature in its form, this artifact contains boundless potential that has yet to be unearthed, its current form already being the target of envy of many cksmiths all throughout the world. However, in due time, it shall eventually reach the height of the artifact the maker originally wished to replicate and even exceed it, bing an artifact every cksmith shall tout as the greatest forging artifact of all time.


    Due to its characteristics as a Growth type equipment, this hammer has the ability to ascend to higher rarities under special circumstances, may it be through the experience of the user, or special materials that the user may meld into the hammer.


    Due to its characteristics as a Special type equipment, this hammer''s level grows in ordance to the user, removing the need for the user to have to enhance the hammer to their current level.


    This hammer increases the user''s forging sess rate by 30%, as well as the base stat of any equipment the user forges with the hammer equipped by 10%.


    <Innate Skill 1: Breath of me - Changes the affinity of the hammer to the Fire element, increasing the stats of any Fire-attribute equipment forged with the hammer by 25%. Effect stacks additively with the hammer''s original effect.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Breath of Water - ...>


    <...>


    <Innate Skill 5: Breath of Calm - Returns the affinity of the hammer to the Neutral element, increasing the stats of any equipment with no attribute forged with the hammer by 15%. Effect stacks additively with the hammer''s original effect.>


    <Innate Skill 6: Breath of Beginnings - Changes the affinity of the hammer to the Origin element, increasing the stats of any equipment, either with any of the four basic attributes or without any attribute whatsoever, forged with the hammer by 35%. Has a small chance to tap into the equipment''s innate potential and awaken an innate skill. Cooldown: 1 week.>


    Remarks: Now this. This is a true piece of equipment.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hiss..." Sucking a bit of cold air through his teeth after he was finished reading through the hammer''s description, a ton of thoughts instantly lingered within Valyr''s mind, prompting him to think about the greater possibilities he would now have in the future with the Hammer of Beginnings being made.


    However, rather than delude himself in these thoughts, he instead pushed all of these thoughts to the side as to not overwhelm him, reminding himself to not let something like this affect him too much.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to regainposure, the young man then went ahead and shifted his gaze to the screen that contained the description of the title he had just obtained. Unfortunately, before he could even begin skimming through its contents, a familiar person appeared in front of his field of vision.


    "..." Staring at the young man in front of him for a while, Julian did not know what to say. Though he already knew of Valyr''s capabilities as a cksmith, considering that he knew that thetter had forged an Epic grade armor set that was considered an Emtion, the fact that the young man had forged an artifact was definitely beyond his expectations.


    After all, what could be better than any artifact replica than a true artifact?


    "Could you... could you let me take a look at the hammer?" Taking in a deep breath to root himself to reality, Julian finally asked a question at Valyr, to which thetter responded with a faint nod, giving the forging hammer to him after that.


    "This..." Activating his identification skill on the forging hammer, Julian was quickly left at a loss for words regarding its capabilities. As far as he could remember, most of the forging artifacts he hade across and known about in the past all focused on a certain element. If the artifact was stronger, then perhaps two.


    However, the artifact he was currently holding did not just focus on only one or two elements.


    It focused on five elements at once!


    As far as he knew, this was the first artifact of its kind!


    "..." Being left at a loss for words once more as he gave the hammer back to Valyr, he then shifted his gaze to look at his daughter, who had a bitter smile on her face as she had a faint idea of what was going on.


    "Even I didn''t expect this to happen." Letting out a low sigh as he took a look at the artifact replica she had made, Julian gave his daughter an apologetic smile before slightly ruffling her hair. "You''ve done all that you can, Theraldine."


    "Now you''re just making me feel like I haven''t done enough." Though she tried to smile in response to her father''s words, a few tears still began to brim around her eyes, reflecting the inner turmoil the young woman felt towards the current situation. "Go on, Dad. Make the announcement. I''ll be fine."


    "Haah..." Sighing in response to his daughter''s words as he nodded, Julian nced back at Valyr, who now had a slightly apologetic smile on his face as he realized what he had inadvertently done. Bitterly smiling in response as he faintly shook his head, he then shifted his gaze to look at the awaiting audience.


    "To those that have stayed to watch the forging duel in its entirety, I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart." Taking in a deep breath, Julian''s voice soon bellowed throughout the main hall, prompting everyone to focus their attention on him.


    "As the Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild, not only am I proud that the two before you have shown everyone the capabilities of the younger generation''s greatest talents, but one of them has even given everyone here the honors to witness the birth of a new artifact!"


    "With that, there isn''t really a need for me to make a decision now, is there?" At this question, the audience let out a loud cheer, causing a slight smile to appear on Julian''s face not long after.


    "The winner of this forging duel is none other than..."


    "Ylvar!"

 Chapter 473 A Familiar Voice

    After Julian had announced the winner of the forging duel, the audience began to loudly cheer for Valyr, whose abilities far surpassed their initial expectations. After all,pared to Theraldine, whose abilities and skills were well-known throughout the kingdom, it would seem like the forging duel was just a tform for the young woman to showcase her abilities since she was up against someone no one in the crowd had any clue on.


    However, even though she did showcase her abilities to the audience, which was in no way inferior by any means, it was stillcking whenpared to Valyr''s disy, forging a never before seen artifact right before their very eyes.


    Though everyone in the crowd was still unsure as to who the young man really was, all of them were certain young man thatpeted against Theraldine in this forging duel would soon be known by everyone in the kingdom, perhaps the entire human race because of this sole achievement.


    With satisfied expressions on their faces and looks that tantly told anyone looking at them that they would spread the events that urred in this forging duel, the crowd gradually began to disperse from the cksmith Guild''s main hall, leaving only Theraldine, Valyr, and Julian behind.


    "With that finally settled, let''s move onto the more important topic at hand." With a smile stered on his face until the veryst person from the crowd left the cksmith Guild, Julian''s expression swiftly became serious as he turned to look at Valyr.


    "Why didn''t you tell me you have the abilities to forge an artifact all this time?"


    "Even I didn''t know I could forge an artifact, Guildmaster." Taking into consideration that the two of them weren''t the only people there at the moment, Valyr responded to Julian''s question with a polite tone. "I may be confident in being able to forge artifact replicas, but never once in my life have I thought that I''ve reached the skill level necessary to forge artifacts yet."


    "So, you''re telling me you just got lucky?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Julian raised his eyebrow in slight suspicion. After all, from the interactions he had with the young man so far, he was under the impression that thetter had a ton of secrets he did not want others to know.


    "That would be the best exnation for it," said Valyr in response, bitterly smiling. "Because I truly have no idea."


    ''Well, I do, but you''d have to have memories from the future first to be able to do it,'' thought Valyr to himself at the same time, inwardly letting out a low sigh. ''Then again, I really wasn''t expecting to forge an artifact at this stage. If anything, with the knowledge I have of forging artifacts, I thought I''d only be able to start making some once I reached a higher ss rank.''


    ''I really got lucky this time around.'' With this thought in mind, the bitter smile on Valyr''s face gradually disappeared.


    "Hmm..." Noticing the expression Valyr was making, Julian looked at the young man for a bit more in silence, narrowing his eyes in slight suspicion. On the other hand, Theraldine stood by the side in silence, passively listening to the conversation that was going on.


    "Don''t think too deeply into the matter, Julian. After all, don''t you think that luck is also part of a cksmith''s skill set?" Just as Julian was about to tell both Valyr and Theraldine were free to leave, finally giving up on trying to learn the young man''s methods, a pair of people had appeared before the three, their auras being in no way inferior to the aura Julian passively gave off.


    "Byron." Hearing the familiar voiceing from his back, a slight smile appeared on the middle-aged man''s face as he turned around. "And here I thought you two would be staying where I was watching."


    "How could we not head down after seeing you start talking with the two?" Byron let out a bit ofughter in response, with Mystia beside him remaining silent. "As one of their seniors in the cksmith Guild, I should at least take a look at what the greatest talents of the younger generation are like, no?"


    "Well, you''re not wrong." Hearing Vyron''s words, Julian faintlyughed in response.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Though, just as he was about to continue his conversation with Byron, Julian noticed the faint confusion written all over the faces of both Theraldine and Valyr, their current expressions obvious as to what they wanted him to do.


    "Ahem." Finally realizing that he began to ignore the presence of the two after Byron and Mystia appeared before them, Julian decided to include the former two into the conversation. "Now that I realize it, the two of you haven''t met these people yet."


    Turning his body to look at both Valyr and Theraldine, Julian began to introduce the two to them. "The handsome man you see beside me is not only a good friend of mine, but is also one of the directors of the cksmith Guild''s main branch. He goes by multiple titles, but he is mostmonly known as the Metal Magister with how proficient he is while working with metals."


    "You definitely didn''t skimp out on thepliments." Byron chuckled in response to Julian''s introduction, facing both Valyr and Theraldine not long after with a smile. "Nice to meet you two. My name is Byron Allister, but you could call me Byron if you want. Though, as your Guildmaster has mentioned, I guess it would be weird for you to call a director in such an informal manner."


    "Greetings, Sir Byron." Looking at each other after Byron was finished speaking, Theraldine and Valyr faintly nodded at one another before simultaneously greeting the man Julian had introduced to them.


    "As for the woman that has apanied him..." Seeing Byron nod at the greetings of the two with a warm smile, Julian proceeded to introduce the woman to the two, faintly scratching the back of his head in the process. "To be honest, I wasn''t expecting such an esteemed guest to appear in such a shabby ce like this."


    "You tter me too much," said Mystia in response, letting out a faint yful giggle.


    "I guess being a director is not enough to be considered an esteemed guest." As for Byron, who heard what Julian said, it felt as if his friend had given him a direct blow to the face.


    "You''re definitely an esteemed guest, Byron." Not wanting to listen to his friend''s rant on how he should have been treated better as a guest, Julian swiftly rified. "However,pared to the guest you brought along with you, your position is less... imposing, if you will."


    "Who is she, Guildmaster?" After hearing Mystia speak for a bit, Valyr briefly had a dumbfounded expression on his face, being reminded of a voice he had heard back then while he was at Astarto Vige. Wanting to confirm whether his thoughts were correct, the young man took the initiative to ask.


    "Ah." Returning to the topic at hand, Julian let out an awkward chuckle as he began introducing Mystia to the two. "Unlike my good friend Byron here, she isn''t affiliated with the cksmith Guild in any way. Instead, she''s affiliated with the Meltierre Heavenly Court as their Imperial Alchemist."


    ''Wait... alchemist? Then, that means...'' At Julian''s mention of this word, Valyr faintly raised his eyebrow as he became even more suspicious of the woman''s identity.


    Fortunately, it did not take much longer for his suspicions to be confirmed.


    "I would like to introduce the two of you..."


    "...to Mystia Aschel."

 Chapter 474 To Ones Liking

    ''She''s the one!'' At the very moment Julian had mentioned Mystia''s full name, Valyr felt as if multiple fireworks had gone off in his head. In the meantime, a considerable number of memories from his time in Astarto Vige started to surface in his mind.


    ''If it wasn''t for me needing to find someone who could concoct the Basic Reinforcement Elixir in the vige, I definitely wouldn''t havee into contact with someone like her.'' Going through his memories from the past, Valyr recalled the time he had met up with Astarto Vige''s alchemist at the time, which was Vera Aschel.


    With him requesting the young woman to concoct a set of Basic Physical and Mental Reinforcement Elixir for him to consume, Vera eventually agreed after Valyr showed that he already had the materials needed to concoct the elixirs in the first ce, as well as the fact that he was fine with her wasting some of the materials he had gathered in order to get used to the process.


    However, as she only knew what the Basic Reinforcement Elixir was and not the process that would allow her to concoct it, Vera sought the help of her mentor.


    And that was the moment when Valyr hade into contact with the woman named Mystia.


    ''I wonder if she still remembers me.'' Recalling the brief conversation he and Mystia had over the magic orb Vera used to contact her, Valyr bitterly smiled. ''On second thought, I''m pretty sure she still remembers me.''


    ''After all, I''ve just tantly told her at that time that I was Valyr Zeihardt. It would be impossible for her to forget someone who basically told her that he was the one everyone in the Zeihardt n was looking for.'' With this thought lingering in his mind, he briefly nced at Mystia, who nced back at him with slight curiosity.


    ''Fortunately, I think she can''t see through my facade.'' Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at the thought, he then proceeded to greet her alongside Theraldine, to which Mystia replied with a soft smile.


    "Alright, you two are free to leave. We''ll talk about what happened here some other time. Especially you, Ylvar." Eventually thinking that it wouldn''t really make sense for the two to be involved in their conversation, Julian changed his mind and allowed the two to leave, prompting them to bow in front of Byron and Mystia before proceeding to head to another part of the cksmith Guild for the meantime.


    "With that over with, how about I finally do my proper job as a host and give you two some ce to rest? After all, the two of you did have to travel quite a distance." After watching the silhouettes of both Valyr and Theraldine disappear from the main hall, Julian returned his gaze to Byron and Mystia while faintly smiling.


    "Though I''d definitely like to take you up on that offer, a day of rest is the maximum amount of time the two of us could allow ourselves to have before we have to return to forging masterwork weapons." In response, Byron shed an apologetic smile at the man as he exined their situation.


    "Is that so?" Hearing those words, a trace of disappointment briefly appeared on Julian''s face, considering that it had been some time since he and Byron had met up. However, knowing the weight of the responsibilities the other side was shouldering, he quickly understood as he bitterly smiled. "I guess I''ll have to save the good food and drinks for some other time."


    "Unfortunately." Byron bitterly smiled as well. "However, once this is all over, let''s enjoy ourselves till our heart''s content, okay?"


    "You better keep that promise, you hear me?" Letting out a bit ofughter, Julian nodded as he extended his hand for a handshake.


    "I definitely will." With a toothy grin, Byron nodded back as he reciprocated the handshake, looking at his good friend with a determined expression.


    Whoosh!


    After saying their farewells and their promises to one another once they met up in the future, Byron went ahead and conjured a rift that would teleport them part of the way back to where he and Mystia were originally working.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Waving at his good friend onest time, Byron soon went ahead and walked through the rift he had made, removing his presence entirely from the cksmith Guild''s main hall.


    "It was definitely nice meeting you, Miss Mystia." With Byron having already gone through the portal, Julian said his farewells to Mystia as well. "The conversations we''ve had earlier have definitely given me a lot of insight towards the art of cksmithing, as well as the art of alchemy."


    "It applies both ways, Sir Julian." Hearing Julian''s words, Mystia shed a warm smile. "Just like how my words have expanded your horizons, so too have your words expanded mine. I am certain that the advice and words you''ve given me shall prove monumental in my assistance in Sir Byron''s future works."


    "Oh, you tter me too much." Not being used to takingpliments, Julianughed the woman''s words off. After that, he waved at her goodbye. "Safe travels."


    "I shall try my best to do so." Smiling once more, Mystia faintly nodded before proceeding to take a step into the rift. However, just as she was about to take another step andpletely pass through the rift, a thought surfaced in her mind, prompting her to call out to Julian.


    "Say, Sir Julian. Would you happen to know the true identity of the young man dueling against your daughter earlier?" Hearing this question from Mystia, Julian, who had already turned around to head back to his private workshop, was forced to turn back as he pondered over the question.


    "Are you talking about Ylvar?"


    "Is that the young man''s true name?" asked Mystia in response, giving Julian a knowing smile. "Though I''ve ignored it all this time, that does not mean I didn''t notice he was using a skill to disguise his true identity."


    "Unfortunately, I cannot disclose his true identity to you, Miss Mystia. Even if you''re the Meltierre Heavenly Court''s Imperial Alchemist." With an apologetic smile, Julian let out a slightly disappointed sigh. "All I can say is that he is the one I''ve chosen to represent the cksmiths in the uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Nothing more, nothing less."


    "Alright, alright. I won''t bring further headache to the Guildmaster." Mystia faintly chuckled, apologizing for the sudden question soon after. "With that, I shall truly take my leave now."


    "May you two have a safe travel back." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Julian waved farewell at Mystia once more as she disappeared from the cksmith Guild''s main hall, traveling through space to arrive at where Byron was currently waiting.


    ¡­


    "Out of all the people I thought I''de across again, I definitely wasn''t expecting you to appear in this ce." Whilst moving through the darkness of space, a faint smile appeared on Mystia''s face, thinking back to the nce she and the young man shared earlier.


    "So, this was where you were, Valyr Zeihardt." Certain that Valyr thought his facade had fooled her, Mystia let out a bit of mischievousughter. "To think you''re hiding right under the Zeihardt n''s noses. Truly brave of you to do so."


    "However, there will eventuallye a time where you''ll have to reveal your true identity to the world. But considering that you''re a part of my ns, as the magnanimous woman that I am, I''ll make sure that time is as dyed as possible." As these words left her mouth, Mystia''sughter grew louder. "For now..."


    "I hope the surprise I prepared for you is to your liking."

 Chapter 475 Legend In The Making

    While Julian watched Byron and Mystia disappear from the cksmith Guild''s main hall, Theraldine and Valyr had stayed near Julian''s private workshop in the meantime. Thinking to each other that the Guildmaster still had more things to say to them, they recalled the words Julian told them before they left.


    "Hey, Theraldine." Continuing to wait for Theraldine''s father to appear, Valyr decided to strike up a conversation with the young woman, his mind recalling what had transpired earlier.


    "What is it?" Oblivious to what was going on in the young man''s mind, Theraldine looked back at Valyr, slightly curious.


    "Sorry," said Valyr in response, causing the young woman''s expression to swiftly turn into that of confusion.


    "Sorry? Sorry for what?"


    "For what happened earlier," Valyr rified, the sight of Theraldine with tears in her eyes still vivid in his mind. "Believe me when I say that I wasn''t expecting to forge an artifact. At most, I was only going to forge an artifact replica that was considerably better than yours."


    "Huh?" Though she listened to the young man''s exnation, Theraldine remained confused, still having no clue as to why he was saying sorry to her. However, after repeating Valyr''s words over and over in her head for a bit, everything eventually clicked into ce, finally allowing Theraldine to realize what he was trying to convey.


    "Why say sorry over something that you had no control over?" Theraldine asked Valyr, her brows slightly furrowed. "Well... if you think about it from another perspective, you had total control over the entire thing, it''s just that luck decided to shine down upon you during the duel."


    Letting out a sigh, she continued, "If anything, you shouldn''t feel sorry for what happened earlier. So what if I felt a bit discouraged at giving it my all and it still being not enough? That just means that your skill in cksmithing is far greater than I initially expected it to be."


    "And I prefer it that way, to be honest."


    "Huh?" This time, it was Valyr''s turn to be confused.


    Wondering what had caused the young man to say those words, Valyr looked at Theraldine, only to see that the somewhat forlorn expression she had earlier from losing the forging duel was nowpletely gone.


    Instead, what reced it was an expression filled with burning passion and unyielding determination, her eyes staring darts at Valyr as if he was the prey she was going to hunt.


    "With this forging duel now over, I don''t have any more doubts of your worthiness to be the representative of the cksmiths in this uing Four Pirs'' Inheritance," said Theraldine, grinning soon after. "However, that doesn''t mean I ept the fact that I''m behind you in terms of skills."


    "From this point onward, my view of you has changed. Not only will I consider you as a friend andrade, but also as a rival to aim towards," she continued.


    "I will strive to be better than you in every aspect of cksmithing, no matter what. I swear to the heavens that there will eventuallye a day where you''d be the one watching me soar to the skies instead of the opposite."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I definitely don''t mind the challenge, if that''s what you''re asking." Seeing Theraldine''s renewed conviction of bing a cksmith better than him, Valyr gave her a toothy grin. "Though I''m sure it''ll be a long time before you even be on par with me."


    "You..." ring daggers at Valyr in response to his words, Theraldine''s anger was cut short as she noticed her father making his way to where the two of them stayed.


    "I apologize for making the two of you wait for so long." Bitterly smiling as he waved at the two of them, it did not take long for Julian to stand in front of the two with a proud smile. "First and foremost, I just wanted to tell you that you two have done great in the forging duel. You two have definitely shown everyone the capabilities of the finest the cksmith Guild''s younger generation has to offer."


    "Especially you, Valyr." Looking at Valyr for a brief moment, Julian then shifted his gaze towards his daughter. "Apologies, Theraldine. Mind if you leave the two of us alone for a bit? We''ll talk about it at hometer."


    "Ah... alright then." Though slightly disappointed that she could not be included in the conversation, Theraldine faintly nodded, asking Valyr to add her to his friend list before they left.


    Ding!


    \[Theraldine Pyrrhia (Lvl. 40) is now your friend.]


    After making sure that the two of them were in each of their friend lists, it was only then did Theraldine finally leave Valyr and Julian off on their own, prompting the smile on Julian''s face to be reced with a stern expression.


    "Just like what I''ve let you experience earlier, I have a ton of questions to ask you, Valyr. Especially after taking a look at that artifact of yours," said Julian. "However, before all that..."


    "Let me just say that you''ve definitely done the cksmith Guild a great service this time around." Patting Valyr on the shoulders, Julian gave him a warm smile. "With what you''ve shown everyone, the cksmith Guild''s reputation in the kingdom is going to increase significantly."


    "Though, it would be more correct to say that Ylvar''s reputation as a cksmith would begin to increase significantly." Julian chuckled soon after. "It''s definitely a relief that you had your disguise skill activated. If not, I''m pretty certain all hell would break loose."


    "Aside from that, you''re now a legend in the making, Valyr," he continued, staring at Valyr in the eye. "As someone who has forged an artifact at the peak of Rank 2, you''re already considered to be an elite among the elite. In case you didn''t know, there are only a handful of people who have created artifacts of their own at the same level of strength at you, fewer if we''re talking about those at a lower ss rank."


    "Anyways, enoughpliments for now. I could go on all day and I still probably wouldn''t run out of things to say about your performance in this duel." Deciding to shift the topic, Julian''s expression became serious once more. "How about we move onto the questions I''ve been wanting to ask you all this time?"


    "First off..."


    "What kind of future did you see while making the artifact?"

 Chapter 476 What Lies Ahead

    "Huh?" At the very instant Valyr heard Julian''s question, the young man was left at aplete loss for words.


    "You don''t have to act so surprised," said Julian in response to the dumbfounded expression he received. "After all, I''m the only other person besides you that read through the description of the artifact you forged."


    "Ah..." Hearing those words, Valyr''s expression swiftly changed into that of realization, causing multiple thoughts to surface in his mind as he wondered what Julian''s true goal was in asking the question. "Are you perhaps asking about the future I saw in order to gain an idea on how to create the artifact?"


    "Originally, that was the thought I had in mind. After all, who wouldn''t want to forge an artifact of their own?" Julian faintly nodded, prompting a slight frown to appear on Valyr''s face. "However, after thinking about it for a bit more, I realized that the future you saw was just a reference you used to create the artifact you made.


    "If anything, you''ve shown everyone that attended the forging duel how to create an artifact, me included."


    "Of course, seeing it being made is still different from making it yourself. After all, for someone to even get close to creating an artifact in the first ce, one would need to have a ton of knowledge, experience, and skill in the field of cksmithing." By this point, the frown on Valyr''s face disappeared. Instead, a slightly curious expression took its ce.


    "Then... why are you asking about the future I saw?"


    "How could I not ask about the future, especially with what''s going on in the background?" Responding to Valyr''s question, Julian bitterly smiled. "Let us not beat around the bush here. I know you know what I want to know."


    ''I definitely do.'' Valyr inwardly nodded. ''But still...''


    ''Though introducing something like the Hammer of Beginnings a couple of years earlier has drastically changed the timeline, I''m certain that sharing this information will drastically change the timeline as well.'' Scratching the back of his head, the young man was conflicted on what to do.


    On one hand, if he kept the information regarding the future to himself, then there was a considerable chance that the timeline would still stay more or less the same, allowing him to respond urately and ordingly.


    However, if he were to share this information to Julian, though it would undoubtedly improve the human race''s position during the War of the Three Sovereignties, he did not know what kind of effect it would have in the long run.


    ''Wait... why am I even thinking about the repercussions?'' Fortunately, it did not take long for him to get his answer, gazing at Julian in the eyes. ''If I were afraid of change, then I shouldn''t have done anything since the beginning of my rebirth.''


    ''However, since I''ve made my moves and already changed a lot of things about the timeline... what difference would it really make to me if I were to change it some more?''


    "Haah..." Letting out a low yet slightly exasperated sigh, Valyr finally decided to speak about part of his past life to Julian. "Before I tell you about what I saw, would you mind swearing a mana oath to not speak of what I said to others?"


    "That''s..." Julian had a slightly conflicted expression on his face.


    "Though, if the other side were to swear a mana oath of their own to make sure this information does not leak out to those with malicious intent, that would also be fine." Hearing Valyr''s addendum to the oath, Julian''s expression quickly rxed as he nodded in agreement to the proposition.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    With the uses of the mana oath stated, Julian swiftly went through the steps of forming a mana oath with Valyr, causing his body to be briefly bathed in ambient mana before everything soon returned to normal. "Alright. Could you now tell me about the future you saw?"


    "So, before I begin..." Forming a barrier of mana around the two of them to make sure that no passerby could eavesdrop on their conversation, Valyr began to narrate the happenings he had experienced in his past life.


    At first, he talked about how the tensions between the humans and the orcs escted, turning into a full-scale war wherein both sides wished for their own side to be only side to remain standing. Hearing this, Julian nodded as if it were a matter of fact, talking about how this would eventually happen if nothing currently changed.


    However, instead of Valyr''s narration of the future ending there, he continued to talk about what happened after the full-scale war between the humans and orcs, telling Julian about how the elves got embroiled in the war as well, turning into a war that was fought all over Veldanyr for years.


    "The War of the Three Sovereignties..." Julian muttered to himself after Valyr was finished talking about what he saw in the future,mitting the name to memory. "You''re certain that this event would happen in the near future?"


    "If the war between the humans and the orcs continue to escte, then there''s a highly likely chance that it would still happen," said Valyr in response, prompting Julian''s face to turn solemn.


    "A future where each and every being in the world would be caught up in war..." Going over the various things Valyr said to him once more, Julian could not stop himself from letting out an exasperated sigh. "It seems our preparations are stillcking in many ways."


    "I''ll have to inform the others about this," said Julian not long after as he looked at Valyr. "Of course, I''ll make sure to have them go through a mana oath."


    "Aren''t you in any way suspicious that what I might be telling you about the future could be lies?" Valyr asked in response. "Do you really trust my words that easily?"


    "I don''t fully trust your words as of yet, so I''ll have to consult someone specializing in divination regarding the truth of your statements," replied Julian, only for him to confidently smile soon after. "However, if there''s anything I''m sure about, it''s the feeling that you won''t lie about something like this so easily."


    "I feel touched." Valyrughed in response, taking a look at the sky after that. "In any case, I should probably head back now\... unless if you still have something else to tell me."


    "Well, I actually do." Julian nodded in agreement. "However, since you and Theraldine have been forging for what''s basically the entire day at this point, juste here early in the morning."


    "Alright then." Nodding, Valyr began to make his way out of the cksmith Guild, dispelling the barrier of mana surrounding them as he waved farewell to Julian. "See you tomorrow, Julian."


    "Alright." Julian waved back. "See you tomorrow."

 Chapter 477 Revisiting Anadhar City

    By the time Valyr returned to the inn where he and Wells were staying, the two of them briefly talked about what the other side was doing the entire day. Unsurprisingly, Wells asked Valyr at some point if he was the guy many people were talking about that forged an artifact in the forging duel.


    In response, Valyr took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet and gave it to Wells to hold, whose eyes opened wide from shock. After all, from the very moment his hands touched the hammer, he instantly felt the power of the hammer coursing throughout his body, giving him the feeling as if he gained the ability to forge high-level equipment.


    Giving back the forging hammer to Valyr, the two of them talked for a bit more, eventually grabbing something to eat at a nearby restaurant after they felt their hunger calling for them.


    ...


    "I''m nning to head to Anadhar City tomorrow." Whist both Valyr and Wells were finally chowing down their respective dinners, Valyr said something to Wells all of a sudden.


    "What are you going to do there?" cing his utensils to the side, Wells looked at Valyr with a raised eyebrow. "Are you nning to meet up with my family, perhaps?"


    "Do you want me to?" asked Valyr in response.


    "Definitely not." Wells shook his head. "If anything, that''s thest thing I want you to do."


    "In any case, I''m not heading there to meet up with your family or anything." Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he understood his good friend''s train of thought, Valyr eventually told Wells his purpose in heading to Anadhar. "I''m just there to meet up with someone and im something I should''ve imed sometime ago."


    "Is that so?" Faintly nodding in response, Wells returned his attention to the meal he was eating. "In that case, have a safe travel."


    "As if I don''t already do that." Letting out a slight chuckle, Valyr returned to the meal he was eating as well. Eventually, the two of them finished their meals and returned to the inn, getting a good night''s sleep sometime after that.


    ...


    "I wonder what Julian wanted to tell me yesterday that he wanted toe this early in the morning." After going through his daily morning routine, Valyr eventually left the inn after upgrading the remaining unleveled skills he had to their max level, roaming the streets of Algerie Kingdom as he made his way to the cksmith Guild.


    Though, knowing that many people would probably be searching for the young man that dueled against Theraldine in forging yesterday, he changed his appearance to something that was different thanks to \[Enhanced Polymorph], allowing him to arrive at the guild''s entrance without any mishaps a few minutester.


    "You''re finally here," said Julian, quickly recognizing Valyr, even though thetter''s appearance had changed. "Come with me."


    "Alright?" Faintly nodding in response, Valyr began to follow behind Julian with a hint of confusion on his face, continuing to wonder what thetter wanted to talk about. Unsurprisingly, the two of them attracted the stares of a few people within the guild, considering that the Guildmaster was interacting with a young man.


    "What are we doing here?" Eventually, the two of them arrived in front of one of the counters made for the guild''s official members, prompting Valyr to ask Julian a question.


    "It''s to reward you, of course," said Julian in response, causing even more confusion to appear on Valyr''s face as he wondered why he was getting a reward in the first ce. Thankfully, Julian''s next words shed light on that exact answer.


    "As someone who has shown the ability to forge an artifact, it only makes sense that your position within the cksmith Guild should be adjusted ordingly," Julian told Valyr while grinning. "Give the attendant your badge."


    "Okay...?" Though he felt like everything that was happening so far felt a bit too sudden, Valyr did what he was told, giving his Core Member badge to the attendant before them. "Now that I think about it, hasn''t it only been a few days since you upgraded my rank to Core Member?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "If you showed me a few days ago that you had the ability to forge artifacts, then we wouldn''t have needed to go through this process all over again, no?" Saying these words in response, Julian put on a calm expression as he looked at the attendant.


    "With the power vested in me as the Guildmaster of this branch of the cksmith Guild, I now hereby dere that the rank of this member shall be increased to Legacy Core Member." Hearing these wordse out of Julian''s mouth, Valyr was left speechless.


    Aftering to terms with what Julian was doing for him, Valyr thought that his position would be upgraded to an Elite Core Member, perhaps a True Core Member if he were lucky.


    But a Legacy Core Member?


    ''Is this all because I''ve shown the ability to forge an artifact?'' Asking this question to himself, Valyr watched the attendant before them process the entire thing, with Julian mentioning to the attendant to give Valyr the Technology Points that came along with the position.


    "As you''ve already imed the 1,000 Technology Points thates with being a Core Member, you will only receive a total of 7,000 Technology Points. Congrattions on bing a Legacy Core Member." A couple of minutester, the attendant was finally finished processing everything, giving Valyr his new badge as a Legacy Core Member.


    Ding!


    \[Your previous rank \[Rank 2 ¡ª Core Member] has been improved to \[Rank 2 ¡ª Legacy Core Member]. Increase your rank or merit to improve your position.]


    \[You have received 7,000 Technology Points.]


    Comparing the design of his old Core Member badge to the new Legacy Core Member badge he had received, aside from the badge now being made out of solid gold, the Legacy Core Member badge had a ton of fine details on its surface, showcasing the impable craftsmanship that went into making it.


    Even the letters and numbers denoting Valyr''s ss rank and position seemed to have been finely carved, giving anyone who looked at it the feeling that the badge was pleasant to look at.


    "Are you going to do the same thing for Theraldine as well?" After pondering over how he would allocate the 7,000 Technology Points he had just received for a bit, Valyr posed a question to Julian as they headed to thetter''s private workshop.


    "I''ve already done it, actually," replied Julian. "Though the improvement to her position was not as drastic as yours, the amount of Technology Points she now has ess to will definitely help her out for certain."


    "Anyways, this was pretty much the reason why I wanted you toe to the guild this early," added Julian soon after. "You''re free to do whatever you want after this."


    "Free to do whatever I want, huh..." Muttering these words to himself, an idea gradually popped up into Valyr''s mind, causing a slight grin to appear on his face. "Say, would it be possible for me to use the guild''s Teleportation Hall?"


    "With your position as a Legacy Core Member, you would be able to use it at any time." Julian nodded, only to ask soon after, "Why? Where are you nning to head?"


    "Oh, you know." Valyr smiled. "I''m just going to head to Anadhar City."


    "...I see. Say, by another city, which city are you heading to specifically?"


    "..."

 Chapter 478 Continuing The Legacy

    Whoosh!


    "Well, that took me longer to exin that I''d expected." After exining to Julian that he was heading to a city named Anadhar and not some random city, which was the man''s initial thought, Valyr was finally able to head to the guild''s Teleportation Hall and teleport into the city, being greeted by a few people once he had arrived at the cksmith Guild''s branch.


    Leaving the cksmith Guild after he had informed the people there of his identity and his purpose in visiting the city, Valyr soon left the guild, roaming the streets of Anadhar City for a bit as a slight smile unknowingly crept up on his face.


    ''Though I''ve only been in this world for a bit over three months so far, a lot has definitely changed about me since thest time I''ve been to this ce.'' Muttering these words to himself, Valyr thought back to the time he and Wells had first arrived at this city, with thetter having to head to the manor due to his family affairs.


    On the other hand, he, who was Level 15 at the time, sought to obtain a couple of skills that allowed him to obtain the ss he currently have. Then again, he also obtained something that only a certain individual in the city offered, which was a skill that would allow him to passively increase his PER stat.


    Of course, Valyr did not obtain the skill from that certain individual just because he could obtain it along the way. Though the hyperfocus ability that came attached to the skill definitely helped him out in his forging, being one of the reasons why he had even gotten the skill in the first ce...


    That was not the main reason why he had gotten it.


    ''I guess I could finally unlock that advancement with the Technology Points I''ve gotten.'' Faintly scratching the back of his head as he headed towards the city''s entertainment district, Valyr thought about how he would distribute his Technology Points. ''I think I''ll have enough to max out everything up to the Ancient Age...''


    ''...and unlock the gun''s most rudimentary form, the firence.''


    With how Veldanyr''s setting was that of a medieval world with magic, it was understandable that the world would have ess to technologies that had been invented during the Middle Ages. In fact, it even had ess to technologies that only appeared atter ages, which was only made possible thanks to the existence of magic.


    However, with most of the world believing in the terrifying might of magic, the development of ranged weapons in the world only went up to the crossbow at most, relying on the heaven-defying strength one would obtain at the higher ranks in order to achieve incredible feats with such a crude mechanical weapon.


    "As far as I can remember, an event near the end of the first version would change the trajectory of development for Veldanyr," Valyr muttered to himself. "But for now, as long as I seed in creating the firence, I would instantly have an edge over everyone, considering that the closest cousin to it would be the cannon."


    "Then again, if I still have more Technology Points to spare, I could probably forge a matchlock instead." Chuckling at the thought, the young man continued to walk through the city, eventually arriving at the entertainment district a couple of minutester. Once there, he looked around in search for a certain building, smiling once he found the one.


    "I never thought I''d be back here at the Silver Gambling Den." Since he had arrived during the day, it was no surprise that the insides of the gambling den barely had any people inside it, with Valyr only being able to see staff moving around. "Then again, I never expected the skill to have a legacy attached to it."


    "Though, I wonder if it''s the same legacy I''m familiar with?" Pondering over the question that popped into his head for a bit, the young man soon made his way to the rear portion of the gambling den, appearing in front of the person who had aided him in meeting the certain individual he made contact with back then.


    "What brings you here to the Silver Gambling Den, sir?" Noticing that Valyr was looking at him, the man with light gray hair behind the counter took the initiative to start a conversation, feeling slightly intimidated from the aura the young man was giving off.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I just wanted to meet up with Jekyll," said Valyr in response, faintly smiling.


    "And what kind of business do you have with him, sir?" Feeling a bit of cold sweat forming on his back, the man with light gray hair continued to ask Valyr a few questions.


    In response, Valyr continued to maintain a faint smile. "Tell him that the one who inherited his legacy is here to continue it."


    "Ah..." Fortunately, after hearing those words, the man did not continue asking any more questions, nodding in response as he remained silent. After that, he turned around and entered the room behind the counter, only returning to appear in front of Valyr a couple of minutester.


    "The boss says that he''ll be with you shortly," said the man, prompting Valyr to nod in response. "He also told me that you could go on ahead through the curtain if you wanted to."


    "Hmm... I''ll just wait here for now." Mulling over the choice that he had been given, the young man decided to stay put for the meantime, knowing that his current appearance was drastically different from the one Jekyll was familiar with. If he entered and Jekyll mistook him for a stranger, then who knew what kind of mishaps would happen?


    "To be honest, I thought you''d take longer than I thought toe here." After loitering near the counter for a few minutes, a familiar voice to Valyr eventually resounded from behind the curtain, the origin of the voice revealing himself soon after.


    WIth a pleased smile, he told the man at the counter to head back for now, ordering him that he''d take over the counter for the meantime.


    "Wait a minute... you''re not Valyr." Though, just as he was expecting to see Valyr in front of him, Jekyll was instead greeted by a young man that had a drastically different appearance and aura from the young man he knew. Because of that...


    Whoosh!


    "You better tell me what affiliation you have with Valyr... or else." In less than an instant, Jekyll radiated a great amount of killing intent, making some of the people that were near the middle of the casino move closer to the front portion as they felt a great sense of fear all of a sudden.


    "Affiliation, huh." As for the one who took the brunt of most of the killing intent, Valyr smiled at Jekyll, who had a frown on his face all this time. However, that frown was swiftly turned into an expression of slight disbelief once the young man deactivated a portion of his disguise skill.


    Swoosh!


    "I guess... this would be my proof of affiliation, then?"

 Chapter 479 The Northern Star

    "Wait... what?" Seeing as the young man''s face changed into that of Valyr''s all of a sudden, Jekyll''s mouth went agape as he felt a bit of disbelief. Though, even after briefly shaking his head before looking at the young man in front of him for a bit more, that disbelief did not disappear. "Are you Valyr... or are you not?"


    "Haah..." Sighing as he bitterly smiled at Jekyll, Valyr continued to deactivate more and more portions of [Enhanced Polymorph], gradually returning his current appearance to what it was originally. By the time he radiated his original aura towards Jekyll, it was only then did everything click in thetter''s mind, his eyes widening in excitement.


    "Ah!" Julian eximed, pping himself on the forehead for being so stupid. "Now where and why the hell did you learn that?"


    "A skill book store is the answer to your where, and protecting my identity is the answer to your why," said Valyr in response. "If anything, it''s actually risky for me to reveal my original appearance to you here out in the open."


    "Hmm? And why would that be?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Julian crossed his arms as he slightly tilted his head in curiosity.


    "Hmm?" Not expecting that kind of answer from Jekyll, Valyr went silent for a bit as he recalled their interaction back when he met with the man before him for the first time.


    "Ah." Thankfully, it did not take long for him to realize what was going on, staring at Jekyll with a wry smile as he asked him, "Now that I think about it, I haven''t told you my full name yet, have I?"


    "And so have I. What''s wrong with that?" Jekyll raised his eyebrow, finding nothing wrong with not revealing their surnames.


    "Well, let''s just say that my surname would warrant the need for you to swear a mana oath to not disclose my current whereabouts."


    "That bad?" Hearing Valyr''s reply, Jekyll was left at a slight loss for words, now feeling even more curious as to what the young man''s surname was. "It couldn''t be bad that, ri¡ª"


    "Zeihardt." Whilst reactivating [Enhanced Polymorph], Valyr muttered out a name as he looked at Jekyll straight in the eyes. "My family name is Zeihardt."


    "Zeihardt... Valyr... wait..." Muttering out a couple of words for a bit as he gradually found his train of thought, everything eventually clicked once more in Jekyll''s mind as he turned to look at Valyr with immense shock written all over his face. "So, you''re telling me..."


    "...that the inheritor of my legacy is none other than the Herald of the Zeihardt n that''s been missing all this time?"


    "Shhh. Keep quiet." Sensing as if the man''s voice was getting a bit louder towards the end, Valyr ced his finger over Jekyll''s mouth, to which thetter quickly understood, apologizing not long after.


    "Let''s... head to the back for now and continue our conversation there." Taking in a couple of deep breaths to let the realization of who had inherited his legacy sink into his mind, Jekyll''s expression turned solemn as he beckoned for the young man to follow him, which he did.


    ...


    "Alright. I''ve asked my people to not disturb us for the meantime, as well as made sure that none of them would be able to snoop in on our conversation." After arriving at a part of the gambling den''s rear that was far away from prying eyes and ears, Jekyll let out a faint sigh of relief as he gestured for the young man to sit in front of him. "Though, just to make sure..."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, just as Valyr sat down on the chair in front of Jekyll, a barrier of mana swiftly surrounded the two of them as thetter swore a mana oath that made sure he would not divulge any information regarding their meeting, Valyr, or any other information rted to him.


    "I guess that''s more than enough preparation to make sure no one will found out that you''re here." Feeling the ambient mana that had enveloped his entire body gradually disappear now that he was done with the oath, Jekyll looked at Valyr with a rxed smile, who looked back at him with a hint of disbelief.


    "Haven''t you ever stopped to think that my words might be lies?" Valyr asked Jekyll, who responded back to him with a hint ofughter.


    "There are many things in life that would make me want to doubt, that is true." Jekyll nodded. "However, if there''s something in life that I fully trust in, then that would be my instincts and my life experience thus far."


    "With that being said, after you radiated your full aura to me earlier, I instantly sensed the part of your aura that made me think ''Ah, he''s definitely from the Zeihardt n''. Though, it was only after you mentioned your surname to be Zeihardt did I really think about it deeper," continued Jekyll.


    "And just because of that one fact, you went ahead and did all of this?" Valyr asked back.


    "Isn''t part of your Zeihardt n searching the corners of the world for your existence?" replied Jekyll, looking back at Valyr with slight confusion. "Isn''t that the reason why you decided to pick up a disguise skill?"


    "I mean... yeah, that is true." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Though, what I don''t get is..."


    "How I seem to know everything about you, even though I''m from a city that''s far away from the capital?" Hearing the words that came out of Jekyll''s mouth, Valyr went silent for a bit before nodding.


    "Well, that''s quite simple." Seeing that he had gained his attention, Jekyll faintly smiled. "That''s due to what I''ve gone through in the past."


    "Unless you''ve thought of me as someone who owned this gambling den all throughout my life, of course." At these words, Valyr''s expression quickly turned nk, prompting Jekyll to let out a sigh as he shook his head with a bitter smile.


    "Then again, I never mentioned my surname to you either," said Jekyll soon after. "We only know each other by our first names."


    "However, unlike you, who people mostly recognize by their name, I''m more recognized for the feat that I''ve done in the past." Hearing these words, Valyr looked at Jekyll with a raised eyebrow, wondering what feat the man would mention. Though, once the man had done so, Valyr was only left staring at him with his mouth wide open.


    "Have you ever heard of..."


    "The Northern Star?"

 Chapter 480 Beyond The Northern Star

    ''You''ve got to be kidding me, right?'' Listening to the question that Jekyll had asked him, Valyr could not help but feel a great amount of disbelief, scratching the back of his head in slight frustration.


    "Judging by your reaction, I guess you have." Noticing Valyr''s expression in response to his question, Jekyll could only chuckle in response, feeling a proud smile gradually creep up onto his lips. "It fills me with a bit of joy that someone like you has heard some of the things I''ve done in the past."


    ''Some of the things? If only you knew how much I know about you...'' Briefly shing a bitter smile at Jekyll''s words, Valyr still could not get over the fact the man in front of him, the man who he only thought of someone who''d give him [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], was actually the man he idolized during Greater Beyond''s first version.


    ''To think I would actually meet my idol here in person,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly. ''Then again, considering this knowledge, I''ve met him in my past life as well.''


    ''Fate truly works in mysterious ways.''


    Back in his past life, Valyr was told by some of his friends that he could get a passive skill that boosted his PER from a random NPC. During that time, the War of the Three Sovereignties had been dered officially over, which meant that all of the yers were now preparing themselves for Greater Beyond''s second version.


    Wanting to prepare for the second version, just like the others, he went ahead and made a visit to Anadhar to im the skill, only to be told that the number of people that had obtained the skill had already far exceeded his limit.


    Surprisingly, the one who told him that was none other than Jekyll, who not only had a head full of gray hair in his past life thanks to the aftereffects of the war, but also looked more emaciated to the Jekyll he was currently facing.


    Because of that, he truly believed that Jekyll was just a random NPC, being an owner of a gambling den that seemed to have a deeper past than what one would normally expect.


    However, after Jekyll mentioned that he was the Northern Star, that notion swiftly disappeared in Valyr''s mind, instead thinking that Jekyll giving a passive skill and legacy that ultimately boosted his PER stat was in line with his past.


    And his future for that matter.


    Now, one might ask... who really was the Northern Star?


    From what Valyr could remember, the Northern Star was considered a war hero by the human race, having defended multiple areas on his own during the worst of the monster tides.


    Aside from that, he yed a vital role in arge-scale war in the past that embroiled multiple human kingdoms and orc kingdoms, single-handedly turning the tides around that allowed the human race to keep the territory the orcs decided to im out of nowhere.


    Then again, that was not the reason why Valyr was incredibly shocked to hear the monikere out of Jekyll''s mouth. Instead, it was the connection the moniker Jekyll mentioned to another moniker Valyr grew up to idolize.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The Silver Death.


    ''One arrow to kill a foe, ten arrows to kill them all.'' With one of the Silver Death''s famous lines lingering in his mind, Valyr began to recall all of the feats the Silver Death had achieved in his past life, his expression basically glowing with excitement at this point.


    ''A war veteran that has decided to give up the life of battle after a life-changing incident, the Silver Death returned to the battlefield after the War of the Three Sovereignties erupted in full force.''


    ''With great speeds, the Silver Death became one of the many pirs of the human race during the time of war, killing all of the human race''s strongest foes with a single shot from his trusted bow and arrow.''


    ''Being at the forefront of the battlefield, it was said that many of those in the orc and elf races feared facing up against the Silver Death, iming that even if they hid from the man''s field of vision, they would still end up dying from his arrow.''


    ''One arrow for one life, ten arrows for ten lives, and a hundred arrows for a bloodbath.'' Realizing that Jekyll was looking at him with an expression that expressed his difort, Valyr took in a couple of deep breaths topose himself, retracting the feverish gaze that he unknowingly had on his face all this time.


    ''No matter what kind of foe he faced against in the battlefield, they would all fall on the ground after getting hit from a single shot of his bow and arrow.'' At this point, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he felt a smile gradually creep up onto his lips. ''That feat also became the basis of his ascension, transcending mortality and bing a Myth, which only made him a far scarier foe in the battlefield.''


    ''Seriously, I never expected to meet my past life''s idol in person.'' Repeating the words he had said earlier to himself, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before returning to his calm expression. ''He''s the entire reason why I decided to trek the path of ranged weapon development in the first ce.''


    ''Now that I think about it, if I''m fast enough, I might even get the special title and ss thates along with being the first to introduce guns into this world.'' Deciding to end his moment of reminiscing there, Valyr looked at Jekyll in the eyes with a calm smile as he opened his mouth, his words causing thetter to look at him with brief shock.


    "On behalf of the human race, thank you for your contribution during the Athereian-Khr''gyan War."


    "And here I thought I''d never hear another person mention that war again." Getting over the shock he felt from the words Valyr told him, Jekyll let out a peal ofughter as he looked at the young man with a slightly soft gaze. "I thought it was already a blessing to have a Herald of the Zeihardt n take up the mantle of my legacy."


    "But to think that same person would be so knowledgeable of my background as well." Jekyll continued to let outughter. "I am truly honored."


    "Anyways, I''m sure you didn''te here just for me to talk about my past as a fighter." Deciding to return to their original topic, Jekyll''s expression returned to the calm it originally had. "With that being said..."


    "How about we finally continue your inheritance of my legacy?"

 Chapter 481 Eyes Of A Hunter

    "I would definitely appreciate that." Valyr chuckled in response.


    "I like that you''re so straightforward." Nodding, Jekyll let out a bit of chuckle as well. After that, his expression became solemn. "Knowing that you''ve inherited the legacy of someone like me, what is your opinion of the skill I''ve given you?"


    "Are you talking about [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes]?" Seeing the man in front of him nod in response to the question, Valyr pondered over his answer for a bit before opening his mouth. "First of all, I would like to say that the increase to my perception is definitely helpful, though it doesn''t really change anything significant."


    "If anything, the part about [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] that would be considered truly useful would be the hyperfocus ability thates attached with it." Hearing these words, Jekyll nodded in agreement.


    Valyr continued, "Thanks to the hyperfocus ability, I could see things in far finer detail than they would normally have, which I tend to use often whenever I have to smoothen out imperfections in the items I forge."


    "Oh? You took a cksmithing subss?" Raising his eyebrow in slight surprise, Jekyll nodded in understanding. "Learning a production subss while having abat ss as your main will definitely help you out in the long run. In more ways than one at that."


    "It''s the other way around, though?" Wryly smiling, Valyr went ahead and rified to Jekyll that his production ss was actually his main ss. Unsurprisingly, that more than surprised the man, considering that the young man had achieved a level of strength exceeding the norm with a production ss as his main ss.


    "Well, that makes sense." Though, after Valyr mentioned that his cksmithing ss was of a high rarity, it did not take long for Jekyll to ept things, nodding a few times in understanding as he proceeded to ask the young man before him a question.


    "Since you often use the skill''s hyperfocus ability in forging, I won''t ask you anything about the ability from that perspective," said Jekyll to Valyr. "However, have you tried using the hyperfocus ability inbat before?"


    "I... have not?" Pondering over the question for a bit, Valyr ultimately shook his head in response.


    "You''re missing out on quite a lot if that''s the case," replied Jekyll, slightly grinning as he looked at Valyr. "From a cksmith''s perspective, the hyperfocus ability allows you to see imperfections on items."


    "Uh huh." Valyr nodded in agreement.


    "Then, from a gambler''s perspective, the hyperfocus ability would allow you to see the dealer''s tricks and sleight of hand, giving you higher chances of winning."


    "That makes sense."


    "Now, if you were to give such an ability to a fighter, what would they see?" Asking this question to the young man, Jekyll looked at Valyr with a calm smile, waiting for him to respond.


    "Hmm..." Scratching the back of his head for a bit as he thought over the question, as if a switch had been flicked on in his mind, an answer arose to the surface of Valyr''s mind as he responded.


    "Would they be able to see... weak spots?"


    "Exactly." Jekyll nodded while grinning. "As I am currently an owner of a gambling den, I''ve portrayed this skill of mine as a skill that would allow potential gamblers to gain an edge over theirpetitors."


    "However, the true nature and power of this skill does not lie in gambling."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "It lies in hunting." At these words, the edge around Jekyll''s irises turned a faint red as he began to intently stare at Valyr.


    In less than an instant, Valyr felt like all of his weaknesses had been exposed in front of Jekyll, making him think that if Jekyll decided to make a move on him at this instant, he would have no way to retaliate.


    "Do you see what I mean now?" Retracting his gaze from Valyr, Jekyll let out a bit ofughter, to which Valyr responded with a nod and awkward chuckle of his own.


    "I really thought I was going to die there," said Valyr, to which Jekyll nodded in agreement.


    "It''s a type of side effect thates alongside the eyes I use. Though, the intimidation it instills into enemies is generally a good thing."


    "Anyways..." Taking in a deep breath, Jekyll stood up from his chair and proceeded to head to a deeper part within the gambling den, beckoning for Valyr to follow him. "How about we change those eyes you have that''s more suited for gambling..."


    "...to one that''s more suited for hunting?"


    ...


    "Well, getting here took a bit longer than I thought." Eventually arriving at the ce where he wanted to bring Valyr, Jekyll let out a low sigh of relief as he looked at the young man behind him.


    "Out of all the things I''d expected a gambling den to have, a training ground would definitely be one of thest things I''d expect." Gazing at the sight before them, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words.


    In terms of area, the training ground before them spanned at least ten timesrger than the portion of the den that was dedicated for gambling. Normally, a gambling den covering such an area would stick out like a sore thumb in the streets of Anadhar City.


    Thus, Jekyll had the training ground be made underground.


    "Alright, let''s begin the process of transforming those eyes of yours." Walking a bit into the gravel floor of the training ground, Jekyll made his way to a nearby weapon rack and grabbed a wooden staff.


    Getting a feel for its bnce and weight, he then faintly nodded to himself before proceeding to do a series of basic movements with the staff. Naturally, this sight left Valyr watching with his mouth wide open, not expecting the man famed for his usage of the bow and arrow to be well-versed in the staff as well.


    "Huuu..." Letting out a drawn-out sigh as he held the staff horizontally, Jekyll then called for Valyr''s attention as he began to instruct the young man on what to do.


    "For the first step of this transformation process, what you have to do..."


    Thwack!


    "...isnd a single hit on my body."

 Chapter 482 To Discern, To Discover, To Exploit

    Chapter 482 To Discern, To Discover, To Exploit


    "You''ve got to be joking." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr looked at the man before him in slight disbelief, the sight of Jekyll mming the staff on himself at full strength unharmed bringing shivers to his body.


    Though his current level of strength would definitely cause quite a few people to turn their heads to look back at him, having the ability to fight against peak Rank 3 monsters, and even monsters at the early levels of Rank 4...


    That level of strength was nowhere near enough for him to surmount the gap that existed between him and Jekyll.


    At least... not yet.


    "You do know how much of a gap we have in strength, right?" Looking at Jekyll with a bitter smile, he asked this question to the man, hoping that thetter knew what he meant by his words.


    "Of course I do." Jekyll nodded, a slight yful smile creeping up on his face. "How about this? The goal doesn''t change, but I can neither retaliate against your hits, nor defend against the hits you send at me toplete the goal."


    "That doesn''t really help out much, to be honest," said Valyr in response, thinking of the change from multiple perspectives.


    Though Jekyll restricted himself from fighting or defending against Valyr''s attacks definitely leveled the ying field somewhat, there was still the massive problem of having to ovee a difference in stats that came along with the ranks.


    Naturally, it did not help out that Jekyll was already at theter levels of Rank 5 ording to the aura Valyr sensed from him, though it wouldn''t be surprising if he was already at the peak.


    Sure, with his main ss being Mythic grade, as well as having ess to quite a decent number of buffing skills, Valyr would probably be able to match Jekyll in terms of agility and dexterity at certain situations.


    However, that certainly wouldn''t be the case once Jekyll started using buffs of his own.


    "Do we really have to do this?" Considering that there was still a small chance for Jekyll to retaliate against him due to natural instinct, Valyr decided to try and ask the man for alternatives to truly increase his chances, even though his chances ofnding a hit on Jekyll weren''t actually that low.


    "Well, if you think about it, it''s a good way for me to gauge your currentbat strength," said Jekyll in response, slightly shrugging his shoulders as he leaned on the wooden staff. "But since you''re so adamant..."


    "Alright, fine." Letting out a low sigh of defeat, Jekyll shifted his gaze towards a line of training dummies that were positioned a few dozen meters away from where they stood. "But before I talk about that, are you seriously not that confident innding a hit on me? Even with the handicap I''ve given you?"


    "I mean... I believe that my chances ofnding at least a single hit on you wouldn''t be low," replied Valyr.


    "Then, why...?"


    ''Because it would be a pain in the ass to chase you around, only for my efforts to end up being useless.'' Clearing his throat at the thought, Valyr decided to twist his thoughts a fair bit, giving Jekyll after my eyes have transformed?"


    "Now you''ve piqued my interest." Grinning as he looked at Valyr, an answer that caused him to let out a peal ofughter.


    "Well... wouldn''t it be interesting for me to do something like that after my eyes have transformed?"


    "Now you''ve piqued my interest." Grinning as he looked at Valyr, Jekyll soon used his staff as a pointing stick, diverting the young man''s gaze towards the line of training dummies he looked at earlier.


    "Since that''s how you want it, might as well go along with it."


    "Though it would have been faster for the transformation to happen if we were to do what I suggested earlier, this current method I''ll be telling you isn''t that half-bad either. After all, with it, you''d be able to understand the workings of the skill in greater detail," said Jekyll, his expression returning to its earlier calm.


    "Anyways, through this process, I''m sure you''ll begin to appreciate the gradual transformation that happens to your eyes."


    "At first, you will only discern. Then, from that discernment, you''ll begin to discover things that you can use to your advantage."


    "And once you find those advantages..." Gripping tightly on the staff, Jekyll briefly radiated a bit of killing intent. "You exploit and kill."


    "Only at that moment will your eyes be truly considered the eyes of a hunter." Taking in a deep breath, Jekyll moved to the side, giving Valyr the freedom to move deeper into the training ground.


    "For your first step, what you have to do is to get used to the feeling of discerning slight imperfections on the training dummies you see ahead of you," Jekyll told Valyr. "After that, we transition from discernment to discovery, using these slight imperfections to peer deeper into the dummies and discover their weak spots. Only then can we move onto the next step."


    "Go on now." After saying those words, Jekyll sat on the ground cross-legged, crossing his arms as he turned to look at the training dummies. Seeing this, Valyr looked at the man for a bit before proceeding to make his way to the training dummies, activating [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] the moment he was in front of one of them.


    Whoosh!


    As if his pupils had dted, Valyr was able to look at the training dummy in far greater detail than he would normally be able to, noticing the various materials that were used in creating it in the first ce.


    "Thick tes of metal, strong leather sourced from monsters, a ton of hay..." Continuing to look at the training dummy in front of him, the young man began to wonder what Jekyll wanted him to find out.


    Sure, he had been told that he needed to discern the slight imperfections on the training dummies and use them to discover their weak spots, but Valyr had no clue as to how the two were rted.


    "There''s a couple of areas where the thread holding the pieces of leather are loose, and there are some areas where the hay isn''t aspactpared to the others..." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head. "How the heck would these imperfections show me this dummy''s weak spots? In the first ce, does it even have a weak spot?"


    Taking in a few deep breaths, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit, realizing that he was hasty to find results in something that he had initially suggested. Letting out a low sigh, the young man opened his eyes and tried once more, utilizing the imperfections he had already discerned to find more and more imperfections on the training dummy.


    And it was at that moment...


    ...that everything started to click.

 Chapter 483 To Discover, To Exploit, To Kill

    Chapter 483 To Discover, To Exploit, To Kill


    Whoosh!


    As if all of the imperfections Valyr had noticed on the training dummy so far decided to show him the answer to his query, the young man soon noticed that almost all of the imperfections on the dummy seemingly had a connection between them, the origin of which was an imperfection that seemed to affect more than what meets the eye.


    However, that imperfection was not the only one of its kind.


    Soon enough, more and more imperfections that were the cause of other surface-level imperfections gradually began to pop up the longer Valyr looked at the dummy, only for him to find out that those deeper-level imperfections were connected as well, tracing their origins back to an imperfection that would affect even more imperfections than before.


    "Is this what Jekyll meant by finding its weak spots?" Valyr muttered to himself, unsure of what he was discovering was right or not.


    As someone who had been a veteran of the battlefield in his past life, it went without saying that Valyr had brewed his own type ofbat sense for things like these, taking advantage of openings and weak spots in order to dish out more damage to his foes.


    Though, as he continued to think about thisbat sense while continuing to stare at the training dummy before him, he eventually came to realize that thisbat sense he had brewed only worked effectively against those that were humans just like him, or monsters that were made up of flesh and blood.


    Of course, hisbat sense also epassed a couple of beings that were beyond the scope of what he hade to known as his boundaries. However, those beings were mostly monsters that had ringly obvious weak spots, or perhaps weak spots that woulde to reveal themselves in due time.


    With that in mind, the fact that he was finding weak spots in what was basically an inanimate object seemed absurd to the young man, even though his findings so far and the sight given to him by [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] more than confirmed that such an idea was not absurd at all.


    "Huuu..." Continuing to gaze at the training dummy even further, Valyr soon began to find even more of the deeper imperfections on the training dummy, all of which were unsurprisingly connected once more, leading him to what looked to be the origin of all imperfections on the training dummy.


    "A hairline crack on the surface of the wooden pole..." Taking in a deep breath as he came to discover this imperfection, Valyr eventually noticed that the skill had actually marked this incredibly deep imperfection with a dark red circle, something that did not disappear even when he turned his head away and looked back at it.


    Getting the feeling that this dark red circle was the exact thing Jekyll was waiting for him to discover, Valyr turned to look at the man seated a fair distance away from him. "Hey, Jekyll. Have I be sessful in finding a weak spot once a dark red circle appears in my vision?"


    "Eh?" With his eyes briefly widening in disbelief from Valyr''s words, Jekyll stood up and moved closer to where the young man was. Once there, he took a look at the training dummy in front of Valyr before returning to the young man. "What weak spot did you find in the training dummy before you?"


    "I noticed that a hairline crack on the dummy''s wooden pole seemed to be the root cause for many of the training dummy''s imperfections," said Valyr in response, prompting Jekyll to finally look at the young man with utter shock.


    "And how long has it been since you began looking for the dummy''s weak spots? Like 15 minutes or so?" Letting out a sigh filled with disbelief, Jekyll looked at Valyr for a bit before turning his head towards the ceiling, pinching his forehead in the process. "Within that short amount of time, you''ve already discovered a weak spot?"


    "Man, the Herald of the Zeihardt n is really no joke." Saying these words, Jekyll let out a chuckle, which soon turned into full-blownughter.


    ''I guess I can finally say I understand what others feel after someone who inherits your legacy does it faster than you,'' thought Jekyll whileughing. ''It feels... great.''


    With a smile adorning his face, he then asked Valyr to find the weak spots on the training dummies besides the one he had been looking at all this time.


    Though it took him quite some time to go through theyers of imperfections on the training dummies, Valyr was eventually able to identify a weak spot on the other training dummies, prompting Jekyll to let outughter that increasingly grew louder the more weak spots the young man discovered.


    "Alright." Letting out a faint sigh of relief, Jekyll called for Valyr''s attention. "Even though it takes you a while to find a weak spot in the training dummies, it''s still plenty fast at your level. Plus, as long as you finish second step, searching for weak spots bes second nature to you anyway."


    "With that being said, let''s move on to the next step," said Jekyll soon after, prompting Valyr to nod in response. "As I''ve mentioned before, the first step involves discerning imperfections and using those imperfections to discover weak spots."


    "Now, for the second step, what I want you to do is to skip the discernment part and head straight to discovering those weak spots directly," he continued. "Then, once you do that, look through the various weak spots you''ve discovered and search for the weak spot amongst those weak spots that seem to contain more importance than the others."


    "In other words, the vital spot," Jekyll told Valyr, which thettermitted to memory. "Once you find one of the training dummy''s vital spots, not only will you have made searching for weak spots second nature..."


    "You will have also proved yourself worthy to inherit the second part of my legacy... no."


    "The true beginning of my legacy."

 Chapter 484 To Exploit, To Kill, To Dominate

    "Take as much time as you need. After all, you''ve only spent a little toplete the first step." After saying these words, Jekyll returned to where he previously sat, looking in Valyr''s direction as he watched the man go through the process ofpleting the second step.


    "Haah..." Looking at Jekyll for a bit to see if the man would tell him anything else, Valyr eventually returned his focus to the row of training dummies before him, letting out a faint sigh as he recalled the words Jekyll had mentioned regarding the second step. "First is to skip the discernment part and head straight to the discovering part."


    "In other words, I have to find a way to expedite the process of discernment in a way that I would be able to discover more weak spots in the same amount of time." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr thought about how he was going to go about doing so.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to obtain his answer, bitterly smiling as he thought to himself, ''There''s no way to go about it other than to do it over and over again.''


    "Huuu..." With the thought in mind, Valyr activated the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], returning his vision back to one where he would be able to discover the imperfections that the training dummies inherently had.


    Just like before, he gradually weaved through the variousyers of imperfections on the training dummy in order to eventually discover one of its weak spots. However, unlike before, he took note of the imperfections that he discovered, as well as the ones that were simr among them.


    With that, he wondered if omitting them would allow him to expedite the process, deciding to test it out on the training dummy beside the one he had just identified.


    Whoosh!


    Once more, he weaved through theyers of imperfections on the new training dummy to find its weak spots. Though, this time around, he began to attempt omit discerning some of the imperfections in the process, hoping that he would discover the weak spot faster.


    Unfortunately, instead of taking less time to discover the weak spot, he took more time to discover it, having to find imperfections that were more ringly obvious before even being able to pinpoint the location of the weak spot.


    Though the result of his first attempt at omitting part of the discernment process was considered a failure, Valyr did not give up, deciding to try the idea once more on the other training dummies that made up the row.


    One by one, he would try a different approach in omitting part of the discernment process, though the core of it still remained more or less simr to the first idea he originally had. Surprisingly, he began to make a bit of progress with this approach, gradually finding more and more areas where he could omit the discernment process and arrive at the weak spot earlier.


    "Hmm... I feel like I was omitting more than I could during my first attempt, hence why it took longer to discover the weak spotpared to the attempt that had no omission at all." Gaining more and more information on how he could optimize the discernment process, Valyr decided to time his next attempt at finding the weak spot, which now unsurprisingly took a considerably lower amount of time to discover.


    Briefly taking delight in the fact that his thought process was finally heading in the right direction, Valyr swiftly returned to work, knowing that there was still a long way to go before he would be able to find multiple weak spots within the same amount of time it originally took him to find a single one.


    "I would probably need to reduce the time for discernment down to around a fifth or a sixth of what it originally was before I could proceed onto attempts involving the search for vital spots," said Valyr to himself, only for him to continue whittling down the time it took for him to discover weak spots.


    In what originally took him a couple of minutes to discern, Valyr was eventually able to reduce the time down to a minute. Then, after taking a bit more time, he began to take less than a minute, even reaching the 30 second mark at some point.


    Unknowingly, four hours had passed since Valyr began his quest for greater efficiency.


    ...<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    With how much time had passed since Valyr began, the young man had finally gotten a thorough idea of what imperfections he could omit and what he couldn''t, staring at the training dummy before him with a solemn gaze.


    Whoosh!


    "The metal shard at the back of the training dummy." Within a few seconds, Valyr swiftly went through the discernment process and found one of the dummy''s weak spot, letting out a long sigh of relief as he could finally move onto the next part of the second step.


    Searching through the weak spots to find the vital spot.


    "Huuu..." Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh to calm his nerves down, Valyr pushed the hyperfocus ability of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to its limits once more, relying on the information he had gathered thus far to find a weak spot within a few seconds.


    However, unlike before, where he would move onto another training dummy to find its weak spot, his eyes remained affixed on the current training dummy, moving his attention away from the dark red circle he had discovered for now as he aimed to make more dark red circles appear within his vision.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With how much Valyr had refined his discernment process, it did not take long for the second weak spot to appear within the young man''s field of vision... then the third... the fourth... the fifth...


    In just a couple of minutes, over a dozen weak spots were quickly discovered by Valyr on the training dummy before him, giving him the feeling that making a move against even one of those would inflict a great amount of damage on the training dummy.


    "Haah..." Taking yet another deep breath to not let his nerves get the better of him, Valyr then used the weak spots he had discovered to find the weak spot that had more importance amongst the others, the vital spot Jekyll had mentioned earlier.


    "Not that one... not that one either..." Combing through the weak spots one by one, Valyr gradually began to notice that the weak spots could actually be ssified into three categories: weak spots that only affected the surface-level imperfections, weak spots that also affected another weak spot, and weak spots that affected multiple weak spots.


    Finally knowing what he had to look for, Valyr continued discovering more and more weak spots on training dummy, keeping an eye for weak spots that fell under the third category he had discovered.


    Fortunately, after a few more minutes of intense searching, the young man had found the weak spot he was looking for, its marking within his vision now a pitch-ck circle.


    Ding!


    [You have gained insights on using ''Gambler''s Discerning Eyes'' to a higher degree of proficiency.]


    [The skill ''Gambler''s Discerning Eyes'' has shown signs of awakening.]

 Chapter 485 The Gaze Of A Hunter

    Taking a look at the notifications he had obtained for a bit, Valyr went ahead and closed the notification screen that popped up before proceeding to move onto the training dummy to his right.


    After that, he activated [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] once more, delving through the various weak spots that had appeared within his sights before eventually noticing a pitch-ck circle appear in his vision yet again.


    Discovering things that he could omit during the process toe across a vital spot faster, the young man then moved onto another training dummy, making sure that he got the hang of searching throughyers uponyers of weak spots to find that vital spot.


    Only after he had done one round of vital spot searching on all of the training dummies did Valyr finally turn around to Jekyll, slightly smiling as he opened his mouth. "Jekyll, the vital spots appear like a dark circle in your field of vision, right?"


    Whoosh!


    Unlike before, where he somewhat leisurely made his way to where Valyr was after the young man had discovered his first weak spot, Jekyll stood up at great speeds and dashed to where thetter stood, his expression that of curiosity and shock.


    "Did you sessfully find a vital spot?" Asking this question to the young man, Jekyll''s irises gained a crimson ring around them as he searched for the vital spots that existed in the training dummy in front of Valyr.


    Faintly nodding in response at the man, Valyr returned his gaze to the dummy before him as he opened his mouth. "There''s a loose strand of hay on the outer regions of the training dummy. If I pull on it even slightly, almost everything on the dummy will break into pieces and fall to the ground."


    "..." Though Jekyll listened to the young man''s words in silence, it did not stop the man from experiencing a great amount of disbelief and shock.


    After all, what Valyr told him was the same weak spot he had found on the training dummy!


    "Ahem." Taking a few breaths topose himself, Jekyll cleared his throat before pointing at the training dummy to Valyr''s right. "Try and find the vital spot of that dummy."


    "Alright." Nodding in response, Valyr moved onto the training dummy to his right and proceeded to look at it with [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] active, eventually finding the vital spot Jekyll had discovered.


    At this point, one would prompt the other side to stop, having made certain that the other side had already achieved the feat the one had tasked the other side to do. However, whether it was spurred on by immense disbelief or immense curiosity regarding Valyr''s capabilities, Jekyll asked the young man to continue searching through the vital spots of the training dummies.


    Naturally, Valyr delivered.


    Going through the row of training dummies yet again, Valyr found its vital spots while keeping in mind what he could omit during the process, allowing each consecutive attempt of his to slightly reduce the time it took for him to find it.


    In fact, it was solely because of that reason that by the time he and Jekyll had arrived at thest training dummy Jekyll had yet to confirm, Valyr''s speed at finding the vital spot was only a couple seconds slower than Jekyll''s, leaving thetter with his mouth wide open as he had no choice but to ept reality at this point.


    "You really found all of their vital spots..." muttered Jekyll in slight disbelief, gazing at the young man in front of him, who looked back at him with a faint yet confident smile.


    "Is there any other step after this?" asked Valyr, maintaining the faint smile that adorned his face.


    "There is..." Jekyll nodded. "However, that step is something that could only be achieved once you''ve started toprehend Intents and Forces."


    "Aside from that, you''ve already more than proved yourself worthy of inheriting the true beginning of my legacy." At these words, Jekyll shed a bitter smile. "The fact that you''ve figured out the first and second step within a quarter of a day... now I''m left wondering whether it would have been faster if you chose to try andnd a hit on me instead."


    "You''ve definitely made my efforts seem worthless, Valyr." Jekyll let out a chuckle. "However, it also makes me hopeful that you might be able to enhance this skill to a higher level once you inherit the other remaining parts of my legacy."


    "Anyways, enough talks about the future. For now, follow me." Realizing that he had gone slightly out of topic, Jekyll quickly steered it back to their original topic as he gestured for Valyr to follow him.


    With that, the two of them headed deeper into the training ground, eventually finding themselves in a secluded space within the training ground that looked like it had been left untouched for many years.


    ...


    "You know, if I count the number of people that have been to this ce, that number would actually fit in one hand." Closing the door behind them, Jekyll decided to make some small talk as he asked Valyr to sit down at the center.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Around three, I presume?" Looking around the space they had entered, which only had the most basic of amenities would one possibly need for seclusion, Valyr made his way to the center and sat down.


    "Only one, actually." Raising his pointer finger with a slight smile, Jekyll made his way to where Valyr sat, standing behind him as he took in a few deep breaths. "That one being you, of course."


    "In any case, let''s finally start the process."


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, Jekyll released the entirety of his aura, epassing the entire space as Valyr immediately felt that he had arrived in the center of a battlefield, a ce where only constant fighting existed.


    "Push your eyes to their limits." Just as he had felt a bit of killing intent well up within him, the young man heard Jekyll''s voice echo from behind him, prompting him to regain his focus as he did what he was told.


    "[Gambler''s Discerning Eyes]."


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment he had activated the skill, Valyr''s vision underwent through a massive shift, allowing him to view the space around him in greater detail. However, due to the aura Jekyll was emanating, illusions of the battlefield gradually manifested in front of him, his sight now ovepping with a wastnd filled with the blood and bodies of thousands of humans.


    "Now, peer through the illusions and find its core. Find its vital spot." Hearing Jekyll''s calm voice resound from behind him once more, Valyr took in a deep breath and nodded, utilizing what he had learned earlier in order to achieve what Jekyll tasked him to do.


    Though it took quite some time for Valyr to start discovering the weak spots within the illusions as he had gotten used to identifying training dummies all this time, that all changed once he found his first weak spot.


    Whoosh!


    Snowballing from there, all of the experience and knowledge Valyr had umted in using the skill was shown in its entire glory, with the sight in front of him now littered with hundreds of dark red circles.


    Continuing to look through the illusion as more and more dark red circles entered his field of vision, the young man eventually found the spot where all of the weak spots seemed to be connected, being situated at a spot that was no more than half a meter away from where he sat.


    "The vital spot..." As he extended out his finger to touch it, Valyr''s aura seemed to have undergone a slight change, something that did not go unnoticed under Jekyll''s senses.


    Within seconds, the aura Valyr radiated now exuded a sense of pressure that would only arise when one was facing up against a far stronger being than oneself. Not only that, but the aura also gave one the feeling of despair, making one feel a sense of hopelessness when up against someone like Valyr, especially when time went on.


    ''It''s awakening...'' Inwardly chuckling at the changes Valyr was undergoing through, Jekyll watched as the young man finally make contact with the vital spot he had seen, popping the illusion that had surrounded him all this time as Jekyll''s aura disappeared in the process.


    Swoosh!


    As if it was waiting for Valyr to touch the vital spot, Valyr''s irises, with \[Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] still activated, now gained a crimson ring around him, instantly enhancing his abilities to look at his surroundings in far greater detail.


    Concurrently, as he felt his field of vision undergo a massive shift due to this change, a series of notifications went off in his mind.


    Ding!


    [Your insights on using ''Gambler''s Discerning Eyes'' to greater proficiency have reached a higher level, allowing the shackles binding the skill to finally break, returning the skill to its original form.]


    [The skill ''Gambler''s Discerning Eyes'' has returned and awakened to its original form, evolving to Epic grade.]


    [The skill ''Gambler''s Discerning Eyes'' has evolved to ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes'' due to the change in grade.]

 Chapter 486 The Deadliest Of Weak Spots

    Deciding to deactivate the newly evolved skill for the meantime, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before opening them, the crimson rings surrounding his irises earlier now gone. After that, he stood up and walked around for a bit, gazing at entirety of the secluded space the two of them were in as he took a couple of deep breaths.


    "It wears off after some time," said Jekyll all of a sudden, his words aimed towards Valyr. "As long as you rest for a couple of minutes, you''ll be able to use the skill again no problem."


    "Anyways, what do you think of your first time using the skill?" Asking this question, Jekyll smiled.


    "Incredibly disorientating," Valyr said in response, his pace slowing down a bit. "Of course, that was only for a while. After all, the evolution to my eyes came all of a sudden."


    "Though, if I were to find a word that would sum up what I really felt while using those eyes..." Valyr rubbed his chin for a bit. "It would be the word... overwhelming."


    "Overwhelming, huh." Mulling over the word Valyr gave him, Jekyll eventually nodded in agreement as he slightly smiled. "I can definitely understand what you mean by that."


    "With [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], though the hyperfocus ability does give you a greater amount of detail on what you''re looking at, it would be more urate to say that the ability just allows you to zoom in on what was already there," said Jekyll, to which Valyr nodded in understanding.


    "On the other hand, the evolution of that skill, the skill that I consider the true start of my legacy... now that operates in a different way." At these words, Jekyll''s expression became solemn. "Not only does it allow you to zoom in on what was already there, it also gives you the ability to see beyond what''s already there."


    "It allows you to see things that are invisible to the naked eye, tiny connections between things that no normal person would ever think of looking at... the intangible." Jekyll let out a faint sigh. "It is through seeing the intangible can you discover the weak spots of things and beings more easily, even going so far as to discover their vital spots."


    "Speaking of weak spots and vital spots, I should remind you about something before I forget." Hearing these words from Jekyll, Valyr stopped in his tracks and looked at him.


    "Though you''ve evolved those eyes of yours to be the eyes of a hunter, it only bes more useful the more often you use it," Jekyll told Valyr. "What I mean by that is... have you noticed how the knowhow you''ve umted while looking at the dummies didn''t help you out that much when you began to look for the illusion''s vital spot?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded, understanding what Jekyll was trying to say. "In other words, I should familiarize my vision with more beings and items in order to make sure that something like that doesn''t happen in the future, right?"


    "You''ve pretty much hit the mark." Jekyll grinned. "Of course, there are still times where you''ll be up against some creature that goes beyond mere familiarization, but familiarization would still help you out in the long run."


    "Also, note that there are generally hundreds to thousands of weak spots on beings and items, while the number of vital spots you might find would be one or two at most." Seeing as they''ve fulfilled their task within this secluded space, Jekyll made his way outside the space, urging Valyr to follow him.


    "However, as I''ve said earlier, there are still times where you''re up against creatures that go beyond normal levels of understanding." Making their way back to the stairway that would lead them back to the gambling den proper, Jekyll continued to talk about the nuances of the skill. "In those cases, it wouldn''t be surprising to find dozens, even hundreds of vital spots on them."


    "But... if you decide to dig through those vital spots and find the sole spot connecting all of them together, you would have stumbled across a spot that would spell certain death to the one fighting against you."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Of course, because it has that kind of effect on the creature, I''ve decided to call it the fatal spot." At these words, Jekyll briefly let out a snicker. "I''ll leave it up to you to see what kind of effects hitting these spots on your foes are like."


    "For now, let''s just say that hitting them would make for some interesting situations."


    ...


    "And... we''re here." Standing in front of the stairway that would lead them back to the gambling den, Jekyll stopped in his tracks as he looked at Valyr with a proud smile. "Just like how it took a while for you to inherit this part of my legacy, the next part of my legacy will only be avable once you''veprehended an Intent of your own."


    "With that, this is where we''ll have to part ways." Giving Valyr a nod filled with gratitude, Jekyll went ahead and began to make his way up the stairs. However, after taking a few steps, he stopped and looked back, only to see that Valyr hadn''t moved at all.


    "The sun is about to set, you know," said Jekyll, a slight frown appearing on his face. "Though I expected you to take longer toprehend this part of my legacy, I would''ve still stopped you midway and asked you toe back the next day once the sun began to set."


    "That''s not really a problem," replied Valyr, yfully smiling. "I don''t really have any other ce to be at the moment."


    "But, do you remember the answer I gave you earlier after I requested for you to change the method of obtaining your legacy?"


    "The answer you gave me earlier..." Hearing those words, Jekyll furrowed his brows as he traced their conversation up to when they first arrived at the training ground.


    "Don''t tell me..." Finally realizing what Valyr meant by his words, the man''s eyes slightly widened in surprise.


    "How about it? Weren''t you curious to see what level of strength I''ve reached?" Letting out a faint chuckle, Valyr made his way back to the training ground, taunting Jekyll with a wave of his hands.


    "You brat..." Slowly shaking his head, Jekyll let out a long sigh. Though, not long after, a wide grin adorned his face as he headed deeper into the training ground as well.


    "I won''t hold back just because you''re a Herald, you know."


    "Don''t worry. I wasn''t expecting you to."

 Chapter 487 A Deadly Game Of Chase

    Thud!


    Pushing the wooden staff he had picked up once more into the ground, Jekyll gestured for Valyr to distance himself a couple meters of away from him, which thetter promptly did.


    "Alright." With the two nodding at one another to signify that both of them were ready, Jekyll had a slight grin on his face as he opened his mouth. "Before we truly go ahead with this, let me ask you one more time."


    "Are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked, focusing all of his attention on Valyr''s face.


    "Well, I did say earlier that it would be more interesting if we did this once my eyes have transformed." Chuckling, Valyr nodded. "Since that''s the case, I won''t go back on what I''ve said. I am a man of my word, after all."


    "If you say so," said Jekyll in response, a grin still adorning his face.


    "Anyways, to make this more even, feel free to choose any weapon you want to use from the weapon rack there." After that, Jekyll briefly looked at the spear behind Valyr''s back before pointing at the weapon rack where he had gotten his wooden staff, causing Valyr to look at it for a bit as he thought about the side effect that came with the curse.


    ''I definitely wouldn''t be able to use my spear... or any spear for that matter,'' thought Valyr to himself as he recalled what had happened in the Shadow ne, appearing in front of the weapon rack sometimeter. Rubbing his chin for a bit as he continued to look, he eventually decided to pick up a wooden longsword, only for a frown to appear on his face.


    "Mngh..." Letting out a faint groan, Valyr felt a wave of pain wash over his body as his back began to glow a faint crimson. Not long after, small strands of crimson energy stemming from the mark on his back began to course through his body, all of which made their way to the wooden longsword he was holding.


    "Haah..." Having gone through the process once, Valyr had seemed to build up some sort of resistance to the process, causing him to let out a sigh of relief as the pain began to subside.


    However, most of his attention was still fixated on the wooden longsword before him, which now took on a tinge of crimson, its aesthetic now appearing to be slightly inspired by the form of spiders.


    ''Guess the side effect applies to any physical weapon.'' Reminding himself that he would need to alleviate or remove the curse at some point even though he unexpectedly gained something from it, Valyr ced the transformed longsword to the side as he began to make his way back where he previously stood.


    "You''re not gonna use a weapon?" Seeing that the young man had not chosen a weapon from the rack, Jekyll looked at the spear on Valyr''s back once more before deciding to ask a question out of curiosity.


    "It would be more correct to say I''m discouraged from using one." In response, Valyr shed a bitter smile at the man before pointing at the longsword he had inadvertently transformed.


    "Huh." Furrowing his brows for a bit, Jekyll went ahead and grabbed the longsword Valyr had picked up earlier, only to begin feeling that he was slowly losing his strength.


    Frowning, he put the longsword down and used his identification skill to get a better look at what was going on.


    "A curse, huh." Surprisingly, Jekyll got to the crux of the matter, finally realizing why Valyr did not choose to wield the blood red spear on his back. "Whoever cast this curse on you is definitely ruthless."


    "You can definitely say that again." Hearing Jekyll''s words, Valyr wryly smiled, watching as the former returned to his spot from earlier.


    "So, will you be relying on hand-to-handbat during our small game? Or will you be relying on something else?" Seeing as there seemed to be no other way around Valyr''s restriction on weapons, Jekyll decided to ask the young man what he nned on doing.


    "I guess I''ll use magic." As he replied to the question, Valyr conjured a small bolt out of mana, prompting Jekyll to nod in response.


    "Alright then." Feeling a bit more at ease with Valyr having ess to another form ofbat, Jekyll began to go through the rules and conditions of their small game one more time. "Once again, the goal is for you tond a hit on me. As long as you do that, it would be considered your win."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Naturally, since you declined my suggestion from earlier, I am allowed to fight back against any attempts at hitting me, as well as defend against any attempts at me." At these words, Jekyll let out a slightly mischievous chuckle.


    "Of course, to somewhat even out the ying field, you''re allowed to use any of your skills at your own discretion, whether it be buffing skills, illusion skills, stealth skills and so on," Jekyll continued. "On the other hand, I am not allowed to use any of my skills. However, I am allowed to use the Intent I''veprehended."


    "Now that I think about it, the condition for you winning is more along the lines of younding a hit on me, or you forcing me to use a skill," said Jekyll not long after. "Actually... that seems more fair."


    "Let''s go with that, then." Making up his mind on what the conditions of Valyr''s win were, Jekyll soon began to count the two of them down, allowing them to prepare themselves for what was basically a deadly game of chase.


    "3... 2... 1..."


    "Go!"


    "\[Limit Break]!"


    "\[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]!"


    "\[Intermediate Wind Magic Style: Cascading Tempest]!"


    Whoosh!


    As if the young man was waiting for the go signal all this time, Valyr swiftly activated a series of buffing skills, enhancing his stats by a significant degree to even out the ying field even further. Not long after, he dashed towards Jekyll as he began to conjure des of crimson me on both hands, hoping to catch thetter off guard.


    "Color me surprised." Jekyll chuckled, stepping back a couple of times to dodge the des of crimson me Valyr had thrown at him. "If I didn''t know any better, I would''ve thought you were already at Rank 4, perhaps even the middle of Rank 4."


    "Thanks for the...pliment!" Giving Jekyll a slightly maniacal grin in response, Valyr began to throw more and more des of crimson me at the man, hoping to overwhelm the former to the point he would be forced to use a skill.


    "So, that''s how you''re going to go about it, eh?" Faintly smiling as he deflected a considerable portion of the des heading his way with his wooden staff, Jekyll''s expression gradually turned calm as his aura slowly began to disappear.


    "Well, let me just remind you that..."


    "I am free to use my Intent."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Intent of Lightning."

 Chapter 488 Through The Lightning And The Flames

    Swoosh!


    Crackle! Crackle!


    In less than an instant, Jekyll''s demeanor underwent through a massive change as his eyes seemed to glow a bright cyan. Apanying it was an aura that made one feel like one had stepped into the center of a thunderstorm, which was what Valyr currently felt as Jekyll activated his Intent of Lightning.


    "Better prepare yourself." As Jekyll said these words, a few small sparks of lightning flickered around his eyes, making Valyr''s expression turn solemn as he heeded those words wisely. After all, he was up against a Rank 5 ss holder, someone using his Intent at that.


    "I''ll do my best to control myself." Watching as the young man before him got into a stance that would allow him to dodge to the best of his abilities, Jekyll began to imbue the energy of his Intent into the wooden staff he held.


    "Though... I don''t know if my lightning will do the same." Wielding the wooden staff as if it were a sword, he then bent his knees before charging towards Valyr with all of his strength, shing out in a horizontal arc at the very moment he was in front of the young man.


    Whoosh!


    "Woah!" Hastily ducking under the extended staff as he made sure to keep his bnce, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief as he stood up once more. However, rather than continue to remain at ease...


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    As if his opponent had lost control of himself, Jekyll began to send a barrage of attacks towards the young man, all of which were imbued with the Intent of Lightning. Knowing that even a single hit of thatnding on him would prove fatal, Valyr summoned the entirety of his strength as he sidestepped and dodged all of them.


    "Didn''t you say you would only fight back or defend against any attempts at hitting you?" Finding an opportunity amidst the barrage of attacks Jekyll was sending him, Valyr swiftly increased the distance separating the two of them as he frowned. "I haven''t even sent an attack your way yet!"


    "Did I say that earlier?" With his eyes still having sparks flickering around its periphery, Jekyll grinned at Valyr before letting out a chuckle. "Well... just consider all of this a retaliation to your attempts atnding a hit on me earlier."


    "Well, that ain''t fair." Bitterly smiling at Jekyll''s response, Valyr decided to take matters into his own hands, sending a few ming tornadoes his opponent''s way. "Then again, there was no such thing as fairness ever since we started this."


    "I''m d you caught on quickly." Laughing in response to Valyr''s words, Jekyll maneuvered around the ming tornadoes the young man sent towards him, rely on his Intent of Lightning to improve his movement speed.


    However, just as he thought that he had passed through all of the ming tornadoes, he was soon met by a barrage of orbs made out of earth and water, all of whichbined in midair to send a ton of mud flying his way.


    Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!


    "Now this is what I consider ruthless." Dodging a few of the orbs of mud that fell down his way, Jekyll eventually became tired of staying passive, imbuing his wooden staff once more with his Intent of Lightning. After that, he swiped away all of the orbs of mud that barred his way, carving out a path that would directly lead him to Valyr.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]." Naturally, with how constrained he felt the previous time Jekyll sent out a barrage of attacks at him, Valyr was not going to stay still, moving around the training ground as he activated the skill he had just evolved not long ago.


    Whoosh!


    "Mngh..." Though the amount of information he obtained through the skill far exceeded what he previously obtained through [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], Valyr was able to endure the overwhelming feeling the skill gave him, knowing that the only thing stopping him from getting used to the feeling was time.


    ''Time to look for some ways to turn the tides to my favor.'' With his irises gaining a crimson ring around them, the young man began to focus his sights on Jekyll as he continued to run around the training ground, weaving his way through the small imperfections he could find on the man''s body.


    "So, you actually have that kind of problem, huh." Unsurprisingly, with his familiarity with the human body thanks to his pastbat style, it did not take long for him to find a weak spot he could exploit, sending out a few des of crimson mes Jekyll''s way.


    "Now, wouldn''t it be a shame if I made it worse?"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "He''s fast." As he continued to chase Valyr around the training ground, Jekyll was forced to slow down as he noticed a series of des heading his way.


    However, rather than all of them attempting to make contact with any part of his body, the des instead embedded themselves into the ground in front of Jekyll, forming a narrow path that the man found odd at first.


    Then again, it did not take long for Jekyll to realize what Valyr was doing after crossing the path of des, feeling the joints on his ankles tighten up from the maneuver.


    "Finally using your new vision to your advantage, huh?" Slightly frowning at first, this frown soon turned into a grin as Jekyll took note of the crimson rings surrounding Valyr''s irises. "And here I thought we''d be chasing one another without relying on them at all."


    "But since you''ve decided to use it... two can y it that game." Activating his own version of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], a couple of crimson rings swiftly surrounded Jekyll''s irises as he began to search for any hints of a weak spot on Valyr''s body.


    "Hyah!" Unsurprisingly, with his greater experience inbat and using the skill in general, it did not take much time for the man to find a weak spot to exploit, sending out a couple des of energy as he shed out with the wooden staff.


    "[Crimson ze]!" Having noticed these des of energy, Valyr sent out a couple of fireballs to intercept them, only for them to cut through the fireballs as if they were nothing.


    "Ah, crap!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 489 We Carry On

    "Ah..." Only realizing the strength he had put into his attack as the des of energy cut through Valyr''s fireballs, Jekyll''s pupils narrowed as he felt a bit of concern towards the young man''s condition. "I didn''t severely injure him... did I?"


    "Haah... haah... haah..." Fortunately, after a few seconds of silence, Jekyll heard the sounds of strained breathing echoing from where the young man previously stood, anxiously waiting to see Valyr''s condition as he fixated his gaze in the sound''s general direction.


    "You almost killed me, you know?" By the time the dust had settled, which had been stirred up by the des of energy he had sent, Jekyll was greeted by the sight of a slightly injured Valyr, his body now sporting a fewcerations on his arms and upper torso.


    Though, as he was wearing his Nascent Wyvern Armor, thesecerations only went through the scales making up the armor''s outeryer at most, with the blunt force from the des doing most of the damage on the young man.


    "I know you''re enjoying the game of chase we''re doing, but don''t you think you went a bit too far there?" Frowning, Valyr looked at Jekyll just as thetter had let out a faint sigh of relief, only for him to let out a sigh of his own soon after.


    Although it seemed as if the des of energy had made full contact with Valyr''s body after it had cut through the fireballs he had sent out to intercept it, as the one who had tobat against it, Valyr knew that it wasn''t the case.


    At the very instant he cursed at the moment he noticed the des cut through the couple orbs of crimson me he had sent out, he swiftly activated [Intermediate Wind Maniption] to its fullest, hoping to create a gust of wind strong enough to slow down the speed of the des.


    Sadly, the decrease in speed only amounted to a few percent at most. However, that was more than enough for the young man to distance himself a bit further from the des as he then sent out a barrage of attacks using [Intermediate Earth Magic Style].


    Having to cut through tons of earth, the power that was contained in the des of energy began to diminish bit by bit. If not for the fact that he had run out of mana after having to use it wantonly to save himself, there probably wouldn''t be any remnant energy from the des that would have collided with his armor.


    ''Intents are scary,'' Hearing Jekyll apologize to him that he went a bit too far, Valyr could not help but shudder at the strength the man''s Intent gave him. After all, a normal attack from Jekyll imbued with Intent was more than enough to kill someone him, an anomaly among Rank 2 ss holders.


    ''After the inheritance, I should evolve to Rank 3 and get my hands on an Intent as quickly as possible.'' Being reminded of the might Intents gave a person after having witnessed it once more, Valyr made a mental reminder that he made sure to not forget as he returned his attention back to reality.


    "Should we continue?" Feeling a bit guilty from the fact that he had almost killed his inheritor, as well as a genius that would possibly be renowned throughout the world in the future, Jekyll''s will to continue their game of chase had reduced to nothing, looking at Valyr with a slightly apologetic gaze.


    "Well, it would be a shame if our game ended without a clear winner," said Valyr in response, moving closer to the man. "Then again, with how you''re giving me the feeling that you want to end it here, it''s not like it would be right to force you to continue either."


    "Oh no. I actually don''t have a problem with continuing." Hearing that Valyr was fine continuing their game of chase, Jekyll looked at him with slightly widened eyes. "It''s just that... I fear that I might end up doing the same thing again."


    "If that happens, then you better help me out in stopping it at the very least," replied Valyr, hoping to lighten the mood with his words.


    "...yeah, I was actually pretty stupid not to dispel that." Thankfully, the young man''s words had worked its charm, causing Jekyll to let out a chuckle.


    "So... ready for round two?" Giving Jekyll some time to think over things, Valyr eventually offered to continue their game of chase after waiting for a couple of minutes.


    "Yeah. Thanks." Nodding in response, Jekyll began to distance himself from Valyr as he told the man to prepare himself.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Whoosh!


    After Jekyll gave another sign that signalled the continuation of their game of chase, Valyr activated all of his buffing skills once more, allowing him to close the gap between them within seconds.


    "Intent of Lightning!" With his eyes shing a bright cyan once more, Jekyll imbued his wooden staff with the energy of his Intent before shing out in a cross, forcing Valyr to dispel the magic spell he was conjuring as he distanced himself from the man once more.


    "You know... it''s starting to be kind of annoying that none of my attacks have had any effect on you." After dodging a couple more attacks Jekyll had sent his way, Valyr said this to his opponent.


    "Well, it''s probably because I have an Intent," said Jekyll in response, moving his wooden staff to the side. "On second thought, it''s definitely because I have an Intent."


    "You could surmount the gap in our stats with buffing skills, but having ess to an Intent is something you can''t surmount that easily," he continued. "Of course, if you were Rank 3 and not Rank 2, things would be different."


    "I''d probably still lose." Valyr bitterly smiled, deciding to grab the blood red spear behind his back. "After all, I wouldn''t have had much time to practice with my Intent."


    "Wait... don''t you have a curse that stops you from using weapons?" Noticing that Valyr was grabbing the spear behind his back, Jekyll instantly felt an odd sense of unease all of a sudden.


    "To be more exact, it''s a curse that discourages me from using weapons," said Valyr in response. "In any case, since I don''t have an Intent of my own that would fight against yours, I''ve decided to use something else instead."


    "And that would be...?"


    "An overwhelminglyrge skill."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]!"


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]!"

 Chapter 490 Forced To Go All Out

    Whoosh!


    Summoning pure Shadow Energy from the small ck mass near his heart, Valyr had the dark energy course through his body, ending up at the tip of his blood red spear as a wave of Shadow Energy soon manifested in front of him.


    Spanning a height and width of a few meters at first, the wave swiftly grew in size as it made its way to where Jekyll stood, spanning over tens of meters within seconds.


    "Well, that ain''t fair." Saying these words to himself as his expression grew solemn, Jekyll eventually let out a faint chuckle as he realized he had basically said the same thing Valyr said earlier during the first portion of their game of chase.


    "There''s no such thing as fairness." Naturally, Valyr picked up on Jekyll''s words, grinning as he wondered what thetter would do to defend against his attack.


    Even though his control over magic and the strength of his magic spells had grownrge enough for him to be able to use it as a mainbat style, the techniques he could ess through [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] were still the most destructive techniques he had in his arsenal.


    With that in mind, it was no surprise that Valyr went ck-jawed when he saw the wave of Shadow Energy suddenly split apart into two, making the young man feel as if he had witnessed someone part the seas in half.


    Imbuing a great portion of his Intent into the wooden staff, Jekyll was able to split Valyr''s skill, relying on the several weak spots he had found through his unique eyes as he exerted a great portion of his strength.


    "Haah... haah..." Though only a bit of sweat formed around his forehead, the man knew that if the wave were toe into contact with him, just like how Valyr would have been killed by the des of energy sent out, he would end up bing severely, if not mortally wounded.


    "That... definitely caught me off guard," said Jekyll after he had caught his breath, revealing a mocking smile to Valyr. "However, I was still able to defend against it."


    "Are you seriously still at the peak of Rank 2?" he added not long after. "With that kind ofbat strength, I would have even mistaken you for someone at the peak of Rank 4 if we were out in the battlefield."


    "I don''t really have any reason to lie to you," replied Valyr, smiling as he took the man''s words as apliment. "If anything, I owe it all to the main ss I currently have."


    "Speaking of which, you might be able to defend against one of those skills..." Not long after, this smile turned into a slightly malevolent grin as Valyr continued to wield the spear, only to jump into the air and summon his Shadow Energy once more.


    "But how about four?"


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    Whoosh!


    Once again, a wave of dark energy appeared before Jekyll, causing his expression to turn solemn as he pushed his eyes to the limit in hopes of finding a weak spot to exploit. However, just as he was about to make a move against the wave before him, another wave of dark energy appeared to his side, seemingly moving him into a corner.


    "I think this might be the strongest attack I''ll ever muster up for the meantime." Ignoring the fact that his strength continued to decrease as he wielded the spear, Valyr swiftly ran to the best of his abilities, utilizing \[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to find areas that he could exploit before sending out another \[Tide of the Dark Night].


    With that, Jekyll was eventually boxed in by four waves of dark energy, forcing the solemn expression to turn slightly grim as the number of weak spots in his vision surprisingly began to disappear the closer they got.


    "Mmh..." Letting out a low groan at how it was taking him so long to find a way out, Jekyll pushed the gears in his mind to their limits, turning them madly as he began to imbue his Intent of Lightning into his wooden staff.


    "There!" Eventually, just as the four waves were about ten meters away from him, Jekyll found a vital spot that he could exploit, putting all of his strength into it so that he could force his way through the dark waves and escape.


    Unfortunately...


    "[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!" As if he was waiting for the man to find the vital spot all this time, Valyr swiftly breathed arge wave of fire in the general area where Jekyll hoped to break through. Surprisingly, this move from the young man caused the vital spot the man was aiming for to disappear, forcing him to find another one before he was hit by the waves.


    "Agh! Damn it!" Now somewhat annoyed that he was forced to find a way out again, Jekyll decided to end things once and for all, circting his mana and his Intent of Lightning into the wooden staff as he began to thrust the staff in every direction.


    "[Wrath of the Lightning Hunter]!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "[Ster Oblivion]!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Within a couple seconds, Jekyll sent out over hundreds of strikes towards the waves of dark energy surrounding him, dismantling the energy forming them bit by bit.


    Unsurprisingly, with his mana and his Intent working in tandem, the Shadow Energy fueling the waves were no match for it, causing all of them to disintegrate as particles of light and dark briefly covered the training ground.


    "..." Feeling a hint of fear from possibly being hit by one of the strikes Jekyll sent out, Valyr swiftly distanced himself from the man as his eyes glistened with awe, taking in the sight before him in its entirety.


    After all, in the world of Veldanyr, it was rare for those at Rank 5 and above to make a move. Therefore, the young man cherished this moment before him as he not only witnessed one of the peak powers retaliated against his attacks, he witnessed his idol and his inspiration retaliate against his attacks.


    "Fuck me... I am never going to suggest ying a game with a monster like him ever again." Letting out a long sigh as he dropped the wooden staff to the ground, Jekyll looked at his surroundings, eventually noticing Valyr standing a few dozen meters away from where he was.


    Recalling what he had done at the very end of his attempts at defending against Valyr''s attack, a bitter smile appeared on Jekyll''s face as he made his way towards the young man. "For someone at the peak of Rank 2, it almost feels unreal for me to say that you have the capabilities to severely injure a Rank 5 ss holder, possibly kill them even."


    "In any case, since I used a skill to defend against your attack, I consider it as my loss," said Jekyll,ughing not long after. "Once youprehend your own Intent, perhaps we could do this once more, but with me being less restricted."


    "Well, with all things considered, if you were truly serious and went all out, my chances of winning would have been zero," said Valyr in response, smiling as he enjoyed the game he yed with Jekyll... even if he almost died at one point. "If anything, this just gives me more reason to continue honing my strength."


    "As you should, really." Jekyll grinned. "Though it may seem like I''m not in the know since I stay here at Anadhar, I already know about the orc outbreak happening in Algerie. With that, the greatest reassurance you could have when all hell breaks loose is the strength you''ve cultivated thus far."


    "After all, unlike some people, it won''t betray you."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind." Seeing as he now truly had no more reason to stay around the gambling den, Valyr decided to finally head back to Algerie, cing his spear behind his back as he went up the stairway, with Jekyll following behind him not long after.


    ...


    "Once again, let me remind you that the next part of my legacy can only be obtained once youprehended your own Intent." With the sky already dark, Jekyll and Valyr bade their farewells near the gambling den''s entrance. "Of course, you''re free to experiment with the skill if you want. You mighte across something about it that would not need an Intent at all."


    "It''ll be a while before I get around to doing that," said Valyr in response, wryly smiling. "I''m currently preparing for something, actually. Obtaining the second part of your legacy was part of that preparation."


    "You don''t have to tell me what you''re preparing for," replied Jekyll, gesturing Valyr that he could leave at any time. "You''ve already told me more than enough after you''ve revealed your identity to me."


    "Alright then." Deciding that he should really head back to Algerie in preparation for the small tournament that was happening in the next couple of days, Valyr finally waved goodbye at the man, only to stop in his tracks not long after. "Now that I think about it, I''ve told you my name, but you haven''t told me yours."


    "Does it really make any difference?" Jekyll let out a bit ofughter as he eventually obliged. "Fine, fine. But I''ll only repeat it just once."


    "Jekyll Endheid. A Count of the Aste Region, and a member of the Imperial Endheid n."


    "Of course, it''d be better for you to know me as the owner of the Silver Gambling Den." Grinning, he then urged Valyr to finally leave. "Alright, go. Now get out of my sight."


    "As you wish, Sir Endheid."


    "Bah! Don''t get used to greeting me like that. Sounds stupid."

 Chapter 491 Forging Once More

    Algerie Kingdom.


    "Finally¡­ I finally got my hands on a private workshop." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as the attendant working with him had confirmed his request, Valyr soon made his way through the hallways of the cksmith Guild, eventually finding himself in a corridor lined to the brim with simr-looking workshops.


    After having finished his task back at Anadhar, Valyr did not hesitate to use the cksmith Guild''s Teleportation Hall to teleport back, using his authority as a Legacy Core Member to get the teleportation circles started even if it was already nighttime.


    By the time he had returned to the inn, it was alreadyte in the night, with Wells already having fallen asleep. With that, he decided not to wake up the man as he ordered a light meal to satiate his hunger.


    Once he had eaten his fill, he then headed to his portion of the room and proceeded to fall asleep on his bed, recuperating the physical and mental energy he had expended in Anadhar.


    After a few hours had passed and he had woken up, he then went through his daily routine and made his way to the cksmith Guild, telling himself that the day tomorrow was an important day. After all, it would be the first time he would meet the other candidates also participating in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    "I should start forging some stuff instead of admiring this ce." Recalling that Julian had stopped by earlier to inform him that he had something to tell him, Valyr quickly fired up the mana furnace near the back of the workshop, ordering a few sets of materials from the guild with the help of an attendant soon after.


    Thanks to his position as a Legacy Core Member, the amount he paid to obtain the materials he asked for was significantly lower than it normally was, causing a content grin to appear on his face as he looked at the pile of materials he had gotten with the remaining money in his money pouch.


    "As long as I make as much equipment out of these materials as possible and make sure that they''re of decently high rarity and quality, I''ll make more than what I spent to buy the materials to make them." With his money pouch now devoid of the money it used to hold, Valyr swiftly took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet and began to forge equipment with great gusto.


    "Hmm... weapons would probably sell more nowadays, considering that people would be preparing for the worst to happen regarding the outbreak." Pondering over what type of equipment he would forge, it did not take long for the young man to have an idea in mind, partitioning the amount he would use per equipment in the process to maximize his gains.


    Nevertheless, with how eager he was to be forging once more, and how he already had tons of experience doing the same thing, the forging process had already begun long before he had rified what he was going to do, chucking in a great number of materials into the furnace in preparation for what was toe next.


    "Now that I think about it, I should have gotten some attributed materials to make elemental weapons." Deciding to familiarize himself with the mechanics of his forging hammer whilst he waited for the materials to get up to temperature, a thought popped up into the young man''s head all of a sudden.


    "Then again, the difference in stats between the two is negligible, even more so if I take the Hammer of Beginnings into consideration." Continuing to go through his thoughts in a mutter, Valyr eventually grabbed a couple of materials out of the furnace and ced it onto the anvil, seeing that they were ready for forging.


    Raising his forging hammer up in the air, he then began to hammer the materials down, shaping it into the rough forms of the weapons he wished to create. "Huh. Now that I think about it, I still haven''t taken a look at the title I got from the forging duel."


    "Identify [Forger of Artifacts]."


    Ding!


    Trusting his muscle memory to take control over most of the forging process for the meantime, Valyr soon spared a bit of his attention towards the screen that appeared before him, intently reading through the contents written on it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Forger of Artifacts] (Title)<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Rarity: Mythic


    Countless cksmiths have forged items and equipment that have been used by the masses for ages, while few among them have forged items and equipment that have been recognized by the masses for their superior quality.


    However,pared to these people, only a select few have attained a level of forging that transcends normality, allowing them to forge items that would be recognized and revered by people throughout history, its properties unforgettable to those that have seen and wielded it. Though these items may have been called multiple names throughout history, there only exists one name that unites them all.


    Artifacts.


    As someone who has sessfully forged an Artifact of their own, you have included yourself into the ranks of these legendary beings, your works now easily recognizable even to the youngest of humans.


    Effects:


    > Allows the title holder to gain an intrinsic understanding regarding the process of forging Artifacts


    > Allows the title holder to gain a greater understanding of materials and items rted to forging Artifacts


    > Increase the title holder''spatibility with Artifacts


    > Increases the base stat of any equipment forged by the title holder by 5%


    > Reduces the time it takes for the title holder to forge equipment by 15%


    > Allows the title holder to gainary Reputation for any item forged or any Artifact forged above Epic grade (gainedary Reputation depends on feat and rarity achieved)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Wait a second... so, if I''m getting this right, any equipment I forge from now on will be 10% better than it already is?" Slightly frowning as he tried to understand the effects of the title in detail, Valyr began to think out loud once more. "Does that mean that even if I put in minimum effort, my equipment would still be considered better than those made by other people?"


    "Well¡­ with all things considered, this is a good thing. Not only from the perspective of profit, but also from the perspective of my future ns." Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he ended his train of thought, the thought of the forging hammer''s effects soon popped up into Valyr''s mind, causing him to slightly shudder regarding its possibilities.


    "Speaking of which, I should probably take a look at [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] as well, considering that I''m going to be using it while forging." Closing the screen that he just brought up, Valyr was about tomand the system to bring up another screen in front of him...


    Only to be interrupted once a familiar being had entered his workshop.


    "Mind if I interrupt you for a bit?"

 Chapter 492 Small Talk

    "If I told you I was busy, what would''ve you done?" Hearing the question asked at him, Valyr joked as he let out a chuckle.


    "Of course, I would''ve just forced my way in." In response, the man that entered his workshopughed as well. "It''s not like you can stop me from entering parts of the guild that I currently lead over."


    "Well¡­ all jokes aside, what brings you to the workshop, Julian?" Returning his attention to the weapon he was forging, Valyr went ahead and asked the man a question. "You told me earlier that you had something to tell me."


    Seeing that the young man looked to be in the middle of forging something, Julian softly nodded to himself as he decided to be brief. "Well, aside from checking up on you and taking a look at what you''re forging, I just wanted to know if you''re prepared for the tournament against the other candidates tomorrow."


    "As you can see, I''m as prepared as I could ever be," said Valyr in response, briefly ncing at Julian with a slightly sarcastic smile before returning to the anvil. "Of course, if you want to me answer that honestly, then I''d say that there are still some things I wished I could''ve prepared in advance, but it doesn''t really matter much."


    "If anything, I''ll get to those things after the tournament instead." As these words came out of Valyr''s mouth, the young man thought about upgrading his Nascent Wyvern Armor up another rarity in preparation for his journey into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Though it was already considered an Epic grade armor set by the system, which was already plenty strong to many people, Valyr still felt that the strength of the armor set wasn''t enough in a way, especially with how he was going to enter an inheritance where he had no idea what lied inside.


    Of course, this thought arose after he thought about trying to increase his strength even further before the inheritance began. With how he was not allowed to evolve to Rank 3 andprehend his own Intent, he instead decided to check out other avenues of increasing his strength, upgrading his equipment being one of them.


    ''Now that I think about it, I should go grab some passive stat boosting skills from the Boundless Skill Pavilion before the tournament as well, especially with how much XP I still have.'' Thinking about other things he could do after the tournament, Valyr eventually created a checklist he would follow once everything was done.


    "So, no morest minute preparations or anything of the sort?" Nodding in response to Valyr''s words, Julian asked once more to be certain.


    "None at all," replied Valyr.


    "Unless¡­ if you consider stocking up on health and mana potions ast minute preparation." Activating [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] in tandem, the young man then put all of his focus onto the piece he was forging, hoping to iron out as much of the imperfections on the weapon as possible.


    Unsurprisingly, with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] being a massive improvement over [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], the amount of imperfections he could remove through thebination of the two skills was far greater than ever before, allowing him to achieve a greater level of cohesion and harmony amongst the materials.


    In fact, because of how Jekyll had trained him to use [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] as a way to look for weak spots and vital spots, simr spots had began to unknowingly appear on the equipment he was forging, prompting him to focus on those spots as he slowly but surely finished his first weapon of the day.


    ''Am I really watching a Rank 2 cksmith forge a weapon?'' Noticing the crimson rings surrounding Valyr''s irises as he was stunned silent with how quick and efficient the young man was, Julian went ahead and picked up the weapon Valyr had just finished forging.


    Schwing!


    With the weapon being a simple-looking shortsword, Julian was left at a slight loss for words once he heard the sword make a ringing sound just after moving it slightly. With his expression bing more and more solemn as the sword continued to ring while moving it around, he eventually used his identification skill to take a look at its properties, only to be left at an even greater loss for words.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shortsword of Beginnings] (Level 35)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Attack: 419 - 698<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Forging Quality: Exceptional


    A strong de forged by a truly prodigious cksmith using considerably crude materials, this shortsword has been imbued with the strength of the artifact ''Hammer of Beginnings'', allowing its properties to beparable to equipment forged by cksmiths renowned for their equipment quality.


    In fact, if one took a long look at it, one would eventually feel like they were returning to the forge, feeling the heat and pressure the sword had to endure to be the de it currently was.


    <Innate Skill 1: Return to Origin - Allows the user to sh out vertically, dealing damage equivalent to 250% of the user''s Attack stat. Can be charged to twice its initial cost for greater damage, maxing out at a 100% increase of its original power. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 1,000 MP.>


    Remarks: Even those at higher ranks would be jealous of owning this weapon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "This..." Looking between the shortsword he was holding and Valyr in disbelief, Julian found it hard to believe that such a young man would be able to forge such a powerful weapon in his eyes. "Did you really make this...?"


    "You just watched me forge the sword, right?" Valyr looked at Julian with a slightly raised eyebrow, faintly wondering if he heard wrong.


    "I mean, yes... but..." Swinging the sword a couple more times, Julian eventually put the shortsword back where it was. Then, he looked at the young man before him with a slightly conflicted expression. "Are you seriously selling this through the cksmith Guild''s channels?"


    "I did tell you back when we met up earlier that I wouldn''t have rented a workshop if not for that reason." Taking a look at the materials that remained in the furnace, Valyr soon grabbed another batch of materials as he began to work on his second weapon of the day. "Of course, I could rely on your goodwill, but even that can only go so far."


    "In any case, I''m nning to use the money I obtain from selling these to get my hands on a special type of material," added Valyr. "Pretty sure goodwill won''t get me that kind of thing that easily."


    "What kind of item are you nning to get anyway?" Asking this question in response, Julian looked at the young man with a slight frown, finding the young man''s words an insult. However, once he found out what the young man was looking for, this expression quickly disappeared as he became silent.


    "See what I mean now?" Somewhat amused by Julian''s reaction, Valyr eventually returned his attention to the weapon he was currently forging, finishing the second weapon within half an hour.


    "You know¡­ even with my authority, procuring something like that would take a long time." Seeing that Valyr had taken a break before proceeding with his third weapon, Julian decided to speak. "In any case, I''ll try and help you out in procuring it. After all, you wouldn''t have told me about something like that in the first ce if you didn''t need my help."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll definitely make it worth your while." Valyr smiled as he thanked the man. "After all, I have a strong feeling these weapons would sell well once I put Ylvar''s mark on it."


    "Oh? You''re nning to sell it under your fake name?" With his eyes slightly widening in surprise, Julian looked at Valyr and nodded. "It would definitely fetch a higher price if you do, especially with the prestige the name has garnered in the past couple of days."


    "Mhm." Feeling that he had rested for long enough, Valyr swiftly returned to forging the weapons he nned on selling, moving onto his third weapon for the day.


    "Surely you didn''t stop by just to ask me if I was prepared for the tournament, right?" A couple of minutes after he began to forge once more, Valyr looked at Julian as he asked a question.


    "Of course not. That would be a waste of time, even for me." Julian shook his head. "Instead, I''m here to tell you about the other candidates you''ll be working with in the inheritance..."


    "...as well as their weaknesses."

 Chapter 493 Companions

    "..." At those words, Valyr decided to stop what he was doing, cing the Hammer of Beginnings to the side as he looked at the man before him with a solemn expression. "How did you even get your hands on that kind of information?"


    "I''m a guild master," said Julian in response, letting out a faint chuckle. "I should be able to find out at least that much through my informationworks."


    "Anyways, do you want to know or not? After all, this information wouldn''t only be useful during the tournament tomorrow, but it''ll also be helpful once the four of you enter the inheritance... if you know what I mean." Looking at Valyr with a slightly raised eyebrow, Julian eventually smiled once he saw the young man eventually nod in response.


    "Alright." Nodding back at Valyr, Julian went ahead and grabbed a crate within the workshop to use as a makeshift chair, sitting in front of the young man as he opened his mouth. "Before we begin, I''m sure you already know that the three other people that''ll be joining you in the inheritance are incredibly talented in their own right."


    "After all, they wouldn''t have gotten the chance to enter the inheritance in the first ce if not for their monstrously high levels of talent," he continued, to which Valyr nodded in agreement. "Naturally, as you have monstrously high talent as well, evident from the fact that you forged an Artifact, as well as the fact that you have a Mythic cksmith ss, you''ve earned that right as well."


    "The first person that I''ll be mentioning is the alchemist within your group," said Julian soon after, prompting Valyr tomit everything the man was going to say to memory. "His name is Faulus Erlenmeyer, considered a prodigy and a future pir of the Alchemist Guild at the young age of 20 years."


    "As he boasts the ss True Prodigious Alchemist, his style of concocting potions is simr to what is generally known by other alchemists, yet there are some parts of it that are uniquely his." At these words, Julian looked at Valyr.


    "It''s kind of like you with your True Prodigious cksmith ss. You''ve mostly stuck to the norm, but there are some parts during your process where you''ve adapted your own thing and improved upon it to do the same thing, but just better," he said, causing Valyr to faintly smile.


    "Anyways, thanks to his talent in the path of alchemy, his concoctions being well known for their efficacy, and his contribution to the field of medicine, he''smonly known by many as the Lord of Vitality."


    "Is it because of that one potion he concocted?" asked Valyr in response, cross-referencing the information Julian was telling him with the information he already knew.


    From the very moment the man had mentioned the alchemist''s name, Valyr had already be certain that the people that would join him in the inheritance would be none other than the future members of the Four Deities of Production, something he was uncertain of during his meeting with Theraldine.


    However, with how he had drastically affected the timeline to the point that he had taken Theraldine''s ce in the inheritance, Valyr still remained open-minded towards the two other members of the inheritance, thinking that his actions might have caused these people to change.


    "It is." Listening to Valyr''s question, Julian nodded in response. "The Panacea. Not only does it cure people from any sickness or poison they might have, the potion also allows these people to be reborn anew, with some of them even looking 10 years younger than they were after taking it."


    "Now let''s go over his weaknesses." Saying these words, Julian''s expression turned stern. "Unlike you and the other two, Faulus hasn''t really spent that much time sharpening hisbat skills. If anything, the only reason why he had been chosen to represent the alchemists is none other than his ss."


    "I don''t need to go over why that is, right?" asked Julian, to which Valyr shook his head.


    As someone who had already been informed of the reason during his meeting with the elders of the Ancestral Council, Valyr was already more than knowledgeable in that regard.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Alright." Julian nodded. "Though his ability inbat is trulycking, his ability in alchemy is the real deal. Thus, if he throws anything at you that resembles a sk or container of some sort, avoid it as much as possible."


    "Of course, his pitiful skill inbat is only part of his weaknesses. His true weakness lies in his personality," he continued, giving Valyr a faint smirk. "To sum up his personality in a single phrase: he''s easily provoked."


    "So... as long as I taunt him over and over, he''ll eventually bite?" Asking this question, Valyr looked at Julian with a hint of doubt, having no information of this side of the man in his memories.


    "Pretty much," said Julian in response. "An incredibly short temper, a great level of arrogance due to his feats, as well as a superiorityplex. As long as you keep those things in mind, you''ll be able to use him to your advantage."


    "You make him sound like he''s just a tool," replied Valyr, slightly shuddering from the man''s words.


    "I won''t beat around the bush here. He pretty much is." Julian looked at Valyr with a solemn expression. "Especially whenpared to the three of you."


    "With that, let''s move onto the tailor of the group," said the man not long after. "Amongst the four production sses, the tailor ss is predominantly upied by women. Of course, there have been times where a few male tailors have shown their abilities to be on par with even the greatest of female tailors."


    "Nevertheless, female tailors still reign supreme in many aspects of tailoring, with the one joining you being no exception to that." Taking in a deep breath, Julian began to talk about the second person Valyr had to be wary out. "The tailor''s name is Loreina Rainiere san Cappe, san Cappe being a reference to her hometown of Cappe Vige where she grew up."


    "Aside from that, she''s an Honorary Elder of the Tailor Guild at the young age of 18."


    "Sporting the True Prodigious Seamstress ss, all of her works have been adored by many, ranging from those hailing from prestigious families, to those who havee to use her works in the battlefield."


    "However, she''s mostly well-known thanks to one specific pattern of hers which has eluded multiple tailors for years now," said Julian. "Due to the pattern''s miraculous effects of bolstering the piece''s original effects to a far greater degree, she''s more well-known as the Miracle Seamstress, though she''s also been called the Seamstress of War by some."


    "In terms of herbat ability, she''s far better than Faulus in that regard, though stillcking whenpared to you and the other person I''ll be mentioning after her," he continued, his expression turning solemn as he pondered over how he would phrase his next words. "As for her weakness, well... if you''ve been keeping up to date on her condition, then you''d already know what her weakness is."


    "Are you telling me...?" Turning the gears in his mind as madly as possible, Valyr eventually recalled one memory about Loreina that prompted him to look at Julian with wide eyes.


    "Yes." Julian nodded, his expression turning even more solemn.


    "She doesn''t have much time left to live."

 Chapter 494 Rivals

    "..." Remaining silent as the words Julian told him lingered in his mind, Valyr thought back to the small tidbit he had recalled earlier, the same one that prompted him to ask the question.


    Though she had sessfully left the inheritance and went on to create legendary pieces that allowed the human side to regain some of their advantages, it was known by almost everyone even before then that the young woman did not have much left to live.


    Growing up as an orphan in Cappe Vige, people gradually came to find out that the reason why she had be one was due to a defect that she had been born with, a defect that befuddled even the greatest of doctors.


    Whenever she exerted effort, her lifespan would decrease.


    Of course, with there no being proper facility for orphans in the vige, Loreina had to move out and about in order to get by every passing day, taking on any sort of menial work just to get some food.


    Unsurprisingly, this action she had done for survival unknowingly began to eat on her lifespan, with doctors being left at a loss for words when they did a detailed check-up on her by the time she was 10 years old, the same time people began to discover her innate defect.


    After all, they found out that she only had 30 years left to live at that point.


    Naturally, after people came to find out her condition, more people began to help her out, even going so far as to aid her in ascending the ranks in order to prolong her lifespan. However, as if the heavens did not want her to live for long, each action reduced more of her lifespan in proportion to her current ss rank, causing her to fall into a spiral of depression for many years.


    Fortunately, during that time, someone had introduced the path of tailoring to the young woman, a skill that did not take that much effort, yet still did a lot in the grand scheme of things. Because of that, her talent in tailoring was gradually discovered, allowing her to be the person Julian was introducing to the young man.


    However, what Julian did not know was that in Valyr''s past timeline, the young woman would eventually sumb to the curse of the heavens just a year after leaving the inheritance, something that the entire human race deeply wished not to happen, especially in the midst of war.


    "Have they tried giving her the Panacea yet?" Inwardly letting out a long sigh as he felt pity for the young woman, Valyr eventually asked a question to Julian, who responded to the young man''s words with a slightly bitter smile.


    "They have." Julian nodded. "However, even that did not remove the root cause of her weakness. At most, it only prolonged the time she has left to live."


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr finally let out an audible sigh, causing Julian to let out a sigh of his own not long after.


    "Alright." Wallowing in the somber mood for a while, Julian eventually changed the topic, returning to the atmosphere surrounding them to what it was before. "Let''s move onto the final member of this four man group."


    "The sage."


    "In terms ofbat ability, it has been said that you are only second to him," said Julian soon after. "Then again, that was back when Zeik had tested you while you had just ascended to Rank 1. If anything, I''m quite curious as to who between the two of you is stronger."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Wait... are you talking about Hal?" Realizing who the man was talking about, Valyr posed a question to the man as his thoughts whirred regarding the final member of the group.


    Back when Zeik had mentioned the name Hal to him, no such memories of a person having that name appeared in the young man''s mind. However, now that he thought about it more during his conversation with Julian...


    Wouldn''t Hal be more fitting as a nickname?


    "Yes." Julian nodded. "Hal, or more well-known by the higher-ups of the guilds as Vylhalteinn Impyris, is a part of the noble Impyris n, as well as a True Honorary Elder of the Sage Guild at the young age of 16."


    ''I knew it had to be that guy.'' With Julian''s words confirming his suspicions, Valyr continued to listen to the former,mitting every word to memory.


    "With True Prodigious Sage as his main ss, he has made leaps and bounds in progress in multiple fields, though most of it is in the field involving skill optimization and innovation," Julian told Valyr.


    "It is because of his contribution to that field that hisbat ability is considered monstrous even to those that have ss ranks higher than him, certain that he would be a strong pir of the human race in the times toe."


    "Of course, as the sage ss is a schrly profession, he has also dabbled in many other sses, the three production sses participating in the inheritance also being included in those." At those words, Julian briefly shrugged his shoulders.


    "Though his ability in those fields is considerablyckingpared to his main profession, he still has enough talent to be considered an elite in that field, causing people to call him the Lord of All Trades."


    ''I''m surprised that I''m not surprised to hear that.'' Trying to recall more and more memories of Hal in the past, the young man gradually recalled the feats he had aplished during the War of the Three Sovereignties, all of which had revolutionized the processes for many fields.


    Unbeknownst to Hal at the time, this series of revolutions had brought the level of technology in Veldanyr forward by a couple of centuries, withbat technology being most affected by it, being brought forward over a few centuries.


    Near the end of the war, rather than fighting against the orcs and elves with cold weapons and magic, some humans began to fight them using crude rifles and pistols, with some even forming battalions around the weapon.


    In fact, it could be said that if not for the discovery of the rifle and pistol, the human race would not have a dominant spot after the War of the Three Sovereignties. It was also due to that same reason that Hal had eventually be known by many under another name.


    The Monarch of Innovation.

 Chapter 495 A Little Pizazz

    After Julian exined a few more things about Hal to Valyr, specifically the man''s weaknesses, the former eventually left thetter on his own once he had made sure that Valyr hadmitted his words to memory, allowing the young man to focus all of his attention on forging once more.


    Due to his increased forging speed thanks to [Forger of Epics] and [Forger of Artifacts], Valyr zoomed through most of the forging process while making the weapons he was nning to sell.


    However, this increased forging speed quickly canceled itself once he had activated [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], taking his time to iron out as much of the dissonant parts of the weapons as possible.


    Nevertheless, by the time the young man had run out of materials to work with, he had forged a total of 10 weapons, each weapon being a different type from the previous one. Unsurprisingly, with his experience, his ss, his skills, and his forging hammer working together, all of the weapons he had forged were of a high rarity, making Valyr incredibly certain that people would definitely flock to buy his work.


    ''Speaking of which...'' As a thought surfaced in his mind, Valyr grabbed a chisel from the tool rack within the workshop before picking up some of the scrap metal that was left over from the forging.


    Putting all of it into the furnace, he then formed the molten amalgam of scrap metal into a cylinder before chiseling out the negative of what would be his forging mark.


    Or more specifically, Ylvar''s mark.


    "That should do." Looking at the negative he had made in satisfaction, Valyr put the newly made stamp into the furnace to heat up its edge before using it to imprint the mark he had made on the weapons.


    Admiring the mark he had made for a bit, which was that of a star with two des running through it in a cross pattern, he then imprinted the same mark on the nine remaining weapons, a faint smile adorning his face once he was done.


    After that, he sent a message to Julian regarding the weapons he had forged, prompting thetter to head to the workshop to take a look at what the man had created. Unsurprisingly, each weapon was more than enough to leave the middle-aged man at a loss for words, with one weapon prompting him to look at the young man in disbelief.


    "Are you sure you wanna sell this?" Raising up a simple-looking spear, Julian posed the question to Valyr, a conflicted expression on his face. "You do know such an equipment would even have the guild''s elders fight for it, right?"


    "And that means more money for me..." said Valyr in response, letting out a peal ofughter as he identified the spear once more.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Halberd of Great Beginnings] (Level 40)


    Rarity: Epic


    Attack: 769 - 1280


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Though it may be a simple-looking spear made by an incredibly prodigious cksmith using considerably crude materials, thetent potential of the materials used in the spear have been fully drawn out, prompting the wielder to feel like the entire halberd was made of a single material.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    With the cksmith putting all of his focus and care into the creation of this spear, imbuing the properties of the artifact ''Hammer of Beginnings'' into it, this spear boasts a level of strength that matches even weapons one would find in legends, allowing one to cleave even the skies with ease.


    <Innate Skill 1: Sky Cleaver - Allows the user to attack in a horizontal arc, dealing damage equivalent to 200% of the user''s Attack stat within a radius equivalent to the spear''s length. Has a considerable chance of greatly knocking the enemy back. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 2,500 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Full Potential - Increases the user''s Attack stat by 5%.>


    Remarks: The entire world would be jealous of owning such a weapon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Haah..." Letting out an audible sigh as he looked at the young man, a bitter smile soon appeared on Julian''s face as he thought about what Valyr aimed to do with the weapons in the first ce. "Since that''s the case, I might as well having this thing be sold in an auction, rather than through the guild''s usual channels."


    "With that, if you have something else to add to this item that would increase its value even further, then I won''t stop you from doing so." Putting the nine weapons Valyr had forged into his personal spatial bracelet in the meantime, Julian gave the Epic grade spear to the young man, pondering for a bit as to what kind of unique skill the young man would show him.


    However, what greeted him instead was the sight of the young man imbuing the spear with his own mana a few times, causing a slight frown to appear on his face.


    "I guess that''s all I can do for the meantime that would really increase its value." Uttering these words, Valyr gave the spear back to Julian, who identified the weapon in an instant as he thought that the young man had ruined it.


    Instead, after reading through the skill''s renewed description, that thought swiftly disappeared from his mind as Julian was left looking at Valyr in front of him in great shock, his mouth turning agape from the sheer unexpectedness of what the young man had done.


    ''Did he just... awaken all three possible attributes on a weapon?''


    ''Am I dreaming or something?''


    "Ahem." Realizing that he was showing an unprofessional side to the young man, Julian quicklyposed himself as he ced the spear into his personal spatial bracelet, making sure that nothing within his bracelet would make contact with it.


    Seeing that Julian was now treating the spear as if it were an incredibly precious thing, Valyr inwardly let out a snicker as the former told him that he would be selling the nine weapons through the guild''s channels, while the spear would be sold in an impromptu auction held by the cksmith Guild.


    Assuring Valyr that the amount of money he would be gaining from the weapons would not be small by any means, Julian eventually left the young man on his own once more, prompting Valyr to leave the premises as he swiftly made his way back home.


    Enjoying a nice dinner with his good friend as they caught up on what the other side was doing for the entire day, the young man eventually fell into deep slumber, making sure to recuperate as much physical and mental energy possible for the day tomorrow.


    After all, the position of inheritance leader was at stake.

 Chapter 496 The Day Of The Tournament

    "Do you really have to do this?" Watching Valyr get ready to leave the inn once more, Wells decided to pose a question to his friend. "I know it has something to do with the inheritance and all that, but... do you really have to do this?"


    "I''ll have to fight against them sooner orter, you know?" shing a faint bitter smile at his friend, Valyr continued to wear the pieces of Nascent Wyvern Armor over his clothing. "Though it might seem like the three other candidates and I are entering the inheritance together, I know for a fact that we''ll quickly head off our separate ways to reap our own benefits."


    "With that, fighting against them even before we enter the inheritance allows me to gain an edge over them," he continued. "Of course, I''m pretty sure you''ve heard of the saying ''Know yourself and your enemy''..."


    "...and you need not fear a thousand battles." At those words, Wells let out a low sigh. "It''s something even my parents used to tell me."


    "Since that''s the case, could you believe in me once more?" Seeing how concerned his friend was for his safety, Valyr let out a chuckle, affixing his blood-red spear behind his back. "I''ll return to this ce without a scratch. Don''t you worry."


    "Promise me you''ll take a break after this tournament, okay? You''ve pretty much busied yourself these past couple of weeks, after all." said Wells in response. "Or perhaps, at the very least, don''t get caught up in battles before the big day."


    "Thest I can definitely promise." Faintly grinning at Wells in response, Valyr finally bade farewell to his friend for the meantime, leaving the inn as he soon appeared in front of a familiar being.


    "They didn''t tell me I''d have someone escort me to the venue." Saying these words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter.


    "They didn''t tell me I''d be escorting a pain in the ass." In response, the familiar man let outughter as well.


    Then, after making sure that Valyr had not forgotten anything in the inn, the two of them swiftly began to make their way to where the small tournament was going to be held.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be busy with the outbreak and all that, Zeik?" Moving through the streets of Algerie at a slightly hastened pace, Valyr looked at the man opmanying him for the journey and asked him a question.


    "For the first day, definitely." Zeik nodded in response, wryly smiling. "As amander of the Combat Specialist Division, I had to coordinate the kingdom''s offensive against the orcs with the other guilds and organizations."


    "However, after that, I''ve swiftly returned to doing not a lot, which is what allowed me to apany you to some ce once again." At those words, he grinned. "Of course, unlike our quick trip to the Akashic Battlefield, there''ll be no orcs this time around."


    "Speaking of the Akashic Battlefield, what happened in the days following that incident?" Letting out a faint chuckle in response to Zeik''s joke, Valyr then threw a question at the man, opening up the chat function on the side to see if the man had sent him update messages that he might have missed.


    "Well, naturally, the Algerie Kingdom went all out in its offensive after everything was sorted out." Telling the young man that he had not sent any message to him regarding the incident, Zeik went ahead and began to exin the situation to Valyr. "With that, most of the culprits behind the Akashic Battlefield incident had been caught..."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "...except for one." Recalling the fight he had against the leader of the orc group within the Akashic Battlefield, a frown briefly appeared on Zeik''s face as he let out a sigh. "Nevertheless, the ones that had been caught were quick to cough up information, allowing our side to send out an overwhelming offensive against the orcs on the east defensive line."


    "Have we found that being''s whereabouts?" Asking Zeik the one that had escaped a bit further, Valyr eventually posed a question to the man that prompted thetter to shake his head.


    "Normally, it would''ve been simple to find someone like him," said Zeik in response. "However, with him being one of Khorzaan''s Chosen, it''s making it somewhat impossible to do so."


    "...I see." Hearing those words, Valyr went silent for a bit before nodding, understanding what the man meant by that.


    As someone who had actively yed a minor role in the War of the Three Sovereignties in his past life, being one of the many volunteers to participate in the war''s frontlines, the young man was no stranger to the existence of the Khorzaan''s Chosen.


    Being literally chosen by the emperor of the orc race itself, those that have been denoted as Khorzaan''s Chosen showed a level ofbat strength far greater than the norm thanks to their main ss and subss being of a high rarity.


    Aside from that, as they were chosen by the emperor himself, these beings also had ess to the finest of skills the orc race had, allowing them to bring out over 100% of their might in every move they made, causing them to be the bane of any human in the battlefield.


    Seeing as Valyr did not talk about the incident regarding the orcs any further, Zeik decided to shift the topic to what the young man had been doing during the days they hadn''t seen each other.


    Fortunately, that was all that was needed for the young man to remove himself from his thoughts, talking with Zeik regarding the items he had forged as the two swiftly left the walls of Algerie Kingdom and headed to a secluded area only a select few knew about.


    ...


    "Is this really the ce where the tournament is going to be held?" Standing on the edge of what looked to be arge crater spanning over 50 meters in diameter, Valyr looked at Zeik beside him with a hint of dubiousness.


    "Well, the Ancestral Council wanted to make sure that no one, except for the candidates and a select few, knew of the results of the tournament," replied Zeik with a bitter smile. "Or, to be more specific, they don''t want people to know of the existence of the tournament at all."


    "Oho? If it isn''t the no-name representative of the cksmith Guild." Just as Valyr was about to ask a few more things to Zeik regarding the tournament''s current venue, the young man heard a slightly mocking voiceing from his back, prompting him to look at the man that spoke with a slight frown.

 Chapter 497 Showing Ones Right

    At the very moment he had turned around, Valyr was instantly greeted by the sight of a young man wearing a dark gray robe that went below the man''s knees, tied in ce with what looked to be a thick leather belt.


    Sporting a head of dark gray hair that made the man look like he had been electrocuted, the man had a pair of dark blue eyes that seemed to contain the vastness of the oceans. Completing it with a smile that seemed to contain mockery as he looked at the young man.


    "Have the other candidates been informed of my true identity before the tournament?" Ignoring the man behind him for the meantime, Valyr turned around to look at Zeik. After that, he opened up the chat function to send the man beside him a question in fear of having other people snoop in on their conversation.


    "That¡­ I''m not so sure." Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Zeik eventually sent a response to Valyr through the chat function, giving thetter a wry smile soon after. "I was only tasked with escorting you and giving you a rough rundown of how the tournament would work."


    "When ites to questions like that, the best person to ask in that regard would be none other than the Guildmaster."


    "Got it." Sparing a nce at the man behind him, who now had a frown on his face, Valyr then returned his attention to the screen he had brought up, sending a brief question to Julian within seconds.


    "Have you told the other candidates of my true identity?"


    "With how precarious it would be for others to find out? Not one bit." As if the man was waiting for the young man to ask the question to him, Julian swiftly sent an answer that responded directly to Valyr''s question. "At most, I''ve only given the three other guilds vague information regarding your identity and your abilities."


    "I know each of the representatives for the inheritancee from the four production guilds. However, since this is rted to the inheritance, wouldn''t they have been able to obtain information on me through the Imperial Production Guild?" Finding the man''s response somewhat weird, Valyr decided to follow it up with another question.


    "Normally, that would''ve been the case," said Julian through a message a few secondster. "However, as I am the one who introduced your existence to those old geezers from the Ancestral Council, we''ve eventuallye to an agreement that it would be better for your true identity to be hidden for the meantime."


    "After all, even though the Zeihardt n may only be a royal n in status, its might as a whole instills fear even to the ss guilds themselves," Julian added on a follow-up message. "Not even the four main production guilds want to know what it would be like to face the frenzy of half of the Zeihardt n."


    "So¡­ in short, the other candidates don''t know what I''m capable of." Bing silent for a bit more, Valyr eventually sent a message back to Julian, something that thetter agreed with.


    "Pretty much," the man said in his response message. "Add on the fact that you''re using what looks to be an incredibly strong disguise skill, I''d say most of the odds are stacked in your favor."


    "Go ahead and use it to your advantage." Telling Valyr that he was in the middle of forging in another message, Julian eventually ended their small chat with a couple more messages. "Get the leader position if you can."


    "So, what did Julian say?" Seeing as Valyr dispelled the screen in front of him, Zeik went ahead and asked what had transpired, utilizing the chat function once more.


    "The other candidates don''t know anything." In response, Valyr shook his head, sending a message in return. Reading through the message he received, a light smirk gradually crept up Zeik''s face.


    "Then¡­ I guess that only means one thing." Grinning, Zeik decided to forgo the chat function, whispering directly into Valyr''s ear instead as his thoughts seemingly aligned with Julian''s at that moment.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Show them the best of what the cksmith Guild has to offer."


    "With pleasure." Grinning back, Valyr''s expression swiftly returned to normal as he finally turned to look at the man behind him once more, whose frown now seemed to extend beyond his face.


    "Was I talking to a rock this entire time?" said the man in a slightly aggressive tone. "Don''t you know how many times I''ve been calling you for the past few minutes?"


    "You''re talking to the Faulus Erlenmeyer, you know?" Hearing the man introduce himself in his conversation, a faint glint shed in Valyr''s eyes. "I''m someone specifically chosen by the Alchemist Guild to represent the alchemists in this uing inheritance!"


    "As for you¡­" Pushing on Valyr''s chest with his pointer finger, Faulus continued to look at the young man, a trace of disgust in his eyes. "I don''t know what you did in the cksmith Guild for a no-name like you to be chosen, but I''m sure as hell it wasn''t through honest means."


    "What are you trying to say, then?" Raising his eyebrow, Valyr''s expression remained calm, not giving Faulus the pleasure that came with infuriating someone.


    "All I''m saying is that you should prove that you''ve earned the right to participate in the inheritance." Not letting the other side''s calm demeanor affect him, a hint of mockery appeared on Faulus'' face as he said these words. "Show me what gave the right for a no-name like you to join the inheritance."


    ''And here I thought his arrogance was the least of my concerns.'' Inwardly letting out a sigh, Valyr could not stop himself fromparing the Faulus he was looking at to the Faulus he hade across in his past life. Though the man was still insufferable in many ways in his past life, the Faulus in front of him looked to be far more insufferable.


    ''Ah, right. Superiorityplex.'' Recalling something Julian had told him that allowed him to understand his current situation more, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he looked at Faulus directly in the eyes.


    "You want me to show you my right?" Asking this question, Valyr began to walk closer to the young man, clenching both of his fists in the process.


    "What''s wrong with showing a bit of proof?" Feeling slightly intimidated, Faulus responded back with a statement that allowed to regain some confidence. "Unless¡­ you don''t have any proof to begin with?"


    "Oh, I got some proof, alright." At these words, Valyr grinned.


    "Here''s my right¡­"


    Bang!


    "¡­jab."

 Chapter 498 Introducing One Another

    Putting a great portion of his strength into his punch, Valyr took on a casual stance as his right fist made contact with Faulus'' stomach, the force behind it sending the young man flying.


    "Faulus!" Coincidentally, the man''s escort, who had been minding his own business all this time, happened to notice that the candidate he had escorted was now flying, prompting him to head to where Faulus was going tond and break his fall.


    Thud.


    With how much momentum Faulus had generated while he was in midair, the force from his fall was more than enough to cover both him and his escort in ayer of dust, stirring up all of the dust in their immediate vicinity in the process.


    "Huu." Letting out a low sigh of relief as he retracted his fist, Valyr turned around to look at Zeik, who looked back at him with a faint smile as he briefly gave the young man a thumbs-up.


    "You¡­" After the dust had settled, Faulus and his escort gradually stood up, with the former''s face containing immense rage as he stared daggers at Valyr. "Did you think of my earlier words as a joke?"


    "Of course not." Valyr gave Faulus an amicable smile.


    "You asked me to show you my right, so I did just that." At those words, the young man raised his right fist, forcing Zeik to stifle theughter that wanted toe out.


    "Are you saying that you earned the right to participate in this inheritance through your might?" Muttering a few words to the escort beside him, which caused the former to slightly frown, Faulus eventually asked a question to Valyr.


    "You''re always free to ask about my right again, you know?" Raising his right fist once more, Valyr taunted Faulus into bing furious once more.


    However, just as it seemed like Valyr''s words seemed to take effect, Faulus took in a couple of deep breaths once he noticed his escort ce his hand on top of his shoulder.


    "There''s no need. You''ve already proven your right." Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, Faulus instead decided to end the conversation between them then and there, heading to the other side of the crater as he red daggers at Valyr one more time.


    "And here I thought that would''ve worked a second time." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr watched as Faulus and his escort moved farther away from him and Zeik.


    "I guess he instantly realized something from that punch you gave him." Moving closer to where Valyr stood, Zeik gave the young man a probable answer. "After all, the Lord of Medicine isn''t renowned for his fighting capabilities."


    "Are you telling me he decided to bow down after realizing I was stronger than him?" Faintly nodding at the distant Faulus after realizing he knew when to back down, Valyr posed the question to the man beside him.


    "I guess so." Briefly shrugging his shoulders in response, Zeik suggested to Valyr that they passed the time waiting for the other candidates by talking about certain topics. Hearing that, Valyr agreed without hesitation, hoping to catch up on recent events as the two of them sat near the edge of the crater.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    ''Well then. I guess you''re not that insufferable, after all.'' ncing a bit at Faulus, who coincidentally was looking back at him from the other side of the crater, Valyr shed a smile at the young man as he soon returned to his conversation with Zeik.


    ¡­


    "I apologize for beingte." After waiting near the crater for about half an hour, a couple more people had eventually shown up, prompting Valyr and Faulus'' group to look at the group that had just arrived.


    With how Faulus and Valyr were escorted to this ce by a single person, it was no surprise that the candidate that had arrived was escorted by a single person, which was an old woman that looked to be nearing her sixties.


    Apanying her was a young woman that looked quite frail, herplexion slightly pale. However, if one were to look at her dark brown eyes, one would think otherwise, feeling a great amount of determination and tenacity slumbering deep within.


    Combine that with a head of ash blond hair tied up into a ponytail, as well as a simple get-up that entuated her features even further, one would instantly feel like the young woman had a unique charm to her.


    "Have you two been waiting for a long time?" Seeing as the two candidates that came before her had taken up a single side of the crater, the young woman urged that she and her escort take up another side as well. Once that was done, she then asked a question to both Faulus and Valyr.


    "We haven''t been waiting for that long." Knowing the pitiful condition the young woman was in, Valyr decided to be amicable in his response, shing a faint smile at her.


    "I arrived at around the same time he arrived." Surprisingly, Faulus responded normally to the young woman''s question, a stark contrast to his incessant questioning towards Valyr''s qualifications earlier. Noticing this, Valyr had a feeling that Faulus knew of the young woman''s condition as well.


    ''Well, it''s either that or something else.'' Deciding to not think about the sudden shift in Faulus'' personality, Valyr engaged in a bit of small talk with the young woman, with Faulus joining in on the conversation not long after as all of them talked about mundane topics.


    "Ah, shoot. I''m thest one to arrive." By the time another half hour had passed, thest candidate making up the group had finally arrived, arriving at the crater with an escort behind him.


    Giving Valyr and the others an apologetic smile after that, he then asked the three, "Have you three been waiting for long?"


    "Not at all. Only a bit of time has passed since your arrival." Hearing the question, the young woman shook her head in response, prompting Valyr and Faulus to look at each other for a bit before shaking their heads as well.


    "Thank goodness." At those words, the man that had just arrived let out a sigh of relief. "Since we''ve alle here to get to know each other better and to determine the one that would lead the group in the uing inheritance, we should introduce ourselves."


    "With that, how about I introduce myself first?"

 Chapter 499 The Tournament Begins

    Unlike Faulus and Valyr, the man that decided to take the initiative to introduce himself did not wear any clothes that seemed to be rted to his affiliation with his respective guild. Instead, the man wore what looked to be a in gray shirt, apanied by a pair of ink ck pants and shoes.


    Nevertheless, the simplicity in the man''s clothing only brought more attention to the man''s face, making one feel like they could not take their eyes off from him. With a head of decently long reddish-brown hair, and a pair of dark green irises, one would have probably mistaken him for a member of the Pyrrhia n.


    However, rather than give off the aura of someone who had been immersed in the mes of the forge, the man instead gave off the feeling that he enveloped everything, as if he existed in everything within one''s surroundings.


    "My name is Vylhalteinn Impyris." Seeing that Valyr and the others were looking at him, the man faintly grinned. "Ie from the farnds of the Norvelling Tundra, which is why my first name is quite long."


    Making sure that each word he spoke was crisp and clear, he continued. "I shall be representing the Sage Guild in our uing journey into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. I hope we could show each other''s strengths to the fullest during this tournament, so we would be able to better assist one another once we''re inside."


    "Oh, I forgot to mention. Feel free to call me Vyl or Hal if you''re not used to my first name. d to be working with you." At these words, Hal gave each of them a respectful half-bow, prompting the three to look at one another as they wondered who should go next.


    "Er¡­" Eventually, after looking at each other for a while, the woman that came before Hal decided to go next.


    "My name is Loreina Rainiere san Cappe," she said, twiddling her thumbs as she looked at the ground. Because of that, it was slightly difficult for the others to hear her introduction.


    "I am currently 18 years old, turning 19 in a few months¡­" With Loreina continuing to look down at the ground, Valyr and the others were forced to adjust themselves. "I represent the Tailor Guild in this uing expedition¡­"


    "Please take good care of me." With her voice bing louder at the end of her introduction, she then gave a half-bow to the three, deciding to copy what Hal did earlier in his introduction.


    "Guess I''ll go up next." Seeing Loreina take her seat, Faulus took the initiative, giving Valyr a slightly condescending look as he stood up.


    "The name''s Faulus Erlenmeyer, the greatest prodigy of the Erlenmeyer family," said the young man with a confident grin. "I''m known by many titles, but I''m pretty sure all of you know me as the Lord of Medicine."


    "I have indeed heard that title before, yes." Hearing Faulus'' words, Hal nodded in response.


    "I would like to thank you for the Panacea you''ve given me back then." Putting two and two together in her mind, Loreina did not hesitate to show her gratitude to the alchemist, giving the young man a sincere half-bow.


    "Oh, it''s nothing at all¡­" Not expecting Loreina to react like that, Faulus let out an awkward chuckle as he waved his hands around, only to then notice that Valyr had not said anything after he revealed his title.


    "Ahem." Clearing his throat as he changed the topic, the young man continued with his introduction. "I have been specially chosen by the Alchemist Guild to represent the alchemists in this uing journey in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "It would be a great pleasure to work with all of you." Giving everyone a half-bow as he finished his introduction, Faulus slowed down his half-bow as he red at Valyr, telling thetter through his eyes that the incident from earlier was not over.


    In response to the re, Valyr merely gave the young man a faint grin, showing through his expression that he was not afraid of continuing such a thing.


    "Since everyone''s already introduced themselves, then that only leaves me." Feeling somewhat impressed at Faulus for knowing how not to show his grudges so openly, Valyr went ahead and stood up, prompting both Hal and Loreina to look at him.


    ''Heh. Now you have no excuse but to introduce yourself.'' Watching from the other side of the crater, a faint smirk crept up onto Faulus'' lips, eager to know the true identity of the man who had punched him in the stomach.


    "I have been chosen by the cksmith Guild to represent the cksmiths during this uing expedition." Starting his introduction, Valyr decided to introduce himself using the identity that many people knew about. "Compared to you three, who all have suchudable titles, I am in many wayscking."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    ''So, you admit you''re a no-name that only has brawns for brain, huh?'' With the smirk on his face continuing to widen as he listened, Faulus was about to let out a faint chuckle¡­


    Only for it to be stuck in his throat once Valyr told everyone his name.


    "I don''t know if you''ve heard of me before, but my name is Ylvar." Giving the three a respectful bow just like what the others did, Valyr eventually sat down once more, allowing the others to take in what he had just said.


    "Did you just say you''re Ylvar?" After a moment of silence covered the entire area, Hal decided to break it as he asked Valyr a question.


    "That would be me." Valyr nodded in response, his eyes faintly glistening as he asked back, "Wait¡­ have you heard of me before?"


    "Only recently." Hal nodded. "I''ve heard rumors that there''s someone our age from the cksmith Guild that was able to forge an artifact. I never thought I''d be meeting that person in the flesh."


    "Oh, you tter me." Letting out a faint chuckle, Valyr gave off the pretense that he was humble and down to earth. "I''m certain you''d be able to forge an artifact as well."


    "Forging an artifact is no simple feat, Ylvar." Responding to Valyr''s words, Loreina spoke in a calm tone. "Even us three, who are considered great talents in our respective fields, only have a higher chance at doing what you just did."


    "Is that so?" Valyr went silent for a bit as he nodded. "Well, I''ll have to thank the heavens for the luck they''ve given me to forge the artifact, then."


    As Hal and Loreina nodded in response to his words, Valyr looked at the only person among them that had not talked about his identity yet.


    Unsurprisingly, after hearing that the man who punched him earlier was none other than a prodigy who had recently forged an artifact, a bitter expression covered the entirety of Faulus'' face as he felt indignation at how the other reacted to Valyr''s introduction.


    "In any case, shall we begin the tournament?" Taking delight at the expression Faulus had after discovering the identity he had unveiled to them, Valyr''s expression quickly returned to normal as he changed the topic of their conversation.


    "Ah, yes. I suppose we should begin." Nodding in response, Hal stood up and looked at the three other candidates surrounding the crater. One by one, he stared at them, imprinting their appearances to his memory.


    "I don''t know if you have been told this beforeing here, but the Imperial Production Guild has temporarily designated me as the leader for the uing expedition into the inheritance," said Hal not long after. "However, as I''ve mentioned, this position of mine is only temporary. The true leader for the uing inheritance shall instead be revealed once we assess each other''sbat skills."


    "As the temporary leader of the group, I suggest each of us have a one-on-one fight against each other, making sure that each person would remember the strengths of the members they''ll be working with," he continued, prompting Loreina and Valyr to nod in agreement. "With that, I would also like to suggest the two sides fighting to introduce their specialties to the other side before the fight begins."


    "Faulus, how about you go first?" Just as the young alchemist was about to voice aint at how the leader position was going to be assessed throughbat strength, Hal had forced him to leave thisint stuck in the back of his throat as he appeared somewhat stupefied.


    "Me?" Pointing at himself, Faulus gradually stood up from his seat as Hal nodded in response to his question.


    "Feel free to request who you would like to fight against." Sitting down once more, Hal moved the spotlight towards Faulus, causing thetter to look at the three as he took in a deep breath.


    "Since that''s the case, I would like to fight against¡­" Calmly assessing his chances of winning against his opponent, Faulus eventually focused his attention on a certain man, hoping in the back of his mind that his hunch wasn''t wrong.


    "Ylvar."

 Chapter 500 Magic Vs Magic

    "How surprising." Hearing the choice Faulus made as his opponent for the one-on-one fight, a smile appeared on Valyr''s lips, his expression that of amusement.


    "Are you sure you want to fight against Ylvar?" As for Loreina and Hal, the two of them looked at each other for a bit as Hal asked this question, only to nce in Valyr''s direction not long after as they felt a bit of concern.


    In their eyes, it seemed unfair for Faulus to have chosen Ylvar, who had only risen up to fame quite recently. After all, the three of them had already been well-known by people for quite a long time already.


    With that, they could not help but feel like Faulus was bullying the "neer" of their group.


    "I am more than certain." Responding to Hal''s question, Faulus then spared a nce towards Valyr, noticing the amused expression on thetter''s face.


    Seeing this, the man felt a bit of unease, causing him to go over his train of thought from earlier.


    ''Out of the four of us, Hal is the strongest when ites tobat,'' thought Faulus to himself. ''On the other hand, I am the weakest when ites tobat, considering that I''ve also heard of Loreina achieving feats rted tobat in the past.''


    ''With that, the only person among the group that I have no clue on theirbat strength is Ylvar,'' he continued going through his train of thought, remaining standing in ce. ''Of course, that was resolved after he had punched me in the stomach, prompting me to think that he might also be stronger than me.''


    ''However, the part that I am not certain about is whether or not he''s stronger than Loreina.'' As the man had gotten to this part of his train of thought, Hal looked at Valyr and asked if he was fine with the arrangement, to which thetter responded that he had no problem with it.


    ''But¡­ it would be quite disgraceful for me to hit a woman, especially if it''s someone I helped out in the past.'' Steeling his resolve in fighting Valyr, Faulus took in a deep breath as he watched Valyr stand up and head towards the center of the crater. Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, he then made his way to the center of the crater as well, standing a few meters away from his opponent.


    "As I''ve mentioned earlier, the two sides shall introduce their specialties to one another before the fight begins." Seeing as the first twobatants for the tournament were already in ce, Hal''s voice soon echoed throughout the area, carrying with it an aura of authority.


    "Would you like to go first?" Looking at the young man before him, Valyr noticed that Faulus was looking at him with a slightly condescending gaze.


    "How about you go first?" However, in actuality, the condescending gaze Faulus threw at Valyr was nothing more than a facade. If anything, the current situation made him feel quite nervous in his capabilities, prompting him to wonder once more if he had made the right choice in making an enemy out of the young man before him.


    "I insist you go first." Of course, Valyr was oblivious towards the man''s real emotions, instead choosing to think that his opponent still bore a grudge towards the action he had done earlier.


    "Alright." Letting out a faint sigh as he tried his best to suppress the quivering of his body, Faulus began to talk about his specialties as he felt like the two of them would''ve continuously suggested the other side to go first if none of them took the initiative.


    "Faulus Erlenmeyer. My specialties mostly revolve around alchemy," said the young man. After that, he looked at Hal, who looked back at him before nodding.


    "As for my specialties inbat, they all mostly revolve around magic."


    "Now your turn." Passing the baton to Valyr, Faulus took a few deep breaths as he prepared his mind and his body for what was about toe.


    "The name is Ylvar." Nodding in response, Valyr began to speak. "As I represent the cksmith Guild, it makes sense that my specialties mostly revolve around forging."


    "As for mybat specialties¡­ I guess I''ll go with magic as well." At these words, Valyr shed a yful grin.


    "What''s with the spear on your back, then?" Feeling a bit more at easepared to earlier, Faulus pointed at the blood red spear behind Valyr''s back, prompting Loreina and Hal to perk up their ears as they were curious as well.


    "Oh. I dabble in a bit of spearmanship on the side, but not to the point that I would consider it a specialty." In response, Valyr gave them an answer that more or less made sense in their minds. "As to why it''s affixed to my back¡­ well, it''s probably the best piece of equipment I''ve ever forged so far¡­ aside from that one artifact, of course."


    "Is that so?" Though he still held doubts towards Valyr''s im of only dabbling a bit in the world of spearmanship, Faulus decided to believe in his gut instinct that the man wouldn''t use underhanded tactics during a fight like this. With that, he took a few steps back before taking on a battle stance.


    "Shall we begin, then?" Asking this question, Faulus looked at his opponent with a calm expression, his hands now glowing a faint cyan.


    "All of us would be here for a while if we didn''t." Letting out a chuckle as he nodded, Valyr took a few steps back as well, taking in a deep breath as he got into a battle stance of his own.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Are you two ready?" Looking at the two sides to get their confirmation, Hal nodded back after the two nodded that they were ready.


    "Then, let the fight¡­"


    "Begin!"


    "Haah!" Wanting to gain the upper edge from the very start, the glow around Faulus'' hands swiftly manifested into a few bolts of mana, sending all of them flying as he began to throw a barrage of mana bolts towards Valyr.


    "[Intermediate Wind Magic Style: Cascading Tempest]!" Buffing his movement speed with one of his magic skills in response, Valyr deftly maneuvered through the bolts that rained down on him, even going so far as to negate some of them by sending back a bolt of his own.


    "[Crimson ze]!" With Faulus continuing to send down a barrage of mana bolts after him, the young man decided to free himself from the chaos, dashing forwards at the greatest speed he could muster as an orb of crimson mes appeared above one of his palms. With a bit of time to breathe, he then charged this orb for as long as possible, causing the orb to balloon to a sizerger than his own head.


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    "[Enhanced Agility]!" With Valyr throwing therge fireball with all of his strength, it was no surprise that it zipped through the air, appearing in front of Faulus within seconds. Because of that, the young man was forced to stop his barrage and casting a movement speed boosting skill on himself, barely dodging the orb as it caused a smaller crater to form on the ground.


    "Hiss¡­" Taking a look at the crater that had formed from Valyr''s attack, Faulus'' pupils dted in fear as he realized then and there that he might have made the wrong decision in choosing his opponent.


    After all, he had never seen Loreina make a crater with one of her attacks before!


    "Graaaaah!!!"


    "[Serpentine Mana Lance]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Deciding to condense hisbat strength into a fewer number of attacks, Faulus swiftly sent out a series ofnces made out of mana, all of them zooming through the air as they converged to where Valyr stood.


    "[me Lance]!" However, rather than run away from the attack like the barrage of mana bolts from earlier, Valyr instead stood his ground, manifesting a spear out of mes as he watched the manances move ever so closer to him.


    sh!


    At the very moment thences converged together in the hopes ofnding a devastating attack on Valyr, thetter used the ming spear as a baseball bat of sorts, gripping it with both hands as he swatted thences away from him with all his strength, causing them to disintegrate within seconds.


    ¡­


    "You know¡­ I just noticed something." Continuing to watch the fight between Faulus and Valyr unfold, Loreina sent a message to Hal through the chat function. With both of them being known by many people for quite some time now, it was no surprise that the two had added one another as friends.


    "Is it perhaps the same thing I''m noticing?" Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, Hal brought up the cause of that notification before responding back, looking at Loreina with a raised eyebrow.


    "Probably." In response, Loreina shrugged her shoulders as she then sent Hal a question. "In any case¡­"


    "Have you seen Ylvar sweat so far?"

 Chapter 501 Overwhelming Defeat

    "It seems we''ve noticed the same thing, then." Wryly smiling in response to the question Loreina had sent to him, Hal swiftly sent back a message as he focused his attention on the two fighting in the crater.


    Though it seemed like Faulus had gained an edge over Valyr due to his attacks covering a wide area, that came with the downside of having to consume a greater amount of his own mana in order to conjure them in the first ce.


    On the other hand, Valyr''s attacks were smaller inparison, yet its level of strength was simr. Naturally, such a small attack containing a lot of strength still meant that he had spent a lot of mana for it to be destructive¡­


    But the cost was definitely far lower than how much Faulus was consuming with every move.


    "For him to not break a sweat while fighting against Faulus, that alone says that hisbat capabilities exceed yours by a considerable margin, Loreina." Feeling like he had gotten a better idea of Valyr''sbat strength, Hal soon sent a message to the young woman, who could only bitterly smile after reading it.


    "At the very least, I''m better than Faulusbat-wise." Letting out a wry chuckle, she sent a message back to Hal, only to follow it up with a question not long after. "Now that I think about it, haven''t you fought against Faulus in the past?"


    "It was more like a showcase of who had the better talent." As Hal replied to Loreina''s message, the young man slowly rummaged through his thoughts, recalling memories of a certain time in the past.


    Just as he had established his title as the Lord of All Trades, Faulus'' poprity swiftly began to rise through the roof, with many people calling him the future leader of the alchemy world thanks to his innovative concoctions.


    Though, because so many people had begun to praise his feats, Faulus let every word get into his head, causing him to request a match against many of the younger generation that had established their names before him.


    The result?


    Utter defeat.


    Letting his ego get to him, he decided to fight ording to the specialties of the opposing side, trusting in his prodigious talent that he would be able to defeat the other side, or in the worst case scenario, call it a draw.


    Unfortunately, this string of matches he had gotten into only made him realize that his talent only extended up to alchemy at most. On top of that, there were others he had requested to fight against that had considerable talent in alchemy as well.


    One of them being Hal.


    "In any case, it seems like one of ourpanions will be incredibly useful during our expedition into the inheritance." Grinning, Hal watched Faulus and Valyr continue fighting against one another as he sent a message to Loreina.


    "It seems so." Faintly smiling as she responded back, Loreina inwardly let out a sigh as she looked at Hal for a bit, feeling the man''s intense desire to prove that he was the strongest out of all of them.


    ''I wonder if Ylvar can match up to him.'' Returning her attention to the fight happening down in the crater, Loreina focused on Valyr''s movements and actions, noticing how rxed he was whenever he dodged or retaliated against his opponent''s move.


    Realizing this, she began to get the feeling that the young man hid a far greater portion of the strength than she and the others initially perceived. In fact, after watching Valyr for a while, she even felt like the man had the ability to triumph Hal inbat.


    ''I guess it''ll be fine.'' Scratching the back of her head as she wondered where that thought came from, she eventually decided not to think too much, returning her attention to the fight once more.


    ¡­


    "[Azure Wave]!"


    Whoosh!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Sending out multiple waves of mana in Valyr''s general direction, a slight grin appeared on Faulus'' face as he realized that his current attack was working.


    Throughout the battle so far, Faulus began to realize that there were two things he had to be wary about when it came to Valyr. The first and most obvious among the two would be the lethality of the man''s attacks. After all, if an attack could form a crater, then Faulus was more than certain it could kill a person.


    As for the second thing he had to be wary about¡­


    It was the young man''s agility.


    Though it was not obvious at first, Faulus began to notice that Valyr seemed to have an easy time defending or avoiding the attacks he had sent out, forcing him to redirect or cast another attack in order to be on the offensive once again.


    With that, he eventually thought that if he were to restrict Valyr''s movements within a certain area, he would eventually be able tond an attack that would allow him to win.


    Bing more and more motivated that this thought would soon be a reality with his current attack, Faulus cast more and more [Azure Waves], sending wave after wave of mana that gradually confined Valyr in a certain spot within the crater.


    "Finally! I''ve got you now!" Eventually, after what seemed to be quite a long time, Faulus had confined Valyr in a space small enough that any of his attacks would undoubtedlynd on thetter, crowning him victorious in this first match.


    However, just as he was about to conjure his final blow¡­


    "Eh?" Summoning all of the mana within his body towards his hands, Faulus swiftly noticed that the amount of mana he had pulled out was minusculepared to what he could unleash earlier. Wondering what was going on, it was only then did something click in his mind, slowly turning his head to look at Valyr.


    "Took you long enough."


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With a confident grin, Valyr conjured a great number of des made out of crimson mes in an instant, sending all of them in Faulus'' general direction as he controlled the des to surround thetter.


    Feeling a great amount of anger at himself for falling into his opponent''s trap, Faulus slowly closed his eyes and gradually epted his fate of being impaled by the des¡­


    Only for nothing to happen soon after.


    "Hmm?" Seeing as nothing happened for a while after he had closed his eyes, the man decided to open his eyes once more, only to be greeted by a plethora of des only a few inches away from his face.


    "So, what next?" Manipting the des of crimson des to stay in ce, Valyr looked at Faulus and asked him a question.


    "What next?" Hearing the young man''s words, Faulus bitterly smiled. After that, he sat down and let out a long sigh. "Well, what else could it even be?"


    "I admit defeat."

 Chapter 502 Summoning Vs Summoning

    "Now that I think about it, it probably looked like you led me on to wasting my mana in front of Loreina and Hal." As Valyr helped Faulus stand up as they made their way back to the edge of the crater, thetter looked at the man beside him before opening his mouth. "How did you do that?"


    "Let''s just say there''s a ton of factors on your end that helped me make that happen. All I did was slowly lead you towards that eventual goal." Feeling none of the anger or the malice he had felt emanating from Faulus earlier, Valyr decided to respond to the question. "In fact, you could even say that me angering you was inadvertently part of those factors."


    "Then again, I definitely admit I was being absurd when we first met," said the young man soon earlier, apologizing for punching the young man in the stomach.


    "I was absurd as well." Slightly widening his eyes in surprise, a wry smile appeared on Faulus'' face as he apologized to Valyr not long after. "I shouldn''t have thrown my weight around like that."


    "And only now you say that after you find out my identity," replied Valyr, causing Faulus to let out an awkward chuckle.


    "More so yourbat strength and your identity, but what about it? Betterte than never." As he responded to Valyr''s words, it looked as if Faulus'' arrogant side had never been there in the first ce, finally epting Valyr as an equal in terms of reputation.


    "I suppose we should move onto the next fight." Seeing as the two had finally made their way back to the edge of the crater, even going so far as to sit beside each other, Hal''s words echoed throughout the area once more as he looked at Valyr.


    "As Faulus'' opponent in the previous fight, you have the choice to be the one to request someone to fight against," Hal said to Valyr. "Of course, you could also choose to rest for the meantime and have someone else take that ce."


    "I''ll probably have to skip over this one for now." Though Valyr was ready to fight against another person when it came to his stamina, he knew that it would take quite some time for him to recuperate his mana. After all, the final attack he had sent out towards Faulus cost a lot more mana than one would think, especially with how he had made them stop in ce.


    "Since Faulus has already gone first, that only leaves either me or Loreina to be the next one." Nodding in response, Hal looked at Loreina, faintly smiling as he noticed the mes ofbat and ambition burning in her eyes.


    "I''ll go next," said Loreina, prompting the three to look at her, briefly making her feel a sense of pressure. Fortunately, that feeling swiftly disappeared as she took in a deep breath, her expression now filled with that of determination.


    "Who will be you fighting against?" asked Hal in response.


    "Who else would I be fighting against?" replied Loreina, shing a wry smile as she looked at Hal. Realizing what Loreina wanted to happen, Hal briefly shed a wry smile as well.


    "Well, it only makes sense for you to fight me," said Hal as he began to scale down the crater. "Faulus is definitely tired after the fight, while Valyr has definitely exhausted some of his resources during the fight as well."


    "Hopefully, we don''t have to go all out." Scaling down the crater after seeing Hal move, Loreina prepared her mind and body for the fight that she would have to face. "After all, I''m running on limited time here."


    "I''ll try my best to not force you to get serious," replied Hal as he nodded. "Then again, yourbat style doesn''t really rely much on you making a move, right?"


    "It''s pretty much the reason why it''s mybat specialty." Loreina nodded as she took in yet another deep breath. "Loreina Rainiere san Cappe, mainly specializing in tailoring, while summoning isbat specialty."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Vylhalteinn Impyris, mainly specializing in the schrly arts, though I also specialize in divination." Hearing Loreina go through her specialties, Hal went ahead and recited his specialties in response. "As for mybat specialty¡­ I''ll go with summoning since you''re going to fight me with summoning."


    "What a show-off," scoffed Loreina as she let out a yful giggle. "Then again, that''s definitely something I''d expect from the Lord of All Trades."


    "Shall we begin the fight, then?" Letting out a bit ofughter of his own, Hal looked back at Loreina as he got in a battle stance.


    "Let us." Nodding in response, Loreina took her battle stance, only to m both of her hands on the ground.


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    After the two of them apologized to one another for their actions before the tournament began, Faulus and Valyr had spent the time talking about various topics whilst waiting for the other two to get ready.


    "The fight''s going to begin." Seeing that Loreina and Hal were finally making their moves, Faulus prompted the young man beside him to look at the crater, which thetter did.


    "Between the two of them, who do you think will win?" Asking this question a minute or so after the fight began, Valyr watched as Loreina and Hal summoned their respective monsters of choice, filling their sides of the crater with their summons.


    "It''s pretty much a no-brainer, don''t you think?" Looking at Valyr with a slightly bitter smile, Faulus responded. "If anything, it would be better for you to ask how long Loreina could withstand Hal''s attacks."


    "Yeah¡­ he wouldn''t be called the Lord of All Trades for nothing," Valyr said in response, bitterly smiling as he thought about how Hal''s dominance overbat was well-known by many even before the War of the Three Sovereignties.


    "It really sums up his talent, to be honest." With the bitter smile still affixed to his face, Faulus nodded in agreement. "Restrict him to a weapon, and he would use it as if he were a veteran of the battlefield."


    "Restrict him to magic, and he would use it as if he were a mage that has studied magic for many decades."


    "Restrict him to a bow and arrow, and he would use it as if he were a hunter since birth."


    "Restrict him to summoning, and he would use it as if he were the greatestmander the world has ever seen."


    "Heck, now that I''m talking about it, it kind of makes me feel like he can''t be beaten by any of our peers."

 Chapter 503 Flora Vs Fauna

    "You''re that confident, huh?" Listening to Faulus praise Hal for his superb ability inbat, Valyr could not stop an amused smirk from creeping up onto his lips. "You really think he can''t be beaten?"


    "I just said I feel like he can''t be beaten, not that he couldn''t be beaten," rified Faulus in response. "After all, we don''t know when some prodigy with a level of talent far monstrous than Hal''s would appear in the world of Veldanyr."


    "But what if that prodigy has already appeared?" asked Valyr, a knowing smile adorning his face.


    "If they did, then their name should''ve been known by now¡­" Raising his eyebrow as he looked at Faulus in confusion, the gears in the young man''s mind turned as he wondered which person Valyr was talking about. Fortunately, it did not take too long for a couple of things to click in his mind as he looked back at the man beside him.


    "Are you seriously talking about yourself?" Narrowing his eyes as he dropped the question, Faulus let out a low sigh after Valyr grinned in response. "You may have beaten me in magicbat, but are you sure you could stand toe to toe with Hal in a battle using magic?"


    "No clue." Valyr chuckled as he faintly shrugged, causing Faulus to let out yet another sigh.


    "Then, where are you getting all that confidence from?" asked Faulus soon after.


    "Well¡­ let''s just say I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve and leave it at that." Responding to Faulus'' question with a faintly mysterious smile, Valyr returned his attention back to the fight happening within the crater.


    "Would it really hurt you to tell me?" Seeing as the young man beside him did not n on borating what he meant by his words, Faulus shook his head as he soon returned his attention to the fight in the crater as well, thinking that he would eventually find out once the time came.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "[Ephemeral Flora Summoning Arts]!" mming both of her hands to the ground, Loreina swiftly infused a great amount of her mana into the earth below them, causing her immediate surroundings to transform as ayer of greenery appeared on what was previously barrennd.


    Not long after, thisyer of greenery rapidly grew in length and size, only for them to bunch up together as the greenery gradually took on the shape of a humanoid-looking figure.


    "[nt Battalion]!" Removing her hands off the ground, Loreina then looked at the creatures she had summoned, inwardly nodding in satisfaction as she redirected the mana she had been infusing before into these creatures.


    Swoosh!


    "Uwaaarrrgghh¡­" At the very moment these creatures were faintly infused with Loreina''s energy, all of them let out a deep groan rarely heard even from thergest of creatures as their auras gradually spread out. Within seconds, these creatures stood ramrod straight as they eventually gave off the feeling that they were working as one entity, making one think that a small army had appeared to protect Loreina.


    "[nt Battalion: Awakening Command]." Seeing as Hal was only standing where he stood as he watched her summon her creatures, a slight frown appeared on Loreina''s face as she infused a bit more mana into one of the nt creatures, giving it a semnce of consciousness as it gained the ability to lead the other nt creatures through a singlemand.


    "Shouldn''t you be summoning your creatures as well?" Counting the number of nt creatures she was able to summon, which came up to a number of around 20 or so, Loreina inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she stepped back from the frontlines, gazing at Hal as she asked.


    "I just wanted to find out what I would be fighting against." Hal faintly grinned in response, his demeanor continuing to exude great self-confidence all this time.


    "Now that I''ve found out¡­" Then, not long after, he extended one of his hands outward, conjuring a magic circle that swiftly expanded in size.


    "It''s time for me to respond."


    "[Greater Lupus Summoning Arts]."


    Swoosh!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Channeling a great amount of his mana into the magic circle he had conjured, orbs of light gray energy soon manifested out of the circle before positioning themselves in a spot a couple of meters away from where Hal stood.


    Whoosh!


    A few secondster, these light gray orbs expanded in size, taking on rough forms that looked to span widths greater than Hal''s height as the young man continued to infuse his mana into them.


    Eventually, once it seemed like the light gray orbs had obtained enough mana from the young man, the energy from these orbs turned corporeal, allowing a line of wolves with light gray fur to appear in front of Hal, their eyes crimson with bloodlust.


    "[Greater Lupus Summoning Arts: Wolf King]." Though the number of wolves Hal had summoned were only around a quarter of what Loreina was able to summon, the young man shed a confident smile at her as he sent out arge wave of mana towards the wolf in front of him, causing its aura and appearance to undergo a massive transform.


    "Awooooo!!!" Letting out a howl of delight, the wolf''s fur became slightly darker in color as its size grew to be around 50%rger than the wolves surrounding it. After that, a few tufts of fur on its head started protruding out and took on a pale yellow color as it began to resemble a crown.


    "Flora versus fauna. Quite a fitting theme, don''t you think?" Stepping back as he allowed the wolves he had summoned to take the limelight, Hal let out a bit ofughter as he posed the question to Loreina.


    "¡­" As if she had returned to her original personality as a tailor, Loreina''s demeanor turned solemn as she sent out a series of mentalmands to the creatures she had summoned, all of them ryed to the other nt creatures through theirmander.


    "That''s harsh." Wryly smiling as the young woman did not respond to his question, Hal took in a deep breath as his expression turned calm, prompting him to take this fight a bit seriously.


    ''Your order for today.'' Sending amand to therge wolf at the center, a faint hint of fighting intent arose from him as he looked at the young woman he was fighting against.


    ''Leave no creature unharmed.''


    "Awooooo!!!" Howling in response, as if to show it had understood its orders, the wolf king began to move forward to meet the nt creatures it would be fighting against. Seeing their leader move forward, the other wolves began to move as well, coordinating with one another as the crater soon turned into a battlefield.


    "Uwaaarrrgghh¡­" Seeing the wolf king make a move, Loreina went ahead and ordered themander to fight against it, thetter groaning as it ordered a few of itsrades to join it on the offensive.


    "Grrr¡­" Seeing that its enemies hade to appear before it instead of it appearing before them, the wolf king let out a deep growl as it looked around, taking note of the fact that the other wolves were already engaging inbat with their opponents.


    Bending its knees for a bit, the wolf king soon lunged forward towards its enemies, which numbered four in total. Swiping down its paw diagonally tond the first blow, the wolf king sent its first attack towards themander, keeping in mind that defeating it would allow the wolf king to emerge victorious.


    "Uwooghh¡­" Quickly understanding what the wolf king was aiming for, the ntmander ordered all three that had joined him to block the attack, sessfully doing so as the three used their wide arms to deflect the attack.


    "Uwowoohh¡­" Noticing that the wolf king was standing in ce as it looked for an opening it could exploit, themander swiftly sent down amand to the three, allowing them to take advantage of the situation. With that, the three lunged forward and held the wolf king by the legs, affixing the opponent in ce.


    "Awoo!" Realizing that it had made apse in judgment, the wolf king swiftly let out a howl, sending down amand to the other wolves that one of them should help it free the wolf king from the encirclement. However, with all of the wolves still engaging with their opponents, none of them were free enough to help the wolf king out, prompting anger to appear in thetter''s eyes.


    "Uwoo¡­" Transforming one of its arms into a sharp tip, themander made use of the opportunity and thrust its arm forward, hoping to hit the wolf king at one of its vital parts.


    Unfortunately¡­


    "Awooo!!!" Seeing that none of the other wolves could help it out, the wolf king decided to take matters into its own hands, severing one of the arms holding it down by biting down on it with itsrge jaw. Then, with the increased freedom to move about, it relied on the strength its hind legs contained to propel itself forward, dodging the sharp tip themander sent just in the nick of time.


    "Grr¡­" Distancing itself from the opposing group tasked to defeat it, the wolf king let out a low growl as it stared at the four, letting it know through its action that their fight was only beginning.

 Chapter 504 Increasing The Stakes

    "Awoo!!!" Letting out yet another howl as it gave a set of orders to the other wolves, the wolf king lunged forward with greater force, hoping to catch its enemies by surprise as it opened its maw wide to bite down.


    "Uwowogghh!" Realizing what its opponent was about to do, the ntmander ordered the three apanying it to tank the blows, prompting the three to raise their arms once more.


    Whoosh!


    Without even caring as to where its bite wouldnd, the wolf king bit down with full force, only to realize that its attack hadnded once more on the other summons apanying the ntmander. Then again, even though the bite from the wolf king was mostly blocked by the defense set up, that did not mean that the nt summons themselves were unharmed.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing asnding yet another bite proved ineffective in the current situation, the wolf king took advantage of its body being anchored to one of the nt summons, shing down with both of its ws in a bid to deal great damage to one of the summons.


    Unexpectedly, this strategy had worked, rendering one of the nt summons immobile as the force behind the wolf king''s attack was more than enough to cut the one it had bit down on in two.


    "Awooo!!!" Seeing that their leader was finally gaining an advantage over the opponent, the other wolves had be motivated to push their bodies to the limit, taking on a more aggressive approach as they fought against their respective enemies.


    "Uwaarrgghh¡­" Letting out a deep groan in response to one of the nt summons'' deaths under the paws of the wolf king, the ntmander seemed to have be furious as itmanded the two remaining summons apanying it to retreat, giving the wolf king time to rest as thetter wondered what the ntmander wanted to do.


    However, contrary to the wolf king''s expectations, thinking that the ntmander would haveunched an all-out offensive against the wolf king alone, the ntmander instead asked the two nt summons to stand idly in front of it before¡­


    Cutting the two just like how the first one died.


    Thud. Thud.


    Seeing the vigor within these two nt summons gradually disappear as the wolf king witnessed it happen in front of it, the wolf king found it slightly amusing that the ntmander would cull its own force in an act of desperation. Though, before the wolf king could even respond in a way that showed its amusement¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Rumble¡­


    Out of nowhere, the ground within the ntmander''s vicinity began to rumble, prompting the wolf king to increase the distance separating the two of them as it faintly felt a bit of fear as it looked at what stood before it. In fact, Hal, who could witness the entire fight through the wolf king''s senses, was also left at a loss for words as he watched what was happening.


    "Isn''t this a bit too much? We still have to take the inheritance into consideration, no?" Looking at Loreina on the other side of the crater, whose attention was fully focused on infusing mana into the ntmander, Hal sent a message to the young woman through the chat function.


    "Against you?" In response, Loreina allocated a bit of her attention towards Hal before replying to the message with her words. "Not at all."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "If anything, I''d say I escted our fight quite nicely."


    "[nt Battalion: Root Juggernaut]!"


    Swoosh!


    Sending out one massive wave of her own mana towards the ntmander that stood there, Loreina watched as the lifeless bodies of the three nt summons that apanied it gradually turned into motes of dark green light, all of which swiftly headed in the ntmander''s direction.


    Not long after, these motes of dark green lightbined with the mana Loreina had sent out, only for the amalgamation to take on an earthy brown color as these motes began to stick onto the ntmander, improving the might themander exuded.


    "¡­" Watching the transformation the ntmander was undergoing in silence, a slight frown appeared on Hal''s face as he inwardly let out a sigh, deciding to send in a bit of his mana towards the wolf king as a way to counterattack against Loreina''s actions.


    However, rather than have all of his mana be absorbed by the wolf king, he instead used the wolf king as a conduit of sorts, allowing its body to be a hub of some sort as the mana began to extend towards the other wolves, giving all of them a substantial boost in power.


    "[Lupus Unification]."


    "Awoooo!!!" As if responding to the power-up the ntmander was currently going through, all of the wolves let out a loud howl in unison as the crimson in their eyes turned deeper.


    Then, without even giving the other side a chance to retaliate, all of the wolves lunged forward and attacked with even greater aggression than before, hoping that their greater strength would be enough to take down their opponents.


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    One by one, the nt summons fighting against the other wolves gradually began to fall to the ground, sumbing to the great amount of damage the wolves had dealt through their attacks. Because of that, the wolf king gradually gained greater confidence in facing the ntmander before it, who was still in the midst of its transformation.


    "Grr¡­" Growling as it bent its knees, the wolf king swiftly darted forward to the limits of its strength, closing the distance between the two of them within a couple of seconds as it swiped down both of its paws in a cross pattern.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Bang!


    Before the wolf king could even figure out what had hit it, the wolf king was sent flying, tumbling on the ground for a few meters as itnded.


    On the other hand, it seemed that the ntmander''s transformation had finally reached some sort of equilibrium, allowing its now more imposing aura to spread throughout the crater as everyone watching the fight unfold now looked at the ntmander with silence.

 Chapter 505 Going With The Flow

    "Is that really something someone only at the peak of Rank 2 can conjure?" Watching the fight unfold near the edge of the crater, Faulus and Valyr were left looking at the transformation Loreina''s summon had undergone in silence, with Faulus eventually breaking the silence as their eyes slightly widened in surprise.


    Standing a fair distance away from Loreina was not a humanoid-looking being made out of greenery anymore, containing a semnce of consciousness in order to act as themander of her summons. Instead, what stood before her now seemed to be a machine that only knew carnage as its goal, exuding a level of killing intent that seemed uncharacteristic for a summon based on nts.


    Then again, the ntmander''s current appearance barely resembled anything like a nt.


    With its stature seemingly growing a couple heads in height, the ntmander was now covered in thick te armor, all of which were of an earthy brown color due to the transformation that had urred earlier. Aside from that, the ntmander now wielded weapons that would normally be wielded by humans, but of arger size.


    "Seriously, I think this is a bit too much." With his attention fixated towards the tworge scimitars being wielded by the ntmander, Hal could not stop himself from scratching the back of his head, wondering what he had done for Loreina to act like this.


    "Didn''t you say you didn''t want both sides to go all out earlier? Where did that notion go?"


    "¡­" Hearing the question, Loreina responded with silence, ordering the ntmander to make a move in her mind as she distanced herself once more.


    "Ai¡­" Letting out a slightly exasperated sigh, Hal decided to end the fight as quickly as possible,manding the other wolves through the wolf king to congregate near thetter as they prepared for what would be their final bout.


    "Awooo!" Howling in unison as if to respond affirmatively to Hal''s orders, the other wolves swiftly arrived near the wolf king, standing around it as all of them looked for an opening they could exploit as the transformed ntmander continued to move closer.


    However¡­


    Whoosh!


    Before the wolves could even find an opening and realize what was happening, the ntmander seemed to have appeared in front of them all of a sudden, shing out both of its des outward in a horizontal arc as it rendered all of the wolves incapable of fighting any further¡­


    Except for the wolf king.


    Swoosh!


    Empowered by the mana Hal had given it earlier, the wolf king was barely able to dodge the sudden attack from the ntmander, feeling a great amount of heartache as all of itsrades had fallen victim to thetter''s viciousness.


    Sadly, even though the wolf king knew that the best move was to move away from themander and find a way to retaliate, considering that it had not really expended a lot of energy, the wolf king had received a certainmand in its mind, allowing its body to be enveloped in the aura being exuded by the ntmander as the two stood face-to-face for what would be the final time.


    Bang!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Without any shred of mercy, the ntmander sent both of its des downward, cutting the wolf king into three parts as thetter gradually dispersed into specks of mana, eventually disappearing into thin air.


    Not long after, the other wolves also began to disperse into thin air, as well as the other nt summons that had been felled by the wolves before the ntmander''s eventual transformation.


    With that, the only summons that remained within the crater was the transformed ntmander, as well as the remaining nt summons that were lucky enough to escape the wolves'' frenzied attacks from earlier. Then again, thetter group looked to be worse for wear, with a great portion of their limbs barely connected to their torsos.


    "Now¡­" Making her way in front of the transformed ntmander, Loreina looked at Hal with a solemn expression as she threw her a question. "Are you willing to continue this fight¡­ or would you like to admit defeat?"


    "I''ll¡­ admit defeat." Though he deliberated on the question for a bit, Hal eventually chose to end the fight then and there, bitterly smiling as he thought about Loreina''s condition.


    Surprisingly, as if those words from the young man had woken Loreina up, the personality the young woman took on during the fight gradually disappeared, her demeanor returning to how it was from before the fight.


    "Though I did say not to go all out¡­ you could''ve taken me a bit more seriously, no?" Not long after, she let out a slightly annoyed sigh as she looked at Hal, who could only bitterly smile in response.


    "If you were in my shoes, you would have understood what I felt when I saw you transform that summon of yours" said Hal. "If anything, it felt like you had gone all out during that fight."


    "Eh? Did I really?" As if she briefly forgot what had transpired during their fight, Loreina turned around to look at her remaining summons, eventually focusing her attention on themander she had transformed near the end of their fight.


    "But I haven''t really gone all out yet, though?" Pointing at themander she had transformed, Loreina turned to look back at Hal before tilting her head in slight confusion, causing thetter to be left at a loss for words as he wondered whether or not to believe in her statement.


    "In any case¡­" Deciding not to argue about whether she had gone all out or not any further, Hal quickly shifted the topic to the next fight. "With how things concluded, you''re the winner of this fight."


    "As long as I get a higher chance of obtaining the leader spot, I guess." Also finding it pointless to argue with Hal as to whether or not she had gone all out during their fight, Loreina decided to agree with the verdict of the fight, heading back to the edge of the crater as Hal followed suit soon after.


    "Let us take a short break to recuperate our physical and mental conditions before continuing on with the fights," said Hal after he sat down at the edge of the crater once more, to which the others nodded in agreement.


    "By then¡­" After that, he turned to look at Valyr before smiling.


    "Would you finally be willing to choose your opponent, Valyr?"

 Chapter 506 A Small Reprieve

    "Guess we''ll have to wait and see." Letting out a bit ofughter, Valyr grinned at Hal as he responded, signaling the start of their break as the four recuperated all of the energy they had wasted during their fights.


    Though he was the first one to fight in the tournament and had expended a great amount of his mana and stamina during his fight, Faulus took the initiative to speed up their recovery, taking out a cauldron from a spatial bracelet attached to his waist before putting it down a considerable distance away from the crater.


    Seeing as Faulus had retrieved a few sets of alchemical materials from his bracelet not long after, Valyr decided to leave the young man be for the meantime, reminding himself that immense concentration was needed for one to sessfully concoct something through alchemy.


    With that, he decided to head to where Loreina sat for the meantime as the young woman''s personality during the fight remained vivid in his mind.


    Waving at the young woman as a greeting before exchanging a couple of words to initiate the conversation, the young man eventually changed the topic of their conversation to the thought that lingered in his mind.


    "You know, I''ve been curious about something while the two of you fought," Valyr told Loreina.


    "Is it perhaps the drastic change in personality I undergo during fights?" Already having a faint idea of what the young man wanted to ask, a slightly bitter smile appeared on Loreina''s face as she asked.


    "Well¡­ I understand if you don''t want to tell me the reason behind it." Feeling as if he had been found out even before he began talking, an awkward smile adorned Valyr''s face as he responded. "After all, from how you''re talking about it, it feels like there''s more to it than it seems."


    "It''s fine, it''s fine." Loreina assured Valyr that it was alright to talk about it. "It''s something quite a lot of people know already, so there really isn''t any problem with me sharing it."


    "Though, before I exin the reason¡­ you do know where I came from, right?" she asked not long after.


    "It''s in your name, no?" Valyr faintly nodded. "Cappe Vige, if my memory serves me correctly."


    "Yeah." Loreina nodded in response.


    "Well, in short, the reason for my change in personality is due to my upbringing in the vige," said the young woman soon after, shing a wry smile at Valyr as she continued, "Hopefully, that answer is more than enough for you."


    "I think I have an idea." Though he really wanted the young woman to exin more about it, Valyr understood that obtaining this kind of information was already a lot, considering that the two weren''t even acquaintances to begin with. With that, he decided to work with the information he already had about Loreina from the past, thanking the young woman as he sat on a portion of the crater''s edge far away from the others.


    "Huu¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths as he began to delve deep into the recesses of his mind, memories he had regarding Loreina''s upbringing began to surface, reminding Valyr that the young woman was an orphan when she grew up.


    ''Well, it wouldn''t be surprising if the change in personality was a defense mechanism for her back then.'' Mulling over the thought, the young man let out a low sigh as he quickly felt like his first assumption seemed the most likely.


    As a young orphan in the vige, it wasn''t surprising for people to exploit that kind of status, especially if they knew they wouldn''t receive some kind of repercussion from it. Unsurprisingly, a few dark thoughts rted to the situation appeared in Valyr''s mind, causing him to feel a bit of anger towards those who had malicious intent towards Loreina in the past.


    Though, after taking in a few more deep breaths, these dark thoughts gradually disappeared, reminding himself that the situations he hade up were only theoretical at most, all of them easily considered worst-case scenarios.


    Nevertheless, the amount of pity Valyr felt towards Loreina''s current condition only increased after obtaining that idea, though he would make sure that he would never show it to the young woman. With how the young woman generally wanted to act on her own, judging from how she fought against Hal, Valyr felt like Loreina would treat his actions out of pity as some sort of offensive remark.


    ''In any case, I never expected I''de across these figures I used to admire in the past and interact with them as equals.'' Standing up as he noticed that Faulus had concocted a series of potions for all of them, Valyr made his way to where the young man was as the thought lingered in his mind.


    With how much time he had invested into Greater Beyond in his previous life, he knew the feats and strengths of the three as if it were the back of his hand, feeling great excitement from his inner yer at the fact that he would be one of those legends as well.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    ''Still, to think most of the people I''ve interacted with so far are NPCs,'' thought Valyr to himself as he let out a faint chuckle. ''It seriously doesn''t feel like it.''


    "Get some potions before we continue with the next few fights." Handing out freshly concocted potions to Loreina and the others, Faulus watched the three drink his potions with a proud smile on his face, the arrogance he had shown Valyr earlier nowhere to be found.


    "Woah." With stamina being the resource he had expended the most, Valyr grabbed a stamina potion for himself and chugged the contents down, only to feel like his body was bursting with energy a few secondster.


    "As expected from the Lord of Medicine." Unsurprisingly, Hal and Loreina had the same reaction as Valyr as they drank mana potions, their mana reserves swiftly being topped off just from a single potion.


    "I did mention earlier that alchemy is my specialty." Feeling a bit giddy at having his efforts be recognized, Faulus rubbed his nose as he chuckled. With his potions, the four of them focus on resting their minds as much as possible with the remaining time they had for their break, keeping in mind that they were already in their peak condition physically.


    ¡­


    "So, seeing as we''ve all returned to our peak conditions¡­" With all of them gathered around during the remainder of their break, Hal stood up as he announced the end of their break, looking at Valyr with a knowing grin.


    "I suppose it wouldn''t be a problem for you to choose your opponent now, Ylvar?"


    "I''ve definitely rested enough." Valyr smiled as he stood up, turning to look at Hal before asking, "I suppose I can''t fight against Faulus anymore, no?"


    "You really want to fight me again?" Hearing Valyr''s question, Faulus felt a bit of indignance as heined.


    "Of course not." Smiling at Faulus'' words, Hal looked at Valyr and shook his head in response. "After all, we already know who''s stronger between the two of you."


    "So, that leaves either you and Loreina, then." Nodding in response, Valyr looked at the two other candidates he hadn''t fought against, calcting the chances in his mind that he would''ve triumphed against them. Eventually, after a minute or so of silence, the young man had made his decision, making his way to the depths of the crater in an unhurried pace.


    "Which among the two of us are you going to fight against?" Seeing Valyr already making his way to the crater, Hal asked the former once more, only to be met by echoingughter.


    "Isn''t it already obvious by now?" Turning around to look at the three as he continued to walk, Valyr had a yful grin on his face as he pointed at Hal. "Ever since I fought against Faulus, I''ve already noticed your intent to fight against me."


    "Unless¡­ you want me to fight against Loreina for now?" Tilting his head as he questioned Hal, the grin on Valyr''s face became wider.


    "Well, if you insist¡­" Laughing in response to Valyr''s words, Hal swiftly made his way to the crater, appearing at its depths before Valyr had even gotten to its center.


    "How eager." With his expression returning to a faint, confident smile, Valyr eventually stood at the center of the crater, the distance separating him and his opponent only being a few meters.


    "Vylhalteinn Impyris." Wanting to see if the feeling he had earlier was correct, Hal took the initiative to go over his specialties, leaving Valyr no choice but to listen with rapt attention. "General specialties are in the schrly arts and in divination, while mybat specialties lie in cold weapons, magic, summoning, and archery."


    "Ylvar," Valyr responded with a nod. "General specialties are in cksmithing, with other things I consider specialties not really important. As for mybat specialties¡­"


    "What if I told you magic was only one of them?"

 Chapter 507 A Battle Between Monsters

    "To be honest, I wouldn''t be surprised." As Faulus'' eyes widened in disbelief from Valyr''s words while Loreina smirked at having her suspicions be confirmed, Hal listening to the young man with amused expression on his face, chuckling not long after. "Ever since that fight you had with Faulus, I already had a feeling you were holding yourself back."


    "I just didn''t expect you to be holding yourself back far more than I thought," added Hal after that, causing a grin to creep up onto Valyr''s lips. "So, aside from magic, what other types ofbat do you specialize in, Ylvar?"


    "Cold weapons and summoning," replied Valyr, making Hal feel greater excitement towards the fight that would ur between the two of them.


    "Are we only limiting ourselves to one type ofbat?" Though, just as he thought how fun it would be to finally go somewhat all out against his opponent, Hal caught himself in the midst of his excitement, taking in a deep breath topose himself as he asked.


    "I don''t know." Valyr shrugged his shoulders as a smile continued to adorn his face. "Are you fine with only having to use one type ofbat?"


    "Well, the same could be said to you," said Hal in response with a faint chuckle, examining Valyr from head to toe as he felt the other side''s intent. "Are you fine with only having to stick to one type ofbat?"


    "Against someone like you? Of course not." Saying these words, Valyr red his aura to the fullest, leaving both Faulus and Loreina at a loss for words as they did not expect the man to be hiding such a level of strength all this time.


    "Guess that settles it." Feeling giddy towards the battle they were going to have, Hal decided to respond to Valyr''s showing of power, releasing the entirety of his aura as well as the two auras shed throughout the crater, making one feel as if one were looking at two lions baring their fangs at one another.


    Whoosh!


    Taking out an exquisite looking sword from his spatial bracelet, Hal gripped its handle tightly as his expression turned calm. With the man''s breathing following a certain pattern, Valyr gradually felt like Hal''s presence was gradually disappearing in front of him with every passing second.


    "To keep things even, I won''t use archery during our fight." Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, Hal looked at Valyr, who had already taken a battle stance after seeing the former prepare for their fight. "Does that sound good?"


    "Yep." Nodding in response, Valyr gradually calmed his emotions as well, preparing both his body and mind towards something that he considered as one of the most important fights in his life. After all, not only was he going to fight against a prodigyuded by everyone for his talent¡­


    His victory in the fight also meant that he would have a greater chance at bing the leader during the expedition into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    "I''ll be doing the countdown." Seeing that his opponent was ready, Hal took the initiative to start their fight, prompting Valyr to nod as his expression turned even more solemn.


    "3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­"


    "Fight!''


    "[Limit Break]!"


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant Hal signaled the beginning of their battle, Valyr did not hesitate to use one of his buffing skills, increasing the advantage he had over Hal in terms of stats as he used the opportunity to distance himself from the young man.


    "[de of Six Paths]..." Responding to Valyr''s action, Hal decided to chase the former, pushing his body to the limit as he channeled a bit of mana into his de.


    "[Mortal Severing sh]." Then, after feeling like the gap between them had gotten narrow enough, he shed his sword outwards, sending a de of white energy towards Valyr as it zoomed through the air.


    "Oh no¡­" Realizing that he wouldn''t be able to dodge the de of energy in time even with heightened stats, contrary to what any sane person would have done in his situation, Valyr stopped in his tracks and stood in ce, his eyes fixated on the de of energy getting nearer towards him.


    "Anyway¡­"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "[Darting Shadow]."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment it seemed like the de of energy would make contact with Valyr, as if all bones had turned into mush, the young man deftly avoided the attack altogether as he moved many meters forward, slithering on the ground at great speeds as if he were a serpent.


    "Wha¡ª" Not expecting Valyr to have an evasive skill in his arsenal, especially at the level he had shown, Hal stared nkly at the young man slithering on the ground, only to snap back to reality once his opponent was only a meter or so in front of him.


    "[Crimson ze]!"


    Swoosh!


    Taking advantage of Hal being dumbfounded by his evasive maneuver, Valyr swiftly conjured a ball of crimson mes before throwing it at the young man, not even bothering to charge it to its full potential.


    "[Seven Sage Steps]!" In response, Hal decided to show Valyr his own evasive skill, moving away from the orb of crimson mes nearing him as each consecutive step increased the gap between him and the young man.


    Bang!


    With no target for it to make contact with, rather than have the fireball reach the walls of the crater, an idea appeared in Valyr''s mind as he manipted the orb to collide with the ground, kicking up a great amount of dust into the surroundings.


    Bombarding the ground by activating [Crimson ze] over and over again, more and more dust covered the surroundings of the two, prompting Hal to put himself in Valyr''s shoes as he thought about what he could do with the dust around them acting as a cover.


    Swoosh!


    However, just as he had gotten an inkling of an idea as to what Valyr was nning to do, Hal started to hear hurried footsteps heading in his direction, leaving his mind at a crossroads as to what he should do next. In the end, he decided to y it safe, sending out an attack with his de in the direction of the sound.


    "[de of Six Paths]¡­"


    "[Ghastly Tornado]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Allocating a bit more mana into the skill, the tornado of energy des formed by his attack quickly dispersed the dust hampering his vision, allowing him to see who or what was causing the footsteps he was hearing.


    "¡­" Being left at a slight loss for words, Hal found out that the one causing the footsteps was arge boar, which currently ran around in circles as its cover was blown.


    "If Ylvar wasn''t making the noise, then where¡­?!" Of course, the question regarding Valyr''s whereabouts soon popped up into Hal''s mind, looking around for any traces of him. Though, just as he had felt like he had tracked the young man''s presence¡­


    "Looking for me?" Valyr grinned, both of his hands tightly gripping on his blood red spear.


    "Well¡­ here I am."


    Bang!

 Chapter 508 The Fight Continues

    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­"


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]!"


    Summoning a bit of Shadow Energy from the small ck mass near his heart, Valyr adeptly maneuvered the energy towards the spear he held, merging it with a bit of his mana as a dark haze swiftly covered the spear tip.


    Then, thrusting out with all his strength, Valyr sent the dark haze towards Hal, allowing thebination of mana and Shadow Energy to mingle with one another before causing a shockwave to appear in its ce only a few secondster.


    Bang!


    "Kuh!" With how there wasn''t enough time for him to employ his evasive skill, Hal decided to rely on his de to defend against the attack, brandishing his sword in the direction of Valyr''s attack before infusing it with as much mana as he could.


    Whoosh!


    Fortunately for Hal, with how much mana he had infused into his de, almost all of the force from the resulting shockwave transferred onto the sword he wielded, making his hands tremble as the remaining force from the attack pushed him back a couple of meters.


    "Haah¡­" After he had regained his footing, Hal let out a low sigh as he stabbed his ground to the sword for the meantime, briefly gazing at his hands that continued to tremble. Then, after taking in a deep breath, he used both hands to p himself on the face before picking up the sword once more.


    "I must admit that I''ve be overconfident in my abilities." Slowly making his way towards Valyr, Hal eyed the boar that still roamed around the crater, keeping its position in mind as he continued to move closer. "After all, rarely would Ie across an opponent that would prompt me to use everything in my arsenal."


    "With that, I must thank you for waking me up from mycency." Stopping in his tracks all of a sudden, he then bent his knees, gathering all of the strength he could muster towards his legs before dashing forward.


    Gaining an idea of what Hal was trying to achieve, Valyr ced the spear behind his back as he ordered the boar he had summoned to move closer to him. However, just as he had manipted the earth to erect a thick wall in front of him¡­


    Hal had made his move.


    "[Lesser Nirvana]¡­"


    "[Enlightenment]."


    ¡­


    "And here I thought the gap in strength between me and Valyr was somewhat negligible." Watching the high-octane fight between Valyr and Hal unfold, Faulus could not help but let out a long sigh as he thought about the foolish thoughts he came up with while fighting against Valyr. "Who knew he''d be hiding such a ridiculous amount of strength like that?"


    "I''m quite surprised as well." Deciding to stay all of them sat earlier, Loreina nodded in agreement, recalling the faint feeling she had while watching Faulus and Valyr fight for the first time. "Though I did get the feeling he was hiding a great portion of his strength while fighting against you."


    "Are you telling me that I''m weak, then?" Feeling somewhat offended by Loreina''s words, Faulus looked back at the young woman with a slight frown, only to let out a sigh soon after as the woman''s expression remained unchanged.


    "Alright, fine. I''ll put in more effort into training mybat abilities before we enter the inheritance." Sighing once more, Faulus returned his attention back to the crater, with Loreina letting out a soft giggle in response to the former''s words.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "So, who do you think is gonna win?" Returning her attention back to the crater as well, Loreina soon went ahead and dropped Faulus a question, causing thetter to furrow his eyebrows for a bit.


    "To be honest, I thought it would be Hal at first, but I don''t know anymore." Scratching the back of his head, Faulus eventually shook his head as he looked at her. "With how the current fight is turning out, I''d say Ylvar might have a greater chance at winning."


    "Yeah¡­ I wouldn''t be so sure about that." In response, Loreina gave Faulus a wry smile as her eyes remained glued to the crater.


    Slightly confused as to why she would say that, Faulus was about to ask her reasoning when the young woman pointed towards the crater, prompting him to take a look and see what was going on.


    "Ah¡­" Shifting his head back to the crater, it did not take long for Faulus to find the evidence backing up Loreina''s im, staring with slightly widened eyes as Hal''s body began to glisten a faint yellow.


    "Well then¡­"


    "Guess Ylvar''s going to be facing a bit of trouble for some time."


    ¡­


    "Oh?" Watching the earth wall he had erected be destroyed with a couple shes, Valyr swiftly moved back as he raised his eyebrow in interest, noticing that Hal''s aura had be stronger within a short span of time. Apanied by the fact that the man''s body now began to glisten a faint yellow, it did not take long for Valyr to put two and two together, briefly chuckling as he grinned.


    "I''ll be fighting you seriously from now on." Infusing part of his mana into the de and into his hand, Hal sent out arge de of energy towards Valyr, only to be followed up with a series of bolts that also glistened a faint yellow.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Finding Hal''s words somewhat amusing, Valyr retaliated against the attack with a barrage of des made out of crimson mes, making use of both quality and quantity to turn his opponent''s attack into a waste of resources.


    "So, if I''m interpreting this correctly, you haven''t been fighting me seriously so far?" Then, seeing as Hal remained idle after defending against his attack, Valyr decided to taunt the man into action, a technique he had used against Faulus during their fight earlier.


    "[Greater Lupus Summoning]." However, rather than respond to Valyr''s question with a series of words, Hal instead used his actions as an answer, spending a considerable chunk of his mana to summon a small group of wolves in front of him. Then, after consuming a mana potion he had stored in his spatial bracelet, hemanded all of the wolves to attack Valyr as he followed closely behind them.


    "Now we''re getting somewhere." Deciding to top off his mana reserves as well, Valyr hastily consumed a mana potion stored inside his spatial bracelet as he increased the distance separating him and Hal, giving himself time to think about his next move.


    Then again, it didn''t take long for him toe up with an idea, considering what he was up against.


    "[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]!"


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]!"


    "[Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts]!"

 Chapter 509 Showing All Cards

    Activating all of the offensive stat boosting skills he had in his arsenal that he had stored for ater time, Valyr mmed both of his hands into the ground, channeling a great portion of his mana into it as he began to chant a long string of gibberish-sounding words.


    "Ih pyn''ah tt''wagg k''ahn haap nmal''kas at meht''tagg!"


    "[Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts]!"


    "[Growth Summon Arx''has Boar]!"


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the mana Valyr had infused into the ground swiftly transformed itself into arge magic circle made out of multiple runes as arge entity slowly manifested above it. Due to the aura the entity was radiating as it was being summoned, Hal decided to change hismands, telling the wolves he had summoned to surround the entity instead.


    "How about we show them what we''ve got?" Faintly grinning as he noticed the change in Hal''sbat tactic, Valyr sent out another wave of his mana as he made a selection in his mind, allowing the entity he was summoning to finally appear in reality.


    "Goooorrrkkkk!!!" Obtaining a mentalmand from Valyr at the very instant it was summoned, the Arx''has Boar let out a loud and deep groan, causing part of the ground to tremble due to how loud it was.


    "Grr¡­" In response, the wolves immediately felt a hint of fear enter their bodies, feeling as if their legs had gained a mind of its own. Then again, with howrge the boar in front of them was, spanning over eight meters in length and over two meters in size, as well as the imposing aura it radiated, it was no surprise that their primal instincts had taken over.


    ''Definitely a good idea to summon one of the first two boars.'' Seeing as the wolves had be idle, the grin on Valyr''s face slightly widened as he thought about the boar that had been running around the crater all this time.


    ''I''ll be dispelling you for now.'' Doing a few gestures with his hands as he released part of his mana through it, the boar that was still running around the crater gradually dissipated into thin air, allowing Valyr to regain part of the mana he had spent summoning it in the first ce.


    "Well, that''s definitely unexpected." Slightly surprised that there was still a feature of the summoning skill that he had not yet figured out, Valyr was about to make his move against the wolves with the Arx''has Boar when Hal had appeared to his side, sending out a barrage of energy des and energy bolts in the process.


    "Stall the wolves for the meantime," said Valyr before dashing in Hal''s direction, activating [Crimson de Torrent] in retaliation.


    "Gork." Letting out a sound in response to Valyr''smand, the Arx''has Boar swiftly returned its attention to the wolves surrounding it as it red its aura in its entirety once more.


    "Awoo!!!" However, unlike before, where the wolves felt a great sense of intimidation from the boar''s aura, the wolves let out a howl in unison, as if they had gotten over the initial sense of fear and intimidation they felt earlier.


    Though, just as the boar thought to itself that it wouldn''t have to do a lot to make the wolves stay where they were, the wolves charged towards it at the highest speed their bodies could muster, swiping down on the boar''s abdomen with their paws.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Gork!" In response, the boar swiftly turned its entire body in the direction of the attacking wolves before putting all of its strength into a headbutt, aggroing all of the wolves onto it as the attack sent all of the wolves flying in all directions.


    ¡­


    "You know¡­ I''m kind of curious as to where your limits lie." Continuing to stay on the offensive as he sent attack after attack towards Valyr, Hal decided to strike up a conversation with the young man in the process. "Sure, you may have shown me a lot more things whenpared to your fight against Faulus, but I haven''t seen you truly go all out yet."


    "I could say the same to you," said Valyr in response, nullifying all of the attacks sent at him with attacks of his own. Then, seeing that his opponent had left himself wide open, he sent a series of magic attacks thatbined two elements, all of which wreaked great havoc within the crater. "I also wonder where your limits lie."


    "I guess we''ll have to push each other to desperation to find that out." Chuckling in response to Valyr''s words, Hal sent out a series of attacks that dispelled all of therge area attacks his opponent had sent at him before stopping in his tracks all of a sudden, going against the momentum he had built up as he took in a deep breath.


    Then, gripping the sword he wielded with both hands, he raised his weapon above his head, slowly infusing it with mana.


    Gradually feeling as if the sword Hal wielded was bing one with the young man, Valyr let out a faint hiss as he watched the sword take on the same-colored glow Hal''s body had taken on, sensing that the mana within the sword was growing beyond a level even Rank 2 mages would struggle to control.


    ''Truly a prodigy deserving of his title.'' Feeling a slight urge to just admit defeat then and there as he knew very well what he was up against, Valyr quickly suppressed this urge as he thought of the current situation from another perspective, taking it as an opportunity to witness something special firsthand.


    "Seriously. To think that he''s already awakened an Intent Seed before even ascending to Rank 3." Muttering these words to himself in a tone of slight disbelief, the young man calmed himself down as he thought about how he would defend against the uing attack.


    "I''d suggest you to avoid this attack if possible." Sensing that his sword had reached its limits in terms of mana capacity, Hal looked at the solemn-looking Valyr with a cold expression. "Or if you''re confident in your strength, defend against it."


    "I''m confident in my strength, alright." Retrieving the blood-red spear behind his back, a confident grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he firmly gripped on his spear with both hands. "Show me what you''ve got!"


    "Don''t say I didn''t warn you." As a smirk briefly appeared on Hal''s face, the young man soon sent his sword down to the ground, causing a de of golden energy to appear in front of him before swiftly expanding into a wave, enveloping almost a third of the crater in less than an instant.


    "[de of Six Paths: Nascent Sword Intent]."


    "[Golden Celestial Judgment]."

 Chapter 510 Light Vs Dark

    Whilst the fight between Hal and Valyr had seemingly reached its climax, with the former unleashing a move that instilled fear even to the escorts that had apanied the four candidates to the crater, Loreina and Faulus'' attention were fixated on the attack, briefly feeling a sense of dread from the golden light that had covered part of the crater.


    "To think the rumors were true," muttered Loreina as she recalled the stance Hal had taken before unleashing his attack. Going through the vivid memory, she watched the young man in her mind raise his sword up into the air before infusing it with his mana, causing the de to glow the same color as his body.


    Then, as if a switch had been flipped all of a sudden, the sword and the young man seemed to have be a single entity, both of them giving off the feeling that they could cut through anything within an instant underneath the great power it contained.


    "I don''t even know if we could even be considered a prodigy in front of him." Shuddering as her mind stopped on the exact moment she felt Hal and his de be as one, Loreina let out a low sigh as she shook her head, watching as the golden light from Hal''s side continued to envelop more and more of the crater.


    "Well, he''s not called the Lord of All Trades for nothing." Faulus wryly smiled, letting out a sigh of his own as he shook his head as well. "But still¡­ awakening an Intent Seed at Rank 2 is considered near impossible."


    "And we just saw that impossibility be a reality," said Loreina, prompting Faulus to turn silent as both of them went over the knowledge they already had about Intents.


    From what they knew, the earliest one could obtain an Intent was at the ss rank following their current one, which had its own set of rules, procedures, and qualities that would take ages to go over. However, before one could even obtain an Intent, one would first have to find the concept or type of knowledge that they have great understanding in before proceeding to trek the journey of awakening an Intent.


    Now, if one were to find this concept and pushed their understanding of it past a certain quality, one would begin to feel a faint connection to this understanding, which would eventually give rise to the connection one would have with the world.


    Though different ces called it under different names, this first faint connection was mostly known by everyone as the Intent Seed, the proof that one was already on the path of awakening their Intent.


    ''With how smooth the feeling of unity is between him and the de¡­ he''s probably reached the second stage already.'' Sighing once more, Faulus watched as the golden light had already upied around three-fourths of the crater''s area, leaving only a quarter left for Valyr to move about.


    "Though Valyr is definitely strong in his own right, it seems that even the strength he was hiding from us isn''t enough to triumph against Hal." Saying these words, Faulus turned to look at Loreina with a faintly bitter smile, for some reason having hope in his mind all this time that Valyr would be able to beat Hal. Though, with how things were turning out, it seemed like he had to suppress these feelings deep inside.


    However, just as the young man thought that Hal was undoubtedly going to be the winner of the fight between the two, Faulus noticed Loreina bing incredibly shocked, prompting him to turn his head towards the crater, only to be left at a loss for words as well.


    That was because¡­ aside from the golden light within the crater¡­


    There was now a dark haze.


    ¡­


    "This is definitely something you don''t see every day." Witnessing the golden light Hal had sent out gradually consume more and more of the crater''s inside, Valyr decided to dispel the Arx''has Boar he had summoned, noticing that the wolves Hal had summoned earlier were already taken care of.


    "I really have to go all out against this¡­ or else I won''te out of this with just a few minor injuries." Feeling part of the mana he had used to summon the Arx''has Boar return to him, he then took in a deep breath as he retrieved his spear from his back onest time.


    "Gotta make every second count." Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, Valyr went ahead and activated all of the buffing skills he had yet to activate, as well as the buffing skills that had expired throughout the fight.


    "[Limit Break]!"


    "[Offense Aura+]!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "[Rage of the Nascent Wyvern]!"


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]!"


    Whoosh!


    With every skill he activated, the aura he emanated underwent a considerable increase in power, forming a scene that screamed immense desperation when contrasted against a golden light that seemed to engulf everything.


    However, him activating his buffing skills was anything but desperation.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­" Summoning the Shadow Energy stored within the small ck mass near his heart, Valyr deftly manipted it towards the tip of his spear as he simultaneously began to infuse the spear with his mana.


    Then, after feeling like both the Shadow Energy and mana within the spear had reached a saturation point, he firmly gripped on the spear with both hands, pointing it to the ground before swiping it upwards at the fullest extent of his strength, causing a wave of dark energy to manifest in front of him.


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]."


    Swoosh!


    Like a fine de, the wave of dark energy began to cut through the golden light attempting to engulf the entire crater, gradually giving Valyr more space to move about as he made preparations to unleash yet another attack.


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]." Watching the first wave he had sent out make headway into the golden light, Valyr eventually felt that the cooldown for the skill had ended, prompting him to send out yet another wave of dark energy, which swiftlybined with the first one to form an evenrger wave.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With thebined momentum of two waves of Shadow Energy, the golden light was now gradually being pushed back to where Hal stood, whose stance and expression all this time remained more or less the same from the very moment he had unleashed his attack.


    Seeing the golden light he had unleashed being gradually pushed back, a slight frown erupted on Hal''s stoic face, responding to the retaliation from the other side by infusing more mana into the attack.


    Unfortunately¡­


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]." As if he had already foreseen Hal''s response, Valyr unleashed the skill onest time as he moved closer to the ever-expanding wave of dark energy he had sent out, causing its power and momentum to undergo a massive increase, finally giving it the strength to steamroll through the golden light and make its way to where Hal was.


    "[de of Six Paths: Nascent Sword Intent]." Seeing that even putting in more mana was useless in front of Valyr''s counterattack, Hal decided to focus his attention on a countermeasure, raising his sword up in the air once more in preparation for what he thought was a more destructive attack than before.


    However, before he could even begin to unleash it¡­


    "[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!"

 Chapter 511 A Necessary Sacrifice

    Just as Hal was preparing to counterattack against the wave of dark energy Valyr had sent to fight against his golden light, thetter had found a way to sneak up behind the former through the use of [Serpentine Sprint], his steps remaining silent all throughout.


    Then, seeing that Hal was wholly focused on umting strength for another attack, Valyr took the opportunity to catch the young man unaware, taking in a deep breath before pooling all of his remaining mana into his mouth, a faint heat starting to emanate from him.


    With Hal cing all of his focus on preparing his counterattack, the young man was able to take his sweet time into charging his attack to its fullest, allowing an orb of mes the size of his head to manifest before him as his mouth to swing wide open.


    Coincidentally, it was only at this moment did Hal finally take notice of Valyr''s presence, the surprise of thetter''s appearance being behind him all this time disrupting the concentration he had towards the attack he had yet to unleash.


    "[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!" Knowing that he was vulnerable to Hal''s counterattack as long as he gave the young man a chance to swing his sword down, Valyr blew into the orb of mes without hesitation, causing a wave of scalding mes to spread throughout the vicinity of the two as Hal was forced to release his attack.


    "[Golden Asura Cleave]!" Tightly gripping onto the handle of the sword he wielded, Hal brought the entirety of his de downward, prompting the energy he had put into the de to release through its tip and create a de of energy farrger than the one he had unleashed before.


    Swoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, with him imbuing the power of his Intent Seed into the attack, it was no surprise that the de of golden energy was able to cleave through the wave of mes with rtive ease, making its way to where Valyr remained standing.


    "No¡­ no¡­!" Realizing that his opponent had remained where he stood previously rather than move out of the way, Hal''s pupils shrunk in fear as he only nned to unleash the attack in a way where his opponent would be able to feel its might. Never in his mind did the thought of having the attack make contact with Valyr ever cross his mind.


    "Disperse!" Making use of his Intent Seed being active, as well as his control over the de of golden energy, Hal consciously forced the de of gold energy to dispel itself before even making contact with Valyr.


    However, even though the strength behind the attack had significantly decreased from the action, it was still on a path headed straight towards his opponent, its might more than enough tond a severe injury.


    Fortunately¡­


    "Just so you know, I wasn''t frozen with fear." Faintly grinning at the concern written all over Hal''s face, Valyr took in a deep breath before stabbing his blood-red spear into the ground, tapping into the Shadow Energy that was stored within him.


    "I was just waiting for the right opportunity."


    "[Dark Serpentine Repulsion]!"


    Combining the Shadow Energy he had summoned with his mana, a magic circle swiftly formed beneath Valyr''s feet before forming a translucent dark gray barrier around him, only to reinforce itself with the tendrils of Shadow Energy that originated from the young man.


    Bang!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    With how Valyr had timed the activation of his defensive skill, the de Hal inadvertently sent out in his direction had collided with the barrier at the very moment it had finished stabilizing itself, causing all of the energy and strength contained within the de of energy to bounce back towards Hal¡­


    But not without any cost.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    "If I had ess to the ultimate move, things would''ve probably yed out differently during this fight¡­" Bitterly smiling as he watched the barrier he had just cast crumble into nothingness, Valyr soon shifted his attention towards the de of energy he had reflected, which was hastily making its way back to where Hal stood.


    "Hah!" Though, with how Hal was the original owner of the de of energy, the young man did not have any difficulty dispelling the attack before it could even hit him. In fact, the only reason why he could only decrease the power within the attack he had sent out when it made its way towards Valyr was due to how it was already far away from him.


    "Huu¡­" Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, the glow surrounding Hal''s de gradually disappeared, only for the glow around his body to follow suit and disperse as well. Then, letting out a low sigh, he stored the de he wielded into his spatial bracelet before looking at Valyr with a wry smile.


    "Well then," said Hal as he looked at the man before him. "With how you still remained standing in ce even when such a ferocious attack was heading your way¡­ I don''t know if I should call you foolish or courageous."


    "Call me both, then." Hearing Hal''s words, Valyr let out a chuckle as he ced the spear behind his back onest time, scratching the back of his head once he was done. "So, are we going to continue our fight?"


    "There''s no need." Hal let outughter as he shook his head. "You win."


    "Huh? But we haven''t even figured out who the victor is among us." At those words, a look of confusion appeared on Valyr''s face. After all, never once had hended a hit on Hal.


    Then again, his opponent had nevernded a hit on him either.


    "Of course, we have." Maintaining a faint smile as he responded to Valyr''s query, Hal pointed at the young man. "If I were in your situation, I would have run away from the attack I sent out, especially if I knew that the attack heading my way would undoubtedly leave me an inch away from death."


    "On the other hand, you remained where you were and even used such a deadly attack as a form of retaliation. If I were unaware of the position of the attack I sent out, it would have definitely left me with quite the grievous injury." Saying these words, Hal let out a bitter chuckle. "Though it could be said that we''re more or less on the same level ofbat strength with how we''ve fought so far, in terms of tactics, I have a long way to go to reach your level."


    "Especially with how you''ve even considered your life as a necessary sacrifice for victory."


    "¡­well, if you put it that way, then I guess I have no choice but to oblige." Scratching the back of his head as he took Hal''s words as a sort ofpliment, Valyr let out a slightly awkward chuckle. "Since I''m the winner of this fight... shall we move onto the next fight of this tournament, then?"


    "Let us indeed." Nodding in agreement to Valyr''s suggestion, Hal and Valyr soon made their way back to the edge of the crater before signaling the beginning of yet another fight that only a few woulde to know.

 Chapter 512 The Tournament Ends

    Whilst Hal had dered the winner of the fight between him and Valyr, Loreina and Faulus looked at the crater, then at each other for a bit before wryly smiling.


    "It seems we''ve still underestimated Ylvar even after he had revealed the strength he had been hiding," said Loreina, prompting Faulus to nod in response as he recalled the faint hope he had that Valyr would be able to triumph over Hal in their fight.


    "He''s really hidden himself quite well, don''t you think?" asked Faulus in response, to which Loreina nodded in agreement. "At this point, I wouldn''t be surprised if he''s still hiding a bit of his strength in his fight against Hal."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised either," replied Loreina, only to go silent for a bit as she pondered over the thought. "Though, if you think about it, with how Hal unleashed his Intent Seed towards Ylvar, the chances of thetter still having strength to spare is quite low."


    "In any case, both of them are truly monsters inbat." Thinking that their conversation would eventually end up going nowhere, Faulus decided to end the topic of their conversation with a statement he and Loreina could agree on, only to see that the twobatants were making their way to where they currently sat.


    "With the fight between me and Ylvar done, I suppose we only have three fights left before we figure out who will be leading the group during the inheritance." As the twobatants waved at Loreina and Faulus with smiles on their faces, Valyr and Hal sat down next to the two just as thetter began to speak.


    "Rest first before talking about that," said Loreina in response as she turned around to look at Faulus.


    Fortunately, Faulus swiftly understood what the young woman meant by her gaze, rummaging out a couple of vials from his spatial bracelet before giving it to the two that had just fought. "Here. Some leftover potions from the batch I concocted earlier."


    "Thanks." Thanking Faulus as he shed a toothy grin, Valyr received the potions he had been given before consuming them one by one, allowing his energy reserves to swiftly return to their peak condition as he felt incredibly refreshed.


    "Haah¡­ I needed that." Of course, Hal had done the same thing as Valyr, with the only difference being the fact that he began toy down on the ground after doing so. "It''s been a while since I''ve gone all out to that extent."


    "You should probably take the time to get more used to it after this tournament is over," suggested Valyr after hearing Hal''s words, prompting thetter to look at him for an exnation. "After all, we don''t know what we''ll be up against in the inheritance, so it would be better for us to be in the strongest state we could possibly achieve."


    "Which is why you should really spend more time learningbat," said Loreina to Faulus as she agreed with Valyr''s words.


    "You don''t have to tell me that twice, you know." Feeling a bit embarrassed from Loreina''s words after hearing Valyr and Halugh in response to it, Faulus decided to shift the conversation to another topic before he would possibly get humiliated again. "So, what are the three remaining fights after your break?"


    "You versus me." Answering Faulus'' question, Hal sat up straight. "You versus Loreina, and then Ylvar versus Loreina."


    "Yeah¡­ make that only one fight left." Hearing the remaining match-ups for the tournament, Faulus did not hesitate to abstain his participation, bitterly smiling as hepared his currentbat strength to the three. "With the conclusion of my fight against you and Loreina being more or less obvious, I don''t really see a need for me to fight against you two."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Are you sure? Don''t you think there might be a slight chance for you to turn the tides and triumph against us?" Raising his eyebrow in slight doubt, Hal looked back at Faulus with a calm expression as he asked the question.


    "If it were any other person, sure. But against you or Loreina¡­ I stand no chance." In response, the bitter smile on Faulus'' face only became more bitter. "For now anyway."


    "Well, if that''s what you choose¡­" Though he found it a slight shame to not be able to fight against Faulus, Hal understood the other side''s concern, faintly letting out a sigh as he nodded. After that, he turned to look at Valyr. "How about you, Ylvar? Are you nning to cancel the fight as well?"


    "I''ll be the one to answer that question." Just as Valyr was about to respond that he wouldn''t mind continuing to fight, Loreina interrupted the young man before he could do so, taking the initiative to respond to Hal''s question.


    "I''ll be conceding my participation in the fight against Valyr," said Loreina without a single shred of hesitation, her expression telling Hal as if she had already made her mind up on the situation. "Though I may have a chance at winning the fight if I were to go all out, I would rather save that energy for the uing inheritance instead."


    "Well¡­ understandable." Listening to the young woman''s reasoning, Hal turned his head to look at Valyr, who could only shrug his shoulders as he understood the woman''s perspective. Letting out a low sigh after seeing that Valyr was fine with it, Hal briefly scratched his head as he thought to himself that the end of the tournament seemed incrediblyckluster whenpared to his fight against Valyr.


    "With Loreina and Faulus conceding their participation in the remaining fights, the leader of the expedition into the uing inheritance will be¡­" Taking a brief glimpse at the sky before deciding to stand up, Hal took in a deep breath as he announced the overall winner of the tournament.


    "Ylvar." Closing his eyes for a bit, he eventually turned his head to look at Valyr, who gave him a wide grin as he stood up before jokingly giving a speech to the others, thanking them for giving him the opportunity to lead the group in the uing inheritance.


    Then, after talking with one another regarding their preparations for the journey into the inheritance, the four of them went their separate ways, all of them meeting up with the escorts that had apanied them to the crater.


    "Julian''s going to be ecstatic once he hears about this." Wrapping his arms over Valyr''s shoulder by the time thetter had appeared before him, Zeik widely grinned at him as the two of them made their way back to the cksmith Guild.


    "Hopefully, thiss me some sort of reward from the Guildmaster," said Valyr in response, to which Zeik responded with a bit ofughter as he told the young man that Julian would undoubtedly reward him with what he''d achieved.


    However, just as he was about to continue his conversation with Zeik as they made their way back¡­


    Ding!


    [Noel Voragine (Lvl. 87) has sent you a message.]

 Chapter 513 Back To The Shadow Plane

    ''Did he head to the Akashic Battlefield these past few days?'' Taking a look at the notification he had received, Valyr already knew what kind of message he would read, focusing his attention on the sender''s increased level for the meantime. Opening up the chat function in front of him, he then asked Zeik if they could stop for the meantime.


    "It''s been quite some time since we''ve ventured the Shadow ne, brat." Reading the message he had gotten from Noel, the young man faintly let out a chuckle as he subconsciously began to pace back and forth. "I suppose you haven''t forgotten the fact you still need to kill a Shadow Serpent toplete the quest I''ve given you?"


    "I have not," said Valyr in response, even though the real answer to the question was the exact opposite. With how preupied he was with other stuff while waiting for the day of the tournament to arrive, the reminder of needing to head back to the Shadow ne toplete some unfinished business gradually disappeared from the back of his head.


    "Hey, Zeik." Feeling like the elder would leave him no choice but to head to the Spearman Guild to y a Shadow Serpent, Valyr decided to give Julian a heads-up as he inwardly let out a faint sigh. "Unfortunately, due to some abrupt changes, I won''t be able to head back with you to the cksmith Guild. Could you inform the Guildmaster that I''ll be heading to the Spearman Guild if he needs me?"


    "Alright." Though finding the abrupt change somewhat odd, Zeik eventually nodded in response, casting a few skills on himself that enhanced his movement speed in preparation for his journey back. "Got anything you want me to tell Julian once I get there?"


    "Remind him that I''ll be waiting for my reward." In response, Valyr let out a bit ofughter, to which Zeik let out some as well.


    "Got it. Take care for now, then." Waving farewell to the young man for the meantime, Zeik soon dashed through the t ins outside the walls of the kingdom, his silhouette disappearing from Valyr''s field of vision within seconds.


    "Well, let''s get this over with." Seeing that he was now alone, Valyr took a look at his current surroundings to find out in the off chance that someone was tracking him. Finding out that there were none, he then went ahead and activated all of the skills in his arsenal that boosted his movement speed, soon heading in the direction of the Spearman Guild at a speed considerably slower than Zeik''s.


    "Since you haven''t forgotten, I suppose now would be a good time for us to enter the Shadow ne once more, no?" Bringing up the chat function in front of his field of vision once more, Valyr read through the next few messages Noel had sent him, thetter among them leaving him with the feeling of being spied on.


    "Especially with the tournament between the inheritance''s candidates being over and all."


    "¡­did the Guildmaster inform you?" Swiftly getting over the feeling he had just felt as he took in a few deep breaths, Valyr then thought about the multiple possible ways Noel hade across the knowledge, eventually going with what seemed the most obvious.


    "That he did." Fortunately, Noel''s response confirmed his most likely hypothesis, prompting Valyr to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he thought of the elder as someone who could send spies to track him if he wanted to. "Fret not, brat. He only informed me of the tournament, not its purpose."


    "Though it definitely won''t take me that long to find that out if I wanted to," added the elder on a follow-up message, the feeling of being spied on returning to envelop Valyr''s body.


    "In any case, with you currently unupied with other tasks, and the fact that there''s still a lot of sunlight, now is the best chance for you to be a true Shadow Serpentine Lancer once and for all." Letting out a low sigh as he read the elder''s final message, Valyr swiftly suppressed the feeling he felt as he selected Julian as the recipient of his message.


    "I''ll be heading to the Spearman Guild for the meantime to meet up with Elder Noel. Might only be able toe to the cksmith Guild tomorrow." Wanting to keep his message brief yet straightforward, Valyr pondered over the words making up his message for a while as he continued to dash through the vast ins surrounding the kingdom.


    "Take your time. Would prefer if you came tomorrow anyway." By the time he was about a couple hundred meters away from one of the kingdom gates, Julian had responded back to his message, with thetter portion being somewhat cryptic. Deciding that he would focus on the promotion of his subss for the meantime, Valyr ced the thought at the back of his head for now as he arrived at the Spearman Guild not longter.


    ¡­


    "And here I thought I''d be waiting around for a bit longer." Opening up the door that led to the room where Elder Noel stayed, Valyr was instantly greeted by the voice of a familiar old man, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face.


    "I would definitely like to apologize that I''ve been busy for the past few days," said Valyr in response, to which Noel responded by waving his hands in nonchnce.


    "Unlike before, you being busy these past few days isn''t really much of a problem," replied Noel, faintly grinning. "Especially with the waves you''ve set off through the kingdom with what you''ve achieved. Perhaps, even the empire has already caught wind of your feats."


    "Is that so?" Though Valyr was slightly confused at first by what Noel meant, it did not take long for him to put two and two together in his mind, understanding that the old man before him was talking about the artifact he had forged a few days ago. "Has that caused any issues?"


    "Not any issues that you or I would need to care about, but definitely some issues have arose for others because of what you did." Saying these words, Noel let out a chuckle before cing his hands on the ground. Then, summoning a portion of his Abyssal Energy, a magic circle was swiftly created, the rift that led to the Shadow ne appearing above it not long after.


    "In any case, let''s not think about those matters for the meantime."


    "For now, it''s time for you to kill a Shadow Serpent."

 Chapter 514 Finding A Shadow Serpent

    Whoosh!


    Unlike before, Valyr was the first one to enter the rift leading to the Shadow ne, feeling the ever familiar Shadow Energy envelop him in an instant. However, rather than envelop his body in a way that felt more like a dog greeting their owner, it was as if the Shadow Energy had bound him in ce, rendering all of his senses useless.


    Fortunately, the sensation onlysted for a brief moment, with the Shadow ne recognizing his connection to it. With that, the glum yet topsy-turvyndscape appeared before the young man once more, the small incident he had experienced just as he had entered already forgotten.


    "So, how long do we have till we have to leave the Shadow ne, Elder Noel?" Seeing as Noel had also made his way to the other side, Valyr went ahead and took the time to ask a question while limating himself once again to his current environment.


    "Roughly two days, give or take," said Noel in response, also having undergone the same check from the Shadow ne as he went in. Though, with his control over Abyssal Energy rather than Shadow Energy, the Shadow ne had recognized his existence far earlier.


    "Since you''ve already aplished the other objectives of my quest the previous time we were here, the only thing left for you to do is to y a Shadow Serpent and make its Shadow Energy your own." Looking around their surroundings to sense where a Shadow Serpent could be lurking about, Noel eventually stopped moving in ce, soon focusing his sights in a certain direction.


    Swoosh!


    Taking in a deep breath, Noel summoned a considerable amount of Abyssal Energy before using it to create a solid tform that would allow him and Valyr to stand on it. Willing it to hover a couple of meters above the ground, he then hopped onto the tform, beckoning Valyr to get on it not long after.


    Nodding in response, Valyr swiftly jumped with a calcted amount of strength, the force behind it being more than enough for him tond stably on the floating tform of Abyssal Energy. Feeling part of the tform moving around his feet to affix him in ce, the young man did not put up any resistance as he looked at the old man in front of him and asked a question.


    "Are we heading for a Shadow Serpent already?"


    "Mhm." Noel nodded, soon propelling the tform forward once he made sure that the two of them were fully affixed. "With the amount of time we have in this ce, it would be better for you to fight a Shadow Serpent as soon as possible in order to rue experience fighting against it."


    "Speaking of which, it seems like your strength has improvedpared to thest time we met," added the old man after sensing the change in Valyr''s aura.


    "Well, I did mention that I''ll be heading to the Akashic Battlefield before I left." Valyr let out a bit ofughter. "In any case, I didn''t spend the past few days idling around."


    "Definitely not." Noel let out someughter in response as he nodded in agreement. "The fact that you forged an Artifact while only being in the peak of Rank 2 already says a lot about your potential. It''s a good thing you decided to use another identity while partaking in that forging duel."


    "Wait¡­ how did you know that was me?" As the feeling of being spied on returned to envelop his body, Valyr asked what was an obvious follow-up question to the response.


    "How could it not be obviously you?" Turning to look back at Valyr, Noel shook his head as he let out a low sigh. "With how brazen you were in using your Shadow Energy, it wouldn''t even take a second for someone like me to figure out that you had another identity underneath."


    "Right¡­" Recalling how he had used Shadow Energy to refine a few materials during the forging duel, Valyr let out an awkward chuckle as he scratched his cheek. "Does that have something to do with the issues you''ve mentioned earlier?"


    "Somewhat." Stopping in midair as they had already traversed a great distance across the Shadow ne, Noel looked around their current surroundings for a bit before continuing to move in another direction. "For one, all those that have picked up Shadow Energy, whether they learned it from me or not, have been pestered by a great number of people these past few days."


    "Aside from that, many people have been heading to the cksmith Guild to inquire about you¡­ or the identity you had during the duel, rather," Noel continued.


    "Hmm¡­" Though he felt somewhat guilty for the innocent people that had gotten involved in the mess, it did not take a lot of thinking for Valyr to figure out a couple more reasons why people wanted to see him, excluding the ones he had already figured out during his conversation back then with Julian.


    "Political power, huh¡­" As Valyr muttered these words, a faint expression of surprise briefly appeared on Noel''s face, only to remember that the young man''s existence revolved around political power in the first ce. If anything, it was nothing more than a usual day for the young man if one took the young man''s true identity into consideration.


    ''I wonder what''s going on in that brat''s mind at the moment¡­'' Feeling curious after Valyr had gone silent all of a sudden, Noel ced those thoughts at the back of his head for the meantime. Instead, he focused his attention towards finding a Shadow Serpent to fight against, eventually finding one half an hour after they had arrived at the Shadow ne.


    ¡­


    "Alright." Slowly willing the tform to descend to the ground, the two eventually stood on solid ground once more as Noel told Valyr to focus his sights on therge creature before them.


    "Before you engage with the Shadow Serpent before you, keep in mind that what you''re up against is considered the weakest type, a Juvenile Shadow Serpent," said Noel as he noticed a faint blue haze appear around Valyr''s eyes. "Because of it being young, itsbat style leans more towards relying on its instincts rather than utilizing tactics."


    "In any case, as long as you''re able to kill it, you''ll be able to absorb its Shadow Energy and be a true Shadow Serpentine Lancer," he added, noticing that a slight frown gradually crept up the young man''s face.


    "Say, Elder Noel." Valyr looked at him.


    "What is it?"


    "You mentioned earlier that the serpent before us is the weakest among the Shadow Serpents, right?" asked Valyr, pointing at therge creature before them.


    "Yeah? What about it?"


    "¡­in what way is that the weakest?"


    Ding!

 Chapter 515 A Match Made In Hell

    Whilst Noel was talking about how therge creature before the two of them was considered the weakest type of Shadow Serpent one woulde across in the Shadow ne, Valyr went ahead and activated [Greater Analysis] to get a better idea of what kind of opponent he was up against¡­


    Only for him to feel a tinge of regret in doing so.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Mythic Elite)] (Level 55 | Boss)


    ss: Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Umon)


    HP: 25,560/25,560


    MP: 39,096/39,096


    Stats: 215 VIT, 283 STR, 433 AGI, 590 DEX, 543 INT, 213 WIS, 213 PER, 138 LUK


    Skills: [Shadow Energy Affinity], [Shadow Serpent Combat Style], ??? (other skills unknown due to disparity in strength and level)


    Remarks: I''d be incredibly vignt if I were you, especially with that little curse of yours.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Hiss¡­'' Glossing over the system''s tant warning of fighting against the serpent, Valyr inwardly took in a deep breath of cold air as he looked at the serpent''s stats. Though most of them were significantly than his all across the board, the same could not be said for its agility, dexterity, and intelligence.


    ''I don''t even want to imagine its stats once it enters the effect radius of the mark.'' With this thought lingering in his mind, Valyr swiftly checked how far he was from the serpent at the moment, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief once he found out that over a hundred meters of nd separated the two of them.


    ''In any case, I guess I''ll be fighting against a better version of me¡­ in terms of stats anyway.'' Letting out a low sigh, Valyr went ahead and asked Noel not long after as to how the Juvenile Shadow Serpent he was up against was in any way the weakest.


    "Well¡­ you haven''t seen the other kinds of Shadow Serpents you mighte across in the Shadow ne, so I guess such a reaction is understandable." Pondering over Valyr''s question for a bit, Noel eventually nodded his head in understanding.


    "Either way, I truly mean it when I say the Juvenile Shadow Serpent is the weakest type you woulde across. After all, it''s the only Shadow Serpent type that''s still within the realm of Rank 3."


    "As for the other types, the weakest among them would already be in the middle levels of Rank 4, not to mention the fact that some types have evenprehended a kind of Intent that would bolster their strength even further." Continuing to go through the types, Noel faintly shuddered as he recalled his memories of fighting against such Shadow Serpents in the past.


    "Of course,pared to the strongest Shadow Serpents, even a million Juvenile Shadow Serpents would be no match for it," the old man continued, conveying through his words how lucky Valyr was to only have to fight against the weakest type. "After all, the only thing that could defeat a Rank 6 being would be another Rank 6 being."


    "Anyways, best of luck in fighting against the Shadow Serpent, brat." Letting out yet another sigh after taking a trip down a somewhat miserable memoryne, Noel patted Valyr on the shoulder before proceeding to perch on top of a nearby tree, giving the young man a thumbs-up. "Don''t worry too much. I''ll make sure to intervene once it looks like you''re in danger."


    ''I don''t even know if you''ll be able to intervene in time¡­'' Scratching the back of his head as he wryly smiled in response, Valyr soon turned around to look at the Shadow Serpent, taking in a few deep breaths topose himself in the process.


    ''I wonder if it''ll attack in the same way I use the spear?'' Then, after feeling like he hade to terms with what he had to face up against, he then proceeded to dash in the direction of the serpent, thetter entering the mark''s effect radius a few secondster.


    "Hiss!" At the very instant the serpent was affected by the mark, it unfurled its dozen meter long body as its eyes began to glow crimson, letting out a loud hiss that shook the watery ground in its vicinity. Not long after, its sights soon focused themselves towards the running Valyr, slithering across the ground in great speeds soon after.


    Swoosh!


    "[Limit Break]!" Wanting to increase his chances of possibly winning against the Shadow Serpent, Valyr went ahead and activated one of his buffing skills, reducing the time it took for him to arrive in front of his opponent. However, before he could even begin his offensive¡­


    Bang!


    As if every movement it made flowed into the next, the Shadow Serpent swiftly halted its movements as it used its tail as a whip to send Valyr flying.


    Of course, the young man had tried his best to defend against the attack. Though, with how quick the tail was with the serpent''s improved agility and dexterity, the serpent was the first tond a strike between them, causing part of Valyr''s chestte to crack as the two made contact.


    Thud!


    "Guh¡­" Failing to find his footing beforending, Valyr had to tumble a couple of times before rolling across the ground, his momentuming to a stop once he decided to dig both of his hands into the ground. Then, putting all of his strength into his hands, he flung himself forward, using the force he had generated to propel himself towards the serpent.


    "Hiss!" Naturally, the serpent took notice of this, moving its tail in a bizarre pattern as a faintyer of dark energy started to coat over it.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Landing just a couple of meters away from the Shadow Serpent on his feet, Valyr noted the dark energy umting around the serpent''s tail, feeling that the attack looked somewhat simr.


    "Oh, fuck!" Fortunately, as if a light bulb had gone off in his head, the young man realized what the serpent was about to do, taking out the blood-red spear affixed behind his back as he proceeded to infuse Shadow Energy into it.


    Swoosh!


    Without any signal whatsoever, the serpent had moved its tail towards the young man''s head at the very moment the coating of dark energy surrounding it had solidified, making it look as if it were a dark spear instead of a tail.


    However¡­


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Finding the fact that he had only activated one buff foolish, Valyr put the thought at the back of his head in the meantime, thrusting his spear forward against an attack that looked simr to what he was going to unleash.


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]!"

 Chapter 516 Truly A Match Made In Hell

    ?


    Bang!


    As both sides collided, an explosion of Shadow Energy spread out to cover the two, obscuring the vision of those from the outside as to what oue had resulted. Fortunately, it did not take long for the Shadow Energy in the surroundings to disappear, revealing Valyr lying on the ground, briefly writhing in pain.


    "Urgh¡­" Letting out a low groan, Valyr took a look at the origin of the pain he was currently experiencing, which came from his hand that held the spear at the front. Though it seemed like both sides had dealt equal damage to one another, he had ended up on the losing end, the vambraces on both of his arms now showing considerable levels of damage.


    ''At least I dealt a decent amount of damage to the serpent¡­'' thought Valyr to himself, slowly sitting up to look at the Juvenile Shadow Serpent, only for his face to contort into a bitter smile.


    Compared to him, the Juvenile Shadow Serpent still looked to be more or less in peak condition, with the only thing out of the norm about it was the blood oozing out of tail. Judging from how a considerable portion of it was cut off, Valyr was indeed able tond a counterattack, though at the cost of his own health.


    "Over 6,000 damage¡­" muttered Valyr to himself as he gazed at the faint white text hovering above the serpent, grabbing a health potion he had been storing in his spatial bracelet before proceeding to drink its contents.


    "I''ll have to change my approach." Feeling his body gradually returning to its peak condition as he stood up, Valyr briefly pondered over how he was going to fight against the serpent.


    ''For one, it wouldn''t be wise for me to fight against it with the spear,'' thought Valyr to himself, certain that the serpent was able to emte all of his spear techniques, as well as showcase some techniques that the young man himself could not unleash. ''Aside from the fact that I would be on the losing end once the spear begins to siphon my strength away, the fact that I''m fighting against it in semi-close range is also a downside, especially with its stats empowered by the mark.''


    ''Of course, it would still be viable for me to use it as a hidden move, considering how much damage it''s able to deal,'' the young man continued to thinking, gazing at the serpent to see if it was going to make a move anytime soon. Seeing that the serpent was also staring at him, it did not take long for him to understand that the serpent was pondering over its next move as well.


    "And to think the old man said that it relies more on its instincts to fight," Valyr scoffed before distancing himself from the serpent to give himself time to react.


    "In any case, since fighting against it with the spear is detrimental, there''s only one other way to effectively fight against it." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr began to circte mana throughout his body, a part of it eventually seeping out of his pores and forming a protectiveyer.


    "Get the fuck away from it as far as possible and bombard it with magic."


    ¡­


    "I''m surprised the brat is having problems fighting against the serpent." As he watched Valyr fight against the Juvenile Shadow Serpent, Noel found it somewhat odd that the young man looked to be receiving all of the serpent''s attacks, as if it were on purpose.


    "Surely he''s capable of fighting a serpent that''s not only at the peak of Rank 3, but a serpent that''s also at the Mythic Elite tier, no?" Scratching the back of his head in slight confusion as he witnessed Valyr distance himself from the serpent, Noel went ahead and used his identification skill on the serpent to see if he had misjudged Valyr''s capabilities.


    Ding!


    "Wait a second¡­" Reading through the information he had obtained regarding the serpent, it did not take long for a frown to appear on Noel''s face, only for him to soon realize what was going on.


    "The brat''s curse¡­" Finally understanding why Valyr was having a hard time against the Shadow Serpent, Noel felt an urge to p himself in the face, only to stop himself from doing so as he looked at the young man with a hint of concern.


    "Would it even be possible¡­?" Wondering whether or not to stop Valyr from fighting the Shadow Serpent even further, the old man recalled their earlier foray into the Shadow ne, with the young man having no problem fighting against enemies that were not only of a higher level than him, but were also at the Mythic Elite tier thanks to his curse.


    "But this is an Ancient Elite we''re talking about¡­" Murmuring these words to himself, Noel decided to take a look at the serpent''s status screen to make his decision, only to notice something he hadn''t noticed while looking at it earlier.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Ancient Elite)] (Level 55 | Boss)


    ss: Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Rare)


    HP: 46,676/52,800


    MP: 107,712/107,712


    Stats: 275 VIT, 443 STR, 487 AGI, 762 DEX, 748 INT, 316 WIS, 275 PER, 151 LUK


    Skills: [Shadow Energy Affinity], [Shadow Energy Mark], [Shadow Serpent Combat Style], [Shadow Serpent Movement Style], [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], +14 other skills


    Remarks: Truly a dangerous foe even to prodigies of the same level.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Its HP is reduced¡­" Noel muttered, only to recall the sh between the serpent''s tail and Valyr''s spear earlier. With this in mind, the old man''s eyes widened as he closed the screen before him, deciding to stay put as he continued to watch the fight with a solemn expression.


    "Though it may be harsh for someone like me to put a prodigy through even more difficulties¡­ as long as he seeds, his future would be undoubtedly bright," said the old man to himself, only to catch what he was saying before letting out a bit ofughter.


    "Then again, he might just be able to pull it off."


    ¡­


    "[Intermediate Mana Magic Style: Arcane Influx]!"


    Whoosh!


    Deciding to lean more towards a magic-basedbat style, Valyr began to enhance his magic capabilities, activating a couple of skills that he hadn''t even activated before.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Then, after feeling like he had empowered his magic capabilities to the fullest, he then activated what he considered a staple amongst his magic spells, sending a barrage of des made out of crimson mes in the Shadow Serpent''s direction.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Whoosh!


    "Oh,e on!"


    "You even have magic?!"

 Chapter 517 Renewed Confidence

    ?


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Empowering his magic to the fullest, Valyr went ahead and conjured arge array of des made out of crimson des, making sure to consume as much mana as he could during the process. Naturally, he still saved a small portion for himself just in case things went south.


    ''I''m seriously going to be out of options if this doesn''t work.'' Inwardly muttering these words to himself, the young man soon took in a deep breath as he willed all of the des to head in the serpent''s direction, hoping that a portion of them wouldnd on the serpent''s body and end its life altogether.


    "Hiss!" However, just as Valyr thought that the serpent had no way to defend or retaliate against the magic bombardment he had conjured, the Juvenile Shadow Serpent raised its tail all of a sudden before waving it back and forth.


    Faintly wondering what the serpent was doing, Valyr''s mind went nk once he noticed the tail being covered in Shadow Energy¡­ as well as another type of energy he was incredibly familiar with.


    "Oh,e on!" shouted Valyr in an exasperated tone, putting more willpower into the des in response. "You even have magic?!"


    "Hiss!" As if responding to the young man''s question, the serpent let out a loud hiss as the Shadow Energy and mana umting around its tail swiftly transformed into a giant ball. Then, with all of its strength, the serpent flung the ball towards the direction of the des, only for it to explode in midair the very moment one of the des made contact with it.


    Bang!


    Appearing like dark fireworks, the giant ball ofbined Shadow Energy and mana burst into multiple droplets, all of which had made contact with the des Valyr had sent out to injure the serpent. Surprisingly, even a single droplet making contact with the des was more than enough to dispel them, causing the barrage of des to disappear within seconds as a rain of dark droplets appeared before the young man.


    "[Serpentine Sprint]!" Activating one of his movement speed boosting skills, Valyr swiftly ran away from the dark rain''s area of impact, barely dodging most of the rain by the time he had left it. Nevertheless, some of the droplets had still made contact with the young man and his armor, corroding a considerable portion of it, as well as dealing a substantial amount of damage to the young man.


    "Ngh¡­!" Enduring the sting the dark droplets gave him as it made contact with his skin, Valyr swiftly took out a health potion from his spatial bracelet before consuming its contents. Then, as he felt his health gradually return to a stable level, he circted all of the remaining mana in his body throughout the surface of his skin, preventing the dark droplets from doing more harm to him.


    "Shadow-attribute magic, huh." Going through his treasure trove of memories as he deduced what type of magic he was fighting against, the young man could not help but click his tongue once he found out what it was. "Definitely not the best type of magic to experience on the receiving end."


    Though Shadow-attribute magic seemed like it would act simrly to Dark-attribute magic, the attribute actually acted more simrly to magic that leaned towards corrosive attributes, such as Poison-attribute magic, or Acid-attribute magic. The only between those magic types and Shadow-attribute magic was the fact that it still contained a trace element of darkness to it.


    Which only made it all the more devastating whenever the magic hit its mark.


    "Now¡­ how the hell would I fight against something like that?" Seeing as the odds were stacked against him, whether it be in physical stats, inbat style, or in magic attribute, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he took a brief look at the serpent''s stats, letting out a low sigh as he noticed that the damage he had dealt to it so far had not even exceeded 20% of its max HP.


    "Hmm¡­?" Fortunately, while reading through the monster''s status screen, the young man eventually noticed that the serpent had not moved at all after sending out a counterattack against the barrage he had sent towards it. Thinking about it for a bit, it seemed like it had roughly been a minute since the serpent made its move.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Feeling as if a light bulb had gone off in his head, Valyr moved the serpent''s status screen to the side as he sent a single de of mana towards the serpent, putting a decent amount of energy into it. Unfortunately, instead of the serpent remaining immobile like it had been so far, the serpent retaliated with a bit of magic of its own, sending out a ball of Shadow-attribute magic tobat it.


    In fact, one could consider the serpent''s retaliation to be overkill for the magic attack that was heading its way, seeing as it had conjured an orb of energy simrly sized to the orb he had sent out earlier. However, whether or not the serpent''s retaliation was overkill, what happened after that was more than enough for Valyr to confirm his suspicion.


    ''Looks like the heavens have still given me a way out of this.'' Letting out a chuckle as he halfheartedly avoided the serpent''s counterattack, Valyr swiftly removed the dark droplets corroding his armor and body with a small burst of mana before retrieving both a health and mana potion from his spatial bracelet.


    "Man, it must be nice to have control over such a strong magic attribute." Consuming the potions he had retrieved to recover his condition to an eptable level, the young man took in a deep breath before charging forward, extending both of his hands outward as orbs of crimson me manifested on his palms.


    "Hiss¡­!" Unsurprisingly, the serpent already knew what the young man sought to achieve, trying its hardest to retaliate against the attack, or at the very least, move out of the way. Sadly, with it having cast magic in retaliation earlier, its entire body was currently paralyzed, the reason behind Valyr''s renewed confidence.


    "[Crimson ze]!" Overcharging both orbs of crimson me he had manifested to their very limits, Valyr jumped into the air before throwing it at the immobile serpent. In response¡­


    Bang!

 Chapter 518 Just To Be Shattered Once More

    ?


    ''-1014!''


    ''-507''


    "Hiss!!!" Though the amount of damage dealt by two orbs to the Juvenile Shadow Serpent was minusculepared to the attack Valyr had sent with his spear earlier, the serpent still hissed in pain, feeling immense humiliation at the fact that the human that had attacked it had made use of one of its weaknesses.


    ''Definitely low inparison¡­ but I can''t reallyin.'' On the other hand, Valyr had a neutral expression on his face as he watched the damage numbers appear above the serpent''s body, retreating at the very moment he noticed the serpent begin to move once more.


    Seeing as the serpent was about to cast its own magic in retaliation to the damage he had dealt to it while it was immobile, the young man went ahead and conjured a wall made out of earth before him in preparation, only to conjure more of them around him not long after.


    "With my Attack stat scaling off of DEX, I definitely wouldn''t be able to use magic to its full potential." Finishing off his defense preparations against the serpent''s attack by conjuring a dome of mana above the walls, Valyr thought back to the measly amount of damage he had dealt to the serpent with his magic.


    Though his INT stat was his second highest stat next to DEX, the amount of damage he could unleash through it wascking inparison to skills that scaled off his DEX.


    Unsurprisingly, that all had to do with how the Attack stat operated.


    After obtaining the Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss, his Attack stat, which used to scale off his STR stat, now began to scale off his DEX stat, which undoubtedly worked wonders for him. However, because of that, any skills that scaled off any stat other than DEX or STR now scaled off of the stat itself, not the Attack stat.


    Naturally, the active skills he had obtained rted to magic were affected by this, all of which scaled off his INT stat. Though, unlike the Attack stat, which had a multiplier attached to it based off his current ss rank, these skills directly scaled off the stat, which meant that the full potential of the skills could not be reached.


    Of course, the young man knew the reason why that was the case¡­ which was the fact that it was intended to be that way.


    What use would there be for a mage if a warrior could cast a magic spell and deal the same level of damage? What use would there be for a healer if a mage could cast a healing spell and have the healed amount reach the same level of efficacy?


    In other words, one needed to have either a main ss or a subss in order for their corresponding skills to scale properly. Physical-based sses would have their skills scale towards their physical stats, while magic-based sses would have their skills scale towards their magical stats.


    Then again, there were always exceptions to this rule.


    Those exceptions were all known as hybrid sses. Hybrid sses came in various names and rarities, but if there was one thing inmon about them¡­ it was the fact that they brought the best of both worlds in terms of skill efficacy.


    A magic swordsman would be able to use sword skills without a problem while casting magic spells on the side with ease. A pdin had no problem making use of their immense strength while healing those who were injured. A druid found no issue sending out a barrage of spells while empowering their allies'' strength in the process.


    "In any case, I''m making progress at least." Briefly thinking about how nice it would be to get his hands on a hybrid ss, Valyr pushed the thought to the back of his head as he dispelled the defense he had put up earlier, seeing that the serpent''s rain of terror had finally ended.


    "[Severing Crimson de]!" Then, with the serpentpletely immobile after casting its magic, the young man took advantage of the fact and dealt a couple of magic-based attacks to it, slowly but surely whittling its health down.


    ¡­


    After realizing the serpent''s ring weakness, Valyr''s eagerness to use it to his advantage was sparingly at first, sending out only a couple magic-based attacks to it at most. However, as he went through more and more of what he dubbed the serpent''s ''cooldown cycles'', he gradually gained more confidence in dishing out more and more attacks within the timespan he had to do so.


    In fact, by the time he had gone through what looked to be around the Shadow Serpent''s 10th or 11th cooldown cycle, the young man''s hesitation in making use of the serpent''s immobilization had gone out of the window.


    With that, he abandoned his tactic of using magic to whittle its health and deal arge chunk of damage instead, switching to his spear before unleashing a powerful attack after buffing himself to his limits.


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]!"


    Bang!


    ''-8331''


    "Hiss!!!" Letting out yet another loud hiss as it cried out in pain, the serpent had already a great amount of rage towards the human that would attack it at its weakest, wanting nothing more than to give the human his just deserts. Fortunately for the serpent, unlike before, where it would remain immobilized while it passively received the human''s attack, the Shadow Serpent felt like a shackle had been unchained, its entire body swiftly being covered in Shadow Energy a few secondster.


    "Ah crap." Noticing that the serpent''s body was being enveloped in Shadow Energy all of a sudden, Valyr swiftly increased the distance separating him and the Shadow Serpent, activating [Greater Analysis] in the process to get an idea of what was going on.


    "Its health is below 40%¡­" Muttering these words as his gaze remained fixated on the serpent''s remaining health, the young man let out a low sigh as he instantly understood what was happening. "And here I thought I was finally getting somewhere."


    "To think it would even have a berserk phase."


    "Hiss!!!"


    Whoosh!


    ring its empowered aura in its entirety, the serpent''s body seemed to be brimming with power, a stark contrast to the amount of health it had left. With that, it moved about for a bit to get ustomed to its newfound strength. Once it had be used to its newfound power¡­


    "Hiss!" With its eyes fixated towards the human before it, the Shadow Serpent slithered through the Shadow ne''snds at unnervingly fast speeds, hoping to end this drawn-out fight once and for all with an attack of its own.


    ''I was nning to save this for the inheritance¡­'' Seeing as the Juvenile Shadow Serpent was now more than hellbent on killing him, Valyr let out an audible sigh as he ran to increase the distance between them.


    ''But now that it seems like death is possible at any moment¡­''


    ''Guess I have no choice but to use it.''


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]."

 Chapter 519 Ending It Once And For All

    ?


    "¡­and to think that I had doubts of him seeding earlier." Watching the fight between Valyr and the Juvenile Shadow Serpent unfold, Noel let out a mocking chuckle directed at himself as he recalled the pessimistic thoughts he had around the beginning of the fight.


    Then again, if one were in his shoes and found out that Valyr had onlynded one hit on the serpent so far, they would also feel a sense of despair, thinking that they would have to intervene the very moment the young man''s injuries turned severe.


    However, contrary to his earlier pessimistic thoughts, Valyr eventually found a way to deal damage to the serpent, taking advantage of the fact that the Shadow Serpent would be immobilized whenever it would use magic.


    Due to it being considered juvenile, the Shadow Serpent still had no control over the amount of Shadow Energy and mana it infused into every attack, something Noel realized by the time the Shadow Serpent had sent out its second magic attack during the fight.


    Fortunately, the young man had also realized it during that time.


    With that, Valyr flung a few magic attacks here and there whenever the serpent was immobile, slowly whittling down the Juvenile Shadow Serpent''s health as he gradually gained the confidence to unleash stronger and stronger attacks.


    Bang!


    "He''s definitely shown more than enough through this fight that he''s worthy of inheriting the true subss." Muttering these words to himself, Noel took in a deep breath to remove the astonishment he felt from watching Valyr stand his ground with ease, showcasing a level ofbat experience that would rarely be found in a teenager as young as him.


    "Hmm?" However, just as he thought that the fight would eventually without much fanfare due to the weakness the young man had found, the serpent had undergone through a massive change all of a sudden, siphoning a great portion of the ambient Shadow Energy within the area before using it to cover its entire body a few secondster.


    "A berserk phase." Realizing what was happening, Noel clicked his tongue as he activated his identification skill, only to click his tongue once more as he looked at the serpent''s empowered stats.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Ancient Elite)] (Level 55 | Boss)


    ss: Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Rare)


    HP: 18,955/52,800


    MP: 24,564/107,712


    Stats: 275 (385) VIT, 443 (620) STR, 487 (682) AGI, 762 (1,067) DEX, 748 (1,047) INT, 316 (442) WIS, 275 (385) PER, 151 LUK


    Skills: [Shadow Energy Affinity], [Shadow Energy Mark], [Shadow Serpent Combat Style], [Shadow Serpent Movement Style], [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], +14 other skills


    Remarks: A catastrophe waiting to burst. Even those of a higher ss rank should be wary of its strength.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Though Valyr has done a great job fighting against the serpent so far, he''s still just at the peak of Rank 2.'' Letting out a faint sigh as he thought that it was a waste that Valyr had to abandon a Shadow Serpent that was close to dying, Noel soon began to empower his body with a series of buffing skills¡­ only to stop.


    Whoosh!


    For a brief moment, Noel felt like an aura had passed through his body, giving him the odd feeling that every nook and cranny of his body was visible to this aura that had just passed. Looking around his surroundings to see where the aura hade from, the old man eventually found the origin of that aura.


    The young man that he was nning to save.


    "What¡­" Briefly at a loss for words as he felt the aura surrounding Valyr undergo a drastic change, Noel wondered as to what kind of skill the young man had activated.


    "Hah." However, just as he hade up with the question, he swiftly discarded it as well, a curious smile creeping up onto his lips as he deactivated all of the buffing skills he had just activated.


    "I guess it won''t be a waste, after all."


    ¡­


    "Huh." As he activated [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], Valyr took a look at the status screen he had moved to the side all this time, feeling a wry smile creep up onto his lips as he noticed two of its stats break through the four digit barrier.


    However, the tension he felt from thinking about fighting what looked to be his most difficult opponent to date swiftly disappeared once his eyes worked in overdrive, gradually noticing various weak spots that hadn''t been visible to him before.


    With that, Valyr thought to himself that if he were to have made use of these weak spots during the beginning of the fight, he was certain that he would have reached the berserk phase far earlier. Perhaps, the fight would have already been over if he were to use it at the beginning.


    "I should have really used this earlier," muttered Valyr to himself as he found more and more weak spots around the serpent, continuing to run around the Shadow ne in order to find its most vital spot.


    Though Valyr knew that utilizing [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] during a fight would allow him to end it faster, there was a part of him that still wanted to find out his limits before having to rely on such a powerful skill as the eyes. In fact, it was the reason why he had not used the skill in the fight, instead relying on thebat style he had been used to.


    However, now that he had been left with no choice, he had finally experienced using the skill during an actual fight. With that, he now knew for sure that it would be a staple skill of his soon enough.


    "Found it!" Eventually, after a minute or so of running around the Shadow ne, Valyr found the serpent''s most vital spot, its position demarcated by a pitch-ck circle in the middle of his vision. Knowing what he had to do, the young man swiftly changed his running direction, charging towards the serpent instead of running away from it.


    "Hiss!" Taking it as a sign of provocation, the serpent doubled down on its efforts, slithering through the ground at a far faster speed than before as it aimed tond a strike that would end the human''s life once and for all.


    "Hyah!" Unfortunately, just as Valyr was within the serpent''s striking range, the former jumped into the air with all his might, even going so far as to activate all of the buffing skills he had yet to activate in order for him to reach a higher altitude.


    "[Shadow Serpent Style]¡­" With the serpent stopping in ce as it knew that catching the human off guard as it fell would be the best way to kill it, Valyr took out his spear whilst in midair, only to position himself in a way that would allow the spear''s tip to arrive at the ground first.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Then, once he had made sure that the spear tip lined up directly towards the pitch-ck circle he could see in his field of vision, Valyr allowed the Shadow ne''s gravity to do its thing as he began to fall at elerated speeds, summoning Shadow Energy and mana in the process as the tip soon made contact with a specific portion of the serpent''s back.


    "[Strike of the Venomous Night]!"


    Bang!


    ''-48,545!!!''


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 55 Juvenile Shadow Serpent (Ancient Elite). You have gained 1,541,364 XP.]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Returning to One''s Roots.]


    [y a Shadow Serpent (1/1).]


    [You havepleted the quest: Returning to One''s Roots.]


    [Head to Noel to receive your rewards.]

 Chapter 520 Rewarding Ones Efforts

    ?


    "Hiss!!!" With the world working in Valyr''s favor, the spear he firmly gripped pierced through a certain part of the serpent''s back with great ease, as if the coating of Shadow Energy surrounding its body had never existed in the first ce.


    "¡­" Continuing to maintain a tight grip on the spear, Valyr eventuallynded on solid ground, prompting him to put his entire weight and strength on the spear as the pitch-ck circle remained within his field of vision.


    Due to the peculiarity of how [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], the young man had the ability to peer through the insides of any item or being he deemed as a target, allowing him to see what specific part of the serpent had been deemed by the skill as a vital spot.


    ''A sac¡­ no, sacs filled with Shadow Energy.'' Looking at the exact spot his spear had pierced through, Valyr saw what looked to be a sizable lump near the Shadow Serpent''s heart. However, as he peered closer into this lump, he noticed that this lump was made up of hundreds of smaller lumps, all of which radiated an aura that was incredibly familiar to him.


    "Hiss¡­" Writhing in pain, the serpent wanted to make use of the remaining energy it had to attack the human on top of it, whose attention was fully focused on the spear it pierced through its body. Unfortunately, within seconds, the serpent fell its strength gradually weakening as the coating of Shadow Energy surrounding its body dissipated into thin air.


    "Hiss¡­" Letting out what seemed to be its final hiss out of indignation for its fate, the serpent eventually breathed itsst, prompting Valyr to retract the spear and affix it to his back once he was certain the serpent was dead.


    Ding!


    "It''s finally over." Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind, Valyr got off the Juvenile Shadow Serpent''s fresh corpse before lying down on the ground, the toll of physical and mental exhaustion finally affecting him. Nevertheless, a proud smile adorned the young man''s face, feeling immense joy at the fact that he was victorious.


    "Who knew the difference between a Mythic and an Ancient Elite tier monster would be thisrge?" Finally allowing himself to take a rest, the young man thought about the monsters he had fought so far, realizing that there seemed to be arge gap in strength between monsters in certain tiers.


    "In any case, I''ve finallypleted the quest Elder Noel gave me." Though curious as to whether or not there was more to it than he realized, Valyr discarded suchborious thoughts in his mind for the meantime, chuckling as he recalled his fight with the serpent once more. "I can finally put all of my focus on preparing for the inheritance."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    However, just as he was about to close his eyes as he knew that Noel was going to arrive at where he wasying down, Valyr noticed that the Shadow Energy the serpent had cultivated began to seep out through its properties, umting a meter or so above its corpse to form thergest cloud of Shadow Energy the young man had seen so far.


    Swoosh!


    Then, without any warning, this cloud of Shadow Energy zoomed towards Valyr, flooding the entirety of the young man''s insides as they forced their way to the small ck mass near his heart.


    Ding!


    Hearing a couple notification sounds resound in his mind, the young man decided to look at it once he had finished absorbing the serpent''s Shadow Energy, feeling slightly bloated from having to absorb so much Shadow Energy at once.


    Then again, it only took a couple of minutes for the young man to finish absorbing all of the Shadow Energy, finally giving him the freedom to take a look at the notifications he had just received.


    "Huh."


    [Your Shadow Energy stat has improved by 5 points.]


    [As you have absorbed the Shadow Energy of a Shadow Serpent, you have improved the innate quality of your Shadow Energy, awakening some of thetent properties that slumber within.]


    [As you have absorbed the Shadow Energy of a Shadow Serpent, you have awakened the property of Shadow.]


    [As you have absorbed the Shadow Energy of a Shadow Serpent, you have awakened the property of Energy.]


    [These properties can be found in greater detail within the skill ''Shadow Energy Mark''.]


    Closing the screen he had just brought up, Valyr''s curiosity was at its peak as he wondered what the system meant by awakening the Shadow Energy''s properties. After all, all he knew so far and from his past life was that Shadow Energy was a type of energy simr to mana, but was just more destructive.


    With that, he decided tomand the system to bring up the description of [Shadow Energy Mark] in front of him. However, before he could do so¡­


    "I''d suggest you save checking those skills of yours at ater time." Noel had appeared in front of him, looking at him with a stern expression.


    Faintly curious as to why Noel had given him such advice, Valyr softly tilted his head as he stood up, consuming both a health and mana potion to make sure that he was in the best condition he could achieve currently.


    Luckily, before he even had to ask a question about it, the old man gave him the answer, grinning from both sides as he told him, "After all, that skill of yours would change once you obtain your new subss."


    "I didn''t expect you to actually kill the first Shadow Serpent we''d encounter, brat. You''ve definitely given this old man here quite the shock." Letting out a cackle filled with glee and pride, Noel looked at the young man in front of him with the same grin from earlier, recalling the words the young man had told him back when he had asked Valyr if he wanted the subss.


    ''A risk that I won''t ever regret, huh.'' Inwardly chuckling as the words came to mind, the old man took a deep breath as heposed himself, prompting Valyr''s expression to be solemn. ''I gotta give it to him.''


    ''He hasn''t made me regret the decision at all.''


    "Because of what you''ve shown me, I''ve decided that I''m going to improve the rewards you''ll receive from my quest." As Noel said these words, a look of slight surprise appeared on Valyr''s face, only for it to be soon reced with faint excitement not long after. "It''s the least I could do, especially after seeing how much effort you''ve put into killing that serpent."


    "Come closer." Hearing these words from Noel, Valyr faintly nodded as he took a few steps forward. Then, out of nowhere, Noel ced both of his hands on the young man''s head, circting his Abyssal Energy through them not long after.


    "You know, I''ve thought about it for a bit while I watched you fight that Shadow Serpent." As the old man nned to umte Abyssal Energy in his hands, Noel took the time to give Valyr more insight into what the elder''s improved rewards could be. "Would the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss truly be useful to you?"


    "From one perspective, that may be the case." Just as Valyr was about to respond to the question, Noel interrupted him, causing the former to realize that thetter was narrating his thought process. "After all, you''re a spear user."


    "However, with the curse inflicted on you more or less hindering you from using your spear all the time and having to rely on magic instead, the question came to mind," said Noel. "Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the subss would still help you out, but not in a way that you could fully make use of it."


    "With that, I thought about ways I could work around that curse of yours," he continued, his gaze focused on the Abyssal Energy umting in his hands. "Perhaps a subss that would allow your magic to also benefit from its specialties."


    "And that''s when it dawned on me." At these words, Noel shed a grin at Valyr as he released the Abyssal Energy in his hands, enveloping Valyr''s entire body with it.


    "There was a way to do that."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Telling Valyr to let the Abyssal Energy surrounding him do its thing, Noel began to manipte the Abyssal Energy in a way that cleansed the young man''s body both inside and outside, making his senses more perceptive in general.


    "I used to have a disciple that was incredibly talented in magic, but had to pick up the spear due to her parents," said Noel as he continued to manipte the Abyssal Energy. "Back then, I asked myself the same question I was asking myself earlier. Unfortunately, I did not have the capability to act upon it at the time."


    "But now¡­ that''s not the case."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    After making the young man''s senses more perceptive, the Abyssal Energy Noel used to envelop Valyr soon made its way to the young man''s mind, inundating it with a plethora of information regarding the Shadow ne, as well as Shadow Energy.


    "Rejoice, Valyr," said Noel with a grin, retracting the Abyssal Energy after seeing that its work was done. "From this point onward, you are a Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer no more."


    "Instead, you are the first of its kind. The first to receive this new subss. The trailzer of a new path I''ve just made a reality."


    "Valyr Zeihardt, you are Veldanyr''s first ever¡­"


    "Shadow Serpentine Manncer."


    Ding!

 Chapter 521 A New Subclass

    At the very moment Noel had retrieved the Abyssal Energy surrounding his entire body, Valyr heard a string of notification sounds resound in his mind, causing him to feel a faint sense of nausea as he recalled the various sensations he had just gone through.


    First and foremost was the process Noel had done on him that allowed his senses to be more perceptive. Utilizing Abyssal Energy, what the elder had basically done was improve the pathways that sent signals from his senses towards the brain, increasing not only the speed at which these signals were sent, but the rity of these signals as well.


    ''It definitely like I was being operated on every part of my body.'' Slightly shuddering at the thought that came to mind, the young man then moved onto the second process Noel had done on him, which was imparting him information regarding the Shadow ne and Shadow Energy directly to his mind.


    Unlike the odd sensation the first process had given him, the second process was more or less tolerable to Valyr, being reminded of the various times in the past he had pushed his mind to its limits. Though the information he had received was not small by any means, the mental strain it put on his mind was negligible at best, processing and organizing the information within seconds by the time the Abyssal Energy was done with its task.


    ''I guess it''s time to check out the notifications I received.'' Taking in a few deep breaths as Noel faintly nodded at him in silence, Valyr faintly nodded back as he brought up the notification screen in front of him once more, realizing that the notifications could be split into three types.


    Ding!


    [Your subss ''Neophyte Shadow Serpentine Lancer (Umon)'' has been changed to ''Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)''.]


    [The stats obtained from the user''s previous subsses shall now be redistributed to match the current subss'' stat distribution.]


    [You have gained 30 DEX and 135 INT.]


    ''Damn. That''s a lot of stats.'' The first type of notifications he had read through were those that had something to do with his stats. Due to his subss undergoing an increase in rarity, it was no surprise that Valyr had gained a massive amount of stats because of it, his INT being the main focus of the rarity increase.


    After getting over the shock of having far more INT than before, he then moved onto the second type of notifications on his list, all of which had something to do with skills rted to the subss.


    [Due to the nature of your subss, the skill ''Shadow Energy Empowerment'' has been upgraded.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, the skill ''Shadow Eye'' has been upgraded.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, the skill ''Shadow Energy Mark'' has been upgraded.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, the skill ''Shadow Serpent Combat Style'' has been upgraded.]


    ¡­


    [Due to the nature of your subss, you have gained the active skill ''Shadow Serpent Magic Style''.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Shadow Energy Maniption''.]


    ''And here I thought I''d have to ask Elder Noel on how to get my hands on it.'' Though he had already expected all of the skills to undergo improvement once his subss increased in rarity, Valyr did not expect to gain an additional skill.


    Fortunately, after he thought about the name of the subss and how it had something to do with magic, it did not take long for him to think that it made sense, soon finding it ironic if the subss did not give any type of skill rted to magic whatsoever.


    ''Now, for thest few notifications.'' Unlike the first two types of notifications, which could easily be identified through the system, the third type of notifications tackled something that only became prominent during certain situations.


    His Attack stat.


    [Due to the nature of your subss, your Attack stat now scales off either your DEX stat or your INT stat, depending on the skill that is used.]


    [However, due to the nature of your subss, the efficacy of the Attack stat on skills that rely on INT are only 50% effectivepared to skills that rely on DEX.]


    ''There''s probably a way to improve this at some point. I''ll have to ask Elder Noel about this.'' Briefly finding it a slight shame that the Attack stat did not scale off his INT stat fully, Valyr was still more than ted by the change. After all, even though the scaling was only 50% effective, he knew very well that the improvement that came along with it was more than 50% depending on the skills he used.


    Incredibly satisfied with the changes and upgrades his new subss had given him, the young man went ahead and brought up the description of the subss as he briefly nced at Noel, only to see the old man looking at him with a satisfied smile.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Serpentine Manncer] (Subss)


    Rarity: Rare


    Many spearmen throughout the ages have tried to forge their own path by taking inspiration from nature, with some ending up more sessful than others. However, there are those who forge their own path of spearmanship by taking from nature itself, allowing their way of the spear to stand head and shoulders above their peers.


    A Shadow Serpentine Lancer is one such path that takes from nature itself, taking the energy of an elusive beast, the Shadow Serpent, and making it into one''s own. Such ancer gains the ability tond deadly yet elusive attacks under the covers of the shadows, turning them into a foe that would be everyone''s worst enemy in the battlefield.


    However, amongst thesencers are those who did not abandon the ways of magic, instead integrating them alongside the spear in the midst of their fights. With the energy of the Shadow Serpent coursing throughout their bodies, their beings stand above normal Shadow Serpentine Lancers not only in terms of flexibility, but also in destructibility.


    Such beings are only known as Shadow Serpentine Manncers¡­ and you are the first of its kind.


    For each level gained in this subss, the user gains +2 VIT, +1 STR, +3 AGI, +5 DEX, and +5 INT.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So, what do you think?" Seeing as the young man seemed to be finished looking through his new subss in detail, Noel threw Valyr a question as he let out an amused chuckle.


    "Definitely far beyond my expectations," replied Valyr, letting out a chuckle of his own.


    "d to hear, d to hear." Nodding in response, a proud smile adorned Noel''s face.


    Though, after Noel''s words, an awkward silence soon enveloped the two, both of them wondering where to lead the conversation next. Fortunately, it did not take long for Valyr toe up with a topic, breaking the awkwardness as he asked the old man a question.


    "Elder Noel, mind if I ask you some questions while I fight some creatures in the Shadow ne? I do need to get used to this new subss, after all."


    "I''d definitely be d to." Inwardly thanking Valyr for breaking the silence between them, the smile on Noel''s face remained as he swiftly created a tform for the two out of Abyssal Energy, zooming through thends of the Shadow ne in search of foes soon after.

 Chapter 522 Following Ones Footsteps

    ?


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "I''m beat." Being the first to get out of the rift, Valyrid down on the ground as he let the cold air blowing throughout the room caress his entire body, feeling his physical and mental exhaustion disappear with every passing second.


    "I did tell you not to push yourself so hard, brat." As for Noel, he let out a low sigh as he got out of the rift, slowly shaking his head as he dismantled the magic circle powering the entrance to the Shadow ne. "In any case, are you finally used to your new subss?"


    "More than used to it at this point, Elder Noel." In response, Valyr beamed a grin. "With how much fighting I''ve had to do in the Shadow ne during those past couple of days, you could even say that it''s a natural extension of myself at this point."


    "Truly crazy," murmured Noel as he sat down on his bed, his mind recalling all of the fighting he had seen Valyr engage in during the time they were in the Shadow ne.


    Though it seemed like the fight between Valyr and Juvenile Shadow Serpent took up quite arge chunk of their time in the Shadow ne, the total amount of time it took for the two to search for a Shadow Serpent and kill it was roughly three hours. With that, after taking a small break, the young man still had roughly two days to do whatever he wanted in the Shadow ne before he had to leave no matter what.


    Thus, as a response to break the silence between them after the old man had given him his new subss, Valyr suggested that he fought against the creatures of the Shadow ne to get used to his new subss, which Noel unsurprisingly agreed to. After all, if the young man were to fight creatures here rather than fight creatures out in the real world, the young man would be effectively killing two birds with one stone.


    For one, he would be gaining experience with his new subss, finding out the limits of the subss, as well as the limits of his body under the new subss. Aside from that, he would also be gaining Shadow Energy from killing the creatures, something Noel made sure to happen every time the young man wanted to fight.


    Taking only the most necessary of breaks as he sustained himself on health, mana, and stamina potions in both his and Noel''s spatial bracelet, Valyr had killed about five thousand creatures in total, which allowed him to break through bottlenecks for his Shadow Energy stat multiple times.


    At the moment, the young man''s Shadow Energy stat was at 89 points, allowing the status boost effect from [Shadow Energy Mark] to now be incredibly noticeable.


    "As I''ve mentioned earlier in the Shadow ne, there''s no need to obtain a quest from me in order to improve your subss to the next rarity." After the two had taken a sufficient break under the room''s cold air, Noel broke the silence as he looked at the young man still lying on the ground. "As long as you meet the amount and quality of Shadow Energy needed, your subss will naturally improve."


    "A thousand points in Shadow Energy and 3rd Cleansing grade in quality, right?" asked Valyr in response, wanting to make sure that he remembered the man''s words correctly.


    "Correct." Fortunately, he did, eliciting Noel to nod in agreement. "As long as you reach that amount and that quality of Shadow Energy, your Shadow Energy will undergo a transformation, turning into Void Energy and allowing you to ascend to the subss'' next rarity."


    "Of course, with you being the first Shadow Serpentine Manncer in the world, I have no clue whether or not the requirements to ascend to the next rarity shall remain the same or not," added Noel soon after. "However, I shall pray to the heavens that it does remain the same."


    "I definitely hope it stays the same." Valyr nodded in agreement, deciding to stand up after peering through the room''srge windows.


    "In any case, thank you very much for your guidance, Elder Noel." Seeing that the sun had already set, the young man decided to say farewell to the elder, giving thetter a respectful bow. "I shall find a way to repay you for this in the future."


    "The only repayment I need from you is for you to reach the same level as I did," said Noel with a smile, gesturing to Valyr that he was free to leave. "Naturally, if there everes a day that you touch upon the concept of Chaos, I''ll be more than content with life."


    "Oh, I almost forgot," added the old man at the veryst minute. "Since you now have proper control over Shadow Energy, you can open an entrance to the Shadow ne on your own at anytime. There''s no need for you to find me to enter it anymore."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind, Elder Noel. Farewell for now." Saying farewell to Noel once more, Valyr finally left the Spearman Guild, roaming through the streets of Algerie City at a brisk pace before arriving at the inn where he and Wells stayed in a few minutester.


    ¡­


    "So, how was the tournament?" At the very moment he had entered the room they stayed in, Valyr instantly heard a questione from Wells, whose expression was currently that of a slight frown.


    "It was good," replied Valyr with a slightly apologetic smile, knowing that his friend was concerned for his safety. "Thanks to it, I''m now the leader of the party for the uing inheritance."


    "Is that so?" With a slight frown still adorning his face, Wells raised an eyebrow as he looked at his friend from head to toe. "Why''s your armor mangled, then?"


    "About that¡­" Hearing Wells'' question, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he recounted what had happened in the Shadow ne, omitting details that he knew Wells would not react kindly to.


    "So that''s why I felt like you''ve gotten stronger." However, rather than ease up after hearing Valyr''s exnation, the frown on Wells'' face became deeper as it now showed a hint of concern. "But that doesn''t mean you don''t need to take breaks."


    "And that''s exactly why I n to take it easy for the remaining days up to the day where I enter the inheritance." Fortunately, Valyr''s next response did, prompting Wells to inwardly let out arge sigh of relief as a smile now reced the frown.


    "Oh, thank the heavens."


    Chuckling in response to Wells'' reply, Valyr''s expression soon turned into that of slight curiosity as he noticed that the aura surrounding Wells had gotten considerably strongerpared to when he had felt it before he left for the tournament.


    "Wells, is it me¡­ or have you gained a few levels?" Hearing this question from his good friend, Wells let out a bit ofughter as a mysterious smile appeared on his face.


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t know. Why don''t you check it for yourself?"


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr was about to nod in agreement to his friend''s suggestion, the young man was swiftly bombarded by the entirety of Wells'' aura. Within its radius, he felt that the aura gave him a familiar feeling, but he was not sure where that familiarity came from.


    "Ah."


    Coincidentally, that was the exact moment when it hit him.


    "You ascended."

 Chapter 523 An Urgent Message

    ?


    "I did." Hearing Valyr''s words, Wells nodded in agreement before chuckling and grinning as if he had just yed a prank on his good friend.


    "When did you ascend?" Of course, as his friend, Valyr was d that Wells had ascended to the next ss rank, considering the many benefits that ascending offered aside from an increase in strength.


    If anything, the only reason why he had realized his friend had ascended through sensing his aura was because of the same feeling Wells'' aura gave him while he was interacting with Hal and the others earlier.


    "While you were away, actually." Hearing this answer from Wells, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise, expecting the former to have thought about ascending to the next ss rank for quite some time. Fortunately, Wells'' reasoning behind his ascension while Valyr was away was more than enough for thetter to realize that his friend had indeed put a lot of thought into it.


    However, he was not expecting himself to be one of the reasons why Wells had ascended to Rank 2.


    "With how much fighting you''ve been doingtely, I feel like there''ll eventuallye a day where you need to fight, but you couldn''t due to how hard you''ve pushed yourself. Because of that, I thought that I needed to improve my strength somehow, even if the level of strength I achieve isn''t the same as yours. At the very least, I hope to ease your burdens through me."


    Though hearing Wells'' words made him feel like he was talking to a close family member than a friend, Valyr greatly appreciated that the man was caring for his wellbeing, feeling his heart warm up as he firmly embraced his good friend.


    "Thanks."


    Feeling a bit surprised at first from the sudden hug, Wells eventually returned the hug back with a smile, telling Valyr that it was the least he could do as he was the reason why he was free to aim for the zenith of spearmanship.


    "Speaking of which, what kind of ascension did you go for?" After letting go of each other, Valyr''s curiosity took over as he asked the young man as to what species and ss he had ascended to. Unsurprisingly, Wells'' choice for his species evolution was Human (2nd Unsealing).


    His ss evolution, on the other hand¡­


    "True Spear Schr," said Wells to Valyr, prompting thetter to raise an eyebrow as he waited for the former to exin.


    "Though it''s simr to the Spear Schr ss you''ve allowed me to ascend to Rank 1 in terms of skill set, the True Spear Schr ss is better than it in many ways."


    "For one, instead of the ss being Epic rarity, the True Spear Schr ss is considered Legendary rarity by the system." Hearing these words from Wells, Valyr''s eyes widened in interest as his friend continued to list down the perks brought by the improved ss.


    Though, in short, the True Spear Schr ss had onlye about due to Wells'' intense focus towards a single goal, which was the zenith of spearmanship, while sacrificing other things in exchange. At those words, Valyr realized that Wells tended to seclude himself more often than not, causing him to apologize to the young man after that.


    In response, Wells let out a chuckle as he told Valyr that it was fine, assuring him that he did not seclude himself because he needed to, but because he chose to.


    After that, the two of them talked about what each other did during the day, with Valyr talking about the improved subss he had gotten to Wells in considerable detail, even going so far as telling the young man that it was a hybrid subss of sorts.


    Unsurprisingly, with Valyr talking about his subss, Wells soon brought up the topic of his own subss into their conversation, or more specifically, theck thereof.


    Listening to the possiblebinations Wells hade up with that he felt would synergize with the True Spear Schr ss, Valyr eventually told Wells that he might have a subss that would achieve a great level of synergy with his main ss. Though, not wanting to get the young man''s hopes up that much, he told him that he would check the Myriad Archives first to make sure that the subss he had in mind did synergize with it.


    With Wells'' response towards the bit of information regarding having to look through the Myriad Archives being positive than negative, the two of them eventually ate their dinner at a restaurant near the inn before returning to their respective portions of the room, with Valyr letting out a long sigh of relief as he lied down in bed.


    "There''s no greater feeling in life than to finally lie down in bed after an exhausting day," muttered Valyr to himself, only to correct himself soon after.


    "On second thought, close to three exhausting days."


    "Speaking of which, I should go check the skills that were upgraded by the subss." Briefly doing a light stretch in bed, which gave Valyr an immense amount of relief, the young man soon brought up a couple of the skills that were upgraded by the Shadow Serpentine Manncer subss, saving [Shadow Energy Mark] forst after remembering the notifications he had gotten about it after killing the Juvenile Shadow Serpent.


    Ding! Ding!


    "Hmm¡­ the boost to PER has increased by an additional 5% on [Shadow Eye] after the subss was upgraded." Nodding as he read through the updated description of the skill, Valyr soon pushed his perception to its limits to see if that was the case.


    "Huh. The boost to efficacy [Shadow Energy Empowerment] offers to both [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] and [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] has improved by a further 10%." With the changes to [Shadow Eye] being minimal after the upgrade, Valyr then moved onto the next skill affected by his upgraded subss, his eyebrows slightly raising in interest as he continued to read.


    "It also affects [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], as well as [Basic Shadow Energy Maniption]. Neat."


    "Let''s move onto the various styles," muttered Valyr to himself, closing the screen that contained [Shadow Energy Empowerment]''s description as hemanded the system to bring up the description of all three styles rted to the subss.


    However, just as he was about to go through them to take a look at their changes¡­


    Ding!


    [Julian Pyrrhia (Lvl. 96) has sent you a message.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Come to the cksmith Guild tomorrow before the sun rises."


    "I''ll tell you more about it when you get here."

 Chapter 524 The Best Way To Earn Money

    ?


    "You really had to send a message at that kind of time." Letting out a long sigh as he sat upright, Valyr slowly got out of bed and went through his usual daily routine, the message Julian had sent himst night lingering in his mind.


    "Sure, I was eventually able to sleep, but it definitely made it slightly harder." Allowing the cold water from the shower flow over his body, Valyr thought about the various possibilities as to why the cksmith Guild''s guild leader would send such a message.


    Ignoring the fact that he hadpletely thrown away the thought of checking out the skills upgraded by his new subss after reading the message, the young man first thought that it might have something to do with the ongoing orc outbreak, prompting him to think that Julian wanted him toe to the cksmith Guild early in order to inform him more about it.


    However, after thinking about it for a bit more, he eventually recalled the response he had gotten from Julian back when he was returning to the tournament, having to take a detour to the Spearman Guild to obtain his Shadow Serpentine Manncer subss.


    ''Didn''t he say he would prefer me toe tomorrow?'' Opening up the chat function in his mind, Valyr eventually found the exact message he was thinking about, causing his train of thought to move away from the topic of the orc outbreak and onto Julian''s cryptic message instead.


    Though, with there not being much information to extract upon such a message, the young man felt like he had returned to square one, just with a few more clues to work off on.


    "Well, whatever it may be, I sure hope it''s more than enough to make up for a few more hours of good sleep." Letting out a yet another sigh, Valyr eventually got out of the shower and dried himself off before changing into a set of clean clothes.


    Taking a quick peek at Wells, who was still sound asleep, he then took a look out the room''s window, bitterly smiling as the sun was nowhere close to peeking out of the horizon yet.


    Then, wondering if he should send a message to Wells in advance to inform him of where he was going, it was there that Valyr realized he hadn''t added Wells to his friend list yet, prompting him to wonder how he''d forgotten something so simple as he wrote a quick note instead.


    Donning the full set of Nascent Wyvern Armor, which was still greatly mangled from the fight against the Ancient Elite tier Juvenile Shadow Serpent, Valyr eventually left the inn where they stayed, walking through the somewhat barren streets of Algerie City as he leisurely made his way to the cksmith Guild.


    ¡­


    "Well, you look worse for wear." While making his way to the cksmith Guild, Valyr took a small detour to grab some breakfast using the money he had borrowed from Wells.


    Reminding himself that he would repay his debt to Wells once he obtained his earnings from the equipment he had forged, he then arrived at the guild a few minutester, only to be led to Julian''s workshop after showing his identification badge.


    "You could definitely say that again." Hearing the words Julian said to him the very moment the two of them met, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he briefly nced at the set of armor he was wearing.


    The reason why he had brought the set of Nascent Wyvern Armor along with him in the first ce was because he nned to repair it using the cksmith Guild''s tools. With how he had obtained the leader position for the uing expedition in the tournament, he had a feeling that Julian wouldn''t mind if he used a bit of the guild''s resources to repair his armor set, especially if it was the armor set he was going to use in the inheritance.


    "If you want to use some of the guild''s resources to repair it, you''re free to do so." Of course, with Valyring to that conclusion in his mind, it was no surprise that Julian hade to the conclusion as well, letting out a faint chuckle after seeing the young man''s expression light up in response.


    "I''ll repair itter." Though his intentions in bringing the armor along with him were exposed, Valyr showed his gratitude to Julian before deciding to change the topic of the conversation to what he thought it was supposed to be.


    "In any case, why did you have mee to the guild so early? Does this have something to do with the message you sent me back when I was returning from the tournament?"


    "Actually, yes."


    Thud.


    As Julian responded to Valyr''s question with a nod, the former headed to a certain portion of the workshop before lifting up what looked to be arge cloth sack that seemed to have a lot of items in it. Carrying the sack as if it were paperweight, the man unceremoniously dropped it on the ground before Valyr, which caused the ground to tremble for a bit.


    "What¡­" Looking at the cloth sack in front of him, Valyr decided to move closer to it after Julian gestured to him that it was his to take. Though curious at first as to what the sack might contain, a thought eventually surfaced within the young man''s mind as he began to attempt lifting it up.


    "Is this¡­ what I think it is?" Letting go of the sack after getting a feeling of how heavy it was, Valyr looked at Julian with a hint of expectation as the question left his mouth, only for it to turn into that excitement once thetter had confirmed it.


    "Yes. That right there is the profit your equipment has made after it was sold through the guild''s markets."


    "Doesn''t something like this take longer than a couple of days to procure?" Wanting to see how much money he had made, Valyr unhesitatingly opened the cloth sack, revealing a portion of the tons of the gold coins that seemed to be stored within it. After that, he looked at Julian before him with slight curiosity.


    "Well, that would normally be the case." Hearing Valyr''s question, Julian nodded in agreement. "However, with the orc outbreak gradually ramping up, as well as the fact that the name Ylvar has be more prominent thanks to that feat you''ve achieved, something like this is to be expected."


    "How much profit did the equipment make in total?" Nodding after a bit of silence as the reasoning made sense, Valyr then asked Julian the question he wanted the answer to the most¡­


    Only to be left at aplete loss for words once he did.


    "Well, excluding the price of having to advertise the equipment, as well as themission fee the guild gets from selling the equipment in the first ce¡­"


    "What you have right there, in gold coins¡­"


    "¡­is about 300 tinum coins of pure profit."

 Chapter 525 Has Always Been Auctions

    ?


    "¡­" For quite some time, Valyr could not wrap his head around the figure Julian had uttered. Though he was used to earning and spending far higher amounts of money in his past life, such an amount of money could only be obtained after he had worked hard on forging for weeks, perhaps even months.


    Inparison, he obtained 300 tinum coins by just forging equipment for what was roughly half a day.


    Even when hepared it to the time when he owned a smithy in Clossbay City, the total amount of money he earned during his time of owning it only amounted to a third of what he had gotten at most.


    "You¡­ you aren''t joking, right?" Still feeling a bit of disbelief, Valyr looked at Julian and asked for confirmation, to which thetter responded with a firm nod.


    "Why would I joke about matters involving money?" said Julian in response. "Your equipment really did sell for that much in total¡­ well, it sold for more than that if you took the guild fees into consideration, but you know what I mean."


    "I¡­ see." Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr did a few equations in his head,ing to the conclusion that the ten pieces of equipment he had given to Julian had given him roughly 30 tinum coins of profit each. Considering that the guild would also take a chunk of the profit from it, that meant that the equipment he forged were sold for 40 tinum coins, perhaps even higher.


    "How did it even sell for that much?" With the thought in mind, the young man soon asked Julian another question, even though the answer to that question was already something hepletely knew.


    "As I''ve mentioned before, thanks to that forging duel between you and my daughter, the name Ylvar has be more prominent, causing a lot of people to flock towards the equipment you''ve forged once we''ve announced that it was for sale." Pondering over the question for a bit, it was only after a minute of silence or so did Julian open his mouth.


    "However, what truly caught people''s attention was the rarity of the equipment, as well as the stats they offered," he continued, indirectly hinting to Valyr that the artifact he had forged was a major reason towards the high prices they sold for.


    "Combine it with the fact that there were only nine of them and the thought that Ylvar wouldn''t forge another set of equipment after this one, we were able to sell them for prices ranging around 40 to 60 tinum coins each."


    "I had a feeling it was like that." Gaining assurance that his initial thoughts were correct, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he finally came to terms with the amount of money he had received. Though it was still a minuscule amount of money in the grand scheme of things, 300 tinum coins was more than enough for him to do all of the things he nned on doing.


    ''I''ll set aside 20 tinum coins for the meantime to repay the debt I still haven''t paid to Arcenne and her father,'' thought Valyr to himself, recalling the duo that had helped him back when he was staying in Clossbay City. ''I''ll probably have to enlist Julian''s help in this to make sure the money goes directly to them.''


    ''After that, I''ll set aside another 10 tinum coins to buy the materials needed to return the Nascent Wyvern Armor to pristine condition.'' Though Valyr greatly appreciated the fact that Julian had given him free reign over the materials within the guild to repair his armor set, now that he had obtained a windfall of money, he was nning to use his own money to pay for the materials instead, not wanting to abuse the man''s goodwill.


    ''Hmm¡­ aside from buying some passive skill books from the Boundless Skill Pavilion¡­ do I have enough money left to buy that thing?'' Mulling over where he would spend the money for a bit more, he eventually recalled one of the main reasons why he had decided to forge equipment for selling in the first ce, remembering one of the more important materials needed to upgrade his Nascent Wyvern Armor to the next rarity.


    "Say, Julian. Would the money I currently have on hand be enough to obtain a Wyvern Core?"


    A Wyvern Core. That was the material Valyr had mentioned to Julian back when he was forging that he was nning on buying.


    Being the source of a wyvern''s strength, a Wyvern Core only appeared in those that were ssified as True Wyverns, a step above the Juvenile Wyverns, which was the source of the parts Valyr used in upgrading his armor set to the current Nascent Wyvern Armor.


    However, because Wyvern Cores could only be obtained from True Wyverns by killing them, Wyvern Cores usually fetched high prices, considering that the weakest True Wyvern one could find was already at the peak of Rank 4,monly even havingprehended an Intent of their own.


    "Unfortunately, it''s not enough," said Julian in response, causing Valyr''s expression to turn glum.


    "However, as long as we sell the Epic grade spear you forged, you''ll probably have more than enough to get your hands on one." Though, after he heard the man''s next words, the frown on Valyr''s face turned into that of confusion.


    ''Wait a minute¡­'' Fortunately, it did not take long for him to dispel the confusion he felt, realizing that Julian had mentioned earlier in the conversation that the 300 tinum coins came from nine out of the ten pieces of equipment he had forged,pletely different from his original thought that the coins came from all ten pieces of equipment being sold.


    "You''re telling me¡­ the Epic grade spear I enhanced hasn''t been sold yet?" Finally understanding what was going on, Valyr soon asked a question that prompted Julian to nod in response.


    "Though it would have definitely sold for a high price without a problem if I were to sell it like the other pieces of equipment you''ve forged, since I thought about the Wyvern Core you wanted to buy and also thought that you were in dire need of money, I decided to pull a couple of strings and use some favors I had lying around." Saying these words, Julian shed a grin at the young man, whose curiosity was only increased by the former''s next few words.


    "Actually, this is the main reason why I asked you toe to the cksmith Guild this early."


    "It''s because the Epic grade spear you forged¡­"


    "¡­shall be the main attraction of the impromptu auction that''s being heldter."

 Chapter 526 Perks Of A Leader

    ?


    "An impromptu auction? Is the next auction still far away from being held?" As the question left Valyr''s mouth, the young man knew very well that auctions were generally held at certain intervals, which would allow the auction houses to have enough time to umte enough precious items that could be sold for high prices.


    With that in mind, the term ''impromptu auction'' somewhat confused the young man. After all, if there was only a small bit of time left before the auction, say a month or a couple of weeks before the set time, one could instead ask to bring it forward and include his spear as an item to be sold in the auction.


    With the level of authority he held as the leader of Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild, Julian could easily do that.


    Yet, from what Julian was implying through his words, it looked like there was more to the matter than it initially seemed.


    "Well, about that¡­" shing a bitter smile at Valyr''s question, Julian let out a low sigh. "Due to the orc outbreak bing a moremon topic among the people, especially the noble families and ns, the time for the usual auction was brought forward, pretty much leaving all of the auction houses with next to no items to sell."


    "But, as I''ve said earlier, I was able to make an impromptu auction happen by pulling a couple of strings and using a few favors from some people I''ve met in the past," added Julian, faintly making Valyr wonder as to why the former was going to such great lengths to help him out.


    "Fortunately, the auction houses were on board with the idea since they wanted to capitalize on the increased demand for precious items due to the orc outbreak," said the man after that, a slightly proud smile adorning his face soon after.


    "Eventually, other special people joined in as well, bringing the quantity and quality of items to be sold in the impromptu auction to a level where it was more or lessparable to a normal one."


    "And since you''ve had mee here to the guild so early¡­ I''m guessing the impromptu auction is going to be heldter?" Feeling like the answer to his earlier thoughts were not that deep, Valyr pushed the thought aside for the meantime as he asked Julian a question.


    "I wouldn''t have sent you a messagest night if it wasn''t." In response, Julian gave the young man a yful grin.


    "How many hours left till the auction starts?" Scratching the back his head for a bit, feeling slight regret at the fact he did not sleep in for a couple more hours, Valyr eventually shrugged his shoulders as he thought to himself that the current situation was not all that bad.


    "About six hours or so." Taking a look out his workshop to check on the sun''s position, Julian eventually turned to look back at Valyr, who seemed to have an annoyed expression after hearing his response.


    Letting out a bit of awkwardughter in response to the expression, he then added, "With that much time left before the auction, I suppose you have more than enough time to restore your armor to its original condition, perhaps even enhance it."


    "Speaking of which, do you want me to convert the gold coins in the sack I''ve given you into tinum cards?" Though an annoyed expression still lingered on the young man''s face, Valyr nodded in agreement to Julian''s suggestion, thinking that even lugging around 300 tinum coins would be a faint burden.


    Simr to the conversion rates of the other types of coins Valyr hade across so far in his journey, a tinum card was equivalent to 100 tinum coins. If one were to convert a single tinum card into the lowest denomination of coins, then one woulde face to face with a hundred million copper coins.


    With Julian proceeding to convert the gold coins he had given to Valyr into tinum cards, the two of them unsurprisingly spent the six hours before the auction in the cksmith Guild. During that time, he had asked for Julian''s help in giving some of the tinum coins he had earned to Arcenne and her father while spending another portion of his money on some materials that he bought from the guild at a discounted price, using it to return his armor to the way it was.


    Eventually, the entire six hours had passed.


    ¡­


    "So, what do you think?" Stepping foot into what looked to be arge theater, Valyr and Julian was instantly greeted by the sight of multiple people having already upied the thousands of seats that were avable, prompting thetter to look at the former with a slight grin.


    "Since it''s impromptu, it''s actually quite surprising to see so many people attend," said Valyr in response, being honest in his answer. Naturally, such an answer only made the grin on Julian''s face be wider. "Which auction house are we currently in again?"


    "The Leio Auction House." Urging Valyr to follow him as the two made their way through the auction house''s various corridors, Julian responded to the young man''s question. "It''s one of the more famous auction houses in the continent, being owned by the Meltierre Empire''s Imperial Leio n."


    "In any case, since the spear you forged is included in the list of items to be sold in this auction, we''ve been given a private room for us to watch the auction in its entirety." After walking for a few minutes through a somewhat narrow corridor, the two eventually arrived in front of a room that appeared minimalistic, yet seemed to be filled to the brim with amenities and creatureforts. "If you didn''t know, VIPs of the Leio Auction House would be the only ones usually upying this."


    "Oh, and also, if you want to bid on any items you find interesting during the auction, you''re free to do so." Taking a seat on one of the exquisite chairs provided to them, Julian looked at the young man that sat beside him for a bit before turning his attention towards the stage at the very front.


    "Since you''ve obtained the leader position in the uing expedition into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, the cksmith Guild shall foot the cost of five items you may bid in the auction," said the man soon after, which left Valyr looking at Julian with a surprised expression.


    "There are still a couple more things the guild ns on giving you as a reward for upholding the cksmith Guild''s reputation, but I''ll save that for when the auction is over." Hearing these words, Valyr could not help but blink a couple of times, wondering to himself if he was dreaming.


    Though, with the hubbub and the mor enveloping the entire space as it looked like the auction was about to start, a smile eventually emerged on Valyr''s face as a thought popped up in his mind not long after.


    ''Man.''


    ''Being treated like this sometimes isn''t that half-bad.''

 Chapter 527 The Auction Begins

    ?


    "To all of those that have been able toe here, wee to the Leio Auction House once more." Just as it seemed like the mor amongst the audience seemed to have no end, a man that looked to be in his early thirties, dressed in a dark gray suit, appeared on the stage, beaming a smile as he looked at the audience.


    "I presume that a great portion of you have already seen me during the auction that was held around a month ago," said the man with a chuckle, neatlybing his slightly unkempt blonde hair as he continued. "As for those that have onlye to the auction house for the first time, my name is Sirius Leio."


    "Though I maye from the Imperial Leio n, I am the head appraiser of this branch of the Leio Auction House, having worked as one for over a decade already. I hope that alone can assure you that the items that we''ll be showing in this auction have the auction house''s full seal of approval."


    "Before we begin auctioning off the items people have graciously trusted to us, let me remind everyone that bidding on an item is on a firste, first serve basis." As he said these words, Sirius red a portion of his aura towards the audience, causing everyone to look in his direction as his voice had be the only source of sound within the auction house.


    "Let me also remind everyone that any seeding bid must be higher than the previous bid, or else you''ll only make yourself look like a fool." Sirius let out a bit ofughter.


    "Andstly, those who have been sessful in obtaining items from the auction shall obtain the protection of the Leio Auction House until they reach a ce that they deem safe." At these words, the man red a bit more of his aura, causing some of them to start shivering under the pressure.


    "This is a rule that the auction house has added due to the events that are currently happening," said Sirius. "As one of the most trusted auction houses in the continent, we aim to give those that obtain their items from the auction house through fair means peace of mind."


    "And with that out of the way, let us start off this auction with our first item!"


    ¡­


    As the audience near the stage started to give Sirius a soft round of apuse as the first item in the auction was being disyed, Valyr looked at the man to his side for a bit, whose face currently had a soft smile on it.


    "Say, Julian," Valyr asked the man. "By pulling favors and using favors, what kind did you use exactly?"


    "Well¡­ let''s just say that some of the other production guilds owe me one after helping them out back then." In response, Julian looked back at Valyr before giving him a faint grin. "A great number ofbat guilds also owe me one, as well as a few people that you''d consider to have high levels of authority in the empire."


    "Either way, I was surprised that a lot of them were fine with me using the favor on an impromptu auction," he continued,ughing not long after. "Then again, I''m pretty sure they''ll earn a lot of money from this as well."


    "I guess you must be quite the outgoing person, then," replied Valyr, wryly smiling as he thought about his own social skills. "For so many to be fine with helping you out, that must be the case."


    "Well, I do like forging friendships with other people." Julian nodded in agreement, only to faintly shake his head soon after. "However, that''s only part of the equation."


    "Without the strength I currently have, the ability I have as a cksmith, and the authority I have as the cksmith Guild''s leader, probably 80% of the people I asked for this impromptu auction wouldn''t have responded to me."


    "In any case, there''s not much point dwelling in all of that," said Julian as he let out a chuckle to change the topic. "All I look forward to at the moment is the price your spear fetches in this auction."


    "Thank you." After pondering over Julian''s words silently for quite some time, Valyr eventually blurted out these words, prompting the former to look at him with confusion for a bit before letting out someughter.


    "There''s no need to thank me." Julian waved his hands in nonchnce as he looked back at the stage, though a wide smile adorned his face. "I''m just giving your work the stage it properly deserves."


    "¡­" Looking at Julian for a bit, Valyr briefly scratched his head as he wondered whether or not now was the right time to ask the other question that had popped up in his mind. In the end, he decided to save the thought forter and redirected his attention back to the stage, seeing that the first item had finally been set up properly.


    ¡­


    "To start off this auction, the first item is considerably on the moremon side, yet is still rare to obtain through normal means." Turning around to look behind him, Sirius was greeted by the sight of beautiful women in dresses holding up a couple trays that contained vials of viscous fluid.


    "As you can see before you, we have here 50 vials of Greater Health Potions, Greater Mana Potions, and Greater Stamina Potions each," said the man as he moved to the side, allowing the women to walk around the stage to show off the goods to the audience. "Having reached Greater tier, all of these potions have incredibly potent effects, allowing even those at the brink of death to return to their peak condition."


    "With that, we''ll be starting it off with the Greater Health Potions, selling it in sets of 10." At these words, the women lined themselves up beside Sirius, prompting a slight grin to appear on his face as he continued.


    "The initial bidding price is 30 gold coins for a set of 10. Any bid must be higher than the previous bid by at least one gold coin."


    "And with all of that said, the bid is now open!"

 Chapter 528 The Auction Continues

    "35 gold coins!" Hearing that the bidding for the set of Greater Health Potions was open, a young man at the back of the auction house raised their sign up with great fervor.


    "40 gold coins!" Unfortunately, the young man''s excitement was short-lived as a mature-sounding woman at the front bid higher than him, reminding everyone that the auction would be more ferocious as more time passed.


    "50 gold coins." Hearing these words echoing from the middle of the auction house, Sirius could not help himself from having a slight smile appear on his face, noticing that the auction house had gone silent after that.


    "Are there no more bids higher than 50 gold coins?" asked the man, attempting to rouse everyone''s urge to bid as he asked the women holding the items to roam around the stage once again.


    "50 gold coins going once¡­"


    "50 gold coins going twice¡­"


    "I''ll bid 55 gold coins!" Surprisingly, the man''s tactic had worked, forcing a young man near the front of the auction house to bid at the veryst minute, causing the smile on Sirius'' face to grow wider as he counted to three once more.


    "Alright! The first set of Greater Health Potions has been sold to the fine man that has bid 55 gold coins on it." Asking one of the auction house''s workers to move the set of potions that had been sold to the back, Sirius made a mental note of the man that had just bid before proceeding.


    "Let us now move onto the next set!"


    ¡­


    With the first item sold in the auction being multiple sets of Greater tier potions, not a lot of people had bid on it, considering that they were generally ordered in a way where the ones with the greatest purpose were saved forst. Because of that, those that were in dire need of those potions had gotten them at a considerably low price.


    Then again, there were those who had malicious intent in their bidding, greatly inting the price of the potion sets to many times over the original. However, as if the heavens had wanted them to learn their mistakes early on in the auction, no one had outbid on their prices, forcing them to grit their teeth as everyone apuded for them with hints of mockery.


    After the sets of potions were a couple pieces of equipment made bypetent cksmiths from the cksmith Guild. Since they were being sold in the auction, that meant that they had something special going for them, which was the fact that they could store magic spells, allowing them to be used at some other time.


    Unsurprisingly, quite a few younger mages fancied the gimmick of the equipment, which had taken on the form of armor. Because of that, there was a bit more fighting in between the audience regarding these special items, which only made the smile on Julian''s face widen as he knew the cksmith that had specifically forged the items that were sold.


    Once the special pieces of equipment were sold, Sirius brought out three vials containing viscous fluid that piqued the interest of a great portion of the audience, warranting their oohs and aahs as he exined what was inside them.


    "Right here in front of you are three vialsing from the Lord of Medicine directly, the young Faulus Erlenmeyer, also known as the star prodigy of the Alchemist Guild." At these words, multiple people already had ideas of what the vials contained, prompting some of them to shake their signs in anticipation as they wanted to be the first to bid on them.


    Noticing how some of the audience could not hold their desire to bid any longer, Sirius inwardly grinned as he continued his exnation. "Though the efficacy of the potions you see in front of you are nowhere near the Panacea that Faulus is greatly known for, you can think of these potions are a weaker type of Panacea. In fact, if I were you, I would give this to a genius of the younger generation as a gift due to it still having miraculous properties."


    "With that, the bidding is now open for these weaker Panaceas. The starting bid is at 3 tinum coins. Any bid after the previous must be higher by at least 1 tinum coin."


    "I bid 5 tinum coins!" Unsurprisingly, after everyone had heard that the Panaceas being sold weren''t the ones they knew about, a great portion of them lost all interest and decided to save their money for the item that woulde after. Then again, that did not stop others from bidding, some of whom seem to know more than what Sirius had exined.


    ¡­


    "I''d suggest you get one." Just as the first of the three weaker Panaceas had been sold to another person in the audience, Julian looked at Valyr beside him and gave him a suggestion. "Though Sirius exined that it''s a weaker Panacea, it''s actually a potion that''s different to a Panacea in purpose."


    "How so?" Though Valyr had faint doubts of the man''s words, the young man decided to follow the man''s suggestion, considering that the cksmith Guild was paying for it anyway.


    "The Panacea Faulus is known for concocting has superb medicinal properties," said Julian, to which Valyr nodded as it was something he knew very well. "Even returning someone that''s only a few thousandths of an inch away from death wouldn''t be impossible when they consume one of them."


    "However, the type of Panacea being sold at the moment is only known to those with high authority in the kingdom, which Sirius has aplenty of," he continued. "In any case, the potions being shown at the moment focus on the body strengthening properties of the Panacea rather than its medicinal properties."


    "Because of that, those in the know call it by another name, which is Might."


    "Now, you might be wondering. Why would the auction house sell such an item like that so early?" Just as Valyr had ced another bid on the potion, Julian had said something that the young man nned to say in response, leaving Valyr with no choice but to nod.


    "Well, it''s because Sirius wants those that bid on it to think they''ve struck a gold mine at such a low price." At these words, Julian let out a chuckle. "And in turn, that would cause them to return to the Leio Auction House more often."


    "He''s also doing it to foster the young generation, but he doesn''t want you to know that," added the man as Valyr had sessfully obtained the potion, prompting thetter to let out a chuckle as he nodded.


    "Say, Julian." Thinking that now was the right time to ask about the thought he came up with earlier, Valyr mustered up the courage as he took advantage of the downtime that appeared during the duration in between bids.


    "What is it?" Unsurprisingly, Julian raised his eyebrow in curiosity, faintly wondering what the young man wanted to ask him. Though, once he heard it, a slight frown unknowingly appeared on his face.


    "Now that I think about it¡­"


    "With how everyone is focused on the thing that''s going on within the Zeihardt n¡­"


    "Why is it only considered a royal n?"

 Chapter 529 Finding Out More

    ?


    As this question lingered in the young man''s mind, Valyr recalled what he knew about noble ns and families, as well as the system that was in y regarding their hierarchy.


    Simr to the nobility title system he was incredibly familiar with, the young man knew that ns and families could separated into three tiers as well, which were noble, royal, and imperial, respectively.


    Just like the nobility title system, noble ns and families were of lesser importancepared to royal ns and families. On the other hand, imperial ns and families reigned at the peak of the hierarchy, obtaining their rank due to their n having a great amount of power amongst their members or their founder achieving a great amount of merit.


    With that, the young man found it odd that the Zeihardt n, which was only considered a royal n, ording to what Aster and Julian had told him, had obtained the attention of almost every organization as the drama between the two factions attempting to find him continued to this very day.


    ''Is it because their might is infinitely close to the imperial ns?'' asked Valyr to himself, finding it a highly likely possibility. After all, any organization would pay attention to the happenings urring within the imperial n, whether it be a minor or a major matter.


    However, what Julian would tell him was definitely beyond his initial expectations.


    "Who told you the Zeihardt n was only a royal n?" With an eyebrow still raised, Julian looked at Valyr with a slight frown.


    "Didn''t you mention on the day before that tournament that the Zeihardt n was a royal n in status and how everyone was paying attention to it because of their might?" Hearing Julian''s question, Valyr answered back with a question, the confusion in his mind slowly building up.


    "Wait¡­" At the young man''s words, Julian went silent as it seemed like multiple pieces in his mind had finally connected together. "Do you really think the Zeihardt n as a whole is only considered a royal n?"


    "Is it not?" At this point, Valyr gave the man an answer with a tone of slight caution, wondering if what he knew from Aster and Julian were even correct.


    "It''s definitely not just a royal n if almost everyone is paying full attention to it." Julian shook his head, letting out a faint sigh. "If anything, only the Algerie Kingdom branch of the Zeihardt n is considered a royal n."


    "Then again, multiple branches of the Zeihardt n in the other kingdoms have also reached that status."


    "¡­huh?" Unsurprisingly, Valyr went silent after hearing that, giving Julian the freedom to continue with his exnation.


    "Well, considering your circumstances, it''s not that surprising that you don''t know everything there is to know about the n," said Julian with a slightly bitter smile, briefly looking at Valyr with an expression of pity as he began toy out the entirety of the Zeihardt n to the young man.


    "Though, before I begin my exnation, who told you that the Zeihardt n is only considered a royal n?" asked the man. "Of course, if you don''t want to tell me, that''s fine. Though, if you found the information on a book, you can tell me the title of the book instead."


    "A man from one of the noble ns," replied Valyr, not wanting to be very specific in slight fear of Julian harming them. "He told me back then that the main Zeihardt n was considered a royal n."


    "I see." Going silent for a bit, Julian eventually nodded in response. "I guess he hails from a n that''s not far away from Algerie¡­ or perhaps a n that''s not far away from any of the other Zeihardt n branches I''ve mentioned earlier."


    "In any case, the Zeihardt n''s entire might is not just on the level of a royal n," said the man. "Nor is it on the level of an imperial n either, even though the Zeihardt n situated in the human race''s only empire is considered one."


    "It is on a level far above the imperial ns, being the only n with that kind of ssification in existence." Saying these words, Julian''s expression turned solemn as he gave Valyr time to digest what he had said.


    "Being linked directly to the Zeihardt Sovereignty, the main Zeihardt n boasts a level of strength that could only be ssified as a primordial n."


    Ding!


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    Hearing the system respond to Julian''s words, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise as he opened up the notification screen in his mind. With it, it did not take long for him to put two and two together as he asked the man a question.


    "So¡­ do Ie from this primordial n, then?"


    "But of course." Julian nodded, looking at Valyr as if it were a matter of fact. "It''s exactly because you were born into the primordial n as a Herald that the entire Zeihardt n has split into two factions, with each branch falling under one of them."


    "Keep in mind that Algerie Kingdom''s Zeihardt n branch is on the side of the rebel faction, which is why the Imperial Production Guild has taken a lot of measures the very moment you arrived at the kingdom to make sure that information of you being here doesn''t leak out."


    "Is that so¡­" Feeling like he had gained more answers and questions from such a short discussion, Valyr went silent for a bit as he looked at the stage before them, seeing that Sirius was moving onto the next item of the auction, being a pair of essories that greatly increased one''s passive health regeneration.


    Mulling over the information he had obtained from Julian, the young man decided to end the conversation regarding the Zeihardt n''s strength then and there, instead shifting it onto another topic that still had something to do with the n yet not at the same time.


    "Say, Julian."


    "What is it?" Looking at Valyr once more, Julian raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "Do you perhaps know a person or an organization that could help me collect information on the Zeihardt n?"

 Chapter 530 Halberd Of Great Beginnings

    ?


    "An information broker, huh¡­" Hearing the question Valyr asked him, Julian pondered over it for a bit as he watched the essories go towards a person within one of the Leio Auction House''s private rooms. By the time the next item had been put up for auction, the man had given the young man his answer.


    "Though I know quite a lot of people and organizations that would give you that information without much difficulty, it''s not really something I''m willing to share in a ce like this, even if it''s considered a private room," said Julian to the young man, giving him a slight apologetic smile.


    "The information regarding the Zeihardt n is pretty much public knowledge, with only parts of my exnation being known by only those with higher authority," he continued. "Since Sirius is considered one of those, I don''t really have any problem sharing with it since he also knows what I know. Perhaps more than that, even."


    "In any case, is it fine with you if we talk more about this after the auction is over?" Looking at Valyr as he asked the question, the man let out a faint sigh of relief as the young man nodded in response, causing a soft smile to appear on his face as he nodded back.


    With that, the two of them focused their attention towards the next few items being sold in the auction, with Julian telling the young man that his spear was going to be put up for auction quite soon.


    ¡­


    "What we have right here is a skill book that has been appraised by the Leio Auction House numerous times to ensure the fact that it contains a special skill." As the pair of essories sold earlier were being removed from the stage, Sirius went ahead and introduced the next item that the auction house was selling, having a beautiful woman hold the item as usual as she unted it around the stage.


    "Though we haven''t checked what kind of special skill it contains exactly, the name of the skill that the skill book contains is the [Altair Shadow Dagger Combat Style]. Its rarity is presumed to be Rare grade or Rare+ grade." Continuing to go through more information regarding the skill book they were selling, it was no surprise that the entire audience was enchanted by his words at this point, with some of them already having thoughts of bidding on the item and getting them no matter what.


    "As far as the appraisers can deduce, the skill seems to focus on daggerbat specializing in stealth and assassination," said Sirius, causing the interest of some of the audience to increase. "Of course, whether such a skill is good or evil depends on how its eventual owner uses it."


    "With that, the bidding for the skill book is now open with an initial bidding price of 50 tinum coins! Any bid thates after must be higher than the previous by at least 10 tinum coins!"


    "One tinum card!" Surprisingly, at the very instant Sirius had allowed the audience to start betting on the item, the first bid had already increased the price by a lot, prompting many of those hopeful in the audience to let out a sigh as they instead focused their attention on what would be its final price.


    "A tinum card and fifty tinum coins." Forming a stark contrast to the gravelly voice of the middle-aged man that bid first, an old-sounding man resounded throughout the auction house, making everyone feel a slight hint of fear as the man spoke.


    "Two tinum cards!" However, rather than be intimidated by the old man, the middle-aged man bid once more for the skill book, eximing a few words after that made the audience realize that the two were actually rivals. "Give up, Charles! You will never get your hands on this skill book!"


    "Three tinum cards." With that, it was no surprise that the old man bid back. "Two can y at that game, Rain. As representatives of our respective organizations, I''d suggest we have our bidding do the talking instead."


    "¡­five tinum cards!" Gritting his teeth in anger, Rain took in a few deep breaths before making a counteroffer, only for Charles to give a counteroffer of his own not long after.


    In the end, the price of the skill book had ballooned up to 15 tinum cards, which had been won by the old man. Though Rain felt an inordinate amount of rage towards Charles at that point, he restrained himself from doing anything rash at the meantime, considering that the two of them were still within the confines of the auction house.


    ¡­


    "With that out of the way, we''re finally approaching the final half of this auction!" Having the skill book be moved to backstage for the meantime, Sirius'' face was all smiles as he introduced the next item, gesturing towards the sides of the stage as he spoke.


    "To make things lively for this final half, let us begin with a weapon that I''m sure everyone would like to get their hands on." As he introduced the audience to the next item that was being brought out, a woman in tight-fitting leather armor appeared on stage while carrying a halberd that looked to be simple in design.


    "As esteemed guests of the Leio Auction House, I''m sure everyone has caught wind of the name Ylvar bing more popr in the past few days." As he said these words, a great portion of the audience nodded in agreement, with some of them talking about the feat that had put the name into prominence in the first ce.


    "The forging duel that had urred within the cksmith Guild showed that one of the cksmiths of the younger generation actually had the capability to forge an artifact," said the man with a grin. In the meantime, the woman with the spear proceeded to do a few basicbat movements with it, showing her expertise in using the weapon.


    "Now, I''m pretty sure everyone might be wondering at this point. Where has Ylvar gone?" Seeing that the audience leaned forward to listen with interest, the grin on Sirius'' face became wider. "Well, ording to the cksmith Guild, he has forged a series of weapons using the artifact, selling almost all of those weapons through the guild''s markets¡­ except for one."


    "Yes, what you see right here is the only weapon within that series that hasn''t been sold, being given to the Leio Auction House specifically to give the masses a chance at obtaining Ylvar''s weapons." Unexpectedly, unlike the other items that had been sold earlier, almost everyone was eager to get their hands on the spear, wanting to be the first one to own a weapon that had the name Ylvar attached to it.


    "To give all of you more information on the weapon, it is a Level 40 weapon, though it could be enhanced to suit your current level," said the man, enticing the audience with every new statement. "Its rarity is Epic grade, with the weapon containing two innate skills, one of which is a passive skill that increases your Attack stat."


    "However, the most striking feature of this weapon is its awakened attributes," continued Sirius, causing the audience to be curious.


    "Now, why would its awakened attributes be its most striking feature?"


    Fortunately, Sirius was going to tell them either way, wanting to make sure the auction house could obtain the most profit out of it.


    "Well, Ylvar here hasn''t just awakened one or two of the three possible attributes within the weapon¡­"


    "Instead, he was able to awaken all of them."


    "On top of that, it seems like the awakened attributes on the weapon scale from the person''s stats."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "With that, the bidding is now open."


    "The initial price starts¡­"


    "¡­at three tinum cards."

 Chapter 531 The Bidding Begins

    ?


    "Huh¡­" At the very moment his spear was shown on stage, a faint trace of confusion appeared on the young man''s face. "That''s odd."


    "What is?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Julian looked back at him with a curious expression.


    "The spear is being sold so early," replied Valyr as he looked back at Julian. Looking directly at the man''s eyes, he had a strong feeling that the man beside him had a strong idea of what was going on.


    "Didn''t you mention earlier that the spear I forged would be the main attraction of the auction?"


    "But it is?" said Julian, now feeling a bit confused. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to understand what Valyr meant by his words, swiftly clearing up the confusion with his next statement.


    "Ah¡­ you thought your spear would be the final item sold in the auction? Is that correct?"


    "Isn''t that why it''s called a main attraction?" At this point, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face.


    "Well¡­" Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Julian let out a slightly apologetic chuckle. "In the Leio Auction House''s case, the item that they consider the main attraction is the item they use as advertisement for the auction. With how popr your fake name has be these past few days, it''s a no-brainer that they would use it to their advantage, especially with how sudden this auction had to be set up."


    "That sounds misleading," replied Valyr, the frown on his face gradually disappearing.


    "It is." Julian didn''t deny it. "However, since it''s an item that they used as the main attraction for this auction, I''m sure Sirius will bump up the price of the spear as high as he possibly could."


    Coincidentally, at the moment Julian said those words, Sirius began to exin the backstory behind the spear Valyr forged, making sure that everyone knew what kind of item they were going to possibly bid.


    Though, with how recent Ylvar''s rise to fame was, even though his name was being spread around the kingdom, only a few truly had interest in bidding them, considering it an investment of sorts to the younger generation.


    However, as Sirius revealed more and more information about the spear, such as how it was forged using the artifact Valyr had created during the forging duel, or the fact that the spear was of Epic rarity, more and more of the audience had their interests piqued. After all, it was incredibly rare for an Epic grade weapon to be sold to auction, even in a prestigious auction house like the Leio Auction House.


    Then again, what truly piqued everyone''s interest was the fact that the spear had all three possible attributes awakened, which scaled ordingly to the strength of the user. Naturally, everyone was quite skeptical of the im, with Sirius allowing everyone to use their respective identification skills on it so everyone could see that his words were true.


    As more and more people shared the additional stats they saw on the weapon when they identified it, it went without saying that almost everyone in the audience wanted to obtain the weapon for themselves at the point. In fact, some even wanted tomission Ylvar to forge a weapon for them that had the scaling attributes because of it.


    Though, aside from the fact that it had attributes that scaled to the user''s strength, the innate skills that came with it were incredibly superb, causing some to wonder where Ylvar had been all this time. Of course, the same went for its build quality, prompting everyone in the auction house to unanimously agree that the spear as a whole was undoubtedly on the level of an heirloom for arge n.


    "Alright. Has everyone gotten a good look at the spear?" Feeling like he had given enough time for the audience to identify the spear, Sirius brought everyone''s attention back to the matter at hand. "Since everyone has already seen what the spear is capable of, let us now open the bid for the Halberd of Great Beginnings."


    ¡­


    "Listen closely, Valyr. I''m certain that you''ll be satisfied even with its initial price." Hearing Sirius announce the beginning of the bidding process, Julian nudged Valyr with his shoulder, prompting thetter to pay close attention to Sirius'' next words.


    "The initial bidding price for this weapon¡­ is three tinum cards." Seeing that everyone was now on the edge of their seats, a faint grin adorned Sirius'' face as he signaled the beginning of the bidding process. "Any bid after the previous must be higher by at least 50 tinum coins."


    "With that being said, the Leio n would actually like to start this bid off with five tinum cards." Though, just as Sirius had announced its beginning, he surprisingly ced a bid on the spear, causing everyone to be speechless for a brief moment as he looked towards a certain private room with a smile. "Consider it the Leio n showing goodwill towards a incredibly prodigious cksmith."


    ¡­


    "What¡­" Hearing Sirius directly bidding on the spear he had forged on behalf of the Leio n, Valyr was left at an immense loss for words, passively listening to the mor the audience was making as they continued to bid on the spear. Surprisingly, they were able to increase the bid on the spear to nine tinum cards, which was already triple the amount the young man had made from the nine weapons he sold.


    "On behalf of the Spearman Guild, I would like to bid 12 tinum cards." Though, just as he had finally gotten a grip on the situation, a voice familiar to Valyr echoed from one of the auction house''s private rooms, causing him to take a few deep breaths topose himself.


    ''Elder Noel''s here?'' As the thought lingered in his mind, he took a look at the audience around the stage, seeing that a great portion of them had been intimidated after hearing Noel''s words. Then again, such a feeling onlysted for a brief moment, with the audience bringing up the price to 15 tinum cards.


    "On behalf of the cksmith Guild, I''ll bid 20 tinum cards." However, just as Valyr thought that the price of the spear wouldn''t get any higher, Julian''s voice echoed throughout the entire auction house all of a sudden. With that, the young man looked at the middle-aged man behind him in shock, wondering what was going on through thetter''s mind at the moment.


    "Hehe." In response, Julian only looked back at the young man and grinned.

 Chapter 532 The Final Price

    ?


    "¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths in response to the immense shock Julian''s action had given him, it took a while for the young man to fully recover his thoughts, hearing some of the audience continue to increase the price even further.


    Though the momentum of bidding on the item had considerably slowed down due to both the Spearman Guild and the cksmith Guild bidding on it, the price had still increased, now reaching a total of 22 tinum cards and 50 tinum coins.


    "I''ll bid 24 tinum cards." Just as Sirius was about to begin counting to three to move onto the next item, Noel''s voice resounded throughout the auction house one more time, prompting almost all of the audience to give up bidding on the spear.


    "I''ll bid 25 tinum cards." However, even though Noel had ced the bid in the hopes of deterring everyone else in the audience from bidding higher than him, there was still one person who had no fear in doing so, even going so far as to taunt the old man into bidding more.


    "I''d suggest you give up on this spear, Noel. This one''s going to belong to the cksmith Guild."


    "It would be ironic if the Spearman Guild did not get their hands on a spear," replied Noel with a scoff, only to give a counteroffer soon after. "27 tinum cards. I wonder if you could beat that, Julian."


    "28 tinum cards!" Julian responded back with a slight chuckle. At this point, everyone in the audience was silent, wondering who among the two would be the eventual winner of the spear. "Such a price is only a drop in the bucket for the cksmith Guild. I wonder if the Spearman Guild has such financial assets on hand."


    "Grr¡­" Letting out a low growl in anger, Noel eventually let out a low sigh as he gave what would be his final counteroffer. "30 tinum cards! If you bid any higher than this, Julian, then I''ll give up on the spear altogether."


    Unfortunately for the old man, his counteroffer would also be the final offer on the spear.


    "30 tinum cards, huh¡­" Saying these words, Julian let out a bit of teasingughter. "Yeah, I guess that''s more than enough for a spear of that quality. You win, Noel!"


    "Grr¡­ damn you, Julian!" Of course, it did not take long for Noel to realize what Julian aimed to achieve, his scream reverberating throughout the entire auction house as the building shook for a brief moment.


    "30 tinum cards going once¡­ going twice¡­ sold to the representative of the Spearman Guild?" Amidst the conversation between Noel and Julian, seeing that no one was bidding a higher price on the spear, Sirius went ahead and counted the three with a tone of uncertainty. After all, he did not know whether or not he should be counting to three in the first ce.


    Though with how both Julian and Noel had gone silent after their small argument, the man was left scratching the back of his head, letting out a faint sigh as he tried his best to shift the audience''s attention onto the next item.


    ¡­


    "Why¡­" With the bidding over his spear now over, Valyr took the downtime in between items as a chance to ask Julian what was going on in his mind as he bid on his weapon. However, with how he was still in great disbelief, only the first word of his question coulde out.


    "It was supposed to be another reward of yours for obtaining the leader position in the uing inheritance." Though the man did not hear the entire question, Julian did not take long to understand what the young man wanted to ask, slightly grinning as he responded. "However, who would''ve thought that old man would give you the money I was nning to give instead?"


    "Was this¡­" Still trying to process the entire situation that had unfolded earlier in his mind, Valyr tried to ask yet another question to the man, only to find his question stuck in his throat yet again.


    "Was the whole bidding against one another thing orchestrated by the two of us? Is that what you were trying to ask?" Understanding how shocked Valyr felt from obtaining a huge amount of money in such a short moment, Julian worked with the young man as he asked multiple possible questions the young man might have with the same first words, nodding after seeing Valyr nod back in response to his guess.


    "Not at all." Finally figuring out the question that Valyr wanted to ask him, Julian shook his head in response. "I guess he also had the same idea as me to help you out in preparation for the inheritance. After all, he was the one who gave you your current subss, no?"


    "Yeah¡­" Though Valyr was surprised to find out that Julian knew about his subss, it did not take long for him to get over it since he had a feeling the two of them would talk about his progress every once in a while.


    Fortunately, it was around this point that he had finally gotten over the shock he felt from the final bidding price, letting out a long sigh as he noticed an archaic-looking book being wheeled into the stage.


    "How much would I get from the spear, exactly?" Seeing as Sirius was preparing to introduce the next item, Valyr took the time to ask Julian about his profits from the item, knowing that the auction house would take part of it as a fee.


    "Well, the auction house normally takes around 20% of the final price as amission fee," said Julian in response. "However, due to how high of a price it was able to reach in the end, I''m sure they''ll reduce thatmission fee of theirs to 10%. In other words, you now have about 30 tinum cards under your name."


    "More than enough to buy that Wyvern Core you wanted."


    Though Valyr nodded in response to Julian''s words as he waited for Sirius to introduce the archaic-looking book, he still could not wrap his head around the fact that he had that much money while still being at the peak of Rank 2.


    Though 30 tinum cards did not seem like much, the average amount of money a yer would have at the peak of Rank 2 was around 5 to 10 tinum coins. Even if these yers had formed an alliance and pooled their money together, the total amount they would have would range from 1 to 5 tinum cards.


    Yet, here he was, with an amount of money at least six times as much as that.


    ''At the very least, I won''t have to worry about where to get funds for my future experiments in the meantime.'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Sirius had finally begun introducing the item to the audience, with Valyr intently listening to it. Though, as the young man continued to listen more and more to Sirius'' introduction, his eyes widened in surprise as a question now began to linger in his mind.


    ''Now how the hell did such a legendary item appear in this ce?!''

 Chapter 533 An Unbelievable Find

    ?


    "I''m sure everyone here is wondering why the auction house would unveil such a dirty-looking item after we showed a weapon that everyone wanted to get for themselves." As he said these words to keep the audience''s attention on him, Sirius had a bitter smile on his face.


    "Well, to be frank with everyone in this auction house, the entire appraisal team of the Leio Auction House has no clue as to what item this really is."


    Unsurprisingly, after hearing those wordse out of Sirius'' mouth, multiple people wondered whether this was just another one of those moments where he said he did not know what the item to inte the price to greater heights. Though, as these people listened further to the man''s exnation of what the man was, they eventually thought that the auction house really did have no clue what it was.


    "Of course, as one of the most prestigious auction houses in the continent, we were still able to obtain a tiny piece of information regarding the item," said Sirius, trying his best to keep the audience''s interests piqued. "As far as our appraisers could decode the writings on the book''s cover, it seems to be some sort of technique or skill book as we''ve deciphered the word ''scripture'' on it."


    Hearing that, a fair portion of the audience shifted their attention to the archaic-looking book that was on disy. At first, they wondered to themselves what kind of writing Sirius was talking about. Though, as they continued to stare at the book for longer, they eventually saw the various scribbles on the book''s cover, each character being barely visible to the naked eye.


    "As for what kind of technique or skill is contained within the book exactly¡­ we''ve deduced that it might have a passive skill attached to it that boosts all physical stats." Scratching the back of his head as he felt like he had made a mistake to ce the item on the auction''s second half, Sirius inwardly let out a sigh, continuing in his attempts to improve the item''s image to the audience.


    "Unfortunately, the appraisers found out that this boost in stats would only amount to a 2% increase at most." Earlier, when Sirius mentioned that the skill possibly attached to the book would boost all physical stats, a few had gained the courage to bid on it, thinking they might strike it rich.


    Though, once they heard that the increase in stats was quite minuscule, all of that swiftly disappeared, prompting everyone to look at each other as they wondered whether this item would be another one of the auction house''s rare items that did not get sold to anybody.


    "In any case, we''ve only deciphered a small portion of the book, so there''s a chance that you might discover something else about the book." Knowing that it would be incredibly lucky for him to sell this book to a person currently in the auction house, Sirius let out an awkward chuckle as he hyped the item up onest time.


    "With that, the bidding for this item is now open. The initial price starts at¡­ uh¡­ let''s go with 25 tinum coins."


    ¡­


    ''How the hell did such a legendary item appear in this ce?!'' Though he listened to a fair bit of Sirius'' exnation regarding the item, Valyr''s attention was fully focused on the item, gazing at the archaic-looking book as he wondered whether or not his eyes had failed him.


    Fortunately, after listening a bit more to the man''s words regarding the item, the young man was eventually certain that he hade across an incredibly powerful item, his body quivering in excitement as he rummaged through his treasure trove of memories in the past life.


    ''I''m pretty sure a yer came across this kind of book as well back then,'' thought Valyr to himself, continuing to rummage through his memories to find the specific one he wanted. ''What was the book about again¡­?''


    ''Ah, found it.'' Eventually, by the time Sirius was talking about the book''s effects, the young man had found the memory he was looking for, murmuring the name of the exact book being shown on stage to himself.


    "The Outer Realm Scripture¡­"


    Though it seemed like the name of the book was rted to religion or the cultivation of a specific type of energy, the Outer Realm Scripture was actually a skill book that contained a passive skill that everyone sought to obtain for themselves.


    After all, it was one of the very few skills during the first couple versions of Greater Beyond to boost certain stats by 50%.


    However, rather than the entire passive skill being contained in one skill book, the Outer Realm Scripture was actually split into three volumes, each containing a part of the skill that would eventually allow one to obtain that 50% stat boost.


    Thankfully, because a yer hade across the item in the past, he and many other yers were able to find out that the volumes were color-coded depending on which part of the skill they contained. With that, the young man was certain that the item on stage contained the first part of the Outer Realm Scripture.


    ''I wonder where the other volumes of the Outer Realm Scripture are?'' asked Valyr to himself, proceeding to bid on the item as he noticed that everyone was silent. ''I guess it would also be nice toe across the Inner Realm and Transient Vessel Scripture as well.''


    Simr to the Outer Realm Scripture, the Inner Realm Scripture and Transient Vessel Scripture were skills that were split into multiple volumes. However, unlike the Outer Realm Scripture, the Inner Realm Scripture focused on magical stats, while the Transient Vessel Scripture contained an active skill that even Valyr was incredibly jealous of.


    Cloning.


    ''If my memory serves me correctly, one yer would eventually collect all three and use it to be one of the first titled rankers of Greater Beyond.'' Seeing that there were a couple people trying their luck as they made a counteroffer, Valyr shed a light smile as he gave a counteroffer of his own, certain that only he would be able to use it to its maximum potential.


    ''Then again, the Thousand Body Emperor doesn''t appear until the second version of Greater Beyond arrives¡­ or was it the third?'' Continuing to briefly reminisce about the past revolving around the various scriptures, the young man had eventually obtained the Outer Realm Scripture for himself, paying a price that was only 10 tinum coins higher than the starting price.

 Chapter 534 Hearts Of Magic And Might

    ?


    "So, why did you decide to bid on the item all of a sudden?" As Sirius inwardly let out a long sigh of relief as he moved the audience to the next item, Julian looked at the young man beside him, whose faces was currently all smiles.


    "Just a hunch," replied the young man, prompting Julian to raise his eyebrow in curiosity as he wanted to know what Valyr meant by that. Though, as thetter refused to say anything else about the book, he was left with no choice but to bury the curiosity deep within as he shifted his thoughts towards the remaining items of the auction.


    "There''s only a few items left before the auction is over," said Julian, piquing Valyr''s interest as thetter looked back at him with curiosity. "Though all of them are incredibly useful in their right, there''s probably one item among them that would be the most useful to you."


    "How do you know that?" asked Valyr in response, slightly tilting his head in curiosity as he waited for the man to respond.


    "Well, I did organize the entire auction, after all." Responding to Valyr''s question, Julian let out a bit of loudughter, only for a satisfied smile to appear on his face soon after. "With how I had to use a considerable portion of my favors and connections, I pretty much know everything that would be sold in the auction''s second half."


    "The only exception to that would be the book you won the bid on," added the man. "It''s probably something the auction house recently got their hands on and decided to sell as soon as possible after realizing it won''t be profitable."


    ''I''m sure d they thought of it that way.'' Listening to Julian''s words, a proud smile briefly appeared on Valyr''s face before continuing to listen to the man beside him.


    "In any case, thest item Sirius will showcase is something you definitely have to get your hands on," said Julian, leaving Valyr no choice but to nod as he wondered what kind of item it was for the man beside him to be so adamant in him getting it.


    Then again, once he found out what kind of item it was, even he was left at a loss for words.


    "I''m not certain whether that item is a fruit or a pill exactly, but what I am certain about is the fact that it looks like a golden orb," Julian told Valyr with a solemn expression, indirectly telling thetter to keep what Julian was saying to himself. "However, what''s truly amazing about it is its effects."


    "What are its effects?"


    "A 50 point boost to all stats." Hearing these words, Valyr took in a deep breath of cold air, his eyes wide open as he was not expecting to hear something like that from Julian at all. After all, how much was 50 points in each stat?


    To a Rank 5 ss holder, a 50 point increase in every stat did not seem like much, but for someone like him, who was at the peak of Rank 2, a 50 point boost was still substantial. Of course, such an increase in stats was even more prominent for those at Rank 1, allowing them to be sovereigns of the ss rank even with a Common grade ss.


    "Do you perhaps know who gave such an item to the auction house?" After getting over the initial shock of what the item was capable of, Valyr went ahead and asked Julian for more information regarding the item, causing a slightly wry smile to appear on thetter''s face as he nodded.


    "To be honest, I wasn''t expecting her to offer such an item up for auction, especially with how our interaction back during the forging duel was not that long," said Julian in response. At those words, the young man went silent, the gears in his mind turning as he eventually deduced which person the man was talking about.


    Plus, as if he was waiting for the young man to deduce the identity of the other person he was talking about, Julian looked at him and nodded once more as he opened his mouth. "That person is none other than the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire, Mystia Aschel."


    ''Her, huh¡­'' Though he was quite thankful for the woman for giving him aid in the incident regarding the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs, he didn''t really have any other opinion about the woman, aside from the feeling that she was probably keeping an eye on him.


    Of course, Valyr wasn''t sure if this feeling of his was true or not, relying on his gut instinct for the most part. Then again, with how the two had encountered each other after the forging duel was over, and how the woman had given an item away in an auction that included his item, the young man felt like she had intentionally given up an item for him to use, even though the reason behind it was still something unknown to him.


    Deciding not to think about it any further, the young man shifted his attention onto the stage, only to see Sirius standing in the middle of what seemed to be two giant hearts.


    "Unlike the item I''ve showcased before, these next two items will definitely pique your interest." Taking a deep breath, Sirius introduced the items on both of his sides with great fervor, hoping that the audience would be influenced by his energy.


    "To your left is a heart that, when consumed, allows one''s mana to bepressed." Gesturing towards therge blue heart to his left that was crystal-like in appearance, the man did not hesitate to go all out in sharing information regarding the item, which sessfully piqued the interest of quite a few people in the audience. "Withpressed mana, the amount of mana you would need to cast a skill reduces, while the effects of that skill increases in duration as well."


    "Aside from that, this heart also greatly increases the maximum amount of mana you could store in your body at one time," he added, the amount of which greatly piquing everyone''s interest. "From what the appraisers have deduced, your maximum MP would increase by 20% after consuming it."


    "On the other hand, the heart to your right greatly increases one''s HP stat when consumed." After he was done introducing everyone to the blue heart, he then shifted everyone''s attention to therge red-orange heart that still looked to be beating. "Though it does not improve the quality of your vitality in any way, consuming the heart does give you the passive skill [Greater Innate Regeneration], making it a perfect choice for tank and defender-type sses to obtain."


    "What are these hearts called?" With his exnation on the items now over, one of the people in the audience decided to ask a question that everyone seemed to want to know, eliciting a chuckle to escape Sirius'' mouth as he nodded.


    "I''m d you asked," replied Sirius with a smile. "Well, their original names are incredibly long, so the Leio Auction House instead calls it¡­"


    "The Hearts of Magic and Might."

 Chapter 535 A Last Minute Addition

    ?


    "Then again, their names aren''t that long, but you know how the auction house has to keep track of multiple items at once." Saying these words, Sirius let out a soft chuckle. "Anyways, the one that boosts mana is actually called the Core of the Arcane Beast, while the one that boosts health is called the Heart of the Tenacious Titan."


    "With that, let us open the bidding for these items, shall we?" With the curiosity of the audience piqued, Sirius shifted their attention towards the item thatpressed and boosted one''s capability towards mana. "For this blue heart right there, the bidding price starts at 10 tinum cards. Any bid after that must be higher than the previous by at least one tinum card."


    "15 tinum cards!" Unsurprisingly, with Sirius giving everyone the go signal to start bidding on the item, a few among the audience instantly ced their bids, all of them emanating an aura that gave off the feeling that they were one with mana.


    With that, quite a considerable portion of the audience decided not to bid on it, either due to the fact that they did not have enough liquidated funds to bid on the item, or the fact that they did not want to antagonize these people.


    After all, aside from the mana-filled aura they emanated, their aura also reminded everyone that the ones were bidding were at the peak of Rank 4 at the very least, seemingly having grasped a greater understanding of the world on top of that.


    "How high do you think these final bids would reach?" Knowing that joining in on the bid would be a losing game for him, Valyr decided to watch the entire situation unfold from the point of a bystander, even though obtaining one of the items would undoubtedly boost his strength indirectly.


    "It wouldn''t be surprising for the hearts to reach 50 tinum cards at the very least." Seeing that Valyr had no inclination to bid on the items, Julian inwardly let out a faint sigh as he responded to the young man''s question. "Look at the ones bidding. The weakest among them is already at the peak of Rank 4. He evenprehended his own Intent."


    "Do you think the final price might reach 100 tinum cards?" asked Valyr in response as he nodded at the man''s words. Even without utilizing any of his identification skills, Valyr could feel the slightly intimidating auraing from the bidders, a great portion of which already had the strength of those at Rank 5.


    "Possibly." As Julian said these words, one of the bidders had offered to pay 60 tinum cards on the blue heart, surpassing the man''s initial prediction. Fortunately, after that bidder had ced his offer, a considerable portion of those initially bidding on the item had stopped, with only the few that still have a lot of funds within them continuing to increase the price even higher.


    In the end, a woman at the early stages of Rank 5 was the eventual winner of the blue heart, obtaining it for a total of 99 tinum cards, only being one card shy away from the triple digit number.


    "With the blue heart being sold, let us move onto the beating heart that still remains." As everyone gave a small round of apuse for the woman that had acquired the item, Sirius prompted everyone to focus their attention on the red-orange heart to his left.


    At first, the audience thought that the red-orange heart might possibly obtain a significantly high price like the blue heart from earlier. Perhaps, the final price might even be lower since HP could be increased through multiple methods.


    However, before opening the bid, Sirius had dropped a statement on everyone that exploded in their minds like a massive bomb.


    "Before I open the bid for this item, I must also mention that the appraisers have figured out that the heart also increases one''s lifespan when consumed. If I remember correctly, around 20 years or so?"


    With that, it was no surprise that a great number of people ced their offers on the item once the bidding process had begun, with the price swiftly rocketing to a hundred tinum cards within a few minutes. Then, after reaching the triple digits, the momentum gradually decreased, with the item eventually being sold to an old man seemingly on the brink of death for 350 tinum cards.


    "Huh. Who knew that the effect of increasing one''s lifespan was enough to entice everyone to bid on it." Though the fact that the heart could also increase one''s lifespan surprised Valyr, he did not really have a great need for the item aside from its property to increase his HP. After all, even if he were to do nothing for the rest of his life, he could still livefortably for close to 200 years, much more if he were to ascend to higher ranks.


    "Wait¡­ now that I think about it, why are people going crazy for such an item? Doesn''t one''s lifespan increase whenever one ascends?" As the thought popped up in his mind, Valyr decided to ask Julian for more insight.


    "That is indeed the case." Julian nodded. "However, there are times where peopleck the strength to keep up with monsters of the same level, basically reducing their rate of gaining XP to next to nothing."


    "There are also people who wholeheartedly focus themselves towards production sses, making it difficult for them to fight with monsters due to their stats and skills being more in line for production rather thanbat," continued Julian. "Because of that, items that increase one''s lifespan are a highly sought after item, even though such a thing should be quite simple to resolve."


    "Well, there''s also the fact that human greed knows no bounds." At these words, Julian shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps that person has sufficient strength to ascend through the ranks, yet still wants to live longer. Thus, they would seek out such items."


    "I see¡­ that makes sense." Nodding in understanding as he organized his thoughts towards the matter, Valyr eventually returned his attention towards the stage, seeing that two more items had been ced beside Sirius.

 Chapter 536 The Blade And The Fruit

    ?


    "Just so everyone knows, there are only three items left before this auction ends." With everyone''s attention focused towards the two items he had the others put on stage, Sirius went ahead and gave everyone a reminder. "The two items beside me are part of those three items, with thest item being something everyone will surely want to get their hands on."


    "In any case, let me exin what kind of items these are." Saying these words, Sirius made his way to one of the items, which was an exquisite-looking de that gave off a feeling of warmth and coldness at the same time.


    With its handle and hilt having small details to it that would allow the wielder to grip onto the de properly, the de itself was slightly curved, resembling a katana in shape. Taking in a deep breath, Sirius grabbed the katana firmly with both hands before moving towards a part of the stage that was not obstructed by the other item.


    Then, with a loud exhale, the man raised the katana above his head before swinging it down with all its might, causing a de of energy to appear and collide with one of the walls, the energy making it appearing to be a faint red.


    Raising the katana above his head once more, Sirius slightly changed his grip on the katana, giving everyone the feeling that he would be piercing with the katana instead of shing down.


    Unsurprisingly, everyone''s feeling was correct, with the man dashing forward as the de was covered in a chilling energy for a brief moment, causing everyone at the front of the auction house to slightly shudder from the sheer coldness they felt.


    "The name the maker gave this de is Heaven and Hell." Finished with his short exhibition of the katana''s capabilities, Sirius returned the de to where it ced before proceeding to go over through its description with the audience. "As the name suggests, the de taps into the energy of the highest of heavens, as well as the deepest of hells."


    "Of course, that was the maker''s intention in creating it, having the cold energy represent the concept of heaven, while the hot energy would represent the concept of hell. To those that have an affinity towards the Fire and Frost element, this de would be a great match with you, though simr affinities to the elements I mentioned would benefit from such a de as well."


    "Being a de with a rarity of Epic+ grade, it has a total of three innate skills, with the first two being active skills one could use during inbat," said Sirius.


    Then, with a slight grin, he continued, "As for the final innate skill, though it is also considered an active skill, it would probably be better to say that it''s an ultimate skill rather than an active one."


    Of course, as the man uttered these words, quite a few raised their eyebrows in curiosity, wondering what Sirius meant by that. In response, the man in question decided to pick up the de once more, closing his eyes as a terrifying energy briefly shrouded the de, dyeing the de a dark gray for a brief moment.


    Whoosh!


    "Though I have not released the entirety of the skill in question, that is what the third and final innate skill is capable of." cing back the de onest time, Sirius inwardly smiled when he noticed that he had sessfully piqued the attention of the audience. "Combining cold and hot energy together to create an energy so destructive¡­ a skill like that could only be considered an ultimate skill, no?"


    Seeing around half of the audience nod in response to his question, a smile appeared on the man''s face as he decided to save the second item for after he had finished selling off the de. "Alright, then! With that, let us open the bid for Heaven and Hell."


    "The initial bidding price for this is 5 tinum cards. Any bid after must be higher than the previous by at least 50 tinum coins."


    "7 tinum cards!" Though quite a decent number of people in the audience had bid on the item, the amount of excitement the people had towards the item could notpare to the excitement everyone felt when Valyr''s spear was revealed.


    Sure, the de had an innate skill that could be considered an ultimate skill in its own right, but Valyr''s spear had something that possibly no other weapon could imitate, which was the fact that the weapon''s awakened attributes grew whenever the wielder''s strength also grew.


    With that, the bidding for the de eventually stopped once the price had reached 20 tinum cards,nding in the hands of a man that seemed to be famous for being a sword collector.


    "With that out of the way, let us move to the second tost item for this auction." Quite satisfied with the final price the de had fetched, a smile adorned Sirius'' face as he prompted everyone to focus everyone''s attention towards the other item the auction house had brought, which appeared to be an unassuming fruit.


    "Unlike most of the items we have brought out so far, this item would be better suited for those with production sses and subsses," said Sirius. "However, it would be a lie for me to say that only those with production sses would benefit from it."


    "Now, why would I say that?" At these words, Sirius let out a chuckle.


    "Well, this item not only increase one''s affinity towards mana, it also increases one''s affinity towards the elements, as well as other energies that one mighte across in their journey to the peak."


    "However, if one were to ask me what truly makes this item special¡­ then it would be the fact that it also affects one''sprehension towards Intents."


    Hearing that the item affected Intents, most of the audience instantly perked their ears up to listen to what the item specifically did to it. Unsurprisingly, once they did, all of them instantly had the urge to get their hands on it no matter what.


    "How does it affect Intents, you might ask?"


    "Well, for those with Intent Seeds¡­"


    "Consuming this item will allow you toprehend an Intent in an instant."

 Chapter 537 Bidding Frenzy

    ?


    "Wait¡­ what?" Listening to the words Sirius had said to the audience, a look of surprise appeared on Valyr''s face as he did not expect the item to have such an effect. After all, from the perspective of a production ss, the fact that the fruit could increase one''s affinity with almost everything already seemed too good to be true.


    But the fact that it could solidify one''sprehension from an Intent Seed to an Intent in an instant?


    Even he was quite tempted to get his hands on it at that point.


    "Excuse me¡­ does the fruit also help those without an Intent toprehend their own Intent?" Fortunately, just as a question rted to the fruit''s capabilities popped up in his mind, a young woman in the audience decided to ask Sirius the question he wanted to ask the man first.


    "As far as the appraisers have checked, it indeed does." In response to the question, Sirius gave a firm nod, increasing the audience''s desire to get the fruit for themselves to its utmost limits.


    "However, unlike its initial effect, wherein an Intent Seed would be fullyprehended into an Intent after eating the fruit, those without an Intent only have a considerable chance inprehending their own Intent Seed after eating the fruit," said the man, prompting another person in the audience to ask what the chances of sessfullyprehending an Intent Seed were.


    "Around 50% or so. It could possibly be higher than that since we haven''t really checked that effect that thoroughly. Perhaps, it could even be a guaranteed effect." Unsurprisingly, Sirius responded to the question with a teasing smile, firming up the decisions in people''s minds to get the fruit no matter what, with Valyr having made up his mind as well.


    "Well, with that out of the way, the bid is now open for the World Resonance Fruit." Allowing the item on stage to do most of the advertising, Sirius opened up the floor for bidding. "Note that the initial bidding price starts at 50 tinum cards. Any bid after the previous must be higher by at least 5 tinum cards."


    "Hiss¡­" Hearing the price that he would have to fork out for the item, Valyr sucked in a deep breath of cold air. However, such a price did not deter other people in the audience, bidding for the fruit in a mad frenzy.


    "60 tinum cards!"


    "75 tinum cards here!"


    "I bid 85 tinum cards! Those who bid after me can''t satisfy their wives in bed!"


    "100 tinum cards! I hope the one who bid before me can''t satisfy their wife in bed!"


    "I guess I''ll skip on this one¡­" Scratching the back of his head as he wondered whether or not to join in on the bidding for the fruit, Valyr eventually made up his mind as he let out a defeated sigh. Though Julian had told him that he was free to bid on five items at most, he had a feeling that there was a limit to the total price¡­


    Until Julian asked him, that is.


    "Why aren''t you bidding?" Julian looked at Valyr with a hint of confusion, taking note of the young man''s desire to obtain the fruit for himself. "You do know you can still bid on three more items, right?"


    "I do¡­" Valyr softly nodded with a bitter smile. "Though, don''t you think the final price for this item would reach an incredibly high amount? I''m not the only one who has a great need for it, after all."


    "That''s already a given after Sirius mentioned it could give one a high chance atprehending an Intent Seed." Julian nodded, taking in a deep breath once he heard the price reach 300 tinum cards. "Even if the people in the audience don''t have a great need for such an item, they can still give it to those that have promising talent in their younger generation."


    "After all, for those with talent, there''s a great chance that forming the Intent Seed is the only thing stopping them from fullyprehending an Intent."


    "In any case¡­" Witnessing the price for the fruit continuing to drastically increase, Julian rubbed his chin for a bit before giving Valyr a firm go signal. "I''d say bid for the item until the price reaches 700 tinum cards. If it exceeds that, give up."


    "Are you sure?" Though Valyr already wanted to go ahead and bid on the item, he still stopped himself since he was spending another person''s money. Aside from that, 700 tinum cards was already an amount of money even he could not wrap his head around in his current level of strength, thus he was somewhat afraid of making the wrong move.


    "You know what?" Rubbing his chin for a bit more, Julian eventually looked at Valyr with a smile. "Make it 800 tinum cards."


    "Go wild."


    "¡­I bid 350 tinum cards!" With the man reassuring him that it was fine to bid such a high amount, by the time the price for the fruit had reached 300 tinum cards, it was only then did Valyr ce an offer for the fruit, leaving quite a few in the audience at a slight loss for words.


    However¡­


    "Fuck whoever increased the price that much! 400 tinum cards!" Rather than discourage others who wanted to obtain the fruit themselves, it instead stimted them to bid more for the fruit than they initially intended, surpassing 600 tinum cards within a few more minutes.


    Unfortunately, after a couple more minutes, the price for the World Resonance Fruit had gone beyond 800 tinum cards, leaving Valyr with the bitter taste of defeat as he looked at Julian with a low sigh.


    "Well, I guess this oue isn''t that surprising." Seeing the glum expression on the man''s face, Julian let out a bit ofughter as he cheered the young man up. "Even I would be willing to bid over 800 tinum cards on such a fruit like that. Fortunately for the others, I''ve alreadyprehended my own Intent."


    "Then again, having a fruit like that in hand would only expedite the process of youprehending an Intent at most," the man continued, showing his great belief in the young man''s strength through his words. "With how monstrously strong you are for your ss rank, I''m certain that you''dprehend your Intent at Rank 3 in no time."


    "And¡­ if it''s any constion, that just means you can bid higher on the final item," added Julian with a grin, prompting Valyr to take in a few deep breaths as the bidding for the fruit eventually closed, ending up with a final price of 1,085 tinum cards.


    ¡­


    "To those who have been waiting for the final item of this auction to reveal itself, I must say that your determination to not spend on any item before it is quite astounding." Watching as the final item of the auction was being wheeled onto stage with a curtain draped over it, a proud smile appeared on Sirius'' face as he bantered with the audience.


    "As for those who have spent a bit of money on a couple things here and there, but leaving most of it for this final item, let me assure you that this item will definitely make such a decision more than worth it." Continuing to talk for a bit more about how not spending on any item in the auction beforehand was a smart choice, the man eventually gave the audience more information about the item, parts of which gave a few quite the surprise.


    "Before I introduce the item to all of you, I must mention that this item hase from the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire personally," said Sirius, swiftly garnering everyone''s interest as to what kind of item it was. "Though she did not specify as to why she had sent over an item for this auction at the veryst minute, she did mention that the item would definitely be a great boon for those who gets their hands on it, especially for those at the lower ss ranks."


    "Anyways, without a further ado¡­"


    Whoosh!


    Feeling that he had given enough background information on the item, Sirius went ahead and removed the curtain covering the item, allowing the item''s aura to spread throughout the auction house in an instant.


    "Woah¡­" Unexpectedly, almost everyone in the audience felt a great sense of intimidation from the aura radiated by the item, as if it were telling them that it could only be consumed by one person. Though, as more time passed, this aura gradually disappeared, being reced with an aura that seemed to be one with its surroundings.


    "ording to the Imperial Alchemist herself, this item is known as the Nascent Rebirth Pill," said Sirius as everyone in the audience listened to his words. "As for what it is capable of, itpresses one''s mana and enhances one''s vitality to an astounding degree¡­"


    "As well as increases one''s stats by 50 points each."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Let us open the bidding for this item, shall we?"

 Chapter 538 The Final Item

    ?


    "Woah¡­" As Sirius unveiled the item to the audience, Valyr had focused his attention on the item, only to feel an incredibly intimidating aura emanating from the item itself.


    Fortunately, with how often he hade into contact with auras from those with higher ss ranks than him, it did not take long for him to get over the oppressive aura the item radiated as he looked at the item in greater detail.


    "Huh." Once he was able to properlyy his eyes upon the item the auction house had brought out, Valyr''s curiosity was slightly piqued as to how the item had achieved its properties. In his mind, such an item capable of increasing all stats by 50 points each would have an appearance that matched that kind of feeling.


    However, the item that was ced on the pedestal beside Sirius¡­ was a in golden orb.


    Being roughly around the size of a golf ball, the golden orb radiated an immensely oppressive aura on the entire audience for a brief moment, disappearing around a minuteter as it was reced with an aura that seemed more fitting for an item with its capabilities.


    From what Valyr could sense, the golden orb gave off the feeling that it was one with its surroundings, making him feel as if the entire world was within his grasp the longer he looked at it.


    "ording to the Imperial Alchemist herself, this item you see right here is the Nascent Rebirth Pill." Eventually, the young man had to force himself to snap out of it as Sirius began to exin the item to the audience in greater detail, allowing Valyr to find out the name of the golden orb.


    Of course, since Julian had mentioned it earlier, Valyr was not surprised to hear that the pill could increase one''s stats by 50 points each. However, he did not expect the pill to be able topress mana and enhance one''s vitality as well, something he had only seen in the two hearts showcased earlier.


    After Sirius was done talking about the properties of the Nascent Rebirth Pill, it was no surprise that the entire audience wanted to get their hands on it, simr to how everyone was in a frenzy to bid for the World Resonance Fruit that came before it.


    However, their reasons for obtaining the Nascent Rebirth Pill was different from the World Resonance Fruit. To most of the audience, an increase of 50 points in every stat was a negligible increase at most, especially to those at the peak of Rank 5. Even the addition ofpressed mana and enhanced vitality was not enough to attract their attention to bid on it.


    Instead, the reason why people wanted to obtain the Nascent Rebirth Pill for themselves¡­


    ¡­was to use it as a bargaining chip.


    With the Nascent Rebirth Pill in hand, the people in the audience could recruit potential talents among the younger generation with great ease, giving an item to them as a gift. Aside from that, they could also unt the fact that the pill was made by the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire, an existence none in the greater audience could easily get close to.


    "What''s the limit this time around?" Seeing as everyone was waiting for Sirius to announce the opening of the bid, Valyr looked at Julian and asked the important question.


    "1,500 tinum cards." Staring at the item on stage with a solemn expression, Julian eventually gave the young man a number that was double the limit he had given Valyr for the previous item. "As long as you obtain the Nascent Rebirth Pill at or less than 1,500 tinum cards, the cksmith Guild will have no problem paying for it."


    "Nothing a few masterwork weapons personally crafted by me can''t solve." At these words, the man gave Valyr an assuring grin, though deep inside he felt a tinge of pain at the value he had blurted out.


    Nevertheless, with the monstrous talent Valyr had shown so far, Julian was certain that if the young man could get his hands on the final item, he was certain that the money he had spent on this auction today would definitelye back to him in the future a hundred times over.


    ''Let''s just hope it doesn''t exceed that price.'' Letting out a low sigh, Julian crossed his fingers as he assured Valyr of his limit in bidding.


    Eventually, after waiting for a bit more, the bidding for the Nascent Rebirth Pill was opened.


    "The initial bidding price for the pill is 100 tinum cards," said Sirius with a confident smile. "Any bid thates after the previous must be higher by at least 10 tinum cards."


    "I bid 500 tinum cards!" To no one''s surprise, the price of the pill had skyrocketed in one fell swoop, causing those who were hoping to get lucky to shake their heads and sigh. As for those who still had the funds to bid on the item, they continued to increase the price even further, with Valyr eventually joining in on the action.


    "850 tinum cards!" shouted the young man, hoping in his mind that the final price wouldn''t exceed the limit given him to by Julian. However, as the pill had other uses than being consumed as an item, it did not take long for bids higher than 850 tinum cards to appear, with the price of the pill approaching 1,000 tinum cards by the time five minutes or so had passed.


    "1,100 tinum cards!" Deciding to employ a bidding technique he had used in the previous item, Valyr swiftly tacked on a hundred tinum cards to the pill''s final price, hoping to discourage others from bidding on what he wanted once more.


    Unfortunately, just like with the item before, it only ignited the people''s desire to get their hands on the item for themselves, slowly inching it closer and closer towards the limit Valyr had been given.


    "I bid 1,500 tinum cards!" With only one more chance to bid on the item below the limit he had been given, Valyr decided to drastically increase the price once again, tacking on an additional 200 tinum cards on what was originally a bid of 1,300 tinum cards.


    For a moment, silence enveloped the entirety of the auction house, giving the young man faint hope that he might obtain his hands on the item. After all, 50 points on each stat was no small increase to him.


    However, when he heard a voice from the audience echo throughout the auction house not long after, that was when he knew¡­


    He had lost.


    "I bid¡­"


    "1,510 tinum cards."

 Chapter 539 After The Auction

    ?


    "¡­" As silence surrounded the entire auction house once more after someone had made a counteroffer to Valyr''s offer, everyone in the audience was a slight loss for words at how much the price for the Nascent Rebirth Pill had increased.


    Though everyone there knew that paying such a price was more than worth it to obtain an item created by the Imperial Alchemist herself, 1,510 tinum cards was still an insanely high value. It was to the point that even ss guilds would have difficulty pooling such an amount, especially if the ss guild was not focused on production.


    Nevertheless, after a bit more silence, Sirius eventually started the count, officiating the final bid. With that, everyone decided to give a small round of apuse to the one who had gotten their hands on the Nascent Rebirth Pill.


    "I got it¡­? I got it!" Unsurprisingly, the one who had gotten thestugh on the Nascent Rebirth Pill jumped for joy once Sirius had confirmed that they had indeed gotten it. Because of that, everyone in the audience had focused their attention towards the person who was celebrating their sess, their eyes widening in slight surprise as they did not know who the person was.


    However, with a bit of searching through their respectiveworks, almost everyone in the audience hade to know the winner''s identity, being the leader of a noble n that''s incredibly close to returning to a normal n.


    The reason why that was the case was because he was the only person within the noble n with a true rank of nobility, unlike other ns who had multiple members that had ranks of nobility.


    With that in mind, even though the auction house had reminded everyone that they would be protecting those that had obtained items from the auction, that still did not stop a small few among the audience to have malicious thoughts, deciding to keep an eye on the winner of the Nascent Rebirth Pill as Sirius officially thanked everyone, closing the auction.


    "Well, I guess that''s that." As everyone gave a round of apuse in response to Sirius'' gesture of showing gratitude, Julian looked at Valyr with a bitter smile, letting out a faint sigh as he thought about how close the young man was at obtaining the Nascent Rebirth Pill. "That just goes to show that some people are far richer than what they seem."


    "I wonder if he''s going to be safe, though," said Valyr in response, taking a brief nce at the man who had outbid him. Though he initially had no idea on who the man was, Julian was more than eager to share the information he had gotten through hiswork with him, allowing him to be privy towards the man''s situation.


    "It would be a miracle for him to return to their n estate unscathed," replied Julian after pondering over the question for a bit, slowly shaking his head in pity as he let out a sigh.


    "In any case, your haul in this auction isn''t half bad," said the man not long after. "A vial of Might and an old book that you decided to buy on a whim. If you got your hands on the World Resonance Fruit or the Nascent Rebirth Pill, it would''ve probably been better, but that''s just life, I guess."


    "Either way, let''s wait for your items to arrive and for the others in the auction house to leave before we head back." As Julian said these words, Valyr nodded in agreement, thinking that the man had taken his true identity into consideration.


    With that, the two of them decided to chat about a couple of things regarding the cksmith Guild for a bit, only for someone to knock on their door a couple of minutes into their conversation.


    "That was fast," said Julian with a tone of slight surprise. Getting up from his chair, the man opened the door, revealing one of the many attendants assisting the audience in the auction house earlier.


    "Sir Julian Pyrrhia and Sir Ylvar, correct?" Seeing that the door before him had been opened, the attendant gave the two a respectful bow before asking them a question.


    "Yes? What do you need?" Nodding in response, Julian answered back with his own question.


    "Ah, yes. I was instructed by Sir Sirius to have you two follow me," the attendant replied, prompting Julian and Valyr to look at one another with slight confusion. In their minds, they wondered what made the man seek out for them.


    Fortunately, as if he knew the reason for their confusion, the attendant continued to speak.


    "He mentioned that he has something to give to the prodigious cksmith, as well as talk a bit about something with the cksmith Guild''s leader."


    "Is that so?" Seeing as the reason seemed to be giving Valyr more gifts in preparation for the inheritance, Julian scratched his head before eventually nodding as he looked at the young man behind him, who nodded as well.


    "Lead the way, then."


    ¡­


    "Julian! It''s been a while!" As the two followed the attendant from behind, Julian and Valyr eventually arrived at what seemed to be Sirius'' private office, meeting the man in question while he was looking out the window.


    "I definitely wasn''t expecting you to send an attendant to us, Sirius." With Sirius approaching him with an embrace, Julian decided to reciprocate it back while asking the question he had in mind.


    "Well, I have my own reasons for contacting you, Julian," said Sirius in response with a chuckle, releasing himself from the embrace. "After all, we agreed that you would get a small cut from organizing this auction in the first ce, right?"


    "Ah¡­ I think I did mention that yesterday." Mulling over his words for a bit, Julian eventually nodded, recalling the statement the man had brought up. "Then again, we could''ve just done that tomorrow, no?"


    "True. True." Sirius nodded, letting out a bit ofughter once more as he shifted his gaze towards Valyr. "However, I always aim to make my actions as efficient as possible."


    "You''re Ylvar, yes?" asked the man, leaving Valyr with no choice but to nod.


    "I''ve heard quite a lot of things about you from many people these past few days," said the man with a soft smile as he made his way towards one of therge drawers in his office, rummaging something out. "They say you''re the greatest prodigy the cksmith Guild has seen in these past couple of decades. The fact that you forged an artifact only solidifies that belief."


    "In any case, the reason why I had the two of youe here was because of you, Ylvar." Finding the item he wanted to get, Sirius walked in front of Valyr, looking at thetter with the same soft smile. "Or more specifically, what someone had tasked me to do involving you."


    "Here you go, Ylvar."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Mystia told me to give you this."

 Chapter 540 Talking With Mystia

    ?


    "Eh?" While Valyr listened to the words Sirius had spoken to him, a dumbfounded expression appeared on his face once he heard thetter mention the name Mystia. Though he had a hunch earlier that the final item of the auction had something to do with him in some way, he did not expect the idea to actually have a bit of truth to it.


    With his mind still surprised by the idea being partly true, the young man decided to ask the man in front of him for more information.


    "Did she tell you as to why you''re giving it to me?" Valyr looked at Sirius with a slightly hopeful expression, inwardly wishing that the man would give him greater insight into the situation.


    Fortunately, what he got instead was far better than that.


    "She did not," replied Sirius with a shake of his head. Though, not long after, a faint grin adorned his face.


    "However, the messenger she tasked to bring the items to me told me that she expected you to have a question like that. Thus, among the items that had been given to me, one of them could be used to ask the Imperial Alchemist herself directly."


    "I see." At those words, it was only then did Valyr look at the items Sirius had grabbed from the drawer earlier, which totaled a number of three.


    The first item on the man''s hands looked to be a vial filled with viscous purple liquid, which gave the young man a slightly ufortable feeling. On the other hand, the second item looked like a crystal that seemed to be filled to the limit with pure mana. Focusing more of his attention to it, he eventually sensed that a small part of the mana was being released in a certain direction.


    ''I guess this is the item she gave me to contact her,'' thought Valyr to himself, moving onto the third and final item Mystia wished to give him. Though, unlike the first two items, which were somewhat unfamiliar to him, the third item was something he had already seen earlier.


    "A Nascent Rebirth Pill?" muttered the young man in slight surprise, sensing that the feeling it gave off was considerably stronger than the one being emanated from the pill from earlier. Scratching the back of his head as he now felt even more confusion towards the current situation, Valyr turned to look at Julian, thinking that the man might have something to do with this.


    Yet, just like him, a surprised expression was stered on the man''s face as he stared at the Nascent Rebirth Pill Sirius was holding. With the man looking at him with widened eyes, it was more than apparent to Valyr that Julian had nothing to do with the matter at hand.


    "I¡­ I don''t really know what to say." With the solution to figure out what was going on already more than obvious at this point, Valyr received all three items from Sirius with an awkward smile. "Thank you¡­ I guess?"


    "I am merely a messenger for Miss Mystia." Hearing Valyr''s words of gratitude, Sirius let out a brief chuckle. "If anything, you should thank her directly through one of the items I''ve given you."


    "I''ll definitely make sure to do so." Valyr nodded in response, wondering if he should leave Julian with Sirius to check on the items.


    "Ah. I''ll have an attendant lead you to an empty private room, if you want." Fortunately, Sirius had saved him the trouble of having to make a decision, giving the young man a suggestion. "From the looks of it, you''re quite eager to take a look at the items in greater detail."


    "I would prefer that, thank you." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Valyr allowed Sirius to call one of his attendants to have him be led to a private room, eventually leaving Julian alone with Sirius.


    "So, is there any other reason as to why you had mee here, Sirius?" Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, it did not take long for Julian to know where the notification hade from, throwing a question at Sirius with a solemn expression.


    "The fact that I wanted to give you the cut you''d get from this auction is true." Having done the task given to him, Sirius'' bodynguage greatly rxed, making his way behind his desk to take a seat.


    "Then again, you''re not wrong in the sense that I have something else to talk with you about." Taking a brief look at some of the documents on his desk, Sirius looked back at Julian with a faint knowing smile. "It partly involves the future of humanity, after all."


    "Are you serious?" At those words, Julian frowned.


    "Yes, I am." In response, Sirius remained smiling.


    Faintly scratching the back of his head, Julian took in a deep breath as to what kind of topic Sirius would talk about. Pondering over it for a bit, the most likely topics that came to his mind were the orc outbreak and the issue regarding entirety of the Zeihardt n searching for Valyr''s whereabouts.


    However, the topic Sirius brought up instead was neither of those.


    "How long have you known Ylvar?" Sirius asked, briefly leaving Julian at a slight loss for words as he did not expect to answer such a question.


    "It''s been a couple of years already, I think." Then again, it did not take long for him to regain hisposure, somewhat gaining an idea as to what the man before him was going to discuss. If his hunch was correct, then¡­


    "Is that so, Julian Pyrrhia?" In response to Julian''s answer, Sirius merely raised an eyebrow. "Have you really known Ylvar for a couple of years already?"


    "Just cut to the chase already." At those words, Julian let out a low sigh. "We don''t have all day."


    "So, you do have an idea, huh." Sirius nodded, making Julian feel somewhat curious.


    "About what?"


    "That Ylvar might not be the person you think of him to be."


    ¡­


    "Thank you." After being led to one of the most secluded rooms Valyr had seen in his current life thus far, the young man thanked the attendant that had led to this ce before waiting for a couple of minutes to make sure that the attendant had truly left.


    Once he checked one more time that his current surroundings was clear of people, he then cast a barrier of mana around himself. After that, he infused the barrier with Shadow Energy to truly make sure that any words he said would not be picked up by anything that could possibly be in the room.


    Feeling that he had now made all of the necessary preparations to proceed, the young man then took a seat on the floor before grabbing the crystal filled to the brim with mana. Gazing at it for a bit while briefly scratching his head, the idea on how to use the crystal eventually popped into the young man''s mind, prompting him to infuse it with a bit of his own mana.


    Swoosh!


    In less than an instant, a ray of energy shot out of the crystal, piercing through the barrier he had made without any difficulty. After a while, the feeling he had sensed from the crystal earlier gradually grew stronger, eventually reaching a point where this feeling solidified, causing the crystal to let out a brief burst of light.


    After that¡­


    "Hello?" Letting go of the crystal due to the burst of light, Valyr gazed at the crystal that remained floating in midair, only to snap back to reality once he heard a familiar voiceing from the crystal.


    "Hello?" asked Valyr back. "Is this Miss Mystia Aschel?"


    "That would be me, indeed," said the voice in response, letting out a faint chuckle. "I suppose I should be talking to Ylvar at the moment, no?"


    "Or¡­ would you prefer me to call you Valyr instead?"


    "Any is fine," replied Valyr, briefly shrugging his shoulders in the process.


    "So, why have you contacted me, Valyr?" asked Mystia, her tone somewhat melodious. "Is it because you have a few questions you want to ask me? Or is it because you want to thank me and ask me what the items I gave you were?"


    "I definitely want to ask you the second question at some point, but¡­" Conflicted at which question among the two he should choose first, Valyr eventually decided to go with the one he initially wanted to ask her.


    "Why have you given me these items, Miss Mystia?" At these words, Valyr let out a soft sigh, thinking about how the entire situation did not make a lot of sense. "I don''t really know you that well. Plus, the one time we''ve only met was after the forging duel in the cksmith Guild."


    "The only notable conversation we had between each other was back in Astarto Vige when you helped Vera while she was concocting the Basic Reinforcement Elixir," he continued.


    "With that in mind, why have you gone out of your way to give me these items, even though I don''t have any sort of connection with you? Is it because I''m a Herald of the Zeihardt n?"


    "While the fact about you being a Herald is part of the reason behind it, it is only a small portion." Pondering over the question for a bit, Mystia''s voice soon resounded from the crystal after some time. "You know me as Vera''s mentor, as well as the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire, considering the cksmith Guild''s leader had mentioned it in front of you during the forging duel."


    "However, aside from being the empire''s Imperial Alchemist, I''m also one of the empire''s imperial advisers, having a subss that allows me to peer into the future through divination."


    "With that, as an imperial adviser, I would just like to say, Valyr¡­"


    "That the future of humanity¡­ no."


    "The future of Veldanyr itself will depend on the actions you make in the future."

 Chapter 541 Showing Proof

    ?


    "¡­" Out of all the things Valyr was expecting Mystia to say as a reason for her interest towards him, his actions greatly affecting the future of the world was definitely not something he had taken into consideration.


    In his mind, he thought that the woman had taken an interest in him due to him being rted to the Zeihardt n, specifically the one everyone in the n wanted to find. If it wasn''t that, then it might be because he had interacted with her apprentice in the past and was curious as to what kind of background he had to be knowledgeable about Reinforcement Elixirs.


    Nope. None of the possibilities he hade up with were the reason.


    Though, pondering over it for a bit more, the possible reason about him being part of the Zeihardt n was somewhat rted to the response Mystia had given him. After all, as a Herald, he couldmand a level of strength that surpassed normal people.


    Add on the fact that his main ss was Mythic grade, then it would be no surprise for someone like Mystia toe to that kind of conclusion.


    However, being told that his actions would have a great effect on the world in the future was still too sudden for him. If anything, the young man had an inclination to doubt the woman''s words, due to how sudden it was.


    "How could you be so sure that I have the capability to change the future, Miss Mystia?" Still skeptical, Valyr decided to ask her a question, hoping that thetter could shed some more light on her words.


    "Well¡­" At those words, Mystia went silent for a bit, staring at the orb she was using tomunicate with Valyr. After a while, a bitter smile crept up on her lips, realizing that the young man had every right to doubt her words.


    "How do I go about proving this¡­?" Scratching the back of his head as he wracked her brain for an answer, a thought eventually popped into the woman''s mind, smiling as she regained her confidence.


    "I mentioned earlier that I''m one of the empire''s imperial advisors, right?" Clearing her throat to catch his attention, Mystia asked Valyr a question.


    "Yes?" Though he nodded in response, the young man was confused as to where she was going with her words.


    "And I mentioned earlier that I have a subss that allows me to see the future, right?"


    "Yes, what about it?"


    "How about I predict something that''s going to happen in the near future in order for you to at least listen to my words for a bit?" Hearing these wordse from the crystal, a doubtful expression appeared on the young man''s face, thinking about the possibility of ending the conversation then and there.


    "Alright." However, in the end, he decided to see what Mystia could do and what she wanted to tell him, considering that she had given him items that all looked to be quite useful to him.


    "Thank goodness." Letting out an audible sigh of relief, Mystia''s faint chuckle could be heard from the crystal, the sound of energy shing with one another resounding from the crystal not long after.


    Then, after a period of silence, Mystia''s voice resounded from the crystal once more.


    "Within the next minute, a friend of yours would send you a message, thanking you for something."


    Nodding in response to those words, Valyr pondered in silence as to who among the people in his friend list would send such a message.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, the young man swiftly brought up his notification screen, his eyes widening once he had confirmed that it hade from the chat function.


    Then, opening up the chat function, his eyes widened even further once he found out that the person who had sent a message was Arcenne, thanking him for paying the debt he owed her back in Clossbay City.


    "Huh." Closing the chat function, Valyr felt dumbfounded for quite a while, wondering whether Mystia had just made a wild guess, or whether she had indeed predicted the message to be sent. Though, after thinking about it for a bit, he eventually believed that she had predicted it, considering the fact that he and Julian had only talked about him paying off his debt to her before the auction¡­


    As well as the fact that she was still in the Meltierre Empire, recalling part of her conversation with Julian after the forging duel.


    "Alright." Letting out a long sigh as he processed this newfound knowledge, Valyr eventually continued his conversation with Mystia. "Let''s say you do have the power to see into the future, Miss Mystia. Once again, how can you be so sure that my actions would change the future of the world? Isn''t the future determined by the actions of multiple people? Not just mine?"


    "You are correct in that assumption," said Mystia in response. "A great portion of the future is incredibly hazy because of that, turning my subss into something that''s next to useless."


    "However, there are times when looking into the future shows me a clear path."


    "Yours is one of them, Valyr. Whatever you do in the near future, all of it will still lead you to changing the future of the world." At those words, the young man slightly frowned.


    Though he had already epted the fact that he would be changing a ton of things about the storyline he knew very well from his past life, especially with two world-changing quests under his belt, it still felt weird for him to hear from someone else that what he was doing was truly changing the future.


    After all, with everything said and done, he was still inside a game.


    Doesn''t something like that already transcend the boundaries of one?


    "Will my actions change the future for the better, or for worse?" Nevertheless, he decided to ignore these small details for now, asking Mystia a question that seemed to be rted to the quests he had.


    "That¡­ I unfortunately do not know." Unfortunately, Mystia could not give him a definite answer. "All I know is that the scope of your actions will change the future of the world no matter what."


    "What makes you say that, though?" Letting out a sigh after hearing her response, Valyr decided to move onto another topic. "Sure, I may be a Herald, so I''ll eventually be stronger than most people. However, I''m still at the peak of Rank 2."


    "All I''ll say is that your strength will far exceed your initial expectations, Valyr," said Mystia in response. "Even the identity of a Herald will be nothing in front of your strength in the end."


    "After all, you''re not really a Herald."


    "You''re a Harbinger, Valyr."

 Chapter 542 Harbinger

    ?


    Ding!


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    "I''m a what now?" As a notification sound resounded in his mind once more, Valyr''s expression turned serious once he was finished reading through it. After all, obtaining a notification from the system meant that there was truth to the words Mystia had spoken.


    "You''re a Harbinger." Mystia decided to repeat her earlier words. "You''re a Herald of the Zeihardt n, but you''re also a Harbinger."


    "And what''s the difference between the two?" asked Valyr in response, feeling like obtaining information would give him more insight into his true identity.


    "A lot," replied Mystia. "To be honest, if it were not for the fact that I usually read through the history of multiple ns as an imperial adviser, I probably wouldn''t have even known of the existence of Harbingers."


    "I probably wouldn''t have even sent items like these to you, either."


    "Well, moving that aside for now, what do you know about Heralds?" Hearing these words echo from the hovering crystal before him, the young man pondered over his response, recalling the information he had obtained from his visit to the Myriad Archive back then.


    "Heralds are those that have inherited a greater amount of the bloodline of the Zeihardt n''s ancestor, allowing them to tap into his abnormal power from the past," said Valyr once he was finished thinking about his words. "Because of that, they boast a greater amount of strength, allowing the Zeihardt n to be known as the n that many people fear today."


    "A very textbook answer," Mystia could not help but say. "However, you''re not wrong."


    "What you''ve mentioned are indeed what Heralds are," she continued. "Because of their abnormally high levels of strength, it is said that the birth of a Herald would cause a shift in the era of humanity, with the previous five Heralds having already done so to various degrees."


    "Though your strength hasn''t matured yet, you have already caused a great shift in the era of humanity from your existence alone, considering how the Zeihardt n had been split into two factions because of you. That makes you befitting of the title of Herald."


    "However, because you have already caused great changes to humanity even with your strength still not having reached its peak, it could be said that your strength in the future could possibly affect the future of the world itself, thus making you a Harbinger."


    "¡­what kind of logic is that?" Though the woman''s words made sense to him, from another perspective, Valyr could not help but feel Mystia was messing with him.


    Sure, he had already affected the Zeihardt n because he was born, and he was bound to change a great portion of Veldanyr with his ns to make sure his side wouldn''t lose the final battle.


    But why did he feel like the woman was only operating on a hunch?


    "Could you give me more proof as to why I''m a Harbinger?" Letting out a low sigh as his level of belief towards the woman''s words gradually returned to how it was before, Valyr eventually decided to give Mystia one more chance to exin herself and her thought process, considering that her earlier words did cause a reaction from the system.


    "Well, I have quite a few." Mulling over the words she had spoken to the young man earlier, Mystia eventually agreed with the young man''s response, feeling that her exnation of him being a Harbinger did seem quite nonsensical. After all, even though she had predicted Valyr''s future, she wasn''t entirely sure if Valyr''s level of strength at that time would rise to the level where it could affect the entire world.


    With that, she approached her new exnation from a perspective that she was incredibly well-versed in.


    "I mentioned earlier that I read through the history of multiple ns, right?" Saying these words, Mystia waited for the young man to respond back. Fortunately, it did not take long for Valyr to say yes, allowing her to continue with her exnation.


    "Well, as an imperial adviser, it''s pretty much rmended for us to read through the history of the ns that existed throughout the years, using them as a basis to make decisions for the future," said the woman, her voice echoing from the crystal. "After all, those who don''t learn from history are doomed to repeat it."


    "In any case, out of all of the n histories I''ve read through, the Zeihardt n is among the ones I am most well-read in." At these words, she began to speak with more confidence. "My knowledge of the Zeihardt n''s history even goes far back to the Age of Uprising, when the Zeihardt n was first established."


    "While reading through its history, I''vee across a few documents that talked about the predictions made by the ancestor of the Zeihardt n, Otto Zeihardt himself."


    "Oh?" Hearing those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in interest, wondering what a man like Otto had predicted to happen.


    "Though most of the predictions were rted to the human race and how they would eventually prosper in the far future, Otto had also made a few predictions regarding the state of the Zeihardt n by the time he wasn''t around."


    "Amidst the ebb and flow of the waves, a star shall twinkle once again, radiating a faint light that will show the way." Saying these words, Mystia took on a solemn tone, prompting Valyr to remain silent.


    "After many people have made their attempts to decrypt this passage, we were eventually able to find out that he was talking about the Heralds, people who would be able to lead the Zeihardt n and bring it to prosperity once more."


    "However, that passage is only considered the first part of the prediction. Let me recite the passage thates after," said Mystia not long after, to which Valyr perked up his ears.


    "Once six stars have lit the way, only then shall the seventh star awaken. Once it awakens, its light shall blind the world, with everyone''s focus on this blinding light. With this light in hand, this star shall change the world anew."


    "Though it is simr to the prediction for the Heralds, it differs from it in multiple ways." After Mystia was done reciting the prediction, she then went ahead and exined the finer details of it. "For one, there is the mention of a seventh star. At first, many people thought that it talked about the number of generations that passed after a Herald was born."


    "Then, there''s the mention of a blinding light. To be honest, this part stumped people for many years, with many possible meanings behind it," she added, faintly chuckling. "Fortunately, with the help of a great number of skilled people, we were finally able to decrypt what Otto Zeihardt wanted to say through this prediction around a few months ago."


    "What did he want to say?" With how invested he was in her exnation after reaching this point, it was no surprise that Valyr asked.


    "If our decryption is correct, he said that there will eventually arrive a day where a member of the n will be born with the same level of strength as him. To be more specific, that member would be the seventh Herald to be part of the n."


    "Wait¡­ don''t tell me¡­" Pondering over Mystia''s words for a bit, a slight frown appeared on the young man''s face. Though, as if a light bulb went on in his head, his eyes soon went wide open as an unbelievable thought came to mind.


    "Yes, Valyr." Unexpectedly, Mystia confirmed his thoughts.


    "ording to his predictions, you are the seventh Herald he was talking about."


    Ding!

 Chapter 543 Ancestral Blood

    ?


    Sirius'' office.


    "Ylvar isn''t the person I think of him to be?" Listening to the words of the man before him, Julian scratched the back of his head, wondering what kind of perspective the man was going to take. "What do you mean by that?"


    "You should really listen to this one, Julian." Seeing how nonchnt Julian was during their conversation, Sirius could not stop himself from letting out a sigh. "As a good friend, even if it''s mostly for business, I look out for your safety. Julian, that Ylvar has a hidden identity you don''t even know."


    "What hidden identity?" Finally understanding what Sirius was hinting at, Julian decided to drop all pretenses and showcase his knowledge to the man. "The fact that Ylvar is actually Valyr Zeihardt?"


    "Yes, exactly!" Hearing Julian''s words, Sirius profusely nodded in agreement. "Ylvar is actually Valyr Zeihardt! He''s been hiding as¡­ wait¡­"


    "You knew?"


    "How could I not?" Seeing the confused yet surprised look on his friend''s face, Julian did not whether tough or continue taking on a serious expression. "As one of the higher-ranked leaders of the cksmith Guild, I need to make sure that no malicious people enter our ss guild. With that in mind, even false identities are checked in great detail."


    "Of course, due to the sensitive nature of the young man''s identity, I''ve decided to have the false identity stay," he added. "After all, only bad things would happen if this kingdom''s Zeihardt n caught wind of him being here."


    ''Then again, I never expected the kid to be so courageous to share his real identity with the cksmith Guild,'' thought Julian to himself as he said these words. Though, if he knew that Valyr had shared his real identity just because he did not know his name had possible consequences to it, it went without saying that Julian might faint from shock.


    "So, you know, huh." As he listened to his friend''s exnation in silence, Sirius eventually nodded in agreement, feeling that the man''s words made sense.


    "Does anyone else know about this?" asked Julian as he realized something, looking at Sirius with a slightly cold expression. "Ylvar being Valyr, I mean."


    "I have sworn a mana oath with the Imperial Alchemist to not divulge any information about the young man''s true identity to anyone else, except for other people that knew of his true identity already," replied Sirius, understanding the man''s worries. "Now that I think about it, that''s probably why the Imperial Alchemist told me that it was fine for me to share the information with you."


    "In any case, the fact that you know about it already saves me the trouble of having to exin to you his identity and head straight to the predictions the Imperial Alchemist had given me," said the man not long after, catching Julian a bit by surprise.


    "Wait¡­ the Imperial Alchemist can see the future?" asked Julian, to which Sirius nodded in response.


    "Even I was surprised when I first heard it," replied Sirius, taking a hint of delight at his friend''s surprised expression. "However, I did confirm it with a couple of people I trust from the n. They say that the Imperial Alchemist is also known as one of the empire''s greatest imperial advisers to ever leave, having a subss that allows her to see into the future."


    "And¡­ I presume this prediction has something to do with Valyr?" Putting two and two together in his mind, it did not take long for Julian to get to the crux of the matter, with Sirius nodding in agreement.


    "That is indeed the case." Sirius let out a faint sigh before taking in a deep breath. "ording to her¡­"


    "Valyr will be the reason for humanity''s downfall."


    ¡­


    Ding!


    As Mystia had reached the conclusion of her exnation, a notification sound resounded within Valyr''s mind, prompting him tomand the system to bring up the notification screen before him.


    ''How many moreyers are there to this identity of mine?'' Reading through the notifications he had received, a wry smile eventually crept up onto the young man''s lips, inwardly letting out a sigh as he brought up the description of the skill he had obtained.


    [You have gained an important piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    [The skill ''Royal Blood of the Chosen'' has transformed due to the piece of information you''ve gained. The skill''s name has been changed to ''Ancestral Blood of the Zeihardts''.]


    [Only a few steps remain before you truly find out who you are. Nevertheless, many things shall remain to stand in your way as you try to seek for it. Surpass all of those, and all the shackles that have been binding you thus far will finally be removed atst.]


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ancestral Blood of the Zeihardts] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Mythic+


    The founder of the Zeihardt n is said to be a being of his own caliber, having the ability to wield great amounts of strength, as well as limitless stamina and vitality. As a descendant of the founder, you have inherited a greater portion of the man''s bloodpared to your peers, bing known as a Herald of the n.


    However, rather than inherit just a greater portion of the man''s blood, you instead have inherited not only the entirety of your blood, but also his strength, stemming from your connection with the man as part of the Zeihardt Imperial n.


    Because of this, you are able to wield a level of strength that far surpasses any Herald to have ever lived in history, bing a Harbinger. If anything, the only being capable of having a strength on par with you being the ancestor of the Zeihardt n, Otto Zeihardt itself.


    Though such information is unknown to many at the moment, this information shall eventually spread like wildfire through the continents, causing you to be a target for everyone to befriend with, or for everyone to kill.


    Naturally, such a conclusion depends on your future actions.


    This skill increases all of the user''s stats by 15%. It also increases the user''s maximum HP and MP by 20%.


    Note: A thin curtain is the only thing stopping you from discovering your true identity. Rise through adversities and figure out what your true purpose is. Once you do, the truth shall be revealed and you shall be set free, Harbinger.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''A 5% increase to all of my stats, as well as my HP and MP¡­'' Looking through the upgrade his passive skill had gone, Valyr could not help but think that such a massive increase in power was quite absurd if it could be obtained through gathering more information about himself.


    Nevertheless, with how he did not much about the Zeihardt n until he had been given a second shot in life, it also made sense that the system had done it this way.


    Closing up the screens he had brought up, Valyr took in a few deep breaths as he made it seem like he had been pondering over the information he had just heard from Mystia. Then, after a while, he eventually asked her a question that continued where their conversation had left off.


    "Are you sure that I''m the seventh Herald? Are you sure that I''m the Harbinger the ancestor was talking about?" he asked. "After all, hasn''t there only been six Heralds throughout the history of the Zeihardt n?"


    "You''ve read up quite a bit on the history of the Zeihardt n, I see," responded Mystia after a bit of silence. "In any case, though it is true that there have only been six Heralds throughout the n''s history, it is considered that the ancestor of the Zeihardt n is a Herald and a Harbinger, thus making you the seventh Herald."


    "As well as the second Harbinger," Mystia added at the veryst minute.


    "If that''s the case, is there anything that happens that signifies that I''m the second Harbinger? I don''t really feel anything different from how I was earlier." Though the system had confirmed that Valyr was indeed the Harbinger she was talking about, the young man would not let anyone else but himself know about this for the meantime, deciding to take advantage of the fact that she could not see the changes he had gone through in person.


    "Are you sure that I''m the seventh Herald? Perhaps the ancestor was counting to seven from the Herald that came after him and not himself."


    "Eh? You don''t feel anything different?" Asking a question of her own back, Mystia''s tone was that of slight shock. "ording to the prophecy Otto had given, a Harbinger would undergo through a great increase in strength after finding out this information."


    "Nope," said Valyr, tantly lying through his teeth. "I seriously don''t feel anything at all."


    "Was our decryption wrong?" After hearing Valyr''s response, Mystia began to doubt the effort she and others had put a great amount of their time in. "Did we possibly misread some of the text written on the passage? Have we been reading it from the wrong direction all this time?"


    "Er¡­ I have a question." Though Valyr slightly felt guilty at the fact that he made Mystia feel like all of her work was for nothing, he ced this feeling at the back of his head and suppressed it for the meantime, reminding himself to tell her that him being a Harbinger was true once he had gotten a bit stronger.


    "What is it?" Still stressed over the fact that their decryption might be wrong, Mystia responded back in a slightly angry tone, only to calm down once she recalled she was still talking to Valyr.


    "If you don''t mind¡­" Twiddling his thumbs, the young man asked her a question.


    "Could you tell me what these items you gave me in more detail?"

 Chapter 544 The Pill And The Vial

    ?


    "Right. You also wanted to talk about that." Though the possibility of their decryption being wrong still lingered in her mind, Mystia decided to ce the thought at the back of her head for the meantime, letting out a sigh as she gathered her thoughts.


    "Well... the first item I''ll be exining in detail is something Sirius has already exined during the auction," said Mystia, revealing to Valyr her connection with Sirius through her words. "I presume you''ve attended the auction?"


    "Yeah." Nodding in response, Valyr looked at the golden orb he had received from Sirius, recalling the different feeling the orb had given himpared to the orb shown in the auction. "The Nascent Rebirth Pill, right?"


    "Correct." Subconsciously nodding in agreement to his words, Mystia continued with her exnation. "During the auction, Sirius mentioned that the Nascent rebirth Pillpresses one''s mana, enhances one''s vitality, as well as increases one''s stats by 50 points each."


    "However, unlike the Nascent Rebirth Pill I''ve given to Sirius for him to sell, the Nascent Rebirth Pill I''ve given you is somewhat different in a way," she continued, letting out a faint chuckle.


    "Aside from the fact that the amount of ingredients I''ve used to concoct the pill I''ve given you is considerably greater than the amount I used to concoct the pill sold during the auction, all of the pill''s effects have been greatly strengthened."


    "Of course, that includes the pill''s effect of increasing all of your stats." As Valyr visualized Mystia faintly grinning as she said these words, it went without saying that the young man''s interest was greatly piqued, wondering to himself how much stronger the pill he had gotten waspared to the one in the auction.


    "Hmm... now that I think about it, I guess I should call it by another name since its effects are considerably different from the Nascent Rebirth Pill''s," Mystia said all of a sudden amidst the silence, prompting Valyr to perk up his ears as he listened to the woman''s words. "I guess calling it the True Rebirth Pill is a better fit."


    "Anyways, Sirius mentioned earlier that the Nascent Rebirth Pillpresses one''s mana and enhances one''s vitality." Hearing Mystia''s words, Valyr nodded in agreement, continuing to attentively listen. "In contrast, the True Rebirth Pill not only improves on thatpression to mana and enhancement to vitality..."


    "It also gives you a corresponding skill that enhances that effect even further."


    "Any idea on what that skill is?" Feeling his curiosity towards the skill Mystia mentioned be stronger, Valyr went ahead and asked a very obvious question to her.


    "Sadly, I have no clue on what skill it gives you." However, even Mystia was clueless on what kind of skill the pill would give the young man, only working out the skill''s effects through her great experience as an alchemist, as well as a bit of guesswork. "All I know is that it''ll undoubtedly be of great help to you in the long run."


    "How about the boost to one''s stats?" Seeing that even Mystia had no idea on what kind of skill the pill would give him, the young man decided to move onto the pill''s other effect. "How much of an increase is itpared to the pill''s original effect?"


    "About 30 points each," replied Mystia sinctly, causing Valyr''s eyes to widen in surprise. "In total, you gain 80 points from each stat."


    "Wow." For a while, the young man was left at a loss for words, trying to process the information as best as he could. In the end, he could only utter out a sound in response, still unable to wrap his head around the increment.


    After all, having a stat of 80 points was already on the level of a being at the peak of Rank 1. In fact, some beings at the beginning levels of Rank 2 also had stats around that level.


    With that, it went without saying that increasing all of his stats by 80 points would undoubtedly increase his strength in all fields, even though hisbat strength could already rival beings that were solidly at Rank 4. He had a feeling that the pill would allow his strength to rival those at the peak of Rank 4, perhaps even rival those that fullyprehended their Intent.


    "How about the vial?" Feeling more than satisfied with the information he had obtained regarding the pill, Valyr moved onto the vial of viscous purple fluid he had gotten.


    "About that... I don''t really have a name for that, actually." Hearing Valyr''s question, Mystia let out an awkward chuckle. "All I have to say about it is that the vialplements the pill''s effects."


    "Well, that and the fact that it also allows you to connect to a unique type of energy," added the woman soon after, making Valyr raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "Though, I''ll only exin the energy in greater detail after you consume both items." However, before the young man could even ask about it, Mystia had interrupted him, causing the young man to wryly smile in response.


    "Is there a specific order on how I consume these items?" Wanting to know more about the unique energy Mystia had mentioned as soon as possible, Valyr made up his mind to consume both items the very moment he had obtained the corresponding instructions from her.


    "Nothing tooplicated," said Mystia in response. "First, you consume the pill. Then, once you''ve fully absorbed the pill''s effects, only then do you consume the contents of the vial."


    "Got it." Valyr nodded, taking in a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for what he was going to do. Though she had not mentioned anything about it, the young man was certain that there were a few detrimental side effects that came along with consuming the pill, much less the vial Mystia had concocted on a whim.


    "Alright. With that, I think I''ve pretty much said everything I wanted to say to you, so I''ll end the conversation here for now." Unfortunately, just as the young man was hoping that the woman would wait for him to consume both of the items, Mystia instead ended their conversation then and there, making him feel a slight hint of disappointment.


    Though, as he thought about it for a bit, Valyr soon understood why she had to do it.


    Not only was she the empire''s Imperial Alchemist, a being all alchemists in the empire looked up to, but she was also one of the empire''s many imperial advisers. In other words, the fact that she had more than enough time to hold a long conversation with the young man was already a miracle in itself.


    In fact, it also wouldn''t be far-fetched for one to think that she was holding a conversation with the young man while doing something else in the meantime.


    With that, as Mystia told Valyr that the crystal could be used to contact her at anytime, thetter went ahead and cut off the connection between the two of them, letting the crystal fall to the ground as he eventually shifted his attention on the pill.


    "Well then..." Taking in a deep breath once more, Valyr let out a small chuckle as he ced the golden orb into his mouth.


    "I guess it won''t be long till I contact you again, Mystia."

 Chapter 545 Something To Ponder Over

    ?


    "Haah¡­" After Valyr had disrupted the connection allowing him and Mystia to talk with one another, thetter stared at the orb she was holding for a bit before letting out a long sigh, the thought she had ced to the side earlier gradually returning to the surface.


    "Was there anything wrong with our deciphering process?" Muttering these words to herself, Mystia ced the orb on a nearby pedestal before getting up from the chair, deciding to roam the streets for a bit as she allowed the gears in her mind to turn. "We employed the help of over 100 experts in decryption for the past few decades or so, some of which even have subsses rted to deciphering ancientnguages themselves."


    "Surely, such a prophecy with that many people checking it would most likely be certain, yet it isn''t." Faintly scratching the back of her head as she wondered which part of their decryption process might be wed, the woman continued to mull over it.


    "Is it perhaps our interpretation of the text? Have we taken it too literally?"


    "Or is it perhaps our method of reading the text? Should it be read from right to left and not left to right? Or should it have been read from top to bottom? Would changing the reading direction give us a different meaning to it?"


    "No¡­ that doesn''t seem right¡­" However, even after all of the thinking she had done over what might have gone wrong, Mystia was incredibly certain that the message they had obtained from deciphering Otto''s passage was the correct one. Even if she were to change the method of interpreting the words the man had used on the passage, she felt like she would still arrive at the same message from earlier.


    "Perhaps Valyr is right that the counting of the Heralds began after Otto." Having immense confidence in the message she and many others had obtained after putting years of effort into deciphering the passage, Mystia instead looked at the problem from the perspective the young man had given her earlier.


    "However, I''m quite certain that one of the passages we deciphered mentioned that Otto was the first Herald and Harbinger of the Zeihardt n." Continuing to think out loud, Mystia brought her slight journey through the streets of the Meltierre Empire back to the ce she was staying in, returning to the estate the empire had given her as one of their imperial advisers.


    "Hmm¡­" Sitting at the stairs leading up to the entrance to her estate, Mystia looked at the sky for a while, letting her mind wander about as she allowed the thoughts in her mind toe and go as they pleased. Eventually, a certain thought surfaced in her mind, a thought that, frankly, was something she should havee up with from the very beginning.


    "Is Valyr lying?" she asked herself, feeling anger gradually rise up as she thought about how she easily believed his words. Though, after taking a few deep breaths topose herself, she eventually let out a sigh, putting herself in the young man''s shoes as she understood the reasoning behind his actions.


    After all, even though a Harbinger was not well known by the world, Mystia was certain that it wouldn''t take long for many to find that out once Valyr made it known.


    "Well, whatever the case may be, I''m sure I''ll find out the truth at some point." Feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders after this realization, the woman finally made her way into the estate, arriving at the ce she had been talking with Valyr earlier.


    Gazing at the orb she had used to talk with the young man, a faint urge to contact Valyr once more arose from within her. However, after a while, she let out a chuckle as she turned around, deciding to do some of her tasks for the day in the meantime.


    "I''m pretty sure the young man''s currently in the process of consuming those items I''ve given him."


    "He''ll definitely contact me soon enough."


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr had ced the True Rebirth Pill into his mouth, the golden orb swiftly melted into a viscous liquid that flowed down his throat, causing him to subconsciously swallow the liquid in its entirety.


    "Mmph!" However, once he did, his stomach began to churn, prompting the young man to widen his eyes in surprise as he felt a wave of nausea wash over his body, only for a feeling of hotness emanating from his stomach to appear not long after.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to make sure that he did not throw up, the young man soon focused the entirety of his concentration towards the absorption of the pill, releasing some of his own mana inside his own stomach to form a barrier that separated the viscous liquid from the other contents that resided within.


    Unfortunately, before the young man could even contain half of the liquid that made up the True Rebirth Pill, as if it had a mind of his own, the liquid charged at the walls of his stomach, causing the nausea he felt to drastically increase in intensity.


    "Bleeerrrgghh¡­" Eventually, the nausea he felt was so severe that the young man could not restrain himself anymore, purging out the entirety of the contents of his stomach onto the floor.


    Though, rather than vomit out half-eaten food, as well as digestive juices, the young man instead vomited out a ck mass, which definitely made the young man''s eyes widen even more.


    "Mnh¡­" By the time he had stopped purging out this ck mass, the young man felt that his current condition had surprisingly be betterpared to his condition from before he had eaten the pill. To him, it was as if all of the fatigue and stress he had umted so far had been removed from his body all at once, making him wonder whether this feeling he felt at the moment was true relief.


    "Ah¡­" Then again, before he could inspect his current condition any deeper, a feeling of hotness emanated from his stomach yet again. However, unlike before, rather than remain in the stomach, this feeling of hotness soon spread out throughout his body, making him feel as if he had entered a rxing sauna all of a sudden.


    For a while, this soothing feeling washed over the young man''s body, prompting him toy down on the ground and immerse himself while he could. Sadly, by the time a few minutes had passed, this feeling gradually began to disappear, letting out a slightly disappointed sigh as he stood up once more.


    Hearing a series of notification sounds go off in his mind, the young man went ahead andmanded the system to bring up a screen before him, allowing him to take a look at the gains he had obtained.


    "Damn."


    "That''s a lot more than I thought."


    Ding!


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the passive skill ''Enhanced Mana''.]


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the passive skill ''Enhanced Vitality''.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the following stats: +80 VIT, +80 STR, +80 AGI, +80 DEX, +80 INT, +80 WIS, +80 PER, and +80 LUK.]

 Chapter 546 Hidden Stats

    Chapter 546 Hidden Stats


    Thoroughly reading through the various effects the pill had given him, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he did not expect some of the notifications that popped up. In his mind, he thought that he would only get a maximum of around five notifications total, with one talking about his increase in stats, while the remaining four would talk about his improved mana and vitality.


    "That''s a lot more than I thought," muttered the young man to himself, deciding to separate the notifications into two categories like how he had separated his notifications from upgrading his subss in the past.


    Ding!


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the passive skill ''Enhanced Mana''.]


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the passive skill ''Enhanced Vitality''.]


    [Due to the effects of the skill ''Enhanced Mana'', you have gained ess to the hidden stat Mana Purity.]


    [Due to the effects of the skill ''Enhanced Vitality'', you have gained ess to the hidden stat Vigor.]


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained 3 points to Mana Purity.]


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained 3 points to Vigor.]


    "System, identify ''Enhanced Mana'' and ''Enhanced Vitality''." For the first category of notifications he had obtained, all of them were rted to the skills the young man had obtained from the True Rebirth Pill, specifically the skills ''Enhanced Mana'' and ''Enhanced Vitality''.


    Ding!


    Though it did not seem like the two skills did a lot for the young man from another person''s perspective, with the great amount of knowledge he had umted about Greater Beyond from his past life, Valyr knew that such skills would only be better the stronger he became.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Enhanced Mana] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Rare


    Mana was originally a pure energy, capable of contending against the most primordial of energies. However, with the birth of matter and life, mana began to be contaminated with its properties, causing it to lose its original power.


    Nevertheless, such a contamination allowed those with weak strength to tap into a nigh-infinite energy source, granting them the ability to achieve feats beyond the limits of what a single creature is capable of.


    To enhance one''s mana is to restore part of the original properties of mana, ridding it of its contamination in exchange for greater power. Only those adept in controlling mana can begin to refine and purify mana back to its original form, with those bing one with mana able to have the purest of mana flowing throughout their bodies at any time.


    This skill unlocks the hidden stat ''Mana Purity'' for the user, with each point towards the stat considerably increasing the potency of each point of mana. This effect only bes more prominent the higher the user''s ss rank is.


    This skill also boosts the user''s maximum MP by 5%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''To think I''d be unlocking hidden stats this early.'' After he was done reading through the description of ''Enhanced Mana'', the young man let out a faint chuckle as he skimmed through the description of ''Enhanced Vitality'', considering that the purpose of the two was more or less the same.


    Both skills gave a considerable increase to a general stat, as well as gave him ess to a specific hidden stat.


    Though almost yer of Greater Beyond knew of the general stats, which wereprised of HP, MP, Attack, and Defense, as well as the eight specific stats one would see on their status screen, only those that have ascended beyond Rank 5 and entered the realm of Myths woulde across another type of stat that had arge impact on one''s strength in theter stages of the game.


    Hidden stats.


    Just like the name suggested, hidden stats were stats that were normally tucked away within the recesses of one''s body, having considerable effects on certain stats once discovered.


    As far as Valyr knew, there were a few hidden stats that every yer beyond Rank 5 would be familiar with. Among thosemon hidden stats were Mana Purity and Vigor, the two hidden stats the young man had just unlocked.


    Even though Mana Purity focused on improving the potency of one''s mana, it also had an effect on one''s INT and WIS stat, allowing them to be slightly more effective on skills and spells that use those stats to scale their strength. From what the young man could recall, almost every mage and priest he hade across would have this hidden stat at over 10 points by the time they were Rank 6.


    On the other hand, Vigor was a hidden stat that improved the efficacy of the VIT and STR stat, as well as the speed at which one regenerated health. Unsurprisingly, such a stat also had a slight effect towards one''s Attack and Defense stat, making it a staple hidden stat unlocked by those that either had sses focused on going berserk or tanking a lot of damage.


    "With the 80 point boost to all of my stats included, that pretty much sums up what I obtained from the pill." Closing the two screens he had brought up, Valyr went ahead and did a few basic movements to be more ustomed with the substantial increase in his strength.


    After conjuring a couple of orbs made out of his slightly improved mana to fully get used to his new stats, the young man eventually shifted his attention towards the vial of purple liquid, taking in a deep breath as he felt a sense of nervousness gradually rise up.


    "To be honest, I''m kind of afraid as to what possible side effects this vial might have," muttered the young man to himself, briefly letting out a scared chuckle as he removed the stopper. Taking a whiff of the liquid inside, Valyr was slightly surprised by the fact that the liquid smelled fragrant, the scent of which reminded him of strawberries.


    "Here goes nothing¡­" Reminding himself that the effects of the True Rebirth Pill would be enhanced once he ingested the contents of the vial over and over again, the nervousness Valyr felt gradually disappeared. Then, after mustering up the courage to do so, he went ahead and downed the vial''s contents in one gulp, feeling a slight coldness emanate from the liquid as the feeling soon traveled throughout his entire body.


    And then¡­


    Thud.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!

 Chapter 547 Seeds of Doubt

    Chapter 547 Seeds of Doubt


    Sirius'' office.


    "Valyr will be the reason for humanity''s downfall¡­" Hearing the words Sirius had said to him, Julian decided to repeat it back, his expression that of slight shock.


    "Don''t you think only someone crazy would say something like that?" However, just as Sirius thought that his friend had internalized the saying and believe it, the exact opposite had happened, with Julian even going so far to call him crazy. "What kind of evidence do you even have to say something like that?"


    "Well, first of all, the young man''s from the Zeihardt n," said Sirius, deciding to respond to the question. "Both of us know very well that those from the Zeihardt n tend to have quite the odd personality."


    "Just because we''ve encountered one of those rude members from the Zeihardt n in the past doesn''t mean everyone in the Zeihardt n is also like that." Briefly scratching the back of his head, Julian let out a faint sigh. "Plus, that man had all right to be mad. You did throw your drink on his white shirt, after all."


    "identally. identally, okay?" Sirius emphasized as his face went slightly red, to which Julian slightly shrugged his shoulders in response. "In any case, why does it seem like you''re so protective of the young man? Is it because he has increased the cksmith Guild''s reputation?"


    "Well, there''s that." Julian wasn''t afraid to admit it. "There''s also the fact that he''s a Zeihardt, a Herald at that."


    "However, I''m not protective of the young man because of such ephemeral things," rified the man soon after. "If anything, it''s the fact that he''s an incredibly talented cksmith in his own right. As part of the old generation, it only makes sense for someone like me to fully support a young man who might be a pir of the guild for the future."


    "Plus, even though I''m certain the Imperial Alchemist had note up with that prediction out of nowhere, I''d rather believe what I can see with my own two eyes than something that only has a chance to happen in the future."


    "Is that so?" Listening to Julian''s words, it did not take long for Sirius to realize that anything he did to persuade the man would have no effect whatsoever. With that, he inwardly gave up on doing so and let out a faint sigh, deciding to share the information from another perspective instead.


    "How about this?" said Sirius, prompting Julian to focus his attention on him. "I won''t persuade you to believe what I have to say, but just listen to the other things the Imperial Alchemist told me regarding Valyr."


    "¡­ as a good business friend of yours, I''ll be willing to hear you out at the very least." Though Julian would have preferred for their conversation to end there and then, the man eventually decided to agree, considering that the man before him had helped Valyr earn quite a sizable amount of money.


    "d to hear that." In response, Sirius merely smiled.


    "So, aside from the fact that the Imperial Alchemist told me that Valyr would be the reason for humanity''s downfall, she also told me how such a thing might possibly happen."


    "Now that I think about it¡­ why would the Imperial Alchemist tell you about this in the first ce?" As he nodded in response to Sirius'' words, a question suddenly popped up into Julian''s mind.


    "To bepletely honest with you, I have no clue either." Sirius briefly shrugged his shoulders in response. "However, I''m sure she had a good reason to tell someone like me. After all, I''m still part of one of the empire''s imperial ns."


    "Continue." Feeling as if the Imperial Alchemist''s reason in telling Sirius was just for the sake for it, Julian decided not to head down the rabbit hole for the meantime, giving his friend the freedom to continue his exnation.


    "As I was saying¡­ the Imperial Alchemist also mentioned to me how such a thing would happen." Nodding in agreement, Sirius continued where he left off. "First, both of us know that the reason why the Zeihardt n is madly searching for Valyr''s whereabouts is because of the fact that he''s a Herald, right?"


    "As far as I know, yes." Julian nodded after a bit of thinking.


    "And we both know as well that those born as Heralds in the Zeihardt n generally have far superior strength than their peers, to the point that their strength would cause a new era of humanity to begin."


    "That is also true." Julian nodded once more.


    "However, ording to the Imperial Alchemist, Valyr''s eventual level of strength won''t just stop at the level of the Heralds we''ve known in the past," said Sirius, his expression solemn. "Instead, it would exceed it by a great margin, causing not only humanity to change, but the entire world."


    "That means¡­ the orcs and the elves would also be affected?" asked Julian for rification.


    "Yes." Sirius nodded.


    "Huh." Obtaining affirmation from his question, Julian could only utter out a sound, pondering over what he should feel from the information. Though, after a while, he was able to sort out his feelings, eventually telling Sirius something that caused thetter to do a double take.


    "Well¡­ if you think about it, such a future isn''t that half-bad."


    ¡­


    "Urgh¡­" After quite a long amount of time had passed, Valyr had eventually woken up once more, slowly getting up as he came to terms with what had happened to him.


    "I drank the liquid inside the vial¡­" Frequently scratching the back of his head, it took a while for the gears in the young man''s mind to start turning again. "And then¡­ a wave of coldness hit me¡­ then¡­ I fell unconscious¡­ I think."


    "Huh." Giving himself some more time to think about what had happened, Valyr decided to clean up the ck mass he had vomited out. Standing up, he then left the room for a bit to grab some cleaning supplies, only to go ahead and scoop up every little bit of ck mass he could as he continued to ponder over what happened.


    "Well, nothing else seems to be out of the ordinary." Once he was done cleaning up the mess he had made, Valyr did a quick physical check.


    "Time to check the notifications, then." Seeing that his body seemed to be doing fine, the young man then moved onto the remaining thing he hadn''t checked yet,manding the system to bring up a notification screen in front of him.


    Ding!


    "Uh huh." Though, once he did¡­


    He could not help but get an odd feeling from what he was reading.

 Chapter 548 The Mystic Vial

    Chapter 548 The Mystic Vial


    Ding!


    [Due to the effects of the Mystic Vial, the remnant energies from the True Rebirth Pill have been awakened, causing its effects to rise once more.]


    [You have gained the following stats: +20 VIT, +20 STR, +20 AGI, +20 DEX, +20 INT, +20 WIS, +20 PER, and +20 LUK.]


    "So, it''s called the Mystic Vial, huh¡­" Reading through the first few notifications he had gained from consuming the vial''s contents, Valyr raised his eyebrows in surprise after finding out that the vial didplement the pill''s effects.


    Though, if he thought about it, it would be more correct to say that the vial had enhanced the pill''s effects even further, considering that he had gained an additional 20 points each on all of his stats.


    However, that was not all.


    [Due to the effects of the Mystic Vial, you have gained 2 points to Mana Purity.]


    [Due to the effects of the Mystic Vial, you have gained 2 points to Vigor.]


    ''Even the hidden stats have been improved by the vial.'' Continuing to read through the notifications he had gotten, Valyr soon came across the ones that talked about his unlocked hidden stats gaining points.


    "All in all, I gained 100 points each on all stats, as well 5 points to both Mana Purity and Vigor because of this vial." Faintly wondering how much 5 points in both hidden stats would affect his journey into the inheritance that he and the others would be exploring next week, a faint smile crept up onto the young man''s lips as he moved onto the remaining notifications on his screen.


    "¡­huh. I guess this was what Mystia was talking about."


    [Due to the effects of the Mystic Vial, you have gained an affinity towards the Mystic ne, grabbing the attention of its Overseer.]


    [The Overseer wonders for a bit as to why you have the energy of its Saintess, yet it decides not to inquire any further, knowing what the Saintess wants it to do.]


    [You have gained the recognition of the Mystic ne, allowing you to use its energy as if it were your own.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Mystic Energy Empowerment''.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Mystic Energy Vessel''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Basic Mystic Energy Maniption''.]


    Slightly scratching his head as he read through this series of notifications, Valyr more or less understood what was going on, thinking about his experience with Noel in the Shadow ne.


    "In a way, this is simr to the process on how I obtained Shadow Energy," murmured the young man to himself, visualizing what had possibly happened to him while he was unconscious. "However, unlike with Shadow Energy, I didn''t have to consume a corresponding item, nor did I have to enter the corresponding ne to obtain its recognition."


    "Guess that has a lot to do with the Overseer and the Saintess these notifications are talking about, huh." Taking a look at the notifications once more, it did not take long for him to gain an idea of who or what the Overseer and the Saintess was, basing it off from the knowledge he had gained from visiting the Shadow ne.


    With that, Valyr easily came to the conclusion that the Overseer would be none other than the Mystic ne''s founder and creator, as well as the one who gets to decide who and what has ess to the Mystic ne''s energy, aptly named Mystic Energy.


    On the other hand, considering that she was the one who had given the item to him, it only made sense for the young man to think that Mystia was the Saintess of the Mystic ne, wondering how she had obtained such a title in the first ce.


    ''Is she the first one to discover the Mystic ne or something¡­?'' thought the young man to himself, feeling like only a feat simr to that would allow one to be granted such a level of authority.


    Pondering about it even further, he then wondered if Noel had a simr title like that in the Shadow ne, recalling that he had introduced the existence of Shadow Energy to many people.


    "Hmm¡­" Rubbing his chin as he wondered whether or not to contact Mystia again, Valyr eventually decided to contact her the following day, even though he had told himself that he would contact her once he was done consuming both items.


    Though he had a feeling that the woman had set some time aside for him so they could talk about the Mystic Energy he had just unlocked, Mystia''s words of her being an Imperial Alchemist and an imperial adviser lingered in the young man''s mind, prompting him to think that such time would be better offpleting tasks rted to those.


    With that, he grabbed the crystal he used to contact Mystia earlier and ced it inside his spatial bracelet, only to then grab the now-empty vial as he made his way out of the private room he had upied. While doing so, hemanded the system to bring up the descriptions of the three skills he had gained, deciding to satiate his curiosity with Mystic Energy through it for the meantime.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Mystic Energy Empowerment] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Rare+


    You have gained ess to a type of energy that many people sought to im as their own, touting its capabilities to make the impossible possible, to make the unreal real, and to make the unbelievable believable. With this energy, feats that would normally be difficult to achieve with mana, will now be simple, expanding your abilities to nigh-infinity.


    This skill increases the efficacy of techniques under [Basic Mystic Energy Maniption] by 30%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Mystic Energy Vessel] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Mystic Energy: 1/1


    Grade: Impure (Common)


    A myriad of energies exist throughout the universe. Some of these energies are attuned towards such as destruction, such as Chaos Energy, while some of these energies could be attuned to go both ways, such as Primordial Mana.


    Mystic Energy is a type of energy that is attuned towards creation, a type of energy that one could only make contact with through the Mystic ne, a ne that hails from ancient times. Due to its ancient origin, it is a type of energy that''s highly sought after by many beings throughout the ages, all of them touting its capabilities of making the impossible possible, the unachievable achievable.


    Thanks to the blessing of the Mystic ne''s Saintess, you have gained the recognition of the Mystic ne from the Overseer itself, allowing you to tap into this energy as if it were an extension of your limbs.


    This skill allows the user that has been recognized to improve the amount and quality of the Mystic Energy they control, eventually giving them the ability to achieve more things with the energy.


    This skill also allows the user to tap into Mystic Energy at any time, not needing to form a connection with the Mystic ne anymore whenever the user wishes to do so. This skill also allows the user to store a small amount of Mystic Energy within their bodies, which could be improved by absorbing Mystic Energy from the ne itself, or by ying beings of the Mystic ne.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Basic Mystic Energy Maniption] (Lv. 1/10)


    Rarity: Common


    Mystic Energy. A type of energy that many people believe to make the impossible possible, to transform make-believe into reality.


    This skill allows the user to harness and utilize the power of Mystic Energy in all sorts of ways, gaining the ability to have Mystic Energy take on a tangible form, as well as manipte the energy into whatever form the user sees fit.


    <First Skill: Element Creation - Allows the user to transform Mystic Energy into any element that the user wishes to create. Conversion rate between Mystic Energy and the resulting element depends on the element chosen, the amount of Mystic Energy avable, as well as the quality of Mystic Energy used. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 2,500 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''In other words, Mystic Energy is the exact opposite of Shadow Energy in terms of purpose.'' Closing up the screens he had brought up, Valyr inwardly nodded in understanding after he was finished reading through the skills'' descriptions. ''If Shadow Energy was a type of energy whose origin is the concept of destruction, then Mystic Energy''s origin would be that of creation.''


    "Then again, the first skill that allows me to use Mystic Energy actively already makes that concept obvious," muttered the young man to himself, walking through the corridors of the auction house as he made his way to the exit.


    "However, I wonder if this energy would truly allow me to make the impossible possible at some point," asked Valyr to himself not long after, thinking about how amazing it would be to create items out of thin air.


    At some point, he also thought about the possibility of using the energy to resurrect the dead back to life, though he soon discarded the thought, thinking that it had nothing to do with the concept of creation anymore.


    ''In any case, I guess I''ll only be able to head to the Mystic ne and increase my Mystic Energy once I talk with Mystia more about it.'' cing his thoughts regarding Mystic Energy to the back of his mind for the meantime, Valyr eventually arrived at the auction house''s entrance, only to find that Julian was already there waiting for him.

 Chapter 549 Sharing Information

    Chapter 549 Sharing Information


    "So, what did Mystia tell you?" Seeing the young mane closer to him, Julian waved at Valyr, asking the question that instantly came to mind.


    After all, before he and Sirius had a discussion regarding what Valyr might be able to do in the future, he had received a brief message from the young man, telling him pretty much all he needed to know.


    ''I''ll be talking with Mystia for a while. I''ll let you know what we talked about once we meet up.''


    "A lot of things," replied Valyr, bitterly smiling as he noticed the man''s serious expression. "Aside from telling me more about the items I''ve received from Sirius, she also told me about what I might possibly do in the future."


    "My hunch was correct, then," said Julian after listening to the young man, causing thetter''s eyes to briefly widen in surprise.


    Though, just as Valyr was about to ask the man on what he meant by that, one of the attendants of the auction house had arrived in front of them, carrying a sk of viscous fluid and an archaic-looking book on top of a tray.


    "Sir Julian Pyrrhia and Sir Ylvar, right?" asked the attendant, leaving the two no choice but to nod in response.


    "Sir Sirius has ordered me to give you the items you''ve won from the auction, lest you forget." Nodding back, the attendant moved the tray closer towards the two, prompting Valyr to thank the attendant as he stashed both the sk and the book inside his spatial bracelet for the meantime.


    Seeing that their task was over, the attendant gave both Valyr and Julian a respectful half-bow before turning around, eventually leaving the two to their own devices once more.


    "¡­Wanna head back to the cksmith Guild to talk more about it?" Feeling that the atmosphere between the two had be slightly awkward due to the attendant''s sudden appearance, Julian took a quick look outside before giving the young man a suggestion.


    "It''s not like I have any other choice." Of course, with how he had a feeling that Julian had a lot of things to say to him, as well as the fact that he would have to ask the man for more information regarding information brokers, it went without saying that the young man agreed, briefly shrugging his shoulders in nonchnce.


    ¡­


    "Alright. Now that we''re back here, we can talk a bit more freely about what information we''ve obtained from our respective conversations." By the time they arrived at the cksmith Guild, the two of them swiftly headed to Julian''s personal workshop, ignoring the curious looks everyone else gave them along the way.


    Then, once there, Julian made a solid barrier out of mana surrounding them, only stopping his infusion of more mana into it once he felt that the barrier would stop any sound they made from getting outside.


    "So, what did Mystia tell you exactly?" Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, Julian looked at the young man before him.


    "Which part? The items or the part about the future?" Letting out a sigh of his own in response, Valyr grabbed a box to sit on before responding. "Speaking of which, did you and Sirius talk about something while I was talking with Mystia?"


    "We did." Julian nodded. "Coincidentally, we talked about how your actions would have an effect on the future¡­ though, Sirius painted it in a bad light for some reason."


    "Really?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Well, Mystia talked about how my strength would grow beyond the level of a Herald, allowing my actions to not only change the course of humanity, but the entire world as well."


    "And that was it."


    "Huh. That''s exactly what Sirius told me," replied Julian, briefly scratching his head. "However, he always looked at it from a pessimistic perspective, saying about how you would cause humanity''s downfall in the future."


    "Then again, I''m pretty sure his perspective towards the prediction was skewed by the fact we interacted with a rude member from the Zeihardt n back then." At these words, the man faintly shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I don''t me him for thinking that way."


    "So, if I''m getting this correctly, we basically obtained the same information from different people." Pondering over it for a bit, Valyr eventually opened his mouth, omitting the fact that he and Mystia talked about how he was a Harbinger.


    "More or less." In response, Julian nodded in agreement, not finding anything amiss with the young man''s words. "Ah, right. What kind of items did she give you?"


    "Well, the first one is a stronger version of the Nascent Rebirth Pill sold in the auction." As he said these words, Valyr looked at Julian''s reaction. Unsurprisingly, the man only nodded once he heard it, prompting the young man to move onto the vial.


    "As for the vial, ording to her, itplements the effects of the pill I got," said the young man soon after. "However, it was more like the vial enhanced the pill''s effects even further."


    "Did you consume the items already?" asked Julian as he examined the young man''s aura. Though he had already sensed that the aura Valyr was passively releasing was considerably stronger than before the two separated ways, he still wanted to confirm it with his two eyes.


    "Yeah." Nodding in response, Valyr went ahead and red out his aura in its entirety, causing the man''s eyes to slightly widen in surprise as he did not expect the increase to be that massive.


    Then again, once the young man exined how much stats he had gained from the two items, everything eventually made sense to him.


    "In total, I gained 100 points each in every stat," said Valyr, leaving Julian at a slight loss for words.


    Even though a hundred points might not mean a lot to someone like him, for Valyr, whose stats were already high for his rank, increasing it by a further hundred points was akin to adding wings to a tiger.


    ''I wonder how he''d react if he found out I could also control Mystic Energy now,'' briefly thought Valyr to himself as he suppressed his aura once more, taking a bit of delight in Julian''s reaction.


    "Anyways, would it finally be alright to tell me more about the people you know who could get me more information about the Zeihardt n?" Thinking that he had given Julian enough time to process what he had told him, the young man went ahead and changed the topic of the conversation to what he wanted to talk about all this time.


    "Ah, right." Fortunately, Julian quickly snapped back to reality, nodding as he thought about the question for a bit in silence.


    Then, feeling as if he had gathered all of the information he needed to tell Valyr, only then did the man begin his exnation.


    "So¡­"

 Chapter 550 Gaining Information

    ?


    "Before I begin, I should preface this by saying that it''s mostly an open secret to those that have high authority in any kingdom or empire. Anyways, there are actually only a few information brokers that exist throughout the continent." Julian decided to begin his exnation with this statement, prompting Valyr to nod in response as he let the man continue.


    "These information brokers are simr to how ss guilds work, having a main branch located in a certain ce, while their influence spreads throughout the entire continent by putting up other branches," said the man.


    "Of course, that''s only if we''re talking about therge-scale organizations that specialize in obtaining information. If we include the medium-scale and small-scale organizations, then there are a lot more."


    "However, rather than invest your money into a small or medium-scale organization, I''d suggest you choose one of therge-scale organizations instead." At these words, Julian looked at Valyr, instantly noticing the curiosity written all over thetter''s expression.


    With that, he answered the obvious question in the young man''s head before thetter could even voice it out. "For one, though small-scale and medium-scale organizations could generally be trusted, the methods in which they obtain their information tends to enter gray territory."


    "In fact, there was one incident in the past where a medium-scale organization was wiped off from the face of Veldanyr after it was found out that the organization was just a facade for arge criminal syndicate," Julian told Valyr, making thetter slightly shudder, imagining the destruction it would have caused.


    "Of course, I''m not saying that all small and medium-scale organizations are like that, though. I''m just saying that it''s a more frequent urrence in those organizations."


    "Does that mean you''ll only be rmending merge-scale organizations, then?" Pondering over Julian''s words for a bit, Valyr eventually asked him a question that seemed to follow the man''s train of thought.


    "In a way, kind of." Julian faintly nodded.


    "After all, if you think about it,rge-scale organizations could only reach such a size due to their work ethic and the reputation they have umted over hundreds, if not thousand of years."


    "If anything, you''re guaranteed to get more than your money''s worth when employing the help of arge-scale organization, especially when ites to information gathering."


    "But of course, I''m also going to rmend you some medium-scale and small-scale organizations that I myself obtain information from," he added.


    "If there''s one thing small and medium-scale organizations are better atpared torge-scale organizations, it''s the fact that they could obtain local information at greater speeds and greater detail."


    "Though, if what you want information on is an event that everyone in the continent wants to know, your best bet would be arge-scale organization." Julian let out a faint chuckle, feeling that the gears in Valyr''s mind were madly turning at this moment.


    "How about individual people? Do you know any individual information brokers as well?" Taking a bit of time to wrap his head around the way Julian used information brokers to his advantage, Valyr eventually asked another question.


    "A few." Julian nodded. "However, I only contact them when I need incredibly specific information on a certain event or a certain person."


    "A great example of something like that would be the man that won the Nascent Rebirth Pill from earlier." Hearing these words from Julian, Valyr perked up his ears in curiosity. After all, he had wondered earlier if the man would be able to return to their n safely.


    "Utilizing these individual information brokers, a lot of people, including myself, were able to obtain a great amount of information about him within minutes," said the man, sighing not long after.


    "In fact, I''ve just received a report earlier that the man had been ganged up on by multiple masked individuals about a hundred meters away from his estate. Of course, any traces of the Nascent Rebirth Pill after that were nowhere to be found."


    "Is that so¡­" Though he felt a bit of pity for the man, Valyr swiftly discarded all his thoughts regarding the incident. After all, the two of them were just strangers in passing. "Anyways, which information brokers would you rmend to me?"


    "For organizations, I''ll rmend you a few," replied Julian. "As for individuals¡­ hmm¡­ I guess only one of them would really be of use to you at the moment."


    "I am all ears." Thanking the man before him for sharing information on what would normally be something he had to obtain on his own, Valyr made sure tomit every word Julian would say to memory.


    "The first organization I''d rmend you to check out is the Red Tide," Julian told Valyr.


    "They''re arge-scale organization situated in the Meltierre Empire, with their branch being around the kingdom''s outskirts. Though they''re great at information gathering, they''re also known to have the best assassins and mercenaries in the continent if you''re in need of those."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Valyr nodded, allowing Julian to move onto the second one.


    "The next organization I''ll be rmending is the Nine Stars Pavilion," continued Julian.


    "It was originally a small group of nine talented information brokers, with each achieving feats many couldn''t believe. However, they were able to expand their influence to cover the entire continent within a couple hundred of years, bing the go-torge-scale organization for many people when ites to general information."


    "If I remember correctly, you could also request them to obtain information on a specific item or event and they''ll give it to you within a few days." At these words, Valyr nodded once more, thinking to himself that he might use the Nine Stars Pavilion more than the Red Tide.


    "As for thest organization, that would be none other than the Algerie Kingdom''s very own Alzahar Information Alliance." As Julian said these words, Valyr''s eyes faintly widened in surprise.


    "Unlike the two previous organizations, the Alzahar Information Alliance is only a medium-scale organization. However, it''s pretty close to bing arge-scale organization thanks to a recent partnership, so you could expect the same quality of information from them."


    "Then, for the person I''d rmend you to look for¡­" By the time Julian had approached this topic, he could not help but let out a slight chuckle, prompting Valyr to look at him with faint confusion.


    Though, once the man had continued his exnation, Valyr quickly understood why.


    "Have you heard of the name Braum dios before?"

 Chapter 551 Unlikely Encounter

    ?


    "Seriously?" Hearing Julian mention a name that he was familiar with, Valyr let out a slightly exasperated sigh. Pondering over the man''s suggestion for a bit, it did not take long for him to eventually conclude that Julian rmending Braum made quite a lot of sense.


    After all, Braum was the leader of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team. That alone was more than enough proof that he and the members of his group were great at information gathering, if the word ''Reconnaissance'' wasn''t already enough of a clue.


    "So¡­ do you know of him¡­ or not?" Slightly surprised that the young man before him let out a sigh all of a sudden, Julian gave the young man a bit of time to think about it. Feeling like he had given him enough, it was only then did he ask once more.


    "I know of him¡­ I know of him very well." Valyr wryly smiled as he looked at Julian. "How could I not if his group was the sole reason I was able to arrive at Algerie Kingdom in the first ce?"


    "Really?" Listening to Valyr''s words, Julian''s eyes widened in slight surprise. After that, he let out a brief chuckle.


    "I guess I don''t have to exin a lot regarding him, then," said the man, to which Valyr nodded in agreement.


    "Then again, how much do you know about him?" Just as Julian was about to end the topic then and there, the man decided to make sure, asking Valyr a question.


    "He''s the leader of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team," replied Valyr. "He''s also at the peak of Rank 4, specifically an Epic due to himprehending an Intent."


    "Huh. There really isn''t much for me to exin." Julian let out a bit ofughter as some of the information Valyr had given him was something even he had not gotten his hands on. "Though, did you know that he became the leader of the guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team solely due to his information gathering abilities alone?"


    "Not at all." Valyr shook his head, recalling the man''s confrontation against the mayor of Clossbay City back then. To him, he wouldn''t have been surprised if he had gotten that position thanks to his strength.


    "How about those on the 1st and 2nd Reconnaissance Team?" Thinking about how Braum was the leader of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team, Valyr asked Julian a question that seemed to be in topic. "Aren''t they great at information gathering as well?"


    "They are." Julian nodded in agreement. "However, unlike Braum, the services of the 1st and 2nd Reconnaissance Teams aren''t really avable to us, even to people with high authority like me."


    "For theck of a better term, those two reconnaissance teams have dedicated their entire lives to aiding the Imperial Production Guild," he continued. "Even if the Imperial Production Guild is destroyed tomorrow, they''ll make sure that they''re going to die along with it."


    "Yikes," Valyr could not help but blurt out. In response, Julian shed a wry smile at the young man.


    "In any case, if you don''t have Braum on your friend list, I could help you contact him." Deciding to shift the topic somewhere else, Julian made a suggestion all of a sudden. "After that, I''ll tell you the specific locations of the three organizations I mentioned, as well as their ways on contacting them."


    "I have him on my friend list," said Valyr as he responded to Julian''s first statement. "I''ll just ask him about it once I return home."


    "Alright then." Nodding, Julian went ahead and shared with Valyr all the information thetter needed to know about the three organizations, may it be their services, their prices, or the limits they have on what information they could retrieve.


    ¡­


    "I''ll probablye back here tomorrow." Once Julian had made sure that the young man hadmitted everything he needed to know to memory, it was only then did he allow the young man to leave, bidding each other farewell.


    "To forge some equipment in preparation for the inheritance, right?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Julian nodded in understanding. "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure to keep the best private workshop avable for you."


    "If you could also buy the Wyvern Core for me, I''d highly appreciate it." Thanking Julian for his goodwill, a thought surfaced in his mind all of a sudden, prompting him to talk about it.


    "Sure, I don''t mind." Julianughed as he nodded. "I''ll have to take around 20 tinum cards from you to make sure you get it tomorrow, though."


    "Speaking of which, do you want me to give you the remaining profit from the spear right now? Or do you want me to keep it safe for the meantime?" Mentioning money in his question, Julian decided to ask the young man another question while thetter had yet to leave.


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t really have much need for the remaining profit for the meantime." Scratching the back of his head as he pondered, Valyr responded to the question. "After all, three tinum cards is plenty enough money for me to feed myself till death."


    "That''s only applicable if you forgo delicacies," said the man,ughing. "Alright, go leave. I''ll see you tomorrow. I still have to prepare my final surprise for you since you won that leader title."


    "You''ve got to be kidding me¡­" Muttering these words to himself, Valyr shook his head while chuckling, finally leaving the cksmith Guild to make his way back to the inn.


    "I wonder if Wells decided to look for a couple possible subsses to take while I was away." Roaming through the streets of Algerie Kingdom at a rxed pace, Valyr thought to himself that it had been a while since he had taken his time while getting back to the inn.


    Though, just as he thought that his day would be uneventful till sunset¡­


    "Uh¡­ excuse me, sir¡­"


    "Do you perhaps have any food to spare?"

 Chapter 552 The Young Beggar

    ?


    For a while, Valyr was left at a loss for words at the sudden question. After all, he was more or less daydreaming while he was making his way back to the inn.


    However, the sudden question had brought him back to reality, prompting him to take a look at his current surroundings to get a better idea of what was going on.


    Currently, a kid in his early teens stood before him, looking at him with a hopeful expression. Thinking about the words spoken to him earlier, it did not take long for Valyr to figure out that the kid was begging him for food.


    Realizing this, Valyr briefly had an urge to ignore the kid and continue making his way back to the inn. After all, he would only incur the disappointment of a few people in their surroundings, something they would undoubtedly forget the following day.


    Though, as he looked at his surroundings more, he noticed that a great portion of the people in the area were looking at him and the young man. At first, he wondered why everyone was looking at them, only to then notice that they weren''t exactly looking at him.


    They were looking at the kid.


    ''Judging from their faintly disgusted expressions, the kid must have asked others for food as well.'' Continuing to look at the people in the area in silence, the gears in Valyr''s mind turned. ''And seeing how I''m currently wearing the full Nascent Wyvern Armor, the kid decided to leave me forst, thinking that I''m some sort of young master who''d immediately say no to this kind of request.''


    "Hmm." Feeling like he had gotten a good grasp of the current situation, Valyr let out a faint sound, which caused the kid before him to flinch.


    However, rather than expect to be ignored or declined by the young man before him, the kid instead received something else.


    "I don''t really have any food with me at the moment, but if you want, we could grab some food from a nearby restaurant." Saying these words to the kid, Valyr was not surprised that most of the people staying to look at what would happen had shocked reactions on their faces.


    Of course, he also wasn''t surprised to see some people briefly having looks of pity on their faces, knowing what was going on in their minds.


    ''Well, whether this may be a scam or not, it still doesn''t feel right to ignore a kid like him¡­'' Ignoring what other people in the vicinity were thinking, the young man eventually continued walking, beckoning the kid to follow him.


    ''Especially with how he reminds me of a certain person.''


    ¡­


    "Are you sure it''s fine for me to eat all of this?" Staring at the multiple tters of food spread out around him, the kid could not stop himself from drooling. However, knowing where all this food came from, he restrained himself, looking at the young man on the opposite side.


    "Feel free to dig in." Taking delight at the kid''s reaction, Valyr gestured for him to eat to his heart''s content.


    With that, it was only then did the kid finally not holding back, proceeding to go through the various foods avable in front of him in order.


    ''I wonder how long it''s been since he hasn''t eaten.'' Watching the kid eat with a satisfied smile on his face, Valyr recounted the things the two of them had done before arriving at the restaurant.


    Considering that he was basically bringing a beggar along to eat with him, the young man decided to bring the kid to a bathhouse first, tipping the attendants there extra to make sure that the kid was squeaky clean.


    Though, after waiting for a while for the kid to be fully cleaned, the young man eventually changed his mind and decided to get clean himself as well. It was there that he had discovered something gruesome about the kid.


    While the kid looked to be 12 to 13 years of age, as the two of them rxed themselves in one of the bathhouse''s many pools, Valyr saw the numerous scars scattered all over the kid''s body, some of which ovepped over others.


    From what he could see, the only parts of the kid''s body that weren''t wounded were his head, his forearms, his hands, and his feet. Other than that, his body was riddled with scars that even he did not wish for a full-grown man to have.


    After getting out of the bathhouse, the two of them then went to a clothing store, allowing the kid to select the clothing he wanted to wear.


    Unsurprisingly, the kid was hesitant at first, feeling like he would have to do something in exchange for it. However, Valyr reassured the kid multiple times that he wouldn''t have to do anything for it, which eventually gave the kid courage to buy a few articles of simple clothing.


    It was only after going through those ces did he and the kid arrive at a restaurant, choosing one that was slightly morevish than normal.


    "So, mind telling me more about who you are and how you got here?" Deciding to finally pick up a few pieces of food for himself, Valyr set up a thin barrier of mana around them as he asked the kid a question.


    "Of course, if you''re ufortable talking about it, pretend as if I''ve never asked." Seeing as the kid stopped eating just as he had finished asking his question, the young man decided to add on a few words at the end.


    "It''s not ufortable¡­" The kid shook his head in response, neatly cing his utensils down. "But I have a question."


    "Go ahead." Valyr nodded in response.


    "Why¡­ are you so nice to¡­ a beggar like me?" the kid asked, prompting Valyr to faintly smile.


    "Do I really need to have a reason to help other people out?" asked Valyr back, letting out a chuckle soon after. "Well, if you really want me to give you a reason¡­ it''s the fact that someone as young as you is out begging in the streets."


    "That¡­" At those words, the kid wryly smiled as he went silent for a bit. Seeing this, Valyr wondered if he should postpone the conversation to another time.


    However, once the kid opened his mouth, that thought swiftly dissipated into thin air.


    "My name¡­" the kid said all of a sudden. "¡­is Edward Jerome¡­ of the Nichs n."


    ''Ah,'' Valyr thought to himself, his mind seemingly on the verge of copse after hearing the young man''s name.


    After all, he only knew one being in his past life to have such a name.


    ''I''m talking to the future Grand Marshal of the Zeihardt Sovereignty.''

 Chapter 553 The Future Hotshot

    <h4>Chapter 553 The Future Hotshot</h4>


    "Sir?" Seeing that the young man in front of him had not responded to anything after he had mentioned his name, the kid stopped what he was about to do for the meantime, deciding to check on the young man out of slight worry and concern.


    After all, the young man before him had shown him more grace than any of the other people that had helped him so far.


    Unfortunately, with his mind feeling as if it were on the verge of copse, Valyr''s attention was fully focused on the treasure trove of knowledge within his mind. It went without saying that the young man was in the process of rummaging every single memory he had regarding the Grand Marshal of the Zeihardt Sovereignty at that very moment.


    To many yers during the first version, as well as to a great portion of Veldanyr''s human race, the Grand Marshal was basically the human race''s greatest mind, as well as its greatest fist.


    Being at the peak of Rank 6, he became the leader of almost every skirmish the human race had fought during the War of the Three Sovereignties, only intervening whenever the battle had turned into one that involved Rank 6 beings.


    Then again, behind the grandeur of the strongest and smartest being to ever lead the human race during the war, the Grand Marshal had a past that many would find unsavory.


    Bringing up everything he knew about the Grand Marshal''s past in mind, Valyr decided to find out for himself if the young kid before him was truly the person he knew from his past life.


    "Apologies. I was reminded about something." Speaking all of a sudden, the young man apologetically smiled to the kid, who was surprised by his abrupt change in demeanor. "Anyways, you mentioned that you were from the Nichs n?"


    "Yes¡­ that would be correct¡­" Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, the kid returned to his seat as he nodded in response. "However, I''m not truly a part of the Nichs n."


    "What do you mean by that?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity while asking the question, Valyr focused on a certain thought he had brought up earlier, wondering if the kid before him would respond with something simr.


    "I''m¡­ uh¡­" Waiting for the kid to answer, the young man watched as the boy squirmed a bit, twiddling his thumbs as he seemed to hesitate. Thankfully, after hesitating for a couple of minutes, the kid finally made up his mind.


    "I''m¡­ a ve of the Nichs n." With an incredibly glum expression, the kid said these words as he closed his eyes. In his mind, he thought that the opinion of the young man before him would change from these words.


    In his mind, he expected the young man to now consider him as the lowest of the low.


    Yet, unexpectedly for him, nothing of the sort happened.


    "So¡­ does that mean you don''t have a surname?" With Valyr being more used to treating everyone he met as an equal, the thought of the kid before him being a ve only briefly shed in mind. If anything, all he thought about it was the fact that the kid''s words lined up with the thought he brought up.


    "Eh?" Of course, Valyr''s obliviousness towards the kid''s status surprised thetter. "You''re not angry?"


    "Why would I get angry?" Valyr looked at the kid with a slightly raised eyebrow. "You haven''t really done anything wrong, though?"


    "Eh?" At this point, the kid did not know how to react. "But¡­ I was told¡­"


    "I have no clue as to what your master might have told you." Hearing the kid''s words, the young man let out a sigh. "But I really have no reason to get mad at you¡­ unless if you don''t finish the food I ordered for you."


    "Ah¡­" Though he was still confused as he was expecting to be brought back to the Nichs n one way or another, the kid still followed the young man''s order, albeit reluctantly.


    "Did your master tell you that any person you might across would bring you back to the n no matter what or something?" Finding the kid''s reaction somewhat odd, Valyr decided to inquire about it after some time.


    "Yes¡­" Taking a few small bites of the food, the kid slightly shuddered at the question before eventually nodding. "Master said that as long as anyone found out I was a ve, I''d be returned to the Nichs n¡­"


    "Are you going to bring me back, sir?" As the kid asked this question, tears began to well up around his eyes. From the looks of it, he was already thinking about the worst-case scenario.


    "Why would I?" However, Valyr had no ns of doing such thing, especially now that he had be somewhat certain that he was talking to a future hotshot. "I do not owe the Nichs n a favor, nor do I know anyone from the Nichs n at all."


    "Moving the topic aside for now, let''s return to the question I asked you earlier," continued the young man. "Do you have a surname?"


    "Master said that as long as I was under the Nichs n, I wasn''t allowed to use my surname¡­" muttered the kid, giving Valyr the answer he wanted in a roundabout way.


    "In other words, you do have a surname." Feeling like the kid in front of him would mention his master at every answer, Valyr decided to move onto the next question. "Between Edward and Jerome, what would you like me to call you?"


    "Master usually calls me Jerome¡­" Looking down at the floor, the kid twiddled his thumbs. "But¡­ it would be¡­ it would be nice if I was called Edward¡­"


    "Edward, huh." At those words, Valyr gave the kid a faint grin. "Alright, I''ll call you Edward, then."


    "How¡­ how about you, sir?" Taking delight at being called by his first name, Edward gained the courage to ask back. "What should I call you¡­?"


    "You can call me Valyr," the young man replied, thinking that it would be better for him to use his true identity.


    "Valyr¡­" muttered Edward to himself a couple of times, as ifmitting the name to memory. Though, after a while, a thought popped up in the kid''s mind.


    "Valyr¡­ are you perhaps the one Master usually mentioned?" asked Edward not long after. "Valyr¡­ Valyr Zeihardt¡­ was it?"


    "Perhaps." Not wanting to give the kid a definite answer, Valyr let out a chuckle, infusing more mana into the barrier around them for safe measure. "Anyways, Edward. If you don''t mind me asking, could you perhaps tell me how you ended up at the streets of Algerie?"


    "Well¡­" Though he was still wary earlier, Edward''s anxiousness in being brought back to the Nichs n slightly disappeared when he found out that the young man who aided him was possibly a member of the Zeihardt n.


    After all, as far as he knew, the Zeihardt n was a stronger n that the Nichs n.


    With that in mind, he began to narrate to Valyr his life within the Nichs n, making sure not to miss even a single detail. While the way the kid exined it was somewhat slow, the young man allowed the kid to take his time, even going so far as to order a few more dishes while he was in the middle of his narration.


    In fact, by the time Edward was done with his narration, there was only an hour or so before sunset. Whether it was because the young man felt like they had already stayed at the restaurant for too long, or the fact that he and Edward had already more than eaten their fill, the two of them left the restaurant after Valyr paid their bill.


    "Well, that was a nice meal, don''t you think?" Walking through the streets of Algerie beside Edward for a while to digest what they had eaten, Valyr eventually asked this question to the kid.


    "It was¡­" Though he nodded in agreement to the question, a glum expression appeared on Edward''s face in response. "Are we¡­ are we parting ways here?"


    "Normally, that would be the case." Hearing these words from Valyr, Edward instantly thought that he would have to return to begging on the streets to live, prompting him to wonder whether what had happened earlier was a dream.


    However¡­


    "But considering your current situation, I can''t really just leave you alone now, could I?" As Valyr said these words with a chuckle, tears started to well up around Edward''s eyes once more. Then, before the young man couldment on the kid''s tears, thetter gave the former a tight hug.


    "¡­haah." Slightly surprised by the kid''s actions, Valyr eventually had an idea of what was going on, smiling as he faintly caressed the kid''s head. Allowing the kid to hug him for as long as he wanted, Edward eventually let go after a few minutes, dried up tears staining his face.


    "Let''s head back, shall we?" Asking this question to the young kid, Valyr could only smile wider as Edward tightly gripped onto his hand in response. With that, the two of them eventually made their way back to the inn, just as the sun was about to set.

 Chapter 554 Asking For Help

    ?


    "I guess you treated yourself to quite a nice meal, huh? Considering you decided to grab all of my money?" Hearing the door leading to their room being opened, Wells began to voice out hisints as he made his way to the main area.


    Though, just as he was about to continue, his next words got stuck in his throat, ncing at the kid that apanied Valyr with widened eyes.


    "Valyr¡­" Swiftly hiding the surprise that was on his face earlier, the young man looked at his friend with a calm expression. "Who did you bring along?"


    "It''s a long story." Bitterly smiling as he had expected such a reaction, Valyr told Edward, who was hiding behind him, to make himselffortable for the meantime.


    Thankfully, with how he had let the kid''s guard down around him, Edward eventually followed, giving Wells a bow as he made his way towards the living area sofa.


    "Mind if youe with me for a bit?" Smiling as he looked at Edward for a bit, Valyr eventually focused his attention on his good friend. After that, he made his way to his part of the room, leaving no choice for Wells but to follow.


    "So¡­ can you finally tell me more about the kid?" Once he had arrived at Valyr''s part of the room, Wells was faintly surprised after the young man had cast a barrier of mana around them all of a sudden. Though, after seeing the serious expression on his friend''s face, the man immediately knew what to do.


    "I''ll definitely tell you what you need to know." Valyr nodded. "But first¡­"


    At those words, the young man rummaged through his pockets, revealing to Wells his money pouch. After that, he had grabbed a tinum card from his pouch and gave it to the man before him.


    "Consider this my apology for grabbing your money while you were asleep," said Valyr to a Wells that had his widened eyes fixated on the tinum card.


    In Wells'' mind, he thought that he would obtain the exact amount of money Valyr had borrowed from him after thetter had revealed his money pouch. To him, that was more than enough since he was more interested in the kid his friend had brought along.


    However, when his good friend had given him a tinum card, it was no surprise that he was left at a loss for words. After all, what Valyr borrowed from him was a dozen gold coins at most.


    Inparison, a tinum card was equal to almost a thousand times that!


    Asking Valyr as to how he gotten such an obscene amount of money all of a sudden, the young man''s curiosity was piqued when Valyr told him that he finally gotten some of his equipment sold.


    Then again, when thetter mentioned that he had earned over 30 tinum cards'' worth of profit from his equipment, Wells was left at a loss for words once more.


    ''And here I thought the money we earned from the smithy back in Clossbay was a lot already¡­'' With this thought in mind, the young man let out a sigh, deciding not to think about it anymore.


    With that, he returned the topic of their conversation to the kid, prompting Valyr to go a bit into detail about Edward''s backstory.


    At first, Wells raised his eyebrow in interest after hearing that Edward was actually a ve of a noble n. After all, as part of a noble family himself, he knew that ns and families had a fleet of servants they could order at every beck and call.


    With that, it came as a slight surprise for him to find out that the kid was basically one rank below that.


    Though, as Valyr exined more and more about how the kid ended up following him, Wells gradually ended up feeling more and more sorry for the kid. By the end of it, he did not have any problems with having the kid stay with them for the meantime, telling Valyr that he had made the right choice.


    With their conversation over, Valyr dispelled the barrier surrounding the two of them as he thought about checking up on Edward. After all, with how many things the young man had exposed him throughout the day so far, it wouldn''t be surprising for the kid to be sitting with back straight at the sofa, considering he was in a foreign ce.


    Fortunately, whether it was from exhaustion or the feeling of having gotten used to the ce, the young man was instead greeted by the kid soundly sleeping on the sofa while he was curled up.


    For a while, he thought about having the kid sleep on his bed for the day and then buy him a bed of his own tomorrow. In the end, he decided to leave him be for now, thinking that this might be the first time for Edward to get some good rest.


    With that, Valyr and Wells left Edward be, deciding to grab a meal from a nearby restaurant as they talked about a couple things. Unsurprisingly, the topic of their conversation was Wells'' subss, with the man asking Valyr if the subss thetter had rmended to him would be a good fit.


    "I''ll have to check again tomorrow," replied Valyr with an apologetic smile, exining to his friend what he had been doing for most of the day. Because of that, Wells got mad at him, only for that anger to all disappear once Valyr bought him more food.


    "For now, you should probably head to the Spearman Guild and get registered." Seeing that his friend had somewhat forgiven him, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he said something that piqued Wells'' interest. "You haven''t registered with them yet, right?"


    "Nope." Taking a bite of the food Valyr bought him, Wells shook his head. "With how I''ve been using most of my time on [Technique Introspection], how could I have the time?"


    "Well, set some time tomorrow to head to the Spearman Guild," said Valyr in response, to which his friend nodded. "I know a couple people there who''ll help you with the process."


    At those words, Valyr sent a message to Noel through the chat function, informing thetter of Wells. Naturally, to entice the old man''s interest, he added on the fact that Wells was the proud owner of a Legendary spearman ss.


    Seeing that the old man had taken the bait after a while, a smile unknowingly crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he continued his conversation with Wells, moving onto other topics to pass the time. At some point, they even talked about their ns regarding the orc outbreak.


    By the time the two of them were done, the moon had already be part of the night sky. Returning to the inn, the two of them headed to their respective parts of the room after making sure that Edward was in afortable position.


    Though, before the two of them truly separated ways¡­


    Ding!


    [You have added Wells Anadhar (Lvl. 25) as a friend.]


    "I''m surprised we haven''t done this ever since we went on that journey back then," said Wells, with Valyr nodding in agreement.


    With nothing else left to do, the two of them finally headed to their beds, with Valyr lying down on his bed as he thought about the story Edward had told him.


    "To think that a kid would go through something like that¡­" Muttering these words to himself, the young man let out a long sigh. Then, after a bit of silence, a thought popped into his mind, sending a message to a certain someone through the chat function.


    "Hey, Julian."


    "Mind if I disturb you for a bit?"

 Chapter 555 A Bit Of Getting Used To

    ?


    ''Well, that conversation took longer than I thought.'' Getting out of bed, Valyr looked out of the window for a bit as he gave his mind time to be fully alert. While doing so, he thought a bit about what he had done before falling asleep.


    ''Hopefully, Julian has some good news to share.'' Letting out a faint sigh as it was the start of another day, Valyr soon made his way to the main living area to start his usual morning routine.


    Though, just as he was about to take a shower, the young man was greeted by the sight of Edward tidying up the ce.


    "Ah¡­ good morning¡­" Hearing footstepse from another part of the room, the kid looked in the sound''s direction to see who it was. After seeing that it was Valyr, a hint of fear briefly appeared on his face as he soon forced a slight smile.


    "Good morning." Nodding back in response, the young man decided not to think much about it for the meantime, leaving the kid be as he went through every step of his routine.


    ¡­


    "Ahh¡­ I feel refreshed." Putting on a fresh set of clothes after patting himself dry, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief. Though he had been doing this almost every day, the number of times he could savor the peace that came along with it was something he could still count on his two hands.


    "I wonder what Edward''s doing?" cing his bath towel in his room to dry, the young man slowly made his way back to the main living area to get some rest. While doing so, he thought about the kid he had saved yesterday, who had made himself busy while he was going through his routine.


    Expecting the kid to still be busying himself by doing a few mundane tasks, it went without saying that Valyr was left at a loss for words when he saw Edward kneel on the floor with his head down.


    "¡­" Scratching the back of his head, the young man let out a low sigh once he gained an idea as to what was going on. "Get up."


    "My apologies¡­ I didn''t¡­" With how he had lived so far still being ingrained deep within him, Edward took the young man''s words as a shock, standing up as he exined himself. "I unknowingly fell asleep¡­ and¡­"


    "You don''t have to exin yourself." Though, once he heard these wordse out of the young man''s mouth, the kid thought that everything was over for him, falling silent as he listened.


    "In fact, I was expecting you to rest up for a bit more." However, rather than be kicked out of the room just like he had thought, the young man before him said something that was entirely foreign to him. Well, to be more specific, something he hadn''t heard from a noble before.


    "I¡­ felt like I had to make myself useful¡­" Shifting his perspective of the young man for a bit, it took a while for the kid to answer back. "After all¡­ you''ve already helped me out a lot¡­"


    "Don''t be too hard on yourself," replied Valyr, ruffling the kid''s hair with a soft smile. "Have you taken a shower yet?"


    "I¡­" At first, Edward was going to say that he wasn''t allowed to take a shower. Though, after reminding himself that he wasn''t with his master anymore, he changed his response. "I¡­ haven''t¡­"


    "Go take a shower, then." Valyr nodded. "I''ll get us some food for breakfast."


    "But¡­" Hearing the young man''s words, a shocked expression shed on Edward''s face. After all, as far as he knew, all nobles had their servants prepare their food for them.


    "Okay¡­" Thankfully, as if everything had finally clicked in his mind, Edward understood that he wasn''t dealing any normal noble. In fact, to make it easier for himself to understand, he thought of Valyr as a kind yet weird noble.


    With that in mind, it was only then did Edward finally head to the bathroom, to which Valyr let out a low sigh as he watched the former''s silhouette disappear. "He''s probably going to take a long time to get used to this."


    "Well, he did live most of his life so far as a noble n''s ve, after all. Cut the kid some ck." Surprisingly, a voice responded to his words, prompting him to find out that Wells had woken up.


    "Wells¡­" Staring at his friend for a bit, Valyr eventually let out a soft sigh. "I guess I have been forcing him to change too quickly."


    "Just let nature take its course," said Wells in response. "In due time, it''ll be as if the young man had never been a ve to begin with."


    "I sure hope so." At those words, the young man could only nod.


    "You nning to head out somewhere?" asked his friend not long after, staring at Valyr''s get-up.


    "I''m gonna head to the cksmith Guild to forge some stuff." Valyr nodded, heading to his room as he almost forgot to wear his Nascent Wyvern Armor. "Though, I was nning to get some breakfast first for all three of us."


    "I could take care of that for you," said Wells, prompting Valyr to look at him with a slightly surprised expression. "What?"


    "You know¡­ you don''t strike me as the guy who could do things on his own," replied Valyr, to which his friend responded by giving him a jab on the shoulder.


    "Fuck off. I could very well do things on my own, thank you very much." Saying these words, Wells looked at his good friend with a frown, only to let out a bit ofughter not long after. "In any case, I''ll grab breakfast for me and Edward. You could head to the guild now if you want¡­ unless you want to join us for breakfast?"


    "I''ll probably be in the guild for a very long time this time around, so I might just grab some food along the way." Apologetically smiling in response, Valyr looked at his friend. "Don''t forget to head to the Spearman Guildter, okay?"


    "I won''t." Wells nodded back. "How about Edward, though? Will he just stay here?"


    "Hmm¡­" Rubbing his chin for a bit, the young man eventually got an idea. "If you could apany him to the Experience Pit, that would be nice."


    "That works." Though he did not know why his friend wanted the kid to go there, Wells would make sure it would happen.


    "I''ll be heading off, then." After talking with Wells for a bit more, only then did the young man finally leave the inn, making his way to the cksmith Guild just as the sun was in the midst of rising. While making his way there, a thought popped up in his mind.


    ''Hmm¡­''


    ''That''s actually not a bad idea.''

 Chapter 556 Utilizing Connections

    ?


    "Here''s that Wyvern Core you asked me to buy." With the conversation that ensued between him and Julian yesterday, by the time Valyr had arrived at the cksmith Guild, he was swiftly escorted to a private workshop by one of the guild''s attendants.


    Once there, he met up with Julian, who gave him a simple-looking box the very instant they met.


    "Oh, right. Give me your identification badge as well." Thanking the man for buying what he needed, Valyr was about to head deeper into the private workshop, only for Julian to request something else from him. Though confused at first, the young man eventually did what he was told, giving his badge to the man.


    "What do you need my identification badge for?" asked Valyr as he took a look at the workshop he was working with. Compared to the previous workshop he had worked at, the equipment currently within the workshop looked to be more up to date.


    "Remember what I told you yesterday? The final surprise thing?" Taking a look to see if there was any other equipment within the workshop that he might have missed, Valyr soon heard this questione out of Julian''s mouth.


    "Yeah. Your badge has something to do with it." As he nodded in response, the young man quickly came up with a couple ideas as to what the man needed his badge for. Fortunately, thetter''s next words were more than enough to confirm his suspicion, causing him to scratch the back of his head.


    "What rank is it this time?" questioned Valyr, feeling like he had now gotten a good grasp of the equipment he would be working with.


    "Not much of an increase unlike before," replied Julian as he slipped the young man''s badge into one of his pockets. "I''ll just be moving you to the Honorary Lesser Elder rank."


    "Any higher than that, and I''ll have to exin to the other directors of the cksmith Guild that my decisions are for the benefit of the guild," added the man, prompting Valyr to let out a bit ofughter.


    "Well then. If that''s the case, let me thank you in advance." cing the box he had gotten from Julian on an anvil, Valyr looked at the man before him as he decided to shift the topic.


    "Moving that aside for the meantime, recall the small conversation I had with youst night?" asked the young man, which caused Julian''s expression to be serious.


    "The one regarding the Nichs n''s young ve, right?" said Julian back, to which Valyr nodded.


    "I''ve already looked into it." As Julian said these words, the young man raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, not expecting the man to move so quickly. "I''ve even had the Nine Stars Pavilion and a couple individual information gatherers look into it."


    "Using your money, of course." Though, just as the young man felt awe at Julian''s efficiency inpleting tasks, his mood instantly soured once he heard the man''s next words.


    ''Then again, it wouldn''t make sense for him to be using the guild''s funds to do it anyway.'' Thankfully, he only took it as a small sacrifice towards somethingrger. After all, the kid would eventually grow up to be the Grand Marshal of the Zeihardt Sovereignty.


    "So, what did you find out?" Feeling slightly apologetic towards the man as Julian told him that he was the one who footed the expenses soon after, the young man decided to push the thought aside for the meantime, focusing his attention towards what was more important.


    "On one hand, the Nichs n doesn''t really care too much about him." Hearing these words from Julian, Valyr could only listen attentively. "After all, he''s just a ve to arge noble n. Higher ranking servants disappear more often than those with his status."


    "However¡­"


    "However¡­ what?" Finding out that there was another side to it, Valyr''s curiosity was piqued.


    "A specific member of the n''s younger generation wants him to return to the n no matter what," said Julian in response, prompting the young man to conclude that this person was undoubtedly Edward''s master.


    "Did they find out the reason why?" asked Valyr in response.


    "There was no reason given." Letting out a sigh, Julian faintly shook his head. "That person was adamant in not giving out the reason."


    ''I have a feeling as to why,'' thought Valyr to himself as he inwardly smirked. With how the young man recalled all of the feats and achievements Edward had done in the past, as well as the fact that the kid had shared his life story to him, it went without saying that he had a solid idea as to why that member of the Nichs n wanted Edward to return.


    "How about information on setting him free?" Pondering over his previous thoughts for a bit longer, the young man eventually moved onto what he considered was the most important portion of their topic.


    "Though that member was adamant that he wouldn''t be sold no matter what, the entire Nichs n was fine with voiding the contract for the young ve¡­" said Julian, which instantly brightened Valyr''s mood.


    "¡­for a price, of course."


    "How much are they asking?" At these words, Valyr already thought about the possible price the n wanted him to fork out. To him, it wouldn''t be surprising for them to request an amount that even ss guilds would even have difficulty gathering.


    Fortunately¡­


    "They said one tinum card was more than enough payment." Hearing Julian say these words, the young man was briefly left speechless, realizing not long after that aside from that one member from the n, only he knew what was special about Edward.


    "Well, to be honest, they thought that paying one tinum card for a kid was too much, even though you insisted that was a fair amount. Because they felt a bit bad about receiving so much for basically nothing, they n on nullifying the contracts of his parents as well," added Julian soon after, which brought a wide smile to Valyr''s face.


    "I''m guessing I''ll have to send a tinum card to the Nichs n, then?" Seeing that the young man seemed to be frozen with glee, Julian decided to ask the question himself, to which Valyr profusely nodded in agreement.


    "I''ll definitely make it up to you in the future," replied Valyr, feeling a hint of guilt at the fact that he was basically turning Julian into a helper of sorts. Thankfully, thetter did not mind it too much, telling the young man that he was doing it for the sake of giving a kid a better future.


    After talking a bit more about a couple of things, Valyr was eventually left on his own within the workshop, prompting him to take in a few deep breaths. Organizing the thoughts in his mind, the young man eventually thought about the other items he would need to upgrade his Nascent Wyvern Armor to the next tier, which was his first agenda for the day.


    "Julian told me before he left that I could just buy items from the guild as long as I send a message to an attendant." Muttering these words to himself, the young man eventually found the item Julian had mentioned that would allow him to call for an attendant.


    Infusing a bit of mana into it, an attendant arrived at the entrance of his workshop a few minutester, asking him what he needed their services for. In response, Valyr listed down a great number of materials that made even the attendant''s eyes widen in surprise.


    Thankfully, the attendant did not ask him what he nned to do with the materials, instead giving the young man a price after a bit of silence.


    After rifying the final price of all the materials he requested for, considering his rank within the guild, Valyr was left on his own once more after the attendant assured him that all of the items he had requested would arrive within an hour or so.


    "I guess I should do the next agenda on my list, seeing that I have all this time to kill." Returning to the center of the workshop, Valyr gazed at the box he had received for a bit before opening up his chat function. Once open, he then selected a certain person he wanted to talk to, sending them a message.


    "Hey, Braum. Are you free at the moment?"


    "Been a long time since we talked." Waiting for a couple minutes, Valyr eventually received a message from the person he contacted, looking at the response with a faint smile. "Anyways, I''m not really doing anything at the moment. What''s up?"


    "I''ve heard from a certain person that you specialize in information gathering." Pondering over how he would phrase his message multiple times to make it not seem suspicious, the young man eventually responded. "Could you retrieve some information for me?"


    "¡­you know, your message sounds like you''re asking for some illegal information." Unfortunately, no matter what he did, his message still looked suspicious¡­


    Which Braum didn''t mind.


    "But that''s just how you type sometimes, so eh." Reading this message from Braum, Valyr could not help but wryly smile. "Do note that I charge a fee for retrieving information. After all, I''m taking a few risks here and there."


    "But of course." Valyr nodded as he sent his response back.


    "So, what kind of information do you need?" Seeing this message pop up on the screen, the young man thought about how he would phrase his response once more. Though, at some point, he gave up on the thought, considering that however he phrased it would be understood by its recipient anyway.


    "I need you to get me information on the entire Zeihardt n."


    "The hierarchy, the members, the news surrounding about them¡­"


    "Everything."

 Chapter 557 Time And Effort

    ?


    "Everything, huh?" For a while, Braum did not give the young man a response back. After all, the man had to think about what Valyr meant by the word'' everything''.


    "It''ll be a while before I could get every piece of important information you might want on the Zeihardt n. Is that fine with you?" Though, eventually, the man had sent a message back to the young man, to which thetter responded that it was expected of him to wait.


    With howrge the Zeihardt n was, from what Julian had mentioned to him, Valyr was not surprised to obtain such an answer from him.


    "Then again, I do have general information on the Zeihardt n on hand." However, just as the young man thought that the two of them would now discuss the pricing of the information, Braum instead sent him quite the surprising message. "If you want, I could give that to you first while you wait for everything else."


    "How much would it cost?" asked Valyr in a message, which Braum responded to near instantly. For some reason, while reading thetter''s message, the young man could hear the man letting out a bit ofughter.


    "Consider it as a favor," replied Braum. "After all, you promised to forge me an armor set, right?"


    ''And here I thought he''d forget.'' Reading through the man''s message, a wry smile adorned Valyr''s face.


    Mulling over it for a bit in silence, he eventually let out a low sigh, thinking that it was not a bad trade-off. After all, even general information on the Zeihardt n would help him out a lot, right?


    "How much would it cost for the information I''m requesting, then?" Drafting up ns in his mind on what kind of armor set he was going to forge, the young man eventually shifted their topic to payment.


    "Taking into consideration the amount of time and effort it''ll take me to gather your information¡­" Seeing these words pop up on the screen before him, Valyr prayed to the heavens that the cost was reasonable.


    Thankfully, it was.


    "Would three tinum cards be fine with you?" Reading this question from Braum as it popped up on his chat screen, the young man let out a long sigh of relief, thankful that he wasn''t forced to forge another set of equipment to sell.


    With that, Valyr responded that the price was fine with him, prompting the two of them to discuss about the incredibly specific information he wanted Braum to obtain about the Zeihardt n.


    "How long would it take you to get all of this information?" After the two of them had made apromise, the young man shifted the topic once more, this time discussing the amount time it would take for Braum toplete it.


    Though he was fine with obtaining the information after the inheritance, Valyr wanted to at least clear up his list of tasks a bit before he had to enter the inheritance. After all, such thoughts would continue to linger in his mind in the inheritance as long as they were iplete.


    "Frankly, it''ll take a few months at the very least to obtain all of the information you want." At these words, a wry smile adorned Valyr''s face once more. "Aside from the fact that some of them are not so easily obtainable, I''m also the leader of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team. As a leader, I also have a lot of duties to fulfill."


    "However, I could obtain a couple of the more important information and send it to you before you enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance." Though, once he hade across this message, the young man''s expression underwent a 180 degree turn, turning into that of surprise and delight.


    "That''d definitely be great." Sending a message back filled with his sincere gratitude, the two of them talked about other aspects of the deal for a bit more, such as where they would meet up and where the payment would be sent.


    After that was done, the two of them finally ended their conversation, with Braum reminding the young man about the armor set onest time.


    "Welp. I guess that''s one more task to add to the list." Letting out a faint sigh as he closed the screen before him, the young man brought up the ns he had been drafting earlier to the surface of his mind, thinking about which one Braum would prefer among them.


    ''Thankfully, he gave me a few hints.'' Then again, it did not take long for him to find the armor set idea that would suit the man, tweaking a few things with it here and there to make it a better fit.


    "Now that I think about it, I should really check out the guild''s blueprint archives." Utilizing his blueprint creation skill to make the armor set a reality, a thought popped up into the young man''s mind.


    "Hmm¡­ I''ll ask Julian if I could take a look once I start experimenting." Making sure that there were no issues regarding the armor set, he then thought about the idea he had earlier while making his way to the cksmith Guild.


    "Guess I''ll forge Wells'' spear at the same time, then," said the young man to himself, recalling the spear his friend wielded.


    Though it wasn''t a bad spear by any means, the young man felt a bit guilty at the fact that his friend remained stuck with it, even though he had the capabilities to forge better ones.


    Deciding to go with the blueprint he used for the spear that was sold in the auction for Wells'' spear, the young man called for another attendant, telling them all of the things he would need to forge Braum''s armor set and his friend''s new spear.


    Fortunately, unlike the materials he had requested for his armor, the materials to forge their equipment had arrived within a few minutes. With that, the drive to forge was ignited within Valyr in an instant, firing up the furnace as he decided to forge the spear first.


    "Hmm¡­" Just as he chucked in the metal he would use for the spear tip into the furnace, a question popped up into the young man''s mind.


    "Should I forge a weapon for Edward as well?"

 Chapter 558 Yet Another Forging Session

    ?


    Pondering over the question for a bit more, the young man decided to bring up his past memories about the kid to obtain his answer.


    As the Grand Marshal of the Zeihardt Sovereignty in his previous life, it went without saying that Edward had obtained that position due to his superb talent inbat. Whether it was the de, the fist, the arcane arts, it seemed like the man knew how to wield all of them to a great degree, making him an inspiration for many people.


    However, to make such a talent bloom in the first ce, the amount of time and effort he had put into it was not to be underestimated either.


    Rummaging through a few more of the memories he had about the past Edward, the young man eventually arrived at the one he wanted, which pertained to the first weapon Edward had picked up.


    "Listen up, Edward. As long as you put in everything into learning the sword, the sword shall never betray you." Hearing voices being spoken as if he were in that situation, Valyr watched an instructor teach the young Edward from his past life the art of the sword, going in-depth through the weapon''s basic movements.


    Then, moving onto another memory, he watched the young Edward spar with his instructor after his foundation in the sword had been solidified, allowing him to defend against his instructor''s attacks with rtive ease.


    Moving onto yet another memory, the young Edward seemed to have understood a concept regarding the sword, causing his sword to be unrivaled as his journey to bing a Grand Marshal began.


    "The sword, huh." Returning his mind back to reality, the young man had a satisfied smile on his face, thinking about how Edward was now part of their small group. With his ns to create an organization in the future that both NPCs and yers would flock towards, such a powerful being in that organization would definitely make it easier.


    But of course, he had no ns of making the kid work to the bone or do something along those lines to achieve such goals. If anything, he considered meeting the kid a fortuitous encounter. To him, he was just something that would speed up his ns in the future, a bonus of sorts.


    After all, his n from the start was to do everything on his own.


    Then again, with the people he had met in his journey so far¡­


    Such a thought was beginning to change.


    "I should probably leave the idea be for the meantime." Pondering over it for a bit more, the young man recalled the conversation he and Wells had before he left. "I''ll start working on it once Edward and Wells return from the Experience Pit."


    "Of course, I wouldn''t be surprised if he still picks up the sword this time around." Letting out a chuckle, the young man took a look at the material he had put into the furnace. Seeing that it had reached its optimal temperature, Valyr went ahead and took it out, cing it gently onto the anvil.


    "[Breath of Calm]." Retrieving the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, the young man willed the energy within the hammer to charge, making it give off the feeling of tranquility.


    "Alright, time to begin." Then, raising the hammer up above his head, he swung it down onto the hot metal with great force, beginning the forging process of Wells'' spear.


    ¡­


    For a couple of hours, the young man had focused almost all of his attention onto refining the spear tip''s shape, ignoring the monotonous sound that resounded throughout the room as he frequently switched between the furnace and the anvil.


    With how much time he had taken in refining its shape, what was initially a piece of metal in the shape of a spear tip now looked like a spear tip that even veteran cksmiths would look at with awe. Though, just as he had be satisfied with the tip''s general shape¡­


    "[True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight]."


    "[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]."


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, the young man activated two skills at once, both of which allowed him to peer into his craft''s imperfections at a deeper level.


    Then, seeing that there were a few areas that did not look right under his new vision, he put in more effort into making sure everything seemed perfect, putting in a few more hours of work into it.


    "Alright¡­" By the time the sun had already gone past its zenith, only then did the young man deactivate both skills, wiping off the sweat from his forehead as he raised up the spear tip with a pair of tongs. Allowing the sunlight to bounce off the spear tip''s surface, Valyr briefly felt like he was watching a light disy with how smooth the surface of the spear tip was.


    "Time to make the shaft¡­" Satisfied with how the most important part of the spear had turned it, the young man ced it to the side for the meantime, focusing his attention on the other part that made the spear what it was.


    "After a quick break." However, at that moment, the young man felt the pangs of hunger, prompting him to finally realize the amount of time that had passed since he began. Bitterly smiling in response to the feeling, the young man headed out of the cksmith Guild for a bit to grab a hearty meal, giving his body and mind the time it needed to recover.


    "It seems my body wants to eat a bit more." Returning to the workshop he was working at, the young man let out a low sigh, only to let out a chuckle as he heard his stomach make a faint rumble.


    Knowing very well that stuffing himself with food would hamper him in the forging process, he inwardly apologized to his body for the meantime as he returned topleting Wells'' spear.


    ¡­


    Unlike the spear tip, Valyr did not take long to make the spear shaft, finishing it within 45 minutes or so.


    With its purpose mostly being to act as a grip for the wielder, the young man made sure that the material he used for the shaft was firm and robust, while at the same time being slightly flexible. After that, he put the material into a few treatment processes to improve its strength, carving it into a shaft only after he was done with all of them.


    "Time to put the two together." After he had finished making the shaft, the young man ced the spear tip onto one of the ends, tapping it in ce with a rubber mallet. Then, to make sure that the tip wouldn''t fly away, he then wrapped the part connecting the two with string coated in strong adhesive.


    "And¡­ done."


    Ding!

 Chapter 559 Pushing Ones Self

    ?


    [You have sessfully forged the item: Refined Halberd of Great Beginnings. The quality of the item has been rated at Exceptional.]


    As a notification sound echoed throughout his mind, the young man went ahead and threw the spear he had just forged into the air and nodded in satisfaction. Moving a bit away from the anvil, he then did a few basic movements with it, also feeling great satisfaction with it in that regard.


    "The weight of the spear is just right," said the young man to himself with a nod. "The bnce of the spear is great as well."


    "Definitely a massive upgradepared to the metal spear he''s been using." At these words, the young man activated [Greater Analysis] without hesitation, nodding every once in a while as he read through its description.


    "[True Prodigious Equipment Attribute Awakening]." Then, once he was done reading through it, Valyr closed the screen in front of him before infusing the spear with his mana to awaken its attributes.


    Thanks to his other forging skills being upgraded to their very limits, it did not take long for the young man to obtain the result he wanted, which was an awakening of all three attributes at their highest scaling.


    After all, since he wanted his friend to get the best weapon he could possibly craft at the moment, he was going to make sure he went all out in every aspect.


    "Now, let''s take a look at it in its full glory." Once he had enhanced the spear to the current level Wells was at, the young man activated [Greater Analysis] once again, smiling with glee as he looked at the fruits of hisbor.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Refined Halberd of Great Beginnings] (Lv. 25)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Attack: 802 - 1,337


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 54


    > AGI + 66


    > DEX + 105


    Though it might look like a simple spear based on its exterior, the materials used in the creation of this spear have been awakened by an incredibly prodigious cksmith to the fullest, squeezing out every ounce oftent potential that slumbered within it.


    With the cksmith putting all of his focus and care into the creation of this spear, imbuing the properties of the artifact ''Hammer of Beginnings'' into it, this spear achieves a level of strength that only a few could match, most of which are weapons that originate from the oldest of legends.


    <Innate Skill 1: Azure Cross - Allows the user to attack in a horizontal arc, dealing damage equivalent to 250% of the user''s Attack stat. Has an incredibly small chance to deal triple damage. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Cost: 3,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Ignited Vigor - Increases the user''s Attack stat by 8%>


    Remarks: The entire world would go on a massacre just to get their hands on such a weapon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I''m certain Wells will be ecstatic to get his hands on it once he sees this." Letting out a slight chuckle as he briefly thought about what-ifs, Valyr went ahead and wrapped the finished spear in a thick fabric.


    Then, once he was sure that the fabric wouldn''t unfurl at any moment, he ced the spear to the side for the meantime, focusing his thoughts on the next piece of equipment he was going to forge.


    "Braum''s armor set..." Just as he muttered these words to himself, an attendant inadvertently interrupted his train of thought, informing him that the materials he had ordered beforehand had finally arrived.


    Though he let out a faint sigh in response to the interruption, the young man received the materials nevertheless. After all, these materials were practically the most important materials he had obtained from the guild out of the bunch.


    ''As well as the most expensive.'' Moving all of the materials he had received for the meantime, the young man headed back to the anvil as he returned to his initial train of thought.


    "I guess it would make sense for me to use [Breath of Earth] on this one." Even though he already a general idea of how he was going to forge the armor set, there were still a couple of things Valyr could modify about it.


    With such a thought in mind, he decided to focus on improving the armor set''s defense while still making it lightweight, relying on the element of Earth to achieve such a feat.


    "[Breath of Earth]." As the energy being emanated by his hammer changed to feel like one was looking at a massive mountain, the young man started the forging process for Braum''s armor by chucking in the materials he needed to hammer into the furnace.


    "I''ll start with the pauldrons and the vambraces first." nning out how he was going to go through the entire armor set, the young man allowed the thoughts in his mind to linger as he waited for the items in the furnace to reach their optimal temperature.


    "After that would be the greaves and the chestte." Valyr nodded to himself, the expression on his face exuding great determination. "And then, I''ll save the helmet and the boots forst."


    "I wonder how long it''ll take me to finish all of these pieces?" Asking this question to himself, the young man let out a bit ofughter as he thought about the buffs he had gained that were rted to reducing forging time.


    "I guess half a day, tops," said the young man, confident that he would be able to pull such a feat off.


    However, as if the world wanted to y a prank on him...


    It took him more than double that time.


    ...


    "Hello?" Making his way deeper into the cksmith Guild, Braum scratched the back of his head as he wondered where Valyr was. After all, he and the young man agreed that the two of them would meet up at the guild''s entrance early in the morning...


    Yet thetter was nowhere to be found.


    "Valyr? Are you there?" Feeling a bit of concern for Valyr, the man inwardly let out a sigh of relief once he noticed a familiar face taking a rest in one of the guild''s private workshops. However, as he took a closer look, his expression turned into worry, dashing towards the young man he had just seen.


    "Valyr!"

 Chapter 560 Birth Of The Aegis

    ?


    "Va... lyr!"


    "Valyr... wake... up...!"


    "Wake up, Valyr!"


    "Mngh..." Letting out a groan as he gradually regained consciousness, Valyr looked around his surroundings for a bit, clutching his head as waves of pain radiated from it.


    "What the..." Just as he wondered whether or not he was hearing voices, the young man eventually noticed a familiar being appear at the workshop''s entrance, dashing towards him after seeing he was awake. "Braum?"


    "You''re finally awake..." said Braum, letting out a loud sigh of relief as he looked at the young man with a hint of worry. "You scared me, you know?"


    "What... what happened?" Finally regaining the entirety of his consciousness, the young man closed his eyes for a bit before looking at Braum for answers.


    "You tell me." In response, Braum looked back at him. "Earlier, I was waiting around the entrance of the cksmith Guild since you said the two of us would meet up there. However, even after waiting for a while, you didn''te."


    "So, I decided to head into the cksmith Guild myself to see if you were in here," added the man. "Lo and behold, I find out that you were on the workshop floor out cold. What the heck have you been doing to yourself?"


    "Wait... what time is it?" Though he already had an answer to the man''s final statement, the young man decided to focus on the first statement, taking a look outside the window''s workshop to get his answer.


    "Shit..." Seeing that the sun was close to reaching the zenith once more, the young man inwardly admonished himself for not noticing the passage of time. Then again, after a while, he let out a long sigh, feeling sorry for the man who had arrived instead.


    "I''m sorry I wasn''t able to uphold my part of the deal," said Valyr to Braum, who could only look back at him with a raised eyebrow.


    "That doesn''t really matter at the moment." Braum shook his head. "After all, you were on the workshop floor unconscious."


    "That was because I was up all night working on something." Hearing the man repeat his words from earlier, a wry smile appeared on the young man''s face as he replied. "Something you''d be d to find out now that it''s done."


    "Are you... are you serious?" Getting an idea of what the young man was hinting at, Braum did not know whether to feel excitement or more concern. After all, if what he was thinking was correct...


    The armor set he requested Valyr to forge was already done.


    "Well, if anything, it''s the reason why you found me on the floor unconscious." Letting out a bit of a mocking chuckle, Valyr nodded in response, finally recalling what had transpired for things to turn out this way.


    While he was in the midst of forging Braum''s armor set, the young man felt like he had gained a greater understanding of things out of nowhere, prompting him to realize that [Flow] had unknowingly activated at some point.


    Not wanting to let the chance pass up, he abandoned the thoughts of going to sleep as he wanted to maximize the effects of [Flow] on Braum''s equipment.


    Then again, even though he had abandoned any thoughts of sleep for the meantime, that did not mean he abandoned the thoughts of taking a break. It was just that, by the time he had finished the final piece of the armor set, he decided to give himself a long break before deciding to take some actual rest.


    However, with how far he had overexerted his body, his body was the one that ended up deciding for him, causing him to eventually fall on the floor unconscious at some point in his rest.


    "I..." Hearing from Valyr that he was the one that indirectly caused the former''s earlier state, Braum began to feel a bit of guilt. For a moment, he was at a crossroads on what he should do next.


    Fortunately, after a bit of silent ponderation, a brilliant idea shed in his mind. With the thought in mind, he looked at Valyr with renewed confidence as he faintly smiled.


    "You know what? Consider the information you''re requesting from me free of charge." As Braum said these words all of a sudden, the young man looked at the man before him with his mouth agape. After all, he was expecting the man to still charge him for the information.


    Though, as he pondered over why Braum decided to tell him something like that, it did not take long for him to put two and two together in his mind. Bitterly smiling at the realization for a brief moment, he did not know whether he should feel guilty or feel d that Braum had changed his mind.


    In the end, he let his pragmatic side take over.


    "I''ll have to thank you in advance, then." Giving Braum words of sincere gratitude, Valyr went ahead and led the man to the armor set he had forged for the former. Naturally, with the materials and the effort he had put into it, Braum was left in a state of awe after looking at it.


    With the overall armor set taking on a color that was part brown and gray, there were many areas on the armor that were entuated by light gray metal, giving the armor a feeling that it would suit someone that was part of a military unit or something simr.


    However, if one were to ignore the external appearance of the armor, one would insteade to face with the intimidating aura it passively emanated, making one feel as if one was standing in front of a mountain that seemed to have a limitless peak.


    "Does... does this armor set have a name?" Taking a while to remove himself from the aura the armor radiated, Braum looked at the young man behind him and asked.


    "To be honest, I haven''t given it a name yet," said Valyr in response, looking at Braum with a soft smile. "Perhaps you would like to give the set a name?"


    "Me?" Pointing at himself, the man looked back at the young man with surprise written all over his face. "Are you sure?"


    "I wouldn''t have asked the question in the first ce if I wasn''t." Seeing the young man nod in response to his question, Braum scratched his head for a bit before letting out a faint sigh. Then, falling into a pensive state, the man went through the various ideas that lingered in his head.


    "Ah. Got it." Eventually, after a couple of minutes, Braum felt like he had a fitting name for the armor set, looking at the young man with a calm yet confident expression. "How about we go with..."


    "Aegis."

 Chapter 561 A Fair Exchange

    ?


    "Aegis it is, then," said Valyr in response, to which the system promptly responded by sending him a series of notifications.


    Ding!


    [You have renamed the item ''Unnamed Helmet'' to ''Aegis Helmet''.]


    [You have renamed the item ''Unnamed Pauldrons'' to ''Aegis Pauldrons''.]


    ...


    [You have renamed the item ''Unnamed Boots'' to ''Aegis Boots''.]


    While multiple notification sounds resounded in his mind, as if responding to the name it had received, the armor set radiated a faint glow. From what the two could tell, it seemed as if the armor set was delighted with the name Braum chose, feeling as if it were the perfect name for the set.


    ''[Greater Analysis].'' As he let Braum get up close with the armor set and test it out, the young man went ahead and used his identification skill on one of the pieces to see if anything about it changed after being given a name.


    And surprisingly enough, something did.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Aegis Chestte] (Level 75)


    Rarity: Epic


    Defense: 835 - 1391


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +48


    >STR +41


    Initially an unnamed piece of armor that was forged from extraordinary materials by an incredibly prodigious cksmith, this chestte was given new life after it had been named Aegis, a name that resonated greatly with the spirit residing within.


    Being forged under the greatest level of concentration the cksmith could achieve, this chestte has been imbued with the Hammer of Beginnings'' [Breath of Earth], taking on the properties of the Earth element in order to bolster its defense even further.


    Nevertheless, even without the imbuing of the Earth element, this piece of armor is already something many people would kill for. With it imbued, the experience and level of craftsmanship of the cksmith only bes more obvious.


    <Innate Skill 1: Heart of the Aegis - Increases the user''s maximum HP and Defense stat by 10%. Also increases the user''s VIT by 5%.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Aegis Awakening - Allows the user to cast a mana barrier around their body, reducing the amount of damage taken by 25% for 5 minutes. Has a small chance to reflect attacks back at 50% of their original strength. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Aegis Set | 1/6>


    3 pieces: HP and Def +15%


    6 pieces: VIT +10%, Damage Reduction +10%


    Note: This is a piece of armor solely made for those with the aim of protecting others.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''The innate skills definitely changed.'' By the time he was done reading through the armor''s updated description, Braum had already exchanged the armor set he was currently wearing with the Aegis armor set.


    In less than an instant, the aura being radiated by his body underwent a substantial increase, making him give off the feeling that he was some sort of imprable wall no one could go through.


    And that was only the man''s passive auraing into y.


    "This..." Getting more and more used to his new armor set, Braum eventually looked at the young man with a series of expression shing across his face. Though, after looking at Valyr for a bit more, a wry smile crept up onto his lips.


    On one hand, he felt immense gratitude and excitement since the armor set Valyr forged for him had undoubtedly boosted hisbat strength multiple times. If his hunch was correct, he could give peak Rank 5 beings a run for the money, even without activating his Intent.


    However, on the other, he still felt immense guilt from the fact that the young man had copsed after he had finished making the armor set. Of course, he told Valyr that the information thetter requested from him would now be free of charge in exchange.


    Yet, now that he was wearing the entire armor set and experiencing its effects firsthand...


    He realized that it wasn''t enough.


    "You know what..." Letting out a somewhat exasperated sigh after pondering over his next action, a determined expression eventually appeared on Braum''s face as he looked at the young man.


    "What is it?" Raising his eyebrows in curiosity, Valyr waited for Braum to continue his words.


    "From now on, any piece of information you request from me will be free of charge," said the man as he continued where he left off, prompting the young man to look at him with his eyes wide open.


    "Whether it be asplicated as the one you''re requesting right now, to something simple like the weather for the next few days, all of it will be free from now on," added Braum not long after, which only added onto the curiosity and confusion Valyr was feeling.


    Then again, it did not take long for the young man to understand the cause of the man''s sudden shift in personality, faintly smirking as he looked at the armor set thetter was wearing.


    "Once again, I''ll be thanking you in advance." Knowing that the two of them would just go in circles if he were to ask Braum the reason behind it, Valyr decided to thank the man outright, causing the former to look back at him with a smile.


    "You know... we''ve talked a lot about other things that I almost forgot the main reason why I came here." Letting out a faint chuckle as the man regained his original train of thought, Braum infused a bit of his mana into his spatial bracelet, bringing out a stack of documents that he carefully gave to Valyr.


    "What information is in this, exactly?" Though he was slightly surprised by the amount of documents Braum had brought out for him, Valyr already expected himself to have through such a great amount of information in the first ce. With that, he began to skim through the various documents as Braum exined what he had given.


    "Well, most of it goes into the hierarchy of the Zeihardt n in detail," said Braum to the young man. "The main Imperial n, the various Royal ns, as well as the numerous noble ns under it as all exined in the documents in detail."


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr continued to read through the documents, only to find out that the man''s words were true. "Anything else?"


    "Aside from that, the documents also go through some of the most important people that reside within the n," replied Braum, prompting Valyr to skim through the documents once more. "Though it doesn''t go into their strength in detail, it does go through their level of authority within the n."


    "Uh huh." Nodding once more, the young man eventually found the documents that listed down the important people Braum had just mentioned. Unsurprisingly, at the very moment he began to read through those documents, a few words instantly came to mind.


    "Damn."


    "That''s a lot more than I thought."

 Chapter 562 Beings of Importance

    <h4>Chapter 562 Beings of Importance</h4>


    Though the documents talking about the important people within the Zeihardt n was only a fraction of the thickness that talked about the hierarchy of the n in detail, the number of people being talked about in the documents still numbered over a couple thousand.


    Fortunately, after skimming a bit more through the documents, Valyr soon noticed that these people were separated between three levels of importance, with most of these people being designated a low level of importance.


    Then again, even though a lot of them were considered low importance, the level of authority, strength, and the feats they''ve achieved were still a lot for the young man to take in. After all, the greatest achievement he had achieved so far was the creation of a new artifact.


    Inparison to the things done by these people, his achievement could only be considered slightly more praiseworthy.


    Moving away from the people that were of low importance, the young man soon found himself reading through the information of people that were designated a middle level of importance, all of which had profiles far more striking than the ones he had earlier.


    Of course, with how Valyr continued to read through the documents, he eventually noticed that the distribution of people among the three levels of importance seemed to be triangr in form, with those at the middle level of importance numbering in the dozens.


    On the other hand, those at the low level of importance made up most of the list.


    Reading through some of the information of those at the middle level, Valyr wasn''t surprised to read through the feats some of them had achieved, as well as the positions they currently had in the n.


    In fact, the same could be said for their level of strength, with the weakest among them being in the middle levels of Rank 5. Inparison, the strengths of those at low importance varied between the early levels of Rank 2 to early levels of Rank 5.


    After skimming through the people at middle importance, Valyr eventually found the most prominent one out of all of them, wielding a level of strength that only those with great talent could ever hope to wield.


    The level of a Legend.


    Matching the man''s strength were the numerable feats he had achieved, such as making a great contribution to multiple previous wars, as well as founding a couple of kingdoms under the Zeihardt Sovereignty.


    "Julius Augustus Zeihardt..." muttered the young man,mitting the name to memory. After all, even though the man wasn''t designated as one of those with the topmost level of importance, his contribution to the human race overall still wasn''t something to be trifled with.


    "Now for the high levels." Feeling like he had read through enough of the feats those at the middle level of importance had achieved, Valyr finally shifted his attention towards the people designated with a high level of importance, which numbered only five in total.


    The first one was named Alexander, known for his contribution of expanding the human race''s territory by tenfold during one of his expeditions. Wielding a level of strength that already hovered around the level of Myths, he was known by many people as Alexander the Great Conqueror.


    It did not help that the man was a Herald of the n as well.


    As for the second one, though she was not a Herald of the n, she was still considered by many to have a level of talent equivalent to Heralds of the n.


    Taking on the name udine, she had made the Zeihardt n prosper financially, prompting her to be sought after by the Sovereign because of it. Unsurprisingly, with her talent, she was also able to make the entire sovereignty prosper, starting a golden age whose effects were still palpable up to the present.


    "Albert Rutherford Zeihardt..." Taking his time to digest the information he had obtained over the two previous people, Valyr moved onto the third person, whose feats seemed to be closely aligned with what he aimed to achieve in the future.


    Being known as the Monarch of Innovation before Hal had awakened during the War of the Three Sovereignties, Albert had improved the level of technology throughout the entire sovereignty by a couple of centuries, allowing it to reach a level that considerably nearer to the Intermediate Middle Ages.


    Then again, as one of the two people on the list that had transcended mortality and became a Myth, his pursuit for innovation still hasn''t stopped, establishing an organization solely dedicated to bringing the level of technology of the human race forward.


    "Melissa Zeihardt." Thinking for a bit that it would be nice to turn out into someone like Albert, the young man soon moved onto the fourth person on the list, which was actually a Herald of the n like Alexander.


    However, rather than utilize this gift to pursue greater personal power, she instead used it to form a military organization that had a level of power on par with the military of the Zeihardt Sovereignty.


    But not only that, she had also made this military organization swear allegiance to the entirety of the Zeihardt n, solidifying the n''s position even further as the strongest n of the human race.


    "And with that..." Moving onto the final person on the list, Valyr wasn''t surprised to see this name pop up, especially with the position the person currently wielded within the n. "We move on to Ophiuchus Zeihardt."


    Unlike the feats the first four people on the list had achieved, most of the feats Ophiuchus had achieved were all for the sake of the prosperity of the n. Though he was not able to reach the same level of prominence as the others, he was able to emte their achievements to a certain extent, being known by many as the Monarch of All Trades.


    With such talent, it was no surprise that he had be the current leader of the entire Zeihardt n, being the other person on the list to have transcended mortality and reach the level of Myths.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: The Future of Humanity (2).]


    [Obtain information regarding the existing hierarchy within the Zeihardt n (1/1)]


    ''Huh. That was far easier than I thought.'' Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr went ahead and took a look at it, briefly widening his eyes in surprise.


    ''I should thank Braum.'' After that, he ced the documents he had received to the side, hoping to show his gratitude to the man that gave him the information in the first ce.


    Unfortunately, just as he was about to do so, Braum was nowhere to be found within the workshop, prompting the young man to think that the man had left while he was engrossed in reading through the documents.


    "I''ll have to thank him some other time," said the young man to himself, taking in a deep breath as he felt reenergized.


    Doing a few light stretches after being stuck in one pose for so long, the young man eventually shifted his attention to the simple-looking box he had gotten from Julian, opening it with a slight smile.


    "For now..."


    "I guess it''s time to work on my armor."

 Chapter 563 Upgrading Something Essential

    <h4>Chapter 563 Upgrading Something Essential</h4>


    At the very moment those words left the young man''s mouth, he had fully opened the simple-looking box, revealing what was within. In it was an orb that looked simr to the Shadow Serpent Orb Valyr had gotten back then, though there seemed to be a tinge of color to it.


    Aside from that, there seemed to be an oppressive feeling being faintly emanated by the orb, something Valyr was already expecting due to the orb''s origin. After admiring the orb for its appearance and presence for a bit more, the young man moved the opened box to the side as he nned out his steps.


    "As far as I can remember, I should upgrade the chestte first." Recalling the guide he followed back then to upgrade his armor, the young man eventually remembered the step that came after the armor''s current form. Taking his time to make sure that he had recalled everything, only did the young man start moving.


    "Out of all the pieces making up this upgraded version of the armor, only the chestte needs the Wyvern Core." Taking his chestte off, Valyr allowed his memories of the upgrade process to linger in his mind, reminding himself as to why he had to upgrade the chestte first.


    As it was the only piece that would need the Wyvern Core in its upgrade process, the chestte would act as the power source for the entire armor set once it was all upgraded, giving Valyr''s armor the ability to do more things than it already could.


    With the thought in mind, the young man wondered how much of an improvement these abilities would undergo, considering that the guide mentioned that the upgrade involving the Wyvern Core would upgrade his armor set to Epic rarity.


    With a fortuitous encounter improving his current armor set to that same rarity already, he was extremely curious on what kind of changes would happen to those abilities if the armor set had finished upgrading to Epic+ rarity.


    Or, if he was lucky enough, Legendary rarity.


    "Alright." Mustering up the courage to do something incredibly stupid, the young man took in a deep breath as he chucked the chestte into the furnace. Increasing the temperature of the furnace after that, he then began toy out the materials he would need to upgrade the chestte to the next rarity.


    "First off, True Wyvern Scales." Bringing a long wooden table near the entrance of the workshop to somewhere beside the anvil, Valyr began to arrange the materials he would need by step. "ording to the guide, once the chestte reaches its optimal temperature, I should begin recing the Nascent Wyvern Scales on it with True Wyvern Scales."


    "Then¡­" After making sure that the number of True Wyvern Scales he had on hand would be enough to upgrade the entire armor set, he then grabbed a couple of materials that reminded him of his forging duel with Theraldine. "Materials that are highly attuned to the four basic elements."


    At those words, the young man gently ced down four items to the right of the pile of True Wyvern Scales, arranging them in a way that make sure their energies would neutralize each other for the meantime. Of course, to make things easier for himself and cut down a bit of time, Valyr decided to use the same elemental materials he had used to forge his Hammer of Beginnings.


    "Aside from those things, the only things left needed to upgrade the chestte would be¡­" Going through the guide in his mind, the young man briefly scratched the back of his head as he bitterly smiled.


    "My blood and mana, huh."


    "Eh. I''ll think more about itter." cing thoughts regarding thest step of the upgrade process to the side, the young man went ahead and retrieved the chestte out of the furnace, cing it down on the anvil.


    "Huuu¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths, Valyr graduallyposed himself as he went over the various steps in his mind one more time. Once he felt like he had gotten a good grasp of it, it was only then did he begin work on the chestte, feeling as if all of the distractions in his surroundings had disappeared all of a sudden.


    ''[Flow] again, huh¡­'' Sensing that his concentration had been heightened and his movements had be more refined, the young man inwardly let out a chuckle as he grabbed the True Wyvern Scales, beginning to ce them on top of the scales that were already there.


    Hissssss!!!


    At the very instant the scale touched the chestte, a loud hissing sound resounded throughout the room, causing the young man to inwardly think that the Shadow Serpent had been revived in spirit somehow. Letting out a faint chuckle in response, he focused his attention towards the scale he had ced, which seemed to be melding with the previous scale, eventually taking its ce.


    Hissssss!!! Hissssss!!! Hissssss!!!


    Seeing that the first step of the upgrade process looked to have no issues, the young man proceeded to make the most out of the time he had, cing multiple True Wyvern Scales on top of the chestte at once.


    Slowly but surely, he was making progress in recing all of the scales on the chestte, having to chuck the chestte into the furnace a couple more times before all of the scales were reced with the new ones.


    "[True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight]."


    "[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]." After making sure that no imperfections had appeared after the first step, it was only then did Valyr proceed onto the next step, prompting him to focus his attention on the elemental materials he had arranged earlier.


    "Now that the scales have been reced with True Wyvern Scales, the next step is to infuse the energy of the four elements into the chestte." Muttering these words to himself, the young man made light work of the materials he had chosen, refining all of them into their purest forms within an hour or so.


    "I wonder why there''s a step like that." Feeling like he had been making good progress so far, the young man decided to take a short break to recuperate his energy, pondering a few things about the guide he was following in the meantime. "From an element to effect standpoint, having the four basic elements make sense since it''s considered an all-around boost."


    "However, since the armor''s final state is to be an incredibly close replica of the Empyrean Dragon Armor, including the four elements into it doesn''t seem right," muttered the young man, faintly tilting his head to and fro in confusion. "Is it going to act as a recement of some sort? A foundation for something else?"


    "Well¡­" Understanding that he would only be heading down a rabbit hole if he were to continue his train of thought, the young man decided to discard the question altogether, returning his attention to the chestte. "Whatever purpose it may serve, it wouldn''t be in the guide if it was to achieve something else."


    "Alright, time to continue." cing the chestte into the furnace, Valyr gently picked up the four items and ced them around the chestte in a unique pattern. Then, after making sure that all of them were in the right spot, he increased the temperature inside the furnace to a level near its limit, causing the energy from the materials to gradually seep out.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, within seconds of these energies beginning to seep out, the chestte began to devour these energies as if it hadn''t eaten for decades. In fact, the chestte was actively siphoning the energies from the refined materials at some point, leaving only dregs by the time it was done.


    "Two more steps left." With both skills still active, the young man took a look if any imperfections had appeared during the infusion of energy, nodding in satisfaction after he had made sure that there were none. Taking out the chestte from the furnace once more, he gently ced it onto the anvil, grabbing a chisel and Hammer of Beginnings as he proceeded to the second tost step.


    "[Breath of Beginnings]." Taking in a deep breath as he mentally steeled himself for what he was going to do, the young man changed the energy of his artifact, making one feel as if it had the ability to be everything yet also be one thing at the same time.


    Tightening his grip onto the chisel, Valyr then positioned it above the center of the chestte, only to then¡­


    Bang!


    With great strength, the young man caused a nick to appear on the chestte''s surface, clicking his tongue as he thought about the durability of the True Wyvern Scales. Undeterred, he continued with his hammering, causing the nick to gradually growrger as a small hole eventually appeared on the chestte.


    "And with this, the final step." Finding the previous step nerve-wracking, the young man let out a long sigh of relief after it was over, going over through it with [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to see if he had caused any imperfections.


    After righting all of the imperfections that had popped up, the young man went ahead and grabbed the Wyvern Core before cing it where he had created the hole on the chestte. After that, he slit his wrist with a chisel, allowing his blood to flow above the Wyvern Core while his other hand touched the core directly, infusing it with his own mana.


    For a while, a gruesome sight could be seen in the center of the workshop as a considerable portion of the chestte was now dyed in the color of Valyr''s blood. Thankfully, a couple of minutester, all signs of that instantly disappeared as a notification sound resounded in the young man''s mind.


    "And with that¡­ the upgrade is done."


    Ding!

 Chapter 564 The True Wyvern’s Descent

    <h4>Chapter 564 The True Wyvern''s Descent</h4>


    Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind, Valyr had a wry smile on his face as he looked at the wound he had opened. Taking out a health potion from his spatial bracelet, he downed all of its contents in one gulp before applying a bit of pressure on the wound.


    "I still have to do this five more times," muttered the young man to himself as he caught his breath, giving himself time to rest while thinking about the amount of blood he had lost just so the chestte could finish upgrading.


    From what he could tell, he had probably lost about half a liter or so of blood during that time, considering that he had difficulty keeping his eyes near the end of the process. Then again, such an amount was only a wild guess at most, with the guide he was following not helping out in that regard either.


    "The guide said that the amount of blood the piece of armor would absorb from the user depends on the armor''s current level, as well as the user''s current stats," said the young man as thoughts lingered in his mind. Sitting down for the meantime, he requested an attendant to give him something to eat.


    "I guess the armor''s rarity has something to do with how much blood it takes as well?" Letting out a faint sigh, the young man moved closer to the chestte, its appearance now drastically different from how it looked before.


    In the center was the Wyvern Core, which had four wisps of elemental energy swirling around it. Making up the entirety of the surface were the True Wyvern Scales that appeared to be rough and smooth at the same time, all of them glistening a faint crimson after absorbing the blood Valyr had spilled.


    "[Greater Analysis]." Thanking the attendant that had arrived with his food only a few minutes after his request, the young man took a couple of bites before proceeding to return his attention to the chestte.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+14) True Wyvern Chestte (Imitation)] (Level 38 | Lifebound)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Defense: 775 - 1292


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +47


    > STR +45


    Forged by a true prodigy in the field of cksmithing, this chestte is inspired by the artifact ''Empyrean Dragon Armor'', with the cksmith hoping that the armor would be able to emte part of its strength.


    With the amount of time and effort the cksmith has ced into the armor, as well as the blossoming of the cksmith''s own talents, the armor has moved one step closer to emting the artifact''s entire strength, now arriving at the level of an Imitation.


    Though part of its innate potential had been awakened in advance by the artifact ''Hammer of Beginnings'', a great amount of potential still slumbers within the chestte. In the future, it has a high possibility of arriving a level of strength equal to the Empyrean Dragon Armor, perhaps even greater.


    <Innate Skill 1: Might of the True Wyvern - Thanks to the power of the Wyvern Core embedded into the armor, only to be brought a level of quality higher thanks to the power of the elements, the level requirement for the armor has been reduced by 7 levels.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Breath of the True Wyvern - Allows the user to shoot out a wave of mes in front of them, targeting all enemies within a 25 meter radius in front of the user, dealing damage equivalent to 500% of the user''s Attack stat. Also inflicts Burn damage that deals 50% of the user''s Attack stat every second,sting for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Rage of the True Wyvern - Allows the user to tap into the power of the Wyvern Core embedded into the armor, boosting all physical stats of the user except VIT by 15% for 5 minutes. Stacks multiplicatively with other stat boosting skills. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 2,500 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 4: Descent of the True Wyvern - Allows the user to tap into the entirety of the Wyvern Core''s power, awakening part of the spirit of the True Wyvern. For 2 minutes, the user''s physical and magical stats are empowered by 50%. In exchange, all of the user''s stats are reduced by 99% for 10 minutes after. Cooldown: 1 day. Cost: 99% of the user''s HP and MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <True Wyvern Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces: Attack and Defense +25%


    - 3 pieces: HP +2,500 and MP +1,500


    - 4 pieces: All stats +12


    - 6 pieces: All stats +3%


    Remarks: Such armor like this can already stand equal to armor sets known by many from legends.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I guess giving the chestte all of that blood wasn''t so bad of an idea, after all." Whistling in admiration as he finished reading through the armor''s updated description, Valyr eventually noticed three things that were not on the armor in the first ce.


    "Huh. It''s already reached the stage of an Imitation." Seeing that his attempt at emting the Empyrean Dragon Armor was now considered an Imitation rather than an Emtion, the young man brought up all of the notifications he hadn''t bothered to read earlier, nodding in understanding after he had read through all of it.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the armor ''Nascent Wyvern Chestte''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the armor has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the armor''s rarity to Epic+.]


    [Thanks to this change, its name has been changed to ''True Wyvern Chestte''.]


    [The heavens have taken notice of the time and effort you have put into the craft, realizing that the potential the equipment is now far greater than it was before. With that, the heavens shall reward your efforts ordingly.]


    [Your item has gained a greater portion of the original properties of the artifact ''Empyrean Dragon Armor'', now being ssified an Imitation.]


    "I see. I see." Closing the notification screen, Valyr went silent for a bit as he internalized all of the information he had just read. "So, it would be safe to assume that the armor would reach the level of a Replica at some point, considering that the chestte reached the level of an Imitation."


    "Hmm¡­ I guess it wouldn''t be far-fetched to say that it''ll eventually turn into an artifact of its own once I enhance it a bit further." Thinking about it for a bit more, the young man began to daydream, letting out someughter as his thoughts briefly turned oundish.


    "Then again, the fact that the rarity has a plus modifier is already saying a lot." Moving his attention to the bottom of the chestte''s description screen, Valyr looked through the innate skills the piece of armor now had, nodding in satisfaction as all of them had undergone a considerable upgrade.


    "This is the skill awakened by [Breath of Beginnings], huh." Eventually, his focus shifted onto the fourth innate skill on the chestte, reading through its description a couple of times. "So, a skill that basically sacrifices almost everything for a great boost in strength."


    "Well, if anything, it''s one more trump card I can use once we''re in the inheritance." Though Valyr thought about multiple scenarios where the conclusion would be death if he used the fourth skill, the young man still felt like it was a great skill, especially since it would allow his strength to transcend ranks even further.


    Whether or not such strength would reach the level of Legends and Myths was something he''d only know once he finally got a chance to use it.


    "Andstly¡­ that part." Satisfied with the first two changes to the chestte, the young man eventually focused his attention on the final change he had yet to look at in detail. "Well¡­ the entire armor set bing Lifebound isn''t really the end of the world. I could just modify the steps if I were to make armor simr to this in the future."


    From what the name suggested, Lifebound equipment was equipment that could only be equipped by a single person. Even if the person died, the piece of equipment would still recognize only the person that had the equipment bound to them in the first ce, essentially turning the equipment into a useless piece of junk.


    After all, what purpose would a piece of equipment that had amazing stats have if it couldn''t be used by those from the future generation?


    Then again, there were multiple methods of binding equipment to people, with Lifebound equipment being the most restrictive. Below it were Manabound and Bloodbound equipment, which allowed the requirements to use such equipment to be more flexible while still disabling those that have malicious intent from using it.


    From the name itself, Manabound equipment could only be used by those that have a simr signature of mana to the one that binded the equipment first, while Bloodbound equipment could only be used by those that have a simr type of blood to the one that binded it first.


    Depending on the process the original owner used, the restrictions on using the Manabound and Bloodbound equipment could range from being the child of the original owner, to any being that was of the same species of the same owner.


    In fact, because of such flexibility in restrictions, these types of binding were the ones usually used on family heirlooms, ensuring that the n''s strength continued on an upward trend as time passed.


    Of course, there were still a lot of people that used the harshest type of binding on their equipment. However, most of them generally did it due to their paranoia of having people snatch their equipment away from them all of a sudden.


    "Now that I think about it, it''s been a while since Ist checked my stats." Closing the description screen after he was done taking a look at all the changes, the young man went ahead and wore the chestte, instantly feeling a great surge of strength flow throughout his body from it.


    "With how much stuff I''ve gone through since then, I wonder how much they''ve improved since then?" Letting out a chuckle at his newfound strength, the young man began to do a few basic movements to be limated with it before proceeding onto the next piece.


    While that was happening, he made a decision to take a look at his stats after he had upgraded his entire armor set to its higher rarity, his mes of motivation zing intensely as he eventually began on the next armor piece.


    Though, before he began upgrading his second piece of armor, he told himself something after having gone through the upgrade process once.


    "Note to self."


    "Do not cut the artery on your wrist again."

 Chapter 565 Progress Check

    <h4>Chapter 565 Progress Check</h4>


    For the next few days, Valyr had spent most of his time in the private workshop Julian gave him, putting all of his attention towards upgrading the other pieces making up his armor set. Learning from the mistakes he made while making Braum''s Aegis Armor, he made sure to allow his body to get proper rest, extending the amount of time needed to finish the entire set.


    Nevertheless, with the increased productivity and focus proper rest brought, alongside the fact that [Flow] had never deactivated ever since it activated while he upgraded his chestte, the quality he was able to achieve for the five other pieces of armor was top-notch.


    In fact, if Valyr were to think about the time he had taken to upgrade the pieces of armor individually, he felt that the amount of time he took considerably grew less with every subsequent piece. Then again, such a thing was to be expected, considering that his experience with the chestte was his first time.


    With [Flow] gradually dissipating on its own as he was finished with the final piece, Valyr allowed himself to take a small break, munching on the food he had an attendant bring to him while he was busy. While doing so, he also went ahead and grabbed a health potion from his spatial bracelet, downing all of its contents in one gulp.


    "That was a close one." Inwardly letting out a long sigh of relief, the young man wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead, recalling what had transpired while he was upgrading the helmet to the next rarity.


    With it being thest piece of armor he had to upgrade, Valyr was more or less confident that he would go through all of the steps smoothly. For the most part, that statement was true, having gone through most of the process that upgraded the helmet without any mishaps.


    However, on the final step, which involved letting himself bleed to turn it into Lifebound equipment, the young man had done something he had already reminded himself many times not to do.


    Cut the artery on his wrist.


    Though the amount of pain he felt from it was negligible at most, the amount of blood that poured out of the wound he made was surprisingly greater than the amount of blood he spilled back on the chestte. Of course, it did not take long for him to realize he fucked up, prompting him to apply a bit of pressure as he controlled the amount of blood the helmet got.


    "At least, I don''t have to do that¡­ for the meantime." Bitterly smiling as he thought about the remaining steps the armor would have to go through in the future, Valyr went ahead and grabbed the helmet he had just upgraded and put it on.


    While doing so, he was reminded of the mishap once more, thinking that [Enhanced Vitality] and Vigor was a great reason as to why he hadn''t fainted yet.


    Whoosh!


    As his mind continued to bring up thoughts regarding the upgrade process, a great surge of strength flowed throughout his body at the very moment he had put on the helmet, only to be followed up by a far greater surge of strength soon after.


    ''Must be the armor set''s effect kicking in.'' With this thought in mind, the young man took in a few deep breaths as he began to do a few basic movements, nodding after finding out that the upgrade hadn''t hampered his movements whatsoever.


    Moving outside the workshop, he then brandished the spear behind his back and did a few basicbat movements. Unsurprisingly, he nodded in satisfaction once more, feeling that the force behind his spear was far greater than ever before.


    "System, show me my status." Now that he had finished upgrading his armor to the next rarity, the young man went ahead and did what he initially nned to do, affixing his spear behind his back for the meantime.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr focused all of his attention on the screen that appeared before him, greatly curious as to how much of an increase his strength had undergone.


    "What the¡­" Unexpectedly for him, his strength had grown far greater than he had expected.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 2 ¡ª Mythic)


    Subss: Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)


    Species: Human (2nd Unsealing)


    Level: 40


    Power Level: 17,590 (A+)


    Unused XP: 227,949,326


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 19,158/19,158


    MP: 20,485/20,485


    Shadow Energy: 89/89


    Mystic Energy: 1/1


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 5,493 - 5,889


    Defense: 5,157 - 8,595


    Stats: 723 VIT, 543 STR, 604 AGI, 996 DEX, 824 INT, 288 WIS, 408 PER, 186 LUK


    Hidden Stats: 5 Mana Purity, 5 Vigor


    Remarks: Hello???? Is this still bnced????


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Have I¡­ have I really grown that much?" By the time the young man had more or lesse to terms with the information he was seeing, Valyr began to doubt whether it was real or not. After all,pared to thest time he looked at his status screen, the difference was incredibly stark.


    Fortunately, after thinking about it for a bit more, the young man gradually calmed down, eventuallying to the conclusion that such an increase made a lot of sense.


    After all, not only had he increased his level to the peak of Rank 2, he had also upgraded his subss and his armor set to the next rarity.


    But most importantly, he had consumed the items Mystia gave him, which brought a massive boost to his stats.


    "These stats are alreadyparable to those at the peak of Rank 4 with Rare or Epic grade sses," said the young man, continuing to look at the screen for a bit longer. "In fact, I could even probably give weaker Rank 5 beings a run for their money with my current strength."


    "Of course, I''d still lose if they make use of their Intents," added the young man soon after, chuckling as he decided to head back into the workshop for the meantime.


    "In any case, this strength has got to be more than enough to assure my safety inside the inheritance, no?" While he was pondering whether or not there were other things he still had to do before the inheritance began, the young man''s train of thought was unexpectedly interrupted by Julian, who could only look at him with a surprised expression.

 Chapter 566 A Bit of Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 566 A Bit of Negotiation</h4>


    "Did I perhaps enter the wrong workshop?" Seeing a man donning a full set of crimson-ck armor within the workshop he entered, Julian could not help but look at the number above the workshop''s entrance to make sure. Thankfully, his confusion was quickly dispelled after the man let out a bit ofughter, cing the helmet he was wearing to the side.


    "Oh. It was just you, Valyr." Letting out a faint sigh of relief as he did not get the wrong workshop, it was only then did Julian take full notice of the fact that the young man''s aura had significantly strengthened. Of course, with the reason for the change being more than obvious, the man went ahead and asked what any person in his ce would ask.


    "Did you forge a new armor set? Or did you upgrade your old one?"


    "Upgraded the old one," Valyr replied, asking Julian soon after what brought the man to his workshop. After hearing that thetter hade in to talk about the negotiation with the Nichs n, as well as his identification badge, he gave the man his seat from earlier, grabbing a box for him to sit on not long after.


    "Wasn''t your armor set Epic rarity already?" Thanking the young man for giving him somewhere to sit, Julian brought the topic of their conversation back to Valyr''s armor, his eyes widening from the young man''s response. "With how much difference there is from your aura before¡­ did you upgrade it to Legendary rarity?"


    "If I had the materials and the funds to do so, I would have already done that," replied Valyr with a wry smile. "Unfortunately, I was only to apply a plus modifier to the rarity¡­ which, I guess you could say is essentially halfway to Legendary rarity armor."


    "Mind if I take a look at it?" Though Julian had alreadye across multiple pieces of equipment that were of a far higher rarity than Epic+, the man was still left at a loss for words since such a level of equipment came from a young man that did not even seem to be above 20 years of age.


    "Feel free." Not minding the request, the young man went ahead and gave the helmet he took off earlier to Julian, asking thetter not long after for his identification badge.


    Ding!


    [Your previous rank [Rank 2 ¡ª Legacy Core Member] has been improved to [Rank 2 ¡ª Honorary Lesser Elder]. Increase your rank or merit to improve your position.]


    [You have received 2,000 Technology Points.]


    ''With this, I now have 10,000 Technology Points waiting to be used.'' Receiving the upgraded identification badge from Julian, Valyr was not surprised to see the notifications that came along with it, inwardly smirking at his increase in authority. In fact, as he took a look at the notifications he had received, a sudden thought came to his mind.


    Though, for the meantime, he decided to move it to the side as Julian was still around.


    "This¡­" After taking a look at Valyr''s helmet through his identification skill, the amount of admiration Julian felt towards the young man had increased by a great amount. After all, not only were the stats of the equipment far better than any Epic+ grade equipment he had seen so far, the craftsmanship, as well as the innate skills that came along with it were something even he had only seen for the first time.


    "Is it possible for you to share the blueprints of this armor with the cksmith Guild?" Though the man thought about how such an armor would definitely fetch a high price if it was auctioned, Julian also thought about how the armor could affect the strength of the human race in the ongoing skirmish with the orcs.


    Through his calctions, Julian surmised that if the guild were to get their hands on an armor set that had 50% of the strength of Valyr''s armor and equip everyone on the front lines with it, the skirmish would undoubtedly be on the human race''s favor from that point onward.


    "What would I get in exchange?" In response to Julian''s question, Valyr''s expression became somewhat solemn. Though he was not averse to sharing information on the armor set he had been forging, he was not some kind of good samaritan who would share everything out of goodwill.


    The only times he would do something like that was either when he owed someone else a favor, like those from Astarto Vige, or when he knew that the person that he invested in would grow to be more than worth the items he had put in the first ce, such as Wells and Edward.


    ''To be honest, why hadn''t I thought about it in the first ce?'' As Julian pondered over the question Valyr asked back at him, the thought popped up in thetter''s mind.


    "Hmm¡­ what would be your minimum conditions?" Pondering over it for a bit more, Julian eventually thought that it would be better for him to hear what Valyr wanted from them. After that, it was only would he prompt the two of them to talk about it until the two of them reachedpromise.


    However, just as he had heard the young man''s requests, such thoughts swiftly disappeared from his mind.


    "Would it be possible to gain ess to all of the cksmith Guild''s blueprints?" said Valyr to Julian. "Also, it would be nice if I get ess to a lot of Technology Points every month."


    "¡­that''s all?" After a bit of silence, that was the only thing Julian could say in response.


    "I guess ess to the cksmith Guild''s hidden knowledge as well?" Slightly confused as to what Julian meant by that, Valyr decided to respond based on how he interpreted the question. "¡­Is it also fine for me to request materials from the cksmith Guild whenever I want?"


    "¡­" At that point, Julian stood up from his seat and left the workshop, leaving thetter to stare at the man''s fleeting silhouette in confusion.


    "I didn''t even get to hear what happened to the negotiation with the Nichs n¡­" Briefly scratching the back of his head, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he tidied up the ce, wondering for a bit whether Julian woulde backter.


    Taking a look outside the window to see how many hours remained before the sun would set, the young man eventually decided to not think about it for the meantime. Instead, he focused his attention on the idea that popped up in his mind earlier when he received his upgraded identification badge.


    It was time for experimentation.


    It was time¡­


    For him to make a gun.

 Chapter 567 Time for Experimentation

    <h4>Chapter 567 Time for Experimentation</h4>


    ?


    Ding!


    Commanding the system to bring up his Technology Tree, Valyr swiftly focused onto the tree''s Innovation branch after a screen was brought out. Taking a look at the advancements he had unlocked so far, a bitter smile gradually crept up onto his lips.


    Though the number of advancements he had unlocked so far was at least double the number of advancements an average cksmith would have unlocked in his rank, the young man still felt like he had neglected it. After all, he currently had close to 10,000 Technology Points under his name, all of which were waiting to be used.


    ''I''ll have to focus most of my attention on advancements starting from the Ancient Age onwards.'' Thinking about how he was going to approach experimenting the creation of guns, Valyr took a look at the advancements he had unlocked once more. After a while, he nodded in faint satisfaction, seeing that he had maxed out every advancement that could be unlocked up to the Copper Age.


    However, when it came to the advancements from the Iron Age, about half of them were still locked under prerequisite advancements that hadn''t been obtained. In fact, by the time he shifted his gaze towards the advancements he had unlocked within the Ancient Age, a wry smile appeared on his face, staring at the few advancements lit up within that technological era that hadn''t even reached their max level.


    ''At the very least, the Ne of Enlightenment mostly unlocked advancements that would bring me closer to making guns.'' Consoling himself as he told himself that he was going to right these wrongs soon enough, Valyr eventually thought about the ne from Riekan, thinking about how he would have only unlocked one advancement within the Ancient Age if not for it.


    Taking in a deep breath as Valyr prompted the gears in his mind to start turning, the young man had begun to start allocating Technology Points in a way that brought him closer to the creation of guns. Unfortunately for him, before he could even unlock a single advancement, Julian had returned to the workshop, looking at him with a calm expression.


    "Are you sure that''s all you want in exchange for the blueprint?" Letting out a low sigh, the man looked at Valyr, not minding the fact that he had nowhere to sit down. "After all, that blueprint would basically help out the entire human race. In fact, I wouldn''t have been surprised if you wanted an obscene amount of money as a condition."


    "That really is all I want for the blueprint." Inwardly sighing from the interruption, Valyr closed the screen and put his thoughts of experimentation to the side for the meantime, focusing his attention on the man that appeared before him. "After all, if I were to obtain an obscene amount of money all of a sudden and people with malicious intent find out, I would surely be hounded to no end."


    "Of course, the cksmith Guild will help safeguard that money for you." Listening to the young man''s words, Julian slightly frowned. "Heck, I could probably even enlist the help of the Imperial Production Guild in making sure no one dares tond a finger on you because of that."


    "I appreciate the fact that you''re looking out for me, but I really have no need for the money just yet." Though Valyr widened his eyes in surprise, the young man still stuck to his initial conditions. "If anything, obtaining greater knowledge would be of greater help to me in the long run, don''t you think?"


    ''Plus, if I wanted to get my hands on an obscene amount of money in one go, I could just forge the armor set I''m currently wearing,'' thought Valyr to himself not long after, thanking the man before him for giving him the idea.


    "Haah¡­" Scratching the back of his head for quite some time, Julian eventually gave up on persuading the young man to obtain more benefits from the deal, instead deciding to increase the benefits the young man would get from it on his own.


    "Alright. I''ll ry your request to the other directors of the cksmith Guild." With his mind set, the man thought that it was time for him to leave the young man on his own once more. "Though part of your requests would be slightly difficult to obtain approval of, I''ll find a way for it to happen."


    "Now that I think about it, the fact that you haven''t requested any amount of money from this would probably make the process a lot easier." Julian slightly chuckled, wondering to himself whether the young man had the thought in mind while making his requests. "For now, be on standby. I''ll let you know when you''ll need to give the blueprint to me, though it''ll most likely be on the day before the inheritance with how hard-headed some of them are."


    "Got it." Seeing that he was going to be left to his own devices once again, Valyr inwardly became excited as he thought that he could now put his experimentation into full swing. Though, before he let the entirety of his mind be upied with the thoughts of creating a gun, the young man recalled something Julian had yet to tell him.


    "Wait a minute!" screamed Valyr, prompting Julian to stop in his tracks as he turned around. "What happened to the negotiation with the Nichs n?"


    "Oh, right." Realizing that the other reason he hade to meet Valyr had slipped past him, Julian looked back at Valyr with an apologetic smile before responding. "The deal has beenpleted. From this point onward, the kid and the kid''s parents are no longer ves of the Nichs n."


    "I requested some of those from my n to help the kid''s parents limate to their newfound status, even going so far as to give them somece to live in for the meantime to start their new lives," added Julian, prompting Valyr to nod as he continued listening. "I suppose you''re going to take care of the kid?"


    "Already am." Valyr grinned, to which Julian let out a chuckle in response. After talking a bit more about what both sides would do with Edward and his parents, it was only then did Julian leave Valyr on his own for good, finally allowing thetter to continue where he had left off.


    "System, open up the Technology Tree." Rubbing his hands in expectation, the young man looked at the screen that appeared before him with an enthusiastic smile. With the conversation between him and Julian giving him some time to think about the advancements he would be unlocking to start experimenting with guns, it did not take long for him to start going on a Technology Point spending spree.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Copper Age Material Refinement Lv. 1>.]


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: Copper Age Material Refinement Lv. 1>.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Ancient Age Mathematics> to Level 5 (MAX).]


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Understanding: Ancient Age Philosophy> to Level 5 (MAX).]


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: The Art of War Lv. 1>.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Ancient Age Gunpowder Production Lv. 1>.]


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Ancient Age Ranged Weapons Lv. 1>.]


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Early Middle Age Firearms> to Level 5 (MAX).]


    Not minding how much Technology Points he would have left after the spending spree, Valyr focused all of his attention on reaching the most important advancement he would need to start experimenting with gun creation, which was the advancement that told him how to make gunpowder.


    From what he could remember from his past life, gunpowder was initially supposed to be an experiment done by a person aiming to create an elixir that would allow them to live longer. However, what the person ended up making instead was something that connoted death more than life, bringing about the birth of weapons of mass destruction.


    ''Then again, ultimate skills are far more destructive than guns inparison,'' briefly thought the young man with a mocking chuckle, feeling somewhat giddy as ideas of how he would use guns in a predominantly magic-based world to his favor gradually surfaced in his mind.


    By the end of his spending spree, only a couple hundred Technology Points remained, with all of the advancements that he had yet to unlock now all needing a few hundred of them just to be avable. Nevertheless, with his spending spree, he was able to unlock most of the advancements within the Iron Age, upgrading the advancements that he deemed necessary to be maxed for the experiment.


    On the other hand, with a lot of things happening during the Ancient Age in Earth''s history, Valyr was only able to unlock around a third of the advancements that could be unlocked within the technological era. Aside from some advancements that he felt would help him out in the future, most of the advancements he had unlocked within this era all had to do with warfare and weapons.


    Though,st but not the least, he had also unlocked a few more advancements stemming from the Early Middle Ages, granting him the knowledge needed to create guns in the first ce.


    "Time to begin our experiment." Shivering with delight, the young man closed the screen before him as he rubbed his hands in excitement. Though, not long after, this excitement swiftly disappeared as he was reminded of the other thing he would need to begin experimenting.


    "Right¡­" At this realization, Valyr bitterly smiled as he requested an attendant toe to his workshop.


    "Forgot about resources."

 Chapter 568 Fuel for Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 568 Fuel for Destruction</h4>


    "Thank you." After waiting around the workshop for a while, the attendant Valyr had requested earlier finally arrived with the materials he asked for, prompting thetter to give the former his sincerest thanks. Watching the attendant disappear from his field of vision, the young man eventually returned to the workshop,ying out all of the items he had requested on a nearby table.


    "So, firearms¡­" Allowing the gears in his mind to turn, Valyr brought up all of the knowledge he had just gained from the Technology Tree about firearms, as well as the knowledge he had obtained from his past life.


    Essentially speaking, a firearm was just another name for a gun. However, if one were to be very specific with its definition, then a firearm referred to any portable weapon capable of shooting out a projectile thanks to a burning catalyst. Because of that definition, bows and crossbows were only ssified as ranged weapons, even though their destructiveness could match firearms under the right hands.


    Feeling like his train of thought was going on a tangent, the young man took some time topose himself as he took in a few deep breaths. After that, he focused all of his thoughts on creating a gun, shifting his attention towards the items he hadid out earlier.


    "I''ll definitely be skipping a lot of steps here and there," murmured the young man to himself as his mind began to formte all sorts of ns on what he was going to do. Of course, even though he told himself that he was going to create a gun, what he was specifically going to make was the ancestor of all guns.


    The firence.


    From the knowledge given to him by the Technology Tree, as well as the research he had done in his past life after unlocking it, the firence was initially invented as a way to surprise one''s foes with a small explosion inbat. With the element of surprise on their side, the wielder of the firence would be able to plunge their spear deep into their enemies, allowing the chances of their side winning to increase.


    At this thought, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a faint chuckle. After all, from another perspective, that meant that the ancestor of all guns was a spear.


    "Then again, it''s more like an attachment to the spear rather than the entire spear itself," rified the young man to himself soon after, realizing sometimeter that the firence was just basically a pistol with a cumbersome handle that was a pain in the ass to reload.


    "In any case, it''s not like I can''t tinker around with how I go about making the firence." Briefly shrugging his shoulders at the thought, Valyr moved all of the items he wouldn''t need for the meantime to the side, leaving only three cloth sacks on the center of the table. "Now that I think about it, emting the matchlock mechanism wouldn''t be that hard¡­"


    "¡­in concept anyway." After that, he opened the sacks, revealing its contents to him. "For now¡­"


    "I need to make gunpowder."


    Bringing up the information he had gotten from unlocking the relevant advancement in his Technology Tree, Valyr looked at the three sacks for a bit before looking around the workshop for a bowl he could use to dump the contents in. Eventually finding a box that could serve as a makeshift bowl for the meantime, the young man faintly scratched the back of his head as he went over the process in his mind.


    "Saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur," Valyr muttered. "The first step is to crush these three things into a fine powder first. After that, I would have to mix them in a specific ratio and make sure that the whole mixture looks homogenous."


    "Once the color is consistent all throughout, I would''ve sessfully made myself the most basic version of gunpowder." Nodding after going through the steps in his mind a couple of times, the young man went ahead and grabbed a bit of charcoal from one of the sacks, plopping it into the box before swinging the Hammer of Beginnings down on it.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "I might need a few more boxes." Feeling the table wobble after the first couple hits from his hammer, Valyr made the smart decision to move the box with the charcoal onto the anvil before continuing. However, before he could even pulverize the charcoal into a fine powder, the box he had been using as a bowl could not withstand the force, shattering into pieces.


    "¡­" Looking at the broken pieces of wood and fragments of charcoal spread all over the floor, the young man took in a long and deep breath as he pinched the space between his eyebrows. "On second thought, I need to get me a mortar and pestle."


    Cleaning up the mess he had made, Valyr asked an attendant to bring him a mortar and pestle sometime after he was done. Then, while waiting for the mortar and pestle toe, he decided to forge a few decently sized bowls out of metal, feeling like he would be making a ton of gunpowder for the foreseeable future.


    "Here you go, sir. A mortar and pestle." Surprisingly, the attendant had not arrived with the item Valyr requested until after two hours had passed, looking at the young man with an apologetic expression. "I checked the guild''s equipment room first if we had any spare mortar and pestles made by other cksmiths. However, there were none, so I had to make a trip to the Alchemist Guild and get one from there."


    "I apologize for making you wait so long." At these words, Valyr patted the attendant on the shoulder and gave them a young smile. After that, he gave the attendant a few tinum coins, which left thetter at aplete loss for words.


    "Good work." Grabbing the mortar and pestle from the attendant, the young man went ahead and returned to where the items were, leaving the dumbfounded attendant alone before they eventually decided to leave on their own ord.


    "Alright. Let''s start over." With a few bowls made out of ironid out on the table, Valyr plopped the mortar and pestle onto the table before going through the gunpowder making process all over again.


    "First off¡­ the charcoal." Taking a handful of charcoal from the sack, the young man began to carefully grind it into a fine powder, adding more of the pieces he had grabbed after seeing there was more space in the mortar. By the time a half hour had passed, he had filled the mortar halfway with charcoal, prompting him to dump it into one of the bowls before proceeding onto the next step.


    "Saltpeter." Simr to the charcoal, Valyr dropped a few pieces of saltpeter into the mortar before proceeding to grind it. Then, once he noticed that the saltpeter he had put in at first had already turned to fine powder, only then did he add more saltpeter, repeating the process all over again.


    "Last but not the least, sulfur." Dumping the ground saltpeter into another bowl, the young man noticed how the saltpeter had taken on a slight gray color, prompting him to think about the charcoal from earlier. Wondering if this would affect the gunpowder mixtureter, the young man eventually shrugged his shoulders in response, thinking that its effects would probably not be much.


    With that, he went through the same process with the sulfur, turning into a fine powder that had been partly contaminated with the saltpeter and charcoal he had ground before. Briefly scratching the back of his head as he looked at the fine powders he had created, the young man let out a sigh before proceeding to mix the items into another bowl in a specific ratio.


    Stirring it thoroughly with a metal rod, Valyr removed the metal rod from the bowl after he noticed that the color of the mixture had be homogenous. Dumping a bit of the mixture into yet another bowl, the young man grabbed a piece of wood before lighting it with the furnace, only to then drop it onto the bowl with the mixture.


    ''Here we go¡­'' Hastily distancing himself from the bowl as he covered his ears, Valyr was expecting to hear a loud bang to echo throughout the room. However¡­


    Fizz¡­


    Rather than hear a loud bang, the sound he heard instead was simr to what one would hear from a campfire. In fact, the sight within his bowl was quite simr, with the mixture having turned into smoldering embers.


    "Well then¡­" Seeing that his first attempt at making gunpowder was a failure, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face. Nevertheless, he was not discouraged at all, instead expecting it after thinking about the questions he had asked himself during the process.


    "Guess it''s time to do it all over again." Dumping out the contents of the bowl into the furnace, the young man took in a deep breath as he began to go through the process all over again, making sure to not make the mistakes he had done in his first attempt.


    In any case, no matter how many attempts it would end up taking him, Valyr was going to make sure that before the inheritance began¡­


    He would get his hands on some goddamn gunpowder.

 Chapter 569 Creating a Firearm

    <h4>Chapter 569 Creating a Firearm</h4>


    "Attempt number¡­ what number was I on again?" Over the course of a day and a half, Valyr had allocated most of his time towards his attempts to make gunpowder, only for most of it to end up a failure. Though he had gotten lucky on some of his attempts along the way, he decided to keep continuing, wanting to make sure that he had the entire process fullymitted to memory.


    "Well, whatever number I may be on, I''ve tweaked the ratio to where it''s 75 parts saltpeter, 15 parts charcoal, and 10 parts sulfur." Taking in a deep breath, he ced a bit of the mixture he had just finished stirring onto another bowl before isting it from the production area. "During thest few attempts, the gunpowder mixture has be explosive, but it''s stillcking that small oomph I''m looking for."


    Thinking about the multiple number of attempts Valyr had done thus far, the young man was reminded of the initial ratio he was working with, which came from the knowledge instilled in him from unlocking the gunpowder advancement on the Technology Tree.


    "I wonder why the system thought 30 parts saltpeter, 55 parts charcoal, and 15 parts sulfur to be the perfect ratio in making gunpowder." Inwardly shrugging his shoulders at the thought as he was thankful he had not stopped experimenting the mixture''s ratio, the young man took in a deep breath before proceeding to light the mixture with a torch he had lit beforehand.


    "3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­" Bit by bit, he moved the torch closer to the bowl, enveloping his entire body in ayer of mana in the process as a safety measure. Fortunately for him, once the first few embers had made contact with the gunpowder mixture he made¡­


    Bang!


    Within seconds, the entire mixture on the bowl ignited, being apanied by a small cloud of smoke. As the smoke gradually dissipated on its own, the young man retracted the torch back while shifting his attention towards the bowl, whose surface only had soot and a bit of residue remaining.


    "I can finally move onto making the actual firence." Pouring a great amount of water on the bowl to avoid any mishaps, the young man briefly let out a cackle, feeling great joy at the fact that he had sessfully learned how to make gunpowder.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at finally being able to move forward, Valyr grabbed the bowl he had used to do gunpowder testing before heading back to the production area. Once there, he went ahead andbined all of the charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur he had ground earlier into one giant bowl, keeping in mind the specific ratio he had just unlocked.


    ¡­


    "This willst me for quite some time." By the time a couple of hours had passed, the young man had converted most of the charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur he had gotten into the gunpowder mixture, deciding to use one of the now empty sacks to store the mixture for the meantime. "Now that I think about it, I should get my hands on arger spatial bracelet before the inheritance begins."


    "Or should I ask a mage to expand the space within the spatial bracelet I currently have?" Removing all unnecessary items from the table he was using as his work area, the young man took a look at the items he had put to the side earlier, only to grab a few of them and ce them on the table sometimeter.


    "Cordage, a hollowed-out tube made out of treated Stonewood, a rod also made out of treated Stonewood, and the gunpowder mixture I made earlier." Deciding to save the topic of his spatial bracelet for some other time, the young man brought up the knowledge he had gotten from the Technology Tree regarding the creation of the firence, closing his eyes for a bit as he thought about the process.


    "Since I''m using the firence solely to gain more knowledge on how to make a gun, there''s no need for me to make a spear tip." Feeling like he had gotten a good idea of what he had to do, the young man went ahead and grabbed the wooden rod and wooden tube, affixing the tube onto one end of the rod with some string coated in strong adhesive.


    "Speaking of which, I''ll save the blueprint making part for when I''ve obtained all of the knowledge I could," muttered the young man, nodding in satisfaction as the tube stayed intact even after he swung the rod with a lot of force. "Though the system would help me remove the possible issues that may arise here and there, I''d rather have it help me improve the final product than fix my problems."


    Seeing that the tube won''t move no matter what he did, Valyr proceeded to create a hole on the covered end of the tube with a hand drill, inwardly thanking the workshop for having such a tool on hand. Then, after making sure that the hole could be seen on the other side, he went ahead and cut a bit of cordage before shoving it through the hole.


    "Now that I think about it, how did the gunpowder not pour out of the tube?" As this question came to mind, the young man scooped a bit of the gunpowder mixture before pouring it into the tube, tapping the entire structure a couple of times to make sure the gunpowder was tightly packed inside.


    "Well, whatever the answer may be, it''s time to test this thing out." Satisfied with the amount of gunpowder within the tube, Valyr proceeded to light the cordage he had attached before changing his grip over the entire thing into a grip that would suit gun usage more.


    Watching the cordage slowly burn off, a couple of thoughts surfaced in the young man''s mind in response to his earlier question. However, before he could think about those thoughts any further¡­


    Bang!


    As the lit cordage and the gunpowder within the tube interacted, a sh of light briefly appeared on the open end of the tube as a loud explosion resounded soon after. While that was happening, the young man felt the firence greatly tremble due to the explosion, prompting him to strengthen his grip over the entire thing while his ears rang for a brief moment.


    "I¡­ am definitely stupid." Giving his arms some time to get over the recoil he felt from the firence, the young man ced the firence to the side for the meantime as he noticed a few of the cksmiths leave their workshop due to the sound he had made. Apologizing for interrupting them one by one, Valyr was only able to return to the workshop after about ten minutes had passed.


    "I should really wear ear protection next time." Taking a look at the firence to see if the tube had suffered any damage, the young man was d to find out that the tube only looked to be covered in the soot generated by the explosion. Gleeful over the sess of his first attempt on making the firence, the young man brought the firence with him to the center of the workshop as multiple thoughts began to arise in his mind.


    "With the firence being a sess¡­"


    "It''s time to move onto the next step."


    "Further experimentation and modification."

 Chapter 570 The Day Before Departure

    <h4>Chapter 570 The Day Before Departure</h4>


    "To think he hadn''t left the workshop even after upgrading his armor to Epic+ rarity¡­" Walking through the corridor that led to the guild''s various private workshops, Julian faintly shook his head as he lightly sighed. "Doesn''t he know he has to depart for the inheritance tomorrow?"


    From the time Julian had entered the workshop Valyr was upying to give thetter his identification badge and news about the negotiation, roughly three days had unknowingly passed, with the day the Four Pirs'' Inheritance opened happening tomorrow.


    Of course, in those three days, Valyr had put in most of his attention towards creating gunpowder, making a firence, as well as modifying the firence he had made into something more gun-like.


    However, Julian knew nothing about that.


    "Valyr, you there?" Letting out a low sigh as he thought about reprimanding Valyr for losing track of his time, all of those thoughts briefly disappeared as Julian caught the faint scent of something burning wafting throughout the young man''s workshop. For a while, a bit of concern appeared on the man''s face as he thought Valyr had gotten into an ident of sorts.


    "Yeah? What''s wrong?" Fortunately for him, all of those concerns swiftly disappeared once he heard the familiar energetic voice of the young man, prompting Julian to let out a sigh of relief as he made his way into the workshop.


    "I just wanted to remind you that you''ll have to depart for the inheritance tomorrow." With the concern he felt for the young man''s safety, thoughts of reprimanding the young man disappeared from his mind as he instead bluntly told Valyr his reasons foring. "Though, from the looks of it, it seems like you haven''t forgotten it?"


    "How could I?" Hearing Julian''s question, Valyr let out a bit ofughter, his body entirely rxed as he sat down on a chair. "Aside from the fact that I was sure you''d reprimand me if I forgot, I would definitely regret it if I missed the opening of the inheritance."


    "Well, I''m d that you know there are consequences to missing it, at least." Before entering the workshop, Julian expected the young man to still be engrossed in the work he was doing. However, with reality in front of him being a stark contrast to his expectations, the man could only let out a slightly awkward chuckle.


    "Oh, right. I smelled something burning before entering the workshop." Feeling the air around them bing more awkward, the man decided to change the topic to what he had noticed earlier, a slightly worried expression appearing on his face. "Did a fire break out here or something?"


    "Ah, that." Raising his eyebrow in slight confusion, Valyr eventually put two and two in his mind as he briefly chuckled. Standing from his seat, he then made his way to a table ced a considerable distance away from the furnace, prompting Julian to look at the table.


    Or, more specifically, the item that was ced on its surface.


    "This would be the cause of that scent you smelled," said Valyr, pointing at the item on the table. "I suppose you''ve gotten noiseints from a few cksmiths the past few days?"


    "I did." With his eyes slightly widening, Julian nodded, recalling the multiple documents he had gotten about it. "Don''t tell me you also had something to do with that?"


    "Yeah¡­" Awkwardly chuckling, Valyr scratched the back of his head with a nod. "Well, I had no choice if I wanted to make this item."


    "What kind of item is it anyway?" At that question, Julian looked at the item in greater detail, taking note of the long metal tube that made up most of it. Affixed to its covered end was a handle that looked to be made out of treated wood, shaped in a way where the wielder would be able to grip on it without a problem.


    Deciding to pick up the item, Julian eventually noticed that there was a small hole on the side of the tube near the grip. Slightly tilting his head in confusion, the man only felt even more confused once he noticed the small bowl-shaped attachment under the hole, as well an attachment beside the hole that looked to be a ce that one could string cordage through.


    "It''s a weapon I''m still in the process ofpleting." Seeing that Julian had ced the item back in its rightful ce, Valyr looked at the man with a calm yet confident smile. "There''s still a long way to go before it reaches its final form, but I guess it''s already reached a usable state?"


    "Have you given this weapon a name yet?" Hearing that the item was actually a weapon, Julian looked at Valyr with curiosity, getting the feeling that it served a far greater purpose than he initially thought.


    "I don''t have an exact name for it yet¡­" Valyr shed a wry smile. "However, for the meantime, I''ve decided to call it an arquebus."


    "Arquebus¡­" Repeating the word a couple of times in his memory, Julian eventually gave Valyr a nod. "It does seem like the name fits for such a weapon."


    "Anyways, don''t forget you''ll have to depart for the inheritance tomorrow." Feeling like he had already stayed long enough in Valyr''s workshop, Julian prepared to take his leave. "Better get some rest early since we''ll be heading to the ce before dawn."


    "Where will we be meeting up tomorrow?" asked Valyr, taking a look outside the window. Seeing that the sun in the sky had reached its peak, the young man thought that there was still time for him to do somest minute preparations.


    "At the entrance of the cksmith Guild," replied Julian, waving farewell to the young man soon after. "I''ll personally escort you there."


    "Got it." Nodding as he waved back farewell in response, Valyr watched Julian''s silhouette disappear from his field of vision before focusing his attention towards the weapon he had made.


    "I guess I might have some use for you in the inheritance." Smiling in satisfaction as the weapon was the culmination of all his effort so far, the young man went ahead and tied a long loop of cordage around it before slinging it around his back. After that, he stored the leftover cordage and gunpowder mixture he had made prior into his spatial bracelet.


    Double checking to see if he had forgotten anything, the young man bitterly smiled as he grabbed the spear he had forged for Wells at the veryst minute, affixing it to his back as well.


    "That''s pretty much everything, I guess." Checking one more time to see if he had forgotten anything, it was only then did the young man finally leave the workshop, bringing along many items with him in tow.


    For the meantime, he was going to make a detour to where Wells and Edward were.

 Chapter 571 A Parting Conversation

    <h4>Chapter 571 A Parting Conversation</h4>


    "And thus, he decides to finally show up." Opening the door that led to the room they were staying in, Valyr was instantly greeted by a mocking voice, prompting him to bitterly smile in response. "What took you so long?"


    "I was holed up in the cksmith Guild all this time." Staring at the man before him that had his arms crossed, Valyr faintly chuckled. "Doesn''t my current appearance already make that obvious?"


    "How would I know whether the items you brought along were forged or bought?" In response, Wells looked back at the young man with a raised eyebrow, only to let out a bit ofughter not long after as he put down his arrogant facade. "Man, keeping that up was hard."


    "Anyways, it''s been a while." Sharing a bit ofughter between the two of them, the man went ahead and embraced Valyr before proceeding to catch up on what the other side was doing during the time they had not seen each other.


    "Seriously, you upgraded your armor set in preparation for the inheritance?" Listening to Valyr recount what he had done during the past few days, Wells'' eyes widened in disbelief. "Hasn''t your armor set already reached Epic grade or something?"


    "It has." Valyr nodded, taking off the set of armor as he moved all of them to his portion of the room one by one. "However, we don''t know what I mighte across within the inheritance, so I enhanced my armor just for safe measure."


    "How about the items you''ve been carrying on your back?" With Valyr moving back and forth from his part of the room to the main living area multiple times, it did not take long for Wells to notice the two other items on the young man''s back aside from his spear.


    In fact, seeing that there was another spear on Valyr''s back, a few expectant thoughts popped up in the man''s mind. Though, with the young man talking about the inheritance and how he was preparing for it, Wells eventually thought that Valyr had forged the spear for the inheritance.


    Which was why Wells was left at a loss for words when the young man gave the other spear to him.


    "One of them is something I might be using in the inheritance," replied Valyr with a slight grin, referring to the primitive gun he had made. "As for the other spear I brought along with me, it''s naturally something I forged that was meant for you."


    "This¡­" Feeling at a slight loss for words, Wells could only stare at the simple-looking spear that was given to him, thinking that its appearance was not much different from the metal spear he had been using all this time. However, with his senses being enhanced after ascending through the ranks, he knew that an immense amount of strength slumbered within the spear, just waiting for him to tap into it.


    "¡­" Unsurprisingly, the man only became even more speechless once he took a look at the spear''s stats. Being a massive improvement to the spear he was wielding before, Wells truly did not know what to say, even going so far as to faintly wonder whether his friend would charge him for the spear.


    "With how I''ve been mostly forging stuff for myself and for money, I realized that I haven''t really forged anything for you yet." Fortunately, such thoughts were non-existent in the young man''s mind, instead feeling happy for his good friend for getting his hands on an incredibly good spear. "Because of that, you don''t have to pay me anything back for this one."


    At those words, Wells felt tears starting to well up around his eyes, inwardly questioning himself as to why he had gotten emotional all of a sudden. Nevertheless, he eventually let those tears flow, silently sobbing as the young man gave him some alone time.


    ¡­


    "So, you gained a subss from Elder Noel?" After Wells had stopped crying, the two of them continued where their conversation had left off, with Wells narrating to Valyr about what he had done in the Spearman Guild.


    "Yeah." As he nodded in response, Wells thought about the other item Valyr had on his back, prompting him to ask about it in their conversation earlier. With the young man only telling him that it was a unique type of ranged weapon, he was forced to move onto another topic, talking about his experiences involving Noel with a slight grin.


    "I don''t know if you had anything to do it, but once people from the Spearman Guild found out that I had the True Spear Schr ss, Elder Noel instantly approached and offered me a subss that would synergize with my current ss well."


    "Perhaps, you could even say that it''s a better fitpared to the subss you wanted to give me," added the man not long after, prompting Valyr to let out a faint chuckle in response.


    "As long as you think it synergizes with your main ss well, then that''s great," said Valyr, only for a question to pop up in his mind not long after. "Speaking of which, where''s Edward?"


    "At the Spearman Guild." Hearing those words from Wells, the young man widened his eyes in slight surprise. Fortunately, just as he was about to ask why the kid was there, his good friend began to exin.


    "After I had gotten the subss from Elder Noel, I brought Edward to the Experience Pit just like you said," Wells told Valyr, to which thetter nodded as he continued to listen. "I don''t know if this was the reason why you brought him in, but Edward is actually pretty good atbat with all things considered."


    "He was so good, in fact, that Elder Noel, who decided to tag along since he had nothing else to do that day, decided to make Edward his direct disciple."


    "Is that so?" At those words, Valyr did not know whether tough or cry. After all, ording to his past life, the kid had picked up the way of the sword at first, only toprehend a sword concept after that, beginning his journey to bing the Grand Marshal of the Zeihardt Sovereignty.


    However, perhaps as a joke by the heavens, or perhaps due to his influence, Edward had begun his journey inbat by picking up the way of the spear instead, which was something he and Wells were also following.


    ''I guess I''ve drastically changed the storyline of this world yet again.'' Bitterly chuckling on the inside, Valyr could only let out a sigh as he and Wells continued their conversation, only stopping after both of them had fully caught up with what the other was doing.

 Chapter 572 Final Preparations

    ?


    "I don''t know how long I''ll be out to explore the inheritance, but do take care of Edward while I''m gone." Seeing that their conversation was over, Valyr took a look outside one of the room''s windows to check the time, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as he found out a couple of hours had passed.


    Taking opportunity of the fact that the two had pretty much said everything they needed to say, the young man ced the primitive gun he had forged into his part of the room before bidding farewell to his friend to the meantime, telling him that he was heading to the Boundless Skill Pavilion.


    In response, Wells told him to take care of himself while he was out, to which the young man responded in a nod as the door leading out their room was eventually closed.


    Staring at the closed door for a while, the expression on Wells'' face changed multiple times. By the end of it, he let out a sigh as he headed back to his part of the room, the thoughts currently swirling in his mind unknown to the others.


    As for Valyr, after leaving the inn the three of them were staying in, the young man swiftly made his way to the Boundless Skill Pavilion to grab some skills he felt were essential during his exploration of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Considering that he would still return to the inn once he was finished with his shopping spree, he did not bother wearing his upgraded armor set, only making sure that [Enhanced Polymorph] was active along the way.


    Once there, one of the attendants came up to him and asked him as to what kind of skills he wanted to buy from the pavilion. Knowing exactly what skills he would need for the inheritance tomorrow, the young man directly told the attendant helping him the names of the skills, prompting the attendant to go silent for a bit.


    "Please follow me, sir." Thankfully, it did not take long for the attendant to give Valyr a response, urging thetter to follow them as they traversed a considerable portion of the Boundless Skill Pavilion. Eventually, the two of them arrived at a part of the pavilion the young man was familiar with, which was the section containing passive skill books.


    ''It''s a shame I can''tprehend the original skills again afterbining them into a new skill,'' thought the young man himself as he searched through the various bookshelves before him. ''If I could, I would''ve bought those passive skills again. Imagine how strong I would be if those skills stacked with [Unearthed Innate Potential]?''


    Allowing his mind to briefly daydream about such possibilities, Valyr went ahead and grabbed [Innate Regeneration] and [Innate Energy Regeneration] from one of the bookshelves in front of him. Unlike the other passive skills in the past with the word ''Innate'' on them, these two skills had not been part of thebination, allowing its effects to stack with the boosted regeneration brought by [Unearthed Innate Potential].


    Heading to another part of the passive skill book section, the young man then shifted his thoughts to skills that went beyondbat. Considering that he and the others would be probably be exploring the inheritance for quite a long time, Valyr thought that it wouldn''t be bad toplement his current skill set with lifestyle skills.


    With that, he went ahead and grabbed [Basic Cooking], [Basic First Aid], and [Basic Mending]. Thinking about whether or not there were other lifestyle skills he had missed, the young man eventually thought that he had pretty much grabbed all of the passive skills he deemed necessary for this journey, prompting him and the attendant to head to the active skill book section.


    ¡­


    ''Hmm¡­ now that I think about it, I don''t really have a lot of defensive skills in my arsenal.'' Arriving at another part of the Boundless Skill Pavilion, the thought arose in the young man''s mind. Though he did have skills that bolstered his defense, such as [Defense Aura+], it was not a skill that truly defended against an attack.


    Of course, he did have [Dark Serpentine Repulsion] from [Shadow Serpent Combat Style], which was a defensive skill in every sense of the word. However, with how his strength would weaken the longer he used the spear inbat, he considered the skill as something he''d only use when extremely needed.


    With that, he felt like he had to obtain a couple of actual defensive skills, even though he had no need on it so far. Having no knowledge of what the inheritance might contain, he wanted to be safe than sorry, knowing that the walls he would conjure from the ground could only defend him from so much.


    ''I should also expand my arsenal of healing skills, considering that those skills finally scale ordingly to my INT stat.'' While looking through the active skill book section for defensive skills he might have use for, a simr thought popped up in the young man''s mind soon after, increasing the number of skills he had to find.


    By the end of his perusal through the pavilion''s active skill book section, Valyr had picked up a total of three defensive skills. Two of the defensive skills were based on his mastery of mana, which were named [Mana Barrier] and [Mana Shield], while the remaining defensive skill was based on the strength of his vitality, which was named [Bulwark of Life].


    While the first two defensive skills were self-exnatory, [Bulwark of Life] would create ayer of invisible armor above Valyr''s skin, reducing the amount of damage he would take based on how high his VIT and Vigor stat was. The only downsides to it were the fact that it consumed a lot of mana to create and it took a lot of time for him to be able to activate after dispelling it.


    As for healing skills, he had only obtained two, which were [Inferior Regeneration] and [Inferior Group Heal]. With [Lesser Heal] already under his belt, he had more or less covered every possible scenario that needed healing, with the only scenario to be exempted from that being instant death.


    Seeing as he had already grabbed defensive and healing skills to fill out his arsenal, the young man eventually decided to grab some support skills as well, allowing him to truly round out his abilities. Knowing that the others had support skills of their own that would greatly buffed theirbat strengths, he decided to grab some skills that would allow their exploration of the inheritance to be a bit easier.


    "[Feather Steps] and [Inferior Lightweight]." Grabbing these two skills, Valyr nodded in satisfaction as he felt like he had grabbed all of the skills he would need for the journey. Unlike [Fleeting Feet], which had be a part of [Limit Break], [Feather Steps] increased a person''s movement speed by a considerable degree proportional to their AGI. As for [Inferior Lightweight], it allowed one''s body to feel lighter, which would reduce the amount of stamina they would consume during their journey.


    ''Hmm¡­ should I grab some debuff skills as well?'' Going through all of the skills he had grabbed so far, the question popped up into the young man''s mind. After all, even though all of them participating in the inheritance were strong in their own right, that did not mean that they would note across an unbeatable enemy in the inheritance, where a debuff skill would make it easier.


    ''Nah.'' However, after thinking about it for a bit, he decided not to do so, feeling like debuff skills were not his style. Plus, with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] in his arsenal, he had no need for debuff skills whatsoever.


    After all, he could just strike the enemy at their weakest.


    With that, the young man turned to look at the attendant and told them that he was ready to check out. Nodding in response, thetter led the Valyr to the checkout section, arriving there a few minutester.


    ¡­


    "As you''ve grabbed a total of 12 skill books at Common grade, your total is 600 gold coins." Recording the skill books Valyr had grabbed from the pavilion, the cashier faintly nodded after making sure his records were not wrong.


    "Here you go." Nodding in response to the price, Valyr went ahead and brought out his money pouch, taking out six tinum coins from it before cing them on the counter. After that, a moment of realization hit him, prompting him to take out a card from his spatial bracelet soon after. "I have to show this during checkout, right?"


    "To think it would be an esteemed customer! My apologies!" Seeing the card Valyr had brought out, the cashier instantly became more polite, giving the young man a respectful bow.


    Looking at Valyr to see if he was angry at him, the cashier inwardly let out a sigh of relief after seeing the young man not take offense to his earlier actions. Recovering from the surprise brought about by Valyr''s card, the cashier took in a deep breath before nodding.


    "To answer sir''s question, that would be correct. As you''re considered a Basic-level VIP member of the pavilion, the final price of your purchase shall be reduced by 10%, only needing you to pay 540 gold coins instead," said the cashier.


    "I see." Nodding in understanding after the exnation, Valyr let the cashier do what he needed to do, cing all of the skill books he had bought into his spatial bracelet once thetter grabbed his money. Obtaining 60 gold coins as change, the young man stored the card back into his spatial bracelet as he prepared to leave.


    "Thank you for patronizing the Boundless Skill Pavilion once again, esteemed customer!" Once the cashier had given Valyr his change, he gave the young man yet another respectful bow, which slightly annoyed thetter. However, this annoyance he felt swiftly disappeared once he heard the cashier''s next words.


    "If there''s anything else the Boundless Skill Pavilion can do to help the esteemed customer out, we''ll be d to do so."


    "Anything, you say?" At those words, a thought from a few days ago surfaced on the young man''s mind, causing a slight grin to appear on Valyr''s face. With the grin growing even wider, the man looked at the cashier before asking, "If that''s the case¡­"


    "Is it fine if I buy a spatial bracelet from your pavilion?"

 Chapter 573 The Night Before Departure

    ?


    "Well, that took longer than I thought it would." Leaving the Boundless Skill Pavilion with a smile on his face, Valyr tossed a spatial bracelet in the air a couple of times as if it were a toy. While doing so, he took a brief nce at the new spatial bracelet he now owned, its appearance no different from any other decorative bracelet.


    ''In any case, that''s money well spent.'' Grinning at the thought, Valyr recalled back to the sudden question he had asked the cashier, not being surprised to see the cashier remain unmoving for quite some time. After all, with the ce being well-known for their selection of skill books, for a customer to request a spatial bracelet was definitely unheard of.


    With that kind of thought, the cashier politely declined the request at first, reminding Valyr that the spatial bracelets the pavilion gave for free was for the sake of removing the burden the customers would have while carrying the skill books they bought. In response to those words, the young man merely smiled, taking out 10 tinum coins from his purse before cing it in front of the cashier.


    As Valyr looked at the cashier after that, thetter instantly knew what the former was trying to do. Nevertheless, he remained steadfast, even though 10 tinum coins was already an exorbitantly high amount of money for someone like him.


    "Heh¡­" Seeing the man before him unperturbed in front of such wealth, he more than doubled the amount of money on the counter, increasing the total of 25 tinum coins.


    At this point, the cashier''s eyes widened in disbelief, feeling multiple thoughts in his mind beginning to sh with one another. On one hand, the request Valyr wanted him to fulfill was incredibly simple, with the reward he would get from it allowing him to live life carefree for many years. On the other, if he allowed the young man to achieve what he wanted, there was a high chance he might be fired from his job.


    After all, as far as he knew, the manager of the pavilion was incredibly strict when it came to having its employees obey the rules. As someone who earned a lot more from the pavilion aside from his pay through its skill books, the cashier did not want to give up his position that easily.


    Unfortunately for the cashier, all those thoughts came crumbling once Valyr removed all of the tinum coins on the counter and reced it with a single tinum card. Seeing the amount of money the young man had put down, it was as if every ounce of hesitation within the cashier''s mind had been removed, prompting him to head back to the pavilion''s storage and grab the spatial bracelet that hadrgest space.


    ''Money truly makes the world go round.'' Inwardly chuckling at the cashier returning with the spatial bracelet, Valyr allowed the former to keep the tinum card he had brought out, earning him multiple words of gratitude. Then, once he had checked out that the new spatial bracelet had more space than his current one, only then did the young man leave the Boundless Skill Pavilion.


    With him obtaining his first spatial bracelet after spending a total of 20 tinum coins in the Boundless Skill Pavilion, the space within his new spatial bracelet was more than 10 timesrger than it, even though the amount he spent was only five times as much.


    "Hehe¡­" Returning his thoughts back to the present, Valyr took a look at the sky to see that there was still a couple of hours left before the sun would set. Thinking about how many items he could now store within his new spatial bracelet, the young man decided to finish off his final preparations for the inheritance by buying as much rations and potions with his remaining money.


    "Ah, right. I also need utensils, a tent, and a sleeping bag." Finalizing the list of things he needed to buy in his mind by adding a few more things, it was only did Valyr start moving, returning to the inn with all of the items he had bought in his spatial bracelet just before sunset.


    ¡­


    "Oh, Edward! You''re back." Though he was a bit tired from walking around the entire kingdom to obtain the items he needed, a smile still hung on his face once he arrived at the room he and the other two were staying in. Seeing Edward resting in the main living area with Wells, the smile on Valyr''s face only grew wider.


    "Ah! Valyr!" With how long it had been since the kid had seen him, a look of joy and gratitude appeared on Edward''s face as he came up to Valyr and hugged him. Unsurprisingly, the young man returned the hug back, slightly grinning as the two of them let go of each other sometimeter.


    "You''ve grown stronger since thest time I saw you," said Valyr to Edward as he wore his old spatial bracelet over his other wrist, deciding to sort all of his items out once he was alone. "From what Wells told me, you''ve been epted by Elder Noel as his direct disciple?"


    "That would be correct." As Edward responded in a somewhat cheerful mood, Valyr inwardly nodded with a smile. After all, in just a few days while he was away at the cksmith Guild, the kid''s personality had undergone a massive change, feeling as if he were talking to a kid that had not gone through all of Edward''s past hardships.


    "Does that mean you picked up the spear, then?" Asking this question to the kid, the young man recalled the conversation he and Julian had about Edward''s family. Just as he was wondering whether or not to tell the kid about it, all of a sudden, Edward red the entirety of his aura, which made Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity.


    "Not only that, but Elder Noel helped me reached the peak of Rank 0," said Edward in response, his expression brimming with glee. "ording to him, I only need a few more days before I can ascend to Rank 1."


    "Is that so?" Happy that the kid seemed motivated to get stronger, Valyr decided to take a look at the kid''s stats with [Greater Analysis] after asking thetter if he was fine with it. Getting a response back that it was fine, the young man went ahead and took a look at Edward''s stats in greater detail, only for him to raise his eyebrows in slight surprise not long after.


    ''Well, color me surprised.''


    ''Noel really went all out on this kid.''

 Chapter 574 More than Prepared

    <h4>Chapter 574 More than Prepared</h4>


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Edward Jerome Imperio]


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Level: 10


    Power Level: 294 (C+)


    Unused XP: 3,524


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 330/330


    MP: 320/320


    Attack: 70 - 70


    Defense: 66 - 66


    Stats: 33 VIT, 35 STR, 33 AGI, 35 DEX, 32 INT, 30 WIS, 33 PER, 28 LUK


    Remarks: Could give even those at Rank 1 a run for their money.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Taking a close look at Edward''s stats, Valyr inwardly sucked in a breath of cold air. After all, all of the kid''s stats had exceeded his even after he had taken the entire set of Basic Reinforcement Elixir.


    ''Imperio, huh¡­'' Though, after reminding himself that the kid would be the Grand Marshal of the Zeihardt Sovereignty in the future, the young man gradually calmed down, instead focusing his attention on the surname that appeared on the kid''s status screen.


    From what he could recall from his past life, the Imperio surname used to be held in high regard by the entire human race, being renowned as one of the strongest Imperial ns under the Zeihardt n. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the leader of the Imperio n had made a grave mistake, reducing the entire n to its current state in just over a thousand years.


    Fortunately, as if it was destined from the start, Edward''s rise to fame revived the Imperio n, allowing it to return to its previous standing as an Imperial n thanks to the meritorious feats the man had achieved during the War of the Three Sovereignties.


    ''Though, with how Edward''s stats are higher than what I had back then, I presume the Grand Marshal position wouldn''t be his final stop.'' Closing up the screen in front of him, the young man decided to tell Edward about the conversation he and Julian had, which made the kid frown at first. To him, any mention of the Nichs n brought a lot of bad memories to him.


    However, as Valyr talked more and more about it, Edward''s expression went through multiple changes, eventually stopping on surprise and gratitude. After all, from what he had heard from the young man in front of him, he and his parents were now considered free from the Nichs n''s grasp, returning their social status to citizens of the Algerie Kingdom.


    At this thought, tears started flow down Edward''s face, not expecting such a turn of events to arrive so soon. Knowing that the kid was shedding tears of joy from the matter, the young man decided to leave Edward be for the meantime, excusing himself from the two as he made his way to his part of the room.


    ¡­


    "I should really head to sleep soon." Lying down on his bed for a couple of minutes, Valyr eventually sat on the side of his bed as he began to transfer all of the items he used to store on his old spatial bracelet into his new one. Leaving the skill books he had just bought to the side, he then transferred a portion of the items he had bought earlier into his old spatial bracelet, deciding to re-purpose the bracelet as a backup.


    "I should really get my hands on spatial magic still." Taking a quick nce to see how Edward was doing, the young man could only smile once he saw the kid be more cheerful than ever as he stored the entire True Wyvern Armor into his new spatial bracelet. "Then again, this much space is more than enough for me for now."


    With all of the items he had prepared for the journey into the inheritance tomorrow already organized, Valyr took in a deep breath as he shifted his attention towards the stack of skill books beside him. Hearing Wells from the main living area tell him that he and Edward were to go eat dinner outside, the young man waited for the two of them leave before proceeding toprehend the skill books he had bought.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Innate Regeneration''.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Innate Energy Regeneration''.]


    [You have gained¡­]


    Having gone through the process ofprehending skill books many times back then, Valyr only felt a slight burden to his mind as the influx of information from the skills he had just learned bombarded his mind. With how much his strength had improved, his limits as to how many skills he couldprehend at once had also improved, allowing him to process and organize the knowledge he had gained without a problem.


    "Next up is to level them up and evolve them." Giving his mind some time to rest from the influx of information, the young man took a deep breath as he began to max out all of the skills he had gotten one by one. After that, he took a look at his skill list to see if there were any other skills that were left unleveled, eventually finding out that there were.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to consume 3 Common grade Skill Keys and 553,556 XP to upgrade ''Shadow Serpent Magic Style'', ''Basic Shadow Energy Maniption'', and ''Basic Mystic Energy Maniption'' to Umon grade?]


    "Yes." Confirming the prompt that had appeared in front of him, Valyr made a note to take a look at the description of some of the skills in his list, recalling that he had still not looked at some of them after all this time. Two great examples of that would be [Shadow Serpent Magic Style] and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], both of which the young man knew would prove definitely useful during his journey into the inheritance.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind, Valyr allowed the influx of information to inundate his mind as he felt his knowledge and understanding certain things to deepen. Then, after taking a considerably long break, he then upgraded all of the skills he had just bought and the three skills that were left unleveled to the peak of Umon grade.


    It was only at that moment did Valyr feel a great amount of burden on his mind, causing him to wryly smile.


    "Haah¡­" Nevertheless, having experienced far worse sensations in the past, the great mental burden he felt gradually subsided, which allowed Valyr to finally rx. Lying down on his bed as he decided to skip dinner for the night, the young man slowly closed his eyes as he asked himself whether he had forgotten anything important onest time.


    "Hmm... I do still have that vial of Might and the Outer Realm Scripture..." muttered the young man to himself as those two items came to mind. "I''ll just bring them along with me into the inheritance in the off chance I need them."


    "Other than that, I''m pretty much more than prepared for tomorrow." Nevertheless, the answer he arrived at was more or less the exact opposite, allowing him to have a sound sleep as he fell into deep slumber minutester.

 Chapter 575 The Day of Departure

    <h4>Chapter 575 The Day of Departure</h4>


    "Mngh¡­" Waking a couple hours earlier than he usually did, it took a while for Valyr to get out of bed. Though, once his consciousness finally came to, he swiftly went through his usual daily routine, changing into a fresh set of clothes half an hour after he had gotten up.


    ''Let''s double check if I''ve forgotten anything.'' With how early it was in the day, the young man made sure to not make a lot of noise whenever he moved. Taking a long look at his room, as well as the contents of his two spatial bracelets, Valyr eventually nodded in satisfaction after confirming that he had brought everything he would need.


    Briefly looking at both Wells and Edward soundly asleep in their respective parts of the room, a slight smile gradually crept up onto the young man''s lips as he faintly chuckled. Making his way to the door, a thought popped up in Valyr''s mind, prompting him to send a message to Wells before he left.


    "Take care of yourself and Edward, okay?" Feeling like their conversation yesterday and this message he had sent conveyed everything he needed to say, only then did the young man finally leave the inn, eventually arriving at the cksmith Guild sometimeter.


    ¡­


    "Ate breakfast yet?" Seeing a young man in casual clothes head to the cksmith Guild under the gradually disappearing moonlight, Julian shed a grin as he greeted the young man.


    "With how important this day is for many people, I couldn''t bring myself to take a detour." Greeting Julian back, Valyr shed a wry smile as his stomach slightly rumbled all of a sudden. "Also, what''s the status on the talks with the other directors?"


    "Still in the process of talking with them, but I believe they''ll eventually agree." Bitterly smiling in response to his question, Julian took out something from his spatial bracelet before giving it to the young man. Seeing that the man gave him some food to munch on, Valyr did not hesitate to eat the whole thing, thanking Julian in the process. "It''s just a matter of you getting out of the inheritance as soon as possible."


    "So, where are we heading?" Nodding as he finished the food he had been given in just a couple of minutes, the young man rubbed his stomach in relief as he asked this question.


    "The Imperial Production Guild," replied Julian as he began to head in the ce''s general direction. "All of us shall convene there before heading to where the inheritance is located."


    Nodding in understanding, the young man followed behind Julian as the two of them increased their pace. Pushing their speed to near the limits of what Valyr''s AGI stat could handle, the two eventually arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Production Guild within a couple of minutes.


    ¡­


    "To think you''d be the one escorting us to the inheritance this time around, Elder Faulerei." As both Valyr and Julian had arrived at the Imperial Production Guild, the two of them were slightly surprised that a group of people were already there. Though, with almost all of them having the insignia of the Imperial Production Guild on their clothing, that feeling swiftly disappeared. "I see Braum shall be apanying us as well."


    "d to be seeing you again, Julian." Hearing his name be called, Braum looked in Julian''s direction before giving thetter a wide grin. Not long after, he noticed the young man apanying Julian, inwardly chuckling as he knew who he truly was. "I see you''ve also brought Ylvar as well."


    "Well, he is the guild''s chosen candidate for the inheritance, after all," said Julian with a bit ofughter. Though, after that, his expression went solemn as he turned to look at Faulerei. "How long till the inheritance opens?"


    "Roughly two more hours," Faulerei responded, his expression neutral. "Let us wait for the other candidates to arrive before we depart."


    Hearing those words, Julian and Valyr looked at each other before slightly shrugging their shoulders. Initially, they thought that the others had already arrived before them while they made their way to the guild. Because of that, it was no surprise that the two of them hastened their paces, only for reality to be the exact opposite.


    Feeling that they would be waiting for quite some time, the two of them engaged in conversation with people they knew from the Imperial Production Guild. With that, Julian went ahead and talked with Elder Faulerei about topics other than the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, while Valyr approached Braum and the others, catching up on what the other side had been doing.


    "Did you know Merdus is here?" While talking about the skirmish against the orcs after running out of topics to discuss, Braum posed this question to Valyr all of a sudden, causing thetter to look around. Fortunately, it did not take long for the former mayor of Clossbay City to appear in his field of vision, donning a full suit of armor that had the insignia of the Imperial Production Guild on it.


    "So, that''s where he ended up after the arrest," said Valyr in response, nodding in understanding as he recalled the incident that transpired in Clossbay. Recalling what Braum had said back then, the young man felt like Merdus'' current position made a lot of sense. "What happened to Lucas, though?"


    "He''s at Clossbay," replied Madeline, one of the members of Braum''s reconnaissance team. "Though we did arrest him for his crimes, the Hekaetos n swiftly paid for his freedom after finding out his whereabouts."


    "If it''s any constion, not a lot of people frequent the Hekaetos Forging Emporium anymore," said Paul as he continued where Madeline left off. Then, with a knowing smile, he added, "As far as I''ve heard, something called the Crimson Forge is being frequented by more people recently?"


    "Is that so?" Chuckling at Paul''s words, the group continued to talk a bit more about Merdus after that, telling Valyr about how he was initially a member of the lower-ranking reconnaissance teams of the guild. However, with his talent and strength, he was able to work his way up thedder and be part of the guild''s 4th Reconnaissance Team, which was one of the teams selected by the guild to apany them on the journey to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    After that, not much conversation had urred as the other candidates of the inheritance arrived one by one with their escorts a few minutester. Seeing as all of the chosen candidates for the inheritance had gathered at the Imperial Production Guild''s entrance, Elder Faulerei faintly nodded in satisfaction as he attracted the attention of everyone in the surroundings.


    "Before we depart for the inheritance, I have something to tell to the candidates that would enter the inheritance." At these words, Valyr and the others looked at Faulerei with curiosity. Though, once they heard the man''s next words, smiles appeared on all of their faces.


    "The Imperial Production Guild¡­ no. The entire human race thanks you four for allowing the Four Pirs'' Inheritance to be finally explored in its entirety."


    "With that¡­"


    "Let us depart!"

 Chapter 576 A Few Reminders

    <h4>Chapter 576 A Few Reminders</h4>


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Faulerei had finished his words, a tform made out of mana appeared beneath the feet of everyone involved in the journey to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Not long after, these tforms began to hover off the ground as everyone was forced to use their own mana to stabilize themselves.


    "Hold on tight." As Faulerei said these words, it did not take long for everyone else to realize that he had been the one to create the tforms. Though amazed at the level of strength the old man had shown them, everyone still focused their attention on stabilizing themselves as everyone began to head away from the kingdom under Faulerei''s control.


    ¡­


    Swoosh!


    Though Faulerei was controlling the tforms of over 30 people at once, the old man did not seem the least bit burdened as everyone zoomed through the vast ins on the outskirts of the Algerie Kingdom. For some, the sight outside the kingdom was something they were just seeing for the first time, causing them to look around with expressions of wonder and awe on their faces.


    As for Julian, Valyr, and a great portion of the reconnaissance teams part of the journey, they instead looked at the surroundings with a solemn expression. With how the orcs had infiltrated the Akashic Battlefield without anyone noticing less than two weeks earlier, all of them remained vignt, reminding themselves that there was a chance for the orcs to ambush them along the way.


    After all, with howrge their group was, and how they were heading further into the outskirts of the kingdom, the orcs would eventually realize that they were heading to somewhere important.


    Fortunately, during their entire journey, they did note across any of the orcs whatsoever. Because of that, those from the reconnaissance team that remained vignt all this time let out a long sigh of relief, considering that their purpose ining along was to protect the candidates from any sudden ambushes.


    "We''re here." Seeing that they had finally arrived at their intended location, Faulerei dispelled all of the tforms he had been controlling all this time, allowing everyone to explore their current surroundings in greater detail.


    Then again, for the most part, everyone quickly gathered the fact that they had arrived at what looked to be the inner depths of a considerablyrge forest. Though everyone was tempted to take a look at their current location through the system''s map, Faulerei had made them swear an oath to not divulge any information regarding the inheritance''s location to others.


    With that, almost all of them had shifted their attention towards therge structure before them.


    "A gate¡­" Muttering these words to himself, Valyr had a solemn expression on his face as he intently looked at what he felt to be the entrance to the inheritance.


    Made out of what looked to be locally-sourced stone, the structure looked like a gate inspired by gate designs usually found in the east part of the continent. Aside from that, a few stone wheels of varying sizes were embedded on the ground in a specific position in front of the gate, all of them containing exquisite carvings.


    After looking at the entire thing for a bit more, the young man began to wonder whether they had arrived at the right ce, feeling nothing unique from the structure. At this point, many among the group began to feel like the entire thing felt like arge art piece made by a reclusive artist that wanted to leave a mark in the world.


    However, these thoughts all changed once Faulerei walked deeper into the structure, stepping on thergest stone wheel found in the center.


    "Haah!"


    Swoosh!


    As the old man red the entirety of his aura, it was as if the structure hade to life. Out of nowhere, a ray of golden energy shone down on therge stone gate, only for this ray of energy to spread throughout the various stone wheels located throughout the ce.


    One by one, the carvings on the stone wheels began to be filled with this golden energy, starting from the stone wheels that were farthest from the gate before making their way inward. Eventually, most of this golden energy congregated onto four stone wheels found on the four corners of thergest stone wheel, prompting Valyr and the other candidates to look at each other before nodding.


    "The entire structure has been gathering energy for the entire decade, all for the purpose of being opened once more." Nodding in satisfaction as he watched Valyr and the others step onto the four golden wheels, Faulerei looked at the others before deciding to exin more.


    "However, unlike other inheritances, which would open automatically on its own ord, this structure would only open once it has achieved two conditions: the first being the umtion of enough energy, and the second being the aura of a Legend."


    At those words, the eyes of Valyr and the other three widened in surprise. Though they were amazed by the fact that Faulerei could still wield a lot of strength, thoughts of the old man being a Legend did not cross their minds at all. At most, they expected him to be an Epic, or at least be close to bing a Legend.


    "Now, with the four candidates having taken their respective spots, the entrance to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance will open once I leave this spot." ncing at Valyr and the others for a bit, Faulerei continued his exnation, this time addressing it to the four. "With that, I''ll take this time to tell the four entering the inheritance a few reminders."


    "First off, one day inside the inheritance is equivalent to two weeks on the outside," said the old man, causing frowns to appear on Valyr and the other candidates. Being the chosen talents of their respective guilds, all of them knew that their presence could provide a lot of help in the skirmish against the orcs. In fact, some of them even began to hesitate entering the inheritance because of it.


    With howrge the time dtion was between the inheritance and the real world, over three months would have passed if they were to stay in the inheritance for a week. What more to say if they stayed in the inheritance for a longer time?


    At that point, they might not have a kingdom to return to.


    "With that being said, though you could take your time exploring the entirety of the inheritance, I still hope you keep in mind the time difference between the two," continued Faulerei after giving the four enough time to think, to which the four eventually nodded in response. "Due to the immense difference in time, the ability tomunicate with those from the outside world is disabled after you enter the inheritance, so I''d suggest you send your messages to your loved ones before you enter."


    Hearing that, the four looked back at Faulerei with a calm expression, prompting thetter to realize that they had already done so beforeing here. Nodding in satisfaction, the old man went ahead and gave the four his final reminder. "Though the first two reminders are important, this final reminder I shall be giving you is the most important of them all."


    Perking up their ears, Valyr and the other three listened attentively to what Faulerei had to say. However, once the old man was finished talking, everyone looked at him with confused expressions.


    "Ascend to Rank 3 as soon as you can."

 Chapter 577 Entering The Four Pillars

    ?


    Hearing Faulerei''s final reminder, Valyr and the other three looked at each other in confusion, wondering whether what they had heard was correct. From what they could recall, and from what they had been told all this time, the inheritance would only ept candidates that were at the peak of Rank 2 at most.


    Yet, the elder from the Imperial Production Guild was telling them to ascend to the next rank as soon as possible? Was he telling them to ascend right now?


    "Elder Faulerei, I apologize for asking." Wanting to know why the elder had blurted it out all of a sudden, Hal decided to ask him in the stead of others. "If I remember correctly, the reason why we''ve limited ourselves to the peak of Rank 2 is so that we could enter the inheritance, right?"


    Looking at Hal, Faulerei nodded in response. "That is correct."


    "Since that''s the case, wouldn''t ascending to the next ss rank sound counterintuitive?" At those words, a great part of the group nodded in agreement. After all, as far as they knew, entering the Four Pirs'' Inheritance could only be done before the candidate has ascended to Rank 3.


    Fortunately, at that moment, the elder''s words clicked in some of the people''s minds, finally understanding what he was trying to say. Seeing that, Faulerei shed a wry smile as he continued to look at Hal. "It seems you''ve misinterpreted my words."


    "I''m not asking you four to ascend to Rank 3 right now," said Faulerei. "I''m asking you four to ascend after you''ve entered the inheritance."


    "Ahh¡­" Thankfully, with those words, the four finally understood. Inferring from what the elder had told them, they only needed to be at the peak of Rank 2 to enter the inheritance proper. However, once they got in, the strength limit did not matter anymore, allowing them to ascend to the next ss rank without a problem.


    Then, with a greater level of strength, they would be able to explore more of the inheritance and obtain more out of it.


    "Aside from what you might be thinking, ascending within the inheritance also increases the abysmal concentration of mana within the inheritance by a considerable degree." Giving the four and the others time to think, Faulerei faintly nodded with a slight smile. "As we continue having more people enter the inheritance, the concentration of ambient mana within the inheritance will eventually be equal to the concentration of ambient mana here."


    "In any case, I have told you four everything you need to be reminded of." Feeling like now was time for the four to enter, Faulerei started to walk off therge stone wheel at the center, causing the golden energy within the structure to start moving. Within seconds, the golden energy within the stone wheels at the structure''s periphery made their way to the stone gate, gradually opening a rift as more and more golden energy was absorbed by the gate.


    "To the four of you, I wish you all the best of luck and a bountiful harvest." Standing where the four''s escorts and the reconnaissance teams were, the old man looked at the rift with a wide grin as he watched the four gradually make their way into the rift.


    However, just as the first person among the four was about to enter the rift¡­


    "Wait a second!" All of a sudden, everyone in the area looked in the direction of the voice, with some of them bing ck-jawed at the sight of the two people that had arrived.


    "Imperial Alchemist!" Faulerei was the first one to recognize one of the two people that had arrived, giving them a respectful half-bow as the two graduallynded on the clearing before the structure. "Might I ask what brings you and your apprentice here?"


    "What else if not for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance?" Hearing the question directed at her, Mystia let out a bit ofughter as she wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the one she brought along. "I n on having my apprentice here join the four right there in their exploration of the inheritance. Would that be fine with you, Faulerei?"


    At those words, Faulerei slightly frowned. "Your apprentice, Vera?"


    Looking at the young woman that had apanied Mystia, the old man felt like she could not match even the weakest among the four chosen candidates in terms of strength. However, after looking at her for a while, he eventually felt a mysterious aura passively emanating from her body, causing his eyes to widen in surprise as it felt familiar.


    ''Why does she has a simr aura to the Imperial Alchemist?'' asked Faulerei himself, wracking his brain toe up with a usible answer. Though, in the end, he let out a low sigh, nodding as he gestured for Vera to join the other four.


    "I may not be sure as to what might happen if five people were to enter the inheritance," said Faulerei. "However, considering that we''ve attempted to have multiple people enter the inheritance in the past and all of them left unscathed, your apprentice can tag along."


    Hearing that Vera could join in, a wide smile swiftly appeared on Mystia''s face. "Don''t worry, Faulerei. I''ll make it up to you once all of them have returned from the inheritance."


    "If that''s what the Imperial Alchemist wishes to do, then I shall express my sincerest gratitude in advance." Though he was inwardly ecstatic at obtaining her favor, Faulerei made sure to not show it on the outside, shifting his attention on the five that would enter the inheritance.


    ''Vera''s joining us, huh.'' Seeing Vera walk up to them, Valyr shifted his attention towards Mystia, who noticed the young man looking at her. Winking at him with a slight grin, she swiftly returned her attention back to Elder Faulerei while Valyr tried to understand what she meant by her sudden gesture.


    ''Ah, whatever.'' In the end, the young man decided to put those thoughts to the side for the meantime, returning his attention on the rift in front of him. As they had to go through the rift one by one, Valyr decided to be thest to enter, having Vera go before him.


    However, just as Valyr''s turn to enter the rift had arrived, a notification sound had resounded in his mind. Taking a look at what notification he had received, he looked at Mystia once more as various expressions briefly appeared on his face.


    ''What are you nning?'' Faintly scratching the back of his head at the notification he had received, he had decided to put the thought to the side for the meantime as well, finally entering the rift that would lead them to the inheritance.

 Chapter 578 Blackflower Company

    ?


    Earth, somewhere in Japan.


    Within one of the outer prefectures making up its main city, a tall skyscraper could be seen, dwarfing almost every building within a kilometer around it. Near the topmost portion of the skyscraper was an office that had a wide view of the cityscape. At its center was arge desk made out of mahogany, where a woman in a sleek business suit could be seen looking through documents.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Come in," said the woman, causing the door to open as a young man made his way inside. Apologizing to the woman for the disturbance, he gradually made his way to where the woman was, giving to her the documents he had brought along.


    "This is all of the information ourpany has gathered during thest few days, President." Though he was nervous, the young man did not dare to show it on the outside, maintaining a subservient posture as he waited for the response of the woman before him. "I hope it satisfies your curiosity."


    "Whether or not it satisfies my curiosity will be something I''ll find out on my own," replied the woman as she briefly nodded. Grabbing the documents the young man had brought with him, she began to flip through them one by one, a solemn expression covering his face.


    However, after flipping through the documents for a while, her expression changed into that of ponderation as her eyes briefly widened in disbelief. "This is¡­"


    Then, as if she had been possessed by some sort of devil, the woman continued to go through all of the documents, cing the entire thing on her desk as she closed her eyes. Eventually, she let out a low sigh as she slowly opened her eyes once more, faintly shaking her head as the information she had just read continued to linger in her mind.


    "Good work, Kenji." Briefly ncing at the document the young man had brought, the woman soon shifted her attention to the former, giving him a faint smile. "With your work ethic, it won''t take long for you to be promoted."


    "For now, head back to work. I''ll contact you when I have something else to request." At those words, a smile appeared on Kenji''s face as he gave the woman a respectful half-bow. Then, after excusing himself, the young man left the room not long after, leaving the woman on her own once more.


    Remaining seated for a bit longer, it was only when she was sure Kenji had left did the woman get up from her seat, letting out a long sigh as she stared out of the window behind her. Admiring the cityscape below her, she eventually asked herself, "Where could the ckflower Company be located?"


    At this question, her thoughts shifted back to what had happened almost a week ago.


    During that time, the beta to a new True Immersion VRMMORPG had been released. Though a limited number of people had been specially chosen to enter it for the meantime, the entire event was still shared throughout the world. Because of that, the entire world had four days to look into the new game that was named Greater Beyond.


    Whether it was the yers that had been part of the beta or the people that had been watching the beta from the streams, all of them were at a loss for words at what Greater Beyond was capable of. Not only was everything incredibly lifelike, whether it was its graphics or its sensations, the fact that the passage of time was seven times slower within the game had astounded many of them.


    Topare, thepeting VRMMORPGs at the time only had a time dtion ratio of one to three, which was more than enough for many people. Then again, who would say no to a time dtion ratio that was more than twice as better than the previous?


    With all of those elements, as well as the appearance of the five Leviathans of the VRMMORPG world, the game had generated a great amount of hype within those four days. Even though a few days had already passed since the beta was over, many people were still talking about the game. In fact, a cult-like following had even been created around the remaining time before the game''s eventual public release.


    "Over a month and a half still remains before it releases," muttered the young woman to herself, a hint of eagerness appearing on her face for a brief moment. Having experienced what it was like to be in the game firsthand thanks to the beta, her desire to y the game was far greater than the masses, even going so far as to contact thepany behind Greater Beyond to get into the game earlier than the others.


    Surprisingly, this woman was none other than the leader of Starry Night, the person that went under the alias Moonlight_Desire, Yuuna Takahashi.


    "I wonder if the others have found traces of where the ckflower Company is located?" Sporting a luscious head of pitch-ck hair and irises as dark as the night sky, her appearance made her gave off the feeling that she was one''s friendly neighbor of some sort.


    Then again, her true personality was anything but, instead making one feel like she was the epitome of coldness, whether it be through her words or her demeanor.


    "I should try and call Tianshen if he''s found any leads." Taking in a few deep breaths while sorting out the thoughts in her mind, the woman returned to her desk before using her phone. Being the owner of therge conglomerate that the Starry Night gaming organization was a part of, it took a while for her to find the contact she wanted to call, cing her phone on her ear only after it connected.


    "Hey there. What''s made the great miss Takahashi call this lowly peasant?" Faintly chuckling, the man on the other side of the call initiated the conversation.


    "Cut it out, Tianshen." Inwardly letting out a long sigh, Yuuna had a cold expression on her face as she responded in the samenguage as the man. "I''m here to ask if you''ve found any leads on the ckflower Company."


    "You''re trying to find their leads as well?" replied Tianshen with slight surprise. "How''s that going?"


    "No luck," said Yuuna in response, subconsciously shaking her head. "You?"


    At the question, Tianshen let out a low sigh. "No luck either. Do you think the other three would have already found leads on them?"


    "With how our attempts turned out, probably not." Pondering over other ways they could obtain ess to Greater Beyond early, the woman stood up from her seat before beginning to pace around the room. Eventually, after a bit more talking back and forth with Tianshen, an idea surfaced in her mind.


    "Now that I think about it, there''s one other method we haven''t tried using yet," said Yuuna all of a sudden during the conversation, piquing Tianshen''s interest.


    "And what would that be?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Tianshen waited for the other side to exin her thoughts, only to let outughter not long after. "As expected from the owner of the Starry Night conglomerate."


    "To think you''d suggest bribing them with money."


    "Then again¡­ it''s not a bad idea."

 Chapter 579 Four Pillars: Shattered Lands

    ?


    Whoosh!


    Entering the rift that would lead him to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Valyr felt space pulling on him from all sides for a brief moment. Though, after having experienced the process of teleportation a few times already, the young man decided to close his eyes and endure the pulling sensation for a bit longer.


    Opening his eyes once he felt like his feetnded on solid ground, the young man was somewhat surprised by the fact that walls were all around him, expecting to encounter a vastnd in front of him instead. With the walls being made out of metal and fastened with rivets, Valyr felt like he was inside the hull of a ship for a brief moment.


    Then again, he could not fully delude himself into believing that as the ground was made out of pure dirt.


    "You took quite some time to arrive here." Just as he was about to explore the corridors that extended out of the ce he appeared him, the four that came before him appeared and waved at him. "Did something happen in the outside world before you came here?"


    Hearing the question Hal asked him, Valyr softly shook his head. "I just forgot to send a couple of important messages to some people, that''s all."


    "Anyways, what have you guys discovered so far?" As the others nodded in understanding, the young man asked this question.


    "Not much," replied Faulus. "So far, we''vee to the conclusion that we''re in abyrinth made out of metal of some sort. As for the mana issue Elder Faulerei has reminded us time and time again, that doesn''t seem to exist here. The concentration of mana here is more or less the same as the concentration in the outside world."


    "Is that so?" In response, Valyr could only nod.


    After that, the others shared the findings they''ve found so far while exploring the ce, which more or less matched up with what Faulus had told Valyr. Nevertheless, they still told him what they found out since he was the acting leader of the group.


    Listening to everyone''s experiences within this ce so far, the young man felt an inclination to explore the ce on his own. However, just as he was about to do so, a disembodied voice resounded throughout the entirety of the space.


    "All of the necessary prerequisites have been met."


    "All of the additional prerequisites have been met."


    "External factors have been added to the equation."


    "Opening up 100% of the Shattered Lands of the Four Pirs."


    Rumble¡­


    With the attention of the five focused on the words spoken by the disembodied voice, the entire space began to rumble all of a sudden, prompting everyone to stabilize themselves to the ground by manipting a bit of mana. Though, rather than expecting something to be opened within the space or for something to appear¡­


    What happened instead could only leave the five at a great loss for words.


    Swoosh!


    Gradually, the walls surrounding the five began to hover, eventually allowing them to find out that a vastndscape existed beyond the walls. Then again, all of their attention was still focused on the floating structure, which eventually stopped by the time it had reached an altitude of a couple dozen meters.


    Whoosh!


    Then, without any warning, the floating structure darted in the direction that went deeper into thendscape, leaving the five no choice but to look at the sight before them.


    ''Huh¡­'' At the very instant Valyrid his eyes upon thendscape in front of them, all he could think about was the fact that the entirendscape resembled the cityscapes Earth had aplenty. However,pared to the cityscapes of Earth, the cityscape that existed before him was in ruins, only being a shell of its former glory.


    "I see." While everyone was left in awe at the sight before them, Hal took note of the mana surrounding them, attracting everyone else''s attention with his words. "Now I see why Elder Faulerei told us to ascend."


    Looking at Hal, Faulus raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "What do you mean?"


    "I feel like the structure we were in earlier had been storing most, if not all of the mana that was in this space," said Hal in response. "However, now that the structure had gone off into the distance, this mana has begun to scatter. The only reason we haven''t taken good notice of the change is the fact a considerable portion of the mana is still lingering around us."


    Listening to Hal''s words, Valyr briefly closed his eyes as he sensed the mana that existed in their surroundings. After a minute or so, he opened it once more, looking at Hal as he nodded in agreement. "If all of the mana in our surroundings eventually spread throughout the space evenly, I''d say the concentration of mana here is around 1/100th of the concentration in the outside world."


    "So, using magic here is only 1% effectivepared to using it in the outside world?" asked Loreina in response. After all, among them, she was the one who relied on magic the most when it came tobat.


    In response, Valyr could only shrug his shoulders. "We''ll find that out when we get there. For now, let''s do what Elder Faulerei said and ascend to the next rank."


    At those words, everyone nodded in agreement before proceeding to distance themselves from one another. After that, everyone sat cross-legged on the ground before going through their respective ascensions.


    "System, I would like to ascend." Taking a brief look at everyone engrossed at the choices the system had given them, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to begin his ascension process to Rank 3.


    Ding!


    [2,908,993 XP has been consumed. You are now Level 41.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your VIT to HP coefficient has changed from 1:18 to 1:24.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your INT to MP coefficient has changed from 1:18 to 1:24.]


    [Please select the species and ss you would like to ascend with.]


    Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face as a screen appeared in front of him. Looking through the choices that had been made avable to him, Valyr eventually raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.


    "Well¡­ that''s something I definitely wasn''t expecting."

 Chapter 580 Four Pillars: Ascension

    ?


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Please select the ss you would like to take as your Rank 3 ss:


    High Elementalist (Rare)


    Four Natures High Elementalist (Epic)


    True Prodigious cksmith (Mythic)


    Mystic Shadow Warlord (Legendary)


    Six Paths True Elementalist (Legendary)


    cksmith of the Three True Paths (Mythic)


    ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I see there''s a lot more choices this time around.'' Being made to choose the ss he would have at Rank 3 by the system, Valyr decided to take his time looking through some of the high rarity sses made avable to him. Even though the ss he would choose to take for his ascension was already a given, the young man was still surprised by some of the choices. ''Oh? There''s another Mythic ss?''


    Focusing his attention on the other Mythic ss that had appeared as a choice on his system, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up its description. Once the description of the ss appeared on the screen beside the one he was already looking at, the young man read through it in detail, faintly nodding in understanding once he was finished.


    ''So, if I''m getting this right, this ss basically reces the entire forging process I''ve been doing with the three energies I currently have control over,'' thought the young man to himself. While allowing the ss'' information to linger in his mind, he dispelled the screen containing its description.


    Commanding the system to bring up descriptions of the other high-rarity sses that piqued his interest, Valyr eventually shook his head. ''Although it''s definitely a strong ss in its own right, it leans more towards cksmithing from a more magic-based approach. That feeling only bes even more prevalent if I consider the stat distribution of the ss, which focuses more on INT and WIS.''


    ''Moving onto the next ss.'' Briefly pondering over which person he had alreadye across would excel with the Mythic ss under their belt, the young man took a look at the sses that had the word ''Elementalist'' on them.


    From the name itself, an elementalist referred to a branch of mages that specialized in magic revolving around a certain element. If one were to think about it even further, bing an elementalist seemed limited in terms of future growth.


    However, there were actually multiple ways one could grow as an elementalist, with the simplest method among them involving theprehension of another element.


    As Valyr had picked up magic involving the four elements, it was no surprise that he had obtained a ss corresponding to it, which was the Four Natures High Elementalist ss. Though he had no ns to pick the ss up, the skills avable to the ss definitely inspired him, such as one that allowed him to fuse the four basic elements together into a higher-ranked element.


    Taking the Elementalist ss one step further would be the Six Paths True Elementalist ss, which the young man quickly figured out that it had be avable thanks to his Shadow Energy and Mystic Energy.


    Naturally, the skills avable to the ss went one step beyond what the Four Natures High Elementalist ss was capable of, causing thoughts of fusing Shadow and Mystic Energy together to form in Valyr''s mind.


    ''I gotta enter the Mystic ne before then.'' However, with how the quality and quantity of his Mystic Energy was disproportionate to his Shadow Energy, he would shelf the idea for the meantime, moving onto thest ss that piqued his interest.


    ''Mystic Shadow Warlord.'' Unlike the other sses he had previously looked at, this ss leaned towards utilizing Shadow Energy and Mystic Energy from a more physical perspective. In fact, Valyr felt like he would have chosen this ss for its superbbat ability if not for the fact his current ss was one grade higher than it.


    "Moving onto the species." Feeling more or less inspired by what some of the other sses were capable of, the young man went ahead and chose True Prodigious cksmith once more as the selection for his new species appeared in front of him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Please select the species you would like to take as your Rank 3 species:


    Human (3rd Unsealing)


    Kin of the Mystic ne


    Half-Serpent


    Agent of the Shadow ne


    Shadow ve


    Human (Shadowforged)


    High Human


    Half-Shadow Serpent


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Most of the new choices are based on Shadow and Mystic Energy again, huh.'' Taking a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr looked through the species he could choose to ascend to, with some of them he had seen during his ascension to Rank 2, which were Human (Shadowforged), Half-Serpent, and Half-Shadow Serpent.


    Seeing them once more, Valyr was reminded that these three species were actually better than his current species in every way. After all, aside from increasing certain stats by a considerable percentage, these other species also gave him Racial Skills, which Human (2nd Unsealing) had none of.


    However, as someone who had given up on seeing the species till the very end in his past life, Valyr knew that he would not make the same mistake twice.


    In fact, one of his current choices was the species he had ended up choosing in his past life after giving up on reaching the end of the path of Unsealing.


    ''Why''s High Human unlocked?'' Finding the species avable on his list of options, the young man was momentarily confused. After all, as far as he knew, High Human would only be avable once he had reached 3rd Unsealing, which was the choice he was going to go with for this ascension.


    Though, after mulling over why it had appeared one rank earlier, it did not take long for Valyr to get an idea. ''I have a strong feeling it has something to do with the fact that I''m a Harbinger. If Mystia had not told me about it, the choice probably wouldn''t have popped up.''


    Inwardly shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the young man went ahead andmanded the system to bring up its description, faintly smiling as he read through it once more. ''If I knew this would have stopped me from evolving to a stronger form of humanster on, I would have probably stayed on the path of Unsealing till the very end.''


    ''Unfortunately, only hindsight is 20/20.'' At this thought, the young man bitterly chuckled, focusing his attention on the reason why he had stopped to choose High Human in his past life.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Racial Skill: Hundred Aspirations - The human race is considered the strongest race in the universe when ites to adaptation, able to survive in any situation and environment through sheer tenacity. This skill converts 5% of the user''s total stats into Points of Aspiration, which could be allocated wherever and however the user chooses on their eight main stats. Any stat points gained in the future shall not be converted into Points of Aspiration. Cooldown: 10 minutes.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After finding out that the higher forms of the human race had better versions of the racial skill he got as a High Human, Valyr instantly felt an immense amount of regret, cursing himself tens of thousands of times that he had made the wrong choice. In the end, he swore to himself that he''d see the path of Unsealing to the bitter end if he got the chance.


    Nevertheless, even though he felt regret from choosing the High Human race after that realization, the racial skill it gave him still allowed him to achieve feats normally impossible.


    ''Plus a 5% boost on all stats isn''t that half-bad,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, moving onto the other species that hadn''t been avable in his previous ascension.


    Though, Kin of the Mystic ne and Agent of the Shadow ne seemed to be two different paths, their purpose was more or less the same, which was to increase Valyr''s affinity with the specific energy, as well as hispatibility with the ne that the energy originated from. The only real difference between the two was the fact that Agent of the Shadow ne took it one step further, which was probably because he controlled higher quality Shadow Energy.


    On the other hand, Shadow ve was definitely an unexpected surprise to the young man. If he ended up choosing it, he would have gained a 30% boost to all of his stats, as well as a series of skills that would basically make him on par with Noel in terms of control over Shadow Energy, which was unheard of for an obtainable ss at this rank.


    However, in exchange, he would only be avable to roam the outside world for an hour, with the remainder of that time being in the Shadow ne. After finding out that this hour was actually a Shadow ne hour, which meant a seventh of an hour in the outside world, it was no surprise that Valyr''s determination to see the path of Unsealing to the very end was greatly reinforced.


    ''Alright, let''s do this.'' Choosing Human (3rd Unsealing) as the species he would have at Rank 3, the young man felt a surge of energy throughout his body, only for him to fall unconscious not long after.

 Chapter 581 Four Pillars: Unintentional

    ?


    "Mngh¡­" Feeling like a considerable amount of time had passed since he fell unconscious, it took a while for Valyr''s consciousness to rouse from slumber. Gradually sensing the great changes to his body brought about by the ascension, it took a while for the young man to finallye to.


    Though, once the young man opened his eyes as he sat upright, he was greeted by the sight of the other four, with most of them looking at him with slight frowns on their faces. Tilting his head in slight confusion, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he thought about multiple possibilities. "Was I thest to awaken?"


    "You were," Faulus responded in a solemn tone, his gaze focused on Valyr''s every movement.


    "How much time has passed since we all went through our ascensions?" asked Valyr not long after.


    In response, Vera replied, "ording to the others, it''s been about a day and a half since then."


    At those words, Valyr briefly sucked in a breath of cold air. After all, with the time difference that existed between the inheritance and the outside world, that meant three weeks had passed in the outside world while he was unconscious.


    Nevertheless, such a feeling gradually disappeared as he had a strong feeling those in the outside world expected them to take far longer than three weeks, considering that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance had already been opened many times in the past.


    "So, what''s made everyone gather around me?" Though he felt like the reason most of the four were frowning at him since he had taken the longest to wake up from the ascension, Valyr also had a feeling that something else about him was the cause.


    Fortunately, the young man quickly obtained his answer as Hal let out a low sigh. "When were you going to tell us you were using a disguise skill all this time?"


    ''Shit.'' At those words, Valyr knew that he had messed up, even though he had no intentions of doing so. Pondering over the possible things he could do to fix the situation, the young man was reminded of his forced ascension to Rank 2, wherein his disguise skill had been disabled due to him falling unconscious. Though, unlike the current situation, Wells had already seen his true identity.


    Seeing that the atmosphere around them had be awkward amidst the silence, Faulus spoke up. "Who are you, really? Are you really the Ylvar we know?"


    Letting out a low sigh, Valyr nodded. "I am. I was the one you guys interacted with during the tournament."


    "Though, as to why I''ve been hiding my true identity all this time¡­" As these words came out of his mouth, the young man made up his mind toe clean to the others, trusting in his gut instinct that the others won''t betray him. "Have you heard of the name Valyr Zeihardt before?"


    "Isn''t that the name of that one member the entire Zeihardt n has been searching the whole continent over?" Faulus nodded in response, answering in a straightforward manner. Thankfully, even though the others had realized what Valyr meant by his words before him, it did not take long for him to realize either, looking at the young man with disbelief.


    "Wait¡­ you''re Valyr Zeihardt?"


    Valyr nodded with a bitter smile. "That would be me, indeed."


    "In fact, ourst-minute guest Vera here also knows of my true identity," added the young man soon after, prompting the three to look at the only one among them that did not react that greatly.


    "It''s a long story¡­" ring at Valyr for a bit, Vera began to talk about how the two of them had met each other back at Astarto Vige. Then, after she was done telling her side of the story, the young man gave the others a bit more information as to why he was in hiding, such as the fact that one faction of the Zeihardt n was hellbent on finding him.


    Naturally, he did not tell the four information that they did not need to know, such as him being a Herald.


    Or, after finding out from Mystia, a Harbinger.


    "I''m going to take a while to get used to your true identity¡­" By the time Valyr was finished exining the entire situation to the three, Faulus, Hal, and Loreina looked at each other in silence. However, after a while, Faulus eventually spoke up, looking at Valyr with a low sigh. "Then again, that does not change the fact that you''ve been lying to us."


    "I do admit that I''m in the wrong for that since we''ll be exploring the inheritance as a group." Valyr nodded in agreement as he apologized to the three. "After all, if there''s one thing that''s incredibly important in exploring ces like these as a group, that would be the trust each person has for one another."


    "However, all of the skills I''ve shown you during the tournament are all real. I''m still a cksmith through and through," continued the young man. "I seriously hope this does not deter us from working together throughout this journey."


    "Well, you did have to hide your identity for a good reason." Surprisingly, Hal was the first one to ept Valyr''s apology. "The fact that you did not hesitate in admitting your wrongdoings just reinforces my belief that you''re better suited to lead this group than I am."


    "Though, I would definitely like to have a rematch with you someday." At these words, Hal let out a chuckle, to which Valyr smiled in response before chuckling as well.


    "I''d have to agree with Hal on that one." Loreina nodded in agreement. "Then again, I have a feeling you wouldn''t have told us about your true identity if it came down to it."


    Valyr nodded in response. "The less people know, the better."


    "Right." Loreina nodded back. "However, even if it was unintentional, you still showed no hesitation in telling us what we needed to know. That alone has earned my respect."


    Seeing that the other two had epted the situation for what it was, Faulus was left with no choice but to ept the situation as well. "Ah, whatever! We''ll only be spending more time here if we mull over this problem for longer anyway."


    "But you better teach me a thing or two on how to fight properly¡­" Unexpectedly, after shouting out his first couple statements, the young man''s voice turned meek as he looked at Valyr while twiddling his thumbs.


    "I will." Seeing Faulus'' expression, Valyr let out a bit ofughter, d that his true identity did not affect the bond the four had made during the tournament too much. With that, he looked at Vera, who looked back at him with a smile and a nod.


    Nodding back at Vera, Valyr took in a deep breath before standing up, gazing at the vastndscape in front of them. "Alright."


    "Let''s start nning out what we need to do."

 Chapter 582 Four Pillars: Reconnaissance

    <h4>Chapter 582 Four Pirs: Reconnaissance</h4>


    "First off, does anyone have a reconnaissance skill they could use to check out the entirendscape?" Briefly ncing at the sky above them, Valyr turned around to look at the four and ask this question.


    "What kind of information do you need?" Raising his hand, Hal stepped forward as he offered his help. "Just thendscape in general? Or something else?"


    "Thendscape and the general type of enemies we mighte across." At these words, Valyr turned to look back at thendscape as he pushed his perception to the limit. Thanks to some of his skills and titles boosting his PER stat to a great degree, he was barely able to see a considerable number of entities roaming around the ruined city.


    "[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]." Seeing as Hal nodded in response to his words, the young man went ahead and activated the skill he felt would be incredibly useful in their current situation, deciding not to deactivate it for the entirety of the inheritance lest they get ambushed.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, the entirendscape before them had taken on a different view within Valyr''s vision, with most of the city ruins dotted with small ck circles. Knowing that each small ck circle in his vision corresponded to an enemy, the young man was gradually able to separate the entire ruins by section, organizing each section by the number of enemies that lingered there.


    "How''s it looking, Hal?" Feeling like he had gained enough information regarding the city ruins through his vision, Valyr looked at the man that stood beside him.


    In response to the question, Hal continued to stay rooted in his spot for a bit longer, only looking at the young man with a nod after a couple more minutes had passed. "I think I have a general idea of thendscape now."


    "Alright." Nodding back in response, Valyr suggested he and Hal discuss their findings regarding the inheritance''sndscape, to which thetter agreed. Returning to the other three, the two began to talk about what they''ve discovered through their respective reconnaissance skills, slowly organizing the entire inheritance into a map that allowed them to n out their next actions.


    ¡­


    "So, we have six sections in total." After an hour or so of continuous discussion between them, the five were able to finalize the map each of them would follow. "Between where we''re standing and the city ruins is considered the ins. There aren''t a lot of enemies in this area, so this would be a great ce to get used tobat before heading in deeper."


    "After that would be the four quadrants, which we''ll be splitting to north, south, east, and west," continued Valyr while the others were listening attentively. "Compared to the ins, there are at least thrice as many enemies in those areas. In these areas, I''d suggest we split up the group into one pair and one trio to maximize our coverage while keeping each other safe from being ambushed."


    Seeing as everyone could still follow his words, Valyr proceeded onto his exnation of the final section. "Thest section would be the center of the city ruins, where the number of enemies there are thrice as many as the enemies found in the four quadrants. Once we''re there, it goes without saying that the entire group will have to stick together no matter what."


    "To add more information to the sections, the strength of the enemies in the ins range from the early to middle levels of Rank 3." With Valyr done with his exnation of the map, it was Hal''s turn to talk. "As for those in the four quadrants surrounding the center, the weakest among them are in the middle levels of Rank 3, while the strongest among them are at the early levels of Rank 4."


    "From what I could gather through my skill, a couple of beings haveprehended an Intent Seed of some sort in each quadrant," added Hal, causing slightly grim expressions to appear on some of the others'' faces. "Fortunately, the feeling of an Intent Seed is pretty obvious, so it''s easy to avoid."


    "Lastly, the enemies we''ll face in the center have strengths ranging from the middle levels to the peak of Rank 4." At these words, Faulus sucked in a breath of cold air. With thest-minute training he had done before the inheritance, he was confident enough that he''d be able to defeat beings at the peak of Rank 3 without a problem, even those at the early levels of Rank 4 if he pushed himself.


    However, he had none of that confidence when talking about beings that went beyond that strength. After all, at that level, it was incrediblymon for those beings to haveprehended their Intent Seeds.


    Sadly, just as he was wishing to the heavens for the worst of his expectations to not happen, Hal''s next words would realize just that.


    "In that area, almost all of the enemies we''lle across would haveprehended their Intent Seeds to the first stage," said Hal. "Some of them have evenprehended their Intent Seeds to the second and third stage."


    "Fortunately, none of the enemies haveprehended a full Intent yet. As long as we remain vignt and use our strengths to the fullest, we''ll be able to explore the entirety of the inheritance without much problems," added the young man, even though Faulus was already on the brink of fainting at the information he had heard.


    "For now, let us prepare our journey to the ins tomorrow," said Valyr, noticing that the sky was now beginning to turn dark. Apologizing to the others once more for being thest one to wake up, he continued, "If you have the XP to do so, upgrade your levels to the peak of Rank 3. Just bring your equipment to me after that so I can enhance it to match your current levels."


    Nodding in response, Hal took out what looked to be camping supplies from his spatial bracelet. "I''ll take care of our housing for tonight, then."


    "I guess I''ll take care of cooking." Shrugging her shoulders, Loreina began to take out a small amount of raw ingredients from her spatial bracelet, asking Vera to help her out.


    "I will be¡­" Pondering over what he could do to help the others out, a wry smile eventually appeared on Faulus'' face as he realized everything that could be done had already been done by the others. "Concocting potions, I guess."


    With that, the five of them busied themselves as the sky continued to turn dark. During that time, Valyr had taken out the anvil and portable furnace he had brought for the inheritance from his spatial bracelet, faintly nodding after he was satisfied with their cement.


    Waiting for the others to finish their tasks and give their equipment to him, the young man decided to take a look at his notifications for the meantime, keeping his eyes peeled for notifications that stood out among the rest.


    ''Oh¡­?'' Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for him to find one that greatly piqued his interest, inwardly grinning as another screen appeared beside the one he had brought up.


    ''Well then.''


    ''That''s a wee surprise.''

 Chapter 583 Four Pillars: New Features

    <h4>Chapter 583 Four Pirs: New Features</h4>


    Ding!


    [You have now arrived at the midpoint on the path to transcending mortality. A whole new world of power has been made avable for you, allowing you toprehend the strength of the world itself and convert it into your own.]


    [The ability to view one''s Intents and one''s progress towardsprehension of Intents has been unlocked.]


    [The ability toprehend and enhance Intents has been unlocked.]


    [Due to your experiences thus far, you have rued a considerable amount of understanding regarding some concepts of the world. With a bit more effort andprehension, you can convert these concepts into a rudimentary strength you can wield, taking on the form of an Intent Seed.]


    ''Huh. Who knew I was actually close toprehending Intent Seeds?'' Reading through the long list of notifications brought about by his evolution, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s lips as he took note of thest notification involving Intents.


    In the meantime, hemanded the system to bring up a screen beside the one he was already looking at, wanting to obtain greater detail on his progress.


    Being a feature that could only be unlocked after a being had ascended to Rank 3, Intents added a whole newyer to one''sbat, incorporating one''s understanding of the world''s concepts in their every move. Though, for yers, Intents did something else that seemed far more important.


    A massive increase to one''s Attack stat.


    Then again, even NPCs sought to obtain Intents for their own due to this exact feature. Unfortunately, there were multiple barriers that made it considerably difficult for one to obtain their Intent, causing some yers and NPCs to give up on getting one and find another way of gaining more strength instead.


    Beforeprehending an Intent, one would first have to find a concept that suited them. Then, after finding that specific concept, they would increase their understanding of it until it reached a saturation point.


    Once one slightly surpassed that saturation point, a qualitative change of one''s understanding would begin to ur, creating a resonance between the world and the level of understanding one had achieved. Through that, a rudimentary connection would be formed between them and the world, taking on the form of an Intent Seed.


    As long as one had sessfully formed an Intent Seed, it could be said that the being would be guaranteed toprehend their Intent at some point in the future. However, there existed four stages that separated one from transforming their Intent Seed into an Intent, which were the nascent stage, the first stage, the second stage, and the culmination stage.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Intents:


    [Intent Seed of mes] - 82% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of Forging] - 85% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of the Spear] - 53% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of Shadow Energy] - 32% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of the Four Elements] - 29% progress to the Nascent stage


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I thought I was already lucky to be close inprehending a single Intent Seed.'' Shifting his attention towards the screen containing his Intents, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in disbelief, taking quite some time to calm down. ''To think that I had actually made progress inprehending five of them from what I''ve been doing so far.''


    Though, after looking at the possible Intents he could awaken once more, the young man eventually nodded in understanding. "Then again, since they''re rted to what I''ve used often throughout my journey, I guess it makes sense."


    "I''ll have to keep them in mind." Satisfied with what he had discovered, he then moved onto the other notifications he had yet to read, with the next ones piquing his interest yet again.


    [Your level of ess to the Technology Tree has been improved. You are now eligible to unlock Intermediate level advancements from the Technology Tree.]


    [Your level of ess to the Technology Tree has been improved. More advancements have now been made avable to you.]


    ''Thankfully, I still have enough Technology Points to unlock and upgrade one very important advancement.'' Faintly chuckling at the notifications he had just read, Valyr briefly nced at the others to see what they were doing. Seeing that they were still upied with their tasks for a bit longer, he went ahead and opened up the Technology Tree, allocating a considerable number of his remaining points towards the Production branch.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Advancement Lv. 1>.]


    [You have upgraded the advancement <Basic Advancement> to Lv. 5 (MAX).]


    [As you have unlocked <Basic Advancement>, you have gained the active skill ''Basic Equipment Advancement''.]


    [Due to your current ss, your active skill ''Basic Equipment Advancement'' has been changed to ''True Prodigious Equipment Advancement''.]


    "Finally unlocked Advancements," said the young man with a grin. Taking a look at the Technology Tree''s Production branch to see if there were any other important advancements he could unlock with his remaining Technology Points, Valyr eventually found out that everything else could be saved for ater time, prompting him to return his attention back to his notifications.


    Ding!


    [Your active skill ''True Prodigious Forging Style+'' has been improved.]


    [Your active skill ''True Prodigious Equipment Creation+'' has been improved.]


    ¡­


    [Your passive skill ''True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight'' has been improved.]


    ''So, rather than giving me a new skill, the evolution instead enhanced all of the skills I''ve unlocked from the ss thus far.'' Looking at the simr-looking notifications he had gotten, Valyr could only nod in understanding,manding the system to bring up the description of one of the enhanced skills.


    "Oh! The rarity''s been increased." Unexpectedly, it did not take long for the young man to find out what had changed, noticing that almost every skill he had that started with the words ''True Prodigious'' now had a plus modifier on their rarity. "It''s a shame [True Prodigious Equipment Advancement+] didn''t undergo the same treatment."


    "That only leaves me with the stat changes brought about by the ascension, then." Inwardly praising himself for having gone through a lot of notifications in a considerably short time, Valyr finally focused his attention on what looked to be the most important set of notifications he had received from the ascension.


    Unfortunately, before he could even begin reading through the first one¡­


    "Hey, Valyr?"


    "Mind if we talk in private for a bit?"

 Chapter 584 Four Pillars: Message

    <h4>Chapter 584 Four Pirs: Message</h4>


    ?


    "Is there something wrong?" Slightly frowning as he had been interrupted, Valyr''s expression swiftly went back to normal after seeing that Vera was who had asked the question. Considering that it had been a while since theyst saw each other, and that Mystia was her mentor, it went without saying that there was not a lot of things that stopped the young man from agreeing.


    Hearing Valyr''s question, Vera shook her head. "If you''re talking about the camp for tonight, there''s nothing wrong. In fact, everything''s more or less done."


    "Instead, I''vee to talk with you regarding my mentor." At those words, Valyr went silent. Then, after a while, he faintly nodded at her before telling the other three that the two of them were going to walk around the surroundings for a bit.


    Urging Vera to walk beside him after getting a green light from the three, the young man thought back to the notifications he had received earlier before entering the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. ''Is Vera going to talk about the notifications Mystia had sent me?''


    Ding!


    Commanding the system to bring up his notification screen after dispelling it earlier, the young man swiftly scrolled to the notifications Mystia had sent him before entering the rift. With how the messages in each notification seemed cryptic and rted to the Mystic ne, it only made sense that she was the one who sent it to him.


    [The Saintess of the Mystic ne wishes for you to keep an eye on the seed she has been nurturing all this time. The Saintess also promises that you shall be rewarded ordingly once you return from the depths of the separated space.]


    [The Saintess of the Mystic ne shows slight disappointment at the thought of you not making efforts atmunication after obtaining ess to the energy of the Mystic ne. As apromise, the Saintess tells you in advance that the seed she has been nurturing shall guide you on the usage and control of such energies instead.]


    [The Saintess of the Mystic ne looks at you with a mysterious smile. Two messages from the Saintess herself has been attached.]


    [Though I do understand why you would hide something like that, I''ve already figured it out. In any case, since you don''t want others to find it out, then I shall not share that information until you do so.]


    [Then again, there will eventuallye a time where you''ll have toe clean.]


    ''Ignoring all of the fanciful words she''s used in her notifications, she basically has three things to tell me,'' thought the young man to himself, with thest thing among the three briefly causing a bitter smile to appear on his face. ''I wonder if Vera is going to tell me those things as well?''


    "I think we''re far enough from the others." After walking along the line that demarcated their camp from the ins for quite some time, Valyr stopped in his tracks and looked at Vera with a solemn expression. Sitting on a nearby boulder, he then began to inquire further. "What did your mentor need to tell me?"


    "She told me that I have to teach you how to control and master the usage of Mystic Energy." Seeing that Valyr had made himfortable, Vera sat on another nearby boulder to make herselffortable as well. "As far as I know, only I and my mentor have control over that energy."


    "However, she told me in response that you''d know what to do when I told you about it." Scratching her head, Vera looked at the young man to possibly gain a bit more understanding, only for her to look at Valyr with widened eyes.


    Extending one of his hands outward, a small ball of energy consistently bobbed up and down as it hovered above Valyr''s palm. Unlike mana, the energy making up the ball had taken on a pinkish tone, giving off the feeling that each mote of light making up the ball contain far more energy that a mote of mana could ever contain.


    Plus, unlike Shadow Energy, it gave off the feeling that it could birth new things out of existence rather than make them disappear, only need the young man''s thoughts and willpower to do so.


    "Mystic Energy?!" Vera eximed in disbelief. "How did you get your hands on it?"


    "Let''s just say it''s a very long story involving your mentor." Dispelling the ball of Mystic Energy, Valyr looked at Vera with a wry smile. "Anyways, how would you go about teaching me how to use it?"


    "That¡­ I''m not too sure actually." Hearing Valyr''s question, Vera scratched the back of her head for a bit. "She only told me all of this before the two of us arrived at the entrance to the inheritance."


    "Nevertheless, I''ll try my best to create something that would allow me to effectively teach you how to use it." At those words, Valyr could only smile, nodding as he asked her if there was something else Mystia wanted her to tell him.


    Nodding in response to the question, Vera responded, "She also told me that I would be under your care during our journey into the depths of the inheritance. She also mentioned that she would make it worth your while, giving you something in exchange once we leave the inheritance."


    ''So, more or less everything that I already knew.'' Faintly nodding in understanding as a response to her words, the young man expected her to talk about how Mystia already knew about him actually being a Harbinger. Though the way she went about telling him that through the notification was incredibly vague, with their infrequent interactions thus far, only something like that would warrant her to take on a more cryptic approach.


    However, surprisingly, after informing Valyr of those two things, Vera urged the two of them to return back to the camp after noticing that the others were calling for them from afar. For a brief moment, the young man was surprised, only to let out a faint chuckle as he finally understood what was going on.


    ''You really are a woman of your word.'' Nodding as he and Vera headed back to the camp the others had set up, Valyr thought a bit more about what Mystia was nning by having Vera join him in the inheritance, only to push all of those thoughts aside once the two of them had returned.

 Chapter 585 Four Pillars: Massive Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 585 Four Pirs: Massive Improvement</h4>


    "I see everyone has already pushed their levels to the limits of Rank 3." Bonding over a nice hearty meal under the night sky, Valyr looked at Faulus, Hal, and Loreina, with a smile, sensing the massive difference in their auraspared to earlier. "Remember to give your equipment so I could upgrade them to match your current levels. Aside from that, you''re free to do whatever."


    "Will you be upgrading our equipmentte into the night, then?" Taking a spoonful of the soup Loreina had cooked into his mouth, Hal looked at Valyr with a curious expression.


    In response, Valyr faintly nodded. "Most likely, but it''s all fine. I''m used to working on somethingte into the night. I just gotta take breaks from time to time, that''s all."


    "I see." Though he felt an urge to dissuade Valyr from staying up sote since they still had to trek down to the ins early in the morning, seeing the confident yet calm expression on the young man''s face, Hal decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Even though he had alreadye to terms with the fact that Ylvar was actually Valyr, it would still take a while for him to actually open up to the man.


    With that, the five of them bonded for a bit longer, talking about each other''s preparations for the inheritance in a joking manner. By the time the soup Loreina has made was all gone, it was only then did the five go do their own tasks, though not before giving their respective equipment for Valyr to upgrade.


    ''I guess I have a long night ahead of me.'' Looking at the small pile of intricate equipmentid out in front of him, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he carefully formed a barrier of mana around the equipment, even going so far as to utilize [Intermediate Earth Maniption] to control the ground underneath it.


    Then, with a single thought, he moved the entire pile to his temporary workshop, cing the pile of equipment near the anvil as he brought out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet. cing the hammer on the anvil, he then brought out his True Wyvern Armor, his spear, and the primitive gun he had made, thinking that he would upgrade his itemsst.


    ''Now that I think about it, I can finally take a look at those notifications I wanted to look at earlier.'' Taking in a few deep breaths as heposed himself for the task he was about to do, a sudden thought surfaced in the young man''s mind, prompting him tomand the system to bring up the notification screen onest time.


    Ding!


    [Your species ''Human (2nd Unsealing)'' has been changed to ''Human (3rd Unsealing)''. As you have transitioned to a higher-level species, you have gained +26 VIT, +26 STR, +24 AGI, +40 DEX, +40 INT, +21 WIS, +24 PER, and +15 LUK.]


    [Your ss ''True Prodigious cksmith (Mythic)'' has been improved to adapt to Rank 3 standards.]


    [You have gained +5 VIT, +5 STR, +6 AGI, +8 DEX, +8 INT, +3 WIS, +4 PER, and +1 LUK.]


    [Your subss ''Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)'' has been improved to adapt to Rank 3 standards.]


    [You have gained +3 VIT, +2 STR, +5 AGI, +6 DEX, and +6 INT.]


    [You have gained 6 unassigned stat points.]


    "Damn. That''s a massive improvement." Whistling from the considerable increase his stats had undergone from the ascension alone, the young man went ahead and brought up his status screen, only to whistle once more. "Even without the armor set and the spear on my back, my DEX and INT are both over 800 points¡­"


    "Guess I should use the XP I have and max my level to the peak of Rank 3 before proceeding with the upgrades." Moving his status screen to the side as he dispelled the notification screen, Valyr went ahead and ordered the system to use up his unused XP to upgrade his level to Level 55.


    Ding!


    [82,585,279 XP has been consumed.]


    [Your level has increased by 14 levels.]


    [You are now Level 55.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your ss: +70 VIT, +70 STR, +84 AGI, +112 DEX, +112 INT, +42 WIS, +56 PER, and +14 LUK.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your subss: +42 VIT, +28 STR, +70 AGI, +84 DEX, and +84 INT.]


    [You have gained 84 unassigned stat points.]


    [You have reached the level limit of your current ss. To increase this limit, it is highly advised for you to ascend to a higher ss.]


    [Would you like to ascend?]


    "And to think I still have over a hundred million XP waiting to be used after that." Feeling a great surge of strength flow throughout his body, Valyr went ahead and distanced himself from the camp before going out on a couple of movements to limate himself.


    Chuckling at how much of a drastic increase hisbat strength had undergone, he then went ahead and allocated his unassigned stat points evenly between DEX and INT like he always did. It was only after doing so did he finally look at his status screen, whistling in admiration as he let out a cackle.


    "That¡­ is some massive improvement."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 3 ¡ª Mythic)


    Subss: Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)


    Species: Human (3rd Unsealing)


    Level: 55


    Power Level: 24,620 (A+)


    Unused XP: 127,905,264


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 20,306/20,306


    MP: 39,076/39,076


    Shadow Energy: 89/89


    Mystic Energy: 1/1


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 5,392 - 5,392


    Defense: 2,380 - 2,380


    Stats: 661 VIT, 612 STR, 751 AGI, 1293 DEX, 1272 INT, 379 WIS, 507 PER, 209 LUK


    Hidden Stats: 5 Mana Purity, 5 Vigor


    Remarks: Even without any equipment, your strength rivals those at higher ranks. Consider yourself a demon in sheep''s clothing.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I wonder how much of an increase my stats would undergo after I upgrade my armor and weapons to match my current level." Dispelling his status screen, Valyr made his way back to his temporary workshop, a wide smile adorning his face all throughout. "At this point, I''m pretty sure I could even give those Rank 5 beings with Rare grade sses a run for their money."


    "Then again¡­" Picking up his hammer as he was about to begin upgrading all of their equipment for tomorrow, a question popped up in his mind all of a sudden. "Since I still have all this leftover XP, should I just ascend straight to Rank 4?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "On second thought, never mind."


    "I would only be shooting myself in the foot if I didn''t make the most out of my current rank."

 Chapter 586 Four Pillars: Advancement

    <h4>Chapter 586 Four Pirs: Advancement</h4>


    "Speaking of which, since I still have all this XP to use, I should max that skill out." Since he had more or less gone through all of his notifications from the ascension, as well as increased his stats to the peak of Rank 3, Valyr finally focused his attention on what he nned to do for the night.


    Commanding the system to upgrade the skill he had obtained to its current limits, a prompt swiftly appeared in front of his field of vision.


    [Would you like to consume 1 Common grade Skill Key, 1 Umon grade Skill Key, and 1,049,986 XP to upgrade ''True Prodigious Equipment Advancement'' to the peak of Umon grade?]


    Saying yes to the prompt that had popped up, a great influx of information soon inundated the entirety of Valyr''s mind. Though it was by no means a pleasant experience, the amount of information flowing through the young man''s mind at that moment was still tolerablepared to what he had put himself through in the past.


    Neatly organizing and processing all of the information he had gained from upgrading the skill to the peak of Umon grade, Valyr let out a satisfied sigh as he finally looked at the pile of equipment he was going to work with. "These guys have really been taken good care of by their respective guilds."


    Although he hadn''t noticed it at first, the equipment everyone else gave for him to upgrade were more or less around the same rarity as his current armor set. Utilizing [Greater Analysis] on them a couple of times, a bitter smile soon adorned his face as he thought about all of the hardships he had to go through to upgrade his equipment to their current states.


    ''I even got a curse ced on me just because I wanted to upgrade my equipment,'' jokingly thought the young man, faintly chuckling as he continued to look at the equipment the others were using. Eventually, one of the pieces of equipment from the others caught his eye, though it was not due to its design or function.


    It was the rarity of the equipment itself.


    ''Mystia definitely dotes on Vera a lot¡­ if this piece of equipment doesn''t already make it obvious.'' Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself, a slight smile appeared on his face as he read through the information written on screen.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+20) Arcane Mystic Staff of Excellence] (Level 35)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 1 (Vera Aschel)


    Attack: 2,806 - 4,676


    Foundation Tier: None


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Additional Attributes:


    > AGI + 18


    > INT + 20


    > WIS + 32


    A staff forged by a legendary entity of the Mystic ne, this staff¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Mystic Resonance - Whenever the user uses an attack based on Mystic Energy with the staff, all damage dealt by those attacks are increased by 10%.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Arcane Resonance - Whenever the user uses an attack based on mana with the staff, all damage dealt by those attacks are increased by 10%.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Arcane Mystic Transformation - Allows the user to briefly tap into the energies of the Mystic ne, transforming into themander of Mystic Energy itself. For 15 seconds, the user can cast as many skills as they want, as long as it is based on Mystic Energy or mana. After the skill ends, the user''s ability to use any magic-based skills is nullified for 3 hours. Cooldown: 7 days. Cost: 99% of the user''s MP and Mystic Energy.>


    Remarks: Such a weapon can only instill fear into one''s enemies.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Even if I take into consideration the fact that its awakened attributes don''t scale with Vera''s current strength, this is a weapon that even I''d be jealous of.'' Whistling in admiration after he was done reading through its information, the young man ced the staff to the side as he began to upgrade all of the equipment that he had been given.


    As the weapon''s description still lingered in his mind, a thought eventually surfaced in the midst of his upgrading session. ''The cksmith that forged this has definitely got to be Rank 5 at the very least, owning an Epic cksmith ss probably. If not Rank 5, then that cksmith would be at the peak of Rank 4 with a Legendary cksmith ss.''


    Though Epic and Legendary was only a single rarity in difference, the difficulty in forging an equipment with thetter grade was hundreds of times greater than forging an equipment with the former grade. Even Valyr did not believe he could forge a piece of Legendary grade equipment any time soon, even though he was the owner of a Mythic cksmith ss.


    Then again, the difficulty of forging Legendary grade equipment was nowhere near the difficulty of forging Mythic grade equipment, wherein even someone at the peak of Rank 5 could only dream of forging one. Of course, having a Legendary or Mythic cksmith ss made the chances of one forging something like that higher, though one would be better off saying there was no difference in one''s chances at all.


    Nevertheless, by the time one was at the peak of Rank 5, it could be said that one would only need to put in a bit more effort if one wanted to forge Epic grade equipment. If one had high stats, great levels of skill, and a decent cksmithing ss, then the chances of one forging a piece of Epic+ grade equipment was considerably high.


    ''I''ll probably start seeing more Epic grade equipment once I head to the Meltierre Empire,'' thought Valyr to himself as he finished upgrading Faulus'' equipment to the peak of Rank 3. ''Then, I guess Epic would be the new Rare once I make my way to the Zeihardt Sovereignty¡­ whenever that may be.''


    Making sure that [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] was active, the young man double checked if he had upgraded Faulus'' equipment before moving onto Hal''s equipment. Beingposed of a sword and a few pieces of armor, the young man hammered away at it with his Hammer of Beginnings as he began to whistle a tune.


    Eventually, by the time a couple of hours had passed, the young man had gone and upgraded everyone else''s equipment to the peak of Rank 3. In fact, he even went ahead and refined all of the equipment with a low refinement level to +10, which made him briefly wonder why it had not been refined to that level by the cksmiths that had forged it.


    Reminding himself that it was only possible for him to do so due to him owning a Mythic cksmith ss, Valyr finally went ahead and focused on his equipment after giving everyone''s equipment back to their respective owners, which prompted him to receive a few words of gratitude from the others.


    ''Though it''s quite tempting, I''ll save the Advancement stuff for my equipment.'' cing his spear on the anvil as he began to upgrade it to the peak of Rank 3, the young man thought about the urge he had earlier to try Advancement on everyone else''s equipment.


    Though Enhancement, Refinement, and Advancement all sought to awaken thetent potential of equipment and increase its strength, these things approached that awakening in different ways. For one, Enhancement was more or less self-exnatory, improving the materials that were already there in order to obtain more strength.


    On the other hand, Refinement was slightly more convoluted as it refined the process of enhancement rather than the material itself. In a way, that difference was the reason why there was a limit to how far one could refine equipment depending on its rarity.


    As for Advancement, it approached the improvement of strength differently from Enhancement and Refinement. If both Enhancement and Refinement were said to approach improvement from an external standpoint, then Advancement approached improvement from an internal standpoint.


    In other words, Advancement aimed to improve the strength of equipment by changing the foundation of the equipment material itself. Because of this, there existed a limit on how far one could improve equipment through this process, with a piece of equipment at the highest possible rarity only being able to go through five advancements at most.


    Aside from that, there was also a minimum requirement if one wished to advance an equipment''s foundation, which was the fact that it needed to be a piece of Umon grade equipment at the very least. Then again, the chances of seeding to improve its foundation by one tier at that grade was considerably low.


    That was why most cksmiths only began to start toying around with the concept of Advancements on Epic grade equipment, which could handle two advancements if the cksmith wished to do so. It was also the reason why the young man had a strong urge to try the concept out on the equipments of the other four since the lowest grade out of all of them was Epic.


    "Alright. Let''s get this show on the road. These things won''t upgrade by themselves." Discarding all of the unnecessary thoughts that continued to linger in his mind, Valyr finally began to go through his equipment and upgrade them. With that, the sound of constant hammering faintly resounded throughout the area as he continued to work through the night.

 Chapter 587 Four Pillars: Late Night Visit

    <h4>Chapter 587 Four Pirs: Late Night Visit</h4>


    "And with this, I''m finally done upgrading everything." Wiping off the sweat on his forehead as he ced his hammer to the side, Valyr identified the final piece of equipment he had been working on with [Greater Analysis] while smiling. Seeing how much of a difference Enhancement and Advancement had brought to his equipment''s stats, he began to feel giddy at the thought of using them in battle tomorrow.


    Allowing the feeling to linger in his mind for a bit longer, the young man eventually began to pack up the temporary workshop into his spatial bracelet, letting out a sigh in the process. "I may have already done it thousands of times in the past, but I gotta say¡­ advancing an equipment''s foundation sure is tough work."


    As he had no Refinement Jewel on hand to safely refine all of his equipment to their limits, it went without saying that Valyr focused on Enhancement and Advancement. Save for his armor set that could go up to Level 62 thanks to its unique innate skill, his spear and the gun he had forged were both enhanced to the peak of Rank 3.


    In total, he had spent around an hour enhancing all of his equipment, yet the moon in the sky had already gone past its zenith. Naturally, the reason behind that was the fact that the young man proceeding to start experimenting with advancing his equipment''s foundation, attempting it on his armor set first.


    With every piece making up his armor set being rated at Epic+ grade, Valyr did not have much fear in failing to advance the equipment''s foundation to the 1st Tier. Nevertheless, the young man put his entire focus on the Advancement process, even though the skill he had gotten for it had made it considerably easier.


    Surprisingly, it had taken him roughly half an hour to advance a foundation to the 1st Tier, which seemed long whenpared to how long it took him toplete other strengthening methods. It took him seconds to enhance equipment by a single level, while it took him a couple of minutes to refine equipment by a single level.


    Then again, in the grand scheme of things, 30 minutes to advance a foundation by one tier was already considerably short, with some cksmiths taking hours, if not days to advance a foundation, only to fail at the very end. Using his True Wyvern Armor set as a way to get used to advancing an equipment''s foundation yet again, it took him a total of five hours to advance everything by one tier, taking a long break in the middle.


    ''In any case, the hard work I put in has definitely paid off.'' Vividly recalling the process of Advancement, which the young man thought it felt simr to rearranging the molecules that made up the material itself, Valyr went ahead and identified his spear, which had gotten a sizable improvement in power thanks to his actions.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Wrath of the Prodigious Tidemother] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 2 (Valyr)


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 913 - 1,521 (+20%)


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 41


    > AGI + 50


    > DEX + 80


    Previously a training weapon¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Innate Skill¡­ description has been omitted.>


    Remarks: Its might puts equipment of a higher grade to shame. Quite unfortunate that it has been seen as defilement by a higher being.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Damn." Letting out a brief whistle in admiration, Valyr focused his attention on the additional attributes that were attached to the equipment. "If only I hadn''t gotten that curse, I would''ve been ecstatic to find out my spear boosts my DEX this much."


    "Then again, that all has to do with my ss and subss synergizing." The young man chuckled not long after, soon focusing his attention on the gun he had made. Identifying it with [Greater Analysis], a slight smile appeared on his face as he gazed at its new and improved stats. "I hope I get to use this at least once during the inheritance."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Primitive Arquebus Prototype] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 7,029 - 11,715


    Cooldown: 15 seconds


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 37


    > DEX + 73


    > PER + 29


    Considered to be the next step on the path of ranged weapons, this weapon has been greatly inspired by the firence, a weapon that is considered to be the ancestor of a branch of ranged weapons called firearms. Forged by a truly prodigious cksmith, this weapon has removed most of the downsides of the firence and enhanced all of its upsides, allowing it to resemble a weapon that is considered as a sessor to the firence, the arquebus.


    Though such a weapon is not yet within the realm of knowledge of many, once it makes its debut, the weapon shall undoubtedly rattle the world with its might, giving not only a great amount of prestige to its creator, but also newfound possibilities.


    <Innate Skill 1: Full Burst - Allows the user to infuse mana into the weapon,bining with the gunpowder used to load the weapon to create a devastating amount of damage. Deals 200% of the user''s Attack stat as damage. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Cost: 1,500 MP.>


    Remarks: The first of its kind. The beginning of what is yet toe.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Having forged multiple ranged weapons in his past life, with most of them being guns in theter versions of Greater Beyond, almost all of the information contained within the weapon''s description made Valyr feel a hint of nostalgia. There were quite a few differences between the descriptions of melee weapons and ranged weapons, though the most important differences between the two were its awakened attributes and its Attack stat.


    Though both melee and ranged weapons awakened STR and DEX as a possible attribute, where melee weapons would awaken AGI, ranged weapons would instead awaken PER as its third stat. Then again, such a difference is more self-exnatory as PER allows one''s field of vision to expand, which was a great boon to all ranged sses.


    As for its Attack stat, ranged weapons generally tended to have a higher Attack statpared to melee weapons. Unfortunately, they could only make use of this high Attack stat very sparingly, considering that all ranged weapons had a cooldown.


    In fact, even bows of varying types weren''t exempt from this cooldown, though a skilled ranger could reduce this cooldown to levels simr to wielding a melee weapon with their skills.


    The fact that Valyr was able to reduce his gun''s cooldown time to 15 seconds was a miracle in itself, considering that there were many steps that went to priming a gun for shooting, especially those simr to the one he currently had. Nevertheless, with his current prototype only being an intermediary step to the gun that he sought to obtain, he did not mind the trouble for the meantime.


    "I suppose I should get some rest before our trek begins." Doing a few stretches after not having moved much for hours, the young man went ahead and donned his entire armor set, affixing his trusty spear to his back. Feeling a great burst of strength course through his body from both being equipped, a faint smile appeared on his face as he made his way to the tents the others had set up, seeing that most of them were meditating rather than sleeping.


    Inwardly chuckling, the young man went to his tent as he thought to himself, ''They''re probably consolidating their control over their newfound strength. After all, I didn''t really see them push their bodies to the limit earlier.''


    ''Or perhaps they can''t sleep well since they''re thinking about their ns during our exploration of the inheritance.'' At these thoughts, the young man slightly shrugged his shoulders, lying down on the makeshift bed the others had made. Though it was by no means better than his bed in the inn, it was still leagues better than the sleeping bag he had bought a day before.


    Closing his eyes, Valyr gradually allowed his body to rx as he knew their expeditionter in the morning was an important indicator of how quickly they''d be able to explore the entire inheritance. However, after tossing and turning around on the bed for a bit, a bitter smile crept up on his face as his mind still seemed to be plenty awake.


    ''I guess now''s a good time to make use of the things I got from the auction.'' Faintly letting out a sigh at the fact that he could not sleep, a chuckle soon left Valyr''s mouth as he thought to himself that he might be feeling the same thing as the others at the moment.


    Willing the skill book and vial he had gotten from the auction out of one of his spatial bracelets, the young man was about to consume the vial, only to hide the skill book in his spatial bracelet after sensing someone was tapping on the entrance of his tent to make themselves known.


    "Who is it?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering who among the other four would wander about thiste in the night. By the time the person in question had entered the tent, the young man''s mouth went slightly agape in surprise.


    "Faulus?" muttered the young man in slight disbelief.


    Nodding in response, Faulus looked back at Valyr with a bitter smile, only for his expression to show a hint of determination soon after. "I apologize for disturbing you thiste in the night, but¡­"


    "Could you perhaps teach me how to fight?"

 Chapter 588 Four Pillars: Self-doubt

    <h4>Chapter 588 Four Pirs: Self-doubt</h4>


    For a while, Valyr looked at the standing Faulus in silence. Though such a question seemed to havee out of nowhere from someone like him, it also made quite a lot of sense.


    Of course, in the grand scheme of things, Faulus'' ability inbat was considered to be on the level of those among the top. After all, it was already difficult for one to surmount a gap between the early levels and thete levels of a rank, much less to say an entire rank itself.


    However,pared to someone like Hal and Valyr, the young man was indeedcking when it came to thebat department. Then again, that thought was only worsened by the fact that he had fought against Valyr during the tournament, only for the entire fight to be thetter leading him on.


    And that was with Valyr not showing off all of the abilities in his skill set.


    Thinking about it for a bit more, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he consumed the vial of might, inwardly surprised at the amount of stats it had given him. Storing the empty vial in his spatial bracelet for the meantime, he looked at the young man before him. "I don''t really mind teaching you, but why the sudden question?"


    "To be honest, I''m not sure." Hearing Valyr''s words, Faulus wryly smiled. "Up to the moment we entered the inheritance, I was incredibly confident that I would be of great use to the journey."


    "I''ve even shored up my greatest weakness somewhat, giving me the confidence to fight against those at the peak of Rank 3 as long as I kept my calm." As Faulus continued with his words, the young man raised his eyebrows in interest, surprised that the former could improve hisbat skills that quickly.


    Though he did not know whether the training he had gone through would trante over to his new levels of strength, Valyr was quite certain that Faulus would still be a force to be reckoned with.


    "Yet, for some reason, after we entered the inheritance and ascended to the peak of Rank 3, I''ve had this nagging feeling at the back of my head." While Valyr continued to listen to the man, Faulus let out a sigh.


    "All in all, I just don''t know whether I''m ready." Looking down at the floor, the young man had a despondent expression on his face, making it evident to Valyr how the young man''s worries had troubled him all this time.


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Valyr thought about what he wanted to say. "Well, I''m not really good at consoling people, but you''ve spent a lot of time preparing for this inheritance, right?"


    "Yeah." Faulus faintly nodded. "Ever since I was told I had been chosen as a candidate, I''ve put in a great amount of effort."


    "Why worry, then?" In response, Valyr let out a brief chuckle. "It feels quite contradicting if you were topare it to the actions you''ve taken up to this point."


    Hearing his words, Faulus sighed once more. "I know¡­ but still¡­"


    "Think of this way." Feeling as if the conversation would only go into a loop if he let the man continue, Valyr interrupted his thoughts. "Rather than worry over something that might be beyond your abilities, believe in the effort you''ve put into your preparations thus far."


    "Believe in my efforts¡­" Muttering these words to himself over and over, Faulus gradually looked as if a heavy burden was being removed off his shoulders, prompting him to let out a long, drawn-out sigh after a bit of silence. "I¡­ kind of needed to hear that. Thank you."


    "You know¡­ I feel like this conversation has made me gotten over the fact you''ve been hiding under another identity all this time." As Faulus let out a chuckle at his words, Valyr felt the exact opposite, not knowing what to say in response to such a massive shift in topic. Fortunately, he did not have dwell on the matter too long as the man changed it not long after.


    "Ah, right. Did you get your hands on one of my concoctions from the auction?" asked Faulus with a slightly interested expression. "Then again, I did put a unique ir to them that only I can recognize. Since I sensed it, then that can only mean you did."


    "I got my hands on a vial of Might." Valyr nodded in response, only to raise his eyebrow in curiosity soon after. "Why the question?"


    "Well¡­ I was actually nning to give all of you vials of Might after all of us ascended to our current rank," responded Faulus, wryly smiling. "But you know¡­ worrying about what I could do and whatnot."


    "Think of it as my way of helping out like how you upgraded all of our equipment," continued the man.


    Seeing as Valyr was now looking at him with an expectant expression, a faint chuckle briefly escaped Faulus'' mouth as he grabbed a total of five vials from his spatial bracelet. Two of them seemed to contain the same viscous fluid that Valyr''s vial had earlier, while the remaining three contained a viscous fluid that was of a contrasting color to the two.


    "It doesn''t really beat getting one''s hands on some Reinforcement Elixir, but it does still give out a considerable boost in attributes." Giving the five vials to Valyr, Faulus began to exin what the vials were with a smile. "The first two vials are what you think they are, while thest three vials are actually the magical counterpart to Might, which I''ve decided to call Acuity."


    "Also, the system has limited anyone who taken either Might or Acuity to three vials each at most," he continued, faintly shrugging his shoulders. "Whether it''s due to myck of skills or the fact that the materials I''ve chosen aren''t potent enough, I have no clue."


    "How about the others?" Thanking Faulus for the sudden gift, Valyr looked at him as a thought popped up in his mind.


    "I''ll give it to themter," replied Faulus with a slight chuckle. "Most of them seem to be engrossed in something, so I''ll only disturb them before we depart for the ins."


    "Anyways, thank you again for that wake-up call, Valyr." Seeing as his reasons to enter the young man''s tent was resolved, Faulus thought that it was his due time to leave. "Oh, and also¡­ is my earlier offer still up?"


    "I''ll teach you more about it once we head to the ins." Letting out a peal ofughter as he decided to see Faulus off, Valyr returned to his tent and consumed the five vials Faulus had given him without hesitation. Feeling a slight surge in strength coursing throughout his body, he waited for the feeling to die down before taking a look at his notifications.


    "15 points in almost every stat¡­ not bad." Nodding at his gains in satisfaction, the young man went ahead and stored all of the empty vials into his spatial bracelet before bringing out the Outer Realm Scripture from earlier.


    "Hopefully, no one disturbs me this time."

 Chapter 589 Four Pillars: A Peculiar Scripture

    <h4>Chapter 589 Four Pirs: A Peculiar Scripture</h4>


    ''I don''t want to go through that ever again.'' Doing a few light stretches as he got out of his tent, a relieved expression flitted across Valyr''s face as he took a look at the sun up above in the sky. As he could not rest properlyst night, he decided to make the most out of the time he had by learning a skill he should have probably learned in the first ce.


    The Outer Realm Scripture.


    ¡­


    At first, the process of obtaining the Outer Realm Scripture was more or less simr to any other skill he hadprehended, which was to absorb the skill book and allow it to inundate his memory with information. However, just as he was expecting the archaic-looking book he was holding to disappear, the archaic-looking book instead remained where it was as the information that entered in his mind slightly left him speechless.


    ''Only trueprehension can allow one to proceed through the scripture.''


    With this information continuing to linger in his mind as he tried learning the skill a few more times, only after repeating the process 10 times did the young man finally take heed of the message, opening the book as he began to read through its pages.


    From the information he had gotten from the auction and the information he had from his past life, Valyr was expecting to see lines upon lines of undecipherable text all over the pages, thinking that he would have to decipher the text before being able toprehend it.


    Fortunately, even though that was indeed the case, the young man surprised to find out that he could understand what the text meant, gradually beginning to read it in earnest.


    "The body is a vessel, a container of one''s power. Only with the vessel strengthened could one showcase abilities beyond theprehensible." As he began to mutter a couple of lines of text here and there, Valyr gradually fell into a trance, feeling as if a world far greater than he had imagined was opened in front of him.


    With every line he read, the young man felt like there were over hundreds of ways to interpret it, all of which would eventually lead him down towards the sole path the book wanted him to take. Thankfully, only a couple of hours had passed by the time he was finished reading the book, returning back to normal after a few minutes of silence.


    "I see." Taking in a deep breath as he nced at the archaic-looking book onest time, Valyr stored the book back into his spatial bracelet before sitting cross-legged. Closing his eyes, he let out a long and drawn-out sigh as he began to pull out mana from within him. "This is definitely a peculiar skill."


    "Then again, I have a feeling this won''t be thest one." Releasing all of the mana that was in his body, the young man went ahead and condensed all of the mana into a series of threads. Then, after sensing that the threads were condensed enough, he willed all of them to head straight towards his body, striking certain parts as he let out a muffled groan.


    "Grr¡­" Though the pain he felt from them gradually increased the more time passed, Valyrposed himself as he soon began to move all of the mana threads at once across his body. Unsurprisingly, a great wave of pain assaulted his senses due to his actions, yet he persevered, feeling a bit of blood oozing out of the paths the threads were making.


    Naturally, the paths Valyr was carving on his skin came from reading the Outer Realm Scripture, whichprised of the first three levels due to it being the first volume. Though the reaching the third level of the scripture would only give him a 5% boost to his physical stats at most, the three levelsid a solid foundation for the second and third volume.


    In fact, it even hinted in a few of its pages that learning the two other scriptures would be considerably easier with the Outer Realm Scriptureprehended.


    By the time the young man was finished carving out all of the paths across his body, the moon was only an hour and a half away from setting into the horizon. Taking in a few deep breaths, the young man wryly smiled as he noticed that his mana had only recovered to a quarter of its original capacity after all this time. It did not help out that the paths he had carved were absorbing some mana from the atmosphere as well.


    ''If it''s already this bad after five of us had ascended to Rank 3, how bad would it have been if we hadn''t.'' Inwardly letting out an amused sigh at the thought, Valyr went ahead and grabbed a few mana potions from his spatial bracelet, downing them in mere moments.


    To no surprise, his mana reserves had returned to peak condition after that, with the extra mana remaining from the potions even going towards the paths he had carved.


    Whoosh!


    With the paths radiating a faint cyan light, the young man looked as if he had gotten tattoos all over his body. Fortunately, the light from these paths gradually dimmed down, making it seem like nothing had happened to the young man in the first ce.


    Ding!


    [You have upgraded the skill ''Outer Realm Scripture'' to the 1st Stage.]


    However, with the faint increase in strength he could feel coursing through his body, he knew very well that he had set himself on a path that would give him a great amount of power.


    ¡­


    "Our n for today is to head to the ins and set up camp there." Seeing as everyone had not gotten a wink of sleepst night, Valyr went straight to the point on their agendas for the day, giving others the opportunity to rouse their consciousness while they were chowing down on their respective breakfasts.


    Having learned a passive skill rted to cooking in preparation for the inheritance, Valyr made great use of it during this time, which prompted a couple among the other four to look at him with surprise. One of those surprised was Loreina, who already thought to herself that she was going to be doing most of the cooking during their exploration.


    "To make sure all of us would be able to explore this ce unscathed, we''ll be heading down there in a specific formation," said Valyr. "Hal and I would act as vanguard, while Faulus and Vera would be at the rear. Loreina would be in the middle, providing support to the side that needs it more."


    "Hal, is it fine if you take another look at our path ahead?" As everyone nodded in response to Valyr''s n, thetter shifted his attention towards Hal. Seeing as he was the only other person in their group that had a reconnaissance skill, Hal could only acquiesce as he put his remaining breakfast to the side before taking a look at the ins.


    However, not even a minute after taking a look through his skill, Hal turned to look at Valyr with a grim expression. "I think you need to see this."


    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr shifted his gaze towards the ins with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] activated to its very limits. It did not take long for him to figure out what Hal wanted to see, letting out a long sigh as he turned around to look back at the others with a grim expression.


    "Everyone¡­"


    "Change of ns."

 Chapter 590 Four Pillars: Worst Fears

    <h4>Chapter 590 Four Pirs: Worst Fears</h4>


    "What''s wrong?" Noticing that both Hal and Valyr''s expressions had turned grim at their discovery, the three were incredibly curious as to what the two had discovered.


    "Well, it''s something that might probably affect the entirety of our journey throughout the inheritance." Returning his attention to his breakfast for a bit, Valyr vividly recalled what he had just seen through the vision granted by [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], ignoring the slight fear and concern creeping up onto the other''s faces.


    For a short while, the entirendscape making up the inheritance did not show any sort of difference under his vision, prompting him to look at Hal for a bit after he was called. However, knowing that the man was not someone who pulled pranks in serious situations, he proceeded to continue looking with the skill activated, eventually noticing what the man had probably wanted him to see.


    From the few times Valyr had used [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] inbat, he was somewhat certain that any being in front of him would have a corresponding pitch-ck circle that denoted their weak spot. Whether they may be of a lower rank or of a higher rank, both would show up in front of his vision¡­


    Though there existed a couple of differences.


    For one, the size of the circle within his vision grew smaller the higher the rank of the being was. Though Valyr did not know why that was the case at first, he now had a feeling it had something to do with how quick he would be able to defeat the being he was looking at.


    After all, with greater strength, more possibilities to capitalize on weak spots arose.


    Aside from that, he also noticed that it generally took longer for him to find weak spots on higher-ranked beings or beings of higher strength through the skill. Of course, with how weak spots became easier to exploit if his strength grew greater, then the opposite would naturally apply.


    With those differences in mind, the young man realized that the pitch-ck circles denoting every enemy they woulde across in the inheritance had gotten considerably smaller, taking quite some time for them to appear. In fact, with his vision focused on the center of the city ruins, some of the pitch-ck circles had even disappeared, causing him to briefly shudder as he had a foreboding feeling.


    "If Hal and I aren''t mistaken¡­" Letting out a low sigh as he took a few bites of his remaining breakfast, Valyr looked at the others with a calm expression. "It seems that the enemies we''ll be facing had grown stronger after our ascensions."


    "What?!" Naturally, such information struck down on the minds of the other three like a heavy hammer. After all, none of them had expected the inheritance to have a mechanic such as this.


    "The two of us will check out the entire thing again after this." Though he had an idea as to why the enemies had grown stronger, Valyr put it aside for the meantime. "For now, focus on your food, clean up camp, and wait for our words."


    At those words, the other three could only nod and inwardly let out a sigh. Thoughts rted to the words Valyr had uttered began to linger in their minds after that, though one quickly became prevalent only a few minutes after they had finished their breakfasts.


    ''Guess this inheritance doesn''t want us to have an easy time in the first ce.''


    ¡­


    "So, what''s the verdict?" After everyone had finished eating their breakfast, Hal and Valyr returned to where they had done their reconnaissance yesterday, looking over everything once more with an inquisitive gaze. In the meantime, the other three began to clean up by storing the items into their spatial bracelets, readying themselves for the journey as they looked at the other two with a hint of worry.


    Seeing as both Hal and Valyr walked back to where they were waiting with a somber expression, it was no surprise to the three that their worst fears had been realized. Steeling their minds for the onught that they would have to face to explore the inheritance, Loreina decided to speak up for the three to find out more about the current situation from Valyr and Hal.


    "I''m somewhat regretting the fact that we listened to Elder Faulerei''s words." As the two of them looked at the three with a wry smile, Valyr began to speak. "Anyways, the two of us have confirmed that all of the enemies we''ll be facing in this inheritance had gone up slightly above one rank in terms of power."


    "Those roaming around the ins now have strengths varying from the middle levels of Rank 4 to thete levels of Rank 4," said Hal as he continued where Valyr left off. "On the other hand, the weakest in the four quadrants are in the peak levels of Rank 4, while the strongest among them are at the middle levels of Rank 5."


    "Regarding Intents, almost all of them haveprehended an Intent Seed, though whether or not they''d reached the second stage or culmination stage is something my skill could not detect." Scratching the back of his head, Hal heaved out a low sigh at these words.


    "As for the strongest ones in the quadrants, though I didn''t really want to say this, all of them haveprehended a full Intent, their grades unknown to the five of us."


    Unsurprisingly, the dread the others were feeling from Valyr''s words at first only became worse when Hal took over the exnation of their current situation. With how almost every person wanted to obtain an Intent the very moment they gained the capabilities to do so, it was no surprise that everyone in their group knew how much of an increase in difficulty fighting against enemies with Intent was.


    Though, with the existence of grades among Intents, that increase could either range from a substantial increase to an increase that even the most talented would have a difficulty surmounting. Simr to how the four phases of an Intent Seed worked, each grade of Intent allowed one''s connection with the world to be stronger, increasing the amount of strength they could wield.


    However, unlike the four phases, Intent was separated into nine grades. The weakest grade of Intent one could obtain was 9th Grade Intent, while the strongest grade was 1st Grade Intent. Nevertheless, even gainingprehension of 9th Grade Intent was enough to substantially increase one''s strength in the battlefield, with those having 1st Grade Intent akin to bing gods of destruction.


    "Lastly, the center of the city ruins houses enemies that have strengths ranging from the middle levels to the peak of Rank 5." Giving the others time to digest the information they had received, it was only after a couple of minutes did Hal drop the information almost everyone among them dreaded to hear. However, as the young man continued his exnation, they soon found out that it was only the beginning.


    "From what my reconnaissance skill has sensed, the strongest among them hasprehended the concepts of a Force," said Hal. "However, ording to Valyr''s skill, some of the enemies have already broken through the shackles of Rank 5."


    "So, we''re up against a Myth, huh?" After giving Valyr and Hal the opportunity to exin their current situation, Faulus went ahead and aired out his grievances. "How great. How fucking great."


    "I guess Elder Faulerei wanted us to lead ourselves to death by having all of us ascend to Rank 3," said Faulus not long after, prompting the others to look at him as they had simr thoughts in mind. With what they found out from the two, their current problems all stemmed from the fact that they had followed Elder Faulerei''s reminder to ascend to the next rank.


    However, after mulling over it for a bit, Valyr felt like he now understood why the man did it. "That might not be the case."


    "Hmm?" At those words, the other four looked at the young man with curiosity, with Faulus raising his eyebrow in slight doubt. "With how his reminder caused the difficulty of our journey to spike, you really don''t think that elder has some malicious intent?"


    "I feel like his reminder came from the right ce, but from the wrong perspective," replying to Faulus'' question, Valyr began to exin his thought process. "From what I know about the inheritance, the amount we can explore in the inheritance depends on the quality of our sses. With that, I''ve heard that we are the first group to have probably unlocked the entire inheritance, considering that all of us have sses at Mythic grade."


    Hearing his words, everyone slightly nodded in response, though Vera seemed to nk out for a bit before doing so.


    "Now, think about it. You''re a group that''s entered the inheritance, but the locations you can explore only extend to¡­ let''s say the ins at best," continued the young man. "Armed with the reminders Elder Faulerei gave you, your entire group decided to ascend to the next rank like we did."


    Fortunately, around that point, almost everyone understood what Valyr was trying to say.


    "So, you''re saying he didn''t warn us about the increase in difficulty from the ascension since he thinks we''re more than capable of clearing it?" asked Faulus after thinking about it for a bit.


    "I think so." Valyr nodded. "Surmounting the gap between ranks is difficult, but not hard to do, especially for someone like us."


    "I guess he just forgot to ount that we''d be exploring the entire inheritance and not only a small part of it." Valyr wryly smiled.


    "I still feel like he has malicious intent, but I guess it''ll be better if we followed your thought process in the long run." Shrugging his shoulders, Faulus decided to move the topic forward. "Anyways, what now?"


    "Well, what else would we be doing?" In response, Valyr let out a wry chuckle. "With none of us knowing how to leave the inheritance¡­"


    "We can only move forward."

 Chapter 591 Four Pillars: Aberration

    <h4>Chapter 591 Four Pirs: Aberration</h4>


    After talking a bit more about their ns regarding their journey deeper into the heart of the inheritance, the group eventually began their trek towards the ins, following the formation that Valyr had suggested to them earlier.


    With both of them having reconnaissance skills, as well as the fact that they were most experienced when it came tobat, Hal and Valyr formed the vanguard of the group, taking a look at their surroundings to see if there were any enemies nearby. As this would be their first time fighting against the denizens of the inheritance, they actively searched for an enemy that looked to have been separated from the others.


    As for Loreina, Vera, and Faulus, the three of them also kept their eyes peeled for any possible enemies, hoping to get an idea on how they would adapt their fighting styles to their enemies within the inheritance. With their stats bolstered after ascending to the peak of Rank 3, their attempts at looking around hadn''t been entirely useless as Loreina eventually noticed a lone enemy a kilometer or so away from where they stood.


    With their improved stats, it did not take long for them to get a better look of what they would have to fight against during their time in the inheritance. However, after getting a good look at their opponent, most of them somewhat regretted the fact that they had gone closer, with Hal and Valyr looking at it with grim expressions.


    If one were to sum up the appearance of the being that was still a distance away from them in one word, then that word would have to be human. Though, that was the only simrity it and the five had going for it as the being looked to be an incredibly poor attempt at emting the appearance of one.


    All of the muscles making up its four appendages had been blown out of proportion, reminding a few among the group of how frogs looked before they let out a croak. Nevertheless, veins as thick as branches lined each and every muscle, which formed a stark contrast to its torso and its head.


    For theck of a better term, the being''s torso and head looked to be lopsided, bent in an unnatural manner due to the weight of its upper limbs. It was as if all of the nutrients the being partook in had all gone to its muscles, with only a small amount remaining towards these two areas.


    With a nk re adorning its emaciated face as it roamed around like a feral creature, the five looked at each other and wondered whether they were even looking at one of their kin. Fortunately, a quick activation of the identification skill was more than enough for them to find out that the system dered the beings as something else entirely.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aberration (Legendary Elite)] (Level 64)


    ss: Aberration (Umon)


    HP: 15,424/15,424


    MP: 10,368/10,368


    Stats: 482 VIT, 565 STR, 502 AGI, 473 DEX, 324 INT, 284 WIS, 252 PER, 144 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Regeneration], [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance], [Basic Physical Damage Nullification], [Basic Magical Damage Resistance],...


    Remarks: An experiment gone wrong.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Taking a look at the screen brought up in front of him thanks to [Greater Analysis], Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise as he noticed that the being was actually a Legendary Elite tier monster. ''If we were still at the peak of Rank 2, this would have probably been a Rare Elite tier monster. Possibly an Epic Elite tier monster at most.''


    "An experiment gone wrong, huh¡­" With his stats giving him the confidence to be calm up against what would be their first opponent in the inheritance, the young man eventually shifted his gaze towards the remarks written by the system, raising his eyebrow in slight curiosity.


    ''With how advanced the city looks even after it turned to ruins, I guess they dabbled in gic modification.'' As they had moved somewhat closer to the city, Valyr was able to notice a few more things about the ruins that he hadn''t noticed at first. One of those was the fact that it looked like the city had achieved a level of technology far above the level of technology Earth had achieved in his past life and in his current life.


    Nevertheless, the thought only came to mind as he had recalled reading a few attempts at gic modification in the past, though those articles talked about how they were sessful in making people immune to all types of diseases, improving people''s physical capabilities, and the like.


    Of course, he was more than certain that arge pile of failed attempts hadid down the path people needed to take before they were able to achieve even one sessful attempt, with the aberration that stood far before them being an example of one of those failed attempts.


    "So, who wants to fight the aberration?" Turning around to look at the others, Valyr went ahead and asked them as he pointed at the aberration. With how everyone had ascended to the peak of Rank 3 and how everyone had Mythic grade sses, the young man was certain that everyone would be able to defeat the aberration without much of a problem.


    However¡­


    "Shouldn''t you fight it first as the leader?" said Faulus in response, eliciting some of the others to look at him with surprised expressions. "After all, among the five of us, you''re the strongest when ites tobat, so you''d be able to defeat the aberration without a problem, as well as obtain a few nuances during the fight that would allow us tobat it more easily."


    "Why don''t you do it instead?" Though he felt a bit of anger at Faulus from the suggestion, Valyr wasn''t going to acquiesce that easily, turning the tables around in his response. "You did approach mest night that you wanted me to teach you a few things aboutbat, so why not use this opportunity as a way to gain some experience?"


    "Alright, I''ll do it." Fortunately, just as Faulus was about to answer back with a retort at Valyr, Hal had stopped the entire thing from escting any further, telling the others to stay where they were.


    Taking in a deep breath, Hal took out his newly upgraded sword with a low sigh, heading straight for the aberration before Valyr could even say anything.

 Chapter 592 Four Pillars: Easy Pickings

    <h4>Chapter 592 Four Pirs: Easy Pickings</h4>


    ?


    "What the hell was that about, Faulus?" Whilst Hal was making his way to the aberration at the limits of his agility, Loreina looked at the alchemist with a frown. "Did you really have to force Valyr to make the first move? Even you could have beaten that thing with your stats, no?"


    In response to the series of questions, Faulus remained silent. Though he had gained his bearings the previous night after talking with Valyr, it seemed as if all of that progress was instantly lost after sighting the first opponent of their inheritance, feeling a hint of fear at the thought of fighting something like it.


    Not wanting to show to the others that he feared fighting against even the weakest kind of enemy they woulde across in the inheritance, the alchemist clicked his tongue as he responded, "So what? Am I wrong in saying that Valyr would have an easy time fighting against it? Am I also wrong in saying that Valyr would have gotten more information from fighting against it with hisbat prowess?"


    "Now''s not the time to argue over something like this." Scratching the back of his head, Valyr interrupted the two from further bickering as he told the two to focus their attention on Hal''s fight. "If we''re already fighting over something as small as this, I don''t know if we wouldn''t even be able to explore the inheritancepletely."


    Thankfully, after these words, Faulus and Loreina remained silent and focused their attention on Hal, who was only seconds away fromnding his first strike on the aberration. With that, Valyr briefly ruminated over the various reasons why Faulus wanted him to go first, only to put it aside for the meantime as he hoped to gain a greater idea of the inheritance from this first skirmish.


    ¡­


    "[de of Six Paths]¡­" Imbuing his sword with a bit of mana, Hal gazed at the aberration in the eyes, thetter''s attention wholly focused on him. Then, without hesitation, he raised his sword to the sky before bringing it downwards,nding a solid strike on the aberration''s body.


    "[Mortal Severing sh]."


    "Grwaaagghh!!!" Though the aberration had a series of skills that reduced the damage it took, the strength imbued within Hal''s strike had caused arge wound to open up on the aberration''s body. Letting out a shriek from the pain it felt, the wound ran along the aberration''s torso to one of its erged arms, making one faintly wonder how strong its vitality was.


    ''This seems¡­ easier than I thought?'' With the aberration thoroughly enraged by the attack, Hal watched as the aberration swung its arms to the sky before mming it down to the ground at full force, causing the ground to quake. Unsurprisingly, with the great disparity between his and the aberration''s stats, he was able to easily dodge the attack, countering against it bynding a series of shes across its arms.


    Once more, the aberration screamed out in pain, its nk stare from earlier now reced with a maddened expression that wanted to kill Hal no matter what. Empowered by its rage, the aberration attempted an attack once more, utilizing the strong muscles in its legs to appear in front of the man before mming down.


    Yet, simr to before, Hal was able to easily dodge the attack as a calm expression appeared on his face. Landing a series ofcerations across the aberration''s engorged legs, he gradually began tond more and more attacks on the aberration as he wanted to confirm a suspicion he had that arose from his first attack.


    By the end of it, the aberration had be a recipient of Hal''s incessant attacks, letting out scream after scream as its only sign that it remained alive amidst the beating it had taken on.


    "[Mortal Severing sh]." Feeling as if he had gained more or less all of the information the group would need from their enemy in the ins, Hal took onest look at the aberration, whose body was greatly mangled from the attacks he hadnded on it. Though somewhat surprised at its tenacity to keep on living, the man went ahead and ended the battle with a quick slice through the aberration''s throat, separating its head from the body for good.


    Ding!


    Hearing a few notification sounds resound in his mind after he had killed the group''s first aberration, a look of slight surprise appeared on Hal''s face for a brief moment before making his way back to where the four stood as he condensed all of the information he had gained from the fight on his way back.


    "What''s the verdict?" Watching Hal return from his fight against the aberration, Valyr took the initiative to start the conversation, even though how the fight went earlier already told him what he wanted to know.


    "Easy pickings," Hal responded, looking at everyone else before stopping at Faulus for a brief moment. "Though I''m not sure if all aberrations are like this, it seems like they''ve been put in the inheritance as a way for inheritors to get used tobat before heading deeper."


    "I''m quite certain that everyone here could fight against a bunch of aberrations on their own without much problem, though keep in mind that their stats and skills are the real deal," he continued, looking at Loreina and the other two. "Especially you three. You three would definitely suffer a lot against even one of its hits."


    "I guess that''s that, then." Pondering over something for a bit, Valyr eventually looked at the others with a slight nod. "Everyone, we''ll head in a bit deeper into the ins and set up our camp there. After that, everyone can split up and fight against aberrations to gain a better idea of what to expect once we head deeper into the inheritance."


    "From what Hal has said, it''s a good way for us to polish up onbat." At these words, the young man briefly nced at Hal, who bitterly smiled after noticing his momentary gaze. "So, if you feel like yourbat skills aren''t up to par for what''s toe, now''s a good chance to brush up on that."


    "Any other questions?"


    Seeing that everyone shook their heads in response, Valyr nodded back in understanding as he and Hal led the group deeper into the ins, only stopping once they had found a suitable campsite a couple hours after the beginning of their trek.

 Chapter 593 Four Pillars: Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 593 Four Pirs: Dominance</h4>


    "Alright." Seeing that their camp for the night had been fully set up, Valyr called for the others to gather around him. Giving each of them a brief nce, he then slightly nodded. "As I mentioned earlier, the ins is a good spot to hone yourbat experience, allowing you to get used to fighting beings that are at least a rank above you in terms of strength."


    "Not only that, but these aberrations also give out a ton of experience due to the disparity in levels between us and them," he continued, though everyone there more or less knew what he wanted to say.


    "For the remainder of the day, all of us should go our separate ways and fight against these aberrations, whether it''s to hone ourbat experience, gain XP, or just get a better sense of working around the world''s scant concentration of mana."


    "Speaking of mana, has anyone already tried out if magic skills work fine in the inheritance?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Loreina decided to speak up as she relied on magic skills a lot.


    Pondering over the process he had gone through regarding the Outer Realm Scripturest night, a thought soon surfaced within the young man''s mind. "I did a bit of checkingst night, and it looks like mana regeneration is the only thing that''s affected by concentration. I''ll have to do some more checking once we''re fighting against the aberrations."


    Loreina nodded back in response. "I''ll do some testing as well."


    "Got it." As Vera said after Loreina that she would also do some testing, Valyr thanked the two of them before asking the others to add one another to each other''s friend lists. Then, after making sure that everyone had every other member aside from them added, the young man went ahead and created a party chat with the five of them as members.


    "Since we''ll be going our separate ways for the meantime, this will serve as our method ofmunication. Whether it be questions that have answers everyone else would benefit from, findings in your area of the ins, or any other important stuff, please send those messages here." Asking everyone to keep the party chat screen open at all times, the young man gave everyone onest reminder before the five of them went their separate ways.


    Surprisingly, Vera and Loreina had decided to team up, while Hal went on his own in a direction away from the pair. As for Valyr, he was about to head in a direction away from the others on his own, only to be stopped by a young man trying to catch up to him.


    "Wait a minute, Valyr!" Hearing his name being called, Valyr stopped in his tracks and turned, only for a mysterious expression to appear on his face when the one that called him was Faulus.


    At first, the young man thought that Faulus looked to be arrogant towards anyone he did not deem as an equal, while those he deemed an equal he treated as a good friend. However, after the alchemist had suggested earlier that he should fight against the first aberration, the young man could not make heads or tails as to what kind of person Faulus was.


    "What''s up?" Knowing that cooperation was key while exploring the inheritance, he put his lingering thoughts of slight rage to the side as he looked at Faulus with a raised eyebrow. Instead, if his train of thought was correct, what the alchemist would ask him might just be what he needed to get a better idea of what kind of person Faulus was.


    "Well¡­" Twiddling his thumbs for a bit, Faulus took in a deep breath before giving Valyr a half-bow. "I would like to apologize for the matter earlier!"


    At those words, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise, finding it slightly more difficult to guess the man''s personality. Nevertheless, he nodded in response, telling him that he forgave him after thetter exined that his fears fromst night had seemingly popped up after getting a closer look at the aberration.


    After a bit more smoothing out between them, Faulus then asked if he could join the young man to possibly gain some morebat experience before they enter the depths of the inheritance. Naturally, Valyr agreed to the proposition, though he did tell the alchemist that he would have to slightly distance himself from the man once they found their opponents to fight.


    "Now that I think about it, are you still using magic as your mainbat style?" Roaming through the ins at considerably high speeds, the young man decided to make some small talk with the guy, hoping to find out more regarding thetter''sbat expertise.


    Faulus replied with a nod, "Yeah, though I did pick up a weapon a week before the inheritance since thebat instructor that taught me told me to do so."


    "What weapon did you choose, then?" Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity.


    "The staff." Hearing Faulus'' response, the young man nodded in understanding. Though it was not as widespread as the sword or the spear, the staff was still a great weapon choice as the number of ways one could attack with it was nigh infinite. If anything, one could say that the spear is an extension of the staff, with the only difference being the fact that it had a sharp edge on one side.


    Making a bit more small talk after that, with Valyr giving Faulus tips on wielding the staff from his treasure trove of memories, the two soon focused all of their attention on traversing the ins in search of aberrations to fight against. Fortunately, it only took a couple of minutes for them to arrive at what looked to be the boundary of a territory filled with these hulking creatures.


    Looking at each and every aberration within his field of vision with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], Valyr slightly nodded before turning to look at Faulus. "As we''ve talked during our trek earlier, we''ll be fighting against these aberrations separately. Feel free to take a break every few aberrations or so to gain an idea of what you could improve on yourbat style, though I''ll also give a few of my insights here and there."


    "And if one side is in danger?" asked the alchemist in response, which Valyr found slightly amusing.


    "With the disparity between our stats and theirs, the chances of that happening are low," replied Valyr. "But if that ever happens, the other side should always be ready to help the one in danger out."


    With that, the two of them went their separate ways, approaching the territory of aberrations in front of them from differing sides, making sure to not interfere on the other. Surprisingly, Faulus had brought out a staff Valyr had never seen before, to which thetter nodded in agreement.


    "[Offense Aura+]." Confident that Faulus would mostly be fine against the aberrations, Valyr went ahead and focused his sights on one of the aberrations ahead of him as he charged up one of the stronger magic skills under his arsenal.


    Due to the fact that he was still unsure whether or not the mana concentration in the area would affect the power of his magic, the young man wanted to end the battle against the aberration before it began. With that, it went without saying that under the effect of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], the young man aimed¡­


    At the aberration''s weakest point.


    "[Crimson de Descent]."


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    ''-24,165!!!''


    With all of his attention focused on the pitch-ck circle within his vision, Valyr sent out a de made out of crimson mes that was considerablyrger than any of the des he had conjured before. Then, wanting to catch the opponent unaware, he propelled the de forward at great speeds, causing the aberration to die before it could even know what hit it.


    Ding!


    [With a 9 level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 180%.]


    [You have in a Level 64 Aberration (Legendary Elite). You have gained 1,075,536 XP.]


    "Now that I think about it, does Mark of the Alltide have an effect on these things?" Slightly grinning at the fact that he had gained close to a million XP without breaking much of a sweat, the young man shared his current findings regarding magic skills to the party chat as the thought surfaced in his mind.


    Deciding to read the messages that followed after the one sentter, he then traveled a bit around the idea, eventually finding an aberration that seemed to be away from the other aberrations. Inching closer and closer to the aberration until it hit the range of the curse, the young man did not know whether to be happy or sad at the fact the aberration had not been affected by the curse at all.


    Nevertheless, with that query answered, he proceeded to ughter all of the aberrations near him, relying on the cheat that was [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] alongside his empowered set of magic skills. At times, he would also utilize his spear whenever he came across a considerablyrge group of aberrations, the damage values that popped up causing a wide grin to appear on Valyr''s face.


    Then again, by the time he had gone through about 60 or so aberrations, a lingering thought eventually surfaced in his mind, prompting him to look at his palms with a pensive expression.


    "Now that I think about it¡­"


    "I should really get my hands on a magic weapon."

 Chapter 594 Four Pillars: Gates of Enlightenment

    <h4>Chapter 594 Four Pirs: Gates of Enlightenment</h4>


    Due to the slight modification Noel had done to Valyr''s subss, not only did the young man''s Attack stat now scale off of his DEX stat, it now also scaled off of his INT stat whenever he used any of his magic skills.


    However, as the modification was more or less on the spot, with the basis for it being a lingering thought from one of Noel''s past disciples, the Attack stat did not scale fully while using INT, its effects only being 50% effective.


    Nevertheless, the amount of damage he could now deal due to the change was more than just 50%, especially with the aid of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]. With him being somewhat confident that evolving the subss would eventually allow his Attack stat to scale off of INT properly, he thought about nning ahead by forging a magic weapon for himself, the form of which he was still unsure.


    ''I''ll think more about it once I leave the inheritance,'' thought Valyr to himself as he put the idea to the side for the meantime. ''I don''t have the advancements unlocked nor the materials needed to forge it anyway.''


    With that, he continued with his onught, methodically killing any aberration that looked to be within his range. Of course, while doing so, he would make some time to head over to Faulus and give thetter a few tips on how he could fight against his foes more efficiently.


    After putting all of his attention on the first few aberrations he had fought to see if he could kill them without many difficulties, the young man would usually look in Faulus'' direction from time to time, gaining an idea of what the alchemist could improve upon as he cross-referenced his thoughts with his memories from the past.


    Once Faulus had killed a few aberrations of his own, only then did the young man impart a few words of wisdom, most of the time eliciting an enlightened expression on the former''s face. Taking some time to ponder over Valyr''s words and internalize its concepts, it was only after a few minutes did Faulus resume fighting once more, his capabilities inbat undergoing a considerable increase.


    With how many times Valyr had imparted Faulus with tips regardingbat by the time the former had in his 100th aberration, it went without saying that thetter now had the air of abat veteran around him, giving him the confidence to even fight a small group of aberrations without getting flustered.


    Then again,pared to someone like Valyr and Hal, the alchemist had a long way to go.


    ¡­


    After imparting Faulus with another important tip regardingbat, Valyr resumed his fight against the many aberrations in the area he imed, slightly surprised that their number did not decrease from their wanton killing whatsoever. Shrugging his shoulders as he thought it was some kind of magic from the inheritance, the young man swiftly sent out a crimson de towards what was his 111th aberration, snuffing out its life before it could even realize it had died.


    "Hmm?" With how anticlimactic the fight was, Valyr was about to walk a bit deeper into the territory to fight a couple more aberrations. However, as he passed through the corpse of the aberration he had just killed, he noticed a small shard jutting out of the hole he had made, which glistened under the rays of the sun.


    Sensing that there was nothing nefarious about the shard whatsoever, the young man let his curiosity get the better of him and yanked the shard out of the aberration''s body. Though, at the very moment he did so, a few tidbits of information surged into his mind as a notification sound resounded soon after.


    ''The Gates of Enlightenment are open to everyone. However, only those that proved themselves to be worthy of enlightenment may enter.''


    As he listened to the voice that resounded in his mind, Valyr felt like it hade from someone that had experienced the vicissitudes of time. However, underneath thatyer of boundless experience was an exuberant vigor that would normally only be found in people their age, which made the young man feel like the voice had be jarring all of a sudden.


    Thankfully, the confusion he felt from the voice swiftly cleared up on his own as he took a look at the notification that had appeared, his expression bing jubnt.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (1).]


    Reading through the notification he had received, an obvious thought gradually came up to the surface of Valyr''s mind. ''Is this perhaps the true reason as to why the Four Pirs'' Inheritance has been entered by many people already?''


    From the name alone, Valyr had no doubts that he would be able to gain a lot if he were to enter a ce like the Gates of Enlightenment. Fortunately, it looked like he had already taken a step in the right direction to gain ess to such a ce, opening up the description of the quest he had received.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (1)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: C


    The Gates of Enlightenment is considered to be a paradise for many, allowing those that have entered its gates to improve greatly on their abilities within a small amount of time. Though it is unknown as to why such a ce exists in an inheritance, the gains one would obtain from such a ce could be carried outside, allowing one to stand head and shoulders above others without fear.


    Of course, one must prove one''s capability to enter the gates in the first ce.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Obtain Key Fragments to the Gates of Enlightenment (1/5)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Primary eligibility to the Gates of Enlightenment


    > ess to Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (2)


    Quest Penalties:


    > None


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So, what I''m holding right now is a Key Fragment." Looking at the shard he had yanked out of the aberration with a calm expression, Valyr faintly nodded in understanding as he tried to connect his actions so far to the quest he had just received. "Though I''m not sure whether my assumptions are correct or not, killing enough aberrations yields a Key Fragment at some point."


    "I should tell this to the others." Opening up the party chat, Valyr went ahead and messaged the others regarding the discovery he had made. While doing so, he went ahead and used [Greater Analysis] on the fragment, only to find out that there was more to it than it initially seemed.

 Chapter 595 Four Pillars: The Hunt for Key Fragments

    <h4>Chapter 595 Four Pirs: The Hunt for Key Fragments</h4>


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Key Fragment to the Gates of Enlightenment] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    To be enlightened is to gain greater understanding. To be enlightened is to expand one''s horizons. To be enlightened is to ascend to a higher state of being. To be enlightened is to epass a portion of the world.


    This fragment contains trace amounts of energy that would lead one to a ce considered as a paradise of learning for many, the Gates of Enlightenment. The trace amounts of energy it radiates seems to be attuned to one of the gates, giving off the feeling of leather and string amidst all other properties. Perhaps obtaining more shards of simr energy would allow one to get a better idea of where the Gates of Enlightenment lies?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ignoring most of the text that made up the description of the fragment, Valyr noticed that there was a small tidbit about the key fragments that warranted a bitter smile to faintly appear on his face. ''Feeling of leather and string¡­ is the system telling me that this fragment is made for someone that specializes in tailoring?''


    Fortunately, the young man did not have to dwell much on it any further as the others had responded to his message, a couple of which made him briefly scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.


    "You''re telling me the Key Fragment looked like a shard jutting out of the aberrations?" Vera replied to the message Valyr had sent, containing almost all of the information he had gleaned from the quest and his actions. Though the young man had replied yes to the question, he had a feeling that Vera, as well as Loreina, would take a while to send a reply back.


    "Ah¡­ so that''s why I got a notification from picking up the shard earlier." With the two girls off doing their own things, Hal had sent a message of his own through the party chat, thanking Valyr for the information he had shared with them. Replying back to the message, Valyr soon asked Hal if he take a look at the fragment''s description and tell him any information that seemed important.


    Answering back with affirmation, the party chat had be silent as Valyr waited for Hal to read through the description of the Key Fragment he had obtained. While doing so, Vera and Loreina had sent their respective messages into the chat that they had grabbed the Key Fragments they left on the aberration, only to not respond any further after that.


    "What are these Key Fragments are you guys talking about?" Certain that the three were now preupied with identifying the fragments they had obtained, Valyr was forced to look away from the party chat as Faulus moved closer to him. "Never mind. No need for the exnation."


    "Anyways, none of the aberrations I''ve killed have dropped a Key Fragment yet," said the alchemist not long after.


    In response, Valyr asked him, "The Key Fragments don''t really drop. They just jut out of the aberrations after you kill them for you to pick them up."


    "Yeah, I get that." Faulus nodded. "However, I''ve noticed no shard jutting out whatsoever."


    "How many aberrations have you killed so far?" asked Valyr, recalling the hypothesis he hade up with before sending a message to the party chat. "Have you been keeping track?"


    "Of course." Nodding, Faulus looked at Valyr with a proud grin. "I''ve killed 89 aberrations so far."


    "Pretty good." With his eyes briefly widening in pleasant surprise, the young man gave the alchemist a satisfied nod. "Anyways, if my hypothesis is correct, you''re pretty close to getting a Key Fragment of your own. Just make sure to count how many aberrations you''ve killed in total to confirm my suspicions."


    Getting a nod of understanding from Faulus as he returned to his part of the territory the two of them shared, Valyr returned his attention back to the party chat. Seeing that the chat now had a few more messages on it, he read through all of them first before sending a response.


    "I just checked through the fragment''s description," wrote Hal in his message. "It says that it gives off the feeling of herbs and nature."


    "The feeling my fragment gives off is different." After Hal''s message was Vera''s. "It says that it gives off the feeling of books and spirituality."


    "Mine gives off the feeling of metal and mes," wrote Loreina in her message. "Wait a second¡­ these feelings correspond to the four sses in our group."


    "I had a feeling that was the case," said Valyr, responding to the messages of the three in one go. "With that, we''ve confirmed that the Key Fragments we obtain from the aberrations are attuned towards any of the four sses needed to enter the inheritance. Next, we need to find out how many aberrations do we have to y in order to get our hands on a Key Fragment."


    Obtaining messages from the others that they would keep track on the number of aberrations they had killed before obtaining another Key Fragment, Valyr soon returned his attention to the aberrations in his surroundings, keeping track of his kill count as he went through the aberrations at a slightly frenzied pace.


    Though, by the time he had in his 50th aberration after the first Key Fragment, Faulus hade up to him with an ecstatic expression, prompting him to stop his carnage as he told the man to take a look at the fragment''s description.


    After finding out that the fragment was attuned to the Alchemist ss, Valyr then asked Faulus as to how many aberrations he had killed in total before obtaining his first Key Fragment, the answer of which made the young man slightly raise his eyebrows in surprise.


    "I made sure to not skip over any numbers and check over my count twice," said Faulus with confidence, storing the Key Fragment he had gotten in his spatial bracelet. "In total, I killed 111 aberrations before getting a Key Fragment."


    ''That''s the same number I stopped at before noticing the shard.'' Mulling over the number Faulus gave him, Valyr allowed the alchemist to return to what he was doing before shifting his gaze towards the party chat. Telling the other three that one might possibly gain a Key Fragment after killing 111 aberrations in a row, the young man decided to hold off on killing more aberrations and wait for confirmation before continuing.


    "Just confirmed. Got my second Key Fragment after killing another 111 aberrations," sent Hal to the party chat. Not long after, Vera and Loreina had confirmed it as well, prompting Valyr to thank the three before taking a brief nce at the sky.


    Seeing that there were still a few hours before the sun began to set, the young man took in a deep breath as he looked at the aberrations with a faint grin on his face. Conjuring a series of crimson des in one quick motion, the young man instantly knew what he had to do, recalling the thing he had done back then in the Shadow ne to get stronger.


    Which was to start a massacre.

 Chapter 596 Four Pillars: Mishap

    <h4>Chapter 596 Four Pirs: Mishap</h4>


    "So, how''s everyone''s progress on collecting those Key Fragments?" Sitting around the fire they lit to illuminate the campsite, Valyr looked at the others with a faint smile on his face whilst having a firm grip on his te of food for the night.


    To no surprise, after everyone had confirmed that one would need to kill 111 aberrations to obtain a Key Fragment, the five spared no time to put all of their attention towards killing the aberrations, dyeing the ground of the territories they set foot on a dark crimson red. Then again, with the fact that the aberrations gave a lot of XP without needing to put in much effort, the quest revolving around the fragments only spurred them to put more effort into what they nned on doing.


    Nevertheless, by the time the sun had begun to set, all five made their way back to the campsite, with some of them begin to prepare dinner as they readied themselves for rest. While doing so, Valyr asked the others if they had experienced the same thing as him once they picked up the fragment, such as the voice that resounded in their minds after picking it up.


    Fortunately, all of them had heard of the voice, though Hal said that he had heard the voice only when he had retrieved the fragment from his spatial bracelet, prompting the others to believe that it might be due to the fact that he had put the shard into his spatial bracelet from what he told them.


    Aside from that, everyone talked about the effectiveness of magic within the inheritance, which the young man confirmed with the others that only the regeneration of mana was affected. On the other hand, the efficacy of the magic skills themselves were more or less the same as it was in the outside world.


    "I''ve got my hands on three Key Fragments." Seeing that Valyr wanted to start a conversation regarding their haul for the day, Hal was the first one to speak up. "I don''t know if my progress will carry over to the next day, but I''ve also killed around a quarter of the aberrations needed to get the fourth one."


    Hearing Hal''s words, Vera adorned a slightly bitter smile. "I''ve only been able to obtain two Key Fragments from the aberrations. Then again, the number of aberrations I''ve killed after that is around the halfway point needed to get the third one."


    "Hehe." Loreina smugly grinned in response, taking out the fragments she had gotten. "Unlike Vera here, I was able to get my hands on three Key Fragments!"


    "More like you barely got enough kills for three Key Fragments before we decided to head back," said Vera as an addendum, to which Loreina shrugged her shoulders as the smug grin on her face still remained.


    "I''ve made more or less the same amount of progress as Vera," Faulus spoke up after seeing that the other four were looking at him. Donning a content smile, he continued, "Though, I''m pretty sure I''d be able to get five fragments before it turns midday tomorrow."


    "Three Key Fragments." Seeing that he was the only one among them that hadn''t announced his gains, Valyr went ahead and did so. "Got to around the halfway point for the fourth Key Fragment before returning to the camp."


    "It seems everyone will be able to obtain the five Key Fragments needed toplete the quest tomorrow, then." Nodding after hearing everyone''s gains, Hal took out the Key Fragments he''d gotten from his spatial bracelet after seeing Loreina take out hers.


    Not long after, the other three took out the Key Fragments they had gotten, deciding to put all of the fragments together into one small pile. Taking a look at the fragments everyone had obtained today, almost all of them did not take long to notice a pleasant surprise after identifying their gains with their respective identification skills.


    Shifting his gaze towards Loreina, Valyr shed a soft smile. "It seems we''ve already obtained five fragments attuned to the Tailor ss. Feel free to grab it andplete your quest."


    "Are you sure?" Hearing the young man''s words, Loreina''s eyes slightly widened as she looked back at him. However, after seeing that the others were looking at her with smiles on their faces, she could only let out a sigh in response, shing a wry smile at the others.


    "I''ll try my very best to grab the remaining fragments needed for you guys tomorrow." Thanking the others for generosity, Loreina picked up the fragments attuned to the Tailor ss one by one, only to smile at the others before telling them that her quest had now beenpleted.


    Whoosh!


    Not even a minuteter after the notification, the five fragments Loreina had grabbed from the small pile began to hover in midair as they siphoned a bit of the mana from the surroundings. Somewhat curious as to what was going on, the five watched as the fragments gradually connected with one another, forming a token that had an intricate carving of a temple on its surface.


    "Did you get the continuation of the first quest?" Watching the token lose all of the energy that allowed to hover, Valyr went ahead and asked what the others wanted to know as the tokennded on the ground with a faint thud.


    "Yeah." Nodding as she brought up a screen to get a better look at the new quest, Loreina grabbed theplete token from the ground before focusing her attention on the screen before her. However, before she could even tell the others what the continuation of the first quest entailed¡­


    Gooonggg¡­


    Out of nowhere, a loud gong sound echoed throughout the area, causing everyone to cover their ears as frowns appeared on their faces. Then, just as the sound had subsided for the five to start freely talking about where it hade from, the token Loreina grabbed began to glow a bright gold all of a sudden, only for the light to swiftly envelop the entirety of her body.


    Swoosh!


    Without anyone being able to make a move, the four watched as Loreina disappeared before their very eyes. Unsurprisingly, most of them felt great terror from the experience since no one expected her to be taken away all of a sudden, though all of them had to put this feeling of terror aside for the meantime as a familiar voice resounded throughout their surroundings.


    ''A worthy candidate has been discovered.''


    ''The Gates of Enlightenment''s trial grounds have been opened.''

 Chapter 597 Four Pillars: Concern

    Chapter 597 Four Pirs: Concern


    Hearing the voice they heard from picking up their first Key Fragments echo throughout the area, the four remained silent as they focused on what the voice had to say.


    ''Through these trial grounds, the Gates of Enlightenment shall separate the geniuses from the elite, the diamonds from the gravel, the light from the dark.''


    ''Only by weathering the challenge given by the Gates of Enlightenment in these trial grounds shall the candidate be truly eligible to receive knowledge.''


    ''Knowledge thousands, if not millions yearn to seek.''


    Letting the words of the voice linger in their minds as they thought about it from other perspectives, visible expressions of concern could be seen on everyone''s faces as they looked at each other, wondering what they were to do regarding Loreina.


    Though Loreina was more than deserving of her position as a prodigy and as a chosen candidate for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, that did not mean that the others there forgot about the sickness she had been born with. From what the voice had told them, it seemed like the young woman would have to go through a lot of arduous trials, which would undoubtedly aggravate her sickness even further.


    "Are the Gates of Enlightenment connected to the outside world? Has Loreina been removed from the inheritance altogether?" Breaking the silence that surrounded them, Hal looked at the others as he asked them a question. "After all, the Imperial Production Guild has mentioned nothing about this to any of us. Perhaps it''s something that only appeared after the entire inheritance had been made avable due to our sses."


    In response to the question, Valyr slowly shook his head with a sigh. "I have no idea."


    "However, there is a way for us to find that out," he continued, opening up the party chat as he sent a hopeful message.


    "Loreina, please message us if you''re safe."


    Seeing the message pop up on their respective party chat screens, it did not take long for the other three to understand what needed to be done, sending out a couple of messages that were of a simr vein to the message Valyr sent.


    Though Faulerei had mentioned to the five of them that they were not able to message those from the outside world through the system''s chat function, such a limitation did not exist among the five of them since they experienced the same level of time dtion. By sending a message in the party chat, they would be able to confirm whether or not Loreina was still within the inheritance even after she was teleported somece else.


    Fortunately, she was.


    "I''m fine," wrote Loreina in her response, causing everyone to let out wide sighs of relief. "However, I don''t know which ce I ended up in. All I can say is that the space in front of me is truly barrenpared to the city ruins we''re near at."


    "Oh, wait. A voice is talking." Just as the others were about to tell her that she had appeared at the Gates of Enlightenment''s training grounds, Loreina told them to stop sending her messages for the meantime, attempting to gain more information regarding the current situation she was in.


    Thankfully, the four only had to wait for a few minutes before the young woman had begun to send a series of messages in the party chat. "So, if I''m interpreting the words of the voice correctly, I''m currently within the ce where the continuation of the first quest is held. Though the voice called it the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial grounds, it also mentioned that it had another name, which was the ins of Rebirth."


    "After that, it just told me to survive through the trials that would be thrown my way and I''d be able to take one step closer to whatever the Gates of Enlightenment is keeping." At those words, the four looked at each other and faintly nodded, keeping in mind the fact Loreina told them that there was still one more quest after the current one she was taking.


    Of course, to gain a better understanding of what Loreina had to go through, Valyr and the others asked her if she could share information regarding her quest to them. In response, the young woman sent over the information of her current quest through the party chat, only to add soon after that she was now going to begin tackling the trials.


    "So¡­ I guess we''re going to resume fighting against the aberrations?" Taking a look at the information Loreina had sent over, a moment of silence ensued among the four of them before it was broken yet again by Valyr.


    Hal wryly smiled in response. "I feel like we don''t have much of a choice in the matter, especially if we consider the fact that Loreina''s condition might worsen a lot because of these trials."


    "She''ll definitely be able toplete all of those trials without a problem," said Vera soon after, though her expression remained "It seems we''re not getting any sleep tonight." Devouring the remaining pieces of food on his te, Faulus stood up and did a few solemn. "However, the earlier we enter the training grounds, the better Loreina''s condition would be."


    "It seems we''re not getting any sleep tonight." Devouring the remaining pieces of food on his te, Faulus stood up and did a few basic stretches before taking out a few vials from his spatial bracelet. "Since that''s the case,e get your stamina potions. Also, have some potions I''ve concocted that would allow you to stay awake for longer."


    "Let us split these remaining Key Fragments evenly among us." Grabbing some of the vials Faulus had taken out of his spatial bracelet, Valyr swiftly began to evenly distribute the eight remaining fragments among them, making sure that the attunement of the fragments they got were what they needed to enter the training grounds. "Once we get all of the fragments that we need, let''s return here to redistribute them. After all, the fragments we get from the aberrations have random attunements."


    With the four of them telling one another to be careful, they all began to head in separate directions, though Faulus still opted to remain with Valyr. However, before the remaining two could move far away from the pair, the young man suddenly asked them a question that prompted them to head back. "Hey!"


    "Do you guys have any magic weapons you could perhaps spare?"

 Chapter 598 Four Pillars: A Night of Slaughter

    Chapter 598 Four Pirs: A Night of ughter


    "I''m surprised I only thought about that while working on the scepter." Making his way to the territory he and Faulus had upied earlier under the dim moonlight, Valyr recalled the thoughts he had while upgrading the scepter he was currently holding.


    Surprisingly, even though all four of them had the capability to fight using magic, only Hal had a magic weapon he could spare to Valyr, while the other three only brought the magic weapon that suited them the most.


    Then again, with how Hal could fight under most scenarios, it did not take long for him to think that the weapon the man gave him was something the former would only use if he was restricted to only using magic out of nowhere. Aside from that, Valyr was certain that Hal would mostly rely on his sword in hisbat needs.


    After that, the four of them went off their separate ways, though Valyr told Faulus to go on ahead first since he still had to upgrade the new weapon he had gotten. Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he thought over Hal''s reasons for not bringing the scepter to him for his mass upgrade session yesterday, the young man swiftly got to work.


    However, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind not even a minute into upgrading the scepter.


    ''Should I use [Breath of Beginnings] on this?'' asked the young man himself,manding the system to bring up the artifact''s description. ''After all, with the spear weakening me the longer I use it inbat, this scepter would essentially be my main weapon in this inheritance.''


    ''Though I don''t know if the curse would also affect the scepter or not.'' Briefly wishing to the heavens that the curse only applied to spears, the young man widely smiled as he saw the artifact''s final skill avable for usage.


    Swiftly activating the final skill of his artifact, Valyr went through the entire process of enhancement, refinement, as well as advancement as he upgraded the scepter''s offensive capabilities. With almost all of his skills rted to forging enhanced thanks to his ascension to Rank 3, it did not take long for the scepter to enter a new realm of power, which was bolstered even further with the young man''s iconic attribute awakening skill.


    Utilizing [Greater Analysis] on the scepter as he gradually got closer to where he and Faulus were fighting against the aberrations, Valyr let out a brief chuckle as he hastened his pace even further. ''I guess the time dtion thing isn''t all that bad.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Arcane Scepter of Redemption] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 541 - 901


    Additional Attributes:


    > AGI + 51


    > INT + 81


    > WIS + 28


    Originally a scepter forged for the purpose of bing a back-up weapon for a talented individual, this weapon has been given a second life by an incredibly prodigious cksmith. Tapping into the energy of the Hammer of Beginnings, the innate potential of the materials making up the scepter have all been brought out and refined even further, allowing it to be a weapon even veteran mages would want for themselves.


    <Innate Skill 1: Lesser Arcane Mastery - Reduces the user''s mana consumption by 10%.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Arcane Bolt of Redemption - Allows the user to shoot out a bolt out of mana that deals 300% of the user''s Attack stat. The bolt has the ability to bounce onto an enemy at most 5 meters away from the initial target, bouncing up to a maximum of 3 times. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 500 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Second Arcane Wind - Allows the user to restore 80% of their mana pool in an instant. The user''s mana regeneration rate is increased by 25% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 10 minutes.>


    Remarks: A weapon that greatlyplements your abilities in the field of magic.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though the thought of using [Breath of Beginnings] on the scepter came out of nowhere, Valyr gradually came to understand where the thought hade from while making his way to where Faulus was. With how a day in this ce equated to two weeks in the outside world, that more or less meant that he could activate [Breath of Beginnings] within the inheritance every 12 hours, with the action he had done while upgrading the scepter basically confirming that thought.


    "Now that I think about it, I could also probably use [Breath of Beginnings] on the other pieces making up my current armor set," muttered Valyr as he thought out loud. "Aside from increasing my defense even further, would it possibly do something to the new innate skill I got on the chestte?"


    "Also¡­" Continuing on his train of thought, the young man briefly stopped in his tracks as the only essory he had around his neck briefly glistened. "[Enlightenment]."


    Ding!


    "I could also use this opportunity to unlock more advancements without having to rely on Technology Points." Smiling as his ne had unlocked an advancement with the tree''s Innovation branch that was rted to mana and magic, Valyr continued on his trek, arriving where Faulus was a few minutester.


    ¡­


    "To be honest, I thought you''d take a bit longer to finish upgrading." Sensing the presence of a new being within his vicinity, Faulus swiftly dealt with the aberration he was fighting against before turning around. Seeing that the new being was none other than Valyr, the alchemist faintly let out a sigh of relief as he whistled at the sight of the scepter the young man was wielding.


    Hearing Faulus'' words, Valyr let out a chuckle. "Couldn''t let you fight against all of those aberrations by yourself, you know? Especially after remembering how you reacted after the five of us saw our first aberration."


    "I was hoping you didn''t bring that up." Faulus wryly smiled. "Anyways, I''ve already gotten my third Key Fragment in total, made a bit of headway to getting the fourth Key Fragment after that."


    "Got it." Valyr nodded, only to let out a sigh soon after. "I have a lot of catching up to do."


    "Either way, let''s get those Key Fragments as quickly as possible," he continued, to which Faulus nodded in agreement. "The sooner we enter the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial grounds, the better Loreina''s condition would be when we eventually meet her."


    With that, the two of them distanced themselves from one another once more as they soon began to go on a killing spree against the aberrations. With the difference in stats and the experience they''ve rued inbat, it could be said that there was no difference between the rate at which the two went through the aberrations in their respective territories.


    However, with Loreina''s gradually worsening condition lingering in their minds, the two of them were more frenzied in their offensive against the aberrations, especially Valyr. Armed with a scepter that bolstered his Attack stat by a great degree, it went without saying that he mowed through all of the aberrations as if they were grass.


    In fact, most of the reason as to why his killing efficiency stayed consistent was due to [Second Arcane Wind], the innate skill that came with the scepter. Though, with the effects [Breath of Beginnings] had on items, he was certain he had awakened this skill during the upgrade process.


    On the other hand, Faulus'' offensive against the aberrations was a bit more rxed whenpared to Valyr''s barrage of fiery crimson des. Nevertheless, with the tips he had obtained from Valyr in Eventually, by the time the sun had begun to peek out of the horizon, the two had finally obtained the 555 kills in total needed to their offensive against the aberrations earlier and the time he spent alone fighting the aberrations, the man had begun to pepper a few magic spells here and there, slowly mixing the physical with the arcane into hisbat style.


    Eventually, by the time the sun had begun to peek out of the horizon, the two had finally obtained the 555 kills in total needed to obtain five Key Fragments from the aberrations, resting on ground untainted by blood for a bit before downing potions that continued to keep them awake.


    Taking some time to fulfill their body''s daily needs, it was only then did the two begin to head back to the campsite, their speeds considerably increased thanks to Valyr casting [Feather Steps+] and [Lesser Lightweight] on both of them, which were the evolved versions of the support skills he had bought from the pavilion.


    "Apologies for taking longer than needed." With the two arriving at the campsite less than an hourter, a wry smile hung on Valyr''s face as he saw that Vera and Hal were already at the campsite waiting for them.


    Seeing Valyr and Faulus appear at the campsite, both Vera and Hal had visible expressions of relief on their faces as thetter looked at Valyr with a slight smile. "You two really didn''t take that long. I only arrived here around half an hour ago, while Vera here arrived twenty minutes after I did."


    "d to hear." Slightly grinning as he and Faulus sat near the two, all of them swiftly took out the Key Fragments they had collected from killing the aberrations, including the ones they had gotten from their first foray against them.


    As he counted the number of fragments they had pooled together, Valyr was about to say that they were still a few fragments short from forming four tokens. Fortunately, Vera and Hal had gotten another Key Fragment respectively during their skirmishes, prompting the young man to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    ''Since Loreina''s already entered the trial ground, only fragments attuned to the three other sses appeared, huh.'' Looking at the small pile of fragments before them, the four of them grabbed the Key Fragments attuned to their sses one by one, allowing the fragments they took to turn into tokens that fell into the ground.


    "Alright." Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr looked at the others before nodding as all of them thought of the same thing. After that, the four of them simultaneously grabbed the token that was attuned to their respective sses, their bodies soon being covered by a golden light.


    "See you guys on the other side."


    "Yeah. See you."


    Whoosh

 Chapter 599 Four Pillars: Training Grounds

    ?


    Disappearing from where he initially was, Valyr felt his body being transported to another ce. Closing his eyes as he let the token take wherever it wanted him to go, the young man eventually felt his feetnd on solid ground.


    Opening his eyes, the young man expected that he would be able to meet Loreina and the others again, with the former probably a bit worse for wear. Unfortunately, not even a couple seconds into him taking a look at his current surroundings, he had obtained an answer far opposite from his expectations.


    ''I''m the only one in this ce, huh.'' The young man sighed, opening up the party chat to ask the others whether or not they had appeared in the same ce. Sadly, their responses only confirmed the fact that he was not alone in his current fate, with the others being separated into their own spaces as well.


    Taking a look at the ce he had been teleported into, Valyr thought that Loreina''s sinct description of the ce barely gave it enough justice.


    Though the tailor was correct in saying that the ce was incredibly barren, it would be better to say that the currentndscape before him was barren to the point that it was eerie. Neither pebbles nor specks of dust could be seen across the ground, even though it had the texture and appearance of solid earth.


    Even putting in a bit of his strength into his kicks did not cause a cloud of dust to rise up, prompting the young man to feel that the current ce was simr to the technologically advanced training grounds he hade across in the past. The only difference between those and the ce he was currently in was the fact that thendscape and the skies extended far beyond his vision.


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind just as he had gotten a better idea of the ce he was currently in, the young man went ahead and brought up a screen before him as he thought back to Loreina''s string of messages once more. ''ording to Loreina, after appearing in this ce, we''d have to undergo through a trial in order to gain ess to the Gates of Enlightenment''s rewards.''


    ''And I''m assuming the number of trials one has to go through to obtain the rewards varies from person to person? After all, she did mention in one of her messages that she''d have to survive all of the trials that would be thrown her way.'' Reading through the description written on the screen before him, Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (2)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    The Gates of Enlightenment... description has been omitted.


    Of course, one must prove one''s capability to enter the gates in the first ce.


    ||Addendum: By killing the remnants of a forsaken age, you have undoubtedly proved that your capabilities are more than enough to be considered worthy of entering the Gates of Enlightenment. However, strength alone would not take you very far on your journey to greater power. One must also possess an unyielding spirit that seeks to achieve the nigh impossible.


    Only those with the necessary strength and willpower to push forward are eligible to obtain the truths the Gates of Enlightenment contain. And now, you have been given a chance to prove just that.||


    Quest Objectives:


    > Survive the tribtion chosen by the Gates of Enlightenment (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Full eligibility to the Gates of Enlightenment


    > ess to the first level of the Gates of Enlightenment''s cksmith Knowledge Repository


    > ess to Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3)


    Quest Penalties:


    > Level - 1


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Is this the information the Imperial Production Guild wants us to obtain?'' Looking at the list of rewards he would get frompleting the quest, Valyr briefly thought back to the conversations he had with the Ancestral Council, as well as with Julian regarding the goals they had in exploring the inheritance.


    ''I''m not sure whether a ce like the cksmith Knowledge Repository would have ess to the high-level technology they want us to get, but I''ll still do it anyway.'' Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he kept the negligible penalties of the quest in mind, the young man closed the screen he brought up, recing it with the party chat not long after. ''After all, the technology here is the reason why I epted in the first ce.''


    After reading through the description of the second quest in greater detail, it was no surprise that the young man had asked others about the quests they''ve received, wanting to find whether he was the only one among them to have been given a single trial toplete.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to obtain a response from the others, with Hal telling him that he only needed toplete a single trial as well. As for Vera and Faulus, the two of them had been given three trials toplete ording to their quests, which unsurprisingly prompted thetter among the two to curse to no end with how unfair it was.


    Though Valyr let out a faint chuckle in response to Faulus'' reaction, he eventually sent a message that weighed in on the minds of the other four. "Ever since we forgone sleep to farm the remaining Key Fragments to enter this ce, we haven''t gotten another message from Loreina whatsoever. Do you think she was able toplete all of the trials she was given?"


    For a while, silence enveloped the entire party chat, with the four hoping that Loreina would reply to the question. However, before Valyr could even see the new message that had popped up in the chat screen, a familiar voice began to resound through the barren space he was in.


    ''The level of strength you wield inbat is enough to instill fear to most, if not all of your foes. The same could be said about your spirit, unyielding, never fearing any of the challenges thate your way.''


    ''Sadly, even talent beyond the greatest of geniuses are subjected to the rules of the Gates of Enlightenment.''


    ''Nevertheless, as you''ve already shown that you have what it takes to make the most out of the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge, you shall only need to face the wrath of a single tribtion.''


    ''However, do not expect that such a tribtion would only be a trifling matter, for it shall assess whether you have created a solid foundation that would take you to the end, or a foundation that would crumble amidst adversity.''


    ''With that, your tribtion begins.''


    ''Wee the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.''

 Chapter 600 Four Pillars: Myriad Aberrations

    <h4>Chapter 600 Four Pirs: Myriad Aberrations</h4>


    Hearing the name of the trial that he would have to go through, multiple possibilities appeared within the young man''s mind as there were many ways to interpret thest two words. "Myriad Aberrations¡­ since a myriad is equivalent to 10,000, would I need to fight against 10,000 aberrations at once?"


    "Perhaps I would need to survive through a myriad number of waves made out of aberrations." Saying these words, Valyr''s body faintly shuddered in fear. If that was the Gates of Enlightenment''s interpretation of those two words, then it was more or less a given that he would fail the trial. Even though he was confident he could fight for hours on end, his stamina could only go so far.


    "Or perhaps I would just need to kill 10,000 aberrations in total." Allowing more and more possible ideas on how the trial worked to surface in his mind, the young man began to think from a more optimistic standpoint. Fortunately, it did not take long for his multiple hypotheses to be verified as the voice resounded throughout the barren space once more.


    ''The Trial of Myriad Aberrations is considered one of the more difficult tribtions a preliminary candidate has to face before bing truly eligible to enter the Gates of Enlightenment.''


    ''During this tribtion, the candidate has to fight against multiple aberrations at once, the quantity and quality of which would gradually increase the more aberrations the candidate has killed.''


    ''Once the preliminary candidate sessfully survives against the ever-increasing strength and number of the aberrations, only then would they be deemed worthy to enter the Gates of Enlightenment and gain the truths it holds.''


    ''You have been given five minutes to prepare.'' Hearing these wordse from the disembodied voice, the young man went silent for a bit as he internalized the information he had received.


    "So, if I''m getting this right, then the Trial of Myriad Aberrations is a battle of attrition," muttered the young man to himself as he sat down on the ground. Closing his eyes for a bit, he began topose himself, adjusting his physical and mental state to peak condition for what was toe. "However, unlike the battles of attrition I''ve hypothesized, it''s more simr to the thoughts I had at the end rather than those at the beginning."


    Letting out a faint sigh, he stood up and looked at the horizon before him with an expression of intense determination, firmly gripping onto the magic scepter in the process. After finding out during their second foray against the aberrations that the curse could not affect the scepter in any way, a bit of confidence welled up within the young man, feeling that there was a considerable chance for him toplete the trial and move onward.


    "Then again, I have no clue whether or not there''s a limit to how much the aberrations would grow in strength during this trial." With this thought in mind, Valyr gripped onto the scepter even tighter as the disembodied voice resounded throughout the area onest time.


    ''The tribtion begins in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At the very instant the disembodied voice was finished counting down, 10 pirs of golden light appeared around a hundred meters away from Valyr. Gazing at the beings that had appeared within those light pirs, the young man took in a deep breath and used [Greater Analysis] on one of them, sensing that their auras were considerably stronger than the ones found in the ins.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aberration (Legendary Elite)] (Level 66)


    ss: Aberration (Umon)


    HP: 18,368/18,368


    MP: 12,320/12,320


    Stats: 574 VIT, 671 STR, 601 AGI, 565 DEX, 385 INT, 340 WIS, 302 PER, 176 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Regeneration], [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance], [Basic Physical Damage Nullification], [Basic Magical Damage Resistance],...


    Remarks: Remain vignt for they shall grow ever stronger with the passage of time.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Two levels higher than the ones outside.'' Getting a better idea of what kind of enemy he was up against, Valyr faintly nodded as he activated [Offense Aura+] and pushed [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to the limit. In the meantime, the aberrations looked around their surroundings for a fair bit, their actions showing that they had been transported to the barren space out of nowhere.


    However, as if they had been given an order from somece else, the ten aberrations all looked in the direction where Valyr stood at the same time, only for them to go berserk as they madly charged at the young man.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Unfortunately, before the aberrations could even cross half the distance separating them from the young man, [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] had already revealed all of the weak spots Valyr needed to aim, deciding to go for a nket approach as he sent out a barrage of zing crimson des at the aberrations.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "Grwwaaaggh!!!" With the momentum and force behind the crimson des, as well as the fact that Valyr had intently manipted a great portion of them to head towards the weak spots he had identified, the ten aberrations swiftly fell to the ground like trees felled by an axe.


    ''That makes it ten kills.'' Noticing that the vitality within the ten aberrations began to gradually slip away, the young man quickly had a feeling that 10 pirs of light would appear after some time, with the aberrations making up the group being slightly stronger than the group that came before it.


    Well, he was partly right.


    "Graaaagggghhh¡­" Instead of golden light pirs appearing in another part of therge barren space he was in, the ten aberration corpses instead glowed a faint gold as vitality gradually returned to their bodies. Eventually, the vitality that contained within their bodies reached a level that was akin to what Valyr felt from their bodies before¡­


    Only for it to go beyond that by a slight margin.


    "Grwaagghhh!!!" With the distance between them being halved and their strengths slightly empowered, Valyr was forced to retreat for a bit as he identified the aberrations once more with [Greater Analysis]. Taking a quick look to see what had changed about the aberrations, the young man eventually stopped in his tracks and shot out a barrage of crimson des once more, rendering the 10 dead yet again.


    "They leveled up." With a solemn expression on his face, Valyr looked at the ten corpses as he noted that his kills had now reached 20. Now somewhat understanding the mechanic that the trial operated on, the young man distanced himself from the corpses, only for them to revive slightly stronger.


    With each revival, the group of aberrations grew by one level. In fact, it did not take long for the aberrations to reach the peak of Rank 4 at Level 75, only needing the young man to kill the group of aberrations nine times in a row. Though, after he had killed the group of aberrations the tenth time, bringing up his kill count to 100, something different happened.


    Whoosh!


    Out of nowhere, the aberrations had doubled in count, all of them gradually getting off the ground as they radiated the might of a being at the peak of Rank 4. However, after sensing that their strengths had undergone a significant increase whenpared to before, the young man quickly activated [Greater Analysis] on one of the aberrations once more to find out what was going on.


    It was there that he found out that the aberrations weren''t Legendary Elite tier monsters anymore.


    They were Mythic Elite tier.

 Chapter 601 Four Pillars: The First Thousand

    ?


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aberration (Mythic Elite)] (Level 75)


    ss: Aberration (Umon)


    HP: 23,520/23,520


    MP: 16,160/16,160


    Stats: 735 VIT, 895 STR, 790 AGI, 650 DEX, 505 INT, 455 WIS, 418 PER, 218 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Regeneration], [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance],¡­ other skills have been omitted.


    Remarks: Remain vignt for they shall grow ever stronger with the passage of time.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "And here I thought I''d be up against aberrations at the beginning of Rank 5." Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, Valyr swiftly pushed his body to its very limits, activating [Feather Steps+] to increase the distance between him and the erged and empowered group of aberrations.


    With how the aberrations'' strengths increased by a level every time he killed them, the young man had more or less expected the aberrations to reach the peak of Rank 5 at some point, perhaps even go past it as he had a feeling the Gates of Enlightenment might do something like that.


    Though, after running around for a bit to move away from the group of aberrations madly charging at him, the young man eventually thought that whatever the Gates of Enlightenment had nned was still far better than experiencing the wrath of aberrations at the uppermost limit of Greater Beyond''s level system.


    Nevertheless, with the new group''s strength being increased by a tier rather than a level, Valyr was forced to change his train of thought on how the overall trial would work, with his current hypothesis being the fact that every 10 consecutive kills he did on the group, the group would grow in size, and their strengths would grow alternating between level and tier.


    "At the very least they don''t seem like they''d be able to pick up Intent Seeds anytime soon," muttered the young man to himself, only to briefly regret it soon after as the Gates of Enlightenment might be actively controlling the trial from somece else.


    Letting out a wry chuckle at the thought that popped up in his mind, the young man swiftly stopped in his tracks and sent out a barrage of crimson mes once more, relying on [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to make sure that he dealt the most damage possible. With how the group of aberrations he had to kill had doubled in size, Valyr was forced to execute the barrage a bit longer, sighing in slight relief as he began to move away from the pile of corpses.


    ''That was close.'' Taking out a mana potion from his spatial bracelet, Valyr downed the entirety of its contents before opening up his status screen to take a look at the state of his mana pool. ''Thank the heavens I was able to kill all of them in time. Some of them were already close tonding a hit on me.''


    Though Valyr did not have much of a problem with getting hit from a damage standpoint, he did have a problem with it from other standpoints. After all, in terms of numbers, he was on the losing end, the only reason he could decimate them even with their greater strengths being his stats and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes].


    As long as one of them was able tond a hit on him, the entire group would be able to gang up him, which would eventually lead to his expulsion from the inheritance. However, if the Gates of Enlightenment did not consider this scenario as grounds for him to fail the quest, then that would only mean the thing he did not wish to happen the most.


    Death.


    "Grraaagghh!!!" With their bodies shing a golden light, the group of aberrations rose from the ground with renewed vigor as their sights frenziedly looked for Valyr''s whereabouts.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Already prepared for what was toe, the young man swiftly sent out a barrage of crimson des at the revived group, pushing more and more mana into the spell until all of the aberrationsid t on the ground once more.


    "That makes it 140 kills." With a slightly heavy breath, Valyr thought about the group of aberrations he had just killed, noticing that they hadn''t grown stronger whatsoever. With that, he wondered whether or not the Gates of Enlightenment made it so that he would have to kill 10 more groups before something about the aberrations changed yet again.


    ''If that''s the case, then I more or less know what to expect up to when I reach 300 kills,'' thought the young man to himself, faintly nodding as he sent a message to the party chat to ask how the others were doing. While briefly browsing through the chat as the group of aberrations revived once more, the young man inwardly let out a wide sigh of relief once he received a message from Loreina, telling them that she was still standing, but was tired after facing the first trial.


    As for the others, they took a while to respond to his question. Though, from what he could infer through their words, it seemed like they were faring well against the trials they were facing, which prompted Valyr to focus his attention back on his own trial.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!"


    ¡­


    For the remaining groups of 20 that Valyr had to face on his road to reaching 300 kills, there were a few instances where the young man had a close call to saying goodbye to the inheritance while facing against the aberrations. Even though he had the aid of the scepter in replenishing his mana, as well as a plethora of mana potions to restore it, he still ended up running out of mana by the time he was around 280 kills, giving a couple aberrations a chance tond a solid hit on his armor.


    Bang!


    To no surprise, the armor slightly caved in from the strength of the aberrations, while Valyr was sent flying for over a dozen meters. Though he had a lost over a thousand HP from the hits he had taken, it was nothing he could fix up with a quick healing spell from his arsenal.


    Swiftly regaining his footing, the young man then tapped into his scepter''s second skill before firing a short barrage that took care of the stragglers, allowing the remainder of his journey to 300 kills to be more or less the same as it was before the mishap.


    "Finally killed another 10 groups." Taking a few deep breaths as he recalled the earlier mishap, the young man took out his hammer from his spatial bracelet as he stared intently at the aberration corpses strewn all over the barren space over a couple hundred meters away from him. Removing the armor pieces that were hit by the aberration, Valyr inwardly thanked his past self for picking up a skill that sped up the repair process.


    "What kind of change is going to happen next?" asked the young man to himself, only for his eyes to widen in slight terror as he felt the auras emanating from the aberrations slowly surpassing the strengths they exuded before. Hastily wearing the armor pieces he had just fixed up, he increased the distance separating him from where the group of aberrations as he continued to watch on.


    "Their numbers increased by 10¡­" Seeing that the group of aberrations that had increased in size now stood on their feet, the young man went ahead and used his identification skill to find out the things that weren''t there before. However, the very moment he did so, he looked up at the sky above him before letting out a string of curses in anger.


    "Oh, for fuck''s sake¡­"


    "Why''d you have to increase their fucking tier to Ancient Elite?"


    "Grwwawaaggghghh!!!" With their sights quickly locking onto the spot where Valyr stood, the group of 30 let out cries filled with the intent to battle, frenziedly running through the barren space as their bodies moved at even greater speeds. Inwardly sighing as he wondered whether he would even be able to kill 10,000 aberrations, the young man was left with no choice but to empower his stats, activating [Rage of the True Wyvern] to somewhat even out the ying field.


    Though the difference between Legendary Elite and Mythic Elite tier monsters was a 25% increase in stats, the difference between Mythic Elite and Ancient Elite was even more than that, with the system Greater Beyond had in ce improving the rarity of the monster''s sses to Rare once they reached Ancient Elite tier.


    With that, Valyr knew that he had to pull out all the stops if he wanted to survive against a group of Ancient Elite tier aberrations at the peak of Rank 4, much less having to kill the same group 10 times in a row while facing a gradually increasing disadvantage in terms of numbers and stats.


    If fighting an Ancient Elite tier Shadow Serpent had taught him anything for his current situation, it was the fact that he would have to exploit the ever-living hell out of all the weak points he could see from the aberrations, whether it came from [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] or from the multiple tips and tricks he had picked up in his past life.


    ¡­


    "600¡­ kills¡­" Gasping for air as he sat down on the earth-colored floor, Valyr nkly stared at the group of aberrations half a kilometer away from where he stood, faintly wondering to himself whether the Gates of Enlightenment would return to increasing the aberrations'' strengths by a level. At this moment, he would greatly prefer to fight against a group of Ancient Elite tier aberrations at the beginning of Rank 5 rather than a group of aberrations at the peak of Rank 4 that was one tier higher.


    ''They really did a number on me.'' Catching his breath as he reminded himself he was nowhere near to finishing the trial, the young man took a brief nce at his current condition, wryly smiling at the multiple areas where his armor was bent or misshapen. To no surprise, the aberrations had been able tond hits on him more often thanks to their increased strength, with some of the exposed areas on his body drawing out blood from their heavy-handed strikes.


    "They really didn''t give me enough time to fix my armor, huh." Just as he had opened his spatial bracelet to grab his hammer for some quick fixing, the young man let out a long sigh as he stood up and grabbed a health and mana potion from his spatial bracelet instead, topping his reserves as the aberrations began to stand up from the ground once more.


    "At the very least their numbers only increased by 10 again." Muttering a few words to himself, Valyr kept his eyes peeled for any changes regarding the aberrations, focusing most of his attention on the auras they were emanating. Sensing that their auras had substantially increased in power, the young man swiftly activated [Greater Analysis] to obtain more information about the matter, only let out a string of curses once more as he punched the ground.


    "Fuck me, man." Valyr sighed.


    "How the hell does the Gates of Enlightenment expect me toe out on top against a group of Divine Elite tier aberrations?"

 Chapter 602 Four Pillars: Another Way

    ?


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aberration (Divine Elite)] (Level 75)


    ss: Great Aberration (Rare)


    HP: 27,264/27,264


    MP: 21,408/21,408


    Stats: 852 VIT, 1251 STR, 1137 AGI, 945 DEX, 669 INT, 669 WIS, 465 PER, 261 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Regeneration], [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance],¡­ other skills have been omitted.


    Remarks: Remain vignt for they shall grow ever stronger with the passage of time.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With Ancient being the rarity that came after Mythic, Divine stood one step above Ancient. Due to how high of a rarity was, yers and beings alike would onlye across such items once they had gone past the levels of transcending mortality in Greater Beyond, with Mythic and Ancient items being found on items frequently used by many at that stage.


    From what the name suggested, those that were of the Divine raritymanded a level of strength that bordered on the realms of divinity, allowing those that have ownership of such items to be able to achieve feats that even Myths would have difficulty achieving with their strength.


    In fact, sses of the Divine rarity were said to be the highest possible rarity one could obtain while still in the realm of mortals, which pertained to Rank 0 to 5. However, unlike Mythic grade sses, which were already said to have incredibly stringent requirements that would take luck to obtain, Divine grade sses went a few more steps beyond that, its requirements greatly insurmountable to the averageyman.


    If anything, those knowledgeable about Divine grade sses usually mentioned that one would need the help of a god to obtain it.


    And that was the truth.


    Though Divine grade sses became more and moremon the higher one went through the power hierarchy of the Greater Beyond, to obtain a Divine grade ss while being a mortal meant that would one tie themselves to an actual god, bing their apostle of sorts.


    On the other hand, Ancient grade sses showcased the pinnacle of what a certain race is able to achieve, with most sses at this grade signifying a path that a legendary figure had taken in the past. As for Mythic grade sses, these sses were usually said to denote the path of geniuses among geniuses, something that these beings had obtained through their own abilities.


    With how the monster tier system worked, a monster at the Divine Elite tier meant that it would have thrice the amount of stats as a normal monster of the same level, causing such monsters to instill immense dread to those that were less talented yet of a high rank, much less to say about monsters that went beyond such a tier.


    "[Limit Break]." Reminding himself that letting even one of the aberrationsnd a hit on him would undoubtedly end his life before the Gates of Enlightenment could intervene, Valyr did not hesitate to start expending more of his mana to bolster his stats, evening out the ying field as he started to dash away from the group of aberrations.


    However, with the aberrations now having a far higher AGI statpared to an empowered Valyr, it did not take long for the aberrations to catch up with him, with some even overshooting their trajectory as they tried tond a couple of hits on the young man. Fortunately, his high DEX stat made up for hisck of agility, deftly swerving through all of the hits the aberrations tried tond on him as he activated [Feather Steps+] to hasten his movement speed even further.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Empowering his attack with [Offense Aura+], Valyr sent out his usual barrage of crimson des at the group of aberrations, all of them causing a small explosion to erupt on the surface of the aberrations'' bodies after making contact. Sadly, not even emptying his entire pool of mana to fire the crimson des was able to topple down all of the aberrations, with a third of them still standing strong.


    "Grrrraaaggghhhh!!!" Letting out a bestial roar, the remaining aberrations'' speeds suddenly increased as the auras they emanated had undergone a considerable increase out of nowhere. Inwardly cursing at the thought that the Gates of Enlightenment had given them a berserk skill after reaching Divine Elite tier, the young man ran as far as his legs could take him, hoping that the effect would die out as long as he ran far enough.


    Unfortunately, not even a few minutes of incessant high-speed running could dispel the elixir of power the aberrations seemed to have taken, leaving Valyr with no choice but to activate [Second Arcane Wind] before shooting out a barrage of crimson des once more. Thankfully, this barrage was enough to render the remaining aberrations dead, which finally allowed the young man to rest up as he let out a long sigh of relief.


    "Some kind of preferential treatment this is." Sitting on the ground as he grabbed a stamina, health, and mana potion out of his spatial bracelet before downing it all at once, Valyr was reminded of the words the disembodied voice had told him before the trial began, telling him how he had already shown that he had what it takes to make use of the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge.


    ''I better change how I fight against these monstrosities.'' After feeling that he was returning to a better condition, the young man stood up and proceeded to distance himself from the aberration corpses, noting that he had basically given the aberrations the chance to do a two-pronged attack on him if he were to move wrongly. ''With how the aberrations'' strengths grow with every 10 groups, I feel like I''ll die because I''ve run out of mana potions first rather than actually sumbing from these things.''


    Keeping an eye on when the aberrations were reviving once more, Valyr began to ponder over the other methods in his arsenal that would allow him to fight against the aberrations. Though his Attack stat now scaled ordingly to his INT stat, the fact that it was only half as effective as it should be greatly hampered him. If the stat scaled fully to his INT, then he wouldn''t have even thought about changing to anotherbat style.


    "Summoning definitely wouldn''t work," muttered Valyr to himself, incredibly certain that the boars he summoned would just be running to their deaths if he were to do that. Even if he were to utilize Growth Summoning on a new set of boars to scale to his new stats, their stats would still be far from enough to contend against the insanely overpowered aberrations.


    "Does that mean I can only rely on that, then?" With summoning a no-go, Valyr let out a sigh as he removed the spear affixed on his back, instantly feeling the spear attempt to siphon his energy even before he beganbat. Taking in a deep breath as he finallymunicated with his spear after not doing so for quite a long while, the young man began to think about his chances of clearing the remaining nine groups of Divine Elite tier aberrations with the spear.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find out that, surprisingly, his chances of seeding were actually quite high.

 Chapter 603 Four Pillars: Rekindled Hope

    <h4>Chapter 603 Four Pirs: Rekindled Hope</h4>


    "I really hope the calctions I did in my head are at least mostly correct." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr stared at the aberrations slowlying to as he firmed his grip over his spear. "Then again, even if my stats were reduced to the lowest they could go due to the curse, I''d probably still have more firepowerpared to when I was using magic."


    ''With how you''ve enhanced my offensive capabilities, Master, I am highly certain that you''d be able to aplish what you''ve set out to do.'' Surprisingly, the spear responded to his words in his mind, emanating a confident yet cheerful vibe in every word it spoke. ''Though, I still feel guilty over the fact that I''ve be a detriment to you than a boon, Master.''


    "If there''s anyone we should me, then that should be the Alltide," said Valyr in response, his grip over the spear bing even firmer with every passing second. "Also, I apologize for not using you more often inbat, Sana. I hope this trial will satiate your hunger forbat."


    ''As long as I''m with you, Master, then I''m more than satisfied.'' Hearing the words Sana said to him in response, Valyr let out a brief chuckle before letting out a long and drawn-out sigh. Then, with a determined expression, he began to activate all of the offensive boosts in his arsenal, gazing at the group of aberrations now madly dashing towards him with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] pushed to its very limits.


    "[Limit Break]!"


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]!"


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]!"


    "[Offense Aura+]!"


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that the aura of their sole opponent had undergone a massive increase within a short amount of time, rather than hesitate and wait for their opponent to return to their normal state, the group of aberrations instead headed towards Valyr with far greater fervor, the yearning to ughter the young man now greatly evident in their every movement.


    "[Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­" Feeling the spear beginning to siphon his strength, the young man slowly pointed the spear downward before calling upon the Shadow Energy hidden near his heart. With a faint thump, great amounts of the dark energy started to flow throughout his body, all of which ended up on the spear tip, dying it a pure ck.


    Keeping his emotions tranquil, Valyr allowed the power within the spear to brew as he waited for the aberrations to get closer. At the very moment he felt like all of the aberrations would take the full force of his attack, the young man unhesitatingly swept the spear upward, causing a wave of dark energy to swiftly appear, the size of it far greater than any wave he had conjured in the past.


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    Whoosh!


    "Grrraaaggghhh!!!" With great strength imbued into the attack, the wave of Shadow Energymanded a greatly intimidating momentum as it made its way towards the aberrations, briefly dyeing the ground it passed a deathly gray. Seeing the wave of pure energy appear before them, the aberrations at the very front of the group summoned all of their strength in their bodies before mming both arms to the ground, thinking that such a move was more than enough to dispel it.


    However¡­


    Bang!


    Oblivious to the strength the aberrations wielded, the wave of dark energy soon made contact with the aberrations, gradually sending all of them flying as its momentum grew with every passing second. Watching the effects of his skill from afar with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] activated, Valyr could only stare at the sight before him with wide eyes as the wave continuously pummeled the aberrations before eventually rendering them lifeless.


    "¡­" Being left at a loss for words as he was reminded of how much power there was left in him, the young man blinked for a few times before affixing the spear to his back, feeling the strength siphoned by the spear gradually returning to him. Inwardly d at the fact that he would basically be able to attack every wave that came at him with his strongest move, Valyr could not stop his eyes from reddening.


    Opening up the description of [Shadow Serpent Combat Style] as he waited for the aberrations to revive, Valyr looked at its contents with a renewed sense of hope as he wanted to familiarize himself with the skill once more after not using for quite a while.


    Unsurprisingly, with how high his DEX had be after reaching the peak of Rank 3, the final move of the skill was finally unlocked, causing his eyes to widen with excitement as he read through the final move''s capabilities.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Ultimate Move: Lightless Ultimatum - Within light, there is darkness. Within darkness, there is light. Using the user''s control over Shadow Energy, this skill bolsters the darkness within light to greater darkness, only to then transform said darkness into the energy of destruction, allowing the user to deal 450% of their Attack stat as damage. Renders all enemies blinded and stunned for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour. Cost: 10,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''It won''t hurt to try it out, right?'' Closing the screen he had brought up, it went without saying that the young man was more than eager to use the move on the aberrations. However, after thinking about it for a bit, Valyr eventually decided to shelf the idea for now, saving it for ater time where he needed the firepower that the ultimate move supplied.


    Nevertheless, with the setup of the waves allowing the weakening of his strength to reset every time he made a move, the young man had regained a bit of hope that he might able to see the trial all the way through. Of course, he reminded himself to not be too optimistic, knowing that there was the possibility that the Gates of Enlightenment might throw a curveball at him by the time he achieved his 1000th kill.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find out the answer to that thought.

 Chapter 604 Four Pillars: The Other Tribulations (1)

    <h4>Chapter 604 Four Pirs: The Other Tribtions (1)</h4>


    In another barren space.


    "How much more do I have to fight?" With ragged breaths, Loreina stared at the sight before her with an expression of slight despair. Though she had summoned a great number of summons in preparation for what was toe, she now only had one standing among them, the fallen strewn about with the aberrations she had just killed.


    Then again, the remaining summon seemed to be teetering on the edge of death as well, with only the core of its torso being the only part that seem to have been unscathed from the relentless strikes of the aberrations. Perhaps, if a couple of aberrations still remained standing at this moment, then all of her summons would have been down, forcing her to defend against them on her own.


    Letting out a low sigh, Loreina dispelled the barrier of vines she had summoned around her as she downed a couple of mana potions to top up her reserves. Then, sending out a few mentalmands to the summon that remained, she watched as the summon trudged its way back to her, its gait lopsided due to the injuries it had rued from the fight.


    "Why does the Gates of Enlightenment want me to fight?" muttered the young woman to herself, gazing at the sky for a bit as she infused the summon with her mana to mend its injuries. "Is it because they want to see the extent of my abilities aside from what I specialize in?"


    Being the first one among the five to enter the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial grounds, Loreina had already finished her first trial out of the three the disembodied voice had mentioned her toplete. Unlike the current trial she was taking, the first trial focused on her tailoring skills, giving her patterns and clothing arrangements that gradually got harder and harder with every subsequent round.


    Nevertheless, with her ss, skills, and experience helping her out, such a trial was only slightly difficult to her, with thest few patterns she had encountered from the trial giving her ideas on a new pattern that might bring her craft to another level. However, before she could ponder over her newfound discoveries for too long, the disembodied voice had thrown her into her second trial.


    The Trial of Thousand Aberrations.


    Though she did not excel that much inbatpared to Hal or Valyr, Loreina was confident that she could her ground, especially with the fact that she could go all out since she was alone. Utilizing her superbbat prowess, she was able to mow down through the first hundred aberrations she faced against, thest 10 being a group of Legendary Elite tier aberrations at the peak of Rank 4.


    After finding out that the tiers of the monsters increased rather than their level after surpassing 100 kills, Loreina took in a deep breath as she steeled her mind for what was toe. Pushing her abilities to the limits, she was able to fight against the Mythic Elite tier aberrations without much problem, going through the first 5 groups of the aberrations with her summons standing strong.


    Unfortunately, after fighting for such a long time, far longer than her fights usuallysted, the tailor was brought to the reality that herbat style had an incrediblyrge weakness, which caused her to feel a hint of despair as she dealt with the remaining groups.


    Her mana pool could not keep up with the consumption rate of her summons.


    "I really hope the name of the trial is just a lie¡­" Loreinamented to herself, summoning yet another series of creatures that would fight for her in her stead. Though, just as she had arranged her creatures in a way that made them an organized force, the aberrations had finally returned to life, with their strengths reaching yet another level.


    This time, she had to face against Ancient Elite tier aberrations.


    ¡­


    ''You have sessfully concocted a vial of Heaven Soaring Elixir of Standard quality. You shall been given a time of ten minutes to rest before moving onto the next concoction.'' Hearing the disembodied voice that announced his trial resound throughout the area, Faulus let out a loud sigh of relief as he grabbed a stamina and mana potion from his spatial bracelet, chugging down their contents in mere seconds.


    "This concoction makes it the 8th for this trial." Muttering a few words to himself as he organized his thoughts, the alchemist thought back to the beginning of the trial as he allowed his body to rest, a slight smirk creeping up onto his face as he remembered arge cauldron falling down from the sky.


    Whilst he was bewildered as to why a cauldron had appeared out of nowhere, the disembodied voice soon told Faulus what he needed to do, which was to survive a total of three trials before bing eligible to ess the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge. So far, he was still stuck on the first trial the Gates of Enlightenment had given him, which was the Trial of the Heavenly Cauldron.


    Listening to the name and the mechanics of the trial, the man thought to himself that he would have a considerably easy time going through the various stages of the trial, priding himself upon the experience and skills he had built thus far. After all, he wasn''t called the Lord of Medicine for nothing.


    Though, at the very moment the trial began, Faulus instantly realized that his skills could barely aid him at best, with the trial throwing him a series of concoction recipes that he had barely heard of in the outside world. Committing the recipe and the concoction''s effects to memory, the alchemist pushed his craft to its very limits, even feeling like he had broken through some sort of bottleneck by the time he had finished the fourth concoction.


    For a brief moment, it felt like the world had begun to talk to him directly, giving him information on the secrets of alchemy that many would yearn to possess for themselves. Sadly, such a sensation was pretty much short-lived, causing Faulus to feel a hint of grief.


    However, with a notification sound resounding in his mind after that brief sensation, Faulus'' grief had also be short-lived as it was reced with excitement. Surprisingly, amidst the gradually mounting difficulty of the trial, he had awakened the Intent Seed of Alchemy, bing the second among the group to haveprehended an Intent Seed.


    ''If the others hadn''t alreadyprehended their Intent Seeds, that is,'' thought the alchemist to himself inwardly, standing up once more as he felt like ten minutes had passed. Feeling that some of the stress had disappeared while he was daydreaming of the past, Faulus intently listened to the voice that signaled the start of his 9th concoction, only to briefly chuckle not long after.


    ''Even if I don''t pass the remaining two trials, I wouldn''t regret being kicked out of the inheritance.''


    ''After all, who else would have the chance to concoct something like the Pill of Ascension?''

 Chapter 605 Four Pillars: The Other Tribulations (2)

    <h4>Chapter 605 Four Pirs: The Other Tribtions (2)</h4>


    "Agh¡­ my head¡­" Rubbing the temples of her head in a circr motion, Vera took in a few deep breaths before taking out a pill from her spatial bracelet. Eating the pill in one go, the young woman soon felt the headache she was experiencing gradually disappear.


    Feeling like her mind had be incredibly clear all of a sudden, she took in a few deep breaths as she looked at therge structure before her gradually recede into the ground. Being made out of four stone pirs that were equidistant from one another, the structure had a plethora of lines and grooves running along the surface, prompting one to wonder whether these grooves acted as pathways for energy.


    Surprisingly, they would be correct.


    "Teacher told me that I''d have toplete a trial that would test my control over energy." Seeing as the Gates of Enlightenment was giving her time to rest before her next trial, Vera made the most out of it as she sat down, pondering over the things her mentor had told her before entering the inheritance. "After this, she said that the trial would test my mastery over Mystic Energy itself. ording to her, this was a great chance to improve the purity of my Mystic Energy by leaps and bounds."


    "But¡­ how does Teacher know of this?" Scratching the back of her head as she thought about it, the young woman felt like her experience before entering and while in the inheritance had been peculiar thus far. During the days before the inheritance where everyone else was preparing for any possible situation within the inheritance, Vera had been instructed by Mystia to learn more about Mystic Energy, as well as skills only essible through Mystic Energy.


    After that, she was made to do a few things that would only make sense if one did so in moderation as preparation for the inheritance, one of those things being energy control. For a couple of days, Mystia had forced Vera to focus all her attention on improving her energy control, with the former telling her that she would greatly need it during the trials the inheritance would throw at her.


    Though she was d that she had been prepared for what looked to be the important aspects of the inheritance she would face, the whole thing still left a bitter taste in her mouth. After all, it made her feel like her entire journey in the inheritance thus far was predicted by Mystia beforehand.


    If not for the fact that their group had run into a few mishaps and how she had suddenly joined the group without even getting to know them better, she would have probably believed that her teacher was an omniscient being in the shape of a human. ''Then again, she is the Saintess of the Mystic ne, so I guess she''s more than human at this point?''


    "Anyways¡­ I should probably focus on the two other trials the Gates of Enlightenment want to throw at me," muttered Vera to herself, standing up as the structure before her had fully receded, making it seem like it wasn''t there in the first ce. "If not for the sake of getting stronger, then for the sake of finding out what Teacher aims me to do or obtain while in this inheritance."


    "Would I perhaps find out my answers in the Alchemist Knowledge Repository?" asked Vera to herself soon after, only to shake her head and let out a faint sigh after that. "Well, whatever the case may be, I''ll at least finish these trials for the sake of helping the others out."


    ''Your time for recuperation is now over. Moving onto the second trial.'' Hearing the disembodied voice resound throughout the barren space once more, Vera intently listened to what the voice had to say. Though, not even before the voice could finish the couple statements it spoke out, a wry smile crept up onto the young woman''s face, thinking back to the thoughts she had earlier.


    ''Beginning the Trial of the Mystic Scriptures.''


    ¡­


    "[de of Six Paths]¡­" Dashing around the barren space, Hal briefly looked back behind him, only to see that he was still being madly chased by a small group of greatly empowered aberrations. Feeling like he had tired out the aberrations for long enough, he swiftly stopped in his tracks before transferring the momentum he had rued towards the strike he wouldnd against them.


    "[Great Asura Cleave]!" shing down diagonally, the man had infused a bit of his Intent Seed into the attack, causing the sharpness of his de to go up by a level. Unsurprisingly, with his high stats, skills, and the power of the Intent Seed, his strike held true, bisecting all of the aberrations at the waist as they eventually fell lifeless to the ground.


    ''You havepleted the 24thbination. 57binations remain before the trial ends.'' Continuing to tightly grip on his de in the case of an ambush, Hal eventually let out a faint sigh of relief as the disembodied voice resounded throughout the area once more, informing him of his progress.


    Ever since he had been told by the disembodied voice that he would only need to face a single trial before being able to ess the Gates of Enlightenment''s repository of knowledge, the young man had be greatly ecstatic, especially after he had found out from their party chat that only he and Valyr had been given such an opportunity.


    Though he would not hesitate to help the others out during the inheritance, Hal''s original intention in entering the inheritance was to bolster his strength. Of course, he knew that the others also entered the inheritance with the same intentions in mind, though he felt like only he was d at the fact that he had been separated from the others.


    ''Once again, strength transcends everything,'' thought the young man to himself, only to realize that the break the voice had given him was now over. Taking in a deep breath, he firmly gripped onto his de as he listened to the disembodied voice for instructions.


    Although he had been forced to fight against a group of aberrations in the previous round, the trial did not entirely focus onbat. Instead, it threw Hal into a plethora of situations that forced his mind to adapt as quickly as possible to the situation that was given to him.


    Hence the trial''s name, the Trial of Myriad Combinations.


    Expecting to fight against another group of enemies for his 25thbination, the young man instead held conflicted expressions after hearing what the disembodied voice wanted him to do.


    ''For this round, you have been given the opportunity toprehend a series of scriptures aimed at improving your mind''s ability toprehend the universe and its secrets. Being made up of 81 volumes, the Origin Peering Sutra is one of the Gates of Enlightenment''s most well-renowned scriptures, sought after by many even from those beyond Veldanyr.''


    ''You have been given 30 days toprehend the entire set of scriptures. During this time, time shall flow at a rate far slower than it normally flows, giving you the peace of mind toprehend the entire scripture at your own pace.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Enlightenment wish you the best of luck.''

 Chapter 606 Four Pillars: Token of Goodwill

    <h4>Chapter 606 Four Pirs: Token of Goodwill</h4>


    "With that, I''m finally 10% of the way topleting this damned trial." Watching the wave of dark energy he had summoned wreak havoc against the group of Divine Elite tier aberrations from afar, Valyr let out a low sigh as he affixed the spear onto his back, wondering to himself how the aberrations would be stronger for the next 10 groups.


    Feeling happiness emanate from the spear through the connection they had in his mind, the young man took out his hammer from his spatial bracelet before proceeding to do some quick repairs on his armor set. With how much he had to struggle against the previous 10 groups, Valyr made sure to see the 10 groups of Divine Elite tier aberrations to the very end, even though he had time in between each revival to repair at least one armor piece.


    ''Well, at least I have more than enough to repair my armor and return myself to peak condition before the new arrangement for the next 10 groups arrive,'' thought the young man to himself, confident that he had now more or less understood the pattern the trial gave him for his breaks.


    ''Then again, whether they increase the aberrations'' strengths by a level or a tier, it''d still be a pain to deal with, even if I were to rely on my spear.''


    Just as he had finished repairing the first armor piece to peak condition and was about to begin his second, Valyr was forced to stop in his tracks as a familiar voice resounded throughout the area all of a sudden. ''Congrattions on reaching your first thousand kills on the Trial of Myriad Aberrations. By surviving this portion of the trial, you have shown that your strength and willpower are truly built on a sturdy foundation, not wavering even under the feeling of utter despair.''


    "I swear to the heavens¡­ if the Gates of Enlightenment decides to bump up the difficulty another level¡­" Muttering these words to himself as he tried to predict what the disembodied voice would say next, the young man was instead left at a slight loss for words as the voice had mentioned something else instead.


    ''As a token of our goodwill, the Gates of Enlightenment shall allow you to obtain a portion of the power you''ll earn through your own merits in the future in advance.''


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    In less than an instant, before he could even a chance to ponder over what the voice meant by its words, Valyr was bombarded with a great amount of information. Due to the amount of information he had gained all of a sudden, the young man gradually felt a searing pain, which was only exacerbated by the fact that a second wave of information inundated his mind a few minutester.


    Thankfully, after having to endure threerge waves of information in total, the pain in his mind finally began to subside. Letting out a small sigh of relief, the young man began to take a look at what exactly happened, opening up his notification screen after recalling that the system had sent him one the very moment the first wave of information arrived.


    ''This¡­'' Before Valyr could even finish reading through the notification he had obtained, the young man''s eyes swiftly widened in disbelief as the earlier words of the disembodied voice began to resound in his mind. ''This is their token of goodwill?''


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements up to the end of the Iron Age on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    Pushing his curiosity as to who or what the mysterious source was aside for the meantime, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words as he read through the second notification. Though he did n on unlocking and maxing out all of the advancements in the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch at some point, he nned on doing it step by step since it was hard toe by a lot of Technology Points in one go.


    However, the Gates of Enlightenment had done exactly that, saving him the cost of possibly over a hundred thousand Technology Points in maxing out the Innovation branch of the Technology Tree.


    With the thought in mind, he then began to wonder why the Combat and Production branch of his Technology Tree had not received the same treatment, only to remind himself to not bite the hand that fed him. After all, with what the disembodied voice had told him just now, it seemed that his current situation wouldn''t just be a one-time thing.


    ''Though the Gates of Enlightenment have already considered you to have passed the trial by surviving the first thousand, you are free to attempt going through the entire trial and take on the remaining nine thousand aberrations,'' said the disembodied voice. ''In exchange, the Gates of Enlightenment shall allow you to obtain more portions of your future power in advance, with the next one obtainable after reaching a total of 3,000 kills.''


    ''Would you like to proceed with the trial? Or would you like to opt out and obtain the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge?''


    "I would like to proceed with the trial," replied Valyr after mulling over it for a brief moment, taking out the spear from his back as he prepared for the next group that was toe. In response to his answer, golden lights covered the aberration corpses once more as they gradually rose from the ground.


    Though it may seem like he had not given the voice''s question much thought, the young man knew that he would stand to gain more if he were to continue with the trial, following the saying where high rewards onlye from taking high risks.


    Aside from that, there was also the fact that he would still gain ess to the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge whether he opted out or not, while the goodwill the Gates of Enlightenment was showing to him seemed to be a one-time thing.


    With how their goodwill solved one of the more tedious problems he would face in the future, why should he decline?


    "Grrrwaaaggghhh¡­!!!" As the group of aberrations let out bestial roars in unison, Valyr began to manipte the Shadow Energy in his body as he looked at what he was up against. However, before he could even begin to infuse said energy into his spear, his pupils shrunk in size as he frenziedly examined the group he would fighting this time around.


    Though the group of aberrations remained at the peak of Rank 4 and at the Divine Elite tier, their numbers¡­


    Had quintupled.

 Chapter 607 Four Pillars: Steeled Resolve

    <h4>Chapter 607 Four Pirs: Steeled Resolve</h4>


    "Goodwill, my fucking ass!" With the realization that he would have to fight against 200 empowered aberrations at once finally sinking in, the young man did not hesitate to go all out in empowering his strength, madly dashing away from the group as those at the front began to chase him.


    "Grrrrwwaaaggghhh!!!"


    "If I knew I''d be facing against 200 aberrations as a group instead of 50 stronger ones, I should''ve just opted out of the trial!" screamed Valyr, somewhat regretting the fact that he had allowed his yearning for more power to get the better of him. After all, with how the Gates of Enlightenment had only shown their goodwill after he had survived through a thousand kills, it went without saying that he would have to go through the same amount of suffering for the next reward, if not worse.


    "I should''ve pondered over it for longer!" Airing out his grievances as he continued to increase the distance separating him from therge group of aberrations he was up against, Valyr eventually took in a few deep breaths, gradually calming himself down as his current situation finally began to sink in.


    With his expression returning to how it was while fighting against the first thousand aberrations of the trial, the young man began to think about his current situation from another perspective, reminding himself of the saying that surfaced in his mind while he was pondering over the voice''s question.


    ''With high riskse high rewards.'' Allowing the thought to linger in his mind as he inwardly repeated it over and over, Valyr had a feeling that the current situation was the real test from the Gates of Enlightenment, seeing if the limit of his strength and willpower lied far beyond the first thousand aberrations, with the bonus more or less a way for the Gates of Enlightenment to make sure that he continued pushing himself.


    Pondering over the entire thing by putting himself in the Gates of Enlightenment''s shoes, he felt that the first thousand aberrations was the Gates of Enlightenment''s way to ascertain their hypothesis of him having the strength and willpower necessary to make use of their knowledge. Then, the remaining nine thousand would allow them to assess how much he would benefit from the knowledge they''d give, prompting him to keep on killing whatever it takes.


    ''I guess choosing to continue the trial was the right choice, then,'' thought Valyr to himself, getting the feeling that the Gates of Enlightenment would force him out of the trial grounds if he opted out of the trial, if not the inheritance as a whole. Though such a situation was purely theoretical, he was highly certain that the Gates of Enlightenment would definitely do such a thing, especially with how they consistently emphasized strength and willpower.


    "[Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­" Feeling like he had now somewhat gotten a better grasp of the current situation, the young man decided to finally retaliate against therge group of aberrations chasing him. Infusing the Shadow Energy he had summoned earlier into the spear he held, Valyr swiftly stopped in his tracks before turning around to look at the aberrations.


    Then, thrusting the spear towards the aberrations, the Shadow Energy he had infused into the spear seemingly bloomed, dyeing the spear pitch-ck as the entire area seemed to have been covered by darkness for a brief moment.


    "[Lightless Ultimatum]."


    Whoosh!


    Just as he was wondering where the darkness had gone, Valyr noticed that the Shadow Energy covering the spear began to disappear, prompting him to infuse more Shadow Energy after thinking that the skill needed a constant infusion of Shadow Energy to activate.


    However, rather than head towards the spear, the Shadow Energy he sent instead made its way to the aberrations themselves, only noticing at that moment that all of the aberrations were standing frozen in ce.


    Pushing [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to get a better idea of where the Shadow Energy he sent was heading exactly, the young man''s eyes widened in surprise as he found out that the Shadow Energy acted as fuel for the aberrations'' shadows to grow, gradually taking on a shade of ck that reminded the young man of the pitch-ck color his spear was enveloped in earlier.


    Eventually, after some time, the aberrations'' shadows seemed to have found their limits, bursting out in unison as they encased all of the aberrations in dark cocoons that emanated a feeling of destruction and death. Feeling a hint of fear and awe at the power the ultimate move held, the young man could only stare at the sight before him in silence, watching as the cocoons covering the aberrations gradually disappear.


    Then, by the time all of the dark cocoons had dissipated into thin air, all of the aberrations fell to the ground with a dull thud. From their current appearances, it seemed that all of the vigor and vitality they used to have was siphoned to thest drop by their shadows, with the skin taking on a shade of gray because of it.


    "As expected from an ultimate move¡­" Sucking in a bit of cold air as he slowly came to terms with the power his ultimate move held, Valyr began to distance himself from the lifeless corpses of the aberrations, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief after hearing the voice tell him that he would be given ten minutes to prepare for the next group of 200.


    Retrieving a couple of mana potions from his spatial bracelet, the young man went ahead and downed the contents of both vials in one go as the aftermath of his ultimate move continued to linger in his mind. Feeling his mana reserves reach peak condition once more, the young man was reminded once more that his current level of strength far exceeded the strength he held at the same level in his past life.


    If anything, the power of his ultimate move only reinforced that thought.


    ''One group down, nine more to go.'' Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, Valyr pushed out all of the discordant thoughts in his mind as he reminded himself of his goal. Closing his eyes for a bit, he soon looked at the field of aberration corpses that stood a fair distance away from him.


    With his ultimate move down for the count, the number of options he had in his arsenal that would allow him to fight against a group of 200 aberrations had been reduced, prompting him to briefly wonder whether he even had it in him to fight against 1,800 Divine Elite tier aberrations.


    Fortunately, the answer to his question appeared as fast as the question came to mind, letting out a faint chuckle as he took a brief nce at his spear. After all, he had already fought against 10 groups of 40 Divine Elite tier aberrations without relying on his ultimate move and came out on top. Since that''s the case¡­


    Who''s to say he couldn''t do it against groups of 200?

 Chapter 608 Four Pillars: The Second Reward

    <h4>Chapter 608 Four Pirs: The Second Reward</h4>


    "[Tide of the Dark Night]!" Tightly gripping onto his spear for the nth time, Valyr gazed at therge group of aberrations madly running to where he currently stood. With a solemn expression, he redirected the Shadow Energy lingering within his body to the tip of his spear as he empowered himself with a series of buffing skills.


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, the young man swung the spear upwards, giving the wave of dark energy he had conjured enough space to expand and engulf the group of aberrations as a whole. However, rather than stop there, he then took out the magic scepter he had upgraded from his spatial bracelet whilst affixing the spear onto his back.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Not long after, an inordinate number of crimson des apanied the wave of dark energy, killing off all of those that remained standing against the destruction brought about by his initial attack. Manipting the crimson des to the limit of what his mind could handle, Valyr let out a low sigh of relief as he had finally downed the 10th and final group of 200 aberrations, bringing his kill count to 3,000.


    ''At the very least, I''ve finally gotten a better grasp of fighting against arge group of enemies that have greater strengths than me.'' With his breath ragged, the young man briefly admired the massacre he had just caused as he took out a stamina and mana potion from his spatial bracelet. Downing both potions in one go, Valyr distanced himself from the field of corpses as he faintly smiled, a thought promptly surfacing in his mind.


    ''Congrattions on reaching three thousand kills on the Trial of Myriad Aberrations. Through your disy thus far, you have shown that your strength and willpower is unmatched, surpassing even the realm of geniuses. You have shown the Gates of Enlightenment that your foundation is made for a peak that people rarely touch, turning you into an infallible being even in the darkest of times.''


    "I was waiting for the voice to start talking." Letting out a slight chuckle as he listened to the words of praise the disembodied voice was giving him, Valyr briefly took a look at his current self, bitterly smiling soon after.


    At the moment, the majority of his armor set looked to have been crumpled under the heavy-handed strikes of the aberrations, while the skin that had been exposed by the broken armor set had taken on a shade of dark purple. If anything, the young man looked as if he had returned to the time where he purely relied on magic to fend off against the aberrations, being overwhelmed due to hisckingbat power.


    ''The heavens really wanted me to learn those things the hard way, huh.'' Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet as the voice continued to shower him with more words of praise, the young man decided to repair his armor set after consuming a health potion, recalling the mishap that caused his current appearance.


    Beginning to mend his chestte, Valyr thought back to the fifth group of 200 that he had fought against. At that point, he had already found his groove in fighting against therge group of aberrations, relying on [Tide of the Dark Night] as his opening move while he would support it with magic attacks on the side.


    Unfortunately, whether it was due to overconfidence or negligence, he had forgotten to consume a couple of mana potions before the round began, thinking that he had enough mana to take care of the group. Naturally, it went without saying that it had brought Valyr an inch away from his death, having to rely on [Breath of the True Wyvern] to give himself some leeway to recover his mana.


    Wryly smiling as he finished recalling the thought, the young man softly shook his head just as he began to mend the next armor piece. ''Not taking a rest for quite some time has finally taken a toll on me, that''s for sure.''


    ''It doesn''t help either that I only have a few of the vials Faulus gave all of us to keep ourselves awake.'' Letting out a slight yawn, Valyr swiftly mended the remaining pieces he had yet to mend before downing one of the few vials of rousing he had left.


    ''As you have sessfully achieved a total of 3,000 kills, the Gates of Enlightenment shall allow you to obtain another portion of the power you''ll earn through your own merits in the future in advance.'' Closing his eyes for a bit to give the potion some time to take effect, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he heard the voice finally talk about his reward.


    Whoosh!


    All of a sudden, Valyr felt he had been transported to a world of darkness. Even opening his eyes did not help in that regard, with the sight that existed before him a vast and empty void. Fortunately, just as he was wondering whether he had been transported to a void by the Gates of Enlightenment for no reason, an object appeared within the void, being a sphere that emanated a feeling that made the young man think he had seen it somewhere before.


    ''The ck Star!'' Finally recalling the exact thing the object in front reminded him of, Valyr attentively watched as the sphere gradually expanded in size, the feeling it gave off earlier growing in intensity. Then, as if it had reached a turning point, the sphere burst into a great amount of dark energy, causing him to close his eyes in the fear of being engulfed by it.


    However, rather than being engulfed by the burst of energy, the young man instead felt like his connection with Shadow Energy had be deeper and more detailed all of a sudden. Slowly opening his eyes, he was soon greeted by the sight of the entire void being filled with Shadow Energy, causing the gears in his mind to madly turn as he automatically began to grasp concepts behind the energy like a madman.


    And then¡­


    Click.


    As if everything had finally fallen in ce, the sight before him had taken on a different perspective under his vision, sensing that he had formed a different connection because of it. Tracing this connection back to its roots, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise when he found out that he had formed a connection with the world itself, only to soon understand what was going on.


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound echo in his mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up a screen before him as the sight in front was gradually reced with the training ground he had been in earlier. Though he was slightly disappointed that he could not engross himself in the feeling for longer, the notifications he had gotten somewhat made up for it.


    [Your understanding of Shadow Energy has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [You have awakened the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy.]

 Chapter 609 Four Pillars: Road to 6,000

    <h4>Chapter 609 Four Pirs: Road to 6,000</h4>


    Reading through the notifications he had received, Valyr softly let out a chuckle. "Out of the five possible Intent Seeds I could awaken, I''m surprised that the Gates of Enlightenment had chosen the secondst when it came to progression."


    "Then again, I definitely wasn''t expecting the Gates of Enlightenment to awaken an Intent Seed in advance," continued the young man, dispelling his earlier notion that the Gates of Enlightenment would continue to unlocking and upgrading a portion of his advancements to the max level as a reward.


    "Though, wouldn''t it make better sense for the Gates of Enlightenment to awaken either of the first two instead? After all, both of them are rted to cksmithing, and the trial I''m currently taking would allow me to head to the cksmith Knowledge Repository." Shrugging his shoulders as he decided not to think more about it, Valyr swiftlymanded the system to bring up his list of possible Intents, slightly grinning soon after once he noticed that one of them had taken the top spot.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Intents:


    [Intent Seed of Shadow Energy | Nascent Stage] - 24% progress to the First Stage


    [Intent Seed of mes] - 86% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of Forging] - 89% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of the Spear] - 61% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of the Four Elements] - 42% progress to the Nascent stage


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "The Nascent Stage." Valyr briefly nodded as he closed the screen before him. Though the first stage on the path of transforming an Intent Seed did not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, it was still a giant hurdle that many have failed to cross, possibly due to ack of knowledge on the concept or ack of depth of understanding on the concept.


    Nevertheless, even a Nascent Stage Intent Seed already had effects on Valyr''s Attack stat, bolstering the strength of his Attack coefficient by 3%. On the other hand, the boost a 9th Grade Intent had on one''s Attack coefficient was 10%, reminding the young man that he still had a long way to go.


    Then again, a boost of 3% on one''s Attack coefficient was far greater than one might think. For someone like Valyr, whose Attack stat had far surpassed 6,000 due to his high DEX stat, a 3% increase already tranted to an additional 180 points of Attack.


    Now, what if one were to reach a First Stage Intent Seed? A Second Stage Intent Seed? An actual Intent?


    "Intent Seed of Shadow Energy." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr felt his body form a connection with the world for a split second. A few seconds after that, he felt a newfound power begin to course throughout his body, making him feel like any of his strikes from this point onward now had a slightly greater edge to it.


    Savoring the feeling for a bit longer, the young man soon stopped using the Intent Seed, letting out a sigh of awe as his body returned to feeling how it was before. "Man, the feeling of an Intent Seed never gets old."


    Unfortunately, before he could continue getting even more ustomed to his newly obtained Intent Seed, the disembodied voice resounded throughout the training ground once more, asking the young man a question that he had long expected to hear. ''Though you have achieved 3,000 kills within the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, the Gates of Enlightenment shall give you the chance once more to opt out of the trial and receive the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge. Naturally, you could also proceed further into the trial, with the opportunity to greater power in advance avable once you have amassed a total of 6,000 kills.''


    ''Now that I think about it, why is the Gates of Enlightenment so obsessed with strength and willpower?'' With the conclusion he had arrived at earlier beginning to linger in his mind, a question popped up all of a sudden, prompting Valyr to hold off on his response to the voice''s words. ''Surely they aren''t only doing it for the reason they''ve been mentioning so far, which is the thing about their knowledge being more useful to those who have greater strength and willpower.''


    ''The question is¡­ what other reason could there be?'' Valyr inwardly muttered, giving his mind the time to go through multiple usible trains of thought. Sadly, in the end, he let out a low sigh as he simply did not have enough information regarding the Gates of Enlightenment, pushing the thought aside for the meantime as he decided to keep the trial going.


    However, just as he was about to tell the voice that he would like to continue the trial, Valyr went silent for a bit as a thought popped up in his head. Briefly wondering to himself whether or not it would even work, the young man eventually went ahead and did it as he asked the voice a question. "Would it be possible to know what would make up the next 3,000 kills?''


    For a while, a palpable silence covered the entire training ground. Beads of cold sweat started to form on Valyr''s head as he waited in expectation. Then, as if it had intentionally given pause, the voice eventually responded, causing the young man to let out an audible sigh of relief as he attentively listened.


    ''You shall be facing against 10 groups of aberrations, with each group being made up of 300 of them,'' said the voice. ''These aberrations have the strength of divinity amongst the elite, with the levels reaching the peak of the fourth rank.''


    Though he was slightly confused by what the voice had told him at first, it did not take long for Valyr to understand, faintly nodding as another thought gradually surfaced in his mind not long after. ''Why didn''t I try this earlier?''


    "I would like to proceed with the trial." Nevertheless, with the newfound knowledge that he could actually ask the voice for more details regarding the trials, Valyr decided to leave the matter of admonishing himself for not thinking of the idea early on to the side, watching as the field of aberration corpses before him started to glow gold once more.


    Taking a few steps back, he took out his trusty spear and activated his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy, only to then summon the Shadow Energy stored within his body. Moving all of the Shadow Energy towards the tip of the spear he held, he swiftly swung his spear upward once all 300 aberrations had risen from the ground, leaving the aberrations no chance to retaliate against him.


    Naturally, thoughts regarding the Gates of Enlightenment''s aim still lingered in his mind at this moment. But for now¡­


    It''s time for him to grind out 3,000 kills.

 Chapter 610 Four Pillars: Special Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 610 Four Pirs: Special Opportunity</h4>


    "Well, that wasn''t so bad." Gasping for air after finallynding a strike against the 300 aberrations he was up against, Valyr watched as his maelstrom of attacks dispelled the enemy forces one by one. Supporting the offensive with a series of magic spells, the entire group eventually fell to the ground lifeless, prompting him to let out a sigh of relief.


    After making sure that all of the aberrations were truly dead, the young man distanced himself from the field of corpses once more as he took out a stamina and mana potion from his spatial bracelet. Downing both of them in one gulp, he took a brief look at his current condition, which was considerably better than the 2,000 kills he had gone through earlier.


    "Definitely a well-needed lesson, that one." Nevertheless, with all the running around he had to do to make sure he wouldn''t get by the aberrations, Valyr had worked up quite the sweat, making him feel like the insides of his armor had been filled with water all of a sudden. Fortunately, a quick removal of the armor set was more than enough to resolve the problem as he sat on the floor, waiting for the voice to tell him of his reward.


    ''Congrattions on reaching six thousand kills on the Trial of Myriad Aberrations. At this point, the Gates of Enlightenment is more than confident in the level of strength and willpower you''ve shown. If anything, only a scant few could match up to the tenacity and wit you''ve shown while dealing with the aberrations, your abilities at the pinnacle of what is achievable at your current rank.''


    Hearing the disembodied voice speak words of praise about how he had passed the halfway point for the trial, the young man slightly chuckled as he briefly wondered whether or not the voice would run out of words to say when it came to boosting his ego. However, just as the voice began to talk about his rewards, there was one part within its statement that had piqued his interest.


    ''As you have sessfully achieved a total of 6,000 kills, the Gates of Enlightenment shall allow you to obtain another portion of the power you''ll earn through your own merits in the future in advance. Aside from that, the Gates of Enlightenment has deemed you eligible for a special opportunity.''


    "What opportunity are you talking abo¡ª!" Asking the voice more information regarding thetter portion of its statement, Valyr was unfortunately forced to put it aside for the meantime as arge amount of information suddenly entered his mind. Quickly realizing what was going on, he swiftlyid down on the ground as he endured the mental pain the experience brought as best as he could.


    Sadly, even the earlier experience of having to endure three waves of information was not enough for the young man to consider the current pain to be negligible. Being made up of seven waves in total, the only thing he could think about was when the entire process would end.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr inwardly let out an audible sigh of relief as his mind swiftly got to work on organizing and processing all of the information he had obtained. Naturally, it took a while for him to take a look at what he had gotten from the Gates of Enlightenment since a bit of pain still lingered in his mind after the entire process had ended.


    Nevertheless, once the pain subsided, he did not hesitate to open up his notification screen to view his gains, slightly grinning as the rewards were far better than he had initially hoped.


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the Ancient Age on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    ''If the Gates of Enlightenment helps me unlock all of the advancements in the Early Middle Ages, there''s no doubt in my mind that I would be able to improve the arquebus I forged multiple times over.'' Letting out a peal ofughter as the voice had given him some more time to rest, the young man closed the screen before him as he allowed his mind to recuperate.


    Though the Ancient Age did not seem like much in the grand scheme of things when it came to technological eras, quite a lot of inventions had actually been made during this age that gave rise to the important technologies one would take for granted in the modern age. Because of that, an amount of Technology Points far greater than the amount of Technology Points Valyr had gotten from the cksmith Guild so far was needed to unlock and upgrade all of the advancements within that age to their max levels.


    Thus, it went without saying that Valyr greatly appreciated the Gates of Enlightenment''s aid in that regard, even though he knew of other ways to gain a windfall of Technology Points within a short span of time.


    "Say, what kind of special opportunity are you talking about?" Feeling like he had gotten enough rest to move onto the final portion of the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, Valyr decided to ask the voice about the thing it had mentioned earlier. For some reason, he felt like the opportunity the voice was talking about had something to do with the Gates of Enlightenment''s emphasis on strength and willpower.


    And, unsurprisingly enough, it was.


    ''As you have achieved a total of 6,000 kills within the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, the Gates of Enlightenment has deemed that you have met the minimum requirements necessary to trek the path of a legendary being that has taken on a simr path as you,'' said the voice to Valyr. ''Though the passage of time has made almost everyone forget their identity, their achievements still remain standing to this day.''


    ''After all, none could surpass the feats of the first forger in human history.''


    Ding!


    [You have obtained a new quest: The First Forger.]


    Slightly surprised that the voice''s response had triggered a quest to pop up, Valyr went ahead and took a look at the quest'' description. By the time he was finished reading through it, he went silent for a bit as a thought soon popped up into his mind, feeling like his struggle in the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial grounds had finally gained more purpose.


    ''I get it.''


    ''I finally get it.''

 Chapter 611 Four Pillars: The Greater Picture

    <h4>Chapter 611 Four Pirs: The Greater Picture</h4>


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The First Forger] (Limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    Many figures have made their mark on the history of humanity, bringing about great changes to how the human race lived. Some of them have brought the human race to prosperity, while some of them have brought the human race to ruin. Nevertheless, all these experiences allowed the human race to be what it is today¡­


    Though one figure among them could be said to have been the reason why the human race had reached its current spot in the first ce.


    The First Forger is known by schrs as the first human being in history to have forged a piece of equipment in between the Age of Darkness and Age of Uprising. Because of his timely discovery, the human race was able to make greater use of the system, allowing them to carve out a piece ofnd where they were finally free.


    Through some mysterious means, the Gates of Enlightenment has the ability to allow you to relive a portion of the First Forger''s memories, as well as gain more insight on the Gates of Enlightenment as a whole. Whether or not this experience shall allow you to obtain a path of greater power, these things would surely help you out in your journey to exploring the entirety of the inheritance.


    However, you must first earn the right to obtain these rewards in the first ce.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Finish the Trial of Myriad Aberrations (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > ess to the First Forger''s memories


    > Further information regarding the Gates of Enlightenment''s structure and goals


    > Increased level of authority within the Gates of Enlightenment after the trial assessment


    Quest Penalties:


    > Level - 5


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Remaining silent as he closed the screen before him, Valyr closed his eyes as he allowed the thoughts he had about the trial so far to linger in his mind. Not long after, he began to think about the information he had just obtained from the quest he received, slowly putting two and two together as arger picture began to form in his mind.


    ''If I''m getting this correctly, the Gates of Enlightenment are emphasizing strength and willpower in their trial since they want to find someone suitable to inherit the ability of a legendary being,'' thought Valyr to himself, allowing the gears in his mind to keep turning. ''In my case, the Gates of Enlightenment has deemed me eligible to inherit the path of the First Forger. Whether it''s due to the fact that I have a cksmith ss, I used a token attuned to the cksmith ss to enter, or both, I don''t know.''


    "However, it probably wouldn''t be far-fetched to think that the others would have simr opportunities as well." With the gears in his mind continuing to turn as he tried to make better sense of the situation, the young man began to think out loud all of a sudden.


    "Maybe the knowledge repository I got ess to was just the lowest reward one could get frompleting the trials the Gates of Enlightenment threw at them, though it''ll probably get better since the quest I got did mention something about a trial assessment."


    "Then again, is the Imperial Production Guild aiming for us to obtain information from the knowledge repositories, or from the special opportunity that we had been given to inherit a path from the one that came before us?" Scratching the back of his head, Valyr pondered over it for a bit, only to head towards a dead end as he did not know what kind of information the Imperial Production Guild wanted exactly.


    ''Unless they want every piece of information from us they could get.'' Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to end his train of thought there. Coincidentally, as if it was waiting for him to process all of the information he had just received, the disembodied voice resounded throughout the area once again.


    ''Would you like to attempt inheriting the path of the being that was called the First Forger and continue with the trial?'' asked the voice to Valyr. ''Or would you like to end the trial here and ess the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge? This would be your very final chance to end the trial early.''


    "I would like to continue with the trial." Valyr nodded without hesitation, the description of the quest he had read earlier continuing to linger in his mind. "Though, I would like to ask for more information on what kind of foes I''ll be facing for this next part of the trial."


    ''The aim of thest part of the Trial of Myriad Aberrations is for you to reach a total of 10,000 kills,'' replied the voice, correcting Valyr''s thoughts that there would be more parts after the one he would be partaking in. ''As that would constitute thepletion of the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, the amount of power you''d get in advance is far greater than the power you''ve gained ess to from the three opportunitiesbined.''


    ''Naturally, you would be more than eligible to attempt inheriting the path of the First Forger at that point,'' the voice continued. ''As for the foes that you would have to face for this final portion, the first nine groups shall be made up of 400 aberrations with strengths reaching divinity amongst the elite, while their levels reached the peak of the fourth rank.''


    ''However, the final group of 400 shall be made up of aberrations that have broken through the bottleneck of levels and made headway into the fifth rank of power. Aside from that, their strengths is more or less the same, being deemed at a level of divinity amongst the elite.''


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr watched as the field of corpses begin to glow gold once more after the voice was finished answering his question, feeling a sense of tranquility as he thought that he was nearing the end of the trial. Watching as the aberrations slowly rose up from the ground as they increased in number, the young man took out his spear from his back before activating the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy, firmly gripping onto his spear in the process.


    Though he had already gotten used to fighting against the aberrations at this point, he was still going to give it his all no matter what. After all, with the plethora of rewards he would be gaining frompleting the Trial of Myriad Aberrations¡­


    He couldn''t afford to fuck it all up.

 Chapter 612 Four Pillars: The Final Stretch

    <h4>Chapter 612 Four Pirs: The Final Stretch</h4>


    "Herees the final wave." Taking in deep yet constant breaths as he gazed at the field of aberration corpses before him, Valyr firmly gripped his spear as his expression remained solemn, keeping an eye for every possible change in his current situation. Amidst his intent-filled gaze, the corpses began to glow gold for what would be the final time, rising from the ground once more as they mounted their final offensive.


    Feeling their auras reach the same level of strength the previous group had, the young man went ahead and used [Greater Analysis] on one of the aberrations, keeping an eye on the screen as he sensed their auras gradually grow stronger. "ording to the voice, these aberrations would surpass the bottleneck and make progress into Rank 5."


    "The question is¡­ how far into Rank 5 would they be?" Looking back and forth between the screen he had opened and the aberrations'' steadily growing auras, the slight frown on Valyr''s face grew deeper and deeper as the aberrations'' strengths increased by a further level. Though, once the level on the screen stopped at Level 80, the young man let out a faint sigh of relief.


    "That''s still beatable," muttered Valyr to himself, psyching himself as he began to empower himself with all of the buffing skills in his arsenal. After that, he began to distance himself from the aberrations that had finished increasing their strengths, knowing that it wouldn''t take long for them to catch up to him.


    "Grrrrwaaaggghhh!!!" With the aberrations letting out bestial roars the very moment they tracked down his figure, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he thought about how he would go about ending the Trial of Myriad Aberrations once and for all, briefly thinking about the final skill his armor set had that he had yet to activate.


    ''I''ll save that for another time.'' Pushing the urge of using his armor set''s final skill to the side, the young man red his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy to the fullest, allowing hisprehension of the concept to form a connection with the world. Not long after, he summoned all of the Shadow Energy lingering within his body towards his spear, swiftly coating it in ayer of pure darkness.


    "[Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­" Then, as if he had eyes behind his back, Valyr ducked, barely dodging a strike from one of the aberrations that neared him. Inwardly letting out a brief sigh of relief in response, he then used the momentum he had generated from the duck to swiftly turn around, sweeping out his spear towards the aberrations in the process.


    "[Lightless Ultimatum]."


    Whoosh!


    Simr to before, the aberrations all remained rooted to their spots as theyer of darkness coating the spear had vanished all of a sudden. Infusing more and more of his Shadow Energy into the spear, Valyr watched as the shadows generated by the aberrations'' bodies gradually grew in size as they slowly took on the same level of darkness his spear was coated in earlier.


    Eventually, by the time the entire ground seemed to have been reced with pure darkness, the shadows soon burst in action, enveloping all 400 aberrations in dark cocoons that seemed to gradually siphon all of the energy from the beings that dwelt within.


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    At some point, the dark cocoons dissipated on their own, causing the 400 aberrations to fall to the ground with a dull thud as their bodies were rendered utterly lifeless. Staring at the emaciated and grayed visages of the fallen aberrations, Valyr widened his eyes in surprise once the aberration corpses began to turn into dust, only to dissipate into thin air not long after.


    "¡­" Though he already knew the meaning behind the aberrations disappearing, the young man continued to look down at the ground as the thoughts of him going through the various stages of the Trial of Myriad Aberrations shed through his mind once more.


    Letting out a faint sigh, he felt weakness creeping into his body. In response, he used his spear as a crutch as he took out a vial of rousing from his spatial bracelet before downing it in one gulp, making sure that he would be fully alert for the next part.


    After all, he would now be reaping the greatest fruits of hisbor.


    ''Congrattions onpleting the Trial of Myriad Aberrations. Bypleting this trial, you have shown the Gates of Enlightenment that you are more than worthy of obtaining the Gates of Enlightenment''s knowledge. With the strength and willpower that you have shown, the Gates of Enlightenment has no doubt that any piece of knowledge you gain shall be used to great effect, allowing your name to resound for generations toe.''


    Hearing the voice go through its usual spiel of praises, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he thought about how this would be thest time he would be hearing it. In a way, he found the thought somewhat saddening, though that sadness soon disappeared as the voice continued onto talking about his rewards frompleting the trial.


    ''For your exemry disy of strength and unyielding spirit during the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, the Gates of Enlightenment has deemed your performance to be of the highest grade, allowing you to ess the remaining two floors of the knowledge repository you have chosen through your token,'' said the voice.


    ''Since that''s the case, what does the reward mean when it said I''d have an increased level of authority within the Gates of Enlightenment?'' Listening to the voice''s words, Valyr wondered whether his interpretation of one of his quest''s rewards was right or not. ''Is there a secret 4th floor to the cksmith Knowledge Repository or would I be able to ess something else besides that?''


    Sadly, with him limiting the question to his mind, the voice had no reason to respond to his queries, continuing through the remaining rewards Valyr had earned frompleting the trial. ''Aside from that, the Gates of Enlightenment has no doubts that you would be sessful in inheriting the path of the being known as the First Forger. Once more, whether or not you gain something from the opportunity is solely dependent on your aptitude.''


    ''Lastly, as you havepleted the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, the Gates of Enlightenment shall now give you a far greater portion of the power you woulde to obtain in the future in advance. Make sure to it wisely.'' At these words, the young man heard a notification sound resound in his mind, prompting him to take a look at what it was. However, before he could evenmand the system to bring up a screen¡­


    His vision was already engulfed by pure darkness.

 Chapter 613 Four Pillars: A Glimpse

    <h4>Chapter 613 Four Pirs: A Glimpse</h4>


    Though his vision turning dark had definitely caught him off-guard, the young man did not take long to realize the current situation he was in, taking in a few deep breaths topose himself. Having experienced a simr situation earlier, Valyr knew that he would have to have a clear mind to make the most out of it.


    After all, he had awakened the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy thanks to it.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, instead of starting off at the part where a dark sphere at the center of the void burst to form Shadow Energy, the scene before him began at the part where the dark sphere had already burst, the entire void inundated with the existence of dense Shadow Energy. Once again, he was introduced to the concepts regarding Shadow Energy that had eluded his mind before, prompting him to feel like his understanding behind the energy was gradually increasing.


    However, before he could truly savor the feeling he was currently immersed in, a sudden sensation crept up within his body, asking him to open his eyes to view the scene that was about to appear. Faintly wondering whether the sensation hade from, Valyr still went ahead and opened his eyes, expecting nothing much to have changed regarding the current sensation.


    Yet, before thoughts under the same vein began to form in his mind, the young man looked at the current sight before him with a ck jaw, noticing that light blue tendrils that emanated a familiar energy began to form around the fringes of the boundless void.


    "Mana¡­" muttered Valyr, slightly frowning once he noticed that the tendrils of mana had broken through and entered the void filled to the brim with Shadow Energy. However, rather than making the Shadow Energy within the void impure with its existence, the tendrils of mana instead fused with the Shadow Energy within its vicinity, entuating the properties of the dark energy even further.


    Bearing witness to such a phenomenon, Valyr felt like multiple concepts had been unlocked in his mind all at once as the gears in his mind undoubtedly turned at breakneck speeds. Within seconds, he had gained hundreds of new ideas on how to connect his own mana and Shadow Energy into one entity, giving the two energies the opportunity to form a synergistic effect between one another.


    With these thoughts lingering in his mind, it did not take long for the same feeling he had gotten from awakening his Intent Seed to envelop his entire body once more. Though, unlike before, the connection between him and the world had grown a bit deeper, causing him to feel a hint of excitement as he had a hunch on what had actually happened.


    Widening his eyes as much as it could go, the young manmitted the current sight before him to memory, hoping to make use of it in the future when he needed to ponder over his Intent Seed even further.


    Unfortunately, before he could grasp any additional concepts from the sight before him, he had been returned to the trial grounds beyond his own volition, which prompted to let out a faint sigh in disappointment.


    ''Well, such an experience is already hard toe by.'' Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he decided to not mull over the situation too much, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit to consolidate all of the information he had obtained from the vision the Gates of Enlightenment had shown.


    "Alright, time to look at the notifications I got." Once he felt like he had eked out every piece of information he possibly could from the vision he had seen, only then did the young man open his eyes once more,manding the system to bring up his notifications just as the disembodied voice resounded throughout the area.


    ''A path leading to the knowledge repository of your choosing has been opened,'' said the voice. ''Feel free to traverse it at your own leisure.''


    Nodding in response to the voice''s words, Valyr swiftly returned his attention to the notification screen before him. Reading through the notifications he had received one by one, the smile on his face grewrger andrger, eventually turning into an incredibly wide grin.


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of Shadow Energy has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Shadow Energy has ascended to the First Stage.]


    "Though it would''ve been nice if the Gates of Enlightenment had chosen to unlock and upgrade all of the Early Middle Age advancements to max level, I can''t reallyin about this one." Seeing that his Intent Seed had gotten one step closer to bing a fully-fledged Intent, Valyr let out a peal of boisterousughter.


    [You haveprehended a great number of concepts surrounding mana and Shadow Energy, specifically the boundlessness of both mana and Shadow Energy. Because of this, the property of Energy awakened by your Shadow Energy has been upgraded to Boundless.]


    [You haveprehended a great number of concepts surrounding mana and Shadow Energy, specifically the greatpatibility that exists between mana and Shadow Energy. Because of this, the active skill ''Shadow Serpent Combat Style'' has evolved to ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style''.]


    ''I should really take some time to look at those properties my Shadow Energy awakened¡­ whatever those may be.'' Though he was unsure whether or not the first notification was good news or not, the second one undoubtedly brought him great joy. After all, from what the name of the evolved skill implied, it seemed like it would be a better fit for his Shadow Serpent Manncer subss, allowing him to make greater use of the perks associated with the subss.


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (2).]


    [You have gained ess to the Gates of Enlightenment.]


    [You have gained ess to the 1st level of the Gates of Enlightenment''s cksmith Knowledge Repository.]


    [You have received a new quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    ''I guess the first reward frompleting this quest might be affected by the increased authority I received frompleting the second quest,'' thought Valyr to himself, slightly unsure. ''Though, I still feel like it would also affect the floors I can ess within the knowledge repository.''


    ''I''ll save the quest I gained forter.'' With the thought in mind, Valyr moved onto the final series of notifications he had received, with thest few notifications causing a slight smile to creep up onto his lips.


    [You havepleted the quest: The First Forger.]


    [Your authority within the Gates of Enlightenment has increased by one level.]


    [You have gained the opportunity to ess the First Forger''s memories. Would you like to ess them?]


    [You have gained in-depth information regarding the Gates of Enlightenment''s structure or goals. Would you like to view this information?]


    "I''ll ess the First Forger''s memories." Feeling that it was the main reason why the Gates of Enlightenment emphasized a lot on strength and willpower, it was no surprise that the young man chose to delve deeper regarding the First Forger before taking a look at the knowledge repository he had gained ess to.


    Within seconds, his mind was filled to the brim with great amounts of information, only for him to fall on his back soon after as his consciousness gradually drifted off into another space.

 Chapter 614 Four Pillars: Freak Show

    <h4>Chapter 614 Four Pirs: Freak Show</h4>


    ''Where¡­ where am I?'' Gradually returning to his senses after some time, Valyr briefly felt a bit of headache and confusion as he looked around. Though, after taking a brief nce at the sight before him, the headache he felt swiftly disappeared as he began to try getting a better grasp of his current situation.


    Finally recalling that he had chosen to ess the memories regarding the First Forger, the young man swiftly noticed how his current viewpoint was different than how he would normally view things, feeling as if he was staring at the scene from the edge of a tall cliff. Fortunately, his view was not just stuck to one perspective, finding out after a bit of experimentation that he could move around to get a better look at the scene, albeit within a limited range.


    With this newfound knowledge, only then did Valyr finally look at the scene before him in greater detail, noting a few things here and there that awakened some information he had read in the past. ''Crudely built structures strewn about¡­ orcs dragging along humans in some sort of crude rope¡­ tons of half-eaten corpses on the sides of buildings¡­''


    ''If I''m not mistaken¡­ I''m currently witnessing what''s going on in an orc settlement from the Age of Darkness.'' As Valyr came to this thought, the young man''s expression turned solemn as he looked at how the humans were being treated, recalling what he had read about the era he was currently witnessing firsthand.


    With orcs being one of the five ruling races during the Age of Darkness, any human they could get their hands on had turned into their ythings. However, from what the young man saw before him, such a thing could not be further away from the truth, with most of the orcs treating them as livestock.


    In fact, Valyr even saw some orcs hang a few humans on the walls of their buildings before rendering them lifeless, only to leave them in the sun to dry after that.


    Seeing how the orcs did not even hesitate in doing these atrocities, the young man felt a bit of rage bubbling within him. Sadly, as he was only being shown memories of what was once the past, any movement he made against them seemed to pass through them as if it were nothing, causing him to let out a faint sigh as he focused on why he was being shown the memory in the first ce.


    "Feast your eyes, everyone!" Watching the orcs go through their daily lives during the Age of Darkness for a bit longer, Valyr started to move through the fairlyrge settlement, eventually stopping after seeing a crowd of orcs gather around a somewhat well-dressed orc that stood beside a human that looked to be in his early thirties. At first, the young man did not think too much about the situation, getting the feeling that the orc was possibly holding a bidding war to sell off the human beside it.


    However, after looking at the human for a bit more, Valyr finally noticed a few things that were odd about him. For one, there seemed to be no trace of maltreatment on the human''s body whatsoever, while the clothes that the human wore looked to be slightly betterpared to the rags the humans he saw before wore, appearing to be a crude dress of some sort.


    Then again, what truly piqued his interest was not any of those. Instead, it was the fact that the human did not fear looking at the crowd of orcs before him.


    If anything, the man''s gaze seemed like he was intent on fighting against them.


    "Standing beside me is quite an odd variant of the creature we''ve been feeding on," said the orc in a loud voice, causing the crowd''s attention to focus on it. As for Valyr, his eyes widened in slight surprise once he found out he could understand what the orc was saying, though he soon understood that it might be due to the fact that he was viewing memories of the past.


    "Though some of the creatures we''ve hunted are quite resilient, needing a few hits from our axes to submit to us, this creature has shown a level of resiliency that stumps even me, Brh''zaak!" Saying these words to rouse the interest of the watching orcs, the orc named Brh''zaak unsheathed the shortsword around its waist, prompting the human to extend one of its arms out in response.


    Whoosh!


    Then, without hesitation, the orc shed down on the human''s arm with all its strength. Wondering what the orc meant by the human being extremely resilient, the crowd was disappointed when they saw that the sword was able to cut off the human''s arm as it fell to the ground. However, not even a few secondster, the crowd quickly understood why the orc made such a bold im.


    "Ngh¡­" As the man let out a muffled moan of pain, he took in a few deep breaths before grabbing the arm that had been cut off. After that, he ced the cut-off arm near the point of separation, only for tendrils of flesh to start extending out of his body as the arm swiftly reattached itself.


    After the human balled up the hand on the cut-off arm into a fist a few times, the crowd of orcs looked at the sight before them with great shock evident in their eyes, their minds failing toprehend what they had seen before him. Then, as if the same thought had clicked in their minds at the same time, they all approached Brh''zaak with the request tond a hit on the extremely resilient human, their faces filled with smiles after Brh''zaak told them they could do so after paying a small fee.


    ''What you see before you is the daily life of the man that would eventually be known as the First Forger during the Age of Darkness.'' Frowning at the thought of the orc turning the human into a one-man freak show, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise after hearing the disembodied voice from the Gates of Enlightenment resound in his mind all of a sudden. ''With his inhuman levels of self-recovery, he was able to save himself from being turned into food that would be eaten by a random orc, instead turning into a crude form of entertainment for the orcs to enjoy.''


    ''However, it won''t take long for the man to be one of the most renowned humans in history, bing the First Forger that we know of.'' At these words, Valyr briefly wondered what the voice meant by that, only for him to recall the information he had read in the past once more. With that in mind, it did not take long for him to realize that the voice was referring to what was considered the most important event that turned the fates of humans around.


    "The advent of the system."

 Chapter 615 Four Pillars: Advent

    <h4>Chapter 615 Four Pirs: Advent</h4>


    ''Now that I think about it, isn''t it weird how there used to be no system whatsoever?'' Seeing that the voice had finished giving him more information regarding the First Forger, Valyr began to delve deeper into thetest thought he had, slightly frowning as he mulled over it.


    ''I''ve already gotten information about how there used to be no system during the Age of Darkness from the Myriad Archives, but why didn''t I think anything of it at the time?'' asked the young man to himself, the frown on his face gradually turning deeper. ''With how Greater Beyond''s power system relies on the system, shouldn''t the system exist since the beginning?''


    ''Or did thepany behind the game simte the world to the point where everything about Greater Beyond popped up naturally?'' Unfortunately, by the time he had reached the end of his train of thought, the young man was left with no definite conclusion, only a few answers that seem to have gotten a couple of steps closer to the truth.


    ''Speaking of thepany, what kind of technology did they actually use to achieve such levels of realism for a game?'' wondered Valyr all of a sudden, beginning to doubt the ims thepany made about the game in his past life. ''Sure, they did say they used quantum supeputing and simr high-level technologies to achieve it, but I still feel like it would take more than that to achieve truly lifelike realism.''


    Letting out a low sigh, the young man decided to push the thought aside for the meantime, faintly recalling a series of simr questions he hade up with while he was perusing through the books within the Myriad Archives. However, rather than expound on them, he let them stay where they were since those questions and the questions he had juste up with were facing the same problem.


    He had no clue who to ask about such things, nor did he have an idea on where to begin asking such things.


    Focusing his attention back on the memory he was currently witnessing firsthand, Valyr had a stoic expression on his face as he watched the crowd of orcsnd various types of attacks on the human, ranging from light cuts to injuries that went bone deep. Nevertheless, all of those injuries eventually close up in due time, causing the orc named Brh''zaak to grin widely as the amount of money in its pockets increased with each cut.


    By the time the sun had set, only then did Brh''zaak and the human start heading some ce, prompting Valyr to follow them until the orc and the human had arrived at a destitute-looking shack made out of y and straw. With the two heading inside, the young man saw the orc confine the human into a small room while giving thetter a bit of food and water to eat.


    After doing so, the orc went on through its nightly tasks before finally resting on its bed and calling it a night, seemingly falling into a deep slumber as it began to snore after a few minutes had passed. Seeing that he would not obtain anything else from watching the orc, Valyr shifted his attention towards the human, who was currently staring out of the small window within the small room he was in.


    "Seven¡­" muttered the human all of a sudden as he began to do a few gestures in front of him. Then, sometimeter, the man clenched both of his hands into fists before doing a series of gestures once more.


    Watching this, Valyr felt like the human was essing the system at first, only to recall that the system had not arrived yet. Just as he was wondering why the human was doing all of those gestures, the disembodied voice had begun to resound in his mind once more, saving him the headache ofing up with a myriad possibilities.


    ''Though he had escaped the fate of ending up in the stomach of one of the many orcs that roamed the world, that did not mean that the man had an easy life ahead of him. Being subjected to physical torture the whole day, only to be confined in a small room at night, the man had developed a weird coping mechanism that allowed him to trudge through years of the same routine,'' said the voice.


    ''Airing out his frustrations and aggravations through a series of gestures every night, the man was able to restrain himself fromshing out against the orcs that had cut his body thousands of times over,'' the voice continued. ''However, he always hoped in the back of his head that there would eventuallye a day where he could seek revenge for the torture he had been subjected to.''


    ''For the torture the humans had been subjected to.''


    ''With every passing day, he wondered why he had been given such a resilient body, a body that could withstand years of constant torture,'' said the voice after a brief pause. ''Because of it, he had witnessed tens of thousands of human deaths in front of his very ways amidst the jubtions of the orcs felt with every sh they inflicted on his body.''


    ''Why can''t I just die? Why am I not like the other humans who fall after a single blow? These were the questions that constantly lingered in the man''s head every night.''


    ''Fortunately, it did not take long for him to figure out why.''


    After the voice had finished what was basically a long monologue that delved into the man''s thoughts, Valyr watched the man go through its daily routine for a few more days. In the morning, he and the orc would be out in the center of the settlement, receiving thousands of cuts on his body as the orc gained money from it. Then, when night came, he would be confined in the small room he stayed, dwelling in his thoughts as he gazed out of the small window, airing out his grievances.


    With each passing day, the young man wondered more and more whether the man''s nightmare would end, seeing the man even near the brink of death after a heavy-handed oded a fatal attack on the man''s torso one day. Thankfully, after a week of the same thing passed, something had finally changed, with the man stopping in the middle of gesturing as a monotonous voice Valyr was familiar with resounded throughout the small room.


    [Initializing the Advancement System¡­]

 Chapter 616 Four Pillars: Retribution

    <h4>Chapter 616 Four Pirs: Retribution</h4>


    "It''s finally arrived¡­" muttered Valyr as he watched the man look around the room for a bit to see where the voice was from. Though, by the time a screen had appeared in front of the man''s vision, all notions of confusion on the man''s face swiftly disappeared.


    Instead, the man was greatly enamored by the sight before him, opening and closing a few more screens in front of him before returning his sights beyond the small window in his room. Taking in a deep breath, the man''s expression turned calm yet determined. "Today."


    ''Today¡­'' Having witnessed a week of the man''s daily routine of physical torture and confinement, Valyr gradually began to notice that he was counting down with every passing night. At first, he was confused as to what the human was counting down for since nothing different went on during the week that had passed. However, now that the man had gained ess to the system¡­


    Him counting down had gained another meaning.


    ''Does this mean the First Forger has knowledge of the awakening of the system in advance?'' asked the young man to himself, wondering how the human would even get his hands on information that even the orcs had no clue about. Thankfully, just like before, the disembodied voice began to resound in his mind once more, giving Valyr greater detail as to what was going on.


    ''Though the Gates of Enlightenment do not know exactly as to why the man known as the First Forger counted down till the awakening of the system, many specte that the man has received providence from the heavens after being subjected to torture and confinement for so long,'' the voice told him.


    In response, Valyr slightly furrowed his brows, his impressions of the Gates of Enlightenment knowing everything that happened within the memory swiftly crumbling down. "Specte? Does that mean the Gates of Enlightenment don''t know why he''s counting down as well?"


    Surprisingly, the disembodied voice responded to his question. ''Though the Gates of Enlightenment has received this opportunity from the being himself to ess their memories, the being has not divulged every piece of information that urs within the memories to the Gates of Enlightenment. However, it is said that those with higher authority within the Gates of Enlightenment or those from the higher gates may have information on the matter.''


    "Higher authority¡­" Listening to the voice''s response, Valyr thought back to the reward he had gained frompleting the First Forger quest.


    At this point, he felt like more information regarding the memory he was currently witnessing was the actual reward he would gain from having increased authority within the Gates of Enlightenment. Though, with how uncertain the voice was in its response, he decided to take the hypothesis with a grain of salt for the meantime.


    Aside from that, the voice mentioning something about higher gates prompted Valyr to think about the other reward he had gained frompleting the First Forger quest. With how the description phrased the reward he was going to get regarding information about the Gates of Enlightenment, he had a strong feeling that he would undoubtedly gain more answers there rted to the memory.


    ''It is epted by many that the First Forger has been made privy to the awakening of the system in advance due to his unique constitution of being able to regenerate his own wounds quickly.'' By the time Valyr was finished dwelling in his thoughts, the voice continued its exnation from where it left off.


    ''Aside from that, many also spected that the heavens had chosen him due to his great yearning to avenge all of his fellow humans after seeing them being maltreated and killed like livestock by the orcs.''


    ''Though many people argued behind the real reason for the man''s advanced knowledge, everyone agrees that the man''s actions the following morning had be one of many, if not the sole impetus for the next era in human history: the Age of Uprising.'' Hearing these wordse from the disembodied voice, the young man instantly became eager to find out what would happen the following morning, keeping an eye on the human as the night slowly passed.


    Unexpectedly, after the human had obtained the system, the man did not do any of the weird gestures he had been doing the past few days. Instead, he constantly stared at the moonlit sky beyond the small window in his room, muttering a few words from time to time as his gaze gradually turned tranquil.


    Eventually, after waiting for long enough, the sun gradually began to peek out of the horizon.


    With the voice''s earlier words still lingering in his mind, Valyr kept his eyes peeled as the orc named Brh''zaak unlocked the door from the other side. From what he had seen so far, the man would slowly make his way to the door, timidly ept the bits of food and water he had been given, then slowly leave the room after that with the orc dragging him along.


    However, after the system had awakened, as if a switch inside his mind had been flipped on, the man instead tackled the door the instant he heard the orc unlock it. Due to how sudden it was, the orc was left stumbling backwards as the door was swung wide open.


    "You little shit¡­ I knew it was a mistake to keep yo¡ª!" Feeling rage gradually fill the entirety of its body, Brh''zaak started to scream out a flurry of curses in its ownnguage, only for it to be cut short as the man tightly gripped the orc on the neck. Though surprised by the man''s sudden action, the orc swiftly stood up before moving his body back and forth, hoping to shake the man off and extricate himself from the hold.


    Sadly, the man held strong, gripping even tighter after Brh''zaak began to madly shake its body. Slightly panicking after noticing how it was getting harder to breathe, the orc unsheathed the shortsword around its waist, summoning all of the strength in its body as it aimed to cut off the man''s arms.


    Unfortunately for the orc, the man had seemingly expected it to wield its sword, letting go of his grip for a brief moment to avoid the strike before gripping around its neck even tighter than before.


    After attempting tond a few more strikes on the man to extricate itself from its untimely demise, it was only after feeling his consciousness turning sluggish did Brh''zaak finally ept what was going on, scraping the remnants of consciousness it still had to keep itself awake for a bit longer.


    "Why¡­ did you do this?" Staring directly into the man''s eyes, the orc asked him a question. "Have I not¡­ treated you well?"


    Recalling all the pain his mind and body had rued over the past few years under the orc, the man subconsciously tightened his grip around the orc''s neck, pushing thetter to the brink of unconsciousness. However, before the orc could truly embrace darkness, the man responded back to him in the oguage he had picked up over the past few years, gazing at Brh''zaak as if he was telling the orc that he was only the beginning of what''s toe.


    "Treat me well? You really thought you treated me well? Don''t fool yourself." Gripping even tighter around the orc''s neck with every passing word, the man eventually stared at the unconscious orc with death-filled eyes, releasing his grip around the orc before spitting at it in disgust. "As for my reason¡­ what other reason would I even have?"


    "This is just your long-awaited retribution."

 Chapter 617 Four Pillars: Uprising

    Letting the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins gradually die down, the man took in a deep breath before grabbing the shortsword the orc wielded earlier. Due to the size difference between him and the orc, the shortsword looked more like a broadsword when he wielded it.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop the man from putting all of his strength into lifting up the sword before letting gravity do its thing, allowing its de to cut the orc''s throat under its own weight. Because of it, the orc began to shudder for a brief moment, its limbs thrashing out.


    Seeing this, the man put in more of his strength into the de, forcing the de deeper into the orc''s neck as he looked at the sight before him with a cold expression. Eventually, after a few more seconds had passed, the remaining vitality within the orc had disappeared, with the man finally rendering his former ''master'' dead.


    Hearing a notification sound resound in his mind as a screen appeared before him to tell him of the XP he had gained, the man moved the screen to the side for a bit, staring at the lifeless corpse of his former master a bit longer. A few secondster, tears started to well up around the man''s eyes, only for it to start streaming down as the man began to mutter a few things to himself.


    "Freedom¡­" Watching the whole event from start to finish, it did not take long for Valyr to understand why it was considered to be the greatest impetus that led to the Age of Uprising. After all, what the man did was basically the definition of word ''uprising'' in the first ce.


    However, seeing the man stand in ce for a while, the young man began to wonder when the memory would reach a point where it would delve into the man''s origins as the First Forger. Sadly for him, the voice did not appear as he had hoped, prompting him to return to his attention to the scene before him, witnessing the man begin to rummage for things within his former master''s house.


    "I need a weapon," the man muttered, stopping in his tracks for a bit after seeing a considerable amount of fresh food piled up on what looked to be somewhat clean cloth. With the pile of food in front of himposed of meat, the man knew that what he might do next would be considered taboo.


    Then again, he might have already broken it with the bits of food the orc had been feeding him for many years.


    "Sorry." Closing his eyes for a bit to pray to the heavens above, the man let out a low sigh as he allowed his hunger to get the better of him, gnawing on an amount of food that was greater than the orc had given him before. Though the thought of eating fellow humans wreaked havoc to his stomach, the man powered through, only stopping when he felt like his hunger had satiated.


    Drinking a lot of water after eating his fill, only then did the man return to rummage the ce for weapons he could use. Fortunately for the man, it did not take long for him to find a few daggers that the orc had as spares. Recalling the numerous times the crowd of orcs hadcerated his body with simr-looking daggers in the past, the man found it somewhat fitting that he would be using them as a weapon.


    "But my strength isn''t enough¡­" Affixing a few of the daggers to his waist by making use of the strap of cloth that held his former master''s clothes in ce, the man clenched his fists for a bit as he thought about his chances of winning against the orcs. "If I want to make sure I could save other humans from the orcs¡­ I need to get stronger."


    At those words, the man returned his attention to the notification that appeared in his screen, only to open a couple of screens soon after that seemed to give him more information regarding the system he had awakened. After fiddling around with it for a couple of minutes, the man''s aura had seemingly doubled in power, causing Valyr to feel like the man had more or less matched the strength of the orc he had just killed.


    "Not enough¡­" Doing a few basic movements to assess how much his strength had improved, the man slowly shook his head as he stood in ce to ponder over a few things for a bit. Eventually, after a minute or so of silence, the man grabbed the rope the orc had used to bind him in the past, tying it around the hilt of a dagger in a way that it would not break off so easily.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Tightly gripping the rope with both hands, the man soon put the entirety of his strength into swinging the rope, causing the dagger at the end to dart around the ce at rming speeds. Faintly nodding in satisfaction as he swung the makeshift chain de around for a bit longer, the man eventually affixed the weapon to his waist as he headed outside his former master''s abode with a faint sigh.


    ''Gaining a great amount of strength from killing his former master, the man known as the First Forger would then begin to wreak havoc within the orc settlement he was in, freeing the humans that were under the hands of the orcs that looked to be the weakest in the vige.'' Just as Valyr was about to follow the man as he left the orc''s house, the voice began to resound in his mind, giving him some needed information that allowed him to get a better idea of what was going on.


    Coincidentally, after the voice began to talk about what was currently happening, the memory began to move at breakneck pace, with minutes turning to seconds, while hours turned into minutes. In the blink of an eye, Valyr witnessed the man gradually create a massacre within the orc settlement, gaining a bit more strength with every orc he had in.


    ''Saving the humans from captivity, the man began to teach them about the system, as well as the way in which one went about getting stronger,'' said the voice. ''Though many of the humans the man freed died at the beginning, those that survived slowly grasped the basics ofbat and were able to fend themselves off against the rage of the orcs.''


    ''By the time a week had passed, the man had amassed a group of over 50 people that had thebat prowess to fight against the orcs and free more humans,'' the voice continued. ''Then, by the time another week had passed, all of the orcs within the settlement had been in, with the humans cleaning up the ce to use it for their own.''


    ''It was at this moment that the Age of Uprising truly began.''

 Chapter 618 Four Pillars: The First Forger

    Watching everything unfold from afar, Valyr witnessed the man expand hisbat force from a small group of 5, to a few organized groups that would fight against the orcs in shifts. Though the way they fought against the orc was less skilledpared to the man that would be known as the First Forger, they were still able to make progress in eradicating the orcs from the settlement, eventually turning the settlement into one that epted humankind.


    By the time the man and the humans he had saved had transformed the orc settlement into a human settlement, the memory sped up its passage of time once more. At this point, hours had turned into seconds, while days had into minutes.


    Fortunately, after his bouts of experimentation during the start of the memory, Valyr could fine-tune the speed at which the memory progressed, allowing him to see what the man and the others had specifically done after taking over the orc settlement. Unsurprisingly, once the human settlement was established, the first thing of note they did was to agree upon theirnguage, with the more knowledgeable among them being able to speak a few dialects of the oguage.


    Though the man was also well-versed in the oguage like the others, he and the others decided to create an entirely newnguage from scratch, taking elements from the dialects of oguage they knew before putting a few unique touches to it. With that, they made it so that only humans could understand what was being spoken after hearing thenguage.


    While they took the time to disseminate the newly creatednguage to the other humans within the settlement, Valyr watched everything unfold with a pensive expression, the words being spoken by the humans lingering in his mind. Unlike the oguage he had been listening to for most of the memory so far, the humannguage the man and the others had created reminded him of thenguage he used to converse with others in his daily life.


    Sure, thenguage the man and the others were speaking barely had a resemnce to thenguage that was being spoken today, but Valyr could still intuitively understand the meaning behind each word spoken by them. Then again, whether or not that was the memory helping him out, he was unsure.


    Nevertheless, with the establishment and the proliferation of the humannguage, the human settlement began to expand outward, with thebat forces the man had created heading to other nearby orc settlements to free the humans that were held captive there.


    Simr to those the man had freed before, the captive humans were afraid that they would only fall into the hands of another orc after seeing the humans move out as a force. Fortunately, thetter assured captive humans hundreds of times over that the orcs'' reign of terror would be ending, and that it was humanity''s time to fight back.


    With that, days turned into weeks, while weeks turned into months. By the time half a year had passed, the first orc settlement the man and the others captured turned into a small yet bustling town filled to the entirety with humans. A small portion of them were focusing on nonbat tasks, such as agriculture and textile work. However, most of the humans were still part of thebat force, the feeling of getting stronger with every kill they made bringing them immense euphoria.


    At this point, the man known as the First Forger had be the de facto leader of the town, with a great portion of the issues going through him as ast step to make sure the decision was for the betterment of the entire town.


    On one fateful day, one of those participating in thebat force entered his room, causing the man to look at her with a slightly curious expression. "What made youe here, Minara?"


    "We have a small problem with our situation regardingbat equipment, leader," replied Minara, an expression of worry flitting across her face. "Though we have obtained a ton of equipment from looting the fallen orc settlements, almost all of them would instantly break whenever the strongest in our force wielded it."


    "If we don''t solve this problem, the strongest in our force would have to be forced to fight against the orcs bare-handed," she continued. "Does the leader possibly have a solution to this?"


    ''I guess this is where the First Forger would finally be born.'' Hearing the conversation going on between the two, Valyr kept his eyes and ears peeled for everything that would next, getting a faint idea of where the conversation was heading.


    "We could attempt to invaderger orc settlements in the hopes of them having stronger weapons, but even our strongest does not have the necessary strength to fight against their leaders," said the man to Minara, scratching his head as the gears in his mind turned. Just as he was wondering what other possible solutions they had to solve the problem, the man''s eyes eventually fixated onto a lone building that seemed to have been neglected by the others.


    "I think¡­ I have a solution." With his eyes widening in realization, the man slowly headed out of the building he was in, with Minara swiftly following behind him. "Neure told me a while ago he was collecting shiny looking rocks that became incredibly sturdy after being heated. Could you tell him toe bring those shiny rocks to me and head to the stone building at the far south of town."


    "I will ry those words to him as swiftly as I can," said Minara in response as the two of them continued to make their way to the building the man had seen. Eventually, after walking through town for a few minutes, the two of them arrived at the building the man had mentioned, with thetter faintly smiling as he saw that a great portion of the equipment the orc that lived within this ce had been mostly left untouched.


    Staring at the tools that were strewn at the front of the stone building, Minara recalled the words the man had said to her before, readying herself to call for Neure. "If I might ask, leader¡­ what should I tell Neure if he asks why he needs you toe?"


    "Just tell him the shiny rocks he''s collecting might have a greater use." The man smiled in response. "If I''m not wrong¡­"


    "Those shiny rocks could be used to make a weapon."

 Chapter 619 Four Pillars: A New Era

    <h4>Chapter 619 Four Pirs: A New Era</h4>


    At those words, Minara widened her eyes in surprise, only for it to swiftly turn into excitement. After all, from what the man was implying, she would possibly be one of the many few in their town to witness history being made from up close, especially with how they''ve been relying on looted orc equipment for all of their fights so far.


    Not wanting to miss the action unfoldter on, Minara swiftly separated from the man as she moved at the fastest speed she could muster to find Neure. On the other hand, the man looked at the tools and items that were strewn in front of the stone building before him, closing his eyes for a bit to recall memories from his past living under the orcs'' rule.


    Though delving deep into his memories had caused him to frown as it had brought up some unsavory memories he wished to bury deep inside him, the man''s expression eventually smoothened once he found the memory he was looking for. With him being one of the strongest people within town, the man''s capability to recall memories from the past had be more robust, allowing him to remember most things with great rity.


    From the memory he had brought up, the man could recall walking along the streets of the earlier orc settlement alongside his former master in the hopes of attracting a crowd of orcs. While doing so, they passed along the stone building that currently stood in front of him.


    With the sounds that emanated from the building piquing his interest, the man looked in the direction of the building, only to see that the orc that had upied was wielding a hammer into front of arge me. Using the hammer it held, it hammered down onto a malleable material that glowed hot red he eventually found out from other orcs to be something called metal.


    After a few more swings, the orc had turned the metal into the rough shape of a weapon, nodding in satisfaction as it dunked the metal into a barrel of water. Though the man did not see what had happened next since his former master did not care for such things, he felt like remembering it woulde in handy someday.


    Coincidentally, that day was today.


    "Hey, leader! Minara told me the shiny rocks I was collecting would help you out!" By the time the man was finished going through that specific memory, he was greeted by the sight of Minara and a man in his early twenties, thetter of which carried a heavy-looking sack made out of coarse cloth.


    "Everyone else was telling me that there was no point in me collecting these shiny rocks." Neure grinned. "Now who''sughing now? The leader wants to make use of the shiny rocks that I, the great Neure, have collected!"


    "I''ll probably need you to collect more of these shiny rocks with other people in the future," said the man after chuckling, grabbing the cloth sack Neure was carrying. "If my thoughts are correct, these shiny rocks you''ve collected make up the most important part the orcs have used in creating weapons."


    "They called it metal¡­ or something along those lines." The man shrugged. "Either way, the others would have probablye across the information need to create weapons already from the other orc settlements they''ve entered. I just hope they bring it back."


    "You''re going to try and create a weapon, right?" asked Neure after listening to the man''s words, to which thetter nodded in response.


    "I am. Since you''re the one who brought the material to me, then you''ll be the first person ever to get their hands on a weapon that was made by humans." The man grinned, which caused Neure to only be more ecstatic.


    Chuckling at how energetic Neure had be after his words, the man soon returned his attention to the tools and items before him, taking a deep breath before beginning. First, he lit arge me that was hot enough to turn the shiny rocks Neure had brought glowing red hot. Telling the two to step back as they knew they''d watched on, the man then grabbed the tool the orc back then used for gripping hot objects, using it to grip onto one of therge shiny rocks before cing it deep into therge me.


    Though not much happened at first, Minara and Neure''s eyes widened in surprise once they saw the shiny rock the man had brought into me be shinier. However, after it reached the point of bing incredibly shiny, the rock soon began to give off a faint light, its color contrasting against the me the man had lit.


    "Hup!" Moving the slightly molten rock away from the mes, the man then ced it onto the t surface the orc back then used as a spot for hammering the metals into shape. Tightly gripping onto the hammer that was left behind by the orc, he then began to hammer the rock into shape, putting a fair amount of his strength into each strike.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With the hammer striking against the metal, a loud sound soon echoed throughout the area, causing some of the people passing by the ce to take a closer look at what was going on. Seeing that the man making the sound was the leader of their town, everyone decided to stop what they were doing for the meantime and continue watching, letting their curiosity get the better of them.


    "What weapon do you want to use?" asked the man, cing the shaped metal back into therge me in the off chance he needed to shape it further.


    Neure scratched his head for a bit before eventually responding. "I don''t really think swords are the thing for me¡­ is it fine if you make a dagger?"


    "A dagger? Sure." Nodding in response, the man allowed the metal to get up to temperature once more before shaping it into the rough form of a dagger. Not knowing how the orc had fashioned a handle to wield the dagger, the man decided to extend a bit of the metal outward to form the handle instead.


    With a few more trips to the me and the hammer, the man eventually looked at what he had done before nodding in satisfaction. Then, using the tool he had used earlier to grip onto the metal tightly, he then dunk the pure metal dagger into the barrel of water he had the others bring him, causing a small cloud of steam to cover the whole area.


    By the time the steam had subsided, everyone watching witnessed the leader of the town holding a crude metal dagger that shone a dark gray light under the light of the sun. Though there were many things about it that seemed inferiorpared to the weapons they had obtained from the orcs, the humans watching that realized what was happening looked at the dagger with excitement in their eyes.


    "From this day forth, gone are the days where we would need to ransack the orcs for our weapons." Turning to look at the crowd that had begun to surround him, the man looked at everyone with a solemn expression before raising the dagger upwards. "Gone are the days where we rely on another race''s items to obtain our future."


    "From this day forth, the humans shall forge the path of freedom entirely by themselves."


    "From this day forth, the era of true freedom has begun!"

 Chapter 620 Four Pillars: Double Enlightenment

    <h4>Chapter 620 Four Pirs: Double Enlightenment</h4>


    Though the words the man had spoken to the crowd echoed in Valyr''s ears, the young man''s focus was currently as far as it could be from the memory that was before him. Instead, his mind waspletely upied by the forging process the man used to forge the crude dagger earlier.


    Compared to the current forging process, as well as his level of skill when it came to forging, Valyr was more than experienced enough to say that the man''s forging skills were incredibly crude, allowing him to create subpar outputs at best. However, as the one known by many as the First Forger, the young man had no doubts that it was only like that at the beginning, only for it to reach a level far beyond him as many years passed.


    Then again, even though the forging process Valyr had witnessed was incredibly crude in nature, there was an inherent sense ofplexity within it that attracted the young man''s attention. Mulling over the forging process for a bit more, the young man began to think about his current forging process, only for his train of thought to continue onto his first attempt at forging in his new life.


    Not long after, this train of thought extended to the final piece of equipment he had forged in his previous life, eventually stopping at the exact moment he had first stepped on the path of being a cksmith. In his mind, he was currently reliving the past where he had sessfully forged a piece of equipment at the first time, the feeling of multiple possibilities opening in front of him inundating his body.


    With the experience he had rued towards forging, as well as the crude forging process the First Forger had shown him, Valyr felt like he had gained a greater understanding of the entire process, slowly closing his eyes as he did not want to let go of the feeling he had just gained.


    As more and more time passed, the memory he had been viewing all this time eventually ended as the entire space surrounding Valyr had turned pitch ck. Nevertheless, his attention was still focused on grasping the feeling, the depth and breadth of his understanding slowly increasing with every passing minute.


    Briefly feeling like his body had been transported to another space, the young man''s deep introspection on the forging process eventually yielded results, with the world affirming that his level of understanding had reached the minimum threshold to forge another connection. However, the world did not only form one connection¡­


    But two!


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Faintly smiling at his gains, Valyr thanked the memory he had just seen for allowing him to delve deeper into the forging process, opening his eyes sometimeter to see that he had been returned to the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial grounds at some point.


    Seeing that the path to the Gates of Enlightenment''s cksmith Knowledge Repository still remained a fair distance away from him, the young man closed his eyes for a bit before standing up. Letting out a faint sigh filled with satisfaction, hemanded the system to bring up his notification after hearing a series of notification sounds go off in his mind.


    Ding!


    [Forging can take on many different forms. Some rely on magic to transform raw materials into products, while some rely on the dexterity of their hands to achieve the same result. Nevertheless, whether one is a beginner or a veteran in the world of the forge, the goal remains the same.]


    [Your understanding of the forging process has deepened and crystallized, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [You have awakened the Intent Seed of Forging.]


    [Initially an element known for its inherent properties of destruction, the me has turned into an important element for human''s survival, transforming into an element of protection. As a cksmith, the me has taken on a different meaning, allowing those skilled enough to harness the power of mes to create new items never before seen before. Under your hands, the me has taken on the element of creation.]


    [Your understanding of the mes of forging has deepened and crystallized, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [You have awakened the Intent Seed of mes.]


    [Due to your deep understanding on the usage of mes in cksmithing, the Intent Seed of mes has transformed into the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes.]


    "I had a feeling this was the case." Reading the notifications he had received, as well as recalling the sensations he had felt earlier near the end of his deep introspection, Valyr let out a boisterous cackle as hemanded the system to bring up his progress on Intents.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Intents:


    [Intent Seed of Shadow Energy | First Stage] - 22% progress to the Second Stage


    [Intent Seed of Forging | Nascent Stage] - 12% progress to the First stage


    [Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes | Nascent Stage] - 11% progress to the First stage


    [Intent Seed of the Spear] - 77% progress to the Nascent stage


    [Intent Seed of the Four Elements] - 51% progress to the Nascent stage


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking at how he now had three Intent Seeds under his belt, Valyr thought about how the other four were faring in their respective trials. Sending a message to their party chat to see how the others were progressing, the young man faintly grinned after seeing the others being shocked that he was already done with his trial.


    Then again, the others were not far off frompleting their respective trials either. In his response, Hal told him that he was only a few challenges away frompleting his own trial, while the other three that had been given three trials were already halfway done topleting their third trial.


    Faintly wondering whether or not the five of them would appear at the campsite they set up after all of them had finished their trials and received their rewards, Valyr put the thought at the back of his head for the meantime as he decided to ess one of the other rewards he had gained frompleting the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.


    "Hopefully this answers some of the questions I have."


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, the young man went ahead and told the system that he wanted to check information regarding the Gates of Enlightenment''s structure and goals. With a screen popping up in front of him filled to the brim with texts and figures, Valyr assiduously read through the entirety of what was contained on the screen, only to frown after he was finished.


    "You''re telling me the Gates of Enlightenment is just the beginning?"

 Chapter 621 Four Pillars: Triad Gates

    ?


    From the information he was currently reading, which he had gained afterpleting the quest rted to the First Forger, the Gates of Enlightenment looked to be just the first step he and the others would take within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance if they wanted to obtain greater rewards. With how the rewards he had gained from the trial he just went through already involved Intent Seeds and great amounts of knowledge, he did not even want to begin imagining what he would get the further he went in.


    "The Gates of Enlightenment makes up thergest part of the portion, though the elite and the prodigies amongst the elite could be found in the two gates that go beyond the Gates of Enlightenment." Deciding to not let his mind go into tangents for the meantime, the young man refocused his attention to the screen before him, rereading through everything to see if he had missed anything.


    "With the three gates working as one, the organization called the Triad Gates is formed," muttered the young man, looking through the information written on the screen to find out more information about the two other gates. "The Gates of Enlightenment is considered the outermost gate, with most people more than satisfied with stopping at this point."


    "After that is the Gates of Awakening, which allows those that have met the qualifications to gain ess to secrets and knowledge that would allow their skills andbat prowess to go one step further." At this point, Valyr''s expression turned solemn. "From the perspective of a sect, those in the Gates of Enlightenment are considered to be outer disciples, while those in the Gates of Awakening are considered to be inner disciples."


    Continuing to read a bit more, Valyr eventually stopped as his attention was caught by a certain line. "Those in the Gates of Awakening gain ess to inheritances that would allow them to follow the path of great figures in history. If they are able to gain ess to this, they might reap great gains in terms of individual prowess, or perhaps inherit the entire path of the figure itself."


    ''Doesn''t this basically describe what I went through earlier?'' thought the young man to himself, trying to make sense of the current situation. ''If the Gates of Awakening is the minimum threshold to experience what I just went through, then why was the Trial of Myriad Aberrations under the Gates of Enlightenment?''


    Thankfully, after a bit more sleuthing through the information he had been given, Valyr had obtained his answer. "Though the Gates of Awakening is considered as the stage of elites, all beings start off at the Gates of Enlightenment."


    "With that, during entrance trials, those that have shown themselves to have abilities that exceed the scope of the Gates of Enlightenment are given the chance to experience benefits that would only be obtained by those at the Gates of Awakening and the gate thates after, whether it be in the form of rewards that increase power or fragmented inheritances."


    "Beyond the Gates of Awakening exists the Gates of Transcendence, where only the prodigies amongst the elite are able to enter." Satisfied with the answer he had gotten, he then moved onto the final gate that made up therger organization the Gates of Enlightenment was a part of. "From the perspective of a sect, those at the Gates of Transcendence are considered to be core disciples, with the goal of the Gates of Enlightenment and the Gates of Awakening being to foster more people that would eventually enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    "Within the Gates of Transcendence, people have ess to secrets and knowledge that only the strongest in the world would normally have ess to, allowing their skills andbat prowess to transcend the concept of ss ranks," said the young man to himself. "Those in the Gates of Transcendence also gain ess to inheritances rted to the path of transcendental figures in history, such as the Four Pirs of Humanity."


    Reading the phrase ''Four Pirs of Humanity'' on the screen before him, Valyr began to look for more information on who they were, considering that the inheritance he had taken part in was called the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Though he already had a hunch as to who made up the Four Pirs of Humanity, a look of relief appeared on his face when he found out that the First Forger was included in the group.


    "I guess the strength I''ve shown is enough for me to be considered a part of the Gates of Transcendence?" At these words, Valyr slightly chuckled. After that, he read a bit more information on the structure of the three gates, only to find out that there was a map that marked all of the important locations in each gate.


    Committing all of the important locations to memory in the off chance he would need it in the future, he then moved onto the remaining piece of information he hadn''t read yet, which was the goal behind establishing the Gates of Enlightenment.


    Or more specifically, the Triad Gates as a whole.


    Scrolling to the bottom of the packet of information he had received, the young man read through the few paragraphs that summarized the Triad Gates'' goal, letting out a small chuckle not long after. ''Who knew the hypothesis I made during the trial was actually correct?''


    ording to the information he was reading, the goal behind the establishment of the Triad Gates was to make sure that the prosperity of the human race could continue to blossom, cultivating talents that would eventually take the mantle of the legendary figures from the past in the process.


    Though, with how the Gates of Enlightenment only seemed to exist within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance at this point, Valyr had a strong feeling that the Triad Gates was eventually abolished due to the passage of time, the reasons behind it being unknown to him.


    ''Quite a shame if true,'' thought the young man to himself, finally allowing his mind to go on tangents for a bit. ''If the Triad Gates still existed in the outside world, perhaps the War of the Three Sovereignties wouldn''t have happened in the first ce.''


    "Then again, I am curious how humans lived far before the arrival of the system," muttered Valyr as he began to think out loud. "Though the memory from the First Forger showed me how they suffered under the orcs a few days before the system''s arrival, surely humans would have created a safe space for their own somewhere even back then, right?"


    Letting out a faint sigh as he felt like such a question would be left unanswered for a long time, the young man closed the screen in front of him before looking at the path that would lead him to the Gates of Enlightenment''s cksmith Knowledge Repository.


    Then, after a bit of silence, he stepped foot into it, disappearing from the trial grounds a few secondster.

 Chapter 622 Four Pillars: Knowledge Repository

    ?


    Whoosh!


    "Woah." Appearing on the other side of the path that led him to the cksmith Knowledge Repository, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words once he took a look at his current surroundings. Though the system told him that the path forward would lead him straight to the ce the Gates of Enlightenment had deemed him incredibly worthy of entering, the young man still took his time heading ce, admiring the sights to both his left and right.


    From what he could see with his perception pushed to its very limits, the Gates of Enlightenment''s cksmith Knowledge Repository was only one of the many buildings that existed within the slightlyrge courtyard he had appeared in, the building being situated near the north of the entire area. In the three other cardinal directions, Valyr noticed three buildings that exuded a simr grandeur, prompting him to recall the important locations he had recalled earlier from the information he had read.


    After walking around the courtyard for a bit more, he soon found out that the Gates of Enlightenment was actually situated on top of a tall mountain that had its top cut off as the courtyard took its ce. Judging from what he could see by the edge of the courtyard, as well as the multiple paths that led one down the mountain, he felt that almost everyone part of the Gates of Enlightenment lived along those paths, with only those thatmanded a high authority being able to live within the courtyard.


    Deciding to put the thought of exploring the entirety of the Gates of Enlightenment for ater time, Valyr finally made his way to the cksmith Knowledge Repository, appearing to be an exquisite-looking pagoda that seemed that was made up of three floors, each consecutive floor being smaller than the one below it.


    Standing in front of the building''s entrance, the young man noticed that there seemed to be an energy field of some sort that blocked him for entering inside. Fortunately, after staring at the entrance for a bit, whether it was the voice that apanied his trial earlier had informed others of his feats or through some other means he did not know of, the energy field gradually dissipated, finally allowing the young man to head inside.


    Passing through the entrance to the cksmith Knowledge Repository, Valyr briefly thought about the feeling he got while looking at the energy field that barred him from entering. "The feeling is kind of simr to someone with an Intent."


    "But if I were topare the feeling to something I''ve experienced before, then it would be that time I came face to face with Riekan." Though he was curious as to what exactly powered the energy field and how it was made, the young man did not think too deeply about it. Instead, he focused his attention towards the inordinate amount of bookshelves that existed within the first floor of the knowledge repository.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Seeing the titles that were written on the spines of the few textbooks near him, Valyr began to look through other bookshelves as a basic idea of what the first floor of the repository contained gradually formed within his mind. While doing so, he began to wonder why the titles on the books were in the writtennguage that wasmonly used nowadays, even though the Gates of Enlightenment seemed to have existed thousands of years ago.


    Chalking it up to some esoteric system mechanic or the fact that it had be part of an inheritance, the young man eventually understood what kind of information he was dealing with in the first floor of the cksmith Knowledge Repository.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to obtain all of the information within this space regarding technological advancements in the Intermediate Middle Ages? This would drastically reduce the amount of Technology Points needed to unlock said advancements in the future.]


    Seeing a prompt appear in front of his vision after gaining idea of what he would obtain, a soft smile appeared on his face as he pressed ''Yes'' on the prompt.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he had confirmed his willingness to absorb all of the information within the first floor, characters started to appear on the surface of the books and documents on the bookshelves before making their way to where Valyr stood like a raging wave. In mere seconds, a great amount of information began to fill the young man''s mind to the brim, faintly causing him to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount he had to work with.


    However, from the standpoint of whether or not it brought him mental strain, the young man was confident that he could endure the entire process to the very end, especially after enduring the couple influxes of information he had received earlier during the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.


    Ding!


    [You have gained great amounts of information regarding technological advancements during the Intermediate Middle Ages from a mysterious source.]


    [From this point onward, Advancements during the Intermediate Middle Ages within the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch shall now cost a fraction of the Technology Points needed to unlock and upgrade them before.]


    [Cost of advancements beyond the Intermediate Middle Ages have also been significantly reduced due to the obtained information.]


    Though there was a bit of perspiration on his forehead as he obtained these notifications, a wide grin covered the majority of Valyr''s face as he opened up his Technology Tree. Sure enough, after taking a look at the Innovation branch, just like the notifications had mentioned, the advancements rted to the Intermediate Middle Ages had greatly reduced in pricepared to before¡­


    Even though he still needed an extraordinary amount of Technology Points to reach that point.


    Closing up the screen he had brought up, the young man headed to the second floor of the knowledge repository, seeing that all of the textbooks on the shelves had seemingly lost all of their texts after he had epted the prompt from earlier. Facing yet another energy field that barred him from continuing, the young man was eventually able to make his way to the second floor after waiting for a bit more time.


    ¡­


    Though the second floor of the knowledge repository was considerably smaller than the first floor in terms of area, the amount of books and documents that were in the second floor wasparable or greater in number to the books and documents avable on the first floor. Aside from that, all of the articles within the second floor contained technological advancements rted to the Late Middle Ages, bringing him one step closer to an easier path of creating the modern gun.


    After having gone through the absorption process another time, Valyr then made his way to the final floor of the cksmith Knowledge Repository, which contained books and documents that talked about advancements rted to the Renaissance Age.


    Though the advancements in the Intermediate and Late Middle Ages were important in their own right, it was the advancements during the Renaissance Age that truly allowed the technology of Earth to reach where it was today. If not for that, it wouldn''t be called the age that brought back science and technology back to the main stage for nothing.


    Absorbing all of the information rted to the Renaissance Age after epting all of the prompts, the young man looked around the third floor onest time to see if he had missed anything, or if the increased authority he had gotten frompleting the First Forger''s quest would allow him to ess some sort of secret portion within the repository.


    Seeing that there seemed to be no hidden secrets nor any missed items whatsoever, Valyr eventually made his way out of the cksmith Knowledge Repository, returning to the courtyard that housed the Gates of Enlightenment.

 Chapter 623 Four Pillars: Skill Pavilion

    "Now, where should I head next?" Arriving at the courtyard once more, Valyr brought up all of the information he had read regarding important locations within the Gates of Enlightenment once more.


    However, unlike earlier, where he only gave a brief nce to the other buildings within the courtyard, the young man now began to look at the other buildings in detail. Eventually, he focused his attention on the buildings found in the three other cardinal directions.


    "To the north is the cksmith Knowledge Repository, while to the south is the Tailor Knowledge Repository," muttered Valyr as he looked at the simr-looking pagodas. "To the east is the Alchemist Knowledge Repository, while the Sage Knowledge Repository is situated to the west."


    "Aside from that, there are a couple of important buildings to note in the intermediary directions, specifically the buildings at the northeast and the southwest." As he briefly nced at the two buildings that came to mind, a thought surfaced within the young man''s mind all of a sudden, causing him to bring up the party chat and ask the others a question.


    "How''s everyone''s progress on their trials?" Sending this message to the others, Valyr looked at the other knowledge repositories within the Gates of Enlightenment once more as he waited for their response.


    With how the repositories corresponding to the other sses could also be found here, the young man began to wonder whether the others would appear where he currently was. However, there was also the possibility that they would appear in a separate space that looked simr to where he was, considering that the same phenomenon happened when they were undergoing their trials.


    After that, he began to walk around the courtyard to admire the unique scenery the Gates of Enlightenment offered, only toe across the exit that would lead him out of the Gates of Enlightenment and back to the initial area where the inheritance was.


    Coincidentally, it was around the moment he discovered the exit did the others finally respond back to him, their responses making him wonder whether he had stayed within the cksmith Knowledge Repository for a bit too long.


    "I''m only a couple challenges away frompleting the trial," replied Hal in his message, conveying the ever-increasing difficulty of his trial in a few concise follow-up messages. "After this, the Gates of Enlightenment told me that I could ess the Sage Knowledge Repository¡­ whatever it contains."


    "I''m pretty close topleting myst trial as well," said Faulus in his message after Hal was done. From what Valyr could tell through the way the alchemist had written his message, it seemed that the man had made quite a few gains frompleting the trials. "Just like Hal, I was told that I''d be able to ess the Alchemist Knowledge Repository, though I don''t really mind if I enter or not at this point. I''ve already gained quite a lot just frompleting these trails so far."


    After Faulus'' message came Loreina and Vera''s message, their messages more or less along the same lines as the messages of the other two that came before them. In fact, Loreina even told them that she had gainedprehension over an Intent Seed rted to her ss thanks to one of the trials, prompting the other four to congratte her on the momentous achievement.


    "Guess I''ll stay here for a bit longer." Congratting Faulus after the man had decided to tell the others about himprehending an Intent Seed as well, Valyr decided to take a look at the two buildings he had taken note of earlier, swiftly making his way to the northeast direction.


    With the courtyard not being thatrge, the young man had arrived in front of the northeast building within a couple of minutes, staring at therge wooden sign that hung above the entrance by the time he had arrived. "Enlightenment Skill Pavilion¡­"


    With the name of the building quite self-exnatory as to what it contained, the young man did not hesitate to make his way inside, only for him to be blocked a simr energy field that hindered his travels through the floors of the cksmith Knowledge Repository. However, rather than the energy field dispelling on its own after waiting for some time, a monotonous voice instead faintly echoed throughout the surroundings, prompting him to think whether the reward from one of his quest would help him out.


    "Only those with an authority level of 2 and above are permitted to enter the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion," said the voice. "To verify if your authority is enough to enter the pavilion, please extend one of your arms closer to the entrance."


    Hearing the voice''s words, Valyr went silent for a bit as he scratched the back of his head in uncertainty. Trusting in the assessment the Gates of Enlightenment had given him in his trial, as well as the increased authority he had gained from the First Forger''s quest, he eventually let out a sigh as he extended his right arm outward, causing a blue light to emanate from the energy field blocking the entrance.


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 3. You are permitted to enter the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion." Watching the blue light scan his extended arm back and forth a few times in slight trepidation, the young man eventually had a light smile on his face once he heard the monotonous voice''s words. Then, as if the monotonous voice wanted to affirm to him that he indeed had the stated authority level, the energy field blocking the entrance swiftly dispelled, finally allowing the young man to enter the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion.


    "I see." Walking deeper into the heart of the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion, Valyr thought about the words the monotonous voice had spoken regarding his authority level. "Since the voice said I have an authority level of 3, then that meanspleting the Trial of Myriad Aberrations gave me an authority level of 2."


    "I don''t know whether or not an authority level of 2 is the lowest level you can get frompleting the trials, but even if I did, I would''ve probably still been able to enter this ce with the increased authority reward from that quest." Shrugging his shoulders as he ended his train of thought, the young man eventually returned his focus to the sight before him, only to be left at a slight loss for words.


    "This is¡­"

 Chapter 624 Four Pillars: Eyes Of Enlightenment

    ?


    Before entering the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion, Valyr thought that theyout inside the pavilion would be simr to that time he went to Danyhris Town''s cksmith Guild branch to grab the blueprint for Upgrade Alloy. If he remembered how everything wasid out, the walls of the room were lined to the brim with bookshelves, while arge crystal that allowed him to ess all of the cksmith Guild''s information could be found at the center.


    He also thought that there was a possibility for the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion''s inside to be simr inyout to the Boundless Skill Pavilion. Unlike theyout in the cksmith Guild, there was no center crystal he could ess to easily obtain skills. However, all of the skills were arranged into categories and sections, making it easier for him to find the specific skill he wanted.


    With that, it was no surprise that the young man was left at a loss for words at the sight that greeted him as neither the cksmith Guild''syout nor the Boundless Skill Pavilion''syout was anywhere close to theyout before him.


    "This is¡­" With a wide path at the center that led to arge pedestal where a murky crystal could be seen on top of it, the one story building was lined to the brim with murky crystals on top of pedestals, making Valyr briefly think that he had entered some sort of museum that housed precious crystals of varying types.


    Though, after moving closer to one of these murky crystals to get a better idea of how everything wasid out, Valyr swiftly realized that the murky crystals housed the skills themselves, giving one a bit more information on the skill when one ced their hands on them. It was vastly different from the Boundless Skill Pavilion''s method of having multiple copies of the same skill in stock to make sure they could cater to any situation.


    "I see." Seeing that a confirmation prompt had appeared in front of his vision after he was done reading through the information contained within the skill crystal, Valyr released his hand from the crystal before proceeding to push his perception to the limit to get a rough idea of how many skills there were.


    Though he was expecting the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion to have quite a lot of skills since it was basically where most of the people that had passed the Triad Gates'' trials would stay at, Valyr swiftly found out that there were only a few hundred skills within the pavilion in total, judging from the number of pedestals he could see neatly arranged throughout therge space.


    Identifying the skills that were contained in each skill crystal, the young man also found out that the skills within the crystals were considerably better than the ones he could get from the Boundless Skill Pavilion. In fact, the lowest skill rarity he could find among the skill crystals was Common+, while the most precious skills had a rarity of Rare+.


    "If the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion already has skills at Rare+ grade avable, what rarity would the skill pavilions at the higher gates reach?" Allowing the thought to linger in his mind for a bit, Valyr eventually found out that there were quite a few skills in the pavilion that acted as a direct upgrade to some of the skills in his arsenal.


    Though all of the skills he found in the pavilion that reced his current skills were general purpose, the young man did not hesitate to swap them out, especially after seeing that he could take the skills for free with his authority level of 3.


    Ding!


    [You have reced the active skill ''Greater Analysis'' with the active skill ''Superior Analysis''.]


    [You have reced the active skill ''Lesser Heal'' with the active skill ''Intermediate Heal''.]


    ¡­


    [You have reced the active skill ''Offense Aura+'' with the active skill ''Refined Offense Aura''.]


    [You have reced the active skill ''Enhanced Polymorph'' with the active skill ''Thousand Polymorph''.]


    By the end of his skill recement spree, he had ''reced'' a total of over 20 general purpose skills to the same skill of the next rarity, something he would only have ess to once he had ascended to Rank 4. However, he did not only limit himself to recing his weaker skills for stronger ones.


    He had also picked up a couple of skills along the way, with the first one being something he was surprised he had missed, while the other was something that had piqued his interest.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Advanced Magic Mastery''.]


    Though he already had mastery skills that boosted his prowess in wielding spears, in wielding weapons, and in generalbat, only aftering across the skill did the young man realize that he had overlooked the mastery skill for magic. Without even batting an eye, Valyr learned the skill after reading through its information, maxing out to Level 10 for the meantime.


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Eyes of Enlightenment''.]


    As for the second skill he had obtained from the skill pavilion, the information contained within the skill crystal had greatly piqued his interest, reminding of the ability [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] gave him in cksmithing and the ability [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] gave him in cksmithing inbat. Then again, [Eyes of Enlightenment] allowed him to peer deeper into something that was neither cksmithing norbat.


    Instead, it allowed him to peer deeper into the concepts of the world.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Eyes of Enlightenment] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Rare+


    To be enlightened is to gain greater understanding. To be enlightened is to expand one''s horizons. To be enlightened is to ascend to a higher state of being. To be enlightened is to epass a portion of the world.


    This skill allows the user to peer into the secrets of the world, allowing one to get close to concepts that would normally be invisible to the naked eye. Whether it be movements, skills, or esoteric concepts like Intents, ally bare under the vision of these eyes, bringing the user one step closer to achieving enlightenment.


    This skill also boosts the user''s WIS by 5%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I''ll have to try it out with the other skillster,'' thought Valyr to himself, closing his eyes for a bit as he remembered that [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] remained active until now. Deciding whether or not to deactivate it to give his eyes some time to rest, the young man eventually thought of keeping the skill up for now, considering that he and the others were still in the confines of the inheritance.


    Seeing that he had more or less explored everything that the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion had to offer, Valyr slowly made his way out of the building in the hopes of heading to the building that was situated to the southwest. Though, just as he had stepped out of the skill pavilion, a familiar being had appeared at the center of the courtyard, the man eventually looking at Valyr with a surprised expression.


    "Valyr?"


    "Hal?"

 Chapter 625 Four Pillars: Meeting Again

    ?


    "What are you doing here?" With both of them visibly surprised to see the other person, Valyr took the initiative to continue their conversation. "You''re already done with your trial?"


    "Yeah?" Though somewhat confused at first, Hal quickly understood what was going on. Taking in a deep breath, he nodded. "I wouldn''t have arrived here if not for that fact, after all."


    "Then again, I do find it a relief that we can see each other again after finishing our respective trials," he continued, to which Valyr nodded in agreement. "From what the others sent through the party chat, it seems like it won''t be long till the others appear here as well."


    "Well, I''ve been here far earlier than you, so I''ve done a bit of exploring around the ce after I received my rewards from the trial," said Valyr, prompting Hal to lend both of his ears to what the former had to say. "The knowledge repositories for each of the four sses are situated in the four cardinal directions, with the Sage Knowledge Repository being to the west if I remember correctly."


    "Aside from that, there are a few more buildings within this ce that you can ess as long as you have a sufficient authority level," added the young man. "Other than that, the exit that would lead us back to the campsite is located near one of the many paths that would lead you down the mountain this ce is situated on."


    "Is that so?" Listening to Valyr''s words, Hal''s eyes widened in surprise after hearing that the ce the two of them were on was situated on top of a mountain. However, it did not take long for other questions to surface in his mind, causing him to look at Valyr with a slightly cold expression. "Now that I think about it, where''d you find out that authority level stuff?"


    In response, Valyr shrugged his shoulders before pointing at the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion. "From that building over there. Unlike the things blocking the entrances on the knowledge repositories, the thing that''s blocking the entrance to that building there will check if you have the minimum authority level to enter."


    "There''s something blocking the knowledge repositories?" Hal raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "I thoughtpleting the trials the Gates of Enlightenment threw at us would allow us to ess those ces."


    "They do." Valyr nodded. "In another way, the trials give us the necessary authority level to enter the knowledge repositories without much issue."


    "Speaking of which¡­" The young man looked at the man before him with a curious smile. "What kind of rewards did you get frompleting your trial? Did you also gain ess to another floor of your respective knowledge repository?"


    "You also gained ess to the 2nd floor?" Hal''s eyes briefly widened in disbelief. "Does that have something to do with the fact that the two of us only had toplete a single trial to pass?"


    Valyr faintly shrugged. "Possibly. Possibly not."


    Seeing that the young man before him had been proactive in sharing information regarding the rewards he had gotten from his trial, Hal decided to share a bit more information on the rewards he had obtained to Valyr, hoping that thetter had gotten a simr reward as him.


    "Well¡­ aside from getting ess to the 2nd floor, my Intent Seed also improved to the next stage because of the trial," said Hal, looking at Valyr with slight expectation. "Did you also get something like that?"


    "Yeah." Valyr smiled as he nodded. "Iprehended an Intent Seed thanks to the trial. With how you''veprehended an Intent Seed before even reaching Rank 3, I''m guessing you''re only one step away fromprehending a fully-fledged Intent?"


    Hearing the young man''s words, Hal chuckled. "I wish. The reward only allowed my Intent Seed to barely reach the Culmination Stage."


    "Anyways, I should really receive that information from the knowledge repository." Feeling like the two of them had discussed their rewards from their respective trials for long enough, Hal decided to excuse himself. "After all, with the Imperial Production Guild not telling us exactly what information they want from the inheritance, any piece of information we obtain might be valuable to them."


    "If not to them, then to us," he added soon after with a slight grin.


    "Alright." Nodding in response, Valyr bade farewell to the man as they began to head off their separate ways. Though, just as he was about to continue with his original ns of heading to the southwest building, a thought suddenly surfaced in the young man''s mind.


    "Say¡­ is that all of the rewards the trial gave you?" As Valyr asked this question to Hal, thetter, who had already crossed a fair distance to the Sage Knowledge Repository, stopped in his tracks.


    "Well¡­ I could ask the same question to you." Looking back at the young man, it did not take long for Hal to understand Valyr''s thought process. After all, each of them took on the trials separate from the others. It wouldn''t be surprising for them to obtain far more rewards than the ones they mentioned. "Do your rewards stop at the ones I''ve just mentioned?"


    Hearing his words being sent back to him, Valyr wryly smiled as he knew it wouldn''t be wise to escte the matter any further. Though, with how the remainder of his rewards would undoubtedly shock the others if they were to know, the young man made the wise choice of keeping it to himself for now. "Sorry, it was just a random thought. Don''t think too much about it."


    However, whether or not it was truly a wise choice was something only future Valyr would know.


    "Hmm¡­" In response to Valyr''s words, Hal narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he stared at the young man. Fortunately, after some time, the man let out a soft sigh as he faintly shrugged his shoulders. "Let''s talk about it with the others after we return to the campsite."


    With those words, Hal continued on the path that would lead him to the Sage Knowledge Repository. On the other hand, Valyr briefly stared at the back of the man that doubted him before returning his attention to the building situated to the southwest of the courtyard.


    ''I wonder how they would react if they found out those rewards were just the tip of the iceberg for me?'' As these thoughts lingered within his mind, Valyr arrived at the entrance of the southwest building a couple of minutester.


    ¡­


    "The Enlightenment Material Cache." Unlike the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion, the building that stood before him did not upy a wide space. Then again, its design wasn''t simr to the various knowledge repositories either, instead looking like an adequately sized house that had retained the design elements from the other buildings.


    Seeing the familiar energy field that barred him from easily entering the other buildings he had been to before, Valyr brought up the information he had gained from the system regarding the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    From the name itself, the Enlightenment Material Cache contained most of the materials the Gates of Enlightenment would use in their day-to-day operations. However, unlike material caches in other organizations where all sorts of materials could be found, from what Valyr had obtained, the Enlightenment Material Cache only contained material that was difficult toe by in the outside world.


    Adding on the fact that many thousands of years had passed since then, the young man was more than certain that a single piece of material from this material cache would be thousands if not tens of thousands of tinum cards in the outside world. For a while, he even held slight hope that the material cache might possibly contain the materials he needed to upgrade his True Wyvern Armor to the next rarity, if not materials that he knew would be useful to himter on.


    Unfortunately, all hopes of obtaining the materials within the cache for himself had been foiled after hearing the monotonous voice from the energy field once more, wryly smiling as he let out a low sigh. "Only those with an authority level of 4 and above are permitted to enter the Enlightenment Material Cache."


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 3. You do not have the minimum authority level necessary to be permitted to enter the Enlightenment Material Cache." Though the words of the monotonous voice had already dashed his hopes and dreams of obtaining the items within the material cache, the young man still extended his arm for the blue light to check, only for the same result to pop up.


    "Well, there goes that idea." Moving away from the Enlightenment Material Cache, Valyr then thought about the other important buildings located within the Gates of Enlightenment. However, it did not take long for him to discard such thoughts, whether the reason may be the fact that the buildings did not hold too much importance to him, or the fact that he might face the same problem as he did in the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    "How would I go about increasing my authority level?" asked the young man to himself. Then again, with the information he had gained regarding the entire structure the Gates of Enlightenment was a part of, he was more than certain that bing a part of the Gates of Awakening or the Gates of Transcendence would do the trick.


    But then¡­ how would he even go about bing a part of those higher gates in the first ce?


    "Hmm¡­" While walking around the courtyard once more to pass the time, Valyr eventually stumbled across the exit he had found earlier. However, rather than feel some sort of relief like he did earlier, the young man stared at the exit in deep contemtion as multiple thoughts began to linger in his mind.


    Eventually, after looking at the exit for a couple minutes, Valyr slightly smiled as he let out a soft chuckle, only to head through the exit not long after.


    "I think I''ve found my answer."

 Chapter 626 Four Pillars: Over Two Months

    <h4>Chapter 626 Four Pirs: Over Two Months</h4>


    Whoosh!


    Appearing a few meters from the campsite he and the others had set up, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief as he rested near the fire pit. Letting out a brief yawn, the young man looked up at the sky, only to see that the sun was its zenith.


    "How long have we been inside that ce?" muttered the young man to himself, faintly sighing as he recalled how all of them were forced to enter the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial ground during the dim night. With Loreina inadvertently being brought to the trial grounds, he and the three others swiftly headed out into the depths of the ins, fighting against the aberrations until all of them had the necessary fragments to enter.


    With how all of them had been toiling away to obtain the needed fragments, only to be thrown into the harsh trials given to them by the Gates of Enlightenment, only now was Valyr reminded that he and the others had not gotten even a single wink of sleep for over a day already.


    Coincidentally, just as the thought came to mind, the young man quickly felt a strong sense of lethargy washing all over him, making both his mind and body feel incredibly sluggish. Though he could head into one of the tents and take a rest right now if he wanted to, Valyr instead took out one of the vials of rousing Faulus had given them from his spatial bracelet, hoping that its effects wouldst long enough until the others returned.


    Giving the potion some time to take effect, Valyr slightly sped up the process by doing a few basic movements. Within a couple of minutes, he felt his body and mind return to their energized state, prompting him to sit down as he pondered over the thought he had before leaving the Gates of Enlightenment.


    "Since we gained the rights to enter the Gates of Enlightenment after ying an inordinate amount of aberrations¡­ then it would make sense that entering the Gates of Awakening would only need us to kill the enemies that linger around the four quadrants," said the young man to himself.


    With how everything wasid out, where it be the part of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance he was currently in, or the part of the inheritance that involved the Triad Gates, Valyr was inclined to think that the both of them were connected in a way. Because of such a thought, he had a strong hunch that heading to the four quadrants and ying its wandering inhabitants would give him and the others the rights to take the trials that would allow them to be a member of the Gates of Awakening.


    Then, once they had reaped their gains from bing a member of the Gates of Awakening, they could then head to the center of the city ruins and y the wandering inhabitants there to gain ess to the Gates of Transcendence.


    Naturally, thoughts of increasing his authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment still lingered in his mind from time to time, but he was certain that bing a member of the Gates of Awakening was an instant ticket to everything the Gates of Enlightenment had to offer. The same thing would apply if he became a member of the Gates of Transcendence, which would give him free reign over the things within the Gates of Awakening.


    With such a thought, the important task at hand was not to find ways to increase his authority levels, but rather to find a way back to the respective gates.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr had a soft smile as he hade to this conclusion, the young man''s smile widened after seeing Hal return from the Gates of Enlightenment. Though, not long after, Vera and the others had appeared near the campsite as well, making Valyr think that the four had met up at the Gates of Enlightenment before returning together.


    "I''m so tired," said Faulus with an exasperated sigh, heading to one of the chairs they set up around the fire pit to rest his legs. "If it were any other time, I would have definitely refused to go through something like that."


    At those words, he slightly grinned. "But the rewards I got frompleting the trials definitely made up for it."


    "Come and sit down." Seeing the tired expressions on everyone''s faces, Valyr urged everyone to sit around the fire pit for the meantime, beginning to talk about the trials they went through as the topic of their conversation. Within minutes, everyone animatedly discussed the hardships they had to go through, though the haggard appearances everyone of them had made everyoneugh out loud every once in a while, making the atmosphere around them lighthearted.


    Eventually, after all five of them had discussed the respective trials they had to go through to survive, the five of them began to decide which one of them had gone through the most difficult trial.


    Though all of them unanimously agreed that Loreina had gone through the most struggle during her trials as she did not have the vials of rousing Faulus had given the others, the five of them had no doubts regarding the difficulty of Valyr''s trial, wondering how he was even able to surmount such a gap for what was basically the entirety of the trial.


    "Surely such a difficult trial would warrant a great amount of rewards, right?" said Hal at some point, prompting everyone to nod in agreement with him. Though the trials the others had gone through paled in difficulty to the one Valyr had to endure, the rewards they got were all things that could not be easily obtained from the outside world.


    "Well¡­" Awkwardly smiling in response, Valyr thought about the conversation he and Hal had back at the Gates of Enlightenment, recalling how his final question had caused the man to be suspicious of him. Fortunately, just as he was about to give the others a vague answer, Loreina decided to interrupt the conversation as she asked the others a question.


    "I know everyone''s curious as to what rewards the others have gotten, but I just realized that with all of us entering the trial grounds, we don''t know exactly how long we''ve been inside the inheritance anymore," said Loreina. "Does anyone perhaps know of a way to find out how long we''ve been here?"


    "Let me check." Inwardly thanking Loreina for interrupting their conversation, Valyr swiftly volunteered to take a look at the time, opening up his status screen to take a look at the timer at the bottom. "All of you can take a look as well, I think. Just open your status screen and see if there''s a timer at the very bottom."


    Hearing those words, the four went ahead and did what the young man told them to do, focusing their attention on the timer that was on the bottom of their screen. However, while looking at it, the four slightly frowned as they did not know what to make out of the information.


    On the other hand, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words at how much time had passed ever since the beta ended.


    "Everyone¡­ don''t be rmed after I tell you this¡­"


    "But we''ve been in this inheritance for over two months already."

 Chapter 627 Four Pillars: Long-needed Rest

    <h4>Chapter 627 Four Pirs: Long-needed Rest</h4>


    "What?!" Unsurprisingly, everyone else was left speechless from what Valyr had told them. After all, a single day within the inheritance was already equivalent to two weeks in the outside world. With that in mind, having stayed for two months in the inheritance equated to over two years!


    In mere moments, looks of panic appeared on the faces of the other four, thinking about how their loved ones were doing now that over two years had passed. Some of them even began to think of the skirmish against the orcs that arose before they entered the inheritance, wondering whether they would even have a home to return to once they got out.


    "Does the trial grounds have some sort of extreme time dtion?" Eventually, with all of them wanting to know how Valyr obtained his answer, Faulus looked at the young man and asked. "Or better yet, how did you end up with the conclusion that we''ve already been in this inheritance for over two months?"


    Hearing Faulus'' question, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise. "We''ve been in this inheritance for over two months?"


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to put two and two together in his mind, finally understanding why the others were panicking all of a sudden. With an apologetic smile, he then told them, "I forgot to rify that the over two months thing was in rtion to the outside world."


    "If we''re talking about the time we''ve been in this inheritance, we''re on our fifth day so far, which means that we''ve spent roughly a day within the trial grounds," he soon added.


    "¡­" At those words, everyone red at the young man with death-filled intent, wanting nothing more than to inflict a bit of pain to Valyr to appease their worried hearts. Though, with how all of them had gone through the wringer thanks to the Gates of Enlightenment''s trials, they eventually realized that they were partly to me as well for that conclusion, considering their current physical and mental states.


    "You know, you could have said that earlier." Letting out a long sigh, Hal looked at Valyr, who looked back at him with an apologetic smile. "But still¡­ to think that we''ve spent over a day in that barren space separated from one another¡­"


    Hal slightly smiled as he looked at the others. "I guess you could say I''m really d to see you guys again."


    As everyone else echoed the same sentiments Hal had, the topic of their conversation eventually returned to the rewards each of them had gotten from the trials, with Faulus surprisingly taking the initiative to talk about the rewards he had gained.


    With a boastful expression, he said, "Thanks to the trials, aside from getting a ton of alchemical recipes that would definitely be useful in the outside world, I also unlocked information regarding a lot of advancements from the Alchemist Knowledge Repository."


    "However, if you were to ask me the greatest reward I got from the trials, then that would be the Intent Seed of Alchemy Iprehended." Faulus grinned with great glee. "With this, I guess you could say I''m the second among us to haveprehended an Intent Seed."


    Though no one was sure who among them was the second toprehend an Intent Seed, the fact that everyone else hadprehended an Intent Seed rted to their ss instantly made Faulus feel incredibly glum¡­


    Only for the feeling to worsen after hearing from Valyr that his Intent Seed had advanced to the First Stage thanks to his trial rewards.


    "I know he went through the hardest trial out of all of us, but still¡­" Tracing circles on the ground with his fingers, Faulus looked downcast as the others could onlyugh at his reaction.


    ¡­


    With Faulus taking the initiative to talk about the rewards he had gained from his trials, each of them shared information on the rewards they gained from the trials as well, talking about how they gained information that was beneficial to their ss or advancements to their Technology Tree that would make their path easier in the long term. Unsurprisingly, Hal''s suspicion regarding Valyr hiding secrets had reduced thanks to thetter sharing more information about his rewards.


    But then again¡­ who wasn''t suspicious of the others hiding some other reward they obtained from the trial?


    "With that out of the way, what''s next on the agenda?" Seeing that everyone was more than eager to move on from talking about the hell each of them went through, Hal steered the conversation onto the next topic. "Are we going to head straight to the quadrants?"


    Listening to Hal''s suggestion, Valyr looked at him before bitterly smiling. "Though that would be the ideal choice, all of us are physically and mentally exhausted after all of the things we''ve gone through. Sure, you could say that we can rely on the vials of rousing Faulus gave us before we entered the trial grounds, but that might just make us take more time toplete the inheritance overall, especially if one us falls ill."


    "Plus, keep in mind that Loreina hasn''t gotten her hands on the vials of rousing at all," he added, prompting everyone''s attention to briefly focus on her. "I''m more than certain that she''s just barely hanging on right now through sheer willpower. If you think about it, it''s a miracle that she could still talk about her trials and her rewards with us in great detail."


    "What do you suggest we do then?" Though Hal already knew what Valyr was going to tell them, the man still felt the need to have the thought be vocalized, especially after seeing that the others were now more than eager to hear the possibly sweet words that woulde out of their leader''s mouth.


    Chuckling at the question, Valyr looked at the others before smiling. "Well, what else should we be doing? With how everyone has been basically running on fumes for over two days at this point, I say that all of us should get some long-needed rest."


    "For the remainder of today, feel free to take much as rest as you want. Then, if you feel like you''ve gotten enough rest even though the entire day hasn''t passed yet, you''re free to do whatever to pass the time. You could go fight against the aberrations to get some more XP, cook some food, do a couple of hobbies, or heck, even rest again inside your tents if you want."


    "For now, don''t think about the inheritance whatsoever. Don''t think about the implications of what we''re doing either," said Valyr with a peal ofughter. "Because once the next day begins, we''re returning to our exploration in full force."


    Seeing the relieved yet excited expressions on everyone''s faces after he ryed his orders for today, the young man grinned as he continued, "Now you might be wondering¡­ what will we be doing tomorrow exactly?"


    "Well, for one, we''re going to head out of the ins."


    "As to where we''re heading next?"


    "The four quadrants, of course."

 Chapter 628 Four Pillars: Sharing Information

    <h4>Chapter 628 Four Pirs: Sharing Information</h4>


    After Valyr reminded everyone onest time that they''d be heading to the four quadrants tomorrow, as if everyone had lost all reason to keep their bodies and minds awake, all five of them headed into their respective tents in the middle of the day, closing their eyes as they finally got some proper rest.


    However, even though they had a feeling that they would be able to sleep through the remainder of the day and wake up the very next day, all of them subconsciously stopped themselves from doing so, waking up by the time the sun was only a couple hours away from setting.


    Though some of them still somewhat worried about what was going on in the outside world and how the situation would worsen the longer they stayed in the inheritance, they forced themselves to not think about it for the meantime, reminding themselves that it would affect their overall goal in entering the inheritance if they did.


    With that, Loreina passed the time by cooking dinner for the group while knitting and sewing a few articles of clothing with the fabric she had brought along with her. Unsurprisingly, Faulus did more or less the same thing as her, taking out his cauldron to concoct a few batches of the vials they might need in their expedition tomorrow. Knowing that Loreina was more tired than any of them, the alchemist also helped out in cooking, cutting up the ingredients that were needed or controlling the me in the pit to a reasonable temperature.


    As for Hal, seeing that there wasn''t really much else he could do to help the others out in the campsite, he decided to head out to the ins to fight against the aberrations. Giving everyone else the reason that he wanted to familiarize himself with his Intent Seed that had been upgraded, he headed in a random direction away from the campsite after assuring everyone that he''d return an hour or so after sunset.


    Hearing that Hal was going to fight against the aberrations to polish hisbat prowess, Valyr was inclined to do so as well, especially with the fact that he now had three Intent Seeds under his belt thanks to the trial.


    Though the effects each Intent Seed had on the Attack stat coefficient did not stack, with only the most developed Intent Seed taking effect, each Intent Seed still offered a substantial change to hisbat style. With that in mind, the young man wanted to capitalize on it and familiarize himself with it in the off chance he would need it in the journey.


    Unfortunately for him, Vera, who opted to not do anything for the remainder of the day, had the young man stay put in the campsite as she taught thetter what Mystic Energy was and the ways to manipte it. Recalling that the young woman still hadn''t fulfilled Mystia''s promise, Valyr eventually shrugged his shoulders and stayed put, intently listening to Vera''s lecture.


    After all, with how most of their journey involvedbat, he essentially had a lot of time to familiarize with his three Intent Seeds. On the other hand, there was no guarantee that they would have more time to talk about Mystic Energy, especially after they went their separate ways after they left the inheritance.


    With that, the rest of the day passed by with not much interesting going on. By the time night arrived, everyone huddled around the fire pit to talk about some of their experiences in the outside world before calling it a day, finally allowing their bodies and minds to get the full rest they sorely needed.


    ¡­


    "Haah¡­" Yawning as he got out of his bed, Valyr did a few basic stretches with his body before heading out of his tent. Doing a simplified version of the morning routine he usually did, the young man felt like his body and mind had somewhat recovered from the suffering he had put both through, inwardly hoping that they wouldn''t have to do something like that again.


    Seeing as the others were still fast asleep, the young man briefly looked at the red-orange sky gradually turning more and more blue before proceeding to cook up breakfast for the five of them. Unsurprisingly, once the scent of freshly cooked breakfast began to waft throughout the area, the others finally got out of their tents, grabbing a part of the breakfast Valyr cooked before taking a seat around the fire pit.


    "So, we''re heading to the quadrants, right?" Regaining more and more of his energy with every consecutive bite he took, Hal took a look at Valyr beside him before asking a question.


    In response, Valyr nodded. "Yeah, but we''re not gonna head out that soon. Probably in about two hours or so."


    "Got it." Hal nodded back, savoring each bite of food he took. Seeing how much delight his breakfast brought to everyone''s faces, the young man took a brief nce at his empty te, only to recall the information he had gained from the system regarding the Gates of Enlightenment.


    "What''s wrong?" Noticing that Valyr had a frown on his face all of a sudden, Hal asked in slight worry.


    Giving the man an apologetic smile, the young man slowly shook his head as he replied, "It''s nothing. I was just reminded of something that I should''ve told you guys yesterday."


    "In any case, I''ll tell you and the others more about it while we''re on our way to the quadrants." Though his curiosity was piqued by Valyr''s words, seeing as the others still needed a bit more time to be fully alert, Hal could only nod in response as all of them gradually prepared for their departure to the four quadrants.


    ¡­


    "Did anyone forget to store anything into their spatial bracelet?" Asking this question to the others, Valyr took a brief nce at where their campsite had been. Though he was more than certain that no one forgot anything, he still went ahead with it just to be doubly sure.


    "We''re more than ready to depart," replied Faulus, with the others nodding in agreement. Hearing that, Valyr nodded back as the five of them finally began to make their way to the quadrants.


    "So, what did you want to tell us, Valyr?" Running through the vast ins of the inheritance at brisk speeds, Hal began to initiate a conversation with the young man beside him, recalling the short conversation they had during breakfast. "You told me earlier that you were supposed to tell us about it yesterday."


    Hearing his name being called, Valyr nodded. "It''s about the Gates of Enlightenment."


    "What about it?" As the information Valyr wanted to share involved the thing that brought them sleepless nights for the past couple of days, the other four instantly focused on what he wanted to tell them.


    "What if I told you¡­" Asking the question to the others, the young man thought about how he would go about saying it. Though, at the very moment he figured out how, the four were left at aplete loss for words, even going so far as to stop in their tracks.


    "What if I told you that the Gates of Enlightenment is only a small part of a bigger organization?"

 Chapter 629 Four Pillars: The Quadrants

    "Care to exin more about it?" Recovering from the shock Valyr''s words had given them, Hal took a bit of time to return to normal as he asked the young man a question. "Also, where did you even get this information?"


    In response, Valyr wryly smiled. "Where else would I get it, if not for the trials?"


    Though Valyr knew that it would be better if less people were to know the information that he had gotten frompleting the First Forger quest, the young man also knew that it would be useless for him to hide it.


    After all, if he were to move on his own in order to gain ess to the Gates of Awakening or the Gates of Transcendence, it would be a given for the other four to be suspicious and corner him.


    With that, he decided that it would be better for him to share a bit of the information rather than keep all of it to himself.


    By sharing it, even though all of them would more or less arrive at the same point, he could use the information he had kept to himself to still be ahead of the others.


    A great example of that would be the map of important locations within the Gates of Enlightenment he had received from the system.


    Feeling that it would take a while for the leader of their group to exin everything they needed to know, the five of them decided to stop their journey to the four quadrants for the meantime.


    Coting the information he would share with the others in his mind, Valyr moved in front of them as he took in a deep breath.


    "Hmm... where should I begin?" Briefly scratching the back of his head, Valyr eventually found a train of thought to follow as he began his exnation. "Well, to start off this exnation, have you guys heard of sects before?"


    Hearing his question, Hal nodded in agreement. "What about it?"


    "Think about the usual hierarchy that applies within sects," replied Valyr, prompting Hal to ponder over it in silence for a bit.


    "That''s basically the hierarchy that applies within the organization the Gates of Enlightenment is a part of, with the Gates of Enlightenment considered to be equal to where the outer disciples would be in sects," he continued.


    While Hal eventually nodded in understanding in response to the young man''s words, the other three were still somewhat confused by his exnation. "What kind of hierarchy do sects use exactly?"


    "Well, it depends from sect to sect," said Valyr in response, only continuing after the others nodded in response.


    "But most of the time, the hierarchy starts from outer disciple, then inner disciple, then core disciple. There are also elders and protectors and all that, but I''m talking about it from our perspective where we still have a ways to go before reaching the peak of power."


    Giving the others some time to digest the information he shared, Valyr only continued his exnation after a couple of minutes had passed.


    "Those who passed the Gates of Enlightenment are equivalent to those who are considered outer disciples in the sect. Usually, people at this level don''t get ess to much stuff."


    "Which is why it''s kind of weird for us to receive such precious rewards just frompleting the trials," said Valyr, shrugging his shoulders.


    "However, from the information I received afterpleting the trials, the two gates that exist above the Gates of Enlightenment contain rewards far greater than the advancements or the Intent Seeds that weprehended." At this point, the four were intently listening to Valyr''s each and every word, not wanting to miss even a single line.


    "The gate that corresponds to the level of inner disciples is called the Gates of Awakening, while the gate that corresponds to the level of core disciples is called the Gates of Transcendence," said Valyr to the others.


    "These three gates make up the entire organization that''s aptly named the Triad Gates."


    "And I n to enter the Gates of Awakening after arriving at the four quadrants."


    Feeling like he had exined almost everything the others would need to understand the current situation, Valyr then talked about the thought he had while waiting for the four of them to return from the Gates of Enlightenment.


    Hearing about how each portion of the inheritance they were in possibly corresponded to a specific gate in the organization, the others soon began to think of the same thing Valyr was thinking earlier.


    To no surprise, all of them now wanted to enter the Gates of Awakening for themselves to gain even more from the inheritance.


    During this time, he also exined the concept of authority levels to the others, talking about how each building needed a specific authority level in order for one to be able to ess it without any problems.


    By the end of it, he told them that the need for a higher authority level might be unnecessary once they entered the Gates of Awakening since they would then be considered a higher rank than those from the Gates of Enlightenment.


    Unsurprisingly, whether it was the information Valyr had dumped onto the four regarding riches, or the inference the four made from the information the young man had given them, the four seemed to have regained their motivation.


    With that, they headed to the four quadrants at the greatest speed they could muster, their expressions as eager as it could be.


    Fortunately for them, Valyr was of the same mind, casting a couple of skills on all of them that enhanced their movement speed. By the time the sun had gone past its zenith, the five of them stood at the periphery of the closest quadrant to them, the south quadrant.


    ...


    "We''re here." Staring at the beings that roamed the long-dpidated streets of the south quadrant, Valyr had a slightly conflicted expression on his face.


    Wondering if he was the only one to feel this way, he then proceeded to look at the others, only to see that their expressions were simr to his.


    Activating his identification skill on one of the roaming creatures, Hal looked at the others before asking a question that resonated with everyone else. "Do we really have to kill these guys?"


    Though the information they received from their identification skills told them that they were in no way simr to who they were, the appearance of the creatures made them greatly hesitate on whether to continue their journey or not. After all, from their point of view...


    These beings were fellow humans, no?

 Chapter 630 Four Pillars: Primitive Humanoids

    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid (Mythic Elite)] (Level 75)


    ss: Primitive Humanoid (Umon)


    HP: 15,936/15,936


    MP: 26,720/26,720


    Attack: 3,340 - 3,340


    Defense: 1,992 - 1,992


    Stats: 498 VIT, 835 STR, 790 AGI, 408 DEX, 835 INT, 790 WIS, 328 PER, 218 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Magical Damage Resistance], [Basic Physical Damage Nullification], [Basic Magical Damage Nullification], and 12 other skills.


    Remarks: They may look like a human, but they do not have the sentience and conscience to be one.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Staring at the words written on the identification screen in front of him, Valyr eventually looked back at the beings that roamed the south quadrant they were looking over.


    Unlike the aberrations that littered the ins they stayed in for the past few days, the beings called primitive humanoids did not have extremely muscr limbs and a frail torso.


    If anything, they looked incredibly simr to them, which made the five of them hesitate in attacking them.


    However, as they examined the beings a bit more, they began to notice some discrepancies among them. Some of the primitive humanoids seemed tock fingers on their hands, while some had no toes entirely.


    There were also those thatcked toes, though beings thatcked feet altogether also existed.


    Looking around for a bit more, they were even surprised to see a few that had gaping holes on their bodies, making the five think that these beings had been living with missing organs.


    Because of that, rather than think of the primitive humanoids as beings that they had to kill to proceed deeper into the inheritance, the five began to look at them from the perspective of humans that had untimely fates.


    Nevertheless, they still forced themselves to look at these beings as beings wholly different from them, no matter how difficult it was. After all, not only did they not finish exploring the entirety of the inheritance yet¡­


    They also aimed to enter the Gates of Awakening and obtain its riches.


    "This inheritance is quite cruel if you look at it from another perspective." Closing the status screen that popped up after identifying one of the primitive humanoids, Hal looked away from the beings for the meantime and let out a sigh.


    "In the ins, we had to face against beings that seemed to be an attempt at resembling humans. Now, in the quadrants, we have to face against beings that closely resemble humans, but arecking a couple things here and there."


    At the man''s words, the other four went silent as it did not take long for them to arrive at a conclusion that everyone seemed to have arrived at. Looking at everyone else''s gazes while looking at him, Hal wryly smiled as he felt that his conclusion was the same as theirs.


    Taking a deep breath, the man let out a sigh once more. "At this rate, I wouldn''t be surprised if we would be up against beings that truly resemble humans once we head to the center of the city ruins."


    "However, why is the inheritance doing this?" Hal looked at the others before asking a rhetorical question. "Is the inheritance trying to figuratively tell us that our current achievements havee from the loss of an inordinate number of lives?"


    "Or is there no point into thinking deeper into the matter and it''s just that the one who created the inheritance has a sick sense of humor?" Hearing these words, everyone let out a faint sigh.


    Though they wanted to know the reason behind it, they did not have any clue where to begin, nor did they have the necessary knowledge toe up with a conclusion.


    Even Valyr, who had witnessed the memories from the First Forger, did not know why their enemies were inferior versions of humans.


    Remaining silent for a bit as they watched the beings roam the streets of the south quadrant, Valyr decided to break the silence as he focused everyone''s attention on him.


    "Though I share the same sentiments as you, the inheritance is more or less pushing us to kill these Primitive Humanoids if we want to move forward."


    "Especially if we want to earn our chances of entering the Gates of Awakening." Saying these words, the young man was certain that this was the only reason the others would fight against the Primitive Humanoids at this point.


    After all, Hal and the other three had only been facing against monsters for most of their lives when it came tobat.


    Sure, there were also times where they would fight against their fellow humans and kill them if necessary, but those incidents normally had an underlying reason behind them.


    Now, if one wanted to find someone who had no qualms killing their fellow humans if they didn''t do anything wrong, then one would have to find a criminal¡­


    Or someone who had been greatly desensitized by the battlefield.


    As someone who had been a part of the final battle in his past life, it went without saying that Valyr was one of those people. However, that did not mean that he was desensitized to the point that heckedmon sense.


    After all, he fought against his fellow humans for a reason.


    Unfortunately, as the inheritance was forcing them to do so, there was no choice for him but to go against hismon sense this time around.


    "Who wants to be the first to fight against these Primitive Humanoids?" asked Valyr, looking at the others.


    Unsurprisingly, all of them seemed to have conflicted expressions on their faces. Inferring what he could read off their expressions, the young man was certain the four were weighing the pros and cons of fighting against the beings.


    Eventually realizing that they would be at an impasse if he let the others decide, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he began to head towards the primitive humanoids.


    Thankfully, this action caught the attention of the others, prompting them to look at the young man with perturbed expressions.


    "What are you doing?" Faulus asked, only to inwardly admonish himself for asking such an obvious question.


    In response, Valyr looked back at the four. "What else would I be doing? Cause the buildings to copse?"


    "Obviously, I''m gonna fight against the Primitive Humanoids."

 Chapter 631 Four Pillars: Misplaced Priorities

    <h4>Chapter 631 Four Pirs: Misced Priorities</h4>


    Even though the four already knew the answer to Faulus'' question, everyone still frowned after hearing Valyr''s response.


    Though the primitive humanoids were not human any way, with their identification skills even confirming that fact, the four still imagined themselves to be fighting against their fellow humans if they were to do so.


    No matter how much they reminded themselves that the primitive humanoids weren''t human at all, in the back of their heads, they still considered these beings human.


    Looking at the expressions on everyone else''s faces, Faulus let out a faint sigh before asking a question. "Are you sure you want to do this, Valyr? Do you not have any morals?"


    "Of course, I do." Valyr wryly smiled, letting out a low sigh of his own. "How could I not know what you guys are thinking? Just like you, the fact that they resemble us makes it difficult for me to make a move against them."


    "But here''s the thing." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr''s expression went cold. "If no one among us makes a move against these Primitive Humanoids, who will?"


    "Plus, if you think of it from another perspective, would there really be any benefit to not killing these beings?" added the young man, the gears in his mind continually turning.


    "If you think about it, these beings only look human. I wouldn''t be surprised if they were actually simr to the aberrations in nature," he continued.


    "On top of that, with each quadrant housing probably a thousand or so of these Primitive Humanoids, we only avoid around five thousand deaths or so if we include the beings living in the center of the city ruins."


    "With that, I ask you. What''s more important? Avoiding five thousand deaths or obtaining information and power that would undoubtedly help more than five thousand people in the outside world from dying?"


    At this moment, the hesitation that clouded Valyr''s judgment earlier had thoroughly disappeared. Instead, what currently filled the young man''s mind was the pragmatism and rationality he had cultivated in his past life, polished even further with his current experiences.


    Noticing that the four were seemingly on the edge of making a final decision, Valyr decided to reiterate his question in a way that it talked about the crux of the matter. "Alright, let me rephrase my question and ask you once again."


    "Though it might sound heartless, what''s more important to you? The beings within the inheritance or the people you care for in the outside world?"


    Fortunately, that question was more than enough to tip the scales in the four''s minds, dispelling the haze that clouded their judgments.


    With their thoughts cleared up once more, the four eventually began to realize that they had misced their priorities just because they imagined themselves having to fight against their fellow humans.


    Not only that, but they also realized that they had forgotten one of their goals as to why they entered the inheritance in the first ce.


    And that was to obtain information that would help the human race.


    Seeing that the four appeared to be in a pensive state after he rephrased his earlier question, Valyr decided to leave them be for now.


    With that, he continued his original objective of fighting against one of the primitive humanoids to get a better idea of what they would be up against.


    Moving along the periphery of the south quadrant, the young man took note of the number of primitive humanoids that roamed along the abandoned streets, keeping his eyes peeled for a primitive humanoid that looked to have been separated from the others.


    While doing so, he also admired the buildings that made up the south quadrant, imagining a time where the civilization that had created these buildings were in their golden days.


    ''Judging from the style of their buildings, it seems like they''ve reached a further technological era than the ones on Earth,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Though most of the buildings resembled skyscrapers in design, there were a few areas on the buildings that Valyr deemed impossible to have been done by humans in the current age. One great example he found was a building that seemed to have been split up into two parts.


    Though the second part of the building was mostly destroyed as itid on the ground, the chains that connected it to the still-standing part of the building made the young man think that the second part possibly hovered off the ground in the past.


    From what he could surmise, it seemed that the building was split into two parts in order to reduce the cost of construction for an important road.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to confirm his hypothesis, eventually finding the broken-off road that would have connected to the inclined road on the other side of the building.


    With his curiosity satiated, Valyr continued to stay on the lookout for lone primitive humanoids, eventually finding one in the south quadrant after ten more minutes of walking.


    Compared to the other primitive humanoids roaming around in the vicinity, the humanoid seemed to becking all of its fingers on both hands. In its ce were stumps that looked slightlyrger than the forearms they were attached to.


    Aside from that, arge hole could be seen on the humanoid''s torso, being located in the area where one''s intestines would normally be.


    Faintly wondering which part of the humanoid would process the food it ate, Valyr put the thought aside for the meantime and took out his magic scepter.


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    Whoosh!


    Buffing his offensive capabilities in preparation for the uing fight, Valyr looked around the area for a bit before focusing his attention on a small stone near him.


    Picking up the small stone, he then imbued it with a bit of his mana before throwing it at the humanoid with all of his strength.


    Thud!


    With [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] working on overtime, it went without saying that the stone hadnded on one of the many weak spots on the primitive humanoid''s body.


    Sadly, with how small the stone was, the stone disintegrated on impact, only reducing the humanoid''s HP by a few points at most.


    Then again, Valyr''s goal wasn''t to deal a lot of damage with the stone.


    If anything, he just wanted to gain its attention.


    "Grooooooaaaagghhhhhh!!!!"

 Chapter 632 Four Pillars: Unexpectedly Tedious

    <h4>Chapter 632 Four Pirs: Unexpectedly Tedious</h4>


    Letting out a roar that sounded like a mix between a human scream and a bestial growl, the primitive humanoid looked at Valyr with fury as it charged at him.


    Seeing that he had sessfully attracted its attention, the young man quickly distanced himself from the humanoid, making sure to not attract the attention of other humanoids along the way.


    "[Crimson de Descent]." While doing so, he conjured arge de made out of crimson mes, sending it directly to the humanoid that was trying to catch up with him.


    Bang!


    Within seconds, the crimson de and the humanoid made contact, prompting Valyr to stop in his tracks to assess the amount of damage he had dealt.


    However, at the very moment the dust caused by the collision had settled down, the young man could not believe what he was seeing.


    "Nothing¡­?" With his mouth slightly agape, Valyr saw that there was no injury on the humanoid''s body at all. It was as if the de hadn''t even collided with the humanoid in the first ce.


    Noticing that the humanoid was attempting to close the distance between them again, the young man proceeded to send out a crimson de once more. However, this time, he focused his attention on the oue of the collision.


    Bang!


    Watching the dust in the area get kicked into the air once again, Valyr kept both of his eyes peeled as he wanted to know what was going on. Thankfully, with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] running on overdrive, he was able to find it out.


    "Mana barrier¡­" muttered the young man to himself, ncing at the expression of the humanoid he was fighting against.


    Though the humanoid still looked at him with great anger in its eyes, for some reason, Valyr could feel like there was now a hint of mockery within the gaze.


    It was as if he felt like the humanoid was now beginning to look down on him.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]!" Pushing the useless thoughts that lingered in his mind to the side, the young man decided to sent out yet another attack. Though, unlike the two previous attacks, he opted to overwhelm the humanoid through sheer numbers.


    ''Since it can cast barriers to intercept and defend against my attacks, I wonder how it would fare against a barrage of attacks?'' With this thought in mind, a slight smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he distanced himself from the humanoid.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Then, after hearing the des collide with something, Valyr pushed his perception to its very limits to find out how the humanoid was faring. Not only that, but he even manipted the crimson des to rain down from above in order to avoid dust being kicked up.


    "What in the¡­" With Valyr''s eyes widening in great disbelief, it went without saying that the humanoid had been able to defend against the barrage of attacks.


    However, even though the humanoid was sessfully defending against the attacks, if one were to look at the way it was currently defending against it, one would instantly say to themselves that the humanoid''s method was incredibly wasteful.


    "¡­" nkly staring at the barrage of crimson des raining down from above, the humanoid stood in ce as it conjured barrier after barrier to intercept the crimson de and dispel it.


    Then, after the de had been dispelled, rather than keep the barrier where it was since it could still withstand a few attacks, the humanoid instead dispelled it before conjuring a barrier that would intercept another de.


    Without even moving an inch from its ce, the humanoid conjured over a couple dozen barriers every second, intercepting every crimson de that threatened to inflict an injury on it.


    Even Valyr''s conscious maniption of the skill to conjure the des did not make the humanoid falter. Instead, it pushed itself to conjure even more barriers than before, reaching over 40 barriers a second after the young man had pushed his skill to the limit.


    Seeing how the humanoid did not even care about how much it wasted in dispelling and conjuring multiple barriers every second, a thought eventually surfaced on Valyr''s mind that brought him a slight smile.


    Letting out a soft snicker, he said to himself, "With its current mana expenditure, it won''t take long until the humanoid runs out of mana and sumbs to the barrage of des I''m sending down."


    With that in mind, he went ahead and cast his identification skill to find out how much mana the humanoid had left. However, once the humanoid''s status screen appeared in front of him, Valyr was left at a loss for words once more.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    MP: 18,534/26,720


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "It''s only used up a quarter of its mana?" Muttering these words out in disbelief, Valyr began to calcte in his mind as to how long it would take for the humanoid to run out of mana if he kept the skill up.


    Unfortunately for him, the answer to this question could not be obtained¡­


    Since he would be the first one to run out of mana.


    "What to do¡­" Frowning at this realization, Valyr allowed the skill to run for a bit longer before eventually terminating it since he found out that it was just a waste of his mana.


    "Groooaaggghhh!!!" On the other hand, after seeing that it had no need to defend against magic attacks anymore, the humanoid charged at Valyr once more, its expression filled with rage.


    Watching the humanoid close the gap between them, a sh of inspiration appeared in Valyr''s eyes as he avoided the humanoid''s strike at his stomach. Then, in one swift motion, he took out the spear from his back before thrusting it towards the humanoid.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "[Strike of the Lightless Arcane]!"


    Bang!


    "Graagggh!!!" Swiftly manipting Shadow Energy and mana into the tip of his spear, Valyr''s strikended on one of the weak spots he was aiming to hit. In response, the humanoid cried out in pain before attempting tond an attack in retaliation.


    "[Descent of the Dark Arcane Fang]." Unfortunately for the humanoid, as if Valyr had finally realized what was going on, he avoided the attack once more.


    Then, utilizing another technique from [Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style], his spear directly collided with the humanoid''s head.


    Boom!


    With the strength and the energy he had put into the attack, it was no surprise that the humanoid''s head burst into chunks, its headless body falling to the ground not long after.


    "That¡­ was more difficult than I thought it would be." Hearing the notification sound confirm his kill, Valyr stared at the corpse of the primitive humanoid he had killed for a bit before opening up the notification screen to view his gains.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 75 Primitive Humanoid (Mythic Elite). You have gained 2,407,995 XP.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (2/1000).]


    "At least the XP gained makes up for it." Briefly whistling in response to the notifications he had obtained, Valyr began to make his way to where the five of them previously were, arriving there around half an hourter.


    ¡­


    "So, how was it fighting against the primitive humanoids?" At the very moment Valyr appeared in front of the others, the four looked at the young man with apologetic smiles as they thought about their seemingly delusional ideas from earlier.


    Hearing the four of them briefly apologize for something even he had thought about, it was no surprise that Valyr quickly brushed it off, telling them that their current situation was far better than getting stuck on their previous ideology.


    After talking with the four for a bit more regarding other things, the young man finally responded to the question one of them had asked him earlier. "Unexpectedly tedious."


    "How so?" Being on par with Valyr when it came tobat prowess, Hal raised his eyebrow in curiosity at the response.


    "I have no idea if it applies to all of the primitive humanoids in the four quadrants, but the one I fought had near-imprable magic defense," replied Valyr to the question.


    After that, he began to tell the others his experience against the lone primitive humanoid, causing almost all of them to frown after hearing that even sending a barrage of magic attacks was easily defended by the humanoid.


    Though, once they heard that the humanoid''s defense against Valyr''s magic only consume a quarter of its mana pool in doing so, the ones that relied on magic looked in horror as they continued to listen to the young man''s retelling.


    Hearing that the humanoid was surprisingly easily killed with physical attacks without much problem, the others'' greatest fears weren''t realized, prompting them to muster up the courage needed to fight against their new foes.


    "Let me try fighting against one." After Valyr was done retelling his experience fighting against the primitive humanoids, Hal became incredibly eager to fight against them.


    After all, with how he relied on his de forbat most of the time, that meant his uing battles would be a piece of cake.


    Hearing how eager Hal was, Valyr quickly gave him the go ahead, prompting him and the other three to watch Hal as he eventually found a lone primitive humanoid not far away from where the others stood.


    Watching Hal send out de after de against the humanoid he was fighting against, a weird thought began to bubble up in Valyr''s mind as he saw the humanoid easily defend against each and every attack.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Though, just as he was about to voice his thoughts to the others, Hal quickly sheathed his de before switching to magic.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Seeing that magic was the more effectivebat style against the primitive humanoid Hal chose, Valyr could only let out a sigh.


    "And just when I thought fighting against them couldn''t get any more tedious."

 Chapter 633 Four Pillars: Not Two, But Three

    <h4>Chapter 633 Four Pirs: Not Two, But Three</h4>


    "I''m guessing there are two types of humanoids roaming the south quadrant?" Staring at the corpse of the humanoid he had in for a while, Hal eventually returned to the four with a slightly confused expression.


    Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response. "No idea. After all, we''ve only killed a total of two humanoids so far. There may be a third type or a fourth type roaming around."


    "So, I''m guessing there''s no choice but to fight against them to find that out?" asked Faulus after listening to the short conversation between the two.


    "Pretty much." Valyr softly nodded. "Then again, we would have to fight against them sooner orter, especially if we aim to enter the Gates of Awakening and reap rewards from it."


    Hearing the phrase ''Gates of Awakening''e out of Valyr''s mouth, everyone''s eyes briefly glistened with expectation, their mes of ambition intensely burning deep within.


    Being reminded once more of one of their important reasons for arriving at the four quadrants, Hal and Valyr briefed the other three about some things they noticed while fighting against the humanoids.


    After that, the five of them set a few rules and reminders that everyone should follow while fighting humanoids. Once that was all done, only then did the five talk about how they would go about fighting them.


    Since the number of primitive humanoids within each quadrant was limited, the five of them eventually agreed to divide the four quadrants among themselves.


    To no surprise, Hal and Valyr took up the south and west quadrant respectively, considering that they had thebat prowess to do.


    As for the remaining three, it took a while for them to reach a conclusion that all of them agreed upon.


    "I still feel like I''ve gotten the short end of the stick here, but I guess it''s not all that bad," said Faulus not long after the three had finished their discussion, prompting both Vera and Loreina to look back at him with apologetic smiles.


    ording to the agreement the three had made, Loreina would upy the east quadrant, while the north quadrant would be upied by Vera. As for Faulus, he was free to go to whichever of the four quadrants he wanted, which Hal and Valyr did not have a problem with.


    "If anything interesting appears while you''re in the midst of grinding, feel free to send a message through the party chat to let the others know." After Valyr reminded the other four about their rules onest time, it was only then did the five finally head their separate ways to their chosen quadrants.


    Seeing as he and the other three would take a while to arrive to their chosen quadrants, Valyr went ahead and cast skills that enhanced movement speed on each of them. As for the one who would be upying the south quadrant, Hal cast a buff on all of them that decently increased their stats.


    Whoosh!


    Running along the periphery of the south quadrant at the greatest speed he could muster, Valyr was quite surprised that Faulus did not apany him this time around.


    Instead, the alchemist decided to apany Hal for the meantime, sending a message to the party chat not long after that he would be heading to everyone else''s quadrants after some time passed.


    After giving Faulus the go ahead in his reply to the party chat, the young man returned his attention to where he nned on going, admiring the infrastructure that made up the city ruins.


    Eventually, the young man had arrived at the west quadrant after a couple of hours, taking in a deep breath as he looked at the primitive humanoids that roamed about.


    "Around three hours or so left before sunset." Briefly gazing at the position of the sun above him, Valyr designated a spot he would use as his resting ce before heading down to where the primitive humanoids were.


    "Grroaagghh!!!" Unsurprisingly, as if the inheritance had instilled it within their blood to attack any intruder that trespassed their territory, a great number of the humanoids within Valyr''s vicinity looked at him with anger-filled expressions.


    In response, Valyr faintly grinned at the primitive humanoids before unleashing both his magic scepter and spear on each hand.


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Crimson de Torrent]."


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]."


    Without hesitation, he conjured a barrage of physical and magical attacks against the primitive humanoids, kicking off yet another massacre within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    ¡­


    As everyone did not have that much experience in fighting against the primitive humanoids, all of them considered the first hour of fighting against the humanoids a self-taught lesson of sorts.


    After all, during this first hour, they gradually learned more and more about the primitive humanoids, such as their varying attack patterns, their methods of defense, as well as the weaknesses that the five could exploit to increase their killing efficiency.


    Then, once they had gotten more or less used to fighting against the humanoids, only then did the five of them begin to go all out. With the knowledge they''ve rued, even humanoids that were resistant to their usualbat styles fell to the ground within a couple of minutes.


    Not only that, but it was during this time did the five finally find out that there weren''t just two types of primitive humanoids they had to fight against¡­


    But three.


    The first type of humanoid was one that had near-imprable defense against magic attacks, but was extremely vulnerable to physical attacks.


    On the other hand, the second type of humanoid was one that could easily defend and deflect against any physical attacks that was thrown its way. However, once hit with a magic attack, it would have no clue on what to do.


    As for thest type of humanoid, it could be said that it could do what the two earlier types of humanoids could do, but to a lesser degree.


    In other words, it had no problems defending against magic attacks, nor did it have a problem defending against physical attacks.


    However, whether it was by design or intended by the inheritance, its defensive capabilities were still less than the first two humanoid types when it came to what they specialized in, meaning that the third type of humanoid was just a slightly harder being to kill.


    With this in mind, the five of them smoothly went about killing the primitive humanoids that roamed throughout the respective quadrants they upied.


    Though, by the time Valyr had reached his 100th kill, a notification he had obtained prompted him to stop in his tracks.

 Chapter 634 Four Pillars: Higher Gates

    Chapter 634 Four Pirs: Higher Gates


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 4.]


    [You have gained a new quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4).]


    "Hmm?" Taking a look at the notification he had received from the system, Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity once he read that he had gained an authority level.


    Not long after, this curiosity was soon directed towards the quest he hadpleted. Specifically, the quest he had decided to save forter after finishing the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.


    "I guess I should have taken the time to check the quest when I still had it." Seeing that the quest had already disappeared from his system, the young man bitterly smiled as he faintly let out a sigh, wondering if he should share the quest with the other four.


    Though, just as he was about to ponder over the quest''s details for the meantime and save the talk forter, a prompt suddenly appeared in front of his field of vision.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to do the quest ''Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3)'' again?]


    "What?" For a while, Valyr stood frozen in ce as the gears in his mind madly turned. Briefly contemting whether or not to ept the prompt, the young man recalled the authority level he had gained frompleting the quest¡­ which unsurprisingly led him to responding yes.


    Ding!


    [You have gained a new quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind once more, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the quest''s description, reading through the entire thing in great detail.


    "I see." By the time he had reached the end of what was contained on the screen, the young man let out a faint chuckle as he decided to send a message to the others in the party chat.


    "Now I understand what''s going on."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest) (Repeatable Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    The Gates of Enlightenment is considered to be a paradise for many, allowing those that have entered its gates to improve greatly on their abilities within a small amount of time.


    Though it is unknown as to why such a ce exists in an inheritance, the gains one would obtain from such a ce could be carried outside, allowing one to stand head and shoulders above others without fear.


    Bypleting the trial given to you by the Gates of Enlightenment, you have sessfully be one of its bona fide members, designating you as a being that greatly stands above the rest.


    However, now that you''ve be a part of the Gates of Enlightenment, you''vee to find that you''ve only taken the first step in what could be considered a long journey to the top.


    While searching for ways to reach the top, you find out that above the Gates of Enlightenment is yet another gate. Though, unlike the Gates of Enlightenment, its members are considered the elite among the elite, the geniuses among geniuses, the cream of the crop.


    As someone who has be a bona fide member of the Gates of Enlightenment, it goes without saying that you also have the abilities to be a part of this higher gate.


    Of course, you''ve got to prove to the Gates of Enlightenment that you have what it takes to be part of it in the first ce.


    Quest Objective:


    > Kill 100 Primitive Humanoids (0/100)


    Quest Reward:


    > Increased level of authority within the Gates of Enlightenment


    Quest Penalty:


    > None


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    While sending out a message to the others about a quest that would increasing their authority levels within the Gates of Enlightenment, Valyr deftlymanded the system to bring up the quest he had just gained, not wanting to make the same mistake as before.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: A


    The Gates of Enlightenment¡­ description has been omitted.


    Of course, you''ve got to prove to the Gates of Enlightenment that you have what it takes to be part of it in the first ce.


    || Addendum: By showcasing your great strength and willpower inbat, the Gates of Enlightenment have deemed you eligible to be a part of this higher gate.


    However, the Gates of Enlightenment warns you that your eligibility is shoddy at most from doing so, greatlycking whenpared to those that have entered the higher gates in the past.


    With that, the Gates of Enlightenment suggests that you take on a challenge that only a few have attempted in history. By doing so, not only will the higher gates ept you with open arms¡­


    But the Gates of Enlightenment would also give you rewards that would aid you further in your journey. ||


    Quest Objectives:


    > y a Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (0/1)


    > y 1,000 Primitive Humanoids (0/1,000)


    > Reach an authority level of 10 within the Gates of Enlightenment (4/10)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Primary eligibility to the Gates of Awakening


    > Key to the Gates of Awakening (Limited Item)


    > Entrance Token to the Gates of Enlightenment (Limited Item)


    Quest Penalties:


    > Level -5


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "This is the ticket we''ve been looking for, huh." Letting out a faint chuckle once he was done reading through the other quest he gained, Valyr returned his attention to the party chat, frowning once he had read the replies he had gotten to his message.


    ''They didn''t get any quest like that?'' thought the young man to himself, wondering what could be the cause behind him being the only one among them to get the repeatable quest.


    Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the reason why the quest popped up might have something to do with the First Forger quest he gained. After all, a lot of the information he gained regarding the Triad Gates came from it.


    Nevertheless, the young man found it to be a dilemma if only he was eligible to enter the Gates of Awakening because of it. Faintly hoping that the inheritance would show him other ways to enter the inheritance, Valyr told the others to keep fighting against the primitive humanoids since he had already reached 100 kills.


    In response to that, the others sent the number of primitive humanoids they had killed so far, telling the young man to wait for a bit for them to reach the same number.


    Thankfully for Valyr, once the others had reached 100 kills, the quest he was talking about had appeared in their system.


    Letting out a faint sigh of relief, he reminded everyone that they would meet up at the south quadrant an hour after sunset. After receiving replies to his reminder, the young man closed the party for the meantime before returning his attention to the humanoids with a slight grin.


    "Though you guys may not have sentience¡­"


    "I''ll have to thank you for your sacrifices in advance."

 Chapter 635 Four Pillars: Increasing Authority

    Chapter 635 Four Pirs: Increasing Authority


    For the next couple of hours that remained before everyone had to meet up again, it went without saying that the five spared no mercy towards the primitive humanoids, only thinking about filling up the progress bar in the quests they''ve received.


    With each kill they made, they would ponder over their fight for a bit to see if they could improve their killing efficiency. Then, once they found another humanoid to fight against, they would apply the learnings they''ve made and do the entire process all over again.


    Amongst the five of them, it went without saying that Valyr had made the most progress out of them, considering that he was the first toplete the quest that increased authority levels.


    However, since they did not want a repeat of the incident with the Gates of Enlightenment, the young man stopped himself around thirty minutes before the deadline he set, looking at the sight in front of him with a wry smile.


    "I guess I went a bit too far." Briefly gazing at the various roads littered with the corpses of the primitive humanoids he killed, the young man headed to his rest spot before taking a look at the progress he had made so far in his two quests.


    "A bit more, and I would obtain the repeatable quest for a fourth time." Bringing up a screen in front of him, Valyr nodded in slight satisfaction after seeing he was only about ten kills away from increasing his authority level to Level 6.


    After that, he took a look at his progress at the other quest, softly nodding once he was done reading.


    With how the two quests were connected, it did not surprise Valyr to see the total number of primitive humanoids he had killed. Calcting in his mind for a bit, he wouldplete the third objective of the second quest with a few morepletions of the first one.


    Closing up the screen, he then began to prepare for his return to the south quadrant. "I would need to kill 300 more humanoids toplete the second objective after I reach an authority level of 10."


    "Though, can one''s authority level exceed 10?" As the question came to mind, Valyr buffed his movement speed with all of the skills in his arsenal.


    After that, he ran through the path he took earlier to reach the west quadrant, going through it in reverse at the greatest speed he could muster.


    While doing so, he continued to think about the question he had thought about earlier regarding kills and authority levels in the second quest.


    Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the quest was designed in a way that allowed even those without any prior authority level to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    After all, with 100 primitive humanoids being needed to increase one''s authority by a level, it would not take long for another person toe up with the same idea he did.


    With that, he ced the thought at the back of his head after he had gained a usible answer to it, arriving at the south quadrant just a few minutes before the deadline he set.


    ¡­


    As everyone had gained the opportunity to increase their authority levels, which would allow them to gain ess to other buildings within the Gates of Enlightenment, Valyr wasn''t too surprised when he and Hal were the only ones in the south quadrant.


    "How many times have youpleted the quest so far?" Deciding to pass the time as they waited for the others to arrive, the young man struck up a conversation with Hal regarding their progress.


    Hal faintly smiled in response as he looked at Valyr. "I''m currently on my first repeat. Quite a bit left before Iplete my second one, actually."


    "So, you''vepleted it once already?" asked Valyr, to which Hal nodded in response.


    "Yeah. My authority level is currently Level 3, but I aim to reach the highest authority level tomorrow as quickly as possible," said Hal with a slight grin.


    Though, not long after, a thought popped up in Hal''s mind, prompting him to look at the young man with a solemn expression. "Speaking of which, have you gotten another quest after youpleted the authority level one the first time?"


    Valyr raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. "Does this quest have something to do with the Gates of Awakening?"


    Hal nodded. "Yeah. Something about killing a Quadrant Leader andpleting other objectives to be eligible to enter the Gates of Awakening."


    "Reaching a certain authority level and killing a certain number of Primitive Humanoids?" asked the young man back to be sure, to which he received yet another nod in response.


    "Yeah."


    After their short conversation regarding the two quests, the two continued to pass the time by talking about their strategies when it came to fighting against the humanoids in a short time span.


    Surprisingly, the two of them adopted a simr approach, utilizing both physical and magical attacks that could cover arge area. Then, if there were any humanoids left standing after that, only then would they be more specific in their attacks, thereby increasing their killing efficiency.


    By the time the two had began to discuss whether elemental magic had an effect against the primitive humanoids, the other three had finally returned after an additional half hour of waiting.


    Quickly setting up camp for the night, the five worked together to make a simple dinner before talking about everyone''s progress regarding the authority level quest.


    Unsurprisingly, the other three had alsopleted the authority level quest once, just like Hal. However, unlike him, the progress they made on their first repeat greatly differed, with the closest among the three to finishing it being Loreina at 43 kills.


    As for Hal, he was around 70 kills into the first repeat, making him the one among the group that made the second most progress before Valyr.


    Not wanting to let the others know that he was way ahead of them in progress when it came topleting both quests, the young man decided to tell the others that he was around 15 kills away topleting his second repeat.


    With everyone done sharing their progress, the group then moved onto the topic of the second quest they received.


    Specifically, the one that would allow them to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    "Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader¡­" muttered Loreina as she eventually looked at the others. "Does anyone perhaps have any idea as to where they are?"


    Hearing her question, Valyr and Hal looked at each other before wryly smiling. Noticing that the two seemed to have an answer to Loreina''s question, the others prompted them to share their thoughts.


    "Well, from what Hal and I had gathered from our reconnaissance back then, these guys could most likely be found at the center of each quadrant," Valyr said, with Hal nodding in agreement.


    "However, we''ll have to check out the four quadrants again with our reconnaissance skills tomorrow morning to get a more urate idea of where they may be," continued Hal from where the young man left off.


    The man briefly shrugged his shoulders. "Though they don''t move around that much, it''s better to be safe than sorry. Especially in an area where even one single misstep can prove fatal."


    As everyone nodded in agreement with Hal''s words, the five of them continued to talk a bit more about the quadrant leaders they needed to kill. At some point, Faulus asked the group a question that caught everyone''s attention.


    At first, all of them attentively listened to the question. Though, once the alchemist was done talking, the entire group began to look at each other with conflicted expressions.


    "Since there are four quadrants to the city, then that must mean there are four quadrant leaders in total."


    "However, there are five of us in this group."


    "How are we going to split it up?"

 Chapter 636 Four Pillars: Argument

    Chapter 636 Four Pirs: Argument


    Pondering over Faulus'' question for a bit in silence, Valyr eventually let out a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. "Now that you mention it¡­ I seriously have no idea."


    "Does anyone have suggestions?" Finishing the remainder of his dinner in a fewrge bites, the young man began to look at the others, hoping that they would have an answer.


    Staring at the other four in silence, Loreina eventually mustered up the courage to say what was on her mind. "The center of the city ruins is also considered a quadrant, right?"


    In response, everyone nodded in agreement to her words. However, after asking that question, the tailor did not continue her train of thought, knowing that the others were already thinking of the same thing as her as they mulled over it in silence.


    From the information Valyr and Hal had obtained regarding the general strength of beings in various parts of the inheritance, the strongest beings within the four quadrants were at the peak of Rank 5 and had control over a full Intent.


    With the experience all of them have umted from the trials, as well as the rewards they have obtained, although it would be quite difficult to surmount such arge gap, the five of them still had confidence in achieving the impossible.


    Inparison, the strongest being found at the center of the city ruins could only be ssified as an impossible foe.


    Not only did Hal and Valyr''s skills say that the strongest being hadmand over a Force, but it also said that the being had possibly transcended the realms of mortality altogether, being ssified as a Myth in terms of strength.


    Even if they had gotten stronger thanks to the rewards given by the Gates of Enlightenment, none of them entertained the thought of being able to fight against someone at the level of a Myth, especially with the fact that none of them hadprehended an actual Intent yet.


    With that, the atmosphere surrounding the campsite had be silent once more as all of them wracked their brains toe up with a solution that moved them away from the worst-case scenario.


    After all, if one of them did not want to fight against the Myth level being at the center of the city ruins, then it went without saying that none of them did.


    Just as a usible idea was starting to brew in Vera''s mind, Faulus spoke up all of a sudden, prompting everyone to focus their attention to his words.


    However, once they did, the four could not help but look at the alchemist with shocked expressions.


    "Since Loreina has rified that there are actually five quadrant leaders in the inheritance instead of four, why not have our leader fight against the quadrant leader in the center of the city ruins while the remaining four takes on one of the remaining quadrant leaders each?"


    For a long while after Faulus'' words, the entire campsite was covered in silence once more. However, unlike the silence that covered the entire group earlier, the current silence seemed loud inparison.


    Though a few among the group had entertained the thought in their head after hearing Loreina''s words, all of them quickly shut the thought down. After all, even though Valyr was the strongest in the group when it came tobat, such a level of strength was no match to the strength of a Myth.


    Yet, as if the man had given into his intrusive thoughts, Faulus said the thing no one wanted to say. To no surprise, an awkward air could be felt amidst the silence as everyone looked at the target of the alchemist''s words.


    Of course, it went without saying that Valyr was thoroughly incensed at this point, especially after recalling a simr incident happening back when they were up against their first aberration.


    "Do you have some sort of hidden grudge against me or something?" asked the young man to Faulus, faintly ring the aura he generally kept restrained. "Did I ever do something to piss you off?"


    "I¡­" At Valyr''s questioning, Faulus could only remain silent.


    Naturally, with the situation that was arising, the alchemist recalled the incident that urred after being faced against one of the aberrations. At the time, it was his fear of fighting against the aberrations talking, which he had exined to Valyr while they were out in the ins.


    However, unlike that time, Faulus truly did not know what hade over him this time around. Sure, he also entertained such frivolous thoughts like the others, but he also knew not to share it since even he knew how outrageous the idea was.


    Sadly, as if his body wasn''t listening to his thoughts, the exact opposite had urred, leaving Faulus no choice but to look at the ground as Valyr said a few more things out of anger.


    "I thought we let bygones be bygones after the tournament," said Valyr to Faulus. "I even lent an ear to you and gave you advice when you felt like you were at your lowest point."


    "I even gave you tips on how to improve yourbat while we were fighting side by side against the aberrations in the ins."


    "I thought we had already gotten past the point of being strangers¡­ I thought we had already gotten the past the point of getting used to my original identity." Valyr sighed. "But it seems like that wasn''t the case at all?"


    "I really didn''t mean to say that, Valyr!" Knowing that he would regret it if he continued to stay silent, Faulus swiftly replied to the young man''s words in hopes of making amends.


    Unfortunately¡­


    "If you didn''t really mean to say that¡­ then why''d you even say it in the first ce?" Shaking his head, Valyr stared at Faulus for a bit before letting out a sigh. After that, he stood up from where he sat before making his way to his tent.


    "Let''s talk about this topic after all of us reach an authority level of 10." Standing at the entrance of his tent, Valyr looked at the others for a bit before giving them an order. "For the meantime, keep focusing on that."


    In response, the four could only nod as their leader headed inside his tent early.


    Watching Valyr''s tent for a bit, the four eventually looked at one another. Though, after some time, Hal and the two girls stared intently at Faulus, hoping that their solemn gazes could convey the thoughts that lingered in their minds.


    Fortunately for the three, the alchemist could indeed understand what they wanted to convey, inwardly letting out a sigh as a single sentence began to echo within his mind.


    ''Look at what you''ve done.''

 Chapter 637 Four Pillars: Cooling Off

    Chapter 637 Four Pirs: Cooling Off


    For a long while after the argument between Faulus and Valyr, the entire campsite remained silent. Though the four in the campsite still hadn''t finished eating yet, Hal and the other two avoided talking to Faulus for the meantime.


    After all, it wasn''t easy for them to look over something like that.


    As for Faulus, after internalizing the fact that he had indeed said those words, the alchemist briefly looked at the three before looking at the te of food he had yet to finish.


    Ever since Valyrshed out at his words and headed to his tent early, the man had been pondering as to the actual reason why he had said something like that all of a sudden.


    Though, even after going through every nook, cranny, and recess in the corners of his mind, Faulus could not find a reason at all.


    Wanting to find out the answer so badly, he even went so far as to push his mind to its limits to see if he had formed a grudge between the young man or if he had caused some sort of misunderstanding in the past.


    Yet, nothing of the sort appeared even after minutes of searching.


    "What has gotten into me?" Giving up on finding answers for the meantime, Faulus softly asked himself, staring at his hands in silence. For a brief moment, he wondered whether he was the one controlling his body.


    Letting out a faint sigh, the alchemist quickly finished his te of food before making his way to his own tent. While doing so, he briefly gazed at the tent where Valyr was, hoping to apologize to the man for what he had done.


    "¡­" Yet, after standing in ce for a few seconds, he eventually made his way to his tent, imagining what Valyr must''ve felt in that kind of situation.


    ''The problem might only get worse if I apologize right now,'' thought Faulus to himself, softly shaking his head. ''In that situation, my apology would just look insincere.''


    "I''m seriously gonna get to the bottom of this." Lying down on his bed for the night, Faulus silently made a promise to himself, eventually closing his eyes after some time.


    ¡­


    With both Faulus and Valyr heading to their tents early for the night, it was no surprise that the remaining three had sped up their eating.


    Then again, with none of them having any grudges between one another, the three of them still took a bit of time to finish their food. After all, havingpany made food taste better.


    Eventually, once they were done, they cleaned up the ce for a bit before heading to their respective tents.


    Looking at each other for a bit, the three of them bitterly smiled as they let out faint sighs. As the three of them entered their tents, each of them was sure that the other two were thinking of the same thing.


    ''I really hope the two of them sort this out tomorrow.''


    ''If not, I don''t know if we''d even reach the end of the inheritance.''


    ¡­


    "Haah." With one of his arms over his eyes, Valyr let out a low sigh as he stared at the ceiling of his tent.


    For quite some time, he had been thinking about the argument that unfolded between him and Valyr. Because of it, he was also reminded of the incident that happened after finding their first aberration.


    However, with no one like Hal stopping the incident from escting any further, the young man grew more and more incensed the more he listened to Faulus'' suggestion.


    After all, from his perspective, it seemed like Faulus wanted him to sacrifice himself for the sake of them.


    Just because he was stronger than them inbat.


    ''It really leaves a sour taste in my mouth,'' Valyr inwardly muttered to himself, removing the arm off his eyes. After that, he let out yet another sigh as he gave himself more time to ponder over the situation.


    ''Then again, with all things considered, the five of us have only been together for about a week in total.'' At this thought, Valyr gradually closed his eyes. ''If anything, I shouldn''t have expected a strong rtionship toe out of that much time.''


    Vividly recalling the argument that transpired between him and Faulus earlier, Valyr took notice of the expression on Faulus'' face after he had said his piece.


    From what he could remember, the alchemist''s face was greatly filled with regret, showing that he had no intentions of saying those words at all.


    Yet, for some reason, he could feel an intangible smirk lying underneath the alchemist''s expression.


    ''You''re bing delusional.'' Being reminded of the time his mind derived baseless conclusions while fighting against his first primitive humanoid, Valyr shook his head for a bit as he discarded all of the useless thoughts lingering in his mind.


    Then, the young man let out yet another sigh, feeling as if all of the anger welling up inside him all this time had be superficial all of a sudden.


    ''Now that I think about it, there really isn''t a reason for any of us to form strong rtionships with one another,'' said the young man to himself. ''After all, we''re all prodigies in our own fields. Plus, we came to this inheritance to achieve our personal goals.''


    ''Haah¡­ what am I even thinking?'' Catching himself before he delved deep into a rabbit hole that did not look to have any end, Valyr stared at the tent''s ceiling for a bit before covering his eyes with his arms once more.


    At this point, the anger he had felt due to the incident had been thoroughly washed away. Nevertheless, the fact that Faulus had targeted him twice still didn''t sit right with him.


    "I seriously hope he apologizes at the very least," muttered Valyr to himself. Then, he sat up on his bed, opening up the list of skills he currently owned.


    "If he does that, then there''s still hope for our rtionship to make amends." Taking note of all of the skills he had ''reced'' in the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion, as well as a couple more skills that were unleveled, Valyr went ahead and maxed all of them to Level 10 for the meantime.


    Though he had the Skill Keys necessary to break through the level bottlenecks, he did not have enough to max out all of them.


    Aside from that, the amount of information that inundated his mind from upgrading over 20 skills was already nearing the limits of what his mind could somewhat tolerate. If he were to use his Skill Keys and go over, he was certain he''d remain unconsciousness for quite some time.


    Giving time for the feeling of great strain in his mind to subside, the young man eventuallyid down on his bed once more and closed his eyes for the night.


    ''I really hope tomorrow bodes well for all of us.''

 Chapter 638 Four Pillars: Another Perspective

    Chapter 638 Four Pirs: Another Perspective


    By the time the sun had risen once more, Valyr was the first one to get up yet again. Making breakfast for the entire group, the young man stared at Faulus'' tent for quite some time before returning his attention to the food he was cooking.


    Around half an hour after Valyr had woken up, the others began to wake up as well, being allured by the scent of fresh breakfast lingering in the air.


    During this time, the group seemed to have forgotten the incident that had transpired the previous night, talking about mundane things as they dug into their respective tes of food.


    Nevertheless, the tension between Valyr and Faulus was still palpable at this time, prompting everyone else to ignore it for the meantime as everyone geared themselves up for another day of fighting the primitive humanoids.


    ¡­


    ''I guess he isn''t going to apologize, huh.'' With him and Hal not taking too long to prepare forbat, the two of them kept the words they promised from the previous night, scouting out the entire city ruins for the locations of the quadrant leaders.


    Unsurprisingly, with the two being closer to the beings they wanted to find, it only took a few minutes for the two to obtain the exact locations of where the quadrant leaders where.


    In fact, thanks to Hal''s reconnaissance skill, the information they had regarding the quadrant leader''s strength had be more detailed as well thanks to the proximity.


    Then again, the new pieces of information he gained did not change the fact that fighting against the quadrant leaders alone would still be a difficult thing to achieve.


    "Say, Valyr." While Hal and Valyr werepiling the information they''ve obtained, Loreina, who was in the midst of herbat preparations, called for the young man''s attention.


    "Now that I think about it, did the quest specifically say that we have to kill the quadrant leaders on our own?" Looking at her in response, Valyr went silent for a bit after listening to her question.


    After that, he brought up the description of the specific quest in his mind, reading through it a couple of times to make sure he had not missed even the smallest detail.


    Once he was done reading, he looked at Loreina and shook his head as the gears in his mind began to turn. "It doesn''t say anything about having to kill them solo. What about it?"


    "Well, since the quest doesn''t say that we have to kill the quadrant leader solo, then doesn''t that we could just kill a single quadrant leader as a whole group?" said Loreina in response, looking at the young man with a faint smile.


    "Or perhaps we could still have one person face up against one quadrant leader, but have thest quadrant leader be shared between two people," she continued.


    At those words, Valyr had confirmed the suspicions he had after hearing Loreina''s first question. Though the quest said nothing about having to kill the quadrant leader solo, with how his trial to enter the Gates of Enlightenment went, Valyr had eventually realized one thing.


    The Triad Gates favored those that had superb strength.


    That was already evident in how he and Hal only had to clear one trial, yet received the same amount of rewards whenpared to the other three, more in Valyr''s case.


    With this thought in mind, and how all of them were given a chance to enter the Gates of Awakening by killing a quadrant leader, the young man had a feeling that they would indeed be able to enter the higher gates if they were to kill a quadrant leader together.


    However, he was quite certain that if they were to fight against the quadrant leaders solo, greater rewards would await them.


    And if one among them showed that they had to capability to surmount not just three ss ranks of power, but also two realms of concept¡­


    Who knew what the Triad Gates would do?


    "Let''s talk about the quadrant leaders some other time." After mulling over Loreina''s words for a bit, Valyr eventually responded to her with a slight smile. "After all, we still haven''t met the other objectives yet."


    "Plus, with how quests are ambiguous in their objectives sometimes, we''re not sure if the system would even count the kill if two or more people were to fight against a quadrant leader," continued the young man.


    At this point, Loreina felt a bit discouraged after hearing her suggestion being dismissed. After all, this thought upied a great portion of her mind the previous night.


    But of course, Valyr did not dismiss the thought at all. "But, if the system does confirm that fighting a single quadrant leader together counted as a kill, then who are we to stop ourselves from working together?"


    ''It''s definitely many times better than forcing someone who knows they''re not a match for a Myth level being to fight a being of that caliber,'' thought the young man to himself as Loreina smiled in response to his previous words.


    ''He really isn''t going to apologize, huh.'' Seeing that Faulus wasn''t approaching him or making any sort of move to make amends with him after all this time, the young man inwardly let out a faint sigh as he decided to be the bigger man in this situation.


    Though, just as he thought that the five of them would go their separate ways without having a chance to smoothen things out, Faulus finally made a move, sending a private message to Valyr through the chat function.


    "Valyr, I am seriously seriously sorry for what I''ve saidst night," wrote Faulus in his message. "I really did not mean to say something like that, and I wouldn''t be surprised if you were to still hold a grudge against me."


    Reading the message Faulus sent to him, Valyr slightly frowned. "Why apologize to me through the chat function if we can just talk face to face?"


    It only took a few seconds for the alchemist to respond back with his own message. "That''s because there are some things that would be better off unknown to the others."


    "I admit that I suggested you to take the lead out of fear when we were up against the aberrations," said Faulus in his next message. "However, believe me that the words I said to you the previous night appeared out of nowhere. I really didn''t mean to say that."


    "To me, it just sounds like you''re making excuses up since you identally let your intrusive thoughts take the lead," wrote Valyr in his response, only to realize that he had written something he was certain Faulus wouldn''t understand.


    "What are intrusive thoughts?" Unsurprisingly, the alchemist had sent a message regarding the specific phrase, prompting Valyr to tell the man that they would save the discussion for ater time.


    Deciding to follow Valyr''s words for the meantime, Faulus decided to return the topic of their conversation to his apology. "In any case, I really hope we could make amends. I really don''t want you think I''m a two-faced person or something like that, especially with what I''ve discoveredst night."


    "Does this thing have something to do with us talking through the chat function at the moment?" Though he couldn''t be any dder to make amends with a talented alchemist like Faulus, Valyr''s curiosity had been greatly piqued by the end of Faulus''st statement.


    "Yes, it does." But as Faulus began to exin what he had discovered to the young man¡­


    Valyr could only look at Faulus with an expression of horror.


    "To sum up my discoveries in a few words¡­"


    "I figured out that there''s another person controlling my body."

 Chapter 639 Four Pillars: Making Amends

    Chapter 639 Four Pirs: Making Amends


    For a minute or so, Valyr could only look at Faulus in silence, wondering whether or not to believe his words. After all, from his perspective, it seemed that Faulus had just given in to his intrusive thoughts the previous night.


    With that in mind, Valyr began to wonder whether Faulus was just pulling his leg or ying a joke on him just to lighten up the mood.


    "Are you¡­ are you perhaps joking?" Though, since the alchemist would not tell something like that to him if there wasn''t the possibility of it being true, Valyr decided to send a message back to Faulus for confirmation.


    In response, Faulus looked at Valyr and faintly shook his head before sending a reply. "What reason would I even have toe up with such an borate joke?"


    ''True.'' Reading through the alchemist''s response, Valyr wryly smiled.


    Inwardly taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, the young man soon asked Faulus for more details as to how he figured something like that out.


    In response, the alchemist sent back a series of messages that were concise, yet contain most of the information Valyr needed to know.


    From what Faulus had sent to him in his messages, after the argument between the two of them had ended, the alchemist had sworn to himself to find out the reason why he had blurted out something like that all of a sudden.


    After all, ording to Faulus himself, it wasn''t like him to speak out his mind before thinking.


    With that, he began to thoroughly search through every possible cause whilst he was in his tent, starting off with the items he had brought along with him in his spatial chest.


    Utilizing his great control over mana, he eventually crossed out the items in his spatial chest as a cause, finding nothing out of the sort even after greatly scrutinizing each and every item he had brought.


    After that, he focused his attention towards the tent, as well as the current surroundings they were in. Though, simr to his first search, nothing popped up either, making him wonder whether he had truly decided to say what was on his mind at that moment without thinking.


    Eventually, after finding nothing strangeing from his items and the environment, he focused his attention towards himself.


    Or more specifically, his internals.


    Circting mana to every nook and cranny that existed within his body, Faulus kept all of his senses peeled for anything peculiar, cycling the mana around his body multiple times.


    Then, by the time he had cycled his mana throughout his body for the tenth time, he finally noticed an extremely faint connection to some ce else that was connected to his mind.


    With how near imperceptible it was, Faulus decided to circte his mana around his body for a bit more to hopefully cause the connection to awaken.


    Thankfully, by the time he had circted his mana around his body a total of 30 times, the connection had be strong enough for him to find out what the connection was doing.


    And what he found out shocked him to the core.


    Though he could not figure it out at first, Faulus eventually realized that this connection was the source of the negative thoughts that gued his mind ever since he entered the inheritance.


    Then again, he wasn''t 100% sure whether or not the connection was truly the case, considering that he could only sense a nefarious energy emanating from it.


    Nevertheless, after constructing a few basic barriers out of mana around the connection, he felt his mind be clearer and sharperpared to before.


    "Since I have to circte the mana around my body many times before even sensing that faint connection, I kind of understand why I''ve only said something so oundish twice," wrote Faulus in his final message.


    "Though it would''ve been better if I hadn''t said something like that at all in the first ce, I''m just grateful I now have some protection against it."


    ''You could definitely say that again,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, faintly smiling as he looked at Faulus. ''If it got any worse, I''m pretty sure it won''t just stop at letting your intrusive thoughts win.''


    ''Then again, that begs the question¡­'' Thinking about how it was a huge relief for the group that Faulus had somewhat nipped a potential problem down the road in the bud, a question soon popped up into Valyr''s mind.


    "Do you know who put that connection on you?" Sending the question to Faulus through the chat function, Valyr''s mind was soon engulfed by the thought.


    After all, with a connection like that, then that meant someone either had malicious intent towards Faulus. If not that, then they had malicious intent towards the five of them exploring the inheritance.


    Hoping that the man had an answer, a slight frown briefly appeared on Valyr''s face after seeing Faulus shake his head. "Unfortunately, no. Believe me when I say I''ve searched every nook and cranny to find a possible lead."


    "Yet, nothing." At these words, the alchemist let out a low sigh.


    Valyr let out a sigh as well. "Well, at the very least, you''ve contained a problem that might potentially get worse as more time passed. That, for now, is more than enough."


    "I seriously apologize for causing trouble to you, Valyr," wrote Faulus in his response, feeling glum at the fact that he was causing another problem from another perspective, even though he found out the answer to his earlier problem.


    Valyr only chuckled in response, the faint animosity he felt earlier towards Faulus now gone. "It''s fine, it''s fine. Let''s just hope it doesn''t get any worse the further we delve into the inheritance."


    "But if it does, at least I now have an idea as to what''s going on."


    Sending a few more messages back and forth between them, the two eventually looked at each other with smiles on their faces, prompting the other three to smile as well.


    "Guess they finally made up," said Hal, letting out a bit ofughter.


    "This is just like those things I''ve been reading during my pastime," muttered Loreina, cing her hands on her cheeks as she felt her face get warm all of a sudden.


    "Alright, enough dawdling around." Laughing in response to the words the others were saying, Valyr grabbed their attention and focused it towards the humanoids before them.


    "It''s time for us to gain some more authority levels!"

 Chapter 640 Four Pillars: Speedy Progress

    Chapter 640 Four Pirs: Speedy Progress


    As all of them were nowhere near to finishing any of the other objectives needed to be eligible to enter the Gates of Awakening, it was no surprise that Valyr had everyone use the same setup as yesterday.


    With that, he buffed everyone else with his movement speed boosting skills, just like what he had done yesterday.


    Then, Hal had done what he had done yesterday as well, giving everyone a decently strong stat boosting skill that had a considerably long duration.


    Surprisingly though, rather than go on their separate ways after that, the other three had cast their own skills for the others to experience as well.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Since it was the first time the other three were doing something like this, the others receiving the effects weren''t sure whether they were casting a stat boosting skill, a movement speed boosting skill, or a skill that enhanced another aspect ofbat.


    Nevertheless, the fact still stood that many of their capabilities were enhanced thanks to the series of skills, increasing the confidence of the entire group as they headed their separate ways.


    ¡­


    "Here we go again." Arriving at the west quadrant at less time than before thanks to the skills the others had cast, Valyr scouted out the ce for a bit from the area he designated as his resting spot within the quadrant.


    Pushing [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its limits, it did not take long for the young man toe up with a rough n in his mind, making sure that he was gaining authority levels as quickly as possible.


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Allowing his aura to billow outward after enhancing it, Valyr began to grin a bit once he noticed that his aura had caught the attention of a bunch of primitive humanoids nearby.


    After some time, as if those humanoids had realized what was going on, they began to charge towards the young man with all their might, hoping to use their advantage in numbers to overwhelm him.


    "[Crimson de Torrent]." Moving away from his designated resting spot, Valyr let out a chuckle as he retrieved his magic scepter from his spatial bracelet, sending arge volley of crimson des towards the humanoids that began to chase after him.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­" Then, as if the young man had practiced the move countless times, Valyr swapped his magic scepter for the spear on his back, summoning both Shadow Energy and mana within his body as he swung upward.


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    Whoosh!


    With an inherently physical and an inherently magical attack heading their way, the humanoids chasing after Valyr had employed the defenses they specialized in, thinking that it wouldn''t take long for them to get their chance at striking the young man down.


    Though, with how Valyr ovepped the two attacks over one another, that meant that the humanoids became standing targets to him, with only the third type of primitive humanoid faring somewhat betterpared to the first two types.


    Then again, with how the other humanoids slowly began to fall one by one as they sumbed to the attacks they were vulnerable to, the third type of primitive humanoids eventually fell down his well, causing Valyr to faintly smile as a notification sound resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 6.]


    "I just gotta do this four more times, then I''ll reach the minimum authority level needed for the other quest." Selecting to do the quest one more time after being asked by the system, Valyr wondered once more as to whether or not Level 10 was the maximum authority level one could have.


    In the end, he ced the thought at the back of his head for the meantime, deciding toe back to the hypothesis only after he had reached the authority level that was considered to be the limit.


    For now¡­


    It was time to kill some more primitive humanoids.


    ¡­


    As more and more time passed, it went without saying that Valyr and the others had focused most of their attention towards killing the primitive humanoids to increase their authority levels.


    By the time the sun was at the peak of the sky, Valyr had already reached an authority level of Level 8. Then again, that was due to the fact that he had almost cleared the quest twice yesterday, while the others had only cleared it once inparison.


    Of course, that did not mean that the others were making slower progress. Being on par with Valyr when it came tobat, Hal had already reached an authority level of Level 7, only needing a few more kills to reach Level 8.


    Surprisingly, Loreina also had an authority level of Level 7 by the time the day turned noon, leveraging the fact that she couldmand a massive army of summons to fight for her.


    Though, whenpared to Hal, she still had a ways to go before reaching Level 8, only having made it a quarter of the way after picking up the quest again.


    As for Vera and Faulus, both of them had an authority level of Level 6, showing to the others thatbat was not their forte.


    However, that did not mean that they weregging behind, with each of them only needing around ten more kills or so before reaching the same authority level as Hal and Loreina.


    "I guess everyone''s going to reach Level 10 before it even turns to night." Taking a look at the party chat to see how the others were progressing, Valyr sat down on his resting spot and ate some of the rations he had brought along with him.


    Taking a few sips of water after that, the young man went silent for a bit as he pondered over a couple of things. "Hmm¡­ I think I''ll reach Level 10 around the afternoon."


    "That gives me some time to test my hypothesis and do some other stuff I mighte up with before grouping up with the others for the night," muttered the young man to himself, his gaze gradually focusing onto some ce not far away from where he was.


    "Alright." Letting out a faint sigh, Valyr stood up and looked at the primitive humanoids that filled the west quadrant. After that, he returned his attention to the ce he was staring at before. "I''ve made up my mind."


    "Once I reach Level 10 in authority¡­"


    "I''m gonna head to where the quadrant leader is."

 Chapter 641 Four Pillars: Incomplete Equation

    Chapter 641 Four Pirs: Iplete Equation


    "Groooaaggghh!!!" Staring at the lone primitive humanoid before him, Valyr had a calm expression on his face as he took a look at the screen to his side.


    "One more kill and I can finally focus on doing the other things I want," muttered the young man to himself.


    After making up his mind on what he was going to do after reaching Level 10 in terms of authority level, it was no surprise that the young man went on a rampage once more, killing all of the primitive humanoids within his vicinity.


    With how many primitive humanoids he had killed so far, it went without saying that Valyr had greatly optimized his method in killing multiple primitive humanoids in as few attacks as possible.


    However, for some reason, as he made the push to earn thest few authority levels needed toplete the authority level objective on the other quest, the young man had seemingly improved his method even further.


    What would take him a few minutes to clear now only took a couple, while the lone primitive humanoids he fought that would''ve usually taken a couple of minutes to kill now took slightly over a minute at most.


    Though he was d that his killing efficiency had improved even further, highly certain that the experience would carry on once he had to take the trial to enter the Gates of Awakening, Valyr still wondered as to what reason caused this sudden improvement.


    Was it the fact that he was quite close to being over with the grind?


    Or was it the fact that he had found more ingenious ways to utilize his skills while fighting against the humanoids?


    Perhaps, it was just the feeling of pleasure carnage brought him as he gained millions upon millions of XP in one fell swoop.


    Well, whatever it may be, this next kill would finally free him from the authority level grind.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]." Intently watching the primitive humanoid''s every move, Valyr swiftly retrieved the spear behind his back as he summoned his Shadow Energy and mana in the process.


    Then, just as he was going to move both energies towards the tip of his spear, the humanoid had sent out its attack,manding a barrage of mana bolts to head towards Valyr''s way.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With how sparse the nket of mana bolts was, the young man thought that it wouldn''t be difficult for him to avoid all of the attacks if he wanted to.


    Though, with how he had already charged up the attack that would undoubtedly end the humanoid''s life, Valyr decided to employ a skill he hadn''t used in quite some time.


    "[Shadow Warp]."


    Swoosh!


    Seeing how its opponent did not have any intentions of dodging its barrage of attacks, the humanoid inwardly sneered as it knew how much power was contained behind each mana bolt.


    However, before it could even gloat over its opponent''s demise, the being it was fighting disappear from its vision all of a sudden, only to appear a couple of meters away from it an instantter.


    "Grwaaagghh!!!" Surprised from the suddenness of its opponent''s appearance, the humanoid decided to send a series of attacks once more, thinking that the close range would undoubtedly allow its attacks tond true.


    Unfortunately¡­


    "[Descent of the Dark Arcane Fang]."


    Whoosh!


    Before the humanoid could even summon the mana out of its body, Valyr had swung his spear in a downwards arc, bisecting the humanoid''s body in half as its head burst into chunks of flesh and blood.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 75 Primitive Humanoid (Mythic Elite). You have gained 2,407,995 XP.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (801/1000).]


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 10.]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4).]


    [Reach an authority level of 10 within the Gates of Enlightenment (10/10)]


    "Finally." Shaking off the blood that clung onto his spear, Valyr affixed the spear onto his back once more before taking a look at the series of notifications that filled his screen.


    Faintly smiling as he recalled the moment he turned the tables against the humanoid, the young man nodded in satisfaction as he finished reading through all of the notifications. "I should really use those skills more often."


    With how his strength had grown to the point where only enemies that were many levels and ranks higher could pose a threat to him, Valyr gradually forgot the existence of the skill that was used to be a staple of hisbat style, the [Serpent Steps Movement Style].


    Then again, with the skill being upgraded after he had gained his subss, only to be improved even further after he had be a Shadow Serpent Manncer, the young man did not truly forget the skill, utilizing one of its skills during his fight with the Ancient Elite tier Shadow Serpent.


    With how he had used one of its other skills just now to turn the tables against the lone humanoid, it did not take long for Valyr to realize that he had basically boxed himself when it came to unpredictability during inbat.


    Sure, he had taken care of one part of that equation, which was his variety in attacks. However, because he had focused too much on that portion, he slowly began to forget the other part thatpleted that equation.


    And that was movement.


    "I should familiarize myself with the skill again before heading somece else." Closing up the notification screen, Valyr made his way to his designated resting spot within the quadrant as he sent a message to the party chat, reminding everyone to meet up at the south quadrantter.


    Then, basking in the environment for a couple of minutes, the young man took in a deep breath before sending out amand. "System¡­"


    "Identify [Shadow Serpent Movement Style]."

 Chapter 642 Four Pillars: Reviewing Skills (1)

    Chapter 642 Four Pirs: Reviewing Skills (1)


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever-familiar bell chime resound throughout his mind in response to hismand, a screen soon appeared in front of Valyr''s field of vision, filled to the brim with information regarding the skill he had brought up.


    Reading through the skill, the young man began to wryly smile as he realized that there was now more techniques within the skill thanks to his now higher stats, as well as the improvements brought about by his subss.


    However, since he had only taken a few brief looks at the skill''s old version in the past and didn''t really pay the skill much attention, he only knew of the skill''s first two techniques.


    "To think I''ve already obtained the ability to fly¡­" muttered the young man to himself, wryly chuckling as he continued to read through its contents. "Then again, the conditions to do so are incredibly stringent."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] (Level 20/20)


    Rarity: Umon+


    The human race is considered to be a race specializing in adaptation. No matter which environment or situation they''re thrown in, they would be able to find a way to push past the struggle and be reborn anew.


    With that, it was no surprise that after the human race had realized their movements were quite restricted, they had taken inspiration from nature itself, whether it be the various elements making up nature, or the other beings that live within it.


    Among those many people that had taken inspiration from nature, one person had decided to take inspiration from a variant of serpents that only exist within the Shadow ne,monly known as the Shadow Serpent.


    Due to this bizarre move, the skill has gained a level of movement far greater than what other movement skills could offer, with only incredibly rare movement skills being a match for its utility and flexibility.


    This skill grants the user the ability to emte the movements of a Shadow Serpent, making use of the greater flexibility that a normal serpent has ess to whilebining it with the peculiar properties that Shadow Energy contains.


    This style consists of 4 moves, with each subsequent move giving the user more freedom in their movements.


    <First Technique: Shadow Warp - Allows the user to make use of the properties of Shadow Energy and teleport to any point within a 5 meter radius. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Cost: 1 Shadow Energy, 500 MP.>


    <Second Technique: Serpentine Sprint - Emte the flexibility of a serpent and bolster it further with Shadow Energy. Increases the user''s movement speed by 30% for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 3 Shadow Energy, 2,000 MP.>


    <Third Technique: Traceless Slither - Fully emte the flexibility of a serpent and slither at great speeds while Shadow Energy removes any obstacles in your way. Allows the user to travel a great distance within seconds. Maximum distance: 5 kilometers. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 5 Shadow Energy, 5,000 MP.>


    <Ultimate Technique: False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern - Awaken the slumbering bloodline of Shadow Serpents and temporarily obtain the wings of its ancestors. Allows the user to form wings of a Shadow Wyvern and use it to maneuver in the air for 30 minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 10 Shadow Energy, 20,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though it seemed like thest two moves on the skill could not be often used inbat, Valyr already had multiple ideas lingering in his mind on how to utilize them after reading through their abilities.


    "The third and fourth move could definitely be used as escape moves duringbat," muttered Valyr to himself as he nodded. "Though, with how long the fourth movests, it could also be used to establish an advantage duringbat."


    With the thought in mind, the young man let out a bit ofughter. "After all, flight is something that''s only truly essible to those reached the peak of Rank 5."


    After reading through the skill''s description a few more times to familiarize himself and get more ideas on how he could use the techniques inbat, Valyr then sent anothermand to the system, changing the content that appeared on the screen in front of him.


    "Identify [Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    Ding!


    "I may have read through this skill more often than the apanying movement style, but with what the Gates of Enlightenment have done to it, I should better familiarize myself with its abilities aside from knowing its new names," said the young man as he focused his attention on the screen once more.


    Though, surprisingly, not even a minute into him reading through its description, the young man''s eyes widened in disbelief.


    "Is this even the same skill I was using during the trial?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style] (Level 10/30)


    Rarity: Rare


    There are various ways to wield the spear¡­ description has been omitted.


    Thanks to the intervention of a mysterious organization, the user has gained a brief glimpse to the power his unique subss holds, a subss theorized by a being that is birthed in Shadow Energy, only to be birthed to reality into the one that owns it.


    This skill allows the user to emte a part of the Arcane Shadow Serpentbat style, a style of spear wielding that makes use of the moves of the Shadow Serpent, bringing it to life with Shadow Energy before intertwining it with mana to achieve greater power.


    The style consists of 5 moves, 1 defensive and 4 offensive, with each subsequent move being more destructive than the previous.


    <First Technique: Descent of the Dark Arcane Fang - Intertwine Shadow Energy and mana together to birth greater power before using the spear as a conduit, sending it in a downwards arc. This skill deals damage equivalent to 250% of the user''s Attack stat. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 1 Shadow Energy, 2,500 MP.>


    <Second Technique: Strike of the Lightless Arcane - Intertwine Shadow Energy and mana together to birth greater power before using the spear as a conduit, thrusting it with the entirety of one''s strength. This skill deals damage equivalent to 300% of the user''s Attack stat. Has a small chance to stun the opponent. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 2 Shadow Energy, 5,000 MP.>


    <Third Technique: Arcane Tide of the Dark Night - Intertwine Shadow Energy and mana together to birth greater power before using the spear as a conduit, swinging it upwards to bring forth a wave of destruction.


    This skills deals damage equivalent to 350% of the user''s Attack stat. Petrifies opponents affected by the wave for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Cost: 5 Shadow Energy, 10,000 MP.>


    <Fourth Technique: Dark Arcane Mirror - Intertwine Shadow Energy and mana together to birth greater power before using the spear as a conduit, striking the ground to conjure a barrier.


    The barrier renders the user immune to damage while reflecting damage dealt by foes to the barrier at 200% of its original power. Disappears after 2 minutes or if barrier receives a cumtive damage of 250,000. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 5 Shadow Energy, 7,500 MP.>


    <Ultimate Technique: Cataclysm of the Dark Arcanum - The Dark Arcanum holds secrets that all worlds covet. Yet these secrets all contain the power to bring end to the worlds that obtain it.


    Intertwining Shadow Energy and mana together, this skill bolsters the darkness within light to greater darkness before summoning the power of the Dark Arcanum through mana. This power then converts darkness into destruction, allowing the user to deal 550% of their Attack stat as damage.


    Renders all enemies blinded, stunned, and disoriented for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 10 Shadow Energy, 25,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Recalling that the Gates of Enlightenment had improved the skill to what it currently was, it was only now did Valyr that the Gates of Enlightenment did not joke around when they said they were giving him a part of the power he would obtain in the future in advance.


    Unlike the Intent Seeds he hadprehended and the advancements he had unlocked, the upgraded skill was more tangible in nature, with Valyr having used its abilities many times already.


    In fact, while using the abilities contained in the skill, the young man felt that the skill had be more tailored to him, or more specifically, more tailored to his current subss.


    "Is it because Shadow Serpent Manncer focuses on both my physical and magic abilities?" asked Valyr to himself.


    Looking at the skill once more, the young man gradually felt as if the skill seemed to be the culmination of a possible path he could take.


    Whether or not it would be the path he would take in the future, that was still up for debate.


    Though the connotations of the skill was definitely something he had to ponder about in greater detail, the young man put those thoughts to the side for the meantime, proceeding to identify a skill that he should have looked at a long time ago.


    "Identify [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]."

 Chapter 643 Four Pillars: Reviewing Skills (2)

    Chapter 643 Four Pirs: Reviewing Skills (2)


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Epic


    There are only two kinds of beings in the world of the jungle: the hunter and the prey.


    The prey employ all sorts of techniques to make sure that they would not end up being caught by the hunter, giving themselves the chance to be the hunter in the future.


    On the other hand, the hunter does everything it can to hunt the prey, even going so far as to use the environment and its senses as its tools.


    To discern and discover peculiarities, then to exploit said peculiarities in order to kill the prey to keep its dominance. That is what a hunter does.


    And these eyes are the symbol of such a hunter.


    This skill gives the user the ability to view weak spots on anything they focus their attention on, whether it be a creature or an item. With enough time, the user can also see the origin of all of those weak spots, giving them the opportunity to capitalize on it.


    This skill also increases the user''s PER stat by 15%.


    <Innate Skill 1: Hunter''s Aura - Whenever this skill is activated, the user radiates an aura that petrifies those weaker than the user into ce. Those that are stronger than the user are unaffected by the aura, though it makes them focus more of their attention on the user. Can be toggled on and off.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Boundless Gaze - Whenever this skill is activated, the user can choose to view weak spots from two perspectives: normal vision or hyperfocus. Hyperfocus allows the user to view targets from near or afar in greater detail.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh." While reading through the description of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], Valyr realized that there really wasn''t much need for him to read through the upgraded skill in the first ce.


    From the experience he had gained in using [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] while forging items, as well as the lesson Jekyll had given him in utilizing the skill from abat perspective, the only thing of note from the skill he hadn''t used yet was the first innate skill.


    Whoosh!


    Willing [Hunter''s Aura] to be activated, the young man instantly felt his body radiating an aura, taking on some of the properties of his aura when he red out his strength to its entirety.


    However, after focusing on the aura for a bit, he gradually began to notice that there was another feeling embedded deep within the aura.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to get a better idea of what the feeling was, Valyr gradually took on a slightly confused expression. "The aura of a predator?"


    "No¡­ the aura of danger." Though after examining the feeling for a bit more, the young man eventually figured out the exact feeling embedded deep within the aura he was passively emanating, disabling it not long after.


    "I wonder if it''s useful against the primitive humanoids," asked the young man to himself, wondering if the aura took stats into consideration or levels into consideration for it to have an effect.


    After switching between the two modes of vision the second innate skill had given him ess to for a bit, the young man then moved onto a skill he had only briefly touched whilst he was in the Shadow ne.


    "Identify [Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shadow Serpent Magic Style] (Lv. 20/20)


    Rarity: Umon


    The human race is considered to be a race specializing in adaptation¡­ description has been omitted


    This skill grants the user the ability to cast a modified version of the magic of a Shadow Serpent, making use of Shadow Energy and mana to conjure magic of the Shadow element, an element that is considered to be almost as destructive as Dark, while being almost as corrosive as Poison.


    This style consists of 5 offensive moves, with each subsequent move being more destructive than the previous.


    <First Technique: Shadow Bolt - Allows the user to cast a bolt made out of Shadow Energy and mana. This skill deals damage equivalent to 200% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT).


    Has a chance to inflict Shadow Poison that deals 50% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Cost: 1 Shadow Energy, 500 MP.>


    <Second Technique: Noxious Rain - Allows the user to cast a rain of bolts made out of Shadow Energy and mana. Each bolt deals damage equivalent to 75% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT).


    Each bolt inflicts Shadow Poison that deals 20% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 1 second. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Cost: 3 Shadow Energy, 3,000 MP.>


    <Third Technique: Domain of the Shadow Serpent - Within the domain, the Shadow Serpent reigns supreme. Allows the user to create a domain out of Shadow Energy and mana, empowering magic damage and mana regeneration by 20% while reducing mana consumption by 10%.


    Any enemy caught within the domain is inflicted with Shadow Poison that deals 30% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage per second. Lasts for 5 minutes. Range: 100 meters. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Cost: 5 Shadow Energy, 15,000 MP.>


    <Fourth Technique: Grand Serpentine Fang - Among the Shadow Serpent''s many weapons, the fang is the deadliest. Allows the user to create arge fang out of Shadow Energy and mana that could be conjured in any ce.


    This skill deals damage equivalent to 350% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT). This skill inflicts Shadow Corruption on the target, which increases the damage dealt by any subsequent Shadow-based magic skill by 50%. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 10 Shadow Energy, 10,000 MP.>


    <Ultimate Technique: Memento Mori - Within the world of Shadow Energy, only death awaits those who are not part of it. Allows the user to summon a small chunk of the Shadow ne into their surroundings, dealing damage equivalent to 500% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) to those caught up in it. The duration of the summoningsts for 1 minute.


    Those that remain standing after the summoning are inflicted with Shadow Poison that deals 100% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 1 minute, as well as True Shadow Corruption, which increases the damage dealt by any subsequent attack from the user by 50%. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 50 Shadow Energy, 25,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Damn." Letting out a brief whistle in admiration of the power the techniques had, Valyr took a bit of time to formte ideas on how he would use the magic style duringbat.


    Unfortunately, by the time he was finished pondering over the idea, the young man came to the conclusion that the magic style was a standalonebat style.


    It was unlike the twobat styles he currently used to fight against the humanoids. Even though they did not have any synergistic effects like the techniques on [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], the flexibility and interchangeability of the two styles made up for it.


    Remaining silent for a bit, Valyr eventually muttered, "If I only use the first two techniques, I could probably weave it into my usual string of attacks just fine and increase my offensive capabilities."


    "As for thest three, only [Memento Mori] would probably form synergistic effects with the other styles," added the young man soon after as he faintly chuckled.


    "Then again, I wonder how much damage I''d be able to deal with [Ruination of the Dark Arcanum] with True Shadow Corruption taking effect?"


    Valyr grinned. "I''ll have to try that out sometime."


    Satisfied with what [Shadow Serpent Magic Style] was capable of, the young man then took a look at its counterpart that was simr to [Intermediate Crimson me Maniption].


    "Identify [Intermediate Shadow Energy Maniption]."


    Ding!


    As the notification sound resounded in his mind, Valyr hoped that the skill was simr to the other element maniption techniques since that meant it could rece [Intermediate Crimson me Maniption] as his main form of magic.


    Thankfully, after reading through its description, that was indeed the case, prompting the young man to let out a slight sigh of relief.


    "I guess this could be considered anotherbat style?" said Valyr to himself with a slight smile, thinking about how there was the possibility of the skill following the path [Intermediate Mystic Energy Maniption] had taken.


    ''Perhaps it''s because Shadow Energy is focused on destruction that it transformed into a skill simr to the other element maniption skills.'' At the thought, Valyr could only shrug his shoulders.


    After all, he did not know the actual reason behind it, nor did he really have a motive to find the reason.


    Taking a brief glimpse at the sun''s position, Valyr closed the screen in front of him and stood up.


    Having sat down for so long, the young man decided to do a few basic stretches as he brought up a prompt he had ignored for quite some time.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to do the quest ''Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3)'' again?]


    "Time to prove whether my hypothesis is correct or not." Letting out a bit ofughter as he confirmed the prompt, Valyr took a look at the primitive humanoids that roamed the streets of the west quadrant.


    Then, just as he was about to start fighting them, the young man stopped in his tracks as thoughts of the skills he had viewed not long ago began to linger in his mind.


    At those thoughts, Valyr could only smile.


    "Then again¡­ it wouldn''t hurt to have a bit of fun while doing so."

 Chapter 644 Four Pillars: Quadrant Leader

    Chapter 644 Four Pirs: Quadrant Leader


    After he had taken a refresher on some of his more important skills, Valyr did not dy fighting against the primitive humanoids, even going so far as to use some of the new information he had learned in a couple of his fights.


    Contrary to his initial thoughts, [Shadow Serpent Magic Style] actually worked well alongside the otherbat styles he was already using, increasing his efficiency of killing the humanoids to ever greater heights.


    With that, he began to experiment more and more during his fights,bining techniques from [Shadow Serpent Magic Style] with the skills and techniques he often used duringbat.


    By the time an hour had passed, the young man was only a couple dozen of kills away from proving whether his hypothesis was correct or not.


    Realizing this, he went ahead and wrangled up all of the primitive humanoids in his vicinity, taunting them with the help of techniques from [Shadow Serpent Movement Style].


    ¡­


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Memento Mori]."


    Whoosh!


    Once he felt like he had gathered enough primitive humanoids into a single spot, Valyr began to condense both Shadow Energy and mana onto his fingertip as an ominous aura started to radiate from his body.


    At first, the humanoids thought nothing of it, instead thinking of the young man as a fool for angering them. Though, just as the humanoids were about to make their move against Valyr¡­


    Pop!


    All of a sudden, the amalgamation of Shadow Energy and mana burst, causing the ominous aura surrounding Valyr to intensify by multiple degrees.


    At this point, the humanoids felt a palpable sense of danger emanating from the young man, briefly wondering whether they were the foolish ones all this time.


    Gone were their thoughts of using the situation to their advantage to kill the man.


    Instead, their survival instincts red up to no end as every cell in their body told them to escape.


    "Grroooaagghh!!!" Unfortunately, just as the humanoids realized this, the world surrounding them had be somewhat muted, looking as if it seemed a bit more glum than before.


    Though, underneath this gloomy facade was an insidious energy that began to rampage within the primitive humanoids'' bodies, gradually inflicting more and more pain to those that were inside this world.


    Due to how the primitive humanoids worked, a great portion of them had already sumbed to its power, falling to the ground as they were rendered lifeless.


    As for those that remained standing, that was due to their instinctual habit of greatly defending against magic attacks. Though, at this moment, those humanoids wondered whether that was a good thing or not.


    After all, with how they looked worse for wear after the attack, it seemed as if all of them would easily tumble as long as someone gave them a slight push.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]..." Unsurprisingly, Valyr was the one who would inflict that final push, retrieving his spear from his back before summoning both Shadow Energy and mana towards the end of his spear tip.


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]."


    Then, amidst the vaguely fearful gazes of the primitive humanoids that remained standing, Valyr swung his spear upwards, conjuring a wave of destruction that spared no mercy to those that stood before it.


    Whoosh!


    One by one, the remaining humanoids fell to the ground with a thud as their bodies took on a bit of the dark energy that enveloped them.


    Eventually, after some time had passed, the primitive humanoids that Valyr had gathered now allid t on the ground, their final expressions covered by the dark energy that ended them.


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever-familiar sound echo in his mind, Valyr affixed his spear onto his back with a grin as hemanded the system to bring up a screen. "It seems I finally have an answer to my hypothesis."


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 11.]


    Seeing the confirmation appear in front of his field of vision, the young man let out a bit ofughter as he closed the screen soon after. "Now that I think about it, the fact that I could still obtain the quest even after reaching Level 10 should have already been a dead giveaway that it isn''t the limit."


    "Either way, the question has now changed to where the limit of authority level lies beyond Level 10."


    "Perhaps Level 20? Wouldn''t be surprised if that was the case," muttered the young man as he shrugged. "In any case, I''ll save that forter."


    "For now, it''s time to head to the center of the west quadrant."


    With his first agenda after reaching an authority level of 10 now done, Valyr swiftly proceeded onto the second agenda he wanted toplete before the five of them had to gather again.


    "[Traceless Slither]."


    Whoosh!


    Coating his entire body in Shadow Energy, the young man began to move through the west quadrant at great speeds, making sure to avoid the attention of all the primitive humanoids that he passed through along the way.


    Nevertheless, there were still a few instances where he moved through an area that put him near a few primitive humanoids.


    Though, whether it was due to the speed he was going, or the fact that the Shadow Energy covering his body masked his presence, the primitive humanoids continued to stand in their ces as if Valyr hadn''t passed through at all.


    Deciding to make use of the skill more often, especially after he and the others had left the inheritance, the young man eventually arrived at the center of the west quadrant, where one of the quadrant leaders they had to kill resided.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Dispelling his movement skill around a hundred meters away from where he and Hal had surmised the west quadrant''s quadrant leader would be, Valyr pushed [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its limits as he slowly looked around the vicinity for traces of the quadrant leader.


    Eventually, after looking for a while, his vision had picked up a pitch-ck circle that was a couple of magnitudesrger than the other circles in the area.


    Knowing what this meant, the young man took in a deep breath as he began to move towards it. While doing so, he made sure to not catch the attention of any primitive humanoids along the way.


    Inwardly letting out a wide sigh of relief after arriving at a spot that gave him a great view of the quadrant leader, Valyr went ahead and activated [Superior Analysis] to gauge their chances of winning.


    Ding!


    Though, at the very moment the quadrant leader''s information appeared on his screen, the young man could only bitterly smile.


    ''Yeah¡­''


    ''Even with our current stats, that really isn''t something you could defeat on your own.''

 Chapter 645 Four Pillars: What Lies Below

    Chapter 645 Four Pirs: What Lies Below


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Ancient Elite)] (Level 90 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 132,000/132,000


    MP: 179,160/179,160


    Attack: 5,216 - 5,216


    Defense: 3,300 - 3,300


    Stats: 825 VIT, 1304 STR, 1287 AGI, 825 DEX, 1493 INT, 1287 WIS, 657 PER, 300 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Combat Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 16 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Power]


    Remarks: Has faint signs of sentience and consciencepared to its peers, allowing it to utilize its power more efficiently. Nevertheless, it still cannot be considered an actual human.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking at the content on the screen that appeared before him, Valyr instantly took note of the fact that four of the quadrant leader''s stats had already far surpassed the four-digit mark.


    Though it might seem like a four-digit stat was to be expected from those at the same rank as the quadrant leader, the reality couldn''t be any further away from the truth.


    Rather than aiming to reach Rank 5 for its strength, most people sought to reach Rank 5 for the sake of lengthening their lives.


    With that, these people opted to choose sses of lower rarities to hasten the process, with those that cared only a smidgen about strength selecting an Umon grade ss at the veryst minute.


    Other than that, those people would''ve chosen a Common ss all the way through.


    Of course, that did not mean that it was impossible for a ss of lower rarity to obtain stats that reached four digits. After all, there were many ways to obtain more stats, such as passive skills, elixirs, and the like.


    However, that did not change the fact that beings with those kinds of stats were incredibly rare in the world of Veldanyr.


    In fact, those that have achieved such a feat had only done so either through choosing a high-rarity ss, or by umting a lot of treasures for a long time.


    With that, even though Valyr already had two stats that broke the four-digit mark without even equipping his armor set on, the young man did not treat the quadrant leader lightly, especially after taking note of its appearance.


    Being mentioned by the remarks of the system itself, the quadrant leader seemed to show a low level of sentience, taking note of its territory as it red its aura every once in a while to scare other primitive humanoids away.


    Not only that, butpared to the other primitive humanoids, the quadrant leader looked incredibly close to a human.


    If anything, the only thing differentiating it from an actual human was the fact that there was a gaping hole on where its heart would be, prompting Valyr to wonder how the primitive humanoid could still remain standing.


    Combined with the fact that the being seemed to be at least one and a half heads taller than him, Valyr felt somewhat intimidated by the quadrant leader, even though him going all out would undoubtedly even the ying field.


    "Doesn''t mean it doesn''t have its own tricks up its sleeve," muttered the young man while shrugging aftermitting the information to memory. "Who knows what techniques [Great Primitive Combat Style] has?"


    "Either way, I''ll inform the others about this once we meet upter." Satisfied with the information he had gained from his quick reconnaissance session, Valyr began to make his return to where he previously was in the west quadrant.


    Making sure to not attract the attention of any primitive humanoids along the way, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief after he hadpletely gotten out of the west quadrant''s center.


    Then, seeing that there were only a few primitive humanoids in the area he currently stood in, Valyr decided to activate [Traceless Slither] again, wanting to make the most of his time killing primitive humanoids before meeting up with the others.


    However, just as he had shrouded his entire body in Shadow Energy¡­


    Rumble¡­


    "The hell?" Out of nowhere, the ground began to greatly shake all of a sudden, causing all of the primitive humanoids in the area to run away to safety.


    As for Valyr, he forcefully suppressed the effects of the skill for the meantime, looking at his current surroundings with great curiosity as he wondered where the rumbling wasing from.


    Then again, it did not take long for him to find out.


    Crack¡­


    Hearing the ground beginning to crack, Valyr used [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its entirety to find where the crack had originated.


    Though, at the very moment he did, he reactivated [Traceless Slither] and poured more Shadow Energy into it, incessantly cursing as the ground beneath him began to cave in.


    "Oh, for fuck''s sake."


    Crash!


    In less than an instant, the crack underneath Valyr''s feet quickly spread throughout the area, growingrger andrger until the entire thing had covered over a hundred meters in radius.


    Then, with Valyr''s weight acting as a catalyst, the ground began to cave in on itself, causing arge hole to soon appear near the center of the west quadrant.


    Fortunately, the quadrant leader did not seem to care about parts of the west quadrant crumbling.


    Or else Valyr''s current situation would''ve gone from bad to worse.


    "Totally fucked around and found out," murmured the young man, tightly gripping onto a long piece of rebar that jutted out from the edge of therge hole.


    Then, putting all of his strength into his arms, he threw himself out of the hole, deftlynding on both of his feet a few meters away.


    "Well, it could''ve been worse." Faintly sighing at the fact that it would be a while before he could return to his usual grinding spot, Valyr took a look at the sun''s position for a bit before returning his attention to therge hole that had appeared.


    Then, changing the perspective of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to hyperfocus, the young man eventually noticed that there were a few pathways at the bottom of the hole, all of which were barely illuminated by the light from the sun.


    "To think there''s more to the city ruins than the surface." Continuing to examine the bottom even further, Valyr eventually surmised that the surface and the bottom was separated by a couple hundred of meters at the very least.


    With that, he wondered whether the bottom was just awork of paths that was used for fast transportation such as subways and the like.


    However, he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind once his vision showed him a plethora of pitch-ck circles beneath the pathways, all of which seemed to be moving every once in a while.


    "Does that mean¡­?" Widening his eyes in disbelief, Valyr looked at the sun for a bit, then at the bottom of the hole.


    Staring back and forth between the two, the young man eventually made up his mind and jumped down into the hole. "My curiosity won''t let me rest if I don''t get to the bottom of this."


    "I guess it''s time to take a detour and find out what lies below."

 Chapter 646 Four Pillars: An Ominous Conversation

    Chapter 646 Four Pirs: An Ominous Conversation


    Leio Kingdom, a kingdom near the Meltierre Empire.


    Near the central area of this kingdom, one would be able to find a two-story manor that had aroused the curiosity of many that havee across it.


    With all of the buildings in its surroundings mostly appearing to be made out of finely chiseled stone painted in various colors, the drab-looking manor stuck out like a sore thumb, prompting those that let their curiosity get the better of them to ask around about its origins.


    Through incessant querying, one would eventuallye to find out that there were two possible stories regarding its origin, the first one being the story of how the manor was already in that spot before the kingdom had even been established.


    Due to how dpidated the exterior of the manor was, with a great portion of the manor overrun with shrubbery and moss, it was a possibility that many hade to ept as fact.


    On the other hand, the second story talked about how the manor was a projectmissioned by an old prince of the current kingdom.


    ording to the story, the prince, who was incredibly fascinated with the style of old architecture, decided to have a manor built in that style after pestering the king multiple times about it.


    With how the prince would be the eventual heir to his throne, and the fact that he did not want to be pestered anymore, the king eventually acquiesced, recruiting all of the best builders in his territory to have the manor built.


    After the manor was fully erected, it went without saying that the prince was enamored by it, even going so far as to stay inside the manor for a few years.


    However, by the time the prince was crowned as the new ruler of the kingdom, the manor was gradually forgotten, causing its appearance to be what it was today.


    For quite some time, many people had fought over which among the two stories was the correct story regarding the manor''s origins.


    Unfortunately, with the owner of the manor not even showing themselves to clear up the confusion after all this time, the people eventually decided that both stories had merit, even though the second one wasn''t as epted by the majority.


    After all, with none of them privy to the true answer, even an oundish im on the manor''s origins could have merit.


    Then again¡­


    Perhaps such an oundish im was the closest one could be to the truth.


    ¡­


    Within one of the many rooms within the drab-looking manor was a middle-aged man in a unkempt ck suit. Sporting a head of neat yet short gray hair, the man nkly stared out of therge window before him, the thoughts running in his mind unknown to others.


    Creak¡­


    Just as it seemed like the middle-aged man would continue staring out the window for the remainder of the day, the door to the room was swung open by a young man that looked to be in histe twenties.


    Wearing a set of casual-looking clothes, the young man gasped for a bit as he looked at the middle-aged man with a hint of panic. "Master, Ie bearing important information."


    "You have disturbed me, but I''m all ears." Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, the middle-aged man panned his pitch-ck irises towards the young man as he looked on with a cold expression. "I hope the information you''re bearing is worth disturbing my afternoon gaze."


    Listening to the man''s words, the young man briefly shuddered in fear as he realized his wrongdoings.


    Giving the middle-aged man a deep bow as he apologized for his blunder, he took in a deep breath before proceeding to share the reason why he had entered the room in the first ce.


    "This informationes from the 3rd Mystic Division," said the young man to the middle-aged man. "ording to them, Subject 003 has discovered the marker we''ve put on them and has applied a few protective measures around it to not let the marker affect them."


    Hearing the young man''s news, the middle-aged man frowned as he shook his head before returning his gaze back to somece far beyond therge window. "This is worth disturbing me?"


    "Just tell the 3rd Mystic Division to apply more energy into the marker," said the man soon after. "Of course, apply it in a way where it dispels the protective measures while not alerting Subject 003."


    "That is indeed what the 3rd Mystic Division has been doing so far." The young man nodded, twiddling his thumbs as he briefly pondered as to whether or not to tell the middle-aged man of the other things in his mind.


    "However, ording to the 3rd Mystic Division, Subject 003 is currently on another spatial ne with a Tier 3 time dtion." In the end, the young man made up his mind and did just that, continuing to speak with a fearful yet calm expression.


    "If it was only a Tier 2 time dtion, the 3rd Mystic Division wouldn''t have problems. Unfortunately, only those in the 1st and 2nd Mystic Division have personnel that can breach such levels of time dtion."


    "Is that so?" Surprisingly, the middle-aged man''s interest was piqued by the young man''s next words, prompting him to look at thetter for a bit before nodding. "Since that''s the case, tell White and Vranim to help the 3rd Mystic Division for a bit."


    "If they refuse, tell them that it''s my orders," he added, to which the young man could only nod in response as hemitted the information to memory.


    "Understood."


    Nodding back at the young man, the middle-aged man returned his attention back outside therge window once more as he asked the former a question. "Since you''ve mentioned Subject 003, how are the other subjects doing?"


    "Out of the six subjects under our control, Subject 002 and Subject O-003 have been showing exemry results in sowing discord and chaos amongst the human and orc race."


    Inwardly d that he had not annoyed his master with his report, the young man inwardly let out a wide sigh of relief as he confidently ryed information that he had obtained to the middle-aged man before him.


    "In terms of impact, Subject 002 is still in the process of setting up a massive event that would greatly affect the human race, while Subject O-003 has pushed the orcs to take on a more offensive approach when in contact with the humans," the young man said.


    "Because of that, the skirmish between the humans and the orcs have now turned into a full-on war, with multiple human kingdoms already sending reinforcement to the point of the war''s origin."


    "Good." Though he continued to look out the window, the middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction as a response to the young man''s words. "Tell the Mystic Division handling O-003 to have the subject cause more chaos. What we want to happen is to also drag the elves into it, after all."


    "I''ll make sure to ry your words, Master." The young man nodded.


    "I''m sure you will," replied the middle-aged man back. "Speaking of which, I have a feeling that Subject 001, O-001, and O-002 are still lying dormant, so tell the Mystic Divisions controlling them to prepare their awakening in the next few months."


    "As for Subject S-004¡­" At these words, the middle-aged man went silent for a bit. "Have the 0th Mystic Division and 0th Soul Division take a crack at controlling him."


    "For now, that will be all."


    "We''ll do as you say, Master." Giving a respectful bow to the middle-aged man, the young man swiftly left the room, allowing the former to continue with his previous task.


    "Ahh¡­" Taking in a deep breath, the middle-aged man let out a sigh as he faintly smiled.


    "The seeds of discord are blooming quite well."

 Chapter 647 Four Pillars: The Dimlight District

    Chapter 647 Four Pirs: The Dimlight District


    Whoosh!


    Jumping down into therge hole, Valyr allowed thew of gravity to do its thing, slightly adjusting his position from time to time to make sure he did not make contact with the walls.


    Then, by the time he was only a few meters away from touching the ground, the young man conjured a strong gust of wind and aimed it at the ground below to act as counterforce.


    Fwoosh!


    In less than an instant, the speed at which he fell down had reduced to negligible levels.


    However, such an action came at the cost of him feeling like someone hadnded a solid punch on the entirety of his body, which he could only endure until hended on the ground with both of his feet.


    Thud!


    "I am never going to do that again." Feeling his feet make contact with the ground, the young man closed his eyes for a bit, giving himself some time to let the aftereffects of his actions subside.


    Once he felt that he had mostly recovered, only did the young man open his eyes once more, taking a nce at the top of the hole that he had just jumped into.


    "Man. Now that I''ve reached the bottom, only now do the good ideas of safelynding heree to mind." Staring at the sky for a bit, Valyr began to bitterly smile as a few thoughts began to surface in his mind.


    "Could''ve made some rope out of mana, or used [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern] to get down here safely even if it was a huge waste of mana, but no. Let''s go with the solution that gives me whish."


    Deciding not to think about such thoughts any further, the young man shift his attention towards the sun''s current position,mitting it to memory as he calcted how much time he had left before sunset.


    Once he had calcted that he still had about two hours or so to explore the area underneath the city ruins, the young man began to look around where he had appeared, conjuring a small me made out of mana.


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    Hearing his footsteps echo throughout the area as he started to walk around, Valyr took note of the fact that the entire ce seemed to have been fashioned out of metal.


    With that in mind, it did not take long for him to realize that he was currently walking through arge corridor, which looked to be wide enough to fit the five of them walking side by side.


    Increasing the intensity of the me he conjured to give off more light, the young man eventually noticed a few spots along the corridor walls that seemed to branch off to other corridors.


    However, rather than head into them, he remained on the corridor he was in.


    In his mind, he needed to obtain more information regarding this underground area before proceeding to veer off the initial path and head deeper.


    Especially with how [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] was showing him tens to hundreds of pitch-ck circles whenever he looked at these veering paths.


    ''I''m guessing this is aplex of underground bunkers?'' As Valyr continued to head through therge corridor, some of the openings had prompted a thought to appear in Valyr''s mind after he thought those openings resembled entrances to underground rooms.


    ''With how everything is made out of metal and how the city above is in ruins¡­ an apocalypse shelter?''


    As the thought continued to linger in his mind, Valyr continued to find more and more proof that his idea seemed to be correct.


    Aside from the fact that there were a couple of openings littered here and there along the walls that led to unupied rooms, the young man had evene across an entrance that bared the entire underground room out in the room.


    Searching through the room in silence, Valyr took note of the skeletons and dessicated corpses that were strewn about.


    Once he was done searching, he then thought about how the city ruins above and these underground rooms were connected,ing up with multiple possibilities as to why they were in their current state.


    "Was this perhaps caused by the Triad Gates?" muttered the young man to himself at some point.


    Though, after pondering over it for a bit, he eventually discarded the thought, considering that the Triad Gates was established in order for humanity to continue prospering through the years.


    Then again, he did not discard the possibility of the organization having some sort of connection to the whole thing.


    ''I''m guessing these corridors were used for waste management before being turned into an underground shelter.'' Walking through the corridor for a bit longer, the young man eventually smelled a faint stench wafting throughout the area, prompting him to pinch his nose in response.


    ''Gross.'' Coincidentally, after realizing this, Valyr began to take note of brown and ck streaks running along the corridor walls.


    Unsurprisingly, such streaks only made him hasten footsteps, thinking at the back of his head that he would explore as much of the underground area in as little as possible.


    Fortunately, not even half an hour after jumping down the hole, Valyr had already reached the end of therge corridor.


    With that, he decided to enter through one of the veering paths that was nearest to where he was, having already made a map of therge corridor and the numerous branches in his mind.


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    Reducing the intensity of the me he had conjured after seeing the size of the corridor he had entered, a few thoughts began to linger in Valyr''s mind as he continued to walk. ''I should probably give this a name, especially if I''m gonna have the others explore this tomorrow.''


    ''We''ve gone with directions for areas on the city ruins¡­'' thought Valyr to himself. ''Adjectives, then?''


    ''Well, the Dark District sounds nice, but it also sounds nd.'' At the thought, the young man scratched the back of his head. ''What other word could I use that also kind of means dark¡­''


    Thankfully, after walking through the small corridor as he pondered over it for a bit longer, Valyr had eventuallye up with a suitable name.


    "Seeing that there''s next to no light in this ce, I guess I''ll call this the Dimlight District."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Yeah, mashing two words into one is quite the stretch."

 Chapter 648 Four Pillars: Exploring Further

    Chapter 648 Four Pirs: Exploring Further


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    Continuing to walk through the path he had chosen, Valyr kept [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] activated at all times as he constantly looked around his surroundings.


    Though the pitch-ck circles in his vision continued to move about, the young man did note across any creature at all. If anything, the corridor he had entered was just a smaller version of therge corridor he had arrived at.


    Then again, unlike therge corridor, which had multiple openings that led to other smaller paths, this corridor instead had multiple openings on its walls that led into small rooms.


    Every once in a while, he would stop by one of the openings and enter one of the rooms, bringing up therge exposed room he hade across in therge corridor earlier in his mind.


    Comparing the two to one another, therge exposed room wasid out in a way that resembled a modestly sized house. There were stairs that led to the higher floors, as well as initially closed-off rooms that were filled with personal amenities.


    On the other hand, the small rooms he explored wereid out simrly to one person apartments in his past life, with all of the amenities arranged in a way that all would be easy to ess.


    Continuing to look through more of the small rooms he hade across, another usible thought eventually surfaced into Valyr''s mind. ''Could this perhaps be an underground housingplex?''


    As the thought came to mind, the young man thought that it made quite a lot of sense.


    After all, judging from the architecture and theyout of the buildings that made up the city ruins, Valyr imagined that all of the people that were able to live in those buildings had to have a lot of money to their name.


    While thinking about this, he recalled the few times he had explored the west quadrant while fighting against the primitive humanoids.


    ''Hmm¡­'' Going through theyout of the west quadrant in his mind, Valyr eventually frowned, noting that almost of the buildings in the city ruins were mid to high-rise buildings.


    Of course, there were also a couple small buildings here and there, but with how those buildings upied quite a considerable size ofnd, the young man quickly assumed that those were the homes of the incredibly wealthy.


    ''If this is indeed an underground housingplex, then theyout makes quite a lot of sense,'' thought Valyr to himself at some point, feeling that he mighte across anotherrge corridorter on.


    Though, as the thought came to mind, the young man briefly had a wry smile on his face, thinking as to how long it would take for him to explore the entirety of the Dimlight District if therge corridor he hadnded himself in already had so many corridors.


    Thud. Thud. Thud.


    Just as Valyr was about to resume walking through the path he had chosen, the young man immediately stopped in his tracks after hearing a series of footsteps faintly echo from afar.


    Then, not long after, the footsteps echoed once more.


    Only this time, they were considerably louder than before.


    ''Are there people still living here?'' asked Valyr to himself, faintly shaking his head as he found such a thought highly unlikely.


    However, that did not mean it was impossible.


    Slightly increasing the intensity of the me he had conjured to allow him to see further into the distance, Valyr decided to continue walking once more.


    Though, now that he had obtained signs that there might be other people still living within this underground area, he made sure to decrease the amount of noise he made as possible, even going so far as to use the element of Wind to cushion his every step.


    "I really don''t want to disturb them, but at the same time, I''m very curious to find out how these people survived for so long," murmured the young man as he thought out loud.


    ''Then again, with how the primitive humanoids have upied the four quadrants, it wouldn''t be surprising if the footsteps I heard actually came from primitive humanoids that found themselves underground.''


    Deciding to not to dwell on the matter any further, Valyr continued to walk through the rtively narrow path, still stopping every once in a while to get a sense of what the underground area''s purpose was.


    However, unlike before, where all of his attention was focused towards the entire underground area, the young man also took a look at the pitch-ck circles that moved in his vision from time to time, keeping an eye to see if any of them was moving toward him.


    And eventually, one did.


    Noticing that one of the pitch-ck circles in his vision was incredibly near to where he currently stood, Valyr swiftly reduced the output of the conjured me to where it was barely enough for him to see the surroundings.


    Then, taking in a deep breath, he began to move towards the source of this pitch-ck circle as multiple thoughts began to race in his mind.


    Would hee across a human that had miraculously survived in this ce for who knows how many years?


    Or would hee across an unlucky primitive humanoid that had inadvertently fallen to this underground area at some point in the past?


    With such thoughts going through his head with every passing second, it was no surprise that the young man was left at a loss for words after finally seeing the source of the pitch-ck circle in person.


    For the answer to any of his previous questions was neither.


    Though the being that stood before Valyr passively exuded an aura that reminded him of the primitive humanoids, the being before him did not have the bestial instinct the primitive humanoids had to charge at him the very instant they noticed his presence.


    If anything, the current actions of the being before him were the exact opposite of the primitive humanoids, instead looking at Valyr with great curiosity in its eyes, as well as a hint of fear deep within.


    Aside from that, the being resembled actual humans quite a lot, with the only exceptions to that being the fact that itsplexion was as a white as a sheet of paper, and the fact that its nails on its hands and toes were unnervingly long.


    Briefly gazing at the piece of dirtied cloth that wrapped around its waist, Valyr went ahead and used [Superior Analysis] on the being to find out what he was dealing with.


    Only for the answer the system gave him to be way beyond even his wildest expectations.

 Chapter 649 Four Pillars: The Forgotten Ones

    Chapter 649 Four Pirs: The Forgotten Ones


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Vlrvadh, the Forsaken Denizen] (Level 90)


    ss: Elite Underground Guard (Rank 5 ¡ª Umon)


    Subss: Aged Underground Dweller (Umon)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 23,368/23,368


    MP: 19,182/19,182


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 2,592 - 2,592


    Defense: 2,235 - 2,235


    Stats: 508 VIT, 648 STR, 584 AGI, 599 DEX, 417 INT, 314 WIS, 277 PER, 145 LUK


    Remarks: A descendant of a being from a civilization that once was, only to be forgotten by the sands of time. Confined for eons to bare metal walls, their semnce of humanity had regressed to an era far back into the past.


    Because of it, these beings have be simr to those that dwell on the surface, though neither have made contact with one another. Perhaps, there is a way for them to be enlightened in their ways?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the information given to him by the system in disbelief, Valyr continuously looked back and forth between the screen and the being that stood before him for quite some time.


    ''This being is¡­ human?'' thought the young man to himself, finding it somewhat difficult to wrap his head around the idea.


    After all, from his first impressions of the being and what the system had mentioned in its remarks, the being before him looked quite simr to a primitive humanoid.


    However, after looking at the being for a bit more, Valyr gradually began to understand, taking note of the fact that the being in front of himcked neither appendages nor organs.


    Then again, the length of the being''s nails still unnerved him, making for a somewhat eerie sight as the being currently stood hunched due to the narrowness of the corridor.


    Nevertheless, theyout of the being''s information was the thing that sealed the deal for the young man, recalling that monsters and humans differed in the fact that the former had ess to the tier system.


    On the other hand, humans had ess to the subss system.


    "Man¡­" Letting out a sigh, Valyr moved the screen to his side as he gave the being named Vlrvadh by the system an intentful look.


    Feeling stared at by a being it did not recognize, it was no surprise that the fear in Vlrvadh''s eyes increased, preparing itself to escape from the ce the very instant it could.


    Fortunately, just as Vlrvadh expected the being in front of it to attack for no reason, thetter instead scratched the back of his head and stood in ce as multiple thoughts started to linger in his mind.


    ''ording to the remarks given by the system, this ce could equally be an underground bunker in preparation for the apocalypse, or an underground housingplex for those that did not have much money on hand,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself.


    ''However, there is the possibility that it could also be both.''


    At this thought, Valyr imagined in the past that the city on the surface was incredibly prosperous, though the cost of living there was unreasonably high.


    Because of such high costs of living, the government decided to create aplex of living spaces underground that would be affordable to those that weren''t that well off, especially after multiple calls for actions had been done.


    For a while, the city continued to prosper under this arrangement, with the surface and the underground consistently interacting with one another.


    Though, at some point in time, someone or something had caused the entire city to think that the apocalypse was near, prompting the underground housingplex to be turned into a shelter in preparation for the end of the world.


    However, since many people were already living underground, there was not much space for the wealthy anymore¡­


    Unless they did something.


    ''Which is why there are many smaller corridors that branch off therge corridor.''


    Recalling the numerous smaller corridors he hade across earlier, Valyr surmised that all of the wealthy people had been given amodations on the walls of therge corridors.


    Then, those that weren''t well-off in life were forced to move to the smaller corridors, even though they had been staying underground for far longer.


    ''And then the apocalypse came, removing all forms of connection between the surface and the underground, causing those in the underground to be forgotten.''


    At this thought, Valyr imagined many periods of unrest happening within these metal walls. After all, the apocalypse happening meant that even basic resources had be scarce.


    ''I''m guessing some people had risked to investigate the surface after the apocalypse in search of resources,'' thought Valyr as he rubbed his chin. ''Though, I''m pretty sure such a decision was only made as ast-ditch effort.''


    Eventually, deaths began to pile up in the underground area, reducing the demand for such basic resources as a bnce of sorts was achieved.


    However, with such resources still being limited, the humans were forced to adapt, especially with the apocalypse on the surface still going on.


    ''Then, at some point, the apocalypse on the surface ended, allowing us to explore the city ruins without much problem.''


    ''However, with how long that must have taken, those in the underground have forgotten to check, instead adapting to their lives in their new surroundings.''


    ''Eventually, those people gave rise to people that only knew of the underground¡­''


    ''And that leads us to today.''


    Though Valyr reminded himself that his train of thought was purely guesswork, it still did not stop from letting out yet another sigh out of pity for the being that stood before him.


    Staring at Vlrvadh once more, the young man took in a deep breath before having a determined look at his face.


    "Can you lead me to your people?" asked the young man, utilizing exaggerated bodynguage to make sure his intentions could be understood. "I want to help you out."


    Hearing the unknown being before it speak, Vlrvadh went silent for a bit before deciding to respond in what sounded like gibberish. "Tahw era uoy gniyrt ot yas? I t''nod dnatsrednu uoy."


    "I want to help you out," repeated Valyr once more, only for the being before him to respond back once again.


    Seeing that it might take some time for the two of them toe to an understanding, the young man let out a low sigh as he thought about how the other four were doing.


    Then, just as his mind started to wander off after that, a brilliant idea suddenly appeared in the young man''s mind, sending a friend request to the being in front of him.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in its mind, Vlrvadh took a few steps back as it curiously looked at the prompt that appeared before it.


    On the other hand, Valyr clenched his fists in anticipation, hoping that the being would do what he wanted him to do.


    Fortunately for him, after a minute or so of silence, Vlrvadh had pressed a button on the prompt before it, causing a pleasant notification sound to resound in Valyr''s mind soon after.


    Ding!


    [Vlrvadh, the Forsaken Denizen (Lv. 90) has added you as a friend.]

 Chapter 650 Four Pillars: Forming Connections

    Chapter 650 Four Pirs: Forming Connections


    Looking at the notification that he had received from the system, Valyr beamed a smile as he looked at the being that stood before him.


    While he was wondering how he would be able tomunicate with the being in front of him and make sure the other side would understand his words clearly, the young man was reminded of a feature that almost everyone heavily used in the past.


    As Greater Beyond was a game that was yed by everyone all over the world in the past, that meant there were often times where yers from two differing countries would talk to one another, only to not understand what the other side was saying due to thenguage barrier.


    Fortunately, the game''s system had a built-in chat feature wherein one''s words would be automatically tranted to the other side while messaging.


    Because of this, yers from all around the world were able to band together for amon purpose, such as in the case of the final battle had taken part in.


    However, the auto-trante feature was not only limited to thenguages on Earth.


    In fact, it also applied to the variousnguages the races in Greater Beyond spoke as well.


    Thoughnguage skills were mandatory if one wanted to speak with other races without a worry in the world, the auto-trante function was more than enough if one''s goal was to only have a short conversation with the other side.


    Such as in the case of what Valyr was currently trying to achieve.


    "Hello there. Can you understand what I''m saying?" Opening up the chat function in front of him, Valyr went ahead and sent a greeting message to Vlrvadh.


    Ding!


    In response, a screen popped up in front of Vlrvadh as a sound apanied its appearance. Looking at the screen, the being did not understand the words that were being disyed, only for it to be converted into thenguage it understood not long after.


    Finally realizing what the unknown being in front of it was trying to do, Vlrvadh looked at Valyr with its eyes widened in slight disbelief as its bodynguage showed a hint of vignce.


    "I can." Though it seemed like Vlrvadh had not interacted with the system''s chat function before, the being did not take too long to send a short response back to Valyr, causing thetter to smile widely.


    Then, sometimeter, the being sent another message, prompting Valyr to choose his words wisely. "What are you? You don''t look like any of the other people I''ve seen before."


    "I am a human. To be more specific, I am a human from the surface." Thinking about his response for a bit, the young man eventually decided to be blunt with his words.


    "I identally stumbled across this ce after a hole connecting the two had been made. I have no intentions of causing you any harm," he added not long after.


    "A human from the surface¡­" As Valyr''s messages were considerably long, it took a while for Vlrvadh to read through all of it. However, once it was finished reading, it looked at Valyr with immense disbelief as it frantically sent another message.


    "You really came from the surface?"


    "I did." Responding to the question, Valyr nodded as he shed a slight smile at Vlrvadh. "Would it be possible to know who you might be?"


    Reading through Valyr''s first reply, the being''s expression turned jubnt as it seemed to be relieved. Though, after seeing that Valyr was still looking at it, Vlrvadh recalled the question the young man asked that came after.


    "Though most of us here don''t have names, I have been given the name Vlrvadh by the Sapient One." Punching a series of characters on the screen with its nails, the being eventually sent a reply back to Valyr. "What is your name?"


    "Valyr. Nice to meet you as well," replied Valyr with a slight grin. "Now, as someone who hase from the surface, I have a lot of questions to ask you as I don''t know much about the underground."


    "However, if I''m understanding your words correctly, it seems like it would be better for me to ask the being called the Sapient One instead?"


    Reading through Valyr''s words, Vlrvadh looked at its screen for a bit before sending a reply back. "Though I am quite intelligentpared to others, you are indeed correct in assuming that the Sapient One is the one that knows the most out of all of us."


    "Would it be possible for me to talk the Sapient One, then?" asked Valyr once more, only to receive a reply from Vlrvadh that caused him to smile once more.


    "It would be no problem for you to do so. I and many others have been tasked to search the paths for traces of your kind, after all."


    "Wollof em." Moving its screen to the side, Vlrvadh turned around as it beckoned for Valyr to follow after it.


    Though, before it could take a single step, the being realized something as it inputted a few characters into its screen.


    "Follow me."


    Inwardly letting out a chuckle at the being''s actions, Valyr faintly nodded as he followed Vlrvadh from behind, sending a message to the party chat not long after that he might not be able to meet with them at the agreed upon time.


    After receiving a response from the others that it was fine, only then did Valyr return his attention to where Vlrvadh was walking as they began to head deeper into the Dimlight District.


    ¡­


    "If you don''t mind me asking, what do you mean by your earlier words that you were tasked to search for traces of our kind?" Continuing to walk through the narrow corridors of Dimlight District, Valyr decided to pass the time by conversing with Vlrvadh.


    "I meant what I said." Looking at the screen that appeared before it, Vlrvadh stared off into the distance for a bit before replying. "We have been tasked by the Sapient One to take a look through the various paths in search of possible traces from the surface."


    "Did the Sapient One send out such a task just recently or does this happen quite often?" asked Valyr in response. Though he knew it was more likely for it to better, he would undoubtedly be astounded by the sheer coincidence of it all if the being answered the former.


    It took some time for Vlrvadh to respond, having to maneuver through a few twists and turns on their path along the way. "The Sapient One had sent out the task long ago. In fact, I and many that came before me have searched the corridors for a long time already."


    "Fortunately, as someone who has spent over 10 years in continuously searching these corridors, I can finally bring joyous news to the Sapient One."


    After sending those words, Vlrvadh then exined that the Sapient One had sent out themand to them over a thousand years ago after a couple of scouts have found out that the surface was free from the apocalypse.


    Though the scouts also mentioned to the Sapient One that the city ruins were now filled to the brim with beings that only resembled them, the Sapient One still pushed for them to routinely search the corridors of Dimlight District for traces of actual humans.


    Naturally, many were against themand since they felt like doing such a thing would end up to be futile. Only a few among them were optimistic that they would find traces at some point, such as Vlrvadh.


    Then, after exining their people''s reasons for exploring the corridors, Vlrvadh began to ask Valyr a few questions regarding things about the surface, which thetter unsurprisingly answered without problems.


    After the being exined to Valyr that the questions had been given to it by the Sapient One in order to make sure they truly came across someone from the surface, the young man then told Vlrvadh the reasons why they were on the surface.


    Of course, he did not mention anything regarding the Triad Gates, or their other goals in exploring the ce.


    While doing so, he also mentioned the fact that he and his people were inside the inheritance.


    Though, surprisingly, such information did not surprise Vlrvadh at all, as if he already knew such information beforehand.


    "We''re here." Eventually, after walking through multiple narrow corridors for around an hour or so, Valyr and Vlrvadh had finished their journey, with the former looking at the sight before him in admiration.


    "Wow¡­"

 Chapter 651 Four Pillars: Land of Origin

    Chapter 651 Four Pirs: Land of Origin


    In front of the two of them was a massive space farrger than therge corridor Valyr had dropped into. Looking at the entirety of the ce, the young man was reminded of therge shopping malls he used to frequent in his childhood.


    However,pared to those shopping malls where stores littered every floor, the areas where the stores would normally be in were instead taken over by residential areas that were filled to the brim with personal amenities.


    After a while, Valyr then shifted his attention towards the ground of therge space, realizing that both he and Vlrvadh stood on top of an elevated region.


    Unsurprisingly, many beings that looked simr to Vlrvadh roamed the paths that seemed to have been etched on the ground. Surrounding these paths were small stalls that had a few wares avable for sale, which were being manned by simr-looking beings.


    Watching these beings go about their daily lives for a bit, Valyr gradually noticed that only a select few among the beings had nails as long as the ones Vlrvadh had, prompting him to ask the being a question.


    "If you don''t mind me asking, what''s with the long nails?"


    After having the screen appear in front of its vision multiple times already, Vlrvadh was not surprised by its appearance anymore, instead looking at the message that was on the screen with great intent.


    Then, after staring at the screen for a bit, it proceeded to punch in a few characters on the screen, finally allowing Valyr to obtain the answer he sought. "These long nails are a symbol of valor to our people."


    "To us, those with long nails are considered to be the great protectors of the people," sent Vlrvadh in a follow-up message. "Depending on the length of one''s nails, one would be able to figure out the level of one''s strength, as well as the level of authority they hold."


    "Of course, there are also people with short nails that have the same level of strength as those among us who have long nails, though such a thing rarely happens." At these words, Vlrvadh looked at Valyr and moved as if it were shrugging its shoulders.


    Reading in between the lines of what Vlrvadh had sent to him, Valyr eventually had an inkling of an idea as to what was going on.


    "Do those with long nails have to go through some sort of ritual first?"


    "They would have to swear an oath in front of the Sapient One that they wouldy down their life for the people." Remaining silent for some time, it took a while before Vlrvadh sent a response. "Only then are they permitted to grow long nails."


    "As for the rest, they often cut their nails as short as possible in order to not be mistaken as one of the great protectors. Though, it''s mostly so that they don''t incur the wrath of the Sapient One."


    Feeling as if the two of them had remained rooted in their spot for long enough, Vlrvadh motioned for Valyr to follow it as it headed down the elevated area.


    Seeing as it did not even take a nce back at him to see if he was following from behind, the young man hesitated for a bit before eventually following Vlrvadh, letting out a sigh while doing so.


    To no surprise, at the very moment Vlrvadh and Valyr had appeared on the grounds of therge space, a great number of the beings stopped what they were doing and stared at the duo with widened eyes.


    Looking at these beings from time to time, Valyr quickly noticed that the beings had not widened their eyes in incredulity, but instead in curiosity, as if they wanted to make sure that they did not miss even a single detail.


    Then again, there were those who looked at the young man with unkind eyes, most of them having nails that were considerably longerpared to the other beings.


    However, whether it was because of Vlrvadh''s presence, or the fact that Vlrvadh had nails that were far longer than theirs, those beings stayed put as the two of them headed deeper into the space.


    "With how many people there are in this area, does this ce have a name?"


    Realizing that their walk through therge space wouldn''t end for quite some time, Valyr decided to have a bit of banter with the being in front of him, thinking back to the time he designated the entire underground area as the Dimlight District.


    "There is." Moving the screen that had appeared in front of it to the side, Vlrvadh faintly nodded as it sent a message back to Valyr. "We call this ce the Land of Origin."


    At those words, the young man became curious as to why the ce had gotten such a name. Fortunately, as if Vlrvadh already knew what he was thinking, the being sent a few more messages.


    "The reason why we call it the Land of Origin is because almost everyone you see here has been born in this ce," wrote Vlrvadh as an expression of pride briefly appeared on its face.


    "All of us were born in this ce, as well as grew up in this ce. In fact, to many of us, this ce is where the rest of our lives unfold, with only a few among us having the privilege the explore the corridors."


    With how the two of them had passed the time through conversation, both Vlrvadh and Valyr eventually arrived in front of an entrance that was covered by a curtain that seemed to have fabricated out of multiple cloths.


    "Tiaw ereh." Stopping just a few steps away from this entrance, Vlrvadh looked at Valyr and gestured for him to stay where he was as it opened its mouth.


    Even though the being did not rely on the system tomunicate, the being''s expression and movement already told the young man everything he needed to know as he nodded.


    Faintly nodding back in response to Valyr''s nod, Vlrvadh returned his attention to the entrance in front of it as it soon mmed both of its hands to the ground.


    Bang!


    "Ho, Tneipas Eno! I evah deraeppa ni tnorf fo uoy htiw a gnieb morf eht ecafrus! I epoh uoy tnarg em ruoy eidua!"


    As those words echoed throughout the surroundings, many of the passersby stood frozen in shock, their eyes widening in surprise as they waited for the scene to unfold.


    "Uoy yam emoc ni." Unfortunately for those watching, the entire situation was short-lived as Vlrvadh mmed both of his hands to the ground again before turning around to look back at Valyr, opening up a screen in the process.


    "Follow me."

 Chapter 652 Four Pillars: The Sapient One

    Chapter 652 Four Pirs: The Sapient One


    Looking at the message Vlrvadh had sent to him after his actions, Valyr looked back at the being before nodding as the two of them passed through the entrance, leaving the passersby in the vicinity behind.


    "Are you taking me to the Sapient One?" Moving past the curtain that blocked the entrance, the two of them were greeted by the sight of a considerably sized corridor that was sparsely lit with torches.


    Seeing as it would take a while for the two of them to arrive at the end of the corridor, the young man decided to ask Vlrvadh a question, even though he already had a feeling that his hunch was correct.


    Unfortunately, rather than respond to the question the very moment it got it, Vlrvadh instead briefly stared at the message for a bit before moving the screen to the side. After that, he continued walking through the corridor.


    At this sight, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he prepared himself for what was toe. ''I really hope the Sapient One doesn''t force something like this on me once we meet.''


    ''Then again, that doesn''t mean I won''t tantly disrespect the Sapient One either,'' thought the young man as he stared at the corridor walls after some time.


    Though the corridor near the entrance only had torches affixed to the walls every once in a while, the deeper the two of them got, the more vibrant the walls appeared in their eyes.


    "Murals," muttered the young man, staring at the rough drawings that gradually filled the corridor walls.


    From what he could infer from the rough drawings, Valyr felt that the drawings were portraying a story about the Sapient One, showing how the world seemed to have gotten a bit brighter after he was born in the Land of Origin.


    Then, during the Sapient One''s early years, it seemed to have astounded many people as it showed a level of intellect that would normally be impossible for their age.


    Though, rather than fear the young Sapient One for it, they instead began to cherish the Sapient One even more, thinking that the future of their people would be brighter under the Sapient One''s rule.


    Continuing to infer the entire story from the rough drawings, Valyr and Vlrvadh eventually crossed a point in the corridor where the Sapient One on the walls had witnessed some of the most important problems their people faced, such as famine, sickness, and death.


    Hoping to find a solution to these problems, the Sapient One sat down under arge pir that was in a space that used to be part of the Land of Origin and closed its eyes.


    For a while, many of the people supported the Sapient One in their endeavor, thinking that a being as bright as the Sapient One would eventually find a solution.


    However, with no results after a decade, the people gradually abandoned the Sapient One, leaving the being alone under the pir as it continued to ponder over solutions to their problems.


    Eventually, by the time the Sapient One had sat down under the pir for over a century, the being opened its eyes as it seemed to have been enlightened to a higher state of being.


    At that moment, if one looked through the Sapient One''s eyes, a single gaze would be more than enough to inundate one''s mind with vast amounts of knowledge.


    Armed with this knowledge, the Sapient One returned to the Land of Origin and gradually solved the problems their people faced, eventually leading the people to an age of prosperity.


    Reaching this point of the story through the rough drawings on the corridor walls, Valyr felt like he had gained a newfound understanding of the being as the Sapient One, initially thinking that the being was just a normal leader.


    After all, from what the system had told him regarding Vlrvadh, their semnce of humanity had regressed thanks to the passage of time.


    However, if what he had inferred from the rough drawings turned out to be true, then Valyr was going to meet the being that had given its people a bit of their humanity back.


    ¡­


    "h." After walking through the sparsely lit corridor some more, Valyr and Vlrvadh eventually arrived in front of what looked to be an entrance simr to the one they entered earlier.


    However, unlike before, Vlrvadh did not hesitate in moving the curtain to the side as it headed into the space blocked by the entrance.


    Seeing that the being was holding the curtain to the side for him, Valyr faintly nodded as he entered the space, being left at a slight loss for words after getting a glimpse of what was before him.


    If one were topare the Land of Origin to the space he was currently in, aside from the difference in space, one would quickly notice that the area looked to contain technology that reminded one of the city ruins on the surface.


    Naturally, as someone who hade from the surface, and as someone who had an idea of what technology at that level was capable of, such a detail was more ring to Valyr as he took a look at his surroundings.


    Eventually, his gaze stopped towards a being that sat on a modestly sized chair made out of what looked to be scrap parts, staring at the two of them with a calm expression.


    From the young man''s perspective, the being in front of him looked the closest to an actual human among the beings he hade across so far.


    After all, the being was not hunched over unlike Vlrvadh, while theplexion of its skin was closer to what Valyr''splexion was, albeit still incredibly pale inparison.


    Aside from that, it wore a set of clothes that, even though they were dirty and torn beyond belief, made the being look more like a homeless man rather than a tribal chief.


    "I teerg eht Tneipas Eno!" Whilst Valyr was engrossed in looking at the being that sat in front of them, Vlrvadh mmed its hands to the ground once more, snapping the young man out of his stupor.


    Looking at the being called the Sapient One for a bit, the young man decided to m his hands to the ground as well, eliciting a faint smile to appear on the Sapient One''s face.


    "Uoy yam evael em en htiw eht ecafrus namuh rof won, Vlrvadh." Nodding in satisfaction at the actions both he and Vlrvadh had done, the Sapient One opened its mouth and spoke with a deep voice. "Dnats yb eht tsrif artne dna tiaw rof eht ecafrus namuh."


    "Dootsrednu, Tneipas Eno." In response to the Sapient One''s words, Vlrvadh intertwined its hands together before turning around, leaving the young man alone with the former soon after.


    "Uh¡­ hi there. Can you understand me?" Having watched the entire scene unfold in front of him, it went without saying that Valyr did not understand what was going on due to thenguage barrier.


    Nevertheless, as Vlrvadh had left him alone with the being called the Sapient One, it did not take long for him to put two and two together in his mind as he decided to greet the being in front of him.


    In response to Valyr''s words, the being went silent for a bit, prompting the young man to think that the being did not understand his words, just like Vlrvadh did.


    But against all odds, the Sapient One soon responded in words that he actually understood.


    "Hello."


    "Yes, I can."

 Chapter 653 Four Pillars: Breaking the Language Barrier

    Chapter 653 Four Pirs: Breaking the Language Barrier


    Though the Sapient One''s response was concise, it still brought a great amount of surprise to Valyr as his eyes widened in slight disbelief.


    Feeling a great amount of excitement welling up inside him as many questions began to linger in his mind, the young man took in a few deep breaths all of a sudden topose himself.


    Then, letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, he looked at the Sapient One once more before asking a question. "Can you really understand me?"


    Even though Valyr was incredibly d to find out that he did not need to rely on the system to talk with the being in front of him, it only dawned upon him after calming down that he had not spoken a word of hisnguage in front of the Sapient One before starting the conversation.


    With that in mind, the young man found it quite odd that the being knew of thenguage, causing him to wonder.


    ''Does the Sapient One really know how to speak thenguage through anguage skill? Or is it achieving it through other means?''


    Hearing Valyr''s question, the Sapient One went silent for a bit before wryly smiling.


    With a slight nod, it then responded, "I can, but not everything."


    Then, as if it already had an idea of the question forming in Valyr''s mind, it continued, "I''m using a very strong skill to talk with you. It consumes a lot of my mana."


    "I see." At those words, Valyr faintly nodded, recalling a certain type of skill he hade across in the past.


    Thoughnguage skills were the ideal method in being able tomunicate with other species and races, utilizing the system wasn''t the only other method one had ess to if they wanted to achieve something simr.


    Being more expensive to usepared tonguage skills, though a skill of such type cost a lot of mana per usage, trantion skills offered a rtively simr level of flexibility inmunication whenpared tonguage skills.


    An upside to owning a trantion skill rather than anguage skill was the fact that one wouldn''t be limited to a certainnguage.


    By paying the price of mana, a considerable number ofnguages could be tranted, depending on the rarity and level of the trantion skill owned.


    It was also incredibly convenient as a tool if one would only have to talk with other races for a short while in order toplete a task or a quest.


    However, as a downside, trantion skills did not offer the same level of understanding thatnguage skills could give a person, leading to many incidents of misunderstandings between two races over a few mundane statements.


    Aside from that, trantion skills consumed a person''s mana with every word tranted, needing one to replenish their mana every once in a while if they were engaging in long conversations.


    "Would it be a problem with you if we continued talking like this?" Feeling like their conversation would be cut short because the Sapient One had run out of mana, Valyr suggested another method ofmunication to the being.


    "We could talk through the system if you''d like," said the young man.


    Surprisingly, after hearing Valyr''s suggestion, the Sapient One briefly had a repulsed expression on its face as it shook his head. "No need. I have a way to fix it."


    "Wait here." After saying those words, the Sapient One stood up from its seat as it leisurely made its way to another part of the space.


    Watching the Sapient One arrive in front of a pile that looked to be made out of scrap metal parts, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity once he saw the being retrieve an item that reminded him of the vintageputer monitors in his past life.


    Though, unlike those monitors, the item the Sapient One brought along had a lot of gears and tubes running along its sides.


    On top of that, what looked to be a series of microphones and speakers could be found on the item''s top portion.


    cing the item it had grabbed onto the chair it was previously sitting on, the Sapient One made yet another trip back to the pile, grabbing what looked to be a nondescript block of metal that had a cable attached to it.


    Examining the item''s shape for quite some time, Valyr eventually felt something click in his mind as his eyes widened in realization.


    ''Is that¡­ a power bank?''


    Curious as to whether his guess was correct or not, the young man watched the Sapient One return with the item, attaching the cable onto the monitor-looking item it had carried earlier.


    Then, flicking on what seemed to be a switch on the backside of the monitor-looking item, Valyr and the Sapient One watched as the gears and tubes on its sides gradually came to life as the ck screen on the front gradually gave off light.


    ''So, it is a power bank.'' Having his guess be confirmed, Valyr softly nodded as he ignored how anachronistic the two items were inparison to the Sapient One''s appearance.


    Then, focusing his attention on the lit-up screen, the young man watched as a series of characters appear on it, all of which were iprehensible to him.


    Eventually, after scrolling through a plethora of characters for quite some time, the screen stopped on a few sets of characters, prompting the Sapient One to look at Valyr. "Could you talk for a bit?"


    Hearing the being''s words, Valyr stared for a bit as the Sapient One pointed at the monitor-looking item.


    Though he had a faint idea as to what was going on, he began to scratch the back of his head. "What do you want me to say?"


    Whirr¡­


    As if the monitor-looking item had received an input, the gears and tubes on the item''s sides began to move with even greater fervor as the characters that had be fixed on the screen earlier gradually disappeared.


    Instead, the screen returned to how it was earlier, going through a plethora of characters that Valyr could not make heads or tails of what it meant.


    However, unlike earlier, iprehensible sounds began to emit out of the speakers on the top of the item while it was happening, prompting the Sapient One to put up its ears close to them.


    Hearing the sounds being emitted by the speakers, Valyr felt as if his earlier thoughts of the monitor-looking item seemed to have been mistaken.


    Then again, as more and more time passed, the sounds gradually became moreprehensible to him, causing his eyes to widen in great disbelief.


    ''Machine learning?'' muttered Valyr to himself, briefly gazing at the Sapient One continuing to put up its ears near the box.


    Though machine learning meant another thing entirely to the young man''s knowledge, Valyr felt like the term was the most fitting for what was currently happening, getting a faint grasp of what the monitor-looking item was doing.


    ''If I''m correct in my assumptions¡­ the item took my words as input, broke it down to its most basic parts, and then gradually rebuilt thenguage from there.''


    As the thought came to mind, multiple other questions began to surface, such as how something that looked more steampunk than futuristic was able to do such a thing, or how the item would be able to infer an entirenguage if it did not have a database as reference.


    In the end, he threw out all of those thoughts from his head.


    After all, the item the Sapient One was using was strong proof that the civilization that used to live on the city ruins on the surface was more advanced than he initially thought.


    Ding!


    After emitting sounds for what felt like thirty minutes straight, the monitor-looking item eventually emitted a sound that reminded Valyr of the system as a set of characters appeared on its screen.


    Taking a brief look at it, the Sapient One faintly nodded and flicked the switch on the item''s backside off before unplugging the cable from the power bank.


    Then, after bringing both of the items back to the pile they came from, the being returned to its seat and took in a deep breath, staring at Valyr for a bit as it seemed to be thinking about the first words it would say.


    "H-hello." Eventually, after a minute of silence, the Sapient One mustered up its courage and opened its mouth to speak in a slightly shaky voice. "C-can you understand what I''m saying?"


    "I can." Though he had already expected their current situation to happen with what he had just witnessed, Valyr''s eyes still briefly widened in surprise as he nodded in response.


    "I¡­ apologize for not being able to talk in greater depth earlier." Faintly smiling at the young man''s words, the Sapient One took in a deep breath before beginning to speak in a way that made it seem like it had known thenguage ever since it was born.


    "The size of my mana pool is quite limited, which is why I could only give you brief responses," said the Sapient One, to which Valyr replied that there is no problem.


    "In any case, now that we could talk with one another without having to worry about anynguage barriers, let me properly introduce myself." Standing up from its seat, the Sapient One looked at Valyr with a smile before giving him a brief half-bow.


    "In this ce, I am known by the people by many titles."


    "The One Who Gave Sce. The Lightbringer. The People''s Hope. The Great Leader."


    "Though most call me the Sapient One." At these words, the Sapient One let out a chuckle. "However, since you''re the first human from the surface I''ve seen in so many years, and such titles are frivolous in front of someone unaffected by it¡­"


    "You can call me Ryvrthe."

 Chapter 654 Four Pillars: Talks of the Past

    Chapter 654 Four Pirs: Talks of the Past


    "Nice to meet you, Ryvrthe. The name is Valyr." After hearing the Sapient One say his own name, the young man repeated the name in his mind for a few times as he tried to copy the way the man pronounced his name.


    Then again, even if Valyr did slightly butcher the pronunciation of his name, Ryvrthe did not care as he remained smiling while looking at the young man, his gaze somewhat expectant.


    "Now, Valyr." Nodding in response to Valyr''s greeting, the Sapient One changed the topic of their conversation. "As you may know, I and my people have been stuck underground for who knows how many years."


    "With that, I would probably be asking you multiple questions that might have to do with information that would possibly be considered personal to you," he added. "I would appreciate it if you answer all of my questions, but do let me know if it reaches that point."


    Going silent for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in response. "I will."


    While doing so, a thought popped up in his mind. ''The confidence in Ryvrthe''s words is gradually making me forget that he just learned thenguage not even that long ago.''


    At this thought, the young man subconsciously stared at the being''s face, only noticing that Ryvrthe was actually quite handsome, even after taking in the standards of those in the outside world.


    In fact, him having a palerplexion than what most people usually had gave him a bit of an otherworldly charm, making Valyr think that such a being like him would definitely be the center of attention.


    Ignoring the long nk stare the young man was giving him, Ryvrtheposed himself before asking, "First, I would like to ask how you''re doing?"


    "I''m fine, I guess?" Hearing the question, Valyr raised his eyebrow in confusion, not getting what the man wanted to know.


    "Ah, my apologies." Quickly realizing that he had misspoken, a shade of faint red appeared on the Sapient One''s face as he rephrased his question. "What I wanted to actually say was¡­ how are you humans doing?"


    With Ryvrthe taking the initiative to clear it up, Valyr faintly nodded as he asked back, "By humans¡­ do you mean in terms of the inheritance, or those in the outside world?"


    "Those in the outside world," replied Ryvrthe, unperturbed by the mention of the inheritance. "After all, I already have an idea of what happened to the humans on the ruins up above."


    "Well¡­" Not expecting the man to gloss over part of his question, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he gathered his thoughts. "I guess you could say the human race is doing fine."


    After saying those words, the young man then went on to narrate a somewhat detailed summary of the human race''s rise to Ryvrthe, talking about the three eras the human race had gone through so far.


    While listening to Valyr''s narration, Ryvrthe''s expression turned dark after hearing what kind of atrocities the humans had to endure during the first age, the Age of Darkness.


    Though, once the young man talked about the Age of Uprising and the Age of Innovation, a soft smile could be seen on his face, which gradually grew wider the more Valyr talked about the human race''s dominance.


    By the time Valyr hade to the point where the humans were possibly trading blows against the orc race as they spoke, the smile on Ryvrthe''s had returned to what it was at the beginning.


    Nevertheless, if one looked at the man''s face closely, one would notice a faint trace of disappointment hidden deep beneath his gaze, which had only appeared for an incredibly brief moment.


    "Are there any other things you want to ask?" Letting out a content sigh once he was finished with talking about his overview of human history on Veldanyr, Valyr looked at Ryvrthe with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Perhaps I might have the answer to them."


    "Your narration of the human race''s history has more or less answered all of the questions that I had nned on asking, actually," said the Sapient One in response.


    "In fact, you''ve even answered one of the questions I wanted to know the answer to the most, which was how the human race had survived the Great Cataclysm."


    "The Great Cataclysm?" parroted Valyr with curiosity as multiple thoughts started to flow through his mind. "Does it have something with how the city on the surface is in ruins and how you guys are here underground?"


    Ryvrthe nodded. "It does. In fact, if not for the Great Cataclysm, all of us here would probably be living in the city on the surface."


    "Though, with how the city on the surface is now overrun with beings that resemble humans but are like beasts in terms of conscience, us people would be better off staying here underground."


    "But you have people among you that could fight against them, no?" asked Valyr back, recalling the strength Vrlvadh had. "The ones with long nails, I mean."


    "The Protectors of the Forsaken race?" replied Ryvrthe, only to bitterly smile. "Only a few among them have reached a simr level of strengthparable to the protector that had brought you here."


    "Plus, the protectors wouldn''t even be able to make full use of their great strength since they only have ess to abilities that would look undoubtedly basic in your eyes."


    "Nevertheless, they''re still the culmination of over a thousand years of effort by ambitious people among the Forsaken race, so I hope you don''t think of our abilities too lowly."


    "So, you call yourselves the Forsaken race?" While listening to Ryvrthe''s exnation, a certain term had piqued the young man''s interest. "Are you not humans like us?"


    The Sapient One replied, "Yes and no."


    "If we were to talk about our general appearance and body structure, then you could say that the Forsaken race are indeed humans," he exined. "After all, the only thing setting us apart from you is ourplexion."


    At those words, Valyr nodded, waiting for the man to continue.


    "However, whenever I look at you, I feel like we''re of one race yet not at the same time," Ryvrthe said with a wry smile. "Perhaps it might be due to the fact that the Forsaken race are the descendants of a limited number of humans. I understand that you already know what I mean by that."


    "Then again, I have a feeling that the leader of humanity at the time did something during the Great Cataclysm that allowed the human race to prosper once more."


    At this point, it went without saying that the young man was incredibly curious as to what had happened before and during the Great Cataclysm.


    In response, Ryvrthe exined that the humans at the time were an incredibly advanced civilization to the point that they had the ability to establish and had established unmanned outposts on nearby barrens.


    He also mentioned that the humans at the time had ess to a few abilities that would be considered godlike in nature, such as modifying gic code to where one could easily extend their lifespan to over 300 years.


    However, on one fateful day, beings from outer space had appeared on Veldanyr, calling themselves Arbiters.


    In front of the entire human race, these Arbiters had given the human race an ultimatum, the details of which were unknown to Ryvrthe.


    Nevertheless, with how the city on the surface was in ruins and how the history of the human race had an era called the Age of Darkness, Valyr could easily infer that the choice made by the leader of humanity at the time was something the Arbiters did not like.


    "Though your answer is quite detailed, there''s something that''s been bothering me." Internalizing the information he had just received from the Sapient One, Valyr went silent for a bit as he realized that something didn''t quite add up.


    "What is it?" In response, Ryvrthe looked at Valyr with curiosity, his expression telling thetter that he did not mind answering all the questions the young man had.


    Though, at the very moment the question left Valyr''s mouth, the being known as the Sapient One went silent for a bit as he looked at the young man with a slightly bitter smile.


    "While making my way here with Vrlvadh, I''ve noticed that there were murals drawn on the corridor walls," said Valyr. "And those murals talk about how you came to be known as the Sapient One, right?"


    Ryvrthe nodded in agreement. "That is correct. With how much I''ve helped the Forsaken race prosper, the people decided to do that as their token of gratitude."


    Valyr nodded back. "Well, those murals talk about how you''ve only been in existence for over a hundred years give or take."


    "On the other hand, the Age of Darkness started on Veldanyr tens of thousands of years ago, which means that the Great Cataclysm happened long way before that."


    At these words, Valyr narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Even if we take the dtion of time between the outside world and the inheritance, at least thousands of years have passed here since that event had happened."


    "With all of that in mind, I want to ask you."


    "How did you get your hands on all of this information?"

 Chapter 655 Four Pillars: An Absurd Response

    Chapter 655 Four Pirs: An Absurd Response


    Though Valyr had brought the question up to Ryvrthe in order for thetter to give him an answer, it wasn''t as if the young man didn''t have any ideas as to how the Sapient One had knowledge of such things.


    With how Ryvrthe had ess to such futuristic technology like the monitor-looking item that allowed him to learn hisnguage, it wasn''t far-fetched to think that he had another item that gave him aprehensive overview of what had urred in the past.


    Then again, such a im was dubious at best.


    Briefly ncing at the pile of scrap metal parts Ryvrthe had grabbed the two items from earlier, the young man noticed that there wasn''t really a lot of usable technology within the pile.


    Even if there was, those items were in a state of eternal disrepair. After all, no one among the Forsaken race or the human race in the outside world had the knowhow to fix such items.


    Of course, Valyr was no exception to this, even if he had arge wealth of knowledge stored within his mind. After all, the game didn''t really go in-depth on such information for yers unlike what he had experienced from the advancements so far.


    Moving away from the im of having a futuristic item that had aprehensive record of history, the young man thought of the possibility of Ryvrthe having a ss that allowed him to peer into the past.


    This idea had surfaced in his mind thanks to the murals that ran along the corridor walls, recalling how the man had sat under a pir for over a century before seemingly having the answer to all the problems his people were facing.


    With that in mind, Valyr was somewhat tempted to use [Superior Analysis] in order to find out whether his im or not was correct.


    Though, with how Ryvrthe seemed to be against the usage of the system''s features, the young man eventually decided not to risk the possibility of angering who was basically the answer to almost all questions regarding the underground.


    ''Perhaps he just has an incredibly long lifespan? Or a skill that extends his lifespan?'' asked Valyr to himself as he stared at Ryvrthe, who had gone silent after he had asked his question.


    Intently looking at the man that sat before him, Valyr gradually sensed the faint aura emanating from Ryvrthe, feeling as if the aura was detached from his surroundings.


    Closing his eyes for a bit as he tried to look deeper into the man''s aura, a thought eventually popped up into the young man''s mind.


    ''Though he might be purposely hiding his aura from me, the parts of his aura I could sense tell me that there''s a possibility he''s actually a Myth.''


    With how those at Rank 5 withprehended Forces could live for close to 800 years, it went without saying that Myths had a lifespan that far surpassed Legends.


    From what Valyr could recall, those at Rank 6 already had a lifespan spanning over 2,000 years, while those at the higher ranks had lifespans that allowed them to live through the rise and fall of many empires.


    Then again, as he thought about long lifespans, the young man was reminded of a set of skills that could achieve the same thing even if one hadn''t transcended mortality.


    ''[Longevity].''


    From what the name of the skill implied, [Longevity] was a passive skill that greatly increased a person''s lifespan by multiple times.


    At its weakest, one''s lifespan would be doubled, while its strongest versions could extend one''s lifespan by ten times, a hundred times¡­


    Even a thousand times wasn''t impossible.


    In fact, obtaining the skill was more or less a given for those at the higher ranks of what constituted as Myths, which mostly had something to do with expanding and internalizing theirprehension of the world at the same time.


    Then again, Valyr quickly dismissed the thought as the possibility of someone like Ryvrthe having such a skill was immensely low.


    ''I should actually try and get my hands on that skill at some point.'' As the thought briefly passed through his mind, the young man eventually reached the end of his train of thought, staring at Ryvrthe as what could be the most improbable possibility popped up in his mind.


    Ryvrthe being a reincarnator, just like him.


    "Well¡­" Feeling like the two of them had been staring at each other in silence for quite some time already, Ryvrthe decided to break the silence as he looked at Valyr with a slightly bitter smile.


    "I don''t mind telling you the reason as to how I know all of that¡­ but I''m pretty sure that once I''m done exining, you''re going to be skeptical of my im," said the man.


    Valyr shrugged in response. "So, what''s the reason?"


    "Remember how I mentioned earlier that the humans of the past were an incredibly advanced civilization?" Shrugging back in response, Ryvrthe took in a deep breath as he sorted out the thoughts in his mind.


    "Yeah?" Valyr nodded, raising his eyebrows in slight curiosity.


    "And remember how I said that they had the ability to modify gic code to achieve whatever they want?"


    "Yeah¡­?"


    "What I''m saying is that¡­" Rubbing his hands for a bit, Ryvrthe let out a faint sigh. "I''m one of those humans that had their gic code modified."


    "Specifically, my gic code was modified in a way that a great portion of my memories would carry over onto my offspring, allowing me to start anew, but with the knowledge I had before."


    Seeing that Valyr remained silent, Ryvrthe decided to continue. "Thanks to how it was modified, the gic code would also carry over onto my offspring, allowing me to umte more and more knowledge the more generations pass."


    "Eventually, after seeing that my people''s lives have gradually worsened over time, I decided to make use of the knowledge I''ve umted to help them out, allowing me to be the race''s Sapient One."


    "¡­" For a while after Ryvrthe''s exnation, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words. After all, the answer he had received was not even a possibility he had thought of.


    Nevertheless, after some time had passed, the young man let out a faint sigh before looking at the Sapient One with a calm expression. "I now understand why you say I''d be skeptical."


    "I definitely won''t hold it against you if you are." Ryvrthe wryly smiled.


    Valyr awkwardly smiled back. "It does exin how you know so much about what had happened a long time ago¡­ but how would prove to me that it''s true?"


    "Oh, that''s quite simple." Hearing the young man''s question, the Sapient One let out a faint chuckle.


    "Just use an identification skill on me."

 Chapter 656 Four Pillars: Hundred Rebirths

    Chapter 656 Four Pirs: Hundred Rebirths


    Taking in Ryvrthe''s suggestion, Valyr could not help but feel a hint of confusion. "Huh? But didn''t you want to avoid using the system?"


    At those words, the Sapient One tilted his head as he raised his eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea?"


    In response to the question, the young man then exined how the man had a sour expression on his face when he suggested that they use the system tomunicate with one another.


    Through there, Valyr gradually inferred that Ryvrthe was someone who did not want to rely on the system, if possible.


    "How did you get to that conclusion?" Once he was done listening to the young man''s exnation, Ryvrthe let out a peal ofughter in response, making Valyr faintly blush in embarrassment.


    After all, from what the man''s question implied, it seemed that his inference was wrong.


    However, reality seemed to always work differently.


    "Then again, you''re not entirely wrong," said Ryvrthe once he was doneughing, prompting Valyr to look at him with curiosity.


    Seeing the young man''s attention fully focused on him, the Sapient One exined, "There are indeed a few features on it that I would rather not touch even once, such as the system''s chat function."


    "However, most of the system''s features allow me to make greater use of my strength. It has also allowed the protectors of our race to achieve the strength they currently have."


    "With that, even if we take into consideration my distaste for some of the system''s features, the system is more of a boon rather than a detriment," said Ryvrthe.


    "Aside from that, I''m pretty sure almost every species is using it, so why would I go against the tide?"


    Listening to the man''s words, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh, admonishing himself for hastily arriving to conclusions.


    Then, with a faint nod, he activated [Superior Analysis] on Ryvrthe, causing thetter to briefly feel like every single cell on his body had been examined by an otherworldly force.


    "So, that''s what it feels like to be identified." Faintly shuddering at the sensation that briefly washed over his body, the Sapient One had a faint smile on his face as he watched a screen appear in front of Valyr''s vision.


    Ding!


    Taking a look at the information on the screen before him, the young man quickly found something that made Ryvrthe''s im more believable.


    However, his attention was soon taken over by something else as he looked at the Sapient One in disbelief.


    "You''re only Rank 1?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ryvrthe, the Sapient One] (Level 11)


    ss: Hundred Rebirths Sage (Mythic)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 168/168


    MP: 204/204


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 28 - 28


    Defense: 28 - 28


    Stats: 14 VIT, 14 STR, 15 AGI, 15 DEX, 17 INT, 32 WIS, 15 PER, 12 LUK


    Remarks: A descendant of a being from a civilization that once was, only to be forgotten by the sands of time. Confined for eons to bare metal walls, their semnce of humanity had regressed to an era far back into the past.


    However, unlike its peers, it seemed to have been enlightened, awakening to the primitiveness of their ways. Because of this, it has taken the lead to push their race to what it was before, allowing them to regain a bit of their past valor.


    Then again¡­ how long would it be until they recovered its remainders?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Didn''t my aura already make that obvious?" As the smile on his face grew wider, Ryvrthe looked at Valyr with a hint of amusement, thinking that his position and their conversation so far had undoubtedly affected the young man''s impression of him.


    "I thought you were concealing your aura," said Valyr in response, wryly smiling. "Who knew that you had actually unleashing the entirety of your aura?"


    "In any case¡­ Hundred Rebirths Sage, huh?" Getting over the initial shock that was Ryvrthe''s true level of strength, Valyr eventually returned his attention to what he had noticed first.


    "Have you really lived through 100 generations?"


    Ryvrthe let out a faint chuckle. "To be honest, I''ve already lost count. The number could be just a bit below 100, or it could be way past 100. We may never know."


    "Either way, I hope checking my status screen has dispelled at least some of the doubts you have towards the information I''ve shared regarding the Great Cataclysm."


    "It definitely did." Valyr nodded in agreement. "It also dispelled the doubts I had as to whether or not you were stronger than Vrlvadh."


    "Combat isn''t really my strong suit," replied Ryvrthe with a bit ofughter. "Then again, I''ve only be the leader of the Forsaken race around a year ago."


    "Before that, I sat under a pir for about a century," added Ryvrthe with a shrug.


    With the time dtion that existed between the inheritance and the outside world, Ryvrthe''s offhandment regarding the amount of time he led the Forsaken race so far caused Valyr''s eyes to slightly widen.


    After all, that meant that 14 years had passed in the outside world since Ryvrthe had be known as the Sapient One.


    Then, if one were to trante the century of ponderation he spent under a pir into time in the outside world, it would equate to roughly a millennium and a half.


    A time far longer than some kingdoms on Veldanyr have been around for.


    ''I guess it makes more sense as to why he''s only gone through a hundred rebirths so far instead of more,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''It also gives me a frame of reference as to how long ago the Great Cataclysm had urred.''


    As the topic of the Great Cataclysm came to mind, Valyr looked at Ryvrthe and asked, "Now that I think about it, how did you and the others survive in this space for so long?"


    "Survival of the fittest," said the man in response, a pained smile appearing on his face. "As well as tons of selfless sacrifices from many people in the past."


    At those words, the man began to talk about how the people underground were in utter chaos in the past, with many among them forming temporary alliances for their personal benefits.


    Though, with how the reserves of basic resources they had continued to dwindle, those kinds of temporary alliances slowly disappeared as everyone cooperated to make sure they couldst for as long as possible.


    Fortunately, at some point, they were able to find a way to replenish part of those resources and be somewhat self-sufficient. However, the number of people at the time was far greater than what their production could handle.


    With that, many were forced to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the many, though Ryvrthe did mention a few incidents where groups of corrupted people were mercilessly ughtered.


    "In any case, that''s all in the past," said Ryvrthe with a shrug. "All that matters is that the Forsaken race remains standing to this day."


    "Definitely." Valyr could only nod in agreement, causing the two of them to be silent as they ran out of topics to discuss.


    "Say, Valyr." Allowing the silence in their surroundings to linger for a bit, a thought eventually surfaced in Ryvrthe''s mind, prompting him to break the silence.


    "Mind if I ask you a favor?"


    "Hopefully it doesn''t involve me having to risk my life." Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr listened to what the man had to say.


    Listening to Valyr''s words, Ryvrthe briefly scoffed. "As if I''d let you do that. It''s a simple favor, really."


    "I just wanted to ask you if you could find traces of a certain person''s whereabouts," said the man, which piqued Valyr''s curiosity even further.


    "That depends." Pondering over Ryvrthe''s favor for a bit, the young man eventually shrugged his shoulders. "Whose whereabouts am I going to find?"


    In his mind, he expected Ryvrthe to ask him to find the whereabouts of an important being in their race, or the being that used to lead the Forsaken race in the past.


    However, what the man requested from him was far beyond that.


    "It''s not really that difficult," said Ryvrthe.


    "I just want to see if you could find the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity."

 Chapter 657 Four Pillars: Traces of the Past

    Chapter 657 Four Pirs: Traces of the Past


    "Give me a second here." As his eyes widened in disbelief, Valyr took in a deep breath as he pinched on the skin between his brows.


    Then, staring at the pale man before him, he asked for rification. "I''m not mistaken that you''re asking me to find the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity, right?"


    Ryvrthe nodded as if it were a matter of fact. "That is correct."


    "By thest leader of humanity¡­ you mean the leader of humanity during the time the Great Cataclysm happened, right?"


    "Yeah..." The Sapient One nodded once more, only to finally understand what the young man was implying through his words.


    Noticing the look of realization on Ryvrthe''s face, Valyr let out a faint sigh. "You understand what I''m getting at, right?"


    "I do." Ryvrthe faintly nodded, looking down at the floor for a bit as he pondered in silence.


    "You''re asking for something that''s almost near impossible to achieve here," said Valyr, letting the man go over his thoughts as he continued to talk.


    "If you don''t get how absurd it is, you''re telling me to search for the whereabouts of a man whose feet were on Veldanyr''s surface at least over a hundred thousand years ago, possibly even more."


    "Sure, there''s the fact that human civilization back then was highly advanced, but with the interference of the Arbiters that led to the Great Cataclysm, how much of it in the outside world would have remained?" asked Valyr.


    Then, he sighed. "Plus, with howrge the continent is, I don''t even know where to begin my search for the man''s traces."


    "If anything, the only ce I might find some clues regarding his whereabouts would be the city ruins on the surface."


    "That''s it!" Hearing the young man''sst statement, Ryvrthe shifted his attention towards Valyr as he looked at him with hope brimming in his eyes.


    "I''m pretty sure you could find a clue or two on his whereabouts as long as you explore the city on the surface," said the Sapient One, prompting Valyr to raise his eyebrows in slight confusion.


    "Why are you adamant on finding the whereabouts of a man who has probably died a long time ago?" asked Valyr in response. "Would it serve you any purpose?"


    At those words, Ryvrthe''s expression turned solemn. "Ever wondered why I had no reaction when you made mentions of an inheritance?"


    "Aside from knowing that you''re inside one?" asked Valyr back, voicing out the hypothesis that had formed in his mind regarding the matter after talking to both Vrlvadh and the man before him.


    "Aside from that." Ryvrthe slowly nodded.


    Taking in a deep breath, the man then said, "I have a strong feeling that the reason why I and the Forsaken race are inside this inheritance has something to do with thest leader of humanity."


    After that, Ryvrthe then told Valyr about the attitude and personality of thest leader of humanity.


    Aside from being charismatic in his every action, the Sapient One mentioned that thest leader of humanity always made decisions while thinking about its effects on other things.


    With that, Ryvrthe surmised that the reason why they had been put into the inheritance possibly had something to do with them being thest trace of humanity''s past, which thest leader of humanity wanted to preserve.


    Indeed.


    Possibly.


    "Hold on for a second." Pinching the skin between his brows once more, Valyr took in a deep breath before looking at Ryvrthe. "You''re telling me that you want me to look for his whereabouts¡­ just because of a hunch?"


    "Call it an educated guess instead of a hunch," said the man in response, hoping to lighten the young man''s mood in the process. "In any case, I have a strong feeling that he left something for us that had been forced to stay underground."


    "Perhaps it could be a few items to help us get back on track." Ryvrthe shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps it could be a message."


    Seeing how the pale man in front of him remained hopeful of the situation, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he asked him, "You really want me to search for his whereabouts?"


    Ryvrthe nodded. "The entire Forsaken race would definitely appreciate it if you do."


    "Alright." Closing his eyes for a bit as multiple thoughts crossed through his mind, Valyr eventually gave the Sapient One a nod, causing thetter to be jubnt.


    Though, not long after, the jubtion on Ryvrthe''s face disappeared after hearing Valyr''s next words. "However, I don''t do something like this for free."


    Slightly frowning as he stared at Valyr''s calm expression, a thought eventually surfaced on Ryvrthe''s mind, prompting him to inwardly let out a sigh.


    ''I hope this is thest time I do this.'' Inwardly muttering these words to himself, the Sapient Onemanded a screen to appear in front of his field of vision, interacting with it for quite some time as it closed sometimeter.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr took a brief look at it, only to redirect his gaze at Ryvrthe as he looked at thetter with a hint of surprise.


    "You''re really that adamant, huh," muttered the young man as he looked at the notification once more.


    [You have received a new quest: Traces of the Past.]


    "I''ve already epted the fact that he may have died a long time ago," said Ryvrthe in response to his question. "However, with his personality, I am incredibly certain that he has left a few contingency ns for us¡­ wherever it may be."


    "All I ask of you is to find traces of his whereabouts, as well as the check the city ruins if there are any traces of things that have been left for us," continued the man.


    "If the items that had been left for us are found in the outside world, then so be it. After all, as you''ve said, it has been at least a hundred thousand years since then."


    "But if those items exist inside the inheritance, then I don''t care how many people among the Forsaken race I sacrifice as long as I obtain them."


    Nodding in response to Ryvrthe''s words, Valyr felt like their conversation had finallye to an end. Realizing this, he decided to bid farewell to the man as he made his way to the exit that would lead him back to the Land of Origin.


    Though, just as he was about to take his first step, a question suddenly popped up into his mind.


    "Though I''m not sure if this would help me out in finding his whereabouts, what''s his name?"


    "Vaughn," replied Ryvrthe with a solemn tone.


    "Vaughn Darkstar."

 Chapter 658 Four Pillars: Returning to the Surface

    Chapter 658 Four Pirs: Returning to the Surface


    "Vaughn Darkstar¡­" muttered Valyr in response, repeating the name in his mind multiple times.


    Eventually, after feeling like he hadmitted the name to memory, only did the young man proceed to head out of the space once more.


    Though, just like earlier, another question popped up in the young man''s mind, prompting the man sitting on the chair made out of scrap parts to wonder whether Valyr truly had intentions to leave or not.


    "While talking to Vrlvadh along the way, I was told that the space where you and the people that make up the Forsaken race live in is called the Land of Origin," said the young man.


    "In ournguage, we call it Dnal fo Nigiro, but the meaning is more or less the same." Ryvrthe nodded. "What about it?"


    "I was just wondering if you had a name for the other areas that hasn''t been upied by you and your people," replied Valyr with a shrug of his shoulders. "It''s fine if you don''t have an answer, the question just came to mind."


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Ryvrthe eventually opened his mouth. "Well, we do have a name for it, considering the importance it has towards the survival of the Forsaken race."


    "What do you call it, then?"


    "Ecalos," said Ryvrthe with a solemn expression.


    "If I were to find a word that has a simr meaning in yournguage, then that would be Sce¡­ I think," he soon added.


    "Sce¡­" muttered the young man, eventually nodding in agreement.


    "Sce is a good name."


    After briefly mentioning how he called the entire underground area the Dimlight District to Ryvrthe, it was only then did the young man finally take his leave, heading his way out through the corridor he took to get in.


    Deciding to make use of [Traceless Slither] to reduce travel time, it only took a couple of minutes for him to appear outside the entrance to Ryvrthe''s ce, being greeted by the being that had taken him here in the first ce.


    "You''re finally out." Bringing up a screen in front of its vision, Vrlvadh swiftly inputted a series of characters that Valyr received.


    Reading through the message, the young man shed an apologetic smile at Vrlvadh as he sent a message back. "Did I take too long?"


    "It wasn''t all that bad," replied Vrlvadh through its message, slowly shaking its head back and forth. "The passersby that saw our arrival were curious as to what you were, so I passed the time by answering their questions."


    "Many of them had decided to stay after seeing us enter to meet with the Sapient One." It continued with its next message. "However, with how long you had been in there conversing with the Sapient One, all of them lost their interest, leaving me here alone."


    After sending a few more back-and-forth messages between one another, the two of them began to make their way back to where the two of them had met, catching the attention of many among the Forsaken race once more.


    However, unlike before, whether it was due to the fact that Vrlvadh had enlightened them on who he was, or the fact that he had talked with their race''s Sapient One, most of the people looked at him with expressions of slight sadness.


    After all, with thenguage barrier existing between their races, none of them had any clue as to when he would be back.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr was oblivious to all of this, his current thoughts instead revolving around the amount of time he had been stuck underground.


    Though he had already given the other four a heads-up on his current situation, the young man still sped up his pace, feeling like he had stayed underground for a far longer time than he nned on.


    Seeing that, Vrlvadh decided to match the young man''s speed as they passed through the corridors. With it being at the middle levels of Rank 5, it was able to keep up with Valyr, albeit barely.


    Nevertheless, with this increase in speed, it took almost half of the original time they took to get to the Land of Origin to arrive at where the two of met encountered one another.


    Realizing that they had arrived at this point, a slightly glum expression appeared on Vrlvadh''s face as it sent a question to Valyr. "Do we really have to part ways here? Will you ever meet with us again?"


    Faintly smiling at the being''s reaction towards their separation, Valyr let out a sigh as he sent a response back through the chat function. "Unfortunately, we''ll have to separate ways here since the Sapient One has given me a task that I have toplete."


    Seeing the despondent expression on the young man''s face made Vrlvadh think that it would receive a response it did not want to read.


    Then again, once it was finished reading through the message Valyr had given it, the expression on its face was nowhere near despondence, looking at the young man with slightly widened eyes.


    "That means you''reing back, right?" asked Vrlvadh through a message.


    "Of course," replied Valyr back, letting out a chuckle in the process.


    With that, even though it was somewhat difficult for the being to do, Vrlvadh and Valyr finally went on their separate ways, with the former returning to the Land of Origin.


    ''I guess he''ll update Ryvrthe about this.'' On the other hand, after staring at Vrlvadh''s fleeting silhouette for a bit, Valyr activated a couple of skills that boosted his movement speed before proceeding to head out of the small corridor he entered.


    Then, after arriving at therge corridor, he pushed his agility to its very limits, swiftly making his way back to therge hole that he used as an entrance to the underground.


    "Finally, some light." Staring at therge hole he had jumped into that led to him meeting Ryvrthe and the Forsaken race, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he took onest nce towards the path he had taken.


    After that, he circted Shadow Energy and mana throughout his body, causing a pair of dark yet translucent wings to appear on his back within seconds.


    "[Shadow Serpent Movement Style]¡­"


    "[False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    With just a single p, the young man quickly left the underground, appearing on the surface once more as he swiftly flew his way back to where Hal and the others were resting for the night.


    "Next stop¡­"


    "The south quadrant."

 Chapter 659 Four Pillars: Catching Up

    Chapter 659 Four Pirs: Catching Up


    Swoosh!


    "I will probably never get used to this feeling." pping the wings on his back every once in a while as if it were his own limbs, Valyr zoomed through the night skies of the inheritance as he made his way back to the south quadrant.


    Though [Traceless Slither] was a skill that pushed his speed on the ground to its utmost limits, [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern] was on a whole other level, giving him the ability to fly past all of the obstacles that would have normally hampered him.


    Aside from that, it gave him a bird''s eye view of the inheritance, allowing him to spot a few things that would have normally been impossible to see from the ground.


    One example of that would be the ability to see the spots where the leaders in each quadrant gathered, something he had only been able to see after increasing his altitude to an absurd degree.


    Looking at these spots for a bit, he eventually shifted his gaze to an illuminated spot far away from the center of the south quadrant.


    Feeling a smile gradually creep up onto his face, Valyr decided to send a message to the party chat while he was still mid-flight.


    "I''m on my way back. Apologies for not sending a message for quite some time."


    Unsurprisingly, at the very moment he had sent that message, it did not take long for the others to send a reply back, all of which made Valyr think that the four let out long sighs of relief after reading his message.


    "Not gonna lie, I was expecting you to respond the following morning at the earliest," wrote Hal in his response. "After all, you didn''t really give a specific time as to when you''de back."


    "Where have you been, though?" asked Vera in her message. "Does it have something to do with the Gates of Awakening?"


    "Not really." Looking at Vera''s message for a bit, Valyr eventually decided to send a reply. "The ce I checked doesn''t have anything to do with it."


    "But I do have some information that would help us in entering the Gates of Awakening."


    At those words, the four swiftly asked him to share the information over the party chat.


    Reading through their hasty responses, Valyr let out a brief chuckle.


    "I''ll be there sooner than you think." Sending onest message to the party chat for the meantime, Valyr pped his wings with even greater force, allowing him to propel through the air at greater speeds.


    With that, after a couple more minutes of flying, the young man was already above the spot where the other four had set up camp.


    "I''m here." As he continued to periodically p his wings to stay where he was, Valyr went ahead and sent a message to the party chat.


    In response, the four began to frantically look around their surroundings for his whereabouts, eliciting a bit ofughter to escape the young man''s mouth.


    Eventually, after looking around for a while, the four returned to where they sat as Valyr noticed that everyone now had frowns on their faces.


    Not long after, Hal sent a question in response to the message he sent.


    "Where are you exactly?"


    "Look up."


    Sending these words to the party chat, Valyr closed the screen in front of his vision as he watched the four look at each other in confusion over his words.


    Then, after seeing that the four began to look up at the sky, the young man shed a grin as he pped his wings with all the strength he could muster.


    Whoosh!


    Barreling down from the sky like a shooting star, the four watched an incredibly familiar silhouette with wings swiftly close in on them.


    Though, just as it looked as if the silhouette would undoubtedly collide with the ground, it instead redirected its direction at the veryst minute, allowing it tond with both of its feet on the ground.


    Thud.


    "Hey there." Feeling a bit of nausea from the abrupt shift in direction he had done, Valyr looked at the other four with a soft smile, hiding every trace of difort he felt from hisnding on the outside.


    "Hey." In response, Hal returned the greeting, only for his eyes to widen in disbelief as he noticed the wings on Valyr''s back. "New movement skill?"


    Seeing Hal point towards the dark wings on his back, Valyr faintly nodded as he dispelled both of them. "Kind of."


    "You really weren''t kidding when you said to look up." Watching their leader take a seat beside them, Faulus briefly thought back to what he and the others had just witnessed before offering Valyr a te.


    "Thanks." epting the te from Faulus, it was only then did the young man feel his stomach begin to grumble.


    Apologetically smiling as he had Loreina scoop up the dinner she cooked for them on his te, he thought to himself, ''Exploring the underground has really made me forgotten the fact that I''ve yet to eat.''


    ''Nevertheless, with how much I''ve gained from it, I''d still do it in a heartbeat.'' Thanking Loreina after that, the young man briskly chowed down on his food after seeing that the others'' tes were already empty.


    Watching Valyr devour the food on his te as if he had not eaten for days, it took a while for Hal to muster up the courage to ask the question that gued their minds.


    "So, Valyr. What made you send us a heads-up to the party chat that you would returnte?"


    "I''ll tell you more about itter." Letting a sigh of satisfaction as he ced his te to the side, Valyr looked at Hal for a bit before opening his mouth.


    "For now, how''s everyone''s authority level looking?"


    Though a frown briefly appeared on Hal''s face after hearing Valyr change the conversation to another topic, the man decided not to say anything about it for the meantime after noticing the gaze the young man had given him.


    From what he could infer through the young man''s gaze, Hal felt like Valyr was telling him that this new topic would eventually answer the question that was on his mind.


    With that, he and the others mentioned their authority levels to their leader, prompting the young man to nod in satisfaction after hearing that everyone had alreadypleted the authority level objective.


    "So, I''m not wrong in assuming that we''ll all be fighting a few hundred more Primitive Humanoids toplete the other objective before fighting a quadrant leader, no?"


    Hearing this question from Valyr, the other four nodded even though they knew he was inly stating the obvious.


    Then, just as they were wondering where this conversation would eventually end up, the four were left at a loss for words at Valyr''s next few statements.


    "Since that''s the case, I guess I''ll tell you about my findings regarding the quadrant leaders."

 Chapter 660 Four Pillars: Diverting Attention

    Chapter 660 Four Pirs: Diverting Attention


    Seeing that the four were looking at him with their eyes wide in surprise, Valyr inwardly let out a brief chuckle as he began to exin what he had been doing while separated from the others.


    ording to him, it took him a bit longer to achieve an authority level of 10 since the number of primitive humanoids in the ce he was grinding for kills had thinned out.


    At that point, a thought shed in his mind that would allow him to kill two birds with one stone, which was to head to another spot within the west quadrant that had more primitive humanoids while being close to where the quadrant leader was.


    With that, he went ahead and executed his n, arriving at a spot that was only about a kilometer away or so from where the quadrant leader was.


    Almost teeming to the brim with how many primitive humanoids there were in his new spot, it did not take long for him to achieve the kill count necessary to obtain an authority level of 10.


    Then, after that, he began to slowly inch closer towards where the quadrant leader was, making sure to not attract the attention of the primitive humanoids he woulde across.


    At this point of his exnation, Valyr noticed that the four had be somewhat engrossed in his story, feeling a bit of suspense at the fact that he stopped talking all of a sudden.


    Hearing a fewments from the others as to why he had stopped his story all of a sudden, the young man inwardly smiled as he had sessfully redirected their attention.


    While making his way back to the south quadrant, Valyr thought about sharing the information he had gotten regarding the quadrant leader and the underground area he had discovered with the others.


    Though, after recalling the conversation he had with Ryvrthe regarding the city ruins and the Great Cataclysm, he wondered if it was better for him to omit any mention of the underground area and save it for himself.


    ''But that wouldn''t exin why I returned to the south quadrant sote,'' thought the young man in the middle of his flight, slightly frowning as he wracked his mind toe up with a solution.


    In the end, the solution he came up with was to still talk about the quadrant leader and the underground area.


    However, while talking about the quadrant leader, he would construct his story in a way that made them pay more attention to it.


    By the time he talked about the underground area, he was certain that they would only be slightly interested at most, especially after omitting a great amount of the information he had obtained there.


    Of course, he had also thought about swapping the underground area for another ce along the way, but he decided not to do so as the consequences of his lies being found out would undoubtedly be fatal.


    Especially in an inheritance where the other four were asparably strong as him.


    Continuing where his story had left off after the short period of silence, Valyr then discussed the appearance of the quadrant leader, causing Faulus and the two girls to faintly shudder as their imagination did the work.


    Then, after the young man showed the status screen he had obtained from the quadrant leader to the other four, Hal and the other three became utterly silent, frowning as they stared at the numbers on the screen.


    "Stats that are over 1,000¡­" muttered Hal as a solemn expression covered his face. "On top of that, an Intent that looks to be 7th Grade at the very least."


    With how each subsequent stage on an Intent Seed increased its effect on one''s Attack coefficient, it went without saying thatprehending one''s Intent to a higher grade would result in a greater effect as well.


    However, unlike the trivial increases each subsequent stage on an Intent Seed brought, the effects of a higher grade Intent were more pronounced, with each subsequent grade increasing its effect on one''s Attack coefficient by an additional 10%.


    Aside from that, improving one''s Intent to a higher grade generally changed the name of the Intent to epass a broader concept, such as how the Intent of Waves was a lower grade Intentpared to something like the Intent of Water.


    With that, the Intent of Power the west quadrant''s quadrant leader was not a weak Intent by any means.


    In fact, if Hal''s grading of the Intent were to be believed, then that meant that the Intent increased one''s Attack coefficient by 30%.


    For reference, Valyr''s Attack stat, which had already surpassed 6,000 points thanks to high DEX, would roughly increase by 2,000 additional points thanks to such a high grade Intent.


    And that was even before taking one''s weapons into consideration!


    Remaining silent for a bit after listening to Hal''s words, Loreina eventually spoke up. "I think it''s for the best if we attempt fighting against the first quadrant leader as a group."


    In response, Faulus raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity. "Don''t our current stats exceed theirs, though? Wouldn''t it be a walk in the park fighting against them?"


    "They aren''t like the primitive humanoids we''ve fought, Faulus," said Hal as he shook his head. "Though I''m not sure whether they have it from the information Valyr gave us, I''m highly certain that they have empowering skills that push their stats even further."


    At those words, the others faintly shuddered at the thought.


    After all, the power of a being at the peak of Rank 5 that had four digit stats with a 7th Grade Intent was already destructive.


    With that, how more destructive could it be if they had the ability to empower their stats even further?


    "Well, it''s not like we''ll be facing against a quadrant leader at the very moment we wake up tomorrow." Seeing that everyone was thinking about their chances against a quadrant leader, Valyr decided to diffuse the situation by shifting the topic.


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders, he continued, "Plus, it''s not like we''re forced to fight a quadrant leader on our own. We could team up to defeat one."


    Watching the others visibly rx with every passing second, the young man inwardly nodded as he decided to talk about the other reason why he had gotten back to the camp sote.


    "Anyways, aside from obtaining information regarding the quadrant leader, while I was making my way back to where I usually stayed in the west quadrant, I identally made a discovery."


    "What did you find?" asked Loreina with a faintly curious expression, the others leaning closer to Valyr to find out as well.


    "I found out that the city ruins actually has an underground area," said Valyr in response, actingckadaisical as if the discovery wasn''t anything big.


    Then again, the same couldn''t be said for the others.

 Chapter 661 Four Pillars: Defiance

    Chapter 661 Four Pirs: Defiance


    "You found what?!" Though Valyr obtaining information on the quadrant leaders had definitely surprised them, the fact that their leader had discovered a new area they could explore surprised them even more.


    After all, the ces they had already explored within the inheritance had given them a lot, may it be in the form of XP or in the form of opportunities, such as the trials they went through to enter the Gates of Enlightenment.


    With that in mind, the four had a feeling like the new area Valyr had discovered would contain something along those lines as well.


    And thus, they bombarded the young man with questions, hoping to excavate as much of the information their leader had obtained regarding the area.


    Then again, with how the existence of the underground area had something to do with a time far before even they were born, he decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.


    With that, the young man decided to keep detailed information regarding the underground area to himself, even though he was certain that the four wouldn''t really know what to do with the information if he did share them.


    However, that did not mean that they did not know other people that had the power to make use of such knowledge, which was what Valyr wanted to avoid.


    Especially since it seemed like he could truly monopolize on this information.


    Calming the others down from their excited states of wanting to know more about the underground area, Valyr began to detail how he had discovered the underground area in the first ce.


    Mixing lies amidst the truth, the young man told the others about how the road beneath him had caved in, allowing him to figure out that there existed abyrinth of metal corridors underneath the city ruins.


    While talking about his first impressions of the underground area in detail, he also mentioned to the four that it was around that time he had sent a message to the party chat that he would bete.


    Seeing the four nod in response to his words, Valyr continued with his story, making sure that his words would make the four ce less importance on the underground area.


    For a while, he talked about how the metal corridors had small entrances interspersed on its sides that led to small rooms.


    He also talked about how he had looked into these small rooms from time to time, telling the four that he had found human skeletons and dessicated corpses in some of them.


    At that point, the five of them began to animatedly discuss about the purpose of the underground area Valyr had discovered.


    Unsurprisingly, the topic of the underground area being a housingplex for the poor or it being an apocalypse shelter was brought up during the conversation, referencing the forsaken state the city on the surface was in.


    Nevertheless, throughout all that, Valyr pushed them toe up with theories that brought them farther from the truth, keeping the true answer to their question to himself.


    Eventually, after the four felt they had reached a point where their theories of the underground area''s purpose had be utterly absurd, it was only then did the young man continue with his story.


    As he talked about how he hade across living beings within the underground area, the other four undoubtedly became curious as to what kind of being Valyr hade across.


    Were the beings human just like them?


    Or were the beings more simr to the aberrations and primitive humanoids they had been fighting thus far?


    Hearing the question, Valyr replied that the beings were as if a deity hadbined the aberrations and the primitive humanoids into one being, giving them the great strength aberrations had, as well as the ability primitive humanoids had in utilizing it.


    After listening to the young man talk about the underground area for a bit more, it was as if their earlier excitement in exploring it had been lost.


    After all, from how Valyr was describing the underground area through his words, it seemed that the underground area did not have anything to do with the Triad Gates at all.


    "If you guys want, we could explore the underground area together." Feeling like he had talked about the underground area for long enough, it was then that Valyr gave them this suggestion.


    Though, just as he had aimed to achieve through his words, the four gave him their own excuses, telling him in their own words that they would be quite busy inpleting the other objectives of the quest to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    With that, the curtains to the night eventually drew to a close as everyone began to talk about the primitive humanoids and the quadrant leaders for a bit after that.


    Then, not long after, the five of them headed into their respective tents and called it a day.


    ''All I have to do from this point onward to make sure that they don''t call my bluff.'' Staring at the ceiling of his tent, Valyr faintly smiled as he closed his eyes.


    ''As long as they don''t find out the things I''ve obtained from the underground area until we leave the inheritance, then all is well.''


    ''Then again, something like that would definitely be easy to do.'' The young man inwardly chuckled as he gradually fell into a deep sleep.


    ''After all, there''s no connection between the human civilization before the Great Cataclysm and the Triad Gates.''


    ¡­


    "Mngh¡­" At the very moment the sun had begun to peek out of the horizon, Valyr''s consciousness gradually roused from its slumber as he slowly made his way out of the tent.


    Seeing that he was the first one to wake up once more, he then did a few basic stretches before starting to make breakfast for everyone. "Day 8. Once night falls, four months would have passed in the outside world."


    "Guess everyone''s going to focus on killing the remaining primitive humanoids today toplete the second objective before moving onto the quadrant leader."


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Valyr gradually got a fire started as the aroma of delicious food gradually began to waft throughout the surroundings.


    Keeping an eye on it to make sure it wouldn''t burn, he then thought back to the train of thought he had earlier. "Then again, we all need to kill like 200 or 300 primitive humanoids at most. That''s like a couple to a few hours at most."


    "If that''s the case, we could spend the rest of the afternoon fighting against the quadrant leaders¡­ but I''ll think about itter."


    Deciding to save the conversation for when everyone was up, the young man returned his focus to the breakfast he was cooking, with Hal coincidentally getting out of his tent the very moment it was ready to serve.


    Sometimeter, the other three began to get out of their tents as well, grabbing a te of food before silently eating their breakfast.


    Then again, they weren''t silent for long as each bite gave them more of the energy they would need for the day.


    By the time they had decided to grab a second te of breakfast, everyone was already talking with one another regarding what they were going to do after they hadpleted the second objective.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for them toe to an unanimous agreement as the five got ready to set off for the quadrants around an hour earlier than they did yesterday.


    Casting skills on one another that considerably enhanced one''s overall abilities, it was only then did the five go on their separate ways, with Valyr activating [Traceless Slither] the moment he was a fair distance away from the others.


    Whoosh!


    Thanks to the buffs he and the others had cast on one another, as well as themselves, it only took a third of the time he had taken yesterday to arrive at his usual spot in the west quadrant.


    Not wanting to waste time as he recalled the quest he had gotten from Ryvrthe, Valyr quickly sprung into action against the primitive humanoids in the vicinity as he epted the repeatable quest from the system for the nth time.


    ¡­


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Memento Mori]."


    Having alreadypleted the repeatable quest once for the day, Valyr was already nearing his secondpletion of it.


    At the moment, he was only about a dozen or so kills away frompleting the second objective of the other quest, which was to kill a total of 1,000 primitive humanoids.


    Whoosh!


    To no surprise, the surroundings in the vicinity of the group of primitive humanoids he had gathered became muted all of a sudden as the Shadow Energy lingering about pervaded through every nook and cranny in their bodies.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]."


    Then, retrieving the spear from behind his back, the young man controlled the Shadow Energy and mana within his body, moving it all towards the spear''s tip as he swung it upward.


    Swoosh!


    Being frozen in ce by the Shadow Energy that corrupted their bodies, it did not take long for the wave of dark energy to do its work, rendering the group of primitive humanoids lifeless as their ckened corpses fell to the ground.


    Ding!


    Hearing a series of notification sounds resound through his mind, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the notification screen amidst his excitement.


    Though, at the very moment the system had done so, a few notifications on the screen had instantly attracted the young man''s attention.


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (1000/1000).]


    [Through battle, you have shown that your strength stands above the hierarchy that was set long ago. Through battle, you have shown that your path to supremacy has begun to blossom to reality.]


    [Through battle, you have made those in the pedestals quiver, fearful of your potential. Through battle, you have made those in the pedestals furious, hoping for you to disappear before you im their thrones.]


    [You have met the necessary requirements to ascend yer of Ascendants to the next stage.]


    [You have upgraded the title ''yer of Ascendants'' to Stage II ¡ª Defiance.]

 Chapter 662 Four Pillars: Reducing the Gap

    Chapter 662 Four Pirs: Reducing the Gap


    As his eyes widened in surprise, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up a screen containing the description to [yer of Ascendants], wanting to find out what kind of changes the title had undergone thanks to the upgrade.


    While doing so, he took a look at the remaining notifications on the screen before him, faintly smiling as a thought popped up in his mind.


    ''With this, killing a quadrant leader is the only thing left separating me from bing a part of the Gates of Awakening.''


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (3).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 13.]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4).]


    [y 1,000 Primitive Humanoids (1,000/1,000)]


    ''I wonder how many more levels there are before I reach the authority level limit?'' Reading through them one by one, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he took a brief nce at his current authority level.


    With an authority level of 13, the young man was more than certain that he would be able to ess almost every important building within the Gates of Enlightenment after he hadpleted his quest to be eligible to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    However, with how the system had told him that he could repeat the authority level quest yet again, Valyr was also uncertain whether or not he would be able to ess every building within the Gates of Enlightenment.


    After all, who couldn''t say that the Gates of Enlightenment had erected a building where one would need an authority level of 20 to enter?


    Of 50?


    Or even some nigh-infinite number?


    Taking in a deep breath as he reined in his train of thought, Valyr pushed the thoughts regarding authority levels to the side for the meantime as he focused his attention on the screen containing his upgraded title.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [yer of Ascendants (Stage II)] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    To have the ability to surmount the immense gap¡­ description has been omitted.


    [Stage I | Recognition - You have shown the world¡­ description has been omitted.]


    [Stage II | Defiance - Through incessant battle, you have shown the world that your path to supremacy has already begun to blossom into reality, finding a ce that is both within and beyond the realms of the long-existing power hierarchy.


    Because of this, some have begun to fear your current might, while some have begun to fear your future potential.


    Whichever side they might feel towards you, a considerable portion of the world have made up their minds that they do not want an unpredictable variable like you to remain standing.


    However, will you let these beings have their way with you? Or will your might reign supreme and quash all discordant opinions?]


    Effects:


    > +30% damage to monsters at Mythic Elite tier and below that are at least 25 levels higher than the user


    > +20% damage to beings that are at least 25 levels higher than the user


    > +20% Attack and Defense


    > Reduces the efficacy of reduced damage against higher-leveled beings by 15% [Stage II ¡ª Defiance]


    > Temporarily increases the user''s level by 2 duringbat [Completion of Stage I ¡ª Recognition]


    Upgrade requirements:


    > Either kill 10,000 monsters at Ancient Elite tier or greater, or kill 10,000 beings at least 25 levels above your current level (0/10,000)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Hmm?'' While reading through the improvements the title had undergone during the upgrade, one effect the title had gained thanks to the upgrade had piqued Valyr''s interest.


    ''Temporarily increases my level duringbat?'' Staring at this line of text for a bit, the young man went into a pensive expression as he moved the screen to the side.


    He then thought to himself, ''Does that mean my stats would increase to the early levels of Rank 4 while I''m inbat?''


    ''Or does it mean something else?'' Slightly frowning at the thoughts that began to linger in his mind, Valyr went ahead and attracted the attention of a lone primitive humanoid to test out his hypothesis.


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant the primitive humanoid had set its sights on him as its target, the young man felt his aura undergo a qualitative increase.


    However, aside from that, he did not feel any increase in strength whatsoever.


    "System, open my status screen." Dodging the attack that aimed tond on his upper torso, Valyr retrieved the spear on his back as he took a brief look at his current status.


    "I see."


    "[Strike of the Lightless Arcane]!"


    Swoosh!


    Circting both Shadow Energy and mana throughout his body before sending them towards the spear''s tip, Valyr struck directly at one of the primitive humanoid''s numerous weak spots.


    "Grroooaaggghhh!!!" To no surprise, the primitive humanoid had taken on a grievous amount of damage from the hit as it was sent flying, the damage counter that appeared above its head colored a dark red.


    "I understand." Staring at the damage that had appeared above the primitive humanoid''s head, Valyr felt as if everything in his mind had clicked into ce.


    "Though it does increase my current level to the early levels of Rank 4, it has no effect on my stats whatsoever," muttered the young man.


    "However, what it does have an effect on is on the Damage Restriction System since it reduces the level gap between us."


    "Add on the fact that the Damage Restriction System''s effects on me have be weaker thanks to the upgrade [yer of Ascendants] went through, the amount of damage I can now deal is probably beyond what two additional levels could offer."


    As these thoughts began to linger in his mind, the young man let out a peal ofughter as he headed to the spot he usually rested on while at the west quadrant.


    Taking a brief look at the sun''s current position, he then sent a message to the others, asking them about their progress in achieving a total of 1,000 primitive humanoids killed.


    Unsurprisingly, with how the four had already reached an authority level of 10st night, the four replied that they were around a hundred to less than a hundred kills away topleting the objective.


    However, unlike Valyr, who had kept the authority level quest up while killing the remaining primitive humanoids needed for the objective, the others had opted not to repeat the quest after reaching the needed authority level.


    After all, in their words¡­


    ''What would a higher authority level even do?''


    "Then again, they haven''t explored the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion firsthand, so they don''t know how important a high authority level is." Faintly shrugging his shoulders as he read these words, Valyr sent a few more messages to the four before closing the party chat.


    Then, after staring at the horizon for a bit, the young man made a decision in his mind, condensing Shadow Energy and mana towards his back as a pair of dark yet translucent wings sprouted not long after.


    "Since it''ll be some time before the five of us tackle any of the quadrant leaders¡­"


    "Guess I''ll get some info about the other quadrant leaders while I wait."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 663 Four Pillars: The Game Plan

    Chapter 663 Four Pirs: The Game n


    "What''s taking Valyr so long to get back?" With the four of them having finished the objective of killing a thousand primitive humanoids, the four of them decided to make their way back to the south quadrant in order to talk about their next step.


    As Valyr was the first one among them to finish this objective, the others had given him a heads-up through the party chat, thinking that he was passing the time while waiting for them to finish by killing the primitive humanoids in his vicinity.


    However, the response that they got from him instead left them at a loss for words.


    ''Currently scouting the quadrants to obtain information on the other quadrant leaders.''


    That was thest minute their leader had sent to them around half an hour ago, which was around the time the four of them had finished their objectives and gathered at the south quadrant.


    For reference, an hour had passed after Valyrpleted the objective before the fourpleted theirs.


    "Well, the city ruins is quiterge, so it''s not all that surprising if he takes a while to return." Hearing the question that came out of Hal''s mouth, Vera decided to answer his question as she wryly smiled.


    In response to Vera''s words, Faulus slightly shook his head. "With the movement skill he''d shownst night? He''s definitely done collecting all of the information on the other quadrant leaders."


    "If anything, he''s probably on his way back," added the alchemist.


    "Congrats. You''re right on the mark."


    Whoosh!


    As if he had nned the current situation out, Valyr had appeared in front of the four the very moment Faulus had finished saying those words.


    Then, dispelling the dark wings behind his back, he looked at the others with a faint smile after seeing the four of them look at him with curiosity.


    Nodding at the four, Valyr began to talk. "First off, I would like to apologize for taking a bit longer than usual to return. Decided to kill some more primitive humanoids while waiting for you guys so I got information on the quadrant leaders at the veryst minute."


    Hearing the others respond back to him that it was fine, the young man let out a brief chuckle before turning solemn. "In any case, I''m sure you don''t want to hear my excuses as to why I''ve taken my time."


    "Let''s talk about the other quadrant leaders."


    With this, the four began to attentively listen to every word that came out of Valyr''s mouth, not wanting to miss even a single word of detail.


    On the other hand, Valyr made sure to exin the characteristics of the quadrant leaders in a way that wasprehensive yet easy to understand at the same time.


    While doing so, he brought up the stats he had obtained on the quadrant leaders themselves during his exnations, allowing the others to get a better idea of what they were up against.


    By the end of the young man''s exnation, the four now had a greater understanding of the quadrant leaders they would have to fight against, such as the fact that they were simr to the primitive humanoids.


    However, they weren''t simr in terms of appearance or stats or the like.


    Rather, they were simr in terms of falling under one of the three archetypes they''ve figured out while fighting the primitive humanoids.


    For example, the quadrant leader located at the west quadrant fell under the archetype of having superb capabilities when it came to physical attacks, shown by itsprehended Intent and thebat style it had as its main set of skills.


    Unfortunately, its magic capabilities were incrediblycking wherein it could not even avoid a simple fireball.


    On the other hand, the quadrant leader located at the east quadrant was the exact opposite, having an Intent of a simr grade that leaned towards magic, as well as abat style that was simr to the many magic style skills Valyr had.


    Of course, with how the west quadrant leader was weak to magic, then the east quadrant leader received grievous amounts of damage from physical attacks.


    As for the north and south quadrant leaders, these quadrant leaders fell into the third archetype where their physical and magical capabilities were more or less equal.


    However, there was a difference between the north and south quadrant leaders that prompted the five to make a choice on which quadrant leader they would fight first.


    "One has the Intent of Bnce, while the other one has the Intent of Unified Will," said Hal after hearing the characteristics of the two quadrant leaders from Valyr.


    "Unlike the west and east quadrant leaders, whose Intents are possibly of the same grade, one quadrant leader out of these two actually has a weaker Intentpared to the others."


    "I presume it''s the one with the Intent of Bnce?" asked Valyr in return, to which Hal nodded in response.


    "Yeah. Unlike the Intent of Unified Will, which is a 6th Grade Intent if I''m not wrong, the Intent of Bnce is actually a 9th Grade Intent."


    "However,pared to other 9th Grade Intents, the Intent of Bnce stands at the top due to how versatile it is. Whether you use it in production or inbat, the Intent of Bnce will have great effects."


    "So, that means we''ll be fighting the north quadrant leader, then." As he took in the information Hal had shared, Faulus decided to speak up. "Are we gonna head out right now?"


    "Give me some time to rest, will you?" Valyr looked at the alchemist with a joking pained expression. "I''ve been gathering information for all of us to benefit from, you know?"


    "Plus, we still have plenty of time before sundown," added the young man, taking a look at the sun that had just passed its zenith. "Let''s take this time to reach our peak conditions and talk about our strategies in fighting the north quadrant leader."


    Hearing the suggestions made by their group leader, the four nodded in agreement as they began to animatedly discuss their ns on how they would take on the north quadrant leader.


    As for Valyr, he passively listened to their conversation with a smile as his mind was focused elsewhere.


    ''To think Ryvrthe would actually be correct,'' thought the young man to himself. ''Thest leader of humanity had actually left something for them inside the inheritance.''


    At the very moment he had reunited with the other four, Valyr had mentioned that he had spent the time waiting for them to finish by killing some more primitive humanoids.


    However, in reality, he had set out to obtain information on the quadrant leaders the very moment he had received replies from the others that they would take a while.


    Relying on [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern], he had obtained all of the information he needed on the other quadrant leaders a couple minutes before his wings naturally dissipated on their own.


    If anything, the reason why he had taken so long to return to the south quadrant¡­


    Was the fact that he had explored the center of the city ruins.

 Chapter 664 Four Pillars: The Center

    Chapter 664 Four Pirs: The Center


    Whoosh!


    "Well, that was easier than I thought." pping his wings as he leisurely glided through the air, Valyr thought back to the time he had obtained information on the three other quadrant leaders.


    Utilizing [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern] rather than [Traceless Slither] in heading to each of the quadrants, it went without saying that the young man did not take long to go from one quadrant to another quadrant.


    Aside from that, he did not have to maneuver around the primitive humanoids within the vicinity of the quadrant leader to obtain the information he needed.


    Instead, he approached the quadrant leader from a high-enough altitude where he wouldn''t be noticed by any of the beings below.


    Only after he was certain that he had not alerted his presence to any of the beings did he use his identification skill on the quadrant leaders,mitting their status screens to memory.


    With how simple the task was and how swift [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern] was when it came to movement, Valyr had yet to receive an update from the others regarding their progress on reaching 1,000 kills.


    "Hmm?" Just as he was about to head to the south quadrant since that was where they usually gathered, the young man slowed down his flight for a bit as he passed over a part of the city ruins that he had yet toe across.


    "The center of the city ruins," muttered Valyr to himself as he gazed below.


    Unlike the four quadrants that made up the periphery of the city ruins, the state of the city ruins'' center seemed to be better off and worse off at the same time.


    It was better offpared to the four quadrants in terms of appearance, considering that almost all of the buildings within the center seemed to have been left untouched.


    In a way, it looked as if the beings that used to reside within those buildings had just all gone on a vacation.


    On the other hand, the buildings within the four quadrants were in varying states of disrepair, with a memorable example lingering in Valyr''s mind being the building he hade across in the south quadrant.


    Then again, the center of the city ruins was worse off when it came to the beings that roamed around the area.


    If the four quadrants were filled to the brim with primitive humanoids at the peak of Rank 4 and quadrant leaders well into the levels of Rank 5¡­


    Then the center of the city ruins housed beings that were a step above in every way.


    Almost all of the beings Valyr could see from afar passively radiated auras that solidly ced them around thete levels to the peak of Rank 5. If anything, it felt as if Valyr was looking at hundreds of quadrant leaders at once.


    Nevertheless, the auras these beings radiated were no match to the strongest being that resided within the center of the city ruins, its passive aura alone making him shudder with dread.


    ''A Myth¡­'' thought Valyr to himself, gradually shifting his gaze towards the being that had emanated the tyrannical aura he felt.


    Coincidentally, at the very moment heid his eyes upon that being, the being had seemingly sensed the gaze and stared back in the direction of the young man.


    Not wanting to mess with a Myth in his current state, he swiftly averted his gaze and pped his wings with even greater force as he looked around the center of the city ruins for a bit more.


    "What the¡­?" Eventually, after exploring every nook and cranny that the city ruins'' center had to offer, the young man gradually noticed a peculiar area within, noting the fact that the area was devoid of any of the beings that regrly roamed the ce.


    Not only that, but he also noticed after a bit more flight that the Myth level being seemed to position itself far away from the barren area, as if it was afraid of what lied within.


    Reducing his altitude to get a better look of what the barren spot looked like, Valyr was soon greeted by the sight of arge barriering into view.


    "I see." Nodding in understanding at the very moment he saw therge barrier, the young man then moved a bit closer towards the barrier as he wanted to get a better look of what was inside the barren area.


    Fwoosh!


    Surprisingly though, once he had gotten close enough to therge barrier, therge barrier disappeared in the area where he generally hovered, causing a perplexed expression to appear on the young man''s face.


    Though, in the end, he decided to enter the barren area anyway due to how there looked to be no danger within the area whatsoever.


    Then again, there was also the fact that there was a statue of a human at the center of the area that gave him the feeling that he had seen it somewhere before.


    Swoosh!


    Dispelling the pair of wings on his back, Valyr went ahead and made his way towards the human statue as he faintly wondered to himself why it gave him a familiar feeling.


    While doing so, he maintained vignce towards his surroundings, looking around every once in a while to make sure that there were indeed no dangers within the area.


    "Why''s a ce like this in the center of the city ruins?" Finding it odd that there really was no danger within the barren area whatsoever, the young man began to ask a few questions to himself.


    "Aside from that¡­ why did the barrier partly dispel itself to let me enter?"


    As these questions continued to linger within the young man''s mind, Valyr eventually arrived at in front of the statue, getting a close-up look at who the statue was portraying.


    Though the statue was a glossy ck all over, it could not hide the strikingly handsome features of the man the statue was based off of.


    Sporting a rxed grin, the statue wore what seemed to be a long-sleeved polo and a pair of pants as it stared at a distance far into the sky.


    Just as he was wondering who this statue was referencing, the young man eventually took note of a que engraved with characters near the statue''s feet.


    Though, at the very moment he had done so, a sound he had not expected to hear echoed within his mind, prompting him to nk out for a bit as he took a look at the notification he had received.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Locate a trace of thest leader of humanity (1/1)]

 Chapter 665 Four Pillars: Heading North

    Chapter 665 Four Pirs: Heading North


    "¡­"


    For quite some time, Valyr stared at the notification he had received with great amounts of confusion. After all, from how Ryvrthe had phrased it to him, finding the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity was going to be incredibly difficult.


    Yet, through a series of coincidences, he hade across something that gave him traces of thest leader of humanity''s existence.


    "In an area like this, it would be incredibly difficult for someone to overlook this ce," muttered the young man to himself as he brought up the description of the quest he had gotten from the Sapient One.


    Reading through the objectives he had toplete in order to mark the quest asplete, the young man eventually nodded in understanding as he stared back at the statue.


    "Then again, finding the traces of a being is different from locating the whereabouts of a being," said Valyr as he shrugged. "After all, one is more difficult than the other."


    "In any case, this gives me a lead on where to look if I want toplete the other objectives of Ryvrthe''s quest."


    Staring at the statue for a bit longer, the young man soon noticed that ayer of faint blue light had briefly appeared over the statue, causing it to glisten under the rays of the sun.


    Though, just as quickly as he had noticed it, the faint blue light had quickly disappeared as well, returning the statue to what it looked like before.


    Getting a hunch that theyer of light had not appeared for no reason, Valyr went ahead and looked at the statue from head to toe to see if anything had changed because of the light.


    Unsurprisingly, there was.


    "Vaughn Darkstar." Gazing at the que near the statue''s feet, the sequence of characters carved on the que that previously looked like chicken scratches to him now looked like the work of a great artisan.


    Aside from that, he nowpletely understood the words that were written on the que, each of them seemingly imbued with great amounts of intent.


    "The leader that gave humanity the cosmos." Staring at the name that was written on the que for a while, Valyr soon noticed a small line of text written underneath.


    Reading through it, a solemn expression soon appeared on his face as he took yet another look at the remaining objectives needed toplete Ryvrthe''s quest.


    "Haah¡­" Faintly sighing as heposed his thoughts, the young man began to wander around the barren area in the hopes of stumbling across a clue or two that would allow him toplete the other objectives.


    Unfortunately, it was as if the barrier surrounding the barren area was only protecting the statue of thest leader of humanity at the center. Aside from that, there was nothing else within the area at all.


    At least¡­ nothing tangible.


    "To seek what you wish to obtain, ascend past the Gates of Enlightenment and enter the ranks of the Gates of Awakening."


    Just as he was wondering whether looking around the barren area was futile, Valyr stopped in his tracks as an imposing voice echoed within his mind.


    "Until then, the world''s mysteries shall remain shrouded before your gaze."


    "What do you mean by that?" Wondering if the voice was any simr to the voice that apanied him in the Gates of Enlightenment, Valyr decided to ask out loud.


    Yet, even after waiting for a few minutes, he had received no response whatsoever, prompting him to let out a slightly defeated sigh.


    "I need to enter the Gates of Awakening to obtain what I seek." Committing the words that echoed in his mind to memory, Valyr began to repeat the words he had heard as the gears in his mind started to turn.


    "Considering that this ce is where Ipleted an objective rted to Ryvrthe''s quest¡­ does that mean the Triad Gates have something to do with the Great Cataclysm?"


    "Wait, that sounds incredibly absurd." Valyr shook his head, wondering how he hade up with the thought in the first ce. After all, as far as he knew, the Triad Gates and the Great Cataclysm had nothing to do with each other.


    However, as the idea began to brew in his mind, thoughts that seemed to be separate in the past now gradually seemed to connect together in his head, allowing him to get a glimpse of what looked to be the greater picture.


    Though he was undoubtedly entranced by the thought of the two being connected, Valyr quickly shelved the thought for the meantime as he had no basis to back up his ims.


    "In any case, I think I already know what I need to do next." Gazing at the statue onest time, Valyr prepared for his return to the south quadrant as he activated [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern].


    Whoosh!


    Then, with all of the strength he could muster, he swiftly flew out of the barren area, inwardly thankful that he had spent far more time than he liked in this ce to remove the skill from cooldown.


    "Hopefully, the next time Ie here, I would have more answers than questions." Briefly wondering how he would have fared if he were to leave the center through [Traceless Slither], the young man faintly shuddered as he focused his thoughts towards his return.


    ¡­


    Taking a look at the sun''s current position, Valyr briefly nced at Hal and the others to see what they were doing.


    Unsurprisingly, with the four of them having not done much afterpleting the thousand kill objective, the four were animatedly discussing on their strategies in fighting the north quadrant leader.


    Though most of their discussion revolved around fighting against the north quadrant leader in varying group sizes, they also discussed the possibility of fighting against the quadrant leaders on their own, taking Valyr''s words back regarding the ambiguity of the objective into consideration.


    "Alright, let''s head out." Feeling like he had fully returned to his peakbat condition, Valyr interrupted the conversation the four were having as he gestured towards the north quadrant.


    With how all of them had made up their minds on fighting the north quadrant leader after their talks, the four did not take long to pack up the things they had temporarily ced down while resting.


    In just a couple of minutes, the ce they were previously upying now looked spotless, showing no signs of human inhabitation whatsoever.


    Asking the others a couple of times to make sure they hadn''t forgotten anything, it was only after triple-checking everything did the group depart from the south quadrant.


    And with that, they began their journey up north.

 Chapter 666 Four Pillars: The Demon Awakens

    Chapter 666 Four Pirs: The Demon Awakens


    Though the five of them had applied all of the buffing skills in their respective arsenals, it still took a while for all of them to arrive at the north quadrant.


    After all, the center of the city ruins housed beings that were at or above the level of strength the four quadrant leaders held, taking the primitive humanoids'' ce.


    Aside from that, the strongest being that roamed the city ruins'' center had transcended the ranks of mortality altogether, ssifying itself as a Myth level being.


    With that, it went without saying that the five had taken a detour around the center, heading to the north quadrant through the periphery of the east quadrant.


    Arriving around an hour after their departure, Vera stood in front of them all of a sudden and looked back at the four with a smile. "Wee to my yground."


    Being allocated the north quadrant after the five of them had discussed who took which quadrant a few days ago, the young woman had spent most of her time in the north quadrant.


    ying the primitive humanoids within her vicinity toplete the same objectives others got, she gradually found ways unique to the north quadrant that allowed her to increase her killing efficiency.


    In other words, out of everyone in the group, Vera knew the north quadrant as if it were the back of her hand.


    "Follow me." Understanding why she had taken the lead, the four began to follow after her as the group made their way to the quadrant''s center.


    Naturally, with how they needed to make sure they could give it their all when fighting against the north quadrant leader, the group opted to avoid as many of the primitive humanoids as they could.


    Then again, try as they might, they still could not avoid bumping into some of them by ident, prompting them to consume some of their mana in order to proceed with their journey.


    Fortunately, by the time they were near the ce where the north quadrant leader resided, the five of them were more or less still at peak condition.


    Deciding to stop at the top of a tall building a hundred meters away from the north quadrant leader, the five of them looked at the north quadrant leader for a bit before looking back at one another.


    Initiating the conversation, Hal opened his mouth. "Now that we''re here, let''s talk some more strategy."


    "First and foremost, it would make sense if we clear out the vicinity first since it would definitely be detrimental if a primitive humanoid were to interrupt us during our fight."


    At those words, Valyr and the others nodded in agreement as all of them gradually formted a n that would allow them to lure the primitive humanoids away from the north quadrant leader.


    Going over the n they came up with in his mind, Valyr looked at the others and faintly nodded. "To make sure we''re on the same page, we''ll all be using long-range skills on the primitive humanoids, right?"


    Loreina nodded. "Yeah."


    Hearing that, Faulus asked for rification. "Will we be just luring the primitive humanoids away from where the quadrant leader is or are we going to kill them after we lure them to make we won''t be disturbed?"


    "Though the former is fine, it would be better if we go with thetter to save our future selves from headache," said Valyr in response, to which Hal nodded in agreement.


    After that, the five of them began to talk about who would be responsible for what part of the vicinity around the north quadrant leader.


    With how all of them had rtively equal range when it came to their long-range skills, it did not take long for the five of them toe to a consensus as they moved onto the next topic.


    Taking a deep breath, Valyr went ahead and asked, "Since that''s out of the way, let''s talk about our game n in fighting the quadrant leader."


    "Are we going to have someone fight the north quadrant leader alone first or are we going to have a pair or a trio start the fight?"


    At those words, the other four went silent for a bit as they mulled over the thought.


    Then, after a bit more silence, the four of them spoke their minds as to which was the best approach.


    Some of them agreed with having one person fight the quadrant leader for the meantime since the quest might not ept multiple people working together on one kill.


    Aside from that, it would allow others to gain more information on what was the best way to fight a being of that caliber.


    Naturally, the remaining ones agreed that it would be better to fight against the quadrant leader as a group, utilizing the fact that the quest did not state that one needed to kill the quadrant leader alone for it to count.


    Though, by the end of this discussion, Valyr decided to take both suggestions andbine it into one.


    "How about this?" suggested the young man. "At the start of the fight, one person would fight against the north quadrant leader."


    "However, if that person shows or says that they''re having difficulty fighting against the quadrant leader, only then would the others assist them in killing the quadrant leader."


    In response, the other four decided to agree with the setup, but only after tweaking a few things about it that would ensure that all of them would be able to leave the vicinity unscathed.


    Other than that, the suggestion Valyr brought up remained more or less the same as they moved onto what seemed to be the final topic before facing the quadrant leader.


    Surprisingly, Hal was the one who shifted the conversation to this final topic."We''ve already talked about what we''ll do with the primitive humanoids. We''ve also already talked about how the fight against the quadrant leader would go."


    "Now, that begs the question."


    "Who would be the first one among us to fight against the north quadrant leader?"


    At those words, the surroundings of the group had fallen silent.


    Though all of them were confident in their abilities to defend against the quadrant leader''s attacks and even retaliate after finding out the quadrant leader''s stats, none of them wanted to be the first one to fight.


    After all, that meant that they would serve as a punching bag for others to gain information from.


    Being reminded of two incidents that had urred in the past, Hal and the two girls stared at Faulus and Valyr for a bit, wondering if the former of the two would go into an outburst just likest time.


    Though, since he could feel the three intently staring at him, it went without saying that Faulus already knew what they were thinking, causing him to inwardly have a bitter smile.


    "What are you looking at?" asked the man as the three swiftly shifted their gaze elsewhere. "If you''re thinking that I''ll suggest someone else among us to be the first to fight against the quadrant leader, then I''m afraid I''ll disappoint you."


    "That definitely wasn''t on our minds at all," said Hal in response, feeling a bit embarrassed at the fact that he had been exposed. "I was just wondering if you''d like to take the lead on fighting the quadrant leader."


    Hearing Hal''s suggestion, a slight frown appeared on Faulus'' face as he felt like there was more to the schr''s words for some reason.


    However, just as he was about to act upon this notion, the alchemist was interrupted by a calm voiceing from a person he least expected to speak up at this moment.


    "No need," Valyr said, leaving the others at a loss for words. "I''ll volunteer to fight against the quadrant leader."


    For a while after that, the surroundings had taken on a different kind of silence from before. In fact, Hal and the others had thoughts of whether or not to ask Valyr if he was certain that he wanted to be the first to volunteer.


    Naturally, Faulus thought about the current situation from the perspective of what he and Valyr knew, wondering if their leader deciding to be the first to sh des with the quadrant leader had something to do with it.


    Though, with the determination written all over Valyr''s face, such thoughts eventually disappeared as the five of them swiftly headed towards the periphery of where the quadrant leader was.


    Then, without hesitation, the five of them unleashed their long-range skills to lure the primitive humanoids near the quadrant leader towards them, making sure to not alert the quadrant leader of their presence.


    One by one, the primitive humanoids around the north quadrant leader''s vicinity moved on to the afterlife as the area gradually turned more and more barren.


    By the time the quadrant leader finally took notice that something weird was going on, Valyr had appeared in front of it, causing it to think that the current situation was undoubtedly cause by the small being in front of it.


    Incensed at the thought of the feeling of having no control in front of the human that stood before it, the north quadrant leader let out a scream of rage as it seemed to tap into the Intent it hadprehended.


    Yet, before it could even unleash the fury bubbling within its body¡­


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    Valyr¡­


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Memento Mori]."


    ¡­had already unleashed his.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "[Cataclysm of the Dark Arcanum]!"


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Bang!

 Chapter 667 Four Pillars: To the Brink of Death

    Chapter 667 Four Pirs: To the Brink of Death


    ''-12,653''


    ''-63,070!''


    As two damage values appeared on top of the quadrant leader''s head, the colors in the surroundings had be muted for a brief moment thanks to the two attacks Valyr had unleashed.


    Though, as if both attacks had achieved their goals, the surroundings swiftly regained its vibrancy, the only remnant of the two attacks having existed appearing on the quadrant leader''s body.


    Then again, it would be more urate to say that the quadrant leader''s entire body at the moment was the remnant.


    From Valyr''s standpoint, its skin had taken on an ash gray color due to the infiltration of Shadow Energy into its body.


    Not only that, but he had a feeling that its insides had turned a shade of gray as well.


    His proof?


    The strands of flesh jutting out of the gaping hole where one''s heart would usually be located.


    Though he did not think too much of it at the time, while examining the other quadrant leaders in preparation forpleting the quest, Valyr noticed that all of the quadrant leaders had gaping holes at the exact same spot.


    ''Is it a metaphor for something?'' thought Valyr to himself once again as he stared at the unmoving quadrant leader before him.


    Thanks to the debuffs [Cataclysm of the Dark Arcanum] would inflict upon the target, that meant that Valyr was free to attack the quadrant leader as much as he wanted to.


    With that, even though he was pondering over whether or not the gaping hole meant something, the young man busied his hands, shing diagonally at the quadrant leader before quickly swapping to the magic scepter.


    ''-4,980''


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Grand Serpentine Fang]!"


    Whoosh!


    ''-15,734!''


    As if he had rehearsed such movement for a long time, Valyr deftly swung the scepter towards the quadrant leader as he summoned both Shadow Energy and mana towards its tip.


    Without much fanfare, arge and dark fang appeared in front of the young man, giving one the feeling of demise when one looked at it from afar.


    Swinging the scepter towards the quadrant leader once more, therge fang zoomed through the air before piercing through the quadrant leader''s torso.


    Puchi!


    "¡­" With the quadrant leader still suffering from the debuffs Valyr''s ultimate move had inflicted, it went without saying that it did not make sound, nor did it react to it being pierced by the fang.


    Nevertheless, with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] working on overdrive, Valyr could see that the quadrant leader was close to breaking free from the detrimental effects.


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Shadow Bolt]!"


    With that, he did not hesitate to attack the quadrant leader onest time, sending a bolt of Shadow Energy towards one of the many weak spots he had noticed through his vision.


    Bang!


    ''-13,866!!''


    "Grrrraaaggghhh!!!" As if the bolt of Shadow Energy was the catalyst for the quadrant leader escaping from the debuffs, the quadrant leader let out a guttural roar as the attack sent it flying for a couple of meters.


    Then, as if the reactions it was supposed to make in response to Valyr''s attacks earlier had arrived all at once, the quadrant leader''s body greatly shuddered for a bit, the reason for which were unknown to the others.


    ''Does the gaping hole mean that it has abandoned its humanity?'' Seeing that it would be a while till the quadrant leader regained its bearings, Valyr thought back to the ideas he had earlier.


    ''Or does it mean that it has no need for humanity in the pursuit of greater power?''


    Going through his train of thought, the young man decided to take the time to replenish his mana reserves as he shrugged his shoulders. ''I might be overthinking this¡­''


    ''But with how the Triad Gates and the Great Cataclysm might have something to do with this inheritance, everything could be a possible clue.''


    ¡­


    While Valyr was in a state of deep ponderation as he waited for the quadrant leader to get up, Hal and the others could only stare at the sight with their mouths agape.


    After all, even though they witnessed it first-hand, they couldn''t believe what was happening.


    With how much the five of them had talked about the quadrant leader, almost all of them began to subconsciously think that the fight would take quite some time since they wouldn''t be able to deal a lot of damage to a quadrant leader even at their strongest state.


    Yet, lo and behold, the leader of their group had broken that notion.


    Not only did Valyr deal a lot of damage to the being that all of them felt would be difficult to defeat, he had done so in a way that made it seem like he was the one who wielded the strength of the quadrant leader.


    "He''s really gone all out," murmured Hal as he let out a sigh of awe.


    After that, he set his sights on the quadrant leader still on the ground as he activated his identification skill.


    "[Eyes of the Sage]."


    Ding!


    "Holy shit." At the very moment he cast his eyes upon the quadrant leader''s status screen, Hal sucked in a breath of cold air as his entire attention was focused on its HP.


    "The quadrant leader hadn''t even made its move yet¡­ but he''s already brought it down to a quarter of its HP."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Ancient Elite)] (Level 90 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 21,697/132,000


    MP: 179,160/179,160


    Attack: 5,216 - 5,216


    Defense: 3,300 - 3,300


    Stats: 825 VIT, 1304 STR, 1287 AGI, 825 DEX, 1493 INT, 1287 WIS, 657 PER, 300 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Combat Style], [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 13 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Bnce]


    Remarks: Yeouch.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Damn." Hearing the words Hal was muttering to himself, the other three went ahead and took a look at the quadrant leader''s status screen, only to react in the same way Hal did.


    "He didn''t hold back at all," said Faulus as he moved the screen to the side, watching the quadrant leader finally attempts its retaliation towards Valyr.


    With immense rage filling the entirety of its body, the quadrant leader let out a furious roar as it swiped down at Valyr in a cross pattern.


    However, Valyr easily avoided the attack by taking a few steps back.


    Then, taking advantage of how unguarded the quadrant leader was, he sent yet another [Shadow Bolt], now aiming for its head.


    Bang!


    ''-9,243!!''


    Watching how Valyr seemed to have total control over the entire fight, Hal and the other three briefly looked at each other as a thought popped up in their minds.


    ''Perhaps fighting a quadrant leader isn''t actually that hard?''

 Chapter 668 Four Pillars: From the Brink of Death

    Chapter 668 Four Pirs: From the Brink of Death


    The more they thought about it, the more they felt like it was indeed the case.


    After all, from a ss rarity standpoint, the quadrant leader Valyr was fighting only had a Rare grade ss, while everyone in their group had a Mythic grade ss.


    Though the quadrant leader made up for it by being ssified as Ancient Elite tier, that did not mean that their group had no way to even the odds, considering how humans had ess to subss.


    In fact, as they thought about their respective subss, they gradually gained more and more confidence in themselves.


    At some point, they had even be confident enough to think that they would be able to fight against a quadrant leader on their own without much problem.


    With the number of titles and passive skills under their belt, the number of elixirs they had consumed, as well as all of the leveled skills that they had in their arsenal, the perspective of the four had undergone a massive shift after witnessing Valyr fight.


    At the very moment they had realized this, all of the subconscious fears they had when it came to fighting a quadrant leader hadpletely vanished.


    Instead, what reced it was the burning desire to take Valyr''s ce and fight against the quadrant leader themselves.


    Now incredibly eager to fight against a quadrant leader after their leader had showed them the way, the four began to watch the fight from the perspective of gathering more information.


    After all, some of them didn''t have the devastatingly strong skills Valyr had ess to.


    ¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Though the quadrant leader sent attack after attack at the small being that had wounded it severely, the mes of rage that slumbered within it remained zing hot.


    After all, even though it had put all of its strength and dexterity into every attack to make sure its opponent would be caught off-guard, it was as if thetter could see the future, dodging them at thest possible moment he could.


    ''Huh. And here I thought fighting against the quadrant leader would feel simr to fighting the aberrations in the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.''


    Continuing to dodge both physical and magical attacks the quadrant leader sent at him, Valyr thought back to the trial he had cleared to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    After all, with how the Trial of Myriad Aberrations needed him to y groups of Divine Elite tier aberrations on his own for most of it, he had obtained a rough sense of how strong an opponent was.


    With that, as he looked at the quadrant leader''s stats, he felt like it would be equal in strength to the aberrations during the middle of the trial.


    However, reality had shown him just now that there truly was strength in numbers.


    Compared to the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, Valyr felt that the difficulty of fighting against the quadrant leader was more or less equal to fighting against a group of 40 Ancient Elite tier aberrations at the peak of Rank 4.


    ''Then again, it hasn''t even used any of its special moves yet,'' thought Valyr as he decided to stop prolonging the fight any further. ''If it did, it might probably be equal to fighting against a hundred Ancient Elite tier aberrations.''


    Whoosh!


    Having avoided and deflected all of the quadrant leader''s attacks for the past ten minutes or so, the young man had obtained a considerable level of understanding on how it fought.


    Utilizing this knowledge to his advantage, he waited for the quadrant leader to unleash yet another one of its attacks.


    "Grraaggghhh!!!" Feeling like something during their fight had changed, the quadrant leader had interpreted this as its opportunity to strike, hurtling a few mana bolts towards Valyr as it lunged forward to attack.


    "[Shadow Warp]." However, just as it thought all of its attacks would finally deal even a bit of damage towards its untouchable opponent, the young man turned into a cloud of Shadow Energy before disappearing from the quadrant leader''s vision.


    Puchi!


    Not long after, the quadrant leader felt a stinging pain on the back of its neck, prompting it to slowly around as it felt like its worst fears had been realized.


    Through its gaze, it could see the opponent it had been trying to attack all this time looking at it with a calm expression.


    Shifting its gaze downwards, the quadrant leader then noticed that its opponent was wielding a spear, its tip already having pierced through theyers of skin.


    Though, just as it hoped for its opponent to retract its spear in order for it to get another chance to attack¡­


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "[Strike of the Lightless Arcane]."


    Bang!


    ''-38,860!!!''


    Coalescing both Shadow Energy and mana towards the spear''s tip, Valyr allowed the skill to unleash its wrath from within the quadrant leader, causing thetter''s body to explode in multiple chunks as the area had be dyed in a crimson red.


    "Well, that was easier than I thought." Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, the young man shook the blood that stuck on his spear before cing it on his back.


    Then, letting out a faint sigh of relief, he looked at the others and gave them a thumbs-up.


    "It seems there''s no need for us to team up, after all," eximed Valyr as he let out a chuckle. "We''ll be able toplete our quests, no problem!"


    At those words, the four nodded in agreement as they witnessed how their leader had basically engaged in a one-sided massacre against the north quadrant leader.


    However, as they continued to look at their leader from afar, something had quickly caught their attention.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong?" Taking note of their slightly terrified expressions, Valyr gradually shifted his gaze towards where the four were pointing as he soon began to frown.


    ''Now that I think about it¡­''


    ''Why haven''t I heard a notification yet?''


    Wriggle¡­


    As if it had waited for the question to pop up in his mind, the chunks that made up the quadrant leader''s body began to congregate towards a single spot as if they had made a mind of their own.


    Sounding as if someone was squishing raw meat with their hands, the chunks gradually fused with one another, returning the quadrant leader back to how it looked before it fought against Valyr.


    Not only that, but the blood that had sttered all over the ce had made its way back to the quadrant leader''s body as well, leaving no trace of the earlier fight''s conclusion whatsoever.


    Feeling the aura emanating from the quadrant leader''s body gradually return to what it was before he had fought it, Valyr began to move back as he felt it gradually grow stronger.


    "[Superior Analysis]." Frowning as a barrier of mana passively appeared around the quadrant leader''s body, Valyr decided to take matters into his own hands and find out what was going on.


    However, what he found out only brought him memories of a bitter post.


    ''Oh, for fuck''s sake.''


    ''There''s another phase.''


    Ding!

 Chapter 669 Four Pillars: Beyond the Brink of Death

    Chapter 669 Four Pirs: Beyond the Brink of Death


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite)] (Level 90 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 48,356/144,000


    MP: 195,480/195,480


    Attack: 5,688 - 5,688


    Defense: 3,600 - 3,600


    Stats: 900 VIT, 1422 STR, 1404 AGI, 900 DEX, 1629 INT, 1404 WIS, 717 PER, 327 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Combat Style], [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 13 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Bnce]


    Remarks: Rising from the ashes, reborn to a greater form.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Remaining solemn as he watched the quadrant leader''s HP gradually return to its peak through the status screen, Valyr felt a bit of regret at the thought of having use all of his ultimate moves from the very start.


    ''Well, at the very least, this boss only increased in tier,'' thought Valyr to himself, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at the thought.


    Though he did not have ess to the most destructive moves in his arsenal while fighting against this version of the primitive leader, he was still confident in beating it with the moves he did have ess to.


    Continuing to watch everything unfold, Valyr eventually noticed the mana barrier surrounding the quadrant leader gradually dissipating on its own.


    Taking a look at its status screen, he noticed that it had already returned to what it was before the fight. With that, he got into a battle stance and prepared himself to take initiative.


    "Grroooggghhh¡­"


    As for the quadrant leader, after reaching a state far stronger than before, it slowly stood up on its own two feet before locking eyes at the human that stood a fair distance away from it.


    With thoughts of what had transpired earlier echoing through its mind, its eyes soon glistened with limitless rage, recalling how it could not evennd a single hit on its opponent.


    Noticing this change in expression, Valyr ced the spear on his back before taking out the magic scepter. After all, from the looks of it, it seemed that the quadrant leader was going to make its move.


    Yet, against all odds¡­


    Whoosh!


    After letting out a strong exhale, the quadrant leader cast a barrier of mana around it once more as the aura it emanated started to fluctuate.


    Then¡­


    Swoosh!


    Out of nowhere, the quadrant leader''s aura began to climb to an even higher peak, causing Valyr to distance himself from it even further.


    While doing so, he took a look at the status screen he had brought up of the quadrant leader, feeling like the situation was now turning from bad to worse.


    "Level 91¡­ 92¡­" Seeing that everything on its status screen was gradually increasing, Valyr soonnded his eyes on the quadrant leader''s level, wondering if it would stop near the peak of Rank 5 or reach it.


    Naturally, at this point, the young man decided to make a move, sending a barrage of crimson des at the quadrant leader in the hopes of not letting the situation worsen any further.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    As if the barrier of mana was made out of the sturdiest material known to man, the crimson des dispelled into motes of crimson light the very moment the two collided.


    Even increasing the number of crimson des he sent at the quadrant leader did not change a thing.


    At this point, Valyr began to feel dread at the thought of fighting against the empowered quadrant leader as many thoughts began to course through his mind.


    ''Would I have been able to pierce through the first barrier while the quadrant leader was stillying down?''


    ''Or was the inheritance made in a way where it would be impossible for one to kill a quadrant leader at its first phase?''


    Then again, wonder as he might, that still did not stop the quadrant leader from getting stronger.


    Eventually, its growth had reached a teau as its aura made it seem like it stood at the top of the world.


    In front of its aura, one would feel like it was an existence that stood above the beings of the inheritance.


    Perhaps, even above many of the species that roamed Veldanyr.


    Nevertheless, one thing was for certain.


    Its current state¡­


    Stood above Valyr.


    ¡­


    Seeing that Valyr had brought up a status screen of the quadrant leader as itid down on the ground, Hal and the others had also done the same thing.


    At first, they were surprised to see a mana barrier appear around the quadrant leader''s body, prompting them to realize that the quadrant leader seemed to have survived Valyr''s attack by an inch of its life.


    Then, the four of them were left at a loss for words after seeing the quadrant leader stand up once more, its aura greatly stronger than before.


    "Level 100¡­" Looking at the screen in front of him, Hal began to doubt the confidence he had gathered earlier at fighting against a quadrant leader.


    After all, the gap that now stood between them and the quadrant leader was nigh insurmountable at this point.


    If anything, he was more than certain that he could only deal points of damage to the quadrant leader at its current state.


    Yet, as if the world was ying a cruel joke on all five of them, the quadrant leader''s strength rose to an ever higher peak onest time, the change brought by it already visible on their screens.


    "Guys." Feeling his pupils shrink in terror at the information he had just received, Hal looked at the other three beside him and spoke in a solemn tone.


    "Prepare yourselves."


    "It seems we might have to help Valyr out."


    ¡­


    Just as Valyr was trying to reconcile with the fact that he was now standing in front of an opponent whose strength now far exceeded its earlier state, the quadrant leader decided to give him onest surprise.


    Whoosh!


    As the barrier of mana began to gradually dissipate around itself, the quadrant leader''s skin began to take on a shade of red as its eyes turned bloodshot.


    In response, the aura it emanated had seemingly broken through a bottleneck, causing even the primitive humanoids that roamed far away to realize that a near-invincible being had appeared within the north quadrant.


    "[Shadow W¡ª!" Noticing that the quadrant leader had already begun to move in his direction, Valyr swiftly activated one of his evasive skills as he thought there was still time to do so.


    But, before he could even fully activate the skill¡­


    Bang!

 Chapter 670 Four Pillars: True Colors

    ''-33,648''


    With its opponent being unable to react, the quadrant leader had infused its fist with ayer of crimson red mana before sending out a fist towards Valyr''s upper torso.


    Feeling its fist finally connect with the opponent that seemed untouchable before its earlier demise, the quadrant leader pushed more strength behind its attack, swiftly sending the young man flying across the sky.


    "Valyr!"


    Witnessing their leader take the attack of the empowered quadrant leader head-on, the four instantly jumped down from where they stood and headed straight towards where the fight was happening at the fastest speed they could.


    Whoosh!


    "Vera, Loreina, you twoe with me and help me stall the quadrant leader for as long as possible." With how their leader was currently out for the count, Hal swiftly assumed the position of a leader as he unsheathed his de.


    "As for you, Faulus, head to where Valyr is and help him return to peak condition as soon as you can."


    "Got it." Hearing Hal''s words, Faulus swiftly nodded as he felt the three cast all of the buffs in their arsenal that could enhance his movement speed.


    Then, without dy, he began to move away from the three as he darted straight to where Valyr hadnded.


    "You two, buff me up as much as possible." Continuing to head to where the quadrant leader currently stood, Hal looked at the two women that apanied him and gave them amand.


    Though the two did what they were told, casting skill after skill on Hal''s body to no end, it went without saying that the two women began to worry for what was going to happen next.


    "What are you nning on doing?" asked Loreina, feeling a hint of dread at the words that woulde out next of Hal''s mouth.


    Yet the man remained oblivious to this dread as he stopped in his tracks and allowed his aura to re out in its entirety.


    "[Intent Seed of the Divine de]."


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, Hal''s body was covered in a thinyer of golden energy, making one feel as if him and the sword he was holding were one entity.


    Seeing their second strongestbatant stop in his tracks, Vera and Loreina were forced to stop as well, watching Hal gradually reach a level of powerparable to the power Valyr had shown earlier.


    "What am I nning on doing?" Feeling as if he had done all he could for what was done, Hal looked at Loreina with a wry smile as he parroted her earlier question.


    Then, before the two could react, he dashed towards the quadrant leader at the strongest speed he could muster, leaving the two where they were as his words continued to echo in their ears.


    "I''m just doing what I should have done in the first ce."


    ¡­


    "Ugh¡­ fuck me, man."


    Deeply embedded into one of the north quadrant''s many buildings, a young man let out a pained groan as hemanded the system to show his current health.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 985/34,633


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Any stronger and I would have definitely died,'' thought Valyr to himself as he recalled the attack thatnded on him.


    Thanks to [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and his high perception, he was able to clearly see how the quadrant leader''s fist hadnded on his upper torso.


    In fact, he even noticed theyer of mana swirling around its fist, prompting Valyr to realize that the quadrant leader had unleashed a skill at the very start of its second phase.


    "Too bad my body couldn''t move away from the fist enough," muttered Valyr as he let out a wry chuckle, only to feel multiple waves of pain from his chest.


    Stifling hisughter the very moment he could, the young man took a look down at his body to see the damage the quadrant leader had dealt.


    In response, Valyr could only suck a breath of cold air as the sight before him was far more gruesome than he initially thought.


    Though the attack was just a fist covered in ayer of mana, due to how much the quadrant leader''s strength had improved, it was as if arge missile had been set off in front of Valyr''s chest point-nk.


    Not only was the part of the chestte that made contact with the quadrant leader''s fist gone, but the shirt he had underneath had more or less disappeared as his ribs had caved in.


    Aside from that, due to how much force the quadrant leader had put behind his attack, a considerable portion of the skin on Valyr''s chest had disappeared as well, revealing the bloodied muscle that existed underneath.


    With how the other parts of his armor seemed to have been severely affected by the attack just from the winds the punch generated, it could be said that it was nothing more than a miracle for Valyr to still remain conscious from something like that.


    "Then again, with the quadrant leader''s current stats, anyone would find it near impossible to avoid such an obvious attack."


    Taking out a health potion from his spatial bracelet, Valyr pulled out its stopper and down its contents in one gulp.


    Within seconds, he could feel the potion take effect as he felt his vitality gradually return.


    Though, while that was happening, he felt yet another wave of pain spread from his chest as the skin began to regenerate.


    "[Intermediate Regeneration]."


    "[Intermediate Heal]."


    Taking in a few deep breaths, Valyr cast two healing skills on himself to speed up the process as he brought the quadrant leader''s status screen up close to see what he would now be facing.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 343,680/343,680


    MP: 454,320/454,320


    Attack: 7,756 - 7,756


    Defense: 4,940 - 4,940


    Stats: 1235 VIT, 1939 STR, 1884 AGI, 1235 DEX, 2177 INT, 1884 WIS, 990 PER, 357 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Combat Style], [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 13 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Greater Bnce]


    Remarks: Only despair awaits when faced with such a being. Victory is nigh impossible to achieve.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "How great." Even though he had been punched away by the quadrant leader, Valyr did not dispel the status screen he had brought up during its growth.


    "Not only has it reached the peak of Rank 5, it''s also been ressified as a Boss."


    "Not to mention the fact that its Intent also went through an upgrade." Letting out a defeated sigh as he consumed yet another health potion, Valyr began to wonder whether the others had made their move against the quadrant leader.


    Then again, the answer to his question did not take long to arrive as a familiar voice began to echo near his vicinity.


    "Valyr!"


    "Where are you!"

 Chapter 671 Four Pillars: The Fight Continues

    "Haah¡­ haah¡­" Pushing his body to the very limits of what it could handle, Faulus eventually arrived at where he and the others had seen Valyr flew towards.


    Though he felt a bit out of breath, he still continued to roam the streets near the vicinity, ignoring the pain his legs were going through as he began to shout at the top of his lungs.


    "Valyr!"


    "Where are you!"


    Hearing no response from their leader whatsoever, Faulus inwardly let out a low sigh as he began to move a bit further away from the battlefield.


    ''Damn¡­ how far did the quadrant leader send Valyr flying?''


    Arriving at another spot within the north quadrant not long after, the alchemist caught his breath for a short while before shouting himself hoarse once more, hoping that Valyr would reply back.


    Unfortunately, what he attracted instead was the attention of the primitive humanoids in the area, prompting him to retrieve his staff as he channeled the anger he felt towards them.


    Though the anger he felt had something to do with the situation, that did not mean that he was angry towards Valyr for not defending against the quadrant leader''s attack.


    If anything, he felt anger towards himself.


    After all, if he was more capable inbat, then he would be helping out the others in fighting the quadrant leader while someone else would be in charge of searching for their leader.


    However, in front of a being with that level of strength, would his contribution really make any difference to the overall fight?


    Would it really be better for him to join the other three inbat?


    Or would it be better for him to be relegated to tasks that did not involvebat?


    ''Calm down, me.'' Just as he felt his train of thought spiral down towards an abyss, Faulus luckily caught himself before doing so, taking in a few deep breaths as he discarded all of the useless thoughts that gued his mind.


    Then, letting out a sigh, his expression turned calm as he began to move to another part of the north quadrant.


    ''Among the five of us, I''m the most knowledgeable when ites to healing people. After all, I wouldn''t be called the Lord of Medicine for no reason.''


    ''Hal told me to look for Valyr for this exact reason. That''s because he knew I''d be able to heal him the fastest and return him to the frontlines the earliest to help out.''


    With all the negative thoughts guing his mind earlier now gone, Faulus began to think about his current situation from a positive perspective, pushing his agility beyond its normal limits as he soon arrived at a spot he felt like where Valyr would be.


    ying all of the primitive humanoids in the vicinity with a few sweeps of his staff, Faulus took a deep breath before shouting one more time.


    "Valyr!"


    "Where are you!"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "I guess I''ll have to look for another spot, huh." Sighing in disappointment as he found out that his hunch was wrong, Faulus was about to head to another spot¡­


    Only to stop in his tracks as he began to hear a familiar voice from afar.


    "Hey, Faulus!"


    "I''m right here!"


    ¡­


    "Thank the heavens you''re finally here."After hearing Faulus'' voice echoing from a fair distance away from him, Valyr did not hesitate to shout himself hoarse, hoping that his voice would lead the man to where he was.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for his shouting to bear fruit since not even a few minutester, the man he wanted to attract the attention of had finally appeared before him.


    With Valyr finally in front of him, Faulus inwardly let out a huge sigh of relief as he felt a great burden being lifted off his shoulders.


    However, this feeling was soon reced with guilt as he looked at their leader''s currently miserable state.


    "It really didn''t hold back in its retaliation." Sucking in a breath of cold air, Faulus quickly helped Valyr extricate himself from the walls of the building he had been embedded into.


    In response to Faulus'' words, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he actively helped the man remove him from the building as well. "Well, it makes sense considering how I didn''t even give it an actual chance to fight back."


    Rumble¡­


    At the very moment Valyr was able to remove himself from the building''s walls, the young man looked at Faulus with a grateful expression, only to let out a disappointed sigh soon after.


    "I should have saved those moves of mine for this phase," said Valyr in an apologetic tone. "Who knew it would reach this level of strength?"


    Understanding the underlying meaning behind his words, Faulus shook his head in response. "Frankly, none of us were expecting the quadrant leader to grow that strong either."


    "You did what you could at the time," said the man. "No one is ming you for being unprepared."


    "But I have a feeling such words aren''t enough even to quell the emotions you''re feeling¡­"


    Whoosh!


    Taking out a vial filled with viscous dark red fluid, Faulus tossed the vial to Valyr before shing a smile. "So, have this instead."


    Seeing the young man stared at the vial he had thrown, the alchemist took the opportunity to exin. "That right there is one of the few Superior Health Potions I''ve concocted for this inheritance."


    "To be honest, I was saving it for incredibly critical situations."


    At those words, Faulus let out a slight chuckle. "However, isn''t this situation exactly that?"


    Remaining silent for a bit, Valyr looked at the alchemist with a nk stare.


    Then, pulling out the stopper, he downed the vial''s contents in one go, feeling its effects work on his body the very instant it made contact with his mouth.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, Valyr felt like his body was more than brimming with vitality.


    Staring at his body, he noticed that the wound on his chest had fully repaired itself as ayer of supple flesh took over its ce.


    Aside from that, the aching he felt from his back due to the collision had more than disappeared as well, feeling like he could stand straighter than ever before.


    Feeling like he had returned to a far greater than optimal condition, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before looking at Faulus. "Have you ever flown before?"


    "No?" As he shook his head, Faulus looked at the young man with confusion. "Why do you ask?"


    "Oh, nothing." shing a mischievous grin, Valyr went ahead and conjured two dark wings behind his back as he wrapped one of his arms around Faulus'' waist.


    "I just wanted to give you a heads-up."


    Whoosh!


    Without even giving thetter some time to prepare, the two of them set off to the skies, flying over the many buildings they had passed over as Valyr looked at the battlefield from afar.


    Staring at the towering quadrant leader as it fought against the other three, a trace of rage briefly shed in Valyr''s eyes as a thought soon surfaced in his mind.


    ''Time for round 2, fuckface.''

 Chapter 672 Four Pillars: Round Two

    "Grraaaaggghhhh!!!"


    As its aura continued to billow throughout its surroundings, the quadrant leader focused its attention towards the human that stood before it, keeping an eye on the de that it wielded.


    Whoosh!


    Imbuing its fists in crimson mana, it swiftly sent out a barrage of punches towards its opponent, each punch containing the intent to kill.


    "[de of Six Paths]¡­" Watching as more and more of these punches filled his field of vision, Hal took in a deep breath as he tightly gripped on his sword''s hilt.


    Then, without hesitation, he infused both the energy of his Intent and mana into his de as he swung the de perpendicr to the iing barrage.


    "[Golden Mortal Reflection]."


    Fwoosh!


    Leaving a streak of golden light behind in mid-air, this golden light swiftly expanded to form a golden wall in front of Hal, blocking all of the punches the quadrant leader had sent at him.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    However, with the sheer difference in stats between the two of them, even with Hal''s stats being empowered to the limits of their arsenal, the golden wall slowly began to sumb to the quadrant leader''s momentum.


    Crash!


    Eventually, the golden wall shattered into motes of golden light as the remaining punches the quadrant leader had sent now had no more obstacles blocking their path.


    "[Intermediate Mystic Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Eternal Mystic Barrier]!"


    Though, as if already having expected this oue, a series of multi-colored barriers blocked the remaining punches that continued to head towards Hal, prompting the schr to look at one of the young women behind him with an apologetic smile.


    "My apologies, Vera" said Hal.


    In response, Loreina replied, "If you really feel sorry for her, focus on dealing more damage to the quadrant leader. My summons are barely hanging on."


    Though it had only been a bit over fifteen minutes since the three of them had taken over Valyr''s ce in fighting the quadrant leader, the three were already close to exhausting their entire reserves.


    At first, the three of them approached the quadrant leader in a way where Hal would act as the vanguard of the group, while Vera and Loreina would help him out from behind, whether it be in offense or defense.


    However, at the very instant they incurred the quadrant leader''s wrath, the three were swiftly brought to the reality that they would have to work together if they wanted to remain standing in front of the quadrant leader.


    Even more so if their goal was to stall for more time.


    With that, though the formation between the three was more or less the same, the purpose of each person now vastly differed from before.


    Initially expecting to defend against some of the attacks that slipped past Hal''s radar, Loreina now acted as another vanguard alongside Hal, helping him keep the quadrant leader in ce through the summons she conjured.


    As for Vera, she had now be the de facto healer and buffer of the group, utilizing the esoteric skills she could unleash to keep the ying field somewhat even.


    Nevertheless, with how high the stats of the quadrant leader were, even though they were still barely hanging on at the moment, they were certain that it wouldn''t be long till their bodies automatically gave up.


    ''Where are you, Valyr?'' Gearing up tond another attack on the quadrant leader, a thought briefly crossed Hal''s mind as he summoned both his Intent and mana towards his de.


    "Graaagggh!!!" Seeing the human it had pushed back earlier begin to charge towards it once again, the quadrant leader decided to take a different approach in its attacks, conjuring a series of spikes made out of crimson red mana.


    However, before the two could even sh¡­


    "[Intent Seed of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    Whoosh!


    Out of nowhere, a wave of dark energy had appeared from up in the sky, forcing Hal and the two to swiftly retreat as the sight of the wave caused terrified yet jubnt expressions to appear on their faces.


    On the other hand, the quadrant leader looked up at the wave and fired its spikes of crimson red mana at it as it let out a scoff.


    After all, at the level of strength it could wield, even the three humans that stood before it were barely hanging on. How would a single wave make a diff¡ª


    Bang!


    ''-18,738!''


    Remaining unaffected even after being hit with mana spikes, the wave of dark energynded true on the quadrant leader, causing its imminent surroundings to be briefly shrouded in a cloud of darkness.


    As the cloud of darkness gradually disappeared, the three could see that the quadrant leader was currently stuck frozen in ce. It was as if there existed an otherworldly being that made it stand where it was.


    Though, judging from the look in its eyes, Hal and the other two were certain that it wouldn''t take long for the quadrant leader to be free from its current state and wreak havoc once more.


    But before it could do so¡­


    ''[Strike of the Lightless Arcane]!"


    Bang!


    ''-36,625!!!''


    Like a shooting star in the sky, a blood red spear swiftly came down from skies and made direct contact with the quadrant leader''s head.


    Due to the force and momentum the spear had carried along its descent, the quadrant leader was sent flying for a few meters as the three looked at the two in front of them with wide smiles.


    "Hurk¡­" Though the sight of Hal and the others definitely delighted Faulus, the sensation he had been subjected to earlier still took precedence, prompting him to tap on Valyr to let go as he emptied out his stomach at a ce nearby.


    "Well, at least he isn''t puking out blood." Dispelling the pair of wings on his back, Valyr looked at Faulus for a bit before returning his gaze towards the three before him.


    Looking at how haggard their current states were, a wry smile appeared on his face as he apologized. "Sorry."


    In response, Hal shook his head as he looked at the young man with a faint smile. "Why feel sorry for something even you had no clue would happen?"


    "If anything, that just means all of us were ill-prepared for this moment," he continued, to which Vera and Loreina nodded in agreement.


    At those words, Valyr looked at the three with a thankful smile before looking at the quadrant leader from afar.


    Seeing the quadrant leader gradually get up as it now seemed hellbent on getting back to where it previously would, the young man looked back at the others once more as a thought popped up in his mind.


    "I''ll be needing your helpter," said Valyr. "But for the meantime, get some rest and replenish your reserves. Faulus and I will be taking it from here."


    Faintly having an idea of what Valyr wanted to achieve, Hal nodded in response. "Do you have an idea of what you want to do?"


    "Not even one bit," replied Valyr with a shake of his head, causing the others to be somewhat confused.


    Fortunately, not long after, a determined expression appeared on his face as he retrieved his magic scepter.


    Charging towards the quadrant leader as he began to imbue his scepter with mana, he spoke once more.


    "Then again, if there''s one thing I''m sure of at the moment¡­"


    "It''s the fact that my second wind has arrived."

 Chapter 673 Four Pillars: Indefatigable

    "Grraaaggghhh!!!"


    Incensed that the one that had beaten it into submission had returned to appear in front of it once more, the quadrant leader let out a loud and rage-filled roar as it went all out.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With its aura continuing to billow, the quadrant leader conjured a great number of mana bolts behind it.


    Then, without dy, it sent all of the crimson bolts towards Valyr whilst it charged forward as well.


    Swoosh!


    Though he was slightly surprised at the speed of the mana bolts and the quadrant leader arriving before him, the young man looked at the sight before him with great calm as his body gradually turned into motes of Shadow Energy.


    "[Shadow Warp]."


    Watching all of the mana bolts it conjured pass through the ck cloud that suddenly before it as if it were nothing, the quadrant leader stopped in its tracks as a slight frown appeared on its face.


    Then, feeling a looming threat creep up from behind, the quadrant leader hastily turned around and swung its fists¡­


    Only to receive a bolt of Shadow Energy directly to the face.


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Shadow Bolt]!"


    Bang!


    ''-1!!''


    "Graaaggghhh!!!"


    Though the attack did not inflict much damage, the quadrant leader still let out a shriek in pain as it temporarily lost its sense of sight.


    After that, it hastily manipted its mana to remove the energy that made contact with its face, being reminded of the few bolts of Shadow Energy that struck its face before.


    With those memories beginning to linger in its mind, the quadrant leader became incensed once more, its rage ascending to ever greater heights as it sped up its removal of Shadow Energy.


    However, before it could fully dispel all of the Shadow Energy that clung onto its face, a strike filled with great strength appeared from above and made direct contact with its forehead.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Descent of the Dark Arcane Fang]!"


    Bang!


    ''-26,405!!!''


    "Graaagggghhh!!!"


    With that, the quadrant leader was sent flying yet again, giving Valyr some time to take a look at what the others were doing.


    Just like he had told them earlier, the three were in the midst of replenishing their reserves, resting at a ce that was a fair distance away from where the fight was happening.


    In fact, Faulus was with them as well, giving the three potions that allowed them to recover their reserves even faster.


    "Well, I''m d Faulus was able to quickly recover," muttered Valyr to himself as he let out a slight chuckle, returning his attention to the quadrant leader that stood up once more.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Dark Arcane Mirror]!"


    Getting the feeling that the quadrant leader would do whatever it took tond a hit on him once more, Valyr decided to take the initiative as he struck the ground with his spear.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, a barrier made out of Shadow Energy and mana appeared around the young man, prompting the young man to affix his spear to his back for the meantime.


    ''Though it wouldn''t stay up for long under the quadrant leader''s attacks, it''s definitely enough for me to replenish my mana and reassess my strategy,'' thought Valyr to himself as he looked in the direction the quadrant leader wasing from.


    Seeing the quadrant leader madly charge towards him with both of its fists imbued in crimson mana, a slight smirk crept up Valyr''s face as he took out a mana potion from spatial bracelet.


    ''You''re going to be in for a rude awakening.''


    Bang!


    Just as the thought popped up in the young man''s mind, the quadrant leader held nothing back in its strike, confident that a single fist would be able to make the barrier around its opponent disappear.


    Yet, contrary to expectations, the barrier only shook for a bit as it continued to remain standing, prompting the quadrant leader to wonder whether it had not put enough strength in its attack.


    But before it could attempt another attack on the barrier¡­


    Bang!


    ''-11,129''


    "Graaaaagghhhh!!!" Out of nowhere, a bolt made out of Shadow Energy and mana was sent out by the barrier and struck the quadrant leader directly.


    Though the force behind it was nowhere near enough to send it flying, it still sent the quadrant leader back a couple meters away, causing it to let out yet another one of its bestial roars.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Changing its goal in its mind to dispel the barrier no matter what, the quadrant leader charged forward once more, sending a flurry of strikes at the barrier without any regard for what had transpired earlier.


    However¡­


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    ''-11,421''


    ''-11,703''


    ''-11,596''


    ''-11,664''


    Just like before, multiple bolts of Shadow Energy and mana struck out at the quadrant leader in return, causing its appearance to turn more haggard with every seeding bolt.


    "I see." On the other hand, after topping up his mana reserves within the shelter of the barrier, Valyr looked at his skill list with an expression of interest.


    "So, the phenomenon doesn''t only apply to equipment skills, huh."


    Staring at the list of techniques he could ess from [Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style] and [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], Valyr noticed that the two ultimate skills he had used at the beginning of the fight were ready to be used once more.


    Wondering as to why that was the case, he was swiftly reminded of the time he had used [Breath of Beginnings] on his magic scepter, realizing that its cooldown reduced ordingly due to the time dtion.


    Aside from that, he also recalled the [Enlightenment] skill his ne had, causing a bitter smile to creep up onto his face as he thought back to the ideas he had at the time. ''I should really find the time to do my original ns after this.''


    ''In any case, this changes everything.'' Watching the quadrant leader continue to strike the barrier from the outside, Valyr went ahead and used [Superior Analysis] to see how far they were from beating it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 107,294/343,680


    MP: 314,152/454,320


    Attack: 7,756 - 7,756


    Defense: 4,940 - 4,940


    Stats: 1235 VIT, 1939 STR, 1884 AGI, 1235 DEX, 2177 INT, 1884 WIS, 990 PER, 357 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Combat Style], [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 13 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Greater Bnce]


    Remarks: Though the end may be near, always remember to fear the unknown.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Already below 50% HP.'' Looking at how much health he still had to go through to end the quadrant leader''s life, Valyr nodded in satisfaction.


    ''The three definitely removed a big chunk of the quadrant leader''s health while I was gone,'' thought the young man as he briefly nced at the other four.


    Bang!


    ''-11,442''


    "Alright. Time to hopefully end this." With the quadrant leader being sent back by its own attack yet again, Valyr decided that now was the time to make a move, dispelling the barrier without hesitation.


    Whoosh!


    "Grraaggghh!!!!" Seeing the barrier around its opponent finally disappear, the quadrant leader became jubnt as it could now attempt to attack Valyr directly once again.


    Imbuing its fists with crimson mana once more, it charged towards the young man, certain that its attack would finallynd true once more.


    However¡­


    Swoosh!


    Just as the quadrant leader stood 50 meters away from the young man, a field of darkness swiftly spread out from under Valyr''s feet, prompting the quadrant leader to double down on its attack as the field reminded it of a certain energy.


    Shadow Energy.


    "Graaaggghhh!!!" Pushing its agility to the limit, the quadrant leader swiftly appeared in front of Valyr''s field of vision once more, aiming to strike thetter at the upper torso once again.


    "[Shadow Warp]."


    Fwoosh!


    Sadly, before it could do so, the young man transformed into a cloud of Shadow Energy like before and disappeared from its line of sight, causing the quadrant leader to be annoyed.


    Then again, as it had already gone through this scenario not that long ago, the quadrant leader swiftly turned around, putting more strength into its fists at the sight of the young man.


    "I knew you''d turn around."


    At those words, the quadrant leader became slightly hesitant, feeling as if the young man was leading it towards something.


    Though, after briefly looking at its surroundings, the quadrant leader saw nothing of the sort.


    ''Did it say that just to deceive me?''


    At that point, simr thoughts began to run through the quadrant leader''s mind.


    In the end, it decided to trust in its gut and continue its attack once more.


    "Hehe." At the sight of the quadrant leader, Valyr shed a slight grin.


    Then, out of nowhere, arge fang pierced through the quadrant leader''s throat.


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Grand Serpentine Fang]!"


    Bang!


    ''-18,120!!!''


    "Grhhrrkk¡­!" Widening its eyes in disbelief, the quadrant leader stared at the fang that pierced its throat as it began to stumble backwards.


    Removing the fang on its throat by manipting its mana, the quadrant leader rolled on the ground for a bit, eventually regaining its footing once more.


    "¡­" Standing up once more, it looked at Valyr with rage-filled eyes as the urge to ruthlessly murder the man before it rose to a far higher zenith.


    But, before it could even do so¡­


    A barrage of attacks appeared before its very eyes.


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Memento Mori]."


    Bang!


    ''-21,886!''


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Cataclysm of the Dark Arcanum]."


    Bang!


    ''-52,638!''


    "And to top it all off¡­"


    "[Strike of the Lightless Arcane]."


    Bang!


    ''-36,625!!!''

 Chapter 674 Four Pillars: The Final Phase

    Thud.


    Witnessing the creature they''ve been fighting against for minutes on end finally fall to the ground thanks to a few moves, Hal and the others were left at a loss for words as they watched everything unfold with their mouths agape.


    On one hand, they were d that the nightmare that was the quadrant leader had been finally conquered.


    If everything went well, then that meant one or a couple of them would obtain the necessary eligibility to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    However, whilst they watched with jubtion on how Valyr was able to dispose of the quadrant leader so easily, this sight also brought them a slight feeling of emptiness.


    So far, the four of them were under the impression that the entire group looked to be on a simr level of strength.


    After all, each and every one of them possessed a Mythic grade ss.


    Sure, the tournament between them showed that there was still a difference inbat strength among them.


    Not only that, but Vera joined their expedition into the inheritance at the veryst minute, leaving the others with no choice but to assume that she had a simr level of strength as them.


    Nevertheless, they still epted that.


    They epted the fact that among the five of them, the ones that had the greatestbat strength were Hal and Valyr.


    In fact, almost all of them were under the impression that Hal and Valyr were simrly powerful, with one specializing in an area that the other didn''t.


    But with the disy of power Valyr had just shown them, the four of them now began to wonder.


    ''Where does Valyr''s limit lie?''


    As the four of them continued to rest a fair distance away from where the battle was unfolding, such questions began to linger in their minds.


    Some of them had even begun to wonder whether they were needed to enter the inheritance in the first ce.


    Even Hal, who had been proimed by the masses to be the strongest due to his ss, now began to doubt the strength he had umted so far.


    After all, he, Vera, Loreina struggled to remain standing in front of the quadrant leader, having to pull out all stops just so they could fight back.


    Yet, as if he was used to fighting opponents of a far higher level than him, Valyr utilized all of the skills in his arsenal in an ingenious way, even going so far as to use the quadrant leader''s inherent nature against it.


    ''I guess it wouldn''t be a problem for Valyr to fight against the quadrant leader on his own if not for the sudden growth it went through,'' thought Hal as he let out a faint sigh.


    Feeling his understanding of the world greatly change due to the existence of the young man that stood far away from them, he soon recalled the argument that transpired between Valyr and Faulus some time ago.


    Because of that, he was reminded of the fact that none of them were a match for a Myth level being.


    Though, with what Valyr had shown them, he began to wonder whether the young man would actually be able to fight toe to toe against one.


    And if not, he wondered whether or not the gap in strength between Valyr and the Myth level being wasn''t actually all that significant.


    ''That''s stupid. Even I know that even beings at the peak of Rank 5 would have great difficulty fighting against Myths.'' In the end, he discarded the thought as he shook his head.


    ''In any case, this more or less means his current level of strength is greater than even those considered to be the elite at the peak of Rank 5.''


    With this thought in mind, the man let out a sigh as he asked himself, ''How does he do it?''


    Looking at Valyr once more, he hoped that some answers would reveal itself in front of him.


    Yet what he didn''t know was that the answer to his question was already there.


    "Hey, Hal!" Furrowing his brows as the question continued to linger in his mind, Hal snapped back to reality after hearing his name being called.


    "Come here!"


    ¡­


    "Well, this is quite the problem."


    Looking at the quadrant leader that had been rendered lifeless by his attacks, Valyr had a frown on his face as he was reminded of what had happened earlier.


    "There''s no notification again," muttered the young man to himself, even going so far as to bring up his notification screen.


    Whoosh!


    "Ah, shit." Just as he had finished scouring the entirety of his notification screen, a barrier made out of crimson red mana appeared around the quadrant leader''s body, prompting him to move closer to where the others were.


    "There''s one more phase."


    "You called?" While he was in the midst of creating enough distance between him and the quadrant leader, Hal had appeared beside him with a slightly curious expression.


    Nodding in response, Valyr looked at him before shing a bitter smile. "It seems like we''ll be having to fight against the quadrant leader once again."


    "Seriously?!" At those words, Hal looked at the young man in shock, while the others had terrified expressions on their faces after hearing it.


    After all, the quadrant leader had drastically grown in strength after being defeated once by Valyr.


    If that was the case, then didn''t that mean the quadrant leader would reach the strength level of Myths once it rose from the grave yet again?


    "Well, we don''t really have much choice. We have to kill it if we want toplete our quest, after all." Wryly smiling, Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he used his identification skill on the fallen quadrant leader.


    Seeing its HP move further and further away from 0, the young man intently looked at the screen he had brought up, raising his eyebrows once he noticed that its health stopped increasing after reaching 50%.


    "Grraaaaaaggghhh!!!"


    Letting out a guttural roar that was overflowing with rage at this point, the quadrant leader slowly got up on its feet as it eventually locked its gaze on Valyr.


    Whoosh!


    Then, to no surprise, it red out its aura in its entirety once more, causing one to feel a sense of intimidation if one withcking strength were to stand in front of it.


    However, rather than charge towards Valyr and make its move, it instead stood in ce for a while as its skin began to turn a deeper shade of red.


    Concurrently, its aura was reaching a level of power far greater than before, prompting everyone to use their identification skills on it to see what they were now up against.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 171,840/343,680


    MP: 275,442/454,320


    Attack: 8,432 - 8,432


    Defense: 5,372


    Stats: 1343 VIT, 2108 STR, 2048 AGI, 1343 DEX, 2366 INT, 2048 WIS, 1076 PER, 357 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Combat Style], [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 13 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Greater Bnce]


    Remarks: The pinnacle of its existence. As well as the beginning of its eventual demise.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Over 2,000 points on four stats¡­" Sucking in a breath of cold air at the information he had received, Valyr looked at Hal beside him, who had an expression of slight terror on his face.


    Shuddering for a bit, Hal took in a few deep breaths to calm himself as he turned to look back at the young man.


    "How are we going to fight against this?" Though his words came out as smoothly as they normally would, one could still sense the underlying dread hidden within each word. "Can you still use those skills you used earlier?"


    Valyr shook his head, causing the schr to feel a bit more terror. "I''m afraid not. It''ll be a long while before I could use them again."


    Though the time dtion that existed between the outside world and the inheritance significantly reduced the cooldown of his ultimate moves, Valyr would still have to wait for over 10 minutes to be able to use them again.


    If it was the quadrant leader during the first phase, it wouldn''t have been much of a problem for him to do so.


    If it was the quadrant leader during the second phase, though it would be approaching the level of near impossible, as long as he worked with the others, it was still doable.


    But now that they faced against the quadrant leader in its current phase¡­


    Stalling for over 10 minutes was nothing but a pipe dream.


    "No, wait a second¡­"


    Just as Valyr was furiously wracking his brain toe up with a solution to defeat the quadrant leader, he soon recalled a certain item that he had brought along for the inheritance, causing the gears in his mind to start turning madly.


    Continuing to think more and more about the item that popped up in his mind, a determined expression soon appeared on his face as he came to a conclusion.


    ''Though it wouldn''t be enough to render the quadrant leader gone in one attack, it would be more than enough for us to manage.''


    "Hal," said Valyr.


    "Yeah?" Looking at the young man, Hal noticed that a solemn expression was on his face.


    "I want you to work with Loreina and the others to stall the quadrant leader for two minutes," replied Valyr.


    Though, he soon corrected himself.


    "On second thought¡­ one minute is more than enough."


    "What are you going to do?" asked Hal after doing what Valyr told to him to do.


    "I''m going to prepare something that would allow us to have an easier time while fighting this quadrant leader," replied Valyr as he began to distance himself from them. "Though it might sound like I''m making an excuse to escape¡­"


    "I hope you can trust me on this one."


    "¡­Alright." Taking in a deep breath, Hal eventually nodded at Valyr, prompting thetter to nod back with a smile.


    "Do what you have to do then."


    "Until then, we''ll stall the quadrant leader like there''s no tomorrow."

 Chapter 675 Four Pillars: The First Shot

    Whoosh!


    Continuing to distance himself from the battlefield, Valyr took a brief nce at the four before returning his attention to the surroundings in front of him.


    ''I promise you guys that your efforts will be more than worth it,'' thought the young man to himself, eventually stopping in front of a dpidated three story building that looked to have been made entirely from concrete.


    Sitting down, Valyr brought out the arquebus from his spatial bracelet, as well as the sack of gunpowder he had brought along just for this very purpose.


    Taking in a deep breath, he went through the process of arming the gun for firing, loading in a bit of the gunpowder into the barrel.


    "I''ve only fired this a couple more times before entering the inheritance, so I''m gonna need to find the right bnce between firepower and safety before the minute is up.''


    With this in mind, he then proceeded to ce the bullet he would fire into the barrel, jamming it deeper into the barrel with the help of a metal rod.


    cing a bit of gunpowder on the small bowl on the side of the barrel, Valyr let out a long and drawn-out sigh as he stood up and aimed the arquebus at the building behind him.


    "I hope this mix is the right one." Then, as he held his breath, he conjured a small me and slowly brought down to the small bowl.


    And then¡­


    Bang!


    ¡­


    "What is Valyr doing?" Though he heard an explosion resound from afar, Hal could not pay attention to it for the meantime, instead focusing it all on the quadrant leader before them.


    "Grraaaaaggghhh!!!"


    Swoosh!


    Without hesitation, the quadrant leader attacked the four with even greater fervor, charging towards them as it swung its mana-imbued fists.


    Seeing this, Hal briefly looked at the others and nodded before dashing towards the quadrant leader.


    "[de of Six Paths]¡­"


    Summoning the strength of his Intent Seed, he willed both the energy of his Intent and his mana to head towards de before shing down at the quadrant leader.


    "[Golden Mortal Reflection]!"


    Bang!


    In less than an instant, the golden de transformed into a screen that protected the four of them from the quadrant leader''s offense.


    Though, with how the quadrant leader''s strength had grown even furtherpared to the previous phase, the screen only served to hinder the quadrant leader for just a brief moment.


    However¡­


    "[Thousand Free-form Alchemical Style]¡­"


    "[Ceaseless Refinement]!"


    Whoosh!


    Just as the screen appeared to be on the verge of cracking, a long strand of white mana appeared out of nowhere, heading straight for the golden screen.


    Then, once the two had made contact with one another, the golden screen seemed to have returned to its state at the very beginning.


    Though, not long after, the screen grew more and more impervious, causing the quadrant leader''s momentum to eventually die out before it could even break through the screen.


    "Nice!" Seeing that his skill''s existence had been prolonged in order for them to stall for more time, Hal looked at Faulus with a grin and gave him a thumbs-up.


    "It''s the least I can do," said Faulus in response to Hal''s reaction, smiling soon after.


    However, just as it seemed that the golden screen wouldst for a bit longer, the quadrant leader grew enraged and sent a barrage of mana bolts at it.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "Urk¡­" In response to the series of attacks on the screen by the quadrant leader, Faulus''plexion swiftly turned pale as blood started to trickle out of his nose.


    Noticing this, Loreina became terrified as she shouted at him. "Dispel the skill, Faulus!"


    Hearing this, Vera and Hal looked to see what was going on, only for them to have terrified looks on their faces as well after seeing Faulus'' gradually worsening state.


    Simr to Loreina, the two of them urged the alchemist to dispel the skill after seeing the consequences of its usage.


    Unfortunately, as if he ignored everything that was going around him, Faulus continued to infuse more mana into the skill, causing the golden screen Hal conjured to remain standing.


    Yet, it came at the cost of his own body.


    Bang!


    Hearing another explosion resound from the same ce earlier, Vera briefly nced in the direction Valyr headed to earlier before returning her attention to Faulus.


    "[Intermediate Mystic Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Eternal Mystic Barrier]!"


    Whoosh!


    Then, without giving the alchemist any heads-up, she forcefully dispelled the golden screen with a defensive skill of her own, hoping that the move would be enough for Faulus to return to his senses.


    "Cough!" With the connection to his skill being forcefully dispelled, Faulus coughed out a bit of blood, prompting the others to look at him with a bit of concern.


    Fortunately, after this, instead of remaining foolhardy and casting the same skill on Vera''s barrier, Faulus looked at the others with an apologetic smile as he took out a health potion from his spatial bracelet.


    At this sight, the other three inwardly let out sighs of relief, only for the barrier Vera conjured to be broken by the quadrant leader.


    "Graaaaggghhh!!!" Hearing the quadrant leader bellow out in rage once more, the four of them swiftly got into their ces as they proceeded to keep the quadrant leader at bay.


    Utilizing all of the skills in their arsenal, they continued to keep the quadrant leader upied with breaking through their defensive skills, with each of them rotating the skill they used.


    In fact, they were even able to sneak a few lucky attacks here and there, though the damage they dealt amounted to a few thousand points at most.


    Still, it was better than nothing.


    "The minute is almost up¡­" Hearing another explosion resound from where Valyr had gone to, Hal had a slight frown on his face as he wondered whether or not they would be forced to stall for a bit longer.


    Fortunately for them¡­


    "Move out of the way!" As if a being with great strength had finally lost interest on them, the four of them felt great burdens being removed from their shoulders as they followed themand given by the familiar voice.


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, a familiar being had taken their ce, standing in front of the quadrant leader with a determined expression.


    However, rather than wield a spear or a magic scepter, the young man instead wielded a weapon that none of the four knew anything about.


    But, before the four of them could ask what he was doing¡­


    Valyr finally made his move.


    "[Descent of the True Wyvern]!"


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-179,840!!!!''

 Chapter 676 Four Pillars: A New Era

    Utilizing a skill that he promised himself he would only use in a desperate situation, Valyr empowered his stats to a level that would normally be considered impossible for someone at Rank 3 to reach.


    Nevertheless, this caused his aura to grow in intensity, eventually matching the quadrant leader''s aura somewhat.


    Of course, the quadrant leader took notice of this.


    "Graaaaggghhh!!!" Letting out a rage-filled roar, the quadrant leader nned on ending the fight between it and Valyr once and for all, charging towards him as it imbued both of its fists full to the brim with crimson red mana.


    However, before it could even bend its knees to dash towards the young man¡­


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    Conjuring a near imperceptible me in front of the others, Valyr brought this me towards the small bowl on the barrel''s side as he chucked a great amount of mana into the arquebus itself.


    The result?


    Nothing significant¡­


    To the naked eye, that is.


    Swoosh!


    Being propelled by the power of both mana and gunpowder, the loaded bullet swiftly ejected itself out of the barrel, heading straight for the quadrant leader''s head.


    With how small it was, both air resistance and the quadrant leader''s vitality posed no threat to it, leaving a near imperceptible hole as it cleanly passed through to the back of its head.


    ''A Fatal Hit¡­'' Though he knew that the damage the shot would deal was going to help them have an easier time in defeating the quadrant leader, once Valyr saw the pitch-ck damage counter appear on top of the quadrant leader''s head¡­


    He waspletely left at a loss for words.


    Then again, he wasn''t the only one to react that way.


    "Wha¡ª" Staring at the six-digit number that appeared on top of the quadrant leader''s head, Hal and the others looked at the sight with widened eyes as their mouths turned agape from sheer disbelief.


    After all, aside from the explosion that came from the weapon Valyr was holding, it seemed like the quadrant leader hadn''t received any injury at all.


    "Wait!" Fortunately, after looking at the quadrant leader for a bit longer, the four of them eventually noticed that blood started to trickle out of its forehead.


    It was only then did the four realize what Valyr''s weapon was capable of.


    Thud.


    Standing frozen in ce for quite some time, the quadrant leader eventually fell to the ground, prompting Valyr to stare at it with a calm expression as he wondered whether the quadrant leader would rise one more time and fight them.


    But then¡­


    Ding!


    "Oh, thank the heavens!" Rather than being greeted by the sight of a barrier appearing around the quadrant leader, a series of notification sounds instead resounded within Valyr''s mind, causing him to let out an incredibly long sigh of relief.


    Though, he wasn''t the only one among them to receive a notification.


    "It''s over!" Hearing notification sounds resound in their minds, Hal and the others also let out long sighs of relief as they briefly recalled the hardships their entire group went through while fighting against the quadrant leader.


    Seeing that they wouldn''t have to face the wrath of the quadrant leader anytime soon, it was only then did the four rx, lying on the ground as they all felt heavy weights being lifted off their shoulders.


    "Haah¡­" Of course, Valyr wasn''t exempt from feeling this exhaustion, lying on the ground as well as he shed a grin at the others.


    "Good job, everyone. Let''s look at our notifications for the meantime and get a bit of rest."


    At those words, the four nodded in agreement as a couple of them opened their notification screens, while the remaining couple decided to close their eyes for a bit after taking a couple of potions.


    On the other hand, Valyr stared at the sky for a bit beforemanding the system to bring up his notification screen.


    "Let''s see what I''ve gained."


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 100 Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite). You have gained 18,193,734 XP.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (1/10,000).]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4).]


    [y a Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (1/1)]


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4).]


    [You have obtained a Key to the Gates of Awakening. Would you like to use it now?]


    [You have obtained an Entrance Token to the Gates of Enlightenment. Would you like to use it now?]


    [You have received a new quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (1).]


    "Damn." Whistling as he took a look at the notifications he had received, Valyr began to grin as he had now obtained the necessary qualifications to take the next step and enter the Gates of Awakening.


    Aside from that, he had also gain a method to enter the Gates of Enlightenment once more, reminding him of the many other buildings he had yet to enter within that courtyard.


    ''I''ll save both of them for ater time.'' However, even though there was nothing stopping the young man from entering both ces right now, the young man still opted on not heading there at the moment.


    After all, he had just exhausted all of his resources in fighting the quadrant leader. If anything, heading to the trials at his current state was more of a death sentence rather than an opportunity.


    Not only that, but he had yet to reach the limit of authority level within the Gates of Enlightenment.


    That was something he wanted to reach first before returning to it.


    Though he had received a few more notifications on his screen, after seeing the others open up their notification screens as well, Valyr decided to ask whether or not the system had considered their contribution as killing the quadrant leader.


    Surprisingly enough, the system did consider it aspleting the objective, telling Valyr that they could now attempt the trials of the Gates of Awakening whenever they wanted.


    Hearing that, Valyr decided that the five of them would rest and return to their peak conditions for the remainder of the day and attempt the Gates of Awakening''s trials tomorrow.


    Naturally, they agreed.


    With that, it was only then did the young man take a look at the remaining notifications he had received, inwardly grinning in the process.


    ''I may have gotten close to dying while fighting the quadrant leader¡­''


    ''But these things make that sacrifice all worth it.''


    Ding!


    [Firing the first shot to ever kill a foe, you have returned a piece of the glory Veldanyr''s humans had lost in the past. May your shot be the precedent of humanity''s return to the old era, as well as the start of a new one.]


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Herald of the New Era (Veldanyr)''.]


    [Though the art of firearms had been lost to time, you have revived the craft once more and have even be the first among the new generation of humanity to utilize it inbat. There is no doubt that this feat shall leave an evesting mark on Veldanyr''s history.]


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)''.]


    [You have received a special ss quest: The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr).]


    [Throughbat, you have shown that your path to supremacy has already begun to blossom. Yet, beyond the expectations of many, you''ve shown that the path you''ve chosen has far greater potential than initially believed.]


    [Because of this, more have begun to fear your ability. At the same time, more have realized the need to seal your ability for eternity. Nevertheless, many shall never forget the feat you have achieved.


    [The feat of ying a foe two ss ranks beyond yours.]


    [Due to the feat you have achieved, you have gained the title ''Apex Hunter''.]

 Chapter 677 Four Pillars: Expected Gains

    Though he was incredibly ted while reading through thest string of notifications he had received from the kill, in reality, Valyr wasn''t too surprised by it.


    Ever since he had made up his mind in forging a gun, a few memories from his past life had long surfaced in his mind, reminding him of the rewards that the yer who had done it first received after doing more or less the same thing he had just done.


    All in all, the yer had received three rewards from it.


    The first one among those three was the title ''Herald of the New Era''.


    Interpreting the title in other words, it meant that the yer was the sign that a new era was about to begin.


    After all, in a where the level of technology had only reached the precipice of the Early Middle Ages at best, a gun was akin to magic itself.


    Though the gun that yer had created wasn''t all that advanced like Valyr''s arquebus, it was still something that only began to be moremonce by the end of the Early Middle Ages.


    With that, although it did boost some of the user''s stats to a decent degree, the title ultimately had something more to do with technology.


    Specifically, Technology Points.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Herald of the New Era (Veldanyr)] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    To bring the future to the past is¡­ description has been omitted.


    Effects:


    > +8% boost to INT, WIS, and PER


    > -30% cost in all purchases concerning Technology Points


    > +100% boost in efficacy of Technology Points


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Taking a look at the title''s effects, Valyr softly smiled. ''With the knowledge I''m gaining regarding the remaining technological eras that bar me from reaching the modern age of technology through the Triad Gates¡­''


    ''I''m pretty sure it won''t take long for me to make use of all of this once I leave the inheritance.''


    With the infusions of knowledge he had received from the Trial of Myriad Aberrations and the Gates of Enlightenment''s cksmith Knowledge Repository, the cost needed for him to unlock advancements up to the Renaissance Age had been significantly reduced.


    But, with the title''s effects, especially its effect to make a single Technology Point effectively be two points for him, he had a feeling that he would only spend around a dozen Technology Points to unlock and max an advancement.


    Perhaps, a hundred Technology Points at most.


    ''Let''s move onto the next one.'' Aside from the ''Herald of the New Era'' title, the yer from back then had also received another title due to the fact that they were the first one in the to fire a gun.


    Because of that, the second title was aptly named ''The First Gunslinger''.


    Unlike the first title, ''The First Gunslinger'' was more focused on enhancing the yer''s ability inbat.


    Specifically, the yer''s ability to use guns inbat.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    The firearm is considered to be¡­ description has been omitted.


    Effects:


    > +5% boost to VIT, STR, DEX, and PER


    > +10% boost to Attack


    > +30% damage to all attacks dealt by a firearm


    > +30% reduction in loading time for all firearms


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Bringing up the effects of the title in front of him, Valyr was soon reminded of the multiple other titles and skills he had in his arsenal.


    Simr to ''The First Gunslinger'', those titles and skills also improved his stats, his Attack stat, as well as the amount of damage he could deal through a certain weapon or fighting style.


    However, unlike those things, ''The First Gunslinger'' also reduced the amount of time it took for him to load a shot.


    What did that mean?


    That meant that, rather than take 15 seconds to load up his arquebus to fire the shot that killed the quadrant leader¡­


    It would have only taken him around 10 seconds to fire the shot instead.


    In a life and death battle, a single second was enough of a difference to see if one would live to tell the tale¡­


    Or to be yet another one of the corpses scattered across the battlefield.


    ''And now, thest one.'' As for the final reward the yer had obtained for being the first to fire a gun at something and kill it, unlike the first two, it was something that would drastically change one''s journey as a yer in Greater Beyond.


    After all, it was something that allowed one to move past being an ordinary yer to being an existence known by many at the top rankings.


    In fact, the yer had made great use of this reward, bing one of the only few yers on the rankings to use guns as a mainbat style.


    Naturally, only a ss would be able to achieve something like that, with the third reward being an opportunity to gain Veldanyr''s first ever gunslinger ss.


    Ding!


    Bringing up the description of the ss quest in front of his vision, Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity as he read through the things he had toplete.


    ''The objectives aren''t really all that hard, to be honest,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''However, if Iplete it, the ss I would gain from this quest would rece the current ss I have.''


    ''And not only that, my fighting style would mostly be limited to guns.''


    ''Though it is undoubtedly a hard decision to make¡­'' Furrowing his brows for a bit, Valyr let out a sigh.


    ''I''ll have to pass.''


    Ding!


    [You have removed the special ss quest: The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr).]


    Looking at the notification he had received from the system due to his actions, Valyr could not help but feel a twinge at regret as he looked at it.


    However, after letting out yet another sigh, the regretful feeling he felt slowly disappeared as he decided to move onto thest notification on his list.


    ''To be honest, I was only expecting to obtain the first three things,'' thought the young man as he brought up the description of thest reward he had gotten from killing the quadrant leader.


    ''After all, I never thought that a title like this was even possible to obtain.''


    Of course¡­


    The young man was talking about none other than thest title he had received.


    Apex Hunter.

 Chapter 678 Four Pillars: Fragmented Memories

    Chapter 678 Four Pirs: Fragmented Memories


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Apex Hunter] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic


    In history, there are many that are considered to be strong. These beings showed the masses that they had the capabilities to stand toe-to-toe with groups of beings at a simr level of strength.


    Then, there are those ssified to be elite. Though they showcase the same ability are those considered strong, these beings go one step further, fighting against those a level of strength normally considered higher than them without much difficulty.


    Throughout the passage of time, many beings considered to be strong and elite have lived and died, with some of them even leaving an evesting mark on the annals of history.


    However, among these beings stand a being far greater than the strong and the elite, a being that is considered to be purely mythical in terms of ability.


    For these beings, fighting against those that were a rank higher than them was as easy as swatting a fly. Even arge gap in levels did not deter their fighting intent, confident that their abilities would allow them to achieve victory.


    Some of them were touted as legendary heroes, while some of them were touted as fiends that came from the depths of the underworld.


    Nevertheless, even if the paths they ultimately led gave fruit to greater good or evil, one thing remained the same.


    These beings were touted as the apex hunters of their race.


    And you have be one of them.


    Effects:


    > +5% boost to all stats


    > +20% boost to Attack and Defense


    > +20% boost to damage dealt to foes that are at least one ss rank higher than the user


    > Reduces the efficacy of reduced damage against higher-leveled beings by 10%


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the effects of the title, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise since it reminded him of another title he had gained through fighting against beings that were far stronger than him.


    ''yer of Ascendants.''


    However, unlike ''yer of Ascendants'', which allowed him to deal increased damage to beings that were either of a higher tier and level than him, ''Apex Hunter'' increased the damage he dealt to beings that were of a higher ss rank than him.


    Due to the ambiguity of its description, Valyr faintly wondered whether the difference needed for the effect to happen was one full rank in terms of levels or just their literal ss rank.


    ''If it''s thetter, then even those at Level 56 would receive far more damage than I would usually deal,'' thought the young man to himself, daydreaming about the possibility of the effect having existed while he fired the shot at the quadrant leader.


    Nevertheless, this daydream did notst too long as he recalled the final effect given to him by the new title. ''To be honest, I wasn''t expecting toe across this effect again.''


    Naturally, Valyr was talking about the reduced efficacy of the Damage Restriction System.


    After fighting against the Level 100 quadrant leader, the young man realized that the reduced efficacy of the system was far more valuable than he had initially thought.


    After all, from what he had seen while fighting the quadrant leader, the damage he dealt to the quadrant leader consistently reached over 30,000 while it was still Level 90.


    However, once it had reached Level 100, reaching the same value was only possible after utilizing multiple buffs and making use of the True Shadow Corruption effect [Memento Mori] inflicted.


    ''With this title''s effects working with ''yer of Ascendants'', fighting those at the peak of Rank 5 would be far easier.'' Thinking about how difficult the fight would be if he didn''t have ess to such an effect, Valyr soon became incredibly thankful for it.


    ''Then again, there''s also the option of ascending to a higher ss rank,'' thought the young man to himself soon after as he chuckled. ''But I would definitely be missing on opportunities like this if I were to do so.''


    Deciding not to think any further about hypothetical scenarios regarding levels and ss ranks, Valyr closed the screen in front of him as he took a look at Hal and the others.


    Unsurprisingly, with the amount of time that had already passed since the quadrant leader''s death, the four had more or less returned to their peak conditions, even if they appeared to be somewhat haggard.


    Though, with their contribution to the quadrant leader fight being counted by the system, their expressions had also returned to what it was before, with almost all of them having rxed yet jubnt expressions.


    After all, they had gained the eligibility to enter the Gates of Awakening whenever they instead.


    However, there was something to this idea that slightly bothered Valyr.


    ''Am I the only one among them that gained ess to the Gates of Enlightenment?''


    Recalling the rewards he would gain frompleting the Gates of Enlightenment''s final quest, Valyr vividly remembered that he would gain an entrance token that would allow him to return to the courtyard, which the system had confirmed after the quadrant leader''s death.


    Yet, with no one talking about gaining the opportunity to return to the Gates of Enlightenment again, Valyr began to wonder whether the system had given him a slightly different quest that had him do more or less the same thing.


    In the end, the young man shrugged his shoulders as he let out a faint sigh. ''Then again, there''s also the possibility that they''re just hiding that information from me.''


    With that, he stood up as he told the others that they were going to head back to the south quadrant to get some rest for the night before tackling the trial the Gates of Awakening would give them.


    Though, just as the others stood up in response to his words, while doing a bit of stretching, Valyr had noticed something sparkling barely jutting out of the quadrant leader''s corpse.


    "Hmm?" Stopping his stretching at this discovery, Valyr moved closer to the corpse and squatted over the area he saw the sparkling item at to get a better look.


    ''Is this simr to the key fragment the aberrations in the ins would drop?'' With this thought in mind, Valyr pulled the sparkling item out of the corpse, allowing him to get a better look at it.


    Unlike the key fragments he and the others collected from the aberrations back then, the sparkling item Valyr held up looked more like a shattered piece of an orb.


    In fact, under the rays of the sun, the fragment glowed a resplendent array of colors, causing the item to have an otherworldly feel to it.


    Deciding to see whether his earlier suspicions were correct, Valyr activated [Superior Analysis], thinking that the item was a key fragment that would lead him to a secret ce within the Gates of Awakening or something.


    After all, the quest they justpleted had given them entry to the Gates of Awakening.


    Yet, as he looked at the screen that popped up in front of him, the skill told him that the item was not a key fragment at all.


    Instead, it was a memory fragment.

 Chapter 679 Four Pillars: Repercussions

    Chapter 679 Four Pirs: Repercussions


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Memory Fragment of a Forsaken Being] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    Throughout one''s life, one would create a myriad of memories. Some of them would disappear after a bit of time, while some would linger around till one lets out their final breath.


    Then again, amidst the evesting memories, there are those who transcend the existence of life itself, taking on a form that would allow it to exist long after the death of its creator.


    Many names have been given to these kinds of memories throughout history, yet all of them serve either one of two purposes.


    To serve as a solemn reminder for the future generation¡­ or to serve as a reminder that the being once existed.


    What lies in your hands is a mere fragment of what was once a whole memory. Nevertheless, a small infusion of your mana is enough to peer through its secrets.


    However, more of its pieces remain scattered throughout, only waiting to be whole once more.


    Hopefully, you shall be the one to let them turn one again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After reading through the description of the fragment he had picked up, Valyr had be silent for a while.


    After all, from what it was implying, the fragment seemed to contain a special memory that belonged to the quadrant leader he killed.


    However, due to it only being a part of what was once whole, he would only be able to view a small part of it once he had infused it with his mana.


    ''Should I take a look at it now?'' asked the young man to himself as he closed the screen before him.


    ''Or should I take a look at it at a more convenient time?''


    Swoosh!


    "Urk¡­" Coincidentally, just as he was about to make a decision on the matter, Valyr felt a strong wave of weakness wash over his body, causing his aura to regress to a state that was far weaker than it initially was.


    Of course, due to how sudden it had appeared, Hal and the others took notice as they looked at the young man with concern.


    Faulus was the first one to ask. "What''s wrong, Valyr?"


    "Side effects of a skill," said Valyr in response, wryly smiling.


    As he swiftly stored the memory fragment into his spatial bracelet before the others could see it, he replied. "It''s the price I had to pay in order to kill the quadrant leader once and for all."


    At these words, the four went silent as they went through the final phase of the fight with quadrant leader in their minds.


    Within seconds, they recalled that Valyr''s power had undergone a tremendous boost after activating a certain skill, allowing him to stand toe to toe with the quadrant leader in terms of stats.


    "Is it permanent?" Being reminded on how far Valyr had to push himself just to beat the quadrant leader once and for all, Hal looked at the young man with concern as he asked the question.


    Amidst the concern on everyone''s faces, Valyr shook his head in response. "Not at all."


    Hearing those words, the four inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    "Then again, I''ll be stuck in this state for a bit longer, so I''m afraid we won''t be able to return to the south quadrant anytime soon," added the young man as he apologetically smiled.


    "Take your time," said Hal in response, to which the other three nodded in agreement. "We''re not in a rush anymore, especially with how all of us could now enter the Gates of Awakening at any time."


    With that, the five decided to stay at the area for a bit longer, passing the time by talking about mundane topics, as well as their ns after returning to the south quadrant.


    In fact, while talking with the others, Valyr finally made up his mind on what he would do with the memory fragment, deciding to take a look at it after they had returned to the south quadrant.


    ''Aside from that, I should reforge the other armor pieces with the [Breath of Beginnings],'' thought the young man to himself.


    ''And just before I forget about it, use [Enlightenment] as well.''


    With those thoughts in mind, the young man continued talking with the others for a bit more, eventually telling the four that he was finally out of the weakened state after ten minutes had passed.


    Though no primitive humanoids had interrupted them all this time while they were resting, the five of them still made their way back to the south quadrant, arriving at the spot they usually set up camp on around sunset.


    ¡­


    "I''m guessing everyone here is going to attempt the trials of the Gates of Awakening first thing in the morning?"


    As all of them were gathered around the campfire while eating their dinner, Valyr asked the question with a faint smile.


    "I mean¡­ isn''t that the logical choice?" replied Faulus, to which Vera and Loreina nodded in agreement.


    "After all, we''ll be entering the Gates of Awakening at our best possible condition," he said. "It''s definitely a far cry from our attempts at the Gates of Enlightenment where all of us were running on fumes."


    "Speaking of the Gates of Enlightenment, better concoct a lot of those vials of rousing just in case," said Valyr, causing everyone to let out a bit ofughter as they continued to banter while eating their dinner.


    Eventually, all of them went their separate ways after that, with some of them taking the time to hone their skills, while others decided to head to bed early and entered their tents.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    As for Valyr, he spent the night setting up the temporary workshop and reforging one of his armor pieces using his artifact''s [Breath of Beginnings].


    Expecting the reforge to have some effect on the innate skill his chestte had gained, Valyr was jubnt to see that, aside from the piece giving more defense than before, it had indeed changed the effects of [Descent of the True Wyvern] somewhat.


    For one, the cost to activate the skill had reduced from 99% of his HP and MP to 90%. The stat reduction had followed the same pattern as well, though the duration still remained at 10 minutes.


    Nevertheless, seeing that the cooldown for the skill had gone from 1 day to 18 hours, Valyr knew that reforging the entire True Wyvern armor set using [Breath of Beginnings] would definitely be worth his while.


    "[Enlightenment]."


    Ding!


    Storing all of the items that made up his temporary workshop back into the spatial bracelet, Valyr then went into his tent before bringing out the memory fragment he had picked up from the quadrant leader.


    "Here goes nothing¡­"


    Staring at the fragment for a bit, the young man took in a deep breath before infusing it with a bit of mana.


    Whoosh!


    In response, the fragment began to release tendrils of multicolored energy, all of which swiftly made their way towards Valyr''s forehead.


    Surprisingly, the tendrils of energy were quickly absorbed by his body as they made their way to his mind.


    And it was at that moment¡­


    That his consciousness cked out.

 Chapter 680 Four Pillars: Test Chamber

    Chapter 680 Four Pirs: Test Chamber


    Darkness.


    For a while, this was everything Valyr saw before him.


    It didn''t matter if he moved his head or his body.


    After all, the only thing that greeted him was pitch-ck.


    Realizing this, the young man gave up on moving about, instead thinking about the current situation he was in from another perspective.


    ''Is this the memory that''s embedded within the fragment?'' asked the young man to himself, recalling the other few times he had been subjected to an ever-consuming darkness before him.


    One of those times was when he hadprehended the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy. At the time, a void existed for quite some time in front of him, only for it to be filled with the destructive energy he knew as Shadow Energy.


    Comparing his current situation to that time, the darkness in front of him seemed empty, as if it was there just for the sole purpose of filling the gaps of what was previously in its ce.


    On the other hand, the darkness that preceded the birth of Shadow Energy during hisprehension seemed intentional.


    In a way, he felt that the darkness back then was the origin of the Shadow Energy he wielded.


    ''I see.'' Pondering over it for a bit more, a look of realization eventually shed across Valyr''s face.


    ''The other memory fragments contain the part of the memory that''s currently reced by darkness.''


    Of course, with the other memory fragments not in his possession, Valyr knew that his conclusion came mostly from his intuition.


    But, for some reason, he felt that his idea was mostly true.


    Whoosh!


    After being surrounded by the darkness for a bit longer, light eventually appeared in front of him, engulfing all of the darkness in the process.


    After that, other details began to appear amidst the light, taking on various colors as they slowly became more detailed with the passage of time.


    What was initially blobs to Valyr''s vision gradually became less fuzzy, transforming into items that he could recognize from a nce.


    By the time all of the details seemed to have fallen into ce, it was only then did the memory seemingly begin.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, all of Valyr''s other senses were swiftly bombarded with additive details, allowing him to realize that he was currently submerged in what looked to be a small body of water.


    However, even though he realized this, he did not feel like he was drowning while he was submerged.


    Instead, he felt a slight sense offort as he took in the water, feeling like the cells making up his body were greedily consuming every bit he took in.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Just as he wondered whether this was everything that was contained in the memory fragment, Valyr soon heard footstepsing from afar, prompting him to turn his head in the direction of the sound.


    At the very moment he did, he was greeted by the slightly blurry sight of a man in a white coat with a head of neatlybed hair.


    "It seems Specimen NH-027-A is awake," muttered the man, staring directly into where Valyr''s eyes were.


    "From the looks of it, it seems to be developing well."


    Hearing those words, Valyr felt a bit of confusion.


    After all, from what he was currently experiencing, it didn''t seem like the memory had anything to do with the quadrant leader he just killed.


    Thankfully, it was at that very moment that everything clicked in his mind.


    Ignoring the fact that the man was continuing to stare at him, Valyr took more notice of the surroundings, only for his pupils to shrink as he could not believe what he just saw.


    Though he could not move his head to look at what was beside him, the young man could still more or less see the multiplerge ss tubes that were erected behind the man.


    In those ss tubes were humans with multiple cables and the like attached to many parts on their bodies, submerged in what looked to be same type of fluid he was submerged in.


    However, as he looked at them for a bit more, he realized that these humans were not humans at all.


    Instead, these beings only resembled humans.


    After all, all of these beingscked a heart.


    Gazing at therge gaping holes in the middle of their chests, Valyr eventually returned his attention to the man in the white coat, hoping to find out more about the current situation through the man''s words.


    Unfortunately, just as the man was about to open his mouth yet again¡­


    Whoosh!


    Valyr was returned to the empty darkness that surrounded him earlier, causing him to let out a low sigh in response.


    ''It seems I really do need the other fragments to view the whole memory.'' Having to experience the darkness yet again, it went without saying that Valyr''s hypothesis was correct.


    Letting out yet another sigh, he continued to dwell in his thoughts amidst the darkness.


    ''The part of the memory I could see is definitely not enough to paint the whole picture,'' thought the young man to himself. ''Then again, even if it gave me a lot of questions to think about, it did give me an answer to something I was curious about.''


    ''The human civilization that existed before the Great Cataclysm has something to do with the enemies we''ve been facing in the inheritance.''


    As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr mulled over it for a bit more, hoping to possibly extract something else out of it through deduction and logic.


    Sadly, no matter how much he tried, he could not infer any other piece of information from it. If anything, he had only gained more questions he wanted to know the answer to.


    Such as the question of why the human civilization had created the enemies they faced in the first ce.


    ''Guess I''m gonna have to change my ns.'' Feeling that the darkness surrounding him was about to disappear soon, Valyr closed his eyes and allowed nature to take its course.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, he felt all of his senses shift to another ce, eventually feeling the soft sensation of the bed on his back sometimeter.


    Opening his eyes after he was certain his senses had returned to the tent, the young man let out a faint sigh.


    ''Though I want to enter the Gates of Awakening with the others, I''m also curious as to what the entire memory holds,'' thought the young man to himself.


    However, just as he was debating whether to apany the others or postpone it to ater time to obtain the other memory fragments¡­


    An unexpected notification had appeared in front of him.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Traces of the Past.]

 Chapter 681 Four Pillars: A Different Path

    Chapter 681 Four Pirs: A Different Path


    ''Wait¡­ what?'' Widening his eyes in disbelief as he read through the notification he had received, Valyr went ahead and opened up the notification screen, only to find yet another notification he did not expect to obtain.


    Ding!


    [Obtain a clue regarding the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity (1/1)]


    Looking at this notification for a while, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he thought back to the memory he had viewed.


    Recalling how advanced the ce looked within the part of the memory he could view, a frown slowly crept up onto Valyr''s face as he felt that thepletion of the objective did not make a lot of sense.


    ''Surely technology of that level would be from a time before the Great Cataclysm, no?'' asked Valyr to himself as he continued to try wrapping his head around the matter. ''Since that''s the case, why would the system consider it to be a clue?''


    Pondering over the matter for a bit more, a far-fetched conclusion eventually surfaced in his mind. ''Is the system trying to tell me that a ce with that level of technology still exists somewhere on Veldanyr?''


    ''Or is it telling me that the remnants of that ce still exists somewhere?''


    As he thought about it for a bit more, Valyr decided to bring up the description of the quest, considering that he did not really know a lot about the quest itself.


    If anything, all he knew about the quest was through the notifications he received so far.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Traces of the Past] (Linked Quest)(Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: S


    Far before the Age of Darkness, humanity stood at the peak of the food chain. Having control over machines and technologies that faintly stepped on the level of divine abilities, it could be said that they were at the golden age.


    However, at some point, disaster befell humanity, with next to no people from this civilization living to tell the tale. At most, only the name of the event lingered on, known by many as the Great Cataclysm.


    With the passage of time, you, who inadvertently discovered the underground region of the city ruins, had eventuallye across the Forsaken race, descendants of the human civilization that once was.


    Ruling this race is a being known as the Sapient One, who had enlightened itself after experiencing over a hundred lifetimes that began from before the Great Cataclysm.


    Though it knew of the bleak situation the human civilization of the past had encountered, the Sapient One still holds hope that the beacon of hope for humanity''s past continues to linger on.


    But with the measly amount of strength it could wield, it has passed on the task of finding this beacon unto you, someone who has already seen a glimpse of the past.


    In essence, all the Sapient One desires is to see if thest leader of humanity still exists to this very day. Or perhaps, the existence of the ns that thest leader of humanity had enacted after its death.


    Whatever discovery you might make, the Sapient One shall ept it either way.


    Nevertheless, deep down inside, it hopes that you inform it of the former rather than thetter.


    Quest Objective:


    > Locate a trace of thest leader of humanity (1/1)


    > Obtain a clue regarding the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity (1/1)


    > Obtain knowledge regarding thest leader of humanity (1/4)


    > Obtain items rted to thest leader of humanity (0/3)


    > Find the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity (0/1)


    > Share the information you''ve gathered with the Sapient One (0/1)


    Quest Reward:


    > 100,000,000 XP


    > Affinity +50 with the Forsaken race


    > Affinity +80 with Ryvrthe, the Sapient One


    > Reputation +1,000 within Ecalos and Dnal fo Nigiro


    >ary Reputation (Veldanyr) +50


    > ??? (Additional rewards dependent on performance during the quest)


    Quest Penalty:


    > Level -5


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''So my earlier hypothesis was correct.'' Going over every bit of detail the quest had given him, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before eventually nodding in understanding.


    ''I guess that means I''ll have to kill the three other quadrant leaders in the ruins,'' thought the young man to himself as he focused on one of the objectives that the quest had prompted him toplete.


    Though he wasn''t fully sure whether or not the acquisition of knowledge regarding thest leader of humanity had something to do with the memory fragments, Valyr had still made up his mind to kill the other quadrant leaders either way.


    After all, even if the memory did notplete one of the other objectives on the quest, the entire memory would still give him information that would aid inpleting those objectives.


    ''Aside from that¡­ obtain items rted to thest leader of humanity¡­'' Focusing on this unfinished objective, Valyr thought about the possible areas he would obtain such items.


    At first, he had a feeling that the unexplored areas of the underground would house the items that the system wanted him to obtain.


    However, after recalling a brief incident that urred whilst he was coting information on the four quadrant leaders, such thoughts swiftly disappeared.


    "It definitely has something to do with the statue at the center of the city ruins," muttered Valyr to himself, vividly recalling the words that were spoken to him by a disembodied voice.


    ''To seek what you wish to obtain, ascend past the Gates of Enlightenment and enter the ranks of the Gates of Awakening.''


    ''Until then, the world''s mysteries shall remain shrouded before your gaze.''


    "If I were in Ryvrthe''s shoes, what I want to obtain would be the traces of thest leader of humanity," Valyr continued to mutter.


    "With that, the most tangible traces of thest leader would be the items he had used¡­ or something along those lines."


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders at the slight tangent he had gone off on, he took a brief look at the two final objectives he had toplete, the former of which caused a bitter smile to creep up onto his lips.


    ''Would I even find their whereabouts?'' asked Valyr to himself, letting out a faint sigh as he closed the screen before him.


    Then, after briefly scratching the back of his head for a bit, the young man closed his eyes as a few thoughts began to linger in his mind.


    "Should I join the others and attempt the trials of the Gates of Awakening tomorrow morning so I don''t get left behind?"


    "Or should I postpone that for the meantime and fight against the remaining quadrant leaders for their memory fragments?"


    Muttering these words to himself for quite some time, Valyr eventually drifted off to sleep as he continued to think of the problem in his dreams.


    Yet, even at the final minute before his consciousness woke up, he had yet to reach a definite conclusion.


    ¡­


    "In about an hour, I''m going to attempt the trials the Gates of Awakening would throw at us."


    As the five gathered around a campfire as they ate their breakfast, Hal spoke up all of a sudden, prompting the others to look at him in response.


    "Guess I''ll attempt the trials at the same time as you." Taking a bite of the remaining food on her te, Loreina looked at Hal for a bit before speaking up as well.


    "There''s not much point in dying it anyway."


    After the two, Vera and Faulus had also voiced their agreement in attempting the Gates of Awakening''s trials at the time Hal had mentioned.


    With that, Valyr was the only one among them that had not yet voiced out his decision regarding the matter, causing everyone to look at him with a hint of curiosity.


    "What do you n on doing, Valyr?" asked Faulus. "Are you gonna take the trials with us or are you going to do it at ater time?"


    "Speaking of the trials¡­" Just as Valyr seemed to have made up his mind on the matter, the young man was interrupted as Faulus gave everyone a few vials that most of them had be familiar with thanks to the previous trial.


    "Here''s some vials of rousing," said the alchemist, to which everyone epted without hesitation. "Since I don''t know how long we''ll be staying in there, I made sure to concoct a lot more than needed."


    "After all, it''s better to be safe than sorry."


    Though Valyr felt slightly annoyed at the fact that he had been interrupted just before he could answer, the young man inwardlyposed himself as he had be more determined in seeing his decision through till the very end.


    With that, the others remained oblivious to the choice Valyr had made up to the point the four had prepared themselves to tackle the Gates of Awakening.


    Standing around the fire pit with all of their gears equipped, Hal and the others had a screen in front of them, with Valyr surprisingly following suit.


    "Alright." Asking the others if they were ready to enter the trials, Hal took in a deep breath to calm himself before beginning to count down.


    "3¡­"


    "2¡­"


    "1¡­"


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, the entire group had pressed on a certain button on their screens at the same time, causing their bodies to disappear from where they were standing.


    Except¡­ for one person.


    "And they''re gone." Touching a part of the screen far away from the screen the very moment Hal finished his countdown, Valyr let out a low sigh as he closed the screen before him.


    After that, he took out the equipment that made up his temporary workshop from his spatial bracelet before working on one of his armor pieces.


    "I''ll make it up to you guys once youe back." Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings and activating [Breath of Beginnings], Valyr began to hammer down on the armor piece he had chosen, feeling its properties gradually grow stronger.


    "But for now¡­"


    "I''ll be taking on the quadrant leaders myself."

 Chapter 682 Four Pillars: Going Solo

    Chapter 682 Four Pirs: Going Solo


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    For quite some time, the only sound that echoed throughout the temporary campsite was Valyr''s hammer.


    Rigorously hammering every nook and cranny that made up the armor piece he had chosen with the Hammer of Beginnings, the young man slowly felt the armor''s properties gradually reach a higher level.


    Eventually, after spending over ten minutes reforging the armor piece he had chosen, a satisfied smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he ced his hammer to the side.


    Then, without hesitation, he lifted the piece up into the air.


    "Two down¡­ three to go." With the smile on his face growing wider with every passing second, he admired the near imperceptible changes he had made to the armor through the reforge before equipping the piece once more.


    Feeling the substantial increase in stats after equipping the armor piece he had reforged, Valyr took in a few deep breaths before utilizing [Superior Analysis] on his chestte.


    "Let''s see how much of a difference a second piece reforged with [Breath of Beginnings] would make to the final skill," muttered the young man to himself, briefly licking his lips in earnest.


    Fortunately, the difference brought by the second reforged piece changed [Descent of the True Wyvern] more or less in the same way the first reforged piece did.


    From a cooldown time of 18 hours, Valyr only needed to wait for half a day before gaining ess to what was basically the strongest buffing skill in his arsenal.


    Naturally, the cost to activate it, as well as the consequences that came with activate it had also reduced in severity.


    What used to take 90% of his HP and MP and weakened his stats by 90% for 10 minutes now took 80% and weakened him by 80% respectively.


    ''Hmm¡­'' Noticing this slight pattern brought by the reforged armor pieces, a hypothesis gradually formed in his mind.


    ''I don''t know if the same thing would apply for the skill''s cooldown¡­'' thought Valyr to himself. ''But if my math checks out, I would only need to sacrifice half of my health and mana to activate the skill.''


    ''However, I would have to endure having ess to only half of my stats for 10 minutes¡­''


    At the thought, Valyr let out a brief chuckle. ''Compared to the price I had to pay to use the skill at the beginning, this is undoubtedly a more worthwhile trade-off.''


    Seeing that he would have to wait another half day to reforge another piece of armor with [Breath of Beginnings], Valyr began to store the equipment making up his temporary workshop back into his spatial bracelet.


    "Speaking of [Breath of Beginnings]¡­"


    "[Enlightenment]."


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: War Weapons of the Early Middle Age Lv. 1>.]


    "It may not be a lot, but a journey of a thousand miles still has to begin from a single step." Nodding in satisfaction as he took a look at the advancement the skill had unlocked, Valyr sat around the campfire once more as his thoughts shifted onto another topic.


    "Now how the hell would I go about killing the quadrant leaders on my own?"


    As this thought surfaced in his mind, a wry smile appeared on his face.


    Though it may not seem like it, Hal and the others had greatly helped him in the path to finally killing the north quadrant leader once and for all.


    After all, the fact that the five of them worked together to clear the imminent area of primitive humanoids still stood.


    If it was just him doing all of that work, he was certain that he would take the greater portion of the day to do just that.


    And that wasn''t even taking the fight with the quadrant leader into consideration.


    Sure, it might seem like the four had only stalled the quadrant leader in its ce until Valyr could return, but what they did was more or less the action that determined whether the young man would continue to live or die at that moment.


    After all, if no one else was apanying him in the fight against the north quadrant leader, he was certain that the quadrant leader would''ve undoubtedly headed to where hended and dealt the killing blow to end the fight.


    Then, if one were to imagine what would happen after that, it went without saying that the four would be implicated by it one way or another.


    Worst-case scenario, the five of them would die under the hands of the quadrant leader they deemed to be the weakest out of the four.


    "I really gotta be more vignt towards these kinds of things," muttered Valyr to himself, recalling the punch he had received from the quadrant leader.


    "Speaking of which¡­"


    Whoosh!


    Taking out his anvil and hammer from his spatial bracelet, he took off his chestte before proceeding to mend the damage the quadrant leader had dealt to it with his repair skill.


    "I''m surprised I overlooked this, even though I had all this time to fix it," said the young man to himself, only to shrug his shoulders soon after.


    "Well, betterte than never."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With the skill having received an upgrade thanks to his small expedition into the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion, [Advanced Repair] allowed Valyr to mend the damage to his chestte at great speeds while using minimal materials.


    In fact, the young man was quite surprised at how much of a difference an increase in skill rarity brought to the efficiency of his work.


    "In a way, I guess that''s part of the reason why those Rank 4 and above are immensely strong," said Valyr as he put on the chestte.


    "Then again, it wouldn''t make sense if Rare grade skills only brought marginal improvement to what was once Umon grade."


    Returning both items to his spatial bracelet now that his entire armor set looked to be in peak condition, Valyr returned his thoughts to how he was going to go about fighting the quadrant leaders on his own.


    "Hmm¡­" Scratching the back of his head for a bit, the young manmanded the system to bring up his list of skills, hoping to find some inspiration from one of them.


    "Nope¡­ nope¡­ not that one either¡­"


    Scrolling through therge list of skills that made up his arsenal, Valyr gradually came to realize that quite a considerable portion of his skills were somewhat useless¡­


    In the context of fighting a difficult opponent like the empowered quadrant leader, that is.


    Whether it was the level of damage the skill dealt, or the flexibility the skill offered in abat situation, most of the skills Valyr had looked through were somewhatcking.


    Even if he were to use them in taking care of the primitive humanoids in the quadrant leader''s vicinity, they were still somewhatcking.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Thankfully, after looking through his skill list for a bit more, the young man came across a skill he seldom used within the inheritance, which caused memories of a certain past to sh in his mind.


    Ding!


    Staring at the description of the skill to remind himself of what it was capable of, Valyr slowly nodded in understanding as a thought began to form in his mind.


    "If I were to use it against the quadrant leader, it would stand no chance whatsoever," said the young man to himself.


    "But if I were to use it to take care of the primitive humanoids in the area¡­ it might just work."


    "Only if my stats are up to par, that is." At these words, Valyr took in a deep breath beforemanding the system to bring up his status screen.


    "From what I could remember while taking a look at my stats after reaching the peak of Rank 3, I have a couple of stats that surpassed the four-digit mark," said the young man to himself as he looked at the screen in front of him with eagerness.


    "Now, with the armor set and my weapons equipped, I wonder how high my stats are currently?"


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: True Prodigious cksmith (Rank 3 ¡ª Mythic)


    Subss: Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)


    Species: Human (3rd Unsealing)


    Level: 55


    Power Level: 35,952 (A+)


    Unused XP: 3,151,016,478


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 35,800/35,800


    MP: 45,768/45,768


    Shadow Energy: 89/89


    Mystic Energy: 1/1


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 10,681 - 11,689


    Defense: 10,721 - 14,191


    Stats: 1084 VIT, 845 STR, 1005 AGI, 1628 DEX, 1441 INT, 446 WIS, 627 PER, 258 LUK


    Hidden Stats: 5 Mana Purity, 5 Vigor


    Intents: [Intent Seed of Shadow Energy ¡ª 1st Stage], [Intent Seed of Forging ¡ª Nascent Stage], [Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes ¡ª Nascent Stage]


    Remarks: Your strength rivals even those who have umted their power for centuries. Nevertheless, it is a proof of the path you''ve taken. One that would lead you to a world beyond the apex.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hiss¡­"


    Sucking in a deep breath of cold air, Valyr stared wide-eyed at the screen before him.


    Though he had expected his stats to undergo an increase thanks to the equipment he wore, he expected the increase to be somewhat substantial at best.


    Yet, reality couldn''t be any further than his expectations.


    Not only were DEX and INT, the two four-digit stats he had before equipping his equipment, around halfway to reaching 2,000 points, his VIT and AGI had also broken through the four-digit mark as well.


    Aside from that, both his Attack and Defense stat were solidly over 10,000 points each, which was already difficult for a normal peak Rank 4 being could achieve.


    Much less someone at the peak of Rank 3.


    Then, there was the fact that he had plenty of XP still unused, with the number that appeared on the screen causing his eyes to pop out of its sockets.


    Though, as he mulled over it, the number eventually made sense, considering that he had killed a ton of aberrations and primitive humanoids so far with the disparity in levels between them not being that small.


    At this thought, Valyr wryly smiled as he let out a sigh. ''If I also gained XP from the 10,000 aberrations I killed within the trial, I''m sure that I wouldn''t only have billions of unused XP.''


    ''It''ll definitely be tens of billions.''


    ''Then again, it''s better to have something on-hand rather than having to find it first when you really need it. Even more so if I think about all the skills I have.''


    With his current stats still lingering in his mind, the young man was more than confident that the skill he chose would prove effective in moving the primitive humanoids away from the quadrant leaders.


    As to what the skill was¡­


    It was none other than [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts].

 Chapter 683 Four Pillars: Setting Off

    Chapter 683 Four Pirs: Setting Off


    With the problem of moving the primitive humanoids that were near the quadrant leader away now solved, Valyr thought that now was the best time to make a move and fight against one of them.


    Looking through the temporary campsite to see if he had forgotten to bring anything for the fight, the young man thought about the three other quadrant leaders that remained within the city ruins.


    ''With the north quadrant leader bing that strong even though it was the weakest due to its Intent, it only makes sense for the other quadrant leaders to be more terrifying than that one,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself.


    After all, the north quadrant leader only had control over the Intent of Bnce at the beginning, which was considered to be at the pinnacle among 9th Grade Intents.


    Inparison, the Intents the other quadrant leaders wielded were considered to be 7th Grade Intents at the very least.


    If that was the case, then didn''t that mean he would have to face the wrath of three empowered quadrant leaders that could control 6th Grade Intents?


    Perhaps even 5th Grade Intents?


    At the thought, Valyr slightly shuddered in fear.


    Nevertheless, the young man remained steadfast, reminding himself that the reason he wanted to fight the other quadrant leaders solo was to obtain the other parts making up the memory he had obtained from the north quadrant leader.


    Comparing a fight against a being with high grade Intent to the opportunity of obtaining answers regarding questions about the inheritance¡­


    He would undoubtedly do the former thrice just to obtain thetter.


    Sure, a 30% boost to one''s Attack coefficientpared to a 9th Grade Intent was undoubtedly scary¡­


    But such power would prove ineffective as long as the attack didn''t hit.


    With those thoughts in mind, Valyr checked the campsite onest time before deciding to set off to the east quadrant, utilizing [Traceless Slither] to speed up the journey.


    Though he would definitely be able to fight against the west and south quadrant leader with only a bit more difficulty, the east quadrant leader was undoubtedly the perfect opponent when he took his skill set into consideration.


    After all, the east quadrant leader fell under the archetype of having superb magical defense while remaining vulnerable to physical attacks.


    Of course, Valyr''s skill set allowed him to switch between a magic-oriented and a physical-orientedbat style with great fluidity.


    However, even though his spear had made effectively utilizing thetter quite difficult¡­


    He still prided himself on the fact that he could deal tons of damage with the spear if he set his mind to it.


    Whoosh!


    Transforming into a blur of Shadow Energy, Valyr moved through the periphery of the city ruins at great speeds, avoiding all of the primitive humanoids he came across along the way.


    While heading to where the east quadrant leader was, a thought soon popped up in the young man''s mind.


    ''Now that I think about it, it''s been a while since the others entered the Gates of Awakening.''


    Taking into consideration the brief forging session he did, as well as the brainstorming session that gave him confidence to fight the quadrant leaders, roughly less than 30 minutes had passed since the four''s disappearance.


    "Have theye across trouble after entering the trial grounds?" asked the young man to himself, only to shake his head at the thought.


    "Considering how the trials at the Gates of Enlightenment went, that''s highly unlikely."


    "Nevertheless, it''s still odd that no one sent anything about the trials in the party chat yet."


    Deciding to push his slight concerns regarding the four aside for the meantime, Valyr thought about how the fight between him and the east quadrant leader would unfold.


    ''Taking my experience in fighting the north quadrant leader into consideration, the fight against the east quadrant leader would probably be made up of three phases as well.''


    At the thought, a bitter smile appeared on his face. ''In any case, it''s incredibly obvious that I should save my ultimate skills for the leader''s second and third phase.''


    ''After all, the only reason why I was able to use my ultimate skills against the quadrant leader again was because Hal and the others had greatly stalled for time.''


    ''And that''s even after taking the time dtion into consideration.''


    "Hmm¡­" Passing through the boundary that separated the south quadrant from the east quadrant, Valyr went through his fight against the north quadrant leader in his mind once more.


    Skipping over the blunder that happened during the beginning of the quadrant leader''s second phase, the young man eventually stopped looking through the memory after remembering what had transpired during the third and final phase.


    ''The arquebus, huh¡­''


    Recalling the amount of damage he was able to deal with just one shot, Valyr knew that even though he had enhanced his stats to the highest degree possible, the quick end to the third phase was still due to a great stroke of luck.


    ''Even if I were to find some way to use it during the third phase, it would probably only reduce the quadrant leader''s health by half at most,'' thought Valyr to himself, thinking that the help the arquebus would bring was marginal at best.


    Fortunately, a sudden thought struck his mind at that moment.


    With his eyes briefly widening at the thought, he muttered, "Although it won''t make much of a difference during the second and third phase due to how insanely strong the quadrant leader bes¡­"


    "What if I were to use it to swiftly end the first phase?"


    As the thought continued to linger in his mind, Valyr became more and more confident that this approach to fighting the quadrant leader would undoubtedly be effective.


    If one shot was all it took to move the quadrant leader to thest two phases, then he could let hell loose and use all of his strongest moves at the quadrant leader''s strongest state.


    Then again, the young man was still uncertain as to whether a single shot from the arquebus was enough to move the fight onto the second phase.


    After all, he could not guarantee a Fatal Hit.


    Of course, that didn''t mean he had no other ways to make up for the lost damage.

 Chapter 684 Four Pillars: The First of Three

    Chapter 684 Four Pirs: The First of Three


    ''Here we are.''


    ''The center of the east quadrant.''


    Whoosh!


    Deactivating [Traceless Slither], Valyr stood on top of one of the many tall buildings that formed the east quadrant.


    Then, pushing [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its very limits, Valyr eventually found the east quadrant leader within his vision, being denoted by his sight as a considerablyrger ck circle than the others.


    Though he could sense the connection the quadrant leader had made with the ambient mana in its surroundings, its appearance was more or less the same whenpared to the other quadrant leaders.


    Staring at the gaping hole on the quadrant leader where a human''s heart would normally lie, Valyr thought back to the part of the memory he had viewedst night.


    ''I''ll think about thatter.'' Shaking his head back and forth as visions of the quadrant leaders inrge ss tubes entered his mind, Valyr took in a deep breath as he shifted his attention towards the other parts of his surroundings.


    "Though this is the center of the east quadrant, the quadrant leader is currently positioned a bit closer to the quadrant''s periphery."


    Utilizing the vision [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] had given him, the young man quickly had a rough idea on how many primitive humanoids he would have to move away to be able to fight the quadrant leader freely.


    "Hup!"


    Thud.


    Directly making his way to the streets by jumping off the building, Valyr cushioned his fall with a quick burst of wind before focusing his sights on the primitive humanoids in his vicinity.


    "Grraaaagghhh!!!"


    Though they were surprised that he had appeared out of nowhere, the primitive humanoids in the area swiftly set their sights on Valyr, hoping to make use of their advantage in numbers to defeat him.


    Seeing how a considerable number of primitive humanoids had started to surround him, rather than feel a hint of fear from being surrounded, a faint smirk could instead be seen on the edge of his lips.


    "Guess now''s a good time to test that part of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]."


    "[Hunter''s Aura]."


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, Valyr red his aura in its entirety as its nature was slightly modified by the skill, enveloping all of the primitive humanoids that had malicious intent towards him in less than an instant.


    Surprisingly, these primitive humanoids seemed to have be frozen in ce under this aura, causing Valyr''s eyes to briefly widen in surprise.


    Noticing how all of the primitive humanoids were staring at him with fear in their eyes, the young man nodded in understanding. "I see."


    "It takes the difference in stats into consideration rather than level."


    Satisfied with the results of the impromptu experiment he had done, Valyr then proceeded to kill all of the petrified primitive humanoids before moving their corpses out of the way with the help of magic.


    Taking a look at the road before him, the young man took in a deep breath before mming both hands to the ground as he infused both of them with mana.


    "Ih pyn''ah tt''wagg k''ahn haap nmal''kas at meht''tagg!"


    "[Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts]¡­"


    "[Growth Summon Arx''has Boar]!"


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, arge magic circle filled to the brim with runes swiftly appeared to cover a great portion of the road Valyr was on.


    Glowing with the mana the young man had infused it with, the magic circle soon directed all of its energy towards the center, transforming into a figure that reminded Valyr of simpler times.


    "Gork!"


    Hearing the greeting the boar had given him, Valyr looked at it and smiled. "I hope you and yourrades can help me clear the area of primitive humanoids."


    "Gork! Gork!"


    Nodding back in response, Valyr proceeded to activate the skill four more times, causing five boars over four meters in length to stand in front of him with subservience.


    Whilst looking at these five boars, the young man was reminded of the five other boars he had summoned back then while he was at the Shadow ne.


    ''It''s a shame their stats areckingpared to the boars in front of me,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly. ''If they were as strong as these boars, I would''ve summoned them instead.''


    ''In any case, I''ll help those five achieve freedom in the future. It''s the least I owe them for the help they''ve given me in the Shadow ne.''


    After he was finished reminiscing over the past, Valyr took in a deep breath and he looked at the boars with a solemn expression.


    After that, he exined to the boars the goals he wanted them to achieve, which was to move the primitive humanoids away from where the quadrant leader was.


    Thankfully, with the five of them obtaining a higher INT stat thanks to Valyr''s high INT, the five boars more or less understood what they needed to do, setting off in two groups in order topensate for their lower stats.


    With that, the young man made his way back up the building he had jumped down from, allowing to get a better view of the boars'' progress.


    Though the boars still needed a ton more stats to truly be on par with the primitive humanoids they had to corral, the fact that the boars were working together allowed the primitive humanoids to gradually move away from the quadrant leader.


    Making use of taunting and loud sounds to attract the primitive humanoids'' attention, the boars were eventually able to move all of the primitive humanoids away from the center of the east quadrant, taking about an hour to do so.


    "Keep them at bay for the meantime." Sensing the connection he had in his mind towards the five boars, Valyr sent a message to the five before focusing his attention on the quadrant leader.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Ancient Elite)] (Level 90 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 132,000/132,000


    MP: 179,160/179,160


    Attack: 5,216 - 5,216


    Defense: 3,300 - 3,300


    Stats: 825 VIT, 1304 STR, 1287 AGI, 825 DEX, 1493 INT, 1287 WIS, 657 PER, 300 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 13 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Mana]


    Remarks:Has faint signs of sentience and consciencepared to its peers, allowing it to utilize its power more efficiently. Nevertheless, it still cannot be considered an actual human.


    It has embarked on the path of magic, achieving moderate sess for its level. Remember that one can never be too vignt against such a foe.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "The only difference to keep in mind is the Intent." Nodding as he looked at the quadrant leader''s status screen, Valyr took out the arquebus from his spatial bracelet.


    Gradually going through the process of arming the arquebus for firing, the young man continued to keep an eye on the quadrant leader''s movements, inwardly thankful for the fact that it did not notice what the boars had done.


    "Here goes nothing¡­" With the arquebus ready to take a shot, Valyr positioned himself in a way that allowed him to clearly see the quadrant leader.


    Then, aiming directly for the quadrant leader''s forehead, the young man made his move.


    "[Intent Seed of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-191,845!!!''

 Chapter 685 Four Pillars: To Kill with a Borrowed Knife

    Chapter 685 Four Pirs: To Kill with a Borrowed Knife


    Pushing his stats to what he considered to be the general limit for his strength, Valyr went ahead and infused his mana into the arquebus before firing his shot.


    Bang!


    With the me he conjured making contact with the bit of gunpowder on the small bowl, the bullet zoomed forward at great speeds as a faint explosion apanied its journey.


    "¡­" Of course, with how quiet the area had be due to Valyr''smand, the quadrant leader instantly looked in the direction of the explosion, wanting to know where it hade from.


    Unfortunately, just as it had turned its head around to look at where the young man was positioned, the bullet had swiftly pierced through the quadrant leader''s forehead.


    Swoosh!


    With it still having lots of momentum contained within, the bullet found no difficulty in passing through the other side, causing the quadrant leader to go wide-eyed as it was left wondering what had happened.


    Thud.


    With a dark red number boasting six digits gradually appearing above its head, the quadrant leader''s body began to tip backwards, eventually falling on its back as it kicked up a bit of dust.


    "Huh. That worked better than I thought."


    Staring at the fallen quadrant leader for a bit, Valyr quickly stored the arquebus and the other things he had taken out to arm it back into his spatial bracelet.


    Then, without hesitation, he jumped down from the building once more.


    However, this time, he jumped in the direction that led him closer to the quadrant leader.


    Fwoosh!


    Thud.


    Conjuring a quick gust of wind to negate most of the speed he had gathered from the fall, Valyr deftlynded on both of his feet as he slowly made his way to the fallen quadrant leader.


    "I hope the quadrant leader begins the second phase soon." Inching closer towards the quadrant leader, this thought popped up in the young man''s mind.


    "It would be a waste if the buffs I activated expired before then, after all."


    Continuing to move closer to where the quadrant leader fell, the young man thought back to the shot he had fired just now.


    ''Now that I think about it, aside from utilizing [Descent of the True Wyvern], there''s still one more thing I could do to improve its damage,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    Of course, Valyr was talking about reforging the arquebus using [Breath of Beginnings].


    After all,pared to the [Breath of Calm] he had used to forge the arquebus, [Breath of Beginnings] increased the weapon''s Attack stat even further by a significant amount.


    Aside from that, it also allowed the weapon to obtain another innate skill, such as what had happened after he forged his chestte using the [Breath of Beginnings].


    Though, whether or not the weapon would need an input of materials to obtain another skill was something he would have to find out for himself.


    Nevertheless, since the downside of it having a long cooldown was greatly mitigated by the dtion of time within the inheritance, reforging every piece of equipment he owned was definitely a viable option.


    ''It''s a shame that I could only use itter in the evening,'' thought the young man, pushing the thought to the side as he arrived in front of the quadrant leader.


    As he had taken a bit of time to arrive where the quadrant leader had fallen, a barrier of mana had already enveloped its body, prompting Valyr to understand that the second phase was on its way.


    Utilizing [Superior Analysis] to stay updated on the quadrant leader''s progress to reaching the second phase, the young man proceeded to distance himself from it.


    Feeling like the distance between him and the quadrant leader was more than enough for him to react to any move it might make, Valyr stayed where he stood as the quadrant leader eventually stood up once more.


    "Grraaaaaggghhh!!!"


    With its skin taking on a faint shade of red like the north quadrant leader, the east quadrant leader let out a rage-filled bellow as it took notice of Valyr''s presence.


    For a brief moment, the quadrant leader stood in ce as it stared at the young man, pondering for a bit as to why a human would appear before it out of nowhere.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for it to recall what had transpired earlier, prompting it to focus all of its rage towards Valyr.


    "Graaaaggghhhh!!!"


    Charging towards where Valyr stood, the quadrant leader released a great portion of mana from its body, conjuring all of them into a small group of crimson red bolts.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­" Watching these crimson red bolts zoomed through the air, Valyr had a calm expression on his face as he retrieved the spear from his back.


    "[Dark Arcane Mirror]."


    Thud!


    Whoosh!


    Infusing both Shadow Energy and mana into the spear as he mmed thetter into the ground, a dark barrier swiftly appeared around the young man.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Because of that, the bolts the quadrant leader had collided with the barrier rather than their intended target, causing a slight frown to briefly appear on the quadrant leader''s face.


    However, just as it thought that the barrier would cause the bolts to disappear¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At the very moment the crimson red bolts it had sent out made contact with the barrier, an identical set of bolts was sent out by the barrier, all of which headed towards the quadrant leader at a speed far faster than before.


    Psh!


    ''-25,861''


    ''-26,148''


    ''-25,447''


    ''-25,173''


    Though the quadrant leader saw how the bolts it sent were sent back at it, the speed at which the bolts were sent did not allow the quadrant leader to react in time, causing all of them tond true on multiple parts of its body.


    "Grraaaaggghhh!!!"


    Circting the mana within its body to dispel the energy within the bolts that attacked it, the quadrant leader looked at the young man behind the barrier with rage-filled eyes, the intent to kill more than palpable.


    "[Superior Analysis]." Seeing that the barrier he set up could still withstand a couple more attacks from the quadrant leader, Valyr decided not to dispel it for the meantime as he took another look at his opponent''s current state.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 241,051/343,680


    MP: 387,659/454,320


    Attack: 7,756 - 7,756


    Defense: 4,940 - 4,940


    Stats: 1235 VIT, 1939 STR, 1884 AGI, 1235 DEX, 2177 INT, 1884 WIS, 990 PER, 357 LUK


    Skills: [Great Primitive Magic Style], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 15 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Mana]


    Remarks: With difficult lessons obtained from past experiences, the chances of victory have be higher. Nevertheless, do not let confidence cloud your judgment.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Since their appearances are simr, I guess I shouldn''t be surprised that their stats would be simr as well.''


    Looking at the status screen in front of him, Valyr briefly nced at his opponent, who was currently upied with dispelling the crimson red bolts that were sent back at him.


    Returning his attention back to the status screen, Valyr gradually noticed a certain part of the status screen that seemed odd.


    ''Huh. The Intent didn''t upgrade.''


    Recalling his fight with the north quadrant leader, Valyr could still remember that its Intent had improved by a tier, considering that the Intent went from epassing bnce to greater bnce.


    In fact, that small factoid gued his mind earlier as he thought about how his fight with the other quadrant leaders would unfold, considering that their Intents started off at a far higher grade.


    ''Does that mean I don''t have to worry about its Intent getting any stronger during the third phase?'' asked Valyr to himself, scratching the back of his head in slight confusion.


    Just as he was about to ponder over the idea for a bit, the quadrant leader had finally dispelled all of the bolts sent back at it, allowing it to send another wave of attacks towards the young man.


    "Grraaaaaaaggghhhh!!!"


    ring its aura in its entirety, Valyr gradually began to feel that all of the mana within the quadrant leader''s vicinity had be an extension of itself, causing the young man''s expression to turn solemn.


    "Intent of Mana, huh."


    Swoosh!


    Utilizing the Intent it hadprehended, the quadrant leaderbined the mana within its body with the energy of its Intent, allowing the energy to ascend to a higher level of power.


    Then, redirecting all of this energy to a point above its head, a spike made out of crimson red energy began to form, growing in size with every passing second.


    "This barrier is definitely going to break under that attack." Watching the quadrant leader''s wrathe into form, Valyr made up his mind as the quadrant leader finally sent the spike towards the former.


    Swoosh!


    With the amount of energy contained within the spike, the attack zoomed through the air at breakneck speeds, colliding with the barrier in a matter of seconds.


    Staring at the barrier and seeing how it began to bend under the force of therge spike, a faint cruel grin appeared on the quadrant leader''s lips as it thought about how it would end the human''s life in a single attack.


    However¡­


    "[Shadow Warp]."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment the barrier began to crumble, Valyr disappeared within the barrier, transforming into a blur of Shadow Energy as it disappeared from the quadrant leader''s field of vision.


    Then, not long after the young man''s disappearance, the crimson red spike began to turn around in direction as it seemingly changed its target to the quadrant leader.


    Realizing this, the quadrant leader began to set up defenses against the spike since it knew how much energy it had put into it.


    But before it could even conjure a simple barrier¡­


    "[Shadow Serpent Magic Style]¡­"


    "[Memento Mori]."


    Whoosh!


    ''-13,533''


    Out of nowhere, the surroundings around the quadrant leader had be muted in color as an insidious and dark energy began to cover every inch of its body.


    In an instant, a great wave of pain washed over the quadrant leader as it watched the crimson red spike get closer.


    "Grrrhhh¡­!!!" Not wanting the crimson red spike tond on its body at all costs, the quadrant leader attempted to conjure a defense against once more, only to find out that its body had turned immobile due to the energy.


    "Hey there."


    Whoosh!


    Just as it began to fear what looked to be the inevitable, a being had appeared before the quadrant leader, causing the fear it felt from the crimson red spike to turn into an inordinate amount of rage as it stared daggers at the young man.


    "Just so you know, my reasons for fighting you isn''t because I hate you or anything." Maintaining a smile on his face, Valyr conversed with the quadrant leader as he brandished his spear.


    "If I were to me it onto something¡­"


    "Then that would be the ones who made you in the first ce."


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "[Strike of the Lightless Arcane]!"


    Bang!


    ''-116,320!!!''


    Taking a strike directly to the face without any defense whatsoever, the quadrant leader''s senses had be greatly disoriented, feeling as if it was on the verge of losing its consciousness.


    However, it held on, relying on its sheer will to remain conscious as it knew that its current state wouldn''tst long.


    Fortunately, its tenacity was rewarded as its consciousness gradually returned to its previous state.


    Though, as if the world was making a mockery of its actions¡­


    The crimson red spike had finallynded on its body.


    Bang!


    ''-170,752!''


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Ding!

 Chapter 686 Four Pillars: Making Contact

    Chapter 686 Four Pirs: Making Contact


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 100 Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite). You have gained 18,193,734 XP.]


    [Due to the effects of ''Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts'', 100% of the XP gained has been allocated evenly to your currently summoned Orcbeasts.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (2/10,000).]


    ''Eh?''


    Expecting a barrier of mana to appear around the quadrant leader onest time in preparation for the third phase, Valyr was left at a loss for words after hearing the notification sounds.


    After all, the momentum he had built up throughout the fight was something he could still make use of during the third andst phase.


    Aside from that, the fight had enlightened him on many things, such as how he could use the quadrant leader''s strength to deal damage back to itself.


    If the fight between him and the east quadrant leader proceeded as if it were his fight against the north quadrant leader, then he was certain he would be able to make more use of the quadrant leader''s attacks.


    "I don''t get it." Looking at the notifications he had received for a bit, Valyr shifted his attention to the east quadrant leader, whose corpse had now fallen to the ground.


    Scratching the back of his head, he asked himself, "Does that mean fighting against the remaining two quadrant leaders could eitherst two phases or three phases?"


    Though it wasn''t too much of a problem to keep such a thing in mind, there was now a slightly higher chance for things to go wrong during the next couple of fights if that were the case.


    After all, if Valyr were to expect that the fight between him and the quadrant leader would onlyst two phases, only for reality to tell him that it was actually three phases, then there would be a dy in his next actions.


    Which was a prime opportunity his opponent could use to turn the tables around.


    "Well, whatever." In the end, Valyr pushed the thought to the side as he decided to rest up and replenish the Shadow Energy and mana he had spent.


    With that, he made his way back to the building where he scouted out the surroundings as he sent a message through the connection he had with the five Arx''has Boars.


    ''Head back to where we convened earlier,'' said the young man through their connection, only to hear the faint footsteps of the boars echo throughout the vicinity not long after.


    Roughly calcting how long it would take for the boars to return to where he summoned them in the first ce, Valyr took out a mana potion from his spatial bracelet and downed its contents.


    Storing the now empty vial back into his spatial bracelet, Valyr nced back at the area where he fought against the north quadrant leader and let out a low sigh.


    ''I guess I''ll take on the west quadrant leader next,'' thought the young man, only to let his mind wander while continuing to wait for the boars.


    During this time, he thought about many things, such as things he could improve during his next fight with the west quadrant leader.


    Aside from that, he also thought about how much levels the five boars gained from the experience the quadrant leader had given him.


    Due to how he had configured the XP sharing feature of the skill back when he still used it often, all of the XP that the quadrant leader dropped had gone straight to the boars instead.


    Then again, even though the amount of XP the quadrant leader dropped was quite a lot for any being at the peak of Rank 3, for someone like Valyr, it didn''t really matter much if he received it or not.


    After all, he still had over 3 billion XP left unused.


    Eventually, his thoughts began to wander towards how the four were doing after entering the trials of the Gates of Awakening.


    Adding the time it took for him to head to the east quadrant, summon the boars and fight against the east quadrant leader, close to two hours had already passed since then.


    "Yet, there''s still no message from them whatsoever," murmured the young man to himself as he let out a sigh.


    "Gork!"


    "Gork! Gork!"


    Hearing the sounds the boars were making at the bottom of the building, Valyr faintly smiled as he began to make his way to where the boars were.


    However, just as he was about to jump down from the building yet again, he changed his thoughts at the veryst minute and made his way to the quadrant leader''s corpse instead.


    ''It would be difficult to grab it if the primitive humanoids began to roam around the area again.''


    Sending a message to the boars to wait where they were for a short bit, the young man quickly jumped down from the building and activated a series of skills that boosted his movement speed to swiftly grab what he needed from the quadrant leader.


    "Phew." Arriving in front of the quadrant leader''s corpse in less than a minute, Valyr began to examine the entirety of its body in search for the item he aimed to obtain.


    Watching some of the primitive humanoids the boars had corralled earlier start to trickle into the area once again, the young man let out a wide sigh of relief after finding the item lodged near the quadrant leader''s shoulders.


    Ding!


    [You have made progress on a requirement for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Obtain knowledge regarding thest leader of humanity (2/4)]


    Storing the shard-like item into his spatial bracelet for the meantime, a satisfied smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he turned around and made his way to where the boars were.


    Whoosh!


    With the primitive humanoids still in the process of filling up the area the quadrant leader previously resided in, the young man did not encounter any trouble whatsoever along the way.


    Add on the fact that he was moving at a speed that only quadrant leaders of the second phase could probably match, it did not take long for Valyr to arrive in front of the boars, whose sizes had considerably grownpared to the previous time he''d seen them.


    "Gork! Gork!" Seeing the one that summoned them finally appear in front of them, the five boars let out snorts that expressed their joy and gratitude.


    After all, while they were in the midst of corralling the primitive humanoids away from the quadrant leader, their stats had undergone a massive boost, allowing them to have an easier time inpleting their tasks.


    Smiling in response to the five, Valyr nodded as he began to convey his thoughts to the five. "With the east quadrant leader down, only the west and south quadrant leaders remain."


    "We''ll be heading to the west quadrant leader next, saving the south quadrant leader forst," said the young man, sending the five a series of thoughts that contained information on the quadrant leaders he had mentioned.


    After obtaining sounds of affirmation from the boars in response, Valyr went ahead and dispelled the five boars for the meantime before activating [Traceless Slither], making use of the movement speed buffs that were still in effect.


    Whoosh!


    Of course, even though he was heading to the west quadrant at far greater speeds than before, he still took his time to get there, considering that his ultimate moves were still on cooldown.


    Aside from that, while he was making his way to the west quadrant, he finally decided to send a message to the four through the party chat to ask how they were doing.


    Unexpectedly, within a minute from him sending the message, the four had told him their progress inpleting their trials.


    Compared to the trials the Gates of Enlightenment had thrown at them, with some of them only needing toplete one trial and the others having toplete three, each and everyone of them seemed to have been thrown into the same trial format.


    Unlike the Gates of Enlightenment''s trials, the Gates of Awakening''s trials started off at a moderate difficulty, with each subsequent trial being slightly harder than the previous one.


    ording to what the voice had told them, the further one got through the trials, the greater the rewards one would reap after bing a member of the Gates of Awakening.


    Of course, it was also during this conversation did Valyr say that he had postponed his attempt at the Gates of Awakening''s trials, which undoubtedly surprised the four.


    Nevertheless, with the four of them still going through the trials, the four could not ask the specifics as to why Valyr decided to stay behind, having to return their attention to the trials not long before their conversation was over.


    ''At the very least it seems like they''re doing well.'' Continuing to make his way to the west quadrant as a blur of Shadow Energy, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he made his way past the hole that led him to the underground.


    Then, a couple minutes ofter, he stood on top of the building he stopped back then to gain information on the west quadrant leader.


    Seeing that the west quadrant leader was still situated in the center of the west quadrant, Valyr let out a faint smile as he retrieved his arquebus from his spatial bracelet.


    ''Alright then.''


    ''It''s time to do it all over again.''

 Chapter 687 The Second of Three

    <h4>Chapter 687 The Second of Three</h4>


    Moving the arquebus and the things needed to fire it to the side for the meantime, Valyr made his way to the edge of the building and jumped down, cushioning his fall with a quick burst of wind.


    Once more, he swiftly cleared all of the primitive humanoids within the vicinity, more or less doing the same thing he did in the east quadrant.


    Seeing that the number of primitive humanoids that would enter the area he had cleared out was now pretty low, Valyr summoned the five boars from earlier, getting an up-close look as to how much they''ve grown.


    After taking his time to summon all five boars, he then sent the samemand he had sent to them earlier, which was to corral all of the primitive humanoids within the vicinity of the quadrant leader away from thetter.


    With their heightened stats, it did not take long for the boars to understand what they needed to do, letting out snorts in response as they swiftly made their way towards the center of the west quadrant.


    As for Valyr, after seeing that the boars were speedily heading towards the primitive humanoids, he hastily headed to the top of the building to get a better look at what the boars were doing.


    Unsurprisingly, with theirrger frames and higher stats, the boars were able to do more with less, attracting the attention of the primitive humanoids around the periphery of the center.


    With the attention of those primitive humanoids piqued, the ones nearer to the quadrant leader would take notice of it and follow along, increasing the efficiency at which the boars removed the primitive humanoids.


    Add on the fact that the five were working as a group, it did not take long for the five to move all of the primitive humanoids away from the center, allowing Valyr to proceed onto the next step.


    ''That was close.'' Preparing the arquebus for firing, Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh of relief as he thought back to the close call between the boars and the quadrant leader that happened earlier.


    While the boars were corralling the primitive humanoids away from the area, the quadrant leader began to head towards the direction of one of the boars all of a sudden, which caused the boars to panic for a bit.


    Fortunately, with a bit of quick thinking and a bit of reliance on their instincts, the boar that was close to the quadrant leader was able to avoid attracting the attention of the quadrant leader by hiding behind the frame of the many primitive humanoids it had attracted.


    Of course, to be more than sure that the quadrant leader wouldn''t take notice of it, the boar then hid behind some of the buildings that separated it from the quadrant leader, inwardly letting out a wide sigh of relief after seeing the quadrant leader not pursue the matter any further.


    "Let''s begin." With the arquebus now armed for firing, Valyr took in a deep breath as he positioned himself close to the edge of the building, aiming the shot he would fire towards the quadrant leader''s forehead.


    "[Intent Seed of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Limit Break]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "¡­"


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-191,845!!!''


    Simr to what had transpired during the fight with the east quadrant leader, Valyr''s shot cleanly went through the west quadrant leader''s forehead, ending the first phase before thetter could even make a move.


    ''That will probably never get old.'' Faintly smiling at the sight of the quadrant leader fall on its back, Valyr hurriedly stored the arquebus and its rted items into the spatial bracelet before jumping down from the building.


    Then, after a barrier of mana had protected the quadrant leader''s body while it was in the middle of powering up, Valyr went ahead and fought against it like he did the east quadrant leader.


    However, unlike the east quadrant leader, whosebat style leaned towards magic, the west quadrant leader relied more on physical attacks.


    Of course, whether the opponent used magical attacks, physical attacks, or both did not really matter to Valyr.


    After all, the only difference was the fact that the fight would take longer.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Sending out both ultimate techniques and normal skills at the west quadrant leader, Valyr was able to quickly reduce the health of the west quadrant to a quarter of its maximum without giving thetter a chance to retaliate.


    "Grraaaaaaggghhh!!!"


    At that point, the quadrant leader was more than incensed, wanting nothing more than tond its strongest attack on the human before it.


    With that, it circted both mana and the energy of its Intent all throughout its body, only to condense all of it towards its four extremities.


    Whoosh!


    Propelled by both mana and the energy of its Intent, the quadrant leader charged towards Valyr with great momentum, confident that the strike it had prepared wouldnd on the young man.


    Seeing the young man continuing to stand in ce even though it was about to attack, a faint yet arrogant smirk appeared on the edge of the quadrant leader''s lips as it sent both of its fists flying forward.


    Watching its empowered fists creep closer and closer towards the young man, the smirk on the quadrant leader''s face turned into a maddened smile, feeling as if this one-sided fight was finally turning around to its advantage.


    Yet, just as a small gap remained between its fists and Valyr¡­


    "[Shadow Warp]."


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    "[Dark Arcane Mirror]."


    Swoosh!


    Before the quadrant leader could react, Valyr''s entire body was instantly shrouded in ayer of Shadow Energy as he moved a fair distance backward.


    Then, retrieving the spear on his back, he channeled both Shadow Energy and mana through it before mming it on the ground with all of the strength he could muster.


    Bang!


    ''-85,048''


    Taking over Valyr''s ce, the dark barrier made direct contact with the quadrant leader''s empowered fists, reflecting the force contained within the attack back at the quadrant leader as it was sent flying in the air.


    Thud.


    Watching the quadrant leadernd on the ground on its back, Valyr sucked in a deep breath of cold air as he knew how painful the fall might have been.


    But just as he was wondering whether or not he would have to go through a third phase¡­


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 100 Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite).]

 Chapter 688 The Last of Three

    <h4>Chapter 688 The Last of Three</h4>


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 100 Primitive Humanoid Quadrant Leader (Divine Elite). You have gained 18,193,734 XP.]


    [Due to the effects of ''Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts'', 100% of the XP gained has been allocated evenly to your currently summoned Orcbeasts.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (3/10,000).]


    Looking at the series of notifications he had gained, Valyr instantly had a look of confusion on his face.


    After a while, he slightly frowned. "Does the north quadrant leader have some sort of secret or something?"


    "Is it carrying something that the other quadrant leaders don''t have?" asked the young man to himself.


    "Because I really want to know why it''s the only quadrant leader I''ve fought so far that had me go through three phases."


    As this thought began to linger in his mind, Valyr went ahead and searched through the quadrant leader''s corpse for the memory fragment he needed to obtain.


    By the time a couple minutes had passed, the young man had found the memory fragment jutting out of the quadrant leader''s right thigh, mistaking it for bone at first before realizing what it really was.


    Ding!


    [You have made progress on a requirement for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Obtain knowledge regarding thest leader of humanity (3/4)]


    ''That only leaves me with the south quadrant leader.'' Briefly reading through the notifications he had received, Valyr stored the new memory fragment into his spatial bracelet before making his way to where he had summoned the boars.


    In the meantime, he had told the boars through their connection to allow the primitive humanoids to roam free once more and convene to where he had summoned them.


    ''Is there any significance to the north quadrant leader? Or is it just because it was the first quadrant leader I killed out of the four?''


    As he had obtained the memory fragment from the west quadrant leader''s corpse, it was no surprise that Valyr returned his thoughts to the matter regarding the north quadrant leader.


    After all, from how it looked so far, he would probably only have to fight against two phases when he came to face to face with the south quadrant leader.


    Of course, there was also a chance for the south quadrant leader to have three phases, which would allow it to be simr to the north quadrant leader in nature.


    Then again, as many people have mentioned, once was a chance, while twice was a coincidence.


    If it happened three times in a row¡­


    Then that something was no longer a coincidence.


    It was now a pattern.


    "Gork!"


    "Gork! Gork! Gork!"


    After arriving at where he had summoned the five boars, Valyr did not take long to hear the joyous snorts the boars were giving from far away.


    Smiling at their appearance, Valyr took note of the fact that the boars had grown in size yet again, with the auras they were radiating now having a bit of heft to it.


    Slightly raising his eyebrows at this discovery in surprise, the young man went ahead and identified one of the boars with his identification skill.


    ''What level have they reached through the XP from the two quadrant leaders anyway?''


    Ding!


    ''I see.'' Looking through the somewhat simple screen that appeared before his vision, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise and glee as he nodded in understanding.


    ''So they''re already in the middle of Rank 2.''


    ''Yeah¡­ the third quadrant leader isn''t enough to take them to the peak of Rank 2,'' thought Valyr to himself not long after, dispelling the boars as he prepared to head to where he would fight his final opponent.


    The south quadrant.


    "[Traceless Slither]."


    Whoosh!


    Even though none of the movement speed boosting skills in his arsenal were activated, Valyr was still making his way to the south quadrant at fast speeds.


    After all, the distance he had to cover was only half of what he needed to cover when he came from the east quadrant.


    While making his way to the south quadrant through the city''s periphery, the young man opened up the party chat once more, hoping to ask the four once again how they were faring against the trials the Gates of Awakening threw at them.


    Surprisingly enough, after a bit of waiting, the four of them replied that they were stuck on the third trial.


    ording to their words, the trials the Gates of Awakening was not infinite.


    At most, the maximum number of trials one could clear was nine trials.


    Then again, from how the four were phrasing it to Valyr, achieving totalpletion of nine trials would allow him to obtain ess to rewards that even Rank 5 beings would kill to obtain.


    Nevertheless, with how few trials there were that barred one from obtaining the highest reward, the Gates of Awakening had set up the trials in a way that some of the trials acted as bottlenecks to reaching higher tiers of rewards.


    At that point, Valyr more or less understood what was going on.


    Deciding to save their conversation regarding the structure of the Gates of Awakening''s trials for ater time, Valyr eventually arrived at the south quadrant, making a beeline towards the area where the south quadrant leader was.


    Unlike in the east and west quadrant, Valyr decided to summon the boars first before heading to the top of one of the buildings, clearing out a nearby area in the process.


    Then, without much fanfare, hemanded the empowered boars to do the same task they''ve done a couple of times now, witnessing the boarsplete the task at far greater speeds.


    In the meantime, he had armed the arquebus for firing, aiming the shot tond on the quadrant leader''s forehead as he waited for the boars to finish the task he had given them.


    After most of the area around the quadrant leader was deprived of its primitive humanoids, it was only then did Valyr make his move, empowering himself with the skills he had used in the earlier fights.


    Bang!


    ''-191,845!!!''


    With a clean and swift shot, the first phase of the south quadrant leader had ended before it began, prompting Valyr to head down from the building he was on and await the next phase ofbat.


    ''Now that I think about it, I haven''t used that skill yet.'' Watching the quadrant leader recuperate its lost health through the barrier of mana that surrounded it, a thought popped up into Valyr''s mind.


    ''Since this is thest quadrant leader I''ll have to fight¡­''


    ''Why don''t I go and use it?''


    And so, as the quadrant leader rose from the ashes and appeared before Valyr with empowered strength¡­


    So did Valyr.


    "[Descent of the True Wyvern]."


    Fwoosh!


    With his stats reaching a state that rivaled the north quadrant leader''s third phase, the fight between him and the south quadrant leader quickly turned into one-sided fight.


    Even with the quadrant leader''s Intent of Unified Will, as well as its ess to both physical and magical attacks, all of them appeared fragile in front of Valyr''s all-out onught.


    Thud.


    With a quick strike to its throat, the south quadrant leader eventually fell on its back before it could even retaliate, gazing at Valyr with murderous intent till its veryst breath.


    On the other hand, Valyr merely stared back at the quadrant leader with indifference, tightly gripping onto his spear until the quadrant leader breathed out itsst.


    ''Haaa¡­'' Obtaining a series of notifications that he had sessfully the south quadrant leader, it was only then did Valyr loosen his grip over the spear.


    ''I guess there is something different about the north quadrant leader.''


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders at the thought, Valyr then began to search every nook and cranny of the quadrant leader''s body, wryly smiling after the skill''s debuff began to take effect.


    Nevertheless, that did not hinder the young man from finding the item he needed, grinning from ear to ear as he pulled out the memory fragment from the quadrant leader''s throat.


    ''With this, I can finally obtain the answers I seek.''


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Obtain knowledge regarding thest leader of humanity (4/4)]

 Chapter 689 Four Pillars: The Forsaken Ones

    Chapter 689 Four Pirs: The Forsaken Ones


    Storing what looked to be the fourth and final fragment needed for him to view the memory in its entirety, Valyr began to make his way back to where he had summoned the five boars.


    Sending them a message through their connection to corral the primitive humanoids for a bit longer, the young man went ahead and took a look at his notifications,manding the system to bring up a screen before him.


    Ding!


    Reading through the list of notifications he had received, Valyr nodded in satisfaction once he saw that he had finallypleted the objective from the quest Ryvrthe had given him.


    Though, as he continued to read through them, his gaze eventually remained fixed on the notifications below the ones rted to Ryvrthe''s quest.


    ''What the¡­'' Intently looking at the notifications, Valyr briefly stopped in his tracks, feeling a bit of confusion from what he was reading.


    [You havepleted a hidden objective from the quest: Gates of Enlightenment'' Trial (4).]


    [y all quadrant leaders (4/4)]


    [You have obtained a special reward.]


    [This reward can only be essed once one enters the Gates of Awakening.]


    Scratching the back of his head as he continued to read these notifications, Valyr eventually asked himself a question.


    ''Isn''t that quest alreadyplete, though?''


    Of course, it did not take long for him to check that the quest in question was indeed alreadyplete.


    From the authority level requirement it needed to the specific number of kills he had to rue, all of the objectives needed for the quest to be consideredpleted had already been done so quite some time ago.


    After all, if it wasn''t, then the other four wouldn''t be taking the trials of the Gates of Awakening at the moment.


    Fortunately, after reading the list of notifications a couple more times, the young man eventually cleared up his confusion.


    "Ah. A hidden objective," muttered the man, wryly smiling as he thought about how it took a while for him to notice such a tidbit of information.


    Then again, it wasn''t like he didn''t know anything about hidden objectives.


    If anything, he and many yers from his previous life knew quite well what hidden objectives were, considering them an additional jackpot that would apply to the rewards they got from their quests.


    Though, as their names implied, such objectives forced one to experiment within the scope of the quest to get a chance atpleting one.


    Then, there was the problem that not all quests had hidden objectives in the first ce.


    All in all, hidden objectives were incredibly rare in nature, as well as something that only became more and more difficult toplete the harder the quest was.


    ''I guess the fact that I haven''t imed the rewards from the quest yet more or less meant that the quest was still considered to be in-progress,'' thought the young man to himself, faintly smiling at the thought.


    ''I definitely lucked out on this one, that''s for sure.''


    Reading through the system''s messages a few more times for rification, Valyr soon let out a faint chuckle. "I wonder what kind of reward I got frompleting it?"


    "After all,pleting a hidden objective in an A-grade quest isn''t easy."


    In the end, after thinking about the matter for a bit more, the young man ced such thoughts for the meantime.


    Then, noticing that the primitive humanoids the boars had corralled earlier were starting to trickle back in, Valyr went ahead and hastened his pace.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Eventually, after a few minutes had passed, Valyr had arrived at where he had summoned the five boars.


    Surprisingly, the boars were already there before him, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face as the five let out joyous snorts.


    In response, Valyr beamed a smile at them as he took note of the fact that the boars had slightly grown in size.


    Using [Superior Analysis] on one of the boars, the young man nodded in understanding as he looked at the screen before him.


    ''They''re getting closer to reaching the peak of Rank 2, but they''re also far away,'' thought the young man to himself as he wryly smiled.


    Briefly thinking about how the XP the quadrant leaders gave him quickly became less and less effective on the boars, Valyr went ahead and thanked the boars for helping him out as he dispelled them.


    Then, taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, a pair of dark yet translucent wings swiftly appeared on the young man''s back.


    "[False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern]."


    pping the pair of wings that had appeared, the young man zoomed into the air as he swiftly made his way back to the campsite he and the others had set up at the periphery of the south district.


    ¡­


    Thud.


    Landing on both feet as he made contact with the ground, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief whilst he dispelled the wings on his back.


    After that, he took a seat around the fire pit, staring off into the distance for a bit as he gave his mind the freedom to linger.


    ''Alright.'' Letting out a sigh after a few minutes, Valyr discarded all of the useless thoughts in his mind as he lightly pped both of his cheeks to keep himself focused.


    ''Let''s do this.''


    At those words, the young man went ahead and took out the four memory fragments he had gotten from the quadrant leaders he had killed.


    Then, one by one, he ced the fragments closer to one another, causing an otherworldly force to take over.


    Fwoosh!


    As if the fragments were like mas, the memory fragments seamlessly connected with one another, prompting Valyr to wonder whether the two were even fragments in the first ce.


    Nevertheless, after moving the four fragments closer to one another, the young man finally had what looked to be a ticket to the entire memory he wanted to see.


    What was previously a set of fragments now appeared as a ss-like orb that radiated a myriad of colors under the rays of the sun.


    Aside from that, Valyr could sense a trace of higher-leveled energy deep within the orb, which undoubtedly piqued his interest.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Memory Orb of the Forsaken Ones] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    Throughout one''s life, one would create a myriad of memories. Some of them would disappear after a bit of time, while some would linger around till one lets out their final breath.


    Then again, amidst the evesting memories, there are those who transcend the existence of life itself, taking on a form that would allow it to exist long after the death of its creator.


    Many names have been given to these kinds of memories throughout history, yet all of them serve either one of two purposes.


    To serve as a solemn reminder for the future generation¡­ or to serve as a reminder that the being once existed.


    What was previously a collection of scattered memories has now be whole once more thanks to your intervention and effort.


    Through the energy it radiates, you could sense that these memories seemed to be not the memory of an individual being, but rather, the memories of many.


    However, even though these memoriese from multiple beings, it seems that they alle from the same ce, allowing you to obtain greater information about it than even before.


    To peer through the orb and unveil the memories it holds within, all you need to do is to infuse a bit of your mana into it.


    Then again, whether or not learning the information contained within these memories would be something only you could answer.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Memory Orb of the Forsaken Ones¡­'' Valyr repeated the name of the item as he looked through its description. ''By Forsaken Ones, is it referring to the quadrant leaders?''


    Eventually, he dispelled the screen he had brought up, shrugging his shoulders as he faintly let out a sigh.


    "Well, whatever the answer to that question may be, it is the reason why I collected the fragments in the first ce."


    Picking up the ss-like orb, Valyr stared at it for a bit before deciding to head into his tent.


    Laying on the bed, the young man took in a deep breath before infusing a bit of mana into the orb.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds of his infusion, Valyr was brought into the world of darkness within the memory yet again.


    However, unlike before, he did not have to stay lingering within the darkness for a long time to be able to see what it contained.


    Swoosh!


    As a light shone brighter and brighter within his field of vision, Valyr gradually found himself within the same ce he had witnessed back then through the memory fragment.


    Though, from what he could infer, it seemed that the ce he was in looked to be in a different part of the same ce, finding norge ss tubes within his surroundings whatsoever.


    Instead, what filled his vision was the sight of test tubes, documents, and multiple equipment that looked to havee from an era of technology Earth had yet to achieve in his past life.


    "Alright, Aria. Record what I''m about to do and name it Experiment 342-A."


    "Understood, Master."


    Hearing voicese from afar, Valyr shifted his vision towards the source of the voice, eventually finding himself looking at a man in a whiteb coat.


    However, after staring at him for a bit more, he noticed that this person was the same person he had seen in the memory fragment.


    ''Wait a second¡­'' Ignoring the words that came out of the man''s mouth, Valyr continued to look at the man, feeling as if he had seen somewhere before.


    Thankfully, just as the man said that the experiment would begin, the young man finally realized who the man was.


    "Wait¡­"


    "Vaughn Darkstar?!"

 Chapter 690 Four Pillars: The First Aberration

    Chapter 690 Four Pirs: The First Aberration


    Coming to this realization, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words as the memory continued to y.


    With that, the young man watched Vaughn go about his experiment in silence, his eyes still widened from the shock brought by the realization.


    After sharing a few words to what seemed to be hispanion, Vaughn went through the various test tubes and documentsid out before him, intently reading through all of thetter before tinkering with the former.


    Then, after nodding in understanding, he proceeded to pick up some of the test tubes before making his way to another part of the area.


    Being a spectator to the memory, Valyr followed Vaughn as thetter took a couple of twists and turns with the test tubes in tow.


    Eventually, the man had arrived at the ce he wanted to arrive at, closing the door behind him as he spoke a few more words.


    "Aria, set security level to A. Also, record this as part of Experiment 342-A."


    "Understood, Master."


    ''Who''s Aria?'' Seeing Vaughn speak out into the void, only for a feminine voice to respond to his words, Valyr began to have some questions about the person on the other end.


    ''Is she part of the same civilization as Vaughn?''


    ''Is she in the same ce where Vaughn is?''


    Such thoughts continued to linger in his mind for a bit more as Vaughn took in a deep breath.


    Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, he then began to move closer to what looked to be a metal table.


    Noticing this, Valyr ced his thoughts at the back of his head for the meantime as he focused his attention on what the man was doing.


    From what he could see, there seemed to be a small petri dish on the center of the table that contained a sample of some sort.


    Though, with how the sample was of a simr color to the table itself, he wondered for a bit whether or not the sample was some sort of mineral.


    Fortunately, the answer to his query would be quickly obtained as Vaughn dumped the contents of one of the test tubes he brought onto the petri dish, causing the sample contained within to undergo rapid mutation.


    Krsshhhh¡­


    At the very instant the contents of the tube made contact with the sample, the sample quickly took on a flesh-like color as it grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    Apanying its expansion with what could only be described as a gut-wrenching sound, the current scenario undoubtedly made for quite the macabre sight, causing someone fainthearted witnessing this to surely fall unconscious.


    Yet, even though what transpired before him looked to be the origin of nightmares, Vaughn remained stoic throughout the sample''s transformation.


    In fact, by the time the sample had expanded to cover the entire metal table, a faint smile crept up on the edge of the man''s lips as he nodded in satisfaction.


    Watching the sample expand a bit further, Vaughn went ahead and dumped the contents of yet another other test tube he had brought along, prompting another transformation to happen to the sample yet again.


    Krsshhh¡­ krsssshhh¡­


    As the gut-wrenching sound amplified in intensity, the sample began to contort in various ways one could only describe as grotesque.


    Witnessing the entire thing unfold from afar, Valyr could not help but frown.


    ''What is he trying to do?''


    With this question in mind, the young man continued to watch the sample contort on top of the metal table, gradually taking on a figure that made him widen his eyes in understanding.


    At the same time Valyr seemingly understood what was going on, Vaughn''s eyes began to ze with fervor as it seemed like the experiment before him was gradually turning into a sess.


    "Come on¡­e on¡­"


    With every passing second, the sample continued to move closer and closer towards the sess Vaughn hoped to achieve.


    Gradually bing more and more human-like in structure, the man thought that it wouldn''t be long until the sample became his first ever sess.


    Yet, just as it seemed like the sample had gained a trace of conscience through its gaze¡­


    Psssshhhh!!!


    "Aaaaaagggghhhhh!!!"


    Sounding as if it were a balloon deting, the sample regressed from its near-perfect state as parts of its structure had mutated to something that only vaguely resembled what it was once was.


    At the same time, the sample let out a shrill scream filled to the brim with despair and suffering, causing anyone that listened to it an immense amount of mncholy.


    Though, rather than feel mncholy towards the final oue of what happened before him, Vaughn only felt disappointment.


    Shaking his head as he watched most of the sample''s mass move towards its extremities, the man let out a sigh as he began to leave the area.


    "Aria, record everything that happened in this room and add it to the logs of Experiment 342-A."


    "Also, set Experiment 342-A''s status to Failed."


    "Understood, Master."


    After saying those words, Vaughn swiftly left the area, leaving the sample to writhe in pain on its own.


    At this point, if one were in Valyr''s shoes, one would follow Vaughn to find out what he was doing next.


    After all, it seemed like he was the focus of this memory.


    Yet, even with that in mind, Valyr continued to stay in the area and watched the sample on the metal table writhe some more as it screamed itself hoarse.


    By the time a few minutes had passed, the sample had gone silent as the screams that wished toe out of its mouth was now just a shell of its former self.


    Realizing this, the sample slowly closed its mouth as what constituted its body continued to writhe and wriggle for quite some time.


    Then again, even that eventually turned immobile, feeling as if the life that had been birthed by Vaughn within sample had ceased to exist.


    In fact, it was only at that time did the young man leave the area to head to where Vaughn went, his expression pensive as a thought came to mind.


    ''I don''t know if I''m correct in assuming this¡­''


    ''But I think I just witnessed the birth of the first aberration.''

 Chapter 691 Four Pillars: To Become More Human

    Chapter 691 Four Pirs: To Be More Human


    As he searched for traces as to where Vaughn went, Valyr was slightly surprised to find out that the memory allowed him to explore the entire ce in detail.


    Even areas that looked like something Vaughn wouldn''t frequently enter had been recorded into the memory, causing the young man to wonder for a bit as to whether or not the man was indeed the focus of the memory.


    Nevertheless, since what had transpired earlier had confirmed that Vaughn had created the aberrations that roamed the ins, it went without saying that Valyr assiduously searched as to where the man went.


    Of course, by the time a few minutes had passed, the young man had found Vaughn once more, considering how the ce was only of a decent size.


    Though, just as he was about to peer over Vaughn''s shoulders to find out what the man was doing after the previous experiment¡­


    Whoosh!


    ''What the hell?'' Before Valyr could even react, he was thrown into the world of darkness once more, causing a slight frown to appear on his face.


    ''And here I thought collecting all of the memories meant that I wouldn''t be thrown into the darkness anymore,'' thought the young man to himself, briefly grumbling as he thought about how he wouldn''t be able to get a general idea of the situation anymore.


    Fortunately, after taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down and think over things rationally, a light appeared to envelop the world of darkness once more.


    Watching as the same ce he had been in earlier was gradually being rebuilt by the memory, the young man eventually found himself in the same area as before.


    However, this time, when Vaughn had entered the room to go through documents and test tubes, it seemed as if he had aged by a few years.


    "Hey, Aria. What experiment are we on at the moment? I think I''ve lost track."


    "The previous experiment was nicknamed Experiment 727-A, Master."


    "727-A¡­" repeated the man to himself, eventually nodding after a brief moment of silence.


    "Alright. Aria, record what I''m about to do and name it Experiment 727-B."


    "Understood, Master."


    Ignoring the fact that the man looked more disheveled whenpared to the previous memory, Valyr watched as Vaughn went through the documents for a bit before picking up some of the test tubes ced on the table before him.


    Though, unlike in the previous memory where he had only picked up a couple, the number of test tubes he had brought along with him had now increased to five.


    ''I guess in between the previous memory and the current one, he''s finally found a way to counteract the mutation that was happening that turned the sample into an aberration,'' thought Valyr to himself as he followed Vaughn to where he had to go.


    Surprisingly, rather than head to the ce he had gone to in the previous memory, Vaughn instead headed to an area that Valyr was quite familiar with.


    Realizing which ce Vaughn had gone to, Valyr slightly furrowed in brows.


    "Isn''t this the ce I saw in the north quadrant leader''s memory fragment?"


    Even though his perspective at the moment was not from the perspective of one of the beings within therge ss tubes he currently saw from afar, Valyr was more certain that he had arrived at the same ce.


    "Aria, take out Subject A-001." Looking at his surroundings for a bit, Vaughn took in a deep breath before proceeding further, eventually arriving at what Valyr thought was a table made for surgery.


    "Understood, Master."


    In the meantime, a series of robotic arms appeared from the ceiling and headed to one of therge ss tubes, slowly extending themselves to grab the being that was contained within.


    Then, in one smooth movement, the arms took the being out of the ss tube before cing it on the table Vaughn was in front of.


    "Aria, record this as part of Experiment 727-B. Also, set security level to S."


    "Understood, Master."


    Fsh! Fsh! Fsh!


    Hearing a series of hydraulics going off from afar in response to Vaughn''smand, Valyr watched as the man calmed himself down, staring at the unconscious being that wasid on the table.


    Though the young man had no idea what Vaughn nned on doing in this memory, Valyr was more than certain that the being on the table was none other than an aberration.


    Then again, due to what looked to be a couple of modifications from Vaughn in between the memories, the aberration''s defining features had be less pronounced, allowing it to resemble a human more.


    ''Why is he trying to recreate humans, though?'' asked Valyr to himself, curious as he watched the man finally make a move.


    Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, Vaughn went ahead and dumped the contents of two test tubes into the mouth of the aberration, causing thetter to be wide awake.


    "Aaaaaagggghghhh!!!"


    In response, the aberration began to scream itself hoarse as its body iled about on the table.


    At this point, Valyr wondered whether the man had expected something like this to happen, taking a peek at the man''s expression to find out.


    Surprisingly, Vaughn remained stoic throughout the aberration''s throes, intently watching it gradually return to its initial state.


    "The previous two are to stabilize its condition," murmured the man as he poured the three remaining test tubes he brought along onto the aberration''s body.


    "These three are to bring about change."


    "Grraaaaaagggghhhh!!!!"


    At the very moment the contents of the three test tubes made contact with the aberration''s body, the aberration''s skin quickly turned pale as it began to scream itself hoarse once more.


    However, rather than gradually return to a lull, the aberration did not stop in screaming as its body continued to il around.


    Wondering what the man was trying to achieve as the aberration turned as white as a sheet of paper, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise once the aberration''s upper and lower extremities began to shrink.


    At a speed visible to the naked eye, the aberration''s limbs gradually looked more and more human, causing Vaughn''s eyes to ze with fervor once more as it seemed that sess was just around the corner.


    Yet, as if the memory wanted Valyr to witness all of Vaughn''s failures, the aberration''s positive change did notst for long.


    Fwoosh!


    Within seconds, the aberration''s entire body inted like a balloon, causing panic to appear on Vaughn''s face as he wracked his brain toe up with a solution.


    After all, he did not want it to explode all over the ce and contaminate the area.


    In the end, he stared at the aberration for a bit before stabbing it at the center of its chest with a pocket knife, deciding to end the aberration''s life rather than letting it explode.


    Yet surprisingly, after stabbing the aberration with the knife, the aberration''s vitality became more stable, causing Vaughn to wonder what was going on.


    Nevertheless, such a situation was short-lived as the aberration began to balloon once more.


    In response, Vaughn continued to cut into the aberration''s body, returning its vitality to a stable state.


    By the time the aberration''s vitality had be consistently stable, arge hole had been carved in the ce where a human''s heart would be, with Vaughn panting in exhaustion from what he had done.


    ''Have I¡­'' Gasping for air, a wry smile appeared on Vaughn''s face as he saw that his experiment had taken on a different direction.


    ''Have I done it?''


    Not long after that, he fell unconscious.


    Thud.

 Chapter 692 Four Pillars: A Rocky Road

    Chapter 692 Four Pirs: A Rocky Road


    Watching from afar as both Vaughn and the being on the table were unconscious, Valyr remained silent for quite some time, mulling over everything he had just seen.


    At some point, the world around him had faded into darkness once more, causing the young man to faintly let out a sigh.


    Understanding that it wouldn''t be long until another memory was shown before him, Valyr returned himself to his previous train of thought.


    ''So, if I''m interpreting what I''ve seen so far correctly, the aberrations gave rise to the primitive humanoids in the quadrants.''


    ''However, Vaughn''s goal in the first ce is to try and recreate humans,'' inwardly muttered the young man.


    ''In terms of how close the two are to an actual human, the primitive humanoid is closer than an aberration.''


    Eventually, the young man decided not to think about it any further, letting out yet another sigh.


    ''Moving the matter regarding the aberrations and the primitive humanoids aside¡­''


    ''Why is he so adamant on trying to recreate humans?'' asked Valyr to himself, recalling that he had asked the same question earlier while he was viewing the memory.


    Of course, with what he had learned from Ryvrthe, the young man had a feeling that the reason why Vaughn was doing it had something to do with the Great Cataclysm.


    In his mind, he imagined that after the human civilization of the past had given the wrong answer to the Arbiters, the Arbiters did not hesitate to remove humanity off the face of Veldanyr.


    "Though that part doesn''t exin how Vaughn is still alive," muttered the young man as he slightly frowned.


    "On top of that, if the Arbiters decided to remove humanity from Veldanyr, then why did they not aim for the Forsaken race living underground?"


    At these thoughts, Valyr could only bitterly smile.


    "Just when I thought I''d obtain some answers, I ended up obtaining more questions instead."


    "I sure hope these next few memories answer some of the other questions I have," said the young man soon after, only for the world around him to turn bright once more.


    ¡­


    Compared to the two memories Valyr had witnessed that showed the birth of the aberrations and the primitive humanoids, the current memory Valyr was on seemed like a summary of what had transpired after Vaughn''s idental discovery.


    Though he was still free to look around the entire ce as he liked, the proceedings that happened during this memory wereprised of multiple snippets.


    Some of them happened within the area with the test tubes and the documents, while some of them happened where the first aberration had been created.


    However, most of these snippets urred where the primitive humanoids had been identally created, with Vaughn experimenting on how little of the being''s body could be cut off for its vitality to be stable.


    With that, he experimented with cutting off the extremities of the beings first, such as the digits on their hands and feet.


    Then, after seeing that the being''s vitality still remained unstable, he proceeded to hack off more parts.


    Whether he had to cut off hands, feet, eyes, ears, innards, or any other part on the being''s body, he would do it just to see if he could get closer to having a being that looked like a real human.


    Sadly, by the end of his mass experimentation, it seemed like the answer to his query had been in front of him all along.


    Watching the current snippet ur before him, Valyr watched Vaughn stare at the being on the metal table with a bitter smile.


    Taking out the knife he had used to carve a hole in its chest, Vaughn turned around as he made his way out of the room.


    "Aria, record this as part of Experiment 1342-B and move this sample to one of the vacant containers."


    "Name the sample Subject NH-024-A."


    "Understood, Master."


    "I need to revise the forms again if I want to get any closer." While the robotic arms in the room proceeded to carry the unconscious being on the metal table to one of therge ss tubes, Valyr heard Vaughn mutter something before he left.


    Curious, the young man went ahead and followed the man, hoping to find out more about the situation.


    Though, before he could even leave the room, the world around him had turned dark yet again.


    Slightly annoyed at how abrupt the memory ended, Valyr let out an exasperated sigh.


    "At the very least, I now understand why most of the primitive humanoids look that way," said the young man to himself.


    "But it still doesn''t answer why there are only four primitive humanoids in the city ruins that only have holes in their chest," he continued, recalling what had happened at the final snippet of the memory.


    From the expressions and the words Vaughn had said at that time, Valyr was certain that the man had discovered that the best way to create a primitive humanoid that resembled a human the closest was to carve a hole in its chest.


    With that, the young man was certain that Vaughn had undoubtedly created hundreds upon hundreds of these beings after that in the hopes of eventually stumbling upon the method to get the being to resemble a human.


    Yet, after a long time had passed, only four of those beings remained within the inheritance.


    ''There''s a chance that it did happen, but I have a feeling that the other primitive humanoids definitely haven''t been killed by those that explored the inheritance before us,'' thought the young man to himself.


    ''Which means that Vaughn must have done something to the other primitive humanoids as part of an experiment.''


    With this hypothesis in mind, Valyr watched as the world around him gradually regained its previous light, returning him to the ce where Vaughn had been experimenting.


    Being put in the ce where therge ss tubes were located, a faint smile crept up Valyr''s face when he noticed that the majority of the beings within the tubes were indeed the primitive humanoids with holes in their chests.


    Psshh¡­


    Hearing the door to the room open, Valyr shifted his attention towards the man that came in, faintly surprised by the fact that Vaughn seemed to have aged by at least a couple of decades.


    Though the man''s facial features looked more or less the same, his head of hair told a different story, reaching a length that went below his waist.


    "This is probably the best result I''ll ever get after spending this much time." Staring at the multiple ss tubes before him, Vaughn took in a deep breath before letting out a long and drawn-out sigh.


    Then, taking out multiple test tubes filled with fluids from who knows where, the man soon spoke to the assistant that had helped him out all this time.


    "Aria, set security level to SSS."


    "Whether I seed or fail¡­"


    "Record this and name it as the final experiment."

 Chapter 693 Four Pillars: To Pave the Path

    Chapter 693 Four Pirs: To Pave the Path


    "Understood, Master."


    Hearing the words that came out of Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr''s expression turned solemn as he had a faint understanding of what was going on.


    ''Did he finally crack the code?''


    With this question lingering in his mind, the young man watched as Vaughn made his way to the table where the first primitive humanoid had been created.


    Then, sending out a fewmands to his assistant, a series of robotic arms came out of the ceiling and picked up one of the many primitive humanoids in one of therge ss tubes.


    Of course, this primitive humanoid had a hole cut out of its chest, being the culmination of Vaughn''s near-incessant experiments on many primitive humanoids.


    Being gently ced on the table by the robotic arms, the chosen primitive humanoid remained unconscious, prompting Vaughn to make his move.


    "Seven test tubes," muttered the man, cing the test tubes he had brought onto a rack on a nearby desk.


    "The first two are to stimte its consciousness and its vitality."


    Murmuring these words to himself, Vaughn took out two test tubes from the rack before dumping the contents of both tubes into the primitive humanoid''s mouth at once.


    Rumble¡­


    Within seconds, the primitive humanoid''s body began to react, causing the ground to faintly rumble as it slowly began to move about.


    At some point, the primitive humanoid opened its eyes, staring at the ceiling above it.


    "Grraaaaaggghhh!!!"


    To no surprise, at the very moment the primitive humanoid realized where it was, it began to let out roars that could swiftly instill fear to those that were weak-hearted.


    However, even after hearing this roar from up close, Vaughn remained unperturbed.


    "Aria, immobilize Subject NH-323-A."


    "Understood, Master."


    Instead, he sent out amand to his assistant, causing the robotic arms from before toe down from the ceiling and restrain the primitive humanoid from moving.


    Of course, due to its innate nature, the primitive humanoid continued to struggle against the restraints put on it, making use of the strength it had.


    Yet, no matter how much it moved, the most it could do was briefly remove one of the restraints on its body.


    Seeing that the primitive humanoid was finally deciding to cooperate with him, Vaughn faintly smiled as he grabbed another test tube from the rack.


    "This is to stabilize its mind."


    Looking at the primitive humanoid for a bit, the man''s smile slightly widened once he noticed the primitive humanoid voluntarily open its mouth.


    Without hesitation, he dumped the contents of the test tube into the humanoid''s mouth, causing its eyes to widen in surprise not long after.


    Rumble¡­


    Hearing a faint rumble resound from the primitive humanoid''s body once more, Vaughn nodded in satisfaction after seeing the being not struggle against the restraints anymore.


    In fact, the primitive humanoid now looked at him with interest and expectation, prompting the man to understood that his experiment seemed to be heading in the right direction.


    With that, Vaughn continued to give test tube after test tube to the primitive humanoid, causing thetter''s state to move closer to what he aimed to achieve.


    Seeing how everything had been moving well so far, a wide grin could be seen on Vaughn''s face, feeling as if the final test tube would undoubtedly cement the sess of the experiment.


    Thinking about the effort he had put into the experiments, as well as the many hardships he had gone through to get to this point, Vaughn began to feel a bit teary-eyed.


    Though, with the final step still remaining, the man discarded all emotions for the meantime and picked up the final test tube, moving it above the primitive humanoid''s mouth.


    "With all of the previous preparations done, the contents of this tube will allow it to transcend its current state and achieve the goal I''ve yearned to achieve for so long."


    At those words, the man let out a faint sigh. "I really hope this experiment is a sess from the get-go."


    And so, he poured the contents of the final tube into the primitive humanoid''s mouth, proceeding to watch everything unfold in silence.


    Rumble¡­


    With the primitive humanoid''s body beginning to rumble once more, Vaughn watched as the hole on the being''s chest began to close up on its own.


    Then, continuing to watch from a distance, the man heard the being let out a guttural roar, only for the roar to start sounding more human-like.


    "Yes¡­ yes¡­" Clenching his fists in excitement, Vaughn kept his eyes peeled as everything seemed to be going as nned.


    From its structure to its behavior, the being on the table was bing more and more human, prompting the man to wonder whether his quest would finally see the end.


    Though, just as it seemed that the being was on the final step of the transformation, something unexpected happened.


    "Grraaaaaaggghhhh!!!"


    Letting out a scream all of a sudden, the being on the table began to il about, forcing the robotic arms to keep it restrained to the table.


    "What''s going on?" Staring at the being with worry, Vaughn''s worst fears had been realized once it heard the being''s scream return to how it was before.


    Not only that, but the hole that disappeared earlier had returned in full force, even expanding quite a bit in terms of size.


    However, just as Vaughn thought that it would stop at the being regressing to what it was before¡­


    Ssh!


    Before either Vaughn or the robotic arms could make a move to salvage the situation, the being''s body began to dpose at a speed visible to the naked eye, swiftly transforming into a puddle of putrid flesh that covered the entire table.


    "¡­" Witnessing what seemed to be imminent sess earlier instantly turn into utter failure real quick, Vaughn remained unmoving for quite some time, his gaze affixed towards the table where the being previouslyid.


    Then, feeling the tears brim around his eyes for a different reason, the man let out a sigh as he stepped back for a bit.


    "Aria, clean up the mess."


    "Understood, Master."


    At those words, the robotic arms that previously restrained the primitive humanoid in ce began to clean up the table, turning the entire area spotless and stainless within minutes.


    In the meantime, Vaughn continued to stare at the table, vividly recalling how most of the process was more or less perfect.


    Only for all of it toe crashing at the veryst moment.


    "Master, would you like me to set the status of this experiment as Failed?" Just as he was wondering whether to give up on the experiment, Vaughn heard his assistant''s voice echo throughout the room.


    In response, the man went silent for a bit, closing his eyes as multiple thoughts began to swirl in his mind.


    Fortunately, once he opened his eyes yet again, a firm determination could now be seen within.


    "Don''t set it to Failed just yet, Aria," said the man, his vigor renewed. "At most, add it to the logs of the final experiment."


    "Understood, Master."


    Obtaining affirmation from his assistant, Vaughn began to make his way to where the test tubes and documents were usually ced, only to stop at the door.


    "Speaking of which¡­ Aria?"


    "Yes, Master?"


    "Add an addendum to the experiment."


    "It seems that I''ll be experimenting for a bit longer than I initially thought."

 Chapter 694 Four Pillars: Partial Success

    Chapter 694 Four Pirs: Partial Sess


    Seeing as Vaughn had not be discouraged by the sudden failure of what he had termed his final experiment, it went without saying that Valyr followed the man wherever he went.


    With that, he watched the man go through all of the documents that had piled up throughout the experiment, staring at a few of them before scribbling some notes on a new piece of paper.


    After that, Vaughn read through the notes he had written before proceeding to test the ideas on those notes, utilizing the myriad number of instruments within the ce to concoct yet another one of those test tubes.


    For quite some time, Valyr watched Vaughn go through all of the things that would''ve been normally been skipped by the memories with rapt attention.


    However, as he noticed that the memory continued running even though the man was doing something mundane, the young man began to have doubts.


    ''Wait¡­ would I be forced to watch through all of these experiments in detail?'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling a hint of dread just from the idea alone.


    In the end, he decided to watch everything without missing a single detail, not caring anymore if he had to sit through a ton of mundane stuff for hours on end.


    Then again, it did not take long for the answer to his previous problem to appear before him, with the memory skipping forward after the second attempt at the final experiment had been finished.


    Though Vaughn had made more progress in transforming the primitive humanoid in something more human-like, the sample eventually disintegrated as well, exploding into chunks of flesh and meat.


    And so, Valyr witnessed all of the attempts Vaughn made in order to transform the primitive humanoid into a human, all of which were still under the final experiment he had mentioned.


    Compared to the previous memories he had gone through so far, Valyr felt that this part of the memory was the longest so far, considering how it recorded a majority of what had transpired in Vaughn''s experiments.


    Nevertheless, that also meant that he learned a lot regarding the characteristics of primitive humanoids due to how they were the main subjects of the experiment.


    Of course, there were times where Vaughn had attempted to use his concoctions on the aberrations, allowing the young man to learn more about them as well.


    But just as how most of the primitive humanoids had ended up after drinking the concoctions, all of the aberrations Vaughn tested on also disintegrated with time, with most of them turning into a puddle of putrid flesh.


    However, if Valyr had to think of one more thing that he learned the most from witnessing this lengthy memory¡­


    It would be Vaughn''s nature.


    From how he methodically went over every single step he did in the transformation process, to writing out even the barest difference in between experiments on paper, Valyr now had an idea as to why Vaughn had be thest leader of humanity.


    If not for his tenacity and his unyielding resolve, then it would be the fact that he did not hesitate to traverse the unknown to achieve his goals.


    In fact, it was at the very moment he had taken on a different approach on transforming the primitive humanoids did progress continue to appear again.


    Then, building on top of what he had discovered, each seeding attempt allowing him to get closer and closer to what seemed to be the sess he was hoping for.


    Watching how frequent Vaughn experimented his concoctions on the primitive humanoids with holes in their hearts, Valyr wryly smiled.


    ''Well, I guess that answers where most of the primitive humanoids of that type went.''


    ¡­


    "Aria, what attempt are we on at the moment?"


    "This would be the 314th attempt on turning the final experiment''s status to Sess, Master."


    "Got it." Reading through the many notes and addenda he had written down to get to his current point, Vaughn briefly stared off into the distance before picking up the test tubes containing the culmination of his attempts so far.


    "Let''s hope this attempt is the one that turns out sessful, Aria."


    Making sure that he had picked up the nine test tubes containing the fluids he had carefully concocted, it was only then did Vaughn head to where the primitive humanoids were stored, taking in a deep breath in the process.


    "May the heavens finally show me mercy this time around." Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh as he looked at the table before him, Vaughnmanded his assistant to bring a sample over.


    In response, a series of robotic arms came down from the ceiling and retrieved one of the few remaining primitive humanoids stored in therge ss tubes.


    Seeing that he could only afford to attempt the experiment a few more times before having to create primitive humanoids again, Vaughn let out a wry chuckle as he gazed at the primitive humanoid before him.


    ''I really hope the heavens are on my side.''


    Calming his slightly tense nerves with a simple breathing exercise, Vaughn started yet another attempt on the primitive humanoid, utilizing the first two test tubes to wake the primitive humanoid up.


    Of course, having gone through hundreds of attempts at this point, it did not take long for the robotic arms to restrain the primitive humanoid before it can move about, allowing the man to continue dumping the contents of the test tubes into the primitive humanoid''s mouth.


    The third test tube¡­


    The fourth test tube¡­


    With each test tube he emptied out, the primitive humanoid''s state gradually turned more and more human, causing a faint trace of excitement to appear on Vaughn''s face.


    However, rather than let his emotions get the better of him, Vaughn instead refocused his attention towards the attempt, knowing that even a single misstep would cause his efforts so far to turn into nothing.


    And so, he proceeded to empty more test tubes.


    The seventh test tube¡­


    The eighth test tube¡­


    By the time only the ninth and final test tube remained, the primitive humanoid on the table had already lost the hole that covered a great portion of its chest.


    On top of that, it stared at Vaughn with an expectant gaze that contained traces of intelligence, making it seem as if the being had already be the being the man wanted it to be in the first ce.


    Though, as far as Vaughn knew, only after emptying out the final test tube would the being be considered a true sess.


    Glug¡­ glug¡­


    Slowly tipping the test tube over the being''s mouth, Vaughn stepped back as he watched the fluid''s properties take effect on the being.


    Rumble¡­


    Hearing the rumble faintly resound from the being''s body once more, the man kept his eyes peeled, not wanting to miss even a single detail of what was going on.


    Then, after seeing that the being''s body was still intact, only then did Vaughn be ecstatic.


    "Finally¡­! It''s a sess!"


    "Grraaaaahhhhh!!!"


    However, just as the man was about to celebrate the fact that his experiment had eventually be sessful, the being on the table began to thrash about.


    "Aaaaagrrraaaggghhh!!!"


    Screaming itself hoarse as the being iled its body on the table with no regard, Vaughn watched the scene unfold with wide eyes, wondering in slight confusion as to what was going on.


    Then again, it did not take long for reality to set in, staring at the scene before him with a look of understanding as he wryly smiled.


    "Well, I''ve done all I could." Vaughn let out a faint sigh, sending out a series ofmands to his assistant soon after.


    "At least it''s a step in the right direction."


    "¡­"


    "Aria, set the final experiment''s status to Partial Sess."


    "¡­"


    "Understood, Master."

 Chapter 695 Four Pillars: Shifting Gears

    Chapter 695 Four Pirs: Shifting Gears


    "¡­" With thest memory ending at what was a bittersweet note, Valyr had a nk expression on his face as the world around him turned dark for onest time.


    A few minutester, this darkness thoroughly disappeared as his consciousness returned to his body within the inheritance.


    However, even though his consciousness had returned to the inheritance, the information he had gained from the memories still continued to linger in his mind.


    Especially the one regarding the being that Vaughn considered to be a partial sess.


    ''Considering how the aberrations could be found in the ins while the primitive humanoids are in the quadrants, I think it wouldn''t be surprising if those beings are in the center of the city ruins.''


    ''After all, with how each being is inching closer and closer to an actual human, it would only make sense for the center to house the ones that seem the most human,'' thought the young man.


    "Then again, with how the memory ends at that point, I still have one more question," murmured the young man as he got out of bed.


    "Was he ever sessful in recreating humans?"


    Doing a few basic stretches after noticing his body had not moved for what felt like hours, Valyr continued to mull over the question, thinking about the multiple tidbits of information he had obtained within the inheritance so far.


    Though, just like many of the other questions he had obtained within the inheritance, it seemed that such a question would remain unsolved.


    Of course, that was only the case if he had no ns to search through the Triad Gates'' secrets.


    "One more question to answer in the future, then."


    With those words, it was only then did Valyr leave the tent after storing the orb into his spatial bracelet, briefly squinting his eyes from the rays of the sun.


    Taking a bit of time to limate to the sudden change in brightness, Valyr then took a look at the sun''s current position. "Damn. It''s only afternoon?"


    "Or¡­ is it next day''s afternoon?" muttered the young man with a hint of doubt, recalling the same thing happening back when they got out of the inheritance.


    Thankfully, a quick peek at the timer on his status screen allowed him to obtain his answer, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief.


    "Thank the heavens it''s only afternoon."


    "But still¡­ I felt like I spent a long time there," said the young man to himself, only for his stomach to begin grumbling.


    Letting out a faint chuckle soon after, Valyr began to whip up lunch for himself, starting a me in the fire pit before proceeding to take out some of the ingredients he had brought along with him.


    While doing so, he brought up the party chat, wondering whether or not the four had sent a message while he was in the middle of going through the memory orb.


    "Huh. Only a couple of messages."


    From what he could infer through the brief messages the four had sent to him, the four had be sessful in passing the third trial, oveing what was basically the first bottleneck of the trials.


    Then again, such sess came at a cost.


    After they sent messages as to how they cleared the third trial, the four soon sent messages as to how they were now going to tackle the fourth trial.


    Though, unlike their earlier message, most of their messages regarding the fourth trial were now made up of broken words meant to get the thought across.


    The only exception to this was Hal, who only became a bit more concise when sending his messages.


    "Well, he isn''t called the Lord of All Trades for nothing," said Valyr as he began to eat his food, letting out a bit ofughter at the thought.


    "I guess that''s also part of the reason why he''s considered the future Monarch of Innovation."


    With such thoughts continuing to linger in his mind, Valyr eventually satiated his hunger, killing the me he made as he took a brief look at the south quadrant.


    "After this, I''m certain the Triad Gates would force us to head to the center," muttered the young man as he let out a faint sigh.


    Recalling his brief trip into the center of the city ruins and how most of the beings there were equal to the quadrant leader in strength, a faint shudder ran over Valyr''s body as he thought about how he would have to constantly fight beings of that level.


    "Then again, such thoughts should be better saved for after I take the trials to enter the Gates of Awakening," said Valyr, opening up his notifications to ess the rewards he had gained from an earlier quest.


    Though, at the very moment he nced at his notifications, he noticed that the first few notifications were quite different from what he thought.


    Ding!


    [You have made progress on a requirement for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Obtain items rted to thest leader of humanity (1/3)]


    [Due to the user having essed the item ''Memory Orb of the Forsaken Ones'', the item''s name has been changed to ''Remnant Records of the Lone Researcher''.]


    "So the fragments I collected from the quadrant leaders actually turned out to be one of the items rted to him, huh." Reading through the notifications he had unexpectedly obtained, Valyr slightly grinned.


    "Then again, with how he''s the focus of all the memories within the orb, it does make sense."


    After saying those words, Valyr took out the item from his spatial bracelet, noticing that the higher-leveled energy contained within the orb had seemingly grown in size.


    Sensing this higher-leveled energy for a bit, the young man eventually shrugged his shoulders and returned the item into his bracelet as he felt that he would not be able to glean anything from it.


    With that, he returned his attention to the notification screen he had brought up, moving past the notifications he had gotten rted to the item.


    "To attempt the trials to the Gates of Awakening or to take a look at the Gates of Enlightenment with my heightened level of authority¡­"


    Looking at the two options avable to him, a flurry of thoughts whirled in the young man''s mind, weighing the pros and cons of choosing one over the other.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the young man to make his choice as a gate to what looked to be a courtyard manifested before him.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained an Entrance Token to the Gates of Enlightenment. Would you like to use it now?]


    "¡­"


    "Yes."

 Chapter 696 Four Pillars: Material Cache

    Chapter 696 Four Pirs: Material Cache


    Whoosh!


    Arriving at the courtyard once more, Valyr took in the sights in front of him for a bit before letting out a wide sigh.


    "To be honest, I would''ve preferred toe here after my authority level reached the limit," muttered the young man as he began to head towards the building in the southwest.


    "However, if I keep on grinding my authority level for too long, the others would surely leave me behind."


    With how he had ess to both the Gates of Enlightenment and the trials that would eventually lead him to the Gates of Awakening, it took quite some time for Valyr toe to a decision.


    Though, in the end, he still chose to enter the Gates of Enlightenment first before taking the Gates of Awakening''s trials even though he knew he''dg behind the four even more.


    As to why that was the case¡­


    It was because he had a strong feeling the Gates of Enlightenment still had something to offer him.


    "Finally here again." Standing in front of the inconspicuous building he hade to before, a faint smile appeared on his face as he began to move towards the energy field that blocked its entrance.


    "The Enlightenment Material Cache."


    Unsurprisingly, at the very moment he was only a fair distance away from the barrier, the monotonous voice from before resounded out once more.


    "Only those with an authority level of 4 and above are permitted to enter the Enlightenment Material Cache."


    "Fortunately for you, my authority level is beyond that already," replied Valyr with a chuckle, allowing the energy field to do its thing.


    Extending his right arm towards the barrier, a faint blue light soon emanated from thetter, enveloping his arm in its entirety.


    Then, after a minute or so of silence, the monotonous voice resounded out once more.


    Thankfully, this time around, the statement it gave him was something Valyr wanted to hear.


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be beyond Level 10."


    "Further verification has been done¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 13."


    "You are permitted to enter the Enlightenment Material Cache."


    Swoosh!


    Watching the energy field blocking the entrance gradually disappear after those words, the smile on Valyr''s face unknowingly began to widen as he made his way into the building.


    ¡­


    "This ce is bigger than I thought."


    After entering the Enlightenment Material Cache, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words after seeing that the insides of the ce was farrger than how it looked on the outside.


    In a way, it reminded him of the Boundless Skill Pavilion he frequented for skill books back then.


    Then again, he felt that the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion had its insides spatially expanded as well, but only to a lesser degree.


    "Either way, that means more materials for me to stash into my spatial bracelets." Grinning at the thought, Valyr proceeded to head deeper into the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    Of course, as a storage for the Gates of Enlightenment''s materials, it went without saying that Valyr had already seen shelves upon shelves of materials he could store in his bracelet just after entering the ce.


    However, unlike the information he had obtained, which told him that the Enlightenment Material Cache mostly contained materials that would be difficult to find in the outside world, he skipped over all of these shelves without hesitation.


    Or at least, he skipped over them for the meantime.


    After all, most of the shelves near the entrance were filled with dry goods and food that took a long time to expire.


    Sure, Valyr knew that they were important since their supplies of such things were limited in the inheritance.


    But whenpared to the allure that rare materials brought, the young man would not hesitate to choose thetter over the former.


    Swoosh!


    Hastening his pace, the young man proceeded to delve deeper and deeper into the shelves of the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    What initially held items that were considered daily necessities soon turned more and more valuable, with basic weapons of all sorts taking over the shelves by the time he seemed to be a quarter of the way through the corridors.


    By the time he felt as if he had gone halfway through the corridors, the shelves were now filled with equipment that would be highly sought by those in the outside world.


    In fact, even Valyr was tempted to grab a couple of them to get an idea as to how they were forged.


    Nevertheless, he discarded the thought and pushed forward.


    Whoosh!


    Aside from a plethora of equipment that would make even imperial ns in the outside world drool from sheer greed, the Enlightenment Material Cache also housed quite a lot of pills and other things rted to alchemy.


    Though, due to him being a cksmith, he glossed over all of these items for the meantime just like the dry goods and imperishable foods.


    Instead, he proceeded to head a bit deeper through the corridors, eventually finding himself standing in front of what seemed to be the deepest parts of the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    "Jackpot." Staring at the items disyed on the shelves before him, Valyr let out a bit ofughter filled with glee.


    After all, most, if not all of the shelves in front of him currently held forging materials that even he would have difficulty locating in the outside world.


    "Crystallized Arcane Essence¡­ Ster Lahar¡­ Metravudia Jewel Fragments¡­"


    "They even have a couple of Elder Wyvern Scales lying around¡­"


    Looking through the items as he tried his best to recognize as many of them, Valyr scratched the back of his head from the sheer awe he felt from seeing these items from up close.


    After all, if any one of these items were to be auctioned off, a kingdom wouldn''t be enough to hold the number of people that wanted to get their hands on that item.


    If anything, at least three empires would have to work together in order to set up such an auction.


    And that was just for that one item alone!


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself from the excitement he felt towards the items, Valyr began to walk around the ce for a bit more, eventually finding what seemed to be an unused spatial bracelet.


    Considering that this spatial bracelet was located at the end of the corridor, the young man began to get excited as he started the process of binding the bracelet to himself.


    Though, just as he was about to sessfully bind the new spatial bracelet to himself, Valyr noticed something peculiar behind the shelf where he found the spatial bracelet.


    "Hmm?"


    "A door?"

 Chapter 697 Four Pillars: Entering the Depths

    Chapter 697 Four Pirs: Entering the Depths


    Wondering whether he was certain that he had seen a door behind one of the shelves, Valyr moved the spatial bracelet he had picked up to the side before slowly pushing the shelf blocking the peculiarity away.


    Rumble¡­


    "It''s a bit heavy¡­" Looking at the items that were being disyed on the shelf he was pushing, Valyr felt a bit of confusion at the fact that it took a bit more effort to push the shelf that he initially expected.


    Nevertheless, with a bit more elbow grease, he was able to slowly move the shelf out of the way to the point that he was able to confirm his suspicions.


    "That''s a door, alright."


    Compared to the shelves and the exterior of the Enlightenment Material Cache, the door that appeared before Valyr appeared to be out of ce.


    For one, the door seemed to be made out of stone, judging from the color and texture of the material.


    Aside from that, an exquisitely carved relief could be found on its center, which was being blocked by the shelf earlier.


    Looking at the relief on its surface for a bit, Valyr went silent, wondering whether what he was looking at was truly a door or something else entirely.


    At some point, the young man murmured to himself. "A unfinished sculpture?"


    "But why would they hide it behind one of the shelves?"


    "Ah, whatever." Letting out a faint sigh as he decided to push the matter aside for now, Valyr returned his attention to the spatial bracelet he had picked up, binding it to himself with the help of his mana.


    Before taking a look at the space within the spatial bracelet, Valyr thought that even though he had picked it up in the deepest part of the Enlightenment Material Cache, a lot of time had still passed since then.


    With that, he did not hold high hopes that the space within the spatial bracelet would be thatrge.


    If the space within the bracelet was at least half or at least two-thirds asrge as the bracelet he had bought from the Boundless Skill Pavilion, he would already be satisfied.


    Yet, reality proved him otherwise.


    "Holy shit¡­"


    At the very moment he infused his mana to look at the space within his new spatial bracelet, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words at the sheer size that appeared before him.


    After all, the space was not justrger than the one in the spatial bracelet he bought from the skill pavilion¡­


    From what he could tell, the spatial bracelet contained a space at least 25 timesrger than his previous one.


    Coming to this realization, it took a while for the young man toe to terms with this fact, taking in a few deep breaths to regain hisposure.


    Then, even though the vacant space in the deepest part of the Enlightenment Material Cache wasn''t thatrge¡­


    The young man did not hesitate to transfer the items stored within his two spatial bracelets into his new spatial bracelet.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Leveraging his high stats, as well as his adept control over mana, Valyr emptied out both of his earlier spatial bracelets in about twenty minutes or so.


    With that, he now had more than enough space in terms of spatial bracelets to store all of the rare items within the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    Including the tons of space remaining within his newly obtained spatial bracelet.


    Though, since there wasn''t anyone else in the Gates of Enlightenment aside from him to take the items he sought to obtain, Valyr decided to return his attention back to the stone block.


    "Is this really a door?" Pushing the shelf blocking the stone block away a bit more, Valyr then proceeded to move closer to thetter, tapping on its surface a few times.


    "I''m seriously beginning to think that this is some intricate structure of some sort."


    Whoosh!


    Just as those words came out of the young man''s mouth, an energy field began to emanate from the stone block, causing Valyr to quickly step back.


    Looking at this energy field, Valyr''s eyes swiftly widened in surprise, swiftly understanding what was about to happen.


    "Only those who have an authority level of at least 10, or those who have officially been inducted as members of the Gates of Awakening are permitted to enter the area behind this door."


    Hearing the monotonous voice that used to bar him from entering the Enlightenment Material Cache echo out from the stone block, Valyr began to smile after hearing the words spoken by the voice.


    "Huh. Who knew that one of the requirements to be eligible to enter the Gates of Awakening woulde in handy at a time like this?"


    Letting out a faint chuckle at the thought, Valyr extended his arm towards the energy field without hesitation, allowing the faint blue light it emanated to do its thing.


    "Verifying¡­ member has not been inducted into the Gates of Awakening."


    "Checking other conditions¡­"


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be beyond Level 10."


    "Further verification has been done¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 13."


    "You are permitted to enter the depths of the Enlightenment Material Cache."


    Rumble¡­


    At the very moment the monotonous voice was finished talking, the stone block began to shake madly, prompting Valyr to wonder whether it would fall on him or not.


    Then again, it did not take long for the answer to reveal itself as the stone block began to recede into the floor, revealing a passageway that the young man did not expect to see.


    Seeing how the end of this passageway seemed quite dark, Valyr took in a deep breath as he conjured a small me before heading in.


    After walking through what looked to be a mundane corridor for what felt like an hour, the young man eventually arrived in front of a small space, the item at the center of the space swiftly attracting his attention.


    After all, from how he had to go through multiple hoops just to get to this ce, it went without saying that the item must be something far more valuable than even the items in the deepest parts of the material cachebined.


    And so, he used his identification skill.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!

 Chapter 698 Four Pillars: The Shard

    Chapter 698 Four Pirs: The Shard


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shard of Defiance] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    The seed of chaos.


    The sign of rebellion.


    The wishes of a being aiming for greater change, crystallized for eternity.


    Needs the user to haveprehended a full Force. Needs the user to have reached the peak of Rank 5.


    Using this item increases the user''s Authority stat by 1 point.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though the description of the overall item was very short, Valyr still spent a long time staring at the screen that popped up before him, trying to understand what the description meant.


    Nevertheless, even after spending a few minutes trying to infer the underlying meaning behind each word, the young man was forced to give up on his attempts.


    Instead, he shifted his attention towards the final sentence of the item''s description.


    "Increases the user''s Authority stat by 1 point¡­" With his attention focused on this sentence, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember if the stat was known by yers before.


    However, no matter how much rummaging he did through his treasure trove of memories, there was no such mention of the Authority stat at all.


    With that, the young man shrugged his shoulders, letting out a bit ofughter as he looked at the item with a faint smile.


    "Well then."


    "I guess I''vee across an opportunity to obtain quite the unique hidden stat."


    Though hidden stats would be a staple of a yer''s status screen by the time they broke past Rank 5 and entered the ranks of Myths, that only applied to the mostmon hidden stats, such as Mana Purity or Vigor.


    In fact, ording to thepany that created Greater Beyond, they told the yers that there was an infinite number of hidden stats avable for the yers to obtain through the game''s universe.


    Of course, that ignited the yers'' motivation to scour the ends of the universe in search for the strongest and rarest hidden stat one could find.


    As far as Valyr could remember, there were some hidden stats that truly turned the logic of the game on people''s heads, such as the hidden stat Rebirth.


    From what he could recall, the Rebirth stat gave the yer a considerable boost to their stats whenever they got close to death.


    However, rather than it being a temporary boost that disappears once the yer returned to full health, a small portion of the boost would continue to linger on, bing greater in effect the more often the yer was close to death.


    At some point, that yer had even pushed their Rebirth stat beyond a certain threshold, allowing them to keep on fighting for a few more minutes even after they were effectively dead.


    Then again, aside from strong hidden stats like Rebirth, there were also incredibly rare hidden stats did not really do much for the yer.


    One great example of that was the nk stat.


    Once the nk stat had been picked up by one yer, all of the yers in the forum surmised that the nk stat could be considered as one of the strongest hidden stats in the existence of Greater Beyond.


    After all, from the name of the stat alone, it suggested that there were infinite possibilities as to where the stat would head.


    Unfortunately, reality was often cruel, with the nk stat instead offering nothing substantial to the user whatsoever.


    Even increasing the nk stat did not change anything about it, prompting the yer that obtained it to wonder why such a stat existed in the first ce.


    "Well, with how imposing the name of the stat is, I''m sure Authority would definitely be a great hidden stat to have," said the young man, returning his attention to the item before him.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that the item hovered off the ground, Valyr would have thought that it was just some random shard of ss, being reminded of the key fragments and the memory fragments he used to collect.


    Though, unlike those fragments, the ss-like shard in front of him seemed to contain a rift that felt like it would lead him to another world.


    In a way, it felt as if the shard housed a path towards another part of the universe.


    Shaking his head as he felt like staring at the shard for too long would do him more harm than good, Valyr shifted his attention to the screen he had brought up, taking note of the requirements needed to use the item.


    "A full Force and the peak of Rank 5," murmured the young man.


    "In short, you need to be a Legend to make use of the item."


    Simr to how the formation of Intents started from Intent Seeds, to transform one''s Intent into a Force, one would have to go through an intermediary step first before doing so.


    In this case, the intermediary step would be to ascend the full Intent into a Sapling of Force.


    Then, with enough nurturing, the Sapling of Force would bloom, allowing one''s full Force toe into fruition.


    "Yeah, the first requirement would take longer than the second," said Valyr as he wryly smiled, thinking about how he wouldn''t be able to make use of the shard anytime soon.


    "After all, reaching the peak of Rank 5 without caring for anything else is incredibly simple."


    "You''d just need a ton of XP to do so."


    Closing the screen he had brought up, the young man then moved closer towards the shard. "Can I move this thing?"


    With that, he began to poke the shard a couple of times, curious as to what would happen.


    Surprisingly, the shard did not react that much, with the space inside the shard only shifting a bit as it was moved from its original position.


    "Hmm¡­" Slightly frowning after seeing that poking the shard around wouldn''t work, Valyr proceeded to grab onto the shard with his hand.


    Swoosh!


    Yet, at the very moment he did so, the shard phased through his hand entirely, causing an unpleasant sensation to briefly cover Valyr''s hand.


    "Do I really need to meet those requirements first before I could take this with me?"


    Letting out a faint sigh, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he continued to ponder over other ways to possibly obtain the item.


    Then again, it did not take long for such an idea to appear as he began to envelop the shard with his own mana, being reminded of items that he had obtained through simr methods in the past.


    However¡­


    "Huh. I guess it doesn''t work."


    Even though he had smothered the shard with his mana for a few minutes already, the shard did not show any reaction whatsoever.


    Slightly disappointed by the oue, Valyr began to retract his mana from the shard.


    Only for something unexpected to happen next.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 699 Four Pillars: Grand Haul

    Chapter 699 Four Pirs: Grand Haul


    "Ugh¡­"


    "What the hell happened¡­?"


    Supporting his head with one hand, Valyr slowly came to his senses as he sat up straight, feeling a massive headache as he did so.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to hopefully subside the pain he felt, the young man then looked around his surroundings, soon recalling everything that had transpired.


    "Ah, right."


    "I obtained the Shard of Defiance."


    As he said those words, a wry smile appeared on his face.


    After all, rather than the shard being stored in one of his spatial bracelets, the Shard of Defiance was instead stored¡­


    Inside him.


    Continuing to let his mind recover from what had just happened, Valyr briefly recalled what happened after he retracted his mana from the Shard of Defiance.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "Huh?" Noticing that the shard hade along with the mana he had retracted, Valyr''s expression swiftly turned into smiles as he thought that he had sessfully bagged the item.


    Though, just as he was manipting the mana in a way that redirected the Shard of Defiance towards one of his spatial bracelets¡­


    The Shard of Defiance decided to head towards another path.


    Swoosh!


    "Aaaagghh!!!"


    With Valyr caught unaware, the shard swiftly headed straight for Valyr''s forehead, utilizing its sharp edges to try and embed itself into his body.


    Of course, at the very instant that urred, great waves of pain started to radiate from his forehead as he clutched his head from the pain.


    Yet, no matter how hard he clutched onto his head, the pain brought about by the shard embedding itself never ended.


    At that point, Valyr even began to wonder whether obtaining the Shard of Defiance was a blessing or a curse.


    Though, with how the shard gave him ess to what looked like a strong hidden stat, Valyr continued to persist.


    Gritting his teeth tighter and tighter the deeper the shard embedded itself, Valyr eventually couldn''t take it anymore, cking out by the time the shard was only halfway through.


    ¡­


    "I guess it''s on my forehead right now?"


    Faintly shuddering at the thought of what happened, Valyr touched his forehead for a bit, only to pick up the blood that dripped from his forehead earlier.


    Of course, with how much time had passed, the blood had more or less dried up into something powder-like.


    Rubbing off the dried blood from his forehead, the young man continued to touch his forehead some more, only for his expression to turn into that of confusion.


    "Where''d it go?"


    Frowning as he thought that the Shard of Defiance had disappeared, Valyr went silent for a bit as he wracked his brain toe up with all sorts of ideas.


    Eventually, thanks to a sudden burst of inspiration, he decided to take a look at himself internally, focusing his attention towards his mind.


    "What the¡­"


    Staring at what more or less made up his mind, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief after seeing that his mind was more or less unscathed.


    However, orbiting around what made up his mind seemed to be a shard-like object that contained a gateway to another space.


    "The Shard of Defiance¡­" Realizing that the object orbiting his mind was the item that he had obtained earlier, the young man was left at aplete loss for words as to how the situation had gotten to this point.


    In the end, he decided not to think further regarding the matter, considering how it would be absurd for him to tell others that there was an item orbiting around his mind.


    "Well, at the very least, I got it rather than have it stay here."


    Letting out a low sigh as he bitterly smiled, Valyr stood up and rubbed the remaining remnants of blood on his forehead before cleaning his face with a swift water spell.


    Then, after checking the other parts of the small area he was in to see if it was hiding anything else, Valyr began to head back through where he came from.


    Conjuring yet another small me as he made his way back, the young man felt as if he had taken less time to return from the areapared to when he headed towards the area by the time he arrived at the entrance.


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders at the peculiar feeling, Valyr stared at the entrance for a bit before shifting his attention towards the shelves that made up the deepest part of the Enlightenment Material Cache.


    With a greed-filled grin adorning his face, Valyr began to store all of the precious materials he could see within his spatial bracelet, thankful for the fact that the spatial bracelet he had picked up had a lot of space.


    In fact, while he was in the midst of storing everything he considered valuable into his spatial bracelet, a thought popped up into the young man''s mind.


    ''If the Gates of Enlightenment''s material cache already contains items like Crystallized Arcane Essence and Elder Wyvern Scales, then doesn''t that mean the Gates of Awakening would have a far more valuable material cache?''


    Continuing his train of thought, the young man began to chuckle.


    ''What about the Gates of Transcendence? What would their material cache look like? With how the Gates of Enlightenment has Elder Wyvern Scales, would their material cache have ess to all of the parts making up a True Dragon?''


    ''Perhaps I could even get my hands on some parts of an Elder Dragon?''


    Grinning at the frivolous thoughts he hade up, Valyr proceeded to store everything he could see on the shelves into his spatial bracelet.


    Though, with him being a cksmith, he skipped over all of the equipment on disy, as well as most of the alchemical stuff that he could see on the shelves.


    After all, what he could forge in his current state was far better than any of the equipment disyed here.


    Eventually, after storing a bunch of dry goods and imperishable foods near the entrance of the material cache, Valyr looked at the shelves in satisfaction.


    With how thorough the young man was in storing items, it went without saying that the shelves of the Enlightenment Material Cache now looked quite barren, with the only exception to that being the area containing all of the forged equipment.


    Satisfied with how much he had retrieved from the Enlightenment Material Cache, Valyr soon left the building with a smile on his face, heading back to the courtyard in search of more things to obtain.

 Chapter 700 Four Pillars: Exploring the Mundane

    Chapter 700 Four Pirs: Exploring the Mundane


    "Hmm¡­ where should I head to next?"


    Leaving the Enlightenment Material Cache, Valyr began to roam the courtyard making up the Gates of Enlightenment as he began to rummage through some thoughts in his mind.


    Of course, those thoughts were none other than the information he had obtained from the system regarding the important buildings within the Gates of Enlightenment, wanting to find out if there were any other things the ce could offer.


    "I''ve already gone to the knowledge repository that''s specific to my ss," said Valyr to himself as he continued to stroll throughout the ce.


    "I''ve also gone to the ce where I could grab skills, as well as the ce where I could obtain rare materials."


    "Of course, thest one gave me more than what I bargained for." Valyr let out a slight chuckle at the thought.


    Continuing to think about the matter, the young man began to frown. "Well, there isn''t really any point in going to the three other knowledge repositories since I don''t have sses necessary to use them¡­"


    "And from the looks of what the information gave me, there''s only like a couple more important buildings within the courtyard."


    "Hmm¡­" Stopping in his tracks, Valyr closed his eyes as he pondered over his ns.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him toe to a decision.


    "Yeah, I''ll go with that."


    Nodding in agreement with the n he had finalized in his mind, the young man began to head not towards the few remaining important buildings in the courtyard¡­


    But instead towards the other mundane buildings that made up the courtyard in the first ce.


    As for the train of thought that brought him to such a conclusion¡­


    ''Since the information I have more or less tells me what those buildings have to offer, why not check out the other buildings in the courtyard to see if they have something that might be useful to me?''


    And so, he proceeded with his ns.


    ¡­


    "Well then¡­"


    "That was more eventful than I thought."


    Resting at the center of the courtyard, Valyr leaned on the edge of a nearby wall with a smile on his face as he looked at the items that he had retrieved after he had executed his n.


    To be honest, the young man expected that he would only find mundane items in most of the buildings, considering how their information wasn''t included on what he had gotten from the system.


    Fortunately, reality told him otherwise, with the decorations and items stored within such buildings telling him another part of what used to make up the Gates of Enlightenment.


    From items made out of precious metals to banners that seemed to have been created by master painters and calligraphers, almost all of the buildings were filled to the brim with such items.


    Of course, at that point, Valyr more or less understood that the mundane buildings he was going through were actually the buildings of the higher-ups of the Gates of Enlightenment.


    After all, he was certain that those in the lower rungs of the Gates of Enlightenment would not have easy ess to most of the items in those buildings.


    "Anyways, let''s take a look-see at what we have¡­"


    In total, Valyr hade across three items throughout his exploration of the buildings that aroused his interest.


    Two of them were essories he could equip, while the other one was a pill with a unique effect.


    "I''m surprised a pill like this would exist in the starters." Taking out the small golden pill he had retrieved from his spatial bracelet, Valyr activated his identification skill on it to be reminded of its effects once more.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pill of Fortuitous Encounters] (Item)


    Rarity: Legendary


    Once a dream of an alchemist in the past, the alchemist had been sessful in concocting this pill near the very end of its lifespan.


    Culminating the experiences of all the fortuitous encounters they''ve gone through, the alchemist condensed the intangible luck contained within those experiences into a pill, allowing those who ingest this pill to obtain part of the luck they used to have.


    To that alchemist, only those who have gone through enough fortuitous encounters would find themselves at the top.


    Ingesting this pill increases the user''s LUK stat by 20 points.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "You can definitely say that again." Faintly smiling at a passage he had read from the item''s description, Valyr closed the screen he had brought up before consuming the pill in one gulp.


    Ding!


    [Due to the effects of the Pill of Fortuitous Encounters, your LUK stat has increased by 20 points.]


    Briefly checking his status screen to see if the pill had truly taken effect, Valyr then moved his attention towards the two essories he had obtained, retrieving them from his spatial bracelet.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Polished Ring of Vitality] (Level 50)


    Rarity: Epic


    "To the one I dedicate this ring to, I wish to the heavens that you may live a long life. May the wisdom and sagacity you''ve umted over the years help out the new generation in front of you."


    - Note from the 3rd High Official to the 2nd Premier Guardian of the Gates of Enlightenment


    This ring increases the user''s VIT stat by 10 points, as well as increases the user''s HP stat by 5%. This ring also increases the user''s Vigor stat by 2 points.


    Remarks: Quite the useful ring.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Polished Ring of Energy] (Level 50)


    Rarity: Epic


    "To the one I dedicate this ring to, I wish that your mastery over energy inspires many more generations toe. May your intelligence and benevolence inspire the new generation that appears before you."


    - Note from the 3rd High Official to the 1st Premier Guardian of the Gates of Enlightenment


    This ring increases the user''s INT stat by 10 points, as well as increases the user''s MP stat by 5%. This ring also increases the user''s Mana Purity stat by 2 points.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I guess the 3rd High Official guy was never able to give these two rings to the two Premier Guardians," murmured Valyr as he faintly chuckled at the items'' description.


    Then, without any dy, he equipped both rings on his hands, instantly feeling a substantial improvement to both his health and mana.


    Giving himself some time to limate to the increase in his stats, Valyr slowly got up before heading towards a specific portion of the courtyard.


    "I suppose I shouldn''t dy heading towards the remaining important buildings any longer," said the young man to himself.


    "It''s about time for me to head to the Chambers of Enlightenment."

 Chapter 701 Four Pillars: Chambers of Enlightenment

    Chapter 701 Four Pirs: Chambers of Enlightenment


    "For a ce named the Chambers of Enlightenment, it definitely doesn''t look the part."


    Standing in front of what looked to be a dpidated church from the outside, Valyr looked at the building for a bit before turning his attention towards the surroundings.


    "Then again, for a ce named the Chambers of Enlightenment, it''s definitely located in a ce that makes it look the part."


    Unlike many of the previous buildings he had gone through earlier, the building known as the Chambers of Enlightenment was actually located a considerable distance away from the Gates of Enlightenment.


    In fact, the Chambers of Enlightenment was situated outside the courtyard, needing Valyr to head through one of the paths leading down the mountain for a bit before arriving there.


    Aside from that, the Chambers of Enlightenment, as well as the area surrounding the building looked quite austere, a stark contrast to the extravagance shown by the buildings in the courtyard.


    ''I wonder how many people in the past must''ve mistaken this ce for an abandoned church?'' Faintly smiling at the thought he had, Valyr began to move towards the building''s entrance.


    Though, just like many of the important buildings he had entered in the past, an energy field swiftly appeared before the entrance, blocking him from going in any further.


    Seeing the energy field pop up to bar him from entering once again, Valyr let out a faint chuckle.


    ''Eh. This will be thest time I''ll have to go through something like this anyway.''


    Though there were a couple more buildings within the Gates of Enlightenment that was deemed important by the information he had obtained, after finding out what those other buildings contained, Valyr decided not to head to those areas.


    After all, from what he could infer, those remaining buildings were tailored towards the three other sses aside from cksmiths.


    Of course, Valyr also knew that there was an area specifically made for cksmiths within the Gates of Enlightenment.


    However, unlike the other areas, which seemed to contain items that would aid them on their journey to a higher level of mastery in their ss¡­


    The area made for cksmiths only appeared to be a slightly better forge than the ones he borrowed from the cksmith Guild.


    ''If I could haul away therge equipment within that forge and take it with me back to the outside world, then that would be great,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Then, he let out a sigh. ''It''s a shame that they''re affixed to the building itself.''


    Shrugging his shoulders at what he considered to be a momentary disappointment, Valyr moved closer towards the Chambers of Enlightenment''s entrance, prompting a monotonous voice to soon echo out from the energy field.


    "Only those with an authority level of 5 and above are permitted to enter the Enlightenment Material Cache."


    "An authority level of 5, huh." Valyr briefly widened his eyes in surprise. "I guess it''s more important than I initially thought."


    From the information he had obtained from the system regarding the Chambers of Enlightenment, it told him that the Chambers of Enlightenment was a ce where members would go to resolve confusion in their minds.


    Of course, reading that at first made the young man wonder why the ce was considered to be important, thinking that it was a therapy room of some sort.


    Though, as he continued to read through the information he obtained, it was only then was his interest piqued.


    ording to the information he had gotten, all of those who had entered the Chambers of Enlightenment came into the building with a problem that confused them.


    However, after they left the ce, such things that confused earlier were now as simple as breathing to them.


    Not only that, but those who left the ce came out stronger than they were when they came in.


    It was all thanks to that sentence that Valyr made up his mind to head to the Chambers of Enlightenment, extending one of his arms towards the energy field at the moment to gain ess.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he extended his arm, the familiar faint blue light from the energy field swiftly covered it in its entirety as it did its job within seconds.


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be beyond Level 10."


    "Further verification has been done¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 13."


    "You are permitted to enter the Chambers of Enlightenment."


    Swoosh!


    Hearing that he had been verified to enter the building, Valyr faintly nodded in response as he began to head in.


    Though, unlike the previous buildings he had gone to such as the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion and the Enlightenment Material Cache, the insides of the Chambers of Enlightenment were simr to what it looked outside.


    "It seriously looks like an abandoned church at first nce," muttered the young man, taking note of the scattered seats, as well as the stone altar at the very front of the ce.


    Deciding to explore the ce even further for clues as to how the Chambers of Enlightenment made people that entered it stronger when they came out, Valyr quickly stopped in his tracks once a familiar monotonous voice began to resound throughout the building.


    "Scanning member¡­"


    Just as Valyr was about to wonder what was going on, a familiar faint blue light enveloped his entire body, only to disappear after a few seconds had passed.


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be beyond Level 10."


    "Further verification has been done¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 13."


    "Due to your authority level, the Chambers of Enlightenment shall give you the maximum number of opportunities to expound on your confusions, which is three."


    "Wait¡­ expound on my confusions?" Listening to the voice''s words, Valyr quickly became confused. "What do you mean by that?"


    Fortunately, the voice responded.


    "The Chambers of Enlightenment shall aid you in clearing up what confuses you, may it be mundane things such as what food you should today, to moreplex things such as skills, techniques, and Intents."


    At the very moment Valyr heard the voice mention the word ''Intent'', it was as if all of the thoughts in his mind began to click into ce.


    With that, he began to ask the voice more questions about it.


    "Would it be possible to use my opportunities on only Intents?"


    "Yes, that would be possible. Even the formation of an Intent Seed from nothing can be expounded upon."


    "Would it be possible to use all my opportunities on one Intent?"


    "Unfortunately, no. The Chambers of Enlightenment can only expound on an Intent once. However, if the member has more Intents they want to expound on, they are free to use their other opportunities."


    "How much of an improvement would one opportunity bring to my Intent?"


    "That wholly depends on the member''s level ofprehension. Though, on average, one opportunity of expounding on one''s Intent would allow theirprehension to go up by one stage."


    "Is that so?" At this point, Valyr grinned. "In that case¡­"


    "I would like to use my first opportunity to expound on the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy."

 Chapter 702 Four Pillars: Deeper Connections

    Chapter 702 Four Pirs: Deeper Connections


    Darkness.


    Once again, Valyr was in darkness.


    If he thought about the number of times he had been plunged into a world of pure darkness, Valyr felt like it would surpass the number of fingers he had on both hands.


    Nevertheless, just like every other time he had been plunged into pure darkness, the sight before him soon took on a bit of color.


    Whoosh!


    Being an opportunity to expound upon his understanding of Shadow Energy, Valyr soon noticed that the void in front of him was soon being filled with the dense Shadow Energy he hade to know in the past.


    From the dark star that gave birth to the Shadow Energy heprehended, to the mana that infiltrated the world and fused with the Shadow Energy that already existed, all of his priorprehension of Shadow Energy shed before his very eyes.


    Within a couple of minutes, a slightly more colorful world appeared before the young man, the darkness of the Shadow Energy and the faint blue tint of the mana mingling with one another.


    For quite some time, these two colors dominated the world in front of Valyr, appearing as a smattering of ck and blue that covered the entire ce.


    However, at some point, something unexpected had urred near the center of void.


    Fwoosh!


    Making sure to not miss even a single bit of detail, Valyr witnessed how the Shadow Energy and mana at the center seemed to have fused into an even deeper level.


    What was previously ck and blue intertwined together had now transformed into a dark blue color, faintly emanating the feeling of boundlessness of mana, as well as the destruction brought about by Shadow Energy.


    Of course, with it acting as an impetus, the Shadow Energy and mana in its surrounding area began to transform as well.


    Within seconds, a great portion of the Shadow Energy and mana in the area transformed into the dark blue energy that dominated the center of the void.


    Then, by the time a few minutes had passed, the entirety of the void was filled with the dark blue energy.


    At this point, Valyr began to notice the slight nuances that differentiated the dark blue energy from the Shadow Energy and mana he knew of.


    After all, unlike the dark blue energy before him, the fusion of Shadow Energy and mana he hade across in the past appeared more like braiding the two energies at best.


    In other words, the two energies could still be differentiated in that form, while the dark blue energy allowed the two energies to act as one.


    Though, just as Valyr wondered whether this was where his opportunity to expound on Shadow Energy would end, the static scene before him began to change once more.


    Whoosh!


    Simr to what had happened to the Shadow Energy in the past when he first began toprehend the intricacies of Shadow Energy, the dark blue energy dominating the void began to coalesce towards the center.


    With that, it did not take long for the outer regions to be sparse with dark blue energy, while the center was filled to the brim with the stuff.


    Watching this happen before him, Valyr wondered whether the dark blue energy would take on a simr path to the Shadow Energy in the past, condensing into a star that generated its own energy.


    In reality, the dark blue energy did take on a somewhat simr path at first, condensing enough of itself to a certain point that allowed it to be a star.


    However, rather than generate its own energy like the star of Shadow Energy in the past, the dark blue energy instead began to flicker between the two colors that allowed itself to appear in the first ce.


    "¡­" Witnessing the star sh between the colors in silence, Valyr began to feel like he was on the precipice of understanding something new about Shadow Energy, yet was stillcking that small something to fully understand it.


    Fortunately, the opportunity had appeared before him not long as the star began to generate energy.


    However, unlike the dark star of the past, this star instead generated two types of energies he had known very well by this point.


    Shadow Energy and mana.


    "This¡­" At this point, Valyr''s eyes widened in understanding as he began to take everything before him in great detail.


    While doing so, the gears in his mind began to turn at great speeds, the thoughts in his mind regarding Shadow Energy swiftly forming connections with every passing second.


    ''If my understanding of everything is correct¡­ both Shadow Energy and mana originate from a higher form of energy.''


    ''In other words, it could be said that Shadow Energy and mana are two sides of the same coin¡­''


    As he came to this conclusion, the thoughts in his mind began to merge at an even faster pace, the gears in his mind continuing to turn madly as he began toe up with more ideas.


    Eventually, at the moment he closed his eyes, Valyr felt as if all of the thoughts he had finally fell into ce.


    Whoosh!


    In response to the change that went through his mind, an otherworldly yet familiar feeling began to envelop the young man''s body, causing a faint smirk to appear on the young man''s face.


    After all, this feeling was a sign that his connection with the world had be stronger.


    Ding!


    In response to that sound echoing in his mind, Valyr opened his eyes, only to find out that he had returned to the insides of the Chambers of Enlightenment.


    Looking around for a bit as heposed himself, the young man soon brought up his notification screen, only to briefly beam a smile as he read through the notification he had received.


    [Your understanding of Shadow Energy has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Shadow Energy has ascended to the Second Stage.]


    "Only two stages remain before I have control over a full Intent," said the young man, satisfied with the results of the opportunity he had been given.


    But of course, there were still more waiting for him.


    "You have used up your first opportunity to expound upon the intricacies of the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy. You have two opportunities remaining," said a monotonous voice within the building.


    "Where would you like to use your two remaining opportunities?"


    "I would like to use one of my opportunities¡­" Though he found it a shame that he couldn''t use his three opportunities on the same Intent Seed, Valyr decided to make the most of what he had been given.


    "On the Intent Seed of Forging."

 Chapter 703 Four Pillars: A New Outlook

    Chapter 703 Four Pirs: A New Outlook


    Darkness.


    Expecting himself to be possibly thrown into a world of mes due to how it had something to do with the Intent Seed he had chosen to expound on, Valyr felt somewhat confused to see himself be thrown into a world of darkness yet again.


    Then again, it did not take long for the darkness to disappear as it was swiftly reced with andscape that he had just be familiar with.


    "The Gates of Enlightenment¡­" he muttered.


    From what looked to be from a bird''s eye view, Valyr witnessed the Gates of Enlightenment before him in its heyday, watching people of all types move through the various buildings littered within the courtyard.


    Looking at thevish clothes most of the people wore within the courtyard, the young man began to wonder when the Triad Gates had been created.


    From the information he had gotten from Ryvrthe, there was a high chance for the Triad Gates to be an organization that appeared before or during the Great Cataclysm.


    After all, the goal of the organization was to let humanity continue to prosper, which held meaning when one thought about the events that transpired during the Great Cataclysm.


    However, with him getting a firsthand look at the people that roamed about the courtyard he explored earlier for loot, Valyr had a feeling that the Triad Gates was possibly made closer to the Age of Uprising or the Age of Innovation.


    Of course, the young man did note to this conclusion without any basis.


    From what he had inferred through the inheritance so far, as well as the information he had gotten from Ryvrthe and the memory orb, the human civilization of the past was technologically advanced in multiple ways.


    On the other hand, the architecture that existed within the Triad Gates alone told nothing of the technological advancements the human civilization of the past used to have.


    Instead, it was more in-line with the structures that existed within the outside world, the buildings within the courtyard having a crude feel to them whenpared to the buildings the humans of the past had built.


    ''Then again, it''s not like I''d get an answer to that question that easily.''


    In the end, Valyr decided to shelf the question for the meantime since the purpose of the opportunity before him was to expound his understanding over the Intent Seed of Forging.


    Coincidentally, just as he had finished delving through his earlier thoughts, the sight before him swiftly shifted towards a certain part of the courtyard that Valyr used to have ns of going to.


    ''The Enlightened Forge.''


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Seeing as he had been given the ability to move about in this opportunity, Valyr began to head inside the forge he eventually decided not to head to earlier, soon finding himself in front of the heart of the forge.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    As metal continued to collide with metal, the young man stared at the back of the figure hammering away at the anvil for a bit, noticing that the figure''s movements were quite refined.


    Moving closer towards the figure to get a better idea of what they were doing, Valyr was instantly left at a loss for words when he found that the one working on the anvil was in fact an old man.


    "¡­" Though the man''s hair had thinned and grayed out due to time, the old man continued to move his arms at a consistent pace, swinging his hammer as if he were in his prime.


    Then again, if one were to ignore the man''s face and focus on the man''s body, one would undoubtedly think that the man was in his prime.


    Or perhaps, one would think that the man was middle-aged, yet worked out often to keep their body in check.


    Yet, against all odds, the man working on the forge was a man that looked in histe seventies, perhaps early eighties.


    ''There''s no doubt in my mind that this man is definitely beyond a hundred years old by now,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''I wouldn''t even be surprised if he''s already surpassed two hundred years.''


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Oblivious to the thoughts that went on in the young man''s mind, the old man continued to hammer away at the piece of metal he was working on, gradually refining its shape to the piece of equipment he aimed to create.


    "Haah¡­" Swiftly dousing the finished piece into a vat of oil with a pair of tongs, the old man tossed the finished item to the side as he let out a sigh.


    "That''s a hundred des done," said the old man as hezily stretched his body. "All I need to do now is to attached a hilt and a handle to them and they''ll turn into a fine set of swords."


    cing his hammer on the anvil, the old man moved away from his workce as he began toin. "Then again, why did the leader ask for a hundred des all of a sudden? Are we going to face a skirmish of some sort?"


    "Or must there be some kind of war going on?" muttered the old man as he looked out of one of the building''s windows.


    "The courtyard''s as peaceful as ever¡­ doesn''t seem like there''s an uing war."


    In the end, the old man returned to the anvil and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whatever. As long as my efforts are being paid."


    "In any case, I suppose I should rx a bit before proceeding to make those swords."


    Hearing those words, Valyr expected the man to head outside the forge for a bit and wander around the courtyard.


    After all, forging for quite a long time messed with the senses, especially for the old man who had forged a hundred des at this point.


    Yet, rather than do just that¡­


    The old man decided to continue forging.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "???" Watching the old man grab a nearby piece of raw material and chuck into the furnace, Valyr felt extreme confusion as to how the current situation was considered rxation.


    Though, as he watched the old man continue to work on the material he had chucked in, Valyr began to understand why the old man said those words.


    Compared to the skill he had shown while forging the de¡­


    The skill the old man was showing was on an entirely new level.

 Chapter 704 Four Pillars: Two in One

    Chapter 704 Four Pirs: Two in One


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Though the same sounds from earlier resounded throughout the forge once more, the same could not be said for the old man as Valyr watched his every movement.


    If the old man''s earlier movements could be said to be the pinnacle of polish when it came to repetitive tasks, then the man''s current movements was on an entire league of its own.


    From the way the man gripped onto the heated material, to the way the man swung his hammer, Valyr felt as if every step of the forging process had resonated with one another, causing the man''s craft to elevate another level.


    Not only that, but he felt as if the material, the tools, and himself had transformed into one entity as well, making Valyr feel as if the old man had imbued his entire body and soul into the thing he was working on.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With the sound of metal shing against metal continuing to reverberate throughout the area, Valyr continued to watch the old man work, gradually working the material he had chucked in into a piece of equipment he could be proud of.


    Of course, the young man began to gradually understand what was going on, forming a faint idea in his head as to why the old man''s movements seemed to go beyond the concept of second nature.


    If anything, Valyr felt that the man''s movements while forging was nature itself.


    ''[Flow]¡­'' thought the young man to himself, noticing that the old man''s attention was entirely on the material he was working on.


    Unlike the state of [Flow] Valyr was familiar with, the young man felt that the old man''s state of flow looked to be of a far deeper level.


    Naturally, the young man was certain that the old man was more or less oblivious to the things that were going on outside, focusing all of his attention on his tools and the material due to the effects of [Flow].


    However, he had a feeling that the old man''s attention did not stop there, making him feel as if every movement fell under the man''s undivided attention.


    ''It''s as if he''s making sure that the properties of material remain till the very end of the forging process¡­'' Inwardly muttering these words to himself, Valyr continued to watch the old man work his craft, thinking nothing of the thought he just had.


    Though, as he watched the man fan the mes in the furnace as he chucked the material back in, the young man felt as if his understanding of the forging process was gradually expanding with every passing second.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Watching the old man switch between deftly fanning the mes in the furnace to smoothly hammering out the edges of the material, the young man began to realize what the memory wanted him to understand.


    "For a cksmith, forging does not just end after crafting a piece of equipment¡­" muttered the young man as his eyes began to gradually widen in understanding.


    "Instead, forging only ends when one''s life ends."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With the old man continue to hammer the material down into the piece of equipment he desired to create, Valyr kept watching, trying to deepen his grasp over the concept he had understood.


    "Wait, that''s not it¡­" Though, as he continued to watch the man work at what looked to be at the pinnacle level of forging, Valyr began to feel as if he had only barely scratched the surface of what forging was.


    And so, he continued to watch while the gears in his mind continued to spin.


    Coming up with more and more thoughts over what forging was, Valyr had gone through many concepts in mind, discarding those that he considered shallow.


    Fortunately, by the time the old man seemed to be nearing the end of his forging process, the young man finally had a concept that he felt embodied his own understanding of forging.


    "Just like the mes in a furnace, forging is made up of many parts aside from the creation of equipment."


    "The resources, the knowhow, the experience, the skills, and the preparation needed to forge are also important."


    Ttang!


    "And¡­ done." Landing one final strike on the piece of material he was working on, the old man ced his hammer on the anvil as he raised the piece of equipment into the air with a satisfied smile.


    Raising up what looked to be a simple dagger, the old man looked at the equipment he had forged with calm eyes as he watched the sun interact with the item he had forged.


    Surprisingly, the sunlight caused the dagger to radiate a resplendent array of colors, entuating the overall bronze color the dagger had taken on.


    At this moment, Valyr felt that his understanding over the concept of forging had not only been raised to a higher level, but also felt as if it was nearing yet another bottleneck.


    "Is this what the voice meant when it said that the level of improvement mostly depended on one''s level ofprehension?" Faintly smiling at the thought, Valyr continued to watch the old man admire the dagger he had made before eventually tossing it aside.


    Seeing that the old man was going to return forging more des, the young man felt as if his opportunity was about to near its end, expecting him to return to the Chambers of Enlightenment not long after.


    Yet, rather than the opportunity ending at that moment, the old man surprisingly looked in the direction where Valyr was and beamed a faint smile.


    "I may not know who you are¡­ nor do I know where you came from¡­"


    "But I hope you learned something from this old geezer."


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr''s eyes widened in shock from the old man''s sudden interaction, the young man was swiftly plunged into the world of darkness once more, returning to the Chambers of Enlightenment sometimeter.


    "¡­" Vividly recalling what had happened near the end of the second opportunity as much as he could, Valyr stood in silence as he tried toprehend what just happened.


    "Haah." In the end, he decided not to think about the matter any further, thinking of it as some sort of recorded message from the past that was added onto the memory.


    After all, something like that made much more sense than any other possibility Valyr came up with.


    Ding!


    "Eh?" Hearing the notification sound in his mind, Valyr began to wonder when his connection with the world had grown stronger, recalling that he had only been thinking about his understanding over the concept of forging within the opportunity he had been given.


    Though, just like the matter with the old man''s final message, the young man eventually decided to forget the matter as he took a look at his notification¡­


    Only to be confused yet again.


    [Just like how forging can take on many different forms, the concept of forging takes on many different forms as well. In your case, you haveprehended that forging is also an aspect of one''s life, imbuing one''s experiences into the crafts they forge.]


    [Your understanding of the forging process has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Forging has ascended to the First Stage.]


    [Simr to the concept of forging, a forger''s mes goes through multiple changes within the lifespan of a forging process. Through the concept of forging you''veprehended, you have expanded this understanding towards your forger''s mes as well, considering them as an aspect of your life.]


    [Your understanding of the mes of forging has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes has ascended to the First Stage.]


    "I''m pretty sure I onlyprehended on the concept of forging while I was going through the opportunity," muttered Valyr as he scratched the back of his head.


    Yet again, he decided not to think about the matter any further, shrugging his shoulders at the thought.


    "Either way, nice bonus."


    Whilst he felt satisfaction at the fact that he hadprehended two Intent Seeds to the next stage with one opportunity, the monotonous voice within the Chambers of Enlightenment resounded once more.


    "You have used up your second opportunity to expound upon the intricacies of the Intent Seed of Forging. You have one opportunity remaining."


    "Where would you like to use yourst remaining opportunity?"


    "Would it be possible to use thest opportunity to expound on the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes even though I''ve already expounded it on the previous opportunity?"


    As the young man''s initial n was to use the three opportunities on the three Intent Seeds that he had, Valyr decided to ask the monotonous voice for rification.


    "That would be possible," replied the monotonous voice. "After all, you have expounded upon the Intent Seed of Forging in your previous opportunity, not the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes."


    "In that case, I would like to use myst remaining opportunity to expound upon the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes, then," replied Valyr after nodding.


    "As you wish," the monotonous voice replied.


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 705 Four Pillars: Eternal Flame

    Chapter 705 Four Pirs: Eternal me


    Darkness.


    Having been plunged into the world of darkness three times in a row at this point, Valyr patiently waited for the opportunity to expound upon the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes to begin.


    Though, unlike the previous couple of times where he had been directly thrown into the setting, the young man began to feel a faint heating from the void.


    With the heat being moreforting rather than scorching, Valyr recalled his earlier thoughts of being thrown into a world of mes, sensing that the current Intent Seed was more in-line with the thought.


    Of course, he also thought of the possibility of being thrown into a memory rted to the Enlightened Forge yet again, with the old man''sst words still etched in his mind.


    ''It would be quite nice if thetter were to happen rather than the former,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''After all, from the name of the Intent Seed itself, I would probably be able to gain more from a memory like that.''


    With simr thoughts continuing to linger in his mind, Valyr continued to wait through the darkness, with the heat he felt gradually bing more and more unbearable with time.


    Thankfully, by the time a few minutes had passed, the opportunity had finally arrived before him, transporting the young man far away from the scalding darkness he was in earlier.


    Whoosh!


    With the sights before him bing more and more blurry as he moved at great speeds, Valyr''s movements eventually stopped at the moment he had appeared in quite the unexpected ce.


    After all, the signs of a forge were nowhere to be found in the sight before him.


    Instead, he stood in front of what looked like a ritual ce rather than a forge.


    "Ooooohhhhm¡­"


    As a long flight of stairs led his vision to what looked to be a giant altar, Valyr watched as people gradually entered the ce, walking up the steps as they made a certain sound.


    "Oooohhhmm¡­"


    At some point, these people eventually stopped walking up the stairs, instead positioning themselves in areas that put them in near proximity to the giant altar.


    Though, as Valyr took note of the clothing the people wore, it seemed that there was more to their positioning than he initially thought.


    If anything, it looked like the clothing one wore dictated how close one could be to the giant altar in the center, forming a sort of hierarchy.


    Slightly frowning as the people before him began to chant what sounded like gibberish to him, Valyr began to ask himself a couple questions.


    ''Have I been thrown into some sort of cult?''


    ''If yes, how does this have something to do with the forger''s mes?''


    "Ooohhhmm¡­"


    Oblivious to how Valyr looked at the sight before him, the people continued to chant for a bit more, eventually falling into silence as one of the people near the giant altar spoke up.


    "Dear brothers and sisters, we have been gathered here today to witness a momentous event in the history of our organization."


    Moving a few steps forward from her position, the woman that began to speak made sure that her voice was heard by everyone.


    "For many decades, only we who stand around and near the altar have been chosen by the Eternal me."


    "However, that shall all change today."


    At those words, some of the people began to talk with one another regarding the matter, with most of their expressions bing somewhat animated.


    Then again, it did not take long for them to fall silent once again, seeing that the woman that spoke up still had something more to say.


    "Today, under the surveince and guidance of the Eternal me, we shall witness the possible induction of another member into our ranks."


    "May the Eternal me guide the poor soul."


    "All praise the Eternal me!"


    "All praise the Eternal me!"


    As the people before him continued to speak, with most of them even going so far as to unanimously recite a certain phrase, Valyr began to form an idea as to why the Chambers of Enlightenment had thrown him into the scenario he was currently in.


    "I guess the answer to my question will appear once I see the Eternal me they''re talking about," muttered Valyr as he faintly nodded in understanding.


    With everyone around the altar continuing to chant the same phrase over and over, the doors to the ce was eventually opened, revealing a young man with dark brown hair that looked to be in his early twenties.


    Sporting a somewhat frail frame and a shifty expression, the man looked as if he had malicious intentions ining to the ritual ce.


    Yet, at the very moment he stared at the giant altar at the top of the stairs, the man''s expression swiftly turned solemn as he began to walk up the steps.


    "All praise the Eternal me."


    With every step he took, the man would chant the phrase the others had spoken before.


    Seeing that, the others began to give him a look of approval, nodding as he continued up the steps.


    "Light the Eternal me!"


    By the time the man was around half of the way to reaching the giant altar, the woman that spoke up earlier spoke out once more, causing others around the altar to start moving as a fiery ze was birthed within the altar.


    Fwoosh!


    With the mes reaching a height that seemed unimaginable to any normal person, everyone in that ce watched as the mes began from a fiery blue before gradually taking on a more orange hue.


    Eventually, the me stopped its transformation by the time it took on a mellow red, the warmth it gave off causing delight among those near it.


    Concurrently, the man had arrived in front of the giant altar, staring at the red me within from up close.


    For quite some time, silence enveloped the entirety of the ce as the man continued to look at the me that was housed within the altar.


    Though, at some point, the man began to make his move.


    "Let us begin." Looking at the woman that spoke up earlier with a nod, the man looked at her with a calm expression.


    In response, the woman nodded as she spoke back.


    "Let us begin the trial, indeed."

 Chapter 706 Four Pillars: A New Member

    Chapter 706 Four Pirs: A New Member


    "I wonder what trial the man is going to take?"


    Watching everything unfold so far, Valyr felt that the ideas he had earlier regarding why he had been thrown into the current scenario was correct.


    However, what he did not get was how the scenario had anything to do with the Intent Seed he had chosen to expound on.


    Looking at the people that left the lit altar for a bit, Valyr swiftly returned his attention to the man and woman, noticing that the two seemed to be continuing their conversation.


    "Before we begin your trial, may you introduce yourself to everyone here?"


    "Are there any specific things I need to say?" Hearing the woman''s question, the man looked back at her with a hint of curiosity.


    "Your name and your current affiliation is enough," replied the woman. "After all, everyone here has a simr main ss to you."


    In response to those words, the man nodded. "Alright."


    "My name is Arcaelus Sachondeis, hailing from the Sachondeis n within the United Leventeine Nations."


    "With that said, I am currently affiliated with the Forging Alliance of the United Leventeine Nations as one of their Grand Forgers," added the man.


    "However, I have also affiliated myself with the newly-budding cksmith Guild that''s said to exist in every settlement."


    Hearing Arcaelus'' introduction, some of the people in the ce began to warmly wee him due to his affiliation with the United Leventeine Nations.


    Then, there were those who greeted him due to his second affiliation with the cksmith Guild, telling the man that he had made the right choice.


    Of course, there were also those that remained silent all this time, listening to the multiple short conversations Arcaelus was having with the others.


    It was also at this moment that Valyr finally understood why he had been shown the memory, wryly smiling at the thought that the memory had taken this long to allow him to understand why.


    ''So, this isn''t a normal cult,'' thought the young man to himself. ''Instead, it''s a forging-focused cult that revolves around something called the Eternal me.''


    ''But what''s so eternal about it, exactly?'' Inwardly asking himself this question, Valyr stared at the red me that took over the insides of the giant altar, wondering to himself if he would be able to find anything from it.


    Though, just like many things he had tried to glean information on in the past, it did not take long for the young man to put the matter aside as Arcaelus eventually returned his attention to the woman he spoke with earlier.


    "Is it possible for me to know of your name?" asked Arcaelus as he looked at the woman.


    "As you have not been epted by the Eternal me yet, I''ll have to refrain from doing so for the meantime," replied the woman, giving Arcaelus a slightly apologetic smile.


    "Then again, almost everyone in this ce calls me the High Priestess of the Eternal me."


    Arcaelus nodded in response. "The High Priestess¡­ it is my greatest pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    The High Priestess smiled back. "The feeling is mutual."


    With the two continuing to banter over some topics about forging for a bit more, the people the High Priestess had ordered earlier had finally returned to the ritual ce, bringing along with them a set of forging tools, as well as a small cache ofmon forging materials.


    "The trial you have to do is quite simple, Arcaelus." Watching the others set up a temporary workshop in front of the altar for Arcaelus, the High Priestess spoke to the man once more.


    "All you have to do is to win the favor of the Eternal me in the middle of your forging process."


    "Understood¡­" Looking at the tools and materials he was going to work with for a bit, Arcaelus scratched the back of his head for a bit before faintly nodding.


    Then, with a faint wry smile, he looked at the High Priestess. "Could you possibly give me a tip on how I could do that?"


    The High Priestess slightly chuckled in response. "It''s quite simple, really."


    "Just be sincere in your craft."


    "Just be sincere in my craft¡­" Repeating the High Priestess'' words over and over in a murmur, Arcaelus eventually fell silent as he stood in front of the temporary workshop.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, he then grab a few materials for the selection he was given and threw it directly into the Eternal me.


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant Arcaelus chucked his chosen materials into the altar, the reddish me swiftly took on an orange hue, with the center even taking on a pale white.


    Yet, even though the Eternal me seemed to have undergone a drastic change, Arcaelus remained silent, watching the materials reach the optimal temperature with a calm expression.


    With his focus evenly split between the materials and the tools he would be using, the man deftly retrieved the heated materials from the altar and ced it on the anvil he had been given, hammering it down into the rough shape of what he wanted to forge.


    Then, as if he had tapped into the power of the world itself, Arcaelus began to move through the forging process in a natural manner.


    From shaping to tempering, everything felt as if it had been nned beforehand, causing those watching Arcaelus work to look at him with a renewed impression.


    Even Valyr, who had remained silent all this time, felt that the man had entered a state simr to what the old man in the Enlightened Forge had achieved at this moment.


    In fact, he felt that he now had a faint understanding why the opportunity he had been given to expound on the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes was this scenario before him.


    Surprisingly, the understanding he had grasped so far had nothing to do with the Eternal me in the altar¡­


    But instead in how Arcaelus interacted with the me itself.


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment Arcaelus had swung his hammer on the item onest time, a wisp of energy was released from the Eternal me, swiftly heading towards the item the man had forged.


    Seeing this, everyone watching Arcaelus instantly had excited expressions on their faces, with the High Priestess even looking at the man with a wide smile.


    "Congrattions, Arcaelus. With this, you have be an official member of the Eternal me."


    "I now understand what you mean," replied Arcaelus as he thanked the woman for her congrattory words. "Only by being sincere in one''s craft can the Eternal me show its true colors."


    "I''m quite surprised you already understood that part," said the High Priestess in response, causing Arcaelus to let out a faint chuckle.


    "It''s only what I''ve grasped so far, but I feel like there''s more to explore from it," said the man, only to recall something as he looked at the woman.


    "Speaking of which¡­ since I''m now officially a member of the Eternal me, would it be possible to know your name?"


    "Only after you name the piece of equipment you''ve forged," replied the woman with a teasing smile.


    Arcaelus let out a faint sigh. "You''re really making it difficult for me, you know?"


    "A name¡­" Scratching the back of his head for a bit, the man stared at the item he had forged, then at the me that had aided him inpleting the item in the first ce.


    "Since it''s the first item I''ve forged with the Eternal me''s aid¡­ how about I name it¡­"


    "Prometheus?"


    "A splendid name." Widening her eyes in surprise, the High Priestess soon nodded in agreement.


    "Anyways, I''m sure you''re incredibly curious as to what my name at this point, so I won''t dodge the question any further."


    "With that, I hope you keep this secret to your grave."


    "I will." Arcaelus nodded.


    The High Priestess nodded back. "Alright."


    "My name is¡­"


    "¡­"

 Chapter 707 Four Pillars: Leaving the Chambers

    Chapter 707 Four Pirs: Leaving the Chambers


    "¡­out of all the things I would''ve expected to find out from a random memory, the supposed leader of a forging cult hailing from a high-profile family known for their forging techniques is definitely not one of them."


    Recalling the conversation that transpired between Arcaelus and the High Priestess after the former''s sessful induction into the Eternal me, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words after thetter had mentioned a n name that he hade across in the past.


    ''The Hephaista n¡­''


    Though Arcaelus did not think much about the surname, thinking that the High Priestess had only gotten to her position due to her talent and efforts, Valyr could not help but look at the name from another perspective.


    After all, to him, he knew the Hephaista n as the go-to forging n to look for within the gxy where Veldanyr was situated.


    Indeed.


    Known throughout the gxy.


    From what he could recall, the Hephaista n had Myth-level beings aplenty, with most of them taking lead over the multiple n branches that they controlled throughout the gxy.


    Then again, with the n being known throughout the gxy, Valyr also remembered that the ones manning the main branch of the Hephaista n had a level of power that far surpassed the strength of mere Myths.


    In fact, he was certain that their level of power was already close to breaching the next barrier of evolution.


    Perhaps they''ve already breached it at this point.


    ''In any case, with the High Priestess'' level of power seemingly standing at the peak of mortality, I guess she''s been sent to Veldanyr to gain some experience.''


    With the scenario having ended long ago at this point, Valyr consulted the thoughts that continued to linger in his mind regarding the scenario he had seen, delving into the world of darkness once more.


    Of course, since the encounter with the Hephaista n member wasn''t the reason why he had appeared in the scenario in the first ce, the young man slowly pushed the thought to the side as he returned his thoughts to Arcaelus'' trial.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Hearing the sound of metal shing against metal resound in his ears once more, Valyr began to trace back every step Arcaelus had taken into forging the item he had given the name Prometheus.


    "¡­" With his eyes closed, Valyr would frown every once in a while, trying to look at the man''s level of craftsmanship at multiple angles.


    However, after examining it for quite some time, the young man realized that Arcaelus'' level of craftsmanship was only above average whenpared to the average cksmith yer.


    Though, that was only the case when everything hadn''t clicked in Arcaelus'' mind yet.


    Once it did, the man''s level of skill grew exponentially, reaching a level that briefly reminded Valyr of the old man''s skills during his rxed forging session.


    With the help of the Eternal me, the man''s skills were entuated even further, causing the final product to reach a level of quality that Valyr had yet to achieve.


    Nevertheless, witnessing it firsthand allowed him to pick up on some key parts where he could improve.


    Such as how Arcaelus interacted with the me.


    ''To be one with the me¡­'' inwardly thought the young man, recalling how it seemed like Arcaelus knew every inch of the Eternal me.


    Even though he did not.


    Having interacted with the Eternal me for the first time, Arcaelus was able to work with the me he had been given to such a degree that allowed him to forge an item that elicited awe in some of the people that were watching.


    With that train of thought, it did not take long for the young man to immerse himself in his thoughts once more, gradually widening his level of understanding towards the forger''s mes.


    ''Like a conductor in an orchestra, the forger is the one leading the me to achieve the properties they seek.''


    ''However, simr to an orchestra, the forger must also be acquainted with the parts of the me itself. Only then would one achieve the highest quality possible between both sides.''


    At the moment he hade to this understanding, Valyr soon felt as if the world had appeared before him, inundating his entire body with a level of strength that caused him to feel somewhat drunk.


    Though, just as quickly as it appeared, that feeling swiftly left his body as well, with only the sensations continuing to linger within him.


    Ding!


    Hearing notification sounds beginning to echo in his mind, Valyr slowly opened his eyes, soon realizing that he had been returned to the Chambers of Enlightenment at some point.


    Staring at the screen in front of him, a slight smirk crept up on the edge of his lips as he read through the notifications he had received.


    "Well then."


    "Quite the wee surprise yet again."


    [A forger''s mes takes on many forms, yet that does not mean that it is uncontroble. Like a conductor in an orchestra, with enough time, one can also be acquainted with the me they work with. Only with the two sides working together can great items be birthed.]


    [Your understanding of the mes of forging has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes has ascended to the Second Stage.]


    [Within the many steps needed to forge an item, one could say that the me one uses is one of the most important things to take note of. With your understanding of the mes having grown deeper, you have figured out more natural ways to integrate the mes into your forging process, allowing your craft to expand to greater heights.]


    [Your understanding of the forging process has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Forging has ascended to the Second Stage.]


    Simr to the results he had gained from expounding upon the Intent Seed of Forging, Valyr had inadvertentlyprehended both the Intent Seed of Forging and the Forger''s mes yet again, allowing them to now stand at the same level as his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy.


    ''Then again, the two intents do go hand in hand,'' thought the young man to himself, faintly smiling as the monotonous voice within the chambers spoke out onest time.


    "You have used up your third andst opportunity to expound upon the intricacies of the Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes. No opportunities remain."


    "You may leave the Chambers of Enlightenment."


    Nodding in response to those words, Valyr gave the monotonous voice a few words of gratitude before leaving the dpidated church, making his way back to the courtyard.


    Not long after, he found himself standing in front of the exit that would lead him out of the Gates of Enlightenment, staring at it for a bit.


    "I suppose I should also take the trials," muttered Valyr to himself as he took onest look at the courtyard he had more or less ransacked.


    Wryly smiling at the thought, he finally took a step into the exit, returning to the temporary campsite a couple minutester.


    "To the Gates of Enlightenment."


    "Though no person here has truly taught me anything..."


    "I would still like to say thank you."

 Chapter 708 Four Pillars: Preparations for Awakening

    Chapter 708 Four Pirs: Preparations for Awakening


    Whoosh!


    "I''m back."


    Appearing at the center of the temporary campsite he and the others had set up at the periphery of the south district, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about the gains he had made within the Gates of Enlightenment.


    Ding!


    Though, just as he was about to get a bit of rest before proceeding to take the trials, a notification sound went off in his mind all of a sudden.


    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrows in curiosity, the young man took a seat around the fire pit as he brought up the notification screen.


    Then, after reading through the notification he had received, a wry smile appeared on his face.


    "Well, with how much I''ve obtained from the Gates of Enlightenment this time around, I guess it would only make sense."


    [Your Entrance Token to the Gates of Enlightenment has been nullified.]


    Thinking about the many things he had retrieved from the Enlightenment Material Cache to the Intent Seeds he had improved thanks to the Chambers of Enlightenment, Valyr wondered whether or not the Gates of Enlightenment had gotten a bit angry due to his actions.


    Wryly smiling at the thought, he soon discarded the idea, instead thinking that the entrance token was originally a one-time use token.


    After all, between the two, thetter made more sense.


    "I''m guessing there''s no need to further increase my authority within the Gates of Enlightenment, then," muttered the young man as he closed the screen.


    "Of course, that''s only for the meantime."


    "After all, that doesn''t mean there''s no more chance to return to the Gates of Enlightenment in the future."


    Taking a quick look at his quest screen, only to see that he could still opt to repeat the primitive humanoid quest again, Valyr swiftly closed it as he felt his stomach start to grumble.


    "Guess I should eat first before entering the Gates of Awakening''s trials."


    At those words, the young man began to start a fire in the pit as he noticed that it was beginning to get dark.


    Somewhat surprised that he had stayed for less time in the Gates of Enlightenment than he initially thought, Valyr swiftly whipped up a te of dinner for himself, eating it with great gusto as he wondered how the others were doing.


    "They''re probably stuck in the fourth trial, or are currently taking on the fifth trial out of nine."


    Taking thest bite of food he had whipped up for himself, Valyr took a brief look at their party chat, only to see no new messages from the other four.


    Feeling somewhat concerned as to how the others were faring, the young man decided to send a message into the party chat.


    Yet, even after a few minutes had passed, there was no response to his question from the others whatsoever.


    "I''m sure they can take care of themselves," said the young man with a low sigh, deciding to prepare himself as best as he could for the Gates of Awakening''s trials.


    "Speaking of which¡­ it''s night time, huh."


    Whilst thinking about the things he needed to prepare for the trials, a thought suddenly popped up into the young man''s mind as he stopped in his tracks.


    Then, taking a quick look at a certain screen, he then began to bring out the items making up his temporary workshop as he took out his arquebus from his new spatial bracelet.


    "[Breath of Beginnings]."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Armed with his forging artifact, the young man began to reforge the arquebus he had painstakingly forged in the past, allowing its properties to ascend to yet another level.


    With the sound of metal shing against the metal echoing throughout the area for quite some time, Valyr eventually put his hammer to the side with a satisfied smile, using his identification skill on the arquebus at the very first moment he could.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Primitive Arquebus Prototype] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 8,073 - 13,455


    Cooldown: 15 seconds (10.5 seconds)


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 41


    > DEX + 78


    > PER + 32


    Considered to be the next step on the path of ranged weapons¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Full Burst - Allows the user to infuse mana into the weapon,bining with the gunpowder used to load the weapon to create a devastating amount of damage. Deals 200% of the user''s Attack stat as damage. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Cost: 1,500 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Extended Charge - Allows the user to ignite the gunpowder within the barrel beforehand, umting the firepower within the ignition through the use of mana. The longer the user stores the firepower within the barrel, the greater the effects are.


    Allows the user to extend the charge of the attack by 10% to 300% of the weapon''s base cooldown time. Depending on the duration, the attack coefficient of the weapon increases by 5% to 150%. Cooldown: None. Cost: 500 - 10,000 MP.>


    Remarks: The first of its kind, reforged to reflect a greater future.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Damn." Letting out a whistle in response to the innate skill his arquebus had obtained, Valyr began to read through the description of the innate skill in greater detail, only for his eyes to widen in slight surprise.


    "I know [Extended Charge] is a staple innate skill for simr firearms in the future, but this is the first time I''ve seen the Attack coefficient boost reach this high."


    "Is it because this is the first ever firearm to exist in this?" asked the young man to himself, incredibly eager to try out the new skill''s effects.


    With that, he began to move a bit deeper into the south district with the arquebus in tow, eventually finding a lone primitive humanoid as a target.


    "Haah¡­" Taking out the other items needed to arm the arquebus for firing, Valyr went through all of the steps necessary before positioning himself in a way that allowed him to obtain a direct line of sight towards the lone primitive humanoid.


    Then, with a deep breath, he activated [Extended Charge], igniting the gunpowder he had put within the barrel before coating it with mana.


    Rumble¡­


    With every passing second, Valyr felt the force gradually build up within the barrel, causing a curious smile to appear on his face.


    Eventually, the young man hit the limit to [Extended Charge] at some point, which meant that he was more than ready to fire the arquebus at the primitive humanoid.


    Though, just as he was about to release his grip over the mana and let the built-up force expand on its own, a sudden thought popped up in his mind at that very moment.


    "[Full Burst]."


    With the young man acting on impulse, he imbued more mana into the arquebus as he wondered whether or not the shot would eventuallye out on the other side.


    Fortunately, the oue was far better than he initially expected as he witnessed a faint blue bullet whiz through the night sky.


    Bang!


    ''-369,850!!!''


    Staring at the dark red six-digit figure that appeared above the primitive humanoid''s head, Valyr''s eyes widened in great disbelief as he was briefly left at aplete loss for words.


    "¡­"


    "For the love of all that is holy."


    "¡­"


    "That''s over 300,000 damage¡­"


    "¡­"


    "If I could already deal that much damage with just two skills..."


    "How high would it get when I go all out?"


    "..."


    "Well, I guess there''s only one way to find out."

 Chapter 709 Four Pillars: Awakening and War (1)

    Chapter 709 Four Pirs: Awakening and War (1)


    Naturally, the young man thought about using all of the buffs in his arsenal to see how much damage he could deal with the arquebus'' newly obtained skill.


    However, as he had initially nned to take the Gates of Awakening''s trials, he eventually decided otherwise as he began to make his way back to the temporary campsite.


    Once there, he checked yet again as to whether or not he had brought all of the items he might need once he was inside the trial grounds.


    Of course, Valyr had also checked on the party chat to see if the others had sent him a message whilst he was ying around with his newly upgraded arquebus.


    Seeing that there were no responses from the four whatsoever during the time he was out, the young man faintly shook his head and let out a sigh.


    Then, shifting his focus to what he need to do, the young man took a deep breath before bringing up a prompt he had ignored for quite some time.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained a Key to the Gates of Awakening. Would you like to use it now?]


    Staring at the screen that had appeared before him, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he began topose himself.


    Feeling like he had returned to a tranquil state, only then did the young man open his eyes once more, soon confirming the prompt that had appeared.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant after the confirmation, Valyr''s body disappeared from where he previously stood, eventually being sent to a ce that reminded him of the hell he had previously experienced.


    "The trial grounds¡­" murmured the young man, looking around his surroundings to see if anything had changed about the ce.


    Finding out that there was no difference to the trial grounds whatsoever between the organizations, the young man eventually decided to bide his time, soon hearing the ever familiar voice resound throughout the barren field not long after.


    ''Greetings, trial taker.''


    ''Wee to the opportunity that may allow you to soar to ever greater heights.''


    ¡­


    Algerie Kingdom.


    Within one of the halls of the kingdom''s royal pce.


    "How are our men faring?"


    Staring at the small stack of parchments that had been handed to him, a man with a neatlybed mustache began to frown, eventually looking at the other people that sat around the same table.


    "It''s not looking good, Commander," said the demure-looking woman that sat beside the man, her expression as calm as a pool of water.


    "Though, at the same time, it''s not that bad either."


    Hearing the woman''s words, themander looked at her with a hint of interest.


    "borate."


    "Well, as we all know, it''s been three months since the skirmish between the humans and the orcs had expanded into a full-on war." Nodding in response, the woman looked at everyone around the table before beginning to exin the situation.


    "At first, our side had been on the losing end due to how sudden the orcs had ramped up their defensive," said the woman, prompting some at the table to nod in agreement.


    "Add the fact that some of the orc emperor''s greatest warriors had joined the fray, it took quite some time to regain our bearings."


    "Do we have any idea as to how many of the Khorza''an''s Chosen had joined?" chimed in a middle-aged man that was near the other far end of the table.


    In response, the woman slightly shook her head. "We only have a rough estimate."


    "Some say that a few dozen of the Khorza''an''s Chosen had chosen to join in on the fight now that it''s be a war," she said. "Then again, our intelligence groups are working their hardest to obtain the information we need."


    "Let''s save the talk about the Khorza''an''s Chosen for ater time," said themander all of a sudden. "Continue where you previously left off."


    "Understood." Feeling as if she were being strangled whilst themander was looking at her, the woman inwardly let out a sigh of relief after the man had allowed her to continue.


    "By the time we had regained our bearings, the Meltierre Empire had informed everyone of the ongoing war between the humans and the orcs."


    "With that, we were able to enlist the aid of the other nearby kingdoms. However, we''ve also expanded the battlefield between the two races to the same extent."


    "With the influx of talented fightersing from the multiple kingdoms, we have returned the bnce of the war to where it could be said that it could tip over to one side at any point."


    "Though, recent reports say that the orcs are nning yet another offensive that might tip the scales to their favor," the woman concluded her exnation.


    At the moment she was done, many of the people around the table began to talk about what had been exined.


    Nevertheless, at some point, the table eventually quietened down, with themander staring at a middle-aged man with a head of sparse maroon hair.


    "How''s the progress on that project of yours, Julian?" asked themander.


    "Though we''ve sessfully been able to forge a set of armor that considerably boosts the user''s overall capabilities, we''ve only been able to expand it to the Common+ rarity," said Julian in response.


    Going silent for a bit, themander nodded. "How many points does the Common+ grade armor set give to all stats?"


    "It depends on the one wearing it," replied Julian. "But on average, the boost is around 20 points per stat."


    Hearing those words, a great portion of the people around the table began to murmur once more, thinking that a boost of 20 points to all stats was already quite substantial.


    In fact, even themander was of the same opinion, looking at Julian with a face of confusion in response. "That''s already plenty good, no?"


    Julian wryly smiled. "That may be the case in your eyes, but it''s a far cry from the armor set I''ve stumbled upon in the past."


    Saying those words, the man recalled the information he had gleaned upon a certain young man''s piece of armor, causing him to inwardly let out a sigh.


    Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I wouldn''t be surprised if you were to not believe me¡­"


    "Butpared to the armor set we''ve created so far, the armor set I''vee across in the past¡­"


    "Easily boosted every stat by over a hundred points."

 Chapter 710 Four Pillars: Awakening and War (2)

    Chapter 710 Four Pirs: Awakening and War (2)


    "What?!"


    Unsurprisingly, all of the people around the table looked at Julian with shock, staring at him as if he had just said the most outrageous thing in the world.


    Then again, from their perspective, the man''s words were indeed quite outrageous.


    After all, most, if not all of the people that had gathered around the table were the best of the best when it came to their respective kingdoms.


    With that, they had interacted with hundreds upon hundreds of equipment throughout their lives so far, with the rarest among the equipment they''ve encountered barely reaching a value that boosted one''s stat by over a hundred points.


    Yet Julian was telling them that there was an armor set that could do that?


    And for all stats?


    "Where did you evene across an armor set like that?" Though he found the man''s words outrageous, that did not mean themander was interested to get a set like that for himself.


    "Plus, is it possible for us to get our hands on it?"


    Hearing those words, the middle-aged man wryly smiled. "It would''ve probably been possible¡­"


    "If you had asked me over four months ago."


    At those words, themander slightly frowned, a hint of panic evident on his face.


    "Why? Did something happen to the one that forged it?"


    Julian shook his head. "Nothing that serious. It''s just that he''s gone to a far-away ce at the moment."


    "Would it be a possible to try contacting the one that forged the armor set? It''s just a matter of distance, no?" asked an old man a few seats to the right of Julian, looking at thetter with a slightly expectant expression.


    "Unfortunately, the one that forged the set is currently in another ne separate from our," said Julian in response, effectively shooting down all of the hopes everyone had in getting their hands on the miraculous armor set.


    Even themander had chosen to give up and move away from the matter after hearing that, deciding to give the man some perfunctory words of encouragement.


    "I see. Well, if you need more manpower to expand the armor set you''ve developed to higher rarities, let me know."


    At those words, Julian could only bitterly smile. "I will."


    Nodding in response, themander then began to steer the conversation away from the armor set, instead talking about other important matters rted to the war such as their medicinal supplies.


    As for Julian, even though he was listening to the conversation on the outside, the thought of Valyr''s armor set still continued to linger in his mind.


    After all, he was more than certain that such a set of armor would easily turn the tides of war once enough people were outfitted with it.


    Aside from that, he could still vividly recall that the piece of armor he identified was considered to be an Imitation, one step above Emtions when it came to the reproduction of an artifact.


    ''How did he even get his hands on such a blueprint?'' asked Julian to himself, soon isting himself from the others as he began to think about the matter.


    In the end, a certain memory began to stick out in his mind, causing him to inwardly let out yet another sigh as a bitter smile briefly appeared on his face.


    ''Man.''


    ''I should''ve asked for that blueprint when I still had the chance.''


    ¡­


    Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Gates of Awakening''s trial grounds.


    ''Greetings, trial taker.''


    ''Wee to the opportunity that may allow you to soar to ever greater heights.''


    Hearing the words spoken by the monotonous voice as its introduction, the young man had a faint feeling that the voice would soon begin its monologue regarding some topic.


    Surprisingly enough, he was right.


    ''As you are a member of the Gates of Enlightenment, it could be said that your strength and spirit already stands among those at the top whenpared to your peers.''


    ''Though, with you having earned the qualifications to take on the Gates of Awakening''s trials, it could be said that you''ve gone one step higher in all regards, showing the world that your might defies all expectations.''


    ''With the Gates of Enlightenment''s watchful gaze, we know that you have achieved a feat that even those stronger than you would have difficulty achieving, killing a total of four entities in a row whose strength exceeds yours by two ranks.''


    ''That alone is more than enough proof that the Gates of Enlightenment is only the starting stage for a talent of your caliber, the potential you''ve shown at this point being nigh boundless.''


    ''Yet, just like Gates of Enlightenment, even those with great talents are subjected to the rules that have been set in ce by the founders of the Gates of Awakening.''


    Listening to the words spoken by the monotonous voice, Valyr easily inferred that the voice was going to introduce the first trial he would have to take to be a part of the Gates of Awakening.


    With that, he decided to take a look at the quest he had rted to it, only to be pleasantly surprised by what he had read.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Awakening'' Trial (1)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    The Gates of Awakening¡­ description has been omitted.


    As someone who stands at the top of what the Gates of Enlightenment has to offer, you have been given the opportunity to step onto a far greater stage, allowing your skills to crystallize to greater heights.


    Though, with the effort you''ve put into reaching this point, a small part of you thinks that this stage is more than enough to satisfy you for quite a while.


    However, a great part of you still yearns to reach the peak, wanting to see what the pinnacle has to offer.


    With that, you have the option to either cruise around and do the bare minimum, or go all out and reach the top.


    With each option having its corresponding rewards, the choice is ultimately yours.


    Quest Objectives:


    > [Option 1] Clear the first trial of the Gates of Awakening (0/1)


    > [Option 2] Clear the third trial of the Gates of Awakening and pass through the first bottleneck (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > [Option 1 / 2] Full eligibility to the Gates of Awakening


    > [Option 1 / 2] ess to the first level of the Gates of Awakening''s True cksmith Archive


    > [Option 2] Increased level of authority within the Gates of Awakening


    > [Option 2] ess to Gates of Awakening'' Trial (2)


    > [Option 2] ??? (Additional rewards dependent on performance during the quest)


    Quest Penalties:


    > Level - 10


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I could choose whether to clear the first trial and stop there¡­" muttered the young man.


    "Or I could choose to make my way to the third trial and clear that instead, possibly allowing me to obtain greater rewards."


    "I mean¡­ the choice is already obvious." Letting out a faint chuckle as he stared at the screen before him, Valyr chose to go with the second option, graying out the objective needed toplete the first option.


    Coincidentally, the monotonous voice was about to announce the first trial that he needed to take, prompting the young man to perk up his ears.


    Though, at the very moment he began to listen, the young man began to wonder whether he had heard wrongly.


    ''Your first trial shall be¡­''


    ''The Trial of Millennium Beings.''

 Chapter 711 Four Pillars: One Thousand Primitive Humanoids

    Chapter 711 Four Pirs: One Thousand Primitive Humanoids


    "¡­" For a while, Valyr did not know what to say after the monotonous voice was finished with its announcement.


    In fact, the only words he could say was the name of the first trial itself, with multiple thoughts regarding the trial coursing through his mind.


    "The Trial of Millennium Beings¡­"


    With the name of the trial being rted to a number like the previous one he had gone through, the young man was inclined to think that it was some sort of variant.


    After all, a millennium was just a tenth of myriad.


    Nevertheless, with how the name was more or less up for interpretation, Valyr was still unsure whether or not thinking of the uing trial as his previous trial was the right thing to do.


    For one, in his previous trial, he had to face a group of aberrations that not only grew in number, but also in level, in tier, and in rank.


    All of that was only possible due to the fact that he had to face ten thousand of the aberrations in total.


    With that being said, how far would the beings in the uing trial grow in strength with only a tenth of the number?


    "Well, if there''s one thing I''m probably sure of, it''s the fact that the beings might mean the primitive humanoids," Valyr eventually muttered these words to himself.


    With how the Gates of Enlightenment gave him a trial rted to the aberrations, it made quite a lot of sense for the Gates of Awakening to throw a trial at him that had something to do with the denizens of the four city quadrants.


    Of course, if he extended that thought process to the Gates of Transcendence¡­


    "I''d rather not that think about for now," muttered the young man, slightly shuddering at the thought of having to fight multiple of those powerful beings.


    With that, he decided not to think about what the Trial of Millennium Beings might mean, wanting to instead prepare himself for what was about toe.


    And so, he drank a mana potion in preparation, considering how a decent chunk of his mana was still empty from using [Extended Charge] before he entered the trial grounds.


    Nevertheless, it did not take long for his mana pool to bepletely filled, with the monotonous voice soon echoing through the barrennds a couple of minutester.


    ''Though it may seem like the Trial of Millennium Beings could be considered a battle of attrition, it wholly depends on how the trial taker approaches fighting against these beings.''


    ''At the beginning of the trial, a thousand primitive humanoids of great strength shall appear in front of the trial taker, their proximity towards the trial taker more or less random.''


    ''The only goal the trial taker needs to take into consideration is the fact that they need to kill all one thousand primitive humanoids in order to proceed to the next trial.''


    ''If the trial taker sumbs to the wrath of the primitive humanoids or exim that they surrender, their opportunity to enter the Gates of Awakening shall be forfeited and they shall be returned to where they came from.''


    ''You have five minutes to prepare.''


    "Huh. I guess the first trial''s easier than I thought."


    Listening to the exnation the monotonous voice had given him regarding the mechanics of the trial, Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh of relief.


    "Then again, with it being the first trial out of nine, I shouldn''t get toocent," said Valyr to himself not long after as he thought about how he would go about fighting against the primitive humanoids.


    "Depending on the strength of the thousand primitive humanoids that appear, I''ll either corral them into small groups before finishing them off, or kill them one by one from afar."


    As these words left his mouth, a faint smile gradually crept up his lips, thinking about the massive damage he dealt before entering the trial grounds.


    Thankfully, it did not take too long for the five minutes to pass, with the monotonous voice resounding throughout the trial grounds onest time.


    ''The first trial begins in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment the monotonous voice was finished counting, a massive array of golden light appeared before Valyr, with some of them having popped up a fair distance behind him.


    With each golden light giving off an aura that gradually grew more and more intimidating by the second, the young man looked at his surroundings for a bit before making up his mind.


    "[Traceless Slither]!"


    Swoosh!


    As the golden lights gradually gave birth to bodies that Valyr was familiar with, the young man enveloped his entire body in Shadow Energy before moving away from the array without hesitation, distancing himself from the primitive humanoids as much as possible.


    With the trial grounds having no obstacles whatsoever, it did not take long for the young man to arrive at a distance that allowed him to feel somewhat safe, dispelling the movement skill as he turned to look back at the humanoids.


    Surprisingly, a considerable portion of the golden lights had already disappeared as primitive humanoids that radiated terrifying levels of strength had taken over their ces.


    "You know¡­ these guys kind of remind me of the quadrant leaders, but less perfect in appearance." Staring at these primitive humanoids from afar, Valyr felt like the aura they radiated was quite familiar.


    Curious as to why that was the case, the young man decided to use his identification skill on one of these empowered primitive humanoids.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Primitive Humanoid (Ancient Elite)] (Level 100 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Elite Primitive Humanoid (Rare)


    HP: 132,960/132,960


    MP: 208,200/208,200


    Attack:6,940 - 6,940


    Defense: 4,432 - 4,432


    Stats: 1108 VIT, 1735 STR, 1502 AGI, 1108 DEX, 1735 INT, 1502 WIS, 891 PER, 327 LUK


    Skills: [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 16 other skills.


    Remarks: Though the power it wields may seem like it has faint traces of conscience, its mind still relies on primal instincts. The only goal it has in mind is pure destruction.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I see."


    "They are kind of like the quadrant leaders, but somewhat stronger." Valyr nodded in understanding.


    Closing his screen, he then let out a slight chuckle as he took out an item from his spatial bracelet.


    "Well then."


    "Since I''m up against these kinds of beings..."


    "I guess it''s time to bring out the big guns."


    "Literally."

 Chapter 712 Four Pillars: One Man’s Ingenuity

    <h4>Chapter 712 Four Pirs: One Man''s Ingenuity</h4>


    "Now how am I gonna make it so that I''m always at an advantage when ites to positioning?"


    Preparing his arquebus for what would possibly the longest time he had used the weapon so far, Valyr stared at the thousand primitive humanoids in the horizon with a slight frown.


    With how far away he was from where the primitive humanoids were, thetter group more or less stayed where they were, walking about in random directions every once in a while.


    Then again, there had been a couple of times so far where some of the primitive humanoids would begin to walk in his direction, causing him to slightly panic.


    After all, with their incredibly high AGI stat, it wouldn''t take long for them to close the gap.


    Fortunately, those primitive humanoids would eventually turn around to head back to the main group, allowing Valyr to continue with his preparations in peace.


    Moving the items needed to arm the arquebus to the side for the meantime, the young man decided to walk in a circle from where he stood around the primitive humanoids, wanting to get a feel of how they were distributed.


    "[Intermediate Lightweight]."


    "[Weightless Steps]."


    "[Serpentine Sprint]."


    Whoosh!


    Casting a series of skills on himself that boosted him general movement speed, Valyr zoomed forth, making sure to maintain a far distance from the primitive humanoids while scouting them.


    "If only the primitive humanoids were as far away from each as the quadrant leaders were at the city ruins, that would''ve been nice," said Valyr at some point, thinking about how he faced next to no difficulties in killing the quadrant leaders with his arquebus.


    While thinking about his few skirmishes with the quadrant leaders, Valyr eventually recalled that he had done something else before using the arquebus to end the quadrant leaders'' first phases.


    "Should I summon them?" muttered Valyr.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Frowning as he pondered over whether or not to use the tactic during this trial, the young man continued to scout out where the thousand primitive humanoids were currently positioned, taking note of which spot had more of them in ce.


    By the time he had finished getting a general grasp of which areas would allow him to have an easier time fighting against the primitive humanoids, Valyr had alsoe to a conclusion regarding his previous thought.


    "Though it would''ve been nice to have the help of the five boars¡­"


    "Even raising them to Level 100 wouldn''t be enough to bridge the gap in stats."


    At those words, the young man faintly shook his head as he sighed.


    "If I were to force myself to still use them, they could only be used as temporary distractions towards a greater cause."


    "And I''d rather not have that, to be honest."


    Returning to where he previously stood, Valyr sat down for a bit and thought more about how he would go about killing the primitive humanoids.


    While doing so, he thought about how nice it was that he did not need to worry about any sort of time limit while taking the trial.


    "If there was, I would''ve already used my ultimate moves at this point," said the man, letting out a bitter chuckle as he imagined himself doing so.


    Of course, there was no doubt in his mind that the attack would definitely remove a considerable chunk of the primitive humanoids in one go.


    However, the problem was that there was a long cooldown between each usage of the skill.


    In other words, he would not be able to keep dealing a high level of damage too long, which meant that he would instead be giving the primitive humanoids the opportunity to kill him instead of the opposite happening.


    Valyr let out a low sigh. "If only the gun I had was a modern sniper rifle instead of an arquebus, I probably wouldn''t even be thinking of problems like these."


    "Too bad my Technology Tree only goes up to the Early Middle Ages when ites to the Innovation branch."


    "Well, I could also use a bow and arrow to achieve the same thing," said the young man soon after.


    "But I don''t really have something like that with me, nor do I have experience in using such a weapon."


    "Hmm¡­" Closing his eyes for a bit as he continued to think about how he would kill the primitive humanoids, Valyr thought back to the fight with the quadrant leaders once more.


    After all,pared to the other fights he had been in thus far, those were the closest he could reference when it came to his current situation.


    "I can''t use the boars to lure away the other primitive humanoids since they would die in an instant," muttered Valyr as he thought out loud.


    "As for the arquebus, I''ve decided that I would be using it to quickly kill the primitive humanoids without getting injured, especially with the newly gained [Extended Charge]."


    "Hmm¡­ what else?"


    Continuing to turn the gears in his mind as he sought ideas from his fights against the quadrant leaders, a sh of inspiration eventually sparked in the young man''s mind as he looked at the barrennd before him.


    "I don''t know¡­" Mulling over the sudden thought he had, Valyr scratched the back of his head. "It might not even be possible."


    Though, not long after, his expression grew determined as he let out a low sigh.


    "Then again, if it does work, it would save me a lot of headache."


    "[Intermediate Earth Maniption]."


    nting both arms towards the ground, Valyr began to infuse mana into his hands as he coaxed the ground to move upwards.


    Rumble¡­


    In response, the ground began to madly rumble, which caused some of the primitive humanoids to move about from where they stood.


    Seeing that the primitive humanoids were moving, with some even heading to where he was, Valyr felt that his idea would probably end up being futile.


    Yet, for some reason, he continued with it.


    Rumble¡­


    In total, there were four elements in total that allowed Valyr to fight against the quadrant leaders without much problem.


    The first element were the boars that deprived the battlefield of any other obstacles.


    The second element was the insane repertoire of skills he had under his belt that allowed him to deal massive damage to the quadrant leaders.


    The third element was the arquebus he had used to swiftly end the quadrant leaders'' first phases.


    As for the fourth andst element, it was the element that allowed the advantage the arquebus had toe into full blossom.


    A definite height advantage.


    Crack! Crack!


    Noticing that the ground beneath was beginning to crack apart, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he infused more and more mana into it.


    Thankfully, it did not take that much longer for his efforts to finally pay off.


    Whoosh!


    In the midst of Valyr pushing more mana into the ground, the ground finally began to respond to his will, moving a part of itself above the barren field that made up the training ground.


    Seeing that it was receptive to the infusion of more mana in exchange for a higher ground, the young man''s smile grew wider as he began to infuse yet more mana into it, taking out a few mana potions from his spatial bracelet in the process.


    "Now we''re getting somewhere!"

 Chapter 713 Four Pillars: One Shot

    Chapter 713 Four Pirs: One Shot


    Though they were birthed with the intent to show no mercy to those that looked like them, the primitive humanoids were at a loss after finding out that all they could see around them¡­


    Was just more them.


    With their purposes unfulfilled, most of them decided to stay where they were and rest, while some of them had decided to move about to see if they could find anything interesting.


    Of course, those that decided to move about did convey to the others that they had seen some kind of entity from afar at some point through a rudimentary form ofnguage.


    However, with many of them staying in their spots, almost all of the primitive humanoids felt that those humanoids were lying, instead thinking that thetter had made the whole thing up.


    Well, that was the case until something peculiar began to happen.


    Rumble¡­


    Just as the primitive humanoids more or less epted the fact that they had been brought to some barren field for no reason, the ground underneath them began to madly shake.


    Looking in the direction as to where the rumbling began, the primitive humanoids soon saw a tower made out of earth gradually growing from the ground.


    Though its increase in height was somewhat slow, it only took a few minutes for the tower to be twice as high as their height.


    By the time half an hour had passed, the tower had already surpassed a few dozen meters in height, prompting those that looked at it to tilt their heads if they wanted to look up at the top.


    Nevertheless, the tower eventually stopped increasing in height, with the top being a solid one hundred meters off the ground.


    Wondering why a tower made out of earth had appeared out of nowhere, the primitive humanoids continued to look at the tower for clues, hoping to find something out of the norm.


    With their considerably high perception, it did not take long for them to notice an entity standing near the edge of the tower''s top whose appearance was vastly different than theirs.


    Though some of them had felt like their calling had finally arrived, most of the primitive humanoids still remained rooted in ce, considering how it wouldn''t be that easy to surmount such arge gap in height.


    However, out of nowhere, arge ball of mes struck at the center of the territory they upied, causing those directly hit by it to take a bit of damage.


    Furious, the primitive humanoid looked around their surroundings to find out who had thrown the fireball at their kin, only for their gazes to eventuallynd on the entity that stood at the top.


    "That''s right. I did it."


    "So what?"


    Even though the entity''s words sounded like gibberish to them, the primitive humanoids could still sense the mockeryced within each word spoken by the being, as well as its overall bodynguage.


    Though, if one were to ask the primitive humanoids as to what was the final nail in the coffin that spurred them to head to the tower¡­


    It would be the fact that the entity began to show only their middle fingers to them.


    They did not know why the entity did that.


    But for some reason, it greatly infuriated them from seeing it.


    ¡­


    "Huh. That worked out better than I thought."


    Seeing almost all of the primitive humanoids beginning to head towards the tower of earth he had made, a slightly confused smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about how he taunted the humanoids toe to where he was.


    In the end, he decided not to think about the matter any further, instead focusing his attention towards the tower he had built using [Intermediate Earth Maniption].


    With the help of his maxed out skill and the copious amounts of mana potions in his spatial bracelet, Valyr was able to erect a tower that was of a simr height to the buildings he would use to position himself on while fighting against the quadrant leaders.


    Though, unlike the buildings that made up the city quadrants, the tower of earth he erected upied a farrger space.


    After all, unlike the sturdy materials and reinforcements used to make the buildings within the quadrants, the only material Valyr used to create the tower was purely earth.


    Of course, with the help of [Intermediate Earth Maniption], he was able topact the earth within the tower as tight as he possibly could.


    With him adding [Intermediate Fire Maniption] into the mix, the material making up the tower was as sturdy as it could be, giving Valyr confidence that it would handle the force of the primitive humanoids with how wide it was.


    "Grraaaaggghhhh!!!"


    Hearing the primitive humanoids let out their trademark roars as they got nearer to the tower, Valyr took in a deep breath as a faint smile crept up on his lips.


    Positioning himself by the edges of the tower, he aimed his arquebus at one of the nearer primitive humanoids before proceeding to activate [Extended Charge].


    Rumble¡­


    Having experienced the process of charging up the skill beforehand, the young man maintained a calm expression on his face as he bade his time, continuing to watch the primitive humanoid he had targeted.


    Then, feeling as if the skill had reached its cap, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he thought that now was the time to fire the shot.


    However¡­


    "Should I activate some of my buffs¡­ or should I see how much damage I deal without the buffs?"


    Comparing the stats between the primitive humanoid he had killed with the overpowered shot to the primitive humanoids that surrounded his tower, Valyr was at a crossroads on what he should do.


    Though, in the end, he decided to go with a mix of both.


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    Feeling his offensive properties go up by a notch, Valyr wondered how nice it would be to kill the beings below him without needing to rely on any of his stat boosting buffs.


    Nevertheless, it was better to be safe than sorry.


    "[Intent Seed of Shadow Energy]."


    "¡­"


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-165,905!!!''


    Watching the faint blue bullet whiz through the air, Valyr soon witnessed the bullet make direct contact with the head of the primitive humanoid he targeted, causing its head to explode into chunks of flesh and blood.


    In response, the primitive humanoids in the vicinity of the one shot stood in silence for a bit before shifting their gazes towards the young man that stood at the top of the tower.


    With an expression of rage, these primitive humanoids let out bestial roars once more as they red out their intents.


    What was previously a feeling of infuriation towards the young man that stood at the top¡­


    Was now changed into a feeling that could only be resolved with the other side''s death.


    But of course, Valyr couldn''t care less as to what the primitive humanoids dealt.


    "One down."


    After all¡­


    It was either him that''s going down¡­


    Or them.


    "Nine hundred and ny-nine to go."

 Chapter 714 Four Pillars: One-sided Massacre

    Chapter 714 Four Pirs: One-sided Massacre


    Bang!


    ''-165,905!!!''


    Even though Valyr knew that the trial would be rtively simple once he made use of his arquebus, he did not expect it to be this simple.


    Bang!


    ''-165,905!!!''


    With the enraged primitive humanoids circling hisrge tower, striking against it with all of the might they could muster, the young man kept on preparing his arquebus for firing.


    Then, sacrificing a great chunk of his mana pool in the process, he would then fire out a shot that effectively decimated the target he had chosen.


    Bang!


    ''-165,905!!!''


    ''I definitely wouldn''t have this easy of a time if I had to use the arquebus at ground level,'' thought Valyr to himself, keeping in mind the remaining supply he had left to arm the arquebus.


    After all, unlike his other skills that only needed mana to activate, firing the arquebus needed him to go through a lengthy process that involved quite a decent amount of resources.


    Then again, having to be mindful of one''s resources in exchange for the ability to kill demons in human skin with one hit was definitely a more than worthy trade-off for him.


    Bang!


    ''-331,810!!!!''


    "Damn." Watching his target''s entire body explode into chunks of flesh and blood, Valyr let out a whistle as he noticed the pitch ck value that began to hover above where its head previously was.


    "Definitely an overkill shot at this point, if I do say so myself," said the young man as he let out a chuckle.


    "In any case, at the rate I''m killing these guys, it won''t be long till Iplete the first trial."


    From the moment Valyr had taunted the primitive humanoids towards him to the moment he had gotten a Fatal Hit, the young man had already killed over a third of the primitive humanoids that surrounded the tower.


    Of course, it still took quite some time for him to reach this point, having spent the first hour finding the right rhythm that would allow him to kill the primitive humanoids at a consistent pace.


    After that, he began to gradually speed up, eventually figuring out the most efficient method around three hours into killing the primitive humanoids.


    In total, six hours had passed since Valyr had begun to fight against the primitive humanoids.


    But of course, the young man already knew that he''d be spending far more time killing the primitive humanoids than just a mere six hours.


    Bang!


    ''-165,905!!!''


    Keeping his mind upied with other topics while continuing to busy his hands by killing the primitive humanoids, Valyr consistently went through the thousand primitive humanoids one by one, making them fall to the ground with just one shot.


    Then again, there were times where the bullet contained enough momentum to continue moving past the primitive humanoid it hit, allowing it to kill yet another primitive humanoid in the process.


    Seeing this, the young man felt a bit of relief as he tried to make it happen a bit more often.


    After all, even though the first trial had be trivial thanks to his skill set, the young man still had to be mindful of the fact that his resources he had to load the arquebus was limited.


    Nevertheless, he still kept up his current pace, the thoughts in his mind currently focused on ending the first trial as soon as possible.


    With that, blood continued to flow throughout the surroundings of the tower of earth, dying the ground a dark crimson red.


    Bang!


    ''-165,905!!!''


    Ding!


    Just as he had fired out the shot that marked the halfway point to him reaching the end of the first trial, Valyr heard a notification sound resound in his mind, prompting him to stop what he was doing for a bit to take a look.


    [In the past, you have given rise to the existence of a new weapon within Veldanyr, firing out the first shot that signaled the start of a new era.]


    [Yet, rather than stop there, you continued to use the weapon inbat, making use of its unique properties. With each shot you fired, your knowledge and understanding of the weapon gradually increasing, expanding your usage of the weapon to greater heights.]


    [Now, the knowledge and understanding you''ve umted has finally crystallized, giving you an innate sense of understanding towards the weapon you''re using, as well as the terrifying amounts of damage that it could deal.]


    [You have gained a basic grasp on how to use a firearm better.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Firearm Mastery''.]


    "Well then." Finished reading through the series of notifications he had received, a faint smile crept up his face.


    "That kind of notification takes me back."


    As these words left his mouth, Valyr recalled the first few days he had appeared in the world of Veldanyr, utilizing the knowledge that had stuck with him from his past life to gain an edge over others.


    One of the small tidbits of knowledge he had made use of was the fact that not all skills had to be obtained through skill books, instead using repetition to obtain his first ever skill, [Basic Spear Mastery].


    Thinking about he had obtained a simr skill out of nowhere, Valyr wryly smiled as he thought about how fighting against the primitive humanoids had be monotonous thanks to his approach.


    In other words, he basically drilled the essence of wielding a firearm through constant repetition.


    Just like how he did it with his spear in the past.


    Taking a brief look at his newly obtained skill, the young man''s eyes widened in slight surprise after finding out that the skill went a bit beyond the usual things a mastery skill did.


    "A reduction in cooldown time," Valyr muttered, his eyes glistening as he did not hesitate to use up a small chunk of his XP and Skill Keys to evolve the skill and max it out.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to use 1 Common Skill Key, 1 Umon Skill Key, and 1,134,438 XP to evolve ''Basic Firearm Mastery'' to Umon grade and upgrade it to its level limit?]


    "Yes."


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant he confirmed the prompt that popped up, a great surge of information regarding the essence of firearms surged in his mind, causing the young man to briefly feel a hint of nausea.


    Then again, with how he had forced his mind to endure through worse situations in the past, it did not take long for the nausea to subside as he looked at his arquebus with a higher level of understanding.


    Staring at his firearm with a calm expression, Valyr took in a deep breath before positioning himself by the edge of the tower once more.


    "¡­Alright."


    "Time to continue where I left off.

 Chapter 715 Four Pillars: Second Chance

    Chapter 715 Four Pirs: Second Chance


    Bang!


    ''-222,905!!!''


    "Alright. Only ten left before this damned trial finally ends."


    With his hands moving like clockwork as he armed his arquebus for another shot, a slightly relieved expression could be seen on the young man''s somewhat haggard face.


    Though Valyr felt his drive to see the trial through the end renewed by obtaining the skill that was now [Intermediate Firearm Mastery], the excitement brought by the skill did notst that long.


    After all, with all things, the difference the skill made to his routine was only a slight boost to his Attack stat, as well as a slight decrease in between shots.


    With that, it did not take long for the young man to upy his mind with other things yet again as his body continued to move and fight against the primitive humanoids with the arquebus.


    "Hngh¡­" Once he was done loading the arquebus up for the next shot, Valyr did a few basic stretches, considering he had been lying prone for a great majority of the trial.


    After that, he took a look at the remaining resources he had that was needed to shoot the arquebus.


    "Less than half left, but still more than enough to see this trial to the end."


    Seeing that there was still plenty of leeway rtive to how much work there was left to do, Valyr nodded in satisfaction as a soft smile crept up his face.


    Getting back into position as he aimed the arquebus towards one of the ten stragglers, the young man also took note of the gory sight that existed below the tower.


    "To be honest, I thought the trial would do something simr to what urred back in the Trial of Myriad Aberrations," muttered Valyr, eventually shrugging his shoulders as he activated [Extended Charge].


    "Guess not."


    During the Trial of Myriad Aberrations, Valyr recalled quite well that the corpses of the aberrations were scattered through the barrennd, simr to how the corpses of the primitive humanoids were strewn around the tower he had erected.


    He also remembered that there was next to no spige of blood from the aberrations whatsoever while he was taking the trial.


    On the other hand, the surroundings around the tower made it seem like the tower was erected on a sea of blood, with chunks of flesh and random parts from the primitive humanoidsmaking it quite the gory sight.


    ''Then again, I was relying on [Tide of the Dark Night] during that time,'' thought the young man himself sometimeter.


    ''Compared to a skill like that, using the arquebus is definitely the dirtier approach.''


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Sensing that [Extended Charge] had reached its limit, Valyr went ahead and infused more mana into the barrel as he let the arquebus do its thing.


    Bang!


    ''-222,905!!!''


    Once more, a faint blue bullet began to zoom through the air, eventuallynding squarely onto the forehead of the target Valyr had picked.


    With the energy and momentum imbued within it, the bullet found no difficulty in piercing through the primitive humanoid, causing its head to explode to a thousand bits as it continued to fly unhindered.


    Bang!


    ''-222,905!!!''


    Surprisingly, after hitting the first primitive humanoid, the bullet still had enough momentum tond on another primitive humanoid as it struck thetter at its throat.


    Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he tallied two more kills in his mind.


    "Two down, eight left to go."


    Muttering these words to himself, the young man took in a deep breath as he went through everything yet another time.


    ¡­


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-222,905!!!''


    Having allowed [Extended Charge] to reach its limit, Valyr let the arquebus'' ferocity take center stage as the bullet it shot headed straight towards the target he had chosen.


    Of course, just like most of the other shots he had fired so far, the bullet cleanly pierced through the target''s head and caused it to explode into chunks of blood and flesh.


    Ding!


    Watching the final straggler fall to the ground, a wave of excitement swept across Valyr just as he heard a notification sound resound in his mind.


    At the same time, a wave of relief swept across his body as he heard the trial''s monotonous voice finally echo throughout the trial grounds.


    ''Though you have chosen a style ofbat that had been long forgotten by the past, all of your opponents have undoubtedly been rendered lifeless with the style you''ve chosen.''


    Through this, you have shown that the might you''ve revealed in the past is only a fraction of your true might. You have shown that your might extends beyond your previous confines, confines that force you to apply your might through what is considered the norm.''


    ''However, these confines shall break in due time with the uing trials prepared for you, allowing you to show your true might to the entire world.''


    ''Congrattions, trial taker. You have sessfully cleared the Trial of Millennium Beings.''


    Rumble¡­


    At the very moment the voice was finished congratting Valyr forpleting the first trial, the tower of earth he created started to rumble, prompting him to hastily store all of the items he had taken out back into the spatial bracelet.


    Crash!


    Not long after, the entire tower of earth began to crumble down, dragging Valyr down along with it.


    "[False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern]!"


    Whoosh!


    Nevertheless, with the movement skills in his arsenal, it did not take long for the young man to get out from the mess as he flew away from the tower.


    Consistently pping his wings as he stayed in mid-air, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he watched the tower of earth turn into rubble. "Guess I''ll have to make the tower again if the next trial also involvesbat." "At the very least, the problem regarding the primitive humanoids'' bodies seem to be solved."


    Continuing to stare at where the tower of earth previously was, Valyr watched as the blood and flesh of the primitive humanoids were seemingly being absorbed by the ground, gradually returning to its original color.


    By the time a few minutes, all traces of the earth tower and the primitive humanoids had already disappeared, instead leaving Valyr with the same barren ground he had started with.


    Swoosh!


    Returning to the barren ground, Valyr dispelled the wings he had created, feeling a bit of heartache at the fact that he had to wait for a while before being able to use it again.


    "Speaking of a while, it''s been a long while since I began taking on the first trial," muttered Valyr to himself.


    At the beginning of the trial, Valyr could still keep track of time since he had more or less found a way to keep things not so monotonous.


    However, after he had obtained [Intermediate Firearm Mastery], he felt as if he had thrown caution to the wind as he focused all of his attention towards finishing the trial.


    Scratching the back of his head at the thought, a wry smile appeared on his face.


    "Whether I''ve taken half a day toplete the trial or more than that, it doesn''t really matter." Valyr shrugged his shoulders.


    "All that matters is that I''m now moving onto the second trial."


    With the monotonous voice not saying anything after it had dismantled the earth tower and cleaned up the remains of the primitive humanoids, Valyr thought that the Gates of Awakening had given him some time to take a breather.


    epting it wholeheartedly, the young man soon sat on the ground as he took out a couple of potions to replenish his reserves.


    While replenishing his health and mana pool, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notification screen, recalling that it had made a sound the very moment he had killed thest primitive humanoid.


    Ding!


    Taking a look at the screen before him, the young man instantly went silent as he read through the notifications he had received.


    By the time he had finished reading through all of it, Valyr could only utter out a single sound.


    "Huh."


    [Throughout the entire history of Veldanyr so far, you are the first to bring back a lost weapon type from the grave, forging the first firearm to ever exist on Veldanyr.]


    [However, not only are you the first to bring the weapon to life, but you are also the first to use it inbat, killing a foe at speeds unimaginable to any other human.]


    [Now, as the first gunslinger of Veldanyr, you have continued to make great use of the firearms, enlightening yourself in the usage and essence of firearms in the process.]


    [With a thousand enemies having fallen under the bullets you''ve shot, there is no doubt that the path of firearms is one that allows you to achieve high levels of destruction.]


    [Yet, due to some circumstances, you have rejected the option to be a true gunslinger in the past. Instead, you have chosen to stick with your current path.]


    [Fortunately, the heavens are forgiving, understanding the plight that you''re currently going with.]


    [And so, the heavens want to give you a second chance, hoping that you could revive the art of firearms on Veldanyr to its entirety.]


    [You have received a special subss quest: The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr).]


    Skipping over all of the text that described his feats regarding firearms, Valyr had a slight frown on his face after taking a look at thest notification.


    ''A subss quest¡­'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling as if the quest would force him to swap his current subss for another one.


    With that in mind, the young man felt the urge to reject the quest outright once more.


    However, rather than do so, he instead recalled the text that came before the quest, talking about how the heavens had given him a second chance.


    Because of that, he decided to take a look at the quest''s description and see if there was anything different about the quest aside from the ss now bing a subss.


    Fortunately, there was.


    From what he could infer through the text it contained, rather than rece his current subss¡­

 Chapter 716 Four Pillars: Second Trial

    Chapter 716 Four Pirs: Second Trial


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)] (Special Quest)


    Difficulty: A


    Firearms used to be amon style ofbat within the world of Veldanyr, dominating the battlefield due to its ease of use and its ferocity.


    However, due to certain events that had transpired in the past, all traces of this simple yet ferociousbat style had been lost to time. Not even one person could recall the glory days of such a weapon existing in the battlefield.


    That was¡­ until you appeared.


    Researching the technology necessary to create the weapon from scratch, you have brought firearms back to the world of Veldanyr, even going so far as to use it in actualbat.


    With a thousand enemies in using thebat style you''ve revived, the heavens have decided to give you another chance at an opportunity you''ve rejected in the past.


    Because you''ve rejected the opportunity before, the heavens have decided to increase the difficulty of obtaining it as a type of consequence.


    But of course, the heavens are fair, with the rewards obtaining it as a type of consequence.


    But of course, the heavens are fair, with the rewards obtainable frompletion being far greater than what it previously was.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Reach Rank 5 (0/1)


    > Upgrade [Intermediate Firearm Mastery] to Rare grade and reach its level limit (0/1)


    > Upgrade Primitive Arquebus Prototype to Rare+ grade (0/1)


    > Comprehend an Intent Seed or greater concept rted to firearms (0/1)


    > Create a new skill rted to firearms (0/1)


    > Create a new type of firearm [Note: must be at least Umon grade] (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Second subss slot


    > Prototype Gunner subss (Common ¡ª Growth)


    > Upgrade to [The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)] title


    > ??? (Additional rewards dependent on speed inpletion and performance within the duration of this quest)


    [Note: The heavens hope that you make the right choice this time around.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the quest and the rewards that came along withpleting it, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words.


    After all, from what he knew, obtaining a chance to get a second subss was already difficult toe by.


    In fact, back when he was still a yer in his past life, he could remember that the number of people with second subsses only numbered around a couple million or so.


    Though that may seem like a lot, it was ultimately a drop in the bucket whenpared to the entire world poption that yed Greater Beyond.


    Then again, the current opportunity offered to him was a far rarer urrence than getting the chance to obtain a second subss.


    As far as he knew, most of those that obtained their second subss had already transcended their mortalities at that time, bing Myths that entires feared.


    On the other hand, the opportunity had appeared in front of him before he had even reached the peak of mortality, something only a few handful of people apart from him had obtained in the past.


    Getting over the fact that he could potentially obtain a second subss, Valyr soon affixed his gaze towards the subss he would get frompleting the quest.


    "Prototype Gunner¡­" muttered the young man,manding the system to bring up a description of the subss.


    Ding!


    Reading through the text he had been given, Valyr found out that the Prototype Gunner subss was a more bare-bones version of the various gunner sses he hade across in the past.


    Of course, because it was so bare-bones, there was a type of flexibility attached to the subss, something Valyr felt like he could make use of to turn the subss into something thatplemented his otherbat styles.


    Nevertheless, aside from its stat distribution being the usual distribution for simpler gunner sses, the subss was pretty solid in Valyr''s eyes with all things considered.


    Especially with how the subss seemed tailor-made to synergize with his [The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)] title.


    "Then again, I''ll only be able to get my hands on this subss once I reach Rank 5," said Valyr to himself as he closed the screen he had brought up, bitterly smiling at the quest''s objectives.


    Though it may not seem like it, a great portion of the objectives needed toplete the quest were quite simple in nature.


    If anything, there were only two objectives among them that Valyr felt like he would take a quite bit of time toplete, which was the objective where he needed to create a skill and the objective where he needed toprehend his Intent.


    Even upgrading his arquebus'' rarity to have a plus modifier was quite simple with the technological advancements he now had ess to, let alone forging an entirely new type of firearm to use.


    "Well, from another perspective, my strength would undoubtedly go through a massive boost once I reach Rank 5."


    In the end, Valyr decided not to look at the quest from a pessimistic standpoint, letting out a chuckle as he thought about how he''d be able to use the Shard of Defiance at the same rank.


    ''I wonder if having those two at Rank 5 would be enough for me to surmount the gap that exists between mortals and Myths?''


    Just as Valyr began to think about the two items with one of his more important quests in mind, the trial''s monotonous voice began to resound through the grounds once more, prompting him to push his thoughts to the side.


    ''Though you have entered the Gates of Enlightenment with your superbbat strength, that does not mean that the Gates of Awakening are oblivious to the token that you''ve used to do.''


    ''Forging is considered one of the four main professions within the Gates of Awakening, a great backbone necessary for a settlement to rise from a vige to an evesting empire.''


    ''With you having proven in the previous trial that your strength exceeds the confines that have previously shackled you, you must now showcase to the Gates of Awakening that you have not obtained the token by mistake.''


    ''Showcase to the Gates of Awakening that you have mastery over the profession you have chosen through your token, or else your journey might possibly be cut off short even with your qualifications.''


    ''With all of that said, your second trial is¡­''


    ''The Trial of Four Rarities.''

 Chapter 717 Four Pillars: Four Rarities

    <h4>Chapter 717 Four Pirs: Four Rarities</h4>


    "Four Rarities?" Hearing the name of the next trial he would have toplete, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face.


    "Since the voice mentioned that the second trial would involve forging, and the name of the trial is Four Rarities¡­"


    "Does that mean that I have to forge equipment up to the Epic grade in rarity?"


    With this thought lingering in his mind, the young man felt that it made quite a lot of sense.


    After all, if one were to exclude the fact that plus modifiers in rarities existed, then the first four rarities were Common, Umon, Rare, and Epic respectively.


    Of course, with his current level of skill in forging, it would not be too difficult for him to forge an Epic grade item toplete the trial.


    After all, he had already forged quite a few items of the same grade in the past.


    However, if a simr trial had appearedter down the line and was of a higher difficulty¡­


    Valyr could not say for certain whether he would be able to pass that trial.


    "With how strong the Gates of Enlightenment was in the opportunity I was given to look at, I wouldn''t be surprised if something like the Trial of Five Rarities were to pop up somewhere down the line."


    "I wouldn''t even be surprised if they had the Trial of Six Rarities," muttered the young man to himself, shuddering at the thought.


    Thankfully, the young man did not have to delve deep through his inferences about the trial any longer as the monotonous voice spoke up once more.


    ''In the world of forging, there are five rarities that could be said to be deeply connected to the world of mortals.''


    ''Those five rarities are none other than Common, Umon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary, in that order.''


    ''On the other hand, any rarity that exceeds Legendary are considered to be part of the world of forging for greater beings, beings whose level of might far exceed our own imagination.''


    ''A few mortals who stand at the pinnacle of the world of forging have touched upon this higher realm of forging a few times in the past, crafting items that have been given the rarity level of Mythic.''


    ''However, for a great portion of mortals, the realm of Mythic grade items are nigh impossible to reach. Of course, the same could be said for Legendary grade items.''


    ''With that, the mortals have instead devised a new rarity system that expands the first five rarities into 10, giving all mortal cksmiths a more defined path towards the so-called higher realm of forging.''


    Hearing these words from the monotonous voice, Valyr more or less understood what was about to go on, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as the voice continued to speak.


    ''The Trial of Four Rarities correspond to the first four rarities of this new rarity system: Common, Common+, Umon, and Umon+.''


    ''In this trial, the first item you must forge should have a rarity of at least Common grade. After that, you must forge your second item, which should have a rarity of at least Common+ grade.''


    ''Following the progression, thest item you must forge should have a rarity of at least Umon+ grade, which marks yourpletion of the trial.''


    ''Simr to the previous trial, there is no limit to how much time you take. All that matters is thepletion of the four items.''


    ''You have three minutes to prepare.''


    "Alright."


    Listening to the mechanics of the trial that were exined by the voice, Valyr let out yet another sigh of relief as he sat on the ground.


    "I don''t know why, but I feel like the second trial is easier than the previous one," muttered the young man to himself, letting out a faint chuckle.


    After all, the confidence he had towardspleting the second trial was already there, unlike the confidence that only came about after he had confirmed that his arquebus indeed had the might to kill a primitive humanoid in one shot.


    Then again, with how many items he had forged in the past that started off at Rare grade, as well as the years of experience he had umted from forging in his past life¡­


    How could he not be confident?


    ''The trial begins in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    As the monotonous voice began to count down whilst he was still somewhat immersed in his thoughts, Valyr took a bit of time to stand up, only to feel the ground around him beginning to rumble.


    Though, unlike the rumble that came about his maniption of earth earlier, the rumble he currently felt was focused towards certain areas.


    Rumble¡­


    Deciding to distance himself from the rumbling, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise after seeing a few things beginning to jut out the ground, taking on forms that he, as a cksmith, was greatly familiar with.


    ''A workshop¡­''


    In front of his very eyes, a workshop slowly rose from the ground and appeared in front of him, containing all of the tools and equipment he would possibly need to forge equipment.


    Then, not long after, a couple more things began to jut out the ground, filling out the spots within the workshop that looked vacant at first.


    The first thing that appeared after the workshop seemed to be a small cache of all the forging materials might need toplete the second trial.


    After that, a few shelves containing small books and scrolls appeared to fill out the other gaps within the workshop, all of them containing what looked to be blueprints that would allow him to forge various items and equipment.


    ''The Gates of Awakening has definitely eliminated any other variable that might hamper one''spletion towards the second trial.'' Moving closer towards the workshop, Valyr began to go through all of the equipment he would begin to work with.


    Familiarizing himself with each and everyone of them before beginning to make progress, the young man faintly smiled. ''At this point, the trial taker''s skill in forging is the only variable that dictates whether or not one passes the next trial.''


    "Huuu¡­"


    Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, Valyr took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet and activated one of its various forms.


    "[Breath of Calm]."


    Whoosh!


    Watching the crystals on the hammer''s sides change color, the young man slightly grinned as he started a fire in the furnace.


    "Alright."


    "Let''s begin."

 Chapter 718 Four Pillars: Four Items (1)

    Chapter 718 Four Pirs: Four Items (1)


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Having chucked in a few select pieces into the furnace after deciding what his first item would be, Valyr ced one of the item on the anvil and started hammering it into its desired shape.


    ''It definitely took a while for me toe to this decision,'' thought Valyr to himself, activating [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] in the process.


    With [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] still remaining active, the two eye-based skills worked together, allowing Valyr to hammer out the imperfections that arose during the forging process.


    ''At first, I thought about creating a new blueprint entirely, which is somewhat simr to what I did for the weapons I sold at the auction.''


    Nodding in satisfaction as the material had gained a rough form, Valyr ced it back into the furnace to heat up before taking out another to hammer.


    ''I also thought about making use of the various blueprints the trial had given to me to figure out which items I would forge toplete the trial,'' muttered the man inwardly, reminding himself to peruse the blueprints after he was done.


    ''In the end, I decided to go with neither.''


    As these words popped up in his mind, Valyr let out a faint chuckle, recalling the weapon he had forged during the time he had just evolved to a proper cksmith ss.


    "After all, I feel like it''s more fitting to forge the first item I''ve put great effort into making as the first item I forge in this trial."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With his body continuing to move through the forging process, Valyr began to remember the Fledgling Forgers'' Tournament that was held in Danyhris Town.


    At that time, the only proper item he had forged was a dagger, which had given him the final requirements needed to ascend to the True Prodigious cksmith ss.


    Nevertheless, with the years of experience he had umted in his past life, the young man still participated in the tournament.


    Having just registered as a member of the cksmith Guild beforehand, Valyr had participated in the tournament and wowed the crowd by keeping up with the other participants that had a greater chance of obtaining the top prize.


    Not only that, but he had also forged quite the refined weapon with a unique mechanic attached to it, which was also the reason why he had obtained fifth ce at the end of the tournament.


    "I definitely shouldn''t have held back there," said Valyr to himself, shrugging his shoulders at the thought.


    "Then again, that was a time where it was still risky to showcase all of this previous knowledge I have."


    "In any case, since I''ve made up my mind to forge this item¡­"


    "And as a way to make it up for my past self¡­"


    "It''s time to forge Red Blossom to the best of my abilities."


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With a general n of what he was going to do for the second trialid out in his mind, Valyr proceeded through the steps of making the first item, Red Blossom, with great ease.


    Of course, unlike the previous Red Blossom he had forged, he had improved in almost every aspect.


    Whether it was his skill in forging, the hammer he used, or the materials that would make up the item itself, all of them were better than the ones he had ess to during the tournament.


    With that, he zoomed through the entire process, finishing up the parts making up the item within a couple of hours.


    Then, in true Valyr fashion, he used both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] to remove all of the imperfections he could see on the item.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully forged the item: Crimson Blossom. Quality has been rated at Exceptional.]


    Taking a look at the crimson dagger thatid on the surface of the anvil before him, a satisfied smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he used his identification skill on the item.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Crimson Blossom] (Level 50)


    Rarity: Rare


    Attack: 323 - 538 (outer de) | 388 - 646 (inner de)


    Foundation Tier: None


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    What was once a piece of equipment taken from fiction and fantasy, the cksmith that forged this item had brought it to reality and improved upon its original design.


    Utilizing greater materials and greater forging techniques, this dagger could be said to be the culmination of the cksmith''s past efforts as its current might is a far cry from what it was in the past.


    Nevertheless, it still makes use of the original mechanic as it contains a de that could only be unsheathed once a well-disguised button at the tip of its handle is pressed.


    To honor the first creation, as well as to mark that they have improved, the cksmith has given this weapon the name Crimson Blossom, knowing fully well of its capabilities of turning the ground crimson.


    <Innate Skill 1: Crimson Petal Edge - Allows the user to infuse mana into the weapon, causing the inner de to appear as it shoots out a red de of energy. Deals damage equivalent to 200% of the user''s Attack stat.


    Has a small chance to inflict Bleed on the enemy, reducing the enemy''s health by 1% of its max HP per second for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 3,000 MP.>


    Remarks: You have undoubtedly made it better. If your past self were to find out about this, they would undoubtedly be jubnt over how far you''vee.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the new and improved dagger he had forged, Valyr felt a bit of wetness welling up around his eyes as hepared the weapon before him to the weapon he had forged in the past.


    By the time his eyes had passed through the weapon''s remarks, the wetness around his eyes threatened to stream down his face, prompting him to look away at the screen and let out a long sigh.


    "I''ve already gotten this far¡­" muttered the young man to himself as he ced the dagger to the side.


    "Then again, I still have a long way to go."


    Looking at the small cache of materials before him, Valyr took out a few of them before proceeding to chuck them into the furnace.


    "In any case, that''s one item down."


    "Now I only have three left to go."

 Chapter 719 Four Pillars: Four Items (2)

    Chapter 719 Four Pirs: Four Items (2)


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With Valyr finally finished with the first of four items needed toplete the trial, the young man did not dy in proceeding onto the next three items.


    Though, because of this decision, he inadvertently cut a few corners around some of the steps of the forging process.


    And one of those steps was the matter of what items he should forge.


    "For the sake of simplicity and speed, let''s go with a shield, a pair of knuckles, and a sword." Saying these words to himself, Valyr continued to tten out the piece of metal he had taken out from the furnace, gradually taking on the rough form of a clipeus.


    Of course, even though the young man said these words as if it were a matter of fact, that did not mean that Valyr hade up with the weapons from the get-go.


    After having chucked in a few materials into the furnace as preparations for the items he would potentially craft, the young man decided to peruse the shelves of blueprints around him to obtain some potential item ideas.


    Taking a brief look at the crimson dagger he had just finished forging, Valyr began to go through a few of the blueprints, thinking that the couple he picked out would be more than enough to forge as the three remaining items needed toplete the trial.


    However, as if it was fated to happen, the blueprints he had picked out all looked to be items that needed a great number of parts in order to be created.


    With that, he proceeded to peruse through some more blueprints, only to find out that those blueprints only led to items of simrplexity.


    Eventually, he did find blueprints that allowed him to forge simple items that were around the same level ofplexity as the crimson dagger he forged.


    Though, by the time he had done so, he had more or less gone through all of the blueprints on the shelves,mitting all of the information written on them to memory.


    ''At the very least I could make use of some of them by the time I get out of the inheritance,'' thought Valyr to himself with a chuckle as he continued to forge the shield. ''In fact, I can probably integrate that flexible armor blueprint I got once I get around to upgrading True Dragon Armor to its next rarity.''


    Continuing to think about how he would go about making use of the blueprints he got from the trial after he left the inheritance, Valyr continued forging the shield, making use of the skills and materials he had ess to.


    Then again, with how the shield needed less parts and less effort to achieve a high level of quality, it only took a bit more than an hour for the shield to bepleted.


    Looking at the round metal shield he had created with a slightly proud expression, Valyr went ahead and used his identification skill on it, nodding in satisfaction after seeing that it was Umon+ grade in rarity.


    cing the shield near where the crimson dagger was, the young man was about to proceed onto the third item, only to recall something he had not greatly mulled over.


    "Huh."


    "Now that I think about it¡­ where did the original Red Blossom go?"


    Slightly frowning at the question, Valyr recalled that thest time he had seen Red Blossom was when he had used the weapon against Zeik during their ambush.


    After that, it seemed like the weapon had disappeared without a trace, causing the young man to scratch the back of his head as he tried to recall more details around the weapon.


    In the end, the young man shrugged his shoulders, shifting back his attention to the matter at hand.


    "Well, whatever. If I do try searching for it, it''s most likely in the vige anyway."


    With that, he moved onto the third item, crafting a pair of metal knuckles that somewhat resembled the pair he had forged for Tristan in the past.


    Though, unlike those knuckles that relied on the concept of opposing elements, these pair of knuckles were quite simple in nature and design.


    Then again, the simplicity of the knuckles was made up for through the materials used to forge them in the first ce, allowing them to be as sturdy as they could possibly be.


    Seeing that the knuckles had been ssified as Rare grade by the system, the young man nodded in satisfaction yet again as he moved onto the fourth and final item needed to finish the trial.


    ''A sword¡­''


    If there was one item Valyr thought that he had the most experience forging in, that would undoubtedly be the sword.


    After all, with him and many yers being flung into the medieval world of Veldanyr, the sword was considered one of the staple weapons found in the battlefield.


    Aside from that, many yers had chosen to take up the sword after seeing the skills the NPCs had shown, leaving him no choice but to be incredibly familiar with how the various sword types were created.


    Wryly smiling as he took a brief trip through memoryne, the young man began to peruse through the list of blueprints he had gotten from the trial in his mind as he made his way to the material cache.


    Eventually finding a simple enough sword blueprint within the list, Valyr went ahead and took out the materials needed to forge it from the material cache, chucking all of them into the furnace soon after.


    Stoking the mes within the furnace to let the materials reach their optimal forging temperature, the young man looked around the surroundings for a bit, only for his eyes tond on the material cache at some point.


    Staring at the material cache, a thought popped up in the young man''s mind out of nowhere, prompting him to grab a material from the cache before cing it into his spatial bracelet.


    Wondering what would happen, a mocking smile appeared on his face after seeing the material he grabbed disappear the very moment it made contact with the space within the spatial bracelet.


    "To be honest, I should have expected that to happen," muttered the young man to himself, eventually returning his focus to what he needed to do.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Though he ended up taking a bit more time whenpared to the crimson dagger, the young man looked at the shortsword he had forged, nodding as he admired the simplicity amidst its ferocious design.


    "I could probably give this sword as a gift to Hal." Activating his identification skill on the sword, a relieved smile appeared on his face once he checked that the system had ssified the sword to be of Rare+ grade.


    At the same time, the trial''s monotonous voice resounded throughout the barrennd once more, signaling that he had sessfullypleted the main objective.


    ''Through what you''ve shown during this trial, you have shown the Gates of Awakening that your skill in forging isparable to the skill you''ve shown inbat, both of them extending beyond the confines that shackle you.''


    ''However, unlike what you''ve shown in the previous trial, there is a certain refined taste to the way you forge your items, a certain finesse that only those with great experience in the craft can achieve.''


    ''That alone is a sign that, like yourbat prowess, the limits of your forging lie elsewhere, perhaps at a realm that may only be achieved by the pinnacle among the pinnacle of cksmiths.''


    ''Congrattions, trial taker.''


    ''You have sessfully cleared the Trial of Four Rarities.''

 Chapter 720 Four Pillars: Four Forms (1)

    Chapter 720 Four Pirs: Four Forms (1)


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment the monotonous voice had finished announcing hispletion of the second trial, the parts making up the workshop Valyr had been working at for the entire trial began to recede into the ground once more.


    Watching even the material cache and the blueprint shelves recede into the ground along with the tools and equipment, a hint of fear appeared in the young man''s eyes as he looked at the four items he had forged.


    ''Would the trial grab those as well?'' thought the young man to himself.


    Then again, it made quite a lot of sense, considering how he had basically used the materials and equipment from the Gates of Awakening to forge the four items in the first ce.


    However, rather than be absorbed by the barren ground as well, bubbles of mana began to envelop the items Valyr had forged as they slowly made their way to where he stood.


    Seeing this, a slight smile crept up the young man''s lips as he helped the bubbles move closer to him with his own mana.


    By the time the bubbles arrived to where he was, all traces of the workshop he had previously worked at had thoroughly disappeared.


    If anything, the only remnants that he had forged something within the trial grounds were none other than the four items that had been carried over to him.


    "I guess this is a bonus perk of the second trial that the Gates of Awakening wants me to keep," said Valyr as he looked at the four items he had forged once more.


    Then, without giving it a second thought, he chucked all four into his spatial bracelet before deciding to sit down and get some rest.


    Whoosh!


    Taking out a bunch of health, mana, and stamina potions from his spatial bracelet, Valyr downed all of them one by one without hesitation, feeling all of the fatigue from forging four items in a row gradually fade away.


    "Though it feels easier toplete since it''s my forte, it still doesn''t change the fact that forging an item is quite an exhausting process," murmured the young man as heid down on the ground.


    With the monotonous voice going silent after having retrieved all of the things that had been brought out for the second trial, Valyr knew that he had been given time once more to unwind from the stress of the trial he had just gone through.


    However, since the monotonous voice could talk about the third trial to him at any moment, the young man could only halfheartedly rx at moment, reducing the need for his body to move as much as he could for as long as possible.


    ''Hmm¡­'' Of course, even though he made sure his body did not move that much, the same could not be said for his mind.


    ''Now that I think about it¡­ would I only receive rewards from the Gates of Awakening after Iplete the third trial?''


    As multiple thoughts lingered in the young man''s mind, this thought eventually surfaced and took most of the man''s attention, prompting him to look back at his experience whilst he was taking the Gates of Enlightenment''s trial.


    Simr to Hal, due to his superbbat prowess, the Gates of Enlightenment had given the minimum number of trials toplete.


    To make up for that, the Gates of Enlightenment divided the trial into four phases that he mustplete, with each phase giving him quite the hefty reward.


    With that, he found it slightly peculiar that the Gates of Awakening, where its trial scheme involved having to go through nine trials in total, had not given him a single reward of the sort yet.


    ''Unless the items are considered a reward forpleting the second trial, then I might only obtain rewards from the Gates of Awakening once I get past the first bottleneck,'' thought the young man to himself, faintly chuckling soon after.


    ''Of course, since it''s the Gates of Awakening, it''s only a given that the rewards I''ll get from doing so are more than worth the effort.''


    Closing his eyes for a bit after the thought, the young man eventually sat up after what felt like a few minutes.


    Taking out a health and mana potion from his spatial bracelet to top off both of his reserves, it was only did the young man feel a trace of sleepiness stemming from his insides.


    Taking notice of this, Valyr grabbed one of the vials of rousing Faulus had concocted for them from his spatial bracelet before downing it in one gulp.


    Feeling the sleepiness he felt earlier disappear in less than an instant, the young man looked at the vial for a bit.


    ''Huh. That''s weird.''


    ''With all things considered, it''s been far over a day since I''vest gotten a wink of sleep. Yet only now did I feel the slight urge to get a bit of shuteye.''


    Scratching the back of his head as he pondered over the possible reasons why that was the case, Valyr eventually pushed the thought to the side as he decided to take a look at the party chat to see if the others had finally responded.


    Thankfully, the other four had indeed sent a message this time around, with Hal and Loreina telling Valyr that they had passed through the fifth trial just recently and were now attempting the sixth.


    As for Vera, she said that she was still in the midst of tackling the first trial. However, she also told him that it wouldn''t be long till she would clear it.


    Unsurprisingly, Faulus said more or less the same thing Vera did, but with his rate of progress being considerably slower than hers.


    Letting out a faint chuckle at Faulus'' response, Valyr went ahead and informed the others that he was now taking the trials of the Gates of Awakening as well, giving the four a progress update before closing the party chat.


    It was also around this time that the monotonous voice echoed throughout the trial grounds yet again, causing a faint smirk to appear on Valyr''s face as he listened to what the voice had to say.


    ''Through the first trial, you have shown that your prowess inbat exceeds known bounds.''


    ''Through the second, you''ve shown that your mastery in forging goes beyond expectations.''


    ''Though the third trial''s objective returns you, the trial taker, back to the world ofbat, the third trial shall focus on a part ofbat that is considered to be one of the most important to understand.''


    ''That would be¡­ the essence ofbat hidden within the various styles.''


    ''With that said, your third trial is the Trial of Four Forms.''

 Chapter 721 Four Pillars: Four Forms (2)

    Chapter 721 Four Pirs: Four Forms (2)


    Unlike the times when the names of the two previous trials were announced, Valyr decided not to specte over what the third trial about.


    After all, from what the voice had told him so far, he more or less had an idea of what to expect once the trial began.


    "Aside from that, it''s a given that the voice will describe the mechanics of the uing trial in greater detail," said the young man to himself, deciding to rest on the ground for a bit longer as he waited for the voice to speak out once more.


    Of course, it only took a couple of minutes of silence for the monotonous voice to echo throughout the trial grounds yet again, this time discussing the specifics of the Trial of Four Forms.


    ''In the world ofbat, there are a myriad number of styles and ways for one to engage with the enemy. Some of them approachbat from the shadows, while some of them approach it head-on.''


    ''Nevertheless, all of these styles and ways stem from amon ancestor, a series ofbat styles that seem to have been imbued into the lifeblood of mortals themselves through generations of effort and innovation.''


    ''Though thesebat styles are called by many mortals as basic or rudimentarybat styles, thesebat styles form the foundation that make up almost all of thebat styles one would see at the present.''


    ''To the purists ofbat, thesebat styles are termed the four foundational forms ofbat, with the fist, sword, spear, and staff making up those four.''


    ''During the Trial of Four Forms, the trial taker mustprehend the essence behind each form and increase their level of understanding of it to a certain degree.''


    ''Once the trial taker hasprehended each of the four forms to a level of understanding that stands at the peak of Common grade, only then would the trial taker be considered to have passed the third trial.''


    ''You have five minutes to prepare.''


    With the surroundings bing silent yet again after the voice was done with its exnation, it took a while for Valyr to utter out the words that began to gue his mind.


    "Huh."


    "Why does it seem like this trial¡­ is easier than even the second trial?"


    During the first trial, he had to kill a thousand primitive humanoids that had strengths greater than even the quadrant leaders at their first phase.


    During the second trial, he had to forge four items where the next item should be of a higher grade than the previous one.


    And now, if he was understands the mechanics of the third trial that the voice exined correctly¡­


    What he needed to do was to obtain the corresponding mastery skills for the four foundational forms and upgrade them to the peak of Common grade.


    "As long as the trial gives me the corresponding mastery skills for the four forms in the form of skill books, it''ll undoubtedly be smooth sailing to thepletion of this trial," said the young man, using the time he had been given to prepare as more rest time.


    "Then again, even if they don''t, it''s not like I don''t have any experience in obtaining mastery skills from nothing."


    With those thoughts continuing to linger in his mind, Valyr felt confident that it wouldn''t be long until he received his first batch of rewards from the Gates of Awakening, as well as the rewards from his currently ongoing quest.


    Adorning a faint smile that oozed confidence, Valyr stood up at the very moment the five minutes of preparation were up, waiting for the monotonous voice to speak up once more.


    ''The trial begins in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    Rumble¡­


    Hearing the voice''s countdown, Valyr slightly distanced himself from where he stood as he felt the ground beneath him starting to rumble yet again.


    Watching a set of items jutting out of the ground once more, a knowing smile gradually crept up onto the young man''s face as he took a look at the items that had appeared in front of him.


    ''Well¡­ I think I have an idea as to why this is considered the third trial now.''


    Though the items were covered in a faintyer of dust, it still didn''t hide the many years of history engraved into the items themselves, making Valyr feel as if he were staring at prized relics rather than items that had been loaned to him for the trial.


    Looking at therge gray training dummy standing a fair distance away from him, the young man then shifted his gaze towards the four pedestals to the side, all of which contained a weapon that corresponded to one of the four forms.


    ''Fist, sword, spear, staff¡­''


    Wondering which among the four weapons he shouldprehend first, Valyr eventually opted to go with the staff, considering that it was the weapon that felt closest to the spear.


    Though, just as he had picked the staff off from the pedestal, the trial''s monotonous voice sounded out once more.


    ''With the prowess you''ve shown in the previous trials, as well as the knowledge shared to us by the Gates of Enlightenment, you have sessfully achieved the level ofprehension necessary to understand the essence of the spear.''


    ''Only three of the four foundational forms remain.''


    For a while, the young man did not know how to react.


    After all, the voice just mentioned to him out of nowhere that it had obtained information about him from the Gates of Enlightenment.


    However, once he got past that point, great tion covered his face.


    Then again, who wouldn''t be after hearing that a part of the trial had already beenpleted beforehand?


    With that, he moved towards the training dummy with a slight spring in his step.


    Then, tightly gripping onto the staff, the young man began to send a flurry of strikes onto the dummy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    As if he were a tireless machine, Valyr struck the training dummy from multiple angles, being reminded of the days he had done the same thing with the spear back at Astarto Vige.


    Though, unlike back then, he now had ess to [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], which allowed him to peer through the weak spots of the training dummy and deal considerably greater damage.


    Then again, rather than deal greater damage, due to how the trial was designed, what Valyr felt instead from hitting these weak spots was instead a greater surge of information regarding the essence of the staff.


    In a way, he felt that a single strike to one of the dummy''s weak spots was equivalent to five strikes if he were to strike any other point on the dummy.


    With that, he changed his thought process and began to strike the training dummy only at the weak spots, causing more and more information regarding the essence of the staff to inundate his mind.


    Of course, just like the couple other mastery skills he had gained in the past, the information he had gained had eventually culminated as he felt as if he had received enlightenment towards a certain concept.


    Ding!


    [You have gained a basic grasp of wielding the staff.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Staff Mastery''.]


    Seeing that he had finally gained the corresponding mastery skill of the staff, Valyr swiftly ced the staff to the side as hemanded the system to upgrade the skill to its level limit.


    Waiting for the system''s notification in anticipation, a faint hint of confusion appeared on his face after not having received any notification in response whatsoever.


    Wondering what was going on, Valyr decided to take a look at the skill to see if the trial had done something peculiar with it.


    Surprisingly enough, the trial had indeed done something to it, causing a bitter smile to appear on the young man''s face.


    Letting out a sigh, he picked up the staff once more and began to hit the training dummy once again.


    "I now truly understand why this is considered the third trial." Valyr let out a wry chuckle.


    "After all, who in their right mind would upgrade a skill to the peak of any rarity through sheer repetition if you could use XP to do so?"


    "Only madmen would do such a thing."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Haah¡­"


    "Guess I''m gonna have to turn into one of those madmen for a while."

 Chapter 722 Four Pillars: Rewards for Effort

    <h4>Chapter 722 Four Pirs: Rewards for Effort</h4>


    "Just a few more hits, and everything will be over."


    Tightening his grip over the knuckles he wore, Valyr stared intently at the training dummy before him with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], taking note of the various weak spots scattered all over its body.


    Eventuallying up with a pattern that would allow him to strike as many weak spots as possible on the dummy, the young man took in a deep breath before sending both of his fists out at full force.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    With great strength and momentum behind each strike, a solid thud would resound from the dummy''s body as a loud sound akin to a thunderp would apany it on its surface.


    Continuing to strike against the dummy with his eyes looking for more weak spots to strike, Valyr felt as if his fists had transformed into a pair of portable explosives with how much strength was contained in each fist.


    Then again, with how he had struck out thousands of times on the training dummy to raise its corresponding mastery skill, something like that happening was only a matter of when.


    If anything, the same could be said for the staff and the sword, the two weapons he had chosen to pick up first to max out their corresponding mastery skills.


    ''Well, it''s not like there''s no point to doing something like this every once in a while,'' thought Valyr to himself, noting the various advantages constant repetition brought about to the way he wielded the three weapons.


    For one, the repetitive movements the trial forced him to do prompted him to find ways to reduce the amount of energy he would consume with each strike he sent out.


    With that, Valyr felt like if he were to fight with the sword, the staff, or the spear against another opponent, he would be able tost far longer through his stamina alone.


    Much less the improvements repetition brought to his overall control over the weapons.


    After all, aside from having to find ways to reduce the amount of energy he consumed with every strike, he also had to find the positioning that introduced the least amount of burden on his body during the process.


    Because of that, even though his corresponding mastery skills in regards to the three weapons were only at the peak of Common grade, Valyr felt that his mastery over the three weapons had already far surpassed Umon grade.


    ''Though I was happy to find out that I didn''t need to grind out the spear''s mastery skill at first, now that I''m almost done with this trial, I find it quite a shame that the trial didn''t force me to grind out the spear either.''


    Letting out a faint sigh at the thought, the young man eventually made up his mind to find some time in the future to work his control over the spear, continuing to strike the training dummy with both fists.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Landing both of his fists on what looked to be opposite sides of the training dummy, Valyr instantly felt a great amount of information regarding the essence of the fist inundate his mind, prompting him to close his eyes.


    Remaining silent, he went over through his understanding regarding the fist thus far, as well as the information he had just obtained from striking the training dummy a bit more.


    In the end, it did not take long for the young man''s understanding over the fist to expand, opening his eyes with a gaze of rity as he stared at the dummy with a solemn expression.


    Ding!


    [You have increased your understanding on how to use the fists better.]


    [The passive skill ''Basic Fist Mastery'' has upgraded to Level 10.]


    [Would you like to consume 1 Common Skill Key and 100,000 XP to evolve the skill to Umon grade?]


    "And with this, we''re done."


    Faintly smiling as he took a look at the notifications he had received, Valyr put the notifications to the side for the meantime while taking off the knuckles he had been using all this time.


    Taking out a series of potions from his spatial bracelet, the young man did not hesitate to all of them in one go, swiftly returning all of his reserves to their peak condition.


    It was also around the time the young man obtained the notifications did the monotonous voice speak out once more, prompting the smile on Valyr''s face to grow even wider.


    ''Though your prowess inbat has already reached a realm that goes beyond the confines that shackle you, you have shown the Gates of Awakening that you still have the willingness and tenacity to go through hardships to polish your understanding ofbat.''


    ''That characteristic already puts above even those standing at the pinnacle, with your potential towardsbat far more vast than initially seemed.''


    ''With enough effort and patience, such potential shall be realized in due time. However, one must choose to go through the hardship rather than have it be forced upon them to truly blossom.''


    ''The Gates of Awakening hopes you make that kind of choice.''


    ''Congrattions, trial taker. You have cleared the Trial of Four Forms.''


    Ding!


    Just as the voice seemed to be finished congratting him, a notification sound resounded throughout Valyr''s mind once more, prompting him to take a look at the new notifications he had received.


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (1).]


    [Your authority within the Gates of Awakening has increased by one level. This authority is only essible once the user bes a part of the Gates of Awakening.]


    [Your other rewards shall be announced by the Gates of Awakening themselves, including the ones attributed to your performance throughout the three previous trials.]


    [You have obtained a new quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (2).]


    ''Guess I''ll have to wait for the voice to start talking again, it seems.''


    Reading through the notifications, a satisfied yet curious smile crept up onto the young man''s lips as he wondered what other rewards he would obtain frompleting the quest.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for his questions to be answered, with the monotonous voice from the trial grounds resounding throughout the area once more.


    ''With what you''ve shown to the Gates of Awakening thus far, there is no doubt that you, the trial taker, have earned more than enough qualifications to be a part of the Gates of Awakening itself.''


    ''Though, that does not mean that your rewards in attempting these trials only extends to your membership into the Gates of Awakening.''


    ''Having passed what is considered the first bottleneck of the Gates of Awakening''s trials, a couple of rewards shall be given to you that will aid you in your future endeavors.''


    ''Unfortunately, the Gates of Awakening is limited in what it could give, so it is up to you, the trial taker, to make a choice.''


    ''Would you like the reward to lean more towardsbat? Or would you like the reward to lean more towards forging?''


    ''Or perhaps¡­ you would like the reward to epass both fields of interest?''

 Chapter 723 Four Pillars: Might and Tranquility

    <h4>Chapter 723 Four Pirs: Might and Tranquility</h4>


    Hearing that the voice had given him a choice to make, Valyr went silent as he thought about the question for a bit.


    Then again, it did not take long for him to open his mouth as he decided to ask the voice for more information regarding the matter.


    If it would respond back, that is.


    "What''s the difference between choosing eitherbat or forging and choosing to go with both?" asked the young man, holding a faint hope in his heart that the voice would take notice of his question.


    Thankfully for him, the voice did hear him, exining the differences between the three as he inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    ''If the trial taker were to choose eitherbat or forging, the reward they would obtain in their chosen field would be quite substantial,'' said the voice.


    ''On the other hand, if the trial taker were to choose to obtain rewards in both fields, there would be no problems. It''s just that the rewards would not be as substantial as just choosing one field out of the two.''


    ''If one were to rte it tobat, choosing one field would be as if the trial taker had used a skill that turned the tides in the battlefield, while choosing both fields would be as if the trial taker had activated a skill that buffed their overall stats.''


    Listening to the voice''s exnation, Valyr nodded in understanding. "I see."


    Not long after, he made up his mind, even though a small part inside him felt like such a choice was wasteful.


    Nevertheless, obtaining something in both fields would help him out more in the long run.


    "I would like to go with both fields, then," said Valyr to the voice.


    ''Understood,'' replied the voice not long after.


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant the voice had taken note of his request, silver energy began to manifest around Valyr''s body, orbiting his body as if they were waiting for something.


    ''For your reward in the field ofbat, you, the trial taker, shall be given an upgrade to one of your core skills in advance.''


    Hearing what the voice said, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise. ''Didn''t the voice just say that the rewards for choosing both was less substantial than choosing one field?''


    ''If so, then why does the reward forbat seem so substantial?''


    Swoosh!


    Unfortunately, before the young man could delve a bit further into his own question, parts of the silver strands had stopped circling around his body and instead made a beeline straight to his mind.


    Once there, the silver strands of energy dissolved and turned into a great amount of information, causing Valyr''s understanding regarding a certain concept to undergo a substantial increase.


    Ding!


    [You haveprehended a few additional yet important concepts surrounding mana and Shadow Energy, specifically the flexibility that exists between mana and Shadow Energy.]


    [Because of this, the active skill ''Shadow Serpent Movement Style'' has evolved to ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style''. The skill''s level has been reverted back to Level 1.]


    After having recovered from having information inundate his mind once more, Valyr took a look at the reward he had obtained through his notifications, only to have an awkward smile on his face.


    ''I¡­ guess that''s less substantial?''


    Of course,pared to something like an upgrade to [Shadow Serpent Magic Style], getting an upgrade to [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] was definitely not as great of an improvement.


    Then again, beyond the scope ofbat, an upgraded version of [Shadow Serpent Movement Style] had far greater effects, considering how the skill before had already allowed him to move at fast speeds.


    ''For your reward in the field of forging, you, the trial taker, shall obtain the knowledge regarding the technologies and innovations that have been birthed in an age that has long passed.''


    Whoosh!


    As if it were waiting for Valyr to finish going through his reward, the voice only spoke up once more after the young man had finished looking through his notifications, sending the remaining silver strands his way.


    Swoosh!


    Once more, these silver strands of energy headed straight to his mind and dissolved into bits of information.


    However, unlike before, the information that filled his mind were exactly what the voice had mentioned, technologies and innovations that had been made in an age that had long passed.


    Then again, the age the voice mentioned was none other than the age where the ancestor of all firearms, the firence, was invented.


    Ding!


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the Early Middle Ages on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    ''¡­If this is considered less than substantial, then I don''t know what kind of reward rted to forging would reach that standard.''


    Looking through the notifications he had just obtained from the system, Valyr nkly stared at the screen before him for a bit as he still tried to process the reward he had obtained.


    By the time he had regained his bearings, a wide smile appeared on his face as he thought about the information he had just unlocked.


    ''It seems I''ll be able toplete one of that special quest''s objectives sooner than expected,'' thought Valyr to himself as he slightly grinned.


    ''Aside from those rewards, since you have gone past the first bottleneck, you have also been deemed more than eligible to enter the first floor of the True cksmith Archive.''


    At those words, Valyr only smiled as he thought about the remaining rewards from the quest that corresponded to the question marks.


    Then again, just like before, it did not take long for his questions to be answered as the voice spoke up yet again.


    ''As the Gates of Awakening have been privy towards your superbbat prowess thanks to the Gates of Enlightenment, the Gates of Awakening would like to reward you even further after what you''ve showcased throughout the first three trials.''


    ''With the ingenuity and tenacity you''ve shown in the first and third trial, as well as the speed at which you''vepleted these trials, the Gates of Awakening would like to reward you with the ability to tap into the strength that slumbers within the recesses of your body.''


    ''With this awakened strength, the Gates of Awakening hopes that your might in the future shall be renowned in the entire world.''


    ''Aside from that, you''ve also shown that you have great mastery and control over the art of forging during the second trial.''


    ''To reward that part of your identity that stands on par with yourbat prowess, the Gates of Awakening would like to reward you with the ability to achieve the pinnacle of zen, the zenith of focus.''


    ''With this ability, the Gates of Awakening hopes that your level of craft enters an even higher level, eventually reaching the higher realm all mortals aspire to reach.''


    Ding!


    [You have obtained a great amount of otherworldly energy, awakening facets of your potential that were originally slumbering.]


    [You have awakened the hidden stat ''Might''.]


    [You have gained 3 points of Might.]


    [You have awakened the hidden stat ''Tranquility''.]


    [You have gained 3 points of Tranquility.]

 Chapter 724 Four Pillars: The Next Bottleneck

    <h4>Chapter 724 Four Pirs: The Next Bottleneck</h4>


    With him moving the notification screen to the side beforehand, Valyr did not take long to take a look at the new notifications he had obtained, all of which left at a loss for words.


    By the time he had recovered from the slight shock the notifications gave him, the young man took in a few deep breaths as a question eventually surfaced in his mind.


    ''So¡­ the rewards that corresponded to the question marks are the hidden stats I just obtained?''


    Wanting to know whether that was indeed the case, Valyr moved the screen to the side once more, waiting for the voice to start talking in the hopes of obtaining more rewards.


    Yet, no voice was heard whatsoever even after he had waited for a few minutes.


    With that, the young man could only wryly smile, thinking about the specific hidden stats he had just obtained.


    ''Might and Tranquility¡­''


    Though obtaining only hidden stats paled inparison to the rewards he had obtained earlier, Valyr knew that thetter would only be of aid to him in the short term.


    On the other hand, the hidden stats he obtained would apany him to the very end of his journey, with potential to be more terrifying as he found ways to increase such stats in the future.


    ''Even though Might is one of the moremon hidden stats, it''s still pretty good.''


    Bringing up descriptions of the hidden stats before him, Valyr began to read through them as he thought back to his past life as a yer.


    Just like Vigor and Mana Purity, Might was considered one of the moremon hidden stats one would obtain around the boundary between Legends and Myths.


    Though, with how Vigor was usually attributed to those with Defender-based sses, while Mana Purity was usually attributed to those with Arcanist-based sses, Might was actually a staple attribute for two sses.


    The Warrior-based sses and the Assassin-based sses.


    Of course, this was due to the fact that the Might stat gave a considerable boost to all physical stats aside from VIT.


    Not only that, but it also increased one''s Attack stat as well, which could very well define the fine line between life and death for those that mainly dealt damage.


    However, if one were to ask what made the Might stat incredibly goodpared to the othermon hidden stats, it was the fact that it would give the user a certain skill after having enough points in the stat.


    ''[True Rage]¡­'' thought the young man, recalling the many times in the past where his friends would have a red aura around them all of a sudden.


    Though simr in concept to [Berserk] and other power boosting skills, [True Rage] was a skill whose strength was more or less tied to how high one''s Might stat was.


    The higher one''s Might stat was, the greater the boost one would obtain from [True Rage]. At the same time, the less the consequences one would get from using the skill.


    In fact, he had even heard that there were a few yers in the past who had gotten their Might stat to absurdly high numbers that their versions of [True Rage] had no drawbacks whatsoever.


    At the thought, he briefly imagined himself using such a skill in the future, decimating all his foes with one hit.


    ''Let''s move onto Tranquility¡­'' Shaking his head as he realized he had begun to daydream, Valyr then focused his attention on the description of the second hidden stat he had obtained.


    Compared to Might, Tranquility was a hidden stat that he had heard of in the past, but did not know that well.


    Nevertheless, even though he didn''t know much about it, there was still one thing about Tranquility from his past life that stuck out like a sore thumb.


    And that was the fact that those with the Tranquility stat have the ability to enter a state simr to [Flow], ignoring all of the unnecessary things before them as they focus all of their attention towards a certain thing.


    ''Is that the state the old man was in during the memory?'' As he asked this question to himself, Valyr proceeded to read through the description of the hidden stat, nodding in understanding by the time he was done reading.


    ''With Might giving a considerable boost to physical stats, Tranquility can be considered the magical counterpart of Might, giving a boost to INT, WIS, and PER.''


    ''However, unlike Might, Tranquility does not affect any of the general stats at all,'' thought Valyr. ''But in exchange, it allows one to enter a state simr to [Flow] at any time.''


    "Whether or not that state makes a difference inbat is something I''ll have to find outter," muttered the young man, closing the screens he had brought up with a satisfied expression.


    At the same time, the monotonous voice of the trial grounds resound out once more, prompting Valyr to think that the reason why the voice hadn''t said anything earlier was because he was busy going over the rewards he obtained.


    But of course, that wasn''t the case.


    ''Though your strength inbat and forging have undoubtedly caught the Gates of Awakening''s attention, that does not change the fact that you have only passed the first bottleneck.''


    ''With the Gates of Awakening''s trials being made up of nine trials in total, there is still the second bottleneck and the third bottleneck that you must clear.''


    ''However, the Gates of Awakening shall not force you to continue to proceed onto these seeding bottlenecks.''


    ''Instead, the Gates of Awakening gives you the choice to either proceed and aim for the second bottleneck¡­''


    ''Or stop your attempts at the further trials here and im the other rewards that have been mentioned earlier.''


    ''Naturally, aiming for the second bottleneck shall bestow upon you the opportunity to receive far greater rewards than the ones you have received.''


    ''But as mentioned before, the choice is ultimately yours.''


    ''Now¡­ what shall you pick, trial taker?''


    Listening to the words the voice had told him, Valyr went silent for a bit as a few thoughts swirled in his mind.


    After some time, he brought up a screen in front of him, its contents being the description of a quest he had just received.


    Reading through it, a bitter smile gradually crept up on the young man''s lips, lowly sighing as he reached the end of the text.


    ''Well¡­ it would definitely be stupid for me to stop here with more rewards ready for the taking.''


    ''But with a carrot like that dangling in front for me to grab¡­''


    ''I just can''t not take the bait.''


    "¡­Alright."


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr spoke out to the voice. "I have made my decision."


    "I would like to continue taking the trials."

 Chapter 725 Four Pillars: Four Elements

    Chapter 725 Four Pirs: Four Elements


    ''You have made a wise choice.''


    Just as Valyr had made up his mind on whether to continue with the trials or not, the monotonous voice resounded throughout the grounds once more as it praised the young man for his decision.


    ''There is merit to both choices, though whether that remains true depends on the strength one wields.''


    ''If one''s strength iscking and they opted to not proceed to the next set of trials, their choice would be considered wise. One could interpret this as a realization of one''s limits, or as an imposition of discipline onto one''s self.''


    ''On the other hand, if one''s strength exceeds the norm and they opted to proceed to the next set of trials, such a decision would also be considered wise as well.'' ''As you, the trial taker, fall under this category, any further exnation is not needed. After all, such a choice must not be simple to make, even if the stakes were obvious.''


    ''Then again, if one''s strength iscking and they still opted to proceed to the trials with theircking strength in mind, there is also merit to that.''


    ''Of course, such a choice would not be considered wise, but it would nevertheless be considered respectable as only a few among those in that situation would take the risk and do so.''


    ''In that scenario, the unyielding spirit of a person is shown in its true colors, showcasing the underlying perseverance and tenacity that any being holds under even the direst of situations.''


    ''With that said, the choice that you, the trial taker, have made is also respectable.''


    ''For anyone who has made the choice to attempt something, even though the chance of failure exists, is considered a far better person than those who decide to shy away in front of the face of opportunity.''


    ''You have 10 minutes to prepare.''


    Listening to the monotonous voice''s exnation, a faint smile crept up the young man''s face as a thought surfaced in his mind.


    "It''s not really that deep," muttered Valyr as he sat down on the ground.


    Facing the screen before him, the smile on his face gradually became crooked.


    "If anything, the reason why I decided to continue was because of this quest right here."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Awakening'' Trial (2)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    The Gates of Awakening¡­ description has been omitted.


    || Addendum: Rather than choose the bare minimum, you''ve decided to go all out and reach the top, showing the Gates of Awakening that your skills even exceed one''s wildest expectations.


    Through this, you have gained merit, as well as the attention of the Gates of Awakening itself.


    Now, having passed the first bottleneck, you shall be given the choice of proceeding onto the next set of trials, or iming the other rewards you''ve yet to im.


    Once again, the choice is ultimately yours.


    However, some choices might now lead to greater rewards than before. ||


    Quest Objectives:


    > [Option 1] Forfeit the opportunity to proceed onto the next set of trials (0/1)


    > [Option 2] Surrender at the sixth trial of the Gates of Awakening (0/1)


    > [Option 3] Clear the sixth trial of the Gates of Awakening and pass through the second bottleneck (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > [Option 2 / 3] ess to the second level of the Gates of Awakening''s True cksmith Archive


    > [Option 2 / 3] Increased level of authority within the Gates of Awakening


    > [Option 3] ess to an iplete set of memories from the First Forger


    > [Option 3] ess to Gates of Awakening'' Trial (3)


    > [Option 3] ??? (Additional rewards dependent on performance during the quest)


    Quest Penalties:


    > Level - 10


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the quest earlier, Valyr knew that it would be incredibly stupid for him to proceed with the first objective.


    After all, with how no reward came attached to the first option in his new quest, it meant that he would be basically forfeiting the quest if he were to choose it.


    With that, only the second and third option was left in his mind, taking on a slight interest towards the fact that the quest had decided to give something like the second option in the first ce.


    Then again, just like before, the young man eventually went with thest option in the end.


    However, it was not for the reason that the third option gave him more rewards.


    Instead, it was the fact that the third option allowed him to ess the memories of the First Forger again.


    ''With how the Triad Gates are designed, these memories would potentially allow me to obtain the inheritance of the First Forger itself,'' thought the young man.


    ''However, the only thing I''ve gained from the First Forger''s memories were the two Intent Seeds Iprehended rted to forging.''


    ''Though I wonder if I''d be able to inherit the First Forger''s skills through seeing more of its memories, I''m more curious as to what answers the memories hold once I take a look at it.''


    ''Well, that''s only if the memories do contain information that may give me answers in the first ce,'' thought Valyr as he let out a faint sigh.


    With these thoughts continuing to linger in his mind, the first and second option on his newly obtained quest gradually dissipated on its own, leaving only the third option for him toplete.


    At the same time, the monotonous voice resounded throughout the trial grounds, causing Valyr''s eyes to slightly widen in surprise.


    "It''s already been 10 minutes?" asked Valyr to himself, only to push such thoughts to the side as he began to listen to what the monotonous voice had to say.


    ''Through the first trial, you''ve shown your level of prowess inbat.''


    ''Through the second trial, you''ve shown your level of prowess in forging.''


    ''And through the third trial, you''ve shown the potential you have in the other fields ofbat.''


    ''The fourth trial could be considered simr to the third trial in that it examines whether you, the trial taker, has potential towards the other fields ofbat.''


    ''However, rather than test your potential in physicalbat styles, the fourth trial shall examine your potential in the world of the arcane.''


    ''With that, your fourth trial is the Trial of Four Elements.''

 Chapter 726 Four Pillars: Swift Progress

    Chapter 726 Four Pirs: Swift Progress


    Surprisingly, after announcing the name of the trial Valyr would be undertaking, the monotonous voice continued with its exnation of what the Trial of Four Elements was.


    Though this caught the young man slightly off guard for a bit, Valyr was still able to follow through with what the voice had to say regarding the trial''s mechanics.


    From what he could infer through the voice''s exnation, the fourth trial was simr to the third trial in the fact that it focused on the essence ofbat.


    However, rather than focus on the most basic styles ofbat like in the third trial, the fourth trial instead focused on the most basic elements magic could take aside from pure mana.


    With that, these elements were called the four foundational elements.


    ''Fire, earth, water, and wind¡­''


    Hearing these four elements mentioned by the voice, the young man instantly had a nk expression on his face.


    Why?


    That was because he had upgraded almost every skill rted to these four elements to the peak of Umon grade.


    Realizing this, the young man scratched the back of his head as he decided to listen to what the voice had to say.


    Deciding to ignore the possibility of easilypleting the fourth trial for the meantime, Valyr listened to the voice exin what seemed to be the third trial''s instructions, but with a few key differences.


    For one, weapons would not be given to him since they would do nothing to improve hisprehension of the four elements. Instead, he would obtain a few skill books that would allow him to interact with the four elements themselves.


    From there, he would more or less do the same thing he did in the third trial, which was to increase his understanding of all of these skills to the peak of Common grade.


    Thinking that he would have to go through such a grueling yet monotonous task once more, a bitter smile appeared on his face.


    ''Not only that, but instead of relying on my stamina, the fourth trial would rely on mana,'' thought the young man as he inwardly let out a sigh.


    With the inheritance having a mana density level that was around a hundredth of the density in the outside world, it would take a long time for him to recover his mana even after taking his passive skills and mana potions into consideration.


    Fortunately, the voice mentioned near the end of its exnation that there would be a spot during the trial that would allow him to recover the entirety of his mana reserves in mere instants.


    Though, that small element in the trial itself made Valyr question his understanding of the inheritance.


    Not wanting to worsen his mental state before the fourth trial even began, the young man decided to close his eyes and calm his thoughts as he waited for the trial to start.


    Rumble¡­


    Though, not long after he had entered what looked to be a meditative state, the ground around him began to rumble, prompting him to open his eyes.


    Moving away from where the rumble originated, Valyr watched as a simr setup to the third trial gradually began to jut out of the ground.


    Seeing the stacks of skill books ced on the pedestals surrounding the training dummy, a wry smile appeared on the young man''s face. After all, even though he decided to ignore the thought earlier, that still did not diminish the possibility of how the skill books would ultimately be useless since his currentprehension would render the trialpleted.


    However, such thoughts swiftly disappeared once he heard the voice''s statements after announcing the start of the fourth trial.


    ''Through the information obtained from the Gates of Enlightenment, the Gates of Awakening surmises that the trial taker''sprehension of the four elements appears to becking.''


    ''Even though all of the trial taker''s skills rted to the four elements appear to have already reached the peak of Umon grade, the Gates of Awakening shall seal them for the meantime.''


    ''With this, the Gates of Awakening hopes that the trial taker uses this chance to polish and refine their understanding of the four foundational elements once more.''


    "Well¡­ shit."


    Feeling the smile on his face turn crooked yet again, Valyr took in a few deep breaths topose himself before proceeding to one of the four pedestals.


    Comprehending all of the skill books on the pedestal he had chosen within a couple minutes, he then proceeded to stand in front of the dummy, coalescing some of the mana in his body towards both of his hands.


    "Note to self."


    With a single thought, the mana surrounding his hands turned a fiery red, crackling as the heat emanating from them gradually increased.


    "During the remaining trials¡­"


    Then, with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] enabled, he threw it at the dummy''s weak spots without hesitation, swiftly inundating his mind with information rted to the element he had chosen.


    Bang! Bang!


    "Expect the unexpected."


    ¡­


    Though Valyr felt like the fourth trial was aparatively worse trial to finish before the third trial, that was only due to the fact that he would have to stop every once in a while to replenish his mana.


    Other than that, he thought that the fourth trial was quite simple.


    His reason?


    His adept control over mana.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    During the third trial, Valyr had to think about how to string his attacks with the weapon where he would be able to hit as many weak spots in the shortest amount of time.


    On the other hand, with how magic was more or less free-form in nature, the young man did not hesitate to strike all of the weak spots he could with magic, greatly inundating his mind with all of the information he needed toprehend the elements.


    At the cost of great mana expenditure, Valyr progressed through hisprehension of the four elements at breakneck pace.


    What took him over half a day to achieve for one weapon during the third trial, Valyr only took around a third to half of the time to do the same thing for all of the skills on one pedestal.


    With that, by the time Valyr felt theck of sleep creeping up onto his senses once more, he had sessfullyprehended the final element of the trial to the peak of Common grade.


    ''Congrattions, trial taker.''


    ''You have cleared the Trial of Four Elements.''

 Chapter 727 Four Pillars: Six Rarities, Nine Forms

    Chapter 727 Four Pirs: Six Rarities, Nine Forms


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound go off in his mind as the voice announced hispletion, a wave of relief washed over Valyr''s body.


    With that, the young man gradually closed his eyes, feeling as if they were heavy for some reason.


    However, before he could fully close them, Valyr took a step forward and put all of his strength into it.


    Bang!


    Letting out a loud exhale, the young man took out a vial of rousing from his spatial bracelet and downed its contents.


    "That¡­ was close."


    Thinking about how close he was to sumbing to the sleepiness, Valyr let out a low sigh.


    At the same time, a wry smile adorned his face as he thought about the two other trials he had yet to go through.


    "It would be nice if the trials would give me like a couple of hours to prepare," muttered the young man.


    "But with how the most time they''ve given me so far is about ten minutes, that''s probably not going to happen."


    Whilst he was thinking about how nice it would be to get some proper rest, the elements making up the fourth trial gradually receded in the ground.


    Not wanting to get caught up in the mess, Valyr distanced himself from the area before deciding to sit on the ground.


    ''I wonder how the others are faring?'' Briefly staring at the sight before him, Valyr opened up his party chat and shot a message to the other four.


    Surprisingly, it did not take long for the four to respond, their replies to his message only arriving after a couple of minutes had passed.


    With that, Valyr found out that the four had actually not made much progress in their respective trials.


    On the other hand, he had cleared the third and fourth trial of the Gates of Awakening, which made the four wonder whether the Gates of Awakening had reduced the difficulty of his trials.


    After telling them that they were just as difficult as any of their trials, Valyr then read the four''s messages on what kind of trials they were currently going through.


    In a way, the trials were simr in nature to the ones Valyr had cleared so far, but was more tailored towards their respective sses.


    With that, the young man began to ponder over why their trials seemed to pose more difficulty on them.


    Though, before he could even obtain a usible answer, a random notification sound broke his train of thought.


    Ding!


    Deciding to close the party chat as to not disturb the others, Valyr opened up his notification screen with a slight frown.


    Then again, that frown swiftly disappeared after he read the notifications he received.


    [Due to the user understanding more concepts regarding the element of Fire, the active skill ''Intermediate Fire Maniption'' has evolved to Umon+ grade.]


    [Due to the user understanding more concepts regarding the element of Fire, the active skill ''Intermediate Fire Magic Style'' has evolved to Umon+ grade.]


    [¡­]


    Out of nowhere, a plethora of notifications had filled Valyr''s screen, causing his eyes to widen in surprise as he read through each and every one.


    Of course, by the time he had finished reading through all of it, Valyr had more or less understood what was going on.


    "The Trial of Four Elements has that kind of effect, huh¡­" muttered the young man as he faintly smiled, now thinking that his previous hardships weren''t actually all that bad.


    After all, from what the notifications had told him, it resulted in the slight evolution of all the skills he owned rted to the four elements.


    "Would be nice if Ie across another trial like thister on and it evolves all of the skills to the next grade," said the young man as he chuckled.


    Sadly, before he could indulge himself any further with his idyllic thoughts, the monotonous voice interrupted him with yet another announcement.


    Hearing the voice''s words, Valyr let out a faint sigh.


    "Alright¡­"


    After that, he stood up and listened intently to what the voice had to say.


    "Let''s do this."


    ¡­


    Though the fourth trial was nowhere near what the first trial was, the fifth and sixth trial were actually pretty simr to what the second and third trial had him do.


    Then again, it would be better to say that the fifth and sixth trial was indeed the second and third trial, but just extended in terms of difficulty.


    With how the second trial had Valyr go through the first four rarities that an item could obtain while forging, the fifth trial improved upon that, calling itself the Trial of Six Rarities.


    Of course, with that name alone, the young man already knew what to do.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Retrieving his Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, Valyr forged six items in total, all of them meeting the minimum condition toplete the trial.


    With how all six items were ssified to be at least Rare grade by the system, the young man faintly smiled as he stored all six into his spatial bracelet.


    Then, after what he considered a short reprieve from monotony, he was then swept into the six trial, which was aptly named the Trial of Nine Forms.


    Hearing that, Valyr thought to himself that he would have toprehend five morebat styles other than the four he had alreadyprehended before.


    Though, after listening to the trial''s words, all he needed toprehend were just four morebat styles, which made up eightbat styles in total.


    As for the additional one that gave the trial its name, the trial exined that the ninth form was abat style that took in all of the benefits of the eightbat styles into one.


    Naturally, Valyr felt like he should have chosen the second option after hearing this.


    But fortunately, the trial mentioned that he only had to focus onprehending the eight styles, with the ninth style being a sort of bonus from the trial itself.


    Finding it somewhat peculiar that each even-numbered trial so far had given him a bonus reward, Valyr trudged through the monotony of the sixth trial and made progress.


    Picking up the axe, dagger, whip, and bow, Valyr brought hisprehension of all these new styles, as well as the old styles, to the standard of the sixth trial.


    The entrance to Umon grade.


    Of course, it went without saying that such a task took more time than Valyr would''ve hoped.


    In fact, he had consumed a couple of vials of rousing during the task due to how long it took.


    Nevertheless, he still seeded in the end.


    ''Congrattions, trial taker.''


    ''You have cleared the Trial of Nine Forms.''

 Chapter 728 Four Pillars: Clearing the Second Bottleneck

    Chapter 728 Four Pirs: Clearing the Second Bottleneck


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound go off in his mind once more just as the voice announced his sessful clearing of the trial, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face.


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (2).]


    [Your authority within the Gates of Awakening has increased by one level. This authority is only essible once the user bes a part of the Gates of Awakening.]


    [Your other rewards shall be announced by the Gates of Awakening themselves, including the ones attributed to your performance throughout the three previous trials.]


    [You have obtained a new quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (3).]


    Taking a look at his notification screen, the smile on Valyr''s face turned into a grin as he moved away from where the sixth trial was held.


    Rumble¡­


    Watching the venue gradually recede into the ground once more, a faint sense of calm enveloped Valyr''s body as he sat down.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, he soon let out a low sigh as he took out a vial of rousing from his spatial bracelet.


    "Whew¡­"


    Feeling his mind being jolted awake by the vial, the young man stared at the ce that housed the sixth trial for a bit.


    Though, not long after, his focus was interrupted by the trial grounds'' monotonous voice.


    ''By passing the second bottleneck, you have shown the Gates of Awakening that you, the trial taker, have more than enough rights to be part of the Gates of Awakening.''


    ''In fact, with what you''ve shown during the second set of trials, it would not be far-fetched to say that your abilities allow you to stand firmly at its upper echelon.''


    ''Of course, like before, your rewards in attempting these trials does not only extend to your membership into the Gates of Awakening.''


    ''Having passed the second bottleneck of the Gates of Awakening''s trials, a few rewards shall be given to you that will aid you in your future endeavors.''


    Hearing these wordse from the voice, Valyr felt a faint sense of deja vu.


    After all, if his memory served him correctly, the voice would force him to make a choice.


    Fortunately, the voice did not do so this time around.


    ''Though the Gates of Awakening is limited in what it could give, that only applies to those that have yet to show the extent of their abilities.''


    ''For you, who has passed the second bottleneck of these trials, you have earned the right to enjoy the entirety of what makes the Gates of Awakening a haven for those who aim to reach the pinnacle of strength.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening shall now give you your first reward.''


    Whoosh!


    Seeing a mass of silver strands of energy form around where he stood, Valyr briefly smiled as he steeled himself for what was toe.


    ''Your first reward corresponds to the field ofbat,'' the voice told him. ''With that said, two of your core skills shall be upgraded in advance.''


    Swoosh!


    In response to the voice''s words, a considerable portion of the silver strands headed straight for Valyr''s mind.


    Like before, these strands dissolved and transformed into bits of information, inundating his mind with concepts he had not understood before.


    Ding!


    [You haveprehended a few additional yet important concepts surrounding mana and Shadow Energy, specifically the arcane concept that exists between mana and Shadow Energy.]


    [Because of this, the active skill ''Shadow Serpent Magic Style'' has evolved to ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style''. The skill''s level has been reverted back to Level 1.]


    [You haveprehended a great amount of concepts surrounding the body and how far one could empower it. You have alsoprehended the limitations around the concept, and how there are many ways to go around it.]


    [Because of this, the active skill ''Limit Break'' has evolved to ''Limit Break: Second Verse''. The skill''s level has been reverted back to Level 1.]


    Seeing that the Gates of Awakening had evolved the remaining skill in his subss that had yet to evolve, Valyr only felt a hint of surprise from the notification.


    After all, with how the two gates had focused on improving things that were rted to Shadow Energy, it was more or less a given that the skill would evolve at some point.


    Then again, the same could not be said for the second skill the Gates of Awakening upgraded.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]¡­" muttered Valyr in slight disbelief as he brought up the upgraded skill''s description.


    In many more ways than one, [Limit Break: Second Verse] was the stat boosting skill he had alreadye to know as [Limit Break] in the past.


    Then again, even though that may be the case, there were still a few things that differed it from the skill he previously knew.


    Such as the fact that it now had another skill embedded into it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [First Encore] - Needs [Limit Break: Second Verse] to be activated. Forms ayer of armor made out of mana around the user, heightening the effects of [Limit Break: Second Verse] to boost the user''s stats (except VIT) by an additional 10% for 15 minutes. Note that the armor can only withstand a maximum of five hits from an opponent, dispelling the effects of the skill once exceeded. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I guess I got my hands on a budget version of [Descent of the True Wyvern]," said the young man after reading through the effects of the embedded skill.


    "Though the downsides are more along the lines of [Dark Arcane Mirror]."


    From what he understood after reading its description, the effects of [First Encore] would stack upon the effects of [Limit Break: Second Verse], thereby making it a stronger boosting skill.


    With how [Limit Break: Second Verse] boosted most of his stats by 15% for 15 minutes thanks to the upgrade, then having [First Encore] activated would increase the boost to 25%.


    "If it applies additively, of course," said Valyr to himself.


    "Though, I''m pretty sure I''ll find that out sooner orter."


    With him shrugging his shoulders as he closed the screens he brought up, Valyr returned his attention to what the voice had to say.


    ''Your second reward corresponds to the field of forging.''


    ''With that said, you shall obtain the knowledge regarding the technologies and innovations that have been birthed in two ages that have long passed.''


    Whoosh!


    With the remaining silver strands making his way to his mind, Valyr maintained a calm expression as his mind was inundated with information yet again.


    Ding!


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the High Middle Ages on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the Late Middle Ages on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    "Guess that only leaves the Renaissance Age, then." The young man chuckled, closing his eyes for a bit to take a look at the information he now had ess to thanks to the reward.


    But of course, with the rewards stipted by the quest not being given yet, the young man did not look at it for too long.


    After all, from what he had gotten so far¡­


    Valyr had a feeling that the rewards from here on out were about to get better.


    ''With that out of the way...''


    ''Let us continue onto your other rewards.''

 Chapter 729 Four Pillars: An Element of Luck

    <h4>Chapter 729 Four Pirs: An Element of Luck</h4>


    ''As you have passed the second bottleneck, there is no doubt that the previous privileges that have been given to you are now consideredcking.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening now allows you to not only venture the first floor of the True cksmith Archive, but the second floor as well.''


    Hearing the voice speak once more after a brief respite, Valyr faintly nodded in response as he continued listening.


    ''Not only that, but as someone whose abilities stand firmly at the upper echelon of the Gates of Awakening, you have also been deemed eligible to inherit a few memories from a legendary being.''


    ''Though, with the Gates of Enlightenment having already given you ess to part of the First Forger''s memories in the past, it would only be right if the memories you gain ess to are from the First Forger as well.''


    "Huh." Raising his eyebrow in slight surprise, Valyr found it interesting that the monotonous voice would talk about the rewards that way.


    Even though the system had already stipted the rewards he''d obtain from the quest, the voice made it feel as if the decision was only made after obtaining information from the Gates of Enlightenment.


    Whether it was for the sake of reality or for the sake of continuity, Valyr did not really know, nor did he care too much.


    After all, what came next were the additional rewards.


    ''Simr to what you''ve shown during the first three trials, you have shown the Gates of Awakening an exemry performance, showcasing your talent and skill to its limits in clearing the second set of trials,'' said the voice.


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening feel that it is only right for you to obtain additional rewards once more.''


    ''Of course, this is done not with the intentions of you reaching your full potential earlier. But instead, it is done with the intentions of expanding your potential even further.''


    Hearing the voice''s words, Valyr scratched the back of his head in slight confusion.


    From what he could understand, the voice had basically told him two things that meant a simr thing to him, which had something to do with the increase of strength.


    Then again, just like before, he decided to push the matter to the side for now as the voice began to list down what seemed to be his remaining rewards.


    ''After careful deliberation, the Gates of Awakening have decided to give you two additional rewards in total due to the performance you''ve shown,'' the voice said.


    ''The first reward shall allow you to make greater use of the potential you''ve already awakened, realizing it into a greater form.''


    ''Of course, that does not change the fact that most of the potential within you still remains slumbering.''


    ''However, with this reward, that might change very soon.''


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant the voice was finished exining the first reward, a cloud of golden energy appeared before Valyr out of nowhere.


    Just as he was trying to decipher what the voice meant by its words, a great portion of the golden cloud made its way towards Valyr''s body, leaving him frozen in ce.


    Swoosh!


    Fortunately, such a sensation did notst for long, with Valyr feeling like he had gained more strength out of nowhere.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, the young man stared at the remaining golden cloud for a bit before opening up his notifications.


    Thankfully, it was there where his questions about the voice''s words were answered, prompting him to let out a faint sigh.


    ''And here I thought I''d get some sort of stat boosting skill or something.''


    ''Turns out it was something else entirely.''


    [You have obtained a massive amount of otherworldly energy, awakening not only facets of your slumbering potential, but also the potential you''ve already awakened.]


    [You have gained 5 points of Might.]


    [You have gained 5 points of Tranquility.]


    [You have gained 5 points of Vigor.]


    [You have gained 5 points of Mana Purity.]


    Reading through the notifications he had received, Valyr felt pleasant surprise after seeing his hidden stats obtain a boost from the Gates of Awakening.


    However, with how the Gates of Awakening had bestowed him with Might and Tranquility, he thought that only those two would undergo an increase from the reward.


    Yet, against all odds, all of his hidden stats were affected, allowing Vigor and Mana Purity to reach double digits.


    ''Well, the reward isn''t all that bad,'' thought Valyr to himself, faintly shrugging his shoulders as he moved the screen to the side.


    For now, the young man knew that the hidden stats would only aid him in the form of a passive stat boost.


    But with how the Gates of Awakening had given him a considerable boost to all his hidden stats, he knew that it wouldn''t be long till he started unlocking the perks that came along with having them in great numbers.


    Such as the one under Might.


    ''As for your second reward¡­'' Just as he was thinking about other possible ways to gain more points for Might in a short amount of time, Valyr''s train of thought was broken by the monotonous voice.


    Listening intently to what it had to say, the young man expected the second reward to be better than what he had just got.


    After all, he had cleared the second bottleneck.


    Though, for some apparent reason¡­


    What he got instead was the exact opposite.


    ''The element of luck is considered to be an intangible element that does not have merit in the real world.''


    ''However, to those seeking to reach the top, luck is considered to be one of the most important elements as it affects a myriad of things revolving around one''s progression.''


    ''Fortuitous encounters, sudden treasures, and simr items may only appear to those that are fated, but it also appears to those that have high amounts of luck.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening shall bestow you a pill that does just that, imbuing you with greater luck that shall aid you in your future encounters.''


    Whoosh!


    At those words, the remaining parts of the golden cloud coalesced before Valyr, gradually transforming into something that reminded the young man of something he had obtained in the Gates of Enlightenment.


    Thinking about it, a wry smile crept up Valyr''s face.


    ''If this is just the same pill I got from looting the courtyard, then that would be incredibly ironic,'' thought the young man as he activated [Superior Analysis] on the golden pill.


    Ding!


    Reading through the item''s description, Valyr let out a sigh of relief after seeing that the pill the Gates of Awakening gave him was not the Pill of Fortuitous Encounters.


    Instead, the pill given to him by the Gates of Awakening¡­


    ¡­Was the Pill of Great Fortuitous Encounters.

 Chapter 730 Four Pillars: Odd Rewards, Odd Realizations

    <h4>Chapter 730 Four Pirs: Odd Rewards, Odd Realizations</h4>


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Pill of Great Fortuitous Encounters] (Item)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    Once a dream of an alchemist in the past, this pill had undergone multiple iterations, reaching what could be considered the pinnacle of mortal skill under a gifted alchemist.


    Sacrificing almost the majority of their life into polishing the pill, the gifted alchemist was eventually sessful in bringing the pill to another level, condensing the luck of the world into a small golden orb.


    By consuming this pill, one would assimte the luck of the world into their own bodies, allowing their chances toe across fortuitous encounters to increase.


    In fact, due to the effort the gifted alchemist has put into the creation of this pill, it is said that the pill might also contain a fortuitous encounter in itself, just waiting for the fated one to obtain it.


    Ingesting this pill increases the user''s LUK stat by 40 points. Has a small chance to bestow a fortuitous encounter to the user.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Scratching the back of his head while reading, Valyr wondered whether the Gates of Awakening was pulling some sort of borate joke on him.


    After all, what he did in the Gates of Enlightenment was undoubtedly theft, even if there were no other people in the courtyard besides him.


    ''Maybe the Gates of Awakening is teaching me a lesson in the form of a reward?'' thought Valyr to himself at some point, shrugging as he thought about how absurd that would be.


    In the end, he did not think about the matter any further, instead epting the reward for what it was.


    "Then again, having a higher LUK stat would definitely help me outter on," said the young man, looking at the seemingly mundane reward from a positive perspective.


    With that, he grabbed the golden pill in the air before cing its mouth, allowing it to melt into strands of energy.


    Swoosh!


    For a brief moment, Valyr felt like he had lost all feeling of his body, instead feeling like he had ascended to a higher realm.


    Though he was caught slightly off guard by this, the young man continued to bask himself under the feeling, only stopping once he felt his body return to the ground once more.


    Ding!


    "That¡­ was weird." Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, the young man went ahead and looked at his notification screen, thinking that he would only be greeted by an increase in LUK.


    [Due to the effects of the Pill of Great Fortuitous Encounters, your LUK stat has increased by 40 points.]


    However, as he looked at his screen even further, he noticed that he had actually received more notifications than just one.


    [Due to the effects of the Pill of Great Fortuitous Encounters, you have obtained a special fortuitous encounter.]


    [This fortuitous encounter shall reveal itself under the right conditions.]


    "???" Reading through these unexpected notifications, a mix of confusion and excitement covered Valyr''s face.


    After all, the notifications had given him no clue as to what the fortuitous encounter was.


    Yet, at the same time, he was jubnt at the fact that he had received a fortuitous encounter just like the pill had mentioned.


    With these two emotions taking over his mind, the young man was left at a loss, not knowing exactly how to react to the unexpected notifications.


    Ding!


    "Again?"


    Hearing another notification sound go off in his mind out of nowhere, the young man slightly frowned as he took a look at his notification screen once more.


    Fortunately, rather than obtain yet another set of vague notifications, the notifications he received were something he was already expecting to obtain sometime ago.


    [Due to the user understanding more concepts regarding the staff, the passive skill ''Intermediate Staff Mastery'' has evolved to Umon+ grade.]


    [Due to the user understanding more concepts regarding the sword, the passive skill ''Intermediate Sword Mastery'' has evolved to Umon+ grade.]


    [¡­]


    "And here I thought I wouldn''t be getting them."


    Seeing that around half of his weapon mastery skills had undergone an upgrade thanks to the sixth trial, Valyr had a satisfied smile on his face.


    Then again, it did not take long for the smile to turn into grin after his sights focused on a couple certain notifications.


    [Due to the user understanding more concepts regarding the spear, the passive skill ''Advanced Spear Mastery'' has evolved to Rare+ grade.]


    [Due to the user having a deep understanding of the four foundational forms and the four extensions, the active skill ''Eight Weapons as One'' has evolved to ''Nine Extremities Combat Style''. The skill''s level has been reverted to Level 1.]


    Naturally, with the spear being the firstbat style he had picked up, it went without saying that Valyr became jubnt after seeing that the sixth trial had improved its corresponding mastery skill.


    Though, when he found out that the bonus skill the trial had given had upgraded into a fully fledgedbat style, the young man instantly became ecstatic.


    After all, that meant that Valyr did not have to rely that much on his spear anymore when it?came to close-rangebat.


    ''Now that I think about it, even though I was holding a spear for a great portion of the sixth trial, the curse didn''t re up at all.''


    Just as he thought about how the [Nine Extremities Combat Style] would prove to be incredibly useful to him, this thought surfaced in the young man''s mind as he frowned.


    ''At first, I thought the curse was still there since I still felt my strength weaken whenever I use Sana inbat,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''Then again, with how all of the enemies I''ve encountered so far were more human than beast, the main part of the curse didn''t show up whatsoever.''


    ''But I seriously thought the curse still took effect¡­''


    "¡­Is it because of the time dtion? Or is it because of something else?" asked the young man, trying to make sense of the curse''s limitations.


    But, in the end, he gave up answering his own question.


    After all, there was no point in doing so since the curse not basically existing for him meant an overall positive.


    Aside from that, the voice had begun to resound throughout the trial grounds once more.


    And this time, it was informing Valyr about the final bottleneck.

 Chapter 731 Four Pillars: No Other Choice

    Chapter 731 Four Pirs: No Other Choice


    ''At this point, the strength and skill you''ve shown throughout thest six trials have undoubtedly cemented your ce as a member of the Gates of Awakening,'' the voice said.


    ''With that, it is understandable if you were to end your journey through the nine trials right now. After all, the rewards and perks you''ve obtained so far would undoubtedly allow you to head further no matter what.''


    ''However, that does not mean that you could ignore the prospects that the final set of trials hold.''


    ''For attempting these trials would allow you to realize where your strength would ultimately lie.''


    ''At the pinnacle¡­ or at the pinnacle beyond pinnacles.''


    After saying these words, the voice went silent for a bit, prompting Valyr to wonder whether if this was where the exnation ended.


    Though, not even a minuteter, the voice spoke once more as it continued where it left off.


    ''The trials leading up to the final bottleneck is quite bizarre,'' said the voice. ''Gone are the monotony and predictability of the six trials you''ve passed.''


    ''Instead, it pits you against the images of a few select members that have joined the Gates of Awakening in the past, duking it out in their specialty until one side admits defeat.''


    ''Many of those that strove to reach the final bottleneck mentioned that the difficulty of the final set of trials is a huge step above the second set.''


    ''In fact, some have even said that the increase in difficulty was so perverse that it made them wonder if such a set of trials was even made to be cleared in the first ce.''


    ''Naturally, it was made to be cleared,'' the voice told him.


    ''But only those who have the necessary strength and skill would be able to do so.''


    ''With that, would you continue to forge ahead and strive to reach the final bottleneck, reaping its glorious rewards?


    ''Or shall you remain content with what you have obtained and proceed as a true member of the Gates of Awakening?''


    ''There shall be no discussion of which choice among the two is the wisest.''


    ''What only matters is the choice you eventually make, trial taker.''


    "I mean¡­ the choice is quite obvious."


    After having listened to the voice''s entire spiel regarding the third and final bottleneck, Valyr would be lying if he said that he wasn''t slightly dissuaded by the voice.


    After all, it had mentioned quite often that the difficulty of the second set of trials were a far cry from how difficult the final set of trials were.


    Not only that, but it had also told him multiple times that there was no problem in him not attempting the final set of trials at all.


    However, with how most, if not all the trials he had passed so far were quite monotonous to him¡­


    Valyr felt like he might be able to create a miracle.


    "Then again, if I didn''t have the courage to charge towards the final set of trials, then the quest I just got would undoubtedly leave me no choice," said the young man with a wry chuckle as he sent amand to the system.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Awakening'' Trial (3)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    The Gates of Awakening¡­ description has been omitted.


    || Addendum: Havingpleted the sixth trial with flying colors, you have firmly nted yourself as part of the upper echelon of the Gates of Awakening in both strength and skill.


    However, there still stands one sky above you, which is the third and final bottleneck that makes up the Gates of Awakening''s nine trials.


    Though you have been told multiple times that it is fine for you to concede defeat and im the rewards that you have yet to im, you have already made up your mind to aim for the peak while faced with the second bottleneck.


    With that, there is no turning back.


    Only forward. ||


    Quest Objectives:


    > Clear the Gates of Awakening''s nine trials (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > ess to the third level of the Gates of Awakening''s True cksmith Archive


    > ess to the Hall of Legends and Myths


    > Increased level of authority within the Gates of Awakening


    > ess to a full set of memories from the First Forger


    > ??? (Additional rewards dependent on performance during the quest)


    > ess to Gates of Awakening'' Trial (4)


    Quest Penalties:


    > Level - 15


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Never mind¡­ the quest was actually going to force me to clear the final bottleneck no matter what."


    Sucking in a breath of cold air as he read through the description of his newly obtained quest.


    Unlike the two previous quests he had, there were no objectives for him anymore to choose from.


    However, the quest did make up for it by tacking on a couple more rewards, such as ess to a building called the Hall of Legends and Myths.


    ''I guess theck of choices has something to do with the fact that I''ll be able to view the full memory of the First Forger,'' thought the young man as he read through the quest a bit more, trying to make sense of the current situation.


    In the end, he closed the screen in front of him with a faint nod before telling the voice that he would proceed onto the final bottleneck.


    In response, the voice gave him some time to prepare, allowing him to send a couple messages to the others in his party chat.


    Naturally, he told the four that he had just finished the second set of trials and was moving onto the final set.


    Unsurprisingly, the four were left in utter shock at how quick Valyr was in catching up to their progress.


    After all, it was not long ago that the four said that they were still stuck at the fifth trial.


    And now, just as the others felt like a couple of days had passed, Valyr had surpassed even their own progress?


    "You better be careful," said Hal through his message. "I''ve been told that the final set of trials is tremendously difficult."


    "Aren''t you going to tackle it as well?" replied Valyr back. "Both of us should be careful if that''s the case."


    After saying a few more words to the four, the young man closed the party chat as he let out a faint sigh.


    At the same time, the monotonous voice began to resound throughout the trial grounds once more.

 Chapter 732 Four Pillars: Nine Stars

    Chapter 732 Four Pirs: Nine Stars


    ''The first six trials could be considered as the main focus of the Gates of Awakening. With the monotony and predictability it offers, it allows the higher-ups to obtain a solid impression of those that wish to enter its gates.''


    ''Those that have only passed the first trial are considered to be of the lowest caliber, while those that have passed the sixth trial are noted to be of the highest priority when it came to focus.''


    ''Then, there''s the final set of trials.''


    ''Unlike the first six trials, it would be more apt to called these final set of trials a giant trial that was split up into three smaller trials.''


    ''After all, as mentioned before, the obstacles barring you from reaching the final bottleneck are none other than the members of the Gates of Awakening that have made names for themselves in the past.''


    ''Or at least, the images that they''ve left for the Gates of Awakening to use,'' added the voice posthaste.


    ''With that, you, the trial taker, shall have to face against nine images in total. In other words, nine images of official members from the Gates of Awakening.''


    ''Though most of them shall undoubtedly fight you with their weapons, some of these images shall choose to settle the victor through their specialties instead, whether it be production skills or other crafts.''


    ''Of course, the trial taker should rest assured that these images shall have a simr specialty to you when the situation arises.''


    ''In other words, fights that do not call forbat would instead call for your specialty instead, which would be the art of forging.''


    ''With all of that said, this final trial is called the Trial of Nine Stars.''


    ''You have 10 minutes to prepare.''


    "¡­Man." Scratching the back of his head as he recalled the words spoken to him by the voice, Valyr sat on the ground as he gathered his thoughts.


    After some time, he let out a low sigh.


    "I guess I now know the reason why the voice said there''s a massive spike in difficulty once faced with the final set of trials."


    "After all, what trial could the Gates of Awakening throw at me other than having me fight not just one official member of the Gates of Awakening¡­"


    "But nine?"


    With how the Gates of Enlightenment had already given him a lot in terms of resources and rewards, the young man already had a faint impression of how strong the Gates of Enlightenment was in its heydays.


    Then again, this impression was solidified even further after having experienced a memory of the Gates of Enlightenment at its golden era, heightening the position the Gates of Enlightenment had in his mind.


    With that, since the Gates of Awakening was the organization that stood above the Gates of Enlightenment, it went without saying that the rewards and resources were far greater than what the Gates of Enlightenment could give him.


    In fact, the rewards he''d obtained from the trials so far were considered more precious than what the Gates of Enlightenment gave him.


    Though, just like how the Gates of Awakening had greater rewards and resources¡­


    The same could be said for their members.


    ''I wouldn''t be surprised if I were pitted against the image of a Myth-level member,'' thought the young man, shuddering as he thought about how anything he did would be rendered futile by such an opponent.


    Fortunately, such questions were eventually cleared up by the voice after ten minutes had passed, exining the Trial of Nine Stars in greater detail.


    Though it could be said that the Gates of Awakening''s nine trials were actually seven with how this was the final trial, the voice exined that the reason why the Gates of Awakening considered their trials to be nine was due to the final trial''s mechanics.


    Having to face nine opponents in a row in one trial, the Gates of Awakening thought that even the strongest trial taker would have problemspleting the trial to the end.


    With that, the Trial of Nine Stars was made in a way where three images would constitute one trial, making the Trial of Nine Stars equivalent to three trials.


    Not only that, but to differentiate between the three smaller trials, the strength of the images the trial taker would see in each trial would differ by a ss rank.


    However, if there was one thing that was consistent among the images in these trials, the voice mentioned that it would be the fact that all of them were considered otherworldly prodigies in their time.


    In other words, their abilities allowed them to fight against opponents at least two ss ranks higher than them with ease.


    In fact, the voice said that it was normal for them to fight against opponents three ss ranks above them without much problem, causing Valyr to suck in a breath of cold air.


    After being told that he could forfeit his attempt at clearing the Trial of Nine Stars at any time he wished, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he continued to rest on the ground.


    "At the very least, I could still leave the inheritance with my life intact," murmured Valyr, letting out a dry chuckle. "Though that''lle at the cost of basically being returned to Rank 2 and being booted out of the inheritance."


    "Well¡­ it''s definitely better than being dead."


    As the young man pondered over what kind of opponent he would be paired up against at the start of the trial, the ground began to madly shake at some point.


    Rumble¡­


    Feeling slight confusion for a brief moment, Valyr swiftly understood what was happening, prompting him to move out of the way as things started to jut out of the ground.


    "I guess the first fight has something to do with forging."


    With every passing second, the sight of two fully-equipped workshops appeared before Valyr''s very eyes, reminding him of his experience during the second and fifth trial.


    Though, just as he was about to make his way to one of the workshops, a silhouette of a human appeared in front of him all of a sudden.


    "Huh."


    "They really decided to use me as the first opponent."


    "And against a youngster at that."


    "¡­"


    "Well, I guess this old geezer will just have to do his best."

 Chapter 733 Four Pillars: The Seventh Wayne

    Chapter 733 Four Pirs: The Seventh Wayne


    Whoosh!


    Before Valyr could make his way to one of the workshops and examine the tools and equipment he was going to work with, a mass of golden light appeared before him.


    Widening his eyes in slight surprise, the young man moved back as the golden light slowly reformed itself.


    With every passing second, the light gradually took on the shape of a human, its height around half a head shorter than Valyr.


    By the time the general structure was formed, the golden light making up the silhouette gradually disappeared.


    Instead, a man of the same stature took over its ce, his appearance leaving Valyr at aplete loss for words.


    ''That''s¡­!''


    Whilst Valyr''s mind nked out from what stood before him, the man looked around his surroundings for a bit as he let out a low sigh.


    "Huh." The man scratched the back of his head. "I''m back here again."


    "They really decided to use me as the first opponent for this trial¡­"


    Muttering these words, the man looked at the young man in front of him, scanning thetter from head to toe.


    "And against a youngster at that." At these words, the man let out yet another sigh.


    Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the man began to walk towards one of the workshops.


    "What''s your name?" asked the man to Valyr as he examined the tools and equipment.


    Fortunately, the question was enough to bring the young man back to reality, prompting him to head to the remaining unupied workshop to do the same thing.


    "Ah¡­ that would be Valyr."


    "Haven''t heard of that name before," replied the man as he continued to examine his surroundings. "What''s your surname?"


    Hearing the man''s question, Valyr went silent for a bit in response, judging whether or not it would be apt to give the man an answer.


    Unsurprisingly, the man picked up on this, raising his eyebrow as he looked at Valyr.


    "Can''t tell me your surname?" asked the man.


    In response, Valyr awkwardly smiled.


    Seeing that, the man nodded back as he slightly shrugged. "Well, that''s fine. Knowing your surname or not doesn''t really matter that much."


    "After all, I''ll probably end up forgetting everything that happened here once our fight is over," the man added soon after.


    Though the man acted nonchnt as these words left his mouth, Valyr acted quite the opposite.


    "Is that so?" asked Valyr with both curiosity and interest.


    The man merely nodded. "I recall a few bits here and there from my fights in the past, but not anything that goes into great detail."


    "Anyways, I noticed earlier that you were looking at me with shock," said the man after that, staring at Valyr with curiosity.


    "Is it because you weren''t expecting to fight against an old geezer like me in the first round?"


    Giving the man an awkward smile, it was only then did Valyr truly look at the man in greater detail.


    Going over the man''s body, the young man felt like the man had a body that suited a middle-aged man with a healthy physique.


    Though the muscles on the man''s body weren''t bulging out, there was no doubt that the man''s streamlined set of muscles housing a terrifying level of strength.


    Then again, such a body was a stark contrast to the man''s face.


    In fact, the man''s face could only be described by the word ''senile''.


    With wrinkles all over the man''s face, the man sported a head of gray hair that seemed to be gradually thinning out, making him look like he was in histe eighties.


    But with an exuberant vitality bursting out of the man, Valyr had a feeling that the man was at least a hundred years old or greater, noticing the tranquility underneath the man''s wrinkly exterior.


    Nevertheless, it wasn''t as if this was Valyr''s first time seeing the man.


    After all, the man upying the second workshop was none other than the old man in one of the memories he viewed in the Chambers of Enlightenment.


    Recalling the man''s question, Valyr wryly smiled as he shook his head.


    "That''s not it," said the young man. "You just reminded me of someone I saw."


    "Oh?" At those words, the man became more curious. "Is it fine if you tell me in more detail?"


    "Though I may not remember our conversation after this, that doesn''t mean I won''t enjoy it."


    Letting out a faint chuckle in response, Valyr agreed to the man''s request, exining how he hade across a memory of a cksmith in the Gates of Enlightenment that allowed him to improve his Intent Seeds.


    Listening to the young man''s narration with rapt attention, the man''s eyes faintly widened in understanding as he looked at Valyr with a hint of surprise.


    "You''vee across one of the memories I left behind, huh," said the man with a satisfied nod. "One of the better ones I gave to the Gates of Enlightenment at that."


    "Now tell me¡­"


    "Did I look good in that memory?"


    Hearing the man''s sudden question, Valyr briefly had a confused expression on his face, not knowing what to say.


    After all, the main focus of the memory he viewed was to improve hisprehension over the Intent Seed of Forging.


    With that, his response instead focused on the skills the man showed in the memory he saw, which surprisingly satisfied thetter''s curiosity.


    "It''s a shame that I have no idea on how you and many others think of my appearance in that memory," said the man at some point, only to look at Valyr with a faint smile. "Nevertheless, I''m still d to hear that one of my memories helped youe to this point and attempt the Trial of Nine Stars."


    "Speaking of which, I haven''t introduced myself yet."


    Just as Valyr began to feel slightly warm from the man''s words, the young man was forced to perk up his ears after hearing that the man was about to introduce himself.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr went ahead and listened to the man''s introduction with rapt attention¡­


    Only to be confused after the man had uttered a couple of statements.


    "I have achieved a lot in my life, obtaining quite the number of des that caused my identity to be attached to multiple titles."


    "However, none of those express who I truly am."


    "Though I haven''t said this earlier, it''s nice to be your acquaintance, Valyr."


    "You may call me the Seventh Wayne."


    "The Seventh Wayne¡­?" Wondering if he had heard the man''s words correctly, Valyr decided to repeat a bit of what the former just said.


    In response, the man faintly nodded. "Yes, the Seventh Wayne."


    Noticing the confusion on the young man''s face, the man began to exin in greater detail.


    "As to why I''ve decided to call myself the Seventh Wayne¡­ that has something to do with my actual name."


    "My name is actually Sven Charles Anthony Wayne the Seventh. I''m pretty sure that alone is enough to exin why I call myself that way."


    Though he faintly nodded in understanding, Valyr continued to ask more questions. "So, if I''m getting this correctly, you''re the seventh person in the Wayne n to be called Sven Charles Anthony Wayne?"


    "Yes¡­ and no."


    Sven began to rify. "I''m the first to be called Sven Charles Anthony Wayne, but I''m the seventh to inherit the name of Sven."


    "Sven Wayne is actually the name of the founder of the Wayne n," he exined. "For some reason, he decided to pass this name onto the most talented descendant of the seeding generation."


    "With that, there came a Sven Wayne Jr., then a Sven Wayne the Third, the Fourth, and so on until I was eventually born."


    "Usually, something like this would only be done with the founder''s direct descendants, but I nor any of the other n members have a clue as to what was going on in the founder''s mind at the time." With his exnation done, Sven let out a long and drawn-out sigh.


    After that, he stared out at the horizon for a bit before eventually returning his attention to the matter at hand.


    Looking at Valyr, Sven faintly smiled. "Well then. Shall we properly start the Trial of Nine Stars?"


    Valyr slightly nodded with a solemn expression. "Please do."


    "Alright."


    Nodding back in response, the man looked at his surroundings for a bit as the gears in his mind began to turn.


    Then, after a minute or so, Sven opened his mouth.


    "Since I''m not really proficient inbat, this first fight will instead be a forging duel between the two of us."


    "Of course, with how the Gates of Awakening does this trial, something like that wouldn''t be a problem for you."


    At those words, Valyr nodded, prompting Sven to continue.


    "With that, let''s keep this straight and simple."


    "Whoever crafts the more borate equipment wins," said Sven with a calm expression. "The rarity of the equipment does not matter. All that matters is theplexity of the equipment itself."


    "Of course, you must make sure that the equipment works. After all, there''s not much point in forging anything that doesn''t work in the end, especially for somethingplex."


    "Understood." Valyr nodded, letting out a faint chuckle as he already had an idea of what he would do.


    On the other hand, Sven looked at Valyr''s expression, inwardly surprised. After all, what he gave was practically difficult for a cksmith to do, yet the young man let out a chuckle instead.


    "It seems I might have found my match this time around," said the man to himself, letting out a low sigh.


    Though, not long after, he faintly smiled.


    "Well¡­ whatever."


    "I guess this old geezer will just have to do his best."

 Chapter 734 Four Pillars: Forging Something New

    Chapter 734 Four Pirs: Forging Something New


    Seeing that Sven was already looking through the material cache in his workshop, Valyr went ahead and did the same thing, pondering over what he would be forging for his entry.


    Looking through the materials he would possibly be working with, the young man turned to look at Sven at some point as a thought came to mind.


    "Now that I think about it, is there some sort of preparation time before the fight?" he asked. "Or has the fight already begun?"


    With his attention still at the material cache, Sven let out a slight chuckle. "What''s the point of preparation time if there''s no limit to how long our fight canst?"


    "Plus, only with enough preparation can a cksmith work at their greatest," he added, looking at Valyr with a smile. "Don''t you think so, Valyr?"


    In response, the young man faintly grinned. "But of course."


    With that, the two returned their attention back to their respective material caches, thinking about the specific item they would be forging for the fight.


    ''To be honest, I could forge one of two items that would satisfy Sven''s condition,'' thought the young man, his eyes eventually fixating on a few specific materials.


    Taking those materials out, he then proceeded to light up his furnace, keeping his eyes on the me all throughout.


    ''It''s either I forge a true arquebus¡­'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself.


    ''Or I forge a whole new firearm altogether.''


    With the Gates of Awakening awarding him plenty of forging-rted rewards, his knowledge within the Technology Tree''s innovation branch had already reached the end of the Late Middle Ages.


    With that, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to forge a true arquebus, considering how there was no time limit to their fight.


    Though the firearm he forged back then was considered to be an arquebus by the system, thetter recognized more as a prototype for an arquebus, not an arquebus itself.


    After all, with his knowledge back then only reaching the entrance of the Early Middle Ages, forging a true arquebus would be incredibly difficult.


    If anything, whatever he forged had only been achieved with the ingenuity and knowledge he had rued in his past life.


    If he were to only rely on the advancements he unlocked in the Innovation branch, the furthest he could go would be the firence and the hand cannon.


    Or, in other words, a small cannon attached to a pointed stick, and a small cannon attached to a dull stick, respectively.


    Inparison, a true arquebus had a mechanism that greatly differentiated it from the firence and the hand cannon, utilizing a trigger to ignite the gunpowder that was loaded in the barrel.


    Of course, the trigger would only move a lit piece of cordage that would ignite the gunpowder, making it seem like it was not any different from the two other firearms at the time.


    Nevertheless, that small change was revolutionary enough to have the firearm be made en masse by the time the Late Middle Ages came around, eventually bing known as the matchlock mechanism.


    The mechanism that eventually brought rise to modern-day guns. ''Hmm¡­'' Staring at the furnace for quite some time, Valyr eventually came to a decision.


    ''I guess I''ll go and forge a new firearm instead.''


    With that, the young man proceeded to take out a bunch more items from the material cache, unsurprisingly attracting Sven''s attention.


    "I wonder what he''s forging?" muttered the man as he fanned the mes within his furnace. "With how many wood types he''s taking out of the material cache, I''m certain that he won''t be using them as firewood."


    "However, he also took out metals, cordage, as well as a series of powders and oils¡­"


    At this point, a slight frown appeared on his face, the gears in his mind madly turning as he hypothesized what Valyr was forging.


    Though, in the end, he still gave up.


    "Perhaps, him taking out all of those materials could just be a ruse," murmured Sven, chucking in a few materials into the furnace. "After all, I can still vaguely remember a few trial takers doing that in the past."


    "Well, whatever he''s forging, I''m sure he won''t expect the fact that I''m forging a de within a de!"


    Oblivious to what Sven was thinking, Valyr focused all of his attention towards the screen before him, drafting up the rough blueprint of the item he was going to make.


    "If I were to base it off real history, what I''m about to forge is probably anachronistic," murmured the young man to himself. "Perhaps, it even existed at that time."


    "But since I''m in another world altogether¡­" "Why should I care about those sorts of things?"


    After pondering over the various types of firearms he could possibly forge with his knowledge, Valyr eventually ended up going with the pistol.


    For one, the other types of firearms he could choose from were undoubtedly harder to forge if all he had ess to was the most basic firing mechanism in existence.


    Of course, there were still other firearms that could work with the matchlock mechanism, such as a revolver.


    However, for the sake of his sanity, as well as the fact that he would use what he learned here to upgrade his arquebuster on¡­


    It was better for him to go with a pistol.


    ''A pistol is just an arquebus with a shorter barrel,'' thought the young man, bringing up the various knowledge he had gained from the Gates of Awakening as he drafted his blueprint.


    From the firing mechanism, to the overall design of the matchlock pistol, Valyr made sure to take every area into consideration.


    Then, with the basic shape of the pistol having taken ce, he then brought his other thoughts into the mix, hoping to do something simr to the arquebus.


    "I could probably modify the mechanism to have it use the same cordage every time," muttered the young man with a slight frown. "However, how would I go about doing that?"


    Fortunately, it did not take long for his answer to arrive, being reminded of a certain item he had seen in the past.


    "Think of the cordage as a wick¡­ and have it be connected to a container of oil¡­"


    "This¡­ this might just work."


    With ideas continuing to flow through his mind after that, the young man continued to make more and more modifications to his blueprint, eventually stopping after feeling the blueprint had reached another level ofplexity.


    "Alright."


    "Time to forge."


    Marking the blueprint asplete, a great amount of information swiftly filled Valyr''s mind, informing him of all the steps he needed to take to bring the weapon into reality.


    Pushing those thoughts to the side, the young man went ahead and chucked a fair amount of materials into the furnace, fanning the mes within to speed up the process.


    At the same time, he took out Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, cing it on the anvil for the meantime.


    Taking a look at the selection of tools he would be working with, Valyr went ahead and grabbed a few before cing them near the anvil.


    Moving them a bit further to the side, the young man then began to take out a few of the materials from the furnace, putting them on top of the anvil''s surface.


    "[Hammer of Beginnings]."


    Utilizing a pair of tongs to hold the heated metal, Valyr then held up the Hammer of Beginnings on his other hand and started hammering away.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "So, he''s finally begun." Shaping out the materials he had chosen with his trusty hammer, a faint smirk crept up onto Sven''s lips as he heard the nging of metal from Valyr''s workshop.


    Taking a brief look at what the young man was doing, the man''s eyes slightly widened in surprise after seeing the hammer Valyr was using.


    "With a hammer like that, it makes quite a lot of sense as to how he''s gotten to this point," muttered Sven, thinking that Valyr had relied on the hammer to get to where he currently was.


    "Unfortunately, I ended up bing his first opponent."


    "It''s time to make him see reality."


    With that, Sven returned his focus to his craft, an expression of calm taking over his face sometimeter.


    On the other hand, Valyr looked at his finished product with a sense of satisfaction, wiping off the sweat from his forehead.


    "That''s the barrel down," muttered the young man, moving the part to the side.


    Then, without dy, he grabbed a few more materials from the furnace and ced them on the anvil.


    "Next up are the gears."


    Taking in a deep breath, the young man then picked up one of the tools he had grabbed earlier, cing them on top of the materials he''d just taken out.


    "This is definitely gonna take a while," said Valyr with a faint sigh, mming the hammer onto the dull end of the tool he took.


    "But once I put everything together¡­"


    "It''ll all be worth it."


    Bang!


    Moving the tool away from the material, the young man slightly smiled once he saw that a round circle had been cut out of it.


    With that, he moved the tool towards another part of the material before doing the same thing again.


    "Now I just have to do this around 50 more times¡­"

 Chapter 735 Four Pillars: True Matchlock

    <h4>Chapter 735 Four Pirs: True Matchlock</h4>


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With the first part making up the whole item being sessfully made, it more or less went without saying that the entire forging process went quite smoothly.


    Of course, that did not mean that there were a few hups along the way, such as when Valyr decided to swap out the original parts for gears in the firing mechanism.


    Originally, the matchlock mechanism used a couple of pins and springs to achieve the movement it had.


    To make the mechanism more reliable, Valyr changed the mechanism to rely on gears instead, having gone through multiple iterations of it in the drafting process.


    In the end, he decided to mix both gears and springs into the mechanism, reminding himself that gears were quite difficult to make without the necessary machinery.


    With that, it was no surprise that Valyr blew through a lot of the circles he had cut out of the material he chose for the gears.


    There were some with teeth that were not uniform, while there were those that had teeth of varying sizes due to how varied Valyr''s strength was in every strike.


    Nevertheless, he was still sessful in forging all of the gears he needed, as well as the other bits and bobs that were needed to make the modified mechanism function.


    After that, every other part was crafted without much problem, with Valyr taking quite a lot of time in carving the wooden handle of the pistol.


    After all, with how the previous forging trials had allowed him to keep what he had forged, that meant that he would undoubtedly be able to use it outside of the inheritance.


    With that in mind, he made sure that the handle fit his grip snugly, slowly bringing the matchlock pistol to life with every other part.


    On the other hand, Sven looked at the item he had just finished forging with a smile.


    Gripping the de by the hilt, the man moved a bit further away from his workshop before doing a series of basic sword movements.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Though Sven had told Valyr at the beginning that he did not excel inbat, that did not mean that the man had no knowledge of fighting whatsoever.


    Swinging the de in the air multiple times, the man inwardly nodded in satisfaction.


    "The durability definitely meets my standards," murmured Sven with a smile, briefly ncing at what Valyr was doing.


    Seeing that the young man was still wholly focused on the item he was forging, the man soon returned his attention to his de, gripping tighter onto its hilt.


    Swoosh!


    In response to the difference in grip, a thin crack appeared at the center of the de, only to growrger as the de blossomed not long after.


    Taking over the de''s ce was a slightly smaller de that was dark gray in color.


    However, unlike the de from before, the dark de exuded a terrifying sharpness, subconsciously making Sven squint as he stared at it.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, the man begun to swing the de around once more, finding that the resistance to the weapon had been decreased.


    Faintly smiling at this discovery, Sven did a few more sword movements before returning the de to its original form.


    cing the de on his anvil, the man looked at it with a satisfied smile.


    "I''m certain Valyr''s item wouldn''t be asplex as this one."


    Saying these words to himself, Sven shifted his gaze towards Valyr, noticing that thetter''s item was now gradually taking shape.


    However, he still did not know what the item truly was, so he decided to watch the young man forge it till the very end.


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Lightly tapping his hammer on what looked to be the final pin, Valyr put all of his concentration towards it, not wanting to mess up at thest step.


    By the time the pin was fully seated, it was only then did the young man let out a wide sigh of relief, staring at the item he had just forged with a wide smile.


    "Finally done."


    Grabbing the pistol by its handle, the young man waved it around in the air for a bit, nodding in satisfaction after feeling its heft.


    While doing so, he was reminded of the preliminary tests he had done near the end of the forging process.


    As a pistol that relied on the matchlock mechanism, he had to make sure that every part of the mechanism was working smoothly.


    With how he had modified the mechanism beyond its original function, something like that had be far more important than ever.


    Fortunately, even though a few mishaps had urred during the first few preliminary tests, the remaining preliminary tests were smooth after making a few adjustments.


    From the lighting of the match, to the loading of gunpowder, to the arming of the pistol, everything more or less worked as it intended.


    The only thing left was to actually fire the thing.


    "So, are you done?" Seeing Valyr fiddle with the item he made with a smile on his face, Sven went ahead and took the initiative to ask.


    Valyr nodded with a confident smile. "Yeah."


    "Alright, then." Sven nodded back, picking up his de as he moved away from his workshop.


    "Time to find out who among the two of us forged the more borate item."


    Nodding in agreement, Valyr returned his Hammer of Beginnings back to his spatial bracelet before grabbing the pistol he made.


    Moving to where Sven stood, the young man then gave the pistol to the former, only for the man to do the same.


    "First is a visual and skill-based inspection of each other''s work," Sven said, a faint blue haze forming around his eyes.


    "After that is a demonstration of the item at work."


    Nodding with a calm expression on his face, Valyr looked at the de Sven gave him and used [Superior Analysis] on it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [de of Deception] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Umon+


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack: 184 - 306


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    A polished de made by¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill: Dark Plunge - Allows the user to imbue the weapon with mana, unsheathing the sharp de that resides within. Any hit dealt by the de deals damage equivalent to 150% of the user''s Attack stat.


    Has a very small chance to inflict Bleed on the opponent. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 2,000 MP.>


    Remarks: A well-made de.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the item that had been given to him, an odd expression slowly crept up the young man''s face as a thought eventually surfaced in his mind.


    ''Isn''t this just a slightly worse version of Crimson Blossom?''


    Asking this question to himself, Valyr felt a slight urge to retrieve Crimson Blossom out of his spatial bracelet and show it to Sven.


    However, with how focused Sven was on reading through the pistol''s description at the moment, the young man decided to save it for after their demonstration.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Matchlock Pistol] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack: 4,903 - 8,172


    Cooldown: 12 seconds


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Forged by the one who has brought firearms back to the current era, this weapon innovates on the first firearm the cksmith made in the past.


    Utilizing technologies of a more advanced age, as well as the exemry skills that brought the original firearm to life, this pistol has undoubtedly reached a greater level of quality, making it a far superior firearm in many ways whenpared to the original.


    With it relying on a firing mechanism that makes it simple to wield for other people, there is no doubt that such a weapon would bring an era of peace to the world. Though, such a weapon might also bring about a new era of war.


    However, only time will tell which of the two shall ultimately prevail.


    <Innate Skill 1: Reckless Shot - Allows the user to infuse more energy into the barrel through their mana. Once fired, this shot deals damage equivalent to 150% of the user''s Attack stat. Can infuse more mana into the skill to increase the damage to twice the original.


    Has a small chance to inflict Stun on the enemy. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 3,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Extended Charge - Allows the user to ignite the gunpowder within the barrel beforehand, umting the firepower within the ignition through the use of mana. The longer the user stores the firepower within the barrel, the greater the effects are.


    Allows the user to extend the charge of the attack by 5% to 250% of the weapon''s base cooldown time. Depending on the duration, the attack coefficient of the weapon increases by 1% to 50%. Cooldown: None. Cost: 1,000 - 15,000 MP.>


    Remarks: A weapon of mass destruction under the right wielder.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With him being unable through the part of the item''s description that talked about its history, most of Sven''s focus was on the stats of the item, as well as the skills it had.


    "This¡­" Unsurprisingly, with the Attack stat the weapon had while still being considered Rare grade, the man was left at a loss for words.


    Such a loss for words was only exacerbated by the fact that the weapon had two skills under its belt, something Sven had rarelye across in his previous fights.


    Closing the screen before him, the man gave the pistol back to Valyr, prompting thetter to give the de back to Sven.


    Though, just as Valyr was expecting Sven to go silent after what he had seen¡­


    What he saw instead was the man looking at him with eyes brimming with great interest.


    "Say, Valyr¡­"


    "Could you show me how this thing works?"

 Chapter 736 Four Pillars: Handicapped

    <h4>Chapter 736 Four Pirs: Handicapped</h4>


    "Sure, why not?" said Valyr in response, eliciting a bright smile to appear on Sven''s face.


    "However, I''ll have to ask you to move away from me a bit."


    Seeing the slight confusion on the man''s face, the young man exined. "Though I''m more than certain that there wouldn''t be a problem whatsoever, it''s better to be safe than sorry."


    At those words, Sven acquiesced, distancing himself from Valyr to give thetter the leeway to move about.


    Even though he didn''t really have to do so since he was just an image.


    Nevertheless, with Sven being a fair distance away from the young man, Valyr faintly sighed in relief as he took out a few items from his spatial bracelet.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "Who knew I''d be forging a new firearm this soon?" Staring at the gunpowder and the bullets he had prepared for the arquebus, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he began the arming process.


    Though the process was generally simr to what he had done when arming the arquebus for firing, there were a few differences thanks to the existence of the matchlock mechanism.


    For one, there was now a lid covering the pan that would allow him to ignite the gunpowder.


    Moving the lid aside, he put in a bit of gunpowder into the pan before brushing off the excess.


    Then, he put the lid back on, moving his pistol towards him so he could put gunpowder directly into the barrel.


    After that, he grabbed one of the remaining bullets he had and shoved it into the barrel, utilizing a metal rod he had forged by the side to truly make sure it was in there.


    Returning the pistol to its previous position, he then conjured a me on one of his fingers before lighting the cordage that was not far from the covered pan.


    With the cordage being connected to a container filled with mmable oil, Valyr was confident that the me could remain lit for a long time, removing the need for him to conjure a me every time he wanted to fire.


    Pressing the trigger a couple times to see if the lit cordage would meet with the pan, the young man eventually had a faint smile on his face as he aimed the pistol away from the two of them.


    "Are you ready?" asked Valyr as he looked at Sven.


    Bing engrossed as he watched Valyr arm the pistol from start to finish, Sven took a bit of time to snap back to reality.


    "Yeah. As ready as I''ll ever be."


    Nodding in response to his words, Valyr returned his attention to the pistol, holding it with both hands for better stability.


    Then, after taking a deep breath, he removed the lid on the pan before finally squeezing the trigger.


    Bang!


    At the very moment the lit cordage made contact with the gunpowder in the pan, all of the gunpowder in the barrel swiftly ignited, propelling the bullet at great speeds.


    Whoosh!


    Though the man knew something had happened, with there being no target to speak of, all Sven saw after Valyr squeezed the trigger was a sh of white smoke.


    Fortunately, amidst the white smoke, he caught a faint glimpse of a small projectile, moving at speeds that would be impossible for a normal archer to achieve.


    "Amazing¡­" With how the entire process of arming the weapon only relied on a few simple movements, Sven was instantly enamored.


    After all, with the stats and capabilities the pistol had, he was certain that even those at Rank 0 would have no problems fighting those of a higher rank with the weapon in hand.


    Satisfied at what Valyr had shown him, Sven inwardly let out a faint sigh as he thought that now was the time to showcase his deceptive de.


    However, just as he was about to head to where Valyr stood, the young man looked at him and asked him a question that he did not expect.


    "Do you want to try it out?"


    At those words, the man stood frozen in ce for a bit, trying toprehend what was just said to him.


    But of course, not long after that, Sven made his way to where Valyr was, staring at the pistol with great glee.


    ¡­


    "Man¡­"


    After having practiced with Valyr for quite some time on how to use the matchlock pistol, there was no doubt in Sven''s mind that he had gained newfound respect for the young man.


    After all, whilst Valyr was teaching Sven how to shoot the firearm, he also exined the underlying mechanics behind how the pistol worked.


    Of course, it went without saying that the firing mechanism of the pistol alone was many times moreplex than the mechanism Sven had in his de.


    Whoosh!


    Moving his de in front of the young man all of a sudden, Sven tightened his grip over the hilt, revealing the dark de that crept within.


    Then, the man let out a low sigh, looking at Valyr with a wry smile.


    "To be honest, I had no doubt in my mind that a weapon like this was more than enough to win the fight," said Sven.


    "However,pared to theplexity your item has shown¡­ it''s as if my de is just a child''s toy."


    "Is the current generation of cksmiths really this strong?" asked Sven, looking at Valyr with curiosity.


    In response, Valyr only let out a wry chuckle.


    "Who knows?"


    Hearing those words, Sven stared at Valyr for a bit, hoping to understand the underlying meaning beneath thetter''s answer.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to do so, nodding as he shed a bitter smile.


    "I see."


    "Well, there''s no doubt that the item you made is more borate than the de I''ve forged," said Sven after some time.


    "With that, you''ve sessfully passed the first fight in the Trial of Nine Stars."


    At those words, Valyr became ted,ughing and grinning with great joy.


    Though, this happiness was short-lived after hearing the man''s next words.


    "However, I''m certain that it won''t be long until your opponents overwhelm you."


    "After all, I''ve beenpeting against you all this time with a handicap."

 Chapter 737 Four Pillars: The Trials Fangs

    Chapter 737 Four Pirs: The Trial''s Fangs


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr became confused.


    "Huh? What do you mean by that?"


    In response, Sven wryly smiled after seeing Valyr''s reaction.


    "I had a feeling you weren''t paying attention to that," said Sven, faintly shaking his head.


    "Well, no matter. Everything will make sense as long as you use an identification skill on me."


    Though still confused by what Sven meant by his words, Valyr went ahead and did what he was told, using [Superior Analysis] on the man before him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Sven Charles Anthony Wayne VII] (Memory Image)


    ss: Grand Forger of Pure Tranquility (Rank 1 ¡ª Ancient)


    Subss: Schr of Grand Enlightenment (Mythic)


    Species: Human (1st Unsealing)


    Level: 15


    Power Level: 12,003 (A)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 8,170/8,170


    MP: 21,100/21,100


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 1,566 - 1,566


    Defense: 1,302 - 1,302


    Stats: 592 VIT, 712 STR, 550 AGI, 1453 DEX, 1529 INT, 484 WIS, 542 PER, 112 LUK


    Skills: [Pure Tranquil Forging Style], [Pure Tranquil World Infusion], [Pure Tranquil Equipment Enhancement], and 69 other skills. Remarks: Though weakened by the rules of the Gates of Awakening, this memory image still greatly resembles the true Sven Wayne VII, the forger who was considered to have achieved the zenith of flow.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hiss¡­"


    Sucking in a deep breath of cold air, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words as he read through Sven''s status screen.


    ''An Ancient grade main ss and a Mythic grade subss,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, thinking about how high one''s stats would reach with such abination.


    With that, he focused his attention towards the man''s stats, pleasantly surprised that most of them were still at the hundreds.


    In fact, both the man''s HP and MP were also considered quite low, prompting him to look at the status screen to find out his answer.


    ''Level 15¡­''


    Of course, it did not take long for Valyr to find the great outlier in the man''s status screen, falling into silence as he pondered over what Sven meant by his earlier words.


    "Level 15¡­ handicap¡­" Muttering these words to himself, the gears in his mind gradually started to turn, eventually connecting all of the pieces once he recalled the words the voice had told him before the trial began.


    "If I''m getting this right¡­ you''re currently at the early levels of Rank 1¡­ but the level of skill you can unleash is at the peak of Rank 3," said Valyr to Sven, trying to sort out his thoughts.


    Hearing Valyr''s hypothesis, Sven smiled in relief. "Well, you''re mostly correct."


    "I am indeed at the early levels of Rank 1, but the level of skill I can unleash is exactly three ranks above my level," said the man. "In other words, my skills are at the early levels of Rank 4."


    "And just so you know, your next opponent will be at the middle levels of Rank 1," added Sven.


    "I hope there''s no need for me to exin this part for you to understand what''s going on."


    In response, Valyr faintly nodded with a wry smile. "I''m getting the gist of it."


    After listening to Sven''s exnation, it was only then did Valyr fully understand the meaning behind the voice''s words from before the trial.


    From what he could recall, the voice had mentioned two things that he found confusing at first.


    Those two things were the fact that each smaller trial would differ by a ss rank, and the fact that each image he would be fighting was considered an otherworldly prodigy at their time.


    Now that Sven hadid everything in front of him, Valyr now more or less had a better idea of how the Trial of Nine Stars proceeded in terms of strength.


    With Sven showing the skills of someone at the early levels of Rank 4, his hint made Valyr understand that his next opponent would have the strength of someone at the middle of Rank 4.


    Following that pattern, the final opponent of the first smaller trial would then have the equivalent strength of someone at theter levels or the peak of Rank 4.


    Then, once the second smaller trial began, the first opponent of that trial would have the levels of someone at the early levels of Rank 2 while having the equivalent strength of someone at the early levels of Rank 5.


    Eventually, he woulde face to face with the final opponent of the third smaller trial.


    At that point, his opponent would be at theter levels or the peak of Rank 3¡­


    But have the equivalent strength of someone at the same stage at Rank 6.


    ''I now see why the voice has mentioned the trial''s stark increase in difficulty multiple times,'' thought Valyr to himself, bitterly smiling at the thought.


    ''After all, even I wouldn''t dare to fight against a Myth-level being.''


    ''Much less three of them in a row.''


    "In any case, I''m sure the system wouldn''t give me the quest to clear the Trial of Nine Stars to the end for no reason," muttered Valyr with a sigh, soon returning his gaze to Sven.


    Looking at the man for a bit, a thought gradually surfaced in his mind.


    "Why tell me all of this?" asked Valyr with a hint of confusion. "Aren''t you supposed to discourage me from going even further?"


    Hearing Valyr''s questions, Sven nodded in agreement. "Normally, that would indeed be the case."


    "However, from what you''ve shown me thus far, there''s no doubt in my mind that you''re destined to reach great heights."


    "Perhaps not as high as the achievements I''ve reached, but still great heights," joked the man, letting out a faint chuckle.


    "Either way, it would be a waste for a talented youngster like you to delve deeper into the Trial of Nine Stars without even having a clue of what you''re up against."


    "Think of it as an old geezer just wanting to take care of the younger generation."


    Whoosh!


    Just as he had uttered those words, the man''s body started to gradually be transparent, causing him to look at Valyr with a sad smile.


    "Ah. It seems that my time is almost up."


    "Then again, it wouldn''t make sense for me to stay here any longer with how the first fight is long done."


    Watching the man disappear before his very eyes, it went without saying that Valyr had a slightly sad expression on his face.


    "Thank you for the information you''ve shared," said the young man. "Whether it be from the memory or the warning you''ve just given me, you have my greatest gratitude."


    At those words, Sven faintly chuckled. "You''re making it seem like we''re going to part ways for a very long time."


    "Then again, I guess it does seem that way."


    Going silent for a bit, Sven started at his continuously disappearing body for a bit before gazing at Valyr.


    "Say, before I go¡­ could you tell me your surname?"


    "It''s Zeihardt." Though he was hesitant at the start, the thought of keeping it to himself had already disappeared from the young man''s mind.


    "My name is Valyr Zeihardt."


    "Zeihardt, huh¡­" muttered Sven before letting out a faint chuckle.


    "To think I''de across yet another Zeihardt with the potential to change the world¡­"


    Saying those words, it did not take long for Sven to thoroughly disappear, leaving the young man with a feeling of emptiness.


    However, it was only after saying a few more words to the young man did he truly disappear.


    "Well, young Zeihardt..."


    "Though our meeting has been short-lived¡­"


    "This old geezer truly wishes you the very best of luck."

 Chapter 738 Four Pillars: Lightbringer

    Chapter 738 Four Pirs: Lightbringer


    "¡­"


    For a while after the old man''s disappearance, Valyr stood frozen in ce, gazing at the final spot where Sven stood.


    It was only when the monotonous voice resounded throughout the trial grounds did the young man begin moving again.


    ''You have defeated the first opponent of the Trial of Nine Stars. Eight opponents remain.''


    ''You have 15 minutes to rest before the next opponent appears.''


    Rumble¡­


    As the voice informed him that he had time to do whatever he wanted, Valyr took in a deep breath before moving away from where the two workshops stood.


    Briefly watching the workshops recede into the ground, the young man soon took out a couple of items from his spatial bracelet as he set up his temporary workshop.


    "Though the fight against Sven might have been easy thanks to the skills and knowledge I have, who knows what the remaining fights would have in store for me?"


    Muttering these words to himself, the young man made up his mind to improve his newly crafted matchlock pistol as much as possible.


    Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his bracelet, the young man began to refine the pistol to +10.


    "Perhaps they might put me up against an opponent known for their unparalleledbat prowess."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "Or perhaps they might put me up against an opponent known for their divine-level method of forging."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "In any case, the only way I can finish the Trial of Nine Stars is by preparing as much as possible."


    At those words, the young man let out a sigh. "I really have to thank Sven for going through the trouble of exining the trial in more depth."


    "Who knows when I''d realize how the trial worked if he didn''t?"


    After he was done refining the pistol to +10, Valyr then proceeded to awaken the all of the weapon''s attributes, getting a perfect awakening after emptying his mana reserves a couple of times.


    After that, the young man then thought about advancing the weapon''s foundation to the 1st Tier.


    However, recalling how much time it took for him to advance one item to the same level, he decided not to push his luck, feeling that his next opponent would be appearing soon.


    With that, the young man proceeded to store the items making up the temporary workshop back into the spatial bracelet.


    While doing so, he used [Superior Analysis] on the upgraded pistol, wanting to see how much damage it could now deal.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) True Matchlock Pistol] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack: 5,882 - 9,804


    Cooldown: 12 seconds (8.15 seconds)


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 41


    > DEX + 78


    > PER + 32


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking at the upgraded stats of the matchlock pistol, Valyr nodded in satisfaction.


    "Once I advance its foundation to the 1st Tier, it''ll undoubtedly match the arquebus in terms of attack power," said the young man to himself.


    "Then again, since it already takes less time to arm, in a way it''s already better than the arquebus."


    "It''s a shame that the pistol''s [Extended Charge] only boosts its Attack stat by 50%, though." Valyr let out a sigh.


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders as it was something that he couldn''t change, the young man stored the pistol in his spatial bracelet for the meantime.


    At the same time, a thought surfaced in his mind all of a sudden, prompting him to take a look at his notification screen.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr).]


    [Create a new type of firearm [Note: must be at least Umon grade] (1/1)]


    "And here I thought the system wouldn''t consider it a new firearm."


    Chuckling as the notifications gave him slight glee, Valyr soon closed the screen before him as he thought about the other objectives needed toplete the special subss quest.


    Though, it did not take long for his train of thought to be disturbed as the voice from earlier resounded throughout the trial grounds once more.


    ''Your second opponent shall appear in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    Whoosh!


    Having already experienced Sven''s sudden appearance, the ray of golden light that appeared was not as much of a surprise to the young man.


    Adding the fact that the voice began to count down towards his new opponent''s appearance, Valyr instead distanced himself from the ray of golden light as he watched it slowly disappear.


    In less than a minute, a young man in a set of white and gold garbs reced the ray of golden light, his facial features making him seem to be in histe twenties.


    Though, with how long the Gates of Awakening had been up at this point, he was certain that the man before him could be anything but that age.


    "How many have you fought against so far before my appearance?" Looking around his surroundings for a bit, the man in garbs eventually focused his attention towards Valyr.


    "One," replied Valyr. "You''re my second opponent."


    In response, the man faintly nodded. "I see. So that''s why I feel like a bit of my power has disappeared."


    "Well, no matter." The man shrugged his shoulders.


    "That wouldn''t stop me from achieving my purpose anyway."


    "Care to tell me your name before we begin?" asked the man.


    After learning from Sven that his opponents would not remember much details regarding their fight, Valyr decided to oblige.


    "The name is Valyr Zeihardt."


    "Oh? A Zeihardt, huh?" Unsurprisingly, the man''s eyebrows raised up in surprise at the young man''s surname.


    "Well then." The man grinned.


    "That''s quite interesting."


    Hearing those words, the young man slightly tilted his head in confusion, wondering what about his words were interesting.


    Fortunately, the man''s introduction was more than enough to dispel such thoughts.


    Though, at the same time, more thoughts surfaced in his mind, containing questions rted to the man''s introduction.


    "Well, Valyr Zeihardt¡­ allow me to introduce myself."


    "My name is Amauris Zeihardt."


    "I don''t know how long of a time has passed between my appearance and your appearance, but I''d presume that it''s over a couple hundred years at the very least."


    "In any case, I don''t associate myself with the n anymore, especially with how the n declined during my time."


    "Instead, I call myself by another name."


    "With that, please call me¡­ the Lightbringer."

 Chapter 739 Four Pillars: Lightbreaker

    <h4>Chapter 739 Four Pirs: Lightbreaker</h4>


    "Wait a second¡­" Though Amauris'' introduction was brief and concise, it still took a while for the young man to wrap his head around the words the former had spoken.


    "You''re¡­ you''re also a Zeihardt?"


    Amauris nodded. "That, I am."


    "However, as I said, I don''t associate myself with the n anymore."


    "Why, though?" asked Valyr in response.


    "You mentioned that it was due to the n''s decline during your time. But could you exin in greater detail?"


    Hearing Valyr''s question, Amauris shrugged his shoulders. "Though I was brought here with the purpose of impeding my opponent from getting further into the Trial of Nine Stars¡­"


    "I guess it wouldn''t hurt to have a chat with a Zeihardt from the future."


    With that, the man began to exin to Valyr that the Zeihardt n did not actually decline during the former''s time.


    If anything, it could be said that their scope of power and authority was as great as ever, considering how the ancestor of the Zeihardt n helped the humanity mark their own territory on Veldanyr.


    However, it was around Amauris'' time that some of the n members began to make use of the Zeihardt n''s power and authority to do some unscrupulous deeds.


    At first, only those part of the younger generation had the gall to do such things, prompting them to be reprimanded by those part of the older generation.


    Though, at some point, some of the older generation began to do it as well, using the Zeihardt n as their backer instead of their individual prowess.


    Seeing that the Zeihardt n had grown corrupt, Amauris decided to leave the n for good, not wanting to associate himself with people that could only be considered paper tigers.


    "After leaving the n, I searched forrge organizations I could join to obtain their resources," said Amauris.


    "Even though I''d be capable to obtain everything with my own hands, having an organization would still make the journey to the top easier."


    "In the end, I found myself at the entrance of the Gates of Enlightenment," Amauris told Valyr, his eyes staring out at the far horizon.


    "After clearing its trials, I worked my way up the organization and eventually became part of the Gates of Awakening."


    After that, he faintly shrugged. "Well, I''m pretty sure my original self has entered the organization beyond the Gates of Awakening¡­ but who knows?"


    "In any case, does that answer your question?"


    In response, Valyr nodded, prompting a faint smile to appear on Amauris'' face.


    Though, just as the man was about to tell Valyr that they should start their fight, thetter asked the former yet another question.


    "Are you¡­ a Herald by any chance?"


    Hearing the young man''s words, Amauris slightly frowned. "A Herald¡­?"


    "Ah, those guys from the n with inhuman levels of strength."


    Understanding what Valyr wanted to find out from his question, the man shook his head.


    "It would be nice to be a Herald, but no. I''m not one."


    "¡­I see." At those words, Valyr slightly nodded, looking at the ground as he briefly fell into silence.


    Noticing this, Amauris decided to ask just in case. "¡­Are youing up with more questions?"


    Looking at his opponent, Valyr shook his head as he wryly smiled. "Nah¡­ just sorting out thoughts in my head."


    "I see." Amauris faintly nodded in understanding.


    "Well, while you''re sorting your thoughts, let me exin the rules of how our fight is going to go."


    Whoosh!


    After saying those words, Amauris extended one of his hands outward as he conjured a ball of golden light.


    "I''m sure you''ve been told that the fights in the Trial of Nine Stars would either be inbat or rted to one of your specialties," said the man. "This fight falls under the former."


    "For this fight, all you have to do is defeat me."


    "However, I have one condition."


    At that point, Valyr looked at Amauris with a hint of curiosity, wondering what thetter would say.


    Seeing that he had caught his attention, Amauris faintly smiled before throwing the ball of light upwards.


    "You can only use magic to attack your opponent."


    Bang!


    With the ball of golden light exploding into what appeared like fireworks, Valyr stared at Amauris in silence, his expression making it difficult for thetter to know what was going on in his mind.


    "Alright, then." Nevertheless, at some point, Valyr agreed to Amauris'' condition as he nodded.


    Smiling in response to Valyr''s reply, the two then distanced themselves from another, giving each other time to prepare.


    Whilst the two were in the midst of preparing for their fight, Valyr asked the man a question. "Just to rify, the condition only applies when attacking, right?"


    Amauris nodded. "Correct. You''re free to use whatever you want to defend yourself and whatnot."


    "Got it," said Valyr in response, a faint smirk briefly appearing on his face.


    With that, the two continued with their preparation, eventually feeling like they''ve done all they could after a few more minutes had passed.


    "I''ll start the countdown," said Amauris as he looked at Valyr, prompting thetter to nod in response.


    Nodding back at the young man, the man then took in a deep breath.


    "In 3¡­"


    "2¡­"


    "1¡­"


    "Fight!"


    Whoosh!


    At the very instant the fight began, Amauris'' body turned a blur of golden light, disappearing in front of Valyr''s field of vision in less than an instant.


    Taking note of this, the young man retrieved his spear from his back before infusing both Shadow Energy and mana into it.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "[Dark Arcane Mirror]."


    Bang!


    Swoosh!


    Pushing [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to the limit as he tried his hardest to keep an eye on Amauris, Valyr mmed his spear into the ground, forming a dark barrier around him.


    "Watch as I break your defense in one move!"


    Letting out a faint cackle in response to Valyr''s action, Amauris suddenly appeared before the dark barrier, smothering all of its sides in golden light.


    "[Opulent Light Magic Style]."


    "[Whirlwind of Opulence]!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Hearing the barrier taking hits from the golden light that surrounded it, Valyr nced at Amauris with a nk expression, who was looking back at him with a confident smile.


    Though, at the very moment the barrier crumbled under Amauris'' offensive, rather than looked at the man with a horrified expression¡­


    Valyr looked back at Amauris with a confident smile of his own.


    "My turn."


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "[Consummatum Est]."

 Chapter 740 Four Pillars: Reversal

    <h4>Chapter 740 Four Pirs: Reversal</h4>


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment the young man uttered those words, it was as if time around them had frozen.


    The shards making up the dark barrier were still there, giving Valyr a faint semnce of the protection he had earlier.


    On top of that, the projectiles hidden within the golden light surrounding him could now be seen, their insidious fangs more than visible to the naked eye.


    Naturally, Amauris'' eyes widened in surprise after seeing his attack stop out of nowhere.


    Yet, no matter how much he tried, his attack remained frozen in ce.


    Shifting his gaze at Valyr, the man faintly wondered whether his opponent had the ability to manipte time.


    Fortunately for him, that was not the case.


    However¡­


    What Valyr could manipte might possibly be far worse than that.


    Swoosh!


    Before Amauris could even fathom what was happening, the world surrounding him had taken on a muted color, with the golden light he had conjured disappearing in less than an instant.


    At the same time, the shards that made up Valyr''s barrier swiftly headed towards Amauris, only for all of them to turn into a puff of dark smoke the moment the two made contact.


    Beginning to wonder whether Valyr''s attack was just an illusion or not, the man began to look around, eventually focusing his gaze on the darkness under his feet.


    "What¡­" Getting an ominous feeling from the darkness that grew under him, Amauris decided to try and flee.


    Only to find out that he could not do so.


    Bang!


    As if it was just waiting for the man to realize the graveness of his current situation, it was only then did the darkness under him burst out with full power.


    Enveloping the man in a cocoon of Shadow Energy and mana, the darkness soon worked its way into Amauris'' body as the cocoon exploded not long after.


    Bang!


    ''-5,578''


    "Damn." Watching as the energy making up the cocoon transforming into a dark skull above Amauris'' head, Valyr sucked in a breath of cold air as he took note of the damage the skill had dealt.


    "Normally, the skill would''ve dealt tens of thousands of damage," muttered the young man, shifting his gaze towards his disheveled opponent.


    Due to the effects of the skill he had unleashed, as well as the great amounts of Shadow Energy that went into it, it went without saying that Amauris had taken on a slightly dark color.


    Though, rather than have multiple wounds all over his body, or any other sign that the man had taken on a grievous amount of damage¡­


    The man instead looked to be unscathed.


    Scratching the back of his head in slight confusion, the young man pulled up the description of the ultimate skill he had just unleashed, wondering if he had misunderstood its new effects.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Ultimate Technique: Consummatum Est - Just like the world intends, everything always meets an end.


    Renders the user temporarily invincible as they summon a chunk of the Shadow ne into their surroundings, dealing damage equivalent to 550% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) to those caught up in it. The duration of the summoningsts for 1 minute.


    Those that remain standing after the summoning are inflicted with Shadow Poison that deals 150% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) as damage for 1 minute.


    This skill also inflicts True Shadow Corruption, which increases the damage dealt by any subsequent attack from the user by 50%, as well as Stun and Slow. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 60 Shadow Energy, 30,000 MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "It''s not the skill." Seeing that the cause of the low damage was not the skill, the young man eventually returned his gaze towards Amauris, who still remained frozen due to the skill''s effect.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Amauris Zeihardt] (Memory Image)


    ss: True Archmage of Opulent Light (Rank 1 ¡ª Ancient)


    Subss: Apostle of the Luminescent Deity (Mythic)


    Species: Human (1st Unsealing)


    Level: 20


    Power Level: 14,780 (A)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 6,197/11,775


    MP: 23,342/26,340


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 1,733 - 1,733


    Defense: 1,884 - 1,884


    Stats: 785 VIT, 722 STR, 514 AGI, 487 DEX, 1756 INT, 1618 WIS, 955 PER, 114 LUK


    Skills: [Astral Body of the Luminescent Deity], [Aegis of the Luminescent Deity], [Magic Arts of the Luminescent Deity], [Opulent Light Magic Style], and 87 other skills.


    Remarks: Though weakened by the rules of the Gates of Awakening, this memory image still greatly resembles the true Amauris Zeihardt, the mage who is said to be the personification of the Luminescent Deity.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hiss¡­" Simr to Sven''s status screen, Valyr sucked in a breath of cold air after seeing Amauris'' status screen.


    However, recalling why he had brought up the status screen in the first ce, the young man did not take long to obtain a usible answer as to why the man only took a low amount of damage.


    "[Astral Body of the Luminescent Deity] and [Aegis of the Luminescent Deity]¡­" muttered the young man, staring at Amauris once again.


    "I may not know what those skills specifically do, but I''m sure as hell they''re the reason for why he''s still standing."


    "You figured that out faster than I thought."


    Whoosh!


    Just as the young man thought that there was still more time before Amauris could move again, thetter instead defied all of his expectations and began to move towards him with a faint smile.


    "I must say¡­ I definitely didn''t expect you to have such a perverse attack," said the man as a faintyer of golden light covered his body.


    A momentter, thisyer of light disappeared, soon revealing that Amauris'' body had returned to its previous condition.


    "Then again, I''m sure that you''ve paid quite the hefty price to use something like that."


    "It''s a shame that such an attack has proven itself to be ineffective against me." Amauris looked at Valyr with a faint mocking smile.


    "In any case, I''m quite d that you have greatbat strength, unlike those useless scum from the Zeihardt n."


    "To thank you for that, I''ll be fighting against you a bit more seriously."


    At those words, a faintyer of golden light covered Amauris'' body once more.


    Though, unlike before, thisyer of light instead transformed into a set of golden armor.


    "From now on, I''ll be telling you all of my moves beforehand."


    "With that, here''s my first move."


    "[Magic Arts of the Luminescent Deity]."


    "[Superluminal Pulse]!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 741 Four Pillars: Extreme Attrition

    Chapter 741 Four Pirs: Extreme Attrition


    ''-2,282!''


    Before Valyr could even react to the man''s attack, a ray of golden light appeared before him in the blink of an eye.


    Bang!


    With him being hit directly in the chest, the young man was forced to take a few steps back.


    Then again, even though he was caught off guard by the attack, the force behind it was still tolerable.


    Thud.


    Stomping on the ground at full force, Valyr quickly regained his stability, assessing the damage his chestte had received.


    "I must say¡­ you have quite the ster defense yourself."


    Taking a deep breath after finding out that his attack also did not work as intended, Amauris looked at Valyr with a solemn expression.


    "It''s definitely no match for the defensive skills in your arsenal," said Valyr in response, inwardly letting out a sigh as the chestte only received a faint burn mark on its surface.


    Keeping an eye on Amauris, the young man began to formte a n in his mind as to how he wouldnd yet another hit on his opponent.


    Though, just as he was about to make his move, his opponent already made a move of his own.


    "[Magic Arts of the Luminescent Deity]."


    "[Luminary Judgment]!"


    Whoosh!


    Raising both of his hands into the air, Amauris sent out a great amount of energy as arge cloud of golden light above Valyr.


    Secondster, thisrge cloud soon rained down what looked to be golden spears, prompting the young man to change his ns.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style]."


    "[Arcane Serpentine Sprint]!"


    Swoosh!


    Expecting the barrage of golden spears to trap Valyr in ce, the man instead watched as the young man elerated to great speeds in less than an instant.


    Seeing Valyr distance himself from the golden cloud, Amauris willed the cloud to follow the young man to the best of its abilities, raining down its golden spears all the while.


    Surprisingly, after doing this small adjustment, a few of the golden spears had struck Valyr on the back, messing up his movements.


    Then again, the young man was able to regain his footing with a quick [Arcane Shadow Warp], leaving Amauris no choice but to dispel the cloud at some point.


    "That defense of his is quite unfair," muttered Amauris as he began to make his way towards Valyr.


    Recalling all of the energy left from activating the skill, the man soon turned into a blur of golden energy as he caught up to the young man.


    Thinking about how the golden spears that struck Valyr only dealt a single point of damage to him, Amauris thought about using the skill he used earlier once more.


    However, just as he had stopped his movements to activate the skill, the young man was already in front of him.


    Plus, hovering above Valyr was what looked to be a fang made out of Shadow Energy and mana.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Arcane Fang of the Shadow Serpent]."


    Whoosh!


    Moving the hand that controlled the fang downward, the fang swiftly began to make its way towards Amauris, forcing thetter to sidestep in a bid to dodge it.


    Seeing that the fang had zoomed way past him, the man looked back at the young man with a mocking smile, only for him to sense a looming feeling of danger from his back.


    Swoosh!


    With a hasty sidestep, the fang barely went past Amauris'' body yet again, this time causing the man to look at Valyr with a bit of surprise.


    At that moment, a faint calm smile appeared on the young man''s face as he did a few gestures with his extended hand.


    In response, the fang turned around yet again, aiming to try and pierce through Amauris'' body one more time.


    "[Magic Arts of the Luminescent Deity]."


    "[Superluminal Pulse]!"


    Whoosh!


    After seeing that the fang would stop at nothing to strike at him, Amauris decided to take matters into his own hands, waiting for the opportune moment to kill two birds with one stone.


    Bang!


    Fortunately, his patience paid off as the skill not only dispelled the fang that haunted him, but also struck Valyr at what looked to be one of his more vital areas.


    However¡­


    ''-2,091!!''


    "That has got to be seriously unfair."


    Seeing his attack deal a pitiful amount of damage to his opponent yet again, Amauris let out a faint sigh before proceeding to distance himself from the young man as much as possible.


    "¡­Not as unfair as the skills you''ve been unleashing so far."


    With the ray of light piercing through his throat, Valyr quickly activated [Intermediate Heal] on himself as he looked back at Amauris.


    "This¡­ is going to take a while."


    ¡­


    With the first few blows between them making the two realize that their fight would ultimately be that of attrition, both Valyr and Amauris steeled themselves for what was toe as they slung skills at each other back and forth.


    Due to the limitation Amauris had put on the fight, the two of them were fighting against each other with pure magic.


    Nevertheless, both sides were unleashing skills that seemed to cross over the boundaries of what magic was capable of, the might of their skills far beyond one''s imagination.


    With the magic Amauris had control over that allowed his attacks to move beyond the speed of light, all of them squarelynded on the young man, slowly whittling down his HP with every attack.


    However, with the tyrannical levels of defense brought about by his True Wyvern Armor, a single [Intermediate Heal] was more than enough to make the man''s efforts disappear.


    Because of that, Amauris gradually began to lose his calm, realizing that even going all out would only result in a minuscule increase in the damage he dealt to the man.


    Though, what truly made the man gave up on his hopes of winning the fight was not Valyr''s nigh imprable defense.


    It was one of his movement skills.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style]."


    "[Arcane Wings of the Shadow Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    Condensing Shadow Energy and mana onto his back, a pair of wings that oscited between ck and blue soon appeared as he swiftly took flight to the skies.


    "Nah¡­"


    "Fuck this."


    Seeing his opponent begin to move in the air as if it were second nature to him, Amauris'' confidence in fighting the young man waspletely shattered.


    After all, he didn''t have a flight skill to even out the young man''s advantage.


    And so, he conceded.


    "I surrender."


    "You win."

 Chapter 742 Four Pillars: Straight to the Point

    Chapter 742 Four Pirs: Straight to the Point


    "¡­Eh?"


    Expecting Amauris to swiftly send a barrage of attacks at him the very moment he took flight to the skies, the young man was instead left at a loss for words after hearing the man concede so easily.


    Slightly frowning as he kept himself in the air, Valyr looked at his opponent as he thought about their fight so far.


    At first, the young man thought that the fight between him and Amauris would have a quick conclusion due to the difference in levels.


    With that, he unleashed his strongest magic, following the limitations the older Zeihardt had given him.


    However, in a twist of events, Amauris ended uping unscathed from the attack.


    Even though he still took quite arge chunk of damage.


    Because of that, Valyr inwardly had a bitter smile on his face as his expectations been turned upside down.


    After all, it seemed like their fight would end up bing a battle of attrition.


    Then again, it wasn''t as if Valyr was prepared for a fight like that.


    Having been into multiple wars of attrition in the past and in his past life, the young man relied on his overpowered set of armor, as well as his considerably high mana reserves to keep up with Amauris.


    Then again, Amauris had a few tricks of his own up his sleeve, such as the fact that his attacks moved beyond the speed of light.


    There was also the fact that the man''s INT stat was higher than Valyr''s by over a hundred points, evening out the ying field somewhat.


    At that, Valyr thought about how the fight would have undoubtedly been over on the first move if his INT-based Attack stat scaled simrly if the Attack stat were basing it off DEX.


    Nevertheless, that did not deter him from putting up a fight against Amauris, even going so far as to activate a couple of his stat boosting skills at some point.


    In fact, their entire fight so far was the exact reason why Valyr felt that it was absurd for Amauris to surrender all of a sudden.


    After all, if one could fight against a flying monster with no problems, then surely a flying human was of no problem as well.


    Though, as he watched Amauris gradually take on a rxed pose as he sat on the ground, an understandable reason eventually appeared within Valyr''s mind.


    ''Well then. I never expected myself to be disgusted at what I''m capable of,'' thought the young man, letting out a faint chuckle.


    After that, he looked at Amauris once more for safe measure, deciding to return to the ground around a minuteter.


    Dispel the pair of wings behind his back, Valyr walked towards Amauris with a bit ofughter. "I''m guessing the air advantage was too much for you to handle?"


    Amauris nodded as if it were a matter of fact. "Definitely the straw that broke the camel''s back."


    "Put yourself in my shoes for a second."


    "Imagine you were fighting against an opponent that not only had near imprable defense, but also insane stamina, highbat power, as well as the ability to fly."


    "If my strength weren''t being restrained by the Gates of Awakening, I would have probably been able to deal with an opponent like that without a problem," said the man.


    After that, the man let out a long and drawn-out sigh.


    "In any case, I''m quite d that there are still members of the n that have great individual prowess."


    Looking at Amauris for a bit, Valyr eventually ended up sitting beside the man, letting out a long and drawn-out sigh of his own.


    "To be honest, if I wasn''t wearing that set of armor I had, I would''ve been riddled with holes by your attacks by now."


    In response, Amauris let out a faint chuckle.


    "You know, it''s quite interesting to think about how I''ve ended up mastering magic based on the element of Light," said the man.


    "If anything, I wasn''t even nning to pick up magic in the first ce."


    "But I guess the heavens seemed to have different ns for me, considering how it made an apostle of a magical deity."


    At those words, Valyr looked at the man beside him with interest, hoping that thetter would talk a bit more about his statements.


    Yet, as if he was already expecting the young man to ask something like that, Amauris looked back at Valyr with an amused smile.


    "There''s not much point listening to how I''ve gotten to where I am," said Amauris.


    "After all, we all have our different paths in life. I might end up muddying the waters of your future if I were to talk about it."


    Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the man faintly grinned. "Speaking of which, for someone who only has a Rare grade subss, you''ve sure put a good fight."


    "You remind me of those members from the n with inhuman strength, surmounting even the greatest margins with great ease."


    At those words, Valyr slightly smiled, returning his gaze to the far horizon as the two of them enjoyed one''spany in silence.


    Unfortunately, just like with Sven, Amauris'' body eventually began to turn transparent as well.


    "My time is up, it seems." The man stood up, looking at the fingers on his hands gradually disappearing.


    Looking up at the sky, he then closed his eyes before taking in a few deep breaths.


    By the time the man''s upper region remained, Amauris looked at Valyr with a slight grin.


    "I guess it was somewhat nice to meet you, even if you''re a part of the Zeihardt n," said the man.


    "If you could eradicate the n''s corruption from its roots, that would be great."


    Whoosh!


    And with that, the man in white and gold garbs thoroughly dissipated into thin air, causing Valyr to look back at the horizon as he faintly let out a sigh.


    Sometimeter, the monotonous voice resounded throughout the trial grounds, informing Valyr of the time he had to prepare before the third opponent arrived.


    Thinking about the things he might have forgotten to prepare before the second fight began, the young man reassured himself that he had more than prepared everything he could for the uing fight.


    Though, just as he said those words, an errant thought suddenly popped up in his mind.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 253,356 XP to upgrade ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style'', ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style'', and ''Limit Break: Second Verse'' to Level 10?]


    Skimming through the screen that appeared before him, it went without saying that the young man confirmed the prompt.


    ''Okay. Now I''ve really prepared everything I could for the uing fight.''


    Allowing the waves of information from upgrading the skills to inundate his mind, Valyr gave himself some time to digest his new understandings before opening up the party chat.


    Once open, he then asked how the four were faring so far while updating them on his progress in the meantime.


    Surprisingly, quite a few things had happened to the four whilst Valyr was taking on Sven and Amauris.


    For one, Hal mentioned that he had been given the Trial of Nine Stars as well, having just finished fighting against his first opponent.


    Talking about how the man''s opponent decided that their fight should be a mix of profession and actualbat, Valyr felt a headache as he imagined a simr scenario happening during his fight with Sven.


    As for Vera and Loreina, the two of them had sessfully passed through the fifth trials, making great strides with their sixth.


    ording to them, it wouldn''t take long for the two to catch up to both him and Hal, thinking, their thoughts salivating at the rewards clearing the sixth trial held.


    Though Faulus was of the same mind as the others that he would also clear the sixth trial, the alchemist told the others that he would surrender after finishing the sixth trial.


    After being asked by the others as to why he would make such a decision, Faulus soon exined to them that he had been givenbat trials thrice in a row at this point.


    With the others recalling about how Faulus did not excel inbat that much, the four eventually respected his decision, with the five bantering a bit more before returning to their own matters.


    Whoosh!


    Coincidentally, just as he had closed the party chat, the monotonous voice of the trial ground echoed throughout once more, prompting him to stand up.


    ''Your third opponent shall appear in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    With yet another countdown, a ray of golden light soon appeared near where Valyr stood.


    Distancing himself from the ray as caution, the young man watched the ray of golden light disappear as it was slowly being reced with a person


    Though, the person that appeared before him was quite a surprise.


    Unlike the two opponents he had fought against earlier, his third opponent this time around was a girl that looked to be in her teenage years.


    Adorning a set of gray martial gear, as well as a head of brown hair tied into a bun, the girl exuded a faint aura of sharpness as she looked around her surroundings.


    However, it did not take long for that aura to increase in intensity as the girl unsheathed the sword on her back, revealing its dark crimson de.


    Tightly gripping onto its hilt, the girl soon focused her gaze towards Valyr with hervender eyes.


    "The name is Marie Fuerza," said the girl, taking a few steps forward.


    "The goal for this fight is simple."


    "Defeat me."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 743 Four Pillars: A Swift Conclusion

    Chapter 743 Four Pirs: A Swift Conclusion


    Unlike the previous two opponents he had fought against earlier, Marie did not waste any time in starting the fight.


    Charging towards Valyr at great speeds, the young woman swung her sword as a faint purple sheen shed on its surface.


    Though Valyr was slightly caught off guard that Marie was incredibly straight to the point, that still did not stop the man from responding in return.


    Whoosh!


    With one swift movement, Valyr unsheathed the spear on his back before meeting against the girl''s de mid-collision.


    Bang!


    Seeing the sword''s trajectory being cut short by his spear, a faint smile appeared on his face as he thought about blocking her attack seemed to be quite effortless.


    However, such thoughts did notst for long as the young girl''s purple eyes began to glisten a dark purple, causing the force behind the sword to increase by tenfold.


    "?!"


    Thud!


    Not expecting the girl''s sword to suddenly undergone such an increase in strength, Valyr made a wise decision to retract his spear and distance himself from the young woman.


    On the other hand, Marie''s de continued on its intended trajectory beforending on the ground, briefly causing the ground to rumble in response.


    ''This is probably going to be a difficult fight,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself as he thought about using the pistol.


    With there being no limitations in ce, thoughts of ending the fight quickly appeared in the young man''s mind as all of his opponents so far had pitifully low health in contrast to their strength.


    Though, just as his thoughts had reached a crossroads at which method would be better, Marie had decided to strike once more.


    Whoosh!


    With a solemn expression on her face, a faint purple sheen appeared on her de''s surface once more.


    However, unlike before, this sheen had taken on the hints of dark purple that briefly appeared on her eyes.


    Moving at the greatest speed she could muster, it did not take long for her to arrive in front of Valyr as she swung her de down yet again.


    Though, now knowing that there was something going on with the young woman''s de, the young man undoubtedly that the best course of action was to dodge.


    But just as he was about to distance himself from her, Valyr noticed faint traces of silver light shing in the young woman''s eyes.


    Only for him to feel like the world had been put on his shoulders not long after.


    Thud!


    Before he could even react, Valyr felt as if his body had gained over ten times his own body weight in an instant, making it difficult for him to do even simple movements.


    Yet, with the appearance of his body not being affected at all, the young man looked back at the young woman before her.


    Only to notice that a faint smirk now traced the edges of her lips.


    Of course, such a smirk did notst for long.


    "[Arcane Shadow Warp]."


    Whoosh!


    Just as Marie thought that her de would finallynd on her opponent, Valyr turned into a blur of Shadow Energy and mana at the veryst moment, barely dodging the insidious attack she had prepared.


    Clicking her tongue at how her opponent had avoided her attacks twice in a row, Marie took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes.


    Not long after, she refocused her attention on Valyr.


    Only this time, her eyes now seemed to be glowing a pure silver.


    "[Fuerza Sword Style: First Stance]."


    Seeing as the young man was just staring at her whilst he stayed where he stood, Marie inwardly smiled as she caused her de to radiate the same silver light her eyes did.


    Then, without much fanfare, she disappeared before the young man''s vision.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s eyebrows widened at her sudden disappearance, looking around his surroundings to see where she went.


    "[Bisecting the Mountains]."


    Just as the young man was still wondering where Marie went, thetter appeared above Valyr all of a sudden, making the man feel like his body had gotten heavier once again.


    Striking down with all of the strength her body could muster, Marie was certain that this attack would surely end the fight between them.


    However, even though the de wasing down on him, Valyr was not afraid.


    In fact, he even looked at Marie with a faint smirk.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Consummatum Est]."


    Whoosh!


    Just like how the skill had operated during the fight with Amauris, the concept of time around the two became frozen, causing the young woman to look at the young man in disbelief.


    Not long after, the force pushing down on Valyr, as well as the moment Marie built up had thoroughly disappeared, effectively removing the lethality of her attack.


    With that, the young woman thought that she should be able to inflict a light wound on Valyr at the very least when time returned.


    However, rather than those thoughts happening, Marie was instead plunged into a world of darkness as their entire surroundings took on a muted color.


    At the same time, Valyr moved away from the vicinity with a quick [Arcane Shadow Warp], watching the skill unfold once more.


    It did not take long for the darkness under Marie to grow to a massive size, bursting with great force as a cocoon of dark energy swiftly enveloped her body.


    Then, a few secondster, this cocoon of energy broke with great force, inundating the young girl''s body with Shadow Energy.


    ''-4,613''


    "It seems she also has those kinds of defensive skills simr to Amauris," muttered the young man, shrugging his shoulders as he used [Superior Analysis] on the stunned girl.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Marie Fuerza] (Memory Image)


    ss: Heavenly demaster of Gravity (Rank 1 ¡ª Ancient)


    Subss: True demaster of Ster Force (Mythic)


    Species: Human (1st Unsealing)


    Level: 25


    Power Level: 12,100 (A)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 11,020/15,633


    MP: 7,564/10,419


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 4,860 - 4,860


    Defense: 2,413 - 2,413


    Stats: 965 VIT, 1944 STR, 1064 AGI, 1440 DEX, 755 INT, 1722 WIS, 925 PER, 116 LUK


    Skills: [Fuerza Sword Style], [Supreme Arts of Force Nullification], [Supreme Arts of Gravity Nullification], [Intermediate Gravity Maniption], and 84 other skills.


    Remarks: Though weakened by the rules of the Gates of Awakening, this memory image still greatly resembles the true Marie Fuerza, the demaster who has said to have harnessed the foundational concepts of gravity and force to its very peak.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So that''s why her attacks were like that."


    Having read through both Sven and Amauris'' resplendent status screens, Marie''s status screen only roused a bit of interest from the young man.


    After all, both her ss and subss had something to do with the de, which was something Valyr remembered only a select few yers had ended up doing.


    However, what truly caught his interest was not the fact that both her ss and subss was inclined towardsbat.


    But the fact that her skills had something to do with both force and gravity.


    ''With how smoothly she''s manipted gravity and force so far, there''s no doubt that she''s probablyprehended the full Intent rted to it,'' thought the young man, staring at the young woman for a brief moment.


    Then, without hesitation, he took out the matchlock pistol from his spatial bracelet, as well as the resources needed to fire it.


    Keeping an eye on Marie to see if she would break through her stunned state earlier like Amauris, the young man began to arm the pistol for firing.


    ''I guess I should think that I''m fortunate to be facing her in this state,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''After all, I could be facing her at the strength of a Rank 5 ss holder.''


    ''Or worse, the strength of a Myth with aprehended Intent.''


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as the young woman remained still all throughout his preparations, the young man then took in a deep breath as he aimed the pistol towards her.


    Unsurprisingly, Marie went wide-eyed towards the gesture, a faint feeling of fear creeping up within her as she got an ominous feeling from the weapon Valyr was holding.


    Yet, even though she wanted to escape, her body continued to remain affixed in ce.


    "Just for safe measure¡­" Saying these words to himself, Valyr began to activate a series of skills on himself.


    "Intent Seed of Shadow Energy."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]."


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "Andstly¡­"


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, Valyr''s aura underwent through a great transformation, causing the feeling of fear Marie to worsen with every activation.


    However, the feeling of fear eventually disappeared at the moment Valyr had infused mana into his firearm.


    Instead, she began to feel a sense of peace.


    "[Reckless Shot]."


    Bang!


    Pressing down on the trigger as he infused the pistol with mana, a faint blue bullet swiftly left the barrel as it whirred through the air.


    Whoosh!


    Then, without any obstacle in the way, the bullet pierced through the young woman''s forehead.


    ''-69,368!!!''


    Normally, such an attack would make for such a gruesome sight, especially with how the primitive humanoids were killed during the first trial.


    However, with Marie being a memory image, she instead turned into a series of golden fragments, gradually dissipating into thin air.


    And with that¡­


    The third fight was over.

 Chapter 744 Four Pillars: A Small Reprieve

    Chapter 744 Four Pirs: A Small Reprieve


    "Well¡­ that was easier than I thought."


    Watching the sight before him gradually turn barren once more as Marie disappeared, Valyr stared at his pistol for a bit before returning all of the items he had brought out back into his spatial bracelet.


    After that, he let out a low sigh, thinking about how what would be the hardest fight of this first smaller trial had instead be trivial to him.


    "Then again, if I were to base it off my past life, firearms would''ve grown to prominence only after the War of the Three Sovereignties had reached its climax," muttered the young man.


    There was also the fact that he had brought the next stage of firing mechanisms into existence, making use of a modified version of the matchlock mechanism.


    Nevertheless, that did not change the fact how much of a game-changer firearms were in dealing great damage to opponents, especially if one were to consider how simple it was to use.


    "It would be nice if the fights in the second smaller trial did not have much limitations like the one with Marie''s."


    As he said these words, Valyr sat down on the ground as he waited for the monotonous voice to make its announcement.


    Not long after, he let out a chuckle.


    "Then again, with how I''d have to face off against three opponents with strengths of Rank 5 ss holders, I guess it''ll still be difficult to clear one way or another."


    Valyr had no doubts in his mind that the pistol he had forged was undoubtedly a swift ticket to reaching the end of the Trial of Nine Stars, especially if he were to bolster his own stats to their limits.


    However, with some of the opponents setting up limitations like Amauris, there was a chance that Valyr would not be able to use the firearms in the first ce.


    Though, what truly made him think twice about using the firearms from the get-go inbat was the time it took to load the weapon.


    Sure, with the help of his titles and his implementation of the matchlock mechanism, Valyr only needed 8 seconds to arm the pistol for firing.


    Unfortunately, that 8 seconds was more than enough time for his opponent to make a move against him, considering some of his opponents'' stats so far had greatly surpassed the thousand-point mark.


    Of course, that did not mean that Valyr had no way to give himself some time to prepare the pistol for firing.


    [Consummatum Est] was one such example, though he also had a few morebat skills that could inflict simr debilitating effects to his opponents.


    But as what Amauris had made apparent to him during their fight, his opponents might also have a level of immunity towards the debilitating effects, rendering his preparations useless.


    Fortunately for him, he still had other methods aside from the pistol up his sleeve.


    ''Congrattions on clearing the first sub-trial of the Trial of Nine Stars.''


    Whilst the young man still formted a few ns in his mind on how he would go about fighting his next set of opponents, the monotonous voice finally resounded throughout the trial grounds once more.


    Listening intently to the voice''s words, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise as he did not expect to hear what it mentioned next.


    ''Though you have undoubtedly defeated three otherworldly prodigies hailing from the Gates of Awakening, the first sub-trial could be considered as a warm-up for what''s toe.''


    ''After all, the strengths of your opponents have been severely restrained, only allowing them to unleash a portion of their true power.''


    ''Of course, the same could be said for the six remaining opponents you''ll have to face, but their restrictions extended to lesser degrees.''


    After those words, the voice gave a slight pause, only to then continue speaking.


    ''Nevertheless, you have undoubtedly proved that your strength allows you to stand amongst the otherworldly prodigies of the Gates of Awakening, marking you as a pinnacle talent within the organization.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening shall reward you for your efforts thus far, hoping that you would see the trial to the very end.''


    Not long after that, a small cloud of golden energy appeared before the young man, prompting to stand up from where he stood.


    Watching the energy making up the cloud revolve around him, the young man soon felt both his vitality and mana undergo a slight improvement as the energy made its way into his body.


    Ding!


    [You have gained 5 points of Vigor.]


    [You have gained 5 points of Mana Purity.]


    "Huh." Closing his eyes for a bit to limate to the slight improvements he had gained, Valyr took a look at his notification screen, only to find out that his hidden stats were the focus of his rewards once more.


    Seeing that the Gates of Awakening had focused on improving both Vigor and Mana Purity, a wry smile soon adorned Valyr''s face.


    "Who knew getting hidden stats was this easy nowadays?"


    From what he could remember in his past life, the opportunity to gain a hidden stat was already pretty hard toe by, even more so if one had not yet reached the peak of Rank 5.


    Then, the opportunity to increase the hidden stats one had obtained was a couple of magnitudes rarer than that, with most having to tread the fine line between life and death just to get such opportunities.


    Then again, with how all of the opponents he and the others had been facing so far were on average two ss ranks of strength above them, it wasn''t as if the rewards he was getting were given for no reason.


    With how much killing and proving he had done so far to get to his current point, it only made sense for him to obtain something in return.


    ''You have defeated the third opponent of the Trial of Nine Stars. Six opponents remain.''


    ''You have 30 minutes to rest before the next opponent appears.''


    ''Note that once preparation time is up, the second sub-trial shall begin. Prepare ordingly.''


    Just as the young man had more or less familiarized himself with the small increase to both his Vigor and Mana Purity, the voice resounded once more before leaving Valyr off to his own devices.


    Seeing that he had half an hour before the fourth opponent appeared, the young man brought out a vial of rousing from his spatial bracelet and downed its contents in one gulp.


    Feeling the faint lethargy he was feeling earlier disappear within minutes, he then brought out the items making up his temporary workshop.


    "I guess I have enough time to do a quick reforge."


    Taking off his pauldrons and cing them onto the anvil, Valyr activated [Breath of Beginnings] on his hammer before allowing its energy to make a few changes to the armor.


    Having already reforged two pieces of his armor in the past with [Breath of Beginnings], the young man still had a few minutes to spare by the time he was done.


    Donning the pauldrons once more, Valyr instantly felt the increase the reforge gave to his Defense stat, causing him to faintly smile in satisfaction.


    After that, he took a look at the description of his armor set, focusing his attention on the skill awakened by the [Breath of Beginnings] during the upgrade.


    Unsurprisingly, the reforge reduced the cooldown on the skill once more.


    However, unlike the massive chunks of time the previous pieces had removed from the skill, the reforged pauldrons only reduced the cooldown time by three hours.


    Fortunately, the same could not be said for the consequences of the skill, which the reforged pauldrons reduced the same amount as the previous pieces.


    As it stood, the skill now only needed 70% of his HP and MP to activate, as well as reduced his stats by 70% for 10 minutes after the boost was over.


    Satisfied with the changes the reforge brought, Valyr then activated [Enlightenment], unlocking one of the many advancements of the Renaissance Age had to offer as he waited for his fourth opponent to appear.


    ''The second sub-trial begins.''


    ''Your fourth opponent shall appear in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    Hearing the monotonous voice beginning to count down once more, Valyr stood up and looked around his surroundings, keeping an eye on where the ray of golden light would appear.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, the ray of golden light appeared a fair distance away from the young man this time around, allowing him to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he steeled himself for what was toe.


    Watching the ray of golden light gradually being reced by a person again, the young man took in a deep breath as the aura being emanated by his opponent was definitely a cut above even Marie.


    In fact, his opponent wore more or less the same thing as Marie, sporting a set of martial robes that made him look like a warrior of an Oriental sect.


    Though, unlike Marie, his opponent did not have any weapon whatsoever, instead clenching his fists as he looked at Valyr.


    "My opponent, I''d assume?" said the young man as he stared at Valyr with his cyan eyes.


    In response, Valyr faintly nodded, adopting a battle stance in case the man did the same thing as Marie.


    Nodding back at Valyr, the man adopted a battle stance of his own as he introduced himself. "My name is Mikael Silva."


    "The goal of our fight is quite simple."


    "Defeat me and you may proceed onto your next opponent."


    Hearing those words, a faint sense of deja vu hit the young man as Mikael charged towards him.


    Though, rather than panic, Valyr instead let out a chuckle as he retrieved the pistol from his spatial bracelet.


    "With great pleasure."


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Consummatum Est]!"

 Chapter 745 Four Pillars: The Next Three

    Chapter 745 Four Pirs: The Next Three


    Whoosh!


    Having activated the ultimate skill multiple times at this point, Valyr remained unperturbed as the concept of time slowed down around the two.


    Of course, the same couldn''t be said for his opponent, who looked at the young man with wide eyes as he wondered what was going on.


    Though, just as Mikael thought that only time had been stopped, it did not take long for the momentum he had built up to disappear by the time the concept returned.


    Saving himself from nting his face into the ground, Mikael took note of the fact that the world surrounding the two of them had be muted in color.


    Getting an ominous feeling from the surroundings, the man eventually looked at Valyr with a solemn expression.


    "Your doing?" he asked.


    Valyr faintly smiled as he began to arm his pistol. "Who else?"


    After that, silence surrounded the two of them as the ever-growing darkness underneath Mikael eventually burst.


    However, just as the man was in the midst of being covered by a cocoon of Shadow Energy, Mikael had conjured something that made Valyr''s eyes widen in surprise.


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment the cocoon had closed itself, ayer ofpacted earth surrounded the cocoon, causing Valyr to stop his preparations for a bit.


    "Geomancer?" muttered the young man in slight curiosity, moving away from Mikael the moment he was done arming the pistol.


    Bang!


    ''-11,376''


    It did not take long for the cocoon to do its thing, sending out a lethal dosage of Shadow Energy into Mikael.


    Though, with the force contained in that explosion, theyer ofpacted earth surrounding Mikael should have already exploded.


    Yet, it hadn''t.


    "Well, that''s gotta hurt."


    Expecting his opponent to be stunned, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise after hearing a muffled voicee from inside theyer ofpacted earth.


    Not long after, theyer ofpacted earth gradually disappeared, revealing Mikael who looked to be more or less unscathed.


    "[Reckless Shot]!" Seeing that his opponent had not been stunned by the ultimate skill, Valyr did not hesitate to fire the pistol at the man, hoping to make use of True Shadow Corruption.


    However¡­


    "Hmph."


    Swoosh!


    In response to rapid bullet the young man had shot, Mikael Silva conjured a few tes of metal before him.


    Unsurprisingly, the bullet and the tes of metal soon collided, with the momentum behind the bullet remaining ferocious even after piercing through a few tes.


    Though, as if there was no end to them, more and more tes appeared between the bullet and Mikael, eventually exhausting all of the bullet''s momentum.


    "You''re gonna have to do better than that if you want to defeat me."


    Dispelling all of the metal tes he had conjured, Mikael looked at Valyr with a faint hint of disdain.


    "Or do you really think a fight like this would be as simple asnding insidious attacks?"


    "Of course not."


    Inwardly letting out a sigh at his n''s failure, Valyr quickly stowed away everything he had brought back into his spatial bracelet.


    After that, he retrieved the spear from his back as he began to circte his Shadow Energy and mana throughout his body.


    "Then again, it would''ve nice if it was."


    At the moment he said those words, the young man then unleashed the usual set of boosting skills on himself, causing his aura to re with greater intensity.


    Then, pushing his empowered agility to its limits, he dashed towards where Mikael stood before shing out with his spear.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]."


    "[Cataclysm of the Dark Arcanum]!"


    ¡­


    Though Valyr''s hopes of ending the fight quickly against Mikael were quashed by the man''s immunity to being stunned, that did not deter the young man at all.


    After all, he had a great arsenal ofbat skills under his belt, all of which had a level of flexibility greater than the pistol.


    With that, he fought against Mikael in close-rangebat, gradually finding out more and more things as to what made the man before him special.


    Of course, with the defenses he had conjured so far against his attacks, Valyr only needed a simple [Superior Analysis] to find out the specialty of his opponent.


    Amauris had insane light magic, while Marie could control gravity and force.


    On the other hand, the man before him had the ability to conjure matter he thought of out of thin air.


    Apanied by the fact that a great portion of his stats had more than exceeded the thousand-point mark, Mikael was undoubtedly a tough nut to crack.


    Then again, the same could be said for Valyr.


    With the help of his True Wyvern Armor, many of Mikael''s offensives had been rendered mostly useless from the sheer amount of defense the armor set gave Valyr.


    Even spamming multiple attacks in a row did not help the man out in gaining an edge, faintly reminding Valyr of his fight against Amauris.


    ''I wonder if he''ll admit defeat if I started flying?'' thought the young man to himself, letting out a faint chuckle in the process.


    Though the idea was tantalizing, Valyr felt like his opponent would have ways to stop the fight from bing a battle of attrition.


    Then again, the young man wasn''t a fan of battles that taxed the body, especially with the debuff his spear still applied on him whilst he was inbat.


    With that, he went all out the moment he had caught Mikael off guard, activating [Arcane Tide of the Dark Night] multiple times in a row to close off the man''s escape path.


    Then, to make sure that the attacks wouldnd on the man, he then followed it up with a [Breath of the True Wyvern] from above Mikael.


    Unsurprisingly, such attacks empowered with boosting skills was more than enough to end the fight, causing the man to transform into motes of golden light before the two could even speak.


    However, as the man was in the midst of fading, Valyr noticed that the man gazed at him with respect, only to faintly smile in satisfaction as he thoroughly disappeared.


    Smiling back as he stared at where Mikaelst stood, the young man made the most of his time waiting for the next opponent by replenishing his mana reserves.


    Of course, with the n of utilizing [Consummatum Est] and his pistol ending up in failure against Mikael, Valyr also thought about reworking a few things about it while waiting for the fifth opponent to appear.


    Nevertheless, a ray of golden light eventually appeared before the young man, showing him the opponent he would have to fight against.


    Looking at his opponent''s appearance, Valyr faintly scratched the back of his head as he thought about how two of his opponents so far had worn clothing that reminded him of martial organizations.


    And now, there was another one.


    However, unlike the clean robes Marie and Mikael were wearing, the man before him wore a set of sleeveless robes, showcasing the bulky muscles he had on his forearms.


    Adding on the faint traces of dust and dirt on the man''s clothes, Valyr felt like the man before him was an honorable warrior of sorts, fighting against his opponents without relying on backhanded techniques.


    "The name is Matthias Kamai," said the burly man, breaking the silence that surrounded the two of them.


    "For our fight, I''d like to keep it simple."


    At those words, Valyr thought about his fight with Marie and Mikael, recalling how anything went during their fight.


    Though, it seemed that he had misunderstood the man''s intentions.


    "Three moves," said Matthias. "Whoever fails to defend against their opponent''s moves loses."


    Hearing that, Valyr asked if there was any limitation to the attacks the two had to throw at each other.


    In response, Matthias shook his head, telling Valyr that any attack was fine.


    With that, the two of them distanced themselves from one another, giving both of themselves a bit of time to prepare for what was basically a showcase of their strongest attacks.


    Yet what Matthias did not notice was the mischievous glint in the young man''s eyes.


    By the time their match began, Matthias gave courtesy to Valyr, allowing the young man tond his three moves on his opponent first.


    Nodding in response, the young man activated [Superior Analysis] to get a better idea of what he was up against.


    After confirming that his opponent was more monstrous than the previous one, Valyr then took out his arquebus, allowing it to charge for as long as possible.


    Activating all of his boosting skills after that, he then shot it towards Matthias, only for thetter to dodge it with ease.


    Looking on with a solemn expression, he then fired another fully charged shot from the arquebus, to which Matthias dodged once more.


    Though, once his third and final move came about, the young man had done something his opponent did not expect.


    "[Full Burst]!"


    Bang!


    With great speeds, the bullet whizzed through the air, swiftly arriving towards Matthias.


    Seeing that his opponent had shot out a weird projectile at him once again, the man expected to dodge it with ease once more before proceeding with his triad of attacks.


    However, at the veryst moment, his opponent radiated an imposing aura that caused him to freeze up.


    And it was there that the battle ended.


    ''-131,173''


    Wiping his hand over his forehead, Matthias stared wide-eyed at Valyr as his palm was dyed a bloody red.


    However, before he could even utter out a word at the young man, telling him that using such a skill like that was against the rules he had set¡­


    The man could only turn into fragments of golden light as the monotonous voice resounded once more.


    ''You have defeated the fifth opponent of the Trial of Nine Stars. Four opponents remain.''


    ''You have 15 minutes to rest before the next opponent appears.''

 Chapter 746 Four Pillars: To Pursue Consistency

    Chapter 746 Four Pirs: To Pursue Consistency


    "Haah¡­"


    Having fought against his opponents four times in a row, there was no doubt that Valyr felt somewhat exhausted.


    Even though the bit of reprieve the monotonous voice had been giving him in between each fight was of great help to him physically, the same could not be said mentally.


    "I seriously hope I get a forging fight sooner orter," muttered the young man to himself, memories of his fight against Amauris and the others surfacing in his mind.


    By all ounts, Valyr should have lost from his opponents from the get-go.


    Whether it be the insane light magic Amauris had, the gravity and force control Marie had, or the ability to conjure matter like Mikael had, those things were definitely something that were nigh impossible to defeat.


    Yet, against all odds, he had found a way to do so.


    Sure, the young man knew that his current skill set had something to do with it. After all, he wouldn''t have gotten this far if he only had a basic skill set at hand.


    However, what truly allowed him to reach this point was the fact that all of his opponents were restricted in strength one way or another.


    With the fact that all of his opponents had main sses and subsses that were at least Mythic grade, it should''ve been him that was getting ruthlessly pummeled by his opponents.


    Though, that did not happen at all.


    "It would really be nice to just go back to forging," said the young man, only for him to let out a sigh as the monotonous voice resounded throughout the trial grounds once more.


    ''Your sixth opponent shall appear in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    Whoosh!


    Seeing arge ray of golden light appear before him, Valyr stood up from where he sat and began to distance himself.


    Thinking that he would have to fight against his opponent one more time, the young man took the initiative and brought out his pistol as the golden ray was being gradually reced.


    However, once the ray of golden light disappeared, all thoughts ofbat instantly disappeared.


    Instead, Valyr looked at the man before him in shock, his appearance reminding him of what had happened during his first fight.


    Sporting a head of dark brown hair, the man looked to be in his early twenties.


    Though, with his frail body, the man looked more like a young teenager than a proper adult.


    The only thing that reminded Valyr of the man being an adult was the shifty expression the man sported, reminding Valyr of the time the man in front of him had opened the door to arge ritual ce.


    "Er¡­" While Valyr was left at a loss for words as he looked at the man before him, thetter eventually shifted his gaze towards the young man as he scratched the back of his head.


    "Mind telling me how many opponents you''ve gone through so far?"


    Snapping back to reality, Valyr faintly nodded before responding. "Five opponents."


    "So, I''m the final opponent for the second sub-trial, then," muttered the man, nodding in understanding soon after.


    After that, the man took in a few deep breaths, his expression turning calm as he looked at Valyr with a slight smile.


    "Anyways, where are my manners?" said the man with a slight bow. "My name is Arcaelus Sachondeis. I hail from the Sachondeis n within the United Leventeine Nations."


    "Though I may only be an image of the true Arcaelus, I must ask you. Does the United Leventeine Nations still stand to this day?"


    In response, Valyr slowly shook his head. "They do not."


    At those words, Arcaelus shed a wry smile at the young man before nodding.


    "Mind introducing yourself before we continue?"


    Nodding, Valyr replied. "Valyr Zeihardt, hailing from the Zeihardt n. d to be your acquaintance."


    "The feeling is mutual," replied Arcaelus, though that did not hide the surprise evident within the man''s eyes.


    "You''re really from the Zeihardt n?" he asked, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    After that, the man asked whether Valyr was part of a branch of the Zeihardt n or the main n.


    Naturally, with the fact that his opponents would not recall much of what had transpired in this ce, Valyr responded with thetter.


    "I see," said Arcaelus as he nodded in understanding.


    For a while after that, the man wondered whether or not to ask if Valyr was part of those special people from the Zeihardt n, considering the unique aura the young man was radiating.


    Though, in the end, he pushed those thoughts to the side as he noticed Valyr intently staring at him throughout their conversation.


    "Is there something on my face?" asked Arcaelus with a slight frown.


    In response, Valyr shook his head. "My apologies. It''s just that I feel like I''ve seen you before."


    Arcaelus slightly widened his eyes in surprise. "Seen me before? Where?"


    With that, Valyr took it as his cue to exin the memory he had seen including Arcaelus within the Chambers of Enlightenment.


    Of course, there were a few things about the memory that he had omitted in his exnation, such as the fact that he possibly knew more about the identity of the High Priestess than Arcaelus did.


    However, other than that, he more or less told the story to Arcaelus word for word, exining about how he watched him prove himself to be an official member of the Eternal me.


    Recalling what had transpired between him and Sven after he told a simr story to thetter, Valyr felt that Arcaelus would possibly find the memory entertaining or embarrassing to hear.


    Though, what covered Arcaelus'' expression was neither of the two at all.


    Instead, he looked at Valyr with a frown.


    "Are you sure you saw it at the Chambers of Enlightenment?" asked Arcaelus.


    Although he was slightly confused, Valyr still nodded. "I am certain."


    At those words, Arcaelus let out a somewhat exasperated sigh, prompting the young man to ask what was wrong.


    In response, the man told Valyr that the memory was something he shouldn''t be able to ess from the very start.


    With Valyr''s mouth agape at the truth, Arcaelus then exined that a memory should either only been essible to those that were part of the Eternal me simr to him¡­


    Or to those whose authority within the Gates of Enlightenment were at the peak.


    Hearing that, Valyr instantly put two and two together in his mind as he understood what was going on.


    Though, even if he knew the reason why he was able to view such a memory, the young man kept it to himself, seeing that the man before him wanted to move onto the main topic of his appearance.


    "Well, even though I wasn''t expecting someone from outside the Eternal me to view that memory, that does not mean I''m not d that you''ve learned something from the memory," said Arcaelus.


    "In any case, let us move onto our fight, shall we?"


    Rumble¡­


    At the very moment Arcaelus said those words, the ground before them started to rumble as a series of tools and equipment began to protrude out of the ground.


    However, rather than be met with the two workshops Valyr had familiarized himself with during his fight with Sven, what appeared before him was far better in every aspect.


    "Wow¡­"


    Before the two of them appeared two workshops that were on a league above their own, even whenpared to the private workshops of the cksmith Guild.


    Housing multiple equipment that seemed to have reached the pinnacle of technology for the, almost everything within the two workshops seemed to have been created with a set purpose in mind.


    Sensing a trace of mana emanating from every piece of equipment within the workshops, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he understood what that meant, heading towards one of the workshops in the process.


    Seeing that, Arcaelus let out a faint chuckle as he upied the other workshop, giving Valyr time to familiarize himself with the one he took over.


    "A mana-powered power hammer, a mana-powered furnace, and even a set of mana-powered tools," muttered Valyr as hemitted every piece of equipment he picked up into memory.


    After that, he made his way towards the material cache and blueprint cache located within the workshop, only to be left at a loss for words at how much both caches contained.


    Fortunately, the young man returned to normal after that, his minding up with multiple thoughts rted to the workshop with every passing second.


    However, that did not stop the young man from listening to what Arcaelus had to say.


    "For this fight, we''ll be fighting against each other through our skills in forging," said Arcaelus, prompting the young man to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    "This fight could either range from a fight between who could forge a higher rarity item, or who could forge more items in a set amount of time, but that''s not really something that embodies what a cksmith could do."


    "Instead, it should be consistency," added the man. "If you could forge a great number of items with all of them having the same rarity, then you''re undoubtedly a good cksmith."


    "With that, the goal of our fight is simple."


    "For the next few days, forge as many items as you can with their rarity being at least Rare grade."

 Chapter 747 Four Pillars: Greater Efficiency

    Chapter 747 Four Pirs: Greater Efficiency


    At those words, Arcaelus went ahead and grabbed a forging hammer from the tool rack as he was about to begin forging.


    Though, just as he was perusing through the items contained within the material cache, a question from Valyr broke his concentration.


    "By forging items, you mean forging them from scratch, right?" asked the young man.


    In response, Arcaelus stared at Valyr with a slightly odd expression for a bit before nodding.


    "I''m pretty sure something like that should have been self-exnatory, but yes."


    Valyr wryly smiled at that. "Just wanted to make sure I wasn''t going against the spirit of the fight."


    "Speaking of which, upgrading any items I''ve previously forged doesn''t count either, right?"


    "They do not." Arcaelus shook his head, only to remain silent as gears turned in his mind.


    After a while, he spoke once more, his words bringing the young man a hint of delight.


    "However, I would consider it if you show me the forged item beforehand and you upgrade its rarity by one grade."


    "To rify, plus modifiers do not count."


    With that, Valyr nodded in agreement, faintly grinning as he began to think about the items he would be forging.


    On the other hand, Arcaelus watched the young man for a bit more before returning his attention to the material cache.


    "I guess he isn''t confident enough that he''d be able to forge more items than me once the five days are up," muttered the man to himself.


    Picking up a few items from the material cache, Arcaelus then set the furnace aze as he began to chuck items into it.


    "Though, if he does manage to upgrade more items than I forge within five days¡­"


    "Then he''s undoubtedly proven he''s achieved consistency."


    "It may be a different type of consistency, but consistency nevertheless."


    ¡­


    "There''s a few ways I could go about approaching this fight," muttered Valyr to himself, a slight frown adorning his face.


    "I could either forge the same thing over and over again, slightly improving the speed at which I forge the item with every attempt."


    "Or if Arcaelus doesn''t want that, I could forge a series of items that vary from one another. Though, that''ll be a challenge on my experience and skills I''ve rued as a cksmith so far."


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, the young man decided to ask Arcaelus a question regarding the thought he just had.


    After hearing from the shifty man that each item would need to be different from one another, Valyr briefly had a bitter smile as he took in a deep breath.


    Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, the young man then brought up all of the blueprints he had collected in his mind, nning out the items he would be forging for their fight.


    Focusing on a bnce of speed and quality, a list of blueprints was soon made in the young man''s mind as he began to take out items from his material cache.


    Stoking the mes within the furnace with his mana, he then proceeded to chuck those items into it as he perused the cache of blueprints the Gates of Awakening had provided.


    Unsurprisingly, a great portion of the blueprints within the cache were already something he hade across during the Trial of Four Rarities and Six Rarities.


    However, there were still quite a decent amount of blueprints that he had note across yet, prompting him tomit the information on those blueprints to memory.


    After that, he took a brief nce at the furnace, keeping an eye on whether or not the items he had chucked in had reached their optimal forging temperature.


    Seeing that there was still a bit of time before he had to take them out, Valyr went silent for a bit as a screen appeared in front of his field of vision.


    "Identify [True Prodigious Mana Arm]."


    Ding!


    With how the experience and skills he had umted through his past life and his current life had brought him to this point, there was no doubt in Valyr''s mind that he was quite fast when it came to forging.


    Adding on the fact that he had a couple titles that reduced his forging time, it could be said that he might be one of the fastest cksmiths on Veldanyr.


    However, considering that Arcaelus had brought up such a challenge in the first ce, Valyr had no doubt that the man was someone who could possibly forge items faster than him.


    With that, he decided to make use of a forging skill he had not even used once in his current life, reading through its description to familiarize himself with it once more.


    "Huh. I could conjure five arms now," murmured the young man, the gears in his mind turning as he pondered over how he would go through the forging process with five additional arms.


    Fortunately, having used a simr skill to his current one in his past life, Valyr slowly formted a n in his mind.


    "Thank the heavens that the cost for this skill greatly decreased," said the young man to himself, circting mana throughout his body.


    Whoosh!


    Sometimeter, he then pushed the mana he was circting towards one of his shoulder des, causing an arm simr to his to appear.


    Slowly getting over the odd sensation of having to control another appendage with his mind, Valyr reminded himself of the wings he would conjure before proceeding to infuse more mana into the skill.


    However, rather than infuse more mana into other parts of the body, he instead infused it to two spots detached from his body.


    Swoosh!


    Within seconds, four translucent arms appeared out of thin air, with a pair appearing on both of Valyr''s sides.


    Though this caused the odd sensation Valyr felt earlier to somewhat intensify, a faint smile appeared on his face as he thought about how the current setup looked like he now had three cksmiths working together.


    Sparing a nce at Arcaelus, who seemed to be engrossed in forging his own items, Valyr soon willed two pairs of his arms to grab a forging hammer each from the tool rack.


    After that, he brought out the anvil from his spatial bracelet to expand their workspace, only to take out a few items from the furnace.


    "Alright then."


    "Let us begin."

 Chapter 748 Four Pillars: Three as One

    Chapter 748 Four Pirs: Three as One


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "And that''s one down."


    Landing the final hit on the item he was working on, Arcaelus wiped the sweat off his forehead as he ced his finished product to the side.


    Admiring the shortsword he had forged for a bit, the man took in a deep breath before taking out a few items from his furnace, reminding himself that he was in a fight.


    "I think that took about five hours or so," muttered Arcaelus to himself, proceeding to hammer out the item he had taken out.


    "Taking into consideration slight breaks I might take and reduction in speed due tock of sleep, I might be able to forge around 20 items or so."


    Nodding in satisfaction at the figure he hade up with, Arcaelus put even more gusto into his strikes, each hit causing a sonorous ng to resound throughout the area.


    While doing so, the man faintly reminisced over the past, allowing his body to move on its own as he delved into his own thoughts.


    Recalling how he had gotten to thetest achievement he could recall as a memory image, Arcaelus reminded himself that he did not have an easy journey.


    Being born as an orphan, he remembered having to fight for everything he needed to survive, whether it be the clothes that covered his back or the food that would satiate his hunger.


    Fortunately, all of that changed on one fateful day where an old man had taken pity on him, teaching him the basics of cksmithing.


    At first, Arcaelus struggled with each lesson the old man gave him, seeing as thetter was unreasonably strict and harsh.


    However, as more and more time passed, he gradually grew to appreciate the strictness of the old man as his cksmithing skills grew at an rming pace.


    Eventually, he was able to make a name for himself as a cksmith, renouncing the struggles he used to have as an orphan.


    In fact, with the skills he had shown at the time, he was even personally invited by an elder of the Gates of Enlightenment due to his potential.


    "It would have definitely been satisfying to see that old fart look at me with shock once he knows how far I''ve gone," muttered Arcaelus as he let out a faint chuckle.


    "Then again, knowing him, he would have probably just given me a hug."


    ng!


    Just as he was about to continue reminiscing over his fond memories, a dissonant sound from afar broke him from his reverie, frowning as he looked at the sound''s origin.


    Though, at the very moment he did so, his mouth went agape with shock.


    After all, the sight he saw was definitely something he had not expected to see.


    "What in the world¡­"


    ¡­


    "Ahh¡­ I''m gonna die."


    Though he continuously muttered these words to himself, Valyr continued to move his hands at great speeds, his eyes keeping track of the strikes he hadnded with his hammer.


    Every once in a while, he would also keep an eye on the strikes the two pairs of arms on his sides were doing, making a few slight adjustments here and there.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "And¡­ done."


    Having finished forging what looked to be the fourth item in a row, Valyr felt like now was a good time to take a break, dispelling the mana arms for the meantime as he took a seat.


    After that, he took out a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet, as well as a vial of rousing.


    Consuming all of the potions he had taken out in one go, the young man swiftly felt a sense of relief course throughout his body, prompting him to let out a light sigh.


    Unfortunately, those potions barely alleviated the strain he had put his mind through so far.


    "Now I remember why I don''t use a lot of mana arms in the first ce," muttered the young man to himself, taking a brief nce at Arcaelus to see how he was faring.


    Surprisingly, the man was looking back at him with shock, though he did not know the exact reason why.


    Deciding not to think about why Arcaelus was shocked, Valyr returned his thoughts towards the mana arms.


    Of course, there was no doubt in the young man''s mind that the mana arms were undoubtedly helpful in forging.


    After all, having an extra pair of mana arms more or less meant that one now had two cksmiths working together in a sense.


    With the fact that both pairs of arms were of the same mind, then the benefit the mana arms was more than just a simple 1 + 1 = 2.


    Naturally, the same could be applied to the two additional pairs of arms Valyr had control over, as well as the sole additional arm over his shoulder de.


    What would have originally taken him around 10 hours or so had been cut to around a quarter or a third of the time, all thanks to the cooperation and coordination the arms exhibited.


    However, having to use multiple mana arms at once also brought along a whole host of its own problems, such as the fact that he was basically controlling seven of his arms simultaneously.


    Adding on the fact that each item he forged needed to reach at least Rare grade in terms of rarity, he needed to equally divide his attention and focus on all three pairs to make sure no mistakes would happen.


    Then again, he had [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] to rely on to make sure the quality of the item wouldn''t deteriorate.


    But that also brought a level of strain that only added to the madness.


    Nevertheless, having used the mana arms for quite some time now, it went without saying that the young man was gradually getting used to the strain he was experiencing.


    "Alright, time to continue."


    Feeling like he had taken a long enough break, Valyr stood up once more and conjured the mana arms that aided him earlier.


    Taking out a few items from the furnace before chucking in a few more, the young man took in a deep breath before allowing his mana arms to start roughly shaping the materials.


    While doing so, he took a brief nce at Arcaelus, whose attention had finally returned to the item he was forging.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Curious as to why the man had brought up the challenge in the first ce, Valyr decided to use an identification skill to see what gave Arcaelus his confidence.


    Ding!


    Fortunately, it did not take much for the young man to understood why Arcaelus was confident, his status screen more than enough proof of what he was capable of.


    "Holy shit."

 Chapter 749 Four Pillars: Taking the Opportunity

    Chapter 749 Four Pirs: Taking the Opportunity


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Arcaelus Sachondeis] (Memory Image)


    ss: Trailzer of the Sachondeis Forge (Rank 2 ¡ª Mythic)


    Subss: Elder of the Eternal me (Epic)


    Species: Human (2nd Unsealing)


    Level: 40


    Power Level: 27,445 (A+)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 32,044/32,044


    MP: 35,732/38,273


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 3,046 - 3,046


    Defense: 5,108 - 5,108


    Stats: 1548 VIT, 923 STR, 1121 AGI, 2488 DEX, 1701 INT, 1171 WIS, 1173 PER, 176 LUK


    Skills: [Sachondeis-Style Forging Arts], [Spirit of the Sachondeis Forge], [Sachondeis-Style Equipment Enhancement], and 91 other skills. Remarks: Though slightly weakened by the rules of the Gates of Awakening, this memory image is considered a piece that the original Arcaelus Sachondeis left behind for future generations, a cksmith who has found another path leading to the higher realms of forging.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Even though Valyr knew that his opponent''s full strength was restrained by the Gates of Awakening, the young man still sucked in a breath of cold air as he looked at the amount of strength Arcaelus had ess to.


    In fact, his attention was fixated on the fact that almost all of Arcaelus'' stats were over a thousand points, something he had only achieved in about three of his stats so far.


    Of course, havinge across multiple status screens at this point that showed over a thousand points on one stat, Valyr was somewhat immune to the shock that high values brought.


    Whether it be the quadrant leaders he fought before entering the Gates of Awakening, the status screens he had seen from Sven and the others, all of them undoubtedly had stats that went over a thousand points.


    He was even certain that Mikael and Matthias, whose status screens he did not check, had stats over a thousand points on their status screens.


    The reason why the man''s status screen left him at a slight loss for words was the fact that the rarity of the man''s ss and subss were more or less the same as Valyr''s.


    In a way, Arcaelus showed to him the potential level of strength he would have by the time he reached the peak of Rank 5.


    Then again, with how much there was left before he reached that point, he was bound to exceed those values by a considerable margin.


    Closing the screen he had brought up, the young man soon returned his attention to the task at hand, keeping an eye on Arcaelus'' progress in the process.


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    For the next three days or so, it went without saying that both Arcaelus and Valyr had put most of their attention towards fulfilling the task they were given.


    Relying on his superior stats and skills, Arcaelus was able to forge quite a lot of items, especially after he had pushed himself even further.


    On the other hand, the three days of continuous forging had allowed Valyr to get more and more used to the strain that [True Prodigious Mana Arm] to both his mind and mana.


    With that, the young man gradually grew faster over time, only needing around two hours to forge a Rare grade item by the time the third day arrived.


    Of course, with how monotonous the task was, there was no surprise that the two would asionally chat with one another every once in a while.


    And with that, the two of them gradually got to know each other better.


    As he talked with Arcaelus, Valyr gradually came to know the destitute origins of the man, reminding him of Loreina in how she had arrived at her current position.


    As for Arcaelus, he was left at a slight loss for words at how Valyr had gotten to his current point, especially after hearing about how the young man had gotten to where he was today without anyone strictly guiding him.


    At some point, the two even lost the initialpetitive spirit they had, taking on a slightly more rxed approach topleting the task Arcaelus gave.


    "I think I''ll stop here for now."


    Wiping off the sweat from his forehead, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the sickle he forged with a faint smile.


    After that, he ced the sickle alongside the other items he had forged so far, making up a small pile of items that would leave any normal person drooling with greed.


    "You''re gonna take a break?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Arcaelus nced at the young man as his body continued to forge items.


    In response, Valyr shrugged. "I guess."


    After that, he dispelled all of the mana arms he had conjured, bringing a great wave of relief to his strained mind.


    Sitting down on a nearby chair, he continued, "Well, if I were to be more exact, I''ll be stopping from forging new items."


    "After all, I think I''ve forged more than enough items to still win the fight at your current pace."


    At those words, Arcaelus wryly smiled as he took a short nce at the pile of items he had forged so far.


    Then, he took a look at the pile of items Valyr had forged, causing his smile to turn more wry.


    Though he also had a skill simr to [True Prodigious Mana Arm], Arcaelus'' usage of the skill leaned more towards using the arms as a way to iron out imperfections in the forging process.


    With that, even though he had saved a considerable amount of time with the arms summoned, Valyr eventually left him in the dust, forging over twice the number of items Arcaelus had within the same amount of time.


    "Does that mean you''re just going to rest until the five days are up?" asked Arcaelus, understanding if Valyr were to do something like that.


    However, the young man surprisingly shook his head.


    "That would be nice¡­" said Valyr.


    "But it would be a great waste not to use all of this equipment while I still can."


    As he said those words, Valyr stood up from his seat before taking out an item from his spatial bracelet.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing a round metal shield appear around the young man''s hands, Arcaelus went silent for a bit before using his identification skill on the item.


    "¡­I now see what you mean." Taking a brief nce at the item''s rarity, it did not take long for the man to put two and two together as he looked at Valyr with a slight smile.


    Faintly chuckling in response to Arcaelus'' words, Valyr downed a set of potions once more before conjuring five more mana arms around him.


    "Now, if you''ll excuse me¡­"


    "I''ll take this opportunity to upgrade some of my items."

 Chapter 750 Four Pillars: Gray Fortress

    Chapter 750 Four Pirs: Gray Fortress


    Finding out from Arcaelus that there was still one and a half days before time was up, Valyr took in a few deep breaths as he looked at the round metal shield he had ced on the anvil.


    In many ways, the shield he had forged during the Trial of Four Rarities would catch the attention of many people, obtaining a pretty penny especially with how everyone was preparing for war in the outside world.


    However, considering that he had brought the shield out just to prepare himself for his true motive, the young man let out a long and drawn-out sigh as his mana arms began to move.


    "[Breath of Calm]."


    Saving the Hammer of Beginnings'' ultimate skill for what he nned on doingter, Valyr began to will his arms to dismantle the shield into its constituent parts.


    At the same time, he took a look at the list of materials the material cache had to offer, his eyes eventuallynding on a few that he felt would harmonize well.


    Stoking the mes within the furnace by infusing it with a bit of his mana, it did not take long for him to chuck all of the items he had chosen into it.


    Waiting for the items to reach their optimal forging temperature, Valyr then returned his attention to the shield on the anvil, the mana arms having already dismantled the shield into its separate parts.


    Moving the parts that did not need to be upgraded to the side, the young man looked at the remaining parts for a bit before deciding to chuck them into the furnace as well.


    Though, unlike the other items he had thrown into the furnace earlier, the young man only ced them in the furnace for a while to heat up.


    After that, he took them out before using his mana arms to prepare the parts for the upgrade.


    "I guess I could upgrade the size of the shield somewhat," muttered the man to himself as he briefly nced at the furnace.


    "Though, if I were to do that, that would reduce the advantage a round shield has over other shields."


    "Eh. I''ll keep it the same size, then."


    Making up his mind on how he would approach his upgrade to the shield, Valyr soon took out the items he had chucked into the furnace, cing them on top of the prepared shield parts.


    Hiss!


    Hearing a bit of sizzling from the anvil as the items made contact with the shield parts, the young man did not waste any time as he began to incorporate the two together.


    With three pairs of arms working in tandem, it only took a few trips to the furnace for the two to form a greater whole.


    After that, he ced the entire item into the furnace a few more times, removing the imperfections that had appeared during thebining process.


    Once he had made sure that he had removed all of the imperfections he could see, it was only then did he activate [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], making sure that there was no dissonance to the elements making up the shield.


    Little by little, the upgraded shield came to form, the aura it radiated somewhat surprising Arcaelus amidst his brief nces.


    Eventually, by the time the dawn of the fourth day had arrived, the young man had reattached all of the parts together, giving rise to a shield far better than the one he had started with.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''Round Shield of Protection''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Rare+.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed by the cksmith to ''Gray Fortress''.]


    Reading through the notifications he had received after the shield''s sessful upgrade, Valyr faintly smiled as he began to wave the shield around.


    Feeling that the shield had improved in many areas its previous version wascking in, the smile on Valyr''s face grew wider as he identified it with [Superior Analysis].


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gray Fortress] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack / Defense:575 - 959


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Originally a shield forged by the cksmith for swift achievements, it has been given new life, instilled with the purpose of standing for eons.


    This¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Shield Strike -Allows the user to infuse the shield with mana and move forward at great speeds, dealing damage equivalent to 175% of the user''s Attack stat. Has a small chance to stun the enemy. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 2,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Gray Fortress - Allows the user to infuse the shield with mana, expanding its defense to cover the entirety of the user''s front. Increases the user''s Defense stat by 25% for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.>


    Remarks: May the gray fortress stand forever to protect those you cherish.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Damn. Two skills in one item," said the young man with slight surprise, ignoring the weapon''s remarks as he thought that it might have something to do with the materials he had incorporated.


    Eventually thinking that the second skill appeared due to the type of weapon he had upgraded, Valyr returned the shield to his spatial bracelet after letting Arcaelus take a look at it.


    Seeing the slight surprise on the man''s face as he read through the shield''s updated description, the young man then took out the item that held his true motive.


    An item that he had begun to neglect after the inception of the matchlock pistol.


    "What''s that?"


    Taking notice of the item Valyr had brought out, Arcaelus went ahead and used his identification skill on it, only to be left at a slight loss for words at the weapon''s capabilities.


    "This is a new type of weapon I''m developing," replied Valyr as he grinned with pride. "Well, to be more specific, it''s the original version of the weapon type I''m developing. I''ve made a few improvements to it as ofte by making a new iteration some time ago."


    "In any case, it''s time to apply those improvements and take this weapon to greater heights."

 Chapter 751 Four Pillars: Immense Focus

    Chapter 751 Four Pirs: Immense Focus


    "¡­" Staring at the weapon Valyr had brought out, Arcaelus went silent for a bit as he tried to guess the underlying mechanics on how the weapon worked.


    After all, the man had not seen a weapon that resembled anything the young man had brought out in the past.


    "In terms of appearance, it''s shaped simrly to a short spear," muttered the man, the gears in his mind turning the more he thought about it.


    "However, there is no point at the end. If anything, all of its sides are dull."


    "A unique blunt weapon?" asked Arcaelus to himself, slightly unsure of his guess.


    Fortunately, Valyr heard the words the man was muttering to himself, slightly chuckling as he shook his head.


    "I guess it could work as a blunt weapon in an emergency," said Valyr, finding Arcaelus'' guess somewhat amusing.


    After that, he took out a few items from his spatial bracelet, which only made Arcaelus wonder whether he had even guessed correctly.


    "Well, I guess it won''t hurt to use it onest time before upgrading it."


    At those words, the young man dispelled the mana arms he had conjured before proceeding with the whole arming process of the arquebus.


    Watching Valyr add what looked to be ck powder and a metal pellet to the weird-looking weapon, Arcaelus slightly tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what the young man was aiming to achieve.


    Thankfully, after going through the process in his mind one more time, the man gradually put two and two together as a crazy idea surfaced in his mind.


    With his eyes slightly widened in surprise, Arcaelus asked, "Is that¡­ is that a portable cannon?"


    In response, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he nodded.


    "Correct."


    Fwoosh!


    Conjuring a me out of thin air, he then moved this me towards the pan on the barrel''s side, igniting all of the gunpowder on it.


    Bang!


    Though he had not infused any mana into the shot, that still did not stop the bullet from zooming forth at great speeds as a boom apanied its release.


    Witnessing this unfold before him, Arcaelus went a bit ck-jawed as he felt the ferocious aura of the weapon the very moment Valyr ignited the ck powder he had put into it.


    Realizing that the weapon the young man forged was a portable type of cannon, the man also looked at Valyr with slight awe, seeing how thetter''s strength was more than enough to keep the weapon in ce.


    Inparison, many people had to push cannons back to their original ces during a period of wartime in Arcaelus'' past, reducing the weapon''sbat efficiency.


    Understanding what Valyr was going to do, Arcaelus feltpelled to stop what he was doing and just watch the young man bring the weapon to greater heights.


    However, with the purpose of his appearance being to stop Valyr from getting any further in the Trial of Nine Stars, the man was left with no choice but to continue forging more items.


    Then again¡­


    There was nothing that stopped him from slowing down.


    As the sounds of hammering from Arcaelus'' workshop gradually slowed down, Valyr ced the arquebus on the anvil before him, allowing the entire thing to cool down from the shot.


    Then, after checking that the arquebus had returned to its original condition, it was only then did the young man conjure mana arms once more.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With a pair on both sides, as well as an additional arm over his shoulder de, Valyr activated both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] as he stared at the arquebus.


    Seeing that a few impurities had appeared on the weapon after undergoing prolonged use, a slightly bitter smile appeared on his face as he proceeded to dismantle the arquebus part by part.


    Keeping in mind during the forging process of the arquebus that he would upgrade it at some point, it did not take long for Valyr to break down the arquebus into its constituent parts.


    Looking at the parts he was working with, the young man went silent for a bit as he tried to recall the materials he had used in making the arquebus.


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, it was only after a few minutes or so did Valyr look through the material cache, picking out items that were a direct upgrade to the materials he had used for the arquebus.


    After that, he brought up the blueprint he used to forge the arquebus, as well as the blueprint he used to forge the matchlock pistol.


    Looking at the two side by side, he then began to draft up a new blueprint, making use of the experiences he obtained while forging the matchlock pistol to improve the arquebus.


    Naturally, with how it took less time to load the pistol than the arquebus, Valyr brought over the modified matchlock mechanism to what he termed as the true arquebus blueprint.


    Of course, with how the arquebus and the pistol somewhat differed in shape, there were a few things about the mechanism he had to change.


    Whether it be the size of gears he used or the number of springs to make sure the trigger would allow the cordage to ignite the gunpowder, all of that was adjusted to make sure the upgrade was the best it could ever be.


    Then, once he had made sure the modified matchlock mechanism would work perfectly with the arquebus, it was only then did the young man make aesthetic and material adjustments to the blueprint. Keeping the materials he had brought out from the material cache in mind, Valyr eventually drafted a blueprint he was more than satisfied with by the time an hour had passed.


    Staring at the dismantled parts of what made up the original arquebus, the young man took in a deep breath before causing the crystal on his artifact''s side to change.


    "[Breath of Beginnings]."


    Activating the strongest skill the Hammer of Beginnings offered, Valyr began to prepare all of the parts for upgrading as he chucked in all of the materials he picked into the furnace.


    Fwoosh!


    Infusing a bit of mana to keep the temperature within the furnace stable, Valyr kept an eye on all of the materials he had put in, even going so far as to utilize his two ocr skills in the process.


    Then again, it was not like the ocr skills had no effect.


    "First, the barrel."


    With the ocr skills he had activated allowing him to figure out the right time to take out items, Valyr gradually picked out items from the furnace with a pair of tongs, slowly incorporating them into the parts that made up the arquebus.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With three pairs of arms working together to achieve one task, the time it took for Valyr to incorporate the molten materials into the arquebus parts took less than it usually would.


    However, with the reminder Arcaelus had given him regarding the upgrade of items, he still took quite a lot of time in making sure the two had seamlesslybined.


    Naturally, the other arquebus parts were incorporated with molten materials after that, increasing all of the parts'' quality whilst improving theirtent potential.


    "Huh."


    While Valyr was in the midst of upgrading his arquebus, Arcaelus took note of the fact that there was something about the young man that slightly changed.


    At first, he did not know where he got the feeling from.


    Though, as he looked at the young man proceed through his tasks, he gradually became sure of its origin.


    "It seems he has achieved [Flow]," muttered Arcaelus at some point, seeing that Valyr had focused all of his attention towards the tools and the item he was forging.


    Wryly smiling at the thought of not being able to talk to Valyr, the man continued to watch the former by the side as he continued to forge more items for their fight.


    But of course, with how he had made up his mind earlier, Arcaelus did more watching than forging, letting his muscle memory take over the forging process.


    "Oh?"


    Just as Arcaelus thought that the upgrading process was a done deal with how Valyr had entered [Flow], the man soon felt another changee from the young man.


    However, this time, it was a qualitative change.


    "[Greater Flow]¡­" Arcaelus muttered, his eyes widened in slight surprise as the young man''s movements now looked as if it was choreographed beforehand.


    At this point, every move Valyr made seemed to touch upon a concept of nature.


    From Arcaelus'' eyes, he even felt like the young man had begun to infuse nature itself into the upgrade he was doing.


    Though, just as the man thought that Valyr''s transformation was over, yet another change enveloped the young man.


    "What in the¡­"


    Feeling a torrent of energy start to coalesce around the young man, Arcaelus could not stop his eyes from widening in shock anymore, the events before him now giving him great disbelief.


    "You''re telling me¡­ Valyr achieved [Zen]?"


    "I haven''t even gotten to that realm of focus yet!

 Chapter 752 Four Pillars: The Realm of Zen

    Chapter 752 Four Pirs: The Realm of Zen


    To be honest, Valyr had no clue when it all began.


    In his mind, he was proceeding through the upgrade as usual, utilizing all of the skills in his arsenal to make sure it was sessful.


    Of course, he did notice at some point that some of the tangential thoughts in his mind began to disappear.


    Instead, it was reced with thoughts that allowed what he was doing to elevate to another level.


    Soon, the same went for his actions, all of which made him feel like it was choreographed beforehand.


    At that point, the young man understood what was going on,posing himself to make sure the sensationsted longer.


    After all, it''s been a while since he entered the state of [Flow].


    With that, it went without saying that Valyr made more progress in upgrading the arquebus.


    From incorporating the new materials into the old parts to fabricating the parts needed for the modified matchlock mechanism to work, all aspects of the upgrade seemed to have been done with higher quality in mind while taking up less time.


    In fact, the young man began to feel like he was thinking a couple steps ahead through the forging process by the time he was done incorporating the materials.


    At first, it would only happen every once in a while, giving him a small burst of speed that reduced the time it took for him to do a certain task.


    Though, just like how he knew he had entered a state of [Flow], he eventually noticed that he was consistently thinking ahead at some point, feeling as if he had be one with the craft.


    Then again, the same could be said for his actions, having elevated to another level of purpose.


    If earlier, he felt like his movements were nned beforehand, then even the minute elements in his actions had also been taken into consideration in this higher state.


    Looking at it from a bystander''s perspective, it was as if every part of Valyr''s movements served a great purpose in moving the upgrade process forward.


    Of course, the young man knew at that point that he had entered a state higher than [Flow].


    With him having memories from his past life, Valyr was able to find out what it was without breaking his immersion in the current state.


    ''[Greater Flow]¡­'' muttered Valyr inwardly, feeling a hint of excitement at the fact that the skill that basically gave him his current ss would now undergo a giant rebirth.


    However, just as he thought that the state of focus he was in was the greatest he would ever achieve¡­


    It soon went into a whole other dimension.


    Whoosh!


    By the time Valyr was piecing together all of the parts to form the arquebus, he felt all of his thoughts dissipate all of a sudden, all of which were rted to the forging process.


    But just as he was about to panic, a deluge of thoughts soon filled his mind, all of them focusing on a certain part regarding the arquebus upgrade.


    To him, it was as if a small stream of water had been reced by a giant river out of nowhere, the bits and bobs floating within the river giving him ideas on what to do next.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s actions became more in-tune with these thoughts as well, elevating the harmony between his thoughts and actions to another level.


    At this point, the young man was left at aplete loss for words, letting his immersed state to take the wheel as his body continued to move.


    Though it was still far from the state of focus Sven had achieved in the memory he saw, Valyr now felt like he had touched upon a small part of it in his current state.


    ''I guess this is the effect of having an absurdly high Tranquility stat at a low ss rank,'' thought the young man with a slight chuckle, thinking back to one memory from his past life that reminded him of his current feeling.


    As a member of the guild known as Pandora''s Crafts, Valyr and the others had formed alliances with multiple production-focused guilds, allowing him to meet other yers that had also devoted their efforts towards improving their craft.


    On one fateful day, a friend from another guild sent a message to him toe to where the former was, telling him that he had a surprise for him.


    Curious, Valyr did not hesitate to head to where the friend was, especially since he was certain that there would not be any funny business going on.


    Sure enough, by the time he arrived at where his friend was, thetter was toiling away in a makeshift workshop, prompting Valyr to wryly smile.


    Just as he was about to ask why he was called over, the young man was soon enraptured by his friend''s movements, taking note of the fact that they were of a far higher quality than before.


    At the time, he wondered whether his friend had achieved [Greater Flow], considering that only a few among their friend group had achieved it.


    Fortunately, by the time his friend had finished forging, Valyr found out that his friend had entered a state that was considered higher than [Greater Flow].


    In fact, the young man was even looked at his friend with surprise after hearing that a state of focus like that could be willingly activated at any time.


    With that, he deeplymitted the name of the state to memory, even though it was only one word.


    ''[Zen].''


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With all three pairs of arms moving in a flurry thanks to the effects of [Zen], the upgrade process for the arquebus took far less time than it should have.


    Then again, with how much time there was left before time was up, Valyr was still cutting it close, finishing just a few minutes before the five days were over.


    "And¡­ done."


    With onest tap from his hammer, the arquebus was finally consideredplete, causing a series of notification sounds to resound in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''Primitive Arquebus Prototype''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Epic.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed to ''Supreme True Arquebus'', reflecting all of the modifications and improvements the cksmith has made to the weapon.]


    Seeing the notifications he had obtained regarding the weapon''s sessful upgrade, Valyr faintly smiled as he felt satisfaction at what he had achieved.


    However, there were a few more notifications below that.


    [What was initially a prototype that would pave the way for the new era, it has instead been given a breath of fresh air, turning into the true version of your original intent.]


    [With this true arquebus in hand, may you pave the path of firearms on Veldanyr even further. Let the world experience the superiority that the weapons of the new era have over the past.]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr).]


    [Upgrade Primitive Arquebus Prototype to Rare+ grade (1/1)]


    "I still have a long way to go," muttered the young man, chuckling as he briefly thought about the other objectives needed toplete the quest.


    Though, just as he thought that he had read through all of the notifications he had received from upgrading the arquebus¡­


    He soon found out that there were still a bit more.


    [To enter a natural state of concentration is a feat only achieved by the fated and the elite. To push it to a higher state is to separate oneself from the rest, heralding themselves as the pinnacle.]


    [However, only those who can enter the natural state of concentration at will are those considered to be standing at the pinnacle, the path to a higher realm of enlightenment more than open for them to trek.]


    [Due to your understanding of the natural state of concentration exceeding previous levels, your passive skill ''Flow'' has undergone through a massive transformation, allowing you to enter the state of immersion at will.]


    [The passive skill ''Flow'' has been upgraded to ''Zen''.]


    [You have gained 2 points of Tranquility.]


    "It was indeed [Zen]." Reading through thest string of notifications he had received, a wry smile adorned Valyr''s face as he turned to look at Arcaelus.


    Seeing that the man was looking back at him with his mouth agape, the young man shed a slight grin at him before returning his attention to the notifications.


    After that, hemanded the system to bring up the description of [Zen], wanting to acquaint himself with the skill even more.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Zen] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Epic


    The state of concentration is a state that many people seek to obtain. However, such a state would only appear every once in a while naturally.


    There are those who have found ways to emte such a state, using them to achieve feats that could be considered herculean. Nevertheless, those states are a far cry from the true state of concentration itself, especially once one finds out a way to activate it at will.


    To those who have done so, it is only known by one name.


    And that is the state of Zen.


    While in the state of Zen, the effectiveness of one''s stats increases by 30%, allowing feats normally impossible for the user to achieve to be possible. During this state, the user''s mental state is also focused towards the task at hand, making sure that the task would bepleted with supreme quality and extreme efficiency.


    This state could be toggled on and off at will. Perhaps exposing oneself to the realm of Zen for a long time might allow them to ascend to a higher realm.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Feeling the state of immense concentration slip by him every time he toggled [Zen] on and off, Valyr faintly smiled as he thought about how his items would ascend to a higher level now that he had a way to actively enter the state.


    Though, rather than indulge himself further in other thoughts rted to [Zen], his focus soon turned towards the item that made it possible in the first ce, activating a skill with a faint smile.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!

 Chapter 753 Four Pillars: Passing the Torch

    Chapter 753 Four Pirs: Passing the Torch


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+10) Supreme True Arquebus] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Epic


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 14,022 - 23,370


    Cooldown: 10 seconds (6.72 seconds)


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 49


    > DEX + 94


    > PER + 39


    What was once to be the next step on the path of ranged weapons, this weapon has been remodeled and reworked by the cksmith that brought it to life in the first ce. Now, it has been reborn into a form that''s greater and more in-line with the cksmith''s original motives.


    Forged by a truly prodigious cksmith, this weapon has taken inspiration from a simr weapon of a bygone era, only for the cksmith to add a few more modifications to it.


    In its current state, it still resembles the weapon of old. Nevertheless, it has adopted a few of the conveniences that weapons far deeper on the path would have.


    Perhaps, in due time, the cksmith would be able to reforge it once more, bringing it closer to what they truly seek to obtain.


    <Innate Skill 1: Grand Burst - Allows the user to infuse mana into the weapon,bining with the gunpowder loaded within the weapon to deal a devastating amount of damage. Deals 250% of the user''s Attack stat as damage. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Cost: 3,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Mana Overdrive - Allows the user to infuse mana into the entire weapon, empowering all of the shots fired with the weapon within a certain duration. Increases the damage dealt by the weapon by 10% for 2 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cost: 8,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Extended Charge - Allows the user to ignite the gunpowder within the barrel beforehand, umting the firepower within the ignition through the use of mana. The longer the user stores the firepower within the barrel, the greater the effects are.


    Allows the user to extend the charge of the attack by 15% to 450% of the weapon''s base cooldown time. Depending on the duration, the attack coefficient of the weapon increases by 5% to 150%. Cooldown: None. Cost: 1,000 - 15,000 MP.>


    Remarks: Recreated from the ground up, it has now taken a step closer in embodying the greater future.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the newly improved arquebus, Valyr briefly whistled in admiration as almost every part of it had undergone quite the substantial upgrade.


    For one, the Attack stat the arquebus now gave him was about twice as much the firepower it had before, giving him the ability tond more devastating attacks if need be.


    Aside from that, the time it would take for him to load the weapon had been reduced by five entire seconds, increasing his damage output with the weapon even further.


    Of course, a few parts of the weapon had been adjusted in ordance to this great reduction in cooldown, such as the fact that Valyr now needed to wait 450% of the weapon''s base time to reach the limit of [Extended Charge].


    Then again, with a bit of calction, the young man was able to figure out that he would just have to wait the same amount of time he did in the previous iteration of the arquebus.


    And that was more than fine with him.


    "I wonder if it would stack," muttered the young man to himself at some point, taking note of the arquebus'' new innate skill.


    Though the damage increase brought by the skill wasn''t as impressive as what [Extended Charge] offered, it did make up for it with the fact that it lingered around for longer, giving him the ability to stack its effects with multiple shots of the newly upgraded [Grand Burst].


    "I''ll have to do a damage test sooner orter," said Valyr to himself, satisfied with the improvements the upgrade brought.


    As he took out a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet to replenish his drained reserves, he shifted his gaze towards Arcaelus, only to find out that the man was looking in his direction with his mouth agape in shock.


    Slightly wondering why that was the case, the young man let out a slight chuckle after seeing the translucent screen in front of the man, not taking long to understand what was going on.


    "Hey, Arcaelus. I think the five days are up." Grabbing a vial of rousing before downing it in one go, Valyr called for the man''s attention the very moment he felt energized.


    "Huh?" Realizing that he had been staring at his screen for a bit longer than he initially expected, Arcaelus scratched the back of his head as he let out an awkward chuckle in response.


    After that, he took in a deep breath, his expression gradually turning solemn as he opened his mouth.


    "Now that five days have passed, it is now time to tally up the results and see who emerges as the winner of this fight."


    At those words, Arcaelus headed towards the pile of items he had forged beforeying them at the front of his workshop in a long line.


    Seeing that, Valyr stared at him for a bit before doing the same thing as well, moving all of the items he forged to the front of his workshop beforeying them out.


    However, by the time he was finished arranging all of his items, the young man then took out a couple more items before cing them on the ground with the others. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Of course, those items were none other than Gray Fortress and the Supreme True Arquebus.


    "Alright." Letting out a low sigh as he finishedying down all of his items, Arcaelus turned to look at what Valyr was doing, only to wryly smile soon after.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, he then began to look at the lines the two of them had made, pushing his perception to its very limit to make sure he did not miscount.


    "In total, I have forged a total of 18 items within the span of five days," said Arcaelus, projecting his voice throughout the area with the help of his mana.


    "On the other hand, Valyr was able to forge 25 items within the span of five days, as well as upgrade two additional items within those five days," added the man soon after.


    Feeling a slight twinge in his chest at those words, the feeling soon disappeared as he recall what the young man had shown him.


    "With the rules I have ced before the fight, Valyr has forged a total of 27 items, thus dering him the winner of this fight."


    What would have normally been followed up by a series of cheers was instead followed up by a single person pping, prompting the smile on Arcaelus'' face to turn a bit more wry.


    Watching the young man continue to p as he moved closer to him, Arcaelus took in a deep breath beforeposing himself once more.


    "You''ve definitely surprised me, Valyr," said Arcaelus, recalling the preternatural feats the young man had shown within the past few days. "If you didn''t introduce yourself to me, I would have thought you came from an incredibly affluent forging n."


    "Who knew the Zeihardt n known for their superbbat prowess would actually give birth to a descendant that''s highly skilled in production?"


    "Youpliment me too much," replied Valyr in response, chuckling not long after.


    Noticing that the man was sneaking nces at the arquebus he had just upgraded, a thought soon surfaced within the young man''s mind, prompting him to suggest something to the man.


    "Say¡­ do you want to try using the arquebus?"


    As if the inner child within the man had been unearthed, Arcaelus looked back at Valyr with slight amazement as he asked, "Really?"


    Understanding that the question itself was already an answer, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he taught Arcaelus how to operate the arquebus.


    Naturally, having taught another memory image to operate a firearm reminded the young man of how he taught Sven how to operate the matchlock pistol he forged during the first fight.


    Nevertheless, he quite enjoyed teaching Arcaelus how to use it, especially after seeing a few aspects of the man that he had not seen during the past five days.


    Such as the immense sense of the childlike wonder the man had actually kept hidden throughout their fight.


    Aside from that, the man had also imparted him a few adjustments he could make to the arquebus if he ever nned on upgrading it again, offering him another perspective to how he should approach the forging of firearms in the future.


    Sadly, just like many of the opponents that came before him, Arcaelus eventually started to be more and more transparent in front of Valyr''s very eyes.


    However, that did not mean that he would stop talking to the young man before he truly left.


    "Keep all of the items I''ve forged," said Arcaelus, causing Valyr to look back at him with a hint of surprise.


    Just as he was about to ask why the man had made such a decision, the man kept talking.


    "You know very well at this point that the Gates of Awakening would keep everything after a battle is over as long as it is owned by the Gates of Awakening."


    Arcaelus wryly smiled. "As I''m only a memory image, I''m also a part of the Gates of Awakening in a sense."


    "The same could be applied to all of the items I''ve forged so far. After all, all of those things were only made possible by the Gates of Awakening."


    "However, there is a way for you to keep all of the stuff I''ve forged," said Arcaelus, prompting Valyr to lend both of his ears.


    "Infuse all of the items I''ve made with your energy before they''re reimed by the Gates of Awakening and it''ll all be yours."


    "And I guess¡­ that''ll be it for now."


    "I wonder if my real counterpart would recognize these items I''ve made?"


    "I hope¡­ you make that happen."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    And with that, the sixth fight was officially over.

 Chapter 754 Four Pillars: The Final Hurdle

    Chapter 754 Four Pirs: The Final Hurdle


    Rumble¡­


    By the time Arcaelus fully disappeared in front of the young man''s vision, the ground surrounding the two workshops finally began to rumble.


    Watching the equipment he had used for the past five days start to recede into the ground, Valyr nkly stared at it for a bit before recalling the words the man had told him before his disappearance.


    With that in mind, he then swiftly made his way to the row of forged items in front of Arcaelus'' workshop.


    Seeing the items the man had forged being engulfed by the ground one by one, Valyr did not waste any time as he pushed his mana out towards the items as fast as he could.


    Remembering that he only needed to make contact with the items, the young man manipted his mana to where a bunch of strands would make contact with a single item, allowing him to make contact with more than one item at the same time.


    Fortunately, his efforts had paid off, with a great portion of the items Arcaelus had forged returning to where they were the moment Valyr''s mana made contact with it.


    However, there were still a few amongst Arcaelus'' items that had been engulfed by the Gates of Awakening, causing the young man to let out a low sigh.


    "15 out of 18 items," muttered the young man, only to stow all the items he recovered into his spatial bracelet not long after.


    "At least the effort I made wasn''t for nothing."


    Still feeling a hint of pain at the fact that the Gates of Awakening was faster than him when it reimed those three items, the young man made his way back to where his workshop stood.


    After that, he stowed all of the items he had forged into his spatial bracelet, even though the Gates of Awakening did not seem like it had any intention to engulf the items he forged. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Letting out a faint sigh of relief once he was done, he returned his attention to the workshops that were still receding into the ground.


    Staring at the material cache for a bit, Valyr soon extended a strand of his mana towards one of the materials, hoping that the same concept Arcaelus taught him earlier would work.


    Sadly, just like his attempt at stowing away part of the organization''s materials in the past, the material cache continued to recede into the ground as the mana he released dissipated into thin air.


    With that, the young man decided to distance himself from where the two workshops stood, allowing the Gates of Awakening to do its thing as he got some long-needed rest.


    By the time the workshops had disappeared from his sight, the monotonous voice of the trial grounds echoed out once more, informing Valyr of his achievements.


    ''Congrattions on clearing the second sub-trial of the Trial of Nine Stars.''


    Once again, the voice exined that the strength of his opponents were severely restrained due to the mechanics of the trial.


    However, unlike what the voice said in the first sub-trial, it instead mentioned that he had undoubtedly proved that his strength and skills were the real deal, marking him as an unparalleled personage.


    After that, it went through its usual spiel of asking Valyr whether he really had what it took to see the trial to the very end.


    At the same time, it encouraged Valyr to push himself to his very limits, reminding the young man that he always had the choice to surrender in the midst of a trial.


    Of course, the young man did not care too much about those words, epting them half-heartedly at best.


    However, the same could not be said for the voice''sst few statements.


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening shall reward you for your efforts once more, hoping that you would reach the end of the Trial of Nine Stars and reach the pinnacle.''


    At those words, a cloud of golden energy soon appeared before the young man, a few magnitudesrger than the cloud that appeared before him during the first sub-trial.


    Standing up in response to the cloud''s appearance, the energy making up the cloud soon revolved around him, feeling a great portion of stats undergo a considerable increase as it made its way into his body.


    Ding!


    [You have gained 7 points of Might.]


    [You have gained 7 points of Tranquility.]


    "Earlier, it was Vigor and Mana Purity. Now, it''s Might and Tranquility," said the young man, faintly smiling as he epted the rewards.


    After that, he opened up his status screen, finding out that his Might stat was at 15 points while his Tranquility was at 17.


    "Just need a couple more points before I unlock [True Rage]."


    Satisfied with how much he had improved in the field of hidden stats during the Gates of Awakening''s trials, the young man sat on the ground once more after hearing the voice''s words.


    ''You have defeated the sixth opponent of the Trial of Nine Stars. Three opponents remain.''


    ''You have two days to rest before the next opponent appears.''


    ''Note that once preparation time is up, the final sub-trial shall begin. Prepare ordingly.''


    "Two days?" Hearing those words echo throughout the trial grounds, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise, considering how the longest break he had been given so far was 30 minutes.


    Then again, it did not take long for the young man to feel that it made sense, especially with the thought that he would have to fight three Myth-level beings in a row after the break was over.


    Wryly smiling at what awaited him, Valyr opened up his party chat to ask the others how were faring.


    While waiting for the others to respond to his question, the young man set up a temporary resting spot, deciding to make use of the time he had been given as much as possible.


    Sitting down on his resting spot, the young man let out a faint chuckle as he read through the four''s responses regarding his progress in the trial.


    At the same time, he was left at a slight loss for words after hearing that almost all of them had already entered the Gates of Awakening to reap their rewards.


    From what he could infer through their messages, Hal had surrendered by the time he had gotten through the first sub-trial of the Trial of Nine Stars, telling the other three about its difficulty by the time he got into the Gates of Awakening.


    With that, it did not take long for both Vera and Loreina to change their minds as the two of them decided to do what Faulus and stop by the time theypleted their sixth trial.


    At the moment, only he and Loreina were the only ones still going through the trial.


    Though, with how things stood, it would only be him proceeding through the Gates of Awakening''s trials sooner orter.


    Telling them to send him messages as to what kind of ce the Gates of Awakening was, the young man closed his party chat before lying down on his resting spot.


    After that, he let out a low sigh before closing his eyes, slowly drifting off into deep slumber sometimeter.


    "Just a bit more."

 Chapter 755 Four Pillars: Unexpected Appearance

    Chapter 755 Four Pirs: Unexpected Appearance


    "Haah¡­"


    Waking up from what was a long slumber, it took a while for the young man to get up, giving his consciousness time to limate to its current surroundings.


    Remembering that he was still inside the Gates of Awakening''s trial grounds, a wry smile appeared on his face as he cleaned himself up with the use of the items in his spatial bracelet.


    Cooking up a bit of food for himself after that, Valyr soon thought about how much time had passed since he had fallen asleep.


    Sure, he had taken a look at his status screen a few times, taking a look at the timer that told him how close he was to the public release of Greater Beyond.


    However, with it moving far slower than he initially expected, the young man felt that there must be a difference in time between the trial grounds and the inheritance, just like how there was a difference between the inheritance and the outside world.


    In fact, he felt that it was indeed the case, recalling the experience he and the others had back when they were clearing the Gates of Enlightenment''s trials.


    Even though he and the others felt like they had spent a long time within the trial grounds, only a day had passed in the inheritance, which equated to two weeks in the outside world.


    ''I wonder how long it''ll be before I get back to the inheritance?''


    Thinking about the time he had spent in the trial ground so far, he was certain that the duration already went past a week, perhaps over a week and a half.


    At the same time, it made him think about how much time he and the others had already spent within the inheritance, prompting him to wonder how Julian and the others were faring back at Astarto.


    "Knowing them, I''m sure they''ll be fine," said Valyr to himself, though he himself was somewhat doubtful of his ims.


    Deciding not to think about the outside world any further, the young man returned his thoughts to the matter at hand, wondering once more as to how much time there was left before the third sub-trial began.


    In the end, he thought about asking the monotonous voice for the remaining time.


    And surprisingly, it worked.


    ''1 day, 10 hours, and 36 minutes remain before the seventh opponent appears.''


    "Damn. I''ve slept for over half a day," said the young man with slight surprise after hearing the voice''s words.


    Finally having a reference on how much time he still had left, the young man decided to make use of the remaining time by reforging the remaining pieces of his True Wyvern Armor with [Breath of Enlightenment].


    With each use of the skill needing him to wait 12 hours in between, Valyr decided to go through the blueprints he had obtained from the Gates of Awakening while on cooldown,ing up with a few ideas that might prove useful in the outside world.


    Other than that, the young man spent all of the remaining time on rest and recuperation, especially after sustaining himself on vials of rousing for days on end.


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "And¡­ done." Landing a few more hits on his greaves, Valyr widely grinned as he felt the piece of armor return to its previous state of harmony.


    After that, he stowed away all of the items making up his temporary workshop back into his spatial bracelet, equipping his greaves not long after that.


    Whoosh!


    Sensing the considerable increase in defense the reforge brought to his greaves, the young man faintly smiled as he began to walk around for a bit to limate himself.


    At the same time, he used [Superior Analysis] on his True Wyvern Armor, taking a look at the changes the final reforge brought to the strongest skill on the armor set.


    "Definitely a far cry from what it was before."


    Letting out a whistle in admiration as he read through the skill''s description, Valyr recalled the first time he had used the skill, wryly smiling as he remembered the immense weakness he felt after the skill naturally dispelled on its own.


    "At least, I won''t be as much of a burden on the others after using this skill." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Innate Skill 4: Descent of the True Wyvern - Allows the user to tap into the entirety of the Wyvern Core''s power, awakening part of the spirit of the True Wyvern. For 2 minutes, the user''s physical and magical stats are empowered by 50%. In exchange, all of the user''s stats are reduced by 50% for 10 minutes after. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 50% of the user''s HP and MP.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though reforging thest two armor pieces only reduced the cooldown of the skill by six more hours in total, they still reduced the cost and consequences of the skill by 10% each.


    From what was a skill that he would only use as ast resort, the skill now seemed more viable to use in actualbat, considering that it now looked like he would pay a more than equal price for the considerable boost in power.


    "I''ll probably get great use out of it by the time thest three opponents appear," muttered Valyr to himself, feeling somewhat giddy at the thought of going all out against Myth-level beings.


    After all, if he were to defeat them inbat while going all out, then that meant that he had the capabilities to fight against a Myth-level being toe-to-toe.


    Then again, that also meant that he only had the capabilities to fight against a Myth-level being for a short while.


    With how the opponents in the Trial of Nine Stars so far, have been greatly restrained in terms of strength, the young man even began to wonder whether there was even merit in thinking of thesest three opponents as true Myth-level beings.


    Though, before he could begin to delve deeper into the rabbit hole, the monotonous voice resounded throughout the trial grounds once more.


    ''The third sub-trial begins.''


    ''Your seventh opponent shall appear in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    "Eh, already?" Not expecting the two days to have passed that quickly, the young man hurriedly kept all of the items he brought into his spatial bracelet as he watched the ray of golden light appear a fair distance away from him.


    Whoosh!


    Watching the ray of golden light gradually get reced by a person, Valyr wondered whether his first fight in the third sub-trial would bebat-rted or forging-rted.


    However, such a question quickly disappeared from his mind the very moment heid eyes upon his opponent.


    "Hello there."


    "The name is N Hephaista."


    "I apologize for asking, but¡­ how many opponents have you fought against so far?"


    Apologies for not being able to post anything yesterday. Was feeling incredibly sick yesterday, but now I''m back into a somewhat stable condition.

 Chapter 756 Four Pillars: The Limit of Ones Capabilities

    Chapter 756 Four Pirs: The Limit of One''s Capabilities


    Silence.


    Shock. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Disbelief.


    At the very moment the woman introduced himself, such emotions enveloped the entirety of Valyr''s mind as he thought about the odds of this current situation happening.


    ''First, it was Sven. Then, it was Arcaelus,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''And now, exactly on the fight after Arcaelus, I''m put up against the High Priestess of the Eternal me.''


    Of course, the only reason why the young man would have been shocked to silence was the fact that the woman before her was incredibly familiar, just like the two he had fought against before.


    However, unlike the previous two, which were great cksmiths in their own right, N was a cut above the rest.


    After all, she came from the highly renowned Hephaista n.


    ''Is this some sort of sick joke the Gates of Awakening is trying to pull on me?'' muttered the young man inwardly, still feeling a hint of disbelief at his current situation.


    "Er¡­ hello?" Oblivious to what was going on in Valyr''s mind, N looked at the young man before her with a slight frown.


    "Was I not loud enough?"


    "Ah." Realizing that he had not answered her question yet, Valyr looked at her with an apologetic smile as he shook his head.


    "I apologize for not answering your question earlier. I hear you loud and clear."


    At that, N let out a brief sigh of relief.


    "And here I thought I''d have to send mana first before getting a response from you," said the woman. "In any case, let me ask you once again."


    "How many opponents have you fought against so far?"


    "Six," Valyr replied, prompting N to nod as she moved around for a bit.


    After a while, she let out a faint chuckle.


    "It''s been quite some time since I''ve been assigned as an opponent in a taker''s final sub-trial."


    After that, she looked at Valyr, recalling the expressions that appeared on thetter''s face a while earlier.


    Slightly frowning, she then asked him. "I''m getting the feeling that there''s something else to your gaze. Have we met somewhere before?"


    Valyr shook his head in response. "We have not."


    Hearing that, the woman was about to ask the reason behind his odd gaze.


    Fortunately, the young man''s answer was not done.


    "However, I have seen you in a memory I watched."


    At those words, Valyr proceeded to exin what had transpired in the Chambers of Enlightenment once more, causing N to look at him with a hint of shock.


    "That''s impossible," said N. "Something like that isn''t so easily essible. If anything, there are only two possible conditions as to how you''ve gotten ess to that memory."


    "It''s definitely not the one you''re thinking of," replied Valyr with a slight chuckle. "To be honest, I was surprised that an organization like the Eternal me existed."


    "Then¡­"


    Furrowing her eyebrows, the gears in N''s mind turned before eventually looking at the young man with slightly widened eyes.


    "Your authority within the Gates of Enlightenment is beyond Level 10? That''s even more impossible."


    "What can I say?" Valyr let out a bit ofughter. "I make the impossible possible."


    Frowning at his words, N turned around for a bit as she pondered over the words Valyr had said to her.


    Eventually, she let out a sigh, looking back at the young man with a shrug.


    "I guess the Gates of Enlightenment changed a lot of things ever since I made my way to the Gates of Awakening," said N.


    "I don''t even have a smidgen of a clue as to how many years have passed since I gave this memory image to the Gates of Awakening."


    "Anyways, I''ve digressed," she said not long after.


    "Let''s return to the main topic."


    Taking in a deep breath, N condensed part of her mana on her palms before mming both of them to the barren ground.


    Rumble¡­


    In response, the trial grounds began to quake with great intensity, prompting the young man to wonder for a bit if N had caused an earthquake.


    But of course, with how many times he''d witnessed this situation before, Valyr knew that the ground quaking was a sign for something else.


    Rumble¡­


    "Holy shit¡­" Watching two workshops begin to jut out of the ground once more, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words after seeing the equipment making up the workshops.


    Recalling his fight against Sven, the young man remembered that the workshop the two of them worked with was a workshop that had a simr caliber to the private workshops within the cksmith Guild.


    On the other hand, during his fight with Arcaelus, the workshops the two of them made use of was on a whole other level.


    After all, a great portion of the tools within those workshops incorporated a bit of automation through the usage of mana, a technology that had only been made possible for furnaces in the outside world.


    As for the workshops that appeared before him and N, they were on a league on their own, even making the young man think that he had been transported to a world away from Veldanyr.


    Then again, being faced with forging equipment that was only a couple of eras behind the technology Earth had currently achieved, anyone would lose their mind in disbelief.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr began to walk towards one of the futuristic workshops as he went through the memories he had from his past life.


    "There''s a hydraulic power hammer, athe, a CNC machine, some power tools¡­" Looking through the equipment he would be working with during his fight with N, the young man felt a bit of nostalgia as he faintly smiled.


    Though he had gotten used to working with medieval forging equipment, that still did not change the fact that a great portion of his time in Greater Beyond back then was spent working with equipment simr to the ones before him.


    With that, the young man felt a slight sense of belonging while in the workshop, making him feel like he had returned to where he was back then.


    As for N, she made her way to the remaining unupied workshop before familiarizing herself with the equipment within.


    After nodding a few times in understanding, she then called for Valyr''s attention as she began to discuss the rules of their fight.


    "Though I''m sure you''ve more than figured it out from the memory you viewed, I must remind you that I am a cksmith through and through." "Thus, our fight would be rted to an aspect of that field."


    "Some cksmiths would test the opponent''s ingenuity, while some would check if the opponent could maintain a consistent output over various items."


    "Unfortunately, we won''t be doing that. That''s not really my style."


    "Instead, what I want to see¡­ is the limit of your cksmithing capabilities.

 Chapter 757 Four Pillars: Blank Slate

    <h4>Chapter 757 Four Pirs: nk te </h4>


    ?"The limit of one''s capabilities¡­" Valyr muttered to himself as the gears in his mind began to turn.


    "Er¡­ what do you mean by that exactly?"


    "Hmm¡­" Hearing the young man''s question, N rubbed her chin for a bit as she pondered. "Now that I think about it, it''s quite the vague concept, even more vague than either ingenuity or consistency."


    "Mind if you let me exin my thought process?" she asked, to which Valyr gave her the go ahead.


    Nodding back in response, the woman went silent for a bit as she organized her thoughts.


    After some time, she looked back at the young man, her gaze now solemn.


    "Well, as we all know, cksmithse in many types and forms," said N to begin her exnation.


    "There are those who rely on hammers to shape materials into items, while there are also those who rely on their mana to achieve the same thing. Naturally, a fusion of the two exists as well."


    "There are cksmiths who utilize equipment to achieve a few of the steps in the forging process, while there are those who don''t utilize any equipment at all, instead relying on their strength to achieve the same thing."


    "Of course, there are also those who solely rely on their equipment, utilizing their cksmithing skills to refine their equipment to the point that the output would be indistinguishable from an individual''s work."


    "Without going into an even lengthier exnation, the world of cksmithing has many paths one could traverse," said N, prompting Valyr to nod in agreement.


    "One could traverse the path of manual work, one could traverse the path of magic, one could traverse the path of automation, one could traverse the path of nature, and so on and so forth."


    "With that, focusing a fight on something like ingenuity or consistency isn''t really ideal."


    "After all, not all paths could offer the level of ingenuity manual work usually could. The same goes for consistency, which the path of automation could achieve without a problem."


    "Thus, it''s better to test a cksmith''s ability by seeing how far their capabilities reach." N looked at Valyr.


    "Whether it''s ingenuity, creativity, consistency, or sheer skill, all of that would be considered during this fight as we bring out the greatest we can muster."


    Nodding in understanding after seeing N was done with her exnation, Valyr went silent for a bit before asking her a question.


    "So, if I''m getting this right, the two of us would forge an item that would showcase the limits of our abilities," said the young man. "After that, all aspects of one''s skill would be considered before choosing the victor."


    At those words, N faintly smiled.


    "You''re partly correct."


    "Rather than forge an item that would showcase the limits of our abilities, we would instead forge an item that could be considered a nk te," said the woman. "In other words, an extremely basic item that even a beginner cksmith would have no problem forging."


    "After that, we would swap items before utilizing our skills to the best of our abilities to upgrade each other''s work as much as possible."


    Hearing that, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise for a bit before eventually having a look of understanding on his face.


    "Limitation breeds creativity," muttered the young man, causing N to let out a faint chuckle in response.


    "Indeed. That''s part of the reason why I made the mechanics this way to make sure all aspects of cksmithing could be checked."


    Nodding once more at N''s words, Valyr then asked her another question.


    "Any deadline?"


    In response, N shook her head.


    "Nope. As I said, we''re testing the limits of our capabilities here. Having a time constraint would just hamper that."


    After that, Valyr asked a couple more questions rted to their fight, though they were more like rifications of some certain parts rather than actual questions.


    Nevertheless, once he was done asking, the two of them began to make use of their workshops as they proceeded to forge items that would be the nk tes their opponent would use.


    "Hmm¡­ what type of item should I forge?" asked Valyr to himself as he perused through the collection of blueprints in his mind.


    At the same time, he looked through the cache of blueprints his workshop contained, storing all of the new blueprints he found to his memory.


    Once he was done looking through his blueprints, he grabbed a few basic materials from the material cache before starting up the furnace.


    "Guess I''ll forge a dagger, then. The most basic item a cksmith could ever forge."


    Keeping an eye on the temperature within the furnace, he soon chucked all of the materials into it the moment the furnace reached an optimal temperature.


    After that, he took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, only to remind himself that he would be forging an incredibly basic item from scratch.


    With that, he returned the Hammer of Beginnings back to where it was before grabbing the forging hammer the workshop provided.


    Tossing it in the air a couple of times to get a good feel of the forging hammer, the young man soon took out the materials he chucked into the furnace and ced them on the anvil.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Then, making great use of the hammer, Valyr gradually hammered the materials into shape, keeping in mind the output he wanted to achieve.


    Of course, as he was forging an incredibly basic item for N to use as a canvas, the young man did not make use of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] or [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], giving his vision a bit of reprieve in that regard.


    Nevertheless, with the skills that he had honed in his past life and polished further in his current life, the young man still showed a great level of skill whilst he was forging the dagger.


    Though, with how simple the item was, it did not take long for him to finish forging, only taking him a bit over an hour to make sure the dagger was as basic as it could be.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    Looking through the description of the item, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as the dagger was graded as Common grade by the system.


    After that, he let out a slight chuckle, seeing that the item was identified to be Level 1.


    "It may be the most basic item I''ve ever forged so far, but it undoubtedly shows that I have great control over how strong the items I forge are," said the young man to himself, feeling a hint of pride at what he had achieved.


    After waiting for a bit more, N had finally finished forging the item he was going to use as a nk te, prompting the two of them to swap items.


    Looking at the crude sword he had been given, the young man took a look at it with [Superior Analysis] as a few thoughts started to surface in his mind.


    Formting a n on how he would showcase the limits of his capabilities on this sword, Valyr eventually nodded with a slight smile as a thought popped up in his mind.


    ''What better way to showcase the limits of my capabilities¡­''


    ''If not to upgrade this basic sword into an artifact?''

 Chapter 758 Four Pillars: True Blade

    <h4>Chapter 758 Four Pirs: True de </h4>


    ?Chuckling at the thought that had popped up, Valyr continued following its train of thought as he asked himself, ''Now, if I were to transform the sword into an artifact, what artifact would I forge specifically?''


    At this question, the young man went silent as he rummaged through the treasure trove of memories from his past life regarding artifacts.


    Considering that he already had a base to work with in the form of the de N forged, a great portion of these de artifacts were quickly excluded from the list.


    Instead, he focused on artifacts that would be forged in a simr manner to the True Wyvern Armor he currently had.


    ''I don''t even know if it''ll even turn into the Empyrean Dragon Armor at the final step,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as he briefly thought about his armor.


    ''After all, the fact that still stands that I''ve done quite a few things differently whenpared to the guide, such as the plus modifier and the introduction of the [Breath of Beginnings].''


    ''Either way, it''ll still be a good set of armor once all is said and done,'' said the young man to himself as he returned his train of thought back to the de artifact he wanted to forge.


    In the end, after scouring through his treasure trove of memories for around half an hour or so, Valyr was able to narrow it down to five artifacts, all of which had a step-by-step guide to reach the actual artifact.


    Keeping those artifacts in mind, he then took a look at the materials avable in the material cache he was given.


    Seeing that some of the artifacts needed materials that the material cache didn''t have, Valyr did not hesitate to remove those artifacts from the list, eventually whittling down the number to two total artifacts.


    "It''s either I forge the Heaven Sundering de¡­ or the True de of Samadhi."


    Muttering these words to himself, the young man scratched the back of his head for a bit as he spared a nce at what N was doing.


    Surprisingly, the woman was already hard at work modifying the basic dagger he had given her.


    Breaking down the dagger into its constituent parts, she put some of the parts to the side before taking out a few sets of materials from her cache, chucking those and the other dagger parts into the furnace with great confidence.


    ''Looks like she''s going to do a total reforge of the item," said the young man to himself as he nodded in understanding.


    Though there was nothing wrong with the process Valyr was taking, which was slowly upgrading the item to his desired rarity, it wasn''t something other cksmiths would usually do.


    Instead, what was usually done by cksmiths to upgrade items to a higher rarity was to keep what was considered the essence of the item before reforging everything else to the desired rarity in one attempt.


    Of course, that''s due to the fact that a majority of the items in the world don''t have a Growth or a Pseudo-Growth attribute affixed to them, forcing the cksmiths to get creative and make workarounds to upgrade the items of people to greater heights.


    If anything, the process Valyr was going to use for his sword was just a more convoluted version of the usual process.


    However, unlike the usual process, the gradual upgrading process reduced the likelihood of total failure.


    Not only that, but it also gradually increased the potential of the base item per upgrade, slowly increasing the chances of a fortuitous encounter happening during one of the forging processes.


    In fact, he could even recall a certain cksmith imbuing the Growth attribute onto the weapon they were forging during one of the upgrades.


    But of course, just like how the process had its upsides, it also had its downsides.


    For one, the process demanded quite a lot out of the cksmith in terms of skill.


    Aside from that, a far greater amount of materials would be consumed during the upgrading process, which was the main reason why only a few cksmiths took the gradual upgrade route.


    Then again, since he had ess to a material cache that contained all of the materials he would possibly need for the item''s upgrade¡­


    Why would he limit himself?


    "Either I forge an artifact with no attribute or an artifact with the Fire attribute," muttered the young man as he took out a few materials from the material cache.


    After a while, a faint smile crept up on Valyr''s face, only to let out a bit ofughter as he thought about his earlier words.


    "At this point, it''s a no-brainer," said Valyr to himself as he proceeded to take out more materials from the cache.


    "The True de of Samadhi, it is."


    Whoosh!


    After heating up the furnace to his desired temperature, Valyr chucked a great portion of the materials he had taken out into it, putting the other materials to the side for the meantime.


    After that, he activated [Zen], causing all of the discordant thoughts in his mind to disappear as he imagined the artifact he was going to craft.


    "The first step is to attune the sword first with the Fire attribute," said the young man to himself as he activated [True Prodigious Mana Arm].


    At the same time, he took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, only to activate [Breath of Beginnings] soon after.


    Taking in a deep breath as he brought up the guide to forge the True de of Samadhi in his mind, the young man began to dismantle the basic sword into its constituent parts, cing the essence of the item itself to the side.


    Then, he took out a few of the materials out of the furnace with a pair of tongs before cing them directly on top of the other parts making up the sword.


    Hiss¡­


    With the molten materials gradually engulfing the parts that were once on the anvil, the young man focused all of his attention on the items as he begun to hammer them into their respective shapes.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Little by little, the parts began to take shape once more, allowing Valyr''s imagination to be more vivid as he visualized the final product that woulde out of the first step.


    At the same time, he went over the other parts of the guide, refreshing his memory as to what kind of item he would have at the very end.


    ''Though the guide more or less guarantees that I''d be able to forge the True de of Samadhi, it also mentioned that it was more of a temte rather than a guide, allowing those following the guides to forge the final artifact into something that more suited their needs.''


    ''Hmm¡­'' Pondering over the contents of the guide as his body continued to work on the de, the young man eventually came to a decision as he let out a bit ofughter.


    "Guess I''ll upgrade it beyond its intended rarity."


    "I do have a few more guides in my head that I could use to enhance the thing beyond Epic+ grade anyway."


    With a determined expression briefly appearing on his face, the young man soon put back all of the sword parts together once more, prompting a notification sound to resound in his mind the very moment it wasplete.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''Steel Sword''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Umon.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed to ''de of mes'', reflecting all of the modifications and improvements the cksmith has made to the weapon.]


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Taking a brief look at the improved description of the sword, Valyr nodded in satisfaction as the result was more or less what he expected to appear.


    With the most important step to forging the True de of Samadhi now done, the young man gave himself a small break before proceeding to the next step.


    And that was to align the weapon onto the path of bing a true artifact.


    "I wonder how N is faring?" Taking a seat on a sofa that surprisingly came with the workshop, Valyr allowed his body to sink into it as he took out a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet.


    "I think it''s been a few hours since we''ve begun modifying each other''s items."


    ncing at the woman, Valyr noticed that N was reforging the parts making up the dagger one by one, transforming the usual process into something that was a mix between the usual and the process he currently took.


    Sensing the high level of craftsmanship that went into the part she had just finished reforging, Valyr began to ponder over the Hephaista n for a bit, which soon turned into a flurry of thoughts with [Zen] still activated.


    Because of that, the young man could not stop himself from blurting out a thought that lingered in his mind, prompting N to look back at him with suspicion.


    "Say, N¡­"


    "You''re not from this, right?"

 Chapter 759 Four Pillars: Otherworldly Matters

    <h4>Chapter 759 Four Pirs: Otherworldly Matters </h4>


    ?Unsurprisingly, after Valyr asked his question, an awkward silence surrounded the two of them.


    For a while, N looked at the young man with suspicion written all over her face.


    After all, she had no idea how Valyr knew something that she had kept a secret for all of her life.


    Then again, it was due to that thought that she began to think of the young man''s question from another perspective, wondering to herself if Valyr was just blurting out random guesses.


    With that in mind, she somewhat calmed down, inwardly sighing in relief as she looked back at the young man with a slight smile.


    "What makes you say that?" she asked him with a chuckle. "Do I look like Ie from somece else to you?"


    At those words, Valyr shook his head. "You don''t."


    Seeing his response, N inwardly let out yet another sigh of relief, only for her to cough loudly after hearing the young man''s next words.


    "But isn''t the Hephaista n a n well-known for their forging skills throughout the Zetaris Gxy?"


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Taken by surprise, it took a while for the woman to recover from her coughing fit as she nced at the young man in disbelief.


    At this point, the remaining thoughts of Valyr throwing out random guesses at her had all been thrown away.


    Instead, she now began to look at the young man with a new light, wondering how someone from Veldanyr would have ess to knowledge beyond their own.


    Curious as to where his knowledge wasing from, N decided to act dumb for a bit longer.


    "You must be mistaken," replied N with a wry smile, giving the expression that felt like she had been wronged.


    "I''m from the Hephaista n that''s located near the outskirts of the Zeihardt Sovereignty," she added. "You tter us too much if you think our n''s reaches extend beyond Veldanyr."


    ''Am I mistaken?'' Seeing how adamant N was in rejecting the notion that she was a part of the Hephaista n he knew, Valyr began to doubt his own words.


    Though, with a quick refresher through his treasure trove of memories, he soon found out that the woman''s words matched exactly with what he knew about the Hephaista n.


    Even the location N had mentioned regarding her n more or less matched up with the outpost the Hephaista n had in his past life.


    Now getting a faint idea of what she was trying to do, Valyr took in a deep breath to calm himself.


    After that, he decided to strike while the iron was hot, ending their farce with a single key term he knew N would most certainly react to.


    "Al-croz''daal Hephaista."


    Uttering out a name all of a sudden with a calm expression, Valyr stared directly at N''s face as he stood up from his seat, wondering for a while as to whether or not he would get a reaction out of her.


    Fortunately for him, the gambit had paid off as N dropped all previous pretenses, now looking back at him with an intentful re.


    "Where¡­ did you hear that?"


    Whoosh!


    cing her forging hammer to the side, N began to head towards Valyr''s workshop as she red her aura in its entirety.


    Though much of her strength was restrained by the Gates of Awakening, that still did not hamper the Myth-level strength she was given, putting a bit of pressure on the young man as she moved closer.


    Knowing that he had been the cause of the current situation, the young man remained steadfast as he continued to stand in ce.


    Looking directly into N''s eyes the moment the two were only a meter or so away from one another, Valyr took in a deep breath before shing a slight smile.


    "Before I answer your question, let me introduce myself."


    At those words, the young man gave N a respectful half-bow, causing a hint of confusion to appear on thetter''s face.


    "The name is Valyr Zeihardt."


    "I hail from the Zeihardt Imperial n."


    Hearing the young man introduce himself, N looked at him in disbelief.


    With her eyes slightly widened, the gears in her mind began to slowly turn as she started to connect the dots.


    On the other hand, Valyr felt a bit of nervousness after seeing N go silent.


    After all, he was unsure whether the Zeihardt n was more than enough of an exnation for his copious amount of knowledge regarding the Hephaista n.


    Aside from that, the part where he mentioned the Zeihardt Imperial n was all based on the fact that he was considered a Harbinger.


    As far as he knew, he was not part of the Zeihardt Imperial n at all.


    He was instead part of the Zeihardt Royal n thanks to his parents, which was one tier below it.


    Then again, with the Zeihardt n having control over the sole sovereignty of the human race, Valyr felt that it was highly likely that the n had ess to information regarding other worlds.


    In fact, that was the only reason why he had decided to introduce himself out of nowhere.


    Thankfully for him¡­


    It had worked.


    "Zeihardt, huh¡­" Muttering these words to herself, N looked at Valyr for a bit before prompting a screen to pop up before her.


    Reading through the information shown on her screen, she soon closed it, eventually letting out a low sigh as she made her way back to her workshop.


    "Those old busybodies. Couldn''t keep their mouth shut about the Hephaista n''s origins."


    Hearing the wordsing out of the woman''s mouth, Valyr did not know whether tough or cry.


    However, if there was one thing he was sure of after hearing that, it was the fact that she had bought his lie.


    "I''m sure you didn''t ask me that question out of nowhere, Valyr." Letting out yet another sigh as she returned her focus to forging, N briefly nced at the young man with slightly narrowed eyes.


    "So, what do you want to know?"


    Valyr apologetically smiled in response. "I do apologize for asking that all of a sudden."


    "However, the fact that you''re from the Hephaista n is a great opportunity to find out something."


    Hearing his words, N raised her eyebrow in slight curiosity. "And that would be?"


    In response, Valyr let out a bit ofughter. "Nothing too difficult."


    "Just wanted to ask for information on technologies beyond the Early Middle Ages."

 Chapter 760 Four Pillars: Extension

    <h4>Chapter 760 Four Pirs: Extension </h4>


    ?"Technologies beyond the Early Middle Ages, huh?" Muttering the words Valyr had asked her to herself, N rummaged through her memories for a bit before looking at the young man with a?mix of curiosity and slight suspicion.


    "And you''re asking this¡­ why?"


    In response, Valyr let out a faint chuckle. "Let''s just say it''s for the sake of innovation."


    "You do know there''s no point in having information on those kinds of technologies if you don''t have the means to make use of them, right?"


    Though N knew that such an answer was definitely right for her question, there was something about the young man''s bodynguage that told her that Valyr was asking it for something else.


    "Unlocking technologies from beyond the Early Middle Ages would take a near incessant amount of Technology Points to unlock, especially with the average level of technology that exists within Veldanyr," she said.


    "I''m not even sure if you''ve unlocked all of the technology the Early Middle Ages has to offer on the Innovation branch. Even that already costs over a hundred thousand points to unlock in total."


    Listening to her words, Valyr merely smiled.


    After that, he activated [True Prodigious Mana Arm] again, utilizing the mana arms to proceed with the next step of the upgrade process.


    While his mana arms were busy preparing the materials needed for the next step, he opened up his spatial bracelet before grabbing something out of it, causing N to give him a stunned look.


    "Now¡­ is this enough of an answer for you, Ms. N?"


    Bringing out the newly upgraded arquebus for the woman to see, Valyr took in a bit of delight at the former''s reaction.


    "Is that¡­ an arquebus?" Taking in a few deep breaths topose herself, N soon activated a skill simr to Valyr''s mana arms, making use of them to continue the forging process.


    In the meantime, she moved closer towards the young man, allowing her to get a better look of the young man''s handiwork.


    Seeing that Valyr was allowing her to hold it, N received it with both hands before examining every part of the arquebus in great detail.


    "It really is an arquebus¡­" muttered the woman after she was done examining.


    Giving the weapon back to Valyr, she looked at him with an astonished expression before asking him a question.


    "Has the average level of technology in Veldanyr really improved that much that arquebuses are already being crafted?"


    At those words, Valyr shook his head.


    "It has improved, but not to the point that arquebuses are being crafted¡­ or any predecessor of the arquebus for that matter."


    "Then¡­ how?" Asking this question, N looked at the young man with immense curiosity.


    In response, the young man merely grinned as he pointed at the ground.


    Fortunately, that alone was enough for N to understand.


    "The Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening, huh¡­" Uttering these words, N let out a faint chuckle. "I had a slight hunch it had something to do with that."


    "But to make use of the knowledge given by them to this extent¡­ how did you do it?"


    "I''ll have to keep that a secret," replied Valyr as he let out a bit ofughter, stowing the arquebus back into spatial bracelet.


    "In any case, I hope that''s more than enough proof for you to believe that I''m not asking for information without reason."


    Nodding back in understanding, N soon asked out of curiosity.


    "Judging by the mechanics you used in the arquebus, I''m guessing you''ve already unlocked all the technologies up to the Late Middle Ages?"


    "Mhm." Valyr nodded in response. "I also have ess to technologies from the Renaissance Age, but I haven''t unlocked any of them yet."


    "The Gates are truly serving its purpose well," said N as she nodded before letting out a sigh that held a slight hint of sorrow.


    Remaining silent for a bit as she reminisced over the past, N then gathered and organized her thoughts regarding the information Valyr wanted to know.


    However, before she could even tell it to the young man, Valyr asked her a question first.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ you''re a memory image, right?"


    "In a way, yeah." N nodded back, looking at Valyr with slight confusion. "Why?"


    "Well¡­" Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he thought about how he would phrase his response.


    "It''s just that all of the things you''ve mentioned so far line up with what''s going on in the world right now."


    "I even get the feeling that you know where the Gates of Awakening is currently located."


    He continued, "All of the memory images I''ve talked to so far seemingly have no knowledge of what''s going on in the world at the moment¡­ yet it feels like I''m talking to someone who does."


    "How?"


    "How¡­ do I know what''s going on?" asked N for rification, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    "Well, I guess it does seem weird that an image of someone from the past has knowledge regarding the current state of things." Saying those words, N let out a bit ofughter.


    "However, the reason for that is far simpler than you might think."


    "Use an identification skill on me."


    Though he had no clue where she was taking the conversation to, Valyr still did what he was told, activating [Superior Analysis] on the woman before him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [N Hephaista] (Memory Extension)


    ss: Sole Inheritor of the True Hephaista Forge (Rank 3 ¡ª Ancient)


    Subss: Sole Inheritor of the True Hephaista Arts (Mythic)


    Species: Human (3rd Unsealing)


    Level: 45


    Power Level: 69,162 (S+)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 56,448/56,448


    MP: 123,115/123,115


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 14,117 - 14,117


    Defense: 7,350 - 7,350


    Stats: 1960 VIT, 1924 STR, 1888 AGI, 4092 DEX, 3946 INT, 1634 WIS, 1542 PER, 226 LUK


    Skills: [True Hephaista Forging Arts], [True Hephaista Forging Vessel], [True Hephaista Forging Mastery], [True Hephaista Equipment Enhancement], and 139 other skills.


    Remarks: Though slightly weakened by the rules of the Gates of Awakening, this memory extension is a true mirror image of the true N Hephaista, a forger many know to be the closest to the ancestor of the Hephaista n in terms of cksmithing skill.


    This memory extension also serves as an extension of the true N Hephaista, allowing her to remain cognizant of the happenings within the Gates of Awakening.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Wait a minute¡­" Though Valyr was left at a loss for words at the obscenely high stats someone with Myth-level strength had, the young man still took note of the main differences N''s screen had over the others he had seen earlier.


    Feeling that he now had an idea of what N was hinting, he soon asked her, "So, if I''m getting this correctly¡­"


    "You''re connected to this image from the outside world?"


    In response, N merely chuckled.


    "I''m d it didn''t take you that long to understand."


    "Spot on."

 Chapter 761 Four Pillars: Exchanging Information (1)

    <h4>Chapter 761 Four Pirs: Exchanging Information (1) </h4>


    ?Though slightly surprised that he had got it correctly on his first try, Valyr soon felt a hint of excitement bubbling up within him after understanding the implications of N''s current situation.


    "Since you''re connected to this from the outside world¡­ does that mean you know what''s going on in Veldanyr at the moment?" he asked.


    N nodded in response. "I have no idea what''s exactly going on there since I''m in another at the moment, but I am up to date with the major happenings."


    Listening to her words, Valyr felt a bit of worry from the first part of N''s statement, though that soon turned into relief by the time she got to the end.


    "Do you have an idea on what''s happening between the orcs and the humans, then?" Valyr looked at her with a hint of expectation. "Has the skirmish between them escted?"


    "I''m afraid so."


    Closing her eyes for a bit, N nodded at Valyr as she let out a low sigh.


    "The skirmish between the two races have expanded to include multiple kingdoms from both sides," said N.


    "ording to the information I''ve received, the Meltierre and the Khagarax Empire are about to make a move pretty soon."


    At those words, a downcast expression briefly appeared on Valyr''s face as he wryly smiled. "Is that so?"


    Getting a nod from N in response to his question, the young man went silent for a bit, only to let out a long and drawn-out sigh not long after.


    ''Well, it''s not like the humans would lose out that easily,'' thought Valyr to himself as he shrugged it off.


    ''It would only be truly troublesome once the elves are involved.''


    Deciding to push the pessimistic news he got from N to the side, Valyr decided to ask for more information regarding N''s connection to the image.


    "Do you know where your image is currently located?"


    "It used to be in the Gates of Awakening," replied N, only to rify herself soon after seeing Valyr''s somewhat confused expression.


    "Well, it still is, but now the Gates of Awakening is inside an inheritance of sorts, judging by the spatial and temporal energies I''m getting."


    "Do those energies affect the connection in any way?" asked the young man. "After all, a day in this inheritance is equivalent to two weeks on Veldanyr."


    N shook her head to and fro. "Much less than you''d think. Just need to infuse a bit more mana and some Concept Energy into it."


    Briefly widening his eyes at the mention of Concept Energy, Valyr soon moved onto the next question he had in mind.


    "Since the Gates of Awakening is now part of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, do you have an idea of how many people are in the inheritance at the moment?"


    "Only if I''vee across them," said N, only to recall a certain memory a momentter.


    "Now that I think about it, I fought against a guy that has a unique Intent of the de earlier. Is he also in the inheritance just like you?"


    Faintly chuckling at the thought of Hal fighting against N, Valyr nodded.


    "Yeah, there are three more people in the inheritance besides us two, but they don''t have much to do with forging orbat."


    N nodded in understanding. "I see. So the Gates of Awakening has be part of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, huh."


    "The Gates of Enlightenment as well, actually." Valyr corrected her.


    "Well, to be more specific, the entire Triad Gates is part of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "Really now?" N looked at Valyr with slightly widened eyes. "Now that''s something I wasn''t expecting to hear."


    Realizing that the two of them had be too engrossed in their conversation, forgetting their current task at hand, the two looked at each other with wry smiles before returning to their respective workshops.


    "So, any other questions regarding my connection that you might have in mind?" Making use of the mana arms she had conjured to speed up some parts of her upgrade process, N nced at the young man as she threw him a question.


    Taking a look at the progress his mana arms had done while he was talking with N, Valyr nodded in satisfaction as he now took the lead in the upgrade process.


    While doing so, he went silent for a bit before eventually shifting her gaze towards her, allowing [Zen] to bring out all of the questions he had rted to the matter.


    "Say¡­" Valyr looked at her with a serious expression. "Do any of the opponents I''ve fought earlier have the same connection as you?"


    In response, N made an odd expression as she gestured with one of her hands.


    "Eh¡­ some do, some don''t," she said in a slightly unsure tone. "However, the majority of those who have a memory image in this ce definitely have a memory extension."


    "After all, only memory extensions are used during the final sub-trial of the Trial of Nine Stars," N added.


    "It''s to make the final fights more authentic¡­ or so they say."


    "Is that so¡­" Nodding in understanding, Valyr returned his attention on the anvil for a bit, making sure that the general process was correct before allowing his mana arms to take action.


    Seeing that the next step of the process was going smoothly, the young man faintly smiled before throwing another question at N.


    "I don''t know if you know this, but¡­"


    "Do you think Arcaelus also has a memory extension in this ce?"


    "Arcaelus¡­" N murmured to herself as the gears in her mind slowly began to turn.


    "Wait¡­ Arcaelus Sachondeis?"


    In response, Valyr slowly nodded.


    Surprised as to why the young man would utter such a name, N asked Valyr for more information.


    With that, Valyr exined about how he had seen the two of them in the same memory regarding the Eternal me.


    Naturally, he also talked about how Arcaelus was the opponent he fought against before she appeared as his opponent.


    After hearing all of that, N went silent for a bit, prompting Valyr to feel a hint of worry after seeing her be silent for so long.


    Fortunately, after about half an hour or so, she showed life once more, looking at the young man with a grin.


    Chuckling, she replied, "Just found out that he does have a memory extension. He also told me that you''ve done a great job getting this far in the Gates of Awakening."


    "Eh¡­?" Hearing her response, Valyr looked back at N with puzzlement written all over his face. "How did you¡­"


    "How did I find out?" Seeing Valyr''s confusion, N let out a chuckle out of amusement.


    "Well¡­ how could I not if Arcaelus and I are currently on the same?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "In any case, I think we''ve strayed away from our original topic for long enough."


    "It''s time to tell you what you really want to know."

 Chapter 762 Four Pillars: Exchanging Information (2)

    <h4>Chapter 762 Four Pirs: Exchanging Information (2) </h4>


    ?Hearing N say those words, Valyr felt a hint of excitement and expectation well up in his body.


    After all, obtaining information from N regarding technologies of a future age, even if vague, would significantly reduce the cost to unlock said technologies.


    Then again, even if he didn''t ask N for information, it wasn''t as if he had no other way to obtain the same thing.


    For one, the rewards he would obtain after finishing the trials from the Gates of Awakening would undoubtedly expand his knowledge base beyond the Renaissance Age.


    Considering how the Gates of Enlightenment had also done the same thing after receiving its rewards, he was certain that he would arrive close to the level of technology he wanted by the time he entered the Gates of Transcendence.


    Of course, just like him suddenly bringing up the topic of future technologies to N in their conversation, his journey into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance for these technologies wasn''t nned.


    If anything, he just decided to make use of it, considering that the things he had actually nned to do to reach the same level of technology would take longer to arrive.


    ''If there wasn''t any prep time between the beta and the first release of Greater Beyond, I would''ve probably put less importance on this inheritance,'' thought Valyr to himself, briefly ncing at N.


    Seeing that the woman was still gathering and organizing her thoughts regarding the thing he wanted to know, the young man returned his train of thought to what it was earlier.


    ''Now that I think about it, I might still have to rely on that one event,'' inwardly muttered the young man. ''Though, that''ll depend on what N decides to tell me.''


    Surprisingly, the event that Valyr had in mind was in fact an event that would serve as a bridge between the first version and the second version of Greater Beyond.


    With Greater Beyond''s world spanning overs and gxies, medieval technology and magic alone wouldn''t be enough to take yers to the skies.


    And thus, the event was made, giving yers a tform to explore beyond their starter worlds and truly embody what the title of the game implied.


    Forbat yers, this woulde as an opportunity to hitch a ride onto a nearby.


    However, from what Valyr knew, the top yers in that event were given a personal spaceship, allowing them to explore what Greater Beyond had to offer at their own pace.


    Of course, the production sses weren''t left out of this event.


    In fact, it could even be considered that they got the better bargain from the eventpared to thebat sses.


    After all, what would be better than a personal spaceship¡­


    If not the knowledge and ability to build a spaceship from scratch?


    "If I didn''t enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, I would have to gain all of the basic technology needed for the spaceship from somece else," muttered the young man to himself.


    Reminiscing over his memories of the past, Valyr soon bitterly smiled.


    ''Then again, with it appearing right when the War of the Three Sovereignties reached its climax, I don''t even know if it''ll appear in this current timeline.''


    ''It would be nice if it did.'' Valyr let out a low sigh at the thought.


    After that, the young man went over through a few more memories from the past, only for his train of thought to be interrupted by N.


    "Alright. I think I have all of the information you want to know." Looking at the young man with a calm expression, N took in a deep breath before beginning her exnation.


    "Though I maye from a ce not from Veldanyr, the information I have on hand regarding the eras of technologies is notplete."


    "If anything, my knowledge only goes up to like ten eras after the Renaissance Age, give or take," she said, only to let out a chuckle soon after.


    "After all, there''s no point in utilizing advanced technology if the doesn''t have the necessary materials or equipment to make use of it in the first ce."


    "Anyways, I''ve digressed again," said N after that, faintly coughing to refresh her train of thought.


    "Let us begin."


    "Do note that I won''t be able to go over every technology for each era since I haven''t learned up on them myself, but I''m sure what I tell you would still be of great help in your journey."


    At those words, Valyr fully concentrated his attention on what N had to say next, making sure tomit every single detail to memory.


    "After the Renaissance Agees the Age of Scientific Revolution," said N, listing a few of the technologies that had be prominent during that age.


    "During this age, it could be said that the world of technology is on the edge of the tipping point between medieval and modern."


    "In the end, the world of technology tipped onto the other end, bringing about technology that sought greater efficiency."


    "With that, the era thates after the Scientific Revolution is the First Industrial Revolution."


    After saying these words, N asked Valyr if he was understanding her exnation so far, to which he nodded in response.


    Seeing how calm he was while listening to her exnation, the woman once again became somewhat suspicious towards the young man.


    Though, in the end, she decided to brush it off aside, thinking that it had something to do with the fact that he was part of the Zeihardt n.


    If not, then it probably had something to do with what the young man had gained so far from the Triad Gates.


    "After the First Industrial Revolution came the Second Industrial Revolution," said N. "As to why it was called that and not something else¡­ I don''t really know."


    "Then, after the Second Industrial Revolution came the Machine Age, only to be followed up by the Atomic Age after that."


    "Some civilizations have prospered greatly after obtaining technology from the Atomic Age, actually," she added on the side.


    "Though, the same could be said on the opposite end, harnessing the power brought by its knowledge to cause wanton destruction."


    "In any case, after that era came the Jet Age, pushing the modes of transportation introduced by the previous eras to greater heights."


    "And at the end of that era, life sought to explore the world beyond their skies."


    "With that¡­ the Space Age hade into fruition."

 Chapter 763 Four Pillars: Exchanging Information (3)

    <h4>Chapter 763 Four Pirs: Exchanging Information (3) </h4>


    ?As the term ''Space Age'' came out of N''s mouth, Valyr''s body slightly shook in excitement as the woman went over a few of the most prominent technologies toe out of that age.


    While continuing to listen intently to her words, the young man thought back to the ns he had made at the very beginning of his journey.


    With how he wascking in strength back then, the scope of his ns were quite broad.


    Nevertheless, he had narrowed it down into two points that he needed to fulfill if he wanted to give their side a fighting chance at the final war.


    The first was to obtain a ss that would take him to the peak of power.


    Of course, that bullet point was already fulfilled, considering how thebination of sses under his belt already allowed him to fight against those of a higher rank without much problem.


    As for the other point¡­


    It was to create an organization that was strong yet cohesive at the same time.


    With how the final battle in his past life panned out, he wanted this organization to be united in the face of battle, making sure that every action was for the sake of bringing their side to victory.


    And surprisingly, obtaining technology from the Space Age was one of the many steps Valyr had in mind to make that happen.


    ''I''ll only be able to establish an alliance once Greater Beyond is publicly released,'' thought Valyr to himself as he continued to absorb all of the information N was giving him.


    ''Nevertheless, having the capability to explore nearbys during the first version of the game would definitely entice many yers and NPCs toe join.''


    ''Then again, it''s not something that I''d be able to use that often, considering that each trip taken with the technology would require months, if not years.''


    ''Still doesn''t stop it from being a good bargaining chip, though.''


    With his tangential train of thought now over, Valyr returned his attention back to what N had to say, widening his eyes in slight surprise as she went over a whole host of rocket engines in great detail.


    After that, she went through multiple types of rocket fuels and fusges, all of which Valyr deeply embedded into his memory.


    At this point, the young man felt like he had already gotten more than what he bargained for.


    After all, he had just asked her the question out of the blue, owing to the fact that she came from a n that spanned a gxy.


    However, rather than stop at the Space Age, N introduced the two eras of technology that came after that, leaving Valyr at a slight loss for words.


    "After the Space Age came the Digital Age," said the woman.


    "Some civilizations term it as the Third Industrial Revolution due to how groundbreaking the technologies invented during that age was."


    "Then again, with how this era of technology brought about the ability to harness the power of ones and zeros to do everything¡­ how could it not be?"


    After talking about the technologies of the Digital Age in detail, she then moved onto the era that came after that, which was the Age of Information.


    Listening to the woman talk about things like the Inte, Valyr could not stop himself from stifling hisughter, considering how she was introducing it to him like he did not know anything about it.


    Well, from her perspective, the young man did indeed look like he had no clue about those things at all, judging from his slightly dumbfounded expression.


    But of course, that was all just a facade, with Valyr not wanting N to know that he knew these technologies as if it were the back of his hand.


    ''If only the Technology Tree from my past life had carried over onto this one, then I wouldn''t have gone through all of this,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''Then again, getting a second shot at life is already far more than I could ever ask for.''


    By the time N had finished her exnation, Valyr decided to ask a few questions that focused on a few things, wanting to hone in on the impression that he was truly learning everything from N for the first time.


    Once that was done, the young man then thanked N for sharing what she knew as the two returned their attention to their tasks at hand.


    Ding!


    [You have gained great amounts of information regarding technological advancements during the Age of Scientific Revolution from N Hephaista.]


    [From this point onward, Advancements during the Age of Scientific Revolution within the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch now cost a lower amount of Technology Points to unlock and upgrade.]


    [Cost of advancements beyond the Age of Scientific Revolution have also been reduced due to the obtained information.]


    [¡­]


    Looking through the nigh endless number of notifications he had gotten from N''s lecture, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about how he would have an easier time achieving his goals in terms of technology.


    Closing the screen he had brought up, the young man then focused all of his attention on the de he was upgrading, seeing that it was nearingpletion.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Pushing [Zen] to its limits, Valyr proceeded to cooperate with the mana arms he had conjured, eventually pushing the aura of the de to another level.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''de of mes''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Umon+.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed to ''de of Scorching mes'', reflecting all of the modifications and improvements the cksmith has made to the weapon.]


    [The heavens have seen the effort you have put into your craft and thus rewards you ordingly. Your item has sessfully gained part of the original properties of the artifact ''True de of Samadhi''.]


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Reading through the updated description of the de he was forging with a satisfied smile, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as the weapon had now been considered an Emtion by the system.


    Going over through the guide he was following to transform the de into an artifact, the young man briefly nced at N for a bit before returning his attention to his weapon.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he then began to take out a series of items from his material cache before chucking them all into the furnace.


    "Now that it''s been designated as an Emtion¡­"


    "Time to make it an Imitation."

 Chapter 764 Four Pillars: To Go Further Beyond

    <h4>Chapter 764 Four Pirs: To Go Further Beyond </h4>


    ?After N had given Valyr a ton of information regarding the technologies that woulde after the Renaissance Age, the two of them proceeded to focus most of their attention towards their respective works.


    Of course, the two of them still chatted every once in a while, talking about random topics to break the monotony they were currently experiencing.


    However, that did not that they had lost sight of the goal at hand, which was showcase the limits of their capabilities in terms of cksmithing.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Pushing [Zen] to full power, Valyr had arrived at an extremely concentrated state as every possible variable was taken into consideration in his mind.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, he took in a deep breath before arranging the flurry of thoughts that had appeared in his mind.


    Organizing and processing all of these thoughts at great speeds, the young man then spurred both his body and his mana arms to move with haste as he was nearing thepletion of his current upgrade.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Activating both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] during the process, Valyr doubly made sure that there were no imperfections whatsoever.


    Inwardly sighing in relief as seeing the de on the anvil be one cohesive color under his vision, the young man allowed things to take its natural course, adding on a few more touches that would finalize the upgrade.


    Fortunately, it did not take long forpletion to arrive as a series of notification sounds resounded in his mind sometimeter.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''True de of Hellfire''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Epic.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed to ''de of Samadhi'', reflecting all of the modifications and improvements the cksmith has made to the weapon.]


    [Seeing that you have reforged the item to be more in line with the artifact ''True de of Samadhi'', the heavens have decided to reward you ordingly for the effort you have put into the process.]


    [Your item has gained an additional part of the original properties of the artifact ''True de of Samadhi'', now nearing the original artifact in terms of power.]


    Briefly reading through the notifications he had received from the upgrade, a satisfied smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about how he was only one step away from turning the de into an artifact.


    At the same time, the thought made him think about the amount of time and effort he had poured into the upgrade thus far, recalling the multiple number of steps he had already gone through.


    After he had attuned to the sword N gave him to the Fire element, he then set the weapon on the path of bing an artifact by the time he upgraded its rarity to Umon+.


    Being designated by the system as an Emtion at that rarity, he then proceeded to reforge it to be more in tune with what the True de of Samadhi was, improving it into an Imitation by the time it had achieved Rare grade.


    Naturally, he proceeded with the same train of thought during the next upgrade, making it reach the pinnacle of Imitations once the weapon had been upgraded to Rare+ grade.


    Now, with his recent upgrade, he had pushed the weapon into a bona fide Replica of the True de of Samadhi.


    Seeing that the weapon was called the de of Samadhi by the system, the young man knew that he was nearing the initial goal he had set in his mind.


    Spurred on by the continuous sess he was having by following the guide, the young man proceeded to grab the materials needed for the final upgrade from the material cache.


    After that, he chucked all of them into the furnace before keeping an eye on its temperature.


    Dispelling all of his mana arms for the meantime, Valyr then took a seat on the sofa as he grabbed a few potions from his spatial bracelet.


    Recalling how he had been at it for over half a week at this point, the young man then grabbed a vial of rousing from his spatial bracelet, downing it alongside the potions to refresh his body.


    Feeling the potions do their thing to his body, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief as he sunk into the sofa.


    "Ahh¡­ that hits the spot."


    While giving his body some time to rest, he shifted his attention towards N, who looked to be working on an upgrade part for the dagger he gave her.


    "She still has a couple more pieces to go before she could assemble them into a weapon again," muttered the young man as multiple thoughts regarding her process came to his mind.


    Discarding all of those thoughts as he knew better not to meddle in another cksmith''s forging process, Valyr soon stood up from his seat as he took a look at the furnace.


    Seeing that it would take a bit more time before the materials he chucked in were ready for forging, the young man decided toze around for a bit more, eventually recalling the conversation he and N regarding the eras of technology.


    "Huh." Going over their conversation in his mind, Valyr soon felt a feeling of wrongness from it.


    However, that feeling of wrongness did not stem from the fact that the information he got was wrong.


    Instead, it was the fact that N had given such information to him without even giving it a second thought.


    "Say, N," said Valyr as he tried to catch her attention.


    "What is it?" asked the woman back, her attention still mostly focused on what she was doing.


    Seeing that N was still mostly upied by her work, the young man briefly thought about what he would say for a bit.


    "Did you not have second thoughts before sharing that information with me?"


    Hearing those words, N went silent for a bit, making Valyr feel nervousness amidst the silence.


    Fortunately, after a while, the woman shook her head, allowing the young man to let out a faint sigh of relief.


    "I did hesitate for a bit before deciding to tell you about it, but I eventually thought that it would be better for you to know of it in advance."


    "Why?" asked Valyr in response, slightly curious of her reasons.


    "For one, you''re a fellow cksmith like me. Us cksmiths should help each other when possible," replied N with a slight chuckle.


    "Aside from that, you''re part of the Triad Gates," she added soon after.


    "Even though you''re still officially part of the Gates of Enlightenment, your merits thus far technically make you part of the upper echelon of the Gates of Awakening."


    "Since you''re a fellow member of the same organization from that perspective, why should I hesitate?"


    "But if you were to ask me the main reason why I didn''t hesitate¡­" N scratched the back of her head for a bit before letting out an awkward chuckle.


    "Just call it me giving in to a hunch."


    Before Valyr could inquire any further on what she meant by that, she continued. "After all, the fact that you know things about the Hephaista n that someone from Veldanyr normally shouldn''t already tells a lot."


    "Aside from that, the fact that you''re from the Zeihardt n tells me that you''re no simple being."


    "It still makes me wonder where you got that information in the first ce, to be honest," said N as she briefly nced at him.


    "In fact, we''ve even made sure to erase our traces with those from outside the, even though no one in Veldanyr has the means to contact them in the first ce."


    "Though, at this point, I guess there is¡­ seeing how you mentioned the name of our current n leader Al-croz''daal."


    At those words, Valyr merely smiled, shifting his attention back to his furnace.


    Seeing that the young man did not want to continue their conversation any further, N faintly shrugged her shoulders before returning her focus to her own matters.


    "Alright."


    Conjuring the pairs of mana arms that helped him throughout the upgrade process once more, Valyr proceeded to take out all of the materials he had put into the furnace onto the anvil, separating them ordingly for his mana arms to work on.


    At the same time, he allowed [Zen] to do its thing, removing all unnecessary thoughts from his mind as he focused all of it towards the upgrade he wanted to do.


    With both him and N being engrossed in their respective crafts, time seemed to pass by quickly as the young man made great strides in his progress.


    Eventually, around a day or soter, the young man wiped off the sweat from his forehead as he looked at the weapon he had upgraded with immense satisfaction.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully modified the weapon ''de of Samadhi''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Epic+.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Seeing that you have reforged the item to be more in line with the artifact ''True de of Samadhi'', the heavens have decided to reward you ordingly for the effort you have put into the process.]


    [Your item has gained the remaining properties of the artifact ''True de of Samadhi'', now bing an exact copy of the artifact in terms of power.]


    [Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed to ''True de of Samadhi'', reflecting all of the modifications and improvements the cksmith has made to the weapon.]


    "I finally did it." Checking through the description of the artifact with the help of his identification skill, a wide grin appeared on Valyr''s face as he began to wave the de to and fro.


    Though, not long after, he returned the de to the anvil.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr let out a long and drawn-out sigh as he brought out more guides from his treasure trove of memories.


    Organizing all of them with the help of [Zen], he picked up the Hammer of Beginnings once more, tightly gripping onto its handle.


    "Alright, then."


    "Now that it''s an artifact¡­"


    "I guess it''s time to take it even further beyond."

 Chapter 765 Four Pillars: Breaking Boundaries

    <h4>Chapter 765 Four Pirs: Breaking Boundaries </h4>


    ?Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Having spent most of her time so far reforging the parts making up Valyr''s dagger into more refined versions, N had felt a bit of boredom brewing within her body.


    Of course, as a cksmith, she was more than used to this boredom, having be acquainted with it for the majority of her life to get where she was today.


    However, for some reason, she felt a tad more bored than usual.


    And it might possibly have something to do with what Valyr was doing.


    "Is he not finished upgrading the sword yet?" murmured N as she spared a nce at the young man, slightly narrowed her eyes as she sensed the auraing from the sword she once forged.


    From what was an incredibly crude sword even a novice cksmith could make, it was now a sword that seemed to tap into the essence of mes itself, bringing about destruction with every sh made with it.


    Wondering what the young man had specifically done to the sword she gave him, N went ahead and took a look at the item with the help of her identification skill.


    Though, at the very instant she did, her pupils shrunk in disbelief as the description she was reading left her at aplete loss for words.


    "He''s already upgraded the sword to Epic+ grade?" said N to herself, feeling like what she understood about Valyr so far had just barely scratched the surface.


    "And on top of that, he''s transformed the sword into an Artifact?"


    Thanks to her origins, as well as her upbringing, N knew that there were many cksmiths throughout the vast expanse of space that were close to having the same level of skill as her.


    However, after seeing what Valyr was capable of, she might have to admit that there was someone who was on par with her.


    Then again, with the circumstances at hand, perhaps someone even better than her.


    Though she had already forged quite a number of artifacts while she was at Valyr''s current ss rank, she still had a long way to go in the rarity department at the time.


    If she set her mind to it and fully immersed herself in the craft, she would be able to forge Epic grade items, perhaps even Epic+ grade items if she was lucky.


    But most of the time, the rarity of her equipment greatly varied between Umon to Rare+ grade.


    And now, here was a young man who seemed to have an easy time upgrading an item to Epic+ grade, a feat far harder than forging Epic+ grade items from the very start.


    On top of that, he had transformed from a mundane weapon into an artifact.


    And it seemed like he was nning to go one step further.


    "Is he actually going to do it?" murmured N, watching Valyr go through the motions of forging with curiosity written all over her face.


    However, not long after, she shook her head before returning her attention to what she was currently doing.


    After that, she took in a deep breath,posing herself before letting out a drawn-out sigh.


    "If he ever sessfully upgrades that thing to Legendary grade, he won''t only be the winner of this fight¡­"


    "He could even call himself an objectively better cksmith than I was at the time."


    ¡­


    "Nothing good everes out so easily."


    Staring at the True de of Samadhi he had just recently upgraded, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he yed around with the Hammer of Beginnings he was holding.


    At the same time, he looked through thepiled guide [Zen] had formed after he had brought out all of the guides from his memories.


    "I''m really going to upgrade this thing to Legendary, huh?" muttered the young man to himself, letting out a faint chuckle soon after.


    "Now that I think about it, this is the first time I''m forging something at this grade."


    "Well, the first time for my current life, that is."


    With the amount of experience Valyr had rued from his past life in regards to cksmithing, the young man could say with confidence that he could forge Legendary grade items without much difficulty.


    However, that was back then, when he was a yer that had a level of strength far greater than what he had currently.


    With that, he began to feel a bit of doubt towards himself, considering that forging a Legendary grade item was something difficult for even normal cksmiths at the peak of Rank 5 to achieve.


    But then again¡­


    Was he a normal cksmith?


    Closing his eyes for a bit to remove the seeds of self-doubt that briefly festered in his mind, Valyr let out a long sigh as he refocused his attention on the de.


    Then, with [Zen] working at full power, the process he wanted to do gradually began to appear in his mind, instilling him with confidence with every passing second.


    Calming his emotions, he then tightly gripped on his forging hammer once more as he began to take out a bunch of materials from the material cache.


    Unlike before, where he only needed to follow a guide to upgrade the sword to where it was today, Valyr now relied on his experience and intuition to choose the items necessary for the upgrade to Legendary grade.


    "Crystallized Ster me Essence, True Crimson Meteorite Fragments, Worldly zedust¡­"


    Chucking all of them into the furnace, the young man began to deftly control the mes within the furnace, making sure that the items would arrive at their optimal forging temperature at the same time.


    After waiting for quite some time, he then steeled himself for what was toe, taking out all of the items from the furnace before dumping them on top of the artifact.


    Hiss¡­


    With the molten materials and the artifact reacting, Valyr swiftly got to work, utilizing all of the skills and tools he had brought out to make sure everyone went smoothly.


    Naturally, he employed the help of both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight] as well, using it to see if there were any spots or imperfections he had glossed over.


    With [Zen] also working at full power, the young man felt like he had arrived at the highest state of concentration he had been in so far.


    Even higher than the state he had arrived at whilst he was upgrading his arquebus.


    With that, the passage of time felt like nothing to him, with the only thing in his mind being the fact that he wanted his upgrade to be sessful.


    Fortunately for him, after spending over half a month on the upgrade¡­


    The heavens finally listened.


    Ding!

 Chapter 766 Four Pillars: Surpassing Limits

    <h4>Chapter 766 Four Pirs: Surpassing Limits </h4>


    ?[You have sessfully modified the weapon ''True de of Samadhi''.]


    [Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn''t, thus increasing the weapon''s rarity to Legendary.]


    [A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]


    [Rather than be content with what you have created, you have instead made the choice to take the artifact ''True de of Samadhi'' to greater heights, risking it all for greater power.]


    [Luckily, the heavens were in your favor, allowing the artifact to break away from its original path and ascend to a far greater realm. With that, the heavens have decided to reward you in ordance to the effort and risks you''ve taken.]


    [What was once the True de of Samadhi now instead yields the me that embodies true destruction. Yet, at the same time, the me also embodies hope, as well as the future of the world.]


    [Thanks to this, the artifact ''True de of Samadhi'' has now been named by the heavens as the ''Supreme de of Primeval mes''.]


    [This new artifacts reflects all of the modifications and improvements made by the cksmith to the original artifact, hoping to serve as a model for many more generations of cksmiths to emte, imitate, replicate, and eventually¡­ create.]


    Reading through the great number of notifications he had received from the system regarding the weapon''s sessful upgrade, Valyr felt an immense amount of relief as he felt a great burden being lifted off his shoulders.


    At the same time, he deactivated all of the skills he had kept activated thus far, instantly feeling the relief be reced with exhaustion as he sunk into the sofa the workshop provided.


    "Who knew forging a Legendary grade item would be this taxing?" Muttering these words to himself, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he took out a few potions from his spatial bracelet.


    Apanying those potions with a vial of rousing, he then downed all of them in one go, feeling his condition return to a far better state within seconds.


    Though there was still a bit of distance to him returning to peak condition, the young man still felt much better than before as he took a look at the item he had just forged once more.


    What was once a de that embodied an incredibly terrifying me, the Supreme de of Primeval mes now looked like an incredibly sleek sword that would be put up as a n heirloom.


    However, from the materials and effort he had put into the upgrade thus far, the young man knew that even though the sword looked docile at first nce, it housed a me that was far more terrifying than what was in the True de of Samadhi.


    With its de taking on colors that ranged from red to orange, the hilt and the handle of the de were colored pitch-ck, forming a stark contrast thatplemented the beauty the de brought.


    Though, at the same time, it made people give more focus towards the de, reminding them of the lethality and destructiveness that slumbered within.


    "[Superior Analysis]." Curious as to how much of an improvement his upgrade brought, Valyr went ahead and used his identification skill to satisfy his curiosity.


    Fortunately, the upgrade did not disappoint.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Supreme de of Primeval mes (Artifact)] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Legendary


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack: 2,774 - 4,623


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Initially a de of nondescript origins, this de was refined and remodeled over and over again, ascending beyond the confines of a mundane weapon as it was reborn anew as a brand new artifact.


    This weapon¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Primeval Might - Increases the user''s VIT, STR, AGI, and DEX by 5% and Attack stat by 10% when held.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Primeval mes'' Rending - Allows the user to sh out horizontally, causing a wave of primeval mes to appear and tear the world apart. Deals damage equivalent to 300% of the user''s Attack stat as damage.


    Those hit by the skill are inflicted with Burn, decreasing the opponent''s HP by 2% of their max HP for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 8,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Primeval Starbirth - Allows the user to condense mana into the de before releasing it in one go, causing a giant ball of primeval mes to appear. Deals damage equivalent to 400% of the user''s Attack stat as damage per second to those directly hit by it.


    Deals damage equivalent to 200% of the user''s Attack stat as damage per second to those within the vicinity of the attack. Lasts for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour. Cost: 15,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 4: Primeval Immtion - Allows the user to tap into the power of primeval mes, transforming into the primeval mes itself. Increases the user''s stats by 25% for 1 minute. Imbues the Fire element in the user''s physical attacks.


    While this skill is activated, the user''s HP is reduced by 1% of their max HP every second. Cooldown: 3 hours. Cost: 30,000 MP.>


    Remarks: The embodiment of mes. A harbinger of destruction in the wrong hands. A harbinger of hope in the right one.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Surely this is more than enough to win the fight, right?" Whistling in admiration as he read through the artifact''s lengthy description, Valyr briefly spared a nce towards N to see how she was faring.


    Though, just as he had noticed that she was quite close to finalizing her upgrade, something weird began to happen to his forging hammer.


    Hum¡­


    Noticing that his Hammer of Beginnings was starting to make a faint sound, Valyr picked it up in confusion as he wondered what was going on.


    However, rather than stop, the Hammer of Beginnings began to hum in greater intensity while in his grasp, slightly rattling about during the process.


    Thankfully, the incident did notst long, with the hammer returning to normal after absorbing a mote of energy that the Supreme de of Primeval mes released.


    Ding!


    Hearing a series of notification sounds go off in his mind once more, Valyr opened up his notification screen in curiosity.


    Only to read through his new notifications with surprise evident in his eyes.


    [Due to having forged an item of Legendary grade, the title ''Forger of Epics'' has been upgrade to ''Forger of Legends''.]


    [Having used the Hammer of Beginnings to forge an artifact of Legendary grade, the forging artifact has seen a glimpse of its true purpose, as well as the road of potential that awaits it.]


    [Having absorbed a bit of energy that the Supreme de of Primeval mes exudes, the Hammer of Beginnings has evolved to Legendary grade.]


    [However, the user would need to forge more artifacts of the other remaining elements for the artifact to truly be considered Legendary.]


    [The Hammer of Beginnings'' skill ''Breath of mes'' has been upgraded ordingly.]

 Chapter 767 Four Pillars: Upgrades and Requirements

    <h4>Chapter 767 Four Pirs: Upgrades and Requirements </h4>


    ?"¡­Huh."


    For a while, Valyr went silent, feeling a great amount of information inundate his mind for quite some time.


    After processing and organizing the information, he then returned his attention to the notification screen at a slight loss for words.


    After all, a great number of the notifications he had just received were something he wasn''t expecting to see.


    Then again, there were some he had already expected, such as the upgrade to [Forger of Epics].


    With the requirement to obtain the title being to forge an Epic grade item in the first ce, it went without saying that forging an item one grade above that would elicit a change in the title.


    Of course, with the title now being rted to Legendary grade items, the title now brought along a few bonuses that would help Valyr down the line.


    Moving the opened notification screen to the side, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the description of the upgraded title, wanting to acquaint himself with the changes brought about by the upgrade.


    Unsurprisingly, the title upgrade gave the young man a whole host of information that supplemented what he had already gained from obtaining [Forger of Epics] back then.


    Recalling the great amounts of information he had received earlier, Valyr took in a deep breath before shifting his attention towards the Supreme de of Primeval mes.


    Staring at the de he had just forged, a hint of surprise appeared on his face as he noticed that his understanding of the weapon had grown a few notches deeper, such as how the various parts of the de intermingled with one another.


    Feeling that such knowledge would undoubtedlye in handy for his future forging endeavors, the young man soon returned his attention to the title''s description screen, faintly smiling sometimeter.


    ''From 5%, the title now increases the base stat of any equipment I forge by 8%,'' thought Valyr to himself with a slight chuckle.


    ''On top of that, the time it takes for me to forge equipment has been reduced by a further 5%, totaling to 15%.''


    Though such increments did not seem like much, Valyr already had great experience in having [Forger of Epics] and [Forger of Artifacts] do its magic during multiple forging sessions.


    With that, he had no doubt that this title upgrade would bring great improvements to the items he forged from now on, whether it be the stats they had or the time it took for him to forge them.


    ''Not to mention the upgrade to Hammer of Beginnings,'' muttered the young man to himself, continuing to read through the improvements to the title.


    ''With that happening as well, I''m sure the items I forge from this point onward seem like they''re of a higher grade even if they''re the same grade as the ones I forged in the past.''


    Chuckling at the thought, he soon returned his focus on the title''s description screen as he raised his eyebrow in slight interest.


    From what was a small chance back when it was called [Forger of Epics], [Forger of Legends] now gave him a decent chance to awaken the potential of any equipment forged.


    Though it was still up to luck and fate as to whether this part of the title would ever trigger during one of his forging sessions, the young man did not reject the idea of a free upgrade.


    Then again, thanks to the upgrade, that wasn''t the only chance-based perk of the title anymore.


    Though, if he were topare the two chance-based perks on which one was better, Valyr felt inclined to favor the second one.


    After all, it had something to do with Legendary grade equipment.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    > Increases the title holder''s chances of sess by 10% when forging Legendary grade equipment or higher


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Guess I now have greater assurance for when I upgrade the True Wyvern Armor set to Legendary grade,'' said Valyr to himself inwardly with a slight smile, closing the screen sometimeter.


    Though he was more than confident in his cksmithing abilities and the guide he was following, Valyr still kept in mind the fact that he had somewhat deviated from the original goal of the guide.


    After all, the True Wyvern Armor set should be at Epic grade at the moment and not Epic+ grade.


    On top of that, the skill [Descent of the True Wyvern] shouldn''t have existed in the first ce.


    It was only through sheer coincidence and luck that he had brought his True Wyvern Armor set to this point.


    So, why not give himself some more assurances that his armor would reach greater heights?


    Sparing a nce at N, Valyr swiftly returned his attention to his notification screen after seeing that she was still busy.


    "I guess N still needs a bit more time before the dagger is finished."


    Faintly shrugging as he did not mind the wait, he soon took a closer look at the series of notifications he did not expect to obtain.


    "The Hammer of Beginnings¡­"


    Muttering these words to himself, Valyr went ahead and used [Superior Analysis] on his forging hammer to see what changes the evolution in grade brought.


    Ding!


    Unsurprisingly, the changes were more or less simr to what [Forger of Legends] gave, such as the increase in base stats to equipment forged with the hammer.


    Seeing that the forging hammer now increased the base stats of equipment by 12% instead of 10% without having a skill activated, the young man faintly nodded in satisfaction before moving onto the skill portion of the artifact.


    It was there that he noticed the greatest difference in the form of [Breath of me].


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <Innate Skill 1: Breath of me - Changes the affinity of the hammer to the Fire element, increasing the stats of any Fire-


    attribute equipment forged with the hammer by 30%.


    Has a small chance to imbue the Pseudo-Growth attribute into the item during forging. Effect stacks additively with the hammer''s original effect.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though he had more or less expected the skill''s stat boost to improve after the upgrade, the same could not be said for the additional effect the skill gained.


    ''Pseudo-Growth¡­'' Valyr muttered to himself inwardly, feeling a slight urge to see the effect of the upgraded skill in action.


    However, he quelled this slight urge for the meantime, instead looking at the item''s description screen a bit further to see what else had changed during the upgrade.


    After a while, he found what he was looking further, only to focus his attention on it with a wry smile.


    "I had a feeling something like this was going to happen," said Valyr to himself with a sigh, the gears in his mind beginning to madly turn.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Upgrade Requirements:


    > Forge a Legendary grade item of the Fire attribute (1/1)


    > Forge a Legendary grade item of the Water attribute (0/1)


    > ¡­


    > Forge a Legendary grade item of the Primeval attribute (0/1)

 Chapter 768 Four Pillars: The Right Track

    <h4>Chapter 768 Four Pirs: The Right Track </h4>


    ?While reading through the requirements needed for his Hammer of Beginnings to be fully at Legendary grade, Valyr thought back to his thought process from earlier.


    Having read through the series of notifications rted to the Hammer of Beginnings, the young man found it slightly peculiar that only [Breath of me] had been upgraded.


    With his artifact upgrading thanks to the birth of the Supreme de of Primeval mes, Valyr began to find it even more peculiar, especially after seeing that the system mentioned that his artifact was just partly considered Legendary grade.


    For some time, he wondered whether he needed to forge other Legendary grade artifacts of different attributes to fully upgrade Hammer of Beginnings.


    After all, the Hammer of Beginnings was a forging hammer that contained five attributes in one vessel, perhaps six due to the inclusion of the skill [Breath of Beginnings].


    Fortunately, his guess was proven to be correct, with the list of requirements before him needing him to forge five more Legendary grade artifacts.


    "Four out of the five remaining ones are along the lines of what I expected," muttered Valyr to himself.


    "Though I''m quite surprised that thest one needs me to forge an artifact of the Primeval attribute."


    Just how like Intents had different grades to reflect how close one was to the ultimate truths of the universe, attributes also had their corresponding tiers.


    However, not only did these attributes show how close they were to the truths of the universe, they also showed how the difficult they were to wield and toprehend.


    Then again, if one were able to sessfully such a high-tier attribute, then one would be able to tap into a force far greater than even multiple low-tier attributesbined.


    In fact, that''s part of the reason why some had chosen to renounce all of their previous progress to get a chance atprehending a higher-tier attribute.


    Though, the number of those seeding in this endeavor were many times smaller than those failing.


    In any case, even though the Primeval attribute was an attribute that was of a higher tier than the four foundational elements, it was still something within the reach of many people.


    After all, to gain ess to the Primeval attribute, one would only need toprehend the essence of the elements in its entirety.


    Once one had achieved that, they would be able to ess its quintessence, the origin that gave birth to the elements in the first ce.


    Of course, to transfer that concept into the world of cksmithing was easier said than done.


    But it''s not like Valyr didn''t have any ways of making it possible.


    "Guess I''ll be forging some artifacts here and there while upgrading the True Wyvern Armor," said Valyr to himself as he closed the screen for the meantime.


    "Then again, I could use those artifacts as bargaining chips somewhere down the line."


    "Or I could sell them at auctions for a pretty hefty price." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows."


    With Valyr more than satisfied with the changes he had done to the sword N had given him, the young man decided to reward himself by getting some well-needed rest on the sofa.


    Sinking into the chair once more, he grabbed a few potions out of his spatial bracelet to replenish his reserves.


    After that, he grabbed a bit of dried rations, satiating the hunger he had been ignoring for quite some time now.


    While doing that, he was reminded of the amount of time it took him to upgrade the de into what it was today.


    "Over two weeks¡­" muttered Valyr to himself with a slight shudder, imagining a scenario where he forged all of the artifacts he needed in one go.


    "Even with the title upgrade, I''d probably take at least two months to forge all of that."


    Fortunately, before the young man could fall any deeper into the rabbit hole he had gotten himself into, the woman on the other workshop let out a loud sigh of relief.


    "Haah¡­ finally done."


    Bringing himself back to reality at those words, Valyr shook his head for a bit before standing up.


    Then, with a confident smile on his face, he grabbed the de he had upgraded from the anvil before making his way to N''s workshop.


    "To be honest, I thought I''d be the one taking a longer time," said the young man with a chuckle, swinging his de back and forth.


    In response, N let out a bit ofughter. "Let''s just say I''vee across a few setbacks during the final steps."


    "But I''ve gotten past all of that."


    Whoosh!


    Swinging the dagger she had reforged, N made Valyr feel as if a hundred des were on a path to strike every part of his body at once.


    With that, the young man swung his de in a cross pattern, causing a terrifying aura of mes to burst forth as it dispelled the sensation in less than an instant.


    "¡­" Seeing how Valyr''s reforged de had no problems fighting against the mirage of energies she had created, N''s eyes widen in surprise as she thought back to the possibility she came up with some time ago.


    Taking in a deep breath topose herself, she then asked Valyr if they could use their identification skills on each other''s items to see who had reforged the better weapon.


    Getting a solemn nod in response, N briefly had a wry smile on her face as she gave the two of them a countdown.


    "3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­"


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    "[Unveiling Eyes of the Forge]."


    Ding!


    Ding!


    At the very moment the two of them activated their respective identification skills, a plethora of information regarding the other''s item appeared before the two of them.


    Reading through the handiwork of their opponent, the two of them looked at each other with surprise in their eyes.


    However, not long after, a glint of victory appeared in the gaze of one, with a glint of defeat appearing in the other.


    "I guess you won," said N with a bitter smile.


    Closing the screen she had brought up, she then let out a long sigh as she came to terms with the situation.


    With her eyes closed for quite some time, she eventually looked back at Valyr, whose face currently showed immense jubtion.


    "I''ve got to say, you''ve even given a Myth like me a run for their money." N chuckled.


    "Even with the immense disparity in our skills and stats, you were able to forge something I couldn''t."


    "And that''s already telling me a lot about you."


    At those words, the smile on Valyr''s face disappeared as he looked at the woman with slight suspicion.


    Taking note of his expression, N continued smiling.


    "Don''t worry. It''s not like what I found out would change anything for you," said the woman.


    "Plus, if you''ve forgotten, I''m not at Veldanyr at the moment, so there''s no point looking at me like that."


    It was only at those words did the young man rx, remaining silent as the woman still seemed to have something to say.


    "In any case, I''m d that the current generation has a cksmith that could perhaps steer Veldanyr back towards the right track."


    "And with that, let me announce that this fight is officially over."

 Chapter 769 Four Pillars: A Brief Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 769 Four Pirs: A Brief Farewell </h4>


    ?After N had officially announced the end of their fight, the two of them gave themselves the freedom to get the rest they sorely needed as they proceeded to talk about various topics.


    Whether it was on cksmithing, the various ss ranks, or the current state of Veldanyr, the two of them undoubtedly talked about it, gradually forgetting the fact that the two of them were even in the Gates of Awakening''s trial grounds.


    In fact, with how long their conversation hadsted after the fight, the young man began to look at N with a hint of curiosity.


    "Are you not going to disappear anytime soon?" asked the young man, telling her about how all of the opponents he''d fought against earlier eventually dissipated into thin air at some point.


    In response, N looked at the young man for a bit before chuckling.


    "Well, if you want to move onto the next fight, then I could dissipate right here and now," said the woman, eliciting a bit of fear to appear on the edges of Valyr''s face.


    Though, that fear all disappeared once N looked at the young man with an amused smile as she sunk into the chair she had brought out.


    "However, where''s the fun in fighting opponents without being at your best condition?" N grinned. "Plus, it''s quite interesting listening to the perspective of a cksmith from a more recent generation."


    "In any case, to ease your worries, all of the opponents you''ll face within this final sub-trial have a say as to whether or not they dissipate to let you proceed onto your next fight."


    "Since I''ve taken quite a bit of liking to you, then I''ll help give you some more rest time before your next fight."


    Hearing those words, Valyr gave N his words of gratitude, only to feel his ears heat up a bit after recalling the woman''s final statement.


    Seeing the slight redness on the young man''s ears, N began tough, teasing the young man as they continued to talk and unwind.


    At this point, thoughts of their respective identities had more or less disappeared from their mind, even though they knew that both of them would send waves to many people in the right ces.


    Though, as the two of them were both in the Gates of Awakening''s trial grounds, there was no N from the Hephaista n. Nor was there a Valyr from the Zeihardt n.


    There was just N and Valyr, two cksmiths that had been brought together by fate to see whose skills were better.


    With that, the two of them enjoyed each other''spany for a bit longer, with only something changing by the time two days had unknowingly passed.


    "Well, I think I''ve extended my stay here for far too long."


    Seeing that the opponent she fought against had more or less returned to his peak condition, a satisfied smile crept up on N''s face as she stood up from her chair.


    Doing a few basic stretches to maintain her body''s limberness, she soon noticed the young man doing a few stretches of his own, eliciting the smile on her face to turn into a slight grin.


    "I think you''re more than ready for your next opponent at this point," said N, the gears in her mind slowly turning.


    "Whether you use the Legendary grade artifact you forged or the arquebus you showed me, as long as you catch your next opponent off guard when the fight calls forbat, you''ll probably reach the end of the trial without a problem."


    In response, Valyr briefly chuckled. "Let''s hope the conditions the next opponent gives doesn''t affect that part, then."


    Nodding back at the young man with an amused smile, N took in a deep breath as she took on a solemn expression.


    At the same time, her body had begun to transform into golden strands of energy, prompting the young man to realize that it was now time for him to return to reality.


    "Once again, I''ve quite enjoyed yourpany," said N with a smile. "With how much information you''ve gotten from me these past few days, your goals have be more than obvious to me."


    "Then again, such goals excite me for the future."


    With half of her body having be translucent at this point, N fell into a brief moment of silence before deciding to give Valyr the dagger she had upgraded for the fight.


    "In any case, hold onto this for the meantime," she told him. "Infuse a bit of your mana into it to make sure the Gates of Awakening doesn''t take it."


    Though unsure of what the woman was nning, Valyr still did what he was told, infusing his mana just like how he had gotten hold of most of Arcaelus'' weapons from the previous fight.


    "Good." N nodded in satisfaction as she smiled. "Now the reason why I told you to keep this dagger is that it''ll act as yourpass for when you eventually travel beyond Veldanyr."


    At those words, Valyr''s mouth went slightly agape, only now understanding why she was excited for the time he had aplished his goals of going to space.


    After all, that meant that there was a chance for them to meet up in the outside world.


    Seeing that the dagger was connected to it somehow, Valyr continued to listen to what the woman had to say, noticing that her rate of disappearance had visibly slowed down by a few degrees.


    "I''ve decided to infuse a hint of my original energy into the dagger," N told him. "That energy will resonate with me once you''ve gotten close to my true body."


    "Of course, once I feel this resonance, I would also get a rough idea as to where you are."


    "In a way, don''t you think it''s quite romantic?" asked N with a chuckle, only for her rate of disappearance to reach ever greater heights in an instant.


    Watching the woman who had given him more than what he had bargained for, Valyr felt a hint of sadness from seeing her disappear.


    Though, before she truly left the young man''s sight, she nted a kiss on his forehead out of nowhere, catching Valyr off guard.


    "It may feel like this will be thest time we''ll see each other, but I have a strong feeling you''lle eventually."


    "For now... this is farewell."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ''You have defeated the seventh opponent of the Trial of Nine Stars. Two opponents remain.''

 Chapter 770 Four Pillars: An Unintended Mechanic

    <h4>Chapter 770 Four Pirs: An Unintended Mechanic </h4>


    ?Hearing the monotonous voice of the trial grounds signal the official end of his fight against N, it was only then did the young man snap back to reality.


    Continuing to remain silent as he stood in ce, Valyr made a light swipe on his forehead, his thoughts rewinding what had happened not long earlier over and over again.


    Feeling a slight heat suffusing from his cheeks, the young man slightly shook his head, thinking to himself that the kiss was just her way of showing gratitude to him for being greatpany during their fight.


    Perhaps, there wasn''t even any purpose to it at all.


    After all, with how sudden N had kissed him on the forehead, it seemed like the kiss was ast-minute thought, as if it was just a habit ingrained to her.


    With thoughts running along a simr vein lingering in his mind, the young man eventually calmed himself down, pushing the thought of the kiss to the side as he stared at the dagger he had received.


    "[Superior Analysis]." Deciding to use his identification skill on the dagger N reforged, Valyr thought about how he had only focused on the weapon''s rarity while they were identifying each other''s weapons during the fight.


    However, now that he had more than enough time in the world to look at the weapon''s description in detail, a wry smile crept up the young man''s lips as thoughts of the kiss surfaced in his mind once again.


    ''I guess there''s more to it than it seems.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ephemeral Convergence] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack: 1,496 - 2,493


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Like a pair ofets flying through the vastness of space, though it may seem unlikely, there would be a small moment where the two of them woulde across each other, even for an ephemeral moment.


    With this thought in mind, the cksmith that breathed new life into this weapon poured such a concept into it, apanying it with other concepts rted to space and the celestial objects that exist within it.


    Nevertheless, this weapon''s true motive is to¡­ description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Ster Array - Allows the user to send out a flurry of dagger shes within a certain radius, mimicking the visual of a meteor shower. Deals damage equivalent to 100% of the user''s Attack stat per hit.


    Those hit with three or more shes have a chance tond in a Stunned state for three seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Fallen Comet - Allows the user to sh out in a downward arc, mimicking the final descent of a meteorite as it bes aet. Deals damage equivalent to 250% of the user''s Attack stat.


    Can be infused with mana greater than its original cost to increase its damage by 50%. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 8,000 MP.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Ephemeral Convergence - Allows the user to sh out in a cross pattern, acting as a facade for the user tond a swift yet direct hit at their opponent. Deals damage equivalent to 350% of the user''s Attack stat.


    Can be infused with mana greater than its original cost to increase its damage by 50%. Those hit by the insidious part of the attack are Slowed, Stunned, and Disoriented for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Cost: 15,000 MP.>


    Remarks: An intertwining of concepts and intents having taken great form. There is more than meets the eye to this weapon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though the description of the weapon made Valyr wonder once more whether there was more to the kiss he had received, that did not stop him from fully appreciating the craftsmanship and effort that went behind the dagger''s reforge.


    Not only that, but he felt like there was still something missing about the dagger, reminding Valyr about N''s words where she mentioned that there was a chance for them to meet in the future.


    Feeling a hint of expectation for a time that was still far from his grasp, the young man soon kept the dagger into his spatial bracelet.


    At the same time, the monotonous voice resounded throughout the trial ground once more, informing Valyr on how much time he had before the next battle begun.


    ''You have one day to rest before the next opponent appears.''


    "It''s definitely better than just having 30 minutes to rest," said the young man in response, briefly letting out a chuckle soon after.


    After that, he brought a few specific items from his spatial bracelet, setting up what looked to be a temporary resting ce simr to the one he had set up before his fight with N.


    Sensing the exhaustion he had umted over the fight with N finallying to the surface, the young man allowed nature to take its course as he lied down on his resting spot before taking some long-awaited rest.


    Waking up sometimeter, Valyr asked the monotonous voice the very moment he woke up as to how much time there was left before the next fight began.


    Hearing that there were still a few more hours before then, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he quickly made some food for himself.


    Digging into the small meal he had cooked in haste, he then opened up the party chat, wanting to be updated on how the others faring after their previous updates.


    Surprisingly, all of them had already received the rewards the Gates of Awakening had given for their efforts, prompting Valyr to think about how much time he had spent during the seventh fight.


    With the other four telling him that it had been over a day since all of them left the Gates of Awakening and returned to their makeshift camp, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he slightly wondered whether or not to surrender and join the others at this point.


    Fortunately, recalling the quest he had and the rewards attached to it allowed him to remain steadfast, apologizing to the others that he was still going through the trials the Gates of Awakening threw at him.


    After receiving a few words of encouragement from the others, Valyr took the time to stow away all the items he had brought out from his spatial bracelet whilst he got himself into prime condition.


    Coincidentally, just as he felt like he was more than ready to take on his next opponent, the monotonous voice began to echo throughout the trial grounds once more.


    Though, unlike its many announcements before, there was now something more to the voice''s announcement.


    ''Your eighth and final opponent shall appear in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''

 Chapter 771 Four Pillars: The Reality

    <h4>Chapter 771 Four Pirs: The Reality </h4>


    ?"Wait¡­ what?"


    Listening to the voice''s words, Valyr instantly felt a great amount of confusion. "Aren''t I supposed to fight against nine opponents in total?"


    "If so, why''s the voice telling me that I''m facing my eighth and final opponent?"


    Scratching the back of his head as he mulled over it, he went over the rules the monotonous voice had given him regarding the Trial of Nine Stars once more.


    From what he could recall, he would be fighting a total of three sub-trials, with each sub-trial being made up of three opponents that got progressively stronger.


    Aside from that, his opponents would either push him towardsbat, or towards his other specialty, which was forging.


    So far, the two sub-trials he had passed with flying colors more or less followed that mechanic. In fact, the same could even be said for his forging duel with N, who had a level of strength right at the early levels of Rank 6.


    With that, he began to wonder why the voice had phrased its words that way, wondering if the final sub-trial had been turned into something else due to his exemry performance so far.


    Thankfully, the answers to his questions revealed itself not long after the voice''s announcement.


    Whoosh!


    From a fair distance away from him, arge ray of golden light shone down from the heavens, radiating a terrifying force that reminded him of what kind of opponents he would be facing.


    Though, as he looked at this ray of light for a bit longer, he noticed that it was considerably bigger than all of the previous lights he had seen so far.


    Just as he thought that the size of ray of light corresponded to the size of the being he would be up against, therge ray of light split into two all of a sudden.


    And it was there that the young man finally understood what was going on.


    "The eighth and final opponent," muttered Valyr to himself, wryly smiling as he thought that he had been thinking too deeply into the matter.


    "Truly a case of semantics."


    Not long after, the young man let out a long sigh, slightly shaking his head as he began to distance himself further from the rays of light.


    "At this point, it really seems like the Gates of Awakening wants me to surrender," said Valyr to himself, his attention still fixed towards the golden rays.


    "Is it even possible to clear the Trial of Nine Stars? Was it even intended for people to clear the Trial of Nine Stars?"


    As he asked himself these questions, the young man eventually fell silent, instead deciding to make use of the time to prepare more ns that would allow himself to tip the scales to his favor.


    After all, he wasn''t just going to go up against a being at the middle levels of Rank 6¡­


    He was going to have to face someone like that, as well as someone at the peak of Rank 6.


    At the same time.


    Whoosh!


    With there being two rays of light, it took considerably for the golden rays to be reced with the opponents Valyr would have to face.


    Nevertheless, the two final opponents for his trial had eventually made their appearances, prompting Valyr to do a double-take as he looked at them.


    "Twins," muttered the young man, somewhat understanding why the Gates of Awakening had decided to have the two appear at the same time.


    From his perspective, the two were at least a head taller than he was, causing their bodies to faintly radiate a naturally imposing aura.


    Nevertheless, with their chiseled jaw linesplementing their short yet neat pitch-ck hair, as well as their toned muscture, the two looked like fashion models he would have seen on Earth.


    Even their getup reminded him of what some fashion models wore, with both of them sporting a pair of in white shirts and loose dark gray pants.


    Thankfully, even though the two of them appeared more or less the same in every aspect, there were still two things that allowed Valyr to tell the two apart.


    The scars running down their faces, as well as the auras they emitted.


    "Hey there!" shouted one of the two at Valyr, his scar running down from his right eye to his left cheek. "Are you our opponent for this round?"


    Taking note of the man''s considerably weaker aura, the young man nodded. "I am. And before you ask, you two are my final opponents before I clear the Trial of Nine Stars."


    "Had a feeling after getting a feel of how much strength we had," replied the other one with a chuckle, the scars on his face looking more like whiskers than scars. "In any case, before we begin, let us introduce ourselves."


    "My name is Dawan. Dawan Lee," said the man soon after, ring his empowered aura with a prideful expression.


    Unsurprisingly, the one with the weaker aura found his twin''s showing of force to be slightly annoying, scoffing as he proceeded with his introduction. "You can call me Daon. Daon Lee."


    "Dawan and Daon Lee¡­" Valyr muttered as he nodded, an amused smile soon creeping up the edges of his lips. "Your parents definitely have a unique naming sense."


    "That''s what a lot of people say," replied Dawan with a faint smile, having an idea of what was going on in the young man''s mind. "Anyways, now that we''ve introduced ourselves, could you introduce yourselves to us?"


    "Valyr Zeihardt?" The young man nodded, deciding to make his introduction sinct. "Nice to meet you."


    "Who knew we''d be up against a Zeihardt," said Daon with a hint of surprise, only to let out an amused chuckle soon after. "Say, Valyr. Care to tell us what''s currently going on in Veldanyr?"


    At those words, the young man raised his eyebrow in curiosity, prompting the other one to add more context to Daon''s words.


    "I have a feeling that you already know that these things are just extensions of our actual bodies," said Dawan, to which Valyr nodded as a sign that he did.


    "With that being said, we''re currently on another, though we''ve been trying to keep ourselves up to date with happenings on it."


    "We were born and raised there, after all," said Daon, to which Dawan nodded in agreement.


    "Though, I don''t really have any problems with that, why don''t we proceed with our fight first before having a lengthy conversation?" Pondering in silence for a bit, Valyr eventually looked at the two as he asked this question.


    In response, Dawan and Daon looked at each other for a bit before looking back at the young man as they shrugged their shoulders.


    "Sounds fine with me," said Dawan, to which Daon slightly nodded.


    And with that, the final fight had officially begun.

 Chapter 772 Four Pillars: A Losing Fight

    <h4>Chapter 772 Four Pirs: A Losing Fight </h4>


    ?"So¡­ what conditions are we going to work with for our fight?"


    As the three of them repositioned themselves to where both sides had enough space to move about, Valyr decided to ask the twins after it seemed like both sides had settled down.


    "It would be incredibly stupid and absurd if we were to tell you that both sides would have to fight to the death until only one remains standing," said Daon. "After all, our current strengths are on a whole other levelpared to yours."


    "Instead, we''ll be fighting against each other by putting all of our strength into a limited number of strikes," said Dawan as he continued where his twin left off. "Still scary, but more manageable."


    "One side will act as the attacker, while the other side would be the defender. I''m pretty sure that''s more than enough for you to understand the gist of what''s going to happen."


    "Basically give your everything in your attacks until the other side concedes." Valyr nodded, to which the two nodded in agreement.


    Seeing the two''s response to his words, the young man was reminded of his fifth fight with Matthias, where each of them had three moves to make the other side concede, switching back and forth with every attack.


    With that, Valyr''s body slightly shuddered as he realized the implications of his current situation.


    "Say¡­ you wouldn''t be attacking me at the same time and count that one attack, right?" he asked, to which the two let out a bit ofughter in response.


    "If we were to do that, the Gates of Awakening would make a move to restrain us," said Dawan as he shook his head. "But no, we''ll be attacking you separately."


    "I''ll be attacking first," Daon said. "Then, after your turn, it''ll be Dawan to attack you, swapping back and forth between us two."


    "How many moves would each of us have before the fight ends?" asked the young man, the gears in his mind turning as he inputted their words into his mind.


    Dawan raised three of his fingers in response.?"Three moves. In total, we would be attacking you six times."


    "At the same time, you''d be able to attack us six times as well," said Daon soon after. "However, there''s nothing stopping you from attacking both of us when it''s our turn to defend."


    "Is that so?" At those words, a faint smile briefly crept up the young man''s face as a bunch of ideas surfaced in his mind.


    At the same time, the three prepared themselves for their fight as all of them got into a battle stance.


    "I''ll be moving first," said Daon as he stepped forward, prompting Valyr''s expression to turn solemn as he prepared for the attack that would be thrown his way.


    Though, just as he thought that the man would send his attack without hesitation, the young man was instead greeted by a question.


    "Though, before that, I''m really curious. What''s going on in Veldanyr at the moment?" asked Daon, looking at Valyr with slightly pleading eyes.


    Seeing that the attention of the two were fully focused on his words to the point that he felt like the fight wouldn''t proceed without his response, the young man let out a sigh as he acquiesced.


    "There''s a war brewing between the orcs and the humans," said Valyr, eliciting a look of slight shock and understanding to appear on the twins'' faces.


    "At first, it was just a small skirmish between one of the human kingdoms and the Khagarax Empire. Now it''s expanded to cover more of the human kingdoms where it''s only a matter of time before the Meltierre and Khagarax Empire make their moves."


    "So the information we''ve received was correct," said Daon, looking at Dawan for a bit before letting out a sigh.


    "We''ve heard that the orcs and humans had a falling out, but we dismissed it at first. Who knew it would actually be true?"


    "In our days, the orcs and the humans had a harmonious rtionship to the point there would be frequent exchanges between the two," said Dawan, hoping to give the young man more context towards their train of thought.


    "That''s why we found it odd that the two had be at odds all of a sudden."


    "In any case, we could talk about in greater detail after this fight," Daon said, returning their frames of thought to the matter at hand.


    With that, the man took in a deep breath as a massive force began to brew his body.


    "Huuu¡­" Letting out a drawn-out exhale, Daon began to move his body into various poses, all of which made Valyr wonder what the intent behind the seemingly random poses were.


    Fortunately, as he continued to watch the man move about, he began to notice that there were nuggets of truth interspersed here and there.


    At some point, he realized that each of the movements seemed to be infusing something into the air, gradually forming a pattern that began to grow in both aura and power.


    "[Intent of the Raging Waves]."


    Whoosh!


    As Daon got into a horse stance, the man pushed both of his hands outward as he let out a bellow, sending out a part of energy from his Intent into the pattern he had formed.


    Within seconds, the aura being radiated by the pattern surged in power, faintly reminding Valyr of the tsunamis that had destroyed the cities of Earth in his past life.


    Though, just as he had begun to reminisce over his quaint life from the past, Daon had finally made his move.


    "[Art of the Cmitous Waves]!"


    "[Heaven-rending Tsunami]!"


    Bang!


    With his right fist clenched, Daon struck out like a drawn bowstring as he sent all of his strength into his punch.


    Once the punch and the pattern made contact, it was as if the world had briefly turned into the deadly oceans, sending out a small yet terrifying wave of water that swiftly headed towards Valyr.


    "[Refined Defense Aura]!"


    "[Refined Bulwark of Life]!"


    "[Refined Mana Barrier]!"


    In response, Valyr unleashed all of the defensive skills in his arsenal, even going so far as to rouse his Shadow Energy as he retrieved his spear.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]!"


    "[Dark Arcane Mirror]!"


    Whoosh!


    Just before the attack could make contact with Valyr, the dark barrier immediately burst forth, shielding a great portion of the momentum contained within the attack.


    Yet even the barrier he thought of as sturdy eventually began to crumble under the attack''s force, slowly making ferocity known through both the mana barrier and armor he had conjured.


    ''This really makes me wonder whether the Trial of Nine Stars is meant to be cleared,'' thought the young man to himself, deciding to use a skill from [Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style] to counteract some of the forces from Daon''s attack.


    Though, seeing how his attack only seemed like a drop in a bucket, it was there that Valyr knew.


    He was in for a losing fight.

 Chapter 773 Four Pillars: Pulling All Stops

    <h4>Chapter 773 Four Pirs: Pulling All Stops </h4>


    ?"Haah¡­ haah¡­ haah¡­"


    Feeling incredibly out of breath, Valyrid t on the ground as he gasped for air.


    At the same time, he took a brief nce at the one who threw the attack at him, only for him inwardly let out a sigh soon after.


    ''Not even a bead of sweat,'' muttered the young man to himself, his mind going through the memories of what had just transpired earlier.


    With Daon making the first move, Valyr was left with no choice but to defend against the terror that someone in the middle levels of Rank 6 could unleash.


    Having conjured almost all of his defensive skills beforehand, the young man felt confident that his skills would be able to handle all of them with ease, considering that his stats were considerably higher than a normal warrior at the peak of Rank 3.


    Yet, contrary to his beliefs, all of his defensive skills did not even stand a chance against Daon''s attack, toppling down like a house made out of sticks.


    And that was already including the fact that he had activated [Dark Arcane Mirror], which was a defensive skill that had helped him tip the scales towards his favor many times already.


    But even that stood no match for Daon''s [Heaven-rending Tsunami].


    With that, he was only left with the option of fighting fire and fire, sending attack after attack towards the massive force Daon had conjured in the hopes that it would waste all of its momentum before it could hit him.


    Unfortunately, even after exhausting all of his mana on a near-unceasing barrage of attacks, the tsunami still contained a third of its original force as it mmed directly into Valyr''s body.


    To no surprise, the young man was sent flying a fair distance, eventuallynding on his back with a loud crash.


    Though almost every part in his body radiated a great amount of pain in response to taking on the attack head-on, Valyr reminded himself that it was still better than dying to an attack like that.


    With that, he closed his eyes for a bit to rest his mind before pulling out both a health and mana potion from his spatial bracelet.


    Downing the contents of the mana potion first, he allowed the potion''s effects toe to life first before consuming the health potion, making use of [Intermediate Heal] at the same time to expedite the healing process.


    After some time, Valyr stood up once more as he stared at the pair of twins with a slightly bitter smile.


    "You really didn''t hold back," said the young man as he stared at Daon, continuing to keep [Intermediate Heal] active.


    Hearing those words, Daon looked back at him with an apologetic smile. "I wish I could, but the Gates of Awakening would undoubtedly penalize us if we were to hold anything back."


    Seeing that the young man looked curious as to what Daon meant, Dawan decided to exin it in his stead. "Depending on how much we limit ourselves against our opponents, we could either be restricted even further or be put in a more precarious position."


    "Worst-case scenario, we lose these memory extensions, removing one of our few remaining ways to keep in touch with the happenings in Veldanyr."


    "That bad?" At those words, Valyr sucked in a breath of cold air as the twins nodded in response to his question.


    Slightly frowning after that, the young man took in a deep breath topose himself as he checked his current condition.


    ''I guess I''ve more or less recovered from his attack,'' thought the young man, feeling a hint of pity at the fact that his True Wyvern Armor had taken a brunt of the force.


    At the moment, both the front and back of the armor had caved inward, reminding Valyr once more just how much force there was in Daon''s attack.


    Letting out a drawn-out sigh as he told himself to find the time to repair his armor set, the young man then moved forward, piquing the interest of the two as they wondered what he was going to do next.


    Seeing Valyr pull out a couple of weapons from his spatial bracelet, Dawan and Daon looked at each other for a bit, quickly understanding what the young man was aiming to do.


    With that, the pair of twins stood beside one another as they conjured simple mana barriers before them as they watched the young man look at the weapons he had brought out for a bit.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out an exhale as he emptied his mind of discordant thoughts, Valyr soon proceeded to activate a series of empowerment skills, all of which bolstered his aura to a great degree.


    "[Intent Seed of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Intermediate Fire Magic Style: zing Vigor]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    Within mere instants, the aura emanating from Valyr far exceeded what a normal warrior at the peak of Rank 3 could even unleash.


    Watching the entire scene unfold before their very eyes, Dawan and Daon briefly nced at each other as they felt that the young man now currently wielded a level of strength that broke through a certain boundary.


    With that, the two empowered their barriers with a bit more of their mana, even going so far as to infuse the energy of their Intents into them.


    Surprisingly, not even strengthening their defenses was enough to prepare them for what was about toe, with Valyr picking up the Supreme de of Primeval mes.


    "Huu¡­" Taking some time topose himself, the young man''s expression turned solemn as he tightly gripped the de by its handle with both hands.


    Coaxing his mana to head towards the weapon he held, his entire body soon turned into a blur of Shadow Energy, disappearing from the twins'' sight.


    "[Arcane Shadow Warp]."


    Whoosh!


    Before the two could even understand what was going on, Valyr had appeared in front of their vision in less than an instant, leaving them vulnerable for the attack that was toe.


    "[Primeval Starbirth]."

 Chapter 774 Four Pillars: Catching Unaware

    <h4>Chapter 774 Four Pirs: Catching Unaware</h4>


    ?Fwoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr spurred the mana within the weapon toe forward, the young man shed downward with all of his strength, allowing the tip of the de to make contact with the ground.


    Then, just as that happened, the young man activated [Arcane Shadow Warp] once more.


    Whoosh!


    Before their very eyes, Dawan and Daon watched as Valyr made a nick on the ground with all of his strength before swiftly distancing himself from them.


    Confused as to why the young man had not targeted them instead, the answers to their questions eventually revealed themselves once a fiery ball began to swell from where the de touched the ground.


    And it was there that they understood that it wasn''t that Valyr had not targeted them.


    Instead, it was the fact that the young man had no need.


    Bang!


    As if it was emting the birth of a red giant, the fiery ball rapidly grew in size, the destructive energies inside it enveloping Dawan and Daon within seconds.


    In response, the two pushed their barriers to their full potential, infusing the majority of their mana and Intent Energy into it as they kept a bit to themselves as contingency.


    With the giant ball of fiery energy continuing to wreak havoc, the twins began to wonder whether the young man was forcing them to make a move through this method.


    Though, just as the two felt like they had to extricate themselves from unnecessary damage, the giant fireball disappeared on its own.


    Seeing that their sights had returned to what it was before, save for the scorched ground surrounding them, Dawan and Daon instantly kept their eyes peeled as they searched for Valyr''s traces.


    But just as they had realized that he was standing not far away from where the fireball was¡­


    Bang!


    Before the twins could evenprehend what was going on, the two instantly heard a loud explosione from Valyr as they felt a dangerous projectile head their way.


    Taking note of the great momentum and ferocity hidden within the small projectile Valyr seemed to have sent their way, Dawan and Daon conjured barriers before them once more.


    However¡­


    Crash!


    Just as the two were in the middle of distancing themselves from the projectile, the tiny thing had made its mark known as it pierced a hole through both of the twins'' barriers at the same time.


    Infusing arge amount of mana into their respective barriers in response, Dawan and Daon were left at a slight loss for words after seeing that the hole the projectile had made seemed to be unrepairable.


    With that, the two were left with no choice but to allow their barriers to dispel on their own, cracking into a myriad pieces before shattering like ss as they dissipated into thin air.


    Wondering whether the young man still had more tricks up his sleeve, the two let out wide sighs of relief after seeing Valyr sitting on the ground, wholly exhausted.


    "Man¡­" The young man slowly caught his breath. "Didn''t even inflict any damage on you two."


    In response, Dawan decided to console them, seeing how the young man utterly spent from both defending and attacking. "I''d say shattering our barriers without us being able to fix it counts as damage."


    "Yeah." Daon nodded in agreement as he looked at Valyr with slight fear. "What kind of weapon did you use? I had a slight feeling that if I were to get directly hit by it, I would be left with severe injuries."


    At those words, Valyr merely smiled as he showed the arquebus he had forged to the two. "That would be the work of this thing right here."


    Looking at the weapon the young man had shown them, the twins'' eyes widened in surprise as they briefly looked at each other.


    Staring at Valyr, Daon asked, "Eh? An arquebus? Has Veldanyr''s level of technology already reached that point?"


    Surprised that the two seemed to know what weapon he had shown them, with Daon even giving him verbal proof, Valyr briefly stared at the two with shock before remembering that the two of them were currently away from Veldanyr.


    With that, he took in a deep breath before shaking his head.


    "No."


    "Then, how¡­?" Just as Daon was about to ask Valyr more questions, Dawan stopped his twin as he pointed at the young man.


    Slightly confused as to what his twin meant by the gesture, Daon still looked at the young man, only to take note of the calm yet confident expression on his face that apanied the faint smile that traced on the edges of Valyr''s lips.


    For a while after that, Daon went silent as he tried to wrap his head around what the young man showed. Thankfully, it did not take long for it to sink in, looking at Valyr with newfound respect.


    "Shall we continue?" Though there was a small part of him that wanted to hear more of the twins'' disbelief, Valyr''s expression remained the same after hearing Daon''s words.


    Then, with a nod, he prepared for what was about toe.


    ¡­


    Bang!


    Having no choice but to go all out, Daon sent out his attack once more, causing a terrifying wave of force to swiftly appear before the young man''s vision.


    In response, the young man activated all of the defensive skills in his arsenal, hoping once more that at least one of them would hold.


    Fortunately, this time around, he was more than prepared for the attack that woulde at him, activating a few of his empowerment skills to bolster the strength of his defenses.


    With that, Valyr was barely able to storm the tides, needing to consume three-quarters of his mana in order to dispel Daon''s [Heaven-rending Tsunami] once and for all.


    d that he had sessfully defended against the full-


    strength of a being in the middle levels of Rank 6, the young man decided to borrow that momentum as he gave the twins no time to rest as he unleashed his attack.


    Of course, with him using both Supreme de of Primeval des and his Supreme True Arquebus in his previous attack, the young man knew that the two had prepared themselves to see it again.


    Unfortunately for them, the young man had more terrifying skills in his arsenal.


    Such as the one he would conjure next.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Consummatum Est]."

 Chapter 775 Four Pillars: The Pinnacle of Strength

    Chapter 775 Four Pirs: The Pinnacle of Strength


    ??Whoosh!


    Before the twins could even begin to conjure barriers around themselves in preparation for what was toe, the passage of time around the three of them had slowed down to a grinding halt.


    With their eyes being the only thing that could move to see what was happening, Daon and Dawan''s pupils shrunk in slight fear as they noticed that their surroundings had be muted in color, giving off a slight aura of despair.


    Then again, it did not take long for this fear to cement into their bodies, feeling that the aura of despair had more than condensed underneath their feet.


    Try as they might, the two remained immobile as they watched the ground beneath them turn a pure ck, gradually expanding to cover a size that was at least 50 meters in diameter.


    At this point, Valyr had distanced himself from the skill, even though he knew that staying within its vicinity would not harm him in anyway.


    However, he could not say the same for the aftereffects that arose from the skill.


    Bang!


    Just as the aura of despair surrounding the pair of twins had reached its climax, the darkness underneath their feet burst forth with all of their energy, forming two cocoons around them.


    Taking a brief nce at the cocoons to see that the power within the two cocoons were now beginning to swell, Valyr went ahead and prepared his arquebus for firing, hoping to catch the two more than unaware this time around.


    By the time he had armed the arquebus and activated a few of his empowerment skills for safe measure, the power brewing within the cocoons had finally made its presence known, exploding into a giant cloud of deste energy.


    Boom!


    Seeing that the amount of energy generated by his attack was far greater than he had initially thought, Valyr decided to distance himself as he gripped tightly on his arquebus.


    Waiting for a chance to shoot his armed bullet, the young man soon found his chance the moment the clouds began to settle.


    With both twins remaining immobile, a faint smile tugged on the edges of the young man''s lips as he activated [Extended Charge] for greater firepower.


    Though, just as a few seconds had passed since the skill was activated, the silhouettes of the twins began to move as one of them let out a groan.


    "Man¡­ that''s way worse than the attacks from earlier." With the cloud of deste energy beginning to settle, Valyr quickly found out that the one who began to speak was none other than Daon.


    Noticing that the two were more or less unscathed after his attack, the young man began to feel a bit of terror from the two, making him wonder whether it was even possible to damage them.


    Canceling [Extended Charge] for the meantime, he decided to move the arquebus to the side, keeping it armed as he watched what the two nned on doing next.


    "Well, we did have iting for us." Letting out a sigh, Dawan looked at Daon for a bit before shifting his gaze towards Valyr.


    "We did be a bitcent after seeing Valyr use weapons on his first move."


    "Had to tip the scales to my favor somehow," replied Valyr with a slightly bitter smile, inwardly letting out a sigh as it looked like the two had not been damaged whatsoever by what was basically one of his strongest attacks.


    Though, as he looked closer, he soon noticed that there were a few marks on their bodies that seemed darker than usual.


    Sensing the deste energy from the cocoons faintly emanating from those small marks, a slightly relieved smile appeared on the young man''s face.


    After all, even though they seemed invincible to his attacks so far¡­


    These marks showed him that they weren''t infallible.


    "Speaking of his first move¡­" Giving the dust around them time to settle, Daon eventually focused his gaze towards Valyr as he slightly frowned. "You attacked twice earlier when you were supposed to just attack once."


    Hearing that, the young man looked at Daon in slight confusion before soon understanding what the man meant.


    Wryly smiling in response, he then recalled that he had struck the duo with a skill from his Supreme de of Primeval mes first.


    Then, while they were preupied with the skill, he then made use of the chaos to attempt an attack on the twins once more with a shot from his arquebus.


    Letting out a bitter chuckle at the realization, Valyr looked at them. "With howrge the disparity is between our strengths, wouldn''t you consider the earlier attack as a singr move?"


    "Unfortunately, the Gates of Awakening disallows it," replied Dawan with a low sigh, his face showing the young man that they would have done so if they could.


    "With that, we''ll have to consider your current attack as your third move," Daon said soon after, the frown on his face now reced with an apologetic smile. "Seeing as how you had your arquebus out, it seemed like you nned on doing the same thing again."


    "With what you guys just said, I''m sure d I didn''t follow through," said Valyr with a chuckle in response, only for his expression to quickly turn despondent as he let out a sigh.


    "I''m guessing I''m gonna take a penalty because of this, right?"


    Hearing those words, the twins looked at him with apologetic smiles.


    "I''m afraid so." In the end, Dawan was the one who broke the news to the young man. "Not only will you have to defend against Daon''s attack, you''ll also have to defend against one of my attacks after that."


    "I had a feeling that was the case." Valyr chuckled in response. Though, with how bleak it sounded, it seemed as if the chuckle was aimed towards himself.


    "Alright." Taking in a deep breath to calm down his emotions, the young man returned his arquebus into his spatial bracelet for the meantime, reminding himself that the weapon was fully armed.


    At the same time, he looked at the two in silence for a bit as the gears in his mind turned.


    After that, he nodded at the two, signaling to the twins that he was ready to take on their attacks.


    "Come at me." Valyr smiled with a hint of confidence.


    "How bad would taking two attacks in a row be?"


    ¡­


    To make a long story short, the answer was bad.


    Really, really bad.


    Of course, with how he had defended himself against two of Daon''s attacks before, the young man had rued more than enough experience to defend against his third attack with rtive ease.


    However, that still meant that he had exhausted all of the defensive skills in his arsenal once again, as well as sent an unceasing barrage of attacks to whittle down its force.


    Fortunately, the amount of mana he had consumed this time around was far less than his previous attempt at defending, leaving him with half of his mana bar to spare.


    Quickly downing a health and mana potion to replenish his reserves, Valyr let out a drawn-out exhale as he told Dawan that he was ready to take on his attack.


    In response, Dawan merely nodded as he red out his aura in its entirety.


    Sensing the power of someone at the peak of Rank 6e from just one man, the young man braced himself for the attack that was about toe, the intent emanating from Dawan alone already instilling him with a great amount of fear.


    "[Intent of the Unceasing Storms]."


    Rumble¡­


    Crackle¡­


    At the very moment Dawan activated his Intent, the surroundings slightly darkened as the young man heard a bit of rumbling in the air.


    Though, knowing that the phenomenon was just a precursor for what was about toe, the young man returned his attention to Dawan, seeing yet anotherrge pattern appear in front of the man.


    However, unlike the pattern Daon had conjured through multiple random stances, Dawan conjured his pattern in one move.


    "[Art of the Undying Thunder]."


    Whoosh!


    Before Valyr could even put his defense, Dawan struck forward with his fist, imbuing his Intent Energy into it as he punched towards the pattern.


    "[Final Fist of the True Fulgurite]."


    At the very instant the fist and the pattern made contact, arge golden fist appeared in front of the young man''s vision as it headed towards him at great speeds.


    Understanding that even whittling down the attack wouldn''t work this time around, Valyr turned tail and activated almost all of his movement skills to exhaust the attack''s momentum.


    Yet, as if Dawan had infused all of his energy into the attack, only a small fraction of its force had dissipated after the young man had expanded the distance between him and the twins to over a dozen kilometers.


    Though he knew that the attack would dispel at some point, the young man ultimately knew that he would be the one running out first.


    With that, he popped another mana potion into his mouth before conjuring his usual set of defensive skills.


    "[Refined Defense Aura]!"


    "[Refined Mana Barrier]!''


    "[Refined Bulwark of Life]!"


    "[Refined Mana Shield]!"


    Whoosh!


    Deciding not to hold back, Valyr empowered his stats to their very limits in hopes of bolstering his defenses.


    With that, he activated both [Primeval Immtion] and [Descent of the True Wyvern], causing the aura he emanated to exceed Dawan''s for a bit as he transformed into a being that looked like the origin of mes.


    But just as he was about to utilize his spear toy down his finalyer of defense¡­


    The Shard of Defiance in his mind began to move.

 Chapter 776 Four Pillars: Upheaval

    Chapter 776 Four Pirs: Upheaval


    ??Rumble¡­


    At the very moment the Shard of Defiance began to make a move, Valyr felt as if his own perception of time had ground down to a halt.


    Whether it was his spear mid-swing, his body pushing all of his strength, mana, and Shadow Energy towards the spear, or the surprised looks on the twins'' faces¡­


    All of them were frozen at the moment, with only one thing continuing to move.


    Whir¡­


    Rotating on its own axis, the Shard of Defiance gradually began to emanate an ancient aura, filling the entirety of Valyr''s mind with the vision of a deste and war-torn battlefield.


    Sensing the great amounts of conflict and bloodlust that allowed this current sight in his mind to arise, Valyr briefly wondered whether he would be forced to stay in such a sight for a long time with how time was frozen.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the vision in his mind to change, going through a myriad number of scenarios within seconds that quickly expanded Valyr''s horizons.


    However, if there was one thing across the scenarios that remained the same, it was the fact that the ancient aura the Shard of Defiance emanated continued to linger after every change, slowly growing in intensity as the young man passed through more and more scenarios.


    Eventually, the vision in his mind stopped changing,nding on one specific scenario that allowed Valyr to feel the ancient aura of the Shard of Defiance at its greatest.


    Compared to the deste battlefield that had greeted him at the start, Valyr was instead greeted by the sight of a vast expanse of space, with only the light from the stars faintly illuminating what was basically pitch-ck darkness.


    However, amidst the dark backdrop, a giant tower could be found at the center of the vision as the entire structure was lit up through unknown means.


    At first, Valyr began to wonder why the visions stopped at this tower.


    Though, as he willed his mind to move closer to the tower like in the other visions he had gone through earlier, he felt the ancient aura of the Shard of Defiance get stronger the closer he got.


    With that, hesitation filled the young man''s mind for a bit before eventually deciding to move even closer to the tower.


    By the time he was only a few tens of meters away from the tower, he soon noticed that there was actually a small entrance at the base of the tower, its height only a few meterspared to the kilometers that the tower seemed to upy.


    In fact, that small entrance opened on its own once Valyr was only ten or so meters from it.


    Whoosh!


    With Valyr not even knowing what was going on at this point, the ancient aura from the tower was released in one go through the opened entrance, all of them making its way to the young man.


    In an instant, Valyr felt as if all of the cells making up his body had returned to their peak condition, sensing that all of the fatigue he had built up throughout the Trial of Nine Stars so far had disappeared in one go.


    Not only that, but he felt as if his entire body had entered an ethereal state that allowed him to make even greater use of his current strength.


    Feeling his perception of time gradually return to normal as he noticed his spear starting to move again, the young man went through a myriad of thoughts in his mind as he thought about what he was going to do next.


    In his current state, he had no doubts that he would be able to defend against Dawan''s attack with great ease. He even felt like he would even cause a slight bacsh to the man if he were to move ordingly to his thoughts.


    Though, with how much energy and strength he would have left untapped in his current state, Valyr felt that it was a bit wasteful if he were to let it dissipate after his sessful defense.


    And thus, Valyr had changed his mind.


    He was going to retaliate the very moment he dispelled Dawan''s attack, using all three remaining attacks he had to try and make the pair of twins admit defeat.


    After all, once he was out his current state, he knew that he would enter a state that would make it more than impossible for him to even defend against a tenth of the strength behind Daon''s attacks.


    With that, Valyr was determined to see the n he had juste up with to the very end, continuing the swing from before as spear tip soon met ground.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]!"


    "[Dark Arcane Mirror]!"


    Fwoosh!


    With [Primeval Immtion] activated, the dark barrier that would usually appear in response to the skill was now tinged with mes, all of them making the barrier feel as if it had be a physical wall.


    Then again, with how he had all of his empowerment skills activated, as well as how he was currently in an ethereal state awakened by the Shard of Defiance, the barrier truly felt as if it could defend any attack thrown its way.


    And it would soon prove itself as Dawan''s attack had finally collided with the barrier.


    Bang!


    Surprisingly, the dark barrier was able to hold on against Dawan''s attack, slightly caving in due to the massive amounts of force contained within the attack.


    Though, after a portion of that force had been dispelled, the barrier found no issues taking the entirety of the attack head on as it remained standing in ce.


    Soon, a dark version of the fist was conjured by the barrier, prompting both Dawan and Daon to look in shock as they conjured their own barriers to defend against the counterattack.


    However, just as they had felt like they had put up what they considered was an adequate defense against the reflected fist, Valyr had finally proceeded onto the next step of his n.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    With him currently being in an ethereal state, Valyr felt as if he could spend as much mana and Shadow Energy he wanted without having to worry about his reserves.


    With that, he used that to his advantage, stealthily making his way closer towards the twins while they were preupied by conjuring their defenses against the fist [Dark Arcane Mirror] reflected back.


    Then, just as the two were confident that they would be able to get out of their current situation somewhat unscathed, it was only then did the young man make his move, hearing an ancient voice from his mind as he swung his spear without hesitation.


    ''Break the chains.''


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    Whoosh!


    With the twins feeling a sense of dangering from the side, Dawan and Daon looked on in fear as they watched Valyr swing his spear upward, conjuring a wave that was far darker than the barrier he had conjured earlier.


    However, unlike the normal [Arcane Tide of the Dark Night], the current wave more resembled like a de made out of pure darkness as it swiftly moved through the air.


    In response to the sudden attack, both Dawan and Daon bolstered their defenses by conjuring yet another barrier around them as they infused both with their Intent Energies.


    Yet, even with that¡­


    Bang!


    The condensed wave of dark energy had no issues cutting through their barriers like butter, causing the twins'' defenses to destabilize as they were left wide open to receive the reflected fist.


    Naturally, both Dawan and Daon moved away from where the reflected fist wouldnd, which caused a loud explosion to ur as the fist kicked up a great amount of the ground into the air.


    Seeing that they had avoided what seemed to be two incredibly deadly attacks in conjunction, the pair of twins looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief.


    However, just as they thought that they would be able tond yet another hit, a feeling of looming danger appeared behind Daon, only to see a calm Valyr staring back at him with his arquebus ready to fire.


    "[Mana Overdrive]."


    "[Grand Burst]."


    Bang!


    Though a loud explosion apanied the shot as Valyr pulled on the trigger, the bullet now looked more like the beam of aser thanks to the effects of [Primeval Immtion].


    With it approaching breakneck speeds due to the young man''s currently high stats, the shot eventuallynded true on Daon, even though he had tried his best to avoid the attack at the veryst minute.


    "Agh!"


    Even though the attack did notnd on any of Daon''s vital areas, itnded around his right shoulder, bringing him a great amount of pain as he clutched the wounded area whilst kneeling on the ground.


    Watching his twin sumb to such a ferocious attack, Dawan shifted his sights towards Valyr as he looked at the young man with tangible fear in his eyes.


    Seeing that Valyr remained calm after shooting Daon and was nning to aim his weapon towards him, it was as if the final barrier of confidence in Dawan''s mind had been broken down, kneeling on the ground as he began to plead for mercy.


    "Stop! Stop! Stop!"


    "We admit defeat!"

 Chapter 777 Four Pillars: Catharsis

    Chapter 777 Four Pirs: Catharsis


    ??At the very moment Valyr heard those words from Dawan, it was as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders.


    Without hesitation, the young man returned his arquebus back into his spatial bracelet as he allowed his imposing aura to billow out for a bit longer.


    Not long after, almost all of the empowerment skills in his arsenal had dispelled themselves, returning his aura back to normal.


    Though, rather than stay here, it continued growing weaker thanks to the downsides of using [Descent of the True Wyvern].


    Aside from that, it seemed that utilizing the ethereal state the Shard of Defiance gave him ess to also had its own drawbacks.


    ''I hope it doesn''t take too long for me to recover,'' thought the young man to himself as he sat on the ground with great relief.


    While doing so, he looked at the twins, their expressions still that of slight panic as the two wondered to themselves whether Valyr had lost it or not.


    Seeing that his aura had regressed to a weaker state and that he had no intent on making a move on them anymore, it was only then did Dawan and Daon finally rx, both of them letting wide sighs of relief as Daon began to heal himself from the injury.


    Watching the man gradually heal his injury through the use of his mana and Intent Energy from a fair distance, Valyr began to think about his ethereal state from earlier.


    He already felt like he had reached the current limits of his strength after [Primeval Immtion] and [Descent of the True Wyvern], making him feel like he was close to reaching the boundary that separated his strength from the Myths.


    However, out of nowhere, the Shard of Defiance had allowed him to enter an unworldly state that made him feel like he had gone past that boundary.


    Even though making use of the state seemed to have its own consequences, Valyr was more than eager to make use of the state in his future fights as ast resort.


    After all, during that state, he was able to grievously injure someone in the middle of Rank 6, and scare someone at the peak of Rank 6 out of their wits to the point they admitted defeat.


    ''Then again, I did catch them off guard,'' muttered Valyr to himself, inwardly letting out a wry chuckle as Daon seemed to have healed up from the injury he inflicted.


    ''But seriously though¡­ how the hell did I ess that state in the first ce?'' asked the young man to himself as he scratched the back of his head.


    ''Why did the Shard of Defiance awaken during that moment?''


    As the questions came to mind, Valyr thought back to the very moment the shard in his mind began to awaken.


    Before being thrown into a myriad of visions rting to the ancient aura the Shard of Defiance emitted, the young man recalled that he had thrown caution to the wind, going all out as he activated all of the empowerment skills in his arsenal.


    With that in mind, he wondered whether the condition to enter the ethereal state was to push one''s body to their very limits.


    At the same time, he thought that if it didn''t have anything to do with pushing one''s self to the very limits of what they could withstand, then it probably had to do with the mindset he was in at the time.


    In the end, the young man let out a low sigh, reminding himself that randomly throwing out a dart wouldn''t get him closer to obtaining his answer.


    Then again, if there was one thing he was happy about at the moment¡­


    It was the fact that he had finally finished the Gates of Awakening''s final trial.


    "You really did a number on us," said Daon, slightly wincing as he began to move his right shoulder a bit.


    After getting himself used to the pain, he and Dawan began to move closer towards Valyr, looking at him with a slight knowing smile. "Then again, all of us here know that you cheated."


    At those words, Valyr shed a wry smile at the twins. "Either I die or I go all out to make sure I don''t die. I didn''t really have much of a choice."


    "Well, you could''ve surrendered at any time." Dawan faintly chuckled. "Then again, in a life and death situation like that, we would have definitely done the same thing."


    Hearing Dawan''s words, the young man let out a sigh of relief. "So¡­ that means I won, right?"


    "It would be crummy of us if we were to renege on our earlier words, even if we said it during the heat of the moment," replied Dawan as he slightly nodded.


    "So, yes. You''ve cleared the Trial of Nine Stars."


    With Dawan''s words confirming it, Valyr felt as if all of the hardships he had gone through during the Trial of Nine Stars had be more than worth it.


    It was to the point he began to jump for joy after the man''s announcement, forgetting the fact that the debuff [Descent of the True Wyvern] had inflicted on him was still active.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop the young man from grinning ear to ear, prompting the twins to look at each other with smiles on their faces as they allowed the young man to bask in the glory.


    ¡­


    After the three had gotten enough rest from their final skirmish, the three of them took the time to update one another on what was going on in Veldanyr, just like the young man had promised before their fight even began.


    At the end of the young man''s exnation, Dawan and Daon looked at each other with solemn expressions on their faces before shifting their attentions back to Valyr with a defeated sigh.


    "I wish we could help out," said Daon. "However, we''re currently on a far away from Veldanyr."


    "By the time we return to the, the war between the orcs and the humans might have been long over," added Dawan.


    "Even if that''s the case, the sentiment is still appreciated." Valyr looked at them with aforting smile, even though he would have truly preferred people like the twins to appear on the humans'' side during the war.


    "In any case, how did the two of you go off?" Deciding not to talk about the war outside any further, the young man shifted the topic towards something he had be incredibly curious about after N''s appearance.


    Though he did not express interest towards this topic back when N was his opponent, seeing that the two before him were also currently off, the interest to know had been reignited.


    "Did you guys get your hands on a spaceship?" asked Valyr.


    "Not at all." Daon shook his head as he looked at the young man with a slightly amused smile. "If we did, then Veldanyr wouldn''t still be stuck with medieval technology, no?"


    "Then how¡­?" At this point, the young man only knew one other reason why the two had gone off.


    Now, the only thing was whether or not his thoughts lined up with what the twins had to say.


    "Well¡­" Dawan looked at the young man with a wry smile. "To cut a long story short, we were forced to go off."


    Daon nodded in agreement, a wry smile also adorning his face. "Yeah. After the two of us had progressed to a certain level of strength, the itself decided to eject us out of the, telling us that it could not sustain our existence."


    "It was either we sacrifice part of our strength to continue staying on Veldanyr, or we head to others to increase our strengths."


    "As you can see, we chose thetter."


    ''As expected,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Though N could probably get her hands on a spaceship thanks to her profession, as well as the level of technology she had ess to, the same could not be said for Dawan and Daon.


    Hence, the only reason the two of them had gone off, aside from getting their hands on a spaceship, was being naturally kicked out of the itself.


    Depending on the size and energy that the had, the limit differed.


    However, for starters like Veldanyr, the limit was more or less known to the yers.


    Once you had ascended to Rank 8 or higher, you had no choice but to explore the vast expanse of space.


    Talking about a few more topics whilst they rested, Valyr and the twins eventually parted ways after the young man promised them that he would meet up with them once he was off.


    Watching the two disappear into thin air in front of his vision, the young man eventually let out yet another sigh of relief as he recalled the madness he had just gone through.


    Then, not long after, the monotonous voice of the trial grounds resounded once more.


    ''You have defeated the two final opponents of the Trial of Nine Stars. No opponents remain.''


    ''You have sessfully cleared the Trial of Nine Stars.''

 Chapter 778 Four Pillars: Fruits of Labor

    Chapter 778 Four Pirs: Fruits of Labor


    ??"Haah¡­" Hearing the words the monotonous voice uttered out, it was only then did Valyr fully rx, a grin adorning his face as he was now free from all of the hardships.


    After all, it was now due time for him to reap the fruits of hisbor.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (3).]


    [Your authority within the Gates of Awakening has increased by one level. This authority is only essible once the user bes a part of the Gates of Awakening.]


    [Your other rewards shall be announced by the Gates of Awakening themselves, including the ones attributed to your performance throughout the three previous trials.]


    [You have obtained a new quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (4).]


    Hearing the series of notification sounds go off in his mind, Valyr went ahead and opened up his notification screen as he took a brief look at it.


    More than relieved that he had cleared not only the trials the Gates of Awakening threw at him, but also the quests that apanied said trials, the young man started to ponder over what kind of objectives he had toplete for the quest''s continuation.


    "Probably something simr to what I needed to do to enter the Gates of Awakening, but worse," muttered Valyr to him, feeling as if it were the most likely conclusion.


    "After all, I may have gone through the Gates of Enlightenment and the Gates of Awakening already, but there''s still the Gates of Transcendence."


    Refreshing his memory of what rewards he would obtain frompleting his current quest once more, Valyr soon shifted his attention towards the monotonous voice yet again, ignoring most of the usual spiel it spouted regarding how he stood at the pinnacle of strength.


    It was only when the voice started discussing the rewards he had gained did he finally pay attention to it in full detail, hoping not to miss even a single word the monotonous voice uttered.


    ''By passing the third and final bottleneck, you have proven yourself to be at the pinnacle of strength and ability. Your standing in the Gates of Awakening is unmatched, being one of the rare few to clear all of its trials.''


    ''Because of that, the Gates of Awakening would like to more than reward you for your hardships thus far, hoping that you have set your goals towards a far loftier horizon as these rewards will undoubtedly bring a massive boon to your future endeavors.''


    At those words, the young man rubbed his hands together in expectation, hoping that the rewards he would obtain from clearing the third bottleneck would not disappoint.


    ''Though there has been slight debate on what your first reward should be, the Gates of Awakening eventually decided that it would not upgrade any of your core skills, considering the amount of time it takes to fully master a skill.''


    ''Instead, the Gates of Awakening would reward you with an opportunity to increase your mastery over your core skills at a far greater rate, which you would only be able to ess once you enter where the Gates of Awakening truly lies.''


    For a brief moment, the young man felt a bit of disappointment as the thought of having an Epic gradebat skill was undoubtedly alluring.


    Nevertheless, there was truth to the voice''s words.


    Though many of his skills were already at Umon and Rare grade, allowing Valyr to wield an insane level ofbat power, it was more apt to say that the young man was only confident in wielding a handful of skills that truly yielded that much power.


    After all, he had only spent a few months as Valyr Zeihardt so far, not even having enough opportunities to take the time to refine his skills. If anything, most of his currentbat prowess hade from the experience he had rued in the past.


    But now with the opportunity that the Gates of Awakening had surprisingly given him, he would now be able to shore up some of these weaknesses, allowing him to make use of more of his skills to their fullest potential.


    ''It would be nice if this ce could also allow me to upgrade all of my skills to the peak of Rare grade,'' thought Valyr to himself, eventually pushing his thoughts as the monotonous voice continued to speak.


    ''As for your second reward, you have shown to the Gates of Awakening thus far that your skills in forging more or less stand at the same level of prowesspared to yourbat. Perhaps even greater.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening would like to reward you with the quintessence of knowledge regarding the technologies and innovations that have been birthed in the age that was considered the turning point of technology.''


    Understanding what he was going to obtain after hearing the same statement from the monotonous voice multiple times already, the young man watched as a cloud of silver energy manifested before him.


    Whoosh!


    Without any dy, the silver strands making up the cloud all headed towards Valyr''s head, filling his mind to the brim with information regarding technologies that innovated upon all of the knowledge he had gained thus far.


    Ding!


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the Renaissance Age on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch has been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    Giving his mind some time to organize and process all of the information he had just received, a faint smile adorned the young man''s face as he let out a slight chuckle.


    ''Guess I now have all I need to take my firearms even further,'' thought the young man to himself. ''But for now, I''ll save it for ater time.''


    It was only a few minutes after Valyr had thoroughly understood all of the information he received did the voice echo throughout the barren grounds once more, informing the young man of his third reward.


    However, unlike the reward he had gained during the second bottleneck where all of his hidden stats were boosted, the reward Valyr obtained this time was something he had never even expected to obtain in the first ce.


    ''For your third reward, the Gates of Awakening would like to preface that they have noticed that you haveid im on a shard that would allow you to ess an inordinate amount of power.''


    ''Though you have yet to fulfill the requirements necessary to make full use of the shard, you have undoubtedly tapped into a small part of it during your final battle.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening have made the decision to reward you with another Shard of Defiance in the hopes that you would make greater use of its effects, unlike many of those that came before you.''

 Chapter 779 Four Pillars: The Second Shard

    Chapter 779 Four Pirs: The Second Shard


    ??Whoosh!


    Just as the monotonous voice was finished talking, a small jet-ck shard appeared a fair distance away from the young man, emanating an aura that he had be more than acquainted with thanks to a certain incident.


    Taking some time to recover from the shock he felt, Valyr soon moved closer to the shard floating in the air, being reminded once more how the shard looked like a random piece of ss.


    Then again, recalling how that piece of ss had allowed him to tap into an unworldly level of power, the young man took in a deep breath as he calmed himself down.


    ''What would happen if I were to absorb another shard?'' Using [Superior Analysis] to ascertain that the shard before him was indeed another Shard of Defiance, Valyr began to wonder whether there were any downsides to having two shards instead of one.


    After all, one shard had already allowed him to enter an ethereal state, only for him to be more than exhausted once it had run out.


    There was no doubt in his mind that two would undoubtedly make that state stronger should he ever enter it again. But at the same time, it make him wonder¡­


    Rather than being exhausted, would it now leave him severely injured?


    In the end, the young man dispelled all of the negative thoughts in his mind as he let out a sigh.


    Staring at the dark shard once more, he reminded himself that the Gates of Awakening wouldn''t give a reward that was detrimental to him, considering how all of his rewards so far had only given him great benefits.


    With that, he steeled his mind as he sent out a couple of mana tendrils towards the floating shard.


    Seeing that the tendrils were tightly wrapped around the shard, the young man prepared himself for what was toe as he recalled all of the mana tendrils back to him.


    Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, the shard moved simr to how the first shard did, barreling towards Valyr at breakneck speeds as it headed directly for his forehead.


    "Ngh!"


    Utilizing its sharp edges, the second shard begun to embed itself deeper into its forehead, causing waves of pain to radiate throughout the young man''s body.


    However, rather than fall unconscious from the pain, Valyr forced himself to stay awake, instantly feeling a wave of relief once the second shard had gone to the other side.


    Wondering where it had gone, he then focused his vision inward, only to see that the second shard was heading to where the first Shard of Defiance was.


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment the two shards met, the two began to rotate around one another as they began to emanate a unique energy.


    Feeling a hint of the ancient aura from this unique energy, Valyr watched as the two shards slowly moved closer to one another, eventually fusing into arger shard that briefly infused his entire body with that ancient aura.


    Savoring the feeling in the hopes of finding clues to return to that ethereal state he once entered, the young man wryly smiled after seeing that he had made no headway whatsoever.


    Inwardly letting out a faint sigh, he soon focused his attention towards the nowrger Shard of Defiance, activating [Superior Analysis] to see if anything about it had changed.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shard of Defiance] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    The seed of chaos.


    The sign of rebellion.


    The wishes of a being aiming for greater change, crystallized for eternity.


    Many of its kind exist throughout the. However, only a few could fuse them together and not sumb to its whispers.


    Needs the user to haveprehended a 1st Grade Intent. Needs the user to have reached Rank 5.


    Using this item increases the user''s Authority stat by 1 point.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh." Returning his attention outward, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he read through the item''s description.


    Though the description stayed more or less the same, there were still a few things about it that had changed.


    For one, the requirements needed to make use of the shard had been significantly lowered. What previously required a Legend to activate now only needed a Rank 5 Epic with an incredibly strong Intent.


    Which definitely more than doable with Valyr''s umted experience.


    Aside from that, a few additional lines had been added, informing the young man that more Shards of Defiance existed somewhere.


    Seeing that an additional shard drastically reduced the requirement needed to make use of it, Valyr had more than made up his mind to find more of the shards if possible.


    However, there was another line added to the description that had piqued his interest, reminding him of the short phrase he had heard whilst he was in that ethereal state.


    "Break the chains," Valyr muttered, to which the shard responded by rattling about for a bit.


    Slightly panicking after sensing that the fused shard was releasing its ancient aura once more, the young man sighed out in relief after the shard returned to normal.


    It was also around that time that the monotonous voice continued with its monologue, informing Valyr that he had more rewards he had yet to go through.


    ''For your fourth reward, the Gates of Awakening have decided to awaken more of the potential you''ve already realized, finally allowing them to take on a tangible form.''


    At that, a cloud of golden and iridescent energy appeared in front of the young man out of nowhere.


    Whoosh!


    Without any warning, the energies making up the cloud went through all of Valyr''s orifices, instilling him with the feeling of greater strength.


    At the same time, he felt his mind grow even clearer, making him wonder for a bit whether he still had [Zen] activated.


    Though, after looking through the series of notifications he had just received, he found out that it was not the case.


    Instead, it was something better.


    Ding!


    [You have gained 10 points of Might.]


    [You have gained 10 points of Tranquility.]


    [You have gained 10 points of Vigor.]


    [You have gained 10 points of Mana Purity.]


    ¡­


    [By umting over 25 points of Might, you have obtained the active skill ''True Rage''.]


    [By umting over 25 points of Tranquility, you have obtained the passive skill ''Zen''.]


    [Due to the user already having the skill ''Zen'', the two skills have fused together, allowing the original skill to evolve to Epic+ grade.]


    [The skill ''Zen'' has evolved to ''Zen: First Lotus Step'' due to the change in grade.]

 Chapter 780 Four Pillars: First Lotus

    Chapter 780 Four Pirs: First Lotus


    ??"Now that''s a more than wee surprise." Looking through his notification screen once more, Valyr let out a chuckle after seeing that the Gates of Awakening had increased his hidden stats yet again.


    Though he would have understood if the Gates of Awakening decided to skip over such a reward due to how he had already obtained something of greater value, there was still a small part inside the young man that wanted to get it.


    After all, he was pretty close to unlocking the skill that came along with having a high enough Might.


    And all he needed to reach was 25 points in that stat.


    Fortunately, the Gates of Awakening did not skimp out on their reward, allowing his Might stat to hit the exact number necessary to unlock [True Rage].


    At the same time, his Vigor, Mana Purity, and Tranquility had also gone past 20 points, stopping just two points above Might.


    "Now I see why those who have a high Tranquility stat all seem to enter a higher state of rity." Reading through his notifications rted to the stat, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face.


    "Who knew reaching 25 points in Tranquility would actually allow one to attain [Zen]?"


    As these words left his mouth, the young man recalled how he hade across the ethereal state of mind whilst he was viewing Sven''s memory regarding cksmithing.


    Then, he was eventually plunged into that same state whilst he was in a forging duel against Arcaelus, allowing him to smoothly and sessfully upgrade his arquebus to the next rarity.


    Remembering that his mental state had ascended twice during that fight, Valyr wondered whether reaching 25 points in Tranquility would push someone instantly to [Zen]. After all, before [Zen], there was [Greater Flow].


    In the end, he decided to push those thoughts aside, only to bring up the descriptions of both newly obtained skills before him not long after.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [True Rage] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Rare


    Emotion could be considered a limiter to one''s abilities, with one''s mood affecting how one would perform in their day to day tasks.


    Inbat, the emotion that is usually associated with greater power is anger, considering how it allows one to showcase their strength to their utmost limits. Some have even created skills revolving around it for that very purpose, heightening one''s prowess in battle.


    However, these skills alle with a caveat, which is that one would sacrifice their mental rity for power.


    But if one were to tap into the power anger holds while still maintaining great mental rity, one would undoubtedly stand above the rest, utilizing the power of emotions to the fullest while still having a rational mind.


    Though there have been few who were sessful in achieving such a feat, forging their own unique paths with it, mainly only those who have untapped a greater part of theirtent potential have the ability to make it a reality.


    To tap into the power of true, unbridled rage.


    This skill allows the user to increase their STR, AGI, and DEX stat by 10%, as well as their Attack and Defense stat by 10% for 5 minutes. Once the duration is over, the user shall feel exhausted for 1 minute.


    Cost: 5,000 MP


    Cooldown: 15 minutes


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Pretty much what I expected to see from the skill," Valyr said as he nodded in satisfaction.


    Compared to something like [Descent of the True Wyvern], [True Rage] did not really increase his stats by that much.


    However, it more than made up for it through its minuscule downsides, as well as its low cost and cooldown.


    But of course, with how there was potential for Valyr''s Might to grow even furtherter down the line, there was no doubt that there would eventuallye a day where [True Rage] would stand on the same level as [Descent of the TrueWyvern].


    And perhaps, a higher level of strength would be seen if he were to use both of them at once.


    "Let''s take a look at what changes the upgrade to [Zen] brought." Alreadying up with ways where he could utilize [True Rage] inbat, the young man soon shifted his attention towards the other screen, raising his eyebrows in curiosity as he read through it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Zen: First Lotus Step]


    Rarity: Epic+


    The state of concentration can be achieved through many forms, with most of them beyond the user''s control.


    Most states in those forms are undoubtedly potent, but are a far cry from the true state of concentration attained if one were to activate it at will.


    Once one does that, they would have undoubtedly achieved the level of Zen, a level of mental rity that would allow one to achieve even feats considered to be nigh impossible.


    Having immersed one''s self in the state of Zen for a long time, the doors to the higher realms of mental rity have finally opened.


    Though you may have only taken the first step in what could be considered a long endeavor, this first step already puts you leagues ahead even among those who have achieved the state of Zen.


    By taking this first step, you have partly returned your mind to its original state, unshackling it from one of the many realms of suffering the mind experiences.


    More realms of suffering exist for you to unshackle, but they shall appear before you in due time.


    While in the state of Zen: First Lotus Step, the effectiveness of one''s stats increases by 35%, allowing feats normally impossible for the user to be more than possible.


    While in the state of Zen: First Lotus Step, the user''s mental state is fully focused towards the task at hand, even borrowing the power of nature to make sure that the task would bepleted with nonpareil quality and unreal efficiency.


    This state can be toggled on and off at will.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hmm." Slightly frowning as he tried to understand the skill''s esoteric description, Valyr eventually nodded after feeling like he had gotten a rough understanding of the difference between the current skill and its old version.


    "I''ll have to test it out sometimeter to really ascertain its effects," said the young man to himself as he closed both screens.


    "But for now¡­"


    "Let''s move onto the remaining rewards."

 Chapter 781 Four Pillars: The Update

    Chapter 781 Four Pirs: The Update


    ??After the monotonous voice had gone through all of the rewards that seemed to have been tailored for Valyr, it then moved onto the quest rewards, some of them the young man was more than eager to use.


    Naturally, with him being a cksmith, the voice told Valyr that he now had ess to the True cksmith Archive, the Gates of Awakening''s version of the cksmith Knowledge Repository.


    Of course, having cleared the entire nine trials the Gates of Awakening threw at him, he could peruse through all of the knowledge the Gates of Awakening had avable.


    Including a secret floor that was only essible to a special few.


    ''Huh. I guess my earlier notion of some buildings having secret areas was actually true,'' thought Valyr to himself as he heard these words from the voice.


    Being reminded how the thought came about whilst he was inside the cksmith Knowledge Repository, the young man found it slightly amusing that the more powerful organization among the two would have something like that in one of its main buildings.


    ''Then again, it kind of makes sense. Plus, there was that room in the Enlightenment Material Cache,'' muttered Valyr to himself, wryly smiling as he took a quick peek at the nowrger Shard of Defiance lingering in his mind.


    After that, the monotonous voice moved onto the next reward, mentioning the name of a building that piqued the young man''s interest.


    ''The Hall of Legends and Myths, eh?''


    Listening attentively to the voice''s words, Valyr soon found out that the Hall of Legends and Myths was a treasure trove of sorts that held the equipment of members from the organization that had surpassed those levels of strength in the past.


    Wanting to stick with the ideology of continuing the prosperity of humanity, these members decided to leave their equipment for the future generation, hoping that a descendant of humanity that somewhat fit their path would eventuallye along.


    As he heard that part of the exnation, Valyr briefly thought that the Hall of Legends and Myths acted more like a hub for one to inherit another person''s path instead of a treasure trove¡­ which the voice eventually confirmed through its wordster on.


    ording to its voice''s rification, the Hall of Legends and Myths was part treasure trove and part inheritance, though it leaned more heavily on the inheritance portion thanks to the goal of the Triad Gates.


    Nevertheless, the way it worked was simple.


    Once a person entered the Hall of Legends and Myths, one or a few weapons would resonate with that person''s path, allowing them to choose whether to inherit their path or not.


    After they had made their decision, they would then be shown memories of the person who once wielded the weapon they''ve chosen.


    Whether it''s to inspire one towards new avenues on their path or to realign one''s path to the one they saw in the memory, the voice mentioned that it all had to do with the person''s potential rather than the memory''s intent on which ends up happening.


    ''I wonder if the First Forger has a weapon in there?'' Valyr asked himself, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief after hearing that the voice was finally done with its exnation.


    ''With how he''s one of the first few people to stand up for themselves and usher the Age of Uprising, the chances of that are probably low.'' The young man scratched the back his head for a bit.


    ''It''ll be more likely for me to find it in the Gates of Transcendence.''


    With the voice done talking about the two building-rted rewards, it finally moved onto the reward that was Valyr''s reason for clearing the entire nine trials in the first ce.


    ''For yourst reward, since you have essed part of the First Forger''s memories whilst in the Gates of Enlightenment, the Gates of Awakening have made the decision to allow you to continue viewing their memories.''


    ''However, unlike the offer given during the second bottleneck, the Gates of Awakening have given you permission to view a full set of the First Forger''s memories, allowing you to glean upon and learn from more of the actions of the First Forger in the past.''


    Ding!


    In response to the voice''s words, a notification sound resounded in the young man''s mind, prompting an expectant smile to creep up onto his face as he brought up his notification screen.


    [You have gained the opportunity to ess the First Forger''s memories. Would you like to ess them?]


    While the voice was talking about how he was now an official member of the Gates of Awakening and how he could ess the First Forger''s memories at any time, Valyr ignored all of that.


    Instead, he focused all of his attention towards the notification, only for his consciousness to be sent into another space after confirming the prompt without hesitation.


    ¡­


    ''Ngh¡­'' With his surroundings briefly turning dark thanks to his hasty action, it took a while for the young man to limate to his newfound situation, noticing that he had appeared in what looked to be a giant hall.


    Seeing that his current perspective of the situation was from afar once more, the young man soon focused his attention downwards, noticing that quite a lot of people were seated around arge round table made out of roughly cut stone.


    Looking through the people down below as he recalled his earlier memories involving the First Forger, Valyr eventually found the man seated at what seemed to be the focal point of the round table, staring at everyone with a neutral expression as he listened onto their conversations.


    "Huh. For some reason, he looks more familiar than before." While listening in to the animated conversations the others were having below, Valyr briefly nced at the man of the hour, only to feel like he had seen him somewhere before.


    Finding it somewhat weird that he began to see the man that way, the young man scratched the back of his head, wondering if it had something to do with the memories he had seen before.


    In the end, he decided to put the thought on hold for now, seeing that the man was about to speak.


    "Alright." ring the entirety of his aura throughout the round table, the man prompted everyone to look at him as all of them became silent. "Let us move onto the main topic of our meeting for today."


    "Uh¡­ pardon me, leader." Scratching his cheeks, a sheepish young man sitting on the opposite side of the round table looked at him with a confused expression. "I was just included in the meeting today. What main topic are you talking about, specifically?"


    In response to the question, all the other people looked at the young man with hints of disdain, scorn, arrogance, and other simr expressions.


    As for the man of the hour, he remained silent, looking at the young man directly in the eyes.


    "It''s a topic that involves the survival of our race itself," replied the man in a stern tone.


    "We shall be talking about the uing system update."

 Chapter 782 Four Pillars: Cleanup

    Chapter 782 Four Pirs: Cleanup


    ??"Wait¡­ what?"


    While listening in to the conversation between the First Forger and the many others in the round table, Valyr had obtained a bit more information from the memory itself regarding where he was at, as well as what time he was currently in.


    Working off the previous memory he had seen from the First Forger, the memory informed him that the current memory was at least a decade into the future, prompting it to summarize everything that had transpired within that ten year gap.


    Unsurprisingly, with humans now having the system in their hands, they were able to reim more and more of the for themselves, carving out a territory that they could call home.


    At the same time, the system allowed humans to obtain terrifying levels of strength, with some of them gaining notoriety for bing as strong as the ones that used to lord over them.


    Though, with the humans basically still at war with every other race on the, these strong humans dedicated themselves towards the battlefield, not wanting a repeat of the past to happen.


    With that, the humans were able to expand from a few scattered settlements to an organized town, which was actually the settlement Valyr had seen in the end of the previous memory.


    After that, the humans continued to expand even further, with some towns beginning to be surrounded by other viges, causing rudimentary cities to form.


    By the time a decade had passed, the human race had many cities under their name, as well as thousands upon thousands of towns and viges.


    Among them, one city stood out for being the strongest in terms of defense andbat power, as well as the best to live in thanks to their focus on technological development.


    Naturally, that city was none other than the city the First Forger governed.


    With the memory sharing that information with the young man, Valyr was able to listen to the conversation down below with greater context, realizing that he was currently in what seemed to be a rudimentary city hall.


    "A system update?" muttered the young man to himself in slight disbelief, still surprised by the fact that the First Forger would mention something like that out of nowhere.


    Hearing it reminded the young man of what had happened during the previous memory, where the First Forger was counting down towards the time when the system he and many others used woulde to awaken.


    Seeing that the First Forger had done something like that again, and this time in front of many people, he began to feel like the ims of it being told to him by a higher being beforehand were now more than dubious.


    After all, having it happen one time could be considered a fluke. Many say that having it happen twice could be considered a coincidence.


    But with the calm and confidence that the man exuded while talking with the others, Valyr was more than certain that what the First Forger was doing was anything but a mere coincidence.


    ''Was the First Forger perhaps someone like me?'' The young man begun to ask himself at some point, the confidence the man was exuding reminding him of the confidence he held thanks to his experience from his past life.


    After all, with him knowing what updates and events would ur many years into the future, he would be able to set out a defined path for him that would undoubtedly allow him to achieve his goals.


    With that, the thought began to fester, feeling like there was something more to the First Forger than the memory led him to believe.


    In the end, he decided to shelf the thought for now, reminding himself that he could only arrive at such a conclusion thanks to his unique experiences.


    At the moment the young man returned his attention to the conversation happening down below, it went without saying that all of the people in the round table aside from the First Forger were left at a loss for words.


    Some of them looked at the man with disbelief, while some of them looked at him with frowns on their faces, thinking that the man was pulling a joke of some sort.


    "This is no time to be joking around, leader," said a gruff man to the First Forger''s side in a low tone. "You know that uttering something like that out of the blue would undoubtedly cause the people''s belief in us to plummet."


    The man nodded in response. "I know."


    "However, if I were to let you choose between keeping our image and saving more people, which one would you pick?"


    At those words, the gruff man went silent as he stared at the man for a bit.


    Eventually, the gruff man let out a sigh as he slowly shook his head, prompting others in the round table to start asking the First Forger for more information.


    "Do we have an idea on when it''s happening?" asked a woman on the opposite side of the round table.


    "Within this day," the First Forger sinctly replied, his expression still calm. "It could either happen a few minutes from now or a few hours from now. In any case, we''ll easily be able to notice it."


    "What''s going to happen exactly? Is the update a good thing or a bad thing?" asked the young man from earlier after that, taking quitea while to muster up the courage.


    In response, the man shook his head. "I don''t know. All I know is that every human would have their levels reset back to the beginning."


    Unsurprisingly, the people in the round table began to cause a ruckus once more, with most of them asking the man if he was just pulling an borate joke on them.


    Fortunately, there were those who were genuinely worried, asking the First Forger if he could give any insights on what they needed to do to survive the new update.


    In response, he told these people that they should focus on what they specialized in as much as possible, telling them that the system would aid them if they were to do so.


    Hearing the man''s advice, those few profusely thanked him before leaving the hall, eliciting a faint smile to appear on the man''s face as he watched them leave.


    Though, not long after, his expression returned to what it was before, seeing that many of the people on the round table continued to berate him in anger.


    Ding!


    However, as if the heavens above had taken pity on the First Forger, a notification sound resounded in everyone''s mind at that moment, prompting them to look at their notification screens in slight fear.


    Reading through the notification they just received with panic in their eyes, all of the remaining people in the round table began to look at the First Forger for help, their eyes pleading as they felt themselves returning to their original strengths.


    In response, the man looked back at them with a faint sigh before shrugging his shoulders.


    "I did warn you."


    "But you''re the ones that didn''t listen."


    "¡­"


    "In any case¡­"


    "I guess it''s time for a long-needed cleanup."

 Chapter 783 Four Pillars: A Bloody Path

    Chapter 783 Four Pirs: A Bloody Path


    ??Hearing that the First Forger mentioned something about cleanup, Valyr thought that the man was going to take the current opportunity to reorganize the hierarchy of power under the current context.


    With how much he had learned about the First Forger from the previous memory, the young man expected the entire thing to go smoothly, utilizing the reputation he had built up through the years to do such a thing.


    Well, the cleanup definitely went smoothly, alright.


    But not in the way Valyr initially thought it to go.


    "Agh!"


    "No!"


    "Graahh!!!"


    Without hesitation, the First Forger red out his killing intent as he began to strike against those in the city hall that remained after his warning and advice.


    Seeing that the head of their city began tosh out at them, some of the people began to back away in fear, not wanting to get embroiled in the fight that would ensue.


    However, most of the people looked at the man with a sneer, wondering what kind of confidence the First Forger had to fight against them when all of their strengths had been reset.


    It was also at that moment that everyone in the hall understood what the First Forger meant by cleanup, deciding to fight back against the man utilizing their advantage in numbers if they didn''t want to be forcefully evicted from their positions.


    At first, the opposition held the advantage, pushing back the First Forger towards a corner that allowed many of them to strike at him.


    "That''s not gonna work." Watching the fight reach this part, the young man shook his head in pity, recalling what the First Forger had gone through before the system had awakened for all humans.


    "Is that really all you''ve got?"


    While many of the people in the hall put all of their strength into hitting the man in his vital spots, the First Forger looked at those surrounding him with nonchnce, taking all of the hits they delivered to his body with immense indifference.


    Understanding that he would just turn into an eternal punching bag if he did not make a move, the First Forger eventually fought back, unleashing a surprisingly high level of strength as he began to do the same to those that struck at him.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    However, unlike the ineffective strikes the majority sent towards him, each of the First Forger''s strikes contained a level of ferocity and momentum that eclipsed the strengths of the peoplebined.


    With a single punch, a person would be severely injured, coughing up blood as they were sent flying to the walls.


    Of course, seeing that the First Forger looked to have retained a bit of strength even after the system update, some of the people that fought against him began to think twice as to whether they should fight him or not.


    At this point, those that realized what was happening early on had already left the hall, leaving only those that let their emotions get the better of them to apany the First Forger.


    With that, even though a few had realized that they were fighting a losing battle, they were left with no choice but to continue retaliating against the First Forger''s strikes.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Like an asura in the battlefield, the First Forger continued sending punch after punch towards those that barred his path, his gaze filled with overflowing bloodlust and killing intent.


    Watching this moment from afar, Valyr felt like he had now seen a new side of the First Forger thanks to the memory.


    After all, with what he found out from the previous memory and the beginning of the current memory, the young man thought that the man seemed like he would prefer approaching things through logical and rational measures.


    Thus, when he found out that there was a wild and brash side to the man that was called the First Forger, a faint smile gradually crept up the edge of the young man''s lips as the man showed him dominance over the many people that tried to fight back against him.


    By the time half an hour had passed, what was once an opposition of over 50 people had all fallen to the ground, their faces and bodies receiving various degrees of injury.


    Though, if there was one thing that was simr amongst all these people, it was the fact that great amounts of blood flowed from their bodies, coating the floor of the city a dark and eye-catching crimson.


    In the middle of it all, the First Forger stood in the center, looking at the aftermath of what just happened with a nk yet calm gaze.


    Taking note that his body was coated in the blood of those that just fought against him, he then shook his head with a sigh, shaking off all of the excess blood on his body in the process.


    "You know, you could have given us a heads-up that you were going to do something like this."


    At the same time, the main doors to the hall were opened, revealing a pair of people that Valyr became familiar with thanks to the previous memory.


    Hearing the words uttered by the woman as the door opened, the First Forger looked back at her and gave her a wry smile. "It was either I do it now or do it right in the middle of one of ourrge-scale attacks for territory."


    "In any case, it was better to do it now thanter, considering how many have begun to forget what we''ve gone through in the past."


    At those words, the woman let out a sigh as she shook her head. "I know you''re doing it for the greater good of humanity, and we undoubtedly support your cause. But the people you just killed were quite capable hands when it came to the tasks you gave them."


    "This is going to set us back for quite a while," said the man beside the woman with a sigh. "I really hope this gambit of yours works out in the end."


    "It will." The First Forger looked at them with a reassuring grin. "There''s no doubt that humanity will stand taller than ever after all this chaos passes."


    "Especially when you two are helping me out. Minara. Neure."


    "So, what''s the n?" Wryly smiling in response to the man''s words, Minara moved their conversation to another topic.


    "With the system update, all of the power we''ve umted so far have been reset. There''s no doubt that a great part of the territory we''ve fought to obtain so far will be reimed by our enemies."


    "That''s to be expected." The man nodded, his expression telling the two that there was nothing they could do in that aspect. "But once again, I assure you that we''ll reim that and double that once we return to our original levels of strength."


    "I appreciate the reassurance," said Neure in response, a slight frown on his face. "But you didn''t answer Minara''s question. What''s the n?"


    "It''s pretty simple." The First Forger softly smiled in response.


    "We just have to do what we''ve already done all over again."

 Chapter 784 Four Pillars: Chosen Paths

    Chapter 784 Four Pirs: Chosen Paths


    ??While the three were talking about what they were going to do in detail now that the system update had reset all of their progress, Valyr was upied by the memory once more, giving him more information regarding what had just unfolded.


    ording to the memory, the First Forger had long nned to remove those that rebelled against him after the system update was released, prompting the young man to pay even more attention to what the memory had to say.


    Thankfully, the memory shared all of the information Valyr wanted to know, telling him that it all began once the settlement the First Forger controlled had expanded into an organized town.


    Being one of the first few towns under humanity''s rule that had viges surrounding it, the First Forger decided to enlist the help of some of the first few people he freed, sharing the burdens of maintaining order with them.


    Though some of them surprisingly excelled in that area, it was no surprise that many amongst the people he chose weren''t really great in governance, to which he asked them if they could rmend other people that had skill in the area instead.


    Fortunately, those people did rmend other people that were capable in those area, allowing the First Forger''s burdens to lessen as humanity made more and more progress in expanding their territory.


    At the same time, the territory of the First Forger''s settlement began to expand as well, considering that more and more people began to hear of the feats he had done to help release humanity from their past fates.


    With that, the town eventually became one of the first few cities of humanity at some point, bing the go-to location for many humans as they were told they''d be protected by the First Forger.


    However, with the leader and figurehead of the city having overwhelming levels of strength, some of the newly appointed helpers began to use the First Forger''s name to have things go the way they wanted.


    At first, they would make use of the First Forger''s name when it came to simple tasks rted to government.


    Then, seeing how effective utilizing the First Forger''s name was as a deterrent, more and more people that had taken up position in the government began to use it more, with the tasks they used it on growingrger in scope.


    At some point, these people even began to use the man''s name in their personal tasks.


    Just so things could move a bit faster for them.


    Thankfully, a few of the people in position told the First Forger of such things happening, allowing the man to eventually enact the effective yet bloody n of killing all of them by the time the system update released.


    After all, if he were to let the power and prestige get to their heads, the people would eventually aim for his spot sooner orter.


    And out of all the things the First Forger didn''t want to happen, it was a future where a small portion of humanity would lord over the majority of humanity like in their past fates, treating them as mere expendables.


    Unsurprisingly, among those that informed the First Forger of what was going on, Minara and Neure were part of them.


    Minara, who used to do errands for the First Forger back when they were still managing a small town, had now be a more than capable assistant to the man, transforming into the First Forger''s second inmand.


    As for Neure, being the one to supply him the items necessary for the man to be known as the First Forger, he had be the logistics head of their city, procuring all of the materials and items the city would need whilst the First Forger was busy with other things.


    Though it might seem like the tasks they were given had made them fall behind in strength, the two were still able to find ways to improve theirbat prowess, allowing them to keep their spots and achieve a simr level of prestige to the First Forger.


    In fact, while the First Forger was busy culling all of those that had used his name for benefit, the two busied themselves as well, disposing all of the stragglers that were either able to escape the fight or were not part of the meeting at all.


    By the time the young man had processed all of the information the memory sent his way, Valyr watched the trio head out of the city hall, only to see that almost every part of the city was in a state of anarchy thanks to the unexpected system update.


    But even though all of them were in positions of power, the three looked at each other for a bit before heading out of the city, deciding to save such a problem forter.


    After all, if there was one thing that would easily quell the problems that the city was currently facing¡­


    It was overwhelmingbat power.


    And so, Valyr watched as the three familiarized themselves with the new leveling system in ce, fighting against beasts and monsters in the wilderness as they gradually regained their previous strengths.


    While doing that, the First Forger informed them that they should put more focus towards the path they wanted to specialize in, whether it bebat or production.


    In response, both Minara and Neure looked back at him with confusion, wondering why the man would say something like that all of a sudden.


    Then again, it didn''t take long for the two to understand the intent behind the suggestion, with the First Forger merely telling them a couple of statements.


    "Why? It''s because the system would favor you, as well as aid you in moving further through that path."


    "Instead of having a high level of general strength, the system would now allow you to focus your strength towards a single direction, allowing you to achieve more with less."


    Though these words made Valyr wonder once more whether or not the First Forger had reincarnated into the past just like him, he decided to shelf the thought for the meantime, watching the trio continue to make progress.


    In the end, both Minara and Neure were able to ascend to Rank 1 with considerably rare sses, while the First Forger had kept himself at the peak of Rank 0.


    Knowing that the experience they''ve obtained from fighting monsters was more than enough to let the First Forger ascend to Rank 1, the two looked at him with curiosity, wondering what the man was going to do.


    In response, the First Forger let out a slight chuckle, giving them a look of reassurance as he confidently smiled.


    "Just like how you''ve chosen your paths, I have already chosen mine."


    "The only difference is that while your battlefields are inbat¡­"


    "Mine is the forge."

 Chapter 785 Four Pillars: Under Wraps

    Chapter 785 Four Pirs: Under Wraps


    ??"As expected."


    Though both Minara and Neure looked at the man in shock after thetter said those words, Valyr was more than expecting something like this to happen, especially now that he had obtained a better understanding of which update they were on.


    Then again, something like that was already more than obvious, considering how he was viewing the memory of the one called the First Forger.


    Nevertheless, the same could not be said for the two, who tried to dissuade the man from making such an erratic decision.


    Yet, even if the two told the man multiple times that his body and strength was more than suited for the battlefield, the First Forger remained steadfast and adamant in his decisions.


    With that, the two were left with no choice but to let the First Forger be, reminding themselves that humanity was able to go this far thanks to the man''s thoughts and decisions.


    Of course, knowing that he was making a somewhat stupid decision from another perspective, the man reassured the two over and over again, asking the two of them to take his ce while he was in the middle of obtaining his ss.


    After making a few promises and ns here and there on their way back to the city, it was only by the time they arrived at the gate did Minara and Neure finally relent, letting the First Forger head back to the hall on his own.


    Seeing the bloody mess that was left after the brutal fight between him and those that abused their powers in the hall, a faint bitter smile appeared on the man''s face as he slowly shook his head with a sigh.


    Then, after sparing yet another nce at those he showed no mercy to, he headed towards another part of the hall.


    Staring at theckluster room he was currently in, the First Forger then proceeded to move a couple of things here and there, prompting a secret passage to appear that closed in on itself after he had entered.


    While the man''s footsteps continued to echo throughout the dimly lit corridor, Valyr watched all of this unfold with surprise written on his face, not expecting the man to find the time to create a secret passage considering his position.


    Fortunately, by the time the First Forger had reached the end of the passage to enter a secluded room, everything finally clicked in the young man''s mind as a well-furnished forge greeted both him and the man below.


    "If only they knew," muttered the man to himself, letting out a long sigh as he sat on a nearby chair to calm his mind.


    At the same time, the memory had given Valyr a deluge of information once more.


    However, unlike the two previous times the memory did this, the information given to him this time around were the things the First Forger did during the past decade or so.


    Though he had spent a great portion of the time helping humanity expand its territory, freeing those that were still under their past fates, the man had found some time here and there to continue polishing his skills in a hobby that he hade across through sheer luck.


    cksmithing.


    After he had forged the first human-made weapon back when the city he controlled was still a town, the First Forger felt an intangible connection between him and the craft all of a sudden.


    To him, it was as if he was destined to pick up the craft in the first ce.


    With that, he proceeded to make a few more items in that forge, only to be stopped after Minara and Neure told him that he had to keep up his image as the leader of the town.


    Understanding that their suggestions came from the goodness of their hearts, the First Forger relented, teaching a few humans on the side the art of cksmithing to keep up with the demand for stronger and sturdier weapons.


    As for him, he decided to keep his foray into cksmithing under wraps, telling many of the people he came across that the reason why he wasn''t often seen was due to him working on some personal matters.


    When in reality, he was just honing his skills on the forge even further.


    "Alright." Feeling like he had finally attuned his mind to the situation at hand, the First Forger stood up and began to forge some items, grabbing a few materials here and there as he began the forging process.


    In the meantime, Valyr continued to organize the information he had received from the memory while the man was hard at work.


    "I think I still have enough to push for the ss after this." Waiting for the materials he chucked into the furnace to reach their optimal temperature, the First Forger went ahead and allocated most of the XP he had earned towards upgrading his forging skills.


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, he eventually stopped upgrading all of his forging skills once they had all reached Level 6, feeling like it was a sweet spot for what he was about to do.


    Picking up the forging hammer that had apanied him throughout the past decade, the man then proceeded to wield it as if it were a natural extension of his own arm, going through the forging process as if it were an orchestrated symphony.


    Watching the man in his element, Valyr began to notice how the First Forger''s movements were simple yet effective.


    With that, he began to ponder over how he forged his items so far, wondering if he was focusing too much on the small details rather than on the greater picture.


    Nevertheless, those thoughts did notst for long, with him instead bing more and more enamored with the way the man forged items.


    Within the span of a couple days, the man had surprisingly crafted a small pile of misceneous items, ranging from simple weapons to armor pieces.


    Then again, even though they looked simple, there was more to the items if one were looked closely.


    Starting from the first item to the most recent item the man had crafted, it seemed as if the aura being radiated by the item had turned more ancient, more primeval in terms of nature.


    In a way, the aura reminded Valyr of an item he had in his possession that gave off the same feeling.


    "I think that''s more than enough practice." Wiping off the sweat from his forehead, the man took a short break as he looked at the items he had forged with pride in his eyes.


    Then, by the time he felt like he had returned to his peak condition, the First Forger returned to the forge, uttering out a statement that left Valyr at aplete loss for words.


    "Now then."


    "I think it''s time to forge an artifact."

 Chapter 786 Four Pillars: Dominion of Humanity

    Chapter 786 Four Pirs: Dominion of Humanity


    ??Having been informed by the memory about the great number of weapons the man had forged throughout the past decade, Valyr was taken byplete surprise after hearing him say he was going to forge an artifact.


    "Is it even possible?" asked the young man to himself, watching the First Forger prepare all of the materials and tools he would need to make the artifact he was nning to create.


    Though there was no minimum requirement in terms of strength or power if one nned on creating an artifact, it still needed a great amount of ability, as well as knowledge in the artifact that the maker nned on doing.


    Because of that, the lowest level Valyr had seen someone forge an artifact in both of his lives so far was in the middle levels of Rank 1, considering that one''s abilities would be bolstered by many degrees thanks to their chosen ss.


    With that, though a decade of forging experience was definitely enough for one to start forging an artifact, the fact that the First Forger was still at the peak of Rank 0 caused him to hold some doubt.


    Aside from that, the man seemed to have not embarked the path of the Technology Tree as of yet, lowering his chances of sessfully forging an artifact even further.


    Then again, as Valyr was just viewing a memory from a long time ago, the man remained oblivious to the young man''s thoughts as he fired up the furnace behind him.


    Stoking the mes within the furnace, a calm demeanor adorned the First Forger''s face as he chucked in the materials he had chosen into the mes one by one.


    Watching the man ce all of the materials into the furnace, Valyr felt like there was a rhythm of sorts to how the materials were ced, prompting him to wonder whether the man had practiced such movements beforehand.


    Seeing how even the way he moved his forging hammer seemed to be measured, the young man began to feel like his earlier thoughts were now more likely, thinking that the First Forger had spent the past decade preparing himself for this very moment.


    If that were the case, then Valyr surmised that the chances of the man sessfully forging an artifact before even obtaining a main ss was decent.


    At the same time, that made him wonder even more whether the First Forger was indeed in the same boat as him, having been sent back to a previous time to right what would eventually be a massive wrong.


    Unfortunately, there was no way for the young man to interact with the man directly to obtain his answers, instead having to rely on reading between the lines as he continued to watch the First Forger create what might seem to be the human race''s first ever artifact.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With every material, tool, and movement measured and practiced many times beforehand, the First Forger gradually entered a state of focus, ignoring all of the distractions that were in the space around him as he gave everything towards the creation of the artifact.


    At some point, he had even entered a state of deeper focus, causing a faint smirk to creep up on the edges of his lips as he continued with his work.


    Eventually, minutes became hours, and hours became days as the First Forger kept giving over a hundred percent of his effort towards the craft.


    Watching the man seemingly forget about the passage of time, Valyr let out a faint chuckle at the sight, being reminded of what transpired during his fights against Arcaelus and N.


    During the fight with Arcaelus, he had entered the state of [Zen] for the first time, allowing his movements and thoughts to be one with nature as he spent almost a day reforging his arquebus to the next rarity.


    Then, during his fight with N, he made use of [Zen] once again, gradually shutting out all of the discordant thoughts in his mind as he gave it his all to reforge the True de of Samadhi to what it was today.


    In the end, it took him a bit over two weeks to sessfully upgrade the artifact to Legendary grade, making him realize that he still had a long way to go if he wanted to forge items of those rarity with ease.


    Letting out a long sigh after the brief moment of reminiscence, Valyr returned his attention to what was happening in front of him, thankful that the memory had begun to speed up the passage of time for him.


    Surprisingly, it took the man over a week and a half to reach the finish line of his project, striking his hammer a couple more times before a sonorous ring echoed throughout the small space.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment the man had mmed his forging hammer for what seemed to be the final time, the item he had forged began to give off a faint light all of a sudden as a pulse of white energy spread throughout the room.


    Feeling the white energy pass over his body, a look of understanding appeared on the man''s face as the gears in his mind began to unravel all of the queries and mysteries that gued his mind in the past.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, the First Forger then let out a low exhale, staring at the item he had forged as a cocoon of various lights began to wrap around it.


    Thankfully, the cocoon of lights eventually disappeared, allowing the item to return where it was as it now gave off an aura that seemed to meld with his surroundings.


    However, if one were to look at it directly, this aura instead transformed into one that spoke of an era far back into the past, an era so ancient and archaic that it even eclipsed the aura Valyr had sensed when he entered the Shard of Defiance''s ethereal state.


    Noticing that the First Forger began to grin as the item settled in its original ce, Valyr watched as the man deftly maneuver through a great number of screens, all of them filled with lines upon lines of text that brought confusion to the young man instead of rity.


    Then, after going through all of those screens, the man then closed all of them before utilizing an identification skill to take a look at the item he had forged in greater detail.


    With the whole thing being a memory, Valyr was able to see the details of the item as well, only to be left at aplete loss for words once he found out what the artifact could do.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Dominion of Humanity (Artifact)] (Level 10)


    Rarity: Epic


    Attack: 132 - 220


    For a race to rise to prominence, one must be a beacon, a symbol of hope for the masses.


    You, who has forged this artifact, have undoubtedly be that beacon, your name instilling vigor and drive into those of your race, while at the same time instilling fear and despair into those that bear ill will against it.


    Through the feats and achievements you have rued thus far, as well as the strength and abilities you''ve earned along the way, you have condensed all of those into a singr artifact that embodies your will, the will of others.


    The will of humanity.


    May the human race flourish and prosper even greater, for your journey into this hellish era has only just begun.


    <Innate Skill 1: First Artifact of Humanity - When equipped by a human, this artifact increases the user''s stats except VIT by 15%.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Supreme Artifact of Humanity -When equipped by a human, this artifact increases the user''s stats expect VIT by 10%. This artifact also increases the user''s HP and MP by 20%.>


    <Innate Skill 3: The Might of Humanity - Allows the user to conjure a fist out of energy before sending it out in a certain direction, dealing damage equivalent to 250% of the user''s Attack stat. The damage and size of the skill increases by 1% for each human within a hundred meter radius of the user. Cost: 250 MP. Cooldown: 10 minutes.>


    <Innate Skill 4: The Will of Humanity - Allows the user to create a domain with a hundred meter radius that increases the stats of humans except VIT by 15% for 15 minutes. The duration of the skill increases proportionally to the number of humans within the domain.


    Those deemed to be the user''s opponents within the domain have their stats reduced by 10% for the entire duration. Every minute, the domain also attempts to inflict either Stun or Slow towards the user''s opponents. Cost: 500 MP. Cooldown: 1 hour.>


    Remarks: The light of humanity. The bane of its foes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though the artifact only had one innate skill that was offensive in nature, the other skills of the artifact undoubtedly boosted the strength of not only the user by multiple degrees, but also the strength of those around the user with [The Will of Humanity] activated.


    In many ways, the artifact worked more like an overpowered essory rather than a weapon, considering how it appeared like a metal glove rather than a bangle or a bracelet that would generally be attributed with those effects.


    "At least my efforts these past few years hadn''t been attributed." Closing the item''s description screen with a smile on his face, the First Forger let out a relieved sigh as he wore the glove on his right hand.


    Feeling the effects of the artifact instantly take ce, the smile on the man''s face swiftly turned into a grin.


    "Alright."


    "It''s about time I get my own ss."

 Chapter 787 Four Pillars: Trailblazer

    Chapter 787 Four Pirs: Trailzer


    ??"System, I would like to ascend."


    Hearing those wordse out of the First Forger''s mouth, Valyr watched as the entire forge became seemingly frozen in time as a series of screens appeared before the man.


    Having already gone through the ascension process multiple times at this point, the only thing that piqued the curiosity of the young man were the choices the First Forger had during his ascension to Rank 1.


    Fortunately, the man did not disappoint, with the selection of species he could evolve into being a far longer list than even the one Valyr received by the time he ascended to Rank 3.


    "Half-Orc, Orc Warlord, Orc Warrior, Primal Human¡­" Just like how he was able to read the description of the artifact the man forged thanks to the memory, the choices the First Forger had in his evolution were also visible to the young man.


    With that, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words after seeing how many of them were rted to orcs, humans, and hybrids between the two.


    Though, after pondering over it for a bit, the young man felt that it made sense.


    After all, before the advent of the system, the man lived in a society where orcs ruled supreme, his purpose merely being a type of entertainment for them.


    Aside from choices rted to those two races, the First Forger surprisingly also had choices that involved the other dominant races of Veldanyr before the Age of Uprising.


    Then again, such choices also made a lot of sense, considering how he and many others were part of the frontlines when it came to expanding the human race''s territory even further.


    Of course, there were also the choices where the man could evolve into a variant of human that specialized in a certain area, something that was more or less a given once one proceeded to ascend to Rank 1.


    However, even though the man had a lot of choices where the upsides of the species outweighed their downsides, the First Forger eventually settled on a choice that caught Valyr by slight surprise.


    Ding!


    [You have chosen to evolve to the species ''Human (1st Unsealing)''.]


    ''Does he know about the quirks of that path?'' Taking a while to recover from the surprise of the man''s choice, such thoughts began to linger in the young man''s mind.


    After all, out of all the choices that were on the First Forger''s list, the man had chosen one of the very few that offered next to nothing in terms of benefit.


    Sure, if the First Forger were to continue down that path and reach its end, he would undoubtedly get his hands on a race that would bolster not only his attributes to a higher realm, but also the other aspects of strength.


    However, Valyr had onlye to know of that quirk thanks to hindsight, as well as an opportunity to start over from scratch.


    ''At this point, I''m more than sure that the First Forger was someone who was also brought back to the past,'' thought the young man to himself, confident in his assessment as he watched the man continue with his ss selection.


    Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, with how many choices the man had in terms of species he could evolve into, the same could be said for the man''s ss, its length possibly twice or thrice as long as the list Valyr had in his recent ascension.


    Though, unlike the variety of choices he had in his species, there were only two general trends in the ss choices that were offered to the First Forger.


    sses rted tobat¡­


    And sses rted to forging.


    Browsing through thebat-rted sses the First Forger obtained, Valyr noticed that the weapon-based sses the man could choose from were quite basic.


    Of course, thanks to how long the man had spent honing his strength in the battlefield, there were a few choices on the list that had achieved a considerably high rarity.


    However, from how the First Forger looked at those sses with a frown, the young man understood there and then that choosing those sses would only limit the man''s seemingly boundless potential.


    Then again, for thebat sses that did not rely on any weapons whatsoever, the man surprisingly had a wide selection of sses he could choose from.


    On top of that, a bunch of those sses went up to Legendary and Mythic grade, prompting the young man to suck in a breath of cold air at how many strongbat sses the man had ess to.


    But of course, with the man eventually bing known as the First Forger, the man skipped over all of thebat sses he had, soon focusing his attention on the forging sses he would be able to obtain.


    Unlike thebat sses, where the man had a plethora of strong and high-rarity sses he could choose from, the number of high-rarity forging sses the First Forger had ess to seemedcking inparison.


    In exchange, all of the high-rarity forging sses the man had ess to were Mythic grade at the lowest, with one ss among them instantly piquing both his and Valyr''s attention.


    "We''re really off to a good start here." The man chuckled, choosing the ss that caught his interest without hesitation.


    Ding!


    [You have chosen to evolve to the ss ''Trailzer of the Forging Path (Veldanyr)''.]


    Seeing that the First Forger had chosen the ss that he took notice of, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face, knowing that even he would have chosen the ss in that situation.


    After all, even though the name of the ss sounded incredibly simple¡­


    The ss was actually Ancient grade in rarity.


    ''I wonder what kind of skills the man got after choosing the ss,'' asked Valyr to himself, being reminded of how all of his basic forging skills were transformed into that of his ss after his first ascension.


    ''But more importantly¡­ how many stat points does he receive every level?''


    With the question lingering in his mind, Valyr watched as the man brought up the description of the ss he had just chosen, only for a satisfied smile to appear on his face after reading through its contents.


    Ding!

 Chapter 788 Four Pillars: Culmination

    Chapter 788 Four Pirs: Culmination


    ??¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Trailzer of the Forging Path (Veldanyr)] (ss)


    Rarity: Ancient


    cksmiths are considered a staple of any civilization, being the first ones of their kind to work off the foundations their ancestors had given them, as well as create a brand new and more effective foundation that the future generation could rely of them.


    A great number of these cksmiths follow the already carved path, their slight quirks and differences allowing them to make a name for themselves are renowned craftsman of their time.


    However, there also exists those that veer off from the pathid out in front of them, creating a brand new style of cksmithing that scratch that would allow them to do more with less. To achieve things far greater than orthodoxy could provide.


    Though these special beings are all called true prodigies of cksmithing, geniuses of their time that usher forth a new and more grandiose era of forging, there only exists one being at the top of this hierarchy.


    The one that started it all. The one that brought the idea of forging and cksmithing to their race in the first ce. The one that kindled the spark that allowed creativity and innovation to work hand in hand.


    The Trailzer of the Forging Path.


    For each level gained in this ss, the user gains +3 VIT, +3 STR, +3 AGI, +5 DEX, +5 INT, +4 WIS, +3 PER, +1 LUK, and 4 unassigned stat points. For every second level gained in this ss, the user gains an additional stat point.


    Prerequisites:


    > Forge an artifact of Epic grade or greater


    > ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''As expected from an Ancient grade ss.''


    Though there was only a small difference in how much points an Ancient grade ss gavepared to a Mythic grade ss, the benefits of a higher rarity ss extended far beyond a single level.


    Not only was Valyr confident that the First Forger would have the strength to overwhelm those at the peak of Rank 2 once he reached the peak of Rank 1, but he was also certain that if the man had ess to as much stat boosting skills and titles he had¡­


    Much less needing to reach the peak of Rank 4, even the strength the man would have at the peak of Rank 3 would allow him to fight Legends without a problem.


    And if the man went all out¡­ even Myths would pose no threat to the man.


    Reading through the description of the ss he obtained, a wide smile crept up onto the man''s lips as he limated himself to the newfound strength given by his new ss and species.


    After getting used to the new levels of strength he now had ess to, the First Forger stared at the metal knuckle he had forged before his ascension, his eyes slightly narrowing.


    "I suppose there are a few things I could improve about it," said the man with a slight shrug, taking off the knuckle before chucking it into the still-lit furnace.


    Watching how nonchnt the First Forger acted in throwing his recently forged artifact back into the furnace again, Valyr''s mouth went agape as he was left at a loss for words.


    Considering the effects of the artifact, as well as the circumstances regarding equipment during the Age of Uprising, the young man was more than certain that an Epic grade artifact would easily allow the First Forger to sweep away all opposition with ease.


    Add on the fact that the man had yet to enhance, refine, and advance its foundation, the artifact had more than enough potential to be a symbol of humanity''s dominance, allowing them to truly carve a piece ofnd that they could call their own.


    Yet, the man did not have any second thoughts whatsoever before throwing the artifact into the furnace.


    Understanding that the only reason why the First Forger would do such a thing was to upgrade the artifact even further, Valyr began to question himself where the man obtained his confidence from.


    Was it because of the man obtained an Ancient grade ss? Was it because of the decades of hard work he had spent to make the artifact a reality in the first ce?


    Or was it because of something else?


    Feeling a hint of dread as the artifact even he would take great care of had begun to glow a scalding orange, Valyr could only watch as the First Forger ced the artifact on the anvil, taking in a deep breath as he grabbed the forging hammer he had used just earlier.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With a firm expression on his face, the man gradually hammered out the artifact into the shape that he was visualizing his mind, remaining cognizant of the imperfections he had seen some time ago.


    At the same time, the young man felt as if the sight in front of him gave him front row ess to what was basically the art of cksmithing in its simplest form.


    Though the man''s style of forging was already as simple as it got before the ascension, the forging style the First Forger showcased at the moment had now begun to truly delve into the innate simplicity cksmithing held.


    It was a stark contrast to the various forging styles he had seen throughout his past and present life, reminding him that all of those styles emerged from a singr forging style, just like how allbat styles emerged from a few foundational styles.


    And that singr forging style seemed to be the style that the First Forger was currently using.


    Gradually, the sound of metal shing against metal disappeared from the young man''s senses as his attention was wholly focused on the movements the First Forger was doing.


    Every once in a while, he would also stare at the me roaring within the furnace behind the man as concepts and meanings that eluded him in the past resurfaced with greater rity.


    With every passing second, Valyr felt his understanding of cksmithing deepen, giving him the feeling that he would be able to emte the style the First Forger showed and more.


    Fortunately, by the time the man was done with his impromptu upgrade, the young man had finally attained enlightenment, with the notification sounds ringing in his mind more than confirming his thoughts.


    He had ascended to the stage of Culmination.

 Chapter 789 Four Pillars: Shared Gaze

    Chapter 789 Four Pirs: Shared Gaze


    ??Ding!


    [The process of forging an item can be approached from a myriad of ways. However, there only exists one original process that has be the basis for all of the styles many generations of cksmiths have created throughout the years.]


    [With you having glimpsed upon this original style, your understanding of your own forging process, as well as the art of cksmithing in general, has be simpler yet more profound at the same time, allowing you to tap into more of your materials'' potential.]


    [Your understanding of the forging process has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Forging has ascended to the Culmination Stage.]


    [Simr to forging, there are a myriad number of ways to handle and control the mes of the forge. Yet, just like forging, all of those methods originate from a singr method that allowed the art of cksmithing to get to where it is today.]


    [With you having glimpsed upon this original style, your understanding over mes, as well as your control over these mes, have grown deeper, allowing you to tap into more of your materials'' potential.]


    [Your understanding of the mes of forging has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes has ascended to the Culmination Stage.]


    Opening up his notification screen to briefly check on his notifications, a faint smile crept up onto the young man''s lips, showing the satisfaction and delight he felt at that very moment.


    After all, if one were to follow the journey his Intent Seed of Forging and the Forger''s mes to get to where they were today, one would realize that their progression hade full circle.


    The two Intent Seeds had both awakened thanks to the First Forger''s previous memory.


    Then, through the Chambers of Enlightenment, he was able to ascend both Intent Seeds to the First and Second Stages.


    And now that he had gained ess to the First Forger''s memory again, he had brought them to the point where they were only one step away from bing a full Intent.


    ''I should really find an opportunity to upgrade my Intent Seed of Shadow Energy at some point,'' thought the young man, briefly pondering over the other possible Intent Seeds he could obtain from his list.


    Nevertheless, it did not take long for the young man to return his attention to what was happening before him, pushing all his earlier thoughts to the side for the meantime.


    "For now, that should do it." cing the forging hammer to the side, the First Forger picked up the knuckle once more.


    Nodding in satisfaction, he admired the increased level of craftsmanship his new ss brought, sensing that the aura being emanated by the artifact had be more pronounced.


    At the same time, he admired the fact that the design of the knuckle became more exquisite thanks to the upgrade, its current appearance now making it seem like the artifact was crafted by the heavens rather than his own hands.


    Unsurprisingly, the man activated his identification skill on the metal knuckle not long after, wanting to see how much of an improvement his sudden decision to upgrade the artifact gave him.


    "Holy shit," muttered Valyr in disbelief, the memory giving him a full view of the artifact''s new and improved description.


    For the most part, the artifact''s abilities stayed the same.


    However, for its skills that passively boosted the user''s stats, it had undergone a slight improvement, as well as the scaling effect that thest two skills had.


    Then again, those parts of the artifact did not surprise Valyr that much.


    Instead, what surprised him was the fact that the artifact had upgraded in rarity.


    But it did not gain a plus modifier like he had expected.


    Instead, it had skipped the intermediary rarity altogether and ascended to Legendary grade, bringing a whole host of titles and achievements that the First Forger would undoubtedly benefit from.


    "I guess I should go and update Minara and Neure on my situation."


    Letting out a slight chuckle, the First Forger allowed the notification sounds to resound in his mind as he began to clean up the space before leaving.


    At the same time, he took a look at the notifications he received, all of which prompted the expression on his face to turn into a grin.


    Whether it was due to his familiarity with the ce or thanks to his new ss, it only took a few minutes for the First Forger to get ready to leave the ce, returning to his usual position as the leader of his city.


    Though, just as he was about to leave, the First Forger stared off in a certain direction with narrowed eyes.


    "Hmm¡­"


    "Probably just my imagination."


    In the end, the man shrugged his shoulders, leaving the space as he began to make his way out of the city hall.


    On the other hand, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief after seeing the First Forger''s disappearance.


    "Is this another case of what happened in Sven''s memory?"


    Recalling how the man was staring at him with eyes filled with suspicion, the young man felt a hint of fear and shock building up within him.


    Because of that, he began to ponder whether the First Forger had done something simr to Sven, wherein he wanted to leave a message for the future generation that would see his memory.


    Yet, from the expression and bodynguage of the man before his departure, it looked like it wasn''t intentional at all.


    With that, he began to wonder why the First Forger decided to look in his direction, even though the memory had urred over tens of thousands of years ago.


    Unfortunately, before he could ponder over the question any further, the memory ended not long after.


    Whoosh!


    With his body and senses being returned to the barren trial grounds, Valyr sat on the ground for a bit as he scratched the back of his head.


    Gathering his thoughts, the young man went over all of the things he''d learned and found out through the recent memory, somewhat feeling like he was getting closer to the answers he sought.


    Though, at the same time, he felt like he was as far away from the answers as ever, prompting him to let out a sigh as he stood up.


    "Only one opportunity left to have my questions answered, then," muttered the young man to himself as a doorway leading to a massive courtyard appeared not far from him.


    Hearing the monotonous voice say that the doorway would lead him to the actual Gates of Awakening in order for him to receive the other rewards he had yet to im, the young man went silent for a bit as he pondered whether or not to get them.


    In the end, his expression became firm, staring at the sky as he had made up his mind.


    "I would like to return to the inheritance proper."

 Chapter 790 Four Pillars: Return

    Chapter 790 Four Pirs: Return


    ??Of course, Valyr had put in a lot of thought beforeing to that decision. He had even asked the monotonous voice a couple of questions to confirm some of his suspicions.


    After all, his remaining rewards weren''t something he could easily gloss over. Sure, the rewards he''d already obtained were amazing, but that didn''t mean the ones in the Gates of Awakening weren''t as important.


    The ess to the True cksmith Archive alone would save Valyr tons of effort. The same could be said for the opportunity the Gates of Awakening had given him for his skills.


    Add in the inheritance trove that was the Hall of Legends and Myths, the young man would undoubtedly gain a lot from entering the Gates of Awakening, if not more.


    However, there were a couple of things stopping Valyr from obtaining his remaining rewards.


    For one, it had been a while since he hadst heard from the others.


    After getting messages from the other four that they had already left the Gates of Awakening, the young man felt a sense of urgency to clear all of the trials as quickly as possible.


    Of course, he knew that the passage of time within the trial grounds and the Gates of Awakening was far slower than in the inheritance proper.


    Yet, it was that same reason that spurred him to return to where the others were as soon as possible.


    After all, he did not know whether he had only spent a day or two after the others had left or over a week.


    In the outside world, that difference was either a couple of weeks or a couple of months.


    Aside from that, he had more or less confirmed through the monotonous voice that he could ess his remaining rewards anytime he liked.


    ording to the voice, it was a perk given to him after clearing the second bottleneck. As he had cleared the entire trial, such a perk was more than essible to him.


    And so, with a firm expression and a calm tone, the young man eventually disappeared from the trial grounds.


    Whoosh!


    Within mere instants, Valyr was returned back to the inheritance proper, prompting him to let out a faint sigh of relief.


    Then, after confirming that he could still ess the Gates of Awakening whenever he liked, he then took a look at his surroundings to see where he was.


    Soon understanding that he was only a fair distance away from their temporary camp, Valyr activated one of his skills, transforming into a blur of Shadow Energy in seconds.


    "[Arcane Shadow Drive]."


    Activating the upgraded version of [Traceless Slither], it did not take long for the young man to appear at the temporary camp, catching the four byplete surprise.


    "Valyr! You''re back!"


    Though all of them were left at a loss for words because of his sudden appearance, Hal took the initiative to speak up, embracing the young man as he shed a grin.


    In response, Valyr returned the embrace. "Sorry for beingte."


    At those words, it was only then did the others recover from their daze, their expressions filled with smiles as they watched the scene before them unfold.


    After the embrace, the five then proceeded to cook up a couple of dishes, considering that it was already midday.


    With him having the [Advanced Cooking] skill, it went without saying that Valyr was the one doing most of the cooking. Of course, the others helped out wherever they could.


    While cooking their lunches, the young man began to ask the others how far they got into the nine trials before deciding to concede.


    Unsurprisingly, their responses did not differ much from their messages in their party chat, with only Hal being the only one among them aside from him breaking through the second bottleneck.


    Naturally, with Valyr bringing up the nine trials, the other four soon became curious how far he got before conceding.


    In response, the young man told them that he had cleared all of the trials the Gates of Awakening threw at him, causing some of them to look at him with immense disbelief.


    Among those who looked at him with disbelief was Hal.


    "How the hell did you pass the Trial of Nine Stars?" asked the schr. "And here I thought the opponents I fought in the seventh trial were already difficult."


    "They were difficult." Valyr agreed with the man''s words. "But I think even you could have beaten them with enough preparation."


    Thinking about how he''d cleared the Trial of Nine Stars, most of thebat was done all thanks to the fact that he had forged the pistol and upgraded his arquebus.


    As for the matches that involved forging, he relied on his experience and memories from his past life, as well as the other skills he had rued along the way.


    Then again, he was overextending the definition if he mentioned that those things were part of his preparation.


    In any case, that and a bit of storytelling was more than enough to appease the others, especially after he had cooked them a sumptuous meal.


    While scarfing down the food he had cooked, the young man recalled the reason why he had returned to the inheritance.


    "Now that I think about it, how long has it been since you guys left the Gates of Awakening?"


    "Er¡­ it''s been about three days since then, I think," replied Loreina after pondering over the question for a bit.


    Biting his lip in slight anxiety, Valyr then asked, "And how long did you guys take to return here?"


    "Roughly two days." This time, it was Hal who responded. "Why do you ask?"


    Ignoring the man''s question, Valyr brought up his status screen and looked at the timer at the very bottom.


    After that, he let out a long sigh. "A total of five days, huh."


    Hearing his words, the others began to look at him with confusion, not understanding what the man was pointing at.


    Thankfully, the young man''s words answered their questions soon after.


    Though, in exchange, their expressions had be utterly frozen.


    "To think we''ve already been in this inheritance for over half a year already¡­"

 Chapter 791 Four Pillars: Seven Months

    Chapter 791 Four Pirs: Seven Months


    ??"Half a year¡­" murmured Hal to himself in disbelief. "We''ve really been here for over half a year already?"


    Seeing the man and the other three looking at him for answers, Valyr bitterly smiled. "Yeah. Once the next dayes, we would have officially been stuck here for seven months."


    Thanks to the small mishap that happened during their return from the Gates of Enlightenment back then, Hal and the others understood that the time Valyr had given them was in rtion to the outside world.


    If they were to convert into the time they spent inside the inheritance, then it would only amount to roughly two weeks.


    However, even though all of them knew that they had only spent two weeks within the inheritance, looks of hesitation had already begun to appear on the faces of the four.


    In their minds, they thought that they would only need to spend a few days inside the inheritance to get the things they needed and the Imperial Production Guild needed.


    In fact, they estimated that they would disappear from the outside world for three or four months to take care of everything.


    But because Valyr had introduced the existence of the Triad Gates to them, they begun to forgot about such thoughts, instead enjoying the rewards that were given to them for their efforts.


    Thus, their stay ended up bing far longer than it would have initially been.


    Knowing what was brewing in the outside world before they even entered the inheritance, the four wore solemn expressions on their faces as the gears in their minds madly turned.


    On the other hand, Valyr gave them the leeway to ponder over things in silence as he returned his gaze to the timer at the bottom.


    [Remaining Time: 154 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes, and 52 seconds.]


    ''Only five months left before Greater Beyond''s public release,'' thought the young man to himself, inwardly letting out a sigh at how much time remained.


    Though a small part of Valyr was d that he only had to wait for that much time to continue enacting his ns, he mostly felt regret over the fact that he could not make greater use of the time he had been given.


    Sure, entering the inheritance had allowed his strength to improve by leaps and bounds. On top of that, his skill set had improved in all areas thanks to the rewards given by the inheritance.


    However, that didn''t mean that he couldn''t achieve the same thing in the outside world, possibly needing a far shorter time to do so after the dtion in time was considered.


    Nevertheless, even though he felt a bit of guilt at the fact that he could not make use of skills to help his fellow humans in the skirmish against the orcs, his mind was still focused on the inheritance.


    After all, there were many things within the inheritance that remained unsolved, such as the human civilization before the Great Cataclysm, the existence of thest leader of humanity, and so on.


    Aside from that, he had yet to obtain his rewards from the Gates of Awakening, as well as attempt to enter thest organization making up the Triad Gates.


    The Gates of Transcendence.


    "So, what do you guys n on doing next?" asked Valyr as he closed his screen.


    In response, the four looked at him in silence, their expressions easily telling him that they wanted to hear what he was nning to do first.


    Shrugging his shoulders, he then told them, "I understand if you guys n on leaving the inheritance. After all, we''ve already obtained a lot of rewards by clearing the trials that were thrown our way."


    "With that being said, the strength that we''ve cultivated within this inheritance so far would undoubtedly be of great help, considering that the skirmish between the humans and the orcs is now in full swing."


    At those words, the four looked at him in disbelief, their stares asking him where he had gotten such information.


    After exining to the others that the final trial had given him the opportunity to find out what was going on in the outside world, Valyr noticed that the four seemed to have made up their minds on leaving the inheritance.


    Yet, the four continued to remain.


    Of course, that was because Valyr hadn''t told them his ns yet.


    "In any case, I won''t be leaving the inheritance as of yet," said the young man, his tone calm. "For one, I have yet to receive the other rewards I''ve gotten from the Gates of Awakening."


    "Aside from that, there''s still the Gates of Transcendence that is yet to be explored."


    ''There''s also the mission Ryvrthe gave me, as well as that empty space in the center of the ruins. All in all, I still have a lot of things left to do inside this inheritance,'' thought Valyr as he gazed at the others.


    Surprisingly, his mention of the Gates of Transcendence prompted the expression of the others to change, reminding them that they have yet to receive all of the rewards the inheritance had to offer.


    But there were still a couple among them that seemed to have made up their minds on leaving the inheritance for good, prompting Valyr to faintly nod as he asked once more.


    "So, are you guys going to keep staying? Or are you guys going to leave the inheritance?"


    "I''m staying," responded Hal, the conflict in his earlier gaze now reced by firm determination.


    "I''m also staying," said Vera, causing Valyr a bit of surprise as he faintly nodded.


    Seeing that half of the four had chosen to stay, the young man looked at the two that had yet to respond, wondering what their choices would be.


    "I¡­ would like to leave," said Loreina as she shed an apologetic smile at the others. "I''ve already obtained a lot from the inheritance. It''s time for me to help my fellow people."


    "I would like to leave as well," Faulus said after Loreina was done, his expression a somewhat eerie calm.


    Though the others did not find anything amiss with his words, Valyr felt a hint of urgency hidden beneath the man''s voice.


    Looking at him, he also felt that there was something off about Faulus that he could not put his finger on.


    Thankfully, just as he was about to help the two that chose thetter option to leave the inheritance, the answer to his confusion revealed itself in the form of a private message.


    However, after reading it, he begun to nkly stare at the man, not knowing how to respond.


    "Valyr¡­"


    "They''ve gained control again."

 Chapter 792 Four Pillars: The Final Hurdle

    Chapter 792 Four Pirs: The Final Hurdle


    ??''They?'' Going over the private message he had received a few times in his mind, Valyr went silent as he tried to process what Faulus meant by his words.


    Fortunately, it only took a bit of rummaging through his memories, recalling that a small argument had urred between the two of them.


    Back then, the five of them were in the midst ofpleting the objectives that have been given to them,


    Among those objectives was one that needed them to kill a quadrant leader.


    Due to the stark difference between their strength and the quadrant leader''s strength, everyone gave their suggestion on how toplete the final objective.


    Out of nowhere, Faulus suggested that Valyr take on the quadrant leader at the center of the ruins, telling the others that he had the greatestbat prowess out of all of them.


    After a fight of words ensued between the two of them, Valyr and Faulus eventually made up, with thetter informing him that he had not blurted that suggestion out of his own volition.


    Instead, it was there that Valyr found out that someone was actually controlling Faulus in secret, giving subtle hints that aimed to sow discord in their party.


    Thankfully, those moments had only urred a couple of times in total, with the alchemist assuring Valyr that he already had it under control.


    Then again, it was that same reassurance from back then that brought confusion to the young man.


    Focusing his attention towards the private message Faulus sent him, he eventually sent a reply back.


    "I thought you already had it under control. You createdyers of protection around it, no?"


    "I did," replied Faulus back through the chat as he stared at Valyr with a hint of sadness. "However, just recently, that connection has strengthened by multiple times."


    After that, the man exined that the connection grew stronger out of nowhere whilst he was in the middle of tackling the Gates of Awakening''s trials.


    At the very moment the connection got stronger, a flurry of negative thoughts entered Faulus'' mind, seemingly sabotaging his attempt at entering the Gates of Awakening.


    Though, since he already had experience with the connection from the past, he was eventually able to stop the connection from affecting him any further after spending a long time.


    "Just so you know, the connection is still affecting me right now," said Faulus through his message.


    "It''s really taking a lot out of me to keep those thoughts at bay. In fact, it''s getting more and more difficult to keep this conversation going with you."


    At those words, Valyr briefly thought about what Faulus was doing earlier.


    Realizing that the alchemist in his memories seemed to do nothing and just listen in on their conversation, a bitter smile briefly shed on the young man''s face as he inwardly let out a sigh.


    "I understand," replied Valyr back, moving their conversation to the side as he aided both Faulus and Loreina in returning to the outside world.


    Surprisingly, after bing an official member of the Gates of Awakening, the option to leave the inheritance had be avable to them, allowing them to leave at any point they wished.


    But of course, all of them were unsure whether the same thing could be done in reverse.


    Whoosh!


    With the utterance of a few words, a rift that led to the outside world appeared before the group.


    Showing the stone structure the five of them had entered, the group looked at the image in silence, noticing that the area surrounding the structure had been razed to the ground.


    Unsurprisingly, the deeply buried seeds of hesitation rose once more within Hal and Vera as they looked at the sight beyond the rift.


    However, that hesitation disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, with renewed determination covering their faces.


    After giving everyone a polite bow, as well as a few statements filled with gratitude, Loreina eventually stepped through the rift and disappeared from everyone''s sight.


    Seeing that, Faulus took in a deep breath and decided to give everyone bows filled with gratitude as well.


    However, unlike Loreina, he did not give any words of gratitude to them whatsoever.


    Instead, he had sent a few more private messages to the young man before him.


    "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to obtain those rewards," said Faulus in his message. "If not for your discovery of the shards, I don''t think I would have been able to keep talking with you up to this point."


    Seeing that the man began to grit his teeth, Valyr quietly urged Faulus to walk through the rift already.


    In response, the man slightly shook his head and instead leaned closer to the young man, whispering something in his ear.


    "I''m sorry that I''ll be implicating you in my own matters, but please help me out once you leave the inheritance."


    For a brief moment after that, the atmosphere surrounding the two became deathly silent.


    Then, as a sigh escaped from Valyr''s mouth, that silence was broken as he faintly nodded.


    "I can''t make any promises¡­ but I''ll try my best."


    "That''s all I can ever ask for." Faulus grinned in response, letting out a chuckle soon after.


    Then, after taking a deep breath, he finally stepped through the tent, leaving the trio in the inheritance as they watched the rift close in on itself.


    "What did Faulus say to you at the end?" Hearing a low sighe out of Valyr''s mouth the very moment the rift closed, Hal decided to move closer to the young man.


    Seeing the two look at him with curiosity, the young man looked back at them with a faint smile as he slowly shook his head. "Nothing too important. Just something that''ll be a pain in the ass for me to do after all of this is done."


    Getting the hint that the young man didn''t want to talk about it any further, Vera decided to shift the topic to something else. "So, what do we do now?"


    "Let''s rest for a little bit longer," replied Valyr, reminding the two that the young man had yet to get some proper rest after his return.


    "How about after that?" Hal asked as he nodded.


    "We''llplete what''s needed to enter the Gates of Transcendence, of course," said Valyr back as he let out a sigh.


    "In any case¡­"


    "We''ve finally reached the final hurdle."

 Chapter 793 Four Pillars: Heading to the Center

    Chapter 793 Four Pirs: Heading to the Center


    ??Returning to the fire pit, Valyr grabbed another te of food for himself before digging in.


    At the same time, the two sat close to the young man, wondering whether or not to talk about their next steps in greater detail.


    After all, the goal ofpleting what was needed to enter the Gates of Transcendence was incredibly broad in scope.


    Were they going to check the objectives of the quest first? Were they going to talk about where they were going toplete the objectives?


    Such thoughts lingered within Hal and Vera''s minds as they watched Valyr savor each and every bite of food he had taken.


    In the end, the two decided to bring up the topic some other time after looking at one another, noticing that the leader of their now smaller group seemed intent on getting his moment of silence.


    With that, the trio talked about other topics for the meantime to pass the time, thinking of the most interesting topics in order to bring some joy into their conversation.


    Though it had not been long since Faulus and Loreina left the group to return to the outside world, the atmosphere surrounding the trio had already turned somewhat gloomy.


    Nevertheless, by the time the three of them had devoured all of the food Valyr had prepared for what was initially five people, there was no trace of the gloomy atmosphere whatsoever.


    Of course, the trio still felt a bit mncholic since they had been separated from two of theirrades.


    Yet, they chose the option to push onward.


    "Say, Valyr." While the three were in the midst of cleaning the area, Vera struck a conversation with the young man. "Now that I think about it¡­ it''s kind of weird."


    "What is?" Hearing Vera''s words, the young man looked at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "How you know about what''s going on in the outside world even though we''re still in the inheritance," replied the young woman, her expression somewhat calm.


    "I did mention earlier that it had something to do with the final trial I got," said Valyr back, inwardly letting out a low sigh. "Though they were there as opponents, they also did not hesitate to tell me about what''s going on in Veldanyr."


    At that, Valyr decided to exin in greater detail what he had told the four earlier.


    In his exnation, he exined to the two that the Trial of Nine Stars that he and Hal took was just one giant trial that was split into three smaller trials consisting of three opponents each.


    He then mentioned that the opponents at the earlier sub-trials were only an image of the actual being they were fighting against.


    After that, he then told them that once they had passed a certain point in the trial, they would instead fight against a clone of sorts of the actual being.


    "Unlike the earlier opponents, which are called memory images, these opponents are instead called memory extensions," said Valyr, realizing that the two had be engrossed in his exnation at some point.


    "That change in word alone already tells you all you need to understand why I know what''s going on between the orcs and the humans outside."


    "Speaking of which¡­" While he was exining the difference between the two kinds of opponents, Valyr recalled a certain memory during the Trial of Nine Stars.


    "I actually fought against one of the opponents you got, Hal," said Valyr, piquing Hal''s interest. "Ever heard of N Hephaista?"


    "N¡­" murmured thetter in response as the gears in his mind turned. Eventually, as if a light bulb had shed on in his mind, Hal looked at Valyr with realization as he faintly nodded.


    "She told me while we were fighting that you had a unique Intent of the de." Valyr grinned. "Guess I have to congratte you on finallyprehending an actual Intent."


    "And here I thought I would have been able to keep that a secret until I left the inheritance." Looking as if a giant secret of his was revealed, Hal looked at Valyr with a wry smile.


    Seeing Vera on the side looking at him in disbelief, the man let out a brief chuckle before returning his attention to the young man. "Did she say anything else about me?"


    "Not really." Valyr smiled back. "As a matter of fact, all I told you so far was all she told me about you."


    "I see." Hal nodded, only to smile not long after. "Guess that means I''ve gotten the attention of an extremely important person, then."


    After delving a bit more into the topic regarding Valyr''s opponents in the Trial of Nine Stars, the trio eventually returned to their initial topic, which had something to do with the skirmish between humans and orcs.


    Hearing that the small skirmish between the two races had ballooned to envelop multiple human kingdoms at once, Hal and Vera instantly had grave expressions on their faces.


    For a second, the hesitation they buried earlier had even shown itself once more, their expressions seemingly showing that they wanted to return to the outside world just like the others.


    Though, after Valyr mentioned to the two that the Meltierre Empire was going to make a move of their own against the orcs, their urges to return to the outside world had mostly disappeared.


    But that did not mean that they pushed such thoughts to the side in the meantime.


    Instead, with them now gaining the knowledge that their strengths and skills could not help the humans in their fight against the orcs, Hal and Vera subconsciously spurred Valyr towardspleting the objectives to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    Though a hint of annoyance appeared on the young man''s face after realizing this, Valyr eventually acquiesced, considering that he had spent a lot of time resting while in the trial grounds.


    With that, by the time the sun had begun to set within the inheritance, the trio stored all of the items making up the temporary camp as they headed to the only destination left that they hadn''t fully explored yet.


    The center of the city ruins.

 Chapter 794 Four Pillars: A New Frontier

    Chapter 794 Four Pirs: A New Frontier


    ??"That was a shorter journey than I initially thought."


    After deciding to head to the center of the city ruins just after sunset, Valyr expected their journey to take quite some time.


    Of course, the reason for that was not because of theck of sunlight. Something like that could be easily solved with a simple spell.


    Instead, it was because they were going to tread deeper into the city ruins themselves in order to get to the center.


    Which meant that they would have to face primitive humanoids at every possible moment along the way.


    With that in mind, the trio remained vignt as they headed deeper into the south quadrant, choosing paths and streets that reduced their exposure towards the primitive humanoids.


    Though there were a couple of times where they were forced to fight against the primitive humanoids to move onward, it was as if the majority of their journey towards the center had be smooth sailing.


    Nearly every time, whenever they were at a junction that led to various paths along the quadrant, there was always a path that seemed to have next to no primitive humanoids roaming through them.


    At some point, they had even gotten a consecutive streak of paths that had no primitive humanoids ambushing them whatsoever.


    Naturally, the trio began to wonder whether their luck was finally looking up, considering the hardships that they had gone through to get where they were at the moment.


    However, as if the heavens were pulling a prank on them, they had been ambushed by a massive group of humanoids just as they were close to the center.


    Then again, with their strengths improved thanks to the Gates of Awakening, even arge group of primitive humanoids had been reduced to a slight nuisance.


    In total, it took the trio a few hours to arrive at the center, with the moon only a couple hours away from reaching its zenith.


    "Seems like we won''t be able to set up camp here that easily." Looking around their surroundings for vacant areas, Valyr turned around to look at the two before shaking his head with a sigh.


    Unlike the south quadrant, as well as the other quadrants they had explored before, the center was nearly filled to the brim with possible opponents roaming around every corner.


    If those opponents were only as strong as the primitive humanoids that barred them, then the trio would have carved a space for themselves and set up camp that way.


    However, just like how there was a difference in strength between the aberrations and the primitive humanoids, the same went for the beings that roamed the center of the city ruins.


    Though Valyr and the others could not make out their appearances because of the darkness, the aura these beings radiated had already made them realize that the trio had arrived at the center of the ruins.


    After all, where would one find a sea of beings as strong as quadrant leaders if not at the center of the city ruins?


    Searching around for areas they could set up a temporary camp in, the trio eventually decided to ditch their initial ideas.


    Instead, they headed into an abandoned building that looked and felt stable, using that as their temporary camp for the meantime.


    "Well, that''s quite the view."


    Making their way up the abandoned building, the trio eventually found themselves at the rooftop, giving them a great view of the center of the city ruins.


    If it were any other time, the trio would have probably admired the sight before them as they felt their bodies rx.


    But as they were at the part of the inheritance that housed the strongest enemies they would have to face, it only reminded them that they would have to fight against these beings sooner orter.


    After talking for a bit, the three decided to set up camp at the rooftop, with Valyr cooking a meal as always.


    "A long day awaits us tomorrow," said the young man as he stared at the two waiting for him to finish cooking. "My suspicions tell me that we''ll probably have to grind authority again."


    At those words, Vera and Hal slightly shuddered in fear.


    "Fighting 100 beings with the equivalent strength of quadrant leaders just for an additional level of authority?" said Hal as he shook his head. "I''d rather not."


    "We don''t really have much choice," said Valyr in response as he shrugged.


    At the same time, he took a small taste of the food he cooked, his eyes widening in satisfaction.


    Telling the two that the food was ready, the three then grabbed themselves tes of food as they prepared their minds for what was toe tomorrow.


    "Then again, what''s there to fear about?" Valyr looked at the others as he dug into his food.


    "We''ve grown a lot stronger thanks to the Gates of Awakening. We don''t even think much into fighting against primitive humanoids anymore."


    "That is true¡­" Hal agreed with the young man''s words. "However, what if these beings have a second and third phase like the quadrant leaders?"


    "Not to mention the Myth-level being at the actual center of the ruins," said Vera, prompting Hal to nod in agreement.


    Listening to their words, Valyr thought back to the time he had killed three quadrant leaders in a row on his own.


    With that in mind, the young man shrugged his shoulders and assured the two that they would be fine.


    "Rx. It''s not like it''s mandatory for us to fight against the beings below on our own, no?"


    After saying more things that went along a simr train of thought, the somewhat tense atmosphere that arose from Hal''s statement eventually dissipated on its own.


    Then, after talking about a few more topics to pass the time, the trio went into their respective tents.


    Within minutes, the three fell into a deep slumber, the thoughts in their mind thinking about the kind of beings they would be up against the next day.


    Though, by the time they woke up to finally see what they would be up against, a couple of them looked at their foes with their mouths fully agape.

 Chapter 795 Four Pillars: Feral Humans

    Chapter 795 Four Pirs: Feral Humans


    ??"Well, you two are up early."


    Letting out a yawn as he did a few light stretches, Valyr headed to where Hal and Vera were, wondering whether the two already had breakfast yet.


    Seeing that there was no food made whatsoever, the young man shrugged his shoulders and began to make food for the three of them.


    At the same time, he noticed the shocked and surprised expressions on the duo''s faces, prompting him to scratch the back of his head as he wondered what they saw that made their faces look that way.


    Looking in the direction the two were looking at, it did not take long for Valyr to understand what left them at a loss for words.


    After all, what roamed the streets below them were none other than humans.


    ''As expected,'' thought Valyr to himself, briefly ncing at the food he was cooking before returning his attention to the beings that roamed below.


    Due to how the three had arrived at the center of the ruins during nighttime, both Hal and Vera had no clue that the opponents would be up against were none other than beings that looked like humans.


    Then again, without the things he had gone through and experienced so far within the inheritance, Valyr felt like he would have reacted the same way the two were reacting at the moment.


    However, he had already roamed the center of the city ruins once while obtaining information on the quadrant leaders he eventually killed.


    Because of that, he already knew what kind of beings they were going to go up against.


    Aside from that, the memory that he had gained ess thanks to him killing the quadrant leaders allowed him to understand their soon-to-be foes at a deeper level, recalling all of the efforts Vaughn had gone through in that memory.


    ''Multiple aberrations and primitive humanoids had eventually led to this point,'' muttered Valyr inwardly, activating [Superior Analysis] to get a better idea of what they were going to go up against.


    ''Feral humans, huh.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Feral Human (Mythic Elite)] (Level 85)


    ss: Feral Human (Umon)


    HP: 32,120/32,120


    MP: 28,920/28,920


    Attack: 4,220 - 4,220


    Defense: 3,212 - 3,212


    Stats: 803 VIT, 1055 STR, 1003 AGI, 665 DEX, 723 INT, 723 WIS, 695 PER, 260 LUK


    Skills: [Intermediate Feral Combat Arts], [Advanced Physical Damage Resistance], [Advanced Magical Damage Resistance], [Intermediate Physical Damage Nullification], [Intermediate Magical Damage Nullification], and 19 other skills.


    Intents: [Intent of Combat]


    Remarks: Human in appearance, bestial in nature. An experiment gone wrong. These beings contain a hint of conscience and sentience within them, yet that amount is only enough for them to further realize their primal instincts.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the remarks the system had given him on one of the beings, Valyr recalled the final experiment Vaughn did near the end of the memory.


    Having gone through over hundreds upon hundreds of primitive humanoids and chemical forms, all of that effort had eventually culminated into what looked to be a sessful result.


    Seeing that the primitive humanoid before the man had transformed into what looked like an actual human, Vaughn felt immense delight at the fact that his hardships were finally over.


    Yet, as if the world didn''t want him to achieve his goals so easily, that human soon lost his mind as it returned to what felt like a more primal state.


    Through corrtion and cross-referencing, the young man was more than certain that the final experiment Vaughn did yielded the first-ever feral human in history.


    And with how that feral human now numbered in the hundreds, all of them roaming around the streets of the ruins'' center, Valyr became even more curious over one thing.


    ''Was Vaughn eventually sessful in creating an actual human?''


    With no memory or person to answer his question, the young man eventually put the thought to the side as he let out a low sigh.


    After that, he brought the two back to reality by tapping on their shoulders, telling them that breakfast was ready to be served.


    Though the two still hadn''t gotten over the shock the sight below gave them, Hal and Vera still forced themselves to move, grabbing themselves a te of food.


    It was only after taking a few deep breaths topose themselves did the two return to their previous states, digging into their food in silence not long after.


    While eating the food Valyr cooked for them, the two noticed how the young man seemed indifferent towards the sight below, eating his breakfast like normal.


    "How¡­ could you be so calm?" asked Hal, feeling like he had lost a great portion of his appetite from the sight earlier. "Those are humans, no?"


    "In appearance." Valyr nodded, feeling like their conversation would eventually lead to a simr topic back when they met the primitive humanoids for the first time.


    "If you were to use your identification skill on them, you''d see how different they are from us."


    "I know. I''ve taken a look at their stats myself," replied Hal, his expression turning somewhat grave. "But don''t you feel anything? In a way, we''re reaping innocent lives, no?"


    In response, Valyr softly nodded. "In a way. If we weren''t here, they would have peacefully gone on with their lives, oblivious to the fact that they''re inside an inheritance."


    "However, with us making our presence sooner orter, they have no choice but to fight us. It''s in their name. They''re called feral humans for a reason."


    "But still¡­" Hal frowned.


    At this point, Hal begun to wonder whether the Valyr before him was the same person that apanied him and the others in the inheritance.


    Though, as he went along this train of thought for a bit longer, he eventually found his answer, a thought from the past surfacing in his mind.


    ''Of course not,'' thought Hal to himself. ''Of course he isn''t the Valyr that came along with you. Not anymore with all of the experiences you guys have gone through.''


    ''But then again¡­ that applies to me as well.''


    Recalling having a simr conversation regarding the ethics of killing beings that looked human back when they discovered the primitive humanoids for the first time, Hal let out a long and exasperated sigh.


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, he then looked at Vera, feeling that the thoughts he had were running in her mind as well.


    Wryly smiling at that realization, he then looked at where Valyr sat, hoping to apologize for what could have possibly been another blunder on their end.


    Though, before he could even apologize, he noticed that any traces of the young man from earlier were nowhere to be seen.


    Then, not long after, sounds of fighting had erupted from below.

 Chapter 796 Four Pillars: A Show of Power

    Chapter 796 Four Pirs: A Show of Power


    "Graah!"


    "Hyah!"


    As his opponents let out grunts and screams as they charged towards him, Valyr dodged all of their attacks with great ease thanks to his high dexterity.


    "Definitely more pleasant to the ears than the roars those primitive humanoids would give," muttered the young man to himself, briefly ncing at the building he had jumped down from.


    Wondering whether the two had finallye to terms with the situation they were in once more, Valyr thought back to the conversation he just had with them earlier.


    Of course, the young man understood where the two wereing from. After all, who would want to fight against innocent-looking humans for no apparent reason?


    However, they had many reasons to fight these feral humans.


    For one, they aimed to enter the Gates of Transcendence to improve their strengths even further for the skirmish that awaited them outside.


    With the feral humans basically barring them from entering, they were basically left with no choice but to fight against them if they wanted to achieve their goals.


    Then again, it wasn''t as if there was no other incentive to fighting against the feral humans.


    After all, as long as these guys caught a whiff of their presence, they would pounce on them like a bunch of ravenous wolves that wanted a bite of their meat.


    If they didn''t want to die to a bunch of innocent-looking humans that only saw them as sustenance, then they would need to fight.


    "Hup." Briefly scanning his vicinity, Valyr dodged a series of attacks from the feral humans around him, their strikes all aimed at his vital organs.


    Though, once again, with his high DEX stat, he had avoided all of them with ease, putting the feral humans at a spot that left them vulnerable.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Toxic Manastorm]!"


    Raising one of his arms, the young man willed his Shadow Energy and mana to move, activating the upgraded version of [Noxious Rain] as it manifested into a billowing cloud of ck and blue energy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Then, not long after, a flurry of energy bolts began to rain from the massive cloud.


    Taking on varying shapes and sizes, the power contained within the bolts were more than enough to bore multiple holes through the ground Valyr walked on.


    "Agh!"


    "Grah!"


    "Mngh!"


    Surprisingly, the feral humans continued to charge towards the young man even after thetter had unleashed his counterattack.


    Because of that, all of the feral humans he was fighting against, as well as most of those in the vicinity, had been struck by at least one of the bolts, removing a decentlyrge chunk of their health.


    "Not gonna lie, this was a stupid move." Waving his hands around to manipte some of the bolts to his will, Valyr could not help but inwardly admonish himself for deciding to fight against the feral humans all of a sudden.


    Sure, with the True Wyvern Armor equipped and his extensive skill set that bolstered both his damage and stats, he would have no problem fighting against the feral humans on his own.


    Even more so with thebat experience he had rued so far from both his past life and current life.


    However, even though he had all of these advantages under his belt that would allow him to fight against the feral humans with ease, he still thought of his current actions as stupid.


    Why?


    Because he had something that would not only allow him to kill the feral humans with one hit, but also allow him to do so from thefort of their temporary camp.


    "Then again, I''ve yet to create more of the items needed to load those firearms after looting the Enlightenment Material Cache for materials," said Valyr to himself, faintly chuckling at the thought.


    "I''ll go and do that after this, then."


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Arcane Fang of the Shadow Serpent]!"


    Seeing that the number of feral humans in his vicinity had begun to thin out, Valyr decided to make the most of his current momentum by unleashing yet another skill.


    Continuing to keep a part of his mind focused on controlling [Toxic Manastorm], the young man willed more Shadow Energy and mana to circte through his body.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, a fang made out of ck and blue energy appeared above Valyr''s head, prompting him to take a deep breath as he felt additional strain wash over his mind at that moment.


    Taking note of the feral humans that had been antagonizing him ever since he had jumped down, the young man finally made his move, utilizing the corporeal fang as a de of sorts as he waved it around.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    To no surprise, the feral humans that were hit by the fang were all sent flying, their health taking a massive dip aftering in contact with it.


    Adding on the fact that the cloud way above Valyr''s head continued to rain down bolts of destruction, some of the feral humans had already sumbed to the umted damage, their bodies eventually deprived of their vitality.


    "Just a bit more¡­" Watching as the scales were finally tipping towards his favor, the young man continued to attack with greater ferocity, even going so far as to make use of the things he had learned whilst in the Gates of Awakening.


    In the end, it had only taken a few more minutes for all of the feral humans in Valyr''s vicinity to fall to the ground, the immediate silence brought by it being slightly eerie.


    Letting out a long exhale, the young man dispelled both of his skills as he took out a mana potion from his spatial bracelet.


    Feeling his mana reserves swiftly fill up by the second, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he looked at the havoc he had wreaked just now.


    "I guess this is more than enough of a wakeup call for the two to realize that the beings below them would stop at nothing to kill them," said the young man to himself, making his way back to the temporary camp through the building''s stairs.


    "Then again, with all things considered, with how these beings act, it''s pretty easy to shift your mindset to where you''d have no qualms fighting them."


    "After all, you just gotta think of them as yet another person who would stop at nothing to see your utter demise."


    "Yeah. I''m sure they would have no problem imagining that." "Especially with how many people like that flock to their feet because of their heavenly talent."


    ¡­


    Arriving at the temporary camp once more, Valyr wondered whether the two would do something simr to what happened back when they fought against the primitive humanoids, apologizing for their earlier thoughts.


    However, what greeted him was not the apologetic expressions of both Vera and Hal.


    Instead, the two looked at him with disbelief written all over their faces, wondering whether the Valyr before them was the same Valyr they knew.


    "What¡­ kind of rewards did you receive from the Gates of Awakening?" Taking some time to recover from the shock Valyr''s earlier disy of power gave him, Hal eventually snapped back to reality to ask the question.


    "Of course, if you don''t mind sharing."


    "I don''t really mind," said Valyr in response, though only after having the two promise to tell the rewards they''d gotten from the Gates of Awakening in exchange.


    "Anyways, I got some of my core skills upgraded. Same goes for the Intent Seed I''veprehended," Valyr told the two. "And then a couple Hidden Stats here and there."


    "That''s a lot," replied Hal, exining the rewards he had gotten from his run at the Gates of Awakening.


    After that, Vera told Valyr about the rewards she had gotten from her run.


    Nodding in response to their words, the young man inwardly had a bitter smile on his face, thinking about how he had yet to grab his remaining rewards from the Gates of Awakening.


    ''Thank the heavens I could im it at any time I want,'' briefly thought the young man to himself, focusing his attention back to the two before him not long after.


    Unsurprisingly, after getting over the shock that Valyr''s fight from earlier gave them, Hal and Vera made it known to the young man that their thoughts had been another case of what happened back with the primitive humanoids.


    Feeling like the two would apologize to him once more after that, the young man took the initiative to say that it was fine, reminding them that such thoughts were a great thing to have rather than a bad thing.


    After talking about the topic for a bit more, Hal and Vera eventually suggested to Valyr that they would try their hand at fighting against the feral humans, getting some courage from the fight he had just shown them.


    In response, the young man told them to be vignt when fighting against the feral humans, to which he received a couple of nods back. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "And there they go." Finding it amusing how the two had decided to head down the building the same way he did, the young man watched the two move through the streets of the ruins'' center for a bit as they eventually found their first set of foes.


    Confident that the two would have no problem fighting against them with their current strengths, Valyr then shifted his gaze elsewhere, recalling that there was something he needed to go to in the center of the city ruins.


    Though, just as his eyesnded on the barren spot he had gone to back when he was preparing to fight the quadrant leaders¡­


    He felt a feeling of beckoning from the barren spot, urging him toe closer as soon as possible.

 Chapter 797 Four Pillars: Opening Up

    Chapter 797 Four Pirs: Opening Up


    "Hmm¡­"


    Continuing to stare at the barren spot within the center of the ruins, Valyr began to ponder over the reasons as to why he began to feel like the spot was beckoning him toe closer.


    Then again, such a moment of ponderation did notst for long as a thought from the past eventually surfaced in his mind.


    ''If I remember correctly, I heard someone say something to me back when I headed into that ce,'' murmured Valyr to himself inwardly, rummaging the memories specific to that thought.


    As far as he could remember, he was flying through the center of the ruins with the help of one of his movement skills.


    Then, while keeping in mind the kind of enemies he and the others would face once they reached the center, he eventually came across the barren spot.


    Being surrounded by the barrier, the young man held some doubts that he would be able to pass through it since the beings around it all seemed to avoid it.


    Though, in the end, he trusted his guts and jump in.


    Once there, Valyr found a statue at the center of the barren spot.


    Specifically, a statue of thest leader of humanity, Vaughn Darkstar.


    Because of the statue, one of the objectives for Ryvrthe''s quests had beenpleted, which Valyr took as a wee surprise.


    However, just as he was about to head back to where the others were at the time, he then heard a voice speak out to him.


    ''To seek what you wish to obtain, ascend past the Gates of Enlightenment and enter the ranks of the Gates of Awakening.''


    ''Until then, the world''s mysteries shall remain shrouded before your gaze.'' n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Haah¡­ I think I have an idea." Finally recalling the exact words the voice had told him at the time, Valyr more or less had a strong idea of why he felt the feeling of beckoning.


    ''Since I''m now a member of the Gates of Awakening, I''m now eligible to obtain the thing that I wish to seek¡­ whatever that may be.''


    ''As for the second line, I guess it could be interpreted in a way where me obtaining it earlier would be better,'' thought the young man to himself, nodding after feeling like he had deduced the somewhat cryptic words correctly.


    "The question is¡­ should I grab it while the two are preupied with fighting the feral humans?"


    As this question came to mind, Valyr stood up to get a better view of where Hal and Vera were.


    Looking around the vicinity for a while, he eventually found the two working together as they fought against a group of feral humans with considerable ease.


    Feeling a slight hint of satisfaction at how quick the two had changed their minds, the young man then returned his attention back at where the barren spot was.


    Still sensing the feeling of beckoning being emanated by the barren spot, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as the gears in his mind continued to turn.


    In the end, he decided to save his journey to the barren spot for ater time, reminding himself that he had yet to obtain his other remaining rewards from the Gates of Awakening.


    "In terms of importance, the rewards take precedence," murmured Valyr to himself. "Aside from the fact that I don''t know what I''d actually obtain once I get to the barren spot, it''s not like it''s going anywhere either."


    "Then again, the same could be said for my rewards from the Gates of Awakening." The young man chuckled, feeling like his words could be represented as him being somewhat hypocritical.


    "Well, whatever. I''ll think about it a bit further after the twoe back."


    Recalling how he had yet to finish his meal from earlier, Valyr went ahead and reheated the food he made before grabbing himself a te of food.


    Then, watching the two fight against the feral humans from afar, the young man savored each and every bite he took as a faint smile adorned his face.


    Surprisingly, the duo worked off each other''s skills quite well.


    Acting as the vanguard, Hal would utilize his sword and his Intent to keep the feral humans a fair distance away from them.


    On the other hand, Vera would act as both support and rear damage dealer, slinging magic spells here and there to reduce the burden that Hal had to face.


    With the two gradually bing more and more in sync as their fight continued, the two eventually killed all of the feral humans in their vicinity, causing satisfied smiles to appear on their faces as they made their way back to the temporary camp.


    By the time the two of them returned to the camp, Valyr greeted them with piping hot tes of food as he told them the things that he had noticed while watching them fight.


    Using that as a basis, they then talked about how the three of them would be able to work together as a group, which would allow them to show greaterbat efficiency once they found themselves surrounded by feral humans.


    While they were on that topic, Valyr revealed the arquebus he had shown to the two back then in greater detail, reminding both Hal and Vera about the terrifyingly strong weapon he had used back when they fought against the quadrant leader for the first time.


    Briefly mentioning the various upgrades he had done to the arquebus while he was in the Gates of Awakening, the young man then did a demonstration of the weapon at y, instructing the two on how to arm the arquebus for firing.


    Then, after setting his sights on a specific feral human near their vicinity, he then let the firearm do its thing, shooting out a bullet that tore the feral human Valyr targeted into shreds.


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, both Hal and Vera were left at aplete loss for words after seeing the destruction such a simple weapon could deal.


    Though, after ncing at each other for a bit, they both knew that even though it was a weapon that even a Rank 0 ss holder could easily handle¡­


    Valyr was the main reason why the weapon could unleash such terrifying amounts of damage.

 Chapter 798 Four Pillars: Moving in Secret

    Chapter 798 Four Pirs: Moving in Secret


    After showing how the arquebus worked, as well as how destructive its capabilities were in the right hands, Valyr offered to give the two a go at using the firearm for themselves.


    Unexpectedly, both Hal and Vera refused to try it out, with the former telling Valyr that the arquebus was a weapon that he had put tons of effort into to get to where it was today.


    After that, he mentioned that he feared breaking something that could deal a lot of damage just because he wanted to try it out.


    In response, the young man let out a chuckle, telling the two that it was more than fine for them to try the weapon out.


    However, seeing as the two were adamant in refusing his offer, Valyr eventually let out a sigh as he brought out something from his spatial bracelet.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing a smaller firearm appear in the young man''s hands, Hal and Vera looked at Valyr with slightly widened eyes as thetter exined what he had just brought out.


    Informing them that he had just brought out a pistol, he then exined that the two operated in the same fashion but were used in two different situations.


    At the same time, he assured them that it would be fine if they caused damage to the weapons he made, reminding them that he was the one who forged the weapons in the first ce.


    Of course, it was not without reason that he offered to teach the two how to use a firearm.


    For one, with the skirmish between the orcs and humans having finally escted into a full-on war, their side was going to need every advantage they could get.


    Naturally, having everyone armed with firearms was one of them.


    Especially with how much damage it could deal.


    By teaching other people to operate a firearm beforehand, he could have more people pick up and adopt the firearm as a staple weapon, possibly allowing the scales to tip into their favor.


    Aside from that, the other reason why he decided to teach the two how to use a firearm was because of Hal.


    ording to the history of Veldanyr from his past life, Hal had be known as the Monarch of Innovation during the War of the Three Sovereignties, bringing forth multiple technological innovations that allowed humans to stand their ground.


    Among those many innovations, one of them was the firearm.


    However, unlike the refined arquebus and pistol he had just shown to the two, the firearms that were in mass use at the time were crude in nature, their mechanics more akin to portable cannons than actual firearms.


    With that, Valyr hoped that his firearms would help inspire Hal to achieve more innovationster down the line, bringing the average level of technology to humanity of heights far greater than in his past life.


    Nevertheless, it went without saying that he would aid him in that regard as well.


    And so, even though they were afraid of breaking it, Hal and Vera were eventually left with no choice but to handle the weapons Valyr had forged.


    Listening to every instruction the young man had given them, the two gradually lost the fear they initially had while handling the firearms.


    Instead, they looked at the weapons they were holding in surprise, feeling disbelief at the fact that operating a firearm was far simpler than they initially thought.


    ''If only they knew if I could make it even simplerter on.'' Hearing such words being uttered by the two, Valyr inwardly let out an amused chuckle as he told the two to hold their weapons steady as they aimed.


    Then, after he gave them a signal, Hal and Vera pressed on their weapon''s triggers, sending out two bullets that zoomed through the air at great speeds.


    Bang! Bang!


    With the stats of the two being more or lessparable to his own, it went without saying that the feral humans that the two designated as targets had easily gone down for the count, their heads exploding into various bits and chunks.


    Finally getting an idea on how simple and how destructive such a weapon was firsthand, Vera and Hal looked at the young man with a hint of excitement in their eyes, hoping to get their hands on a firearm on their own in case of emergency.


    In response, the young man merely smiled, telling them that he would forge more of these weapons once they were out of the inheritance.


    After the two had be acquainted with the potential of firearms, there was no surprise that the topic of firearms being used in the war had been brought up as they continued to eat their food. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though he felt a faint smirk creep up on the edge of his lips as he heard this topic, Valyr looked at them with a solemn expression as he exined to the two in greater detail on what was needed to forge the firearm in the first ce.


    Hearing how one firearm needed a plethora of materials, as well as a Technology Tree that had its Innovation branch at an age of technology far beyond the norm, thoughts of firearms being used en masse during the war gradually dissipated.


    In response, Valyr told them that it was possible to reduce the requirements needed to forge a firearm, allowing firearms to be mass produced if need be.


    Hearing words of gratitudee from the two after that, with most of iting from Hal, the trio continued on with their day, heading down their camp every once in a while to be more and more used to fighting against the feral humans.


    Of course, during that time, Valyr showcased the arquebus in action once more, killing all of his foes from thefort of the rooftop camp.


    Though the two began toin at how unfair such a weapon was, there was no doubt in their minds regarding the weapon''s capabilities, with their first experience continuing to linger in their minds even after they had fallen asleep.


    "I guess they''re asleep by now." After telling the two that they could get some rest first, Valyr watched Hal and Vera enter their tents to get some shuteye.


    Waiting a few minutes to see if the two had truly fallen asleep or not, the young man let out a faint sigh as he briefly stared at the roaring mes in the fire pit before him.


    Taking in a deep breath, he then stood up from his seat as a rift to another world appeared before him.


    Whoosh!


    "I think it''s due time for me to obtain my rewards."

 Chapter 799 Four Pillars: Exploring the Gates of Awakening

    Chapter 799 Four Pirs: Exploring the Gates of Awakening


    Swoosh!


    Walking through the rift he had opened, Valyr expected himself to appear in a courtyard simr to the one the Gates of Enlightenment had, with all of the important buildings found in simr locations. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Surprisingly, the young man''s hunch was correct, inwardly grinning after finding out that he had indeed appeared in what looked to be the center of a courtyard.


    However, unlike the courtyard the Gates of Enlightenment had, the Gates of Awakening''s courtyard upied at ten times as much area, prompting the important buildings within the courtyard to take up such massive space.


    "Woah¡­" With his delight swiftly reced with awe as he looked around his surroundings, Valyr began to walk through the area for a bit, wanting to get a better idea of what the Gates of Awakening was like.


    In many more ways than one, the Gates of Awakening was actually quite simr to the Gates of Enlightenment.


    The most important buildings were located in the cardinal directions of the courtyard, while the buildings that held lesser importance could be found in the intercardinal directions.


    In between those buildings were the various houses and misceneous buildings that filled in the nks, giving Valyr the feeling that the Gates of Awakening housed arge yet tight-knitmunity.


    "Large, tight-knit, and rich," muttered the young man sometimeter as the thought came to mind.


    If the buildings within the Gates of Enlightenment exuded a slight air of majesty and opulence due to its minimalistic design, then the Gates of Awakening did the exact opposite.


    From the buildings that housed knowledge on the four pirs of production, to even the small houses that covered what seemed the periphery of the courtyard, all of them gave off an air of extreme opulence.


    Exquisite carvings, precious materials, such things were put to great use by the various buildings, causing Valyr to scratch his head for a bit as he took it all in.


    "Definitely better in many aspectspared to the Gates of Enlightenment," said the young man after feeling like he had done enough precursory exploration, returning to the center of the courtyard soon after.


    Once there, he sat on the ground for a bit as he gathered his thoughts.


    At the same time, he reminded himself the amount of time he had left to explore the Gates of Awakening before Hal and Vera woke up from their slumber.


    "It''s only obvious that I should head to the True cksmith Archive, then," muttered Valyr to himself as he nned out in what order he would im his remaining rewards.


    Standing up, the young man looked around for a bit before eventually noticing that the entire courtyard was showing him the path he needed to take to arrive at the True cksmith Archive.


    Finding the phenomenon somewhat amusing, Valyr soon made his way to therge pagoda in the north, slightly hastening his pace in the process.


    "The True cksmith Archive." Once at the pagoda, the young man took a brief look at therge sign hanging above the entrance.


    Though, once he did, he felt an agglomeration of intents wash over him, prompting his expression to turn solemn as he looked at the sign with greater focus.


    It was there that he noticed that each word carved on the sign seemed to contain a deeper meaning rted to the art of cksmithing, seemingly telling him the path that he needed to take to reach greater heights.


    However, as he continued to sense the intents lingering within the sign, Valyr soon noticed a mismatch of sorts between his understanding of cksmithing and the cksmithing the sign was trying to show him.


    Realizing that, though a frown appeared on his face, the young man strengthened his beliefs in the path of forging he had carved, reminding himself that the path he had carved was the path that led him to where he was today.


    Then, as if it was recognizing the path Valyr had forged, the intents lingering around the sign gradually disappeared, allowing the young man to eventually return his focus to the actual pagoda.


    "Huh." Letting out a long exhale topose himself, Valyr soon made his way to the entrance as his mind went over the experience he had just gone through. "I''m guessing that was a test of sorts to see if I''m actually eligible to enter the ce?"


    Chuckling at the thought, the young man eventually found himself standing near an energy barrier, barring him from entering the building proper.


    Having experienced the barrier bar his entry multiple times at this point, Valyr already knew what to do, extending his right arm as the energy barrier sent out a bit of its energy to wrap around it.


    "Only those with an authority level of 2 and above are permitted to enter the True cksmith Archive," said a monotonous voice not long after, prompting Valyr to wonder for a bit as to why even the knowledge repositories themselves had a security check in ce.


    In the end, the young man pushed the thought aside as he felt that the barrier was finished scanning him.


    "Verifying¡­ authority has been verified to be Level 6." Hearing these words being uttered out by the monotonous voice, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he did not expect his initial level of authority to be so high.


    Fortunately, the monotonous voice had exined why his authority was so high, possibly considering that he had just entered the Gates of Awakening for the first time.


    "User has cleared all of the trials of the Gates of Awakening, improving their initial authority to Level 3. User has also gained three additional authority levels through the trial''s challenges, increasing their initial authority to Level 6."


    "You are permitted to enter the True cksmith Archive." Nodding in understanding at the voice''s words, Valyr watched as the energy barrier copsed on itself, prompting him to take a deep breath as he made his way deeper into the True cksmith Archive.


    Simr to the cksmith Knowledge Repository back in the Gates of Enlightenment, the young man quickly found himself surrounded by rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with various documents and books.


    But as he had already gone through the process in the past, he soon touched the nearest shelf, causing a prompt to appear in front of his vision not long after.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to obtain all the information within this space?]


    Naturally, after seeing the prompt before him¡­


    Valyr said yes.

 Chapter 800 Four Pillars: Entering the Archives

    Chapter 800 Four Pirs: Entering the Archives


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr epted the prompt, glowing characters began to appear on the surface of all of the documents and books within the shelves. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Then, with great speed, these characters coalesced into a massive wave, making the young man feel somewhat overwhelmed as it soon crashed down on his body.


    Bang!


    In mere instants, a deluge of information inundated the young man''s mind, filling every nook and cranny his brain could handle regarding knowledge of an era of technology that had gone past the Renaissance Age.


    ''The Age¡­ of Scientific Revolution¡­'' briefly thought Valyr to himself, finding it difficult to maintain a coherent train of thought while more information was being pushed into his mind.


    Then again, with how the Technology Tree was designed, the amount of information he had gotten made a lot of sense.


    Whether it was the Production branch, the Innovation branch, or the Combat branch, each subsequent tier or age needed more far more points than the previous due to the fact that there were more to unlock.


    Or in other words, the farther he went through the eras of technology, the more information that would fill up his mind.


    Having already experienced such levels of mental strain multiple times in the past, Valyr more or less found the entire experience tolerable, if not slightly painful.


    Though, as more and more time passed, he felt like his mind was gradually being overwhelmed by the insane amounts of information that kept entering his mind.


    Fortunately, just as he felt like his mind was going to sumb to the massive information he epted from the True cksmith Archive, the influx of information eventually stopped.


    At that, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief, taking in a few deep breaths soon after as he organized and processed all of the information that had been crammed into his mind earlier.


    By the time he had more or less gotten a general idea of the knowledge that entered his mind, a series of notification sounds soon resounded in the young man''s mind, prompting him to open up his notification screen.


    Ding!


    [You have gained great amounts of information regarding technological advancements during the Age of Scientific Revolution from a mysterious source.]


    [From this point onward, Advancements during the Age of Scientific Revolution within the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch shall now cost a fraction of the Technology Points needed to unlock and upgrade them before.]


    [Cost of advancements beyond the Age of Scientific Revolution have also been significantly reduced due to the obtained information.]


    "To think I''m already having a hard time epting all of the information on the Age of Scientific Revolution."


    Letting out a faint chuckle at the thought, the young man soon let out a deep sigh as he found the passage that would lead him to the second floor of the True cksmith Archive.


    In terms ofyout, the True cksmith Archive was simr to the cksmith Knowledge Repository in that it wasposed of three floors in total.


    However, unlike the cksmith Knowledge Repository, the True cksmith Archive contained a secret room that Valyr was able to gain ess to only afterpleting the Gates of Awakening''s trials.


    Aside from that, the True cksmith Archive housed a far greater amount of knowledge thanks to its massive size.


    Though, after having epted all of the information from the archive''s first floor just now, Valyr had a feeling that it was actually the other way around.


    Instead, the True cksmith Archive had been constructed to take up great space due to the massive amount of information housed in each technological age.


    ''In any case, I''m going to have to prepare myself for the next three ces I''ll have to enter,'' thought the young man to himself, steeling his mind as he made his way to the passage that led up to the second floor.


    With his authority having been verified at the entrance to be more than eligible, the energy barrier that barred Valyr from heading up swiftly copsed on itself, allowing the young man to go through the couple flights of stairs needed to enter the archive''s second floor.


    Unsurprisingly, once he had entered the second floor, Valyr was greeted once more by the sight of multiple bookshelves filling his vision.


    Though, after looking closely, he noticed that the shelves were actually ced closer to one another thanks to the second floor taking up less space.


    Wryly smiling as he realized that he might be taking in just as much, if not more information than on the first floor, the young man calmed himself down before epting the information the second floor gave him.


    Fortunately, after having experienced nearly sumbing to the information on the first floor, Valyr already expected for the worst to happen, gritting his teeth as he went through the knowledge the pagoda was giving him on the First Industrial Revolution.


    By the time half an hour had passed, it was only then did the influx of information abate, allowing Valyr to catch his breath as he went through the information he had just received.


    Feeling like a headache was about toe after gaining confirmation from the system that he had obtained knowledge on the First Industrial Revolution, the young man rested for a bit before heading up the third floor.


    Though, just as he had arrived on the third floor, rather than be greeted by the sights of hundreds upon thousands of shelves once more, Valyr was instead greeted by arge empty space.


    "Huh?" Scratching the back of his head in confusion, the young man looked around the third floor for a bit before eventually noticing the small pedestal at the center of the space.


    Wondering whether if this pedestal housed all of the information he would need regarding the Second Industrial Revolution, Valyr eventually ced his hand on the pedestal, his eyes widening in surprise after reading the prompt that appeared before him.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to unlock all Advancements rted to the Age of Scientific Revolution?]


    After confirming multiple times that he was not hallucinating, it went without saying that the young man epted the prompt, feeling a great amount of excitement at the fact that he would be able to make use of the knowledge as soon as he got out of the inheritance.


    However, because of the excitement, he had forgotten that his mind had been inundated with great amounts of information just earlier.


    And thus, whilst more information on the Age of Scientific Revolution filled his mind, since he was wholly unprepared¡­


    He soon fell unconscious.

 Chapter 801 Four Pillars: The Power of Knowledge

    Chapter 801 Four Pirs: The Power of Knowledge


    "Mngh¡­"


    After what felt like an incredibly long time, Valyr gradually returned to the waking world as he gradually sat upright.


    While doing so, he tried to recall what had just happened, only for him to feel like his entire body had been rolled over by a hundred boulders. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, the pain did not stop there, with Valyr feeling like his mind was gonna break apart at any moment.


    As this great level of pain washed over his body, the young man began to take in a few deep breaths as he gave the pain the time it needed to subside.


    Fortunately, it only took around 15 minutes or so for all of the pain to eventually disappear, allowing Valyr to let out a deep sigh of relief.


    Feeling cold sweat cover his entire body from the experience, a wry smile adorned the young man''s face as he tried to go over what just happened once more.


    With there being no pain assailing him anymore, Valyr eventually recalled everything that transpired, causing him to let out a bitter chuckle not long after.


    "I let my excitement get the better of me," muttered Valyr to himself, closing his eyes after that as he gave himself more time to rest.


    After all, he had unlocked all of the advancements he could get at the moment from the Age of Scientific Revolution in one go.


    And something like that would normally have been done over a far longer span of time than he took to achieve the same result.


    Though he did fall unconscious at some point, Valyr still felt like the trade-off was more than worth it with how much time and Technology Points he had saved.


    Letting out a long exhale as he opened his eyes, Valyr gradually stood up as he brought up his notification screen.


    Ding!


    Seeing the usual list of notifications that came along with such a situation, a satisfied smile unknowingly crept up on the young man''s face.


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the Age of Scientific Revolution on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch have been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    "Even if I were to leave the inheritance at this point, I would have no qualms whatsoever," said the young man to himself, feeling a bit giddy at the fact that his current technological knowledge would allow him to achieve wonders back in Veldanyr.


    Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions down, the young man soon closed his notification screen before opening up his Technology Tree.


    Taking a look at the amount of progress he had made so far, a satisfied grin appeared on his face as he stared at the now massive branch that was the Innovation branch.


    With how each subsequent age prompted him to unlock more and more advancements, the Innovation branch had veered away from its original fan-shapedyout.


    Instead, the branch filled with advancements now more resembled the synapse and neural connections in a brain, with each unlocked advancement on it glowing as if it were the core of that knowledge.


    Moving his attention away from the Innovation branch, Valyr''s attention soon fell onto the Production branch, nodding in satisfaction as he had unlocked and maxed all of the major advancements that was avable to him at his current rank.


    ''Aside from unlocking all of the minor advancements I''ve missed, the next set of important advancements would appear by the time I reach Rank 5,'' thought the young man to himself, rummaging through his treasure trove of memories to see if his thoughts were correct.


    Feeling like he still had a decently long amount of time to amass all of the Technology Points he needed for the advancements, Valyr soon found his eyes hovering over the Combat branch.


    "Man¡­" At the very moment gazed upon the branch in question, a bitter smile subconsciously appeared on the young man''s face.


    Unlike the Production branch, which had all of the major advancements he would need unlocked, Valyr''s Combat branch only had a few advancements on it that were unlocked.


    All of the Basic-level advancements at that.


    Aside from that, these Basic-level advancements were all still at the base level, reminding Valyr that he had unlocked all of these advancements back when he had participated in a monster tide for the first time.


    "I should really focus on this some more," said the young man to himself at this point, making a mental note of it as he closed the Technology Tree.


    At his current rank, there were a great number of advancements he could unlock in the Combat branch.


    Add on the fact that he had begun to dabble in magic, as well as in firearms, his choice of advancements had also expanded, allowing the Combat branch to be at least twice asrge as the Production branch if he unlocked all of them.


    Unfortunately, with the spending spree he had gone through in the past to unlock the knowledge needed to forge firearms, he was only left with a pitiful amount of Technology Points that wouldn''t even be enough to unlock a single Basic-level advancement.


    "Note to self: Focus on the Combat branch first before the Production branch once you get out of here." After reminding himself of the thought over and over again, the young man soon began to move once more as he walked around the third floor.


    Searching for where the entrance to the secret room was located, Valyr eventually found himself standing in front of one of the pirs holding up the third floor.


    Looking at the other pirs that held up the third floor, the young man noticed that the pir before him was quite redundant in terms of structure.


    Somewhat unsure that this pir held the passage to the secret room he sought to enter, Valyr eventually mustered up the courage to push it aside.


    Rumble¡­


    Surprisingly, the pir began to move to the side, causing the young man''s eyes to widen in slight disbelief as a narrow passageway was gradually revealed to him.


    With the passageway reminding him of the secret passage he found back at the Enlightenment Material Cache, the young man took in a deep breath as he entered it.


    "What thing would even be stored in this secret room?" With the passageway to the secret room being surprisingly longer than he initially thought, Valyr began to think about the possible things that he would find once he stepped foot into it.


    Having gone through the Enlightenment Material Cache situation before, the young man felt that there was a high chance that the secret room might house yet another Shard of Defiance.


    With how he already had two of them fused together in the depths of mind, Valyr was slightly curious as to what kind of difference a third shard would do to the shard that was already in his mind.


    Aside from that, there were a couple other possibilities in his mind with regards to what kind of thing the secret room would house.


    It was either he would obtain knowledge on the Second Industrial Revolution¡­


    Or he would unlock all of the advancements rted to the First Industrial Revolution.


    Whether it was the former or thetter, Valyr knew that the opportunity would definitely change a lot of things regarding his approach on things so far.


    If he were to obtain knowledge on the Second Industrial Revolution, then he could use the Technology Points he gained along the way to get his hands on machinery that would be closer to the modern age of technology.


    On the other hand, if he were to unlock all of the advancements regarding the First Industrial Revolution, it would allow him to readily make use of the technology to shape Veldanyr''sndscape to where he was at a massive advantage.


    After all, how could one beat the power of military weaponry, mass production, and electricity in a world where technology had only reached thetter portion of the Early Middle Ages?


    With these three possibilities lingering in his mind, two of them were instantly discarded as Valyr stared at the pedestal at the center of the somewhat small room.


    "I guess I''m gonna have to take a long nap again," said Valyr with a wry chuckle.


    Moving closer to the pedestal, the young man steeled himself for what was toe as he ced his hand on it.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to unlock all Advancements rted to the First Industrial Revolution?]


    Looking at the prompt that appeared before him, Valyr took in aposing breath before epting it.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, a great amount of information soon entered his mind, with some of them working off of the knowledge he had already obtained after unlocking advancements rted to the Age of Scientific Revolution.


    As for the majority of the knowledge, they expounded on the knowledge he had already received on the First Industrial Revolution, introducing him to various blueprints, concepts, andthe like that caused the gears in his mind to turn on overdrive.


    Unfortunately, just like what had happened before, the young man eventually fell unconscious after having his mind be bombarded by what could only be ssified as a raging tsunami of information.


    Though, unlike his experience before he entered the secret room, Valyr woke up quite faster than expected, only falling unconscious for what felt like a few hours at most.


    On top of that, he felt no pain all over his body whatsoever.


    At most, he only felt a splitting headache, which eventually subsided after getting some rest for a few minutes.


    Taking some time to process and organize the information he had just received, Valyr took a look at his notifications once more, smiling after seeing that he had indeed unlocked all of the advancements under the First Industrial Revolution.


    Ding!


    [You have received an inordinate amount of information from a mysterious source.]


    [All Basic-level and Intermediate-level advancements making up the First Industrial Revolution on the Technology Tree''s Innovation branch have been unlocked and upgraded to their max levels.]


    Getting up from the floor, the young man soon made his way out of the secret room, exiting the True cksmith Archive itself sometimeter.


    Then, once he was at the entrance, he took in the sight of the entire courtyard before going over his thoughts for a bit.


    After a moment of silence, he then began to head towards a building within the courtyard, its location somewhat away from the usual paths.


    "Now that I''ve obtained all I need from the archive¡­"


    "Time to take a look at the opportunity the Gates of Awakening has given me."


    "¡­"


    "The Realm of Myriad Experiences, huh¡­"

 Chapter 802 Four Pillars: Realm of Myriad Experiences

    Chapter 802 Four Pirs: Realm of Myriad Experiences


    Of course, Valyr did not know the name of the opportunity the Gates of Awakening had given to him at first.


    All he knew was that it was an opportunity for him to polish up his mastery on all the skills that were in his arsenal.


    Fortunately, by the time he had entered the Gates of Awakening for the first time, he had gotten more information from the organization itself.


    Aside from informing him of what his remaining rewards were and where they could be found, the Gates of Awakening had even gone into a bit more detail on what each reward entailed.


    Naturally, that was including the Realm of Myriad Experiences he was heading to.


    "This kind of reminds me of what I took to arrive at the Chambers of Enlightenment." Noticing that the path he was taking led him further and further away from the courtyard proper, Valyr was reminded of a simr experience back in the Gates of Enlightenment.


    However, unlike back in the Gates of Enlightenment, where he was led to a dpidated church, the path he took this time around led him to a ce that was worse than a church.


    To be more exact, what stood before him was an entrance to a natural cave.


    "Huh." Scratching the back of his head for a bit in slight confusion, Valyr turned around to look back at the path he had just taken.


    At the same time, he brought up the information the Gates of Awakening had given him, only to confirm once more that the path he had taken was, in fact, correct.


    "I guess I have to go inside, huh." Briefly wondering why such a magical ce called the Realm of Myriad Experiences would be located inside a natural cave, Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he began to delve deeper into the cave.


    "Well, it could be worse."


    "The entrance could be me jumping down into a giant hole."


    Reminding himself of his journey to the undergroundyer of the city ruins, the young man conjured a small me to illuminate the path before him as he walked with firm yet determined steps.


    Looking around, Valyr did not find anything amiss at all. At some point, he even began to wonder whether something like the Realm of Myriad Experiences would really be found inside a cave like this.


    Yet, he still forged on.


    Around a few minutes into his delve, the young man noticed that the cave seemed to be a bit narrower than before, prompting him to expect for the worst in advance.


    Unfortunately, the worst dide true, with the cave growing narrower and narrower the deeper he went.


    Thankfully, the cave stopped narrowing down by the time the space could only fit one person walking through it, easing up Valyr''s mind as he now thought of the cave as one long yet narrow corridor.


    In fact, the cave itself seemed to reinforce that thought, with the walls making up the cave growing smoother the further Valyr got into it.


    Eventually, after walking for about an hour or so, the young man finally arrived in front of a decentlyrge space, allowing Valyr to let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the door in front of him.


    "The Realm of Myriad Experiences." Briefly ncing at the small wooden sign hanging above the entrance, the young man thought about how much time had passed since he entered the Gates of Awakening.


    Feeling a hint of panic, Valyr proceeded to conjure a rift beside him that would lead him out of the Gates of Awakening.


    Seeing that the sight on the other side was still pretty dark, the young man heaved out a long sigh of relief as he soon returned his attention to the entrance before him.


    Creak¡­


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr gradually opened the door that would lead him to the Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    However, rather than be greeted by a sight that matched the aesthetic of the door he had just opened, he was instead teleported away from his initial spot, appearing in another ce altogether a few momentster.


    Whoosh! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "What¡­" Before Valyr could even process what was going on, he soon found himself standing at the center of what seemed to be the barren trial grounds once more.


    With his mind putting two and two together, the young man proceeded to conjure a rift that would take him out of the ce, not wanting to go through those trials once again.


    Though, before he could even take a step into the rift¡­


    Swoosh!


    Without any warning whatsoever, the rift closed in on itself, only to be apanied by a familiar monotonous voice not long after.


    ''Wee to the Realm of Myriad Experiences.''


    "Fuck." Hearing the familiar voice resound throughout the barren grounds once more, Valyr let out a deep yet long exhale as he tried to calm himself down.


    After that, he sat on the ground and listened to what the voice had to say, seemingly giving up as the sight just earlier made him realize that there was no escape for what was toe.


    However, rather than hear the voice exin how the Realm of Myriad Experiences operated simrly to the nine trials in order to enhance his skill mastery, the young man instead heard something else.


    ''Though considered by those with lower authority as an unimportant location, the Realm of Myriad Experiences is an opportunity that even those with high authority in the Gates of Awakening yearn to obtain.''


    ''Within this realm, any movements you do would allow you to obtain insight at a rate that''s at least ten times faster than in the outside world.''


    ''With that, mastery over a skill could be easily raised to match the level of one''s skill on their system, allowing them to bring out the entirety of their skill in every move.''


    ''However, aside from raising one''s skill mastery, one could also choose to raise the level of the skills themselves alongside mastery, recing the need for Skill Keys and other resources to upgrade skills with hard work and perseverance.''


    At those words, the young man was reminded of a couple specific trials he had cleared back then, specifically the Trial of Four Forms and Nine Forms.


    Recalling how he had to grind for hours and days on end just to raise his mastery over a certain weapon to Umon grade, Valyr felt like a sigh was about to escape his mouth.


    ''Though, with insights being obtained at least ten times faster¡­'' thought the young man to himself, only to smile soon after.


    ''I guess more repetition wouldn''t be all that bad.''


    Feeling like the Realm of Myriad Experiences was now living up to its name, Valyr was about to retrieve the spear from his back to start grinding¡­


    Only to be interrupted by the voice once more as it dropped a bombshell of a statement.


    ''As you have cleared the nine trials the Gates of Awakening has thrown at you, you have been given an opportunity to stay in the Realm of Myriad Experiences for 3 years in total.''


    ''Do note that a year within the Realm of Myriad Experiences is equivalent to a week in the outside world.''


    ''With that, the Gates of Awakening wishes you the best of luck.''

 Chapter 803 Four Pillars: Talks of Time

    Chapter 803 Four Pirs: Talks of Time


    "Three years¡­" murmured Valyr to himself, trying to wrap his head around the amount of time he''d been given.


    Considering how he''d only been in the world of Veldanyr for what felt like a few months at this point, three years to him was an incredibly long time.


    Even more so if he was going to dedicate that entire length of time towards honing and polishing his mastery over his skills.


    "On top of that, a year is equivalent to a week in the outside world." Deciding to not think too deeply into it, the young man moved onto the next thing of note that the voice told him.


    At this point, he was more or less certain that when the voice talked about the outside world, it was talking about the ruins that he and the other two were in.


    With that, he began to think about how much time he would be able to spend in this ce before the sun would rise in the inheritance once more.


    "Excluding the dtion between the inheritance and Veldanyr, there''s a significant time dtion between the barren grounds and the inheritance proper," said Valyr to himself.


    "Considering how I''ve spent probably over a month or two in the trial grounds while tackling the Gates of Awakening''s nine trials, let''s say that the time dtion between the two ces is pretty high."


    "Now, that begs the question¡­ would that time dtion stack with the time dtion within the Realm of Myriad Experiences?"


    Scratching the back of his head as the gears in his mind began to turn, the young man was forced to push such thoughts to the side as the voice spoke up once more.


    ''You are free to spend as much time as you''d like within the Realm of Myriad Experiences. However, it would be highly preferred if you were to say how long your stay would be.''


    ''With that being said, how long would you be staying within the Realm of Myriad Experiences?''


    "Hmm¡­" Being greeted by an abrupt silence after the voice''s question, the gears in Valyr''s mind continued to turn as he wrapped his head around the situation.


    Getting a rough idea of the entire thing after a minute or so of silence, the young man then opened up a rift back to the city ruins, only to see that the sky was still pitch-ck.


    "Just to be on the safe side¡­" Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr eventually gave his response. "Let''s go with a month for now."


    ''Understood,'' the voice replied. ''A timer has been set for one month. Once time is up, the Realm of Myriad Experiences shall automatically return you to your original ce, unless specified otherwise.''


    ''Your time begins in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­''


    At the very moment the voice was finished counting down, a loud horn resounded throughout the barren ground, giving the young man a slight start.


    However, understanding that he was slowly running out of time, Valyr ignored what had just happened and retrieved the spear from his back once more.


    "Alright." Taking a deep breath, the young man tightly gripped onto his spear before going through the basic movements.


    "This is gonna be an excruciatingly long month, that''s for sure."


    ¡­


    "Mngh¡­"


    Feeling the warm rays of the sun caress over his body, Hal gradually got up from his bed with a groan, giving his consciousness the time it needed to limate.


    After getting up from his bed, he then did a few basic stretches before leaving his tent, faintly wondering whether there was breakfast ready.


    Seeing that the one that usually cooked their breakfast had not made any yet, the man scratched his head for a bit before looking into the tents to see if the chef of their group was still asleep.


    Looking into Vera''s tent, the schr was greeted to the sight of a still somewhat sleepy alchemist, who was jolted awake by Hal''s appearance. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Noticing the shock on the young woman''s face, Hal apologetically smiled as he exined what he was doing.


    In response, Vera nodded in understanding as she decided to follow the man in looking inside Valyr''s tent.


    Only to find no traces of their leader whatsoever.


    "Where¡­ did he go?" Staring at the empty bed before them in confusion, Hal and Vera looked at each other for a bit as questions gradually filled up their minds.


    Fortunately, just as they had gone out of the young man''s tent to start searching for his whereabouts, the man in question appeared before them out of nowhere.


    "Hey there."


    Without any sign whatsoever, the leader of their small group stood in front of them, his appearance seemingly tired and worse for wear.


    Though, hidden deep beneath that fatigued visage seemed to be a deep well containing vast reserves of immense strength, just waiting to burst out at a moment''s notice.


    "What¡­ happened to you?" Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Hal went over through a few of his thoughts from earlier before eventually asking Valyr a question out of concern.


    Valyr wryly smiled in response. "Decided to fight against some feral humans while you guys were still asleep. Felt like I needed to polish mybat skills some more."


    At those words, Hal looked at the young man once more.


    Though the man seemed to be covered from head to toe in sweat, there were no signs of scratches, nicks, or any other marks on the young man''s armor whatsoever.


    ''Then again, it''s not like he couldn''t dodge any of the feral humans'' attacks,'' thought Hal to himself not long after, saving himself from heading down what felt like a rabbit hole filled with misunderstanding.


    Nodding in response to his words, Hal then asked if the young man could give them some information that he might have uncovered while fighting against the feral humans, which thetter obliged.


    At the same time, Valyr offered to cook a meal for them, telling them that he had gone out to fight their foes without eating anything yet.


    Of course, the two agreed.


    Starting a fire in preparation for the meals he was going to cook, Valyr stared at it for a bit as he went through all of the things he had just experienced in his mind.


    At some point, a faint smile crept up the edges of his lips, only for him to let out a slight chuckle soon after.


    ''Well¡­ color me surprised, I guess.''


    ''That one month was far more fruitful than I thought.''

 Chapter 804 Four Pillars: The Past Month

    Though Hal and Vera were under the notion that Valyr had just woken up earlier to fight against the feral humans, reality was more different than their initial thoughts.


    For one, it had been over half a day since Valyr left the two on their own to head to the Gates of Awakening.


    On top of that, he had spent an entire month within the Realm of Myriad Experiences polishing his skills.


    ''I''ve gotta say¡­ that was some lucky coincidence.''


    cing a pot on top of the fire he was managing, Valyr thought about how he had been transported out of the Realm of Myriad Experiences an hour or so after the sun came up.


    Due to the mechanics of the ce, rather than be transported out of the entire Gates of Awakening altogether, Valyr was instead transported back to the entrance of the Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    Then, after taking a peek through a rift to see what time it was back in the inheritance proper, the young man utilized almost all of the movement skills in his arsenal to return to the courtyard at record time. Not long after, he appeared at the base of the building that served as their temporary camp, bitterly smiling as he thought about how he had yet to im his final reward.


    ''Then again, the voice did assure me that I could still enter the Gates of Awakening since I''ve yet to im that reward, as well as the entirety of my reward from the Realm of Myriad Experiences,'' thought Valyr to himself before focusing his attention on the task before him.


    Of course, while his hands were upied by him making breakfast for the three of them, his mind continued to wander off, thinking about all of the things he had done back in the Gates of Awakening.


    More specifically, the skills he had decided to polish while in the Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    Unsurprisingly, the young man had chosen to polish his mastery over his spear and his magic maniption, spending quite an insane amount of time on what was basically monotonous work.


    Nevertheless, the results spoke for themselves, with each movement of either the spear or mana giving him great insight on where he could improve.


    With that, both [Advanced Spear Mastery] and [Advanced Magic Mastery] had reached Level 30 as the bottlenecks that would''ve usually needed Skill Keys were broken through with sheer perseverance and insight.


    ''One could choose to raise the level of the skills themselves alongside mastery, recing the need for Skill Keys and other resources to upgrade skills with hard work and perseverance.''


    Recalling the words spoken by the voice the very moment he entered the ce, Valyr let out yet another chuckle as he went over the other skills he had focused on while in that barren ground.


    "I also focused on all the Arcane Shadow Serpent skills if I remember correctly," muttered the young man to himself, only for the Shadow Energy and mana thrumming as it circted around his body to act as confirmation.


    Then again, with how the Arcane Shadow Serpent skills formed the core of hisbat style, it only made sense for him to focus on all of them after working on fortifying his foundations.


    In fact, [Advanced Combat Mastery] and [Advanced Weapon Mastery] had also gone up by quite a few levels thanks to him constantly swinging his spear within the Realm of Myriad Experiences, reaching the skills'' second bottleneck without a problem.


    The same could be said for [Intermediate Spellcasting] and [Intermediate Incantation] with how often he used magic within the ce, raising both to the Advanced stage as both of them arrived at the first bottleneck.


    Though, if there was one thing he didn''t expect to gain levels while in the Realm of Myriad Experiences, it was [Intermediate Shadow Energy Maniption].


    Without him intently focusing his attention on the skill at all, the skill had ascended to the Advanced stage as well, stopping at just halfway to the second bottleneck by the time the month he had allocated was up.


    ''Well, with how much Shadow Energy I use in all of the Arcane Shadow Serpent skills, I guess it makes sense that the skill would also improve,'' said Valyr to himself inwardly.


    All in all, he was more than satisfied with the progress he had made in that single month, feeling a hint of regret at the fact that he couldn''t stay for longer. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Nevertheless, with how a single month within the Realm of Myriad Experiences meant that he would only disappear from the inheritance proper for roughly half a day, Valyr was already drafting a few ns and ideas in his mind on how he could make it work.


    ''With how exploring the True cksmith Archive took up a good chunk of that time, I could probably even stay within the Realm of Myriad Experiences for two months and both Hal and Vera would be none the wiser.''


    With that thought in mind, the young man continued to adorn a smile on his face as he served breakfast for the three of them, chatting about various topics as they indulged in their morning meals.


    After that, both Hal and Vera readied themselves to head down the temporary camp to fight against the feral humans, feeling a hint of pressure from Valyr''s earlier words.


    Wishing them the best of luck, Valyr watched the two head down the building before finding a suitable spot for them to fight against feral humans.


    Seeing the two in control of their fight''s tempo, the young man decided to take a quick nap, recalling that he had only spent a bit of time within the Realm of Myriad Experiences getting some actual rest.


    Around an hourter, Valyr woke up from his short slumber, rubbing his eyes as he took a look at how far the two had gone.


    Faintly smiling as he noticed the two taking a short break, the young man did a few light stretches before heading down the building on his own.


    Thud.


    Swiftly casting a Wind-based spell to cushion his fall, Valyr stared at his surroundings for a bit before grinning.


    "I''ll use the arquebus some other time."


    "For now¡­ time to see what kind of improvements the Realm of Myriad Experiences has given me."

 Chapter 805 Four Pillars: Beckoning

    "Grah!!!" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Raagghh!!!"


    Hearing the cacophony of noises surrounding him, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he took in a deep breath.


    ''Three from my right¡­ and four to my left.''


    Whoosh!


    With the thought in mind, the young man deftly avoided the three charging from his right, ducking under all of their attempts at striking his chest.


    Activating [Rage of the True Wyvern] as he rolled forward, Valyr then greeted the four from his right, sending a couple bolts of Shadow Energy towards two of them.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Arcane Shadow Bolt]!"


    Bang! Bang!


    "Grraagghh!!!"


    Unsurprisingly, with the amount of energy put into each bolt, as well as the stats powering the bolts in the first ce, two of the four were quickly sent flying.


    Focusing on the two on his left that remained, he then proceeded to retrieve the spear from his back with one hand before swiping a few times at them to distance themselves from him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Taking note of the three that were still on the hunt for him, Valyr stood where he was as he watched the three attempt tond an attack once again.


    Though, just like before, the young man was able to avoid all of their attacks without much problem.


    However, this time around, he utilized [Arcane Shadow Warp], disappearing from the sight of the feral humans as he turned into a blur of Shadow Energy.


    Swoosh!


    Just as the feral humans that wanted to kill Valyr looked around for his whereabouts, the young man appeared not far away from his opponents.


    Faintly amused by the sight of confusion written all over their faces, the young man soon red his aura in its entirety, only to bolster it soon after with [Limit Break: Second Verse].


    Like a beacon, all seven feral humans looked at him with eyes filled with rage and bloodlust, charging towards him without abandon.


    In response, the smile on the young man''s face turned wider as he gripped onto his spear with both hands.


    Then, aiming the tip downwards, he circted both Shadow Energy and mana throughout his body.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style]¡­"


    Watching the seven get closer and closer to him, it was only when they were only a few meters away did the young man swing upwards, conjuring a wave filled with destructive ck and blue energy.


    "[Arcane Tide of the Dark Night]!"


    Swoosh!


    Before their very eyes, the feral humans watched as their bodies were engulfed whole by the dark and azure wave, feeling as if millions upon millions of weapons were attacking every single inch of their body.


    Because of that, these beings let out cries of pain in response, only to be met with no sounding out.


    In the end, there were no traces of their existence left.


    Only the darkened ground that had been marred by the wave of destruction.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    "Well then. That turned out better than I thought." Dispelling all of the stat boosting skills he activated, Valyr watched the wave of destruction wreak more havoc with a faint smile.


    It was only when the wave of ck and blue energy dispelled on its own did he return his attention to the matter at hand, being reminded of therge number of notifications that he had obtained.


    Feeling like he had done enough fighting against the feral humans for the meantime, Valyr headed towards a building he had scouted out earlier, designating it as his temporary rest ce.


    Once there, he grabbed a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet and downed all of them in one go.


    With both his health and mana reserves recovering by the second, the young man let out a sigh of relief as he finally attended to his notifications in detail.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 85 Feral Human (Mythic Elite). You have gained 3,962,303 XP.]


    Unsurprisingly, most of the notifications he received were kill confirmations, informing him of the great amount of XP he''d earned from the feral humans.


    ''At this point, I don''t even know if I''d even be able to spend all of the XP I have on me,'' thought the young man to himself, faintly chuckling as he continued reading through his notifications.


    "Oh?"


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (54/10,000).]


    After going through all of his kill confirmations, Valyr eventually found himself reading through how much progress he''d made to upgrading yer of Ascendants to the next stage.


    ''Huh. I''ve really just in 50 so far?'' asked the young man to himself, feeling like he had in more feral humans than that number.


    Though, after thinking about it for a bit more, Valyr eventually felt that the number made sense, considering that most of his attacks implicated many feral humans as coteral.


    ''Most of the feral humans that received coteral damage from my attacks only end up bing severely injured at worst anyway.'' Valyr shrugged at the thought.


    After looking through his notification screen for a bit more, the young man eventually found a few notifications that caused his eyes to widen in slight surprise.


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (4).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Awakening has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 7.]


    [You have received a new quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (5).]


    "Huh," muttered the young man. "I had a feeling that was the quest I got after clearing the nine trials."


    Then again, such a thought process made sense.


    After Valyr had cleared the Gates of Enlightenment, he had been given a quest that would increase his authority in it by a level while at the same time giving him a quest that would allow him to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    Now that he had cleared the Gates of Awakening, the young man felt that the quest he''d gotten at the end was a quest that allowed him to improve his authority within the Gates of Awakening.


    And, as long as he cleared that one, he would obtain a quest that would allow him to the third and final organization under the Triad Gates, the Gates of Transcendence.


    ''It''s repetitive, sure. But it''s a good kind of repetitive.'' With these words in mind, Valyr closed his notification screen as he brought up the description of the quest he had justpleted.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Awakening'' Trial (4)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest) (Repeatable Quest)


    Difficulty: A


    The Gates of Awakening is considered to be an organization that stands at the top of the power hierarchy, a paradise for those who wish to hone their strengths even further.


    Having made your way to this organization from the lower-rung Gates of Enlightenment, you understand very well how much more generous the Gates of Awakening is when ites to nurturing its members.


    However, there still exists a higher sky above the Gates of Awakening, a sky that many consider to be more of a myth than a reality.


    Yet, your senses tell you that it exists. The Gates of Awakening tells you that it exists.


    You''ve already shown that you have what it takes to ascend to the Gates of Awakening.


    Why not show that you could be a part of this higher sky as well?


    Quest Objective:


    > Kill 50 Feral Humans (50/50)


    Quest Reward:


    > Increased level of authority within the Gates of Awakening


    Quest Penalty:


    > None


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Well, at least I have to do less killing than before," said Valyr to himself, only to notice that the system was asking him if he wanted to repeat the quest again.


    Naturally, he said yes.


    With the repeatable quest under his belt yet again, Valyr decided to look at the new quest he had received for ater time, certain that its contents were more or less simr to the one he got in order to enter the Gates of Awakening.


    Feeling like he had gotten more than enough rest at this point, the young man stood up once more before taking a look at how much hours of sunlight he and the other two had left.


    Doing a few light stretches as he got out of his temporary rest ce, Valyr sent a message to the party chat regarding the quest about killing the feral humans.


    Surprisingly, both Hal and Vera told him that they had already gotten the quest and were well on their way topleting their first run of it.


    Understanding that the two of them would return to the camp by the time the sun set, Valyr decided to get a move on as well, hoping to upgrade his authority by a couple more levels before night fell.


    Though, just as he was about to wander through the streets of the ruins'' center once more, he began to sense a strong feeling of beckoninging from the true center yet again.


    However, this time¡­


    The feeling was nowced with a hint of urgency.

 Chapter 806 Four Pillars: A Fated Meeting

    Chapter 806 Four Pirs: A Fated Meeting


    Feeling this sense of urgency from the beckoning he felt from the center, Valyr began to frown in slight annoyance.


    After all, ever since he had be an official member of the Gates of Awakening and returned to the courtyard, the barren spot was radiating a feeling of beckoning the very moment he got out.


    Of course, he knew the reason behind the sensation very well, reminding him of the words that were spoken to him on that day.


    However, with even the feral humans not daring to enter the barren spot, why was there a sense of urgencyced beneath the feeling he got?


    ''Is it really that important?'' asked the young man to himself, deciding to ignore the feeling for now as he began to make his way towards a group of feral humans. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though, as if cognizant of his actions, the feeling of beckoning from the barren spot instantly strengthened in intensity, turning into something he couldn''t easily ignore.


    At the same time, the feeling of urgency hidden underneath became more intense as well.


    It was as if the sensation was telling him that he would regret it if he did not take the opportunity at the earliest possible moment.


    Thankfully for the sensation, it was at that moment that Valyr''s determination to grind out authority levels began to waver.


    "Should I¡­?" Though hesitant, the young man reminded himself that there was not much reason to heading to the barren spot at the moment.


    For one, it wasn''t as if he would lose the privileges to enter the barren spot, nor would the barren spot go anywhere.


    Yet, as he let the feeling linger within him, he began to feel a simr sense of regret to what the feeling was trying to convey him.


    It felt as if he would be losing out on a massive opportunity if he were to ignore the sensation any longer.


    "Haah¡­" In the end, Valyr made up his mind. "It''s not like it''d be difficult to catch up to the other two anyway."


    "Plus, I have a massive head start on them¡­ I think."


    With that in mind, the young man let out a faint sigh as his body began to be coated in a mix of mana and Shadow Energy.


    Then, in an instant, his body turned into a massive blur of ck and blue as it swiftly began to head deeper into the center of the ruins.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style]."


    "[Arcane Shadow Drive]."


    ¡­


    Swoosh!


    Activating the upgraded version of [Traceless Slither] once more, the young man deftly bobbed and weaved his way through many of the feral humans roaming the streets of the city ruins.


    Moving at breakneck speeds, it took around ten minutes or so for him to stand in front of the barrier that separated him and the others from the barren spot, admiring the sight before him from down below.


    ''Damn¡­'' Looking around his vicinity, Valyr noticed that the perimeter around the barrier was just as barren as the spot inside, spanning at least 50 meters in every direction.


    Noticing how a few of the feral humans were looking at him from outside the perimeter every once in a while, the young man held a faint expectation that at least one of them would take the courage to enter it.


    Yet, even after waiting for a few minutes, the closest he got to his hopes being fulfilled was one of the feral humans heading towards the edge of the perimeter, which red at him for an ufortably long time.


    Eventually, he returned his attention to the barrier before him, sensing that the feeling of beckoning had grown stronger yet weaker at the same time.


    However, if there was one thing about the feeling that had stronger, it was the sense of urgency that hid underneath the beckoning.


    ''Here''s to hoping I don''t take too long in this ce,'' muttered the young man to himself inwardly as he let out a long exhale.


    Then, with firm footsteps, he passed through the barrier with ease.


    Swoosh!


    Entering this ce for the second time, Valyr realized that there were a few things that he had not noticed the first time he came to this ce.


    For one, the space within the barren spot was incredibly quiet. There were no sounds whatsoever that came from outside the barrier.


    And second, the space was deceptively small, upying a farrger space within the true center of the ruins than he initially expected.


    Then again, from how he entered the barrier in the first ce back then, the barren spot did seem a bit small.


    Whilst taking in the sight making up the barren spot for a bit more, Valyr eventually found himself standing in front of the statue once more.


    Recalling the various information he had gained on Vaughn Darkstar throughout his journey so far, the young man looked at the statue before him with respect in his eyes.


    After all, even though the man had failed to save humanity during the Great Cataclysm, he still tried his hardest to try and salvage the situation, creating humanity from scratch.


    "Though I''m still not sure whether he seeded at the end or not," said Valyr to himself, staring at the statue for a bit longer.


    With the feeling of beckoning he had been sensing all this time now having disappeared, the young man wondered as to what would happen now that he was here.


    Would something appear in front of him? Would the voice from back then talk to him once more?


    Such questions entertained Valyr''s mind as his eyes were still more or less glued to the statue before him.


    Thankfully, after a few more minutes of silence, a change finally urred within the barren spot as an imposing voice began to echo within his mind.


    "Took you long enough."


    Recalling that the voice was the same voice he heard the first time he came to the ce, a look of surprise briefly appeared on the young man''s face.


    Regaining his bearings after being caught unaware, he also noticed that there now hints of emotion and vitality to the voice, which weren''t there before.


    Thinking about whether or not to respond back, Valyr eventually chose thetter, replying with a statement that even he was unsure of. "I¡­ apologize?"


    Being slightly confused by his own words, the young man took in a deep breath before rifying himself. "Well, I apologize for the fact that it was only now that I arrived at this ce."


    "Though, that also begs the question. Why the urgency? It''s not like this ce would go anywhere anyway."


    "It wouldn''t," the voice agreed, only for it to beced with slight anger. "But only an idiot would ignore something so obvious like that, especially if the feeling usually meant that something good came along with it."


    "It''s not like anyone else coulde here that easily anyway." Valyr shrugged, his expression somewhat calm. "Aside from the feral humans that practically avoid this ce, mypanions wouldn''t even be able to get here."


    "Heh¡­ is that so?" replied the voice, its tone filled with mockery.


    "So, if I were to tell you that entering this ce is necessary if you want to enter the Gates of Transcendence, you still wouldn''t rush over here at the soonest moment possible?"


    Naturally, Valyr froze at those words, his mouth opening in slight disbelief.


    Hearing that, the young man expected the voice to say something along the lines of its earlier statement being a joke.


    Yet, the voice made no follow-up whatsoever.


    "You''re¡­ actually serious?" Taking in a couple of deep breaths topose himself, Valyr focused his attention on the voice once more, traces of disbelief still remaining on his face.


    "And now you''ve changed your attitude, huh?" The voice let out a mocking chuckle in response.


    Then, not long after, he let out a long sigh.


    "In any case, I don''t me for you thinking that way, considering the circumstances."


    "Out of the five of you that entered this ce, you boast the greatestbat prowess, taking down three quadrant leaders in a row with ease."


    "Not only that, but you were able to clear the nine trials the Gates of Awakening threw at you¡­ though I do have to say that part of the reason why you were able to do so was due to the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode."


    "¡­?!" Hearing the voice mention the Shard of Defiance, Valyr''s eyes widened in shock as multiple rms went off in his mind.


    At the same time, multiple questions filled his mind as well, making him wonder if the voice he was talking to was the same monotonous voice that had been talking to him and the others all throughout their journey to the Triad Gates so far.


    "Are you¡­" Valyr asked, only to be interrupted by the voice.


    "I am not. The voice you and the others have been listening to all this time is none other than something I''ve made in my pastime."


    "Either way, it''s due time that I properly introduce myself."


    Whoosh!


    At those words, the statue in front of Valyr began to release a great amount of light, all of which coalesced just a couple meters away from where Valyr stood.


    Within seconds, the figure of a man in his 30s appeared before the young man, looking at him with a calm and carefree smile.


    Staring at the man that appeared in front of him, Valyr felt immense shock yet again.


    However, it was not because of the imposing aura the man exuded.


    Instead, it was the fact that the man''s appearance was incredibly familiar to him.


    "I''m pretty sure you know me very well by this point." The man chuckled as he bowed.


    "Nice to meet you, Valyr Zeihardt."


    "The name is Vaughn Darkstar."


    "I am the sole owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."

 Chapter 807 Four Pillars: Long-awaited Answers

    Chapter 807 Four Pirs: Long-awaited Answers


    With the man before him still sporting that calm and carefree smile, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words as he could not wrap his head around what was going on.


    Of course, with everything he had gone through so far in the inheritance, there was no doubt in the young man''s head that the figure before him was the Vaughn Darkstar Ryvrthe had been looking for.


    Whether he cross-referenced the man''s appearance from memory or from the statue that stood near the two of them, the man seemed a perfect match, sporting a personality that seemed to reflect what Valyr had seen in the memory as well.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr gradually got over the shock Vaughn''s words had brought him as the gears in his mind began to swiftly turn.


    Mulling over multiple things in silence, the young man went through everything he had experienced so far, separating out the parts that seemed to have some sort of involvement with the man before him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Eventually, after ncing at Vaughn every once in a while for quite some time, the expression on the young man''s face changed into that of calmposure.


    "I''m impressed that you could recover from that so quickly," said Vaughn with a faint tone of admiration. "In any case, I assume that you have a lot of things that you want to ask me?"


    In response, Valyr merely nodded, prompting the man to nod back as he allowed the former to take center stage.


    "Though I still hold a few doubts as to whether or not you''re really Vaughn Darkstar, the things you''ve talked about earlier have definitely made me realize that your authority in this ce is far greater than even what I can fathom," said the young man.


    Vaughn faintly chuckled at those words. "But of course. I wouldn''t be called the sole owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance for nothing."


    Nodding in response, Valyr then continued talking. "Let''s assume in this scenario that I''ve cast all my doubts aside and that you''ve proven yourself to be Vaughn Darkstar."


    "As thest leader of humanity before the Great Cataclysm, it would make a lot of sense if you didn''t exist right now," said the young man, prompting Vaughn to raise his eyebrow in interest. "After all, it''s been over tens of thousands of years since then."


    "Even if we consider that you''ve transcended mortality and be a Myth-level being, you''d only be able to live for around 10,000 years at most if you were to reach the peak strength as a Myth."


    "With all that said¡­ am I talking to the actual Vaughn Darkstar? Or am I talking to a memory fragment of the past Vaughn Darkstar?"


    Listening to the young man''s exnation, Vaughn merely licked his lips before shing a slight grin.


    "Interesting."


    "Very interesting, indeed," emphasized the man before proceeding to walk around the young man in circles. "Not only do you excel inbat, you seem to have a gift of the gab as well."


    "I''m definitely not mistaken in believing that you''re the best choice in¡ª ahem." Just as Vaughn was about to ramble even further, the man caught himself as he interrupted the end of his statement with a faint cough.


    Furrowing his eyebrows at the man''sst yet iplete statement, Valyr looked at the man walking around him with curiosity, recalling the question he had asked the man just earlier.


    ''I have a hunch as to what the answer really is, but just for confirmation''s sake¡­'' thought the young man to himself as Vaughn finally stopped walking around.


    Standing before Valyr once more, the man crossed his arms as he asked Valyr a question. "Do you recall your fight against N during the Trial of Nine Stars?"


    Valyr nodded in response, though inwardly he was somewhat confused. "What about it?"


    "What separated her and the twins from all the other opponents you''ve fought against during the Trial of Nine Stars?" asked Vaughn back.


    Considering that he had spent a long time with N, Dawan, and Daon after their fight was over, Valyr more than knew what Vaughn wanted to hear with him.


    Though, just as he was about to open his mouth and exin that he was fighting an extension of their original selves, the thoughts in Valyr''s mind finally clicked into ce like a massive jigsaw puzzle.


    Seeing the ephemeral look of understanding that appeared on the young man''s face, Vaughn let out a bit ofughter as he nodded in satisfaction. "It seems you''ve caught on."


    "You''re telling me that¡­ what I''m looking at is just an extension of the true Vaughn Darkstar?" asked Valyr after a couple moments of deliberation.


    At the same time, he activated [Superior Analysis], deciding to make use of the system''s impartiality to see whether the man was telling the truth or not.


    Fortunately, before the man could even give a response to his question, the system had brought up a small screen in front of Valyr, filled with as much information he could see on the man before him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Vaughn Darkstar] (Memory Extension)


    ss: ??? (???)


    Subss: ??? (???)


    Species: ???


    Level: ???


    Power Level: ???


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    HP: ???/???


    MP: ???/???


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: ??? - ???


    Defense: ??? - ???


    Stats: ???


    Skills: ???


    Intent: ???


    Remarks: Though it is only a mirror image of the original being that is named Vaughn Darkstar, even it alone wields a level of power nigh unimaginable to the normal human imagination. Only ruination awaits those who try to pry deeper into the crux of this man''s identity. Those who have tried in the past left no trace of their existence the very moment they met eyes with this man.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With the target of his identification nodding in agreement with his words from earlier, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit as he stared at the screen before him filled to the brim with question marks.


    ''Thest time I saw a status screen like this was when I met Riekan back in Astarto Vige,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Recalling how his level at the time was only at the early levels of Rank 1 while Riekan was someone who was considered a Legend, a wry smile appeared on the young man''s face after sensing that the gap between him and Vaughn seemed even greater than that.


    Then again, with how much time had passed since the Great Cataclysm and the current era on Veldanyr, the fact that Vaughn''s aura was imposing even in its passive form made a whole lot of sense.


    After all, not even a peak Myth-level being would be able to live for as long as Vaughn did.


    If anything, Valyr was more than certain that Vaughn had gone past the rank of Myths altogether, ascending to an even higher state of being that even high-level Myths would have a hard time fathoming.


    ''A Divine-level being, huh¡­'' murmured the young man to himself inwardly, wondering whether it was a blessing or a curse to meet a Divine-level being this early in his journey.


    Nevertheless, with his main query more or less answered through Vaughn''s words and his own inference and stock knowledge, Valyr closed the screen he brought up before looking at the man in front of him from a new perspective.


    "I have no clue as to why you''re starting to look at me funny," said Vaughn after taking note of the change in Valyr''s gaze. "But if it''s because of something good, then keep at it."


    "Speaking of which, if you still have more questions, feel free to ask them."


    Nodding in response, Valyr went through the various thoughts he had separated from earlier once more.


    With his curiosity regarding the figure''s identity being more or less satisfied, he moved onto the other topics of interest in his mind that felt like he needed to obtain the answer to as soon as possible.


    ''Should I ask him more about the Great Cataclysm?'' inwardly asked Valyr to himself. ''Or since he''s the sole owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, should I ask him why the inheritance was made in the first ce?''


    Unsurprisingly, such questions along simr trains of thought flooded the young man''s mind, contemting which one he should ask next.


    There were times where he wanted to ask the man who made the Triad Gates and why it was put into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    There were also times where he wanted to ask why the levels of technology he had received from the Triad Gates had not spread throughout the world of Veldanyr, even though he was certain that a decent number of people had entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance before him and the other four.


    In the end, his train of thought eventuallynded on a certain memory.


    A memory that showed Valyr a certain man''s unyielding tenacity and unbending perseverance to seed in the goals that he wished to achieve.


    "Say¡­" With the memory in mind, Valyr pushed all other questions to the side for the meantime as he asked what was on his mind with a hint of trepidation. "Were you eventually sessful in recreating humans?"


    "Yeah." Even though he was caught off guard by the question that seemingly came out of nowhere, Vaughn swiftly understood what was going on as he nodded with a smile.


    Though, not long after, the man said something that even Valyr was not expecting to hear.


    "In fact, you could be considered as one of the sesses of that experiment."

 Chapter 808 Four Pillars: An Unsolved Mystery

    Chapter 808 Four Pirs: An Unsolved Mystery


    With both eyes staring at Vaughn in disbelief, Valyr allowed the man''s words to repeatedly echo in his mind as he wondered what the man meant by that.


    ''Does he mean that I''m a direct beneficiary of that experiment?'' thought the young man to himself, continuing to look at the man before him.


    Seeing that Vaughn had be silent, the gears in Valyr''s mind continued to turn as he scratched his first thought. ''That''s definitely impossible. ording to the book I read from the Myriad Archives, I have parents who gave birth to me.''


    ''Plus, it wouldn''t make sense for a direct beneficiary of an experiment like that to appear over a hundred thousand years since its inception.''


    If one were to take into consideration the three major ages humanity has gone through so far, that would equate to over tens of thousands of years in terms of time passed.


    Add in the event that was the Great Cataclysm, that number could increase to over a hundred thousand years if it were a conservative estimate, a couple or a few hundred thousand years if it were more realistic.


    Naturally, Vaughn''s attempts at recreating humanity from scratch wouldnd in between the Great Cataclysm and the Age of Darkness, which brought Valyr to that conclusion.


    With that, the young man mulled over the man''s words for a bit longer, discarding all of the oundish thoughts in his mind such as him having hibernated for an extreme length of time.


    In the end, Valyr came to a conclusion that made the most sense to him, looking at Vaughn before him with confidence in his eyes.


    "By being one of the sesses of that experiment, you mean that I''m a descendant of the original humans created from that experiment, right?"


    In response, Vaughn opened his mouth as the gears in his mind began to turn.


    Though, just as he was about to speak, the man closed his mouth for a bit before deciding to nod with a slightly awkward chuckle. "Yeah¡­ I guess you could interpret it that way."


    With the man''s choice of words, Valyr could not help but find the response a bit suspicious.


    Reading between the lines, he surmised that there was another way to interpret Vaughn''s earlier words, though he wasn''t sure how.


    With that, the young man merely nodded in response as Vaughn told him that he could continue to ask more questions.


    Taking the opportunity to learn more about the inheritance and the Triad Gates to its fullest, Valyr decided to first ask the man why the levels of technology avable within the Triad Gates did not match up with the average level of technology in the outside world.


    Being asked to rify what he meant by his words, the young man asked Vaughn as to why the level of technology in Veldanyr still remained around the end of the Early Middle Ages if even someone like him could ess technology up to the First Industrial Revolution.


    Now understanding what Valyr wanted to know, a faint grin appeared on Vaughn''s face.


    "Did you know that out of all the groups that have entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance so far, your group is among one of the very rare few that decided to kill more aberrations than necessary?"


    "So, you''re telling me¡­" At that point, Valyr more or less understood.


    Vaughn nodded as if he was reading the young man''s thoughts. "I don''t know what was being told to the groups before entering this ce, but most, if not all of the groups that have entered so far were only satisfied with searching the area."


    "Some did fight against the aberrations, but only because they were left with no choice if they didn''t want to die."


    "Then, just about 20 or so groups before so, the trend of ascending to the next ss rank to increase the amount of mana in this ce had be more widespread."


    "However, with how all of the aberrations grew stronger in rtion because of that, those groups decided that it was better to be safe than sorry." Ending his exnation, Vaughn let out a somewhat disappointed sigh.


    On the other hand, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he recalled all of the things that were told him to about the Four Pirs'' Inheritance before entering the ce.


    For one, the minimum requirement to enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance was to have a Legendary production ss while still being at the peak of Rank 2. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though the level of strength one would have thanks to a Legendary grade ss was somewhatcking whenpared to a Mythic grade ss like his and the others, it would still be more than enough for them to fight against a rank above their own without much problem.


    Finding it a shame that the past groups did not make use of the inheritance to the fullest, the young man let out a sigh as he briefly recalled a memory from the very beginning of their journey into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ what''s with the announcement of the 100% of the Shattered Lands of the Four Pirs being opened at the very moment we entered the inheritance?"


    "Something to do with the rarity of one''s main ss," Vaughn said concisely. "The level requirement is consistent at the peak of Rank 2. Though, if the group has at least one Legendary grade ss among them, then the entire inheritance could be essed."


    "Conversely, the lower the highest rarity ss in the group is, the less parts of the inheritance could be essed."


    "However, even with limited ess, one would still be able to ess the Gates of Enlightenment at the very least," said Vaughn with a shrug.


    "Was any group in the past sessful in entering the Gates of Enlightenment?" asked Valyr in response.


    Vaughn nodded back. "There was. Only one group, though. The group that entered about 35 groups before you guys did."


    "If I remember correctly, the leader of that group was named¡­ Riekan, I think."


    Hearing a name he had not heard for a long timee out of the man''s mouth, a slightly amused smile appeared on Valyr''s face as Vaughn continued to talk.


    "Riekan was the only one among their group to be a high-ranking member of the Gates of Enlightenment," said the man after jogging his memory a bit more. "Even had a shot at entering the Gates of Awakening."


    "In any case, there were a couple of groups aside from them that killed enough aberrations to obtain the Key Fragments. However, unlike that group, they either ignored the Key Fragments or did not even know the Key Fragments dropped from the aberrations."


    Having to go on a short trip through memoryne, Vaughn took in a few deep breaths topose himself before letting out a long exhale.


    "So¡­"


    "Any other questions?"

 Chapter 809 Four Pillars: The Hope

    Chapter 809 Four Pirs: The Hope


    With how much questions Valyr had piled up ever since he entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, it went without saying that the man still had a lot to ask Vaughn.


    With the mystery of why Veldanyr''s technology was still stuck at the Early Middle Ages now out of the way, the young man asked the man why the Four Pirs'' Inheritance was made in the first ce.


    In response, Vaughn exined to him that the inheritance was made as a way to control the number of people that had ess to what could only be described as otherworldly knowledge and power in the context of the current Veldanyr.


    He then talked about how such power and knowledge was widespread in the past, being used by people for their own benefit, to which Valyr responded that something like that should be normal.


    With that, Vaughn rified that they had made use of it to harm other people, using it as a way to instill terror into the hearts of many so they could make use of them, creating settlements and small civilizations where their strength ruled everything.


    Because of it, the man was left with no choice but to seal all of it into an inheritance, talking about how it was his duty as thest leader of humanity from before the Great Cataclysm.


    Thinking about the man''s exnation, Valyr felt that it made sense. After all, if one were to be given great power all of a sudden, then there was a considerably high chance for one to abuse it, making use of it for their own deplorable benefits.


    However, Valyr also thought that it depended on the person that had ess to the power in the first ce, whether they were selfless in making use of power or if they were selfish.


    In the end, the young man decided not to think about the matter any further, understanding that Vaughn had his reasons for creating the inheritance in the first ce. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    With that, the young man then moved onto talking about the Triad Gates, specifically asking why the Triad Gates were found inside the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Unsurprisingly, Vaughn responded that the Triad Gates contained the otherworldly knowledge and power that he was speaking of earlier, hence finding the need to restrict it as well.


    Of course, with that kind of exnation, Valyr felt that such a conclusion made sense.


    Yet, for some apparent reason, he felt like something was off.


    ''If I remember correctly, from the memories I''ve seen through the Chambers of Enlightenment, the Triad Gates were possibly made around the golden period in the Age of Uprising,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''However, Vaughn came from a time far before the Age of Uprising.''


    Scratching the back of his head as the gears in his mind worked on overdrive, he then murmured to himself, "Aside from that, the highest level one could reach on a starter like this is the peak of Rank 7."


    "I don''t know how long someone at the peak of Rank 7 could live for, but it''s definitely a far cry from the amount of time Vaughn has lived so far."


    And so, Valyr decided to ask Vaughn about it, only to be shut down before he could even beginning to talk about it.


    "I''m afraid that there''s not much time left before our conversation ends," said Vaughn with a shake of his head, his expression that of slight pity. Though, while looking at the man closely, Valyr noticed that there were also a hint of panic to his expression.


    "However, once you enter the Gates of Transcendence, I assure you that we''ll have all the time in the world to speak."


    "Speaking of the Gates of Transcendence¡­" At those words, Vaughn did a few gestures with his hands that caused the statue beside them to start glowing.


    Though, rather than coalesce once more into another figure, the light surrounding the statue caused the statue itself to shrink in size.


    Swoosh!


    Hovering in midair thanks to Vaughn''s actions, Valyr was able to see that the statue had turned into something that he could hold in hand.


    Nevertheless, the level of detail and craftsmanship in the statue was still all there, prompting the young man to focus on it once itnded in his hands.


    "This statue of mine will act as one of the two keys that will allow you to enter the Gates of Transcendence," said the man, nodding after seeing Valyr stare at it.


    "As for the other key¡­"


    Whoosh!


    Raising both hands into the air, Vaughn did a few more gestures with his hands as he caused the barrier surrounding the barren spot to release a few wisps of energy.


    Beckoning for all the wisps to gather near him, the man then coalesced the wisps into an orb of solidified energy, its appearance simr to that of a hazy ball of smoke.


    "This ball of energy serves as the second key needed to enter the Gates of Transcendence." With a look of slight exhaustion on his face, Vaughn gave the ball of smoke to Valyr. "Both of them could be stored in your spatial bracelet for the meantime, but you must retrieve them out of the spatial bracelet for you to actually enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    "Do the others need to obtain these items as well to enter the Gates of Transcendence?" asked Valyr, thinking about Hal and Vera.


    Seeing Vaughn shake his head in response, a hint of excitement appeared on his face as he understood that they could all enter it as long as he had the items.


    Unfortunately, it seemed that he was mistaken.


    "They cannot enter the Gates of Transcendence," Vaughn told him. "As I''ve said at the beginning of our conversation, entering this barrier is one of the requirements to enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    "But what if I were to¡­"


    "They still can''t enter." The man shook his head. "You''ve already taken the only existing opportunity in this ce to enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    Seeing the young man''s face go through multiple expressions in a second, Vaughn let out a low sigh, understanding what the man was feeling.


    "Though they can''t enter the Gates of Transcendence, there''s still a lot of opportunities waiting for them to obtain within the Gates of Awakening," said the man, hoping that his words were enough to console Valyr.


    However, the young man only gave him a perfunctory nod in response, prompting Vaughn to scratch the back of his head.


    Letting out a sigh once more, Vaughn thought that there was nothing else he could say to the young man that would improve his mood.


    With that, the man decided that now was the right time to end the conversation, dissipating into thin air as he left Valyr with a few more statements.


    "I hope you mull over your thoughts for a long time, Valyr."


    "I''m not stopping you from giving the items to them, but they would still be rendered useless since only you have the main element necessary to enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    "¡­"


    "¡­Haah."


    "In any case, remember to think things through and not make rash decisions."


    "Especially since you''re the hope that I''ve chosen to leave behind for Veldanyr."

 Chapter 810 Four Pillars: The One Left Behind

    Chapter 810 Four Pirs: The One Left Behind


    Whoosh!


    As the man before him gradually disappeared in front of his sight, Valyr stared out at horizon for a while in silence, the words left for him still lingering in his mind.


    In the end, he let out a long exhale as he snapped back to reality, closing his eyes for a bit to make sure the conversation he had just now was real.


    Then again, even if he didn''t do something that, the items he held at the moment would more than change Valyr''s mind that he had indeed talked to thest leader of humanity.


    Someone who had lived for over a hundred thousand years at the very least.


    "I still find it odd that his answers at the very end don''t match up," muttered the young man to himself, focusing his attention on the items Vaughn had given him.


    On his left hand was the statue that stood at the center of the barren spot, miniaturized with the help of the man''s powers.


    Then, on his right was a ball of wispy energy that looked more like smoke rather than actual energy. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, if he were to focus his senses on it, he could feel the ball emanating an otherworldly aura, its feeling more or less simr to the feeling he got when entering the Gates of Awakening for the first time.


    Confirming that he could indeed put both items into his spatial bracelet for the meantime, Valyr went ahead and used [Superior Analysis] to get a better idea of the items Vaughn had given him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Statue for The One Left Behind] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    A memento of a long-forgotten past. A mark of a time that was once lived. This statue serves as a solemn reminder for the only being that remained during that era, reminding them that if there was one thing constant aside from their existence, it was change.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Wishes of The One Left Behind] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    A response to the memento. A call to a time back in the past. Knowing that their actions have caused the loss of what was once a bountiful era, they have decided to take it up on themselves to right the things that were once wrong. Yet, they still could not separate themselves from the past they once lived.


    And thus, they chose tobine them together, forming into a conviction that allowed them to achieve feats that would normally be considered impossible.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the descriptions of the items he had been given, Valyr had a solemn expression on his face as he was certain that the person being described in the items was none other than Vaughn.


    After all, if he were to exclude the Forsaken Ones deep in the undergroundyers of the city ruins, only Vaughn was able to survive the Great Cataclysm.


    Feeling immense guilt from the fact that he had caused all of humanity in Veldanyr during that time to disappear, the man wanted to right his wrongs, conducting experiments that would allow him to revive humanity again.


    "Now that I think about it, I had the opportunity to talk about the Forsaken Ones down in Ecalos," said Valyr to himself, letting out a faint sigh as he shook his head in slight regret.


    Though, as he thought about the ones underground like Ryvrthe and the others, it made him ponder over another question that he did not think of at first.


    "Speaking of which¡­ how was Vaughn able to survive the Great Cataclysm?"


    From what he could recall during his conversation with Ryvrthe, humanity had ess to abilities that seemed godlike in nature.


    Though, in front of the Arbiters that arrived on Veldanyr, none of those abilities held up whatsoever, causing humanity to disappear from existence.


    With that, Valyr thought that the Forsaken Ones surviving made a lot of sense since they were deep underground.


    "I wonder how he survived that?" asked Valyr to himself once more, eventually concluding that he would only obtain his answer once he entered the Gates of Transcendence.


    After all, that''s what Vaughn told him.


    Thus, with the sense of urgency from the barren spot now gone, Valyr began to make his way out of the area.


    Taking a look at how much time remained before the sun began set, the young man went ahead and activated [Arcane Shadow Drive], zooming through the true center of the city ruins as he made his way back to where his temporary resting ce was.


    At the same time, he took a look at his notifications, recalling that a series of notification sounds echoed in his mind the very moment Vaughn had given the statue and the ball of energy to him.


    Ding!


    Opening up a small screen to the side of his vision, Valyr skimmed through the notifications he had received, only for his eyes to slightly widen in surprise.


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Obtain items rted to thest leader of humanity (3/3)]


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (5).]


    [Obtain the Statue for The One Left Behind (1/1)]


    [Obtain the Wishes of The One Left Behind (1/1)]


    [Obtain the approval of The One Left Behind (1/1)]


    Seeing how much progress he had made in his quests, the young man stopped in his tracks for a bit as he began to read through his notifications in greater detail.


    "So, the two remaining items for Ryvrthe''s quest are the same items needed to enter the Gates of Transcendence," muttered Valyr to himself as he wrapped his head around the situation.


    "How would that work?" He slightly frowned. "Wouldn''t the Gates of Transcendence consume the items if I try to enter the ce?"


    Deciding to think about the question again after he had obtained all the other requirements needed to enter the Gates of Transcendence, Valyr thought about the remaining objectives needed toplete Ryvrthe''s quest.


    "All that''s left for me to do is to find out Vaughn''s current whereabouts and share it with Ryvrthe."


    Though he found it slightly odd that the quest did not mark the objective involving the man''s whereabouts asplete, Valyr did not mind it much, thinking that the system wanted him to obtain information on the whereabouts of Vaughn''s original body.


    Of course, there were also the remaining objectives from the quest he received involving the Triad Gates. However, he decided to save those for a time when he returned from the camp.


    For now¡­


    It was time for him to kill some more feral humans.

 Chapter 811 Four Pillars: Heading Back

    Chapter 811 Four Pirs: Heading Back


    With how many questions Valyr had going on in his mind after his conversation with Vaughn, it went without saying that the young man had spent a long amount of time fighting against the feral humans.


    "Graagghh!!!"


    "Aggh!!!"


    Venting out his frustrations at the feral humans for having to wait until he entered the Gates of Transcendence to obtain his answers, Valyr did not hesitate to go all out, always aiming for the kill whenever the feral humans targeted him.


    Then again, with most of the core skills forming hisbat style being maxed thanks to the Realm of Myriad Experiences, it would be more apt to say that he was always aiming for the kill whether the feral humans were targeting him or not.


    In the end, by the time there was only half an hour of sunlight left, Valyr had consumed over a dozen health and mana potions each.


    At the same time, he had killed enough feral humans to bring his authority within the Gates of Awakening to Level 9, even killing a bit extra to make a bit of headway into reaching Level 10.


    "Haah."


    Letting out a long and drawn-out exhale as he stared at the aftermath of his actions, Valyr felt as if all of the frustrations from the conversation had all disappeared without a trace.


    Taking a few deep breaths topose himself, he then washed off the blood that coated both him and his weapon with a few Water-based spells.


    Seeing that there was still time before he needed to return to their temporary camp, the young man decided to get some rest at a nearby building before opening up his party chat.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr asked the two how they were faring, as well as how much progress they had made in leveling up their authority.


    After waiting for a couple of minutes, Hal and Vera soon responded that they were able to raise their authority by three levels, bringing their original authority of Level 2 up to Level 5.


    Mentioning afterward that they would return to the camp once they had reached an authority level of 6, Hal then asked Valyr through the chat regarding a certain something that he found peculiar.


    Mentioning afterward that they would return to the camp once they had reached an authority level of 6, Hal then asked Valyr through the chat regarding a certain something that he found peculiar.


    Recalling the talk he had with Vaughn about the Gates of Transcendence, the young man already had a strong hunch as to what it was.


    With that, he responded that he would talk about it in greater detail once they were all back at the camp.


    "Man¡­" Letting out a low sigh, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he closed the party chat.


    Not long after, he got up from where he rested before proceeding to head back to their temporary camp.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style]."


    "[Arcane Shadow Drive]."


    Whoosh!


    With many thoughts and questions still lingering in his mind, the young man arrived at the camp just a few minutes before sunset, deciding to make dinner for the three of them in advance.


    ¡­


    With Valyr''s [Advanced Cooking] doing most of the heavy lifting, it only took around an hour or so for the young man to cook up a few dishes that he was certain would whet everyone''s appetite.


    However, it was only after an additional hour of waiting did both Hal and Vera return to the camp, their appearances more than haggard after all of the fighting they did.


    Unsurprisingly, at the very moment they caught a whiff of the young man''s cooking, Hal and Vera quickly grabbed themselves a couple tes of food as they gorged them down with gusto.


    Chuckling at the sight of the two merrily eating the food he cooked, Valyr sat near the two as he reminded them to wash up.


    After that, he grabbed a te of food for himself before proceeding to dig in as well.


    For the next few minutes after that, the three were utterly silent, their attentions wholly focused on the food that they were eating.


    It was only after all of them had gotten seconds did the ce be a bit noisy once more, with the three talking about the things they did during the day.


    Of course, with the advent of the authority increasing quest, it went without saying that all of them had spent most of the day killing feral humans.


    With that, the three of them shared a few tips and tricks with one another on how they could fight against feral humans with greater ease.


    At some point, the three even talked about strategies on how they would fight against the feral humans as a trio, feeling like it was something that was expected of them to do at some point.


    "Speaking of which, what authority level are you at right now, Valyr?" Hal asked at some point, recalling how he and Vera had already shared their current authority level. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Level 7," said Valyr back, causing the two to do a bit of mental gymnastics in silence as they tried to calcte the young man''s original authority level.


    "So¡­ Level 3 or Level 4?"


    "Level 3."


    "Damn," said Hal in response to Valyr''s words. "How did you kill so much feral humans?"


    "A lot of skills with wide areas of effect," replied Valyr with a grin. "Of course, to increase their effectiveness, a lot of stat boosting skills as well."


    Talking about fighting feral humans for a bit more, Hal eventually brought up the topic that Valyr set aside earlier in their party chat, prompting thetter''s expression to be solemn.


    "So, here''s the thing." Hal looked at Valyr directly in the eyes. "Remember how when we were attempting to enter the Gates of Awakening, we got an additional quest afterpleting one of the authority increasing quests?"


    In response, Valyr nodded.


    Though, at the same time, he inwardly let out a sigh, thinking that his earlier assumption was correct.


    "We also got authority increasing quests this time for the Gates of Awakening," said Hal. "However, we''ve already cleared the quest three times in a row yet there''s still no quest involving the requirements needed to enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    "What do you think is the reason for that?"


    "Hmm¡­" Valyr rubbed his chin, the gears in his mind turning as he came up with a reasonable excuse. "Perhaps you might need to reach an authority level of 10 first within the Gates of Awakening before getting the quest?"


    "After all, there''s nothing in the inheritance that you''ll get a simr quest through a simr action." He shrugged.


    "You do have a point¡­" Hal nodded after giving it a bit of thought. "But I still feel like the three organizations being consistent makes a lot of sense."


    With that, the three shifted their topic towards talking about the possible reasons why they hadn''t gotten a quest that would allow them to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    In the end, the three had arrived at a dead end in their conversation, prompting them to head back to their tents amidst their slight frustrations for the meantime to get some rest.


    But of course, there was an exception among the three of them.


    Whoosh!


    "Time to head back to the Gates of Awakening."

 Chapter 812 Four Pillars: Hall of Legends and Myths

    Chapter 812 Four Pirs: Hall of Legends and Myths


    Swoosh!


    Appearing at the center of the Gates of Awakening, Valyr took a bit of time to admire the opulent sight that surrounded him.


    Though, not long after, the young man let out a low sigh, his current location reminding him of what he had just left.


    "I really hope they won''t take it the wrong way once I break it to them," muttered Valyr to himself, his thoughts wandering off to the now slumbering Hal and Vera.


    After directly hearing from Vaughn that only he would be able to enter the Gates of Transcendence, the young man already began toe up with ideas that would possibly allow the three of them to enter together.


    Unfortunately, after Vaughn had rified what his appearance at the barren spot and the items given to him signified, Valyr was left with no choice but toe up with an exnation as to why the two of them couldn''t enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    Of course, Valyr had no obligation to share such information on the Triad Gates in the first ce, only choosing to do so after recalling that he was apanying the ones that would eventually blossom into the Four Deities of Production in the future.


    After all, if the Four Deities of Production grew far stronger in his current life, then humanity would have a greater standing once the War of the Three Sovereignties went into full swing.


    With that in mind, the young man wasn''t obligated to share information on the Gates of Transcendence either.


    If anything, he could tell the two that he found out that there was no way for them to enter the Gates of Awakening and the two would be none the wiser.


    However, with how the rtionships between them had somewhat grown throughout the time they spent within the inheritance¡­


    Valyr found it somewhat difficult to do.


    Or at least, he felt a great sense of guilt at having to do such a thing.


    ''This is harder to do than keeping my lips sealed on the truth behind the underground area,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling a bit of guilt at having hidden something like that to the group as well.


    Letting out yet another sigh, the young man gathered his thoughts for a bit in silence, pondering a bit more over how he was going to break the news to the two on how they wouldn''t be able to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    Getting a rough idea of what he needed to say after some time, Valyr took in a deep breath forposure as he made his way to the Realm of Myriad Experiences not long after.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "Still a lot of time."


    Opening up a rift to take a quick peek at the inheritance proper, Valyr faintly nodded as he noticed that the moon was still far away from reaching the peak of its trajectory.


    Calcting that he could probably spend a couple of months within the Realm of Myriad Experience and return to the inheritance proper by the time it was day there, the young man made his way inside.


    Swoosh!


    Appearing in the center of a barren ground yet again, Valyr calmly listened on as the voice from before gave a brief rundown on how he could use the Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    Eventually, the voice told him how much time he had left to use the Realm of Myriad Experience, only to ask him not long after on how long he nned on staying within the ce.


    Taking into consideration that he had more than enough time to spend two months within the Realm of Myriad Experiences and return as if nothing had happened, Valyr mulled over it for a bit, thinking of doing so at first.


    Though, in the end, he decided to spend a month in the Realm of Myriad Experiences once again as he reminded himself of a reward he had yet to receive.


    "The Hall of Legends and Myths."


    Confirming with the voice that he nned on staying an entire month within the Realm of Myriad Experiences, the young man wasted no time going through the skills in his arsenal, focusing his attention on other facets of his skill set this time around.


    Unlike before, where he focused on the core skills that made up his mainbat style, Valyr focused on the skills that he used somewhat often, either to support hisbat style or enhance other areas of his life.


    With that, it went without saying that Valyr burned through a ton of mana potions throughout the entire month he was inside the Realm of Myriad Experiences, using all of them to activate all of the skills in his arsenal.


    Thankfully, with how he spared no thought in making use of all the mana he had in reserve, the skills he had chosen to train within this ce grew by leaps and bounds, reaching their level limits in a matter of days.


    The first set of skills he had chosen to grind during this month were none other than his elemental maniption skills, using them in rotation in order for all of them to ascend to the Advanced stage in more or less the same time.


    By the time all of the maniption skills under his belt had reached the level limit, the corresponding passive affinity skills for each element had long past ascended the Advanced stage, stopping just shy of breaking through the first bottleneck.


    After upgrading all of his elemental maniption skills, Valyr thought about upgrading his other elemental skills as well, thinking that he would basically be hitting two birds with one stone by doing so.


    However, after a bit of deliberation, he eventually decided to focus his attention on upgrading all of his defensive and healing skills in his arsenal.


    After all, having a sturdy defensive skill or a strong healing skill sometimes dictated whether one was alive or dead.


    Consuming mana potions as if it were water once again, Valyr went through all of his defensive and healing skills in a rotation as the insights he received from activating them flowed into his mind.


    Learning from the insights he was gaining, the young man eventually maxed out those skills just like all the other skills he had leveled up through sheer effort within the Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    Though, unlike the other skills he had grinded for hours and days upon end for, grinding his defensive and healing skills to their level limit had surprisingly allowed him to obtain a couple passive skills that made him wonder why he hadn''t obtained them a long time ago.


    "[Defense Mastery] and [Healing Mastery]¡­" muttered Valyr to himself, staring at those specific skills on the screen he had brought up.


    Thanks to the near-incessant number of times he had activated his defensive and healing skills in a bid to max them out, both [Defense Mastery] and [Healing Mastery] had entered the Intermediate stage, breaking through the first bottleneck with great ease.


    Noticing that, the young man went ahead and spent a bit of his XP to max both of them out, nodding in satisfaction not long after.


    By the time he had maxed out both skills, the Realm of Myriad Experiences had kicked him out of the ce, with the voice telling him that his time was up.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing at the entrance of the Realm of Myriad Experiences once more, Valyr went ahead and conjured a rift to take a peek at the inheritance proper.


    Seeing that the moon had only gone past its zenith just recently, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he understood that he still had more than enough time to do the other thing he nned on doing in this trip.


    With that, he activated [Arcane Serpentine Sprint] to enhance his movement speed, arriving at the center of the Gates of Awakening after a few minutes.


    Once there, he took a look at his surroundings yet again, bringing up the information the Gates of Awakening had given him the first time he came to this ce.


    After a minute or so of silence, Valyr eventually found the path that he needed to take to get to the ce he wanted to go to, heading in a direction that once again veered off themon paths in the courtyard.


    However, unlike the path to the Realm of Myriad Experiences that looked worse for wear, the path leading to the Hall of Legends and Myths seemed well-maintained.


    In fact, if Valyr looked closely at the path he was walking on, it seemed as if the path had been given far greater care than even the paths leading to the four knowledge repositories.


    ''Well, it does make sense,'' thought Valyr to himself with a slight shrug. ''After all, the Hall of Legends and Myths contains the weapons and memories of beings that have made a name for themselves.''


    ''Who wouldn''t want to have a shot at inheriting at least one of the things in that ce?''


    With that in mind, the young man leisurely made his way towards the Hall of Legends and Myths, admiring the buildings and sights he came across along the way.


    Eventually, the young man arrived before the ce, his gaze instantly bing enamored by the sheer size of the building making up the Hall of Legends and Myths.


    Though, as he gradually looked downward to find the entrance, his gaze eventually froze on a man he wasn''t expecting to see so soon. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Vaughn Darkstar¡­"

 Chapter 813 Four Pillars: Outside Help

    Chapter 813 Four Pirs: Outside Help


    Staring at the man standing in front of him with a dumbfounded expression, Valyr eventually regained his wits as he asked a question.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "Pretty sure it''s more than obvious," replied Vaughn, letting out a slight chuckle. "But just in case, I''ve been waiting for you toe here."


    "For what reason?" asked Valyr back, tilting his head in slight confusion. "Plus, shouldn''t our next meeting be in the Gates of Transcendence?"


    From the long conversation he and Vaughn had at the barren spot, Valyr was led to believe that their next conversation would continue once he had entered at the Gates of Transcendence.


    After all, the man gave him the items and other prerequisites needed to enter the ce.


    Not only that, but the man had left him a couple statements that made him think that way, prompting him to think that he would only obtain the answers to his burning questions once he got there.


    Nevertheless, with Vaughn having appeared before him once more, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to madly turn once more as he tried to bring up all of the questions he had during their conversation that were left unanswered.


    Though, before he could even have a single question of his entertained by the man before him, Vaughn stopped his train of thought in its tracks as he shook his head.


    "I may be the sole owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, but now''s not the time to continue where our conversation left off," said Vaughn with a faint sigh. "My time is limited this time around."


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr began to frown at those words. "Then, for what purpose did you appear in front of me? Give me encouragement? Say a few words of support?"


    "You know, those aren''t bad ideas," replied Vaughn with a bit ofughter, only to stop as he noticed that Valyr''s frown turned more grim.


    Sighing as he thought that the young man in front of him was no fun, the man told Valyr the real reason for his appearance.


    "In any case, it''s not for the reason you''re thinking of. Instead, I''m here to make amendson a few things I''ve said during our previous conversation."


    "Call it a little bit of outside help to aid in your dilemma."


    With how cryptic Vaughn was talking, it went without saying that Valyr had be confused once more, recing the deep frown that previously adorned his face.


    Fortunately, rather than beat around the bush like in their previous conversation, the man was a bit more direct with his words this time around.


    "Remember how I told you that your friends wouldn''t be able to enter the Gates of Transcendence?" Vaughn looked at the young man.


    "Yeah?" Valyr raised an eyebrow in response, his expression serious.


    "I¡­" Twiddling his thumbs, Vaughn eventually found the words he wanted to say. "I may be able to help you with that."


    At the very moment he heard those words, multiple thoughts coursed through Valyr''s mind, the gears in his mind turning on overdrive.


    In the end, they all converged into a singr thought, one that prompted the frown on his face to turn upside down.


    ''Hal and Vera could enter the Gates of Transcendence now?'' thought the young man as he looked at Vaughn with widened eyes.


    If that were to be the case, then there was no need for him to keep them in the dark about the entire situation.


    All he needed to do was bend a few truths along the way, allowing them to realize that the path they had to take to get to the Gates of Transcendence was just a tad more lengthy than his own path.


    However, recalling the conversation he had back at the barren spot with Vaughn, Valyr felt that the chances of that happening were low.


    Especially if he had a quest that said only he could enter it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gates of Awakening'' Trial (5)] (Linked Quest) (Time-limited Quest) (Repeatable Quest)


    Difficulty: A


    You have discovered the higher sky that exists beyond the Gates of Awakening. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    By entering that ce, you would be able to amass a level of power that would cause beings to shudder just from the mere utterance of your name.


    However, there is only one slot avable to those wanting to enter that higher sky.


    Fortunately, the heavens have decided that the one to enter that ce would be you.


    To aim for the top in this forsaken, the only way to do so is to enter this heavenly ce.


    Thankfully, this time around, the heavens n on showing more mercy.


    Quest Objective:


    > Achieve an authority level of 15 within the Gates of Awakening (9/15)


    > Kill 500 feral humans (163/500)


    > Obtain the Statue for The One Left Behind (1/1)


    > Obtain the Wishes of The One Left Behind (1/1)


    > Obtain the approval of The One Left Behind (1/1)


    Quest Reward:


    > Eligibility to the Gates of Transcendence


    > Unlimited ess to the Gates of Enlightenment and Gates of Awakening


    Quest Penalty:


    > Level -30


    > Teleportation to the inheritance''s entrance


    [Note: This quest can only be obtained andpleted within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. Leaving the inheritance is considered as forfeiting the quest.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After having read through this quest''s description while in the temporary camp, Valyr had utterly given up hope on having both Hal and Vera enter the Gates of Transcendence alongside him.


    After all, if the owner of the inheritance himself said that only he could enter the inheritance, and the system itself had told him the same thing¡­


    How would he make the impossible possible?


    With that, Valyr took in a few deep breaths before looking at Vaughn with a bitter smile. "I''m guessing my friends still can''t enter the Gates of Transcendence, huh."


    Vaughn slowly shook his head. "Unfortunately not."


    "However, as the sole owner of this inheritance, that doesn''t mean I can''t bend a few rules to have them obtain things that are of a simr level to what you''d get inside the Gates of Transcendence."


    Seeing the man before him grin widely, the young man looked at him with both suspicion and curiosity. "What are you nning to do?"


    "Just gonna make use of the system to aplish a couple of things." Vaughn chuckled, only to turn around soon after.


    "And this Hall of Legends and Myths here is going to help me in that regard."

 Chapter 814 Four Pillars: Resonance

    Chapter 814 Four Pirs: Resonance


    While Vaughn was in the midst of admiring the Hall of Legends and Myths in its entirety, Valyr looked at the man''s back with confusion, simultaneously understanding and not understanding what the man had just told him.


    With that, the young man moved closer to the entrance, eventually standing beside Vaughn as the interior of the Hall of Legends and Myths was revealed before him.


    Of course, with the sight readily avable to him, Valyr could not extricate his eyes from it that easily, especially with how beautiful the interior was.


    Then again, even the word beautiful was an oversimplification of the level of grandeur the building had.


    With the entire building being made up of five massive cylindrical halls, the Hall of Legends and Myths hadrge domes acting as its roofs, reminding Valyr of a fewndmarks that he had seen back on Earth.


    The walls of the building looked to be made out chiseled white marble, the carvings on its surface reminding him of the natural ebb and flow of the many rivers he had seen in both his past and current life.


    As for the domes themselves, their color reminded Valyr of newly fired pottery, prompting him to wonder whether the domes had yet to be zed or if they were chosen to be that color.


    Redirecting his sight from the building itself, the young man soon greeted himself with the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of weapons and various equipment.


    From swords to spears, staffs to knuckles, it seemed as if the Hall of Legends and Myths was just a massive repository of powerful weapons that those in the Gates of Awakening could borrow at any time.


    However, if one were to peer deeper into the weapons, one would notice the powerful auras being emanated by the weapons, making it seem like the entire Hall of Legends and Myths was a massive jungle.


    And the weapons themselves were fighting for its territory.


    In fact, after looking at the inside for a bit longer, Valyr noticed that the weapons were arranged in a specific pattern, with the weapons at the center of the hall emanating a near-suffocating aura to him.


    Then, working his way outwards, the weapons radiated less and less of an aura, to the point where the weapons near the entrance radiated a decent aura, but was still in many wayscking whenpared to the weapons at the center.


    Shaking his head a couple of times to move his gaze away from the Hall of Legends and Myths, Valyr took in a deep breath before asking the question he had in mind to the man beside him.


    Fortunately, Vaughn responded back to him on the very first time he asked the question, allowing the young man to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he listened intently to the man''s exnation.


    To sum things up, what Vaughn nned on doing was more or less simr to what Valyr nned on doing in order to break the news to the two that they wouldn''t be able to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    However, rather than rely on his own words and the trust they''ve built up, Vaughn nned on making use of something more reliable.


    Which was the system itself.


    By issuing quests that reminded the two of the journey they took to enter the Gates of Awakening, Vaughn would slowly lead them to realizing that only one would be chosen to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    Of course, it went without saying that Valyr would cooperate in that regard, especially after Vaughn said that he''d control the inheritance to make it seem like he had been chosen by the heavens.


    Though, as he took pity in the fact that the two just weren''t meant to enter the final organization in the Triad Gates, Vaughn decided to reward the two opportunities to enter the Hall of Legends and Myths afterpleting the quests he''d given them.


    "After all, they weren''t able toplete the nine trials unlike you," said Vaughn as he ended his exnation. "The fact that they would be able to inherit a path that would naturally allow them to be a Legend is definitely more than enough for them."


    "Speaking of which, I suppose you''re here to im that, huh," added the man not long after, receiving a nod from Valyr in response.


    Nodding back, Vaughn then told him, "Normally, the voice within the ce will tell you what to do. But since I''m here, I''ll do that instead."


    "In any case, it''s pretty simple." The man slightly shrugged in nonchnce. "Take a few steps into the actual Hall of Legends and Myths and radiate your aura to its fullest."


    "When I mean to its fullest, I really mean you should go all out." Vaughn looked at Valyr. "Activate all of the status boosting skills in your arsenal and bolster your strength to its limits."


    "Only then would you be able to obtain the attention of the weapons nearer to the center of the hall."


    At those words, Vaughn exined that although the Hall of Legends and Myths was a ce for members of the Gates of Awakening to inherit the paths of those that came before them, the direction of the inheritance was actually the other way around.


    ording to him, only by showing the strength one has rued and the path one has taken to get to their current point would the weapons in the hall begin to respond, forming a resonance of sorts that would allow them to inherit said paths.


    "I''m pretty sure you have a rough idea of why the weapons areid out ordingly before you," said Vaughn as he briefly nced at the young man. "All I can tell you is that the weapons at the center belong to people whose paths have allowed them to be high-ranked Myths."


    "And those closer to the entrance?" asked Valyr with a hint of curiosity.


    "Legends," said Vaughn back. "Well, to be more exact, Legends that were incredibly close to bing Myths, but failed at thest minute."


    "Either way, let''s not waste any more time. Show the Hall of Legends and Myths what you''ve got."


    Nodding in response to his words, Valyr took in a deep breath before proceeding to head a bit deeper into the building.


    Feeling like he had gone deep enough into the ce, the young man took a few more deep breaths forposure before activating all of the status boosting skills in his arsenal.


    Whoosh! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ring out his aura in its entirety, the young man caused the Hall of Legends and Myths to briefly rumble, as if the building was struggling against the ferocity of the aura Valyr unleashed.


    "Such ferocious aura," muttered Vaughn as his eyes widened in slight disbelief.


    Watching the young man continue to unleash his aura throughout the Hall of Legends and Myths, Vaughn soon noticed the weapons inside the hall beginning to respond, their bodies glowing in excitement.


    At first, it was the weapons near the entrance of the hall.


    Then, gradually, the weapons that woke up got closer and closer to the center.


    Eventually, a weapon near the center had woken up in response to Valyr''s aura, prompting a pensive expression to appear on his face.


    "I see."


    "The Azure Serpent, huh."

 Chapter 815 Four Pillars: Azure Serpent

    Chapter 815 Four Pirs: Azure Serpent


    Whoosh!


    Feeling a great amount of strength course throughout his body, Valyr faintly let out a satisfied sigh.


    At this moment, he felt like he had entered a level of strength that would have normally been impossible for him to achieve.


    In a way, it reminded him of the times he went all out while fighting against the quadrant leaders, as well as during the fight between him and the Lee twins.


    ''Though, I had the power of the Shard of Defiance coursing through me that time,'' thought Valyr to himself, recalling the ethereal state he was in near the end of thetter fight.


    Shaking his head a few times to remove the tangential thoughts in his head, Valyr took in a deep breath before focusing on spreading his aura outward, making sure that the entire Hall of Legends and Myths got a whiff of his aura.


    Rumble¡­


    In response, the Hall of Legends and Myths began to faintly rumble, causing the young man to feel a hint of shock.


    After all, it wasn''t like he had mmed his fists into the hall or anything. Instead, the hall began to rumble by itself.


    Fortunately, the young man swiftly found the reason for the rumbling as the weapons near the outer edges of the hall began to glow.


    Swoosh!


    Giving off lights of various colors and intensities, a few strands of those lights began to make their way towards Valyr, telling him that the strength and path he had at the moment were greatly suit the path that their owners had.


    Seeing how many of the weapons at the outer edges glowed in response to his aura, Valyr felt a bit of pride from the path he had trekked so far, slightly grinning as he moved his attention towards the weapons that were deeper into the hall.


    ''The closer the weapon is to the center, the higher the chances of me inheriting a path that would allow me to be a Myth,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, briefly ncing at the weapon that stood at the very center.


    In terms of how simple the weapon at the center was to wield, it seemed as if it was a weapon made for a race that were a few heads taller than normal humans.


    Nevertheless, the craftsmanship and effort put into the weapon was top-tier, with almost every nook and cranny making up the weapon itself covered in grooves and runes that seemed to channel the user''s mana into specific areas.


    "A slight shame that it''s a scythe," said Valyr, imagining in his mind the person that wielded the weapon to be a force of destruction in the battlefield.


    After daydreaming for a bit as to what kind of person wielded such an unwieldy scythe, Valyr returned his attention to the other weapons around the hall, continuing to push his aura out to the fullest.


    Once again, a great number of the weapons in the hall responded to his aura, glowing as they sent out strands that told him he was a great fit for the paths their owners have taken.


    Some of the strands were a bit forceful in their approach, while others were a bit more refined, telling the young man that they could opt to inherit other weapons aside from theirs.


    In any case, the cacophony of messages in his mind and lights in his vision spurred him to continue moving deeper, releasing his aura to the fullest once more.


    Then again, with all things considered, Valyr felt like his current path was more or less stable. After all, he was mainly a cksmith.


    He just happened to know how to fight with the spear, utilize magic and other various energies, as well as make use of a weapon that''s technologically advanced by Veldanyr''s standards.


    If he were to look at all of the weapons within the Hall of Legends and Myths at this moment, only around a third or so of the weapons pertained to paths that went deeper into the world of production.


    As for the remaining two-thirds, it went without saying that those weapons focused on the world ofbat.


    Unfortunately, Valyr already had firepower at the plenty, having the ability to surmount a gap asrge as three ss ranks with rtive ease.


    However¡­


    That did not mean that he couldn''t take inspiration from the paths that were explored by those that came before him.


    Whoosh!


    ring out his aura once more, Valyr soon found weapons somewhat near the center responding to him, sending him strands infused with messages telling him that their paths would allow him to be a Myth.


    Not long after, the weapons even nearer to the center sent their own messages, telling him that their paths were far better than the ones that came before them.


    Faintly smiling as he noticed that over half of the weapons in the Hall of Legends and Myths had responded to his aura, Valyr continued to re out his aura for a bit longer, even attracting the attention of the weapons that were nearest to the scythe at the center. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    In fact, for a brief moment, the scythe had glowed in response to his aura, causing his eyes to widen in slight surprise.


    Though, as he received the strand of light the scythe had given to him, he began to refocus his attention towards the weapons that surrounded it.


    "The paths you and my owner take are quite simr. However, in the end, your paths are bound to be far separated from one another."


    "Instead, I''d suggest you focus your attention on the weapons in my surroundings. Though the paths their owners have taken are slightlyckingpared to mine, they would still allow you to soar to the skies and transcend mortality."


    "Perhaps, with their greaterpatibility, they would allow you to reach an even higher sky that even my owner could not even fathom."


    Muttering these words to himself as he read the scythe''s message, the young man took a few deep breaths to stabilize his thoughts before shifting his attention towards the weapons that were closest to therge scythe.


    After having pushed out his aura for quite some time now, a considerable portion of the weapons that had responded to his call had somewhat dimmed down.


    Though, from what he could tell, if Valyr were to reach out to them, the weapon would immediately respond and allow him to inherit their owner''s path.


    With that, he began to walk around for a bit to get a look at the weapons within the hall in greater detail.


    Walking through swords that were used for legendary feats to unconventional weapons that were used to achieve the impossible, Valyr soon found himself standing in front of a staff that radiated a seemingly odd aura.


    On one hand, it beckoned him toe closer.


    And on the other, it told him to stay away.


    Curious, Valyr focused his aura towards the staff, allowing him to get another response from the staff while getting a better look at the same time.


    Compared to the other weapons near the center, the staff looked quite ordinary, looking as if it was a piece of wood that had just been randomly picked up in a forest.


    However, if he were to look beneath its somewhat dark exterior, he noticed a faint sheen of blue shimmering across its surface, with grooves and runes far more exquisite than the one on the scythe covering the weapon from head to toe.


    After reluctantly receiving a few more strands of light from the staff after focusing his aura on it, the young man widened in surprise as he received the name of the weapon.


    "The Azure Serpent Staff¡­" muttered Valyr, only for his train of thought to stop as Vaughn stood beside him.


    "To be honest, the very moment you caught this staff''s attention, I had a strong feeling you''d take notice of it," said Vaughn as he looked at the young man with a shrug.


    Hearing those words, Valyr went silent for a bit as he scratched the back of his head.


    "Is¡­ is it rted to what I think it is?" asked the young man after some thought.


    In response, Vaughn merely nodded, telling Valyr more or less everything he needed to know.


    "To give you a bit more information, the owner of this staff wasn''t actually human," the man said soon after, causing the young man to raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity. "To be more exact, they were a beast turned human after going through atavism."


    At those words, Valyr''s eyes gradually widened, inferring something between the words Vaughn spoke.


    And from the man''s gaze at him, it was as if he was telling him that his inference was most likely to be correct.


    With that, Valyr had made up his mind, deciding to ignore the fact that the original owner had chosen a path that heavily leaned towards magic.


    Touching the staff''s surface, the young man eventually felt a pull on his conscious, sending him to another ne as Vaughn watched him from the side.


    With a hint of trepidation, he watched the world around him turn into darkness.


    For this might be the key he was looking for to push his subss to the next tier.

 Chapter 816 Four Pillars: Sellifer

    Chapter 816 Four Pirs: Sellifer


    After waiting in the darkness for a while, Valyr eventually found his surroundings undergo a gradual change, bringing color to what was essentially a nk canvas.


    Noticing how the world that appeared before him seemed to be somewhat muted, the young man furrowed his brows for a bit as he wondered whether his earlier thoughts were correct.


    Though, by the time he saw the ground being covered in vast stretches of water alongside trees having trunks made out of leaves, that worry had instantly disappeared.


    "I had a feeling my hunch was correct," Valyr muttered to himself as he faintly chuckled. "The owner had something to do with the Shadow ne."


    At the very moment he focused his attention on the Azure Serpent Staff, Valyr took note of the aura it was emanating, its ferocity more or less simr to the weapons within the sameyer.


    However, unlike the other weapons in the vicinity, the Azure Serpent Staff seemed to have another kind of aura oveid on top of its original.


    Then again, Valyr was only able to sense this aura after focusing his attention on the staff for a long time¡­


    As well as being attuned to the same type of energy the second aura was emanating.


    With the energy''s more than obvious vors of destruction, despair, and chaos, Valyr instantly knew that he was dealing with a weapon that had something to do with Shadow Energy.


    Focusing his attention on the weapon itself, he soon noticed that a considerable portion of the grooves were etched out with Shadow Energy in mind, working alongside the grooves that were etched for mana.


    Seeing both mana and Shadow Energy work in tandem in a weapon, Valyr''s eyes widened in realization at that moment as it seemed that the weapon was showing him the goal that the Triad Gates had given him a glimpse of.


    Aplete fusion of both mana and Shadow Energy into a greater form of energy.


    Thanks to the rewards he had gotten from both the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening, Valyr had been introduced to the concept of fusing mana into a skill that was inherently powered by Shadow Energy.


    Then, with the insights he had gained in Shadow Energy from the Chambers of Enlightenment, he found out that Shadow Energy and mana acted as two sides of the same coin.


    While one focused on destruction and chaos, the other focused on creation and order.


    From the name of the weapon alone, Valyr took his chances, especially after Vaughn had indirectly confirmed the thoughts in his mind.


    And with the Shadow ne appearing before him as he began his journey in inheriting the owner''s path¡­


    It seemed that his gambit had paid off.


    Whoosh!


    After the entire Shadow ne had manifested before him, Valyr watched as his surroundings turned into a blur for a brief moment as he was dragged along towards another part of the ne.


    "What¡­" By the time his sights stopped moving, the young man was soon greeted to a sight that he did not expect to find within the Shadow ne.


    A settlement.


    Though the territory upied by the settlement was only half asrge as the one Astarto Vige upied, Valyr was still surprised that there were actual settlements within the Shadow ne, initially thinking that the ce was mostly filled with forests and the like.


    ''I guess even with the ne being a parallel world of sorts to Veldanyr, there are some things that don''t change that easily,'' thought Valyr to himself as he began to move around to get a better look at the settlement.


    In many ways, if one were to exclude the peculiar materials used to make the structures, the small settlement looked the same as any fledgling vige one would find in Veldanyr.


    However, rather than find native people of the Shadow ne living within these houses¡­


    Valyr instead saw Shadow Serpents residing in it.


    At the very moment the young man saw this, a great wave of confusion hit him, prompting him to wonder why Shadow Serpents would be living in such small houses.


    After all, simr to the apex predators of the Shadow ne, Shadow Serpents grew up to a size that was farrger than the houses themselves. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Fortunately, the answer to his question was answered as some of the Shadow Serpents within the settlement gradually morphed to take on a humanoid form, with most of their bodies covered in their characteristic scales.


    Among the serpents that morphed into a humanoid form, there was a couple that came out of a house found near the edge of the settlement, smiling as the woman between them cradled what looked like a small Shadow Serpent in a warm nket.


    Feeling an immense sense of attraction as he looked at the Shadow Serpent, Valyr understood that this small serpent was none other than the owner that would eventually grow up to wield the Azure Serpent Staff he touched.


    Though, just as he thought he would be watching the small serpent go through its journey in silence, the demure voice of a woman began to echo from his side, causing him to look beside him in slight shock.


    "Heh¡­ who knew the inheritance process would involve making use of my memories?"


    Hearing those wordse out of the woman''s mouth, Valyr was about to ask who she was, only to notice that there were a few things about her that stood out.


    For one, her appearance looked quite simr to the serpents that took on humanoid forms below.


    However, unlike them, the woman only had a few scales on her body, their azure luster mostly congregating around her cheeks and the backside of her hands.


    Aside from that, her hair was a dazzling dark blue,plementing the azure eyes she had that seemed to epass the vast dark yet blue skies of the Shadow ne.


    Paired with cherry-red lips and a blue silken dress that did not leave a lot to the imagination, the woman was by all means a beauty that would make entire kingdoms fight for her favor.


    Then again, with how she appeared beside Valyr as he was just about to watch the small serpent''s journey to power, there was no doubt in his mind that the woman beside him¡­


    Was none other than the owner of the Azure Serpent Staff herself.


    "Hmm?" Noticing Valyr staring at her for so long, the woman looked back before shing a faint smile. "I suppose you''re the one who aims to inherit the path I''ve taken?"


    In response, Valyr merely nodded.


    "Hmm¡­ Shadow Energy and mana, huh." Staring at Valyr for a bit, a faint frown appeared on the woman''s face before nodding in understanding.


    Returning her attention back to the sight before them, she then faintly uttered, "Makes sense that you''ve chosen to inherit my path, then."


    "As stipted by the agreement I have with the Gates of Awakening, I have no choice but to aid you in understanding the path I''ve taken whilst we go through my journey of power," said the woman with a shrug.


    "In any case, let me introduce myself first."


    "With how long I''ve lived so far, I''ve rued a number of titles and monikers that people call me by."


    "The Azure Mage, the Sage of Azure Destruction, the Blue Queen of Cmity, the Empress of Azure Shadows¡­"


    "But as you are the inheritor of the path I''ve created¡­"


    "You can call me Sellifer."


    "Valyr." Seeing the woman extend her hand for a handshake, Valyr returned the greeting as he introduced himself. "Valyr Zeihardt."


    Unsurprisingly, as the young man mentioned his surname, Sellifer''s eyes widened in slight surprise. "Who knew a Zeihardt would eventually start dabbling in the world of Shadow Energy?"


    Though, she shrugged her shoulders soon after. "Then again, who am I to judge? The road to power may have one peak, but there are a myriad number of paths that lead to it."


    Letting out a faint sigh after that, Sellifer urged Valyr to return his attention to the sight before them.


    Watching the couple handle the small Shadow Serpent that would eventually grow up to be the woman beside him, the young man could not stop himself from ncing at Sellifer every once in a while, wondering what her reaction would be.


    "As I''ve mentioned earlier, I''ve been tasked by the Gates of Awakening to aid you in understanding the path I''ve taken." Seeing Valyr continue to stare at her, Sellifer inwardly scratched the back of her head as she began to speak once more.


    "Whether you incorporate the path I''ve taken into your own or inherit the path I''ve taken in its entirety, that''s all up to you."


    "Speaking of which, I have a feeling that you think the sight before you seems incredibly mundane, but it''s actually showing you a lot of information that would be useful in understanding my pathter on."


    Seeing Valyr tilt his head in slight confusion, Sellifer looked back at the trio down below, feeling a sense of nostalgia at the sight.


    "My parents are what you would consider the usual adult Shadow Serpents," said the woman with a slight longing tone. "Their control over Shadow Energy is average, their strength is around the average for Shadow Serpents, and their talents are quite average as well."


    "With that, the two of them found it quite peculiar that I was born not only with superb storage for Shadow Energy, but also great potential in terms of talent."


    "After a bit more scoping, they found out that my attributes and potential abilities in every aspect were at the level of elites," she continued. "However, through their scoping, they also found out that I had an affinity for an energy that was considered to be forbidden in the Shadow ne."


    Listening to her words, Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity, only for his eyes to widen as he immediately understood what Sellifer was trying to say.


    Seeing the young man quickly shift expressions, Sellifer inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she nodded back. "Indeed, it is what you think it is."


    "Though I was born in the Shadow ne¡­"


    "I''ve been shown to have an affinity for mana."

 Chapter 817 Four Pillars: Life of a Shadow Serpent

    Chapter 817 Four Pirs: Life of a Shadow Serpent


    With Sellifer confirming the thoughts going on in Valyr''s head with her words, thetter went silent for a bit before asking the woman a question. "How did you even get the affinity in the first ce?"


    "Even if you ask me, I wouldn''t be able to answer." Sellifer shook her head in response. "After all, that was the same question my parents asked themselves when they found out I had an affinity for the forbidden energy."


    "However, even after they retraced their paths to their ancestors, there was no solid conclusion to be found. All they found out was that I had gained the affinity for mana out of nowhere."


    "If you were to ask me why, I would have no answer as well." She shrugged her shoulders soon after. "I did think for some time that the affinity was given to me for a greater purpose¡­"


    "But I guess it was just the heavens doing its usual shenanigans of making sure beings were imperfect one way or another."


    Scratching the back of his head after that, Valyr faintly let out a sigh before returning his attention to the sight before them.


    Watching the couple and the very young Sellifer go through the small settlement, the young man slightly narrowed his eyes as he began to notice a hint of panic on the couple''s expressions.


    Naturally, as she was still small at the time, the young Sellifer seemed to show no emotion at all.


    However, for some reason, Valyr felt that the young Sellifer at the same time looked at her parents with both confusion and worry, wondering what was going on.


    "The Gates of Awakening really started going through my journey at this part, huh," muttered Sellifer as she realized what was happening, faintly cursing out the organization not long after.


    Seeing the young man look at her for answers, the woman went silent for a bit before deciding to give him a bit more information. "I''m pretty sure the expressions on my parents'' faces have made it more than obvious¡­"


    "But as you can see, the two of them have made up their minds to leave the settlement as quickly as possible."


    At those words, Valyr felt a bit confused. "For what reason, though? Is it because of your affinity for mana?"


    "Precisely." Sellifer faintly nodded with a sigh. "Man¡­ I didn''t really want to relive this part of my memory again."


    "But basically, even though no one in the settlement knew that I had an affinity for the forbidden energy, my parents felt like the others would find out sooner orter."


    "With that, they decided to leave the settlement with me before others could find out, deciding to head to arger settlement where it would be harder to find our tracks."


    With that, Valyr returned his attention to the sight before them, watching as the couple gradually turned into Shadow Serpents farrger than the one he fought to awaken his Shadow Energy in the Shadow ne.


    Slithering through the watery ins at great speeds, the three eventually found themselves arriving in front of a farrger settlement after two continuous days of moving about.


    Compared to the small settlement that the three were previously in, the settlement before them at that moment reminded Valyr of Clossbay City in terms of its structure.


    As for the territory it upied, the young man felt that the closest city in that regard would be the capital of Algerie Kingdom, Algerie City.


    Seeing the trio go through the gates of therge settlement, Valyr watched as the sight before them move at a considerably faster pace, reminding him of the memories on Vaughn he had viewed in the past.


    Though it moved at a faster pace, it was still more than clear for the young man to make out what was going on, watching as the three gradually got settled into therge settlement as its citizens.


    After that, Sellifer''s parents began to teach her all of the basic skills and abilities needed to be a Shadow Serpent, being reminded that their daughter was gifted in every regard when it came to Shadow Energy.


    Eventually, after a few years had gone by, Sellifer had been taught of a skill that would allow to take on a humanoid form that consumed her Shadow Energy in the process.


    Transforming into a young child that was only had its face bereft of scales, the young manmitted the woman''s progress into memory as he looked at Sellifer as he waited for her to give him more information.


    Naturally, as she was bound by the agreement with the Gates of Awakening to exin what was going on, Sellifer looked back at Valyr as she began to speak. "Before I begin my exnation, have youe across a settlement during your journeys into the Shadow ne before?"


    In response, Valyr shook his head, telling her that almost everything he had seen during the couple of times he had entered the Shadow ne was none other than forests and jungles.


    With that, Sellifer asked him if he knew of the peculiarity of the species when it came to its predators and prey, to which the young man responded that he did.


    Of course, he also mentioned that he knew that Shadow Serpents were an exception to that rule, eliciting a nod from the woman in response.


    "As there are no native humans within the Shadow ne, it could be said that Shadow Serpents have taken the ce of humans," said Sellifer as she began her exnation, prompting Valyr''s eyes to widen in surprise.


    "I''m sure you''re still under the notion that almost all of the Shadow Serpents live in settlements and buildings that match their grandiose sizes, assuming that only a minority would take on a humanoid form to live in simr settlements."


    "But the reality of the matter is that it''s actually the exact opposite," said Sellifer in a solemn tone. "Most high-rank Shadow Serpents are constantly in humanoid form, with only the young and a stubborn few remaining in their original forms."


    At this point, the woman returned her attention to the sight before them. "After reaching a certain age, Shadow Serpents are taught a basic skill that would allow them to take on a humanoid form in exchange for their Shadow Energy." "However, there are actually three method in the Shadow ne for one to be humanoid."


    "The first method is the one I just mentioned, which is magic. By sacrificing a part of your Shadow Energy, you''d be able to temporarily take on a human form."


    "Though, in that form, you''d be able to execute an incredibly small portion of your power," said Sellifer with a slight shrug. "Then again, there are some who have created skills that would allow them to take on a human form that allowed them to exhibit more of their power."


    "The second method is alchemy, most often considered the go-to option by many Shadow Serpents."


    "By ingesting a special concoction, one would gain an innate ability to shift between humanoid and Shadow Serpent form. Compared to the first method, the power would be able to unleash as a human through this method is far greater."


    "However, it''s stillcking whenpared to the final method," said Sellifer, piquing Valyr''s interest.


    "And what would the final method be?" asked Valyr after that, feeling like he had a good idea as to what it was.


    In response, Sellifer merely smiled with a hint of pride. "One word." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Atavism."

 Chapter 818 Four Pillars: Atavism

    Chapter 818 Four Pirs: Atavism


    "Atavism¡­" With his thoughts confirmed by Sellifer''s words once more, Valyr shed a faint smile as he began to rummage through his treasure trove of memories regarding the concept.


    In simple terms, atavism was the act of returning to one''s origin. It was an act of retracing the path one''s ancestors had taken in order to obtain greater power.


    However, even though sessfully achieving atavism would grant one ess to power that would be impossible for one to originally wield, only a small number of beings would be able to achieve atavism.


    For most, one would only either fail in their attempt at atavism, or only be partially sessful in atavism.


    And in most cases, bing partially sessful in atavism meant that their power would reduce rather than increase thanks to the deviations in the paths that they''ve retraced.


    Then again, it''s not like atavism was a nigh-impossible endeavor.


    If anything, it needed two things that would allow one to have a high chance in sessfully achieving atavism.


    The first one was a method that would smoothly guide them on the path to atavism.


    And the second one was a strong enough bloodline that would allow one to achieve atavism in the first ce.


    Recalling these two things, Valyr was reminded of a small group of yers in the past that had discovered that they could also undergo atavism thanks to the species evolutions they''ve chosen.


    In the end, only a small portion of that group had sessfully reached atavism in their first attempt.


    Fortunately, with the many unique perks yers had in Greater Beyond, those that were unsessful in their first time had a chance to try again, allowing them to reach atavism as well.


    Because of that, they were eventually known as the Atavists of Alkadran, their strengths more than enough to put them alongside rankers as achieving atavism allowed them to obtain far better species evolutions.


    Inwardly shaking his head as he returned to the matter at hand, Valyr listened as Sellifer began to exin what atavism was.


    "In essence, atavism is basically the act of trying to awaken the ancestral version of one''s bloodline," said Sellifer in a calm tone.


    "For example, say a Shadow Serpent has a bloodline that has traces of a Five-tailed Shadow Serpent. They could undergo through atavism and be an actual Five-tailed Shadow Serpent, transforming their bloodline into its ancestral version."


    "Within the Shadow ne, going through atavism not only increases one''s strength, but also gives one the ability to switch between human and serpent form."


    "And unlike the first and second methods, it could be said that the strength one could unleash in humanoid form gained through atavism is equal to what one could unleash their original form."


    "In fact, with enough training, one could even get their human form to be stronger than their original form, though that''s rarely to be the case."


    Finishing her exnation on atavism there, Sellifer then told Valyr to return his attention to the sight before them, watching as the young Sellifer entered an academy for Shadow Serpents. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Once there, the young Sellifer showed the superb potential that her parents had discovered throughout her school life, eventually allowing her to be known by many as a prodigy among Shadow Serpents.


    Of course, there were those who were jealous of the treatment she was getting, prompting them to challenge her to a duel.


    But with the help of her great innate talents and potential, it was more often than not that she won the duel, intentionally losing on some of them to give them face.


    Nevertheless, with how she became stronger through the years, Sellifer eventually discovered the weird affinity she had by the time she had graduated from the academy.


    Asking her parents more about it, she soon found out from them that the weird affinity was none other than her affinity to mana, a forbidden energy within the Shadow ne.


    With that, Sellifer asked why mana was a forbidden energy in the Shadow ne, to which her parents responded that she would eventually find out on her own in the future.


    Seeing as her parents decided to be tight-lipped on the matter, Sellifer decided to focus on getting stronger for the meantime, knowing that might made right within the Shadow ne.


    And so, she quickly threw herself into the world of warfare, starting off as a private that somewhat had difficulty grasping the notion of killing fellow Shadow Serpents.


    Fortunately, she slowly began toe to terms with the act of killing, being reminded that the Shadow ne in essence followed thew of the jungle.


    Then again, it was in a Shadow Serpent''s inherent nature to kill.


    "I was around 25 years old when I entered the military world," said Sellifer as she watched the sight before them fast forward through the multiple years of carnage she''d done.


    "By the time I left the military world for good, I was already around 75 years old."


    Hearing that the woman beside her spent 50 years of her life continuously fighting against what was basically her fellow kin, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words as he wrapped his head around the situation.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Returning his attention to the Sellifer that was fighting down below, the young man noticed that the woman was mainly in her humanoid form, only using her original form if she was left with no choice.


    "What method were you using to take on a human form during your time in the military?" asked the young man, recalling that he had not seen any instance of the woman making use of the second or third method through the past 50 years that passed.


    Of course, that thought only gave him more shock when he heard the words that came out of Sellifer''s mouth.


    "The first one," she replied with a hint of pride. "Throughout the past 50 years I was in the military, I refined the skill I used to turn into a human to the best of my abilities, reducing the amount of Shadow Energy needed to maintain it while raising the amount of power I could unleash with it."


    "Of course,prehending an Intent in the battlefield helped out a lot in improving the skill along the way, even more so after I had upgraded my Intent into a bona fide Force."


    "In any case, I only came to know of the third method after being told by a superior that I could head that route with the innate talent I had."


    "And so, leaving as a high-ranking military official after spending 50 years in the battlefield, I returned to my parents with a longing smile on my face as I told them of my ns to undergo atavism."


    As she said those words, she let out a low sigh.


    "Unsurprisingly, they said no."

 Chapter 819 Four Pillars: Steadfast Beliefs

    Chapter 819 Four Pirs: Steadfast Beliefs


    Not long after saying those words, a bitter smile adorned Sellifer''s face as she returned her attention to the sight before them.


    Seeing that, Valyr focused his sights towards the memory as well, watching the Sellifer below get into a heated argument with her parents.


    Though, if one were to listen to the words being spoken, one would realize that there was no argument happening whatsoever.


    Nevertheless, the topic of the conversation did not remove the frown adorning Sellifer''s face, even though she was trying her best tomit all of their words into memory.


    Watching the Sellifer below eventually leave her parents alone out of anger, Sellifer slowly shook her head. "To be honest, you could consider this one of thergest mistakes I''ve ever done in my life."


    "Even though I''ve weathered multiple hardships and whatnot during the 50 years I spent in the military, I remained stubborn, adamant to the things that I wished to achieve."


    "Sure, I was able to sessfully pull off in the end. But what if I hadn''t?"


    At those words, Sellifer let out yet another sigh. "Even though I was already over 70 years old at the time, I let my ego get to my head. I let all of the des and aplishments I''ve rued throughout my life get the better of me."


    While listening to Sellifer pouring out her woes, Valyr thought back to the conversation the Sellifer below had with her parents.


    After telling her parents that she would pursue the path of atavism to take on a human form, Sellifer received the vehement rejection of both of them, causing her to look at them in shock.


    Unsurprisingly, she asked her parents why they didn''t want her to pursue atavism, to which the two looked at each other before eventually telling Sellifer something she was yearning to know throughout her life so far.


    In fact, it was the same thing Sellifer mentioned to Valyr that she had no clue about at the start of the memory.


    The origin of her affinity for mana.


    At the moment those words left her parents'' mouths, the Sellifer below went silent and made sure tomit all of the words her parents would say to her to memory.


    Taking in a deep breath, her father then exined to her that they were confused at first as to why she had an affinity for the forbidden energy, even though she was a native of the Shadow ne.


    Though, by relocating to arger settlement, they had ess to greater information.


    And with that, they eventually stumbled upon a discovery that even they were surprised to find out.


    With a tender gaze, Sellifer''s mother told her that though their bloodline was mostly that of a Shadow Serpent, a small part of their bloodline could actually be retraced to an ancestor of theirs.


    An ancestor¡­ that could make use of a corrupted form of mana.


    Hearing that, Sellifer''s eyes widened in disbelief as the two continued to talk about that ancestor in detail, talking about how that ancestor was actually a rare mutation that wasn''t supposed to exist in the Shadow ne.


    But it did.


    With that, her parents then surmised that her affinity for mana was just a mutation of the ancestor''s affinity for corrupted mana, taking into consideration of her superb talent and potential as a Shadow Serpent.


    And thus, a far stronger bloodline that would allow her to tap more into that ancestral blood.


    At that point, Sellifer asked why they didn''t want her to undergo through atavism, recalling that her parents mentioned that the ancestor was incredibly strong.


    In response, her parents exined that it had something to do with the methods for atavism, telling her that her bloodline actually exceeded the minimum requirements needed to undergo atavism.


    Exining that they looked into the method while she was young, her parents emphasized that it would be an incredibly difficult endeavor for her to undergo atavism because of their unique ancestor, basically telling Sellifer that she would be a trailzer of an unexplored path.


    Being told multiple times that there were many alchemical concoctions that would allow her to exhibit her full power in human form, even magic skills that would allow her the same thing, Sellifer still remained steadfast in her beliefs.


    Even with all of the talking the three of them had done, she still wanted to undergo atavism.


    Whether it was stubbornness or just pure ego getting to her head, Valyr had a hunch as to what Sellifer felt at that moment.


    The feeling to prove their thoughts wrong.


    The feeling to prove that the impossible was actually possible.


    With that, Sellifer left home and took a rest at a ce far away from her parents for a few months.


    Taking that time to solidify the beliefs and ideologies she had polished over the years, she eventually returned to the battlefield, entering the military world once more.


    However, unlike the young private who still had qualms about killing fellow Shadow Serpents, the Sellifer at this point was a high-ranking officer that stood at the peak of Rank 5 as a Legend.


    In other words, under Myth-level beings, she was nigh invincible.


    Of course, it was not without reason that Sellifer returned to the world of warfare.


    If anything, she had all the reason to return to the military world aside from proving her parents wrong.


    After all, in the Shadow ne, if there was one part of society that constantly explored the unknowns of the realm and trailzed the path for others¡­


    That part would be none other than the military.


    Using her authority as a high-ranking officer, she took priority in exploring areas that hadn''t been ventured yet by people in the Shadow ne, hoping to find a clue or two in how she would be able to achieve atavism.


    Watching as the sight began to speed up once more before them, Sellifer took in a deep breath before ncing at Valyr. "100 years."


    "Huh?"


    "100 years." Sellifer looked at him with a calm expression. "After spending 50 years in the military, I took a short break before returning to the military to spend another 100 years."


    At those words, Valyr sucked in a breath of cold air.


    Those at the peak of Rank 5 could live for 500 years at most. Then, if one were to break through to be a Legend, they would be able to live for roughly 800 years.


    In other words, Sellifer had roughly spent a fourth of her potential life already in the memory.


    Yet there was still no sign of her bing known as the Sellifer that sat beside the young man.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the memory before them to begin slowing down again, showing Valyr and Sellifer the end of thetter''s hundred year long journey in the militaristic world.


    Standing in front of what looked to be a small ruined temple, the Sellifer below looked at all the other Shadow Serpents that apanied her before telling them that she and a few others would head inside to see what it would contain.


    After choosing the small group of people that woulde along with her, Sellifer and her group eventually entered the small temple, making sure to stay extra vignt at all times.


    Unsurprisingly, when the temple''s entrance closed in on itself the moment their group entered, a hint of panic crept up their faces.


    Though, the group still forged on, gradually heading deeper and deeper into the temple itself.


    Eventually, after exploring the various areas the temple had to offer, the group found themselves standing inside arge hall.


    And at the center was a pedestal with a blue crystal hovering atop it.


    Staring at the crystal for a bit, the group eventually let their curiosity get the better of them as they began to touch it one by one, infusing the crystal with their Shadow Energy.


    Unfortunately, none of those in the group had caused a response from the crystal¡­


    Except for Sellifer.


    Weeenggg!!!


    With a loud noise reverberating throughout the ruined temple, all of those that came along with Sellifer immediately disappeared from her field of vision, leaving her alone in therge hall.


    Though, not long after, an apparition made out of bluish energy appeared before her.


    Taking note of the bluish energy making up the apparition, Sellifer felt her heart thump as the sensation was innately familiar to her.


    And it was there she knew¡­


    That she had possibly found the path she needed to continue on her journey.


    "After 100 additional years in the military, I had finally found my lifeline in the form of an inheritance," said Sellifer, giving Valyr more insight into the situation before them.


    "However, unlike the other inheritances within the Shadow ne, this inheritance was actually made by a human that had gotten stuck in the Shadow ne."


    With Valyr''s eyes widening in surprise at those words, she continued. "Not wanting the path they''ve explored to be lost, they made the inheritance as ast-ditch effort to keep their path alive."


    "And fortunately for them, I was the one to inherit their path."


    At those words, Valyr returned his attention back to the sight before them, watching as the Sellifer below and the apparition began to talk about many things.


    Though, just as it seemed like he would be watching the two spend a lot of time within the barren hall¡­


    Whoosh!


    Out of nowhere, the apparition had opened a rift to another ce.


    And surprisingly¡­


    That ce was Veldanyr.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 820 Four Pillars: Leaving the Shadow Plane

    Chapter 820 Four Pirs: Leaving the Shadow ne


    Seeing the rift to Veldanyr open up beside the apparition, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he wondered whether the apparition would let Sellifer go through it that quickly.


    Though, unsurprisingly enough, the apparition used the rift to Veldanyr as an allure for the Sellifer in front of it to work harder, telling her that she needed to master the basics of his path first before being able to step foot into the rift.


    At those words, Sellifer asked the apparition where herpanions went, to which the apparition that they had been sent out of the temple.


    With that, she then asked if she could be sent out of the temple as well.


    Surprisingly, the apparition replied that there would be no problem in her doing so.


    However, it also told her that she would lose all chances at iming an opportunity that was hard toe by. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    In fact, it even emphasized that it was an opportunity that she would only get once in a lifetime, taking note of her affinity with mana.


    Hearing that, Sellifer went silent for a bit as the gears in her mind turned, staring at the rift that led to a world containing the other type of energy she seemed to be in tune with.


    In the end, with gritted teeth, she remained in the ce, deciding to take on the teachings of the human that made the inheritance whether she wanted to or not.


    Watching the Sellifer below and the apparition finally get to learning, the woman beside Valyr began to speak.


    "Unlike the time where going against my parents made me think that I had made a huge mistake, epting this inheritance made me feel like I had struck gold." "To be honest, I feel like I would have only realized what I needed to do near the end of my life if I hadn''t epted it."


    With those words resounding within the young man''s mind, Valyr watched as Sellifer gradually went through the fundamentals of mana.


    As someone who had found general energy control a type of second nature thanks to Greater Beyond gamifying it in his past life, it only dawned on the young man that the act of controlling energy should''ve been harder for him.


    After all, not everyone was blessed with years upon years of experience when it came to energy control, especially humans.


    On top of that, controlling energy began at the absorption and cirction of the energy throughout one''s body, not releasing it out of his body like he did.


    With that, a wry smile briefly adorned Valyr''s face as he faintly wondered as to why controlling Shadow Energy also posed no problem to him.


    Which was the exact opposite of the sight the Sellifer below was showing the two of them.


    Though her parents and the sensation just now confirmed that she had an affinity for mana, whenpared to her affinity for Shadow Energy, it could be said that it was slightly above average at best.


    Because of that, it took quite a while for Sellifer to understand the concept of absorbing mana, even though the rift to Veldanyr acted as a high-quality source of what she once knew as the forbidden energy.


    Then again, once she had wrapped her head around the concept of absorption, it did not take long for her to understand how to circte mana throughout her body, realizing that Shadow Energy and mana were simr yet different in a way.


    In the span of a couple weeks, Sellifer had gone from grasping at straws just to absorb a few motes of mana to skillfully circting mana throughout her body, even going so far as to imbue her body with it.


    After a few more days, she was eventually able to release mana from her body, causing her to obtain a whole host of mana-rted skills from the system.


    From there, the apparition gave her more information on the path she was inheriting.


    The same path that the human that constructed the inheritance she went in had trekked.


    While the apparition went on a lengthy exnation in the background, Sellifer gave a brief summary of what the apparition told her to Valyr. "To cut things short, the path the human had taken was that of a mage."


    "However, unlike other mages which would attune their mana towards certain elements to obtain greater power, that mage pursued the path of pure mana."


    "In that man''s words¡­ why change something that isn''t broken?" Saying these words, Sellifer slightly shrugged, to which Valyr let out a faint chuckle.


    By the time the apparition was finished giving the Sellifer below more information on the path she was inheriting, it then introduced the woman to a step that Valyr had onlye across when it came to Shadow Energy.


    The purification process.


    Surprisingly, the stages of purification for mana was more or less simr to the stages his Shadow Energy went through, starting off as impure energy before turning into its pure version.


    Then, it underwent the three stages of Cleansing, only to be followed up by the three stages of Metamorphosis after that.


    While Valyr was wondering whether he could apply the concept to his mana the same way he did to his Shadow Energy somewhere down the line, the apparition gave Sellifer a goal that made it promise it would allow her to enter through the rift if she achieved it.


    The 1st Cleansing stage.


    As long as she purified her mana to the stage of 1st Cleansing, the apparition would allow her to go through the rift.


    And so, she gave it her all.


    Through multiple attempts of trial and error, as well as a few words of advice from the apparition here and there, Sellifer made gradual but steady progress in purifying her mana.


    Though, unlike her learning the foundations of mana control, it took rtively less time for her to achieve great progress in that regard, working off the foundations she had already built.


    Within two weeks, she had sessfully transformed the mana circting in her body to its pure version.


    Then, within the span of a couple of months, she had pushed her mana one step further, allowing it to ascend to the stage of 1st Cleansing.


    Releasing this new and improved version of mana, Sellifer let out an awe of slight disbelief as she noticed that her mana had turned somewhat bluish-white because of it.


    However, that disbelief did notst for long.


    After all, she had now met the requirements necessary to go through the rift.

 Chapter 821 Four Pillars: The Path to Take

    Chapter 821 Four Pirs: The Path to Take


    After Sellifer calmed down from the excitement at finally being able to go through the rift, the apparition gave her a few reminders and things to note once she was on the other side.


    Aside from that, the apparition gave her a few skills that would allow her to adjust more smoothly andfortably once she was in Veldanyr, telling her that the world she was entering was as unique and as vast as the Shadow ne itself.


    Of course, with her only inheriting part of the inheritance so far, the apparition had also given her a way to return to the Shadow ne if she needed to, making use of the Shadow Energy within her body.


    And so, armed with both a shape-shifting skill and a disguise skill, as well as a few auxiliary skills, she eventually mustered up the courage to walk through the rift that would lead to a world she had yet to explore.


    Whoosh!


    Stepping into the rift, Sellifer felt the immediate disappearance of Shadow Energy in her surroundings, instead being reced with the extreme abundance of mana in the air.


    Feeling like a fish out of water for a few moments, it took a while for the woman topose herself, reminding herself of all the things she learned about mana from the apparition.


    With that, it did not take long for her to return to her previous condition, finally admiring the surroundings she had found herself in.


    "The first time I entered Veldanyr, I felt an innate sense of incongruence whenever I looked around," said Sellifer beside Valyr all of a sudden, her expression that of slight reminiscence.


    "After all, it''s not often that you head to a ce that could be considered the exact opposite of what you''ve been in your entire life. If anything, it''s incredibly rare for someone to be given that kind of opportunity."


    "For a while, I felt out of ce. I felt like I wasn''t meant to be in Veldanyr," Sellifer murmured, closing her eyes for a bit. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "However, my affinity for mana said otherwise."


    "Sure, I was born in the Shadow ne. Even though I was in Veldanyr, I still felt a connection to the ne through the Shadow Energy in my body."


    "But after staying in Veldanyr for quite a long time at this point, all of that incongruence has all but disappeared."


    "Instead, Veldanyr feels the same as the Shadow ne to me. To me, they''re both filled with a sense of harmony that makes them unique in their own way."


    At those words, she let out a long exhale, filled with a myriad number of emotions that Valyr could not even perceive.


    However, if he were to pick one unifying emotion to describe that exhale¡­


    It would be that of relief.


    Returning his attention to the sight before them, Valyr watched as the Sellifer below went through the various things the apparition had taught her before going through the rift.


    Absorption, cirction, release, and even purification¡­ the woman went through all of those steps to better attune herself to her surroundings, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt the discordance she sensed at first gradually disappear.


    Then, taking in a deep breath, she activated one of the very few skills in her arsenal the apparition gave her that ran off mana.


    "[Polymorph]."


    Whoosh!


    Having already taken on a humanoid form with the help of Shadow Energy, Sellifer gradually changed her appearance to be more human with the help of the skill, feeling both Shadow Energy and mana mingle all over her body.


    Once more, it made her realize that the two types of energy seemed to have a connection between them, even though their properties were vastly different from one another.


    At this point, she felt like she had finally taken a step forward to grasping a greater concept. Though, with the knowledge she had in hand, she had no way to make more headway into it.


    With that, she headed towards one of the many human settlements dotted throughout Veldanyr, hoping to obtain a greater understanding of mana by doing so.


    However, what she ended up understanding was the culture and nature of Veldanyr, which was a stark contrast to the society the Shadow ne had exposed her to.


    Though thew of the jungle still persisted within Veldanyr, prevalent through its many battlefields and skirmishes, it was more subdued whenpared to the Shadow ne.


    Because of that, even though she initially nned to spend around a week or two in Veldanyr to get a better grasp of mana, she instead spent half a decade on the, gradually bing a denizen of the itself.


    Of course, she still found time to make inroads to understanding mana better, perusing the various public archives and knowledge repositories that were avable.


    Not only that, but as a bona fide Legend, she was able to converse with other Legends and peak Rank 5 ss holders that were well-versed in mana, imparting their knowledge of mana into her.


    In fact, she had even made slight progress in finding a way for her to achieve atavism, utilizing all of the methods on atavism she had rued while spending her time in the military for over 150 years.


    Making use of her superb talent, the knowledge and resources she had amassed, as well as the newfound knowledge on mana that she had obtained, Sellifer had surprisingly made great strides in that area that would have already allowed her to achieve a sessful atavism if she wanted to.


    However, seeing as there was still a lot left to be unearthed thanks to her bouts of introspection, she decided to dig deeper.


    In her mind, it was either she ended up gaining nothing even with all her efforts¡­


    Or she ended up with everything she''d ever need.


    Feeling like she was at an impasse on her progress to achieving atavism, Sellifer made the somewhat difficult choice to return to the Shadow ne, updating all of those that were worried about her that she had returned safe and sound.


    After spending a bit of time reconciling with others after her disappearance including her parents, she then made her way back to the inheritance, meeting up with the apparition once more with the thought of gaining more information from it.


    Being asked by the apparition a couple of questions on how her journey to Veldanyr went, it soon proceeded to continue where the two of them left off, telling Sellifer to purify her mana even further.


    This time, she needed to reach the stage of 3rd Cleansing if she wanted to obtain more things from the inheritance.


    With that, she focused all of her attention and effort into doing so, making use of the information she had obtained from others while she was in Veldanyr.


    At the same time, it gave her an opportunity to gloss over everything she had learned in her life thus far, figuring out connections to various concepts that weren''t originally there.


    By the time she had achieved the stage of 2nd Cleansing after spending half a year in the temple, Sellifer''s eyes had opened with a newfound understanding of everything.


    Not only that, but she had finally found the path she needed to trek if she wanted to achieve atavism.


    The path of true fusion between Shadow Energy and mana.


    The path¡­ of the Azure Serpent.

 Chapter 822 Four Pillars: Balance

    Chapter 822 Four Pirs: Bnce


    "The path of the Azure Serpent¡­" muttered Sellifer to herself as she thought about the things she would have to do to make it a reality.


    "That¡­ doesn''t sound half bad."


    She let out a faint chuckle at the thought, satisfied with the name she hade up with for her own path.


    Of course, the same couldn''t be said for the one beside Valyr.


    "The Gates of Awakening really went that far?" said Sellifer, letting out a groan as she felt embarrassed watching her past self be satisfied with the naming she made.


    "This is why I ended up getting all of those weird titles." Sellifer shook her head, eventually noticing that Valyr was looking at her with a hint of curiosity.


    Faintly scratching the back of her head as she looked at the young man for a bit, the woman eventually put two and two together in her head as she asked him. "You''re wondering where I got the term Azure Serpent from, huh?"


    In response, Valyr nodded, asking soon after if it was a rare type of Shadow Serpent living in the Shadow ne.


    At those words, Sellifer faintly shrugged. "I guess you could say it does exist. After all, by how the system identified me at the time, I used to be known as a True Azure Serpent."


    Seeing that the young man wanted to hear more information from her, she continued. "However, I suppose you could say that I''m the only Azure Serpent to ever exist, given the weird mutation I''ve obtained."


    "In any case, the name popped up in my head when I thought about the ancestor that my family was connected to in terms of bloodline: the Corrupted Void Serpent."


    "Then, thinking about how mana usually took on a blue color, I thought about the path I would need to take, which involved fusing both mana and Shadow Energy into a different form of energy."


    "Pretty boring exnation if you''d ask me," said Sellifer at the end of her exnation. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nevertheless, Valyr felt like he had gained quite a considerable amount of information from her seemingly boring exnation, most of it revolving around the ancestral species Sellifer mentioned.


    ''Corrupted Void Serpent,'' thought Valyr to himself, being reminded of Noel''s words back when he talked about the different tiers of the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss.


    ''I guess even if you don''t think about it, everything is connected one way or another in the end,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself soon after, finding the whole thing somewhat amusing.


    Returning his attention to the sight before them, Valyr watched the Sellifer below n out the things that she would need to achieve if she wanted to realize the path she had just created to the fullest.


    Being reminded that Shadow Energy and mana seemed to act as two sides of the same coin, Sellifer decided that the first step she needed to achieve was to bnce the quantity and the quality of both her mana and Shadow Energy.


    In terms of quantity, Sellifer felt like her reserves of both energies were somewhat equal.


    However, she could not say the same for their qualities.


    Watching the Sellifer below talk to the apparition about the thoughts in her mind regarding her path, the woman decided to give Valyr more insight into the matter.


    "At the moment the problem of quality came to mind, I thought to myself¡­ would I be able to make use of the purification process I learned to purify my Shadow Energy as well?" "Surprisingly, the apparition responded back that the purification process was actually universal, telling me that it would actually work with whatever kind of energy I threw at it."


    "Naturally, I wondered how that was possible," said Sellifer with a faint smile, finding delight in the slight confusion adorning Valyr''s face. "In response, the apparition told me that the maker of the inheritance originally found the purification process in an old alchemical book."


    "Seeing how effective it was in purifying energies that were meant to be used for alchemical concoctions, the maker of the inheritance eventually thought about trying out the process on his own energy."


    "Lo and behold, he found out that it was incredibly effective, expanding upon the original purification process through multiple iterations to where it could be used on any type of energy."


    "It also mentioned that the process was only able to be applicable to every type of energy due to how popr the trend of purifying one''s own energy was at the time the maker was still alive."


    "With many people trying it out, the maker was able to polish and improve the purification process at an elerated rate, eventually turning into the process that had fallen into my hands."


    Saying those words, Sellifer shrugged her shoulders. "Of course, I don''t know how true that was. If you were to ask me, I think it only became mildly popr at most since it takes a long time for someone to gain results in that regard."


    "But I do have to give credit one way or another. After all, it would take a long time for me to create a purification process for Shadow Energy from scratch."


    Feeling like she had talked more than enough about what was going on below, Sellifer returned her attention to the sight in front, prompting Valyr to do the same thing not long after.


    With that, he watched the Sellifer below make use of the purification process on her Shadow Energy, easily transforming it into its pure version with the aid of her superb talent.


    Then, not even a weekter, she had pushed her Shadow Energy to the stage of 1st Cleansing, allowing its quality to be somewhat on par with her mana at that moment.


    Though there was still a gap of one stage between the two energies, Sellifer still felt a great sense of bnce inside her that she did not really notice before.


    For a while, it made her think about the times she had pushed the quality of her mana to greater heights, wondering if that was the reason why she felt that sense of incongruence the first time she appeared in Veldanyr.


    In any case, at the very moment she had her Shadow Energy take on a purer form, the faint sense of imbnce she felt deep within decreased by a great margin, bing less than discernible the moment she pushed it to the stage of 1st Cleansing.


    With that in mind, she put in all of her efforts to push her Shadow Energy to the stage of 2nd Cleansing, taking only two months to do so.


    In fact, at the moment both energies were at the same stage, she felt all of her discordant thoughts in her mind disappear.


    Then, recing those discordant thoughts were thoughts rted to the path she was trying to achieve, forming connections between one another that allowed her to deepen her understanding regarding her path.


    Though it was only for a brief moment, Sellifer felt like she had glimpsed into one of the nomological truths of the vast universe.


    Because of that, she was able to figure out the other things she needed toplete if she wanted to consolidate her path, as well as finally achieve atavism.


    For one, she was correct in bncing the quality of both her Shadow Energy and mana.


    However, ording to what she had gained from her epiphany, she would have to push both to at least the stage of 1st Metamorphosis if she wanted to achieve her goals.


    Aside from that, she would have to create skills that would incorporate both Shadow Energy and mana, allowing the ideology she''de up with to be a natural extension of herself.


    Andstly, she needed toprehend something in the world of mana the same way she had formed a Force rted to the concept of Shadow Energy.


    Thinking about all of the things she needed to do in order to what was basically a slightly higher chance at something greater, Sellifer adorned a wry smile on her face for quite some time.


    Wondering whether all of the things she had achieved so far would have allowed her to transcend mortality and be a Myth, the woman felt like she had a high chance of being able to do so.


    After all, she was currently a Legend, which more or less meant it would not take long for her to take that final step.


    Add on the fact that she had spent 150 years in the military world expanding her horizons in every area she could imagine, she felt that she had a great shot in upgrading her current Force into a bona fide Concept.


    However, at that moment, she was reminded of the doubt and disapproval her parents had towards her attempting to achieve atavism.


    The idea that her parents thought of her being stubborn and hard-headed in attempting to do something that was considered more than impossible.


    Though she and her parents had already reconciled over that time, Sellifer still felt like the two wanted her to give up and choose the safer method of utilizing alchemical concoctions to take on a human form.


    With her train of thoughts ending up with this conclusion, the woman gritted her teeth as she began to focus her attention on purifying both energies to 1st Metamorphosis.


    At that moment, she thought that it was fine for others to doubt her capabilities. After all, it was she who chose to take on this path, not them.


    But if there came a moment where she even began to doubt the path she''d taken, then she knew that all of her efforts so far would eventually amount to nothing.


    And so, she continued to push forward.


    Not for the sake of proving others wrong.


    But for the sake of proving to herself that she made the right choice.

 Chapter 823 Four Pillars: Birthing the Azure

    Chapter 823 Four Pirs: Birthing the Azure


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose herself, Sellifer eventually returned her focus to the task at hand.


    With a clear vision of what she needed to do, it went without saying that she had spent almost all of her waking hours on achieving her goals.


    With both Shadow Energy and mana now at 2nd Cleansing, Sellifer spent quite a lot of time bringing the quality of both energies to the stage of 3rd Cleansing.


    To be more exact, she had spent around two years of constant effort on her end to push her mana to that stage.


    On the other hand, it took her to bring up her Shadow Energy to the same level of quality in a third of time, reminding her of how potential and talent in a certain aspect influenced how much progress she''d make.


    Then again, with how she''d spent over 150 of her waking years in the military at this point¡­


    A couple years was already more than trivial to her.


    After reaching 3rd Cleansing on both her mana and Shadow Energy, Sellifer stopped for a bit as the apparition mentioned in the past that it would provide her with more information if she brought her mana to that level of quality.


    Surprisingly, the apparition then exined to her the difference between the various stages of quality for mana, talking about how the stages of 1st to 3rd Cleansing were just considered preparatory stages for what was toe.


    Asking it for more information, Sellifer soon found out from the apparition that achieving 1st Metamorphosis was considered the first stage to truly elevate the quality of mana to another tier.


    With that, it went over the multiple steps needed to achieve the stage of 1st Metamorphosis, prompting Valyr tomit all of the information he was obtaining to memory.


    Even though his Shadow Energy was still on the stage of 1st Cleansing, while his mana had yet to be undergo purification, the young man still felt like it was better to keep the information in case he ever got to that point.


    Plus, it''s not like he could always pester Noel for instructions on how he would proceed in purifying Shadow Energy.


    ''Speaking of which¡­'' As the thought came to mind, Valyr looked at the woman beside him for a bit.


    With the gears turning in his mind, he eventually decided to ask Sellifer the question that he came up with, talking about how he had gotten his hands on Shadow Energy.


    Of course, he also talked about his subss as a Shadow Serpentine Manncer to her, mentioning how his current path in terms ofbat was simr to hers in that regard.


    Then, he ended it off by mentioning Noel, as well as the fact that he had learned to purify his Shadow Energy from him.


    "With all of that said¡­ who taught him how to purify Shadow Energy?" asked Valyr, looking at Sellifer as if she could answer all of the questions guing his mind.


    "Noel¡­" Sellifer rubbed her chin for a bit, feeling a hint of familiarity from the name.


    Fortunately, after a bit more ponderation, a thought popped up in her mind. "Wait a minute¡­ are you talking about that guy that has control over Abyssal Energy?"


    In response, Valyr nodded, inwardly surprised as he had not mentioned anything to Sellifer about the man''s ss.


    "The one that prompted more people from Veldanyr to recognize Shadow Energy? The same one who brought more people into the Shadow ne because of it?"


    Recalling that Noel had transformed quite a number of people into his disciples in the world of Shadow Energy before him, Valyr nodded once more.


    "That guy¡­" With the young man beside her more or less confirming her suspicions, Sellifer soon wryly smiled as she shook her head. "He actually begged me to give him the purification methods after finding out who I was."


    At the moment those words came out of her mouth, Valyr went ck-jawed, his mouth wide open as he could not believe what he was wearing.


    ''He actually did something like that in the past?''


    As this thought lingered in his mind, Sellifer then exined how she decided to visit the Shadow ne a few decades ago in order to take a vacation.


    While in the Shadow ne, she came across the young Noel, who had justprehended the concept of a far more destructive version of Shadow Energy at the time.


    Taking interest in the young man, she then proceeded to do a few spars with the man, which eventually led to the young Noel begging her for instructions on how to purify his energy.


    "Well, I''m d to hear that my actions in the past have in someway caused you to meet up with me," said Sellifer with a slight chuckle at the end. "Who knew fate would work in such mysterious ways?"


    After that, the two of them returned their attention to the sight before them, witnessing the Sellifer below undergo her attempts at achieving 1st Metamorphosis through her mana.


    However, even after spending a couple of years on the endeavor, it seemed as if thest step was still out of her grasp.


    With that, she shifted her focus towards pushing her Shadow Energy to 1st Metamorphosis, wondering if her greater talent in the area would allow her to seed.


    Yet, even with all of the odds in her favor, a year of continuous attempts still did not allow her to seed.


    Recalling the steps that the apparition had given to her to achieve 1st Metamorphosis, Sellifer decided to shift her focus towards the other goals for a while.


    Of course, between the requirement of having to create skills that worked with both energies and having a Force that focused on the concept of mana, it went without saying that Sellifer chose to focus on thetter for the meantime.


    Though, with how both her Shadow Energy and mana had reached the peak of the Cleansing stages, it did not take long for her to start forming skills that incorporated both energies at once.


    At first, she modified the skills she had where it would incorporate both energies.


    Having a hunch that her current knowhow was still far away from letting her achieve true fusion of both energies, she decided to have the energies intertwine into a braid of sorts for the skills.


    Surprisingly, the braiding of energies was more than enough to cause a substantial change to the skills she modified, causing them to be more powerful in various aspects.


    With that, she began to experiment more and more with her skills, changing the ratios of how much Shadow Energy and mana she infused in each skill every once in a while to see its effects. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    By the time a year or so had passed, almost all of the skills under Sellifer''s arsenal could work with a braiding of both mana and Shadow Energy.


    In fact, she had even begun to gain a faint understanding on how she would be able to fuse the two energies as one thanks to the experiments, getting an idea on what approach she should take to achieve it.


    "To me, this period of experimentation I did had removed arge obstacle that stopped me from fully realizing the path of the Azure Serpent," said Sellifer as the two of them arrived at this point.


    Wondering what she meant by her words, rather than obtain the answer outright, Valyr instead watched as Sellifer merely smiled at him before saying, "Watch and you''ll see."


    So, he did what he was told.


    Continuing to watch the Sellifer below tinker around with her skills, Valyr noticed that her skills continued to grow in power, with him beginning to vaguely sense something profound lurking beneath each activation.


    Eventually, all of that culminated into one fateful day, where Sellifer began her day once more by experimenting with her skills.


    Thinking about the information she had obtained from all of the experimentation she had done so far, the woman adjusted the ratio of Shadow Energy to mana for a bit before infusing it into her skill, expecting that it would only obtain a marginal improvement at that.


    However, what instead happened was that for a brief moment, a sh of azure light apanied the skill, only to then burst with far greater power than before.


    Boom!


    Having used thebination of energies in a skill that conjured fireballs, Sellifer watched as the azure light amplified not only the power behind the fireball, but also the speed and size of the fireball itself.


    Still in disbelief, she went over the azure light in her mind over and over again, imprinting its sensation into memory.


    "The destruction inherent in Shadow Energy, the vitality inherent in mana, and the power that ultimately slumbers within both¡­" muttering these words to herself, she felt as if she had delved into the nomological truths of the vast universe once more.


    Within minutes, a myriad number of information on both Shadow Energy and mana became clear in her mind, bringing her understanding of both energies to a higher peak that she had yet to imagine.


    Without surprise, a series of notification sounds began to resound in her mind, confirming that her thoughts and understandings were more than true.


    Yet, she ignored all of that, instead focusing her attention on her extended palm.


    Taking in a deep breath, she began to summon the slumbering mana and Shadow Energy within her body, bringing them towards her hand.


    Then, imposing her will into it, she began to mix the two energies into a certain ratio, causing the strands of ck and blue she had released to start mingling with one another.


    At first, only a few of the strands had taken on the same color as the azure light.


    Though, as more and more time passed, the azure became more pronounced, filling up Sellifer''s vision as she watched her palm release a continuous stream of azure light.


    Sensing the boundless potential and power hidden beneath the energy she had just unleashed, a wide grin soon adorned her face.


    "I guess it''s time to finish what I''ve started."

 Chapter 824 Four Pillars: A Path Realized

    Chapter 824 Four Pirs: A Path Realized


    Seeing the immense amount of power contained within the azure light the Sellifer below was releasing, Valyr''s mouth turned wide agape.


    Staring at it, the young man could feel the delicate bnce that was struck between Shadow Energy and mana.


    Then, making use of their respective properties, the two energiesbined into one that generated far more power than what was expected.


    At this point, Valyr had now realized that he had made the right choice in picking the Azure Serpent Staff amongst the other weapons he could have chosen from.


    After all, his subss was already heading in that direction somehow, plus the rewards from the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening had pushed him into that direction even further.


    All he needed to do now was to adapt it into his own skill set, reminding himself that Sellifer had taken on the path of a mage.


    With those thoughts lingering in his mind, Valyr also took notice of the resonance he felt from the energy, feeling his body generate a sort of yearning towards the existence of the energy itself.


    With that, he looked at Sellifer to his side before deciding to ask more information on it. "Is that¡­ a true fusion of both Shadow Energy and mana?"


    In response, the woman looked back at him in silence for a bit before nodding in slight uncertainty. "It''s a fusion, sure. However, it''s still far away from being consider the true fusion of Shadow Energy and mana."


    Whoosh!


    As she finished saying those words, Sellifer released a wisp of azure-colored energy, causing Valyr''s pupils to shrink as he felt the enormous power slumbering within that wisp. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Though he could tell that the azure light and the azure wisp were simr in terms of property, the purity of the energy, as well as the power contained in both were in magnitudes of order in difference.


    Not only that, but as he examined the two energies more closely, he soon felt that the azure light the Sellifer below was releasing seemed hollow.


    On the other hand, the azure wisp Sellifer beside him released had tangible weight to it, not to mention the fact that its azure color was more pronouncedpared to its counterpart.


    "This is what you''d consider a true fusion of both energies," said Sellifer, nodding in satisfaction as she watched the young man stare at the energy she had released.


    "I call it Azure Energy."


    Swoosh!


    Dispelling the wisp as she told him to return his attention to what was happening below, she then continued with her exnation.


    "On the other hand, you could say that the azure light I''ve generated at the time is like a prototype version of the Azure Energy I just showed you."


    "Nevertheless, the power and quality the azure light showed alone was already far better than using just Shadow Energy or mana."


    "Of course, it was also more than enough for me to achieve atavism, but I''ll talk more about thatter," added Sellifer, returning their topic back to the azure light.


    With Valyr watching the Sellifer below begin to skillfully manipte the azure light with her will, Sellifer beside him gave him more information on what specifically the azure light was.


    "On the road to obtaining Azure Energy, the azure light you see is what I consider the first step into doing so."


    "With how it only holds a fraction of the true power Azure Energy has, as well as the fact that it feels hollowpared to Azure Energy, I call it Azure Trace."


    "And how many stages are there after that before I could get to Azure Energy?" asked Valyr back, wondering if it followed the same progression as purifying either Shadow Energy or mana.


    "Four more stages, with thest one being Azure Energy itself," replied Sellifer. "In total, you''d have to go through five stages, each one being a tier above thest in terms of power and quality."


    ''Great. More grinding,'' thought Valyr to himself sarcastically.


    "In any case, I''ll exin more about the stages of Azure Energyter." Oblivious to what was going on in the young man''s head, Sellifer continued her words, prompting the two to return their attention to what was happening in front of them.


    After having unlocked Azure Trace and gaining experience in manipting it, Sellifer took a look at the series of notifications she had received.


    Unsurprisingly, almost all of them were rted to the feat she had just done, with the system rewarding her with a third energy stat that corresponded to Azure Trace.


    Aside from that, the lucky breakthrough she just had allowed her to make use of the experiences she had rued thus far toprehend an Intent rted to mana.


    Though, with how she felt like she had touched upon the nomological truths of the universe at the time, it did not take long for the Intent to go through multiple upgrades, eventually ending up as a Force that was of the same level as her other Force rted to Shadow Energy.


    Yet, the epiphanies didn''t stop there.


    After she hadprehended a Force rted to mana, the various information she had gained ess to had allowed her to fuse the two Forces into one, transforming into the concept that had basically given her full control over the Azure Trace.


    Seeing that the new unified Force was close to the highest tier of Forces one could achieve as a Legend, Sellifer felt like her efforts so far had finally been adequately rewarded.


    Then again, at the same time, the woman knew that she had truly lucked out in creating that azure light for the meantime.


    With that, she made sure that she had total grasp over the concept of the Azure Trace, slowly incorporating it into her entire repertoire of skills.


    By the time she had changed all of her skills to work mainly on Azure Trace and a braiding of Shadow Energy and mana second, Sellifer''s understanding of the Azure Trace had grown by leaps and bounds.


    Yet, even when she made use of the newfound knowledge to devise a method for her eventual atavism, it only had given marginal improvements at best, cleaning up the things she had created in the past.


    Feeling as if she had gotten stuck on a bottleneck, Sellifer stared at the rift that would lead her back to Veldanyr¡­


    And stepped forth once more

 Chapter 825 Four Pillars: An Unexpected Visitor

    Chapter 825 Four Pirs: An Unexpected Visitor


    Whoosh!


    After arriving at Veldanyr once more, Sellifer went through her usual procedures as she disguised herself as the identity she made in the past.


    Then, thinking about how much time she had spent honing her understanding over both Shadow Energy and mana, she decided that she would spend a couple years in Veldanyr to get more used to the energy she had just created.


    However, just like her previous trip to Veldanyr that got extended, this trip to Veldanyr had been extended as well.


    Though, instead of being extended to around half a decade yet again¡­


    It was extended to half a century.


    Then again, it was not like the 50 years she had spent in Veldanyr weren''t fruitful.


    Having spent over 150 years within the Shadow ne at this point, it went without saying that Sellifer''s control and knowledge over Shadow Energy was pretty high, even among her peers thanks to the inheritance.


    Inparison, she had only spent half a decade in Veldanyr so far, which could also be interpreted as her only having that much time to get familiar with mana.


    By spending half a century on Veldanyr, Sellifer was able to bring not only her control over mana up, but also her understanding of the concept of mana itself.


    Because of that, the quality of her Azure Trace improved, now giving her the feeling as if there was a bit of heft into the energy itself.


    At the same time, she had polished her skills over those 50 years, earning her a few nicknames and titles that had something to do with the ferocious yet boundless azure light she made use of.


    But if one were to ask her at that time on what her greatest improvement was during those 50 years¡­


    Then that would be none other than her Force.


    Having gone through a series of epiphanies after secluding herself in the inheritance, Sellifer was able to form a Force that focused on a concept that fused Shadow Energy and mana together.


    By obtaining more and more information on mana, as well as understanding the intricacies that went behind the energy itself, Sellifer was able to gradually bnce the amount of knowledge she had on both energies.


    At some point, her Force underwent a natural upgrade, ascending to a level that even she had only seen once in another Legend.


    Once she had reached this point, she attempted to devise a method toplete her atavism once more.


    Only this time, she had made far more progress than she had ever made in her previous attempts.


    If one were to consider the progress she had made so far in achieving a sessful atavism to be around 20%, then this attempt had single-handedly brought that progress bar to around 70%.


    Making use of all of the experience and knowledge she had rued in over 200 years of her life, Sellifer felt that the remaining steps to her achieving a sessful atavism was pushing both Shadow Energy and mana to 1st Metamorphosis.


    With that in mind, she returned to the Shadow ne, only to appear outside the temple that housed the inheritance she was inheriting.


    Confused as she realized where she appeared, Sellifer faintly shrugged her shoulders as she proceeded to enter the temple.


    Only to stop after a being appeared in front of her.


    "Wait¡­ who''s that?" Looking at the sight before them, Valyr began to frown as he noticed that any attempts he did at viewing the other being ended up bing a blurry mess.


    In response, Sellifer wryly smiled as she noticed how hazy the other being was in her sights as well.


    However, as what they were looking at came from her memory, she undoubtedly knew who appeared before her.


    "The being that appeared before me¡­" Sellifer said, prompting Valyr to look at her. "Is considered a holy figure among the Shadow Serpents."


    "Though she goes by many names, she ismonly known as the Serpent Maiden."


    "Or as the Saintess of the Shadow ne."


    As those words left Sellifer''s mouth, Valyr could stare at her with a dumbfounded expression.


    After all, what had she done to catch the attention of such a famous figure within the Shadow ne?


    ''Speaking of saintess, wasn''t Mystia called the Saintess of the Mystic ne?'' briefly thought Valyr as the idea came to mind, only to discard the thought not long after.


    Returning his attention to what was going on, Valyr watched as the Sellifer below and the blurred being begin to talk about something.


    Fortunately, unlike her appearance, the Serpent Maiden''s words weren''t censored out at all, allowing Valyr to find out the reason why she had appeared in front of Sellifer.


    Surprisingly, the reason had something to do with the Azure Trace Sellifer had created.


    ording to the Serpent Maiden, at the very moment Sellifer had sessfully fused mana and Shadow Energy into a higher form of energy, the Shadow ne had strengthened their connection with the main universe.


    Though she had no clue what those words meant, there was one thing Sellifer was certain of during that conversation.


    And that was the fact that she would be rewarded.


    And rewarded, she was.


    Out of nowhere, the Serpent Maiden had presented Sellifer with the methods necessary to enter atavism with her unique abilities.


    Then, while Sellifer was still trying to process what was going on, the Serpent Maiden left a few parting words before eventually disappearing.


    "Once again, thank you."


    As those words continued to linger in her mind, Sellifer stood in ce for a bit as she looked at the instructions she had been given to achieve a sessful atavism.


    Taking a few deep breaths topose herself, she then made her way into the temple, only for the sight before both Valyr and Sellifer to turn dark.


    Seeing that the world surrounding them had returned to the darkness that greeted him at the start, a faint hint of confusion appeared on the young man''s face. "Wait¡­ what happened next?"


    "What else?" Understanding that this was her cue, Sellifer stood up and began to do a few light stretches. "I entered the temple, did the steps in the method I was given and sessfully achieved atavism." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "That¡­ sounds anticlimactic," said Valyr in response, finding it a shame that he had not been given the opportunity to watch a being undergo atavism.


    "Why would you want to watch someone else''s attempt at atavism, though?" asked Sellifer back as she continued with her warm-up. "It''s not like you''d glean something from it, considering the vast difference in our species."


    "In any case, now that you''ve seen how I''ve eventuallye to harness the power of Azure Energy¡­"


    "It''s time for you to do the same as well.

 Chapter 826 Four Pillars: Stages of Azure Energy

    Chapter 826 Four Pirs: Stages of Azure Energy


    Snap!


    At the moment Sellifer said those words, she snapped her fingers, causing the darkness surrounding them to be reced by light.


    Not long after, this light was reced by the familiar sight of the barren ground, prompting Valyr to look around him with a hint of confusion.


    Seeing that the woman whose memory he''d just viewed was standing before him, the gears in his mind madly turned as he tried to wrap his head around the situation.


    "When you said earlier that it was time for me to do the same thing, what did you mean by that?" asked the young man after a bit of silence.


    In response, Sellifer scoffed. "What other interpretation would you get from those words?"


    "Naturally, I''m going to teach you how to achieve Azure Energy as well."


    "Eh?"


    Hearing those wordse out of her mouth, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words.


    Recalling all of the experiences he had with inheritances in his past and current life, the young man was quite certain that inheriting something meant that he would be doing most of the heavy lifting.


    Then, on the flip side, the inheritance would only give him a few things that would aid him along the way.


    A good example of that would be the Arcane Shadow Serpent skills he had obtained from the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening, showing him a glimpse into the path he could take with his subss being a variant of the Shadow Serpentine Lancer.


    However, the path itself still needed to be trekked by him, figuring out for himself how he would make use of both mana and Shadow Energy to push his subss to the next tier.


    In fact, that was the reason why he had chosen the Azure Serpent Staff in the Hall of Legends and Myths in the first ce.


    Then again, that did not mean that he was going to reject Sellifer''s goodwill. After all, having someone well-versed in something that he would take a long time to grasp on his own would save him a lot of time.


    If anything, he just didn''t expect something like this to happen.


    "To be honest, I thought I would only be given the memory and then figure everything else out for myself," said Valyr after taking a few deep breaths. "But then you appeared beside me all of a sudden." Scratching the back of his head for a bit, he then gave her a wry smile. "Let me just say that I thought the insights from you were all I''d get aside from the memory. A small bonus of some sort."


    "Well, that would just be a massive waste of my appearance if all I did was just give you that, no?" Sellifer let out a faint sigh. "If that were the case, I wouldn''t have needed to appear before you in the first ce."


    "In any case, I do have an idea of what''s going on in your head right now, and trust me that this is the rare asion that an inheritance would actually actively help out an inheritor in making sure a path was fully inherited."


    "But then again, that''s what makes the Triad Gates different, no?" said Sellifer with a faint chuckle soon after, to which Valyr could only smile in response.


    After Sellifer told the young man that the inheritance process would only finish after he had achieved a basic level of sess in creating Azure Energy, the woman looked at Valyr with the expression of a stern teacher.


    "Alright, before we begin, how about you show me your mana and Shadow Energy first?"


    Hearing those words from Sellifer, Valyr slightly nodded as heposed himself.


    Then, extending both arms outward, the young man soon willed his mana to appear on his right hand.


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a bluish me made out of pure mana, Valyr then focused his attention towards his left hand, willing all of the Shadow Energy in his body to congregate there.


    Swoosh!


    Though the task put a bit of strain on his mind, he was still able to conjure a me of pure Shadow Energy in the end, its size and intensity more or less the same as the me of mana.


    "Hmm¡­" As she watched Valyr conjure mes of both mana and Shadow Energy, Sellifer was inwardly surprised at how much energy the young man''s body had put into each me.


    ''His Shadow Energy is definitely at the stage of 1st Cleansing, while his mana is seemingly stuck in a stage between impure and pure,'' thought the woman to herself as she assessed what she was about to work with.


    ''Noel has definitely taught him well in regards to purifying Shadow Energy. Then, I''d presume the reason why his mana is like that has something to do with either skills or hidden stats.''


    ''In any case, his energy output rtive to his ss rank is definitely one of the best I''ve seen among other humans,'' said Sellifer inwardly. ''In fact, he kind of reminds me of¡­''


    Briefly recalling her fateful meeting with the man that had allowed humanity to be one of the dominant races of Veldanyr, a faint shudder enveloped the woman''s body as she let out a slight exhale.


    ''Then again, he is a Zeihardt.'' As these words popped up in her mind, Sellifer faintly smiled.


    Watching Valyr maintain the mes of mana and Shadow Energy on both hands for a bit more, Sellifer eventually told the young man that she had seen all she needed to see, prompting the former to dispel both mes with a relieved sigh.


    After that, the young man looked at her with slight expectation, understanding that Sellifer asked him to show both energies so they knew how far away he was from achieving Azure Energy.


    And surprisingly, Sellifer did not beat around the bush.


    "I''ve got to say¡­ as a Zeihardt, I wasn''t expecting your mana and Shadow Energy to be that bad," said the woman from the start, making Valyr feel as if he was stabbed in the chest.


    "I could excuse your Shadow Energy not being up to par with what you''ve told me earlier, but doesn''t the Zeihardt n have a lot of manuals that teach you how to improve your mana''s quality?"


    "They do?" asked Valyr in response, his eyes widening in surprise.


    Hearing those words, Sellifer stopped what she was about to say, instead looking at the young man with a hint of confusion.


    Bing silent for a bit, she then began to rummage through her thoughts, only for Valyr to give her the information she wanted to know.


    "You''ve gotten to this point without the help of the Zeihardt n?" asked Sellifer, though she was the one surprised this time. "No, wait. You''ve left the Zeihardt n when you were young?"


    "Yes and yes." Valyr nodded. "To answer your first question in more detail, I started off my journey in a vige before eventually getting to this point."


    "As for your second question, that would have something to do with the Heralds."


    "The Heralds¡­" Hearing that term, Sellifer more or less knew what was going on.


    "If that''s the case, then it''s wild to imagine that you''ve gotten this far without any actual backing."


    Saying those words, she soon let out a sigh, her expression at that moment showing sympathy to the young man.


    Though, it did not take long for that expression to disappear, returning to what it was before.


    "Moving on from that, I''ll assume that your control over mana and Shadow Energy is above average," said Sellifer as she changed their current topic.


    "With your subss having something to do with both Shadow Energy and mana, I''ll also assume that you have a few skills there that would allow you to make use of both energies at the same time."


    At those words, Valyr nodded.


    Nodding back in response, Sellifer continued. "I''ll be asking you to show me some of the skillster on. But for now, let''s go through the five stages of Azure Energy in greater detail."


    Fwoosh!


    Extending her palm outward, Sellifer conjured yet another wisp of deep azure energy, prompting Valyr to put all of his focus on it.


    Though, just as he was starting to appreciate the energy''s properties, the energy grew weaker before him in the blink of an eye.


    Stopping at a state where it was simr to the energy the Sellifer from back then had discovered through sheer luck, Sellifer began to talk. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "We''ve already seen this stage in the memory. The first stage of Azure Energy, the Azure Trace."


    "In this stage, we''ve fused Shadow Energy and mana into a homogenous form, but there''s still a lot left to be desired from it."


    After saying those words, she then focused her attention on the azure wisp, causing it color to be a slightly darker azure.


    At the same time, the wisp gained more heft to it, emting a bit more of the force that the original wisp of Azure Energy had earlier.


    "This is the second stage. The Azure Wisp," said Sellifer. "If the previous stage only had traces of the true Azure Energy''s properties coursing through it, then this stage now had wisps of the true Azure Energy''s properties coursing through it, hence its name."


    Not long after, she imposed her will on the wisp of azure energy once more, now causing it to look more like a me than a wisp.


    "The third stage, the Azure me."


    "The reason why it looks like this is because this stage is considered an intermediary stage between going from having traces of true Azure Energy in the fusion to actually forming the actual Azure Energy itself."


    "After that would be the fourth stage, Azure Essence."


    Saying those words, the azure me returned into a wisp, only this time, it now began to resemble the azure wisp she had conjured earlier.


    "In this stage, you could say that you''ve sessfully made true Azure Energy," said Sellifer with a faint shrug. "However, there are still a lot of impurities that cause some of its efficacy to disappear."


    "And that''s where the fifth and final stagees in."


    Fwoosh!


    Without warning, Sellifer pushed a great amount of energy into the azure wisp, causing it to turn into a ball of fiery deep azure energy.


    "Azure Quintessence. The pinnacle form of Azure Energy itself."


    "From the aura it''s already giving out, I''m sure I don''t need to exin anything else about it, no?"


    Admiring the ball of Azure Energy for a bit more, she then threw the ball into the air as it exploded into a myriad number of azure strands.


    "Now then¡­"


    "How about you show me those skills you got from your subss?"

 Chapter 827 Four Pillars: Long Road Ahead

    Chapter 827 Four Pirs: Long Road Ahead


    "Hmm¡­"


    Rubbing her chin with her hand, Sellifer watched as Valyr used a great portion of the skills in his arsenal that were rted to the matter at hand.


    Keeping her judgment of Valyr''s control over the skills more or less within the perspective of achieving the first stage of Azure Energy in mind, a number of thoughts had already popped up in her mind.


    For one, she was quite surprised at the amount of control the young man showed whenever he unleashed his skills.


    Recalling how he had mentioned to her earlier that he had no support from the Zeihardt n whatsoever in his journey to power, Sellifer was surprised to see that the young man showed a level of expertise and prowess that could put him amongst the top of the elite.


    Then again, with how Valyr had poor mana and Shadow Energy quality, the young man could not show all of that prowess through his skills, which Sellifer found quite a shame.


    ''Well, it''s been a long time since the notion of purifying one''s energy for greater power died down,'' thought the woman to herself, reminiscing over a long-forgotten past.


    With the amount of information she knew on what was happening in Veldanyr as ofte, only mages and magic-rted sses would bother attempting to purify their energy for greater power.


    And that was only after they had done everything to elevate their power.


    Returning her attention to the actual skills Valyr was showing, Sellifer noticed that although the skills the young man unleashed were using both Shadow Energy and mana at the same time, its approach was vastly different to the one she used.


    ''Before I discovered the Azure Trace, I was braiding my Shadow Energy and mana together to achieve greater power,'' muttered Sellifer to herself inwardly.


    ''On the other hand, Valyr''s utilizing both energies as if they were pieces to a jigsaw puzzle.''


    From her point of view, whenever Valyr unleashed a skill that used both, he would summon the two energies together like she would do so in the past.


    However, by the time he released the skill, it was as if the mana and Shadow Energy he summoned had already separated themselves into their respective areas, reminding her of a well-managed business.


    Going through all of the skills Valyr had shown thus far, Sellifer felt that the delineation between both energies was fully shown when he threw out what he called an [Arcane Shadow Bolt].


    ''Shadow Energy to form the main body of the bolt, bringing forth the property of destruction,'' thought Sellifer to herself. ''Then, mana to act as a propent, while at the same time protecting the Shadow Energy from external interference.''


    If Sellifer were still in her phase of trying to grasp Azure Energy, she would have thought that this method of using both energies was groundbreaking.


    However, with her having more than mastered the concept of Azure Energy at this point, another thought filled her mind instead.


    ''What a waste.''


    Rather than make use of the properties of Shadow Energy and mana to its fullest, Valyr instead focused on their properties separately in a way.


    In her eyes, it was as if the young man was approaching a peak that would only lead to a dead end.


    But that did not mean that she ignored the aplishments the young man had achieved thus far.


    Pondering over the ingenious bolt of Shadow Energy and mana had thrown sometime ago, Sellifer already knew how she would modify it to make it use a braiding of both energies.


    But before doing so, there was one thing she''d have to get Valyr to fix first.


    "Alright." Feeling like she had gathered more than enough information through the skills Valyr showed her, Sellifer asked the former to stop. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    In response, the young man nodded back, storing his spear on his back as he let out a faint exhale.


    Then, after catching his breath for a bit, he looked at Sellifer, wondering what she was going to say.


    "First and foremost, your skills tell me that you have great control over Shadow Energy and mana," said the woman, causing a hint of delight to appear on the young man''s face.


    "With how much control you''ve shown me, there''s no doubt that you''ll take less time to achieve a basic level of sess in this endeavor."


    Though, that all changed with the woman''s next few words.


    "However, that only applies when you''re using the energies separately."


    "I''ve seen no sign of you making use of the energies together at all."


    "What do you mean by that?" asked Valyr in response with a slight frown. "Haven''t I just shown you all of the skills I have that use both energies at the same time?"


    "You have." Sellifer nodded in agreement. "However, if you call that using both energies at the same time, then you''re still quite a ways off."


    After saying those words, the woman told Valyr the things she noticed while using his skill.


    Hearing that his skills actually put clear boundaries on which energy among the two went were, the young man went silent for a bit, surprised that he did not take notice of something like that.


    All this time, he was led to believe that the skills he used were actually quite simr to Sellifer''s skills before she came across the Azure Trace.


    Only to then find out that that was actually not the case.


    From how he interpreted Sellifer''s words, it was as if his skills worked like a hybrid car while the two energies acted like the two types of fuel powering the car.


    While driving a hybrid car, it could be powered by using one of the two types of fuel, keeping the other one as a backup.


    With that, the other type would be left mostly unused, only being used in certain situations such as when the car needed more power to go up an incline


    With this in mind, Valyr felt that the analogy fit nicely.


    ording to Sellifer, his skills had some areas where it was powered by only mana, as well as areas that were powered by only Shadow Energy.


    However, if one were to use the hybrid car analogy to describe Valyr''s situation once more, then his skills stillcked a feature that could be said to be a staple of hybrid cars.


    Making use of both types of fuel in the same ce at once.


    In other words, Valyr had to incorporate Shadow Energy in areas that were only powered by mana while doing the same thing in the other direction for areas only powered by Shadow Energy.


    Once Sellifer had brought him to this realization, Valyr could not help but scratch the back of his head, realizing that there was still a long road ahead of him before he could achieve even the most basic level of Azure Trace.


    In response, Sellifer assured him that it would take far less time for him to achieve the same things she did, considering that there were many things he was better atpared to her at the time.


    "Plus, you''re way younger than me. You have a lot of time ahead of you to work this out," said Sellifer, reminding Valyr of the two that were still asleep.


    Opening up a rift back to the inheritance proper out of nowhere, a wave of relief washed over the young man''s body as he saw the moon still near the peak of its trajectory.


    Though, at the same time, it made him curious as to how much time had passed since he touched the Azure Serpent Staff.


    "There''s not much point thinking about the ratio of time dtion in this ce," said Sellifer, getting an idea of what was going on in the young man''s mind.


    "We''ll definitely be here for a considerably long time, but it''ll only feel like we''ve disappeared for a day or two from the others at most."


    Recalling how he''d promised himself that he would only traverse the Gates of Awakening while the two were asleep, Valyr bitterly smiled as he thought about how he would make the two worry over his disappearance for the next few days.


    ''Then again, in front of an opportunity to gain more power¡­''


    With that in mind, the young man took in a deep breath before focusing his attention once more on Sellifer.


    Asking her what he needed to improve upon after that, the woman faintly smiled in satisfaction as she began to speak. "Obviously, the end goal for now is to have you make full use of both Shadow Energy and mana in your skills."


    "And when I mean make full use of both energies, I mean incorporating even the small interactions between Shadow Energy and mana in your skills."


    "But before we get to that, there''s one thing we need to fix first."


    "As long as we don''t fix that, you''ll end up wasting far more energy than needed whenever you activate your skills."


    "What do I need to fix first?" asked Valyr in response, feeling a bit uneasy from how Sellifer worded her statement.


    Though, after hearing her reply to his question, all of that unease quickly subsided.


    "Of course, it''s none other than the quality of your mana. Can''t have your mana and Shadow Energy in different levels of purity, lest you want to create a new type of energy altogether."


    "With that being said... let''s get the two energies bnced, shall we?

 Chapter 828 Four Pillars: Refining Energies

    Chapter 828 Four Pirs: Refining Energies


    After Sellifer told Valyr what he needed to do in order to get closer to forming the Azure Trace, she then proceeded to go over the steps in purifying mana with the young man.


    Listening to her words, Valyr was reminded of the things Noel had exined to him back then regarding the refinement of Shadow Energy, finding it slightly amusing that the process to refine his mana this time around was more or less the same.


    ''Then again, she did mention earlier that the purification process came from her, as well as the fact that the method works with any type of energy,'' thought the young man to himself after that as he inwardly shrugged.


    With Valyr''s Shadow Energy at the stage of 1st Cleansing in terms of quality, Sellifer decided that his first goal was to raise his mana to the same stage of quality first.


    Nodding in affirmation, the young man went ahead and sat on the ground cross-legged.


    Adjusting his position to be morefortable, he then closed his eyes as he began to take slow but deep breaths.


    Slowly but surely, he began to peer inside him once more, slowly bringing himself to the world where his mana resided.


    "Huh. I guess there is a good reason why the method is universal." Finding himself once more in a world of darkness with multiple motes of light lingering around, Valyr was reminded of a scene in the past that caused him to let out a chuckle.


    Back then, rather than be greeted by the sight of blue motes of light within a world of ck, he was instead greeted by the sight of dark motes of light within a world of ck.


    With the experience he had obtained during that time, Valyr more or less knew what he needed to do this time around.


    Whoosh!


    Imposing his will on the entire world, Valyr willed the blue motes of light to coalesce near the center of the world as he went over the first stage of purification.


    "Before reaching 1st Cleansing, I would have to transform my mana into its pure version first," muttered Valyr to himself.


    "If the process is simr to what I did back for Shadow Energy, then all I have to do is remove all of the impurities that float away due to the mana particles mingling with one another." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Taking in a deep breath after those words, he then pushed more of his will into the world, causing all of the motes of blue light within the world to congregate near the center of the void.


    Frowning as no impurities appeared from the congregation for quite some time, Valyr eventually let out a sigh of relief as the first sign of impurities within his mana began to show itself.


    Seeing the impurities take on the form of dark blue blobs interspersed throughout the motes of blue light, the young man imposed his will upon them before flinging them away to the edges of the void.


    Having already gone through the process in the fast, Valyr made quick work of the impurities as he removed them within the span of minutes.


    Or at least, that''s how much time he felt had passed since he began removing the impurities.


    Nevertheless, by the time thest few blobs of impurities had been removed from the congregation of mana, all of the mana particles within the void began to give off a bright blue glow.


    Not long after, these mana particles began to congregate upon themselves, transforming into blue pearls that reminded Valyr of the dark pearls his Shadow Energy had taken form in after arriving at the same stage.


    Feeling as if all of the mana in his body had begun to adjust to this new state, Valyr eventually found himself back on the barren ground with Sellifer as a few notification sounds resounded in his mind.


    Ding!


    [You have removed all of the impurities in your mana.]


    [All mana you shall control from now on is bereft of any impurities whatsoever, improving its efficacy and power.]


    [Due to this action, you have obtained the passive skill ''Arcane Mark''.]


    [The grade of your Arcane Mark has been improved to Pure.]


    "Well¡­ color me surprised." Sensing the great changes that were happening to Valyr''s body the moment he opened his eyes, Sellifer looked at the young man before her with a hint of surprise.


    Asking him after that to show his mana, she then saw Valyr conjure a me of mana, the power and energy contained within the me more dense and pronouncedpared to before.


    Confirming that Valyr''s mana had indeed advanced to its pure version, Sellifer inwardly let out a long exhale as she thought about the amount of time the young man had spent refining his mana.


    ''What¡­ like 30 minutes?'' thought the woman to herself, causing her to inwardly shake her head after that. ''What a monster.''


    ''Then again, almost every Zeihardt I''vee across is a monster,'' said Sellifer to herself soon after.


    As she watched Valyr fiddle with the screens for a bit, she recalled the level of control the young man had shown with his energies.


    Now that she knew that he had an absurd level ofprehension as well, the woman''s mind gradually began topare Valyr to the person that allowed humanity to stand their ground.


    ''Otto Zeihardt¡­'' muttered Sellifer to herself inwardly. ''His talent really reminds me of Otto Zeihardt for some reason.''


    While Sellifer was preupied withparing the young man to the ancestor of the young man''s n, Valyr looked over the properties of the passive skill he''d just obtained.


    Unlike [Shadow Energy Mark], [Arcane Mark] did not act as a storage skill for his mana whatsoever.


    If anything, it was a skill that allowed him to view his progress on the road to purifying his mana, as well as the additional benefits he gained from purifying his mana.


    Unsurprisingly, [Arcane Mark] was also different from [Shadow Energy Mark] in that regard, with the ascension of his mana to the Pure stage giving him a 2.5% increase to his max HP and MP.


    ''I wonder if it''ll improve my mana regeneration somewhere down the line,'' thought the young man to himself, feeling like it was a possibility.


    Though, before he could continue to entertain his train of thought, it was interrupted by Sellifer as she told him to ascend his mana to the stage of 1st Cleansing.


    And so, he did.

 Chapter 829 Four Pillars: Epiphany

    Chapter 829 Four Pirs: Epiphany


    Of course, with how Valyr already knew what to do in order to ascend his mana to the stage of 1st Cleansing, it also took the young man far less time than Sellifer expected to achieve the purification.


    Though, unlike the 30 minutes he took to improve his mana to the Pure stage, it took a bit longer for him to ascend it to the 1st Cleansing stage as he felt a bit of resistance from the mana itself.


    Nevertheless, it only took him about six hours in total to move his mana up to the stage of 1st Cleansing, prompting his newly obtained [Arcane Mark] to undergo its second upgrade.


    At the same time, he felt as if the insides of his body had reached a sense of bnce he had never noticed before, being reminded of the same thing happening to Sellifer back in the past.


    "¡­" On the other hand, Sellifer was left at aplete loss for words after the young man had subverted all of her expectations, not even needing half a day to push his mana to the next stage.


    Recalling how she had taken weeks and months to arrive at the same level, Sellifer felt a hint of indignance bubbling up within her.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, she then decided not topare herself to the young man in the world of mana, reminding herself that her affinity with it was only more than average.


    Unfortunately, even if shepared her achievements in purifying Shadow Energy to the young man''s progress in purifying mana, she was still beat by a long shot.


    ''Truly monstrous,'' thought Sellifer to herself once more, being reminded there and then that she was teaching a Zeihardt the secrets to obtaining Azure Energy.


    Inwardly letting out a faint sigh as she imagined how quickly the disciple would surpass its master, Sellifer returned her thoughts to the matter at hand, asking Valyr to show his mana and Shadow Energy to her once more.


    Nodding in response, he did the same thing he showed at the start, extending both hands outward as he conjured a me of either mana and Shadow Energy on top of them.


    Looking at how the intensity and the power behind the me was now equal, Sellifer nodded in satisfaction, getting the feeling that bncing the quality of his two energies alone would result in some immediate benefits.


    After asking the young man a few questions on his observations regarding his Shadow Energy and mana, she then told Valyr to use his skills once more.


    "Don''t think about braiding or fusing both energies for the meantime," she said, noticing the slight pensive expression on Valyr''s face. "Just use the skills as you would normally do."


    Hearing that, it was only then did the young man nod in response, retrieving the spear from his back as he unleashed all of the offense-focused Arcane Shadow Serpent skills in his arsenal.


    Swoosh!


    Just as he had fired the simple [Arcane Shadow Bolt] out, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight disbelief as he felt the improvement the upgraded mana quality brought to his skill.


    For one, there was more power behind the skill.


    Pondering over this, Valyr surmised that the imbnce in quality between the two energies had not allowed the parts running on mana to work at their fullest in the past.


    With that in mind, his body slightly shuddered, wondering what other changes the improved mana quality brought to his other skills.


    Unsurprisingly, all of them contained more power behind them as well, thanks to his Shadow Energy and mana finally working side by side with both being at the same quality.


    In fact, for the skills under the Arcane Shadow Serpent series that inflicted debuffs and the like, he felt as if the improvement in mana quality had increased the chances for those debuffs tond.


    ''Definitely useful when fighting against higher-leveled opponents,'' thought Valyr to himself, eventually moving onto the Arcane Shadow Serpent skills that utilized his spear.


    Of course, aside from the increase in power, upgrading his mana quality had also reduced the amount of mana he needed to expend to activate his skills, thereby improving his endurance inbat.


    ''If only I knew I could''ve done this after learning how to purify Shadow Energy from Noel,'' thought the young man to himself, more than satisfied with the results.


    It went without saying that Sellifer was more than satisfied as well, seeing that the utilization of both Shadow Energy and mana had improved significantly after Valyr''s mana had been improved to the same stage.


    In fact, Sellifer also noticed that there were areas in the skills he used that automatically had Shadow Energy and mana fusing together without his knowledge, feeling like the young man was finally progressing in the right direction.


    After taking a quick break, Sellifer then asked Valyr to upgrade both his mana and Shadow Energy to 2nd Cleansing, going over the steps needed to make it happen.


    At the same time, she told the young man the other requirements she felt that were necessary for him to eventually achieve the Azure Trace.


    "For one, both of your energies need to be at the stage of 3rd Cleansing at the very least," said Sellifer, to which Valyr nodded. "Then again, it might be possible to do it at a lower stage since I''m just basing off the requirements from my memory."


    "You''ve already nailed the part where you need skills to make use of both Shadow Energy and mana at the same time. You just need to expand it to where it would be used by all of your skills."


    "However, thest requirement is the one that might take you a while," Sellifer told Valyr as she wryly smiled. "You''d haveprehend at least two Intents, one focusing on Shadow Energy, the other on mana."


    Hearing that, Valyr told Sellifer that he''d alreadyprehend a pure Intent Seed on Shadow Energy to the 2nd Stage, which caught thetter slightly off guard. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Nevertheless, after taking a few deep breaths, she returned to her previous expression as she noted that he only needed toprehend an Intent based on mana at that point.


    Deciding that they would talk about the Intents some other time, Valyr soon delved deep into his psyche once more, choosing to upgrade his mana first to the stage of 2nd Cleansing first before his Shadow Energy.


    Though, just as the sight of the blue star at the center filled his vision, a great amount of information on mana began to inundate his mind.


    Coting all of his understanding and experiences with mana thus far, as well as seemingly irrefutable truths on mana that came out of nowhere, the gears in his mind whirred on overdrive as he felt like he was touching upon an overdrive.


    At the moment he felt the world attempting to form a connection with him, it was there that Valyr knew.


    He had gotten an unexpected epiphany.

 Chapter 830 Four Pillars: A New Seed

    Chapter 830 Four Pirs: A New Seed


    Just as he was about to begin the process of improving his mana''s quality to the stage of 2nd Cleansing, Valyr felt an influx of information fill his mind as he looked at therge blue star revolving in the center of the void.


    Of course, this information did not juste out of nowhere.


    Instead, while he was looking at the blue star, he felt his mind wander off on a slight tangent as he was recalling the instructions Sellifer gave him earlier.


    Eventually, this tangential thought caught his attention, prompting him to put more focus on it as he pushed the thought of improving his mana to the side for the meantime. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Surprisingly, once the tangential thought had clicked in his mind, it was as if multiple thoughts hade rushing into him as he began to understood concepts on mana that eluded him before.


    Not long after, this was then supported by an influx of information from who knows where, fortifying the concepts and understandings he had learned in the past while innovating upon them at the same time.


    Feeling a hint of delight at how it seemed like multiple bottlenecks on his understanding of mana had been broken at that one instant, it was only when the world attempted to form a connection with him did he finally understand what was going on.


    ''An Intent Seed, huh,'' thought Valyr to himself, inwardly grinning as he gradually began to meet the world''s attempt at the middle.


    With how Valyr was using Shadow Energy so often inbat, it made sense that the young man would easily obtain an Intent Seed rted to it at some point.


    It also made sense that the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening had bolstered his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy to the Second Stage, considering that Shadow Energy was a main staple of his currentbat style.


    However, before he had obtained his current subss, before he had gained ess to Shadow Energy, there was another form of energy he had often used inbat.


    And that energy was none other than mana.


    Considering how often he was using magic in the past, Valyr found it weird that he had yet toprehend an Intent Seed rted to the energy.


    After all, after he had obtained that nasty curse from having Sana absorb the corpse of that Prodigious Tidemother, he could only use the spear for a short amount of time before beginning to have his strength sapped.


    With that, he was left without much choice but to use magic in lieu of his spear, lest he caught himself in a situation where he ended up bing far weaker than his foes.


    Of course, the fact that he had found ways to make use of the spear here and there duringbat did reduce the need for him to use mana.


    However, it was only when he had gotten his hands on Shadow Energy did he truly throw mana into the back burner, considering it more of an afterthought rather than a choice.


    If anything, he only used mana nowadays to empower his stats to greater heights, and not to use it as a main source of damage in his fights.


    ''I guess that''s the reason why it took so long for me to get my hands on an Intent Seed on mana,'' thought the young man to himself, even though he knew that the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening had a part in y to his Intent Seeds as well.


    Nevertheless, he did begin to neglect his mana, only beginning to give it more attention after having Sellifer teach him what he needed to do in order to get his hands on Azure Energy.


    And so, allowing hisprehension of the concepts revolving around mana to coalesce into a greater form of understanding, Valyr felt the world establish yet another connection with him.


    Whoosh!


    At that moment, he felt as if he had gained ess to yet another chunk of the world''s power, the boundlessness of it all reminding him of the time he had formed his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy.


    However, unlike his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy, this boundlessness came in four vors, four avenues of power that had deep yet profound ties to the concept of mana itself.


    ''The four elements,'' Valyr inwardly muttered to himself in realization, understanding that these four distinct yet simr feelings corresponded to the four foundational elements.


    Coming to that realization, a wry smile appeared on his face, wondering how that would affect his progress in obtaining Azure Energy.


    After all, the Intent, and thereby the Force Selliferprehended was a Force that was purely focused on mana.


    In the end, he thought that the two of them would tackle the problem some other time, considering that the Intent Seed he justprehended filled one of the requirements hecked to achieve the Azure Trace in the first ce.


    With that in mind, he continued to focus his attention on the information he was obtaining regarding mana, making sure to fill every nook and cranny of his mind with it.


    Unexpectedly, this action of his had caused his understanding of mana to deepen even further, causing the world to attempt forming a connection with him once more.


    Though surprised, Valyr naturally allowed the connection to happen, filling him up with the sensation of boundless power yet again.


    Feeling the boundless power and information in his mind gradually fading away, the young man inwardly let out a low sigh as a satisfied smile soon adorned his face.


    Deciding to check on his gains from the sudden epiphany, the young man returned his attention to the barren ground, only to find Sellifer looking at him in disbelief.


    "Did you¡­" uttered the woman, still finding the right words to say to what just happened.


    Already knowing what she meant by her iplete question, Valyr merely nodded in response with a slight grin.


    Seeing the slightly smug expression on the young man''s face, Sellifer took in a deep breath before eventually shaking her head in frustration. "What unbelievable luck¡­"


    Chuckling at her words, Valyrmanded the system to bring up his notifications, allowing him to confirm that what just happened earlier was all true.


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of mana and its interaction with the four elements has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [You have awakened the Intent Seed of the Four Elements.]


    [Your understanding of mana and its interaction with the four elements has deepened, allowing it to reach a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Four Elements has ascended to the First Stage.]

 Chapter 831 Four Pillars: Braiding Energies

    Chapter 831 Four Pirs: Braiding Energies


    ''As suspected,'' thought Valyr to himself as he read through the series of notifications he had received. ''I awakened the Intent Seed of the Four Elements.''


    Before even getting his hands on the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy or the two other Intent Seeds he had that were rted to forging, Valyr already had an idea of the Intent Seeds that he was close to obtaining.


    In total, he had five potential Intent Seeds he could obtain, all of them having something to do with the fact that he used them quite often.


    The first three among those five potential seeds had already been obtained thanks to the intervention of the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening.


    As for the remaining two, those were none other than the Intent Seed of the Spear and the Intent Seed of the Four Elements, having something to do with hisbat style in the past before having Shadow Energy be his go-to.


    Considering how he had been using magic rted to the four elements quite often while he still did not know how to work around the curse affecting him and his spear, it made a lot of sense that his understanding regarding it and its interaction with mana had deepened.


    In fact, the two bouts of epiphany he had gotten from viewing the blue star had prompted that understanding to deepen even further, making Valyr feel as if the four foundational elements were inexplicably linked to mana.


    Then again, in a way, they kind of were, with the understanding that allowed him to obtain the Intent Seed in the first ce showing the four main avenues that mana could take under the four elements.


    Then, after he had awakened his Intent Seed of the Four Elements, his understanding went even deeper, showcasing a great number of branches the four foundational elements contained whenbined with mana.


    Of course, most of those branches headed down a path that only focused on the main element, bolstering a part of the element that seemed more fitting for them.


    However, there were also branches thatbined two or three elements together, showing Valyr paths that were as strong or even stronger than the solitary paths that dominated the four avenues.


    Looking at the multiple possibilities these four main avenues had, it was there that Valyr understood that their concept was quite simr to the concept of mana itself.


    Just like mana, the four elements was boundless, containing a myriad number of possibilities even thought it originally had such simple natures.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr closed up his screen as hemitted all of his understandings just now to memory.


    Then, closing his eyes for a bit, he extended one of his hands before conjuring a me of mana.


    "[Intent Seed of the Four Elements]."


    Calling upon the power of his newfound Intent Seed, Valyr then noticed that his mana had taken on a few distinct vors, switching between them every once in a while.


    At times, his mana felt destructive and fiery. At others, his mana felt as malleable as y.


    There were also times where his mana felt ephemeral in nature, then there were times where his mana felt as solid as a rock.


    "The four elements." Watching Valyr experiment with the new Intent Seed he had justprehended, a solemn expression appeared on Sellifer''s face as she thought about how it would affect the young man''s journey to achieving the Azure Trace.


    Though, just like Valyr, she eventually thought that such a problem was better left dealt at ater time.


    After all, even though it was not the Intent she thought Valyr wouldprehend in rtion to mana, it was still an Intent that had a lot to do with it.


    "You really have unbelievable luck, Valyr," said the woman after the young man was done tinkering with his new Intent Seed. "Just as I said you''d need an Intent that would act as a bnce to the Intent rted to Shadow Energy, you went ahead andprehended one."


    "It was bound to happen sooner orter." In response, Valyr merely smiled, telling her that he used to y around with the four foundational elements in the past before gaining ess to Shadow Energy.


    Being reminded once more of the Zeihardt n''s ancestor in the young man''s feats, Sellifer pushed those thoughts to the side as she told him to return to improving the quality of both energies to 2nd Cleansing.


    With the situation regarding the newly obtained Intent Seed now out of the way, it did not take long for Valyr to enter the void that housed his mana once more, this time focusing all of his attention on purifying his mana.


    With the goal of 2nd Cleansing more or less improving the state of the blue star revolving in the center of the void, it only took Valyr quite some time to achieve the improvement to 2nd Cleansing.


    Though,pared to the months Sellifer toiled to get to the same level, it only took a couple of weeks for the young man to achieve the same feat, having to ensure that every nook and cranny of the blue star was kept in mind.


    Of course, armed with experience in achieving 2nd Cleansing, it took Valyr far less time to do the same thing for Shadow Energy.


    Realizing that it had only taken less than a month in total for Valyr to bring both of his energies up to the stage of 2nd Cleansing, it took Sellifer the better part of a day to calm herself down, feeling immense jealousy at the level of talent Valyr had.


    ''Then again, he is a Zeihardt,'' thought Sellifer to herself, consoling herself with such a thought.


    Nevertheless, after he had pushed both energies to the stage of purity Sellifer tasked him to achieve, he then worked on braiding the energies together in his skills.


    Being forced to push Shadow Energy into areas filled with mana while doing the same vice versa in areas filled with Shadow Energy, Valyr''s progress in doing so was quite slow.


    However, with the help of Sellifer showing him what he needed to do, the phase where he needed to undergo trial and error was greatly cut down.


    In fact, she had even shown him his [Arcane Shadow Bolt] in the form of having both energies braided, showing Valyr firsthand how far more destructive and far more efficient the skill was with the energies braided.


    With that, Valyr spent more and more time braiding his energies together, gradually forgetting the existence of Hal and Vera as he gave it his all to achieve what would basically improve hisbat prowess by a whole tier. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Fortunately, after spending a total of three months on the barren grounds, Valyr finally understood the trick to the concept, allowing him to finally braid the two energies as he infused them into his skills.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Arcane Shadow Bolt]!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 832 Four Pillars: Never-ending Experimentation

    Chapter 832 Four Pirs: Never-ending Experimentation


    Summoning both mana and Shadow Energy from his body, Valyr willed both of them to appear on his extended palm as he used both energies to form a simple bolt.


    However, unlike before where each energy went into a specific part of the bolt, the young man began to impose his will on the energies as he had the two energies intertwine one another.


    Then, once he felt like the two had entangled themselves deep enough, it was only then did he begin to use the energies to form the bolt.


    Unsurprisingly, the result of the braiding allowed the bolt to contain far more force, taking on a somewhat homogenous shade of azure rather than the ck and blue that covered his bolts from before.


    Throwing it at a spot that was a fair distance away from them, the young man briefly thought about how much less energy he was using to conjure the bolt than before.


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    Watching the bolt zoom through air at far greater speeds, Valyr began to nod in great satisfaction as the collision resulted a loud yet destructive explosion, creating a shallow crater in what was basically reinforced dirt.


    "You finally got the hang of it." Sellifer looked at the young man with a satisfied yet proud smile. "So, how does it feel?"


    "It feels¡­ freeing," replied Valyr after a moment of silence, feeling a great number of emotions wash over his body the moment he sessfully began to make use of the braided energy.


    "Freeing, huh." The woman faintly chuckled in response.


    "Well, not exactly freeing," the young man rified. "It''s more like¡­ with the energies braided together, I''m finally able to make use of the skills'' full potential."


    Hearing those words, Sellifer nodded in agreement. "Once you get your hands on the Azure Trace, there''s no doubt you''ll be able to push those skills of yours to greater heights."


    Valyr nodded in response to that, deciding to get used to the process of braiding the two energies first before applying the concept onto his other skills.


    Utilizing the simple [Arcane Shadow Bolt] as his base, the young man used the skill over and over again as he kept an inquisitive eye, wanting to make the process of braiding the two energies second nature to him.


    After all, even though the bolt made with braided energy contained significantly greater power than the one without, he spent far more time conjuring the former than thetter.


    With that, he felt like he had to focus on that first, to which Sellifer agreed with.


    Then again, now that he knew the trick to braiding mana and Shadow Energy together, it took far less time for the process to be second nature to him than for him to learn the trick in the first ce.


    Whoosh!


    At a speed that reminded him of how quickly he conjured his bolts in the past, Valyr shot out a bolt of braided energy with ease, only to shoot out a few more bolts in quick session.


    Conjuring a few more bolts of braided energy after that to make sure it wasn''t just a fluke, Valyr looked at the slightly desecrated ground before them with a satisfied expression.


    "Now, it''s time to move onto the other skills."


    Saying these words to himself, Valyr decided that he would work on incorporating the braided energy into the other Arcane Shadow Serpent skills first.


    With how it seemed like the skills were tailor-made for the fusion of Shadow Energy and mana in the first ce, it did not take long for Valyr to have all of the skills that used both energies to make use of the new concept.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Consummatum Est]!"


    Aiming his ultimate magic skill at a spot far away from the two, Valyr watched as his skill summoned a farrger portion of the Shadow ne before them.


    Sensing the great amount of energy contained with the attack, the young man felt that his efforts thus far were more than worth it as the skill imploded on itself.


    Bang!


    Leaving a deep crater of charred ck on the barren ground, Valyr faintly wondered how he would have fared against Daon and Dawan if [Consummatum Est] was as strong as it was right now.


    ''Hmm¡­'' Rubbing his chin for quite some time, the young man eventually felt that he would probably have the advantage in the fight.


    Though, it would immediately disappear due to the fact that the two were at the middle and the peak of Rank 6 in terms of strength, respectively.


    ''Still better than being forced to passively defend.'' Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, Valyr then focused his sights on adapting all of his skills to make use of the braided energy.


    With how almost all of his Arcane Shadow Serpent skills were offensive in nature, it only made sense for the young man to focus on all of his skills that were of the same nature.


    However, rather than just incorporate the braided energy into the skill and move on, Valyr began to experiment on the skills on a deeper level.


    Recalling Sellifer''s period of experimentation before discovering the Azure Trace, the young man began to slowly changes the ratio between the two energies as he infused them into his skills.


    Unsurprisingly, with how they werebative in nature, the skills leaned onto a ratio that contained more Shadow Energy than mana.


    As he came to this discovery, a random thought popped up in his mind as he thought about making use of the unique properties of his mana with [Intent Seed of the Four Elements] enabled.


    The result?


    Far greater potency in terms of effects while making use of far less energy than before.


    With a form on how he could use the braided energy to its maximum potential, Valyr went over all his Arcane Shadow Serpent skills again, adapting the nature of the mana to the nature of the skill itself.


    Then, once he was done going over all of those skills, he then returned to his other skills once more, feeling great satisfaction at how hisbat prowess had significantly increased even though he had not gained any levels whatsoever.


    Through his defensive skills, he found out that it was better to maintain a bnce of both energies while attuning his mana to the property of Earth.


    After that, he found out that leaning towards mana worked better for his healing skills, attuning its property to the element of Water.


    Surprisingly, his movement skills were simr to his defensive skills that it warranted a bnce of both. Though, the property of mana this time around leaned towards the element of Wind.


    As for the remaining misceneous skills on his list, he had only found the ideal ratio and property for them through repeated trial and error.


    Yet, even though he went through all that experimentation, the young man took far less time than Sellifer did to refit her skills with the braided energy.


    "Six months¡­" Sellifer murmured to herself as she watched Valyr deftly control the energy as if it were now second nature to him.


    "In just six months, he went from not knowing what Azure Energy was to skillfully controlling its primitive form."


    At those words, she let out a faint sigh. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "What a monster.

 Chapter 833 Four Pillars: Rewarded Efforts

    Chapter 833 Four Pirs: Rewarded Efforts


    Thinking about how it took her over a year in the past to do the same thing Valyr had done in just half a year, Sellifer pondered for a brief moment as to whether or not the young man had gone through a simr experience before.


    However, recalling all of the struggles and hardships the young man had gone through the past six months to get where he was, she knew that the young man genuinely had no clue of what he was doing.


    ''And that makes it all the more terrifying,'' thought Sellifer to herself, feeling a bit dumbfounded as she corrected herself that it had only taken Valyr roughly three months to refit his skills.


    Throughout the six months he had spent with her, Valyr spent the first month upgrading his mana and Shadow Energy to 2nd Cleansing, as well as luckily obtaining the Intent that would form a contrast to his other Intent based on Shadow Energy.


    Then, the two months after that were spent understanding and getting the hang of the trick that allowed Valyr to braid both energies together, making use of the somewhat simple [Arcane Shadow Bolt] as his base.


    And though it had taken quite some time for him to get up to speed, the young man had only spent a total of three months to adjust all of his skills to this braided energy, improving them to the point where they felt like they had advanced to a new grade.


    Going through all of this in her mind, Sellifer began to look at Valyr''s progress as if he were a train that continued to speed up thanks to its momentum.


    ''Not sure if he''d get that reference if I told him about it, though,'' inwardly muttered Sellifer to herself as she let out a faint chuckle.


    With Valyr having more or less done everything that he could so far, the woman finally told the young man that they could move onto what she considered to be the final phase of the inheritance.


    "The Azure Trace," Sellifer told him, to which Valyr looked back at her with a solemn expression. "I''ve said before and I''ll say it again, achieving the Azure Trace is the final goal of your inheritance."


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring the azure light that allowed her to get where she was today, Sellifer watched the wisp of azure energy for a bit before looking at Valyr with a calm expression.


    "Though there''s a vast difference in quality and power between the braided energy you''ve created and the Azure Trace, there''s not actually that much of a difference between the two in terms of how they''re created," she told him.


    "If anything, the difference is more on how deep the braiding goes."


    At those words, Sellifer infused a bit more energy into the wisp before willing it to head towards Valyr.


    Noticing that the wisp was making its way towards its forehead, the young man briefly looked at Sellifer with a hint of curiosity.


    Reading through her gaze that he would not be harmed by the wisp, Valyr allowed the wisp of azure energy to make contact with his skin, only for an influx of foreign memories to fill up his mind soon after.


    Making use of the experience he had rued with managingrge amounts of information thus far, the young man processed and organized all of the memories he had received as he watched through them.


    Unsurprisingly, those memories came from none other than Sellifer, showing the young man a period after the Serpent Maiden visited her.


    Making her way back into the temple, the woman was incredibly excited to make use of the method the Serpent Maiden had given her, showing that it would give her a more than certain shot of achieving atavism.


    However, once she arrived at the hall where the apparition that taught her stayed, Sellifer felt a sense of incongruence as she looked at the method once more.


    "It feels¡­ iplete," she muttered, a stark contrast to what she thought of the method before.


    Going over the method once more in her mind, Sellifer was still confident enough that she would still have a high sess rate in achieving atavism.


    Though, after going through it, the woman also found out the reason why it began to feel iplete after she entered the inheritance proper.


    ''It''s a test of sorts.'' Sellifer realized, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as a message from the Serpent Maiden embedded within the method began to echo in her mind.


    As the Serpent Maiden was an entity looked up to by many Shadow Serpents within the Shadow ne, she assured Sellifer through the message that the method would still work if she didn''t do anything.


    Of course, there was still the small chance of failure that could possibly erupt.


    However, if she were to fix the problems that ailed the method she''d been given, the method in her hands would undergo a great metamorphosis.


    "Not only would you be able to undergo through atavism without worries, but you''ll also be able to tap a far more ancient power through your bloodline, surpassing the power the blood of the Corrupted Void Serpent could give you."


    As the words echoed in her mind, the Serpent Maiden also mentioned to Sellifer the task she needed to achieve in order to repair the method.


    "Bring the azure light to a higher stage of power," muttered Sellifer to herself, prompting her to conjure the azure light before her.


    Whoosh!


    Looking at the azure light she created in greater detail, it was there that Sellifer realized that the azure light she had created was nothing more but just a more condensed version of the braided energy she had been forming in the past.


    Though, unlike the braid she made before that was visible to the naked eye, one could say that the braid making up the azure light was microscopic in size, twisting and turning ording to thews of nature.


    As this sight showed itself to Valyr, the young man was soon brought back to the barren ground with Sellifer looking at him.


    "Now do you understand what I mean?" asked Sellifer, to which Valyr thought back to the words she had told him before.


    Nodding in response, he then asked her, "When the Serpent Maiden tasked you to bring the azure light to a higher stage of power¡­"


    "She was basically telling me to improve the Azure Trace to the stage of Azure Wisp, yes." Sellifer nodded back.


    Hearing those words, Valyr thought about how Sellifer''s efforts in forming the Azure Trace were rewarded after the Serpent Maiden gave her the method to atavism.


    Though she received another challenge in the form of the method actually being iplete, the young man was certain that Sellifer was eventually able to clear it, allowing her efforts to be rewarded once more.


    With all of that in mind, Valyr took in a deep breath as he returned his attention to the matter at hand.


    At this point, all he needed to do was to transform that braided energy of his into the most basic form of Azure Energy to exist.


    As long as he was able to do that¡­


    He would be rewarded for his efforts as well.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 834 Four Pillars: Breaking Through

    Chapter 834 Four Pirs: Breaking Through


    Now that he knew what to do in order to transform that braided energy of his to the Azure Trace, Valyr gave himself some time to rest as he went over all of the things he had done so far.


    From improving the purity of both his mana and Shadow Energy, to the entangling of the energies and applying of said energies to the skills, the young man went over all of them once more in his mind.


    More than certain that he hadmitted everything to memory, the young man began to make an effort to make the Azure Trace a reality by first upgrading both of his energies to the peak of the Cleansing stages.


    Asking Sellifer for instructions on how to go from 2nd Cleansing to 3rd Cleansing, the woman was slightly surprised to see the young man ask for the information out of his own ord.


    Even though she was just pondering over whether or not to give the information to him.


    After all, even though Valyr had a slow start at applying the braided energy into his skills, the young man had smooth and dexterous control over the energy at this point.


    Not to mention that with the Intent Seed of the Four Elements in y, Valyr had brought the braided energy to a higher level of power and efficiency.


    After watching the young man incorporate the Intent Seed into the braided energy, Sellifer felt that the power behind it was only a bitcking whenpared to the Azure Trace she had formed in the past.


    In fact, she felt that it was possible for the young man to take the concept of Azure Energy to a different avenue as long as he given enough time.


    Though, with Valyr achieving the Azure Trace being the main goal of the inheritance, Sellifer was left with no choice but to shelf the thought.


    Inwardly sighing at what she thought was a greatly missed opportunity, the woman kept it all to herself as she went over the instructions to achieve 3rd Cleansing with Valyr in detail.


    Making sure that he hadmitted all of that information in mind, Valyr then went ahead and proceeded to attempt reaching for the stage of 3rd Cleansing on both his energies.


    With how he had reached 2nd Cleansing on his mana first, the young man decided to bnce it out by improving his Shadow Energy this time around to 3rd Cleansing.


    Delving deep into the world of darkness once more, Valyr watched the ck star he had refined during the 2nd Cleansing generate the dark pearls that were scattered throughout the void.


    Going over the steps in his mind once more, the young man soon imposed his will on the vast darkness before him, causing all of the dark pearls wandering around to congregate around the ck star.


    Then, without warning, he pushed all of the dark pearls into the ck star as he caused its mass to greatly increase in a matter of minutes.


    Watching as faint cracks started to appear on the surface of the star as he put more and more dark pearls into it, Valyr thought about the process he had gone through to push both his mana and Shadow Energy to 2nd Cleansing.


    ording to Sellifer, 1st Cleansing was the stage where the star that generated the energy itself would be created.


    Then, the stage of 2nd and 3rd Cleansing would act as the stages of refinement for the star, improving its foundation for what would eventually be the goal of the purification process.


    A metamorphosis of energy.


    Recalling how he had to reform the stars in a limited amount of time after they had exploded during the 2nd Cleansing, Valyr focused all of his attention on the ck star as he watched more and more cracks form on its surface.


    By the time it had finally absorbed enough to explode into a burst of dark light, the young man swiftly imposed his will on the world once more, feeling a hint of bacsh due to the force contained within the explosion.


    Fortunately, it only took another attempt for him to get everything under control, deftly reforming the star once more with the chunks that had exploded all throughout the void.


    In a way, the explosion acted as a hammer to the chunks, tempering them in order to improve the rigidity and structure of the chunks themselves.


    With that, the young man ended up with a star that was more condensed than before, yet at the same time contained more power than even the star he had just blown up.


    Whoosh!


    Watching the star generate a series of dark pearls that now began to give off a faint glow, Valyr felt the Shadow Energy begin to roil as they gradually began to take on the new form he had just unlocked.


    Admiring the improved dark pearls within the void for a bit more, the young man was just about to return his attention back to the barren ground to move onto his mana¡­


    Only for him to stop as he saw all of the pearls flicker blue for a brief moment.


    Standing frozen in that void for a few moments as the ephemeral sight burned itself into his memory, Valyr felt a dam of some sort finally bursting open at that moment.


    And soon enough, a deluge of information began to fill up his mind.


    All of them having something to do with the concept of Shadow Energy.


    Swoosh!


    Feeling his consciousness being transported into another void altogether, Valyr watched as the dark world before him began to be filled by the sight of what he had seen when he had broken the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy to the Second Stage.


    ''Shadow Energy and mana could be considered two sides of the same coin¡­'' thought the young man to himself as the statement surfaced in his mind once more.


    Though, with the sight he had just seen after improving his Shadow Energy to 3rd Cleansing, as well as the things Sellifer had shown him and made him do thus far, that statement gradually disappeared in his mind.


    Instead, it was reced with a new one as the Shadow Energy and mana in the void began to intertwine with one another, reminding him of the braided energy he had created.


    However, unlike his braided energy, the intertwining between the energies went even deeper, linking even their various properties together.


    At that sight, a thought popped up in his mind, prompting his connection with the world to undergo a change onest time.


    ''Though they differ in properties, they upy the same coin. Therefore, it could be said that they are one and the same.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''Shadow Energy can be mana. Mana can be Shadow Energy.''


    ''One could take on the form of another. But only by having both could they be one.''


    ''Only with them being one could true power be realized.''


    ''And one way to achieve that is to create Azure Energy.''


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of Shadow Energy has deepened even further, allowing it to reach a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Shadow Energy has ascended to the Culmination Stage.]

 Chapter 835 Four Pillars: A New Stage

    Chapter 835 Four Pirs: A New Stage


    After giving himself some time to limate to the new and improved connection he had with the world, Valyr returned his attention to the barren ground and took a look at the series of notifications he had received.


    Seeing that his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy had finally advanced to the Culmination Stage, a faint smile appeared on his face as he thought about how he now had three Intent Seeds more than ready to be a proper Intent.


    ''Then again, it was just a matter of time before this happened,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, recalling how most of the Intent Seed had progressed thanks to the interventions of the Gates of Enlightenment.


    With how much experience and understanding he had gained revolving around Shadow Energy through his fights and his current session with Sellifer, the question was more of a when than a how.


    ''Still, I thought the Intent Seed would change into the Intent Seed of Azure Energy or something,'' thought Valyr, recalling the overall understanding he had gained from the burst of enlightenment just now.


    Though it mostly talked about the interaction between mana and Shadow Energy at the start and how they could take the ce of the another, the final part talked about tapping into the true power within both.


    And the understanding mentioned that one way of doing so was by forming Azure Energy.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr continued to look through his notifications to see if there were any notifications he had missed.


    Aside from the many notifications he received after refitting his skills to work with the braided energy, the young man also realized then and there that his attempt at upgrading his Shadow Energy to 3rd Cleansing.


    Though the notification that truly caught his attention was the one that contained additional information on his newly upgraded Intent Seed.


    Ding!


    [One could take on the form of another. But only by having two can there be the form of one.]


    [Only by achieving the one can greater power be realized. Only by achieving the one can greater avenues be opened. Only by achieving the one can greater paths be shown.]


    Reading between the lines of the cryptic approach the additional information had taken, Valyr felt that it greatly matched up with the understanding he had gained from the enlightenment itself.


    Though, as he went over the notification once more, Valyr felt as if it was just stating the obvious.


    After all, if he were to gain ess to Azure Energy, he would gain better prospects in the future overall.


    Deciding to not think about it any further, Valyr closed his notification screen, only to notice that Sellifer was looking at him with disbelief once more.


    Understanding that it was highly improbable for something like what happened with the Intent Seed of the Four Elements to happen yet again, the young man bitterly smiled as he told her of his newly improved Intent Seed.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for Sellifer to calm herself down, once again reminding herself that she was teaching a Zeihardt.


    A Zeihardt that reminded her of their n''s ancestor from sheer talent alone at that.


    After a bit more talking with her on how he was going to integrate the newly upgraded Intent Seed into the entire thing, Valyr soon returned his attention to upgrading his mana to 3rd Cleansing.


    In the end, it took more or less the same amount of time it took him to upgrade his Shadow Energy to the same stage, totaling the amount of time he had spent upgrading both energies to 3rd Cleansing to three months.


    With both energies now at 3rd Cleansing, Valyr began limating himself to the increase in purity by infusing it into his skills once more.


    Unsurprisingly, the upgrade in purity had increased the potency of the skills once more while also reducing the cost it took to activate them.


    Feeling like he had gotten used to the upgraded purity, he then began to infuse the Intent Seed of the Four Elements into the mix, allowing the skills to ascend to another level of power altogether.


    At this point, Sellifer even began to wonder whether there was even a need for Valyr to achieve the Azure Trace in the first ce, sensing that the strength contained with his braided energy was already not that far off from the actual Azure Trace.


    Then again, as he was clueless as to what was going on in the woman''s mind, the young man continued to strive towards achieving the Azure Trace.


    With that, he decided to try and infuse the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy into the braided energy, acting as a bnce of sorts to the Intent Seed of the Four Elements he was already fusing into it.


    Unsurprisingly, the infusion of another Intent Seed into the mix caused Valyr to lose a great portion of the progress he had made thus far.


    Though, with how he already knew the trick behind the creation of the braided energy, it did not take long for the man to infuse both Intent Seeds into it, making the young man feel as if he was incredibly close to the final goal.


    With reinforced Shadow Energy as well as mana that could take on the properties of one of the four elements at any time, the young man thought to himself that it was only a matter of time before he stumbled upon the trick to form the Azure Trace. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As this thought came to mind, Valyr wondered whether his eventual formation of the Azure Trace would be stronger than Sellifer''s since he would be fusing two Intent Seeds into it at once.


    ''Probably not,'' thought Valyr to himself after a bit of thinking. ''After all, she had a high-tier Force powering hers in the first ce.''


    Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the young man returned his focus to the task at hand, having done everything he could at this point to prepare himself for the final step.


    Unexpectedly, even with Sellifer''s aid here and there, it had taken Valyr over a year and three months to finally achieve what was considered the main goal of the inheritance.


    However, rather than the Azure Energy appearing in the form of a light in Valyr''s hands¡­


    It instead took on the form of a haze.

 Chapter 836 Four Pillars: Two Years

    Chapter 836 Four Pirs: Two Years


    Two years.


    From touching the Azure Serpent Staff in the hopes of bettering the potential of his subss to arriving at his current point, it had taken Valyr a total of two years to get to it.


    Of course, it was not easy for the young man to do such a thing, especially if one were to realize that he had only spent a few months out in Veldanyr inparison.


    In a way, it was a challenge to see where his limit in fortitude, determination, and perseverance lied.


    Thankfully, for the sake of improving hisbat prowess, and for the sake of his efforts not being wasted in the end, he saw everything to the bitter end.


    And now, it had finally paid off.


    As an azure energy began to fill his vision, Valyr was filled with tion, thinking about how he had spent most of those two years attempting to get to this current step.


    Throughout the majority of those two years, he continued to deepen his understanding of both Shadow Energy and mana.


    Not only that, but he had also alloted some time to focus on the two Intent Seeds that allowed his braided energy to be as unique as it was.


    Fortunately, all of those tangents had finally culminated into a significant result, as well as a few major results along the way. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    One of which was the advancement of his Intent Seed of the Four Elements to the Second Stage.


    Deepening his understanding of the interaction between mana and the four foundational elements once more, Valyr was shown far more paths than before, outnumbering what he had seen during his advancement to the First Stage by at least five times.


    Though, aside from the four foundational elements now appearing to be more in line with mana in terms of flexibility, the young man was also shown a brief glimpse into the crystallization of the four paths themselves.


    Combining all of the various branches that delved into pure andbined elements in that one path, the crystallization of the paths had shown themselves in the form of beasts, the aura they gave off making Valyr feel like he was looking at the zenith of each element.


    For a while after that advancement, the young man wondered where the idea of the beasts in the Intent Seed hade from, considering how all of his Intent Seeds so far had arrived at their current points through his personal understanding.


    Then again, it did not take him long to find his answer, being reminded that he had gotten to his current point by ying a mountain''s worth of beasts along the way.


    With them having various forms and specializations depending on their environments, Valyr felt that this variety resonated with the myriad possibilities the four elements had shown him in his Intent Seed.


    Nevertheless, with it having advanced to the Second Stage, a greater bnce was struck between the two Intent Seeds once more while at the same time increasing the braided energy''s power.


    In the end, it could be said that the advancement of the Intent Seeds was a major turning point that allowed him to finally conjure the azure energy he and Sellifer had been waiting for him to create for a long time.


    However, when the azure energy Valyr had formed was not a light but a haze, a hint of panic appeared on the young man''s eyes as he shifted his gaze towards Sellifer.


    Seeing the woman in a pensive expression, the young man inwardly took in a deep breath before attempting to conjure the azure energy once more.


    Ignoring all of the notification sounds that were going off in his mind, Valyr held his breath as both Shadow Energy and mana manifested on top of his palm.


    Then, with the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy and the Four Elements being infused into it, the energies began to intertwine with one another as if it were their second nature.


    Imposing his will into it, he watched as the braid gradually disappeared from the naked eye as the entire thing took on an azure hue to him yet again.


    ''A haze¡­'' Yet, even after he had repeated it a couple more times after that to make sure he wasn''t mistaken, the azure energy he had generated ended up bing nothing more than a haze.


    At that moment, Valyr felt incredibly distraught, wondering if the heavens were making a mockery of his efforts thus far.


    The sacrifices he had made within the past two years.


    ''So much for being rewarded for my efforts¡­'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself as he took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down.


    Now that he had gotten over the fact that his azure energy had taken on another form rather than the light Sellifer generated, Valyr realized that his attempt was not entirely a failure.


    For one, the azure haze felt higher qualitypared to thebination of energies and Intent Seeds that made up his braided energy from before.


    Aside from before, he could feel a slumbering power lingering beneath the haze that resonated with him, waiting to be awakened at the perfect moment.


    "I see."


    While the young man was still thinking of ways to salvage the situation, Sellifer finally realized what was going on.


    Extending out one of her palms, she conjured a wisp of energy on the level of the Azure Trace, reminding Valyr of the goal that he should have achieved at this point.


    Though, not long after, the wisp of azure light seemingly copsed on itself right before very eyes.


    Wondering what Sellifer was trying to do, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the same haze he had created appear on Sellifer''s palm.


    "To think there''s a stage that exists before the Azure Trace," muttered Sellifer as she looked at the haze she created, her current expression that of slight disbelief and interest. "Then again, I guess it should have been a given, considering how I''d utilized the power of a Force to create it in the first ce."


    Feeling a bit confused as he listened to the woman''s murmurs, Valyr eventually focused his entire attention on what Sellifer had to say after seeing a wide smile appear on her face.


    "Congrattions, Valyr," said the woman. "Though your efforts have taken a surprising turn along the way, you''ve ultimately achieved the goal of the inheritance."


    "Eh?" Valyr still didn''t understand what was going on. "But wasn''t the goal to create the Azure Trace?"


    "That was supposed to be the case." Sellifer nodded in agreement. "But the Gates of Awakening did say that the goal of the inheritances was for the inheritor to take a step into the path they''ve decided to inherit."


    "I know it''s confusing, but to sum it all up¡­"


    "You might have just discovered the actual start to this path of mine."

 Chapter 837 Four Pillars: Signs and Echoes

    Chapter 837 Four Pirs: Signs and Echoes


    Though Sellifer only told Valyr that he might have just discovered the actual start to the path of Azure Energy, this only ended up making thetter a bit more confused than he originally was.


    After all, he had been led to thinking that the Azure Trace was the most basic form of Azure Energy to ever exist.


    Yet, the creator herself told him that he had stumbled upon a form of the Azure Energy that was more basic than the Azure Trace?


    Thankfully, with a slightly lengthy conversation about the topic, the confusion Valyr felt from the whole thing had finally disappeared.


    Instead, excitement covered the young man''s face once more as he realized that the heavens weren''t actually messing him.


    But rather it was due to his currentprehensions of various concepts that his form of Azure Energy ended up turning out that way.


    "For quite some time after discovering the five stages of Azure Energy, I wondered to myself whether the Azure Trace was actually the most basic form of Azure Energy to ever exist," said Sellifer as she began to talk about a time far in the past.


    "With that, I decided to break the Azure Trace down, deciding to head down the rabbit hole of introducing impurities into the energies themselves."


    "Of course, I''ve eventuallye to realize that it was the wrong approach, even more so thanks to what you''ve shown me just now."


    "In terms of the quality of both energies, we''ve confirmed that 3rd Cleansing is undoubtedly the bare minimum to step onto the path of Azure Energy." Sellifer looked at the young man at that, who nodded back in response.


    "And instead, the part that actually dictates the stage at which one''s Azure Energy is at is none other than one''sprehension of concepts."


    "Having Intent Seeds rted to Shadow Energy and mana allow one to step into the true first stage on the path of Azure Energy." As she said these words, Sellifer generated a ball of azure haze on top of her extended palm.


    "Compared to the Azure Trace, this stage only contains a minuscule hint of what''s toe. Nevertheless, it''s still better than the braided energy by a significant amount."


    "Seeing as it could be considered a sign of the path of Azure Energy that awaits them, let''s call this stage the Azure Sign."


    Whoosh!


    After manipting the ball of azure haze on her palm to take on a few shapes and forms, Sellifer then infused a bit more of her power into it, causing the entire thing to lose its shape.


    However, even though it had lost its shape, the energy hovering above Sellifer''s hand contained far more power than before, pulsating as if it were a beating heart.


    "Surprisingly, this is the stage thates after the Azure Sign," said Sellifer, moving the pulsating energy around her. "If Azure Sign needs Intent Seeds, then this stage needs one''sprehension to advance to full Intents."


    "For a while, I thought of naming this stage the Azure Pulse since the energy at this stage pulsates every so often."


    "However, with how I''ve named the stages on how close they are to the final stage, I''ve decided to name this stage the Azure Echo, seeing that it echoes out the sensation of Azure Energy with every pulse it gives off."


    After that, Sellifer went through the five other stages the two of them gone through so far, briefly talking about the requirements needed for each stage in terms of energy quality and conceptprehension.


    In the end, thanks to Valyr''s idental discovery, rather than the path of Azure Energy having five stages to sum up its journey, the path of Azure Energy now had seven stages.


    Though it seemed that the two additional stages made the entire thing a more burdensome journey than it already was, Sellifer did not think of that way.


    If anything, she thought that the two newly discovered stagesplemented the already discovered stages nicely, forming a smooth progression that would allow one to reach the pinnacle of Azure Energy.


    "Thanks to you, the requirement to learn Azure Energy has been lowered from needing to be a Legend to being at the ss rank where one could startprehending Intents." The woman smiled at Valyr, her expression showing the immense gratitude she had for him.


    In response, Valyr merely let out a sigh of relief as he smiled back, understanding that his journey on the path to Azure Energy was now over.


    Of course, six other stages still waited for him once he left the barren grounds he and Sellifer were in.


    However, that was something he''ll pursue at a more rxed pace, lest if there was a great need for him to improve the quality of his Azure Energy.


    ''In any case, I''ve gained a lot from this,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Not only had he obtained a type of energy that would allow his Shadow Serpent Manncer subss to reach greater heights, but he had also improved his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy and gained a new Intent Seed along the way.


    Aside from that, he had refitted all of his skills to work on both Shadow Energy and mana, making Valyr quite eager to use them on the battlefield to see how much hisbat prowess had improved.


    ''I guess the biggest gain I''ve gotten from this was personal development,'' thought Valyr to himself, reminding himself that he had spent the past two years in near solitude.


    Because of it, his perseverance and determination had grown by leaps and bounds, prompting him to wonder where his new limits lie after going through such an ordeal.


    ''At least I''ll be less prone to getting angry from now on if what I''m forging is taking too long.'' Valyr chuckled to himself, letting out a faint sigh soon after.


    ''Two years, huh¡­ I guess, in a way, I''m 19 years old now.''


    As this thought came to mind, Valyr knew that he would only be considered 19 physically due to how much time he''d spent in dted time.


    But once he was back in Veldanyr, he would still be considered 17 with how much time had passed.


    ''Or I could already be considered 18 once I return. After all, I''ve spent way too much time in this ce.'' Valyr scratched the back of his head at the thought. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Deciding not to think about theplications of time dtion to his age any further, Valyr decided to try out his newly obtained azure energy on his skills.


    Choosing to use it on his most basic skill once more, Valyr transformed his energy into the Azure Sign first before conjuring it into a bolt.


    "[Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style]."


    "[Arcane Shadow Bolt]!"


    Whoosh!


    With the entire thing taking on a hazy azure, the bolt moved through the air at great speeds, reminding Valyr of a specific element that he could have infused into the bolt before letting it loose.


    Though, just as the thought came to mind¡­


    Whoosh!


    The azure bolt transformed into a dragon all of a sudden, leaving the young man at a great loss for words.


    Ding!

 Chapter 838 Four Pillars: Skill Overhaul (1)

    Chapter 838 Four Pirs: Skill Overhaul (1)


    Roar!


    "¡­" As the azure bolt he fired out transformed into a dragon out of nowhere, Valyr watched it zoom through the air with his mouth agape, only for it to let out a bestial roar the moment it collided with the barren ground.


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, with how much force the bolt already contained when it was powered by his braided energy, powering the bolt with the Azure Sign had brought up its destructiveness to a higher level.


    As the dust settled down, both Valyr and Sellifer noticed that the crater the bolt had made on the ground was both deeper and wider than before.


    Not only that, but as they focused their senses on the crater, they could still faintly hear the draconic roar lingering around it.


    "Huh." Having also seen the azure bolt also transform into a dragon out of nowhere, Sellifer looked at Valyr with both interest and slight confusion. "Who knew it would do that?"


    "I wasn''t even expecting it to do that," said Valyr in response, only for him to be silent as his brows furrowed.


    Seeing that the gears in the young man''s mind were beginning to turn, Sellifer gave him the space and silence he needed to smoothen out his thoughts.


    Of course, it did not take long for the young man to think things through, formting a hypothesis revolving around his Azure Sign based on the braided energy he had created before.


    ''I have to try it out.'' Though he had a strong feeling his hypothesis was correct, the young man went ahead and manifested the Azure Sign once more, causing a faint azure haze to cover his extended palm.


    Then, activating [Arcane Shadow Bolt] once again, he used the Azure Sign to power the bolt, throwing it at a spot near the crater he had created with the previous bolt.


    However, unlike the previous time, he controlled the thoughts that came out of his mind, recalling that the reason why the previous bolt into a dragon had something to do with an errant thought.


    With that, the young man closed his eyes for a bit, only to stare at the bolt as he thought of infusing the element of Fire into it.


    Whoosh!


    As the thought came to mind, the bolt transformed in front of his very eyes once more, turning into a fiery bird that Valyr was all too familiar with.


    "Phoenix¡­" he muttered to himself, hearing the azure phoenix let out a screech before it collided with the ground. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Bang!


    Unexpectedly, the depth and size of the generated crater was considerablyrger than the previous bolt, prompting him to think that it was due to the influence of the element of Fire.


    But aside from that, faint azure mes covered the entirety of the crater, more or less confirming his suspicions on the form his Azure Energy had taken.


    "I guess the uniqueness of your braided energy carried over," said Sellifer after Valyr was done casting his second bolt. "Because of the Intent Seed of the Four Elements, your Azure Sign can also take on simr properties."


    "Though, I''m not too sure why your bolts turn into beasts while taking such properties," she added, to which Valyr inwardly let out a chuckle.


    Now more than certain that it was the doing of his Intent Seed as to why his Azure Energy turned out that way, Valyr went through the remaining forms his [Arcane Shadow Bolt] had yet to take.


    Imbuing his next two bolts with the Water and Earth element, Valyr watched as the azure bolt took on the form of a turtle and a tiger, respectively.


    Considering the unique qualities imbuing the bolt with the Fire element had given him, the young man felt that the Water element had caused the bolt to be more malleable and flexible in exchange for a bit less damage.


    On the other hand, the Earth element acted the exact opposite, its trajectory feeling incredibly rigid to the young man.


    However, to make up for it, the Earth element packed the most punch out of the four, forming a crater that was evenrger than the one generated by the bolt imbued with the Fire element alongside a series of scary-looking spikes.


    Casting a bolt imbued with the Wind element once more, Valyr more or less understood the unique properties the four elements brought to his Azure Energy.


    "Wind for its speed, Fire for its lingering damage, Water for its flexibility, and Earth for its full-on offense," said the young man to himself, getting the feeling that the effects of the elements would differ depending on the skill he used it on.


    Understanding that he would have to go through a ton of experimentation once more to see the limits of his skills, Valyr went ahead and opened his notification screen, having ignored it ever since his first bolt transformed into a dragon.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully fused Shadow Energy and mana together to create a higher level of energy known as Azure Energy.]


    [As you have unlocked Azure Energy, your skills ''Shadow Energy Mark'' and ''Arcane Mark'' have fused together to form ''Azure Energy Mark''.]


    [Note that the properties of both skills have carried over into this skill.]


    [The grade of your Azure Energy Mark has improved to Sign.]


    Reading through the first few notifications he had gotten, Valyr nodded in understanding as he brought up the description of the newly obtained Azure Energy Mark to the side.


    ncing at it for a bit, the young man swiftly returned his attention back to his notifications, seeing that he had gained a lot more than just the mark after obtaining Azure Energy.


    [As you have unlocked Azure Energy, your skills ''Advanced Mana Maniption'' and ''Advanced Shadow Energy Maniption'' have fused together to form ''Basic Azure Energy Maniption''.]


    [Note that the properties of both skills have carried over into this skill.]


    10:17


    [The level of ''Basic Azure Energy Maniption'' has been reverted back to Level 1.]


    [As you have unlocked Azure Energy, you have obtained the passive skill ''Intermediate Shadow Energy Affinity''.]


    [As you have unlocked Azure Energy, your skills ''Advanced Mana Affinity'' and ''Intermediate Shadow Energy Affinity'' have fused together to form ''Basic Azure Energy Affinity''.]


    [¡­]


    [Due to your actions, the technique ''Arcane Shadow Bolt'' under the skill ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style'' has changed to ''Four Paths Azure Bolt''.]


    "That¡­ is a lot," said the young man to himself, realizing that what he had read so far barely scratched the surface of what changes Azure Energy brought to his skills.


    With that, he decided to look at the other skills he had obtained sometimeter, his attention now focused on the description of Azure Energy Mark.


    "Now, let''s see what we have here¡­"

 Chapter 839 Four Pillars: Skill Overhaul (2)

    839 Four Pirs: Skill Overhaul (2)


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Azure Energy Mark] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Shadow Energy: 89/89


    Azure Energy: 89/89


    Quality (Shadow Energy): 3rd Cleansing (Legendary)


    Quality (Mana): 3rd Cleansing (Legendary)


    Quality (Azure Energy): Sign (Common)


    Chaos, destruction, and death. These properties are considered to be what makes up Shadow Energy.


    Order, creation, and life. These properties are considered to be what makes up mana.


    For ages, many throughout the universe have considered the two to be the exact pr opposites of another, the antithesis of each other''s existence.


    However, thanks to the flexibility and near-infinite potential that mana holds, there is a possibility that the two could be found on the same coin, with each acting as one of its sides.


    There have even been spections that the two could be fused to create a higher form of energy,bining the best of both worlds to tap into a level of power normally unachievable.


    Fortunately, on one fateful day, a denizen of the Shadow ne has made this spection a reality,bining the two to form an energy now well-known throughout the vast universe.


    Azure Energy.


    This skill allows the user to tap into both Shadow Energy at any time, not needing to form a connection with the Shadow ne anymore to do so. This skill also allows the user to store Shadow Energy within their bodies, the amount of which could be improved through the absorption of Shadow Energy contained within the creatures of the Shadow ne.


    Aside from that, this skill allows the user to store Azure Energy within their bodies, its amount equal to which of the two energies needed to make Azure Energy is lower (Current target: Shadow Energy).


    This skill also allows the user to gain a boosting effect from both Shadow and Azure Energy, with each point currently within the user''s body boosting their physical and mental stats by 0.15% (Current boost: 26.7%)


    Due to the improved quality of the energies within the user''s body, a portion of the energies'' boosting effects have be permanent.


    As of current, this skill permanently boost the user''s physical and mental stats by 12.5%, the user''s max HP and MP by 12.5%, and the user''s Attack and Defense stat by 2.5%.


    [You have awakened the property of Shadow slumbering within Shadow Energy. Attacks using this energy have a small chance to remain undetected by the enemy until the critical point.]


    [You have awakened the property of Boundless slumbering within Shadow Energy. Attacks using this energy have extended effects and are able tost longer without the user''s active maniption.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hiss¡­" Sucking in a deep breath of cold air as he read through the skill''s description, Valyr was left at a slight loss for words with how powerful the Azure Energy Mark was. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Carrying over the effects of the two mark-based skills he previously had, the young man was certain that the Azure Energy Mark would eventually grow to give him a lot more than what he was seeing right now.


    Especially after he had noticed that the skill now also increased both his Attack and Defense stat.


    ''I''m guessing that''s due to the Azure Energy,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling like it made a lot of sense.


    Eventually, the feeling of awe he felt towards the skill gradually subsided, instead being reced with a sort of realization as he read through the description once more.


    "I should really increase the amount of Shadow Energy I have," muttered Valyr to himself, recalling that Noel said that the requirements to improve the Shadow Serpent Lancer subss was to have a thousand points of Shadow Energy.


    Though, with how his subss was a variant of that subss, as well as the fact that he now had ess to Azure Energy, he wasn''t sure whether that requirement would still hold up.


    Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, he then closed the description screen he brought up, returning his attention once more to the notifications he had yet to read.


    [As you have unlocked Azure Energy, you have obtained the passive skill ''Mana Empowerment''.]


    [As you have unlocked Azure Energy, your skills ''Shadow Energy Empowerment'' and ''Mana Empowerment'' have fused together to form ''Azure Energy Empowerment''.]


    [Note that the properties of both skills have carried over into this skill.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the passive skill ''Art of the Four Azure Paths''.]


    "Huh."


    Reading through his notifications yet again, Valyr noticed that he had gained a brand new skill thanks to obtaining Azure Energy.


    Though he already had an idea of what the skill did from its name alone, the young man still brought up its description before him, only to find out that he was only beginning to scratch the surface of what it was capable of.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Art of the Four Azure Paths] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Epic


    Chaos, destruction, and death¡­ description has been omitted.


    Though Azure Energy is already considered a pinnacle of sorts for one to strive towards, just like one of the predecessors making up the energy, it still holds near-infinite potential that one could make use of.


    However, rather than this potential appearing in the energy themselves, it instead appears in the concepts and understandings that one would use to form the Azure Energy in the first ce.


    And in the user''s case, the concept of the Four Elements has allowed Azure Energy to take on a new shape.


    This skill allows the user to imbue the four foundational elements into their Azure Energy, allowing it to take on the properties of the element while also taking on the form of a beast rted to that element.


    The beasts that would form depending on the element, as well as the elements'' specific effects are as follows:


    Fire - Azure Phoenix (Lingering damage) | (4% understanding of the beast)


    Water - Azure Turtle (Flexibility) | (2% understanding of the beast)


    Wind - Azure Dragon (Speed) | (5% understanding of the beast)


    Earth - Azure Tiger (Damage) | (2% understanding of the beast)


    The improvement brought about by the infusion of elements into the user''s Azure Energy depends on the depth of the user''sprehension regarding the concept of the Four Elements, as well as the depth of the user''s understanding regarding the beasts themselves.


    In its current state, the infusion of elements improves the skill by 7.5% in regards to the elements'' specific effects.


    Note that further experimentation and understanding of the Four Elements and the beasts would allow the user to fuse the form of beasts and elementster down the line, allowing the skills to further benefit from the infusion.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Scratching his head as he read through the skill a few more times to make sure his understanding was correct, Valyr soon let out a sigh as he closed the screen.


    Then, looking at Sellifer, the young man shed a bitter smile.


    "What''s wrong?" asked Sellifer after seeing Valyr''s expression.


    "Nothing." Valyr shook his head in response. "It''s just that I''m wondering how long it''ll take me to refit all of my skills to use Azure Energy."


    "Better to get started, then," said Sellifer as she let out a faint chuckle. "With how one of your Intent Seed has changed the property of your Azure Energy to be more unique, I''m sure it''ll take longer for you to do so."


    "Well, I''m sure the results will make the effort more than worth it." Valyr smiled back, recalling the notification he''d gotten regarding [Arcane Shadow Bolt] transforming into a new skill altogether.


    With that in mind, the young man took in a deep breath topose himself, somewhat excited for what was toe.


    "Alright¡­"


    "Let''s get this over with."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 840 Four Pillars: Skill Overhaul (3)

    840 Four Pirs: Skill Overhaul (3)


    Having already spent two years of his time on forming the Azure Energy that he sought after, Valyr showed immense patience and perseverance as he began to retrofit all of his skills to begin using his newly obtained Azure Energy.


    With how the first technique that changed thanks to his Azure Energy came from [Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style], Valyr decided to focus on the entire skill first, faintly wondering what would happen to the skill once he retrofitted all of them.


    With that in mind, he set his sights to modifying the second technique under the skill, [Toxic Manastorm].


    In terms of how flexible it was to use inbat, [Toxic Manastorm] was more of a skill that Valyr would use whenever he wanted to target multiple foes at once.


    Though, because it covered such arge range, the skill was somewhatcking in damage whenpared to something more simple like the previous [Arcane Shadow Bolt].


    Fortunately, thanks to him forming a unique kind of braided energy, the damage output of the skill was increased while maintaining the same range.


    Because of that, he was quite curious as to what kind of changes his Azure Energy would bring to the mix if he were to use it on [Toxic Manastorm].


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring the Azure Sign once more, Valyr began to activate [Toxic Manastorm], prompting a dark blue cloud to appear far above their heads.


    Feeling that now was the time to start infusing a specific element into the skill, the young man went ahead and thought of infusing the Wind element into it, thinking that the rain it generated would fall down faster.


    However, as if there was a massive barrier before him, Valyr felt his attempt at infusing the Wind element into the skill end up in failure.


    Then again, even though he was unsessful in infusing an element into the skill, [Toxic Manastorm] still showed greater power whenpared to the time he used braided energy to power it. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Though he admired the power it now showed while taking less energy from him, the young man''s thoughts were still stuck on the fact that infusing the Wind element into the skill seemed to not work.


    Scratching the back of his head as he wondered why, Valyr waited for the skill to be off cooldown before proceeding to conjure it once more.


    This time around, rather than infuse the Wind element into [Toxic Manastorm], the young man decided to infuse the Water element in the hopes of that the properties of both element and skill would match.


    Unfortunately, simr to his attempt with the Wind element, the skill did not ept the element at all, continuing to rain down its azure droplets of destruction to the ground.


    Watching the azure droplets touch the ground once more, a feeling of slight exasperation welled up within Valyr, even though it had only been a few minutes since he began retrofitting his skills.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he then thought back to what he had done with [Arcane Shadow Bolt] before,paring it to his current attempts with [Toxic Manastorm].


    In his mind, he considered the previous [Arcane Shadow Bolt] to be a flexible skill, having the ability to ept any type of element he infused into it.


    On the other hand, with how things were looking, [Toxic Manastorm] was shaping up to be a skill that could only be infused with one element.


    ''Perhaps it won''t even allow me to infuse an element into it at all,'' thought the young man to himself sometimeter, only for him to shake his head at the thought.


    After all, he had not yet obtained any confirmation from the system that it was the case.


    Giving himself a bit of time to instill the thought that there were two possibilities to how his retrofitting would go, Valyr continued with his attempts at infusing [Toxic Manastorm] with an element.


    Whoosh!


    Manifesting the Azure Sign above his palm yet again, Valyr activated the skill without much dy, immediately sensing the opportunity the skill gave him to infuse an element into it.


    Having already chosen Wind and Water before, the young man decided to choose Fire this time around, somewhat unsure as to whether it would work.


    Though, just as he had infused the element into the skill, [Toxic Manastorm] immediately underwent a massive change, prompting him to widen his eyes in slight disbelief.


    Screech!!!


    As the azure cloud above gained hints of fiery red here and there, Valyr noticed that the droplets raining down from the cloud resembled phoenixes in shape.


    Then, once these droplets touched the ground, they generated a small circle of azure mes around them that began to linger, transforming the area upied by the cloud into a field of azure mes.


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever-familiar sound echo in his mind, Valyr felt both excitement and relief as he continued to watch the azure cloud wreak havoc on an area near both him and Sellifer.


    ncing at Sellifer to see what her reaction was, the young man inwardly let out a chuckle as he noticed that a look of surprise covered the woman''s face.


    Dispelling the skill after feeling like he had seen enough of its new effects, Valyr went ahead and brought up a notification screen to his side, reading its contents before beginning to conjure yet another [Toxic Manastorm].


    [Due to your actions, the technique ''Toxic Manastorm'' under the skill ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style'' has changed to ''Azure Phoenix''s Lament''.]


    ''[Azure Phoenix''s Lament], huh¡­'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as a faint smirk crept up the edges of his lips.


    Whoosh!


    Sending down the skill onest time, Valyr proceeded to infuse the skill with the element of Earth, only for the skill to end up looking like the attempts that preceded the only sessful one.


    "Better to be safe than sorry." Now more than confirming that there were two possible paths his skills could take after being retrofitted with Azure Energy, the young man psyched himself up as he began to make his way through the remaining techniques under [Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style].


    Being the third technique under the skill, [Arcane Domain of the Shadow Serpent] was something Valyr admitted to himself that he did not use that often.


    After all, with his status boosting skills running at maximum output, there wasn''t really any need for him to activate the skill anyway.


    Nevertheless, the young man retrofitted the skill, eventually finding out that the skill worked best with the Water element, its name changing into [Dominion of the Azure Turtle].


    After that, he moved onto [Arcane Fang of the Shadow Serpent], being reminded of the debuff it inflicted that boosted a skill''s damage by 50% as long as the skill was powered by Shadow Energy.


    Taking a few tries to do so, he figured out that the skill worked best with the Wind element, transforming into a set of azure ws that covered a farrger range than a single fang ever could.


    "[Azure Dragon''s w]!" shouted Valyr once more, finding delight in the fact that his hands could be used to control where and how the w struck.


    With four out of skills making up [Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style] now retrofitted, the young man eventually focused his sights on the technique that undoubtedly made the skill a staple of hisbat style.


    "[Consummatum Est]."


    Releasing Azure Energy out of his hands, Valyr began to infuse it into the skill''s ultimate technique, causing a small part of the barren ground to begin resembling the terrain of the Shadow ne.


    Watching the piece ofnd before him continue to resemble more and more of the Shadow ne, Valyr felt the skill call to him all of a sudden, asking him as to which element he wanted to infuse into it.


    Considering that he had yet to obtain a skill from sessfully infusing the Earth element into it, the young man decided to infuse the element into the ultimate technique.


    Rumble¡­


    In response to the infusion, thend that made up the Shadow ne began to rumble, only for the entire thing to reveal azure cracks all throughout its surface not long after.


    Eventually, the cracks on it had reached a tipping point, shattering the entire ce as an azure tiger took its ce and began to soar into the sky.


    Roar!


    At the moment the tiger let out a bestial roar, it was only then did the skill unleash all of its power, sending out an explosion that prompted Valyr to conjure a hasty mana barrier even with the distance that separated them.


    Ding!


    Though he heard a couple of notification sounds resound in his mind, Valyr took a while to register this fact as he still could not get over the level of power the ultimate technique contained after being infused with both Azure Energy and a specific element.


    "You''ve definitely lucked out from the Triad Gates on this one," said Sellifer as she looked at Valyr, also surprised that a skill unleashed by a peak Rank 3 ss holder could unleash that much power.


    Faintly smiling in response to her words, it was only then did Valyr take a look at his notification screen, noticing that the skill''s new name was a bit differentpared to those that came before it.


    [Due to your actions, the technique ''Consummatum Est'' under the skill ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style'' has changed to ''Four Paths Azure Zenith''.]


    [Due to your actions, the skill ''Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style'' and ''Intermediate Mana Magic Style'' have fused together to form a skill of Rare+ grade.]


    [The fused skill''s name is the ''Four Paths Azure Magic Arts''. The skill''s level has reverted to Level 1.]


    ''[Four Paths Azure Zenith]¡­''


    Going over this name in his head a couple of times, Valyr soon began to look at his notification screen with an expression of realization, a smile soon adorning his face.


    Waiting for it to go off cooldown, the young man went ahead and unleashed the ultimate technique once more the very moment he could do so.


    Though, rather than infuse the Earth element into it yet again.


    He decided to infuse the Fire element into it this time around.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]!"


    "[Four Paths Azure Zenith]!"


    Screech!!!

 Chapter 841 Four Pillars: Skill Overhaul (4)

    841 Four Pirs: Skill Overhaul (4)


    At the very moment the skill epted the Fire element, a grin briefly shed on the young man''s face, feeling immense delight from the confirmation.


    After all, an ultimate technique that could take on multiple variations was obviously far more dangerouspared to one that did not.


    Watching as a part of the barren ground resembled the terrain of the Shadow ne yet again, the young man witnessed it crack once more as arge azure phoenix began to soar into the skies.


    Screech!!!


    Letting out a cry simr to the tiger, the azure phoenix soon rained down a storm of mes around where the skill activated, giving the ultimate technique an encore of sorts.


    More than satisfied with the fact that the ultimate technique of the newly changed [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts] was as flexible as its first technique in terms of elemental infusion, the young man swiftly moved onto the other skills making up his arsenal.


    Of course, only the active skills under his belt were the ones retrofitted to make use of Azure Energy, considering that he needed to infuse the energy into the skill first for it to begin changing.


    However, there were still a couple of passive skills that surprisingly changed in the midst of his retrofitting.


    One of them being [Shadow Eye]. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Ding!


    [Due to your actions, the skill ''Shadow Eye'' has changed to ''Azure Eye''.]


    As he obtained this notification from the system, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he wondered why a passive skill that merely connected him to the Shadow ne would transform out of nowhere.


    Though, as he focused on this thought, it was there that the young man obtained his answer.


    Unexpectedly, the skill transforming to [Azure Eye] made him feel like his connection with the Shadow ne had be stronger, allowing him to obtain far more Shadow Energy from the ne than he previously could.


    And since he could obtain far more Shadow Energy at once, that meant that he could generate more Azure Energy at once, thereby increasing the speed at which he unleashed his skills.


    Feeling like he had lucked out for some reason, the young man began to wonder what changes the skill would undergo if he were to upgrade his Shadow Energy to its next form.


    10:06


    At the same time, he wondered what kind of changes improving his Azure Energy would bring to the skill, seeing that it now upied a section itself.


    Nevertheless, that small side quest did not stop the young man frompleting his initial goal of retrofitting all of the skills he could to make use of his newly obtained energy.


    With how much experience he had rued in the past two years, it only took the young man two months to go through all of his skills, feeling like hisbat prowess had gone up by a notch once more.


    After he had transformed [Arcane Shadow Serpent Magic Style] to the [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts], Valyr moved onto the skill under the Arcane Shadow Serpent series that tackle his attacks with the spear.


    Unsurprisingly, most of the techniques under this skill preferred a specific element just like the other techniques, with the only exception to it being [Cataclysm of the Dark Arcanum].


    With it acting simrly to [Four Paths Azure Zenith] in terms of elemental infusion, it was no surprise that the skill had obtained a simr name, taking on the name [Four Paths Azure Ruination].


    Seeing that the changed skill transformed part of thend before him into a piece of the Shadow ne, Valyr was reminded of the other ultimate technique.


    Only for that to all change as the ground upied by the skill turned a deep azure.


    With him infusing the skill with the Wind element, the ground soon transformed into a myriad of azure dragons, all of them lunging towards a specific spot in that upied space.


    As he watched this transformed skill unfold, Valyr was once more reminded of his fight against Dawan and Daon, wondering if these transformed skills would have evened out the stakes between both sides.


    Naturally, it would.


    But once again, the two had Myth-level strength.


    Seeing [Arcane Shadow Serpent Combat Style] transform into the [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts], Valyr moved onto the final skill under the Arcane Shadow Serpent series, [Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style].


    Unlike the first two skills that were also part of the series, [Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style] surprisingly had no techniques under its belt that was capable of epting all four elements.


    In fact, its techniques did not ept all four elements either, with three out of the four resulting in a failed change.


    It was only when the movement skills were infused with the Wind element did the skills sessfully change, prompting Valyr to shake his head as he wryly smiled.


    ''Of course. It would only make sense for a movement skill to make use of the fastest element out of the four.''


    And thus, [Arcane Shadow Serpent Movement Style] eventually became a thing of the past, being reced with the new and improved [Azure Dragon Movement Arts].


    Out of all the skills within the newly transformed skill, Valyr felt the greatest excitement when he witnessed [False Wings of the Shadow Wyvern] transform into its azure dragon counterpart, [Flight of the Azure Dragon].


    Whoosh!


    With him riding on top of an oriental dragon made out of his Azure Energy, the young man zoomed through the air at great speeds, changing directions every so often to the point that even birds would have difficulty following him.


    In the end, Valyr only stopped using the skill the moment it had run out of steam, taking far more time to do so than its previous version.


    As for the remaining skills making up his arsenal, most of them did not undergo the same change as the skills under the Arcane Shadow Serpent series did.


    Instead, all of them only improved in terms of potency and cost efficiency, keeping the name that they previously had.


    Then again, the skills Valyr had focusing on elemental maniption transformed simrly to the Arcane Shadow Serpent skills.


    However, unlike those skills, these skills transformed to take on the form of the specific beast of that element.


    Seeing that he had more or less retrofitted all of the skills he could under his belt with Azure Energy, Valyr soon let out a long sigh of relief as heid down on the ground.


    Now that the hard part was over¡­


    It was now time for him to return.


    "I must say¡­ with how much power your skills contain, I''m surprised you''re not of a higher ss rank."


    "Then again, you are a Zeihardt."


    Seeing Sellifer sit down beside him as she said those words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he continued toy down on the ground.


    "Just because I''m a Zeihardt doesn''t mean you can downy all of the effort I''ve put into getting where I am thus far," said the young man after some time, taking on a joking tone.


    "I''m not." Sellifer slowly shook her head. "If anything, it makes your effort all the more admiring. After all, most of the Zeihardts I knew coasted along the ranks with the inborn talents they were given."


    "In fact, I only know a handful of Zeihardts that have put in such levels of effort to aim for a higher peak."


    "Naturally, one of them is you."


    As the young man smiled at those words, the two continued to talk for a bit more, taking their mind off Azure Energy after having focused on it for the past two plus years.


    Eventually, Valyr sat upright as he patted off the dust on his back.


    Then, letting out a long exhale, he looked at Sellifer with an expression of gratitude. "I suppose this is the part where we say our goodbyes."


    "I suppose so," said Sellifer in response, giving the young man a bitter smile.


    Standing up, Valyr shed back a bitter smile of his own. "If I could, I would have liked to spend more time here to improve my Shadow Energy."


    "But even though you said it''ll feel like only a few days have passed for the others after staying here for over two years, I still can''t help but worry about the others."


    "You''re talking about the twopanions that apanied you, right?" asked Sellifer back, eliciting a nod from the young man in response.


    "If that''s the case, then you don''t need to worry too much." Hearing that, the woman decided to reassure the young man, though her words instead made Valyr feel confused.


    Seeing the confusion on his face, she exined, "Though we''ve spent over two years here, only a bit over a day has passed for them."


    "They''re worried as to where you''ve gone to, but they''re not too worried since they know your capabilities."


    Bang!


    Furrowing his brows in response, Valyr went ahead and opened up a rift back to the inheritance proper, only to be greeted by the sight of the sun at the peak of its trajectory.


    Seeing that, the young man''s eyes widened in disbelief, looking back at the woman behind him with multiple questions written all over his face.


    In response, Sellifer chuckled. "Trust in the abilities of a Lesser Goddess from the Azure River Pantheon."


    "Lesser Goddess¡­" muttered Valyr back, the gears in his mind turning as multiple things suddenly began to make sense to the young man.


    However, before he could say anything, Sellifer pushed him towards the rift.


    "Take these before you go."


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Sending out a few strands of Azure Energy in Valyr''s direction, the young man watched as one of them transformed into the weapon that allowed him to meet Sellifer in the first ce.


    As for the remaining strands, all of them made their way towards his head, instilling him with vast amounts of information that put Valyr on the verge of falling unconscious.


    Nevertheless, he forced himself not to sumb, looking back at Sellifer onest time.


    "Watch out for vertigo," said the woman to him as she nodded, only to send out another strand of Azure Energy onest time.


    Bang!


    And with that, the young man passed through the rift as he fell unconscious.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Suy ngh? c?a ng??i t?o

 Chapter 842 Four Pillars: Vertigo

    Chapter 842 Four Pirs: Vertigo


    "Ugh¡­"


    After regaining consciousness, the first thing Valyr felt was a headache that threatened to consume him, making him feel like it was bound to split into two at any point.


    Giving it the time it needed to gradually subside, the young man also noticed that he seemed to be clutching onto something with one of his hands, faintly reminding him of what had transpired just before he came to.


    ''I guess all of that wasn''t a lie,'' thought Valyr back to the time where he and Sellifer began to say their goodbyes, only for him to stop his train of thought as the headache surged back with greater force.


    Deciding that it was better for him to solve the problem of his headache for the meantime, the young man forced himself to stash the item Sellifer had given him into his spatial bracelet before focusing all of his attention towards the headache.


    Conjuring a ball of cold water to wrap around his forehead with his newly transformed [Azure Turtle Manifestation Arts], it was only then did Valyr finally feel a bit of relief, letting out a sigh as he proceeded to not think about anything tooplex for the time being.


    Of course, that did not stop the young man from looking around his surroundings, wondering where the rift he conjured ended up bringing him to.


    "A fair distance away from the camp," murmured Valyr to himself, frowning as a twinge of pain came from his mind at that moment.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to allow his mind to continue recovering, the young man soon noticed that he appeared on the rooftop of one of the buildings surrounding the true center of the city ruins.


    Seeing the barren spot at the true center now be truly barren after his talk with Vaughn, Valyr let out a long sigh as he decided to rest on the ground for a bit more.


    Staring at the sun that told him it was already afternoon due to its position, the young man closed his eyes and allowed the cold yet soothing sensation of water to envelop him.


    Surprisingly, it was only a couple of hourster did the headache subside to what Valyr felt was a tolerable level for him to handle.


    Sure, the headache still had a ways to go before it truly disappeared, but the young man felt like its effects at the moment would not hamper him from doing anything he usually did.


    With that, he dispelled the water he conjured before impulsively casting an [Advanced Heal] on himself.


    Powered with his newly obtained Azure Energy, the parts of the skill that Valyr wanted to take effect were greatly amplified, reducing the effects of the headache to where it was now negligible.


    "Would still prefer taking a painkiller," said the young man with a slight chuckle, keeping in mind how much Azure Energy each skill cost to activate.


    "In any case, my idea of preparing more skills before entering the inheritance has finally shown its worth."


    Standing up as he thought of heading back to the temporary he and the others created, Valyr immediately felt a strong sense of vertigo wash over him.


    Being forced to sit back down, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he recalled what Sellifer had told him.


    ''Watch out for vertigo.'' As this statement came to mind, the young man slightly frowned as it meant that she was already expecting him to experience this in the first ce.


    Fortunately, a bit of rummaging through the information Sellifer had given him near their farewell was more than enough for him to find his answers.


    Though, once he did so, a bitter smile appeared on his face.


    ''I guess I took a bit more than I could chew with my current ss rank.''


    ording to the information Sellifer gave him, if there was a great level of incongruence in the flow of time between the ce one is in and the ce one originally came from, one would experience an extreme case of vertigo.


    For those who have yet to ascend to Rank 1, the maximum ratio they could tolerate was two weeks being equivalent to a day, the same ratio existed between Veldanyr and the inheritance.


    Then, as one proceeded up the ranks, one''s body would be able to tolerate greater and greater ratios, with those at Rank 3 already being able to handle a couple of years'' worth of time crammed into a day.


    Bringing up his status screen to see how much time had passed since he left Hal and Vera to head to the Gates of Awakening, Valyr was surprised to find out that only over half a day had passed since then.


    With him spending a month in the Realm of Myriad Experiences taking up a few hours from that half day, that meant that the two plus years he''d spent with Sellifer was crammed into the remaining time he was gone.


    Taking into consideration that there was also the time difference between the inheritance and Veldanyr¡­


    ''I am definitely going to fall unconscious once I''m back,'' thought the young man to himself with a shudder,ing to the conclusion that he had effectively spent over a few decades'' worth of time in a day after doing the math in his head.


    Casting [Advanced Heal] a few more times on himself, it was only then did Valyr begin his trek back to the temporary camp, deciding to leave the matter of the Azure Serpent Staff for the meantime.


    Instead, he decided to delve deep into his thoughts for the meantime, keeping in mind that he had gained a ton of information from hisst conversation with Sellifer.


    Not to mention the influx of memories the woman had given him just before he went through the rift.


    "To think she''s a Lesser Goddess¡­" Activating [Flight of the Azure Dragon] to speed things up, Valyr stepped onto an azure dragon before soaring to the skies.


    For one to be called a Lesser Goddess or a Lesser Deity, then that meant that one would have to fulfill two criteria.


    The first one was to ascend to the Divine level, with one only being considered to have the strength of a Lesser Deity after they had ascended to Rank 12.


    As for the second one, they would have to be a part of a pantheon recognized by the universe, whether it be self-made or made by another person.


    Realizing that Sellifer was a Divine-level being just like Vaughn, the young man felt cold all of a sudden, understanding then and there that the power Sellifer showed him during the time they spent did not even cover the tip of the iceberg.


    If anything, he felt that even the tip of the tip of the iceberg was too big to epass the amount of power Sellifer showed him.


    Saving his thoughts on her full power for some other time, Valyr soon focused his thoughts onto another topic that involved those at the Divine-level. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Did she ascend to the Divine level just recently¡­ or did she ascend sometime ago?''


    From what he saw back then regarding Sellifer''s journey to discovering Azure Energy, Valyr noticed that the Veldanyr he saw during that time was vastly different to the Veldanyr he was seeing now.


    Of course, there were still a few areas that looked as bustling as the Algerie Kingdom he was currently in, but there was something to Sellifer''s Veldanyr that only his treasure trove of memories and his cksmithing experience could probably notice.


    ''Quite a lot of the technology in ce nowadays hasn''t been invented yet.''


    Though he didn''t know how long it took the human race to get their technology up to this point, Valyr surmised that Sellifer was born either around the start of the Age of Innovation, or a few thousands to tens of thousands of years before the current time.


    ''It doesn''t make a lot of sense for her to have been born during the Age of Uprising, even if it was near the end of it,'' the young man said to himself.


    Aside from that, he recalled Sellifer''sment on Noel after he had brought him up.


    ''ording to her, the two saw each other a few decades ago¡­ which doesn''t really change anything now that I think about it.''


    In the end, Valyr surmised that she had reached the Divine level quite sometime ago, considering that even a peak Myth-level being would not be able to live as long as she already had.


    "Ah. Finally back."


    Having subconsciously decided to zoom around the center of the city ruins for a while as he gathered his thoughts, Valyr soon alighted on the rooftop where their temporary camp was, feeling a great sense of relief wash over his body the moment he stepped foot.


    Seeing that Hal and Vera weren''t around in the meantime, the young man decided to head down for a while to see how his newly improved skills stacked up against the feral humans.


    Unfortunately, before he could even do so¡­


    "Valyr¡­?"


    "Is that really you, Valyr?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 843 Four Pillars: Mind Games

    Chapter 843 Four Pirs: Mind Games


    "Man¡­ now you''re making it sound like I''ve gone on a long journey. It''s only been half a day since I disappeared, no?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Hearing Hal ask that question, Valyr let out a bit ofughter to lighten the mood as he looked at the two in detail.


    With how the three of them were dead set on killing the feral humans to improve the authority within the Gates of Awakening, it went without saying that the two before him had done the same thing as well.


    With that, the two looked haggard, if not a bit worse for wear.


    Nevertheless, from the aura they were exuding, as well as the calm expressions that adorned their faces, the young man was certain that they were fine.


    "Imagine heading to your tent to get some rest for the night, only to find out that one of the people in your group disappeared all of a sudden," said Hal in response to Valyr''s words as he frowned.


    "Of course, our initial thought was that you woke up early to fight against more of the feral humans to increase your authority," said Vera as she continued where Hal left off.


    "But then we didn''t find any of your traces in the vicinity whatsoever," Hal told Valyr after that, his face now containing a hint of concern. "So, we continued looking."


    "We know that you''re the strongest out of all of us, but there''s so much that one person can do before even they begin faltering."


    "In the end, after we scoured the center the entire morning to look for your whereabouts, we eventually returned to fighting against the feral humans."


    "You might think we had no regard for you after doing that, but we could say the same for you leaving us out of nowhere." Vera shook her head as she looked at Valyr with concern. "In any case, we were more than sure that you wouldn''t sumb to the feral humans. If anything, you''d just leave the inheritance if worst came to worst."


    Listening to the two talk about how they scoured the entire center of the city ruins whilst he was attempting to obtain Azure Energy, it would be a lie if Valyr said that he didn''t feel guilty.


    "I apologize." With that, the young man profusely apologized to the two.


    He apologized for the fact that he had basically led the two on a fruitless wild goose chase for him.


    But at the same time, he also inwardly apologized to the two that he would have to continue keeping many things about the inheritance a secret from them.


    Whether it was the denizens of Ecalos or his conversation with Vaughn regarding Hal and Vera''s inability to enter the Gates of Transcendence, though he was certain that the two would react after he shared such information, he was also certain that they would forgive him for it.


    Then again, he couldn''t be sure if the same thing could be said once they all went their separate ways after the inheritance, considering that they all initially entered the inheritance as strangers.


    If Valyr were to specify how deep their rtionships went, then it would be that ofrades born out of necessity.


    To survive the difficult quest that was the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    But of course, that wouldn''t stop him from treating them like they were his good friends, especially with how well they''ve treated him so far.


    As he thought about it a bit more, Valyr wondered if he was just being a bit too paranoid, thinking that the information he kept a secret would probably have no impact once it was shared back outside.


    Yet at the same time, he also thought that there was the possibility of the shared information backfiring on him in the end, no matter how useless it seemed on the surface.


    ''Ignorance truly is bliss,'' thought Valyr to himself as he looked at the duo clueless to the myriad thoughts ravaging his mind.


    At that moment, it was only then did he realize that his perception of the world had already shifted so many times, all of it thanks to what he''d experienced in the inheritance thus far.


    Inwardly taking in a deep breath topose himself, he then asked the two as to how much progress they''ve made after they''ve decided to stop looking for him.


    In response, Hal and Vera looked at Valyr with smug grins, letting what had transpired be bygones as they boasted their new authority levels.


    However, not long after, their expressions turned glum as they told him that they''d received the quest they were waiting to receive after getting a high enough authority.


    But rather than the quest giving them ess to the Gates of Transcendence, the two instead obtained a quest that gave them an opportunity to enter a building within the Gates of Awakening called the Hall of Legends and Myths.


    "The quest we received also told us that only one person could be chosen to enter the Gates of Transcendence and that they''ve already been picked." As Hal said these words, the schr went silent for a bit as the gears in his mind began to turn.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Feeling as if he''d put two and two together, he looked at the young man in front of him with a hint of surprise. "While we were looking for you, did you already enter the Gates of Transcendence?"


    Hearing Hal''s words, Valyr looked at him dumbfounded as the gears in his mind began to madly turn.


    Then, with a hard shake of his head, the excuse he hade up with sprung into action.


    "Pfft. As if."


    After saying those words, Valyr exined that he had actually obtained the same quest as them, as well as an additional quest that he needed toplete if he wanted to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    With that, he showed them the original quest he had gotten from killing the feral humans that was almostplete, exining that it was the part of the reason why they couldn''t find him for the past half day.


    Unsurprisingly, Hal and Vera eventually asked the young man as to who the quest was talking about when it mentioned The One Left Behind.


    In response, he told them that it was an identity he had onlye to know from entering the Hall of Legends and Myths, only to soon hype up the ce to the two on how it contained a great number of inheritances they could inherit for themselves.


    While on the topic of the inheritances, he showed them the braided energy he created that was the predecessor of his Azure Sign, causing the two topletely forget about their earlier question as they looked at the energy Valyr conjured in awe.


    "Have you¡­ have you tried this out on the feral humans yet?" asked Hal as he let out a slight exhale, sensing the great force contained within the energy.


    Valyr shook his head in response. "I just came back, so I didn''t have the chance to."


    Hearing those words, Hal and Vera looked at each other for a bit before nodding.


    "Wanna try it out while wee with you, then?" asked Vera as the two looked back at Valyr, their eyes faintly glistening in expectation.


    In response, the young man looked at the two at a slight loss for words, only for a wide grin to adorn his face soon after.


    "But of course."


    "Prepare to be amazed."

 Chapter 844 Four Pillars: Dauntless Power

    Chapter 844 Four Pirs: Dauntless Power


    After giving both Hal and Vera time to refuel and get some rest, the trio made their way down the building housing their temporary camp.


    Along the way, the two told Valyr about the few quirks they began to notice among the feral humans, prompting thetter to perk up his ears as they began to head a bit deeper into the city ruins.


    "The quirk doesn''t really matter that much as to whether it affects killing efficiency or not," said Hal with a slight shrug. "However, when I realized what was going on, it reminded me of the primitive humans we fought against back at the quadrants."


    Hearing those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "I''m assuming these feral humans have various fighting styles, then?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "They do." Vera nodded. "But that''s all it extends to. Whether or not they use magic or physical attacks inbat doesn''t affect the way you kill them unlike the primitive humanoids."


    "Then again, we havee across some feral humans that have been a pain to defeat, especially if you consider the fact that they''veprehended proper Intents," Hal said not long after, to which Vera nodded in agreement.


    With that, the two talked about the feral humans they''vee across with peculiar styles, such as one that seemed to have mastered most weapon styles to ever exist on Veldanyr.


    With an Intent that allowed it to smoothly transition between the various styles, Hal took a long time to finally end that feral human''s life, having to push both his Intent of the de and his de skills to the furthest they could go in order to do so.


    In Vera''s case, her bane was a feral human that seemed to have mastered a magic art that nullified most of the things she did to help Hal out inbat.


    Of course, she imed that it was more of a nuisance rather than an actual bane, considering how changing herbat style allowed her to swiftly defeat the feral human for good.


    "I''m guessing you guys are close topleting the quest, then," said Valyr after they were done exining, recalling the quest they''ve obtained from the system.


    Knowing fully well that most of what the two were receiving had something to do with Vaughn, Valyr faintly smiled as the two brought up their quest screens once more, seeing the multiple rewards the man had attached to them.


    "We nned on taking a quick break before making the final push for the quest rewards," Hal told Valyr, only to let out a bit ofughter soon after. "Then, lo and behold, we met you just as we returned to the temporary camp."


    With Valyr letting outughter of his own in response, the three continued to head a bit deeper into the city ruins, eventually stopping at an area that allowed more feral humans to congregate in one spot than normal.


    Finding a suitable nearby building to turn into their temporary base, the three swiftly made their way up to its rooftop.


    Once there, the three moved to the edge of the building that allowed them to see the feral humans in greater detail, only for Hal and Vera to look at Valyr soon after with knowing smiles.


    "It''s your time to shine," said Hal with an amused chuckle.


    "Show us everything you''ve gotten from that inheritance." Vera followed up, letting out a chuckle of her own as well.


    "Don''t get your hopes up too much," replied Valyr as heughed.


    "But I won''t disappoint them either!"


    Whoosh!


    Jumping off the building, Valyr took in a deep breath in midair as he swiftly found out a spot that would allow him to fight against the most feral humans at once.


    "[Azure Dragon Movement Arts]."


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Fwoosh!


    Summoning the Azure Energy within his body, Valyr''s body soon resembled the hazy outline of an azure dragon as he arrived at the spot he found in less than an instant.


    Bang!


    With the speed and momentum he had generated from the movement, the ground surrounding him faintly rumbled, eliciting the attention of the feral humans nearby.


    "Graahh!!!"


    "Raagghh!!!"


    Unsurprisingly, the sight of an actual human caused the feral humans nearby to go into a frenzy as most of them began to charge towards Valyr.


    In response to that, the young man activated [Limit Break: Second Verse], bolstering all of his stats by a certain degree.


    Then, mming his palms to the ground, he activated [Refined Mana Barrier], imbuing it with the element of Earth as he powered it with Azure Energy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    With the sturdy nature of Earth as well as the inherent power contained within the Azure Sign, it went without saying that the barrier remained standing even after multiple feral humans began to strike it.


    Taking the opportunity to sneak a nce at the two, Valyr slightly grinned when he saw how his dominant power left the two at a loss for words.


    Then again, he was as shocked as them when he found out how powerful Azure Energy truly was when used inbat.


    ''Well, Sellifer didn''t gain all those titles for nothing,'' thought the young man to himself in amusement, raising one of his hands to the air as he conjured a bunch of braided energy.


    Then, in front of the duo''s eyes, Valyr gradually transformed the braided energy into the Azure Sign, allowing its inherent power to spread throughout the area as he sent it flying into the skies.


    Infusing the Fire element into it, he then swung his raised hand downward, only for azure phoenixes to begin raining down from the sky.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]!"


    Screech!!!


    Apanied by a loud screech, the azure phoenixes soon crashed down onto the feral humans, removing a great chunk of HP from the feral humans as azure mes began to scatter across the ground.


    Within seconds, the vicinity surrounding Valyr transformed into a field of azure mes as azure phoenixes continued to rain down from above.


    Eventually, some of the feral humans began to sumb from both the phoenixes above and the mes below, prompting the young man to begin hearing notification sounds echo throughout his mind yet again.


    Though, with how he''d only unleashed a singlebat skill so far¡­


    Valyr understood that his killing spree was just beginning.

 Chapter 845 Four Pillars: Valyr Reborn

    Chapter 845 Four Pirs: Valyr Reborn


    "Holy fuck¡­"


    Watching Valyr fight against the feral humans from afar with his newly obtained powers, Hal and Vera were both left at a loss for words from what they were seeing.


    Even though there were more feral humans surrounding him, the young man fought against them as if everything was choreographed from the start.


    In fact, the number of feral humans that charged towards him was far greater than what even Hal and Vera had experienced thus far. Yet, the young man still acted with rtive ease, casting a barrier to block their attacks before sending out an attack of his own that set the whole area aze.


    Witnessing the azure mes gradually engulf Valyr''s opposition, Hal sucked in a breath of cold air before ncing at the young woman beside him.


    Of course, just like him, Vera was left at a loss for words.


    In their minds, they could not understand how disappearing for half a day could allow someone to get that strong.


    Though, as they thought about it, the two eventually looked at each other, asking themselves whether they had really seen the man go all out.


    Talking about it between themselves as they spared nces at Valyr every once in a while, the two came to the conclusion that they haven''t really seen much of the young man''s prowess within the inheritance.


    They could recall him fighting against their first aberration, showing to the group that his status as the leader was not without reason.


    There was also the fight against that one quadrant leader, showing the level of ingenuity Valyr had as a cksmith through the items he forged.


    Recalling both of those instances, the two had no doubts in regards to the young man''s capabilities. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    They also held no doubt that the strength the young manmanded was undoubtedly awe-inspiring, instilling anyone with the courage to keep fighting, especially if he were to go all out.


    After all, who wouldn''t want a leader that was not only strong enough to protect them, but also ingenious enough to seemingly turn a situation around for the better?


    But whenpared to the extreme one-sided ughter that was happening before them, the two could not help but begin to feel a hint of fear.


    In their eyes, the strength Valyr showed had now gone past the level of awe-inspiring and into the level of terrifying.


    Of course, they were sure that Valyr wouldn''t use it on them. He had no reason to do so.


    They were also sure that Valyr would only use that power for the sake of the greater good.


    Yet the sheer tyranny and dominance Valyr was exhibiting so far subconsciously made them think otherwise, making them slightly fear for their lives.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Hal eventually returned his sights to the battle as he spoke. "Out of all the peers I''ve met thus far¡­ I can say without a doubt that Valyr stands above the rest in terms of strength."


    "Add in the fact that he''s a more than talented cksmith¡­ just thinking about it gives me chills."


    "Considering how I''ve known Valyr at the beginning of his journey, I''m truly d that he''s arrived at this point," said Vera, mentioning offhandedly to Hal that she met the young man in a faraway vige.


    Not long after, a wry smile adorned her face. "I just hope he doesn''t get too drunk on their power."


    Talking about Valyr''s dominance against the feral humans a bit more, the fears the two had towards the young man''s strength eventually began to disappear.


    In exchange, feelings of motivation and determination began to awaken deep within them, instilling them with the drive necessary to keep aiming towards a higher peak.


    And with how the young man before them had gone an incredible change in just half a day, the two already knew what they needed to do if they wanted to achieve the same thing, recalling what the young man had told them before.


    ''The Hall of Legends and Myths¡­'' thought the two before ncing at one another.


    Then, with firm expressions, they returned their attentions back on the battlefield below, their minds already nning what they would do soon after.


    ¡­


    "Well¡­ that went better than I expected."


    Staring at the numerous corpses strewn about the vicinity, Valyr had a satisfied expression on his face as he slowly made his way back where the two were watching.


    At the same time, he thought about the skills he had unleashed during the fight, noting how theypared to their previous versions.


    Naturally, it went without saying that the skills transformed by Azure Energy had more power behind them, allowing him to kill more feral humans in the same amount of time.


    Then again, the changes brought about by Azure Energy prompted him to make use of the other skills he didn''t use often, such as the previous [Arcane Shadow Bolt].


    Now taking on the name [Four Paths Azure Bolt], Valyr found the skill to act as a good way to control the number of feral humans charging at him while dealing good damage at the same time.


    He had also used [Azure Dragon''s w] once during his skirmish against the feral humans, leaving him wide-eyed as he watched a bunch of feral humans being flung into the various buildings in the vicinity from the strike.


    Then again, out of all the skills that took him aback, most of them were from the techniques from [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts].


    Previously known as [Descent of the Dark Arcane Fang], [Talons of the Azure Phoenix] transformed from a single-target skill into a skill that affected a small area around it.


    The moment the skill connected with the feral human he targeted, a ring of azure mes burst out of the feral human, sending those he deemed his enemies a few meters back.


    On the other hand, [Strike of the Lightless Arcane], which was now known as [Azure Dragon''s Tempest], sent out a gust of azure wind in a conical shape as the young man struck out.


    In response, it was as if the feral humans parted way to make a path before the young man.


    Yet, judging from the pained and ferocious expressions on their faces after the attack struck out, Valyr knew that the feral humans had not done so out of their own ord.


    "I wonder what would happen if I were to use [Stampede of the Azure Tiger] on the feral humans?" asked the young man to himself, grinning as he did so.


    "Well, I''ll get to find that out for myself sooner orter."

 Chapter 846 Four Pillars: Dwelling in Ones Thoughts

    Chapter 846 Four Pirs: Dwelling in One''s Thoughts


    Arriving at the rooftop where Hal and Vera were watching him fight from afar, Valyr had a faint grin on his face as the two looked at him with surprised expressions.


    Moving closer to the young man, Hal took in a deep breath before asking the former a question. "Did you really obtain that much power from that inheritance you entered?"


    Whoosh! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    In response, Valyr conjured the Azure Sign once more as he extended one of his hands outward, reminding both Hal and Vera of the imposing energy that fought against the feral humans earlier.


    "It took a while to get to this point," replied the young man, nodding not long after. "But I do have admit that it was all thanks to the inheritance I could get this far."


    Dispelling the Azure Sign, he then willed both his Shadow Energy and mana to appear on his extended hand.


    Imposing his will for the two to intertwine, he then infused both the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy and the Four Elements, causing the power it contained to approach near what the Azure Sign exuded.


    "For a long time, it was like this," Valyr told the two, taking note of the engrossed expressions on their faces.


    After that, he removed the energy of the Intent Seeds from the braided energy, only to then separate them not long after.


    With both Shadow Energy and mana now separated, Valyr felt that the power both energies currently contained was greater than what it contained before he spent over two years with Sellifer on the barren grounds.


    Nevertheless, even in their strengthened form, it allowed Hal and Vera to obtain a clear idea of how much the inheritance had helped Valyr out, especially when it came to the power his energy controlled.


    Dispelling both Shadow Energy and mana, he then conjured the Azure Sign once more, prompting the expressions on their faces to change into that of determination.


    "Alright, I''ve made up my mind." After silence covered the trio for a while after Valyr''s energy showcase was over, Hal let out a long exhale as he looked at the young man.


    In response, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity before shifting his gaze towards Vera, noticing that her expression more or less told the same thing Hal said just now.


    "Best of luck, then." Already understanding that the two had set their sights on obtaining an inheritance from the Hall of Legends and Myths, Valyr smiled at the two, thinking back to the additional rewards Vaughn had attached to their respective quests.


    ''I have no clue whether someone else should''ve entered the Gates of Transcendence in the first ce, but I hope this won''t stop them from bing the Four Deities of Production in this timeline,'' thought Valyr to himself, being reminded of the multiple changes his actions had already brought to the current timeline.


    Nevertheless, that did not mean that he would stop pursuing the path he''d already taken, especially with the final threat still looming.


    Bidding the two farewell as they headed off to fight against the feral humans themselves, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief the very moment he was certain the two were far from him.


    "Thank the heavens it all worked out in the end," said the young man to himself, feeling as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.


    Of course, this all stemmed from the conversation the three had regarding his disappearance.


    If not for the fact that he had seen the quest Vaughn had given the two, Valyr was certain that he would kept a lot more things a secret from the two even after they left the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Fortunately, now that he was somewhat able toe clean in front of the two regarding his recent gains, the young man felt less guilty hiding the other pieces of information he still nned on keeping a secret from the others.


    ''They don''t hold much importance in the grand scheme of things anyway,'' thought the young man to himself. ''Though, I''m quite sure Mystia would be more than interested to hear me out considering her background.''


    ''Speaking of Mystia¡­''


    Whoosh!


    Being reminded of Vera''s mentor that gave him information and items during that one auction, the young man released a strand of white energy covered in various arrays of light, taking note of how ethereal it felt.


    Recalling the things Vera had told him at the beginning of their journey into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Valyr began to move the strand of Mystic Energy around him, familiarizing himself with the sensation it gave him.


    "Mystic Energy¡­" the young man muttered to himself at some point. "I should pay a visit to the Mystic ne at some point."


    "But of course, I''ll have to pay a visit to Mystia before that¡­ whenever that time may be."


    Dispelling the Mystic Energy he had just conjured, Valyr soon shifted his thoughts towards the gains he had obtained from fighting against the feral humans.


    Opening up his notification screen, it went without saying that he had gained a lot of XP from fighting against the feral humans.


    ''I feel like I have over 4 billion XP I could use at this point,'' inwardly muttered the young man after doing a bit of calction, faintly shuddering at the amount he had ess to.


    Wondering how far 4 billion XP would take him in terms of skills and levels for a brief moment, the young man eventually found the notifications he was looking for.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (4).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Awakening has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 10.]


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (4).]


    [Your authority level within the Gates of Awakening has been increased by one. Your current authority level is now Level 11.]


    ''Huh.'' Seeing that his authority within the Gates of Awakening was now Level 11, Valyr briefly thought about how much time he took to fight against the feral humans earlier.


    "Scary." Realizing that it only took him around half an hour or so to kill less than a hundred feral humans with his newfound powers, the young man looked at his hands for a bit, shaking his head a bit as he thought about the power they contained.


    Seeing that there were no other notifications of note on his screen, Valyr soon closed the screen brought up before deciding to look through the influx of information Sellifer had given him before he left.


    ''I''m sure it''ll be information I''ll make great use of.''


    Beginning his introspection, Valyr closed his eyes and eventually arrived at the depths of his mind, finding out that the information Sellifer had given him was split into two packets.


    Surprisingly, the first one detailed the memories he had seen with her in greater detail, even going so far as to continue where the memory left off. It also contained the path of the Azure Serpent that he had inherited, specifically the stages that came after the Azure Sign.


    Though, what really surprised Valyr was the second packet of information he had obtained from Sellifer.


    Because unlike the first one that contained information Valyr could only make use ofter on, this one contained information he could benefit greatly from if he were to use it right now.


    After all, from what he could infer...


    The second packet contained the essence of Sellifer''s Force.

 Chapter 847 Four Pillars: Two Packets of Information

    Chapter 847 Four Pirs: Two Packets of Information


    "What the¡­" After getting an idea on the second packet of information Sellifer gave him before they parted ways, Valyr was left at a loss for words.


    Shaking his head for a bit to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating, the young man focused his attention on it once more as he began to rummage through his treasure trove of memories.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to find the information he wanted, a slight frown appearing on his face as he glossed over the second category once more.


    "I have a good idea of what Sellifer is trying to aim to do with this thing," muttered Valyr to himself, somewhat thankful for the fact that Hal and Vera were far away from him at the moment.


    Continuing to think about the information he had pulled up, the young man soon shook his head with a wry smile. "I guess she also thought that I would have high chances of seeding in the end."


    Though Valyr had a good amount of knowledge on the matter thanks to his experiences from his previous life, what Sellifer aimed to do with the information she gave Valyr was something that was incredibly hard toe by.


    Being known by multiple names across multiple civilizations, what she was aiming to do was generally known throughout the universe as Concept Impartation.


    From the name itself, one would take theprehension of their concept and separate the purest parts away from it for someone else toprehend.


    Of course, there were multiple criteria both sides would have to fulfill in order for the impartation to be sessful.


    For one, both sides had to have simrprehensions in terms of concepts. If anything, the only difference would be the depth and rity of theirprehension.


    With how both Sellifer and Valyr were both delving the path of Azure Energy, the two of them satisfied this criterion without a problem.


    Aside from that, the one doing the impartation must be willing to impart theirprehension to the recipient in the first ce, considering that they were basically cutting a chunk of theirprehension off in the process.


    Naturally, this criterion had also been fulfilled by the two, with Sellifer giving the young man the understandings she hadprehended out of her own ord.


    As for the final criterion, that wouldnd on the side of the recipient where they needed to have a mental fortitude strong enough to withstand the entire process.


    After all, even though the one giving away theirprehension would make sure that the information they gave was free of any personal bias, there were still times where a few tidbits would sneak in.


    In that scenario, those tidbits would try to force themselves unto the recipient''s understanding, possibly making the recipient''s current understanding take a turn for the worse. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Because of that, Concept Impartation was rarely done throughout the universe.


    Even though the minimum requirement for one to start imparting their pure concepts onto others was to be a Myth-level being, many beings only chose to take such actions as ast resort.


    With that, Sellifer deciding to impart her own concepts onto Valyr had definitely caught thetter off guard.


    ''I wonder what spurred her to make this decision?'' thought the young man to himself, deciding to set it aside for the meantime as he looked through the first packet of information in greater detail.


    Having taken a cursory nce earlier, Valyr already knew what he was getting into now that he was going through the information in greater depth.


    Faintly adorning a smile on his face, the young manmitted all of the information he got from Sellifer to memory, especially those talking about the stages of Azure Energy.


    In fact, she had even attached detailed information on the Azure Sign and Azure Echo stage, prompting the young man to wonder how she''d gotten to such a level of detail in such a short time.


    Aside from that, the first packet also contained the memory he viewed alongside Sellifer, causing him to recall all of thements she''d made during the time they watched it.


    Though, rather than stop after parting ways with the Serpent Maiden, the memory surprisingly continued after Sellifer entered the temple to fix the method the Serpent Maiden had given her.


    Watching it all unfold from a bystander''s perspective, the young man witnessed Sellifer bring her Azure Energy up to the Azure Wisp stage, only to use it soon after toplete the method of atavism she''d been given.


    "Wow¡­" Witnessing Sellifer undergo atavism through the memory, the young man was left at a loss for words after seeing the woman transform into arge azure serpent before his very eyes.


    Sensing the strong aura of mana and Shadow Energy emanating from the woman''s body the moment she seeded in her atavism, Valyr was soon caught off guard after sensing an influx of information enter his mind all of a sudden.


    Briefly focusing his attention on the new piece of information he received, the young man''s eyes widened in surprise, especially after he''d realized that the information contained methods on how a human could achieve atavism as well.


    ''I''ll have to take a look through everything in greater detail sometimeter,'' Valyr inwardly muttered to himself, getting the feeling that there might be more he could uncover from the first type of information Sellifer sent him.


    Feeling like he had gone through enough of the first packet, the young man eventually set his sights on the second packet.


    Though, after mulling over it for a bit, the young man decided to head back to the temporary camp first.


    Activating [Flight of the Azure Dragon] to reduce travel time, Valyr then sent a message to the two through the party chat to give them a heads-up.


    After obtaining responses from them in return, it was only then did the young man make his way back, arriving at the rooftop within a few minutes.


    Dispelling the movement skill, the young man looked up at the sky for a bit, keeping in mind how much time there was before sunset.


    Then, with a calming breath, he entered his tent before sitting cross-legged on top of his bed.


    Closing his eyes, he then opened the second packet of information, only to feel like his consciousness was being brought to another ce altogether.


    Swoosh!


    Sensing that his consciousness was brought into a world of darkness yet again, the young man looked around as he thought about how he would go about epting the concepts Sellifer had shared with him.


    But before he could even begin doing so, a familiar voice echoed behind his back as she let out a chuckle.


    "To be honest, I should''ve expected this the very moment we parted ways."


    "But I do have to say¡­ it''s nice to see you again so soon, Valyr.

 Chapter 848 Four Pillars: A Small Gamble

    Chapter 848 Four Pirs: A Small Gamble


    "Eh?"


    Turning around to take a look at who was talking just now, Valyr''s eyes widened in disbelief after seeing Sellifer hover before him.


    "What are you doing here?"


    As the question came to mind, the young man thought about how it should be impossible for someone like Sellifer to be talking with him through the packets of information she''d given him.


    Though, just as the thought came to mind, he soon recalled his encounter with Sven back at the Gates of Awakening.


    Although the man he fought against was only a memory fragment of the original Sven, he was able to freely converse with the man as if the actual person was there.


    Realizing this, Valyr thought that perhaps the same principle was also happening this time around¡­


    Only for Sellifer''s earlier words to echo in his mind.


    Seeing the confusion that covered the young man''s face just moments after feeling disbelief, Sellifer let out amusedughter as she looked at the young man in the eye.


    "Do remember that I''m a Lesser Goddess. Things you would take for granted don''t apply to beings like me," said the woman after that, prompting the young man to nod as he went silent.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to gather his thoughts, Valyr let out a long exhale before looking back at her. "Memory extension? Just like the ones in the Gates of Awakening?"


    "Simr in principle, but simpler," replied Sellifer as she faintly shrugged her shoulders. "I cut off a very small part of my power and imbued it into the packets of information I gave you."


    "Much easier than going through the hoops the Gates of Awakening would''ve made me do to achieve the same thing if you''d ask me."


    Faintly nodding in response, Valyr went silent for a bit more before taking in a deep breath.


    "Why?" He looked at Sellifer in the eyes once more, causing thetter to look back at him in slight confusion.


    "What do you mean why?"


    "This Concept Impartation thing," replied the young man, catching Sellifer off guard as her eyes widened in slight surprise.


    "There''s no reason for something like this, no?" asked Valyr not long after. "After all, I only epted your inheritance for my own benefit."


    "Of course, that doesn''t mean that I don''t appreciate the help you''ve given me back when we were still on the barren grounds. If not for you, I probably would''ve taken far longer to obtain Azure Energy," rified the young man after that.


    "But that prompts me to ask once again¡­ why sacrifice a chunk of your concepts to someone you''ve only known for a couple of years?"


    "It''s not like I''m your official disciple or student or anything." Saying these words, Valyr faintly shook his head.


    As he asked these questions to the woman, the young man already had a faint idea of what the woman''s intentions were by doing this.


    However, he still wanted to hear it from her directly.


    Thankfully, the other side delivered.


    "You say that you''re not officially my student, and with the arrangements the Gates of Awakening had done for the inheritance, that would be true." Sellifer nodded.


    Though, not long after, she looked at the young man with a knowing smile. "However, that doesn''t mean it has to stay that way, no?"


    Ding! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    At the very moment she said those words, a notification sound resounded within the young man''s mind, prompting him to take a look at it.


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Inheritor of the Azure Path''.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Disciple of the Azure River Goddess''.]


    Reading through the notifications he had gotten, Valyr was left speechless as he looked back at Sellifer, not knowing what to think about the woman.


    In response to his reaction, Sellifer exined her intentions behind the Concept Impartation in greater detail.


    To cut a long story short, the woman decided to do it as a small gamble of sorts, hoping that it would be enough to considerably speed up his progress on what was basically the most difficult part on the path to power.


    Aside from that, she told Valyr that the decision to impart concepts onto him also had something to do with the Azure River Pantheon she founded, telling him that his talent and potential made him more than eligible to be the one to take over her position at some point.


    Talking about the topic for a bit more after that, Valyr eventually asked about the titles, asking her whether she had just given it to him on a whim. In response, she said that she had actually nned on giving him the titles after he had sessfully wrapped his head around the concept of Azure Energy, telling him that it was a small bonus to having inherited her path.


    "I¡­ might have overlooked that matter after you identally discovered the Azure Sign," said Sellifer with a wry smile. "After all, what you''ve discovered is basically the missing piece to making Azure Energy a more viable path to power."


    Nodding in response, Valyr went silent for a bit as he went over the information Sellifer shared with him in his mind. "So, if I''m getting this correctly, you''re imparting your concepts onto me in the hopes that I join your pantheonter down the line?"


    "I would be lying if I said no," replied Sellifer. "Though, I would understand if you changed your mind in joining the pantheonter down the line. After all, you still have a long life ahead of you."


    She shrugged her shoulders after that. "If that were the case, then I''d just think of it as another instance of me helping out the younger generation. May be a bit more than I would''ve normally done for anyone else from the younger generation, but nothing new."


    "There might be a day where I might end up changing my mind," said Valyr in agreement. "However, I don''t forget the goodwill given to me. I''ll make sure to return the favor at some point."


    "That''s more than enough for now," replied Sellifer as she faintly smiled. "After all, we''re never sure what the future has in store for us."


    "Now¡­ let''s start this Concept Impartation, shall we?"

 Chapter 849 Four Pillars: Concept Impartation (1)

    Chapter 849 Four Pirs: Concept Impartation (1)


    Seeing that Sellifer had really made up her mind to do a Concept Impartation with him, Valyr nodded in response as he calmed himself down.


    "So¡­ is there anything I need to do in preparation?"


    "Not much," replied Sellifer, making a few gestures with her hands as she summoned part of the power she held.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, strands upon strands of energy manifested around Sellifer, with many of them taking on different colors during the process.


    "In your case, all you have to do is to first keep all of your senses fully open." Continuing to manipte the strands she had conjured, a slight pained expression appeared on her face as she spoke.


    "Aside from that¡­ always keep a close eye on your path."


    "Though I''ll make sure to refine myprehensions behind the concepts I''ve understood to be pure, there would undoubtedly still be a few remnants here and there that are fully aligned with my current path."


    Saying these words, Sellifer shed an apologetic smile at Valyr, only to receive a question from thetter back.


    "Now that I think about it, aren''t you sacrificing a chunk of your own understandings while doing this?" asked the young man, bringing up a part of the information he recalled regarding the entire thing as he stared directly into Sellifer''s eyes.


    "Now that I think about it, aren''t you sacrificing a chunk of your own understandings while doing this?" asked the young man, bringing up a part of the information he recalled regarding the entire thing as he stared directly into Sellifer''s eyes.


    Hearing the question, Sellifer paused for a bit to look at Valyr for a brief moment before eventually nodding. "That would be the case."


    "After all, it''s not like the heavens would allow someone to enhance one''s intent without giving up something return¡­ unless if you''re like a high-ranked deity probably." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Shrugging her shoulders, she then continued. "In any case, myprehension is already at the level of a Lesser Law."


    "Cutting off a small chunk of it to make sure your Intent Seeds be fully-fledged Intents isn''t really too much of a problem."


    However, just as she said that to the young man, a pained expression appeared on Sellifer''s face as a wisp of iridescent energy flew out from the forehead.


    "Still hurts every single time," muttered the woman as she admired what she had pulled out for a bit.


    Then, with great agility and control, she began to split the wisps of iridescent energy to nigh-indivisible parts.


    Imposing her will on the environment surrounding her, she then infused the wisps of energy into the strands of energy she had gathered before.


    Matching up the specific parts of the wisps to the strands that seemingly resonated with them, an otherworldly aura began to fill the young man''s surroundings, all of them stemming from what Sellifer was trying to create.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for her to go through the creation process, forming what looked to be a sword with multiple branches on it within what felt like 10 minutes or so.


    Focusing his attention on the sword made out of strands and wisps of Sellifer''s own energy, Valyr then watched the woman grab the sword by the hilt, only to infuse more of her power to it not long after.


    Swoosh!


    Within seconds, the sword began to emit iridescent light in response, making the young man feel as if he had entered an area that housed all of the concepts one would possiblyprehend throughout their whole life.


    "Hyah!" Without hesitation, Sellifer shed outward, cutting out a part of the darkness surrounding them that surprisingly caused an absurd reaction in response.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Keeping both of his eyes trained on the rift that Sellifer had opened thanks to the sword, Valyr watched the rift gradually expand before his very eyes, sensing that the aura of concepts being emanated by the de had be stronger by a few notches.


    Though, with how the rift was still in the midst of expanding, the entire process took quite some time.


    In fact, with how long the process took, Valyr eventually began to feel his Intent Seeds resonate with the aura of concepts the de generated.


    Realizing that this might be the part where the Concept Impartation began, the young man slowly closed his eyes and focused on the sensation surrounding him.


    At the same time, he began to expand his senses outwards, focusing on the parts that resonated with him the most.


    Seeing that Valyr was already beginning his attempts at improving his Intent Seeds before the true Concept Impartation even began, a faint smile adorned Sellifer''s face as she decided to sh out at the rift once more with the de.


    Swoosh!


    With there being more force behind the rift, the rift swiftly grew in size, prompting the aura of concepts the de she wielded to undergo extreme metamorphosis.


    "Hup!" Plunging her de into the rift, Sellifer then retrieved the de in one fell swoop, surprisingly dragging along something that left Valyr with no choice but to his eyes from the sensation he got.


    "What the¡­" Staring at therge tree of connections carved on arge stone stele that had appeared from beyond the rift, the young man was left at a loss for words as the aura of concepts the thing emanated was at least multiple times stronger than the one generated by the de.


    Feeling a bit overwhelmed from being bombarded by theprehension of what felt like multiple concepts at once, Valyr shifted his gaze towards Sellifer, who quickly understood what was going on in Valyr''s mind from mere gaze alone.


    Whoosh!


    Sensing that the feeling had be more subdued than before, the young man let out a faint sigh of relief as he continued to look at Sellifer for answers.


    "What you see before you is a corner containing most, if not all of the universe''s truths," exined Veldanyr in response, prompting the young man to focus his attention on the multiple runes that surrounded the stone.


    "Though there''s nothing stopping you fromprehending the other possible Intents you could obtain from the corner, once again, this impartation only shows the greatest effect if the receiver was using it to improve a simr type of concept that they too hadprehended.


    Nodding in response after that, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he tried to sense a signal that felt simr to the two Intent Seeds that he seemed to be mainly using so far.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to get a response back, with parts of the stone stele beginning to glow both ck and blue in response.


    Sensing that these parts of the stele seemed to be slowly infusing him with the information necessary to improve his Intent Seeds, the young man took in a deep breath to calm himself down before focusing his attention to the matter at hand.


    ''Let us begin.''

 Chapter 850 Four Pillars: Concept Impartation (2)

    Chapter 850 Four Pirs: Concept Impartation (2)


    Though Valyr had a total of four Intent Seeds under his arsenal at the moment, it went without saying that he focused his attention on the two Intent Seeds that followed the closest path to what Sellifer had taken.


    Choosing which among the two to tackle first after seeing parts of the stone stele light up, Valyr eventually decided to go with the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy first after recalling that it was only one step away from bing a fully-fledged Intent.


    With him making up his mind, the young man attempted to impose his will on the stone stele that he nned onprehending concepts revolving around Shadow Energy first.


    Surprisingly, the stone stele responded by subduing the parts that lit up blue for the meantime.


    At the same time, it had made the parts that gave off a ck glow more prominent to Valyr, allowing him to glean the information the parts contained on Shadow Energy even better.


    Then again,pared to how quickly he obtained progress on his Intent Seeds the Chambers of Enlightenment or the rewards he had gotten directly from the Triad Gates, the current method he was using to improve his Intent Seeds was slower by a long shot.


    However, if he were topare his current speed atprehending more of what he had alreadyprehended to what would usually be done to achieve the same thing, Valyr knew that he was still far ahead of the rest in that regard.


    Even more so with Sellifer taking the helm of the Concept Impartation.


    Briefly rummaging through his treasure trove of memories while continuing to make progress in improving his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy, Valyr eventually recalled that a Lesser Law was pretty high up on the ranking of concepts one couldprehend.


    Though, with the power such a high-ranking concept offered, there were multiple things one would have to achieve first before being able to obtain that concept in the first ce.


    Naturally, one would have to go through the progression ofprehended concepts, starting from Intents before eventually ending up at the precipice of Laws.


    Aside from that, one would also have to make sure that the concept they would eventually turn into a Law was able to form a connection with a gxy.


    Forparison, a Concept needed one to form a full connection with the world. On the other hand, the rank that came after that prompted one to form a connection with an entire star system.


    Because of this, only a small number of beings sessfully take the step necessary to enter the realm of Lesser Laws.


    With that, the young man was more than certain that Sellifer had uttered those words before the whole impartation process began as a way to show that she was confident in what she was doing.


    Taking in the purified parts of the concepts she hadprehended into his mind, Valyr continued to slowly deepen hisprehension of Shadow Energy.


    Gradually sensing that he was approaching what felt like the next realm ofprehended concepts that awaited him, the young man eventually began to feel impatient, wanting the breakthrough toe sooner rather thanter.


    And so, Valyr decided to take in more of the purified concepts Sellifer had given him ess to, only to feel like one of the concepts he had taken in seemed to not fit into the jigsaw puzzle of concepts that made up his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy.


    Though he already knew what to do after feeling such an odd sensation from it, the young man still attempted to force it into his Intent Seed a few times after that.


    In response, the young man felt an intense level of rejection from his body, shuddering as he briefly felt like his body was not his for a moment.


    Shaking his head for a bit to regain his focus, Valyr then willed the poorly matching concept out of his body before taking a short break to go over what he had experienced just now.


    Letting out a long exhale once the short break, the young man then continued to work on his Intent Seed, now making sure beforehand that the concept he was putting into his own concept would mesh well with what he had alreadyprehended before.


    Eventually, by the time a week or so had passed, the young man felt his body shudder once more.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, unlike the discordance that made his body shudder before, Valyr felt it shudder from the sheer amounts of energy and power that flowed through his body as he felt the world appear before him.


    Sensing the presence of Veldanyr just a few meters away from him, the young man broke into a smile after feeling the connection he had with the world undergo onest bout of reinforcement.


    Swoosh!


    Though he could not see the entire process unfold, Valyr could still feel as if the connection he had with the world had transformed into braided rope in terms of how sturdy it was.


    As for the amount of energy and power he could tap into at once, the connection felt reminiscent of a fiber optic cable to the young man with how quick and how much he could tap into.


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound echo in his mind once more, the young man savored the ethereal feeling the event had given him until it began to disappear, opening up his notification screen after that once the feeling had fully disappeared.


    [Your understanding of Shadow Energy has taken on a qualitative change, solidifying into something that has the potential to encapste areas far bigger than the world before you.]


    [Because of that, the world has deemed you worthy of being able to permanently tap into a portion of its nigh-infinite power, hoping that yourprehension would eventually soar to greater heights.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Shadow Energy has ascended to be a full Intent.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Shadow Energy has transformed into the Intent of Shadow Energy.]


    [The grade of your Intent has been determined to be at 8th Grade.]


    ''8th Grade Intent from the get-go? Pretty nice, thought Valyr to himself as he activated the power of his newly obtained Intent soon after.


    Swoosh!


    Feeling as if his body had partially be part of the Shadow ne with the Intent activated, a grin appeared on the young man''s face as he soon dispelled the Intent''s effects.


    Then, closing his eyes once more, he refocused his attention on the stone stele as he now began to focus on the other Intent Seed that would benefit from the Concept Impartation.


    ''Onto the four elements.''

 Chapter 851 Four Pillars: Deeper Comprehensions

    Chapter 851 Four Pirs: Deeper Comprehensions


    Of course, even though Valyr knew that he could focus his attention on upgrading his Intent Seed of the Four Elements, the young man still went over the understanding that finally allowed his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy to take that final step.


    Throughout the four stages that brought the young man up to this point, the young man watched as his understanding of Shadow Energy gradually expanded to epass the scope of mana, even going so far as toprehend the rtionship between the two energies.


    With how he had now gotten his hands on Azure Energy, Valyr felt like the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening had been subconsciously steering him towards this direction all this time. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Realizing this, the young man faintly shuddered in fear, only to eventually let out a long exhale as he had no qualms choosing the path whatsoever.


    After all,pared to his original route of reaching the peak of what a Shadow Serpent Lancer was capable of, his current path had far greater potential than what the previous one had.


    With that being said, the tidbit of understanding that finally pushed Valyr''s Intent Seed of Shadow Energy to be a proper Intent unsurprisingly had something to do with the interaction between Shadow Energy and mana.


    However, unlike the understanding that brought the Intent Seed to the Culmination Stage that spoke about how the two could be one and how one could be the other, this new piece of understanding made Valyr perceive Shadow Energy in a different way.


    More specifically, it made Valyr look at Shadow Energy as if it were mana itself.


    As this understanding came to mind, the young man felt like it made sense. After all, simr to mana, Shadow Energy was the staple energy used by all beings within the Shadow ne.


    And although its properties prompted it to lean more towards offensive skills, Sellifer''s memories showed that it was just as capable as mana when it came to the other types of skills.


    In any case, the focus of the understanding that upgraded the Intent Seed to an Intent was how Shadow Energy could exhibit the limitless malleability that mana had in terms of skills and the like.


    With this understanding in mind, the young man briefly thought about how his Intent Seed of the Four Elements focused on that area in greater detail, showing the limitless capabilities mana had to meld and conform with other elements.


    ''Then again, the creation of Azure Energy is only possible thanks to that property mana has,'' thought the young man to himself, getting the urge to delve deeper into the understanding he had justprehended.


    From what he felt, it wouldn''t take long for the Intent of Shadow Energy to undergo another upgrade if he were to spend a bit more into it.


    However, the young man decided to push such thoughts to the side for the meantime, reminding himself that Azure Energy necessitated a bnce of both Shadow Energy and mana one way or another. With that, Valyr decided to bring his Intent Seed of the Four Elements to the same stage his new Intent was currently at before deciding to return his attention back on the Intent of Shadow Energy.


    ''Hopefully, Sellifer allows me to take as much time as I need to upgrade myprehended concepts as much as I want,'' inwardly wished the young man, taking in a deep breath before putting all of his attention towardsprehension once more.


    As his Intent Seed of the Four Elements revolved along a simr concept to the pure concept of mana Sellifer hadprehended to get to where she was, it went without saying that Valyr continued to make progress in upgrading hisprehended concepts.


    Though, with how his Intent Seed focused more on the interaction between mana and the four elements and not just pure mana, his speed in doing so was considerably slower than when he was trying to upgrade his Intent Seed of Shadow Energy.


    Nevertheless, the young man continued to persevere, gradually umting enough purifiedprehension from Sellifer to push his Intent Seed of the Four Elements to what was the final step.


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of mana and its interaction with the four elements has deepened, allowing it to reach a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Four Elements has ascended to the Culmination Stage.]


    ''That took way longer than I thought.'' Bringing up his notification screen after hearing the ever-familiar chime echo in his mind, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he focused his attention on his newly upgraded Intent Seed.


    Looking at the understanding he hadprehended that brought his Intent Seed to the final stage, the young man noticed that it wasn''t any different from the other pieces he hadprehended before during the two or so years he spent with Sellifer.


    Though, unlike thoseprehended ideas, the idea heprehended to bring it up to the Culmination Stage was a bit moreplex as it focused more on the interaction between the elements to achieve a greater result.


    Taking note of this, Valyr felt as if it was only a matter of time until it became a proper Intent as well, deciding to ask Sellifer after that how much time had passed since the Concept Impartation began.


    Hearing from the woman''s mouth that a bit over a month had already passed since then, the young man''s eyes briefly widened in disbelief before eventually returning his focus to the task at hand.


    Closing his eyes to make sure that every iota of his attention and focus was on pushing his Intent Seed of the Four Elements to an actual Intent, it took Valyr quite some time to finally achieve his intended goal.


    Taking a total of just a bit over three months to push both Intent Seeds that made the Azure Sign possible in the first ce into fully-fledged Intents, the young man had a smile on his face as he subconsciously felt the stronger connection he had with the world.


    However, rather than just upgrade his second Intent Seed to the Intent level, Valyr had actually gained something extra from his time understanding the purifiedprehensions Sellifer had given him ess to.


    As to what that extra thing was¡­


    Surprisingly enough, it was another Intent Seed.

 Chapter 852 Four Pillars: True Mana

    Chapter 852 Four Pirs: True Mana


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of mana and its interaction with the four elements has taken on a qualitative change, solidifying into something that has the potential to encapste areas far bigger than the world before you.]


    [Because of that, the world has deemed you worthy of being able to permanently tap into a portion of its nigh-infinite power, hoping that yourprehension would eventually soar to greater heights.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Four Elements has ascended to be a full Intent.]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Four Elements has transformed into the Intent of the Four Elements.]


    [The grade of your Intent has been determined to be at 8th Grade.] N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Seeing the system officially acknowledge that his Intent Seed of the Four Elements had now be a proper Intent, the young man was all smiles as he read through the various notifications he had received.


    Though, as he continued reading through his notifications, the young man''s expression quickly turned into that of confusion as he looked through thest few notifications on his screen.


    "Eh?"


    [You havee to know of the existence of Shadow Energy, an energy from the Shadow ne that could be considered an alternate version of mana.]


    [You have alsoe to know of the limitless capabilities mana holds, realizing the various properties it could take on once a specific element has been infused with it.]


    [Now, you have finallye to know of the essence that allows mana to do the things others want it to achieve. However, there are still more facets to it that await you.]


    [Your understanding of the essence of mana has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [You have awakened the Intent Seed of True Mana.]


    Reading through thesest few notifications, Valyr was gradually left at aplete loss for words as he could not believe what just happened.


    ''You''re telling me¡­ I''ve inadvertentlyprehended another Intent Seed?''


    Scratching the back of his head as he began to rummage through his memories, the young man''s expression eventually rxed as he found the clues that allowed this surprise to appear before him.


    Though he was putting all of his focus towards improving his Intent Seed of the Four Elements to be a proper Intent, the information he was obtaining from the stone stele came from Sellifer''s ownprehensions.


    In other words, since she had chosen the path of pure mana to achieve her Azure Energy, the purifiedprehensions Valyr was pulling to improve his Intent Seed followed the path of pure mana as well.


    Of course, since not all of them fit the path his current Intent Seed was taking, he was forced to throw most of them away in fear of reliving the weird sensation that enveloped his body back then.


    However, there were still a few bits here and there within the purifiedprehensions that meshed nicely with the Intent Seed he was improving while at the same time still following the path of pure mana.


    With that, the young man gradually umted more and more information that fulfilled the same criteria, which caused the young man to awaken yet another Intent Seed seemingly out of nowhere after he had umted enough of it.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, the young man went ahead and activated his newly obtained Intent Seed of True Mana to see what it was capable of.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, Valyr felt as if the mana circting within his body had caught on fire, making his body feel like it had burst into mes.


    Fortunately, this sensation onlysted for a brief moment, instead being reced with the sensation that made him feel like there was more mana in his body than normal.


    Understanding that this was the effect his newly obtained Intent Seed had on his mana, the young man went silent for a bit before a look of realization appeared on his face.


    "Ahh¡­ now that exins the connection that opened before I had yet to even upgrade the Intent Seed of the Four Elements to an Intent," inwardly muttered the young man to himself, nodding in both understanding and satisfaction as everything now made sense to him.


    Feeling a bit curious as to what would happen if he were to infuse the same Intent Seed into his Azure Energy, the young man decided to shelf the thought for ater time as he had already thought of pushing his Intents to a higher stage before.


    Unfortunately, before he could even begin upgrading his Intents to the higher grades, the ck and blue parts on the stone stele dimmed down all of a sudden.


    Not long after, the stone stele disappeared as well, prompting the young man to look at the woman that came up with the idea in the first ce.


    "Yeah¡­ I think that''s more than enough for now." With a pained and tired expression across her face, Sellifer looked at Valyr for a bit before giving him a proud smile.


    "Congrattions on obtaining two fully-fledged Intents."


    "And to think that both of them are already at 8th Grade¡­ not bad."


    "I''m guessing you ran out of energy to keep the process going?" While he responded to Sellifer''s words with his own words of gratitude, Valyr also asked why she stopped the entire thing.


    "To be honest, I could keep this going forever if I wanted to." Sellifer looked at him with a bitter smile. "However, if you were to have gone further down the path of upgrading your Intents through this process, your Intents would eventually begin to resemble what my Intents were in some areas."


    "At some point, myprehensions would be yourprehensions." Sellifer faintly shuddered at the thought. "And I don''t mean it in a good way."


    Though she did not tell him any of the consequences outright, what Sellifer told him was more than enough for Valyr to remind himself to not bite off more than he could chew, lest he wanted to ruin the efforts he had already put into his journey so far.


    With that, it did not take long for the two to eventually part ways again, with Sellifer reminding Valyr of her pantheon before she truly left.


    On the other hand, the young man felt his consciousness gradually return to his own body that slumbered in the tent he had set up.


    Giving his consciousness some time to adjust, Valyr eventually opened his eyes, only for him to swiftly move backward as the sight before him caught him off guard.


    "Sorry for disturbing you." Hal and Vera looked at the young man with apologetic smiles. "We really didn''t mean to scare you," said Vera. "But we just had to talk with you about it the very moment the thought came to our minds."


    "What do you want to talk about?" Deciding to leave the matter of their intrusion forter, Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh as he asked in response.


    "It''s our departure from the inheritance," replied Hal, prompting the young man''s expression to turn serious.


    "We n on leaving very soon."

 Chapter 853 Four Pillars: Alone

    Chapter 853 Four Pirs: Alone


    Making his way out of his tent with Hal and Vera, Valyr was slightly caught off guard as he noticed that their surroundings had already be dark.


    Recalling that he had spent around a month or so with Sellifer during the process of Concept Impartation, the young man inwardly nodded to himself before shifting his gaze back to the two before him.


    "You''ve really made up your minds, huh?" asked Valyr, his gaze calm.


    Though he was left at a slight loss for words after Hal broke the news that they would be leaving the inheritance back at the tent, the young man was already expecting it to happen sooner orter.


    After all, ever since Faulus and Loreina left the three of them to return back to Veldanyr, about seven months had already passed since then.


    With how they''ve spent a few more days in the inheritance after their departure, the young man felt like it wouldn''t be long until they would be away from Veldanyr for an entire year.


    ''I sure hope that isn''t the case,'' thought the young man to himself, feeling the urge to take a look at his status screen to see how much time remained.


    However, with how he was talking to the two, Valyr decided to set the matter aside for the meantime.


    Taking in a deep breath to make it seem like he was gathering his thoughts, he gave the two a faint nod as he asked them a question. "Any reason as to why?"


    "Well, with us havingpleted our final quests from this ce, there''s not much else the inheritance could offer us," replied Hal, eliciting a nod from Vera in agreement.


    Hearing that, Valyr nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. Did you already im the rewards from the Gates of Awakening, though?"


    "Not yet." Hal shook his head. "We n on heading to the Gates of Awakening after this conversation to im all of them before directly making our way back to Veldanyr."


    Understanding what they nned on doing, the young man nodded in once more as he gave them a faint smile. "I''m sure the two of you will be able to obtain amazing inheritances from the Hall of Legends and Myths."


    "I sure hope so." Hal chuckled in response. "There''s also another ce the quest rewards gave us ess to called the Realm of Myriad Experiences, but we''ll find that out once we get there."


    "How about you, Valyr?" asked Vera after Hal was done talking. "What are you nning to do now that we''re nning on leaving?"


    At those words, Valyr gave a bitter smile. "To be honest, I would have liked to join you guys in returning to Veldanyr with how long we''ve already been gone from that ce."


    "But there''s still a few more things that I''ve yet to finish in this ce. Before then, I don''t think I''ll head back yet."


    "Better get it sorted as quickly as possible, then," said Hal in response, to which Valyr nodded in agreement. "After all, with how much we''ve obtained from the inheritance, our aid will undoubtedly prove beneficial in the skirmish against the orcs."


    "You could definitely say that again." Valyr smiled in response.


    After that, the three talked about a few more things regarding the outside world for a bit more, such as what ns the two had after they returned to Veldanyr.


    During that conversation, Hal and Vera also congratted Valyr on upgrading his Intent Seed into a proper Intent, leaving the young man with no choice but to smile back in response.


    Eventually, the three felt that it was time for them to part ways, causing the atmosphere surrounding them to turn somewhat somber.


    "I suppose this is farewell for now," said Hal, with Vera saying something simr soon after.


    "May we see each other back in Veldanyr," replied Valyr, gazing at the two as he wished them safe travels.


    "May we see each other back in Veldanyr."


    Whoosh!


    As the three embraced each other for quite some time, the two conjured a rift that would bring them to the Gates of Awakening.


    Giving Valyr onest nce, Hal and Vera eventually took the step that brought them into the familiar courtyard, finally leaving the man alone in the temporary camp that used to house three.


    "Haah¡­" Watching as the rift the two conjured closed in on itself, Valyr let out a long sigh as he sat on one of the seats surrounding the makeshift fire pit the three of them had made. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Staring up at the sky to look at the moon, the young man closed his eyes for a bit before willing the system to bring up his status screen.


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever-familiar chime resound in his mind, Valyr shifted his attention towards the bottom of the screen, noticing that only a bit over 100 days remained before the first version of Greater Beyond was released.


    "Closing in on nine months, huh," murmured Valyr to himself as he closed the screen he had just brought up.


    After that, he decided to eat some more of the food he and the others were enjoying earlier as he sorted out the various thoughts that were going on in his head.


    With about three months or so back in Veldanyr left before the first batch of yers would begin to roll in, Valyr felt that he needed to speed things up whilst he was still in the inheritance.


    With that, he pondered whether he should head to the Gates of Awakening first and make use of all the remaining time he had in the Realm of Myriad Experiences to bolster his skills.


    After all, a considerable number of his skills had reverted back to Level 1 thanks to Azure Energy, meaning that he had yet to see them at their full power.


    Then, there was the thought of heading down right now to fight against the feral humans to obtain the authority and kill count necessary to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    Unsurprisingly, as the second option came to mind, the young man immediately drafted up a n on what he was going to do in order to leave the inheritance as soon as possible.


    Taking a look at his spatial bracelet to see if he still had potions aplenty, Valyr took in a deep breath before plunging down into the streets below.


    Now that there was nothing to restrict him¡­


    It was time for Valyr to show the inheritance what he was truly capable of.

 Chapter 854 Four Pillars: The Final Stretch

    Chapter 854 Four Pirs: The Final Stretch


    "Graagh!!!"


    "Aghhh!!!"


    ''Ten of them¡­ all of them charging at me at every possible angle.'' Listening to the various screams the feral humans let out in the middle of the night, Valyr kept hisposure at all times as he took a look at the feral humans he was fighting.


    After making up his mind on what he needed to do to leave the inheritance as soon as possible, Valyr swiftly got to work as he fought against all of the feral humans that appeared in his vision.


    Of course, with ess to skills such as the [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts] and [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts], the young man had no problems fighting against multiple of them at once.


    Then again, with how he decided to fight against the feral humans at night, Valyr also had the advantage of making use of the darkness to catch his opponents off guard, leading to some kills that wouldn''t have normally been possible if it were day.


    Though the Azure Energy he made use of definitely gave a heads-up to some of the more keen-eyed among the feral humans, it did not stop Valyr from going on a rampage, ying enough feral humans to increase his authority by a level in just a half hour.


    In the end, it took him just a bit over two hours to finally push his authority level within the Gates of Awakening to 15, letting out a wide sigh of relief as the notification from the system appeared in his mind.


    With the matter of his authority level now out of the way, Valyr brought up his current quest to see how many he needed to kill in order for it to be consideredplete.


    Fortunately, with how much he had already killed to bring his authority level up to where it was, he only needed to kill a number of feral humans that would have normallyted him an additional authority level.


    Deciding to ept the repeatable quest onest time, the young man went on a wanton killing spree, with the group of feral humans before him being the final group he needed to kill to sessfullyplete the quest.


    "[Refined Mana Barrier]!"


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that the feral humans had finally made their move, Valyr activated [Limit Break: Second Verse] to improve his stats before conjuring a barrier of Azure Energy around him.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, just like how the barrier held up against the feral humans the first time he made use of it, his current opponents could not pass through the barrier at all.


    Watching as most of the force behind their attacks were easily nullified by the barrier blocking them, the feral humans grew incensed, beginning to make use of the skills that they had been given.


    In response to that, the young man faintly smiled, summoning the amount of Azure Energy necessary to activate his next skill.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Dragon''s w]!"


    Swoosh!


    Extending one of his palms outward as if he were striking someone with it, arge set of ws soon appeared outside the barrier, prompting Valyr to strike at the feral humans with great speed in response. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    With all of the feral humans pouring out all of their anger into the skills they mmed on the barrier, it went without saying that all of them were caught by surprise once arge w appeared in the periphery of their vision.


    Without fail, the group of feral humans had been corralled into one spot, feeling as if their insides turn into mush from the force the w exerted on them.


    While the feral humans were still in the midst of getting over the pain his attack had inflicted on them, Valyr swiftly retrieved the spear from his back as he noticed the group getting ready to attack once more.


    Knowing that this would be one of the few opportunities he had to swiftly end the fight, Valyr hastily called upon the Azure Energy slumbering within his body.


    "[Four Paths Azure Spear Arts]¡­"


    Then, pointing his trusty spear at the ground, he infused both newly obtained Intents into it as he swung up with all of the strength he could muster.


    "[Stampede of the Azure Tiger]!"


    Roar!!!


    At the very moment everything about the skill clicked into ce, the ground surrounding Valyr and the feral humans started to rumble as arge wave of Azure Energy appeared outside the barrier.


    Then, in less than an instant, the Azure Energy making up the wave transformed into a near-incessant amount of azure tigers, all of them staring at the feral humans as if they were their prey.


    With all of the tigers letting out a roar in unison, all of them began to charge at the feral humans, striking at them with all of the force they could muster.


    In response to the azure tiger stampede that set their sights on killing them, the feral humans began to fight back, even going so far as to make use of the skills in their arsenal that had seemingly otherworldly power.


    Though, against a stampede of azure tigers that seemed to have no end on their numbers, the feral humans eventually sumbed to their onught, eventually breathing out theirst as a series of notifications resounded within the young man''s mind.


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (5).]


    [Kill 500 feral humans (500/500)]


    [You havepleted the quest: Gates of Awakening'' Trial (5).]


    [You have been given the ability to enter the Gates of Enlightenment and the Gates of Awakening whenever and wherever you desire.]


    [You have been deemed eligible to enter the final sky of the Triad Gates, the Gates of Transcendence.]


    [Enter the Gates of Awakening to make your way to the path that leads to this final sky.]


    "Huh. Neat." Reading from the notifications that he needed to head to the Gates of Awakening in order to enter the Gates of Transcendence, Valyr felt like he had the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by making his way to the Realm of Myriad Experiences first.


    Making up his mind to head there first before entering the Gates of Transcendence, the young man swiftly conjured a rift that would lead him to ever-familiar courtyard, immediately feeling no difficulty from the action whatsoever.


    Faintly smiling at how quickly the rewards from the quest took effect, Valyr made his way into the Gates of Awakening, his thoughts fixated on heading to the Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    Yet, before he could even leave the courtyard to enter the cave where it resided, a familiar being had barred his way, looking at him with a faint smile.


    "Took you long enough."

 Chapter 855 Four Pillars: Special Case

    Chapter 855 Four Pirs: Special Case


    With the expectations of meeting Vaughn again once he had made his way to the Gates of Transcendence, Valyr was only caught slightly off guard once the man had appeared before him in the Gates of Awakening.


    After all, the man had already done a simr thing back when he was making his way towards the Hall of Legends and Myths.


    ''Speaking of which¡­ I should really find the time to take a look at the staff,'' thought Valyr to himself as the memory came to mind, inwardly adorning a bitter smile on his face as he thought about how he had not taken a look at Sellifer''s weapon all this time.


    Faintly shaking his head as he pushed the thought aside for the meantime, the young man refocused his attention towards the man before him.


    Thinking about what Vaughn had said to him just now, a trace of confusion appeared on Valyr''s face. "Why the rush? It''s not like I would decide to give up on entering the Gates of Transcendence after putting in this much effort."


    "I know." Vaughn nodded in agreement. "But that''s not the reason why I said those words."


    Pointing at the young man with a calm expression, he continued, "Instead, you''re the reason, especially with what''s happening in Veldanyr at the moment." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Whoosh!


    As those words left Vaughn''s mouth, the man conjured a rift that allowed Valyr to obtain a bird''s eye view of what was going on in the outside world at the moment.


    Though the events that were unfolding on the other side of the rift were happening at a speed equivalent to the difference in time between the two areas, it did not take long for the young man''s expression to turn grim as he realized what was happening.


    "The orcs¡­" murmured Valyr, continuing to look at the rift for a bit more as he thought about the decisions the other four have made.


    From what started off as a small skirmish between the orcs and one of the kingdoms, it had expanded to cover multiple kingdoms by the time a few months had passed since the five of them had entered the inheritance.


    Now that he had spent a total of nine months in the inheritance, the state of the war had seemingly worsened as the Meltierre Empire from their side had finally gotten embroiled in the war as well.


    Watching as the humans continued to fight against the orcs from afar, the expression on Valyr''s face turned more grim as it clicked in his mind that the sight before him was part of the reason why the War of the Three Sovereignties happened in his past life.


    Reminding himself of his ultimate goal in his current life, the young man felt an urge to go through the rift to head back to the outside world.


    Though, recalling all of the efforts he had put to get to where he was thus far, the young man let out a long exhale as he suppressed such urges for the meantime.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr watched as Vaughn closed the rift, his expression at that point returning to its previous calm.


    "A day in here is equivalent to two weeks in the outside world," said Vaughn all of a sudden. "Through the past couple of weeks you and your group have spent in this ce, you have more or less gone through all of what the inheritance has to offer with great efficiency."


    "Because of that, all of you have gained a lot from the inheritance, far greater than what even the past groups had gained from the inheritancebined."


    "But with the survival of the human race being threatened as we speak, I''m afraid we''ll have to speed a few things up."


    After saying those words, Vaughn extended one of his hands towards Valyr, gesturing to thetter to hold onto it.


    In response, the young man tightly gripped onto his hand, prompting a faint smile to appear on Vaughn''s face after feeling Valyr make use of all the strength in his body.


    Inwardly chuckling at the young man''s actions, a wave of energy soon burst out of Vaughn''s body, causing both him and Valyr to be propelled into the skies.


    Whoosh!


    With the sight before them instantly transforming into a bird''s eye view of the Gates of Awakening, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he briefly admired the sight before them.


    Swoosh!


    Though, not long after, the two of them plunged down towards a spot far below the courtyard, traversing a distance that would have taken Valyr days in a matter of seconds.


    Feeling a bit of nausea from having his insides be aggressively moved about throughout that short flight, Valyr gave himself some time to recuperate before taking a look at his surroundings.


    Wondering why Vaughn had brought him to what felt like the base of the mountain where the Gates of Awakening was situated on, the young man immediately obtained his answer as he looked at therge jade door before the two of them.


    "Is this¡­" Feeling a sense of closeness towards the door, Valyr looked at Vaughn for confirmation.


    In response, Vaughn nodded back, urging the young man to move forward. "Indeed, it is."


    "The entrance to the Gates of Transcendence."


    Nodding at those words, Valyr took a few steps forward, only to stop as he felt that the current situation didn''t add up.


    "Wait a second¡­ don''t I need to go through trials or anything? Show the Gates of Transcendence that I''m a worthy member?" Turning around to look back at Vaughn, the young man asked this question, basing it off his experiences with the two other organizations thus far.


    "This one''s different." Vaughn shook his head. "With how you''re the only one among your group that could enter the ce, there''s no need to go through trials anymore."


    "Wait, that doesn''t make sense," replied Valyr back, even though he continued to move closer to the entrance. "Shouldn''t the organizations making up the Triad Gates have simr protocols to which beings could enter the organization or not?"


    "That''s normally the case." Vaughn agreed. "But to sum things up, our current situation is a special case."


    "Does it have something to do with the fact that we''re rushing through it because of the war with the orcs?" asked Valyr.


    "Somewhat," said Vaughn, tilting his head left and right. "That''s definitely a good reason why we''re not going through usual protocol."


    "But the real reason why we''re not going to go through all that is that I''ve chosen you to inherit my position as the owner of this inheritance."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­huh?"

 Chapter 856 Four Pillars: The Right Heart

    Chapter 856 Four Pirs: The Right Heart


    With how normal Vaughn''s tone was as he said those words, it took a while for the young man to fully register what the man had said to him.


    Of course, the statement hit him like a truck the very moment it finally clicked in Valyr''s head, leaving the young man staring at Vaughn with his mouth wide agape.


    Taking some time to recover from the shock the man''s statement brought him, a myriad of questions soon filled Valyr''s mind as he thought about which one he should ask first.


    Eventually, the perfect starting question arose to the surface of his mind, prompting him to look at Vaughn with both curiosity and confusion. "Why me?"


    In response, Vaughn raised his eyebrow in curiosity before shrugging his shoulders. "It''s a no-brainer, really. Out of the five of you that entered the inheritance, you were the one that performed the best."


    "The fact that you performed wellpared to the others is actually part of the reason why I''ve chosen you to be the only one among your group to enter the Gates of Transcendence."


    "Naturally, the same reason applies to my decision of having you inherit my position." Vaughn smiled.


    Scratching the back of his head as he listened to those words, Valyr felt as if the man''s reasoning made sense, while also not making sense at the same time.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for everything to finally click in his mind as his eyes briefly widened in realization.


    ''The reasoning feels¡­ shallow.''


    Certain that there was more to it than what Vaughn had just told him, the young man continued to ask Vaughn more about his reasons for choosing him to be the new owner of the inheritance.


    Unsurprisingly, Vaughn repeated the response he had given the young man a few times after that, paraphrasing each reply in a way that made it seem like he was giving a different response every time.


    Thankfully, the man relented at some point, scratching the back of his head in slight frustration.


    "I know you''ve obtained this as a reward from the system at some point," said Vaughn with a low sigh, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "With that, do you know why the Triad Gates was constructed in the first ce?"


    "To make sure the human race continues to prosper, right?" replied Valyr back after jogging his memories for a bit.


    "Correct." Vaughn nodded in agreement. "But as I''ve mentioned in an earlier conversation of ours, the Triad Gates holds information that would cause unspeakable consequences if it were to fall under the wrong hands."


    After the man had said those words, the young man did not take long to put two and two together in his mind, staring at Vaughn with a hint of realization. "So, you''re saying¡­"


    "Though I could continue to im ownership over this ce, it would be better if the inheritance was handled by someone from the generation that knows what the present Veldanyr wants," said Vaughn with a nod, understanding what was going on in the young man''s head. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Well, I don''t seem like a good fit for that," replied Valyr, wondering what made the man choose him amongst the others. "Wouldn''t someone like Hal have been a better choice for the position?"


    "Compared to someone like me, he''s dabbled in every major field of production that exists in Veldanyr."


    "That may be the case." Vaughn agreed with Valyr on that. "However, unlike him, your heart is more in line with the goals I had in mind when the Four Pirs'' Inheritance was made."


    "To keep humanity in check, to keep humanity prospering, and to keep making humanity better over time."


    As those words left Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr felt a small part of himself resonate deeply with those words.


    Of course, with a bit of rummaging, it did not take long for him to find out why that was the case.


    ''Changing the oue of the final battle, huh¡­'' inwardly muttered Valyr at some point, only for him to let out a faint sigh soon after.


    Aftering to that realization, the young man felt that Vaughn''s arrangements now made sense to him, prompting him to give the man a nod to show that he understood.


    Receiving a silent nod in response to his exnation, a faint smile appeared on Vaughn''s face as he nodded back.


    Then, without dy, he pointed Valyr towards the gateway that would lead them to the Gates of Transcendence, informing him that he only needed to get close to it.


    Nodding in response, the young man did what was told of him and stopped a few steps in front of therge entrance, sensing an ancient aura slumbering on the other side.


    Feeling a hint of uncertainty from Vaughn''s earlier words, Valyr was forced to push such thoughts to the side as the entrance formed arge bubble of energy that enveloped his entire body.


    Wondering what was happening as he was caught off guard, the young man forced himself to calm down as a couple of objects extricated themselves from the spatial bracelet he wore.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, the small statue and the ball of wispy energy he had obtained from Vaughn back then had appeared before him, now giving the same color of light as the bubble of energy that surrounded him.


    Not long after, his body began to give off the same light as well, only to coalesce into a mass of pure light above his head after that.


    Within seconds, the mass of light, the statue, and the ball of wispy energy all made their way to the entrance, soon giving off an aura that rivaled even the ones Daon and Dawan had unleashed in their fight.


    Surprisingly, the auras the objects radiated disappeared not long after that, with both the statue and the ball of wispy energy losing their luster as they fell to the ground.


    As for the mass of light, it was absorbed by the entrance as itbined with the auras the two other objects had given off.


    With that, the gateway to the Gates of Transcendence finally began to open with a reverberating creak, prompting Vaughn to step forward and stand beside the dumbfounded young man.


    "Now then¡­"


    "Shall we enter?"

 Chapter 857 Four Pillars: The Chosen One

    Chapter 857 Four Pirs: The Chosen One


    Hearing the question that was directed at him, Valyr stared at the opened gateway for a bit, feeling the light that shrouded the other side envelop him for a brief moment.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, he then looked at Vaughn and nodded before the two began to make their way to the ce that existed on the other side of the entrance.


    Recalling the mission he had obtained from Ryvrthe that he had yet toplete, Valyr picked up the two items that hadn''t been absorbed by the gateway along the way and ced it back in his spatial bracelet.


    Though he felt Vaughn stare at him for a bit as he did so, the young man continued to head towards the gateway as if it was nothing, leaving the former no choice but to push forward as well. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Eventually, the two finally made their way through the gateway, ending up in a ce that formed an incredibly stark contrast to the two organizations Valyr had visited before.


    ''This¡­ is the Gates of Transcendence?''


    At the very moment they made it to the other side, Valyr fell speechless as he noticed that the area upied by the ce looked far smaller than the ones upied by both the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening.


    Walking around the ce to get a better idea of how much space there was, it did not take long for the young man to calcte that the area they were currently in was around a tenth of the space the Gates of Awakening upied.


    After walking around for a bit more, Valyr returned to Vaughn''s side before asking the same question that first came to mind.


    In response to the question, Vaughn let out a bitter chuckle. "This is indeed the Gates of Transcendence," said the man. "This is all there is to it."


    Having an idea of what was going on in the young man''s head, Vaughn continued. "Unlike the Gates of Enlightenment and the Gates of Awakening, the Gates of Transcendence is an organization that mostly exists in name."


    "In terms of where it''s located, what you''re seeing right now is all there is."


    "However, the benefits one would obtain from entering the Gates of Transcendence are more than true." At these words, Vaughn faintly smiled.


    "Is that so¡­" While listening to the man''s exnation, Valyr began to look at the ce in greater detail.


    Though it was not asrge and opulent as the two courtyards the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening upied, the Gates of Transcendence had its own kind of charm that made it stand out in a way.


    Housing only a couple of buildings that were minimalistic in design, Valyr felt as if the buildings melded quite well with the entire atmosphere of the ce.


    With how there were multiple trees and shrubs all around the area, the young man thought of the Gates of Transcendence more as a secluded cabin in the woods than a ce for one to obtain greater knowledge.


    Seeing Vaughn make his way towards one of the buildings in the area, Valyr decided to follow the man, eventually finding himself sitting beside the man on the building''s porch.


    Gazing up at the sky, the young man felt that a new side to the Gates of Transcendence had been unlocked before him, causing him to close his eyes for a bit as he basked himself in the atmosphere the area gave off.


    Chuckling in response, Vaughn also began to look up at the sky as well, feeling all of the thoughts that upied his mind slowly drift away as the idyllic nature of the ce got to him.


    Of course, recalling the reasons why he had brought Valyr into this ce, Vaughn swiftly snapped his mind back to reality as he looked at the young man before him.


    "You know¡­ this ce is where this memory extension of mine usually stays whenever a group enters the inheritance."


    Hearing those words, Valyr moved his attention away from the atmosphere as he looked at the man beside him.


    Seeing that he had caught his attention, Vaughn inwardly smiled as he continued. "After all, why would one person need so much space like the courtyards the two other ces upy?"


    "In any case, there are other reasons why I''ve chosen this cepared to the others."


    "For one, the chances of information leaking out from here and into the outside world is significantly lower whenpared to some ce like the city ruins."


    "As long as you know how to manipte space and time, even obtaining items from the city ruins would be child''s y." Vaughn shrugged his shoulders at the thought.


    "Either way, there are instances where having a ce like this is definitely useful."


    "Such as the time when I finally decide to open my mouth all of a sudden and say that I''ve long known that you''re a reincarnator."


    "¡­?!"


    Looking at the man with a cheeky grin with his face, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise as he remained silent.


    Of course, a vastly different situation was unfolding within his mind. To no one''s surprise, multiple rms in his mind began to re without abandon as he was in a state of immense panic.


    At that moment, multiple thoughts ran through his mind, causing him to question himself multiple times on how Vaughn hade to know of his existence as a reincarnator.


    At the same time, he wondered how he had allowed Vaughn to know of his existence as a reincarnator, asking himself if there was any specific action he had done throughout his journey in the inheritance so far that made it obvious.


    In the end, Valyr took a few minutes to finally respond to Vaughn''s words, continuing to remain silent as he stared back at thetter.


    Knowing what was going on in the young man''s head, the man faintly shook his head. "If you''re wondering if you sold yourself out at some point, that''s not the case."


    "I already knew about it ever since you five entered the inheritance." Vaughn let out a somewhat amused chuckle. "As a Greater God, a mismatched soul and body is more than obvious in front of me."


    "But I must say that such a sign is slowly beginning to disappear." The man nodded in satisfaction. "As more and more time passes, it''ll get more and more difficult for others to figure out your origins¡­ save for the Primordials, probably."


    "Anyways, how about we move onto your well-earned rewards¡­"


    "My talented descendant?"

 Chapter 858 Four Pillars: The Final Memory

    Chapter 858 Four Pirs: The Final Memory


    Having already gone through the conversation where Vaughn exined his reasoning why he had been chosen to inherit the former''s position as the owner of the inheritance, Valyr thought that he was more or less ready for what was toe.


    Though, that all changed after the man beside him talked about his knowledge regarding Valyr''s reincarnation, his ss rank, as well as his rtion to the young man.


    Being hit like a truck once more by what felt like a boatload of information, Valyr stared off into the distance in silence as he gave himself time to process all of the things he''d heard once again.


    Regarding the topic of Vaughn knowing the fact that he had reincarnated, the young man did not really take that much time to get over it.


    After all, the man had already mentioned it himself that he found out that Valyr was a reincarnator the very moment the group entered the inheritance, talking about a mismatched body and soul.


    ''Though it doesn''t really matter in the grand scheme of things if people know I''m a reincarnator, I should take the time to ask Vaughn more about hiding that factter on,'' thought Valyr to himself, his body slightly shuddering in fear.


    ''Knowing that there are people out there with the possibility to know even that feels¡­ exposing.''


    Moving the matter of him being a reincarnator aside, the young man soon shifted his thoughts towards the man''s mention of him being a Greater God.


    Hearing that, the young man''s hypothesis from when the two met before had been proven.


    In his mind, he thought that the only way Vaughn would be able to live through the various eras of humanity was if he had already broken through to the Divine level.


    With confirmation from Vaughn himself that he was a Greater God, a title that was only given those that had achieved a Rank 13 ss, the young man felt satisfaction from it.


    ''Then again, that doesn''t exin the other parts of our conversation from before that feel off,'' murmured Valyr to himself inwardly, finding his thought gradually shift to the final thing Vaughn had mentioned.


    ''His talented descendant¡­''


    As this phrase came to mind, a myriad of thoughts lingered within the young man''s mind as he pondered over what Vaughn meant by those words.


    Judging from the conversation they had before, Valyr thought that the reason why Vaughn had said that was because he was a product of the experiment that the man had done, which was to revive humanity from scratch.


    For the most part, the thought made quite a lot of sense to him.


    However, as he thought about it for a bit more, there was one part to the whole thing that did not add up.


    ''How could I be rted to him if the experiment did not require any biological stuff from him whatsoever?'' asked Valyr at some point, frowning as he continued to bask himself in the silence the ce offered.


    Of course, it did not take long for a usible answer to form in the young man''s mind, causing him to scratch the back of his head.


    ''The only way Vaughn could say that I''m a descendant of his is if he had added his own biological stuff at some point in the experiment.''


    With his mind lingering over that point, Valyr went through the memory of the entire experiment once more, making sure to keep his eye peeled for the part where Vaughn sacrificed even a small part of his biology for the experiment.


    Yet, even after scrubbing through the entire experiment from beginning to end, the young man found no trace of the man doing that whatsoever.


    ''What could he mean by that, then?'' thought Valyr to himself as he nced at Vaughn.


    Unsurprisingly, Vaughn looked as if he hadn''t just dropped a bombshell of a statement to the young man, leisurely gazing at the sight before them.


    Sensing Valyr''s gaze, the man briefly looked back at him before shing a faint smile, only to continue staring off into the distance not long after.


    Knowing that he would end up asking Vaughn about it just for the sheer fact that he was curious as to what the man meant by it, the young man decided to give onest go toing up a usible answer to the question.


    Though, unlike before, he did not constrain his thoughts anymore, allowing it to get wherever it wanted just so he could formte something that somewhat made sense.


    Going through all of the memories he had rued throughout the inheritance so far, Valyr eventually formted a hypothesis so oundish that the chances of it actually being true were quite low.


    But as he continued to think about it, the more it lingered in his mind, causing him to think that the oundish theory he had was the exact possibility that made Vaughn say those words.


    Of course, as he had no way to prove it yet, he pushed the thought to the side for the meantime as he inwardly took in a deep breath.


    "By your talented descendant, what did you mean by that?" Looking at Vaughn directly in the eye, Valyr sported a calm expression.


    In response, Vaughn looked back at him with a knowing smile, understanding the young man beside him had undoubtedly gone through a lot amidst the silence.


    "Well¡­ there is the option of answering your question right here and now," said the man as he opened his mouth, causing Valyr''s eyes to glisten with expectation.


    However, that all disappeared as the man soon let out a slight chuckle. "But where''s the fun in that?"


    At those words, Valyr bitterly smiled before letting out a sigh. "Couldn''t you just tell me outright?"


    "I could¡­" Vaughn nodded. "But we''ll be going through a ton of questions that would end up confusing you if that were the case."


    "Instead, how about I utilize one of the rewards you''ll get as a member of the Gates of Transcendence to do that?"


    Hearing that, the young man slightly tilted his head as he thought about how one of his rewards could do such a thing.


    Of course, after pondering it for a bit, Valyr eventually found the answer to his question, prompting him to look at Vaughn with slightly widened eyes in realization.


    "You won''t mind if we go through the memories that are part of your rewards first, right?" asked Vaughn, to which Valyr obviously nodded in response.


    With that, the man let out a small chuckle before nodding back, gesturing with his hands not long after as an ethereal form of energy began to envelop the two of them.


    "Since you''ve already seen the past memories of the First Forger through the first two organizations, we''ll obviously be viewing the memories of the First Forger that you haven''t seen yet."


    Feeling like the ethereal energy surrounding them was gradually carrying his consciousness to another ce, Valyr slowly closed his eyes as he allowed Vaughn to do his thing.


    Watching Valyr from the side, a faint smile adorned Vaughn''s face as he muttered a few words that only he could hear. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Thank the heavens you''re fated with the path of the First Forger."


    "With your intellect, I know you''ll understand once you see it."


    And with that, the man whisked both his and Valyr''s consciousness off to another realm, arriving at a world of darkness not long after.


    ¡­


    "How are our preparations for the final push?"


    Hearing these words reverberate throughout the area, Valyr snapped back to reality as he shook his head for a brief moment.


    Taking some time to adjust, the young man quickly looked around to figure out what was going on, soon finding arge round table a fair distance below him.


    Looking through therge number of people that sat behind it, Valyr''s attention soon focused on one specific person among them, his identity now more than familiar to him with the memories he''d already seen.


    ''Looks like he''s gone through a lot.'' Recalling the words that had echoed throughout the area before, Valyr soon realized that it was the First Forger that had thrown out that question to the others.


    "As a representative of the Forging Division, I could say with confidence that we have a surplus in both weapons and armor for the final push," said a man near the middle of the round table, eliciting a nod from the First Forger in response.


    Not long after, a man near the First Forger spoke up, their words more concise. "Reconnaissance Division representative. All of the necessary information has already beenpiled and will be sent to you shortly." After that, a young woman sitting beside the First Forger spoke up, her expression that of someone who had years upon years of experience. "The logistics division is more than ready to go, plus we''ve settled all the misceneous tasks you''ve given us. We''re ready to proceed."


    "Let''s begin, then." Hearing all of the responses that had been given by the others, the First Forger nodded in satisfaction.


    Then, without warning, the man stood up and unleashed the aura before revealing a toothy grin.


    "Let''s give those bastards hell, shall we?"

 Chapter 859 Four Pillars: Sovereigns

    Chapter 859 Four Pirs: Sovereigns


    As most of the people became raucous in response to the First Forger''s question, Valyr looked at the ce he had appeared in greater detail, soon realizing that he had actually popped up in what he could consider as a familiar ce.


    "Huh," uttered the young man in realization. "From the looks of it, this is the hall where the First Forger fought against all of those people just as the system update arrived."


    Muttering those words to himself, the young man briefly recalled the previous memory he had seen regarding the First Forger, vividly remembering the peacefulness amidst the slight tension that surrounded the hall in the beginning.


    However, that all changed once the system update arrived, reseting everyone''s strength back to what they were before.


    Recalling how brutal and how tyrannical the First Forger was when he fought all of those in the hall back then that had malicious intentions in their eyes, the young man faintly shuddered in response.


    Returning his attention to the present, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise as he sensed the overwhelming aura the man exuded.


    "I guess a long time has passed once more since then, considering how the First Forger seems to have reached Rank 5 already," said the young man, wondering to himself how much time exactly had passed since thest memory.


    Fortunately, he had gotten a response to this question before he could even voice it out.


    "As far as I remember, around six or seven decades have passed after the previous memory you saw ended."


    "?!" With his eyes wide from shock, the young man frantically looked around, only to let out a faint sigh as he found the origin of the voice that spoke.


    "You''re here as well?" asked Valyr in slight curiosity, unsure why Vaughn would tag along in viewing a memory with him.


    Hearing the young man''s words, Vaughn let out a slight chuckle. "Now you''re making it sound like I''m unwee."


    "In any case, feel free to ask any questions regarding what''s going on in the memory along the way. I think I''ve gone through all of the memories the Triad Gates has to offer at least a dozen times each already."


    With that, Valyr went silent once more as he briefly watched what was happening below.


    With the man''s words continuing to linger in his mind, the young man eventually decided to take him up on his offer and posed a question to the former.


    "So¡­ what exactly happened during the time between the previous memory I saw and the current memory?"


    "What did you see at the end of your previous memory exactly?" asked Vaughn in response, telling Valyr that he needed the information for greater detail.


    Nodding at those words, the young man then briefly summarized the previous memory he''d seen regarding the First Forger, naturally emphasizing the end of the memory once he was done.


    "The First Forger upgraded the race-specific artifact he''d forged. Got it." Vaughn nodded after the young man was done exining.


    Briefly mulling over the question he''d gotten in silence, the man eventually opened his mouth as he looked at Valyr with a calm expression. "Yeah, around seven to eight decades have passed since that point and the memory we''re viewing right now."


    Whoosh!


    Just as he said those words, Vaughn made a few gestures with his hands, causing the sight below to be frozen in time.


    Whilst Valyr looked at what had unfolded with slight shock, the man continued with his gestures, releasing a bit of his own energy to create what looked to be a mirror of sorts.


    Making a bit of noise to snap Valyr''s attention back to reality, Vaughn told the young man to focus his sights on the mirror before utilizing a bit of energy to create an image on it.


    Swoosh!


    With the mirror showing a brief overview of the multiple fights the First Forger had gone through, Vaughn began to talk.


    "After obtaining his ss and upgrading the Dominion of Humanity to Legendary grade, the First Forger went on a series of campaigns that allowed humanity''s territory to greatly expand."


    "At the same time, he and many others guided the people on what they needed to do with the advent of the system update, utilizing the setting of war to put pressure on them." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Unsurprisingly, this action caused the might of the human race to surpass the peak it had reached before, birthing a generation of humans that could truly stand toe to toe against the orcs in terms of strength."


    "At the same time, the flexibility of ss choices thanks to the system update also meant that there was a massive boom in the number of people who had taken up the production ss."


    Saying these words, Vaughn went on to exin that humanity at the time had actually attained a level of technology nearing the Age of Scientific Revolution in equivalence, which undoubtedly left Valyr at a loss for words.


    After all, the gap between the Early Middle Ages and the Age of Scientific Revolution wasn''t so easily surmounted.


    Of course, with a bit of thinking, the young man knew that Vaughn and the Four Pirs'' Inheritance had something to do with it.


    Nevertheless, he still found a shame since Veldanyr would have been at the Renaissance Age or the First Industrial Revolution at this point if not for the inheritance.


    After giving Valyr some time to digest the information he''d given him, Vaughn then continued where he left off, talking about how humanity''s territory had greatly expanded those past few decades.


    "By the end of those eight decades, a couple of human empires had been established, all of them governing the various kingdoms, cities, and towns that had been founded by humanity throughout its lifespan."


    "In fact, the hall that''s below us is the center of political power for the strongest human empire at the time," said Vaughn with a faint smile. "Naturally, that''s all thanks to the First Forger right there."


    Feeling like he had now given all of the information Valyr would need to get up to speed, Vaughn made a few gestures with his fingers once more, causing the memory below to continue where it had left off.


    In a matter of minutes, all of the people in the hall radiated a level of battle intent that rivaled many groups Valyr hade across in his past life.


    Focusing his attention on the First Forger, the young man took note of the Dominion of Humanity that was equipped, its design and aura having undergo through a massive change thanks to how much time had passed.


    Standing up from his seat, the First Forger then led the people out of the hall, prompting Vaughn to move them to a ce outside the hall.


    Whoosh!


    Getting a firsthand look at the vast territory the empire that the First Forger created upied, Valyr''s mouth went agape as he felt that his vision wascking in order to see the entirety of the empire with one nce.


    With Valyr continuing to admire therge territory of the empire on the side, a faint smile adorned Vaughn''s face as he waved his hand, causing the passage of time in the memory to speed up.


    With that, the young man snapped back to reality as he watched almost all of the people within the empire seemingly move like gears in a machine.


    Like clockwork, all of the people contributed one way or another to the cause that would allow them to move closer towards a single purpose.


    In their case, the single purpose that they wanted to seed in was to be victorious against their final push into the orcs'' territory.


    Though everything was drastically sped up, Valyr could still clearly the various divisions of humanity working towards that one purpose, eventually culminating into a giant event by the time a few more months in the memory had passed.


    Swoosh!


    With Vaughn returning the passage of time back to normal in the memory, Valyr''s eyes were instantly fixated to what seemed to be a show of force outside one of the empire''s gates.


    Commanding an army that seemed to house thousands upon thousands of people willing to fight for the cause, the First Forger stood at the very forefront of this formation, radiating an aura of power that far eclipsed even themanders he had chosen.


    Briefly ncing at the various brigades, regiments, and battalions that had been formed for this exact moment, the man raised the Dominion of Humanity up in the air, causing all of those who looked at it to feel a sort of resonance with it.


    Seeing that he had caught the attention of everyone with his action, the First Forger nodded in satisfaction before opening his mouth.


    "Everyone, we have gathered here today to finally carve a piece out of this world that we could truly im as ours."


    "I''m sure that all of us recognize the various sacrifices the men before us have done in order to get us to where we are today. If not for them, humanity wouldn''t have gotten to this point where we could now pose a threat to the other races."


    Taking in a deep breath, the First Forger infused mana into his voice before bellowing out with great force. "Men!"


    "There is no doubt that all of us here will beying our lives for the sake of humanity''s future."


    "However, let me assure you. We may be heading there as if we were serving our lives to them on a silver tter."


    "But we will return. We will return victorious."


    "We will return¡­ as sovereigns of this world!"

 Chapter 860 Four Pillars: A Show of Power

    Chapter 860 Four Pirs: A Show of Power


    Listening to the First Forger''s speech to those that would join him on what looked to be humanity''s final campaign, Valyr felt his blood boil in anticipation, sensing his intent to fight stir within him.


    Yet, as he was watching the entire memory unfold from a bystander''s perspective, the young man had no avenue to release this intent.


    In the end, as the massive army the First Forgermanded shouted in unison as a response to the man''s words, Valyr clenched his fists together in solidarity, feeling as if he were a part of the army as well.


    Watching everything unfold from the side, a faint smile briefly appeared on Vaughn''s lips as he watched Valyr''s actions.


    Though, as the young man was fully captivated by the show of force that was happening below them, the man''s smile was ultimately left unnoticed, its meaning left unknown.


    After the First Forger riled up the emotions of the ones who would be joining him in the fight, he and many others did onest check to see if they were ready to wage war against the orcs.


    Fortunately, the process only took a few minutes at most, prompting the massive army the First Forger had gathered to set off in the direction of the orcs'' territory sometimeter.


    Witnessing this event from afar, the young man took in everything that was happening andmitted it to memory, slowly filling in the gaps in his mind regarding the First Forger''s memories.


    At some point during the army''s expedition, Vaughn did a few gestures with his hands, speeding up the journey of the army from their perspective.


    Then again, even without Vaughn''s intervention, the young man felt like the army was already moving at a considerably fast speed already.


    From the auras the people making up the army were radiating, Valyr surmised that the weakest among them were around the peak of Rank 4 in terms of strength.


    As for the average strength of the army, the young man was certain that it was around thete stages or the peak of Rank 5 afterparing it to the First Forger''s aura.


    Not only that, but Valyr also felt that a decent amount of them had also brought up theirprehended concepts to the Force level, prompting the young man to think that was the greatest show of force he''d seen in his current life thus far.


    Though, as he continued to watch the army move through Veldanyr, the young man began noticing a few peculiarities here and there.


    For one, even though Vaughn had mentioned that the level of technology while the memory was happening was around the Late Middle Ages, the armor the people wore seemed toe from an age that was far more advanced than that.


    ''It kind of resembles modern military armor in a way,'' thought Valyr after rummaging through his memories for a bit, tilting his head in slight confusion.


    Aside from that, a decently sized faction of the army had brought along firearms, which did not really raise any rms within the young man''s mind.


    But as he looked closer at these firearms, Valyr soon noticed that only a few among them used a firing mechanism that reflected the age of technology at the time.


    Instead, the majority of the firearms made use of a flintlock firing mechanism, which was a firing mechanism that only became more prevalent after the Age of Scientific Revolution. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    With those discoveries in mind, a series of questions began to linger within Valyr''s mind, causing him to briefly wonder whether Vaughn was telling him the truth or not.


    At the same time, it made him think about a hypothesis he had in the past regarding the First Forger''s identity, thinking that he was someone like him who had knowledge from a previous time.


    ''I wonder which one''s correct¡­?'' Wanting to know more about the reality of the situation, Valyr eventually decided to ask Vaughn more about the matter, talking about how the army below them seemed toe from an age that was more advanced than the one thetter mentioned.


    In response, the man reassured Valyr that the technology at the time was indeed around the Late Middle Ages, exining to the young man that the weapons and armors the army had equipped turned out that way was all because of the First Forger.


    "Just like the modifications you''ve done to your arquebus, the First Forger had also done modifications to the weapons and armors you see before you," said Vaughn. "That''s probably the reason why you think theye from a more advanced age."


    Hearing those words, Valyr nodded in response as Vaughn''s exnation more or less confirmed his second hypothesis of the First Forger being a reincarnator.


    Though, after mulling over it for a bit, the young man slowly began to feel like that wasn''t the case, recalling the oundish theory he had before entering the memory.


    In the end, Valyr decided to ept Vaughn''s words as truth for the meantime while keeping an eye on anything that said otherwise.


    Now with an inquisitive eye, the young man watched as the First Forger''s army eventually arrived at the area that they were going to im for their own.


    Surprisingly, the orcs had already long appeared at the area, as if they were waiting for the humans to arrive.


    Moving forward to the front of the army, the First Forger stared at the orcs at the forefront of their formation before radiating the entirety of his aura at full st.


    Whoosh!


    With an Ancient ss under his belt, as well as an artifact like the Dominion of Humanity, it went without saying that the First Forger''s aura had overwhelmed many of the orcs at the front to the point that some of them had even fainted.


    Seeing this, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise, quickly realizing that the aura the First Forger exuded before they departed was only a mere fraction of the man''s true power.


    Though, before he could dwell any longer on what level of strength the First Forger trulymanded, the orcs soon brought someone that could fight against the First Forger''s aura with their own.


    "Hmph. Do you really think we''re going to hand thisnd over to you, Cmity of Khra''adash?" Radiating an aura that did not lose out to the First Forger, a blue-skinned orc standing over three meters tall looked at the former with contempt.


    "I know you won''t, Gro''gezar''akh," replied the First Forger as he looked back at the orc with a calm expression. "Because of that, we have no choice but to use force."


    "Foolish," replied Gro''gezar''akh, looking at the First Forger with a sneer. "The puny human really thinks it could defeat the orcs just because they had finally freed themselves from our grasp?"


    "How utterly foolish. Watch as we return you and the entire human race to where you originally belong."


    "Our ves." The orc looked at the man with a malevolent grin.


    In response, the First Forger inwardly let out a faint sigh before shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I''d like to see you try."


    "[The Will of Humanity]."


    Whoosh!


    Before Gro''gezar''akh and the orcs behind him could react, a domain spanning over a hundred meters in radius unfolded with the First Forger acting as the center.


    In mere seconds, the humans within the domain gained a massive boost to their stats, causing their strengths to rise to levels that made some of the orcs shudder in fear.


    As the center of this domain, the First Forger was also affected by this domain, his aura ascending to levels that allowed it to begin overwhelming the aura Gro''gezar''akh was releasing.


    Of course, the man did not stop there, activating all of the stat boosting skills under his arsenal in order for his strength to reach unprecedented heights.


    For a brief moment, the First Forger radiated an aura that mentally brought all of the orcs to their knees, save for Gro''gezar''akh who still tried his hardest to endure the pressure the man''s aura now brought upon him.


    Yet, even he was forced to sumb as a fist that seemingly came from a god appeared above the entire orc army.


    "[The Might of Humanity]."


    Swoosh!


    With thousands of humans near the First Forger at that very moment, what was originally a ferocious attack had immediately turned into an attack that seemed to threaten the rigidity of the itself.


    Powered with the bolstered strength the manmanded, the fist soon met the ground the orcs stood upon, leading to a level of destruction that rivaled even the worst bouts of destruction Valyr had seen thus far.


    Bang!


    In less than an instant, over half of the force the orcs had gathered for this event were wiped out of existence by the fist.


    As for those that near the vicinity of where the fistnded, their injuries varied from lethal to severe as their bodies were sent flying into the air for tens to hundreds of meters.


    Surprisingly, there were still those that remained standing after the First Forger''s show of power, with Gro''gezar''akh being one of them.


    But with how helpless the orcs were against a single move made by the sole human before them, it was then that Gro''gezar''akh knew¡­


    A new era was about to begin whether they wanted it or not.

 Chapter 861 Four Pillars: Through the Lens

    Chapter 861 Four Pirs: Through the Lens


    Watching the First Forger mow down a great chunk of the opposition with just one move, it went without saying that Valyr was left at a loss for words at the level of power the man wielded.


    Even he, who had experienced a simr level of strength during his fight against Daon and Dawan, could not say with certainty that he could wield that much power if he were as strong as the First Forger.


    With that, the young man began to question his thoughts from the beginning of the memory, recalling that he thought that the First Forger had reached Rank 5 from the aura he was giving off.


    Though, with the show of power the man had done at the beginning of his army''s expedition, as well as the show of power that the man had done just now, Valyr was unsurprisingly forced to reevaluate his thoughts.


    In the end, he decided to ask Vaughn yet again on the matter while rummaging through the memories from his past life in the meantime.


    Surprisingly, the young man''s earlier thoughts weren''t that far off from what Vaughn had told him, with the man telling Valyr that the First Forger could be considered to be someone at the extreme pinnacle of Rank 5.


    "Not only does he have an Ancient grade ss, he also has a subss of a simr caliber, as well as a Force that''s considered to be just a bit shy of bing an actual Concept," said Vaughn with a calm expression.


    Hearing that the First Forger also had an Ancient grade subss under his belt, Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in disbelief as he felt his world view shudder for a bit.


    Though, with how much the First Forger seemed to know regarding various aspects of the system throughout the memories he''d seen so far, the young man''s shock gradually disappeared, instead taking the man''s achievements as a matter of fact.


    After all, if he had already arrived at a level of power that began to threaten Myth-level beings in his current state, who''s to say someone with the same resources as him couldn''t do the same thing?


    Who''s to say they couldn''t go one step beyond what he did?


    After that question, the two continued to talk about the power the First Forger was exuding for a bit more, witnessing the army behind the First Forger finally make a move against the remaining orcs.


    With the army cleaving a bloody path through the orcs that remained, Vaughn told Valyr that the level of strength the First Forger showed at that moment was on the level of someone who was at peak Rank 7 or early Rank 8.


    Hearing that, the young man faintly smiled in response, inwardly d that he wasn''t wrong in that regard.


    While watching the First Forger unleash all of the skills under his arsenal to bolster his strength, Valyr surmised that the man had the strength of someone with an average level of strength amongst Myth-level beings.


    To be more specific, the strength of someone with the average rank amongst Myth-level beings, which was Rank 8.


    Moving his attention away from the destruction the First Forger was unleashing after his first move, Valyr soon focused his attention on the army of humans the man had gathered.


    Looking at Vaughn in hopes that the man would give him more information, the young man nodded in understanding after hearing that almost all of the people making up the army were at the same rank as the First Forger.


    Though, unlike the First Forger, they did not have an Ancient grade ss or a Force that seemed to threaten the status quo.


    Nevertheless, they stillmanded a level of strength that would elicit great amounts of respect amongst many people, especially those that the First Forger had chosen tomand therge groups making up the army.


    With those people, as well as a handful of incredibly talented peak Rank 4 ss holders manning the army, it did not take long for the orc army to begin crumbling into oblivion.


    After taking some damage from the First Forger''s [The Might of Humanity], Gro''gezar''akh was forced to tap into the recesses of his body for energy that would allow him to fight against the one called the Cmity of Khradash.


    Yet, try as he might, the empowered First Forger remained victorious in the end, his expression tranquil as he easily disposed of the blue-skinned orc.


    Of course, with the leader of the orc formation down, the human army gained even greater morale, pushing deeper into what was once a sturdy defense made to defend against the human offensive.


    But with no one manning the helm of the orc army, many of the orcs decided to run away, realizing that throwing away their lives at this juncture would be all for naught.


    With that, a campaign that would have originally taken days or weeks to finish with the numbers each side had was instead finished in a matter of hours.


    From the First Forger taking the initiative to make a show of power to the various strengths and the strategies the human army had up its sleeve to fight against the remaining orcs, all of that was crucial in order for them to arrive at their current state.


    With that, it went without saying that there were next to no casualties on the human side whatsoever, all of them cheering for joy as they realized that they had just made history.


    Even the First Forger had a wide smile on his face after realizing that he could now take a more rxed approach to expanding humanity''s territory.


    Letting out a soft sigh of relief, the man brought up a screen before him, which prompted the territory the orcs were upying before to faintly glow in response.


    Whoosh!


    Starting from the center of the territory, a ring of blue energy swiftly expanded to cover the entire territory they had just imed, allowing the entire human army to realize that they had just imed over hundreds of kilometers ofnd in one go.


    Realizing this, the army cheered even greater, with some even beginning to cry as they felt that the sacrifices they''ve made to get to this point hadn''t been in vain.


    As for the First Forger, a solemn expression soon adorned his face as he felt the world calling out to him, prompting others to think that the man was preparing to ascend his Force into a bona fide Concept.


    Yet, against all odds, such a thing didn''t happen.


    Instead, with a soft exhale, the First Forger gazed out into the horizon before speaking out a few statements that seemed to resound throughout the entire.


    "For decades, the humans have fought against their oppressors in a bid to rid themselves of the past that once was."


    "For decades, we have toiled for this very purpose. Throughout that entire time, many have lived in fear that all of our efforts would eventuallye to naught, wondering if the heavens would make a mockery of our aspirations."


    "Not anymore."


    Whoosh!


    Raising the Dominion of Humanity into the air, the First Forger felt the artifact radiate a pulse throughout the entire territory humanity has imed for themselves so far.


    At that moment, the man felt the existence of every human within their territory.


    Their heartbeats, their convictions, their emotions, all of that enveloped the man for a brief moment to the point that he was slightly overwhelmed.


    Yet, with a determined step, the First Forger quickly regained his wits, taking in a deep breath as he knew that the next words toe out of his mouth would not be taken by the heavens lightly.


    "With the Dominion of Humanity as the artifact that defines the unyielding will of the humans, we, the human race, shun the past that have been forced upon us."


    Surprisingly, the entire army behind the First Forger responded in unison after that. "We shun the past that have been forced upon us!"


    "Today, the human race writes down a new chapter on its long history. A chapter free from the oppressors. A chapter that deems us equal to those that once treated us lesser."


    "A chapter of true freedom."


    "True freedom!" yelled the entire army in unison.


    "With the heavens as our witness, the human race shall now form a sovereignty, a sign that we are of equal standing to the great elves of nature, as well as the orcs of wanton destruction." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Borrowing humanity''snguage of old, this sovereignty shall bear the marks of both Zeies, the word for eternity, and Harhedt, the word for prosperity."


    "With the heavens as our witness, the human race shall now establish the Zeihardt Sovereignty, its prosperitysting for eons upon end!"


    "Long live the Zeihardt Sovereignty! Long live the human race!" shouted the army, their emotions now in full view.


    Clenching the fist that held the Dominion of Humanity, the First Forger continued. "To mark this new age, I shall now bear the surname Zeihardt."


    "From this day forth, I renounce my previous identity and take on the name Otto. With the word meaning power as my name, I shall now be known henceforth as Otto Zeihardt, the first leader of the Zeihardt Sovereignty."


    "May the heavens guide me in using my powers to lead humanity in the right direction."


    "And may humanity continue to prosper even greater under my rule."

 Chapter 862 Four Pillars: Web of Deception

    Chapter 862 Four Pirs: Web of Deception


    "¡­"


    As the First Forger''s words continued to echo throughout human territory, Valyr felt as if all of the connections in his brain weren''t working at that moment.


    No matter how much he tried to wrap his head around what was going on before him, the young man seemed to just fall a bit short from totalprehension.


    Then again, no one could me him.


    After all, this part of the memory had caused a great portion of the questions Valyr had built up along the way to be answered.


    With the memory ending as the army behind Otto began to cheer in jubtion, Vaughn and Valyr were gradually returned to the world of darkness, only to return to where they sat at the Gates of Transcendence soon after.


    Of course, with how the final memory revealed that he was looking at the memories of the ancestor of the Zeihardt n all this time, the young man did not engage in any conversation with Vaughn in the meantime.


    Instead, he stared off into the distance once more, giving himself some time to fully process what he had just seen.


    At the same time, he went over all of the information he had obtained from the memories thus far, finding out not long after that the clues were already there from the start.


    Though he did not obtain any specific information on what the founder of the Zeihardt n was like in the past through the Myriad Archives, the fact that the man had chosen to free himself from his master''s grasp should have already given him an idea.


    Or better yet, the initiative to free humanity from the clutches of the orcs.


    ''To think the ancestor of the Zeihardt n was a cksmith,'' thought the young man to himself, wondering if the Triad Gates had truly given him ess to such a memory due to the fact that he was excelling well in the trials.


    After all, it wouldn''t be far-fetched for him to think that the Triad Gates had been waiting all this time for a talented descendant of the Zeihardt n toe by in order for the memory to be given.


    In the end, Valyr could only let out a long sigh after going over through all of his thoughts. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nevertheless, amidst the sigh, he felt a faint sense of relief in the fact that he now knew the identity of who the First Forger was.


    However, just as he relished in the delight of knowing the First Forger''s identity, there were still many things within the memories that had nothing to do with the fact that the First Forger was Otto Zeihardt.


    For one, the man''s identity did not exin the fact that he knew when the system would arrive or when a system update.


    Aside from that, it did not exin how the man had the knowledge to modify weapons and armors from a certain technological era to function and appear as if it were from a more technologically advanced era.


    With his reincarnator hypothesis from before, both questions would be answered without much difficulty.


    Though, as far as he knew, the information he got from the Myriad Archives did not mention anything about Otto being a reincarnator.


    ''Unless¡­?''


    As the thought came to mind, Valyr thought about the information the Myriad Archives did mention on Otto, which was the fact that he had a powerful bloodline that granted him absurd innate strength.


    Having already seen such strength firsthand through the memory he essed in the Gates of Awakening, the young man wondered if the bloodline also affected the man''s regeneration rate, recalling the beginning of the first memory he saw.


    "With more answerse more questions, huh," muttered the young man after reaching this point, scratching the back of his head as he briefly nced at Vaughn.


    While looking at the man beside him that was staring off into the distance, Valyr recalled the words the man mentioned, as well as the oundish theory he hade up with that could answer that question.


    To be more specific, the oundish theory he''de up with basically stated that the First Forger was the result of an experiment Vaughn had done involving his blood in secret, allowing it to be eventually traced down to his own blood.


    But with the knowledge that the First Forger was the ancestor of the Zeihardt n, that oundish theory seemed more usible than before.


    Though, after thinking all of that, the young man decided to push such thoughts to the side for the meantime, instead asking Vaughn for more information on what the First Forger was like.


    "How was Otto like back then?" Valyr looked Vaughn with curiosity as he posed the question. "Do the memories only reflect his good sides?"


    In response, Vaughn merely chuckled. "What''s with the question all of a sudden?"


    "What''s wrong with me asking about it?" replied Valyr back. "You''re a Greater God, after all. With how long your lifespan is, surely you would''ve met Otto Zeihardt in the flesh, no?"


    "What an insidious way to remind me that I''m old," said Vaughn, only to let out a bit ofughter in response. "In any case, the First Forger more or less acts the same way he did in the memories you''ve seen."


    "He could be stubborn at times, he could be calm and calctive at others, he could even act like a fool if he needed to."


    "But if there was one thing that was a constant in his actions, it was the fact that he always kept the prosperity of humanity in mind while doing so."


    "Speaking of humanity''s prosperity, what happened after the memory ended?" asked Valyr after that, hoping that the man beside him would have an answer.


    "More or less what you see in the history books Veldanyr has if you''vee across them already," replied Vaughn with a shrug. "After Otto dered the founding of the Zeihardt Sovereignty to the heavens, humanity still went through multiple ups and downs."


    "Though, in the grand scheme of things, humanity continued to go up and up as more and more time passed."


    "In fact, it prospered so much that Otto eventually founded the Triad Gates you and your group have gone through in this inheritance," said Vaughn as he looked at Valyr.


    Recalling the faint glimpse into the true nature of humanity he''d seen in the second memory involving the First Forger, the young man nodded at those words.


    After that, Vaughn continued his exnation by saying that humanity went backwards for a while thanks to the Triad Gates, reducing its technological level down to somewhere around the High Middle Ages.


    Though, it was the advent of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance that caused the technological level of Veldanyr to go down to where it was right now, with Vaughn telling Valyr that he''d worked with a far descendant of Otto in order to do so.


    Nodding once more after that, the young man went silent for a bit as the gears in his mind began to turn.


    Coting all of the information he''d obtained thus far on both Vaughn and Otto, Valyr felt as if the next question he came up with would finally allow him to obtain many of the answers he sought to obtain from the start.


    With that, he pondered over it for quite some time, going over the many peculiarities and facies that both Vaughn and Otto had shown to him thus far.


    With a deep breath, the young man eventually looked at Vaughn directly in his eyes, his expression solemn as he asked thetter his thought-out question.


    "How¡­ are you rted to the First Forger? Was he one of the first sesses of that experiment you did?"


    As these words left his mouth, a great sense of relief washed over Valyr as he felt that the situation would only improve from here.


    After all, if Vaughn told him that he had no rtion to the First Forger at all and that thetter was a sess of that experiment, the young man could continue the topic from there and obtain the questions he sought.


    And if Vaughn told that he was indeed rted to the First Forger and that thetter was a sess of that experiment, not much would change aside from a few additional questions stemming from his pure curiosity.


    With the young man looked at the man''s expression, thetter''s eyes widened in surprise, showing that he wasn''t expecting a question like that to be thrown all of a sudden.


    Yet, just as Valyr felt as if everything would go ording to his expectations, Vaughn shed a knowing smile at him, as if he was telling him through the smile that he was already expecting such a question from the start.


    Though inwardly confused as to why he got that feeling, the young man''s expression remained neutral as he waited for the man to give his answer.


    After what felt like an agonizing minute of silence, Vaughn finally opened his mouth, prompting Valyr to perk up his ears as he was finally going to obtain the truth he sought.


    However¡­


    "I''m not rted to the First Forger, nor is the First Forger a sess of that experiment I did."


    "After all, why would you call the First Forger a sess of that experiment¡­"


    "If the First Forger is me?"

 Chapter 863 Four Pillars: Veridical Oath

    Chapter 863 Four Pirs: Veridical Oath


    If Valyr were to count the number of times he had been left at an utter loss for words in his current life, most of them would have been caused by the man beside him.


    He had already gotten over the fact that he would be the one inheriting Vaughn''s position as owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    After all, the man had given him a lot of good reasons as to why he would be chosen.


    ''I guess him knowing that I''m a reincarnator is included in those list of reasons,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Aside from that, he had alreadye to terms with the fact that he had been viewing the memory of the ancestor of the Zeihardt n all this time.


    In a way, it could be said that it was his fault that he had not caught what was going on ever since he essed that one memory from the First Forger.


    Then again, he had all right to be skeptical of that since there were still many things that were left unanswered in those memories of the man.


    Yet, the man beside him was now telling him that he was none other than the First Forger in those memories he viewed?


    For some time, the young man''s mouth was fully open as he looked at Vaughn beside him with a myriad number of emotions going through his head.


    It was only a few minutes after the man dropped those words was Valyr finally able to close his mouth.


    However, that did not diminish the amount of shock and disbelief he felt from the confession, taking a bit more time after that to sort things out in his mind.


    "Haah¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, the young man let out a long exhale before looking at Vaughn with a calm expression.


    "So¡­ you''re telling me¡­ that you''re the First Forger?"


    "Correct." Vaughn nodded in response.


    "You''re¡­ the ancestor of the Zeihardt n?"


    "Also correct."


    "I''m¡­ one of your descendants?"


    "One of my more talented descendants, but yes."


    "Yeah¡­ this isn''t making any sense." Pinching the skin between his eyebrows in slight frustration, Valyr took in a few more deep breaths before looking at Vaughn once more.


    "You''re telling me that not only did you recreate humanity on Veldanyr from scratch, but you also led the same humanity you recreated to the point where it could stand toe on toe against the orcs and the elves."


    "Pretty much." Vaughn faintly shrugged his shoulders, inwardly feeling amusement at the fact that Valyr was perplexed over the entire situation.


    Then again, if he were in the young man''s shoes, he was certain that he would have reacted the same way.


    Perhaps, even get a bit physical.


    Though, rather than get physical, the young man went silent for a bit once more as he tried to wrap his head around Vaughn''s words.


    After a while, Valyr looked at Vaughn with a hint of confidence in his eyes as he opened his mouth. "You say you''re the First Forger¡­ yet you don''t even look like the one in the memory."


    In response to that, Vaughn merely smiled before letting out a faint chuckle. "You have a point."


    Whoosh!


    Not long after that, Vaughn''s body gave off a strong sense of incongruence as the man''s face began to twist and turn before Valyr''s very eyes.


    Within seconds, Vaughn''s face rearranged itself to look more like the face the First Forger had in the memory.


    However, unlike the First Forger in the memory, Vaughn''s face felt more mature, more weathered, giving off the feeling that it had not seen the light of day for over a hundred thousand years.


    Seeing the matured version of the First Forger''s face where Vaughn''s previous face was, Valyr was left at a loss for words once more, the synapses and neurons making up his brain seemingly failing him at this moment.


    In the end, the young man furiously scratched the back of his head as he began to look at Vaughn with anger. "Are you seriously the First Forger? Are you really Otto Zeihardt?"


    "I am," replied Vaughn with a nod, the delight he felt from the situation earlier now reced with seriousness. "What would I gain from lying to you, anyway?"


    "Nothing, but that doesn''t mean the wordsing out of your mouth are the truth," said Valyr, the anger in his body continuing to boil within him. "Perhaps, everything else you''ve told me so far are lies as well."


    "Once again, I wouldn''t gain anything from lying to you." Vaughn shook his head with a sigh, understanding that it was partly his fault that the situation had escted to this point.


    But if he were to mention to Valyr from the get-go that he was the First Forger and that he was nning to give his current position to him without any background information, would the young man even believe him?


    Seeing as the situation would most likely end up with Valyr screaming at him, Vaughn closed his eyes for a bit as he radiated the entirety of the aura contained within his current body.


    "Under the witness of the omnipotent and omniscient mana, as well as the evesting and indefatigable truths of the universe, I, Vaughn Darkstar, hereby dere that all of the information I''ve given Valyr Zeihardt have been nothing but the exact truth."


    "If any of the statements and words I have given Valyr Zeihardt throughout our various meetings have any falsehood or deception within them, may the heavens strike down its punishment at me right this very moment."


    Whoosh!


    As Vaughn finished his words, the sky above them began to rumble for a bit, forming a few clouds that seemingly threatened the existence of the Gates of Transcendence.


    Yet, in the end, all of those clouds dispersed as the skies swiftly turned back to normal. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "¡­" Watching the dark skies clear up before his very eyes, it took a while for Valyr topose himself, immediately understanding what Vaughn had just done.


    With that, all of the anger that was brewing within earlier had disappeared, instead being reced with both confusion and curiosity towards the man that was Vaughn Darkstar.


    "Did you just¡­" Valyr asked the man after a long silence.


    "Veridical oath," replied Vaughn with a nod, only to give a faint smile not long after. "Just to make it more than certain that I''m not lying."


    "In any case¡­"


    "Are you finally willing to listen to what I have to say?"

 Chapter 864 Four Pillars: Truths Revealed

    Chapter 864 Four Pirs: Truths Revealed


    Taking Valyr''s silence as confirmation after that, Vaughn let out a wide sigh of relief as his body slightly sunk into the floor they were sitting on.


    Giving himself some time topose himself, the man took in a deep breath before proceeding to speak. "Let me introduce myself again."


    "My name is Vaughn Darkstar."


    "I am the owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, and I was once called thest leader of humanity." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I am also the one to recreate humanity from scratch through the memories you saw, which ultimately had something to do with an event called the Great Cataclysm."


    "Aside from that, I am also Otto Zeihardt, the founder of the Zeihardt n, as well as the one who established the Zeihardt Sovereignty."


    Listening to the man''s introduction once more, Valyr briefly felt a sense of dissonance because of his earlier knowledge regarding the man.


    However, with him quickly reminding himself that Vaughn had sworn a veridical oath, as well as showed what seemed to his original face, that feeling of dissonance swiftly disappeared.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to give himself some time to wrap his head around the situation, Valyr eventually looked at Vaughn once more after letting out a long sigh.


    Then, going over the multiple questions that had umted in his mind throughout his entire journey in the inheritance, the young man soon began to ask him his questions.


    "Why did you only decide to reveal your identity as the First Forger now?"


    "Don''t you think it would''ve been more suspicious if I were to have said that from the get-go?" replied Vaughn, to which Valyr soon nodded in agreement.


    "Then, there you have it. In any case, I wanted you to cote information during your journey in the inheritance and arrive at your own conclusions before getting to this point."


    "Were you the one who gave me ess to those memories back when I was still going through the Gates of Enlightenment''s trials?" asked Valyr not long after, feeling like it was a good continuation of the topic.


    Surprisingly, Vaughn shook his head at the question. "That was all the Triad Gates. If anything, I only put in the condition that the Triad Gates would give a talented Zeihardt ess to that memory if they took up the cksmithing profession."


    "Who knew it''d be close to a hundred thousand years before a descendant with the profession would enter this ce." At those words, the man shrugged his shoulders.


    Nodding in response, Valyr went silent for a bit as the gears in his mind turned toe up with another question. "Since you''re the owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, it would be safe to assume that you''re the one who created the Triad Gates, right?"


    "Would''ve definitely been harder to do something like this if I didn''t," replied Vaughn with a nod. "Though somewhat advanced technology allowed humans to finally have a spot on Veldanyr for themselves, it was ultimately something that shouldn''t have fallen into their hands just yet."


    "Especially with how many people with nefarious intent existed at the time," continued the man, faintly shuddering at the thought.


    "Why settle for the Late Middle Ages in terms of technological advancement?" asked Valyr after that. "Why not choose a more advanced technological age as a foundation to fight against the orcs?"


    Correcting himself that the technology resembled something that was more along the lines of the early First Industrial Revolution, the young man''s eyes widened in realization as Vaughn looked at him with a knowing smile.


    "I''ve already told you the answer. It''s ultimately something that shouldn''t have fallen into their hands just yet," said Vaughn with confidence. "Plus, the amount of resources alone needed to outfit a massive army like that with weapons and armor from a more advanced age is incredibly difficult to procure without the necessary foundation."


    "Much less the machinery and other tools instead to fabricate such items in the first ce." Vaughn faintly sighed. "Hence, I settled for faux First Industrial Revolution since it was doable with medieval-level tools and machinery."


    Feeling that the man''s exnation made a lot of sense, Valyr decided to give Vaughn a quick break since thetter had been answering his questions all this time.


    At the same time, the young man took the opportunity to go over the other questions he had yet to ask Vaughn, such as the peculiarities he''d noticed in the memory.


    Of course, while mulling over the questions, he also thought about the information he''d obtained from Ryvrthe regarding the human civilization that existed before the advent of the current humanity.


    ''Should I ask about the Great Cataclysm?'' pondered Valyr for a bit, wondering if now was the right time to ask about it.


    In the end, he decided to continue with his original string of questions, considering the fact that it would eventually lead the topic towards the Great Cataclysm either way.


    After all, with Vaughn not only being thest leader of humanity, but also the one that founded the new generation of humanity, it was possible for Valyr to obtain a farrger picture that connected both eras as one.


    With that in mind, the young man steered the topic of their conversation towards the peculiarities he''d noticed in the memories involving the First Forger.


    Naturally, he mentioned the fact that the man seemingly knew when the system woulde or when it would update, or the fact that his body seemed impervious to injuries while also bolstering a great amount of strength.


    Keeping an eye on the man''s reaction, Valyr felt a hint of satisfaction as Vaughn faintly smiled in response.


    "There''s actually one answer that answers all of the questions you''ve asked just now," said Vaughn with a faint chuckle. "In fact, I was nning to share it with you at some point, but I just didn''t know how I would shift our conversation to it."


    "I should really thank you for making my life easier this time around." Vaughn let out yet another chuckle.


    Then, with conviction in his every movement, the man did a few gestures with his fingers, causing both his and Valyr''s consciousness to be brought into the world of darkness once more.


    "With all of that said, I''ll let you take a look at the answer to all your questions."


    "The time before the Great Cataclysm."

 Chapter 865 Four Pillars: Salvation

    Chapter 865 Four Pirs: Salvation


    Whoosh!


    Being greeted by the world of darkness once more, Valyr soon began to look around, eventually finding Vaughn floating not far away from him.


    Maneuvering his way to the man through the void that surrounded them, the young man noticed a faint smile tugging on Vaughn''s lips as thetter released a bit of energy from his body.


    Whoosh!


    Doing a few of the gestures he''d already done before, the world before them immediately changed.


    What was once a vast expanse of darkness immediately turned into the warm yet mostly empty expanse of space, the view before them mostly upied by the twinkling of stars.


    However, in one direction, arge spherical object could be found, its surface split into various parts of water andnd.


    Looking at this object once more, Valyr recalled the various instances he''d seen the same sight in his past life, being reminded of the inherent beauty space had to offer.


    "That is¡­" Valyr subconsciously muttered as he continued to stare at the before them.


    "Veldanyr," continued Vaughn where the young man left off, smiling in amusement after seeing thetter engrossed with the sight of the from afar. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Though, this smile turned bittersweet as he recalled the events that were attached to this memory, being reminded of the actions that he could''ve done.


    Inwardly letting out a long sigh at the rude reminder, Vaughn continued to adorn a faint smile as he moved the two of them closer to Veldanyr with the help of his energy.


    Whoosh!


    Hovering a few kilometers away from what was considered the Karman line of the, Valyr began to admire the view that was given to him once more,mitting every bit he was seeing into his memory.


    Even though Veldanyr in his past life housed a technologically advanced civilization in theter stages of Greater Beyond, its technology headed in a direction that deviated from the path of technology he could see on the at the moment.


    If he were to describe the type of technology that existed in front of him at the moment, then he would say that it was simr to Earth where it proceeded on the path of pure technological innovation.


    Of course, unlike Earth''s technology, Veldanyr''s technology looked to be ahead by a thousand years at the very least.


    "Space elevators, star ships, megastructures¡­" Taking in a deep breath topose himself as he continued to take in the sight in front of him, Valyr began to murmur to himself all of a sudden.


    Hearing the things that wereing out of Valyr''s mouth, Vaughn was slightly taken aback, not knowing where the young man hade to know those terms.


    Then again, that question swiftly disappeared after recalling that the young man was a reincarnator.


    Looking at Valyr for a bit in silence, he soon shifted his gaze towards Veldanyr not long after as he began to speak. "This was the Veldanyr that I grew to know."


    "A world dominated by humans thanks to their ingenuity and creativity."


    Seeing that his words caught the young man''s attention, the man inwardly nodded before continuing to speak.


    "If I were to mention the specific era of technology Veldanyr had avable at the time, then it''s an era of technology that went beyond the scope of eras through the Technology Tree."


    At those words, Valyr faintly nodded, understanding what Vaughn meant by it.


    "Space elevators, star ships, highly advanced infrastructure¡­ all of that was avable in Veldanyr since humanity was already a spacefaring civilization at the time."


    "Have you heard of something called the Kardashev scale?" asked Vaughn at some point, looking at the young man for answers.


    Obtaining a nod from Valyr in response, the man nodded back before continuing. "If I were to base Veldanyr''s level of technology through that scale, then humanity would be considered a Type 1.5 civilization."


    "We had the means to harness a considerable portion of energy directly from the star, as well as set up a few outposts and small frontier towns on others."


    "But we were still far away from harnessing all of the energy our star system had avable."


    After saying those words, Vaughn moved him and Valyr around the star system that surrounded Veldanyr, showing off the various feats that humanity at the time had been able to achieve on others.


    At the end of it, the man had shown Valyr the energy collection system Veldanyr had put near their star at the time, which was actually massive when looked from up close.


    Hearing Vaughn mention the term ''first-stage Dyson swarm'' as he described their energy collection system, the two eventually returned themselves back to Veldanyr as they headed closer to the''s surface.


    Once there, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise, not expecting Veldanyr''s civilization to look simr to what humanity had achieved on Earth in his past life.


    Though, unlike Earth, there were many things that were different on Veldanyr, such as the transportation and other technological infrastructure that was prevalent throughout the area.


    Nevertheless, the fact that Veldanyr before the Great Cataclysm looked somewhat simr to Earth meant that Valyr could not take his eyes off the entire ce as they moved through the various sectors that made up their civilization at the time.


    It was only when the two had arrived at an area that prompted a memory to surface in his mind did Valyr snap back to reality, shaking his head for a bit as he adjusted himself to the situation.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Looking around to see whether his thoughts were correct, Valyr''s eyes gradually widened as he began to realize where they were. "Isn''t this¡­?"


    Knowing what Valyr was about to say, Vaughn nodded. "Yeah."


    "We''re in the area that you now know as the city ruins of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    As Vaughn said those words, Valyr began to look around once more, oveying what he saw back in the inheritance over the sight that existed before him.


    Seeing that most, if not all of them matched where they were at the ruins, the young man felt a bit of speechlessness as he did not understand how these buildings could still remain standing after so many years had passed.


    Fortunately, it would not take long for him to obtain his answer as his attention was soon attracted by a certain person leaving a specific building.


    "Are you sure that''s what they said?"


    Hearing a somewhat familiar voice echo from a spot not far from their current spot, Valyr focused his sights on where the voice came from, only toe face to face with an incredibly young Vaughn.


    If he were topare the appearance of the two Vaughns side to side, then Valyr felt that the Vaughn that had apanied him all this time looked to be in his early fifties.


    On the other hand, the Vaughn that just came out of the building looked to be in his early twenties as he felt exuberance radiating out of the young man.


    ''If I didn''t know any better, I would''ve thought only a few decades had passed between the Vaughn in this memory and the Vaughn beside me,'' thought Valyr to himself, being reminded that lifespan gradually turned into a number the stronger one went.


    Thinking about his short side quest in the Myriad Archives regarding how long one could live at each ss rank, the young man made a note to find more information on the same topic once he was out of the inheritance, but for ranks beyond Rank 5.


    Returning his attention to the matter at hand, the young man began to listen to the conversation the young Vaughn was having with the people that apanied him.


    "That''s what they said, sir," responded what appeared to be Vaughn''s assistant walking beside him. "They only sent a message that they wanted to meet the leader of this''s civilization. Nothing else."


    "Did they give us information on where they came from? Who they were?" asked Vaughn back, the gears in his mind whirring as a pensive expression appeared on his face.


    His assistant shook her head. "They did not, sir. However, our specialists have decoded that the message originated from a sector in the Trametria Gxy."


    At those words, Vaughn raised his eyebrow in slight suspicion as he looked at his assistant. "Are you sure it was the Trametria Gxy? Even with amunication method that uses spatial folding, it would take years for a message from that ce to arrive here."


    "Yet, the message they sent seemed like it would only take hours, if not minutes for them to arrive here."


    Feeling a hint of anger in Vaughn''s words, the assistant began to get a bit teary-eyed. "The specialists have gone over it multiple times already, sir. They told me that it hade from the Trametria Gxy and nowhere else."


    "ording to them, there was no signal spoofing whatsoever."


    Hearing his assistant starting to choke on her own tears as she replied, the young Vaughn began to feel guilt after letting his emotions get the better of him.


    However, before the man could even say sorry to his assistant, a pair of individuals appeared before the two all of a sudden,nding from a height that seemed to defy all human convention.


    Thud.


    As the pair of individualsnded on the ground with a soft thud even though they fell from what looked to be an absurd height, Vaughn took a few steps back out of caution, pushing his assistant back as well.


    Seeing that the two individuals wouldn''t move from their spots, the man inwardly let out a sigh of relief before initiating a conversation. "Are you the ones who sent the message?" "Indeed, we are." The two nodded as one of them responded to the question. "A pleasure to be your acquaintance, Vaughn Darkstar."


    "You can call us the Arbiters."


    "And we are here to offer your civilization salvation."

 Chapter 866 Four Pillars: Too Good to be True

    Chapter 866 Four Pirs: Too Good to be True


    Watching the conversation unfold from afar, Valyr''s eyes lit up in realization as the pair of individuals introduced themselves as the Arbiters.


    Recalling the conversation he had with Ryvrthe back when he had inadvertentlye across thend of Ecalos, the young man gradually became more and more certain that the sight unfolding before him was none other than what Ryvrthe had told him back then.


    Though there were a few discrepancies between the memory and the story Ryvrthe had told him, most of them still matched, prompting the young man to keep all of his senses peeled for what was toe.


    ''ording to Ryvrthe, he had no clue as to what conversation urred between Vaughn and the Arbiters, but it ended up with almost all traces of humanity disappearing at that point.''


    ''Time to find out what kind of conversation the two sides had back then.''


    As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr examined the two Arbiters in greater detail, finding it somewhat interesting that the two looked just like a normal pair of humans.


    After all, from what Ryvrthe had told him and what he had seen and heard just now, the pair of individuals came from a ce incredibly far away.


    Of course, as he had more or less seen everything Greater Beyond had to offer in his past life, Valyr knew that humans existed beyond Veldanyr.


    Though they took on a simr appearance, these extraterrestrial humans had capabilities that were vastly different from the humans of Veldanyr, adapting and adjusting themselves to the environments they were given.


    ''I guess it''s to reduce the shock involved,'' thought the young man after looking at the two for a bit more,ing to the conclusion after recalling the words one of the two had uttered.


    ''It would be difficult for Veldanyr to ept something like salvation if they came out of the mouths of alien creatures, after all.''


    With that in mind, the young man continued to watch the situation unfold, his hypothesis turning out to be correct as the young Vaughn visibly rxed at those words.


    "What¡­ do you mean by salvation?" asked Vaughn, the gears in his mind working on overdrive at that moment.


    In response to the question, one of the two smiled back at him. "There is no different meaning. Only salvation."


    "Out with the old, and in with the new," said the other individual once the first one was done. "We offer your civilization the opportunity to adopt the weing of a new era. By weing this new era, you thereby ept the salvation we offer."


    Feeling as if the two were speaking in a cryptguage, a hint of confusion briefly appeared on Vaughn''s face as he made a few gestures to the assistant that apanied him.


    Nodding in response to those gestures, the assistant swiftly returned to the building the two of them came from, leaving Vaughn alone with the two individuals that called themselves Arbiters.


    "What¡­ is this new era you speak of?" Vaughn looked at the two with slight curiosity. "Is this some sort of borate prank?"


    "There is noedy involved." One of the two shook his head. "As for your first question, it will only be answered if you and the civilization of Veldanyr epts."


    At this point, Vaughn began to look at the two with suspicion. "I don''t know who forced you two to do this, but you can stop."


    "I don''t know how you two were able to send messages that came from the Trametria Gxy and arrive here so soon, but the fact that you two are able to converse with me just fine tells me you''re not from there."


    Hearing the man''s words, the two looked at each other for a bit before looking back at the former.


    "Your suspicions do make sense," said one of the two as he nodded. "Perhaps this alone shall suffice."


    After saying that, the one that spoke began to speak in a tongue that Vaughn nor any of the other humans in the vicinity could understand.


    Not long after, the other individual began to speak in the same tongue, causing a hint of confusion to appear on the young Vaughn''s face.


    "They''re speaking in Ich''zb-ol," said a voice out of nowhere, prompting Vaughn to turn his head in the direction of the one who spoke.


    "Gctic Minister Nes." Recognizing the middle-aged man that had just appeared, the man gave a respectful bow before returning his attention to what the man had said just now. "You just said that they''re talking in¡­ Ikh-z''ab-ol?"


    "Not Ikh-z''ab-ol. Ich''zb-ol," rified Nes. "As Gctic Minister of our, I''ve had the opportunity to travel to other gxies in the past."


    "And one of them is the Trametria Gxy that you''ve just mentioned."


    Hearing those words, Vaughn''s eyes slightly widened as he put two and two together in his mind. "You''re telling me¡­"


    "With how fluent they are in Ich''zb-ol, though they look simr to us, it''s highly likely that they trulye from the Trametria Gxy," replied Nes as he nodded at the man.


    "I see." Thanking Nes for the insight he''d given him, Vaughn went silent for a bit as a series of questions popped up in his mind.


    Of course, among those questions, one of them involved how the two had arrived at Veldanyr without a star ship.


    Though, as the pair''s talks of salvation intrigued him even more, he decided to push such thoughts aside for the meantime and focus on what was more important.


    Telling the two that they had given more than enough proof, Vaughn then apologized to the pair of individuals for his actions earlier.


    Fortunately, the two responded back that they understood where he wasing at, allowing the three to smoothly continue their conversation from where it left off.


    "Though we do not have the authority to tell you what this new era entails, we do have the authority to show you its benefits if you were to ept."


    As these words came out of his mouth, one of the two individuals stepped forward before extending one of his palm outward.


    Whoosh!


    Then, with a single thought, arge wisp of bluish mes manifested above his hand, leaving Vaughn and the other humans in the vicinity at aplete loss for words. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Having lived their whole lives in a world filled with advanced technology, being shown something that subverted their entire understanding of the world undoubtedly caused their brains to frazzle out.


    Many of them believed that what they were saying was just an application of a more advanced level of technology than theirs.


    After all, whenpared to a civilization that was ssified a Type 3 on the Kardashev scale, their technology could be considered toys at best.


    However, as they watched the man continue to manipte the bluish mes as if it were an extension of his limbs, that thought gradually disappeared in the people''s minds.


    Instead, they began to look at it for what it really was.


    "Magic," uttered Vaughn at some point, his expression solemn.


    "Correct," replied the one that did not make a move, nodding as he looked at Vaughn. "By epting salvation, you would be able to tap into the energy that makes the blue mes you see possible. The energy that makes magic possible."


    "The limitless energy¡­ called mana."


    "Mana¡­" As Vaughnmitted this word to memory, the pair continued to do a few things that seemingly would have only been possible with mana.


    From forming a barrier out of the energy, to flying in the air at great speeds, the pair had undoubtedly left the poption of Veldanyr in awe.


    Of course, Vaughn was also awed by what was possible with the energy, knowing how its existence would propel Veldanyr to a higher level of existence.


    Yet, as he thought about epting what they called salvation, the man began to feel that was something was off.


    "So, have you thought about it, Vaughn Darkstar?"


    Seeing as they''ve given the leader of Veldanyr enough time to think about it, the two individuals stood in front of him and asked once more, their expressions slightly expectant.


    "Having ess to such wondrous energy definitely sounds great and all," said Vaughn in response. "But why do I feel like we would be giving up something in exchange?"


    "Only a small sacrifice must be made in exchange for salvation," replied one of the two individuals, the man''s expression turning into a soft smile.


    "For one, all must adopt something called the Apparatus. This facilitates the connection people will have towards mana, while at the same time aiding the growth of one''s individual strength."


    "It is thanks to the Apparatus that we are able to arrive at this ce without the need for a star ship," the man continued. "Of course, there are many civilizations that still rely on it, though their properties are empowered thanks to the existence of the Apparatus."


    "That sounds a bit too good to be true," replied Vaughn, really getting the feeling that there were downsides to the situation. "Is there really nothing else?"


    There was one side of him where he thought he was being a bit too suspicious at this point, but he would make sure to see it to the very end.


    After all, his decision as the leader of humanity would affect the entire poption of Veldanyr.


    "There is one other thing," said the other one in response to Vaughn''s question. "Butpared to the adoption of the Apparatus, it is but a trifling matter."


    "And that would be?" Vaughn raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    In response, the man merely smiled.


    "Your allegiance and surrender to our rule, of course."

 Chapter 867 Four Pillars: Eternity

    Chapter 867 Four Pirs: Eternity


    "Wait a second¡­ something doesn''t add up."


    "What doesn''t add up?" Hearing Valyr blurt those words out all of a sudden, Vaughn looked at him with a hint of confusion.


    "The entire situation," replied Valyr, going over the conversation between the young Vaughn and the two individuals in his mind.


    After that, he looked at the man beside him and began to exin the reason for his confusion, prompting thetter to stop the memory for the meantime.


    With that, Valyr exined his reasoning as to why the entire situation didn''t make sense, talking about what he had read regarding Veldanyr''s history from when he scoured the Myriad Archives back then. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Then, he matched it up to the things that had transpired in the memory involving the First Forger, talking about how the two said the same narrative where the system was only attained sometime before the Age of Uprising.


    "With all of that said, you''re telling me that Veldanyr could have gotten ess to something like the system we have at a far earlier time?" asked Valyr as he looked at Vaughn directly in the eyes. "On second thought, the Apparatus thing they''re offering might be the system that we''re using right now."


    "Yet, for some reason, it only arrived just before the Age of Uprising began. It doesn''t really add up."


    Having been the focus of the current memory they were viewing, as well as the one who spurred Veldanyr''s humanity to get to where it currently was, the young man knew that Vaughn held all of the answers he sought.


    But, even after waiting for a couple of minutes in silence, all he got in response from the man was a slightly exhausted sigh.


    Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Vaughn eventually found the right words to say to the young man. "First off, you''re correct in assuming that the Apparatus these individuals were offering are indeed the system we now use."


    "In fact, the Apparatus is the formal name of the system, only taking on various names that differ based on region and race."


    "As for your first question, you''ve already seen that we''ve been given the opportunity to adopt the system," said Vaughn. "But, I''m pretty sure you already know the response I gave after hearing their conditions."


    "That still doesn''t exin why the system popped up just before the Age of Uprising, though," said Valyr in response.


    "It''ll all make sense soon enough," replied Vaughn, feeling as if he had aged many years from that short conversation. "Just watch this memory to the very end."


    After saying those words, Vaughn willed the memory they were viewing to continue where it left off, greeting the two with the sight of the young Vaughn and the other humans silent in response to the Arbiters'' wishes.


    Of course, with how absurd the demands of the two individuals were, everyone in that area had be silent with shock.


    It took a minute of further silence for the young Vaughn to regain his wits, taking in a deep breath before looking at the two with a calm expression. "Could you repeat what you just said?"


    "The one about swearing allegiance and surrendering to our rule?" asked one of the Arbiters back, to which Vaughn faintly nodded in response.


    "Could you perhaps give us a bit more detail on what you mean by that?"


    "It''s nothing much," replied the other Arbiter with a slight shrug. "If you swear to ept our salvation, you would automatically fall under the control of the civilization wee from."


    "With that kind of rtionship being formed between our civilizations, you would then have to give up around 85% of your exports to us as tribute, which we consider to be more lenientpared to our other offers."


    "In exchange, the entirety of your civilization shall be given ess to the Apparatus and enjoy unfettered ess to limitless energy called mana," continued the Arbiter that spoke before. "Pretty good exchange if you''d ask me."


    "I see." Listening to the two individuals go over everything in detail, Vaughn nodded as he thought over everything in silence.


    After a bit, he looked at the two with a faint smile before asking, "Before I give you my response, would it be possible to know your identities?"


    "Call me Bagh''rava," replied the one whose brown hair made him look like a balding middle-aged man, even though his appearance was that of one in histe twenties.


    "The name is Qro''dovitch," said the other Arbiter, whose appearance looked more like what the average human in Veldanyr looked like.


    However, unlike the average Veldanyran human, Qro''dovitch had blue irises with red vertical slits as pupils, forming a stark contrast with the man''s slightly unkempt dark blue hair.


    Aside from that, the two wore simr clothing in the form of a space gray jumpsuit that had a dark crescent badge on their upper left chest.


    "Alright." Hearing their names, Vaughn nodded back. "Nice to meet you, Bagh''rava, Qro''dovitch."


    "Nice to meet you as well," replied the two back as they nodded in unison. "Does this mean that we''ll be ending our conversation with you agreeing to our terms?"


    "Who says I''ll be doing that?" At those words, Vaughn looked at the two with a disgusted expression before shing both men with a middle finger each.


    "You''re just telling us to go die at this point. Fuck off."


    "¡­" Though they did not understand the rude gesture Vaughn was giving them, the two looked at each other for a bit, a mutual understanding obvious in their expressions.


    "So, we take it that you decline our offer, then?" asked Bagh''rava as he looked at Vaughn while Qro''dovitch seemed to be in the middle of amassing energy.


    "What other response were you expecting?" said Vaughn back, moving away from the two as he felt that there was no need to continue the conversation. "Did you really expect me to agree after dropping something like that out of nowhere?"


    "¡­I see." Obtaining confirmation of their previous suspicions, Bagh''rava let out a faint sigh as Qro''voditch made use of the energy he had been amassing.


    Whoosh!


    ring out the entirety of his aura to epass an area that went beyond the ruins that were currently found in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Qro''dovitch looked at Vaughn with a calm expression as he opened his mouth.


    "Then, the only choice for your civilization is death."


    "To be honest, I could have handled that situation better." Freezing the memory just as Qro''dovitch was about to make a move, Vaughn looked at Valyr before letting out a faint sigh.


    "Then again, I''m sure you would''ve reacted the same way if you were in my shoes."


    Nodding in response, Valyr then asked, "So, what happened next?"


    "What do you expect?" Vaughn bitterly smiled, fast-forwarding the memory through what was considered the obvious aftermath.


    Against two beings that had heaven-defying power and ess to a limitless supply of energy, even an incredibly advanced technological foundation began to crumble.


    Of course, at first, Veldanyr was overwhelming the two Arbiters, making use of all the military warfare in their arsenal to push the duo back.


    Yet, as the world''s fighting force gradually sumbed to the two, the Arbiters began to show the true power of beings who had wholly epted the existence of the Apparatus.


    In total, the two sides fought continuously for over a decade, the battles unfolding as if it were a massive and violent game of tag.


    By the time the war between both sides hadsted for a bit over two decades, a total of three humans remained on Veldanyr.


    Bagh''rava.


    Qro''dovitch.


    And Vaughn.


    "Just kill me off at this point." With his body being battered and bruised at almost every nook and cranny, the young Vaughn looked at the two with an expression of defeat.


    They had employed all of the cards that they had under their arsenal. They had even advanced in multiple areas, evening out the odds to where it could turn to their favor.


    Yet, in the end, all that remained as a proof of Veldanyr''s existence aside from the ruined buildings was just him.


    "Well, that wouldn''t be fun," replied Bagh''rava, looking at the defeated Vaughn with a cruel grin.


    Bang!


    Without hesitation, he shot a bolt of mana towards the man''s shoulder, forcing Vaughn to kneel on the ground in pain.


    "As the leader of your civilization, it makes sense for you to be thest one to go," said Qro''dovitch, ncing at Vaughn with a calm expression.


    Though, not long after, a cruel grin also appeared on the man''s face. "However, it would be better if you were to remember that your words and actions have led your civilization to this point."


    "In fact, it could be said that killing you would be the easy way out, don''t you think?"


    "With that, we''ll be giving you another offer," said the man, leaning closer to Vaughn. "An offer you can''t refuse."


    "We''ll be giving you ess to the Apparatus as we''ve mentioned before."


    "But in exchange¡­"


    "You''ll be cursed to live for eternity."

 Chapter 868 Four Pillars: Loneliness

    Chapter 868 Four Pirs: Loneliness


    As Valyr heard the words Qro''dovitch had said to the young Vaughn, confusion briefly appeared on his face as he went over all of the information he had coted so far.


    Then, as if a switch had been flicked on in his head, the confusion on his face was soon turned into realization.


    "Wait¡­ you weren''t at the Divine level before?" Looking at the man beside him, Valyr blurted out this question, only to realize his blunder soon after.


    After all, the Divine level was a concept that only applied to those that had ess to the system.


    Aside from that, he had already seen Vaughn''s strength firsthand back when he was fighting against the orcs at the final memory, which was at the extreme boundary between the peak of Rank 5 and the entry point of Rank 6 in power.


    Knowing that Valyr had realized his own mistake from the expression he was making, Vaughn let out a faint chuckle as he paused the memory once more.


    "I didn''t have ess to the system," replied the man, softly shaking his head. "How would I even enter the Myth level without it, much less the Divine level?"


    "In any case, my lifespan was definitely longer than usual," added Vaughn not long after, exining how Veldanyr''s technology had given them ability to rewrite their gic code.


    Unsurprisingly, with this newfound ability, many of the humans in Veldanyr had decided to rewrite their code to live for longer, giving them the opportunity to live for close to 300 years or more.


    But of course, such an ability meant nothing after the two Arbiters had wreaked havoc against the entire civilization of Veldanyr.


    Nevertheless, after confirming through Vaughn''s words that Ryvrthe''s small tidbit back then regarding Veldanyr society was true, a question soon popped up into Valyr''s mind.


    "I don''t know how strong Arbiters really are whenpared to someone that has a system, but by eternity, did they mean giving you the skill [Longevity]?"


    "With how the system follows their every whim, I''d say they''re really strong even with the system in y." Saying those words, Vaughn shook his head. "Anyways, they did not give me [Longevity]."


    "The higher variants of [Longevity], then? [Vast Longevity]? [Grand Longevity]?" asked Valyr after that.


    "When they meant eternity, they really meant it." Though surprised where Valyr had obtained his information on such skills, Vaughn pushed such thoughts to the side as he shook his head.


    Hearing that the two Arbiters had not given Vaughn any of the [Longevity] skills, only one skill remained in the young man''s mind.


    "So¡­ [Immortality]."


    "[Immortality]." Vaughn nodded back, only to smile soon after. "To be honest, I thoughtyou''de to that conclusion first."


    "I did," replied Valyr with a nod. "But I just wanted to be sure."


    At those words, Vaughn faintly shrugged as he resumed the memory from where it left off.


    "Eternity¡­" muttering one of the words Qro''dovitch said to him, the young Vaughn looked at the two in a daze for a brief moment.


    After all, from his perspective, such a deal seemed to only contain pure benefits for him.


    Aside from the fact that he would obtain ess to the system, he would also be able to live forever, which was a goal that he and many of the humans in Veldanyr had dreamed of achieving.


    With that, there was a small trace of excitement deep within Vaughn''s body as the Arbiters did their thing, giving Vaughn the ability to ess the system, as well as the ''curse'' of immortality.


    Ding!


    Hearing a bell chime go off in his mind all of a sudden, Vaughn was caught slightly off guard as a monotonous voice began to speak in his mind.


    Not long after, a series of holographic screens appeared before his field of vision, only for him to sense not long after that the makeup of his body had subtly changed.


    Though he could not put what exactly about his body had changed, when he looked at the two faintly smiling back at him, he had a feeling that it had something to do with the eternity thing they were talking about.


    Seeing that Vaughn had sessfully adopted the Apparatus without any problems, Bagh''rava and Qro''dovitch looked at each other for a bit before nodding.


    "It may be a shame that we weren''t able to have an entire civilization adopt the Apparatus, but I guess the end result isn''t all that bad."


    Saying these words, the two then raised their hands in the air before releasing a great amount of mana into the atmosphere not long after.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    For a brief moment, the entire sky throughout Veldanyr seemed to take on the same color as the mana the two released, giving the whole ce an otherworldly feeling if one were to look from afar.


    While that was happening, Vaughn looked at what the two were doing with confusion written all over his face, wondering why the two were releasing mana all of a sudden.


    Roar!!!


    As a cacophony of roars and simr sounds echoed throughout the entire as the mana disappeared, it was only then did the duo''s actions click in his mind, prompting him to look at the two with disbelief.


    "There''s no fun in a where you''re the only sentient being to exist." Smiling at Vaughn, Bagh''rava opened his mouth to speak. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I hope you don''t mind us popting this ce with ''friends'' that you could interact with in the future," continued Qro''dovitch where the first left off, letting out a bit ofughter soon after.


    Hearing those words, Vaughn immediately stood up in anger, feeling his body return to peak condition after being given the ''curse''.


    Though, just as he was about to charge towards the two andnd a strike, the man felt his entire body freeze in ce, only to see that Bagh''rava had shot out a ray of mana at him.


    "Stay." At this point, the smiles in the two''s expressions had been reced with looks of contempt and disgust, seemingly revealing their true nature to Vaughn.


    ring at the man for a bit, Bagh''rava and Qro''dovitch eventually coated their entire bodies in mana before propelling themselves beyond Veldanyr''s atmosphere.


    Whoosh!


    With his body frozen by the ray of mana, Vaughn was left without much choice, staring off in the direction where the two flew.


    Fortunately, it was only after another minute or so did he regain control over his body, prompting him to let out a sigh of relief.


    Looking around the surroundings that once housed over a couple billion people, Vaughn soon sat down on the ground once more, only to close his eyes as he slowly fell asleep.

 Chapter 869 Four Pillars: Regret

    Chapter 869 Four Pirs: Regret


    Roar!!!


    As a cacophony of loud roars overwhelmed his hearing, Vaughn was forced awake by the sound as he swiftly looked around in a daze.


    Seeing a great number of beasts unfamiliar to him roam the streets that were once filled with people going about the lives, the man felt a twinge of pain, recalling all of the humans that once fought side by side with him.


    Though, as the beasts roared out once more, with some of them even looking in his direction, that pain was soon reced by another feeling.


    Fear.


    Even though Vaughn felt like he had an above average level of strength thanks to the gic rewriting and the constant exercise he did, the man felt an innate fear as he felt the beasts'' gazes on his body.


    From what he could tell, he felt that he had gained a sixth sense that allowed him to sense the auras that the beasts were emanating.


    And from there, he eventually felt that he was in no way strong enough to fight against the beasts.


    Especially with how many there were roaming the streets.


    Going through a plethora of worst-case scenarios in his head, Vaughn eventually decided to stand up and head towards a ce that he and many others considered to be Veldanyr''sst strand of hope.


    A ce that would assure him safety against the beasts.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he began running, Vaughn felt as if he was running at a speed far greater than what he could achieve before.


    Mulling over it as a hint of shock traced his face, the man surmised that he was running as fast as the humans that chose to enhance their agility to their limit with gic rewriting.


    "Is this the effect of the Apparatus?" asked Vaughn to himself, feeling as if the sixth sense he''d gained came from it as well.


    In the end, the man decided to entertain such thoughts for another time, focusing his attention on heading towards the location he had in mind.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With his position as the leader of humanity, Vaughn knew the topography of Veldanyr''s capital city by heart, allowing him to go around all of the beasts that seemingly barred his way while running.


    Of course, he thought about using the various transportation methods Veldanyr had to offer at some point, only to remember that none of them were usable with him now being the only person around.


    In the end, the man arrived at his location purely through running, faintly gasping for air once he had arrived.


    "Haah¡­ haah¡­"


    Giving himself some time to catch his breath, Vaughn looked around his surroundings for a bit to see if there were any beasts roaming around nearby.


    Seeing that there was none close to him, he inwardly let out a faint sigh before turning around,ing face to face with what looked to be a somewhat dpidated house.


    Whenpared to the modern buildings Veldanyr housed, the house before Vaughn looked more like what one would find in a suburban area.


    Ignoring its outer appearance, the man eventually made his way in, letting out a faint sigh of relief after seeing that the security system barring him from entering still worked.


    ''Thank the heavens the generators here are still running.''


    Making his way inside, Vaughn slowly made his way down to the basement, only to go through another entrance that had a lock on it.


    Inputting the code into the lock, the man grinned with glee after hearing the locks inside utch themselves, allowing him to finally enter the ce that he and many others considered to be Veldanyr''s final bastion.


    "I guess I gotta give it to those geezers for green lighting the project. Who knew building a self-sufficientboratory with the best technology Veldanyr has to offer would eventuallye in handy?"


    Looking around the various machinery that popted thergeboratory sectioned into various quadrants, a satisfied smile appeared on Vaughn''s face as he took it all in.


    Though, not long after, this smile began to distort as tears began to stream from his eyes.


    "Why did end up like this¡­?" Falling down to the floor, Vaughn began to feel an immense amount of regret for the choice he''d made that time.


    Then again, if anyone were in his shoes, he was certain that they would have made the same choice as him.


    Yet, that choice had undoubtedly killed all of those that once lived on the surface of Veldanyr, those that once had a long life ahead of them.


    "If I only knew¡­" murmured Vaughn to himself, internally beating himself up for what he considered to be the greatest mistake he ever made.


    With that, the man''s continue to drown himself in his sorrow for many days upon end, only stopping whenever he felt an immense pang of hunger or thirst. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though, at some point, he even began to ignore these pangs as well, instead choosing to let himself starve to death or die from thirstas he felt great remorse from his actions.


    Unfortunately, with the ''curse'' of immortality given to him, even if he was at the brink of death, Vaughn could not die.


    And it was only there did he realize why he was given what seemed to be a benefit from first nce by the two Arbiters.


    It was because they knew he would be hounded by the regret and remorse he felt over the entire situation.


    They knew it would eat him up and devour him whole, turning him into a shell of his former self.


    "I guess dying really is the easy way out," murmured Vaughn at this realization, not knowing how many days or weeks had passed since he first broke down in theboratory.


    Though, judging by his hoarse voice, as well as how his body had be more than emaciated, the man felt that he had probably spent a month at the very least, perhaps more with him losing his sense of time.


    With that realization, Vaughn slowly got himself up, using the vestiges of energy that remained after all that wallowing.


    Walking around theboratory, he eventually found the item he was looking for, a surgical knife.


    Picking it up, the man went over a few scenarios in his mind, only to end up reaffirming his first decision to the bitter end.


    With a deep breath, Vaughn slowly moved the knife closer and closer to his neck.


    Only to stop after seeing his reflection in the knife.

 Chapter 870 Four Pillars: Authority

    Chapter 870 Four Pirs: Authority


    "Is this¡­ really me?"


    Staring at the somewhat blurry reflection of himself on the knife, the young Vaughn stood there in silence as he went over a myriad number of thoughts in his mind.


    While going through those thoughts, there were times where the knife he held would move closer to his neck.


    Of course, the opposite could also be said as he would look at the knife with a frown from time to time.


    By the time a few more minutes had passed, Vaughn had seemingly made up his mind, returning the surgical knife back to where it was as he hade to a conclusion.


    "Though there''s no one else left in this aside from me, that doesn''t mean I can''t continue the wishes and aspirations of those that once roamed the world."


    With that thought lingering in his mind, the man finally grabbed some food and water, eating and drinking enough to barely stave off the immense thirst and hunger he felt.


    Then, over the next few days, he gradually increased the amount of food and water he consumed, reminding himself of the possible consequences of deciding to eat or drink too much all of a sudden.


    "Well, I guess it''s a good thing I found out I wouldn''t die even if I had no food or water for an absurdly long time," muttered Vaughn to himself with a wry smile.


    Deciding to do some experimentation on himself in the future, the man continued to keep up his routine, even going so far as to add a few sessions of mild exercise here and there.


    Thankfully, returning to his previous condition took far less timepared to him reaching his lowest low, only spanning a couple of weeks from what Vaughn recorded.


    Going through a few basicbat movements, as well as a series of basic strikes, Vaughn tightly clenched his fists in slight satisfaction, sensing that his condition had more or less returned to what it was before.


    "I suppose I''ve pushed back looking through this Apparatus thing I''ve been given."


    As those words left the young Vaughn''s mouth, Vaughn decided to pause the memory there, looking at Valyr with a hint of curiosity.


    "Did you know that [Immortality] has levels just like [Longevity]?" asked Vaughn out of nowhere, prompting the young man to look back at him as he pondered over it for a bit.


    After a minute or so, Valyr faintly nodded with slight uncertainty. "There are four levels, no? The basic one, the intermediate, the high, and the extreme one."


    "That''s if you''re talking about the stages," replied Vaughn with a nod. "There are actually four major boundaries to [Immortality], each having four stages,ing to a total of 16 levels."


    "16¡­" Muttering this number to himself, the young man went over the various enemies and bosses he''d fought alongside others in his past life.


    From what he could recall, [Extreme Immortality] was the highest degree of immortality an enemy could have, allowing them to regenerate wounds as if it were nothing.


    In fact, Valyr thought that the man before him had [Extreme Immortality], considering how the orc that used to order Vaughn around in the past cut his arm off, yet was able to reattach it back to him without much difficulty.


    "Normal, Mythical, Divine, and Primordial," said Vaughn in response to Valyr''s murmurs. "Each boundary causes one''s degree of immortality to be more outrageous than thest."


    Resuming the memory that they were viewing, Vaughn looked at the young Vaughn heading out of the building for a bit before returning his attention to Valyr.


    "During this time when I was experimenting with what the system had to offer, I eventually found out that I had been given the skill [Mythical Immortality]."


    Saying these words, Vaughn exined that [Mythical Immortality] was the first level of the second boundary, mostly exhibiting simr properties to the [Extreme Immortality] vividly recalled.


    However, unlike [Extreme Immortality]¡­


    Whoosh!


    Without any warning, Vaughn conjured a de of energy in the air before using it to decapitate himself.


    Puchi!


    Watching the man take his own life all of a sudden, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words, his eyes widened in immense disbelief.


    Though immortality meant that one was able to live forever, that did not mean that one was invincible from death.


    The higher levels of immortality were, in a way, a path that allowed one to be both immortal and invincible.


    Yet, even the boss Valyr and his friends fought against in the past eventually sumbed after its head was cut off.


    Even though it had ess to something like [Extreme Immortality].


    Feeling a mix of emotions wash over his body as he had no clue what to do, the young man let out a wide sigh of relief as Vaughn''s head began to extend tendrils of flesh out all of a sudden.


    With the part where his head was cut off extending tendrils of flesh as well, Vaughn eventually returned to the way he was before, looking at the young man with a slightly amused grin. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "And that''s what separates the Mythical boundary of immortality from the previous stage," said Vaughn after giving Valyr some time to readjust. "Unlike [Extreme Immortality], [Mythical Immortality] means you''re now immune to death."


    Looking at the man beside him in silence for a bit, Valyr eventually asked him a question. "So, even if you did end up taking your life back then, you wouldn''t have even died?"


    In response, Vaughn bitterly smiled. "To be honest, if I found out that the immortality I was given went that far, I would''ve probably fallen into deeper despair."


    After that, Vaughn gave a brief overview of the two remaining boundaries of immortality, talking about how there was an extent to how immune someone with [Mythical Immortality] was from dying.


    Whenpared to [Mythical Immortality], [Divine Immortality] meant that even if one were turned into specks of dust, one would still be able to regain their previous form.


    As for [Primordial Immortality]¡­


    "You''d probably need all of the strongest beings in the entire universe to conspire against you for you to actually die if you had something like that."


    "It''s that absurd."


    Committing all of the information Vaughn had given him to memory, it took a while for Valyr to return his attention to the memory they were viewing, which showed Vaughn finally out of the undergroundboratory he holed up in.


    Though, unlike the fearful expression he had back then, the young Vaughn now adorned a vignt expression, hoping to find out how the Apparatus worked.


    With a bit of experimentation back in theboratory, he was able to find out that his physical and mental abilities were quantized into numbers.


    Going over the various numbers his screen had shown him, Vaughn wondered whether his stats that were around halfway to 10 points while being at Level 1 was considered high or not.


    Aside from that, he found out that he had a few skills that had been seemingly integrated into the system.


    Among the skills he had was the [Mythical Immortality] the Arbiters had given him, as well as two passive skills he had gained from running around the beasts and starving himself to death respectively.


    Wryly smiling at how all of the skills he had so far had something to do with life, the man roamed the area around the undergroundboratory with great vignce, making use of the newly obtained sixth sense he had gained.


    Eventually, he found a wolf-looking beast that radiated an aura that was considerably weaker than his, giving Vaughn the urge to fight against it.


    Recalling all of the things he learned on closebat before theplete annihtion of his race, the man eventually charged towards the wolf-like beast,nding a punch that directly made contact with the wolf''s abdomen.


    Bang!


    Surprisingly, that punch alone was enough to send the wolf flying, crashing against the walls of one of the many buildings lining the street he was in.


    Staring dazedly at the aftermath of his punch, Vaughn stared at his fist for a bit before hearing a notification sound go off in his mind.


    Then, as if the entire situation was the final jigsaw piece he was looking for, everything clicked in Vaughn''s mind at that moment.


    And with that, he looked at the beasts roaming the streets with a slightly excited grin.


    "¡­I see."


    "So, this is what the Apparatus relies on."


    And with that, after the one-sided fight with the wolf-like beast had awakened his bloodlust, the young Vaughn had gone into a fighting frenzy,


    Reminding himself to keep his hunger and thirst in check, Vaughn gradually went through all of the beasts within the vicinity of the undergroundboratory, briefly wondering if the Arbiters had intentionally arranged the beasts this way.


    Aside from that, he allocated the experience he obtained from killing the beasts into improving his level, increasing his strength to where he had the confidence to roam the streets that went beyond the undergroundboratory.


    At some point, he had even begun to gain skills that utilized the limitless energy the Arbiters were talking, giving him the ability to fight against beasts that would have normally been impossible to defeat for his level.


    By the time he had gotten used to the existence of the Apparatus, half a year had already passed since the entire poption of Veldanyr had been wiped out.


    And at that time, he found out that there was more to his system than he initially thought.


    Such as the existence of the hidden stat named Authority.

 Chapter 871 Four Pillars: Secrets of the System

    Chapter 871 Four Pirs: Secrets of the System


    After spending half a year on his own fighting against the beasts that roamed where Veldanyr used to thrive, Vaughn had been able to push his level beyond Rank 2, being around the halfway point to achieving Rank 3.


    Though the sses and subsses he''d obtained along the way were Umon grade at the highest, the fact that he had gotten to a Rank 2 ss now gave him the confidence to travel the streets of Veldanyr without worry.


    On one fateful day, after returning from a quick fighting session against beasts that were around the middle of Rank 2 in strength, Vaughn returned to theboratory with a satisfied yet tired expression.


    Thanking the foresight of their civilization before it all went to ruin once more, the man grabbed some food and water to satiate both his hunger and thirst.


    While doing so, he pondered over learning a skill that improved his cooking, reminding himself of the many skills he''d gained thus far by repetitively doing various actions.


    At the same time, this made him think about the various skills he''d gained from his ss, faintly smiling as he thought about the damage he could deal to the beasts because of it.


    By the time he had finished eating and drinking his fill, Vaughn browsed through the various screens making up the Apparatus, taking a look at his status screen and skill screen at the same time.


    Being reminded of the fact that he had amassed a decent chunk of XP from fighting the beasts earlier, he thought about allocating some of that XP towards his skills after noticing that a lot of them were nowhere near reaching the max level.


    However, before he could evene to a conclusion to the matter, a certain part of his status screen had caught his attention.


    "Wait¡­ that wasn''t there before."


    Dispelling his skill screen for the meantime, Vaughn furrowed his brows as he brought his status screen up in front of him.


    Looking through it a couple of times, he eventually focused his attention on a line of text below his stats, querying the system for more information on the matter as he looked at it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Hidden Stats: 10 Authority


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Authority¡­"


    Muttering the name of the stat to himself, Vaughn soon obtained a response from the system on what hidden stats were, swiftly finding out that they were something that were usually only obtained after one had gotten to Rank 5.


    Curious as to why he had gotten something like that so early after learning the system''s logic, the man soon asked the system what the Authority stat specifically did.


    In response, a screen appeared before his vision, filled to the brim with information and jargon that did not make sense to him at first.


    Though, if there was one thing about it that differed from the other screens Vaughn had brought up thus far¡­


    It was the fact that the screen before him now felt like it had an artificial aspect to it.


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever-familiar sound go off in his mind, Vaughn read through the information he was given in detail, his eyes widening with every additional sentence he went through.


    By the time he was finished reading through all of it, the man stood frozen in ce, staring off beyond the artificial screen in a daze.


    It was only until a few minutester did Vaughn return to his senses, closing the screen he had just brought up.


    Bringing up his status screen after that, he focused his attention on the 10 Authority he had.


    Then, all of a sudden, the screen he brought up gave off an artificial feeling, causing the Authority stat to disappear as if it wasn''t there in the first ce.


    Seeing that his idea had worked, Vaughn felt a faint sense of jubtion, only to proceed with more experimentation now that his initial thoughts were confirmed.


    As the young Vaughn continued to delve deeper into what seemed to be another part of the system, Valyr looked at the entire scene with both confusion and surprise on his face before ncing at Vaughn.


    "You''re wondering what the Authority stat actually does, right?" Noticing the gaze the young man was giving him, the man already knew what the former wanted to ask.


    Getting a nod from Valyr in response to the question, Vaughn faintly smiled back. "And this is the reason why I brought you to this ce. To think it took this long to get to this point."


    Hearing those words, the young man tilted his confusion, asking him what he meant by that.


    In response, Vaughn merely smiled, only to snap his fingers soon after.


    Snap!


    "Huh¡­?" All of a sudden, Valyr felt like all of his strength was leaving his body, causing a panicked expression to appear on his face.


    Feeling his connection to both mana and Shadow Energy gradually disappear as well, the young man looked at Vaughn as a myriad number of emotions shed through his face once more.


    Fortunately, such a moment was short-lived as the man snapped his fingers once more, returning Valyr''s state to what it was before.


    Nevertheless, that did not remove the feeling of anger Valyr felt towards Vaughn, especially after doing something like that all of a sudden.


    Then again, Valyr instinctively understood that Vaughn''s actions had something to do with the question in his mind, faintly shuddering after getting firsthand experience.


    "The Authority stat is pretty self-exnatory," said Vaughn after apologizing to Valyr. "As the name implies, it gives you absolute authority."


    "Absolute authority over the system, that is."


    With his thoughts confirmed, Valyr looked back at the memory that was unfolding before the two, seeing that the young Vaughn had continued exploring the depths of the system.


    From making certain stats disappear, the man moved onto changing the efficacy of his certain stats to changing the level and rarity of the skills in his status screen.


    After that, he moved onto the various parts of the system he had never essed before, such as titles and Intents.


    Watching the young Vaughn tinker with the system as if he were a scientist manipting the various variables of an experiment, Valyr soon returned his attention to the man beside him as he asked him a question.


    "How did you obtain the Authority stat in the first ce?"


    At those words, Vaughn wryly smiled. "To be honest, while I was finding out the limits of what the Authority stat had allowed me to do with the system, I had the same question in mind."


    "Of course, with so many years having passed since then, I now know the answer to that question."


    In response, Valyr raised his eyebrow, prompting the man to let out a bit ofughter.


    "It was the two Arbiters that gave it to me. Bagh''rava and Qro''dovitch."


    Hearing those wordse from the man''s mouth, Valyr looked at Vaughn in surprise, only for it to soon turn into confusion.


    "Wait¡­ but why, though?"


    "Beats me." Vaughn shrugged his shoulders. "I guess they found it amusing to give someone who didn''t know about the system beforehand greater ess to the system. To see what someone would do with such ess, probably."


    "Either way, those two giving it to me is incredibly likely, seeing as how they were able to give me ess to the system in the first ce, as well as directly give me a powerful skill on top of that."


    "If you think about it, doesn''t it remind you of¡­"


    "Authority¡­" muttered Valyr as he finished the man''s sentence.


    As Valyr pondered over the words Vaughn told him, the young man returned his attention to the memory before them, watching the young Vaughn explore more and more of what the system had to offer.


    By the time a couple of days had passed since the initial discovery, Vaughn had discovered a couple of features that changed his way of thinking.


    The first one was the feature to reset his system to how he had gotten it from the very beginning.


    Though it meant that all of his hard work so far would go down the drain, it also meant that he had the opportunity to aim for better sses and skills, allowing him to unleash greater strength while still being at the same rank.


    Aside from that, he had confirmed that he wouldn''t lose [Mythical Immortality] if he were to reset it, finding it amusing that the skill stuck to him like a curse. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    As for the second feature he discovered, it was the ability to enable or disable the existence of the system in other beings, whether individually or en masse.


    After finding out that he had this ability, a great number of thoughts surfaced in his mind as he stood in the middle of hisboratory.


    Then, after finally finding his train of thought, the man let out a long sigh, staring at the various machinery in front of him with a look of determination.


    "I guess¡­ it wouldn''t be so bad to start all over again."


    With that in mind, Vaughn reseted his system to what it was before, bitterly smiling as he felt all of the strength he''d umted disappear in mere moments.


    Taking a deep breath to limate to his regressed prowess, the man then left theboratory, this time with the confidence he had rued throughout the past half year.


    "It''ll probably take a while to get back to where I was¡­ but who cares?"


    "I have all the time in the world."

 Chapter 872 Four Pillars: Full Circle (1)

    Chapter 872 Four Pirs: Full Circle (1)


    With him now knowing that he had ess to what was essentially the debug feature of the system, it went without saying that Vaughn had focused his attention on improving his personal strength.


    From the various sses and subsses he could obtain by doing various actions to the skills and titles he had gotten from either his ss or through repetitive actions, the man began to record them.


    After he had reset his system for the first time, he had obtained a Rare ss for his Rank 1 ss, which was already a considerable improvement to the Umon ss he had obtained before.


    Obtaining a subss of simr rarity along the way, as well as skills that suited the general direction his progression was heading, the man took his time as he passed through the ranks.


    Making use of the information he had already gathered the first time he went through Rank 1, Vaughn was able to snatch himself a Rank 2 ss that considerably improved upon the Rank 1 ss he had gotten.


    Then, by the time a few years had passed, he had ascended to Rank 3 ss, improving the rarity of his main ss to Epic.


    Though his subss wasgging behind by a single rarity, the strength Vaughn had amassed at this point gave him even more confidence to roam the streets of Veldanyr unfettered.


    In fact, with the current strength he wielded, he decided to attempt fighting against beasts that had reached Rank 4 in strength.


    The verdict?


    His loss.


    Singling out a beast that he sensed to be at the early levels of Rank 4, Vaughnid out all of his cards as he fought against it, smiling as he felt that he had the advantage.


    However, as more and more time passed, the scales gradually began to tip towards the beast''s favor as it tapped into a fount of strength that the man hadn''t discovered before.


    Coincidentally, that was the first time something clicked in Vaughn''s mind after a long time, recalling the other features of the system he had tinkered in the past that were sealed at the time.


    "Intent, huh¡­"


    Understanding that there was still a lot for him to do if he wanted to surmount such a gap, Vaughn did not extend the fight any further, getting a rough idea of where his strength stood.


    Yet, at the same time, he thought about the amount of strength lingering within him that he had yet to tap into, the potential within him that was just waiting to be uncovered.


    "But of course, I have time on my side."


    With that in mind, the man returned to theboratory, gradually increasing his knowledge regarding the concept of Intents. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    And with that, many years unknowingly passed.


    Ever since he had obtained ess to the Apparatus from the two Arbiters, about 50 years had already passed since then, with the man''s strength continuing to undergo massive improvement.


    Though it had taken the man quite some time to embark on the path of Intents, it could be said that the man''s journey to fullyprehending Intents became smooth-sailing from there.


    Armed with the power of Intents and skills honed through hard work, Vaughn fought against the beasts once more, gradually increasing both his strength andprehension along the way.


    By the time he finally decided to take a look at the progress he had made, he had unknowingly reached the peak of the mortal realm already, reaching the terrifying Level 100 barrier.


    Aside from that, the man also had a few Intents under his arsenal, with many of them hovering around the 3rd to 5th Grade in terms of power.


    Then again, there was one concept amongst his Intents that stood above the rest, ascending beyond its original limits to arrive at a greater level ofprehension.


    ''The Force of Life.''


    Muttering these words to himself, the man clenched his fists before calling upon the power slumbering underneath the concept.


    Whoosh!


    Within moments, the energy from the Force enveloped both of his fists, only then to expand to cover his entire body not long after.


    With his entire body giving off a faint gold sheen, the man soon headed out of theboratory, deciding to fight against a couple of beasts that had already gone past the realm of mortality.


    The Myth level.


    Unsurprisingly, just like the first few fights he had against the beasts at Rank 4, his fight against the Myth-level beasts had opened up his mind to a wider world once more.


    By fighting against them, he became cognizant of the existence of Legacies, which was considered the agglomeration and fusion of one''s entire achievements and actions thus far.


    Apart from that, he also became cognizant of the level ofprehension that went beyond Forces, its sheer power allowing one to tap into the strength of the entire world itself.


    Concepts.


    With those gains, Vaughn swiftly forgot the massive losses he obtained from fighting against the Myth-level beasts, only being able tond a couple of hits on them that did not really amount to much.


    Seeing that his current level of strength was not enough to handle the Myth-level beasts that seemed to be the strongest beings of Veldanyr, Vaughn eventually made the decision¡­


    To reset his system once more.


    Whoosh!


    Going through the sensation of losing all his strength once more, a bitter smile appeared on Vaughn''s face as he thought about the amount of time he''d spent getting to that point.


    Though, with a few deep breaths and a long exhale, the man quickly moved on as he thought about how what he''d done far paved the way for a better future.


    And thus, leaving theboratory once more with the experience he''d gained throughout the past five decades, Vaughn went through it all over again for a third time.


    Fortunately, the experience he had rued was finally bearing fruit this third attempt, with the Rank 1 ss he''d gained now starting off at Epic grade.


    By the time he''d reached Rank 3, he was able to ascend his main ss to Legendary grade, giving him a level of strength that truly allowed him to transcend ss ranks.


    At some point down the line, he had even gotten a subss of the same rarity, allowing his strength to reach even greater heights.


    Yet, even after spending a total of 100 years in this third attempt¡­


    Vaughn still wasn''t able to seed in defeating even one of the Myth-level beasts.


    Though he had experienced a far more lenient loss this time around, the bout against the beasts made him question himself, wondering whether there was even a point to everything he was doing.


    At the same time, it made him think back to the many humans that used to once roam the world he was on over a century ago, filling him with a great sense of sadness.


    Fortunately, after having lived through over one and a half centuries on his own at this point, the man was eventually able to readjust himself to how he was before, returning to hisboratory with a firm expression.


    ''If the third attempt didn''t work, then proceed with the fourth.''


    And so, Vaughn went through system reset after system reset, slowly gaining more and more knowledge of the ins and outs of the system he had control over.


    From the XP he gained from the beasts, to the sses and subsses that had a specific set of requirements to obtain, all of that was gradually being stored in the man''s mind, giving him a better start with every reset.


    By the time he had reseted his system for the fifth time, Vaughn ascended to Rank 1 with a Legendary ss, only to find a subss that was of the same rarity not long after.


    By the time he had reseted his system for the tenth time, Vaughn had seemingly broken through a barrier, obtaining a Mythic grade ss after he had ascended to Rank 5.


    By the time he had reseted his system for the 18th time, Vaughn was able to ascend his subss to the Mythic grade as well, finally giving him the strength necessary to fight against the Myth-level beasts.


    In total, he had spent just shy of 3,000 years going through those 18 resets, with his 19th finally giving him the chance he needed to defeat the Myth-level beasts at a lower rank.


    Though, not long after he had sessfully defeated one of the Myth-level beasts, he found out that the gap between him and the beasts were far higher than imagined.


    Rather than fight against beasts whose strengths hovered around Rank 6, the beasts that were considered the strongest in Veldanyr¡­


    Were actually at the pinnacle of Rank 7.


    With that realization, Vaughn finally took what was considered the final step, shedding off his mortality and bing a true Myth-level being.


    Only to then reset his system once more, bringing him back to where he started.


    Now armed with the knowledge of how strong he needed to be to rule over Veldanyr, as well as the knowledge that came along with ascending to the Myth level, Vaughn decided to take a more rxed approach to his resets, exploring avenues to the system that he hadn''t explored before.


    Of course, that did not mean that he''d cked off in obtaining greater strength, getting the feeling that he would obtain a Mythic grade ss at Rank 1 just with a few more resets.


    Nevertheless, with the pinnacle level of strength in Veldanyr now understood by him, the man took more time before each reset, now taking over a thousand years before deciding to do so.


    Naturally, great changes eventually began to appear on Veldanyr with how much time had passed since the Great Cataclysm.


    One such change among them was a random thought Vaughn had one day.


    A thought to bring humanity back where it belonged.

 Chapter 873 Four Pillars: Full Circle (2)

    Chapter 873 Four Pirs: Full Circle (2)


    By the time Vaughn thought about bringing humanity back to Veldanyr, over 70,000 years had already passed since the end of the Great Cataclysm.


    During those 70,000 years, it went without saying that a lot of things had changed on Veldanyr aside from Vaughn.


    One of those changes were the many buildings that used to house Veldanyr''s humanity in the past.


    Due to the inevitable passage of time, many of the buildings beyond the capital city in the past had already eroded.


    Partly, it was due to nature''s tenacity to reim what it rightfully owned.


    Mostly, it was due to the Myth-level strength Vaughn was unleashing during the majority of those 70,000 years, the shockwaves his attacks sent out gradually reducing the rigidity of the buildings.


    Fortunately, before all of the buildings had eroded for nature to im once more, Vaughn made use of his Myth-level strength, his ability to enter the deeper parts of the system, as well as the other avenues of power he had picked up along the way to save a small chunk of the capital city.


    Of course, that small chunk was none other than the city ruins that could be found in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, even going so far as to grab the underground region that came along with it.


    Having grabbed what was considered the sole remaining piece of the past for himself, it could be said that Veldanyr had finally entered a new era, especially with Vaughn holing himself up in theboratory for the majority of that time.


    Around the 15,000 year mark after the end of the Great Cataclysm, some of the beasts that Vaughn used to fight had finally gained self-awareness and sentience, immediately iming themselves as the rightful owners of Veldanyr.


    With that, the beasts began to split themselves into factionsposing of their own species, fighting against one another with the strength that was given to them by their bodies and the system.


    However, just as the beasts were about to conclude a winner to their fight, a new species had emerged from the underground, revealing themselves to have been slumbering all this time.


    Boastingrge bodies with wings that gave them the ability to fly, these beings usuallymanded great control over their respective elements, calling themselves dragons.


    With the strength of the dragons being too overwhelming for the beasts to defend against, the beasts decided to unite under one banner, finally turning into the werebeast race that the new humanity of Veldanyr eventually came to recognize.


    For thousands of years, the two sides fought against each other, with each side having their special set of qualities that allowed the two be more or less in stalemate.


    Though, as if the was considered the center point for chaos to unfold, two new species arose by the time 35,000 years had passed since the Great Cataclysm.


    The demons and the elves.


    Just like the dragons, the demons hade emerging from the underworld, boasting great intelligence and cunning that surpassed even the humanity from the past.


    However, unlike the dragons, the demons seemed to have originated from another ce entirely, only appearing at Veldanyr for the sake of a greater motive.


    As for the elves, they had arrived from the depths of outer space, fleeing against a grand catastrophe that destroyed their original.


    Nevertheless, by the time they arrived at Veldanyr, they were able to swiftly adapt to the environment, immediately carving out a piece ofnd for their own.


    Unsurprisingly, the four continued to wage war against one another, covering the entire of Veldanyr in turmoil for thousands of years once more.


    But unlike the unwavering war against the dragons and the werebeasts, there were a few conclusions that had urred in the four-sided war.


    For one, the demons bowed out from the war after seeing that their numbers were greatly dwindling. Informing the three that their greater motive would only be realized at a future time, the demons left the three to fight against one another, dropping a few hints here and there before they faded into the background.


    With the hints the demons had dropped, the elves and the werebeasts had surprisingly banded together to fight against the dragons, forming an armistice as they pushed theirmon enemy back to where they originally belonged.


    The underground.


    Though their initial intention was to push the dragons back underground, the three eventually formed amon agreement to have the dragons upy a small part of the territory.


    Then, the remainder of that territory would be shared between the werebeasts and the elves equally, allowing the world of Veldanyr to fall under a period of peace.


    That was, until the orcs had arrived.


    Simr to the elves, the orcs had appeared on Veldanyr all of a sudden.


    Originating from a weird mutation among the werebeasts, the one with the weird mutation was immediately shunned from the werebeasts, sensing that its aura had greatly deviated from what made it into a werebeast.


    Feeling great anger at being shunned by the werebeasts, the one with the weird mutation sought out the help of the elves to enact its revenge, only to be declined by the elves as well.


    In the end, the one with the weird mutation had taken matters into its own hands, slowly amassing a force that had their roots originate from it through the passing years.


    By the time 50,000 years had passed, the one that was shunned from the werebeasts had officially established the orc race, using the force it amassed to wage war against the werebeasts that abandoned it, as well as the elves that immediately declined helping it out.


    Though their numbers were smallpared to their enemies, the orcs were able to turn the tides to their favor, utilizing their strong inherent nature ofbat brought by the original mutation the first one had awakened.


    In just a hundred years, the orcs were able to carve a piece ofnd for their own.


    In a thousand years, the orcs were able to expand their territory to around a fifth of thendmass of Veldanyr''srgest continent.


    By five thousand years, the orcs had shown that they were more or less equal to the werebeasts and the elves that used to rule Veldanyr, finally causing the twotter races to ede and recognize the existence of the orcs. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    With that, the three races ruled over the world of Veldanyr for a long time, with only minor skirmishes among their species.


    In their minds, they thought that Veldanyr had finally entered a golden age of sorts, an era where their species could finally ascend to greater heights.


    Though, that all changed when a singr being had appeared before them, unleashing a power that went far beyond even the strongest among their race.


    That being¡­


    Was none other than Vaughn.

 Chapter 874 Four Pillars: Full Circle (3)

    Chapter 874 Four Pirs: Full Circle (3)


    Having watched the unwritten history of Veldanyr unfold before his very eyes, it went without saying that Valyr was engrossed,mitting all of the information he was getting to memory.


    At the same time, it made him think about Vaughn, recalling that the memory initially revolved around Vaughn and his actions.


    Curious as to why the memory decided to shift to epass the entire memory, Valyr decided to ask him about it, as well as another question that was bothering him.


    "During those 70,000 years, did you know what was going on?"


    In response, Vaughn briefly stopped the memory before looking back at Valyr and nodding. "I did, yeah."


    "If I didn''t, I wouldn''t have been able to record this much information with this much detail."


    With that, Vaughn answered Valyr''s initial question about the shift in focus, talking about how nothing much had changed about his routine during the 70,000 years that transpired.


    He did mention about how he went through all of the variousbat styles one could obtain, as well as the various production sses that one could pursue to the peak of skill.


    But,pared to the repetitive and monotonous routine he had going on at the time, the history of Veldanyr during that time seemed more important to record.


    "While I was in the midst of exploring more and more of what the system had to offer, I morphed my appearance to infiltrate into the various civilizations of the species at the time, making sure to record all of the major events that had happened."


    Nodding as he understood the things Vaughn was telling him beyond his response, Valyr returned his attention to the memory, prompting the former to continue where it had left off.


    "On one fateful day in the middle of the three races'' golden age, it was there that I had the thought of bringing humanity back to Veldanyr," said Vaughn, giving more context to the current situation.


    "But before I did that, I decided to remind them of the existence that used to rule thends."


    Whoosh! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Morphing his face to that of a more schrly being, Vaughn made his presence and existence known to the orcs, elves, and werebeasts that ruled all the time.


    At first, these three races scoffed at him, thinking that he was just a mutation of a new species that wanted to recreate the achievements the founder of the orc race had done in the past.


    However, when Vaughn unleashed the power he had treaded upon for the past 70,000 years, such thoughts immediately disappeared as they now looked at him with caution.


    "At the end of those 70,000 years, I now had the ability to consistently obtain a Mythic grade ss at Rank 1, as well as a Mythic grade subss not long after ascending to that rank," said Vaughn, briefly ncing at the surprised expression Valyr had on his face.


    "At that point, my goal for personal strength was to obtain an Ancient grade ss and subss at Rank 1, sensing that it would be the highest I could go even with the Authority stat bestowed upon me."


    "Then again, having both an Ancient grade ss and subss at the end of the road was not much of a problem," continued the man with a grin, exining about how he had experimented about going further through the ranks of the Myth level in a couple of his attempts.


    By the time he had ascended to Rank 8 in those runs, he was forcefully kicked out of Veldanyr for being too strong, prompting him to reset his system in order to be able to return.


    With that, for thetter portion of his runs, he kept his level to the highest level the could bother to bear.


    The peak of Rank 7.


    But of course¡­


    His strength was a different story.


    Crash!


    Bang!


    Boom!


    With how he already had the ability to fight against beasts at Rank 7 back when he was Rank 5 with a Mythic grade ss and subss, it went without saying that the man unleashed a different kind of hell to the three races.


    At the peak of Rank 7, with both ss and subsses at Ancient grade, Vaughn could unleash¡­


    The strength of a being at Rank 10.


    Swoosh!


    Having allowed the many races to graze upon Veldanyr to do whatever they wanted for the past 70,000 years, Vaughn did not hold back in his bouts of destruction, even going so far as to level mountain ranges into vast ins.


    Of course, the man only resorted to destroying thendscape in hopes of instilling great fear into their bodies, considering that the various races had ultimately done no wrong.


    For over a thousand years, the man consistently tormented the orcs, elves, and werebeasts every single day, hoping that their hearts and minds would not forget his existence.


    And forget they did not, inscribing into their various histories of the existence of Vaughn, who had now be known by the three races as the Supreme Cmity.


    Even the dragons had not forgotten his existence, having also been tormented every once in a while by Vaughn during those thousand years.


    Though, unlike the name the three races had given him, the dragons recorded him into their history as the Augur of Ruination.


    But of course, the reason why Vaughn had decided to torment the various races of Veldanyr with his near Divine-level strength was simple.


    To make sure the other races did not mess with the original beings that once roamed Veldanyr.


    To make sure they did not mess with humanity.


    Feeling like he had done enough to make sure his existence would not be so easily forgotten by the races, Vaughn stopped tormenting the races of Veldanyr around 72,000 years after the end of the Great Cataclysm.


    Around that time, he had also begun to act upon his initial thought of bringing humanity back to Veldanyr, calling the entire thing Project Rebirth.


    Thinking of the project as a sort of rebirth for all of the humans that hadid their lives for him, Vaughn had spent every waking hour of his to make sure the project would reachpletion.


    Then again, with Valyr having already seen the entire thing unfold before through the memory the quadrant leaders had given him ess to, Vaughn swiftly moved through this portion of the memory.


    In the end, the two of them continued the memory from the point where Vaughn had already sessfully recreated humanity, creating the first batch of humans that had grazed upon the world of Veldanyr after a very long time.


    Looking at them with slightly teary eyes, Vaughn thought about how much time had passed since the Great Cataclysm, surmising that over a hundred thousand years had already passed since then.


    Feeling like that much time was enough for humanity to start anew, the man made use of the Authority stat that was bestowed upon him¡­


    And disabled the Apparatus for every single being in Veldanyr.

 Chapter 875 Four Pillars: Full Circle (4)

    Chapter 875 Four Pirs: Full Circle (4)


    Watching Vaughn in the memory disable ess to the system for everyone on Veldanyr without hesitation, a series of thoughts began to surface in Valyr''s mind.


    A portion of those thoughts focused on the intent behind the action, which he greatly understood after putting himself in Vaughn''s shoes.


    By disabling the system for everyone on the, he was giving the products of Project Rebirth, the humans he had created, an advantage that would allow them to prosper in the Veldanyr of the new era.


    After all, unlike the other races that had relied on the system all this time for their actions, the humans of the past had reached a height far higher than what the other races had achieved through ingenuity and creativity alone.


    Adding on the fact that Vaughn had tormented the other races for the past thousand years, the humans were guaranteed to have a long period of peace that would allow them to flourish and prosper as he had hoped they would.


    Of course, aside from those portion of thoughts, the other portion of thoughts he had in mind focused on the other effects Vaughn''s actions had brought to the entire history of Veldanyr.


    With the lost history of Veldanyr, as well as its known history both in his mind,bined with the information he had gathered from the various memories he''d seen thus far, Valyr finally felt all of them fall into their respective ces.


    With that, a huge narrative was being formed in his mind, a narrative spanning hundreds of thousands of years that all stemmed from the actions of a single person.


    Taking in a few deep breaths as there were still a few parts of the narrative he was unsure of, Valyr looked at Vaughn beside him and asked a question. "When you chose to disable the system for everyone on Veldanyr, did you disable yours as well?"


    In response, Vaughn shed a cheeky grin before shaking his head. "Not at all¡­ or at least, not yet."


    "After all, even without the system, the other races on Veldanyr had a lot of things going for them that would still allow them to prosper."


    "On the other hand, the humans I recreated were more or less a nk te, needing to restart from scratch before getting anywhere."


    As those words left the man''s mouth, Vaughn soon exined a side to Project Rebirth that Valyr did not catch while he had viewed the memories from the quadrant leaders.


    ording to him, the ultimate goal was to recreate the humans of the past, gically rewritten to be a better version of the original humans in every aspect possible.


    Unfortunately, whether it was due to the limitations of the system or theck of knowledge he had in the respective field, Vaughn was eventually forced to set his sights lower.


    "Because of that, the humans that roam Veldanyr as we speak ended up bing inferior to the humans of the past," said Vaughn as he finished his exnation. "Then again, it all equaled out once I brought the system back."


    "But of course, I didn''t give up that easily, instead choosing to start another project that involved that first goal I had."


    Hearing that, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, knowing that the man beside him knew what he was thinking about.


    Yet, rather than tell the young man what he wanted to know outright, Vaughn merely smiled at Valyr before looking back at the memory, deciding to keep it a secret for longer.


    Though he felt a bit annoyed, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as there was no way for him to force Vaughn to ede to his request.


    At the same time, he had a feeling that the man opted to remain silent for a specific reason, deciding to return his attention to the memory as well. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    With that, the two watched the Vaughn of the past apany the humans to the outside world as the world of Veldanyr regressed to an age without the system.


    Naturally, with the sudden disappearance of the system, the three races that ruled Veldanyr''srgest continent went into mass panic as they gave it their all to make it look to the other races that they weren''t weakened at all.


    Sadly, all of those attempts were all for naught as Vaughn rose to the skies, immediately catching their attention as he began to radiate the power he had tormented them for years.


    Fortunately for them, rather than wreak havoc on their respective territories now that they were weakened, the one they knew as the Supreme Cmity instead told them that they were all on equal standing with the system now gone.


    At the same time, he introduced the existence of the humans to the other races, beings that were of a simr race to him.


    Telling the other races that he would be protecting the human race until they were able to settle down, Vaughn soon left the three races on their own after asking them to ede a bit of theirnd for the human race to use.


    Unexpectedly, the three races went into an all-out war against one another after that, deciding to take the disappearance of the system as an opportunity for their territory to be wider.


    Of course, what happened instead was theming face to face with their mortality at a deeper level, being reminded that there were things that they had taken for granted that were only possible with the system.


    Because of that, the three races eventually concluded their war after only a few months, thousands of times shorter than the wars they''ve had in the past.


    Nevertheless, with the disappearance of the system, the three races had discovered the truly unique quirk each race had during the war, giving them some confidence that they would still be able to thrive in the new age.


    While the three races were sorting themselves out, the human race slowly but surely took their steps to bing a proper society.


    From the discovery of fire, to the creation of the first shelter, humanity gradually grew over the years, making use of their innate ingenuity and creativity to improve their living conditions.


    Naturally, Vaughn was there to help them along the way, making use of the knowledge he had rued over the 70,000 years or so that had passed to speed up the advancement of humanity''s technology.


    While doing so, he took his giving aid to the new humanity as a way to repent for the grave mistake he had caused for the humans of the past, hoping that all of their will would be inherited by the humanity of the new age.


    With that, time swiftly began to pass once more, eventually bringing both Valyr and Vaughn to around 85,000 years after the end of the Great Cataclysm.


    Having been protected by Vaughn for over 10,000 years, the humans were able to advance their technology to a level that would allow their society to be considered modern, stepping into the era of the Machine Age.


    Though it was still far behind the level of technology the humans of the past had achieved on Veldanyr, considering the circumstances and the lesser talents of the humans Vaughn had created, it could be said that the humans had gone above and beyond.


    In fact, the humans had made a name for themselves on Veldanyr as the race that boasted the most advanced technology throughout the past 10,000 years, creating aerodynamic machines that would allow them to swiftly soar through the skies.


    It was to the point that the other races had begun to poach some of the humans for themselves, hoping that these humans would be able to advance their race''s technologiesto a greater age as well.


    Then again, the only reason why humanity was able to get this far in terms of technological innovation was none other than Vaughn, who ceaselessly helped the humans of the new age figure their way around Veldanyr throughout the years.


    From forming the unifiednguage of the human race to the various tips he had given humanity that finally allowed them to transition into the modern ages of technology, Vaughn was with them along the way.


    Because of that, he was termed by the humans as the Supreme Deity, boasting a level of power and intelligence that none of the humans nor anyone in the three other major races of Veldanyr could match.


    However, that all changed on one fateful day as Vaughn soared up through the skies once more, making his presence known throughout the four races that now upied Veldanyr''srgest continent.


    Out of nowhere, he had told everyone on the that he would not be protecting the human race anymore, which unsurprisingly gave the humans the greatest shock of their life.


    Looking at the Vaughn in the memory at this exact moment, Valyr noticed that the man now exuded an aura of indifference as a hint of exhaustion mingled with it.


    Thinking about how the man had basically held the hands of humanity for over 10,000 years, the young man immediately understood why Vaughn at the time had made the decision.


    And so, with those thoughts in mind, he watched the Vaughn in the memory leave the humans of the new age for themselves as he headed back to hisboratory, seeking to obtain the long rest he sorely needed.


    On the other hand, the humans were left with no choice but to fend for themselves, even more so after knowing the allure they had towards the three other races.


    Understanding what would happen if the other races had their way with them, the humans fought as hard as they could, holding the other races back with the technology they had built throughout the over 10,000 years Vaughn had given.


    Yet, in the end, the final bastion of the new humans eventually began to crumble, finally allowing the three races to do whatever they wanted with the race that used to house the being that was once feared.


    That was the precursor to the first era of humanity.


    The age where humanity''s light had utterly disappeared.


    The Age of Darkness.

 Chapter 876 Four Pillars: Full Circle (5)

    Chapter 876 Four Pirs: Full Circle (5)


    Hopeless.


    That was the state the new humans were in after they had sumbed to the might of the three races.


    Though they were able to fight back against the other races at the beginning thanks to the level of technology they were able to reach, such a level of technology could onlyst them for so long.


    Aside from that,pared to the three other races on Veldanyr, whose species had unique qualities that allowed them to maintain their dominance one way or another, the humans of the new age only had their ingenuity and creativity going for them.


    Of course, this allowed the humans to arrive at the level of technology that they were at.


    However, if one were topare their physical qualities to the other races, they were beaten tens to hundreds of times over.


    With that said, once the three other races were able to destroy the technology that the new humans greatly relied on, it was no surprise that the humans immediately lost the moment they thought of fighting against them in closebat.


    And thus, what was once Vaughn''s attempt at bringing humanity back to their rightful ce on Veldanyr, ended up bing the start of a new era that humanity would remember for years toe.


    As Valyr watched the memory gradually shift from its lost history to the part of history that he had knowledge on, the young man sucked in a bit of cold air as he watched the humans be shared among the other races as if they were mere objects.


    Once those humans were back in the heart of the territory of the respective races, the leaders among those races immediately began their attempts in extracting as much technological information from them as possible.


    After all, even though the humans were physically weaker than the other races, their ingenuity and creativity allowed them to create weapons that brought ruination on the opposing side.


    Naturally, the other races wanted their hands on such weapons as well.


    Unfortunately for them, rather than tell the other races everything they wanted to know from the humans, the humans chose to remain silent, telling them that they would rather die than spill such information.


    Of course, not all humans could be said to have chosen a simr action, with some deciding to share some of the information they knew in exchange for freedom.


    However, most of the humans either redirected the other races'' attention towards false information or remained silent, prompting the three races to realize that there was another unique quality the humans had that made them stand out.


    Their unyielding tenacity.


    Because of their tenacity, the existence of the advanced machines the humans used to wield in the past gradually disappeared over the passage of many years.


    Though some of the races were able to salvage parts from the territory that the humans once upied, the humans had already thought about such a scenario a long time ago, reducing all of their technology to mere scraps.


    Because of such an action, it could be said that only now was Veldanyr plunged into the actual Age of Darkness.


    Though, unlike the darkness that the humans sumbed to after bing prisoners to the three other races, this darkness pertained to the path to highly advanced technology that had unfortunately crumbled.


    Nevertheless, whether or not the Age of Darkness meant one or the other, time continued to pass, with the three races beginning to transform the humans into items that could be integrated into everyday lives.


    During the Age of Darkness, the orcs and werebeasts thought of the humans are slightly more useful livestock, having no qualms in turning them into the meal if the situation arose.


    As for the elves, though they did not perceive humans as such, they were still treated badly under the elven territory, being pushed to extents that went far beyond what elves would do to their kin.


    If one were to ask any of the three races on what they thought about the humans during this period, aside from the differing needs each race had that could be solved by the humans, there was another thing the three races agreed upon regarding their use.


    ves.


    For the next 70,000 years after the advent of the Age of Darkness, the orcs, elves, and werebeasts had their way with the humans, turning them into more or less everything they desired.


    From servants to entertainment, to food and pleasure, the three racesmonly viewed the humans from that perspective, though there were still a few that thought otherwise.


    Seeing how the conditions of the humans gradually began to worsen over those 70,000 years, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words, his only thoughts at that point being tomit most of what he saw to memory.


    On the other hand, Vaughn looked at the sight before him with a nk expression.


    Then again, if one were to look at him closely, one would see a tinge of remorse evident on the edges of the man''s eyes.


    At this point, over 150,000 years had passed since the end of the Great Cataclysm, a number that caused the gears in Valyr''s mind to halt for a bit when he first heard it. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After all, if he were to add the amount of time he had spent living between his two lives so far, the total would be around the ballpark of 30 years.


    Whenpared to a number such as 150,000, 30 years was only a mere fraction of a percent of it.


    "What were you doing while the humans were being treated that way by the other races?" Continuing to watch the three races have their way with the humans for a bit more, Valyr eventually looked at Vaughn as he asked the question that came to mind.


    In response, Vaughn let out a long exhale before making a few gestures that prompted the memory''s focus to shift.


    Whoosh!


    Moving away from the generalndscape of Veldanyr, the memory soon focused on the Vaughn of the past, who was surprisingly still engrossed in delving through the many secrets the system had yet to show him.


    Compared to the Vaughn from before the Age of Darkness, the Vaughn within theboratory had unsurprisingly regained the drive he had lost while aiding the new humans adapt to Veldanyr.


    Aside from that, thanks to the amount of time that had passed, the man now began to give off the feeling of a sage amidst the incredibly austere aura he now began to passively exude.


    "I suppose I''ve spent enough time on my own." Letting out a sigh of relief as he finished another one of his experiments, Vaughn had the thought of taking a look at how the new humans he''d created were faring.


    Taking a look at the amount of time that had passed through his Authority stat, the man''s pupils shrunk as he realized that he''d left the humans he created for around the same amount of time he was the sole human in the world.


    Going through multiple worst-case scenarios in his mind, Vaughn steeled his heart on what he would see after leaving theboratory.


    Only to be greeted by a reality that was tens of times worse than even the worst scenario he''d envisioned.


    Seeing the beings he had recreated, the beings that bore the appearance of those who once ruled the, be treated by the other races as lesser than even livestock, Vaughn felt something inside him snap at that moment.


    Swoosh!


    Without warning, the man went on a rampage across the three territories, unleashing the might of a being at Rank 10 as he reminded the three races of the being that once instilled fear into them.


    With anger and fury taking over his body, the man lost all sense of control as he sought vengeance, wreaking havoc all over Veldanyr for multiple years.


    Because of the fury he felt, one of the three major races at the time, the werebeasts, had been reduced to a number simr to the dragons due to how atrocious they treated the humanspared to the other races.


    Then again, that did not mean that the orcs and the elves were safe from his wrath, with over half of their poption being wiped out due to his anger as well.


    By the time his fury had subsided, over a decade had passed, causing him to fall to the ground in exhaustion.


    At the same time, the races of Veldanyr were reminded once more of Vaughn''s existence, his title now changing to the Deity of Ruin because of it.


    Feeling immense remorse for how the humans of the new age were treated, the man recalled the Great Cataclysm, reminding himself of how useless they were against the Arbiters, even though their race were superior to the new humans in every way.


    With that, it did not take long for a new idea to fester in Vaughn''s mind as a n was gradually being formted.


    For one, he was going to bring the system back, realizing at this point that removing it had given the other races a far greater advantage than actually having it.


    Aside from that, he decided that he was going to continue where he left off on Project Rebirth.


    Though, unlike before¡­


    He was going to make sure that the new humans had a few seeds of hope.

 Chapter 877 Four Pillars: Full Circle (6)

    Chapter 877 Four Pirs: Full Circle (6)


    With his decade-long reign of terror still fresh in the minds of the three other races, Vaughn had afforded the humans he had recreated some leeway, allowing them to be treated rtively nicer than they were before.


    However, there were also some amongst the three races that doubled down on their previous actions, treating the humans far worse than they''d been treated before.


    Using that as a key motivator for him to make sure his new idea seeded as quickly as possible, Vaughn went on yet another rampage, wanting to make sure that all of the humans under the three races would have better fates.


    Of course, unlike before, where he allowed his anger to get the better of him, the man wreaked havoc this time around with greater intent.


    With that, the man was able to afford himself and the new humans some leeway whilst he delved into the extension of Project Rebirth.


    At the same time, he pondered over the perfect time to reintroduce the concept of the system to the humans and the other races on Veldanyr, knowing that reactivating it right now would just lead to greater oppression.


    In the end, he decided to think about it some other time, instead focusing his attention on the extension of Project Rebirth for the meantime, which he aptly named Operation Hope.


    Watching his past self begin to tinker around with the machinery in theboratory once more, Vaughn adorned a wry smile as he turned to look at Valyr.


    "With the foundation I had built up while trying to recreate humans through Project Rebirth, one would assume that Operation Hope was far simpler inparison," said the man with a shrug.


    "After all, all I needed to do was to modify the humans I was making in a way where their physical qualities were more or less simr to the humans of the past."


    "Though such a level of strength was stillcking whenpared to those like the orcs or the werebeasts, it was at least enough for them to fend for themselves."


    At those words, the man''s smile turned bitter as he then shook his head.


    "2,000 years."


    "It took 2,000 years for Operation Hope to finally reachpletion."


    Hearing that, Valyr looked at the man with slight confusion, unsure whether the man was telling him good news or not.


    Recalling that the time it took for Vaughn toplete Project Rebirth was longer than that, the young man scratched the back of his head as he returned his gaze towards the memory to look for answers.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to figure out why the man showed such a reaction, even though Operation Hope waspleted at a far less time.


    Running parallel to a sight of Vaughn working tirelessly in theboratory was the sight of Veldanyr during the Age of Darkness.


    Though the bouts of rampage Vaughn had dealt to the three other races had definitely instilled fear into the three other races for quite some time, such fear eventually faded away after realizing that it would not happen again.


    Unsurprisingly, the other races returned to making use of the humans like they were using them before, with some even going so far as to utilize the humans of the new age in far worse conditions.


    Of course, Vaughn wasn''t oblivious towards this as he took a look at what was going on in the world every once in a while.


    Seeing how the three other races were treating the humans poorly again just because his threat had disappeared, the manmented and apologized in his heart to all of the humans, reminding himself of the atrocities that happened during the Great Cataclysm.


    Then, with even greater fervor, he put all of his focus and a bit more into Operation Hope, immediately making great leeway into the project after just a few decades.


    Making use of the knowledge he had obtained from the past in regards to rewriting gic code, Vaughn had gotten close to creating a new generation of humans that could somewhat stand up to the other races in that span of time.


    However, as if the heavens were making a mockery of his efforts, the entire thing fell t on the final step.


    "Grrr¡­"


    Though the humans Vaughn created at this point wereplete and had greater power than before, they did not have the self-awareness nor the sentience that a human should have.


    Instead, the humans he made seemingly tapped into their primal instincts, reminding Vaughn once more of the feral humans he''d made before sessfullypleting Project Rebirth.


    "Right. Because I was aiming to do the same thing back then, this happened," said Vaughn as he looked at the results with a bitter smile.


    Giving himself some time to go over his thoughts as he properly made use of the feral humans he''d made, Vaughn took a stab at Operation Hope once more. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    But this time around, he was going to try andbine the power the feral humans had with the sentience of the humans he had sessfully created.


    With that, he''d spent a total of a thousand years in the endeavor, slowly inching closer and closer to thepletion mark.


    Yet, seeing how the humans of the new age were continuously being worked to death by the three other races without any shred of remorse, Vaughn was eventually forced to give up on the path and searched for another path instead.


    "To be honest, if I didn''t think about how many more humans would live miserable lives under the three races, I would''ve probably seeded in it," said Vaughn, giving Valyr more information on what was happening.


    Not long after, he adorned a bitter smile. "However, it would definitely take tens of thousands of years at the very least."


    Fortunately, the Vaughn of the past had quickly found a path that would allow him toplete Operation Hope, making use of a resource he hadn''t thought of using back in Project Rebirth.


    "Myself."


    Though the heavens seemed to bar him from gically modifying the physical qualities of the humans he created, the heavens did not bar him from infusing his blood into the humans whatsoever, which had already been enhanced through gic modification.


    By the time 2,000 years had passed, the man had refined and modified the process to the point where it was no problem for him to create the new type of humans en masse, all of which were imbued with a hint of his blood.


    Surprisingly, just a small hint of his blood was enough to elevate the physical qualities of the humans by a few times, causing Vaughn to smile in satisfaction.


    Nevertheless, with how his initial idea for Operation Hope had failed, the man decided to embark on another project alongside Operation Hope, making use of the knowledge he''d rued through both projects to elevate the strength of humans one step further.


    One step closer to the strength he had.


    "Though I could only create a few of them, these humans would undoubtedly mark the beginning of the new era, their strengths more than enough for them to rule the continent once the system had awakened."


    "Because of that, to differentiate them from the other humans, I called these ones¡­"


    "Heralds.

 Chapter 878 Four Pillars: Full Circle (7)

    Chapter 878 Four Pirs: Full Circle (7)


    Hearing those wordse out of Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr looked at the man with a hint of disbelief as a couple thoughts surfaced in his mind.


    "Wait, but aren''t the ones usually called Heralds nowadayse from¡­?"


    "The Zeihardt n, yes." Looking back at Valyr, Vaughn nodded in response.


    "As you can see, my blood has given those humans made through Operation Hope a greater level of strength. For the Heralds, the reason why they have greater strength is because they have a greater amount of my blood in their system."


    "With that, as the founder of the Zeihardt n, more of my blood flows through the descendants, which leads to every member of the Zeihardt n boasting a greater level of strength than themon popce."


    "Every once in a while, a member of the Zeihardt n would inherit a far greater portion of my blood, far more than the Heralds that I''ve made."


    "With the system, not only do they have the strength to rule the continent, but they also have the strength to change the winds of the continent as they saw fit."


    "So, I ended up using the same term to describe them," said the man with a faint shrug.


    "Wait a second¡­" Though he made sure tomit all of the information Vaughn was telling him to memory, it took a while for the young man to process everything.


    At the same time, a couple of memories from the past surfaced in his mind, prompting him to ask them to the man beside him.


    "I get why they''re called Heralds," said Valyr after he had processed the words the man told him. "Even a book on the Zeihardt n I read from a kingdom''s archive tells what you told me on how Heralds came to be."


    "However, there''s one thing I want to verify."


    Rummaging through his treasure trove of memories, Valyr then told Vaughn about his meeting with the current Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire before he entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Through that, he mentioned how the Imperial Alchemist talked about a couple of prophecies that the founder of the Zeihardt n had made, looking at Vaughn directly in the eyes as he uttered the prophecy.


    "Amidst the ebb and flow of the waves, a star shall twinkle once again, radiating a faint light that will show the way."


    "Once six stars have lit the way, only then shall the seventh star awaken. Once it awakens, its light shall blind the world, with everyone''s focus on this blinding light. With this light in hand, this star shall change the world anew."


    Giving Vaughn some time to think about what he''d said, only then did Valyr continue speaking. "ording to her, the first prophecy talked about the Heralds, while the second one talked about a being greater than the Heralds."


    "Is that true?"


    "Give me a second¡­" Closing his eyes for a bit, Vaughn began to rummage through his memories, eventually finding the one he needed for the question.


    Going over the specific memory in mind, the man faintly smiled before letting out a faint sigh, only to nce at Valyr soon after.


    "I didn''t take notice of it at first, but who knew those prophecies I made would converge at this moment?"


    "Then again, they were conjectures I made after lengthy research rather than just mere prophecies," said Vaughn before giving Valyr the information he wanted to know.


    For one, Vaughn confirmed that the two statements were talking about the Heralds and the being greater than the Heralds, respectively.


    With that, he told Valyr that the reason why those prophecies were made in the first ce was so that the Zeihardt n could always keep in mind when a Herald would arrive.


    "As for the being that''s greater than the Heralds¡­" Saying these words, Vaughn stared directly at Valyr for a bit.


    Only to grin not long after.


    "Let''s save that for after this memory is done." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Of course, Valyr immediately felt annoyed at the man''s action, more than certain that Vaughn was deliberately withholding such information from him.


    In the end, the young man was forced to return his attention back to the memory, making a mental note to ask the question again after the memory was finished.


    Continuing where he and Vaughn left off on the memory, the two watched as Vaughn from the past looked at the new generation of humans he''d created with a satisfied smile on his face.


    Feeling the strength flowing through their veins, especially those that had been designated as Heralds, Vaughn left theboratory with the new generation of humans in tow as he decided to wreak havoc on the three races onest time.


    Though, unlike the previous times he''d tormented the three races, he also made sure to rescue the humans he''d created through Project Rebirth, which had unsurprisingly ballooned into the tens of millions ever since he created them.


    Returning them under his banner, Vaughn gave humanity the leeway it needed once more to prosper, tormenting the other races as the Deity of Ruin while he let the three types of humans he created to mingle with one another.


    Though it took some time to get the ball rolling with most of the humans having lived a life of hardship, by the time a decade had passed since their rescue, the humans had quickly adapted to their new conditions as they pursued greater power.


    With that, they breezed through the early ages of technology in a matter of decades, arriving at the medieval ages of technology in just a matter of centuries.


    By the time a couple thousand years had passed, they had arrived at the First Industrial Revolution, allowing human society to slowly transition into the modern era.


    All in all, Vaughn had afforded them a total of ten thousand years once more to flourish under the new Veldanyr.


    However, unlike the new humans in the past that stopped at the Machine Age, the humans this time around were able to get themselves to somewhere near the Digital Age, having ess to wondrous machines that could thousands ofputations for them.


    With that, after Vaughn had decided to leave the humans to fend for themselves once more, the humans had put up an even greater fight, with their defense nowsting for decades than just a few years.


    From the nuclear bombs they''d figured out during their Atomic Age, to the stealth nes they''d figured out during their Jet Age, the humans were a force to be reckoned with, especially with a great number of them having greater physical prowesspared to be.


    Sadly, they were still no match to the orcs, elves, and werebeasts, whose unique qualities transcended even the wildest of human imagination.


    And thus, a period of peace ended once more, bringing humanity back to the Age of Darkness from ten thousand years ago.


    But unlike before¡­


    Vaughn had now joined them.

 Chapter 879 Four Pillars: Full Circle (8)

    Chapter 879 Four Pirs: Full Circle (8)


    Watching humanity fall under thebined might of the three other races once more, the young man felt a bit of pain from watching it, especially with how the sight now reminded him of Earth from his past life. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nevertheless, his attention swiftly shifted towards Vaughn in the memory, faintly wondering whether the man would do the same thing as he had done many many years ago.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, rather than leave humanity to fend off for themselves, the man had willingly disabled his system and allowed himself to be captured by the three other races.


    At the sight, Valyr''s mouth went slightly agape as this moment bridged the missing gap in his mind that connected the memory he was viewing thus far with the memories he had essed in regards to the First Forger.


    Of course, with how the First Forger and Vaughn were the same entity, therge narrative that he had realized before was nowplete.


    From the Great Cataclysm to the history of Veldanyr that was lost to time, to the Age of Darkness and the subsequent Age of Uprising, Valyr now had a clear picture of how the current Veldanyr came to be.


    Because of that thought, he expected that the memory the two of them were viewing would end there, considering that he had a hunch on what happened in between the man''s capture and the man''s escape.


    Yet, what happened instead was that the memory continued to y after that point, showing Valyr how Vaughn had suffered under the hands of the three other races.


    Thanks to his earlier bouts of rage, Vaughn was mostly handled between the orcs and the elves, with the werebeasts rarely getting their hands on him.


    Though, probably because he was considered the leader that brought humanity to where it was before it all crumbled down, the races treated him far worse than the other humans.


    Fortunately, as the years passed, the other races gradually forgot about the status he once held, slowly but surely reducing the hardships he had to face.


    Nevertheless, with him having now experienced what the humans of the new age had experienced back when he first abandoned them, Vaughn felt great guilt for what he had done.


    At the same time, it reminded him of the other decision he could have taken a long time ago, a decision that could''ve turned his current situation into a what-if if he had gone with it.


    Of course, he knew that he nor anyone else didn''t have the ability to change the things that might have happened in the past, so the man swore to himself that he would make sure that the humans would have a better future.


    With that, over 40,000 years passed since Vaughn was captured by the other races.


    At that point, the man had changed owners multiple times, eventuallynding in the hands of an orc that made use of his regenerative abilities to earn a lot of money.


    Though the orc earned a lot of money from the man''s abilities, that did not stop the orc from treating Vaughn poorly, often locking him in a room that only had a small window to see the outside world.


    Seeing the room that he had already seen back in the first memory of the First Forger,Valyr began to smile as he watched the man mutter words to himself in the dark, counting down the days that passed before he would make a world-changing decision.


    Bringing the system back.


    Now armed with far greater knowledge than before, Valyr now had a different perspective as the memories of the First Forger reyed once more, showing how humanity freed themselves from the orcs with the help of the system.


    Sometimeter, the humans were able to establish a ce that they could call home, officially signaling the start of the Age of Uprising as they freed more and more of the humans that were under the orcs, elves, and the werebeasts.


    During this time, Vaughn showed humanity how to forge a weapon, making use of the knowledge he had umted thus far to do so.


    Then, after a few decades had passed, the first system update arrived, something that the man had already set before he brought the system back.


    With everyone''s strengths reset, the man showed thetent strength his body contained, reminding Valyr of Operation Hope and the Heralds.


    Though, with how much time had passed since then, almost every human alive at that point had a bit of Vaughn''s blood in them, giving them greater strengthpared to the first generation of humans the man had created.


    After that, the man obtained an Ancient ss at Rank 1, then forged an artifact with the help of his experience with the system.


    He then proceeded through the ranks, eventually arriving at the upper bound of mortality as he established the Zeihardt Sovereignty by wiping out an armada of orcs.


    Now under the name of Otto Zeihardt, the man continued to let humanity flourish under his rule, wiping away the existence of the werebeasts once and for all from Veldanyr''srgest continent.


    At the same time, he was able to make the orcs and elves recognize the strength of the humans through this action.


    Though a few more battles followed after that, the Age of Uprising did notst too long, only spanning a total of a thousand years before the three races eventually agreed on an armistice.


    With the peace of the human race now secured, the humans were now free to prosper once more, making use of the technology Vaughn had given them to do so.


    That was also the reason why the Age of Innovation was given that name, considering how many people began to innovate on the technology without Vaughn giving them any aid.


    Yet, the man still decided to seal such technology behind what would eventually be known as the Triad Gates.


    After all, unlike the two previous attempts on giving humanity its ce on Veldanyr in the past, Vaughn had more or less spoon-fed the technology to the humans.


    Understanding that having ess to such technology too early would lead to extreme misuse, the man stepped down from his throne, nominated a descendant to be his sessor and eventually established the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Stuffing the Triad Gates into the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, the man then acted as the supreme guardian of the Zeihardt Sovereignty for a while, giving humanity a safety as they still adjusted to the Age of Innovation.


    Eventually, around five thousand years after the Age of Innovation started, Vaughn decided that he could now leave humanity to fend off for themselves, proud that humanity had given rise to multiple Myth-level beings that were considerably strong.


    With that, the man inwardly thought about the things he''d done to get to this point and took the final step, smiling as he finally ascended to Rank 8.


    Whoosh!


    And that was where the memory ended.

 Chapter 880 Four Pillars: Anomaly

    Chapter 880 Four Pirs: Anomaly


    Whoosh!


    Returning back to the Gates of Transcendence now that the memory was finished, Valyr stared off into the horizon for a bit, going over all of the information he had obtained from the memory in silence.


    By the time he had made sure hemitted everything to memory, the young man let out a faint sigh before looking at Vaughn with a slightly bitter smile.


    "To think that everything was the result of one decision," said Valyr, causing Vaughn to sh a bitter smile of his own.


    "I still feel a bit of regret from the event since that decision caused many lives to wither away," replied the man. "However, now that many years have passed since then, I feel like I''d made the same decision."


    At those words, Valyr faintly nodded in understanding. "Exchanging your civilization''s freedom for something that''s technically free isn''t a good deal by all means."


    Hearing that, Vaughn nodded in agreement. "You could definitely say that again."


    After that, the two of them talked a bit more about the memory the two of them had viewed, with Valyr slowly filling in the other missing parts of the greater narrative through it.


    In the end, it took Valyr a few hours to make sure he had obtained everything he needed to know to make the greater narrativeplete, feeling a faint sense of satisfaction because of it.


    ''If Mystia or any historian from Veldanyr knew that I had knowledge of something like this, they''d probably go crazy,'' thought the young man to himself, causing a faint smirk to appear on the edges of his lips.


    But of course, even though he and Vaughn were talking about what had happened in Veldanyr in the past all this time, that did not mean that he had forgotten the question that Vaughn dodged answering.


    "Alright, then." Looking at Vaughn with a calm expression, a faint smile could be seen on Valyr''s eyes. "Now that we''re done looking through the memory, can you tell me what you were holding off on saying earlier?"


    Unsurprisingly, Vaughn began to act oblivious.


    "Holding off on saying what?"


    Valyr merely let out a sigh in response, telling Vaughn that he knew what he was doing.


    After that, he went over what he had told the man earlier regarding the prophecies made known to him through the Imperial Alchemist.


    Fortunately, the man dropped the act after hearing that. "The Heralds and the one regarding the being greater than Heralds, right?"


    "That one, yes." Valyr nodded.


    Nodding back, Vaughn then asked, "Did that Imperial Alchemist person give a name or a title for that being?"


    "She call those beings Harbingers," replied Valyr, unsure of where Vaughn was leading the conversation to.


    "Harbingers, huh¡­" At the young man''s words, Vaughn let out a slight chuckle. "Well, the word does have greater impact whenpared to something like a Herald."


    "Plus, it''s way better than the original name I went with naming this second being."


    "What name did youe up with?" asked Valyr in response, now curious.


    "It''s far less fanciful than Harbinger, that''s for sure," said Vaughn with a shrug. "A bit derogatory, even."


    "Then again, the name I came up with is more direct than something like Harbinger, so I''ll continue sticking with it."


    Just as Valyr was about to directly ask Vaughn for the name with how roundabout he was with it, thetter soon dropped the name out of nowhere, causing an ever-familiar sound to echo in Valyr''s mind the moment he heard it.


    "Anomaly."


    "The beings that are greater than Heralds¡­ I call them Anomalies."


    Ding!


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    Briefly reading through the notification he''d received, Valyr looked back at Vaughn with slightly widened eyes, his gaze telling thetter why he decided to name those beings Anomalies.


    As if he was reading the young man''s gaze, Vaughn smiled in amusement. "Remember how I said earlier that those prophecies were more like conjectures?"


    "I wasn''t lying when I said that."


    With that, the man then went on about how the conjectures came to be while he was in the midst ofpleting Operation Hope.


    Having found the right amount of blood that would give the humans he created enough physical strength to fend for themselves, the man soon pondered as to what would happen if he were to¡­ cohabitate beside them.


    Though he felt a hint of disgust from the thought since the humans were his own creation, the man still went along with it, making use of the advanced technology to obtain his answer.


    Surprisingly, he found out that if he were tobine himself with the humans he made through Operation Hope, there would eventuallye a generation where a descendant would be born with a farrger ratio of his own blood in their body.


    Understanding that more of his own blood would mean greater strength for them, Vaughn looked at the result with a bit of surprise.


    At the same time, it caused him to think about pushing Operation Hope to greater heights, wondering if it was possible to create humans that had this amount of blood in their bodies without relying on chance.


    "Because of that, the side project was created, bringing the Heralds to life," exined Vaughn. "It''s the same reason why those descendants that inherited more of my own blood are called Heralds."


    "How about the Anomalies, then?" asked Valyr after that. "How did theye to be?"


    "The same thought process," replied Vaughn with a slightly bitter smile. "I checked what would happen if I were to cohabitate with Heralds."


    "The result that I obtained was that there would eventuallye a descendant that would have all of their blood be my own blood."


    "In other words, they would turn out to have simr qualities to the humans of the past."


    Ding!


    [You have gained a piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    Hearing a notification go off in his mind once more, Valyr briefly looked at it for a bit before continuing the conversation.


    "Wait, that doesn''t make sense," he replied. "Does that mean that you¡­ cohabitated with a Herald from the Zeihardt n, then?"


    "Surprisingly, no." Vaughn shook his head. "All of the Heralds I made back then actually ended up bing the founders of the various noble and imperial ns you see today."


    Though he was surprised to hear such a fact from the man, the young man continued with his questioning.


    "Then, how¡­?"


    "More testing, of course." Vaughn faintly smiled. "Since me cohabitating with a Herald meant that an Anomaly would arise, I checked if an Anomaly would also arise if I were to do it with a normal human created through Operation Hope."


    "It took a long time, but the machines in theboratory eventually gave me an answer," replied the man. "They said that an Anomaly would onlye about after a few Heralds had appeared in that Anomaly''s lineage."


    "After a bit more checking, I found out that the magic number was seven Heralds, which equates to who knows how many years after I established the Zeihardt n."


    "In any case, I''ve figured it out from the start that you''re asking all of these to answer a question you''ve long wanted the answers to," said Vaughn after that, prompting Valyr to nod as he remained silent.


    Smiling back, Vaughn then nodded. "That Imperial Alchemist was correct. She might have called you a Harbinger, but I will call you an Anomaly."


    "However, if I were to phrase your identity more nicely¡­"


    "Then you''re the true inheritor... the sole inheritor of my¡­ no."


    "The sole inheritor of the Darkstar lineage."


    Ding!N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 881 Four Pillars: The Actual Reason

    Chapter 881 Four Pirs: The Actual Reason


    Though he heard the ever-familiar chime of the system resound in his mind, Valyr felt that the notification sounded more like a gong this time around rather than a chime.


    Going over the words the man said to him over and over again in his mind, Valyr took some time for the shock he felt from the information to subside.


    After all, the answer he had gotten from Vaughn just now was possibly thest answer he was looking for to find out the true identity of the body he had taken over.


    Back when he was at Astarto Vige, Damian and Tristan had informed him that the Zeihardt surname was the surname of a noble n.


    Then, when he arrived at Clossbay City, the one that was leading the Stelyra n''s Aste branch had informed him that he was not merely a part of one of the many branches the Zeihardt n had at the noble level.


    Instead, he was told that he was a member of one of the few Zeihardt ns that were at the royal level.


    Not only that, but the man also told him he was a rare member of the Zeihardt n.


    For out of all the members the Zeihardt n had, he was one of the very few to be ssified as a Herald.


    It was also through Aster that he found out the reason why he had woken up on Tryndall''s carriage that led to Astarto Vige, with him being told that his existence as a Herald had caused the Zeihardt n to split into two factions.


    After that, the council of the Imperial Production Guild and the people from the guild that brought him to Algerie Kingdom allowed him to find out what it meant to be a Herald, finally understanding the ramifications that came with such a title.


    By perusing through the various books the Algerie Kingdom''s Myriad Archives held, he then found out more about what it meant to be a Herald, as well as the history that surrounded the humans of Veldanyr and the Zeihardt n.


    Quite some time had passed after that, with the young man busy in fulfilling tasks that would allow his strength to reach greater heights.


    However, that all changed when he had a conversation with Mystia Aschel, the current Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire, as well as Vera Aschel''s aunt.


    Through her, he found out that he was not just considered a Herald, but rather a Harbinger, someone who had inherited more of the founder''s blood.


    Recalling the journey he had taken, as well as the questions he had asked along the way to get to this point, Valyr took in a few deep breaths before letting out a long sigh.


    Then, bringing up the system, he took a look at the notification he had received from Vaughn''s statements.


    Ding!


    [You have gained an important piece of information regarding your true identity.]


    [By meeting the creator of Veldanyr''s new human race, the ancestor of the Zeihardt n you''ve originated from, you have finally obtained the true identity that you''ve long sought to obtain.]


    [With that, your journey ends here, finally removing all of the shackles that have been binding you from the start.]


    [Though you bear the surname of the Zeihardt n, your heart beats the blood of the Darkstar lineage, a lineage of humans that have achieved feats far greater than what the current human race can achieve.]


    [Through this blood, not only do you inherit the strength of the humans from a forsaken past, but also the will and hope to keep their existence known.] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [To keep the embers of a forgotten remnant burning.]


    Whoosh!


    Just as he had finished reading through the lines of text the system had thrown at him through the notifications, Valyr began to feel a faint rumbling starting from his stomach, only for it to expand throughout his entire body.


    Thump!


    Then, as the rumbling began to increase its intensity, Valyr''s heart began to beat loudly, causing him to vividly feel the blood that was flowing throughout his body.


    However, unlike before, he felt as if the blood flowing throughout him was foreign yet familiar at the same time, causing a slight chill wherever it flowed through.


    Fortunately, as more and more time passed, this chill gradually disappeared while the sense of foreignness disappeared along with it.


    Eventually, the blood flowing throughout his body caused him to feel greater strength flowing through his body, making him feel as if parts of his potential that were sealed all this time were now finally being brought to the surface.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Closing his eyes to focus his senses on the minute changes happening to his body, Valyr soon sensed that the cells making up his body were being filled to the brim with energy through the flowing blood.


    Then, after those cells were filled to the brim with energy, the cells converted into vitality, prompting him to feel that he now had the ability to unearth more strength from his body than ever before.


    At the same time, the increased vitality made him feel a sensation that could not directly be exined in words.


    Though, if he were toe up with something that could describe the sensation, then the closest thing he could say was that it felt his life was being manually extended.


    By the time he opened his eyes, over half an hour had passed since his body began to rumble.


    Looking around his surroundings, he noticed that his senses were far sharper than before, prompting him to look at the man beside him.


    Seeing that Vaughn had a smile on his face while looking at him, the young man gave a faint smile back, only to feel that there was ayer of something that was covering his entire body.


    Bringing up his arm to get a better look at what that something was, Valyr immediately used a series of Water-based spells on himself after finding out that the something he was looking at was, in fact, the impurities he had umted.


    By the time he had washed off all the impurities off his skin, the young man felt as if he had been reborn both internally and externally.


    Letting out a faint sigh of relief as he changed into a new set of clothes, Valyr then brought up his notifications, recalling that the system had gone off a couple of times while he was in the midst of what he soon figured out as his body undergoing a massive transformation.


    Ding!


    [Due to the information you''ve obtained, the skill ''Ancestral Blood of the Zeihardts'' has now fully awakened. The skill''s name has been changed to reflect that fact, now being named ''Sole Inheritor of the Darkstar Lineage''.]


    [Due to the information you''ve obtained, the skill ''Ancestral Blood of the Zeihardts'' has now fully awakened. Your current species has ascended to a higher species to reflect that fact, evolving from ''Human (3rd Unsealing)'' to ''Old Veldanyr Human | Pseudo-High Human (3rd Unsealing)''.]


    [Due to the information you''ve obtained, you have obtained the title ''Inheritor of a Long-forgotten Past (Veldanyr)''.]


    [Due to the information you''ve obtained, you have obtained the title ''Anachronistic Remnant of a Long-forgotten Past (Veldanyr)''.]


    Reading through the notifications that talked about the things he gained from the transformation, the smile on Valyr''s face turned into a slight grin, getting a better idea of why the transformation had urred in the first ce.


    ''Pretty sure the transformation has something to do with my species changing,'' thought the young man to himself, feeling the newfound strength course throughout his body as he clenched his fists.


    However, even though he was curious as to what each thing specifically gave him, the young man decided to shelve the thought for ater time.


    Instead, with the transformation now over, Valyr looked at Vaughn with a calm expression, a certain question lingering in his mind.


    At this point, most, if not all of the questions he had regarding the memories and the Four Pirs'' Inheritance were answered through both the memory he saw and the conversation he had with Vaughn.


    With that, only a couple questions remained in his mind.


    These questions were either things that had yet to be answered by the man beside him, or things that hadn''t been answered by the memory or the previous conversation at all.


    Taking a bit of time to sort out the question in his mind, Valyr eventually opened his mouth to speak.


    "I don''t know why, but I''m getting the feeling that you haven''t told me the actual reason why you''ve brought me into the Gates of Transcendence."


    "¡­?" At those words, Vaughn looked back at Valyr before giving him a slight yful smile.


    "Now what makes you think that?"


    "Well, a couple of things," replied Valyr. "For one, you told me that you''ve chosen me to inherit your position as the owner of the inheritance, but that has no connection with you bringing me to this ce."


    "Then, once we entered the Gates of Transcendence, you showed me the final memory of the First Forger, as well as the memory that showed a part of Veldanyr that was seemingly lost to time."


    "Though I did ask you a few questions rted to the memory, not once have you told me the reason why you''ve decided to show the memory in the first ce."


    "Let''s exclude the memory of the First Forger since you said that it was a reward for entering the Gates of Transcendence. However, the same couldn''t be said for the other one."


    "So¡­ what''s the actual reason as to why you brought me here?"


    Listening to Valyr''s entire exnation, Vaughn merely smiled.


    Only after the young man was done did the man begin to speak.


    Tapping on the porch they sat on, the man had a calm smile on his face.


    "Remember how I said after we entered this ce that the chances of information leaking out from here is significantly lowerpared to any other ce in the inheritance?"


    Obtaining a faint nod from Valyr in response, Vaughn continued. "That actually has something to do with it. In fact, the memory I showed you on Veldanyr''s history also has something to do with it."


    "So, what''s the reason, then?" asked Valyr in response, sensing that the man was beating around the bush again.


    Thankfully, the man did not beat around the bush any longer after that, the smile on his face bing wider as he looked at the young man.


    "The reason why I had you enter this ce and watch that other memory was so you could inherit my will."


    "In other words, I want you to finish what I''ve already started."


    "And that would be¡­?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "A really simple task." Vaughn let out a chuckle, only for his gaze to gain a murderous glint soon after.


    "You just have to kill the two Arbiters in my stead."

 Chapter 882 Four Pillars: Depths of the Apparatus

    Chapter 882 Four Pirs: Depths of the Apparatus


    "Wait¡­ huh?"


    Registering the words that left Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr was left confused once more as he did not understand how the man had gotten to this point.


    "Why me, though?" asked the young man for rification. "Don''t you have more than enough strength to kill the two Arbiters in your current state?"


    Hearing that, Vaughn nodded. "That''s true. If I were to do it, it would have already been done."


    "Then¡­ why me?"


    "Because those two know me," replied Vaughn, his expression bing serious. "And I don''t mean that in a way that they remember what I looked like at the end of the Great Cataclysm."


    "When I say they know me¡­ I mean it in a way where they more or less know everything about me."


    At those words, Valyr went silent for a bit, trying to wrap his head around the situation.


    Eventually, the young man had a rough idea of why Vaughn was asking him to take over the task that he had started, nodding in slight understanding.


    "By everything¡­ you mean¡­?"


    "My current level, my current ss, my current species, those two know of it," said Vaughn with a bit of nonchnce. "Not only that, but they know my skills, the concepts I''veprehended, even the skills that I''ve obtained and leveled up along the way."


    "Wait¡­ how did they figure that out?" asked Valyr, returning back to a state of not understanding what was going on. "Did they enlist the help of an information broker or something?"


    "If they did, they wouldn''t have gotten that much detailed information from me." Vaughn bitterly smiled as he shook his head. "But no. They obtained it from something I took for granted. Something I only found out to have that kind of powerter on in my life."


    "The Authority stat."


    "The Authority stat?" murmured Valyr to himself, recalling what the man had told him about it.


    Vaughn nodded in response. "It''s because of that stat that they know everything they''d need to know about me." "As I''ve told you before, the Authority stat is a stat that directly allows you to ess parts of the system that wouldn''t normally be essible."


    "The higher the Authority stat, the more of the system''s features you could ess," the man added.


    Though, not long after, the man''s expression turned slightly grim. "However, there''s also something else to the Authority stat that I should''ve known from the start."


    "Something that I only found out after leaving Veldanyr for good."


    At those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering what other side such a stat had. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Unsurprisingly, the young man was not ready for what came out of Vaughn''s mouth after that.


    "In exchange for gaining ess to normally inessible parts of the system, you be a part of the system itself. You be a part of the Apparatus."


    Seeing that Valyr had be confused due to his words, Vaughn decided to exin in more detail.


    "Think of the Apparatus as arge ss guild, while those who have the Authority stat are a part of that guild."


    "As we both know, ss guilds collect basic information on their members as a way to keep track. With that in mind, the Apparatus takes it one step further, collecting all of the information on the person that has the Authority stat."


    "Unlike ss guilds, where we can exert the influence of others to omit that kind of information, the Apparatus does not care about such things whatsoever. It just collects information." The man shrugged. "It''s the System, after all."


    "And what does that have to do with the two Arbiters knowing everything about you?" asked Valyr, finally beginning to understand the situation once more.


    "The higher the Authority stat, the more of the system you could ess." Vaughn wryly smiled. "I''m pretty sure you don''t need more hints than that, right?"


    Hearing the man''s words, the gears in Valyr''s mind turned for a bit before understanding what he meant by that.


    Nodding, he then looked at Vaughn with a slightly grim expression. "So¡­ you''re saying that, since they have a higher Authority stat than you¡­"


    "They have ess to all of my information if they wanted to, correct." Vaughn nodded in agreement. "Think of those two as elders of the ss guild, while I''m just a slightly higher-ranking member within the guild."


    "There''s certain ranks of ess to the Apparatus depending on how high your Authority stat is, actually."


    "Okay. Now I get it." Going over Vaughn''s exnation in his mind once more, Valyr nodded in understanding as heid out his thought process. "Because I don''t have the Authority stat, the two wouldn''t have information on me, which means I have an advantage over them inbat."


    "Aside from that, the reason why you chose me is because I''m an Anomaly, someone whose body is basically simr to the humans of the past. Compared to anyone else in Veldanyr, I would have far greater strength at the same rank."


    "That''s pretty much it." Vaughn nodded with a faint smile.


    "For some reason, I feel like you''ve set this whole thing up before I was even born¡­ or well, before this body was even born," said Valyr in response, causing the man to let out a bit ofughter.


    "Now that I think about it, it does kind of seem that way," said Vaughn. "However, even if you hadn''te around, I would''ve still passed on the ownership of the inheritance to someone else."


    "Of course, they''ll be the one finishing the task that I''ve started."


    Nodding in response, Valyr then asked Vaughn on how soon he wanted the task to bepleted if he were to do it.


    Hearing that the man did not mind him taking as much time as he needed toplete it, the young man agreed to finish what Vaughn had started, but only after he was done with the other ns he had yet to enact.


    Pondering in silence for a bit as he thought over what he had to do, Valyr soon found a problem with the task he was given. "Wait a second¡­ I think there''s a problem with what you want me to do."


    "What is it?" Vaughn raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "The Shard of Defiance," replied Valyr. "Wouldn''t it give me a point in the Authority stat if I were to reach its requirements?"


    "Ah, right." The man nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that wouldn''t be a problem."


    "But wouldn''t those Arbiters have full ess to my information since I would have the Authority stat by then?"


    "Normally, they would." Vaughn nodded in agreement, only to grin soon after. "But the Shard of Defiance isn''t called that for nothing."


    "To cut things short, let''s just say that it contains something¡­ special."

 Chapter 883 Four Pillars: The True Apparatus

    Chapter 883 Four Pirs: The True Apparatus


    "Something special¡­" Valyr muttered to himself, soon recalling the ethereal state he was in while fighting against the Lee twins back in the Gates of Awakening. "Are you talking about that otherworldly state I was in?"


    "Nah, that part is just a bonus of absorbing the Shard of Defiance," replied Vaughn, leaving the young man slightly surprised. "In fact, there''s a way to willfully harness its powers, but let''s save that topic for after this conversation."


    "In any case, what I mean about the Shard of Defiance being special is¡­"


    "Something I can''t really talk about," said the man with a bitter smile.


    Seeing Valyr frown in response to his words, the man''s smile turned even more bitter as he scratched the back of his head.


    Getting the feeling that the young man was thinking that he was beating around the bush on the real answer, a hint of hesitation shed on Vaughn''s face before he eventually made a decision.


    Whoosh!


    Raising one of his hands up in the air, Vaughn released a bit of his energy before transforming it into a barrier that surrounded the two of them.


    Then, after closing his eyes, an intangible energy began to suffuse throughout the barrier, causing a bit of sweat to appear on the man''s forehead.


    Watching this change happen to the barrier in real time, Valyr felt as if the barrier was separating the two of them from the Gates of Transcendence at first.


    Though, as more and more time passed, this feeling of istion grew more intense, eventually reaching a point where it felt like they had been isted from everything possible.


    "Haah¡­ This is the least I can do for a descendant of mine who''s willingly taken up my task."


    Taking a few deep breaths topose himself, Vaughn soon looked at Valyr before giving him an apologetic smile. "I don''t know how much information the system is going to obtain from this, but I''ve reduced the chances of it picking up the important parts as much as possible."


    "Huh?" Just as he thought that he would understand the situation from this point onward, Valyr was left confused once more, slightly tilting his head as he looked at Vaughn for an exnation.


    "There''s no easy way for me to phrase this, but¡­" Seeing the anticipation in the young man''s eyes, Vaughn inwardly let out a sigh. "Though the Apparatus only collects all of the information on those that have the Authority stat, the same can''t be said for conversations."


    "Throughout the entire universe, there''s no conversation the Apparatus can''t pick up."


    At those words, Valyr continued to look at the man in confusion for a bit, mulling over the information he had been given.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to understand what Vaughn was telling him, his eyes slightly widening in realization as he was being introduced to yet another side of the system he hadn''t known as a yer.


    "You''re telling me¡­ the information you couldn''t talk about just now is something the Apparatus would¡­ get angry about?"


    "Not just get angry about," replied Vaughn with a serious expression. "If I didn''t conjure this special barrier and continued bbering about it without even thinking about the consequences¡­"


    "There''s no doubt in my mind that the entire gxy Veldanyr is in would''ve been wiped out without a trace."


    "Hiss¡­" Sucking in a breath of cold air at those words, Valyr took a while topose himself before asking Vaughn how the system had such an ability.


    In response, Vaughn shed a wry smile as he conjured a wisp of energy that Valyr was too familiar with.


    "Mana¡­" muttered Valyr the moment he saw it, easily getting an idea of what Vaughn meant by the action.


    "It''s not called omnipotent and omniscient in the oaths we make for nothing," said the man in response, giving the young man time to process the information he''d given.


    By the time a few minutes had passed, Valyr let out a long exhale as he went through all of the thoughts that lingered in his mind.


    Though the information he had gotten in regards to Veldanyr, Vaughn, and his true identity so far had shocked him, it was still something he could eventually understand. After all, it was more or less rted to the body he had possessed in the first ce.


    However, the same could not be said for the information Vaughn had just dropped on him.


    ''The Authority stat, the omniscience of the Apparatus¡­'' inwardly murmured Valyr to himself. ''At this point, I''m seriously beginning to doubt that Greater Beyond is just a normal game.''


    At those words, the young man recalled the final battle in his past life, causing a wry smile to creep up onto the edges of his lips.


    ''Then again¡­ I should''ve already thought about that back when the final battle had erupted.''


    "Haah¡­" Taking a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr soon turned to look at Vaughn, feeling that he could now continue where their conversation left off.


    "So¡­ what about the Shard of Defiance makes it special?"


    "Concepts that you wouldn''t understand at your current level," replied Vaughn. "However, it has something to do with the task thates after you killing those two Arbiters."


    Seeing Valyr look at him with furrowed brows, Vaughn gave an apologetic smile. "This task is the actual task that I''ve started. Having you kill the two Arbiters was just something I did in passing."


    At those words, Valyr let out a low sigh. "What''s the actual task, then?"


    "I''m not expecting you to make progress anytime soon," replied Vaughn. "But the task I want you toplete in my stead¡­"


    "¡­Is to destroy the Apparatus."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­You''re kidding, right?


    Out of all the things that the young man was expecting the man before him to say, he was confident that this was the least he was expecting.


    ''Then again, conjuring this barrier makes a lot more sense now,'' thought Valyr to himself, now understanding more of the man''s thought process.


    "Killing the two Arbiters is a pretty straightforward task." Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Valyr looked at Vaughn directly in the eyes. "But how the hell do you expect me to do something like that? Where do I even begin?"


    "That''s something I''ve already prepared beforehand," said Vaughn with a reassuring smile. "I''ve enlisted the help of a few people I know to help you out with the task." "In fact, I''ve asked the first one to establish contact with you the moment you obtain the Authority stat from the shard." "In any case, that''s something you should only start thinking about after you reach the requirement needed for the Shard of Defiance."


    Whoosh!


    Feeling as if their conversation had now shifted onto a topic that would not realize their worst fears, Vaughn dispelled the barrier surrounding them, bringing them back to where they were in the Gates of Transcendence.


    Then, just as Valyr was still processing what the man had told him, Vaughn stood up all of a sudden before looking at him with a slight grin. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Well, I''m sure this is already long overdue¡­"


    "But let''s get to your rewards, shall we?"

 Chapter 884 Four Pillars: The Final Rewards (1)

    Chapter 884 Four Pirs: The Final Rewards (1)


    "But¡­"


    For some time, Valyr thought about continuing where their conversation in the barrier left off.


    After all, there was still a lot about the entire n Vaughn had told him that he did not know. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Though, after mulling over it for a bit, the young man decided to delve into the matter some other time.


    For one, the task that Vaughn wanted him toplete was something that he felt like he could only make headway in only after he had ascended to the Divine level at the very least.


    Aside from that, there was the fact that the barrier the man made that was suppressing the system''s senses had already been dispelled.


    With that, if he or Vaughn were to misspeak, then there was the chance of consequences possibly arising.


    ''Well, even if I have no idea if what he said about the system always listening on conversation is true or not, it''s always better to be safe than sorry,'' thought Valyr to himself after that, faintly shuddering at the statement once more.


    Seeing Vaughn stand before him while looking at him with a grin, the young man swiftly shifted his thoughts to the next topic the former suggested, which were the rewards he would obtain now that he''d entered the Gates of Transcendence.


    Of course, it went without saying that Valyr was quite curious as to what kind of rewards the Gates of Transcendence would give him, considering that it was the highest-ranking organization within the Triad Gates.


    While wondering what kind of rewards he would get, the young man soon recalled the rewards he had gained from both the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening, which improved both hisbat and technological prowess by leaps and bounds.


    With that in mind, Valyr felt that it was only natural for the Gates of Transcendence to take it one step further.


    The first thought that came to the young man''s mind was the enhancement of his skills, perhaps the skills that made up his corebat style.


    ''Then again, Sellifer already helped me take that final step that the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening had been leading me towards,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly as he slightly frowned.


    ''Perhaps, Vaughn would make the Gates of Transcendence enhance my cksmithing skills instead?''


    As he thought about the idea a bit more, Valyr felt that it made quite a lot of sense.


    After all, through the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening, his corebat skills were improved to Rare grade, upgrading from Umon grade in terms of rarity.


    With that, his cksmithing skills, which were currently all at Umon+ grade, had a high chance of getting the same treatment, even if the improvement was far less substantial than the one for hisbat skills.


    Pondering over his cksmithing skills even more, the young man soon thought about the incessant amount of knowledge he''d gained from the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening on the eras of technology.


    Thanks to those two organizations, he had mastered both Basic and Intermediate-level advancements up to the era of the First Industrial Revolution.


    If he were to make use of the technology wisely, there was no doubt that he would instantly be ahead by leaps and boundspared to the greatest cksmiths currently on Veldanyr.


    ''Would I gain ess to information up to the Second Industrial Revolution? The Machine Age, perhaps?'' ''Or better yet¡­ the Atomic Age?''


    As these sorts of questions came to mind, Valyr began to look at Vaughn with a hint of expectation in his eyes, curious as to what he would get as the sole being among their group to enter the Gates of Transcendence.


    Taking note of the expectation in the young man''s gaze, Vaughn merely chuckled before saying something that immediately dispelled all the excitement Valyr felt from the rewards.


    "Now that I think about it, there isn''t really much point in giving you rewards since you''ll be the owner of the inheritance," said the man, greatly amused at the young man''s immediate change in reaction.


    Shrugging his shoulders, he continued, "As the owner of the inheritance, whether you decide to keep everything in the Triad Gates for yourself or give it to others, you''re free to use it however you see fit."


    "Then again¡­ there are some areas within this ce that would take a bit of time to ess, so how about I give you information on all the areas within the inheritance as your reward?"


    At those words, Vaughn stepped closer towards the young man before cing one of his hands on thetter''s forehead.


    Whoosh!


    Then, without any warning, the man began to directly infuse a great amount of information into Valyr''s mind, telling him of all the secret nooks and crannies that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance contained.


    Having experienced the sensation of havingrge amounts of information shoved into his brain multiple times at this point, it did not take long for the young man to process and organize the information he''d obtained.


    Though he looked at Vaughn with a frown at first, once he looked through the information he''d been given, the young man''s expression gradually turned into surprise.


    Not long after, this expression turned into shock, only realizing through the information that there really was a lot more that the inheritance had to offer aside from the pieces of information he''d obtained on the Triad Gates before.


    "So¡­ are you satisfied?" Seeing the expression on Valyr''s face change in real time, Vaughn let out a bit ofughter as he asked the question.


    "Well, if there really is this much stuff left in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance¡­ then I guess there really is no point in giving me any other reward," said Valyr in response with a faint shrug, even though he inwardly thought otherwise.


    "I''m most surprised by the fact that the Gates of Transcendence has stuff I could use, even though it''s the smallest out of all the Triad Gates."


    "Even though I said the Gates of Transcendence was only an organization in name, there were some benefits to it that were truly tangible." Vaughn smiled in response. "Plus, I had to keep up an appearance back then."


    "Am I really not going to get any other reward?" asked Valyr after that, faintly holding onto the hope that the man was just messing around with him like the other times he did.


    Unfortunately, the man''s response shot down those hopes in an instant.


    "I don''t really see much point in giving you anything else."


    "You''ve pretty much obtained all of the important stuff the Four Pirs'' Inheritance could offer you in terms of personal improvement," said Vaughn with a faint shrug. "Plus, with the information I''ve given you, you could obtain all of the other misceneous bits and bobs within the inheritance that could help push it a bit further." "I see¡­" Hearing that, the young man faintly nodded, inwardly letting out a long sigh as he briefly admonished himself for getting his hopes up.


    Seeing Valyr''s expression turn sullen, Vaughn inwardly let out a chuckle as he thought about his next words would undoubtedly make Valyr excited again.


    "Though you''ve obtained everything the Four Pirs'' Inheritance has to offer¡­ that doesn''t mean I can''t offer my own rewards separate from the inheritance," said the man after a bit of silence, prompting the young man to look at him with incredulity.


    "Think of it as an ancestor doting on their descendant¡­ well, more like an ancestor giving more than just a few possessions to their sole descendant."


    Hearing the words that came out of the man''s mouth, Valyr took in a few deep breathsto contain his excitement.


    After that, he let out a long exhale as he looked at Vaughn with a wry smile. "Beating around the bush as always. You could''ve just told me that from the start, you know?"


    In response, Vaughnughed. "What can I say? It''s been a while since I''ve interacted with someone from Veldanyr. The fact that you''ve inherited all of my blood just makes me want to tease you more."


    "Anyways, I''m giving you these rewards for two reasons," the man continued. "The first one I''ve already mentioned, while the second one is for you to have more than enough powerter down the line toplete the tasks I''ve given you."


    "With that being said, mind if I take a look at your status for a bit?" At those words, Vaughn looked at the young man in the eyes, only to receive a wary gaze back in response.


    With that, he quickly reassured Valyr. "This is so I could give you rewards that are more suited for you. As a Greater God, there are a plethora of things I could give to someone who hasn''t transcended mortality yet."


    "Plus, if you''re thinking as to whether I''d share the information I got from you¡­ I would''ve just shot myself in the foot if that were the case."


    Hearing those words, Valyr decided to trust in Vaughn, considering that he was showing him trust by asking for permission beforehand.


    After all, as a Greater God, there wasn''t really much need for the man to ask him for permission to do something like that, especially if he had ess to something like Authority stat.


    With that, the young man allowed Vaughn to do whatever he wanted, closing his eyes in the process.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling a weird type of energy envelop his entire body for a brief moment, Valyr opened his eyes after hearing Vaughn that it was okay to do so.


    "Hmm¡­" Looking at the artificial-looking screen he had brought up for him, Vaughn rubbed his chin in contemtion for quite some time before looking at Valyr as he nodded.


    "Alright."


    "I now know what to give you."

 Chapter 885 Four Pillars: The Final Rewards (2)

    Chapter 885 Four Pirs: The Final Rewards (2)


    "Five rewards."


    Raising up all five fingers on one of his hands, Vaughn looked at the young man with a confident smile. "You''ll receive a total of five rewards from me, all of which will help you greatly in your journey after you leave this inheritance."


    Hearing those wordse out of the man''s mouth, Valyr looked at the man with excitement, expectant of the rewards a Greater God would possibly him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    However, just as the man was about to start giving the young man his rewards, Vaughn looked back at the artificial screen that contained all of the information he obtained on Valyr.


    Staring at it for a bit, the man began to frown, looking back and forth between the screen and Valyr.


    "On second thought¡­" Seeing Vaughn change his mind on the rewards, the young man began to wonder why the man changed his mind in the first ce, certain that he was going to reduce his rewards.


    Though, rather than reduce the rewards he''d get from the man, Vaughn surprisingly did the exact opposite.


    Counting the digits on his hands, the man soon raised six fingers before giving Valyr a firm nod. "Yeah. Six rewards should be right."


    "I''ll be giving you a total of six rewards."


    At those words, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to turn, pondering over what kind of rewards the man would give him.


    At the same time, it made him wonder whether the rewards he''d obtain were simr to the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening in terms of counting.


    ''Then again, I wouldn''t be surprised if he decided to increase my hidden stats, and have each hidden stat be equivalent to one reward,'' thought the young man to himself, feeling that Vaughn would do something like that.


    "What kind of rewards am I going to get?" Deciding to push his pessimism aside, Valyr went ahead and asked Vaughn for more information to satiate his curiosity.


    "Four of those rewards would bebat-rted," said Vaughn after pondering it for a bit. "Then, thest two would be production-rted."


    "No, wait. One of the two is production-rted, while the other one could be used for bothbat and production."


    "I see." Listening to the man''s response, Valyr faintly nodded in understanding. "Does the reason why you''ve chosen to give me morebat-rted rewards have something to do with the tasks you want me toplete?"


    As this question left his mouth, the young man thought back to the choices the Gates of Awakening gave him for his rewards during the trials, asking him to choose whether he wanted his rewards to skew towardsbat, production, or both.


    Hearing Vaughn talk aboutbat-rted and production-rted rewards somewhat reminded Valyr of that situation. Though, unlike that time, Vaughn made the choice for him.


    "Well, partly," replied Vaughn without beating around the bush. "Mostly, I decided to have more of your rewards bebat-rted due to your current skill set."


    "Honestly, it''s all over the ce."


    Hearing that, Valyr merely smiled in response.


    "Spear skills, magic skills, summoning skills, firearms, and skills that help you improve your technique with other weapons¡­" muttered Vaughn as he brought up the artificial-looking screen in front of his face once more.


    "I''m guessing you brought many of these up to their current state with the help of the Realm of Myriad Experiences. In any case, you''re watering down yourbat potential by focusing on so manybat styles at once."


    "Fortunately, your encounter in the Hall of Legends and Myths is helping youbine thosebat styles together into something more cohesive, albeit gradually," said the man with a nod.


    "You''ve definitely gained a lot from Sellifer, learning Azure Energy and all that," continued the man with a faint smile. "However, you''re gonna have to put in the effort yourself if you want it to transform into one cohesive style."


    "Hopefully, these rewards I''m about to give you will help you out in that regard."


    Whoosh!


    Bringing out a set of crystals that looked like ss shards from who knows where, Vaughn moved the artificial screen to the side as he looked at the young man with a faint smile.


    "By looking at your information, I''ve noticed that your Intents seem to have somewhat shaky foundations. I''m guessing Sellifer helped you out in that area?"


    Looking back at Vaughn, Valyr nodded. "She did a Concept Impartation to help me out."


    "As expected," replied Vaughn with a smile as he nodded. "It does make sense. After all, both of you haveprehended something in regards to both mana and Shadow Energy."


    "However, even though that may be the case, the two of you stillprehended different parts of the same picture," continued Vaughn with a slight frown. "She may have purified it as much as possible, but there''s still some parts of herprehension that get in here and there."


    "It won''t really affect you that much even after you reach the peak of Rank 5, but it''ll definitely be an issue once you try to aim to ascend to Rank 6."


    "With that, your first reward is a Concept Impartation from yours truly." Saying these words, Vaughn shifted Valyr''s attention to the crystals he brought out.


    "But unlike Sellifer''s Concept Impartation, where she used her ownprehended concepts to do it, I''ll be using Crystallized Nomological Shards, allowing you to both shore up your foundations and prepare your concepts for the next stage."


    While listening to the words that came out of Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr gradually ended up bing confused as the man was saying a lot.


    Though, that confusion disappeared on its own once he heard that the man was doing a Concept Impartation of his own as a reward.


    Adding on the fact that he was going to use Crystallized Nomological Shards, items that had effects Valyr knew very well, the young man could not help but be excited, eager to undergo the impartation at this very instant.


    Sadly, Vaughn seemed to have other ns for the meantime.


    "We''ll save the Concept Impartation for after you get most of your other rewards," said the man, giving Valyr an apologetic smile after seeing thetter looking glum.


    "This is so you can maximize your gains from the Concept Impartation," reassured Vaughn as he decided to continue onto the next reward. "Then again, it''s not like the other rewards are any less shabby than this one."


    Whoosh!


    Putting the Crystallized Nomological Shards into a rift he had opened, Vaughn then retrieved another item from who knows where, this time taking on the form of a book.


    "While looking through your information, I noticed that you got your hands on a skill that many people have wanted to obtain, but can''t."


    Allowing the book to hover before the two of them, Valyr took a look at it, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as he realized what the man had brought.


    Seeing the look of realization in the young man''s eyes, Vaughn let out a bit ofughter as he soon yed around with the book for a bit.


    "For your second reward¡­"


    "Since you''ve already begun toprehend the 1st Volume of the Outer Realm Scripture¡­"


    "I suppose it makes sense for you to beginprehending the 1st Volume of the Inner Realm Scripture as well."

 Chapter 886 Four Pillars: The Final Rewards (3)

    Chapter 886 Four Pirs: The Final Rewards (3)


    At the very moment Valyr recognized the book that Vaughn was holding, his eyes widened in surprise as his face was unable to disguise the immense shock he felt.


    ''Who knew I''d be able to get my hands on it this way?'' thought the young man to himself as all of his attention was glued towards the book, inwardly chuckling at the absurdity of this situation.


    At the same time, he felt an immense amount of disbelief, prompting him to pinch himself a couple times to prove that he wasn''t dreaming.


    Feeling the radiating pain from the few pinches he did to his skin with all of his strength, it was through there that he confirmed that he wasn''t dreaming at all.


    "For your second reward¡­" ying a bit with the book he had brought out, Vaughn let out a bit ofughter as he introduced Valyr to his next reward.


    "Since you''ve already begun toprehend the 1st Volume of the Outer Realm Scripture, I suppose it makes sense for you to beginprehending the 1st Volume of the Inner Realm Scripture as well.


    "How¡­" Valyr uttered in response, only to be left at aplete loss for words as a myriad number of thoughts went on in his mind.


    Recalling how he had obtained the 1st volume of the Outer Realm Scripture, Valyr could not help but feel like the 1st volume of the Inner Realm Scripture was just being handed to him on a silver tter.


    After all, to obtain the Outer Realm Scripture, he had forged a few weapons that had been sold for a decent amount of money.


    Then, using that money, as well as some additional money from the cksmith Guild through Julian, he was able to get his hands on the archaic-looking book.


    But that was only because none of the other people attending the auction had any clue as to what that archaic-looking book was.


    With that, he knew that if it were in another ce, where even a few people in that auction were somewhat knowledgeable of its existence¡­


    Its price would have been driven high to a point where Valyr wouldn''t even be able to bid.


    "How did I get my hands on this?" said Vaughn, finishing what Valyr wanted to say.


    Seeing Valyr nod in response, the man nodded back with a smile. "Well, I bought it from an auction sometime in the past. In any case, it''s just an extra copy I hadying around, so I don''t mind giving it to you."


    "¡­An extra copy?" Hearing those wordse out of the man''s mouth, Valyr felt something inside him snap as he looked at the man with a nk expression.


    Fortunately, Vaughn had good reasons why he had an extra copy, stimting the energy within his body before allowing most of it to course through his skin.


    Whoosh! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Within seconds, a denseyer of convoluted paths appear on the surface of Vaughn''s skin, giving off an oppressive aura as it radiated a faint cyan light.


    Looking at these paths that glowed cyan, Valyr swiftly snapped back to reality as he immediately understood what he was looking at.


    Seeing that he had caught his attention, a faint smile emerged on Vaughn''s lips as he willed a bit more energy to course through his skin.


    Swoosh!


    With that, anotheryer of convoluted paths began to manifest on the man''s skin, seemingly upying the spots that hadn''t been upied by the cyan paths.


    However, unlike the oppressive aura the cyan paths were giving off, these paths gave off an all-epassing aura instead as it glowed a deep crimson, making one feel like the owner of the paths was a sovereign of sorts.


    Watching Vaughn''s skin be filled with both the cyan paths and the crimson paths, it did not take long for Valyr to understand, recalling the paths that covered the skin of the only yer to unite the three scriptures as one.


    Taking a deep breath topose himself from the shock, the young man looked at Vaughn and asked, "Is that¡­ the full Outer and Inner Realm Scripture?"


    "Precisely so." Vaughn grinned as he nodded. "I encountered the 1st volume of the Outer Realm Scripture not long after I was naturally kicked out of Veldanyr."


    "Seeing its effects, I eventually found myself collecting all three volumes of it, as well as the volumes that corresponded to the Inner Realm Scripture."


    "While doing so, I''d collected a few extra copies along the way," said Vaughn, only to look at Valyr with an apologetic smile. "Unfortunately, the only extra copies I have of the two scriptures are thest volume of the Outer Realm Scripture¡­"


    "And the one you see before you."


    Nodding at those words, Valyr looked at the book once more, noticing that its cover appeared noticeably better than the dpidated appearance that the 1st volume of the Outer Realm Scripture he got.


    Looking at the various characters that were scribbled on it, the young man immediately confirmed that it was indeed the 1st Volume of the Inner Realm Scripture.


    Though, what truly confirmed it was the fact that the cyan paths he had engraved onto his skin far in the past seemed to be passively resonating with the book''s existence.


    "Alright then. Let''s proceed with integrating the Inner Realm Scripture through you first before we move onto your third reward."


    "But before that¡­" Allowing the Inner Realm Scripture to hover where it first appeared, Vaughn moved closer as strands of energy began to manifest on the man''s fingertips.


    "Mind if you let me take a look at your Outer Realm Scripture?"


    Hearing those words, Valyr immediately understood what Vaughn wanted to do, prompting him to stimte some of the energy to course throughout his skin.


    At the same time, he brought out the 1st volume of the Outer Realm Scripture he bought from the auction out of his spatial bracelet.


    ''He didn''t specify which of the two he wanted to see, after all.''


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that the foundation for the cyan paths had already beenid out on the young man''s skin, only to see that he had also brought out his copy of the Outer Realm Scripture, a faint smile appeared on Vaughn''s face as he took a look at both.


    Making use of a bit of his energy, the man flipped through the pages making up the 1st volume of Valyr''s copy.


    Then, manipting the strands of energy on his fingertips, he took a look at the cyan paths Valyr had alreadyid out.


    "Alright."


    Swoosh!


    Feeling that he''d gotten a better idea of the cyan paths Valyr hadid out, Vaughn nodded in understanding as he condensed the strands of energy he''d conjured into a knife of sorts.


    "I''ll make sure to finish this as quickly as possible, but this will probably sting."


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr soon closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth for what was toe.


    "Go ahead."


    Swoosh!


    At the very moment Vaughn began to use the knife he conjured to carve paths on Valyr''s body, the young man was immediately bombarded with an immense feeling of pain that covered his entire body.


    For the first few seconds, the young man was able to bear with it, feeling the man swiftly carve out extensions that led to the original cyan paths he''d carved on his skin.


    However, out of nowhere, the amount of pain immediately intensified to an rming degree.


    Ding!


    With that, by the time a notification sound resounded from his system¡­


    Valyr had fallen unconscious.

 Chapter 887 Four Pillars: The Final Rewards (4)

    Chapter 887 Four Pirs: The Final Rewards (4)


    "Ugh¡­ my body¡­"


    Feeling his consciousness finallying to, Valyr slowly got up after realizing he had fallen unconscious at some point.


    At the very moment he did so, a wave of pain washed over his body, prompting him to grit his teeth in response.


    Though, whenpared to the immense pain he felt before he went unconscious, it was more tolerable.


    With that, it did not take long for the young man to sit upright once more, only to notice Vaughn faintly smiling while looking at him.


    "I''m guessing you''re the reason why I fell unconscious?" Sensing a hint of yfulness hidden underneath the man''s smile, Valyr decided to confirm his suspicions as he asked him a question.


    Seeing the man''s smile turn into a slight grin, the young man let out a faint sigh as he listened to what the man had to say.


    "Though I could say it''s to protect a couple of secret methods I use to engrave the paths onto your body, there''s nothing really secret about it, considering how it''s just a technique to speed up carving the paths exined by the scriptures themselves."


    "In any case, you being unconscious allowed me to carve out the paths without any difficulties." Saying these words, the grin on Vaughn became even wider. "With that, both your Outer Realm and Inner Realm Scripture have reached the end of the 1st Volume."


    At those words, Valyr nkly looked at Vaughn for a bit in confusion, only to realize what the man had said soon after.


    Widening his eyes at the realization, the young man soon willed some of the energy to course through his skin, prompting ayer of cyan paths to appear on it.


    Of course, the cyan paths that covered Valyr''s body were more dense and intricate than before thanks to what Vaughn had done, though they were stillcking inparison to the dense paths on Vaughn''s body.


    Confirming that the Outer Realm Scripture had indeed been improved to the peak of the 1st volume, the young man willed a bit more energy to course through his skin, prompting ayer of crimson paths to ovep on top of the cyan ones.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling the faint all-epassing aura radiating from the crimson paths, Valyr soon began to widely smile as he noticed the substantial changes brought about by the paths to his body.


    Swoosh!


    Doing a few basicbat movements, the young man felt that his movements were considerably faster and sharper than before.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Bolt]."


    Fwoosh!


    Then, casting one of the more basic spells under his arsenal, the young man felt that the force behind it had grown considerably as well.


    Nodding in satisfaction, the young man soon prompted the paths on his skin to disappear as he brought up his notification screen.


    Unsurprisingly, there were a few notifications already waiting for him.


    Ding!


    [You have upgraded the skill ''Outer Realm Scripture'' to the 2nd Stage.]


    [You have upgraded the skill ''Outer Realm Scripture'' to the 3rd Stage.]


    [¡­]


    [You have upgraded the skill ''Inner Realm Scripture'' to the 3rd Stage.]


    [As both the Outer Realm Scripture and Inner Realm Scripture have reached the 3rd Stage, a Resonance Effect has been activated.]


    With Vaughn already exining what he had done to him with the two scriptures, the young man had already expected most of the notifications he was reading through.


    However, when he read thest notification on the list, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, bringing up the description of the Inner Realm Scripture to obtain more information on it.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Inner Realm Scripture] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Grade: 3rd Stage (Rare)


    A scripture hailing from the archaic¡­ description has been omitted.


    Having aplished the 3rd Stage of the Inner Realm Scripture, the inner intricacies of the scripture have been awakened, boosting the user''s INT, WIS, and PER by 5%.


    [Resonance Effect: As the Outer Realm Scripture has reached the same stage of aplishment, both scriptures also boost the user''s LUK by 1% each,ing to a total of 2%.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh." With how sinct the actual description of the Inner Realm Scripture was if he were to skip over its vor text, the young man immediately nodded in understanding.


    ''So it''s simr to the Reinforcement Elixirs, but better.''


    With this thought in mind, the young man briefly brought up the description of the Outer Realm Scripture.


    Seeing that it was boosting his physical stats to the same degree, the young man confirmed his thoughts, inwardly nodding in satisfaction as he looked at Vaughn.


    "You done looking through the scriptures?" asked Vaughn after noticing the young man looking him, to which thetter nodded in response.


    Nodding back, Vaughn soon ced one of his hands on Valyr''s forehead as he began to speak. "Now, this next reward is the only reward among the six to be useful in bothbat and production."


    Whoosh!


    Letting out a drawn-out exhale, Vaughn closed his eyes for a bit as he allowed energy to course through his hand, slowly sending information to Valyr once more.


    Then again, even though the man was intentionally slowing down the influx of information that entered the young man''s mind, the speed at which it entered thetter''s mind was still enough to somewhat overwhelm him.


    Fortunately, the transmission of information only took a few seconds at most, with Valyr being able to process and organize the information not long after.


    Ding!


    [You have received arge amount of information on a certain concept from Vaughn Darkstar.]


    [You haveprehended the passive skill ''Truth Weaver Scripture'' to the 1st Stage ¡ª Trinity.]


    "Truth Weaver Scripture¡­" Muttering the name of the skill he had obtained from Vaughn, the young man began to rummage his treasure trove of memories from his past life in hopes of finding more specific information on it.


    However, even after searching every nook and cranny for even a smidgen of information, the young man ended up empty-handed.


    Fortunately, Vaughn began to give him more information on the skill as he brought up its description on the side.


    "The Truth Weaver Scripture is a skill I came across while I was preparing for my ascension to the Divine level," Vaughn began to exin. "Though the name of the skill might imply something else if you didn''t know what it did, what the skill allows you perfectly encapstes its name."


    "With that being said, the Truth Weaver Scripture does what it literally says it does, which is to weave truths together."


    "But if I were to be more specific, the skill allows you to weaveprehended concepts together in order to achieve a greater result." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Hearing Vaughn''s exnation, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he took a look at the skill''s description.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Truth Weaver Scripture] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Grade: 1st Stage ¡ª Trinity (Common)


    A scripture hailing from the archaic¡­ description has been omitted.


    Though the Truth Weaver Scripture does not allow one to fully bypass the limitations imposed by the system onprehended concepts, it does allow one to make use of the inherent properties of those concepts to boost their properties even further.


    The 1st Stage ¡ª Trinity allows the user to weave at most three concepts together into something more tangible, allowing the effect of the strongestprehended concept to be boosted by 10%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Wait a second¡­" Reading through the description of the Truth Weaver Scripture, Valyr began to furrow his brows, only to look at Vaughn as he asked him a question amidst his disbelief.


    "If I''m understanding this skill correctly¡­ then the Truth Weaver Scripture would allow me to boost the Attack coefficient of my strongest Intent by a further 10%?"


    "And that''s just the first stage." Vaughn nodded with a grin. "Say you have three Intents, all of them at 9th Grade."


    "Since they''re all at 9th Grade, they would only be able to boost your Attack coefficient by 10% even if you made use of all of them," continued the man. "But if you were to use the Truth Weaver Scripture, that 10% immediately turns into 11%, which might be the fine line separating you between line and death."


    "Now what if your strongest Intent was 7th Grade? 5th Grade? 2nd Grade? Or the legendary 1st Grade Intent? Imagine how much a 10% increase would give to a 1st Grade Intent, much less the higher stages of the Truth Weaver Scripture."


    "Then again, even though my example usedbat-rted Intents, the Truth Weaver Scripture''s effects would still apply on production-rted Intents," said Vaughn as an added note.


    "Speaking of which, I''ve given you information up to the 3rd Stage of the Truth Weaver Scripture, which is Trinity of Trinities. As for the 4th Stage and higher, feel free to ask me whenever you need it."


    ''Trinity of Trinities¡­'' Hearing the name of the Truth Weaver Scripture''s 3rd Stagee out of Vaughn''s mouth, it did not take long for Valyr to extrapte more information from it, inwardly sucking in a breath of cold air in response.


    ''If Trinity allows me to weave three concepts together, then Trinity of Trinities would allow me to do that with nine concepts, huh?''


    "Well¡­ since I''ve more or less exined what the Truth Weaver Scripture does, let''s move onto the next reward, shall we?"


    Catching Valyr''s attention with his words, Vaughn went ahead and conjured a rift before taking out what looked to be a normal wooden log.


    Though, just as Valyr was about to ask if the wooden log was special, the man went ahead and imbued a great amount of his energy into it, graduallypressing the wooden log into a talisman that contained a great number of characters on its surface.


    Looking at what he had achieved with a satisfied smile, Vaughn then gave the wooden talisman to Valyr as he exined what it was.


    "Though this might seemcking whenpared to the other rewards you''ve already gotten, this talisman allows you to request for my help whenever and wherever."

 Chapter 888 Four Pillars: The Final Rewards (5)

    Chapter 888 Four Pirs: The Final Rewards (5)


    At the very moment Vaughn began to introduce Valyr to his next reward, a faint hint of expectation appeared in thetter''s eyes, wondering if it would be as amazing as the other rewards he''d obtained so far.


    However, after seeing the man turn a normal-looking log into a wooden talisman before his very eyes, as well as give him a heads-up that the reward might seemcking beforehand, that expectation instantly disappeared.


    ''A talisman that would allow me to request his help wherever and whenever,'' thought Valyr to himself, faintly nodding as he had an idea of why Vaughn was giving him something like that.


    In his mind, the reason why Vaughn had given him something like that was so that he could basically escape whenever he got into an emergency or an incredibly dire situation.


    Then again, no matter how useful an item like that was to him in his current state, the talisman was ultimately just him borrowing the power of another person as help.


    With that, the young man decided to just ept the talisman as is, nodding as he nced at the talisman for a bit before looking back at Vaughn.


    Seeing that the talisman was now in the young man''s hands, Vaughn went ahead and gave the former instructions on how to use it. "If you ever want to use the talisman, just infuse a bit of your energy into it, and I''lle to where you are as soon as possible."


    "Though, if you were to use it in another ne or an isted space like the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, it would take me longer to arrive to where you are," said the man with a faint shrug. "However, that doesn''t mean I wouldn''t be able tomunicate with you."


    Nodding as hemitted the information Vaughn was giving him to memory, Valyr stared at the talisman once more, this time with less disappointment in his mind.


    ''Now that I look at it, for something that''s hastily-made, it still shows a high level of craftsmanship.''


    If Valyr had not seen Vaughn pull out a normal log out of thin air and use his own energy on it to create the talisman, the young man would have believed that the man took quite some time to forge the talisman.


    Then again, even if he had seen the process firsthand, that did not stop Valyr from admiring the various features of the talisman, sensing the years of experience that had gone into making something like this.


    ''I guess spending life on Veldanyr for over 200,000 years wasn''t all nothing,'' thought the young man to himself with a slight chuckle. ''Empowered with the abilities of a Greater God, I guess making something like this is normal.''


    As he thought about how Vaughn had made use of his current strength to make the talisman, Valyr felt as if a light bulb had gone off in his mind.


    Continuing to admire the talisman, a look of realization appeared on his face as he began to ask Vaughn more about its limitations.


    "If I were to contact you through this talisman, who woulde? This memory extension, or the true body?"


    "The true body," replied Vaughn. "This memory extension wouldn''t really be of much help. Though it exudes a fraction of my true strength, its power is below the average for Myth-level beings."


    Nodding in response, Valyr continued with his questions. "How many times can I request for your help? Can I request for your help as many times as I need?"


    Hearing the young man''s question, a look of understanding shed in Vaughn''s eyes as he raised five of his fingers, only to put down two of them soon after. "Three times. You can only request for my help a total of three times."


    "Though I''ve given you that talisman as a way for you to escape extremely dangerous situations, I don''t want you to end up relying on it every time," he continued.


    "Heh." Letting out a bit ofughter, he gave the young man a knowing smile as he crossed his arms. "You looked a bit disappointed earlier when you first got this talisman. I presume you''ve found another use for it, then?"


    In response, Valyr merely nodded. "Yep."


    "And would it perhaps involve the war between the humans and the orcs?"


    "Yep." Valyr nodded once more, this time with a grin on his face.


    "As expected." Seeing the young man grin, Vaughn wryly smiled before sighing.


    Pondering over the intentions he''d revealed for a bit, the man soon made up his mind. "Well¡­ I''ll help you out with the war to give humanity a breather, but only once."


    "Once is more than enough," replied Valyr, his grin bing wider. "You''ve already done so much for Veldanyr, after all."


    "Speaking of which, does the talisman crumble on its own after I go over your request limit?"


    "Nah." Vaughn shook his head in response. "You wouldn''t be able to request for my help anymore, but you''d still be able to talk to me. How would you get the next stages of the Truth Weaver Scripture otherwise?"


    "Fair point."


    With most of Valyr''s queries regarding the usage of the talisman more or less answered, Vaughn prompted the two to move onto the next reward.


    Storing the talisman into his spatial bracelet, Valyr looked at the man with a hint of curiosity and expectation, faintly hoping that the reward was nothing like the talisman.


    Fortunately, it was not, with Vaughn cing one of his hands on Valyr''s forehead once more.


    "Now, unlike the other rewards, this reward isn''t as usable the instant you get it," said Vaughn, closing his eyes as he began to course energy throughout his body once more.


    "However, it''ll eventually grow to be your strongest asset the longer you make use of it."


    Whoosh!


    Letting out a faint bellow as he had umted enough energy, Vaughn began to send information directly into Valyr''s mind once more, making sure to not overwhelm thetter with it.


    Thankfully, the young man was more than prepared for the influx of information this time around, allowing him to easily process and organize the information he''d gained the very moment the transfer was done.


    Ding!


    [You have received arge amount of information on a certain concept from Vaughn Darkstar.]


    [You have received knowledge regarding the passive skill ''Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races''.]


    "The Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races¡­" Taking a look at the notifications he had received, Valyr immediately looked at Vaughn with a raised eyebrow to obtain more information on the skill.


    "It''s simr to the Truth Weaver Scripture in that I only came across it while I was preparing for my ascension to the Divine level," said Vaughn as if he was already expecting it. "Though, unlike the Truth Weaver Scripture, I was not able to make much use of it."


    "Instead, after reading it, I found out that it was most effective on people that haven''t reached the Divine level yet." At these words, Vaughn looked at Valyr directly in the eyes. "The reason why I thought that way was because, as the name already implies, the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races¡­ allows you to ascend to a higher-tier species without having to ascend in ss rank."


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr stared at the man with widened eyes after thetter dropped that information.


    After all, in his past life, the concept of ascending to a higher-tier species without undergoing an increase in ss rank was only possible through items that were impossible to find, or as a reward for a quest that would have jeopardized the survival of a gxy.


    Yet, there was a skill that allowed him to do the same thing?


    "The Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races has a total of 10 stages." While Valyr was still in disbelief over the skill''s capabilities, Vaughn continued with his exnation.


    "As far as I''ve practiced it, the 1st and 2nd stage would only enhance your species by a fair bit. However, that all changes at the 3rd stage, where it would truly ascend your species by an intermediary tier."


    "Thanks to the blood you''ve inherited, your current species is that of a Pseudo-High Human, right?"


    "Yeah?" Taking a brief look at his status screen to confirm, Valyr soon nodded in response.


    "After you reach the 3rd stage of the Records, you''d ascend to a High Human, no doubt," replied Vaughn, prompting Valyr''s eyes to widen once more. "Think about it, a High Human that''s on the path of Unsealing."


    "Imagine the otherworldly species you''d have once you reach the end of Unsealing." Vaughn grinned at the thought.


    "Did you take the path of Unsealing as well?" asked Valyr in response, somewhat surprised that the man knew a lot about it.


    "Stopped at the 6th Unsealing," replied Vaughn, exining that it was more practical to him. "Thanks to the Records, I was able to be a Primordial Human."


    "I see." Valyr nodded at that. "How far did you get through the Records?"


    "The 6th Stage," said Vaughn with a faint smile. "I tried aiming higher to see if there was a higher tier beyond a Primordial Human, but I guess the heavens didn''t want someone ascending to the Divine level to get that."


    "In any case, every three stages would allow you to improve your species by an intermediary tier," added the man at the end as a summary.


    "If you ever reach the 10th stage, you''d ascend another intermediary tier, making the Records ascend you through two full species tiers if you were toplete it."


    "Got it." Having gone through all of the rewards Vaughn had given him so far, Valyr felt as if his horizons towards strength was greatly broadened.


    With the rewards now in his possession, he was confident that it wouldn''t take long for him to transcend the normal boundaries of power, possibly allowing him to fight Myths far before even reaching Rank 5.


    Though, just as Valyr thought that they''d move onto Concept Impartation, Vaughn uttered something that caught the young man somewhat off guard.


    "With that, let''s move onto our final reward."


    "Wait a second¡­ haven''t you given me six rewards already?" Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr soon looked at Vaughn with slight confusion.


    "No¡­?" Vaughn shook his head after thinking over it for a bit. "The Concept Impartation, the talisman, and then three skills. That''s five rewards, no?"


    "Does you upgrading my Outer Realm Scripture not count as a reward?" asked Valyr in response, prompting Vaughn to let out a bit ofughter.


    "Sure, it would have taken you longer if you were to do it, but I don''t consider that a reward," replied the man as he brought out a screen in front of him.


    "Now, shall we continue with your final reward?"


    Whoosh!


    As those words left the man''s mouth, a screen soon appeared in front of Valyr''s face, prompting him to read through its contents.


    Though, at the very moment he did, he looked at Vaughn, who merely looked back at him with a grin on his face.


    "As I''ve already left Veldanyr a long time ago, I''ve decided to leave this thing for others to im."


    "Yet, even after the tens of thousands of years that passed since my departure, no one has grown skilled enough to im it."


    "With that, as the only Anomaly of the Zeihardt n, as well as the sole inheritor of the Darkstar lineage¡­"


    "Would you like to inherit my old ss?"


    Ding!


    [Vaughn Darkstar has offered to give you, Valyr Zeihardt, the Ancient grade ss ''The First cksmith''.]


    [Would you like to ept?]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 889 Four Pillars: The Final Rewards (6)

    Chapter 889 Four Pirs: The Final Rewards (6)


    Once he was done listening to the words that came out of the man''s mouth, Valyr had a nk expression on his face.


    Staring at the screen that had popped up in front of him, the young man looked back at Vaughn, who was grinning as he looked at him.


    Inwardly taking in a deep breath topose himself, he then returned his attention to the screen in front of him, reading through its contents once more.


    [Vaughn Darkstar has offered to give you, Valyr Zeihardt, the Ancient grade ss ''The First cksmith''.]


    [Would you like to ept?]


    "The First cksmith¡­"


    Focusing his attention on the name of the Ancient grade ss he would obtain, Valyr slightly furrowed his brows as he began to rummage through his memories regarding the First Forger.


    Eventually arriving at the memory involving the First Forger''s ascension to Rank 1, the young man soon recalled the Ancient grade ss the man had gotten then, prompting him to look at Vaughn with a slightly confused expression.


    "The First cksmith¡­ doesn''t make sense," said the young man. "Didn''t you obtain another Ancient grade ss back when you were the First Forger? Trailzer of the Forging Path, was it?"


    "That would be the exact ss." Vaughn nodded in response. "While I was the First Forger helping humanity finally extricate themselves from the clutches of the other races once and for all, that was the ss I was using."


    "¡­But you do remember that I have the Authority stat, right?"


    While the man let out a bit ofughter at his words, Valyr narrowed his eyes for a bit before slightly widening it in realization, inwardly admonishing himself for having overlooked such important information.


    "That means you reset your system again after being kicked out of Veldanyr?" said Valyr, asking the man for more rification.


    In response, Vaughn faintly smiled with a nod. "Only after I was able to establish myself on another. It''d be weird for me to fall back to Veldanyr not long after being kicked out onest time."


    "In any case, I kept up what I was doing back on Veldanyr for a bit more. Finding out if there was a tier of sses I have yet to obtain," the man continued. "Thankfully, a chance encounter with someone had allowed me to figure out the rarity limit on sses for those below the Myth level."


    "The Divine sses, right?" Valyr said in response, prompting Vaughn to look at him with slight surprise on his face. "As far as I know, you''d need to affiliate yourself with an actual god in order to get your hands on one."


    Common, Umon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic.


    These six rarities were the tiers of sses that people could attain without much issues.


    Of course, aiming for the higher rarities, such as Legendary and Mythic, would need one to put in more effort into it. But if one were to fulfill its requirements, obtaining a ss of that rarity was a done deal.


    If one were to go one step higher, they would enter the territory of Ancient sses.


    Unlike Mythic sses, where one would need to put significantly more effort than everyone else at Rank 0, Ancient sses needed one to fulfill requirements that would be considered nigh impossible at that level.


    However, as long as one knew their way around the system and had ess to great amounts of resources and knowledge, it was still considered doable.


    Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Divine sses.


    For one, one would have to fulfill requirements that were far more stringentpared to even the most stringent of Ancient sses.


    Whether it was in terms of skills, stats, or advancements in the Technology Tree, it wouldn''t be far-fetched for one to think that they would''ve already reached a high ss rank if they put in the effort to obtaining a Divine ss somewhere else.


    However, as the name of the rarity implied, a Divine ss, especially for those below the Myth level, would only be obtainable to those that affiliated themselves with a deity.


    Though he had his ways to obtain a couple of Ancient sses with the knowledge he rued from his past life, the same could not be said for Divine sses.


    ''And here I was, thinking back then when I recently ascended to Rank 1 that Ancient and Divine sses would be obtainable as long as I went to a kingdom,'' thought the young man to himself as he bitterly smiled. ''Then again, it''s not entirely wrong.''


    "For a reincarnator, you sure know a lot more than you look." After ruminating over the words Valyr had said to him, Vaughn eventually opened his mouth. "But yes. I had a chance encounter with someone who had a Divine ss."


    "Specifically, someone who had the Apostle of Light ss."


    ''That means they affiliated themselves with the God of Light,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, nodding as he continued to listen to the man''s words.


    "Though she and I had only worked together on a mission once, I was immediately left at a loss for words from the power she unleashed," said Vaughn. "Even though she was only at the peak of Rank 4 back then, she was already showcasing the strength of an average Rank 7 ss holder."


    "With that, I reset my system over and over again, hoping that there was a way for me to obtain the strength of the Divine ss without having to affiliate myself with a god." Saying these words, Vaughn looked at the young man with a slightly bitter smile.


    Looking at the expression the man showed him, Valyr soon asked the obvious question. "Did you fail, then?"


    "Fail in obtaining a Divine ss, yes." Vaughn nodded. "Fail in obtaining the strength of the Divine ss? Not necessarily."


    Whoosh!


    cing one of his hands once more on Valyr''s forehead, Vaughn sent a small influx of information to the young man''s mind.


    Ding!


    In response, the contents on the screen Valyr had open gradually changed, with most of the information on it more or less being the same.


    However, unlike before, there were now a few more lines of information on it.


    [Vaughn Darkstar has offered to give you, Valyr Zeihardt, the Ancient grade Growth ss ''The First cksmith''.]


    [The First cksmith is a ss that starts off at Ancient rarity. Throughpleting certain tasks, it has the potential to ascend to the Divine rarity, with potential for the ss ascending to the rarity beyond Divine also being there.]


    [Would you like to ept this ss?]


    "An Ancient grade Growth ss¡­" muttered the young man, his eyes twinkling at the possibilities such a ss held.


    "Subsses with the Pseudo-Growth and Growth ability may be umon, but they could be obtained as long as one puts in effort," said Vaughn as the young man continued looking at his screen. "However, sses with a simr ability are incredibly rare to find."


    "Much less one that starts off at Ancient grade."


    Seeing that the young man was still staring at the screen in front of him, Vaughn continued talking.


    "For one to obtain a Mythic ss, one must strive to achieve the pinnacle of their craft, whether it be in a specific skill, a specificbat style, or a specific field."


    "Or perhaps, one could strive to tread a path that''s deviated from the norm, but has the potential to be strong in its own right."


    "These kinds of sses could only be obtained by one being within one." The man faintly shrugged, noticing that Valyr was paying attention to his words. "There''s not much point to a Mythic ss if everyone else could follow the same path."


    "The same concept applies to Ancient sses," continued the man. "However, rather than strive for the pinnacle, one must now be at the forefront of that path, someone paving the way for others to tread upon."


    "Of course, there are also other ways to approach it, such as bing the founder of a path that would eventually be widespread throughout the universe."


    "Unlike Mythic sses, only one being within a star system could have that Ancient sses. In other words, you could have different people with the same Mythic ss as long as they''re in others, but only one Ancient ss in that same scope."


    "Last but not least would be the Divine sses." As these words left Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr had pushed his screen to the side, wanting to focus more of his attention on the man''s exnation.


    "To be honest, Divine sses would only be obtainable if one were to be a Myth," said Vaughn as he scratched the back of his head. "If one tried to do so before they reached the Myth level, they''d have to affiliate themselves with the god whose path aligned with theirs."


    "But in essence, to obtain a Divine ss is to reach a level of skill in a certain aspect that would be considered godlike in nature."


    "As to what level exactly godlike would be¡­ it''s not really that easy to quantify." Vaughn wryly smiled at those words. "In any case, only one being could have that Divine ss within a gxy."


    "You could have an Apostle of Light, an Apostle of mes, and an Apostle of Water within the same gxy, but you can''t have two Apostles of Lighte from the same gxy. Same applies to other rarities I''ve mentioned before with their own limitations."


    "What does your exnation have to do with the Ancient grade Growth ss, then?" asked Valyr as he went through the man''s exnation in his mind.


    "It has a lot to do with it." Vaughn smiled in response. "After all, if you were to think of it from another perspective, an Ancient grade Growth ss means that not only are you at the forefront of a specific path, but you also have the potential to achieve a godlike level of skill in that path."


    "In the case of the First cksmith ss, that means there''s the potential for one''s skill to go even beyond godlike."


    "So, how about it?" Feeling like he''d given Valyr more than enough information at this point, Vaughn looked at the young man with expectation. "Are you gonna take the ss?"


    In response, the young man rubbed his chin for a bit in contemtion, bringing the screen containing the prompt in front of his face once more.


    Looking at it for a bit in silence, Valyr soon shed a grin at Vaughn before epting the prompt.


    Ding!


    [You have epted the prompt.]


    [You have inherited the ss ''The First cksmith''.]


    [Your previous ss ''True Prodigious cksmith (Mythic)'' has been changed to ''The First cksmith (Ancient ¡ª Growth)''.]


    [Skills obtained from the ss ''True Prodigious cksmith'' have been transformed and modified to fit the ss ''The First cksmith''.]


    [¡­]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the external actions of an Arbiter, other effects shall be applied at the end of the ss inheritance process.] n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    [¡­]


    [¡­]


    [Your level has been reverted to Level 11.]

 Chapter 890 Four Pillars: The First Blacksmith

    Chapter 890 Four Pirs: The First cksmith


    "Wha¡ª?!"


    When Valyr epted the prompt at first, the young man felt a surge of energy course throughout his entire body.


    Closing his eyes to savor the sensation, he felt the strength contained in his body break through their previous limits with every passing second, with the same happening for his stats.


    Not only that, but he felt his knowledge on the field of cksmithing gradually expand as well, continuing off of the foundation he''d already built as a True Prodigious cksmith.


    However, just as the process of inheriting the First cksmith ss was nearingpletion, the young man immediately felt his strength gradually dissipating into thin air.


    Shocked, Valyr opened his eyes as he looked at Vaughn, who merely looked back at him with a knowing smile.


    Taking a look at the notifications that followed, the young man continued to sense his strength regressing to a lower level, making him feel as if all the effort he''d gone through so far had all gone to waste.


    Fortunately, after a minute or so, his strength stopped decreasing, prompting him to let out a sigh of relief.


    Clenching his fists and doing a few basic movements to get a basic idea of how much strength he''d lost, the young man soon calcted that he could only exhibit roughly a tenth of the usual strength he had just earlier.


    Reading a certain notification where it had something to do with an Arbiter, Valyr immediately looked at Vaughn with slight murderous intent, understanding that the man had something to do with it.


    Though, that murderous intent soon disappeared as he read the final notification he received from the system, prompting him to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down.


    Bing silent for a bit after that to make sure he had gotten his emotions under control, Valyr gave Vaughn a slightly apologetic smile as he opened up his status screen.


    "Thanks."


    "Well, it''s my fault for not telling you beforehand," said Vaughn as he shed an apologetic smile in response. "In situations like these, the Authority stat really is handy."


    "Even more so when the increase in rarity doesn''t apply retroactively," replied Valyr as he nodded in agreement.


    Whoosh!


    Looking at the amount of unused XP he had on hand, the young man''s eyes slightly widened in surprise for a bit before letting out a bit ofughter.


    After that, he took a look at his status screen in greater detail, noticing that all of his stats were over 100 points in total, with some even breaching the 200 point mark.


    ''Huh. I guess the effects of the elixirs and items I consumed didn''t go away,'' thought Valyr to himself, only for a radical idea to surface in his mind soon after.


    "Say, Vaughn. If I''d already consumed Reinforcement Elixir and had my levels decreased, would it be possible for me to consume another set of Reinforcement Elixir?" asked Valyr, voicing out the idea he had to the man.


    "Not really, no," replied Vaughn with a shake of his head. "As far as I''ve heard, it''s possible if you had someone with an Authority stat that''s in the millions tinker with it. But usually, you can only consume it once." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Got it." Hearing those words, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he continued looking at his status screen, noticing that his species had also changed due to the change in level.


    "I''ve gone down to the 1st Unsealing," muttered the young man to himself, immediately understanding why that was the case.


    Obtaining information from Vaughn regarding his species and ss, Valyr then proceeded to allocate an amount of XP that would allow him to reach the peak of Rank 3 in one fell swoop, an amount massive to leave any other person at a loss for words.


    Ding!


    [2,265,529 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 25.]


    [480,868 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 26.]


    [¡­]


    [2,908,993 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 41.]


    [82,585,279 XP has been allocated. You are now Level 55.]


    Though, for Valyr, the amount requested by the system was just a mere drop in the ocean.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Maneuvering his way through the various notifications and screens that filled his vision, Valyr gradually returned himself back to where he was previously, choosing the path of Unsealing that corresponded to his current species.


    As for his ss, he made sure to choose The First cksmith every time, even though there were more choices that had appeared on the list since then.


    Unfortunately, none of them were as great as the ss Vaughn gave him.


    "An Ancient ss is definitely something else." Now that he had returned to his previous progress, Valyr went ahead and did a few basic movements, feeling the greater power brought about by an Ancient ss.


    After that, he unleashed a few skills, all of which benefited from the increased stats the Ancient ss gave him through the various ss ranks.


    "I wonder how I''d fare now if I were to fight against Daon and Dawan." Feeling satisfied with the various improvements the new ss had given him, the young man thought back to his final fight in the Gates of Awakening.


    Imagining the fight in his mind once more if both sides were to go all out, Valyr had a feeling that he would now be able to stand on equal footing against the two in certain areas.


    ''Though, if they were to go all out and were in their main bodies, I''m sure that wouldn''t be the case.''


    "With you inheriting my previous ss, all that''s left is to go through the Concept Impartation." While Valyr was thinking about the fight, Vaughn reminded the young man that he had not yet received his first reward.


    With that, Valyr focused his attention on Vaughn, looking at the man with a hint of expectation.


    In response, Vaughn let out a bit ofughter, retrieving the Crystallized Nomological Shards he had stored earlier before setting up a construct that would allow the Concept Impartation to take ce.


    While Vaughn was in the midst of setting up the construct, a thought soon urred in the young man''s mind. "Now that I think about it, how much time has passed in the outside world since we entered the Gates of Transcendence?"


    "Roughly half a week, give or take," replied Vaughn.


    "Really?" said the young man in slight disbelief.


    "Do keep in mind I''m manipting the flow of time here while keeping an eye on the state of the war outside." Vaughn looked at the young man for a bit before returning his attention on the construct. "If I didn''t, you might have left this inheritance well after the war had already reached its climax."


    "Speaking of which, be prepared to get hit with vertigo the moment you get out."


    "I''ll definitely keep that in mind." Committing the man''sst statement to memory, Valyr shifted the topic of their conversation to the two that left before him. "How are Hal and Vera doing?"


    "They''ve long left the inheritance," replied Vaughn as he began to add the finishing touches on the construct. "Surprisingly, the weapons that resonated with them were pretty close to the central weapon."


    "I see." Valyr nodded in understanding, d that the two were able to gain a lot more from the inheritance. "Do you perhaps know what they''re up to in the outside world?"


    "Aside from joining the war efforts, not one bit."


    After saying those words, Vaughn let out a faint sigh of relief as he stepped back from the construct.


    Then, without hesitation, he ced his hands on one of the crystal shards he brought out, infusing his energy into it as he brought the construct to life.


    Whoosh!


    "Alright then."


    "Let''s begin your Concept Impartation.

 Chapter 891 Four Pillars: Mass Comprehension

    Chapter 891 Four Pirs: Mass Comprehension


    Focusing his attention on the construct Vaughn made, Valyr immediately felt a strong feeling of resonance emanating from it.


    Specifically, this resonance made him feel like he was close to touching upon the deepest of the truths the universe had to offer, subconsciously urging him to enter the construct at that very instant.


    However, the young man fought against the urge, noticing the slight frown on Vaughn''s face as he continued to manipte the energy he''d just infused.


    Whoosh!


    Fortunately, his willpower did not have to remain unyielding for long, with the beckoning feeling the construct gave him disappearing just half a minute after it was activated.


    "Alright." Vaughn let out a sigh of relief. "Finally suppressed the energies within the shards to suit your level."


    Seeing the young man rx his body in response to those words, the man looked at him with an apologetic smile. "Just so you know, I tried my best to rein in the shards the moment I activated the construct."


    In response, Valyr merely gave Vaughn a wry smile, wanting to tell the man that he didn''t try his best enough.


    He also thought of telling the man that he could have given him a heads-up before activating the construct.


    ''I don''t know what would have happened if I were to enter the construct while I was being led into it, but I''m sure the oue wouldn''t be anything good.''


    In the end, Valyr kept those thoughts to himself, taking in a few deep breaths to calm his emotions before asking Vaughn a question. "So, what do I do now?"


    Sensing the slight anger underneath the young man''s words, Vaughn inwardly let out a sigh. "Just do what you''d usually do. Enter the construct and then absorb as much of what the shards would give you to improve yourprehended concepts."


    "In any case, it is my fault for not giving you a heads-up before I activated the construct," continued the man, causing Valyr''s anger to slightly ease up. "I expected you to be able to handle it, and you did. But that''s no reason to not inform you about it."


    "It''s fine." Having acknowledged the matter, the young man decided to let bygones be bygones, moving their topic back to the construct. "Anyways, do I have to focus on something specific? Like a specific concept or something?"


    Sensing that Valyr had moved on from the matter, Vaughn decided to move on as well, shaking his head in response to the question. "As I said, I''m using Crystallized Nomological Shards to power the Concept Impartation."


    "Whether you choose to focus improving yourbat-rted concepts or production-rted concepts, the shards will help you out," said the man with a faint sigh. "In any case, the results are far better than a normal Concept Impartation where both the supplier and the receiver of the concepts needed to haveprehended simr paths."


    At those words, Valyr nodded as he made his way closer to the construct, sensing the deep truths of the universe being contained within it.


    "A piece of advice." Though, just as the young man was about to truly step foot in the construct, Vaughn decided to aid him a bit on where to focus. "Focus on improving concepts that are close to breaking a higher realm first. Then, move on from there."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Nodding once more to the man''s words, Valyr finally proceeded into the construct.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he entered the construct, the surroundings had turned void ck, with the twinkling of faint light from afar being the only source of light within the construct.


    "Feels like I''ve gone off to space," muttered the young man to himself as he looked around.


    Sensing that his feet were still on the ground, Valyr focused on the sensation as he slowly sat down cross-legged.


    Closing his eyes to begin the Concept Impartation, the young man immediately felt the construct do its thing, bombarding him with an incessant amount of information rted to the nomological truths of the universe.


    Feeling the rity andplexity of the information he was being given, Valyr was reminded of the Concept Impartation he received from Sellifer.


    Though her Concept Impartation had allowed him to not onlyprehend two Intent Seeds to the Intent level, but alsoprehend an additional Intent Seed, the information Valyr got from it was as if he was looking at the universe behind a thick curtain.


    Inparison, the construct made him feel like he was peering directly into the numerous truths the universe contained, giving him the freedom to peer into the specific truth he wanted.


    ''I''ve used Crystallized Nomological Shards in the past to forge Divine-level weapons, but never have I thought they''d be so effective forprehending concepts as well,'' thought the young man to himself, briefly reminiscing over the past life.


    After he was done reminiscing, Valyr took a calming breath before focusing all of his attention to improving the various concepts he''d alreadyprehended.


    ''Since Vaughn said to focus on concepts close to breaking through first, guess I''ll focus on those two Intent Seeds first.''


    With that thought in mind, the young man kept the Intent Seed of Forging and the Forger''s mes in focus, faintly unsure whether the construct would work ording to Vaughn''s words.


    Fortunately, the construct responded far greater than he thought it initially would, sending in droves upon droves of information regarding the concept of forging, as well as the mes one would use in forging.


    Going through the information the construct was giving him, Valyr gradually felt all of the holes in hisprehension on the two concepts being patched up.


    At the same time, he felt that hisprehension of the two concepts were bing more solid, allowing him to aim for greater heights.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Eventually, the two concepts were able to break through some sort of bottleneck, causing the young man to feel the world forming a connection with him once more.


    Sensing the incessant amounts of energy the world was providing him through the two connections that had been formed, a satisfied smile soon arose on Valyr''s face as he briefly took a look at the notifications he had obtained. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of the concept of forging has taken on a qualitative change, solidifying into something that has the potential to encapste areas far bigger than the world before you.]


    [Because of that, the world has deemed you worthy of being able to permanently tap into a portion of its nigh-infinite power, hoping that yourprehension would eventually soar to greater heights.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Forging has ascended to be a full Intent.]


    [Your Intent Seed of Forging has transformed into the Intent of Forging.]


    [The grade of your Intent has been determined to be at 7th Grade.]


    [¡­]


    [Your Intent Seed of the Forger''s mes has transformed into the Intent of the Forger''s mes.]


    [The grade of your Intent has been determined to be at 7th Grade.]


    "7th Grade in one go." Reading the level his new Intents were at, the young man briefly whistled in admiration, understanding it was due to the construct that both Intents had reached this grade from the start.


    Seeing that Vaughn had not stopped him fromprehending more concepts, Valyr took the opportunity to focus on the sole Intent Seed he had at this point, the Intent Seed of True Mana.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, with him having alreadyprehended the Intent of Shadow Energy and the Four Elements, the information from those conceptsbined with the information the construct was giving him, allowing him toprehend more of the Intent Seed at a greater rate.


    With that, it did not take long for the Intent Seed to reach the stage of culmination, only to break through to the realm of Intents sometimeter.


    Ding!


    [Your understanding of the concept of true mana has taken on a qualitative change, solidifying into something that has the potential to encapste areas far bigger than the world before you.]


    [...]


    [Your Intent Seed of True Mana has transformed into the Intent of True Mana.]


    [The grade of your Intent has been determined to be at 8th Grade.]


    Noticing that the Intent had awakened at 8th Grade, Valyr immediately had his suspicions. ''I''m guessing it has something to do with the Intent of Shadow Energy and the Four Elements?''


    Recalling Vaughn''s words about how his Concept Impartation would cause repercussions in the long run, the young man decided to focus on his attention on improving the first two Intents he''dprehended.


    With the aid of the construct, he soon found out that Vaughn''s words were correct, with the foundation the two Intents were standing on being somewhat unstable in certain aspects.


    Patching the holes on their foundations, as well as fortifying it in preparation for higher stages, the two Intents eventually arrived at the 7th Grade just like the other Intents, with the Intent of True Mana soon following suit.


    ''Huh¡­ the Concept Impartation isn''t over yet?'' Feeling like he hadprehended all of his concepts to a respectable level, Valyr thought that Vaughn would have prompted to stop the impartation then and there.


    Yet, just like before, the man was not interfering, allowing the information from the shards to continue flowing throughout the vastness of space.


    Scratching the back of his head at the thought, the young man pondered on what concept he should focus on since he still had the leeway.


    In the end, the young man decided to focus on the only concept he had yet to awaken, a concept that he felt like it should have awakened a long time ago.


    The Intent Seed of the Spear.

 Chapter 892 Four Pillars: End of the Road

    Chapter 892 Four Pirs: End of the Road


    "And here I thought you were gonna letprehend my Intents long enough for them to be Forces."


    Whoosh!


    Stepping out of the construct containing the Crystallized Nomological Shards, a tired expression could be seen on the young man''s face as he made his way out.


    Though, if one were to peer directly into his eyes, one would feel as if they were peering into the deep truths of the universe.


    Specifically, the deep truths that the young man hadprehended.


    "Well, I could have done that," said Vaughn as he began to dismantle the construct. "However, the Force you''ll form through that method would be shoddy at best. It''d basically suffer from the same issues your Intents would have suffered if I hadn''t intervened."


    "Even though the Concept Impartation was powered through the shards?" asked Valyr in response, looking at the man with curiosity.


    "Yeah." Vaughn nodded. "The purity of theprehension wouldn''t be the problem at that point. It would be the experience."


    "Experience¡­" With his mind mulling over this word for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in understanding, watching the man stow away the construct as if it hadn''t been there in the first ce.


    Having spent what felt like days on end within the construct, the young man had made great leaps and strides in the concepts he''dprehended, going over them one by one in his mind.


    For one, the Intent Seeds of Forging and the Forger''s mes had now be fleshed-out Intents, reaching the 6th Grade by the time he was made to leave the construct.


    As for the Intents that were integral to the formation of his Azure Energy, both of them had also reached the 6th Grade, with the Intent of Shadow Energy not far away from reaching the 5th Grade in terms ofprehension.


    The Intent of True Mana, a concept Valyr had inadvertentlyprehended thanks to Sellifer''s Concept Impartation, was slightlygging behind from the other Intents, stopping just at the threshold between the 7th and 6th Grade.


    ''Then again, with how I''ve been making use of Azure Energy more oftentely, it would take some time to get the experience needed to push it higher,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Mulling over the matter for a bit more, another thought surfaced in the young man''s mind. ''Hmm¡­ perhaps I could integrate it into Azure Energy as well. After all, I''ve met the necessary requirements to proceed to the next stage.''


    Deciding to think about his Azure Energy some other time, the young man soon focused his attention on the concept he''dprehended through the construct, grabbing the spear that had been on his back all this time.


    ''[Intent of the Unyielding Spear].''


    Whoosh!


    At the moment he activated his newly obtained Intent, Valyr felt a great amount of energy course throughout his body.


    However, most of that energy was redirected towards the spear he was holding, which now gave off a faint crimson light in response.


    "I feel stronger, Master!" Even though it''s been quite some time since the two of them talked to one another, Sana''s voice resounded in Valyr''s mind with great glee.


    Hearing that, the young man felt a bit guilty for not talking with his spear that often.


    "You''ll get even stronger from here on out," said Valyr in response, eliciting Sana to radiate a feeling of excitement and expectation.


    Out of all the Intents he''dprehended within the construct, Valyr had spent the most time on the Intent Seed of the Spear, bringing it up through the four stages before eventually breaking through to an Intent.


    Fortunately, the experience he''d rued was more than enough to push the Intent up to 7th Grade, which equated to a 30% boost to his Attack coefficient if he were to use it.


    "Hoh. Quite a peculiar curse you''ve got there." While the young man was familiarizing himself with the sensation of using his spear with the Intent, Vaughn''s eyes gleamed with curiosity as he sensed Valyr''s strength gradually waning with more time.


    "Got it from having my spear absorb the blood of a Prodigious Tidemother," said Valyr in response, returning the spear back to where it was as he gave Vaughn a brief rundown of how he''d gotten it in the first ce.


    "I see. The Mark of the Alltide, huh." Listening intently to the young man''s exnation, Vaughn furrowed his brows for a bit as he heard the name of the curse Valyr received.


    Mulling over it for a bit, Vaughn soon gave him an offer. "Do you want me to remove the curse for you?"


    In response, Valyr''s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Can you?"


    Vaughn merely chuckled. "Of course I can. I''m a Greater God. The Alltide is nothingpared to me."


    Though, after that, his expression became serious. "However, if I were to do that, I''d basically be cutting off the potential your spear has to evolve even further."


    "From the feeling I''m getting from it, that spear has been with you since the beginning of your journey, correct?"


    Valyr nodded.


    "Then, all the more reason for me to give you the choice," replied Vaughn. "After all, even if I didn''t give you the option, the curse would disappear on its own after you have your spear absorb the blood of the stronger Tidemothers."


    "But of course, you''ll have to live with the curse throughout all that, worsening the stronger the blood your spear absorbs."


    "Wait¡­ why would it disappear on its own?" asked Valyr, taking note of one thing Vaughn mentioned.


    "Something about the curse being the Alltide''s way of choosing a sessor." Vaughn shrugged his shoulders. "Then again, it''s definitely better than the other ideas that Divine werebeast hase up with."


    "Wait¡­" Hearing Vaughn''s words once more, Valyr furrowed his brows as the gears in his mind went on overdrive. "Does that mean the monster tides people have been facing were controlled by someone else all this time?"


    "Technically." Vaughn nodded. "However, the Alltide doesn''t directly control it anymore. Instead, it''s another being altogether. Probably a high-ranking Tidemother with all things considered."


    "Anyways, that''s not the point. Do you want me to remove the curse from you or not?" "Well¡­" Taking into consideration everything Vaughn had told him so far, Valyr mulled over the choice for quite some time. "Would it be possible for me to toggle the curse''s effects instead so I could keep improving my spear?"


    "I mean¡­" At those words, Vaughn went silent as he closed his eyes for a bit. "It wouldn''t be impossible. Difficult even for someone like me to do, but not impossible."


    "However, it''ll take a while for me toe up with a solution," he continued. "By the time I finishing up with a solution, the war would''ve probably gone past its climax already. Is that fine with you?"


    "That''s fine with me," said Valyr in response, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as he got the best of both worlds. "I''ve gotten used to working around the curse anyway."


    Considering that the only thing left for him to do in this ce before leaving was to obtain ownership over the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, the young man took a look at how much his stats had improved thus far.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: The First cksmith (Rank 3 | Ancient ¡ª Growth)


    Subss: Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)


    Species: Old Veldanyr Human | Pseudo-High Human (3rd Unsealing)


    Level: 55


    Power Level: 61,186 (S)


    Unused XP: 5,077,513,694


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 54,723/54,723


    MP: 95,225/95,225


    Shadow Energy: 89/89


    Azure Energy: 89/89


    Mystic Energy: 1/1


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 15,547 - 16,262


    Defense: 12,285 - 15,994


    Stats: 1228 VIT, 994 STR, 1096 AGI, 2226 DEX, 2152 INT, 597 WIS, 881 PER, 333 LUK


    Hidden Stats: 27 Mana Purity, 27 Vigor, 25 Might, 27 Tranquility


    Concepts: [Intent of Shadow Energy (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Four Elements (6th Grade)], [Intent of True Mana (7th Grade)], [Intent of the Spear (7th Grade)], [Intent of Forging (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Forger''s mes (6th Grade)]


    Remarks: Your strength has already gone beyond the boundaries of what is considered normally feasible. Many shall look at you with awe, fear, and reverence whenever you unleash your strength on your foes.


    Nevertheless, the strength you''ve shown is proof that your path to supremacy remains strong. With your strength bordering on the transcendental, this path now widens before you.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''I''ve gained a lot more from the inheritance than I initially thought.'' Whistling in slight admiration as he looked at his status screen in greater detail, the young man faintly thought about how crazy his stats would be if he were to activate all of his buffs at once.


    ''I''d probably be able to defeat a Myth if that were the case,'' thought the young man to himself in response, chuckling as he looked at Vaughn.


    "Well, you''ve more or less gotten everything you could obtain from me and the inheritance for the meantime," said Vaughn, faintly smiling as he took note of what Valyr done.


    "With that, there''s only one thing left for you to do before you can leave this inheritance for good."


    "Shall we proceed with the transfer of ownership, then?

 Chapter 893 Four Pillars: Ownership

    Chapter 893 Four Pirs: Ownership


    Nodding in response, the young man asked, "Do I have to do anything in preparation?"


    "Nope." Vaughn shook his head at the question. "I''ll be doing all of the work on the transfer."


    Recalling the slight mishap that happened at the beginning of his Concept Impartation, the young man decided to ask a couple more questions for safety. "Are there things I need to keep in mind? A warning of some sorts, perhaps?"


    "None whatsoever," replied the man once more, getting an idea of what was going on in the young man''s head. "Unlike the incident with the Crystallized Nomological Shards, there''s no need for me to rein or suppress anything." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Smiling in response as if he had been caught, the young man nodded back at Vaughn, allowing thetter to do what he needed to do for the transfer to happen.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr gave Vaughn free reign over what came next, the man radiated a great amount of his own energy throughout the Gates of Transcendence, causing the entire space to rumble for a bit.


    Though, not long after, the rumble subsided as the sensation was soon reced by a resonance forming between the man''s energy and the space itself.


    "As the owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, I, Vaughn Darkstar, shall now enact my will."


    Taking in a deep breath, Vaughn looked at Valyr as he slowly manipted the energies he released towards the young man.


    "From this day forth, I step down from my current position as the owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "Instead, my descendant, Valyr Zeihardt, shall now take my ce, bing the supervisor and the guiding light for the many generations toe that would enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    Swoosh!


    At those words, the energy Vaughn was manipting soon began to revolve around Valyr on their own, causing the young man to feel like the space was beginning to resonate with him.


    Taking note of the resonance that was forming, a faint smile crept up on the edges of Vaughn''s lips as he continued. "With the heavens as my witness, with the omniscient and omnipotent mana as my witness, may my descendant use the Four Pirs'' Inheritance wisely and lead humanity towards a greater path."


    Fwoosh!


    Just as Vaughn finished saying those words, the energy that was circling around Valyr soon turned into a maelstrom of intangible mes, reflecting the power that the entire inheritance seemingly contained.


    Then, these mes began to shrink on their own, soon turning into a crown of sorts that eventually found their way on top of the young man''s head.


    At the very moment the crown of mes made contact with Valyr''s head, a deluge of information soon filled his mind, giving the young man detailed information on the entire inheritance.


    At the same time, a list of statements surfaced on the young man''s mind, subconsciously giving him the feeling that Vaughn''s position would only bepletely transferred to him if he were to say it.


    And so, he did.


    "As the one inheriting the position of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance''s owner, I, Valyr Zeihardt, shall do my utmost to manage the inheritance to the best of my abilities."


    "ording to the will of the one that came before me, I shall also make use of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance to lead humanity towards a greater path, a path that would allow the Four Pirs'' Inheritance''s advantages toe to prominence."


    "With the heavens as my witness, with the omniscient and omnipotent mana as my witness, I ept this position."


    Swoosh!


    Once he was done uttering the statements that popped up in his mind, the crown of mes on his mind soon expanded to envelop his entire body.


    Then, without any warning, the mes wrapped itself around him, briefly making the young man feel like he was standing in front of the entrance that would lead him down to hell.


    Fortunately, that feeling was quickly reced by the feeling of having heavy weights lifted off his shoulders,plementing the sensation of greater strength that was also coursing throughout his body at the same time.


    By the time the mes disappeared on their own, the young man felt an inexplicable connection with the inheritance itself, giving him the feeling that he could control any part of the inheritance with just a single thought.


    Ding!


    Closing his eyes for a bit to be more acquainted with this newfound sensation, Valyr was soon forced to open his eyes not long after as a series of notification sounds began to echo in his mind.


    Bringing up his notification screen in response to those sounds, the young man''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he began to read through them one by one.


    [You have been designated as the owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.]


    [You have gained full control over the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.]


    [You now have the ability to enter and exit the Four Pirs'' Inheritance at any location on Veldanyr, except for alternate nes and isted spaces.]


    Looking through the notifications he''d received, the young man''s eyes lit up when he saw that he could enter the inheritance whenever he wanted.


    ''Since that''s the case, I could just use my remaining time in the Realm of Myriad Experiences once I leave the inheritance,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Continuing to read through the notifications, he soon found out that he could modify a myriad of features that the inheritance had, such as the minimum threshold to ess the entire inheritance.


    ''As of now, the minimum threshold is a Legendary grade ss holder,'' muttered the young man to himself as he looked at the specific notification. ''I''ll keep that as is for the meantime.''


    After going through the notifications some more, he soon found a specific feature the inheritance had that made him look at Vaughn with a slight frown.


    [You now have ability to modify the ratio of time between Veldanyr and the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. The maximum ratio that could be set is dependent on the owner''s strength.]


    [The previous ratio of time has been set to 1:14, with the left corresponding to the duration with the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.]


    [After assessing the owner''s strength, the owner could set the ratio as low as 3:1 or as high as 1:30.]


    "You''re telling me you could have set the time dtion in a way where time flows faster here?" said Valyr as he looked at Vaughn. "If so, why didn''t you do that?"


    In response, Vaughn gave him a bitter smile. "You''ll see if you try modifying it yourself."


    Raising his eyebrow in suspicion, the young man decided to take Vaughn''s advice and modify the ratio of time in the inheritance to the lowest setting.


    Ding!


    [You have chosen to set the ratio of time between the Four Pirs'' Inheritance and Veldanyr to 3:1.]


    [50% of your maximum mana pool shall be consumed every minute. Would you like to proceed?]


    "Nope." Reading the second notification he''d obtained, the young man immediately had a panicked look on his face as he declined the prompt.


    "And that''s why I don''t use the option," said Vaughn after seeing the young man''s abrupt shift in expression.


    Continuing to adorn the bitter smile, he added, "With my current strength, I could set the ratio to where months could pass here while only a day would pass outside."


    "But as you can see, that would consume a ton of my energy every second."


    "I could substitute mana crystals instead and have the inheritance use that instead," said the man, only to shake his head soon after. "But who knows how many mana crystals I''d burn through."


    "So, you had the dtion go the other way around then?" asked Valyr in response, to which Vaughn nodded back.


    "Rather than take energy from me, it instead takes it from Veldanyr itself," replied the man. "Though, oddly enough, the current dtion causes the appearance of the inheritance''s entrance for others to take longer than usual."


    "It should take less time to appear considering logic, but that doesn''t seem to be the case."


    Seeing Vaughn cross his arms at the thought, Valyr returned his attention to the notifications, soon finding one that corresponded to the time needed for the inheritance to open its gates once more.


    Taking note that the entrance would open again over nine years from now, the young man made a mental note to experiment with the inheritance some other time, briefly thinking about the war that was still escting in the outside world.


    Seeing as he had now truly imed everything that the inheritance had to offer, Valyr thought about bidding farewell to Vaughn, asking him for his current whereabouts, as well as other misceneous things about the inheritance that he needed to keep in mind.


    Though, just as he was about to do so¡­


    Ding!


    [The Pill of Great Fortuitous Encounters has taken effect.]


    [Having met the right conditions, the special fortuitous encounter shall finally reveal itself!]


    Whoosh!


    Out of nowhere, a rift opened in front of the young man, prompting both men to look at it in surprise.


    Tilting his head in slight confusion at the sight, Valyr only felt even more confusion once the rift spat a shard that he was incredibly familiar with.


    "How in the¡­" Staring at the shard, Vaughn looked at Valyr with confusion written all over his face.


    "Are my eyes deceiving me? Where the hell did this Shard of Defiancee from?"


    "¡­"


    Valyr could only remain silent in response.

 Chapter 894 Four Pillars: The Third Shard

    Chapter 894 Four Pirs: The Third Shard


    What does it mean toe across a fortuitous encounter?


    To some, it might mean an opportunity.


    To others, it might mean an item or a skill.


    However, if there was one thing inmon among them, it was the fact that the person hade across it on their own.


    Naturally, Valyr was of the same mind when it came to the matter.


    But after having the fortuitous encounter appear before him out of nowhere, the young man now began to think otherwise.


    Of course, Vaughn more or less reacted the same way as him, being left at aplete loss for words as the shard remained on the ground.


    Watching the rift that had opened out of nowhere gradually disappear, the man looked back and forth between Valyr and the shard before opening his mouth. "Are my eyes deceiving me¡­ or is that a Shard of Defiance?"


    Taking a deep breath topose himself, the young man looked at Vaughn with a wry smile. "You could already tell by the aura, no?"


    In response, Vaughn wryly smiled as well. "I know¡­ it''s just that¡­ the Shard of Defiance isn''t something that you''d get from this ce out of thin air."


    Valyr nodded in agreement at those words.


    For him to obtain his first Shard of Defiance, he had to traverse a hidden pathway located at the rearmost portion of the Gates of Enlightenment''s Material Cache.


    As for his second Shard of Defiance, though it was given to him as a reward, he still had to go through the nine trials the Gates of Awakening threw at him.


    Inparison, this Shard of Defiance took no effort from him to obtain whatsoever.


    ''Unless¡­ the right conditions the fortuitous encounter was waiting for was me obtaining ownership over the inheritance?'' thought the young man to himself, recalling the notifications that had appeared just then.


    If that were the case, then this third one would technically be considered the hardest out of the three for him to obtain.


    But of course, that did not diminish the fact that it came out of nowhere.


    Grabbing the Shard of Defiance off the ground, Valyr immediately felt the fused Shard of Defiance in his mind rumble quite a bit.


    Consistently bombarding him with the signal to allow the new shard to fuse with them, the young man inwardly adorned a bitter smile as he soon brought the shard to his forehead.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he did so, a stinging pain began to radiate from his forehead, reminding him of the sensation he felt back then when he absorbed the second Shard of Defiance.


    Thankfully, the sensation did notst for long as it was reced by a familiar sensation instead, reminding him of the ancient auras the shards had exuded back then.


    However, unlike before, the ancient aura was now more intense and condensed than before, now reminding him of the tower he had seen in the past.


    Swoosh!


    Luckily, the absorption process of the third Shard of Defiance had no mishaps whatsoever, save for the slight pain that erupted at the beginning of the absorption.


    Focusing his attention inward, he soon watched the third Shard of Defiance fused the two that came before it, transforming into a shard that wasparativelyrger than before.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief in response to the sessful fusion, Valyr briefly nced at Vaughn, only to notice a serious expression adorning the man''s face.


    Understanding that the expression undoubtedly had something to do with what he just did, the young man decided to check on the newly fused Shard of Defiance for now, wondering what kind of changes the third shard had brought.


    ''[Superior Analysis].''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shard of Defiance] (Item)


    Rarity: ???


    The seed of chaos.


    The sign of rebellion.


    The wishes of a being aiming for greater change, crystallized for eternity.


    Many of its kind exist throughout the. However, only a few could fuse them together and not sumb to its whispers.


    Those few have thought that two was more than enough, yet there were those foolhardy enough to attempt fusing more. Unsurprisingly, 99% of those that attempted it lost their minds doing so.


    But for the remaining 1% that seeded, a wider path awaits.


    Needs the user to haveprehended a 2nd Grade Intent. Needs the user to have reached Rank 5.


    Using this item increases the user''s Authority stat by 2 points.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Huh.''


    Aside from the item''s description bing considerably longer than before, the requirement needed for him to make use of the shard had been lowered once more, only needing him to have an Intent at 2nd Grade.


    Other than that, the number of points he''d get from Authority had been increased as well, which meant more features he could ess within the system by the time he got it.


    Whoosh!


    Closing the screen he''d brought up, the young man returned his attention to Vaughn, whose face now had a frown on it.


    "How many shards have you absorbed so far?" asked the man, his expression telling Valyr to be as honest as he could.


    "Three," replied Valyr, prompting Vaughn to let out a sigh as he shook his head in response.


    Seeing the man react that way, Valyr could only look at the man in confusion. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Inherently, there''s nothing wrong with absorbing more Shards of Defiance." Calming his emotions, Vaughn looked at Valyr and exined. "A lower requirement to make use of it while getting more Authority at the same time. Who wouldn''t want that?"


    "However, you''re not the only person to have received the Shard of Defiance," added the man. "And when those people absorbed more than one shard¡­ let''s just say they went out with a bang."


    At those words, Valyr faintly shuddered. "Does that mean I shouldn''t absorb more shards, then?"


    "Of course," replied Vaughn. "Then again, you''ve already absorbed all of the shards within this ce, so there''s not much point in talking about it."


    "Just so I could rest easy¡­ have you been hearing someone talking to youtely?" asked the man soon after. "Not like a one-off thing, but like constantly talking to you."


    "No?" Valyr shook his head, soon recalling the incident back when he fought against Daon and Dawan. "Though, there was one time where I heard someone say ''break the chains'' to me while I was in a weird state."


    Hearing the young man''s response, Vaughn let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, you''re fine."


    "As for that phrase you mentioned, that''s the Resonance Mode I was talking about."


    "¡­Now that I think about it, I mentioned in an earlier conversation that there''s a way to willfully make use of that mode inbat," said the man after a bit of silence.


    Hearing that, Valyr raised his eyebrow as he looked at Vaughn, curious as to how he could do so.


    Seeing as he had caught the young man''s attention, the man faintly shrugged his shoulders as he exined, "It''s pretty simple, really."


    "Just go all out."


    "¡­By go all out, you mean¡­?" Though Vaughn did not say much, Valyr immediately understood what he meant.


    "Utilize every skill you have in your arsenal and reach your peak condition," said the man in response. "Only then will the Shard of Defiance respond and allow you to enter its Resonance Mode."


    "But of course, if you were to go all out in every battle you did, you''d be out of mana in no time." Vaughn let out a bit ofughter. "That''s why I made a set of skills that could be used to enter that mode without having to go all out."


    "If I remember correctly, there''s three of them in total, each one corresponding to a level of the Triad Gates."


    At those words, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Correct me if I''m wrong, but¡­ are you perhaps talking about the [Eye of Enlightenment]?"


    Hearing Valyr mention the name of the skill, Vaughn''s eyes widened as well as he nodded in response. "Yeah! That''s the one!"


    "Is that so?" Valyr merely smiled. "I guess it was the right decision to learn it, then."


    "Even more so now that you have control over the entire inheritance." Vaughn nodded in agreement. "With [Eye of Enlightenment] under your belt, you could learn the [Eye of Awakening] and [Eye of Transcendence], thetter being more than necessary if you want to make use of the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode at any time."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Valyr nodded.


    At this point, the young man truly felt that he had now obtained more or less everything he could for the meantime.


    Even though there were many more within the inheritance he had yet to im, it wasn''t as if he was on a race against time. As the owner, he could enter and exit the ce whenever he wanted.


    "So, I''m guessing this memory extension of yours will disappear from this ce, then?" Preparing to leave the inheritance for the meantime, Valyr decided to say farewell to Vaughn for now.


    "Just like the memory extensions in this ce, it''ll stay here, waiting for it to be used in the trials," said Vaughn in response, only to shrug his shoulders soon after. "Of course, it''s more so that it would be easier tomunicate with you through the talisman. But if you wanted to remove this extension, you could."


    Hearing the young man say that he had no ns to do so, Vaughn let out a chuckle as he wished Valyr good luck on his endeavors in the war. "If you need me, you could always contact me through the talisman."


    "Though, if you ever be strong enough to be booted out of Veldanyr, search for the Immortal Pantheon. I''ll always be waiting there."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Saying those words once more, Valyr went ahead and opened a rift that would lead him back to Veldanyr.


    But before he could even step a foot inside¡­


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Find the whereabouts of thest leader of humanity (1/1)]


    "¡­"


    "¡­Huh."

 Chapter 895 Four Pillars: Reunion

    Chapter 895 Four Pirs: Reunion


    Not expecting a couple of notifications to pop out just as he was about to return to Veldanyr, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he took a look at it.


    Though, as he continued reading through the notifications he''d received, the frown on his face gradually disappeared.


    Instead, a bitter smile took its ce.


    ''Having gone through a lot of things after entering the Gates of Transcendence, it seems I''ve gradually begun to overlook this quest.''


    As this thought came to mind, a faint sigh escaped his lips as he closed the rift he''d just opened.


    Whoosh!


    "Hmm?" Unsurprisingly, Vaughn took note of this, looking at Valyr with slight confusion. "I thought you were leaving?"


    Valyr let out a wry chuckle in response. "I thought so as well. However, I just remembered that there''s one more thing I need to do in this ce before I leave."


    "Minding with me for a bit?" asked the young man, prompting Vaughn to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "Woulding with you deduct one of the three requests I''ve given you to use?" replied Vaughn back.


    "Who knew you''d be this stingy?" said the young man as he let out a bit ofughter in response. "In any case, let''s just say it does for now."


    "Well, if that''s the case, then I have no choice but toe along," said Vaughn, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    Whoosh!


    Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr sensed the authority he had over the entire inheritance, familiarizing himself with the various features he had just gained ess to.


    Swoosh!


    After going through the various features in his mind for a bit, the young man felt like he had gotten the gist of how to make use of it, prompting a rift leading back to the inheritance proper to appear before the two.


    With the appearance of the rift, Valyr looked at Vaughn, urging him with his gaze to cross it.


    Seeing as it involved using one of the requests he''d given him, the man did what he was told, with the young man following behind him.


    Swoosh!


    Crossing through the rift, the two ended up arriving at the middle of the ins surrounding the city ruins, prompting a wry smile to appear on Valyr''s face.


    ''I intended for us to appear at the city ruins,'' thought the young man to himself, inwardly making a note after that to be more used with controlling the inheritance.


    Looking at the aberrations that roamed the ins for a bit, a faint smile adorned Valyr''s face as he soon activated [Flight of the Azure Dragon].


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring an azure dragon that he could ride on, the young man offered Vaughn to ride with him.


    Of course, with it being Valyr''s request, there was no need for the man to decline. "You''ve gained a lot more from Sellifer than I thought."


    Valyr smiled at that. "Though she allowed me toprehend Azure Energy, you could say that the inheritance is the main reason why I''ve gained so much."


    With banter out of the way, the two then zoomed through the skies of the inheritance proper, crossing through the vast ins and the periphery of the city ruins within minutes.


    Eventually, the two of them found themselves near the center of the west quadrant,nding near a hole that had expanded to cover a great portion of the streets.


    Thud.


    Thud.


    Landing on the ground through their own means, Valyr nced at the primitive humanoids surrounding them, noticing that they were radiating a murderous intent towards them.


    In response, the young man red out his aura in its entirety, even going so far as to activate [Hunter''s Aura] in the process.


    Fwoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, with the great disparity that now existed between his and the primitive humanoids'' stats, all of the primitive humanoids were petrified in their current states, looking at the young man with immense fear.


    With that, it was no surprise that all of them ran away the moment Valyr deactivated [Hunter''s Aura], causing him to chuckle as he soon jumped down into the hole.


    "Follow me." Hearing those words from Valyr before he jumped down, Vaughn was left without much choice but to follow suit.


    Thud. Thud.


    "The undergroundplex." Once the two of them had arrived safely underground, Vaughn began to look around as memories of the past began surfacing in his mind.


    "While the two Arbiters were wreaking havoc on Veldanyr, we evacuated a great number of civilians down underground, hoping that the two wouldn''t take notice."


    "Unfortunately, the Arbiters were thorough, even going so far as to kill all of the civilians that volunteered to be pushed into the undergroundplexes."


    "Even if there were survivors, they would''ve probably died a long time ago," said the man, letting out a sigh as he shook his head.


    "Anyways, why did you bring me here?" asked Vaughn after that, looking at Valyr with slight curiosity.


    "Well¡­" Scratching his cheek for a bit, the young man looked at him with an awkward smile. "What if I told you there were still a few that survived?"


    Mulling over Valyr''s words, Vaughn soon frowned. "Impossible. Over two hundred thousand years had passed since then. At most, the survivors are the descendants of those people."


    "That''s mostly the case," said the young man as he nodded in agreement. "However, what if I told you there was a being among them who inherited the memories of someone from that time?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "What do you mean by inherit?" At those words, Vaughn looked at Valyr with slight confusion.


    "Wait¡­ I think inherit wouldn''t be the right term." Of course, Valyr understood why Vaughn was confused. "It''s more urate to say that this being reincarnated hundreds of times, surviving up to this very day."


    "Reincarnated hundreds of times¡­" Muttering those words a couple of times to himself, Vaughn''s eyes soon widened in disbelief.


    To no surprise, the man''s expression turned serious after that. "Forget what we''ve talked about earlier with this using up one of your requests."


    "Lead me to that being you talked about."


    "With pleasure." Seeing the abrupt shift in Vaughn''s reaction, Valyr merely smiled as they soon made their way through the various corridors of Ecalos.


    From the widest corridors of the area, the two of them eventually found themselves in one of the many narrow corridors the underground area offered, surprisingly stumbling across a being that Valyr had interacted with in the past.


    "Valyr! Is that really you?!"


    Standing in front of them was a being that looked simr to the primitive humanoids on the surface. However, unlike the primitive humanoids, they had nocking parts and had paleplexions due to theck of sunlight.


    Taking note of the being''s long fingernails, a smile adorned Valyr''s face as a screen appeared before him.


    "It''s nice to see you again, Vlrvadh," replied Valyr as he responded back through the chat screen. "Though it''d be nice to talk with you about what I''ve been doing since I''vest entered this ce, I need your help on something important."


    "Since it''s you, I don''t mind," said Vlrvadh after fiddling around with his screen for a bit. "So, what do you need help with?"


    "Take me to the Sapient One," said Valyr through his response, prompting Vlrvadh to go silent for a bit.


    Looking back at Valyr, Vlrvadh soon noticed that the young man was pointed to the man beside him.


    Faintly surprised that he hadn''t noticed the man''s existence till now, Vlrvadh returned his attention to the screen after Valyr sent a message. "This person that came along with me is someone the Sapient One needs to meet."


    "¡­" Reading Valyr''s response, Vlrvadh remained silent once more, looking back and forth between Valyr and the man he brought for a bit.


    After some time, Vlrvadh eventually looked at Valyr and nodded, sending the young man a message before turning around.


    "Well¡­ I''m not sure whether the being that came along with you bears any ill will towards us or the Sapient One, but I''ll let it be for now since you brought the being here."


    "Follow me."


    ¡­


    "Where are we heading?" While the two of them were following Vlrvadh from behind, Vaughn struck up a conversation with the young man.


    "Theirmunity," replied Valyr, faintly smiling as he thought about what would happen when the two of them would meet. "Anyways, how are you feeling?"


    "What do you want me to feel?" said Vaughn as he looked at Valyr with a raised eyebrow.


    Noticing that the young man''s gaze was leading him towards Vlrvadh, Vaughn soon looked back at the former and slightly shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I''m slightly surprised that the descendants of my generation have turned out that way, but it''s not too surprising," said the man. "After all, evolution is not only based on one''s genes, but on one''s environment as well."


    "Then again, I must say it''s quite surprising that the blood of the old humans still exist in this ce," the man continued, his gaze towards Valyr now that of slight gratitude. "If you didn''t inform of this ce, I probably wouldn''t have known even after I transferred the ownership of you."


    "Did you really not know of this ce?" Valyr looked back at Vaughn with slight incredulity. "With you having authority over the entire inheritance, wouldn''t you have known of this ce a long time ago?"


    At those words, Vaughn wryly smiled. "I may be a Greater God, but this memory extension can only exert the strength of a Myth-level being. There''s only so much I can do, you know?"


    "But if your main body were have to used this authority, would you have noticed it?" asked Valyr once more, prompting the smile on Vaughn to turn bitter.


    "Yeah," replied Vaughn, only to sigh soon after. "And I''m disappointed in myself for not noticing earlier."


    After walking through the narrow corridors of the underground for a bit more, Vlrvadh and the two eventually found themselves in Dnal fo Nigiro, the ce where the Forgotten Ones thrived.


    Unsurprisingly, the two had attracted the attention of many as they roamed through the streets. After all, the two looked vastly different from them.


    Though, with the people having seen Valyr back then, and with Vlrvadh leading the way, many of the people merely looked at the two from afar.


    With that, it did not take long for the three to arrive at the ce where they needed to be, with Vlrvadh sending Valyr a message once they arrived.


    "Since you''ve alreadye here in the past, there''s no need for me to apany you this time around," said Vlrvadh through the system as he stood guard near the entrance. "I''ll just stand guard here for the meantime."


    "Anyways, I''ve already sent a message beforehand."


    "The Sapient One is expecting you."

 Chapter 896 Four Pillars: Farewell

    Chapter 896 Four Pirs: Farewell


    "Could you tell me more about the being we''re going to meet?"


    Having entered alongside Valyr, Vaughn took notice of the murals that spanned the walls of the corridor that would lead them to the Sapient One.


    Looking at these, the man decided to ask the young man beside him for more information, considering that he had no idea what Valyr and one of the descendants of the old humans had talked about.


    "Well, aside from having reincarnated hundreds of times, he''s known among the beings here as the Sapient One." ncing at the murals once more, Valyr gave Vaughn more information on who they were going to meet.


    "Unlike the being that escorted us here, the Sapient One isn''t really that strong, barely reaching the early levels of Rank 1 at most," said the young man, prompting Vaughn to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "Can the being not proceed any further than Rank 1, or are they just intentionally choosing to proceed any further?"


    Hearing Vaughn''s question, Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "I''m not sure either. All I can tell you is that when I met the Sapient One back then, he was at the early levels of Rank 1."


    "That means we''ll only find out if we ask the beingter," replied Vaughn, prompting the young man to nod in agreement after some time.


    Feeling as if he''d obtained almost every bit of information he could about the Sapient One, the man decided to shift the topic of their conversation to the other descendants instead.


    "Do you know more about the beings aside from the one you''ve just mentioned?"


    Valyr nodded. "They call themselves the Forsaken Ones."


    "The Forsaken Ones," muttered Vaughn to himself, only for a bitter smile to appear on his face soon after. "If only I knew earlier."


    Giving Vaughn some time to mull over his thoughts, the young man eventually continued with his exnations on the Forsaken Ones, making use of the information he''d gotten from Ryvrthe in the past.


    After that, he talked about themunity that they''ve created, Dnal fo Nigiro, as well as the name of the entire ce they were residing in, which was Ecalos. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Dnal fo Nigiro¡­ Ecalos¡­" Muttering these names to himself, Vaughn had a pensive expression on his face for a bit. "They remind me of thenguage we used before the Arbiters came around."


    "Them being descendants of the old humans that survived the Great Cataclysm makes more sense if that''s the case, no?" asked Valyr in response, to which Vaughn faintly nodded in response.


    Returning his gaze to the murals that were sprawled all over the corridor, a thought soon surfaced on the man''s mind. "Now that I think about it, with how thorough the Arbiters were in annihting the existence of all the humans on Veldanyr back then, it doesn''t make sense for there to still be remnants of the old humans aside from me."


    "How were they able to escape?" asked Vaughn to himself in a mutter, though Valyr heard the question as well.


    "I guess we''ll also find out that answer if we ask the Sapient One." After answering the man''s question, it only took a minute or so of more walking for the two to arrive at the second entrance.


    Seeing that only a curtain was the only thing separating them from the Sapient One, Valyr told Vaughn that he''d enter first, to which thetter nodded in response.


    Telling the man that he''d give a signal for him toe in after that, the young man took in a deep breath before passing through the second entrance.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing inside the space containing technology that was anachronisticpared to the technology that currently existed on Veldanyr, Valyr had a faint smile on his face as his gaze shifted towards the throne at the center.


    "We meet again, Ryvrthe."


    "Valyr," replied Ryvrthe with a smile, stepping down from his throne made out of scrap metal. "I''ve been informed by Vlrvadh through the system that you''de to meet me again."


    "That is indeed the case." Valyr nodded in agreement, only for a curious smile to appear on his face soon after. "I thought you said you didn''t want to use system''s chat function back then?"


    "That was back then." Ryvrthe sported a wry smile. "Thanks to meeting you, I''ve eventuallye to realize that I''ve been inflexible in my thoughts."


    "Rather than shun the existence of the system, I should embrace it wholeheartedly and make more use of it."


    At those words, the young man sneakily activated ''[Superior Analysis]'' on the man, wondering if the man was saying all of that for nothing.


    Ding!


    Looking at the screen that hemanded to appear in his mind, a faint smile soon crept up on the young man''s face. ''It seems he''s really changed his mind.''


    Compared to before, Ryvrthe, who had been loitering around the entry levels of Rank 1, was now at the middle levels of Rank 2.


    Though, judging by how only a week or so had passed in the inheritance, the young man was certain it would not take long for the man to reach greater heights.


    "Who knew this ss of mine contained more wondrous abilities now that I''ve ascended to a higher level?" said Ryvrthe with a chuckle, getting an idea of what the young man had done just now.


    Whoosh!


    In response, the man released a bit of mana from his body before conjuring it into a bolt.


    Swoosh!


    Then, not long after, the singr bolt split off into two, then four, eventually stopping by the time 32 bolts were hovering around the man.


    Seeing how Ryvrthe was unleashing a level of strength through the skill that would even give Rank 3 ss holders a run for their money, Valyr''s eyes widened as he faintly smiled.


    ''Then again, with a Mythic ss, something like that is expected.''


    "So, what brought you here?" Dispelling the bolts he''d conjured, Ryvrthe returned to the throne, only for a thought from their previous meeting to surface in his mind.


    At the moment he recalled that, the man looked at Valyr with expectation. "Does it have something to do with the quest I''ve given you?"


    "Truly befitting of someone who holds a ss with the word ''Sage'' on it." Valyr let out a chuckle, only to begin telling Ryvrthe of his adventures in uncovering more information on thest leader of humanity.


    From fighting the quadrant leaders to essing memories that had something to do with the past, the young man did not spare even a single detail in his exnation, allowing Ryvrthe to form a greater narrative in his mind.


    Retrieving items from his spatial bracelet that were rted to the quest, Valyr continued on with his story as the man looked at him with surprise, not expecting the man to be so thorough in his search.


    Unsurprisingly, when Valyr mentioned that he had even met thest leader of humanity, Ryvrthe stood up from the throne and looked at him with frenzied eyes, hopeful thoughts forming in his mind.


    Though, with how the young man continued talking about the current whereabouts of theirst leader, the hope he felt gradually dissipated as he returned to the throne.


    "So, you''re telling me that thest leader had been naturally extricated from Veldanyr after reaching a certain level of strength?" Gathering all of the things Valyr had told him, Ryvrthe eventually began asking the young man for rification.


    "Pretty much." Valyr nodded.


    "And that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance we''re in was his creation? Which he eventually decided to transfer to you?"


    "Also correct."


    "Well¡­ as expected of thest leader, I guess. I had a feeling he wouldn''t die that easily." Ryvrthe wryly smiled, closing his eyes for a bit as he sorted out his thoughts some more.


    By the time he opened his eyes, the man''s gaze seemed as if he''d aged a decade or so in an instant.


    Letting out a sigh, Ryvrthe looked at Valyr. "It''s a shame that I couldn''t have the opportunity to meet thest leader. Nevertheless, I still appreciate all of the effort you''ve put intopleting this selfish request of mine."


    Ding!


    [You havepleted part of the requirements for the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [Share the information you''ve gathered with the Sapient One (1/1)]


    [You havepleted the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [You have received 100,000,000 XP.]


    [¡­]


    At the very moment Ryvrthe said those words, a plethora of notifications swiftly bombarded Valyr''s mind, prompting the young man to smile in satisfaction.


    Though, rather than take a look at it, the young man moved all of those notifications to the side for the meantime.


    Instead, he let out a chuckle at the man''s words, prompting Ryvrthe to look at him in slight confusion.


    "Who says you couldn''t meet thest leader?"


    For a while, the man went silent, only for him to look at Valyr with both excitement and expectation in his eyes.


    Letting out a bit ofughter in response, Valyr then turned to look at the curtain that led him to this ce.


    "You cane out now."


    "Took you long enough. I was wondering when you''d let me."


    As a deep voice responded to Valyr''s words, it went without saying that Ryvrthe''s attention was wholly fixated on the curtain that Valyr came from.


    Watching the curtain open to reveal the man that had appeared, Ryvrthe''s eyes began to brim with tears as he immediately recognized him at first nce.


    "Leader¡­" said Ryvrthe, his voice shaking as he stepped down from his throne.


    "To think you''d appear in front of me in this state," replied Vaughn after ncing at Ryvrthe fora bit, adorning an apologetic smile in response.


    "You''ve worked hard, Vrauford. I apologize for taking this long toe here." Hearing those words, Ryvrthe could not stop the tears in his eyes from streaming down his face.


    At that moment, the man cried as if he hadn''t cried before, the emotions from over thousands upon thousands of years finally bursting out.


    Of course, with how he''dmented over the loss of his civilization in the past, Vaughn had an inkling of what was going on in Ryvrthe''s mind, giving the man time to let all of his emotions out.


    Plus, even if he struck up a conversation at this moment, Ryvrthe was choking on his sobs, so there was not much point in doing so.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for Ryvrthe to calm down from his outburst, looking at the man with a mix of both relief and joy as he took in a deep breath.


    Seeing that the two were now beginning to talk about what the other side was doing since theyst met, Valyr listened to their conversation for a bit with a smile.


    From what they were doing during the Great Cataclysm to what they were doing just recently, both Vaughn and Ryvrthe did not hold anything back from each other as smiles adorned their faces.


    Feeling at that moment that he had now truly done everything he could for now in the inheritance, the young man eventually decided to open a rift that would lead him back to Veldanyr, letting the two know beforehand that he would be leaving them for now.


    Whoosh!


    In response, Vaughn and Ryvrthe looked back at him and nodded in response, their eyes expressing their immense gratitude.


    "Thank you," said the two as they wished him safe travels.


    Swoosh!


    And with that, Valyr had finally left the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.

 Chapter 897 Valyrs Return

    Chapter 897 Valyr''s Return


    Surrounding the stone structure that served as the only entrance to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance was an incredibly dense forest that spanned for miles beyond end.


    However, as news of Valyr and the others entering the inheritance having reached the orcs, as well as the state of the war worsening with the passage of time, it was no surprise that the orcs have made a move.


    Specifically, they decided to raze a considerable portion of the forest surrounding the stone structure.


    With that, a great portion of the area surrounding the stone structure was now deprived of trees and shrubbery, with arge number of tall green-skinned beings patrolling the area as they tightly held onto their weapons.


    "Haah¡­ how much longer do we have to guard this ce, Vromek?" Letting out a long sigh as he continued to keep an eye on his surroundings, an orc struck up a conversation with the orc apanying him on his patrol.


    Vromek shrugged in response to the question. "It depends on whether or not thest human to enter the inheritancees out. If that humanes out early, then we leave early. If not¡­"


    At those words, the orc let out yet another sigh. "I enlisted in this war in the hopes of that I would make my family proud for fighting for my life. Never once did I think I''d be sent here just to keep an eye on a possible threat."


    "They''re not just possible threats, Zaurog." Vromek nced at hispanion for a bit. "They''re actual threats, especially if we give them time to grow stronger."


    "All of the humans chosen to enter this ce are talented and strong in their own right," continued Vromek. "With the help of the inheritance the humans entered, that fact was only boosted even further." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Tell me, Zaurog. Do you really think a normal human at the peak of Rank 3 would have that much power? Enough power to even pose a threat to us chosen here?"


    "¡­" Listening to the orc''s exnation, Zaurog mulled over them in silence, recalling the things that had happened here in the past.


    Though he was not part of the group that met the first group of humans to leave the entrance at first, he had heard from those that were able to escape with their lives that the two humans were a force to be reckoned with.


    Against a group of dozens of orcs whose ranks varied between Rank 4 and Rank 5, the two humans were able to kill half of them without much effort, instilling fear into those that had been unknowingly spared by the two.


    By the time Zaurog had been part of the group that patrolled the inheritance''s entrance, another pair of humans had left the inheritance once more.


    However, unlike the two humans that left the inheritance before them, the pair exuded an aura that began to rival even the strongest of orcs within the patrol group.


    Understanding that they would just beying out their lives for nothing if they were to face the two, the orcs allowed the two to leave, but only after sending news back of the four humans that had left.


    Realizing as to how long it had been since thest pair of humans had left the inheritance, Zaurog faintly shuddered in fear as to the level of strength thest human in the inheritance would reach.


    At that thought, the orc let out a long sigh. "I don''t know if I''ve antagonized anyone before, but I really feel like I''ve pulled the short end of the stick this time around."


    "You could definitely say that again." Vromek bitterly smiled in agreement. "The fact that five humans had entered the inheritance this time around instead of the usual four is definitely a cause for concern."


    "But s, there''s not much we can do about it, especially with how one of the Khorza''an''s Chosen had assigned us here," said the orc as he shook his head.


    "That damn Khorza''an''s Chosen¡­" muttered Zaurog in response, gritting his teeth in slight anger.


    Whoosh!


    Though, before the orc could continue his words, a faint ripple emanated from the stone structure, prompting all of those in the patrol group to look in the direction of its origin.


    Seeing a sole human had appeared at the entrance of the inheritance, all of the orcs immediately went on guard, staring at the man with both vignce and slight bloodlust.


    However, that all changed when the human began to clutch his head in pain.


    ¡­


    "Fuck me, man."


    Just a while ago, the young man had appeared at the entrance of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, taking care of a worry he had regarding his new position as owner of the inheritance.


    Though, before he could relish in that relief he felt, a throbbing pain soon covered his entire head, prompting to clutch his head as the pain worsened over time.


    ''How much time have I spent alongside Vaughn?'' asked Valyr to himself, inwardly muttering all sorts of curses at the heavens for introducing this side effect in the first ce.


    Taking in a few deep breaths as he began to gradually slow down his thoughts, the young man felt some of the pain subside, allowing him to take a better look at his surroundings.


    Unfortunately, just as he did so, Valyr felt his head ache once more, prompting him to conjure a Water-based spell around his head before adjusting its temperature to alleviate more of the pain.


    Taking a few more deep breaths after that, the young man returned his attention to his surroundings, instantly noticing the fact that part of the dense forest that covered the stone structure he was on had been razed to the ground.


    In the ce of where the forest once was were orcs numbering over a hundred at the very least, all of them holding onto their weapons as their passive auras gave Valyr a rough idea of their strengths.


    ''Peak of Rank 4 to around the middle levels of Rank 5¡­'' thought Valyr to himself, thanking the heavens as he gradually felt the pain beginning to subside.


    Looking at them for a bit more, the young man noticed that the orcs were all looking at him with vignce, tightly clutching onto their weapons in case he attacked them.


    Though, as he immediately went to the ground as he clutched his head in pain, it seemed as if the orcs had visibly rxed, deciding to take a look-and-see approach on what to do next.


    ''Well, I think I''ve gotten a rough idea of what''s going on.'' Taking a few more deep breaths as he reduced the temperature of the water surrounding his head, Valyr slowly stood up, causing the orcs to start tightly gripping onto their weapons once more.


    ''But of course, since I''ve been in the inheritance all this time¡­''


    ''It doesn''t hurt to get more information from these guys.''


    Looking at the orcs that surrounded him one by one, the young man soon shed a faint smile at them, making some of the orcs look at him in confusion.


    Taking advantage of their confusion, he then released a bit of his Azure Energy just as he mmed both of his hands to the ground, enveloping both him and the orcs in a domain.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Dominion of the Azure Turtle].

 Chapter 898 Without Resistance

    Chapter 898 Without Resistance


    Whoosh!


    Sensing that they''ve entered a domain of sorts that reduced a considerable portion of their strengths, the orcs looked at Valyr with grim expressions, immediately understanding what was about to happen.


    Gripping onto their weapons as tightly as they could, all of them kept an eye on the young man, all waiting for the right moment to strike.


    Seeing how the attitudes of the orcs had immediately changed in response to his action, Valyr had a faint smile on his face as he reduced the size of the water surrounding his head.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, he then dispelled the Water-based spell entirely, feeling that the headache tormenting him had subsided to a level where he could somewhat tolerate it.


    "Alright." Conjuring an orb of Azure Energy just in case, Valyr cleared his throat, catching the attention of all the orcs looking at him. "I have no idea who sent you here to patrol this ce, but what I do know is that you''vee here to kill me."


    "Now, humor me for a bit." Tossing the orb of Azure Energy back and forth between his hands, the young man looked at the orcs, ring out a bit of his aura in the process. "Did you kill the four that came before me?"


    At those words, the orcs looked at each other before talking in murmurs, theirnguage sounding like a mix of both gibberish and grunting to the young man.


    Fortunately, after the orcs had talked for a bit, one of them stepped forward in front of Valyr before speaking in an aggressive tone. "Why should we tell you that, you puny human?!"


    Hearing that, Valyr merely smiled. "You didn''t have to."


    Of course, that caught the orc slightly off guard, not understanding the young man''s thought process.


    Then again¡­


    There was no reason to.


    "In any case, thanks for letting me know who among you could speak thenguage."


    Saying those words, the young man continued to adorn a smile as he red his aura in its entirety, leaving many of the orcs frozen in ce as they shuddered in fear.


    Though, to those that were less affected by the aura, those orcs immediately charged towards Valyr, hoping tond an attack on him before he could on them.


    But of course, the young man wasn''t going to let that happen.


    "[Refined Mana Barrier]."


    Whoosh!


    Just as the orcs were only a couple of meters away from the young man, an azure barrier had appeared to separate the two groups, making some of the orcs bounce back as the barrier reflected their momentum.


    Now understanding what they were truly up against, the other orcs finally snapped out of their previous states and helped the orcs that made a move first in breaking the barrier.


    "Graah!"


    "Ngah!"


    Letting out grunts in frustration, the orcs struck against the barrier with all their strength.


    While that was happening, Valyr continued to amass more and more Azure Energy on his hands, activating an all-around buff on himself in the process.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    Whoosh!


    Sensing the aura from the human immediately ascending to a higher level of strength, the orcs began to strike the barrier with greater fervor, with some of them having even decided to escape before catastrophe struck.


    "It''s toote, either way," said Valyr to himself as he looked at the escaping orcs, flinging the orb of Azure Energy he''d amassed up to the skies.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]."


    Screech!!!


    Within seconds, a massive cloud of energy appeared before Valyr and the orcs as it let out a screech that caused most of the orcs to freeze in ce.


    Just as the orcs understood then and there that they had no chance of even fighting Valyr, the cloud began to rain down small azure phoenixes onto the orcs, transforming the area surrounding the stone structure into a field of azure mes.


    At that moment, the orcs had instantly lost all will to fight against the young man, instead choosing to escape from the hell that had appeared before them with their lives intact.


    Unfortunately, even though they were able to deflect the azure phoenixes that were raining down on them, more azure phoenixes continued to rain from the cloud, leaving them no choice but to flee as fast as they could.


    In the end, a few of the orcs were sessful in leaving the hellish field Valyr had created, though they suffered injuries that would''ve been more than enough to kill a normal human on Earth.


    However, most of the orcs had be of victims of the azure phoenix''s wrath, sumbing either to the bombardment of azure phoenixes from the cloud up above, or the field of azure mes that scorched below.


    "I think I''ve done more than enough to catch the attention of the others." Satisfied with the performance of his newly obtained skills on the actual battlefield, Valyr soon dispelled everything that had to do with [Azure Phoenix''s Lament].


    With the area more or less returning to the state it was before, the young man then began to manipte a bit of energy, prompting arge cocoon containing an orc stricken with fear to appear before him.


    Continuing to control the cocoon, he then removed part of the cocoon that covered the orc''s head, allowing the orc to freely speak.


    "Why¡­ did you this?" To no surprise, a bombardment of questions immediately left the orc''s mouth. "What¡­ have we even done to you?"


    "You''ve done nothing to me," replied Valyr as he shook his head, the expression on his face slowly bing serious. "But you might have done something to those that came before me."


    "We¡­ did not." The orc frantically shook his head. "The four that came before you were able to return safely¡­ the first two that came out even wiped out half of our patrol squad¡­"


    "Is that so?" Hearing those words, Valyr inwardly smiled in response, d for the fact that both Faulus and Loreina were able to fend for themselves, a stark contrast to how they were at the beginning of their journey.


    "Yes¡­" Seeing as the young man went silent after that, the orc nodded as he mustered up the courage to continue asking. "If I might ask, why did you spare me? Why did you kill all of them? They haven''t even done anything to you yet?" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Hearing those questions, Valyr looked at the orc directly in the eye, causing thetter to feel a slight chill throughout his body. "What''s your name?"


    "Z¡­ Zaurog," the orc responded, the fear that he''d pushed to the side just earlier returning with greater force.


    "Zaurog¡­ I''m sure you know the situation we''re in," said Valyr. "We''re in a war. I''m sure you know why I spared you. I''m also sure you know why I killed them when I had the chance to."


    "Now¡­ say if I weren''t as strong as I am right now, if I was weaker than the four that left before me¡­"


    "Do you really think you lot wouldn''t have killed me?"


    "¡­" Listening to those words, Zaurog fell silent, the spark previously in his eyes now having lost their light.


    Sensing the slight resistance the orc was still putting up now crumbling down to pieces, the young man scratched the back of his head for a bit in response, not knowing what to do.


    Mulling over the current situation for a bit, the young man took a look around the area, wondering if the ruckus he''d caused was enough to attract the attention of other humans.


    Seeing that there were none after looking around for a bit, Valyr nced at Zaurog for a bit beforeing to a decision.


    "You''reing with me."


    "Huh?" Unsurprisingly, Zaurog looked at the man in confusion, expecting not long ago that he would be in now that he''d served his purpose. "But¡­ why?"


    Though he heard the orc''s question, Valyr did not respond to it whatsoever.


    "[Azure Dragon Movement Arts]."


    "[Flight of the Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    Instead, he began to soar through the skies, dragging Zaurog along with him.

 Chapter 899 A Long-awaited Reunion

    899 A Long-awaited Reunion n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Algerie Kingdom, cksmith Guild.


    As the guild supplying most of the equipment and items people use within the kingdom, it went without saying that the guild housed a lot of private workshops, with a majority of them being leased out to their members for them to use.


    However, a small portion of these workshops were owned by high-ranking members of the guild, with one of them being owned by the guild master of the cksmith Guild itself.


    And surprisingly enough, it was currently being used.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    If one were to peer inside the guild master''s workshop at this moment, one would immediately see Julian hard at work, hammering away at a piece of heated metal to get it into his desired shape.


    Focusing all of his attention on the piece of armor he was trying to create, Julian gradually went through the various steps of the forging process, going through the hours of the day in a way where it felt like mere minutes to him.


    Then again, as the head of the cksmith Guild, it could be said that the man contributed the most to the war efforts, forging high-end equipment that many of the soldiers on the frontlines were currently using.


    With that being said, Julian had been holed up in his workshop for either days or weeks at this point, relying on some of the guild staff to bring him food and water at timely intervals.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "Just a bit more¡­ and done."


    Hearing the ever familiar chime of the system echo in his mind, Julian ced his hammer to the side as he took a brief look at the only window within his workshop.


    "Time really passes by so fast," muttered the man to himself as he let out a faint sigh. "I began working on this piece of armor yesterday afternoon, and now it''s the afternoon of the next day."


    Wryly smiling at the thought, Julian soon returned his focus on the piece of armor he''d just forged and activated his identification skill.


    "[Forger''s Inquisitive Gaze]."


    Ding!


    As the screen containing the equipment''s description appeared before him, Julian looked through its contents in great detail, causing his eyes to glisten in slight excitement once he was done.


    "It''s good..." muttered the man to himself with a faint smile,paring it to the piece of armor he''d forged before his current attempt.


    However...


    "It''s still not enough." Continuing to look at the description of the armor piece he''d forged, the smile on Julian''s face turned bitter, still feeling dissatisfied with it as hepared it to an armor piece a certain person had shown him in the past. "Haah¡­" Letting out a sigh as he decided to take a rest before beginning another attempt, Julian went over his progress on emting Valyr''s armor set ever since the war between the humans and the orcs erupted.


    "When will hee back?"


    Having read through the description of Valyr''s armor before he entered the inheritance, Julian immediately realized the great impact the young man''s armor would have if the humans were equipped with it as they fought against the orcs.


    Unsurprisingly, that feeling intensified once the skirmish between the orcs and the humans had turned into a full-on war, emphasizing the need for such armor.


    After all, even though the orcs and humans seemed to be matched on paper in terms of their numbers and ranks, the orcs still held a slight advantage due to their unique properties as a species.


    With that, Julian brought up the existence of the armor Valyr had forged to those that were aiding in the war efforts alongside him, talking about how he was going to try his best in emting the properties of the armor Valyr had forged for himself.


    After all, while the war was gradually ramping up, Valyr was still in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance with Hal and the others.


    In total, Julian had spent a total of nine months in his attempts at emting the properties of Valyr''s armor, slowly but surely reaching a point where its current version now held considerable value to those on the frontlines.


    "Well, if Ipared it to my first attempt, this piece of equipment is definitely better than that by leaps and bounds," said Julian to himself, only to let out yet another sigh as he tossed what he just forged to the side.


    "But if I were topare it to Valyr''s armor set, it''s stillcking in many aspects."


    "Guild leader?" Just as he had made up his mind to start another attempt at recreating the effects of Valyr''s armor, Julian was interrupted beforehand as one of the guild staff entered his workshop.


    "What is it?" Though he slightly frowned at first, Julian looked back at the person that entered the workshop with a raised eyebrow, noticing that the man had not brought him sustenance.


    With an immense need to focus on forging as much equipment as possible for the war, Julian had set a couple of rules to the guild staff that would enter the workshop, with there only being two reasons for them to do so. The first one was for food and water. After all, even though Julian was already Rank 5, he still wasn''t anywhere near forgoing the need for sustenance.


    As for the second reason¡­


    It was when a situation or an incident arose that needed his presence.


    "We''ve received a direct report from one of the soldiers at the defensive gates." Seeing as he''d caught the guild master''s attention, the staff went over the information he''d received in his mind for a bit before rying it to Julian. "ording to them, a person you knew was looking for you, carrying an orc with them as hostage."


    "An orc as hostage?" asked Julian in slight confusion, standing up from his seat as he prepared to take a short trip out of the guild. "Did they say who they were or what their affiliations are?"


    "The person only gave their name," replied the staff, scratching the back of his head for a bit after that. "From what the report mentioned, the name of that person was¡­ Ylvar?"


    "Ylvar... Ylvar¡­" Hearing that name, Julian stopped in his tracks, slightly frowning as the gears in his mind began to turn.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to understand what was going on, the frown on his face immediately turning into a smile as he radiated an aura of slight excitement.


    "Right¡­ Ylvar." Letting out a chuckle in response, Julian shook his head for a bit. "Almost forgot that he had to use another name."


    Returning his gaze to the staff, his expression soon turned stern, befitting the position of a guild master. "Alright, ry to them that I''ll be heading to the defensive gate as soon as I can."


    "Also, while I''m away, have the elders of the guild keep an eye on this ce while I''m gone. If they can, have them take over my position on some of the equipment I need to forge."


    "Understood, guild leader," replied the staff as he bowed, to which Julian nodded back in response.


    Whoosh!


    And with all that settled, Julian soon left the cksmith Guild, immediately soaring through the skies as he made his towards the defensive gate where the person named Ylvar was located.


    ...


    "Hmm¡­" Looking at the chat screen he''d brought up, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit before closing it. "I''ve also sent a message just in case it takes longer for the report to arrive¡­"


    "In any case, do you think it''ll take long for the guild master of the cksmith Guild to arrive here?"


    Hearing those words, the soldier in front of Valyr briefly looked at him with a fearful gaze, ncing at the orc he was carrying before responding with a slight stutter. "I''ve made sure to have it reach the guild master as quickly as possible."


    "At most¡­ it''ll only take a few minutes or so for the message to reach them," the soldier continued, inwardlymenting to the heavens as to why he''d attracted the attention of the man before him. "Now then¡­" Looking at the passage that had been made for them, the man looked back at Valyr with a smile.


    10:33


    "As for how long it''ll take the guild master to get here¡­ that depends on how quick the guild master is."


    "Fair enough." Hearing the soldier''s words, Valyr nodded in response as he nced at Zaurog for a bit.


    Seeing as he would have to wait for quite some time for Julian to appear, the young man decided to rest by the side for the meantime, briefly mulling over the things he''d done after leaving the inheritance.


    After capturing Zaurog as he felt that the orc would serve greater purposeter on, the two made their way back to Algerie Kingdom with the help of Valyr''s new movement skills.


    Eventually, the two of them arrived at one of the kingdom''s defensive gates, putting many of the soldiers at the gates on guard as they noticed the orc Valyr had brought along.


    In response, Valyr red out his aura, causing the soldiers'' impressions of the young man to change as they began to cooperate with him after that.


    ''I wonder what Vaughn and Ryvrthe are talking about right now?'' thought Valyr to himself, faintly amused as he took the time dtion between the inheritance and here in mind.


    Whoosh!


    "I suppose you haven''t been waiting for too long?" While the young man was in the midst of going through his other thoughts, a familiar voice soon echoed from slightly afar, causing the young man to smile as he stood up.


    "Nine months have already passed in this ce while I''ve been in the inheritance." Valyr chuckled in response, smiling as he looked at the man before him. "Waiting for a bit more wouldn''t hurt."


    Hearing those words, the middle-aged man let out a bit ofughter, only to look at the soldier that apanied Valyr before nodding.


    Understanding what the nod meant, the soldier immediately sent out a message to the other soldiers stationed at the gate, allowing a passage for both the man and Valyr to go through.


    "Now then¡­" Looking at the passage that had been made for them, the man looked back at Valyr with a smile.


    "Shall we take a look at the things the inheritance gave you?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 900 Returning to the Guild

    900 Returning to the Guild


    "And we''re back."


    Whoosh!


    With Julian conjuring a tform that both he and Valyr could ride on, it did not take long for the two to arrive at the entrance of the cksmith Guild.


    In fact, if one were to calcte the time it took for Julian to get the message from the gates, leave to head where Valyr was, and then make his way back to the guild, not even an entire hour would have passed.


    Looking at therge building in front of him where he''d spent a great portion of his time before the inheritance, a faint hint of nostalgia washed over Valyr''s body as he thought about the items he''d forged.


    ''Now that I''m equipped with tons of knowledge thanks to the inheritance, it won''t be long till I upgrade them,'' thought the young man to himself, ncing at the orc he''d brought along.


    At the moment, the orc was unconscious, with most of his body still wrapped in a cocoon made out of energy.


    This was due to Julian intentionally knocking out the orc, especially after he had heard from Valyr on their way back that the orc could speak in the samenguage as them.


    Though they''ve already captured a couple of orcs here and there that had the same ability, none of them were all that willing to help the humans out, always asking for something in exchange before making a move.


    With that, Julian hoped that Valyr could talk to the orc a bit more and coerce him to work alongside the humans, to which thetter responded that he would try his best to do so.


    After Julian had arranged some of the staff to take care of the orc for the meantime, the two soon entered the main hall of the cksmith Guild.


    It did not take long for the two to be soon greeted by a couple of the guild staff, with most of them looking at them with surprise evident in their expressions.


    "You''ve already returned, Guildmaster?" While the other guild staff were seemingly stunned in ce from the appearance of the two, the guild staff that told Julian about Valyr looked at the two before asking in slight surprise.


    "Yeah." Julian nodded, only to smile soon after as he patted Valyr on the shoulder. "Our candidate from the Four Pirs'' Inheritance has finally returned."


    At those words, the other people in the main hall looked at each other in slight confusion, only for them to soon realize what the man meant by that.


    Within seconds, all of them looked at Valyr with excitement in their eyes, immediately understanding that the young man had brought a lot of things from the inheritance they could use.


    Specifically, cksmithing knowledge that they could benefit from.


    Just as the staff at the hall were about to bombard Valyr with questions regarding his experiences and gains from the inheritance, Julian stopped them beforehand as he gave them a stern expression.


    "For the meantime, make sure that everyone in the guild does not spread knowledge of our candidate''s return," said Julian as he exuded a bit of aura, instilling fear into those that were previously eager to ask Valyr questions.


    Sensing this aura, almost all of the staff shuddered in response, only to recall that they were in front of the head of the cksmith Guild.


    At that thought, the staff immediately knew what they needed to do, politely excusing themselves as they told the others of what Julian told them.


    In the end, only Julian, Valyr, and the staff that informed Julian in the first ce were left at the hall, with thetter looking at Valyr with a slightly apologetic smile on his face.


    "We apologize that we weren''t informed of your departure from the inheritance sooner," said the staff as he bowed to the young man, to which Valyr dismissed with a wave of his hands.


    "It''s fine," replied Valyr, not taking any offense on the matter. "I would''vee here either way, so the only difference would''ve been the time I got here."


    "And probably the number of people that asked me questions regarding what I got from the inheritance," continued the young man as he let out a faint chuckle.


    Nodding in response to the young man''s words, the staff soon shifted his gaze towards Julian. "Should I inform the elders of his return? Also, should I have them keep forging some of the items you''ve been tasked with forging?"


    "Don''t inform them for the meantime." Julian shook his head. "Though they''re elders, they''re more forceful than the staff here earlier when ites to asking questions. After all, many of them have yet to take the final step needed to be a Legend." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "And you know very well how those desperate to be Legends are like," added the man, causing the staff to wryly smile as he nodded.


    "Well, I trust that you more or less know what I need you to do," said Julian not long after that. "I''ll eventually hold something in the main hall rted to Ylvar''s return, but for now, make sure that this information does not leak out as much as possible."


    "Also, keep an eye on the other staff just now." At those words, Julian returned to a serious expression. "Wouldn''t hurt to be cautious, especially now that we''re at war against the orcs."


    "Understood." Havingmitted all of the things Julian wanted him to do to memory, the staff soon left the main hall to do what was asked of him, leaving the man and Valyr alone after that.


    "I didn''t expect you to have a secretary all of a sudden." Going over the conversation that happened just now, Valyr looked at Julian and shed a slightly amused smile.


    Julian chuckled in response as he urged Valyr to follow him in making their way to his workshop. "I probably wouldn''t have been able to meet you at the gates if I were doing everything by myself."


    "Plus, he''s someone I''ve only recruited after making sure I could trust them," the man continued. "With how much he''s done for the guild, he''s definitely reduced the burden on all of us, especially if you think about how our guild and the Alchemist Guild have been contributing the most to the war efforts."


    "The guild has definitely been through a lot these past few months," said Valyr in response as he wryly smiled.


    "Probably not as much as you, seeing as you''ve only gotten out of the inheritance just now," replied Julian, telling Valyr after that to continue their conversation once they were at his workshop.


    Of course, it did not take long for the two to arrive there, especially with how much Valyr''s strength had improved in the inheritance.


    With Julian conjuring a barrier around them that made sure no one could eavesdrop on their conversation, it was only then did the man look back at Valyr, eager to know the things he''d obtained from the inheritance.


    "So, what kind of gains have you and the others made in the inheritance?"


    Having been holed up in the cksmith Guild all this time due to the equipment he needed to forge, Julian did not receive information from the four that left before Valyr on the things they gained from the inheritance.


    Then again, he still heard a few things here and there about how those that entered the inheritance left with Intents, as well as knowledge that would allow them to shine even further in their respective fields.


    "I''ve gained far more than you think." Going over the things he''d obtained in the inheritance, a faint smile soon adorned Valyr''s face as he went through what he felt like the information Julian wanted to hear from him.


    With that, he talked about the fact that he''d reached the peak of Rank 3 while in the inheritance, as well as the fact that he''d obtained a lot of forging blueprints from the various trials he''d attempted within.


    Aside from that, he talked about the Intents he''dprehended while in the inheritance, focusing mostly on the Intent of Forging and the Intent of Forger''s mes.


    Hearing directly from the young man that those two Intents were already at 6th Grade, Julian looked at the young man in shock, not expecting the inheritance to have given him that much.


    Of course, Valyr still had a lot more to say aside from that, such as how he inherited a different form of energy thatbined both Shadow Energy and mana.


    "It''s called Azure Energy," said the young man with a smile, conjuring a ball of it on one of his palms for Julian to sense its strength. "I''m sure Elder Noel would be left at a loss for words if he saw this."


    Then, after talking a bit more about Azure Energy, he talked about the forging knowledge he gained from the inheritance, such as the fact that he now had knowledge on technology from more advanced eras.


    "How advanced of an era did you reach?" asked Julian in response. "As far as I remember, obtaining information on the High Middle Ages is usually the average when ites to forging knowledge."


    "Since you''ve been there for far longer than the others that came with you¡­ I''m guessing¡­ the Renaissance Age?"


    At those words, Valyr merely smiled, telling Julian that he''d obtained information up to the First Industrial Revolution.


    And surprisingly¡­


    Julian had no clue what that was.


    "¡­"


    "¡­What''s the First Industrial Revolution?"


    900 chapters.


    Not gonna lie, I thought I was gonna take longer to get to this milestone, but now that it''s here, it feels... surreal.


    Thank you to everyone who''s been supporting the novel thus far, and thank you to those that will continue supporting Valyr''s journey.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 901 Showing the Goods

    901 Showing the Goods


    Hearing the question that came out of Julian''s mouth, Valyr let out a bit ofughter in response as he thought that the man was joking around.


    Though, when he looked at the man''s face and noticed his genuine confusion, the young man began to doubt himself, scratching the back of his head for a bit as the gears in his mind turned.


    "Do you really not know anything about the First Industrial Revolution?" asked Valyr after inwardly taking a deep breath.


    In response, Julian firmly shook his head. "I have no idea what that is."


    "It''s the era of technology thates after the Age of Scientific Revolution," exined the young man in the simplest way he could, his expression now that of slight concern.


    Fortunately, Julian showed that he knew a bit about the era Valyr mentioned. "The Age of Scientific Revolution¡­ that''s the era thates after the Renaissance Age, right?"


    "That''s the one." Valyr grinned as he nodded. "Then, the First Industrial Revolutiones after that, only to be followed up by the Second Industrial Revolution."


    At those words, Julian returned to his confused state earlier. "Wait¡­ huh? After the Renaissance Age there came three revolutions in a row, with two of them rted to something called ''industrial''¡­"


    "What''s so significant about this ''industrial'' thing that two revolutions happened?"


    Listening to the words that came out of Julian''s mouth at that point, Valyr let out a low sigh as he decided to exin the various eras to the man in greater detail.


    Being reminded of what N had done for him up to the Digital Age, the young man took his time, feeling that this was a good starting point for him to share the things he gained from the inheritance to aid the humans in the war.


    Starting off on information rted to technological eras that the two of them were familiar with, Valyr gradually moved onto the more advanced ages, with information on the High and Late Middle Ages causing Julian''s eyes to widen in shock.


    By the time the young man was talking about the Renaissance Age, the man had gonepletely silent, seemingly choosing tomit all of the information Valyr was telling him to memory.


    In the end, it took a couple of hours in total for the young man to go from the Early Middle Ages up to the First Industrial Revolution in considerably great detail, which made the young man bitterly smile once he took a quick peek out the window.


    "The sun''s already about to set, huh¡­" muttered Valyr to himself, only to look back at Julian not long after.


    Surprisingly, after the young man was done going through the various eras of technology, the man continued to remain silent as he sported a pensive expression.


    With the gears in the man''s mind working on overdrive, it only took a few more minutes for Julian to return to his previous state, looking at Valyr as if he was his lifelong mentor.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, he returned his gaze towards the young man, his eyes brimming with gratitude. "You''ve definitely widened my horizons, Valyr," said Julian with a grateful smile. "If information like this was readily avable to all of the cksmiths under the empire, humanity wouldn''t have been on the losing end against the orcs right now." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After that, the man let out a soft exhale. "Then again, even if it was readily avable, the barrier of entry is extremely high."


    Saying those words, Julian told Valyr how his exnation had significantly reduced the amount of Technology Points needed to unlock the advancements for those eras in his Technology Tree.


    However, even with his position as one of the cksmith Guild''s branch guild masters, the total amount of Technology Points needed to reach the First Industrial Revolution was a value that roughly soared beyond the millions.


    "I''m guessing you unlocked the advancements thanks to the inheritance?" asked Julian, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    Nodding back, the man then bitterly smiled. "If only I knew that one could gain this much from there¡­ I would''ve probably tried harder to be a candidate for the inheritance back then."


    Growl¡­


    Just as the atmosphere surrounding the two had finally be silent, the rumbling of Valyr''s stomach immediately broke that silence, causing Julian to let out a faint chuckle.


    "Well¡­ that''s not surprising," said the man after some time, immediately asking a random staff member from the guild to bring them a lot of food and water.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for the staff to return, carrying along what seemed to bemultiple bowls of various soups, meats, grains, and stews, as well as a couple ofrge containers filled to the brim with cold water.


    "I''m sorry that this is the first proper meal you''ve received after you came back from the inheritance." Seeing as Valyr was eying all of the meals the staff brought as if it was made by the most skilled chef in the kingdom, Julian felt a bit sorry.


    "Everyone in the guild has been busy ever since the war has gone into full swing, so this is the best we can do for now."


    "I don''t mind." Replying to Julian''s words, Valyr shook his head before giving him a refreshing smile. "It''s many times better than going hungry, after all."


    "Plus, it''s thousands of times better than the food I''ve been cooking up while we were in the inheritance," added the man after taking a bite of the food, immediately devouring the contents of one bowl after that.


    With the young man ravenously engorging himself on the food the staff brought, a look of relief appeared on Julian''s face before it turned into yet another grateful smile.


    And so, the young man had finally gotten a bit of the rest he sorely needed after being stuck in the inheritance for over two weeks, enjoying every bite of food he took along the way.


    Of course, with the war still looming, the young man only enjoyed it up to the point he had gotten his fill.


    Though he decided to eat a bit extra topensate for theck of eating he did in the inheritance, Valyr returned Julian''s attention to the things he''d gotten from the inheritance.


    "There''s more?" Naturally, Julian was surprised to hear that the young man still had more to tell him.


    "Well, if we''re talking about the rewards I got from the inheritance, then I''ve already told you more or less everything," said Valyr in response, omitting all of the other unimportant stuff he''d gained from the inheritance that had nothing to do with forging.


    cing the bowl of food he was currently devouring to the side for now, Valyr soon pulled out the arquebus he''d improved in the inheritance, immediately piquing Julian''s interest the moment he saw it.


    Taking note of the weapon''s design, the man soon recalled the weapon Valyr had made in the past that thetter still considered a work in progress.


    "This is that weapon you were working on before entering the inheritance, right?" Julian asked as he activated his identification skill on it. "It was called¡­ an arquebus, right?"


    "An arquebus, yeah." Valyr nodded, faintly grinning after a screen had appeared before the man''s vision.


    "How in the heavens¡­" Unsurprisingly, at the very moment information on the arquebus had appeared before Julian, the man was left at aplete loss for words after noticing the amount of Attack it gave.


    "It hasn''t even reached Legendary grade yet, but it''s already boasting an Attack stat in the thousands?" Reading through more and more of the weapon''s description, the more enamored Julian became with the weapon, imagining its destructive properties in the battlefield.


    "Oh yeah. I also made this while I was in the inheritance." Getting the feeling that he already knew what was going on in Julian''s mind, Valyr decided to bring out the pistol he''d forged and gave it to the man.


    "Since the arquebus is the first weapon of that kind I made, it''s received some special properties through the system," said Valyr. "This one is called a pistol, but it operates the same way as the arquebus does. Its stats are probably more in line with what would normally be the oue."


    "Even so, to boast an Attack stat in the high thousands while being at Rare grade¡­" Looking through the description of the pistol, it was no surprise that Julian was greatly interested in the pistol, especially after seeing the weapon''s rarity.


    After all, the weapon being of a lower rarity meant that it was easier to forge.


    And the easier it was to forge, the more that could be produced¡­


    Which could possibly turn the tides of the war to their side.


    Feeling as if he''d looked at the two weapons Valyr brought out for long enough, Julian went silent for a bit before asking the young man a question. "Do you think it''s possible to reduce the level requirement for this weapon?"


    Valyr pondered over it for a bit. "It''ll be slightly difficult since it has a lot of parts inside, but I think it could be lowered. It would probably result in a lower rarity, though."


    "Would it still have an Attack stat over a thousand if that were the case?" asked Julian as he looked at Valyr with a slightly expectant gaze.


    "I think so," replied the young man after mulling over it for a bit.


    "Then that''s fine," replied Julian with a relieved smile, looking at Valyr as if he had relieved the burdens of the entire cksmith Guild in one go.


    Of course, Valyr already had an idea why Julian was asking him all this. "You n on asking me for a blueprint so other cksmiths could forge it for the war?"


    At those words, Julian wryly smiled as he faintly nodded.


    Though surprisingly, he let out a long sigh after that.


    "If only you knew how much we''ve been struggling against the orcs as ofte."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 902 Current State of Affairs

    Chapter 902 Current State of Affairs


    "I think I have a good idea of how that''s going," said Valyr in response to Julian''s words, causing thetter to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "Surprisingly enough, I found a way to keep myself updated on Veldanyr while I was still in the inheritance."


    "I''m guessing you figured this out after the four that came along with you finally left the inheritance?" asked Julian, to which Valyr faintly nodded as he rified a bit more.


    "I already found a way to obtain information from the outside world before the other four left," said the young man. "However, the information I got at that time wasn''t really enough to be substantial, so I only told them some of the more important information I got."


    Nodding back in response, Julian thought over his exnation of the current state of war to the young man, eventually deciding to base it off how much the young man knew.


    "So, what information did you get while you were in the inheritance?"


    Hearing that, the young man began to exin about how he heard that the small skirmish between the two races had expanded to span beyond the Algerie Kingdom at some point.


    Recalling the incident that happened while he entered the Akashic Battlefield with Zeik, he then told Julian about how he heard that multiple kingdoms under the Meltierre Empire had now begun to work alongside the Algerie Kingdom.


    After all, the orcs were beginning to harass their defenses as well.


    "Thest piece of information I got while I was in the inheritance was the fact that the Meltierre Empire was making a move now that the orcs had seemingly gone on the offensive," said Valyr as he looked at Julian.


    Letting out a low sigh, he then smiled bitterly. "It took a few days after I got that information for me to leave the inheritance, so¡­ I''m guessing the empire has already made a move?"


    "About a month ago." Julian nodded with a solemn expression. "A month ago, the Meltierre Empire finally made their move against the Khagarax Empire, pushing the orcs away from the many kingdoms that they were harassing."


    Just as he said those words, he shook his head as he sighed. "Though it was effective at first, the orcs were eventually to return the state of the war into a stalemate, with it currently teetering on the edge of where the war would be to their advantage."


    After that, Julian gave Valyr a bit more information on the state of the war, such as the number of people that participated, the average strength of those who participated, as well as the kingdoms that have joined in on the war.


    "In total, 23 human kingdoms under the banner of the Meltierre Empire have joined forces to fight against the orcs," said the man, prompting a slight frown to appear on the young man''s face. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Depending on whether or not anything changes on our side, that number might gradually increase over time or drastically increase in one go."


    "And that''s why you want to get your hands on the blueprints of the weapons I''ve just showed you," said Valyr, to which Julian profusely nodded in response.


    "Just like the offer we''ve agreed upon for the blueprint of your unique armor, we''ll also decide upon a set of conditions that would leave you satisfied if you were to agree with giving the cksmith Guild a blueprint for that weapon of yours."


    Though he had a feeling that he could squeeze out more from this due to the current circumstances, the young man thought about it from a long-term perspective.


    With that, the young man shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "Well, the least I could do is make the conditions less stringent than before. After all, sharing this blueprint would help humanity out, after all."


    Hearing that, Julian smiled as he profusely nodded in agreement.


    "But now that I think about it, did any of the other four that joined me in the inheritance share any of the information they''ve gotten to aid in the war efforts?" asked Valyr, thinking about how much time had passed since he had been separated from the others.


    "They''ve shared a lot." Unsurprisingly, the man nodded. "Faulus from the Alchemist Guild had shared a great portion of the alchemical recipes he obtained from the inheritance, reducing the mortality rate of our soldiers on the battlefield."


    "On the other hand, Loreina from the Tailor Guild was sessful in creating a unique sewing pattern that empowered the strength of those wearing clothing made with that pattern," continued Julian, prompting Valyr to recall Loreina''s actions in his past life.


    ''It seems there are some things that don''t change,'' thought the young man to himself as he inwardly smiled at those words.


    "As ofte, they''re mass producing the pattern for the soldiers to wear to try and even out the stakes. Though, as far as I''ve heard, Loreina is currently attempting to improve her original pattern, with considerable sess."


    "How about Hal and Vera?" Nodding in understanding, Valyr then steered the topic to the two that hadn''t been mentioned yet.


    "Though she''s an alchemist just like Faulus, Miss Vera didn''t really have any alchemical recipes to offer," said Julian with a slightly awkward smile. "This had something to do with her ss, which the Imperial Alchemist mentioned as something unique to only her and Miss Vera."


    Even though he was faintly amused by how Julian changed his manner of speaking when talking about Vera, Valyr remained silent as he continued to listen.


    "Nevertheless, she''s currently active on the battlefield as a rear-line support and healer. With how effective her healing is, she''s even begun to be called the Mystic Saintess by the soldiers."


    "And Hal?" Valyr asked, curious as to why that man had been saved forst.


    "Being called the Lord of All Trades, what else would you expect?" replied Julian with a knowing smile. "After he left the inheritance with Miss Vera, Vylhalteinn shared all of the information he could with the four production guilds in the hopes that they could help."


    "In fact, he had even shared a blueprint simr to the arquebus you just showed me to the cksmith Guild," the man said, prompting a smile to briefly appear on the young man''s face. "I''m guessing he got that idea from you?"


    Valyr let out a chuckle as he nodded. "How much of my weapon was he able to emte?"


    "Comparable to the arquebus you created before the inheritance, but simpler in concept," replied Julian, finding the situation amusing as well.


    "Though that may be the case, we have begun equipping squads with it since it still boasts a higher Attack stat than the other weapons," added the man. "Aside from that, he''s currently active on the battlefield as part of the frontlines."


    "That makes sense." Valyr nodded in understanding. "He did have that unique Intent based on the de."


    "Yeah." Agreeing with the young man''s words, it was at that moment that Julian felt like he''d talked for long enough with the young man.


    Thinking about how much equipment he still had to forge, the man let out a faint sigh before asking Valyr to move aside as he began to forge more equipment for the war.


    "Orders from the frontlines?" Watching Julian chuck a great number of materials into the furnace in front of him, Valyr did not take long to figure out what''s going on.


    "Specifically, for the elite squads," replied Julian, keeping an eye on the me''s temperature. "In any case, our conversation is over for now. I''llpile some of the less surprising information you''ve given me and share it with the guild."


    "For the meantime, get some rest. You haven''t gotten any after leaving the inheritance, after all."


    "You sure?" Though he appreciated the man''s concern for him, Valyr still asked. "I could help forge a part of the equipment the guild needs to make."


    "I highly appreciate the thought, but we can still handle this." ncing at Valyr for a bit, Julian swiftly returned his attention to the furnace. "You''ve already given this guild a lot through the information you just gave me."


    "With that, you can give even more only after you''ve gotten enough rest. Though we''re at war, it hasn''t reached the state where we''re forging for our lives yet."


    "Alright then." At those words, Valyr merely smiled, finding the man''s words ironic as he recalled his past life.


    Watching the man forge for a bit more after that, the young man eventually decided to heed Julian''s advice, bidding farewell to the man before leaving.


    Though, just as he was about to leave the workshop, a couple of thoughts surfaced in Valyr''s mind. "Now that I think about it¡­ what happened to the talks regarding the blueprint for my armor?"


    "They didn''t go anywhere, even though I said back then that it wouldn''t take that long." Julian let out a sigh. "They said I didn''t have any proof as to why such an armor should be prioritized, even more so with those kinds of conditions."


    "I see." Valyr faintly nodded, the gears in his mind turning as he thought about how he could turn that situation in his favor.


    However, he decided to save those thoughts for after he had gotten enough rest.


    "How about mypanions? Do you know where they are at the moment?" Pondering over other things he needed to say to the man before leaving, Valyr eventually decided to ask Julian about Wells and Edward''s whereabouts.


    "Wells and that kid, right?" replied Julian, to which Valyr nodded in response. "I haven''t been keeping an eye on them since I''m busy forging equipment, but I''ll have someone from the guild find out their current whereabouts for you."


    "It wouldn''t take long for them to get the information you need, just a couple days of waiting at most."


    "Thank you," replied Valyr as he bowed, eliciting a faint smile to appear on Julian''s face as he softly chuckled.


    And with that, it was only then did Valyr make his way out of the cksmith Guild, arriving at the inn where he had stayed in the kingdom not that muchter.

 Chapter 903 Wells Letter

    903 Wells'' Letter


    "Now that I think about it¡­ I should really get a ce for me and the two." Walking up the door that led to the ce where he, Wells, and Edward were staying, it only dawned on Valyr at that moment that they did not have a proper ce to live in.


    Though the Imperial Production Guild had provided the inn for them to stay in for the meantime, the young man had a feeling that this setting was just temporary at best, considering how they did not ask him nor Wells at the time for any rent whatsoever.


    Then again, even if the Imperial Production Guild did not mind that he and the other two stayed there for a far longer time, Valyr still wanted to have a ce he could call his own.


    Especially with the things he nned on doing now that he was out of the inheritance.


    "At times like this, I kind of miss the smithy I used to own back at Clossbay," muttering these words to himself, Valyr gradually opened the door, faintly expecting to see both Edward and Wells on the other side.


    After all, even though he asked Julian for their current whereabouts, it was asked more out of safety and not out of actual curiosity as to where they were.


    "Though the war is currently ongoing, it''s not like the two would be drafted as part of the¡ª"


    Just as Valyr was expecting to be greeted back by the two with wide smiles on their faces, he was instead greeted by the sight of a room that had no one in it.


    Slightly confused at first, Valyr checked if he''d entered the wrong room, returning to look at the number written on the door.


    Then, seeing as he had indeed entered the right room, that confusion somewhat intensified as he returned to the room he just left.


    "Huh." Recalling the words he uttered just now, a wry smile appeared on his face as he took a look at his surroundings.


    Though the items he, Wells, and Edward were using were left in their rightful ces, a coupleyers of dust covered all of them, prompting Valyr to realize that they''d been away from the room for far longer than he initially thought.


    "I guess Wells brought Edward along to buy a couple of stuff he needs." Looking around the room for a bit more to familiarize himself once again, Valyr soon noticed that there were things in the room that hadn''t been there before he left for the inheritance.


    Eventually, after looking around the room for a bit, he sat down on a nearby chair as he let out a faint sigh.


    Coincidentally, he took notice of a folded piece of paper on the dining table, seeing as it was not as covered inyers of dust like the others.


    Picking up the folded piece of paper, a faint smile soon appeared on Valyr''s face after noticing that the paper was addressed to him.


    Opening it up, he was soon greeted by Wells'' handwriting, talking about the things thathappened to Edward and thetter while he was away in the inheritance.


    "Counting from the day you entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, it''s been around six months since then," wrote Wells in the letter. "During those six months, both Edward and I have made great strides in ourbat prowess."


    After that, Wells exined that he had already ascended to Rank 3, he also told Valyr about his subss in greater detail, briefly mentioning through the letter that they only talked about it in passing.


    "Now that I think about it, I haven''t mentioned my subss before you left, huh," wrote Wells, prompting Valyr to imagine the man smiling as he wrote it. "Well, as I''ve mentioned before, it''s a subss that synergizes well with the True Spear Schr ss."


    "It''s called the Lesser Spear Saint," read Valyr through Wells'' letter. "It''s an Epic subss that gives me a lot of stats I need to control the spear more smoothly. ording to Elder Noel, there''s a chance for me to evolve it into the Legendary variant at some point, the Spear Saint subss." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Talking a bit more about how his strength improved in the past six months, Wells then moved onto Edward in the letter, mentioning how the kid he picked up was an unprecedented prodigy.


    "Thanks to Elder Noel''s help, Edward was able to grasp a Mythic ss rted to the spear," wrote the man in the letter. "On top of that, Elder Noel had also given him a Legendary grade subss rted to the spear."


    "With thatbination, he was able to fight toe to toe with me while still being at Rank 2." Reading this part of the letter, Valyr let out a faint chuckle. "Now that we''re at the same ss rank, he''s already stronger than me by arge margin, mostly due to the fact that he''s alreadyprehended an Intent revolving around the spear."


    "But that doesn''t mean I won''t give up that easily."


    "Hmm¡­ It seems Edward is finally taking on a simr path to what he took back then." Thinking about the things that were currently happening outside, Valyr briefly thought back to the Edward he knew from the past, immediately feeling that the timing more or less matched up.


    "However, because of the help I gave him, he ended up learning the spear first rather than the sword," muttered Valyr not long after, letting out a bit ofughter at the thought.


    Continuing to read through the letter, Valyr eventually read that both Wells and Edward were drafted to participate in the war against the orcs.


    However, even though they boasted great amounts of strength for their rank, they were relegated to the rear-lines as defense for those that participated in the war as buffers and healers,cking the strength necessary to fight in the frontlines.


    10:50


    "Then again, Edward has begun making a name for himself in the battlefield, gradually earning the recognition of others through hisbat prowess." As he got to this part of the letter, a slight grin crept up on Valyr''s face.


    "Surprisingly, he also has a knack formanding armies through the battlefield. In fact, one of themanders had given him a squad of 30 to lead just recently. Is this the reason why you picked him up back then?"


    Reading the question that Wells wrote to him, Valyr let out a slight chuckle, missing the presence of both Edward and Wells in the room. "Well, if you were here, I would''ve told you that I didn''t know he had that ability."


    "Even though I actually did."


    Eventually, the young man reached the end of the letter, with Wells mentioning their current whereabouts in the battlefield as they waged war against the orcs.


    "By the time you get back here, make sure to message me as soon as you can," wrote Wells, prompting the young man to open up the system''s chat function.


    "After all, I gotta tell Edward the good news as well."


    Ding!


    Having finally finished reading through the entire letter, Valyr soon found Wells'' name on his friend list, immediately sending a message through the chat that he had finally returned from the inheritance.


    Seeing as his friend had read the message he sent back, the young man felt a bit of excitement as he decided to clean up the ce now that he was gonna stay here for longer.


    Around a few minutes into his cleaning session, Valyr received a response from Wells, telling him that he had ryed the message to Edward.


    Expecting a positive response from the man, the young man was instead greeted by a message that immediately soured his mood.


    "We''d really love toe back there right now and chat with you about the things we''ve done while we were away from one another, but unfortunately, we can''t really do that so easily," said Wells in his message.


    "Edward and I are currently tasked to fight against the orcs near an importantndmark of theirs. Themander said that Edward would be promoted if he proved through this task that hismanding skills weren''t just for show."


    "I guess the reunion isn''t gonna happen any time soon, then." Letting out a long exhale once he was done reading through the message, Valyr replied back to the message Wells sent, wishing both of them the best of luck and that they would stay safe.


    Closing the screen he''d brought up, the young man looked at the progress he''d made so far, only to let out a sigh once more sometimeter.


    Deciding to finish what he''d begun, he eventually returned the room to how it looked before within an hour or so, ordering a light meal from the inn after he was done cleaning.


    Then, taking a quick shower to remove the dirt and sweat off his body, Valyr leisurely ate the food he ordered before making his way to his part of the room.


    Lying down on his bed, the young man contemted over the things he''d done within the couple of weeks or so he was in the inheritance, causing him to let out a sigh as he shook his head and closed his eyes.


    "It''s not like they''d go away by the time I fall asleep. I should rest for now." With that in mind, Valyr pushed all of his lingering thoughts to the side for the meantime, eventually drifting off to dreand as he fell into a deep sleep.


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 904 A Moment of Respite

    904 A Moment of Respite


    "Mngh¡­"


    Feeling his consciousness finallying to, Valyr slowly roused it from slumber as he immediately sensed the great amount of fatigue his body had umted.


    Realizing that he pushed his body further than he originally thought, a wry smile briefly appeared on his face, prompting him to recall all of the things he''d done in the inheritance once more.


    ''Now that I think about it, I should''ve already fallen asleep the moment I got out of the inheritance with how little I''ve slept near the end,'' thought the young man to himself, slowly dragging his body out of bed in the process.


    By the time he stood up, most of the fatigue his body had umted from the inheritance disappeared without a trace, instead being reced with the sensation of immense relief.


    Giving his consciousness time to fully rouse itself from its slumber, the young man soon went through his daily routine, feeling all of his fatigue be washed away by the time he got out of the shower.


    "Man¡­ I really needed that." After changing into a new set of clothes, Valyr ordered a hearty breakfast from the inn.


    While waiting for it to arrive, he proceeded to do a few basic movements to keep his body limber.


    At the same time, he thought about what he would do now that he was out of the inheritance.


    "If there''s one thing that should take priority among those things, it''s the fact that I really need to get a ce of my own," muttered Valyr to himself, recalling the brief train of thought he had yesterday.


    Of course, just like the conclusion of his train of thought from yesterday, there wasn''t really much need for him to procure a ce that he could call his own. After all, the Imperial Production Guild weren''t really kicking him out of the inn.


    Plus, if he needed to forge a piece of equipment or a specific item, he could borrow or request one of the workshops from either the Imperial Production Guild or the cksmith Guild.


    Then again, that thought right there was the reason why he wanted to get a ce of his own.


    In short, he wanted to keep the things he was nning on doing out of other people''s eyes as much as possible.


    "I''m sure they''d leave me alone if I kindly asked them to. After all, Julian and those elders aren''t those kinds of people," thought Valyr out loud, only to hear a knocking from the door.


    Knowing what the knock meant, the young man swiftly grabbed the breakfast he ordered and ced it on the dining table.


    Beginning to munch down on the food as he started his day, the young man continued thinking. ''However, I''m also sure that if they found out the things that I was forging in their workshops, I''m certain they would''ve pestered me to no end, hoping that I would share it for the betterment of humanity.''


    With him having unlocked information up to the First Industrial Revolution in his Technology Tree''s Innovation branch, Valyr had a plethora of things he could craft that would undoubtedly turn the tides of war to their side.


    Naturally, as he had been given this opportunity from the heavens to right humanity''s previous wrongs, the young man didn''t really mind sharing things like that to the others. After all, they would eventually unlock on their own sooner orter.


    But if there was one thing that would annoy him if it were to happen, it would be the fact that Julian and the others would possibly request him for blueprints on the items he was working on¡­


    Even though they were just mere prototypes, poor applications of the knowledge he''d gained from the inheritance.


    "I should talk to Julian about itter," said Valyr as he made a mental note of it, continuing to savor each bite of the breakfast he ordered. "He did keep all of those tinum cards I earned from the auction, after all."


    By the time he was done, the young man sat down on a nearby chair before taking a look at his notifications, wondering if any of the people in his friend list had sent a message while he was asleep.


    "I suppose the news of me leaving the inheritance has reached others by now," murmured Valyr to himself, only for his eyes to widen not long after.


    "Huh¡­" Scrolling through his notification screen, Valyr swiftly realized that he had gotten a lot of messages while he was asleep, with most of theming from Julian and Wells.


    Feeling a bit confused as to why, the young man soon noticed that Noel had also sent messages of his own, prompting him to bring up the chat screen to see what was going on.


    And surprisingly, the reason for them sending him multiple messages was not what he was expecting.


    "I''ve been asleep for three days?" Scratching the back of his head as he briefly skimmed through the messages he received, Valyr''s expression gradually turned into a frown as he brought up his status screen.


    "As far as I remember, the timer was around 91 days or so when I looked at it the moment I got out of the inheritance." 10:51


    Shifting his gaze towards the timer at the bottom of the screen, the young man''s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at it inplete silence.


    Ding!


    [Remaining Time: 88 days, 15 hours, 32 minutes, and 17 seconds.]


    "I really did fall asleep for three days¡­" Continuing to stare at the timer for a bit more, the young man took in a few deep breaths topose himself before closing the screen.


    Then, returning his attention to the chat screen he brought up, he began to read through the messages the people sent to him in detail, starting off with Wells'' messages.


    Unsurprisingly, Wells started off his messages with him talking about how he ryed the information to Edward and how thetter was ecstatic to hear about his return.


    After that, he talked about how they were still in the middle ofpleting the task Edward was given, though he mentioned that they were nearingpletion in a couple of days.


    Near the end of his messages, Wells'' tone took on a concerning tone, asking Valyr as to where he was after the man received a letter from Julian in the midst of his sleep.


    "Reply to me as soon as you can," said Wells in his final message, eliciting a wry smile to adorn the young man''s face before moving onto Julian''s messages.


    Of course, as the guild master of the cksmith Guild, many of Julian''s messages at first were about the talks regarding the blueprints, as well as the request Valyr asked of the man to look for Wells and Edward''s whereabouts.


    However, as more days passed, Julian''s tone turned into that of concern as well, asking him that he was safe wherever he was.


    At the end of it, Julian said that he had ryed the fact that he had gone somewhere to other people that knew him, not knowing of his current whereabouts.


    "If he thought about it for a bit more, he could''ve solved all his problems if he sent someone to check on this ce while I was asleep," said Valyr to himself, finding the whole thing amusing. "Then again, I don''t me him with how many things he has to juggle nowadays."


    Sending back responses to both Wells and Julian that he had just fallen into an incredibly deep sleep and that it was because he hadn''t really gotten much sleep in the inheritance, Valyr soon took a look at Noel''s messages.


    Surprisingly, Noel''s messages started off with the concerned tone that the other two had at the end, talking about how Julian told him that he had gone missing and that he was wishing for him to be safe.


    Then again, it did not take long for Noel to change his tone, telling Valyr through his messages that Julian was just worrying for nothing. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "If he took the time to have someone look for you within the kingdom, he would''ve immediately gotten his answer," wrote Noel in his message. "In any case, I can''t be bothered to share this information with him. He has the means to figure this out for himself anyway."


    Letting out a bit ofughter as he read this message, Valyr then read through Noel''s remaining messages, telling him that he''d been briefly told by Julian about the Azure Energy the young man obtained in the inheritance.


    Curious as to what kind of effects that had, Noel wished for the young man toe to the Spearman Guild as soon as possible, hoping to talk more about it while also catching up on some other things along the way.


    "Whew¡­" Taking in a deep breath to process all of the messages he went through, Valyr soon stood up and took a look outside, admiring the scenery the kingdom offered him.


    "I guess I''m making a trip to the cksmith Guildter." Then, feeling as if his mind had returned to his previous state, he then went over the messages in his mind again, recalling all of the important parts amidst the messages they sent.


    nning out how he''d go through all of them, the young man reminded him to take it easy, seeing as neither Julian nor Noel were really rushing him.


    Keeping that in mind, Valyr decided to take a look at the other things he gained from the inheritance.


    "I haven''t taken a look at any of them anyway," thought Valyr out loud as he faintly shrugged his shoulders, briefly wondering whether or not Vaughn and Ryvrthe''s conversation was done by this point.


    Deciding to make use of the talisman he''d been giventer, Valyr soon brought up information on his rewards from the inheritance in detail.


    Starting off with the new species he''d transformed into.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 905 Viewing the Rewards (1)

    905 Viewing the Rewards (1)


    "System, identify my current species."


    Sitting back down once more with his mind made up, Valyr sent thismand to the system with a hint of expectation.


    After all, from the very moment he''d obtained those rewards from the inheritance, he was already benefiting from their effects.


    All in all, he had gained a great amount of strength from all of them, with him more or less certain that the species Vaughn had helped him unlock was one of the main contributors as to why his strength had grown this much.


    Ding!


    Looking at the screen before him, Valyr soon sported a smile as his suspicions were confirmed to be correct.


    Though, as he continued reading through it, the more this smile was reced by a look of slight shock.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Old Veldanyr Human | Pseudo-High Human (3rd Unsealing)] (Species)


    A variant of human unique to the of Veldanyr, this human variant came about thanks to the high level of technological knowledge the natives boasted, making great use of it to enhance their physical and mental properties even before the system had been introduced to them.


    Though these humans have modified their bodies to take on a plethora of properties through this technology, these humans usually boast a lifespan that''s far longer than what is normally achievable, mostly due to the non-existence of the system.


    Aside from that, these humans also boast a level of strength and intellect far higher than the usual humans, as well as a base lifespan that goes slightly beyond the limit of what normal humans reach.


    Because of this, the system categorizes this human variant as simr to the High Humans, humans who were sessful in partly extricating themselves from the racial shackles inherent in their bodies either through the system or other means.


    However, as none of these humans have actually extricated themselves from their inherent racial shackles, these human variants are only considered Pseudo-High Humans due to how eerily simr they are to them.


    Nevertheless, with a bit of effort, it is possible for these humans to be true High Humans. It is also theorized that these humans would be possible to reach an even higher stage of humanity if one were to put in the effort.


    <Racial Skill: Culmination of Aspirations - The human race is considered the strongest race in the universe when ites to adaptation, able to survive in any situation and environment through sheer tenacity.


    As a variant of humanity that has developed through the path of technology, that fact still remains strong, though it takes on a more specialized approach due to their environment and their limitations.


    This skill allows the user to allocate 200 points to any of the eight main stats through their own discretion. An allocation shall remain permanent for a week before regaining the ability to reconfigure it once more. Cooldown: 7 days.>


    <Racial Passive 1: Culmination of Innovation - Boosts all of the user''s stats, as well as the user''s HP and MP by 5%.>


    <Racial Passive 2: Basic Longevity - Extends the user''s lifespan to twice what it originally was.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh." Scratching the back of his head for a bit as he gave himself time to process everything he just read, Valyr leaned back into the chair as he moved the screen to the side.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, the young man soon began to adorn a smile as he thought about the abilities his new species came attached with.


    "In many ways, the racial skill is inferior to the one the High Human race would give me," said Valyr to himself, letting out a chuckle soon after. "But unlike that skill, I could already use this one and still have the potential to aim for a higher-tier species."


    "Even more so with the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races Vaughn gave me," he continued, thinking that he should make use of the knowledge sooner orter.


    Other than the racial skill he inadvertently gained, the passive that boosted his stats was quite simr to the High Human race, boosting all of his important stats by a considerable degree.


    "I guess that''s why the system considered it to be Pseudo-High Human," thought Valyr out loud, only to then recall the second passive.


    Unlike the first passive, the second passive was not something the High Human race had. In fact, if one wanted to gain the [Longevity] skill or a skill that had a simr function, they would have to go through multiple hoops if they wanted to remain a High Human¡­


    Or transform into a species that had [Longevity] during the ss ascension process.


    Of course, there were species that contained the best of both worlds that could be chosen through the system.


    However, the chances of one gaining that option during their ss ascension was incredibly small, especially if one was just randomly searching for a straw to grasp onto.


    In any case, though it was not as potent as the usual [Longevity] skill that extends one''s lifespan by at least five times, [Basic Longevity] would still give Valyr more than enough time for him to n things outter down the road.


    Not only that, but [Basic Longevity] was considered the inferior version of [Longevity], which meant that there was a possibility for Valyr to improve it to thetter skill at some point.


    "Now that I''m Rank 3, I could potentially live for a maximum of 300 years," muttered the young man to himself, recalling the information he got from the Myriad Archives.


    "Havingprehended an Intent, that extends by 25%, so I could live for 375 years."


    "And now with [Basic Longevity], that doubles to 750, which means I could now live for as long as a Legend could."


    Grinning at the thought, the young man then extrapted how long he could live if he had reached the qualifications of a Legend, ascending to Rank 5 andprehending a Force and all that.


    In conclusion, he would be able to more or less live for as long as a newly-ascended Myth would, which was undoubtedly an absurd amount of time for him, especially considering he''d just lived for under 30 years in total.


    "Let''s move on." More than satisfied with the effects his species gave him, Valyr thought about making use of the racial skill some other time as he closed the screen.


    After that, hemanded the system to bring up the description of a skill, a skill that had already gone through multiple changes in his journey so far.


    "System, identify [Sole Inheritor of the Darkstar Lineage]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Sole Inheritor of the Darkstar Lineage] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Ancient


    The founder of the Zeihardt n is said to be a being of his own caliber, having the ability to wield great amounts of strength through his hands, as well as exhibit a nigh-unreachable level of stamina and vitalitypared to his peers.


    Unlike many of the other descendants of the founder, more of the founder''s blood flows through your veins, a proof of your existence as the Herald of the Zeihardt n.


    However, through your investigations, you have found out that you hadn''t just obtained more of the founder''s blood, but instead have the entirety of his blood flowing through your veins, transforming into a Harbinger of the Zeihardt n.


    Yet, the journey doesn''t end there.


    Bying face to face with the founder of the Zeihardt n itself, you have found out from him directly that you are a walking miracle, an entity that shouldn''t have existed, an anomaly amidst the infinite possibilities.


    Through him, you realized that you are the sole inheritor of the Darkstar lineage, the sole living proof of the existence of the old humans of Veldanyr in the current age.


    The sole entity that could carry on his torch, his aspirations for the future of humanity.


    If the user''s ss rank is at Rank 5 or below, this skill increases all of the user''s stats by 30%, as well as the user''s maximum HP and MP by 40%.


    If the user''s ss rank is at Rank 6 or above, this skill increases all of the user''s stats by 20%, as well as the user''s maximum HP and MP by 30%.


    [Note: You have finally discovered the origin of your identity. The shackles binding you have finally been unchained, allowing you to exert the true potential of your existence. The sky is now the limit. The world is now the start.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Unlike when he read through the description of his new species, Valyr was left at aplete loss for words after reading through the description of the skill.


    For one, he did not expect that the skill he had gained through the mere mention of his background would eventually turn out into a skill that would have a rarity of Ancient grade.


    Not only that, but as it was an Ancient skill, it boosted his stats to an absurd degree that none of his other skills could match.


    "Even if I ascend to a Myth, it would still be the strongest stat-boosting passive in my skill list," muttered Valyr to himself, taking in a few deep breaths topose himself.


    Staring at the description of the skill for a bit more, Valyr''s gaze eventually glossed over the note attached at the end of it.


    "The sky is now the limit. The world is now the start¡­" Reading through thest few statements attached on the note, the young man''s expression soon shifted to a smile as he closed the screen.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr then let out a soft exhale. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Considering how strong I''ve gotten after leaving the inheritance, I guess those statements may be true."


    "Well, if I looked at it from the perspective of my end goal, I still have a long way to go."


    "¡­But then again, that doesn''t mean I haven''te a long way to get to where I am right now."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "System, identify [Inheritor of the Azure Path]."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 906 Viewing the Rewards (2)

    906 Viewing the Rewards (2)


    Ding!


    "Now that I think about it, how many titles did I get from going through the inheritance?" Taking a brief nce at the screen that appeared in front of him, Valyr had a pensive expression on his face as he recounted his journey.


    "I got two from Sellifer through the Concept Impartation, then I got another two from Vaughn telling me about my body''s true identity¡­ so that''s four." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Huh. That''s quite a decent amount, now that I think about it." Deciding to bring up the other titles he''d gotten from the inheritance on the side, the young man soon shifted his entire focus on the screen in front of him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Inheritor of the Azure Path] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic


    The Azure Path, also known by many as the path of Azure Energy, is a path to power established by the Azure River Goddess, Sellifer Dusk Veiperis. Combining the properties of both mana and Shadow Energy, Azure Energy is considered a high-tier energy that boasts both great flexibility and power.


    Having been taught directly by the Azure River Goddess, you have gained the ability to tap into the power of Azure Energy, inheriting the path of Azure Energy for yourself. Whether or not you see the path to the end is something only fate shall tell.


    Effects:


    > 8% boost to DEX and INT


    > 5% boost to maximum MP


    > +10% efficacy in controlling Azure Energy


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "A boost to my DEX and INT, my maximum MP, as well as an improvement in controlling Azure Energy." Going over the effects of the first title, Valyr nodded in understanding.


    "The boost to INT and MP is definitely in corrtion to mana, while DEX would probably be due to Shadow Energy," said the young man to himself, only to shrug his shoulders soon after. "Or it could be due to Sellifer being a serpent, I don''t know."


    "In any case, it''s a pretty nice boost revolving around Azure Energy." Closing the screen in front of him, Valyr then moved one of the screens he brought up to his vision.


    "[Disciple of the Azure River Goddess]."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Disciple of the Azure River Goddess] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic


    The Azure Path, also known by many as the path of Azure Energy, is a path to power established by the Azure River Goddess, Sellifer Dusk Veiperis. Combining the properties of both mana and Shadow Energy, Azure Energy is considered a high-tier energy that boasts both great flexibility and power.


    Having been taught directly by the Azure River Goddess, you have been ssified by the system as a disciple of the Azure River Goddess herself. This title is proof that you have obtained tutge under the Azure River Goddess and are under her wing.


    Effects:


    > 3% boost to both physical and mental stats


    > +15% efficacy in controlling Azure Energy


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh. I guess that''s why I felt like controlling my Azure Energy was far smoother than before." Reading through the description of the second title he got from Sellifer, Valyr thought about the simr effects of the two titles before nodding in understanding.


    "Aside from that, it''s a great all-around title, especially if I consider that it''s only Epic grade."


    "A shame it doesn''t boost LUK, though." Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, he then moved onto the two titles he gained from Vaughn, both of which revolved around his existence as a present human with the blood of the old humans flowing through him.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ should I call myself Valyr Darkstar from now on?" Chuckling at the small joke he made, the young man briefly thought about Vaughn and the Four Pirs'' Inheritance before bringing the description of both titles in front of him.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Inheritor of a Long-forgotten Past (Veldanyr)] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    Through a long series of coincidences and fates, you have be one of the sole few to view the long-forgotten history that shaped Veldanyr into what it is today, obtaining it directly from the source of the history itself.


    Because of that, you now understand why the is why it is from a far greater perspective, broadening your horizons to far wider lengths. This title is proof that you have inherited this long-forgotten knowledge of Veldanyr''s history.


    > 10% boost to INT and WIS


    [Note: Though some would rejoice from obtaining this knowledge of a long-forgotten past, some may hunt you down to the ends of time for the same reason. Be vignt and cautious as to who you share it to.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Anachronistic Remnant of a Long-forgotten Past (Veldanyr)] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    Through a long series of coincidences and fates, you have inherited the blood of the old humans that used to dominate the world of Veldanyr in the past, even though you are part of the current generation of humans living on Veldanyr.


    Because of this, you are considered an anachronistic remnant of a past that has been long-forgotten by many, an anomaly that shouldn''t have existed ording the one that theorized your existence. Nevertheless, you still live, with this title serving as proof of your convoluted existence.


    Effects:


    > 3% boost to all stats


    > 5% boost to your maximum HP and MP


    [Note: Though some would be epting or indifferent to your convoluted existence, some may hunt you down to the ends of time for the same reason. Be vignt and cautious as to who you share it to.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Huh." Even though most of the description regarding the two titles were something the young man was expecting, the fact that the two titles came along with notes that warned him gave Valyr an ominous feeling.


    ''Are these notes perhaps warning me about the two Arbiters?'' Pondering over usible reasons as to why the notes were there, the young man soon felt that the ones that tormented Vaughn were the most likely possibility.


    Of course, the young man also thought about a few other people who might react differently to the reaction, such as Mystia, the elders making up the Imperial Production Guild''s Ancestral Council, or the n where his body came from.


    "On second thought, Mystia would probably be d to find this out," thought Valyr to himself out loud after that. "I don''t know about the others, though."


    Aside from the ominous warnings attached to the end of their descriptions, the titles he obtained from Vaughn were more or less around the same level as the titles he got from Sellifer, with the only difference being the rarity of the titles themselves.


    "I''ll have to remind myself of those warnings from time to time." Making a mental note to himself, Valyr soon closed the remaining screens before him as he thought about what to do next.


    "I could either head to Julian right now, or I could head to Noel," muttered Valyr to himself, rubbing his chin in contemtion. "I could also take a look at my skills to get a better sense of what they''re capable of¡­"


    "They don''t really take that much time to look through, after all." Just as he had made up his mind on what he was going to do next, Valyr was interrupted as he felt vibrationsing from his spatial bracelet.


    Taking a look to see what was causing the vibration, the young man quickly found out that it came from the talisman Vaughn had given him, informing him that the man had something to tell him.


    "I guess the two of them are finally done talking," said Valyr with a smile as he looked at the talisman.


    With that, he soon infused a bit of his mana into the talisman, allowing Valyr to hear Vaughn''s voice in his mind once more.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 907 Planning Whats Next

    Chapter 907 nning What''s Next


    ''Thank the heavens you finally picked up.'' At the moment Vaughn''s voice began to resound in his mind, Valyr immediately heard the man nag at him.


    Letting out a faint sigh, the young man shook his head as a slight smile hung on his face. "You''ve already spent over 200,000 years getting to this point, can''t you just wait a little bit longer? Had to get you out of the spatial bracelet and all."


    "Speaking of which, can you hear me right now?" he asked soon after, only to try conversing through his thoughts after that. ''How about this? Could you hear me through this?''


    ''Whether you talk out loud or not, I could still hear you loud and clear,'' replied Vaughn, letting out a bit ofughter in response.


    Keeping the man''s words in mind, Valyr went ahead and directly asked the man the question that was on his mind. ''So, what made you contact me? Does this have something to do with your conversation with Ryvrthe? Or does it have something to do with my request about the curse?''


    ''A mix of both, actually.'' Hearing this response from Vaughn, Valyr imagined that the man was scratching his cheek as he said that. ''I have a lot to say regarding Ryvrthe, so let''s talk about your curse from the Alltide first.''


    Subconsciously nodding in response at the man''s words, Valyr waited in silence for the man to give him what he wanted to know.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for Vaughn to start talking again. ''Well, to start things off, I''ve already spent a lot of time on formting something that would allow you to toggle the curse on or off whenever you wish.


    ''After all, only my memory extension is affected by the sped-up passage of time in that ce,'' he continued. ''Instead, my main body, the one you''re talking to, has taken up the task ofing up with the solution, even going so far as to enter a temporal realm just so you could get it earlier.''


    Hearing those words, Valyr felt a hint of confusion. ''But didn''t I say back then that it would be fine if I had to wait for it? You did say that you would be able toe up with a solution around the time the war reaches its climax.''


    ''I did,'' said Vaughn in response, causing the young man to imagine the former nodding. ''But my gut feeling says that if I were to continue with that n,ing up with the toggle for the curse might be toote by then.''


    ''Well¡­ let''s just say that, at times, the gut feeling of a Divine-level being is more or less a universal truth. After all, at that point, you''re more or less intricately connected to the universe.''


    ''¡­'' Though Valyr did not know whether Vaughn''s words were true or not, there really wasn''t any downside to thettering up the solution to his curse earlier.


    Then again, when he thought about the gut feeling the man had, as well as the ominous warnings he read from the titles earlier, the young man could not help but slightly shudder.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr eventually continued where their conversation left off. ''So¡­ how long would it take youe up with the curse now?''


    ''Around two to three weeks in your time, I presume,'' said Vaughn through the talisman. ''The temporal realm I''m in right now ispressing the flow of time to where one day in the outside world is equivalent to a couple of years here, so I should have plenty of time toe up with the solution and refine it even further.''


    ''Either way, I''m forking out a hefty sum to stay in this ce¡­ but I''m sure this will pay itself backter down the line.''


    ''I''ll have to thank you for spending more resources for me in advance, then,'' said Valyr after going silent for a bit, feeling a bit conflicted at the fact that a Divine-level being was going this far for his sake.


    But once again, as he was the one benefiting from it, he wasn''t really in a position toin.


    ''How about the one involving Ryvrthe?'' Feeling as if Vaughn had said everything he could on the curse, Valyr decided to shift the topic of their conversation to the other thing the man brought up earlier.


    ''That one¡­'' Hearing the young man take the initiative in bringing it up, Vaughn let out a slight chuckle. ''¡­is probably going to turn out to be burdensome for you.''


    ''How so?'' asked Valyr back, raising his eyebrow in curiosity.


    ''Remember how you got Ryvrthe and I to talk before you left for Veldanyr?'' asked Vaughn in response, to which Valyr responded with an audible grunt.


    ''Well, Ryvrthe¡­ mind if I call him Vrauford instead?''


    ''Whatever you''re morefortable with.''


    ''Alright¡­ So, Vrauford and I have been talking a lot about our civilization from the past, reminiscing over our times from back then,'' said the man as he began to exin. ''We talked about how we adapted our lives during and after the Great Cataclysm, considering the two of us took two different approaches.''


    ''Surprisingly, Vrauford told me that he and the others that were in the undergroundplex back then were spared by Bagh''rava and Qro''dovitch while they were wreaking havoc on the.''


    ''ording to him, he was at the very front of the ones in the undergroundplex back then, staring at the two Arbiters in the eye,'' said Vaughn. ''Then, out of nowhere, the two turned around with a chuckle before leaving them be, talking about how interesting it would be to keep Vrauford and the others confined in the undergroundplex.''


    ''In other words, they treated Ryvrthe and the others as an experiment of sorts?'' asked Valyr after listening to the man''s exnation, frowning as the words came out of his mouth.


    ''Pretty much, yeah,'' replied Vaughn, though the young man was certain that he was sporting a bitter smile while responding.


    ''I''m sure you''ve heard it directly from Ryvrthe how they survived all these years.'' Shifting the conversation back to their original topic, Vaughn continued where he left off as Valyr continued to attentively listen.


    ''Eventually, we talked about our ns for the future.''


    ''Specifically, Vrauford''s future, as well as all of the other Forsaken Ones,'' said Vaughn, his tone now serious.


    ''I asked him what he nned on doing next, telling him by the side that you were now the owner of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.''


    Curious, Valyr asked. ''What did he say?''


    ''He said that it depends on what you want to do,'' replied Vaughn, causing Valyr to slightly frown. ''He said that since you''re now the owner of the inheritance and that they''ve been living in the inheritance their whole lives, that meant you owned them in a way.'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''The thought never even crossed my mind,'' said Valyr in response, to which the man let out a bit ofughter.


    ''That''s what I told him as well,'' replied Vaughn, continuing tough for a bit more after that. ''I told Vrauford that you probably wouldn''t mind if they asked to be let out of the inheritance and return to Veldanyr again.''


    ''I wouldn''t.'' Valyr agreed with that statement. ''Though, it''ll be difficult for them to adjustwith their appearance andnguage and all that.''


    ''That''s also true,'' said Vaughn in response. ''In any case, do you know what response Vrauford told me?''


    ''What?''


    ''He just repeated what he said before. That it was up to you on what you want to do.'' Hearing these words from Vaughn, Valyr imagined the man shaking his head as he sighed. ''I''m sure he wants to return to his mothend, but is too afraid to change what he''s already gotten used to by now. He''s spent thousands of years reincarnating in that ce, after all.''


    ''So, I guess I''ll have to ask you the question I asked him instead.''


    ''What do you n on doing with Vrauford and the others?'' asked Vaughn. ''Are you gonna have them to stay in the inheritance or give them the opportunity to return to Veldanyr?''


    Valyr could onlyugh at the question. ''I kind of now see why you decided to choose me to take over your position in the inheritance.''


    ''I''m sure you know my answer by now. I don''t even have to say it.''


    ''As expected.'' Vaughn chuckled in response. ''Believe me when I say that you won''t regret doing this.''


    ''After all, even though the other Forsaken Ones are a bit rough around the edges, Vrauford still has memories of his time from before the Great Cataclysm.''


    ''And I''m sure you know what that means, especially as a cksmith.''


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 908 The Swing of Things

    Chapter 908 The Swing of Things


    Pondering over Vaughn''s words for a bit, it did not take long for everything to click in Valyr''s mind as his eyes widened in slight disbelief. ''Wait¡­ you''re telling me he could still remember the technology the old humans used before the Great Cataclysm?''


    Even though knowledge on technology existing in the First Industrial Revolution would already allow Valyr to dominate Veldanyr in many more ways than one, having ess to technology far more advanced was undoubtedly a good thing.


    After all, with all things considered, though the First Industrial Revolution was advancedpared to Veldanyr''s current level of technology, it was still a far cry from the level of technology Veldanyr had reached in the past.


    ''That''s the special gic modification he got,'' replied Vaughn, d that Valyr quickly caught on. ''Aside from the usual increase in lifespan and the increase in physical and mental strength, that''s the only modification he wanted.''


    Though Valyr did not think of it much at the time, now that he knew more about the old humans through Vaughn, he now became curious as to what kind of person Ryvrthe was in the past.


    ''Who really was Ryvrthe back then? Before he went through all of those reincarnations?'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Vrauford Alicas. One of the greatest minds of Veldanyr before the Great Cataclysm,'' said Vaughn, his tone slightly solemn. ''Simr to how I sought the betterment of humanity, he wanted the umtion of all of humanity''s knowledge, the foundation of humanity, to keep on living.''


    Hearing that, it did not take long for Valyr to put two and two together. ''And that''s why he chose that kind of modification.''


    ''Correct,'' said Vaughn, making Valyr feel like the man was nodding at his words. ''It''s a modification equivalent to multiple minor modifications to one''s ability. With howplex it was, it''s a surprise that it didn''t perform poorly after he reached the end of his first life.''


    ''In any case, aside from being one of Veldanyr''s greatest minds, he''s also Veldanyr''s leading researcher in the past.'' As Vaughn said these words, Valyr felt like the man was telling him through his tone that he''d enjoy Ryvrthe''spany.


    ''Though I''m sure some of it has gotten lost due to how many years have passed since his first reincarnation, I''m more than certain Vrauford would offer you all the information and knowledge you would need for the foreseeable future.''


    ''Got it.'' With Vaughn telling him once more that he was making the right choice, Valyr made a mental note to visit Ryvrthe in the inheritance sometimeter.


    ''If Ryvrthe is as great as Vaughn is making him out to be, it wouldn''t be too big of a problem if I have to spend a bit of my own mana to change the ratio for a bit,'' thought the young man to himself as he faintly nodded.


    Talking for a bit more about Ryvrthe and the progress on the curse, the two eventually ended their conversation, prompting Valyr to store the talisman back into his spatial bracelet.


    Then, staring off into one of the walls, the young man closed his eyes for a bit before letting out a long exhale.


    "Guess I should get moving, then."


    Standing up from his seat, Valyr did not take long toe up with an order on how he would go through things, deciding to visit the cksmith Guild first.


    Sending a message to Julian through the chat function, Valyr soon made his way out of the inn before heading to the cksmith Guild with the help of one of his movement skills.


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Hearing the sound of hammering metal echo out from the workshop before him, Valyr briefly adorned a wry smile as he thought about how he''d just slept for the past three days.


    Fortunately, after recalling Julian''s words from a few days ago, those thoughts swiftly disappeared from his mind, prompting him to enter the man''s workshop and make his presence known.


    Whoosh!


    "You''re finally back!" At the very moment the young man red out a bit of his aura, Julian briefly stopped what he was doing and turned around, only to ce his hammer to the side before looking at Valyr with both glee and concern. "Where have you been?"


    "The inn," replied the young man with a wry smile, which made Julian briefly look back at him with a hint of confusion.


    Then, after a bit of silence, the man let out an awkward chuckle. "Now I feel stupid. When I didn''t hear anything else from you these past few days, I thought you went somewhere. I should have asked one of my staff to check up on you."


    Though he was amused by the situation, Valyr didn''t want to rub any more salt on what was basically an open wound. "And I should have given you a heads-up. In any case, I wasn''t expecting myself to fall asleep for three entire days."


    "Three days?" Julian pondered over it for a bit before nodding. "Makes sense. After all, with what you''ve told me, you''ve spent most of your time in the inheritance awake."


    "Speaking of the inheritance, did you share the information with the other people in the guild yet?" asked Valyr, recalling that Julian had mentioned it to him at some point.


    At those words, Julian merely smiled. "I''ve only given them a little taste of it, yet they''re already wanting even more. I n on giving them more of it over the next couple of weeks, but I would appreciate it if you help out in that regard."


    "I don''t mind." Valyr nodded. "It''s not like I''m that busy anyway."


    Nodding back in response, Julian changed the topic of their conversation to something else as he returned to what he was doing. "About your request on yourpanions'' whereabouts, I''ve obtained a response from the military yesterday."


    "ording to them, they''re currently on a special mission given to them by one of the higher-rankingmanders," continued the man. "If they end up sessful, one of yourpanions would be promoted in rank, allowing them to do much more."


    "I''ve heard that." Valyr nodded, telling Julian that he''d gotten that information from Wells already. "But where are they exactly at the moment?"


    "Hard to say," Julian nced at Valyr for a bit as he shed a wry smile. "They''re deep into orc territory right now. However, I might be able to give you an answer if you give me more time."


    "There''s no need." Recalling how rxed Wells'' messages were when he talked about it, Valyr decided not to pursue the matter any further, shaking his head in response.


    ''I should reply to Wells after this, though.''


    "Well, that''s more or less everything I have that needed your presence," said Julian after that, cing the metal he''d just been hammering into the furnace. "So, what do you n on doing next?"


    "Hmm¡­" Looking at Julian''s workshop for a bit, Valyr rubbed his chin as he briefly thought about how he could now go to the Spearman Guild if he wanted to.


    ''Now that I think about it, I could also head to Clossbay to retrieve the next part of Jekyll''s legacy,'' thought Valyr as the memory popped up in his mind.


    Eventually, after looking around for a bit more, a certain thought surfaced in his mind before taking root, festering into something that he should do sooner orter.


    "Are there any private workshops in the guild I could upy for the meantime?" Faintly smiling at the thought he came up with, Valyr looked at Julian before asking.


    "I''m pretty sure I could get that arranged for you." Pondering over it for a bit, Julian nodded before looking at Valyr with a faint smile. "Are you going to forge something?"


    "Just to get back to the swing of things," said Valyr with a smile of his own. "If you want, I could help contribute to the guild''s quota on the weapons for war as well."


    "But of course. Any help we can get at this time is highly appreciated. " Julian gazed at Valyr with a look of gratitude before taking out the metal he was working with out of the furnace. "I''ll have one of the staff members take care of the workshop situation so you could get back to forging as soon as possible."


    "Alright then."

 Chapter 909 Ephemeral Tools

    Chapter 909 Ephemeral Tools


    Unexpectedly, it only took half an hour on the cksmith Guild''s end for everything to be sorted out.


    Obtaining a message from one of the staff members that a workshop had been opened for Valyr, Julian briefly stopped what he was doing before looking at the young man that had been loitering in his ce all this time.


    "Just received a message that one of the workshops is avable for you to use," said the man as he decided to chuck in a few materials into his furnace. "It''s a workshop around the start of the east wing. One of the staff members would be there waiting for you."


    "Got it." Nodding in response, Valyr stood up from where he was watching as he prepared himself to head to that ce.


    "Oh, wait. Before you go." Though, just as he was about to leave the man to his own devices, Julian hurriedly stopped him.


    Raising his eyebrow in curiosity as he looked at him, Valyr watched as the man brought up a screen before tapping a few buttons on it for a bit.


    Ding!


    Hearing the ever-familiar chime resound in his mind, Valyr had an idea of what Julian was doing, bringing up both his notification screen and its corresponding description before him.


    [You have received a new quest: Forging Weapons for War.]


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Forging Weapons for War] (Time-limited Quest) (Repeatable Quest)


    Difficulty: A


    With humanity at war against the orcs, the need for finely forged weapons is greater than ever.


    As a member of the cksmith Guild, you have been given to fulfill the demand for these weapons, though you only have a limited amount of time to do so.


    Fulfill this demand, and you''ll be rewarded greatly.


    Fail, and you''ll be punished ordingly.


    Quest Objective:


    > Forge 5 swords [Minimum requirement: Umon grade, Level 25] (0/5)


    > Forge 5 spears [Minimum requirement: Umon grade, Level 25] (0/5)


    > ¡­


    > Forge 1 sword [Minimum requirement: Rare grade, Level 55] (0/1)


    > Forge 1 spear [Minimum requirement: Rare+ grade, Level 55] (0/1)


    > ¡­


    Quest Reward:


    > 10,000 Technology Points


    > 10,000 Merit Points (cksmith Guild)


    > Affinity +100 with Julian


    > Reputation +50 within the cksmith Guild


    > Reputation +10 within the Algerie Kingdom


    Quest Penalty:


    > Affinity -10 with Julian


    > Reputation -10 within the cksmith Guild


    Remaining Time: 10 days


    [Note: Completing the quest in less time has a high chance to increase the rewards obtained.] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the quest he''d gotten, Valyr furrowed his brows for a bit before looking back at Julian. "If my math isn''t wrong, you want me to forge 60 weapons in 10 days?"


    "6 weapons a day for 10 days straight," said Julian as he nodded in response. "A bit difficult, but it''s possible, no?"


    "Of course, if you think it''s too difficult for you, I could modify the quest to something a bit more lenient."


    At those words, Valyr faintly shook his head. "This is fine. It''s just been a while since I forged a lot of equipment in a row, is all."


    ''Especially with how all of my forging skills have been transformed and reverted to their base levels thanks to obtaining The First cksmith ss,'' thought the young man to himself as he inwardly adorned a wry smile.


    Nevertheless, as long as he was able to get a feel for how his new skills worked, he was certain that it wouldn''t be long till he got back to the groove of things, recalling the feat he''d achieved in the inheritance while fighting against Arcaelus.


    ''Checking out my new forging skills is the reason why I brought up the idea of helping out on the quota, after all.''


    Listening to Valyr''s words, Julian merely nodded in response before returning back to his forge. "Feel free to request any material you want. The cksmith Guild will shoulder the expenses for any materials used to make weapons for the quota."


    "Of course, you''ll still have to fork out your own money if you want to start doing some of your own tinkering," said the man soon after with a chuckle as he picked up his forging hammer. "No funny business, you hear me?"


    "Do I look like that kind of person to you?" Valyrughed in response.


    Talking about how they''d keep each other up to date on some things through the chat function, Valyr soon left Julian on his own in his workshop, making his workshop that had been freed up for him.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to find the specific workshop Julian had told him, with one of the staff members madly waving their hands back and forth to catch his attention.


    Faintly smiling at the staff member''s actions, Valyr made his way to them before nodding in greeting.


    "Ylvar, right?" asked the staff member, looking at the young man with a faint twinkle in her eyes.


    Nodding back in response, the staff member soon led him into the workshop, briefly talking about the various machineries and tools that could be found within.


    After going over the general rules and the additional information Julian wanted Valyr to know once he was at the workshop, the staff member eventually left Valyr to his own devices, prompting him to order a set of materials for the weapons the very instant he could.


    "That should be enough." Double checking the list of materials he''d requested from the guild, Valyr soon went to the main part of the workshop, firing up the furnace as he familiarized himself with the tools that he''d be using for the next few days.


    "I suppose I should take a look at my forging skills while I''m waiting for the materials to arrive." Bringing out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, Valyr brought up his skill list,manding the system to only list down the skills he had rted to forging.


    "Huh." Unsurprisingly, all of his forging-rted skills had taken on the name of his current ss, simr to how all of his forging skills back then had the words ''True Prodigious'' in it.


    Though, due to him changing ss, all of his forging skills were reverted back to Common grade, starting off at Level 1 once more.


    "But for some reason, the effects of the skills are simr to what they were before the ss change," muttered Valyr to himself as he went through them, briefly wondering if it had something to do with the fact that his main ss was now Ancient grade.


    Looking through his skills a bit more, Valyr noticed that one of his forging skills had been removed.


    Specifically, the skill that was removed was [True Prodigious Equipment Resonance], which had no counterpart for The First cksmith ss.


    "Well, it''s not like I was making full use of the passive anyway," thought Valyr to himself out loud at that realization.


    Fortunately, while the skill was removed, it was reced with a skill that seemed to have an interesting effect.


    "System, identify [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith]"


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith] (Lv. 1/10)


    Rarity: Common+


    Having created the path of cksmithing for many others to follow, it could be said that the First cksmith has gone through great experimentation to consolidate the path that others tread.


    Through these experimentations, it has figured out a myriad of ways to go through the forging process, all of them arriving at the same conclusion.


    However, if there''s one thing that remains consistent, it would be the tools the First cksmith uses, the lifeblood that allows a cksmith to do what they do best.


    Because of that, the First cksmith has devised a skill to make sure the same tools could be used throughout the forging process, giving one the ability to forge even in situations where one could not bring their tools along with them.


    This skill allows the user to conjure forging tools out of pure energy. Depending on the energy the user uses, the forging tools conjured would have varying properties that might bring out unique effects during the process.


    This skill also allows the user to conjure forging tools based on tools that have been forged by the user in the past. As these items are made out of pure energy, their properties are considerably inferior than the original version.


    The user can choose to infuse more energy into these conjured tools, allowing their original properties to be enhanced even further.


    The tools conjured through the skill can only be used by the user or any of the user''s summons, tamed beings, or simr items.


    Cost to conjure: 1,000 MP (tool has 25% of the properties of an average Umon+ grade tool)


    Cost to mimic: 5,000 MP (tool receives 25% of the properties of the original tool)


    Cost to enhance properties: 2,500 MP per additional percent


    Maintenance cost: 10 MP per minute, 5 additional MP per minute per additional percent


    Maximum number of conjured tools: 1


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I''ll have to experiment with this while forging." By the time he was done reading through the skill''s description, Valyr thoroughly understood what the skill was capable of, making him eager to use it in a practical situation.


    Thankfully, just as he was finished reading, one of the guild''s staff members had delivered all of the materials he''d requested just earlier.


    "Well then." Looking at therge pile of materials he would be working with, a grin soon adorned Valyr''s face.


    "Let''s get started."

 Chapter 910 Back to the Groove

    Chapter 910 Back to the Groove


    Making his way towards the pile of materials the staff member just dropped off, Valyr began sorting them out ording to the type, keeping in mind the type of weapon that suited the material.


    "In total, I''ll need to forge around 14 to 15 weapon types. Some of them only require me to forge Umon grade versions of those weapons, while some require me to forge Rare grade or Rare+ grade versions."


    Going through the list of objectives he needed toplete the quest Julian gave him, it only took a couple of minutes for the young man to sort all of the materials ordingly, satisfied with his effort.


    Then, releasing a bit of Azure Energy, he manipted it to wrap around one of the smaller material piles he''d formed, bringing it along with him as he made his way back to the furnace.


    Adjusting the furnace''s temperature ordingly to the materials, he then chucked part of the materials he''d brought along into it.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    cing the remaining materials he''d yet to chuck into the furnace to the side, Valyr went ahead and allocated XP to all of his forging skills, going through them one by one.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to consume 1 Common grade Skill Key, 1 Umon grade Skill Key, and 1,049,986 XP to upgrade ''Forging Art of the First cksmith'' to the peak of Umon grade?]


    And so, while waiting for the first batch of materials he''d chucked into the furnace to get up to their optimal temperature, Valyr methodically upgraded all of his forging skills to the peak of Umon grade.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, apanying the massive increase in level was a great influx of information that gave Valyr more information on the specific field of forging corresponding to the skill he upgraded.


    Though, as he nned on going through his skills one by one, the information he received was organized and processed smoothly, prompting a satisfied smile to adorn his face by the time he was done.


    "I suppose it''s time to make use of these new skills," said Valyr to himself with a grin, grabbing a pair of tongs from the workshop''s tool rack before using it to pick up some of the materials from the furnace.


    Thud.


    "I''ll focus on making swords first." cing the materials on the anvil, Valyr went ahead and chucked the remaining materials into the furnace.


    Then, briefly ncing at the glowing red metal he''d be working with, the young man swung his Hammer of Beginnings into the air before using it to hammer the metal t.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "Huh. It feels smoother than before." At the very moment he began swinging his hammer, Valyr immediately felt the changes brought about by the forging skills he obtained from his new ss.


    Feeling as if the entire forging process would not take long, the young man soon had a wry smile on his face. "Who knew a difference of just a single rarity would have this much of an effect on forging?"


    Deciding to familiarize himself more with his newly obtained forging skills, the young man continued hammering on the metal, beginning the process of forging his first ever piece of equipment after he''d gotten out of the inheritance.


    Focusing all of his attention on the item he was making, Valyr briefly thought about the blueprint he was going to use for the sword, going over the instructions in his mind as his body kept moving.


    Getting a rough estimate that he would take around four hours or so to finish forging his first sword, the young man nodded to himself in faint understanding, wondering if now was a good time to make use of the First cksmith''s counterpart to [True Prodigious Mana Arm].


    "I should finish forging this sword with my own hands first before moving onto using that skill," muttered Valyr to himself after a bit of deliberation, prompting him to put in a bit more effort into forging the sword.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Thus, as the sound of Valyr''s hammer shed against the metal he was working with, the young man gradually transformed the materials he''d picked up into a fine sword, forming it into a de by the time half an hour had passed.


    After that, he went through a couple of passes between the anvil and furnace, refining the de even further by removing the imperfections he saw through [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes].


    At the same time, he made use of the First cksmith''s counterpart of [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], which was aptly named [Vision of the First cksmith].


    Simr to [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], [Vision of the First cksmith] allowed Valyr to view if all of the elements making up the item were unified and harmonious, being shown to him in the form of various colors.


    However, unlike [True Prodigious cksmith''s Sight], [Vision of the First cksmith] went one step further in allowing him to refine the final product, showing him all of the minute imperfections that [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] could not detect.


    Surprisingly, even with both skills showing the great number of imperfections he had to fix, the young man spent less than his initial estimate, reaching around three and a half hours by the time he was done with his first sword.


    Schwing!


    Utilizing the sword he''d just forged in a few basicbat movements, Valyr immediately nodded in satisfaction, sensing the great bnce and sharpness the sword held.


    "I feel like if I pushed myself a bit more, I''d begin to feel like this sword could cut through air," said the young man to himself, slightly amused at the thought.


    "Anyways, one down, many more to go." cing the sword on the spot he designated earlier to be where he ced his finished pieces at, Valyr briefly identified the sword he''d just forged before proceeding with the next one.


    Ding!


    "Level 55. Rare." At the very moment he read the weapon''s rarity and level requirement, a slightly awkward smile adorned Valyr''s face as he thought about how he''d immediately finished one of the more difficult quotas of the quest.


    Even though the sword he just forged was his very first one.


    "Not to mention the materials I used to forge it are mostlymon metals," said Valyr to himself. "Is this the effect of an Ancient grade production ss?"


    Smiling at the thought he just came up with, the young man soon engrossed himself into forging once more, continuing to forge the swords needed to fulfill the quota.


    Though he told himself earlier that he''d make use of that specific production skill by the time he was finished with his first sword, Valyr decided to familiarize himself with the new forging skills even more.


    ''I feel like there''s still a lot more I could squeeze out of these skills,'' thought Valyr to himself as he moved onto his second sword.


    And surprisingly, there was.


    By the time he finished going through his second sword, Valyr had shaved off around 10 minutes or so in forging time whenpared to his first attempt.


    Then, by the time he''d reached his fourth sword, the young man had shaved down even more time, now totaling 20 minutes whenpared to his first attempt.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Putting on the finishing touches on the final sword for the quota, Valyr looked at it with satisfaction as he identified its properties.


    Ding!


    Swinging it around to see if the sword felt simr to the other ones he''d forged before, a faint smile adorned the young man''s face after seeing the final sword he forged boast the same requirements and rarity as the other swords. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After that, he took a look at the amount of time he''d taken to forge his final sword, making use of the rarely used stopwatch feature the system had. "Half an hour lesspared to the first attempt¡­"


    "Yeah¡­ I think that''s more than enough getting used to," said Valyr as he saw that, deciding to take a quick break now that he''d gone through a tenth of his quota.


    With that, the young man sent a brief message to Julian. At the same time, he informed one of the staff members that he''d be grabbing a quick meal outside.


    After getting out of the cksmith Guild, it did not take long for him to find a small eatery to dine in, immediately ordering a meal usually made for two by the time he sat down.


    ''I pushed myself harder than I thought I would,'' thought Valyr to himself as he bitterly smiled, his stomach faintly grumbling.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for his food to arrive, devouring it whole in a matter of minutes.


    While eating his fill, he thought about the weapon types he''d tackle next, as well as the blueprints he''d be using for each weapon type.


    ''Now that I think about it, I''ve been using the blueprints I''ve gotten from the inheritance,'' thought Valyr to himself as he gave his body time to digest the food. ''Before that, I wasing up with blueprints on the fly. If not that, I was using blueprints I''ve gotten from my past life.''


    "I should really take a look at the cksmith Guild''s blueprints," muttered Valyr not long after, making his way back to the cksmith Guild now that he was done eating. "If I think about it, I''ve only gotten the Tier 1 Upgrade Alloy blueprint from the guild so far."


    "Hmm¡­ yeah. I''ll think about it a bit more after I''m done forging all these weapons."


    Returning back to his workshop, Valyr immediately grabbed another pile of materials he''d organized beforehand with the help of Azure Energy, cing it near the furnace before chucking part of them in.


    Then, taking in a deep breath, he went over the forging process he used for the swords earlier in his mind, closing his eyes as he vividly recalled them.


    By the time he was done, he took a look at the furnace before raising its temperature by infusing a bit of his energy into it.


    "Now that I''m done with swords¡­ I guess it''s time to move on to spears." Looking at the materials in the furnace for a bit, Valyr briefly thought about how he''d go aboutpleting the quota Julian given him.


    Once he''d made up his mind on how he was going to approach it, he then activated a skill he''d been saving up to this point, causing a great number of translucent limbs to appear around him.


    "[Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith]."

 Chapter 911 One Man Production Line

    Chapter 911 One Man Production Line


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, five pairs of translucent arms appeared around him.


    A pair of those arms were attached directly to his shoulder des, with two pairs each could be found on both sides of the young man.


    "10 arms in total, huh¡­" Briefly looking at the arms the skill allowed him to conjure, Valyr thought about its previous counterpart as he nodded in satisfaction. "That''s definitely more than two, that''s for sure," murmured the young man to himself soon after, chuckling at theme joke he made.


    Compared to [True Prodigious Mana Arm], [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] was an upgrade in multiple ways.


    For one, the number of arms the skill allowed him to conjure was double the number of arms he could conjure with the previous skill at the same level and rarity.


    Then again, in terms of initial cost and maintenance, the two skills were more or less the same, with [True Prodigious Mana Arm] higher in terms of maintenance, while [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] higher in initial cost.


    But of course, as a skill obtained from an Ancient grade ss, the skill made up for this increased initial cost by giving Valyr the finer control over the arms he''d conjured. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though they were separated from his body in terms of position, the young man felt as if he could move these arms he conjured more or less simr to how he would move his own two arms.


    ''In any case, it''ll take some time getting used to,'' said Valyr to himself inwardly, only to ponder over something in silence before raising his right arm up.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that all of the right arms conjured through the skill had raised themselves up as well, Valyr immediately had a wry smile on his face.


    Thankfully, it did not take that much out of him to correct the problem, being able to separate the movements of each arm in his mind after a dozen or so attempts.


    "For the sake of getting more used to the skill again, I''ll reduce it to three pairs." Looking at the five pairs he''d conjured, Valyr did not hesitate to dispel two pairs out of the five as he recalled the previous time he used this many pairs of arms to forge stuff.


    ''After I made full use of the arms during the trial involving Arcaelus, I was able to cut down the forging time for each item to around a quarter or a third of the original time,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    Recalling how he took around 10 hours or so to forge an item back then, a slightly bitter smile soon crept up onto Valyr''s face.


    ''I have a feeling that if I were to forge those same items right now, it would probably take me seven hours or less,'' muttered the young man to himself inwardly, getting this feeling from the improvement his new ss had given to him overall.


    As he was tasked back then by Arcaelus to forge as many items as possible that was at least Rare grade in rarity, Valyr chose to use blueprints he''d obtained from the inheritance that guaranteed a result of a Rare grade item.


    However, because those blueprints were from a time far from the present, many of the blueprints utilized materials that were considerably difficult or tedious to refine.


    ''Inparison, the general weapon blueprints I''m using to fulfill this quota use simpler items and methods to refine,'' thought Valyr to himself after that. ''Because of that, I''m only taking this much time to forge them, even if I''m deviating a bit here and there.''


    ''If I were to follow the blueprints to the letter, I''m sure it would take even less time.'' Valyr softly shrugged his shoulders. ''I''m getting the feeling these blueprints were made with military purpose in mind with how simple they are.''


    ''Though, if that really was the case, I''m sure the cksmiths that made these blueprints would be d that I''m using it for that exact purpose.'' Valyr chuckled at the thought.


    Taking in a deep breath as he removed all of the errant thoughts in his mind, Valyr proceeded to return forging, taking out a bunch of the materials out of the furnace before cing them on the anvil.


    Whoosh!


    Then, thinking about making use of [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith] for the arms, Valyr eventually grabbed all of the spare forging hammers on the tool rack instead, utilizing a bit of his energy in doing so.


    ''I''ll save the skill for another time,'' thought Valyr to himself as he equipped all three extra pairs with a forging hammer. ''For now, I''m going to reduce the experimentation.''


    Utilizing the same routine he''d used during the trial against Arcaelus in mind, Valyr soon worked through the entire forging process alongside the three pairs of arms, having them take over a certain portion of the forging process.


    Of course, just like how he went through it before, the young man kept both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [Vision of the First cksmith] active to look for any imperfections during the process.


    By the time he put on the finishing touches to the spear with his forging hammer, the young man quickly identified it with [Superior Analysis] before tossing it into the small pile of swords he''d forged before.


    "Level 45. Umon+." Looking at the requirements and rarity for the first spear he made with the help of the extra arms, Valyr nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad for a first attempt, especially after not using it for some time."


    After that, he took a look at the stopwatch feature the system had, deciding to keep track of the amount of time he took to forge each item from now onward.


    "2 hours and 35 minutes." Seeing that he''d roughly shaved another half hour just by implementing the extra pairs of arms on his first attempt, Valyr nodded in both satisfaction and understanding.


    Pondering over how he used the arms throughout the forging process, the young man soon found areas where he could improve his usage of them, as well as areas where he could have the armsplete that portion directly.


    With that in mind, he decided to conjure the two extra pairs he''d dispelled before, reminding himself that he would make more and more use of these two extra pairs as hepleted more of the quota.


    And with that, the young man delved into forging once more, eventuallypleting his second spear of the day without much problem.


    The total time?


    Two hours and five minutes.

 Chapter 912 A Few Days

    Chapter 912 A Few Days


    After Valyr had implemented the full capabilities of [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] into his forging process, a few days unknowingly passed.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With his eyes focused intently on the item on his anvil, Valyr deftly maneuvered the Hammer of Beginnings, working alongside two of the pairs to remove the surface imperfections on the saber he was forging.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Feeling as if he''d removed all of the imperfections, he then moved to making sure all of the materials making up the item was unified under his vision.


    With that, he elected the help of the other pairs of arms, cing the item into the furnace a few times as he and the five pairs slowly but surely worked out the remaining problems the saber had.


    By the time he was finally done, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief as he waved the saber around, immediately getting the feeling that it was now simr in quality to the swords he''d forged before with his own hands.


    Activating [Superior Analysis] on it, his feeling was then proved to be correct.


    "Level 55. Rare." The young man faintly smiled, tossing the saber into the growing pile of finished weapons he''d forged.


    Ever since Valyr made the decision to make use of all five pairs given to him by the skill, the young man forged all of the spears he needed to fulfill the quota given to him.


    By the time he was done with all the spears, he had reduced the time to forge each weapon to two hours, half of how long it took him to forge the sword originally.


    After that, he moved onto the next weapon type on the list, which was the staff.


    While forging the staffs for the quota, he was able to reduce the forging time even further, bringing it down to an hour and 50 minutes.


    And just now, he had finished forging the final saber needed to fulfill the quota given to him, prompting the young man to think that he should take a break once more.


    However, before doing so, he took a brief nce at the system''s stopwatch, grinning once he looked at the total time it took him to forge a saber. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "An hour and a half," said the young man, pleased that his efforts weren''t in vain.


    Dispelling the arms he conjured, Valyr then ced all of the spare forging hammers back on the tool rack as he stored the Hammer of Beginnings back into his spatial bracelet.


    Doing a few basic stretches after being stationary for quite a long time, the young man immediately felt a wave of relief wash over his body.


    At the same time, he thought about his progress inpleting Julian''s quota.


    ''So far, I''vepleted four out of the dozen or so weapon types I needed to forge,'' thought the young man to himself as he left the workshop, sending a message to Julian in the process.


    ''Though it feels like I still have a lot left to do, those four weapon typesprise around half of the weapons I need to forge.''


    "In other words, I''vepleted half of my quota in¡­ a bit over two and a half days," thought Valyr out loud after doing the calction in his mind.


    Seeing that the moon was out in the open again the second time he left the guild, a slightly bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face, reminding himself to time his breaks to where people are out and about.


    Nevertheless, as he had decided to take a break this time around, he was going to see it through to the end.


    Fortunately, it still wasn''t too deep into the night, allowing the young man to find an eatery near the guild within a matter of minutes.


    Ordering a meal made for two for himself yet again, Valyr looked outside and admired the nighttime scenery the kingdom offered him as he waited for his meal to arrive.


    Ding!


    At some point, a notification sound resounded in his mind, informing the young man that Julian had sent a message to him.


    "How''s progress on the quota I gave you?" asked Julian through the message. "Hopefully, it''s not that difficult. The offer to reduce the quest''s difficulty is always avable, just so you know."


    "Also, I''ve received a couple messages from the staff members here and there over the past couple of days that you''ve rarely left your workshop. Have you even taken the time to rest and eat yet?"


    "Though I know you''re eager to help out now that you''re out of the inheritance, don''t push yourself too hard."


    Reading through the man''s messages, an awkward smile gradually crept up onto Valyr''s lips, thinking about how he hadn''t slept for the past couple of days yet.


    ''But then again, I''m not feeling even the least bit sleepy,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling that the same thing happened back when he was participating in the trial against Arcaelus.


    Though, as he thought about it a bit more, he realized that he also didn''t sleep as often after that, whether it was the two years he spent with Sellifer, or the overview Vaughn gave him on Veldanyr''s history and his true identity.


    "If it were due to my ss rank, then I should''ve been sleeping less a long time ago," muttered the young man to himself. "It''s only while I was in the inheritance did I begin to sleep less."


    "But it''s also while I was in the inheritance did I ascend to Rank 3¡­" Rubbing his chin over the matter, Valyr began to feel a bit curious. "I wonder what caused it?"


    Before the young man could delve any deeper into the matter, hisrge meal was eventually delivered to him.


    Beginning to go through his meal with gusto, Valyr decided to send a message to Julian while eating, informing the man that he was taking care of his body.


    After that, he informed the man of his progress, talking about how he was already halfway through the quota and that it wouldn''t take too long to finish the remaining half.


    Continuing to go through his meal after that, the young man got another message from Julian by the time he was a few bites away from finishing his meal.


    Slightly frowning, the young man opened it, only to raise his eyebrow at the message.


    "You''re outside at the moment, right? Could youe back to the guild right now?" "Let me know if you''re on your way back."


    Scratching the back of his head in confusion as he read these messages, the young man eventually closed the screen and shrugged his shoulders. Finishing his meal after that, he then paid for it before deciding to take a more leisurely route back to the guild to let the food digest.


    Of course, with Julian''sst couple of messages still in his mind, he let the man know that he was on his way back, taking around 20 minutes or so to arrive at its entrance.


    Though, before he could even enter, Julian was already at the front waiting for him, immediatelying up to him with a slightly disbelieving look on his face.


    "Could you show me your workshop for a bit?"

 Chapter 913 Adjusting for Efforts

    913 Adjusting for Efforts


    Seeing how the man''s expression while looking at him made him feel like the former wouldn''t take no for answer, Valyr briefly had a look of confusion on his face, only to shrug his shoulders in nonchnce soon after.


    ''I guess he wants to make sure that the quality of the weapons I make are up to par,'' thought the young man to himself, feeling that it was the most likely possibility.


    After all, Julian had tasked him with a quest that only needed him to forge six weapons a day to fulfill.


    Yet, with the overall improvement given by his new ss, as well the five extra pairs of arms he gained through [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith], he was churning out weapons at a rate that was twice that.


    With that, the young man had Julian apany him to the workshop he was upying, immediately getting back to work the moment he got back.


    Briefly ncing at what Julian was going to do in his workshop, Valyr eventually shifted his focus towards the pile of materials he''d allocated, grabbing one of them with the help of Azure Energy.


    Whoosh!


    Infusing a bit of his energy into the furnace to get the fire going again, the young man ced the pile of materials to the side of the anvil for the meantime.


    "Azure Energy sure is handy when ites to minor tasks like these," muttered the young man to himself, thinking about how it allowed him to do more with less whenpared to mana.


    After waiting for the furnace to get up to temperature, Valyr soon began to chuck into a bunch of the materials into it.


    Bringing out his Hammer of Beginnings, he then shifted his gaze towards Julian, who now stood in the pile of weapons he''d finished forging before.


    Picking up one of the swords to get a better look at them, Julian immediately felt the great amounts of effort put into that weapon, tossing it in the air for a bit to get a sense of its weight and bnce.


    "It''s well-bnced¡­" Taking a few steps back, he then proceeded to do a few basicbat movements with the sword, each sh making a soft whoosh in the air.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Once he was done, he then identified the sword with his identification skill, asking Valyr more information about the weapons in the meantime. "Did you really forge all these weapons in just two days?"


    Naturally, Valyr nodded as he looked back at him, confident in his abilities.


    Of course, he also had an idea on what was going on in the man''s mind. "You could watch me forge, if you want. It doesn''t take that long for me to forge a weapon anyway."


    Nodding in response, Julian inwardly had a wry smile on his face, thankful that the young man understood his intent. "It''s just to make sure that the rewards I''m giving out aren''t falling into the wrong hands."


    "A considerable number of cksmiths have already thought about buying the weapons needed to fulfill the quota from outside," said Julian, prompting Valyr to nod. "Fortunately, there has been no such case of one getting away with it yet."


    "But still¡­" Continuing to go through the pile of finished weapons, the man''s eyes gradually widened in surprise, seeing that the lowest grade among the weapons was Umon+ grade. "Did you really forge all of these in just two days?"


    "Almost all of these weapons are Rare grade. Some are even Rare+ grade."


    "Even I''m not confident enough I''d be able to consistently churn out this much Rare grade items," said the man with a slightly bitter smile. "Umon or Umon+ grade, I could still manage. But Rare and above? Not a chance."


    "Just watch me," replied Valyr with a confident smile.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that the materials he''d put in had reached their optimal temperature, Valyr went ahead and took them out of the furnace with a pair of tongs, adding more materials in the furnace in the process.


    Then, ncing at the hodge-podge of glowing red materials on his anvil, he soon activated [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith], revealing the five extra pairs of arms that had been helping him all this time.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At the very moment these translucent limbs appeared around Valyr, Julian looked at them with both shock and understanding, now getting an idea as to how Valyr was able to churn out that many weapons in so little time.


    In the past, Julian had tried utilizing a simr method in his forging, considering that his ss had also given him a skill that allowed him to conjure extra limbs.


    However, unlike Valyr, he wasn''t able to reach the same level of quality while making use of the extra limbs. With that, he chose to rely on his two hands once more, gradually improving upon his craft to this very day.


    Of course, just because he chose to return to using two hands did not mean others would do the same thing.


    With that, he decided to ask Valyr more about it, partly due to his past with the method. "Wouldn''t controlling this many arms confuse you? Wouldn''t it decrease the quality of the finished item?"


    "It''s definitely confusing, plus it''s putting on a considerable burden to my brain." Valyr nodded in agreement, grabbing the spare forging hammers from the tool rack before giving it to the additional pairs of arms. "It''s also reduced the quality of what I make at first, hence the Umon+ grade items in the pile."


    "However¡­" While Julian was still in the midst of processing that information, the young man grinned as he got to work. "I''ve already gotten past that phase."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "Now¡­ whether I use the extra pairs or not, I can forge just as well."


    Making use of the five extra pairs of the fullest, Valyr proceeded to go through the various steps of the forging process, gradually hammering the material into the rough shape of an axe.


    Watching the sight from afar, Julian''s attention was immediately fixated on it, seeing as how the steps he put in great detail were being done at speeds slightly iprehensible to him.


    Though, whenever he thought that the resulting output would becking in quality, Valyr would fix it at the very end, removing both ring and minute imperfections on it to the point where the entire thing felt harmonious.


    By the time the young man was finished with his first axe, Julian felt as if he''d watched a master conductor at work, conducting an orchestra where each instrument''s greatest strengths could be shown in full view. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr adorned a faint smile after seeing the axe''s stats be more or less simr to the ones he''d forged before.


    Tossing it into the pile of finished weapons, Valyr was about to continue working on another axe, only to be stopped by Julian.


    "To think you forged that axe in less than two hours¡­" Looking at the young man, Julian gave him a slightly apologetic smile. "You''ve hid your abilities well, Valyr."


    Valyr chuckled at his words. "I wasn''t even hiding it, though? No one really came to check in on me while I was forging."


    At that point, Julian chuckled as well. "Well, whether you were hiding it or not, the rewards I''ll be giving you through the quest are definitelycking inparison to the effort you''re putting in."


    Whoosh!


    "And so¡­" Bringing up a screen before him, Julian tinkered around with it for a bit before looking at Valyr with a slight smile.


    Ding!


    "I''ve decided to correct that."


    [You have received an update to the quest: Forging Weapons for War.]

 Chapter 914 Completing the Quota

    914 Completing the Quota


    Reading through the notification he received, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he brought up the description of the quest Julian gave him.


    Ding!


    ''Hmm¡­ the objectives are still the same.'' Looking through the quest once more, the young man did not immediately find any ring differences when it came to its description and objectives.


    Though, that all changed when he looked at the remaining portions of the quest.


    "30,000 Technology Points and merit points?" blurted Valyr out of disbelief, only to look at Julian after that for more rification. "And I thought 10,000 of each was already a lot."


    "It''s definitely a lot." Julian nodded in agreement. "However, I feel like 30,000 of each is more fitting for the amount of effort you put in."


    "After all, not all cksmiths could forge this many weapons in just this many days," he continued with a slight shrug. "Even if they did, the quality of their works would be greatly hampered."


    "To me, you''re doing the work of multiple cksmiths at once while just being one person," said the man as he looked at Valyr with a proud smile. "And so, I''ve adjusted the rewards ordingly to reflect that."


    Hearing those words, Valyr could only nod.


    Nevertheless, he still felt disbelief towards the amount he''d potentially receive frompleting the quest. "But still¡­ 30,000 is too much. Does the cksmith Guild normally offer this much?"


    "Of course, it doesn''t." Julian shook his head. "However, we''re currently in a state of war against the orcs."


    "That alone is enough for the system to change ordingly, incentivizing people to push themselves to the fullest with the system''s aid, whether it be inbat or in production."


    "The system did the same thing during the previous wars, actually," the man continued. "It practically footed most of the bill for many of the rewards given out during those times. In short, many people benefited from it, including the guilds themselves."


    "In any case, just know that giving out this much isn''t a lot to the guild right now." Julian let out a slightly amused chuckle. "Plus, even if it does, that''s the guild''s problem, not yours."


    "If you say so¡­" said Valyr after a bit of silence, returning his attention to the quest''s description.


    Aside from the increased rewards, the only other change to the quest was the amount of time he had remaining.


    If one were to consider how much time Valyr had already spent with the quest active, the timer on the quest should show that he still had around six days or so remaining.


    However, when he looked at the screen, the young man noticed that he only had three days remaining before he failed the quest.


    ''Well¡­ I guess it makes sense.''


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders at the thought, Valyr closed the screen as he and Julian talked a bit more about the situation regarding the weapon quota.


    Eventually, the man left Valyr once more to his own devices, prompting the young man to return to his task ofpleting Julian''s quest.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ I should send Wells a message." Taking out some of the materials in the furnace, a thought from a couple of days ago popped up in the young man''s mind, causing him to bring up the system''s chat function.


    Finding his friend''s name on the list, it did not take long for him to write a brief message of what happened in the past few days after Wells messaged him.


    At the end, he told Wells that he''d be busy forging weapons over the next few days, though he''d still appreciate getting updates from him.


    After he was done updating Wells on his current whereabouts, Valyr decided to update Noel as well, being reminded that thetter wished for him toe to the Spearman Guild as soon as possible.


    ''I guess he''s curious about Azure Energy since Sellifer was the one who taught him about refining Shadow Energy in the first ce,'' thought the young man to himself with a hint ofughter, writing up a message in the process.


    In the end, the contents of the message were more or less simr to the one he sent to Wells.


    Though, unlike the message he sent to Wells, Valyr omitted him having fallen asleep for three days straight, instead talking about how he''d be upied in the cksmith Guild for quite some time.


    Having sent both Wells and Noel an update on his current situation, Valyr closed the screen as he inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    However, just as he was about to resume forging, a notification popped up in his mind, informing him that Noel sent back a response to his message.


    "So fast?" Bringing up the chat function once more, Valyr''s expression swiftly rxed after Noel said through his message that he''s free to take as much time as he needed toplete his other tasks.


    "After all, even I''m busy training up new recruits. To think all of them would be sent to the frontlines after this," said Noel in his message, prompting Valyr to imagine the old man letting out a low sigh.


    At the end of his message, he reassured Valyr once more that it was fine for him to take his time, though he also told him subtly that he really wanted to meet the young man as soon as possible.


    "You won''t have to wait long," muttered Valyr to himself as he chuckled, closing the screen for the final time.


    After making sure that Wells wasn''t nning to send a message any time soon, it was only then did Valyr fully return to forging the remaining weapons for the quota, going through them at blisteringly fast speeds.


    Of course, the young man made sure to take breaks every once in a while, timing it so that he could leave the cksmith Guild at midday rather thante at night.


    Julian also checked up on him every once in a while through messages, asking him if he was getting enough rest.


    Though, Valyr unsurprisingly refrained from answering those questions, instead making greater use of his reduced need for sleep to work on the quota.


    With that, by the time five days had passed since Valyr woke up from his deep sleep¡­


    He hadpleted the quota given to him.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 915 Kin of the Forsaken Race

    915 Kin of the Forsaken Race


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Forging Weapons for War. Remaining time: 1 day, 15 hours, 43 minutes, 23 seconds.]


    [You have received 30,000 Technology Points as a reward.]


    [You have received 30,000 merit points (cksmith Guild) as a reward.]


    [You currently own 35,000 merit points, which allows you to be promoted to the position of [Rank 3 ¡ª Legacy Member].] [However, as your current position within the cksmith Guild is [Rank 3 ¡ª Honorary Lesser Elder], this promotion has not been applied.]


    [Your affinity with Julian has increased by 100 points. Current rtionship: Acquaintance.]


    [Your reputation in the cksmith Guild has increased by 50 points. Current reputation: Barely known through hearsay.]


    [Your reputation in Algerie Kingdom has increased by 10 points. Current reputation: Baseless positive rumors.]


    Obtaining a series of notifications the very moment he tossed the final weapon he forged for the quota into the pile, a satisfied smile crept up Valyr''s lips as he immediately dispelled all of the extra pairs of arms around him.


    cing the Hammer of Beginnings back into his spatial bracelet, he then called for a staff member to bring the weapons he forged to Julian, letting out a slight yawn in the process.


    "I suppose I''ve found my current limit." Finally feeling a hint of sleepiness wash over him, the smile on his face turned wry as he thought about heading back to the inn.


    With that, he sent a message to Julian of his ns, informing the man that he had justpleted the quota given to him.


    In response, Julian told him that the guild was more than willing to enlist his help inpleting the quota once more, though he mentioned that he should prioritize rest first.


    "I''ve had a couple of the staff members keep an eye on you for the past couple of days," said Julian through his message. "To think you haven''t gotten any proper rest¡­ you should really rest now that you''re done with it."


    Smiling as if he''d been caught red-handed, Valyr eventually made his way to the cksmith Guild''s entrance after assuring Julian that he was going to get some proper rest.


    Making his way back to the inn he and the other two stayed in, the young man fought against the lethargy he was feeling as he took a look at his chat function.


    Seeing that Wells had not responded to the messages he sent a couple of days ago, Valyr did not bother sending a series of messages for updates.


    ''I did give him a heads-up that I''d be busy for the next few days,'' thought the young man, deciding to stop by an eatery before returning to the inn. ''It only makes sense that he and Edward would be busy as well.''


    Keeping in mind that he''d immediately head to bed to get some rest, Valyr ordered a light meal this time around, taking delight in the scenery the Algerie Kingdom offered him at daytime.


    Eventually, Valyr was able to make his way back to the inn, deciding to take a quick shower to remove the dirt and grime he''d rued on his body from the cksmith Guild the past few days.


    Once he had changed into a fresh set of clothes, only then did he head to his own part of the room beforeying down, immediately falling into a deep sleep within a matter of minutes.


    ¡­


    "Mngh¡­"


    Feeling his consciousness finallye to once more, Valyr gradually got out of bed, giving his consciousness the time it needed to fully rouse itself from slumber.


    After that, he took a look out the room''s window, bitterly smiling once he saw the sun shining as brightly as it did when he returned.


    "Don''t tell me I slept for a couple of days again¡­" muttered the young man to himself, opening up his status screen after that to get an urate idea of how much time passed.


    Finding out that he''d only slept for an entire day, Valyr immediately let out a sigh of relief.


    After going through his daily routine, the young man opened up the system''s chat function while eating his breakfast, checking to see if anyone messaged him while he was asleep.


    Seeing that none of the people on his friend list had sent him a message, a faint smile crept up on Valyr''s lips as he spent a bit more time relishing the breakfast he ordered.


    By the time he was done, he then thought about what he nned on doing for the day, recalling that he went to the cksmith Guild the previous time he asked himself this question.


    "Well, there''s no problem in heading back to the cksmith Guild again," thought Valyr out loud, thinking about howpleting another one of Julian''s quotas would mean him contributing to the war efforts.


    Though, as the thought came to mind, he also recalled the message Noel sent to him about heading to the Spearman Guild.


    "Should I head to the cksmith Guild¡­ or should I head to the Spearman Guild instead?"


    As those two choices lingered in his mind, Valyr scratched the back of his head in slight confusion, undecided on what to do next.


    Fortunately, a third choice soon popped up in his mind, prompting the young man to recall that he had yet to go through all of the skills transformed by the inheritance in detail.


    "Aside from that, I''ve yet to check all of the rewards I got frompleting Ryvrthe''s quest," said Valyr to himself, his eyes brimming with curiosity.


    At the very instant it came to mind, the young man immediately made his mind up, bringing up his notification screen in front of him as he scrolled to look for the rewards he received from Ryvrthe.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Traces of the Past.]


    [You have received 100,000,000 XP.]


    [Your affinity with the Forsaken race has increased by 500. Current affinity: Close friends.]


    [Your affinity with Ryvrthe, the Sapient One has increased by 800. Current affinity: Comrades through life and death.]


    [Your reputation in Ecalos has increased by 1,000 points. Current reputation: Legend (MAX).]


    [Your reputation in Dnal fo Nigiro has increased by 1,000 points. Current reputation: Legend (MAX).]


    [As your reputation in Ecalos and Dnal fo Nigiro has reached the maximum level, any excess reputation shall be converted toary Reputation (Veldanyr) at a ratio of 10:1.]


    [Yourary Reputation (Veldanyr) has increased by 100 points. Current reputation: Baseless positive rumors.]


    As he went through the rewards, Valyr noticed that most of them were based on reputation and affinity, things whose benefits weren''t that obvious inparison to other rewards.


    "Then again, I''ve already epted the quest after seeing those rewards," said Valyr to himself. "The fact that the quest increased the reward for affinity and reputation by a significant amount already says a lot."


    "From another perspective, I could even say that meeting Vaughn was a reward in itself."


    At some point, the young man reached the end of the list of rewards he gained from the quest.


    Expecting the final reward to be something along the lines of reputation or affinity once more, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity after seeing that it was neither of those.


    Instead, it was a pair of titles.


    Ding!


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Kin of the Forsaken Race (Veldanyr)''.] N?v(el)B\\jnn


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Reconnecting the Past to the Present (Veldanyr)''.]


    "Huh."


    Looking at the titles he obtained from Ryvrthe''s quest, Valyr went silent for a bit as a few thoughts ran through his mind.


    "To be honest, I thought the increased affinity and reputation was the additional reward I got frompleting the quest," said the young man to himself, recalling how the quest mentioned that he could obtain extra rewards depending on his performance.


    "To think it would also give me two titles¡­ is it because I allowed Ryvrthe to meet with Vaughn?" As this thought came to mind, Valyr let out a faint chuckle, bringing up the descriptions of the titles before him soon after.


    Ding! Ding!


    Bringing up the description of [Kin of the Forsaken Race (Veldanyr)] before him, Valyr immediately noticed that the title was quite simr to another title he''d obtained from the past.


    "[Astarto''s Beacon of Hope]¡­" muttered the young man to himself, continuing to read through the title''s description before closing its corresponding screen.


    In short, the effects of [Kin of the Forsaken Race (Veldanyr)] more or less matched the name of the title itself.


    With him now having the title, any being from the Forsaken Race would now look at him at a positive light. At the same time, the title made it more difficult for the Forsaken Race to doubt his words and actions, which was something Valyr deemed as useful if he were to apply it in certain situations.


    Aside from that, the title offered him a few other perks that only applied to things rted to the Forsaken Race, such as quests offering more rewards and shops asking for less money.


    Committing the effects of the first title to memory, Valyr then moved onto the second title, only to find out that it was vastly different from the first one.


    Ding!

 Chapter 916 Shoring Up Foundations

    Chapter 916 Shoring Up Foundations


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Reconnecting the Past to the Present (Veldanyr)] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic


    Vaughn Darkstar, a living remnant hailing from the long-forgotten history of Veldanyr. Though he changed his identity to fit the times, he still considers himself to be someone from that past.


    Ryvrthe, the Sapient One. Originally known as Vrauford Alicas in his first life, he''s simr to Vaughn in the way that they''re a remnant from the forgotten past.


    However, unlike Vaughn, Ryvrthe underwent through multiple rebirths, gradually disconnecting himself from that same past. Nevertheless, he still considers himself to be someone from the past, yet has his mind in the present.


    Valyr Zeihardt, a descendant of the Zeihardt n, the sole inheritor of the Darkstar lineage. Though he entered the inheritance where these two remained in the hopes of bettering himself, he had inadvertently gotten caught up in the web these two had unknowinglyid out.


    Fortunately, everything worked out in the end, with him allowing Vaughn, a reflection of the past, to reconnect with Ryvrthe, a reflection of the present.


    This title serves as a reflection and a reminder of the hardships and the journey that Valyr Zeihardt went through during the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    May his future journeys be ever fruitful.


    Effects:


    > 5% boost to the user''s VIT, STR, AGI, DEX, and LUK


    > 10% boost to the user''s INT, WIS, and PER


    > 10% boost to the user''s Attack and Defense stat


    > 15% boost to the user''s maximum HP and MP


    > 50% increased resistance to detrimental side effects caused by time dtion


    > 50% increased resistance to fatigue and lethargy


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh."


    By the time Valyr was done reading through the description of the second title, the young man stared at the screen in silence for a bit, trying to wrap his head around what he just read.


    Fortunately, it only took a few extra minutes for the young man to finally process the information, closing the screen before letting out a low exhale.


    "Who knew I''d end up obtaining a unique title this way," thought Valyr out loud, silent as he thought about the things he''d done to get it.


    Though, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like he only obtained the title through a series of coincidences.


    After all, if he hadn''t been in the west quadrant of the city ruins¡­


    If he hadn''t mustered up the courage to explore the underground¡­


    If he hadn''te across Vlrvadh that allowed him to meet the Forsaken race and Ryvrthe¡­


    If he hadn''t epted Ryvrthe''s quest¡­


    "I definitely wouldn''t have gotten my hands on this title," said the young man to himself, letting out a chuckle tinged with self-deprecation.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr took a look at the title once more from an objective perspective, immediatelying to the conclusion that it was like an inferior version of the skill he obtained from his bloodline.


    ''Then again, there are a few things about this title that are betterpared to that,'' thought Valyr, his focus on the two final effects of the title.


    Though the benefits of the two final effects of the two weren''t that immediately obvious, the young man already had experience with the things the two effects tackled, with the first stemming from his time with Sellifer and Vaughn.


    ''Even though I gained ess to Azure Energy at the end, Sellifer crammed a bit over two years into a day in the inheritance proper, causing me to feel immense vertigo,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly.


    ''On the other hand, I don''t know how much time I spent with Vaughn while we were in the Gates of Transcendence¡­ but I still felt some vertigo when I finally left the inheritance.''


    With those two experiences in mind, Valyr had a feeling that if he had the increased resistance to those side effects at the time, he wouldn''t have experienced any vertigo at all.


    Or, even if he did, the intensity of the vertigo would be at a more tolerable level.


    As for the increased resistance to fatigue and lethargy¡­


    The past few days he spent in the cksmith Guild forging away was more than enough proof that its effects were effective.


    "However, even before I got my hands on the title, I already felt like I could go for days without needing any sleep," said Valyr to himself as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    Recalling how he''d spent the majority of his time in the inheritance not sleeping for days while only getting this specific title near the end of it, the young man found it incredibly peculiar.


    Though, as he had no lead to follow, Valyr decided to forget the matter,ing to the conclusion that it was a good thing.


    "It''s not like needing to sleep less is a bad thing, especially with how much stuff I would probably have to do during the war," said Valyr to himself as the thought came to mind.


    "In any case, a lot of XP, a ton of reputation and affinity, an Epic title, and a Mythic title to top it all off¡­ Ryvrthe definitely went above and beyond."


    Satisfied after looking through the rewards he''d obtained frompleting Ryvrthe''s quest, Valyr returned his train of thought back to the three choices he had.


    Pondering over whether to choose between the cksmith Guild and the Spearman Guild once more, the young man immediatelymanded the system to bring up the description of his skills.


    Specifically, the ones drastically changed thanks to the introduction of Azure Energy.


    "Though I''ve already made use of them in real-life situations, it doesn''t hurt to deepen my understanding of my skills, especially if it means I could make greater use of them," muttered the young man to himself, recalling how he''d done the same thing back when he was at the inheritance.


    Ding!


    Looking at the threerge screens that had appeared before him, Valyr moved two of them to the side for the meantime as he brought the screen containing his main spear skill in front of him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts] (Lv. 1/30)


    Rarity: Rare+


    There are various ways to wield the spear¡­ description has been omitted.


    Thanks to the intervention of a Divine-level being, the user has finally gained insight and grasped the power his unique subss holds, a subss originally theorized by a being of Shadow Energy, only to be proved as a more than confirmed reality by the Divine-level being itself.


    This skill allows the user to wield the spear in ordance to the Four Azure Paths, a series of truths birthed from theprehension of the user in the field of Shadow Energy, the Four Elements that interact with mana, and the Azure Energy the Divine-level being had given him ess to.


    This spear art consists of 5 moves, 1 defensive and 4 offensive, with each subsequent move having greater strength than the one before it.


    <First Technique: Descent of the Azure Phoenix - Channel the power of the Azure Phoenix and¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Second Technique: Wrath of the Azure Dragon - Channel the innate rage of the Azure Dragon¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Third Technique: Stampede of the Azure Tiger - Channel the might and vigor of the Azure Tiger¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Fourth Technique: Bastion of the Azure Turtle - Channel the unyielding spirit of the Azure Turtle¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Ultimate Technique: Four Paths Azure Ruination - Whenever the four paths converge, all roads lead to ruination.


    By tapping into the power of the Four Azure Paths and Azure Energy, the user can¡­ description has been omitted.> n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Looking through the techniques the skill allowed him to ess in detail, aside from the fact that each technique now leaned towards a certain element, his spear arts were far more destructive than before.


    At the same time, he felt as if he could string the techniques together in a certain order, something he did not feel back when the skill had yet to be baptized with Azure Energy.


    Curious as to whether his thoughts were true, the young man felt the urge to grab the spear behind his back and go through the basic movements of the various techniques to prove his hypothesis.


    Though, in the end, he decided to suppress this urge, closing the screen before him as he brought the screen containing his main magic skill right in front of him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts] (Lv. 1/30)


    Rarity: Rare+


    The human race is considered to be a race specializing in adaptation¡­ description has been omitted.


    Thanks to the intervention of a Divine-level being, the user has finally gained insight and grasped the power his unique subss holds, a subss originally theorized by a being of Shadow Energy, only to be proved as a more than confirmed reality by the Divine-level being itself.


    This skill allows the user to cast magic ording to the magic of a Shadow Serpent that follows the rules of the Four Azure Paths, a series of truths birthed from theprehension of the user in the field of Shadow Energy, the Four Elements that interact with mana, and the Azure Energy the Divine-level being had given him ess to.


    This style consists of 4 offensive moves and 1 auxiliary move, with each subsequent move being far more powerful than the previous


    <First Technique: Four Paths Azure Bolt - There is simplicity in the Four Azure Paths, yet also a myriad of possibilities.


    Tapping into the power of the Four Azure Paths and Azure Energy, this technique¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Second Technique: Azure Phoenix''s Lament - When the sky burns red, the phoenix begins toment¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Third Technique: Dominion of the Azure Turtle - Amongst the four primordial beasts, the turtle is the most unyielding in territory¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Fourth Technique: Azure Dragon''s w - The pinnacle of a dragon''s strengthes from their ws, ruination hidden beneath every strike¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Ultimate Technique: Four Paths Azure Zenith - The Four Azure Paths all originate from the same point. By reaching this point, one could achieve the zenith, the pinnacle the power the Four Azure Paths hold.


    Tapping into the power of the Four Azure Paths and Azure Energy, this technique allows the user¡­ description has been omitted.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reading through the description of the various techniques making up the [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts], Valyr immediately noticed how each one seemed more descriptive than the ones for the spear.


    "I guess it has something to do with how there''s more to magic than meets the eye, being more closely to the elements and energy and all that," said Valyr in spection, shrugging his shoulders at the thought.


    "Either way, as long as I have an idea on how to use it well, that''s all that matters."


    "Though I guess it wouldn''t hurt to shore up my foundations on this area when all is said and done."


    Closing the screen containing his core magic skill, Valyr moved the final screen he''d brought up in front of his vision, recalling how he''d been using only one of the techniques under it all this time.


    "Time to see how those other techniques have changed now that it''s turned into the [Azure Dragon Movement Arts]."


    Ding!

 Chapter 917 Duality and Trinity

    Chapter 917 Duality and Trinity


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [Azure Dragon Movement Arts] (Lv. 1/30)


    Rarity: Rare+


    The human race is considered to be a race specializing in adaptation¡­ description has been omitted.


    Thanks to the intervention of a Divine-level being, the user has finally gained insight and grasped the power his unique subss holds, a subss originally theorized by a being of Shadow Energy, only to be proved as a more than confirmed reality by the Divine-level being itself.


    Originally emting the movements of the Shadow Serpent, this skill allows the user to emte the movements of an Azure Dragon, the primordial beast considered the fastest and most elusive among the four.


    This skill consists of 4 moves in total, with each subsequent move giving the user more freedom in their movements, alongside unparalleled speed.


    <First Technique: Blink of the Azure Dragon - An Azure Dragon harnesses the wind''s intrinsic properties, turning it into its own y field¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Second Technique: sh of the Azure Dragon - Once the Azure Dragon immerses and melds itself with the wind, any movement it makes will only leave an afterimage behind, leaving those trailing it far behind in the dust¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Third Technique: Azure Dragon Soaring Skies - The Azure Dragon is at its fastest when it''s in the air, bing one with the world as it soars the vast skies¡­ description has been omitted.>


    <Ultimate Technique: Flight of the Azure Dragon - Flight is an ability humans would only gain ess to after achieving a higher level of strength. On the other hand, the Azure Dragon flies asnaturally as breathing¡­ description has been omitted.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "The only technique I have a lot of experience with among these four is [Flight of the Azure Dragon]," said Valyr to himself as he closed the screen,mitting the information he just read to memory.


    "Though I did make use of [Blink of the Azure Dragon] before, it was only once." As the gears turned in his mind, Valyr had a pensive expression on his face as he rubbed his chin.


    "Even though I have a feeling they''ll work simrly to how they did, I should find an opportunity to use the other techniques in the future," thought Valyr out loud. "After all, [Flight of the Azure Dragon] alone proved that there''s a limit to how much I can rely on past experience."


    Nodding in satisfaction as he looked at his core skills in detail, the young man decided to take a look at the other skills transformed by Azure Energy as well.


    However, unlike the three skills he looked at just then, Valyr did not put too much emphasis into them, considering that most of the other skills transformed by Azure Energy were rted to the four foundational elements.


    "Well, there''s also the Shadow Energy-rted skills transformed by Azure Energy," muttered Valyr as he briefly looked at the screen containing its description. "I should take the time to familiarize with them in the future."


    "Same goes with Mystic Energy," continued Valyr, being reminded that he had not made use of it at all throughout his time in the inheritance.


    Sure, he had learned a few things from Vera here and there in regards to Mystic Energy.


    However, as the five of them delved deeper into the secrets of the inheritance, the less time they spent on the matter, considering how each day within the inheritance was equivalent to two weeks outside.


    "I wonder why Mystia gave me ess to this energy?" asked the young man to himself, recalling the conversation he had with her back in the auction.


    Eventually recalling a memory where he told himself that he''d contact Mystia after consuming those items she gave him, Valyr adorned a bitter smile at the thought, thinking about how over nine months had already passed since that time.


    ''Well, that is the reason why Vera told me she''d teach me how to use Mystic Energy in her stead,'' thought the young man to himself, letting out a faint exhale soon after.


    ''In any case, that''s another agenda I should take care of somewhere down the line.''


    As he went over the other thoughts that lingered in his mind after that, Valyr looked out of his room''s window, absentmindedly admiring the cityscape Algerie Kingdom had to offer once more.


    At some point, he began to pick up on this small habit he was forming, prompting him to recall the state of Algerie and the other kingdoms back in his past life during the War of the Three Sovereignties.


    "I guess that''s part of the reason why I take the time to stare out into the horizon whenever I can." Valyr chuckled in slight amusement. "But I don''t know¡­ for some reason, whenever I look out at the city, my mind feels at peace."


    Faintly shrugging his shoulders as he continued to stare out at the city for a bit more, Valyr eventually pondered on what he should do next.


    Feeling somewhat disinclined to head to the cksmith Guild or the Spearman Guild at this time, the young man returned his focus towards the things he''d gained from the inheritance.


    Namely, the ones he obtained from Vaughn that he had yet to use.


    "The Truth Weaver Scripture¡­ and the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races."


    Though Vaughn had given these two rewards to him as if they were an afterthought, the young man still vividly recalled the man''s words on how they would prove incredibly useful to someone that still hadn''t reached the Divine level.


    Of course, Valyr was still far away from reaching that kind of level.


    "One''s a skill, the other''s a type of knowledge." Focusing his attention on the Truth Weaver Scripture, the young man brought up all of the information Vaughn gave him on the skill in his mind.


    "Trinity, Dual Trinity, and Trinity of Trinities¡­ these are the first three levels of the Truth Weaver Scripture," muttered Valyr to himself, beginning to organize the information he''d obtained from Vaughn in greater detail.


    Just as he had extrapted from his conversation with Vaughn back then, each level corresponded to the total number of concepts he could weave at once.


    "But does practicing the Truth Weaver Scripture mean I would need toprehend that many concepts in order to reach that level?"


    As the thought came to mind, Valyr thought about the number of Intents he currently had under his belt.


    "Shadow Energy, Four Elements, True Mana, Forging, Forger''s mes, and the Spear¡­ a total of 6 Intents."


    With six Intents under his belt, the young man would have no issue reaching the Dual Trinity level.


    "I would need toprehend three more Intents if I want to reach the Trinity of Trinities level," muttered the young man to himself, slightly shuddering at the thought.


    In the end, he pushed the matter aside for the meantime, deciding to try and use the Truth Weaver Scripture first before proceeding to ask more questions about it.


    ''After all, I could just ask Vaughn about it if I wanted to.''


    With that in mind, the young man went over the first level of the Truth Weaver Scripture in his mind, closing his eyes as he entered a state of total concentration.


    Whoosh!


    Summoning the power of the Intent of Shadow Energy, Valyr felt one of the connections he had to the world awaken, sending him a source of strength that was attuned to the concept heprehended.


    Not long after, he activated the Intent of the Four Elements, feeling its strength wash over his body as well.


    Going over the steps needed to achieve Trinity in his mind, Valyr eventually willed the two Intents to merge. ''Before trying out Trinity, I should attempt Duality first.''


    Swoosh!


    Manipting both Intents with his willpower, the young man followed the instructions of the Truth Weaver Scripture, weaving the two Intents in a way that reminded him of what he did to unlock Azure Energy.


    However, unlike the braid he made back then, the braid he made this time around looked more intricate, giving Valyr the feeling that there was more power to be untapped into the Intents he''d weaved.


    Sending out a thought of having the Intent of Shadow Energy be the emphasis of that extra power, Valyr immediately felt an increase in the strength of his connection through that Intent.


    Though the increase wasn''t even half of the 10% the first level of the Truth Weaver Scripture promised him, the mere confirmation of the Truth Weaver Scripture''s effect pushed Valyr to try and achieve the stage of Trinity.


    Awakening the Intent of True Mana, Valyr thought of using the Truth Weaver Scripture from the perspective of how Azure Energy was formed for the meantime, intertwining the Intents that epassed Shadow Energy and mana together.


    Whoosh!


    With how the Intent of Shadow Energy and the Four Elements sessfully weaved together without much issue, Valyr had high hopes that the Intent of True Mana would weave without issues as well, forming the Trinity he sought.


    However, that task proved a bit more difficult than he thought, with the initial weave between the two Intents dispelling each time he tried incorporating the Intent of True Mana into it.


    Fortunately, having already gone through an experience of being close to sess for over two years back when he was still learning Azure Energy, Valyr continued to persevere.


    By the time it was midday, the young man found initial sess, with the Intent of True Mana finally merging together with the two other Intents.


    Unfortunately, the effect it gave was at the same level as if there were only two Intents weaved together.


    Thankfully, by afternoon, he was now able to bring out the untapped power contained within the Intent of True Mana, allowing the increase to the Intent of Shadow Energy to now be over half of the 10% that the stage of Trinity promised.


    And by the time it had reached sunset¡­


    Whoosh!


    Merging the three Intents together in a fluid motion, Valyr immediately felt the untapped power from the two other Intents awakening, sending all of them into the Intent of Shadow Energy the moment he could.


    The result?


    An Intent of Shadow Energy that could now be considered Pseudo-5th Grade in power.

 Chapter 918 Three Days

    918 Three Days


    Whoosh!


    After he tried using the Truth Weaver Scripture to empower the Intent of Shadow Energy, it did not take long for the young man to do the same thing with the other Intents under his arsenal.


    Thinking about how Azure Energy was formed, Valyr tried using the Truth Weaver Scripture on the Intent of the Four Elements first, immediately sensing the connection he had with the four elements deepen.


    Making use of this slightly stronger connection as he released a bit of his Azure Energy, the young man immediately felt the attunements having greater effect than before, eliciting a satisfied smile to creep up onto his lips.


    After that came the Intent of True Mana, which made Valyr feel more of the boundless property that mana innately had.


    Utilizing the empowered Intent through pure mana, the young man felt that its quality now seemed somewhat on par with the braided energy he''d made back when he was still learning Azure Energy under Sellifer.


    Considering that he nearly had a hundred thousand points of mana at this point, Valyr felt like this specificbination would have great usester down in the line, especially once he brought both his Shadow Energy and mana to 1st Metamorphosis.


    Of course, it went without saying that the empowered Intent had greater effect when he made use of it through Azure Energy.


    With Shadow Energy focusing on the property of destruction, mana focused on the property of creation and proliferation, which was more than evident as he manipted the Azure Energy in various ways.


    Through the Intent of True Mana, his Azure Energy seemed sturdier and more pliable than before, causing him toe up with a couple of scenarios where such a property would be useful.


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament] would probably benefit the most from this," muttered Valyr to himself with a nod as he mulled over it.


    Orderingte dinner from the inn, the young man then moved on to the three other Intents that did not have a direct rtion to Azure Energy.


    Surprisingly, Intent of the Spear meshed well with Azure Energy, considering how one of his corebat skills revolved around using the spear alongside it.


    Either way, having Intent of the Spear empowered through the scripture had a simr effect to having the Intent of Shadow Energy empowered, improving the offensive power contained within his skills.


    Aside from that, it also had the effect of strengthening his spear, which Valyr thought would see great use once he obtained the solution to the Mark of the Alltide from Vaughn.


    Thest two Intents he used the Truth Weaver Scripture on were the Intent of Forging and the Intent of the Forger''s mes, both of them being production-rted Intents.


    Because of that, it was only until around the noon of next day was he able to empower one of these Intents to the Duality level, reaching the Trinity level by the time it was night once more.


    Unlike thebat-rted Intents he''d empowered through the Truth Weaver Scripture, empowering either the Intent of Forging or the Intent of the Forger''s mes felt less substantial in a way.


    Of course, with the experience he had in his past life, he had a hunch as to why that was the feeling he got, immediately heading to the cksmith Guild by the time the sun rose once more.


    Receiving a quota from Julian that was simr to the one hepleted before, Valyr soon made use of the Truth Weaver Scripture on the production-rted Intents, immediately confirming its effects by the time he''d finished forging around five weapons.


    ''As expected,'' thought the young man to himself with a faint smile.


    ''Though the connection to the world has been strengthened with it active, these Intents only begin to shine once they''re used in the right setting.''


    Compared tobat-rted Intents, production-rted Intents boosted the user''s Attack coefficient by half of what abat-rted Intent would boost it at the same grade.


    However, to make up for it, these Intents boosted other areas, most of them having something to do with the field of production rted to Intent.


    In Valyr''s case, whether he used the Intent of Forging or the Intent of the Forger''s mes, the Intent he had active would boost the speed at which he forged an item, as well as the final stats of the item he forged by a certain amount.


    With both Intents at 6th Grade, his forging speed was boosted by 12%, while the final stats of any item he forged was boosted by 8%.


    Naturally, that figure was a bit higher with the Truth Weaver Scripture active.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Making great use of the Truth Weaver Scripture in his forging, it only took a bit over three days for Valyr to finish his quota, forgoing the need for rest once more as he left Julian at a loss for words.


    "Were you holding yourself back before or something?" Once he got the message from Valyr that he was done with his quota, Julian immediately made his way to the young man''s workshop as soon as possible, his expression in disbelief.


    "I guess you could say that," replied Valyr, awkwardly chuckling at the question. "I''m still in the process of familiarizing myself with the forge again, so I feel like something simr would happen if I were to do it again."


    "No promises, though."


    "¡­" Hearing those words, Julian could only remain silent, taking in a deep breath before making the decision to improve Valyr''s rewards once more.


    From 30,000 points each, he had given the young man another 10,000, bringing Valyr''s total merit points under the cksmith Guild to 75,000.


    "75,000 merit points is actually more than enough to avail the cksmith Guild''s rarer treasures," said Julian after briefly checking through the young man''s information through the guild. "You should really think about using it some time."


    "If you''re thinking about saving it in order to improve your rank, the progress to the next rank stays even if you spend it all," added the man, only tough soon after. "Other than that, you''re an Honorary Lesser Elder. You''ll have to amass over 300,000 merit points at the very least for your rank to improve."


    "In any case, you should really head back to your ce and get some rest," Julian said, looking at Valyr as the young man fell silent. "You''ve spent three days straight without even getting some shuteye, after all."


    "I will." Though Julian''s words about his merit points continued to linger in his mind, Valyr decided to focus on getting rest first, feeling a bit of the lethargy finally seep into his body.


    After talking with Julian a bit more about what he could do with the merit points, the young man eventually left the cksmith Guild, heading back to the inn to get some well-needed rest.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 919 Further Experimentation

    919 Further Experimentation


    "Mngh¡­"


    Feeling his body return to its peak condition, Valyr gradually roused his consciousness from its slumber, slightly regretting the fact that he''d gotten up.


    Nevertheless, as the time he spent in the cksmith Guild gave him a couple of insights in the Truth Weaver Scripture, he nned on making use of those insights to try and breach the next stage.


    "Dual Trinity¡­" muttered Valyr to himself the moment he felt his consciousness fully awaken, prompting him to stand up from his bed.


    Taking a brief look outside, the young man''s eyes widened in slight surprise, only for his lips to curl up in a wry smile soon after.


    "Nighttime, huh¡­" Valyr let out a chuckle, briefly pondering over the time he finished the quota Julian gave him.


    ''By the time I was finished, it was around an hour or two before noon¡­'' thought the young man to himself, eventually nodding in understanding.


    ''Considering that I''ve spent two days less forgoing sleep this time around, I guess it all adds up.''


    With the confusion in his mind settled, Valyr swiftly went through his daily routine, eager to make more progress in the Truth Weaver Scripture.


    Ordering a slightly heavy meal from the inn, the young man empowered his various Intents through the scripture once more, making great use of the stage of Trinity.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Going through the six Intents under his arsenal one by one, Valyr faintly nodded in satisfaction the moment he felt the Truth Weaver Scripture working its magic.


    "I spent the past three days using the Truth Weaver Scripture alongside those two Intents." Valyr recounted what he''d done before heading back to the inn. "Though I found some time to make use of the other Intents through the scripture, I still mostly revolved around using the two of them."


    "Because of that, using those Intents through the Truth Weaver Scripture feel a bit smoother, as if it takes significantly less effort to use than the other Intents," surmised the young man through what he felt, thinking about putting in a bit more effort on hisbat-rted Intents.


    Making up his mind to allocate some time on refining his control over the four Intents, Valyr was just about to begin spending time on it, only to be disturbed by the meal he ordered being delivered to his room.


    After thanking and giving the one that delivered his meal a small tip, the young man hastily devoured the meal he ordered, spending only a few minutes relishing the meal before returning his attention to the Truth Weaver Scripture.


    Whoosh!


    Having made use of the Truth Weaver Scripture many times at this point, it did not take long for the young man to go through the entire process of weaving the Intents together, choosing the specific Intent to empower after that.


    Wanting to bnce out his control over the six Intents, Valyr spent the entire night going through the fourbat-rted Intents in cyclical order, arriving at what he felt likea satisfactory level by the time the sun rose.


    Feeling as if he''d solidified his foundations on the Truth Weaver Scripture, a hint of excitement briefly shed on Valyr''s face as he brought up information on the next stage in his mind.


    "Dual Trinity¡­"


    From the name of the next stage itself, Valyr would only be at that stage officially if he were to weave six concepts together.


    But of course, just like achieving Trinity, he would have to aplish a few things first.


    Such as weaving four or five concepts together.


    Swoosh!


    Thinking about how he achieved both Duality and Trinity, Valyr decided to follow the concept of Azure Energy once more, activating all of hisbat-rted Intents with that thought in mind.


    "Weaving four concepts together would mean that I''ve reached the level of Tetrad," muttered Valyr to himself, going over the information in his mind as he began to weave the four concepts together one by one.


    "On the other hand, weaving five concepts together would allow me to reach the level of Pentad."


    "After that woulde Dual Trinity, or Hexad¡­ I should focus on reaching Tetrad first, though."


    Although the level of Tetrad wasn''t an official stage in the Truth Weaver Scripture unlike Trinity and Dual Trinity, its effects were still written in considerable detail on the scripture.


    ording to the information Valyr obtained from Vaughn, achieving Tetrad would effectively allow him to boost the effects of the Intent he chose by 15%.


    As for Pentad, that figure increased to 18%, with Dual Trinity bringing that number to 20%.


    With a 20% boost to the effects of his Intent, Valyr''s Intents would effectively be one grade higher than they were as long as they were 5th Grade or higher.


    "If I were to reach Trinity of Trinities¡­ who knows what level of power my Intents would reach." Valyr chuckled at the thought.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Seeing as he''d already weaved three of the four Intents together, Valyr began to weave the fourth one through the other three, understandably taking a careful approach in doing so.


    Fwoosh!


    However, just like his earlier attempts at achieving Trinity, the young man did not seed from the get-go, failing at his first attempt.


    Thinking about what he''d done wrong during the weaving process, Valyr tried again once more, this time taking a slightly different approach from the one he took before.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    Failure after failure, Valyr continued to attempt reaching the level of Tetrad, slowly but surely making progress every time he watched the entire weave crumble before his very eyes.


    Though he was disheartened at some points, the young man continued to persevere, reminding himself of the hardships he went through, the reasons why he was willing to go such lengths.


    With that, an entire day passed with him attempting a weave of four Intents over and over again, the progress he made in doing so marginal at best.


    Nevertheless, he did not give up.


    Two days.


    Three days.


    Four days.


    "This is it."


    Whoosh! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Activating the fourbat-rted Intents who knew how many times at this point, Valyr took in a calming breath as he skillfully weaved three Intents together, easily reaching the stage of Trinity.


    Looking at the remaining Intent he had yet to weave, the young man took another deep breath, gathering strength from all of the insights he''d obtained from the incessant number of failures thus far.


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a deep exhale as heposed himself, Valyr ced all of his attention on it, slowly but surely weaving the fourth Intent in all the right ces, gradually bringing out the untapped power containing within it.


    By the time the weave wasplete, Valyr adorned a relieved smile, immediately sensing its improved effects the moment he chose the Intent of Shadow Energy.


    "Tetrad,plete."

 Chapter 920 Slight Desperation

    920 Slight Desperation


    Controlling the Intent of Shadow Energy empowered by the stage of Tetrad, it did not take long for a smile to appear on Valyr''s face, more than satisfied with the improvement the new stage brought.


    "The fact that just weaving another concept into it already boosts the effect of an Intent this much makes me hopeful for the time I reach Dual Trinity," said Valyr to himself, chuckling as he toyed around with the Intent for a bit more.


    After he was done with the Intent of Shadow Energy, he moved onto his otherbat-rted Intents, going through them more or less in a simr fashion to when he achieved Trinity for the first time.


    After all, aside from the fact that the Intents had considerably be stronger now that he was weaving four Intents at once, there wasn''t really much change in the overall scheme of things.


    Unsurprisingly, the young man faced difficulty yet again once he attempted Tetrad on the production-rted Intents, considering how the concepts the other Intents tackled didn''t match the other two he had.


    Though, as he already had experience with this problem in the past, it only took a couple more hours for the young man to sessfully achieve Tetrad for his production-rted Intents.


    "I suppose it''s time to test the effects of Tetrad out while forging weapons." Seeing that it was still midday, Valyr made the decision to head to the cksmith Guild.


    Of course, the young man knew that he had already spent the past four days wide awake in his attempts to push the Truth Weaver Scripture to the next step, which made him think whether or not he should take a rest before doing so.


    However, as the adrenaline from sessfully achieving Tetrad was still coursing throughout his body, Valyr felt that there wasn''t any problem in pushing his luck.


    And if he were to fall asleep while in the midst of forging weapons for the quota?


    He could just tell Julian he was getting some rest. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After all, that''s what he wanted, right?


    ¡­


    "To think you''ve forged over 100 weapons in a span of a couple weeks," said Julian as he interacted with his screen. "You''re definitely alleviating quite a bit of the burden the cksmith Guild is facing."


    Ding!


    Receiving the quest containing his usual quota, Valyr took a brief look at it before chuckling. "It''s the least I can do, especially with how much I''ve gained from entering the inheritance."


    "Speaking of which, what happened after you shared those packets of information throughout the guild?" asked the young man not long after, looking at Julian with a hint of curiosity.


    During his second trip to the cksmith Guild, Julian asked Valyr in the midst of forging whether or not he could share more of the information he got from the inheritance, mentioning that he would be using it as some sort of incentive.


    Though slightly annoyed at first, the young man eventually acquiesced, giving the man information on technology up to the end of the Early Middle Ages, as well as technology that epassed the beginning and the peak of the High Middle Ages.


    "Surprisingly, many of the cksmiths that got those packets have made great strides in their forging," replied Julian, closing his screen as he looked at Valyr with a grateful smile.


    "By sharing information up to the High Middle Ages, the amount of Technology Points for them to unlock advancements in their Technology Trees had been greatly reduced, improving the overall knowledge of the cksmiths in our guild."


    "Alongside knowledge, their skills and quality of craft have also improved as well, with many of them now entering the level of elite cksmiths in terms of skill."


    "Some have even gone above and beyond, now standing at the forefront when ites to forging with knowledge of High Middle Age technology," said the man with a bit of pride.


    "Of course, when wepare to someone like me or the directors of the other cksmith Guild branches, they''re stillcking." Julian chuckled. "If wepare them to you, then they''re leagues behind from where you stand."


    "As long as it could help," said Valyr with a smile, satisfied that one small decision of his had arge positive effect on the others. "Now that I think about it, what happened to the proposal with the blueprints?"


    "At this point, I think I''m the only one among them that still holds hope in making it a reality." Julian let out a faint sigh. "I tried discussing it with the other directors after you returned to the inn back then, but to no avail."


    "Is it still because you''recking proof?" asked Valyr, to which Julian nodded in response.


    Just as the man was about to ask the young man why he brought up the topic again, Valyr soon told Julian something that left thetter at a loss for words.


    "Well, if that''s the problem, why don''t I juste with you the next time you have a meeting with the other directors?" said Valyr, a faint smile adorning his face at the end of it. "I could show them how useful the armor is so the proposal gets through, while also showing them how useful my improved arquebus is so you don''t have to make another proposal after that."


    "You get your wish granted, while I get the rewards we''ve agreed upon and a bit more. It''s a win-win situation, no?" At those words, Valyr let out a bit ofughter.


    08:35


    "¡­" Bing silent as he went over the words the young man said to him in his mind, Julian eventually let out a deep exhale before looking at Valyr with a calm expression.


    "You''re doing humanity a great service." With a nod, Julian had more or less confirmed that he was on board with Valyr''s idea. "Your contributions wouldn''t go unnoticed."


    Hearing Julian''s words, Valyr merely smiled, nodding before making his way to the workshop he was allocated.


    Once there, he went through the usual task of preparing his workshop for the long forging session.


    From ordering the materials he needed to organizing them into neat piles, to firing up the furnace, all of them were done in a fluid motion, giving Valyr the canvas he needed to test out the improved Truth Weaver Scripture.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Activating [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith], Valyr soon activated the Truth Weaver Scripture, focusing the power of Tetrad on his Intent of Forging.


    With the two working together alongside his Hammer of Beginnings, as well as the many skills and titles he had rted to forging, it took Valyr a total of two and a half days to go through the quota, shaving off an entire half daypared to his previous quota.


    "[Superior Analysis]." Though he''d already been awake for an entire week at this point, Valyr still felt alert as he took a quick look at thest weapon he forged for the quota.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Refined War Scythe of Voras] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Rare


    Foundation Tier: None


    Attack: 391 - 651


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Though the blueprint used to forge the weapon is considered subpar at best, with the goal of forging a great number of its kind in a short amount of time, this weapon has transcended the boundaries of its blueprint, most of it due to the cksmith that forged it.


    In its current state, it could be considered an exquisite weapon made for the sole purpose of killing, a weapon many would seek to obtain for themselves. Of course, that''s all due to the cksmith that forged it, their skill seemingly originating the beginning of cksmithing itself.


    <Innate Skill 1: Made for War - Increases the user''s Attack stat by 5%>


    <Innate Skill 2: Battlefield Harvester - Allows the user to sh out horizontally, sending out a de that covers a radius of 3 meters around the user, dealing 250% of the user''s Attack stat. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 500 MP.>


    Remarks: It''s a scythe, alright. Average in nature, but one of your better works.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Compared to the Rare items I''ve forged near the beginning of my journey, it''s definitely better in many ways than before," muttered Valyr to himself, more than satisfied with the items he''d forged.


    With the quota and the test on the effects of Tetrad on forgingplete, the young man sent a message to Julian as he made his way out of the guild, giving thetter a heads-up that he was done.


    ''I should probably ask Julian the next time Ie here if the weapons those at the frontlines need really need to be forged by the cksmith Guild,'' thought the young man to himself as he walked to the entrance, recalling the cache of weapons within the inheritance.


    Letting out a slightly long yawn after that, the young man was just about to leave the cksmith Guild for good¡­


    Only to be disturbed by a couple of messages from Noel.


    Ding!


    "I hope you haven''t forgotten me, Valyr. I''m not forcing you toe to the Spearman Guild right now, but I do hope youe at some point."


    "I just want to see how you''re doing, that''s all."


    Reading through the messages he received, Valyr soon had a look of realization on his face, as if the jigsaw pieces making up his mind had finally clicked together. "Right... Noel wanted me to head to the Spearman Guild because of my Azure Energy."


    "Well¡­" Pondering over the matter for a bit, a slight frown adorned Valyr''s face as he read through the messages once more.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him toe to a decision.


    "He did say he''s not forcing me toe to the Spearman Guild today," said Valyr with a shrug of his shoulders, taking the man''s words at face value.


    "I guess I''ll head back to the inn first, then head there after I wake up."


    And with that, Valyr made up his mind, pushing Noel''s messages to the side for the meantime as he arrived at the inn not long after.


    Valyr isn''t intentionally avoiding Noel at all. Definitely not.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 921 A Sudden Visit

    921 A Sudden Visit


    Algerie Kingdom, Spearman Guild.


    "Alright. Let''s stop our training here."


    As those words came out of Noel''s mouth, over a hundred people wielding spears let out a sigh of relief, immediately slumping to the ground as they got their rest.


    Looking at their tired expressions, a faint smile gradually crept up Noel''s lips as he affixed his spear to his back.


    ''It won''t be long till their gaze carries a ferocious glint inbat,'' thought the old man to himself, nodding in satisfaction at the progress the new batch of recruits were making.


    Giving the recruits more time to rest than usual, Noel sat at a nearby chair and leaned on it, feeling a wave of relief wash over his back.


    Though, not long after, the man soon sat straight up, his expression a slight frown as he brought up a screen before him.


    Ding!


    Looking through the screen, the frown on the old man''s face deepened, his attention focused on a certain person''s name.


    "Valyr¡­" muttered Noel to himself, immediately taking notice that the young man had not responded to histest set of messages yet.


    Ever since he''d received news that Valyr had finally left the inheritance, Noel felt a bit of joy towards the young man, certain that the young man had benefited a lot from it.


    However, that joy turned into disbelief once he read from one of Julian''s messages that the young man had gained ess to a peculiar energy called Azure Energy.


    ''Whether it''s a coincidence or not, I have to check if it''s connected to that person,'' thought Noel as the memory came to mind, being reminded of a time early on in his journey to bing a prominent figure when it came to Shadow Energy.


    Recalling how he fervently begged in front of that divine being, only for the being to eventually take pity on him, Noel was incredibly curious as to whether or not Valyr had made contact with that person as well.


    "Is he intentionally not responding to my messages?" Seeing that the couple of messages he sent an hour or so earlier had only been left on read, the frown on Noel''s face deepened as he briefly scratched the back of his head.


    "That''s it. I''ve made up my mind." Making up his mind, Noel sent a series of messages to some of the staff members and elders of the Spearman Guild, giving them a heads-up on what he nned on doing.


    Standing up from his chair, he retrieved the spear from his back, prompting all of the recruits before him to stand up as well and get into a battle stance.


    Swinging his spear for the recruits to follow, Noel thought to himself, ''Once dawn breaks, I''ll head to where Valyr is staying and confront him there.''


    ''That way, he wouldn''t be able to avoid me.''


    ¡­


    "Haah¡­"


    Letting out a slight yawn, Valyr gradually got out of bed, getting the feeling that he''d slept longer than usual.


    Giving his consciousness some time to rouse from its slumber, the young man soon brought up his status screen, only to find out that the exact opposite happened.


    ''Hmm?'' Raising his eyebrow at the realization, Valyr immediately pushed such thoughts to the side as he went through his daily routine, considering his short sleep a good thing with how long he''d stayed awake this time around.


    "Speaking of which, I should pay a visit to the Spearman Guild," Valyr reminded herself while in the shower, recalling the multiple messages he''d gotten from Noel about it.


    "I wonder why?" asked the young man to himself after that, getting a strong hunch that it had something to do with Azure Energy.


    However, he did not know whether Noel''s intentions were to take a look at the Azure Energy, learn from him how to wield it, or ask him about the creator of the Azure Energy he was wielding.


    ''Well, I''ll find that out sooner orter.'' With that, the young man changed into a set of fresh clothes, double-checking if all of his personal equipment were in his spatial bracelet.


    "Now that I think about it, I''ve already met the necessary conditions to push my Azure Energy to the Azure Echo stage," muttered the young man to himself as he mulled over the topic of Azure Energy for a bit more.


    Making a mental note to improve his Azure Energy in the next few days, Valyr decided to get some breakfast from the inn before leaving, only for his train of thought to be interrupted by a series of knocks from the door.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Who could that be?" Valyr looked at the door in slight confusion, certain that he had not made any promises with other people to meet at his ce these past few days.


    Of course, the thought of Wells and Edward returning had also crossed his mind, prompting him to take a look at his chat function.


    Though he had gotten an update from Wells that they hadpleted their task and were on their way back from orc territory, the man did not mention anything about them returning to Algerie this soon.


    Thus, with slight trepidation, the young man mustered up the courage to open the door, only to be greeted by a face that he nned on seeingter in the day.


    "Long time no see, Valyr." Before the young man opened the door, Noel initially sported a slight frown.


    However, once he looked at Valyr directly in the eyes, that frown immediately turned into a faint smile, making the man seem like a caring old man.


    "How have you been?" asked Noel, causing Valyr to look back at the former with a slightly apologetic smile.


    "I''ve been doing well, Elder Noel," replied the young man, immediately apologizing for not being able toe to the Spearman Guild these past few days. "I was nning to head to the Spearman Guildter, actually." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Oh, is that so?" At this point, Noel was all smiles, giving the young man a slightly unnerving feeling. "I presume you were gonna get some breakfast before heading to the guild, no?"


    Hearing that, Valyr could only nod, wondering whether the old man before him was truly the Noel he knew.


    "Come with me, then." Noel chuckled in response, turning around as he beckoned Valyr to follow him. "I haven''t eaten any breakfast myself, so I''ll treat you to some breakfast before we head to the guild."


    Briefly scratching the back of his head, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh, nodding as he and Noel eventually left the inn.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 922: Visiting the Spearman Guild

    Chapter 922: Visiting the Spearman Guild


    ?


    Though Noel had mentioned before they left the inn that he''d be treating him to breakfast, Valyr had no thoughts of making use of the opportunity to eat his fill and some more.


    Instead, due to how the old man acted when he met him, he surprisingly ate less this time around, wanting nothing more than to head to the Spearman Guild as soon as possible.


    Of course, it did not take much figuring out for him to understand why Noel was acting like that, considering how he''d ignored the old man''s wishes of heading to the Spearman Guild as soon as possible all this time.


    ''If I wasn''t busy forging weapons in the cksmith Guild to contribute to the quota, I was working on improving my proficiency with the Truth Weaver Scripture,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling a bit of guilt for only meeting Noel over three weeks after he''d left the inheritance.


    On top of that, it wasn''t out of his own ord that he met the man.


    Noel had been the one to take the initiative to meet him in person.


    With that, the young man did not entertain thoughts of stuffing himself silly, instead choosing to converse with Noel whenever thetter struck up a topic.


    Unsurprisingly, their conversation revolved over his time in the inheritance, as well as the things he''d experienced and gained during that time.


    Having already said simr things to Julian before, Valyr more or less gave Noel simr information, omitting many of the things he''d experienced in the inheritance that didn''t have any business being known by anyone aside from him.


    Of course, when the young man had brought up the fact that he''d gained ess to Azure Energy in the inheritance, Noel''s eyes briefly glistened with curiosity, thinking about the thoughts that lingered in his mind the previous night.


    However, as they were outside, the old man restrained himself, choosing to talk about what he was doing for the past nine months Valyr was in the inheritance.


    As he was one of the elders of the more prominentbat ss guilds in Veldanyr, it went without saying that the man had participated in the frontlines around the time the skirmish between the two races had erupted into a full-on war.


    Though, after contributing greatly in the first few battles, Noel eventually realized that he wasn''t really suited to fight in the frontlines.


    Instead, he thought that it was better for him to instruct recruits on how to wield the spear properly, allowing their strength to be magnified on the battlefield.


    Naturally, many of Noel''s peers were skeptical of his decision at first.


    But, as more and more of Noel''s recruits participated in the battlefield, many of them began to agree that Noel had made the right decision, allowing him to support humanity during the war in his own way.


    Seeing that Valyr had seemingly lost the appetite for breakfast at the end of his conversation, a faint smile tugged on Noel''s lips as he looked at him in the eye. "Shall we head to the guild, then?"


    At those words, the young man nodded, causing the smile on Noel''s lips to widen as they left the eatery.


    With their empowered physiques and movement skills, it only took a few minutes for the two to arrive at the Spearman Guild, with Noel immediately requesting a training ground the moment they went through the entrance.


    Fortunately, he had given many of the staff members and other high-ranking personnel in the guild a heads-up the previous night, causing the allocation of the training ground to not take that long.


    Seeing the issue with the training ground be resolved in a matter of minutes, Noel nodded in satisfaction as he urged Valyr to follow him. "Come with me."


    In response, the young man did what he was told. Though, he found it peculiar that Noel''s request waspleted in such a short amount of time.


    ''Even the simplest among Julian''s requests would probably take more time than that,''


    thought Valyr to himself, deciding to not mull over the matter any further.


    ''In any case, I guess I should mentally prepare myself for what''s toe.''


    ...


    Arriving at one of the Spearman Guild''srger training grounds, Noel told Valyr that they''d be doing a bit of sparring to see how much he improved.


    Of course, the young man had already expected something like that with everything that went on, prompting him to ask whether he needed to choose a weapon from the training rack. Surprisingly, Noel shook his head in response, telling him that the goal of the spar was to find out his actual level of strength.


    "Call it a preliminary test of sorts to find out where you''d be ced in the war," said the man, causing Valyr to be slightly confused before eventually nodding in response.


    ''Though he says that, I can''t be sure whether that''s true or not,'' thought the young man to himself, distancing himself far enough from Noel as each of them made their preparations for


    the spar.


    ''After all, he''d made no mention of having me participate in the war earlier, nor in the messages I got him,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, retrieving the spear from his back as he heard Noel shout that the spar had begun.


    Feeling the curse taking effect as his strength was gradually being siphoned, Valyr immediately activated a couple of stat-boosting buffs in session, heading straight for where Noel stood.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]!"


    "[First Encore]!"


    "[Azure Dragon Movement Arts]..."


    "[sh of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Whoosh!


    Moving through the ground at breakneck speeds, it did not take long for the gap between Valyr and Noel to narrow.


    Seeing how fast the young man was moving, Noel''s eyes slightly widened in surprise, not expecting him to improve so much while in the inheritance.


    Nevertheless, that great improvement more than spurred his true emotions toe out, causing his aura to billow out in its entirety as he brandished his spear.


    "You damned brat, you should''vee to the guild the moment I told you to go!"


    With those words, Noel channeled his Abyssal Energy, condensing it around the tip of his


    spear before swinging it upward.


    "[Abyssal Serpent Style]..."


    "[Tide of the Endless Night]!"


    Swoosh!


    Seeing the old man conjure a move from before he''d even ascended to Rank 2, Valyr let out a peal ofughter as he started to circte Azure Energy around his body.


    At the same time, he employed the Truth Weaver Scripture to work, immediately achieving Tetrad as he set his Intent of Shadow Energy as the skill''s main focus.


    Watching the wave of pure void continue to grow in size before him, Valyr eventually stopped closing the distance between the two of them, instead transferring the momentum into his


    spear as he swung it upward.


    "[Four Paths Azure Spear Art]..."


    "[Stampede of the Azure Tiger]!"


    Bang!

 Chapter 923: The Abyss vs. The Azure (1)

    Chapter 923: The Abyss vs. The Azure (1)


    ?


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Noel saw Valyr send out his counterattack against the wave of darkness he sent, the old man''s expression immediately turned into that of excitement as he finally


    confirmed his suspicions.


    ''It''s not a coincidence!'' Noel inwardly shouted, his body now trembling with excitement. ''It''s the same energy that person uses!''


    Continuing to watch the young man manipte the energy into an attack, Noel looked at the dark blue energy from an objective detail,paring it to the Abyssal Energy he currently had ess to.


    "In terms of quality, the two are on par," muttered Noel to himself, nodding as it matched up with what he knew from back then. "As for quantity, that definitely has something to do with Valyr himself, not the energy."


    "Did he even head to the Shadow ne to improve his Shadow Energy reserves after I gave him that subss?" asked the old man to himself not long after, shaking his head as he watched Valyr unleash a plethora of tigers made out of Azure Energy.


    Feeling the innate power contained within these tigers, Noel instantly knew that the young man''s strength had grown by leaps and bounds while in the inheritance, excluding the fact that Valyr was now at the peak of Rank 3.


    ''Add on the fact that he got his hands on such ethereal energy, it won''t be long till he bes someone even Legends would have to be wary of.''


    Though he had that thought in mind, Noel was confident that the wave of Abyssal Energy he unleashed was still strong enough to fight against the stampede of azure tigers Valyr conjured.


    After all, if he were topare the Azure Energy Valyr currently had control over to the Azure Energy the divine being had unleashed in the past...


    "An incredibly vast chasm lies between the two of them," murmured Noel, faintly nodding as the wave and the stampede had finally collided.


    Bang! "...Eh?"


    ...


    Watching as the stampede of azure tigers got closer and closer to meeting the wave of darkness Noel had unleashed, Valyr went ahead and affixed the spear to his back, immediately stopping his temporary regression of strength.


    Keeping an eye on the attacks eventually shing, the young man moved himself to a more advantageous spot in the meantime, thinking about how his current strengthpared to the old man.


    "From what I could tell, Noel''s considerably improved in strength," muttered Valyr to himself, recalling the passive aura the man exuded while they were making their way to the Spearman Guild.


    Though he wasn''t sure how the man''s strength had improved exactly, Valyr was certain that part of that improvement came from levels, briefly opening his friend list to confirm his suspicions.


    "Level 95." Seeing this line of text pop up on his screen, a faint smile adorned Valyr''s face as he shifted his focus towards their attacks, witnessing them finally collide.


    Bang!


    In less than an instant, the stampede of azure tigers shed against the wave of darkness, attacking the wave through various means as they contained the strength to whittle it down.


    However, the wave remained steadfast, continuing to summon the power hidden beneath the Abyssal Energy used to create it to sh against the azure tigers.


    For the next few seconds after that, the two sides were at a stalemate, with none of them gaining advantage over the other.


    Unfortunately, just as it seemed like the sh would continue for a bit longer...


    Whoosh!


    Out of nowhere, the azure tigers had lost all of the strength contained within them, causing them to disperse in front of the two.


    Widening his eyes in slight surprise, Valyr watched as the wave of darkness continued on its path for a bit more, only to disperse not long after like the azure tigers.


    "Huh." Seeing how his empowered attack stood up against the might of a strong Rank 5 ss holder, Valyr was more than satisfied with the oue.


    ''Even though my attack couldn''t pierce through Noel''s attack, I''m more than certain that the same thing wouldn''t happen when I face weaker Rank 5 ss holders,'' thought Valyr to himself, inwardly chuckling soon after.


    ''And if I''m forced to fight against stronger Rank 5 ss holders? The Legends?''


    ''It''s not like I don''t have the means to turn the tides to my favor.''


    "...Eh?" Watching Valyr''s attack remain standing for so long against his attack, Noel was left at a slight loss for words.


    Of course, his initial thoughts were proven to be true, with the wave of darkness he conjured having more than enough strength to overwhelm the azure tigers the young man conjured. However, seeing how the wave disappeared on its own not long after the azure tigers lost their strength, the old man could not help but take in a deep breath, looking at the young man with a hint of fear.


    Yet, amidst that fear...


    Was a hint of expectation and excitement.


    "To think you''d grow this strong after leaving the inheritance." Moving closer to the young man, Noel immediately signaled his intentions for the fight to stop. "I must say, you''ve impressed me, brat."


    Hearing Noel return to his usual state, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he looked back at him with an awkward smile. "I still have a long way to go, Elder Noel."


    "Oh?" Noel raised his eyebrow, letting out a mocking chuckle in response. "Well, I''m d you realized that, considering how you''ve yet to improve your Shadow Energy reserves all this


    time."


    At those words, Valyr remained smiling, feeling as if he''d been caught red-handed.


    "In any case, I definitely wasn''t expecting you to get your hands on Azure Energy," said Noel after that, prompting Valyr to recall what Sellifer had told him back then. "That divine being... did you meet her?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded. "She''s the one who taught me how to wield Azure Energy in the first


    ce."


    "...I see," replied Noel after a bit of silence.


    After that, the old man began to distance himself from Valyr once more, causing thetter a


    bit of confusion.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for his confusion to be cleared up, with Noel speaking up the moment he felt there was enough distance between them. "Let''s continue our spar."


    "Eh? But I thought you wanted to stop."


    "Just for a bit," Noel replied, his expression gradually bing solemn. "However, I''m a bit curious on how far that Azure Energy of yours can go."


    "Mind indulging this old man for a bit longer?" he chuckled. "You don''t have to limit


    yourself. Use your Azure Energy as you see fit and go all out."


    For a while after that, Valyr remained silent, staring at Noel from afar.


    In the end, with a low sigh, the young man got into a battle stance, briefly checking the


    cooldown on the stat-boosting skills he''d just deactivated.


    "You sure you want me to go all out, Elder Noel?" asked Valyr once more to be sure, giving his skills the time it needed to go off cooldown. "You might regret it."


    Noelughed at that. "A brat talking about regret in front of me... show what you''ve got first


    before talking about that."


    "Either way, it''ll allow me to get an idea of where to put you when the time for your participation in the wares," said the old man after that. "My words earlier weren''t all just


    for show."


    Seeing that his main stat-boosting skills were finally off cooldown, Valyr immediately


    activated them as he red out his aura in its entirety.


    "Alright." Focusing most of his attention on Noel, the young man summoned a bit of his


    Azure Energy before dashing towards his opponent at breakneck speeds.


    "Let''s begin."

 Chapter 924: The Abyss vs. The Azure (2)

    Chapter 924: The Abyss vs. The Azure (2)


    ?


    Whoosh!


    With [sh of the Azure Dragon] active, it went without saying that Noel had a difficult time keeping track of Valyr, even with the disparity that existed between their strength.


    However, the old man was still able to track the young man down, adorning a faint smile after realizing Valyr was just heading straight at him.


    "[Abyssal Serpent Style]..."


    "[Bastion of the Boundless Abyss]!"


    Getting the feeling that the young man''s attacks would begin to deviate from merely utilizing spearmanship, Noel immediately activated one of his stronger defensive skills, casting a barrier around himself as he reminded himself not to use any of his stat-boosting skills against Valyr.


    ''After all, I''m just assessing how strong Valyr is,'' thought the old man to himself. ''There''s no reason to turn this into a fight to the death.''


    Though, just as those thoughts lingered in his mind, the young man''s next few moves caused him to begin doubting those same thoughts.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]..."


    "[Dominion of the Azure Turtle]!"


    Whoosh!


    With Valyr as the center, a massive field of energy soon expanded before Noel''s very eyes, engulfing him as his imminent surroundings took on a tinge of the dark blue Azure Energy had.


    Feeling the domain take its effect on him as it slightly reduced his strength, Noel slightly frowned as he watched the young man raise his hands to the sky the moment the domain was formed.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]..."


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]!"


    Whoosh!


    Without giving any telltale signs, the young man shot out a considerable amount of Azure Energy into the sky, causing it to expand and transform into a massive azure cloud.


    Under the effects of [Dominion of the Azure Turtle], the azure cloud gained an imposing aura to it, imbuing the same feeling into all the azure phoenixes that began to rain from it soon after.


    Screeech!!!


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Within seconds, Noel immediately felt his barrier began to crumple under the relentless onught of the azure phoenixes.


    "Guess I''ll have to change my tactics," murmured the old man to himself, imbuing the barrier with a bit of his Abyssal Energy to give himself some more time to think.


    At the same time, he watched the azure phoenixes collide against the barrier, seeing that the defensive skill still worked in reflecting the attack back to its origin, the cloud.


    However, rather than have the entire attack be reflected back to the barrier, part of the azure phoenix still lingered on its surface, slowly corroding the barrier through its azure mes.


    Understanding that he''d just be a sitting duck if he were to let the azure phoenixes gradually destroy his barrier, Noel took the initiative to dispel the barrier as he immediately dashed straight to where Valyr was.


    Whoosh!


    Though he had not activated any movement skill whatsoever, his stats were more than enough to close the gap between the two of them in less than a breath''s time, prompting Valyr to respond.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]..."


    "[Four Paths Azure Bolt]!"


    Imbuing the bolt of Azure Energy with the element of Wind, Valyr sent out a couple of them to make Noel deviate from his original path, making sure to keep a fair distance from the man at the same time.


    Of course, a few bolts were far from enough to deter the man from continuing, instead making Noel double down on his approach as he made use of his Abyssal Energy.


    "[Abyssal Serpent Slither Arts]."


    "[Lightless Warp]."


    Fwoosh!


    Before Valyr could react, the man had appeared before him, swinging down his spear imbued to the brim with Abyssal Energy.


    "[Abyssal Serpent Style]..."


    "[Boundless Abyss Engulfment]!"


    Whoosh!


    Keeping an eye on the spear''s trajectory, Valyr immediately ducked before turning into a blur of Azure Energy, distancing himself from Noel before distancing himself some more.


    "[Azure Dragon Movement Arts]..."


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]!"


    With that, the two continued sparring some more, prompting Valyr to unleash some of the techniques he''d yet to make use in an actual fight, like [Descent of the Azure Phoenix].


    Of course, with Noel having only made one of his moves known to Valyr before the spar, many of the moves he unleashed had caught the young man off guard.


    Though, with a knack forbat and strong spatial awareness, the young man was able to avoid most of them, having to rely on a couple of defensive skills for the ones he couldn''t.


    In the end, the two stood a few meters away from each other, looking at each other with exhaustion written all over their faces.


    As for the training ground, it had now been dyed a mix of ck and dark blue, its evenness now a mere thing of the past.


    Catching his breath, Noel gripped on his spear as he looked at Valyr. "So... want to continue?"


    "I''ll pass." Hearing the question, Valyr immediately chose to stop the spar. "It''s just a spar, not a fight to the death."


    Taking in a few deep breaths, he then asked the old man with a faint smile. "Anyways, what''s your verdict, Elder Noel?"


    "With the moves you''ve shown so far, you''ll greatly contribute if you were to be put in to the frontlines." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Noel affixed his spear to his back as he responded to Valyr''s question.


    "Of course, with your main ss being that of a cksmith, you''d also be able to contribute greatly from the rear."


    "In any case, I''m guessing you haven''t made use of all the moves you have in your skill list yet, no?" asked Noel, to which Valyr let out someughter before nodding.


    "I could say the same to you as well," said the young man, sitting down after getting confirmation that their fight was over.


    Wryly smiling in response to the young man''s words, Noel made his way to where Valyr was


    before sitting near him.


    Looking at the young man for a bit, the old man eventually thought of a question he had


    before meeting him, faintly mustering up the courage to ask it. "Say... do you think you could


    contact the divine being that gave you Azure Energy?"


    Raising his eyebrow in response, Valyr mulled over it for a bit before giving a slightly unsure


    nod. "I could try. Why?"


    "Oh, nothing much." Noel let out a faint chuckle at the question.


    "I just wanted to ask if she could take me in as her student."

 Chapter 925: Heading Back to the Shadow Plane

    Chapter 925: Heading Back to the Shadow ne


    ?


    "...What?"


    At the very moment those words left Noel''s mouth, Valyr looked back at the old man with a hint of confusion.


    Understanding that the main reason that Noel wanted him to visit the Spearman Guild revolved around Azure Energy, the young man already had ideas on a couple possible scenarios that would happen.


    One of those scenarios would be the old man asking him if he could contact Sellifer, considering that the two already had history in the past.


    Another possible scenario that popped up in the young man''s mind was Noel asking him if he could teach him how to harness the power of Azure Energy.


    After all, in its current state, it could already match up to the power of Abyssal Energy.


    If Noel were to get his hands on Azure Energy and bring it to greater heights, then it went without saying that he would immediately be a feared entity on the battlefield.


    Between these two things, Noel''s request leaned more towards the first possibility, but headed in a direction that the young man did not expect.


    In his mind, he thought that Noel would ask him to contact Sellifer to possibly tie up some loose ends, being reminded of the past that unfolded between the two once more.


    ''Then again, with the gap in power that exists between the two of them, I guess this should''ve been a possibility I was expecting as well,'' thought the young man not long after, not finding the old man''s request that peculiar anymore.


    "So... can you contact her?" Seeing as Valyr went silent all of a sudden after his request, a hint of concern appeared on Noel''s face as he asked in slight worry.


    Inwardly taking a deep breath, the confusion on the young man''s face was reced with a faint awkward smile. "I''ll try... but expect it to take some time."


    At those words, Noel merely smiled as he nodded. "Don''t worry. Take as much time as you need."


    Nodding back in response to the man''s words, Valyr stood up before deciding to distance himself from the old man, telling him that he needed some space to contact Sellifer.


    Getting an idea on what went on in the young man''s mind, Noel faintly nodded in response, allowing the young man to faintly sigh in relief as he moved a couple hundred of meters away from the old man.


    Feeling like he''d gotten far enough from Noel, Valyr retrieved the talisman Vaughn gave him from his spatial bracelet before infusing it with a bit of his energy.


    ''It''s been a while since west had a talk.'' Hearing a familiar voice resound in his mind once more, a faint smile adorned Valyr''s lips as he held the talisman closer to his body.


    ''So, what made you take the initiative to talk with me?'' asked Vaughn after that. ''Need me to fulfill a request for you?''


    ''I guess you could consider it a request,'' replied Valyr. ''Could you help me contact Sellifer so I could ask her a couple of things?''


    ''Wait... she didn''t give you a method to contact her?'' After a bit of silence, Vaughn responded back to Valyr''s favor with a hint of incredulity. ''Didn''t you two spend a fair amount of time already?''


    ''Yeah...'' Valyr could only bitterly smile at those words, recalling how the woman had forgotten to give him titles rted to Azure Energy at first.


    Though she had given them to him in the end, it was only around the time she gave the young man a Concept Impartation.


    ''As forgetful as ever...'' Vaughn let out a sigh. ''Even back then, she was already beginning to forget a few things here and there, only recalling those things after some time had passed.''


    ''In any case, is that all you want me to do? Don''t you need help on anything else?''


    Hearing this question, Valyr said yes, confirming that it was the only thing he needed Vaughn''s help in.


    ''If that''s the case, then I won''t consider this as you using one of the requests,'' said Vaughn in response, prompting the young man to go silent. ''After all, the scope of this task is too simple to be considered one.''


    After going silent for a bit, Valyr could only reply back with words of gratitude, to which Vaughn responded back with a slight chuckle.


    ''It''ll take some time for me to contact Sellifer, but I''ll make sure she''ll contact you within the next couple of hours or so,'' said Vaughn, ending the conversation after that once he said a couple more words.


    ''Anyways, don''t forget to talk with Ryvrthe once you have some free time.''


    Whoosh!


    Seeing the talisman return to its original state, Valyr looked at it for a bit before putting it back into his spatial bracelet.


    Then, going over the things the two of them discussed, the young man returned to where Noel was, sitting back down.


    "So, how did it go?" Asking this question, Noel looked at the young man with both curiosity and expectation.


    "It went well." Valyr nodded as he looked back, causing Noel to beam with happiness. "However, we''ll have to wait a couple of hours or so before she contacts me."


    "That''s more than enough." Noelughed with glee. "The fact that she''s willing to talk is already beyond my wildest expectations."


    "Putting the topic of the divine being aside..."


    As these words left his mouth, Noel''s expression immediately turned stern, staring at the young man as if he could shoot daggers through his eyes. "Have you even worked on your Shadow Energy after west met?"


    "Er..." Scratching his cheek, Valyr looked at Noel with an awkward chuckle in response.


    Noel could only sigh at that, shaking his head before releasing a bit of his Abyssal Energy into the ground.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, a rift that led to the Shadow ne appeared before the two, causing Valyr to look at the old man for a bit, the gears in his mind turning.


    "What are you giving me that look for?" said Noel back.


    Pointing at the rift, he continued, "Since you haven''t worked on your Shadow Energy all this time, why not take this time waiting for the divine being as an opportunity to work on it, even if it''s just a little bit?"


    Hearing that, Valyr could only look back at him in silence, only to inwardly let out a low


    exhale soon after.


    "Well... alright then."


    Standing up, the young man soon passed through the rift, with the old man following behind


    him not long after.


    And with that, the two eventually arrived at the Shadow ne.

 Chapter 926: A Maiden and Her Gifts

    Chapter 926: A Maiden and Her Gifts


    ?


    Whoosh!


    After entering the rift, Valyr expected himself to appear somewhere in one of the manyrge forests making up the Shadow ne alongside Noel.


    However, even after a few seconds passed, the young man still felt as if he was traveling through space, his surroundings still a blur of multiple colors.


    ''What''s going on?'' asked the young man to himself, scratching the back of his head as he had not even gone through a simr experience like this in the past.


    Fortunately, the answer to his question soon appeared in front of him, with Valyr appearing in what looked to be a modestly sized space around a minuteter.


    Thud.


    Landing safely on the ground with the help of a couple spells, the young man immediately made use of the [Azure Eye] improved through Azure Energy as he took a brief look at his surroundings.


    "I''m not too sure as to which part I ended up arriving in, but if there''s one thing I''m sure of... it''s the fact that I''m in the Shadow ne."


    Muttering these words to himself, Valyr took note of the fact that he had seemingly appeared in what looked like a shrine of sorts, the materials making up the shrine taking on the topsy- turvy nature of the Shadow ne.


    Walking around for a bit, the young man gradually became more certain that he had appeared in a shrine, taking note of the pirs, altars, and chairs that lined up the ce.


    ''Did I end up arriving in a temple?'' asked the young man after a bit more exploration, recalling the experiences Sellifer had in the past that she shared with him.


    From what he could recall, Sellifer and her army eventually came across a temple far beyond the usual territory of the Shadow Serpents, obtaining an inheritance that allowed her to finally take on the path she wanted to pursue.


    With that in mind, the young man began to wonder whether he''d arrived in a simr ce as well, feeling a hint of excitement at the possibility that he had appeared in an inheritance through sheer coincidence.


    However, all those thoughts faded away the moment a voice began to echo throughout the entire shrine.


    "Greetings, outsider."


    At the moment Valyr heard those words, he immediately looked around his surroundings, pushing his senses to the limit to see if anyone was behind him.


    Though he had found no one near him whatsoever, the young man remained vignt, circting a bit of Azure Energy beforehand as he remained silent.


    Surprisingly, the voice continued to speak after that, their words causing the young man to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "As expected, you''re the one who''s expanded her initial path."


    "...Where are you?" Giving it some time, Valyr eventually mustered up the courage to ask a couple of questions back. "And what do you mean by that?"


    Whoosh!


    In response to the young man''s question, a silhouette soon appeared before Valyr''s very eyes, causing him to take a few steps back out of caution.


    Though, after he felt that he had distanced himself far enough, the young man looked at the silhouette, causing his eyes to widen out of pure disbelief.


    Standing in front of him was a woman that looked to be over two and a half meters tall, wearing a pitch-ck dress simr to what nuns wore that covered everything except her face and hands.


    Shifting his attention towards the woman''s face, Valyr immediately noticed that she looked quite simr to Sellifer.


    However, unlike Sellifer, her irises were pure white, which made her look hauntingly beautiful.


    Aside from that, multiple dark lines ran along her face, scales, and hands, reminding Valyr of the paths that appeared when oneprehended the Inner and Outer Realm Scripture. Staring back at the young man, the woman soon cracked a refreshing smile. "Wee to one of my shrines, Valyr. I suppose this is the first time we''ve met each other, even though I''ve kept an eye on you ever since you first entered the ne."


    "Though, I have a feeling you might recognize me. After all, you''ve already interacted with one of my precious children in the past," said the woman soon after, letting out a chuckle after that.


    Slightly frowning at how cryptic the woman spoke, Valyr prompted the gears in his mind to turn at their maximum speed, recalling all of the things he could that might help him in his current situation.


    Thankfully, it did not take too long for a usible answer to form in his mind, piecing what he could from her words as he looked back at the woman with slightly widened eyes.


    "Are you perhaps the Serpent Maiden?" asked Valyr in slight uncertainty, causing the woman to let outughter as she nodded in response.


    "You took a bit longer than I thought to get to that conclusion, but yes.''


    Though Valyr did not know what to say in response to her words, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief the moment she confirmed her identity, thanking her in his mind that she''d left a couple of simple clues that allowed him to do guesswork.


    One such clue was where she mentioned he''d interacted with one of her precious children in


    the past.


    At first, he thought it was Noel, but that answer immediately turned into Sellifer once he thought about it for a bit more.


    The other clue that allowed him to figure out her identity was the fact that she mentioned that she''d been keeping an eye on him ever since he entered the Shadow ne for the first time.


    With a bit of rummaging through his memories, he eventually recalled the final part of the memory Sellifer shared with him, putting two and two together in his mind to figure out he was currently in front of one of the most important beings in the Shadow ne.


    The Saintess of the Shadow ne, also known as the Serpent Maiden.


    "Were you the one that brought me here, Serpent Maiden?" Pondering over the various reasons why the Serpent Maiden would appear in front of him, Valyr decided to ask her a couple of questions, making sure he phrased it politely.


    "That would indeed be the case." The Serpent Maiden nodded with a smile. "Thanks to your actions, you''ve further reinforced the connection the Shadow ne has with the universe, which has brought a whole host of benefits to the ne''s many denizens."


    Going through the memory Sellifer shared with him in his mind, Valyr eventually asked back. "Is it because I discovered the initial stages to forming Azure Energy?"


    "That would be part of it." The Serpent Maiden nodded back. "However, the reason why I brought you here would have to do with the fact you''ve intertwined the Azure Energy my child


    discovered with the concept of the Four Elements."


    "ording to the system, it''s called the Four Azure Paths?"


    Hearing those words, Valyr nodded in response.


    "Because of that, I brought you to one of my shrines in order to reward you for your


    contribution," said the Serpent Maiden after that, causing Valyr to widen his eyes in slight


    surprise. "Do you wish to obtain anything specific?"


    Mulling over the question for a bit, Valyr eventually shook his head. "I... have no idea what to ask for. I''m quite satisfied with what I currently have, to be honest." "Normally, that would be fine." The Serpent Maiden nodded at those words. "However, I must still reward you for the contribution you''ve given, so as backup, I''ve already thought about the rewards I''ll give you that would aid you on the journey to furthering your current


    path."


    "I''m sure you''ll be more than satisfied after you receive them," said the maiden after that, smiling as she brought up a screen before her.


    Ding!


    Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind, Valyr looked at the Serpent Maiden for a bit and saw her interacting with her screen, immediately understanding that it


    was her doing.


    Curious as to what she did, the young man opened up his notification screen, immediately being left at a loss for words after he read what was on it.


    [The Saintess of the Shadow ne is greatly pleased with your actions.]


    [As your actions have substantially contributed to the betterment of the Shadow ne, the Saintess of the Shadow ne has deemed it fitting to reward you for your contribution.]


    [With that, the Saintess of Shadow ne has decided to bestow upon you a Growth type subss specifically made to amodate the path that you''re currently traversing.] [Would you like to ept the subss?]

 Chapter 927: The Shadow Planes Generosity

    Chapter 927: The Shadow ne''s Generosity


    ?


    For a while, Valyr stared at his notification screen, intently reading through the notifications he''d obtained from the Serpent Maiden over and over again.


    Then, after taking in a deep breath, he looked at the woman that stood before him as he voiced out the question that popped up in his mind. "Mind if I obtain more information on the subss you''re giving me?"


    Of course, the young man was asking this question just to be safe.


    In reality, he didn''t need to ask the Serpent Maiden for more information. The fact that it was a Growth type subss that was suited for his path was more than enough for him to ept it.


    However, it was that same reason why he began to have a few doubts about it.


    After all, there was no mention of how suitable the subss was for his path. That part was more important than the fact that it was a Growth type subss.


    What use would a Growth type subss have if it did not make any use of things that were currently in his path? If that were the case, he would waste a lot of time cultivating skills and whatnot to suit the subss rather than continue improving himself.


    As this thought came to mind, he also thought that there was also the possibility of it being worse than his current Shadow Serpentine Manncer subss, prompting him to double down on his decision of asking her for more information.


    Hearing the young man''s request, the Serpent Maiden faintly nodded in response. "That would not be a problem. I suppose it was a mistake on my part on keeping a portion of the information hidden to you."


    As she spoke in a slightly apologetic tone, she brought up her screen once more, interacting with it to the extent that a slight frown briefly appeared on her face at one point.


    Ding!


    Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind again, Valyr looked back at the Serpent Maiden for a bit, seeing that she now adorned a refreshing smile on her face.


    "I presume this would be more than enough to ease your worries," said the Serpent Maiden after taking notice of his gaze, prompting the young man to return to his attention the notification screen once more.


    Unsurprisingly, the notifications now contained more information on the subss he would obtain.


    However, it was that same information that left the young man at a loss for words once more, briefly gazing at the Serpent Maiden with his mouth agape in the midst of it.


    [The Saintess of the Shadow ne has decided to bestow upon you a Growth type subss that takes into consideration your proficiency with the concept of Azure Energy, as well as its fusion with the concept of the Four Elements.]


    [This Growth type subss is named the Four Paths Azure Magincer subss, taking inspiration from your current subss, as well as the origins of said subss.]


    [This subss starts at an initial rarity simr to your current subss. However, its potential allows you to ascend the subss to Mythic grade, with the possibility of even higher grades left open.]


    [This subss shall rece your current subss of Shadow Serpentine Manncer.]


    [Would you like to ept?]


    With the subss now clearer than ever to him thanks to the notifications, it went without saying that the young man immediately epted the prompt he was given him, making sure to thank the Serpent Maiden in the process.


    In response to the young man''s words of gratitude, the Serpent Maiden merely chuckled, taking delight in his abrupt shift in emotion.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds after epting the prompt, Valyr felt the Azure Energy within his body began to surge, circting throughout his body without him controlling it.


    At first, the sensation of the energy circting on its own brought him difort. Though, as time passed, that difort gradually disappeared, instead transforming into a sensation he was more than familiar with at this point.


    ''I''m getting stronger.''


    Although he wasn''t sure which part exactly was getting stronger about him, by the time the process was done, the young man felt that his body had been more or less refined, containing a bit more strength than it used to.


    Ding!


    With notifications appearing in his mind the exact moment the transformation was done, Valyr adorned a smile as he brought up a screen before him.


    [Your subss ''Shadow Serpentine Manncer (Rare)'' has been changed to ''Four Paths Azure Magincer (Rare - Growth)''.]


    Confirming that his subss had indeed changed to the subss the Serpent Maiden was offering, the young man continued to look through his notifications.


    [Some properties of the previous subss have been inherited, allowing you to scale your Attack stat off either your DEX stat or your INT stat, depending on the skill used.]


    [Some properties of the previous subss have been inherited and enhanced, increasing the efficacy of the Attack stat on skills that rely on INT to be equal to skills that rely on DEX.] ''Huh.'' Reading that the subss removed the penalty on his Attack stat whenever he used skills that mainly based off INT, the young man''s smile turned wider, letting out a chuckle before moving onto the remaining notifications.


    After all, with the 20% penalty now gone, it meant that hisbat prowess had undergone immediate improvement.


    "Hmm..." By the time the young man''s eyesnded on thest few notifications he obtained, a slight frown reced the smile he had as he hadn''te across such notifications before.


    [You haveplete a prerequisite quest to ascend your subss to the next rarity.] [Ascend one''s Intent Seed rted to Shadow Energy to an Intent (1/1)]


    [...]


    ''Do all Growth type subsses have this?'' Looking at thest notifications in detail, it mentioned that he hadpleted three prerequisite quests that would allow him to ascend his subss to the next stage.


    Curious to find out more about it, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the list of prerequisite quests needed for the subss to ascend.


    Ding!


    Growth Quests (Four Paths Azure Magincer):


    > Ascend one''s Intent Seed rted to Shadow Energy to an Intent (1/1)


    > Ascend one''s Intent Seed rted to mana to an Intent (1/1)


    > Increase one''s Azure Energy reserves to 250 (0/1)


    > Comprehend abat skill that utilizes Azure Energy and the Four Azure Paths (1/1) Rewards: Ascension of the Four Paths Azure Magincer subss to Epic rarity, additional skills and other misceneous rewards


    Looking at the small screen that popped up beside the notification screen, Valyr raised his eyebrow in surprise after seeing that he only needed toplete another quest to ascend his subss to Epic grade.


    ''So easy?'' Getting excited from the fact that it wouldn''t be long till he had an Epic grade subss, the young man decided to take a look at the list of quests his ss had, recalling that


    it was Growth type as well.


    Ding!


    Growth Quests (The First cksmith):


    > Forge 3 weapons that are at least Epic+ grade or higher (0/3)


    > Upgrade an item to Legendary grade (0/1)


    > Ascend one''s Intent rted to forging up to the 5th Grade (0/1)


    > Emte 80% or more of the properties of an average Rare + grade tool through [Ephemeral


    Tools of the First cksmith] (0/1)


    Rewards: Ascension of the First cksmith ss to Ancient + grade, additional skills and other misceneous rewards


    Unfortunately, aside from the positive news of finding out that all things rted to the Growth property had quests attached to them, Valyr found out that he was nowhere nearpleting any of the prerequisite quests needed to ascend it to the next grade.


    ''In any case, this is the first time I''ve seen a ss having a rarity that''s between two grades,'' thought the young man to himself as he closed the screens in front of him. ''Then again, information like that wasn''t widespread among the yers back then.''


    ''All I knew back then was the fact that they could ascend through rarities with ease,'' muttered


    the young man inwardly as he nodded in satisfaction. ''Now that I have them, I can confirm


    that such fact is more than true.''


    Though Valyr did not currently have the opportunity toplete the quests needed to ascend


    his ss any time soon, the young man was confident that he couldplete a number of them once he was out of the Shadow ne.


    "So, are you satisfied with the reward I''ve given you, Valyr?" Once she noticed that the young


    man was finished going through his system, the Serpent Maiden went ahead and asked him a


    question.


    Of course, the young man grinned as he nodded. "More than satisfied. I''m incredibly grateful to receive such a reward, Serpent Maiden."


    "I''m d to hear that." The Serpent Maiden chuckled in response. "Now, how about we move on to your next reward?" "There''s more?" asked the young man back, his eyes widening in slight disbelief.


    "Four in total, with that subss being the first," replied the woman, incredibly amused with


    Valyr''s reaction. "I must remind you that your actions have contributed greatly to the betterment of the Shadow ne. This is just me returning the favor."


    Hearing those words, Valyr soon became confused. "Didn''t you only give Sellifer the method


    to achieve atavism when she first created Azure Energy?"


    "I did." The Serpent Maiden nodded. "However, Ipensated her with more rewards the moment she was sessful in her atavism."


    "In any case, let''s not waste any more time."


    At those words, Valyr looked back at the Serpent Maiden, only to see her slowly move towards


    him.


    Then, slightly bending her knees, the woman looked at her with a faint smile before...


    Kissing him on the lips.


    "..." With how sudden her move was, Valyr unsurprisingly stared at the woman with widened


    eyes, the thoughts in his mind a garbled mess that ultimately asked the same question.


    ''... Why? For what reason?'' Compared to the subss he obtained, how could a kiss to the lips match its worth?


    Fortunately, the young man obtained the answer to his question not long after being kissed. However, it came with the caveat of falling unconscious before he could find that out.


    Thud.

 Chapter 928: The Shadow Planes Recognition

    Chapter 928: The Shadow ne''s Recognition


    ?


    "Oh, dear. I guess I put a bit too much energy into it." Slightly licking her lips, the Serpent Maiden had a faint smile on her face as she looked at Valyr on the ground, seemingly having fallen into a deep sleep.


    Staring at the young man for a bit more, she eventually shrugged her shoulders, deciding to wait until the young man returned to the waking world.


    "Even though I put a bit too much energy into it, it''ll be a good thing for him," muttered the Serpent Maiden to herself, faintly nodding as she went through the thoughts in her mind.


    "I''m sure he''d make great use of it. As long as it continues to remain inside him, the Shadow ne would continue to benefit."


    "Then again, I wonder whether he would gain enough strength in the future to seize control over it." Saying these words, the Serpent Maiden let out a chuckle.


    "Well, even if he fails, the Shadow ne would benefit either way."


    ...


    Darkness.


    After he had fallen unconscious, Valyr found himself in the center of a world of darkness.


    However, unlike the other worlds of darkness he had gotten himself into before, the young man got the feeling that he would stay within the darkness for an eternity if he didn''t do anything.


    Feeling a hint of fear at the thought, the young man quickly took in a few deep breaths topose himself, reminding himself that he had obtained this as a reward from the Serpent Maiden.


    ''Though, I''m not sure whether this world of darkness is included in that reward,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, letting out a bitter chuckle at the thought. ''If it''s just the kiss, then I really have no clue how to get out of this.''


    Thankfully, Valyr didn''t have to do anything as the world of darkness soon began to move out of its own ord.


    Whoosh!


    Mimicking the ebb and flow of water, the young man soon found himself moving through the world of darkness.


    As more and more time passed, a familiar sensation began to epass him, prompting Valyr to recall the sensation he felt whenever he was in the Shadow ne.


    Seeing as this sensation was gradually growing stronger the longer he allowed the world of darkness to move in, the young man eventually got an idea on what he needed to do, slowly immersing himself into that sensation.


    In short, his senses needed to be one with the Shadow ne.


    ''... This is why the Serpent Maiden put me here... right?'' asked Valyr to himself in slight uncertainty, recalling the time he awakened [Shadow Eye] the first time he entered the Shadow ne.


    Making use of that experience, he slowly made progress in immersing himself in the feeling, gradually feeling his senses ovep with the world of darkness itself.


    Eventually, hours began to pass...


    Then days...


    Then weeks...


    After an unknown amount of time, the young man eventually felt his senses extend far beyond his body.


    At that moment, he felt as if he could let his senses epass the entire world of darkness with just a single thought.


    With this all-epassing sense, he soon sensed a small speck of light embedded deep within the world of darkness.


    Curious, Valyr focused all of his senses on it, only to feel the energy of the Shadow ne wash over his body, taking on an incredibly pure form as it seeped into every pore.


    Fortunately, after that experience, his consciousness returned not long after to the shrine the Serpent Maiden had brought him to, sitting upright the moment he could do so.


    Ding!


    "Ah. You''ve finally regained your senses." Just as the young man heard a couple of notification sounds resound in his mind, the Serpent Maiden''s voice immediately echoed throughout the shrine.


    Seeing that the woman was sitting down at a nearby chair all this time, the young man took in a deep breath to calm down before looking back at her with a hint of concern. "How long was I unconscious?"


    "Not that long," replied the Serpent Maiden with a smile. "Only around a day or so."


    "Is that so..." murmured the young man to himself for a bit, only to look back at the woman after that. "Do you know where my friend is at the moment?"


    "Considering our current circumstances, I''ve temporarily had him remain in the same ce you two would have originally appeared in," said the woman in response.


    "To yourpanion, it would seem like not much time has passed since you two appeared in the Shadow ne. However, in reality, time back in your world would have already moved by a few hours."


    "In any case, take a look at your second reward. I''m sure you''d be pleased."


    Nodding in response to those words, Valyr brought up his notification screen as he briefly nced at the Serpent Maiden.


    Recalling the kiss he had received from her earlier, the young man profusely shook his head to forget it, causing the Serpent Maiden to softly giggle in response.


    Ding!


    [The Saintess of the Shadow ne has decided to bestow upon you the title ''Child of the Shadow ne'', giving you the ability to roam the Shadow ne unfettered.]


    [Being one of the lucky few to directly gaze upon the Shadowsource and return unscathed, the Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne have fully epted your identity, recognizing you as a native of the Shadow ne.]


    [The title ''Child of the Shadow ne'' has been upgrade to ''Native of the Shadow ne''.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 10 points.]


    ''A title, huh.'' Reading through the notifications he''d obtained in detail, Valyr went ahead andmanded the system to bring up the description of his newly obtained title.


    Ding!


    Staring at the screen that popped up before him, the young man soon nodded in understanding, immediately getting a good idea of what the title had given him.


    Being a Legendary grade title in terms of rarity, [Native of the Shadow ne] basically allowed him to ignore what Noel told him in the past about having to leave the Shadow ne before it turned sunset in Veldanyr.


    "Immunity to detrimental effects rted to prolonged stay within the Shadow ne,"


    muttered the young man as he read the exact effect.


    "On top of that, I''ve also gained increased resistance to the existence of the Void and the Abyss... probably something to do with the Shadow ne after sunset."


    Aside from those effects, the title gave him a 3% boost to all of his stats, which was always a


    wee addition.


    Closing his screen, the young man looked at the Serpent Maiden before mustering up the courage to ask the question that was on his mind. "Why did you kiss me?"


    "What?" The Serpent Maiden responded back with a sly smile. "Did you not like it?"


    In response, Valyr felt his face heat up a bit, causing him to turn his head to the side as the woman let out a bit ofughter.


    "To answer your question, it''s one of the easier ways to have you make first contact with the Shadowsource." After the woman was doneughing, she began answering Valyr''s question


    seriously.


    "Shadowsource?" murmured Valyr in response as he felt that it had something to do with what he saw while he was unconscious. "Would that perhaps be the small speck of light I saw while I was in that world of darkness?"


    The Serpent Maiden thought about the question for a bit before nodding. "That might indeed


    be the case."


    "The Shadowsource takes on a different form depending on the person''s perception," she exined. "However, if there''s one thing that''s always consistent about it, it''s the fact that making contact with it would allow you to feel the purest form of the Shadow ne''s


    energy."


    At those words, Valyr nodded in understanding, now more or less certain that the 10 points of Shadow Energy he gained came from extending his senses towards that small speck. "Anyways, now that you''ve made contact with the Shadowsource, I''d argue that it''ll be many times easier to improve your Shadow Energy from now on, whether that be in quantity or in quality," said the Serpent Maiden after that.


    "However, don''t let that feeling consume you." The Serpent Maiden''s expression turned serious. "Remember to remain steadfast and not forget the path you''re traversing. If not, you''ll be giving the Shadowsource the opportunity to turn your efforts into a waste." Though the first part of the woman''s exnation on Shadowsource brought the young man great joy, the second part brought him a bit of dread,mitting the words to memory as he made sure to remind himself of it from time to time.


    Feeling like they''d gone over the second reward for long enough, the Serpent Maiden took the initiative to give Valyr his third reward. "With that out of the way, let''s give you your third


    reward." "Simr to the second reward, the third reward is a title." At those words, the woman slightly licked her lips, causing Valyr to slightly shudder in response as he took a few steps back. "You''re no fun," said the Serpent Maiden with a bit ofughter, finding it both delightful and amusing to tease Valyr about it. "Either way, there''s no need for me to take such a drastic approach for this one."


    "Unlike the title I gave you just now, this title is more in line with the path you''ve taken thus far." Bringing up her screen, the Serpent Maiden began to tap a few things on it once more.


    "You''ll see what I mean when you get it."


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound echo in his mind the moment the Serpent Maiden closed her screen, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notification screen.


    At the same time, he felt as if a small chasm had been expanded within his body, immediately causing a great deluge of energy to rush towards it and fill it all up.


    Splitting part of his focus to keep an eye on where this sensation wasing from, the young


    man proceeded to read through the notifications he received, his expression now slightly


    curious.


    [The Saintess of the Shadow ne reminds you that your actions have greatly contributed to the betterment of the Shadow ne.]


    [Because of that, the Saintess of the Shadow ne wishes for you to keep focusing on the path involving the fusion of Azure Energy and the concept of the Four Elements.]


    [Thus, the Saintess of the Shadow ne has decided to bestow upon you the title ''Progenitor


    of the Four Azure Paths'', allowing you to have greater reserves of Azure Energy while also having greater control over the Four Azure Paths.]

 Chapter 929: The Shadow Planes Hopes

    Chapter 929: The Shadow ne''s Hopes


    ?


    Continuing to keep an eye on the sensation that suddenly appeared deep within his body, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the title he''d obtained from the Serpent Maiden.


    Ding!


    Looking through what was written on the screen that appeared beside the one he already had opened, the young man eventually nodded in understanding, quickly piecing what was going on to get a better idea of the situation.


    [Progenitor of the Four Azure Paths] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    Azure Energy was a concept birthed into existence by Sellifer Dusk Veiperis, fusing the destructive and chaotic properties Shadow Energy innately holds with the flexible and limitless proliferation that mana has.


    On the other hand, the concept of the Four Elements had been birthed since the beginning of time, forming the foundation of the myriad elements that exist in the universe, whether it be low-tier or high-tier.


    With that, you have fused the two paths into oneprehensive path, allowing you to make use of the inherent properties of Azure Energy alongside the various abilities the concept of the Four Elements.


    This title is proof that you are the pioneer, the trailzer, and the progenitor of the concept of the Four Azure Paths.


    Effects:


    > 25% boost to the maximum amount of Azure Energy one could hold


    > +25% efficacy in controlling Azure Energy


    > 15% boost toprehension rate involving concepts and skills rted to Azure Energy, the Four Elements, or the Four Azure Paths


    "I see." Once the young man was done reading through the title''s description, Valyr dispelled both of his screens as he focused his attention on the sensation that enveloped his body all this time.


    Focusing his senses inward, he soon saw the cause that made him feel like a small chasm was opening inside him earlier, noticing that it was slowly being filled with a dark blue energy he was incredibly familiar with.


    Though he felt like it would take a while for the chasm to be filled with Azure Energy, the young man went ahead and brought up his status screen, seeing if the title''s effects were already applied.


    Unsurprisingly, they already were, with his Azure Energy now at a greater amount than this Shadow Energy.


    ''Because I glimpsed at the Shadowsource, I currently have 99 points of Shadow Energy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, continuing to admire his status screen.


    ''With it scaling off Shadow Energy, my Azure Energy is also at 99 points. But now with the title taking effect, I now have 124 points of Azure Energy.''


    Other than the tangible effect of having more Azure Energy to work with, [Progenitor of the Four Azure Paths] also improved his control over Azure Energy.


    Whoosh!


    Releasing a bit of Azure Energy to test it out, the young man easily noticed that there was less difficulty in moving it, giving him the feeling that the energy had taken on a more malleable form.


    Satisfied with how much easier it was to control his Azure Energy, Valyr eventually moved onto the title''s final effect, which improved hisprehension rate on concepts and skills involving the Four Azure Paths.


    ''Unlike the first two, this one isn''t so easy to test,'' thought the young man to himself, only to shrug his shoulders soon after. ''Then again, I don''t really need to test it for now. Having it is still better than not having it, after all.''


    Although he had yet to receive the fourth and final reward from the Serpent Maiden, Valyr was already more than satisfied with the things he did gain from her.


    From the subss that fully suited the current path he was taking, to the two titles and additional incidents that helped improve the speed at which he could improve in that path, all of it gave the young man considerable benefit.


    ''I wonder... would she have given me these things if I asked for something specific?'' asked Valyr to himself, brushing off the thought soon after as he decided not to dwell on what-ifs.


    "And with that, let''s move on to your final reward." Seeing as the young man had finished looking through the title he obtained, the Serpent Maiden attracted his attention before making a few gestures with her hands.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As he heard the woman''s words, Valyr watched as the lines on the Serpent Maiden''s hands began to glow a dark blue light.


    Not long after, this dark blue light coalesced in front of the woman, turning into a small ball of energy that surprisingly resonated with the young man''s body.


    Keeping an eye on this ball of energy, the young man watched as the Serpent Maiden flung it towards him, only for his body to absorb it before he could even react.


    Swoosh!


    In less than an instant, Valyr felt as if all of the cells making up his body had awakened, giving him the feeling as if they were trying to reach out for something that was way out of their


    reach.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself from this sudden turn of events, the young man focused his senses inward once more, only to notice that the reason why the cells in his body were acting that way was because of the small ball.


    At the very moment the small ball of energy made contact with the young man''s body, a deluge of energy burst forth from it, spreading to every inch that it cover reach.


    In response, the cells making up Valyr''s body grabbed some of this energy for themselves, absorbing it before using it to refine themselves to a better state.


    Watching this happen firsthand, the young man put all of his attention, gradually getting the feeling that he was reaching a higher peak the more the cells absorbed the energy the small


    ball gave out.


    Unfortunately, though his body had undergone enhancement multiple times thanks to the small ball, it wasn''t able to reach the higher peak he thought his body would reach. Inwardly letting out a light sigh at this thought, Valyr looked back at the Serpent Maiden and asked, "Is that the fourth reward?"


    In response, the Serpent Maiden smiled as she nodded. "It''s not as apparent as the other rewards I''ve given you, however..."


    "With it, all you need now is a little push in order for you to ascend past your racial shackles."


    Slightly frowning as he mulled over her words, the young man''s eyes soon widened in understanding as he asked back, "Wait... you mean..."


    "I''ve noticed the moment you entered the Shadow ne again that you seem to be very close to ascending to a higher tier of being," said the woman in response. "I''ve just given you a bit of a nudge in that area to help reduce the effort needed to do so."


    "..." Now fully understanding what the Serpent Maiden had done to him with the final reward, Valyr soon gave the woman a respectful bow. "Thank you for your kindness."


    "It is only fair to reward those who have contributed greatly to the Shadow ne," replied the Serpent Maiden, letting out a refreshing peal ofughter.


    "In any case, now that I''ve given you the rewards you deserve, it is due time for us to part ways."


    "Do you have any questions you want to ask me before we do so?"


    "Hmm..." Though a couple questions did sh through the young man''s mind in response to her words, Valyr ultimately shook his head, considering that the information he''d get from it


    wasn''t really that important.


    "I have no questions."


    "Understood." Nodding back, the Serpent Maiden soon made a few gestures in the air once more, the lines on her hands giving off a faint ck glow this time around.


    "This is farewell for now, Valyr."


    Feeling his body slowly being wrapped in Shadow Energy due to the Serpent Maiden''s actions, the young man did not resist, causing a cocoon to form around him after a minute or


    so.


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, this cocoon soon flew into the skies, to which the Serpent Maiden watched as it slowly turned into a small dot in her vision.


    "I don''t know why, but I have feeling that we will meet again in the future, Valyr," muttered


    the woman as she gazed at it for a bit more, briefly closing her eyes as she recited a short


    prayer.


    Then, turning around, she soon disappeared from the shrine, leaving a few words in it that


    continued to linger for a bit after that.


    "But before then, I shall continue to keep an eye on you."


    "Please do not betray my expectations."


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 930: A Lofty Suggestion

    Chapter 930: A Lofty Suggestion


    ?


    Whoosh!


    After feeling like he''d been whizzing through the air inside the cocoon for minutes on end, Valyr eventually felt the cocoon make contact with hard ground.


    Thud.


    At the very moment the cocoon made contact, the young man let out an exhale topose himself, watching the cocoon gradually disappear before his very eyes as they turned into motes of Shadow Energy.


    Within seconds, what was once a vessel that allowed him to safely return to where he


    intended disappeared as if it wasn''t even there in the first ce, finally allowing Valyr to view the Shadow ne he was familiar with once more.


    After confirming that he and Noel had appeared yet again in one of the many forests the Shadow ne had, Valyr shifted his attention towards the old man before him, his expression frozen at the instant where he''d just passed the rift.


    "Well, I definitely wasn''t expecting this." Waving his hands in front of Noel to see if the man would react, Valyr eventually gave up on his attempts once a couple of minutes had passed, his actions eliciting no response from the man whatsoever.


    Confident that Noel would return to the way was as long as a bit more time passed, Valyr decided to go over the rewards he''d gotten from the Serpent Maiden, specifically the one that was more vague than the others.


    ''With how tangible the first three are, I already understand that she gave me those rewards to both solidify and further the path I''m currently taking,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling the titles and the subss he received.


    ''As for thest one, I only began to understand what it was after she rified it for me,'' Valyr continued going through his thoughts. ''What was once suspicion and spection turned into confirmation because of that.''


    If the first three rewards had something to do with either Azure Energy, the Four Azure Paths, or the Shadow ne, then the final reward would be considered a reward that was sorely out of ce.


    Why?


    Because the final reward the Serpent Maiden gave him was an opportunity to improve his current species.


    Thanks to Vaughn giving him information on his body''s true identity, Valyr had gone from being a Human at 3rd Unsealing to a Pseudo-High Human, the level of unshackling still remaining after the transformation.


    With that in mind, what the Serpent Maiden specifically did was refine Valyr''s existence even further, moving him closer and closer to what was considered the next tier of species.


    A High Human.


    However, from what he observed and felt that time, the reward the Serpent Maiden gave him only put him just a bit shy of ascending to the next tier, which undoubtedly brought Valyr a lot of annoyance that he did not dare voice out.


    "Then again, it''s not like I have no way to ascend to that next tier myself," thought Valyr out loud, thinking about the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races he''d gotten from Vaughn.


    Having already gone through the Truth Weaver Scripture in great detail, Valyr had high hopes that the Records would have simrly spectacr effects in terms of ascending his species.


    ''At the same time, thinking about the Records reminds me of the information Sellifer gave me on atavism,'' thought the young man not long after, recalling that the method Sellifer gave him was suitable to humans.


    ''Would it be possible tobine the two together and ascend to an even higher tier?'' asked the young man to himself as he pondered over it for a bit more.


    Unfortunately, before the young man could delve deeper into his train of thought...


    "Alright. Shall we talk a look at the progress... hmm?"


    Being returned to the right passage of time, Noel was just about to ask Valyr whether or not thetter had put in effort into improving his Shadow Energy reserves, only to notice that something about the young man had changed after passing through the rift.


    Narrowing his eyes in slight suspicion, the old man rubbed his chin for a bit before asking, "Did you actually work on improving your Shadow Energy reserves while you were away?"


    Not wanting to reveal that the old man had been frozen all this time, Valyr gave an awkward smile in response before slightly nodding. "Well, it''s not a lot of progress since I had to focus on the inheritance."


    "I was only able to improve my shadow Energy reserves by 10 points..." said the young man, murmuring his words near the end.


    Though Valyr spoke in a murmur in a bid to somewhat confuse the old man, Noel seemed as if he''d heard the young man correctly, nodding in satisfaction as a response. "10 points may not be a lot... but it''s still better than not improving it at all."


    "Anyways, if we consider the remaining time we have left before sunset strikes in Veldanyr, we could stay in the Shadow ne for around two more days before having to leave."


    "Let''s make most of that time to improve your Shadow Energy even further, shall we?" At those words, Valyr nodded in response, prompting the two to start moving through the forests in search for beasts that the young man could kill.


    "Considering the difficulty in killing one in proportion to the amount of Shadow Energy you''d gain from it, I suppose we should start looking for adult Shadow Serpents," said Noel whilst the two were on the move.


    "After all, you were able to kill a juvenile Shadow Serpent on your own while you were still at the peak of Rank 2. I''m sure you''d be able to handle them just fine."


    "Could we hunt other beasts instead, Elder Noel?" Though Valyr definitely agreed with Noel''s words, the memory Sellifer shared with him was still fresh in his mind after recalling it while with the Serpent Maiden, causing him to look at Shadow Serpents differently.


    "What? Are you scared or something, brat?" Of course, Noel did not know this, instead looking at the young man as if he were a coward. "You? Someone now at the peak of Rank 3? Someone who''s gone through the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, is scared of Shadow Serpents?" "That''s not it." Valyr shook his head as the gears in his mind turned as fast as they could. "I was just wondering if we could hunt beasts that give more Shadow Energy than the Shadow Serpent instead."


    "Is that so?" Noel raised his eyebrow at that answer, slightly dubious of the young man''s im. "And what beast would you like to hunt instead?"


    Pondering over the amount of damage he could deal at his current level, the young man eventually recalled a brief encounter he and Noel had with a beast back when he entered the


    Shadow ne in the first time.


    Feeling as if he now had a shot at killing that specific beast, Valyr decided to voice his thoughts out, prompting Noel to be silent.


    "If it were possible..."


    "I would like to hunt Shadow Rabbits."

 Chapter 931: Overwhelming Power

    Chapter 931: Overwhelming Power


    ?


    Having been given a lecture by Noel on the upside-down hierarchy of beasts within the Shadow ne, Valyr knew what it meant for him to hunt Shadow Rabbits.


    After all, as rabbits were among those at the bottom of the food chain back in the outside world, Shadow Rabbits were considered the most dangerous, as well as the strongest beasts one could fight within the Shadow ne.


    Jogging his memory to recall their brief encounter with one of those Shadow Rabbits, Valyr was eventually reminded of the Shadow Rabbit''s fraudulent stats, as well as its HP that exceeded 500,000.


    If Valyr had fought against a monster like that using the strength he had before the inheritance, there was no doubt that the young man would have lost his life.


    Aside from the fact that the level gap between the two at the time was enough to reduce the young man''s damage to a single pitiful point, the rabbit also boasted stats that would have had no problems crushing three or four Valyrs at once.


    Of course, all of that changed now that he''d gotten out of the inheritance.


    Though arge level gap still existed between the two of them, the young man could now deal damage higher than a single point, with his title [yer of Ascendants] helping him in that regard.


    Not only that, but his stats were now only slightlyckingpared to the beast he used to fear, instilling him with the confidence necessary to fight against one in the first ce. However, if one were to ask the main reason why the young man was more than confident in hunting Shadow Rabbits...


    It was the fact that he possessed not one, but two incredibly fraudulent weapons. These weapons were so fraudulent that, with enough preparation, they dealt hundreds of thousands of damage to beings that were superior to him in every aspect.


    Naturally, these weapons were none other than the pistol and arquebus he''d forged.


    Unfortunately, while Valyr was confident of his chances at defeating Shadow Rabbits, Noel remained skeptical, even after he had already seen a glimpse at the young man''s true strength.


    ''It''s definitely strong to fight against adult Shadow Serpents without worry,'' thought the old man to himself as he pondered over it with his eyes slightly closed. ''If he didn''t mind taking risks, he could even emerge victorious against the likes of Shadow Wolves or Shadow Boars.''


    ''But against a Shadow Rabbit?'' Noel shook his head at the thought. ''He still has a long way to go.''


    In his current state, Noel was more than confident enough to fight against the Shadow Rabbits without difficulty.


    After all, not only was the man a Rank 5 ss holder, he was also someone who had a decently leveled Intent.


    Though, what gave the man great confidence was the fact that he had control over Abyssal Energy, an energy simr in terms of aspect whenpared to Shadow Energy, but was of a higher tier in both purity and quality.


    On the other hand, though Valyr''s Azure Energy was able to stand its ground against his Abyssal Energy, that was only because the old man had yet to activate any of his buffs.


    If he decided to gloss over the fact that they were having a spar and went all out, there was no doubt that Valyr''s attack would have crumpled like a piece of paper in less than an instant.


    ''But that doesn''t mean he''s weak at all.'' As this thought came to mind, Noel eventually decided to partly acquiesce to the young man''s demands.


    After all, who wasn''t hot-blooded in their youth?


    "Alright," said Noel after he was done pondering. "Since you''ve suggested to hunt those stronger than adult Shadow Serpents, then I will follow your wishes."


    Hearing those words, Valyr immediately broke into silence as he looked at the old man with immense gratitude.


    However, that face swiftly disappeared as the old man continued to speak. "But as I''ve deemed it dangerous for you to fight against Shadow Rabbits at the moment, I''ve decided to have you fight against the Shadow Boars instead."


    "Based on the hierarchy of beasts within the Shadow ne, Shadow Boars are considered to be within the starting realms of predators, with most of them consuming Shadow Wolves, Tigers, and every other beast lower than them in rank without much issue."


    "I suppose that''s more than enough of a challenge for the current you," said Noel, taking notice of the frown that was adorning the young man''s face.


    Though, not long after, the frown on Valyr''s face disappeared as he nodded, deciding to follow Noel''s wishes for the meantime.


    Of course, having handled multiple people with personalities simr to Valyr throughout his life, it did not take long for Noel to understand what was going on in the young man''s head at that point.


    ''From the looks of it, you''re eager to prove me wrong,'' thought the old man to himself as the two continued to move through the vast forests of the Shadow ne.


    With a faint smile briefly shing on his smile, the old man inwardly muttered, ''I''ll tell you this right now.''


    ''You''re the one who''s going to be proven wrong, brat.''


    ...


    After running through the forests of the Shadow ne for some time, Noel and Valyr eventually found themselves at the edge of a decently sized clearing, staring at what looked


    to be a normal boar resting at the center of the clearing.


    Though, as they were in the Shadow ne, the boar spanned around three meters long, faintly reminding Valyr of the Arx''has Boars he used to summon in the past.


    Aside from that, the boar exuded an aura that made anyone looking at it feel slightly intimidated, which surprisingly harmonized with the inherent strength the boar seemingly


    had.


    Wondering if Noel was serious in having him fight against the boar, Valyr noticed through the old man''s gaze that he seemed incredibly adamant to have him fight against the boar.


    Realizing that, the young man inwardly sighed, deciding to show what he was capable of right now so he could avoid situations like these popping up in the future.


    ''He definitely wouldn''t see thising.''


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    [Shadow Boar (Mythic Elite)] (Level 70 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Shadow Boar (Umon)


    HP: 56,160/56,160


    MP: 32,640/32,640 Attack: 3,052 - 3,052


    Defense: 2,340 - 2,340


    Stats: 585 VIT, 763 STR, 718 AGI, 478 DEX, 510 INT, 510 WIS, 515 PER, 205 LUK


    Skills: [Shadow Energy Affinity], [Shadow Boar Combat Style], [Shadow Boar''s Hides],


    [Shadow Boar''s Tenacity], and 23 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of Furious Charging]


    Remarks: One of the more powerful beasts residing within the Shadow ne, greatly known


    for its highly territorial nature.


    In any case, pick on someone your own size.


    With all things considered, the Shadow Boar before him was definitely a strong opponent


    adversary for its rank.


    After all, if he were topare it to yers and NPCs that were at the same rank as the boar, there was no doubt in his mind that the boar would easily steamroll through them with its


    stats alone.


    Sadly, it was up against Valyr this time around.


    "There''s no limitation on how I defeat it?" Just as the young man was about to bring out his


    arquebus, Valyr decided to ask the question that popped up in his mind at the thought


    beforehand.


    Expecting that he would be limited to using either the spear or his magic, Noel surprisingly shook his head at the question. "You could use any means you want against it. It''s a difficult


    adversary for your rank, after all."


    Getting the green light on being able to use any means he wanted, the young man broke out in a bit ofughter as he brought out the Supreme True Arquebus from his spatial bracelet. Bringing out the items needed for the arquebus to show its true power, the young man soon went through the process of arming the firearm, prompting Noel to look at it and Valyr with a hint of curiosity.


    "Is this a new weapon you made?" asked Noel, feeling a slight sense of danger whenever he looked at it for some reason.


    "It only came about a day or so before I entered the inheritance," said Valyr in response.


    Finished with arming the weapon, he then began to infuse his mana into it, activating [Extended Charge] as he waited for it to reach its maximum power.


    Sensing the building energy within the unique-looking weapon, Noel continued to ask the young man a bit more about it. "What kind of weapon did you forge? Is it a magic weapon?


    You''re infusing a lot of mana into it."


    Valyr shook his head in response, activating the Truth Weaver Scripture as he focused its


    power towards his Intent of Shadow Energy. "It''s a ranged weapon. As for why I''m infusing it


    with a lot of mana..."


    "You''ll soon find that out for yourself, Elder Noel."


    Once [Extended Charge] had reached its limit, Valyr proceeded to activate [Limit Break: Second Verse] and [First Encore], boosting all of his stats by a total of 25%.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling greater strength course through his veins, the young man then took a few steps


    forward, causing the Shadow Boar to awaken from its rest as its eyes glinted a familiar


    crimson.


    "Gooorrrkkkk!!!"


    Seeing the curse he''d forgotten in the inheritance take effect once more, a faint smile adorned


    Valyr''s lips as he watched the boar move towards him with ever greater speed.


    However, before it could even close the gap between them...


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang! -1,161,655!!!


    The boar had already transformed into a mist of blood and flesh.

 Chapter 932: A Rough Start

    Chapter 932: A Rough Start


    ?


    ''I''ll soon find out for myself?'' Hearing the words Valyr said to him, a slight frown appeared on Noel''s face as he continued to watch the young man prepare what looked to be an attack


    against the Shadow Boar.


    ''I want to see where you got that confidence from,'' Noel inwardly scoffed, continuing to watch mana coalesce around the weapon.


    Though he had no clue what weapon exactly Valyr was wielding, there was no doubt in the old man''s mind that the weapon seemed formidable.


    The fact that it was umting this much energy alone before it had even attacked was already proof that it might have the ability to unleash high levels ofbat power.


    ''However, under the hands of Valyr, would the weapon unleash enough to defeat the boar?'' the old man mused to himself, his attention remaining fixated on the ever-growing power surrounding the weapon.


    Eventually, the weapon seemed to have reached its limit, umting enough mana inside it to greatly enhance the feeling of danger Noel felt whenever he looked at it.


    Then, not long after, Valyr activated one of his Intents, causing his eyes to slightly widen in surprise as he felt it meld with the weapon.


    ''Valyr has alreadyprehended a concept to this extent?'' Although he already knew that the young man hadprehended an Intent back when they were still sparring at the Spearman Guild, Noel expected Valyr''s Intent to be around 9th or 8th Grade.


    If he was generous in his expectations, then even 7th Grade wouldn''t be far-fetched to believe.


    Yet, from what he could sense...


    ''6th... no, 5th Grade?'' For some reason, the old man could not urately gauge the level of Valyr''s Intent, feeling as if it was intentionally stuck in the middle of the two grades.


    Nevertheless, the fact that Valyr hadprehended a concept to this level prompted the old man to reevaluate his earlier thoughts, wondering if that was the reason why the young man felt confident enough to hunt Shadow Rabbits.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]!"


    "[First Encore]!"


    Watching the young man''s strength grow tremendously under the effects of the stat- boosting skills he activated, Noel eventually had a solemn expression on his face, a thought soon surfacing in his mind.


    ''It seems I''ve underestimated this brat.'' Using Valyr in his current state as his reference, Noel immediately dispelled his earlier notion of the young man only being able to fight against Shadow Boars.


    ''This strength is more than enough for him to fight against the weaker elite predators of the Shadow ne on an even level,'' thought Noel to himself. ''Perhaps not the Shadow Rabbits, but the Shadow Canines and Shadow Felines would pose no issue.''


    As this thought came to mind, the young man soon took a few steps forward, causing the boar to awaken from its slumber before charging at Valyr with furious rage.


    Seeing as if the young man had expected this current situation to happen, Noel inwardly let out a chuckle as he refreshed his thoughts once more. ''Well, let''s see how much strength he can unleash now that he''s been reborn through the inheritance.''


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Before the Shadow Boar could even close the gap, Valyr released all of the energy he''d stored within the weapon, shooting out what looked to be a blue beam of light that immediately made contact with the boar''s head.


    Bang!


    At the very instant the two made contact, the Shadow Boar''s body exploded as if it were a water balloon, exploding into a mist of blood and flesh that covered its imminent vicinity.


    Unsurprisingly, Noel''s eyes widened in great disbelief at the sight, not expecting Valyr''s attack to be that effective.


    However, that disbelief only intensified even further as he looked at the dark red number that floated over what was once the Shadow Boar.


    "Over a million points of damage..." murmured Noel as even his mouth had gone agape from the shock, slowly shifting his gaze from the aftermath of the attack to the cause of the attack itself.


    Just like him, Valyr was greatly surprised to see that he had the ability to unleash that much damage in his current state.


    Though, when Noel looked at the young man for a bit more, he soon realized...


    ''It''s more like he wasn''t expecting the damage to get that high? He was that confident that he could kill the boar with one attack?''


    With this thought in mind, Noel took in a few deep breaths topose himself.


    ''It may take some time for it to bare its fangs...''


    Then, staring at the weapon Valyr had used to kill the boar, the old man made up his mind, inwardly letting out a sigh before moving closer to the young man with a faint smile.


    ''But I guess I was the one proven wrong this time.'' Noel slightly chuckled at the thought. ''Not that I mind.''


    ...


    Ding!


    After he had gotten over the shock of dealing over a million damage with a single attack, Valyr brought up his notification screen after hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his


    mind.


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 70 Shadow Boar (Ancient Elite). You have gained 3,018,473 XP.]


    [Your Shadow Energy stat has improved by 21 points.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Overkill''.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''True Overkill''.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Extreme Overkill''.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Absurdly Extreme Overkill''.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Myth-transcending Mortal''.] [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (574/10,000).]


    Seeing how much Shadow Energy he''d obtained from killing the Shadow Boar, Valyr lightly whistled in surprise, recalling that he''d only gained 5 points of Shadow Energy from killing the juvenile Shadow Serpent.


    ''Inparison, I gained four times that much just from killing one Shadow Boar,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself soon after, being reminded of the effects the Serpent Maiden told him about directly gazing at the Shadowsource.


    With that, the young man became more than eager to fight against more of the Shadow ne''s beasts, realizing that it wouldn''t be long before he got his hands on an Epic grade


    subss.


    Moving his attention away from the first notification, Valyr proceeded onto the plethora of title notifications he obtained, prompting him to wonder where they came from.


    Fortunately, one quick look through their descriptions immediately told him the answer he sought, which was the fact that all of the titles came about from the attack he just unleashed on the Shadow Boar.


    [Overkill] was a title that came about if one dealt damage equal to 200% of the opponent''s HP with one attack. However, the title would only appear if the opponent was at most five levels


    below the user.


    On the other hand, [True Overkill] needed one to deal damage equal to 500% of the opponent''s HP, while [Extreme Overkill] needed one to deal damage equal to 1000% of the


    opponent''s HP.


    Lastly, [Absurdly Extreme Overkill] needed one to deal damage equal to 2000% of the


    opponent''s HP.


    In total, the titles rted to overkill boosted his Attack stat by 15%, which was an amount that wasn''t insignificant.


    As for [Myth-transcending Mortal], it also appeared due to the attack Valyr unleashed on the Shadow Boar. It was simr to the other titles in that it needed one''s opponent to be


    comparable in level.


    However, unlike the previous titles, the condition to obtain [Myth-transcending Mortal] was to deal over a million points of damage while having a ss rank that was Rank 5 or lower.


    In exchange, what he considered his most prominent stats, DEX and INT, were boosted by 15%, while all of his other stats, including his HP and MP, were boosted by 5%. ''That''s a lot of stats for a Mythic grade title. It''s on par with the title I got frompleting Ryvrthe''s quest.'' More than satisfied with the things he''d obtained from a single kill, Valyr closed his screen and turned to look at Noel, only to see the old man look at him with a


    slightly apologetic smile.


    "It seems I was mistaken," Noel said, letting out a wry chuckle. "Why didn''t you tell me you could dish out that much damage, brat?"


    Valyr could onlyugh in response. "You saw how long it took me to attack, Elder Noel. It''s not really a level of damage I could consistently dish out on the battlefield."


    "Well, that may be the case, but the ability to unleash a great amount of damage in an instant would still prove useful in certain situations," replied Noel, to which the young man nodded


    in agreement.


    "Either way, you''ve dispelled all of my doubts. You''ve proven to me that you have what it


    takes to hunt Shadow Rabbits," said the man. "However, I still want you to roughly go through the beast hierarchy of the Shadow ne at the very least."


    "With that, I''ve decided that your next opponent would be one of the weaker elite predators


    of the Shadow ne."


    "The Shadow Canine."

 Chapter 933: Challenging the Hierarchy

    Chapter 933: Challenging the Hierarchy


    ?


    Whoosh!


    After Noel had told Valyr that he''d be fighting against a Shadow Canine, the two proceeded to move through the vast forests of the Shadow ne, darting at speeds that were impossible for a normal human to unleash.


    While they were doing that, the old man gave Valyr a quick rundown on the hierarchy of the Shadow ne, making most out of the time they were taking to find the young man''s next foe.


    "We''ve already be acquainted with the prey of the Shadow ne before," said Noel as he began his exnation. "The mammoths, bears, lions, and tigers."


    "Though these beasts would be considered to stand at the apex of the food chain in Veldanyr, these beasts are merely livestock in the Shadow ne, prey made both for the predators and the Shadow Serpents to consume."


    "After that, you have the middle-ranking beasts." At these words, Noel nced at Valyr, who nodded back to show that he was still listening.


    "These beasts have the strength and the ability to act as predators against the beasts I''ve mentioned before, however they''re still a far cry from the true predators of the Shadow ne."


    "From weakest to strongest among the middle-ranking beasts, they would be the Shadow Wolf, the Shadow Deer, the Shadow Elephant, and the Shadow Boar respectively."


    "I''m sure I don''t need to say anything about what they''re like back in Veldanyr, no?" asked Noel after that, to which Valyr slightly shook his head.


    Nodding back in response, Noel eventually reached the end of his exnation.


    "Last but not least would be the true predators of the Shadow ne. These beasts appear and act exactly opposite to how they would in Veldanyr, bringing confusion to many people who arrive at the Shadow ne for the first time."


    "Though these beasts were on the smaller side in Veldanyr, these beasts boasted bodiesrger than even mammoths within the Shadow ne, instilling great fear into those who were unlucky enough to fight against them."


    "In terms of their strength, the weakest among them would be the Shadow Birds," said the old man. "After that would be the Shadow Pig, then the Shadow Cattle."


    "The Shadow Canines and Felinese after those beasts, their strengths more or less equal in the world of the Shadow ne."


    "As for the beast that stands at the peak of this hierarchy..." Taking pause to give his next words a dramatic effect, Noel looked at Valyr with a faint smile. "That would be none other than the Shadow Rabbits."


    "With how strong they are in the Shadow ne, the system has even gone so far as to give them titles usually attached to nobility."


    "Of course, the higher the nobility rank attached to the Shadow Rabbit''s name, the greater the strength they boast."


    By the time Noel was done with his exnation, Valyr went through all of it in his mind as he organized and processed what he''d learned.


    ''In total, there are 14 beasts that are considered to be part of the hierarchy,'' thought the young man to himself. ''The first four are prey, the next four are in the middle, while the remaining six are considered predators.''


    ''If I were to include Shadow Serpents into the mix, then it would be considered 15,'' the young man continued thinking, only to be briefly reminded of Sellifer''s existence.


    ''But of course, there''s a good reason why they''re not part of the hierarchy, considering that they have the ability to wield strength far stronger than even the Shadow Rabbits.''


    ''In a way, I guess they''re the humans of the Shadow ne,'' said the young man to himself, feeling a bit more disinclined to hunt Shadow Serpents because of that.


    Recalling the Shadow Serpents who''d taken on a humanoid form in the memory Sellifer showed him, Valyr eventually shook his head and pushed such thoughts to the side, refocusing his attention to the task at hand.


    Whoosh!


    Thankfully, after roaming around the forests of the Shadow ne for over a couple hours, the pair''s adventures eventually came to a halt as Noel found a suitable Shadow Canine.


    Taking a look at Valyr''s next foe with his identification skill, Noel soon nodded in satisfaction, getting the feeling that it was a good match to see the full extent of Valyr''s fraudulentbat power.


    "That will be your next opponent."


    Unlike the Shadow Boar, the Shadow Canine seemed to be aimlessly roaming around the forest in search of prey.


    With how far the two were from it, Valyr''s curse had not met the conditions for it to trigger, allowing them to remain undetected.


    Looking at the Shadow Canine Noel was pointing at, the young man went ahead and activated his identification skill, wanting to get an idea of what he was up against by himself. "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    [Shadow Canine (Mythic Elite)] (Level 90 | Boss)


    ss: Shadow Canine (Umon)


    HP: 170,000/170,000


    MP: 92,760/92,760


    Attack: 5,060 5,060


    Defense: 3,400 - 3,400


    Stats: 850 VIT, 1265 STR, 1381 AGI, 1183 DEX, 773 INT, 773 WIS, 668 PER, 300 LUK


    Skills: [Shadow Energy Affinity], [Shadow Canine Combat Arts], [Shadow Canine''s Fangs], [Shadow Canine''s Proliferation], and 32 other skills.


    Concepts: [Intent of the Shadow Maw]


    Remarks: Considered to be one of the elite predators residing within the Shadow ne, famed for their immense strength and strong attachment to their territory and their kin.


    Once again, you should really pick on someone your own size.


    Compared to the Shadow Boar he fought earlier, the Shadow Canine was stronger in all


    aspects.


    From the amount of HP it had, to its stats and ss rank, the Shadow Canine before them was a formidable foe for even Rank 5 ss holders to handle.


    However, having already fought against the Divine Elite tier quadrant leaders within the Four Pirs'' Inheritance that boasted not only strength transcending Rank 5, but also Intents of


    considerable grade...


    This fight seemed too easy inparison.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    Activating the Truth Weaver Scripture and his usual stat-boosting skills, Valyr went ahead and activated [Refined Offense Aura] as a type of assurance, proceeding to arm the Supreme


    True Arquebus for firing.


    After going through the motions of arming the arquebus, Valyr then proceeded to infuse mana into it, allowing [Extended Charge] to umte energy as he kept an eye on the distance between him and the Shadow Canine.


    ''Hmm... now that I think about it, I haven''t used [Refined Offense Aura] on the boar earlier.'' While waiting for the arquebus to reach its maximum charge, the young man''s mind began to wander about, thinking about the damage he dealt to the Shadow Boar before.


    ''I guess this attack would be a more urate representation of my usualbat power?'' thought the young man as the idea came to mind, nodding in agreement soon after. ''After all, I still have [Rage of the True Wyvern] and [Descent of the True Wyvern].''


    ''Not to mention the [Primeval Immtion] skill attached to the Supreme de of Primeval


    mes.''


    ''I wonder how much damage I could deal with the arquebus if I were to go all-out?'' Feeling that the arquebus had finally reached its limit, Valyr took in a deep breath as he proceeded to move closer to the Shadow Canine.


    "Awoooo!!!" Within seconds of the beast entering the range of the curse''s activation, the canine''s eyes shed a deep crimson as it whizzed through the forest at terrifying speeds.


    Of course, just like the boar, Valyr wasn''t going to give the canine the opportunity tond an


    attack.


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang!


    With the young man pulling on the trigger, a terrifying amount of power soon escaped the barrel of the arquebus, forming a dark blue beam that headed straight for the canine''s skull.


    The result?


    ''-1,165,800!!!''


    Utter annihtion, once again.

 Chapter 934: Peak of the Shadow Plane

    Chapter 934: Peak of the Shadow ne


    ?


    After Valyr had obliterated the Shadow Canine in a simr way to how he turned the Shadow Boar into a mist of blood and flesh, it went without saying that Noel''s doubts had thoroughly disappeared at that point.


    With how Valyr still had the ability to deal over a million damage on an opponent that was not only Mythic Elite in tier, but was also two ss ranks higher than him, the old man truly believed that he was more than capable of fighting Shadow Rabbits without any problem.


    ''Of course, the oue would not be so one-sided if he didn''t use that unique ranged weapon of his to fight it, but he would still win nevertheless,'' thought Noel to himself, eying the arquebus the young man held.


    Having seen its jaw-dropping performance against both the Shadow Boar and the Shadow Canine, the old man gradually became curious as to where its limits were.


    With that, as the young man was looking through the notifications he received from turning the Shadow Canine into crimson mist, Noel mustered up the courage and asked Valyr if he could try using the arquebus.


    Naturally, the young man allowed the old man to try it out.


    Closing his notification screen, Valyr soon exined the concept of the arquebus to the old man, from the mechanics that made the high damage possible, to how one would use it to deal damage to an enemy.


    While exining the arquebus to Noel, the young man brought out the pistol he forged from his spatial bracelet.


    After that, he used it to demonstrate to Noel how to arm and fire the arquebus, causing a couple of loud explosions to resound throughout the forest soon after.


    Feeling the immense energy that was fired out of the arquebus'' barrel, Noel''s eyes widened in surprise, now getting a better understanding of how Valyr was able to deal so much damage.


    Of course, the old man also looked at it from another perspective, his thoughts unsurprisingly simr to Julian from some time ago.


    ''With how it''s less reliant on the user''s strength to deal a massive amount of damage... wouldn''t this see great use in the battlefield?''


    With the thought lingering in his mind, Noel decided to look for a few beasts to try the arquebus on, leaving the young man no choice but to follow behind him.


    Eventually, after roaming the Shadow ne once more for an hour straight, the two eventually came across a Shadow Bird spanning over four meters in size, its strength


    seemingly near the peak of Rank 5.


    Understanding Noel''s intentions, Valyr thoroughly instructed the old man on how he could make the most out of the arquebus.


    Because of that, a few minutester, the old man had allowed a massive amount of energy to umte within the arquebus, causing it to passively exude an incredibly ferocious aura.


    By the time he felt as if the arquebus was near the precipice of bursting out, Noel proceeded to cast one of the weaker stat-boosting skills in his arsenal before unleashing the power of his Intent.


    Whoosh!


    Attracting the attention of the Shadow Bird with a bit of his Abyssal Energy, the old man was immediately able to force the beast''s attention towards him as he soon pulled on the arquebus'' trigger.


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang!


    In less than an instant, a dark blue beam shot out of the arquebus, the beam containing all of the energy Noel had put into the attack he prepared.


    Fwoosh!


    ''-1,425,310!!!''


    Unsurprisingly, Noel was able to unleash a devastating amount of damage, especially after the young man suggested him to aim for the bird''s head.


    Because of that, he was greeted by the sight of a dark red number spanning seven figures, leaving him at an utter loss for words.


    nkly staring at the spot where the Shadow Bird had turned into crimson mist, Noel eventually turned to look at Valyr and gave back the arquebus.


    Then, with eyes glistening with both excitement and expectation, he then made a surprising request to the young man.


    "Could you forge an arquebus like this for me?" asked Noel, the adrenaline brought about by the high damage still coursing through his veins. "I''ll make sure that your efforts would be well-paid."


    "...Aren''t you a spearman, though?" Getting over the brief shock he received from the request, Valyr was eventually able to reply back. "Wouldn''t it be better if I were to forge you a spear instead, Elder Noel?"


    "I already own a fine spear." Noel shook his head. "However, just because I''m a spearman doesn''t mean I''ll limit myself to just the spear."


    "The battlefield is indiscriminate in who it kills," continued the man, his tone solemn. "Just because you remain loyal to a specific weapon doesn''t mean your chances of returning from the battlefield would remain high."


    "Only by making full use of all that is avable to you would you be able to do so."


    "Frankly, the power of that arquebus is more than enough to be considered a life-saving treasure on the battlefield."


    Though he wasn''t expecting to be given advice he''d already learned from the battlefield in his past life, the old man''s words still resonated with him, prompting Valyr to go silent as he eventually nodded.


    "Alright," said the young man, causing Noel to brightly smile. "I''ll forge an arquebus for you once we get back, Elder Noel."


    Having made a promise to the old man that would only be fulfilled after they left the Shadow ne, Valyr and Noel soon continued on their journey of finding beasts to kill once they were done on their detour.


    With Valyr''s capabilities more than proven at this point, Noel decided to only have the young man fight against the elite predators of the Shadow ne, with the Shadow Canine being considered the lowest he could go.


    Because of that, the two had spent many hours finding one that fit the criteria, a Shadow Feline that looked to be slumbering in the center of arge clearing.


    Bang!


    ''-989,505!!!!


    With the Shadow Feline being five levels higher than the Shadow Canine Valyr had killed before, the Damage Restriction System had taken greater effect, reducing the damage he dealt with arquebus to a value below one million.


    But of course, such a value was still way beyond what was needed to kill the Shadow Feline, causing it to transform into a cloud of crimson mist the moment the bullet made contact with


    it.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 95 Shadow Feline (Ancient Elite). You have gained 13,592,238 XP.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 38 points.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (576/10,000).]


    With the Shadow Canine he killed before giving him 34 points of Shadow Energy, the young


    man now currently had 192 points of Shadow Energy.


    Though this amount wasn''t much in the grand scheme of things, the fact that Valyr had basically doubled his Shadow Energy amount just from killing three beasts prompted the old man to be curious with his methods.


    Fortunately, a bit of exnation was more than enough to shake off that curiosity, with the young man using the excuse that he''d gotten the opportunity from the inheritance.


    ''In any case, with it scaling off Shadow Energy and with the title taking effect, I now have 240 points of Azure Energy,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''One more kill is all I need to improve my


    subss.''


    With that, the young man told Noel that he was ready to move on to the next beast, subtly hinting through his words that he wished to fight against a Shadow Rabbit this time around.


    With how much experience the old man had umted at this point, Noel swiftly understood the subtle hints Valyr was conveying, prompting the two to scour arge part of the Shadow ne for a Shadow Rabbit.


    Thankfully, the few hours of scouring they did weren''t in vain, with the Shadow Rabbit that appeared before him appearing to stand at what seemed to be the peak of the Shadow ne.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    [Shadow Rabbit King (Ancient Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: King of the Shadow Rabbits (Rare)


    HP: 336,320/336,320


    MP: 285,120/285,120


    Attack: 5,720 - 5,720 Defense: 4,204 - 4,204


    Stats: 1051 VIT, 1430 STR, 2236 AGI, 1568 DEX, 1188 INT, 1188 WIS, 927 PER, 327 LUK


    Skills: [Advanced Shadow Energy Affinity], [True Shadow Rabbit Combat Arts], [Shadow Rabbit King''s Movements], [Pride of the Shadow Rabbit King], and 53 other skills. Remarks: An apex predator of the Shadow ne. A sovereign that rules over arge number of


    beasts with its terrifying strength and speed.


    You''ve finally picked on someone your own size.


    Seeing as the Shadow Rabbit King was easily roaming around the vicinity with its great


    agility, the young man had a feeling that he would have a difficult fight against it if he were to


    face it in closebat.


    ''Then again, I''m just here to gain Shadow Energy.''


    Arming the arquebus for what would be the final kill needed to upgrade his subss, Valyr activated [Extended Charge] and allowed the weapon''s power to umte as he went


    through his status-boosting skills once more.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    Considering that he was up against a more formidable foe this time around, the young man


    did not hesitate to activate one more stat-boosting skill, understanding that even a single additional point in his Attack stat could be the dividing line between life and death.


    Sensing that the arquebus was ready to fire, Valyr aimed the arquebus towards the Shadow Rabbit King''s head, feeling as if he was currently in his strongest state. Then, moving a bit closer towards his opponent, the Shadow Rabbit eventually entered the


    range of Valyr''s curse, causing its eyes to glow crimson as it radiated greater power than


    before.


    Whoosh!


    With its AGI being boosted even further due to the curse increasing its tier, it seemed like it was inevitable for the young man to sh against the Shadow Rabbit head-on.


    But before that could even happen...


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-821,080!!!''


    The Shadow Rabbit transformed into a cloud of crimson mist, prompting a grin to creep up


    onto Valyr''s lips as he took a look at his newly obtained notifications.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience


    obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 100 Shadow Rabbit King (Divine Elite). You have gained 18,193,734


    XP.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 53 points.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (577/10,000).]


    ...


    ...


    [You haveplete a prerequisite quest to ascend your subss to the next rarity.]


    [Increase one''s Azure Energy reserves to 250 (1/1)]


    [You havepleted all of the prerequisite quests needed to ascend your subss to the next


    rarity.]

 Chapter 935: The Next Level

    Chapter 935: The Next Level


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Taking a brief nce through the notifications he received, Valyr proceeded to store the arquebus back into his spatial bracelet as he brought up his status screen.


    Ding!


    Having the screen appear in front of the notification screen he already had open, the young man soon let outughter as his attention shifted towards a certain part of his status.


    Shadow Energy: 245/245


    Azure Energy: 306/306


    Although the notifications he received had already confirmed that hepleted all of the quests needed to ascend his new subss to the next rarity, Valyr still wanted to confirm it with his own eyes by taking a look at his own status.


    Getting the confirmation he needed, the young man soon closed his status screen as he returned his attention to the notification screen he still had open.


    Reading the final notification that was on his notification screen, the grin on the young man''s lips became slightly wider as he nced at Noel.


    "Elder Noel, would you mind protecting me for a bit?" asked the young man, to which the old man looked back at him in slight confusion.


    Nevertheless, Noel still agreed to the request, casting a barrier of Abyssal Energy around the young man.


    Looking at Valyr from outside the barrier, the old man raised his eyebrows once he saw the young man sit on the ground before releasing some of the Azure Energy in his body. ''What''s he trying to do?'' inwardly murmured Noel to himself, wondering if it had something to do with consolidating the Shadow Energy Valyr got from killing the Shadow Rabbit.


    Thinking along that train of thought for a bit longer, the old man felt that it might be the case. ''After all, his Shadow Energy has grown by leaps and bounds so far. Add on the fact that his reserves grew by a lot after killing the Shadow Rabbit, it makes a lot of sense.''


    Fortunately, Noel did not have to specte on the matter any longer as Valyr''s aura burst out of the Abyssal Energy barrier soon after.


    Whoosh!


    With the aura containing all of the Azure Energy the young man released, Noel immediately took a few steps back after seeing Valyr''s aura breach through the barrier without any issues. Feeling a hint of danger from the young man''s aura, the old man inwardly let out a faint sigh once the aura stopped moving outward, instead choosing to encapste the entire barrier of Abyssal Energy Noel conjured.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Surprisingly, the Azure Energy contained within the aura began to burrow into the barrier, gradually recing the pitch-ck darkness making up the barrier with a dark shade of blue. While that was happening, the young man''s aura continued to grow stronger, eventually spilling over to where Noel was as Valyr''s body began to grow stronger as well.


    Taking notice of this, a myriad number of ideas and possibilities surfaced through Noel''s mind as he distanced himself from the young man once more, stopping only after he felt that he had gotten far enough from the young man.


    "Is he ascending to a higher ss rank?" murmured Noel to himself as he arrived at the end of his train of thought, feeling as if everything that happened around Valyr so far were signs to a ss rank ascension.


    Yet, just as it seemed that the entire thing woulde to an end...


    Bang!


    Out of nowhere, the barrier that Valyr''s aura took over soon burst into motes of Azure Energy, causing a loud explosion that Noel felt would be heard by many of the beasts in the vicinity.


    Though he kept the possible appearance of the beasts in mind, the old man gradually forgot about it as he watched the motes of Azure Energy coalesce into four stars above the young man, each of them seemingly having the power to control a certain element.


    With his eyes still closed, Valyr moved one of his hands upward in response to the appearance of the four stars, causing them to dart through the skies as their forms slowly began to


    change.


    ''Bird, turtle, tiger, dragon...?'' Watching the transformation from afar, Noel was able to clearly see the new appearance of the four stars, their auras more or less simr to Valyr in terms of


    strength.


    Then, at the very moment the four beasts seemed to be at the peak of the skies, the four of them merged into a singr entity, its strength giving Noel the feeling that it had already touched upon the boundary that separated one from the Myth level.


    Whoosh!


    Though, before Noel could assess whether the feeling he got was true or not, the singr entity headed down to where Valyr was in a sh, merging with the young man''s body before the old man could even react.


    Bang!


    In response, the young man let out a wave of energy as the strength within his body immediately soared to greater heights.


    At the same time, the Azure Energy the young man had released in the beginning had seemingly taken on a deeper color, all of which was gradually absorbed by the young man as he eventually opened his eyes.


    "..." Slowly getting off the ground, Valyr remained silent as he slowly limated himself with his newly obtained strength.


    ''To think ascending a subss to the next rarity would cause the surroundings to turn out like this.'' Of course, that did not stop him from thinking out loud in his mind, the current sight forming a stark contrast to the prompt he just epted earlier.


    Taking a few deep breaths as he moved around for a bit, Valyr soon did a few basic movements to limate himself even further, immediately sensing the increased speed and force behind each movement he made.


    By the end of his limation, he was going through a series ofbat movements he generally used alongside his spear, smiling at the thought that hisbat prowess had


    improved by another level.


    Feeling like he''d finally limated to the newfound strength the ascension gave him, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notification screen, recalling the incessant number of notification sounds that echoed in his mind the moment the ascension was done.


    Ding!


    [The ascension process has been sessfullypleted.]


    [Your subss ''Four Paths Azure Magincer (Rare)'' has evolved to ''Four Paths Azure


    Warlord (Epic)''.]


    [As your current subss is an evolution of your previous subss, the stats received from ''Four Paths Azure Magincer (Rare)'' shall be adjusted to match the standards of the current


    subss.]


    [You have gained +15 STR, +15 AGI, +60 DEX, and +60 INT.]


    Reading how he''d gained over a hundred stat points just from evolving his subss, Valyr briefly whistled in surprise, now getting a better idea of why his movements had improved in


    that direction.


    Continuing to read through the notifications he obtained from ascending his subss, the young man''s eyes soon fell on a couple lines of text, causing him to raise his eyebrow in


    curiosity.


    [As your current subss is an evolution of your previous subss, properties inherent to the previous subss have been enhanced to match the standards of the current subss.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, your Attack stat now scales off either the DEX or the INT


    stat by 105%.]


    ''Attack stat scaling beyond 100%?'' As the young man read through these notifications, Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head as he rummaged through his treasure trove of memories


    regarding the matter.


    Eventually, he recalled that something like that would only be possible if one were to get their hands on either a ss or a subss that severely hampered one''s abilities in a certain


    area.


    Of course, instances of equivalent exchange only applied to sses and subsses that were obtained at Rank 5 and below.


    If one wanted their Attack stat to scale beyond 100% of a certain stat without having to give up something in exchange, then one would need to reach the Myth level first.


    With that, the fact that Valyr seemed to not have sacrificed anything in exchange for increased scaling left the young man in a state of slight confusion.


    ''Does the Serpent Maiden have something to do with this?'' asked Valyr to himself inwardly, deciding to ask it and other simr questions he had in mind the next time he met with her.


    Moving on to the remaining notifications he''d gotten from ascending his subss, Valyr''s eyes began to glisten after seeing that most of them were rted to skills. However, before he could even delve into those notifications in greater detail, a familiar voice


    began to resound in the young man''s mind.


    "It took me a while... but I finally found you." "So... Vaughn told me you wanted to talk to me?"

 Chapter 936: Meeting Sellifer Again

    Chapter 936: Meeting Sellifer Again


    ?


    ''Sellifer?'' Hearing the woman''s voice echo out in his mind, Valyr quickly recalled the conversation he and Noel had before they came to the Shadow ne.


    Recalling how Noel wanted to talk with Sellifer and ask her if he could be her student, Valyr made use of the talisman Vaughn gave him to have thetter ask Sellifer to contact him. Fortunately, with a bit of exining, everything worked out in the end, with Vaughn telling the young man that it would only take a couple of hours at most for Sellifer to contact him.


    ''Considering how much time Noel and I have spent searching for beasts to kill so far, if I factor in the time ratio between the Shadow ne and Veldanyr, it does add up that she would contact me at around this time.''


    Inwardly muttering these thoughts to himself, Valyr soon nced at Noel and gave him a knowing nce, hoping that his gaze conveyed to Noel his intentions that the divine being he wanted to talk to had finally made contact with him.


    Unfortunately for him, Noel could not understand the meaning behind the young man''s nce. Nevertheless, he still felt that Valyr needed some time on his own through his gaze, so he decided to give the young man the space he needed for the meantime.


    Getting the peace he wanted from the nce, a faint smile adorned the young man''s lips as he finally responded back to Sellifer''s messages. "Before we start, can you hear me?"


    "Yeah, I can," replied Sellifer back, her voice continuing to echo through his mind. "So, what made you ask Vaughn to contact me?"


    Nodding in response to the woman''s response, Valyr did not beat around the bush. "Do you still remember Noel? The one who put me on the path of Shadow Energy in the first ce?"


    "Yeah?" answered Sellifer with a slight hint of confusion. "What about him?"


    At those words, a wry smile adorned the young man''s face. "Well... how do I put this?"


    Scratching the back of his head as he pondered over his words for a bit, Valyr eventually replied. "So... to cut a long story short, he asked me to ask you if he could be your student."


    Unsurprisingly, the confusion Sellifer felt deepened because of that. "What for?"


    "I don''t know." Valyr shrugged his shoulders at the question. "I have a feeling it has something to do with Azure Energy or the fact you taught me how to wield Azure Energy, but I''m not too sure."


    "Does he want to learn how to wield Azure Energy or something? Where did he get that idea from?" As these words left Sellifer''s mouth, Valyr imagined the woman slightly frowning. "Is it because I gave him the method to purify Shadow Energy?"


    "No idea," said the young man in response, feeling as if that was the only thing he could say at that moment.


    After Valyr responded to Sellifer''s final question, the young man did not hear from thetter for quite some time, prompting him to think that the woman was thoroughly pondering over the matter.


    Fortunately, Sellifer wasn''t silent for long, speaking up once more by the time a couple of minutes had passed.


    Though, rather than continue where their topic left off, the woman instead shifted their conversation to another topic, causing slight shock to appear on the young man''s face in response.


    "Are you in the Shadow ne at the moment? I''ve been picking up a familiar energy signature every time you respond back."


    "I am," replied the young man after getting over his slight shock. "But what does that have to do with our previous topic?"


    "It has a lot more to do with it than you think," said Sellifer in response, letting out a slight chuckle after that. "I''m assuming Noel is with you?"


    At the moment the woman asked that question, it did not take long for Valyr to figure out her intentions. "Are you nning oning here?"


    "Yeah, I''ll be heading there right now," replied Sellifer, her words making Valyr think that the woman was smiling. "Aside from resolving the matter with Noel, it''s also a good opportunity for me to see how much you''ve improved since thest time we''ve met."


    "After all, Vaughn owns the inheritance, so I''m sure he''s given you a lot more after our chance encounter."


    "Plus, it gives me a reason to finally give you a method to contact me rather than go through Vaughn," murmured the woman soon after.


    Though, with how soft she spoke as these words came out, Valyr did not register it and treated it as mere gibberish instead.


    "Alright then. I''ll be waiting." Hearing that Sellifer wasing to where they were, Valyr could only nod in response as they talked for a bit more after that.


    Eventually, the two of them ended their conversation, prompting the young man to head to where Noel was to share the good news.


    Roaming around the forest for a while, Valyr soon found Noel perched on top of a tree not far away, seemingly admiring the bizarre yet idylldscape the Shadow ne had.


    "I''m guessing someone important was talking with you?" Feeling Valyr''s presencee closer to him, Noel jumped down from the tree before asking the first question that came to his mind.


    "I guess you could say that." Valyr nodded after thinking about the question for a bit. "To be more specific, I was talking with that divine being you wanted to see."


    "Really?" Unsurprisingly, Noel''s demeanor underwent a massive change after that, looking at the young man with both expectation and excitement. "Did you tell her about my wishes of wanting to be her student?"


    Hearing his question, Valyr nodded in response.


    "What did she say, then? Did she agree?" asked Noel back, his body trembling with great expectation.


    "She..." Just as the young man was about to respond to his question, a strong presence suddenly appeared from their side, revealing a rift that showed a dazzling woman clothed in


    all dark blue.


    "I said no."


    Whoosh!


    Crossing the rift to arrive at the Shadow ne, Sellifer''s aura swiftly spread out in its entirety, immediately making the two turn pale as they felt like they were mere ants standing in front


    of a massive elephant.


    Seeing the sudden change in their expressions, the woman briefly had a look of realization as she reined in her aura, allowing the color on both Noel and Valyr''s faces to return soon after.


    Taking a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr soon shifted his gaze towards the being that appeared before them, only to fall into a slight daze from the sheer beauty the woman


    exuded.


    Briefly shaking his head to consciously extricate himself from the feeling, the young man eventually looked at Sellifer once more before asking in slight uncertainty. "Did youe


    here with your real body?"


    "Yeah." Sellifer nodded, her toneced with the inherent power of Azure Energy. "I could''ve made a clone or split a small fragment of myself to meet with you, but it''s not like the Shadow ne forbids the entrance of Divine-level beings."


    "In any case..." The woman smiled soon after.


    "You''ve grown a lot since we''vest met, Valyr."

 Chapter 937: A Warlords Strength

    Chapter 937: A Warlord''s Strength


    ?


    With how great the disparity was between Sellifer and Valyr in terms of strength, Sellifer had no difficulties obtaining information on the young man''s newly obtained strength, making use of her powers at the Divine level to the fullest.


    Stealthily sending out a bit of her energy towards Valyr''s body, the woman''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as she obtained more detailed information through the process, looking at the young man with a hint of shock.


    "It seems Vaughn has treated you well," said Sellifer after a bit of silence, to which Valyr faintly nodded in response.


    "Not only have your stats gone up by a lot, but I could also sense that you''re on the verge of breaking through to a higher-tier species as well."


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded once more, briefly pondering whether or not to tell Sellifer about how that was due to his earlier meeting with the Serpent Maiden.


    In the end, the young man did not get the opportunity to do so as the woman before him continued to list down his improvements one by one.


    "From what I could sense, it seems that you''ve also further solidified the concepts you''veprehended," said the woman as she continued to nce at the young man. "I''m guessing Vaughn has something to do with this as well."


    At those words, Valyr could only wryly smile, thinking about how he''d done all of the work pushing his Intents up to that level, with Vaughn only giving him the tform to do so.


    ''Then again, it would''ve taken me far longer to get to this point if he didn''t do a Concept Impartation with those shards,'' thought the young man not long after, deciding not to dwell on the matter even further.


    ''Hmm... it seems his bloodline has finally been fully awakened.'' Though she''d be silent after saying those words, Sellifer continued to look at the changes that urred to the young man after they''d gone their separate ways.


    Confirming that the bloodline Valyr had was connected to Vaughn, the woman inwardly let out a chuckle. ''Who knew that feeling I got from him while teaching him how to wield Azure Energy would actually be true?''


    Continuing to go over the changes Valyr underwent with her Divine-level powers, Sellifer skimmed over the various improvements to the man''s stats and skills, eventually finding herself sensing a more than familiar energy lingering within the young man.


    ''The Shadow ne''s essence?'' Pinpointing this familiar energy to a certain energy she''de across in the past, Sellifer closed her eyes for a bit as she rummaged through her memories.


    Eventually, a certain item surfaced in her mind, prompting her expression to turn solemn as she now began to look at Valyr from a different perspective.


    ''The Shadowsource...''


    ''You value the kid that much, Serpent Maiden?''


    Taking in a deep breath to calm herself down, Sellifer ended her investigation then and there as she thought about spilling what she knew about the Shadowsource to the young man.


    Yet, in the end, she decided that now wasn''t the right time to talk about it, considering that Valyr had not arrived at the Shadow ne on his own.


    "You''ve seriously grown a lot, Valyr," said Sellifer to the young man at some point, letting out an amused chuckle after that. "And to think that it''s been only a couple of months since ourst meeting."


    Hearing those words, the young man looked back at her with a faint smile, feeling a bit of pride from it.


    Unfortunately, that feeling of pride was short-lived as the woman began to look at him with a frownbined with a smile filled with malicious intent.


    "Yet, within those couple of months, you haven''t even thought about improving your Azure Energy to the Echo level. You''ve already long reached the requirements, no?"


    At those words, the faint smile on Valyr''s face turned awry, taking on a bitter note as he thought to himself, ''To be honest, I had ns to upgrade it after I return to Veldanyr.''


    With his subss having been changed thanks to the Serpent Maiden, and with him having upgraded it to Epic grade by improving his Shadow Energy reserves, the young man could already feel that the Sign-level Azure Energy was beginning tog behind.


    ''Then again, she''s right. I''ve already reached the requirements needed to upgrade it to the Echo level a long time ago,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, causing the bitter smile on his face to slightly intensify.


    Seeing the expression on the young man''s face, Sellifer could only let out a sigh as she faintly shook her head. "Well, it''s not like I don''t understand your current situation. I''ll help you with improving your Azure Energyter."


    "In any case, could you leave me and Noel here for the meantime?" asked Sellifer after that, prompting Valyr''s expression to turn into that of confusion as he noticed the woman''s gaze pointing towards the old man.


    Shifting his gaze towards Noel, the young man immediately noticed that the old man''s gaze seemed to be incredibly fervent while looking back at Sellifer, reminding him of the brief time Noel acted incredibly friendly to him.


    Slightly shuddering at the thought as he felt like he was being exposed to yet another side of the old man before him, Valyr looked at Sellifer for a bit before nodding, making use of [sh of the Azure Dragon] after that to give the two more than ample space.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Just as he was beginning to distance himself from the two with the help of the skill, the young man immediately began to hear explosionsing from whether the two were, causing Valyr to close his eyes as he thought about Noel.


    ''I have no idea if you did anything else to her aside from begging her to give you those methods...''


    ''But you really shouldn''t have pushed your luck, Elder Noel.''


    Beginning to hear cries for help echo from where Noel and Sellifer were, Valyr continued to remain indifferent from the matter as he wondered what Noel did for her to treat him that way


    once more.


    By the time he felt like he was over 10 kilometers away from the duo, it was only then did the sounds rted to the two subside, giving Valyr the peace he needed to continue where he left


    off.


    Letting out a long exhale topose himself, the young man brought up his notification screen, removing all of the ones he''d already looked through before.


    Whoosh!


    With that, the notifications that remained were all rted to skills from his upgraded subss, making Valyr expectant of what was toe as he read through them one by one.


    Ding!


    [Due to the nature of your subss, you have gained the active skill ''Four Paths Azure


    Manifestation''.]


    "Hoh?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyrmanded the system to bring up the description of his newly obtained skill, immediately understanding what it was capable of


    after a bit of reading.


    "[Four Paths Azure Manifestation]."


    "[Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    With his Azure Energy acting as a conductor, Valyr released a bit of it into the air before


    having great amounts of mana course through it.


    Through that, the form of an azure dragon gradually became more and more corporeal in front of the young man, with its length spanning over seven meters by the time it was fully


    materialized.


    Then, even though it was smallpared to other dragons, the strength it contained was enough to invoke fear into those that looked at it, even more so if it were to start attacking.


    Indeed, [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] was a summoning skill simr to the [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts] Valyr got from An''xhur.


    But, unlike the summoning skill An''xhur gave him, [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] gave him the ability to summon the four beasts corresponding to the Four Azure Paths, each of them fulfilling a specific purpose.


    For the Azure Dragon, its specialty revolved around reconnaissance, surveince, and information gathering, especially with how it favored the Wind element.


    On the other hand, the Azure Phoenix focused on pure damage, while the Azure Turtle focused


    on pure support.


    As for the Azure Tiger, it could be considered to be focused on pure defense. However, it did


    have the ability to dish out great amounts of damage like the Azure Phoenix. "It''s a shame they don''t have the ability to grow just like the ones summoned with [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts]," said Valyr as he dispelled the Azure Dragon he


    summoned.


    "Then again, with how much my strength has increased since then, I guess it''s better for it to


    be that way." With him briefly recalling the quest he got from An''xhur after thinking about the [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts], Valyr continued going through his remaining notifications, with the next skill on the list surprisingly a fusion of a few of his skills.


    Ding!


    [Due to the nature of your subss, ''Azure Phoenix Elemental Arts'', ''Azure Turtle Elemental Arts'', ''Azure Tiger Elemental Arts'', and ''Azure Dragon Elemental Arts'' have fused together to form ''Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts''.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, ''Basic Azure Phoenix Arts'', ''Basic Azure Turtle Arts'', ''Basic Azure Tiger Arts'', and ''Basic Azure Dragon Arts'' have been fused into ''Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts'', strengthening its properties.]


    Considering that the previous skills were all skills that elevated his maniption of the four basic elements, it did not take long for Valyr to figure out that [Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts] more or less did the same thing while also improving upon it at the same time.


    Of course, the skill did a few things that set it apart from the previous iteration of the skills,


    such as the fact that each element now focused on a certain aspect ofbat, reminding him of how [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] worked.


    "In any case, mybat abilities with this skill have gone up instead of down, just like the others," said Valyr after reading through the skill''s description in detail.


    Seeing that he only had to go through a couple more notifications, the young man took a deep breath topose himself before gazing in the direction of where Noel and Sellifer were. After hearing no loud sounding from their direction for a while, it was only then did Valyr focus his attention on thest few notifications. Surprisingly, as he began reading through them, the young man slowly got the feeling that the skill he gained this time around was significantly different than the ones he just went


    through.


    Ding!


    [Due to the nature of your subss, ''Great Pierce'', ''Tidal Sweep'', ''Thunderous Cut'', and ''Grand Parry'' have fused together to form ''Basic War Spear Arts''.]


    [Due to the nature of your subss, ''Basic War Spear Arts'', ''Nine Extremities Combat Style'',


    and ''Four Paths Azure Spear Arts'' have fused together to form ''Four Paths Azure War Arts''.] [Through yourbat proficiency, you have realized the path of the spear through war.] [However, to bring out the true power of the Four Paths Azure War Arts, you must also realize


    the remaining eight rudimentary forms ofbat, paths with myriad variations that all lead


    to the pinnacle.]


    [Due to your actions and the nature of your subss, the skill ''Four Paths Azure War Arts'' has awakened the transcendental technique ''Four Paths Azure Liberation''.]


    [Due to your actions and the nature of your subss, ''the transcendental technique ''Four Paths Azure Liberation'' has awakened the concept of the Unfettered Spear.]

 Chapter 938: Transcendental Technique

    Chapter 938: Transcendental Technique


    ?


    "...Huh."


    By the time Valyr was done reading through thest set of notifications, the young man became silent as the gears in his mind turned, only to go over all of the notifications once


    more.


    For some reason, even though what the notifications told him were as clear as the other notifications he''d gone through before, Valyr felt confusion rather than understanding as more questions popped up in his mind than answers.


    Trying to understand the notifications he''d received in detail, Valyr began to go through them one by one in his mind. ''For starters, the final skill incorporated the basic spear skills I''ve only used in the beginning of my journey.''


    [Pierce], [Sweep], [Parry], and [Cut]. These four skills were what Valyr relied on back when he was still in Astarto Vige, even going so far as to make headway into the Combat branch of his Technology Tree to improve them.


    Though he''d upgraded all of them to Rare rarity either through skill keys or the Realm of Myriad Experiences, that did not change the fact that Valyr immediately relied on the [Serpent Spear Combat Style] and its evolutions once he got them.


    With that, he felt a sense of relief in the fact that the skills that served him well at the start of his journey had found a way to incorporate itself into his current repertoire.


    At the same time, a hint of mncholy washed over him since losing the four skills meant that he had lost a bit of flexibility inbat.


    ''Then again, it''s not like I''ve been using them that oftentely,'' thought the young man to himself, moving onto the next few notifications. ''Nowadays, it''s either I use [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts] or [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts] when fighting.''


    Reading the notification that said that [Nine Extremities Combat Style] had also been fused into [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts], Valyr did not know what to feel.


    [Nine Extremities Combat Style] was the skill he''d obtained after putting in the effort to raise multiple weapon skills to Umon grade back in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Yet, just like the four basic spear skills from before, the young man did not have the opportunity to use them, considering how he mainly usedbat skills rted to either Shadow Energy or Azure Energy.


    ''It''s a slight shame that I didn''t get to use it once,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, scratching the back of his head as he wrapped his head around why those skills were fused into his main spear skill.


    ''I''m guessing it has something to do with the name of the current ss.''


    Going through the remaining notifications, Valyr gradually felt that his hypothesis seemed to be correct, considering how the name of the subss had switched from him mainly dealing with magic and spears, to one that just mentioned war.


    "I''m guessing this [Four Paths Azure War Arts] is now a skill that allows me to use any of the nine weapons?" asked the young man to himself, feeling a hint of excitement at the thought.


    "If that really is the case... then it makes me curious as to what the subss at Legendary grade would have in store."


    After all, upgrading his previous subss to its current rarity alone had not only given him a strong summoning skill, but also a powerful elemental maniption skill, as well as a strongbat skill that could be used on multiple weapon types.


    ''I''m not sure about this transcendental technique thing, though.'' Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr eventually found himself reading the final notification on the list.


    Bringing up the description of the newly improved [Four Paths Azure War Arts] before him, Valyr rummaged through his treasure trove of memories in hopes of finding out more about transcendental techniques.


    ''I''ve heard of Pseudo-Special Skills and Special Skills before,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself. ''I''ve also heard of ultimate and sealed techniques before, but this is the first time I''vee across one that''s called transcendental.''


    ''I wonder if any of the rankers had one? Perhaps the titled rankers got their hands on transcendental techniques?'' As these questions lingered in his mind, the description of the skill finally appeared before him.


    Ding!


    Reading through [Four Paths Azure War Arts], Valyr was somewhat surprised to see that all of the techniques on it were more or less the same as what they were back when the skill was still called [Four Paths Azure Spear Arts].


    However, unlike before, the techniques contained within [Four Paths Azure War Arts] now felt less restricted to him, prompting him to recall his previous thoughts of it being usable on other weapons aside from the spear.


    Aside from that, the techniques now cost more Azure Energy than before, which he thought was an equal exchange after seeing that all of them now also had lower cooldowns.


    ''Well, at least there''s no problem in adjusting to the new skill,'' thought the young man to himself, making a mental note to forge other weapons suitable for the skillter on as he found himself staring at the new technique added to the skill.


    <Transcendental Technique: Four Paths Azure Liberation - The Four Azure Paths correspond to the Four Elements. The Nine Forms correspond to the nine basicbat styles. With both working in conjunction, a myriad number of styles are born.


    By sacrificing a great chunk of Azure Energy and mana, the user can temporarily enter a higher state of power for 3 minutes, assimting the power of Liberation.


    While wielding the power of Liberation, the user can choose to adopt a certain concept ofbat and use it to its fullest. These concepts have their own sets of passives and techniques that the user can take advantage of.


    After the power of Liberation has been used, the user shall enter a temporary state of weakening for the next 5 minutes, reducing the user''s stats by 50%. Cooldown: 1 day. Cost: 80% of the user''s Azure Energy, 80% of the user''s mana.


    Current concepts unlocked: [Unfettered Spear]>


    Reading through the description of the transcendental technique, Valyr immediately had a few thoughts in his mind.


    "In terms of cost, it''s simr to [Descent of the True Wyvern]," he said to himself, continuing to look at the technique with a pensive expression. "However, unlike that skill, there seems to be no way to reduce its cost and cooldown time."


    "Then again, with how much it costs to use it, it''s bound to be incredibly strong," continued the young man,manding the system if he could view the techniques he''d gain ess to if he were to enter the state of Liberation.


    Surprisingly, the system acquiesced, showing him all of the techniques under the [Unfettered Spear] concept he''d gained from evolving his subss.


    Getting over the happiness of his discovery, Valyr soon began to read through them, only for him to realize something by the time he was done.


    At first, he thought [Four Paths Azure War Arts] was just a simple upgrade that allowed him to make use of the techniques he used before on other weapons. He thought that that was all


    there was to the skill.


    However, after reading through the description of [Unfettered Spear], he realized that [Four Paths Azure War Arts] was actually a means to an end, a stepping stone to a greater realm, a gateway to a higher level of power.


    And of course, [Unfettered Spear] was that higher level of power.


    Ding!


    Techniques essible through [Four Paths Azure Liberation: Unfettered Spear]:


    Eachnded hit replenishes the user''s Azure Energy by 1%.>


    <1st Technique: Phoenix Piercing the Skies - The phoenix reigns supreme across the skies. However, if there everes a day the skies retaliate, the phoenix shall surely pierce through


    it.


    Allows the user to thrust out with their spear at breakneck speeds, dealing damage equivalent to 500% of their Attack stat to a foe. Reduces the foe''s movement speed by 50% for 5 seconds. Cost: 5% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    <2nd Technique: Tiger Sweeping the Mountains - The tiger reigns supreme across thends. Even mountains tremble and kneel in front of the tiger once it unleashes its divine sweep.


    Allows the user to sweep out with the spear with unyielding power, dealing damage equivalent to 500% of their Attack stat to foe within a 3 meter radius. Reduces the foe''s Defense stat by 20% for 5 seconds. Cost: 5% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    <3rd Technique: Turtle Parrying the Waves - The turtle reigns supreme across the waters. Cataclysmic waves defer to the might of the turtle, especially at its strongest state. Allows the user to parry all attacks aimed at them within a 3 meter radius, reflecting them back to the user''s foes at 300% of their original power. Temporarily stuns foes affected by the parry for 2 seconds. Cost: 5% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    <4th Technique: Dragon Cutting the World - The dragon reigns supreme across the heaven and earth. No space is safe when the dragon decides to unleash its might, a might that even


    instills fear to those that transcend mortality.


    Allows the user to sh their spear down with both unyielding power and speed, dealing damage equivalent to 800% of the user''s Attack stat to all foes within a 3 meter radius around the conjured de. Cost: 10% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    <Ultimate Technique: Spear of Liberation - When the Four Azure Paths converge around the spear, the true feeling of Liberation is invoked.


    Allows the user to rain down multiple spears of energy from the skies, dealing damage equivalent to 500% of the user''s Attack stat to all foes within a 30 meter radius for 10 seconds. Temporarily stuns foes struck by the spear for 1 second.


    Those struck by three spears in a row receive doubled damage from the next spear they


    receive.


    Removes the Liberation state from the user. Increases the penalty from a 50% reduction to an 80% reduction. Cost: 30% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    By the time Valyr was done reading through the techniques he''d use through [Unfettered Spear], he was left at an utter loss for words from the sheer might the techniques contained. From reading the descriptions alone, the young man could already imagine himself using the skills to the fullest in the battlefield, consistently dishing out damage that wasparable to even his strongest ultimate techniques.


    ''Though each skill usage consumes a percent of Azure Energy rather than an exact amount, I could easily replenish it with my normal attacks.''


    Feeling great excitement from the fact that he could use skills whenever he wanted, the young


    man immediately began to imagine what it would be if he were to use his stat-boosting skills


    on top of that.


    ''What if I had [Descent of the True Wyvern] active? What if I had [Primeval Immtion]


    active on top of that?''


    With these thoughts lingering in his mind, Valyr had the great urge to try out this new skill for


    himself to get a better idea of what it was capable of.


    However, as if the heavens were telling him to use the skill at a better time...


    A pained cry from a familiar voice echoed from where Noel and Sellifer were.

 Chapter 939: A Different Side

    Chapter 939: A Different Side


    ?


    "Kuaagghhh!!!"


    Bang!


    "Enemy?!"


    Hearing the string of sounds that resounded from where the two were, Valyr immediately thought of the worst-case scenario, thinking that the two had been ambushed by a group of enemies.


    After all, with the power she wielded, Sellifer had no problems fighting against a Shadow Rabbit as strong as the one he killed before. Even a group of them would be easy pickings for someone like her.


    But what if the Shadow Rabbits were at the Myth level?


    What if a group of Shadow Rabbits at the Myth level attacked them?


    Recalling how Sellifer entered the Shadow ne without any issue, even though she was already deep into the Divine level, Valyr went ahead and activated [Azure Dragon Soaring Skies], saving his ultimate movement technique if the two ever needed to escape.


    Whoosh!


    With that, the young man zoomed through the skies at great speeds, crossing the over 10 kilometers he''d put between him and them within a minute.


    By the time he got there, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise, briefly wondering to himself whether the sight before him was the one he should be expecting or not.


    Unlike the worst-case scenario that popped up in his mind, there were no Myth-level beasts around the two whatsoever.


    There weren''t even any beasts at all.


    Instead, what was originally arge patch of forest had been turned into a massive clearing, causing most of the beasts in the vicinity to distance themselves from its origin.


    Seeing that the clearing had taken on a familiar shade of dark blue, Valyr looked around for Sellifer, only for him to find her standing at the center of the clearing.


    With her expression that of a slight frown, the young man then proceeded to look for Noel, his mouth turning slightly agape the very moment he found him.


    Forming a stark contrast to Sellifer''s current state, Noel currently looked as if he had gone through multiple wars without taking a break.


    The neat dark gray and gold robe he wore to the Shadow ne had mostly turned into tatters under what seemed to be a myriad number of cuts.


    Of course, even the old man''s body wasn''t spared, sporting all sorts of bruises and wounds that would have undoubtedly killed a normal human at this point.


    Though, the more Valyr looked at Noel, the more he realized that most, if not all of the injuries on the old man''s body were superficial at best, showcasing Sellifer''s exemry control over her power.


    Nevertheless, seeing Noel in that state caused the young man to quickly put two and two together in his mind, inwardly sucking a breath of cold air as he renewed his impression of Sellifer once again.


    ''Note to self. Do not get on Sellifer''s nerves.''


    ''Ever.''


    Committing this mental note to memory, Valyr eventuallynded near the two, prompting both Sellifer and Noel to look in his direction.


    "Well... I guess I went a bit too far this time around." Understanding what kind of situation the young man had gotten himself into, Sellifer let out an awkward chuckle as she used a bit of her Azure Energy to help Noel up.


    Swoosh!


    Then, moving the Azure Energy in a way that enveloped the old man''s body, thetter soon appeared in front of the young man as if nothing had even happened in the first ce. "What happened here?" Taking in a deep breath as he felt immense awe towards the godlike power Sellifer just showcased, Valyr decided to ask the two more about what happened, considering how he was just looking at his skills all this time.


    "I''m sure you already have an idea of what happened." Before Noel could respond to the question, Sellifer took the initiative to reply first, continuing to adorn the slight frown she had before.


    "I''ve already mentioned to you back then that Noel begged me to give him the purification methods back in the past," said the woman, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    "However, that''s only a part of the truth," she continued not long after, causing the young man''s eyes to widen in surprise as he nced at Noel after that.


    Seeing Valyr look at him, Noel immediately had a bitter smile on his face as he showed the young man another side of himself. "The end result was that I got the purification methods from her."


    "But my initial goal was to learn how to wield Azure Energy," the man said, continuing to nce at Sellifer with hope every once in a while. "After all,pared to the energy I wield now, Azure Energy would eventually allow me to reach greater power."


    "I told you multiple times already that you wouldn''t be able to learn it," said Sellifer as she shook her head. "Back then, you''d already embraced the world of the Void and transformed your Shadow Energy to Void Energy."


    "It''s near impossible for someone to fuse Void Energy with mana to form Azure Energy, even more so for one to fuse Abyssal Energy with mana to do it."


    "You said it''s near impossible, Divine One," replied Noel, moving closer to Sellifer as he got ready to kneel in front of her once more. "That means there''s still a small sliver of hope for me to be able to wield it."


    "That''s only if we''re speaking in theory." Sellifer shook her head once more, not understanding why the old man was so adamant in learning it. "Practically, it''s impossible to fuse the two together."


    "All the more reason for me to ask you once more and prove you wrong," said Noel as he kowtowed in front of her. "Please, Divine One. Give this old man just one chance."


    "..." With how things between the two unfolded before him, Valyr could not help but scratch the back of his head as he looked at Sellifer. "How many times has he done this already?" "More than I would have liked to count," said the woman in response, causing him to wryly smile in response.


    "Why not give Elder Noel a chance?" said Valyr to Sellifer after a bit of silence, making Noel look at him with glistening eyes. "After all, he wouldn''t really lose much if he were to fail in forming Azure Energy."


    "If anything, even if he fails, he would have refined his mana to the point where even braiding the two would improve hisbat prowess."


    "Imagine if he were to incorporate concepts on top of that," continued Valyr, prompting Sellifer to go silent. "Whether he fails or not, he wouldn''t have a reason to pester you


    anymore after you do it."


    "Hmm..." Rubbing her chin for a bit with a pensive expression, Sellifer eventually let out a sigh as she nodded in response to Valyr''s words.


    Seeing the woman slightly nod at Valyr''s suggestion, Noel''s eyes glistened with joy as he looked at Valyr with immense gratitude.


    "Alright. It takes a different kind of tenacity to be so adamant in having someone like me teach you Azure Energy anyway," said the woman, her tone slightly defeated.


    Nevertheless, that immediately disappeared as her expression turned solemn, briefly looking at Noel with a slightly cruel smile before shifting her gaze towards the young man.


    "But before that, I''ll need to have you do a test first."


    "Valyr, do you have my staff with you?"

 Chapter 940: Proving Ones Tenacity

    Chapter 940: Proving One''s Tenacity


    ?


    "Your staff?" Raising his eyebrow in response to Sellifer''s sudden question, Valyr soon understood what she meant by that, bringing out a normal-looking staff out of his spatial bracelet after some time.


    Whoosh!


    Though it looked as if it was a considerablyrge branch seemingly picked up in the middle of the forest, if one were to look at it closely, one would notice the great number of runes carved on its surface that faintly radiated a dark blue.


    Sensing the feeling of both beckoning and refusal emanate from the staff once more, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face as he used [Superior Analysis] on it in the midst of giving it to Sellifer.


    Ding!


    [(+15) Azure Serpent Staff] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Legendary+ (Special)


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 4,137 - 6,895


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > INT +50


    > WIS +34


    What was originally a unique-looking piece of wood... description has been omitted.


    Having been apanied by Sellifer throughout her entire journey to power, this weapon has obtained the essence of her power, transforming into a weapon that''s greatly suited for wielding Azure Energy.


    With Sellifer wielding the weapon until she''d reached the limits of her power as a Myth, this weapon has gained the transcendental ability to adjust its item level to the one that wields it. However, this ability only applies up to those who have reached the pinnacle of a Myth. <Innate Skill 1: Grandeur of Azure Energy - Increases the user''s INT by 10% when equipped. Also increases the user''s Azure Energy regeneration by 30% when equipped.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Azure Star - Allows the user to conjure a star of Azure Energy that explodes and deals damage equivalent to 200% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) within a 3 meter radius.


    Can be overcharged to deal up to thrice as much damage than its base version. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Cost: 20 to 60 Azure Energy.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Azure Typhoon - Allows the user to conjure five bolts of Azure Energy every second for as long as the user still has Azure Energy. Each bolt deals damage equivalent to 80% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) to a foe.


    Has a very small chance to inflict stun for 1 second to a foe. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 1% of the user''s max Azure Energy per second.>


    Remarks: A weapon greatly suitable for those wielding Azure Energy. Coincidentally, you have ess to that energy.


    ''Wow.'' With Sellifer receiving the staff he just gave, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise at the power the staff contained.


    In terms of firepower, the young man felt like it could easily match up to the Supreme True Arquebus, especially if he refrained from using [Extended Charge] on thetter.


    However, the Supreme True Arquebus focused on a great burst of damage in one shot.


    On the other hand, from what he could tell, the Azure Serpent Staff focused on consistent yet highly destructive power, especially when heid eyes on the staff''s third innate skill.


    ''With it working alongside the first skill, it wouldn''t be surprising for someone to wreak havoc on the battlefield with that staff,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    Briefly thinking about the Arcane Staff of Redemption he''d refined while in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Valyr soon felt the aura of the staff greatly intensify the moment Selliferid her hands on it.


    Using [Superior Analysis] on it once more to satiate his curiosity, the young man was soon left at aplete loss for words when he saw its modified properties.


    [(+15) Azure Serpent Staff] (Level 300)


    Rarity: Legendary+ (Special)


    Foundation: 1st Tier


    Attack: 22,846 - 38,076


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > INT +50


    > WIS +34


    Description has been omitted.


    Recalling the description of the Azure Serpent Staff once more, Valyr finally understood what it meant by the weapon adjusting to the user''s level, especially the part about its limitations. ''Since I''m still at the peak of Rank 3, the staff''s level is 55 when I use it,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly. ''With its special property, I could use the staff until I reach the pinnacle of the Myth level, which is Level 300, and have no issues with it.''


    ''However, since Sellifer is a Lesser Goddess, the item''s level stops at Level 300 since it can''t adjust properly to the power of the Divine level.''


    With that in mind, the young man slowly got over the immense firepower the staff contained under Sellifer''s grasp, thinking to himself that he''d be able to unleash a simr level of power with the arquebus sooner orter.


    Though, as he thought about the current situation for a bit more, Valyr''s pupils soon shrunk in fear as he watched Sellifer wave the staff around for a bit.


    "Wait a second!" shouted the young man, causing Sellifer to look back at him with a hint of annoyance. "Are you nning to use the staff on Elder Noel?"


    "Yeah? What about it?" said the woman in response, only to then understand why Valyr was


    asking her.


    "Ah. Don''t worry about that. I''ll restrain myself to the power of an early Myth and hit him with that," said Sellifer after the realization, reassuring the young man with her words.


    "If he survives it, then I''ll teach him how to wield Azure Energy."


    At those words, Valyr slightly frowned. "Isn''t that going a bit too far at this point?"


    Though, just as the young man said those words, Noel had a different opinion on the matter.


    "I''ll do it," said the old man after letting out a long exhale, his eyes furiously burning with determination. "Would you really teach me how to wield Azure Energy if I were to survive it,


    Divine One?"


    "You may have annoyed me with your incessant pleas, but your unyielding nature and Valyr''s words have changed my mind." Sellifer nodded.


    "Survive against this, and I''ll teach you how to wield Azure Energy."


    With that, the woman raised the Azure Serpent Staff before manipting some of her Azure


    Energy to gather around its tip.


    Taking in a deep breath, she then suppressed her aura to the beginning of the Myth level, causing the faint aura of intimidation surrounding both Valyr and Noel to thoroughly


    disappear.


    "[Azure Star]."


    Whoosh!


    Waving the staff forward, Sellifer soon shot out a small star infused with her Azure Energy, its


    speed more than enough to instill a bit of terror in the old man that was facing against it.


    However, Noel did not back down from the challenge, relying on the experience he''d rued


    thus far as he unsheathed his spear.


    "[Abyssal Serpent Arts]."


    "[Bastion of the Boundless Abyss]."


    Summoning the Abyssal Energy he''d relied on, the old man swiftly conjured a pitch-ck barrier around him, using it as his main line of defense against the star of destruction Sellifer


    had thrown at him.


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, the star went out with a bang the moment it collided with the barrier, putting a great deal of strain on thetter as it threatened to break under its power. Yet, knowing that he only had to survive against the attack and not fight back, Noel proceeded


    to infuse more Abyssal Energy into it as he conjured barrier after barrier against it.


    "[Bastion of the Boundless Abyss]."


    "[Bastion of the Boundless Abyss]."


    "[Bastion]..."


    Eventually, after he''d conjured 10 barriers in a row, the energy within the star had finally run


    out, prompting Noel to let out a wide sigh of relief as he dispelled the barriers that remained


    standing.


    On the other hand, Sellifer clicked her tongue as she let out a faint sigh.


    "Alright. You passed my test." Giving the Azure Serpent Staff back to Valyr, the woman


    immediately sported a serious expression as she looked at Noel from afar.


    "I''m a woman of my word."


    "I''ll teach you how to wield Azure Energy."


    "But don''t me me if you don''t end up wielding it in the end, okay?"

 Chapter 941: To Achieve Greater Power

    Chapter 941: To Achieve Greater Power


    ?


    Surprisingly, even though Sellifer spoke negatively about the old man''s chances at sessfully wielding Azure Energy, Noel was all smiles as he knelt on both legs in front of


    her.


    "Thank you!"


    Shouting those words, the old man kowtowed in front of Sellifer once more without any shame, causing thetter to begin looking at him weirdly.


    "I really don''t understand why you''re so adamant." Sellifer slightly shook her head at the sight, telling Noel to stand up not long after that. "After all, embracing the world of the Void and the Abyss has given you the ability to stand your ground even against Myths."


    "I''ve already mentioned it before, Divine One," said the old man as he stood up, his expression turning solemn. "Unlike Abyssal Energy, Azure Energy has a far higher ceiling, allowing me to reach greater heights of power."


    "So, you''re telling me that you think the world of the Abyss would only lead to a dead end?" asked Sellifer in response, raising her eyebrow at the man''s words.


    Seeing the old man nodded as if he were certain of his thoughts, the woman let out a faint sigh out of disappointment.


    "I may not have dabbled in the world of the Void and the Abyss," said Sellifer after some time. "But just like any other path, reaching the end of it would allow you to achieve greater power."


    "Especially if you were to embody the world of Chaos beyond the Abyss."


    "If I could, I would''ve already done so, Divine One." Hearing Sellifer''s words, Noel bitterly smiled. "Yet, even after toiling for so many decades, I''ve only begun to scratch the surface of the Abyss."


    "Who knows how much more time I''d spend if I were to try and enter the deep chasm that is Chaos?"


    Listening to the conversation unfolding between the two, Valyr was reminded once more of the reason why he''d gone to the Spearman Guild back then, which was to obtain the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss.


    Though his subss had long deviated from the subss he envisioned due to the choices and connections he''d made, he could still vividly remember the exact memory that made him trek his current path.


    A yer who''d obtained the Shadow Serpentine Lancer subss was eventually able to ascend it to Mythic grade, wielding the concept of Chaos as a Chaos Serpentine Lancer.


    And as a Chaos Serpentine Lancer, the power that yer showed on the battlefield was nothing short of tyrannical.


    ''Well, there''s not much point thinking about Chaos or the Chaos Serpentine Lancer subss anymore,'' thought Valyr to himself as the two continued to talk for a bit more.


    ''After all, if I were to think about it, my current subss is only rted to all of that because of the fact that Azure Energy is made with Shadow Energy.''


    ''Then again, it does make me wonder what kind of subss Four Paths Azure Warlord would turn out if I were to raise it to Mythic grade.'' The young man continued to dwell in his thoughts. ''Would it lean more towards the concept of war?''


    ''Or would it lean more towards the concept of the Four Azure Paths?''


    ''Now that I think about it... would it be possible to incorporate the higher forms of Shadow Energy into Azure Energy?'' asked the young man to himself at some point, recalling the earlier conversation between Sellifer and Noel.


    Continuing to think about how Sellifer mentioned that fusing mana and Void Energy together to form Azure Energy was near impossible, Valyr began to think about it from another perspective.


    ''I wonder if I only need to change the approach in fusing those energies,'' muttered the young man to himself inwardly. ''Perhaps one would need to form Azure Energy first before transforming Shadow Energy into Void Energy.''


    ''Would it be sessful if that were the case?''


    Though this question lingered in the young man''s mind for quite some time, Valyr was forced to shelf the thought for the meantime as the conversation between the two hade to an end.


    Hearing Sellifer ask Noel to leave the two of them alone for the meantime, a bunch of questions began to form in Valyr''s mind as he watched the old man swiftly ede to the request.


    "Thank you, Valyr." Though, before Noel truly left the two alone, the old man made the effort to show his immense gratitude to him, knowing fully that the young man''s earlier suggestion was key in making the current situation possible.


    "I promise you that helping this old man out will definitely be worth your while."


    After saying those words, the old man then delved deeper into the forest, leaving both Sellifer and Valyr in the center of the clearing Sellifer inadvertently made.


    Nevertheless, it was only after Sellifer was certain that Noel was far enough from the two of them that she began to ask Valyr what was on her mind.


    "So, what made you decide to help that old man in achieving his goals?"


    "You''ve already heard it from the two of us," she continued, her expression that of slight annoyance.


    "He begged me to no end to teach him how to wield Azure Energy. I only acquiesced in giving him the purification methods to him since he wouldn''t have left me alone if I didn''t."


    "I''m not sure if it was weeks or months of constant begging, but he always followed me and pestered me while I was in the Shadow ne, just so I could teach him Azure Energy."


    "I''ll ask you once more, Valyr. What made you think about helping him out?" asked Sellifer, looking directly into the young man''s eyes with a calm expression. "I hope you have a good answer."


    Feeling a hint of remorse from the fact that Noel went to those lengths to get what he wanted, Valyr took in a deep breath as he contemted over an answer that would satisfy the woman


    before him.


    "Well, first and foremost, I''m not expecting you to forgive Elder Noel for his actions in the past," said Valyr. "Something like that shouldn''t have even happened in the first ce." "However, the main reason why I decide to throw that suggestion out there is quite simple." Saying those words, the young man smiled.


    "I wouldn''t have learned Shadow Energy if not for him."


    "My aura wouldn''t have resonated with your Azure Serpent Staff if not for him teaching me the concept of Shadow Energy in the first ce," continued Valyr. "The discovery of the Sign and Echo level wouldn''t have happened if not for him."


    "In other words, you''re telling me indirectly to reward him for the fact that he brought you to me?" At those words, Sellifer slightly frowned.


    "I admit that the concept of entangling Azure Energy with the four elements would have taken a long time to appear if not for you."


    "However, it was only a matter of time for the Sign and Echo level to appear at some point," said the woman. "It was purely through the intersection of multiple fates that you were the


    one that discovered it."


    "But that doesn''t change the fact that I was the one who discovered it," said Valyr in


    response, continuing to sport a faint smile.


    Hearing that, Sellifer let out a faint sigh.


    Letting out a slight chuckle in response to the sigh, the young man continued to persuade Sellifer. "As I said before, you wouldn''t lose out in helping Elder Noel learn how to wield


    Azure Energy."


    "Whether he bes sessful in wielding it or not, he''d still end up bing stronger, increasing humanity''s chances of bing victorious in their war against the orcs." "Though I keep up with what''s happening in Veldanyr from time to time, there really isn''t a reason for me to care about the war between the humans and the orcs," said Sellifer in


    response to Valyr''s words. "After all, I''m a native of the Shadow ne first."


    "However, with Veldanyr being the ce where it finally allowed me to be who I


    currently am... I really can''t maintain indifference."


    "You''ve won me over, Valyr," said the woman after that, only to let out a chuckle soon after. "How does it feel to win an argument against a Divine-level being?"


    "Feels like I''ve just survived a war," replied the young man, causing the two tough for a bit


    more before returning to their conversation.


    "In any case, I''ll keep my word." Returning her level of strength to what it was before, Sellifer


    took in a deep breath before looking back at Valyr.


    "But before that, I''ll help you ascend your Azure Energy to the Echo level first."


    "Wouldn''t it take a long time?" asked Valyr in response. "After all, it took me two years to


    finally form Azure Energy. And that was just the Sign level."


    "It surprisingly takes far less time for you to ascend your Azure Energy to the next level once you''ve already formed it," replied Sellifer.


    "We both know that it took me a long time to finally form Azure Energy... over a century or so


    as far as I remember."


    "However, raising Azure Energy from the Trace to the Wisp level only took months in


    comparison."


    Smiling as she said those words, Sellifer then released a bit of her Azure Energy before using


    it to make Valyr sit on the ground.


    "Now, cross those legs and close your eyes."


    "It''s time for you to form a deeper bond with your Azure Energy."


    "...Not in that way, of course."

 Chapter 942: Something About Echoes

    Chapter 942: Something About Echoes


    ?


    While listening to the woman''s words, Valyr took in a few deep breaths to calm himself from suddenly being forced to sit on the ground.


    Then, following what Sellifer told him, he then proceeded to cross his legs and close his eyes, attuning himself to his surroundings as he allowed his thoughts to continue lingering in his mind.


    ''Now that I think about it, I didn''t take a look at the prerequisite quests needed to ascend my subss to the next grade yet,'' thought Valyr to himself not long after immersing himself in his current state.


    With Sellifer not giving him any instructions on what to do next, the young man continued to let his thoughts run rampant, his train of thought continuing where it previously left off.


    ''Should I take a look at them right now while I still can?'' asked the young man to himself, eventuallying to the decision to do so after contemting for some time.


    And so, Valyrmanded the system to bring up the new set of quests needed to ascend his subss within his mind, somewhat curious as to how much the difficulty of the quests have increased.


    Ding!


    Growth Quests (Four Paths Azure Warlord):


    > Improve one''s Intent rted to either Shadow Energy or mana to 5th Grade or higher (0/1)


    > Improve the quality of one''s Azure Energy to the Echo stage (0/1)


    > Increase one''s Azure Energy reserves to 10,000 (0/1)


    > Summon an Azure Primordial Beast that emtes 50% or more of the user''s stats through [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] (0/1)


    > Master at least four of the nine fundamental forms ofbat through [Four Paths Azure War Arts] and [Four Paths Azure Liberation] (1/4)


    Rewards: Ascension of the Four Paths Azure Warlord subss to Epic+ rarity, additional skills and other misceneous rewards


    ''Simpler than I thought.'' By the time Valyr was done reading through all of the quests he needed toplete, the young man immediately felt like most of them would eventually be cleared as long as he stayed in the Shadow ne.


    ''I''ll clear one of the quests after I''m done ascending the quality of my Azure Energy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself. ''Then, I''ll clear the other one once I keep fighting against beasts in the Shadow ne.''


    ''It''s definitely a big jump from reaching 250 points of Azure Energy, but it''s still doable. It''s just a matter of time.''


    Looking at the quest where he needed to summon an Azure Primordial Beast that needed to emte a certain percentage of his stats, Valyr brought up the description of [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] in his mind, wanting to refresh himself.


    Ding!


    Reading through the description of the skill again, the young man soon noticed that his earlier thoughts of the skill being simr to [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts] were actually wrong.


    If there was one thing that the two truly had inmon, then it was the fact that it gave Valyr the ability to summon beasts that would aid him.


    However, as he''d noticed before, [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] did not have something like the Growth Summoning feature [Intermediate Shamanic Summoning Arts] had, which allowed his summons in thetter to grow stronger.


    But that did not mean that [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] had no way for him to strengthen the beasts he summoned.


    In terms of the skill''s approach to strengthening the beasts, then [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] was more in line with [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith] where infusing more energy would allow the beasts he summoned to have higher stats.


    Though, unlike [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith], strengthening the beasts he summoned through [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] was only possible if he infused a certain amount of Azure Energy to them.


    ''I guess that''s why one of the quests needed me to improve my Azure Energy reserves to 10,000 points,'' thought Valyr to himself with a faint nod before moving his attention to the final prerequisite quest.


    ''Compared to the quest where I just need to raise myprehension of Intent, I''m not sure whether this one would be simple or not.''


    Seeing how he''d already made progress on the final quest, it did not take long for Valyr to recall how he''d obtained the concept of the Unfettered Spear through the system, giving him the ability to temporarily unleash devastating power with the spear.


    ''If I remember correctly, I had the basic skills for the weapon raised to Rare grade before they were fused,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly. ''Is that the requirement needed to obtain a new concept?''


    ''But wait... I also unlocked advancements in the Technology Tree''sbat branch before they were fused.''


    ''Do I also have to do that?''


    Pondering more over the topic, a frown eventually appeared on Valyr''s face as he tried to wrap his head around it.


    In the end, he decided to think about it some other time, reminding himself that he had entered his current state to improve the quality of his Azure Energy.


    With that, he closed all of the screens he brought up before beginning to take in deep breaths


    once more.


    Within minutes, the young man entered a tranquil state, removing all of the errant thoughts in his mind as Sellifer surprisingly began to talk the moment he entered it.


    "It took you a while to get into the ideal state, but let''s get started." Hearing acknowledgment from the woman that she was just waiting for him to calm his thoughts, Valyr inwardly made a wry smile as he focused all of his attention on her next words.


    "Now recall how you formed your Azure Energy in the first ce."


    "Think about how you summoned both your Shadow Energy and mana. Think about how you imposed your will on the two and braided them on top of one another."


    As those words left Sellifer''s mouth, Valyr felt himself enter a higher realm of sorts, a realm of darkness that immediately made him feel like he had total control over everything inside it. Thankfully, with how much experience he''d had with it at this point, it did not take him long to realize he''d entered the depths of his inner self, prompting him to follow the words Sellifer


    was telling him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Summoning both Shadow Energy and mana into the realm he''d gotten himself into, Valyr added both ck and blue into the drab realm, only to manipte both energies in a way that forced them to entangle themselves with one another.


    "Now, remember the concepts you infused into the braid. The Intent of Shadow Energy. The Intent of the Four Elements. The Intents that allowed you to form Azure Energy in the first


    ce."


    Hearing Sellifer speak up once again, Valyr did what he was told, awakening his connections with the Intents that the woman had just mentioned.


    Whoosh!


    Once more, color was brought into the realm, the Intents taking on a myriad number of colors as they slowly melded themselves with the multiple braids of two energies.


    Within minutes, the braids gradually transformed into an energy with a dark blue hue, an energy that Valyr was more than familiar with at this point.


    Seeing the entire realm be filled with Azure Energy at the Sign level, Valyr waited for Sellifer


    to talk about what he needed to do next.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for her to start speaking once more. "Through those instructions, you have formed Azure Energy at its base level, the Sign level."


    "To bring it to the Echo level, there''s not a lot of things that you''d have to do differently."


    "Just infuse the entirety of your empowered Intents into it while making the braids even finer than they were before."


    "As long as you do that, you''ll eventually find all of your Azure Energy pulsating as one like a beating heart, a sign that you''ve sessfully entered the Echo level."


    Inwardly nodding at those words, Valyr applied the advice Sellifer gave him as he infused more of the energy in his Intents into the haze of Azure Energy.


    Swoosh!


    In less than an instant, the Azure Energy reacted to the infusion, causing all of the energy in


    the realm to glow considerably brighter than they were before.


    At the same time, the power contained within it seemed to have improved by quite a bit, causing a bit of excitement to briefly wash over Valyr''s body.


    Continuing to infuse more of his Intent into his Azure Energy, the young man eventually thought about infusing the Intent of True Mana into it as well.


    After all, the foundation of his Azure Energy was the Intent of Shadow Energy and the Four


    Elements.


    With that, he wondered what would happen if he were to add it in.


    And surprisingly, the answer was a more perfect form of Azure Energy.


    Whoosh!


    Devouring the energy of the Intent of True Mana as if it had experienced thirst, the haze of


    Azure Energy glimmered in response to it, causing the power contained within it to reach heights Valyr had never expected toe from such simple energy.


    For some time, he continued infusing the energy of the three Intents into it, slowly


    transforming the Azure Energy into the form that Sellifer wanted him to achieve.


    Every once in a while, he would see parts of the haze faintly pulsate in ordance to the Echo


    level, yet what he required was the entire haze pulsating as one.


    Slightly frowning at the sight, Valyr then remembered that he also needed to braid the


    energies even finer than he did before.


    Though, just as he was about to brute force the act of finely braiding the two energies making


    up the haze of Azure Energy, the young man soon recalled that he had a skill that more or less


    worked on the same concept.


    ''What if I were to use the concept of the [Truth Weaver Scripture] in braiding the energies...?'' asked Valyr to himself at the thought, feeling his curiosity build up as he eventually decided


    to try it out on a small bit of the Azure Energy.


    The result?


    An even finer form of Azure Energy that integrated all three parts perfectly. From the Shadow Energy to the mana to the concepts that empowered the entire thing, the Azure Energy that was formed through the concept of the [Truth Weaver Scripture] glowed a bright blue, its power far eclipsing the Azure Sign infused with three Intents. Seeing how effective implementing the [Truth Weaver Scripture] was in braiding the energies, Valyr went ahead and used its concepts to weave Shadow Energy, mana, and the three Intents together, resulting in a haze that surprisingly had heft to it. Feeling as if the haze of Azure Energy within the realm had somewhat taken on a solidified


    form, Valyr felt a hint of confusion as he recalled the characteristics of the Echo level Sellifer


    told him.


    Though, before he could go over thempletely, the haze of Azure Energy glowed with great intensity all of a sudden, making it seem as if the Azure Energy he''d formed had taken


    on the form of bright blue pearls rather than a massive beating heart.


    Yet, for some reason, the system recognized that as a sess.


    Ding!


    [You have finely intertwined Shadow Energy, mana, and concepts embodying the heart of


    those two energies, forming a delicate trinity that is reminiscent of a higher-tiered energy


    named Azure Energy.]


    [However, unlike the Azure Energy originally recognized by the system, the energy you''ve


    formed seems to have the concept of perfect bnce in mind, giving it the ability to reach an even higher tier of quality.]


    [With how much focus has been put into this perfect bnce, the system notices that it has


    also gained the ability to assimte higher forms of both Shadow Energy and mana, as well as other energies without any issues.]


    [The system greatly recognizes your efforts, acknowledging it as a variant of Azure Energy


    that''s far superior in every aspect.]


    [Because of that, the system has ssified the energy you''ve formed as Prime Azure Energy.]


    [Due to this action, the skill ''Azure Energy Mark'' has transformed to ''Prime Azure Energy


    Mark''.]


    [The grade of your Prime Azure Energy Mark has been improved to Echo - Prime.]

 Chapter 943: Welcome to the Void

    Chapter 943: Wee to the Void


    ?


    "He''s making far more progress than I thought."


    Watching Valyr go through the process of ascending his Azure Energy to the Echo level, a faint smile appeared on Sellifer''s face as she used her powers as a Divine level to get a better glimpse at what was going on.


    From the braiding of Shadow Energy and mana, to the infusion of the two Intents that made his Azure Energy form in the first ce, the woman felt that the young man had reached a high level of proficiency with it.


    ''Then again, it''s what you would expect from a Zeihardt,'' inwardly muttered the woman as she continued to watch, chuckling at her own joke.


    Nevertheless, seeing how methodical the young man was in forming his Azure Energy within his inner self, Sellifer felt that it wouldn''t be long till Valyr was sessful in taking that next step.


    "Er..."


    Though, just as she was about to engross herself in watching Valyr go through the process once more, a voice she was not expecting to hear echoed from beside her.


    "Didn''t I tell you to give us some space?" Looking at the being that spoke, a slight frown appeared on Sellifer''s face, continuing to maintain a bit of focus on what Valyr was doing while doing so.


    Hearing those words, the being bitterly smiled. "It''s already been a bit over two days since you requested me to do so, Divine One."


    "And what about it?" Sellifer raised her eyebrow in response, her expression now that of slight anger. "You''ve already waited for decades, Noel. What''s wrong with waiting for just a bit longer?"


    "That''s not what I meant, Divine One." Noel shook his head, pointing at the cross-legged Valyr. "I''m worried about him."


    "The world of the Void ising soon."


    "Wait... is it that time already?" At those words, the frown on Sellifer''s face swiftly disappeared, being reced with slight shock.


    "I''m afraid so." Noel bitterly smiled once more. "You and I would have no issue staying in the world of the Void, much less the world of the Abyss."


    "However, Valyr here has not yet grasped the concept of the Void or the Abyss yet," the old man continued. "Who knows what might happen to him if he were to stay here."


    Hearing that, Sellifer frowned once more, this time thinking about Valyr''s safety.


    Though, after a bit of contemtion, the frown on her face disappeared, recalling what she''d sensed from the young man after not seeing each other for quite some time.


    ''Now that I think about it, he''s alreadye into contact with the Shadowsource,'' thought Sellifer to herself as she recalled the feeling. ''Considering the Serpent Maiden''s personality, she''s undoubtedly given him more than just that.''


    ''Well... I guess it wouldn''t be far-fetched for me to think that he''d remain unscathed while in the world of the Void.''


    As the thought came to mind, Sellifer''s worries gradually died down, believing and trusting in what the Serpent Maiden had given the young man before them.


    Unfortunately, another problem popped up in response to that, causing her to briefly nce at Noel.


    ''But how would I break that news to Noel here? Has he even met the Serpent Maiden before? Has he evene into contact with the Shadowsource?''


    Coincidentally, just as the gears in her mind began to frantically turn in the midst of trying toe up with a solution...


    Whoosh!


    Both Sellifer and Noel felt a majestic aura radiate from the young man all of a sudden, causing the two of them to look each other for a bit in disbelief.


    Then, focusing their gaze onto the young man, both of them used all of the means in their disposal to find out what was going on, with Sellifer immediately being left at aplete loss for words with her discovery.


    ''You could actually transform Azure Energy into something like this?''


    With her being able to see the depths of Valyr''s inner self, she was able to see that the young man had infused a third Intent into his Azure Energy, turning the delicate bnce that formed his Azure Energy in the first ce into something more intricate.


    In a way, she felt as if the Azure Energy that was being formed under Valyr''s control was entering a more perfect state.


    Though it was stillcking in power whenpared to her Azure Energy at the Quintessence level, she was more than certain that the energy the young man was forming had already exceeded hers in terms of quality.


    Continuing to keep an eye on how the energy unfolded under Valyr''s control, Sellifer soon heard Noel politely asking her if he could view things from her perspective, using the excuse that his abilities were sorelycking.


    Though slightly irritated, Sellifer reminded herself that the old man was the one who brought Valyr to her in the first ce, eventually prompting her to acquiesce and share what she saw.


    Whoosh!


    Utilizing a bit of her energy to form a screen that ryed what was going on within Valyr''s inner self, Sellifer decided to use it as an opportunity to exin to Noel how Azure Energy was


    formed.


    "Currently, Valyr is in the process of improving the quality of his Azure Energy to the next stage," said Sellifer, making sure Valyr wasn''t hearing what she was saying. "It''s simr to the purification method you''ve used, but also different at the same time."


    "How far have you gotten through purification?" asked Sellifer, only for her to watch Noel widen his eyes in disbelief in response.


    Seeing how the old man reacted that way to her question, she asked her question once more, this time with a slight frown.


    Not understanding why she''d gotten angry at him, Noel felt wronged as he inwardly wondered how Valyr had gotten into her good graces.


    "I''ve already achieved 2nd Cleansing, Divine One." Wanting the situation to not escte any further, Noel decided to respond, eliciting a hint of surprise to appear on Sellifer''s face. Though, just as Sellifer was about to respond to his question, the old man followed his words up with a statement that prompted the former to shift her focus.


    "However, let''s save that forter."


    "It seems something unusual is going on in Valyr''s ascension process... or is that normal?" ''Really?'' Hearing those words, Sellifer returned her attention to Valyr''s inner self, only for her jaw to cken as she was greeted by the sight of the young man''s Azure Energy. However, rather than be greeted by the sight of a blue haze pulsating as if it were a beating heart, the Azure Energy within the young man''s inner self seemed to have taken a more solidified form, transforming into pearls that glistened with the aura of pure Azure Energy. "..." At this sight, Sellifer remained silent, the gears in her mind madly turning as she tried to make sense of what was going on.


    In the end, she let out a long exhale as a thought immediately surfaced in her mind, faintly


    smiling not long after.


    ''I don''t know what Valyr did...''


    ''But the Serpent Maiden is definitely gonna pester him again.''


    ...


    Whoosh!


    After obtaining a long string of notifications from the system the moment his Azure Energy took on its current form, confusion washed over Valyr''s body for quite some time as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to figure it out, especially after reading through a few


    of his notifications.


    d that the change to his Azure Energy was more than just a sessful increase in quality, the young man proceeded to stabilize the transformation, making sure that therge field of Azure Energy pearls within his inner self was periodically letting out light.


    Seeing that his Azure Energy had taken on a different route to describe the Echo level, Valyr adorned a slightly wry smile as he returned his senses to the outside world, only to see Sellifer


    and Noel sitting beside him.


    "Oh, you''re finally done," said Sellifer after noticing Valyr''s consciousness return to the Shadow ne, seemingly indifferent to what happened. "So, how was it?"


    "I was sessful in ascending its quality," said the young man in response, only to wryly smile not long after. "Though, I don''t think this could be considered the Echo level." "Well, we''ll find out if you release a bit of your Azure Energy," replied Sellifer, raising her eyebrow as she released a bit of her own Azure Energy in response.


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a wisp of Azure Energy on top of her palm, Sellifer swiftly adjusted its power to the Echo level, transforming it into a haze that periodically pulsated the feeling of pure Azure


    Energy.


    Looking at the haze, the young man took in a deep breath before doing the same thing,


    releasing a bit of his own Azure Energy on his palm.


    Swoosh!


    However, unlike Sellifer''s Azure Energy, Valyr''s Azure Energy appeared not as a haze, but


    instead as a cloud of small pearls.


    Nevertheless, the pulsating aspect of the Echo level did not disappear, instead taking on a


    different form as the pearls let out a glow that radiated the feeling of pure Azure Energy from


    time to time.


    "...Even though I''ve already seen it before, the quality your Azure Energy has reached still astounds me," said Sellifer after some time, which took the young man slightly aback.


    In response, she exined that the two of them were watching his ascension process all this time in great disbelief, unsure by the end of it as to whether his Azure Energy could still be considered Azure Energy.


    Slightly surprised by her confession, Valyr went ahead and retracted his Azure Energy as he


    asked her if she knew anything about it.


    Hearing those words, Sellifer shook her head, retracting her own Azure Energy in the


    meantime.


    "All I can tell from it is that it''s still Azure Energy in essence. However, everything else aside


    from that is far different from the Azure Energy I had you form," said the woman. "Of course, I mean it in a good way. I feel like it has far greater potential than my own Azure Energy." "The system probably said something about it being a better variant of Azure Energy, no?" asked Sellifer after that, to which Valyr faintly nodded in response. Smiling at the young man''s action, Sellifer immediately swapped to a serious expression as she looked at Valyr with a hint of concern. "In any case, let''s save that conversation forter."


    "Why?" Hearing those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight confusion.


    Though, before Sellifer could respond...


    Whoosh!


    Their immediate vicinity instantly turned pitch-ck.


    "Well... this is why," said Sellifer after a bit of silence, conjuring a light fixture with the help


    of her Azure Energy.


    Letting out a slightly bitter chuckle at the young man''s confusion, she then continued.


    "It would have been better if you were introduced to this ce in a less sudden way..." "But wee to the Shadow ne''s Void World, Valyr."

 Chapter 944: A Taste of the Void

    Chapter 944: A Taste of the Void


    ?


    "The Void World...?" muttered Valyr to himself as he scratched the back of his head in confusion.


    Committing Sellifer''s words to memory, the young man proceeded to look around their surroundings, only to be left at a slight loss for words at the drastic change that urred. Previously, what surrounded the three of them was a massive clearing that Sellifer created after releasing some of her Divine level power towards Noel.


    If he were to push his perception to its limits, he would have found the iconic trees of the Shadow ne lining the hastily-formed clearing they were in, possibly even some of the beasts of the ne roaming around.


    Yet, within the Void World, everything around them had just melded together into a giant blob of ck, making it difficult for one to see where one was if one did not have light with them.


    Continuing to look at his surroundings for a bit more, a question soon popped up in the young man''s head, prompting him to stand up and move away from the other two.


    "What are you nning to do?" Taking notice of Valyr''s actions, Sellifer immediately asked him a question out of concern.


    "Just checking a few things out," said Valyr with a reassuring smile, slowly stepping away from the light generated by Sellifer''s fixture. "I won''t go too far."


    Whoosh!


    At the moment Valyr was done saying those words, the young man immediately felt the dark surroundings around them start to engulf him, instilling him with a whole host of feelings he had be familiar with through Shadow Energy.


    Death, destruction, despair... all of those feelings were magnified by a few degrees through the Void World as they attempted to burrow themselves deep into him.


    Yet, no matter how much these feelings tried, they still ended up failing at the very end.


    Distancing himself from the light Sellifer made for a bit more, a new feeling soon emerged from the darkness, a feeling that made him realize why the Void World was given its name.


    Emptiness.


    Alongside the other feelings he''d be acquainted with before, all of them attempted to wreak havoc on his body, giving off the feeling that they wanted to assimte him into the world itself and be a part of a greater whole.


    ''I now see why Noel told me it was dangerous for me to stay in the Shadow ne after sunset.'' Rejecting the sensations surrounding him as he slowly made his way back to where the two were, Valyr reminded himself of what Noel told him back when he headed to the Shadow ne for the first time.


    ''The Shadow, the Void, and the Abyss.''


    ''The Shadow refers to Shadow Energy, the energy you and any other Shadow Serpentine Lancer would be able to wield inside and outside the Shadow ne. It is also the type of energy generally found within the Shadow ne during the day.''


    ''The Void. Void Energy. Only Void Serpentine Lancers have the ability to wield it, also giving them the ability to stay in the Shadow ne after the sun begins to set.''


    ''It is also the same energy that invaded the bodies of those foolish Shadow Serpentine Lancers, their bodies forever trapped in darkness.''


    ''I guess I should thank the Serpent Maiden for giving me that title,'' thought Valyr to himself as he recalled Noel''s words.


    At the same time, thinking about the title the Serpent Maiden gave him made hime up with other questions in his mind.


    Specifically, questions that involved Sellifer.


    ''Now that I think about it, Sellifer hasn''t cultivated Void Energy,'' muttered the young man to himself inwardly. ''Yet, she''s unscathed.''


    ''Is it because of her being in the Divine level?''


    ''Or is it because the quality of her Azure Energy is high enough tobat against the Void?''


    Pondering over it for a bit more, the pensive expression that gradually appeared on the young man''s face swiftly turned into a mocking smile.


    ''Or am I just overthinking it and the true reason behind it is purely because she''s a native of the Shadow ne?''


    Briefly letting out a mocking chuckle directed towards himself, Valyr eventually returned to where the other two were, feeling all of the sensations that tried to burrow into him disappear the moment a bit of the light got to him.


    Seeing the young man walk through the darkness of the Void World unimpeded and return unscathed, Sellifer inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she confirmed her previous hypothesis.


    With that, she inwardly took in a deep breath before giving the young man a refreshing smile. "So, how was it walking in the Void World?"


    "Feels like I''m walking headfirst into a mire," said Valyr in response, letting out a faint sigh of relief the moment he sat down. "Speaking of which, how are you not affected?" "Part of it is because I was born in the Shadow ne," replied Sellifer, confirming Valyr''s earlier thoughts that he was just overthinking it. "Almost every Shadow Serpent ends up embracing part of the Void and the Abyss one way or another, whether through bloodline or nature."


    "But most of it has something to do with my current ss rank and Azure Energy," she continued. "By the time you ascend to a Myth, the effects of the Void be more than


    negligible."


    "Reach the peak of the Myth level, and even the Abyss would seem like a yground to you."


    "Got it." Valyr faintly nodded,mitting the words to memory.


    After all, with the amount of unused XP he had in his system, he had more than enough to level himself up to at least Rank 6 if he wanted to.


    However, with things like the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races being more useful at a lower rank, he would only ascend to a higher rank if deemed incredibly necessary.


    ''It''s not like I''m in a mad rush to get stronger,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''Plus, if I reach the Myth rank before yers even enter the world of Greater Beyond, it would be hard for me to interact with them,'' continued the young man, reminding himself of how difficult it was for a yer to meet a Myth-level existence in the early game.


    Continuing to chat with Sellifer a bit more about how his Azure Energy ended up, Valyr eventually looked at Noel, only to see that the old man was seemingly immersed deep within


    his inner self.


    Pointing at Noel as he looked at Sellifer with a curious expression, it did not take long for him to get an exnation from thetter.


    "He''s purifying his mana," said Sellifer. "He started around a day before you came back to


    your senses."


    "I''m surprised he''s already making a bit of headway into the stage of 1st Cleansing," she continued. "Guess there''s some sort ofpensation effect going on, considering how his Abyssal Energy is at 2nd Metamorphosis."


    "Does that mean you''ll be staying here for the meantime, then?" asked Valyr with a raised eyebrow, only to receive a slight shrug from the woman in response.


    "Depends on how long he takes to get the hang of things," said Sellifer, only to return a simr question back to the young man. "How about you? Don''t you n on heading back to


    Veldanyr?"


    "I could, but I''m not in a rush." Valyr shook his head, inwardlymanding the system to bring up his notifications.


    Reading through some of his notifications, his eyes soon lit up, prompting him to look at Sellifer with a faint smile.


    "Plus, it seems like the Void World might be able to offer me something I want."


    Ding!

 Chapter 945: Beyond Wildest Expectations

    Chapter 945: Beyond Wildest Expectations


    ?


    [The system deems the Prime Azure Energy you''ve created to be a more suitable type of energy to be used for your skills.]


    [With that, the system has taken it upon itself to adjust all active and passive skills reliant on Azure Energy to shift to using Prime Azure Energy, adjusting the cost, potency, and efficiency of the conversions ordingly.]


    [The system has also taken it upon itself to grant you the ability to use Prime Azure Energy on other skills, though only under the condition that said skill uses either Shadow Energy or mana.]


    [Making use of Prime Azure Energy on skills that mainly run on either Shadow Energy or mana shall be granted a 20% multiplicative boost to their potency.]


    Skipping over the notifications he''d already read while still in the depths of his inner self, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise after seeing how much the system seemed to favor his creation of Prime Azure Energy.


    It even went so far as to retrofit most, if not all of his skills to make use of the new energy he''d just formed, a stark contrast to how he had to manually do all of that back when he first obtained Azure Energy.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr went ahead and took a look at the main skills he''d be using once he left the Shadow ne.


    Focusing his attention on both [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts] and [Four Paths Azure War Arts], the young man took notice that the cost to activate each technique had been reduced, with their cooldown receiving the same treatment as well.


    Even [Four Paths Azure Liberation], the transcendental technique he''d just obtained not long ago, had been modified by the system to make use of Prime Azure Energy.


    Though the reduction in cost was only minimal at best, from 80% to 75% of his maximum energy reserves, the cooldown of the transcendental technique had been cut in half to 12 hours.


    Not only that, but the techniques he''d gain ess if he were to enter the state of Liberation had been changed as well, taking up a smaller portion of his reserves while unleashing considerably higher power.


    Thinking that it wouldn''t be much of a problem for him to slowly get acquainted with the effects of Prime Azure Energy on his other skills, his thoughts shifted towards thest notification among them, prompting him to test it out.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    Whoosh!


    Activating the skill with the help of Prime Azure Energy, Valyr immediately felt that the skill was amplifying his stats by a bit more than it used to.


    Wanting to be sure that the sensation wasn''t just a mere hallucination, he then proceeded to activate [Second Encore], which would have normally boosted his stats by 25% in total.


    Swoosh!


    However, thanks to the effects given by the system, thebination of the two skills now boosted his stats by a total of 30%, increasing hisbat prowess by a substantial amount.


    Then again, considering that all of his stat-boosting andbat-boosting skills were activated through mana, this change basically meant his peakbat prowess reaching an even higher level.


    Grinning at the thought of having that much power in the battlefield, Valyr moved onto the other notifications he received from the system after forming Prime Azure Energy.


    Ding!


    [The Saintess of the Shadow ne is greatly pleased with your actions of refining and furthering the concept of Azure Energy, improving the strength of the connection the Shadow ne has with the universe.]


    [The Overseer of the Shadow ne is slightly intrigued by the energy you''ve formed, wondering how such energy had the potential to turn the concept of the Shadow ne on its head.]


    [Nevertheless, even he is d that your actions have strengthened the Shadow ne''s connection to the universe.]


    [Though the Saintess of the Shadow ne feels that only a bit of time has passed since she has given you rewards, the Saintess feels that this action should be greatly rewarded as well.]


    [The Overseer of the Shadow ne contradicts the Saintess'' decision, reminding her that giving too much rewards in such a short time might possibly make youcent.]


    [With that, the Overseer and the Saintess of the Shadow ne discussed your contributions in great detail, eventuallying up with a series of rewards given in a way that would be greatly in your favor.]


    ''...Huh.''


    Reading how the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer of the Shadow ne got into an argument just because he had the sudden thought to incorporate the concept of the [Truth Weaver Scripture] into his Azure Energy, Valyr did not know whether tough or cry.


    Nevertheless, with how the notifications showed how the two ced great importance in what he''d done, the young man began to feel a few expectations beginning to be ced down on him, getting the feeling that the energy he formed was far greater than it initially seemed.


    Letting out a slight exhale to calm himself down, Valyr continued to read through his notifications, finally obtaining information on the rewards the Overseer and the Serpent Maiden hade to an agreement to.


    [The Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne are greatly pleased with your actions, havinge to a decision to reward your efforts.]


    [Because of that, the Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne have decided to modify your current subss to make greater use of the energy you''ve just created.]


    [At the same time, the Saintess and the Overseer have modified the potential of your subss, allowing the subss to fully conform to the energy you''ve created. Due to that, the current prerequisite quests needed to upgrade the subss have been modified as well.]


    [The Saintess of the Shadow ne has taken it upon herself to enhance one of the rewards you''ve received from her, telling you that your current achievements are far greater than the ones you''ve achieved for the Shadow ne before.]


    [The title ''Progenitor of the Four Azure Paths'' has been upgraded to ''Originator of the Prime


    Azure''.]


    [The Overseer reminds you that your remaining rewards shall be given once you ascend to the peak of Rank 4 and the peak of Rank 5.]


    ''So, in short, I''ve gotten a better subss and a title.'' Noticing that there were still a few more notifications left to go through, Valyr took a bit of time to go through what he just read in his


    mind.


    ''From what could I understand, the better subss would onlye about if Iplete the prerequisite quests, while the title is something they''ve already upgraded for me.''


    ''That''s definitely a lot more than I thought I would get, considering I wasn''t really expecting any rewards from upgrading my Azure Energy,'' muttered the young man to himself, letting out a faint chuckle soon after.


    ''And to think I''d get more once I ascend through the next two ss ranks?''


    ''Kind of makes me curious what those rewards are.'' Pushing the thought of the rewards to the side, Valyr went over hisst few remaining notifications, immediately noticing that they were notifications rted topleting his prerequisite quests.


    Ding!


    [Due to the intervention of the Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne, the prerequisite quests for your subss have been modified ordingly.]


    [You have obtained the prerequisite quest: Evolve the concept of the Shadow within Prime


    Azure Energy to the concept of the Void (0/1).]


    [You havepleted a prerequisite quest to ascend your subss to the next rarity.]


    [Improve the quality of one''s Prime Azure Energy to the Echo stage (1/1).]


    [You havepleted a prerequisite quest to ascend your subss to the next rarity.]


    [Increase one''s Prime Azure Energy reserves to 10,000 (1/1).]


    ''Wait... what?'' Glossing over the new prerequisite quest for the meantime, Valyr nodded in satisfaction when the system confirmed that he''d improve the quality of his energy to the


    Echo stage.


    However, that satisfaction swiftly turned into confusion the moment he read that he''d also increased his reserves to 10,000.


    ''Even if Prime Azure Energy took over the spot of my Azure Energy reserves, don''t I only have like 300 points of it at the moment?'' asked the young man to himself. ''What the heck did I do to have it go up to 10,000 all of a sudden?''


    Wondering if the system was messing around with him, Valyr went ahead and opened up his status screen to take a better look at his Prime Azure Energy reserves.


    And what he saw was far beyond even his wildest expectations.


    Ding!


    Prime Azure Energy: 12,372/12,372

 Chapter 946: Prime Azure

    Chapter 946: Prime Azure


    ?


    "...Huh?"


    Seeing that his Prime Azure Energy reserves had exceeded the quest requirements by a bit over 20%, Valyr remained silent as he thought about the possible causes why his energy reserves had ballooned to that level.


    ''Is it because of the rewards I got from forming Prime Azure Energy?'' asked the young man to himself, feeling that it was the most likely reason for his current situation.


    With that, he took a look at the changes both the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer made to his subss, only to find out that the changes they did could all be seen throughout his skills.


    Specifically, the changes they made were in the skills transformed by the Four Paths Azure Warlord subss, making all of them activate purely off of Prime Azure Energy.


    It was a drastic changepared to before, where the same skills used both Azure Energy and mana to be activated.


    ''Then again, it''s more of a positive change, considering how I can now fight for longer while unleashing more skills at the same time,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''In a way, it''s allowed me to be even more flexible inbat.''


    "But aside from that, they really didn''t do anything else," murmured the young man to himself, closing the screen he brought up as he continued to ponder over the situation.


    ncing at Sellifer and Noel, who seemed to be engrossed in their own world for the meantime, Valyr soon thought about the title upgrade he''d just obtained,manding the system to bring up its description.


    ''Surely, this would answer my question, right?'' Inwardly muttering these words to himself, Valyr harbored a bit of hope as he began to read what was on the screen before him. Ding!


    [Originator of the Prime Azure] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic


    Azure Energy was... description has been omitted.


    While in the midst of improving the quality of your Azure Energy to the next stage, you have opted to infuse another Intent that resonates with the concept of Azure Energy, allowing it to enter another level.


    However, it is the usage of a concept that transcends normal sense that allowed your Azure Energy to break from its mold and ascend to a level that would''ve normally been impossible for Azure Energy to achieve.


    Yet, against all odds, you''ve done the impossible, forming a superior version of Azure Energy aptly named Prime Azure Energy.


    The creator of Azure Energy, as well as the ones governing thews around Shadow Energy, all believe that Prime Azure Energy has the potential to reach far greater heights than before.


    Now, it is up to you to prove it.


    This title used to serve as a proof that you are the pioneer, the trailzer, and the progenitor of the concept of the Four Azure Paths.


    Now, this title also serves as proof that you are the creator, the originator of Prime Azure Energy, a beacon now guiding the Shadow ne.


    Effects:


    > 35% boost to the maximum amount of Prime Azure Energy one could hold


    > 20% increased efficacy in controlling all types of energies


    > 20% boost toprehension rate involving concepts and skills rted to Azure Energy, the Four Elements, or the Four Azure Paths


    ''I guess not.'' By the time he was done reading through it, Valyr let out a slight sigh of disappointment, seeing as he had yet to find out the reason why his Prime Azure Energy reserves had ballooned to over 12,000 points.


    Then again, that did not mean that he was dissatisfied with the upgraded title.


    For one, the effect that used to boost his maximum Azure Energy now boosted his Prime Azure Energy.


    Not only that, but the potency of the effect had been increased by a further 10%, which would have definitely helped him if he were to obtain 10,000 points the hard way.


    Nevertheless, the second effect, which boosted his control over Azure Energy, had changed to instead take effect on all types of energies he woulde to wield.


    Though its efficacy had been reduced by 5%, Valyr felt that it was a worthwhile trade, especially considering how the control effects from the two titles Sellifer gave him were now voided because he now wielded Prime Azure Energy.


    As for the 5% increase inprehension rate, the young man did not think of it much, merely considering as an additional bonus to the already improved effects of the upgraded title.


    ''It''ll definitely help out once I start improving myprehension over the Intents againter down the road,'' thought Valyr to himself, only to let out a faint sigh after that.


    "Well, it''s not my subss, nor is it the upgraded title they gave me."


    "If that''s the case, what''s the cause, then?" asked the young man to himself, deciding to take


    a look at the notifications he received again in the hopes he would find a clue. Thankfully, the first few notifications he read were all he needed to see, immediately getting the feeling that his answer would be found there.


    "System, identify [Prime Azure Energy Mark]."


    Commanding the system to bring up the skill''s description, Valyr went ahead and skimmed through all of it, his eyes widening in slight surprise due to the changes made in some parts.


    Though, that all changed when his eyesid upon a certain part of the skill, which instead caused him to smile as he felt immense relief.


    "Bingo."


    Ding!


    [Prime Azure Energy Mark] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Shadow Energy: 245/245


    Prime Azure Energy: 12,372/12,372


    Quality (Shadow Energy): 3rd Cleansing (Legendary)


    Quality (Mana): 3rd Cleansing (Legendary)


    Quality (Prime Azure Energy): Echo - Prime (Umon)


    Chaos, destruction, and death. These properties are considered to be what makes up Shadow


    Energy.


    Order, creation, and life. These properties are considered to be what makes up mana.


    For ages... description has been omitted.


    On one fateful day, in the hopes of ascending the quality of their Azure Energy, a being naturalized to the Shadow ne decided to experiment a bit, wondering what would happen if he were add another Intent to what was already an exemry result.


    What happened was that the exemry result turned even more exemry, with the addition of a transcendental concept giving it the capability to shed its earlier limits and break through


    greater heights.


    Because of that, the energy is considered a superior form of Azure Energy, which the system has termed as Prime Azure Energy.


    This skill allows the user to tap into Shadow Energy and Prime Azure Energy at any time, not needing to form a connection with the Shadow ne anymore to do so for the former. This skill also allows the user to store Shadow Energy within their bodies, the amount of which could be improved through the absorption of Shadow Energy through the creatures within the Shadow ne.


    Aside from that, this skill allows the user to store Prime Azure Energy within their bodies, its amount equal to the value of the lower of the two initial energies, plus 10% of the value of the higher of the two initial energies (Lower: Shadow Energy, Higher: Mana).


    This skill also allows the user to gain a permanent boosting effect from the refined quality of Shadow Energy, mana, and Prime Azure Energy, its effects having been heightened with the purity of Prime Azure Energy itself.


    As of current, this skill permanently boost the user''s physical and mental stats by 20%, the user''s max HP and MP by 20%, and the user''s Attack and Defense stat by 10%.


    [Note: This skill has discarded all of the concepts awakened by Shadow Energy in its previous version due to the near-limitless potential of Prime Azure Energy. This reminder shall not be shown the next time this description is brought up.]


    Though there were some parts of the skill that made Valyr feel it was a downgrade over its previous version, he still considered [Prime Azure Energy Mark] to be an overall upgrade. Aside from the fact that his energy reserves for Prime Azure Energy were now 40 times greater than they were before, the permanent boost to his stats had been considerably improved than


    before.


    ''It is a shame that the skill lost that part where it boosted my stats in reference to how much energy I had,'' thought the young man to himself, only to wryly smile as he continued to think


    about it.


    ''Then again, with how much Prime Azure Energy I have now, if that part were still there, I would''ve probably had the power to fight even Myths without breaking a sweat.''


    ''In any case, definitely more than what I bargained for.'' Closing the description to [Prime


    Azure Energy Mark], Valyr continued to adorn a smile as he nced at the two once more. Opening up the list of prerequisite quests to his subss, the young man briefly thought about what he said to Sellifer earlier about the Void World being able to offer him something.


    ''Well, I thought about hunting the beasts of the Void World since it wouldn''t hurt to increase my energy reserves even more,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself. ''But the fact that my Prime Azure Energy now scales with my mana makes that kind of pointless.''


    ''Then again, that might change once I take a look at my quests.''


    Ding!


    Growth Quests (Four Paths Azure Warlord):


    > Improve one''s Intent rted to either Shadow Energy or mana to 3rd Grade or higher (0/1)


    > Improve the quality of one''s Prime Azure Energy to the Echo stage (1/1)


    > Increase one''s Prime Azure Energy reserves to 10,000 (1/1)


    > Summon an Azure Primordial Beast that emtes 80% or more of the user''s stats through


    [Four Paths Azure Manifestation] (0/1)


    > Master at least four of the nine fundamental forms ofbat through [Four Paths Azure War Arts] and [Four Paths Azure Liberation] (1/4)


    > Evolve the concept of the Shadow within Prime Azure Energy to the concept of the Void (0/1) Rewards: Transformation of the Four Paths Azure Warlord subss to a better fitting subss at Epic+ - Growth rarity, additional skills and other misceneous rewards


    ''So, they changed the quest rted to Intent and the quest rted to summoning,'' murmured the young man to himself. ''Makes sense.''


    ''As for the one involving the [Four Paths Azure War Arts], they didn''t change anything about it.'' Valyr faintly nodded at that. ''Then, they added a sixth quest for me toplete.'' "Evolve the concept of the Shadow to the concept of the Void..." Slightly frowning as he


    muttered the words to himself, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to turn as he tried to understand what he exactly needed to do toplete it.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for everything to click in his mind, prompting him to look at


    the two with a slight smile as he thought to himself, ''Well then...''


    ''I guess it''s time to explore what the Void World has to offer.''

 Chapter 947: Blazing with Determination

    Chapter 947: zing with Determination


    ?


    ''Then again, why did I get this quest in the first ce?'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself not long after, beginning to delve deeper into it in his thoughts.


    If he were to pinpoint the possible root cause of why he''d been given the quest in the first ce, then Valyr felt that it might have something to do with the conversation that unfold between Sellifer and Noel.


    Because Sellifer mentioned that it was near impossible for someone to fuse Void Energy or Abyssal Energy together with mana, Valyr began to think that there might be a different approach to it where something like that would have been possible.


    However, he didn''t even have any basis for its feasibility, merely imagining it as a what-if scenario that he could embark once he had gotten stronger somewhere down the line.


    ''The thought of fusing the higher forms of Shadow Energy together with mana hadn''t even crossed my mind before then,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''After all, Azure Energy is already plenty powerful, especially once I bring it up to higher stages.''


    Though, that all changed when he inadvertently transformed Azure Energy into Prime Azure Energy in the midst of ascending its quality.


    Being touted by the system as a type of energy that exhibits far greater potential than Azure Energy in many more ways than one, Valyr felt that this was what spurred both the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer to give him such a quest.


    "They probably have some greater agenda behind giving me this quest,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, only to shake his head soon after. ''On second thought, they definitely have a greater agenda behind giving me this quest.''


    ''In the best-case scenario, that greater agenda would just be my actions once again contributing to the further betterment of the Shadow ne.''


    ''But if it''s the worst-case scenario...'' Valyr slightly shuddered at the thought, the ideas in his mind swiftly spiraling into chaos because of it.


    ''I wouldn''t think too much about it.''


    Shaking his head a bit to remove the discordant thoughts in his mind, the young man took a calming breath before looking over the situation once more from an objective perspective. ''Even if I know there''s a greater reason behind them wanting me to incorporate the Void into Prime Azure Energy, I''d still stand to benefit from it,'' thought the young man to himself, briefly looking at the two once more to see what they were doing.


    Seeing that Noel was still engrossed in purifying his mana, while Sellifer was engrossed in some other task, Valyr returned to his thoughts as he began to rub his chin.


    ''Aside from mybat prowess possibly reaching a higher level if I were to do it, the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer would undoubtedly reward me because of it, especially the former.'' ''However, I still can''t shake off the fact that they have an ulterior motive in having me do this.'' Frowning at the thought, Valyr eventually let out a low sigh, slightlymenting both hisck of information, as well as hisck of power to control the situation.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, Valyr then closed all of the screens he brought up before moving closer to both Sellifer and Noel.


    Slightly moving closer to the former, the woman surprisingly looked at him the moment he made a move, raising her eyebrow as she asked, "I''m guessing you need my help?"


    Caught somewhat off guard by her words, Valyr froze for a bit before nodding.


    "Yeah."


    "I''m guessing this has to do with that energy you created?" asked Sellifer in response, to which the young man nodded once more.


    "The system calls it Prime Azure Energy to differentiate it from the Azure Energy you taught me," said Valyr after that, only to look at her with a wry smile. "To be honest, I feel like I should apologize."


    "What for?" Sellifer looked back at him with slight confusion before letting out a bit ofughter. "If it''s because of that Prime Azure Energy you made, don''t even bother. Just like how I made Azure Energy, I''m sure that Prime Azure Energy of yours was only possible through a series of coincidences."


    "In any case, what do you need my help with?"


    Faintly smiling in gratitude at her words, Valyr slightly nodded as he voiced out his thoughts. "ording to the system, Prime Azure Energy has the ability to assimte higher forms of both Shadow Energy and mana without any issues."


    Sellifer nodded in response, getting an idea of what the young man wanted to do. "And I''m guessing you want to try and incorporate Void Energy into it?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded. "I just wanted to ask if you know how to transform Shadow Energy into Void Energy, then I''ll probably do everything else on my own."


    Sellifer could only bitterly smile at those words. "I''ve got some ideas..."


    Then, she pointed at the only one among them that''s still engrossed in their task. "But I think


    asking your mentor would be your best choice in learning how to do it."


    Slightly nodding in response, Valyr looked at her with a hint of surprise. "You haven''t harnessed the power of Void Energy?"


    "I probably would have if my bloodline had rtions to it," said Sellifer with a slight chuckle. "But of course, you know how that went, seeing as you have firsthand information on how I eventually underwent atavism."


    Getting the idea that controlling Void Energy for her would have something to do with bloodlines, he then asked, "So, does that mean you can''t touch Void Energy, then?"


    "It''s not that I can''t," Sellifer rified. "It''s that I don''t n to. Why head down another path


    if Azure Energy already serves that purpose for me?"


    Just as Valyr was about to mull over the woman''s words, a familiar voice could be heard not far away from them as the being let out a light groan.


    "Finally. I''ve achieved the stage of 1st Cleansing," said Noel with a proud smile on his face, shifting his gaze towards Sellifer to ask what he needed to next.


    Though, at that moment, he paused, immediately noticing that Valyr was now out of his previous state of immersion.


    "Er... did I take a long time to get to 1st Cleansing, Divine One?" asked Noel to the two with an awkward smile, causing both Sellifer and Valyr to let out a bit ofughter in response.


    "No, Valyr just finished earlier than expected," exined Sellifer, prompting the old man to nod in response. "In any case, to think you''ve reached 1st Cleansing in just a bit over a day is quite impressive."


    "Not as impressive as what that brat did back when I was teaching him how to purify his Shadow Energy," said Noel in response, making Sellifer smile because of it.


    "Well, he is a Zeihardt," Sellifer told the old man. "It''s kind of expected for a Zeihardt to have


    monstrous talent."


    "Anyways, I''m getting sidetracked," continued the woman after a brief pause. "Valyr has something he wants to ask you."


    "What is it?" asked Noel back, looking at Valyr with a hint of curiosity.


    "Void Energy," the young man sinctly replied. "I want you to teach me how to transform Shadow Energy into Void Energy, Elder Noel."


    At those words, Elder Noel closed his eyes for a bit, his expression slowly turning pensive.


    By the time he opened his eyes, he looked at Valyr straight in the eyes and said, "Frankly, I''ve already told you part of the requirements needed to do that before."


    "Wait..." Slightly frowning at those words, the young man closed his eyes for a bit before recalling a certain something the old man told him thest time they parted ways. "Reach the stage of 3rd Cleansing and have a thousand points of Shadow Energy?" "Bingo." Noel nodded with a smile. "As long as you achieve that, your Shadow Energy will slowly begin to transform into Void Energy."


    "Of course, it''ll take a long time for it to get to that point if you were to head that route," said Noel. "I''m getting the feeling that you want to obtain Void Energy as fast as possible. Am I


    wrong in thinking that?"


    "Not at all." Valyr shook his head.


    Noel nodded at that. "If that''s the case, reach the same level of quality, but have 3,000 points


    of Shadow Energy."


    "After that, assimte the energy that''s around us right now, whether it be throughing


    in direct contact with the darkness, or..."


    "Or...?" Valyr looked at Noel with curiosity.


    "Well..." Seeing the young man gazing at him, the old man mulled over whether or not to say


    it, only to recall what he''d seen Valyr do back when fighting against the Shadow Rabbits. "Whatever. You have thebat prowess to pull it off anyway."


    "Either youe in direct contact with the darkness, or assimte the energies you obtain


    from killing a Void Beast."


    "You really want him to fight against a Void Beast?" Sellifer said out of shock, looking at Noel with slight disappointment. "You do know even the weakest Void Beast is at the cusp of


    bing a Myth, right?"


    "I know." Noel nodded. "It''s the reason why I didn''t take that path. The only reason why I know of it is because I had a talented student who did that."


    "In any case, Valyr is definitely more than capable of fighting against a Void Beast," continued the old man. "I don''t know about the stronger ones, but even Void Beasts at the early Myth level probably wouldn''t pose a threat to him."


    "That much?" Hearing that, Sellifer began to reevaluate her impression of Valyr, merely thinking of the young man before as a strong genius that''s been given wings due to Azure


    Energy.


    However, after hearing that even Myth-level beings couldn''t pose a threat to the young man, the woman felt the curiosity deep within her slowly bing awake.


    With that, she nced at Valyr, only for the young man''s expression to appear in full view.


    Unsurprisingly, it was that of determination.


    Unyielding, zing determination.

 Chapter 948: Fighting Void Beasts (1)

    Chapter 948: Fighting Void Beasts (1)


    ?


    Continuing to look at the young man''s expression, Sellifer eventually began to notice that the confidence on his face did not seem to be unfounded.


    Slightly frowning at this sensation, the woman went through multiple thoughts and ideas in her head as to why that was the case, wondering whether that confidence came from his stats or his skills.


    However, in the end, Sellifer felt that the most likely reason for his confidence was the fact that the young man before her had fought against Myth-level beings before.


    Though she was uncertain whether that was truly the cause of his confidence, the fact that she came to this conclusion left Sellifer at a slight loss for words, forcing her to inwardly take a few deep breaths topose herself.


    "You really think you have what it takes to fight against a Void Beast?" asked Sellifer to Valyr once more out of slight concern. "I''m sure you already have tons of experience fighting against opponents either one or two ss ranks higher than you."


    "After all, the Four Pirs'' Inheritance is designed that way," said the woman, to which Noel faintly nodded in agreement. "Only those who can punch above their grade are eligible to go far there."


    "However, the experience you have fighting against an opponent at the peak of Rank 5 means nothing when you''re up against a true Myth-level being." At this point, Valyr looked at Sellifer in silence, his current expression slightly beginning to waver.


    "With that, I ask you once more."


    "Are you sure you wanna fight against Void Beasts at your current level?" Sellifer returned the look back to Valyr, looking at him directly in the eyes. "You could attempt it some other time, you know? Perhaps at the peak of Rank 4, or at the peak of Rank 5."


    For a while after that, the young man went silent, the gears in his mind turning as he pondered over what he should do.


    In the end, Valyr gave Sellifer a wide smile as he replied, "Whether or not I end up winning in a fight against a Void Beast, I''d still do it."


    "I have confidence in my capabilities, plus the Four Pirs'' Inheritance has given me a taste of fighting against Myths at a weaker state than I currently am," he continued, his words causing Sellifer to slightly widen in surprise as she understood what he meant.


    "Sure, that experience may not be equal to fighting an actual Myth-level being, but it at least gives me an idea of where my strength stands against them."


    "I''d say I have a decent chance at defeating one." Valyr let out a bit ofughter. "Of course, only those at the beginning of Rank 6, I presume."


    "In any case, if I end up getting defeated by the Void Beast instead... don''t I have you to protect me?" Saying these words, the young man let out a bit moreughter, prompting Noel to look at the young man with a wry smile.


    On the other hand, Sellifer gave Valyr a nk look in response to those words, her mind processing what the young man just told them.


    With a long sigh, she returned a faint smile back to the young man as she nodded. "If you put it that way, then there really is no reason for me to be concerned."


    "I''ll apany you, then," said Sellifer soon after, releasing a bit of her energy after that to conjure a clone that moved and acted just like her.


    With both Noel and Valyr looking at this feat with amazement and awe, she then proceeded to infuse a bit more of her power into the clone, allowing it to take a more corporeal state.


    Sighing out in relief as she nodded in satisfaction, Sellifer then had the clone sit near Noel, causing both Valyr and Noel to blink a few times in slight confusion.


    Of course, it did not take long for them to understand what was going on, immediatelying to the conclusion that the current arrangement was far safer for Valyr.


    Plus, as someone who already had control over Abyssal Energy, Noel didn''t really have the need for that much protection.


    "I''ll be taking the lead." After making sure that everything was prepared for their small excursion into the Void World, Sellifer went ahead and grabbed the light fixture she made before proceeding to head into the nket of darkness that surrounded them.


    Feeling the soothing sensation of the light gradually be weaker the farther Sellifer got from them, Valyr nced at Noel, his gaze asking thetter if he''d be fine.


    "Don''t worry about me too much, you brat." Noel let out a chuckle as he felt his heart warm up from the concern. "This world is like the Spearman Guild to me. I''m familiar with every nook and cranny here as if it were the back of my hand."


    "Plus, I have the Divine One''s clone to protect me if necessary," he continued, releasing a bit of his Abyssal Energy to give Valyr the small push he needed to follow after Sellifer.


    "Now go. Can''t be having you getting on the Divine One''s nerves like me."


    Hearing those words, Valyr spared onest look at Noel before shifting his gaze to where Sellifer was, inwardly praying that the old man was sessful in at least making headway to forming some stronger form of energy.


    After that, he activated [sh of the Azure Dragon], immediately catching up to the woman who''d already traversed a couple of kilometers within that timespan.


    "Took you a while to get here." Seeing Valyr appear beside her, Sellifer infused a bit more energy into the light fixture she had, weakening the odd sensation the nket of darkness radiated around them.


    At the same time, it increased the radius of what they could see within the Void World, prompting Valyr to start looking at this odd world once more.


    If one were to ignore the fact that the Void World shrouded one''s sight in a nket of pure darkness, theyout of the Void World was more or less simr to theyout of the Shadow ne.


    However, unlike the Shadow ne, its characteristics were more simr to Veldanyr, losing the Shadow ne''s uniqueness of having both its nature and ecosystem be the exact opposite of what went on in Veldanyr.


    Gazing at their surroundings illuminated by Sellifer''s light, Valyr felt that the Void World was incredibly close to his first thoughts of what the Shadow ne was.


    ''Veldanyr could be considered the light, while the Void World could be considered the darkness,'' thought the young man to himself, only for an errant thought to soon cross his


    mind.


    ''Wait, since the Void World lost the topsy-turvy nature of the Shadow ne, then does that mean the weakest type of Void Beasts here are the rabbits?''


    Curious as to whether his hypothesis was correct, the young man kept the thought to himself for the meantime as the two continued to roam around the Void World in search for a suitable


    Void Beast.


    Of course, to pass the time while continuing their search, the two struck up a conversation, with Sellifer surprisingly asking Valyr about a certain part of what he said before they


    departed.


    "You mentioned earlier that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance gave you a taste at what it''s like to fight against Myth-level beings," said the woman, briefly looking at Valyr before continuing to search for a beast. "Are you perhaps talking about the Trial of Nine Stars?" "Yeah." Valyr nodded, his next words leaving Sellifer at a loss for words. "I got all the way to the end. It still kinda irks me that they had me fight against the eighth and ninth opponent


    together."


    "Really?" Sellifer looked at the young man with both incredulity and curiosity, her bearing as a Divine-level being nowhere to be seen at this point. "They might not have the powers of a true Myth-level being, but they do have the strength of one. How did you defeat them?"


    "Luck." Valyr bitterly smiled. "Tons of luck."


    Saying that, he then briefly narrated how he went all out against those two opponents, only for his attacks to alle crumbling down when up against those two. Naturally, he omitted the fact that he had tapped into the Shard of Defiance''s strength at the time, instead deciding to mention that the two had a ring weakness he decided to exploit. Sellifer could only reevaluate her impression of Valyr once more after that, faintly nodding as she said, "I guess there is basis for your confidence. The fact that you won against those two is already a feat almost no one can replicate."


    "But that doesn''t mean you should underestimate these Void Beasts," she continued. "I''m trying my best to look for Void Beasts that are on the cusp of bing a Myth, but if worsees to worst, you''d really have to fight against a Void Beast at the early levels of Rank 6." "I''ll keep that in mind." Valyr nodded at those words, mentally preparing himself for the fight that he could possibly consider as the most difficult in his journey so far. Fortunately, with Sellifer''s Divine-level strength, it only took around a couple of hours after they left Noel for them to find a Void Beast that hovered around their minimum criteria. Unfortunately, that Void Beast had already transcended mortality and was now considered a bona fide Myth.


    Nevertheless, Valyr still nned on giving it his all.

 Chapter 949: Fighting Void Beasts (2)

    Chapter 949: Fighting Void Beasts (2)


    ?


    After Sellifer found what seemed to be a suitable target for the young man, she went ahead and infused more of her power into the light fixture, expanding the radius of the light to at least over ten times what it originally was.


    At the very moment she did that, a greater portion of the Void World was made visible to both the young man and the woman, with one small part of it seemingly roaming around the statdscape.


    Taking note of this, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise when he found out that this moving thing was none other than a rabbit.


    Considering how Sellifer chose this rabbit as his first opponent in the Void World, then that meant that the rabbit before them was considered the weakest beast in the ecosystem.


    Yet, from the aura it gave off, to its appearance, all of them instead told the young man that it was an opponent he was not ready to handle yet.


    Simr to the Shadow Rabbit King he''d killed before, the pitch-ck rabbit in Valyr''s eyes was at least a meter taller than the former, its eyes and teeth glinting under the illumination of Sellifer''s light.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Keeping an eye on where the rabbit was, as well as its proximity to him, Valyr carefully activated his trusty identification skill on his soon-to-be opponent, only to feel immense dread the instant he looked at it.


    Ding!


    [Void Rabbit (Ancient Elite)] (Level 102 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Rabbit of the Forsaken World (Epic)


    HP: 527,550/527,550


    MP: 390,250/390,250


    Attack: 20,476 - 20,476


    Defense: 14,578 - 14,578


    Stats: 2138 VIT, 2839 STR, 4324 AGI, 3096 DEX, 2276 INT, 1989 WIS, 1916 PER, 606 LUK


    Concepts: ??? (concepts unknown due to great disparity in level)


    Skills: ??? (skills unknown due to great disparity in level)


    Remarks: One of the weakest creatures within the Void World, the Void Rabbit is considered the prey of many of the beasts lurking within the darkness.


    You''ve got massive balls to try and fight against this beast. You may be talented, but nowhere near talented enough to surmount such a gap.


    Though the HP and MP values of his soon-to-be opponent were still within his expectations, the same could not be said for the other figures that were shown on its status screen.


    If he were topared its Attack and Defense stat to the Shadow Rabbit King he fought before, the Void Rabbit boasted both an Attack and Defense stat that was around three to four times higher than that.


    As for its other stats, though the gap between it and the Shadow Rabbit King wasn''trge, the Void Rabbit still boasted stats around twice as high than the former, reminding Valyr that there was arge gap he needed to cross first in order to fight it.


    Briefly thinking about how he''d stack up against this rabbit if he were to go all out on his stat- boosting buffs, Valyr recalled his fight against Daon and Dawan, only to bitterly smile soon after.


    ''And here I thought I''ve already umted more than enough strength to fight against a Myth-level being,'' thought the young man to himself. ''Who knew fighting a true Myth-level being at my current level would be this daunting?''


    Having already experienced the Myth level in his previous life, Valyr more or less knew the reason why the rabbit''s stats were that high.


    If he were to exclude the system''s way of making monsters more terrifying through the tier system and the titled boss system, then both monsters and yers basically had four reasons why Myths were far stronger than even Legends.


    Concepts, Legacies, Armaments, and Domains.


    Concepts acted as one of the requirements needed for one to be a Myth, being the end goal for a Legend''s Force to evolve into.


    Unlike a Force or an Intent, Concepts boosted one''s Attack coefficient by a constant, yet high number.


    But of course, there were still methods where it was possible to boost this value even further, only being avable once one got further into their status as a Myth.


    However, what truly separated Concepts from either Forces or Intents was the fact that Concepts also affected one''s Defense coefficient, giving Myths the ability to take minimal damage from Legends if they wanted to.


    As for Legacies, aside from being the other requirement needed to be a Myth, these acted as the crystallization and culmination of one''s journey through the ranks thus far, being simr to Concepts in that regard where it relied onprehension.


    Though, unlike Concepts, Legacies gave beings arge t boost to all of their attributes, further expanding the gap in strength between Myths and Legends.


    On the other hand, Armaments and Domains were only avable after one became a bona fide


    Myth.


    Armaments served as a crystallization of one''s Concept, giving the being the ability to enhance their Attack and Defense to a considerable degree without needing to activate their


    Concept.


    With that being said, Domain could also be considered a crystallization of one''s Concept.


    However, rather than focus that crystallization onto one''s self, this crystallization was instead focused to one''s surroundings, giving one the ability to figuratively transform one''s surroundings to their advantage.


    Aside from that, Domains also acted as the bridge for a Myth to be a Divine-level being, just like how theprehension of an Intent acted as the bridge for a mortal to be a


    Myth-level being.


    Roughly going over the information he recalled about Myths in his mind, Sellifer clicked her tongue as she used her own identification skill to gauge the strength of what would be Valyr''s


    first opponent.


    "Well... this is definitely gonna be a challenge for you, Valyr," said Sellifer in a soft tone, though loud enough for the young man to hear. "Fortunately, the rabbit doesn''t have its Concept activated, nor has it taken the steps to form a Domain just yet."


    "However, it''s already taken the first steps to form its Armaments, further bolstering the effects of its Rare grade Legacy."


    "So, are you gonna fight against this?" asked Sellifer as she looked at Valyr. "We could always find a Void Beast at the peak of Rank 5, you know."


    Continuing to look at the opponent he was going to put himself up against, the young man eventually let out a long exhale as he closed the screen he brought up.


    Then, taking in a deep breath, he looked back at Sellifer with determination before nodding.


    "I''ve made up my mind."


    "Even though it seems difficult, I''ll still try to defeat this Void Rabbit."


    "Speaking of which, Void Rabbits are the weakest beasts in the Void World, right?" asked Valyr after that for rification, to which Sellifer nodded in response. "Yeah. Just think of the ecosystem in the Void World as if it were like Veldanyr."


    "Got it." Valyr nodded back. "Since that''s the case, then all the more reason for me to fight against it. After all, how would I tackle the stronger beasts of the Void World if I don''t even have the courage to fight against a Void Rabbit?"


    "You could always return to the Void World after you''ve ascended to Rank 4 or Rank 5, you know," reminded Sellifer. "You''d have a far better shot at killing one if you were to do that." Hearing those words from her once more, Valyr briefly froze in ce before giving Sellifer a


    wry smile.


    "I know that," said the young man. "Let''s just say I wanna see how far I can go against a Void Rabbit in my current state."


    At those words, Sellifer could only let out a sigh, inwardly shaking her head as she wondered why Valyr was acting so foolhardy all of a sudden.


    In the end, she faintly nodded, conjuring a barrier around Valyr with her energy to protect the young man from the possible retaliation of the Void Rabbit.


    Smiling back in response to the woman''s actions, Valyr went ahead and took out his Supreme True Arquebus from spatial bracelet, causing Sellifer''s eyes to widen in surprise.


    ''Is this the reason for his confidence?'' asked Sellifer to herself, certain that the current Veldanyr didn''t have the necessary knowhow to forge such a thing.


    With that, she focused all of her attention on the young man''s preparation in hopes of understanding more about it, continuing to protect Valyr from slightly afar.


    Seeing the young man deftly go through the process of arming the arquebus for firing, the


    thought of the young man forging the arquebus she saw appeared in Sellifer''s mind, only for her to discard it soon after.


    After all, through the past couple of years she''d spent with the young man back when he was still learning how to wield Azure Energy, he did not show anything of the sort that could be


    traced back to cksmithing.


    ''Unless... he intentionally hid it from me?''


    While Sellifer was continuing to mull over this question, Valyr went ahead and activated [Extended Charge], immediately sporting a bitter smile as he thought about how he didn''t have enough Prime Azure Energy to boost its efficacy by a further 20%.


    ''Then again, I have other areas where I could still benefit from it,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as he proceeded to go through his stat-boosting skills.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Raging Azure Phoenix]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    Whoosh!


    Within a matter of seconds, the aura Valyr emanated immediately soared to great heights,


    returning Sellifer''s attention back to the situation at hand.


    Though she was surprised that the young man could bolster his strength to such a degree, she


    still inwardly shook her head, realizing that it still wasn''t enough to fight against the Void


    Rabbit.


    However, that all changed when Valyr activated his Intent.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    Swoosh!


    Swiftly weaving four of his Intents together, Valyr empowered the strength of one of his


    combat-rted Intents as he felt the arquebus reaching its maximum limit for [Extended Charge].


    With that, he activated [Mana Overdrive] from the arquebus with his Prime Azure Energy,


    hoping that the small increase in damage could possibly increase his chances of dealing enough damage to the Void Rabbit.


    Seeing that he had more or less prepared everything he could for the uing fight, he then


    took a few steps forward, finally allowing the Void Rabbit to enter the range of his curse.


    Squeak!!! With its eyes glowing a dark crimson the moment the curse was activated, the Void Rabbit''s attention was immediately fixated on the young man, making use of its high agility to close the gap between the two of them.


    Naturally, just like all of the other fights he''d gone through before, Valyr made sure that


    wouldn''t happen, immediately pulling on the trigger as he activated the arquebus'' final skill.


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, once the arquebus was empowered with Prime Azure Energy, the beam of


    light that was shot out of the barrel exuded far greater power than before, immediately


    arriving at the head of the Void Rabbit before it could even react.


    As a result...


    ''-1,504,640!!!!!


    The Void Rabbit burst into chunks before it even realized what it was up against.

 Chapter 950: Proving Ones Strength (1)

    Chapter 950: Proving One''s Strength (1)


    ?


    "Wha-?!"


    Focusing his attention on the beam that formed from the arquebus due to skill activation, Valyr immediately got the feeling that he''d be able to deal a heavy amount of damage to the Void Rabbit.


    Though he had a feeling it wouldn''t be enough to kill it in one shot, he was still confident that the damage he dealt would significantly injure the rabbit, allowing him to take care of it with his skills.


    After all, though his arquebus boasted a high base Attack stat, as well as the fraudulent skill named [Extended Charge], the damage multiplier of its true offensive skill was somewhatcking behind whenpared to his other skills.


    Because of that, the young man waspletely left at a loss for words when he looked at the aftermath of his shot, witnessing how the Void Rabbit was utterly decimated by his shot.


    Surely certain that he wouldn''t be able to deal that much damage to it, he looked around in confusion, his eyes eventually locking on to the digit that appeared above where it once was. However, once he saw the dark seven-digit number that threatened to meld with the darkness, Valyr was forced to reevaluate hisbat prowess as he looked at his hands, thinking to himself.


    ''Is this the true extent of my capabilities?''


    Even if he were to exclude the fact that he lucked out andnded a Fatal Hit on the Void Rabbit, the damage he would have dealt to it without it was still more than enough to guarantee the Void Rabbit''s death.


    "Over 1.5 million points of damage..." murmured Valyr to himself,mitting the number to memory as he shifted his gaze to Sellifer.


    Unsurprisingly, just like him, Sellifer was left speechless after seeing the Void Rabbit go down in one hit.


    With her eyes still fixated on where the rabbit once was, she also noticed the dark seven-digit number that began to hover its remains, the gears in her mind madly turning as she assessed whether or not Valyr had killed the rabbit through sheer luck.


    The result?


    ''Even if it wasn''t a Fatal Hit, he would''ve still killed the rabbit regardless,'' concluded Sellifer in her mind, her pupils dting from the shock of the realization as she turned to look at Valyr.


    Seeing that both of them were utterly bbergasted by the result of the attack, Sellifer and Valyr decided to take the time to calm down first, with the former initiating the conversation once they were.


    "Did you... did you know this would happen?" asked Sellifer to the young man, her tone stillced with hints of disbelief.


    Valyr shook his head in response. "I expected myself to deal considerable damage with it, but not to the point I''d kill it in one shot."


    "Who forged the arquebus you''re wielding, anyway?" asked Sellifer back while requesting Valyr to have her take a look at the arquebus. "As far as I know, no one in Veldanyr has the knowhow to forge something this advanced."


    "I did," replied Valyr as he gave the arquebus, causing Sellifer to look at him as if he needed to exin himself.


    Noticing this gaze, the young man went silent for a bit in confusion, only to inwardly adorn a wry smile as he realized the woman before him had only seen his capabilities inbat so far.


    With that, he let out a slight chuckle as he began exining. "I entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance as a cksmith since that''s my main ss."


    "Thanks to the various rewards the inheritance gave me, I eventually had enough know-how to forge that weapon you''re holding," he continued, only to then bring out the pistol he forged from his spatial bracelet. "I also forged this while in the inheritance."


    Blinking a few times as she continued to look at Valyr with disbelief, Sellifer took in a deep breath as she used her identification skill on the arquebus she was holding, being left at a loss for words once more.


    "What a fraudulent skill..." murmured the woman as she read the effects of [Extended Charge], causing Valyr to faintly smile in response.


    After going over the description of the arquebus for a bit more, Sellifer eventually returned it to Valyr, who soon stowed both the arquebus and the pistol back into his spatial bracelet.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose herself, she then said to him," And here I thought your main ss was abat ss. After all, you had a plethora of skills that seemed to mesh nicely with Azure Energy."


    "All of those skills came from your subss, then?" asked Sellifer after that, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    Seeing the young man''s reply, the woman briefly adorned a bitter smile. "To think your main ss is a production ss... yet you''re still able to achieve feats like these."


    "Once again, I didn''t expect the attack to deal so much damage to the Void Rabbit," replied Valyr after that, relieving the tension that was beginning to cover the conversation. "Plus, I''m a Zeihardt, remember?"


    Sellifer could onlyugh at the young man''s quip. "Yes, you are a Zeihardt. Should''ve remembered that rather than be shocked over your prowess."


    "In any case, although you''ve proven you have what it takes to fight against a Void Rabbit, there''s still a small part of me that''s skeptical as to whether you really have what it takes to fight true Myth-level beings," she continued.


    "Don''t get me wrong," said Sellifer after that. "The fact that you have something like that to surmount the gap is incredibly impressive."


    "However, I''m sure you know that every second counts when up against a Myth-level being, especially at your current level." At these words, Sellifer could not help but inwardlyugh at the absurdity of her statement.


    "What if the first shot wasn''t enough to kill it? Do you have ways to stall for time? Or do you have the necessary skills to fight against it without relying on the arquebus?"


    "In other words...?" asked Valyr after that, prompting Sellifer to re at him for a bit before indulging in his question.


    "I want to see you fight against a Void Rabbit without relying on the arquebus," replied the woman. "Just once."


    "I could do that." Valyr nodded at that, showing the confidence he''d rued now that he sessfully defeated a true Myth-level being.


    Though, not long after, his expression turned into a wry smile. "There''s only one problem."


    "And that would be?" Sellifer raised her eyebrow at the young man''s words, only for her eyes to slightly widen in surprise soon after as Valyr retrieved the spear from his back.


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 951: Proving Ones Strength (2)

    Chapter 951: Proving One''s Strength (2)


    ?


    At the moment, Valyr began to hold his trusty spear with both of his hands, Sellifer immediately felt that the aura surrounding the young man gradually began to weaken.


    Continuing to observe for a bit more after that to ascertain whether the effect was just a one- time thing, the woman eventually raised her eyebrows as she asked Valyr, "Does it drain all of your strength at some point?"


    Valyr shook his head at the question. "It does not. However, I''ll eventually lose 30% of my stats while wielding it for long enough."


    "Including the ones you gain from the buffs?" asked Sellifer after that, to which Valyr faintly nodded in response.


    With her expression bing serious after that, Sellifer continued to observe Valyr''s gradually weakening strength for a bit longer, eventually asking the young man to stop what was causing his loss in strength a couple of minutester.


    Nodding at those words, the young man went ahead and returned his spear back to its rightful ce, which immediately returned all of the strength he lost during that time.


    Slightly widening her eyes at the discovery, Sellifer pondered over what just happened for a bit with a pensive expression.


    "To be honest, I''m not sure," said the woman after some time. "My instincts tell me you have a curse, but there''s also the possibility of it being a greater hex, you having a cursed ego weapon, or some other detriment I may not know of."


    "It''s a curse," replied Valyr, not wanting to head down the rabbit hole of what Sellifer just told him in the meantime.


    With that, he exined the Mark of the Alltide to her, how his spear was affected by it, as well as how he got in the first ce.


    Though, just as he mentioned the term ''Mark of the Alltide'' to her, Sellifer immediately frowned, only speaking up once Valyr was done talking. "So, it''s that werebeast''s doing, huh."


    "You know the werebeast?" asked Valyr with slightly curious eyes, briefly mentioning to Sellifer that Vaughn mentioned something about it as well.


    "Not only do I know the werebeast, I''ve also gone through that curse myself," replied Sellifer, causing the frown on her face to take on hints of anger.


    "That damned zarek, he really thinks he''d find a suitable sessor this way, but all it''s brought to those affected by it is just pure suffering."


    Realizing she''d gone into an outburst of anger, Sellifer took some time topose herself before continuing the conversation. "In any case, I have the means to suppress the curse affecting both you and the spear."


    "Now that I think about it, I should''ve already noticed you had the curse after the Void Rabbit went into a rage all of a sudden," she continued.


    "Anyways, I''ll only be able to temporarily suppress the curse while you''re fighting. To dispel it fully, you''d have to absorb the blood of the higher-ranking Tidemothers, whether you want to or not."


    "That''s fine with me." Valyr nodded in response as he inwardly became excited for his next fight.


    After all, ever since heid his eyes upon that one certain skill, he already had the urge to make use of it to the fullest.


    And now, Sellifer was giving him the tform that would allow him to use it in its full glory. After talking for a bit more, the two of them soon set off to find another opponent that was suitable for Valyr to fight against, reducing the radius of the light Sellifer held to what it was before.


    While in the midst of searching for a suitable opponent, Valyr took a look at the notifications he received from killing the Void Rabbit in his mind, his eyes widening in slight surprise once he was finished going through them.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 102 Void Rabbit (Divine Elite). You have gained 10,336,761 XP.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 287 points.]


    [Due to your actions, you have obtained the title ''Surpassing Mortal Bounds - Stage III''.] [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (578/10,000).] Skipping over the great amount of XP he''d gained from killing the Void Rabbit, Valyr focused his attention on the amount of Shadow Energy he obtained, immediately increasing his Shadow Energy reserves to slightly over double what it was before.


    Confirming Noel''s earlier words through this, the young man soon calcted that the Void Rabbit gave him over five times as much energy as the Shadow Rabbit King he killed.


    At the same time, he calcted the remaining number of Void Rabbits he had to defeat if he wanted to meet the old man''s requirements to obtain Void Energy faster.


    ''A new title?'' Once he was done with that, he then proceeded to look at the remaining notifications he''d received, with one of them immediately standing out to him.


    ''[Surpassing Mortal Bounds]...'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself as he brought up its description in his mind. ''Is this simr to that [Myth-transcending Mortal] title I got?''


    Wondering if this new title also had something to do with dealing a lot of damage in one hit, Valyr''s queries were soon answered as he looked at its description.


    Ding!


    [Surpassing Mortal Bounds - Stage III] (Title)


    Rarity: Ancient


    The Apparatus does not forget your roots. The Apparatus acknowledges your journey.


    You, who remain within the Realm of Legendary Epics, have surmounted the gap between ranks and defeated a true being of the Realm of Ancient Myths through your own efforts. Because of this, you have been deemed a 2nd Tier Seed by the Apparatus in preparation for a new update.


    ''Well, that''s one question answered,'' thought the young man to himself. ''This title is not even close to simr to [Myth-transcending Mortal].''


    ''But what''s with the title having no effect? What''s the Realm of Legendary Epics? What''s the Realm of Ancient Myths? What''s a 2nd Tier Seed? What new update is it talking about?''


    As these questions lingered in the young man''s mind, Valyr thought about consulting the system for more information, as well as Vaughn if the system didn''t give him the answers he


    sought.


    However, the young man was forced to push such thoughts to the side for the meantime as Sellifer had found a suitable Void Rabbit to act as his opponent.


    And surprisingly enough, she found one that was at the peak of Rank 5.

 Chapter 952: To Act Unfettered

    Chapter 952: To Act Unfettered


    ?


    "Found it."


    After roaming around the Void World for an hour after the previous Void Rabbit, Sellifer eventually found another one that suited her criteria.


    "Oh, it''s at the peak of Rank 5." Using her identification skill on the rabbit that appeared before them, the woman smiled at her discovery, prompting her to turn around to look at the young man beside her.


    Though Valyr looked to be engrossed in his own thoughts, it did not take long for him to snap back to reality, looking back at Sellifer to get an idea of what was going on.


    "Is it time?" asked Valyr, to which Sellifer replied by pointing at the Void Rabbit she just found.


    Nodding at that, the young man shifted his gaze towards his next opponent, taking in a deep breath topose himself before activating [Superior Analysis].


    Ding!


    [Void Rabbit (Ancient Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: Rabbit of the Void (Rare)


    HP: 714,760/714,760


    MP: 504,530/504,530


    Attack: 10,830 - 10,830


    Defense: 8,834-8,834


    Stats: 1636 VIT, 1962 STR, 3190 AGI, 2255 DEX, 1547 INT, 1574 WIS, 1587 PER, 436 LUK


    Concepts: [Intent of the Lightless World]


    Skills: [Advanced Void Rabbit Movement Style], [Advanced Void Rabbit Combat Style], [Void Rabbit''s Fleeting Feet], [Intermediate Void Energy Affinity], and 79 other skills.


    Remarks: One of the weakest creatures within the Void World, the Void Rabbit is considered the prey of many of the beasts lurking within the darkness.


    Definitely a far less terrifying foepared to those that have sessfully transcended beyond mortality, but there''s still a gap between the two of you that cannot be easily surmounted with just pure talent.


    "Damn." Sucking in a breath of cold air the moment he got a look at the Void Rabbit''s status screen, Valyr was left at a loss for words when he found out that even a Void Rabbit at the peak of Rank 5 was still far stronger than he was.


    ''Compared to the Myth-level Void Rabbit I fought earlier, its Attack and Defense stat are roughly half of what it was,'' thought the young man to himself. ''But it''s still double that of what the Shadow Rabbit King had when I fought it.''


    ''Is it because of the Void World?'' asked the young man to himself, somewhat finding it to be a usible cause. ''After all, Void Energy is a higher-tier energy than Shadow Energy. There''s got to be benefit to staying in this ce for a long time.''


    Though, when he thought about the foes he''d fought at a simr rank to the Void Rabbit in front of them, Valyr eventually adorned a bitter smile on his face.


    Recalling the vast difference in strength between the Myth-level Void Rabbit he just fought and the twins back in the inheritance, the young man soon thought about the Rank 5 opponents he fought back in the inheritance as well.


    Comparing their strength to the Void Rabbit he was about to fight, Valyr was certain that even 10 of them wouldn''t be a match for his soon-to-be opponent.


    ''The fact that Sellifer doesn''t want me to use my arquebus is making me a bit nervous,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, continuing to keep an eye on the Void Rabbit as his mind began to whip up a couple ofbat ns.


    ''But my curiosity on how powerful that one skill is against the Void Rabbit is taking greater precedence,'' he continued in his thoughts, faintly chuckling as he let out a collected exhale.


    "I''m probably going to have to go all out on buffs again," murmured Valyr to himself as he gave Sellifer a signal that he was ready to fight. "But I''ll have to activate all of them with mana since that skill uses up all of my Prime Azure Energy."


    "In any case..."


    "I feel like it''s doable."


    "Ready?" asked Sellifer once more after seeing the young man get into a battle stance.


    Receiving a nod from Valyr in response, the woman nodded back before proceeding to make a few gestures with her hands.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Infusing those gestures with her energy, a domain soon began to form around the two, swiftly expanding within seconds to epass the area where Void Rabbit was generally roaming around.


    After Sellifer gave him the green light to start fighting the Void Rabbit, it was only then did Valyr take out the spear from his back, his eyes slightly widening in surprise after not feeling the usual sensation he did whenever he wielded it.


    Taking note of the young man''s surprise, Sellifer let out a faint chuckle. "I told you I have ways to suppress it."


    "Now go out there and show me that yourbat power is not unfounded."


    "You''ll definitely be in for a surprise," said Valyr in response with a bit ofughter, only for his expression to be serious not long after.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With the Void Rabbit not being alerted by his presence anymore due to the curse, Valyr slowly made his way to where the Void Rabbit as he activated all of his stat-boosting buffs with


    mana.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    After going through all of his status buffs, he then proceeded to activate his Intent, making use of the Truth Weaver Scripture to push hisbat power just a bit further.


    By activating all of these, Valyr was able to push his aura to a level where it could somewhat match the Void Rabbit before him, reminding Sellifer of what she hadn''t really noticed while he was wielding the arquebus.


    ''With how far he''s empowered himself, he''s definitely going to deal some damage to the Void Rabbit,'' thought Sellifer to herself, only to shake her head soon after. ''However, it''ll probably only reach 10,000 at most.''


    Though, just as those words lingered in her mind, Sellifer was forced to push those thoughts to the side as Valyr proceeded to activate another skill.


    "[Four Paths Azure Liberation]."


    "[Unfettered Spear]."


    Swoosh!


    Within an instant, the aura Valyr radiated intensified by multiple degrees, briefly making Sellifer feel a hint of intimidation from the strength hidden underneath it.


    Unsurprisingly, with how Sellifer took note of the aura, it went without saying that the Void Rabbit had be alerted to it as well, immediately getting aggressive.


    "Squeak!!!" Rousing the energy within its body, the Void Rabbit made use of its high agility to bridge the gap between the two, prompting Valyr to make a move.


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    Getting an idea of what the Void Rabbit nned on doing, Valyr went ahead and turned into a cloud of Prime Azure Energy, immediately disappearing from the rabbit''s sight.


    Swoosh!


    Though, not even a secondter, the young man appeared beside the rabbit''s torso, sending


    out a strike imbued with a copious amount of Prime Azure Energy.


    "[Phoenix Piercing the Skies]!"


    With his spear letting out a screech akin to a phoenix, the tip swiftlynded on the rabbit before it could even react, forcing it to be sent flying as a deep puncture wound formed on its


    side.


    ''-105,672''

 Chapter 953: The Unfettered Spears Power

    Chapter 953: The Unfettered Spear''s Power


    ?


    "When did he...?"


    As Sellifer watched Valyr activate [Four Paths Azure Liberation] for the first time, the woman felt a hint of Divine-level power radiate from thetter all of a sudden, causing her to be vignt out of nowhere.


    Fortunately, that sensation did notst for too long, instead turning into a power that elevate Valyr''s strength to an even higher level.


    Catching her breath from the sudden feeling the young man gave her, Sellifer soon assessed the young man''s strength once more, now getting the feeling that Valyr wielded a level of strength that wouldfortably put him near the peak of what was possible for a mortal.


    ''I''m pretty sure Valyr didn''t have a skill like this before,'' thought the woman to herself, watching the young man proceed in his fight against the peak Rank 5 Void Rabbit. ''Did he hide such a skill like that from me?''


    ''No, he wouldn''t have.'' Sellifer soon shook her head at her thoughts, faintly smiling as she watched the young man disappear from the Void Rabbit''s line of sight. ''If he did have something like that, he would''ve retrofitted it while he was still learning from me.''


    ''With how melds with his Prime Azure Energy so seamlessly and smoothly, there could only be one reason why he''s gotten his hands on a skill like that,'' inwardly muttered Sellifer to herself, letting out a sigh after that.


    "And here I thought the Serpent Maiden had already gotten over it after I''ve stopped making improvements to my Azure Energy," said the woman soon after, only for her train of thought to stop in its tracks as she noticed the damage Valyr dealt to the Void Rabbit.


    ''-105,672''


    Bang!


    With that, it did not take long for the Void Rabbit to hit a nearby tree after being sent flying, causing a proud smile to appear on the young man''s face.


    On the other hand, Sellifer took in a deep breath to calm herself down, having been proven wrong by Valyr once again on how he fared against higher-level opponents.


    At the same time, it made her think twice about her train of thought from before, wondering if it was a good thing to let the Serpent Maiden continue to act this way.


    "Well, it''s not all that bad," she concluded. "I''ve gained a lot from the Serpent Maiden as well anyway."


    "I just need to warn him of what might befall him in the future."


    "Especially if he ns to continue following what she tells him to do."


    ...


    Bang!


    Watching the Void Rabbit collide against a nearby tree, a proud smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he was inwardly left at a loss for words at the amount of damage he dealt.


    "Over 100,000 damage with just one skill?" murmured the young man to himself out of shock. "If I aimed for the rabbit''s vitals, I would''ve removed half of its health in one go, then!"


    Now getting an idea of why the skill was called a transcendental technique, the young man allowed a bit of his excitement to take control as he activated [sh of the Azure Dragon]. Whoosh!


    With his movement speed greatly boosted, it did not take long for the young man to arrive before the Void Rabbit, swiping up in the hopes ofnding a free hit on it.


    However, with it boasting higher vitality and agility than him, the rabbit was able to extricate itself from its current plight, expanding the distance between far enough to make Valyr''s spear miss.


    Then again, the same could not be said for Valyr''s next attack, which struck the rabbit on the back of its neck.


    ''-75,456!!''


    "Squeak!" With arge gash having formed around its nape, the Void Rabbit was now greatly incensed towards Valyr, wanting nothing more than to turn the young man before it into its next meal.


    At the same time, Valyr''s eyes widened once more at the damage he dealt, recalling the passive effect his attacks had while under [Four Paths Azure Liberation].


    Eachnded hit replenishes the user''s Prime Azure Energy by 1%.>


    Taking a brief look at it in his mind, Valyr finally found out the exact changes obtaining Prime Azure Energy brought to the skills he could ess with [Unfettered Spear].


    Commanding the system to bring up the description of the other skills under [Unfettered Spear], Valyr activated [Blink of the Azure Dragon] once more to dodge a swipe from the


    rabbit, only to retaliate soon after.


    "[Tiger Sweeping the Mountains]!"


    Bang!


    ''-211,344!''


    "Squeeaaakk!!!" With Valyr striking the rabbit at its hind legs, the rabbit let out a pained wail as it forced its body to turn around to meet its opponent.


    Feeling part of the pain subside thanks to its high vitality, the Void Rabbit attempted an attack once more, swiping down with both of its front paws in a cross pattern.


    Swoosh!


    In response, Valyr swerved backward, only to meet a st of energy from the Void Rabbit after that.


    Bang!


    Seeing the bolt of energy it threw explode into arge swath of darkness, the Void Rabbit inwardly gloated in delight, knowing that its opponent was weaker than it in terms of


    defense.


    Yet, as the darkness subsided, the


    not affected by the attack at all.


    nked out in shock as it found out Valyr was


    "That could''ve been bad," said Valyr as he dispelled the shields he haphazardly formed. "If that struck me, I probably would''ve been a goner for sure."


    Whoosh!


    Then, making use of his heightened movement speed once more, the young man charged towards the rabbit, forcing thetter to make a move of its own.


    "Squeak!!!"


    Bang!


    mming down both of its front paws on the ground, the rabbit hoped that one of its paws wouldnd on its opponent, only to find out that its opponent had instead dodged its attacks


    with ease.


    Bing incensed once more, the rabbit wantonly sent out a barrage of energy bolts, using its rage as a way to increase the lethality of its attacks.


    Yet, just like before, its opponent had been able to defend itself against the onught, conjuring wave after wave of barriers and shields that allowed him to coast through the entire


    barrage.


    "[Tiger Sweeping the Mountains]."


    Then, after realizing that the rabbit had exhausted all of its energy, Valyr struck out once more, activating one of his skills beforending a few more attacks after that.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    ''-105,672''


    ''-30,690''


    ''-62,118!''


    ''-30,432''


    "Squeaaaakkkk!!!"


    With the rabbit letting out yet another pained cry, Valyr took a look at his opponent''s current


    condition, only to find out that it only had 10% of its HP left.


    Reminding himself that anything could still happen before his opponent was dead, Valyr proceeded tond an attack once more, dodging the rage-filled swipe the rabbit attempted at


    him.


    Whoosh!


    Ducking under its swipe, Valyr then activated [Blink of the Azure Dragon] onest time, only to appear to the side of its head not long after.


    "I wonder... does the passive count the total number of normal attacks I''ve made?" Raising


    his spear into the air, Valyr tightly gripped onto it as he noticed the rabbit looking in his


    direction.


    "Or do I have to do five normal attacks in a row for it to count?"


    Then, without hesitation, he swung it down around the rabbit''s nape once more, inflicting a


    considerable amount of damage yet again.


    Bang!


    ''-61,620!''


    "Guess I found out my answer." Seeing the rabbit''s health bar drop close to zero as it let out a


    pained cry, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he struck out with his spear once more.


    But this time...


    He aimed for its head.


    "It''s thetter."


    "[Phoenix Piercing the skies]."


    Bang! ''-537,190!!!''


    Ding!


    [You have in a Level 100 Void Rabbit (Ancient Elite).]

 Chapter 954: Similar Thoughts

    Chapter 954: Simr Thoughts


    ?


    At the very moment Valyrnded his finishing blow on the final rabbit, Sellifer was left at an utter loss for words as she stared at the crimson six-digit number that appeared above its head.


    If she were to put any other person that had the same rank as Valyr within the same situation, she was certain that they would only be able to deal damage to the Void Rabbit ranging from the hundreds at worst, to thousands at best.


    Yet, with the help of his buffs and various skills, Valyr was able to exceed that figure by a long shot, dealing damage that would even leave many Legends at aplete loss for words.


    ''Considering how he''s capable of dealing a simr amount of damage even to those at the beginning of Rank 6, I guess even Myths would be deathly afraid of him,'' thought Sellifer to herself, taking in a few deep breaths to calm herself down.


    After that, she thought about her words from before regarding how she wanted to see the young man''sbat capabilities without relying on the arquebus.


    While Sellifer was mulling over what she told the young man far before thetter killed the Void Rabbit before him, Valyr briefly took a look at the rewards he''d gained from the fight.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 100 Void Rabbit (Divine Elite). You have gained 18,193,734 XP.]


    [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 189 points.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (579/10,000).] ''Huh.'' Noticing that the amount of Shadow Energy he''d gotten from the Void Rabbit was roughly around half of what he got from the Myth-level Void Rabbit, Valyr faintly nodded in understanding.


    ''Well, I''m not surprised that killing a Void Rabbit at the peak of Rank 5 yields less shadow Energy,'' thought the young man to himself. ''After all, a Myth-level Void Rabbit is far scarier to deal withpared to the former.''


    ''It''s only thanks to the arquebus that I''m able to deal with it with ease,'' Valyr continued with his train of thought, faintly smiling in pride as he recalled the massive damage he dealt the moment he fired that shot.


    Though, as he thought about it for a bit more, the thought of the fight just now soon surfaced in his mind, causing the gears in Valyr''s mind to start turning.


    ''I wonder...'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself. ''Would I be able to defeat a Myth-level Void Rabbit this easily if I were to rely on [Four Paths Azure Liberation]?''


    Thinking about how the whole fight unfolded just now, it did not take long for the young man to realize that the fight against the Void Rabbit was mostly one-sided.


    Even though the Void Rabbit boasted stats that were far greater than what Valyr had, thetter made up for it with the various skills and techniques in his arsenal, as well as thebat experience he''d rued both in his past and current life.


    Then again, the seemingly even field immediately shifted towards Valyr''s favor after he made use of [Four Paths Azure Liberation], giving him ess to skills that had no cooldown, yet had equal strength to his ultimate techniques.


    With that in mind, he began to ponder over his chances of seeding in a simr fight without relying on [Four Paths Azure Liberation].


    ''There might be times where I think it''ll be difficult, but still doable,'' Valyr surmised, reminding himself that he had a plethora of defensive skills he could use to mitigate the damage from the Void Rabbit''s various attacks.


    At the same time, he also had a series of movement skills he could use to dodge some of the attacks, which he did use somewhat often during the fight just now.


    ''I''ll probably have to take a more defensive approach if I were to fight one that way since they have greater agility than me,'' Valyr inwardly said to himself, closing his screen as he turned around to look at Sellifer.


    Continuing to ponder over the various thoughts going on in his head, Valyr soon froze in ce as he stared into Sellifer''s eyes as a random thought popped up in his head.


    Simrly, Sellifer had the same idea pop up in her head, prompting her to freeze in ce as well as the two of them stared at each other.


    As for the thought that popped up in their minds?


    ''What if I were to fight against a Myth-level Void Rabbit without relying on [Four Paths Azure Liberation]?''


    ''What if Valyr were to fight against a Myth-level Void Rabbit without relying on that peculiar skill of his?''


    As these thoughts popped up in their heads, the two continued looking at each other for a bit more before eventuallying to a tacit agreement, nodding in understanding after that.


    "I suppose you have the same idea as I do?" asked Sellifer with a faint smile, wanting to make sure they were on the same page.


    Valyr nodded with a slight chuckle. "If it''s fighting against a Myth-level Void Rabbit without relying on the arquebus, then yeah. I think so."


    "Without relying on that peculiar skill of yours as well, preferably," added Sellifer, to which the young man bitterly smiled.


    "I can''t use it even if I wanted to," said Valyr in response. "It takes a day for that skill to be off cooldown."


    "That long, huh?" Pondering over Valyr''s words in silence, Sellifer eventually nodded in understanding. "It makes sense, seeing how it quickly transforms you into a demon of the battlefield."


    "I''ve got to say, the Serpent Maiden didn''t skimp out on her rewards."


    Hearing those wordse out of Sellifer all of a sudden, Valyr was caught unaware as he looked at her with his mouth slightly agape.


    Wondering how she knew about it, the young man asked her a few questions on the topic as the two began to search for Valyr''s next target.


    Letting out a chuckle in response to his questions, Sellifer dispelled the domain she created as she told the young man that she already had an idea of what the Serpent Maiden gave him the moment she took a look-see with her energy.


    "I immediately felt the presence of the Shadowsource during that time," said Sellifer as they continued to roam the Void World. "Considering that it was near impossible for one to get close to it through natural means, that only meant the Serpent Maiden had you made contact


    with it."


    "Then, knowing the Serpent Maiden, I''m sure she didn''t just stop at bringing you to the Shadowsource as her reward," she continued with a bit ofughter. "If you''re thinking I also know exactly what rewards you got from her, I don''t."


    "All I know is that it''s improved your control and integration of Azure Energy to your skills by a lot," said Sellifer. "Well, it would be more appropriate to call it Prime Azure Energy now,


    no?"


    After rifying a few more things regarding the Serpent Maiden''s rewards with Sellifer, the two eventually continued on their journey through the Void World, finding one that fit the bill after a few hours.

 Chapter 955: No Regrets

    Chapter 955: No Regrets


    ?


    "Phew. Found one."


    Finally sensing a suitable opponent for Valyr after roaming around the Void World for a few hours, Sellifer immediately let out a wide sigh of relief, expecting to take somewhat longer to find a Void Rabbit that was weak enough for Valyr to fight.


    After all, even though Myth-level Void Rabbits weremon within the Void World, the average level of these Void Rabbits were usually nearer to the peak of Rank 6, with a


    considerable amount already having broken through to Rank 7.


    With the Damage Restriction System in y, Valyr wouldn''t be able tond a decent chunk of damage on these rabbits no matter how hard he tried, even if he had the effects of both [yer of Ascendants] and [Apex Hunter] active.


    ''I''m still surprised I was able to find that peak Rank 5 Void Rabbit that quickly,'' thought Sellifer to herself as she began to check how suitable the Void Rabbit she found was for the young man to fight.


    "Hmm..." Focusing her attention on the information that appeared in his mind, Sellifer began to slightly nod as she confirmed the Void Rabbit''s level to be low enough for Valyr to still deal non-zero damage to it.


    ''Level 104...'' inwardly muttered Sellifer to herself. ''That''s definitely cutting it close.''


    ''If it were any other person doing this, they''d probably only be able to deal over a hundred points of damage at most,'' she continued, informing Valyr in the meantime that she''d found a suitable Void Rabbit for him to fight against.


    ''But with the damage output he showed me in his previous two fights... it seems he has a few tricks up his sleeve to bypass that.''


    Continuing to look through the Void Rabbit''s information before having Valyr fight it, Sellifer nodded a few more times in satisfaction after seeing its stats be significant enough for it to pose a challenge to the young man.


    Though, that smile immediately turned into a frown after she took a look at the achievements the Void Rabbit had in features that were only essible to Myth-level beings.


    ''This...'' With her frown deepening as she continued to look at it, Sellifer eventually shifted her gaze towards Valyr, deciding to give him an idea of what she was currently looking at.


    "So, first and foremost, the Void Rabbit you''re up against is at Level 104." After catching Valyr''s attention, Sellifer went ahead and spoke her mind. "That''s one level away from having the system nullify all of the damage the rabbit takes from you, but I have the feeling you have the means to bypass that."


    "The Legacy it created is simr to the previous Myth-level Void Rabbit you fought before, being at Rare grade." At this point, Valyr kept listening to the woman''s words as he activated [Superior Analysis] on the Void Rabbit that she was talking about.


    "Its Concept isn''t a problem, nor is its Domain," Sellifer said, only to let out a sigh as she dropped the part that made her frown in the first ce. "If anything, its Armament is the thing you should keep in mind."


    "What about it?" asked Valyr in response, only for his eyes to widen to its limits as he looked at the screen that popped up before him.


    Ding!


    [Void Rabbit (Ancient Elite)] (Level 104 | Boss)


    ss: Rabbit of the Forsaken World (Epic)


    HP: 1,392,120/1,392,120


    MP: 990,960/990,960


    Attack: 29,917 - 29,917


    Defense: 23,024 - 23,024


    Stats: 2506 VIT, 3419 STR, 4654 AGI, 3518 DEX, 2337 INT, 2264 WIS, 2183 PER, 684 LUK


    Concepts: ??? (concepts unknown due to great disparity in level)


    Skills: ??? (skills unknown due to great disparity in level)


    Remarks: One of the weakest creatures within the Void World, the Void Rabbit is considered the prey of many of the beasts lurking within the darkness.


    You''re strong... but don''t you fucking do it.


    Noticing the screen that appeared in front of Valyr, Sellifer gave him the time to look through it before answering the question the young man threw at him just now.


    "I''m sure you''ve already heard a few things about Concepts, Domains, and Legacies from the words," said Sellifer, prompting Valyr to snap himself back to reality before listening to her words.


    "Concepts are the next step to Forces, while Domains are the external manifestation of said Concepts."


    "As for Legacies, they''re the proof of the journey you''ve trekked thus far, basically tying all of your skills, stats, andprehended concepts into arger whole."


    "As for Armaments, they''re usually talked about only after one bes a Myth, just like Domains," she continued. "If Domains are the external manifestation of Concepts, then Armaments are its internal counterpart."


    "Armaments basically allow a portion of your Concept''s effect to remain active without the actual Concept being activated," exined Sellifer to the young man. "At the same time, it boosts your Attack and Defense stat by a t amount."


    "In any case, both of those things are affected by the stage the Armament is in. The higher the stage, the greater the portion of your Concept that remains active. Same goes for the increase in Attack and Defense."


    "With all of that said... this Void Rabbit right here has already improved their Armament to Stage 1." Saying those words, Sellifer nced at Valyr, keeping a close eye on the young man''s


    expression.


    "Because of that, its Attack and Defense are significantly greater than the other Myth-level Void Rabbit you fought."


    "Now, do you want to fight against this Void Rabbit even after knowing all that?" she asked Valyr. "Or do you want me to find a Void Rabbit that''s more simr to the one you first


    fought?"


    "Hmm..." After absorbing everything Sellifer had told him, Valyr pondered over her question for a bit before asking back, "What do you think would be better?"


    "If it were me, I''d suggest we find another Void Rabbit instead," she replied. "After all, the


    only cost we''re incurring is time if we decide to look for another Void Rabbit."


    "But if you n on fighting against this Void Rabbit... that cost might possibly extend


    towards your life."


    "..." Hearing Sellifer''s take on her own question, the young man went silent for a bit as her words made him feel unsure on his approach towards the situation.


    Though, with a bit of introspection and contemtion, Valyr soon regained his confidence, prompting him to take a deep breath as he let Sellifer know of his decision.


    "I''ve decided," said the young man. "I''m gonna try and fight against this Void Rabbit."


    "Are you sure you wanna do this?" asked Sellifer in response.


    "I am." Valyr nodded, only to let out a chuckle. "After all, if I end up failing, I''m sure you''ll be there to defend me."


    "Truly no shame." Sellifer could only wryly smile at his words. "Well, since you''ve made up your mind, then I have no reason to stop you."


    As these words left her mouth, she recalled the two previous fights Valyr had with the Void Rabbits, being reminded of the fact that she was doubtful of his capabilities at first.


    Yet, without fail, the young man showed that hisbat capabilities went above and beyond what was possible for someone at the peak of Rank 3 to achieve, causing her doubts towards this next fight to gradually dispel.


    ''I don''t know if he''ll actually be able to defeat it, but even if he doesn''t, he probably wouldn''t have issues escaping from it,'' thought Sellifer to herself as she watched the young man


    prepare for the uing fight.


    ''Either way...''


    ''I sure hope he doesn''t regret this.''

 Chapter 956: Evening the Playing Field

    Chapter 956: Evening the ying Field


    ?


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    With [Four Paths Azure Liberation] on cooldown, Valyr was free to use his Prime Azure Energy however he wanted.


    With that, he went ahead and used some of it on his buffs, keeping an eye on his soon-to-be opponent as he felt the efficacy of his skills improve by a further 20%.


    Whoosh!


    With Valyr''s aura beginning to reach greater heights once more, Sellifer proceeded to uphold her part of the idea, expanding the light being radiated by the fixture to epass an area a couple hundred meters in radius.


    Swoosh!


    At the same time, she began to make a few gestures in the air, imbuing them with her Azure Energy as a peculiar sensation began to suffuse throughout the surroundings.


    Fwoosh!


    Within seconds, a domain epassed both Valyr and Sellifer once more, dispelling the curse that took hold of the former as it then began to expand to where the Myth-level Void Rabbit was.


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Raging Azure Phoenix]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Refined Defense Aura]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    Continuing to empower himself with stat-boosting skills activated with Prime Azure Energy, Valyr eventually felt himself reach a simr state to the one he reached back when he fought against his first Myth-level Void Rabbit.


    However, unlike that time, the young man had chosen to forgo using the arquebus, instead wanting to use this opportunity to see how far he could go against a Myth-level Void Rabbit without ess to some of his most powerful trump cards.


    ''Well, I''ll only be able to truly find out how I fare against a Myth-level being once I start attacking,'' thought the young man to himself, grabbing the blood-red spear affixed to his back.


    Feeling the voice within the spear resonate with his intent to fight, the young man tightly gripped onto it with both hands as he awakened his Intents.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    Whoosh!


    Making use of the synergy between the variousbat-rted Intents, Valyr felt the lethality of his attacks rise by a considerable degree, deeming himself ready to tackle what was considered a nigh-impossible fight for someone his level.


    "[sh of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Swoosh!


    Increasing his movement speed to its limits, Valyr swiftly closed the distance between him and the Myth-level Void Rabbit, thetter btedly taking note of the young man''s presence. "Squeak!!!" Yet, with its stats being higher than Valyr, it did not take long for the rabbit to get ready, radiating immense battle intent as its front paws seemed eager to strike.


    "Take this!" Eventually, the young man arrived before the rabbit, shing down diagonally with his spear as a probing attack of sorts.


    In response, the rabbit used one of its paws to swat it off and push Valyr off bnce, making use of its free paw tond an insidious attack on the young man.


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Fwoosh!


    Unfortunately, before its paw could evennd on Valyr, the young man had already turned into a dark blue cloud, disappearing before the rabbit''s very eyes.


    Pushing its perception to the fullest, it did not take long for the rabbit to find the one that decided to annoy it, seeing it stand to the right side of its torso.


    "Take this!" With a faint smile of victory adorning his face, Valyr attempted his attack once more, shing down with his spear on the rabbit''s torso.


    Puchi!


    Feeling the spear tip dig through the rabbit''s skin, a feeling of tion washed over the young man as he felt that he had a fighting chance in defeating the rabbit before him.


    Yet, when he took a look at the damage he dealt to it, he was forced to think otherwise.


    ''-1''


    "...Just one point?" murmured Valyr to himself, feeling immense disbelief that his current state could not break through the minimum threshold of the already weakened Damage Restriction System.


    Unsurprisingly, Sellifer was left at a loss for words as well, not expecting the young man to deal damage that was usually expected for someone of his rank.


    "Watch out!" However, before she could dwell on why Valyr couldn''t deal that much damage to the rabbit, Sellifer noticed that his opponent was finally making its move, warning the young man beforehand.


    "Huh?" Hearing Sellifer shout all of a sudden, Valyr snapped from his daze as he noticed a dark mass swiftly heading in his direction.


    With that, he inwardly thanked Sellifer as he defended against the attack.


    "[Refined Mana Shield]!"


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a shield in front of him, Valyr ced his spear before him in the hopes of deflecting the weakened power of the rabbit''s paws.


    Unfortunately, what happened instead was...


    Bang!


    ''-33,169''


    "Kuaaack!!!"


    Though he''d already bolstered his defenses to what were his usual limits, Valyr''s mana shield immediately crumpled under the force of the rabbit''s paw, only being able to reduce some of the momentum that was imbued within the attack.


    With most of the momentum still remaining within the paw, it was no surprise that all of that was transmitted through Valyr''s body, causing his arms to fold in on itself from the force as he was sent flying towards a nearby tree.


    Crash!


    With his back colliding straight on with the trunk of one of the nearby trees, an immense amount of pain immediately covered Valyr''s back as he soon fell to the ground with a thud. "Agh..." Slightly regretting the fact that the internal shape of his armor was slightly pointy, Valyr gritted his teeth as he forced himself to endure the pain, only to be forced to roll to the side as the rabbit attempted yet another attack.


    Bang!


    Though Valyr was barely able to dodge what he could only consider as a death blow, the same could not be said for the tree he collided against, turning into a maelstrom of wooden pulp from the wrath of the Void Rabbit alone.


    Briefly catching his breath from having dodged a deadly attack, Valyr immediately decided to widen the gap between the two of them, activating a couple of his recovery skills with mana in


    the process.


    "[Advanced Heal]!"


    "[Advanced Regeneration]!"


    Fwoosh!


    At the moment those skills took effect on his body, Valyr instantly felt a great portion of the pain radiating from his back subside, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief as he felt his body gradually mending the damage he''d rued from the rabbit''s attack.


    At the same time, he pushed his perception to its limits, even going so far as to activate [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] as he began to realize that the rabbit hadn''t truly be serious


    yet.


    ''That was just one of its normal attacks, yet it already reduced my health by half,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling immense dread just from imagining the Void Rabbit unleashing its


    skills.


    "I need to avoid taking as much damage from the Void Rabbit as possible," murmured the young man to himself not long after, briefly ncing behind him to see if the Void Rabbit was


    following him.


    Of course, as the one who incensed the rabbit, it went without saying that the Void Rabbit was following behind Valyr''s footsteps.


    However, rather than make use of all of its agility to kill the being that annoyed it, the Void Rabbit instead moved at a leisurely pace, seemingly mocking Valyr''scking capabilities in


    bothbat and speed.


    "That''s it."


    Realizing what the Void Rabbit was doing, a me of annoyance began to smolder deep


    within Valyr''s body, gradually growing stronger as he eventually stopped in his tracks.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, he then faced the Void Rabbit once more before


    activating one of the strongest skills in his arsenal.


    "[Descent of the True Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    With more power than before, Valyr closed the gap between him and the Void Rabbit once


    more, catching thetter unaware due to the sudden increase inbat strength.


    Now that he had an idea of how strong the Void Rabbit waspared to him... It was due time for him to even the ying field once more.

 Chapter 957: No Holds Barred

    Chapter 957: No Holds Barred


    ?


    "He should really give up at this point."


    Continuing to watch the fight between Valyr and the Myth-level Void Rabbit from afar, Sellifer gradually began to realize the shorings of the young man''sbat prowess.


    Though he had the ability to fight against foes far greater than him in both level and strength with the help of his skills, he swiftly turned into an arrow at the end of its flight once those skills ran out.


    Then again, even if she were consider them as shorings, she was only considering them as such due to the current situation.


    If Valyr didn''t refrain from using the arquebus to fight against the Myth-level Void Rabbit, or if he had ess to the peculiar skill that he used in his previous fight, he was certain he would have defeated this new opponent of his without much issues.


    "Unfortunately, he doesn''t have ess to thetter, nor would he make use of the former right now," murmured Sellifer to herself, only for fear to soon appear on her face.


    Seeing Valyr being sent flying with just a casual p from the Void Rabbit, the woman immediately roused her energy, preparing herself to whisk the young man away to safety at a moment''s notice.


    Though, before she could even act, the young man dodged the next series of attacks the Void Rabbit sent at him, moving away like a slithering snake as he increased the distance between them.


    "He''s definitely powerful enough to fight Rank 5 ss holders and defeat them," she said to herself as she wondered what Valyr would do next, finding the current situation nothing short of miraculous with the great disparity in strength between the two.


    "Against Myths, though... if he had a set of skills he could consistently rely on aside from the arquebus and that peculiar skill, he''d probably be able to fight them as well."


    With Sellifer continuing with her current train of thought, she soon recalled the single point of damage Valyr dealt to the Void Rabbit.


    With that being the result ofnding a normal attack on his opponent, she then wondered what kind of damage he would be able to unleash if he were to use an offensive skill.


    Fortunately, the answer to her question did not take long to arrive as Valyr decided that it was due time for him to retaliate.


    "[Breath of the True Wyvern]."


    ...


    Whoosh!


    After closing the gap between the two of them, Valyr took in a deep breath as he moved a great portion of his mana towards his mouth.


    Then, aiming his head towards the opponent that was seemingly mocking him, he let out the strongest gust of air he could, immediately transforming into a maelstrom of mes that engulfed the Void Rabbit.


    ''-88,249''


    "Squeak!!!"


    Hearing the Void Rabbit finally let out a pained cry as a result of his attacks, Valyr began to smile as he took out a health and mana potion from his spatial bracelet.


    Consuming both in one go, he then brandished his spear as he felt himself return to stable conditions, thrusting out the spear with all of the force he could muster towards the Void Rabbit''s head.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]!"


    "[Wrath of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Roarrr!!!


    With the cry of a prideful dragon apanying his thrust, the blood-red spear struck true on the Void Rabbit''s head, bursting out with the characteristic dark blue of Prime Azure Energy. Bang!


    ''-197,985!!''


    Surprisingly, the force behind the attack was enough to send the Void Rabbit tumbling for quite some time, giving the young man time to catch his breath as the former eventually crashed against a tree.


    "That... was refreshing." Finally seeing his attacks deal considerable damage to his foe, Valyr immediately felt arge weight being removed from his shoulders as the smile on his face turned wider.


    Briefly taking a look at his health and energy reserves, Valyr downed yet another set of health and mana potions before using [Advanced Regeneration] to top up the former.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief after that, the young man then took a look at his armor, wryly smiling as noticing that part of his chestte had crumpled in on itself from the Void Rabbit''s casual attack.


    "Note to self. Don''t engage against the Void Rabbit in closebat," muttered the young man to himself as he watched the Void Rabbit get up on its feet.


    Seeing the rabbit''s expression take on immense fury, Valyr shed a mocking smile at it before pointing his spear downwards.


    "Thankfully, I have a lot of skills that allow me to do just that."


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Stampede of the Azure Tiger]!"


    Whoosh!


    Imbuing his spear once more with Prime Azure Energy, Valyr soon swung his spear upwards, allowing the energy contained within it to burst out into a wave of shimmering dark blue


    energy.


    Not long after, this wave of energy took on a different form, turning into a great number of azure tigers that all seemed intent on killing the Void Rabbit.


    Graaaooo!!!


    Hearing these azure tigers let out a roar in unison, the Void Rabbit was forced to shift its attention towards them as it felt that their power was far greater than what Valyr could


    unleash.


    Redirecting its anger towards the tigers, the Void Rabbit shot out a maelstrom of bolts, raining them down on the azure tigers.


    Unsurprisingly, with its high stats, a considerable portion of the azure tigers had been destroyed because of the bolts.


    Yet, a few still remained standing amidst all of that, seemingly dodging the barrage of dark bolts being sent down their way as they soon arrived at the Void Rabbit''s body.


    Swoosh!


    ''-43,740''


    ''-43,740''


    ''-87,480!''


    Though the strength of the skill had been weakened due to the Void Rabbit interrupting it, the azure tigers that were able tond their hits on it were still able to deal considerable damage to it, causing it to let out a pained squeak once more.


    Boom!


    Now feeling that the tables have been turned to the point it felt it was being toyed with, the Void Rabbit let out some of its energy into its surroundings, dispersing all of the azure tigers that threatened to attack it in an instant.


    Then, seeing that Valyr was the only one that remained after that, the Void Rabbit flew into a rage and used all of its agility to swiftly close the gap.


    Imbuing some of its energy as it seemingly connected with the world surrounding them, the rabbit raised both of its paws in hopes of dealing a truly devastating blow to the young man


    that it irked it.


    Yet, before it could even do so, the young man had made his move, causing time to instantly


    freeze in ce.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Dominion of the Azure Turtle]."


    || ||


    "[Four Paths Azure Zenith]."

 Chapter 958: Using All of Ones Means

    Chapter 958: Using All of One''s Means


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Imbuing the element of Earth into the technique in order to increase its lethality, Valyr watched as the Void Rabbit''s deadly paws soon affixed itself into ce as their imminent surroundings took on a dark blue shade.


    Not long after, motes of dark blue energy began to form in their surroundings, glistening akin to the pearls Valyr formed whenever he released his Echo-level Prime Azure Energy.


    With time seemingly frozen, these motes of energy soon stuck themselves onto the Void Rabbit, forming a cocoon that fully encapsted every part.


    Then, with a thud, the cocoon fell to the ground as the dark blue shade covering the surroundings gradually began to disappear.


    Little by little, the dark blue energy covering their surroundings began to make their way to the cocoon, prompting Valyr to distance himself as he felt the energy contained with the cocoon reach its zenith.


    Roarrr!!!


    With a loud bestial roar echoing throughout the area, at the very moment the cocoon was seemingly filled to the brim with the dark blue energy, it exploded with all of the power it could muster, transferring all of it onto the Void Rabbit.


    Bang!


    ''-137,210''


    "Squeaaak!!!!"


    In response to the massive explosion, the Void Rabbit let out yet another pained cry. Though, this time, it was many times louder than the one it let out before.


    After letting out a pained cry, the rabbit shifted its gaze towards the young man, its eyes now gleaming a murderous blood-red.


    Summoning its energy, the Void Rabbit shed in front of Valyr before imbuing both of its paws with energy tond a deadly blow.


    Or at least... it tried to.


    "Squeak?" Contrary to how it envisioned the scenario to go, the Void Rabbit remained fixed in ce as if it were a statue, its dark fur now tinged with the same dark blue that came from the


    cocoon.


    The only proof that it remained alive was its moving eyes, which now radiated a hint of fear as Valyr was the one who took the initiative to close the gap between them.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Dragon''s w]!"


    Whoosh!


    Raising his hands in the air, the young man soon conjured arge set of dragon ws with the help of Prime Azure Energy.


    Utilizing the stats that were bolstered with the plethora of buffs he still had activated, he then swiped down on the rabbit''s head, causing it to tumble on the ground once more.


    Fwoosh!


    ''-231,366!!''


    "Squeeaaakkk!!!" Unsurprisingly, the rabbit let out yet another cry in response, moving its body to the best of its abilities to stop it from tumbling any further.


    However, just as it had regained its footing, the young man appeared before it once more, the blood-red spear he wielded high up in the air as he then swung it down with all of the force he could muster.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Descent of the Azure Phoenix]!"


    Bang!


    ''-131,220!!''


    "Squeeaaakkk!!!" With Valyr hitting the rabbit''s head twice in a row, it went without saying that the pain the rabbit felt was amplified as its head was slightly embedded into the ground. "That... feels nice." Increasing the distance between the two of them in preparation for its eventual retaliation, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he took out another set of health and mana potions from his bracelet.


    Consuming both of them to replenish his reserves, the young man took a look at how much health the Void Rabbit had left, smiling in satisfaction after seeing that it was now down to its final third.


    "Just a few more attacks and I''ll win." With those words in mind, Valyr steeled himself for what was toe as the rabbit directly looked at him, only to charge towards him without abandon.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Then, without any warning, the rabbit sent out a barrage of strikes with its paws, imbuing them with a bit of its energy to increase its lethality.


    ng! ng! ng! ng!


    In response, Valyr utilized all of the defensive skills in his arsenal, activating [Refined Bulwark of Life] to reduce the damage to his body while using [Refined Mana Shield] alongside his spear to deflect most of the force.


    ''-1,314''


    1-204''


    ''-2,614''


    Though he wasn''t able to nullify all of the force behind the attacks, Valyr was still able to reduce the damage to the extent where he could mostly ignore it, retaliating the very moment


    the rabbit had run out of steam.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]!"


    "[Wrath of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Thrusting out his spear towards the rabbit''s head once more, Valyr watched as the rabbit


    hastily conjured in front of its head.


    Though, with thetent force contained within the attack, it was still able to pierce through, with around half of the force stillnding directly on the rabbit''s head.


    Bang!


    ''-91,161!!''


    Unsurprisingly, the rabbit let out yet another pained cry, considering how the young man had been attacking it at the exact same spot for all of his attacks already.


    However, rather than distance himself from the Void Rabbit, he instead doubled down on his momentum, unleashing yet another skill he had yet to make use of inbat.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Ruination]!"


    Bang!


    Making use of the opportunity he''d given himself by giving the rabbit a slight concussion, Valyr struck out with his spear once more, imbuing it with arge amount of Prime Azure Energy as he imbued the element of Earth into it.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, he felt a considerable part of the Void World connect to him, allowing his spear to take on the weight of it as it struck the rabbit on its head onest time.


    ''-552,520!!!''


    Seeing the damage that appeared above the Void Rabbit''s head, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief as he noticed his spear finally pierce through the Void Rabbit''s skull. Retrieving his spear, he then affixed it to his back before turning around to look at Sellifer


    with a proud smile.


    Fwoosh!


    ''Ah, the duration for [Descent of the True Wyvern] is finally up.'' While showing Sellifer how it wasn''t an issue for him to fight against a Myth-level Void Rabbit with just his usual set of skills, Valyr felt the skill''s debuff take effect.


    Though his stats were reduced to somewhere slightly below where it usually was due to his other stat-boosting buffs still ongoing, the young man felt that it was fine, considering how the fight against the Void Rabbit was already over.


    "Squeeeaakk..."


    However, when he heard the Void Rabbit he just killed squeak one more time, that relief soon


    turned into tension as he slowly turned around.


    By the time he looked at the Void Rabbit in its eyes once more, it had already gotten up on its own four feet once more, its expression now beyond the pinnacle of rage.


    "...Fuck."


    Bang!

 Chapter 959: Final Trump Card

    Chapter 959: Final Trump Card


    ?


    ''When I saw him deal actual damage to the Void Rabbit with his skills, I thought it was a fluke at first.''


    With her eyes fixated on the young man''s movements, Sellifer watched as the fight between the two gradually moved into Valyr''s favor.


    Utilizing the plethora of skills and techniques he had under his arsenal, he was able to consistently deal damage to the Void Rabbit.


    At the same time, he increased the number of opportunities he gave himself to deal damage to the Void Rabbit, making use of all the debuffs that were inflicted alongside some of his skills.


    ''But now I''ve realized,'' Sellifer thought to herself, watching Valyr strike the Void Rabbit''s head once more with one of his skills.


    ''Even if he doesn''t make use of his arquebus, or if he doesn''t have ess to that peculiar skill of his...''


    ''Valyr still has the necessary strength to fight against Myth-level beings and end up victorious.''


    Thinking these words to herself, Sellifer realized that it might seem absurd for one to think that a being at the peak of Rank 3 had the capability to fight against a being that was on another realm altogether and still have the advantage.


    Yet, Valyr was that being of absurdity that made it a reality, relying on his skills, equipment, and his deep knowledge ofbat to turn things to his favor.


    ''Then again,pared to a true Myth-level being, Valyr is stillcking in many ways,'' thought Sellifer to herself not long after, feeling the strength of the Void Rabbit beginning to


    wane.


    ''After all, he has to rely on a certain set of skills in order to unleash that kind of power. With how long those skills remain on cooldown, he would probably only be able to fight against Myth-level beings in a 1 on 1 scenario.''


    ''But that''s more than enough, especially for someone like Valyr,'' she continued her thoughts, letting out a faint sigh of admiration for the young man.


    ''I''m sure it won''t take long for Valyr to upy an important position, especially once they find out what he''s truly capable of.''


    ''Even more so once he ascends to thest couple ranks of mortality.''


    At this point, Sellifer''s doubts about Valyr''s strength had all but dissipated.


    Instead, she felt immense pride in the fact that she had allowed a talented being like Valyr to inherit the energy she had created, bing a great influence to the young man''s path to higher power.


    With that, she greatly smiled once she saw Valyrnd his finishing blow, feeling part of the Void World connect with his spear as all of that forcended squarely on the rabbit''s head. Bang!


    Looking at the crimson six-digit number that appeared above the rabbit''s head, Sellifer realized then and there that she was witnessing history in the making, the prelude to the meteoric rise of an incredibly talented young man.


    Seeing the young man turn to look at her with proud smile, Sellifer responded back by giving a smile of her own, her expression showing the young man how happy she was that he''d been sessful in defeating the Void Rabbit.


    Whoosh!


    Whilst the two were looking at each other, she noticed that the young man''s aura weakened all of a sudden, prompting her to look at the young man in slight fear.


    In response, Valyr gave her a reassuring gaze, more or less allowing her to fill in the nks that it was the side effect of one of his skills.


    ''In any case, it''s finally over,'' Sellifer thought to herself, feeling like there was not much point in pushing the young man any further than this fight.


    Thinking about having Valyr return to the first way he fought against the Void Rabbits, the woman was about to tell Valyr to take some rest, only for her pupils to dte in fear as she felt the aura of the Void Rabbit surge once more.


    "Squeak..."


    Unsurprisingly, as someone at the peak of Rank 3, it took longer for Valyr to realize what was going on, only understanding the current situation after hearing a low squeak resound from behind him.


    Bang!


    Turning around to look at the opponent he thought he''d already killed, Valyr was instead greeted by the sight of the Void Rabbit having stood up on its own four feet once more. Then, as he let out a curse, he was sent flying into the air as the rabbit sent out a strike that contained all of the anger built up within its body.


    Seeing how Valyr''s condition immediately turned critical just from the rabbit''s strike, Sellifer immediately threw caution to the wind as she made use of her Divine-level energy to affix the Void Rabbit in ce.


    At the same time, she began to infuse a bit of her energy into the flying young man, allowing Valyr to regain some of the health he''d lost from the attack.


    "This wasn''t supposed to happen," murmured Sellifer to herself, feeling a hint of guilt from the fact that the young man''s current state was originally caused by her having doubts with his strength.


    Staring at the Void Rabbit as she red a portion of her aura at it, the Void Rabbit immediately shrunk in fear, wanting nothing more than to flee away from the premises and nevere


    back again.


    However, with Sellifer making use of her energy to have it remain stuck in ce, the Void Rabbit wouldn''t be able to leave its ce no matter how much it tried.


    Continuing to intimidate the Void Rabbit with a hint of her aura, she then made her way towards where Valyrnded, letting out a wide sigh of relief after seeing that the energy she''d infused had cushioned the fall for him.


    At the same time, the energy she infused allowed Valyr to move away from the near-critical state he was originally in, gradually replenishing his health bit by bit.


    "I was careless." Seeing Sellifer appear before him, Valyr immediately looked at her with a bitter smile. "I should''ve maintained vignce."


    "It''s not your fault." Sellifer shook her head, feeling her killing intent towards the Void Rabbit intensify whenever she looked at the young man before her.


    Though the rabbit''s strike seemed innocent to an outsider, it was anything but to Valyr, more or less turning the armor the young man wore into scrap metal.


    Not only that, but some of the metal that had broken off from his armor had embedded themselves into the young man''s skin, turning Valyr into quite the bloody sight.


    "It''s my fault," Sellifer told Valyr, causing thetter to look at her with slightly widened eyes. "I should''ve identify the strength of your opponent more clearly."


    Then, with a low sigh, she continued, "If only I hadn''t doubted your strength at first, perhaps this wouldn''t have happened."


    "Don''t be like that." Seeing that he had regained some of his lost mana reserves, Valyr went ahead and activated [Advanced Heal] and [Advanced Regeneration], increasing the speed at


    which he regained health.


    Taking out the metal pieces that were embedded in his body from the attack with his energy, Valyr then stored all of those pieces into his spatial bracelet as he gradually got up.


    Briefly taking a look at himself, the young man eventually had a wry smile on his face, which immediately disappeared the moment he let out a long exhale.


    "Even though you doubted my strength, it''s still me that decided to continue with your tests," said Valyr, hoping that his words would alleviate some of her guilt. "In fact, even I didn''t expect myself to get this far, especially after I saw how strong this Void Rabbit was."


    "But just like the two previous fights you had me take, I n to end this one with my own two hands as well." At these words, Valyr began to move towards the restrained Void Rabbit, only to be stopped by Sellifer.


    "You don''t have to do this anymore." Sellifer looked at him in the eyes, her gaze now that of slight concern. "You''ve already shown yourself to be more than capable of defeating a Myth- level being. I''ll take care of this one for you."


    "There''s no need to," replied Valyr with a chuckle, taking out a certain item from his spatial bracelet after that. "After all, I have yet to use my final trump card at times like these."


    "The arquebus..." Looking at the weapon Valyr was now wielding, Sellifer''s expression turned solemn as she closed her eyes for a bit.


    Then, opening it sometimeter, she let out a low exhale. "Let me bind it in ce for you at the very least. Even if it''s just to alleviate some of the guilt I feel."


    "..." Staring at Sellifer for a bit after that, the young man eventually shook his head with a wry


    smile.


    "Suit yourself." Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he began to head towards where the Void Rabbit was trapped, preparing the arquebus for what would be the final shot to end the fight.


    Going through the motions of arming the weapon, Valyr also went ahead and took out a couple of health and mana potions from his spatial bracelet, returning his reserves to somewhat better conditions.


    "It''s a shame that I''ve run out of Prime Azure Energy," murmured the young man to himself, taking a brief look at his current state through his status screen. "But no matter."


    "I''ll just have to even the ying field onest time."


    Taking on a more leisurely pacepared to before, Valyr eventually arrived before the Void Rabbit, briefly staring at it as it was trapped in a cage of Azure Energy.


    Feeling its opponent''s presence appear before it, the fear the Void Rabbit felt towards Sellifer had disappeared, instead being reced with the emotion of shock and anger as it could not believe that Valyr had survived its deadly strike.


    Understanding the look in the rabbit''s eyes, Valyr let out a faint chuckle in response as he took


    out a fiery de from his spatial bracelet.


    "[Primeval Immtion]."


    Fwoosh!


    Swinging the de of pure mes upward, those mes soon engulfed Valyr''s entire body,


    more or less canceling out the debuff he gained after [Descent of the True Wyvern] had run


    out.


    Feeling his strength return to a level halfway to what he considered his peak, the young man inwardly nodded in satisfaction as he aimed the arquebus towards the Void Rabbit''s head.


    "[Extended Charge]."


    Infusing mana into the arquebus, Valyr allowed the weapon to reach its full potential as he took a look at the rabbit''s remaining health with the help of [Superior Analysis].


    Ding!


    HP: 100,000/1,392,120


    "Well, it could be worse." Seeing that the Void Rabbit had only recovered a small portion of


    its health after seemingly dying once, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he recalled his fights with the quadrant leaders in the inheritance.


    Feeling the arquebus reach the limits of what it could handle, the young man then took in a


    deep breath, looking at the Void Rabbit onest time.


    "You''ve been quite the formidable foe," said the young man, slowly pulling on the arquebus''


    trigger.


    "But ultimately..."


    "You should''ve died in the first ce."


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang!


    ''-410,375!!!''


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Ding!

 Chapter 960: Return of the Duo

    Chapter 960: Return of the Duo


    ?


    Continuing to keep an eye on the Void Rabbit after pulling the trigger on his arquebus, it was only when the system had given him confirmation through its notification did Valyr finally let out a sigh of relief.


    "It''s over," murmured the young man to himself, truly feeling as if the heavy weight that had been put on his shoulders were finally removed.


    "It''s over," parroted Sellifer not long after, briefly ncing at the Void Rabbit that fell under Valyr''s final shot before focusing her attention on the cage of Azure Energy she conjured.


    Feeling that thest few vestiges of vitality had finally parted from the Void Rabbit, it was only then did she dismantle the cage, prompting her to look at Valyr with an apologetic smile. "I still feel bad for not giving you a heads-up," said the woman, which made Valyr look back at her in response. "After all, you would''ve probably had no problems dodging its attacks if you knew the Void Rabbit had a second life of sorts."


    At those words, Valyr faintly shook his head as he adorned an apologetic smile on his own. "That may be true, but ultimately, it''s because I let my guard down that the Void Rabbit was able tond that deadly strike on me."


    Giving Sellifer a look of gratitude as he knew what she did, the young man soon let out a long exhale. "If I remained vignt... I probably wouldn''t have ended up in this miserable state." Though Valyr had recovered his health and mana thanks to the potions in his spatial bracelet, as well as some of his skills, the young man still looked like a mess externally.


    From the various wounds umted on his body from the strikes, to the near-broken state of his trusty True Wyvern Armor, it wouldn''t be far-fetched for one to think that the young man had won his fight by a hanging thread.


    Even though the truth was that Valyr had an overwhelming advantage against the Void Rabbit, especially after he''d enlisted the help of his skills.


    With the two remaining silent for a short while after that, Valyr eventually decided to some quick repairs on his armor before proceeding on their next fight against another Void Beast.


    Whoosh!


    Bringing out the tools he''d used to create a temporary workshop back in the inheritance, it did not take long for the young man to get into his element, making use of what he had in his spatial bracelet to get his armor into a usable state.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Watching how quickly Valyr entered into a state of deep concentration, a faint look of interest appeared on Sellifer''s face as she watched the young man work on his armor.


    Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for her to realize that Valyr was telling the truth when he told her his main ss was a production ss, sensing the high level of mastery the young man had reached in his craft.


    ''I should take a look at what I got from killing the Void Rabbit while I have the time.'' Continuing to repair the pieces making up the True Wyvern Armor, Valyr allowed his body to do its thing as he separated part of his attention to take a look at the notifications he received.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 104 Void Rabbit (Ancient Elite). You have gained 13,651,292 XP.] [Your Shadow Energy has improved by 296 points.]


    [You have made progress in realizing the next stage of yer of Ascendants (580/10,000).]


    ''I obtained a tenth of the Shadow Energy needed to obtain Void Energy in one go.'' As his eyesnded on the notification that contained the Shadow Energy he obtained, Valyr let out a faint whistle in admiration.


    ''Making contact with the Shadowsource has definitely made this process easier for me,'' thought the young man to himself, understanding that it wouldn''t be long till he met the requirements Noel told him to reach.


    With that, he slightly hastened his repair over his armor, taking around half an hour or so to get his armor to look somewhat simr to what it looked before.


    However, if one looked closely at the armor, one would immediately notice the slight patchwork nature of the repair, feeling the haste underneath the care that seemed to have been put in making sure the repair did not stand out.


    "On to our next opponent, then?" cing all of his tools back into his spatial bracelet, Valyr moved a bit in his newly repaired armor before asking Sellifer the question.


    "Yeah." Sellifer nodded, snapping back to reality after feeling herself get immersed into Valyr''s forging techniques.


    Taking a deep breath topose herself, she dispelled the domain she conjured to suppress Valyr''s curse before proceeding to roam the Void World once more alongside Valyr.


    While finding another opponent suitable for Valyr to fight, Sellifer decided to bring up the topic that lingered in her head after seeing the young man somewhat struggle against his third opponent.


    "Since you''ve already removed all doubts I have regarding your strength, you''re free to use whatever means you want against the other Void Rabbits we''ll see in the future," Sellifer told


    Valyr.


    "Of course, if you decide on fighting them purely with your skills, I won''t stop you," she continued. "But do keep in mind to always be vignt, lest you want a repeat of what happened just then."


    Hearing those words, Valyr merely chuckled in response.


    Nevertheless, he still kept her words in mind, knowing that the woman was truly looking out


    for.


    With that, the two eventually found their next opponent, continuing to roam the Void World after that for two more days straight.


    ...


    "Phew."


    Slowly opening his eyes, Noel let out a turbid breath as he felt the mana circting inside him be more invigorated.


    "I finally reached the stage of 2nd Cleansing." Saying those words, the old man looked at the blue-haired woman before him, faintly sensing the peculiar energy from her that he would eventually make his own.


    Taking in a deep breath as he prepared himself to ascend his mana to the stage of 3rd Cleansing, Noel stopped in his tracks as he felt a couple of familiar auras move closer to where


    he was.


    Recognizing the two that were emitting these auras, the old man decided to shelf his attempt for the meantime, standing up as he looked in the direction of the two with a smile.


    Though once the two had finallye into full view of the old man''s vision, Noel was


    immediately left at a loss for words.


    "...What happened to you two?"

 Chapter 961: A Quick Rundown

    Chapter 961: A Quick Rundown


    ?


    If one were to describe how Sellifer and Valyr appeared before Noel''s eyes, then it would be the word disheveled.


    Looking as if they''d gone through an arduous journey over the past few days they were gone, the two looked for worse for wear, whether it was in their bodynguage or in their overall appearance.


    Between the two, Sellifer looked better off, with her appearance having not changed that much from thest time Noel had seen her.


    Then again, a faintyer of dirt had umted on her skin over the past few days, which, whenbined with the stress that was prevalent on her face, made her look a bit older than how she usually looked.


    On the other hand, Valyr looked like he''d just barely escaped the pits of hell after roaming the Void World for the past few days.


    What was once a dazzling set of armor had now turned into small chunks of metal fused together through the patchwork to offer the faintest sense of defense.


    Aside from that, the man sported various wounds and injuries all over his body, ranging from bruises to puncture wounds, tocerations and open cuts.


    Seeing how the young man looked like he was on the verge of falling over, Noel looked at Valyr with a hint of concern, moving closer to the two as he nned on making use of the medicine and first aid he stored in his spatial bracelet.


    Though, once he got closer to the two, he was able to feel their auras more clearly, causing him to be briefly confused as their auras made him feel like they hadn''t gotten into trouble at all.


    In fact, when he focused his senses on Valyr''s aura, he felt the young man seemingly begin to meld with the nket of darkness around them, taking on the strong empty feeling the darkness had and turning it into his own.


    "It''s a long story," said the young man with a chuckle in response to the old man''s question. "For now, I just want to get a bit of rest."


    Seeing that Noel was moving closer to them, Valyr looked at Sellifer for a bit before deciding to stop in his tracks, sitting down on the ground soon after.


    Feeling exhausted as well after roaming around the Void World for a few days straight, Sellifer decided to follow Valyr''s thoughts, sitting on the ground as she slightly increased the intensity of the light fixture she had.


    At the same time, she recalled the clone she''d conjured to keep an eye on Noel, having it move alongside the old man as the two eventually arrived within the area illuminated by Sellifer''s light.


    "What happened?" By the time Noel and Sellifer''s clone had arrived where the two were, Valyr had already sumbed to the lethargy he had felt for the past couple of days, falling asleep as he stored all of his armor into his spatial bracelet beforehand.


    "A lot of things," said Sellifer in response to Noel''s question, making use of a bit of her energy to increase the rate at which Valyr recovered his vitality.


    While doing so, the clone Sellifer made to keep an eye on Noel had fused with her, prompting her eyes to slightly widen in surprise as she looked at the old man. "You''ve improved your mana to the stage of 2nd Cleansing already?"


    "Just recently, Divine One," said Noel in a humble tone as he slightly smiled. "I was nning an attempt to improve my mana to the stage of 3rd Cleansing, though I''ve decided to postpone that since you two have returned."


    "You don''t really have to." Having seen Valyr consistently fight against foes stronger than him with ease for the past couple days, the ill will Sellifer had towards the old man had slightly disappeared, recalling the rtionship of the two.


    "Feel free to focus on your attempts."


    "As you wish, Divine One." At those words, Noel could only nod in response, sitting down at a spot that was in between where Sellifer sat and where Valyr rested.


    Of course, even though he nned to follow her words, Noel was still curious as to how the two had gotten into their current state. "If I may ask, what happened during the past few days for you to two to turn out like this, Divine One?"


    "Just as Valyr mentioned before, it''s a long story." Sellifer looked back at Noel and gave him a wry smile before proceeding to give the old man a rundown of what the two had done.


    With that, Noel gradually began to find out that Valyr had the capability to fight against Myth-level beings with ease, with the first few bouts the young man had against the Void Rabbits being the confirmation of his strength.


    Hearing that his student''s strength had grown to such a point, the old man was left at aplete loss for words, especially after finding out that the young man had even fought a few Myth-level Void Rabbits without relying on his arquebus.


    Nevertheless, most of the time, Valyr relied on his arquebus, as well as his whole host of stat- boosting skills, allowing him to amass a great amount of Shadow Energy with ease.


    "By the time roughly two days had passed since we began to roam the Void World, Valyr had already surpassed the amount of Shadow Energy you needed him to amass."


    "In the end, he was only satisfied with returning after amassing almost double the figure you gave him."


    At those words, Noel felt the thoughts in his mind click together, especially the faint sense of emptiness that he felt from the young man when he first sensed his aura.


    ''With that much Shadow Energy within his body, it definitely wouldn''t be long till he gets his hands on Void Energy,'' the old man mused to himself, thanking Sellifer for sharing her time to give him a quick rundown of what happened.


    With that, the old man closed his eyes soon after, focusing all of his attention on purifying his mana to the stage of 3rd Cleansing.


    Of course, Noel still spared a bit of his attention towards the young man, keeping an eye on him while he still rested.


    After all, once the young man awoke from his slumber...


    It was time for him to embrace the Void.

 Chapter 962: Embracing the Void

    Chapter 962: Embracing the Void


    ?


    "Mngh..."


    Feeling like he''d gone into a deep slumber, it took a while for Valyr to return to the waking world, giving his consciousness the time it needed to rouse itself.


    Fortunately, it only took a couple of minutes at most for the young man to be fully awake, taking in a deep breath as he looked at his current surroundings.


    ''Ah... right.'' Though a hint of confusion passed through his mind the moment he did so, Valyr immediately recalled what had transpired before he''d fallen asleep, letting out a faint sigh after he was done with his recollection.


    ncing at both Sellifer and Noel, the young man decided not to disturb them for the meantime after seeing the two engrossed in their respective introspections.


    ''System, show me my status screen,'' thought Valyr to himself after that, prompting the system to bring up his stats in his mind.


    Skipping all of the other parts of his status screen he''d already seen before while roaming around the Void World with Sellifer, the young man eventuallyid his eyes on his Shadow Energy reserves, faintly smiling at the fruit of his efforts.


    Ding!


    Shadow Energy: 5,281/5,281


    ''From just having a bit more than what was necessary to evolve my subss, I now have enough Shadow Energy for me to consider it as an alternate energy source.''


    Thinking about how Noel told him that he only needed to amass 3,000 points of Shadow Energy in order for him to swiftly obtain Void Energy, Valyr found it amusing that he''d amassed almost twice the figure.


    Then again, the only reason why he''d been able to amass so much Shadow Energy in the past couple of days was thanks to his exposure with the Shadowsource, allowing him to obtain a greater amount of Shadow Energy while exerting a simr level of effort.


    Adding on the fact that he defeated the Void Rabbits, which gave far more Shadow Energy than even the strongest beasts of the Shadow ne, with rtive ease, then it was no surprise that Valyr could reach the figure Noel gave him and more in just a few days.


    ''If it were any other person doing this, they would probably take months at the earliest to amass the same amount of Shadow Energy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, sensing that the two were slowly returning to reality.


    ''At worst, they would take years to do the same thing, especially if they didn''t want to take risks.''


    "You''re finally awake, Valyr." Closing the status screen he brought up, Valyr ended his train of thought then and there as Sellifer nced at him with a faint smile.


    "Did I sleep for too long?" asked the young man back with a slightly apologetic smile, noticing that Noel was in the midst of returning to reality as well.


    Sellifer shook her head in response. "Not really... though, even if you did, we wouldn''t have said anything since you did push your body to its limits against the Void Rabbits."


    "How long was I asleep for, then?" Giving the woman a faint smile of gratitude in response, Valyr followed the conversation up with another question.


    "Roughly five to six hours," replied Noel, taking some time to remove himself from his previous state of mind. "Anyways, how are you feeling, Valyr? Feeling better?"


    Valyr became silent for a bit in response, faintly nodding some time after that. "I guess so. It could always be worse, after all."


    "I see." Noel nodded at Valyr''s words.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, the old man then looked at him with a solemn expression. "Since it seems like you''ve gotten enough rest, I suppose it''s time for us to proceed transforming your Shadow Energy to Void Energy?"


    "Ah, yes." Hearing those words, it was only then did Valyr feel like he''d finally be alert, faintly nodding as he faced his master of sorts. "What do I need to do, Elder Noel?"


    "First, be more acquainted with the Shadow Energy within your body," replied the old man as he extended out one of his hands.


    Whoosh!


    Then, out of nowhere, a wisp of Abyssal Energy appeared on top of it, overpowering the negative sensations that the nket of darkness surrounding them radiated.


    "Be familiar with the sensations it contains, for recognizing and controlling them will allow you to make use of it to its utmost limits." Saying those words, Noel then imposed his will on the wisp, decreasing its power to where it turned into Void Energy.


    After that, he moved his wisp around to and fro, allowing Valyr to realize that the old man''s Void Energy could meld with the nket of darkness surrounding them if he wanted to.


    With that, Noel returned the wisp back to its original position, only to decrease its power once more, turning it into a wisp of Shadow Energy.


    Staring at the wisp of Shadow Energy for a bit, Valyr then watched Noel return the power he''d removed from the wisp, gradually elevating it to be Void Energy again.


    Then, he elevated the state of the wisp once more, returning it to a wisp filled with the Abyssal Energy he deftly wielded.


    Dispelling the wisp after seeing that Valyr had learned a couple of things from it, Noel continued with his exnation.


    "Once you familiarize yourself with the sensations contained within your Shadow Energy, you must then allow your Shadow Energy to embrace the sensationsing from the darkness surrounding us."


    "By the time your Shadow Energy takes on a simr property to the nket of darkness surrounding us, only the final step remains before you would get your hands on actual void


    Energy."


    "And what step would that be, Elder Noel?" asked Valyr with a curious expression in response, prompting the old man to faintly smirk in response.


    "Imprinting your will onto the energy itself."


    "By imprinting your will on it, it is only then can your Void Energy exist separately from the


    Void Energy surrounding the Void World," said Noel.


    "What would happen if I don''t do it?" asked Valyr after that.


    "Well, your Shadow Energy would still be considered Void Energy," answered Noel.


    "However, it would only have the power of true Void Energy once the sun sets back in


    Veldanyr."


    "Only by imprinting your will on it could that issue be prevented." Feeling like he was finished exining everything Valyr needed to know, Noel took in a deep breath as he slowly


    closed his eyes.


    "I don''t need to go into the specifics of why that''s the case. As long as you seed in turning it into Void Energy, everything will begin to make sense."


    "With that... I wish you the best of luck, Valyr."


    Sensing Noel focus his senses towards the depths of his inner self after that, Valyr scratched the back of his head for a bit before looking at Sellifer. "Are you going to return to what you


    were doing as well?"


    "I could," replied Sellifer. "But there really isn''t much point in me continuing."


    "Plus, this is the first time I''ll be seeing someone transform Shadow Energy into Void Energy through their efforts," she continued, prompting the young man to get into afortable


    position after that.


    "I''d rather watch you do that than return to what I was doing."


    "Well..." Thinking up of an answer to Sellifer''s words, Valyr eventually decided to end it on the first word, shrugging his shoulders as he slowly closed his eyes. Taking in a few deep breaths to calm his emotions, the young man then began to delve into the depths of his inner self, arriving at the vast realm where he''d formed his Prime Azure


    Energy before in a matter of minutes.


    Feeling the total level of control he had over the realm surge through his senses once more, Valyr went ahead and brought out all of the Shadow Energy into the vast realm, causing the dark space to be covered in a dark gray haze of sorts.


    ''The first step is to familiarize myself with the sensations within my Shadow Energy.'' Going through the instructions Noel told him in his mind, Valyr went through them over and over as The extended his senses towards his Shadow Energy.


    Whoosh!


    Within an instant, he was bombarded by arge amount of emotions, all of which could be considered extremely negative in nature.


    Death, despair, destruction, suffering, all of those were contained within the Shadow Energy he possessed, prompting the young man to make the decision to take things slowly as he did not want to overwhelm himself.


    Yet, even though he was going through each sensation one by one, Valyr felt as if he was familiarizing himself with them at inconceivable speeds, causing the young man to pause what he was doing at some point from confusion.


    ''What in the...?'' Wondering why he was familiarizing himself with the sensations with such ease, Valyr eventually came to the conclusion that the cause of his insane speed was either his exposure to the Shadowsource...


    Or his exposure to the darkness surrounding the Void World.


    ''It would be safe to assume that the Shadowsource also has effects on Void Energy since the Void World is part of the Shadow ne,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself. ''However, there''s also the possibility that I''ve gotten used to the sensations that surrounded


    me back when I decided to delve deep into the nket of darkness,'' the young man continued dwelling in his thoughts. ''That might be the reason why I''m making quick work of this.''


    ''Either way, I should keep following the instructions Elder Noel told me, lest I mess


    something up along the way.''


    With that, the young man took a deep breath before refocusing his attention on the dark gray haze once more, continuing to familiarize himself with the various sensations in his Shadow Energy one by one.

 Chapter 963: Infusing the Void

    Chapter 963: Infusing the Void


    ?


    ''How long has it been since I''ve started?''


    After Valyr was certain that he had familiarized himself with every possible sensation that lingered within his Shadow Energy, the young man let out a faint sigh of relief as he decided to focus his senses outward.


    To him, it felt like he''d been familiarizing himself with his Shadow Energy for days upon end, taking hours to just be intimate with a single one.


    Though it was easy at first, which he felt was due to either his exposure to the Shadowsource or the darkness of the Void World, familiarizing himself with the remaining sensations gradually be harder and harder for the young man.


    Slowly but surely, the sensations he had to familiarize himself with were bing moreplex in nature, taking more and more time to get the heart of the sensation itself.


    Nevertheless, he still seeded in doing so.


    ''I familiarized with 7 simple sensations, 49pounded sensations, and 343plex sensations. 399 sensations in total,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, only for his thoughts to be slightly jumbled as there was no change in the outside world whatsoever.


    Taking a brief look at Noel, who was still immersed in his attempts of purifying his mana to the next stage, Valyr soon focused his attention on the surroundings, only for him to ultimately focus his attention on Sellifer.


    Having been told by her that she would watch the young man go through the entire process of transforming his Shadow Energy, the fact that Sellifer looked bored out of her mind caused the young man to think a few things out of concern.


    ''Have I really been familiarizing myself with sensations for days?'' asked the young man to himself, reining in his thoughts after that once he noticed that the dark haze within his inner depths was starting to rumble.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, he then radiated a hint of his aura, prompting Sellifer''s expression to change as she looked at him with slightly widened eyes. "Are you already done?"


    "Just the first step," Valyr replied, separating part of his attention to keep an eye on the dark gray haze. "I still have two more steps to go after this."


    "Anyways, how long has it been since I''ve started?"


    "Not... that long." Closing her eyes for a bit, Sellifer eventually gave him the response he wanted to hear. "Around a few hours or so? Either way, the Void World is about to disappear in a few more hours, so I think it''d be in your best interest to keep at it."


    "Thanks." Taking Sellifer''s words to mind, Valyr let out a slight exhale of relief before refocusing his senses towards his inner self, his gaze on the vast dark gray haze in front of him


    once more.


    Now done with the first step, Valyr felt as if he now understood every nook and cranny that made up his Shadow Energy, getting the feeling that he could now exhibit more power with the energy just with that small change.


    Yet, as his goal was to transform his shadow Energy into Void Energy, the young man proceeded onto the next step, briefly expanding his senses outward as he made contact with the nket of darkness.


    ''The next step is to embrace the sensations from the darkness of the Void World,'' thought the young man to himself, going over the steps Noel had told him before he began.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment his senses made contact with the darkness, Valyr felt as if a great portion of that darkness hade flooding in, ignoring the light Sellifer was generating with her fixture as they all made their way into his body.


    Within seconds, he felt somewhat overwhelmed by the sensations, feeling that the quantity and quality of these sensations were on a whole other level whenpared to the sensationsing from his Shadow Energy.


    Though, as he''d already surrounded himself with the sensations from the nket of darkness before, it did not take long for Valyr to regain his focus once more, slowly but surely cutting away at the deluge of sensations the darkness had given him.


    ''Huh.'' At some point, the young man realized something about the darkness, allowing him to go through the new sensations with greater ease. ''Now that I feel it, these are just the sensations I''ve familiarized myself with from my Shadow Energy, but just more pronounced.''


    7 simple sensations.


    49pound sensations.


    343plex sensations.


    These were the sensations Valyr had be intimate with during the first step.


    Thanks to his sudden realization, the young man was able to notice that the darkness carried those sensations as well, but with a couple of twists.


    For one, the sensations the darkness had were more direct to the point, making Valyr as if it would only take a single wrong move for him to continue sumbing to the negative sensations making up the energy.


    Aside from that, there was a sensation that the darkness had that Valyr was not familiar with.


    Fortunately, the young man had already felt a hint of it the moment he''d begun to amass a considerable amount of Shadow Energy.


    ''The Void.'' With that sensation in mind, Valyr gradually adapted and embraced the sensations that wereing from the darkness, slowly attuning himself and his own Shadow Energy to be more epting of the nature of the Void World.


    In the end, the young man felt like weeks had passed before he finally got everything under control within his inner depths, letting out a sigh of satisfaction once he noticed that the dark gray haze within the vast chasm before him had now taken on a deeper ck.


    ''At this point, my Shadow Energy can now be considered Void Energy,'' thought Valyr to himself, recalling what Noel had told him before. ''After all, it has gained the characteristics and properties of the darkness surrounding the Void World.''


    ''In any case, who knew that just one additional sensation would bring so much difference to Shadow Energy?''


    Thinking about the new sensation he discovered while in the midst ofpleting the second step, Valyr soon had a wry smile on his face as he recalled therge number of additional sensations the new one gave him to familiarize.


    ''Because of the Void, there are now 8 simple sensations, 64pound sensations, and 512plex sensations. Close to 200 new sensations added, just like that.''


    Letting out a faint sigh as he recounted that, the young man swiftly pushed such thoughts to the side as he decided to move on to the final step, which was imprinting his will on the


    energy itself.


    Continuing to gaze at therge pitch-ck haze surrounding him, Valyr ignored the idea of taking a look at the outside world for the meantime, ring his aura in its entirety before pushing said aura towards his inner depths.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, the Shadow Energy turned Void Energy reacted towards this aura, immediately utilizing the plethora of negative sensations it had to retaliate against it.


    Bang!


    While watching his aura sh against the pseudo-Void Energy, Valyr began to feel a different kind of sensation from thetter, a sensation that was vastly different from the others that he''d familiarized himself with before it.


    If he were to describe this sensation in detail, then the easiest way for the young man to describe it was ''the will of the Void World''.


    Unknowingly, by embracing the darkness surrounding the Void World, encapsting it in his Shadow Energy, his pseudo-Void Energy had be a part of the Void World as well.


    Realizing this, it was there did Valyr finally realize why Noel needed him to go through the


    third and final step.


    That was because if he didn''t...


    All of his efforts in procuring Shadow Energy up to this point would all be lost, only bing essible if ever the Void World was around.


    With that, the young man red his aura even further, slowly but surely retaliating against the defense that the pseudo-Void Energy was putting up against him.


    At times, when he felt that the pseudo-Void Energy would finally sumb to his efforts, the pseudo-Void Energy would instead double down, increasing the intensity at which they resisted his attempts of imprinting his will on it.


    Fortunately, with the help of a few stat-boosting skills, the young man was finally able to pierce through the retaliation of the unyielding energy, slowly imprinting his own will on what was originally the fruit of his own efforts.


    Gradually, the will of the Void World within the energy was being destroyed, instead being


    reced with the will of its original owner.


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    After what felt like an eternity of imprinting his will on the energy, Valyr eventually stopped


    once he felt that all of the negative sensations within the energy had finally stopped


    retaliating against him.


    At that point, he felt that the negative sensations would work alongside him, bringing destruction and ruination to all his opponents if he desired to make it a reality. Obtaining a notification from the system in response to his Shadow Energy undergoing a sessful transformation, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he returned his senses back to where


    it should be.


    Taking a look at his surroundings once more, Valyr felt that the Void World was finally


    beginning to disappear, prompting him to realize that they were going to return to the


    Shadow ne sometime soon.


    "So, how did it go?" Seeing that the young man''s senses had returned to reality, Sellifer decided to ask, sensing that part of the aura surrounding him had changed.


    "I was sessful," replied the young man, extending one of his hand outwards as he conjured


    a wisp of his newly obtained energy in response.


    Feeling the various sensations that made up the pitch-ck wisp defer to his will, Valyr adorned a faint smile as he realized that he''d improved his strength once more.


    At the same time, it reminded him of the step he truly nned on taking before going


    through this massive detour.


    Which was to infuse it andbine it into his Prime Azure Energy.

 Chapter 964: Third Times the Charm

    Chapter 964: Third Time''s the Charm


    ?


    Swoosh!


    Continuing to maintain the small wisp of Void Energy he''d conjured, Valyr then began to manipte it with his thoughts, moving it in various ways.


    At first, he would move this wisp in singr directions, familiarizing himself with every sensation that came along with every movement.


    Then, the more confident he became in controlling the wisp of energy, the moreplex the movements became, eventually turning into a mesmerizing dance of sorts.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Wanting to see the limits of his control, he conjured a few more wisps of Void Energy after feeling like he hadn''t reached his limit yet.


    Surprisingly, even those additional wisps posed no issue to the young man as the various wisps moved around him in many different ways, turning into a sight that would leave even a veteran mage at a slight loss for words.


    ''[Originator of the Prime Azure] is definitely helping me adjust to this new energy so easily.'' Briefly thinking about the upgrade the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer had given to one of his titles, Valyr soon dispelled almost all of the wisps he conjured, only leaving one.


    Moving that one wisp back above his palm, he then willed it to discard some of the sensations it contained as Void Energy, wanting to do something simr to what Noel did before his introspection.


    Fwoosh!


    Fortunately, the energy understood what he wanted to achieve, discarding all of the sensations that involved the Void as the small wisp of energy above his palms turned into a dark gray ball.


    ''Good to know that I still have control over Shadow Energy.'' Feeling the intimate connection he had to the wisp of Shadow Energy above his palm, a satisfied smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he reintroduced the sensation of the Void back to it.


    Watching it return to the state of being Void Energy, the young man then returned the wisp back to his body, turning his head to look at Sellifer with a smile after that. "So, what do you think?"


    "I''m surprised you could already control it so well," said Sellifer in slight disbelief. "Let me guess... did she have something to do with this?"


    "Just a side effect of one of her rewards," said Valyr in response, letting out a slight chuckle after that. "In any case, transforming Shadow Energy to Void Energy is just the first step."


    "I know." Sellifer nodded back. "You did say you nned on incorporating Void Energy into that Prime Azure Energy of yours."


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded in agreement.


    "To be honest, I''m quite curious as to what kind of form Azure Energy would take once Void Energy is incorporated into it," Sellifer continued after Valyr gave his confirmation. "After all, I''ve only created Azure Energy through fusing mana with Shadow Energy."


    Seeing Valyr look at her with a raised eyebrow, Sellifer shrugged her shoulders in slight nonchnce. "Of course, we both know that the Prime Azure Energy you created is different from the Azure Energy I''ve created."


    "However, that doesn''t stop me from being curious," she added. "What if your infusion of Void Energy into Prime Azure Energy is actually a sign that it''s possible for me to do the same thing?"


    "Or what if I could fuse Abyssal Energy and mana together to create a better version of Azure Energy?"


    Listening to Sellifer''s words filled with imagination, Valyr could not help but admit that he was curious as to what would happen if he were to do the same thing.


    After all, the system had personally told him that the energy he created had the ability to assimte and incorporate higher-tiered energies like Void Energy and Abyssal Energy into it without a problem.


    However, rather than stop his sights at just the higher forms of Shadow Energy, Valyr also began to wonder what would happen to his Prime Azure Energy if he were to incorporate the higher-tiered versions of mana into it.


    ''Arcana would be simple to obtain as long as I make my way to the elven territories,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''After all, almost every elf would work with Arcana rather than just pure mana.''


    ''On the other hand, getting my hands on Essentia would be way more difficult.'' Valyr wryly smiled at the thought. ''I don''t even know how to get my hands on the type of energy thates after Abyssal Energy, much less Quintessentia.''


    ''Well, I''ll get there when I get there.''


    Of course, aside from incorporating the higher forms of mana into his Prime Azure Energy, Valyr also wondered what would happen if he were to incorporate other energies into his Prime Azure Energy.


    Such as Mystic Energy.


    ''I should really meet up with Mystia or Vera at some point,'' thought Valyr to himself as the idea came to mind.


    Letting out a low exhale after that, the young man talked with Sellifer a bit more after that on the experiences thetter had when going through the various stages of Azure Energy, hoping that her experience would serve as inspiration for him.


    Committing all of her words to mind, Valyr soon closed his eyes as he redirected his senses inward yet again.


    Whoosh!


    Returning himself to the depths of his inner self once more, the young man took his time in making sure his mind and spirit were both in their best condition.


    Taking a few deep breaths after that, he then utilized his total control over the vast space before him to proceed with the creation of Prime Azure Energy.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Willing both Shadow Energy and mana to form within the dark space, he then activated the Intents of the respective energies, as well as the Intent of the Four Elements as he intertwined all of them into one cohesive unit.


    Swoosh!


    Incorporating the weaving concept that the [Truth Weaver Scripture] had taught him, it did not take long for him to form the Prime Azure Energy he hade to know, taking on the form of dark blue pearls that glistened within the lightless void.


    ''Now, how do I go about infusing Void Energy into it?'' Looking at the wide sea of blue pearls before him, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to turn as he pondered over the question.


    After some time, he thought about incorporating the Void Energy as another strand in the braid, willing some of it to appear within his inner depths as he tested his idea out.


    Bang!


    However, before the energies and Intents could even start intertwining with one another, the mix of energies had exploded into nothingness, causing a bit of bacsh within Valyr as a


    result.


    Taking some time to recuperate from the bacsh, Valyr then proceeded to approach the problem from a different angle, wondering if incorporating the sensation of the Void within the already intertwined Shadow Energy would be enough.


    Feeling that the idea has merit, the young man went ahead and conjured arge sea of blue pearls once more, only to infuse the sensation of the Void into the part of his Prime Azure


    Energy that tackled Shadow Energy.


    Swoosh...


    Surprisingly, the sea of blue pearls began to take on a darker shade as a result, causing excitement to appear on Valyr''s face as he waited for it to eventually be sessful. Yet, just like his first approach, the whole thing eventually ended up in failure. Though fortunately, unlike the first approach, the sea of pearls disappeared with less of a bang, instead destabilizing into the base energies that made up Prime Azure Energy in the


    first ce.


    ''...'' Staring at the clouds of Shadow Energy and mana that filled the depths of his inner self, the young man went silent for a bit as one of the approaches he discarded at first soon


    surfaced in his mind.


    After all, with how obvious the idea was, he felt that the chances of it working were unlikely.


    ''Surely it''s not as simple as just recing Shadow Energy with Void Energy during the


    formation process for it to be sessful, right?''


    Nevertheless, even though he was doubtful of its sess, Valyr eventually went ahead and tried the idea out, recing Shadow Energy with Void Energy as he began to intertwine it with


    mana.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing no problems with the formation process thus far, the young man then activated the Intents of Shadow Energy, mana, and the Four Elements before infusing their energies into


    the braid not long after.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling the strength of the braid reach a higher levelpared to his Prime Azure Energy from before, a hint of excitement soon began to appear on Valyr''s face.


    However, reminding himself of the two previous failures, that excitement soon turned into doubt as he watched the formation process continue as usual.


    Because of that, Valyr remained dubious of the idea''s sess even after he''d incorporated the


    concepts of the [Truth Weaver Scripture] into it, truly transforming his Prime Azure into a sea


    of pearls that were an even deeper blue than before.


    Ding!


    Hearing a couple notification sounds resound in his mind after he''d sessfully incorporate


    Void Energy into his Prime Azure Energy, Valyr stared at the sight before him at aplete


    loss for words.


    Eventually, the young man began to let out mockingughter, targeting that mockery towards himself as he opened up his notification screen.


    "To think it would be that simple... I really should''ve tried that idea first instead of


    proceeding with any of the other ideas I had."


    "Either way, this situation has reminded me that that saying still stands true in some cases.''


    "The third time really is the charm."

 Chapter 965: Traceless

    Chapter 965: Traceless


    ?


    Ding!


    [You have attempted to incorporate Void Energy into Prime Azure Energy, aiming to incorporate the concept of the Void into thetter.]


    [As the system has already deemed Prime Azure Energy able to incorporate the concepts and properties of higher-tiered energies, the Prime Azure Energy has sessfully incorporated the concept of the Void into itself, augmenting its abilities.]


    [Having seamlessly incorporated the concept of the Void into Prime Azure Energy, you have obtained the ability to ess the various concepts epassing the Void however and whenever you wish.]


    [Due to the inherent difficulty of essing said concepts, the system has given you the passive skill ''Phases of the Azure Primacy'' to simplify the process.]


    Getting over the feeling of mockery he had towards himself, it did not take long for Valyr to go through the notifications he received, his eyes widening in slight surprise as he returned his senses outward.


    Making sure he did not read his notifications wrongly, the young man went through them once more, only for his expression to turn into that of expectation after that. ''What does the system mean by having ess to the various concepts of the Void?''


    ''Does this perhaps mean I could use Void Energy and Prime Azure Energy at the same time?'' Just as the young man had inwardlymanded the system to bring up the description of his newly obtained skill, Sellifer interrupted his train of thought as she asked him a question. "I''m guessing you seeded in infusing Void Energy into that Prime Azure Energy of yours?" "I can''t really tell since I can''t sense any change from your aura right now, but I did feel like you stepped on another realm of power earlier," she continued.


    Though he was inwardly annoyed at the thought of having his thoughts be interrupted, the young man still maintained a faint smile as he conjured his Prime Azure Energy using the same steps he did just now.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, pearls that took on a deep blue color had appeared above Valyr''s extended palm, prompting Sellifer''s eyes to widen in surprise as she could feel the familiar sensation of the Void World emanating from his Prime Azure Energy.


    "You... you really did it..." muttered Sellifer after she''d recovered from her speechlessness.


    Unfortunately, just as she was about to continue her conversation with the young man, Valyr''s attention was already focused elsewhere.


    Ding!


    [Phases of the Azure Primacy] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Tier: Void (Rare) | Mana (Umon)


    Prime Azure Energy. An innovation a being from the current generation had made after being inspired by the product of a being from the past.


    Though taking on properties and characteristics simr to the Azure Energy it''s based off of, Prime Azure Energy is considered by the system to be its superior variant, containing the ability to absorb and incorporate the properties of various energies.


    As of current, the originator of Prime Azure Energy has incorporated Void Energy into it, allowing Prime Azure Energy to tap into the concept of the Void.


    Being distilled by the system for ease of use, the originator of Prime Azure Energy has gained ess to two specific concepts that the Void epasses, which they could use at any time and any ce they choose.


    essible Concepts:


    <1st Concept: Traceless - As part of the Void World, Void Energy disappears without a trace once daytime arrives.


    The Prime Azure Energy has inherited this concept from the Void, allowing the user to cast any skill activated with the energy without leaving a trace whatsoever.


    The skill remains untraceable to those that are at least one ss tier lower than the user, while the skill bes hard to detect to those that are either at the same tier as the user or


    higher.>


    <2nd Concept: Void - The Void is culmination of negative sensations. Once it awakens, ruination awaits.


    The Prime Azure Energy has inherited this concept from the Void, allowing the user to improve the efficacy of any skill activated with the energy by 10%. This improvement applies multiplicatively.>


    [Reminder: The system is supportive of the originator''s creation of the energy and wishes for them to fully explore the limits of said energy.]


    ''Wow.'' Whilst Sellifer was still trying to ask Valyr about his sess inbining Void Energy into Azure Energy, the young man was left astounded after he was done reading through the description of his newly obtained skill.


    Though the skill did not seem like much at first, the young man already had an idea of how he could use the concepts to his advantage, prompting a faint smile to appear on his face.


    ''If I could already ess these concepts just by incorporating Void Energy, what would happen if I incorporate Abyssal Energy into it? How about Arcana? Or Essentia?''


    As such thoughts surfaced in the young man''s mind, Valyr eventually recalled the final lines of text on the skill he''d received, causing all of the excitement he''d felt to be reced with that of slight suspicion.


    ''Then again, the fact that the system is supportive of it worries me,'' thought the young man to himself with a slight frown. ''Is there something special about the energy that prompts the system to keep an eye on me?''


    ''Or is the system supportive of my endeavors because of some other reason?''


    "Valyr."


    Just as he was about to delve deeper into the rabbit hole formed by the topic, Valyr''s train of thought was cut short by Sellifer, who was now looking at him with a slight frown.


    "Did you even listen to a single word of what I said earlier?" she asked, seemingly ring daggers at him.


    Staring back at her for a bit, Valyr eventually decided to shake his head in response. "I was taking a look at a skill I gained from the fusion."


    Hearing the young man be so upfront with his ignorance, Sellifer could only let out a sigh in response. "Well, I was asking you how you fused the two energies together. After all, it could serve as reference for me to do the same thing to my Azure Energy."


    "Plus, if you think about it from a long-term perspective, it might allow Noel to do the same thing," she continued, prompting both of them to nce at the old man beside them.


    "It''s simpler than you think," replied the young man, deciding to give Sellifer a step-by-step rundown of how he formed it since she was the one who taught him how to wield Azure Energy in the first ce.


    With that, Sellifer watched Valyr go through the steps with all of her attention, following along as he intertwined Void Energy and mana together alongside the concepts. However, she was immediately left in confusion after he used an abstruse method to weave both energies and concepts together, transforming it into the Prime Azure Energy she''d seen


    earlier.


    Though she asked the young man to show her step-by-step a couple more times after that, Sellifer noticed that she was immediately confused once the young man got to the part of weaving everything together into one cohesive piece.


    Feeling like the part that confused her was the main reason that allowed Valyr tobine Void Energy into his Prime Azure Energy, Sellifer eventually told the young man that she''d seen enough, deciding to move onto another topic after that.


    "So, what skill did you get?" she asked, causing Valyr to slightly smile in response as he


    activated one of his skills.


    ''[Traceless].''


    "[Four Paths Azure Bolt]."


    Whoosh!


    Being given an intuitive guide by the system itself on how to use the skill, Valyr went ahead


    and use the Traceless concept of his Prime Azure Energy, immediately sensing the feeling


    that it was harder to detect than usual.


    Making use of that energy, he then conjured the first technique in his [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts], which made Sellifer narrow her eyes in suspicion as a response.


    "I don''t sense anything different... wait."


    Closing her eyes for a bit, the woman soon expanded her senses to their limits, opening her


    eyes soon after as she understood what happened. "Your energy feels fainter than before... is


    that the skill you got?"


    "Part of it, yeah." Valyr nodded, deftly flinging the bolt of Prime Azure Energy afar in


    response.


    Bang!


    Hearing a faint explosion behind her go off in the distance, Sellifer''s expression slightly


    became serious as she looked back at Valyr. "That bolt you conjured may look obvious to me, but I don''t know if the same thing could be said to opponents at your level." "Can you use that skill on all your other skills?" asked the woman after that, looking at Valyr


    with curiosity.


    In response, Valyr nodded, activating [Phases of the Azure Primacy] once more as he proceeded to conjure another technique from [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]. However, before the young man could even begin conjuring his skill, Noel returned his senses back to reality all of a sudden, briefly looking around his surroundings with slight haste. Stopping his sights at both Valyr and Sellifer, the old man''s eyes widened in surprise for a bit, only for his expression to be serious after that. "We need to leave." "Wait, why?" Though he was in the middle of activating another skill, Valyr instantly understood the importance of the situation from Noel''s tone.


    "Is it... that time already?" Fortunately, Sellifer understood what was going on, briefly expanding her senses beyond the light to confirm Noel''s suspicions.


    As Sellifer''s expression turned solemn, Noel nodded back in response.


    Looking at the young man, he then continued, "It is indeed that time." "The Realm of the Abyss is beginning to open."

 Chapter 966: Leaving the Void

    Chapter 966: Leaving the Void


    ?


    "Is that a bad thing?" Noting the somber expressions on both Sellifer and Noel''s faces, Valyr eventually asked the question that was on his mind. "It''s just like the Void World, right?


    Where it would take over the Shadow ne?"


    Sellifer shook her head in response. "Not really. If it were just that, then we wouldn''t have brought up anything about the Realm of the Abyss and just let you experience it firsthand." "Just so you know, I''ve already been there multiple times due to a few tasks I needed to do, yet I still dread heading there," she continued, to which Noel nodded in agreement. Seeing the confusion that was gradually surfacing on Valyr''s face, the old man began to exin. "Unlike the Void World, which takes over the Shadow ne for a simr amount of time thetter remains avable, the Realm of the Abyss can only be essed for one hour." "Specifically, the hour where the Void World transitions back to bing the Shadow ne." Hearing those words, the young man raised his eyebrow in curiosity, wondering if that was the entire reason why the two feared the Realm of the Abyss.


    Though, seeing that Noel still had something else to say, he decided to keep his mouth shut, allowing the former to continue his exnation.


    "During that hour, multiple entrances to the Realm of the Abyss form all throughout the world, making use of the dissonance of natures between the Void World and the Shadow ne to do so."


    "Do you only enter the Realm of the Abyss when you pass through one of those entrances?" At this point, Valyr could not restrain his curiosity anymore, prompting him to ask a few questions that would eventually get to the question he had in mind.


    "You do." Looking back at Valyr, Noel nodded in response.


    "Then, why are you two making it seem like the Realm of the Abyss is more dangerous than it is?"


    "Here''s the thing, Valyr." Hearing the young man''s question, Sellifer decided to answer in Noel''s stead. "It''s natural to think that there''s an exit to every entrance, right?"


    "Yeah?" Valyr nodded with a hint of confusion, not understanding what she was getting at. Fortunately, Sellifer''s response was more than enough to clear the confusion he was feeling. "Now, what if I told there''s no exit to the Realm of the Abyss?"


    "Well, not that there''s no exit, but the exit only appears to those who are either strong enough to leave the ce," Sellifer rified herself, only to nce at Noel soon after. "Or to those who have control over Abyssal Energy, like Noel."


    "Not only that, but the entrances to the Realm of the Abyss seem to have a mind of their own if any being gets close to them," said Noel as he decided to continue where the woman left off.


    "As long as you seem weak enough in their eyes, they would devour you and put you into the Realm of the Abyss without fail."


    Listening to their exnations up to this point, Valyr felt a chill up his back as the gears in his mind began to whir like crazy.


    Then, taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, he then asked the two, "What''s the minimum level of strength to be able to leave the Realm of the Abyss, then?"


    "You''d probably have to be a Myth to be able to leave the Realm of the Abyss if you don''t have ess to Abyssal Energy," replied Noel to his question.


    Sellifer nodded in agreement with the old man''s words, adding on soon after, "Specifically, you''d have to be Rank 8 at the very least. And even then, the chances of you being able to leave the Realm of the Abyss isn''t that guaranteed."


    "Hiss..." Sucking in a breath of cold air at their responses, Valyr now understood why both of them had solemn expressions on their faces when the Realm of the Abyss was mentioned.


    Yet, even though he knew that the best course of action was to return to Veldanyr before the Realm of the Abyss appeared, a stray thought surfaced in the young man''s mind at that moment, only to blossom the more he thought about it.


    "Would it be possible to take a look at the Realm of the Abyss from afar before we leave?" Bing silent for quite some time after listening to the words of the two, Valyr eventually pluck up the courage to speak out the stray thought in his mind.


    And surprisingly, the two weren''t really against the thought.


    "There might be a problem if it were any other person," replied Sellifer after pondering over the question for a bit.


    Then, looking at Valyr, she gave him a faint nod as she shrugged her shoulders. "But since it''s you, I guess it''s fine if we look at it from afar."


    As for Noel, his response to the request was more weing than Sellifer''s.


    "I don''t mind." The old man faintly shrugged his shoulders at the thought, grinning as he looked at the young man after that. "After all, you gave me the opportunity I''ve been wanting to obtain for over decades now."


    "The least I could do is make sure you''re safe while viewing something like that."


    "Thank you." Listening to the responses to the two, Valyr felt his heart warm up as he smiled back at them.


    After that, the three talked about what they''d be doing once the entrances to the Realm of the Abyss appeared.


    Once they were done with that, Valyr decided to bring up the matter of Noel''s progress in regards to him forming Azure Energy, prompting thetter to look back at Valyr with a slight chuckle.


    "I''m still in the midst of purifying my mana, actually," Noel told the young man. "Anyways, I''ve already reached the stage of 2nd Cleansing. It probably won''t take me that long to reach the stage of 3rd Cleansing."


    "2nd Cleansing in just a few days?" Hearing what Noel told him, it went without saying that the young man was left at a loss for words.


    After all, back when he was still learning how to obtain Azure Energy from Sellifer back in the inheritance, it had taken him more than just a few days to purify his mana to the same stage. ''The fact that not even a day has passed back in Veldanyr makes it all the more terrifying,'' thought the young man to himself, only for his train of thought to stop in its tracks as their surroundings abruptly began to change.


    Rumble...


    As if the entire world was beginning to crumble, the darkness surrounding the Void World rumbled with great intensity, making it seem like the three were standing in the epicenter of a


    giant earthquake.


    Fortunately, the rumbling sensation did notst for long.


    Whoosh!


    Instead, what took over the rumbling was the gradual disappearance of the Void World. Where the Void World once stood, the bits and parts of the Shadow ne slowly reced it.


    With that, the three were greeted to the sight of the Shadow ne returning to its rightful ce bit by bit, making it seem like the Shadow ne was created through patchwork.


    Rumble...


    However, before the three could appreciate the sight in front of them for a bit longer, the world began to rumble again.


    Though, unlike before, the three pushed their senses to the limit, vignt as ever as they waited for the cause of the rumbling to appear.


    Swoosh!


    After waiting for a couple of seconds, a ck gate spanning tens of meters tall appeared over


    a couple hundred of meters away from them, giving off a sensation that made Valyr think that the Void Energy he had control over was just a mere drop in the ocean. Thankfully, just as thoughts of wanting to obtain the energy the entrance was giving off for himself popped up in his mind, Noel and Sellifer simultaneously casted a barrier using their own energies around them, dispelling all such thoughts in an instant.


    Feeling a great amount of dread after realizing what just happened, Valyr took in a few deep breaths topose himself before staring at the ce that attracted his senses just now. "..." With a clearer mind, the young man was now able to see that therge gate was made with an energy that was definitely better than the Void Energy in every way. However, unlike before where he thought his Void Energy was just a drop in the ocean, Valyr eventually noticed that the gap between it and his Void Energy was just an additionalyer of


    understanding.


    ''Probably the 9th sensation,'' thought the young man after some time, briefly recalling the difference that made Void Energy stand out from Shadow Energy.


    Continuing to stare at the gate for a bit more to be more well-ustomed to the energy, Valyr eventually gave the two a signal that the three had agreed upon earlier.


    With that, Sellifer and Noel looked at each other for a bit before nodding in tacit agreement.


    Whoosh!


    Dispelling the barrier of Abyssal Energy he''d conjured, Noel proceeded to create a rift that


    would return him and Valyr back to Veldanyr.


    Swoosh!


    As for Sellifer, she reinforced the barrier of Azure Energy she''d created, giving the two more


    than enough time to return.


    "Thank you for everything, Sellifer." With Noel giving him a signal that they were ready to cross the rift back to Veldanyr, Valyr gave Sellifer a look of gratitude, prompting thetter to


    chuckle in response.


    "Not a problem," she replied. "I''ve quite enjoyed this small escapade we did, believe it or


    not."


    "Speaking of which... have this." After saying those words, she then conjured a small bead of


    energy that she then sent Valyr''s way.


    Whoosh!


    Grabbing the bead of energy with both hands, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise after seeing


    the bead melt into his body.


    Not long after, bits and pieces of information soon appeared in his mind, causing his eyes to widen in surprise as he briefly nced at Sellifer one more time.


    "Just so you don''t have to embarrass me in front of Vaughn again, here''s a way for you to contact me," said Sellifer in response to the young man''s look. "Anyways, off you go."


    Whoosh!


    With Sellifer casting a gust of Azure Energy after that, both Noel and Valyr were then sent tumbling through the rift back to Veldanyr, thus ending their tale in the Shadow ne.

 Chapter 967: The Past and Whats to Come

    Chapter 967: The Past and What''s to Come


    ?


    Thud. Thud.


    With how sudden Sellifer sent the gust of Azure Energy their way, both Noel and Valyr had no opportunity to catch themselves after returning to Veldanyr, tumbling on the ground for a while before being able to get up on their feet.


    "Geez..." Feeling a bit of soreness all over his body from the action, Valyr swiftly cast [Advanced Regeneration] on himself while rubbing some of the parts that were more affected. "She could''ve allowed us to walk back through the rift by ourselves, no?"


    "Every additional second we spend there while the entrances to the Realm of the Abyss remain open is an additional chance for us to get inadvertently sucked in by them," said Noel in response, dusting himself off as he activated a self-regeneration skill of his own.


    "In any case, this journey has definitely been more fruitful than I initially thought it would be."


    Looking around to confirm that they''d appeared within one of the Spearman Guild''s training grounds, Noel then beamed a smile at Valyr as he messaged one of the guild''s staff members. Not long after, one of the staff members had arrived at the training ground they were in, carrying with them a bunch of snacks and drinks to remove both their hunger and thirst. Telling Valyr to dig into the snacks and drinks for the meantime, Noel then moved a fair distance from the young man with the staff member as he began to converse with thetter. On the other hand, Valyr did what he was told, sitting on the ground as he felt a sense of relief from munching down on the snacks and drinks that were offered to them.


    ''Then again, the Void World isn''t really a peaceful ce,'' thought Valyr to himself after some time, wondering if the sensations the Void World gave him would subside after heading there a few more times.


    ''I wonder what they''re talking about?'' Briefly thinking about the Shadow ne and the Void World for a bit, Valyr eventually shifted his attention towards Noel and the staff member, taking a look at the expressions adorning their faces.


    Seeing that Noel began to frown during their conversation at some point, Valyr decided not to peek at them any further, getting the feeling that the current topic of their conversation was quite heavy.


    Eventually, the two ended their conversation, with the staff member seemingly returning to the guild proper at a slightly hurried pace.


    As for Noel, he made his way to where Valyr was resting, adorning a wry smile on his face as he sat beside him. "I know we''ve been in the Shadow ne for quite some time, so I apologize that we only have snacks in the guild."


    "I don''t mind," replied the young man, showing that he was enjoying the current situation either way. "Anyways, if you don''t mind me asking, what did you two talk about, Elder Noel?"


    "Updates on the war," said Noel as he grabbed a snack on his own.


    Letting out a faint sigh as he bit down, he continued, "Even though only a day has passed here since we left for the Shadow ne, a lot has happened down in the frontlines."


    "For one, the orcs were sessful in ambushing one of the various human kingdoms involved in the war," said the man, causing Valyr to feel a bit of a chill.


    "Fortunately, the reinforcements arrived in time, foiling whatever ns the orcs had in their attempt to upy that specific kingdom."


    "It''s that bad, huh?" Bing silent for a bit, Valyr eventually voiced out the thoughts in his mind. "Are we on the losing end, then?"


    "At some point, we would be." Noel did not beat around the bush, faintly nodding with a slightly grim expression. "But as long as all of us contribute to the war efforts, we''ll manage one way or another."


    Hearing those words, Valyr let out a wry chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess I''ll be heading to the cksmith Guild after this, then."


    "I''d suggest you do that after you get enough rest," said Noel, looking at him with a hint of concern. "After all, you''ve been fighting for like... a week straight back in the Shadow ne?"


    "Plus, if anything, you''d probably be able to contribute more to the war with yourbat strength," added the man, his eyes now gleaming with excitement. "Imagine if we add your near Myth-level strength to the battlefield."


    "The effects of something like that would be massive, both positive and negative."


    "Of course, that''s only if you want to participate in the frontlines," said Noel at the end, noticing the hesitation that was on the young man''s expression. "If you n to contribute to the war through your profession, that''s fine as well."


    "Speaking of which, don''t forget the arquebus I want you to forge for me." The old man grinned.


    "I wouldn''t forget something like that, Elder Noel." Valyr smiled back at the old man, standing up as he felt that he''d satiated himself. "I''ll make sure that you won''t be


    disappointed with the arquebus I''ll give you."


    "As for my participation in the frontlines... I''ll have to think about that for the meantime," he continued, dusting off his clothes as he prepared himself to leave. "However, I''m more than certain that I''ll be in the frontlines sooner orter."


    "That alone is more than enough." Noel nodded as he smiled.


    "Now get some rest, you brat. Don''t let this old man distract you any further."


    "Thanks again, Elder Noel." Chuckling in response to his words, Valyr soon bade farewell to the old man, only leaving the Spearman Guild for good after Noel had said a few more words to him.


    "I should be the one thanking you," replied the old man back. "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure to reward you for what you''ve given me back in the Shadow ne."


    With those statements acting as their parting words, both Valyr and Noel soon returned to their usual lives, with the former eventually finding himself back at the inn he was staying.


    ...


    "Haah..."


    At the very moment Valyr stepped foot into the room, he let out a wide sigh of relief, feeling as if a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders.


    Removing the set of True Wyvern Armor he was wearing, the young man reminded himself to make a trip to repair his armor sometimeter before going through his usual routine.


    A few minutes after that, Valyr left the bathroom wearing a fresh set of clothes, making a call to the inn to order himself a slightly heavy meal.


    While waiting for his meal to arrive, the young man began to think about what he should do next, deciding to look at the notifications still on his notification screen to get an idea.


    Ding!


    [By understanding and assimting the Void, you have transformed your Shadow Energy into


    Void Energy.]


    [As Void Energy has been ssified by the system to be superior to Shadow Energy, the system has modified all of the skills that originally use Shadow Energy to instead use Void Energy.] [The system has also modified all of the skills that modify the effects of Shadow Energy, changing it to affect Void Energy instead due to their simr nature.]


    [The cost, efficacy, and effects of said skills have been adjusted ordingly.]


    ''Hmm.'' Going over the first set of notifications on the screen he brought up, Valyr was greeted by the notifications he''d obtained back when he''d sessfully transformed his Shadow Energy to Void Energy.


    Faintly wondering whether everything that happened in the Shadow ne just before was all a dream or not, the young man soon conjured a wisp of the pitch-ck energy, immediately feeling the connection he''d formed with the Shadow ne.


    Sensing that the strength of his connection had deepened and improvedpared to before, the young man soon inwardly let out a sigh of relief, moving on to the next set of notifications


    on his screen.


    [You haveplete a prerequisite quest to ascend your subss to the next rarity.]


    [Evolve the concept of the Shadow within Prime Azure Energy to the concept of the Void (1/1).]


    [The Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne are surprised that you have sessfully fused this higher-tier energy into the personal energy you''ve created.] [The Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne are d that you were sessful in


    evolving the concept of Shadow within your Prime Azure Energy to the concept of Void, thanking you for improving the connection the Shadow ne has to the universe even


    further.]


    [Due to your incredible feat, the Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow ne have decided to bestow some of the rewards they''ve kept in advance, needing you to appear in the Shadow ne once more to receive it.]


    "I seriously feel like they''re using me for something." Though most of the notifications regarding the infusion of the Void into his Prime Azure Energy were all positive, Valyr still held doubts towards the positivity he felt.


    After all, even the system was taking notice of what he was doing, which made him all the more wonder what the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer had in mind with the energy he had


    created.


    "I guess I''ve found my answer, then." Going through the notifications once more, the young


    man eventually arrived to a conclusion.


    "What I need to do next is to get stronger."


    Hearing a knock on the door at the very moment he uttered those words, Valyr received the meal he ordered and began to wolf it down with gusto. "But how?" Thinking out loud in between bites, the young man pondered over the topic. "Well, there''s the route of ascending to the next ss rank. That''s the easiest way to get stronger." "However, there''s still a couple more things I can do while at my current rank," muttered the young man to himself some timeter. "I could work on pushing the [Truth Weaver Scripture] to Pentad, or even Dual Trinity if I have enough time."


    "There''s also the Realm of Myriad Experiences that I have ess to," said Valyr after that,


    only to recall a conversation he had with Vaughn in the past. "There''s also Ryvrthe and the


    Forsaken Ones."


    "But then again, would that even make a difference? Especially now that the war is possibly


    close to reaching its climax?"


    Letting out a sigh at the question, Valyr continued to enjoy his meal, only to recall a certain reward he''d obtained from Vaughn he hadn''t used yet.


    At the same time, it reminded him of a set of information he''d obtained from Sellifer that did


    a simr thing.


    With his train of thought revolving around these two items, the more the young man felt that


    he had to do it.


    In the end, by the time he finished his meal, Valyr had made up his mind on what he should do


    next.


    "I guess my next step is improving my species, then."


    "But before that..."


    "I... should really get some well-needed rest."

 Chapter 968: Attempts at Unfettering Races (1)

    Chapter 968: Attempts at Unfettering Races (1)


    ?


    "Haah..."


    Waking up from a long slumber, Valyr eventually felt his consciousnesse to, giving it the time it needed to be fully awake before getting out of bed.


    Doing a few basic exercises to get the blood going, the young man took a look outside the window in his part of the room, his expression bing curious as he noticed that the sun was only about to set.


    Wondering if he''d slept for over a day or more just like before, Valyr soon brought up his status screen, immediately letting out a sigh of relief once he found out that he''d only slept for roughly half a day.


    "Thank the heavens. If I slept any longer, I''m sure Julian would''ve been filling up the chat feature with his messages right now," muttered the young man to himself at the thought, slightly chuckling soon after.


    Making his way to the main area of the room, the young man decided to rinse his face under a bit of water, ordering himself his dinner for the day after that.


    "I should probably give Julian and the others some sort of heads-up." After confirming the order he made with the inn, Valyr eventually sat on a nearby chair as hemanded the system to bring up the chat function.


    Ding!


    Looking through the screen before him to see if he''d received any messages, Valyr faintly smiled after seeing that Tristan and the others from Astarto Vige were the only ones that sent him one.


    Seeing that none of the messages they sent radiated immense concern for him from the get- go, Valyr decided to read through them one by one, only for his expression to be weird.


    "Huh. Tristan, Myst, and Alfaera all sent me a message to see if I was free to visit the vige in a few days."


    Muttering these words to himself, the young man faintly scratched the back of his head as he pondered over the usible reasons why they were reaching out to him.


    Fortunately, the gears in his mind did not have to turn for too long for him to figure out the reasons for their message, immediately recalling the curse that had been ailing him for quite some time already.


    "A Monster Tide, huh?" Coming to this conclusion, Valyr mulled over the topic for a bit before replying to their messages, telling them that he might be able to make a visit to the ce within the next few days.


    While writing out his responses to their messages, he briefly wondered how much Astarto Vige, which had obtained the foundations to be a town thanks to his contribution, had changed while he was away in the inheritance.


    "After all, over 9 months have passed since then," said Valyr to himself at the thought. "I wouldn''t be surprised if they''ve already expanded into an actual town at this point. Or, at the very least, they''ve expanded their territory to be more like that of a town."


    "Then again, it does make me wonder how they''ve defended themselves against three Monster Tides in those 9 months," thought Valyr to himself out loud after that, only to stop his train of thought after hearing a knock on the door.


    Receiving his dinner for the day, the young man decided to push such thoughts to the side for the meantime, closing the screen he brought up as he savored each and every bite of what would probably be hisst meal for quite some time.


    "That really hit the spot." Letting out a satisfied sigh the moment he was finished eating, Valyr took in a few deep breaths topose himself before recalling the thought he had before he went to sleep.


    "So, I''ve decided to focus on improving my species as my next step," said Valyr after some time, thinking to himself out loud. "With that in mind, I have two methods I could use to do that."


    As for what those two methods were, the first one was the reward he''d gotten from Vaughn, which was the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races.


    From what he could recall, the Records wasprised of 10 stages in total, giving him the ability to ascend his species by two whole tiers if he were to go through all go.


    Then again, even if he wasn''t able to reach the final stage of the Records, even reaching the 3rd stage was more than enough to push his species by an intermediary tier, which was more than enough if he only aimed to be a High Human.


    As for the second method, it was a set of instructions Sellifer had given him on atavism back when he was still in the inheritance.


    Though atavism was a method a considerable number of humans wanted for themselves to improve their strength, Valyr didn''t get the same feeling of confidence from the method unlike the Records Vaughn gave him.


    Then again, recalling Sellifer''s journey to atavism from her memories, the only reason why she was sessful in achieving atavism was because of the Serpent Maiden''s assistance.


    ''I sure hope the chances of seeding in atavism with her instructions are at least decent enough,'' thought the young man to himself, faintly wondering whether to use themunication method Sellifer gave him to ask her about it.


    In the end, he decided to leave atavism alone for the meantime, instead opting to go with the more reliable route.


    Whoosh!


    Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Valyr took a calming breath as he brought up part of the information he''d gotten from Vaughn regarding the Records of Unfettering and Transcending


    Races.


    Swoosh...


    Focusing his attention on the 1st stage of the Records, Valyr unknowingly began to move his energy in an abstruse pattern, seemingly outlining the various pathways throughout his body with energy one by one.


    Continuing to immerse himself in the information he''d pulled up, the energy in his body continued to seemingly move out of its own ord, with Prime Azure Energy, mana, and even Shadow Energy reinforcing these formed pathways bit by bit.


    Ding!


    "Hmm?" Just as he felt like he''d understood the 1st stage of the Records, a notification from the system interrupted his focus, causing him to slightly frown as he brought up his


    notification screen.


    Though, as he read the contents of the notification he received, that frown quickly disappeared, instead being reced with utter confusion.


    [You havepleted the 1st Stage of the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races.]


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races - 1st


    Stage''.]


    [Your current species has made considerable progress in reaching a higher realm.]

 Chapter 969: Attempts at Unfettering Races (2)

    Chapter 969: Attempts at Unfettering Races (2)


    ?


    "Was it really that easy?"


    Staring at the notifications he''d obtained at a loss for words, it took a while for him to find the right words to say, scratching the back of his head as he went over the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races in his mind.


    In the simplest terms, the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races was a technique that gave him the ability to evolve his species to higher tiers without having to ascend through the ss ranks.


    However, if one were to look closely, then one would eventually notice that the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races seemed to have an otherworldly origin.


    In a way, one would feel like the information making up the technique was as abstruse and difficult as a technique could go, while also being as intuitive and simple to understand as any basic technique one would pick up at the start of one''s journey.


    In fact, that was the feeling Valyr got from the Records at first, sensing that it had an origin simr to the Outer Realm Scripture he''d found back then, as well as the Inner Realm Scripture and the Truth Weaver Scripture he''d gotten from Vaughn.


    At first, he did not know the reason why he got that feeling while going through the information the Records gave him. To him, it was as if the reason was ced behind a veil that he could just barely see through.


    Fortunately, reading through the steps needed to enter the 1st stage of the Records was enough for the young man to push the veil aside, finally allowing him to understand why he got that feeling while reading it.


    At the same time, it made him realize the uniqueness of the other skills he had that also seemed toe from otherworldly origins, the jigsaw pieces in his mind finally clicking together.


    From what he could tell, the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races, as well as the other unique skills in his arsenal, all touched on a specific concept that the universe considered an invible truth.


    The concept of improvement.


    Though he wasn''t sure whether the concept of improvement was considered an invible truth, Valyr was more than confident enough to presume that the skills were making use of the concept to a high degree that it felt akin to the truth.


    For one, the concept of improvement appeared in the Outer and Inner Realm Scripture by allowing Valyr to awaken the untapped potential within both his body and mind.


    On the other hand, the concept of improvement appeared within the Truth Weaver Scripture by allowing Valyr to make use of the other concepts heprehended to empower the one he chose.


    As for the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races, it approached the concept of improvement from a vastly different perspective, with the 1st Stage of the Records already giving Valyr an idea of what was toe if he were to delve deeper into it.


    ording to the Records, to improve his current species to a higher tier, all he needed to do... Was to recreate his body from scratch with the help of energy.


    Closing the screen he brought up after feeling like he''d looked at it for long enough, Valyr soon focused his senses inward, keeping the knowledge he''d obtained from the 1st stage of the Records in mind as he did so.


    ''From what I could remember, the 1st stage involves recreating and reinforcing the pathways throughout one''s body with one''s energy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as he continued to look for signs.


    Eventually, he found himself looking at the various pathways reforged by the 1st stage of the Records, being left at a slight loss for words after noticing that all of the pathways that were formed through the Records had taken on a dark blue color.


    "You could use Prime Azure Energy to reform and reinforce your pathways?" Muttering these words to himself, Valyr looked over the 1st stage of the Records in his mind once again, wanting to make sure that he did not recall wrongly.


    Thankfully, the information the Records gave him were indeed what he remembered, with it telling him thatpleting the 1st stage involved making use of one''s mana to recreate all of the pathways in one''s body before recing it and reinforcing it.


    ''ording to the Records, the reason why mana is used is because it''s the simplest energy almost every being in the universe could tap to,'' thought the young man to himself.


    ''At the same time, mana is an incredibly flexible type of energy, having the ability to assimte various concepts and elements into it to suit one''s needs.''


    Coming to this part of his train of thought, it was only then did the current situation click in Valyr''s mind.


    ''But what if someone had control over a type of energy that was of a higher tier than mana and also had the ability to assimte various concepts and elements?''


    As this realization came to mind, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in understanding, getting the feeling that the reason why he''d inadvertentlypleted the 1st stage so quickly was all due to the uniqueness of his Prime Azure Energy.


    Nevertheless, even though he''d figured out the reason why hepleted the 1st stage without him knowing, the young man still double checked the foundation he''d inadvertently made based on the 1st stage of the Records.


    At some point, he found out that not only were all of the pathways formed and reinforced with Prime Azure Energy, but they''d also gone through the same process with mana and Void Energy as well.


    ''Is that the reason why I finished the 1st stage so quickly, then?'' Shifting his train of thought back to the initial hypothesis, the young man soon had a myriad of questions fill up his mind, mulling over what the correct answer was.


    After all, what was the thing that really allowed him toplete the 1st stage in the first ce? Was it the sheer quality Prime Azure Energy boasted? Or was it the sheer quantity of energy he had in his body that allowed him toplete it so quickly?


    "Well, whatever it may be, I should really keep an eye on it now that I''ve decided to proceed to the next stage," said Valyr to himself at some point with a faint sigh, confident that the answer to his query would appear before him eventually.


    With that, the young man closed his eyes once more, bringing up information on the 2nd stage of the Records in his mind as he gradually entered a tranquil state.


    Though, unlike before, he had now split a portion of his focus to keep an eye on his internals while doing so.


    ''I''ll figure it out sooner orter,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, rousing the energy within his body as he began his attempt a few minutester.

 Chapter 970: Attempts at Unfettering Races (3)

    Chapter 970: Attempts at Unfettering Races (3)


    ?


    "...Alright."


    Feeling like he''d gotten a good idea of what he needed to do toplete the 2nd stage of the Records, Valyr began to mobilize the energy within his body, moving it towards the part


    where the Records needed it to be.


    Whoosh!


    With how the pathways he''d created for the 1st stage of the Records involved the three dominant energies within his body, Valyr decided to do the same thing for the 2nd stage as well, making use of Prime Azure Energy to beginying the foundations.


    ''The 1st stage of the Records involves the recreation and reinforcement of pathways made out of one''s energy,'' thought Valyr to himself, going over the knowledge in his mind as he slowly brought his Prime Azure Energy near the formed pathways.


    ''The reason why the Records forces one to form these pathways first is because the pathways act as themunication system for one''s entire body.''


    ''Only with that would it be possible for one to begin truly recreating one''s body from scratch,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself.


    Of course, the pathways Valyr had in mind were vastly different from the pathways that the Outer and Inner Realm Scripture needed him to form on the surface of his skin.


    If anything, the pathways that the Records mentioned were actually the neural pathways within one''s body.


    After realizing this, Valyr was initially confused as to why the neural pathways were the ones being created first.


    After all, from what he could recall, it was moremon for techniques or skills that involved the body to either focus on the skin then work one''s way inward, or focus on the bone marrow then work''s one way outward.


    Thankfully, the parts of the body that the Records needed him to form at every stage was ordered in a way where he could see the underlying intention of the entire technique.


    "The first to third stages involve the creation of the foundation.''


    With this thought in mind, Valyr began to move his Prime Azure Energy in an abstruse pattern, making one feel as if the energy within his body was forming a rune of some sort.


    ''The fourth to sixth stages expand upon that foundation, proceeding in the creation of the whole human figure.''


    After some time, the energy within his body seeminglypleted the rune he was forming, which gave Valyr the ability to infuse his energy at a spot that would normally be left


    untouched by any sort of energy.


    The bone marrow.


    "Mngh..." Letting out a muffled grunt of pain as he felt Prime Azure Energy slowly course through his bone marrow, Valyr took in a deep breath as he gave himself time to adjust to the new sensation he was feeling.


    Then again, the sensation was anything but positive, making the young man feel as if hundreds to thousands of needles were being pierced deep inside his body multiple times in a


    row.


    Nevertheless, the young man gritted his teeth, distracting his mind from the pain as he continued to mobilize his energy while thinking about the records.


    ''Once the human figure isplete, one can then move to the seventh to ninth stage, which deals with the concept of the soul and the spirit.''


    Taking in deep breaths every once in a while, Valyr continued to push more and more Prime Azure Energy in his bone marrow, feeling it slowly undergo a simr transformation to the pathways he''d formed in the 1st stage.


    ''Then, thest stage involves the manifestation of both the body and the spirit, allowing one to be reborn anew as a higher-tiered being of the universe.''


    ''Sadly, those other stages are still far away from me,'' thought the young man to himself, focusing most of his attention on his breathing as the sensation of energy burrowing into his bone marrow continued to proliferate throughout his body.


    ''If anything, I''m still at the stages of foundation.''


    ''If the 1st stage wanted me to reform and reinforce my neural pathways, then the 2nd stage wants me to reform and reinforce my bone marrow, and by extension, my bones through the same process.''


    ''At least the process isn''t that hard,'' inwardly murmured Valyr to himself, feeling that the superior quality of Prime Azure Energy inparison to mana was definitely helping speed up the process of himpleting the 2nd stage.


    Unfortunately, the agonizing pain brought about by the same energy gradually recing his bone marrow made him only realize that fact many hourster, when the Prime Azure Energy had fully settled themselves within his bone marrow.


    "Haah... haah..." Letting out a long sigh of relief now that he''d reformed his bone marrow with Prime Azure Energy, Valyr gave himself time to catch his breath as he prepared himself for the next few steps inpleting the 2nd stage.


    "I still have to do the same thing with mana and Void Energy," muttered the young man to himself, knowing that reforming and reinforcing his bone marrow and bones with just one type of energy was enough to be considered a sess ording to the Records.


    However, with how he''d inadvertently formed and reinforced his neural pathways with three types of energies during the 1st stage, Valyr got the feeling that the effects of the Records would be more pronounced if he were to do it for all stages.


    Aside from that, he thought that it would be best for him to finish what he''d already started.


    Taking in a deep breath once more, Valyr began to do the same thing through his mana and Void Energy, circting the energy within his body in a way that allowed it to form a rune of some sort.


    Then, using that rune as a gateway, he began infusing mana and Void Energy into his bone marrow, ovepping with the Prime Azure Energy that had already settled where his bone marrow originally was.


    Of course, doing the process two more times than he needed to brought Valyr an immense amount of pain.


    But fortunately, all of it paid off by the time the sun rose once more.


    Whoosh!


    Though he''d noticed that it was already the next day, Valyr continued to focus most of his attention inward, utilizing the runes he''d formed at the beginning to reinforce what he''d


    reformed.


    ''Ever since I began the reinforcement process, I''ve noticed that my bones have also begun to reform in ordance to the energy I''ve infused.''


    Keeping an eye on his internals as he continued to infuse his energy into his bones, Valyr thought about the things that urred while proceeding through the 2nd stage.


    From his first reinforcement through Prime Azure Energy to his second reinforcement through mana, Valyr noticed that his bones were bing sturdier with every infusion, now getting a better idea of how the 2nd stage of the Records truly came to be.


    ''As long as I finish thisst reinforcement with Void Energy, I would have sessfullypleted the 2nd stage of the Records.''


    With that in mind, the young man continued what he was doing, sensing that both his bone marrow and the bones all over his body were greedily epting the Void Energy he was infusing through the rune to refine themselves.


    Eventually, both his bone marrow and bones reached their culmination point, which prompted the system to give him a notification in response some timeter.


    Rumble...


    At the same time, Valyr felt his entire body rumble all of a sudden, causing him to feel a hint of panic as he wondered what was going on.


    Thankfully, the strength that began to circte throughout his body after the rumbling eased his worries, prompting the young man to faintly smile as he closed his eyes to sense all of the changes happening within his body.


    Whoosh!


    "Was that... what I think it was?" Feeling like he''d unearthed all of thetent strength he could, Valyr eventually opened his eyes, only to notice that his skin was covered in a thinyer


    of dark impurities.


    Smiling at the sight of the impurities, the young man had a few ideas in mind as to what it was, pushing them to the side for the meantime as he made his way to the bathroom to clean


    himself.


    Changing into a new set of clean clothes once he was done, the young man opened up his notification screen after that, allowing him to finally confirm the suspicions he had a few moments after he felt strength course throughout his body.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the 2nd Stage of the Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races.]


    [Your passive skill ''Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races - 1st Stage'' has been changed to ''Records of Unfettering and Transcending Races - 2nd Stage (Enhanced)''.]


    [Your current species has made significant progress in reaching a higher realm.]


    [Your current species has broken through its racial shackles, ascending to a higher-tiered variant of the species recognized by the system.]


    [Your current species ''Old Veldanyr Human | Pseudo-High Human (3rd Unsealing)'' has been ressified by the system as ''Reforged High Human | Junior Defier of Fate (3rd Unsealing)''.] ''Hmm... I don''t know why I''m getting an ominous feeling from the second part, but at least the Pseudo prefix on High Human is gone.''


    Reading through the notifications he received, a wide smile gradually appeared on Valyr''s face, somewhat surprised that his efforts at improving his species had borne fruit so quickly. After all, he''d been told by Vaughn that he''d only be able to ascend his species to High Human once he''dpleted the 3rd stage of the Records.


    Though he was confident that the reason why his species ascended so early was due to his use of three types of energies to do the same thing, Valyr decided to shelf such questions for the meantime, instead focusing his thoughts on what his current species could do. With that, hemanded the system to bring up information on his now current species, eager to see what kind of changes had been made inparison to his previous species. However, as he began to read through its description, the young man''s smile gradually turned into a frown, only for his face to turn grim by the time he was done reading.


    "...What the hell is this?"

 Chapter 971: Defier of Fate

    Chapter 971: Defier of Fate


    ?


    Ding!


    [Reforged High Human | Junior Defier of Fate (3rd Unsealing)] (Species)


    Considered to be the superior variant of one of most well-known species throughout the universe, High Humans appear in the universe through three specific methods, each resulting in different oues.


    The first method for one to be a High Human is through the ascension of one''s ss rank, unsealing the first three racial shackles a human has through species evolution.


    Due to how easy one could be a High Human through this method, these High Humans are considered by the system as the weakest type, being barred by the system itself from improving their species any further.


    Nevertheless, they are still considered a great improvementpared to normal humans. The second method for one to be a High Human is to be born innately as a High Human, needing at least one of their parents to have transcended mortality first for it to be possible. Unlike those that became High Humans through the system, those innately born as High Humans aren''t barred from unsealing the remaining racial shackles within their bodies. Not only that, but they boast greater stats and abilitiespared to a High Human formed through ascension.


    Then again,pared to the final method, even innately born High Humans pale inparison to them.


    After all, what''s better than being born as a High Human... if not bing a High Human through one''s own efforts.


    With their efforts being recognized by the system, these High Humans are differentiated by the system by having the Reforged prefix to their species, showcasing that they''ve achieved their ascension to be a High Human without relying on the ascension feature of the system.


    Just like innately born High Humans, Reforged High Humans aren''t barred by the system from unsealing their remaining racial shackles.


    At the same time, their stats and abilities are greater than even innately born High Humans, a reward of sorts from the system for their valiant efforts.


    However, just like the differences between the various High Humans, not all Reforged High Humans are born equal as well, with some having the means to ascend their species even further through continuous effort.


    Once the system realizes this, it automatically considers these humans not only as beings that go against the natural flow of the universe, but also as beings that potentially have the ability to forge a new path of power to the pinnacle.


    In recognition of the potential power they hold and the threat they pose to the bnce and natural order of the universe, the system categorizes these beings as Defiers of Fate.


    With that, these beings are not only bestowed by the system with rewards befitting of their strength, but also tribtions that the system imposes upon them as a way for them to prove that their paths are indefatigable and infallible.


    As a being ssified by the system as a Junior Defier of Fate, do not hesitate in showcasing your strength to the universe. Being recognized as a Defier, the road ahead of you shall only be more treacherous the higher you go.


    <Racial Skill: Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations - The human race is considered the strongest race in the universe when ites to adaptation, able to survive in any situation and environment through sheer tenacity.


    On the other hand, the Defiers of Fate are the pinnacle of this human nature, showing the human race that anything is possible with enough effort.


    This skill converts 10% of the user''s total base stats into Points of Aspiration, which can be allocated however the user chooses to do on their eight main stats.


    Any stat points gained in the future shall also be converted into Points of Aspiration, but only under the condition that the user ascends to a higher ss rank. Cooldown: 5 minutes.>


    <Racial Passive 1: Reforged Constitution - Boosts all of the user''s stats, as well as the user''s maximum HP and MP by 10%. Also boosts all of the user''s stats by 15 points each, as well as the user''s maximum HP and MP by 1,500 points.>


    <Racial Passive 2: Defiance Against Ascendants - Increases the temporary level increase effect of [yer of Ascendants] from 2 levels to 5 levels.>


    <Racial Passive 3: Quasi-Longevity - Extends the user''s lifespan to thrice of what it originally


    was.>


    <Tribtion 1: The XP cost to upgrade one''s level or one''s skills have been tripled.>


    <Tribtion 2: All enemies in by the user that are at least one level lower than their current level now only yield 1 XP.>


    With all things considered, Valyr thought of his new species as a massive upgrade to his previous species in all aspects.


    From the Racial Skill his current species gave him ess to, to the various passives his current species had, Valyr had noints whatsoever with any of them.


    However, when his eyes went over thest few lines on the screen, the satisfaction he felt towards his current species immediately dissipated as he began to adorn a frown.


    "... What the hell is this?" muttered Valyr to himself at some point, not understanding what he''d done to obtain such detriments.


    Fortunately, a second skim over the entire thing eventually allowed the young man to understand what was going on, letting out a faint sigh as he continued to look at it. "In short, it''s the Records'' fault why I have these two Tribtions."


    "I didn''t even know you could get Tribtions as a species. I''ve heard of Limitations before on some species, but not Tribtions," said Valyr to himself sometimeter, only to let out a faint sigh once more.


    With all things considered, even with the Tribtions, bing a Reforged High Human was overall a positive for him.


    Of course, the fact that the XP cost to upgrade his levels and skills were tripled definitely annoyed him, but it didn''t really matter much to him for the meantime, especially with how much XP he still had in stock.


    That notion was even more pronounced when it came to his skills, considering he had ess to the Realm of Myriad Experiences, a ce that allowed him to improve his skills without the need to spend XP or Skill Keys.


    Naturally, the second Tribtion was also a slight annoyance to the young man, but he also thought of it as a non-issue.


    After all, he was more than confident in his own strength, even more so now that he''d proven himself capable against a true Myth-level being.


    "Well, if I were to consider the Defier of Fate thing as a test from the system to see if my current path has the potential to go far, then I guess it makes sense for the system to impose Tribtions," said the young man to himself at some point while pondering over his


    thoughts.


    "Then again, I don''t know if any other person ssified as a Defier of Fate would say the same thing, though. After all, my current circumstances allow me to more or less ignore them." Faintly shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the young man soon shifted his attention towards the Racial Skills he''d obtained, specifically the one named [Defiance of a Thousand


    Aspirations].


    Reading through its description, the young man soon recalled the original version it was based off of, faintly nodding in understanding as he voiced his thoughts out.


    "Inparison to [Hundred Aspirations], [Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations] is definitely


    an upgrade in many ways."


    From the ratio of stats transformed to Points of Aspiration to the cooldown time it had,


    [Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations] could be considered an evolution to the original


    [Hundred Aspirations] one would get as a High Human.


    Though, what truly set [Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations] from it was the fact that one could convert more of one''s stats into Points of Aspiration as long as one ascended to a higher


    ss rank.


    On the other hand, [Hundred Aspirations] only allowed one to convert a portion of one''s stats to Points of Aspiration during their ascension to High Human.


    Deciding to actually make use of the Racial Skillter, Valyr soon looked over the passive skills he''d gained from his species, immediately nodding in satisfaction once he read over the description of the first one.


    As for the second passive that involved [yer of Ascendants], the young man was somewhat surprised that one''s species could affect the effects of a specific skill.


    Though, with a bit of rummaging through his treasure trove of memories, as well as the fact that the skill meshed well with the whole Defier of Fate thing, the second passive eventually made sense to him, thinking of it as a boon while fighting higher-leveled enemies.


    ''If I had this passive while I was fighting against Myth-level Void Rabbit without relying on my trump cards, I would''ve probably won faster,'' thought Valyr to himself. Eventually, his eyesnded on thest passive, which improved the [Basic Longevity] passive he previously had into a passive that was more potent than the former, but was half as potent than actual [Longevity]


    ''Does this mean that if I continue improving my species, this passive would eventually turn into [Longevity]?'' Looking at the final passive that extended his lifespan, Valyr could not help bute up with such thoughts.


    After all, [Basic Longevity], the passive he had before, was an inferior version of [Longevity],


    which only doubled his lifespan.


    On the other hand, [Longevity], which was what people throughout the universe sought after,


    extended one''s lifespan by five times.


    ''With my lifespan tripled... that means I could now potentially live for over a thousand years


    even without ascending to Rank 4.''


    Coming to this thought, it was no surprise that the young man began to calcte how long


    he''d live if he were to be a Legend with the same passive.


    The answer?


    Around 2,250 years.


    ''It''s seriously insane how simple it is to extend one''s lifespan.'' Letting out a sigh of wonder


    from the number he came up with, Valyr thought back to the book he''d read on lifespan back


    in the kingdom''s Myriad Archives.


    ''The fact that I now have a passive that better bolsters that effect makes it more insane.''


    Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr soon closed the screen he brought up before taking a nce


    outside the window.


    "Now then. Since I''ve already ascended my species..."


    "What should I do next?"

 Chapter 972: The Shortcomings of Atavism

    Chapter 972: The Shorings of Atavism


    ?


    "Should I continue focusing on the Records and reach the 3rd stage?" asked Valyr to himself. "Or should I try my hand at atavism now that I''ve be a fully-fledged High Human?"


    Of course, while these thoughts came to mind, Valyr also thought about forgoing the two choices instead and heading straight to the cksmith Guild toplete yet another weapon quota.


    ''But it''s not like Julian is rushing me. I could focus on the two first beforepleting another quota,'' thought the young man to himself not long after, eventually deciding to bring up information on the Records in his mind.


    Whoosh!


    Having already gone through the first two stages of the Records, Valyr had confidence that he would have no problems tackling the 3rd stage of the Records.


    However, thinking about the 3rd stage made him wonder whether his species would ascend by another intermediary tier.


    After all, he''d already ascended to a variant of High Humans after putting his own twist on the Records'' 2nd stage.


    Would the 3rd stage really have that much potency to push his species even higher on thedder?


    Whether or not the 3rd stage would allow him to ascend his species by another intermediary tier, Valyr still looked through the steps needed for him toplete the 3rd stage, only for him to frown once he began looking through it.


    "I think... I''ll have to pass on this for the meantime." Reading through the various steps that made up the 3rd stage of the Records, the young man gradually began to realize why the 3rd stage originally had the ability to advance his species.


    The 1st stage of the Records tackled the neural pathways of the body, the so-calledmunicationwork that allowed the various parts of the body to work together.


    On the other hand, the 2nd stage of the Records tackled the bone marrow, as well as the bones of the body. In other words, the frame that the other parts of the body would extend out of.


    As for the 3rd stage of the Records, the final stage that''s considered to be part of the foundation of the human body...


    It tackled the human brain.


    With all things considered, having the brain be formed as part of the foundational stages made a lot of sense if one were to talk about the human body.


    After all, the brain acted as themand center of the human body, working alongside the neural pathways to send out messages andmands that allowed every part of the body to work together.


    However, if one were to talk about the brain in terms of how easy it was to form, it was undoubtedly a far cry from the simplicity of the pathways and the bones that relied on the infusion of energy.


    ording to the information Valyr had on the 3rd stage of the Records, he would not only have to form the various neurons making up the brain, but also the synapses, as well as the connections it had to the neural pathways he''d created in the 1st stage.


    Considering how many neurons and synapses there were in an actual human body, Valyr immediately had an idea as to how long it would take him toplete the 3rd stage, even if the Records only needed him to form a small fraction of it.


    With how drastic the difficulty was increased between the 2nd and 3rd stages, the young man began to wonder how Vaughn did it, considering that the next three stages after that were possibly harder toplete.


    "I guess we''re going with atavism, then," said Valyr as he pushed thoughts involving the Records to the side for the meantime.


    Not long after, he brought up the information Sellifer had given him while he was in the inheritance, namely the second packet of information he''d given her.


    "How does one go through atavism anyway?" murmured the young man to himself as he began to read through it.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for Valyr to get a rough idea of how atavism worked, with Selliferying out the various steps to atavism in the packet of information he was reading.


    If one were to summarize the process of atavism, then it could be simplified into three steps: awakening, confirmation, and assimtion.


    As the first step, awakening involved rousing the ancestral traces underlying within one''s body. At the same time, it roused the slumbering potential within the body, making use of both to form a connection of sorts with the universe.


    Then, with the connection formed, one would move onto confirmation, which prompted the being undergoing atavism to take a trial given by the universe itself.


    If one were sessful in clearing the trial, then the being could proceed onto the final step of the atavism process, which was assimtion.


    However, if one failed in the trial, then it was highly likely for one to sumb to the injuries received during the trial and die.


    Then again, even if one survived the treacherous injuries inflicted by the universe during the trial, their chances of sess in a second attempt at atavism was abysmally low.


    In fact, it was the exact reason why many advised others hoping to undergo atavism to be certain of their first and only attempt.


    ''I wonder how the Atavists of Alkadran seeded in their attempts,'' thought the young man to himself as he arrived at this part, recalling that small group of yers who all sessfully underwent through atavism.


    Returning his train of thought back to the process of atavism, Valyr eventually found himself in front of the final step, assimtion.


    ''ording to Sellifer, some people also call this step the second awakening,'' thought the young man to himself, continuing to read through the packet to find out why.


    Eventually, he realized that the reason why others termed it that way was because the assimtion process was basically turning the temporary awakening done during the first step into something more permanent.


    Specifically, one would use the power obtained from seeding in the trial to permanently awaken the ancestral traces and the slumbering potential within the body, gradually having one''s ancestral traces be the dominant part of the body instead.


    ''Through that, one would be able to ascend one''s species by an entire tier.'' Valyr faintly nodded in understanding. ''However, it is also for that reason why one could only undergo


    through atavism once.''


    ''Though it has been proven that there exists primordial traces beneath one''s ancestral traces, the amount of such traces within the body is so minuscule that it would be considered fruitless for one to undergo a second atavism.''


    "Hmm..." Going over the steps of atavism he''d just read in his mind, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit, allowing his mind to go through various trains of thoughts rted to the topic. After a while, the young man opened his eyes, bringing up a certain piece of information Sellifer gave him as he ordered a sumptuous meal from the inn.


    "It''s been over a day since Ist ate something," muttered Valyr to himself at the thought, extending one of his palms outward as he began to form an esoteric rune in the air with Prime


    Azure Energy.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Though the rune he was forming appearedplex at first nce, Valyr felt that the rune was easier to condensepared to the rune the Records had him create during the 2nd stage.


    ''And then... infuse the rune with Prime Azure Energy.''


    Swoosh!


    With the rune in the airplete, Valyr proceeded to infuse it with a great amount of Prime Azure Energy, allowing the rune to soon radiate a certain sensation that could only be picked


    up by a specific being.


    Fwoosh!


    Thankfully, it did not take long for the rune to do its job as a thick strand of foreign Azure Energy from who knows where attached to it sometimeter.


    At the same time, a female voice began to resound in Valyr''s mind, prompting the young man to faintly smile as she began to speak.


    "I''m surprised that you''re already using themunication method I''ve given you," echoed Sellifer''s voice in his mind. "Hasn''t it only been a day or so since you left the Shadow ne?"


    "It has," responded Valyr through his thoughts, more than used to themunication method at this point. "However, I have something important to ask you."


    "It''s about the atavism method you''ve given me."


    "Oh? You''re already nning on tackling atavism?" As these words left Sellifer''s mouth,


    Valyr received the meal he ordered.


    "Yeah. I had a feeling ascending my species would be a quick way to improve my strength in preparation for the war." Continuing the conversation he had with Sellifer in his mind, the young man began to dig into his meal as he gave her a swift excuse.


    "I see," said Sellifer in response. "Since that''s the case, what species do you currently have


    right now?" "High Human," Valyr sinctly responded, continuing to savor every bite he took.


    "You''re already a High Human?" asked Sellifer back, her tone that of slight bewilderment before bing silent for a bit. "If so, you''re gonna have a problem, then." "...Why?" Hearing those words, Valyr stopped eating for a bit, instead focusing his attention


    on what Sellifer would say next.


    "Well, that''s because High Humans nurtured by the system have no ancestral traces to speak


    of," said Sellifer after a bit more silence.


    "In other words, the atavism method I''ve given you is practically useless."

 Chapter 973: The Path of Unsealing

    Chapter 973: The Path of Unsealing


    ?


    "Wait... really?" Listening to Sellifer''s words, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise.


    After all, in his mind, he expected the process of atavism to work no matter the circumstance.


    Though, as he went over her words in his once more, the young man eventually realized something she''d mistaken about him.


    Nevertheless, he still decided to continue the conversation in its current direction, feeling like the current topic was something he would learn a lot from.


    "Why is that?" Keeping the misunderstanding Sellifer had about him in mind, Valyr went ahead and asked his question, prompting Sellifer to go on a lengthy exnation in response.


    "What do you know about the path of Unsealing?"


    "Are we talking about the path of Unsealing when we evolve?" asked Valyr for rification, to which Sellifer responded with affirmation.


    "Uh..." Getting confirmation, the young man rummaged through his treasure trove of


    memories, eventuallying up with an answer that condensed everything he knew about it. "I don''t really know a lot about it."


    "But, from what I know, the path of Unsealing removes the racial shackles in one''s species, allowing one to ascend to a higher version of one''s original speciester on."


    "That''s more or less correct," said Sellifer in response, her tone giving Valyr the hint that she''d continue her exnation from there. "Amon example for the path of Unsealing would be the High Humans."


    "Remove the first three shackles of the human race and you''d be eligible in the system''s eyes to be a High Human."


    "If you go further and remove six shackles, you could go one step further and be a True Human," she continued.


    "And if you have great persistence and had the system''s help in unsealing all nine shackles of the human race, you''d be able to be a Primordial Human."


    Listening to her words, Valyr faintly nodded in agreement as her words matched up with what he knew.


    Though, as Sellifer continued her exnation with her next statement, the young man was left at a loss for words.


    "Many people use the human race as a reference for the path of Unsealing, but what people don''t know is that the path of Unsealing in species evolution is actually a path avable to every species."


    "Of course, the number of shackles one would remove to reach the ultimate version of one''s species differs, with weaker species need one to go through seven to nine shackles."


    "On the other hand, the strongest species would only need to remove three shackles to unlock their ultimate form, with even one shackle being removed already giving them ess to a far stronger form."


    "A good example of those would be the dragons," said Sellifer. "They''re only one shackle away from bing True Dragons, two shackles away from bing Elder Dragons, and three shackles away from bing Ancient Dragons."


    "What does that have to do with atavism, though?" asked Valyr in response,mitting everything Sellifer had told him so far to memory. "From what I''m getting, you''re just telling me that the path of Unsealing is... ah."


    "Are you finally getting what I''m trying to say?" Hearing Valyr stop himself in realization, Sellifer let out a bit ofughter as she decided to fill in the remaining nks.


    "Why I''m exining all of this to you is because... the shackles removed during the path of Unsealing is exactly the ancestral traces you attempt to awaken during atavism."


    "With that being said, by ascending as a High Human through the system, you forfeit all of the remaining traces of ancestry in your body, the racial shackles stopping you from reaching your ultimate form."


    "It''s a shame you decided to ascend as a High Human early through the system, but I don''t me you," she continued, letting out a faint sigh. "After all, with the war on Veldanyr still going on, you''d need all the strength you''d possibly get."


    "Who says I ascended as a High Human through the system?" Feeling like he''d learned enough from Sellifer''s exnation, Valyr decided to tell her the truth. "Aren''t there other ways to be a High Human?"


    "Hmm?" Listening to Valyr''s words, Sellifer became confused. "The only other way to be a High Human is to be born as one, which would indeed still leave ancestral traces for you to undergo atavism."


    "However, you were born as a normal human... well, a slightly unique human due to your connection with Vaughn, but that information doesn''t help in the current situation."


    "Wait..." Thankfully, a bit of silence was all Sellifer needed to put two and two things together in her mind, letting out a sigh of slight exasperation once she realized what was going on. "You''re telling me you became a High Human through your own efforts?"


    "I''ll have to thank Vaughn for giving me the method," said Valyr in response, causing Sellifer to let out a sigh in response.


    "Even if all he gave you was just the method... you know, you''re seriously reminding me of Vaughn a lot."


    "Ever since I''ve taught you how to wield Azure Energy, I''ve always had that thought."


    "In any case, since you became a High Human through your efforts, that changes a lot of things." Not wanting to exin to Valyr the reason why she had that thought, Sellifer swiftly changed the topic of the conversation back to what it was.


    "As long as you follow the steps I''ve given you back then and survive the trial the universe throws at you, then there''s a high chance for you to seed in undergoing atavism," she told


    him.


    "However, if you want to make sure that you''re more or less guaranteed to undergo atavism, it would be preferable for you to go through it only once you feel like you''re close to breaching through the next tier of species."


    "Thankfully, there are many ways to enhance one''s species up to that point, such as pills, elixirs, fruits, and other natural treasures."


    "Of course, you could also rely on techniques," said Sellifer, hinting to Valyr the method he''d gotten from Vaughn. "But they generally take more time toplete if you''re in a race


    against time."


    "Anyways, is that all you wanted to ask me?"


    Hearing that question, Valyr replied back that it was indeed the only question he had to ask her, prompting them to end their conversation there.


    With Sellifer telling him to be wary of the Serpent Maiden''s motives after that, Valyr soon felt the foreign strand of Azure Energy attached to the rune disappear a few secondster.


    With that, he dispelled the rune he''d created, returning his attention not long after to the now cold te of food he''d left half-eaten sometime ago.


    Finishing off the remainder of his meal in a matter of minutes, the young man made his way to the bathroom to freshen himself up, changing into a set of clothes as he went over the choices he had in mind.


    "I could proceed with the 3rd stage of the Records, undergo atavism... or head to the cksmith Guild toplete another quota."


    Briefly taking a look out the window to see that the day was still young, it did not take long for


    the young man to make his decision, heading out of the inn after making sure he brought


    everything he needed with him.


    "Time to make a trip to the cksmith Guild."


    "Again."

 Chapter 974: Under A Week

    Chapter 974: Under A Week


    ?


    "You''ve be stronger again."


    After giving Julian a heads-up that he was heading to the cksmith Guild to fulfill another quota, the young man did not take long to arrive at the ce, immediately heading straight to the man''s workshop after that.


    "What have you been doing for the past couple days you were gone for you to grow so much?" asked Julian, cing his hammer to the side for the meantime as he looked at Valyr from head to toe.


    "It''s like a different person is standing in front of me every few days."


    "I made a short trip to the Spearman Guild," said Valyr in response after letting out a bit ofughter. "I met up with Elder Noel."


    "Noel, huh..." Surprisingly, the mention of the old man was more than enough for Julian to understand what was going on, faintly nodding after bing silent for a minute. "Well, if it involves him, then I guess it shouldn''t be surprising."


    "Anyways, you''re here to ept another quota?" As Julian asked Valyr this question, thetter replied with a faint nod, slightly smiling as Julian brought up his screen.


    "You could double the number of weapons I need to make if you want," said Valyr while the man was interacting with his screen, causing thetter to briefly pause what he was doing as he looked back at the young man.


    "Are you sure?" Julian asked Valyr, his eyebrow raised in both curiosity and slight doubt. "I know you''re able to forge 50 weapons in just a few days, but forgoing sleep for double that time is..."


    "It''s fine," assured Valyr, giving the middle-aged man a slight chuckle. "I''m confident enough that I''d be able to forge that many weapons without sleep."


    "If you really feel bad for me, then you could just extend the deadline to what it was before. 10 days, if I remember correctly?"


    With Valyr giving off the feeling that he was not going to take no for an answer, Julian inwardly let out a sigh as he adjusted the quest he was about to give to what Valyr had in mind, prompting a notification to resound in thetter''s mind sometimeter.


    Viewing the quest he''d received from Julian, Valyr smiled in satisfaction after seeing that the man had indeed increased his quota to a total of 100 weapons.


    Focusing his attention on the quest''s deadline, the young man felt his heart warm up after seeing it be set to 2 weeks, even though he told the man that 10 days was more than enough time for him to finish.


    Though, what truly caught his attention was the fact that Julian had increased the rewards of the quest even further, giving him an additional 10,000 Technology Points and merit points for every 50 weapons he made through the quest.


    ''In total, I''d get 100,000 points of each once I finish this quest,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, wondering to himself once more whether or not such a reward could be considered too much.


    But, as the man that set the quest himself had said nothing about it, Valyr decided to push such thoughts aside, thanking Julian for acquiescing to his request as he decided to bring up the various questions he had in mind with him.


    "Any update on the meeting with the directors?" Closing the screen he''d briefly brought up, Valyr shifted his gaze towards Julian as he voiced out the thoughts in his mind.


    "None as of yet." Julian shook his head in response. "Every director is busy forging equipment for the war at the moment, especially now that the east defensive line is close to breaching through the orcs."


    "However, we did agree that we''d meet up in a few days to talk about the types of weapons we''d need to focus on for the war efforts," he continued, looking back at the young man. "I''d be able to bring you by then."


    Nodding in response to the answer the man gave him, Valyr then shifted the topic of their conversation to the other thought he had as Julian decided to resume his forging. "Do all of the weapons used in the war really need to be forged by the cksmith Guild?"


    "Or are we justcking enough weapons to supply those at the frontlines?"


    "Thetter," replied Julian, briefly giving Valyr a slightly bitter smile before returning his attention to what he was forging. "Even though all of the cksmith Guild branches are trying our best to equip every person out in the frontlines with equipment, we still end uping short."


    "It''s not that the branches are ill-equipped orcking in manpower, it''s just that more people are enlisting themselves to the frontlines than expected," continued the man as he let out a low sigh.


    "Of course, that''s a good thing, but it''s bing more and more difficult to keep up with the demand sometimes."


    "I see." Listening to Julian''s words, Valyr went silent for a bit before deciding to hint to Julian the cache of weapons that were still in the inheritance. "So, does that mean you''d ept weapons not forged from the cksmith Guild?"


    "If it''s only one or two, or if one does it to shirk away from the responsibility ofpleting the quota, then probably not." Julian thought over the question for a bit before eventually


    nodding.


    "But if it''s more than enough to help out in the war efforts, then I don''t see why not." "Alright." Though Valyr still had another topic in mind he had to ask Julian, the young man felt that he''d already taken more than enough of Julian''s time.


    With that, Valyr eventually left the man''s workshop, telling the man before leaving that he had something to say to him once he was done with the quota.


    After that, he made his way to the workshop he''d upied for all of his forging sessions, taking in a deep breath to prepare himself for the monotonous task he was about to embark


    on.


    Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, Valyr soon got to work, making use of all the skills in his arsenal to go through the increased weapon quota he''d intentionally given himself.


    Surprisingly, the amount of time it took Valyr toplete that quota...


    Was just under six days.

 Chapter 975: Small Talk with Julian

    Chapter 975: Small Talk with Julian


    ?


    "Whew."


    cing the Hammer of Beginnings back into his spatial bracelet, Valyr wiped the sweat off his forehead as he turned his head to look at the pile of weapons he''d forged over the past week or


    so.


    "Even though I''ve already forged 100 weapons in total, I still feel like I could forge around 20 more weapons before really feeling tired," said the young man to himself, chuckling as he felt pride while admiring each weapon he made one by one.


    At the same time, he thought about how long he''d been up this time around, finding it somewhat surprising that he didn''t feel any hint of lethargy yet. "I may havested a week before, but I was definitely pushing it that time."


    "Inparison, I still feel like I could go another day or two before feeling sleepy," muttered Valyr to himself as he thought out loud. "I guess this is an additional side effect to bing a High Human."


    Though it seemed like Valyr had told Julian to increase his quota to 100 weapons because he knew what a High Human was capable of, the young man actually did it because of the opposite.


    He wanted to know what a High Human was capable of.


    And unsurprisingly, a High Human was able to do a lot more.


    From the amount of stamina he had, to the level of dexterity and craftsmanship he''d put into every weapon he forged, Valyr felt that all of them had undergone a drastic change now that he was a High Human.


    Then again, aside from his evolution as a High Human, there was one other thing that helped him out during the forging process, reducing his forging time per weapon by a considerable degree.


    "[Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations]."


    Ding!


    Activating his racial skill, Valyr heard the system respond by sending out a notification sound, prompting a screen containing text to appear before him not long after.


    [Calcting your total base stats...]


    [Converting a portion of your base stats into Points of Aspiration...]


    [You currently have 328 Points of Aspiration. 328 of these points have been currently allocated towards the DEX stat. Would you like to reallocate your Points of Aspiration?]


    "Allocate half of my points on AGI." Looking at his screen for a bit in contemtion, Valyr eventually responded to the question. "Have the remaining half remain on DEX." Ding!


    [Your Points of Aspiration has been reallocated.]


    [164 of your points have been allocated to the AGI stat.]


    [164 of your points have been allocated to the DEX stat.]


    Faintly nodding in satisfaction after receiving a response from the system, Valyr soon felt some of the strength in his body head towards a specific part, making him feel as if his body had be lighter than before.


    While he was in the midst of adjusting to his newly reallocated stats, Julian arrived at his workshop with a slightly doubtful expression on his face. "You really forged 100 weapons in just a week?"


    Remembering the immense disbelief Julian had the first time he forged 50 weapons in less than half a week, Valyr merely let out a chuckle as he pointed at the pile of weapons he''d made beside the anvil. "Would this be enough proof for you?"


    Shifting his gaze towards where the young man was pointing, the middle-aged man immediately went silent as he moved closer to the pile of newly-forged weapons.


    Utilizing his identification skill to look at the weapons in detail, Julian gradually went through each and every weapon, eventually prompting him to look at Valyr with a hint of awe in his eyes.


    "Even though you''ve already shown me how you''re able to do it, it still astounds me that you could do so much in such a short amount of time," said Julian after a bit of silence, letting out a slightly tired sigh.


    "Once again, thank you for helping out on the war efforts, Valyr." Closing his eyes for a bit, Julian soon looked at Valyr directly in the eye, only to send a message to one of the guild''s staff members to haul away the weapons thetter forged.


    "You should really get some rest now," said the man to Valyr after that. "I don''t know how your eyes still aren''t on the verge of closing, but let the cksmith Guild handle this part." "You could fulfill another quota once you think you''re ready enough to do so."


    "Alright." Though he felt confident enough to do another 50 weapon quota even though he''d just finished making 100 weapons in a row, Valyr decided to follow Julian''s advice for the meantime as he nodded.


    However, before leaving the workshop for good, the young man felt that now was the right time to ask Julian about the other topics he hadn''t talked about in their previous conversation. "Say, Julian." Taking a few steps out of his workshop, Valyr looked back at Julian. "You still have the remaining money I''ve gotten from that auction, right?"


    "I do." Briefly raising his eyebrows in curiosity, Julian soon nodded in response. "After buying that Wyvern Core you asked me to buy, as well as that small task involving thatpanion of yours, what was originally 30 tinum cards is now down to 8 tinum cards."


    "I see." Mulling over Julian''s words for a bit, Valyr eventually voiced out the idea he had in mind. "Would 8 tinum cards be enough to get myself a sizable plot ofnd?"


    "It depends on the actual size, as well as the location of thend," replied Julian, nodding not long after. "But if your criteria isn''t pretty strict, then it''s more than enough to get one. Why do you ask?"


    "I n on using thatnd to establish a forge, as well as an actual ce to live for me and mypanions," said Valyr in response after pondering over his words for a bit, omitting all of the other reasons he had in mind as to why he wanted it.


    "After all, even though the Imperial Production Guild hasn''t kicked me out from staying in that inn they gave me, it feels awkward to still be making use of their goodwill up to this


    day."


    Listening to his words, Julian went silent for a bit, closing his eyes before opening up a screen to message a few things to someone.


    After interacting with his screen for a while, the man eventually looked back at Valyr and said, "I''ve gotten a friend of mine to help you out with that request of yours."


    "It might take him a few days to find ces under your budget since we''re still in the war, but let me assure you that he won''t disappoint you once you see his selection."


    "And before you say anything, it''s the least I can do for what you''ve contributed to the guild so far," said Julian at the end, interrupting Valyr before the young man could even say thanks


    to him. "So, anything else you need my help with before getting some rest?" Letting out a bit ofughter as he noticed the slightly dumbfounded expression on Valyr''s face, Julian decided to ask thetter this question, getting the feeling that he still had more to ask.


    "Well... there is one thing that''s been on my mind for quite some time..." said Valyr after a bit of contemtion, recalling his return from the inheritance over a couple weeks ago.


    "What is it?" Julian asked back.


    "What happened to the orc I brought along with me back then?"

 Chapter 976: A Trip to the Inheritance

    Chapter 976: A Trip to the Inheritance


    ?


    Seeing that Julian was looking at him in confusion after asking his question, Valyr decided to continue his statement to jog the former''s memory. "The orc''s name was Zaurog, if I remember correctly."


    "Ah. The one that could speak our tongue." Thankfully, that statement was more than enough for Julian to understand what Valyr wanted to know, prompting him to be silent as he pondered over the words he''d say.


    "After I had some of the guild''s staff members take care of Zaurog for a while, I enlisted the help of those at the frontlines in having the orc work as a spy for our race," Julian told Valyr, to which the young man nodded in response as he continued listening.


    "Fortunately, that orc you brought immediately yielded to our requests of obtaining information on the orcs, promising to cooperate with the humans as much as possible."


    "To be honest, the fact that Zaurog was more than willing to aid us in the war efforts is quite surprising," said Julian, letting out a chuckle as he nced at Valyr. "I suppose you had a hand as to why the orc''s like that?"


    In response, Valyr merely smiled, recalling the sheer dominance he showed in front of Zaurog just when he had gotten out of the inheritance.


    "What''s Zaurog doing now, then?" Not wanting to talk about what happened the moment he got out of the inheritance in detail with Julian, Valyr decided to move the topic along its natural path with a question.


    "Currently, he''s back with the other orcs, acting as our liaison deep within their ranks," replied Julian, his expression now slightly serious.


    "Frankly, I''m doubtful that he''ll keep sending us the information we need as time passes since we''d only been able to teach him everything he needed to know within a couple of weeks."


    "Then again, the frontlines say that he''s still cooperating with us every once in a while, which is good," the man continued. "In any case, it''s not like we''d lose out much if he were to defect back to the orcs. There are other ways out there to gather information, after all."


    "I see." Though asking about Zaurog was more of an impulsive thought than intentional, Valyr still nodded in understanding, feeling his curiosity of the orc''s current situation be satiated.


    Talking a bit more about the war after that, the young man eventually asked if he get a way to contact Zaurog, thinking to himself that the connection with the orc would prove useful once he made his way to the frontlines.


    After all, it would allow him to finally make headway into An''xhur''s quest as long as he knew what he was doing.


    Thanking Julian after the man had readily given him the information he needed, it was only then did Valyr finally leave the workshop, feeling a hint of lethargy hit him on his way back to the inn.


    Grabbing a bite from a small eatery along the way, Valyr eventually arrived at his ce somewhere around the afternoon, feeling relief wash over his body as he made his way to his part of the room.


    Lying on the bed, it did not take long for the fatigue he''d been ignoring during the forging process to kick in, causing him to fall into a deep sleep not long after.


    -


    "That was a good sleep."


    Feeling his consciousness finally return to the waking world, Valyr slowly got out of bed, giving his body and mind the time it needed to be fully awake before going through his daily routine.


    Naturally, with how often he''d gone through his routine at this point, it only took a little bit over 10 minutes for him to finish, changing into a set of clean clothes as he got out of the bathroom.


    Ordering a bit of breakfast for himself from the inn, he then brought up his status screen to see how much had passed since he''d slept, letting out a faint sigh of relief after seeing that he''d only slept through the whole day yesterday.


    "Ever since I''ve slept for three days straight, I''ve always made it a habit to check how much time has passed while I was asleep," muttered the young man to himself, letting out a self- deprecating chuckle as he closed his screen.


    Gazing out of the window to admire the scenery of the kingdom in silence, Valyr eventually heard a knock from his door a few minutester, immediately signaling to him that his breakfast had arrived.


    Receiving the breakfast, he then devoured the entire thing in a matter of minutes, letting out a sigh of satisfaction the moment he was done.


    "I guess I''ve held it off for quite some time already." Thinking about what he should do next, Valyr soon recalled the conversation he had with Julian regarding his search for a ce he could call his own.


    With the thought in mind, Valyr brought up the chat function in his mind, readying it as he soon willed a part of his mind to make contact with a certain ce.


    Swoosh!


    Within seconds, a rift to a somewhat barren world appeared before him, causing him to slightly smile as the sight beyond the rift reminded him of a lot of things.


    "Time to make a trip to the inheritance," said Valyr to himself, disappearing from his room as he stepped through the rift soon after.


    ...


    Whoosh!


    Arriving back at the inheritance he''d spent quite a lot of time in, Valyr went ahead and took a look at his surroundings to figure out where he was currently.


    "I''m at the ins," surmised Valyr once he felt he''d looked around for long enough, activating [Flight of the Azure Dragon] after that to obtain a better vantage point.


    Swoosh!


    With the azure dragon forming underneath his feet, the young man soon found himself hovering over tens of meters in the air, prompting him to nod after he confirmed his earlier


    hypothesis.


    Orienting himself to head towards the west quadrant of the city ruins, Valyr then made use of the chat function he opened before entering the rift, sending a message to a certain person


    with it.


    "Vlrvadh, tell the Sapient One that I n on discussing a few things with him."


    "Also, could you wait for me at this specific location? Thanks."


    After making sure that the other side had received his messages, it was only then did the young man zoom through the air on the azure dragon, arriving at the west quadrant not even five minutester.

 Chapter 977: A Proposition for the Future

    Chapter 977: A Proposition for the Future


    ?


    "We''re here."


    With Vlrvadh waiting for him at one of the narrow corridors making up Ecalos, it did not take long for the two to arrive at Dnal fo Nigiro, prompting Valyr toe face-to-face with the Forsaken Race once more.


    Though, unlike before, where they looked at him with either curiosity or slight disdain, almost every being there was looking at him with awe as he and Vlrvadh made their way to where Ryvrthe stayed.


    ''Who knew the effects from Ryvrthe''s quest would be this pronounced?'' thought Valyr to himself, noticing that the gazes of some of the Forsaken Race had already gone beyond mere awe, giving him the feeling that they were worshiping him in some way.


    Although he was curious as to how far his reputation went since his reputation in both Ecalos and Dnal fo Nigiro were maxed out, Valyr saved the thought for another time as he and Vlrvadh arrived in front of Ryvrthe''s ce.


    "I''ve already been informed by the Sapient One beforehand that you''re free to enter on your own," sent Vlrvadh to Valyr through the system, looking at him with a slightly fervent gaze. "Is there anything else you need my help with?"


    Pondering over his question for a bit, Valyr eventually thought back to the reason why he made a trip to the inheritance in the first ce.


    With a faint smile, he then sent back a reply that made Vlrvadh''s eyes slightly widen in response.


    "Try asking some of the people you know if they would like to venture beyond Dnal fo Nigiro."


    "By that, you mean...?" Bing silent for a bit, it took some time for Vlrvadh to send a message back, his bodynguage currently that of excitement and expectation.


    "It doesn''t just extend to the surface," replied Valyr, a slight smile now adorning his lips. "They''lle along with me back to where Ie from."


    "To Veldanyr."


    As those words appeared in front of Vlrvadh''s screen, it took a while for the man to process the words Valyr had sent him.


    Though, once he felt like he''d fully wrapped his head around the young man''s message, Vlrvadh immediately gave Valyr a look of excitement as he replied that he''ll do the task to the best of his abilities.


    Letting out a bit ofughter as he watched Vlrvadh swiftly make his way back to the center of Dnal fo Nigiro, Valyr soon turned around to face the entrance to Ryvrthe''s ce, eventually arriving the area that most of the Forsaken Race rarely stepped foot in.


    "It''s only been over a day or so since you''ve left the inheritance." Looking around to see where Ryvrthe was, Valyr eventually saw the man making his way towards him with a faint smile.


    "How much time has passed outside?"


    "Around a month, give or take," said Valyr in response, reciprocating the goodwill Ryvrthe had just shown him. "Anyways, I''m sure you have an idea as to why I''vee here, right?"


    "Does it have something to do with what Vaughn and I talked about?" asked Ryvrthe back, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    Faintly nodding back at those words, Ryvrthe let out a faint sigh before giving Valyr a slightly bitter smile. "Since that''s the case, then the words I''ve told Vaughn still stand."


    "You''re the owner of the inheritance. Technically, we''re just beings informally settling within your owned territory."


    "Whatever you n to do with us, there''s no reason for us to reject."


    Listening to the words that came out of Ryvrthe''s mouth, Valyr could not help but scratch the back of his head as he let out a low sigh.


    After all, from the way Ryvrthe spoke, the man was making it seem like he and the other Forsaken Ones were merely objects he could control on a whim, servants that had no right of freedom.


    Of course, with how he''d interacted with Vlrvadh and Ryvrthe back then, as well as how Vaughn talked about them with him in great detail, such thoughts had not even crossed Valyr''s mind at all.


    "You''re making it seem like all the interactions we''ve had so far were for nothing," said Valyr, looking at Ryvrthe with a wry smile. "I may be the owner of the inheritance, but I never had any intention of forcing any control on you or the others whatsoever."


    "Even if I did ask something from you and the others, it would be on the level of equals, not as that of a superior and a subordinate."


    "..." Listening to Valyr''s words, Ryvrthe eventually looked down at the ground in silence as the gears in his mind continued to turn.


    At some point, the man let out a wide sigh before looking back at Valyr with an apologetic smile. "I didn''t believe it at first when Vaughn told me about it, but your words just now have definitely put my heart at ease."


    Hearing those words, it did not take long for Valyr to put two and two together in his mind, slightly frowning as he asked, "Wait... that was a test?"


    "Mostly," replied Ryvrthe, continuing to adorn a smile. "But I still partly meant what I said. After all, we''ve been informally settling in this ce for a long time. That fact hasn''t changed."


    "In any case, I''m sure that''s not the reason why you''re here," said the man after that, pushing the topic of informal settlement aside for the meantime. "If what Vaughn told me back then was correct, you wouldn''t mind having me and the other Forsaken Ones leave the inheritance?"


    "I wouldn''t." Valyr shook his head. "However, I wouldn''t be able to bring all of you out in one go. After all, I''m still in the process of getting a ce that you and the others could stay in for the meantime."


    "Aside from that, I''ll also need to procure skills that would allow you and the others to blend with the other humans," the young man continued. "With that, I''ll probably be able to only bring you and a few of the other Forsaken Ones out for the meantime."


    "I see," said Ryvrthe after some time, nodding in understanding.


    Looking back at Valyr, he then asked, "Is there a reason why you want us to leave the inheritance?"


    "There are three reasons, actually." Valyr did not beat around the bush. "First off, all of you deserve to return to Veldanyr, considering how long all of you have been holed up in this


    ce."


    "Even without any other motives, I still would''ve probably helped you leave this ce."


    "The second reason is that Vaughn told me that the knowledge you have would be able to help me out with what I have in mind," continued the young man.


    "What''s thest reason, then?" asked Ryvrthe after that, his curiosity now more than piqued.


    "I''m going to need some manpower for an idea I n to do long-term," said Valyr in


    response.


    "And that would be...?" Ryvrthe raised his eyebrow in curiosity, to which Valyr responded


    with just two words.


    "A faction."

 Chapter 978: Laying Out the Groundwork

    Chapter 978: Laying Out the Groundwork


    ?


    "Now that I think about it, calling it a faction doesn''t right."


    "It would be better to call it an alliance."


    Even though the thought of forming his own alliance was something he considered he''d do at the very end of everything, it wasn''t as if he''d forgotten the reason why he wanted to form an alliance in the first ce.


    The final battle.


    Due to their side of the final battle not being united enough to defend against the onught of the opposing side, they were easily wiped out, rendering the they lived in a shell of its former self.


    With that, Valyr was taking the initiative to form an alliance beforehand that would act as the one uniting everyone against those that would oppose them at the final battle.


    Then again, the reason why Valyr held back on forming the alliance at the beginning of his journey through Veldanyr was because he did not have the necessary strength nor the resources to establish one.


    Of course, trying to establish one now was a different story.


    Though he was still considered to be a peak Rank 3 ss holder, hisbat ability had the potential to exceed Legends, even giving him the ability to fight against a couple of Myth- level beings if need be.


    As for resources, he could gain ess to those in spades as long as he forged a couple weapons that were strong enough to garner the interest of many.


    For reference, the ten pieces of Rare+ grade equipment he sold through the cksmith Guild had garnered him a profit of 300 tinum coins.


    On the other hand, the Epic+ grade spear he''d sold through the auction was able to fetch a final price of 30 tinum cards.


    In other words, 3,000 tinum coins.


    Aside from that, he felt like he could easily garner support for his alliance with the help of Julian and Noel, allowing the name of the alliance to spread throughout the continent.


    Plus, as long as he used the name of the alliance while he was fighting against the orcs on the frontlines, its prestige would spread even further, making it a lucrative organization for others to join.


    "An alliance, huh?" Ryvrthe pondered over Valyr''s words, rubbing his chin for a bit. "What''s the goal of the alliance, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "Hmm..." Though he''d already expected the man''s question, Valyr still pondered over the question, choosing his words wisely. "For now, think of it as an organization that''s focused on keeping Veldanyr safe."


    "Keeping Veldanyr safe... how?" asked Ryvrthe back, wondering if Valyr was forming an alliance against beings beyond Veldanyr.


    With that, the young man decided to give Ryvrthe a brief overview of what was going on in Veldanyr at the moment, causing the man''s expression to be somewhat grim by the time he was done.


    "We''re currently fighting a war against beings called... orcs?" asked Ryvrthe to Valyr, making sure his train of thought was correct. "And the humans of Veldanyr are currently on the losing end?"


    "Currently, it''s still more or less even," said Valyr in response. "But it won''t be long until the scales tip towards the orcs'' favor."


    "How has it gotten to this point?" Ryvrthe looked at Valyr with confusion. "I''ve heard from Vaughn during our conversation that he''d helped humans get to where they are now."


    "Even though they don''t have ess to technology as advanced as what we had back then, don''t they have ess to technology sufficiently advanced enough to fight back?"


    "What age of technology do you think the humans of Veldanyr are at right now?" asked Valyr in response to the man''s words, understanding the man''s current train of thought.


    Pondering over it for a bit, Ryvrthe briefly looked into Valyr''s eyes before confidently replying, "The Machine Age, at the very least."


    "Try an even earlier age," said Valyr in response, equipping the True Wyvern Armor he''d yet to repair through the cksmith Guild.


    "...Surely it''s not below the Age of Scientific Revolution?" replied Ryvrthe after a bit of pondering, knowing that Valyr''s actions were deliberate.


    "Even earlier than that." Valyr gave him a bitter smile. "With all things considered, human technology is currently at the end of the Early Middle Ages."


    "..." Hearing those words, Ryvrthe immediately went silent, closing his eyes for a bit as his expression gradually contorted into a frown.


    By the time he opened his eyes, the man let out a long and exasperated sigh before looking back at Valyr. "I think I now understand why Vaughn told me that you wouldn''t mind me and the others leaving the inheritance."


    "Well, if that''s the case, then so be it," said Ryvrthe not long after, his expression now that of determination. "Rather than let the knowledge I''ve umted throughout these years be kept here, I''d rather have it be of great use instead."


    "I''m guessing that''s also part of the reason why you''ve decided to tell me you want to form an alliance with me and the others?" asked the man after that, to which Valyr nodded without hesitation.


    "Well, it''s not like we''ll actually be starting from scratch," said Valyr in response to Ryvrthe''s words, bringing out the arquebus he''d forged from his spatial bracelet. "I do have knowledge of more advanced technology thanks to the inheritance."


    "A modified matchlock arquebus." Ryvrthe''s eyes widened in slight surprise as he immediately figured out what Valyr brought out. "Back when Veldanyr was still in its heyday, that would''ve been considered a relic of ancient past."


    "But to think that the weapon you''ve forged is now at the forefront of ranged warfare," continued the man, letting out a slightly mocking chuckle after that. "How far does your knowledge of technology extend, if I might ask?"


    "The First Industrial Revolution," replied Valyr, eliciting a look of surprise to appear on Ryvrthe''s face. "However, if you''re asking me what age of technology I could readily apply, then it would probably hover around the Renaissance Age."


    "The Renaissance Age, huh..." Rubbing his chin once more, the gears in Ryvrthe''s mind began to madly turn as he briefly nced at the various items within his space. "I think we can slowly work our way from that."


    "In any case, before we start talking about establishing an alliance of sorts, the other Forsaken Ones should learn about the currentnguage just like I did," he continued.


    "I could make use of the device I used back when we first met to do so, but the amount of energy needed to power it is more than what''s left."


    "In other words, you want me to find a way to generate electricity," replied Valyr after thinking about it for a bit, making Ryvrthe pause for a bit before eventually nodding in


    response.


    "I''m guessing Vaughn taught you about the concept of electricity, but yes. We need to get our hands on electricity generation before we can continue," said the man. "Then again, electricity isn''t just something that can only be used to recharge the device I used."


    "As long as we put our mind to it, with the help of electricity..."


    "We could possibly restore human technology back to its former glory."

 Chapter 979: Heading Back to Astarto

    Chapter 979: Heading Back to Astarto


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Stepping out of the rift he''d created, Valyr soon found himself back at the room he was staying as he waved goodbye to Ryvrthe on the other side.


    Closing the rift once he''d fully passed through, he then brought up his status screen to see how much time had passed since he entered the inheritance, bitterly smiling the moment he found out. "An entire day passed, just like that."


    "To think that I''ve only been in the inheritance for a couple of hours in total," murmured the young man to himself soon after with a slight chuckle, thinking about how most of that time was spent drafting ns with Ryvrthe regarding the future.


    With how long the two had been talking about the alliance and how they''d make use of it to help the human race fight against the orcs, there was no doubt in Valyr''s mind that the Ryvrthe was on board with the alliance idea.


    Of course, before they could establish the alliance, they first needed a base of operations, which Valyr was already working on with the inquiry he made to Julian.


    Once that was done, he then needed to find a way to generate electricity to power the device that helped Ryvrthe learn the currentnguage of Veldanyr.


    Fortunately, both he and Ryvrthe already had ideas on how they were going to do that, keeping in mind the current circumstances as they formted a n of action that felt highly likely to seed.


    Though there were already methods to generate electricity before the more modern ages of technology, most of them were experimental at best, leading to an output that wasn''t really suitable for what they had nned.


    However, that all changed when the Second Industrial Revolution came around, introducing the existence of the electric dynamo.


    Specifically, an electric dynamo transformed the mechanical movements of an engine, like a steam engine, into electrical energy, taking on the form of direct current.


    Though electricity in the form of direct current would hamper the twoter on if they nned on transmitting it over long distances, the two still felt that the energy was more than enough to meet their needs for the moment, especially since they only needed to charge the device.


    ''I just need to create a steam engine first before unlocking the advancements needed to create an electric dynamo,'' thought the young man to himself, going through the information he had regarding various eras of technology in his mind.


    Thankfully, steam engines were an invention that came before the electric dynamo, bing one of the main reasons why the age of the First Industrial Revolution came to be.


    ''I''ll probably only start looking into steam engines in detail once I hear back from Julian regarding my inquiry,'' said the young man to himself as he sat down on a nearby chair.


    ''Then again, it''ll probably end up with me creating a Neen steam engine.'' Valyr shrugged his shoulders at the thought. ''But if I unlock the necessary advancements in the Second Industrial Revolution, I might be able to create a Watt steam engine.''


    Pushing the thoughts of electricity generation to the side for the meantime, the young man then thought about the other things he talked with Ryvrthe, specifically the discussion they had about weapons for war.


    After he found out that Valyr had the knowledge of technology up to the First Industrial Revolution, Ryvrthe immediately urged him to improve his arquebus to utilize the most advanced firing mechanism he had ess to.


    Having ess to knowledge of the First Industrial Revolution, the most advanced firing mechanism Valyr had ess to was none other than the caplock mechanism, which was the exact same mechanism that dominated Earth during its early modern days.


    ''At some point, most of the military on Earth switched to using electromaic weapons, but a considerable portion of people still have those antique weaponsying around,'' thought the young man to himself as he briefly recalled his past life.


    ''In any case, I need to upgrade my arquebus to use the wheel-lock mechanism first, then have it use the flintlock mechanism.''


    ''Only after that can I attempt forging a firearm that makes use of the caplock mechanism.'' Continuing to think about the caplock mechanism, Valyr soon recalled the reason why Ryvrthe urged him to make use of the mechanism as fast as possible.


    ''ording to him, he would tinker with the caplock mechanism in his spare time back then, pushing it to its very limits even though Veldanyr at the time already had ess to far more advanced weaponry,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself.


    ''I''m guessing he''ll probably give me a blueprint I could use with the mechanism?''


    As this thought came to mind, Valyr imagined that Ryvrthe had knowledge of a firearm that was more simr to what Earth had in its early modern days, but could be crafted with the technology of an even earlier age.


    Though he wondered whether something like that was actually possible, it would be a lie if Valyr said he didn''t hope that Ryvrthe had something like that up his sleeve, considering the great amount of knowledge the man had umted throughout the years.


    Feeling like he''d thought about his conversation with Ryvrthe for long enough, Valyr eventually shifted his thoughts to ponder over what he should do next, wondering if he should head to the cksmith Guild again toplete yet another quota.


    Fortunately, it was at that moment that Valyr recalled a couple of messages he''d received over a week ago, opening up the chat function to make sure he hadn''t recalled wrongly. Wryly smiling as he realized he''d told them that he''d be heading to where they were in a few days, Valyr decided to message them once more, assuring them that he''d be heading to where they were within the day.


    Chatting a bit more with them after that, a slight smile soon adorned Valyr''s face as he made his way out of the inn.


    Briefly ncing at the set of True Wyvern Armor he''d yet to repair all this time, the young man soon made his way to the cksmith Guild, muttering a few things to himself along the


    way.


    "First, I''ll head to the cksmith Guild to repair my armor. I might possibly inquire with Julian on the materials needed to upgrade it after that."


    "Then, once I''m done with that..."


    "I''ll make my way to Astarto Vige."

 Chapter 980: Astarto Town

    Chapter 980: Astarto Town


    ?


    Astarto Town, within a neatly decorated office.


    "Do you think he''lle?" As this question left her mouth, Alfaera looked at Tristan with slight uncertainty. "After all, thest time we asked him toe to help defend against a monster tide, he ignored it."


    "More like the messages we sent him around that time weren''t received," replied Tristan back, letting out a slight sigh after that. "Fortunately, we found outter on that the cksmith Guild had given him a special mission around that time."


    "Then again, if I were to find out that he..." Just as the man arrived at this train of thought, Tristan stopped himself for a bit before deciding not to continue it any further.


    Shaking his head, he then gave Alfaera a reassuring smile, though he was unsure whether the target of that reassurance was really her.


    "In any case, don''t worry too much," said Tristan to Alfaera, wanting to uplift the current mood of their conversation. "After all, thest time we asked him to help us out on the monster tide, he dide and visit us."


    "In fact, he even did most of the defending that time."


    "Then again, he did message us earlier that he''de to town within the day," he continued, only to gaze out of the window near him after that.


    "Though, I do admit I''m starting to wonder what his definition of ''within the day'' means." Coincidentally, just as Alfaera let out a sigh in response to Tristan''s words, a knock echoed from the other side of the office door, prompting the two to smoothen their expression out. After that, Alfaera allowed the person knocking toe in, revealing a man in histe teens that wore clothing made for forging.


    "Emil?" Seeing the young man appear in the office, Tristan''s eyes slightly widened in surprise. "What are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be back at the guild forging equipment for the monster tide?"


    Hearing those words, Emil politely bowed to the two. "I apologize for disturbing you, Guild Master Melphon, Mayor Astarto."


    After that, it was only did the young man respond to the question, only opening his mouth once Alfaera gave him a nod. "I''ve received a message from the one managing the guild''s Teleportation Hall that needed to be ryed to the guild master as soon as possible."


    "A message?" Tristan briefly nced at Alfaera for a bit before looking back at the young man. "Does it perhaps have something to do with the war up in the north?"


    "We haven''t any updates on that as of yet, Guild Master." Emil shook his head in response. "However, a man wearing a full suit of armor appeared within the guild''s Teleportation Hall, asking for your presence."


    At those words, Alfaera and Tristan looked at each other with widened eyes, their expressions gradually turning into that of excitement. "Could you lead us there? Did he tell you his name?"


    Though he was somewhat nervous to guide the two most important personages within Astarto Town, Emil reined in his nervousness with a calming breath before nodding. "I would be d to."


    "As for his name..."


    "He mentioned it was Ylvar."


    ...


    "I wonder whether Tristan and the others are?"


    Muttering these words to himself, Valyr continued to wait by the entrance of Astarto Town''s cksmith Guild, deciding to take a look at the sight that was given to him now that the vige had turned into town.


    Of course, it went without saying that Astarto bing a town made it look more prosperous than before, with all of the buildings lining up the streets he could see made with better materials.


    Aside from that, he could see that the walls lining the town were further fortified, reminding him of the walls he''d passed through Anadhar Town back when he went to that town''s cksmith Guild with Tristan.


    ''In just 9 months, they were able to expand Astarto to a town, and even have the cksmith Guild establish a branch here,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, still somewhat in disbelief after hearing those wordse out of Julian''s mouth.


    After arriving at the cksmith Guild back in Algerie Kingdom, Valyr immediately sent a message to Julian on what he wanted to do, asking if he could use some of his merit points to pay for the items he needed to repair his armor.


    At the same time, he asked the man if he could use the Teleportation Hall to teleport to Astarto Vige, considering his position as a Honorary Lesser Elder of the guild.


    With Julian being Julian, it did not take long for the young man to get a response back on both of his requests, with the materials he needed to repair his armor quickly being sent to the workshop he was upying for the meantime.


    While making his way to the workshop after getting that message, Valyr then received a message from Julian on his inquiry to head to Astarto Vige through the Teleportation Hall, telling him that as an Honorary Lesser Elder, he was more than eligible to use it.


    Though, when he found out from the man that the ce he once knew as Astarto Vige had actually be a town while he was in the inheritance, the young man was undoubtedly left at a loss for words.


    ''I guess I''ll probably be able to see Tristan and the others tomorrow. After all, I was only able toe hereter in the afternoon.'' Briefly ncing at the sun to see how close it was to setting, Valyr eventually let out a sigh as he looked at the set of armor he was wearing. Because of how much he''d pushed himself against the Myth-level Void Rabbits within the Void World, his set of True Wyvern Armor was eventually reduced to a shell of its former self, only being barely held together with the patchwork repairs he made along the way.


    With that, it took him a lot of time to repair the overall frame of the True Wyvern Armor, only being able to repair it fully once he had restored its foundations somewhat.


    ''Seeing as the others aren''ting any time soon, I guess I''ll use this time to look around town first.''


    Feeling that his earlier thoughts were bing more and more likely to happen, Valyr eventually decided to leave the cksmith Guild as the thought of sightseeing came to mind.


    ''I wonder what the guard barracks look like now that it''s a town?'' Just as this question spurred the young man to move his feet, a pair of familiar individuals appeared before him, being led by a young man wearing clothes meant for forging.


    "Ah." At the moment the two individuals appeared in front of his vision, Valyr paused in his tracks, looking at them with slightly widened eyes before a smile soon erupted on his face. "Ah." Unsurprisingly, the sight of Valyr before their very eyes made them pause in their tracks as well, their mouths slightly opening in surprise before they donned a smile simr to the


    young man.


    "I''ll... take my leave now." Understanding then and there that he sessfully aplished his task, Emil immediately excused himself in front of the three, causing them all to snap back to reality as they beganughing not long after.


    "I''m d you finally came, Valyr." Being the first to make a move, Tristan immediately made


    a move to embrace the young man, prompting thetter to reciprocate it back. "It doesn''t look like it, but I have missed you."


    "I''ve missed you as well, Tristan," replied Valyr, letting out a slight chuckle as he removed himself from the man''s embrace.


    After that, he looked at Alfaera with a smile before nodding, which the woman responded to by giving the same gesture. "It''s been a long time since we''vest met."


    "It has been." Alfaera nodded in agreement, continuing to adorn the same smile. "Speaking of which, wee to Astarto Town."


    "Yeah, wee to Astarto Town," said Tristan to Valyr not long after her. "To think that you clearing the dungeon would allow the vige to expand to this extent."


    "I''m surprised that it expanded by this much, actually," said Valyr in response, only now getting a good idea of how much of a difference there was between the current Astarto Town and the vige he once knew.


    In terms of prosperity, Astarto Town reminded him of Anadhar Town, making Valyr wonder whether the reason why a branch of the cksmith Guild was established here was because Astarto decided to focus more on forging.


    As for the overallyout of the town, Valyr was reminded of Clossbay City, considering how the entire town seemed to be separated into various districts with specific purposes, with the current one the three were in all had buildings rted to production.


    In terms of how much territory the former vige now upied, Valyr felt that it was around


    a third to a half of Clossbay City''s territory, considering that it hadn''t been long since it had be a town.


    Though he didn''t mind having Valyr look around the town in a slight daze, Tristan''s expression soon turned serious as he reminded himself of the reason why he''d asked the


    young man toe to town.


    "I know you want to take a look around town right now, and I''d be d to act as your tour guide if I could..." said Tristan.


    "But how about we get down to business for the meantime and discuss the uing monster


    tide?"

 Chapter 981: Before the Tide

    Chapter 981: Before the Tide


    ?


    "Alright."


    Hearing the question that came out of Tristan''s mouth, Valyr went silent for a bit before nodding with a solemn expression.


    With that, the three began to make their way to where Tristan and Alfaera previously were, moving through the various streets of the town while doing so.


    Wanting to familiarize himself with the newyout of the former vige, Valyr pushed his perception to the limits,mitting the generalyout of the town to memory.


    At the same time, Tristan and Alfaera gave him additional information on the various ces they passed through along the way, allowing the young man to gradually build up a rough map of the town in his mind.


    Of course, if the young man could help it, he would''ve spent more time roaming around the town, acquainting himself with every nook and cranny as the former vige was the first ce he''d really established his footing the moment he appeared in Greater Beyond.


    But as thoughts of the uing monster tide continued to linger in his mind, he was forced to put the thought on hold for the meantime, arriving at their intended location around half an hourter.


    --


    "And here we are. The town hall."


    Listening to Alfaera''s introduction, Valyr looked at the building in front of them, only to look back at her with slight shock. "That''s... the town hall?"


    "If I forgot that I was in a town right now, I would''ve thought that was a city hall." Though the building before him was nowhere near asrge as the city hall back in Clossbay City, it was stillrge enough for Valyr to think that the building was more suitable as a city hall than a town hall.


    After all,pared to the other buildings within the hall''s imminent surroundings, the town hall upied an entire block for itself, spanning at least over a hundred meters on all sides as far as the young man could infer.


    Of course, after realizing that the building before them was the town hall, Valyr began toe up with other reasons as to why the town hall was sorge for its current scale.


    Then again, such thoughts immediately disappeared once he recalled who was leading the town.


    "I''m guessing you''ve made the town hall thisrge with the long term in mind?" asked Valyr as he continued to look at Alfaera, immediately letting out an inward sigh of relief after seeing thetter nod in response.


    "It wouldn''t make sense for me to move the hall every time this town grows in size, after all," replied Alfaera, giving Valyr more insight to her thought process. "It wouldn''t only confuse me every time, but the citizens of the town as well."


    "Plus, I''m avoiding the relocation and demolition of nearby buildings by making the hallrge in advance."


    "Inparison, the upgrades to the other sectors are more in line with what you''d expect for a town," Tristan continued where Alfaera left off, only to let out a slight chuckle soon after.


    "Then again, the same couldn''t be said for the cksmith Guild branch."


    At those words, Valyr nodded in agreement, recalling how the cksmith Guild branch back in Anadhar Town wasrger than it should be for a town of that scale.


    The same went for the cksmith Guild back in Algerie Kingdom, though Valyr felt it made sense in that regard since it was supplying almost every item imaginable there.


    ''On second thought, it makes sense for the cksmith Guild to berge,'' thought Valyr to himself after thinking about it for a bit more, deciding not to continue the topic any further after that.


    Thankfully, neither Tristan nor Alfaera continued the current topic either, instead making their way to Alfaera''s office with Valyr in tow.


    "I suppose we can talk freely now." At the moment Alfaera sat on her chair, it was as if a slight burden was removed from her shoulders, prompting her to look at Valyr with a slightly apologetic smile. "I apologize for requesting you toe here."


    "It''s not really that big of a problem," said Valyr in response, assuring her with his words. "After all, this is where I got my start."


    "Speaking of which, have you guys heard of the war with the orcs in the kingdom?" asked the young man not long after, keeping an eye on their expressions.


    "We have." Tristan looked at Alfaera for a bit before giving Valyr a nod.


    "As we''ve decided to establish Astarto Town as a forging town simr to Anadhar after you left for Clossbay, the cksmith Guild reached out to us by the time the war reached its peak, hoping that we would supply weapons to contribute to the war efforts."


    "Due to how much support the cksmith Guild would give us in our development of the town, we decided to ept," Alfaera said in continuation of Tristan''s words, prompting Valyr''s eyes to widen in slight surprise.


    "Were you nning to establish Astarto as a forging town all this time?" asked Valyr as he looked at Alfaera, only to see her look back at Tristan in response.


    Noticing that both her and Valyr were looking at him, Tristan let out a bit ofughter as he replied, "It was more like the idea came about when you showed your talents in forging." "In my mind, it would be a good idea to establish Astarto as a forging town with you at the helm," continued the man. "After all, your skills and talent in forging are great enough to catch the attention of many."


    "I wouldn''t even be surprised if the armor you''re wearing right now is something you''ve forged yourself." Tristan pointed at the True Wyvern Armor Valyr was wearing.


    Hearing those words, Valyr grinned as he confessed that the armor was indeed his own work, briefly leaving Tristan at a loss for words.


    "I don''t mind if you two catch up on forging and all that." Though Alfaera happily listened to the conversation that was unfolding between the two, she eventually reminded them of the reasons why they were here. "But you could save thatter on, considering we''re here to talk about the uing monster tide."


    "And to think you were the first one to bring it up, Tristan."


    Laughing in response, Tristan raised both of his hands as if he were caught red-handed. "Cut me some ck, will you? It''s been a while since I''ve had a good conversation."


    "In any case, Alfaera''s right." At those words, Tristan returned to his previous solemn demeanor. "We have a feeling that the uing monster tide would be unlike any of the previous monster tides we''ve encountered before, which is why we''ve asked you toe


    here."


    "How bad are we talking?" asked Valyr, pushing all of the other questions and topics he had forter. "And what were the other monster tides like inparison for you to say that?"


    In response, Tristan exined to him that the three monster tides they''ve weathered while he was out in the inheritance were progressively more difficult than thest monster tide he''d defended alongside them.


    However, the increase of difficulty was still to the extent that the entire town working together could still handle it, improving the town''s ability to unite as one during crises.


    "To be honest, the third monster tide arrived a bit over 20 days ago," said Tristan, prompting Valyr to raise his eyebrows. "In fact, some of the town sectors are still recovering from the losses rued in that tide."


    "Yet, for some reason, even though not even a month has passed since the previous tide appeared, another monster tide is already heading our way," he continued, shaking his head


    at the thought.


    Naturally, Valyr found it weird. "Why is that? Did something special ur for it to happen?"


    "None as far as I know of." Alfaera and Tristan shook their heads.


    "Though, the Tidemother we killed during the third monster tide did say a few things that might serve as a clue to why we''re facing this one early," said Alfaera soon after, prompting


    Valyr to perk up his ears.


    Only for his expression to turn slightly grim soon after.


    "If I remember correctly, it said something about avenging a Tidemother from the Alltide?"

 Chapter 982: Predicting the Tide

    Chapter 982: Predicting the Tide


    ?


    As Valyr heard the words that came out of Alfaera''s mouth, a myriad of thoughts began lingering in his mind as he thought to himself, ''Surely, that can''t be referring to me...''


    ''Right?''


    However, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the words the Tidemother spoke


    to them was undoubtedly pertaining to what he had done during thest monster tide he participated in.


    After all, even though it was an ident, Valyr had done something that was beyond the norm for one to do during the monster tide.


    And that was to have a weapon absorb the entirety of a Tidemother in order for it to improve in rarity.


    Of course, the young man continued to ponder over Alfaera''s words for a bit more, slowly shifting his thoughts away from the idea of him being the target of the uing monster tide.


    Inwardly taking in a deep breath as he went through the ideas in his mind, Valyr nced at the two before asking, "Was that the first time you''ve heard something like thate from a Tidemother? Surely the Tidemothers before that said something else, no?"


    Looking at each other for a bit with slight frowns on their faces, Tristan and Alfaera eventually looked back at Valyr as they shook their heads.


    "The two Tidemothers we killed in the monster tides that came before that didn''t say anything at all," said Tristan, his expression still that of a slight frown as the gears in his mind continued to turn. "Pretty sure it was only the most recent one that said something."


    "Now that I think about it, it said something else aside from avenging a Tidemother," said Alfaera soon after as she continued where Tristan off, prompting Valyr to perk his ears up as he listened.


    "To you who sullied the life of my kin and transformed their soul into nourishment for your armament, you must bear the entire wrath of the Alltide, lest you want the world to bear witness to your greatest folly."


    "Up to this day, I still don''t know what that means," Alfaera said after recounting the words of the Tidemother, only to hear Valyr let out a loud sigh of exasperation in response.


    Seeing that his sigh had caught the attention of both Alfaera and Tristan, causing them to look at him with curious expressions, the young man eventually decided toe clean in front of them, exining the Mark of the Alltide and its connection to the Tidemother''s words.


    Of course, he also exined the entire process as to how he obtained the curse in the first ce, which made Tristan put on a pensive expression as he wrapped his head around the entire situation.


    "So, you''re saying... your spear absorbing the Tidemother''s blood back in thest monster tide you participated in is the cause of the town''s current predicament?"


    Though it took Tristan a while to voice these words out, he was still confused by the entire thing, hoping that Valyr would shed more light on the situation.


    "Yeah," replied the young man, faintly nodding with a bitter smile.


    Brandishing his blood red spear in front of the two, Valyr then showed both Alfaera and Tristan how his strength continued to decrease over time as he continued, "You could take a look at my spear if you don''t believe me."


    "The other parts of the curse you''ll only be able to see once we''re out in the wilderness," he added, both Alfaera and Tristan still at a slight loss for words as to what was going on.


    Thankfully, activating their identification skills on Valyr''s spear was more than enough for them to put two and two together in their minds, causing them to let out sighs of their own as the two eventually focused their gazes at the young man.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if you two are mad at me right now." Wryly smiling as a response to their gazes, Valyr returned his spear to his back as he opened his mouth. "After all, I am the cause of this uing monster tide."


    "Technically, that would be true, but I can''t see it that way," said Tristan in response, with Alfaera nodding in agreement. "After all, it''s your spear that automatically absorbed the blood of the Tidemother during the end of the monster tide."


    "I even remember the haggling session we did back then." The man let out a faint chuckle.


    "If it helps you, the contributions you''ve made outweigh all of that about the monster tide," said Alfaera, which made Valyr slightly smile in response.


    Fortunately, after talking to the two for a bit more, the young man was eventually able to steer his mind away from the guilt of being the cause of the uing monster tide, instead choosing to make use of his current strength to help the town defend against it.


    "So, do you guys have information on what we''ll be up against during the uing monster tide?" asked Valyr as he looked at the two.


    In response, Alfaera briefly shook her head. "We don''t really have exact information on the uing tide per se, but we did make a couple predictions as to what we''ll be up against this time around."


    "After thest monster tide you participated in, the next two monster tides we were up against were led by Prodigious Lesser Tidemothers, with thetter Tidemother already at the peak of Rank 3."


    "Then, the monster tide that we just defended against over two weeks ago was led by a Greater Tidemother, the same one that said all of that stuff about the Alltide," said Tristan, continuing where Alfaera left off.


    "Compared to the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother from the second monster tide, the Greater Tidemother from the recent monster tide was already at the peak of Rank 4. It would''ve been fine if it was just that..."


    "But it was one tier above the Prodigious Lesser Tidemothers in terms of strength! The Mythic Elite tier!"


    "To be honest, I don''t even know how we weathered through that exactly." Taking in a calming breath, Tristan continued conveying his thoughts as he slightly shrugged his shoulders.


    "However, with how the Tidemothers have grown in ss rank with each passing monster tide..."


    "We''ve got the feeling that this monster tide would be our hardest monster tide yet."


    "Especially with a peak Rank 5 Greater Tidemother manning the tide''s helm."

 Chapter 983: Plan of Action

    Chapter 983: n of Action


    ?


    "A peak Rank 5 Greater Tidemother, huh..." Committing the words Tristan said to memory, Valyr faintly nodded in response, the gears in his mind turning as he began to formte his n of action during the monster tide.


    Naturally, the young man had no problem if the two were to ask him to fight against the Greater Tidemother.


    After all, with how many Legend-level and Myth-level Void Rabbits he''d fought against while in the Void World, a peak Rank 5 Greater Tidemother was definitely something he could handle with attention to spare.


    In fact, Valyr thought to himself that he probably wouldn''t mind fighting against the various waves leading up to the Tidemother either, considering that he had skills in spades that allowed him to deal with many monsters in a row.


    However, if the two did ask him to fight against the various waves, the young man would reject it, feeling like it would be better for the actual forces of the town to handle them.


    Though he was thankful for the former vige since it had allowed him to establish a foothold within this world, his gratitude wasn''t to the extent where he''d drop everything he was doing just toe back here to help defend against a monster tide.


    If anything, his gratitude only extended to Tristan, Alfaera, and a few others, which was pretty much the only reason why he''d epted their request to visit the town in the first


    ce.


    ''Plus, it doesn''t make sense for me to defend against all of the waves,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling that he''d done the exact same thing he just thought about in thest monster tide he participated in.


    Pushing the other thoughts that popped up in his mind at the mention of the uing monster tide''s boss to the side, Valyr eventually returned his thoughts to the conversation at hand as he voiced out something that caught both Tristan and Alfaera''s attention.


    "I''ll take care of the Greater Tidemother."


    Having been talking to Alfaera all this time about the Greater Tidemother while the young man was seemingly lost in thought, Tristan looked back at Valyr with slight surprise as he asked, "You sure? That''s a peak Rank 5 being."


    "Don''t worry," said Valyr in response, giving them a confident smile as he briefly red out a portion of his aura.


    "I have my ways."


    Whoosh!


    Sensing the aura that radiated out of Valyr''s body for a moment, both Tristan and Alfaera''s eyes widened in shock, feeling a hint of intimidation from the strength that the young man had barely revealed to them.


    In a way, it kind of reminded them of the Tidemothers they fought against in the previous monster tides, exuding a level of strength that inspired both awe and fear to those that went up against them.


    ''What has Valyr been doing while he was away from Astarto?'' asked the two to themselves, ncing at each other for a bit as curiosity briefly covered their faces.


    However, even though they were curious as to how Valyr''s strength had drastically improved since thest time they saw each other, the two decided to push the thought to the back of their heads for the meantime, continuing the conversation where it left off.


    "Just to make sure, you''re fine fighting against the Greater Tidemother, right?" Alfaera looked at Valyr as she asked, only to receive a nod from thetter in response.


    "Trust me, it''s fine," said the young man, giving them a reassuring smile. "Plus, you two did say that it was only a prediction. Who knows if we''ll be up against a weaker Greater Tidemother instead."


    "If that''s the case, then you''ll be putting most of the town''s minds at ease." Though she did feel guilt for having Valyre to the town to aid in their defenses, Alfaera didn''t really have much choice.


    "After all, even Myst had difficulty fighting against it."


    "Myst?" Rummaging through his treasure trove of memories, Valyr eventually recalled the leader of the team he was part of during his first monster tide, which he gave the Perennial demaster subss to after clearing the dungeon near the former vige.


    During the second monster tide he participated in, Myst showed greatbat prowess alongside him and Tristan, making use of the skills the subss gave her to their full extent.


    Yet, even with that kind of prowess, she had difficulties fighting against the Greater Tidemother?


    "Did she not focus on improving her strength or something?" asked Valyr after a bit of silence, finding it odd that someone like her with a Growth-type subss would have


    difficulty fighting against a peak Rank 4 being.


    She did," Alfaera rified, easily understanding what Valyr wanted to know. "During the time the Greater Tidemother came around, Myst was already at the middle levels of Rank 4."


    "She was even able toprehend an Intent that meshed well with both her subss and the main ss she evolved into."


    "Yet, for some reason, just as the Greater Tidemother was about to lose, it seemed to tap into its reserves, regaining all of the health it had to lost as its strength rose to a higher level," continued Tristan where Alfaera left off.


    "And because of that, the tables were turned as Myst had to escape with grievous injuries."


    Remaining silent as he listened to their exnation, Valyr was reminded of one of his more memorable encounters in the Void World, recalling the fight he had with a Myth-level Void Rabbit to forced him to use all of the skills in his arsenal.


    ''I guess I should expect something like that to happen during the uing monster tide, then,'' thought the young man to himself, moving the topic of their conversation to the general n they''d be executing during the uing monster tide.


    Aftering to an agreement on how the main forces of the town would deal with the first few waves while those with greater strength like Valyr would handle thetter waves, as well as the boss, it did not take long for the three to end their discussions with smiles on all their


    faces.


    "Now that I think about it, where is Myst?" Seeing as they''ve gone over everything they could regarding the uing monster tide, Valyr decided to ask the two regarding the


    whereabouts of the others in town.


    "As per herst message, she''s still busy grinding XP for both her level and skills in an Experience Pit at a nearby city," replied Alfaera, briefly opening up her chat function to see if her words were correct.


    "She aims to reach the peak of Rank 4 first beforeing back to town."


    "I see." Valyr nodded in response,mitting her words to memory as he shifted his focus to the other person he had in mind. "How about Damian, then? Is he still the guard leader? Is he at the barracks right now?"


    "That..." At those words, the expressions on Tristan and Alfaera''s faces became crooked as they immediately went pin-drop silent.


    In response, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise as he then raised his eyebrow in curiosity, giving the two the space and time they needed to find the right words to say.


    After all, from how they were acting and how their expressions drastically changed, it seemed that something serious happened to Damian while he was away.


    And of course, Valyr wanted to know what that was.

 Chapter 984: Shell of Ones Former Self

    Chapter 984: Shell of One''s Former Self


    ?


    Fortunately, the entire office was only covered in silence for the next couple of minutes after that, with Tristan letting out a low sigh the very moment the two made up their minds. "To be honest, we weren''t nning to tell you what happened to Damian at first."


    "However, you have the right to know at the very least, especially since he thinks of you as the main reason why the vige is what it is today," he continued, giving Alfaera a signal through his nce.


    With that, the woman continued where the man left off, looking at Valyr directly in the eye. "To cut a long story short, the Damian we once knew is now gone."


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise, only for his face to adorn a frown, feeling that the apologetic expression on both Alfaera and Tristan''s eyes meant something else. "By gone... you don''t mean dead, right?"


    "We don''t... but in a sense, he kind of is," said Tristan after taking in a deep breath, causing Valyr''s expression to turn serious as he listened. "Physically, he''s still the same Damian we know and care for."


    "But if we''re talking about his mental state, then that''s another story."


    Raising his eyebrow in response to those words, it went without saying that the young man asked for more information about the matter, prompting both Alfaera and Tristan to mull over what they should do once more.


    Thankfully, just like the previous one, they eventually decided to tell Valyr what he needed to know, prompting Valyr to perk up his ears as he listened to them exin why the Damian they once knew was "dead".


    Being closer to Damian during that time, Tristan was the one who did all of the talking, starting off his story near the end of the first monster tide Valyr didn''t participate in.


    Around that time, the forces of the vige had already cleared through all of the waves the monster tide threw at them, with the only thing standing before the vige''s safety being the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother leading the entire tide.


    Compared to the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother Valyr killed, the Tidemother they fought against was in the middle levels of Rank 3, proving to be a challenging adversary for the entirety of Astarto Vige due to the strength it exhibited.


    Though almost everyone in the vige knew that they needed to band together if they wanted to defeat it, Damian decided that he would be the one leading the charge against it, feeling a bit of guilt for not doing anything in the monster tide that came before.


    The same monster tide where only Valyr, Myst, and Tristan made a move against the monsters of the tide.


    "As to why he feltpelled to lead the entire thing, he was the guard leader of Astarto Vige, after all," said Tristan, emphasizing these words for the young man. "It was his duty to protect the vige from harm."


    With that, Tristan continued on with his narration, talking about how Damian was at the forefront while he and Myst were just a fair distance away from him to act as his backup.


    Wanting to prove that his position as Astarto''s guard leader wasn''t for nothing, Damian went all out against the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother, confident that his attacks would deal a decent amount of damage against it.


    Yet, as if the heavens were ying tricks on him, the damage he dealt to the Tidemother was negligible at best, instead incensing the Tidemother as it decided to summon a bunch of Tidespawns that brought ruin to those at the rear.


    Though the entire vige was able to defend against the tide at the end, Tristan remembered that the expression Damian had at that time encapsted multiple emotions at once, such as fear, regret, and guilt.


    "He felt responsible for what happened," said Tristan to Valyr, with Alfaera nodding in agreement to his words. "Even though no one was ming him, he felt immense guilt for the casualties that resulted from his actions."


    "And so, he decided to temper himself, polish his skills and strength for the next monster tide that woulde."


    At those words, Tristan exined to Valyr that Astarto had finally be a fully-fledged town at that point, establishing connections with the other towns and viges nearby as they made themselves known as a forging town.


    At the same time, Damian was exerting all of the effort he could, increasing his level to the peak of Rank 3 while also working on all his skills.


    "He alsomissioned a new set of armor and weapons from me after that." Tristan adorned a bitter smile. "He told me that he''d evolved to a better ss that would help him protect the vige better."


    Continuing his story, Tristan eventually moved onto the second monster tide, telling Valyr that the entire force was more than prepared to defend against all of the waves that came at them.


    Just like the previous monster tide, the only thing left that separated them from safety was the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother leading the fray.


    Though, unlike the Tidemother in the previous tide, the Tidemother was now at the peak of Rank 3, seemingly getting its hands on an Intent Seed.


    Trusting in the strength he''d developed in between the two monster tides, Damian decided to lead the charge against the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother once more, confident that things would be different in this attempt.


    "And it was," said Tristan as he gave Valyr a proud smile. "His efforts had paid off, allowing him to y the Tidemother with only a bit of help from us and some of the others."


    However, that smile of his soon became grim as he continued, "Yet, just as he thought that he''d finally proven himself as Astarto''s guild leader, the Tidemother rose up from the dead, making a mockery of his efforts as it attacked with greater fervor."


    At that point, Tristan mentioned that he noticed something within Damian crack at that moment, suppressing part of the courage and determination the man had in making sure he was doing his job to the fullest.


    "Once again, we were able to clear the monster tide after that. In fact, there were only a few people injured this time around," said Tristan.


    "But as I''ve said, it was like something snapped within Damian at that time, to the point that he gave off that same air the moment the recent monster tide came around."


    Talking about the recent monster tide where Myst had difficulty fighting against the Greater Tidemother, Tristan exined that Damian had made an appearance once more, improving his strength to the middle levels of Rank 4.


    However, rather than lead the charge against the Greater Tidemother just like he''d done in the two previous tides, Damian instead chose to wait until Myst had exhausted the Tidemother out before making his move.


    "Sure, he was able to kill the Greater Tidemother, but the attacks and the approach he did at that time made me realize that the Damian I knew... the Damian we knew, had gone away."


    At those words, the man let out a sigh, with Alfaera closing her eyes before also letting out a sigh of her own.


    "Even interacting with the man felt different after that," said Tristan. "If I were to describe what it was like talking to him, it feels like he''s given up on Astarto."


    "Or more exactly, it feels like he''s given up on himself."

 Chapter 985: Helping with Preparations

    Chapter 985: Helping with Preparations


    ?


    "Given up on himself..." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr inwardly frowned as he mulled over the entire story Tristan just told him.


    Though the story made sense for any other person listening to it, the young man had a feeling that things weren''t as simple as Tristan made it out to be.


    ''If his mental state really underwent a drastic change just because of what happened in those monster tides, then either Damian has a weaker mindset than expected... or there''s more to the entire thing,'' thought the young man to himself, only to discard of it soon after.


    Though, as he went over the story in his head a couple more times, Valyr became more and more certain of the feeling that there was more to what happened to Damian, feeling that what Tristan told him was just one side of the story.


    With that, he asked both Tristan and Alfaera as to whether or not there was more to the story, only for his eyes to widen in slight surprise when the two replied that he''d been told everything he needed to know about what happened to Damian.


    ''Does that mean they haven''t noticed? Or... did they instead overlook what they noticed?'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, briefly frowning as he asked the two if there was something else peculiar about Damian that they failed to mention.


    Receiving slightly confused looks from the two as they told him that all they noticed from Damian was his change to his mental state, it was there that Valyr formted his first hypothesis.


    ''I''m really getting the feeling that the change to Damian isn''t as simple as it seems,'' thought Valyr to himself, ncing out the window to see that the sun had already set. ''It doesn''t seem like it would be something Damian would do, after all.''


    ''However, I''ll only be able to confirm whether my suspicions are correct once I get a chance to meet up Damian.'' As he arrived at this thought, Valyr pushed it to the side for the meantime as he asked the two a question.


    "Do you think Damian would participate in this uing monster tide with us?"


    "It''s likely that he wouldn''t," replied Alfaera after mulling over it for a while, with Tristan faintly nodding in agreement. "After all, in the recent monster tide, he only helped out just when the tide was nearing its end."


    "Even if he did, we would probably stop him from participating, even if he''s already a Rank 4 ss holder," said Tristan, prompting Valyr to raise his eyebrow in interest. "After all, who knows what he might do in his current state."


    "Though it pains me to say this, it''s better not to risk it."


    "I see." Bing silent for a bit, Valyr closed his eyes before nodding at their words, deciding to move the conversation away from their current topic as the three used the opportunity to update one another on what the others were doing.


    Eventually, after feeling like they''ve said everything they could say for the meantime, the three parted ways, with Tristan and Valyr both making their way out of the town hall.


    "So, what do you n on doing next?" Once they were out of the hall, Tristan looked at Valyr with a bit of interest as he asked.


    "I might head to the barracks to get some rest," said Valyr in response, briefly shrugging his shoulders. "Or I might head to the cksmith Guild to forge a couple of things."


    "I''d suggesting with me to the cksmith Guild instead if that''s the case," replied Tristan, showing what he preferred to happen between Valyr''s two ideas.


    Seeing the young man raise his eyebrows in response, Tristan let out an awkward chuckle as he exined, "It''s not that I''m not stopping you from heading to the barracks, but I feel like now''s not the best time to head there, considering Damian and all that."


    Finding his train of thought as he began his exnation, the man''s words becameced with excitement as he continued, "Plus, I wouldn''t be able to show you proper hospitality, being the leader of this branch of the cksmith Guild and all."


    "And here I thought I''d misheard when the one manning the Teleportation Hall told me to wait for you." Not wanting to sour the mood for the meantime, Valyr pushed the thoughts he had regarding Damian to the side.


    With that, the two slowly made their way to the town''s branch of the cksmith Guild, grabbing some food along the way as they caught up on other things more rted to cksmithing.


    ...


    "To think you''re that forging prodigy I''ve been hearing from Algerie Kingdom." Arriving at the few private workshops the cksmith Guild held, Tristan let out a bit ofughter as they made their way to one of them.


    "Mind showing me that artifact you made... Ylvar, was it?"


    "You''ll see it sooner orter." Valyrughed in response, briefly whistling in admiration as they arrived at one of the private workshops.


    Though it was somewhatckingpared to the workshops back in Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild, the young man still felt the tools and equipment within the workshop to be more than serviceable enough.


    "So, what do you n on doing?" Seeing Valyr take a look around the workshop, Tristan faintly nodded in satisfaction as he voiced out the question in his mind.


    "Probably forge a few pieces of equipment here and there," said the young man in response, making use of his authority as an Honorary Lesser Elder to request materials from one of the guild''s staff members while doing so.


    "Whatever the town needs for the uing monster tide, really."


    "You sure?" Of course, Tristan was slightly taken aback by the young man''s decision, instead expecting thetter to take it easy. "I mean... the town would appreciate it, but don''t you want to take a rest or something? After all, you came from far away."


    "Forging equipment is how I rest." Valyr smiled in response, not wanting to exin the fact that he wasn''t feeling tired at all, nor would he feel tired for the next few days or so. "So, what kind of equipment does the town need, Guild Master Melphon?"


    "Please don''t call me that," said Tristan in response, wryly smiling as Valyrughed back at him. "Well, there are a few pieces of equipment the town''s stillcking for the uing monster tide. If you could forge some of the ones I''ll be telling you, that would be great." "Sure, I don''t mind," said Valyr, only to receive the materials he''d requested for sometimeter.


    Thanking the staff member for their time, Valyr began to think about his approach, keeping in mind that he would have to request for more materials depending on the items Tristan wanted him to craft.


    While mulling over it, a thought suddenly popped up in his mind, prompting him to look at the man who was in the midst of listing down the things Astarto Town needed.


    "Now that I think about it, should I forge special equipment for you and the others as well?"

 Chapter 986: Wake-up Call

    Chapter 986: Wake-up Call


    ?


    "What?" Though he''d heard the question that left Valyr''s mouth, it took a while for Tristan to react to the question, looking at the former in slight confusion.


    Thankfully, it only took a few more seconds after that for the man to realize what Valyr was asking, prompting his eyes to widen in slight surprise as he asked back, "Are you sure? Isn''t this just adding on burden to what you''re nning to do?"


    "I did say earlier that forging equipment is how I rest," replied the young man in response, bringing out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet.


    Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, Tristan''s attention was immediately fixated on the hammer Valyr brought out, forcing thetter to snap the man back to reality as he exined to him that this was the artifact he''d be known for.


    After that, he asked Tristan for the list of items he needed to forge for the uing monster tide, which the man had only given after finally getting over the immense awe he felt from the level of craftsmanship put into Valyr''s forging hammer.


    Taking a look at the list of items Tristan sent to him through the chat function, Valyr


    eventually nodded in understanding as the gears in his mind turned, prompting him to double down on the spur of the moment thought he had.


    "Yeah... it won''t be a problem if I forge some special equipment for you and the others," said the young man as he requested another batch of materials through the guild.


    Naturally, Tristan was about to tell Valyr that he didn''t really need to forge them equipment. However, before he could even open his mouth, the young man had spoken up first.


    "We both know I just came here because you guys asked me to, and that there isn''t really any reason for me to do any of this." Valyr looked at Tristan directly in the eyes.


    "However, the truth still stands that I wouldn''t get to where I am right now if not for the support of the vige."


    "I could go on and on exining about this and that to you..." The young man let out a faint sigh. "But to cut a long story short, I have a feeling that I''d only be able to help you guys defend the monster tides a few more times before I have no choice but to stop helping entirely."


    Though Tristan''s eyes widened in response to the words Valyr was saying, thetter still continued to talk. "That''s more or less the reason why I want to forge equipment for you guys."


    "After all, even though there''s a chance I might not be able to help defend against any subsequent monster tides after this, I still want to help the town where I established my footing in some way."


    "..." For a while after that, the workshop the two were in was covered in deafening silence as both Tristan and Valyr stared at each other for that entire duration.


    Eventually, the silence within the workshop was broken as Tristan let out a long sigh, giving Valyr a gaze that contained sadness, but also understanding.


    "To be honest, after you ignored our requests during the three monster tides that passed the town, I thought you''d forgotten about us," said Tristan, immediately stopping Valyr from talking as he knew what he wanted to say.


    "I know you were doing something the cksmith Guild tasked you to do during that time, but that still doesn''t change the fact that we began to think that way."


    "In fact, the request we sent for you to visit us was just sort of ast-ditch effort, a what-if scenario we thought was unlikely to happen."


    "Yet, the unlikely happened," said Valyr, prompting Tristan to nod with a faint smile.


    "I guess seeing your presence again made me go back to my previous ways of thinking, thinking that everything would be fine as long as the Tidebreaker was there," said Tristan with a self-deprecating chuckle.


    "After all, you''d showed great dominance during thest monster tide you participated in. In fact, I have a good feeling you''d show the same dominance in this uing monster tide."


    For a while after that, Tristan went silent once more, prompting Valyr to go silent as well as he noticed the man gathering his thoughts.


    Fortunately, the silence did notst for long, with Tristan letting out yet another sigh. "Once again, thank you for taking the time to help us out while we''re in need."


    "And thank you for offering up to forge equipment for us, even though you didn''t really have to."


    "As I said, I still want to help the town in some way," said Valyr, giving Tristan an apologetic smile as he noticed the atmosphere within the workshop be somber. "It''s the least I could do."


    Giving each other the time they needed to process and sort out the information the two got from the conversation, it was only after a few minutes had passed did Valyr return his focus to what he nned on doing.


    "Huuu..." Letting out a drawn-out exhale as he fired up the furnace, Valyr continued to talk to Tristan every once in a while as he went through the materials he''d received before.


    Receiving the other set of materials he''d requested from a staff member not long after, it was only then did the young man shift his mindset towards forging, taking in a deep breath as he began to activate the skills he usually used while forging.


    "[Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith]."


    Whoosh!


    Activating one of his forging skills in a mutter, a few pairs of translucent arms soon appeared around Valyr''s body, causing Tristan to stop what he was doing as he looked at the sight before him in shock.


    While Tristan was at a loss for words, the young man then proceeded to will some of the forging hammers on the nearby tool racks to appear before him, making use of his Prime Azure Energy to get everything prepared before settling his eyes on Tristan once more.


    "How much time do you think we have before the monster tidees?" asked Valyr, forcing Tristan to snap back to reality.


    "Uh..." In response, Tristan brought up a screen in front of him, looking through the conversations he had with the other important people within the town before giving the young man a proper answer. "Around half a week to a week, give or take."


    "Hmm..." Hearing those words, Valyr went through the list of items Tristan wanted him to forge once more, slightly frowning for a bit before eventually nodding back in response. "It''ll


    be a tight squeeze..."


    "But it is doable."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Keeping in mind that he was on a race against time, Valyr pushed both his physical and mental state to their limits as a cacophony of sounds soon began to erupt from the workshop.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Going through the list of items in terms of how long he felt it would take him to forge, Valyr began to chuck a ton of items into the furnace while busying the other translucent arms he had by having them prepare the other parts needed for forging.


    Within minutes, a production line of sorts was gradually blossoming within the workshop Valyr upied, leaving Tristan at a loss for words once more as everything began to gradually


    unfold.


    "This..." Though Valyr was moving at a speed that Tristan thought made it somewhat difficult to follow what was happening, the man still felt the immense care and control the young man had over every move he made while forging the items.


    At this moment, it was only then did Tristan realize that what Valyr had showed to both him and Alfaera back at the hall earlier was only a fraction of the change that happened to the young man during the past nine months.


    If anything, the man was certain that the Valyr he was looking at right now was the true Valyr they haven''t seen, the Valyr that had ascended not only to a higher realm of power...


    But also to a higher realm of craftsmanship.


    "[Zen: First Lotus Step]."


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Forging]."


    With every passing second possibly bing thest second he had before the monster tide arrived, Valyr eventually entered a state of immense focus, making use of all the skills in his arsenal just to speed up his forging by a few percent.


    Fortunately, his decision eventually began to pay off as finished items soon began to pile up beside Valyr as time continued to pass.


    For some time, the young man had even considered using either [Vision of the First cksmith] or [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] on the items he was forging to elevate their quality


    even further.


    Though, in the end, he decided to make use of them only when he was making equipment for the others, thinking that there wasn''t really any need for him to focus that much attention on quality unlike the weapons he forged for the war efforts.


    ''Plus, I have a strong feeling these forging skills of mine are already elevating the quality of


    what I forge beyond what''s needed,'' thought the young man to himself, continuing to go


    through the list of items in a frenzy.


    Because of that, a list of at least 80 items crucial to the uing monster tide that would''ve


    probably taken Tristan at least a week to forge on his own... Was all forged by Valyr in just the span of a bit over two days.

 Chapter 987: Maximizing Ones Time (1)

    Chapter 987: Maximizing One''s Time (1)


    ?


    "Phew."


    Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief as he deactivated all of the skills he''d been using for the past two days.


    Utilizing some of his Prime Azure Energy to return the forging hammers he''d taken from the nearby tool racks, he then stored the Hammer of Beginnings back into his spatial bracelet before doing a set of basic stretches.


    "I''ve forged all of the items the town would need for the monster tide." Whilst doing his stretches, the young man took a moment to point towards the pile of finished items beside him, prompting Tristan to snap out of his stupor.


    Shaking his head for a bit to truly return to reality, Tristan looked at Valyr for a bit as he made his way to the pile of items thetter mentioned, somewhat doubtful that the young man had indeedpleted the list of items he asked for.


    Yet, the more he looked through the pile, the more he realized that the feeling he got from Valyr while he was forging wasn''t wrong, seeing that all of the items he''d asked Valyr to forge were all there.


    Not only that, but the quality of the items Valyr forged weren''tpromised whatsoever, even though during the forging process, it seemed as if Valyr was going through the forging process for each item in a frenzy.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down from the immense shock he felt, Tristan messaged a few of the guild''s staff members to bring the pile of items Valyr forged to where it was needed, prompting him to nce at Valyr after that.


    Seeing as Valyr was coincidentally looking back at him the moment he did so, a myriad of questions began to linger within the young man''s mind.


    What did Valyr go through to get to his current realm of cksmithing?


    What did Valyr do in the past nine months to boast a terrifying level of strength?


    Was it possible for Valyr to teach him how to forge so that he could make use of it as well?


    In the end, Tristan asked none of those questions whatsoever.


    Instead, he looked at the young man with a slightly apologetic smile before asking, "Feeling hungry?"


    At those words, Valyr merely smiled as he nodded. "Kind of."


    Hearing that, Tristan asked another staff member of the guild to grab food for both of them, making use of the time they were waiting for the food to arrive to ask Valyr a couple of things about forging along the way.


    Of course, being the one that allowed him to return to the world of forging in the first ce, Valyr did not mind any of Tristan''s questions at all, even giving the man a bit more information than what was necessary at times.


    Naturally, hearing how in-depth the information Valyr was giving to him, Tristan eventually let out a sigh in admiration, looking at the young man with a wry smile. "I seriously wonder how you''d grown this much in just the span of months."


    In response, Valyr let out a slight chuckle. "Let me assure you, I''d rather protect the town from monster tides for a couple of years rather than go through what I did in the past nine months."


    Though he did say that, the fact still stood that he wouldn''t have gotten up to this realm of power and skill if not for the inheritance.


    Eventually, the two finished their conversation after a staff member brought two sets of decently sized meals to both Tristan and Valyr, prompting thetter to thank the staff member for their time as they soon dug in.


    By the time he was done eating, Valyr felt that he''d regained all of the energy he expended during the past couple days.


    Feeling renewed strength course through his body, the young man thought about the special equipment he''d forge for Tristan and the others as he brought up the list of prerequisite quests he had for his main ss.


    Ding!


    Growth Quests (The First cksmith):


    > Forge 3 weapons that are at least Epic+ grade or higher (0/3)


    > Upgrade an item to Legendary grade (0/1)


    > Ascend one''s Intent rted to forging up to the 5th Grade (0/1)


    > Emte 80% or more of the properties of an average Rare + grade tool through [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith] (0/1)


    Rewards: Ascension of the First cksmith ss to Ancient + grade, additional skills and other misceneous rewards


    ''Hmm...'' Looking through the list of quests through a screen in his mind, it did not take long for Valyr toe to a conclusion. ''I wouldn''t be able to do any of the first three quests


    anytime soon...''


    ''But thest quest seems simple enough.''


    "[Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith]."


    Returning his attention back to what was in front of him, Valyr soon circted energy throughout his body, causing a forging hammer made out of mana to manifest atop one of his hands not long after.


    With him still in the middle of eating, Tristan remained silent as he watched Valyr conjure a forging hammer out of nowhere.


    Nevertheless, the same could not be said for his thoughts, which had already gone haywire as he felt the hammer''s quality already exceed the forging hammers many of the cksmiths within the guild make use of.


    ''Hmm... because I leveled up the skill up to the peak of Umon+ grade, this hammer already has 40% of the average stats of a Rare+ grade hammer.''


    Looking at the hammer he conjured, Valyr nodded in satisfaction, already feeling the hammer to be quite serviceable if he were to use it.


    However, as he had something like the Hammer of Beginnings, Valyr naturally thought that it would instead be better to emte the artifact instead.


    Keeping in mind that he was only conjuring the hammer because the quest told him to, Valyr began to infuse his mana into the hammer, gradually increasing its stats bit by bit.


    ''At the skill''s current level, I need to spend 2,000 MP just to improve the hammer''s stats by one percent,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling as if the hammer was siphoning all of the mana within his body.


    Fortunately, the sensation did notst for long as a couple notification sounds resounded in his mind the moment Valyr was left with roughly a third of his mana.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted a prerequisite quest to ascend your subss to the next rarity.]


    [Emte 80% or more of the properties of an average Rare + grade tool through [Ephemeral Tools of the First cksmith] (1/1).]

 Chapter 988: Maximizing Ones Time (2)

    Chapter 988: Maximizing One''s Time (2)


    ?


    ''Yeah... I can see the appeal.''


    With the prerequisite quest nowplete, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh in satisfaction as he took a look at the forging hammer he''d created through the skill.


    Though the hammer was stated to have 80% of the average stats of a Rare + grade forging hammer through the skill, Valyr had a slight feeling that the skill skewed the average stats to be above average.


    After all, it was the skill of an Ancient grade ss.


    Nevertheless, whether his feeling was true or not, the fact still stood that the forging hammer was definitely something the young man felt he''d use if there were no other options. ''Unfortunately for the skill, I have something like the Hammer of Beginnings,'' thought the young man to himself, deactivating the skill as he took out a mana potion from his spatial bracelet. ''It would be better for me to emte its properties to do something like this again.'' ''If only it didn''t take as much mana to create a forging hammer of that level.'' Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he consumed the potion. ''Quite a shame, really.''


    ''Though, I probably wouldn''t say the same thing once the skill is evolved to Rare + grade,'' thought the young man to himself not long after. ''After all, the grade of the forging hammer created is one grade above the skill''s current rarity.''


    ''How amazing would it be to have the ability to conjure Epic+ grade forging hammers whenever and wherever I want?''


    Letting out a bit ofughter as he pushed his thoughts to the side, Valyr briefly nced at Tristan, only to find out that the man was already finished eating.


    Taking note of this, the young man took out the Hammer of Beginnings once more as he asked, "Shall we get started forging equipment for you guys, then?"


    "Uh... sure." Slightly taken aback, Tristan took a while to respond to the question, giving the young man a nod.


    Though, before Valyr could ask his follow-up question, the man interrupted him by asking a question first.


    "But before that, was that a skill just now?"


    "The forging hammer I conjured?" asked Valyr back, to which Tristan nodded in response, his eyes brimming with interest.


    "Yeah, it''s a skill I obtained through my ss," exined Valyr, deciding to conjure another one after seeing his mana reserves return to full capacity.


    Of course, the young man refrained from using more of his mana to enhance its stats, considering how he might use it while forging equipmentter.


    Exining the pros and cons of the skill, Valyr gradually watch the fire burning in Tristan''s eyes intensify, only to fizzle out once he was done exining.


    "So, the skill allows you to conjure a forging hammer anywhere and anytime you want, but it takes a ludicrous amount of mana to make it good enough to the point it puts even mages to shame at its cost," said Tristan to Valyr after gathering his thoughts.


    "Pretty much." Valyr nodded in agreement.


    "How much mana are we talking? 5,000? 10,000? If that''s the case, it''s still doable."


    "Way higher than that. It''s more like 80,000 points if you want to copy what I did earlier," said Valyr in response, causing Tristan to suck in a cold breath of air through his teeth.


    "Alright, never mind then," said the man, profusely shaking his head. "In my head, I thought it''d be nice if I had a skill like that since a good forging hammer would help improve the quality of the crafts the cksmiths make here."


    "Or you could just make good forging hammers," said Valyr in response, causing Tristan to pause his train of thought before letting outughter.


    "I guess I let myself get swayed by the skill''s capabilities," replied Tristan to Valyr''s words, finally returning the conversation to their original topic. "So, you n on forging those pieces of equipment now, right?"


    "Yeah." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Valyr nodded. "With that in mind, how much time do we have left before the monster tidees? We''ve spent the past couple of days here, after all."


    "Wait a second..." In response to the question, Tristan brought up his chat screen once more, sending out messages to all of the other important people within town to get an update on the situation.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for the man to get a response, looking back at Valyr with a slightly grim expression. "Fortunately, it''s not the worst-case scenario."


    "How much time left?" asked Valyr back.


    "ording to Alfaera and the town''s reconnaissance team, the monster tide was already sighted over a few hundred kilometers away," said Tristan in response. "From what they told me, they were making a beeline to the town."


    "I''d say we still have three to four days before it arrives, give or take."


    "Half a week, huh..." At those words, Valyr rubbed his chin for a bit as the gears in his mind began to turn. "It won''t be enough time to forge equipment for even two of the people I had in mind, but it''s definitely enough time to forge for one person."


    "Who do you think would have the greatest chance to fight back against the Greater Tidemother aside from me?" asked Valyr as he looked at Tristan, only for him to receive a nk gaze back from the man.


    "...Right." Feeling as if Tristan''s gaze was telling him that he already knew the answer to the question, a wry smile soon appeared on the young man''s face as he changed his question. "What do you think Myst needs more for the uing monster tide? A good weapon or a good set of armor?"


    "Hmm..." Rubbing his chin for a bit as he heard the question, Tristan eventually looked back at Valyr with a calm expression. "She''s gonna need the armor more."


    "I was able to forge a Rare + grade weapon for her after the first monster tide had passed, so she''s set in that aspect," said the man. "Even went ahead and enhanced it as much as possible. I even spent the few Refinement Jewels I got as guild leader on it."


    "On the other hand... her armor situation is in a sorry state." Tristan let out a sigh, giving Valyr a slightly apologetic look. "Did you know that she''s been using the Supreme Astarto Defense Armor you made all this time?"


    "Only after the second monster tide could I forge a set of armor that fit her better, but with the armor blueprint I got being something I wasn''t familiar with, I was only able to make a set of Umon+ grade armor with it."


    "...I see." Not needing to hear the continuation of Tristan''s exnation to get an idea of what happened next, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he rummaged through the treasure trove of memories he had from his past life.


    At the same time, he looked through the various blueprints he''d gotten from the inheritance, wondering whether there was an armor set that more or less how Myst fought inbat.


    Thankfully, it only took a couple minutes of rummaging through his thoughts for him to recall a certain armor set that suited Myst well, a set of early-game armor that was considered to be the go-to armor for many of the sses that mainly focused on speed.


    With that, Valyr opened his chat screen and sent a couple of messages to Julian.


    "Hey, Julian. I apologize for disturbing you at this hour..."


    "But can you check if the guild has some Wind Wolf Fur in stock?"

 Chapter 989: Wind, Gale, and Tempest

    Chapter 989: Wind, Gale, and Tempest


    ?


    "Uh... I don''t mind the disturbance. Anyways, pretty sure we have a lot of those fur in storage."


    Fortunately, the man Valyr contacted did not take long to respond even though it was still early in the morning, prompting the young man to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    Asking a few more questions regarding other materials he would need to forge the armor to Julian, Valyr spared a bit of his attention towards Tristan, who seemed to be absentmindedly looking all around the workshop while he was doing his own thing.


    Though, the man unsurprisingly stopped once Valyr asked for his attention.


    "Say, Tristan. I don''t know if what I''ve heard about Myst back then was correct..." said the young man with a slightly uncertain expression. "But she aims to be the fastest sword user, right?"


    nking out for a bit, it was only after a while did the man respond to the question, letting out a faint chuckle as he nodded. "That''s still the case, yep."


    "Though she''s taken on a more offensive approach to fighting the monsters during the tide thanks to her subss, she still yearns to be the fastest sword user there is," said the man, only to shrug soon after.


    "Or at least, that''s what I''ve getting from her after she told me those same words some years ago."


    "Alright." Seeing that his memory had not failed him, Valyr inwardly let out yet another sigh of relief as he confirmed all of the materials he''d need from Julian. "I have the right blueprint for an armor set in mind, then."


    At those words, Tristan merely nodded in response before bing silent, letting the young man do what he needed to do.


    Of course, it was an entirely different story on the inside, with the man incredibly curious as to what kind of armor set the young man nned on forging.


    Naturally, he also wondered if it was possible for him to learn the blueprint for the armor set as well, hoping he could outfit everyone defending the townter on.


    "From thebination of materials you''re asking me to send to you, I''m getting the feeling that you''re forging a set of armor," said Julian through one of his messages to Valyr. "Is someone asking you to forge something for them?"


    "Something like that," replied the young man, giving the man a rough exnation of the uing tide in Astarto Town. "Feel free to deduct all of the merit points necessary to have all of the materials I asked for delivered."


    "Now that I think about it, I might need a couple of blueprints from the guild as well," added the young man in another message.


    In response to that, Julian went silent for a bit, causing the young man to go through a couple of scenarios in his mind out of nervousness.


    However, none of those scenarios ever came to fruition as the man sent back his reply a couple minutester. "Since it''s for the sake of helping a town defend against a monster tide, consider this delivery a way for the cksmith Guild to support the cause."


    "And before you say otherwise, Astarto Town''s cksmith Guild has contributed more than enough to the war efforts for me to warrant this action," added Julian not long after, prompting Valyr to wryly smile as he felt that his mind was read at that moment.


    "Anyways, what blueprints do you need? With your current level of authority within the guild, even sending a high-tier blueprint wouldn''t be much of a problem."


    "Wind Wolf Armor," wrote Valyr in his reply as his expression exuded a firm conviction. "As well as its higher-tiered variants, if possible."


    "Hmm..." Though silence befell the chat between Julian and Valyr once more after that, Julian eventually gave Valyr the news he wanted to hear.


    "Yeah, we can do that."


    "Wind Wolf Armor, huh... so that''s why you asked for those materials." Reading these words on his chat screen, Valyr could imagine Julian letting outughter.


    "It would be more efficient to craft the higher-tier variants from the get-go, but I do have ideas of what you''re nning to do."


    "In any case, everything you requested will arrive there in around half an hour at thetest. Though, it''ll only take a quarter of an hour."


    "Thank you." At those words, Valyr soon ended the conversation before giving Tristan a heads-up on the delivery he was going to get.


    In response, Tristan stood up and made his way out of the workshop for the meantime, telling Valyr that he would pick up the items he''d requested and deliver it to him as soon as possible.


    With that, the young man was soon left in his own thoughts, prompting him to think about the Wind Wolf Armor he was going to forge.


    As far as he could remember, Wind Wolf Armor was the go-to armor for early-game yers, especially for those that focused on speed like rangers and assassins.


    Aside from having a great cost to performance ratio whenmissioned from a cksmith, the parts making up the entire set of Wind Wolf Armor also dropped in a few dungeons that had a Wind Wolf as their boss monster.


    With a bit of enhancement and refinement, Wind Wolf Armor would remain usable up until one was at the peak of Rank 2, especially if one was lucky enough to get a set that was at least


    Rare grade.


    However, once one entered Rank 3 and came into contact with the existence of Intents, Wind Wolf Armor would start tog behind, prompting some of those yers to drop their set and change it out for a better set.


    Fortunately, the cksmith Guild had ways for one''s Wind Wolf Armor to still be usable for their current levels, which was upgrading it with better materials.


    Simr to how Valyr upgraded his Half Wyvern Armor into the powerful True Wyvern Armor, Wind Wolf Armor could be reworked and improved twice, the first of which was called Gale


    Wolf Armor.


    Being a higher-tiered version of Wind Wolf Armor, Gale Wolf Armor still had all of the benefits wearing a set of Wind Wolf Armor had, but was cranked up by a couple notches.


    Because of that, some yers who had Gale Wolf Armor were able to make use of it even after they''d reach the peak of Rank 4 as an Epic, with a couple even making use of it after they were


    Rank 5.


    Fortunately, there was still a better version beyond the Gale Wolf Armor, which was the Tempest Lupus Armor.


    Though it was slightly expensive for a yer to upgrade their Wind Wolf Armor to Tempest Lupus Armor, many have said that it was the best decision they''ve made after getting their


    hands on it.


    As to why, it was because Tempest Lupus Armor...


    Was known as the one of the best sets of speed-focused armor for early Myth-level yers.

 Chapter 990: Then Comes the Storm

    Chapter 990: Then Comes the Storm


    ?


    "As far as I remember, some yers have gotten so obsessed with the performance of Tempest Lupus Armor while they were Myths to the point that they wondered if it was possible to create a higher-tiered version of it."


    As those words left his mouth, Valyr briefly nced at the workshop''s entrance, only to begin rummaging through his mind to see if he could recall the specific armor that yers had made as an improvement to the Tempest Lupus Armor.


    "Ah, found it." Fortunately, it did not take long for the young man to bring up the specific memory in mind, visualizing a set of armor in his mind that was mostly dark gray in color, but had dark green motifs all around over it that exuded the element of Wind.


    "Storm Lycaon Armor," murmured the young man to himself, closing his eyes for a bit to bring up more of the information regarding the armor.


    Though there were many attempts at upgrading Tempest Lupus Armor to a higher tier due to the freedom and flexibility that Greater Beyond offered to yers, only Storm Lycaon Armor was considered to be its true sessor.


    Taking the abilities that Wind Wolf, Gale Wolf, and Tempest Lupus Armor had and cranking it up even further, Storm Lycaon Armor was considered to be a godly set of armor by many yers, prompting some to even call the set of armor a false Artifact with how strong it was.


    Then again, such a im wasn''t unfounded as Storm Lycaon Armor further extended the capabilities of Tempest Lupus Armor to extreme degrees.


    If Tempest Lupus Armor could support yers up to the peak of Rank 6 if they pushed the set to its very limits, then Storm Lycaon Armor could support a yer up to the peak of Rank 10, the limit that separated one from bing a Divine-level being.


    Of course, one could still use Storm Lycaon Armor after bing a Divine-level being, yet it would now begin to lose out to other sets of armor that were made for that rank due to the original materialscking in quality.


    ''As far as I know, there were attempts to push Storm Lycaon Armor even further into the Divine levels,'' thought the young man to himself, rummaging through his memories yet again. ''Yet, those pieces of armor were only considered half-sesses at most.''


    Deciding to end his train of thought regarding the Wind Wolf Armor''s various versions there, Valyr soon thought about the other sets of armor simr to the Wind Wolf Armor that were catered to other sses.


    ''For those that had sses that revolved around melee, there was the Fire Lizard Armor that eventually became the Molten Wyvern Armor set.''


    ''Then for those that prioritized higher health and defense, there was the Earth Knight Armor, which could be upgraded to the Mountain Guardian Armorter down the line.''


    ''Magic sses had the Novice Arcane Armor, which eventually turned into True Archmage Armor,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself.


    ''On the other hand, healing sses had the Aqua Priest Armor as their go-to, which could be upgraded to the Leviathan Saint Armor at some point.''


    ''Pretty sure Leviathan Saint Armor is considered to be at the same level as Storm Lycaon Armor, but I''m not sure.''


    Going through the various armor sets for a bit more, Valyr''s mind eventually began to wander about, imagining himself make use of the various armor sets he had in mind to expand the alliance he nned on creating in preparation for the final battle.


    Though, before he could indulge himself in his thoughts any further, it was at that moment that Tristan returned the workshop, carrying along with him all of the materials Valyr had asked for.


    "I''ve taken a brief look at the materials you''ve requested from the guild, but I''m still not sure what kind of armor you''re nning to create."


    Making his way to where Valyr was, Tristan soon threw a spatial bracelet towards the young man, prompting thetter to catch it.


    Opening the spatial bracelet up, Valyr immediately saw all of the materials he requested from Julian being neatly organized, causing a faint smile to creep up his lips as he brought out the blueprints he''d requested.


    "I suppose these things would give you an idea of what I n on making," Valyr said, tossing the blueprints in Tristan''s direction.


    Catching the blueprints the young man tossed to him, Tristan began to look through them one by one, eventually putting two and two together in his mind as he looked back at Valyr with realization. "Wind Wolf Armor?"


    "Wind Wolf Armor that I''ll probably be upgrading to Gale Wolf Armor, to be more exact," said Valyr in response. "We probably wouldn''t have enough time to improve it to Tempest Lupus Armor, after all."


    "This is..." Returning the blueprints back to Valyr, Tristan watched as Valyr learned all of the blueprints he''d been given, causing his eyes to glisten as he asked the young man a question not long after. "Can I learn these blueprints?"


    "Go ahead." Valyr chuckled, tossing the blueprints back to Tristan as he began chucking some of the materials he requested into the furnace. "It''s part of the reason why I requested the blueprints in the first ce."


    "Plus, if I forget to upgrade the Gale Wolf Armor to Tempest Lupus Armor after all is said and done, then you could do it in my stead," continued the young man, shing a faint smile at


    Tristan.


    Feeling his heart warm up in response to Valyr''s words, Tristan began to go through the blueprints he''d been given as Valyr activated all of his skills once more, pushing himself to his limits when it came to his forging abilities.


    Whoosh!


    Taking out the materials he''d chucked into the furnace, Valyr decided to forge the chestte first, making use of the multiple translucent arms he had to hammer the materials into shape. With [Zen: First Lotus Step] activated, as well as [Intent of Forging] enhanced through the Truth Weaver Scripture, the young man was able to go through the various steps of the forging process with ease, the frame of a chestte appearing on the anvil not even a few hourster.


    Oveying the chestte with the Wind Wolf Fur he''d initially asked Julian for, Valyr then had both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [Vision of the First cksmith] activated, using the translucent arms he had on the side to slowly push the chestte to perfection.


    Ding!


    Eventually, a chestte that looked more like a shirt made out of faintly green fur came into view, giving off an aura filled with the element of Wind to the point that Tristan even stopped looking at the blueprints for a bit to admire it.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Making use of his identification skill to check how strong the armor had be with the help


    of his skills, Valyr eventually nodded in satisfaction as he moved the screen to the side,


    chucking in more materials into the furnace after that.


    "Time to move onto the next piece."

 Chapter 991: Ascended Wind

    Chapter 991: Ascended Wind


    ?


    Ding!


    [Ascended Wind Wolf Chestte] (Level 40)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Foundation Tier: None


    Defense: 189 - 315


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Originally part of an armor setmonly produced by those from the cksmith Guild for sses specializing in speed, this piece of armor has broken the inherent limits of the original armor set, being forged by a cksmith that has reached the origin of cksmithing.


    Not only has its properties broken through the armor set''s inherent limits, the cksmith that forged it had also taken into consideration its appearance, making it a piece of armor that even noble families would vie for just to im for themselves.


    Nevertheless, the Wind Wolf Armor set is still a basic armor set at its core.


    However, with the right materials and the right person managing it, there might be the possibility for it to show its true colors.


    <Innate Skill 1: Child of the Wind - Increases the user''s AGI and DEX by 8%. Also increases the user''s movement and attack speed by 8%. Only applies when the full armor set is equipped.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Wind Wolf''s Spirit - Allows the user to form a connection with a Wind Wolf, imbuing themselves with their powers as their STR, AGI, and DEX are increased by 10% for 5 minutes. Can be overcharged to improve its effects by a further 50%. Cost: 5,000 MP. Cooldown: 15 minutes.>


    <Ascended Wind Wolf Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces: AGI and DEX +10


    - 3 pieces: HP +800 and MP +400


    - 4 pieces: AGI and DEX +3%


    - 6 pieces: Movement and Attack Speed +10%


    Remarks: You''ve breathed new life into this piece of armor, giving it the tform necessary for it to reach greater heights.


    Of course, though most of Valyr''s attention was preupied by forging the next piece of armor making up the set, a portion of the young man''s mind still lingered on the information he''d obtained regarding the chestte he forged.


    From the defense the chestte gave, to the various skills and set effects that the armor had, all of it was an improvement over the Wind Wolf Armor blueprint he''d gotten.


    Then again, the young man did not expect the piece of armor to undergo that much of an improvement, only considering the defense it gave to be significantly higher than usual thanks to his titles and empowered Intent.


    ''In a way, it kind of reminds me when everything clicked into ce while I was upgrading Half Wyvern to Young Wyvern Armor,'' thought Valyr to himself as he continued to mull over it, feeling that the same thing happened this time around.


    ''Because of that, it turned into Refined Young Wyvern Armor.''


    With that in mind, the young man decided to make it his goal to have all of the remaining pieces making up the set reach the same level of quality as the chestte he just forged.


    ''Considering that I''m saving [Breath of Beginnings] for when I upgrade all of these pieces to Gale Wolf Armor, I''ll probably be in for a surprise.''


    ''Even more so for the others when they see the final product.''


    Letting out a faint chuckle at his own thoughts, Valyr soon returned all of his attention towards the pieces of armor he was forging, moving through the various steps of the forging process without breaking a sweat.


    At the same time, Tristan continued to go over the blueprints the young man tossed to him, only to finish by the time Valyr had finished forging the second piece of the improved Wind Wolf Armor set.


    Seeing as the young man was forging the set of armor he''d be forging in the near future, the man intently focused his gaze on Valyr''s movements...


    Only to lose track of it as the young man moved at speeds that made it difficult even for him to keep up.


    ''Isn''t he still at the peak of Rank 3?'' inwardly muttered Tristan to himself, recalling the information he''d obtained from the cksmith Guild on Valyr. ''I''m also at the peak of Rank 3, yet why is it so hard to follow his movements?''


    Faintly letting out a sigh at the thought he had in mind, Tristan eventually decided not to focus too much on Valyr''s movements.


    Instead, he decided to focus on the general flow of creating the Wind Wolf Armor through Valyr''s movements, which was surprisingly a great sess for him.


    Though Valyr seeminglynded a flurry of hits at random with the multiple forging hammers he had, Tristan could more or less understand the general idea of what Valyr was doing, feeling his understanding of cksmithing gradually expand as time passed.


    Eventually, he felt himself sucked into the world Valyr was seeing while forging items, causing him to let out a sigh in wonder as he realized once more that the young man before him had reached a level of craftsmanship he could only aspire to reach.


    ''Though I''m the one who introduced him to cksmithing, I wonder how long it''ll take me to get as good as him,'' thought Tristan to himself, shaking the thought off his head soon after as The let out a slight chuckle.


    ''On second thought, I shouldn''t be asking myself that question.''


    ''I''m sure I''ll eventually be as good as him someday.''


    With that, it did not take long for only the sound of hammers shing against metal to echo throughout the workshop the two were in, only stopping once the sun was merely a few hours


    away from setting.


    ...


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "And... done."


    Putting on the few finishing touches on the final piece making up the improved Wind Wolf Armor set, Valyr eventually beamed a grin as he''d obtained a notification from the system that he was finally done with production.


    Seeing that the system had ssified the final piece as a part of the Ascended Wind Wolf Armor set he''d inadvertently created, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he decided to take a break for the meantime.


    cing the Hammer of Beginnings back into his spatial bracelet, Valyr began to do a bit of stretching, which attracted the attention of the man apanying him within the workshop. "You''re finally... done?" asked Tristan as he stood up, letting out a yawn as he felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him.


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded at the question, only to notice the extreme weariness that was on Tristan''s face. "You know, you don''t have to force yourself to stay up with me. You should really get some rest, especially since we''re about to face the monster tide soon." Letting out a long yawn in response, Tristan made his way to the finished set of improved Wind Wolf Armor before activating his identification skills on them. "I know. Let me just take


    a look at the armor you created."


    "Hmm?"


    Though the man felt like heading to bed any time now, Tristan''s sleepiness was briefly washed away as he checked the stats of the armor pieces Valyr forged, feeling them to be considerably different from the armor set that was written down on the blueprints he read. However, as he was only looking at them to satiate his curiosity, the man did not delve too deep into it, cing the armor pieces back where they originally were before deciding to bid farewell to the young man.


    "I''ll see you tomorrow, probably," said Tristan, letting out another yawn as Valyr waved farewell back. "You should also get some rest before the monster tidees."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," replied Valyr, only returning his gaze to the workshop before him after Tristan''s silhouette had fully disappeared from his sight.


    "Alright. Onto the second phase."


    Feeling a bit hungry after pushing both physical and mental faculties to their utmost limits, Valyr made use of his authority within the cksmith Guild to have a staff member deliver a


    meal to him.


    Receiving the meal he requested not even a few minutester, the young man wolfed down


    every single bit of it, even going so far as to pop a mana potion from his spatial bracelet to


    bring himself back to peak condition.


    Feeling like he was ready to face off against a ton of monsters once more, Valyr brought out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet before cing one of the pieces making up the Ascended Wind Wolf Armor set on the anvil.


    "Considering that it''s the core of the entire set, I suppose it''s only right that I use [Breath of Beginnings] on the chestte," said Valyr to himself as he thought out loud. "On the other hand, I''ll use [Breath of Wind] on the other remaining pieces."


    "Now that I think about it, I should really take the time to forge Legendary grade items for the remaining elements," continued the young man, rubbing his chin for a bit. "Not only would Iplete some of my prerequisite quests by doing so, I''d also upgrade my Hammer of Beginnings fully to Legendary grade."


    "So far, I''ve only forged the Supreme de of Primeval mes, which improved [Breath of me] to be as good as [Breath of Beginnings] in some aspects."


    "Well, it''s not like I''m in a rush." Continuing to think about the matter for a bit more, Valyr eventually decided to shelf those thoughts forter. "Then again, thinking about all of this does give me a few ideas."


    "After all, it''s not like I''m penalized to use True Wyvern Armor every time. There''s nothing stopping me from using a certain set of armor for a certainbat style."


    "Either way, I''ll save all those forter."


    "For now... [Breath of Beginnings]."

 Chapter 992: True Gale

    Chapter 992: True Gale


    ?


    "...I came back as early as I could."


    Opening the door leading to Alfaera''s office, a woman caught her breath as she looked at Alfaera with a slight frown. "You didn''t tell me the monster tide woulde so soon."


    "We didn''t expect it either," said Alfaera, letting out a low sigh as she motioned the woman to sit down. "It was only about a week or so ago did we receive telltale signs of iting."


    "In any case, did you achieve what you set out to do, Myst?"


    Hearing Alfaera''s words, Myst let out a sigh of her own before nodding. "Yeah. I was able to reach the peak of Rank 4 just before you sent a message about the uing monster tide." Of course, Alfaera was pleased after that, smiling as she looked back at her.


    "Anyways, I''m assuming this uing monster tide has something to do with the Greater Tidemother from the previous tide?" asked Myst not long after.


    "It''s highly likely," replied Alfaera with a faint nod. "After all, it did say that it would avenge its fellow Tidemother."


    Briefly scratching the back of her head as she listened to those words, Myst decided to ask Alfaera all of the important information she needed to know about the uing tide. "So, how long will it take for the tide to arrive?"


    "ording to our reconnaissance team, the tide wille the day after tomorrow," replied Alfaera.


    "How strong of a tide are we going to fight against? Can the town handle it?"


    "I don''t know about the general level of the waves making up the tide, but I''ve heard from the reconnaissance team that the Tidemother leading the tide this time is above Rank 4."


    "Is it a normal Rank 5 Tidemother? A Rank 5 Epic-level Tidemother? Or a Legend-level Tidemother?"


    "That I don''t know." Alfaera shook her head at the question. "However, it''s better to assume the worst-case scenario for this one."


    "Has the town made all of the necessary preparations for the uing tide, then?" Myst looked at Alfaera, her expression slightly grim.


    Fortunately, Alfaera''s response made her expression rx. "They have. The various sectors are more than ready to make a move once the timees."


    "Even the production sector?" Though she was relieved, Myst''s eyes still widened at Alfaera''s words. "I know they were the first to recover somewhat, but as far as I''ve heard, aren''t they stillcking a lot of stuff to be fully functional again?"


    "Surely they would need more than a couple weeks to fully recover, no?"


    "That''s normally the case." Alfaera nodded, only to smile as she continued, "However, a certain cksmith from the cksmith Guild was able to forge all of the necessary equipment the production sector needed. You could ask Tristan for more information on that."


    Unsurprisingly, her words caught Myst''s attention. "Wait... a cksmith? Not cksmiths?" "Yep. Just one cksmith." Alfaera nodded.


    "Did the town get their hands on an incredibly talented cksmith while was out raising my level?"


    Hearing those words, Alfaera let out a faint chuckle. "In a way, it did."


    "After all, Valyr returned to town to help with the uing monster tide."


    "Valyr..." Hearing that namee out of Alfaera''s mouth, Myst soon put on a pensive expression as she recalled what she knew about the young man.


    From his humble beginnings as a guard of Astarto Vige, Alfaera recalled that Valyr''s strength grew at breakneck speeds, earning him the title of Tidebreaker the time he participated in his first monster tide.


    Then, on some day between that and the next monster tide, the young man was able to clear the dungeon that barred the vige from expanding into a town, bing known as Astarto''s Light because of that.


    Though he had left for greener pastures after that, Myst could still remember the dominance Valyr showed back in thest monster tide he participated in, with only her and Tristan aiding him as they fought against all of the monsters making up that tide.


    "I''m sure Tristan mentioned to me one time that Valyr forged the armor set I was previously wearing, but I really can''t imagine him to be a cksmith," murmured Myst after a bit of silence, prompting Alfaera to smile in response.


    "Well, fortunately for you, he''s still forging something in the cksmith Guild thest time Tristan talked to me," she told Myst. "Perhaps you could catch him in the middle of forging something."


    "Alright." Making up her mind to pay a visit to the young man, Myst stood up from her seat, only to stop in her tracks as she recalled something. "Speaking of which, how long has it been since Valyr returned to town."


    "Roughly... four days, give or take," Alfaera said after a bit of silence. "Tristan and I met up with Valyr to talk about the uing monster tide. Then, he decided to hole himself up in the cksmith Guild after that."


    As those words left her mouth, Alfaera''s expression became somewhat apologetic. "Now that I think about it, he hasn''t stepped foot outside of the cksmith Guild ever since that day." "Mind telling him to take a break from forging for me?" she asked, her gaze focused on Myst. "I should really find the chance to repay him after this uing monster tide is over." "No problem." Myst nodded at Alfaera''s words as she made her way out of the office once more.


    Though, seeing the slightly conflicted expression on her face, Myst decided to stop once more as she looked back at Alfaera. "Anything else you want me to do?"


    "Well..." For a while after that, Alfaera put on a pensive expression, only for her to shake her head in the end. "Never mind. I''ll take care of it before the monster timees."


    "You sure?"


    "Well...since you are heading to the cksmith Guild, could you tell Almera I said hi?"


    "...Sure."


    "Thank you."


    ...


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "And... done."


    Not knowing how many hours have passed since he began upgrading every piece of armor he forged to Gale Wolf Armor, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief as the system confirmed the


    upgrade.


    Briefly taking a look at his notifications, he then stored the Hammer of Beginnings back into his spatial bracelet, only to shift his gaze towards the remaining materials he''d requested


    from Julian.


    "If I still have time, I could use these materials to upgrade the set to Tempest Lupus Armor," murmured the young man to himself, letting out a slightly disappointed sigh soon after as he looked at his status screen. "Sadly, I don''t think there''s enough time to do that."


    Deciding to put the materials needed to upgrade the armor to the side for Tristan to peruse in the future, Valyr began to do a few basic stretches as he admired the set of armor he''d created. "In any case, I''d say this armor set is as good as the True Wyvern Armor set I''m currently


    wearing."


    "If not better."


    Though Valyr only took around two hours or so to forge a piece making up the Wind Wolf Armor, that time was extended to at least three times as much once he began upgrading it to


    its higher-tiered counterpart, the Gale Wolf Armor.


    Surprisingly, part of the reason as to why it took him that long was because he had to rece the Wind Wolf Fur on the armor with Gale Wolf Fur one by one, turning into a task that was more dependent on perseverance than skill.


    Nevertheless, once he got the hang of recing the fur on the armor while improving its other aspects, the young man''s forging speed gradually ramped up, allowing him to finish everything just a day before the monster tide arrived.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Though he''d already obtained confirmation from the system that the properties of Ascended Wind Wolf Armor had carried over during the upgrade, Valyr still decided to take a look at it


    with his own eyes.


    Ding!


    [True Gale Wolf Armor] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Foundation Tier: None


    Defense: 9261544


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Originally an improved version of an armor set made by the cksmith Guild for sses


    specializing in speed... description has been omitted.


    Bringing out all of the properties of Gale Wolf Fur, this set of Gale Wolf Armor could be considered the closest set of armor that could replicate the Gale Wolf''s abilities. <Innate Skill 1: Child of the Gale - Increases the user''s AGI and DEX by 12%. Also increases the


    user''s movement and attack speed by 12%. Only applies when the full armor set is equipped.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Gale Wolf''s Spirit - Allows the user to form a connection with a Wind Wolf, imbuing themselves with their powers as their STR, AGI, and DEX are increased by 20% for 5 minutes. Can be overcharged to improve its effects by a further 50%. Cost: 7,000 MP. Cooldown: 15 minutes.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Gale Wolf''s Descent - Allows the user to summon a Gale Wolf with their energy for 5 minutes, inheriting 50% of the stats of the user. While the Gale Wolf is active, the


    user''s STR, AGI, and DEX are boosted by 15%, while the user''s movement and attack speed are


    boosted by 20%.


    All attacks dealt by the Gale Wolf onto a foe deals 150% of the user''s damage. Cost: 20,000


    MP. Cooldown: 1 hour.>


    <True Gale Wolf Set | 1/6>


    Set Effects:


    - 2 pieces: AGI and DEX +25


    - 3 pieces: HP +1,500 and MP +800


    - 4 pieces: AGI and DEX +5%


    - 6 pieces: Movement and Attack Speed +20%


    Remarks: You''ve allowed this piece of armor to reach the pinnacle of its abilities. Yet, it seems


    like there''s still room for greater improvement.


    "I guess I was just a couple minutes toote to watch you forge something."


    Just as Valyr closed the screen he''d brought up in satisfaction, a familiar voice began to


    resound from the entrance of the workshop, causing the young man to faintly smile as he


    replied back.


    "Long time no see, Myst."


    "You''re just the person I was looking for."

 Chapter 993: Final Adjustments

    Chapter 993: Final Adjustments


    ?


    "Is that so?" Myst faintly chuckled at those words, heading deeper into the workshop to where Valyr was. "Did Alfaera give you a heads-up that I wasing to meet you? Or did Tristan tell you about it?"


    "As far as I know, Tristan is still resting after staying up for a couple days watching me." Valyr shook his head in response. "As for Alfaera, she didn''t send me a message that you wereing to the cksmith Guild to meet me."


    At those words, a hint of confusion appeared on Myst''s face. "What did you mean by your earlier words, then?"


    Thankfully, just as the question left her mouth, she took note of the set of ck and green armor beside the young man, immediately getting the feeling that it was made for her.


    Widening her eyes at this sensation, she soon looked back at Valyr, only to see thetter smiling back at her.


    "I''m guessing you already have an idea why." Valyr let out a bit ofughter, soon confirming Myst''s thoughts. "Just wanted to see if this set of armor I forged suits you well before the monster tide arrives."


    Though Myst was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Valyr took the time to make her armor, the confusion that she had before still lingered. "Wait, but Alfaera told me you were forging items the town wascking for the uing monster tide."


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded. "I forged all of that... I think it''s already two days ago."


    "Anyways, I focused on forging some equipment for you and the others after that."


    Saying those words, Valyr then gave a brief overview of everything that happened in the past couple days to Myst, eventually diverting her attention to the fact that the town wouldn''t be able to request his help for long.


    Naturally, he also exined his gratitude to the former vige and how he did not want to see the town sumb to the monster tide, which was why he was forging a set of armor for Astarto Town''s strongestbatants.


    "Well, I was nning to forge a couple more items aside from this set of armor," said Valyr as The adorned a wry smile.


    "However, with only three days remaining until the monster tide by the time I was finished with Tristan''s request, I decided to focus on the person that would make the greatest impact with a new set of equipment."


    "And that person is... me?" Putting two and two in her head together, Myst eventually pointed at herself, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    With his rough exnation of what happened over the past few days now over, Valyr soon requested Myst to try the True Gale Wolf Armor he''d forged, telling her that he still had to adjust a few things to suit her perfectly.


    "I''ll need to ask you a couple of questionster," said the young man, to which Myst nodded as she began to equip the set of armor.


    With every additional piece, Valyr began to feel Myst''s aura gradually rising, understanding that the passive skill and the set effect of the armor was slowly being activated.


    By the time she adorned the entire set of armor, the young man faintly smiled in satisfaction, confident that the current Myst would be able to beat the previous Greater Tidemother without even breaking a sweat.


    Aside from that, he admired how the armor suited Myst well, prompting the young man to realize how much she''d changed since thest time they saw each other.


    Though she still sported a set of long silver hair, her face now looked more mature than before, bearing a hint of elegance amidst the strength she wielded.


    Her jade green eyes glistened under the rays of the sun, forming a harmonious sight when the dark green motifs of the True Gale Wolf Armor glinted due to the rays as well.


    ''Now that I think about it, everyone has changed since thest time I saw them.'' Seeing Myst grin widely as she wore the suit of armor, Valyr briefly thought back to Alfaera and Tristan, only now realizing the vicissitudes of time marring their faces.


    Asking Myst a couple of questions regarding her thoughts on the armor and what areas could be improved, Valyr soon had a short list of adjustments he needed to make, prompting the woman to remove the set of armor she dly wore.


    Because of that, the young man noticed the various scars surrounding Myst''s arms, prompting him to inwardly let out a sigh as he thought about how he was somewhat at fault for it happening in the first ce.


    Reminding himself that he could only learn from the past and use it to change the present, Valyr made use of his forging skills once more, retrieving the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet as translucent arms appeared around him.


    Of course, Myst was immediately left at a loss for words after seeing Valyr in this state, only to be mesmerized as she felt that the young man was dragging her to a realm of craftsmanship that only the two of them could see.


    Thankfully for her, the sensation did notst for long, prompting Myst to snap back to reality as Valyr told him to try out the armor again.


    Wearing the set of True Gale Wolf Armor for a second time, Myst''s eyes immediately widened in surprise as she quickly noticed the changes that were made to the armor.


    Doing a few basic movements to see if her mobility was hampered, she eventually concluded that there was no problem going all out with the set of armor she was wearing.


    Even more so when she''d eventually be up against the Greater Tidemother in the uing monster tide.


    More than satisfied with the adjustments Valyr made to the armor, Myst then cooperated with the young man as he went all out in enhancing and refining the entire set to suit her needs. Though he''d already heard from Alfaera and Tristan that Myst was aiming to reach the peak of Rank 4, Valyr still couldn''t help but feel a bit of surprise, even more so when she mentioned that her Intent was already at 7th Grade.


    Pushing the thought of her achievements to the side for the meantime, the young man went ahead and enhanced the entire True Gale Wolf Armor to Level 75, only to refine all of the pieces to +10 after that.


    Then, after advancing all of the pieces'' foundations to the 1st tier, he utilized Prime Azure Energy as his energy source while activating [Attribute Awakening of the First cksmith], wondering if the 20% boost Prime Azure Energy had on mana-based skills would also work on his forging skills.


    Surprisingly, it worked, though the 20% boost was in the probability of getting a good awakening.


    Because of the increased probability, Valyr was eventually able to achieve a near-perfect awakening on all of the pieces making up the True Gale Wolf Armor after spending a few hours on it, prompting him to let out a faint sigh of relief as he used a skill on one of them.


    "[Superior Analysis]."

 Chapter 994: The Tide Arrives

    Chapter 994: The Tide Arrives


    ?


    Ding!


    [(+10) True Gale Wolf Armor] (Level 75)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Defense: 1,673 - 2,789


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Additional Attributes:


    > VIT +59


    > STR +59


    --


    "Damn."


    Taking a look at the stats the armor set gave now that Valyr had done everything he could to improve it, the young man was left at a slight loss for words, feeling the armor to possibly be the best set of armor he''d forged thus far.


    ''It kind of makes me want to forge a set of the armor for my own,'' thought the young man to himself as he looked through the stats of the other pieces making up the armor.


    ''It kind of makes me want to not give it to Myst.''


    Inwardly chuckling at the thought, it did not take long for the slight greed he felt to disappear. ''Then again, the True Wyvern Armor would probably have simr stats once I push it to the peak of Rank 4.''


    ''On top of that, I soon n on finally taking that step from the guide that turns the set of armor into something more tailor-made for me.'' As this thought came to mind, a bitter smile briefly appeared on Valyr''s face. ''I''ll probably need to amass some more merit points before that happens, though.''


    Naturally, while Valyr was viewing the upgraded set of armor through his own skills, Myst was doing the same with her own identification skills.


    "This is..." Seeing the drastic change to the armor''s properties now that Valyr was done pushing the armor to its limits, the woman was left at an utter loss for words, her mind immediatelying up with scenarios involving the armor in mind.


    Unsurprisingly, one of those scenarios was her fight with the Greater Tidemother in the recent monster tide.


    Allowing her mind to wander, she eventually felt certain that if she had the set of armor in her fight against the Greater Tidemother, she would have undoubtedly won the fight, even after the Tidemother underwent a second phase of sorts.


    Taking in a deep breath topose herself, Myst eventually closed the screen she brought up before looking at Valyr. "Are you really giving me this set of armor?"


    Hearing those words, Valyr closed his screen before nodding back. "I did say I probably wouldn''t be able to help the town defend against monster tides in the future. Thus, I''ve decided to forge this in the hopes it couldpensate for my absence."


    "I know that..." Myst nodded, though her expression was that of slight concern. "But isn''t this armor a bit too precious? Doesn''t this set of armor usually cost a lot? After all, Tristan told me that even Rare+ grade weapons took a lot of time and effort to forge."


    "Oh, that. Don''t worry about that." At those words, Valyr let out a chuckle, telling Myst to use her identification skill on the armor he was currently wearing.


    Though she had no idea why Valyr asked her to do that, Myst still did what she was told, only to be left at a further loss for words once she took a look at the properties of the armor the young man was wearing.


    Seeing the look of shock evident on her face, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he voiced out his thoughts. "As I said, don''t worry about that. It may take a lot of time and effort, but it''s not really that much of problem."


    "Plus, the cost of the materials I used to make armor is probably smaller than the amount of money I''ve spent while in the vige, so it''s fine."


    At those words, it was only then did Myst hesitantly ept the set of armor that was now her


    own.


    Whoosh!


    Equipping the set of armor for what was now the third time, Myst immediately felt the drastic difference between the armor from before and the armor she wore now, causing her to faintly wonder whether she was even wearing the same armor in the first ce.


    Fortunately, the dark and green appearance of the armor reminded her that she was indeed wearing the same set of armor, prompting her to profusely thank the young man for his efforts once more.


    With the armor situation now settled, Valyr decided to ask Myst things about the monster tide, wanting to update what he knew inparison to the information he''d rued from the previous tides and from his past life.


    Due to their conversation regarding the monster tide focusing mostly on the Greater Tidemother, Myst didn''t spare even a single detail in her exnation, telling the young man her experiences while fighting against the Greater Tidemother.


    After that, she talked about the Greater Tidemother''s skills, as well as the weaknesses the town could use once the monster tide came.


    By the time it had turned into afternoon, it was only then were the two finished talking, with Myst rying Alfaera''s words of getting some rest to Valyr as they parted ways.


    Keeping her words in mind, Valyr thought about heading to the barracks to see if he could make use of the dormitory there.


    However, after recalling what Alfaera and Tristan told him about Damian, Valyr eventually opted to head to the town hall instead, meeting up with Alfaera as he told her about how he needed a temporary ce to stay for the meantime before the tide arrived.


    In response, Alfaera told Valyr that he was free to stay in one of the town hall''s multiple guest rooms before the tide arrived, prompting the young man to thank her as he briefly went outside the hall to get some food.


    Having not eaten anything for the past couple of days while working on Myst''s armor, it went without saying that Valyr engorged himself on a ton of food by the time he found a restaurant, causing some to look at him with shock due to his disy.


    Then again, the young man couldn''t care less what the others thought, ignoring all of the stares he was getting as he gradually ate his fill.


    By the time he was done, the day had already turned into night, prompting the young man to return to the town hall, only to be led to one of the guest rooms Alfaera had allocated for him


    while he was away.


    Feeling grateful to Alfaera after seeing all of the various amenities the guest room had, Valyr swiftly went through his usual routine before heading to bed, eventually falling into a deep slumber as he allowed the exhaustion from forging for over four days straight to seep in.


    Because of that small decision, by the time he woke up...


    The monster tide had already begun wreaking havoc before Astarto Town.

 Chapter 995: Swift Work

    Chapter 995: Swift Work


    ?


    Rumble!


    "Mnh... ngh?!"


    Though he was feeling greatly rested, a slight look of annoyance appeared on the young man''s face as he was rudely woken up by the ground rumbling.


    Fortunately, it did not take too long for his consciousness to fully awaken from its slumber, prompting him to put two and two together as his expression immediately turned serious. "How much time has passed since I went to sleep?" Asking this question to himself, Valyr swiftly headed to the bathroom to wash up his face as he brought up his status screen in front of him.


    Seeing that over a day had passed since he fell asleep, Valyr slightly clicked his tongue before sighing.


    "So, the monster tide has already begun."


    Forgetting the annoyance and anger he had from being rudely woken up by the rumbling, Valyr went through a simplified version of his routine as he prepared himself to head outside the town''s walls.


    Double checking to see if he''d forgotten anything, Valyr eventually headed outside of the room after seeing that his spear was affixed to his back.


    Moving through the hall''s corridors at a slightly hastened pace, the young man was forced to stop after seeing a woman in herte 20s stand before him, wearing what looked to be clothing simr to what Alfaera wore.


    "Are you Valyr?" As a young man wearing a full set of armor swiftly appeared before her vision, the woman knew that it was her cue.


    "And you are?" In response to the question, the young man stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes as he looked back at her.


    "Call me ire." The woman faintly smiled, doing a curtsy as she spoke her thoughts to him. "I''m usually Mayor Astarto''s secretary, but I''ve been ordered by her to wait for you until you woke up from your slumber."


    Hearing the woman identify herself, as well as tell him why she obstructed her way, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise.


    "Did she have anything to say to me?" the young man asked back. "Surely, she didn''t just ask you to wait for me, right?"


    "Of course not. It would be a waste of the town''s manpower if that were the case." ire let out a slight chuckle, only for her expression to be serious as the hall rumbled once more.


    Letting the rumbling subside, ire inwardly let out a sigh of relief before looking back at Valyr.


    "In any case, Mayor Astarto told me that if you''d woken up after the monster tide had already begun, I needed to escort you to the town''s walls, as well as tell you something beforehand." Valyr raised his eyebrow at the final part of her statement. "And that would be?"


    "Don''t rush too much," said ire in response, her face now adorning a proud smile.


    "By the time you get here, we would have probably cleared most of the monster tide already."


    ...


    "How are the various quadrants holding up?"


    Wearing a set of light armor made out of ck leather, Alfaera sported a serious expression as she looked at the two people beside her.


    "Pretty good with all things considered," said Tristan, who was currently wearing a set of heavy metal armor. "The first wave was cleared by the trainees of the military corps working alongside most of the town guards."


    "The second wave was also cleared by them," said Myst, faintly nodding as she continued where Tristan left off.


    "With how much their strengths have increased after dealing with the second wave, I suppose it wouldn''t be far-fetched to let them handle the third one?"


    "Hmm..." Hearing Myst''s words, Alfaera put on a pensive expression.


    With how every subsequent monster tide the town faced grew in strength, it was no surprise that the monster tides began to increase in length as well.


    During thest monster tide Valyr participated in, the former vige only needed to face a total of four waves before facing off against the boss monster, equating to five waves in total.


    On the other hand, the most recent monster tide before the current onested for far longer, with the town having to defend against seven waves straight before being able to face against the Greater Tidemother.


    Now?


    From what Alfaera and the others could tell, the town would have to face a total of eight waves before the leader of the entire tide would make its move, its massive body giving off an aura that surpassed the previous Greater Tidemother they faced off in every aspect.


    Fortunately for them, with how much the town has improved itsbat strength during the past nine months, the first eight waves were more or less doable.


    "Let them handle the third wave," said Alfaera to the two, prompting both Tristan and Myst to nod as they ryed her words. "However, have the captains keep an eye on them just in


    case."


    "They have to risk their lives a little bit if they want to gain more strength," Though he sent Alfaera''smands to the quadrant captains in verbatim, Tristan had a different thought. "As long as those little guys clear the third wave, it won''t be long until the town has a capable military force."


    "With how many monsters they''re up against in the current wave..." Myst closed her eyes for a bit before nodding at Tristan''s words. "Yeah, they''d probably reach the peak of Rank 2."


    "I know." Alfaera nodded at their words. "It''s why I had them move in the first ce." "However, we''ll have the more experiencedbatants take the lead from the fourth wave onward. After all, the neers aren''t strong enough to handle the peak Rank 2 monsters of the tide just yet."


    "We''ll pass your message to the other quadrants in preparation," said both Tristan and Myst in response to her words, prompting the two to distance themselves from Alfaera for a bit as they utilized their system''s chat function to send a message to the respective quadrants.


    In the meantime, Alfaera continued to look at the entire battlefield from afar, her expression neutral as various thoughts lingered in her mind at that moment.


    Ding!


    Receiving a notification sound in the middle of the monster tide all of a sudden, Alfaera was forced to shelf her thoughts to the side as she wondered what made her get the notification in


    the first ce.


    Though, once she read through the notification she received, the frown she initially had


    gradually turned into a faint smile, looking back at the battlefield with a renewed sense of


    confidence.


    "And so, the Tidebreaker is finally making his return, huh?"

 Chapter 996: Reuniting at the Rear Lines

    Chapter 996: Reuniting at the Rear Lines


    ?


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    After sending a message to Alfaera that he was on his way to the frontlines, Valyr began to move through the streets of Astarto, pushing his agility to its limits as he passed through buildings in a blur.


    ''Though she said I shouldn''t rush, it''s still better to be there as soon as possible,'' the young man thought to himself, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as he nced to his side.


    Although the woman named ire did give him a brief overview of what was currently happening outside the town walls, the part about her apanying him to the monster tide was something he felt was unlikely to happen.


    After all, even though he was already at the peak of Rank 3, his stats were moreparable to someone that around the Rank 4 to Rank 5 level.


    Yet, against all odds, the woman named ire was catching up to him no problem, darting through the streets at more or less the same pace as him.


    "So, what do you n on doing the moment you get to the frontlines?" Oblivious to what was going on inside Valyr''s mind, ire briefly nced at him as she asked him a question.


    "I''ll probably get some food first before heading outside the walls," said Valyr in response, feeling his stomach faintly rumble amidst all the running he was doing. "But more importantly, how are you catching up to me?"


    In response, ire let out a bit ofughter. "Out of all the questions you could ask me, that''s the first one you have in mind?"


    "Well, you did say you were Alfaera''s secretary," replied Valyr, his gaze switching between ire and what was before them from time to time. "Secretaries usually don''t focus on improving their agility, no?"


    "Ah." At those words, ire briefly adorned a nk expression, only to look back at Valyr with a slight smile.


    Then, without hesitation, she tore off the clothing she was wearing earlier, revealing the sleek battle armor she was wearing underneath.


    "Though it''d be easier to call myself a secretary, I guess Mayor Astarto''s right-hand woman would be a more suitable title." Noticing the shock on Valyr''s face from her suddenly changing her clothes, ire had an expression of amusement as she exined herself.


    "I do help out Mayor Astarto in her tasks from time to time, but I''m more of a personal guard of hers than her secretary."


    "...I see." Though he was indeed left at a loss for words when ire tore off her clothes all of a sudden, it did not take long for Valyr to recover himself, listening to her words as he examined her once more.


    With a set of battle armor now equipped, Valyr immediately felt the slight incongruence he sensed from ire immediately disappear, prompting him to understand that ire was telling him the truth.


    After all, from what he could sense, she was currently suppressing a great portion of her aura in order to keep up her previous facade.


    Because of that, he had a feeling that ire''sbat power was far greater than he initially thought, prompting him to wonder whether it was at the level of Tristan or Myst.


    Briefly admiring the harmonious appearance ire had as her dark battle armor entuated her dark hair and eyes, Valyr quickly snapped out of it as a question came to mind.


    "Now that I think about it, have you been acting as Alfaera''s personal guard even before Astarto became a town?"


    "Who knows?" replied ire with a grin, looking back at the young man with a slightly teasing gaze. "Perhaps you know the answer to that question yourself... Tidebreaker."


    "Tidebreaker..." Hearing one of his early titles leave her mouth, silence briefly covered the young man. "Am I correct in my assumption, then?"


    At those words, ire merely smiled in response, remaining silent as Valyr''s curiosity at the answer continued to gnaw at him.


    In the end, the young man was forced to push the thought aside forter, letting out a faint sigh in annoyance as he arrived alongside ire at the rear lines a few minutester.


    ...


    "Woah."


    Stepping foot at the part of the town that acted as their rear lines during the monster tide, Valyr looked around his surroundings with slight interest, immediately noticing how much things have greatly improved since thest time he participated in a monster tide.


    From a dining area that used to give out meals that were enough to fill the stomach, the young man noticed that the dining area had greatly expanded in size and quality, now giving out meals that both satiated the body and the mind.


    Making his way to the dining area to grab a te, he also took notice of the various people that were currently eating at the dining area, immediately sensing the drastic difference inbat strength when hepared it to those protecting the vige back then. ''Most of them are already at the peak of Rank 2,'' Valyr surmised as he grabbed a slightly hearty meal for himself. ''Some of them have even broken through Rank 3.''


    Of course, as a cksmith, he also took note of the equipment the people wearing. Unsurprisingly, the young man smiled in satisfaction, getting the feeling that the cksmith Guild Tristan was leading had something to do with the current situation.


    Receiving the meal he''d asked for after some time, Valyr looked back at ire and asked her if she was going to eat something, only to get a response from thetter that she was going to head to the frontlines to meet up with Alfaera.


    Having a faint idea of what ire had in mind, the young man decided to wish her safety as the two eventually separated ways.


    ''Now, is there some ce I could sit... hmm?'' Moving towards the various tables making up


    the dining area, Valyr looked around to see if there was any vacant spot, only to find a set of familiar faces he hadn''t seen in a very long time.


    "Leon! Jonas! Louie!"

 Chapter 997: Butterfly Effect

    Chapter 997: Butterfly Effect


    ?


    As those names left his mouth, Valyr was surprised to see the three still at the rear lines.


    After all, from what he could recall from the monster tides he previously participated in, the three would usually be at the frontlines around this time, especially after he''d heard from ire that they were already fighting against the third wave.


    ''It won''t be long till the monster tide ends, it seems.'' With that thought in mind, the young man looked at the three in detail, noticing that the equipment they had were a cut above even the majority of the people in the dining area.


    Aside from that, he noticed that the three were giving off an aura that surpassed most of the people within the vicinity, prompting him to wonder what the three had gone through while they were away.


    "Eh?" Hearing their name be called all of a sudden, Leon and the other two shifted their gazes towards the voice that called them, only to be left at a loss for words at the man that wasing closer to them.


    "Are my eyes deceiving me right now? Or am I dreaming?" Rubbing his eyes a couple of times to see whether the sight before him was an illusion, Leon was eventually forced to ept reality after asking Jonas beside him to pinch him as hard as he could.


    Though he felt immense pain from how hard Jonas pinched him in the cheek, that did not diminish the excitement Leon felt at having a familiar face see them after what felt like so long.


    "Mind if I sit with you guys?" Seeing that all of them were excited to see him, Valyr inwardly let out a faint sigh of relief.


    At the same time, he felt a hint of guilt towards the three, recalling that he had not given them a heads-up on his departure to Clossbay back then.


    Fortunately, it seemed like the three had forgiven him and let bygones be bygones, instead looking at Valyr with all smiles as the three motioned for him to sit beside him.


    With how excited they were to see Valyr again, it went without saying that the four eventually began to mesh together just like back then, causing the young man to recall the times he would patrol the vige alongside the three.


    Finishing the meal he ordered within minutes, the young man let out a satisfied burp before looking at the three. "So, how have you guys been while I was away?"


    "As you can see, we''re doing quite well for ourselves," said Leon in response, slightly puffing out his chest in pride. "In fact, we''ve already be guard captains."


    "Really?" At those words, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the three, feeling d that they were able to make a name for themselves. "Is it because of the strength you guys have now? Or is it the other way around?"


    "A mix of both," replied Jonas, making Louie and Leon look at each other for a bit before nodding in agreement.


    "Sometime after we heard you left the vige, Damian decided to give something called reinforcement elixirs to those that had done great service for the vige throughout the years."


    "At the same time, he made those same reinforcement elixirs avable to every guard through the contribution point store, prompting most of the guards to wonder what was so special about it."


    "Fortunately, all of us had been designated as people who had done great service during that time, so we got some of the reinforcement elixirs for free."


    "Imagine our shock when we found out it increased almost all of your stats by a point per vial," said Leon with emphasis near end, to which the young man responded with a slightly surprised expression.


    However, deep inside, he was amused at the story they were telling him.


    After all, he was the one who''d introduced the concept of reinforcement elixirs to the vige in the first ce.


    With Tristan and Damian being the first two recipients of reinforcement elixir, it went without saying that they eventually figured out how beneficial it was to have everyone in the guards make use of it.


    And thus, the young man was not surprised when he heard that all of the guards including the three went on a frenzy to obtain the reinforcement elixirs for themselves, eventually amassing 10 of each to unlock its corresponding skill.


    With that, the three continued their story, talking about how the reinforcement elixirs increased thebat strength of the former vige by leaps and bounds, allowing Astarto to smoothly stabilize as a town due to the confidence they had in their strength.


    "To be honest, it wouldn''t be far-fetched for us to im that those reinforcement elixirs are the main reason why Astarto is what it is today," said Leon, to which Jonas and Louie nodded.


    Surprisingly, some who were unintentionally eavesdropping on their conversation also nodded in agreement, prompting a faint smile to appear on Valyr''s face.


    "Of course, your contribution of clearing that dungeon is greater than that," continued the man, only to give Valyr a knowing smile. "Wouldn''t you say so as well, Tidebreaker?"


    "Tidebreaker?"


    "Wait... he''s the Tidebreaker?"


    "The Tidebreaker''s back?"


    "Did someone say Tidebreaker?!"


    Unexpectedly, after Leon mentioned Valyr''s old title, a great portion of the people within the dining area shifted their gazes towards Valyr as their expression ranged between curiosity, interest, and excitement.


    Taking note of the gazes he was getting, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he looked back at Leon.


    Though, before he could do anything about the current situation, a horn red throughout the dining area, prompting almost everyone in the dining area to stop what they were doing and head outside the walls.


    Naturally, Leon and the others also began to make their way outside the walls, causing a hint of confusion to appear on the young man''s face.


    "What does the horn signify?" Knowing that it would be better to follow what everyone was doing, Valyr followed behind the three as he asked them for more information.


    "It''s basically an announcement that tells everyone that signed up for the defense to head to the frontlines," replied Louie, only for Jonas and Leon to add a bit more information after


    that.


    "Is it because the frontlines currently out there are having trouble?" asked Valyr after listening to the three.


    "Sometimes, it''s that." Leon faintly nodded, only to smile soon after. "However, the sound of the horn in that case would be worse than the one you just heard."


    "With that in mind, the meaning of the horn you just heard earlier..." "Is a sign for everybatant to go all out against the monster tide."


    -


    Grraaaaoooo!!!


    Roooaaarrrr!!!


    Awoooooo!!!


    Hearing the cacophony of roars and howlsing from the opposite side of the battlefield, a majestic sight full ofbat soon appeared before Valyr''s vision, causing the blood coursing through his veins to thrum with excitement.


    Watching how most of those participating in the defense had no problems dealing with the monsters of the current wave, a faint look of surprise appeared on Valyr''s face.


    ''There''s only a couple of waves until the monster tide ends, yet Astarto has grown to the extent that even that doesn''t affect them?''


    Being reminded once more of how much Astarto had changed while he was in the inheritance, Valyr eventually separated ways with Leon and the others after making a promise to catch up


    with them once the tide was over.


    After that, he made his way to where Alfaera and the others were, seeing that they were acting as the heart of the massive defense formation.


    "The tide''sing to an end, no?" Making his presence known to the others by briefly ring his aura, Valyr initiated a conversation with the others by asking a question.


    Of course, due to how much difference there was between them in terms of strength, the question he asked was left unanswered for the meantime as everyone froze up from the


    terrifying aura they briefly sensed.


    Thankfully, a quick look behind their backs was enough to dispel the dread and fear they felt, with Alfaera letting out a sigh of relief as she looked at Valyr with a slight frown. "Could you not do that next time? I was in the middle of nning what we''d do for the next wave."


    "My bad." Seeing the anger in her eyes, Valyr quickly apologized to her and the others, making a mental note to not use that action for no reason as a means to catch other people''s attention in the future.


    After calming down Alfaera and the others, Valyr soon recalled the woman''s response to her actions, deciding it tobine it with the question he had earlier. "Anyways, can''t we just have all of our strongestbatants head down to the battlefield?"


    "From what I heard, we''re close to clearing the third wave," continued the man. "Just two


    more waves left, no?"


    For a while, Alfaera and the others looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what


    Valyr was getting at.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for one of them to put two and two together in their minds,


    prompting Tristan to respond to Valyr''s suggestion. "Do you think we''re up against five


    waves in this monster tide?"


    Hearing those words, it was Valyr''s turn to have a look of confusion on his face, only for him to soon understand what was going on. "Wait... are we not?"


    Recalling all of the information he''d obtained from ire and the others on his way here to


    the frontlines, it was only then did everything click in ce as he thought about the question


    Tristan asked him.


    Because of that, it was no surprise that Valyr had a grim expression as he listened to the man''s


    response after shaking his head.


    "Well, it used to be five waves." "This time... we''re up against nine."

 Chapter 998: The Tidebreakers Return

    Chapter 998: The Tidebreaker''s Return


    ?


    Fortunately, Alfaera and the others understood what was going on by the time Tristan said those words to the young man.


    Because of that, just as Valyr was about to ask for more information in return, Alfaera and the others worked alongside Tristan to get the young man up to speed on the current situation regarding the monster tides.


    Thankfully, it only took a couple rounds of repeated exnation for Valyr to finally


    understand what was going on, eliciting both a slight sigh of relief and a look of slight anxiety to appear on his face.


    From what the others had told him, after the final monster tide Valyr participated in was over, the monster tides after that had gradually increased in length, with each subsequent tide gaining an additional wave to clearpared to the previous.


    Because of that, the most recent monster tide that struck Astarto before Valyr arrived had a total of eight waves, with thest and final wave being the fight against the Greater Tidemother.


    On the other hand, the current monster tide he and the others were up against had a total of nine waves, with each wave having a distinct level of power just like the other waves that came before it.


    The first wave all contained monsters that were at the peak of Rank 1 in strength.


    Once the first wave was cleared, the second to fourth waves appeared, where the strengths of the monsters went from the early levels of Rank 2 to the peak of Rank 2.


    The fifth to seventh waves of the current tide were simr to the previous set. However, unlike the previous set of waves, the monsters now exhibited a level of strength equivalent to Rank 3.


    As for the penultimate wave, the eighth wave, all of the monsters there boasted strength that were at the early levels of Rank 4.


    Now having a greater understanding of what was going on, Valyr nced at the battlefield for a bit, gazing at the Greater Tidemother that led the tide from afar.


    Sensing the aura that the Tidemother passively emanated, a slight frown briefly appeared on the young man''s face, prompting him to recall Alfaera''s mention of the worst-case scenario. Then again, even though he already understood what kind of Tidemother they would be up against, the young man still decided to ask the others for confirmation.


    "Since the eighth wave is filled with monsters at the early levels of Rank 4, does that mean the Greater Tidemother is at the peak of Rank 4?"


    "At first, that''s what we thought," said Tristan in response to Valyr''s question. "Yet, the reconnaissance team crushed those hopes once they confirmed that the Greater Tidemother was above Rank 4 in strength."


    "To be more specific, we''ll be up against a Rank 5 Epic-level Greater Tidemother," said Alfaera, continuing where Tristan left off. "There''s the possibility of it reaching the Legend level if it has a second phase like the previous Greater Tidemother."


    "With that in mind, are you sure you''re fine handling the Greater Tidemother on your own, Valyr?" Alfaera looked at the young man directly in the eyes, only to be greeted back by a gaze filled with determination and drive.


    Briefly sweeping his gaze over the others, Valyr let out a slight chuckle. "It wouldn''t be bad to have the assistance of the others here, but let me assure you once more."


    "There''s no issue with me handling the Greater Tidemother on my own."


    those words, Valyr red out his aura once more, though this time it did not instill fear into Alfaera and the others.


    Instead, it instilled them with courage that the monster tide would be cleared without many casualties. It instilled them with the notion that Astarto would be a greater force than ever before.


    It instilled them... with hope.


    Just as Alfaera and the others showed their gratitude to Valyr once more, thetter soon made a proposal that caused them to look at the young man in slight shock.


    "Now that I think about it, it probably wouldn''t be a problem for me to handle one of the waves on my own as well."


    As those words left his mouth, Alfaera and the others looked at each other, with Alfaera and Tristan seemingly exchanging a conversation through their gazes.


    After that, Alfaera shared a nce with ire, who''d been with them throughout the entire conversation.


    It was only after sharing a couple nces with Myst did Alfaera look back at Valyr before taking in a deep breath topose herself. "We have no doubts that you''d be able to clear a wave on your own."


    "But are you sure you want to clear a wave on your own? You don''t have to push yourself to this extent. Even defeating the Greater Tidemother is more than enough to ease our worries." "Just consider it an extension of my gratitude to Astarto," said Valyr in response with a faint smile, causing Alfaera to go silent for a bit.


    With how much time had passed since the two of themst interacted, it was no surprise that Myst and Tristan told her about Valyr not being able to help Astarto out in their defense in the future.


    Recalling the things the young man had forged for their town in the hopes it could help them against the monster tide even if he wasn''t there, Alfaera eventually let out a sigh, giving Valyr a slightly apologetic smile as she nodded.


    "Alright. If you phrase it that way, then I guess it would be rude for me to decline."


    "But at the very least, I should make this exchange a bit more equal."


    Saying those words, Alfaera briefly nced at the battlefield before opening up her screen.


    Interacting with the various buttons and lines of text that littered it, she eventually nced back at Valyr, giving him a knowing smile as a notification sound resounded in Valyr''s mind.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest: The Tidebreaker''s Return.]

 Chapter 999: Breezing Through Waves

    Chapter 999: Breezing Through Waves


    ?


    Reading through the notification he''d received, Valyr briefly looked back at Alfaera as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    Seeing the expression on the young man''s face, Alfaera let out a bit ofughter. "You''ll understand once you see it."


    At those words, the young man became somewhat expectant, even though he just nned on taking care of one of the waves because of pure goodwill.


    Faintly nodding in response to her words, Valyr soonmanded the system to bring up the quest''s description, only to be left at a slight loss for words with how generous the rewards for the quest were.


    Ding!


    [The Tidebreaker''s Return] (Time-limited Quest)


    Difficulty: B


    Tidebreaker. Astarto''s Hope. Astarto''s Light.


    Those titles have be your identity ever since you''ve established your footing in Astarto.


    From your participation in the monster tides, to the clearing of the dungeon that hampered Astarto''s expansion, the people of the former vige have admired you, looked up to you as a model they should follow.


    Because of that, many say that such titles are well-deserved, with even a select few saying that it is an understatement of your true abilities.


    However, as your presence within Astarto became gradually forgotten, some began to wonder whether the titles you earned were truly deserving. Some began to wonder whether it was an overestimation of a man that was just slightly stronger for the time.


    Of course, you had no reason to care about that, considering that your tform has already expanded to cover a size beyond the measly town of Astarto.


    Yet, a few still do, such as the leader of Astarto Town herself.


    Wanting to remind people of the Tidebreaker''s existence, Alfaera Astarto has decided to turn the goodwill you''ve shown her into a stage for your return, a way for those dubious of your feats to realize that it wasn''t unfounded.


    With that, the question that remains is... will you ept?


    Quest Objectives:


    > Clear a wave on your own during the monster tide (0/1)


    > Defeat the Greater Tidemother (0/1)


    Quest Rewards:


    > 10,000,000 XP


    > Reputation +500 within Astarto Town (Current Reputation: 500 | Well-known)


    > Reputation +100 within the Aste Region (Current Reputation: 0 | None)


    > [True Tidebreaker] title


    > [Astarto''s Eternal Tidebreaker] title


    > Enhancement of [Astarto''s Hope] title


    > Enhancement of [Astarto''s Light] title


    > ??? (Additional rewards dependent on performance during the quest) Quest Penalty:


    > Reputation within Astarto Town is reset


    > -10 Affinity with people you''ve formed an affinity with in Astarto Town


    [Note: This quest shall only remain active during the duration of the monster tide terrorizing Astarto Town. Once the monster tide is over and the quest still hasn''t been cleared, the quest shall be considered forfeited.]


    Though the difficulty of the quest was on the easier side of the spectrum, the rewards Valyr would be getting frompleting the quest was way beyond what the difficulty level suggested.


    In a way, it kind of matched the rewards he''d gotten frompleting Ryvrthe''s quest, which was considered a S rank quest for the time.


    Then again, with how some of the rewards were somewhatckingpared to what Ryvrthe gave him, Valyr felt that the rewards he''d gain from the quest Alfaera gave him were more in- line with what A rank quests usually gave.


    Yet, even that was still above the quest''s difficulty level.


    "You sure you want to give me this much?" Valyr asked Alfaera once he was done reading through the quest. "Even a fraction of this is more than enough, to be honest."


    "It''s the least we can do to give proper thanks to your contributions from before," replied Alfaera, prompting Valyr to recall the grand celebration the vige threw for him after he''d cleared the dungeon.


    Surprisingly, Alfaera also had the same thought in mind. "The celebration from back then isn''t included."


    "..." Bing silent for a bit, Valyr eventually let out a wry chuckle as he epted the quest, getting the feeling that there would be no end to the current situation if he rejected Alfaera''s


    goodwill.


    With that, a satisfied smile adorned Alfaera''s face as she moved the topic of their conversation somewhere else. "Speaking of which, you haven''t told us what wave you n on clearing."


    "The wave before the Tidemother," said Valyr with a faint smile, which was more or less what the others were expecting him to choose.


    "I had a feeling you''d choose that." Of course, Alfaera had the same thought as them. "There''d probably be no point for you in clearing any of the other waves anyway."


    "Think of it as me easing the town''s burdens," said Valyr in response, eliciting Alfaera to let out a bit ofughter in return.


    "And this is why I attached all of those rewards to the quest I gave you."


    After talking with Alfaera and the others for a bit more on how the town was holding up against the current monster tide, Valyr soon shifted his gaze to the battlefield, watching as the third wave was mostly cleared by the trainees they were nurturing.


    By the time the fourth wave had arrived, almost all of the trainees were instructed to head to the rear lines as the experienced town guards showed the trainees the goals they should aspire


    to be.


    "Hiyah!" "Raagh!!!"


    "Haah!"


    With their stats greater than their peers thanks to the existence of the reinforcement elixirs, the guards now making up the frontlines had no problems clearing the fourth wave.


    In fact, the same went for the fifth wave, where the guards showed dominance even against monsters that were at the middle toter levels of Rank 3.


    By the time the sixth wave arrived, the town guards began to work alongside Astarto''s budding military force, all of them boasting power that even exceeded the guards who''d been empowered with the reinforcement elixirs.


    Getting an idea as to why the military was able to exhibit that much force, a slight smile adorned Valyr''s face as he watched them take care of the wave after that with ease.


    Once the seventh wave was fully cleared, it was only then did Valyr take a step forward, letting


    out a bit ofughter as Tristan and Myst followed behind him.


    "I suppose it''s my turn now?"

 Chapter 1000: The Culmination of Effort

    Chapter 1000: The Culmination of Effort


    ?


    "Maintain your positions!"


    Screaming at the top of his lungs, a ferocious expression appeared on Leon''s face as he looked at the members making up his quadrant.


    Seeing how they were able to handle themselves against the monsters of the seventh wave, the man faintly let out a sigh of relief, only to return his gaze to the remaining monsters before them.


    Whoosh!


    Knowing that his members wouldn''t be able tost as long as him, Leon charged forward with all his might, shing down with his de towards the first monster he saw.


    "[Bestial Cleaver]!"


    With the help of a skill, the man was able to push the monster he was facing backwards while also dealing ssh damage towards the other monsters in his surroundings.


    Unsurprisingly, with how much damage he''d dealt with the skill, Leon had attracted all of the monsters'' aggro, causing some of them to shift their attention away from the other members. Inwardly d that his action had worked, Leon moved a bit deeper into the battlefield, making use of the swordsmanship he''d learned to fight against a group of monsters at once.


    Then, feeling like he''d exhausted the monsters as much as possible, the man then caught the monsters off guard, conjuring a spell that immediately engulfed all of the monsters within his vicinity in mes.


    "[ze Field]!"


    Fwoosh!


    With the spell he''d conjured continuously dealing damage to the monsters in his vicinity, Leon made quick work of the monsters he''d attracted, utilizing both the swordsmanship he''d honed and the magic he''d obtained due to his ss.


    ''Though the enemies are stronger, I''m now even stronger than them,'' thought Leon to himself, keeping up the morale of his quadrant as he continued to fight against the monsters without holding back.


    Because of that, it did not take long for their quadrant to clear their portion of the seventh wave, causing everyone to look at one another with smiles on their faces as they made their way back.


    Of course, Leon also had a smile on his face, even though he was tallying the number of people that were injured during the seventh wave.


    Then again, while recording the conditions of his members in preparation for the uing wave, the man briefly thought about how far he already was on his journey.


    From his humble beginnings as a citizen of Astarto Vige, he enlisted himself as one of the vige guards in order to protect his home from the monster tide.


    With that, he put in all of the effort he could to strengthen himself, which eventually bore fruit by the time a monster tide dide to the vige.


    Though he did feel a bit of jealousy towards people like Valyr, who had grown stronger than him, he knew that he would eventually reach their level as well, which had surprisingly be true by the time the reinforcement elixirs were introduced.


    After consuming the reinforcement elixirs, he felt like he''d been given wings, allowing him to achieve feats that were normally impossible for the previous him to even think of doing.


    Because of that, he pushed himself beyond his limits, removing the box that confined his thinking as he eventually decided to pursue the path of both swordsmanship and magic.


    ''If it weren''t for those reinforcement elixirs, I probably wouldn''t have taken the courage to pursue two paths at once,'' thought Leon to himself with a slight chuckle as he told the members of his quadrant to rest up for the uing wave.


    ''I wonder who introduced those miraculous things to the vige in the first ce?''


    "Guard Captain Leon!" Though, just as he began to ponder over the question in his mind, a messenger had arrived before him, gasping for air as if he''d pushed his body to its limits.


    "Haah... haah..." Catching his breath for a bit, the messenger soon conveyed to Leon the orders that were given to him. "Mayor Astarto... she ordered all of the quadrants to stay behind for the uing wave."


    "Hmm?" Leon slightly frowned at the messenger''s words. "Is the center quadrant going to make a move? Are they nning on using the uing wave to also deal a blow to the Greater Tidemother?"


    The messenger shook his head in response. "That''s not it. The mayor mentioned that a special person would be dealing with the uing wave on their own."


    "A special person?" At first, a dubious expression appeared on Leon''s face. After all, which person was that strong to handle an entire wave on their own?


    Fortunately, after recalling the conversation he made before making his way to his respective quadrant, Leon felt the thoughts in his mind click into ce as he found his answer.


    "Did the mayor say which person was taking care of the eighth wave?" Though he knew a couple of people within town that had the ability to deal with a wave on their own, Leon had a feeling that the person making a move this time was someone different.


    Someone who''d taken care of an entire monster tide mostly through his own strength.


    Someone he knew quite well.


    Thankfully, the messenger''s response did not disappoint him.


    "ording to the mayor..."


    "They go by the moniker of Tidebreaker."


    ...


    "Tidebreaker..."


    Continuing to make his way to the battlefield, Valyr began to hear the various quadrants mutter out the title he used to adorn.


    Though he felt a hint of embarrassment at being called with that title once more, the young man mostly ignored it, reminding him of the reason why he came to Astarto.


    With that in mind, he soon noticed that the title had caused differing opinions to appear among those who''d been fighting against the monsters so far.


    To those that had seen him during the two monster tides he''d participated in, the moniker of Tidebreaker was more than enough to instill them with great confidence, certain that it was only a matter of time until the monster tide was cleared.


    On the other hand, those that arrived to Astarto only after it had be a town were dubious of the im, wondering why such a young man like him would be called by an overbearing


    title.


    In any case, whether it was to prove those that doubted him wrong or to keep the spirits of those that believed in him high...


    Valyr was still going to fight regardless.


    Keeping the effects of his curse in mind, Valyr eventually stopped in his tracks as he looked at the two that followed behind him. "You two should stay here for the meantime. However, be ready to back me up at a moment''s notice."


    "Alright." Tristan nodded in response, wishing the young man the best of luck.


    On the other hand, Myst had a look of disapproval on her face, slightly confused as to why


    Valyr told them to stay behind.


    Taking note of this, Tristan ced his hand on her shoulder, stopping Myst from moving any further as he told her, "You''ll find out soon enough."


    Though she still felt a bit of confusion in regards to Valyr''s request, the curiosity that bubbled up from Tristan''s words soon overtook it, prompting her to let out a long exhale as she nodded back at Tristan.


    After that, the two focused their gazes on their man that protected their vige in the past, not daring to blink as they did not want to miss even a single moment of what was toe.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    Whoosh!


    Inwardly smiling at Tristan''s actions, Valyr went ahead and red out his aura as he began to


    activate his skills.


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Raging Azure Phoenix]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    Continuing to move towards the center of the battlefield, Valyr briefly nced at the people


    defending the town from the tide once more.


    Unsurprisingly, most of the people that doubted him at first became silent, left at a loss for


    words after he''d shown his true aura.


    As for those that believed him from the very start, they looked at him with excitement, now


    curious as to where his limits lied.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    Empowering his Intent through the Truth Weaver Scripture, it was only then did Valyr feel like


    he was prepared for what was toe, pushing his agility to its limits as he arrived at the


    battlefield proper.


    Awoooooo!!!


    In response, the monsters making up the eighth wave all begun to charge towards him, their eyes glowing a crimson red due to the effects of Mark of the Alltide.


    Briefly sparing a nce towards the Greater Tidemother behind the eighth wave, a confident smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he retrieved his trusty spear from his back. Then, after checking how strong his opponents were with a quick use of [Superior Analysis],


    he took a step back before swinging his spear upward, summoning the Prime Azure Energy he


    had cultivated thus far.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Stampede of the Azure Tiger]."


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    In response to his movement, a wave of dark blue energy appeared before him, only to condense into a tide of azure tigers that seemed to threaten the monsters of the eighth wave in quality.


    Empowered by both Valyr''s stats and the Prime Azure Energy forming their bodies, the azure tigers did not hesitate to charge towards the monsters, utilizing all of the strength their bodies contained to defeat the foes they had been put up against.


    Returning the spear to his back, Valyr briefly spared another nce to the people behind him, seeing that all of them were now looking at the sight before them with their mouths wide


    open.


    Inwardly chuckling at their reactions, Valyr thought about how he still had more to show them, manipting the Prime Azure Energy within his body to head towards his hands.


    Raising both of his hands as he invoked yet another skill, the young man briefly wondered to himself whether the reason why he''d gotten this far was due to luck being in his favor, allowing the series of connections and coincidences he''d umted so far to turn into


    something greater.


    After thinking about it for a bit, he felt like there was truth to the matter, considering that luck was somewhat important if one wanted to go far.


    Yet, at the same time, he felt like the statement was also false.


    After all, he wouldn''t have been able to make use of that luck if he didn''t make an effort in the


    first ce.


    He wouldn''t have created Prime Azure Energy.


    He wouldn''t have obtained the Four Paths Azure Warlord subss.


    He wouldn''t have obtained the First cksmith ss.


    He wouldn''t have wielded Azure Energy.


    He wouldn''t have wielded Shadow Energy.


    He wouldn''t have forged the equipment he was currently wielding.


    He wouldn''t have ess to all the power he currently had.


    He wouldn''t have gotten to where he was today...


    If he didn''t take the first step that started it all.


    ''This is just the culmination of my efforts,'' thought Valyr to himself as he brought a second


    wave of hell to the monsters of the eighth wave.


    ''And I''ll make sure it stays that way.''


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]." "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]."

 Chapter 1001: One Man Army

    Chapter 1001: One Man Army


    ?


    "Are you sure he can handle a single wave on his own?"


    "It''s fine. He has Tristan and Myst to back him up if ever a problem arises."


    Being themander and the heart of the entire defense formation, Alfaera was forced to stay put alongside ire, watching Valyr and the others head to the battlefield to face the eighth wave.


    "Do you think he can keep his words?" Watching the three move closer to the battlefield proper, ire eventually asked Alfaera the question that was on her mind.


    "After all, even though the aura he''s shown us may be genuine, hisbat strength might be not."


    At those words, Alfaera looked back at her guard with a slight smile. "You''ve been here since Astarto was a vige, ire. Is there even a reason for you to ask me that question?"


    In response, ire returned a smile of her own. "Sure, but I''ve only heard about his feats back then due to circumstances. Since I haven''t seen it firsthand, I''m a bit skeptical."


    "Well, it doesn''t hurt to be skeptical," said Alfaera after mulling over it for some time. "In any case, having interacted with Valyr for quite some time now, he doesn''t promise anything without making sure he has the ability to do it."


    "So, you believe he can do it, then?" asked ire in response, raising her eyebrow in curiosity.


    Though, just as Alfaera was about to respond to the question, Valyr had finally released the entirety of his aura, causing both ire and Alfaera to focus all of their attention towards the battlefield.


    Watching as Valyr''s aura continued to climb in strength the more skills he activated, ire had a look of realization on her face, understanding that she might have greatly underestimated the one that was once called Astarto''s Light.


    On the other hand, Alfaera''s gaze seemed to have stuck on the battlefield like glue, not wanting to miss even a single moment of what Valyr would do next.


    Though she''d also underestimated how strong Valyr had be during thest time they''d seen each other, she interpret the young man''s massive boost in strength as a positive, her body slightly shuddering in excitement as she watched Valyr make his move.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Stampede of the Azure Tiger]."


    As these words left Valyr''s mouth, Alfaera and ire both watched as the wave of blue energy the young man released turned into a massive number of ferocious azure tigers.


    Then, as if the young man that brought them to life had given them amand, the azure tigers began to attack the monsters of the eighth wave without abandon, making use of the strength Valyr had instilled within each of them to their fullest.


    Seeing as how a single skill was already easily taking care of the tide''s penultimate wave, almost everyone was left at a loss for words once Valyr unleashed yet another skill.


    Though, this time, it came from the clouds.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]."


    Within seconds, a massive cloud of dark blue energy began to cover a great portion of the battlefield''s sky, most of which could be found far above the monsters making up the eighth


    wave.


    Screeehhh!!!


    Without any warning, azure phoenixes eventually began to rain down from the massive cloud, targeting the nearest monster within their trajectory as they worked together with the azure tigers to engage in wanton ughter.


    Seeing as how Valyr only unleashed two skills to take care what the majority would have taken hundreds upon thousands of skills to defeat, it went without saying that those doubtful of his earlier title immediately lost all their doubts.


    As for those that believed in him, they watched the lone man within the battlefield fight against the monsters as if he were a conductor of an orchestra, putting him on a higher pedestal as he showed far greater power than before.


    At that very moment, everyone was thoroughly reminded of one thing.


    The Tidebreaker had made its return.


    ...


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    [Canine Tidespawn (Legendary Elite)] (Level 60)


    ss: Canine Tidespawn (Umon)


    HP: 12,700/12,700


    MP: 11,860/11,860


    Attack: 2,758 2,758


    Defense: 1,585 - 1,585


    Stats: 352 VIT, 589 STR, 915 AGI, 604 DEX, 331 INT, 333 WIS, 367 PER, 184 LUK


    Concepts: [Intent Seed of the Alltide]


    Skills: [Basic Alltide Combat Style], [Intermediate Innate Regeneration], [Intermediate


    Physical Resistance], [Tidemother Connection], and 19 other skills.


    Remarks: Amon monster under the control of a Tidemother. It has taken on the shape of a


    canine, exhibiting greater speed and strength than other Tidespawns.


    Anyways, why are you even fighting against something like this?


    Focusing his attention on one of the monsters affected by his curse, Valyr utilized his identification skill on it as he watched both wide-area skills gradually lose their steam.


    Though a single Tidespawn within the eighth wave was more than enough to pose a threat to those that had been defending against the tide so far, having fought against enemies with far greater strength than them, Valyr briefly felt a sense of incongruity.


    After all, what he knew as skills that dealt considerable damage to his foes now turned into miniature nukes, with each attack from them removing a monster from the battlefield before thetter could react.


    "In any case, I''m gonna have to take a more active role soon enough."


    Muttering these words to himself, Valyr kept an eye on how much time the two skills he cast would continue to linger, eventually activating a skill as he headed deeper into the battlefield.


    "[Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations]."


    "Allocate the points evenly between DEX and INT."


    Ding!


    [Your Points of Aspiration has been reallocated.]


    [164 of your points have been allocated to the DEX stat.]


    [164 of your points have been allocated to the INT stat.]


    Briefly moving his body in various ways to limate himself to his new stat distribution, Valyr soon took out his spear as he activated another skill the moment the two skills had


    finished wreaking havoc.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Wrath of the Azure Dragon]."


    Swoosh!


    Imbuing his spear with Prime Azure Energy, a number of monsters immediately fell prey to the attack as holes were gored into them before they could even react.


    Not wanting to miss the opportunity he''d given himself, he then used [Descent of the Azure


    Phoenix] on a nearby monster before using its body as a tform to jump into the air.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Dragon''s w]."


    Swoosh!


    Leaving the spear where it was, Valyr swiped down towards the monsters in his vicinity, sending dozens of monsters to their grave as the man continued to string attack after attack.


    In the end, Tristan and Myst did not have to move even a single muscle as Valyr deftly handle the eighth wave on his own, clearing the eighth wave in just half an hour as he showed everyone the true definition of a one man army.


    Though, just as the final monster of the eighth wave fell victim to his barrage of attacks, Valyr felt the gaze of the Greater Tidemother fall on him, causing him to freeze up as a cacophony of voices resounded in his mind.


    ''The one that has sullied the life of our kin. The one that tormented our kin''s soul for their own nourishment. You''ve finally shown yourself.''


    ''If you''ve continued to hide yourself against the sight of the Alltide, perhaps we wouldn''t have found you.'' The cacophony of voices in Valyr''s mind continued to speak. ''Yet, you''ve


    foolishly dared to appear in front of one of us.''


    ''With that, we shall act as the arbiter of our tormented kin''s wrath.''


    ''We shall mete out punishment for your sins.''


    "..." For a while after that, Valyr went silent, looking down at the ground as he processed what


    the voices had told him.


    Though, after some time, he looked back at the Greater Tidemother, only to let outughter


    as he took out an item from his spatial bracelet.


    "Me? Foolish? You must be joking." "If anything, between the two of us..."


    "You''re the ones that are foolish."

 Chapter 1002: Futility in Motion

    Chapter 1002: Futility in Motion


    ?


    "Damn."


    Having seen Valyr take care of the eighth wave on his own, both Tristan and Myst felt that there was no point in them apanying the young man once he fought against the Greater Tidemother.


    After all, the young man had shown all of them that his strength went beyond even their wildest expectations, causing some of them to wonder whether he''d now directly fight the Greater Tidemother now that the eighth wave was cleared.


    Yet, contrary to those thoughts, Valyr remained in ce after he retrieved his spear, his gaze fixated towards the Greater Tidemother from afar.


    Though both of them remained at the periphery of the battlefield, both Tristan and Myst saw through their high perception that the young man seemed to be engrossed in thought, prompting the two to look at each other for a bit as a thought came to mind.


    ''Is the Tidemother talking to him?''


    With that question in mind, it did not take long for their curiosities to be satisfied as Valyr began to speak up all of a sudden.


    Understanding that the recipient of those words was none other than the Greater Tidemother, Tristan and Myst felt a hint of expectation as they thought that Valyr was going to make his move now that the conversation was over.


    However, subverting their expectations once more, Valyr instead focused his attention on the item he''d brought out amidst their conversation, seemingly doing something that brought the atmosphere in the battlefield to a lull.


    "What... is Valyr doing?" Watching as Valyr stuffed dark powder and what looked to be a ball made out of pure metal into the item, Myst soon had a look of confusion on her face.


    Shifting her gaze towards the man beside him, she thought that the man would be confused as well.


    Yet, there was no hint of confusion on Tristan''s face whatsoever.


    Only expectation and excitement could be seen on it.


    "Is that... what I think it is?" Though the town wasn''t directly participating in the war, Astarto was still contributing to the war efforts through its equipment as a forging town.


    Being the leader of the town''s cksmith Guild branch, Tristan was updated by the guild through letters regarding the general situation at the frontlines.


    On one of those letters, the man read that a new ranged weapon was gradually being introduced through the soldiers, needing one to only memorize a specific set of instructions before having the ability to unleash a massive amount of damage on one''s foes.


    Recalling what he read through that letter, Tristan did not take long to put two and two in his mind, eventually realizing that the item Valyr brought out felt somewhat simr to the weapon he''d read.


    Thankful to the heavens for the opportunity that was given to him, the man kept his eyes peeled as he wanted to see the capabilities of the new ranged weapon that shook the battlefield for himself.


    Though, what he didn''t know was that the ranged weapons being used on the battlefield were merely poor implementations of the real thing.


    If anything, he was going to see the capabilities of the actual weapon that would shift the course of the ongoing war in the future.


    ...


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    After Valyr responded to the Greater Tidemother''s words, he went ahead and armed the arquebus he''d brought out for firing, keeping an eye on what the Tidemother would do next as he activated his identification skill.


    Ding!


    [Greater Tidemother (Mythic Elite)] (Level 100 | Boss)


    ss: Greater Tidemother (Umon)


    HP: 735,100/735,100


    MP: 329,750/329,750


    Attack: 7,462-7,462


    Defense: 13,535 - 13,535


    Stats: 2417 VIT, 1166 STR, 1186 AGI, 1270 DEX, 1936 INT, 2153 WIS, 2482 PER, 452 LUK Concepts: [Intent of Attrition]


    Skills: [Advanced Tidemother Combat Arts], [Intermediate Physical Resistance], [Intermediate Innate Regeneration], [Advanced Tidespawn Summoning], and 52 other skills. Remarks: Tidemothers are considered the leaders of monster tides, their strengths dependent on their rank. Greater Tidemothers are considered the bane of multiple towns'' existences, having the strength of a catastrophe once fought.


    You may have what it takes to fight against it, but always remain vignt.


    "Hiss..." Sucking in a cold breath of air, Valyr quickly took a deep breath topose himself after seeing the Tidemother''s stats somewhat resemble that of a Legend-level Void Rabbit. However, unlike the Legend-level Void Rabbit, the Tidemother''s stats leaned more towards defense rather thanbat power. After all, its main objective was to bring the monsters of the tide into existence.


    Of course, that did not mean that the Tidemother was weak inbat.


    Boasting an Attack stat that would deal a considerable amount of damage to even Valyr if he were hit by it, the young man took the defenders into consideration beforeing to the conclusion that they''d probably be able to barely eke out victory against it.


    However, if the Tidemother had the support of a Force behind its strength...


    At the thought, Valyr''s expression turned solemn. Then, while continuing to keep an eye on the Tidemother, the young man aimed the arquebus at it before beginning to infuse it with


    mana.


    "[Extended Charge]."


    Swoosh!


    As the power within the arquebus gradually intensified as time passed, Valyr went ahead and replenished his status buffs, activating all of them with Prime Azure Energy to improve their


    efficacy by 20%.


    At the same time, he nced far behind him, focusing his attention towards both Tristan and


    Myst.


    Screeeeeeee!!!


    In response to Valyr charging up the arquebus, the Greater Tidemother let out a horrendous screech, causing many to cover their ears in response.


    Then, while most of the people had their ears covered, it began to close the gap between it and Valyr, getting the ominous feeling that its death was slowly bing imminent.


    Pushing its agility to the limit, the Tidemother briefly went over the conversation it had with Valyr earlier, confident that the one that tormented their kin''s soul would shudder in response to its words.


    Yet, against its expectations, Valyr instead mocked the Tidemother''s words, deciding to take a stand as he seemingly rejected the Tidemother the opportunity to mete out its punishment. Furious at the thought, the Tidemother continued to close the gap between it and Valyr, even going so far as to use the few movement buffs it had to get closer faster.


    Eventually, it entered the radius of Valyr''s curse, causing its strength to go up by a notch as its multiple eyes began to glow an ominous crimson red.


    Thankful to the Alltide for granting it the power to be stronger, the Greater Tidemother soon stopped in its steps, utilizing its various legs to try and inflict an attack on Valyr before his preparations coulde to fruition.


    Unfortunately, just as one of its legs wouldnd on the young man, a woman in ck and green armor appeared to deflect the leg away, allowing Valyr to avoid the attack as he continued to keep most of his attention on the arquebus.


    Incensed, the Tidemother struck once more at Valyr, only to be deflected once more.


    However, unlike before, it was now a well-built man wearing a set of red and blue gloves,


    grinning as he defended against the Tidemother''s actions.


    Feeling its anger reach the peak, the Greater Tidemother decided to aim for Valyr at an angle that both the man and the woman wouldn''t be able to react to in time, utilizing one of its hind


    legs tond an insidious strike on him.


    Though, just as it seemed the young man mocking its words would finally receive the


    punishment he deserved...


    The arquebus had finally reached its maximum charge.


    "[Grand Burst]."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Bang!


    ''-926,665!!!!

 Chapter 1003: The Tide Ends

    Chapter 1003: The Tide Ends


    ?


    "...Thanks."


    Making sure that he''d cleared the entirety of the Greater Tidemother''s health, it was only then did Valyr let out a sigh of relief, giving an apologetic smile to the two that protected him just earlier.


    "... You know what you did was risky, right?" Briefly left at a loss for words at the massive crimson number that appeared above the Tidemother''s head, Tristan took a while for him to find the right words to say.


    "Of course." Valyr nodded with a slight chuckle. "However, I had a feeling you two would make a move before then."


    Though most of his attention was focused on the arquebus after he''d activated [Extended Charge] on it, it wasn''t as if Valyr wasn''t aware of what the Tidemother was doing.


    Seeing that it was about to attack him with one of its legs, the young man was already more than prepared to cast a defensive skill in response.


    However, as if the three of them had talked about what he nned on doing a long time ago, Myst appeared in front of the leg to deflect it, utilizing the increased strength she gained from the Gale Wolf Armor to do so.


    Not wanting to increase the burden on Myst, Valyr went ahead and rolled away from where originally stood, prompting Tristan to jump in and defend the young man against the Tidemother''s attack.


    Fortunately, the arquebus had already reached its maximum charge before the Tidemother''s third attack couldnd on him.


    Because if not...


    ''I''d rather not want that to happen,'' thought the young man to himself as he briefly went over a what-if scenario, shaking his head as he imagined the arquebus exploding to engulf him and the other two.


    Taking in a deep breath topose his thoughts, Valyr took a brief look at his notification screen, only to notice ack of them not long after.


    Understanding what that meant, the young man began to move away from the underside of the Tidemother, prompting Tristan and Myst to follow suit. "Just a heads-up, I haven''t received a notification from the system yet."


    "You might have to defend me one more time."


    Having already gone through multiple fights in the Void World against Void Rabbits that seemingly had two lives, after hearing that the Greater Tidemother they would be fighting also had a second phase, it went without saying that Valyr''s awareness towards the matter was at its peak.


    Not wanting to fall victim to the retaliation of his opponent after recovering through their second phase, the young man preemptively made preparations for the fight that was toe, arming his arquebus for firing as he took a look at his status buffs.


    "What do you want us to do?" Slightly clicking his tongue as he heard the words that came out the young man''s mouth, Tristan immediately got into a defensive stance after Valyr stopped a couple hundred meters away from the Tidemother.


    "You already know what to do," said Valyr in response, activating [Extended Charge] once more as he aimed it at the Tidemother.


    Sensing that the waning vitality from the Tidemother was gradually beginning to surge yet again, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he looked at the two.


    "Just keep doing what you did earlier."


    Screeeeee!!!!


    Just as half a minute had exactly passed since Valyrnded a deadly blow to the Greater Tidemother, the Tidemother gradually began to stand upright once more as its aura slowly returned to what it was.


    Then, in an instant, the aura it radiated surged to an even greater peak, causing many of the people watching the final fight from afar to shudder in fear.


    With its body giving off a faint crimson glow reminiscent of its eyes from earlier, the Tidemother allowed its fury to be recognized by the entire town, letting out screech after screech as it searched for the one that gave it a grievous amount of pain.


    Eventually, its multiple eyes fixated on a certain part of the battlefield, all of them trained on a young man who was wielding a weapon that looked simr to a cane.


    ''You...'' All of a sudden, the cacophony of voices from the Tidemother resounded in Valyr''s mind once more. ''You dare go against our wishes? You dare reject the grace that we''ve given you?''


    ''Do you not fear the repercussions that might arise because of your actions?''


    Listening to the Tidemother''s words in silence, Valyr briefly stared back at it,mitting the appearance of the Greater Tidemother to memory.


    Compared to the Lesser Tidemother he''d fought against in the past, the Greater Tidemother''s appearance could be more or less summed up as a spider mutated beyond recognition.


    Spanning a height of at least 70 meters, the hundreds upon hundreds of small eyes covering the entirety of its face looked simr to jewels as it formed a contrast to its maw filled to the brim with jagged teeth.


    Not only that, but it sported at least twice the number of legs the Lesser Tidemother had, which was the reason why the Tidemother was able to strike Valyr from an angle both Tristan and Myst could not reach in time earlier.


    Other than that, the Greater Tidemother more or less had the same features as a Lesser Tidemother, such as an underside filled to the brim with openings of various shapes and sizes.


    Nevertheless, even though the Greater Tidemother was more imposing than a Lesser Tidemother in almost every aspect possible, Valyr soon responded back to the Tidemother''s words.


    "What wishes? What grace?" Valyr scoffed, taking note that the Tidemother was beginning to move closer to him. "Are you talking about your decision to kill me?"


    "You must be incredibly foolish to think I''d just stand here and let you do what you want," continued the young man, sensing that the Tidemother had hastened its pace.


    "Repercussions?" Feeling that the arquebus had reached its maximum charge once more, Valyr immediately threw caution out of the window as he let out a loud cackle.


    "The only repercussions you''ll be seeing here are the consequences of your actions, not


    mine."


    Screeeeeeeee!!!


    Feeling more and more incensed as Valyr''s words continued to taunt it, the Tidemother let out yet another horrendous screech, pushing its agility to the limit as it closed the gap between it and the trio.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, the multiple eyes on its face began to glow a faint crimson red yet again, causing its fury to reach beyond the heavens as it entered the range of Valyr''s curse.


    Stopping just a few meters away from the trio, the Tidemother began to swing its legs against the three, confident that the power the Alltide had given it would be more than enough to bring retribution to the one that tormented its kin.


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    However, just as both Tristan and Myst had prepared themselves to defend against the Tidemother''s onught of attacks, Valyr pressed the trigger on his arquebus, sending out a beam that swiftly pierced through the Tidemother''s head.


    Bang!


    ''-926,665!!!!


    With its health having only recovered to half thanks to the effects of the second phase, the Tidemother fell prey to Valyr''s attack yet again, its legs folding in on itself as it swiftly lost its


    vitality.


    Thud.


    As its entire body caused the battlefield to quake, Valyr and the others continue to keep an eye on the Greater Tidemother, maintaining vignce in the off chance the Tidemother would revive a second time.


    Ding!


    Fortunately, such a thing never happened as a notification sound resounded in the young man''s mind not long after, causing a wide smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he shared the


    good news with everyone.


    Within a matter of seconds, everyone that helped defend against the monster tide cheered out in excitement, relieved that their town could remain standing for another day.


    Of course, as the one that dealt the final blow that signaled the end of the entire tide, it was no surprise that almost everyone was screaming Valyr''s name, idolizing him as an existence that


    would keep their town safe.


    "The Tidebreaker has made its return!"


    "The Tidebreaker has kept Astarto safe!"


    "Long live the Tidebreaker!"


    And thus, as if it were the ebb and flow of a river, the title he had in the past naturally appeared in the mouths of the tide''s defenders once more, causing a slight smile to appear on the young man''s face as he looked at the two that helped him out.


    "So, how does it feel to be recognized again?" Understanding what was going on in the young man''s mind at the moment, Tristan let out a bit ofughter as he asked Valyr a question.


    In response, the young man looked at the people behind him that were all cheering his name. Then, looking back at both Tristan and Myst, he gave them a wide grin.


    "It feels... great."


    ...


    "..." While the entire town was celebrating the sessful conclusion of the monster tide, a white-haired man in histe twenties absentmindedly stared out at the battlefield from atop


    the town''s walls.


    Looking around for a bit, his gaze eventually fell on the Greater Tidemother, only for his expression to turn into disappointment after realizing it had already fallen. Continuing to keep his eyes on the battlefield, the man''s gaze eventually fell on a certain


    young man that seemed to have be the center of everything now that the tide was over.


    "Valyr..." Muttering the name of the young man to himself, the man felt a hint of rage begin to bubble up within him.


    "You should''ve left this town for good when you had the chance."


    "...You''re going to regreting back here."

 Chapter 1004: Finishing What Was Started

    Chapter 1004: Finishing What Was Started


    ?


    With the monster tide finally over, it went without saying that a great portion of the defenders went back to town, deciding to celebrate the town''s safety with others as they took the time to rx.


    Of course, there were also those who stayed put, wanting to help dispose of the various monster corpses that had umted thanks to the monster tide.


    Though it wasn''t necessary for them to dispose of the corpses as they would eventually disappear on their own, having already gone through multiple monster tides in the past, the town decided to take the initiative to clean it up, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention because of it.


    Surprisingly, even though the town had shifted their thoughts to focus on dealing with the aftermath of the monster tide, Tristan, Myst, and Valyr stayed where they were, standing near the Greater Tidemother that had fallen thanks to thetter''s attacks.


    Watching the defenders that decided to clean up the monster corpses, Valyr noticed that many of them were looking at him with admiration, prompting him to nod and smile back at them as he soon shifted his gaze towards the two.


    "So, now that the monster tide is over, what do you two n on doing next?"


    As this question left Valyr''s mouth, Myst went silent for a bit as she pondered over it.


    Then, after some time, she began to head in the direction of the defenders disposing the corpses, making her answer immediately known to both Valyr and Tristan.


    "You could say that the town is temporarily free from monsters now that the monster tide is over," said Myst as she temporarily bade farewell. "I''ll help the others clean the town''s surroundings for the meantime."


    Bidding Myst farewell back, Valyr watched as her silhouette became smaller in his vision before returning his gaze to Tristan. "How about you? What do you n on doing?"


    In response, the man pointed at the Tidemother corpse beside them before letting out a hearty chuckle. "Although I''m the head of this town''s cksmith Guild, there are some things that don''t change that easily."


    Having already participated in two monster tides in the past alongside Tristan, it did not take long for Valyr to understood what the man meant by his words.


    "I''m guessing you''re gonna take the equipment and its blood, then?" Valyr looked at him with a knowing smile, to which Tristan grinned in response.


    "Well, if it was any other time, I would''ve probably grabbed the entire corpse for myself," Tristan told Valyr. "However, since you''re here, I presume you''d want the entire thing?"


    At those words, the young man could only offer a slightly apologetic smile in response, recalling the voice that resounded in his mind the moment the Greater Tidemother was gone for good.


    ''Master... would it be possible for me to absorb their blood?''


    Hearing Sana''s voice echo in his mind at that moment, Valyr immediately understood that he might be put into a simr situation he''d already experienced in the past.


    From a simple wooden spear he''d picked up as a starting weapon from Astarto''s barracks, Valyr weathered through thick and thin alongside the weapon, enhancing it with the cksmithing abilities he''d gained in order for it to keep up with him.


    After that, Tristan introduced Valyr to the vials he''d been collecting, all of which were filled with the blood of a Lesser Tidemother. Because of those vials, the spear had sublimated into a form that showed greater power.


    Then, due to Sana''s nascent soul urging him to continue fighting spiders within one of his sessions in an Experience Pit, Sana had finally been awakened, allowing the spear to take another step to be a weapon that would be with Valyr till the end.


    Yet, that all changed when he''d allowed Sana to absorb to the blood of a Prodigious Lesser Tidemother.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr went over Sana''s words in his mind for a bit more before giving Tristan a nod. "Yeah. I might need it to upgrade my spear here."


    After that, he pointed at the blood-red spear behind his back that glistened a faint gold under the sun''s rays, prompting Tristan to stare at it for a bit before letting out a faint sigh.


    Slightly shaking his head as he brought out a box of empty vials from who knows where, Tristan looked at Valyr with a slight smile. "At the very least, could you concede to having me grab 30 vials of blood this time?"


    Briefly surprised to see the box of vials appear out of nowhere, Valyr took a while to respond to the man''s request as he realized that Tristan had gotten his hands on a spatial bracelet.


    "Didn''t you grab like 20 vials of blood thest time we did something like this?" Valyr looked at Tristan as the two decided to head to the top of the Greater Tidemother''s body. "Since that''s the case, wouldn''t 20 vials be enough this time as well?"


    "I had a feeling you''d say that," said Tristan in response with a wry smile, watching as Valyr stored all of his items into who knows where before moving forward.


    "With that being said, how about you allow me to grab 30 vials from the Tidemother and I give you the equipment it drops?"


    As these words left Tristan''s mouth, the two smoothly made their way up the Greater Tidemother''s body thanks to their significantly higher stats.


    "How about you keep the equipment the Greater Tidemother drops, grab 20 vials, and let me have the body for myself just like before?" said Valyr to Tristan after they arrived at the top. "After all, the tide wouldn''t have been cleared so easily if not for me."


    "...At times like these, I wonder why I''ve postponed getting stronger." Feeling as if the conversation would head down a direction he did not want to delve deep into, Tristan eventually let out a loud sigh of exasperation as he eded to the young man''s words.


    Then, with the experience he''d built up carving Tidemothers out over the many monster tides he''d participated in the past, the man deftly carved an opening on the Greater Tidemother''s body that gave him easy ess to its blood.


    Bringing the box of vials closer to him, Tristan went ahead and grabbed a total of 20 vials of blood, only for Valyr to change his mind at the end and have him grab 10 more vials of blood. d that he''d finally gotten what he wanted, Tristan swiftly scooped up enough blood to fill 10 more vials before taking out the equipment that had appeared after the Greater Tidemother''s death.


    "Huh. Pauldrons." Wiping off the blood that covered the equipment, Tristan looked at it with a hint of fascination as it had motifs referencing the Greater Tidemother''s appearance. "Rare grade with a minimum requirement of peak Rank 3 to wear it."


    "You sure you don''t want this?" asked Tristan as he moved the pauldrons closer to the young


    man.


    Taking a quick look at the pauldrons with his identification skill, Valyr''s eyes glistened for a bit after seeing its effects, only to shake his head at the end. "It''s fine. It''ll probably end up


    bing useless to me."


    "After all, I don''t have the other pieces of armor that would activate its set effects," continued the young man with a slight shrug. "Plus, I''m sure that piece of armor would


    benefit the town more than me."


    "...Thank you." Though he knew that Valyr said those words due to his skills as a cksmith, Tristan also knew that the young man was also taking the town into consideration.


    With the two promising to meet up alongside Alfaera and the others after he was done with what he needed to do, Valyr watched as Tristan moved down the Tidemother''s body with all


    the items he brought.


    Continuing to watch the man for a bit longer, it was only after Tristan entered the town''s walls did Valyr return his attention back to the opening Tristan had made on the Tidemother''s


    body.


    Retrieving the blood-red spear behind his back, Valyr immediately heard Sana''s voice echo in


    his mind again.


    ''Master, are you sure you want me to absorb this blood?''


    "Oh? What made you change your mind?" Responding to Sana''s question, Valyr thought back to the time he''d had his spear absorb the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother''s blood. Though his spear had indeed increased in strength yet again, it seemed that the spear went beyond than just absorbing the Tidemother''s blood, eliciting the anger of the Alltide that caused both him and his spear to be cursed.


    Of course, if he knew that dropping his spear into a Tidemother''s body just when it was recently killed would cause things like that happen, Valyr would''ve probably went with just pouring the blood over Sana instead.


    However, as he had already gotten this far, Valyr thought that there was no point shrinking in front of what seemed to be inevitable.


    ''... It''s just that... thest time Master did something like this, a curse was applied to both of


    us.'' As Valyr continued to dwell in his thoughts, Sana''s voice soon responded to his question. ''Wouldn''t the same thing happen again?''


    "It probably will." Valyr didn''t hide the truth from his spear. "You''ll definitely grow stronger, but the curse that''s been put on us will probably be stronger as well."


    ''Then, if that''s the case...''


    "But so what?" Just as Sana was about to tell Valyr to not continue with the idea, thetter instead gave his spear a reassuring smile as he began to drop Sana into the opening. "It''s not like we haven''t found ways to work around it."


    As these words left his mouth, Valyr briefly thought about the solution Vaughn was currently


    working on.


    With the thought in mind, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he fully immersed the spear in the Greater Tidemother''s blood. "We''ll get through this, Sana."


    "We''ll both be grow stronger and eventually make this curse meaningless."


    "Now... let''s finish what we''ve started."


    ''...Yes.''

 Chapter 1005: Incongruity

    Chapter 1005: Incongruity


    ?


    Recalling the previous time he''d upgraded Sana, Valyr watched as the blood within the opening Tristan made began to bubble in response to the spear''s appearance, prompting him to take a few steps back out of caution.


    Feeling the inherent power within Sana gradually increase as more time passed, the young man eventually had a faint smile as his spear left the opening out of its own ord, still remaining connected to the Tidemother''s blood through a thick crimson strand.


    Being reminded of what had transpired back then through the sight currently in front of him, Valyr soon had a frown on his face, beginning to feel that there was something off to the entire situation that led to this point.


    Mulling over the feeling as he continued to watch his spear strengthen itself, the young man eventually had a hunch that the feeling of incongruity he was getting might have appeared ever since he was afflicted with the Mark of the Alltide.


    Though he wasn''t sure which part exactly during that time caused the incongruity he was currently feeling, he was certain that it all stemmed from there.


    ''I guess part of the reason why I''m feeling this incongruity is because of what Vaughn and Sellifer told me,'' thought the young man to himself.


    As far as he could remember, both Vaughn and Sellifer told him that the curse he''d gotten from the Tidemother was a trial of sorts set by Alltide as it wanted to find a sessor.


    Though he had no idea what sessor the Alltide was trying to find, Valyr felt that it didn''t make sense for a trial aimed at finding a sessor to appear in the form of a curse.


    Thinking about the matter for a bit more, the young man soon felt like he was onto something, recalling the words the Greater Tidemother said to him during their fight.


    "The Greater Tidemother was furious at me for sullying the life of their kin, for tormenting the soul of their kin to improve my weapon," muttered the young man as he thought out loud, only to pause his thoughts for a brief moment.


    Whoosh!


    Out of nowhere, Valyr''s spear radiated a wave of energy, causing a faint smile to appear on the his face as he felt the spear slowly but surely reach a higher realm of power.


    However, that happiness was short-lived as he recalled a simr thing happening in the past, deciding to prepare a few defensive skills for the repercussions that were toe.


    Rumble...


    Just as those specific thoughts from the past began to surface in the young man''s mind, the Greater Tidemother''s body began to rumble, prompting Valyr to take in a deep breath in a bid to calm his emotions.


    Continuing to prepare his mind for any sudden danger, the young man took a look at the Tidemother''s limbs, only to see that it now looked to the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother his spear had absorbed before.


    At the moment, it looked as if every bit of vitality the Greater Tidemother''s body had been fully absorbed, causing its previously imposing body to look like the remains of a forgotten past.


    Understanding that this change to the Greater Tidemother was a precursor to something greater, Valyr swiftly turned around in preparation for energy to strike at his back...


    Only for nothing of the sort to appear.


    "...Haah." Releasing the breath he''d been subconsciously holding, Valyr continued to exert vignce as he returned his gaze to the spear, noticing that it had now taken on a deeper crimson color due to the blood of the Greater Tidemother.


    Finding it both unsettling and relieving that the spear seemed to be nearing the end of its transformation, Valyr returned his thoughts to the train of thought he had earlier regarding the Greater Tidemother.


    "In short, this entire situation was all due to Sana absorbing the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother''s soul," murmured the young man to himself, feeling himself get closer and closer to the truth of the matter.


    "However, before that entire thing unfolded, Sana had only been absorbing the blood of the Tidemother, as well as the blood of the Pit Spiders in order to ascend to a higher rarity."


    "Sana even told me that it only needed the blood of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother to do so."


    "Yet, for some reason, she also absorbed the Tidemother''s soul."


    With his brows furrowed, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to whir at a speed unlike before as various thoughts lingered in his mind.


    Eventually, as if a switch had been turned on inside his mind, the young man paused what he was doing and stared at his newly upgraded spear before muttering in slight fear.


    "But what if there was an external force that pushed Sana to absorb its soul?"


    Whoosh!


    As these words of spection left the young man''s mouth, a strong gust of wind began to blow throughout the surface of the Greater Tidemother, prompting Valyr to grab onto his spear now that it was finished transforming.


    Briefly admiring how his spear now looked more elegant due to it taking on abination of both deep crimson and gold, the young man swiftly kept a vignt eye on his surroundings, only for him to hear a loud yet shrill voice talking to him soon after.


    "Though you''ve greatly suffered because of my whims, you''ve shown a level of strength and intelligence that greatly surpasses your peers."


    Listening to these words, Valyr began to feel like he had heard of the voice somewhere, deciding to rummage through his memories to find out where.


    Oblivious to what he was doing, the voice continued to speak. "Not only that, but you''ve also shown a level of determination and conviction that would put many to shame. You''ve shown that you have what it takes to stand at the peak."


    Coincidentally, it was at the end of that statement did Valyr finally remember where he''d heard the voice from.


    Though, before he could ascertain whether his memories were true, a strong wave of energy struck him at the back of his neck, swiftly making him fall unconscious.


    Thud.


    Yet, even with that happening... the voice continued to speak.


    "You have been deemed worthy by the Alltide."


    "You shall now be its sessor."

 Chapter 1006: The Missing Piece

    Chapter 1006: The Missing Piece


    ?


    "...Mngh."


    Having realized he''d fallen unconscious on the body of a Tidemother again, Valyr inwardly let out a low sigh as he admonished himself for not being more vignt.


    Taking in a few deep breaths as he gave his consciousness the time it needed to awaken, the young man soon opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a familiar sight.


    Complete darkness.


    ''... Where am I?'' Just as he''d sat upright, Valyr thought to himself that he was still on top of the Greater Tidemother''s body. After all, the feeling of the surface he was sitting on felt as cold as it after having its vitality siphoned away by Sana.


    Confused as to why he''d appeared inplete darkness, the young man slowly stood up before ncing at the item he was holding.


    Seeing that Sana hade along with him, Valyr faintly let out a sigh of relief as he affixed him to his back, deciding to take a look at the notifications regarding its sessful transformation at ater time.


    "Sana, do you remember what happened before we arrived here?" Deciding to walk through the darkness to find clues, the young man went ahead and shot a question to his spear, hoping that it had an answer to give him.


    Fortunately, Sana replied as it gave off a feeling of affirmation in his mind. ''I do.''


    However, what he heard from his spear was more vague than he initially hoped.


    ''After I became stronger thanks to the blood of the Greater Tidemother, Master grabbed me as wind began to blow all over its body.''


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded at its words. "I can also remember being struck in the back of the head by something before I fell unconscious."


    ''A strong wave of energy struck you at the back, Master,'' said Sana as rification, prompting Valyr to faintly nod once more.


    "What happened after that?" asked the young man. "How did we get here?"


    ''Er... I''m not too sure either, Master,'' replied Sana after a bit of silence. ''After you fell unconscious, I tried to wake you up, recalling what happened thest time we did the same thing.''


    "But then...?"


    ''But then... all of a sudden, both of us were transported to this ce,'' continued Sana where it left off. ''I was confused as to why we were transported here, but I decided to focus on waking you up first, Master.''


    "...Thank you." Though Sana''s perspective of what happened did give him a bit more insight, a frown still adorned Valyr''s face as it wasn''t enough for him to understand why the two of them were in this situation.


    Walking around the darkness for a bit more, the young man soon went through all of the things that happened during Sana''s transformation process in his mind, bing silent as the gears in his mind turned.


    "Well, that doesn''t make sense," murmured Valyr to himself, remembering how all of the words he''d heard from the voice before he fell unconscious talked about how he showed exemry strength and intelligence.


    "It doesn''t match up," continued the young man in his murmurs. "Why would the voice say something like that if I was afflicted with a curse the previous time it happened."


    At that point, he''d brought up his memories from the time he killed the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother.


    Combining it with the various hypotheses he''d formed, as well as the clues he''d gained during Sana''s transformation process, Valyr had a feeling that there was only one thing missing left for his confusion to bepletely resolved.


    Coincidentally, it was at that moment that the Mark of the Alltide on his back began to throb, causing him to stop in his tracks as he gritted his teeth.


    ''Why did it begin to re up all of a sudden?'' Enduring the pain that was radiating from his back, Valyr allowed it to briefly subside before taking in a deep breath topose his


    thoughts.


    After that, he connected the curse''s sudden re-up to the greater narrative that was forming in his mind, feeling like he''d taken yet another step closer to solving the entire thing.


    Surprisingly, as if the heavens were rewarding him for connecting what seemed to be two unrted things into one thought, the curse behind his back began to throb in a certain pattern, prompting Valyr to close his eyes as he focused all of his attention on it.


    ''...I think it''s giving me directions,'' concluded the young man to himself, noticing that the mark on his back was continuously pulsating towards a certain direction.


    Turning around to face the direction the curse was pointing at, a faint smile soon erupted on Valyr''s face as the curse began to pulsate in a different manner.


    Sparing some time to figure out the various directions the curse was pointing him at, the young man soon began to walk through the darkness with confidence, relying on the directions the curse was giving him.


    Unexpectedly, following the curse''s directions caused the darkness surrounding them to gradually disappear, causing Valyr to slightly hasten his pace in the process.


    By the time the darkness was reduced to roughly half of its previous intensity, Valyr began to notice that there were walls to his sides, seemingly made up of gray brick.


    Eventually, the entire darkness disappeared, allowing the young man to realize that he''d been walking through various corridors all this time.


    Following the directions the curse was continuing to give him, Valyr soon arrived in front of a double door spanning five meters tall.


    Sensing a faint imposing aura emanating on the other side, the young man took in a deep breath before pushing on the door. "I suppose I''ll get the answers to my questions once I


    enter, huh."


    Creak...


    "Hngh..."


    Using all of the strength in his body, Valyr was barely able to open the door, pushing his body to the edge of exhaustion before being able to make an openingrge enough to go through. Taking some time to catch his breath, it was only after he felt he''d returned to peak condition did he go through the opening, only toe face to face with a being that was hundreds, if not thousands of times stronger than him.


    "You''ve finally arrived, Sessor."


    "I knew I made the right choice when I first took notice of you."


    Though he was caught off guard by the being''s words at first, Valyr soon understood... that the being in front of him was the missing piece he needed to resolve the confusion in his mind.

 Chapter 1007: Meeting the Alltide (1)

    Chapter 1007: Meeting the Alltide (1)


    ?


    Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr took in a deep breath as he went over the various pieces of information he''d collected so far.


    Then, feeling like he''d gone through everything a couple times, he returned his gaze to the being in front of him, only took out Vaughn''s talisman from his spatial bracelet after that due to a random thought.


    "Are you perhaps... the Alltide?" Putting the talisman to the side, Valyr eventually asked the being before him a question, hoping that the response he''d get to his question would resolve the confusion he was feeling.


    Fortunately, it did.


    "And here I thought you wouldn''t recognize me." Hearing Valyr''s question, the being faintly nodded as he showed a toothy grin, only to let outughter soon after.


    As the being wasughing, Valyr took the opportunity to get a better look at the Alltide''s appearance, immediately realizing that both Vaughn and Sellifer did not use the term ''Divine-level werebeast'' to describe the Alltide lightly.


    Though he had an idea of what werebeasts looked like thanks to the memories Vaughn had shared with him from Veldanyr''s past, the Alltide looked vastly different from all of the werebeasts in those memories.


    Taking on the form of a werewolf, the Alltide spanned a height of at least four meters, its maw terrifyingrge enough for Valyr to imagine himself being devoured whole by the Alltide before he could even react.


    Sporting a pair of light blue eyes, most of the fur covering the Alltide''s body were dark gray in color, with the only exception to that being the fur covering his face and his upper torso.


    With those parts of the Alltide''s body taking on a light gray color, Valyr briefly thought that the Alltide looked more like an exotic dog breed rather than a wolf, only to discard those thoughts soon after as he felt the being''s aura wash over his body once more.


    Feeling the faint pressure that was pushing down on him because of the aura, Valyr swiftly recalled the imposing aura Sellifer''s true body radiated back in the Void World.


    Then, using the aura she''d briefly left unsuppressed as his reference point, the young man surmised that the Alltide would probably weaker than Sellifer, even if the former were to go all out.


    ''I''m sure he''s reining in his aura right now because of me,'' thought Valyr to himself, noticing that the Alltide was now looking at him with interest. ''Then again, the aura he''s exuding right now is already stronger than the aura Vaughn''s memory extension showed.''


    Oblivious to what was going in the young man''s head, the Alltide had a faint smile on his face as he stood up to move closer to him. "I suppose you have a lot of questions in your mind right now, which I am partly to me for."


    "With that, ask any questions you have, and I shall respond to the best of my abilities."


    Distracted by the realization that the Alltide was actually wearing a pair of dark shorts, it took a while for Valyr to regain his bearings as he made full use of the opportunity to answer the queries in his mind. "You''re the one who brought me here... right?"


    "That''s correct." The Alltide nodded, resting on the corner of his table. "I used the curse that I''ve imnted on you to show you the directions to this ce."


    Feeling like the veil covering the entire mystery in his mind was slowly being removed, Valyr felt a hint of trepidation as he decided to take his chances to ask the questions he had in mind that would remove the veilpletely.


    "The curse... did you put it on me because I used the body of that Prodigious Lesser Tidemother to strengthen my spear?"


    "Or was it for a different reason?"


    Watching the Alltide''s reaction with bated breath, Valyr soon released his breath as he listened to his response.


    "It''s to keep an eye on you," said the Alltide, making Valyr feel as if a burden was slowly being lifted off his shoulders as he continued to listen.


    Shrugging his shoulders, the Alltide had a nonchnt expression as he spoke. "To be honest, I don''t care that much on what you do with the Tidemothers. I just made them on a whim back then because I wanted to expand my powers as a werebeast."


    "Then again, having those things around has definitely helped me forge a connection with you through the curse." The Alltide grinned with pride. "Thankfully, you decided to make use of that Greater Tidemother as well."


    "We wouldn''t be interacting right now if not for that."


    Taking a deep breath topose his thoughts, Valyr felt like he was just one step away from truly answering the mystery that was on his mind.


    With that, he suppressed the eagerness he was feeling as he asked the Alltide the question that he felt would finally put the matter to an end.


    "So... does that mean you intentionally put the curse on me?"


    As this question left Valyr''s mouth, the young man thought it would take a while for the


    Alltide toe up with an answer that would satisfy him.


    Yet, surprisingly, the Alltide merely nodded in response.


    "Pretty much," replied the Alltide to Valyr''s question. "Ever since you used those vials of Tidemother blood to improve your spear, I was alerted to your presence."


    "Curious, I kept an eye on your journey, only to feel more and more certain that you were the one I was looking for."


    "Seeing that you nned on transforming your spear once more with the blood of the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother, I decided to manipte a couple of things with my own


    hands."


    "Of course, the result of that is the mark that''s on your back to this day."


    Though he was relieved that the confusion regarding the Mark of the Alltide and his spear had finally been dispelled, a different kind of emotion took over the young man the moment he listened to the Alltide''s exnation.


    He did not know whether it was disgust, or anger, or some other negative emotion. However, if one thing''s for sure, it was the fact that he did not like the feeling the Alltide had given him.


    The feeling that he was being led down to this moment all this time.


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr pushed those thoughts to the side for the meantime, deciding


    to ask the Alltide a question that seemed obvious to ask next in his position.


    "Why go through all that to catch my attention?"


    "Why me?"


    "Haven''t I already mentioned it earlier?" Seemingly unbothered by what Valyr was feeling at the moment, the Alltide continued to adorn a faint smile as he looked at the young man in the


    eyes.


    "I''ve chosen you to be my sessor."


    "The Alltide''s sessor."

 Chapter 1008: Meeting the Alltide (2)

    Chapter 1008: Meeting the Alltide (2)


    ?


    Though Valyr had heard the Alltide mention the word ''sessor'' to him before, the young man did not think that the being in front of him was serious.


    After all, he was only at the peak of Rank 3, while the Alltide was a Divine-level being ording to Vaughn and Sellifer.


    Sure, he may have the ability to fight against newly ascended Myths if he were to go all out, but how could that level of strengthpare to the strength of a being who''d achieved divinity?


    With that in mind, Valyr was left at a loss for words when the Alltide mentioned the word once more, causing the young man to fall into confusion as various thoughts crossed his mind.


    Shaking his head to discard the tangential thoughts in his mind, Valyr decided to ask the Alltide the same question from before. "Why me?"


    "Why not you?" In response, the Alltide let outughter, as if he were expecting the question all this time. "Sure, you may be a bit rough around the edges here and there, but you meet all of the criteria I have in mind for a sessor to the title of the Alltide."


    "For one, your strength is well above even those considered as prodigies at your level," the Alltide exined with a smile. "Though you''re just at the peak of Rank 3, you''ve shown yourself to stand your ground even against foes that are considered Legend-level."


    "In fact, I have a feeling that fighting against those at the Legend-level isn''t your limit." Inwardly shuddering from the feeling of being read like an open book, Valyr continued to listen as the Alltide listed down more reasons why he chose the young man as his sessor. "Aside from your overwhelming strength, you''ve also shown yourself to have a good head." "Making use of everything within your surroundings to your advantage, even going so far as to conceal some of them to increase your advantage even more..." Saying these words, the Alltide let out a chuckle.


    "Frankly, I was surprised you were able to create a true arquebus. Thest time I saw that thing was at least tens of thousands of years ago."


    "I suppose you got your hands on the blueprint during that time I couldn''t track you," murmured the being to himself, causing Valyr to briefly widen his eyes in response.


    Though the Alltide continued to list down reasons as to why he''d chosen Valyr as the sessor to his title, the young man did not listen to any of them anymore, especially after hearing that he was being watched by the Alltide this entire time.


    Because of that, the Alltide continued speaking for at least a few more minutes, gazing at Valyr as if he''d found a diamond in the rough. "And that''s why I chose you as my sessor. Surely all of that would convince you that my judgment is correct, no?"


    In response, Valyr nodded, causing the Alltide to grin as if he''d never grinned before.


    Of course, realizing that the Alltide had not only basically led him to his current situation, but also kept an eye on him throughout most of his journey so far, Valyr had already made up his mind on what he''d do next.


    With that, he discreetly infused a bit of his energy into the talisman he''d brought out earlier. At the same time, he decided to continue the conversation with the Alltide, wanting thetter to believe he''d epted the Alltide''s proposal as he asked, "What would I get as your sessor?"


    "A lot of things, naturally." Incredibly d that his efforts had finallye to fruition, the Alltide did not hesitate to tell Valyr all of the benefits that came with the position beforehand.


    "First and foremost, the greatest benefit you''d get as my sessor would be the mark on your back."


    Whoosh!


    As the Alltide began to release energy into the space they were in, Valyr began to feel the mark on his back wriggle in response to the energy.


    Though, rather than feel immense pain from the mark wriggling, the young man instead felt as if the mark was pulsating wave upon wave of energy that rxed his entire body.


    "The Mark of the Alltide. It''s called that for a reason," said the Alltide, focusing his attention on the energy he''d released. "In short, it''s a mark that I can control to be whatever I want."


    "To those I deem my foes, the mark can be the most stubborn curse that would haunt them to the ends of the earth."


    Whoosh!


    "Of course, to those I deem worthy enough of my support, the mark can be the greatest strength they could ever have."


    "See for yourself."


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound go off in his mind the moment the Alltide finished his words, Valyr went ahead and brought up a screen in front of him.


    [The Alltide is modifying your Mark of the Alltide (Tier I).]


    [They have deemed you as an existence worthy of their support.]


    [Thanks to the Alltide''s actions, Mark of the Alltide (Tier I) has been modified to Blessed Mark of the Alltide (Tier III).]


    Seeing that the mark had gone up by two tiers just from the simple actions of the Alltide, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he decided to bring up the modified mark''s description.


    With his expectations towards the modified mark somewhat low due to how easy the Alltide made the change, the young man was left at a loss for words when he found out that it was the curse he''de to know so far, but was beneficial in many more ways than one.


    Just like the curse, all monsters within a set radius around him would be affected by it. However, rather than unconditionally setting their sights on killing him while having their strengths raised by a tier, the monsters within the radius of the modified mark would instead have their strengths lowered.


    Due to the modified mark being two tiers higher than his curse, the radius and the effect was many times stronger than before, with the modified mark even assuring Valyr that he''d gain the full reward of the foe he killed even with its strength lowered.


    Aside from that, it boosted the amount of XP he gained, as well as the upper limit as to when the Damage Reduction System would nullify all damage he did.


    If another person were in Valyr''s shoes, it went without saying that they would ept this modified mark wholeheartedly, bing the sessor that the Alltide was looking for. Though, feeling as if he''d seen a glimpse of the Alltide''s true nature through their interaction so far, the young man knew that epting it would probably bite back at him in the end.


    "Any other benefits to bing your sessor?" Calming himself down after going through the modified mark''s description, Valyr decided to ask the Alltide for more information.


    "Well..." In response, the Alltide briefly scratched the back of his head. "Most of the remaining benefits would onlye once you ascend to the Myth level."


    "Oh, I know! How about I give you control over all of the Tidemothers throughout Veldanyr?


    Isn''t that enough to show you how much I want you to be my sessor?"


    "It''s definitely more than enough." Valyr nodded in response, causing the grin on the Alltide''s face to be wider.


    Yet, the next words toe out of his mouth broke that grin in an instant.


    "But I refuse."


    "Huh?" The Alltide was confused. "You refuse? You refuse to have control over the


    Tidemothers?"


    Feeling as if he''d understood what was going on in Valyr''s mind, the Alltide regained his smile as he replied, "I see... You''re looking at things in the long term. Yeah, I understand."


    "No... you don''t," said Valyr with a shake of his head. "I''m not refusing that."


    "I''m refusing to be your sessor."


    "You refuse... to be my sessor?" Wondering whether he''d heard correctly, the Alltide seemingly froze in ce for a moment as the gears in his mind began to whir.


    Then, as if he''d finally processed what he''d heard, the expression on his face drastically


    changed to that of indifference.


    "Ah... is that so?" The Alltide''s eyes began to glisten a crimson red, only to turn a deep ck the moment he charged towards the young man.


    "Then, I have no use for you."


    "Perish."


    ||


    Swoosh!


    ng!


    ".....?"


    "I thought you''d already gotten over it after failing so many times. I''m quite disappointed


    you haven''t moved on, zarek."


    "...Vaughn."

 Chapter 1009: Divine Intervention

    Chapter 1009: Divine Intervention


    ?


    Hearing the words that left the Alltide''s mouth after refusing his offer, Valyr inwardly let out a low sigh as he knew he was putting his life on the line.


    Then again, he had already prepared both his body and mind for what''s toe, prompting him to hope that it would work out in the end.


    Whoosh!


    Seemingly having no reason to suppress his aura any further, the Alltide showed Valyr the entirety of the strength his body contained, causing the pressure the young man was feeling from the being to intensify by at least a thousand times.


    Yet, even though the young man felt like he was about to sumb to it at any moment, he remained steadfast, believing in what he''d arranged beforehand.


    Swoosh!


    Boasting a strength that actually rivaled the aura Sellifer showed when they first met in the Void World, the Alltide brandished its ws as it swiped at Valyr, easily imagining the young man turn into shreds.


    However, just before the set of ws couldnd on the young man''s body...


    ng!


    An equal, if not more powerful force reacted to the ws the Alltide brandished, shing at it with a set of swords as the Alltide was surprisingly pushed a few steps back from the exchange.


    "...?" Naturally, the Alltide was quite surprised that his ns of killing Valyr did not work out. After all, his target was just a measly peak Rank 3 holder.


    Then again, that surprise immediately disappeared once he noticed that a man familiar to him had appeared in front of Valyr.


    A man... he did not really want to meet.


    "I thought you''d already gotten over it after failing so many times." Sporting a set of hair and eyes that were as ck as the void of space, the man in front of Valyr looked at the Alltide with a slight frown.


    "I''m quite disappointed you haven''t moved on, zarek."


    "...Vaughn." Feeling unpleasant memories gradually begin to surface the moment heid eyes upon the man before him, the Alltide, also known as zarek, began to bare his fangs as an immense killing intent surrounded his body.


    "...You came." While zarek was seemingly preparing for a fight, Valyr instead let out a wide sigh of relief after seeing Vaughn appear before him.


    "How could I not?" Seeing the young man look as if he could faint at any time from the relief, Vaughn let out a bit ofughter as he looked back at the young man, making use of his aura to protect Valyr from the aura zarek was letting out.


    Of course, it wasn''t as if Vaughn immediately knew that the young man was in danger.


    If anything, the young man had given him a heads-up through the talisman the moment he felt something was off with the Alltide''s words.


    Continuing to infuse energy to keep the connection between them going, Valyr allowed Vaughn to more or less listen in to the conversation he and the Alltide had, giving thetter enough time to arrive where the two currently were.


    "Consider this your first request out of three." Sensing that zarek''s aura was gradually rising as time passed, Vaughn tightened the grip on his swords as he gave the young man a smile.


    "Also, if you could move to the door behind you, that would be great."


    Hearing the statement that came out of Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr briefly nced at the Alltide, only to feel a sense of dread as he noticed that some of the killing intent the being was radiating was aimed at him.


    Looking at Vaughn for a bit, he nodded in response before activating [sh of the Azure Dragon] to hasten his movement speed.


    Then, just as he had begun to make his way to the door, the Alltide had made its move, charging towards Vaughn without hesitation. "Damn you, Vaughn!"


    Swoosh!


    Swiping his ws in a cross pattern, zarek''s attack collided the pair of swords Vaughn held, with thetter using all of his strength to push the ws back.


    Then, utilizing the opportunity he''d given himself, Vaughn pushed his strength to the limit, ring out his aura as he shed out at the werebeast''s torso.


    "Haah!"


    Fwoosh!


    Knowing that death awaited him if he were to receive Vaughn''s attack, zarek immediately stepped back in response to the counterattack, causing the swords Vaughn wielded to collide with the ground.


    The result?


    Bang!


    Though it was the ce where a Divine-level werebeast resided, the inherent power contained within Vaughn''s swords were more than enough to cause the entire floor to shift, prompting the anger on zarek''s face to intensify.


    "How the hell did you even find this ce?!" Making use of the other abilities he''d gained as a Divine-level werebeast, zarek immediately conjured a barrage of energy bolts as he screamed at Vaughn in frustration.


    "Take a guess." Unfortunately for the werebeast, Vaughn also decided to conjure a barrage of bolts in retaliation, lunging towards zarek once more as he aimed to incapacitate the


    latter.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    ng! ng!


    Having already assured himself a bit more safety the moment he had his body hug the massive doors that led to the room he was in, Valyr spared a bit of his attention towards the fight that was unfolding between Vaughn and the Alltide.


    Of course, even though he boasted stats that were far higher than his peers, he was still ultimately a peak Rank 3 ss holder.


    Because of that, most of t e fight that unfolded between the two appear as blurs in front of the young man, eliciting him to make use of his imagination as he somewhat focused his attention on reading the movement of their energy instead.


    Surprisingly, changing his focus allowed him to grasp more of the situation, prompting the young man to open his mouth in surprise once he began to notice that Vaughn was slowly gaining an edge over the Alltide.


    Then again, that surprise came from the fact that Vaughn, who was only a bit taller than him, had more than enough strength to overpower the Alltide, a werebeast that was over four


    meters tall.


    ''Well... he didn''t say he was a Greater God for nothing.'' With this thought in mind, Valyr put Vaughn on a taller pedestal than before, continuing to watch the fight unfold between the


    two.


    Naturally, with how Vaughn was slowly gaining an edge over the Alltide, it went without saying that the man was eventually able tond a critical hit on the werebeast, dealing more than enough damage to put zarek out ofmission.


    Seeing as how the Alltide flew through the massive room due to Vaughn''s attack, a look of awe appeared on Valyr''s face as he btedly realized the two hadn''t truly gone all out yet.


    At the same time, he brieflypared the strength the Alltide showed with the strength both Vaughn and Sellifer had shown him.


    In the end, he surmised that the Alltide had a level of strength that was lower than theirs. Though, in reality, that conclusion partly deviated from the truth.


    Letting out a faint sigh of relief as he''d finally pacified zarek, Vaughn sheathed the two swords he wielded before turning around to look at Valyr with a faint smile. "I suppose you have a few questions you want to ask zarek?"


    In response to the question, Valyr looked at the two Divine-level beings for a bit before nodding, prompting the smile on Vaughn''s face to slightly widen as he apanied the


    young man in moving closer to the werebeast.


    Arriving in front of the werebeast, Valyr was slightly surprised that the injury the former had


    sustained was already beginning to heal.


    Looking at Vaughn in the hopes for an exnation, Valyr soon heard from him that werebeasts inherently boasted a monstrous rate of regeneration, which transformed a partial state of immortality after zarek ascended to the Divine level.


    "...Are you nning to finish me off in front of that runt?" Though he was still in the midst of healing from the massiveceration Vaughn had put on his body, zarek continued to maintain wariness as he watched the two humans appear before him.


    "I could..." said Vaughn in response, eliciting a hint of fear to briefly appear on zarek''s face


    as he felt how the man wouldn''t hesitate in doing so. Fortunately, his opponent wasn''t nning on taking it that far. "However, I think it''d be better for the two of us if you were to answer this young man''s questions instead."


    "..." At those words, zarek shifted his gaze to the young man he''d been doting on earlier,


    the one he was hoping to be his sessor.


    Of course, such thoughts immediately disappeared the moment Valyr rejected his offer.


    "What do you want to know?" Knowing that he more or less had no say in the matter, zarek let out a faint sigh as he suppressed his aura to more manageable levels.


    In response to the werebeast''s actions, Vaughn also decided to suppress his aura, taking a few steps back after that as if to give Valyr the center stage.


    "..." Feeling the attention of two Divine-level beings focused on him, the young man pondered over the various questions he had regarding the Alltide in silence, eventually choosing one that seemed to hit the root of everything.


    "What''s the true reason in choosing me as your sessor?"


    "..." Hearing the question, the Alltide surprisingly remained silent as he began to look down at the broken floor. At that moment, it was as if he was avoiding the question through all


    means.


    Unfortunately, having interacted with zarek before, Vaughn already knew the answer to


    Valyr''s question.


    "It''s far simpler than you''d think," said Vaughn to the young man, prompting thetter to


    focus all of his attention on the man''s next words.


    "The sessor part is just a facade."


    "In reality, he''s just looking for a talented body to possess so he could aim for the higher


    ranks of divinity."

 Chapter 1010: The Alltides Reasons

    Chapter 1010: The Alltide''s Reasons


    ?


    At the moment he heard the exnation that came out of Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr briefly looked at the Alltide with dread, realizing that he would have suffered a fate worse than death if he had agree to be the werebeast''s sessor.


    "You don''t understand." Naturally, as a Divine-level being, zarek easily took notice of the young man''s change in expression, causing him to let out a harrumph in response.


    "You''re too young, runt. You won''t understand how long I''ve been toiling away just for a glimpse at the higher skies."


    "And that''s why I''ve been telling you to focus on deepening yourprehension," replied Vaughn as he looked at zarek straight in the eye.


    Then, with a sigh, he shook his head. "Yet, even after all of the pestering I''ve done in the past, you''ve continued to cling onto dark ways."


    "Do you really think I would cling onto this method because I wanted to?" At this point, there was a tone of anger directed at Vaughn as zarek spoke. "I don''t have long to live, Vaughn. I''ve already spent most of my vitality already."


    "And that''s your reason?" Vaughn let out a sigh in disappointment. "You may have originally been a werebeast, zarek, but that doesn''t mean you''ve remained inept inprehending the concepts."


    "You wouldn''t have be a Myth in the first ce if you were, much less a Divine." Listening to their conversation up to this point, Valyr began to form a general idea of the situation, gradually understanding why the Alltide had done what he did.


    Nevertheless, even though he understood what the Alltide aimed to do, that did not mean he agreed with the way he tackled the problem.


    After all, this current life of his was merely a second chance the heavens gave to him at making things right.


    Inparison to the possible hundreds of thousands of years Divine-level beings could live for, his over one thousand year lifespan was just a mere drop in the bucket.


    Continuing to listen to the two argue over the Alltide''s problem, the young man slowly began to realize that Vaughn and the Alltide had a deep rtionship.


    If not, then Vaughn wouldn''t have actively given the Alltide advice on how to solve his problems.


    Yet, even though the two bickered over it for at least half an hour straight, the two still never saw each other eye to eye in the end.


    With that, feeling like he''d said everything he needed to say to both Vaughn and Valyr, the Alltide remained silent once his conversation with Vaughn was over.


    On the other hand, Vaughn nced at Valyr, giving him an apologetic smile as he gradually forgot about the young man in the midst of their conversation.


    Distancing themselves from the Alltide as he recovered, Vaughn and Valyr sat near the entrance to the room as the former decided to give the young man more information.


    "I have a feeling you have a lot of questions to ask me after listening to our conversation," said Vaughn with a slightly apologetic smile. "I''ll try to exin what zarek and I have talked about in the simplest terms possible."


    Nodding in response, Valyr was about to let Vaughn talk, only to recall something. "Before that, how''s the progress regarding the solution to the curse?"


    "I''m more or less done with that, actually," replied Vaughn, prompting Valyr''s eyes to widen in surprise. "However, there''s a chance that you might not need that solutionter."


    "Really?" asked Valyr back, somewhat skeptical.


    "You''ll see whyter." Vaughn smiled in response, only to sigh soon after. "In any case, you know you could''ve avoided this situation if you didn''t have your spear absorb the Tidemother''s blood again, no?"


    Feeling like he was caught red-handed, Valyr adorned a bitter smile as he exined himself to Vaughn.


    "Strengthening the spear... Helping out a town against a monster tide..."


    In the end, Vaughn let out a sigh once more, slightly shaking his head as he looked back at Valyr with amusement. "Well, if it''s for that reason, I guess I can''t me you."


    "It''s the reason why I chose you to inherit my position, after all."


    Understanding that they''ve veered far off course from their original topic, Valyr swiftly decided to steer it back. "So, why is the Alltide looking for a body to possess, exactly?"


    "He already said the reason," said Vaughn in response. "It''s so he could take a glimpse at the higher skies."


    "...What do you mean by that?"


    "Hmm..." Briefly rubbing his chin in response, the gears in Vaughn''s mind turned for a bit as he looked at Valyr. "How much do you know about Myths? Specifically, Myth-level beings?"


    "A considerable amount thanks to Sellifer," replied Valyr.


    "How about the Ancient-level?"


    "I don''t have a lot of information on that."


    "The Divine-level, then?"


    As Vaughn asked that question, Valyr merely shook his head, prompting Vaughn to go silent in response.


    Of course, having retained all of his memories from his past life, Valyr had information on everything Vaughn had asked him.


    After all, he had long reached the pinnacle of divinity in his past life, only being a few steps away from bing immemorial by the time the final battle struck.


    Since Vaughn recognized him as a reincarnator, there was no need for Valyr to jeopardize his identity, especially if there was no reason to show all of the cards he had been dealt.


    As long as he showed that he knew some bits and pieces of information that even Legends would have difficulty obtaining, then that was enough for the current him.


    "Okay." Feeling like he had a good exnation in mind, Vaughn looked at Valyr with a calm expression before opening his mouth. "Both of us know that Rank 6 to 10 is considered the Realm of Ancient Myths."


    "Just like how Rank 1 to 4 ss holders are considered Epics with an Intent, while those at the pinnacle of Rank 5 with a Force are considered Legends, those at Rank 6 to 9 are recognized as Myths, while those at the pinnacle of Rank 10 are recognized as Ancients."


    Hearing Vaughn''s exnation, Valyr felt like a query of his from back then had finally been solved, specifically the description he''d read from one of his titles, [Surpassing Mortal Bounds].


    Pushing those errant thoughts to the side for the meantime, Valyr continued to listen as Vaughn proceeded with his exnation. "To cut a long story short, the realm that epasses the next five ranks after that are different than the previous 10."


    "Unlike the realm for mortals and Myths, each rank has a corresponding title, which has something to do with the level of strength and enlightenment they have."


    "Those at Rank 11 are designated as Half Deities, while those at Rank 12 are designated as Lesser Deities," said Vaughn, prompting Valyr tomit his words to his mind.


    "Those at Rank 13 are designated as Greater Deities, which is what I am at the moment."


    "Now, with that in mind, what rank do you think zarek is at?"


    Hearing the question, Valyr pondered over it for a bit before deciding to rely on what he felt was correct. "Is he a Lesser Deity just like Sellifer?"


    "He is... but also not," replied Vaughn, causing Valyr to tilt his head in slight confusion. "As for Sellifer, consider her as a Greater Deity with how much power shemands at her rank." "Anyways, returning to the topic of zarek, he''s what you would call a Fallen Greater God." "A Fallen Greater God?" Even though he was already on his second life, this was the first time Valyr had heard of the term. "What''s that?"


    "It is as the name suggests," said Vaughn in response. "It''s a Greater God that still has their strength as one..."


    "But their foundations... their enlightenment, theirprehensions as a Greater God..."


    "All of those are gone."

 Chapter 1011: The Alltides Motives

    Chapter 1011: The Alltide''s Motives


    ?


    "Gone?" Hearing the words that came out of Vaughn''s mouth, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in disbelief. "Intent? Force? Concept? All of that is gone?"


    "All of it," replied Vaughn. "Hisprehension, his realm... all of that gone."


    "Well, not actually all of it. His Legacy still remains... though that really isn''t any constion," continued the man, prompting Valyr to nod in response as he had a slightly grim expression.


    Having alreadyprehended an Intent to a high grade, Valyr knew how much improvement one''s strength would undergo if one were to obtain an Intent.


    With the experience he''d rued from his past life, he also had an idea on how it''d feel if he were to gain ess to a Force, as well as the various other features Sellifer had mentioned Myth-level beings had ess to.


    Because of that, Valyr was at a loss for words when he realized that he''d witnessed something unimaginable earlier, which was the fact that the Alltide stood his ground while fighting against Vaughn.


    Though Vaughn still overpowered the Alltide in the end, the fact that their fightsted for that long gave Valyr immense disbelief.


    After all, theprehended concepts Myth-level beings had greatly boosted their Attack and Defense stat, much less theprehended concepts Divine-level beings would have worked hard to obtain.


    Without thoseprehended concepts... without the various other features that made a Divine-level being an actual god... the Alltide was still able to exhibit that much strength?


    ''...I really don''t want to imagine how the Alltide would turn out if he got his hands on my body,'' thought the young man to himself with a slight shudder, his mind briefly imagining a what-if scenario where the Alltide was sessful in his attempts.


    Shaking his head to remove the errant thoughts in his head, Valyr felt that he now understood why the Alltide had gone to the extent he did to a greater extent. In fact, it went as far as him beginning to feel sympathy for the werebeast.


    Of course, being the target and unfortunate sacrifice of the werebeast''s methods, that feeling of sympathy swiftly disappeared.


    Letting out a faint sigh as he thought about improving his strength once all was said and done, Valyr had a few ideas on how he''d do that as he continued his conversation with Vaughn.


    "Even though he''d lost all of that... he''s still able to exhibit that much strength?" asked Valyr with a disbelieving expression on his face. "Can you even consider him a Greater God at that point?"


    "Some do, some don''t," replied Vaughn with a slight shrug, ncing at zarek for a bit. "After all, most Greater Gods after losing all their enlightenment would usually end up being weaker than even Ancient-level beings."


    "To be honest, I don''t know how he''s retained that much strength with all things considered," continued the man. "If he still had all of his enlightenment while still exhibiting that much strength... perhaps he''d already be at the realm of an Ancestral Deity now."


    "I see..." Though he outwardly showed indifference to Vaughn''s words, Valyr was inwardly speechless when he heard that the Alltide could''ve possibly be an Ancestral Deity.


    After all, only those with a Rank 14 ss could be called by that title.


    "In any case, I should probably apologize for not keeping an eye on zarek." Deciding that he''d given the young man more than enough information regarding the matter, Vaughn decided to shift the topic somewhere else.


    "After all, even though zarek''s tests to find a sessor usuallyes with risks, the benefits thate along with it are usually on par with them," the man told Valyr.


    "I just didn''t expect that he''d end up bringing you to his private subspace before you could experience any of that."


    Listening to Vaughn''s words, it went without saying that the young man became curious as to what the benefits were.


    With that, Vaughn exined that the mark zarek put on him could actually be obtained in multiple ways, with most of them being dependent on how zarek felt at the time. "However, there''s one thing with those marks that remain consistent," said Vaughn. "And that''s the fact that the marks zarek create have five tiers in total."


    Naturally, Valyr asked for more information regarding those tiers, recalling how the beneficial mark he''d got from the Alltide before everything went down was just Tier III.


    If that mark already had effects that Valyr considered miraculous, what effects would a beneficial mark at the highest tier have, then?


    Fortunately, Vaughn did not mind exining to Valyr the intricacies of the mark at every tier, briefly telling him of his experience at having been marked by zarek.


    Through there, Valyr eventually found out that the highest-tiered mark was actually something even Ancient-level beings would covet with how heaven-defying the effects were... as long as it was beneficial, of course.


    On the other hand, those with a cursed mark from the Alltide felt that they were suffering a fate worse than death, even more so for those that had received the highest-tiered cursed mark from him.


    "Anyways, there''s not much point in knowing all of that information," said Vaughn at the end, with his next statement causing the young man to raise his eyebrow. "Remember how I told you earlier that there''s a chance you wouldn''t need the solution I was making for the curse?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Well, I think it''s time to show you why."


    Sparing a nce at zarek from afar, Vaughn stood up before making his way to the werebeast.


    Then, shing a kind smile at him, he then asked zarek, "Say, mind if you remove the mark


    on Valyr?"


    "Oh, and the thing you put on his spear as well."


    Remaining silent as he listened to Vaughn''s request, a look of faint anger appeared on zarek''s face before he eventually responded.


    "...And why should I do that?"


    "It''s not much, really," replied Vaughn, the smile on his face taking on a different connotation. "I was nning to give you something that could help with your problem..." "But I guess you''re more eager for me to beat you up."


    "..." Listening to the conversation that was unfolding between Vaughn and the Alltide, Valyr''s body quivered in fear as Vaughn''s words reminded him of the man''s alternate identity. Unsurprisingly, zarek knew of the identity as well, prompting the frown on his face to deepen as he eventually shook his head with a sigh.


    Swoosh!


    Raising his hand for a bit, the Alltide swiftly conjured a ball of iridescent energy that he immediately threw towards Valyr.


    Then, before the young man could react to it, the ball exploded into multiple strands of energy that split into two halves.


    Whoosh!


    With one half heading towards his body, Valyr watched as the remaining half made its way to the spear on his back, sensing that the strength Sana had lost due to the curse was finally


    returning.


    With excitement on his face, he soon felt that the mark on his back was gradually disappearing as well, eventually feeling as if there was nothing inhibiting his strength


    anymore.


    Ding!


    [The Alltide has removed your Blessed Mark of the Alltide (Tier III).]


    [The Alltide has removed the nefarious energy contained within your weapon.]


    Taking a look at the notifications he''d received from the system, Valyr soon spared a nce towards Vaughn, his eyes filled to the brim with immense gratitude to thetter.


    In response to the gaze, Vaughn let out a chuckle as he conjured a rift to appear beside him.


    Swoosh!


    Grabbing a vial containing a golden fluid from the rift, the man soon gave the vial to zarek as he closed the rift soon after. "Now, isn''t it better if we don''t resort to unnecessary


    fighting?"


    Though he couldn''t care less as to what Vaughn said, zarek did care about the vial of


    golden fluid the man gave him, wanting to consume the vial''s contents as soon as possible.


    Because of that, he remained silent as Vaughn went on to say a few more things, only for an insidious thought to appear in the werebeast''s mind.


    Seeing as that the situation had more or less been settled, Vaughn felt that his duty was now over. With that, he made his way to the door leading to the room, with Valyr appearing beside


    him not long after.


    "The next time we meet, I hope you''re able to return your former glory somewhat," said Vaughn to zarek, waving farewell to the werebeast before opening the door.


    Then, while both Vaughn and Valyr were leaving the room, zarek conjured a small bolt of malicious-looking energy on his hand as he let out a grim chuckle. "I''ll be able to return to


    my former glory, alright."


    Swoosh!


    Without any warning, the werebeast threw the bolt of energy towards the two, prompting Vaughn to swiftly turn back in anger the moment he sensed the bolt heading their way.


    Though, just as he''d conjured a barrier of energy to protect both him and Valyr, the energy unexpectedly phased through the barrier as if it wasn''t there in the first ce.


    "What?!" With slight fear in his eyes, the man hurriedly conjured a few more barriers to hopefully restrict the bolt from advancing even further...


    Only for all of them to immediately be futile as the bolt eventually struck Valyr in the


    back.

 Chapter 1012: Salvaging the Situation

    Chapter 1012: Salvaging the Situation


    ?


    Bang! "Agh!"


    With great force, the bolt struck Valyr, sending the young man flying as a wave of pain began to radiate from his back.


    Fortunately, the young man was able to quickly react andnded on his feet, though he


    immediately faltered to the ground as another wave of pain washed over his body the moment he did.


    Seeing that Valyr''s life wasn''t in danger after the insidious attack, Vaughn inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he conjured a series of barriers around the young man, not wanting the same thing to happen again.


    Then, turning his head towards the culprit, Vaughn unsheathed both of his swords, charging towards the werebeast as he red his aura to its limits.


    "zarek!!!"


    Whoosh!


    Moving at a speed far faster than before, it was at this moment that Vaughn finally showed the strength of a true Greater God, shing down at zarek with abandon.


    "Hahahaha!!!" In response to the rage-filled attack, zarek let out a cackle as he defended against the attack with his arms. "You really think I''d let you do as you please, Vaughn?"


    "Remember who you''re messing with." Bringing out all of his strength in response to Vaughn''s tyrannical move, a grin adorned zarek as he soon attacked in retaliation.


    "The Alltide doesn''t go down without a fight."


    "[Rage of the Alltide]."


    "[Laceration]!"


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Pushing back Vaughn''s swords with great force, zarek soon struck at the man with his ws in all directions, making it seem as if he''d confined the man into a small spot.


    "[Essence of Immortality: 1st T]."


    "[Patience]."


    In response to the flurry of attacks, Vaughn struck back at zarek with both swords, imbuing them with his energy before beginning to neutralize the attacks one by one.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    ng! ng! ng!


    While the two had begun fighting one another once more, Valyr remained within the barriers Vaughn had conjured, slightly shuddering in fear as he realized then and there that the two had been holding back before.


    Then again, all of those thoughts immediately disappeared as a wave of pain radiated from his back once more, causing him to writhe on the ground as he gritted his teeth.


    ''And here I thought he''d given up on me.'' Taking in a few deep breaths to calm his thoughts, Valyr forcefully endured the pain on his back as he returned his gaze to the fight that was unfolding.


    Focusing his attention on the werebeast Vaughn was fighting, Valyr let out a sigh as he shook his head with a wry smile. ''Then again, he was dead set on killing me the moment I said no.''


    "I probably should''ve expected this to happen," murmured the young man to himself, letting out a muffled groan in response to yet another wave of pain.


    Confident that Vaughn would win the fight as he had gone all-out from the start, Valyr decided to redirect his attention towards the wave of pain he was feeling from his back, understanding that the Alltide was attempting to put a mark on him again.


    ''The Alltide definitely hasn''t given up on me,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, feeling the skin on his back wriggle to form what felt like the foundations of the mark from before.


    ''Because of that, I''m sure he''s gonna put a far worse curse on me so I give up.''


    Focusing his senses inward, Valyr soon got a better view of the mark forming on his back, eventually noticing that the speed at which it was forming had grown slower than before. Curious as to why, it did not take long for the young man to figure out, seeing that the fight between Vaughn and the Alltide had escted to a higher level.


    ''He''s even brought out his Celestial Realm out,'' said Valyr to himself inwardly, briefly focusing his attention on Vaughn.


    Seeing that the man''s skin was now giving off a faint silver glow, the young man soon turned his attention on the Alltide, immediately noticing that the werebeast''s movements had be confined now that Vaughn had gotten serious.


    Though he wasn''t sure whether Vaughn had done it intentionally to help him, it went without saying that Valyr was going to make the most out of his current situation.


    After all, even the seconds he wasted thinking on what to do next would give the mark on his back more opportunity to fully form.


    "Would it even be possible for me to stop this mark from forming?" asked Valyr to himself, feeling doubt over his abilities as he would be facing off against the energy of a Divine-level


    being.


    Realizing that he was thinking negatively from the start, the young man shook his head before proceeding to mobilize the mana within his body towards the area where the mark was


    forming.


    "It''s still better than just letting it happen."


    Whoosh!


    Though he didn''t really think the situation would change for the better once he began shoving in mana into the area where the mark was forming, Valyr was given a slight surprise as the


    rate at which the mark was forming began to slow down.


    d that he had bought himself some time, a smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he briefly nced at the fight unfolding between Vaughn and the Alltide.


    Seeing that the Alltide had momentarily broken away from his confinement, the young man quickly returned his senses inwards, doubling down on having his mana fight against the energy since he had a lot of it.


    Unfortunately, just as he thought that his idea would continue to work, the mark seemingly began to gain resistance to it, gradually returning its rate of expansion to how it was before Valyr began interrupting it.


    Undeterred, Valyr shifted his train of thought from attacking the mark with quantity to


    attacking it with quality.


    Swoosh!


    Continuing to use the mana on the mark, Valyr soon began to pour in his Void Energy into it, awakening the hundreds of sensations contained within it to give it more force.


    Surprisingly, using Void Energy on the mark worked better than mana ever did, putting the formation of the mark to a halt before proceeding to gradually reverse the formation soon


    after.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm down his excitement, Valyr was finally able to figure out what he needed to stop the mark from forming in the first ce, mobilizing his Prime Azure Energy in coordination with the two energies already there.


    To no surprise, the speed at which the mark disintegrated sharply increased the moment Prime Azure Energy was added, being the highest-tiered energy Valyr had ess to at the


    moment.


    Yet, just as the mark was close to disappearing from his back, the Alltide had broken away from Vaughn''s offensive yet again, making use of his brief freedom to focus all of his


    attention on the mark he''d put on Valyr.


    Fwoosh!


    "Urgh!"


    And just like that, Valyr''s effort had gone to waste as a mark farrger and stronger than his


    previous one had formed at the center of his back.


    Ding!


    Then again, his efforts were not entirely wasted.


    [You have assimted a trace of the energies of the Divine level into your energies.]

 Chapter 1013: Only For It to Worsen

    Chapter 1013: Only For It to Worsen


    ?


    Astarto Town, outside the town''s walls.


    "Haah."


    Shaking his head with a look of slight disappointment, Tristan slowly made his way out of the town gates as he gazed out at the battlefield. "What''s taking him so long?"


    With the entire town more than prepared for the monster tide thanks to Valyr''s help, it went without saying that the speed at which monster tide was cleared was significantly faster than before.


    Of course, with Valyr taking care of thest two waves, that speed was further amplified, allowing the entire town to clean up the entire battlefield before the sun began to set.


    Then again, even though the battlefield from earlier had already returned to more or less how it looked before, there was still one thing on it that hadn''t been removed by the townspeople. Whoosh!


    Pushing his body to its limits, Tristan soon began to dash through the vast ins surrounding the town at great speeds, eventually arriving in front of what seemed to be a small hill of sorts.


    However, if one were to take a closer look at the small hill, one would soon realize that it was not a small hill.


    Instead, it was the dried-up body of the Greater Tidemother that terrorized the town earlier.


    "Hup." Though he was slightly surprised that the Tidemother''s body had changed so drastically in a matter of hours, Tristan deftly made his way up the surface, expecting to see the young man there.


    Yet, against all odds, Tristan saw no signs of Valyr whatsoever.


    It was as if he hadn''t visited the town in the first ce.


    "Hmm..." Frowning at the oddity of the situation, the man brought up the conversation he had with the young man in his mind regarding the Tidemother''s parts.


    Recalling how Valyr wanted the remainder of the Greater Tidemother''s blood, Tristan soon made his way to the opening he''d made on its body, only to click his tongue as he found that every drop of blood the Tidemother had was siphoned clean.


    "...That''s weird." Scratching the back of his head as he looked at the opening in confusion, Tristan soon made his way down the Tidemother''s body before making his way back to town. Then, letting out a low sigh, a few ideas came to mind as to why Valyr seemed to have disappeared all of a sudden. "Well, there''s the possibility that he was urgently called back."


    "After all, with how quickly he handled that Greater Tidemother, it wouldn''t be surprising if he was fighting against the orcs in the frontlines."


    "Then again, there are some other reasons thate to mind," murmured the man to himself, letting his mind briefly spiral down into what felt like a rabbit hole.


    Though, in the end, he shook his head to remove such thoughts, instead letting out yet another sigh as a brief look of sadness appeared on his face.


    "I guess this is how you nned on saying goodbye to us, then?"


    "...If so, then I wish you had a better way of doing it."


    ...


    "Mngh...!"


    Oblivious to what was happening back at Astarto, Valyr writhed and wriggled in pain as the mark fully formed on his back.


    Taking up arger portion of his back while also emanating an aura that felt more sinister than before, the young man inwardly let out a disappointed sigh as he continued to endure the pain the mark was giving off.


    Gritting his teeth as he slowly sat upright, Valyr was eventually able to ignore the paining from his back as it began to subside, allowing him to pay attention to the fight that was continuing to unfold between Vaughn and the Alltide.


    "I guess it was useless to resist," murmured the young man to himself, letting out a self- deprecating chuckle. "After all, I''m basically fighting against a Divine-level being. It was a losing game from the start."


    Shaking his head as he briefly admonished himself for doing something so foolhardy, the young man let out yet another sigh as he brought up his notification screen, immediately being greeted by what seemed to be an inevitable oue.


    Ding!


    [You have incurred the Alltide''s wrath.]


    [Channeling this wrath towards you, the Alltide has imnted the Mark of the Alltide (Tier III) on your body.]


    [With this mark, the Alltide is confident that you would never be able to avoid his gaze.] "Tier III, huh," said Valyr with a bitter smile, bringing up the description of the upgraded mark as he continued to read through its apanying notifications.


    Seeing that the system tantly told him that the mark was the Alltide''s way of tracking him, Valyr felt an odd sense of ease as he read through the upgraded curse''s description.


    Only for him to feel dread once more.


    [Mark of the Alltide (Tier III)] (Curse)


    Rarity: ???


    The Mark of the Alltide is considered a curse that even those at the Divine level would not want to obtain, with the mark''s fifth and final tier even having the ability to pull gods to the ground. Fortunately, the solution to not obtaining it is incredibly simple.


    Just don''t incur the Alltide''s wrath.


    However, to those that have received the unfortunate fate of incurring the Alltide''s wrath, the Mark of the Alltide could only be described as a living nightmare, especially for those who live in areas teeming with monsters.


    Those who have obtained the third tier of the curse are considered beings that haven''t truly incurred the Alltide''s wrath, but are also infuriating enough to the Alltide that he wouldn''t mind them dying from the mark''s effects.


    As a mortal with this mark, there is only one conclusion ahead of you.


    Despair.


    As long as the user is within an area unimed by civilization, any wild beasts and monsters within a 500 meter radius around the user shall aim to kill you no matter what. Additionally, all beasts and monsters within the 500 meter radius shall have their strength augmented to two tiers above their usual level of strength. Killing beasts and monsters under the effects of this augmentation causes them to transform into Tidespawn of simr


    strength.


    "..." Bingpletely silent as he finished reading through the curse''s description, Valyr eventually let out a low sigh as he closed the screen, imagining the hardships that he''d have to face in the future now that he had such a dreadful curse.


    Back when the curse was at its first tier, Valyr felt that the curse still had some upsides to it, such as the fact that he gained more XP from killing the monster that was affected by it.


    Yet, there was no trace of that benefit whatsoever on the current version of the curse, instead giving the young man more suffering by further augmenting the strength of the monsters


    affected by it.


    Not only that, but killing those strengthened monsters wouldn''t give any additional XP


    whatsoever.


    Instead, it would just give him more monsters to kill.


    Taking in a deep breath as the thoughts continued to fester in his mind, Valyr took the time to calm his thoughts down, eventually allowing him to look at the curse from a slightly more


    positive perspective.


    "Then again, the fact that the curse doesn''t apply in settlements anymore is good," murmured the young man to himself with a dry chuckle, only to let out yet another sigh


    because of it.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to gather his thoughts, Valyr briefly nced at the ongoing fight between the two Divine-level beings before returning his attention to the notifications he


    received.


    Recalling that he''d seen a few more notifications aside from the ones that talked about the upgraded curse, the young man brought up his notification screen once more and scrolled beyond the ones he''d read, only to be greeted by a pleasant surprise.


    Ding!


    [You have assimted a trace of the energies of the Divine level into your energies.]


    [Because of this, your mana, Void Energy, and Prime Azure Energy have begun to show a portion of their abilities normally unlocked at the Divine level.]


    [Due to your feats, you have obtained the title ''ncing at the Edge of Divinity''.]


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s mood immediately underwent a 180 degree shift after reading through these notifications, his eyes glistening with excitement as he instantly felt a greater


    surge of power coursing through his body.


    Exhrated, the young man decided to continue reading through the notifications in hopes of possibly obtaining some more good news from the system.


    Unfortunately, it seemed that the system was intent on letting him down one more time.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed a power you should not have ess to at your current level.] [The Apparatus has interpreted this as you going against the natural flow of the universe.]


    [Due to your actions, the Apparatus has now deemed you a true Defier of Fate.] [Your current species ''Reforged High Human | Junior Defier of Fate (3rd Unsealing)'' has been


    ressified by the system as ''Reforged High Human | True Defier of Fate (3rd Unsealing)''.]


    [You have obtained the title ''True Defier of Fate''.]


    [...]


    [...]


    [...]


    [The Apparatus has taken notice of you.]


    [The Apparatus has decided to keep an eye on you.]

 Chapter 1014: What Shouldve Been Done

    Chapter 1014: What Should''ve Been Done


    ?


    "...[Essence of Immortality]."


    "[Repentance]."


    With zarek having rued a massive number of injuries all over his body, Vaughn decided to end their fight once and for all as he hastily did a quick sword dance.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Infusing his Divine-level energy into his swords, a myriad number of des soon manifested in the air the moment Vaughn swung both swords down, all of them piercing through zarek''s body as if it were tofu.


    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!


    Though each de pinned him to the ground, zarek merely let out a grunt in response, his eyes still brimming with anger as he looked at the man that brought him to this state in the first ce.


    On the other hand, Vaughn recalled his Celestial Realm back before sheathing both of his swords.


    Letting out a sigh after that, the man looked at zarek with disappointment. "Why did you do that? Why did you nt your mark on someone who didn''t even want it in the first ce?"


    In response to the question, zarek remained silent, continuing to stare at the man before him with anger in his eyes.


    Then again, if one were topare the anger that appeared in his eyes before, the werebeast''s current anger was more subdued.


    After all, the man that stood before him remained unscathed all throughout the fight, instilling a sense of fear that diminished part of the werebeast''s anger.


    As if he had noticed that fear, Vaughn decided not to ask any further, knowing that he had made zarek learn his lesson.


    Turning around to head back to where Valyr was, Vaughn left zarek a few parting words. "Never do that again."


    With that, the werebeast was soon left alone in his private subspace once more, still pinned to the ground as a result of Vaughn''s skill.


    "Naive," murmured zarek to himself as he confirmed that both Valyr and Vaughn had left his subspace for good. "Do you really think I''ll follow your words just because you told me to?"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Circting the Divine-level energy coursing through his body, zarek soon began to dismantle the des pinning him to the ground one by one, gradually freeing himself from the floor.


    By the time he had fully freed himself, zarek made his way back to where he once sat, allowing his monstrous levels of regeneration to heal all of the wounds that Vaughn had inflicted on him.


    Making use of his Divine-level energy to slightly speed up the process, zarek let out a slight cackle as he murmured to himself, "You''ll rue the day you gave me that vial, Vaughn."


    "With that runt''s body and the vial you gave me in my hands, the next time we meet, you''ll be looking up at me as an Ancestral Deity."


    Letting out a cackle in response to the thoughts lingering in his mind, zarek took in a deep breath as he began to release a bit of his energy into his surroundings.


    Recalling the improved curse he''d put on Valyr, the werebeast briefly felt a hint of pity for the young man before discarding such emotions, making a few gestures in the air as he activated the mark''s tracking feature.


    "As long as I keep an eye on that runt, he''ll eventually be mine," said zarek to himself, grinning as he allowed his imaginations to go wild.


    Though, just as he was thinking about aiming for the realm of power beyond that of Ancestral Deity, the heavens seemingly gave him a reality check as he received no response from the mark whatsoever.


    "Hmm?" Slightly frowning, zarek tried to activate the mark''s tracking feature once more, only to end up empty-handed once again.


    Activating the feature a few more times, the frown on zarek''s face grew deeper, eventually turning into full-blown anger as a certain being came to mind.


    "Damn you, Vaughn!"


    ...


    "Haah."


    Letting out a low sigh as he finished reading through the notifications he''d received due to his actions, Valyr remained outside the Alltide''s private subspace as a look of disappointment adorned his face.


    Though he had gained quite a few things from the system due to his decision of resisting against the formation of the Alltide''s mark, it could be said that he had ultimately lost more than gained more.


    "If only I were stronger," muttered the young man to himself, btedly realizing that the reason why he''d gotten into all this mess was partly due to the fact that he wascking in


    strength.


    Sure, he may have the ability to fight against Myth-level beings while still remaining at the peak of Rank 3, but what would that amount to against a being that exceeded the Myth level?


    What if the situation he''d just been in were to happen again?


    Though he could ask for Vaughn''s help a couple more times, it''s not like the man is obligated to respond to his pleas after that, no?


    "Haah." As the thought ofcking strength pervaded the young man''s mind, Valyr soon began to think about the multiple things he could''ve done to improve his strength even further, but skipped or forgotten due to various reasons.


    However, all those thoughts were pushed to the side as a familiar voice reminded him of the most crucial thing he could''ve done to improve his strength.


    "Why don''t you ascend to a higher ss rank?" Having taken care of zarek, it went without saying that Vaughn returned to where Valyr was, dispelling the barriers around the young man after making sure it was safe.


    "Well..." Though Valyr instinctively felt like there was a reason why he should stay at this current rank, after mulling over it for a bit, the young man soon began to realize that there was no reason for him to stay at his rank in the first ce.


    Nevertheless, the young man did not want to say that outright, soon making up an excuse that sounded believable enough. "Didn''t you tell me the Records are the most effective while one


    is still a mortal?"


    "Pretty sure I told you they''re most effective when one is still below the Divine level," rified Vaughn, immediately seeing through the young man''s excuse. "Sure, you could try to push the Records as far as you can while you''re still a mortal..."


    "But is there really a reason to?"


    "You''re way stronger than your ss rank shows, Valyr." Vaughn looked at Valyr in the eyes. "I may not know how strong you are right now when you go all-out, but the fact that you


    easily dealt with Rank 5 beings in the inheritance is no small feat."


    "I have a feeling you still have a few things here and there you could do to improve your strength a bit further," continued the man. "But as it stands, you''re just limiting yourself if you continue to remain at your current ss rank."


    "Isn''t strength what''s most needed right now in the war? Wouldn''t increasing your ss rank be the easiest way to do that?"


    "..." Hearing Vaughn''s exnation, Valyr merely remained silent, the various thoughts in his mind running rampant as the man''s words served as a long-needed wake-up call to him. Seeing the young man remain silent, Vaughn inwardly let out a sigh as he had an idea of what was going on in his mind. ''At times like these, I notice that you put the cart before the horse


    sometimes.''


    Wanting to give Valyr the time to figure it out on his own, Vaughn soon conjured a rift before


    them.


    "Let''s head back."

 Chapter 1015: What One Must Do

    Chapter 1015: What One Must Do


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Passing through the rift, Valyr immediately squinted his eyes as he stepped on the dried-up corpse of the Greater Tidemother.


    Seeing the sun high up in the sky, he then opened up his status screen, only to find out that an entire day had passed while he''d been brought into the Alltide''s private subspace.


    Pondering over what he should do next, Valyr''s train of thought was shortly interrupted as Vaughn''s words echoed out from the other side of the rift. "I guess this is where we part ways."


    "Then again, if you need my help, you could always use the talisman to contact me."


    Nodding in response to the man''s words, Valyr went silent for a bit before asking, "Are you gonna head back to the temporal realm since I now have a worse mark on my back?"


    "It seems so," replied Vaughn with a wry smile. "With it now being a Tier III mark, I don''t know how long it''ll take me to create the solution for the curse. All I can tell you at this point is that I''ll eventuallyplete it."


    "Still better than telling me there''s no hope," said Valyr in response, which elicitedughter to erupt from Vaughn.


    "That''s true." Vaughn nodded in agreement, only for his eyes to slightly widen as he gave a knowing smile to the young man. "Now that I think about it, I have a feeling that it''ll take me less time to make it than I initially thought."


    Though Valyr was curious as to what Vaughn meant by that, thetter did not give him the time to figure it out as Vaughn began to close the rift.


    "Don''t forget to ascend to the next ss rank," said Vaughn before the rift fully closed. "In fact, even ascending to the peak of mortality isn''t a problem with the amount of feats you''ve achieved."


    "Anyways, talk to youter."


    Swoosh!


    Watching as the rift disappeared before his very eyes, Valyr nkly stared at the spot where the rift once was before sitting down on the massive corpse of the Greater Tidemother.


    Ding!


    Just as he had regained the train of thought he''d lost due to Vaughn''s interruption earlier, a notification sound came from the system, causing him to wonder whether the entire world was conspiring against him to not let him mull over things.


    Though, once he took a look at the notifications he received, his thoughts regarding the world''s malicious intent had immediately taken a 180 degree shift, smiling as he decided to make his way back to Astarto.


    [The Alltide has attempted to activate the tracking feature on your Mark of the Alltide (Tier III).]


    [Due to your actions, you have sessfully corrupted a part of the functions of the Mark of the Alltide (Tier III).]


    [The Mark of the Alltide (Tier III) has failed to give a response back to the Alltide.]


    [Your Mark of the Alltide (Tier III) has changed to Partial Mark of the Alltide (Tier III).] "...I guess it wasn''t all that bad."


    ...


    Unsurprisingly, once Valyr had shown his face within the town, almost all of the citizens of Astarto cheered and thanked the young man for helping them defend against the monster tide.


    Recalling how he''d taken care of the eighth and ninth wave of the tide by himself, many of them talked about how he was the Tidebreaker that would protect their town from every emergency.


    In fact, some of them had even begun to attach the word ''eternal'' to the beginning of the title, stating that Valyr would protect Astarto for as long as he lived.


    Feeling a mix of annoyance and happiness at the abrupt change to his title, Valyr watched as the entire town got into a festive mood once more due to his presence, causing him to let out a faint sigh as he eventually made his way to the town hall.


    Once there, the young man felt a slight headache after seeing many of the people there intent on bringing up his title of Tidebreaker yet again.


    Fortunately, the situation was averted after Alfaera came to greet him, soon bringing him to her office as she initiated the conversation. "Tristan told me you went somewhere after the tide was done yesterday."


    ''He did?'' Though he was inwardly surprised by Alfaera''s words, the gears in his mind swiftly got to work as Valyr nodded in response.


    "Yeah, sorry. The kingdom told me to head back for a bit because something urgent popped up."


    "Does it something have to do with the war?" asked Alfaera, her expression serious.


    Seeing that Valyr nodded to her question, the woman knew it was wise to not delve into the topic further, instead grinning as she asked him, "So, what brought you back to Astarto?" Noticing that Alfaera had sent a message to Tristan, a faint smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he replied, "Well, I did tell Tristan and a couple other people that I''d stay here to catch up with them."


    "Since I abruptly had to go somewhere yesterday, I decided to make up for it by staying here for some time."


    At those words, Alfaera let out a bit ofughter. "Actually, I told Tristan that you''d make up for it after he told me that. He didn''t believe it."


    Hearing that, Valyr let outughter himself as the two continued to talk about Astarto and the various things that happened to the town while he was away.


    Eventually, Tristan had arrived at the town hall, causing the conversation tost longer as the three seemingly took the time to fully catch up with what they were doing.


    "Oh yeah." At some point in their conversation, Tristan looked at Valyr in the eye as his expression became serious. "Damian approached me yesterday to send you a message."


    Seeing as Alfaera''s expression turned serious at those words, the young man had a look of slight suspicion on his face as he asked, "What did he say?"


    "He told me that you should talk with him at the barracks," said Tristan in response, causing the suspicion on Valyr''s face to somewhat deepen.


    Understanding what Valyr''s look meant, the man continued, "I''m pretty sure he doesn''t have any malicious intent towards you. His personality may have changed, but he still looks out for


    the town."


    "But I am curious on what he wants to talk with you about." Tristan slightly shrugged. "So, are you gonna head to the barracks now?"


    "Do I need to go to the barracks now?" asked Valyr in response, to which Tristan slightly shook his head.


    Seeing that, Valyr replied, "Then, I''ll stay in the town hall for the meantime and get some


    rest."


    Asking Alfaera if he could stay in one of the town hall''s guest rooms again, the gears in Valyr''s mind continued spinning as he finally finished the train of thought he had earlier.


    With Vaughn''s words acting as hispass of sorts, he knew what he had to do first before


    heading to meet Damian.


    And that was... to ascend to Rank 4.

 Chapter 1016: Assessing Ones Strength

    Chapter 1016: Assessing One''s Strength


    ?


    Having been escorted by ire to one of the town hall''s guest rooms, Valyr and her decided to briefly catch up over what the other side was doing before eventually parting ways.


    Once inside the room, the young man went ahead and opened up the chat feature to see if he''d gotten any messages over the past few days, only to find out that he had indeed received quite


    a few.


    Seeing that Julian was the one who sent the most messages to him, a wry smile briefly


    appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about the things he''d asked from the man while he''d gone to Astarto to help defend against the monster tide.


    Unsurprisingly, the contents of the messages Julian sent him were what he expected, which was an update on the things he''d asked for.


    For one, Julian updated him on the situation regarding the plot ofnd he was looking for, telling Valyr that his friend had already located a few spots that would pique the young man''s interest.


    Thinking about what he nned on doing after ascending to Rank 4, the young man decided to respond back, asking Julian if he could ask his friend to look for more plots ofnd that wererger in area.


    This thought came in mind when he thought about the number of people he''d bring out in the future from the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    In his mind, he would bring Ryvrthe and a few of the other Forsaken Ones to Veldanyr first so they could limate to the environment.


    Then, once the other Forsaken Ones had more or less adjusted, he would then slowly bring out more of the Forsaken Ones out of the inheritance, gradually building amunity for the Forsaken Ones on Veldanyr.


    Though he had a feeling that what he was doing would cause issuester on, Valyr decided that the pros outweighed the cons, certain that he''d have a way to deal with it in the future.


    Fortunately, Julian was amiable to the idea, asking Valyr regarding his specific criteria on the plot ofnd he wanted to obtain.


    At some point, the man even joked that Valyr was nning to be the lord of a territory with the criteria he''d given, which the young man decided to sweep under the rug for the meantime.


    After that, the two briefly caught up with what the other side was doing during the days they hadn''t seen each other, with Valyr asking Julian if the meeting with the directors had already proceeded with him.


    Unexpectedly, Julian replied that the meeting with the other directors had been postponed due to a sudden shift in the war, giving Valyr a heads-up that the meeting would now happen within half a week.


    "Will you be able toe back to the kingdom before the meeting starts?" asked Julian through his message.


    "I will," replied the young man, mulling over the question for quite some time.


    With that, Valyr felt like he had gone through everything Julian had to say, prompting him to shift his attention to the remaining messages he''d received that weren''t from the man.


    Seeing that one of those messages were from Wells, telling him that he and Edward were on their way back to the kingdom, Valyr naturally wished them safe travels, saying that he was eager to hear their stories regarding the frontlines.


    Going through the few remaining messages in just mere moments after that, Valyr soon let out a content sigh, closing the chat screen before him to bring up the notification screen after that.


    "Now that I think about it, I haven''t been able to take a good look at the things I''d gotten recently," murmured the young man to himself, skipping over the notifications he''d fully gone through before as he went through the remaining ones in chronological order.


    Naturally, the first ones he took a look at were the notifications he''d received from the monster tide, which included the kill notifications he''d received from the eighth and ninth


    wave.


    Calcting that he had amassed a great chunk of XP from killing all those monsters, Valyr adorned a faint smile as he looked through the notifications he''d gotten frompleting Alfaera''s quest.


    Ding!


    [You''vepleted the quest: The Tidebreaker''s Return.]


    [Due to your exemry performance, some of the rewards have been increased.]


    [You have obtained 30,000,000 XP.]


    [Your reputation in Astarto Town has increased by 1500 points. Current reputation: Legend (MAX).]


    [As your reputation in Astarto Town has reached the maximum level, any excess reputation shall be converted toary Reputation (Veldanyr) at a ratio of 5:1.]


    [Yourary Reputation (Veldanyr) has increased by 200 points. Current reputation: Positive rumors.]


    [Your reputation in the Aste Region has increased by 300 points. Current reputation: Well- known.]


    [Your title ''Astarto''s Beacon of Hope'' has been enhanced to ''Astarto''s Glimmering Hope''.] [Your title ''Astarto''s Light'' has been enhanced to ''Astarto''s Shining Light''.]


    [You have obtained the title ''True Tidebane''.]


    [You have obtained the title ''Astarto''s Eternal Tidebane''.]


    Seeing as how he''d shown utter dominance while fighting against the Tidespawn and the Greater Tidemother, the system decided to increase the amount of rewards he''d gained from Alfaera''s quest, which turned what was initially a generous quest into a massivendfall of titles.


    Skipping over the notifications regarding XP and reputation, Valyr moved the notification screen to the side as he brought up the descriptions of the titles he''d received.


    Looking through them one by one, the smile on the young man''s face gradually turned into a grin as he inwardly thanked Alfaera for giving him the quest in the first ce. Being an enhancement of the two previous titles he''d gained back then, it went without saying that [Astarto''s Glimmering Hope] and [Astarto''s Shining Light] now showed a significantly greater performance.


    To sum things up, [Astarto''s Glimmering Hope] was twice as strong as [Astarto''s Beacon of Hope was], with the title increasing the discount to 50% whenever he bought things from merchants within the town.


    Aside from that, his affinity and reputation gain whenever he did quests within the town had gone from 50% to 100%, which Valyr thought would be amazing if he were to obtain another quest from Alfaera in the future.


    As for [Astarto''s Shining Light], it basically cranked up all of the benefits of [Astarto''s Light] to 11, increasing the damage he dealt to monsters within the town by 30% while also reducing the amount of damage he took from them by the same amount.


    Not only that, but as long as he stayed within the town, he would receive a 30% boost to all of his physical stats, while also having all of his stats be boosted by 5%.


    Though 5% was a paltry boostpared to the other titles he''d received as ofte, that amount was almost triple of what [Astarto''s Light] gave him before, which was only 2%.


    Once he was done going through the titles that were enhanced thanks to Alfaera''s quest, Valyr then shifted his attention to the titles he''d received from the same quest.


    "[True Tidebane] and [Astarto''s Eternal Tidebane]..." murmured the young man as he read through a brief summary of their effects. "I wonder what effects those titles would''ve given me if they weren''t upgraded by the quest?"


    Ding!


    [True Tidebane] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    As long as you remain standing, you are the bane of all monster tides. No tide can escape your


    wrath.


    Effects:


    > 2% boost to the user''s physical stats


    > 10% boost to the user''s Attack and Defense stat


    > 20% boost to the damage dealt by the user to monsters within a monster tide


    > 20% reduction to the damage received by the user from monsters within a monster tide


    [Astarto''s Eternal Tidebane] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    With their beliefs beginning to border on fanaticism, the citizens of Astarto are certain that


    the Tidebane will protect them from all the monster tides thate their way.


    > 2% boost to the user''s physical stats


    > 15% boost to the user''s Attack and Defense stat


    > 15% boost to all stats while participating in a monster tide within Astarto Town


    > 20% boost to innate health and energy regeneration while participating in a monster tide


    within Astarto Town


    > 20% boost to the damage dealt by the user to monsters within a monster tide while within


    Astarto Town


    Though he would probably never find out the effects of the lesser versions of his current titles, the effects of both [True Tidebane] and [Astarto''s Eternal Tidebane] caused the young


    man to whistle in admiration.


    Taking in all of the titles he''d just gained from Alfaera''s quest into consideration, Valyr soon came to the wild conclusion that he was at his strongest while defending Astarto from a monster tide, far transcending even the strength he''d shown in the Void World.


    After all, as long as he was within town, the effects of both [Astarto''s Shining Light] and [Astarto''s Eternal Tidebane] would roughly boost his stats by 40% in total.


    Add on the fact that three out of the four titles he''d gained from the quest boosted his damage even further, Valyr imagined that the damage he would''ve dealt to the Greater


    Tidemother wouldn''t just be over a million.


    Perhaps, it would''ve reached a few million.


    "...Well, I guess that''s something to think about if I ever have the chance to help the town


    defend against another monster tide," said the young man to himself with a chuckle before closing most of the screens he''d brought up with a satisfied smile. Reminding himself to thank Alfaera multiple times once he had finished ascending to Rank 4, Valyr returned his attention to his notification screen, moving onto the notifications he''d


    obtained from interacting with the Alltide.


    However, before all that, he looked through the notifications involving his spear with a smile.


    ''Man, am I d the Alltide removed its curse.''


    Ding!


    [Using the blood and energy of a Greater Tidemother as catalyst, the Tidemother blood


    contained within the weapon has finally harmonized with its awakened potential, being reborn anew to contain far greater strength than it initially did.]


    [Due to the newfound power residing within the weapon, the weapon has been ressified to


    a higher rarity. Its rarity is now Epic.]


    [Thanks to the increase in rarity, the name of the weapon has changed to ''Sanguine, Wrath of


    the Greater Tidemother''.]


    [...]


    [The Alltide has removed the nefarious energy contained within your weapon.] [Though it has lost a considerable portion of its power from the loss of nefarious energy, the potential the weapon has to reach greater heights has dramatically increased.]


    [Due to this change, the soul traces within the weapon have been strengthened, only needing


    a small push to be a true soul.] [Thanks to the various changes to the weapon, the name of the weapon has changed to ''Sanguine, Spear Unfettered by the Alltide''.]

 Chapter 1017: Taking the Next Step

    Chapter 1017: Taking the Next Step


    ?


    Once he was done reading through the notifications involving his spear, Valyr retrieved Sana from his back, getting a better look of how much his spear had transformed after absorbing the blood of the Greater Tidemother.


    Though he knew that his spear had taken on a deeper crimson color due to the influence of the Greater Tidemother''s blood, Valyr did not take note of the other changes that urred to the spear because of it.


    For one, the spear tip seemed to have gotten longer and sharper than before, sporting a geometric look to it that made it look more like a precious ruby than an actual spear tip.


    Then, supporting this spear tip were multiple crimson tendrils that looked simr to the Greater Tidemother''s legs, tightly gripping onto the base of the tip as it connected it to the shaft.


    Swinging around to see how sturdy the connection between the spear tip and the shaft were, Valyr slightly nodded in agreement as he noticed that the same tendrils holding the spear tip also extended to connect to the spear shaft.


    In a way, the transformation his spear underwent made it look as if it were a massive spider lily.


    A deadly one at that.


    "[Superior Analysis]." Watching the spear glisten gold under the rays of the sun piercing through the room''s window, Valyr had a bit of expectation as the spear''s description appeared before him, only for all of them to be surpassed in an instant.


    Ding!


    [(+10) Sanguine, Spear Awakened by the Alltide] (Level 55)


    Rarity: Epic


    Weapon Bond: Lv. 2 (Valyr)


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Attack: 1,469 2,449 (+20%)


    Forge Quality: Exceptional


    Additional Attributes:


    > STR + 52


    > AGI + 58


    > DEX + 113


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    Though brought to greater heights thanks to the nefarious energy imbued in it by the Alltide, the same being eventually removed that nefarious energy, giving the potential that had been unearthed by the action to fully blossom.


    In a way, it has gained the recognition of the Alltide, with the being considering it a weapon that has finally begun to fully embody the strength of a true Tidemother.


    <Innate Skill 1: Recognition of the Alltide - The Alltide recognizes this weapon as fearsome under the right hands. Increases the user''s DEX and Attack stat by 10% when equipped.> <Innate Skill 2: Baptism of the Alltide - The Alltide has unearthed part of the weapon''stent potential. Increases the amount of XP the user obtains by 10% when killing foes.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Tidemother''s Descent - The Alltide recognizes that the weapon fully embodies the strength of a Greater Tidemother. Allows the user to transform the weapon in a Tidemother that inherits 60% of the user''s current stats.


    With a nascent soul within the weapon being awakened, the weapon has the ability to fight autonomously. Lasts for 5 minutes. Cost: 20% of the user''s HP and MP. Cooldown: 1 hour.>


    Remarks: Now free from its shackles, this weapon has the strength and ability to capture the attention of many beings. It now has the potential to reach levels of strength normally considered unlikely.


    Going through the changes brought about by the transformation, the first thing Valyr noticed was the massive increase in the spear''s Attack stat, which was boosted by roughly 50%.


    Of course, if he were topare it to something like the Azure Serpent Staff under Sellifer''s hands, then even the spear''s updated strength seemed to becking.


    Nevertheless, Valyr was certain that he''d be able to have his spear match that strength sooner orter, considering that there were still more Tidemother variants he could have his spear absorb.


    Then again, even though Valyr was d to see the spear bing stronger, what truly caught his attention were the skills the spear had unlocked after the transformation.


    Unsurprisingly, with the curse on the spear being removed by the Alltide, the spear did not periodically siphon his strength anymore, allowing Valyr to finally use the spear just like he used to in the past.


    However, those thoughts somewhat shifted after reading through the descriptions of the three skills the spear now had, with the final one piquing his interest.


    "A summoning skill..." muttered Valyr to himself after reading through the spear''s two passive skills. "Well, if I think about it, it''d be better to call it a transformation skill than a summoning skill."


    As the thought came to mind, Valyr thought about the True Gale Wolf Armor he''d given to Myst, specifically the skill it had to summon a Gale Wolf that inherited Myst''s stats.


    In terms of mechanics, [Tidemother''s Descent] worked simrly in that matter, where the Tidemother the skill created would inherit a portion of Valyr''s stats.


    However, unlike the skill attached to the True Gale Wolf Armor, [Tidemother''s Descent] would fully transform the spear into a Tidemother.


    Curious as to how that would work, Valyr decided to save the question for after he ascended to Rank 4, closing his screen as he asked Sana with a faint smile.


    "How are you feeling?"


    ''Better than ever, Master,'' replied Sana, her aura that of jubtion as it spoke in Valyr''s mind. ''With the curse now gone, I''m finally able to help you again!''


    "I''ll be relying on you in the future," said Valyr in response, chuckling as he affixed the spear onto his back once more.


    Returning his attention to the notification screen he brought up earlier, Valyr went ahead and removed all of the notifications he''d already gone through, mostly the ones involving Alfaera''s quest and Sana''s transformation.


    With that, he finally looked through the notifications he''d gotten from the Alltide in detail, prompting a faint smile to appear on his face as he brought up the description of the titles he''d gained during that time.


    Ding!


    [ncing at the Edge of Divinity] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    With your energies embodying a portion of the strength of the Divine, it could be said that


    greater paths shall open up for you in the future.


    Effects:


    > 25% boost to the maximum amount of mana, Void Energy, and Prime Azure Energy one can


    hold


    > 25% increased efficacy in controlling mana, Void Energy, and Prime Azure Energy


    > Greater potential


    [True Defier of Fate] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    Those who''ve reached the pinnacle of strength are all considered True Defiers of Fate due to


    their act of going against natural order.


    And now, you''ve be one of those beings as well.


    Effects:


    > 15% boost to all stats


    > 15% boost to the user''s maximum HP and MP


    > 15% boost to the user''s Attack and Defense stat


    > Greater challenges


    > Greater potential


    Naturally, with how wide of a gap there was between him and the Alltide, it went without


    saying that the system viewed his actions quite favorably.


    Though all he really did was resist against the Alltide''s energy as it tried to form into a mark on his back, that action was more than enough to garner the system''s attention, even going so far as to give Valyr a title that was better than [Myth-transcending Mortal].


    Then again, Valyr''s curiosity was piqued when he noticed that both titles had effects that were more vague than usual, eventually prompting him to interpret ''Greater potential'' as something that would be beneficial to him in the long term.


    On the other hand, the ''Greater challenges'' effect on [True Defier of Fate] caused the young


    man to frown.


    "I have a feeling I already know what greater challenges I''ll be facing." Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of his species, immediately confirming his suspicions once he read through it.


    Ding!


    [Reforged High Human | True Defier of Fate (3rd Unsealing)] (Species)


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    As a being ssified by the system as a True Defier of Fate, you have been recognized to show


    great strength and potential that subverts expectations. With enough time, you might find yourself standing at the pinnacle of power.


    <Racial Skill: Defiance of a Thousand Aspirations - Most of the description has been omitted.


    This skill converts 10% of the user''s total base stats into Points of Aspiration, which can be allocated however the user chooses to do on their eight main stats.


    Any stat points gained in the future shall also be converted into Points of Aspiration, but only under the condition that the user ascends to a higher ss rank. Cooldown: 2 minutes.>


    <Racial Passive 1...>


    <Racial Passive 2...>


    <Racial Passive 3...>


    <Tribtion 1: The XP cost to upgrade one''s level or one''s skills have been multiplied by 10.>


    <Tribtion 2: All enemies in by the user that are at most 10 levels higher than the user or lower now only yield 1 XP.>


    <Tribtion 3: All damage dealt to enemies beyond 10 levels higher than the user is


    decreased by 10%.>


    "Damn." Clicking his tongue the moment he was done reading, Valyr let out a long exhale as he thought about the updated tribtions would affect how he fought in the future. Though it was more annoying to have rather than it being something that actually hampered


    his progress, Valyr still felt a bit of anger over the whole thing, considering how he hadn''t really done anything to truly irk the system.


    In the end, the young man went silent after that, going over the various thoughts in his mind


    as he closed all of the screens he''d brought up.


    Then,ying down on his bed, he took in a calming breath before beginning his ascension


    process.


    Ding!


    [100,355,680 XP has been allocated.]


    [You are now Level 56.]

 Chapter 1018: Ascending in Origin

    Chapter 1018: Ascending in Origin


    ?


    Though the fact that the system had confirmed his ascension to Rank 4 made him jubnt, that jubtion immediately died down when he found out that he''d spent over a hundred million XP just to go up one level.


    With that in mind, the young man''s thoughts returned to the tribtions he''d gotten after having himself be recognized as a True Defier of Fate.


    Thinking about the actions he did to be a True Defier of Fate, Valyr felt that they weren''t all that special.


    After all, all he did to be recognized by the system as a Junior Defier of Fate was that he used the Records Vaughn had given him to ascend to a High Human instead of relying on the system.


    On the other hand, the action he did to be True Defier of Fate was far simpler, which was just him resisting against the Alltide''s energy from forming a mark on his back.


    Of course, mulling over it for a bit more, Valyr somewhat understood the perspective of the system, considering that those actions were things that could have been done through the system itself.


    Ascending to a higher species could be done through the system. Obtaining the strength of a Divine-level being could also be done through the system.


    Nevertheless, even though he understood where it was getting at, Valyr could not help himself from delving a bit deeper into the entire thing, wondering if it was due to him being a regressor that prompted the system to recognize him as one.


    ''Well, with how Vaughn seemed only mildly interested to the idea of me being a reincarnator, I guess transmigrators and regressors aren''t all that surprising here either,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling some of the fiction he''d read in his past life.


    In the end, just like how he''d pushed such thoughts aside before ascending, Valyr decided to go over his questions some other time, faintly wondering whether Vaughn and Sellifer had answers to them.


    With that, Valyr finally returned his attention to the various screens that appeared in his mind, faintly smiling as he read through them one by one.


    Ding!


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your VIT to HP coefficient has changed from 1:24 to 1:32.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your INT to MP coefficient has changed from 1:24 to 1:32.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your Attack stat coefficient has changed from 1:3 to 1:4.]


    [As you have ascended to a higher ss, your Defense stat coefficient has changed from 1:3 to 1:4.]


    Seeing as all of the important stats had all of their coefficients improved by ascending to the next ss rank, Valyr inwardly had a bitter smile on his face as he thought about how fixated he was in squeezing out as much strength from his rank as possible.


    ''Fortunately, Vaughn smacked some sense into me,'' said Valyr to himself inwardly, letting out a bit ofughter as he moved on to the most important portion of the ascension process.


    [Please select the species and ss you would like to ascend with.]


    Ding!


    As that line of text appeared within the young man''s mind, tworge screens soon appeared in front of it, both of them filled to the brim with choices that would leave many at a great loss for words.


    Taking a look at the vast number of species and sses he could choose to ascend to, a look of satisfaction briefly traced Valyr''s face as he shifted his attention towards sses first.


    "Hmm..." Seeing that his choice for sses ranged between various rarities, the young man decided to make it easier for himself as hemanded the system to sort the list ording to their power.


    Surprisingly, the system obliged, immediately sorting the list of sses in a way that had the rarest sses appear at the top of list.


    Seeing that the first three choices on the list were Ancient grade, a look of surprise briefly appeared on Valyr''s face, only for it to turn into a frown as he went through them.


    "Well then... that doesn''t feel like Ancient grade." Looking through the Ancient grade sses that appeared aside from The First cksmith, Valyr immediately got the feeling that choosing either of them would reduce the potential his path had.


    Sure, he would still be able to exhibit a great amount of strength thanks to the titles, skills, and stats he''d umted, but he had a feeling that choosing them would be akin to clipping off the wings he''d nurtured.


    Immediately crossing out the two Ancient grade sses as a possible choice, Valyr decided to ask the system if it was possible to sort out the list in a way where the most beneficial ss to him would be ced highest.


    In response to that request, the system went silent, prompting the young man to think that such a request was impossible to do in the first ce.


    Yet, contrary to his thoughts, the system eventually responded to his request, sorting out the list ording to the young man''s specifications.


    Ding!


    Please select the ss you would like to take as your Rank 4 ss:


    The First cksmith (Ancient - Growth)


    Creator of the Prime Azure (Mythic - Growth)


    Sage of the Four Azure Paths (Mythic)


    Heavenly Azure Spear Lord (Mythic)


    cksmith of the Prime Azure (Legendary Growth)


    ...


    Looking through the renewed list of sses he could choose, a faint smile appeared on the young man''s face after seeing that his current ss proved as the best ss he could take in


    his ascension.


    Of course, that did not distract him from looking at the other sses that were near the top of the list, noticing that many of them had something to do with Azure Energy, Prime Azure Energy, or the concept of the Four Azure Paths he''dprehended.


    Though he was surprised that a considerable portion of them were Growth type sses, with some of them even having simr potential to his current ss, it went without saying that Valyr chose the First cksmith as his next ss.


    After all, the system noted that it was his best choice.


    With the problem of his Rank 4 ss solved, Valyr then shifted his attention towards the list of species he could evolve into.


    Commanding the system to sort the list in a simr manner to how he did his sses, Valyr had a feeling that the choice he''d make wouldn''t be anything that different to the one he


    made for his ss.


    ''Just like how I chose the First cksmith as my ss, I''ll probably end up choosing the 4th Unsealing version of my current species,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    With that thought in mind, the young man gave the system all the time it needed to adjust the list of species ording to his preferences.


    Thankfully, it only took a simr amount of time for it to sort itself out, making Valyr feel a bit of excitement as he shifted his gaze towards the updated list.


    For the most part, the updated list was more or less within Valyr''s expectations, with many of the top choices having something to do with the various energies he''d gotten acquainted


    with.


    In fact, even the 4th Unsealing version of his current species was at the top portion of the list


    as well. However, if there was one thing that was different from the young man''s expectations, it was the fact that the 4th Unsealing version of Reforged High Human wasn''t at the top of the list.


    It wasn''t even second on the list, nor was it third.


    It was fifth.


    Ding!


    Please select the species you would like to take as your Rank 4 species:


    Prime Azure Origin (4th Unsealing)


    Divine Azure Serpent


    True Azure Serpent


    Revered Voidwalker


    Reforged High Human (4th Unsealing)


    Reforged True Human


    ...


    [Note that the chosen species would have ''True Defier of Fate'' attached to them.]


    Seeing his intended choice be fifth on the list, Valyr went silent for a bit before looking at the various choices he had in greater detail, deciding to ask the system for more information on them to get a better idea of what species would benefit him the most.


    Slightly curious towards the what-if scenario that was below his intended choice, Valyr asked the system to bring up information on Reforged True Human, which eventually appeared beside the list of species now that he was done choosing his ss.


    Of course, being a far superior version of the human race, the Reforged True Human species could be considered the best version a True Human could be, simr to how a Reforged High Human was the best version for High Humans.


    Simr to Reforged High Humans, Reforged True Humans boasted a massive increase in stats, while also having ess to a racial skill that could be considered an evolution of what


    Valyr currently had.


    ''[Million Adaptations]...'' Reading through the description of this skill, Valyr briefly felt the urge to choose it after seeing that the skill would give him a greater pool of stats he could use


    to reallocate however he saw fit.


    However, what made [Million Adaptations] truly stand apart was the fact that he could also gain points he could use to empower his skills however he saw fit.


    Fortunately, the young man was able to stop himself from seeing the choice through, reminding himself that it was the sixth best choice on the list.


    With that, the young man also moved his attention away from the fifth best choice, instead


    deciding to take a look at second to fourth choices in greater detail.


    Ding!


    As three screens containing loads of information appeared in front of the young man''s vision,


    it only took a bit of reading through them for Valyr to immediately understand why they were considered to be better speciespared to his intended choice.


    Stemming from the fact that he now had ess to Void Energy, Revered Voidwalker could be considered a far better version of the Shadow ve species he''d gotten back when he ascended to Rank 3.


    Aside from giving him ess to most of the things the Shadow ve species had, but to a


    greater degree, the Revered Voidwalker species also gave him the ability to contact the Serpent Maiden and the Overseer at any time.


    On the other hand, the True Azure Serpent and Divine Azure Serpent species surprisingly came


    from Sellifer.


    Or more specifically, the Azure Energy she taught him.


    With the system referring to Sellifer as the Azure Origin, the system exined to Valyr that


    those two species were considered descendants of the Azure Origin, with the ones considered the best among them being the Divine Azure Serpents.


    Unsurprisingly, as it was a species focused on Azure Energy, the benefits of bing either a True or Divine Azure Serpent mostly revolved around Azure Energy.


    Whether it was control, capacity, or the efficacy of Azure Energy, bing either of the two


    species would greatly boost Valyr''s capabilities in that field to a level many could only hope to


    reach.


    Unfortunately, even though they were considered the second and third best choices


    respectively, there was one thing the system failed to take note of.


    ''I don''t have Azure Energy anymore.''


    ''I have Prime Azure Energy.''


    And so, with the first choice on the list oddly having a simr level of progression on the path


    of Unsealing just like his intended choice, it was no surprise as to what Valyr did next.


    Ding!


    [You have chosen ''Prime Azure Origin (4th Unsealing)''.]


    Smiling at the choice he''d made, Valyr soon felt a huge amount of energy coursing through


    his body, only for him to fall unconscious not long after.

 Chapter 1019: Progenitor

    Chapter 1019: Progenitor


    ?


    Walking through the streets of Algerie, a pair of men slowly made their way to an innte at night.


    "It''s been a while since we''ve been here," said Wells to Edward, his expression that of slight excitement. "It''s also been a while since we''vest seen Valyr."


    Having participated in the war against the orcs, it went without saying that Wells'' appearance had drastically changed.


    Wearing the uniform that wasmonly worn by those in the frontlines, Wells had mostly lost the adventurous look he had in the past.


    Instead, it was reced with the look of a battle-hardened veteran, the various wounds and scars on his body a reminder of his various struggles.


    On the other hand, Edward now looked like a capablemander on the battlefield, even though his age was still that of an early teenager.


    Nevertheless, the talent he''d shown in bothbat and tactics had garnered the attention and approval of many in the battlefield, which was part of the reason why they were finally able to return to the inn where they stayed.


    "It''s been 10 months since we''vest seen him," said Edward, slightly hastening his footsteps as he adorned a faint smile. "How much stronger do you think he is right now?"


    "Probably a lot more than we can imagine," replied Wells as he let outughter. "After all, he''s been in an inheritance for quite a long time."


    "But that doesn''t mean our improvements are nothing to talk about either," continued the man, to which Edward nodded in agreement as they hastened their paces once more.


    With the strength they''ve honed and tempered thanks to the ongoing war, it only took a few more minutes for the two to arrive at the inn where they resided.


    With various thoughts and scenarios shing in their minds, a look of excitement could be seen on both of their faces as they opened the door.


    Yet, just as they were expecting to be greeted by the sight of a smiling Valyr, they were instead greeted by the same sight they left behind when they enlisted for war in the first ce.


    "..." For a while, silence covered the entire space as Edward and Wells looked at each other in slight confusion.


    "Did he note to the inn in the first ce?"


    As this question appeared in their minds, the two began to walk around the room for a bit, eventually confirming their suspicions as they let out sighs of relief.


    "He''s just outside," said Wells, noticing that a considerable number of items had been moved since they headed to the battlefield. "From the looks of it, it''s been a while since he left."


    "He''s probably busy, then," replied Edward, his body beginning to rx as he finally found an outlet to release the stress and fatigue he''d rued from the battlefield. "Should we tell him we''re already back at the inn?"


    "Of course." Wells nodded at Edward''s suggestion, immediately sending a message to Valyr before beginning to rx as well. "In the meantime, I guess let''s make the most out of this brief respite."


    "A week," murmured Edward with a faint sigh. "We''ll have to return to the frontlines after a week."


    "As long as we get stronger, something like that eventually wouldn''t matter." Wells looked at the young teenager with a smile. "At some point, we''ll be able to return here whenever we want."


    "But I do hope Valyres back here before we head back to the battlefield."


    ...


    "Mngh..."


    Feeling like he''d woken up from an incredibly deep sleep, Valyr took a while to realize his current situation.


    Giving his consciousness the time it needed to fully awaken, the young man eventually sat up on the side of the bed, only to notice that a greater amount of strength was beginning to course throughout his body.


    Recalling that he''d ascended to the next ss rank, Valyr became curious as to how much his strength had changed, prompting him to clench his fists to get a rough idea of how much stronger he''d gotten.


    Though, at the very moment he did so, the young man sucked in a breath of cold air in surprise, his consciousness immediately bing fully alert as he slowly stood up from the bed.


    Then, letting out a faint sigh of relief, he then began to do a few basic movements with his body, giving himself the opportunity he needed to limate to his newfound strength.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Pushing his body to its utmost limits, it went without saying that a breeze was gradually brewing within the room, even more so now that he was a Rank 4 ss holder.


    Fortunately, Valyr was able to regain control over his entire strength in time, his expression turning into that of relief before proceeding to go through his usual routine.


    "Huh. I was out for an entire day." Taking a longer shower than usual, Valyr brought up the timer that counted down the remaining days before Greater Beyond was out to the public. Though he was both concerned and excited when he noticed that there were only less than two months left before the public release, the young man pushed those thoughts to the side for the meantime as he continued on with his routine.


    Wearing a fresh set of clothes, Valyr briefly took a look at himself in the mirror, only to freeze in ce after noticing that there were a few minor changes to his appearance.


    For one, he noticed that a couple inches were added to his height, which was something Valyr considered to only be noticeable if one had interacted with him for a long time.


    Other than that, he felt that his face looked more aesthetically pleasing than before, though he wasn''t sure what the exact reason was.


    Faintly smiling as he took note of these changes, Valyr also took note of the changes that happened to him internally, specifically the muscles making up his body.


    Though they didn''t look any different to how they were before, the young man felt that his muscles were far more dense than before, possibly due to the fact that it had to amodate the greater strength he now wielded.


    Doing a few basicbat movements because of that realization, Valyr soon realized that he could exert more control over his body, eliciting a grin to appear on his face as he sat once more on the bed.


    "System, bring up my notification screen." Though he''d already familiarized himself with the various changes that happened to his body, Valyr wanted to get a more detailed idea of how much he''d improved thanks to the ascension.


    Ding!


    With that, he brought up his notification screen, immediately being bombarded with numerous notifications that involved the increase of stats.


    Going through them one by one, the smile on Valyr''s face gradually grewrger andrger as


    he felt that a wider path had been opened to him.


    However, that smile became crooked once his gazended on a couple of notifications.


    [...]


    [...]


    [You are the only Prime Azure Origin in the universe!]


    [Being the owner of a new Origin-type race, you have be the progenitor of a new race!]


    [...]


    [...]


    [You have obtained the title ''Progenitor of a New Race''.]

 Chapter 1020: Going Over Changes (1)

    Chapter 1020: Going Over Changes (1)


    ?


    Bringing up his notification screen, Valyr was instantly greeted by a series of notifications that all talked about the improvement in his stats.


    Ding!


    [Your species ''Reforged High Human | True Defier of Fate (3rd Unsealing)'' has been changed to ''Prime Azure Origin | True Defier of Fate (4th Unsealing)''.]


    [As you have transitioned to a higher-level species, you have gained +35 VIT, +35 STR, +32 AGI, +65 DEX, +65 INT, +30 WIS, +38 PER, and +23 LUK.]


    Of course, the greatest boost to his stats came from ascending his species, the same as it had been for all of the other ascensions he''d gone through so far.


    However, as he looked at the massive increase in stats the ascension to his species had brought him, Valyr felt that he was only looking at a small portion of the increase itself.


    ''I guess I''ll find that out once I take a look at my new race,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling how much his strength had increased the first time he''d gotten Reforged High


    Human.


    With that, he moved his attention towards the next few notifications he''d received from the ascension, all of which talked about the stats he obtained from both his ss and subss.


    [Your ss ''The First cksmith (Ancient - Growth)'' has been improved to adapt to Rank 4 standards.]


    [You have gained +6 VIT, +6 STR, +6 AGI, +12 DEX, +12 INT, +5 WIS, +6 PER, and +1 LUK.]


    [Your subss ''Four Paths Azure Warlord (Epic)'' has been improved to adapt to Rank 4 standards.]


    [You have gained +4 VIT, +4 STR, +8 AGI, +10 DEX, and +10 INT.]


    [You have gained 7 unassigned stat points.]


    Adorning a satisfied smile on his face as he looked at those notifications in greater detail, Valyr briefly thought about spending XP to push his level to the peak of Rank 4, simr to what he''d done back in the inheritance.


    Though, just as he was about to ask the system to allocate his unused XP towards that task, the next few notifications under the ones he''d gone through before caught Valyr''s eyes, prompting the young man to go over them.


    [You have ascended to a higher ss rank.]


    [Recalcting your total base stats...]


    [Converting a portion of your base stats into Points of Aspiration...]


    [You currently have 554 Points of Aspiration.]


    [Due to this change, all currently allocated Points of Aspiration have been removed. You can reallocate your Points of Aspiration at any time.]


    "Wait... over 500 points?" Reading through the notes involving the Points of Aspiration, there were two things about it that caught Valyr''s attention.


    For one, with the amount of stats he''d gained from the ascension, Valyr calcted that he''d only gain a few dozen Points of Aspiration because of it.


    Yet, contrary to his calctions, he instead obtained 200 points of it, which was roughly two- thirds the original amount he had.


    Other than that, he was surprised that he still had something like the Points of Aspiration, considering that the skill was only something those along the path of the human race would have.


    Because of that, the young man''s interest was piqued, slightly grinning as he thought about his new race.


    "Now I''m bing even more curious as to what kind of race the Prime Azure Origin is," muttered the young man to himself with a slight chuckle, only to restrain himself from checking the race''s description out soon after in a bid to increase his excitement.


    Taking in a deep breath to quell some of the excitement, Valyr then moved onto another notification, only to slightly frown as he noticed that the notification was the only one of its kind on the list.


    Ding!


    [You have unlocked the ability to upgrade your skills to the Rare rarity.]


    Wondering if he''d missed a notification or two, Valyr went through the list of notifications he''d already gone through once more, only for him to confirm the suspicions he initially had.


    "I didn''t gain any skills, huh," said the young man to himself, staring off into the distance as he soon shrugged his shoulders at the thought.


    Though obtaining an additional skill seemed like an easy way for one to increase theirbat prowess, there was still a couple issues that gued a new skill, which was itspatibility, as well as its integration in one''s overall style.


    Considering how both his ss and subss were given to him by Divine-level beings, Valyr had no worries that the skills he potentially gained from the ascension were ipatible or were hard to integrate into his current style.


    However, if Valyr were to choose between getting a skill or not getting a skill from the ascension, he felt like he would be more inclined towards thetter.


    Of course, it wasn''t as if the young man was averse to the thought of getting a new skill.


    If anything, it was because he''d already formed a solid foundation that epassed various fields ofbat.


    Even though he hadn''t gained a new skill, the fact that all of his skills could be pushed to Rare rarity with skill keys was more than enough to boost hisbat prowess by a few notches.


    "Then again, even that isn''t really tempting, considering how I have ess to something like the Realm of Myriad Experiences," said the young man to himself, moving on to what looked like the final portion of notifications from the ascension.


    With how the first set of notifications tackled stats, while the next portion of notifications, albeit only one, tackled skills, Valyr felt that it was only natural for the final portion to tackle titles.


    Fortunately, the final portion did tackle titles.


    However, the way it went about doing so was frankly different from his initial expectations.


    Ding!


    [You are the only Prime Azure Origin in the universe!]


    [Being the owner of a new Origin-type race, you have be the progenitor of a new race!]


    [You have obtained the title ''Progenitor of a New Race''.]


    Reading through thest few notifications he had on his screen multiple times, it was only after then did he feel like he understood what the notifications contained.


    "So, if I''m getting this correctly, Prime Azure Origin is a brand new species." Sorting out his thoughts, Valyr thought out loud as the gears in his mind turned. "And being the first person with this species, I''m now considered the progenitor of a new race."


    "..." As those words left his mouth, the young man went silent for a bit, giving himself all the time he needed for those words to sink in.


    "Yeah, I think it''s time to look at it." Feeling like he''d somewhat epted the situation the


    system had given him, it was only then did Valyr take a look at the culprit in greater detail, his


    expression that of anticipation while doing so.


    "System, identify my current species."

 Chapter 1021: Going Over Changes (2)

    Chapter 1021: Going Over Changes (2)


    ?


    Ding!


    Clenching his fists as he waited for the system to respond, Valyr''s expression turned into that of excitement once a screen containing the description of his new race appeared before him.


    Though, as he began to go through the specifics of his race in greater detail, the excitement on his face gradually disappeared.


    Instead, it was reced with immense disbelief.


    [Prime Azure Origin | True Defier of Fate (4th Unsealing)] (Species)


    The being named Valyr Zeihardt has been recognized by the Apparatus for bringing the energy termed as Prime Azure Energy into existence, being a superior version of the energy termed as Azure Energy brought into existence by the Azure Origin, Sellifer Dusk Veiperis.


    The being named Valyr Zeihardt has also been recognized by the Apparatus for bringing the concept known as the Four Azure Paths into existence,bining the inherent concept forming Azure Energy, as well as the universal concept of the Four Elements.


    Though it could be considered that the being''s feats came to existence only due to the foundations others haveid before him, the Apparatus recognizes the potential the being has, deeming him worthy of bing an Origin.


    ...


    From the name of the species itself, those recognized by the system as an Origin are those who''ve brought something that didn''t previously exist in the universe into existence.


    Of course, not all can be an Origin, with there being a specific set of criteria a being must fulfill before they could be considered one.


    However, if there''s one criterion that all potential Origins need to fulfill to be one, it''s the fact that the thing they''ve brought into existence should bring great change to the universe.


    Originse in various shapes and sizes, with them mostly inheriting the properties of their previous race before being upgraded to a level higher to showcase the power of an Origin.


    Aside from that, Origins show great power over the thing they''ve brought into existence, which is a trait that could be inherited by those that be part of the race that descended from the Origin.


    As your previous race was that of a Reforged High Human, your Origin has inherited its properties and upgraded it by one level, currently allowing you to exhibit the properties of a Reforged Pseudo-True Human.


    As your previous race was embarking on the path of Unsealing, your Origin has also inherited this property, allowing you to continue where you left off on the path of Unsealing.


    ...


    Description regarding the True Defier of Fate has been omitted.


    <Origin Skill: Creator of the Prime Azure - Transforms the user''s main energy into Prime Azure Energy. All other energies making up Prime Azure Energy are removed.


    Allows the user''s maximum Prime Azure Energy to scale off the user''s INT stat and the user''s INT to MP coefficient.


    Allows the user''s titles affecting the user''s maximum capacity of various energies to affect the user''s maximum capacity of Prime Azure Energy.


    Allows the user to make use of the methods utilized by Prime Azure Energy''s constituent energies to improve the user''s maximum capacity of Prime Azure Energy.


    All skills and spells currently owned by the user that use any of Prime Azure Energy''s constituent energies have been modified to primarily use Prime Azure Energy. All skills and spells activated with Prime Azure Energy showcase 20% greater efficacy. >


    <Racial Skill: Defiant Aspirations of the Prime Azure - The human race... description has been omitted.


    The Origin has inherited the property of the being''s previous race and upgraded it by a level, allowing this skill to exhibit the properties of a Pseudo-True Human.


    This skill converts 15% of the user''s total base stats into Points of Aspiration, which can be allocated however the user chooses to do so on their eight main stats.


    Any stat points gained in the future shall also be converted into Points of Aspiration, but only under the condition that the user ascends to a higher ss rank. Cooldown: 1 minute.>


    <Racial Passive 1: Constitution of the Prime Azure Origin - The Origin has inherited the property of the user''s previous race and upgraded it by a level, allowing this passive to exhibit the properties of a Pseudo-True Human.


    Boosts all of the user''s stats, as well as the user''s maximum HP and MP by 15%. Also boosts all of the user''s stats by 25 points each, as well as the user''s maximum HP and MP by 2,500


    points.>


    <Racial Passive 2: Defiance Against Ascendants (Prime Azure Variant) - Though the Origin has inherited this property, it does not have dominion over the essence of a Defier of Fate, only slightly upgrading its properties.


    Increases the temporary level increase effect of [yer of Ascendants] from 2 levels to 8 levels.>


    <Racial Passive 3: Longevity of the Prime Azure Origin - The Origin has inherited this property of the user''s previous race and upgraded it by a level, allowing this passive to exhibit the properties of a Pseudo-True Human.


    Extends the user''s lifespan to quadruple of what it originally was.>


    <Tribtions have been omitted.>


    By the time he was done reading through the description of his new race, Valyr went silent for


    a bit as he gave his mind the time it needed to organize and process the information he just


    read.


    Then, feeling like he''d gotten a good grasp of what his new race was, Valyr soon stood up in excitement, clenching his fists as he began tough with immense glee.


    Though he was slightly hesitant back then to choose his current race even though it was the system''s first choice, it was at this moment did it sink into Valyr that he would''ve missed out on a lot if he''d made a different choice.


    Aside from the fact that all of the passives that made the Reforged High Human race great were taken up a notch after bing a Prime Azure Origin, bing a Prime Azure Origin also made him privy to information that wasn''t easily obtained.


    "So, that''s what the system meant by Sellifer being the Azure Origin," muttered the young man to himself, nodding as he went over the information the system gave him. "Now it all


    makes sense."


    With him now being a Prime Azure Origin, Valyr now had a greater idea of why he''d been given the choice of bing either a Divine Azure Serpent or a True Azure Serpent.


    "In short, to be the descendant of an Origin, one must first wield the energy or the concept that created the Origin in the first ce," said Valyr to himself, allowing his thoughts to roam as he nodded in understanding.


    "If that''s the case, then bing the descendant of my Origin would only be possible if someone picks up Prime Azure Energy."


    "Yeah... I don''t think that''s gonna happen anytime soon." Valyr wryly smiled at the thought. "In any case, what would the descendants of my Origin be called? Since my race before bing an Origin is that of a Reforged High Human, would that mean those who end up bing my descendants would be Reforged High Humans as well?"


    Though there were multiple questions lingering in Valyr''s mind regarding the Origin, the young man decided to push those thoughts to the side for the meantime, deciding to interpret the entire thing as something beneficial.


    Making up his mind to find out the various limits of his current race in greater detailter on,


    Valyr took a look at his status screen after that, only to be at a loss for words as he refreshed


    his understanding of his current level of strength.


    Ding!


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: The First cksmith (Rank 4 | Ancient - Growth)


    Subss: Four Paths Azure Warlord (Epic - Growth) Species: Prime Azure Origin | True Defier of Fate (4th Unsealing)


    Level: 56


    Power Level: 138,552 (S+)


    Unused XP: 5,822,406,691


    HP: 85,840/85,840


    Prime Azure Energy: 278,436/278,436


    Mystic Energy: 1/1


    Attack: 35,946 - 36,926


    Defense: 10,632-10,632


    Stats: 1108 VIT, 1144 STR, 1241 AGI, 2838 DEX, 2927 INT, 765 WIS, 1057 PER, 415 LUK (7


    unassigned points, 554 unassigned Points of Aspiration)


    Hidden Stats: 27 Mana Purity, 27 Vigor, 25 Might, 27 Tranquility


    Concepts: [Intent of Shadow Energy (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Four Elements (6th Grade)],


    [Intent of True Mana (7th Grade)], [Intent of the Spear (7th Grade)], [Intent of Forging (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Forger''s mes (6th Grade)]


    Remarks: You wield the strength befitting a True Defier of Fate. Though, only time will tell if you shall reach the pinnacle.


    "...And to think I don''t even have my armor equipped yet." Giving himself all the time he needed for the information before him to fully sink in his mind, Valyr let out a long exhale as his eyes soon began to glisten with excitement.


    Seeing how much his strength had improved just from ascending to the next ss rank, a


    whirlwind of thoughts soon upied Valyr''s mind, all of them ideas that involved making use


    of his improved strength.


    In the end, the young man put those thoughts on hold for the meantime, instead choosing to follow through with the thought that seemed the most obvious for him to do first.


    With the thought in mind, Valyr slightly trembled in anticipation as he sent amand to the


    system.


    Ding!


    [Would you like to spend 3,816,855,280 XP to upgrade your level to Level 75?]


    "...Of course."

 Chapter 1022: A Higher Realm

    Chapter 1022: A Higher Realm


    ?


    As Valyr epted the prompt that appeared before him, it did not take long for the system to respond in return, sending wave after wave of strength to course throughout the young man''s body.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Feeling his strength swiftly soar to greater heights, Valyr adorned a faint smile on his face as he felt like he had the strength to make even mountains move with just a single push.


    At the same time, he felt like he had the wisdom and intelligence toprehend anything and everything within his surroundings, causing him to briefly ponder as to whether he could be considered a sage with how much intelligence he had.


    Fortunately, such sensations did notst for long as the system returned him back to reality. Ding!


    Hearing the series of notification sounds resounding in his mind, it was as if a switch had been flicked up in the young man''s mind, causing him to close his eyes for a bit as he took in a few deep breaths.


    Then, feeling like he''d fully adjusted to his current situation, the young man faintly let out a sigh of relief before proceeding to stand up from the bed once more.


    Moving simrly to how he did just when he''d finished ascending to Rank 4, Valyr gave himself more than enough time to adjust to his current strength, taking over 10 minutes or so to limate to his newfound situation.


    "Time to take a look at the changes." Inwardly nodding in satisfaction, the young man continued to do a few basicbat movements as hemanded the system to bring up his notification screen.


    Ding!


    [3,816,855,280 XP has been consumed.]


    [Your level has increased by 19 levels.]


    [You are now Level 75.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your ss: +114 VIT, +114 STR, +114 AGI, +228 DEX, +228 INT, +95 WIS, +114 PER, and +19 LUK.]


    [You have gained the following stats from your subss: +76 VIT, +76 STR, +152 AGI, +190 DEX, and +190 INT.]


    [You have gained 128 unassigned stat points.]


    [You have reached the level limit of your current ss. To increase this limit, it is highly advised for you to ascend to a higher ss.]


    [Would you like to ascend?]


    "Damn." Going through the notifications he''d obtained from upgrading his level to the peak of Rank 4, Valyr whistled in slight disbelief after seeing the amount of stats he''d gained from both his ss and subss.


    "Over 400 points on both DEX and INT, while I''ve gotten around 200 points or so on the other physical stats," muttered the young man to himself, now getting the idea why he felt both omnipotent and omniscient for a brief moment.


    Continuing to move his body about to further familiarize himself with his newfound strength, Valyr went ahead and evenly allocated his unassigned stat points between DEX and INT, which was pretty much what he''d been doing in all the ss ranks so far.


    Then, focusing his attention towards the over 500 Points of Aspiration he had, he eventually decided to distribute the points over all of his stats evenly, resulting in all of them gaining almost 70 points in mere seconds.


    "Alright." Feeling like he''d taken care of everything stat-rted for the meantime, Valyr had a look of satisfaction on his face as he brought out his set of True Wyvern Armor from his spatial bracelet.


    Equipping the pieces one by one, the young man briefly went over the things Tristan and Alfaera told him, specifically the matter involving him meeting up with Damian.


    "I suppose now is the best time to meet up with him," said the young man to himself with a faint nod, only to stop in his tracks just as he was about to leave the guest room.


    ''Now that I think about it, I still haven''t checked out that title I got from bing the Prime Azure Origin.''


    As this thought came to mind, Valyr slowly made his way back to the bed, sitting by its edge as he asked the system to bring up the title''s description.


    Ding!


    [Progenitor of a New Race] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic (Special)


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    To you who has be the Origin, your descendant''s strength is your strength. Conversely, your strength is their strength as well.


    This title grows in ordance to the number of beings that have descended from or are rted to your current species. The higher the number of beings, the greater the effect of the title.


    Currently, the number of beings that have fulfilled this criteria is 1.


    Effects:


    > 1% boost to all stats


    "Hmm... I see." Though he was initially disappointed by the title''s effects at first, after going through its description a couple of times, Valyr soon nodded in understanding.


    "So basically, I''ve gained a Growth-type title," said the young man to himself, feeling like it was the most apt description for the title he''d gained.


    After all, just like the title mentioned, its effects would grow stronger as long as he increased the number of beings that were connected to his current species.


    "Then again, the possibility of other people wielding Prime Azure Energy is incredibly low," said Valyr to himself as he reminded himself of how difficult it was to form the energy in the


    first ce.


    "Yeah, I''ll just consider the title as an afterthought."


    Though looking at the title in that manner did cause the young man a bit of pain, that pain gradually began to subside after he took the time to calm his emotions.


    Then, discarding all of the random and errant thoughts that were in his mind, it was only then did the young man leave the guest room, immediately being greeted by the sight of ire standing just a few steps away from the door.


    Immediately sensing the massive increase in the strength imbued in Valyr''s aura, ire''s eyes slightly widened in disbelief before giving him a slight grin. "Congrattions on ascending to a higher ss rank."


    Thanking ire in response, Valyr looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Did Alfaera ask you to look after me?"


    "It was mostly out of my own ord," replied ire with a slight nod. "Though she did tell me to protect you after she noticed that you were undergoing your ascension."


    "Then again, it would''ve helped us if you''d given us a heads-up beforehand," she continued as she let out a bit ofughter.


    "Many of the people in the town hall began to panic because of you, actually. They were beginning to spout nonsense like the Greater Tidemother came back from the dead a second


    time or something."


    "In any case, there''s no need for you to think deeply over what I said." ire looked at Valyr in the eyes, her expression that of slight curiosity. "Alfaera has already given me an idea of where you''ll be heading. You''re heading to the barracks where Damian is, right?"


    Hearing that question, Valyr nodded in response. "I am."


    Then, for a brief moment, he red out his aura that embodied his current level of strength as


    he slightly smiled, briefly enveloping ire with a sense of terror.


    "After all, it''s been a while since I''vest seen him."


    "I''m curious as to what''s the cause that made him change that much."

 Chapter 1023: Crux of the Matter

    Chapter 1023: Crux of the Matter


    ?


    "Haah."


    Within a modestly sized office, a man with white hair looked through the documents on his desk just like he''d done before, only to let out a sigh soon after as he began to thrum his fingers on the desk.


    "I wonder if Valyr got my message," murmured the man to himself as multiple thoughts began to linger in his mind. "Tristan assured me that he''d ry it to him as soon as possible, but it''s already been a day since then."


    Continuing to thrum his fingers on his desk, Damian soon let out yet another sigh, deciding to move on from the matter as he focused on doing his work as the leader of the town''s guards.


    ''I''m pretty sure Tristan and Alfaera told him I''ve changed or something along those lines,'' thought the man to himself, going through the documents on his desk with a wry smile.


    ''If only they knew.''


    Though Damian had changed the way he interacted with everyone in town, the truth of the matter was that the man''s personality did not change at all.


    Nevertheless, the people interpreted it as him undergoing a drastic change, eventuallying to the conclusion that the reason why he''d changed was due to his interactions with the past few Tidemothers.


    In that aspect, Damian felt that it was true.


    After all, the reason why he changed the way he interacted with everyone was exactly because of his interactions with the past few Tidemothers.


    Lamenting hisck of strength during the first monster tide Valyr did not participate in, Damian decided to put in a lot of effort into honing his skills and stats, hoping that he''d be able to exhibit a strength that was at least on par with Myst.


    Fortunately, the man was able to do so, gaining a ss that was more suitable for his style ofbat as he requested a new set of equipment from Tristan.


    Because of that, Damian was able to show an exemry performance by the time the next monster tide came around, cementing his position as the leader of Astarto''s guards as he valiantly fought against the Tidemother.


    Yet, just as he thought that it was over, the Tidemother during that time rose from the ground all of a sudden, making a mockery of the man''s efforts.


    However, the fact that the Tidemother seemingly revived itself did not affect Damian at all. He already had experience fighting against weaker enemies that had a simr ability in the past.


    If anything, it was that the Tidemother''s revival had caused the Tidemother to send a message to Damian''s mind, resulting in a sight that might be interpreted by someone else as something snapping inside the man.


    But, in reality, the man had engaged in a brief conversation with the Tidemother.


    And the words it spoke to Damian were naturally shocking.


    ''You''ve shown a level of tenacity and determination that puts many to shame.''


    ''The Alltide has taken notice of you and wishes to reward you for your efforts.''


    Whilst those words from the Tidemother echoed within the man''s mind, Damian soon felt a stinging pain from the back of his right palm, only to notice that a mark bearing resemnce to the Tidemother had formed on it.


    Though curious as to what the mark entailed, Damian suppressed his curiosity for the meantime as he reaped the Tidemother''s life once more.


    d that he now had the strength to stand up against the Tidemothers on the same level as Myst and the others, it was only then did Damian take a look at the mark he''d gained during his conversation with the Tidemother.


    However, as he did, his expression turned into a frown, deepening by the time he''d read its description.


    ''Can this even be considered a reward?''


    The mark that Damian had gained while fighting the Tidemother was none other than the Mark of the Alltide Valyr had gained in the past.


    Boasting a simr power to the mark Valyr had in the past, Damian immediately thought of the mark as a curse than a reward, seeing as it unconditionally brought monsters to him within a set radius.


    Aside from that, the curse also affected the monsters he fought, unconditionally increasing their strength by a tier as well.


    Though Damian found ways to benefit it, especially after seeing that he gained additional experience from killing them, the man understood that he now had the ability to have things go south just when they were going great.


    Getting the feeling that other people could gain the mark as well if they were to do simr things like him, it was then that Damian began to distance himself from the others, honing his strength on the side as he promised to make sure that no other person would gain the mark just like him.


    In fact, that was the reason why he''d only made a move near the end of the monster tide that came before the one a couple of days ago.


    Knowing that Myst had the ability to kill the Tidemother just like him, Damian immediately intervened the moment the Greater Tidemother began to stand up again, utilizing his greater strength at Rank 4 to end its life for good.


    Surprisingly, this action had caused the mark on his right palm to grow bigger, worsening the effects of the curse that was initially thought to be a reward.


    Hearing that there was another monster tideing not even a month after that monster tide was over, Damian polished his strength yet again, pushing himself to the peak of Rank 4 with the thought of killing the Tidemother again near the end.


    Yet, to his surprise, Valyr had returned to Astarto and killed the Tidemother before he could, causing him to feel both shock and anger as he looked at the young man that made Astarto what it was from afar.


    He felt shock because even though Valyr was a rank lower than him, he was still able to exhibit monstrous strength that ended the Greater Tidemother''s life in just a few hits.


    As for anger, he felt that way since Valyr would now gain a simr mark as him now that he killed the Tidemother, which could have been prevented if he were to kill the Tidemother in


    the first ce.


    "My mark would have probably worsened, but it would have definitely been for the better," muttered the man to himself, letting out yet another sigh as he thought about it.


    "It''s the least I can do as Astarto''s guard leader."

 Chapter 1024: Meeting of the Marked

    Chapter 1024: Meeting of the Marked


    ?


    After briefly scaring ire with his newfound strength, the two made their way to Alfaera''s office, only for Alfaera to congratte the young man for ascending to Rank 4.


    Then, after talking about a few things for a bit, he then left the hall alongside ire, who was curious as to what might happen if he were to meet up with Damian.


    Along the way to the barracks where Damian and the other guards stayed, the two made a detour to the cksmith Guild, prompting Valyr to meet up with Tristan.


    Unsurprisingly, Tristan congratted Valyr as well for ascending to Rank 4, joking about how he now had the strength to kill the Greater Tidemother they fought in far less time than before.


    At the same time, the man introduced Valyr to a person thetter never thought he would eventually have... which was a girlfriend.


    Briefly shocked that Tristan had gotten a girlfriend while he was away in the inheritance, Valyr politely introduced himself to her before heading out with ire sometimeter, continuing to walk through the streets of Astarto after that.


    Walking alongside ire all this time, Valyr had been waving and smiling back at everyone he''de all this time, considering that many of them were greeting him as the Eternal Tidebreaker.


    "Will they ever get tired of cheering for me?" muttered the young man under his breath, his tone soft enough only for ire to hear it.


    In response, ire let out a bit ofughter. "Well... even though Astarto has enough strength to clear the monster tide, we would''ve probably suffered from casualties if we fought against the Greater Tidemother on our own."


    "With you taking the helm on thest two waves that involved the Tidemother, you''ve basically removed the possibility of casualties appearing."


    "Sure, we may have some who''ve suffered injuries from the tide, but that''s tons better than having people die because of it."


    "I see." Mulling over ire''s words for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in understanding, deciding to continue waving and smiling at those that greeted back at him.


    With that, it took longer than usual for the two to arrive at Astarto''s barracks, which had expanded in size by a couple times now that it was protecting an entire town.


    "Valyr! You finally came!" Surprisingly, even the guards within the barracks were excited to see Valyr, considering that he singlehandedly brought the recent monster tide to an end.


    Seeing that the trio that had be guard captains were at the forefront of the crowd, Valyr smiled back at them as the four felt that now was the right time to catch up on what the others have been doing.


    Noticing that ire left for the town hall after seeing Valyr with the town guards, the young man inwardly thanked her for apanying him as him and the crowd made their way to the barracks'' cafeteria, where Valyr shared some of the experiences he''d rued so far.


    Of course, Leon, Louie, and Jonas, as well as the other guards within the barracks shared their own stories as well, bringing a cozy vibe as everyone felt connected at that very moment.


    While everyone was still sharing their stories of struggle and victory with the others, Leon took the opportunity to move closer to Valyr as he asked, "So, what brought you here to the barracks?"


    "Is it what I think it is?" asked the man not long after, realizing that there was another reason for the young man toe here.


    Knowing Leon''s train of thought, Valyr faintly nodded in response. "Yeah. I n to meet up with him at the very least before I head back."


    "I see." Though Leon briefly went silent in response, the man soon nodded back as he made up his mind. "Let me apany you to his office, then. After all, the barracks underwent a couple of expansions while you were away."


    "I could see that." Laughing as he epted Leon''s request, the two eventually made their way to Damian''s office as a lively atmosphere covered the entire cafeteria.


    ...


    With Leon taking the time to imprint a rough map of the expanded barracks on Valyr''s mind as they moved through various corridors, it took around 20 minutes or so for the two to appear in front of the door that led to Damian''s office.


    "I''ll be heading back to the cafeteria, then." Seeing as they''d arrived at their intended location, Leon soon bade farewell to the young man, telling him that he''d be at the cafeteria with the others as they continued sharing stories.


    Responding back that it won''t take him long to return, Valyr watched as the man''s silhouette disappeared from his vision.


    Returning his vision to the door before him, the young man soon took a few steps forward and knocked on the door.


    "Come in."


    Hearing a familiar voice respond to his knocking from the other side, a faint sense of relief washed over the young man as he opened the door, finally allowing the two to meet after 10 months.


    "Long time no see." Initiating the conversation, Valyr sat down on a nearby chair as he brought up the things Tristan and Alfaera told him about Damian in his mind.


    "It''s been a while." Nodding in response, Damian''s expression remained taciturn as he continued looking through the documents on his desk. "How have you been?"


    "I''ve been doing well," said Valyr, his expression briefly that of confusion as he felt that Damian hadn''t changed like what the two told him.


    Looking at the man before him for a bit more, he soon noticed a familiar pattern on the back of the man''s right palm.


    With a slightly grim expression, Valyr finally had an idea regarding the cause of Damian''s change, as well as the possible conversation he would now have with the man.


    With that, the young man decided to wait in silence as the man before him eventually put his documents to the side.


    "I don''t know if Tristan told you this, but I have something important to tell you," said Damian to him, looking directly at Valyr in the eyes.


    Though, just as the man was about to bring up the topic of the mark, Valyr surprisingly took the initiative, temporarily cing his chestte in his spatial bracelet before taking off his


    shirt.


    "I suppose it has something to do with this?"


    "...?!"

 Chapter 1025: Changing Ones Thoughts

    Chapter 1025: Changing One''s Thoughts


    ?


    Looking at the mark that covered most of Valyr''s back, Damian was left at a great loss for words as hepared it to the mark on the back of his palm.


    Noticing that the young man''s mark exuded a far more sinister aura than the one he had, the man immediately felt guilt as he looked at Valyr with an apologetic expression.


    "I''m sorry," muttered Damian, causing Valyr to look back at him with a slightly confused expression in response. "Because of me..."


    Listening to the man''s words in silence, the young man did not take long to understand what was going on, allowing him to form a clearer picture of everything around Damian in his


    mind.


    With that, he shook his head as he interrupted the man from continuing your apology. "It''s not your fault."


    "What do you mean it''s not your fault?" replied Damian back, his expression now tinged with guilt. "After all, it was because I wasn''t able to end the Tidemother''s life this time that you''ve been given a mark."


    "Not only that, but it''s a mark that looks to have more terrifying effects than mine," continued the man, letting out a sigh as he felt a bit of frustration towards himself.


    "You''re talking about the mark on my back, right?" asked Valyr in response, putting on his shirt and chestte back as he began to lead the discussion towards his intended direction.


    Though he was confused by the young man''s question as the answer was obvious, Damian still nodded. "What else if not that? After all, you''ve only received it after gaining the recognition of the being called the Alltide."


    "I did gain the recognition of that being." Valyr nodded in agreement. "However, I didn''t gain this mark from the Greater Tidemother I just killed."


    "In fact, I already had this mark a long time ago. I got it from thest Tidemother I killed before I went away for a long time if I remember correctly."


    Unsurprisingly, Damian looked at Valyr with widened eyes because of that, his expression that of surprise. "You''re telling me you''ve been bearing the mark all this time without telling us about it?"


    Seeing as Damian felt even more guilty as he thought about the consequences of killing a Tidemother with a mark, Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he was oblivious to the notion.


    After all, he received his current mark directly from the source.


    "I didn''t really think of it that much," said Valyr, hoping to ease even a bit of Damian''s guilt while shining more light on the matter. "Though its effects are annoying in some aspects, there are ways for you to turn the mark into an advantage."


    With that, Valyr took the opportunity to tell Damian everything he knew about the mark, considering that his friend was more or less in the same boat as him.


    Though he still felt guilty for not being able to help out in the monster tide that just passed, Damian''s expression went through various phases the more he listened to the young man''s exnation.


    While Valyr was talking about how he''d gained the Mark of the Alltide after killing the Prodigious Lesser Tidemother in the past, Damian felt a hint of anger and frustration as the situation was simr to how he got his own mark.


    However, when Valyr talked about how he used the curse to his advantage through summoning skills, the man felt a ray of hope shine down on him, causing him to wonder to himself why he hadn''t thought of it sooner.


    Briefly glossing over the time he was away from the town for the past 10 months with the man, Valyr then arrived at the things that urred during the recent monster tide, which involved his show of strength during the eighth and ninth wave.


    Hearing how the young man was teleported to where the Alltide was because of his feat of killing the Greater Tidemother, Damian''s mouth opened wide from shock, only to close soon after as he thought about it.


    After all, the strength Valyr showed was not typical for even someone at the peak of Rank 4 to exhibit.


    The thought became even more apparent after realizing that the young man was able to end the terror of the Greater Tidemother with just two attacks, prompting him to briefly wonder what Valyr had gone through while he was away from town.


    Omitting the fact that he was almost killed by the Alltide and the fact that Vaughn was there to help him, Valyr told Damian that he''d gotten the mark removed from him, which increased the amount of hope Damian felt towards his current situation.


    Though, when Valyr said that the mark was returned in a far worse state after he declined the choice of bing the Alltide''s sessor, Damian felt both fear and confusion as the situation didn''t make sense.


    "Is there something wrong about bing their sessor?" asked the man as he wondered why Valyr declined the offer.


    After all, from how Valyr had been talking about the Alltide so far, Damian interpreted the being as an existence that even Valyr would take a long time to catch up to.


    If Valyr were to ept the being''s option to be the Alltide''s sessor, then that meant he''d be able to inherit all of the strength the Alltide had and possibly reach a far higher than before.


    If so... then why?


    Thankfully, Valyr''s reply answered that question.


    "If there ever came a situation where someone wanted to take over your body, would you ept?" Valyr looked at Damian, noticing that the gears in thetter''s mind were quickly


    spinning.


    Seeing a look of despair on the man''s face after that, the young man nodded as if it were natural. "Yeah. That''s what would happen if you be the Alltide''s sessor."


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself, Damian closed his eyes for a bit before looking back at Valyr with a slightly serious expression. "Are you sure you''re not telling me this just to scare me?"


    "What would I even gain from doing that?" said Valyr, faintly chuckling at the man''s look of suspicion. "I have a mark just like you. If anything, I''m telling you all of this because I want to


    help you."


    "..." Hearing Valyr''s words, Damian went silent as he nkly stared at his desk.


    Then, letting out a long sigh, the man began to share his experiences about the mark with Valyr, starting off at a point that was simr to where Tristan and Alfaera''s narration about


    Damian began.


    However, unlike what Tristan told him, Damian went through the three monster tides in greater detail, even going so far as to talk about how he''d gained the mark in the first ce, as well as how it worsened due to killing another Tidemother.


    Faintly nodding as he listened to the man''s narration, Valyrmitted all of the man''s words to mind as he aligned it with the story the two gave him, feeling that they matched up on almost every part.


    If anything, the only thing that was different between the two of them was the matter of


    perspective.


    In fact, after hearing that Damian''s mark became a greater detriment after killing another Tidemother, Valyr briefly thought about what Vaughn told him back then about the mark


    being a trial of sorts.


    ''I guess that''s how it was originally supposed to go for me,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''Either way, the end is still the same.''


    Having already realized earlier that Damian had be a target of the Alltide''s interest after seeing the mark, Valyr felt anger towards the Alltide, wondering how many beings had


    already targeted by the Alltide before him and Damian.


    Though he was only able to corrupt the mark the Alltide gave him for the meantime, Valyr promised himself that there would eventuallye a day where he''d give the Alltide his just


    deserts.


    "Haah." By the time Damian was done narrating his side of the story, the man let out a low sigh, thinking about the various things that had happened to him over the past few months. Looking at Valyr, he then told him, "And that''s why I''ve decided to distance myself from the others. It''s also the reason why I''ve taken it upon myself to deal thest hit to the Tidemother


    every monster tide."


    "I don''t want anyone to get caught up in the mark''s effects, after all."


    "...Don''t get me wrong. I understand your worries." Though he nodded in response to


    Damian''s words, Valyr looked at it from a different perspective. "But there''s not really much


    point in what you''re doing right now."


    "Think about it. Sure, the monsters you''ll face during the monster tide would be stronger if you were to appear early on, but wouldn''t everyone else grow stronger at a faster


    rate because of it?"


    "The fact that the mark attracts the monsters'' attention could also be used to your advantage," the young man continued. "If you notice that one of the quadrants defending the town are having a hard time, then you could use the mark, no?"


    Hearing that, Damian went silent once more, briefly looking at Valyr with a gaze filled with


    hope and excitement, only for it to soon return to guilt and remorse. "But I''ve already distanced myself from the others."


    "How would they react? Would they ept me after knowing I have something like the


    mark?" "They''ll be fine," Valyr assured Damian with a bit ofughter. "In fact, you guys didn''t notice that I had the mark while we were catching up after thest monster tide I participated in."


    "Plus, if you want any more assurance, Tristan and Alfaera already know that I have the


    mark."


    "....!"


    Seeing that there''s only a thin veil stopping Damian from changing his mind, Valyr decided to put the final nail in the coffin. "They''ve been worrying about you all this time, Damian."


    "They want you back."


    "...hic."


    Thinking about everything he''d done for the past few months, only for it to all be unnecessary, Damian could not stop himself from tearing up, sniffling as he felt a heavy burden be removed from his shoulders.


    Giving the man all the time he needed to understand his current situation, Valyr remained silent,forting the man through both action and presence.


    Standing up to pat the man on his shoulder, the young man faintly adorned a smile, thinking about how such an issue thatsted for months could be resolved so easily. Understanding that the Astarto he knew would return to its glory quite soon, Valyr sent a


    message to Julian through the chat screen, telling thetter that he''ll take a while to return to


    the kingdom. Fortunately, it did not take long for the middle-aged man to respond.


    "As long as you return to apany me with the directors, then that''s fine. Then again, what


    are you going to do exactly?"


    As he received the question, Valyr briefly looked at Damian, who looked back at him with a


    teary-eyed smile.


    Then, with a brief look of determination, he replied.


    "I''ll be heading to the Meltierre Empire." "Mind if you help me contact the Imperial Alchemist?"

 Chapter 1026: Imparting Strength

    Chapter 1026: Imparting Strength


    ?


    After getting a message back from Julian, telling him that he''ll take care of it, it was only then did Valyr return his attention back to Damian.


    Thankfully, it did not take much longer for the man to recover from the sadness he was


    feeling, thanking the young man for keeping himpany as he looked at him with still slightly teary eyes.


    Taking in a deep breath, he then wiped the tears off his eyes as he stood up from his desk, only to look at Valyr straight in the eyes.


    "I n... on making amends," said Damian after a bit of thought, his expression slightly nervous. "I don''t know if they''ll ept it since I''ve distanced myself from them for so long..."


    "But will you... can you apany me?"


    In response, Valyr merely smiled, opening the door that led them out of the office in the process.


    "Of course."


    With that, the two decided to make their way to the cafeteria first, with Damian talking about how they were the first group of people he needed to make amends with.


    "After all, I''m the leader of the guards," said the man as he walked beside Valyr. "The worst thing a person in my position can do is to be out of touch with those I manage."


    As Valyr nodded in response to the man''s words, he then initiated a conversation with the man, hoping to ease his nervousness for a bit.


    Fortunately, the chat worked as intended, allowing Damian to slowly return to how he was before.


    Then again, there were still some things that remained the same thanks to the existence of the mark.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As they walked through the corridors of the barracks, various rodents and vermin began to rush towards Damian all of a sudden, prompting Valyr to prime his energy with the intent to dispose of them.


    Though, before he could even dispatch a bit of his Prime Azure Energy, Damian had already made his move, releasing a small amount of mana that turned into a dagger that killed all of them in one hit.


    Watching the small dagger of mana whiz around their feet as they continued to walk, Valyr was briefly reminded of the time the same phenomenon happened to him.


    However, unlike Damian, who seemed to have used the opportunity to push his control over mana to a higher stage, he flooded the ground around him with a ring of crimson mes.


    ''I wonder if I could incorporate that into the Four Azure Paths,'' thought the young man to himself, eventually pushing the thought aside.


    With Damian swiftly making work of every pest that aimed to kill him, it did not take long for the two to arrive at the cafeteria, being greeted by the sight of the guards continuing to share stories while they were away.


    Naturally, all of them went silent after seeing Damian stand beside Valyr, recalling that their leader had changed these past few months.


    Yet, as if he was oblivious to what was going on in their minds, Valyr took the initiative to start the session of storytelling once more.


    Embellishing the experiences he''d gone through in the various cities he''d visited, it did not take long for Damian to warm up and tell his own stories as well, eliciting a smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he let the man take center stage.


    Of course, everyone there was left at a loss for words after seeing Damian partake in what everyone thought he was avoiding all this time.


    Fortunately, the longer they listened the man''s stories, the more the guards began to realize that...


    The leader of Astarto''s guards had finallye back.


    With that thought beginning to blossom in their minds, a few of the guards eventually mustered up the courage to mingle with Damian once more.


    Then, seeing that Damian had interacted with them as if the past few months hadn''t existed, more and more of the guards became proactive, allowing the atmosphere of the cafeteria to be lively yet again.


    Watching Damian enjoy himself around thepany of the guards, Valyr looked around, only to see that Leon and the other two were looking at him with smiles.


    Noticing that they were mouthing a couple of words to him, the young man focused his attention on them, grinning after understanding what they were trying to say.


    "Thank you."


    "Thank you for bringing Damian back."


    "You''re wee," mouthed Valyr back at the three, allowing them to fully savor the atmosphere that would seemingly return to their barracks for good.


    Of course, with Damian having many people he wanted to make amends with, the man eventually decided to stop his storytelling for the meantime, wanting to take a proper step forward by making the most out of the day.


    With that, the man promised that they''d continue their storytelling once he got back, only for one of the guards to ask him a question in response.


    "Are you... are you finally back?"


    For some time, the guard''s question confused Damian whilst he was making his way out of the cafeteria.


    Fortunately, just as they were about to leave the barracks for the meantime, the question eventually clicked in the man''s mind, prompting him to look back at the guards with a faint


    smile.


    "It might take a while to get used to... but yes." Damian nodded.


    "I think I am back."


    As the cheering and hollering of the guards echoed throughout the corridors they walked through in response, the two eventually left the barracks, slowly making their way to


    Astarto''s town hall.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With Damian''s mark taking effect once more, it was no surprise that the two were surrounded by rodents and vermin of various shapes and sizes yet again.


    However, just as Damian was about to conjure a dagger of mana to take care of the nuisance around the feet, Valyr had made his move beforehand, conjuring a small bolt of dark blue energy to vaporize the rodents out of existence.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing as how even making contact with the dark blue energy caused them to disappear, Damian''s eyes slightly widened in surprise, looking at Valyr with a bit of awe. "How... have you gotten so strong?" asked the man, only to notice that the faint aura Valyr was exuding felt simr to his. "Wait... you''ve already ascended to Rank 4?"


    "Just before I came to talk with you," replied Valyr in response with a smile, only to proceed conjuring more bolts of Prime Azure Energy to take care of the side effects of Damian''s mark. Seeing as if a force field had been made around the two that blocked any vermin from reaching them, Damian''s eyes widened even more, considering how he''d only been able to control a dagger of mana that well because he was forced to practice.


    Because of that, it did not take long for a certain question to escape the man''s mouth as he looked at Valyr with a gaze burning with motivation. "Is it possible for you to help me


    be as strong as you?"


    "Well..." Thinking about everything he''d gone through to get to his current point, Valyr briefly had a wry smile on his face. "It''s a bit more difficult than you''d think."


    Though, just as he was about to exin to Damian the various things he''d done to obtain his current strength, the system decided that it was the perfect moment to give him a couple


    pieces of information.


    Ding!


    [A being yearns to emte the strength you exhibit.]


    [You have not met the minimum qualification of forming a Legacy.]


    [However, you have be an Origin, allowing your qualification to surpass that of someone


    who has formed a Legacy.]


    [You have obtained the ability ''Power Impartation''.]


    Though he continued to walk beside Damian along the streets of Astarto, Valyr focused all of


    his attention on the series of notifications that popped up in his mind, only to be reminded of an ability he''d somewhat neglected in his past life..


    ''The power to give other people sses and subsses based off my powers...''


    As this thought came to mind, Valyr was reminded of the first subss he''d obtained from


    Noel. After that, he was reminded of the upgraded subss the same person had given him, as well as the modified subss the Serpent Maiden had given him because of his feats.


    He also recalled the time Vaughn had given him his First cksmith ss, causing Valyr to briefly clench his fists in excitement.


    "Uh... are you alright?" Oblivious to the excitement Valyr was feeling, Damian looked at the young man with slight concern, noting that the young man had suddenly stopped in his


    tracks.


    "Ah, my bad. I was thinking about something." Luckily, it was around that time Valyr fully recalled the ability he''d been given, causing him to look at Damian with a faint smile as they


    eventually continued walking.


    "Anyways, you asked me if I could help you be stronger, right?"


    "Yeah." Damian nodded after a bit of pause. "If you could, that would be great... but I''d also


    understand if you reject my request."


    "It''s fine." Valyr shook his head as he looked at him with a reassuring smile. "It won''t take


    much time anyway."


    ''Plus, it''ll let me see how far I can push the ability this time around.''


    With that in mind, the two continued to chat as they walked through the streets of Astarto, only to stop as they arrived in front of the town hall around 10 minutester.

 Chapter 1027: Planting a Seed

    Chapter 1027: nting a Seed


    ?


    Meltierre Empire.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Within the confines of arge smithy, a silver-haired man was hard at work, his expression serious as he focused all of his attention on the item he was making.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Looking to be in his early thirties, the man exuded a professional air about him, which easily melded with the work he was doing to bring about a sight that was mesmerizing to the eyes.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Then again, not many people usually entered the man''s smithy, considering that he was forging equipment that would mostly be given to the royalty of the Meltierre Empire.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "And... done." Keeping his concentration at its maximum even up to his final hammer strike, Byron let out a wide sigh of relief after seeing that the weapon he was forging had reached the quality he intended it to.


    Utilizing his identification skill on it, the man had a pleased smile on his face when he took a look at its properties.


    After that, he wielded the weapon as if he were on the battlefield, pushing it to its very limits as the sound of the weapon cutting air echoed throughout the smithy for a few moments.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Byron then put the weapon alongside the other items he''d forged so far, letting out an inward sigh of relief soon after.


    "With that, I''ve fulfilled the quota they''ve asked me."


    "I can finally get a bit of rest." Stretching out his muscles that have been taut all this time, Byron began to make his way out of the smithy, smiling as he thought about the things he''d do while no new quota had been given to him.


    Though, just as he was about to step foot outside, the man had received a notification from who knows where, causing him to frown as a couple of people came to mind.


    "Already?" Byron let out a faint sigh as he opened up his notification screen. "Those weapons would serve better purpose in the battlefield rather than in the hands of those in the Heavenly Court."


    "Those ministers should really learn to... huh?"


    Expecting the notification to be a message from the one that gave him the quota he finished


    just now, it went without saying that Byron became somewhat speechless when he found out that the one who messaged him was someone else.


    "Julian?"


    Opening up a chat screen in front of him, Byron took the time to calm himself as he read through the message his friend sent him.


    Seeing as Julian was asking him for a favor, asking him if it was possible for one of his cksmiths to have a meeting with the Imperial Alchemist, the frown that disappeared from his face earlier soon crept up onto his lips once more as he rubbed his chin.


    "That''ll be hard," replied Byron to Julian''s request after some time. "After all, we both know that she''s incredibly busy due to her position."


    As he responded back to Julian''s message, the man began to ponder over why the man had brought up such a request in the first ce.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for that question to be solved, with Julian''s response to his message being the answer to that specific question.


    "Well... what if I told you that Ylvar wants to meet up with her?"


    "Ylvar..." Continuing to rub his chin as he looked at the most recent message, Byron soon began to rummage through his memories, eventually recalling the forging duel he''d attended back in Algerie Kingdom.


    With that, it did not take long for him to recall Julian''s daughter, as well as the prodigy that Julian chose to represent the cksmith Guild in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    "It''s already been over 10 months since then," murmured the man to himself, faintly smiling as he recalled the superb talent the young man named Ylvar had shown during that duel.


    "Forging an artifact at the peak of Rank 2," said Byron to himself soon after, eventually remembering everything he knew about Ylvar.


    Even the time the Imperial Alchemist asked Julian about the young man.


    ''I should probably check with her first before I respond back to Julian''s message.'' With that thought in mind, Byron pushed the screen containing Julian''s messages to the side before bringing up a screen to talk to Mystia.


    Sending a few cordial greetings to Mystia, as well as a small apology, it did not take long for the two to start talking, with Byron using the pretext of having cooperated before to initiate the conversation.


    Of course, with their cooperation having ended months ago, it did not take long for Mystia to see through the man''s lies, prompting her to send a message that sounded harsher than usual. "Sir Byron, you and I both know we''re busy with what the Heavenly Court has us do."


    "It would be great if you could get straight to the point."


    "...My apologies." With Mystia''s words making him realize that he''d beaten around the bush for far too long, Byron went ahead and gave her a brief exnation of the favor Julian asked from him.


    Naturally, he also brought up the name Ylvar, even going so far as to mention the feats he''d done in the past to help her remember.


    Because of that, Mystia went silent for quite some time, causing Byron to briefly feel some nervousness as he immediately thought about the worst-case scenario.


    Thankfully, none of the pessimistic thoughts in his mind came to fruition, with the response Mystia gave him being the exact opposite instead.


    "And here I thought that young man would never take the opportunity to contact me," wrote Mystia in her message, causing Byron to imagine her slightly chuckling as she sent it.


    "So, would that be a yes?" asked Byron back, wanting to make sure.


    "What else would it be, then?" replied Mystia back.


    After that, Mystia sent a string of messages to the man, causing thetter to be left at a loss for words as he felt like he''d glimpsed into a side of Mystia he''d never seen before.


    Seeing how Mystia was going out of her way to have someone escort Ylvar to where she was, as well as reserve amodations if ever Ylvar nned on prolonging his stay, Byron briefly felt a hint of jealousy towards the young man.


    Then again, that jealousy immediately disappeared, reminding himself of the many years he''d already devoted to get to where he currently was.


    With Mystia agreeing to Ylvar''s visit, it did not take long for the conversation between the two of them to end, prompting Byron to return his attention back to Julian. Surprisingly, while the man was chatting with Mystia, Julian sent a message that made it


    seem like he knew what was going on.


    "So, what did she say?"


    "..." Bing silent as he was slightly taken aback by the message, it did not take long for Byron to ry everything Mystia had told him to Julian, even the part where she said Ylvar would be treated well once in the empire.


    "Ylvar would be d to hear about that," replied Julian after some time, causing Byron to imagine his friend smiling as he sent the message. "Thanks for your help, Byron. I owe you


    one."


    Smiling at his friend''s words of thanks, he replied back, "Don''t worry about it. As long as you treat me to a meal in the future, then we can call it even."


    Closing up his chat screen with Julian after saying farewell to each other, it was only then did Byron finally leave the smithy, making his way to the one of the many streets the empire had that was lined up with various food stalls.


    Unfortunately, as if the heavens were making a mockery out of him, he received a notification from someone just as he''d bought some food for himself.


    Ding!


    ||


    [You have received a message from Julius Augustus Zeihardt.]


    "Shit."


    ...


    After arriving at Astarto''s town hall, it went without saying that many of the staff were left at


    a loss for words when they saw Valyr arrive with Damian beside him.


    In fact, Alfaera''s personal guard had even appeared before them, ncing at Valyr as she


    asked him what he was doing.


    In response, Valyr gave Damian the center stage, prompting thetter to look at ire''s eyes as he talked about how he wanted to make amends with everyone.


    Naturally, ire was skeptical at first, being reminded of Alfaera and Tristan''s story regarding how the Damian they knew had changed these past few months.


    Yet, as she looked into the man''s eyes, her gaze slowly began to waver as she realized that the


    Damian she looked from afar in the past... the Damian Alfaera and Tristan knew...


    He''d finally returned.


    With that, ire shifted her gaze back at Valyr for a bit before sending out a few messages


    through the system.


    Not long after, Alfaera and Tristan appeared at the town hall, only to be immediately silent once they saw Damian standing beside Valyr.


    Thankfully, the deafening silence in the atmosphere immediately disappeared once Damian


    took the initiative to apologize to the two for his actions,ying out the reasons why he''d changed the way he interacted with them the past few months.


    In response, it did not take long for the two to warm up to Damian once more, prompting Valyr to smile at them as he decided to leave the town hall to give them privacy.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With Damian''s mark still taking effect, Valyr took it upon himself to dispose all of the vermin that were heading the man''s way, making use of his Prime Azure Energy once more. "Hmm..." Staring at the small bolt of Prime Azure Energy he conjured, the young man soon wondered whether he could still make use of mana and Void Energy, considering how his current species converted all of his energies to just pure Prime Azure Energy. Fortunately, a bit of experimentation with the vermin was enough to answer his questions, realizing that he could convert his Prime Azure Energy into the energy type he needed.


    ''Though, with how much Prime Azure Energy is needed to convert it into the energy I want, it''d be better to just stick with Prime Azure Energy in the first ce.''


    With one of his queries answered, Valyr faintly smiled as he sat down at the front of the town hall, continuing to nce at the trio inside from time to time. Seeing as their rtionship was slowly returning to how it was in the past, the smile on Valyr''s face deepened, soon shifting his gaze off into the distance as he sent amand to the


    system.


    "[Power Impartation]."


    Ding!


    With the system swiftly responding to hismand, the young man immediately felt a hint


    of excitement and expectation as he looked at the screen before him. After all, he was about to fulfill one of the dreams he had in his past life.


    And that was to give someone else a ss he made himself.

 Chapter 1028: A New Class

    Chapter 1028: A New ss


    ?


    As he hadn''t be an Origin back then, Valyr was only able to unlock the ability to give sses and subsses to others after fulfilling the feature''s original condition, which was to form a Legacy.


    However, unlike the current situation, where he felt like giving a ss to someone else was meaningful, the thought of giving anyone else a ss or subss based off his strength did not cross his mind at the time.


    After all, even though he was part of the frontlines that participated in the final battle, his strength wasn''t all that great whenpared to other people in that same battle.


    Aside from that, the rarity of his sses and skills were only slightly better than the bare minimum at best, which meant that he would only be able to create sses and subsses that would only be alluring to those that were new to Greater Beyond.


    Of course, with all of that knowledge carrying over onto his current life, it went without saying that the man''s strength was unlike before, reaching a high level of strength with a ss and subss that would leave many ring at him with envy.


    Not only that, but he was even able to wield various energies that were considered rare to many yers, only to take it one step further by creating a brand new type of energy.


    Considering the amount of strength he currently wielded, Valyr had a strong feeling that any ss or subss he made through the feature would be highly sought after.


    ''Then again, I do have that Growth-type title,'' thought the young man to himself, focusing his attention on the screen before him with both excitement and expectation.


    ''I guess the system is telling me this feature would allow me to increase the number of beings connected to my Origin... or something along those lines at least.''


    Taking the time to remove all the errant thoughts in his mind, Valyr let out a long exhale as he took a look at the information written on the screen.


    [Please select a base ss for the ss or subss you wish to create.]


    Though he did not really use [Power Impartation] in his past life, Valyr still went through the various steps back then out of curiosity, thinking that the information would eventuallye in handy.


    ''Three steps, if I remember correctly,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as he chose to create a ss using the Warrior ss as the base.


    ''First, you choose the base ss. After that, you select the main piece of equipment the ss uses, the general skill set the ss would lean towards, as well as the general allocation of stats once the ss is equipped.''


    ''Then, once the rough skeleton of the ss is formed through those steps, only then would you be able to infuse your power into it, elevating the ss to something that could be considered truly unique.''


    Nodding as he went over the steps in his mind, Valyr moved onto the next step of the process, immediately assigning the sword as the main weapon of the ss.


    ''I guess it wouldn''t hurt to have him wield other types of swords as well,'' thought the young man to himself after pondering over it for a bit, bringing up everything he could recall about the man''sbat style.


    As far as he could remember from the first monster tide he participated in, Valyr recalled that Damian had a ss called Sword Dancer at the time.


    He also recalled that the man gracefully moved through the monsters during the tide because of it, mimicking the various ebbs and flows of a river as hended hit upon hit on the monsters with his sword.


    Though he was unsure whether or not Damian still had a simr ss after ascending to the peak of Rank 4, Valyr still continued to set all of the other sword types as the equipment the future ss would use, confident that it would still result in an amazing ss.


    With the main equipment now set, he then moved onto the general skill set of the ss, which The decided to rely on his memories once more.


    ''A skill set that melds offense and defense together,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly as he gave the system a rough idea of what he had in mind.


    Creating a couple of skills as he followed his thoughts and instincts, it did not take long for the system to take over, refining his rough ideas into various skills that even began to catch his interest.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    By the time Valyr finished creating the ss'' general skill set, a holographic image soon appeared atop the screen before him, which went through the various skills he''de up with that were further refined by the system.


    Surprisingly, the holographic image showed a fine bnce between both offense and defense, making use of sets of various movements to create dances that would have a specific purpose.


    Alongside a few buffing skills that elevated the power of those dances to greater heights, the young man eventually nodded in satisfaction as he moved onto the general allocation of the -ss'' stats.


    "Most of the focus would be on AGI and DEX, forming a bnce of sorts," said the young man to the system, which thetter began to record as various values on the screen before him


    began to change.


    "Then, STR and PER would take second priority, which would both increase the power and the range of the dances respectively."


    "VIT would be the third priority as there is still a need to increase the defensive ability of the ss, while those in thest priority would be the three stats I haven''t mentioned."


    By the time the young man was done exining the allocation of the ss'' stats, the system went silent for a bit, processing all of the information the young man had given it into something that was more tangible.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the system to tell Valyr that it was done processing his exnation, finally allowing him to move onto the final step of the ss creation process.


    [Please select the attributes that you would like your ss to inherit.]


    As this line of text appeared on the screen before him, Valyr was immediately bombarded by a long list of skills, powers, energy types, and attributes, all of which surprisingly came from


    him.


    Realizing this, the young man was briefly left at a loss for words, causing him to scratch the back of his head as he was reminded of the journey he''d gone through thus far.


    Taking in a deep breath to calm his senses, he then proceeded to choose a couple of attributes that would set the ss apart, selecting [Intermediate Sword Mastery], [Advanced Combat Mastery], and [Advanced Weapon Mastery] to improve its power.


    Then, recalling the thought he had at the beginning of the process, he chose Prime Azure Energy as the main energy type for the ss, somewhat expectant as to what kind of effects it


    would bring.


    Choosing a few more misceneous skills that rounded out the abilities of the ss, it was only then did Valyr finalize the ss creation process, giving the system all the time to do its


    thing.


    Ding!


    Eventually, the system told him that the ss he formed was sessful, causing the excitement and expectation Valyr suppressed all this time to erupt once more as he took a look at the series of notifications he received.


    [The system is processing all of the user''s inputs...]


    [Verifying the feasibility of the ss...]


    [Gauging the ability and strength of the ss...]


    [...]


    [The system haspleted its assessment of the created ss.]


    [The system has named the ss ''Prime Azure dedancer''.]


    [The system has ssified the rarity of the ss to be Epic, with the potential to reach Mythic


    through ss ascension.]


    [Would you like to impart the ss?]


    Seeing that the ss he''d created was ssified by the system to be Epic grade, Valyr''s eyes widened in disbelief as his mouth went slightly agape.


    Then, giving himself some time to process what he''d just read, the young man soon burst into a grin, only to let outughter that attracted the attention of multiple passersby. Ignoring the attention hisughter had attracted, Valyr moved the screens that were currently in front of him to the side,manding the system to give him the description of the ss


    he''d just created.


    Ding!


    [Prime Azure dedancer] (ss)


    Rarity: Epic


    Imbued with the power of the Prime Azure Origin, this ss showcases a remarkable ability in both offense and defense through the various sword dances it disys.


    With the help of Prime Azure Energy, these various sword dances could be taken one step further, giving one with the ss the ability to act unimpeded anywhere on the battlefield.


    As Prime Azure Energy is considered a newly created energy by the Apparatus, this ss has been given a high ssification, showing great potential to blossom into something far stronger through the system''s ascension process.


    For each level gained in this ss, the user gains +6 VIT, +5 STR, +8 AGI, +8 DEX, +3 INT, +3 WIS, +5 PER, +1 LUK, and 5 unassigned stat points (stat gain is based off user''s current rank).


    "...Hey, Valyr. What are you doing out here?"


    Just as Valyr had the urge to cackle as he finished reading through the description of the ss


    he created, Damian had appeared in front of him all of a sudden, looking at the young man


    with a slight smile.


    "Alfaera and Tristan are waiting for you inside, you know?" said the man, pointing at the town hall''s entrance.


    In response to the man''s words, Valyr nodded as he closed all of the screens he brought up, inwardly taking a deep breath in a bid to control his excitement. "Yeah, I''lle along." "But before that, how about I show you how I became this strong?"


    "Er... sure, I guess?" Though he was confused by the suddenness of Valyr''s words, Damian


    decided to agree to the young man''s request for the meantime, allowing his curiosity towards Valyr''s strength to take the lead.


    However, just as he thought that Valyr would just give him a brief exnation of the various things he''d done to get to where he currently was, he was instead greeted by a few notifications from the system, which caused him to look at the young man in slight confusion.


    "Take a look at it." Understanding what was going in the man''s head at that moment, Valyr merely smiled in response as he told Damian what he needed to do, only to start grinning as


    the man immediately looked back at him with great shock.


    Ding!


    [Valyr Zeihardt (Lv. 75) has decided to bestow you a ss.] [Would you like to ept?]

 Chapter 1029: To the Empire

    Chapter 1029: To the Empire


    ?


    "...Take care while I''m gone."


    Letting out a low sigh as he left the town hall onest time, Valyr briefly nced at the trio inside the hall before shifting his gaze towards his current surroundings.


    Seeing as he wasn''t sure when he''d be able to return to the ce where his entire journey began, the young man decided tomit every single bit of the sight before him to his memory, taking his time in doing so.


    Though, by the time he was done, he could not help but let out yet another sigh, reminiscing over the memories he''d formed in Astarto during his early days.


    Going over those various memories one by one, Valyr eventually began to smile and chuckle, his thoughts having shifted to the things that happened earlier.


    Naturally, one of those things was his decision to give Damian the Prime Azure dedancer ss he''d created, which unsurprisingly left thetter at a loss for words.


    Of course, though the man was both surprised and exhrated to have been given the opportunity to obtain a new ss, Damian did not ept it immediately, instead asking the young man as to what kind of ss he was giving him.


    In response, Valyr and Damian engaged in a brief discussion of thetter''s previous ss, only to then shift the topic towards the ss Valyr had created.


    With Damian''s Rank 4 ss still being simrities to the Sword Dancer ss he used to have, it went without saying that the man eventually epted the prompt Valyr gave him.


    Whoosh!


    Aside from gaining a drastic increase inbat strength, Damian noticed that all of the dances contained in his new ss seemed to mesh well together, causing him to eventually imagine a sight where he would fight against monsters to no end.


    Other than that, he also took notice of the fact that he''d gained ess to a new type of energy thanks to him epting the ss, which Valyr swiftly exined as the energy he''d been using to clear the vermin earlier.


    Feeling the greater potential and strength slumbering within the dark blue energy he conjured, it was no surprise that Damian felt immense gratitude towards the young man, understanding that he''d been given the ss due to his wishes of bing stronger.


    After making sure that he had somewhat limated to his newfound strength, it was only then Damian and Valyr head back to the town hall, meeting up with both Tristan and Alfaera that immediately noticed the change to Damian''s aura.


    Though he initially had thoughts of keeping it a surprise from the others, Damian eventually decided to spill the beans to the two, causing both Tristan and Alfaera to look at Valyr with gazes filled with both awe and greed.


    Slightly overwhelmed by the stares of the two, Valyr eventually replied to their thoughts by asking for more information regarding their current sses.


    After all, he was only able to create one for Damian since he had a basic idea of what he needed to create.


    With Tristan and Alfaera readily giving him information on their respective sses, Valyr went ahead and tried making new sses for them once more through [Power Impartation]...


    Only toe to the conclusion that the sses he made for them through the ability was only on par with the sses they currently had.


    Then again, Valyr felt that it made sense after mulling over it for a bit.


    Though his main ss was that of a cksmith, Valyr''s path of cksmithing greatly differed from Tristan, considering how most of the things he forged were for himself.


    On the other hand, Tristan had been mainly forging for the people of Astarto, which had been elevated to the next level with him bing the leader of the town''s cksmith Guild branch.


    He did have the thought ofbining Prime Azure Energy into the cksmith ss he was considering, with the system even telling him that a ss like that boasted great potential in the world of cksmithing.


    Yet, in the end, he did not continue creating the ss as he felt that giving a ss like that to Tristan would be him denying the man''s origins.


    ''In any case, I now have a rough idea of what the cksmith of the Prime Azure ss is capable of... in terms of the abilities I gave it anyway.''


    ''It kind of makes me curious as to how it differs to the choice I got during my ascension.''


    As for Alfaera, the reason behind him not giving her a ss made through [Power Impartation] was far simpler.


    He had no experience with the ss Alfaera currently had, nor did he have any skills or simr powers that would make the ss he created a better option to what she currently had.


    After that, the four made use of the opportunity that they were together to catch up on what the various sides were doing, causing all of them to look at each other with smiles as they reminisced about the times they were together.


    Unfortunately, just like most things, their conversation had toe to an end as Valyr received a message from Julian, telling him that Mystia had agreed to his request of meeting


    up with her.


    With that, he eventually parted ways with the trio, leading to the current situation of him sitting by the entrance of Astarto''s town hall.


    "To be honest, I should''ve done this sooner," murmured the young man to himself, his thoughts revolving around what he''d done with Mystic Energy.


    Aside from obtaining it through the alchemical concoctions Mystia had given him, the young man''s foray into Mystic Energy only extended towards the few times Vera taught him while the five of them were in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Other than that, he did not touch Mystic Energy at all, instead focusing on the route of Azure Energy, which eventually turned into the Prime Azure Energy he now had as his main energy


    source.


    Letting out a faint sigh as he brieflymented over what could''ve been, Valyr soon stood up to head to the cksmith Guild, making up his mind to correct his wrongs and to set a more solid foundation for the future.


    ncing back at the town hall onest time as he inwardly bade farewell to the trio, the young man soon had a look of determination and conviction on his face,sting up until he arrived at the cksmith Guild a few minutester.

 Chapter 1030: Snowball Effect

    Chapter 1030: Snowball Effect


    ?


    "So... has he responded to your message yet?"


    Having returned to Algerie Kingdom for over a day already, it was only a matter of time for both Wells and Edward to readjust to how they were before, with any hints of their participation of the war seemingly gone from every inch of their body.


    "Nope." Making the most out of the week-long vacation their efforts had given them, Wells took the opportunity toze around in the room they''d upied for a long time, shaking his head as he responded to Edward''s question.


    In response, Edward had a slight look of concern. "What do you think he''s doing right now? Do you think he''s in danger?"


    "Perhaps..." Wells looked back at the young teenager before shrugging his shoulders. "But most likely not."


    "After all, he''s the strongest between the three of us," he continued, making use of his words to ease the tension Edward was feeling. "If anything, we''re the ones who are more likely to fall in danger."


    "Then, why has he not replied back to your messages yet?"


    "He''s most likely busy doing something else," replied Wells. "He''s probably in the middle of forging something. He''s usually like that."


    "Is that so?" Having not interacted with Valyr for as long as Wells, there were still many aspects about the young man that Edward was still unsure of.


    Because of that, Wells'' words temporarily put the young teenager at ease, giving the former the opportunity to order a hearty meal for the two of them from the inn.


    "In any case, it''s only a matter of time until he replies," said Wells to Edward. "You don''t remain vignt and cautious all the time, you know? After all, we''re currently under the safety of the kingdom."


    "Though... it really would be nice if hees and meets up with us before we head back to the battlefield."


    ...


    Bang!


    Within one of therger n estates located in Algerie Kingdom, a man with a long beard mmed his fists into the desk before him, turning it into wood pieces of various shapes and sizes as it could not resist the man''s strength.


    "What do you mean you epted the cksmith Guild''s request?! Do you think the Nichs n is some sort of pushover to fold when an organization requests to buy the n''s people?!"


    Channeling his rage into every word that came out of his mouth, the man red daggers at the young man on the other side, whose face had long be pale the moment the table in front of him was crushed into pieces.


    "You better exin yourself well, Christopher," said the man after taking the time to control his rage. "Because if you don''t..."


    "Who knows whether this n would still remain standing the next day."


    Feeling immense fear and terror from the man''s words, Christopher continued to shudder for quite some time, only to have it under control after taking a few deep breaths.


    Looking into the eyes of the man before him, the young man then gave him a respectful bow as the gears in his mind began to furiously turn.


    "I dare not lie in front of the Ancestor. We have indeed sold the rights of that family from the fallen Imperio n due to the cksmith Guild''s request."


    "To be exact, we have given the rights to the cksmith Guild over 10 months ago," said Christopher as he maintained subservience towards the man before him.


    "I wouldn''t have asked you toe here if I didn''t know all of that," the man with the long beard replied, his expression showing a hint of annoyance. "Instead, what I want to know is what came over you for you to agree to the request in the first ce."


    Remaining silent as the gears in his mind continued to turn, it was only after a while did Christopher respond.


    "As the current leader of the Nichs n, I''ve deemed the family of the fallen Imperio n unnecessary..." said the young man, his tone that of slight uncertainty. "Hence I''ve decided to agree to the cksmith Guild''s request."


    "Unnecessary... unnecessary, you say?" Focusing his attention on a single word Christopher uttered, the man began to move closer to him, releasing his aura to its limits as he wanted the former to sense the immense rage he was feeling.


    "Do you really think the family of the fallen Imperio n is unnecessary?"


    "Are you telling me that I, Zachial Armand Nichs, have made the useless decision of taking in the family of the fallen Imperio n?"


    "T-That''s not what I meant..." Realizing that the man before him was truly incensed, Christopher immediately tried his best to resolve the situation and appease the man...


    But to no avail.


    "Then, what do you mean, Christopher?!" yelled Zachial with great fury. "Did you really think I took that family into the n as ves for no reason? Do you think of me as an imbecile,


    Christopher?!"


    "No, I..."


    "They had something I wanted, Christopher!" continued Zachial. "Something the entire n could''ve used to finally enter the ranks of Imperial ns! Something we could''ve used as a foothold in the ongoing war against the orcs!"


    "Yet, you blew it all away! You blew it all away because of your immense stupidity!"


    "..." Understanding that nothing he''d say could change the current situation, Christopher eventually decided to remain silent, enduring all of the harsh words Zachial threw at him. Fortunately, the decision turned out to be correct, with Zachial eventually catching his breath after spewing a tirade of curses at the young man a few minutester.


    "...Haah." Letting out a low sigh as he realized the words he''d thrown at the young man, Zachial went over his thoughts for a bit, only to realize that Christopher wasn''t wholly in the


    wrong.


    After all, he''d hidden the reason why he''d taken the family of the fallen Imperio n in from the entire n, which inadvertently resulted into the current situation they were in. However, even though he knew that, Zachial still refrained from apologizing, keeping up an infallible facade as he looked at Christopher with a serious expression. "So, what happened to the family after they were taken in by the cksmith Guild?"


    "...Thanks to our reconnaissance team, we''ve found out that the parents are under the care of the cksmith Guild," replied Christopher after some time, gathering his thoughts amidst


    the silence.


    "Currently, they''re residing within the sector the cksmith Guild has imed for


    themselves within the kingdom."


    "How about the child?" asked Zachial in response, noticing the oddity in Christopher''s words.


    "He''s been taken under the wing of a man named Ylvar from the cksmith Guild," replied Christopher. "Under that person, his strength had grown by leaps and bounds, even going so far as to participate at the frontlines in the ongoing war against the orcs."


    "Ylvar..." With no way to bring the family of the fallen Imperio n back to his n, Zachial decided to cut his losses, focusing his attention towards the man that had taken the child of that family in. "Do we know who he is exactly?"


    "The cksmith Guild has kept his identity under wraps." Christopher shook his head. "However, the information gathering team has made spections that Ylvar is a being that a certain n has been looking for all this time, considering the man''s appearance." "Which n are you talking about?" Zachial raised his eyebrows, only for his eyes to flutter as


    a thought came to mind. "Wait... the Zeihardt n?"


    Christopher faintly nodded in response.


    "...Hahaha..." Taking note of the young man''s response, Zachial soon began to chuckle, only


    for it to turn into a full-on cackle as more and more time passed.


    Eventually, the man let out a slightly relieved sigh as he looked at Christopher with a


    confident smile. "Well then. This situation isn''t that bad either."


    "We could use this as an opportunity to push our n to a position that even an Imperial n


    can''t reach."


    "Christopher."


    "Yes?"


    "Send an envoy to the Zeihardt n."

 Chapter 1031: Finding a Spot

    Chapter 1031: Finding a Spot


    ?


    "So... have you made your choice yet?"


    After arriving at Astarto''s cksmith Guild, Valyr swiftly headed towards the Teleportation Hall, bringing himself back to Algerie Kingdom as there were a couple of things he needed to take care of before he could head to the empire without worries.


    Aside from having Julian inform him whether or not his proposal of meeting with Mystia had been approved or not, he also asked the man if he could search for sizable plots he could buy with the money Julian stashed for him.


    Utilizing the connections he''d built up along the years, the man had a friend of his take care of Valyr''s request, eventuallypiling a list of plots and estates that both fit the young man''s criteria and price range.


    "Hmm..." Looking through the documents Julian gave him, Valyr had a pensive expression on his face as he went through every potential choice in detail.


    "I''ve got to say... your friend has definitely made it difficult to choose," said the young man after some time, causing Julian to briefly let out a chuckle from pride.


    "Well, when ites to buying a ce to settle down, he''s the man almost everyone thinks about in the Algerie Kingdom," replied the man, putting his hammer to the side as he decided to help Valyr look for a good ce.


    "Other than that, you gave him quite a lot of time to look for ces thanks to your detour to Astarto Town."


    Merely smiling in response to the man''s words, Valyr continued looking through the documents given to him, with Julian giving him a few words of advice from the side.


    Eventually, the young man was able to narrow down his choices to two areas, both of which had their pros and cons.


    "The first spot is a barrennd located to the west, outside the kingdom''s walls," said Julian, his gaze focused on the two remaining documents in Valyr''s hands.


    "The kingdom initially nned on expanding in that direction by establishing frontier viges with the help of the noble ns, but they decided to cancel the project due to the war against the orcs."


    "Nevertheless, the kingdom still hopes that someone would upy that ce one way or another, which is why arge plot ofnd like that is avable for purchase."


    "On the other hand, your second choice is arge estate left behind by a noble n nning to relocate to a city due to the war."


    With Valyr cing one of the documents to the side, the two focused their attention on the other document, thankful that Julian''s friend added every single bit of detail that would help him in making his choice.


    "Though the estate as a whole isckingpared to the estates of actual noble ns, it''s still a decent plot ofnd for any person to own," said Julian, ncing at Valyr from time to time.


    "Not only would you already have a manor once you buy it, you''d also have a considerable number of attendants and servants at your beck and call."


    Hearing those words, Valyr''s expression slightly soured. "To think they''d even include their people in the offer."


    "They consider it mercy to the people who''ve been serving them all this time," replied Julian, hoping to shed some more light into the matter. "After all, aside from the threat of war, the usual reason why a noble n decides to relocate is due to ack of funds."


    "Now imagine if the n forced those attendants and servants apany them, even though they don''t have anything to give back to them. Don''t you think that''s a bit more harsh?"


    "...I see." With Julian''s exnation giving him a better understanding of the second location, Valyr fell into thought once more, rubbing his chin as he stared at the two choices he''d given himself.


    ''Though it would be handy to have a ce that''s ready for me and the Forsaken Ones to sleep in, it''s not really that much of a priority with all things considered.''


    ''If anything, what''s more important is the space of thend, seeing as both Ryvrthe and I have thoughts of possibly spearheading the development of Veldanyr''s technology back to its previous heydays.''


    ''However, it''s not like the first offer is a good location either,'' thought Valyr to himself, frowning as the gears in his mind continued to turn. ''Since it''s barrennd, there''s basically a lot of things to do to get it into livable condition.''


    ''Other than that, the people that are included in the second offer isn''t really something I can ignore that easily.''


    Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr allowed the thoughts in his mind to flow freely as he eventually came to a decision.


    "Would it be possible to pay for the freedom of the attendants in the second offer?"


    As these words left Valyr''s mouth, Julian immediately knew what choice the young man had made.


    "Are you perhaps thinking of settling it in a way simr to thatpanion of yours?" asked Julian with a raised eyebrow, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    Seeing the young man''s reaction, Julian shook his head as he let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, they''ve signed a mana contract that forces them to serve that estate until either the estate is gone... or their lives end."


    In response, Valyr felt a chill from the man''s words.


    "Plus, even if there was a use in the mana contract they signed that they could pay for their freedom, the price of freeing them would be hundreds, if not thousands of times more expensive than just buying the manor itself and telling them to live freely," the man continued as he shrugged his shoulders.


    "..." For a while after that, Valyr was at a crossroads on what offer he should choose between


    in the two.


    Nevertheless, the young man eventually focused on what was more important to him, letting out a low sigh as he told Julian that he nned on taking the plot ofnd located to the west


    of the kingdom.


    Though he understood what was going on in the young man''s mind, Julian merely nodded in response as he updated his friend regarding the choice Valyr made.


    As for Valyr, he briefly closed his eyes, inwardly praying to the heavens above that someone in the future would take notice of the second offer and set the people bound to that estate free.


    By the time he was done praying, Valyr looked at Julian with a calm expression, seemingly having gotten over the moral dilemma he''d just gone through.


    Deciding to not delve deeper into the reason why Valyr decided to sport a poker face, Julian went ahead and told Valyr that he''d gotten the green light on the offer.


    Through the chat feature, his friend informed him that the contract confirming the purchase would be given in the next couple of days.


    "I''d assume it''lle before we head for the meeting with the directors," said Julian, reminding Valyr of the other reason why he''d returned to the kingdom.


    "Speaking of the meeting with the directors, how long would you be staying at the Meltierre Empire? After all, the meeting is only a couple of days away."


    "Hopefully a day at most," replied the young man, his tone slightly unsure.


    After all, the reason why he was heading to the Meltierre Empire was to talk with Mystia


    regarding Mystic Energy, hoping to improve his capacity and control over it to be


    another type of power he could rely on.


    If the strengthening process was simr to how he strengthened both his Shadow and Void Energy, then a day was more than enough time for him to make strides.


    However, if it didn''t...


    "Well, have a safe trip, then," said Julian, grabbing his hammer as he felt that their


    conversation hade to an end.


    In response, Valyr nodded before turning around to leave the man''s workshop, hoping to head


    to the guild''s Teleportation Hall as quickly as possible to make the most of the day.


    Yet, just as he''d taken a step outside the workshop, Julian stopped Valyr from taking another step as he recalled something.


    "Now that I think about it, you should use that disguise skill of yours while you''re there,"


    said the man.


    "To be honest, I''m not sure why the Zeihardt n in this kingdom hasn''t made a move on you all this time with your original appearance having already been seen by many people


    already."


    "Frankly, I can''t be bothered to think about why either."


    "In any case, there''s a high chance you''ll get caught by the n once you''re there," continued


    the man. "After all, if you exclude the Zeihardt Sovereignty, the Zeihardts are the most active


    in the Meltierre Empire."


    Listening to the man''s words, Valyr slightly shuddered in fear as he activated [Thousand Polymorph], transforming his appearance into the appearance he adopted as Ylvar, the genius prodigy of the cksmith Guild.


    Making sure that his disguise was hard to see through with Julian''s help, it was only then did Valyr make his way to the Teleportation Hall, letting out a sigh as he moved through the


    guild''s corridors.


    "This is definitely going to bite me in the back," muttered the young man to himself, thinking about how long he''d gone without using [Thousand Polymorph] after leaving the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Because of that, the young man continued to frown and sigh until he arrived at the guild''s Teleportation Hall, only for all of it to disappear the moment he stepped foot in the empire.

 Chapter 1032: A Meeting Overdue

    Chapter 1032: A Meeting Overdue


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Standing in the center of a giant magic circle, Valyr took in a deep breath as he took his time to limate to his current surroundings.


    Taking a look if [Thousand Polymorph] had been deactivated during the teleportation, the young man went ahead and scanned himself, eventually letting out an inward sigh of relief as his appearance still remained that of his Ylvar identity.


    Moving out of the magic circle after confirming that his disguise remained intact, it was only then did a staff member from the empire''s cksmith Guild arrive to greet him, sporting a slightly apologetic expression as he opened his mouth.


    "I was informed that we''d be receiving a guest within the day, but I never thought it would just be before noon."


    Giving Valyr a respectful half-bow, the staff member apologized to the young man for beingte once more before escorting him out of the guild''s Teleportation Hall.


    "You''re the one called Ylvar, right?" asked the staff member, his eyes glistening with his interest as the two made their way to the guild''s main hall. "The one Algerie Kingdom Guild Leader Pyrrhia constantly talked about."


    In response, Valyr merely nodded, allowing the staff member to continue talking as he graduallymitted theyout of the empire''s cksmith Guild to memory.


    At the same time, he split off part of his attention towards the staff member''s words, seeing as it could give him insight to how his identity was treated in a ce like the empire.


    Unsurprisingly, with the fact that he''d forged an artifact while being at the peak of Rank 2, it went without saying that Ylvar had be famous throughout the kingdoms and the empire under the sovereignty.


    Then again, if that weren''t the case, the weapons he''d forged for the auction back then wouldn''t have fetched a hefty price.


    Returning his wandering thoughts back to the present, the young man continued to listen to the staff member talk, being informed that almost everyone in the empire''s cksmith Guild looked up to him.


    "Though, there are also those who think that they have the ability and knowledge to surpass your feat," said the staff member, slightly shrugging his shoulders as the two arrived at the main hall.


    "In any case, my work here is done. The guild leader shall meet with you shortly."


    Nodding in response, Valyr went ahead and thanked the staff member for his time, which caused thetter to grin as the young man was eventually left to his own devices.


    Feeling like it would take quite some for the guild leader of the current branch to meet up with him, Valyr decided to explore a bit more of the cksmith Guild, slowly shifting his steps towards the guild''s entrance.


    Once there, he was immediately greeted by the sight of the vastness of the empire, causing a faint smile to appear on Valyr''s face as he was reminded of a scene in his past life.


    Though the empire was on the losing end of the War of the Three Sovereignties by the time Valyr had arrived in his past life, the sight that the empire gave him was still enough to leave him in awe.


    With those memories ovepping with the current sight before him, Valyr felt that the empire faintly exuded an air of grandeur that befitted its position, though slightly dampened to the nervousness its citizens had about the ongoing war with the orcs.


    Nevertheless, that did not diminish the appearance of the empire in any way, with the various buildings lining up its streets a match for the buildings that could be found on the main streets of Algerie Kingdom.


    Not only that, but those buildings extended as far as his eyes could see, with his improved perception even failing to inform him the full extent of the territory the empire upied.


    Just as he had the urge to head outside to remind himself howrge the empire was, a familiar voice spoke behind him, prompting the young man to turn around in response.


    "I''d say the empire upies a territory at least ten timesrger than the kingdom you came from," said the voice, seemingly having read the thoughts in Valyr''s mind.


    Quickly hiding the brief surprise he felt from the answer, the young man went ahead and gave a half-bow to the man before him, whose appearance looked out of ce for the cksmith Guild.


    However, everyone that passed by the man looked at him with admiration, respect, and awe, reminding Valyr of the man that made an appearance after his forging duel against Theraldine.


    "Long time no see, Ylvar," said Byron with a smile. "I suppose you still remember me?" "Director Byron." Valyr nodded as he replied, causing the man''s smile to widen. "Thank you for helping the Imperial Alchemist ept my request."


    "Julian even told you that?" replied the man, letting out a slight chuckle as Valyr nodded to the question. "Well, no matter. I only forwarded the message to her. She epted your request out of her own volition."


    "So, shall we head to where she is right now?" asked Byron soon after, slightly gesturing towards the entrance. "Or shall we head there at ater time? After all, if we head there now, you might have to wait for quite some time there due to her busy schedule."


    "If you don''t mind, it would be great if we could head there now." Thinking about the meeting he''d attend alongside Julian in a couple of days, it did not take long for Valyr to make a decision, prompting Byron to nod in response.


    With that, the two of them left the empire''s cksmith Guild as they headed towards thergest building at the center of the empire.


    Whoosh!


    "How much do you know about the empire?" Pushing his agility to his limits, Byron briefly had a look of surprise on his face once he noticed Valyr had no problems catching up to him.


    "This is my first timeing here," replied the young man after a bit of silence, even though he knew a lot about the empire in reality.


    "I see." Nodding at the young man''s words, Byron decided to give a brief exnation of where they were heading to him. "Well, where we''re heading at the moment is called the beating heart of the empire."


    "To put it in better terms, it''s the foundation of the empire''s strength," the man continued. "Many people call it the Meltierre Heavenly Court because of that, which they eventually decided to adopt as well."


    "I don''t want to bore you about the building''s history, so just keep in mind that the Imperial Alchemist wields a high level of authority within the Heavenly Court."


    In response, Valyr nodded, his gaze darting to and fro from time to time as hemitted the surroundings they passed through to memory.


    At the same time, he engaged in a conversation on cksmithing with Byron, causing their journey to the Meltierre Heavenly Court to feel shorter than it initially seemed.


    ''If I didn''t know any better, I wouldn''t have even thought of the man escorting me as the director of the cksmith Guild''s main branch,'' briefly thought the young man to himself, recalling the things Julian told him and Theraldine in the past.


    ''Now that I think about it, I wonder how she''s doing.''


    Deciding to take the time to ask Julian about Theraldine some time in the future, Valyr soon returned to his conversation with Byron, allowing the rtionship between them to improve as the two arrived at the Meltierre Heavenly Court around half an hourter.


    ...


    ''I really have to say...'' By the time the two arrived at the entrance to the Heavenly Court, both Byron and Valyr took their time to catch their breaths, considering how they traveled a distance far greater than two Algerie Kingdoms put side by side at full speed.


    ''It''s a blessing that the mark the Alltide gave me turned out like this.''


    Sitting on the stairs leading up to the entrance, Valyr briefly thought about the mark he''d gotten that he''d corrupted with his energy, prompting him to take a look at it with the system


    to figure out what he''d changed exactly.


    Ding!


    [Partial Mark of the Alltide (Tier III)] (Curse)


    Rarity: ???


    The Mark of the Alltide... most of the description has been omitted.


    Though it contains the Alltide''s wrath, the user has resisted against the formation of the mark


    from the beginning with their energy, corrupting and nullifying some of the features that


    come along with the mark.


    As long as the user is within an area unimed by civilization, any wild beasts and monsters within a 300 meter radius around the user shall aim to kill you no matter what. Additionally, all beasts and monsters within the 300 meter radius shall have their strength augmented to two tiers above their usual level of strength. Killing beasts and monsters under the effects of this augmentation causes them to temporarily regain a portion of their lost


    health.


    The tracking function attached by the Alltide to the mark has been nullified due to the tampering of the user.


    ''Not only is the radius of the mark weakened, the consequence of killing a monster under its


    effect is weakened as well.'' Looking through its description in his mind, Valyr nodded in understanding, soon closing the screen as he noticed Byron calling for him.


    ''Of course, the fact that the Alltide can''t track me anymore is definitely the greatest change.''


    Feeling a great burden being lifted off his shoulders from this confirmation, Valyr had a faint smile on his face as he stood up to head to where Byron was.


    Making sure that the two of them had recovered their strengths from the long journey they took, it was only then did the two enter the Meltierre Heavenly Court, giving Valyr a close look to a building he''d only seen from the outside in the past.

 Chapter 1033: Meeting with Mystia

    Chapter 1033: Meeting with Mystia


    ?


    "...Woah."


    At the very moment the two stepped foot into the Meltierre Heavenly Court, Valyr immediately felt as if he''d been transported into a different dimension altogether.


    Though the insides of the Heavenly Court didn''t really stand out much whenpared to the interior of the guilds and the government halls, there was an ethereal air throughout the space, prompting the young man to figure out where that feeling came from.


    Fortunately, Byron noticed the curiosity that was on the young man''s face, deciding to wander around a bit with Valyr as he reminded himself that it was thetter''s first time.


    Thanks to the man''s whims, the young man was eventually able to find out that the reason why he got that feeling from the Meltierre Heavenly Court was due to the fact that the density of mana within the building was a few times greater than what it was outside.


    ''Aside from that, it seems like every inch of the ce is carved with small grooves that mana can flow through,'' thought the young man to himself, taking note of the fact that those grooves seemed to make the entire building feel like one massive entity.


    However, before the young man could continue exploring the insides of the Meltierre Heavenly Court alongside Byron, a female voice stopped them in their tracks as they turned around to look at her.


    "Haah... haah..." Gasping for air, avender-haired woman appeared before both Valyr and Byron, her crystal blue eyes making them feel as if she was purely staring right through them.


    Taking in a deep breath after that, the woman soon let out a relieved sigh before looking at the two with a smile. "You two must be Ylvar and Director Byron, right?"


    In response, the two looked at each other for a bit before nodding, prompting the woman to nod back as well.


    "The Imperial Alchemist has instructed me to escort Ylvar to where she currently is," said the woman after that, only to shift her gaze towards Byron. "Though she also mentioned that Director Byron is free to apany Ylvar as well."


    "Why does it feel like I''m just an afterthought to her?" Listening to the woman''s words, Byron bitterly smiled, his gaze briefly on Valyr as he hoped that the young man would have him tag along.


    Unfortunately, such thoughts immediately disappeared when the woman responded to his question, her words eliciting a fear he''d suppressed toe up to the surface.


    "The Imperial Alchemist mentioned that Julius and the other ministers are currently within the Meltierre Heavenly Court." The woman looked at Byron, ignoring the drastic change in thetter''s expression.


    "She says that it would be wise for you to leave the Heavenly Court for the meantime, lest the ministers request more out of Director Byron."


    "..." Though he felt like he''d stepped on a turd after hearing the woman''s words, Byron eventually decided to heed the woman''s words for the meantime, not wanting to be given another quota after having alreadypleted one sometime earlier.


    With that, the man bade farewell to Valyr for the meantime, reminding the young man to visit the cksmith Guild once his meeting with Mystia was done.


    Promising that he''d do so once everything was over, it was only then did Valyr and Byron both part ways, with Valyr following behind the woman that greeted them.


    Continuing to look around the Meltierre Heavenly Court while they made their way to where Mystia was, Valyr decided to strike up a conversation with the woman in front of him.


    "Er... if you don''t mind me asking, what''s your rtionship with the Imperial Alchemist?"


    In response, the woman nced back at him for a bit with a slight smile, responding not long after with a proud tone. "I am the Imperial Alchemist''s second disciple."


    Valyr''s eyes briefly widened in surprise at those words, only to nod in understanding. "How many disciples does the Imperial Alchemist have?"


    "Three," replied the woman, her bodynguage gradually rxing thanks to the


    conversation. "The first one is her niece, while the third one is someone both I and her niece don''t know much about."


    "All we know is that the third disciple was chosen by the Imperial Alchemist for their superb affinity."


    "I see." Valyr nodded once more, slightly curious as to who was lucky enough to be Mystia''s third disciple.


    After all, with a position like the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court, it meant that her disciples had ess to a far greater amount of information that even he could ess with the help of the cksmith Guild.


    Not only that, but they would have priority ess to the alchemical concoctions Mystia made, reminding him of the gifts he''d received from her back in the auction he participated in.


    Pushing such thoughts to the side, Valyr decided to shift the topic of their conversation to more mundane stuff, allowing the two of them to rx a bit more around one another.


    By the time they arrived at the ce where Mystia was, the two more or less were on amicable terms, prompting the woman to faintly smile as she exined something to him.


    "The Imperial Alchemist is on the other side of the door," said the woman. "Make sure to knock, okay? I''ll be leaving, then."


    "Thank you for your help," replied Valyr as he kept the woman''s words in his mind, watching as she gradually left his vision. "Oh, wait. What''s your name?"


    "I go by Aloe," said the woman in response, causing Valyr to be silent as thoughts surfaced in his mind while watching the woman disappear from his vision.


    ''Wait a minute... Vera... then Aloe...''


    ''Aloe... Vera...?''


    ''...''


    ''Surely that''s not the reason why she chose them as her disciples, right?''


    Taking in a deep breath as he took the time to remove the errant thoughts in his mind, Valyr soon stared at the wooden door before him, noticing that it felt out of cepared to the other doors within the building.


    ''It''s probably because of the strong alchemical energy on the other side,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, knocking on the door after that.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Who is it?" After waiting for a short while, a familiar voice to Valyr responded on the other


    side.


    "It''s me," said Valyr in response, causing the other side to be silent.


    Then again, such silence did notst for long.


    "Oh! Come in, then."


    Hearing those words, Valyr faintly nodded as he excused himself, opening the door to finally


    come face to face with someone he should''ve met a long time ago.


    "We finally meet again, Valyr." Though she was still in the middle of concocting an alchemical potion, Mystia looked at the young man with a faint smile on her face, only for it


    to turn into a slight grin.


    "You''ve made the right choice of concealing your original appearance."


    "Julian gave me a reminder before I came here." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Now that I


    think about it, does Miss Mystia know of my reasons foring?"


    "Sir Byron hasn''t given me anything, neither did Sir Julian when he talked with him, but I can easily guess," replied Mystia after a bit of contemtion.


    "I have a strong feeling that it has something to do with the Mystic Energy you''ve neglected." Mystia nced at him with a knowing smile. "Is that right?"


    Valyr could only blush in embarrassment after hearing those words.


    Seeing the young man''s drastic change in expression, Mystia let out a bit ofughter as she returned her focus on the concoction she was making.


    "Well, don''t worry about it too much. Just so you know, I didn''t really have that much hope that you''d focus on Mystic Energy, even with Vera teaching you in the inheritance. Consider it a mismatch of circumstances and interests."


    "In any case, since you''vee here, I''ll make sure to teach you as much as I can about Mystic Energy. I don''t know if you''ll reach Vera''s level by the end of it, but your control over the


    energy would definitely improve by leaps and bounds."


    "With that being said, shall we start the lesson... my third disciple?"

 Chapter 1034: Mystias Reasons

    Chapter 1034: Mystia''s Reasons


    ?


    "...Huh?"


    With his focus all on the words that left Mystia''s mouth, it was no surprise that Valyr was immediately left at a loss for words after hearing that he was her third disciple.


    Though he knew that he would benefit a lot if he were to be her third disciple, the young man remained skeptical, looking around the room for a bit before asking her to make sure.


    "Is your third disciple in here at the moment?"


    "Yeah." She nodded.


    "Are they in some part of the room that I can''t see?"


    "No." Mystia shook her head as she briefly pointed at the young man. "I wouldn''t have called you my third disciple for no reason, no?"


    Of course, that response just confused Valyr even more, even though he was somewhat excited to be the disciple of the one called the Imperial Alchemist.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop the questions about the current situation from lingering in his mind, making him wonder how he''d be Mystia''s third disciple, as well as why he chose him to be her disciple in the first ce.


    With curiosity consuming every part of his body, it did not take long for him to open his mouth and ask. "Pardon me for asking, Miss Mystia, but how did I even be your disciple in the first ce?"


    As those words left his mouth, the young man had an idea that the answer would be incrediblyplex, simr to how he''d be Noel''s student after proving himself that he had the strength to wield Shadow Energy.


    However, in reality, the answer that left her mouth was far fromplex.


    "Mystic Energy," replied Mystia as she juggled between having a conversation with Valyr while continuing to work on the concoction she was making. "Remember the pill and vial I gave you back in that auction?"


    "The moment you gained the approval of the Mystic ne and gained ess to Mystic Energy was the exact moment you became my third disciple."


    Unsurprisingly, Mystia''s answer left the young man even more confused. "Wait... so does that mean Vera and Aloe underwent the same procedure as me to be your disciples?"


    "More or less." Mystia nodded in response. "However, unlike your circumstances, where I had to go through a couple of hoops to give you Mystic Energy, I had them visit the Mystic ne instead to let them gain the approval of the Overseer directly."


    "Wait... then that means the Saintess I''ve read in the notifications I got back then..."


    "That was me, if you haven''t figured it out already," said Mystia in response, prompting Valyr to go silent.


    Of course, Valyr already had spections from before that the woman before him was the Saintess of the Mystic ne through the notifications he''d gotten back then from consuming the items she gave him.


    With that, the young man only felt a hint of relief after Mystia confirmed his spections as fact.


    However, as he thought about it for a bit more, he found it weird that someone like Mystia would be considered the Saintess of the Mystic ne.


    After all, the Saintess of the Shadow ne, the Serpent Maiden, wielded a level of strength and knowledge that was on the realm of Divine-level beings, with the Overseer of the Shadow ne possibly at a higher level than that.


    On the other hand, from what he could sense while looking at her, Mystia was nowhere near that level.


    Though he was curious as to why that was the case, the young man pushed the thought aside for the meantime, instead asking the other question that came up in his mind the moment Mystia called him her third disciple.


    "Why me, though? Why choose me as your third disciple, Miss Mystia?"


    "Sure, I may be a Zeihardt. Sure, I may have interacted with Vera before. Sure, I may have forged an artifact back then," said the young man, listing down the possible reasons why he''d be chosen.


    "But none of those have any connection to Mystic Energy whatsoever... so why?"


    "Well, one of the reasons you''ve given me is one of the reasons why I chose you." Letting out a sigh of relief as shepleted the concoction she was making, it was only then did Mystia pay full attention to the young man, smiling as she looked at him.


    "You''re a Zeihardt, Valyr... specifically, a Herald."


    "Didn''t you call me a Harbinger back then?" asked Valyr back, only for Mystia to let out a chuckle in response.


    "And here I thought you''d continue denying it," said Mystia, causing Valyr to btedly realize he''d fallen into her word trap. "But yes, that''s why I chose you... I''m guessing you confirmed that fact for yourself along the way?"


    In response, Valyr merely nodded, inwardly telling himself that talking about what he''d gone through in the inheritance was better saved for another time.


    With that, Mystia continued where she left off, listing down yet another reason why she chose him to be her disciple. "Aside from that, you seem to boast a level of knowledge that''s far greater than what should be expected from your age."


    "Knowledge on Reinforcement Elixirs and the forging process for artifacts are things that normal people don''t really easily get ess to."


    "...Then again, you are a Zeihardt." Mystia slightly shrugged her shoulders. "Zeihardts have ess to far greater information, especially if they''re considered important to the n." Faintly nodding in response, Valyr thought that Mystia had listed down all of the reasons she had in mind.


    However, there was still one reason she had yet to mention to the young man.


    "In any case, those reasons are minor inparison to the main reason why I chose you," said Mystia, only to give Valyr a confident smile. "Your strength."


    "My strength?" Valyr looked back at her in confusion.


    "Your strength." Mystia reaffirmed that he did not hear her wrongly. "Though it may not seem like it, I''ve been keeping a tab on the feats you''ve achieved ever since you left the


    inheritance."


    "Fighting against a Rank 5 Epic to a standstill, killing a Legend-level Tidemother with just a couple of attacks... would any normal being at Rank 3 be able to do that?"


    Slightly shuddering as he felt like he was being spied on without his consent once again, Valyr took in a deep breath as he summarized the information Mystia gave him. "In other words, you needed my strength, so I became your disciple?"


    "Being my disciple is just a facade to make things easier to exin for others," said Mystia in response, only to release a great amount of iridescent energy throughout the room not long


    after.


    "If I were to be more specific, I''m offering you to be the Guardian of the Mystic ne."

 Chapter 1035: Request and Reward

    Chapter 1035: Request and Reward


    ?


    "Guardian of the Mystic ne..." Parroting the words that left Mystia''s mouth, Valyr pinched the skin between his eyebrows with a slight frown as the gears in his mind began to turn. "What am I going to be exactly? Your disciple? Or the Guardian?"


    "Both, if possible," replied Mystia while Valyr continued to frown. "As you have Mystic Energy, you''re already my disciple. However, it''s still up to you if you want to be the Guardian of the Mystic ne or not."


    "What does being the Guardian of the Mystic ne entail exactly, Miss Mystia?" asked the young man in response, only to say something else soon after. "Also, I haven''t really agreed in bing your disciple yet."


    "And here I thought you did after asking all those questions so far," said Mystia with a slight chuckle, causing Valyr to slightly frown once again. "Then again, I did somewhat force the position unto you, but let''s save that conversation forter."


    "Going back to your previous question, the title of the position itself is quite self- exnatory," said Mystia with a calm expression. "The Guardian of the Mystic ne is just that. You''re the one who''ll be defending the Mystic ne from external foes."


    "What kind of foes would I be up against?" asked Valyr, still unsure as to why Mystia chose him to take up the position.


    "It depends," replied the woman as she sat on a nearby chair. Gesturing towards another chair for Valyr to sit on, she continued, "Most of the time, it''ll be enemies from the other nes that want to eat the Mystic ne up."


    "Considering the size of the Mystic ne, you''ll only be fighting against foes that are around your rank. If they''re hellbent on controlling the ne, they might send out a Rank 5 Epic, perhaps even a Legend."


    "And if they''re really hellbent on turning the ne into theirs, they''d send out an early Myth."


    Processing the information Mystia gave him, Valyr gradually formed an image of the entire situation in his mind as he asked back, "If that''s the case, why not choose someone at the peak of Rank 5 as the Guardian, then? Why not a Myth?"


    "I''ll only be able to tell you the true reason why if you''re willing to ept bing the Guardian," replied Mystia with a wry smile, to which Valyr nodded in understanding. "Though, part of the reason is because we want to catch the ne''s foes off guard." "Well... what would I get if I agree?" asked Valyr in response, getting the feeling that the position Mystia was offering him wasn''t as simple as it initially seemed.


    Fortunately, the things Mystia mentioned in exchange for his agreement somewhat diminished the importance of the what-if that began to fester in his mind.


    "For one, you''d gain the total recognition of the Mystic ne," replied Mystia, smiling as she told Valyr some of the perks. "With it, you''ll be able to enter the Mystic ne whenever and wherever you are."


    "Aside from that, you''ll also be able to exert a far higher level of strength in the Mystic ne than in Veldanyr, which is considered the main perk of bing the Mystic ne''s Guardian."


    "Hmm... what else?" Rubbing her chin for a bit, the woman looked back at Valyr with a yful smile as she continued. "I don''t mind giving you help in anything alchemy-rted. I could even give you the items I''ve given Vera and Aloe after they''ve be my disciples."


    "Other than that, I could also teach you the style of alchemy I specialize in... only if you''re interested, of course."


    "I ept." Of course, with how much Mystia nned on giving to him, it was no surprise that Valyr epted immediately. "I ept both of them."


    Though her words regarding him exhibiting greater power in the Mystic ne did have a slight sway on him, what pulled him even more were the items Mystia nned on potentially giving him.


    Recalling the pill and vialbo he''d received from her after the auction in the past, Valyr could not help but think about how his strength would be far greater than it was right now if he had constant ess to the concoctions Mystia made.


    However, if one were to ask him what truly made him ept her request, it was the fact that he''d be able to learn alchemy from Mystia.


    As he was a cksmith in both his past and current life, Valyr naturally recognized the great amount of effort one put into their respective crafts to get to where they were, as well as how beneficial that time was when it came to teaching other people the same craft.


    With that, he knew that if he learned alchemy from Mystia, he''d be able to zoom through the various stages of alchemy with ease. After all, the woman in front of him was none other than the Meltierre Heavenly Court''s Imperial Alchemist.


    "...Huh. If I knew it was this easy, I would''ve told you the benefits of epting my offers before our conversation even began."


    Briefly nking out from Valyr hastily epting her request, Mystia soon let out a bit ofughter as she returned to reality, realizing that the young man had shown her a side of him others rarely saw.


    "Well then. Now that you''re officially my disciple, you must call me Teacher or Master from now on." Standing up to move closer to him, Mystia began to say a few words that caused the young man to slightly frown.


    Noticing the change in his expression, she let out a bit ofughter once more before correcting herself. "I''m just kidding. You can call me whatever you want, but please don''t use honorifics. I''m only in myte seventies, you know?"


    "Really?" Hearing that Mystia was over 70 years old, a look of shock briefly appeared on


    Valyr''s face.


    In his mind, he thought that the woman before him was only in her forties or fifties, considering how she was Vera''s aunt.


    But 70?


    ''She''s almost as old as Noel,'' thought the young man to himself, only to stop as he felt Mystia ring daggers at him.


    "Whatever you''re thinking about, stop that," said Mystia, understanding the look Valyr was currently giving her.


    Letting out a sigh of relief as the young man immediately followed her words, Mystia soon conjured a rift to her side, taking out a vial filled with viscous golden fluid from it before throwing it towards Valyr.


    "To show how thankful I am that you epted my request, here''s the item I promised to give you for making sure Vera was able to leave the inheritance safely."


    "Of course, there''s still a couple of items I n on giving you now that you''re my disciple, but let''s start with this one for now."


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the item: Constitution Refinement Elixir.]

 Chapter 1036: Refining Ones Constitution

    Chapter 1036: Refining One''s Constitution


    ?


    "What is this elixir exactly?" Receiving the vial Mystia threw at him with both hands, Valyr went ahead and used his identification skill on it, only to raise his eyebrow as the system gave him a notification that he did not expect.


    Ding!


    [You have failed to identify the item.]


    "I call it the Constitution Refinement Elixir." Noticing the change in Valyr''s expression, Mystia went ahead and grabbed the vial back from the young man for the meantime as she gave a brief exnation of what it was.


    "Though it does refine your constitution to a certain extent, that''s just a small portion of what the elixir can actually do." Saying these words, she then went ahead and used her own identification skill on it, prompting a screen to soon appear before her vision.


    "What it really does is bring out the lingering essences of the various concoctions you''ve taken so far and use it to awaken some of the slumbering potential within the body."


    Turning the screen around for Valyr to read, she ended off her exnation with a faint sigh.


    "Aside from that, the elixir replenishes the potential that has been awakened by the lingering essences with its own energy, which basically means that you''re getting a power-up without sacrificing anything important in exchange."


    "Though, it would have been better if you consumed this elixir while you were still at Rank


    3."


    Curious as to what she meant by that, Valyr went ahead and focused his attention on the screen Mystia was showing him.


    Fortunately, it did not take a lot of reading for him to obtain the reason why.


    Ding!


    [Constitution Refinement Elixir] (Item)


    Rarity: Mythic


    Concocted by the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court, this elixir boasts... most of the description has been omitted.


    Depending on the current ss rank of the user, this elixir stimtes the lingering essences that have remained within the user''s body, utilizing it to awaken some of the user''s potential while also replenishing the potential that was lost in the process.


    However, when consumed by beings that are Myth level or higher, the elixir won''t take effect.


    The potential that is awakened shall take the user''s current abilities into consideration, shoring up the deficiencies and shorings that the user has.


    This elixir also has a slight effect towards the improvement of the user''s species.


    Possible effects based on ss rank:


    Rank 0 and 1 - +500 stat points, +50 hidden stat points


    Rank 2 - +400 stat points, +40 hidden stat points


    Rank 3 - +300 stat points, +30 hidden stat points


    Rank 4 - +200 stat points, +20 hidden stat points


    Rank 5 +100 stat points, +10 hidden stat points


    Rank 6 and above - None


    "How would the stats obtained from this elixir be distributed, exactly?" Thanking Mystia for giving him greater insight towards the elixir he was about to drink, Valyr decided to ask a question rted to it. "Would it be distributed equally?"


    "It depends on your current abilities," exined Mystia. "But in short, it''ll aim to increase your stats where all of them would be more equal."


    "Of course, there will still be an improvement to the stats that aren''t prioritized by the elixir, but it won''t be as pronounced as the improvement you''d get in the stats the elixir deems you''recking in."


    Nodding in understanding, Valyr retrieved the vial of golden fluid back from Mystia before asking yet another question. "How about the hidden stats? Would it increase the ones I already have, or would it awaken one and increase it there?"


    "If you already have hidden stats, it would focus on improving that, once again taking your current abilities into consideration," said Mystia, prompting Valyr to nod in response. "If you don''t, then it would awaken a couple before doing the same thing."


    "Got it." Feeling like all of his doubts regarding the elixir had been dispelled, Valyr felt that it was now the right time to consume the elixir.


    However, just as he''d pulled out the stopper from the vial, a brief thought from the past shed in his mind, causing him to recall the pain and agony he''d gone through after


    consuming the items Mystia gave him in the past.


    With that in mind, the young man hesitated in consuming the contents of the vial in one gulp, looking at Mystia with a hint of nervousness in his gaze. "This... this isn''t like those items you gave me in the past, right?"


    Understanding the intent behind the gaze Valyr was giving her, Mystia shook her head as she gave him a reassuring smile. "Believe me when I say you''ll be fine after drinking that. If it helps you out, Vera and Aloe also consumed this in the past."


    Surprisingly, Mystia''s words of reassurance worked wonders, causing Valyr''s nervousness to eventually disappear as he gradually calmed himself.


    Gulp!


    Then, without hesitation, he downed the Constitution Refinement Elixir in one go, feeling the viscous fluid within the vial briefly stick down the back of his throat.


    Eventually, by the time the fluid reached his stomach, Valyr began to feel warmth from it, reminding him of how he''d vomited his brains out in the past when he took the True Rebirth


    Pill.


    However, none of the sort happened after consuming the Constitution Refinement Elixir, with the warmth lingering in his stomach for a bit before spreading throughout the entirety


    of his body.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    For a brief moment, Valyr felt like he''d immersed himself in a hot spring as the warmth gradually began to cover his entire body.


    Unfortunately, just as he''d immersed himself in the sensation, the warmth covering his body instantly turned into unbearable heat, causing him to scream out in pain as he felt like he was


    being roasted alive.


    Thankfully, before he was forced to endure the sensation through sheer willpower, Mystia made a move to counteract the elixir''s effects, releasing iridescent energy from her fingertips before manipting it to wrap around Valyr''s body.


    Swoosh!


    Within seconds, the iridescent energy covered Valyr''s body like a cocoon, reducing the intense heat Valyr felt to a level of warmth that was still slightly unbearable, but not as unbearable as


    before.


    With that, it went without saying that Valyr endured till the elixir''s effects went away on its own, mostly thanks to the fact that the elixir''s effect was at a level that he could now tolerate.


    Briefly giving Mystia a look of gratitude after he''d fully recovered from the elixir''s effects, Valyr then brought up the notifications the system had given him after consuming the Constitution Refinement Elixir, both eager and curious as to how much his stats had


    improved.

 Chapter 1037: The Truth of the Mystic Plane

    Chapter 1037: The Truth of the Mystic ne


    ?


    Ding!


    [The Constitution Refinement Elixir has awakened your potential!]


    [Calcting awakened potential ording to the user''s current abilities...]


    [Allocating awakened potential with the priority of shoring up the user''s deficiencies and shorings...]


    [...]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained the following stats: +30 VIT, +30 STR, +30 AGI, +10 DEX, +10 INT, +40 WIS, +30 PER, +20 LUK.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 7 points of Vigor.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 5 points of Mana Purity.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 5 points of Tranquility.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 3 points of Might.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, your current species has slightly improved.]


    Reading through the notifications he''d received with a look of expectation, Valyr soon nodded in satisfaction as he finally understood what Mystia and the item''s description meant in regards to stat distribution.


    Considering how both his DEX and INT stat were leagues aheadpared to his other stats, it made sense that the elixir prioritized improving all of the other stats, taking on a simr logic once it began to tackle his hidden stats.


    ''Though the increase is not as substantial when Ipare it to the True Rebirth Pill I consumed back then, the stat gains are around twice what I got from consuming the concoctions Faulus gave us back in the inheritance,'' thought the young man to himself. Closing his screen after that, he then looked at Mystia with a faint expression of betrayal. "Remind me next time to not trust in your words again."


    In response, Mystia shed a bitter smile back at him. "I can''t really do much about that. Almost every elixir and pill that has miraculous effects like the one you just consumed tend toe with pain during the absorption process."


    "Think of it as equivalent exchange to the great amount of stats you''re getting," continued Mystia as she retracted the iridescent energy she''d released earlier.


    "Then again, if I didn''t wrap you in a cocoon of Mystic Energy earlier, you would probably be unconscious right now."


    "...All the more reason for me to learn how to wield Mystic Energy, then," said Valyr in response, briefly shuddering as he recalled the intense level of pain he''d briefly experienced just earlier.


    "Well, I''m d that you''re eager to learn more about Mystic Energy," said Mystia with a smile, returning back to her chair.


    "However, let''s postpone that to sometimeter. For now, since you''ve epted my request of bing the Mystic ne''s Guardian, I suppose it''s right to tell you the information I''ve been withholding from you earlier."


    Hearing those words, Valyr went through all of the conversations the two had so far before eventually recalling the one Mystia was talking about.


    "So, what''s the reason?" asked Valyr as he nodded at her words. "Why haven''t you appointed a Legend or a Myth to take up the position of Guardian?"


    As this question left his mouth once more, the young man soon came up with a follow-up question. "Also, are Guardians normal for a ne to have?"


    "I''ll answer yourtest question first." Pondering over Valyr''s questions for a bit, a pensive expression briefly appeared on Mystia''s face as she found the right words to say. "You could say that Guardians are both rare andmon to find at the same time."


    Noticing the slight confusion that appeared on Valyr''s face from her words, Mystia hastily began to exin. "What I mean by that is that Guardians are almost nowhere to be found in middle and upper nes."


    "In other words, those are nes that have their concepts and powers recognized by a considerable portion of the universe."


    "After all, the concepts and powers those nes embody are strong enough for other nes to begin thinking otherwise, with many of them not wanting to experience the repercussions of going against those nes."


    "A good example of the nes without Guardians would be the nes corresponding to the four foundational elements. After all, almost every person throughout the universe rely on its concept and power."


    "On the other hand, Guardians are almost necessary in small nes," said Mystia, giving Valyr time to process everything she''d said so far.


    "Of course, if you''ve been reading between the lines all the time, then you must''vee to the conclusion that the Mystic ne is a small ne... which it is."


    "Wait... that doesn''t make sense," said Valyr in response, his brows slightly furrowed. "Why would the Mystic ne be small if Mystic Energy is incredibly versatile?"


    As those words left his mouth, Valyr thought about the skill he gained that allowed him to transform Mystic Energy into any element, as well as the feat that Mystia had shown him earlier of reducing the side effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir.


    "It''s exactly because Mystic Energy is versatile that the Mystic ne is small," replied Mystia, a bitter smile appearing on her face.


    "Because of how all-epassing Mystic Energy is in terms of power, many other nes have eyed the ne to the point that the current ne is only a shell of its former self."


    "Or at least... that''s what the Overseer of the Mystic ne told me after I became its Saintess." Mystia let out a low sigh. "In any case, it is true that the Mystic ne is in danger of


    disappearing entirely if neither I nor the Overseer did anything about it."


    "Which is why I''ve decided to appoint you as the Guardian of the Mystic ne." As these words left her mouth, Mystia gave Valyr an apologetic smile.


    "The reason why I chose you to be the Guardian is not because we wanted to catch our foes off guard, but because that''s the limit of what the Mystic ne could handle at the


    moment."


    "In other words, it''s not that you don''t want to have a Legend or a Myth as a Guardian, it''s that you couldn''t," said Valyr, to which Mystia merely nodded in agreement.


    "I see." With Mystia now giving him all of the information he needed at the moment, arge image swiftly began to form in the young man''s mind, allowing him to get a rough idea of the current situation regarding the Mystic ne.


    With that in mind, the young man decided to fully ept his new position as the Guardian of the Mystic ne, giving Mystia a reassuring smile as he told her, "I''ll do my best not to betray the trust and expectations you''ve put on me."


    In response, Mystia smiled back as she inwardly sighed in relief, her smile the epitome of


    sincerity.


    "Since you say that, then it''s only right that I''ll make sure to help you out to the best of my abilities," she promised him.


    "I swear upon this as both your teacher and the Saintess of the Mystic ne."


    "After all, with your abilities, I''m certain that it''s only a matter of time until the Mystic ne fully returns to its former glory."

 Chapter 1038: Entering the Mystic Plane

    Chapter 1038: Entering the Mystic ne


    ?


    As he smiled in response to Mystia''s words, the gears in Valyr''s mind started to turn, realizing that their current topic hade to an end of sorts.


    "So... what do we do now?"


    "To be honest, I don''t know either," replied Mystia with a slight shrug.


    "Should we head to the Mystic ne, then?" asked Valyr in response, his gaze darting


    between Mystia and the room. "After all, since I''m the Guardian of the Mystic ne, shouldn''t I head there at least once?"


    "Well, yeah... but let''s save that forter." At first, Mystia was about to agree to the young man''s suggestion, only to recall that she had yet to give all of the rewards she nned on giving Valyr now that she''d epted her quests.


    "After all, I still n on giving you other things aside from that Constitution Refinement Elixir you just continued."


    "...Unless if you want to head to the Mystic ne now and postpone the remaining rewards forter, of course," said Mystia not long after, faintly smiling as she noticed the conflicted expression creeping up Valyr''s face in response.


    "Er..." With the gears in his mind madly turning while he was pondering over Mystia''s words, the young man weighed over the pros and cons of each choice as he began to formte a new train of thought.


    ''Initially, I came to meet Mystia because I wanted to improve the amount of Mystic Energy I have, as well as my level of control over it.''


    ''Considering how Mystic Energy is the opposite of Shadow... well, Void Energy in terms of nature, the thought ofbining it into Prime Azure Energy came to mind, seeing as the energy I made has the ability to assimte other energies without issues.''


    ''... On the other hand, Mystia did make a promise to give me items if I were to ept both of her requests. As long as I got my hands on them, mybat strength would immediately be improved to a higher level.''


    ''Other than that, she''s also nning to teach me alchemy, which is a field I''ve barely touched upon in my past life,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''However, that doesn''t mean I''m clueless as to what it''s capable of, seeing as how all of the elixirs and pills I''ve consumed so far all have miraculous effects on my strength.''


    Closing his eyes for a bit as he continued with his current train of thought, Valyr eventually made his decision as he looked at Mystia in the eyes with a wry smile. "I guess we could postpone the remaining items forter."


    "After all, in the first ce, my reason for meeting up with you was mostly about Mystic Energy."


    "...Well, I suppose you''re correct," replied Mystia, her expression briefly changing into that disbelief.


    In her mind, when she brought up the topic of him getting more items from her, she thought that Valyr would undoubtedly choose to go with the items, considering that it was the choice that would immediately give him greater strength out of the two.


    However, hearing that the young man instead chose the option that he was less likely to choose, it took a while for Mystia to regain her bearings, nodding as she began to conjure a rift that would lead the two of them into the Mystic ne.


    Whoosh!


    Watching Mystia release a massive amount of Mystic Energy into the surroundings, Valyr decided tomit the sight before him into memory as he intently watched her create the rift to the Mystic ne step by step.


    ''Huh. The concept is simr to how Noel opens up a rift to the Shadow ne.'' Keeping an eye on Mystia''s movements, Valyr eventually began to notice a few simrities between it and Noel''s movements in the past.


    With that, by the time Mystia had finished creating the rift to the Mystic ne, it was there that Valyr realized that the rift creation process was more or less simr between every ne.


    If anything, the only differences between them was in the energy that was used, as well as theplexity of the structure making up the rift itself.


    ''Seeing how the rift to the Mystic ne seems easier to createpared to the rift to the Shadow ne, I suppose theplexity of the rift has a corrtion to the size of the ne itself?''


    As this question came to the young man''s mind, Mystia let out a soft sigh of relief as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.


    Then, taking the time to catch her breath, she then gestured the young man towards the rift she''d opened. "As you''ve never visited the Mystic ne, you should go first. I''ll follow behind


    you."


    Nodding in response to her words, Valyr swiftly made his way to the rift, taking in a deep breath as he took a step into it.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, the young man felt his body be transported to a faraway ce, simr to what he felt back in his trips to the Shadow ne with Noel.


    Then again, unlike the dark and dreary atmosphere that the Shadow ne gave off, the Mystic ne immediately gave off a light and ethereal feeling to the young man, causing him to feel as if all of his worries had been washed away.


    Sadly, such a feeling was only short-lived as the young man''s feet eventually touched ground, reducing some of the lightness he felt as he took a look of his surroundings.


    "Wee to the Mystic ne, Valyr."


    Swoosh!


    Whilst the young man wasmitting thendscape of the Mystic ne to memory, the Imperial Alchemist had appeared beside him, shing a grin as she took a few steps forward to be in front of him. "So, what do you think?"


    "It''s... definitely unlike the Shadow ne I''ve been in," said Valyr in response,ing to the conclusion that the Mystic ne had andscape that was more or less simr to what Veldanyr offered.


    Though, if one were to look at their surroundings closely, one would begin to notice a thinyer of iridescent energy coating the surface.


    "It''s more... colorful," continued the young man, wondering if the thinyer of iridescent energy was the cause of the light and ethereal feeling that currently wrapped around him. "A lot more colorfulpared to the Shadow ne."


    "Anyways, now that I think about it, why haven''t I gotten a notification from the system that I''ve be the Mystic ne''s Guardian yet?"


    As these words left the young man''s mouth, the smile Mystia had on her face instantly disappeared as she began to rub her chin in contemtion.


    Closing her eyes for a bit, she eventually looked back at the young man with a calm gaze, only for the smile she had earlier to return not long after. "Oh, that."


    "Well, you see... the Overseer hasn''t really officially appointed you as the ne''s Guardian yet. So far, you''re still the Guardian of the Mystic ne in name."


    "And so, to correct that..."


    "Marcus! Get your ass over here right this instant!"

 Chapter 1039: Marcus and Mystia

    Chapter 1039: Marcus and Mystia


    ?


    Continuing to maintain a neutral expression as Mystia exined the reason why he hadn''t been given the position of Guardian yet now that they were in the Mystic ne, Valyr''s expression could not help but falter the moment Mystia began to shout.


    ''Am... am I perhaps dreaming?'' With his eyes slightly widened in disbelief, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he thought that what he''d witnessed just now was merely a hallucination or an illusion of sorts.


    Unfortunately for the young man, Mystia''s personality taking on a 180 degree shift was as true as it could be, seeing as the voice that responded back to her carried the same tone.


    "You could''ve asked nicely, you know?! It''s not like I can''t hear your nagging voice all over the Mystic ne!"


    "Oh, I''m nagging, you say?" At those words, Mystia''s expression soured. "I''m here working my ass off to improve this ne for the better, yet you''re saying I''m nagging?"


    "That''s right. What are you gonna do about it?" replied the voice, now sounding like they were moving closer to both Valyr and Mystia.


    "Plus, are you really helping improve the Mystic ne for the better? Wouldn''t this person just grab some Mystic Energy and leave like the other ones you brought so far?"


    "I''m telling you they''re my disciples. Disciples." At this point of their conversation, Valyr had no choice but to ept that he was witnessing a side of Mystia that people rarely saw, inwardly letting out a faint sigh as he continued to remain silent.


    "Disciples or not, it would be nice if you could bring someone that would actually be able to contribute in the improvement of this ne."


    As those words echoed throughout the area, Valyr and Mystia were finally greeted by the sight of the being that had been talking with thetter all this time.


    With the young man silently listening in to the conversation between the two all this time, Valyr already imagined what this being named Marcus would look like, feeling like the man would be donning on a set of clothes that seemed fitting for a ballroom party.


    However, in reality, Marcus looked vastly different in contrast to his expectations, seemingly only wearing a pair of gray shorts that aptly covered his private parts.


    Other than that, the man didn''t wear anything else, instead showing off the various muscles all over his body for everyone to see, all of them honed and pushed to their very limits.


    Because of that, the young man found it slightly off-putting that such a body was attached to an amiable-looking face, a face sporting a head of dark brown hair and a pair of dark brown eyes.


    Though, as he continued to look at the being before them, Valyr noticed that the man''s hair began to give off an iridescent color after some time, wondering if it was the light of the Mystic ne doing all of that.


    While Valyr was continuing to intently look at the man from head to toe, Marcus had a slight frown on his face as he looked back at Mystia with a slight sigh.


    "I have a few questions. Also, this isn''t part of the bit anymore." "Yeah, I know."


    "Why''d you bring this guy with you? Is this guy another one of those ''disciples'' of yours?"


    As Marcus pointed at Valyr, Mystia slightly shook her head as she replied, "He is... but he''s different from the other ones I''ve brought to you so far."


    "Remember how you''ve been always asking me to look for a person that could act as the Guardian of this ne?"


    "Yeah?" Marcus raised his eyebrow before nodding. "I did say that having a Guardian on board would make the expansion of the Mystic ne easier. Plus, it would allow us tofortably amodate more people who could dabble in Mystic Energy."


    "Well..." In response, Mystia shifted her gaze towards Valyr, prompting Marcus to shift his gaze towards the young man as well.


    Silently looking at the young man with a hint of confusion on his face, Marcus eventually connected the dots in his mind as he looked back at her in slight disbelief. "Wait... you''re telling me he''s going to be the Mystic ne''s Guardian?"


    "You do know our ne is constantly up against Legends and Myths, no?" said the man not long after, causing Valyr''s impression of the man to change as he listened to their conversation. "Would he be able to handle them?"


    "Of course, don''t get me wrong," continued Marcus, feeling a slight headacheing up. "I appreciate all of the work you''ve done for the ne so far. Out of all the Saintesses I''ve worked with, you''re the most hardworking out of all of them."


    "With that being said, I also know that you have a keen eye for talent. However, even if this guy right here can fight against Legends at the peak of Rank 4, would he be able to handle Pseudo-Myths?"


    "Or better yet, would he be able to handle actual Myths?"


    "I''m not saying this because I aim to downy the effort you''ve put in so far," said Marcus as he looked at both Mystia and Valyr. "However, the Guardian is exposed to the most danger inside a ne. You know that as well as I do, Mystia."


    At this point, Valyr''s initial impression of Marcus had entirely disappeared, instead thinking


    of the man as someone who had the tendency to look out for others.


    With that, he decided that it was his turn to respond to the man''s words, interrupting their conversation with his words.


    "I''ve already been informed beforehand of the dangers."


    Whoosh!


    As those words left the young man''s mouth, Valyr unleashed his aura to its very limits, causing the surroundings to briefly warp as if it were responding to the young man''s strength. Naturally, Marcus was left at a loss for words by the sight, not expecting that the young man''s strength was even greater than the best-case scenario he''de up with.


    Then again, Mystia was surprisingly also left at a loss for words, even though she''d been keeping an eye on the young man''s feats for quite some time.


    Noticing the look of disbelief on Mystia''s face, Marcus decided to send her a private message through the system''s chat feature. "Don''t tell me you didn''t expect this level of strength from him? You''re the one who brought him to this ce, no?"


    "I already knew that he had the strength to fight against Rank 5 Epics and Legends without a problem," replied Mystia, her gaze remaining affixed on the young man''s aura. "However, don''t you think his aura is already close to approaching that level?"


    "I know. That''s the reason why I was surprised," sent Marcus through another message. "After all, it''s not too difficult for someone at the peak of Rank 4 to surmount a gap of one ss rank with enough effort. Even geniuses are expected to do that."


    "But two? Only the most genius among geniuses are able to do that, even though only rarely."


    ''Hmm... I guess I should show more strength to them. Show my sincerity in a way.'' Oblivious to the back and forth messaging that was going on between Marcus and Mystia, Valyr felt that the gazes the two were giving him were more inquisitive than appreciative. Coming to the conclusion that it was a hidden test of sorts to see if he was truly fit for the position of Guardian, the young man went ahead and activated some of the stat boosting skills in his arsenal, causing his aura to ascend to the level the two were previously talking


    about.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Refined Defense Aura]."


    Whoosh!


    With the young man''s race having changed all of his skills that use mana to now mainly use Prime Azure Energy, Valyr initially thought that he wouldn''t experience the 20% boost to his


    skills'' efficacy anymore.


    Fortunately, the system seemingly took this into consideration during the ascension process, allowing this effect to remain as it made it permanent through one of his race''s innate skills.


    Because of that, what were originally a pair of skills that boosted his stats by 25%, now boosted his stats by 30%, only for it to be pushed a couple notches higher with the help of both [Refined Offense Aura] and [Refined Defense Aura].


    ''Speaking of which, I could also activate the Void concept to boost the skills even further,'' thought the young man to himself as he recalled the [Phases of the Azure Primacy] skill.


    ''However, I don''t think I need to go that far just yet.''


    Swoosh!


    At the very instant Valyr pushed his strength one notch further with the help of some of the stat boosting skills in his arsenal, both Mystia and Marcus had looks of excitement on their faces as they moved closer to the young man.


    "Why didn''t you tell me you had the strength to fight against Myths?" said Mystia as she looked at the young man with gleaming eyes.


    "I mean, you did tell me I''d mostly be fighting against those around my rank," replied Valyr, letting his aura billow throughout the surroundings as he shrugged his shoulders. "Because of that, I didn''t really need to disclose that information."


    "As you should, really." Marcus nodded in agreement, even though he still continued to grin.


    "Anyways, I should apologize for talking about you like that earlier. Neither I nor Mystia truly meant what we said in our earlier conversation. It''s how we usually greet each other after not meeting for a long time."


    "I don''t mind... though it is weird that that''s how you two greet each other," said Valyr in response, ncing at Mystia to see that she was nodding in agreement with Marcus'' words.


    "In any case, I presume you''re the Overseer of the Mystic ne, then?"


    "That would indeed be me." Marcus nodded in response. "Did Mystia really ask you to


    be the Guardian of the Mystic ne?"


    "Well... I initially came to her to improve my Mystic Energy," rified the young man. "But to


    cut a long story short... yeah. I epted to be both her disciple and the Mystic ne''s


    Guardian."


    "You''re not gonna regret bing her disciple. Also, d to have you on board," said Marcus in response, only to then cover the young man''s body in a thickyer of Mystic


    Energy.


    "With the power vested in me, I, Marcus, the Overseer of the Mystic ne, now bestow upon


    you the position of Guardian of the Mystic ne."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Marcus finished his words, a series of notifications began to resound throughout the young man''s mind, prompting the young man to focus on the sensations happening all over his body as he felt his strength undergo rapid improvement.


    On the other hand, Marcus had a smile on his face as he watched Valyr undergo the process of


    being epted by the Mystic ne as its Guardian, only for him to be left at a loss for words as various changes began to happen throughout the Mystic ne at the same time.

 Chapter 1040: One Mans Aftereffects

    Chapter 1040: One Man''s Aftereffects


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Feeling the Mystic Energy surrounding him take on a different aura after Marcus was done speaking, Valyr stayed in ce as he watched the cocoon of energy around him start moving on its own.


    Extending tendrils towards his body, the young man had a pained expression on his face as these tendrils began to burrow under his skin, only for it to turn into that relief as Mystic Energy began to course them.


    Ding!


    Feeling his strength undergo rapid improvement thanks to the direct infusion of Mystic Energy, Valyr allowed himself to bask in the sensation, a relieved smile appearing on his face as series of notifications began to resound in his mind.


    Yet, he remained oblivious to all of it, instead deciding to sink his senses deeper into the pleasure the current situation was giving him.


    "What...?"


    On the other hand, Marcus'' mouth went agape a while after the process to turn Valyr into the Mystic ne''s Guardian began, noticing that most of, if not the entirety of the Mystic ne was starting to undergo a massive change.


    Expanding his senses to epass the entire ne, the man took note that thendmass making up the ne began to swiftly expand in all directions as various flora and fauna popped up on the new patches ofnd the moment they appeared.


    Aside from that, the density of Mystic Energy underwent a drastic increase, its amount increasing to around three times what it was before, causing everything around the trio to be far more iridescent than it was before.


    However, the most obvious change appeared in Marcus itself, with his strength undergoing a massive increase the moment the changes throughout the Mystic ne began to ur.


    Completely left at a loss for words as to what was going on, Marcus closed his eyes for a bit as he took a second look at the entire situation, only for the gears to start turning in his mind as The looked at Mystia.


    "Tell me, Mystia. Were you expecting something like this to happen when you decided to make the guy the Mystic ne''s Guardian?"


    As those words left the man''s mouth, the surprised expression on Mystia''s face immediately turned into a wry smile.


    Then, with a shake of her head, she replied, "Even if I did, I wouldn''t have expected the change his inclusion to the ne would bring to be this massive."


    "After all, he''s already surprised us after showing us that he has more than enough strength to fight against Myths, perhaps even those at Rank 7 if what we''ve seen from him so far is just the tip of the iceberg."


    "Then again, even that high level of strength doesn''t exin all of the changes urring throughout the Mystic ne at the moment," said Mystia, with Marcus nodding in agreement.


    "Still recall the changes I brought to the Mystic ne when I became a Saintess?"


    "How could I not? It''s still as clear as day to me no matter how much time passes," replied Marcus with a nod, bringing his thoughts back to the time when the Mystic ne was considered to be at its lowest point.


    At that time, the Mystic ne was only a few attacks away from disappearing off the face of the universe for good, with Marcus'' strength having regressed to a level that was only barely stronger than a peak Rank 3 being.


    Fortunately, as ast ditch effort, Marcus made an agreement with Mystia in the nick of time, bestowing upon her the position of Saintess.


    Because of that action, the Mystic ne immediately brought itself back from the dead, bringing Marcus'' strength back to the Legend level as he worked alongside Mystia in fending off attacks.


    "Back then, your strength and knowledge allowed the ne''sndmass to expand by five times what it originally was, bringing my strength up to at least what was necessary to temporarily keep the ne away from harm."


    "On the other hand, Valyr expanded the alreadyrge Mystic ne to around thrice its size just by bing its Guardian," said Mystia in response, seemingly sharing the same thoughts as Marcus.


    "Not only that, but he also improved the density of Mystic Energy throughout the Mystic ne as well."


    "He''s really saved the Mystic ne a lot of time," replied Marcus, clenching his fists as he felt newfound strength course through his veins. "At this point, we only need a decently sized group of people to have the Mystic ne enter the ranks of middle nes."


    Swoosh!


    Just as the two began to draft up ns for the new future of the Mystic ne, the cocoon of Mystic Energy surrounding Valyr had finally run out of juice, freeing the young man as he smiled at the two in front of him.


    However, that smile immediately turned into a look of curiosity as he began to take note of the changes that urred throughout their surroundings whilst he was wrapped in a cocoon


    of Mystic Energy.


    "What happened?" asked the young man as he looked at the two, only for him to tilt his head in slight confusion as his gaze remained affixed towards Marcus.


    As far as he knew, Marcus'' strength wasn''t as overwhelming as it currently was.


    From what he could recall, Marcus showed off a level of strength that was only slightly higher than Mystia, which he considered to be around the early Myth-level after a bit of contemtion.


    On the other hand, the strength Marcus was currently showing in front of him far surpassed the early Myth-level, instead causing him to recall Vaughn''s strongest state during the early days of Veldanyr before he was forcefully extricated by the due to his ss rank. "Well... you happened," said Marcus with a slight chuckle, which unsurprisingly caused the young man to look back at him with even greater confusion.


    With that, Mystia took it upon herself to rify the current situation to the young man. "What he means by that is that... you caused all of the changes you see throughout the Mystic ne to happen... including the change to Marcus'' strength."


    Unfortunately, her exnation was met with far greater confusion than that, with Valyr now looking at both of them in a mix of confusion and disbelief.


    "Me? I did all of that? I don''t think I have the ability nor the strength to do all of that,


    though?"


    Hearing those words, Marcus and Mystia looked at each other for a bit before nodding, both


    of theming to a conclusion.


    It was time for them to give Valyr a brief rundown of the Mystic ne''s history.

 Chapter 1041: Plane Hierarchy 101

    Chapter 1041: ne Hierarchy 101


    ?


    "...And that''s more or less all you have to know about the Mystic ne, as well as concept nes in general."


    Not knowing how much time had passed since the two in front of him started talking about the history of the Mystic ne, Valyr felt like he''d been pulled out of the water the moment one of them said that their exnation was over.


    Savoring the few deep breaths he took after the exnation, the young man immediately had a pensive expression on his face, reminding himself that the two did not waste their time exining all of that for nothing.


    With that, Valyr forced the gears in his mind to turn as much as possible, slowly but surely processing all of the information he''d just learned into a brief yet concise summary.


    "Correct me at any time if there are parts where I''ve gotten some things wrong," said Valyr to start his retelling of their exnation, prompting both Mystia and Marcus to nod as they began to listen to what he had to say.


    "So, first off, concept nes have three varying sizes: small, middle, and upper... which is a confusing ssification if you''d ask me."


    "Anyways, these concept nes have a hierarchy system in ce that acts as its main source of strength, which is the reason why those nes are those sizes in the first ce."


    "That''s correct." The two nodded in agreement.


    "In the Mystic ne''s case, it''s considered a small ne, but thanks to me bing the ne''s Guardian, it''s now really close to barely being considered a middle ne... is that correct?"


    "That''s correct." The two nodded once more.


    "The reason why that''s the case is all because of the hierarchy system I''ve mentioned earlier, with the Overseer standing at the pinnacle of this hierarchy system."


    Briefly pointing at Marcus, he continued, "It could be said that the Overseer is the ne itself, while also acting a separate entity from the ne at the same time."


    "This is due to the fact that the Overseer is born from the ne itself, unlike the other parts making up the hierarchy," continued the young man. "That''s also the reason why the Overseer grows stronger whenever the ne grows stronger thanks to the hierarchy."


    Seeing Marcus nod in agreement with his words, Valyr felt confident enough to continue his retelling of their exnation. "Under the Overseer would be the level of directors, which is limited to only five people for a small ne like the Mystic ne."


    "Both Mystia and I are considered as director-level beings, with both of our abilities having greatly contributed to the improvement of the Mystic ne''s strength."


    "Then, below the director-level beings would be the high-level beings, which could be interpreted as the officials in a city if you consider the director-level beings as high-ranking officials."


    "More or less." Mystia nodded in agreement. "Those considered to be high-level contribute less to the overall strength of the ne, however it''s not rare for those at the high-level to contribute more strengthpared to those at the director-level."


    "After all, the limit on how many high-level beings a small ne could have is the square of the maximum number of director-level beings, which in this case would be 25."


    Feeling that Mystia was done talking, Valyr continued where she''d left off in her exnation. "Below the high-level beings would be the middle-level beings, and then below those would be the low-level beings, which could be interpreted as the guards of the city and the citizens living in the city respectively."


    "Just like the difference between director-level and high-level beings, middle-level and low-level beings contribute an even smaller portion of strength to the ne, though they make up for it through sheer quantity."


    "As for the maximum number of beings for those levels... uh... how much was it again for a small ne?" Scratching the back of his head as he attempted to jog his memory, Valyr briefly nced at Marcus.


    "The same rule applies." Noticing the young man''s gaze, Marcus took it upon himself to respond. "The maximum number of middle-level beings is the square of the maximum number of high-level beings, so it''s 625."


    "Then, the maximum number of low-level beings is the square of the maximum number of middle-level beings... which is roughly ten thousand short of 400,000."


    "I don''t know about the maximum number of beings for those in middle and upper nes, but you''ve more or less remembered everything there is to the hierarchy system of a small ne," said Marcus with a faint smile, ncing at Valyr with a look of gratitude.


    In response, Valyr smiled back, prompting the man to extend his hand out for a handshake. "I suppose I haven''t properly introduced myself to you yet."


    "The name''s Marcus."


    "Valyr," replied the young man as he returned the handshake. "Valyr Zeihardt."


    "d to have you on board as the ne''s Guardian, Valyr," said Marcus in response, finishing the handshake not long after. "Even more so with the amount of strength you''ve contributed to the ne."


    "Speaking of which, do you have an idea as to why you joining the Mystic ne''s hierarchy caused all of these changes to happen?" Marcus looked at the young man with a slightly


    curious expression.


    "Don''t get me wrong, your strength is absurd for a peak Rank 4 ss holder to have, but it won''t really cause the Mystic ne to expand by this much."


    "Well..." Rubbing his chin as he pondered over the question, it did not take long for an answer to appear in Valyr''s mind, releasing a wisp of the energy he''d personally created. "I guess this has something to do with it."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment both Mystia and Marcusid their eyes upon energy, the two of them immediately felt the vast potential the energy contained, as well as the inherent power that was slumbering within it.


    "It''s quite the destructive energy," said Mystia after some time, noticing that the atmosphere surrounding the wisp of dark blue energy was gradually being broken down by the energy itself.


    "Well, that''s a given," replied Valyr, retracting the energy as he manipted the energy around for a bit, smiling in response. "After all, it''s abination of mana, Shadow Energy,


    and Intent."


    "I see." Hearing those words, Mystia nodded in response, now understanding why Valyr bing the Guardian caused a lot of change to the Mystic ne.


    On the other hand, Marcus began to look at Valyr with a grim expression the moment the


    latter mentioned the phrase Shadow Energy.


    "Did I hear you say that correctly, Valyr?"


    "Did you... did you really just say Shadow Energy?"

 Chapter 1042: Moving On

    Chapter 1042: Moving On


    ?


    "...Yeah?" Though he responded to Marcus'' question, Valyr''s expression was that of confusion as he did not know why the man before him became furious all of a sudden.


    Fortunately, with a bit of thinking, it did not take long for him to understand what was going on, retracting the wisp of Prime Azure Energy he conjured before shifting his gaze towards Mystia.


    Noticing the look on the young man''s face, Mystia wryly smiled back at him, briefly ncing at Marcus before deciding to open her mouth. "Your thoughts are most likely to be correct, Valyr."


    "The Shadow ne did attack the Mystic ne in the past."


    Although he thought it was the most likely exnation for Marcus'' sudden shift in expression, the young man''s eyes still widened in disbelief as Mystia confirmed the hypothesis forming in his mind.


    ncing at Marcus, Valyr noticed that the man was looking back at him, the expression of fury from before having subsided to a lesser degree.


    Continuing to look at the man''s expressions, the young man soon noticed that a hint of pity had crept up onto Marcus'' face.


    However, before he could focus on the other changes that were happening to Marcus'' expressions, Mystia continued with her exnation.


    "At the time, the Shadow ne and the Mystic ne were considered to be equal," said Mystia, her gaze mostly focused towards Valyr.


    "Specifically, both of the nes were quite close to ascending to middle nes. Because of that, the two nes were considered the antithesis of one another, considering that one dabbled in destruction, while the other dabbled in creation."


    Unfortunately, with how the universe is, more beings yearned for the power of destruction, which eventually caused the Shadow ne to be the first among the two to be a middle ne."


    "And with that, the bnce shifted."


    Though Mystia did not continue her exnation after that, Valyr could more or less fill in the nks in his mind.


    ''Then again, who wouldn''t covet such a miraculous power like Mystic Energy?'' thought the young man to himself, feeling a bit sorry as he returned his gaze towards Marcus.


    Surprisingly, just as he looked at him, the man let out a faint sigh before offering Valyr an apology. "I let my emotions get to me. I''m sorry."


    Hearing Marcus apologize to him all of a sudden, the young man was slightly taken aback. "It''s not your fault." Valyr shook his head. "Frankly, if you think about it, it''s neither of our fault except the Shadow ne''s."


    "However, the fact still stands that I should''ve been more mindful of the situation."


    "You didn''t know." Marcus shook his head as well. "Plus, it''s not like you were there when the Shadow ne attacked this ne, so I really have no reason to get angry at you."


    "In fact, I should be excited," continued the man, his expression gradually shifting towards anticipation. "After all, from what I could sense, you created that energy you just showed, no?"


    At those words, Mystia looked back at the young man, her eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Technically." In response to the question, Valyr nodded, releasing another wisp of Prime Azure Energy after Marcus asked him to. "After all, what I''ve created is just an improvement over Azure Energy, a type of energy that''s formed through the same concept."


    "Even though you think of it that way, the system still considers it as a type of energy you made yourself," replied Marcus, now looking at the dark blue energy atop Valyr''s palm with fascination.


    "I don''t know if my feelings are correct on this one, but imagine if you infuse the power of Mystic Energy into it. Wouldn''t it result into something spectacr?"


    Hearing those words, Valyr merely smiled.


    After all, the young man had already thought of that before he came here.


    "How about we save those theories forter?" Feeling as if the two before her would eventually enter a topic with a deep rabbit hole if she didn''t keep them in check, Mystia decided to interrupt the two before they could continue talking.


    Whoosh!


    Then, without hesitation, she conjured a rift beside her, grabbing a series of items and tools that immediately caught the young man''s attention.


    "What are you gonna do with those alchemical tools?" asked Valyr, only for his jaw to slowly drop as he watched Mystia quickly setup her workstation in a matter of seconds.


    "What else would I be doing with them?" Nodding as she began to manipte the items she''d brought out to her liking, Mystia briefly nced at Valyr before letting out a slight chuckle.


    "Naturally, I n on concocting something."


    "Specifically, I n on concocting something for you, the Mystic ne''s new Guardian."


    "Eh?" Not expecting to obtain his rewards while in the Mystic ne, Valyr was slightly caught


    off guard as he initially had thoughts of rejecting her goodwill.


    However, seeing as Mystia looked like she''d still concoct something for him either way, the young man eventually decided to muster up his courage.


    "Er... mind if you could concoct a set of Advanced-level Reinforcement Elixir for me?"


    "Even if you didn''t say anything, I would''ve concocted a set for you either way," said Mystia


    in response, which caused Valyr to feel a hint of embarrassment.


    Not wanting to disturb Mystia''s focus during the concoction process, Valyr decided to distance himself from the woman as a few thoughts came to mind.


    "Alright." Feeling like he''d distanced himself far enough from Mystia for the meantime, the young man nced at Marcus, who immediately looked back at him and nodded.


    Nodding back at the man in response, the young man then went ahead and brought up his notification screen, feeling a hint of expectation and excitement as he recalled the changes that happened to him earlier.


    ''Surely what I''ve received after undergoing through that process extends far beyond a single title, no??'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as he rubbed his hands the moment a screen appeared before him.


    Fortunately, after reading through the notifications he received, Valyr eventually found out that his thoughts were correct.

 Chapter 1043 Getting More than Expected

    Chapter 1043 Getting More than Expected


    Ding!


    [You have affiliated yourself with the Mystic ne, bing a core part of its hierarchy.]


    [Your current position is [Guardian]. Your current rank is [Director-level]. Consult the Overseer of the Mystic ne to possibly improve your rank and position.]


    [As you have be the official Guardian of the Mystic ne, you have obtained the position''s corresponding title ''Guardian of the Mystic ne''.]


    [You have greatly contributed to the improvement of the Mystic ne!]


    [Because of this achievement, you have obtained the title ''Benefactor of the Mystic ne''.]


    [You have been infused with Mystic Energy.]


    [Your body has taken this energy to reforge and improve itself, gradually transforming itself into a body that''s more attuned towards Mystic Energy.]


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Mystic Physique''.]


    [Your Mystic Energy has improved by 300 points.]


    Going through the things he''d obtained after bing the Guardian of the Mystic ne, Valyr nodded in satisfaction after seeing that reality had proved his hypothesis correct.


    ''Two titles, a skill, and surprisingly, a lot of Mystic Energy.''


    Feeling greater strength course through his veins at this very moment, the young man faintly smiled as he brought up the description of the two titles he''d received.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Guardian of the Mystic ne] (Title)


    Rarity: Mythic+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    You are the fortress that shall protect the Mystic ne from harm. As long as you remain standing, the Mystic ne shall remain standing as well.


    Effects:


    > 20% boost to all stats while in the Mystic ne


    > 20% boost to damage dealt to all foes antagonizing the Mystic ne


    > 20% reduction to damage received from foes antagonizing the Mystic ne


    > 1% boost to all stats per 2,000 points of Mystic Energy (Current boost: 0.15%, max of 25%)


    > Permission to freely ess the Mystic ne whenever and wherever the user is, excluding spatial realms, temporal realms, and other concept nes


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Benefactor of the Mystic ne] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    Without your strength, the Mystic ne wouldn''t be where it currently is. The Mystic ne deeply appreciates your contribution.


    Effects:


    > 10% boost to all stats while in the Mystic ne


    > 10% boost to damage dealt to all foes while in the Mystic ne


    > 10% boost to Mystic Energy gain while in the Mystic ne


    > 10% boost to efficacy in controlling Mystic Energy


    > 3% boost to all stats


    > Permission to freely ess the Mystic ne whenever and wherever the user is, excluding spatial realms, temporal realms, and other concept nes


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''These two titles are actually pretty good.'' By the time the young man was done reading through the titles'' descriptions, Valyr nodded in satisfaction once more.


    Considering that both of the titles had the words ''Mystic ne'' attached to them, it was no surprise that most of the titles'' effects had something to do with the Mystic ne.


    Because of that, it reminded him of the titles he had that only took effect while in Astarto, which made him briefly wonder as to whether he would now be in his strongest state while in Astarto or in the Mystic ne.


    Aside from that, the effects that didn''t have anything to do with the Mystic ne were also pretty good, slightly boosting all of his stats while also improving his control over Mystic Energy.


    ''In a way, I''ve somewhat regained the effect Azure Energy used to have on my stats,'' thought Valyr to himself as he focused on the second tost benefit [Guardian of the Mystic ne] gave him.


    ''Of course, it''s more limited when Ipare it to what I had before, but I only need to amass a certain amount of Mystic Energy before I''m able to max it out.''


    Naturally, the fact that he could enter the Mystic ne wherever and whenever he wanted was also a good thing, though it did not seem all that important to him due to the fact that the Shadow ne treated him the same way in that regard.


    With him now done going over the titles, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the skill he gained next, curious as to what effects it had.


    Ding!


    "¡­I see." Swiftly reading through the description of [Mystic Physique], Valyr began to nod in satisfaction yet again as the skill showed effects that felt like abination of [Benefactor of the Mystic ne] and [Unearthed Innate Potential].


    Being a maxed-out Epic grade skill, Mystic Physique boosted all of his stats, as well as his maximum HP and Prime Azure Energy by 10%.


    Aside from that, it also boosted his innate health and energy regeneration by 10%, which gave the young man more leeway in taking on a more offensive approach inbat.


    Of course, as the skill had the word ''Mystic'' in it, it went without saying that the skill affected aspects of Mystic Energy as well.


    Specifically, it increased his regeneration of Mystic Energy by 15%, his efficacy of controlling the energy by the same value, as well as his maximum capacity of the energy by that same value once more.


    "I''ve gained a lot more than I expected," murmured the young man to himself, closing the screen before him with a smile as he noticed Mystia calling for him. "And to think this all happened because I wanted to improve my Mystic Energy."


    "I really should''ve done this in the first ce."


    As those words softly left his mouth, the young man soon arrived in front of Mystia, with Marcus standing a fair distance away from him.


    "Here you go." With a satisfied smile on her face, the woman gave Valyr a sizable satchel before returning all of the tools she''d taken out back into a rift.


    Receiving the satchel with both hands, the young man''s eyes slightly widened in surprise as the satchel was slightly heavier than expected.


    Curious as to what was in it, Valyr went ahead and opened up a satchel, revealing a full set of Advanced-level Physical and Mental Reinforcement Elixir, as well as what seemed to be 10 orbs that radiated a familiar iridescent color.


    Thanking Mystia for the set of Advanced-level Reinforcement Elixirs, Valyr soon brought both of their attention to the 10 iridescent orbs within the satchel. "Say, what are these orbs, exactly?"


    "They''re a new type of pill I''ve just begun to concoct recently," replied Mystia, causing both Marcus and Valyr to look at her with interest. "I call them Mystic Infusion Pills."


    Hearing the name Mystia gave to the orbs, Valyr immediately understood what they were capable of. "So¡­ if I''m not wrong, these pills give people Mystic Energy when consumed, then. If that''s the case, how much Mystic Energy do these pills give?"


    As Mystia nodded at his first statement, the young man''s mind beganing up with possible answers to the question he threw out, the question that he felt was most important.


    Then again, the young man did not expect that much, thinking that the pills would only give a paltry sum of Mystic Energy at most.


    ''Even if one pill only gives like 10 points of Mystic Energy, I''d still get like 100 points of Mystic Energy without breaking a sweat,'' thought the young man to himself.


    However, even though he was expecting the performance of the pills to be somewhat decent at best, Mystia''s response surprisingly told him otherwise.


    "I don''t know how much Mystic Energy these pills would give the more proficient I be in making them¡­"


    "But as of now, each pill roughly gives a hundred points, give or take."


    "¡­"


    "¡­Huh?"

 Chapter 1044: State of Affairs

    Chapter 1044: State of Affairs


    ?


    Naturally, it went without saying that Valyr was caught off guard when Mystia revealed how much Mystic Energy he''d get from consuming one pill.


    After all, if he were to consume all 10 pills, he would immediately gain a thousand points of Mystic Energy he could freely use, which would improve his maximum capacity by threefold. Then again, the young man''s shock made sense, considering how all of the pills and elixirs he''d consumed thus far did not give such a drastic level of improvement once consumed.


    ''On second thought, there was that True Rebirth Pill I consumed,'' thought the young man to himself as he took in a deep breath to calm down. ''There''s also the Constitution Refinement Elixir Mystia gave me earlier before we entered the Mystic ne.''


    Thinking about it a bit further, Valyr eventually changed his mind, thinking that the effects brought about by the Mystic Infusion Pill were reasonable.


    It was just the fact that Mystia had given him 10 of the pills in one go that made him think that the effects were quite absurd.


    In fact, this thought of his was further reinforced after hearing the two talk about the Mystic Infusion Pill by the time he finished dwelling in his thoughts.


    "How much points did thest version of the Mystic Infusion Pill give back then?" asked Marcus, his expression that of curiosity.


    "I could only get it to give like 70 points of it on average," said Mystia after a bit of contemtion, scratching the back of her head as she continued to ponder over the question. "The best case scenario at the time was like 80 points, I think?"


    "How about the pills you gave Valyr just now, then?" asked Marcus back, raising his eyebrow. "Are those the average results? Or are those what you''d consider the current best-case scenario?"


    "I''d say it''s a bit above average," replied Mystia after a bit of silence. "I have a feeling that if I push myself a bit more, I''d be able to have each pill give around 110 points."


    "Then again, there''s still a long way to go until I reach that end goal."


    As the two got to this point of their conversation, Valyr felt that now was the right time to interrupt them if he wanted to obtain more information. "What do you n on doing with the Mystic Infusion Pills?"


    "Well, a lot of things," said Mystia in response, slightly shrugging her shoulders as Marcus smiled at the young man''s question. "For one, it''s an easy way to improve the maximum amount of Mystic Energy we have, though it doese with caveats."


    "One of those caveats is the fact that you can only take a specific number of the pills at a time before you''re able to take another set of them. It''s part of the reason why I aim to maximize the amount each pill gives as possible."


    "In any case, with your newly acquired knowledge of the Mystic ne''s hierarchy, I''m sure it won''t take long for you to realize what I aim to do with these things."


    As Mystia smiled after saying those words, Valyr faintly tilted his head in confusion as he willed the gears in his mind to start turning.


    Fortunately, after a bit of mulling over the Mystic Infusion Pill, its effects, as well as the hierarchy of the Mystic ne, the young man eventually understood what she meant by that.


    "You n to increase the number of beings on the hierarchy en masse?"


    "Right on the mark," said Marcus, letting out a bit ofughter. "Long before you became the Mystic ne''s Guardian, Mystia was already formting a rough n in her mind to steadily improve the state of the Mystic ne."


    "By distributing the Mystic Infusion Pills en masse, she''d be able to connect a lot of beings to the Mystic ne''s hierarchy, which made up for the fact that they''d only be considered low- level ording to the hierarchy."


    "Now that I think about it, she told me back then that she gave a young man back then a bit of Mystic Energy as a way to test the feasibility of the n," muttered Marcus to himself at some point, causing a shade of red to appear on Mystia''s cheeks in response. "I wonder what happened to that young man?"


    Hearing that, a faint smile adorned Valyr''s face as he knew which young man Marcus was talking about.


    Though, just as he was about to respond to the man''s question, the young man was forced to remain silent after feeling Mystia re daggers at his back, getting the feeling that he''d die if The were even to utter a single word about it.


    Thankfully, Marcus did not notice anything happening between the two during that time, instead continuing to exin the rough n Mystia drafted with the young man.


    By the end of it, Valyr began to look at Mystia with a hint of admiration in her gaze, considering that she was not only the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court, but also one of the imperial advisers of the Meltierre Empire.


    Yet, even with those two upations taking up most of her time, she still found a way to help the Mystic ne, even going so far as to make progress in that regard.


    Though the amiability of both Marcus and Mystia definitely made him feel like he was wee at the Mystic ne as its Guardian, it was only now did he feel like he''d truly be a part of the Mystic ne.


    ''And to think that it''s only been a couple of hours since Mystia and I entered this ce,'' thought the young man to himself, only for a question to surface in his mind not long after.


    "Say, how fast does the time pass here whenpared to Veldanyr?" As this question left his mouth, Valyr went ahead and grabbed one of the Mystic Infusion Pills before popping it into his mouth.


    Feeling the pill immediately dissolve into a wave of iridescent energy that spread throughout his body, the young man suppressed the feeling of relief he was getting as he focused his attention on Mystia''s response.


    "Er... if I remember correctly, one day in Veldanyr is equivalent to four days here?" said Mystia, only to nce at Marcus in the hopes of him correcting her. "Or did it change thanks to Valyr''s contributions?"


    "It changed," said Marcus just as Valyr popped another Mystic Infusion Pill into his mouth. "A day in your world is now equivalent to around five days here. If the state of the Mystic ne improvester on, that might turn into six days, perhaps even a week if we''re lucky." "Got it." Taking a quick break from consuming Mystic Infusion Pills, Valyr nodded in response to Marcus'' words as he felt greater strength course through his body thanks to the effects of [Guardian of the Mystic ne].


    "Why did you ask, though?" Watching Valyr continue to go through the Mystic Infusion Pills she gave him, Mystia soon asked him the question that was on her mind.


    "Just... calcting how much time I could spend here before I need to head back," replied Valyr in the midst of absorbing a Mystic Infusion Pill.


    For a while after that, the young man remained silent, inwardly pondering as to whether or not he should tell Mystia why he was heading back.


    In the end, he felt that hiding such information from her would be useless in the end, considering that the Algerie Kingdom was under the Meltierre Empire''s jurisdiction.


    "In the next couple days, I n to attend a meeting alongside Julian," said Valyr after the silence, consuming his sixth Mystic Infusion Pill in a row. "A meeting involving the directors of the cksmith Guild."


    "I''ve heard about that a couple times." Mystia nodded in response. "They''ve unfortunately had to postpone the meeting a couple of times due to abrupt changes in the frontlines. Fortunately, the current situation on the frontlines are stable enough for them to push the meeting through."


    "Why would you be attending their meeting, though?" asked Mystia with an expression that showed both curiosity and confusion. "You may be considered important in the cksmith Guild''s eyes due to your contributions and achievements, but not to that extent, no?"


    "I n on persuading the directors to push the mass production of a couple of things." Feeling like he''d now gotten used to the sensation of the Mystic Infusion Pill, Valyr went ahead and popped two pills at once, only to btedly regret the decision of doing so.


    Forcing his knees not to buckle at the intense sensation of relief assaulting his entire body, Valyr took in a deep breath as he continued his exnation. "Two things... I n on pitching two things to the directors."


    "The first one... would be the armor that I''m wearing," said the young man, letting out a faint sigh of relief the moment the intense sensation assaulting him gradually subsided. "Julian took an interest on it the moment he saw its capabilities, wanting to distribute it amongst those at the frontlines to begin tipping the scales to our favor."


    At those words, Mystia went ahead and used her identification skill on one of the pieces of armor Valyr was wearing, only for her eyes to widen in disbelief after seeing its performance. Smiling as he noticed Mystia''s change in expression, Valyr went ahead and consumed the two remaining Mystic Infusion Pills in the satchel before taking out the arquebus from his spatial bracelet.


    "As for the other thing I n on pitching to the directors, that would be this weapon I''ve


    invented."


    Still left at a loss for words at the performance of Valyr''s armor, it took a while for Mystia to shift her gaze towards the arquebus and use her identification skill on it, only to be left at a further loss for words.


    "..." Not wanting to interrupt the thoughts going on in Mystia''s head as she looked through the arquebus'' description, Valyr went ahead and returned the arquebus back to his spatial bracelet before taking a look at the amount of Mystic Energy he currently had.


    Seeing that he now had over a thousand points of Mystic Energy in his name, a faint smile adorned the young man''s face as he returned his gaze towards Mystia.


    "Say, Valyr..." Though, once he did, the situation instantly turned around as it became his


    turn to be left at a loss for words.


    "Want me to apany you in that meeting?"

 Chapter 1045: Duties of a Guardian

    Chapter 1045: Duties of a Guardian


    ?


    "Are you sure?" Raising his eyebrow as he heard the words that left her mouth, the gears in Valyr''s mind turned as he wondered why Mystia made that decision all of a sudden. "Wouldn''t I be taking up a lot of your time?"


    "After all, you''re not only an imperial adviser for the empire, but you''re also the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court."


    "Which gives me all the more reason to apany you in that meeting, to be honest," replied Mystia, smiling as she knew what was going on in his mind.


    "Though my eyes aren''t as inquisitive as a cksmith''s when ites to sets of armor, I have a strong feeling that the armor you''re wearing is probably one of the best, if not the best at its current rarity."


    "Then again, from what I could see, you''ve put a lot of effort and time into your armor, allowing it to reach that level of performance," continued the woman, to which Valyr nodded in agreement.


    "With that being said, take my words with a grain of salt, but I feel like pitching the set of armor you''re wearing to them would only be more effective if you were to have a blueprint of its simplified version ready."


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded in agreement once more. "Both Julian and I have already thought about that, actually. In fact, I was only nning to share a simplified version of my blueprint for those at the frontlines to use."


    "Then that''s good," said Mystia in response, continuing to maintain a smile as she recalled the performance of the second item she identified.


    "However, if you think about it, what would truly make them agree to your request would be the other item you brought out."


    "I''m assuming it''s an improved version of the ranged weapon that''s already being distributed out in the frontlines." Mystia briefly rubbed her chin in contemtion as the gears in her mind madly turned.


    "Considering that your version of the weapon has far greater firepower than the one currently avable on the frontlines, I have a strong feeling that it won''t take a lot for them to agree in mass producing both items, especially if you use thetter as a bargaining chip."


    "Then again... you mighte across an obstacle along the way." As these words left her mouth, Mystia began to frown, prompting Valyr to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "Well..." Taking in a deep breath, Mystia took the time to gather her thoughts before opening her mouth. "As an imperial adviser, you know that I''m frequently updated regarding the general situation in the war against the orcs."


    "Uh huh."


    "With that said, the ranged weapon that I was talking about have slightly begun to tip the scales of war towards our favor. After all, its ease of use alongside its firepower is more than enough to lower the strength requirement for those enlisting in the war."


    "Yeah. And?" At this point, Valyr more or less knew what she was getting at, causing his expression to turn calm.


    "Well, to cut a long story short, you''ll probably have to ask Vylhalteinn if he''s fine with you implementing an improvement over the weapon he introduced to the frontlines."


    "Oh, he''ll be fine with that." Hearing the words that he was expecting to heare out of Mystia''s mouth, a confident smile soon crept up onto Valyr''s face. "After all, I''m the one who introduced the concept of the arquebus to him in the first ce."


    Of course, as those words left Valyr''s mouth, Mystia''s eyes widened in surprise, only for her brows to furrow as the gears in his mind turned as hard as they could.


    "Wait..." After a while, a whole new picture appeared in the woman''s mind. "So you''re telling me that you were the one who invented the ranged weapon in the first ce? Is it while you two were in the inheritance?"


    "Well..." In response to her question, Valyr exined that he''d already created the framework for the arquebus before he even entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance alongside Vera and the others.


    After that, he talked about how the rewards he''d gained while clearing the inheritance allowed him to take the arquebus to another level, turning it into the arquebus that was shown to her.


    "Aside from that, I also created this one," said the young man as he brought out the pistol from his spatial bracelet. "Its mechanics are simr to the arquebus you saw, but it''s more portable."


    "The only downside to it would be its range." Valyr shrugged his shoulders at those words, giving Mystia enough time to look at the pistol''s performance before putting it back into his spatial bracelet.


    "In any case, the arquebus and the pistol I''ve brought out is what gave Hal the inspiration to create the ranged weapons you see on the frontlines at the moment," said the young man, opening up the system''s chat feature to the side with a smile.


    Swiftly going through his friend list, it did not take long for him to find Hal, sending him a message regarding his ns about the arquebus, briefly mentioning his future meeting with the cksmith Guild''s directors.


    Once he confirmed that he sent the message to the man, it was only then did Valyr return his gaze to Mystia. "Hal may be called the Lord of All Trades..."


    Ding!


    "But I wasn''t the one chosen to represent the cksmith Guild in the inheritance for no reason."


    Smiling as he heard a notification sound go off in his mind, Valyr took a look at the screen he brought up once more as he read through the message Hal sent back at him.


    By the time he was done reading through it, the young man went ahead and turned the screen to face Mystia, giving her the opportunity to read the same message he just read.


    "If you need my presence in that meeting if ever the issue regarding the first creator of the weapon arises, just give me a heads-up," muttered Mystia as she continued to read through


    the message.


    "After all, if it wasn''t for you widening my horizons whilst we were in the inheritance, perhaps more casualties would have appeared in the war now..."


    "...I see." Briefly looking at Valyr in shock the moment she was done reading, the women closed her eyes for a bit as she gathered her thoughts.


    "...That''s it. I''ve decided."


    "I''m gonna apany you to that meeting," said Mystia just as Valyr had closed the chat screen he brought up. "After all, the items you''ll be pitching would greatly reduce the number of casualties in the ongoing war, while also improving ourbat strength at the same


    time."


    "However, I''m sure that you''ll be meeting most of the directors of the cksmith Guild there for the first time," she continued. "Though they may know of the feats you''ve achieved, that isn''t enough reason for them to ept your proposal of mass producing the two items."


    "Unless... if you had someone like me helping you out."


    Hearing those words, Valyr could not help but feel his heart warm up, thanking Mystia soon after for sparing the time to help him out.


    In response, Mystia told her that it was the least she could do, considering how it was a duty of hers as an imperial adviser of the Meltierre Empire.


    "Though, if we really get into the specifics, it''s mostly because I''m your master. Shouldn''t a master stand up for their disciple at least?"


    "Er..." Just as Valyr was about to respond to her words, prompting the conversation to continue, the two were interrupted by Marcus, who the two gradually forgot the existence of as their conversation regarding Valyr''s items got deeper and deeper.


    "I don''t mind you two talking about all of that stuff... but is it possible for you to two to talk about that some other time?"


    "Sorry." Considering that he was the one who''d been in the Mystic ne the shortest, Valyr took the initiative to ask Marcus for forgiveness.


    Though Marcus epted the apology he gave him, the young man noticed the look of slight unease on the man''s face. "What''s wrong?"


    "Well... we''ve gotpany," replied the man, prompting both Mystia and Valyr to look at each other as it did not take long for them to understand what was going on. Embracing his role as the Mystic ne''s Guardian, the young man immediately got serious as he began to ask Marcus a string of questions. "How long ago did they appear?" "Like a couple minutes before I interrupted you two... sorry about that, really." "It''s fine, we went a bit too deep in our conversation, actually. How many are they?" "From what I could tell... around 20 to 30?" Marcus had an uncertain expression on his face. "I''m not entirely sure. They feel like they''re one entity, while also not at the same time." "Let''s not worry about that for the meantime." Valyr reassured him. "How strong are they?" "Around the middle levels of Rank 5 to the peak of Rank 5," said Marcus after some time. "Best-case scenario would be an Epic at the strongest, though it''s possible that they might have some Legends among them."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." The young man nodded once more, eventually asking the man the


    most important question.


    "Where are they?"


    "That I''ll take care of." As he responded to the young man''s question, Marcus ced his


    hands on both Mystia and Valyr''s shoulders, only to then envelop themselves in a cocoon of


    Mystic Energy.


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, the three disappeared from where they originally stood, appearing in a part of


    the Mystic ne Valyr was not expecting to step foot in some timeter.


    The edge of the Mystic ne itself.

 Chapter 1046: On the Edge

    Chapter 1046: On the Edge


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Though both Valyr and Mystia weren''t prepared to be teleported to the edge of the Mystic ne, the two were still able to prepare themselves beforehand, allowing them to start moving about after a bit of rest.


    Then again, with them being at the edge of the Mystic ne, it went without saying that their attention was wholly focused on the sight in front of them.


    After all, what appeared before them was the pure vastness of space, the void that covered the majority of the universe.


    While still in awe after being able to directly look at space for the first time, the young man briefly turned around to look at the Mystic ne, immediately being greeted by an iridescent sight filled to the brim with various flora and fauna.


    Looking back at the void that existed before them, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle, reminding himself that he was standing on the boundary between two drastically different ces.


    "It''s been a long while since I''vest stepped foot on the edge of the Mystic ne," muttered Mystia after some time, her gaze having never left the sight before her at all. "Even though there''s not much to look at, it still fills me with a sense of wonder."


    "It is space, after all." Valyr nodded at her words. "Though it may not seem like it, there are a vast number of ces out there, all of them just waiting to be explored."


    Hearing those words, Mystia briefly looked back at the young man, raising her eyebrow as she did not expect Valyr to give her such information.


    Wondering where the young man got the information, it did not take long for her to dismiss the thought, recalling that the young man was part of the Zeihardt n.


    With that, she nodded as she shrugged her shoulders in response before returning his attention back to the darkness before them.


    Chuckling at Mystia''s reaction to his words, Valyr soon returned his gaze towards the vastness of space as well.


    However, unlike Mystia, who was admiring it for its beauty, he was keeping an eye for the entity that Marcus mentioned before they teleported to the edge of the Mystic ne.


    Fulfilling his role as the Mystic ne''s Guardian, Valyr spread his senses out as far as possible whilst asking Marcus for more information. "Did you teleport us to where the entity is?"


    "Somewhat." Marcus nodded in response. "I''m still adjusting to the strength you gave me after you became the ne''s Guardian, so I could only roughly teleport in the direction of the entity. Sorry."


    "That''s fine," replied Valyr, eventually deciding to spread a bit of Prime Azure Energy throughout the surroundings as a sensor of sorts. "You have a general idea of where the intruder is, right?"


    "Yeah." Nodding once more, Marcus closed his eyes for a bit before pointing towards a certain direction. "I can sense the entity''s energy around that area."


    Continuing to focus his senses on that general area he pointed that, the man soon began to frown as he continued speaking. "Huh. It seems they''ve shrouded and camouged their energies to the limit."


    "I guess they nned on taking advantage of my weak strength to the fullest andnd an ambush on me."


    As those words left his mouth, Marcus began to sneer. "Unfortunately for them, they won''t even have the chance to do so."


    Whoosh!


    Taking on a serious expression, the man took in a deep breath before releasing a great amount of Mystic Energy into the surroundings.


    Then, infusing his will into it, Marcus then sent all of it in the direction he was previously pointing at.


    Swoosh!


    "Graaaaaagh!"


    "Urg...raaah!!!"


    "Mngrooogghhh!!!"


    Within a matter of seconds, a cacophony of voices soon erupted from the spot Marcus was pointing at, prompting a smile to adorn Marcus'' face as he felt glee for being able to retaliate against his foes for once.


    Infusing both Mystia and Valyr with a bit of Mystic Energy, the three soon made their way to where the entity was, only to be left at a slight loss for words when the entity that appeared before them was not the entity they were expecting.


    "...Huh." Recalling the words that echoed throughout where they were before, Valyr thought to himself that they would be up against beings that were probably simr to orcs.


    If he were to extend his train of thought, then it was possible for the entity to also be a group of goblins, a group of hobgoblins, or a group of ogres.


    However, in reality, the entity that appeared before them did not even look anywhere near to the beings that were in Valyr''s mind, instead being an amalgamation of flesh that elicited immediate disgust when one looked at it.


    Suppressing the feeling of disgust that threatened toe up his throat every passing moment, Valyr noticed that the entity was pinned to the ground with what looked like chains made up of pure Mystic Energy, prompting him to recall what Marcus had done earlier.


    Inwardly thanking Marcus for making his job as a Guardian easier, the young man went ahead and used his identification skill on the entity as he took a better look of the entity''s


    appearance.


    "Eugh..." Of course, with how the entity''s appearance elicited disgust whenever one looked at it, Valyr eventually couldn''t stop suppressing the feeling of disgust he was getting, only barely stopping himself from retching in front of both Mystia and Marcus.


    Then again, even Mystia and Marcus were finding it difficult not to retch while looking at the entity.


    Aside from looking like a massive amalgamation of flesh, having multiple folds all over what appeared to be a massive, blob-like body, it also radiated a putrid odor that made the three wonder where it originally came from.


    Other than that, it had various openings and bead-like protrusions all over its body, prompting the two to assume that the openings were its mouths, while the beads were its


    eyes.


    Adding on the fact that it had multiple tentacle-like appendages propping up its massive body, the entity basically looked like an eldritch horror brought to reality.


    "Ah." While Valyr was in the midst of looking at the entity''s abilities through his identification skill, Marcus had a look of realization on his face as he began to look at the entity with a grim expression. "You''re from the Extreme Toxic ne."


    Surprisingly, the entity responded to Marcus'' words.


    "Grgh... raagh. Uogh... rogh... mngraahhh!!!"


    Though Valyr could not understand what the entity was saying, he still had a rough idea of


    what it was conveying from the tone it was speaking.


    "Is it angry at you or something?" The young man looked at Marcus as he took out the arquebus from his spatial bracelet.


    Watching the young man prepare the weapon for firing, a brief look of confusion appeared on Marcus'' face before nodding in response to the young man''s question. "It is."


    "To sum it up, it told me that I was deceiving it for not showing off all of my strength in the


    first ce," said the man. "It''s more or less calling me a wolf in sheep''s clothing, baring my fangs only when the time''s right."


    "Does this possibly have to do with the sudden increase in the ne''s strength?" Activating [Extended Charge] on the arquebus with the help of Prime Azure Energy, Valyr continued talking with Marcus, feeling like he had a rough idea of what was going on.


    In response, Marcus looked back at the entity before talking with it for a bit more.


    "Yeah," said the man after he was done. "ording to it, it decided to target the Mystic ne since it was a ne far weaker than the Extreme Toxic ne. It would''ve gained a lot of strength if it were sessful in weakening me even by a bit."


    "Yet, it turned out that the Mystic ne was far stronger than it initially thought?" asked Valyr in response, receiving a nod from Marcus soon after as a reply. "How strong is the Extreme Toxic ne inparison to the current Mystic ne?"


    Feeling a hint of terror at the energy building up within the weapon Valyr was wielding,


    Marcus pondered over the question for a bit before replying, "I''d say it''s now a bit below the


    Mystic ne."


    "Last time I checked, the Overseer of the Extreme Toxic ne was at the peak of Rank 7."


    "And you?"


    "Thanks to you bing the Guardian, I''m now at the peak of Rank 9." Marcus looked at


    Valyr with gratitude.


    "d to hear." Grinning in response to the man''s words, Valyr soon felt the arquebus reach its limit, prompting him to go through some of the status buffs in his arsenal.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    Whoosh!


    With his strength undergoing a dramatic increase, he went ahead and activated the Truth Weaver Scripture, empowering the Intent of Shadow Energy before pulling on the trigger.


    "[Grand Burst]!"


    Bang!


    With the effects of [Guardian of the Mystic ne] taking effect, it went without saying that the entity sumbed to the shot Valyr fired.


    Witnessing the entity in front of them turn into an explosion of gore before their very eyes, both Marcus and Mystia hastily stepped back as they looked at Valyr in disbelief, only to then wonder if what happened just now was the young man''s full extent of power.


    Oblivious to the gazes he was receiving, the young man had a faint smile on his face as he took a look at his notifications, raising his eyebrows as the system ssified the entity as 25 separate foes he''d killed.


    ''Hmm... a creature with backup bodies? A hive mind of some sort?''


    ''Either way, I''ve recovered a considerable portion of the XP I spent to reach the peak of Rank


    4, which is pretty neat.''


    Taking delight in the fact that he had gained a massive amount of XP in one go, the young


    man continued to go through his notifications, only for a confused look to appear on his face


    the moment he came across a few notifications.


    Ding!


    [You have defeated an intruder of the Mystic ne.]


    [You have absorbed the strength of the intruder.] [Your Mystic Energy has improved by 269 points.]

 Chapter 1047: Guide to Mystic Energy

    Chapter 1047: Guide to Mystic Energy


    ?


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 95 Toxic Amalgamation Nucleus (Ancient Elite). You have gained 6,796,119 XP.]


    [You have in a Level 95 Toxic Amalgamation Branch (Ancient Elite). You have gained 6,796,119 XP.]


    [You have in...]


    [...]


    As Valyr went ahead and took a look at his notifications, the young man was immediately greeted by the sight of a plethora of kill confirmations, causing him to pause as he read through them in great detail.


    "...Huh." By the time he was done going through them, Valyr''s eyes widened in slight disbelief, surprised that the system considered the entity he killed to be 25 separate entities.


    ''Hmm...'' Slightly furrowing his brows, the young man pondered over why the system ssified the entity that way. ''A creature with backup bodies, perhaps? Or is it a hive mind of some sort?''


    At the same time, he thought about how the effects from the Partial Mark of the Alltide hadn''t activated while he fought the entity at all, recalling how the entity didn''t revive shortly after Thended the final blow.


    Slightly confused as to why that was the case, Valyr went ahead and brought up the


    description of the mark in his mind, only to immediatelye up with a hypothesis as to why it did not activate.


    ''Is it because the entity isn''t considered either a beast or a monster?'' thought the young man to himself, eventually feeling like his hypothesis was the answer he was looking for.


    After all, if the entity were either a beast or a monster, then it wouldn''t have the ability to talk with Marcus while it was bound in chains made out of pure Mystic Energy.


    ''Then again... some beasts and monsters also have the ability to talk,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, deciding not to think about the matter any further.


    Either way, the young man was satisfied with the amount of XP he''d gained from killing the entity, seeing as it allowed him to recover a huge chunk of the XP he used to push his level to the peak of Rank 4.


    ''Pretty neat with all things considered,'' thought the young man to himself, only to inwardly let out a sigh soon after. ''On the other hand, spending almost 4 billion XP just to push myself to the max level of Rank 4 isn''t neat.''


    ''Originally, that would''ve only began to run out after I became a Myth, even if I were to take into consideration using XP to upgrade my skills.'' Valyr inwardly let out yet another sigh. ''A shame the heavens above seem to have a different nid out for me.''


    Other than the notifications regarding the kill confirmation, Valyr also received notifications involving his progress in upgrading [yer of Ascendants], smiling as he noticed that he was closing in on reaching a tenth of the total value needed.


    ''It''ll be a while before I get to 10,000 kills, '' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, only to continue looking through the notifications he''d received from killing the entity.


    "Hmm?"


    Raising his eyebrow as he reached the end of the list of notifications, Valyr had a slight look of confusion on his face as he focused his attention on a couple of notifications he received.


    Ding!


    [You have defeated an intruder of the Mystic ne.]


    [You have absorbed the strength of the intruder.]


    [Your Mystic Energy has improved by 269 points.]


    ''I gained Mystic Energy?'' Going through these notifications over and over again, the look of confusion on the young man''s face gradually deepened. ''But wasn''t the entity part of something called the Extreme Toxic ne?''


    Wanting to know what was going on, the young man moved his notification screen to the side for the meantime before heading to where Mystia and Marcus were.


    Oblivious to the fact that they stepped back the moment he showed an overwhelming level of power for his rank, he went up to the man with an expression filled with both curiosity and confusion before opening his mouth. "Say, Marcus."


    "Yeah?" Recalling the power he''d witnessed from Valyr just earlier, it took a while for Marcus to snap back to reality, only responding after a brief silence. "What''s up?"


    "The entity I killed was from the Extreme Toxic ne, right?" asked Valyr, causing Marcus'' expression to rx as he nodded in response.


    "Yeah. What about it?"


    "Well, I received a notification from the system that I gained Mystic Energy after killing it," replied the young man as he looked at Marcus with slight expectation. "Do you perhaps know why?"


    "Hmm...?" In response, Marcus rubbed his chin for a bit as he mulled over the question Valyr asked him.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the answer Valyr wanted to appear in Marcus'' mind, pushing the gears in his mind to turn as much as possible as he opened his mouth. "Ah. It was that feature."


    "Remember how I said sometime ago that a lot of nes target the Mystic ne since absorbing the ne would give them strength?"


    "I think you did," replied Valyr after a bit of silence, somewhat unsure whether the man before him really did talk about it at some point. "Anyways, what are you trying to say?"


    "What I''m trying to say is that... just like how they attack the Mystic ne to obtain greater strength, we could attack the other nes to improve the Mystic ne''s strength," said Marcus in response, causing Valyr''s eyes to widen as it clicked in his mind.


    "As the Guardian of the Mystic ne, that effect is more pronounced, allowing you to benefit from killing beings of other nes far more than we would," continued the man. "That''s


    probably why you gained a good chunk of Mystic Energy."


    "So, you could say that the Mystic ne converted the energy within the entity I killed into strength for the two of us?"


    "Pretty much, yeah." Marcus nodded in response to Valyr''s question.


    "I see." Valyr nodded back, only to sport a confused expression not long after. "Wait a minute... how do I improve the amount of Mystic Energy I have, then? Can I only gain Mystic Energy by kill those that target the Mystic ne as its Guardian?"


    "You could," said Marcus in response, only to shake his head soon after. "But that''s not really


    advisable."


    "Mystic Energy isn''t really an offense-oriented energy like the Shadow Energy you could wield," continued Mystia where Marcus left off, showcasing her greater knowledge towards thetter. "With that being said, gaining Mystic Energy is simpler than you think."


    "You just have to sit on the ground, close your eyes, and slowly absorb the ambient Mystic Energy in the surroundings into your body."


    As those words left Mystia''s mouth, she soon went ahead and did a demonstration for the young man, going through the steps she mentioned before letting out a calm exhale


    sometimeter.


    Whoosh!


    Within a few seconds of her closing her eyes, arge amount of Mystic Energy began to manifest around her, only to then revolve around her as if she were the eye of a massive


    storm.


    Fortunately, therge mass of Mystic Energy did not affect the surroundings whatsoever, instead slowly making their way towards Mystia''s body as she absorbed the motes of Mystic


    Energy that came close to her one by one.


    Swoosh!


    Watching as the motes making up the maelstrom of Mystic Energy around Mystia were gradually being absorbed by her, Valyr focused all of his attention towards the entire demonstration,mitting every step to memory as he went through the process in his mind. With that, by the time Mystia stopped absorbing Mystic Energy from the surroundings, the young man decided to try his hand at absorbing, sitting cross-legged on the ground before


    taking in a deep breath.


    "Huuu..." Then, closing his eyes, he gradually attuned himself to the Mystic Energy in his surroundings, slowly feeling the energy around him be more tangible by the second.


    Whoosh!


    After some time, a considerable amount of Mystic Energy appeared around the young man''s body, causing Mystia to widen her eyes in slight surprise as she recalled the first time she attempted to absorb Mystic Energy in her body.


    "If I remember correctly, you were only able to manifest around a quarter of what Valyr just manifested the first time you did it," said Marcus as he nced at Mystia, getting an idea of what was going on in her mind.


    "Then again, you were at the peak of Rank 2 when you tried it for the first time," he


    continued.


    "Even if we take that into consideration, he still caused a lot more Mystic Energy in the surroundings to manifest in his first attempt," replied Mystia with her gaze still fixated on


    the young man''s actions.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing as part of the Mystic Energy started to begin moving towards Valyr''s body, a faint smile began to appear on Mystia''s face the moment she saw the young man absorb motes of


    Mystic Energy.


    "It seems we''ll be staying here for a while." Getting the feeling that Valyr nned on


    absorbing all of the Mystic Energy he manifested, Marcus decided to give Mystia a heads-up.


    "Do you have any ns other than this?"


    "Not really." Surprisingly, Mystia didn''t mind. "Though, I did n on making him the ne''s Guardian, if ever that were to fail, I still nned on bringing him to the Mystic ne to improve the amount of Mystic Energy I''ve given him."


    "However, now that I''ve caught a glimpse of his affinity with Mystic Energy..."


    "I suppose it won''t be too hard to teach him a thing or two on how to properly use it."

 Chapter 1048: The Limit

    Chapter 1048: The Limit


    ?


    "Haah..."


    Letting out a long exhale, Valyr slowly opened his eyes sometime after feeling he''d absorbed all of the Mystic Energy in the surroundings.


    Giving his eyes the time it needed to limate to the light once more, it was only after a while did he stand up before looking at Marcus to ask him a question.


    "How much time has passed since I started absorbing Mystic Energy?"


    "Hmm..." ncing at the sky above them, the man made a few gestures with his hands before looking back at Valyr with a calm expression. "Like four hours or so."


    "Really?" Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise, feeling like he''d been immersed in that state for far longer than four hours. "It felt like half a day passed to me."


    "That''s what usually happens when you''re absorbing Mystic Energy," said Mystia in response to Valyr''s words, prompting thetter to look in her direction. "I''m sure you''ve felt a sense of relief while absorbing Mystic Energy."


    Nodding in response to her words, Valyr noticed that she was in the midst of forming aplex construct of some sort using pure Mystic Energy.


    Though he was curious as to what she was doing, the young man decided to remain silent, even though Mystia had just shown that she had the capability to multi-task.


    "Phew..." Surprisingly, the silence Valyr gave her was all she needed to finallyplete the construct she was making, letting out a wide sigh of relief as she pushed the construct towards her body.


    Watching as the construct of Mystic Energy was slowly being absorbed by her body, Valyr''s mouth turned slightly agape as Mystia looked back at him with a slight smile. "So, how much Mystic Energy did you gain?"


    In response to the question, Valyr went ahead and opened up his status screen, only to be pleasantly surprised by the fact that his Mystic Energy was only a few dozen points away from reaching 2,000.


    Of course, as he was also curious on how effective absorbing Mystic Energy from the surroundings was, Valyr took it upon itself to go through the various calctions to obtain the exact value.


    "1 point from the Mystic Vial, 300 from bing a Guardian, 1,000 from the 10 Mystic Infusion Pills, and 269 from the entity I killed earlier."


    "Then, factoring in the 15% boost from [Mystic Physique]..." Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr eventually obtained the answer he was looking for.


    "132 points," said the young man, looking back at Mystia with a calm smile. "I don''t know if that''s a lot or not."


    "That''s quite a lot." Hearing the amount of Mystic Energy Valyr gained in just four hours, Mystia''s eyes widened in surprise as she briefly nced back at Marcus.


    Seeing the smile on the man''s face as Valyr said those words, the gears in Mystia''s mind began to turn as she looked back at the young man in front of her. "That''s... what? 33 points of Mystic Energy an hour?"


    "Honestly, that''s like three times the amount of Mystic Energy I get per hour before you came around," said Mystia, letting out a sigh soon after. "Now you''re making me feel like all of the time I''ve spent absorbing Mystic Energy was all for nothing."


    "What do you mean for it''s for nothing? Didn''t it give you the idea for the Mystic Infusion Pill?" asked Valyr in response,mitting the information Mystia gave him to memory.


    "Aside from that, I only have like 2,000 points of Mystic Energy. I''m sure you have tons more than me, even more now that we could obtain Mystic Energy at a faster rate."


    "Well... that''s true," muttered Mystia after some time, taking in a deep breath soon after topose herself.


    Seeing as she was in deep thought, the young man briefly thought about the amount of Mystic Energy he gained, feeling that the amount he gained was decent for the amount of work he did.


    Though, of course, if he were topare it to something like the amount he obtained from killing the entity from the Extreme Toxic ne earlier, then it was pitiful inparison. ''Sadly, I don''t think there are creatures I could kill here to gain Mystic Energy,'' thought Valyr to himself, deciding to ask Marcus soon after to confirm if he could kill the creatures of the Mystic ne to gain Mystic Energy.


    Obtaining a response that killing the creatures of the ne would do nothing to improve Mystic Energy, the young man soon recalled the Shadowsource, the thing he briefly nced at that improved his Shadow Energy gain by a few times.


    ''I wonder if there''s a counterpart of that thing in the Mystic ne,'' muttered the young man to himself inwardly. ''Would it be called something like a Mysticsource if that were the case?''


    "...Alright." Opening her eyes, Mystia let out a faint sigh of relief as she gathered her thoughts.


    Shifting her gaze towards the two, she soon focused her attention towards Valyr before opening her mouth. "Since you now have an idea of how the Mystic ne works, I suppose it''s time for you to learn how to use Mystic Energy properly."


    Hearing those words, Valyr looked back at her in slight confusion. "For what reason, though? Isn''t it just using Mystic Energy on a skill?"


    "If you n on limiting yourself, then sure. You can go ahead and do that," replied Mystia, releasing a bit of her Mystic Energy into the surroundings. "However, recall the nature of Mystic Energy andpare it to the Shadow Energy you''ve encountered."


    "Shadow Energy leans towards destruction..." muttered the young man to himself, only to then realize what Mystia was trying to say. "While Mystic Energy leans towards creation." "Creation. That is the keyword in using Mystic Energy properly." As those words left Mystia''s mouth, she began to manipte the Mystic Energy into various forms.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At first, Mystia transformed the Mystic Energy she released into numerous shields that covered almost every part of her body.


    Then, not long after, she transformed the Mystic Energy into a wall that both looked and felt imprable.


    After that, she transformed the Mystic Energy into a field that gradually rejuvenated one''s health, causing the young man to feel like he''d gained more energy out of nowhere.


    "You only need to remember two things when using Mystic Energy." Feeling like she''d shown Valyr what Mystic Energy was more than capable of, Mystia recalled the energy back as she began to give the young man an exnation.


    "The world is your canvas, and the sky is the limit."


    "As long as you keep those in mind, then the Mystic Energy will bring your thoughts to


    reality."

 Chapter 1049: Expanding the Limit

    Chapter 1049: Expanding the Limit


    ?


    Going over the various things Mystia showed him, as well as the words she said to him just now, the gears in the young man''s mind began to turn as he summarized what he understood. "So, what you''re saying is, Mystic Energy is reliant on my imagination for it to take form?"


    "That''s correct." Mystia nodded with a smile, d that Valyr was able to understand the gist of her exnation. "As long as you can imagine it, then the Mystic Energy would be able to bring it to reality."


    Hearing those wordse out of Mystia''s mouth once more, a slight frown began to creep up onto Valyr''s face.


    After all, if the power of Mystic Energy was dictated by one''s imagination, then why was the ne containing its concept on the brink of destruction in the past?


    Keeping this in mind, the young man decided to ask both Mystia and Marcus for more information, hoping that they would answer everything he asked them.


    "You mentioned just now that Mystic Energy manifests what Ie up in my mind into reality," said the young man, his gaze focused on the woman before him. "Would it be possible for me to conjure a sword with the Mystic Energy, then?"


    "You could." Mystia nodded in response. "However, it doesn''t have any offensive properties whatsoever. It would only exhibit defensive properties when used."


    At those words, Valyr slightly raised his eyebrows. "Would that only apply to swords? Or does it apply to other things?"


    "For example, what if I were to imagine a giant w out of Mystic Energy to strike down a lot of my foes at once?"


    "It would only be able to defend you from attacks in return," said Mystia, finally showing Valyr a glimpse of how Mystic Energy truly worked. "Aside from that, the size of the w you create is highly dependent on how much Mystic Energy you put into it."


    "If that''s the case, then that means your earlier ims were wrong," replied Valyr after gathering his thoughts, causing Mystia to look back at him with a slight frown in response.


    Though, as the young man continued to exin his train of thought, the frown on Mystia''s face gradually disappeared. "After all, how could you say that Mystic Energy would be able to bring whatever I imagine to reality if I can''t even use it to create a weapon?"


    "Well..." Responding to Valyr''s words, Mystia went silent for a bit before letting out a sigh. "Once again, it has something to do with the nature of Mystic Energy itself."


    Pondering over her words for a bit, Valyr eventually understood what she meant by that. "I see. Shadow Energy leans towards destruction..."


    "While Mystic Energy leans towards creation. Yeah." Mystia nodded back before continuing with her exnation. "Just like how creation is the keyword to properly utilizing Mystic Energy, it''s also the thing that powers Mystic Energy in the first ce."


    "Though, if I were to be more specific about thest part, then it would probably be the fact that the word protection encapstes Mystic Energy more than creation."


    "I understand." At this point, Valyr now had a good idea of what Mystic Energy was capable of.


    Wanting to confirm his thoughts, he went ahead and opened his mouth once more as he asked the two, "So, if I''m getting this correctly, as long as I''m not using it to attack someone, Mystic Energy would be able to realize what I imagine without issues."


    "As long as you have enough Mystic Energy to will it into existence, then yes," Mystia corrected the young man, with Marcus merely nodding in response to her words.


    "You could use it to defend, to heal, to empower, or even to debilitate someone if you wanted it to."


    "Of course, thetter two use up more Mystic Energy in order for it to be effective, but it is possible."


    "Got it." With that, Valyr was more than ready to learn how to properly use Mystic Energy from Mystia, which thetter immediately took notice the moment their conversation was done.


    Nodding with a faint smile, Mystia then sported a calm expression as she watched the young man get into a stance of sorts. "Alright. We''re gonna start off simple to slowly get you used to wielding Mystic Energy properly."


    "First, release a bit of your Mystic Energy into your surroundings," said the woman. "Make sure that you always exert control over it."


    Nodding in response to her words, Valyr went ahead and did what he was told, causing a part of his surroundings to take on a slightly iridescent color.


    "What''s next?"


    "Focus on a certain image on your mind, then project that towards the Mystic Energy you''ve released," said Mystia in response. "For now, focus on projecting the image of a shield onto the Mystic Energy."


    "Got it." Nodding in response once more, Valyr took in a deep breath as he visualized the form of a shield in his mind.


    Thanks to his bountiful experience as a cksmith, it did not take long for him to form an image of what he considered his ideal shield, only to then project that image onto his Mystic Energy soon after.


    Swoosh!


    In less than an instant, the Mystic Energy in his surroundings took shape, slowly transforming into the image of the ideal shield Valyr had in his mind.


    Feeling the shield appearing before him consume some of the Mystic Energy within his body, the young man soon had a smile on his face the moment he felt the shield before him be


    truly tangible.


    Ding!


    Whilst willing the shield made out of Mystic Energy to revolve around his body, Valyr went ahead and opened up his notification screen in his mind, curious as to what the system wanted


    to tell him.


    [You have discovered the ideal method to manipting Mystic Energy.]


    [Due to this discovery, the skill ''Intermediate Mystic Energy Maniption'' has been reced with ''Basic True Mystic Energy Maniption''.]


    ''System, identify the new skill I just obtained.'' With his eyes slightly widening from the information he just read, Valyr continued to interact with the system in his mind whilst slowly refining his control over the shield he conjured.


    By the time he began to conjure a second shield in a bid to emte what Mystia did earlier, Valyr focused most of his attention towards the description of the new skill he received, only to then furrow his brows as he noted a certain portion of the skill.


    Returning his senses back to reality, the young man willed the two shields he conjured to the side before looking at Mystia. "Say, Mystia."


    "Hmm?" Hearing her name be called, Mystia looked back at the young man before raising her eyebrow in curiosity.


    "Have you ever purified your Mystic Energy before?" As these words left the young man''s


    mouth, Valyr felt a sense of excitement since it seemed like he found a way to expand the


    limits of what his Mystic Energy was capable of.


    Though, those thoughts came to a grinding halt when he noticed that the smile on Mystia''s face had be crooked because of it.

 Chapter 1050: Exceeding Expectations

    Chapter 1050: Exceeding Expectations


    ?


    Remaining silent, Valyr watched in silence as Mystia went through a number of emotions in the span of a second.


    Then, letting out a low sigh, she looked back at the young man before asking, "I suppose you asked this question because you noticed that part on the skill''s description?"


    Though he was briefly caught off guard by the question Mystia asked him, the young man eventually nodded in response, thinking that it was only natural for her to know what was going on.


    Especially if it had something to do with Mystic Energy.


    With that, Valyr briefly went over the description of the new skill he''d obtained once more in his mind, wanting to make sure that he read its description correctly.


    Ding!


    [Basic True Mystic Energy Maniption] (Level 1/10)


    Rarity: Common+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    This skill allows the user to freely manipte Mystic Energy ording to their intentions, bringing their thoughts into reality.


    The strength of the manifestation through Mystic Energy is dependent on the user''s maximum Mystic Energy capacity, while the limit of what is possible with the manifestation is dependent on the user''s creativity.


    Note that utilizing Mystic Energy with the intent of attacking shall instead default to the intent of defending.


    Cooldown: None


    Cost: Dependent on purity of Mystic Energy, as well as size and power of manifestation


    Having refreshed his mind that the new skill did indeed mention the purity of Mystic Energy, Valyr briefly thought about what kind of effects a more purified Mystic Energy would give him aside from reduced cost.


    Though, before he let his thoughts be even more astray, the young man returned his attention to Mystia, who was seemingly waiting for him to respond.


    "So... have you tried it before?"


    "It would be weirder if I didn''t," said Mystia in response to Valyr''s question, sighing once more as she bitterly smiled. "I''m sure you could guess what happened from my expression alone."


    "You failed?" asked Valyr back after a bit of contemtion, to which she responded back with a nod.


    "Well, to be more exact, I was partly sessful," Mystia rified to him. "I was able to refine the Mystic Energy in my body to my extent, but from what it feels like, I''m still a ways off from actually refining it as a whole."


    "Call it a half-step purification of sorts." The woman wryly smiled at her own words. "In any case, I think I''m the first to ever purify Mystic Energy in the history of the ne''s existence."


    "Really?" Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr shifted his gaze towards Marcus, who was already expecting to be asked that question in the first ce.


    "The Saintesses that helped me in the past have also tried to purify Mystic Energy like Mystia," said Marcus as the gears in his mind continued to turn. "As far as I can recall, it was some time after they discovered the ideal way to manipte Mystic Energy... basically what Mystia taught you earlier."


    After that, Marcus let out a sigh of his own. "In the end, none of them were sessful in purifying Mystic Energy at all, with the first Saintess even calling it a fruitless endeavor no other Saintess should attempt to pursue."


    "The Saintess that came before Mystia made a bit of leeway in going against the first Saintess'' words, refining a faint bit of her own Mystic Energy," continued the man.


    "On the other hand, Mystia singlehandedly made progress in the endeavor where the attempt at purification now makes a substantial difference."


    "Of course, it''s still far away from being a sessful purification," said Mystia in response to Marcus'' words, reiterating what she told Valyr earlier. "I''m confident that there''ll eventuallye a day where I''d be able to sessfully purify it..."


    "But that probably won''t be happening anytime soon, that''s for sure."


    "Hmm..." Silently listening to the conversation between the two all this time, Valyr eventually made up his mind as he sat cross-legged on the ground once more, which


    immediately attracted both of their attention.


    "Gonna absorb some more Mystic Energy?" asked Marcus, to which Valyr surprisingly shook his head in response.


    "I''m gonna try my hand at purifying Mystic Energy," said Valyr instead, eliciting both Mystia and Marcus to look back at him with widened eyes.


    "Didn''t you listen to our entire conversation?" replied Mystia with a slight frown. "Purifying Mystic Energy is close to impossible."


    "Still wouldn''t hurt to try at least once, no?" answered Valyr back, going over the steps of purification Sellifer taught him back then in his mind.


    Seeing as the young man before her had made his mind up on what he wanted to do, Mystia was left with no choice but to let out a sigh in response. "If you insist. However, do keep in mind that we''ve already told you if you were to ever fail."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," replied Valyr with a brief chuckle, only to then close his eyes as he focused all of his senses inward.


    Swoosh!


    ''Sellifer did tell me back then that this method is universal.'' Going over the steps of purification in his mind, the young man took in a deep breath as he eventually arrived at the void he''d be familiar with thanks to the two other energies.


    Willing his Mystic Energy to manifest within this void, the dark space was soon filled with a great amount of iridescent light, causing the young man to faintly smile as he felt that there was potential for his thoughts to work.


    ''If the method Sellifer shared with me does work with Mystic Energy...'' Valyr inwardly let out


    a faint chuckle.


    ''Then I guess it really is universal.''


    Whoosh!


    Imposing his will onto the void before him, Valyr began to move the Mystic Energy towards the center of the void, willing the energy to coalesce into arge sphere of sorts.


    ''Once again, the first stage of purification is to turn the impure Mystic Energy into pure Mystic Energy.''


    With this thought in mind, Valyr gradually infused more of his willpower onto the Mystic Energy, allowing the sphere at the center to keep its shape while it was still being pressurized


    from all sides.


    Keeping his eye on the sphere of iridescent light, the young man gradually began to wonder whether the method Sellifer gave him would work since there were no impurities surfacing


    from the sphere after some time.


    Then, by the time a couple of hours had passed, the young man began to lose hope, though he did notice that the sphere of Mystic Energy was gradually bing brighter on its own. Thankfully, after a couple more hours passed, impurities had finally begun to surface from the sphere of Mystic Energy, all of which had taken on a murky color that starkly contrasted against the iridescent glow Mystic Energy gave off.


    However, rather than appear as decently-sized blobs that he saw when he purified his Shadow Energy and mana in the past, the impurities that surfaced on the sphere of Mystic Energy were instead the size of peas...


    And were gradually bing smaller on their own from what Valyr could see.


    ''Huh?'' Btedly taking notice of this peculiarity once he pushed his perception to its limits,


    it was only then did Valyr realize what was going on, now understanding why it had taken so long for impurities to appear on the sphere of Mystic Energy.


    ''So, that''s why the sphere was gradually bing brighter, even though there were no impurities forming yet,'' thought the young man to himself with excitement.


    ''The Mystic Energy is actually removing the impurities on its own.''


    ''Hahaha... I guess the method really is universal.'' With concrete proof that there was nothing


    wrong with the method Sellifer gave him, Valyr went ahead and helped the Mystic Energy remove the impurities that were surfacing every once in a while.


    Throwing all of the impurities that weren''t removed by the energy itself into the void, the young man watched as the iridescent light Mystic Energy grew brighter and brighter the more


    time passed.


    Eventually, by the time he felt like an entire day had passed within the void, the Mystic Energy


    finally began to glisten like a pearl, with the system giving him notifications not long after


    that confirmed the sess of his endeavors.


    Ding!


    [You have removed all of the impurities in your Mystic Energy.]


    [All Mystic Energy you shall control from now on is bereft of any impurities whatsoever,


    improving its efficacy and power.]


    [The grade of your Mystic Energy Vessel has improved to Pure.]


    Whoosh! Briefly reading through the notifications he received from the system, a wide smile appeared


    on Valyr''s face as he returned his senses back to reality.


    Unsurprisingly, both Marcus and Mystia were looking at him in disbelief the moment he


    began to look at his surroundings.


    "Did you..." Noticing that the young man had returned his senses to reality, Mystia took the initiative to ask him the question that was guing both of their minds. "Did you just...?"


    "Purify Mystic Energy?" Feeling amusement at their reactions, Valyr let out a slight chuckle


    before releasing a bit of his own Mystic Energy. "I did."


    Swoosh!


    At the moment he responded to Mystia''s question, a wisp of pure Mystic Energy soon appeared atop Valyr''s palm, revealing a white me that gave off a faint iridescent glow to the two.


    Feeling that the wisp of energy before them was none other than the Mystic Energy they''ve be acquainted with, both Mystia and Marcus briefly looked at each other in excitement before returning their gaze towards Valyr.


    "Is it... is it okay if you teach us how to purify Mystic Energy?" asked Mystia after a bit of deliberation, feeling a hint of embarrassment at the thought that the position of master and disciple had now been swapped.


    Fortunately for her, Valyr did not mind any of that at all, only continuing to smile as he


    nodded back in response.


    "It would be my pleasure."

 Chapter 1051: The Warfront

    Chapter 1051: The Warfront


    ?


    Algerie Kingdom, at the main defensive line.


    "Haah!"


    Swerving through the orcs hellbent on killing him, Hal deftly maneuvered his way through their lunges and strikes, returning their aggression with attacks of his own.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Imbuing his de with Intent, the man attacked all of the orcs he passed by at angles the orcs weren''t expecting,nding blows that immediately rendered them ineffective in battle.


    With that, a path of blood began to manifest in the frontlines once more, instilling fear amongst the orcs that watched Hal showcase his might as he moved closer to the leader behind the attack.


    "Grx''m gragaagh!!!" Of course, having a simr level of strength to Hal, the orc leader was furious that the being it presumed as the leader of the humans had decided to move on its own ord, instead of letting those under him to fight to the death.


    Nevertheless, the orc leader also took delight in that fact, considering that Hal was instead delivering himself to an early grave in front of it.


    Grinning at the thought that surfaced in his mind, it did not take long for the orc leader to make a decision as itmanded all of the orcs in its surroundings to distance themselves from it, forming an arena of sorts where both it and Hal could fight without hesitation.


    Whoosh!


    Landing a few more deadly strikes to the orcs he passed by, Hal eventually arrived at therge opening the leader of the orcs made, slightly frowning as he realized that his n of instilling confusion and chaos by striking the leader had failed before it could even start.


    Though, seeing as the leader was slowly heading to the center of therge opening, it did not take long for Hal to put two and two together in his mind, smiling as he sheathed his de for the meantime.


    ''On second thought, I think this is a far better scenario than what I had in mind.''


    "Human..." said the orc leader all of a sudden, trying its best to convey its thoughts through the humannguage. "Us... fight. Death... one. Victory."


    "Sure." Already having an idea of what was going on the moment the orc leader stepped forward, Hal nodded in response to its words.


    "Great." With that, the orc leader grinned in return, retrieving therge club behind its back before releasing the entirety of its aura. "Fight... start."


    "Victory... mine!"


    Whoosh!


    Radiating a fiercebat intent, the orc leader pushed its strength to its limits as it aimed to close the gap between it and Hal.


    Prepared for the orc''s offensive, Hal swiftly unsheathed his de and infused his Intent into it, striking the club as its weakest point as he put all of his strength into it.


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, a fierce gust of wind blew throughout the opening the moment the two''s strikes connected, showing the great level of strength both sides wielded.


    However, just as the orcs surrounding the two felt that their leader would have the advantage in terms of strength, they soon noticed that the human they thought would be at a disadvantage remained standing at its initial spot.


    On the other hand, the leader they looked up to had staggered in response to the exchange. "Human..." Naturally, the orc leader did not expect such a level of strength from Hal as well, its eyes widening in surprise as it hurriedly tried to regain its bnce.


    Unfortunately, before it could even regain its footing, it was then that Hal decided to make his move, appearing behind the back of the orc leader amidst the confusion.


    "[Intent of the Samsara de]."


    Swinging his de back as far as his body could handle, Hal infused his de with as much Intent he possibly could, causing its edge to turn a murky gray as his eyes were trained on the orc leader''s vital spot.


    "[de of Six Paths]."


    "[True Celestial Judgment]."


    Then, without hesitation, he burst forward with all of the strength he could muster, depriving the orc leader of its vitality as havoc soon wreaked throughout the ranks of the orcs.


    ...


    "Good work out there."


    Letting out a low sigh as he returned behind the defensive line, a smile appeared on Hal''s face as he saw a familiar person greet him back.


    "To be honest, I had doubts that the n would actually work," said Hal in response, using a bit of magic to remove all of the blood and grime that stuck onto his body. "After all, I wasn''t expecting that one on one."


    "But you pushed through in the end," replied the person with a smile, casting a few healing spells on Hal that healed up all of the wounds he received. "Thanks to you, everyone''s morale has greatly improved."


    "Thanks, Vera." Hal smiled in response. "You think it''s possible for us to push back the orcs far enough to construct a new defensive line?"


    "Probably?" replied Vera, most of her focus still on healing Hal. "Our forces are stronger than before thanks to the influx of weapons from the cksmith Guild, though I''m not sure if our strength is enough to push for another defensive line."


    "How about if we add Valyr into the equation?" said Hal all of a sudden, causing Vera to stop for a bit as she did not expect Hal to mention such a name.


    Noticing this, the man went ahead and exined the conversation he had with Valyr some time ago, talking about how Valyr was nning to have a meeting with the directors of the cksmith Guild involving the mass production of a couple things.


    "He ns on introducing the weapon he showed us in the inheritance to the frontlines," said Hal at the end of his exnation.


    Smiling, he then continued, "Now, if a weapon like that were to be given en masse to those at the frontlines, do you think it''d be possible for us to push our defensive line even deeper?"


    "I wouldn''t even be surprised if we could push the entire defensive line forward with that kind ofbat power," replied Vera with a wry smile, recalling the pure firepower the arquebus Valyr made while they were in the inheritance.


    "In any case, I''m d Valyr was finally able to leave the inheritance. From the looks of it, he gained the most out of all of us in that ce."


    Hal nodded in agreement. "Though we haven''t really interacted with him that much, I have a strong feeling he''ll use that knowledge to contribute to the war."


    "Then again, with his strength, I wouldn''t be surprised if he were to participate in the war


    efforts directly."


    "True... True."


    "...Alright, then. Shall we prepare for the next mission?"

 Chapter 1052: Exploring Versatility

    Chapter 1052: Exploring Versatility


    ?


    "...Alright."


    Whoosh!


    Opening his eyes, Valyr let out a contented sigh as he brought up his status screen to take a look at how much Mystic Energy he''d gained.


    "Huh. 183 points this time around." Going through the various calctions in his mind, it did not take long for him to obtain his answer, his eyes slightly widening in surprise once he figured it out.


    "Ain''t that like 50% more what I gained the first time I did it?"


    As he muttered those words to himself, the young man soon shifted his gaze towards both Mystia and Marcus, who were both still in a cross-legged position, their senses focused inwards as they were in the midst of purifying their Mystic Energy.


    After he agreed to their request of teaching them how to purify Mystic Energy, Valyr went ahead and exined the purification process to the two as best as he could, deciding to start simple by having them push their Mystic Energy to the Pure stage first.


    Of course, the two bombarded him with questions along the way, hoping to clear up the confusion they had about the overall process.


    At the same time, the young man had a few questions of his own while doing so, with most of them having something to do with Marcus.


    That was due to the fact that Marcus was the Overseer of the Mystic ne, the so-called personification of the ne itself that has the ability to wield the entire ne''s power.


    With that in mind, then it would make sense that Marcus would have the ability to conjure the pure version of Mystic Energy itself since he had ess to the strength Valyr had contributed to the ne.


    In response to that train of thought, Marcus exined to Valyr that although he could ess that energy the moment Valyr opened the gates for him, he would suffer from a decrease in potency and quality if he did not go through the process just like them.


    Which thus led to the current case of both Mystia and Marcus purifying their Mystic Energy in preparation for theter stages of the purification method, with Mystia noticeably making more progress than Marcus was.


    "I''d say they''ll take another half day to reach the Pure stage," said Valyr to himself after looking at the two for a while, realizing that two days have already passed in the Mystic ne ever since he arrived with Mystia.


    After assuming the position of Guardian and trying out how to absorb Mystic Energy for the first time, the total amount of time that passed in the Mystic ne was roughly six hours.


    Then, once Valyr decided to prove that the endeavor of purifying Mystic Energy was not impossible by doing it himself, almost half a day had passed in total by the time he returned his senses to reality.


    Considering that it only took a couple of hours for him to teach the two how to purify their own Mystic Energy, that meant that he had spent the past day keeping an eye on the two as they progressed in purifying their Mystic Energy.


    Though he was indeed keeping an eye on them from time to time over the past day, he spent most of his time absorbing more Mystic Energy from the surroundings, slightly surprised that there had been no other incident of intruders since then.


    Nevertheless, the young man made the most of the opportunity, slowly but surely improving his yield with every session, giving him the confidence that it wouldn''t be long until he obtained 200 points of Mystic Energy every session.


    "Now I have over 3,000 points of Mystic Energy." Smiling as he looked at the progress he made over the past day, Valyr soon closed the screen he brought up before proceeding to familiarize himself more with [Basic True Mystic Energy Maniption].


    Swoosh!


    Releasing a considerable amount of his Mystic Energy into his surroundings, Valyr distanced himself from the two before beginning to conjure a series of items that he felt would be useful in actualbat.


    Whoosh!


    Starting off with the simplest to conjure, the young man went ahead and conjure a row of shields using the Mystic Energy, immediately feeling the reduction in consumption now that his Mystic Energy was at the Pure stage.


    Having the shields revolve around him after that as if he were a moving tank, the young man smiled as he dispelled the shields, only to then transform it into a healing field that regenerated both health and stamina.


    Swoosh!


    In a matter of moments, a slight green tinge covered the space a few meters around Valyr, immediately giving him a feeling of relief the moment the green lightnded on his body.


    Feeling the constant expenditure of the field to be manageable, the young man decided to experiment with the field a bit more, expanding its range and potency as much as his current capacity was able to handle.


    In the end, he figured out that he was able to expand the field to span over 15 meters in radius, while having a level of potency high enough to visibly heal surface wounds.


    ''I''d only be able to sustain it for a few seconds at most for now, though,'' thought Valyr to himself, slightly eager to purify his Mystic Energy for that reason.


    After giving his Mystic Energy the time it needed to recover for a bit, he then moved onto thest couple of purposes Mystia briefed him on, which was to use the Mystic Energy to empower allies and to debilitate enemies.


    Surprisingly, a great amount of Mystic Energy was siphoned out of him the moment he began to think about using the energy to empower someone, causing the attempt to fail before it could even manifest in his surroundings.


    Giving himself all the time he needed to regenerate his Mystic Energy back to full, the young man was only met with the same conclusion, now realizing that Mystia''s words regarding thest two purposes were not to be taken lightly.


    "I suppose I need 5,000 points to make it briefly manifest?" asked the young man to himself as he went over the experience, briefly doing a few calctions in his mind. "It''d probably be better to push it to 8,000 to be sure itsts for at least a second."


    "Of course, I should focus on purifying Mystic Energy as well," reminded Valyr to himself, chuckling as he let his thoughts wander for a bit.


    "Hmm..." Briefly ncing at Mystia and Marcus from time to time, a thought gradually surfaced within Valyr''s mind, which he immediately focused on the moment he noticed it. "Is it even possible?" Going over the thought in his mind a couple of times to be sure, the young man suppressed his excitement as he released a bit of Mystic Energy into his


    surroundings.


    Then, going over the thought he had onest time, he then infused a purpose into the Mystic Energy that was different from all of the ones he''d gone through before.


    He didn''t infuse it with the purpose of defending something, healing something, empowering something, or debilitating something.


    Instead... he willed his Mystic Energy to manifest with the purpose of forging something.


    Whoosh!


    And surprisingly enough...


    It worked.

 Chapter 1053: Widening Horizons

    Chapter 1053: Widening Horizons


    ?


    Feeling a hint of excitement as he watched the Mystic Energy he released ept the new concept that filled his mind, Valyr looked on with anticipation as the energy around him gradually took on a tangible form.


    Of course, as he watched the Mystic Energy take shape, there were a few possibilities in his mind lingering about, considering that the forging process epassed many steps.


    It was possible for the Mystic Energy to take on the form of various forging equipment, seeing as they were a crucial part of the forging process.


    It was also possible for it to take on the rough form of a human, considering that the forging process wouldn''t be possible without the intervention and will of people in the first ce.


    However, even though those possibilities continued to linger in his mind, the Mystic Energy instead took a form that was neither of the two, yet served a purpose that was just as important as the other ones.


    For the form it took was none other than the bridge between man and tool.


    "A forging hammer." Smiling as an iridescent forging hammer began to levitate in front of him, Valyr went ahead and tried to grasp it, only to feel an otherworldly energy course through his body the moment he touched it.


    Whoosh!


    If he were to describe the sensation he got after touching the iridescent forging hammer, then it would feel like he had ess to the knowledge and experience of a thousand veteran cksmiths with just a single thought.


    At the same time, he also got the feeling that if he were to attempt forging an item with the hammer now in his hands, he would be able to forge an item that would be at least on par, if not slightly beyond what''s possible with the Hammer of Beginnings.


    Specifically, with [Breath of Beginnings] enabled.


    "...Woah." Not expecting his thoughts to take on such a form, Valyr inadvertently dispelled the forging hammer he''d manifested whilst he was still familiarizing himself with the sensations it gave off.


    Feeling a hint of fear that what he''d done might have just been a fluke, the young man took in a deep breath before manifesting the hammer using Mystic Energy again.


    Fortunately, the hammer appeared in front of him the way it appeared before, still giving off the otherworldly sensation he got the moment he touched it.


    Excited that he''d discovered another way to make use of Mystic Energy, Valyr went ahead and pushed more Mystic Energy into the forging hammer before him, wondering what kind of effects would arise.


    Unsurprisingly, the feeling of great knowledge and experience was further intensified with the introduction of more Mystic Energy, with him bing even more certain that he''d be able to forge an item with the hammer that went beyond even what the Hammer of Beginnings was capable of.


    "Sadly..." Though he was expectant for such a path being opened in front of him... Swoosh!


    The hammer soon disappeared on its own ord, consuming far too much Mystic Energy per second that even Valyr''s pure Mystic Energy could not handle.


    Bitterly smiling at how the improved version of the iridescent forging hammer merelysted for a few seconds before disappearing, the young man took in a deep breath topose himself as he went over his thoughts.


    "At the very least, I know it''s doable," murmured the young man to himself, going over everything he''d done earlier in his mind as he tried to find his current sweet spot between performance and expenditure.


    Whoosh!


    Giving himself all the time he needed to restore his Mystic Energy back to full, Valyr went ahead and experimented with creating the forging hammer for quite some time, going through a few configurations in his mind as he eventually came to an initial conclusion.


    ''As it stands, I don''t have enough Mystic Energy to sustain the forging hammer throughout the entire forging process.''


    ''Though it is possible to reduce its expenditure by reducing its performance to where it would reach an equilibrium, if I were to rate its performance in that regard... then it would be at the level of an Epic-grade hammer?''


    ''Then again... that''s far better than the spare hammers that are avable in the cksmith Guild,'' thought the young man to himself, rubbing his chin for a bit as he felt like he was on the verge of a new idea.


    Thankfully, no other thoughts surfaced in his mind at that moment, allowing him to see the thought to the end as he went ahead and activated a skill that seemed fit for the situation.


    "[Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith]."


    Whoosh!


    Summoning a bit of the Prime Azure Energy in his body, a pair of translucent dark blue arms swiftly appeared to his right side, prompting him to nod in satisfaction as he felt the improvement Prime Azure Energy brought to the skill.


    Shaking his head as he realized he''d briefly gone on a tangent, Valyr soon willed the pair of translucent arms to handle the forging hammer made out of Mystic Energy, only to be surprised once the arms finally held onto it.


    "...!" Though the effect was less pronouncedpared to directly holding it, Valyr still felt like he could ess a considerable amount of knowledge and experience from a number of veteran cksmiths.


    Infusing more Mystic Energy into the hammer the pair of translucent arms held, the young man''s excitement grew after noticing that the otherworldly feeling he got gradually intensified by the second.


    Though, knowing the limits of Mystic Energy, he swiftly stopped infusing more energy into it, instead taking a deep breath as he approached his current train of thought from a different


    perspective.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] still active, Valyr went ahead and conjured all five pairs of arms around him, reminding him of the times he''d been forging around the clock to finish the quota Julian gave him.


    Faintly smiling at the thought, he then reduced the performance of the hammer that was currently being held, giving him more leeway to conjure more hammers that the other arms


    could wield.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Treading a fine bnce between cost and performance, it did not take long for the other arms to be equipped with four more hammers, with all five now at the level of a Rare-grade forging


    hammer.


    "In terms of performance, it''s not that much different from the spare ones in the cksmith Guild." Feeling a hint of strain from manipting multiple things at once, Valyr took a while to limate to his current situation, letting out a soft sigh the moment he felt he''d gotten


    used to it.


    Then, with the motions he''d gotten used to in the past, he utilized both the translucent arms and the Mystic Energy hammers as if he''d returned to the workshop, feeling the knowledge and experience of various cksmiths course through his mind while doing so. "That''s... satisfying." Realizing that he''d basically just given himself a way to improve both his efficiency and performance in forging items, Valyr had a relieved smile on his face as he dispelled both the arms and the hammers surrounding him.


    "With enough Mystic Energy, I suppose I could start an automatic production line of sorts for items." Looking at Mystia and Marcus to see how far they were in the purification process, the young man soon nodded in satisfaction as he continued to think out loud.


    "Then again, I''d probably need to boost my stats in the mental department, seeing as moving five additional pairs of arms are already putting quite the strain on my mind." "Speaking of arms..." Just as he allowed his mind to wander about once more, a thought soon surfaced on Valyr''s mind yet again.


    Wanting to find out the answer to the thought that just popped up, he gave himself time to recover all of the Mystic Energy he''d expended earlier before releasing all of that Mystic


    Energy into his surroundings once more.


    Whoosh!


    Now that he''d proven that Mystic Energy was capable of taking on the form of concepts that did not have anything to do withbat, it was now time for him to figure out the answer to what seemed like the next step.


    Was it possible to use Mystic Energy to mimic the movements of the human body?


    "...Okay. That might be a stretchpared to thest one," said the young man to himself after a bit of silence, slightly chuckling as he went over the thought that gued his mind


    once more.


    Taking in a deep breath as he nced at the iridescent energy that surrounded him, he then began to infuse the intent that he had in mind into the Mystic Energy, his eyes slightly widened the moment he noticed the energy began to move.


    Watching the Mystic Energy wriggle before him in anticipation, Valyr kept both of his eyes


    open as the energy eventually took on the form...


    ...Of a stick man.


    || ||


    "...Huh."

 Chapter 1054: Beyond the Box

    Chapter 1054: Beyond the Box


    ?


    Taking a few steps back to get a better look at what form his Mystic Energy took on, Valyr could not help but rub his eyes a couple of times to figure out whether he was dreaming or


    not.


    Unsure whether rubbing his eyes would prove that the current situation before him was real, the young man went ahead and pinched himself on the upper thigh with as much as strength he could muster.


    "Mmph!" Suppressing a loud yowl from the amount of strength he put in to the pinch, Valyr soon took in a deep breath to calm himself down before looking back at the figure standing in front of him.


    "It really isn''t a dream, then," muttered the young man to himself. "The Mystic Energy really took on the form of a stick man."


    Of course, the Mystic Energy didn''t take on the form of an actual stick man.


    If anything, the humanoid figure the Mystic Energy took on resembled one, though its body and limbs took on a bit of heft to be more tangible to the senses.


    Feeling the immense strain on his Mystic Energy, Valyr looked at the stick man before him with a bitter smile. "Well, in terms ofplexity, I guess I shouldn''t be surprised that it would take this much to have it manifest."


    Noting that he only had a limited amount of time before the stick man in front of him would disappear due to ack of Mystic Energy, the young man went ahead and made the most of the remaining time he had.


    With that, he sent a fewmands to the stick man through his thoughts, using the method he used to control the translucent arms he created during forging as an example.


    Seeing the stick man remain in ce even after bombarding it with a series ofmands, Valyr soon let out a sigh in disappointment, only for another thought to surface in his mind. Whoosh!


    Deciding to sacrifice the remaining Mystic Energy he had in his body, the young man went ahead and infused it into the stick man while attempting to send amand to it once more. The result?


    "...!" With all of his senses entirely focused on the stickman, Valyr''s eyes immediately glistened with glee the moment he noticed the stick man''s hands twitch at its veryst second of manifestation.


    With his gaze still affixed towards the spot where the stick man previously stood, the young man went over what he witnessed just now in his mind, letting out a few drawn-out exhales as he more or less summed up his findings.


    "So, it''s possible to have Mystic Energy take on a human form," said Valyr to himself as he thought out loud, only to realize that he was probably disturbing both Mystia and Marcus'' focus.


    Slightly distancing himself from the two, it was only then did the young man return to his thoughts, smiling as he realized that Mystic Energy would be able to offer him far more than he initially thought.


    "However, if I want it to take on a human form and move ording to my thoughts, I would need a lot more Mystic Energy than I currently have."


    "Possibly even push the purification of my Mystic Energy to 1st Metamorphosis if it''s really that taxing," said the young man to himself, thinking of the situation as a win-win.


    After all, if he were to increase his Mystic Energy capacity to an absurd degree, or purify his Mystic Energy to a higher stage, he could use either it to create a humanoid that would listen to him or a forging hammer that was better than the Hammer of Beginnings.


    "Though, with how those two concepts, though separate from one another, could be fully realized through Mystic Energy, it does make me wonder."


    Rubbing his chin as he went over the experiments he''d done thus far, a question soon popped up in his mind, the question seemingly encapsting the entire concept of Mystic Energy itself.


    "Aside from using it for offensive purposes... can I really have Mystic Energy take on any form I want?"


    With the question lingering in his mind, Valyr took in a deep breath before giving himself all the time he needed to replenish his Mystic Energy.


    Then, with a solemn look on his face, he then proceeded to undergo a session of improving his Mystic Energy capacity, only to then follow it up by improving his Mystic Energy to the 1st Cleansing.


    Bang!


    Seeing an iridescent star form within the depths of his body after some time, Valyr soon smiled with satisfaction as he returned his senses back to reality, only to see that both Mystia and Marcus were still in the midst of purifying their Mystic Energy.


    "Huh. I only took half a day to do those two things." Calcting the amount of time that passed by taking a look at the position of the sun, Valyr soon took in a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he was going to do next.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling like he''d adjusted his mental state to the ideal condition for experimentation, it was only then did Valyr release his improved Mystic Energy into the surroundings, its color now less iridescent than before.


    Nevertheless, the otherworldly feeling it gave off was more pronounced than ever, giving Valyr more leeway to channel his thoughts into the energy itself.


    With that, he began his experiment to figure out whether or not he could have Mystic Energy take on any form he wanted, as long as he did not use the energy for offensive purposes.


    Swoosh!


    With the possibility of using it for forging having already been answered, it was no surprise that Valyr first expanded his thinking towards the other fields of production. Tailoring, alchemy, and schrly works, all of those were surprisingly epted by the Mystic Energy, transforming into items that more or less epassed the concept of the field itself. Unexpectedly, their effects were more or less simr to the forging hammer he created as well, giving him a great level of insight, knowledge, and experience towards those three fields when he wielded them.


    Of course, with those being confirmed, he then proceeded to conjure the other items that conveyed the essence of those fields of production, which unsurprisingly went smoothly.


    Briefly taking a detour into his experiment by checking if he could form Mystic Energy into the other tools that made up the forging process, Valyr eventually moved his thoughts to


    what he felt was the next step.


    Whoosh!


    With the fields of production being epted by the Mystic Energy, it only made sense that his train of thought continued onto the other practices that allowed civilization to be what


    it was today.


    Whether it was farming or bartering, the Mystic Energy unexpectedly epted those concepts without hesitation, allowing Valyr to inch closer towards the answer he sought.


    ''Frankly, I''m surprised that it even epted politics as a purpose,'' briefly thought the young man to himself, recalling how the Mystic Energy transformed into a floating mouth that contained the insight of the greatest kings and rulers.


    ''Then again, it also epted mockery.''


    Seeing as the Mystic Energy could ept almost every practice he could think of, Valyr


    eventually returned his thoughts towards the stick man he conjured some time ago, hoping he could redeem himself now that he''d improved his Mystic Energy.


    Of course, it went without saying that the stick man had be more pronounced than before thanks to his Mystic Energy now being at the stage of 1st Cleansing, allowing it to remain conjured longer while also bing more tangible.


    With its existence in reality prolonged due to this improvement, Valyr went ahead and attempted to ry a few orders to it once more, somewhat satisfied that it could do a few basic movements without much strain on his Mystic Energy.


    Naturally, it was a different story when he asked it toplete moreplex tasks, taking up


    far more Mystic Energy per second than even five Epic-grade forging hammers created


    through Mystic Energy could consume.


    Nevertheless, he was still d that the slight twitch he noticed back then wasn''t a fluke,


    reminding himself that it would only be a matter of time before he''d be able to use his Mystic Energy in human form to the fullest.


    ''Who knows, perhaps there mighte a day where I''m not only limited to just one humanoid?'' With that thought in mind, it did not take long for Valyr''s mind to wander once more, eventually deciding to use Mystic Energy in a simr way to the translucent arms he


    formed while forging.


    Of course, with how open Mystic Energy was to all of the concepts he''d thrown at it thus far, it went without saying that it took on the form of translucent arms as well, taking only a fraction of the mental power to make them move ording to his will.


    However, the ease of control over the bright white arms came at the cost of the precision and


    finesse of the action itself, which Valyr felt was an easy fix, especially after figuring out how to fix it by infusing it with more Mystic Energy not long after.


    In the end, he figured out that he could conjure around four pairs of translucent arms with


    Mystic Energy, which would bring the total number of pairs of arms he could use while


    forging to nine.


    "10 if I include my own," muttered Valyr to himself, only to grin to himself not long after as he realized he''d be even more of a one-man production line. Slightly chuckling as the thought lingered in his mind, the young man went over all of the experiments he''d done onest time, eventually confirming that his earlier hypothesis was


    correct.


    Though, rather than be excited at this confirmation, he instead became curious once more as he allowed his mind to go beyond the confines he''d initially set.


    "Since I could use Mystic Energy to bring my thoughts to reality..." "Does that mean it''s possible to bring modern technology into reality with it?"

 Chapter 1055: Returning Generosity

    Chapter 1055: Returning Generosity


    ?


    "Hmm. Guess I got my answer, then."


    With his gaze focused on the white Mystic Energy surrounding him, Valyr bitterly smiled as he watched the energy failed to take on the form he had in his mind. "That would be a hard no..."


    "For now, anyway."


    At the moment the thought of using Mystic Energy to bring modern technology to reality came to Valyr''s mind, it went without saying that the young man went ahead and used the energy to manifest what he considered an important invention of the modern era.


    Theputer.


    Unfortunately, even though his hopes were elevated due to the fact that his Mystic Energy had no problems epting the thought in the first ce, the amount of energy he currently had was far from enough.


    Even with his Mystic Energy at the stage of 1st Cleansing, the cost needed to make theputer manifest through the energy was far higher than he initially thought, with the rough structure of theputer not even showing up for a brief moment.


    With that, it went without saying that Valyr became depressed for quite some time after that, only to thene to the conclusion that he needed to set his standards lower.


    And thus, he went to the origin ofputers themselves, the invention that would eventually make their existence possible in the modern era.


    The integrated circuit.


    ''...'' Yet, even that spent a lot more Mystic Energy than he initially thought, causing him to briefly wonder whether the heavens were stopping from bringing modern technology to reality in the first ce.


    Fortunately, unlike his attempt at bringing theputer to reality, he was able to glimpse at the rough structure of an integrated circuit for a fraction of a second, showing him that his pessimistic thoughts were useless.


    Taking a bit of time topose his thoughts, Valyr proceeded to go down thedder of modern technology, tracing back the timeline in a bid to see what he could possibly manifest with the current amount of Mystic Energy he was in.


    With the attempts at manifesting theputer and the integrated circuit being failures, the young man initially set his sights on technology that existed around the era of the Second Industrial Revolution.


    Though it could notpare to the impact theputer or the integrated circuit had when it came to the modern era, the Second Industrial Revolution did contain inventions that Valyr thought would be great to have back in Veldanyr.


    Of course, among those inventions were the steam engine and the electric dynamo, which was what he and Ryvrthe needed to charge the machine thetter had if they wanted all of the Forsaken Race to learn the currentnguage of Veldanyr.


    Sadly, even though those inventions did briefly appear in their entire form before the young man for a few seconds, only their appearance had taken shape in reality, prompting Valyr to continue aiming downward.


    With that, he went through the eras in reverse, starting from the First Industrial Revolution before making his way to the Age of Scientific Revolution.


    By the time the inventions he had in mind existed during the Renaissance Age, Valyr finally found sess in having the inventions manifest before him.


    Yet, just like all of his attempts at bringing advanced technology to Veldanyr so far, only the appearance and the form of the invention had arrived in reality, with its function having been lost to who knows where.


    In the end, he figured out that even though his Mystic Energy was at the stage of 1st Cleansing, with the current amount of energy he had, he would only be able to manifest inventions from the High Middle Ages at best.


    ''... Which would cause many people to be ecstatic for sure,'' thought Valyr as the idea came to mind.


    ''But what''s the point of doing that if I could bring far more advanced technologies into existence with my own two hands?''


    "I really need to amass more Mystic Energy." Because of that, it did not take long for the young man to realize what he truly needed to do, returning to where Mystia and Marcus were before sitting down beside them.


    Then, keeping in mind the amount of time that had passed in the Mystic ne thus far, he went ahead and closed his eyes, only to begin absorbing Mystic Energy from the surroundings not long after.


    ...


    "Haah..." Ending what would be his fifth session of absorbing Mystic Energy in a row, Valyr let out a drawn-out exhale as he gradually returned his senses back to reality. Standing up after that, he then proceeded to do a few basic stretches before taking a look at the improvements he''d gained through his status screen.


    Ding!


    "Hmm." With his eyes swiftly making their way to the line that covered Mystic Energy, Valyr''s eyes soon glistened with excitement as he quickly went through the calctions he''d gotten used, smiling as a thought came to mind.


    ''I''ve finally gotten to 200 points of Mystic Energy per session,'' thought the young man to himself, calcting that he''d gotten about 202 points of Mystic Energy from the session he just finished.


    Considering that a sessionsted for roughly four hours, that meant that Valyr was now gaining slightly over 50 points of Mystic Energy an hour, a 50% improvement over the rate he achieved the first time he tried absorbing Mystic Energy from the surroundings.


    Whoosh!


    "...Finally." While he was in the midst of admiring the achievement he nned on surpassing very soon, a pair of familiar voices echoed throughout the surroundings, prompting Valyr to close his screen as he looked at the two with a smile.


    "Congrattions," said the young man, only to receive a pair of grinning faces back in


    response.


    "To be honest, we would have probably been stuck at this stage for centuries if not for you." Taking the initiative to speak, Marcus looked at Valyr with an expression of gratitude before


    extending one of his hands out.


    Swoosh!


    Then, with great confidence, he conjured a wisp of Mystic Energy that was more white than iridescent, signaling to Valyr that all of the impurities contained with the man''s Mystic


    Energy were now a thing of the past.


    Unsurprisingly, Mystia beside him soon did the same thing, extending one of her hands out before conjuring a wisp of pure Mystic Energy as well.


    Seeing the two showcase the Pure stage of Mystic Energy with great glee before him, the smile on Valyr''s face began to widen as he decided to extend his hand out as well.


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a wisp of Mystic Energy at the stage of 1st Cleansing before their very eyes, it was no surprise that the two had their attentions affixed on the white wisp that appeared atop


    Valyr''s palm.


    Though they knew it was still Mystic Energy from the sensation it gave off, as well as the faint iridescence that surrounded it, the Mystic Energy Valyr currently wielded looked different


    from the Mystic Energy the two of them had.


    Which only meant one thing in their minds.


    "That''s... the next stage of purification, right?" asked Marcus.


    "Yeah. The 1st Cleansing stage." Valyr nodded in response. "There''s more stages after this


    one, actually."


    "Is that so?" Naturally, Marcus was interested to find out what those stages were after the young man mentioned it.


    Though, before Valyr could begin to exin the next five stages that came after the stage of 1st Cleansing, Mystia interrupted the conversation between the two with a light cough. "Frankly, I''m as curious as Marcus in regards to the stages of purification," she said to Valyr, taking a calming breath before continuing. "However, I can''t help but feel like we have to give something back to you in some way."


    Though Valyr was slightly confused what Mystia meant by that, that confusion was quickly cleared up as the woman continued her words.


    "From greatly contributing to the Mystic ne, to acting as its Guardian, to even resolving a problem I thought would take the greater part of a few centuries..."


    "Even though you''ve only been here for a short time, you''ve already given the Mystic ne


    far more than we''ve asked for."


    "And thus, I... we want to show our gratitude for your contributions somehow." As these


    words left Mystia''s mouth, she nced at Marcus, who looked back at her in confusion in


    response.


    Though, with a couple of strands of energy being exchanged back and forth between the two, that confusion gradually disappeared, eliciting a solemn expression to appear on Marcus'' face as he nodded back at Mystia.


    Nodding back at the man, it was only then did Mystia look back at Valyr before opening her mouth once more. "Since we only have a couple days left in this ce before you have to leave the Mystic ne for the meantime, let''s save the other stages of purification for the


    meantime."


    "Instead, I n on teaching you the art of alchemy as much as possible over these next couple of days," said Mystia, causing Valyr''s body to start trembling with excitement. "Aside from that, I also n to teach you a style of alchemy that involves the usage of Mystic Energy," she continued. "It''s what I rely upon the most as the Imperial Alchemist, though I''ve yet to teach it to either Vera or Aloe due to circumstances."


    Hearing that he was going to be the first at obtaining something others had yet to obtain, the excitement Valyr felt intensified, prompting him to suppress the emotion as it seemed that Mystia had more to say.


    "With that, I suppose it''s only right to start the learning session with this."


    As those words left Mystia''s mouth, she looked at Marcus and gave a nod, to which thetter responded by nodding back before opening up a screen before him.


    Interacting with the screen in front of him for a brief moment, the man soon had a smile on


    his face as he looked at Valyr the moment he was done. "This is a show of our sincerity, as well


    as our gratitude."


    Ding!


    Hearing the system go off in his mind, Valyr nodded in response to Marcus'' words before


    telling the system to bring up his notifications.


    Though, once he did, he immediately looked back at the two with a shocked expression, to which they responded by looking back at him with kind smiles.


    [Marcus of the Mystic ne (Lv. ???) has decided to bestow you a subss. Would you like to


    ept?]

 Chapter 1056: A Noble Sacrifice

    Chapter 1056: A Noble Sacrifice


    ?


    "...Are you sure?" Though he understood where the two were getting from, Valyr could not help but feel like things were proceeding too quickly, considering that he''d only been a part of the Mystic ne for a bit over four days. "I don''t think I deserve to get this."


    "You do," replied Mystia, with Marcus nodding in agreement to her words. "Sure, you may have only been with us for a short amount of time so far, but as I''ve already mentioned earlier, you''ve already contributed a lot to the Mystic ne."


    "In fact, you''ve contributed more than me in some areas of the Mystic ne," she continued, even going so far to sacrifice a hint of her pride to show Valyr how serious she was.


    Seeing that the young man was now beginning to hesitate whether to ept the subss or not thanks to her words, Mystia decided to strike while the iron was hot. "Just ept it. It''ll help you immensely once I begin teaching you alchemy."


    Wanting nothing more than to furiously scratch the back of his head at this moment, Valyr suppressed his urges as he briefly took a calming breath.


    Then, going over the words that left Mystia''s mouth, he looked at the two and asked, "What kind of subss are you giving me exactly?"


    ncing at Marcus, Mystia nodded at him before answering the young man''s question. "It epasses pretty much everything I''ve said so far regarding alchemy."


    "It''s a subss that not only allows you to do more with less in the field of alchemy, but it also allows you to delve deeper in the style of alchemy I specialize in. The one that involves Mystic Energy."


    "The subss is called the Mystic Rune Alchemist, if that helps," said Marcus after Mystia was done, prompting thetter to briefly give the man a thumbs-up in response.


    Though he felt a hint of amusement at the interaction between the two, Valyr closed his eyes after the two were done exining, going over various things in his mind as the gears within began to turn.


    A minuteter, Valyr opened his eyes once more, faintly nodding as he looked at the two with a determined expression. "I''ve decided."


    At those words, the two looked back at him with anticipation, eager to hear the young man to make what they considered was the natural choice.


    Unfortunately for them...


    "I''ll have to pass."


    As these words left Valyr''s mouth, it took a while for the two to recover from their shock, with Mystia immediately persuading the young man to ept it the moment she snapped back to reality.


    "It''s a Growth-type subss, you know?" said Mystia, not bothering to hide important details anymore. "Sure, the subss starts off at Common grade, but it can go up to Mythic grade if you work on it for long enough!"


    Valyr paused in response to those words, the hesitation he''d buried earlier gradually resurfacing because of it.


    However, he remained steadfast, shaking his head as he inwardly let out a sigh.


    If he still didn''t have a subss after getting this far in his journey, then it went without saying that Valyr would''ve epted the offer in a heartbeat.


    Unfortunately for the two, not only did the young man get a subss early on in his path to power, but he''d also gone through many tribtions and trials to transform to what it currently was.


    Because of what he''d gone through, he now had a subss that contained far greater potential than the subss he initially hoped of getting, with the possibility of it reaching greater heights even bing visible if he were to polish what he currently had.


    "It''s not that I don''t like the subss," said Valyr to the two after a bit of silence. "To be honest, I really want to get it."


    Seeing as Mystia''s expression was asking him why he was stopping himself from epting it if that were the case, the young man let out a sigh.


    "However, the subss that I have today is a big reason why I could show this much strength at my current rank," Valyr told the two of them, his expression slightly bitter. "It''s the proof of my efforts."


    "...I see." Though Mystia still wanted the young man to ept the Mystic Rune Alchemist subss... at this point, she did not entertain such thoughts any longer.


    After all, she understood what the young man had gone through, considering that she''d gone through a simr journey in the past herself.


    With that, she decided that it was better to respect the young man''s decision and not be stubborn, even if the decision to give the subss in the first ce was to help improve Valyr''s strength even further.


    ''Then again, even if he doesn''t have the subss, the difference in output would only be marginal at best,'' thought Mystia to herself in a bid to calm her emotions down.


    However, Marcus seemed to have other ns in mind.


    "I think... I might have a way to solve this issue," said the man all of a sudden, prompting both Valyr and Mystia to look at him with curiosity.


    Seeing as he''d caught both of their attention in an instant, Marcus took some time to calm himself down before looking at Valyr. "Before I talk about it, let me just ask you something first, Valyr."


    "What is it?" Valyr raised his eyebrow.


    "Will you promise to help me return the Mystic ne to its former glory?" Hearing these words leave Marcus'' mouth, Valyr was slightly taken aback.


    Though, seeing the serious expression on the man''s face, the young man thought about the question for a bit before eventually nodding. "Well, I am the Mystic ne''s Guardian. It wouldn''t make sense for the one responsible for its defense to not help out."


    "Plus, I don''t really have a reason not to do it, especially after how I''ve already received far more than I''ve asked for," continued the young man, to which Marcus smiled with relief.


    "That assures me," Marcus told Valyr, only for his expression to be serious once more. "Frankly, the solution I have to your problem is a bit risky," said the man, causing both Mystia and Valyr to look back at him with concern.


    With that, he rified, "Specifically, it''s a bit risky for me, since I''d be temporarily sacrificing a bit of the strength I''ve regained for it."


    "Don''t worry too much," Marcus reassured the two soon after, understanding what was going on in their minds. "It''ll eventually return with enough time. It''s part of the reason why I decided to bring it up in the first ce."


    Deciding not to think about the consequences Marcus would have to bear in exchange for the meantime, Valyr took in a deep breath before asking the question that was both in his and


    Mystia''s minds.


    "So, what solution is it?"


    "Pretty simple, really," replied Marcus, the serious expression on his face gradually being reced with a confident smile. "Since you don''t want to rece the subss you currently


    have with the one we''re giving you..."


    "Why not just give you a space to put the subss in instead?"


    "Wait..." Hearing those wordse out of Marcus'' mouth, Valyr took a while to process what he''d obtained before responding back. "That''s possible?"


    "It is." Marcus nodded back in response, slightly amused with the shock that was prevalent on the young man''s face. "As far as I know, bestowing someone with a second subss slot is usually an ability only avable for the stronger middle concept nes."


    "But I have confidence that I''ll be able to emte this ability to a certain extent," continued the man, only for his smile to be crooked soon after. "Somewhat... I think. I hope so." "..." Seeing Marcus'' confidence fluctuate through so many levels so quickly, the shock on Valyr''s face gradually disappeared, slowly being reced with the look of doubt as he stared at the man in front of him. "Are you really sure you want to do it?"


    "On second thought... wouldn''t it be a better question to ask if you could do it in the first


    ce?"


    "...I wouldn''t have brought up the topic if I didn''t at least guarantee that I could make it possible in the first ce." At this point, Marcus began to slightly frown, which was only met with Valyr''sughter the moment those words left his mouth.


    In fact, even Mystia could not help but begin to find their conversation amusing, a faint


    snicker erupting at the edges of her lips as she thought about the back and forth that happened between them so far.


    "..." In the end, the man let out a low sigh before ring out his aura at his entirety, reminding both Mystia and Valyr that they were interacting with none other than the


    personification of the Mystic ne.


    Whoosh!


    Though, just as the man''s aura put a bit of pressure on the two, this pressure intensified by at


    least ten times all of a sudden, forcing both Mystia and Valyr to endure the pressure Marcus was giving off as the two reminded themselves what the man nned on doing. Fortunately, the sensation of being overwhelmed by the man did notst for long, with Marcus moving quickly during the limited time he was in an empowered state.


    Swoosh!


    Conjuring a bead of iridescent energy, Marcus did not hesitate to send it towards Valyr, whose body immediately epted it before he could even register the bead''s existence in the first


    ce.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained an additional subss slot.]

 Chapter 1057: Expanding Possibilities

    Chapter 1057: Expanding Possibilities


    ?


    "Wow..." Hearing the system send a notification to him all of a sudden, Valyr took a while to understand what was going on, opening up his notification screen the moment everything clicked.


    Seeing that the system confirm with him that he had obtained a second subss slot, a look of surprise briefly appeared on the young man''s face as he shifted his gaze towards Marcus. Seemingly proud of what he''d done, Marcus looked back at the young man with a wide smile, showing off the authority and prestige that the Overseer of a concept ne held.


    However, that image swiftly died down as the man returned to his usual level of strength not long after, only for it to regress to an even lower level of strength sometime after.


    "Don''t worry." Noticing the looks of concern that were on Mystia and Valyr''s faces at that moment, Marcus went ahead and reassured them that he''d be fine, reminding them that his current condition was temporary. "This is a decision I made on my own."


    Feeling both gratitude and guilt as he listened to the man''s words, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he briefly acquainted himself with what he received from both Mystia and Marcus'' gratitude.


    Though the entire process of bestowing him a second subss slot happened in less than an instant to the young man, with enough pondering, Valyr was eventually able to recall the faint sensation he felt from Marcus before the system responded.


    In a way, the sensation felt a bit simr to the Mystic Energy he wielded whenever he used to gain insight into a field he did not know much of.


    At first, Valyr wondered as to why that was the case, seeing as the two had no connection whatsoever.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for an idea to pop up in his mind, feeling as if the idea he had was the best way to describe the exact sensation he felt.


    ''Omniscience...'' inwardly murmured Valyr to himself at the thought, realizing that there was a connection between the two in the first ce.


    After all, with his Mystic Energy taking on that purpose, he did feel like he''d gained insight and knowledge towards that field at a level that even those who''ve spent their entire lives on it wouldn''t reach.


    On the other hand, the thing that Marcus threw at him at the veryst moment gave off a simr kind of energy, giving him the feeling that merely looking at it would give him insight and knowledge to the secrets of the universe.


    Shaking his head to remove all of the errant thoughts in his mind, Valyr went ahead and focused his attention to the notification that he''d received earlier, prompting him to look at Marcus and Mystia after that.


    "All I need to do now is ept the prompt you gave me earlier, right?" asked the young man, his gaze questioning as he looked at Marcus.


    "Yeah. It should be that simple." Marcus nodded, only to bitterly smile at Valyr soon after. "Though, I do have to apologize in advance."


    Seeing the young man raise his eyebrow in response to his words, the man exined himself. "Although I was sessful in giving you a second subss slot, there are a few caveats to it that I was made aware of since I''ve only temporarily boosted my strength."


    "If the Mystic ne were a true middle concept ne, or was closer to bing a middle concept ne, then perhaps I wouldn''t have mentioned this to you." At these words, Marcus looked at Valyr with an apologetic expression.


    "What caveats are there?" In response, Valyr reassured him that he''d done all that he could, and that he was thankful for being able to get his hands on an additional subss slot in the first ce.


    Not wanting the man to dwell on the thought any further, the young man quickly shifted the topic, somewhat curious whether the caveats Marcus was talking about were severe or not.


    "As far as I know, the second subss slot has a hard cap on how high of a rarity its subss could reach," replied Marcus after some time. "In any case, it would''ve been at a level that neither you, nor I would even possibly reach."


    "However..." The man could not help but let out a sigh. "Because of my hasty actions, that hard limit was lowered down to Rare grade."


    As these words left Marcus'' mouth, the man imagined Valyr bing mad at him in response, though he was unsure where he''d gotten that thought in the first ce.


    Though, in reality, the response he got from the young man was the exact opposite.


    "That''s all?" Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief at the man''s words, having already prepared himself for multiple worst-case scenarios that made sense for an additional subss slot to have.


    Then again, even if those worst-case scenarios were to be reality, the young man would still feel like the additional subss slot was more than worth it with the caveats.


    After all, he''d still gain more strength from it either way. Plus, the need for him toplete the special quest the system gave him was lessened because of it.


    ''Nevertheless, I still n onpleting it at some point,'' thought Valyr to himself, wondering if there were some loopholes he could use to keep it while also having the Mystic Rune Alchemist subss.


    Of course, that was because, just like his current subss, the subss that the special quest would give him was also a Growth-type subss.


    ''Speaking of which, isn''t Mystic Rune Alchemist also Growth-type?'' asked the young man to himself, recalling Mystia''s words of persuasion from earlier.


    With that, he pushed his thoughts to the side for the meantime, assuring Marcus that the caveats the man mentioned were something he could ept.


    Only after he was certain the man had gotten over the issue did Valyr finally ept the prompt Marcus gave him earlier, immediately feeling a wave of strength wash over his body not long


    after.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the subss ''Mystic Rune Alchemist (Common - Growth)''.]


    [Due to your first subss slot already being upied, the subss you''ve received has been ced on the second subss slot.]


    [Note that the stat gain of second subsses are only 80% effectivepared to first subsses.]


    Hearing the notifications go off in his mind, it went without saying that Valyr went ahead and opened them up, wanting to acquaint himself with the information that came along with


    getting a second subss.


    With that in mind, the part where he was told he''d gain less stats from a second subss caused his eyes to slightly widen in surprise, though he did feel not long after that something like that was par for the course.


    ''...Considering how it''s entirely possible for someone to start off with a Divine-grade Rank 1 ss, this definitely seems like a vain effort from the system to enforce bnce,'' thought the young man to himself, though he still shuddered at the thought of someone having two high- rarity subsses that weren''t affected by the loss in efficacy.


    If they were at the peak of Rank 5, then Valyr was more than certain that they''d be able to contend against Myth-level beings at their normal state.


    And if they were to empower themselves with various skills?


    ''Perhaps even those beyond the limit of what Veldanyr could handle would tremble under that


    person.''


    Returning his attention to the notifications that were constantly popping up in his mind,


    Valyr glossed over the part where it contained the stats and skills he''d gained from the subss, feeling like it was something better saved forter.


    Instead, he focused his attention on a couple of notifications he didn''t expect to receive, causing him to raise his eyebrows in slight confusion as he read through them in detail.


    Ding!


    [You are the 336th person in the of Veldanyr to obtain a second subss!]


    [Due to this feat, you''ve obtained the title ''Expanded Possibilities - 4th Phase (Veldanyr)''.]


    ''Wait... there''s over 300 people in Veldanyr that have a second subss?'' Taking all the time he needed to process the information he just read, Valyr soon began to tremble in fear as the thought finally clicked with him.


    After all, from what he could recall in his past life, only a couple million out of the entire yer base had ess to a second subss, considering that the minimum level of strength needed to find a way to obtain one was at the Myth level.


    With that in mind, the young man felt that it only made sense that the number of beings throughout the universe who''d obtained a second subss was a far higher number than that.


    Of course, that wasn''t only from the perspective of the total poption of the universe, but also from the perspective of these same beings having wider ess to knowledgepared to the yers who needed to start fresh.


    Yet, among all of the beings in the universe that got their hands on their second subss, over 300 of them were in Veldanyr.


    At first nce, this information did not seem all that shocking, considering that the universe contained millions, if not billions ofs that housed life.


    However, Greater Beyond ssified Veldanyr as a starter, a that would allow yers to gradually limate to the vast expanse of the universe.


    With that, although there was beings within the that had transcended mortality, the general level of strength throughout the was still below the Myth-level.


    And that part was what stood out in the young man''s mind.


    After all, it meant that... out of all the beings in the universe that obtained a second subss,


    300 of them possibly obtained their second subss before even bing a Myth, just like


    Valyr did.


    Surprisingly... that thought excited him.

 Chapter 1058: A Glimpse at Power

    Chapter 1058: A Glimpse at Power


    ?


    Normally, if one weaker were to hear that over 300 people hadpleted the feat they just did before them, they would fear for their lives. After all, those that came before them had more time to reach higher levels of strength with the feat.


    However, rather than fear the people that had obtained a second subss before him, the young man could not help but be excited by the thought.


    Of course, there were many reasons as to why he thought this way. For one, there was no reason for him to antagonize any of them.


    Another one was the fact that he did not know any of their identities at all, nor did any of them know his. If anything, the only clue he could use to start searching for those with second subsses like him would be the notification the system gave him.


    Other than that, he''d be forced to go on a wild goose chase just to look for them.


    Though, if one were to ask him why he was excited at the fact that there were over 300 people that obtained second subsses before him...


    Then it was the fact that he could rope them into the organization he was going to create in the future.


    ''Imagine if every member in the organization were to have a second subss before the final battle,'' Valyr inwardly chuckled at the thought. ''Wouldn''t we be able to steamroll the opposition that way?''


    Continuing to look at the situation from an optimistic perspective, the young man eventually set his thoughts regarding the matter aside, shifting his attention towards the title he gained all of a sudden.


    Ding!


    Commanding the system to bring up the new title''s description, Valyr expected the title to be more or less simr to all of the other titles he''d gained so far, which was the fact that the title would boost his stats.


    Though the title he gained did indeed boost his stats to a certain degree, the way it went about doing so was different from what the young man was expecting.


    [Expanding Possibilities - 4th Phase (Veldanyr)] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    This title is given to those who have obtained a second subss, a feat considered by many to be difficult due to the greatly limited opportunities of obtaining one, especially at the lower ranks.


    By obtaining this title at the 4th Phase, that means you are part of the first thousand people within your to obtain a second subss.


    Specifically, you are the 336th person within your to obtain a second subss.


    Effects:


    > Increases the stat gain efficacy of your second subss to 85%


    "... Huh." Taking a bit of time to process what he''d just read, Valyr eventually nodded in understanding, briefly returning his senses back to reality to see what the two were doing. Seeing that both Marcus and Mystia were just waiting for him to finish going through the changes brought by the second subss, the young man soon returned his attention back to the notification screen, the contents of the title still vivid in his mind.


    ''Since the 4th Phase version of the title increases the stat gain of the second subss to 85% of what the first subss would normally have, then it would be safe to assume that the three phases that came before it increases that effectiveness by the same increment.''


    As Valyr briefly pondered over this thought, he swiftly came to the conclusion that if his spection was true, then there was at least one being in Veldanyr that had no stat gain penalty on their second subss whatsoever.


    ''Then again, that''s going by what feels natural. Who''s to say the 1st Phase version of the title can''t be obtained by more than one person?'' thought Valyr to himself, wryly smiling as he decided to take a look at the stats he''d gained from the subss.


    ''I''ll acquaint myself with the skills from the subss through Mystia anyway.'' With that in mind, he scrolled through the notifications on the screen in his mind, eventually finding the ones he was looking for.


    Ding!


    [Due to the user obtaining their second subss at the peak of Rank 4, the effects of the subss shall be applied retroactively.]


    [You have gained 100 VIT, 100 INT, 115 WIS, and 150 PER.]


    ''Considering that my second subss is currently at Common grade, that''s a lot of stats,'' said Valyr to himself, nodding in satisfaction as he felt like he''d gone through everything rted to the second subss.


    "System, show me my status screen." Returning his senses back to reality, the young man faintly smiled went ahead and brought up his stats, recalling that thest time he looked at it was when he''d just ascended to Rank 4.


    Now that he was at the peak of Rank 4 and had gone through a lot of things since then, Valyr was somewhat curious as to how strong he was at the moment.


    Though, once heid his eyes upon the screen that appeared before him, the young man instantly felt his heart jump up to his throat.


    Of course, it wasn''t because he was disappointed with how little his strength had improved


    since then.


    But in fact, it was the exact opposite.


    Ding!


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: The First cksmith (Rank 4 | Ancient - Growth)


    Subss 1: Four Paths Azure Warlord (Epic - Growth)


    Subss 2: Mystic Rune Alchemist (Common - Growth)


    Species: Prime Azure Origin | True Defier of Fate (4th Unsealing)


    Level: 75


    Power Level: 260,157 (S++)


    Unused XP: 2,175,454,386


    HP: 199,589/199,589


    Prime Azure Energy: 480,171/480,171


    Mystic Energy: 4,659/4,659


    Attack: 58,245 - 59,225


    Defense: 30,120 - 33,758


    Stats: 2486(+69) VIT, 1933(+69) STR, 2245(+69) AGI, 4581(+70) DEX, 4841(+70) INT,


    1436(+69) WIS, 1991(+69) PER, 490(+69) LUK


    Hidden Stats: 34 Mana Purity, 32 Vigor, 32 Might, 30 Tranquility


    Concepts: [Intent of Shadow Energy (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Four Elements (6th Grade)],


    [Intent of True Mana (7th Grade)], [Intent of the Spear (7th Grade)], [Intent of Forging (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Forger''s mes (6th Grade)]


    Remarks: As a True Defier of Fate, you wield a level of strength iparable to your peers, a level of strength that would even bring a number of Legends to shame. In other words...


    you''re scary.


    "...Holy shit."

 Chapter 1059: The True Difficulty

    Chapter 1059: The True Difficulty


    ?


    Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, it was only after some time did Valyr take a look at his status screen once more, only to be hit with the same level of whish his screen brought him the first time he looked at it.


    Though he''d already prepared his mind beforehand to expect a great improvement in his stats, the young man was still left at a loss for words when hepared what he saw now to what he''d seen just as he''d ascended to Rank 4.


    ''A lot of my stats have practically doubled,'' thought the young man to himself after a bit of calction, recalling all of the things he''d done to get his stats to where it currently was.


    With that, Valyr was unsure whether to smile or to frown at the great improvement his strength had undergone. After all, his current level of strength was unfathomable even for prodigies at the same rank as him.


    Fortunately, he was able to sort out his thoughts after a bit of silence, prompting a smile to appear on his face as the unease he felt from having this much strength meant one thing to him.


    He would be tyrannically strong by the time the final battle erupted.


    Continuing to look at his monstrously high stats from a positive perspective, the young man soon thought about the enemies he''d fought against thus far, going through their status screens one by one as he rummaged through his memories.


    Because of that, it did not take long for something to click in Valyr''s mind, causing him to let out a chuckle as he thought to himself, ''Now that I think about it, my current stats now put me on par against the Myth-level Void Rabbits in the Void World even without buffing myself.''


    ''I wonder how I''d fare against actual Myth-level humans?'' wondered the young man to himself aftering to that realization, briefly rubbing his chin. ''I''d presume I''d still be a fair distance away from their strength, considering Legacies, Armaments, and whatnot.''


    ''On the other hand, I''m highly certain I could stand my ground even against the strongest Legends,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, closing his screen as he gave the two a nod of confirmation.


    ''Though I''ll only be sure of that fact once I get the opportunity to fight one.''


    "So, how did it go?" Seeing Valyr return his senses back to reality, it went without saying that both Mystia and Marcus were curious about the changes brought about by the second subss. "How do you feel?"


    "I feel more or less the same... but I guess a bit stronger than before?" replied the young man, his smile containing uncertainty as he gave the two more insight on what it was like to have a second subss.


    With Valyr going over the fact that there were restrictions to the second subss imposed by the system, as well as titles that came along with obtaining a second subss, both Mystia and Marcusmitted all of the information the young man was sharing them to memory.


    Unsurprisingly, by the time Valyr went over the part that getting a second subss early would alleviate some of the system-imposed restrictions that came along with getting one, Mystia immediately urged Marcus to give her one as well.


    In response to that, Marcus wryly smiled, reminding her that he was still in a state of weakness after temporarily sacrificing his strength to give Valyr the second subss slot in the first ce.


    Hearing that, it was no surprise that Mystia''s expression turned glum after that, eventually prompting Valyr to cheer her up by reminding her that there were only over 300 people before him that obtained a second subss in Veldanyr.


    Feeling a sense of hope from the young man''s words, it was as if the glum feeling Mystia just had was a figment of the imagination, with her expression more or less returning to how it was before.


    Seeing Mystia go back to normal, both Marcus and Valyr looked at each other before simultaneously letting out faint sighs of relief, causing both of them tough in response.


    "Say, Marcus." After some time, a question popped up in the young man''s mind, immediately attracting both Mystia and Marcus'' attention. "Can you only get a second subss slot from concept nes?"


    "As far as I know, no." Marcus shook his head after a bit of contemtion. "Though it''s probably the rtively easiest way to obtain a second subss slot, I''ve heard that there are some quests that offer an additional subss slot as a reward."


    Noticing Mystia''s gaze faintly glistening at those words, the man decided to continue his exnation by giving the former a taste of reality. "Of course, just like how the opportunity I''ve given you is hard toe by, it goes without saying that obtaining a quest like that is difficult as well."


    "In fact, I''d say it''s far more difficult to get a quest like that than to obtain a second subss slot from a concept ne."


    At those words, Valyr nodded in agreement, even though he felt like the level of difficulty of both methods were more or less simr.


    After all, if the difficulty of the first one lied in the fact that one had to obtain the quest in the first ce, then the difficulty of the other lied in the fact that one would need to go up the hierarchy of the concept ne, then get into the good graces of the Overseer.


    "I''ve also heard a few things here and there regarding other methods of obtaining an additional subss slot," continued Marcus. "Though, as far as I can recall, those methods are only avable to those beyond Divine-level."


    "...Alright. Let''s move on from that topic, shall we?" Feeling more and more forlorn the more Marcus talked about how bleak the chances of actually getting an additional subss slot was, Mystia decided to interrupt the conversation from continuing any further.


    With that, she shifted both Marcus and Valyr''s attention elsewhere, with the woman focusing her gaze on thetter as she smiled. "To be honest, I had a different approach in mind when I nned on teaching you alchemy..."


    "But since we''ve already spent a lot of time with the second subss thing... I guess we have no choice but to speed through the basics if we want to make the most out of this."


    "Now, Valyr. What do you think is the meaning of alchemy?"

 Chapter 1060: The Art of Alchemy

    Chapter 1060: The Art of Alchemy


    ?


    "...Huh? Me?" Hearing the question that came out of Mystia''s mouth, it took a while for Valyr to register the question in his mind, causing him to point at himself as he looked back at her in confusion. "Are you looking for a specific answer or something?"


    "Not really," said Mystia in response to Valyr''s words. "I just wanted to find out if you had any idea beforehand of what alchemy is."


    "There is no right or wrong answer to the question," continued the woman, hoping to ease Valyr. "There is only your interpretation of the matter."


    At those words, Valyr took in a few deep breaths topose himself before nodding at her words.


    Letting the gears in his mind turn freely as they wanted, he then began to rummage through his treasure trove of memories while keeping Mystia''s question in mind.


    Focusing his attention on all of the memories he had that involved alchemy one way or another, the young man was eventually able to formte an answer that prompted Mystia to nod in satisfaction.


    "From what I understand, alchemy is the art ofbining ingredients together to create a concoction that has a specific effect," said Valyr as he looked at her with a calm expression. "Though, as far as I''ve heard, the effects of that concoction also depend on the user and the method used... performance-wise, anyway."


    "Sounds pretty textbook," replied Mystia after a bit of silence, smiling at the young man. "But you''re not wrong. That is indeed a way to interpret alchemy as a whole."


    "However, what I''m asking you is the meaning of alchemy," said the woman not long after, emphasizing the final part of her statement. "What do you think is the reason why alchemy was made in the first ce?"


    "Hmm..." Reminding himself that Mystia wasn''t looking for a specific answer from him, the young man prompted the gears in his mind to turn once more as he pondered over the question for a while.


    Pulling up the memories he''d gone through earlier to obtain his previous answer, Valyr eventually realized that the answer she was looking for was quite simr to why the concept of cksmithing had been born in the first ce.


    With that, he decided to use it as his answer. "The reason why alchemy was made in the first ce... isn''t it for the betterment of civilization?"


    Seeing that she was looking at him with curiosity, Valyr decided to continue his train of thought. "After all, if you think about it, there are various things only alchemy can do that other fields can''t."


    "A good example of what only alchemy can do is bring about a permanent increase in strength while allowing one to remain at the same level," said the young man, prompting Mystia to nod in agreement.


    "Aside from that, some concoctions also have effects that are considered difficult or near impossible for one to achieve, such as returning a person from the brink of death back to life."


    "Sure, it may be possible for a person to do it if they had the help of the system, even more so if they were to transcend mortality," continued Valyr as he shrugged his shoulders. "But without it, only alchemy would be able to do something like that."


    Feeling like he''d said everything he wanted to say, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief before looking at Mystia. "...Is that enough of an answer?"


    "More than enough." Mystia nodded in agreement, the smile on her face wider than before. "Your interpretation on the meaning of alchemy is still a bit rough around the edges, but you did hit what I consider the gist of it."


    "After all, if you think about it, alchemy is essentially the concept of bringing miracles to reality."


    At those words, Valyr felt something click in his mind.


    Noticing the slight change in the young man''s expression because of it, Mystia slightly grinned as she continued.


    "Think about it. If you gathered ingredients at random andbined them together without much forethought, would you be able to create an alchemical concoction?"


    "At worst, you''d get a sludge of some sort," replied Mystia at her own question. "At best, you''d get something that would have a slight beneficial effect."


    "On the other hand, if you were to do something simr with the concept of alchemy in mind, you''re highly likely to bring out a certain effect out of it."


    "And that is what alchemy is about, bringing about miraculous effects from seemingly mundane items," she told Valyr, only to let out a slight chuckle soon after. "Or at least, that''s how I interpret it anyway."


    At those words, Valyr nodded, closing his eyes for a bit as multiple thoughts whirred in his mind in response to Mystia''s exnation.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the thoughts in his mind to die down as he eventually came to a conclusion, allowing him to return his focus towards Mystia as he gave her a nod of understanding.


    Nodding back at Valyr, Mystia briefly looked at Marcus, who immediately understood what he needed to do.


    Whoosh!


    Releasing a bit of Mystic Energy into the surroundings, Marcus swiftly manipted this energy into a couple ofrge tables that had massive cauldrons to its side.


    Nodding at what Marcus did in satisfaction, Mystia then went ahead and opened up a rift beside her, taking out arge amount of alchemical ingredients from it that she soonid out on the tables Marcus conjured.


    "Now that I have a rough understanding of your knowledge on alchemy, it''s now time for us to move onto the next step." Closing the rift she''d opened, Mystia soon made her way to one of the tables before urging Valyr to upy the other one.


    "Preferably, it would''ve been better if we were to shore up your theoretical foundations first since we don''t want to make a lot of mistakes," she said with a slight shrug.


    "However, since we want to make the most out of the remaining time we have in this ce, I suppose you could handle gaining both theoretical and practical experience at the same time,


    no?"


    At those words, Valyr took in a deep breath before nodding in response, pushing all of his senses to its very limits as he nned onmitting everything Mystia told him to memory.


    "I like that spirit." Nodding in satisfaction at the young man''s can-do attitude, Mystia let out a slight chuckle before taking on a calm expression.


    "Now, to begin your first hands-on alchemy session..."


    "Let''s have you concoct a basic health potion, shall we?"

 Chapter 1061: Attempts at Alchemy

    Chapter 1061: Attempts at Alchemy


    ?


    Nodding in response to her words, Valyr took a look at all of the alchemical ingredientsid out on his table before looking back at Mystia. "So, what do I do first?"


    Slightly chuckling at the young man''s eagerness to learn, Mystia responded, "First, let me exin the entire process of concocting a potion."


    "Simr to how forging an item goes through multiple steps, the entire alchemical process has multiple steps as well." Ignoring the slight embarrassment that appeared on Valyr''s face, Mystia sported a serious expression as she began her exnation.


    "To sum it up, the alchemical process isprised of three general steps: removing the impurities from the ingredients, extracting the essence from the ingredients, thenbining those extracted essences to obtain a specific effect."


    "Then again, there''s also various methods to contain thepleted product, so I guess you could say that there are four general steps to the process," added Mystia at the end.


    "However, we''ll be focusing on the first three steps since those steps are the most important."


    Taking in a deep breath to remove all of the errant thoughts that popped up in his mind, Valyr soon nodded at Mystia''s words, his eyes shifting between her hands and the ingredients on his table.


    "I''ll walk you through the entire process, so don''t worry too much." Saying these words, Mystia took in a deep breath of her own before releasing a few strands of mana that she immediately sent to her cauldron.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, the cauldron immediately responded to the energy she infused, causing it to visibly fill up with water in a matter of seconds.


    Then, not long after, the water inside the cauldron began to bubble up, making it seem like the water inside was boiling from the heat.


    "Though I said that removing the impurities from the ingredients is the first step, the true first step is to prepare the cauldron for that exact purpose," said Mystia as she kept an eye on her cauldron.


    Sending out a few strands of mana to her cauldron every once in a while, she eventually looked back at Valyr with a smile once she was satisfied with the current state of her cauldron.


    "The trick is to start the cauldron by giving it enough energy," Mystia told Valyr. "However, make sure to not infuse too much energy into the cauldron, or else you''ll cause the water to overflow."


    "Now, you try."


    Nodding as he went through what Mystia showed him in his mind, Valyr redirected his attention towards the cauldron in front of him before releasing a bit of his Prime Azure Energy out of his fingertips.


    Not wanting to introduce any unknown variables into his first attempt at concocting something, the young man went ahead and transformed the energy he was releasing into mana, infusing it into the cauldron before him after that.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing the cauldron swiftly fill up with water in response to his infusion, Valyr immediately reducing the amount of mana he was infusing, allowing the cauldron to fill up at a simr rate to what Mystia showed him.


    Then, once his cauldron had reached the same level of water as Mystia''s cauldron, the young man reduced the amount of mana he was infusing into it even more, eventually causing the water to bubble up at a moderate intensity.


    Blub... blub... blub...


    Continuing to send mana into the cauldron every once in a while, Valyr constantly shifted his gaze between his cauldron and Mystia''s cauldron, soon letting out a sigh of relief once he felt he''d got it right.


    Fortunately, Mystia let him know he got it right. "I''m surprised you sessfully started your cauldron. Pretty impressive for your first time."


    Letting out a chuckle, she continued, "Inparison, Vera took around eight tries before sessfully starting her cauldron, while Aloe took like 12."


    "Then again, you did create a new type of energy, so I guess I shouldn''t be too surprised you have good control over energy." Mystia smiled at him. "That level of control will definitely help you outter on."


    "Anyways, now that the cauldron is ready, grab the ingredients I''ll show you then roughly chop them up."


    At those words, Mystia picked out the ingredients they''d be using one by one before showing it to Valyr.


    Then, once Valyr grabbed the same ingredient from his table, it was only then did Mystia chop her ingredient up into rough pieces before chucking them into her cauldron.


    Naturally, the young man did the same thing soon after, making use of the dexterity he''d honed as a cksmith to cut the ingredients up before throwing it into his cauldron. Considering that Mystia wanted Valyr to learn both the practical and theoretical side of alchemy in this session, it went without saying that she exined what each ingredient was before chucking them into the cauldron, briefly going over their properties and uses with


    Valyr.


    In response to that, Valyrmitted each and every word Mystia told him to memory, even going so far as to ask a couple of questions for rification along the way.


    Because of that, it took them longer than Mystia expected to proceed with the first step.


    "Now that all of the ingredients for the basic health potion are in the cauldron, infuse more mana into the cauldron to start removing the impurities." As these words left her mouth, Mystia went ahead and sent a constant stream of energy into her cauldron, causing the bubbling to quickly intensify.


    Keeping an eye on the contents within the cauldron, she continued, "Though you could say that you don''t have to do much on the first step, you should still keep an eye on your ingredients."


    "You want your ingredients to look like they''ve been thoroughly cleaned," said Mystia to Valyr. "If your ingredients look like they''ve lost a bit of color, then you''ve failed the first


    step."


    Nodding in response to those words, Valyr returned his attention to his cauldron before going ahead and infusing more mana into it.


    Watching the bubbling happening within the cauldron intensify in response to his actions, the young man pushed his senses to its limits as he kept a watchful eye on the ingredients he put


    in.


    Blub... blub... blub...


    Keeping most of his attention on the cauldron before him, Valyr watched as the ingredients he put in the cauldron slowly release a murky substance into the water.


    Though, with the mana he''d been constantly putting into the cauldron, that murky substance disappeared before it could even spread, allowing the ingredients to slowly but surely reach the clean state Mystia was talking about.


    "They''re all clean now," said Valyr, reducing the amount of mana he was putting into the


    cauldron after he noticed that his ingredients now looked simr to what was in Mystia''s cauldron. "Now what?"


    "We move onto the next step." Mystia smiled in response.


    "Now, we extract their essence."

 Chapter 1062: Gaining Experience

    Chapter 1062: Gaining Experience


    ?


    "...Now that you''vebined the essences you''ve extracted ording to the ratio I''ve given you, it''s time for us to move on to the final step." Looking over at Valyr''s cauldron, Mystia nodded in satisfaction as she proceeded to infuse mana into her cauldron onest time.


    Whoosh!


    Watching Mystia from the other table, Valyr watched as she infused the mana into a part of the cauldron they hadn''t touched all this time, causing his eyes to slightly widen in surprise once he noticed the water in the cauldron reducing on its own.


    By the time only thebined essence was the only thing that remained inside the cauldron, Mystia had already grabbed a few empty vials, utilizing a bit of mana to coax the essence to enter the vials themselves.


    Making sure to scoop up every bit of essence that was in the cauldron, Mystia nodded in satisfaction once more after noticing that her yield of Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions were considerably higher than usual.


    Putting a stopper on all of them, it was only then did she exin what Valyr needed to do. "As you can see, all you need to do now is to remove the water from the cauldron, then scoop up thebined essence using the vials."


    "Preferably, it would be better if you use a bit of energy into scooping up the vials to reduce the mess and retain the efficacy of the essence, but it''s all up to you."


    "Got it." Nodding in response to her words, Valyr took in a deep breath as he went over the things Mystia had shown him just now.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to make sure he didn''t miss a single thing, the young man soon let out a drawn-out exhale as he released a bit of Prime Azure Energy out of his fingertips.


    Converting the energy into the mana, he then proceeded to infuse it at the area Mystia targeted, causing the water in his cauldron to gradually reduce on his own.


    Keeping an eye on the cauldron, he then grabbed some of the empty vials from the table, bringing them closer to him before going ahead and scooping some of the essence up. Swoosh!


    Not knowing how exactly Mystia scooped up the essence into the vials with her energy, the young man was forced to experiment for a bit on his first attempt, only to end up dissolving the essence he''d scooped up because of it.


    With that, the young man fell into a bit of a panic, wondering whether or not to continue experimenting with the use of energy to contain the essence into the vials.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him toe to a decision.


    "Huuu..." Letting out a drawn-out exhale to reduce the nervousness he felt, Valyr slowly but surely scoop up the essence with the vials he''d grabbed, which gave him the opportunity to understand what Mystia briefly mentioned.


    Seeing that the act of scooping up the essence with the vial dissolved some of the essence along the way, the young man swiftly adjusted the way he scooped it up, reducing the amount of essence that was dissolved with each vial.


    By the time he had emptied out the cauldron, Valyr felt confident that he''d gotten the hang of manually containing the essence with the vials, noting that he''d be able to reduce the amount that was lost even more with a few more attempts.


    "I''m surprised your first attempt has gone so smoothly." Watching the young man wipe off the essence that stuck to the side of his vials, Mystia looked at Valyr with a smile as she spoke her thoughts. "Are you sure you haven''t done this before?"


    "I have not," replied Valyr with a chuckle, shaking his head soon after. "Plus, could you really say it went smoothly? I did make a few mistakes along the way."


    Though the young man did his best to mimic all of Mystia''s movements to get a better understanding of the concoction process, there were still some things that mimicry didn''t seed in, considering that experience was more needed in those parts.


    A good example of that would be the step where he needed to extract the essence from the purified ingredients, needing him to infuse his mana in a certain manner to coax the essence to slowly seep into the cauldron water.


    However, with no foundation to work on whatsoever, the young man was forced to experiment a few times, with most of them even causing a considerable amount of the essence to be lost.


    Thankfully, Mystia was there to guide him, allowing him to cut his losses as he eventually found the knack to extracting the essence.


    Of course, the same mishap happened when he attempted tobine the essences together to form the foundation of a basic health potion, only being able to do so after Mystia told him what he needed to do once more.


    ''I''d consider it a fluke, really,'' thought Valyr to himself as he went over those mistakes in his mind, reminding himself that he would slowly but surely work on them to make sure they wouldn''t ever happen again.


    Hearing Mystia reply to his words that he still did pretty good for someone without any background in alchemy, the young man merely smiled in response, thanking her as he identified one of the vials he''d just concocted.


    Ding!


    [Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potion] (Item)


    Rarity: Common


    A vial filled with fluid that contains the power to heal wounds. Made by a novice to the world


    of alchemy, though has experience from other fields to rely on.


    Once consumed, this vial restores 10% of the user''s max HP.


    ''Hmm.'' Briefly reading through the description of the item, Valyr eventually nodded in satisfaction as hepared his potion to the other health potions he''d bought in the past. Surprisingly, although the young man considered his attempt at concocting the potion as a fluke, its effects were still slightly above average, considering that an average health potion at the same tier healed about 8% of one''s max HP.


    "So, what do you think of your first attempt?" Feeling that she''d given Valyr enough time to ponder over things, Mystia caught his attention by asking him a question.


    "Feels like I could do a few things better now that I have the experience," said the young man as he closed the screen in front of him.


    Bitterly smiling at Mystia, he continued, "I really feel like I just lucked out of my way with this one."


    "Is that so?" Mystia slightly smiled in amusement. "Frankly, I feel like you have a natural affinity for it. You just need more experience, that''s all."


    "That''s probably the experience I''ve umted from cksmithing kicking in." Valyr let out a chuckle in response. "But yeah. I think I could do better once I get another shot at it." "Fortunately for you, I have enough ingredients tost you even if you attempted it a hundred times in a row," replied Mystia, causing the two of them to let out a bit ofughter after that. And thus, after a brief conversation over what Valyr could improve during the concoction process, it did not take long for the two to delve into concocting a health potion once more.

 Chapter 1063: Polishing Ones Craft

    Chapter 1063: Polishing One''s Craft


    ?


    "...Alright. Time to bottle them up."


    Focusing all of her attention on Valyr''s current attempt at concocting a Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potion, Mystia spread her senses to its limits as she kept a watchful eye on the young man''s movements.


    Nodding in response to her words, Valyr took in a deep breath before grabbing a bunch of empty vials from the table.


    Bringing them closer to him, he then let out a long exhale as he briefly went through the motions of scooping up the essence into the vials.


    Reminding himself to not be too nervous, it was only then did he make his move, moving the vials near thebined essence at the bottom of the cauldron before releasing a bit of Prime Azure Energy from his free hand.


    Whoosh!


    Converting the energy into mana, he then began to scoop the essence into the vial, inwardly bing excited after noticing no loss in essence whatsoever.


    Knowing not to let his excitement get the better of him, Valyr tamped his excitement down for the meantime as he continued scooping up the essence into the vials with energy.


    Subconsciously holding his breath for the entire duration of the bottling process, it was only after he''d scraped every bit of essence out of the cauldron did the young man breathe again, only to shift his gaze towards the vials he''d just filled.


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    [Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potion] (Item)


    Rarity: Common


    A vial filled with fluid that contains a strong power to heal wounds. Made by someone who''s taken a step into the world of alchemy, though has experience and knowhow to surpass the limits of their skills.


    Once consumed, this vial restores 14% of the user''s max HP.


    "I think you''ve finally gotten the hang of it." While the young man was still in the midst of going through the description he brought up, Mystia looked at Valyr with a smile. "Congrattions, Valyr. You''ve finally be an alchemist."


    "An alchemist that only knows how to make Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions," replied the young man with a chuckle, closing up the screen before him as he looked back at her. "Though, it does feel nice to be called by that."


    After the two went over his first attempt at concocting a basic health potion, both Valyr and Mystia spent the next few hours continuously concocting it again and again, with each attempt focusing on a certain part of the concoction process.


    Because of that, Valyr was gradually able to shore up the foundations that he''dcked during the first attempt, with each attempt giving him the experience that was necessary for some of the steps.


    In total, the duo went through 17 attempts in the span of five hours, with the one he''d just finished bottling up being his most recent one.


    "How does it farepared to the other Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions currently in the market?" Talking a bit with Mystia about the recent attempt, Valyr soon shifted the topic towards the product itself as he brought the relevant knowledge up in his mind.


    "It''s definitely up there," replied Mystia, giving the young man a big boost to his ego. "I''ve taken a look at its description and noticed that it''s only a percent away from being considered a perfect Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potion."


    "A perfect Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potion actually sells for a pretty penny, especially if you put them in a market that noble ns frequent," said Mystia with a grin.


    "Of course, there are also Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions that transcend the limit here and there, but most people buy those for the novelty rather than the effect."


    "Then again, most of those potions were my creation from my early days," boasted the woman, causing Valyr to roll his eyes in response as he continued to smile.


    "In any case, now that you''ve umted a decent amount of theoretical and practical experience with the Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions, I suppose it''s time for move onto the next step."


    Hearing Mystia shift the topic to something else, Valyr pondered over it for a bit before responding. "Are we gonna make Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions this time?"


    "Yes." Mystia nodded with a bit ofughter. "However, we''ll be taking a different approach." "Remember how I mentioned early on that I''ll be teaching you two styles of alchemy?"


    "I do, yeah," said Valyr after a bit of contemtion, nodding as he looked back at Mystia. "So, that means you''ll be teaching me your style of alchemy now?"


    While the young man felt a bit of excitement, Mystia nodded with a smile. "Well, considering that you''ve got the Mystic Rune Alchemist subss, you could say it''s our style of alchemy, but yeah. I''ll be teaching you that."


    Releasing a bit of pure Mystic Energy into the surroundings, she began her exnation. "As I''ve mentioned before, this style of alchemy mainly involves the usage of Mystic Energy. In fact, you could say that the entire style hinges upon Mystic Energy."


    "Now, you might ask. Why would that be the case?"


    As those words left her mouth, Mystia went ahead and used a bit of mana to grab the ingredients making up a Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potion from her table.


    Then, moving them closer towards the Mystic Energy she released, she then closed her eyes for a bit before sending some more Mystic Energy into the surroundings, eventually encapsting the ingredients in a cocoon made out of the energy.


    With the cocoon covering all of the ingredients, Valyr was left staring at nothing for quite some time, prompting him to ponder for a bit as to what was going on inside the cocoon.


    Then again, since it involved energy that epted every concept he threw at it, it did not take much from the young man to figure out what was happening.


    Though, he was still surprised when the cocoon dissipated on its own, leaving behind a cloud of dark blue particles that filled up multiple vials after Mystia willed them into it.


    "As you can see, with this style, there''s no need for either the cauldron or the tedious maniption of energy," said Mystia as she looked at Valyr with a smile. "Every important step of the process is all done with Mystic Energy."


    "I''m sure you already have an idea as to what it''s called since you''ve obtained the subss,


    but yes."


    "I''ll now be teaching you the art of Mystic Rune Alchemy."

 Chapter 1064: Mystic Rune Alchemy

    Chapter 1064: Mystic Rune Alchemy


    ?


    "To be honest, Mystic Rune Alchemy is pretty simple," continued Mystia with her exnation. "In fact, you could say that its concept is simpler than normal alchemy."


    "After all, the power of Mystic Energy relies on the intent that you put into it." At those words, Mystia grabbed another batch of ingredients from her table before releasing her Mystic Energy into the surroundings.


    Making sure that she''d grabbed everything needed to create a Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potion, she swiftly covered all of the ingredients in the Mystic Energy, allowing it to do its work as she shifted her gaze back at Valyr once more.


    "If you have any questions before I start teaching you, feel free to ask."


    "Why is it called Mystic Rune Alchemy?" Nodding at Mystia''s words, Valyr went ahead and asked her what he considered the most ring question in his mind. "I get that the Mystic part involves Mystic Energy, but where does the Rune parte into y?"


    "Well, that..." Letting out a slight chuckle in response to Valyr''s question, Mystia briefly gazed at the cocoon she created before deciding to toss another batch of ingredients towards


    it.


    Tossing yet another batch of ingredients for the Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potion after that, Mystia briefly let out a bellow as she released more Mystic Energy into the surroundings. Whoosh!


    Covering the two other batches of the same ingredients in a cocoon, a rune made out of Mystic Energy soon began to manifest above the cocoons of Mystic Energy, seemingly connecting the three cocoons together into one entity.


    Looking at the rune that appeared for a bit, Mystia returned her attention back to Valyr before continuing where she left off. "That rune you see up there is where the Rune partes in." While Valyr''s gaze was still affixed towards the rune hovering above the three cocoons, the woman continued with her exnation. "Think of it this way. Mystic Rune Alchemy is the style of alchemy I''ve created in order to maximize both the quantity and the quality of the concoctions I make."


    "By having Mystic Energy take on the role of the cauldrons, I could make sure that each concoction I create does not suffer a loss in quality due to other factors."


    "Then, with the help of the runes, I could create multiple concoctions at the same time, which would be more difficult to do if one were to use multiple cauldrons."


    "Of course, it''s not impossible, especially if you put in the effort." Mystia shrugged her shoulders. "However,pared to Mystic Rune Alchemy, the difficulty of doing so is on the level of asking you to create a Reinforcement Elixir without any instructions."


    "I see." Taking a bit of time to go over everything Mystia told him, Valyr eventually nodded back at her. "So, are you going to teach me now?"


    "Give me just a bit more time," replied Mystia all of a sudden, reminding the young man that although she was exining everything to him, she was still in the midst of concocting three batches of Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions at once.


    ''I guess the number of batches one could work on simultaneously depends on how strong one''s mental power is,'' thought Valyr to himself as he briefly nced at three cocoons of Mystic Energy. ''If that''s the case, then I''ll probably be fine.''


    ''After all, I''ve already gotten used to wielding six pairs of arms at once while forging.'' The young man faintly smiled at the thought. ''On second thought, considering that I could use Mystic Energy to make those arms as well, make that 10 pairs.''


    ''...Then again, I had less Mystic Energy that time. Now that I''ve increased its quantity... I could probably push it to 12 pairs, perhaps?''


    While the young man was gradually delving deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole he''d gotten himself into, Mystia let out a sigh of relief as she willed the cocoons of Mystic Energy to disperse.


    Swoosh!


    Grabbing arge number of vials from her table with the help of her mana, she then positioned these vials at specific locations, finally allowing her to release her Mystic Energy for good.


    Whoosh!


    Watching three clouds of dark blue particles appear in the air, Mystia went ahead and scooped up all of these particles into the vials she brought out, easily filling up a number that would normally be considered three batches.


    "Huh. Four batches." Hastily grabbing a bunch more vials from her table, it did not take long for all of the dark blue clouds to disappear, finally giving Mystia the leeway she needed as she chucked all of the potions she created into a rift.


    "Let us begin." Closing up the rift she hastily opened, Mystia went ahead and looked at Valyr, who looked back at her after swiftly snapping back to reality. "I''ll be teaching you the process of Mystic Rune Alchemy itself."


    "Then, once you get the hang of it, Marcus will be teaching you the runes that allow for mass production," continued the woman, prompting Valyr''s eyes to widen in slight surprise as he looked at the man she mentioned.


    Seeing Valyr look at him with surprise, Marcus let out a chuckle in response before nodding, indirectly telling the young man with his gaze that he wouldn''t have problems learning Mystia''s style of alchemy.


    Faintly nodding back in response, the young man then shifted his attention back to Mystia while inwardly apologizing to Marcus for subconsciously forgetting his presence all this time. "I''ve already said it before, but I''ll say it again. Mystic Rune Alchemy is pretty simple," said the woman once Valyr was ready to listen.


    "Think about the entire concoction process we''ve gone through." Valyr nodded at her words. "Now, infuse that intent into the Mystic Energy."


    "That''s the gist of Mystic Rune Alchemy," Mystia told the young man. "Of course, you have to infuse those intents step by step, though it is possible to control the energy to have those steps happening at the same time."


    Seeing as Valyr was about to ask the difference between the two, the woman took it upon her to answer the thoughts in his mind. "In any case, I don''t rmend doing thetter from the


    start."


    "Not only will you be using up more of your mental power to make it happen, but you''ll be sacrificing the quality of the concoction as well since you''ve consumed more mental power in


    the process."


    Hearing those words, Valyr pondered over it for a bit before eventually nodding in response.


    Telling Mystia that he was ready to begin his first attempt at Mystic Rune Alchemy, the woman went ahead and told Valyr everything he needed to know about concocting a Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potion.


    From the ingredients that were needed to create one, to the exact ratio needed for the desired effects to appear, Mystia went through all of those with the young man in greater detail.


    Because of how thorough she was, it did not take long for the young man to prepare himself, sending out a bunch of white Mystic Energy into his surroundings.


    Whoosh!


    Briefly ncing at the Mystic Energy he''d sent out, Valyr did his best to refrain from sending out any intent to the energy for the meantime, shifting his attention towards his table of


    ingredients.


    Picking out all of the ingredients needed to make one batch of Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions, the young man then went ahead and threw them in the air, only to then will his


    Mystic Energy to envelop all of them.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing that his Mystic Energy had taken on the form of the cocoon, Valyr faintly let out a long exhale as he infused the thought of purifying the ingredients into the energy, recalling all of the attempts he''d gone through thus far.


    Because of how familiar he''d be with controlling Mystic Energy, it did not take long for the energy to respond to his thoughts, gradually removing all of the impurities within the ingredients he gave it from the inside out.


    Considering that he had full control over the Mystic Energy, it went without saying that the entire process was as clear as day to the young man, causing his eyes to widen in surprise once


    he saw how thorough the energy was in cleaning it.


    Not letting his thoughts get the better of himself, Valyr quickly took a deep breath as he proceeded with the next step, infusing his Mystic Energy with the thought of extracting the essence from the purified ingredients.


    Unsurprisingly, just like how thorough the energy was in cleaning the ingredients, the energy also took the extraction process to another level.


    Without any difficulty, the Mystic Energy smoothly extracted every bit of essence from the ingredients themselves, even going so far as to discard all of the dregs that remained after it. Infusing his Mystic Energy with the thought ofbining the essences ording to a certain ratio, Valyr briefly shifted his focus towards his table, grabbing a bunch of vials that would be enough for a batch.


    At the same time, the Mystic Energy did what it was told to do, deftly mixing the essences inside it ording to the ratio it was given.


    As if it had spent its entire life mixing things to perfection, the energy made sure that thebination of the essences were homogenous, slowly but surely turning what was initially a bombardment of various colors into a single color that Valyr was familiar with.


    Dark blue.


    Whoosh!


    Getting the feeling that he''d gotten the mixture correct, Valyr went ahead and dispersed the Mystic Energy in the air, swiftly revealing a cloud of dark blue particles that looked simr to


    what Mystia created just earlier.


    Transforming his Prime Azure Energy into mana, he then scooped up the particles into the vials he grabbed, only to grab a couple more after seeing that he got a lot more out of the process than he initially thought.


    "Huh. That was easier than I thought." cing stoppers on all of the vials, Valyr had a satisfied smile on his face as he went ahead and used his identification skill on one of the


    potions he just made.


    Though, just as he was about to take a look at the item''s description, a brief nce at both


    Marcus and Mystia made him postpone that action... For they were both looking at him with immense shock.

 Chapter 1065: A Perfect Fit

    Chapter 1065: A Perfect Fit


    ?


    Of course, shock was what Valyr thought they were feeling when he looked at them. After all, both of their eyes and mouths were as open as they could be, staring at the thing that he''d just done.


    However, as he listened to the words that eventually came out of Mystia''s mouth, his thoughts immediately changed.


    It was through her words that he realized that the two weren''t feeling shock or surprise whatsoever.


    It was astonishment.


    And from what Valyr could perceive from Mystia''s tone, a hint of excitement as well. "You''re... you''re already finished?" Mystia asked him, her lips subconsciously curling up into a smile. "Are you sure you haven''t done any of this in the past? Like tried it a couple of times and ended up forgetting it?"


    "Not that I know of." Tilting his head in slight confusion, Valyr shook his head in response. "After all, I only had a point of Mystic Energy to my name until recently."


    "Anyways, why are you asking me that?" Focusing his thoughts on his recent attempt at using Mystic Rune Alchemy, the young man began to look at it from a couple different perspectives. "Did I do something wrong? Did I do anything different?"


    "If you did do anything wrong during the process, then I would''ve said something about it." Surprisingly, Marcus was the one to respond to Valyr''s question, his expression a mix between serious and excited. "But different..."


    "Yeah. You''ve definitely done something different, alright."


    At those words, it was Valyr''s turn to react, his eyebrow raised as he continued to look at the two in slight confusion.


    Thinking about whether or not he''d done anything different while going through the concoction process in his mind, Marcus eventually told Valyr what he wanted to know.


    "You''ve actually found a way to make the concoction process go even faster," said Marcus, giving Valyr even greater confusion than before.


    "But I followed everything Mystia told me, though?"


    "That''s the thing." Marcus nodded in agreement. "I could tell that you did follow Mystia''s instructions to the letter. However, at some point, your process gradually began to deviate from hers."


    "Is it the difference in the intent you put into the Mystic Energy? The level of detail of the intent? Perhaps it''s the difference in the quality of the Mystic Energy itself?" The man slightly shrugged. "Frankly, I can only find out so much through my connection with the Mystic ne."


    "Should Valyr and I concoct a batch of potions at the same time, then?" suggested Mystia after hearing Marcus'' words, prompting thetter to ponder over it for a bit before eventually nodding.


    "That''ll definitely help out," said the man, only to look at Valyr soon after. "Though, it''d be better if Valyr himself were to help out in identifying the difference as well. After all, he''s the one controlling the process."


    Although he had no idea what he''d done differently whenpared to what Mystia showed him, Valyr gradually became curious about it the more the two talked about it, indirectly telling him that it was something significant.


    With that, the young man agreed to the suggestion, eventually prompting both him and Mystia to grab a batch of ingredients from their tables as they released their Mystic Energy into the surroundings.


    Whoosh!


    Sending their ingredients to their air, both Valyr and Mystia deftly controlled their energy to envelop all of the ingredients they threw into a cocoon.


    Then, starting off the concoction process by purifying the ingredients with Mystic Energy, the two proceeded to keep an eye on each other''s movements, with Marcus keeping an eye on the whole thing as well.


    Recalling the amount of time it took for his ingredients to be purified in his previous attempt, Valyr decided to split a part of his attention to take a look at the description of the recent batch of Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions he''d made.


    Surprisingly, the potions turned out far better than he thought.


    [Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potion] (Item)


    Rarity: Common


    A vial filled with fluid that contains a strong power to restore one''s mana. Made by someone who''s umting more experience in the world of alchemy using a special technique involving otherworldly energy that reduces the loss of efficacy as much as possible.


    Once consumed, this vial restores 15% of the user''s max MP.


    Aside from the fact that the item''s description made him wonder whether drinking it would replenish his Prime Azure Energy or not, Valyr was surprised that changing to Mystic Rune Alchemy allowed him to concoct what was considered the perfect version of the potion.


    ''Mystia mentioned earlier that the Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potion I made was only a percent away from being considered perfect,'' thought the young man to himself, infusing the intent of extraction into his Mystic Energy not long after.


    ''So... that means I just made a batch of perfect Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions.''


    Though concocting a batch of perfect mana potions did not seem like much with the amount of effort he''d put in, Valyr truly knew how significant it was.


    After all, even though there was only a single percent difference between a perfect version and a top-tier version of the same potion, the two versions fetched a different price whenever he bought them in the past.


    With that in mind, the young man briefly went over Mystia''s words from earlier, talking about how most of the Lesser Health Rejuvenation Potions in the market that transcended that perfect version were made by her in her early days.


    Wanting to try his hands at achieving something simr, Valyr went ahead and infused a bit more of his Mystic Energy into the cocoon, allowing him to extract even more essence out of


    the ingredients.


    Noticing that the amount of dregs that were left over from the process were around half of what it was before, Valyr took in a deep breath topose himself before proceeding with the


    final step.


    Going over the exact ratio of essence necessary to create the potion in his mind, the young man soon infused those thoughts into the Mystic Energy, swiftly transforming the mishmash of essences into a homogenous cloud of dark blue.


    Whoosh!


    With the bottling process being the only step left for the young man, Valyr went ahead and dispelled his Mystic Energy, expecting that Mystia would have dispelled her own Mystic


    Energy at around the same time.


    Yet, what happened instead was that most of Mystia''s attention was still focused on concocting her own batch of Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions, though she still had enough leeway to keep an eye on what Valyr was doing.


    Pouring the essence into the vials with the help of his energy, it did not take long for the cloud of dark blue to disappear from the trio''s vision, leaving only a single cocoon of Mystic Energy still levitating in the air.


    "I still haven''t figured out what you''re doing different." Activating his identification skill to see how his new batch of mana potions looked, Marcus spoke to the young man with a wry


    smile.


    "However, seeing you two concoct the same thing at the same time has made me realizing something else."


    "And that would be?" As these words left Valyr''s mouth, Mystia finally dispelled the cocoon she''d created before bottling up the essence she made into a number of vials.


    Listening in to the conversation happening between the two, it did not take long for Mystia to understand what Marcus was talking about, only to be more sure of it the moment she identified the batch Valyr had just created.


    "Yourpatibility with Mystic Rune Alchemy. You''re a perfect fit, Valyr. It''s as if the style of


    alchemy was made for you," said Mystia as she continued where the man left off, with thetter nodding in agreement.


    "It''s as if... you were born to learn... to push Mystic Rune Alchemy to greater heights."


    " ???"

 Chapter 1066: The Trick to Faster Concoctions

    Chapter 1066: The Trick to Faster Concoctions


    ?


    "Where are you getting that idea from?" Allowing the confusion from Mystia''s words to subside, Valyr took in a deep breath topose his thoughts before asking a set of question back. "What did I do for you to get to that conclusion?"


    "To be honest, even I can''t pinpoint exactly what made mee to that conclusion," replied Mystia, making Valyr inwardly frown. "However, what I''m sure of is that you give off the feeling that you''d be able to do it."


    "Is it the fact that I taught you two how to purify Mystic Energy?" asked Valyr in response, letting the thoughts in his mind flow as he tried to find some sense in her words. "Or is it the fact that I immediately applied your words into practice and seeded?"


    "As I said, I can''t pinpoint exactly what about you made me think that way," repeated Mystia once more, causing the young man to scratch the back of his head in response.


    "So, a gut feeling," said the young man after some time, letting out a faint sigh. "Is it really that surprising that I concocted a batch of potions faster than usual?"


    "After all, if youpare it to normal alchemy, Mystic Rune Alchemy looks far simpler in concept," continued Valyr. "Wouldn''t it only make sense that it being simple leads to it being done faster?"


    "I get what you''re saying," said Mystia, with Marcus nodding in agreement. "I''ve alsopared the two styles of alchemy in the past. Mystic Rune Alchemy has shown itself time and time again to be faster than conventional alchemy."


    "However, even though it''s faster than conventional alchemy, you''ve found a way to make it go even faster than the one who invented the style of alchemy in the first ce."


    Hearing those words, Mystia''s exnation was finally beginning to make sense to the young man, especially after hearing what she said to him not long after.


    "Not only that, but you''ve managed to concoct a batch of perfect Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions on your first shot at Mystic Rune Alchemy," Mystia told Valyr, the smile on her face gradually widening.


    "Then again, that''s not much inparison when you realize you''ve concocted a batch of transcendent Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions on your second try."


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise at those words, finally taking a look at the screen he''d brought up before he was dragged into their conversation.


    [Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potion] (Item)


    Rarity: Common+


    A vial filled with fluid that contains a surprisingly strong power to restore one''s mana.


    Made by someone who''s beginning to expand their own understanding of alchemy, the person that created this potion utilized a special method involving otherworldly energy to reduce the amount of ingredients wasted during the concoction process.


    The result is a potion that exhibits far greater potency than what was considered possible for the ingredients used.


    Once consumed, this vial restores 17% of the user''s max MP.


    "17 percent..." With most of his attention wholly focused on thest line of the item''s description, Valyr felt his mind go nk for a brief moment before snapping back to reality. Then, going over everything they''ve talked about so far, the young man shook his head as he looked at the two with a calm expression. "I could understand the part where it feels like this style of alchemy was made for me."


    "But to bring this style of alchemy to greater heights? I don''t even have enough experience in alchemy to do something like that."


    "You don''t have enough experience... yet," replied Mystia, emphasizing thest word with a faint smile. "In any case, let''s move on from the topic."


    "Not gonna lie, though we had two days left before the two of us needed to go back to Veldanyr, I was somewhat expecting you to take up the two entire days to grasp the basics of alchemy," said the woman, her smile somewhat apologetic.


    "Yet, not even half a day after Marcus and I finally purified our Mystic Energy, not only were you able to grasp the basics of alchemy, but you were also able to apply it and make use of it in Mystic Rune Alchemy."


    "I guess the only step left for me to say you''ve learned everything you need about alchemy for now is for Marcus to teach you the Rune part of Mystic Rune Alchemy." At these words, Mystia briefly nced at Marcus, who looked back at her with a nod.


    "Of course, I''ll still you some more recipes after that, possibly even give you a book to covers all basic and intermediate potions."


    "I''ll have to thank you in advance, then," said Valyr in response, giving Mystia a thankful smile before shifting his gaze towards Marcus.


    Looking back at Valyr in response, the man took in a deep breath as he sorted out his thoughts. "If I''m being honest, there''s not much to teach you when ites to the Rune part of Mystic Rune Alchemy."


    "In fact, the rune only came about when Mystia asked me whether it was possible to concoct multiple batches of potions at the same time," continued the man, grabbing a batch of ingredients from Mystia''s table before encapsting it with his Mystic Energy.


    Whoosh!


    Showing to Valyr that he also knew how to utilize Mystic Rune Alchemy, Marcus soon took it one step further when he threw another batch of ingredients in the air.


    With the man wrapping the new batch of ingredients in another cocoon of Mystic Energy, the young man expected a rune to appear above the two cocoons, recalling what Mystia had shown him earlier.


    Yet, no rune appeared whatsoever.


    "Back then, the amount of Mystic Energy Mystia could work with was so low that it was considered near impossible for her to work with two sets of ingredients at the same time," Marcus told Valyr, only to throw another batch of ingredients into the air.


    With no rune continuing to manifest after he covered the most recent batch with a cocoon, the man continued. "Because of that, I decided toe up with a method that would reduce the difficulty of that task for her."


    "Of course, just like how Mystic Rune Alchemy itself is simple, creating that method is also quite simple, considering how Mystic Energy epts almost every purpose you give it."


    "But yeah. That''s why the rune was created."


    "Anyways, with enough Mystic Energy and mental power, you could still work on the same number of batches Mystia showed you earlier at the same time without much problem," said the man, dispersing the cocoons as he collected thebined essence he created into vials. "In fact, the results of doing it that way usually yield higher quality potions, actually." "In any case, let me brief you in on how to create the rune before you try it yourself." Once he was done putting stoppers on all the vials he filled, Marcus gave the potions to Mystia before giving a quick yet concise rundown on the formation of the rune Mystia used while


    concocting.


    Trying to create the rune with Marcus'' guidance after that, Valyr eventually tried to create the rune on his own after about 20 attempts, to great sess.


    Feeling like he now understood how to apply the rune in Mystic Rune Alchemy, the young man made his way to his table before throwing out three batches of ingredients into the air, all of them necessary to create Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions.


    Whoosh!


    Releasing Mystic Energy into the air after that, Valyr then swiftly covered the batches of ingredients in cocoons, only for him to redirect part of the Mystic Energy he released into a


    space above the cocoons not long after.


    Swoosh!


    With him imposing his will on this part of his Mystic Energy, the young man then imbued a specific set of thoughts into it, allowing it to manifest as a rune that soon connected with the


    cocoons he''d already formed.


    Sensing the strain on his mind be cut in half after the rune connected with the three cocoons, Valyr finally understood why the rune was made in the first ce, causing his eyes to glimmer with a bit of ambition as he tossed a few more batches of ingredients into the air. Then, just like before, he encapsted all of them with Mystic Energy, only to then connect the newly created cocoons with the rune that alleviated its difficulty. Feeling that there was still a bit more leeway he could make use of, Valyr soon tossed onest batch of ingredients into the air before going through the same procedure he''d done with the


    other batches.


    In the end, a total of nine cocoons hovered in the air, all of which were connected to a rune that seemingly made them act like one entity.


    With Valyr imbuing the thought of purification into the rune, the young man watched as the


    rune sent out that thought to all nine cocoons at once, now truly understanding what got Mystic Rune Alchemy its name.


    At the same time, both Marcus and Mystia looked at the sight before them with their mouths


    agape.


    "I think... we''ve finally figured out the reason why he''s able to concoct potions faster than you with Mystic Energy." Taking in a deep breath to calm the excitement he was feeling, Marcus took one more look at the feat Valyr achieved before shifting his gaze with Mystia.


    "I''m curious as to how he''s trained it to that extent..."


    "But he has far more mental power than even you do, Mystia."


    "..."


    "Are you trying to tell me that I''m dumb, Marcus?"

 Chapter 1067: Leaving the Mystic Plane

    Chapter 1067: Leaving the Mystic ne


    ?


    "...Whew."


    By the time Valyr felt that the nine cocoons he''d conjured were done going through the concoction process, the young man went ahead and grabbed a ton of vials from his table, scooping all of the essence he''d created into them.


    ''I wonder how many vials Mystia has in spare?'' Valyr asked himself as he swiftly filled all of the vials with the dark blue essence, briefly thinking about how there were still around half of the vials remaining on his table.


    In the end, the young man did not dwell on the thought any further, instead looking at what he''d achieved with satisfaction.


    Feeling that he''d gained a bit more leeway to push himself to 10 simultaneous concoctions, Valyr pushed the thought to the side for the meantime, going ahead and identifying one of the potions he''d created with his identification skill.


    Quickly figuring out that he''d essentially crafted over nine batches'' worth of perfect Lesser Mana Rejuvenation Potions, the young man began to smile, only for it to be crooked the moment he looked at both Mystia and Marcus.


    Though Mystia was smiling at him, looking more or less how she usually did, the young man quickly notice a couple marks of strangtion around Marcus'' neck, making his eyes slightly widen in surprise as he wondered what happened between the two while he was busy -concocting.


    Of course, it did not take long for him to get a rough idea of what went on, causing him to slightly shudder as he briefly nced at Mystia in fear.


    Surprisingly, as if she''d taken notice of the change in the young man''s expression, the smile on Mystia''s face became wider as she looked back at him.


    Unfortunately, that did not help her case much, with Valyr merely seeing the smile of a devil on her face at that point.


    Then again, such things eventually did not matter much as the three moved on from it, with Marcus striking up a conversation with the young man, informing Valyr of his findings while the young man was busy concocting en masse.


    Of course, the findings the man was talking about was none other than the reason why Valyr had been able to concoct potions with Mystic Rune Alchemy far faster than Mystia could.


    Hearing that the cause of his speed was his stronger mental power, the young man''s smile became even more crooked than before, feeling the meaning contained within the gazes both Mystia and Marcus was giving him.


    Knowing that they wanted nothing more than to learn how he''d improved his mental power to its current extent, Valyr inwardly let out a bitter chuckle, recalling all of the times he''d forced himself to endure more mental strain than needed.


    ''They could probably try to emte what I did with the skill books,'' briefly thought Valyr, only to dismiss the thought not long after. ''Though, I don''t know how they''d be able to emte the other scenarios I''ve been through.''


    With that, Valyr decided toe up with an excuse to appease their curiosity instead, conjuring every translucent arm he could with [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] before positioning them around his back like a wheel.


    Exining that the skill he''d activated was a skill he often used to expedite the forging process, the young man went over the workings of the translucent arms in slight detail, talking about how moving them was akin to moving two bodies at the same time.


    After that, he went ahead and released his Mystic Energy, only for them to take on a simr form and function as the translucent arms he created with the skill.


    With the amount of Mystic Energy he currently owned, he''d pushed the original limit from four pairs to six pairs of arms, which meant that he now had control over 11 pairs of armsbined.


    12 if hebined his original pair.


    Seeing the eleven pairs of arms behind the young man move as if they each had independent minds controlling them, both Mystia and Marcus looked at Valyr''s showcase of mental power in shock, their minds being opened to another way of using Mystic Energy.


    Because of that, it was no surprise that the two asked the young man for more information on transforming Mystic Energy into controble appendages, adding another item to the list of things Valyr did over the remaining time he had in the Mystic ne.


    ...


    Whoosh!


    With most of his attention focused on the 11 cocoons hovering above the air, a bit of sweat began to roll down the side of Valyr''s forehead as he felt the strain the construct gave him close in on his limits.


    Yet, with gritted teeth, the young man threw one more batch of ingredients into the air, bringing the number of cocoons in the air to 12.


    Swoosh!


    With the help of the rune Marcus taught him to create, the 12 cocoons concocted in unison, slowly bringing a number of particle clouds to being.


    Dispersing the cocoons of Mystic Energy the moment he felt the concoction process was done, Valyr watched as the clouds he created were split between crimson red and royal blue.


    Then, coaxing all of the clouds to enter the vials he''d brought out with his energy, the young man acted as if he were a conductor in an orchestra, slowly corralling the essences he''d created into their rightful ces.


    "At first, I thought that doing 9 concoctions at the same time was already insane." While the young man was in the midst of putting stoppers on all the vials he''d filled, a woman''s voice began to echo from his side.


    "Yet, in just the span of two days, you''ve brought that number to 12." Mystia slightly frowned as those words left her mouth. "Just what have you done to increase your mental power,


    really?"


    Valyr could only chuckle at that. "I''ve already given you two an idea on what to do. Plus, hasn''t your efforts already begun to bear fruit?"


    "Well, yeah." Mystia nodded after a bit of silence. "But still. The fact that I can now do 5 concoctions at once is still nothingpared to your 12."


    After Valyr taught both Mystia and Marcus how to conjure limbs with Mystic Energy, it went without saying that the trio put most of their focus on alchemy for the next one and a half


    days.


    While Mystia taught Valyr all of the essential basic potion recipes for him to truly be called an alchemist, the young man went ahead and taught the two the steps necessary to aim for the higher stages of purification.


    Adding on a few sessions of normal alchemy here and there, Valyr felt that he had been at his most productive state during these past couple days in the Mystic ne.


    And now, it wasing to a close.

 Chapter 1068: An Unexpected Change

    Chapter 1068: An Unexpected Change


    ?


    "Do you two really have to go back now?" Watching as Mystia and Valyr stepped in front of a rift back to Veldanyr, Marcus had a look of sadness on his face as he nced at the two. "Especially you, Valyr. Do you really have to go back?"


    "I''m afraid so," said Valyr with a wry smile, getting an idea of what was going on in Marcus'' mind.


    After all, ever since he''d appeared in the Mystic ne, the ne had grown both in size and strength by leaps and bounds, allowing Marcus'' position as the Overseer to be stronger than ever before.


    Even the fact that he''d sacrificed a bit of his strength to give Valyr an additional subss slot already seemed like a thing of the far past, considering that Marcus had already recovered a portion of his strength back.


    Though both Mystia and Valyr were slightly surprised by this announcement, the two soon felt that it made sense once Marcus mentioned that their actions through the past few days had allowed the Mystic ne to grow a bit more.


    Of course, the growth was minusculepared to the massive contribution Valyr brought to the ne after bing its Guardian, but it was a level of progress that would''ve difficult for the ne to achieve in the past.


    "It''s not like we''re leaving the ne forever," Valyr reassured Marcus, letting out a peal ofughter after that. "We just need to attend to some of our things, then we''ll head back if we can."


    "Plus, if there everes an emergency where you need us back at the Mystic ne, you could just conjure a rift and we''ll appear in front of you shortly," continued Mystia, causing Valyr to look at her with slight surprise before soon nodding in agreement.


    While the young man was internalizing the ability Marcus had that Mystia just mentioned, Marcus mulled over their words in silence, only to let out a sigh not long after as he nodded.


    "Do make sure toe back when you can," said the man with a slightly somber smile, waving farewell to the two as they finally crossed the rift back to Veldanyr.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing once more within Mystia''s chambers inside the Meltierre Heavenly Court, Valyr let out a sigh of relief, smiling as he felt that his experience within the Mystic ne almost felt like a dream.


    Not long after, Mystia appeared right beside him, letting out her own sigh of relief as well. Returning to the desk she upied before their venture into the Mystic ne, the Imperial Alchemist took a deep breath as she noticed that a few documents had been added to her desk while they were gone.


    Letting out a long exhale as she went through them, Mystia briefly stopped what she was doing as she looked at the lounging Valyr. "So, are you nning to stay here till the meeting with the directors start?"


    "I''ll probably head back to the kingdom," said the young man after a bit of contemtion, opening up his chat screen to send a message to Julian of his return in advance.


    While doing so, it was only then did he take full note of the messages Wells had sent him, feeling a hint of guilt for not responding to his messages in the past couple of days.


    Though, that guilt intensified the moment he took a look at his friend''s messages in detail, informing the young man that both him and Edward had returned to the inn a couple of days ago.


    Inwardly letting out a long sigh at the bad timing of events, Valyr took some time topose himself before bidding farewell to Mystia.


    "Oh, before you go." However, before the young man could leave Mystia''s room for good, thetter quickly brought up her screen, interacting with a bit as she sent something to Valyr through the system.


    Ding!


    [Mystia Aschel (Lvl. 130) has sent you a friend request. Would you like to ept?]


    "...You''re at the peak of Rank 6?" Though he''d already expected Mystia to send him a friend request due to their new rtionship, the young man looked back at the woman in shock after the system showed him her current level.


    "To be honest, I could ascend to Rank 7 if I wanted to," replied Mystia as she took delight in the young man''s reaction. "Then again, with how many years I still have ahead of me, is there really a reason to?"


    "Anyways, that''s all for now. I''ll meet up with you at the venue of the meeting tomorrow." Hearing those words, it was only then did Mystia fully immerse herself in the documents on her desk, prompting Valyr to look at her for a bit before leaving the room sometime after.


    With Aloe guiding him to Mystia''s room from the entrance, the young man relied on that memory to find his way back, arriving at the Heavenly Court''s entrance around ten minutester.


    Looking around with his perception at its limits to see where the cksmith Guild was, Valyr then applied a few movement-boosting skills on himself, only to then dart through the streets of the Meltierre Empire at breakneck speeds sometimeter.


    ...


    Whoosh!


    "Man. I should really get some rest." Appearing at the center of the cksmith Guild''s Teleportation Hall back at Algerie Kingdom, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief as he nced at the attendant that appeared to greet him.


    Checking to see if his [Thousand Polymorph] had been deactivated once again during the teleport, Valyr only began to talk to the attendant after making sure that it was still there. Considering how it''d been a while since he''dst donned the appearance rted to his Ylvar identity, the attendant did not recognize Valyr at first, to the point he began to wonder whether the young man had a problem in his mind.


    Thankfully, a bit more talking was enough to solve the issue, with the attendant finally putting two and two together in his mind as his gaze towards Valyr changed into that of


    excitement.


    Reminding himself to strut around the cksmith Guild using Ylvar identity more often from now on, Valyr eventually left the guild after talking about a few things with Julian regarding the meeting with the directors the following day.


    ''I''ve really gained a lot from the Mystic ne.'' Making his way back to the inn as he thought about he''d apologize to both Wells and Edward, Valyr briefly went over the things he''d obtained from the Mystic ne.


    ''Not only did I be the ne''s Guardian, I was also able to improve my Mystic Energy capacity, the purity of my Mystic Energy, as well as pick up alchemy from Mystia.''


    ''Though, out of all those gains, the greatest one definitely has to be the fact that I gained a second subss slot,'' thought Valyr to himself, inwardlyughing with glee.


    ''Then again, that does beg the question.''


    ''I still have that First Gunslinger quest that gives me a second subss slot if I were to


    complete it.''


    ''Wouldpleting that quest affect the second subss slot I currently have?''


    Thinking about how the second subss slot Marcus gave him was limited in terms of maximum rarity, Valyr felt that the answer to his question leaned more towards a yes than a


    no.


    However, just as that answer came to mind, the system seemed to have a response of its own.


    Ding!


    [The system has finished analyzing the changes brought about by the additional subss


    slot.]


    [Taking your additional subss slot into consideration, the objectives and rewards of the special subss quest ''The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)'' has been adjusted.]


    [May you bring the art of firearms back to Veldanyr with ever greater glory.]

 Chapter 1069: New Objectives, New Rewards

    Chapter 1069: New Objectives, New Rewards


    ?


    Pausing in his steps, Valyr moved to the side of the street as he looked at the notifications he received in slight confusion.


    ''The quest updated itself?'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, finding the system''s actions somewhat odd.


    As far as he could recall in his past life, there were only two types of quests that prompted the system to change its objectives and rewards depending on the circumstances.


    Naturally, those two types were none other than main quests and world quests, considering the difficulty of the quests themselves, as well as the scope they covered in terms of their effects.


    Of course, with how expansive Greater Beyond was, those two types were merely the start, with other types bing avable once yers began to leave their starters.


    Nevertheless, that did not resolve the confusion Valyr felt over the system''s actions, seeing as his special quest wasn''t ssified as either of the two types.


    ''I did see in the forums back then that there were yers whose special quests changed all of a sudden due to circumstances, but those were mostly due to events covering gxies,'' thought the young man to himself.


    Pushing the notifications aside for the meantime, the young man continued to make his way back to the inn, though his thoughts were still on the system''s actions regarding his special quest.


    ''It''s weird that the quest changed on its own after noticing that I got a second subss,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, only for a usible thought to surface in his mind after some time.


    ''Is it because of the fact that the quest involves firearms?''


    As Valyr went along this train of thought, the more he felt that this line of reasoning was more likely.


    After all, the reason why he''d gotten the quest in the first ce was because he was the first person on Veldanyr to bring back the existence of firearms, a technology that the had lost due to its long-forgotten past.


    Then again, that did not exin why the system decided to adjust the quest to his current circumstances, not seeing how the two were connected.


    ''...I''ll just perceive it as the system giving me preferential treatment,'' thought Valyr to himself in the end, getting the feeling that he''d spiral down into a rabbit hole if he were to stay on the topic any further.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, the young man continued walking through the streets of Algerie, faintly smiling as he thought about the long-awaited reunion between him and the other two.


    While doing so, he brought up the description of the quest the system updated in his mind, wanting to see what parts of the quest were changed.


    Ding!


    [The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)] (Special Quest)


    Difficulty: A+


    Firearms used to be... most of the description has been omitted.


    Because you''ve rejected the opportunity before, the heavens have decided to increase the difficulty of obtaining it as a type of consequence.


    But of course, the heavens are fair, with the rewards obtainable frompletion being far greater than what it previously was.


    However, with your strength having reached greater heights, the heavens sense that it would only be a matter of time until youplete it.


    Wanting you to push the art of firearms to greater heights, the heavens have decided to increased the difficulty of the quest once more.


    Naturally, the rewards have also been improved in exchange.


    Quest Objectives:


    > Reach the peak of Rank 5 (0/1)


    > Upgrade [Intermediate Firearm Mastery] to Rare grade and reach its level limit (0/1)


    > Upgrade Supreme True Arquebus to Legendary grade (0/1)


    > Comprehend an Intent rted to firearms and ascend it to at least 5th Grade (0/1)


    > Create a new skill rted to firearms, ascend it to Rare grade and reach its level limit (0/1)


    > Create two new types of firearms [Note: must be at least Rare grade] (1/2)


    > Give 1,000 people the opportunity to experience the power and splendor of firearms


    (3/1,000)


    Quest Rewards:


    > Upgrade to second subss slot


    > The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr) subss (Common+ - Growth)


    > Upgrade to [Expanding Possibilities - 4th Phase (Veldanyr)] title


    > Upgrade to [The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr)] title


    > [The Originator of Firearms (Veldanyr)] title


    > ??? (Additional rewards dependent on speed inpletion and performance within the duration of this quest)


    [Note: The heavens hope that you bring the art of firearms to the limelight once again.]


    ''...Damn.'' Reading through the updated objectives and rewards in detail, Valyr decided to move to the side of the street once more as he looked at the screen he brought up from a different perspective.


    ''Most of the objectives have increased in difficulty, but they''re still manageable.'' Focusing his attention first on the quest''s objectives, Valyr felt the gears in his mind turn as he thought about how he''d tackle each and every objective.


    In the end, he came to the conclusion that it was only a matter of time before most of them would bepleted. After all, the current objectives were merely an extension of the


    objectives i the past.


    However, among the objectives of the updated quest, there was one that the system included that wasn''t there before.


    ''Give a thousand people the opportunity to experience firearms.'' As his gaze fell onto this line on the screen, the young man briefly rubbed his chin in thought, wondering what he''d done for its progress to already be at three people.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the answer to surface in his mind, recalling that there have been exactly three people aside from him who''d gotten the chance to wield the firearms


    The forged.


    ''Excluding Sven, since he''s a memory image of the inheritance, that leaves Hal, Vera, and Noel.'' Coming to this thought, Valyr nodded in understanding. ''I see.''


    ''So, all I need to do is to have people use firearms, and then that objective would bepleted,'' thought Valyr to himself, slowly getting the feeling that the new objective would


    also bepleted in a matter of time.


    After all, the meeting he''d be attending tomorrow would allow him to tackle that problem.


    ''Now that I think about it, I suppose the objective only covers firearms I make, considering that Hal introduced firearms to the frontlines.'' Though most of Valyr''s attention was still on the quest''s description, he started to walk towards the inn once more.


    ''Then again, it would''ve been nice if Hal''s weapons did apply.''


    Briefly shaking his head to remove errant thoughts in his mind, the young man soon focused his attention on the new rewards the quest would give him, immediately taking note of the


    change to the reward involving the second subss slot.


    ''Rather than give me the second subss slot as is, it''s decided to upgrade what I have instead.'' Valyr nodded at the thought, recalling how Marcus told him that his current second subss slot was limited in terms of the maximum rarity it could reach.


    Though he was still a fair distance away from reaching that maximum rarity, the young man appreciated the fact that the system was giving him a way to fix it in advance. Moving his attention away from the second subss slot reward, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity after seeing that the subss had been changed entirely.


    ''The First Gunslinger...'' Recalling that he would''ve obtained the Prototype Gunner subss before the change, Valyr decided to take a look at what made the current subss differ from


    the previous one he was getting.


    Simr to Prototype Gunner, the First Gunslinger subss was a subss that felt more like a bare-bones version of the gunner subsses he''d experienced in the past.


    However, unlike Prototype Gunner, the subss had all of the essential skills necessary to


    bring firearms to the next level, simr to how his First cksmith ss brought his


    cksmithing abilities to a higher realm.


    Other than that, the First Gunslinger subss had a higher rarity limitpared to Prototype


    Gunner, giving it the ability to reach Ancient grade as long as hepleted all of the prerequisite quests needed to upgrade the ss.


    Inparison, the Prototype Gunner subss could only go up to Legendary grade, though the system did mention that it was possible to push it closer to Mythic grade with enough


    effort.


    Moving his attention away from the subss, Valyr briefly nced at the two title upgrades he would get from the quest, finding the two to be an overall positive.


    After all, from the looks of it, the first title upgrade would increase the stat gain efficacy of his second subss even further.


    On the other hand, the second title upgrade would increase the damage he dealt with his firearms, allowing him to transform them into weapons of even greater destruction as long as


    he wielded them.


    ''With that being said, I''m quite curious as to what thisst title does.'' By the time Valyr''s attention was on the final line of rewards, the young man had already arrived at the inn he and


    the other two were staying in.


    Making his way to the room they were in, the young man thought about the new title in detail, pondering over its possible effects.


    ''[The Originator of Firearms]... Would it increase the damage I deal with firearms even


    further?''


    ''Would it allow me to craft advanced firearms at a reduced difficulty?''


    ''Or would it allow me to wield high-level firearms at no penalty?'' Allowing the thoughts in his mind to wander about for a bit longer, the young man slowly began to smile as he arrived at the room he and the others had been staying at. Wondering what kind of changes the three of them had exactly gone through while they''d been separated from one another, Valyr went ahead and opened the door, immediately being greeted by a pair of familiar people looking at him with surprise.

 Chapter 1070: Talks of the Frontlines

    Chapter 1070: Talks of the Frontlines


    ?


    Just as both Edward and Wells began to wonder once more as to where Valyr could be, the two immediately had looks of surprise on their faces once they saw the door to the room opened.


    At first, their expression turned into that of excitement, thinking that the person they were wanting to see had finallye.


    Yet, when the appearance of the person hade into full view for the two, their expressions immediately shifted, with Edward immediately letting out bloodlust.


    "Don''t you dare move any further." Though he still looked like a teenager, the bloodlust Edward gave off reminded those that sensed it of his hardships in the frontlines, fighting against monsters and foes while teetering on the edge between life and death.


    Swiftly grabbing his trusty spear in the corner, the young teenager tightly gripped on it, pointing its tip towards the stranger that entered their room. "I''d suggest you step back and close the door."


    Expecting hisrade in the battlefield to do the same thing as him, Edward was instead left at a slight loss for words when Wells began to let out a peal ofughter all of a sudden, looking at the stranger that entered the room as if he''d been expecting him.


    Unsurprisingly, Wells'' reaction being the exact opposite of what he expected confounded the young teenager, especially since the stranger was faintly giving off an aura that he''d be familiar with thanks to the battlefield.


    The aura of imminent death.


    Thankfully, Edward had no need to dwell in his thoughts any further, with Wells clearing up the confusion he''d felt. "It''s been a while since you''vest used your disguise skill. Did you upgrade it? Took me a lot longer than I thought to recognize your other identity."


    "I did upgrade it," said the stranger as he nodded with a smile, only for the man''s appearance to transform into something Edward was more than familiar with.


    "Valyr!" Realizing that he''d pointed his spear at the one that got him off the streets, the young teenager inwardly felt guilt as he immediately put the spear back where it was. "You''re back!"


    "Apologies for not giving you a heads-up," said Valyr in response, ruffling Edward''s head as he knew what was going on in the young man''s mind. "Also, that kind of attitude is definitely going to save you a ton of headacheter on."


    "In any case, both of you have changed a lot since thest time we saw each other," continued the young man, making his way to a nearby chair before sinking it. "Eaten breakfast yet?"


    "Was about to, actually," replied Wells, ordering a set of meals from the inn before looking back at his friend. "So, how have thest 10 months been for you? You''ve gotten a lot stronger."


    "Very productive, to say the least," said the young man, chuckling as he went on to a narrate a summarized version of what he''d gone through while the two were out in the battlefield.


    Of course, Valyr made sure not to include information such as his meeting with three Divine- level beings, or the fact that he''d been given a first-hand look at the history of Veldanyr. Instead, he mostly focused on his gains, leaving the two with their mouths slightly agape as he conjured a wisp of Prime Azure Energy in front of him.


    Feeling the inherent power of destruction contained within the dark blue wisp Valyr conjured, Wells took a while to shift his gaze away from it as he looked at the young man with a wry smile.


    "I''m guessing you''re already Rank 4?" Wells asked Valyr. "Wouldn''t be feeling this faint hint of intimidation from your aura if that weren''t the case."


    "Yeah. Just recently, actually." Valyr nodded, contracting his aura as much as he could to not affect the two. "All in all, I''ve gained a lot more than I initially thought."


    "How about you two? How has the frontlines treated you?"


    Hearing these words leave the young man''s mouth, it went without saying that both Wells and Edward were eager to share their experiences with him, even going so far as to start their narration before they enlisted themselves to the frontlines.


    Though most of their narration was more or less a retelling of what Wells told him through their back-and-forth messages back then, Valyr still intently listened to the two,mitting all of the additional information they were giving him to memory.


    Of course, that all changed once the two got to the part regarding the mission into orc territory, something Valyr felt he would need.


    After all, the quest he got from An''xhur needed him to head deep into orc territory. Although a bit of well-timed questions here and there allowed him to get a slightly better idea of what the orc territory was like, Edward and Wells did not dwell on that part of their story too much, instead focusing on how theypleted the mission.


    "With how well Edward did inpleting the mission, he''s now been given the position of captain for a 100-man group," said Wells, making Valyr recall that the group apanying the two in their mission only amounted to 30.


    Being reminded how special of an existence Edward was to the War of the Three Sovereignties, Valyr continued to listen to their narration to the end, with the two ending it off with the personal improvements they''ve made before returning.


    "Currently, I''m now at the middle levels of Rank 3," said Wells before pointing at Edward. "On the other hand, Edward just broke to Rank 3 pretty recently."


    "It won''t be long till I surpass you, Wells," replied Edward with a grin.


    Watching the two interact as if they were the best of friends, Valyr was reminded of the way he spent his time with Wells in the past, feeling a bit of guilt at the fact that he''d gotten separated from them for over 10 months.


    Though he knew he''d still remain busy for the foreseeable future, the young man aimed to slightly correct these wrongs, looking at the two with a smile.


    "To be honest, I''m quite curious as to how strong you two have actually be," said Valyr, prompting the two to look back at him with slight interest. "But I suppose we could leave that for some other time."


    "Instead, what I want to know about is the frontlines," continued the young man, his expression immediately bing serious. "How is it as ofte?"


    "Stable," replied Wells as he donned a simr expression. "The defensive lines are finally beginning to hold up against the orcs'' offensives, with a few of the stronger groups even going so far as to push it deeper into orc territory."


    "If you want to know how our group is doing, we''re currently at a slight advantage against the orcs," said Edward as he continued where Wells left off. "However, with the new weapons the Lord of All Trades created for the war, it won''t be long till we get our revenge."


    "Anyways, why are you asking about this?" Wells looked at Valyr with a hint of curiosity, only for his eyes to slightly widen in disbelief as he looked him in realization. "Wait, don''t tell


    me..."


    "Need I say more?" Valyr let outughter at Wells'' reaction, only to then give Edward an affirmative nod. "If it isn''t already obvious..."


    "I n on heading to the frontlines myself."

 Chapter 1071: An Inevitable Experiment

    Chapter 1071: An Inevitable Experiment


    ?


    "Really?" At those words, Edward looked at Valyr with excitement, exining to thetter he and Wells were on a short vacation from the frontlines. "Does that mean you''ll be


    apanying us when we head back to the frontlines, then?"


    Hearing the question, a slight hint of confusion appeared on the young man''s face as he looked at Wells in the hopes for rification.


    Fortunately, his friend seemed more than eager to give him a greater understanding of the current situation, causing Valyr to click his tongue the moment Wells was done exining.


    "Damn. You''re telling you two have been working hard for months already, yet you''ve only gotten a week of rest in exchange?"


    "It could be worse." Wells bitterly chuckled in response to Valyr''s question. "If not for the fact that Edward here became the captain of a 100-man group, we would probably still be stuck in the frontlines."


    "Only people at that level and above could leave the frontlines for a considerable length of time, actually," continued Edward where Wells left off, giving Valyr a bitter smile of his own.


    "In fact, themander of our group only allowed me to bring Wells along since he was impressed with my performance."


    "So, you''re saying that I''ll be stuck in the frontlines until I reach a simr rank as you?" Listening to how strict the frontlines were ording to the two, Valyr had a slight frown on his face as the scenario popped in his mind.


    At the same time, he felt guilt towards the two once more, their words making him realize that they''d gone through the same, if not a greater level of suffering than he did.


    "Considering your current strength, probably not," replied Wells after a bit of silence, grabbing the meals that they''ve ordered from the inn. "As long as you have control over an Intent, you immediately be the captain of a 10-man group."


    Giving the meal Valyr ordered to him, the man continued, "Plus, with how the cksmith Guild treat you, would those at the frontlines really treat you that poorly?"


    At those words, the young man went silent for a bit, pondering over his thoughts as he savored the food he''d been given.


    Seeing Valyr go silent after Wells'' words, the two decided to be silent as well, not wanting to interrupt the young man''s thoughts as they dug into their meals.


    By the time the three were satisfied with their breakfasts, it was only then did the silence among them finally break as Valyr opened his mouth.


    "I''m not sure if this will work," said the young man as his gaze gradually became firm. "But I''ll try to help your situations out once I''m at the frontlines."


    "Don''t know about changing the rules set there, but I could probably help you two take longer vacations than a week."


    "Does that mean you''ll being with us to the frontlines, then?" asked Wells, informing Valyr that they''d be leaving Algerie within half a week.


    "Possibly," replied Valyr after careful thought. "Possibly not. It depends on how busy I get in the next few days, really."


    At those words, the young man then gave the two a heads-up that he''d be leaving them tomorrow, telling them that he''d be meeting up with Julian and the directors of the cksmith Guild to talk about something.


    Naturally, the two became curious as to what the young man would be talking about with them, to which Valyr merely smiled back at them in response.


    After all, even though the mass production of the two items he had in mind only had an indirect effect to the woes of the two...


    Having a great portion of the people at the frontlines armed with them would definitely allow Wells and Edward to rest for longer.


    After seeding in shifting the curiosity of the two away from the meeting he was going to attend, the three continued to talk about various topics, some of them involving the current state of the war against the orcs.


    Of course, considering how Valyr was going to leave them for a meeting tomorrow, it went without saying that the two asked him if he had other ns beside that, wondering if today was the only day they''d be able to talk and interact with him.


    In response, the young man replied that he''d mostly be free after the meeting, though he did remind the two that it was susceptible to change, considering his position in the cksmith Guild.


    With that in mind, the two briefly looked at each other beforeing to the decision of making the most of the time they had with Valyr for today...


    Byzing around with him in their room.


    Seeing as all Wells and Edward wanted to do for the entire week was rest after having tirelessly fought for months on end, Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he was reminded of his time in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Being reminded of one of his conversations with Julian because of it, the young man wrote a mental note about it to return toter on as he made his way to his part of the room.


    Then, sitting cross-legged on his bed, he let out a long exhale before focusing his senses inward.


    Whoosh!


    Briefly checking to see if Wells and Edward were going to disturb him, the young man faintly let out a sigh of relief before slowly bringing himself to the depths of his psyche.


    ''If it wasn''t for the meeting I needed to attend, I would''ve probably stayed for another day in the Mystic ne to do this.''


    Inwardly muttering these words to himself, the young man stared at the vast dark space in front of him before summoning all of the Prime Azure Energy he could muster.


    ''Then again, I only had a limited amount of time to improve my Mystic Energy as much as I could.''


    ''I think I improved it quite a lot, even.''


    Breaking down the Prime Azure Energy into its most basic constituents, Valyr removed the lingering Void Energy and Intent from space, swiftly recing it with the bright white energy


    he''d just obtained.


    Swoosh!


    ''In any case, the thought has lingered in my mind for long enough. There''s already precedent that it''s possible to do something simr, thus it''s only right to find out its answer.'' ''Then again, who knows what will happen if you mix mana and Mystic Energy together?''

 Chapter 1072: Pursuing the Unknown

    ?


    Watching as the vast darkness before him was gradually upied by both mana and Mystic Energy, the young man briefly had a look of excitement on his face as he was eager to trybining the two.


    However, just as the thought of how he''d go about doing so crossed his mind, Valyr stopped himself from acting upon it as he asked himself, "Surely, someone must''ve tried this before, right?"


    "Combining mana with Mystic Energy, that is."


    Allowing his thoughts to wander about as his mind focused on the question, the young man felt that it was more or less a given for someone to have already tried thebination before him.


    After all, even though he hadn''t expected to be taught tobine mana and Shadow Energy together by the one that first seeded in doing so, the young man had already heard a lot aboutbining mana with other elements in his past life.


    Although it seemed like it was a no-brainer for one to do if they wanted to increase their power,bining mana with another element was something people rarely did, considering that having them stay as is was actually more than enough for a lot of people.


    However,bining mana with another element was also something a lot of people do, especially those who aimed to grasp control over higher tiers of energy.


    After all, mana was considered by most, if not all people to be an all-epassing type of energy, able to ept and adapt to any property that was thrown at it with ease.


    With that, it only made sense to add another element to mana to turn it into something more than what it already was, which was pretty much the approach Azure Energy took on, as well as his own Prime Azure Energy.


    Naturally, there existed many other methods throughout the universe that didn''t involvebining mana, with some of them even upying a spot in Valyr''s mind for being incredibly tedious to create.


    ''Then again, the power the resulting energy has more than makes up for the effort,'' thought the young man to himself, briefly making him wonder once more why Prime Azure Energy had that much strength with how much effort he''d put into it.


    In the end, Valyr pushed all of his thoughts aside for the meantime, taking in a deep breath as he refocused his attention to what was in front of him.


    Though he was still curious as to whether someone had triedbining mana with Mystic Energy, the young man merely allowed the thought to linger as he went through the method Sellifer took tobine mana and Shadow Energy together.


    "If I remember correctly, I first need to bnce the purity of both mana and Mystic Energy before forming a braid with the two." Muttering these words to himself, a slight frown began to appear on Valyr''s face.


    Although he didn''t really findpleting this step an issue, Valyr did face a problem in the form of having limited time.


    Unlike in the inheritance, where had more than two years to work on purifying his mana and Shadow Energy beforebining them to form Azure Energy, he only had the better part of a day at most before he needed to attend a meeting.


    With that, the frown on the young man''s face gradually deepened as the gears in his mind continued to turn.


    "Hmm..." Looking at his current issue from a different perspective, Valyr eventually came up with a possible solution... though he wasn''t sure if it''ll work out.


    "If it does, then I could at least proceed to the braiding step." As these words left his mouth, Valyr focused all of his attention on the mana covering half of the vast space in front of him.


    Then, imposing his will on the mana, the young man urged the mana to reduce in quality, aiming to have mana to conform to his Mystic Energy''s level of purity instead.


    After all, he''d already gone through the stage of 1st Cleansing with his mana a long time ago. Surely, it would heed his wishes, right?


    Surprisingly, it did, with the mana slowly bing more and more contaminated before Valyr''s eyes.


    Watching this happen, the young man clenched his fists in excitement, only to focus all of his senses on it as curiosity made him wonder what was going on.


    "Huh." Though he felt the mana within the vast space gradually turn darker with every passing moment, Valyr also felt that his mana still remained at the stage of 3rd Cleansing.


    Slightly confused as to why that was the case, it did not take long for him to figure out what was going on, the thoughts in his mind clicking in ce to make him realize that his mana was merely adjusting its energy to the other type of energy that was in the same space.


    "I suppose I could try this out with Shadow or Void Energyter down the line," muttered the young man to himself, slightly curious as to what would happen if he were to mix two energies with opposing properties together.


    Returning his attention to the matter at hand, Valyr eventually found himself staring at both his mana and Mystic Energy, faintly smiling as he took note that both energies now gave off the feeling that they were at the stage of 1st Cleansing.


    Taking in yet another deep breath topose his thoughts, Valyr was briefly reminded of his time in the inheritance as he proceeded to bring mana and Mystic Energy closer to one


    another.


    Whoosh!


    Imposing his will on the two energies, he then began to weave the two into a braid of sorts, recalling what he''d done in the past with mana and Shadow Energy.


    Watching the blue mana intertwine itself with the bright white Mystic Energy, the smile Valyr had on his face gradually turned wider as he watched the braid be more and more


    complete.


    Knowing that he was merely taking the first step to what would eventually be a true fusion of mana and Mystic Energy, Valyr continued to braid the two energies together...


    Only for things between the two energies to change.


    Swoosh!


    Just as what Valyr considered to be the first braid was nearingpletion, the Mystic Energy portion of the braid began to warp and distort all of a sudden, causing a hint of worry to appear on his face as a thought popped up in his mind.


    Hoping that the thought that popped up in his mind wouldn''t be reality, his worst fears were eventually realized as the white Mystic Energy took on a shade of blue, transforming what was initially a braid of two differing energies into a braid of two mana strands.


    "..." Staring at the oue of his first attempt atbining the two energies together, the young man took in a deep breath before letting out an incredibly low sigh.


    "...I really should''ve expected this to happen," said Valyr to himself.


    Due to the excitement of seeing his idea actually work out, Valyr held a faint wish that his mana and his Mystic Energy wouldbine into something greater.


    However, as Mystic Energy took almost any intent that was given to it as long as it wasn''t rted to attacking, the energy interpreted it in a way that somewhat stayed true to the wish, melding with the mana to turn into something greater.


    Which was more mana.


    Giving himself some time to sort out his thoughts, it was only a few minutester did Valyr attempt braiding the two energies together once again.


    Dispelling the first braid that turned out to be an utter failure, the young manposed his thoughts as he willed his mana and Mystic Energy to intertwine one another once again.


    However, unlike his first attempt, he reined all of the errant thoughts that lingered in his mind, instead focusing all of his attention on what was happening before him. Because of that, the result that he initially intended to happen eventually became a reality, with the blue and white energy appearing before him intertwined in a way that reminded him of those ice pops he had as a kid.


    "...Haah." Continuing to have his thoughts remain as still as water, Valyr then proceeded to manipte the blue and white braid in various ways, initially controlling the braid as if it


    were a strand of mana.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    To no surprise, the braid epted his input, moving through the vastness of space as if it


    were in its natural habitat.


    Though, as Valyr focused his senses on the braid more closely, he noticed that it took his


    inputs far better than before, simr to how his braids of mana and Shadow Energy back then allowed his skills to exert more power.


    "I guess it''s due to the Mystic Energy''s property of being able to ept almost any input," Valyr surmised, eventually having the strand of blue-white energy stop a fair distance away


    from him.


    Now that he had confirmed that the properties of mana had been elevated to a slightly higher degree thanks to the inclusion of Mystic Energy, Valyr felt that it was now time for him to find


    out if the opposite were true.


    What would happen if he were to infuse a specific intent into the braid? Would the mana ept the intent he''d infused as well? Or would the mana remain as is?


    As these questions lingered in his mind, the young man went ahead and sent out a thought towards the braid, wanting it to take on the form of a simple forging hammer.


    Whoosh!


    Surprisingly, it delivered... and more.

 Chapter 1073: A Days Work

    ?


    Staring at the braid of mana and Mystic Energy before him, Valyr watched as the white portion of the strand took on his thoughts, gradually taking on the shape of the forging hammer that he had in mind.


    Seeing as the blue part of the strand was not affected by his thoughts at all, the young man could not help but feel slightly disappointed, finding out then and there that the rtionship between the two energies was purely beneficial towards mana.


    Then again, he was already somewhat expecting that oue, considering that it would be insane if mana were to take on the main property of Mystic Energy.


    However, just as he thought that his little experiment was a failure, Valyr immediately noticed something different about the hammer in front of him, pushing the thoughts of dispelling the braid to the side for the meantime.


    Then, willing the hammer to move closer to him, it was only then did the young man realized what was different about the hammer.


    "Well then. To think something like that happened."


    Slowly grinning from ear to ear, Valyr noticed that although it seemed like the mana part of the braid hadn''t been affected by Mystic Energy at all, the energy that flowed through it was more or less integrated into the forging hammer.


    Wrapping around the forging hammer as if it were a decoration to the handle, Valyr felt the forging hammer slowly consume the mana that was in the blue strand that wrapped around it, causing the young man''s eyes to widen as he realized what was going on.


    "This... if it is what I think it is... this is way better than I thought it would go."


    Taking a brief look at the field of mana and Mystic Energy behind the hammer, Valyr immediately took note of the fact that the forging hammer had not consumed any of the Mystic Energy from the field whatsoever.


    Wanting to confirm his suspicions once and for all, the young man proceed to infuse the hammer with the intent of strengthening its properties, only to witness the blue strand around the handle shrinking in response.


    "Hahahaha!" Seeing as his suspicions finally confirmed, Valyr let out a cackle filled with glee as he dispelled the forging hammer he''d manifested.


    "To think mana would act as a battery of sorts once the two energies are braided..." Muttering these words to himself as he went over what he''d discovered, Valyr felt that the braids in their current state were more than enough for him.


    After all, the only problem as to why Valyr felt like he wouldn''t be able to use Mystic Energy that often was because hecked the necessary energy to cause some of his more ambitious thoughts to manifest.


    However, with the help of the blue-white braid, he would be able to substitute the energy source of his manifestations with mana, which he had more than enough of thanks to his absurd amount of Prime Azure Energy.


    Compared to the braid made with mana and Shadow Energy, Valyr felt that the blue-white braid brought more to him, prompting him to proceed onto the next step of the energy fusion process.


    Naturally, it was to refine his control over the braid, as well as the speed at which he conjured them.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Having gotten the knack of forming the braid on his second attempt, it went without saying that Valyr now focused on what he could do to increase the speed at which he conjured the braid.


    Whether it be in the maniption of both mana and Mystic Energy itself, or in the intertwining of the two energies as one entity, the young man made sure to make his actions as efficient as possible while making sure that the braid retained the same level of efficacy.


    At the same time, once he was done conjuring the braid, he would then control the braid for a bit, slowly but surely expanding his knowledge on what he can and cannot do with the braid, whether it was to use it as mana or as Mystic Energy.


    And thus, time continued to pass, with Valyr continuing to make more and more improvements on both areas.


    Eventually, the young man felt like he''d teaued what he could improve with the braid at the moment, seeing as his Mystic Energy was still at the stage of 1st Cleansing.


    ''If it was at the stage of 3rd Cleansing, I''d probably be able to push it a bit further,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling how much he''d improved his braid of mana and Shadow Energy because of it.


    Nevertheless, even though both energies remained at the stage of 1st Cleansing, Valyr felt that he''d improved the potency of the blue-white braid by around 10%, pretty much allowing him to do more with less because of it.


    Unfortunately, it still took quite a bit of time for him to conjure the braid itself. Though, it now only took him around five seconds to do it, unlike before where he needed to focus his thoughts for at least half a minute.


    Satisfied with the progress he''d made in improving both his control and conjuration speed of the braid, Valyr decided to try and attempt the next step on the energy fusion process.


    Which was to actually fuse the two energies together.


    ''Well, now that I think about it, I''d need to have both energies at 3rd Cleansing first.'' Though, just as Valyr was in the midst of psyching himself up for what was possibly a massive power boost, a moment of realization washed over his mind.


    ''Other than that, I''d also need to have an Intent Seed of Mystic Energy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, letting out a sigh as the excitement he felt immediately deted.


    Then again, even though he had yet to fuse the two energies together, he had already made great leaps and bounds on what was possible with Mystic Energy.


    Especially when it was connected to arge energy source like mana.


    Reminding himself to work on improving the purity of Mystic Energy to 3rd Cleansing once he had the time, Valyr slowly returned his senses back to reality, opening up his chat screen to ask Mystia a question regarding the Intent he needed toprehend.


    However, just as he was in the midst of typing a message to her...


    "Hey, Valyr. Get up. It''s already the next day."


    "Don''t you have a meeting to attend?"

 Chapter 1074: Before the Assembly

    Chapter 1074: Before the Assembly


    ?


    "Eh?" Valyr paused what he was doing, looking at Wells with slight confusion. "It''s already been a day?"


    "If I hadn''t interrupted you, you probably would''ve missed that meeting of yours and continued doing what you were doing just now," said the man in response, inwardly letting out a sigh that he''de in at the right time.


    After all, even though he had the courage to interrupt Valyr in his state of self-introspection when necessary, Wells preferred to not disturb him in case he was on the brink of figuring something out.


    Wryly smiling at his friend''s words, Valyr thanked Wells for giving him a heads-up as he moved his chat screen to the side.


    Taking a look out of his window after that, he then brought up his status screen, soon finding out that roughly a day had indeed passed since he started his experiment to fuse mana and Mystic Energy together.


    Of course, with the amount of progress he''d made in that experiment, the young man considered it a roaring sess. Though, he would have to shelf the other thoughts he had about it for the meantime.


    Nodding at Wells as the man told him that there was food on the table, Valyr briefly returned his attention to the chat screen, removing the message that he was initially about to send to Mystia.


    Instead, he asked her about her current whereabouts, though he did still talk a bit about the Intent he needed toprehend for his ns at the end.


    At the same time, while waiting for Mystia''s response, he sent a message to Julian, asking him what time the meeting with the directors was going to start.


    Surprisingly, Julian responded not even a minute after he''d sent the message out, telling him that the meeting with the directors would start at around noon.


    Looking out the window once more to see that there were still a few hours before the meeting began, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he made his way to where both Edward and Wells were. Seeing how Edward still looked like he wanted to sleep a bit more as he made his way to the dining table, the young man let out a chuckle as he began to talk to the two while eating.


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr brought up a bit about the meeting he was going to attend, prompting both Edward and Wells to listen on with interest after he told them that it had something to do with the frontlines.


    Hearing that there was the possibility of them obtaining new equipment after the meeting, the two looked at Valyr with both excitement and gratitude, only for their eyes to widen in surprise after the young man revealed something else to them.


    "Now that I think about it, I haven''t mentioned to you two that I now officially own a piece ofnd in this kingdom," said Valyr in a nonchnt manner, inwardly smiling as he knew he''d set off waves in the hearts of the two.


    Hearing that the two were curious as to what kind ofnd he got, Valyr felt his heart warm up when they asked if it was possible for them to stay with him there.


    Naturally, the young man responded that they were more than wee to stay there, though he did give them a heads-up that it would be a while before the three would truly be able to stay in that area.


    "After all, the contract that says I own thatnd isn''t in my hands yet."


    With that, the three eventually finished their meals, with Valyr going through his usual routine after that as he freshened himself up in preparation for the meeting.


    Bidding farewell to the two for the meantime, the young man activated [Thousand Polymorph] and adopted his Ylvar identity before putting on his usual suit of armor.


    After making sure that he hadn''t forgotten to bring anything along with him, it was only then did he make his way to the cksmith Guild, heading straight to where Julian was.


    "So, how was the visit to the empire?" Arriving at the man''s private workshop, Valyr had a smile on his face as he heard the man ask him a question.


    "Better than I thought it would turn out," replied Valyr with a chuckle, eventuallying face to face with Julian.


    Surprisingly, although he was still in the midst of forging a piece of equipment, Julian wore a set of clothes befitting that of a guild leader.


    Donning a crimson red robe that entuated the man''s hair and eyes, the robe the man wore was covered in various essories and trinkets that made it exude majesty amidst its overall simplicity.


    Though it seemed out of ce for the one manning the workshop to wear, Valyr also felt that it was apt, considering the authority and power that the man before him wielded.


    "Now you''ve got me curious." Putting on the final touches on the piece of equipment he was forging, Julian eventually put his hammer to the side as he looked at Valyr with a grin. "What did you exactly do with the Imperial Alchemist while you were there?"


    "Something you''ll find out sooner orter," said Valyr in response, inwardly grinning as he imagined the look of surprise on Julian''s face once he found out Mystia was attending their meeting. "In any case, where will the meeting be held?"


    "At the Imperial Production Guild''s assembly hall," said Julian in response. "Though it would make more sense for the meeting to be held at the empire, keep in mind that our kingdom is currently considered as thergest warfront."


    "The reason why I say that is because we''ve decided to hold the meeting where our decisions could be implemented with the greatest effect," continued the man. "After all, if thergest warfront benefits greatly from it, then so does our side overall."


    "I see." Valyr nodded after a bit of silence. "What kind of positive changes has the meeting brought to the frontlines so far? Also, does the meeting have an official name?"


    "We call it the War Forge Assembly." Julian decided to reply to the second question first. "As for the positive changes... one of the bigger ones would be the implementation of the ranged weapon Vylhalteinn proposed to us."


    "Another one would be the streamlining of weapon production and delivery to the frontlines." The man smiled at those words. "That would be the quotas you, I, and the other cksmiths in this guild have beenpleting as ofte."


    "Other than that, there would also be the optimization of what weapons to prioritize, as well as the streamlining of general squads that are currently fighting out there in the frontlines."


    "Though, if we consider your proposition of your armor set and your arquebus to the directorster, then that''ll probably be the biggest change these meetings will bring to the frontlines," said Julian to conclude his exnation, only for the young man to let out a


    chuckle in response.


    "Is that so?"


    "Best not to disappoint you, then."

 Chapter 1075: The War Forge Assembly (1)

    Chapter 1075: The War Forge Assembly (1)


    ?


    After talking a bit more with Julian regarding the proposal and whether or not the two of them were ready to discuss it in the uing meeting, Valyr eventually shifted the topic of their conversation to something he felt he needed to address beforehand.


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but the thing about the plot ofnd I bought is already sorted out, right?" asked the young man with slight curiosity.


    "Pretty much." Julian nodded in response, opening up a rift before taking out a piece of parchment not long after. "There were a couple of obstacles here and there, but we got there in the end."


    Receiving the parchment that was given to him, it went without saying that the young man looked at in detail.


    Taking note of the various lines of text that were written on it, Valyr summed it up as basically a list of what he needed to keep in mind now that he was the owner of a plot ofnd within Algerie Kingdom.


    Aside from the fact that he would need to pay a slightly substantialnd tax every year due to the sheer size of thend he got, most of the other things that were written on the parchment pretty much reiterated what he thought asmon sense.


    With that, it did not take long for him to reach the end of the parchment, which actually gave him a rough idea of the plot ofnd he''d bought.


    Other than that, he took note of the fact that the parchment was made from high-quality material, which gave him more than enough confidence to ce it in his spatial bracelet for the meantime.


    "I suppose I need to make a visit to the plot ofnd to finalize things?" asked the young man as he looked at Julian, to which thetter nodded in response.


    "Pretty much every plot ofnd bought from the kingdom needs to go through that procedure," said the man as he shrugged his shoulders. "Then again, you don''t need to head there before the meeting. Someone from the guild is keeping an eye on it until you head there."


    Nodding in response, Valyr thanked Julian once more for helping him out on his request to buy a plot ofnd, which naturally caused thetter to be curious as to what he nned on doing with it.


    In response, the young man told him that he nned on establishing a forge alongside making it his personal estate, which surprisingly piqued more interest from Julian than he initially thought.


    In fact, the man was more than interested in Valyr''s idea that the remaining time before the meeting quickly passed by, with the young man eventually being forced to write down a list of all the suggestions Julian gave him that he felt like he''d implement.


    "Oh... I got carried away again." Just as the young man began to wonder how much more suggestions the man before him was storing in his mind, Julian caught himself at the veryst minute, realizing the amount of time that passed.


    Briefly sending a couple of messages through his system, the man soon let out a sigh of relief as he looked back at Valyr with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. It''s been a while since I''ve talked about topics like these in depth. Let''s head to the venue, shall we?"


    Not wanting to sour Julian''s mood any further, Valyr merely nodded in response as he took a look at his status screen. "There''s still 30 minutes left before the meeting officially starts, no?"


    "That it does." Julian nodded as he walked out of his workshop beside Valyr. "However, most of the people that are part of the meeting usually arrive before that, so the meeting usually ends up starting earlier."


    With that in mind, the two slightly hastened their pace as they left the cksmith Guild, their gait more or less akin to a power walk as they arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Production Guild in less than five minutes.


    Knowing who Julian was and the reason for their appearance at the guild, the guards at the entrance swiftly gave way to the two, informing them of the others that had already arrived at the assembly hall.


    Thanking the guards in response, Julian and Valyr eventually arrived at the assembly hall, with thetter being greeted by the sight that slightly caught him off guard.


    Though Julian called it an assembly hall, the hall appeared more like what the inside of a stage theater would look like instead of what he had in mind.


    Noticing that there was a small stage at the end of the room surrounded by what looked to be at least over a hundred chairs, Valyr could not help but inwardly gulp, failing to recall thest time he''d done public speaking to such arge audience.


    Nevertheless, he was still able to maintain hisposure, noticing that half of the seats were already filled with what he felt were the directors manning the other branches of the


    cksmith Guild.


    Naturally, amongst those directors included one he''d met just a couple days ago.


    "Julian!" As if he was waiting for them, Byron appeared in front of the two with a wide smile on his face. "And if it isn''t Ylvar!"


    "Sir Byron." Valyr smiled, giving the man a respectful bow in response.


    "I suppose my hospitality back at the empire was to your liking?" Nodding back at Valyr''s bow, Byron soon threw a question at the young man.


    "You''ve definitely made me feel at home, Sir Byron," replied the young man, quicklying up with a response that he felt was just right. "I do apologize for not being able to stay too long, though."


    "Considering that you''re attending this assembly with Julian, there''s no need to apologize." Byron let out a bit ofughter in response, only to shift his gaze towards Julian as he asked


    him a question.


    "I''m guessing there''s a special reason as to why you brought the prodigy along?"


    "Remember that one proposal that''s been shot down by the directors multiple times already?" asked Julian back, to which Byron nodded after a bit of thought. "Yeah, he''s the


    inspiration for that proposal."


    "Wait..." Slightly frowning at the man''s words, Byron briefly furrowed his brows before his eyes slightly widened in realization. "You''re saying...?"


    "If you''re thinking what I''m thinking, then yes." Julian nodded with a grin.


    "Ylvar''s here to show a couple of things for the frontlines."


    "A couple of things the other directors are definitely going to like."

 Chapter 1076: The War Forge Assembly (2)

    Chapter 1076: The War Forge Assembly (2)


    ?


    "Is that so?" Giving himself time to process Julian''s words, Byron eventually regained his smile as he looked back at the two, his gaze briefly on Valyr before returning to his friend.


    "Mind if I take a peek at those items in advance, then?"


    At those words, Valyr looked at Julian, who stared at Byron for a bit before eventually shaking his head. "Normally, I don''t mind if you take a look at it. However, I would have to decline that request this time around."


    Noticing the man''s raised eyebrow, he quickly rified itself. "Don''t get me wrong. It''s not that I''m not confident in what we''ll be showingter on."


    "But... don''t you think it''ll be more exciting if all that expectationes rushing at once?"


    As he took note of his friend''s slightly teasing smile, Byron could not help but slightly frown at his answer.


    Though, after closing his eyes for a bit, that frown gradually disappeared, returning his expression to more or less what it was before.


    Pushing his senses to the limit to see if there was any falsehood in their words, the man was about to say something to Julian, only to be interrupted as a couple of other directors made their way to greet him.


    Seeing that, Byron inwardly let out a low sigh as he decided to part ways from the two for the meantime.


    But not before leaving a statement for the two of them.


    "I may not know exactly what items you n on showing, but consider me invested," said the man to the two, his gaze eventuallynding on Julian. "I hope it doesn''t disappoint my expectations."


    "I assure you. It won''t." With those parting words, Julian and Valyr soon made their way to one of the more vacant areas of the assembly hall, upying a pair of seats that were only a few rows away from the stage.


    Noticing that there was still some time before the meeting officially began, Valyr looked around their surroundings for a bit before asking Julian a question. "Was there really a need to do all that?"


    "Oh, definitely." Julian nodded as he softly chuckled. "It goes without saying that garnering more support from my fellow directors beforehand would increase the chances of our proposal getting epted."


    "If that''s the case, then why not garner more support from the other directors before the meeting starts?" asked the young man after a bit of thought.


    "Because there''s no need to," replied Julian with a confident smile, only to then point at the suit of armor he was currently wearing.


    "The performance of your items is more than enough to garner all the support we''ll need."


    With their conversation done, the two decided to remain silent and focus on their own thoughts for the meantime, waiting for the meeting to begin as more and more people entered the assembly hall.


    Of course, since the various directors of the cksmith Guild rarely met up with one another aside from the assembly, many of them took this meeting as an opportunity to catch up on what the other directors were doing.


    Naturally, it went without saying that Julian was the same, eventually standing up to talk to the directors that greeted him back, leaving Valyr alone in his seat.


    Though, not even a few minutester, Julian returned to his seat, his expression stern as he told Valyr that the meeting was about to begin.


    Nodding in response, the young man directed his attention towards the small stage, only to be greeted by the sight of an old man that he was faintly familiar with.


    "Seeing as everyone has more or less arrived at the assembly hall, let us begin today''s War Forge Assembly." Infusing mana into his words, the old man''s voice reached even the corners of therge hall, causing everyone to stop what they were doing before focusing all their attention on him.


    Nodding at the reaction he got in satisfaction, the old man took in a deep breath before continuing to speak. "To those that are just joining the War Forge Assembly for the first time, I am Alvin Marti. However, you may know me more as Elder Alvin, the vice head of the Imperial Production Guild''s cksmith Division."


    "Due to unfortunate scheduling, Elder Merahm, the head of the cksmith Division, is unable to lead today''s War Forge Assembly as he is busy forging equipment for the frontlines. Of course, I shall make sure that he stays up to date once the meeting is over."


    "With that being said, General Cain, if you''d like to start the assembly." As these words left Elder Alvin''s mouth, a middle-aged man stood up from his seat in response before making his way to the stage.


    Looking at the man the elder called to the stage, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise as he took note of the various badges that were affixed to the man''s chest, immediately recalling most, if not all of the methods to obtain them.


    Though, just as his gaze shifted onto the man''s uniform, Valyr immediately retracted it as he felt a terrifying aura wash over his body, only to then realize where the aura came from. Faintly nodding as he finished his cursory sweep over the people attending the meeting, the general thanked the elder before giving everyone a quick nod.


    "So..." Taking in a deep breath, he then began to discuss the current situation on the frontlines with all of the directors of the cksmith Guild, officially kicking off the War Forge Assembly.


    Listening to the words that came out of the general''s mouth, Valyr made sure tomit most of it to memory, seeing as it would allow him to prepare for the time he arrived at the frontlines in the future.


    Though, aside from a few important parts that piqued everyone''s interest, the young man didn''t really pay that much attention to what the general said.


    After all, the reason why he attended the meeting in the first ce was to show his items to the directors in the hopes of it being mass produced for the frontlines.


    Then again, that didn''t mean he didn''t have a general idea of the discussion.


    After the general was finished getting the directors up to speed on the current state of the war, the secretary that apanied the general took up the stage not long after, informing everyone of the changes that would take immediate effect after the meeting.


    Noticing that some of the directors began to frown at the secretary''s words, Valyr looked at Julian and asked what was going on, only for thetter to exin to him that there was a certain pattern to the meeting.


    "You could say the meeting is split into two parts," Julian told Valyr in a whisper, making sure not to disturb the meeting. "The first part is somewhat static, considering that it''s just the military keeping us up to date on the frontlines, as well as informing us of the changes they n on implementing."


    "On the other hand, the second part is where we shine." he continued. "This part is where us directors throw out ideas and proposals that might possibly help out in the war efforts."


    "That''s also the part where wee in."


    Satisfied with the exnation he''d gotten, Valyr soon returned his attention to the secretary talking up front, only for what Julian termed as the first part of the meeting to be finished around ten minutester.


    By the time the secretary stepped down, Elder Alvin went up stage once more, informing the directors that it was now time for them to share their ideas and proposals with the other


    directors.


    "If you have any proposals or ideas that might help in the frontlines, feel free to step up," said the elder, which immediately prompted a couple of directors to be the first in what Valyr eventually thought was the longest part of the War Forge Assembly.


    ncing at Julian in the midst of others'' proposals to see if they''d pitch their ideas soon, Valyr was quickly met with a shake of the man''s head, telling him that it''d be better for them


    to bide their time.


    And thus, the two listened and took note of the proposals the other directors gave, with most of them unsurprisingly being rejected by the other directors due to the oundish ideas they


    brought up.


    As for the proposals that were epted, Valyr noticed that the secretary took down notes while talking with the general from time to time, causing a bit of the nervousness he thought


    had disappeared toe to surface.


    Eventually, after watching the other directors propose their ideas to the assembly for over a


    couple hours now, Julian stood up all of a sudden before making his way to the stage, forcing Valyr to let out a soft sigh as he followed behind the man soon after.


    After all, this meant that it was now their turn.

 Chapter 1077: The War Forge Assembly (3)

    Chapter 1077: The War Forge Assembly (3)


    ?


    As the director of the only branch of the cksmith Guild that was situated in an empire, it went without saying that many of the directors reached out to Byron during the assembly for his insights on the proposals.


    After all, as he was near what was considered the center of humanity''s power, it only made sense that the person manning the cksmith Guild there had a knowledge that would help out in the war, right?


    Unfortunately for them, Byron would rather forge a mountain pile of equipment for years on end rather than think about the ramifications of what items would bring change to the current state of the war.


    Of course, that did not mean that the man was uninterested in the war at all. If anything, it allowed him to get a close-up look on what was basically the most innovative pieces of equipment humanity had to offer.


    ...Even if most of them weren''t really all that effective in the ongoing war.


    "Did they really think an item like that would be epted during the assembly?" As thetest director to head up the stage eventually returned to his seat with a slightly forlorn expression, Byron passively listened to the conversation that was happening beside him.


    "They definitely have an idea on what to do," replied a man to the words that were spoken before, prompting Byron to recall that the former was the director of the cksmith Guild branch near the empire. "However, that''s all they have."


    "For the frontlines, one would need more than an idea for their proposal to be epted." The man that spoke before nodded in agreement, with Byron being reminded that they were the director of the cksmith Guild near Algerie. "After all, any epted proposal is swiftly going to be implemented in the war."


    Just as Byron thought that the two would continue discussing the proposal that had been pitched just now, the director beside him decided to ask him a question regarding the topic, seemingly listening in to the conversation that was happening.


    "What do you think, Director Byron? Do you think a proposal like that should have been epted rather than rejected?"


    Briefly frowning from having the attention be directed to him, Byron inwardly let out a sigh as the gears in his mind began to turn. "Just like what has been mentioned before, it would be better if the idea was in a practical form. After all, an idea on its own can only go so far."


    "However, one must also take into consideration that it''s being used in war, so the speed at which it could be crafted, as well as the ease of sourcing the materials needed to forge also need to be considered," continued the man, noticing that many of the directors around him were now listening in to their conversation.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh once more, the man was about to finish his exnation, only to notice that a pair of familiar individuals to him were now heading up the stage.


    Smiling as he thought about the conversation he had with them before, Byron briefly became silent as he found the right words to say. "In any case, it won''t be long till a proposal like that gets epted. I''d assume they''d return to pitch their idea a couple War Forge Assemblies from now."


    "Anyways, I''m quite curious as to what my good friend Julian has to propose," said the man, easily piquing the interest of the other directors as they redirected their gazes towards the stage.


    Seeing as he''d turned what was initially a conversation he didn''t want to be a part of into an opportunity for Julian and Ylvar to garner the approval of more directors, Byron softly smiled as he focused all of his senses towards the uing proposal.


    ''I really hope you two don''t disappoint.''


    ...


    "Say, Valyr." As the two slowly made their way to the small stage up front, Julian whispered a couple of things to the young man. "Is it fine if we split up our proposal into two parts?"


    Slightly frowning at first, it did not take long for the young man to understand Julian''s intentions. "You n on showing the armor first?"


    "I do." Julian nodded, waiting for the director currently up stage to finish their proposal. "Plus, it only makes sense for me to propose it first, considering how long I''ve been pushing for its implementation."


    "Do you need my help?" asked the young man in response, his expression that of slight contemtion.


    "As long as you stand and show off the armor, that''s more than enough," replied Julian, giving Valyr a signal with his eyes that it was going to be their turn soon. "Of course, if you need help exining the arquebus to the others, I''ll be d to help out."


    "We''ll see." Valyr nodded back at the man''s words, bringing up the chat screen in his mind as he sent a couple of messages to both Hal and Mystia.


    ''I hope everything goes smoothly,'' thought the young man to himself, slowly heading up the stage with Julian as he continued talking with the two through chat.


    Getting an update from Hal that he''d gotten the help of a few directors within the assembly to help make sure his proposal was approved, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he and Julian faced the audience making up the War Forge Assembly.


    Briefly ncing at Elder Alvin, as well as the general and secretary taking notes, Valyr was finally able to rx when Mystia sent back a message that she was already within the Imperial Production Guild, just waiting for the right time to reveal herself during the proposal.


    With that, the young man gave Julian a light nod before putting on a calm expression.


    Nodding back at Valyr, Julian took in a deep breath before proceeding to start his pitch. "Greetings, fellow directors. I am Julian Pyrrhia, the director and guild leader of Algerie''s Kingdom branch of the cksmith Guild."


    "Some of you might recognize me from the proposals I''ve pitched in the previous War Forge Assemblies. In fact, I n on proposing the same idea to all of you."


    "However, unlike before, I now bring you all the actual item behind the proposal, which is currently being worn by a cksmith of my guild."


    "Feel free to use your identification skills on the armor he''s wearing." As these words left Julian''s mouth, many of the directors eventually decided to do so as their curiosity got the better of them.


    Then again, their curiosity immediately turned into disbelief the moment their eyes shifted towards the armor''s description, causing the faint smile on Julian''s face to be wider.


    "Now, seeing as I''ve gotten all of your attention, it''s time for me to exin my proposal in detail."


    "The Aegis of Humanity."

 Chapter 1078: The War Forge Assembly (4)

    Chapter 1078: The War Forge Assembly (4)


    ?


    ''I now see why Julian decided to act mysterious this time around.'' By the time he was done looking through the description of the armor Ylvar was wearing, Byron had an amused smile on his face as he listened to the proposal his friend was giving.


    Having attended all of the War Forge Assemblies that came before the current one, Byron more or less already had an idea of what Julian was proposing, which was a specific set of armor that would empower both the offensive and defensive capabilities of those in the frontlines.


    Though the man did not show what kind of armor it was specifically, the blueprints and the specifications Julian had given to the other directors back then was more than enough of an idea for them to get an idea of his vision.


    Because of that, they were more than certain that a set of armor like that would definitely set off waves once implemented in the frontlines, easily tipping the scales of the war to their favor just because of their existence.


    After all, not only would the set of armor give a significant boost to one''s strength through its awakened stats and its innate boosting skill, it would give a significant boost to one''s strength through the sole fact that it could be worn by those at a lower level.


    However, even though the armor set Julian had shown in thest couple of War Forge Assemblies had definitely shown a few of those concepts in action, it was not at a level that warranted the mass approval of the directors attending the meeting.


    If anything, they felt that the armor the man had shown them would only allow those supporting the frontlines to benefit.


    Of course, such thoughts immediately disappeared the moment the directors'' eyesid upon the armor Valyr was wearing.


    Not only was the rarity of the armor set Epic+ grade, but it also boasted both Defense stats and awakened stats that made some of the directors want a set of their own.


    Then again, the allure of the stats paled inparison to the skills that were attached to the armor itself, with the first one among them immediately piquing many of the directors'' interests.


    "I must say, Director Byron. You''ve made the right call in bringing our attention to such an exquisite piece of armor," said the director beside him, with many of the directors around him nodding in agreement.


    "Then again, that does beg the question. Considering the proposal your friend had shown in the previous meeting, how did he progress his idea to this extent?" asked one of the other directors not long after, which surprisingly made Byron silent as well.


    At first, he was just d that his friend''s proposal was finally going to be epted, getting the feeling that it would be the de facto armor that signified one''s involvement with the frontlines.


    However,paring the progress Julian showed back then to what he showed now, Byron did realize that the man seemed to have skipped a lot of steps in between the two meetings.


    After pondering over it for a bit, it did not take long for him toe up with a usible answer, his gaze briefly on the young man that stood beside his friend because of it.


    Though, just as he was about to voice some of the ideas he went over in his mind to the directors surrounding him, the man received a message from someone he didn''t expect. Then again, the message he received wasn''t something he was expecting either.


    "I''m currently at the Imperial Production Guild," wrote Mystia in her message to him. "If you''re wondering what I''m doing here, then it would have something to do with the War Forge Assembly that''s currently ongoing."


    Gathering his thoughts after getting over the shock Mystia''s message gave him, Byron informed the other directors to not disturb him for a bit as he soon responded back. "Will you be attending the assembly in person, then?"


    "That''s the n," replied Mystia not long after, prompting the man to wonder what would cause such an important person like her to show up in what was effectively a small meeting.


    Thankfully, her next message shed some light on the curiosity he felt, prompting his gaze to eventuallynd on the two currently up on stage.


    "In any case, I heard that a certain young man by the name of Ylvar is currently proposing a couple of special things in that War Forge Assembly."


    "If you could help his proposals get epted during this meeting, perhaps I might concoct a potion or two for you. Believe me when I say that the current state of the war would instantly change for the better if they get implemented."


    "Either way, I''ll talk to you soon."


    After double-checking to see if Mystia would send him another message, Byron eventually closed the chat screen in his mind as he softly sighed.


    Not wanting to think too much about the things the Imperial Alchemist told him, the man decided to talk about his thoughts regarding Julian''s proposal with the other directors, slowly nudging their opinions to be more positive the more he talked.


    Of course, the man also continued to pay attention to the words Julian spoke, briefly ncing at Ylvar every once in a while as he wondered what exactly the young man did to rope Mystia to his side.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for the answer to his question to appear, with Julian grinning as he dropped a statement that left most, if not all of the directors at a loss for words. "...Just so you know, the armor you see before you was made by Ylvar himself."


    "In fact, the idea for the proposal I''ve shared with you all this time initially came about because of his armor."


    Silence.


    The moment those words left Julian''s mouth, almost all of the directors shifted their gazes towards Valyr in silence.


    In fact, Elder Alvin, the general, and the secretary also looked at him in silence, their expressions that of slight surprise as they could not believe what they were hearing.


    Looking at the audience for a brief moment, Valyr eventually let out a faint sigh as he nudged Julian on the side.


    "Mind if I say something about the armor?"


    As this question left the young man''s mouth, Julian looked back at Valyr in response, only to nod after a bit of thought.


    Nodding back as he briefly gave the man a look of gratitude, Valyr took a few steps forward as he sorted out the thoughts in his mind.


    Taking a deep breath to quell his nervousness, he looked at the directors one more time before opening his mouth.


    "Greetings, directors of the cksmith Guild. Greetings, Elder Alvin, General Cain, and Chief Secretary Erwan. My name is Ylvar, an Honorary Lesser Elder of the Algerie Kingdom branch of the cksmith Guild."


    "Though I feel like I''m somewhat overstepping my bounds when I say things, I would like to give people a better idea of what Director Julian is proposing..."


    "The armor set that I''ve painstakingly created..."


    "The armor set that will turn the tides of war in our favor."

 Chapter 1079: The War Forge Assembly (5)

    Chapter 1079: The War Forge Assembly (5)


    ?


    ''...Now I understand.'' Listening to the story Ylvar was giving to everyone in the assembly hall, Byron felt that everything finally made sense to him. ''Now I understand why Mystia wanted to help the young man out.''


    Back then, Byron merely knew Ylvar for his feat of forging an artifact at the peak of Rank 2 during a forging duel.


    Though it wasn''t unheard of for someone at that rank to forge an artifact, it was still rare of an urrence for it to be considered a big deal, especially amongst cksmiths of the younger generation.


    However, as he continued to listen to the words that left the young man''s mouth, Byron began to realize that there was more to Ylvar than meets the eye, the part about him forging an artifact merely being the tip of the iceberg.


    Omitting the other parts of the journey he''d taken to get his armor to its current state, Ylvar talked about the various stages of the armor in detail, exining the various materials he''d used and why he''d chosen them instead of other materials.


    At the same time, the young man gave the directors a brief idea of the armor''s performance at those stages, causing a bit of discussion amongst the directors, most of which were in favor of distributing the armor to those in the frontlines.


    Proceeding through the various rarities the armor went through, the more interest Ylvar garnered from the directors, with some even bing curious as to how the armor would turn out after hearing that the young man had ns to upgrade it soon.


    By the time the young man talked about how he was willing to share the blueprints to his armor under certain conditions, Byron felt both grateful and guilty that a talented young man like Ylvar existed.


    He was grateful because Ylvar''s existence meant that the world of cksmithing would enter a golden age sooner orter, especially with how innovative the set of armor in terms of its passive skill.


    However, he also felt guilty towards Ylvar, considering that his actions weren''t really something he needed to do in order for Julian''s proposal to be epted.


    If anything, he felt bad for the young man, considering that he''d put a lot of effort to improve his armor, only for him to share his hard work with others in the end.


    Nevertheless, the tactic of sharing the blueprints for the armor worked incredibly well to persuade the directors, with some of them just itching to ept the proposal as soon as the young man''s story was over.


    After all, if they could get their hands on the blueprints, then they''d eventually be able to figure out how to apply a simr passive skill to other equipmentster on.


    Even Byron could not help but get a bit excited once Ylvar mentioned the blueprints, not even being disappointed that the young man would limit the blueprints he shared with the directors to Rare+ grade at most.


    The lowered level requirement wouldn''t be as high as the one on the current set of armor Ylvar was wearing, but it was still enough for it to be a game changer on the battlefield. Seeing as the directors, the general, and the secretary all pushed for the immediate approval of Julian''s proposal once Ylvar was done exining, Byron began to wryly smile.


    ''Now that I think about it, Mystia didn''t really need to tell me to support their proposal,'' thought the man to himself, watching as Julian and Ylvar looked at each other in smiles after seeing the support they were getting.


    ''They would''ve garnered support for their proposal either way with what Ylvar showed us,'' he continued, knowing that some of the directors were definitely dubious of the young man''s skills.


    However, as someone who''s attended the young man''s forging duel in person, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Ylvar would prove himself, considering the massive tform the war has given him to showcase his skills.


    ''In any case, now that their proposal is over, there isn''t really much need for me to pay attention to the ones thate after.'' As this thought came to mind, Byron expected the two to soon leave the stage, not minding the fact that the two were briefly talking about something.


    Though, contrary to his expectations, the two remained where they were, with Ylvar stepping forward once more to say something.


    "To be honest, Director Julian and I both have something to propose for the assembly." Taking in a deep breath, the young man spoke words that immediately caught the people''s interest.


    "Now that his proposal has been epted, it''s time for me to show my proposal to the directors."


    At those words, the directors looked at each other in curiosity, wondering what kind of item the young man would show them as his proposal.


    In their minds, they would still show goodwill towards the young man even if his proposal was somewhat worsepared to the armor set that was just shown.


    However, such thoughts immediately disappeared from their minds as the young man revealed a weapon that immediately caught their interest.


    From the shape of the weapon alone, many of the directors were confident that it had something to do with the ranged weapon that had been recently making waves in the frontlines.


    Though, little did they know that it was the weapon that served as inspiration for the ranged weapon they knew in the first ce.


    ...


    ''I haven''t even started my proposal, yet I''ve already got their attention.'' Seeing the looks of shock on some of the directors'' faces, a faint smile crept up onto Valyr''s lips as he firmly grasped the arquebus he brought out.


    Giving both Hal and Mystia a heads-up regarding the current state of the meeting, the young man briefly nced at Julian, who gave him a thumbs-up and a grin in response. Smiling as he nodded back, Valyr immediately began to talk about the arquebus, the gears in his mind turning as he briefly went over what he nned on saying.


    "I''m sure all of the directors here have noticed that the weapon I''ve brought out resembles another weapon you might have already seen," said the young man, to which some of the


    directors nodded in response.


    Nodding back at them, he continued, "Your suspicions are correct. The weapon I n on proposing in this assembly does resemble the ranged weapon my friend Vylhalteinn has made popr in the frontlines."


    "However, before you think that I''ve merely improved upon the weapon Vylhalteinn created, let me tell everyone inside this hall that your thoughts are misguided."


    "In reality, the weapon Vylhalteinn has been distributing throughout the frontlines so far, the weapon you might have thought came first..."


    "That weapon was originally inspired by the weapon you see in front of you."

 Chapter 1080 The War Forge Assembly (6)

    1080 The War Forge Assembly (6)


    As those words left Valyr''s mouth, a few of the directors began to frown in response, finding his words incredibly arrogant.


    As far as many of them knew, the ranged weapon Vylhalteinn created was made with the knowledge he''d gained from the inheritance he entered, distributing it among those in the frontlines in the hopes that it would turn the tides of war in their favor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    At first, many of the directors of the cksmith Guild found Vylhalteinn''s weapon a crude mimicry of what true cksmiths were able to achieve, a mockery of the hard work they''d put into their craft.


    Yet, once they had the opportunity to examine the weapon in detail and test it out, they soon understood the ingenuity behind the weapon Vylhalteinn had shown them, realizing that its simplicity was deceptive.


    Aside from that, they also realized that the weapon was relying with concepts that were a bit beyond what their current Technology Trees had reached, causing some of them to wonder what other knowledge Vylhalteinn had gained from the inheritance.


    Considering the effort and the knowledge needed to even create the weapon Vylhalteinn made in the first ce, it was no surprise that many of the directors quickly doubted the young man''s words.


    Of course, Valyr eventually realized this as well, bitterly smiling as he thought about how he''d be able to salvage this situation.


    ''To be honest, I should''ve expected them to be doubtful of my words from the get-go. After all, all of them don''t really know what happened in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance,'' thought the young man to himself, taking in a deep breath as he looked at the current situation from a rational perspective.


    ''Aside from that, Hal left the inheritance far earlier than me. With a bit ofmon sense, it''s no surprise that more people are inclined to believe that he was the one who invented the arquebus¡­ even though he really didn''t.''


    ''I think I believed in the directors a bit too much after how smoothly Julian''s proposal went,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, reminding himself that this was his first time meeting most of the directors in the hall.


    ''In any case, I have to make them believe in my words somehow.''


    As these words lingered in his mind, the young man inwardly let out a faint sigh, gaining newfound respect towards Julian''s tenacity in making sure his proposal was epted.


    At the same time, the gears in his mind began turning, slowlying up with a n to start shifting things back in his favor.


    Sending a message to Hal about the current situation, Valyr split part of his attention back to the audience as he continued where he left off. "Of course, I wouldn''t be surprised if the directors are doubtful of my words."


    "However, what if I told you that I entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance at the same time Vylhalteinn did?" asked the young man soon after, his gaze soon shifting towards Elder Alvin. "I''m certain the Imperial Production Guild can confirm my ims."


    As the directors of the various cksmith Guild branches began to discuss with one another regarding Valyr''s words, Elder Alvin could not help but look at the young man with a slight frown on his face, uncertain as to why he was being dragged into the discussion.


    Fortunately, with a bit of rummaging through his memories, the elder soon realized what was going on, his eyes widening in surprise as he looked at Valyr once more.


    Conjuring a nigh-imperceptible strand of mana, the elder infused a message into it that was received by Valyr not long after.


    "Wait a second¡­ are you perhaps¡­ the Herald?"


    Hearing the elder''s voice echo in his mind, Valyr smiled in response as he gave the old man a faint nod.


    "That would be me, indeed," sent Valyr back to the elder in an energy strand of his own. "Though I have prepared a few ns for situations like these, it would be great if I could also obtain your assistance."


    "It would be my pleasure to help you," replied the elder through another strand, prompting him to make his way up the stage soon after.


    "Let me handle this."


    Seeing as Elder Alvin was heading up the stage, many of the directors stopped their discussions, instead focusing their attention on what he had to say.


    Knowing that the elder had definitely gone up to say something about the current situation, the directors were left at a slight loss for words as they did not expect the words that came out of the elder''s mouth.


    "As all of you may know, I am the vice head of the Imperial Production Guild''s cksmith Division," said Elder Alvin, his expression the definition of calm. "However, what you may not know is that I am also the division''s representative for the guild''s Ancestral Council, the council that''s mainly responsible for the selection of representatives for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "As part of the council, I can confirm that Ylvar''s words are the truth," continued the man, prompting looks of shock to appear on some of the directors'' faces. "He is indeed the representative the cksmith Guild sent for the inheritance, with Vylhalteinn being the representative of the Sage Guild."


    "I can also confirm the veracity of Ylvar''s im." Getting a rough idea of what was going on, Julian decided to step forward as well to give Valyr''s words more credibility. "After all, I was the one who chose him to be the guild''s representative for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    With both the elder and Julian confirming Valyr''s ims, the opinions of the other directors slowly began to shift, with some of them now warming up to what the young man had told them earlier.


    However, that still left the majority who were still skeptical.


    "How can we be so sure that this current situation isn''t all an act?" asked one of the more doubtful directors within the assembly, to which many responded back with sounds of agreement.


    Ding!


    Getting a notification from the system just as that question was thrown out, Valyr went ahead and took a look at it, only for him to let out a faint chuckle once he was done.


    Shifting his gaze towards the one that just spoke, the young man had a confident smile on his face as he asked, "Would it be possible for you to introduce yourself before I answer your question?"


    Thankfully, the man that spoke up did not mind, nodding as he opened his mouth. "Altem Vilnas, director of the Charlton Kingdom cksmith Guild."


    "Director Altem." Valyr nodded back in thanks. "You mentioned that there''s the possibility for the current situation to all be an act. Could you perhaps give us an idea as to how we could prove that?"


    Feeling the attention of all the other directors now on him because of that, the man surprisingly backpedaled as he replied in a slight stammer, "Don''t get me wrong. You''ve already shown sufficient proof to remove most of the doubts behind your im."


    "However, it would be great if there was more proof."


    "More proof, huh?" Valyr chuckled in amusement as he soon dropped a statement that made some of the directors doubt their hearing.


    "Would Vylhalteinn appearing in this meeting be enough proof for you, then?"


    (3/5)


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1081 The War Forge Assembly (7)

    1081 The War Forge Assembly (7)


    "Huh?" Briefly nking out in response to the young man''s words, the director took a while to snap back to reality as he looked at Valyr with a frown. "¡­Surely, you must be joking, right?"


    "As far as I know, Vylhalteinn is currently busy at the frontlines," the man continued, his tone now containing a hint of reprimand. "Unless you have a way for him to appear in this hall at this very moment, it wouldn''t be wise to say something like that."


    "Oh? But what if he did have a way for me to appear here?"


    Hearing someone respond to his question, the director was slightly startled. Nevertheless, he remained calm as he looked at the direction of the voice, only for his expression to turn into that of shock as he recognized the one talking to him.


    "V-Vylhalteinn!"


    "That''s my name, alright," replied Hal, nodding as he grinned. "Vylhalteinn Impyris, Elite Lesser Elder of the Melion Kingdom Sage Guild."


    "As well as a good friend of Ylvar right here."


    Grinning as he listened to Hal''s greeting, Valyr briefly thought back to earlier, his memories returning to the point where the director had spoken about the possibility of the current situation being an act of some sorts.


    Of course, as the director had no idea what was going on, the young man did not really get mad at him. Instead, he thought about how he''d persuade the man, considering that some of the other directors were of the same mind. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Thankfully, at that moment, he''d received a response back from Hal regarding the current situation, informing Valyr that he''d sent a message to one of the directors to have his presence be at the hall.


    Naturally, the young man thanked Hal for his time, to which thetter replied that it was the least he could do for someone who made sure he and the others left the inheritance safely.


    With that, whilst Valyr was in the midst of discussion with the director, one of the other directors summoned Vylhalteinn to the hall, throwing out a crystal that was then immediately infused with great amounts of mana.


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, an apparition of Hal manifested within the hall, which quickly led up to the current moment as he responded to the director''s words.


    Smiling in response to Hal''s words, Valyr briefly nced at the man he''d trusted his life with back in the inheritance, immediately taking note of the faint bloodlust he was emanating.


    "Just finished a fight or something?" he asked Hal, to which thetter nodded with a wry smile.


    "Had to deal with arge group of orcs," said the man, offering Valyr a bit more insight to what was happening in the frontlines. "We''re still in the midst of expanding our defensive line, actually."


    "Speaking of which, when will you head to the frontlines, Ylvar?" asked Hal after that, making sure to not leak Valyr''s true identity.


    While some of the directors were listening in on their conversation with shock, Valyr pondered over the question for a bit before chuckling. "I''ll probably head there within the week. Can''t say my schedule is entirely free to head to the frontlines yet."


    "Fair enough." Hal nodded in response, only to return his attention to the director that somewhat antagonized the young man.


    "Now then. Let me help clear up the confusion regarding Ylvar''s weapon."


    As those words left Hal''s mouth, he went ahead and began to narrate the journey he and Valyr had in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, greatly omitting details that weren''t relevant to the discussion.


    Naturally, as the discussion revolved around the arquebus Valyr had brought out, it went without saying that Hal''s focus was there as well, talking about how the young man before them had allowed them to experience the arquebus firsthand.


    In fact, Hal even told the directors that the young man had two weapons with a simr mechanism, prompting Valyr to bring out the pistol from his spatial bracelet, which only elicited greater surprise from the directors.


    Seeing as most, if not all of the directors were now convinced, Hal and Valyr looked at each other, the two of them inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as they decided to end the exnation once and for all.


    "Once again, the arquebus Ylvar has shown you is none other than the original version I''ve based my weapon from," said Hal. "From how it''s operated to how it performs, the weapon I''ve created could be considered a reduced version of the weapon Ylvar forged."


    "You still made an amazing weapon, though, considering you''ve only been able to experience it once," corrected Valyr. "Don''t downy yourself."


    "I''m not." Hal let out a bit ofughter. "After all, there''s noparison between our two weapons just from sheer performance alone."


    "In any case, I think I''ve done enough." Looking at the directors once more, the man nodded in satisfaction before proceeding to dispel his apparition.


    "See you at the frontlines, Ylvar," said Hal as he thanked the director that summoned him.


    "Yeah. I''ll see you there." Thanking Hal once more, the young man watched the apparition gradually disappear with a smile, only for his attention to return on the director not long after.


    "Or do you perhaps need a bit more?"


    "More than enough. You''ve already given more than enough," the director hastily replied with a slightly apologetic smile, feeling like he''d only look absurd if he were to ask more from the young man.


    Other than that, he felt that some of the directors had changed how they viewed him because of his actions, prompting him to finally backpedal for good.


    "Great." Oblivious to what was going on in the director''s mind, Valyr grinned in response as he requested everyone in the audience to identify the weapon he was holding.


    Describing the arquebus in greater detail to the masses, the young man was soon met with looks of shock from all of the directors within the hall, with even the elder, as well as the pair of military officials not being spared from the reaction.


    Though he felt like it was a done deal for his proposal to have the arquebus be implemented en masse throughout the frontlines, Valyr decided to really make sure that everyone was on board with the idea, suggesting to do a live demonstration of the arquebus for them.


    Naturally, everyone within the hall agreed to the suggestion, prompting one of the directors to head out of the assembly hall to grab something that could be used as a live target.


    However, not even a minuteter, the director who left returned to the assembly hall with their face deprived of its color.


    At first, the other directors wondered why that was the case, only for them to notice that the director was apanied by someone who they never thought even in their wildest dreams to appear in a meeting like this.


    "Greetings, everyone. Apologies for attending the meeting sote."


    "Then again, my presence wouldn''t be a disturbance during the meeting, right?"


    (4/5)


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 Chapter 1082 The War Forge Assembly (8)

    1082 The War Forge Assembly (8)


    As everyone within the hall was left at a loss for words due to her presence, Byron decided to be the first to break the silence as he gave her a respectful half-bow.


    "Byron Stelming of the Meltierre Empire cksmith Guild greets the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "You didn''t have to greet me like that, you know?" Mystia slightly pouted, initially hoping that she''d be able to interact with everyone casually.


    Though, seeing as Byron set a precedent that all of the other directors would definitely follow suit, the woman let out a faint sigh before nodding. "The Imperial Alchemist greets Director Byron."


    As those words left her mouth, the other directors began to muster up the courage one by one to greet her, most of them bing ecstatic after hearing her respond to their greeting.


    Eventually, the ones that had yet to greet her were at the front, with Elder Alvin looking at Mystia with a kind smile.


    "How long has it been since we''vest seen each other?" asked the elder with a chuckle. "You look like you haven''t aged a day."


    "I could say the same to you," replied Mystia with a chuckle of her own. "Also, it''s been over three decades since ourst meeting."


    Talking a bit more with the elder after that, Mystia then shifted her attention towards the pair of military officials, who greeted her with the utmost respect they could muster.


    Responding to their greeting in kind, she then shifted her attention towards thest two that remained on the stage, smiling as she briefly nced at the young man.


    "Julian Pyrrhia of the Algerie Kingdom cksmith Guild greets the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court." Though he''d already interacted with Mystia in the past, Julian decided to go with the greeting Byron gave her at the start due to the sheer nervousness he felt.


    Naturally, Mystia noticed his nervousness, deciding to respond as such to not worsen it any further. "The Imperial Alchemist greets Director Julian."


    With Julian letting out a wide sigh of relief after his greeting, Mystia shifted her gaze to the only person that had yet to greet her, the two of them looking at each other in the eyes.


    "Ylvar of the cksmith Guild¡­" Knowing that he was thest one to greet her, Valyr thought about giving the same greeting the others did at first, wondering whether or not to hide the new rtionship he''d formed with her.


    Though, recalling the messages they''ve exchanged throughout the meeting so far, the young man decided to change it up in the end.


    "¡­greets Master," said the young man, causing everyone, including Julian, to stare at him with their mouths agape.


    On the other hand, Mystia let out a bit ofughter in amusement, only tough a bit more as she looked at the expressions on everyone else''s faces.


    "And here I thought you nned on keeping it a secret," said Mystia with a satisfied smile.


    "Well, you did say you wanted the reveal to be somewhat extravagant," joked Valyr in response. "Did I nail it?"


    "You definitely did." Mystia chuckled. "Thanks for the mood booster."


    Seeing as everyone was still both shocked and confused as to what was going on, the woman took in a deep breath topose herself before telling everyone, "As you can probably see, Ylvar and I have entered a master-disciple rtionship."


    "Though I have only officially taken him as my disciple a couple of days ago, this is not a decision I have done on a whim. Ylvar has shown himself more than capable enough to be my disciple, bing the third and potentially thest disciple I take in."


    Hearing that the young man before them was Mystia''sst disciple, many of the directors'' eyes widened in response, with some of them even changing the way they looked at him.


    On the other hand, the young man sent Mystia a message through the system, feeling that there was something off with her words. "Am I really yourst disciple?"


    "For the foreseeable future, yes," replied Mystia in a message of her own. "But for the most part, I''ve decided to say this to make sure no one messes with you."


    "Now go and show them what your arquebus is capable of."


    Feeling his heart warm up from the concern and care Mystia was showing him, Valyr thanked her in hisst message through the system before returning their conversation to where it could be heard by the others.


    Continuing where they left off before her sudden arrival, Valyr exined to her that he was about to do a live demonstration of the weapon he was in the midst of proposing to the other directors. However, they faced the problem of not having a target that would allow them to see the exact damage it dealt.


    Pondering over the problem for a bit, Mystia eventually conjured a rift beside her before taking out what looked to be a person made entirely out of metal.


    "What''s that?" Watching Mystia ce the metal person on the edge of the stage, Valyr went ahead and asked her out of curiosity.


    "A training dummy I made in my free time," replied Mystia with a slight shrug as she gave Valyr the space to do what he needed to do. "Works wonders when you want to test poisons."


    "Of course, it also works on conventional attacks and skills," she continued. "Though¡­ I''m not sure if it can handle what you''re about to do."


    "I guess it''s time for us to find out," said the young man with a smile, immediately activating a couple of his stat-boosting skills to improve his strength.


    Whoosh!


    ring out his aura, many of the directors looked at him with surprise, not expecting him to wield such a high level of strength. In fact, even Julian was briefly taken aback, considering how Valyr was at the peak of Rank 3 thest time they met.


    "First, I''ll be doing a normal attack with the arquebus," said Valyr to the audience, swiftly going through the motions of arming the arquebus for firing.


    Aiming the arquebus at the dummy''s head once he was done, he then pulled on the trigger, instantly dealing a level of damage that left many of the directors with their eyes wide in disbelief.


    Bang!


    ''-595,720!!!''


    Unsurprisingly, the training dummy disintegrated from the sheer force behind the shot, the dark red six-digit number hovering above where it previously stood a reminder of how powerful it was.


    Slightly surprised at the damage he dealt to the dummy, Valyr asked Mystia for more detail on the dummy, prompting thetter to exin that the dummy had the lowest stats a peak Rank 5 ss holder could possibly obtain.


    Now understanding why the normal shot dealt far more damage than usual, he then asked Mystia for another training dummy, informing the others that he was now going to use a couple of skills attached to the arquebus.


    After Mystia gave him the go signal once she ced the new dummy down, Valyr went ahead and activated his Intent, deciding to go somewhat all out as he armed the arquebus for firing.


    Infusing Prime Azure Energy into the weapon, Valyr allowed [Extended Charge] to do its thing, causing the aura the arquebus to grow in power with every second.


    By the time some of the directors at the front felt that the arquebus was near the point of bursting, it was only did Valyr pull on the trigger once more, infusing the arquebus with enough energy at the end to activate another skill.


    "[Grand Burst]."


    Bang!


    ''-2,037,195!!!''


    Witnessing the seven-digit number that manifested above where the second dummy once stood, Valyr maintained a calm expression on his face as he watched the dummy explode into shrapnel, immediately conjuring multiple barriers out of Prime Azure Energy to contain the aftermath of his attack.


    Then again, even though the end result turned far messier than he initially thought, that did not stop the glee he felt from appearing on his face, turning the faint smile he had into a wide grin once he noticed the looks of greed that were starting to appear on some of the directors'' faces.


    ''I could say I might have gone a bit too far there at the end¡­''


    ''But hey. A sess is a sess.''


    (5/5)


    And this pretty much ends the small arc of the War Forge Assembly, save for a few more things in the next chapter.


    Thank you once again to everyone who''s been reading the novel so far.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1083 After the Assembly

    1083 After the Assembly


    "Well¡­ that turned out better than I thought."


    As he and Mystia made their way to another part of the Imperial Production Guild, Valyr had a content smile on his face as he looked back at the things that happened in the meeting just earlier.


    With how Julian had been pushing for his proposal to the other directors for so long, it went without saying that everything became smooth sailing the moment Valyr showed his armor for everyone to see.


    On the other hand, the young man''s own proposal had a few hups here and there, considering how not a lot of people there believed that he was the first to forge the arquebus rather than Vylhalteinn.


    Though, with the help of a couple people, as well as the appearances of a few personalities that would''ve not given the directors the light of day usually, such thoughts were eventually turned around.


    Even more so when Valyr showcased his own arquebus in action.


    Seeing the amount of damage his arquebus dealt to the training dummy, many of the directors immediatelypared it to the damage dealt by the ranged weapon Vylhalteinn distributed in the frontlines.


    Then again, it did not take long for them toe to the conclusion that Hal''s arquebus far paled inparison to Valyr''s, especially after he gave them the permission to take a look at his arquebus'' stats in detail. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Unsurprisingly, almost every director that identified Valyr''s arquebus looked at its stats with widened eyes, looking at the young man with both greed and awe as they all wanted to know how a weapon like that could achieve an immensely high Attack stat.


    Because of that, Valyr''s proposal of distributing the arquebus throughout the frontlines was met with overwhelming approval.


    In fact, he was even met with the cheers of some of the directors after he told them that he was nning to share his blueprints on the arquebus as well.


    "To be honest, with how well that proposal went, I feel like you didn''t even need my presence there." Responding to Valyr''s words, Mystia looked at the young man with a smile.


    "Sure, you could say that," said the young man after a bit of thinking, only to shrug his shoulders soon after. "But we both know that your presence definitely made them certain. After all, if you think about it, who would be stupid to decline the proposal of the Imperial Alchemist''s disciple?"


    "Truly the wonders reputation can only achieve," replied Mystia with a chuckle, prompting her to briefly think about the meeting as well. "Speaking of which, how did the talk with Alvin and those military officials go?"


    At those words, Valyr briefly stopped in his tracks, his mind returning to the end of the meeting.


    Though many of the proposals the other directors gave after them were interesting, with some of even being approved by the military officials, it had be obvious that many of the directors had lost their interest after what Valyr and Julian showed them.


    In fact, some of them had even discussed Ylvar in detail while the other proposals were happening, prompting Julian to tease the young man that his alternate identity would be popr once again.


    Unfortunately for Julian, Valyr more than weed the attention his alternate identity he received, telling Julian that it would make a lot of things easier for him in the long run.


    With their objectivesplete, the two listened intently to all of the remaining proposals as a show of respect, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as Elder Alvin eventually concluded the War Forge Assembly.


    Considering that Mystia came to help him out at the meeting, Valyr decided to take it as an opportunity to talk to her about the Intent he needed toprehend for his ns, with Julian agreeing that he needed to talk to her more.


    Though, just as the two had parted ways, Elder Alvin and the two military officials appeared before the young man, wanting to talk about the proposals he and Julian gave during the meeting in detail.


    Recalling the things he and the other three talked about, Valyr could not help but smile once more as he continued walking.


    "It went well," replied Valyr. "Elder Alvin and I have decided to discuss the conditions behind the two proposals we gave on another day, while the two military officials asked me if it was possible to implement them within the week."


    "Sounds like you have a tall order waiting for you on the second one," said Mystia, to which the young man nodded in agreement. "As for the first one, it''s only right that you''re putting down conditions before you give them blueprints."


    "Just like the blueprints a cksmith creates, the recipe to an alchemist''s concoction could be considered their lifeblood."


    Continuing to walk through the corridors of the Imperial Production Guild, the two decided to talk more about the conditions Valyr nned on epting in exchange for the blueprints he aimed on sharing.


    Seeing as the one he was talking to was an imperial adviser for the empire, it went without saying that Valyr asked Mystia to help him set conditions that would allow him to benefit as much as possible from the exchange.


    In the end, Mystia gave him a couple of pieces of advice on what to set and what not to set as conditions for something massive like what he nned on doing.


    "After all, keep in mind that you''re setting down conditions with the cksmith Guild," Mystia reminded Valyr. "Not just a person from the cksmith Guild. Not just a branch."


    "The entire cksmith Guild."


    Nodding as hemitted everything Mystia told him to memory, it did not take long for the two of them to arrive at a vacant hall within the Imperial Production Guild.


    Recalling the look of surprise and embarrassment on the others'' faces when the two asked if they could upy a hall within the guild for the meantime, Valyr inwardly chuckled at the thoughts going in their minds as the two headed in.


    "So, what do you want to talk about?" Grabbing a couple of chairs for them to sit on, Mystia took in a deep breath before looking at the young man with a raised eyebrow.


    "Remember the message I sent to you before the meeting?" asked Valyr as he took in a calming breath of his own. "The one regarding the Intent of Mystic Energy."


    "Yeah?" Mystia nodded after thinking about it. "If I remember correctly, you said you wanted me to teach you how toprehend it for a couple ns you had in mind."


    "What are those ns exactly?" asked Mystia soon after, her gaze towards the young man immensely curious.


    Pondering over a couple of things for a bit, Valyr eventually showed her a glimpse into his ns as he manifested a strand of blue-white energy in front of her.


    "Well¡­ it involves this."


    Changed the title of a previous chapter to fit this one.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1084 One Word

    1084 One Word


    Whoosh!


    Gazing at the strand of blue-white energy Valyr conjured atop his extended palm, Mystia began to slightly frown as she felt that the energy the young man was showing him felt somewhat familiar to her.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for everything to click in her mind, prompting her to look at the young man with slightly widened eyes as she realized what the young man had just done.


    "Did youbine mana and Mystic Energy?" she asked Valyr after a bit of contemtion, surprisingly taking a bit of time to realize that the blue part of the energy was actually mana.


    Valyr nodded in response. "In any way, I did¡­ but I also didn''t."


    As those words left his mouth, the young man then began to exin how he''d gotten to his current point to Mystia, hoping that she could possibly shed some light into his problems from an outsider''s perspective.


    With that, he briefly exined the process of creating Azure Energy to Mystia, even going so far as to show her firsthand the creation of Azure Energy itself.


    Then, once she had a rough idea of what was going on, the young man then shifted her attention towards the fusion of mana and Mystic Energy he was doing, talking about how he nned on applying the same concept behind the creation of Azure Energy into it.


    Exining how he had to reduce the purity of his mana to make sure that the purity of the two energies were bnced, Valyr brieflymented theck of time he had to work on improving his Mystic Energy before talking about his findings in greater detail.


    Conjuring a translucent arm with the blue-white strand he conjured, Valyr showcased how the two energies had be intertwined in terms of form and function, showing how the rtionship between them was mutually beneficial.


    "As you can see, with mana and Mystic Energy braided together, the form the Mystic Energy takes first consumes the energy that''s contained with mana before consuming more Mystic Energy from you," said Valyr, moving the translucent arm ording to his thoughts.


    In response, the blue strand that snaked around the arm gradually thinned with the passing of time.


    Watching the arm move as if it were a refined craftsman in midair, Mystia could not help but form a question in her mind as she watched the blue strand around the arm grow thinner and thinner.


    Though, just before she could voice it out, the young man seemingly already knew the question she had in mind, infusing mana into the nigh-imperceptible strand at the veryst second.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing the blue strand snaking around the arm return to its original width, Mystia furrowed her brows for a bit before looking at the young man in realization.


    Noticing her expression, Valyr let out a brief chuckle as he knew what she was thinking. "Technically, what you''re thinking would be possible."


    "Something about Mystic Energy taking on a more permanent form, right?" asked Valyr to be certain, to which Mystia responded with a nod.


    Feeling like he''d showcased enough of the rtionship between the two energies where Mystic Energy was in the lead, Valyr eventually dispelled the translucent arm as he conjured yet another blue-white strand out of thin air.


    Then, moving the energy he''d created as if it were a strand of mana, the young man willed it to circle around Mystia, making it act as if it were a fish swimming through water.


    "Just like how Mystic Energy benefits from mana''s existence, mana also benefits from Mystic Energy''s existence," Valyr told her, only to bitterly smile soon after. "Then again, it doesn''t really benefit that much, just an increase in terms of control and speed."


    "Still better than nothing, though."


    After having the strand of blue-white energy circle around Mystia a couple more times, Valyr eventually recalled the strand back, dispelling it as he gave her the space to think.


    Taking in everything she''d witnessed just now, it took a while for Mystia toe up with something to say. "So, you need toprehend the Intent of Mystic Energy, right?"


    "Right." Valyr nodded in response. "Though, with how I''m following the process used to create Azure Energy, I suppose what I really need would be the Intent in its seed form."


    "And you n onbining this with an Intent rted to mana in order for you to truly fuse mana and Mystic Energy together?"


    "Yes."


    "Hmm¡­" Nodding at those words, Mystia closed her eyes for a bit.


    Then, out of nowhere, she began to look at the young man with a weird expression. "Odd."


    "What''s odd?" Valyr raised his eyebrow.


    "The fact that you haven''tprehended one yet," replied Mystia, causing a bit of confusion to the young man.


    Fortunately, she began to exin herself soon after. "Think about it. You''ve learned a lot about Mystic Energy while you were in the Mystic ne. You showed us how to manipte it in a way that was different from what Marcus and I knew." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "You even solved the problem that I thought would take me centuries."


    "And now, you''ve shown me how tobine mana and Mystic Energy together into something greater." Mystia looked at Valyr in the eyes. "You''ve done all of that¡­ yet you haven''tprehended even an Intent Seed on the energy yet?"


    "I don''t know." Having someoney out all of the amazing things he''d done with Mystic Energy, even Valyr himself began to wonder why he hadn''t startedprehending an Intent Seed yet. "I guess I stillck that missing piece that would allow me to take that step."


    As those words left his mouth, the young man thought about how he''d obtained all of his other Intents so far, causing him to realize that none of them really came about through pureprehension.


    If anything, all of them came about either due to the intervention of the system, or due to the aid he''d been given by other people.


    Though she felt a bit of pity towards the young man''s plight, there wasn''t really much Mystia could do. "Maybe you just need a little push. Perhaps, all you need is the concept that binds it together."


    "Concept¡­" As he listened to her words, Valyr felt all of his focus gravitate towards that word, finally understanding the missing piece he needed to achieve his goal.


    Feeling the various thoughts he had about Mystic Energy finally click into ce, the young man soon closed his eyes, giving his mind the freedom to delve deeper into the truths that the universe offered.


    The truth¡­ that would finally allow him toprehend the Intent he sought after.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1085 Manifesting Intent

    1085 Manifesting Intent


    "¡­And here I thought it''d take a lot more than just a couple of sentences."


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Mystia looked at the young man before her with a smile, only to let out a chuckle soon after. "To think he actually just needed that little push to finally get the ball rolling."


    In full honesty, ever since she got a message from Valyr in regards to the Intent of Mystic Energy, she already prepared herself to guide the young man as much as she could in order for him to eventuallyprehend it.


    After all, it was the least she could do in exchange for the great amount of help he''d given back in the Mystic ne.


    Aside from that, allowing the young man toprehend an Intent of Mystic Energy would undoubtedly boost his prowess to a higher degree, which had already be evident the moment he showed her the strand of blue-white energy he created.


    ''Then again, you should expect a Zeihardt to at least do that much,'' briefly thought Mystia to herself. ''Well, considering he''s the second Harbinger, even more so.''


    "It''s definitely a shame I couldn''t help out more, though," murmured Mystia to herself as she continued on her train of thought, being reminded once more that she lucked out this time around.


    As the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court, it went without saying that Mystia was privy to information that allowed one to form an Intent faster, utilizing constructs and items that seemingly had connections to the universe itself.


    However, even though she knew of these methods, that did not mean that she had the means to make use of it.


    Of course, it was not because shecked the knowhow or the expertise necessary to utilize those methods. Instead, it was because shecked the necessary resources to obtain those items in the first ce, the cheapest of which needed the wealth of an entire noble n at the minimum to afford.


    With that, she was left with no choice but to rely on her ownprehensions on forming Intent, making sure to impart as much as of her wisdom in her words as possible.


    Letting out a long sigh as she removed all of the negative thoughts in her mind, Mystia took a brief look at the young man, immediately taking notice of the faint connection that was forming between him and the world.


    "Seems like he''s finally taken that first step," muttered Mystia to herself with a smile, thankful that it did not take much for the young man to finally startprehending his Intent.


    Thinking about the current situation for a bit more, she let out a chuckle as she joked to herself, "I guess this is my cue to be a teacher."


    "Definitely a teacher for alchemy, though. Not for Intent."


    Continuing to watch the connection forming around the young man gradually be stronger by the second, Mystia could not help but recall the time she''dprehended her own Intent of Mystic Energy, which was around the time when the Mystic ne was still in a precarious state.


    Having just be the Saintess of the Mystic ne, Mystia and Marcus were forced to work together to stabilize the situation as much as possible, utilizing as much as of their individual power to defend against the onught of invaders that aimed to steal the ne''s strength.


    Being given the power of Mystic Energy, Mystia tried to make use of it as much as possible against those that attacked them, basically hitting two birds with one stone as she aimed to live up to the title of Saintess.


    As far as she could remember, it was thanks to those tumultuous times that she was finally able toprehend an Intent Seed rted to Mystic Energy, which eventually turned into a bona fide Intentter down the line.


    Comparing how she''d gotten her Intent to how Valyr was gaining his own, the woman smiled once more, feeling as if the young man''s contributions extended far more than just giving the Mystic ne the stability it needed to truly have a ce in the universe.


    Swoosh!


    "¡­Oh?" Just as she was still in the midst of fondly reminiscing over her past in the Mystic ne, a change in the young man''s connection caused Mystia to snap back to reality, her eyebrow raised in curiosity as she focused her senses on him in detail.


    Realizing what was going on, the smile on Mystia''s face turned into a grin as she conjured a thick barrier of energy around the young man.


    Making sure that there was no way for him to be disturbed at what she felt was an important moment, Mystia nodded in satisfaction as she began to talk to herself once more.


    "Well then."


    "It seems Valyr is going to get a bit more than what he bargained for from this meeting."


    ¡­


    Concept.


    Ever since that word left Mystia''s mouth, Valyr realized that the word was the missing piece he was looking for.


    After all, for one toprehend an Intent in the first ce, one must first understand an underlying concept, a certain truth of the universe to a sufficiently high level.


    Feeling the urge to admonish himself for overlooking something incredibly simple, Valyr inwardly took in a deep breath as he suppressed such thoughts for the meantime.


    Wanting to make the most out of the opportunity Mystia had given him, the young man focused his thoughts on which concept rted to Mystic Energy resonated with him the most.


    Though he knew that he''d have to epass all of the other concepts he''d ignored at some point in the future, the young man also knew that he had to choose a concept first in order for him to do just that.


    With that, Valyr went over the knowledge he''d rued on Mystic Energy during his time in the Mystic ne and his experiment, going over all of the findings he''d made with the energy. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    No matter how small the finding was, he went over each and every one of them in sufficient detail, taking his time to figure out what truly clicked with him.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to find the one that clicked with him the most, the concept that he felt described Mystic Energy the best.


    Limitlessness.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1086 Limitlessness

    1086 Limitlessness


    What is limitlessness?


    By definition, limitlessness is the definition itself. It is the property of somethingcking a limit.


    A good example of somethingcking a limit would be mana. In terms of limitlessness, it epasses the concept through its quantity.


    After all, the energy seemingly exists in every corner of the universe without ever having a moment where it ran out. In fact, that probably became the reason why it''s be the go-to energy type for almost every being throughout the universe.


    Another good example of limitlessness would be the concept of immortality, the concept of continuing to live on even when everything ceases to exist.


    Comparing it to mana, immortality epasses a different type of limitlessness, a limitlessness that focuses more on quantity than quality.


    With that being said, the concept of limitlessness that Mystic Energy that contains is closer to mana than the concept of immortality, tackling a type of limitlessness that''s more dependent on quantity.


    However, the type of limitlessness it epasses isn''t the same as mana, where its existence throughout the universe is so prevalent that it is limitless.


    Instead, it is the potential that Mystic Energy holds, the ability that Mystic Energy has to ept one''s thoughts and have it take form.


    After all, how could the energy not be considered limitless in potential if one could throw any idea under the sun at it and have it be a reality?


    And that was the concept that fully resonated with the young man.


    Whoosh!


    Condensing the thoughts that whirred in his mind as he felt it touch upon something greater, Valyr eventually felt the world form a connection with him, causing a smile to faintly appear on his face as he sensed the energy it was sharing.


    However, rather than be satisfied with what he''d achieved and stop there, he instead continued to delve deeper, sensing that the truths he''d gleaned while working with Mystic Energy were more than enough for him to push his insights further.


    And surprisingly, he was correct this time.


    Swoosh!


    Having formed his Intent Seed of Mystic Energy with the concept of limitlessness, Valyr decided to focus his subsequentprehensions around the concept.


    At first, the young man was making headway into achieving a deeper level ofprehension regarding the concept. However, at the end, he decided to scratch the concept before proceeding to attack it from a different perspective.


    08:39


    As for the reason why he''d made that decision, it was because Mystic Energy in its current state was not truly limitless in its potential, even if it was the concept he first went with. After all, even if the energy did allow him to throw any idea at it under the sun, there was still one idea that the Mystic Energy rejected every time he tried it, which was to use the energy for attacking.


    Then again, even though that was currently the case, the young man had a feeling that he would find a way to make it ept the idea sooner orter, guessing that the fusion between mana and Mystic Energy he was doing would eventually be the key.


    Shifting his thoughts away from the concept of limitlessness, Valyr surprisingly did not take long to find another concept that resonated him, which was the parallelism between mana and Mystic Energy.


    Delving deeper into a bit, the young man eventually realized that he''d just tackled the concept of limitlessness from another perspective, causing him to wryly smile for a bit before proceeding to continue pondering over his thoughts.


    Though it could be said that the two types of energy epassed the same type of limitlessness, the way in which they tackled the concept of limitlessness was different.


    Mana epassed the concept of limitlessness through how abundant it was throughout the universe, while Mystic Energy epassed the concept of limitlessness through its potential to ept almost any idea it was given.


    Although he did not realize it at first, Valyr realized that the two concepts of limitlessness could bebined as one, prompting him to think about the fusion of mana and Mystic Energy that he''d been attempting before the meeting.


    Faintly wondering to himself whether he''d been subconsciously thinking of fusing the two energies together because of this, the young man quickly discarded the thought, instead focusing his attention on the truths that allowed him to deepen hisprehension on the matter.


    Whoosh!


    With that, Valyr eventually felt his connection with the world deepen yet again, causing the smile on his face to be wider as he felt that there was still a lot of concepts for him to tap into.


    In fact, with the thought in mind, it did not take long for him to find yet another concept that resonated with him, being a concept that stuck with him the moment he first discovered what Mystic Energy was capable of.


    And that was the juxtaposition it formed with Shadow Energy.


    Though the idea came to him while he was using Mystic Energy, it was not the first time he''de up with the idea.


    After all, one of the concepts that allowed his Intent of Shadow Energy to be what it was today was the rtionship it had with mana, thinking of it as two sides of the same coin.


    However, even though the underlying idea behind the two concepts was simr, the two concepts were still ultimately different from each other.


    That was because, while he envisioned Shadow Energy as destruction and chaos and mana as creation and order in the past, he envisioned the rtionship between Shadow Energy and Mystic Energy a bit differently.


    In his mind, Shadow Energy, and by extension Prime Azure Energy, epassed pure destruction, while Mystic Energy epassed pure creation.


    Considering the abilities that each type of energy had given him ess to, he felt that it was the most apt of describing how the two worked.


    And unsurprisingly, the world felt that way as well.


    Swoosh!


    Pondering over the contrasting concepts of Shadow Energy and Mystic Energy in his mind, it did not take long for Valyr''s connection with the world to deepen onest time, causing his smile to turn into a grin as he slowly opened his eyes.


    Though he felt like he could still improve his understanding of Mystic Energy onest time with the various thoughts and insights that filled his mind, the young man decided not to do it in the end, feeling like he''d be grasping at the straws if he did.


    ''In any case, I''ve definitely gotten farther than I thought I would,'' thought the young man to himself, bringing up his notification screen in his mind as he looked at thetest notification he received.


    Ding!


    [Your Intent Seed of Mystic Energy has ascended to the Second Stage.]


    Still recovering from my migrainest night, so it''d be great if you could let me know if there were any typos or errors in the chapters.


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 1087: The First Spark

    Chapter 1087: The First Spark


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Returning his senses back to reality, Valyr had a content smile on his face as he thought about the progress he''d made inprehending his Intent Seed of Mystic Energy.


    Though it wasn''t all that impressive when hepared it to the other Intents he''d obtained so far, the young man was still proud of what he''d achieved, considering that the only help he got inprehending it was the small push Mystia gave him.


    Because of that, Valyr was slightly caught off guard when he eventually found out that she was still with him even after he was finished working on his Intent Seed.


    Inwardly taking a deep breath topose himself, Valyr faintly wondered as to how much time had passed since he started working on the Intent Seed.


    ''I probably only took a few hours at most to get the Intent Seed to the Second Stage,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling like it would more or less exin the current situation he was in.


    However, as he brought up his status screen in his mind to take a look at the timer, he found out that he had not only more than just a few hoursprehending the Intent Seed of Mystic Energy...


    But instead, he had spent the better part of a day doing so.


    Coming to the realization that it was now night time outside the vacant hall they were upying, a look of guilt briefly appeared on Valyr''s face as he felt that he''d taken up most of Mystia''s time.


    After all, even though he did ask for her help in the War Forge Assembly that happened earlier, she was still the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court, not to mention an imperial adviser of the empire.


    Just those two titles alone were more than enough for him to realize how busy she was. Yet, as if not even half an hour passed since he''d begunprehending his Intent Seed, Mystia looked at him with a faint smile before asking, "I presume you''ve seeded?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded after a short while. "Got it up to the Second Stage, surprisingly. Thank you."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "No problem," replied Mystia back, the smile on her face bing wider. "I had a feeling you''d be able to push your Intent Seed beyond the Nascent Stage from the aura you were emanating."


    "Though I didn''t think you umted enough insights to be a couple steps away from transforming it into an actual Intent," she continued, letting out a chuckle. "For reference, I took a few years to get mine to the Second Stage."


    Although his curiosity was piqued when he heard those words leave Mystia''s mouth, Valyr still felt like he needed to apologize for taking up her time. "Sorry."


    "What for?" Not expecting to receive an apology all of a sudden, it took a while for Mystia to respond back to him.


    Though, after hearing from Valyr how he''d taken up her time by having her apany him in what he termed as a ''simple matter'', it did not take long for Mystia to understand what was going on.


    With that, she exined that although she was busy with her various tasks on most days, she allocated more than enough time to help Valyr with his Intent, even though it was just something he mentioned in passing.


    "The least I could do as your Master is to be there when you need it," Mystia told Valyr, making thetter smile in response as he thanked her soon after.


    "So... now that you''ve got an Intent Seed of Mystic Energy, are you finally gonna try fully fusing them together?"


    Hearing the question that left Mystia''s mouth, Valyr pondered over the question for a bit before responding, "Probably... though it''s also possible that I''ll postpone it to sometime in the future."


    "After all, I still need to push Mystic Energy to the stage of 3rd Cleansing before I match the requirements to create Azure Energy."


    At those words, Mystia nodded in response, recalling the long exnation Valyr gave her earlier in regards to his small experiment.


    However, rather than not pursue the matter any further, she instead urged the young man to try fully fusing the two energies together at least once.


    "Why not try it out at least once to get a feel for it?" asked Mystia, somewhat ying the role of devil''s advocate. "Though I know you''re following the form that worked for Azure Energy, it''s not like you have to match everything for it to work."


    "You''re working with a differentbination of energies, after all."


    Just as Valyr was about to respond to her words, the young man paused, only to then realize that she was correct.


    If he wanted to err on the side of caution and make sure that the fusion was a sess, then it was better if he followed the form that allowed him to form Azure Energy for the first time.


    However, as Mystia told him, he was working with a differentbination of energies. Was there really a need for him to push his Mystic Energy to 3rd Cleansing? What if he already had all the ingredients needed to turn mana and Mystic Energy into something greater?


    With that in mind, Valyr eventually decided to try fusing the two together at least once, not setting any expectations as he delved his senses deep into the depths of his psyche. Arriving yet again in the familiar void within his body, the young man took a bit of time topose himself before allowing both mana and Mystic Energy to fill the boundless void before him.


    Whoosh!


    Watching the void be colored in both blue and white, Valyr went ahead and made a braid using the two energies first, making sure that he still had a grasp of the basics.


    Feeling like his grasp over braiding the two energies was as solid as it could be, the young man then went ahead and added the energy from the Intent of True Mana into the void, immediately feeling the mana rumble in response.


    Smiling as he felt himself get closer to his eventual goal, he then added the energy from his newly obtained Intent Seed into the void, causing the Mystic Energy to rumble in return.


    Watching the two energies rumble as if he were looking inside a boiling pot of water, the young man did not dy any further, deciding to get to work.


    Whoosh!


    Braiding mana and Mystic Energy into an intertwined strand, Valyr went ahead and infused the energy of the two Intents into it beforepacting it in a way that reminded him of what he''d done with Azure Energy.


    Then, watching the entanglement slowly be less and less visible to the naked eye, the young man felt a bit of trepidation as he watched the two colors slowly be one.


    And then... it happened.

 Chapter 1088: A Glimpse of the Future

    Chapter 1088: A Glimpse of the Future


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Continuing topact the mix of energy and Intent into something greater, Valyr felt a bit of impatience rising up within him as hepacted the entire thing far beyond what he needed to form Azure Energy.


    Though, just as he felt like his attempt at truly fusing the two energies together was going to end up in failure, he eventually felt a changee from the strand of energy, feeling as if everything had finally clicked into ce.


    Fwoosh!


    Focusing all of his attention on the strand he''d conjured, Valyr pushed his perception to the limit as he looked at the strand in excitement, wanting to know what kind of change had urred exactly.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for his attention to shift towards the strand''s center,


    immediately being greeted by the sight of a color that he did not expect abination of blue and white to create.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Gold.


    A dazzlingly bright gold.


    Though he had no clue as to why it had taken on a gold color rather than a color that made more sense for thebination, Valyr was certain that this gold spark in the center was none other than the true fusion he was looking for.


    Sensing the gold spark give off the energy signature of both mana and Mystic Energy, the young man went ahead and attempted to turn the entire strand into the same gold color,pacting the strand even further than before.


    Yet, no matter how much he pushed the strand to its limits, the only result he got was a few gold sparks that seemed ephemeral in existence.


    Knowing that it was a fruitless endeavor to push it any further, Valyr eventually dispelled the strand he''d created, letting out a faint sigh as he felt like he was just a couple steps away from truly fusing the two energies together.


    ''I guess I do need to push Mystic Energy to 3rd Cleansing,'' thought the young man to himself as he slowly shook his head, only to feel exasperation consume his body soon after as he thought about how close he was to sess.


    Thankfully, he caught himself before he allowed the feeling to worsen any further, giving himself all the time he needed topose his emotions.


    Letting out a sigh of relief after feeling his thoughts and emotions return back to normal, the young man had a fearful expression on his face as he briefly thought about what could''ve happened if he were to let the exasperation get the better of him.


    "Take your time," muttered Valyr to himself as he took in a deep breath. "You''ve already gotten confirmation that your idea works."


    "All you need to do now is to slowly make it a reality."


    Letting out a long exhale at those words, the young man decided to go over the things he''d noticed and discovered while attempting a true fusion of mana and Mystic Energy onest time,mitting all of the actions he''d made and sensations he felt to memory.


    Then, feeling like he''d done everything he could for now, Valyr soon returned his senses back to reality, only to be greeted by the sight of a slightly expectant Mystia.


    "So, how did it go?" asked Mystia the moment she noticed he was done with his attempt. "Well..." In response, Valyr bitterly smiled at her before beginning to exin what happened while trying to fuse mana and Mystic Energy together.


    As the young man talked about his experience in detail, Mystia''s eyes slowly grew wider and wider in surprise the more she listened.


    "In the end, all I got was a few sparks of what I felt was the true fusion of the two," concluded Valyr as he let out a low sigh. "From the looks of it, I think I do need to push Mystic Energy to 3rd Cleansing if I want the entire strand to be that new energy."


    "I see." Mystia nodded after that, only to notice the somber expression on the young man''s face.


    Knowing how Valyr was feeling, Mystia briefly had a wry smile on her face before trying her best to console him. "Think about it this way. You''ve gotten confirmation that your idea of fusing the two together actually works."


    "If you think about it, you just need to work on it for a bit more before it bes rightfully yours," she continued, only to chuckle at her thoughts. "Imagine. An energy that has all of the good properties of both mana and Mystic Energy. Don''t you think this small setback is just setting you up for greater excitement down the line?"


    At those words, Valyr let out a chuckle of his own as he decided to not think about the matter any further.


    After all, no matter how much hemented how close he was to truly fusing the two together, the situation would only change if he acted to make that change happen.


    With that in mind, the young man thanked Mystia for all of her words, briefly joking about how she was fulfilling the role of a master to a tee.


    Mystia could only let out a bit ofughter in response.


    After talking a bit about how it would be better for him to stay at the Heavenly Court if he wanted to improve his alchemy even further, the two eventually felt like they had no more reason to stay at the Imperial Production Guild any further.


    With that, they began to head straight towards the guild''s entrance.


    "You''re gonna head straight back to the Meltierre Empire after this, right?" Walking down the corridors of the Imperial Production Guild, Valyr looked at Mystia as a question came to


    mind.


    "Yeah." Mystia nodded back. "Though I hate to admit it, I still have a lot of tasks waiting for me when I get back."


    "How about you? What do you n on doing now that you''ve seen a glimpse of what''s basically your future?"


    "I''ll probably work on making it a reality once I get back," said Valyr in response to the question. "Though, there are also a couple more things I need to take care of, such as the proposals I made, and a few upgrades here and there."


    "Good luck with that," replied Mystia, to which Valyr nodded in response.


    "Same to you."


    After walking through the corridors of the Imperial Production Guild, the two eventually found themselves at the entrance of the guild, with the moon and stars illuminating the dark


    sky.


    Staring at the night sky for a bit, a thought suddenly popped up in Mystia''s mind, prompting her to look at the young man with slight curiosity. "Now that I think about it, I probably have something you might be interested in."


    "What is it?" asked Valyr as he raised his eyebrow.


    "It''s a tournament," replied Mystia, only to exin the mechanics of the tournament soon


    after.


    Though, the more she exined what the tournament was about, the more Valyr felt like he''d heard of it before.


    With that, he eventually found himself asking her a question that came to mind. "Do you perhaps know the name of the tournament?"


    And with her response, he soon confirmed his suspicions.


    "Of course. You''ve probably even heard of it yourself."


    "It''s called the Myriad Prodigies Tournament."

 Chapter 1089: Return of the Tournament

    Chapter 1089: Return of the Tournament


    ?


    "The Myriad Prodigies Tournament..." Taking a bit of time to get over the confusion he felt from her response, Valyr briefly caught his breath before asking the next question that came to mind.


    "Wait a minute... wasn''t that tournament already finished like over a few months ago?"


    As far as Valyr could remember, the first time he''d heard of the tournament was back at Clossbay City.


    Being a guard of the Astarto Vige at the time, he made his way to the city in order toplete a mission that Damian gave him, while also expanding his horizons on how the world worked.


    With a bit of effort and time, the young man was eventually able to establish his own smithy within the city, though that caused him a whole host of problems that took up more or less the same time it took toplete Damian''s mission.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nevertheless, Valyr still looked back at his time at Clossbay City as something positive, considering how much information he''d unraveled regarding his true identity.


    At the same time, it was there that he found out he''d been chosen as the cksmith Guild''s representative for the Four Pirs'' Inheritance.


    Though, before he was found by Braum''s group and whisked away to Algerie Kingdom, a young man he did not expect to see in the city appeared within his smithy on one fateful day, informing him of the reason why he''de.


    Amongst the few reasons the young man had given him, the prospect of the Myriad Prodigies Tournament was one of them.


    "If I take into consideration the amount of time that passed in the inheritance, it was around a year ago when I first heard of the tournament." Seeing as Mystia allowed him to expound on his words, Valyr went ahead and done so. "At the time, there was still half a year before the tournament began."


    At those words, Mystia nodded in understanding. "And now you''re wondering as to why I brought the tournament up?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded back. "After all, I''ve been in the inheritance for far longer than that." "Think about it for a second," Mystia told Valyr, a faint smile of amusement on her lips. "What happened in Veldanyr while the five of you were in the inheritance?"


    "Perhaps mentioning that it happened around the same time the tournament should''ve happened might help jog your memory."


    Hearing those words, it did not take long for Valyr to piece two and two together, slightly frowning as he muttered, "The war..."


    "The war, indeed." Mystia nodded in agreement.


    "I don''t get it." Though he now understood why the tournament hadn''t been held a few months ago, Valyr was now confused as to why the tournament was being brought back now. "We''re still at war against the orcs, right? Why are they trying to hold the tournament again?"


    "Honestly, I only know a bit more about the situation than you," replied Mystia, shaking her head as she let out a low sigh. "As far as I know, they''re holding it to figure out the ones who''ll be leading the war against the orcs in the future."


    "That doesn''t make any sense," said Valyr, the confusion he felt a bit greater than before. "The Myriad Prodigies Tournament is a tournament involving the younger generation, right? Wouldn''t it be far better to have those with experience lead the war?"


    "Yes and yes." Mystia nodded. "As far as I know, the seasoned generals would still be leading the war against the orcs for the most part. As for those from the Myriad Prodigies Tournament... that part I''m not too sure."


    "However, with how many of those tournaments I''ve already attended in the past, it doesn''t take much to figure out the reason why."


    "What is it?" Hearing those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity, looking at the woman beside him with a hint of expectation.


    "The Nine Heavenly Pirs," responded Mystia, her expression making it apparent that she did not want to discuss the topic with him. "The nine greatest prodigies to ever live in Veldanyr."


    Of course, even though she showed her reluctance of talking more about the topic, Valyr still tried to ask more about the Nine Heavenly Pirs, curious as to what she meant by that.


    Yet, no matter how persistent he was in asking, Mystia never budged even one bit, forcing him to give up in the end.


    "In any case, you should think about joining the tournament," Mystia told him, making thetter look at her curiosity once more. "Of course, not for the thing I mentioned earlier, but the rewards that you''d get from cing high there."


    "It''s a tournament hosted by the empire itself, after all. Its rewards aren''t going to disappoint by any means."


    Though his thoughts were still on the term she refused to exin, Valyr decided to move on as he nodded in response. "I''ll think about it. When will the tournament be held?"


    "Around a month from now," replied Mystia, deciding that now was the best time for them to part ways. "Either way, I''ll keep you updated, seeing as I''m in the empire and all that."


    "Got it." Nodding in response, Valyr bade farewell to her as he thanked her for her help once


    more.


    Watching Mystia bid farewell back in response, the young man waited until her silhouette disappeared from his vision before deciding to head back to the inn.


    Ding!


    However, before he could even take a step forward, he received a notification from the system, only to find out that Mystia had sent him a message.


    "If you ever decide on joining the tournament... perhaps I might tell you what the Nine Heavenly Pirs mean on the day the tournament starts."


    "..." Reading the message Mystia sent him, the young man was briefly left at a loss for words.


    Though, with a shake of his head, he was easily able to regain his bearings, causing him to let out a sigh of slight exasperation as he made his way back to the inn.


    "And here I thought you''d be firm in not talking about the Nine Heavenly Pirs with me whatsoever," murmured Valyr to himself as he slightly hastened his pace.


    "...Now you''ve just made me more curious than before."


    ...


    "Haah."


    After taking a brief detour to get somete dinner, Valyr eventually found himself back at the room he and the other two were staying, letting out a sigh of relief the moment he stepped


    inside.


    Stowing away the armor he was wearing into his spatial bracelet, the young man paused in his actions as he pondered over the conversation he and Mystia had earlier.


    ''It''ll be a while before I could get more information on that,'' thought the young man as he returned to what he was doing, faintly wondering whether Julian or Noel knew about the Nine


    Heavenly Pirs.


    Deciding to ask the two if they were ever free, Valyr soon went through his usual routine, only to be greeted by both Wells and Edward the moment he got out of the shower.


    "I thought you two were already asleep." Changing into a fresh set of clothes before heading


    to bed, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise when he found out that the two were still awake.


    "We usually sleep a bitter than this," replied Wells with a slightly apologetic smile. "The frontlines and all that."


    "Anyways, how did the meeting go?"


    Seeing as even Edward was curious as to how the meeting went, Valyr went ahead and gave the two a brief yet concise exnation of how his proposals had gone in the meeting earlier. Hearing that their friend''s proposals were more or less unanimously epted by all of the directors in the cksmith Guild, both Edward and Wells felt great joy for the young man, congratting him on his sess.


    In response, Valyr thanked the two, only to then correct them that they should be the ones happy that his proposals were epted.


    Just as the two were wondering what Valyr meant by that, the young man went ahead and took out the set of True Wyvern Armor and the arquebus from his spatial bracelet, allowing the two to identify and touch the items to their heart''s content.


    Naturally, it went without saying that the two were left at a loss for words once they were


    done, easily imagining what kind of change the two items would bring once they were distributed throughout the frontlines.


    "I wouldn''t even be surprised if the scale greatly tips in our favor because of these items," said Wells at some point as they decided to celebrate the entire thing by ordering a few meals


    from the inn.


    After they were finished with theirte night meals, the three of them decided to call it a day as they headed to their own respective parts of the room.


    Lying down on his bed, Valyr thought about the plot ofnd he had yet to take a look at, briefly thinking about the various things he nned on building there in the foreseeable


    future.


    Because of how much he thought about what he nned to do with the plot ofnd, even going so far as to think about Ryvrthe and the others in the inheritance, the young man ended


    up not being able to fall asleep.


    Though, rather than be annoyed at that realization, he instead took it as an opportunity, deciding to make use of the time by working on things that he pushed to the side due to


    various reasons.


    Discarding all of the things that needed him to head out of the room sote at night, Valyr was eventually left with a couple of things he could focus on while making himself sleepy.


    "I guess I''ll work on the Truth Weaver Scripture, then," murmured Valyr to himself the moment he came to a decision, immediately shifting his senses inward not long after.

 Chapter 1090: A Bit of Self-Improvement

    Chapter 1090: A Bit of Self-Improvement


    ?


    Whoosh!


    Shifting his senses towards the depths of his psyche, Valyr went ahead and brought out all of the Intents he had into the void as he decided to familiarize himself with the Truth Weaver


    Scripture once more.


    Swoosh!


    Going through the various stages of the Truth Weaver Scripture, the young man nodded in satisfaction after finding out that he still knew the trick necessary to achieve the Tetrad stage. Thinking about the things he''d done ever since hest worked on improving his knowledge of the scripture, Valyr eventually decided to try his hand at forming a Pentad.


    ''I did improve my control over energy, after all,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, though he reminded himself that it was just a side effect of evolving to a better race.


    Not only that, but the improved control that had been given to him mostly revolved around Prime Azure Energy, which had nothing to do with the control of Intent whatsoever.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop him from using it as a source of motivation, deciding to focus the Truth Weaver Scripture on the Intent of Shadow Energy once again as he aimed to form a Pentad.


    Whoosh!


    Coaxing the energy of five Intents together before weaving them together in an abstruse way, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise when he realized that he''d progressed further than he ever did before in forming a Pentad.


    Not wanting to mess up what he considered as a good opportunity to finally reach the next stage of the Truth Weaver Scripture, the young man swiftly suppressed his emotions as he focused all of his attention on making the entire thing click.


    "...Haah." Unfortunately, just before the four Intents could take that final step to empower the Intent of Shadow Energy, the entire construct crumbled into pieces before Valyr could salvage the situation.


    Though, just as he was about to get angry at messing up the opportunity he''d given himself, it did not take much self-introspection for him to realize that he was still a bitcking in terms of control.


    With that, he decided to focus on refining his control a bit more, experimenting a bit with his newly obtained Intent Seed while doing so.


    Turning his Intent Seed of Mystic Energy into the target of the Truth Weaver Scripture, it went without saying that it easily surpassed the level of a 9th Grade Intent with just the Tetrad.


    On the other hand, when he tried to use the Intent Seed to empower another Intent instead, he discovered that the boost the target Intent got from the scripture was considerably less than what the stage usually gave.


    ''Hmm...'' Mulling over this discovery, Valyr soon realized that he could extend his current train of thought even further. ''If using Intent Seeds to empower an Intent weakens the effect of the scripture, would using Forces to empower an Intent do the opposite?''


    ''Now that I think about it, if thetter were true, would it be possible to boost an Intent''s strength to the level of a Force? What about a Concept?''


    ''What if I used Concepts to empower an Intent using the Truth Weaver Scripture?''


    Though Valyr wanted to find out the answers to his questions as soon as possible, the young man ultimately stopped himself, reminding himself that he currently did not have the means to verify his theories.


    ''Aside from not having either a Force or a Concept, I haven''t even reached the 2nd stage of the scripture yet, much less the stages where it''s more likely for my ideas to be reality.''


    With that, the young man returned his focus towards improving his control over his Intents, rotating through all of the Intents under his arsenal in a bid to get used to pushing them as far as he could with the scripture.


    Unsurprisingly, because he rotated through all of his Intents, Valyr obtained the answer to one of his questions involving the usage of Forces to empower an Intent even further. Though he felt like the idea he had in mind would have a more pronounced effect, utilizing Intents to empower his Intent Seed did yield a greater boost overall, with Valyr feeling like he''d reached the 2nd stage of the scripture in terms of effect.


    Continuing to experiment with his Intents while working on his control, Valyr eventually returned his senses back to reality after feeling he''d done everything he could to improve his chances of forming a Pentad in the future.


    "Well then. That was more productive than I thought." Slowly getting out of bed, Valyr did a few basic stretches as he took a look out of the window.


    Seeing that the sun had already taken the moon''s ce once more, the young man bitterly smiled, realizing that he''d yet to get a proper wink of sleep for over a week now.


    Then again, even though that was the case, Valyr felt like his body still had tons of energy to spare.


    ''I guess the ascension to Rank 4 increased the time I could stay awake,'' thought the young man to himself, only to then let out a chuckle at a joke that popped up in his mind. ''From another perspective, I could say my insomnia worsened thanks to the ascension.''


    Feeling satisfied with the small joke he came up with, Valyr soon got out of his part of the room to freshen up, only to find out that the two were already awake some time ago. Swiftly going through his daily routine, the young man went ahead and spent some time with the two as he asked them what their ns were for today, only to wryly smile after hearing them tell him that they nned on staying in again for the day.


    Scratching the back of his head at their responses, Valyr gave them a heads-up that he was going to head out for the meantime to take a look at the plot ofnd he''d bought.


    With that, both Edward and Wells'' interest were piqued, causing them to ask him if there was anything stopping him from apanying them on their way back to the frontlines.


    Pondering over the question for a bit, he eventually replied that there really wasn''t anything important that was stopping him from joining them, causing the two of them to be expectant for the eventual day they returned to the frontlines with Valyr.


    Seeing as the two had nothing else to tell him after that, Valyr soon left the inn, only to then activate [Flight of the Azure Dragon] as he made his way to the plot ofnd he now owned.


    ...


    Whoosh!


    "Huh. Strong winds." Looking out of the guard tower, a man in histe twenties let out a low sigh as a strong breeze blew around him. "I knew I shouldn''t have trusted those weather


    mages."


    "In any case, when is the owner of thisnd going toe?" Taking his mind away from today''s weather being wrongly predicted, the man looked out of the tower once more, only


    for his eyes to widen in disbelief.


    Swoosh!


    Out of nowhere, a young man appear above the plot ofnd he guarded on top of an azure dragon, only to dismiss the dragon as he fell down from what looked to be a couple hundred


    meters in height.


    Feeling a bit of concern towards the young man that suddenly appeared, the man was left at a loss for words once more after seeing the young man catch himself at the veryst second, conjuring a gust of wind that immediately negated most of the speed he''d umted.


    Thud.


    "Been a while since I used that movement skill." Swiping off the dust from his clothes, Valyr had a satisfied smile on his face as he took a look at his current surroundings. Though, before the young man could continue admiring his surroundings for a bit longer, a man eventually came up to him with a slightly vignt expression.


    "G-greetings, sir," said the man to Valyr after mustering up the courage. "Y-you''re currently within thends owned by Ylvar of the cksmith Guild."


    "W-would it be alright for me to know your identity and purpose in this ce?"


    "But of course." Listening to the man''s words, the young man could not help but smile as he


    took out the parchment Julian gave him from his spatial bracelet.


    Showing the parchment to the man, he then began to grin. "Ylvar of the cksmith Guild, at


    your service."


    "You won''t mind if I take a look around, right?"


    "S-Sir Ylvar!"


    Realizing that the person that appeared within the plot ofnd he was guarding was none


    other than the owner himself, the man''s attitude underwent a quick 180 as he became somewhat subservient. "B-by all means!"


    With that, Valyr went ahead and thanked the man for keeping an eye on hisnd while he was


    away.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Telling the man after that to keep doing his thing, he also went ahead and asked for the man''s name before parting his way, heading deeper into thend he bought after doing so. "Jacques has a nice ring to it," muttered the young man as he activated [Azure Dragon Soaring Skies] once more, knowing fully well that he wouldn''t be able to cover the entire plot ofnd


    on foot.


    "If I remember correctly, he said he was one of the newer cksmiths that entered the cksmith Guild recently."


    "Hmm... I should probably make a forging hammer for him when I stop by the guild some


    time."


    "For now, though... it''s time to figure out what goes where before I bring Ryvrthe and the others out of the inheritance."

 Chapter 1091: Claiming Skills (1)

    Chapter 1091: iming Skills (1)


    ?


    "Well then... that took a lot less time than I thought it would."


    Sitting on the ground after exploring thend for the past couple of hours, the young man let out a faint sigh as he summed up what he''d done earlier.


    "Now I understand why the kingdom nned on establishing a frontier vige here back then."


    After parting ways with the man that kept an eye on hisnd while he was away, Valyr went ahead and brought up the ns he''d talked about with Julian in his mind, unleashing his perception to its fullest as he tried to imagine what went where.


    Though the ideas they talked about would have no problems being implemented for the most part, there were still some things the young man noticed that he felt needed to be changed, especially after getting a closer look at thend itself.


    "For one, I''ll have to find a better spot to establish arge residence of sorts for Ryvrthe and the others," murmured Valyr to himself, making a note in his mind to change theyout he and Julian came up withter.


    "Aside from that, I''ll have to move my personal residence to somewhere slightly away from the center," continued the young man, scratching the back of his head as he mulled over the generalyout once again. "Or do I just need to move the smithy somewhere else?"


    "In any case, I definitely have a lot of work cut out for me."


    Feeling like he''d spent enough time mulling over what he nned to do with his new plot ofnd, Valyr went ahead and brought up his chat screen, sending Julian a few messages updating him on the situation.


    A few minutester, the man responded back to his messages, giving the young man a slightly different perspective on how he viewed the changes he came up with.


    "Well, it''d be better if Julian stops by to check thend out in the future," thought Valyr out loud, only to then tell Julian the same thoughts in his replies.


    "From how he''s been helping me out on what feels like every step so far, I wouldn''t even be surprised if he knows a constructionpany that could construct all of the buildings I request for."


    "But then... therees the problem of cost." Valyr wryly smiled at these words, only to then shrug his shoulders soon after.


    "Well, I could always forge a few weapons and sell it through the cksmith Guild," said the young man to himself. "Considering what I''ve shown the directors back in the assembly hall, I wouldn''t be surprised if my identity causes the price of my weapons to soar even further."


    "Speaking of identity... I have [Thousand Polymorph] activated, right?" Briefly thinking back to his interaction with Jacques, Valyr let out a sigh of relief after making sure that he was currently in his Ylvar identity.


    Feeling like he''d more or less done everything he did involving his new plot ofnd for the meantime, the young man soon pushed his current train of thought to the side as he pondered over what to do next.


    "It''s still early." Valyr looked up at the sky. "In fact, it''s not even noon yet."


    "Should I head to the cksmith Guild to pass the time?" asked the young man to himself, recalling that there were a lot of things waiting for him there.


    Aside from talking with Julian regarding the proposals they''d pitched back in the recent War Forge Assembly, he also had to forge an arquebus for Noel, as well as upgrade his armor and weapons to match his current level.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Then again, even though such thoughts lingered in his mind, Valyr eventually decided against heading the cksmith Guild for the meantime.


    Instead, he focused his mind on a train of thought that popped up just a few moments after he arrived at his plot ofnd.


    "Now that I think about it, I haven''t imed those skills from the inheritance yet," muttered Valyr to himself, recalling the conversation he and Vaughn had back when he was still in the inheritance.


    Being reminded of the ethereal state he was in after allowing his current train of thought to delve a bit deeper, it did not take long for the young man toe to a decision, opening up a rift to the inheritance not long after.


    Whoosh!


    Arriving at the vast ins surrounding the city ruins, Valyr took a brief moment to adjust himself to his surroundings before conjuring a rift, setting it to head straight to the heart of the Gates of Awakening.


    Swoosh!


    Feeling a hint of vertigo from having to go through two rifts in a row, the young man gave himself some time to adjust once more before heading straight to the Gates of Awakening''s counterpart of the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion.


    "The Awakening Skill Pavilion." With Vaughn basically giving all of the information needed for him to traverse the inheritance as if it were his own backyard, it only took a couple minutes for Valyr to arrive at the building he intended to go to.


    "What creative naming sense."


    Briefly taking in the fact that the building looked simr to the skill pavilion back in the Gates of Enlightenment, Valyr faintly nodded to himself as he made his way to the building''s entrance.


    Once there, the young man was then greeted by the sight of the barrier blocking the entrance disappearing before his very eyes, causing him to raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity.


    Though, with a bit of thinking, Valyr eventually understood what was going on, prompting a smile to appear on his face as he made his way deeper into the Awakening Skill Pavilion. "Then again, it wouldn''t make sense for the owner of the inheritance to be hindered by the barriers."


    Arriving at the pavilion proper, the young man''s mouth immediately went agape as he noticed that the number of skills avable within the pavilion were at least ten times greater than the ones avable back in the Gates of Enlightenment''s skill pavilion.


    Feeling his greed get the better of him, Valyr immediately took a bit of time topose himself before proceeding to head straight for the skill he nned on obtaining.


    "Found it." Fortunately, with how both the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion and the Awakening Skill Pavilion had a simryout, it did not take long for him to find the skill he was looking


    for.


    With that, he ced his hand on the corresponding skill crystal before pushing his perception into it, only to obtain a notification from the system not long after.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Eyes of Awakening''.]

 Chapter 1092: Claiming Skills (2)

    Chapter 1092: iming Skills (2)


    ?


    Getting confirmation from the system that he''d obtained the skill he needed, Valyr went ahead and brought up the skill''s description in front of him, curious as to what kind of ability it had to allow him to tap into the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode.


    Though, afterparing it with the skill he got from the Enlightenment Skill Pavilion, the young man soon realized that the effects of the two skills were more or less the same.


    "...How would these skills allow me to tap into the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode exactly?" asked Valyr to himself with a slight frown, wondering whether Vaughn actually said all that back then to pull a prank on him.


    "At first, I thought [Eyes of Enlightenment] was designed that way to act as a foundation of sorts for the two other skills." The frown on Valyr''s face deepened. "But now that I''ve checked [Eyes of Awakening] out..."


    "Are these skills really intended for that purpose?"


    Whoosh!


    Just as that question left his mouth, Valyr felt something deep within him move all of a sudden, briefly causing him to think that something primordial had awoken from its slumber. However, before he could pinpoint where that sensation exactly appeared within his body, the sensation disappeared as if it wasn''t there in the first ce, making the young man wonder whether or not everything he''d felt just now was a mere illusion.


    Ding!


    While he was still in the midst of wrapping his head around what happened just now, a couple of notification sounds suddenly echoed in his mind, making the young man frown as his train of thought was cut short.


    Letting out a low sigh as he''d just missed an opportunity to get a better idea of what just happened, Valyr eventually pushed his thoughts to the side to take a look at the notifications he received...


    Only to then realize that the cause of what he felt just now was none other than the notifications themselves.


    [The skills ''Eyes of Enlightenment'' and ''Eyes of Awakening'' have fused together to form ''Eyes of the Erudite''.]


    [With the eyes of the Erudite, a part of your innate self has finally begun to see the truth, waking up from its long slumber.]


    "..." Feeling a bit of confusion after he was done reading through the notifications he received, the young man took a bit of time to process what he''d just read, only to then fall into greater confusion.


    "...What did I awaken exactly?" asked Valyr to himself as he sent his senses inward to possibly get a better idea of what was going on.


    Though, after seeing that nothing whatsoever changed inside him, the young man instead fell into even greater confusion, forcing him to vigorously shake his head in a bid to snap his senses back to reality.


    Then, taking in a few deep breaths, Valyr decided not to think about the second notification for the meantime, instead focusing his attention on the first notification he received.


    "Hopefully I get some clues from the skill''s description," said the young man to himself, bringing up a screen containing the skill in front of him.


    Ding!


    [Eyes of the Erudite] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    The Erudite knows all. Even the truths thaty behind falsehoods are not spared from its wisdom.


    This skill allows the user to willfully enter a temporary state of self-transcendence, allowing one to understand concepts that would normally be difficult to theyman. Whether it be skills, spells, or esoteric concepts like Intents and Forces, ally bare under the eyes of the Erudite, showing one the intrinsic truths of the universe.


    This skill also allows the user to tap into a primordial state of being, though the chances of sessfully doing so are low.


    This skill also boosts the user''s WIS by 10%.


    "Yeah... that doesn''t really help much."


    Reading through the skill''s description a few times to make sure he did not miss even a single detail, it was only then did Valyr get a rough idea of what was going on.


    "It could be safe to presume that whatever awakened inside me earlier must have something to do with the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode," murmured Valyr to himself. "After all, the skill says that I now have the ability to tap into a primordial state of being." "Considering what I felt back when I first tapped into that ethereal state... I suppose a primordial state of being describes it best," continued the young man, only to then bitterly smile soon after. "Then again, I''m mostly working on a ton of what-ifs at the moment."


    "Besides the other parts of the skill that I frankly have no clue what they mean, I''m curious as to what the skill means about allowing me to understand concepts better."


    By the time he finished his train of thought, Valyr let out a low sigh as he closed the screen he brought up.


    Then, looking around the pavilion onest time to mark a couple of skills he would definitely grab for himself in the future, Valyr soon left the Awakening Skill Pavilion, only to then conjure a rift that would bring him to the ce where he and Vaughnst interacted in person.


    Swoosh!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "The Gates of Transcendence." Arriving at the quaint little spot that Vaughn''s memory extension resided in, Valyr swiftly brought up the information the man gave him about the inheritance, heading straight for the ce where the final skill he needed could be found. Though, with how small the entire ce was inparison to something like the Gates of Awakening, it did not take long for him to arrive where the skills were, with all of them surprisingly being located inside arge wooden chest.


    "Huh." Slightly amused by the stark contrast that formed between how skills were stored in the Gates of Awakening and the Gates of Transcendence, Valyr briefly let out a chuckle as he opened the chest, only to be greeted by a whole bunch of esoteric skill books.


    Going through the skill books one by one, it was only after a few minutes of digging did he find the skill he needed, immediately absorbing its contents the moment he was certain he''d


    grabbed the right one.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the passive skill ''Eyes of Transcendence''.]


    Smiling as he took a look at the notification he''d received, Valyr went ahead and sat on the


    ground as he waited for the same reaction as before to happen.


    Though, before the young man could even prepare himself for what came next, he immediately felt a strong wave of energy wash over his body all of a sudden, causing him to fall unconscious as the system continued to send out its notifications.


    [The skills ''Eyes of the Erudite'' and ''Eyes of Transcendence'' have fused together to form ''Eyes of the Sagacious One''.]


    [...]


    [.....!]


    [Error! The Apparatus has detected a malignant power within the user''s skill base!]


    [Skill removal in progress...]


    [...]


    [?! @$ + ( @_ $ * ...! @+!#_$*))*#_!#__....? #(*$@)$(+ @ $@...?!]


    [Due to the intervention of the Fifth Administrator, the Apparatus has stopped the skill


    removal.]


    [...]


    [The Fifth Administrator has given you the titles...]


    [...]


    [Sending all relevant and necessary information involving [ ] to the user...]


    [...]


    [May this information prove useful in breaking the chains that bind you.]

 Chapter 1093: The Three Tiers of Knowledge

    Chapter 1093: The Three Tiers of Knowledge


    ?


    "Azradas..."


    "Azradas... can you... hear... me?"


    "Azradas Vol''wista!"


    "...Huh?"


    Finally responding to the numerous times his name had been called, a young teenager temporarily extricated himself from his peaceful slumber, only to then be fully alert as the reality of his current situation sunk in.


    Feeling embarrassment after realizing he''d fallen asleep in the middle of ss, Azradas'' face slightly turned red at theughter his ssmates gave him as he looked at the teacher that called for his attention.


    "And here I thought you wouldn''t wake up till the end of ss," said the teacher,


    harrumphing as she crossed her four arms. "Now, Azradas. As I''ve mentioned earlier, what are the three tiers of knowledge us Truthseekers can attain?"


    "If you can''t even answer this basic question, I really might remove you from this ss."


    At her question, Azradas forced the gears in his mind to whir as fast as they possibly could, looking around the ssroom for clues he could use to answer the question.


    At the same time, he went through all of the knowledge he''d rued in his life so far, hoping that he''d find the answer sooner orter.


    Fortunately, just as it felt like he was only mere moments from receiving the teacher''s disappointment, Azradas responded to her question with as much confidence he could possibly muster.


    "The first tier of knowledge is to know and recognize truths as they are."


    "The second tier of knowledge is to know and recognize truths even beyond falsehoods."


    Feeling the teacher''s gaze grow sharper in response to his words, the young teenager took in a short breath topose himself before finishing his answer. "And thest tier of knowledge is to know and recognize all truths in their purest, unblemished form."


    "...Is that all?" After a bit of silence, the teacher eventually responded back to his answer, causing Azradas to doubt the words that just came off his mouth.


    Though, rather than change his answer, he instead believed in his thoughts and his instincts, prompting him to nod back as he replied, "That is all."


    "...Haah."


    After a far longer silence than before, the teacher soon let out a sigh as she looked at Azradas with a hint of concern. "If not for the fact that you''d rather sleep than pursue greater knowledge, you probably would''ve been in a higher grade already."


    "In any case, it would be great if you could restrain yourself from falling asleep from now on. Especially now that the yearly aptitude exams are closing in."


    "Yes, Teacher." At those words, Azradas inwardly let out a sigh of relief, finally being able to rx as their teacher moved on with their ss.


    Though, as the teacher continued with the ongoing lesson, the young teenager''s attention eventually fell beyond the window, bing distracted as his thoughts began to wander about.


    ''It must be nice to achieve the first tier of knowledge so early on,'' thought Azradas to himself, recalling the teacher''s words from earlier. ''If only the teacher knew doing so was that easy.''


    ''Then again... if I did achieve it, I wouldn''t be pestered by the teachers anymore if I decide to sleep during ss.''


    Faintly chuckling at his train of thought, the young teenager eventually made up his mind on what his life''s goal would be.


    To not be disturbed in his sleep.


    -


    "Azradas..."


    "Azradas Vol''wisran!"


    "Huh...?"


    "Ack!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Feeling immense pain at having someone p him on the back of his head, Azradas had a frown on his face as he came to his senses, looking around to see who exactly decided to wake him up from his slumber.


    Though, after seeing that the one who did it was none other than his personal mentor, any thoughts of retaliation he had immediately disappeared without a trace as he gave him a slightly apologetic smile.


    "I know that I shouldn''t really disturb you while you''re asleep, but could you at least pay attention to what I have to say?" Looking at the smile his student gave him, the mentor sighed as he shook his head. "Have the dignity of a Vol''wisran at the very least."


    "Sorry, Mentor." Briefly recalling a time from his earlier days of study where something simr happened, Azradas immediately apologized as he began to recall their conversation before he eventually fell asleep.


    "You were talking to me about the Trials of Erudition, right?"


    "...At least you can still recall what I told you." Hearing those words, Azradas'' mentor let out


    a faint sigh of relief before nodding. "But yes. I n on having you enter the Trials of Erudition the next decade."


    "I''m sure you''ve already been told this the moment you entered the Imperial Truthseeker Academy, but let me remind you that the first tier of knowledge you''ve been told your whole life so far is nothing but the beginning of what''s toe."


    "Though three tiers of knowledge do exist for us Truthseekers, the first tier of knowledge you''vee to know is merely a foundation for the true first step, which is to know and recognize truths even beyond falsehoods."


    "As long as you achieve this level, you''ll immediately obtain the title of Erudite among the Truthseekers, immediately bing a beacon of knowledge all generations look up to." Unknowingly, his mentor got more excited as he continued. "If there everes a day you achieve the second tier of knowledge, you immediately be a Sage, a being that even Truthseekers of the future shall remember for eternity."


    "The fact that there are only nine in total who have reached this level in our history means a lot if you were to reach the tenth. In fact, if you do reach it, you would''ve sessfully passed


    me, your mentor."


    "And if you were to ever touch upon the third andst tier of knowledge... to turn falsehoods into infinite truths..."


    "Hey, Azradas. Did you even listen to a word of what I said just now?"


    "Azradas...? Azradas Vol''wisran!"


    "...Haah. Seriously, why did I be his mentor again?"

 Chapter 1094: The Cost of Sagacity

    Chapter 1094: The Cost of Sagacity


    ?


    "...If only I knew."


    As the heavy rains caused the skies to turn a somber gray, Azradas strongly bit on his lips as tears brimmed around his eyes, his arms carrying the old man that was once his personal mentor.


    Being part of the Truthseeker Race, Azradas took the race''s ability to assimte knowledge from the beings they consume for granted, thinking of it as the right they''d been given the moment they were born.


    With that, he also took the various tiers of knowledge for granted, confident that he''d be able to reach even the first tier of knowledge with minimal effort.


    Though he''d proven himself more capable of reaching the true first tier of knowledge his mentor mentioned, Azradas did admit to himself that he would have done so earlier if it weren''t for the fact that he allowed the aptitude test he took as a kid to get the better of him. Then again, who wouldn''t boast the fact that they were a rare prodigy of their race?


    Yet, it was only now did Azradas realize that there was a reason behind the words he''d received from his teachers and mentors, the wishes and hopes they passed onto him to eventually attain the higher tiers of knowledge.


    It was only now, when his had obtained the full ire of the universe, did everything finally be clear to him.


    Not only that, but to right one of the many wrong decisions Azradas had made so far, his personal mentor, the one he looked up to as a role model, hadid his life down for the young


    man...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Just so Azradas could make use of their ability as a Truthseeker to the fullest.


    "If only I listened..." murmured Azradas to himself as he poured out his grievances to the world. "If only I learned... from all of your words."


    "Would we have been able to avoid all of this from happening?"


    As those words left his mouth, Azradas could not stop his tears any longer.


    With the rain pouring down even harder than before, the tears streamed down the young man''s face as he felt all of the negative emotions he''d felt throughout his life rise to the surface once more.


    Then again, the young man''sment did notst for long, being reminded of the precarious situation their was in.


    Taking in a deep breath as he stifled his tears, Azradas closed his eyes for a bit as he offered a prayer to the heavens.


    Then, with a knife in his hand, he began to carve parts of his mentor out piece by piece before stuffing it in his mouth.


    Feeling wave upon wave of knowledge crash upon his mind the moment he ate his mentor''s flesh, the tears Azradas stifled began streaming down his face once more.


    However, unlike before, he allowed it to flow freely this time, feeling himself finally cross upon the threshold his mentor had been hoping for him to achieve all this time.


    Yet, even the excitement of finally bing an Erudite did not change what he felt at that moment.


    After all, his current situation was a grim reminder of his mistakes.


    And what he was doing was just the start of the great price he had to pay.


    --


    "Long time no see, Azradas."


    Hearing a familiar voice apany a set of footsteps echoing from where he was, Azradas slowly turned his head upward as he faced the man that appeared before him.


    With his expression continuing to remain as it was, Azradas watched as the man began to grin all of a sudden, only to then snap his fingers as a myriad number of lights illuminated the reality of his situation.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing the hundreds of chains binding his body in ce, the small space that he''d been confined in for a great portion of his life already, Azradas let out a faint sigh before asking the man in front of him a question.


    "What do you want?"


    "What else would I want from the smartest mind of the universe?" The man grinned, his fingers tracing one of the many chains locking Azradas in ce. "As the one known by all as the Sagacious One, I''m sure you already know the reason for my visit."


    "...I''ve said it before and I''ll say it again." Taking a bit of time to think over his words, Azradas eventually replied to the man''s question. "Even if you bind me here, even if you confine me in a small space for eternity, I will never ede to your requests."


    "Oh?" The man raised his eyebrow before the grin on his face turned wider. "Is that so?"


    Whoosh!


    With a snap of the man''s fingers, the chains holding Azradas began to turn a scorching orange-red, seemingly teetering on the edge of holding its shape and turning into a puddle of molten metal.


    Yet, even though immense amounts of heat flowed through the chains binding him, Azradas did not even briefly flinch in response to the orange-red chains, merely continuing to stare back at the man just like he''d done many times before.


    "...You''re no fun." Naturally, the man knew of this as well, clicking his tongue as he brought everything back to normal. "To turn even falsehoods into truths, such a power like that is already beyond the realms of the divine."


    "Which only gives me a greater reason to enlist your help in our project, to be honest," the man continued with a slight chuckle. "Are you really going to be stubborn till the very end? Do you really not want to participate in the creation of the Apparatus?"


    "...I''ve said it before..." Letting out a low sigh, Azradas shook his head as he told the man the words he spoke earlier. "...and I''ll say it again."


    "Even if you lock me here in the Eternal Tower... even if you confine me here until the universe dies... I will never... even for a brief second, think about participating in your ns, Azazel."


    "Hoh?" Hearing his name be mentioned, the man raised his eyebrow as he looked at Azradas with interest. "What a surprise. That''s the first time I''ve heard my namee out of your


    mouth."


    Then, the man grinned once more. "In any case, keep this in mind. Just as how you can live forever, we can live forever as well."


    "We won''t stop asking you the same question. We won''t stop pushing your mind and spirit to extremes even the Primordials themselves would fear enduring."


    "As long as you reject our proposal to aid in the creation of the Apparatus, every waking moment you spend shall be a living nightmare."


    "As long as you reject our proposal... you''ll regret ever bing known as the Sagacious


    One."


    "Mark my words, Azradas." As these words left his mouth, Azazel''s body gradually began to darken. "You and I both know that I have the means to make the things you rely on


    meaningless."


    Eventually, the man''s body disappeared from Azradas'' vision without a trace... but not


    without leaving a few choice words to the man.


    "You will eventually ept our request. Perhaps not now, perhaps not in the near future, but


    someday, you will do so."


    "In any case, I''m quite tired."


    "Farewell for now... Reality Breaker."

 Chapter 1095: Thoughts Unfolding

    Chapter 1095: Thoughts Unfolding


    ?


    "...Who am I?"


    Feeling an immense headache the moment he returned to the waking world, it took a while for Valyr to sit upright, the thoughts in his mind a jumble as he went through the memories


    he''d seen just now.


    "I''m... Azradas Vol''sagaxa..." muttered Valyr to himself, only to shake his head as he forced his mind to focus. "No... I''m Valyr Zeihardt."


    "Azradas... Valyr..."


    "...Haah." Feeling like he''d finally set his mind straight, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief as The realized that he was close to forgetting who he really was.


    Then again, the memories he''d gone through while unconscious were far more vivid than any of the memories he''d made so far, all of them packed to the brim with information and small details to the point that Valyr thought of some of them as useless.


    Giving himself a bit more time to gather both his bearings and thoughts, the young man soon had a fearful expression as he wondered how much time had passed since he fell unconscious. Bringing up his status screen in response to the thought, Valyr soon let out yet another sigh of relief after calcting that only a few minutes had passed since he''d fallen unconscious. Though, after the relief he felt died down, he soon felt immense confusion regarding the entire situation. After all, how were all of those memories still so vivid in his mind even though he''d only gone through them for a few minutes.


    ''If anything, it felt like those memoriessted for thousands of years,'' thought Valyr to himself, deciding to push the memories to the side for the meantime as the system reminded him that he had yet to look at the notifications he received.


    Ding!


    Knowing that the notifications undoubtedly appeared while he was in the midst of going through all of those memories, Valyr''s curiosity was at its peak as he wanted to get a better sense of what was going on.


    Yet, as he went through the notifications one by one, the young man''s curiosity only turned into even greater confusion.


    [The skills ''Eyes of the Erudite'' and ''Eyes of Transcendence'' have fused together to form ''Eyes of the Sagacious One''.]


    [With the eyes of the Sagacious One, your innate self has begun to peer beyond falsehoods, its entire being ready to awaken at any moment.]


    [You have obtained the title ''Inheritor of the Sagacious One''s Will''.]


    [You have obtained the title ''Inheritor of the Truthseekers'' Will''.]


    [You have obtained the title ''Witness of the Truthseekers'' End''.]


    Reading through the notification he''d received, Valyr immediately skipped over the first two he received. After all, the notifications were more or less simr to the ones he got after fusing [Eyes of Enlightenment] and [Eyes of Awakening] together.


    If anything, his focus was on the three titles he obtained out of nowhere, prompting him to think that the titles all had something to do with the memories he''d seen.


    ''I get where the third title ising from,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly. ''After all, one of the memories I saw has something to do with the downfall of the Truthseekers and their.''


    ''On the other hand, none of the memories give me an idea on where the two remaining titles woulde from,'' continued the young man, rubbing his chin as he went over the memories in his mind again and again.


    However, seeing as even going through all of the memories did not give him any additional clue whatsoever, he decided to take a look at the description of the two titles themselves...


    Only to be shown two screens that did not help out in any way either.


    [Inheritor of the Sagacious One''s Will] (Title)


    Rarity: ???


    Break the chains. Right the wrongs. Show them what they deserve.


    [Inheritor of the Truthseeker''s Will] (Title)


    Rarity: ???


    Their only wish was to discover the first truth the universe created. Yet, the universe itself condemns them from doing so.


    "...Yeah. I know too little information toe up with a theory." Letting out a sigh as he finished going through the enigmatic descriptions of the two titles, Valyr eventually decided not to think about them for the meantime.


    Instead, he shifted his focus towards something he had a higher chance of piecing together, which was the rtion of everything he''d gone through just now with the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode.


    "I may not know what exactly the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode is, but what I do know is that it has something to do with Vaughn''s ns," said Valyr to himself, only to recall what Vaughn had told him in the past.


    Briefly sporting a fearful expression on his face, the young man immediately shifted his solo discussion in his mind as he continued his train of thought. ''If I remember what Vaughn told me back then correctly, he wants me to try and destroy the Apparatus.''


    ''On the other hand, the memories that were shown to me were of Azradas, the Sagacious One.''


    ''Though most of it talked about how he''d be the Sagacious One in the first ce, the final memory is the thing I should definitely focus on,'' thought Valyr to himself with a serious expression. ''The Sagacious One''s unwillingness to join in the creation of the Apparatus.''


    Focusing his attention back on that specific memory, Valyr went over it in far greater detail than ever before, allowing him to obtain far more information than what the memory had initially given him.


    With the new information he''d obtained, he was eventually able to ascertain that the tower he''d seen just before he entered the Shard of Defiance''s Resonance Mode was none other than the Eternal Tower that Azradas was trapped in.


    Recalling the phrase that was spoken to him just as he entered that ethereal state, the young man had a gut feeling that the one saying that was none other than Azradas, though he was not that certainpared to his earlier thought.


    Nevertheless, with all of the thoughts between the Shard of Defiance and Azradas going on in his mind, Valyr eventually came to a conclusion that would sound like gibberish to the normal


    person.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''In short, Vaughn''s ns of eventually destroying the Apparatus all starts with the Shard of Defiance, which has something to do with the Sagacious One.''


    ''I''m guessing it has something to do with that title that man mentioned in the end...''


    ''Reality Breaker...''


    "Man." At some point, Valyr let out a wry chuckle at the absurdity of his thoughts. "I don''t


    know what I''ve gotten myself into..."


    "But I''ve got a good feeling this might help us win the final battle."

 Chapter 1096: A Different Kind of Absurd

    Chapter 1096: A Different Kind of Absurd


    ?


    "...I''ve definitely gotten a lot more than I was expecting."


    Whoosh!


    Stepping through the rift that brought him back to his plot ofnd, Valyr briefly thought back through everything he''d done while in the inheritance.


    After he was done mulling over the memories he''d obtained and its connection to Vaughn''s ns and the Shard of Defiance that was embedded in his mind, the young man then paid a brief visit to Ecalos to meet up with Ryvrthe and the others.


    Once there, he talked with Ryvrthe regarding the plot ofnd he''d bought and their ns of gradually moving all of the Forsaken Ones back into Veldanyr.


    Naturally, the two also talked about the ns they''d made in the past, which eventually made the young man think about heading to the cksmith Guild after he returned to Veldanyr. "Though I''m curious as to why that man ultimately has something to do with Vaughn''s ns, I know for a fact that I''m not yet at a level high enough to obtain such information," said Valyr to himself as he briefly thought back to the train of thought he had earlier.


    "I don''t even know where to start looking for that."


    "Well... I could always ask Vaughn more about it, but that would just attract its attention," said the young man as he continued to think out loud. "If anything, I should probably reach the requirements needed to make full use of the Shard of Defiance first before doing that." "Now that I think about it, I haven''t taken a look at the description of the skill I just got," continued Valyr as he decided to pay a visit to Jacques before heading to the cksmith Guild. Activating [Flight of the Azure Dragon], the young man soon began to zoom through the dark skies, his attention now focused on the screen he''d brought up.


    Ding!


    [Eyes of the Sagacious One] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    Most of the description has been omitted.


    The Sagacious One knows all, sees all,prehends all. Even falsehoods be an infinite set of truths under his gaze.


    This skill allows the user to toggle between their normal vision and the vision of the Sagacious One, thetter allowing one to understand all concepts the user sets their mind on at the cost of both HP and MP.


    No matter what concept it may be, even those that stem from falsehoods, all of them shall be truths under the gaze of the Sagacious One, showing one truths that even the universe would have difficulty showing.


    This skill also allows the user to willfully enter a primordial state of being, temporarily ascending themselves to a higher state of existence that renders all of the user''s actions as effective, while also rendering all of the opponent''s actions less effective.


    This skill also boosts the user''s WIS and PER by 20%.


    "So that''s why my attacks against the Lee brothers at the end finally had an effect on them." Reading through the description of his newly obtained skill, Valyr nodded in understanding as he now had an idea of what the ethereal state did.


    Though he wasn''t too sure as to what the skill meant by temporarily ascending him to a higher state of existence, his instincts told him that it had something to do with how those below Rank 5 would always lose against those at Rank 6 or above.


    Well... almost always.


    Aside from that, he took note of the fact that the skill''s function of allowing him to understand concepts remained, though it was both upgraded and degraded in some ways.


    "If I remember correctly, there was no cost to understanding concepts back when the skill was still in its previous version," muttered Valyr to herself. "Then again, the previous version didn''t have an option for me to choose a specific concept."


    "How about I try it out for a bit?" Seeing as it would took a while for him to arrive to where Jacques was, Valyr went ahead and made use of [Eyes of the Sagacious One], feeling his vision immediately shift in response.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, the young man began to feel like all of the truths surrounding him wereid bare in their purest form, just waiting for them to picked up andprehended by him.


    Though, before he could even take advantage of the vision he was given, Valyr immediately felt immense exhaustion from the core of his body, causing him to be forcibly returned to his original state.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Knowing that this exhaustion stemmed from having his HP and MP being consumed, the young man went ahead and brought up his screen, only to be greeted by the sight of his HP and his various energies be all at one point each.


    "...Damn." Being given a grim reminder that he might possibly die if he were to force himself to try using it again, Valyr decided to lock the skill up for now, thinking that he would need to at least be at the level of a Legend before trying to use it again.


    Grabbing one of the Intermediate-level health and mana potions he''d concocted back in the Mystic ne from his spatial bracelet, the young man did not hesitate to consume the two of them in one go as he arrived where Jacques was not long after.


    ...


    "So, how did the visit to your new plot ofnd go?"


    After telling Jacques to keep up the good work while also making a promise to make him a forging hammer, it went without saying that Valyr made his way to the cksmith Guild after his talks with Ryvrthe reminded him of some stuff.


    Giving Julian a heads-up through a couple of messages along the way, Valyr eventually decided to head straight for the man''s workshop after getting a reply that the man was still there at such ate time.


    "Well, some of the ns will have to go through a couple of changes," said the young man in response to Julian''s question. "However, most of them would probably have no problems being implemented."


    "I think it''d be better if you paid a visit personally," continued Valyr, to which Julian pondered over for a bit.


    "I''ll try to pay a visit sometime in the future, but no promises," said the man after some time, only to then shift the topic to something else. "Anyways, what brings you to the cksmith Guildte at night? Surely, it''s not just to talk to me about yournd, right?"


    "Of course not." Valyr shook his head before giving Julian a yful smile. "If anything, I have


    a question."


    "Does the cksmith Guild perhaps have an Elder Wyvern Core avable?"

 Chapter 1097: To Obtain a Core

    Chapter 1097: To Obtain a Core


    ?


    "An Elder Wyvern Core?" Julian raised his eyebrow as he looked back at Valyr in slight confusion. "Where are you gonna use an item like tha¡ª"


    "Oh, right." Fortunately, it did not take much time for him to understand what the young man was nning to do with it, causing him to let out a wry chuckle as he sheepishly smiled. "It''s for that armor of yours."


    "Now that I think about it, it''s been a while since you asked me to grab a Wyvern Core for you," continued Julian as heughed at the thought. "If I remember correctly, you asked me for the core sometime before the inheritance."


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded in response, smiling as he thought about how much he and his armor had already gone through.


    Hearing his reply, Julian nned on asking the young man as to why he decided to upgrade his armor, considering how good it already was.


    However, before the question could even leave his mouth, the man mped the thought down as he inwardly shook his head with a smile. "Though I am quite curious to hear why you''ve decided to upgrade your armor, I''ll keep that curiosity to myself."


    "Then again, it doesn''t really take much to figure out why, considering our current circumstances," said the man with a chuckle before letting out a faint sigh.


    "In any case, an Elder Wyvern Core... let me check."


    With Julian pulling his screen before him, Valyr watched as the man go through his messages in a slight frenzy, causing his heart to slightly warm up as he thought about the kindness the man had shown him all this time.


    At the same time, the man''s earlier words made him ponder over why he decided on upgrading his armor, his train of thought eventually matching the thoughts that gued Julian''s mind just earlier.


    ''To be honest, the True Wyvern Armor set is already more than enough to support me up to when I be a Legend,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''In terms of its performance, it''s already one of, if not the best sets of armor one could ask for.''


    ''However, when Ipare it to the amount of time it took me to go from the Half Wyvern Armor to what it is now... I do think the armor is a bit overdue for an upgrade.''


    From the set of Half Wyvern Armor he''d forged in Clossbay City to the Nascent Wyvern Armor that Braum had witnessed him forge in the Imperial Production Guild, only a month had passed between the two.


    On the other hand, it took less than a month for him to go from the Nascent Wyvern Armor to the True Wyvern Armor, mostly due to the fact that he needed to increase hisbat prowess as much as possible before entering the inheritance.


    Considering the number of the days he''d spent in the inheritance in total, only a couple of months had passed for Valyr since he''d transitioned to the True Wyvern Armor.


    If one were to view it from the perspective of someone who''d stayed in Veldanyr all this time, then 10 months had already passed since Valyr transitioned to the True Wyvern Armor.


    Though, with all of the various realms he''d gone through with varying time ratios while both in and out of the inheritance, the young man had ultimately spent over two years improving himself to where he was today...


    While his armor set had remained stagnant all this time.


    ''If I looked at it from that perspective, then the armor really is overdue for an upgrade,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, only to then shrug his shoulders soon after. ''But if I were forced toe up with an actual reason why I''m upgrading what''s already an excellent set of armor...''


    ''Then wouldn''t the need for greater strength in the ongoing war be the best reason?''


    "Well, Valyr, I''ve got some good news and some bad news." Just as Valyr was finished with his train of thought, Julian moved his screen to the side as he gave him an update.


    "The good news is that the Meltierre Empire branch of the cksmith Guild has a few Elder Wyvern Cores in the storage," the man told him. "After hearing that you''re the one requesting for it, they''ve also decided to give you the scales and ws of an Elder Wyvern."


    "I''ll be needing those scales and ws, actually." Valyr''s eyes widened in response to the man''s words, causing him to ask Julian if he could ry his thanks to them. "How about the bad news?"


    "Well, the bad news is that the Elder Wyvern Cores have already been in their storage for a couple decades already," replied Julian, to which Valyr immediately frowned in response. "Then again, they did tell me that they wouldn''t mind grabbing a fresh Elder Wyvern Core for you, but it''ll take a while for it to be delivered here with the ongoing war."


    "How long would it take to get here?" asked Valyr after a bit of silence. "Also, how much merit points would I need to pay?"


    "ording to them, the best case scenario would be around a week to a week and a half," said Julian with a wry smile. "However, it''s more likely that it''ll take three weeks at the very least for it toe here."


    "As for how much the core would cost, they only n to charge you the price for the core itself. Consider their act of grabbing a fresh core for you a show of their goodwill."


    "Then again, even if they don''t n to charge you extra for that, an Elder Wyvern Core would still set you back 400,000 merit points." At those words, Julian looked at Valyr with a slight


    shrug.


    "And how much do I have at the moment?" asked the young man back.


    "255,000 merit points," replied the man not long after, causing Valyr''s eyes to widen in surprise once more. "I was already expecting you to ask that question to be honest."


    "That''s... a lot more than I thought I would have," said Valyr after some time, only to do a bit ofputation in his mind to make sure Julian''s figure was in line with what he remembered.


    After confirming that the number the man gave him correct, the young man soon thought about the number of Technology Points he had, considering that he earned a simr amount of them whenever he finished a forging quota.


    ''I should really take the time to use my Technology Points after this.'' With that thought in mind, Valyr took in a deep breath before looking at Julian with a calm expression.


    "So, if my calctions are correct, that means I need toplete three more forging quotas to be able to afford the Elder Wyvern Core, right?"


    "With how much I''m giving you per quota, yes." Julian nodded after some time, only to get an idea of what Valyr was nning to do.


    Briefly feeling a hint of fear from the realization, the man inwardly took in a deep breath as he talked some sense into the young man. "Of course, there''s no need for you to do those quotas


    all at once."


    "With how long the Elder Wyvern Core would take to arrive here, you could do a forging quota once a week and still have enough merit points to pay for it."


    "In fact, now that I think about it, you could even have the Elder Wyvern Core be part of your conditions for the blueprints you n on sharing and you''d be able to get it without even spending a single merit point.


    Seeing the young man be silent after his lengthy exnation, Julian inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he felt that the young man would make the wise decision to not overexert


    himself for no reason.


    Unfortunately for him...


    Valyr nned on going against Julian''s advice from the start.


    "The part about how I could add the Elder Wyvern Core as a condition to the proposals is definitely interesting... but why would I do that if I''m more than capable of getting the core through my own effort?" said Valyr with a teasing smile.


    "Plus, even if I did need extra Elder Wyvern Cores in the future, I did say back then that one of the conditions the cksmith Guild has to agree upon before I share my blueprint is to ben/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    able to request for any material I want."


    Hearing those words, Julian went silent for a bit as he processed the information in his mind.


    Then, letting out a low sigh, he looked back at the young man with a bitter smile. "So, it would be correct to assume you''re nning onpleting three sets of forging quotas at


    once?"


    "I''ve already done two at the same time before," replied Valyr with a bit ofughter. "What''s wrong with adding another one?"


    Letting out yet another sigh at the man''s response, Julian decided not to think about it any further as he fulfilled his duties as the cksmith Guild''s Guildmaster.


    Ding!


    Watching the man in front of him swiftly interact with the system, Valyr soon obtained a notification from his own system in regards to the quest Julian gave him.


    Taking a look at its description, the young man nodded after seeing that the rewards were in


    line with what he expected.


    However, when his eyes fell on the deadline Julian gave him, the young man could not help but inwardly smile. ''He really gave me two weeks toplete three sets of forging quotas.''


    ''I mean, it''s still better than how it was before,'' thought Valyr to himself, recalling the back and forth he had with him when he first wanted to do two quotas at once.


    ''But just like before, he still underestimates my capabilities.''


    At that thought, the young man recalled the time he spent back in the Mystic ne, conjuring


    all of those arms with Mystic Energy while keeping [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith]


    active.


    ''Then again...'' Thinking about the number of arms he would now be able to work with, Valyr began to grin as he made his way towards a private workshop.


    ''Even I don''t know where my capabilities lie now.''

 Chapter 1098: Due Upgrades (1)

    Chapter 1098: Due Upgrades (1)


    ?


    After arriving at the private workshop Julian allocated to him within the guild, Valyr swiftly got to work as he brought out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet.


    Activating [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] after that, he then used those arms to grab all of the spare forging hammers on the tool rack near him before going ahead and manifesting a few more pairs of arms using Mystic Energy.


    Though, before he could even reach the limit of what his Mystic Energy could handle, the young man immediately changed his mind as he conjured the arms using Mystic Energy once


    more.


    Whoosh!


    However, unlike before, he utilized the braid involving mana, allowing his mind to be more at ease when it came to how long those arms wouldst.


    With him done with everything he needed to do beforehand, Valyr went ahead and proceeded to go through the 150 weapon quota he''d given himself, deciding to bet on himself on how much time he''d take to forge all 150.


    ''Considering that it took me under six days to forge 100 weapons in a row, adding on the fact that I now have five additional pairs of arms to work with... a week, perhaps?''


    With the thought in mind, the young man slowly but surely got into a rhythm that allowed him to make full use of all the arms he''d conjured, causing him to ignore the passage of time the more he forged.


    By the time he was done, he let out a wide sigh of relief as he dispelled all of the translucent arms he''d been controlling all this time, causing all of the extra forging hammers around him to drop to the ground.


    Feeling the strain on his mind immediately disappear the moment a cacophony of ngs echoed throughout the workshop, Valyr looked at the pile of weapons he''d made with satisfaction before giving himself some time to rest.


    Consuming a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet to hasten his return to peak condition, the young man then went ahead and brought up his status screen as a question came to mind.


    ''So, how much time exactly did I take to forge 150 weapons in a row?'' Watching the screen in front of him, Valyr thought back to how he tackled the forging quota at first, immediately feeling a massive strain on his mind the moment he tried controlling 11 pairs of arms at once. Because of that, he lost a great amount of time forging weapons at first, with the resulting output even being somewhat subparpared to the usual pieces of equipment he forged.


    However, with him having ascended to a Rank 4 ss, as well as having changed to a race that allowed him to control his energy better, it did not take a lot for the young man to eventually find the groove necessary to control every pair of arms he conjured, allowing him to make full use of the extra arms he''d been given.


    ''With how fast the weapons wereing out by the time I was close to finishing the quota, I suppose I took a week to forge 150 weapons?'' asked Valyr to himself, shifting his gaze towards the timer as he began to calcte the time he spent.


    ''Then again, it wouldn''t be surprising if I took less than that.''


    Closing his eyes for a bit as the gears in his mind whirred in response to his thoughts, Valyr eventually obtained the answer he was looking for.


    However, the answer he got was not what he was expecting.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Four days...?'' Staring out at a far away point for a bit, Valyr blinked a couple times before deciding to do the calctions again, only to arrive at the same answer once more.


    ''I really took a bit over four days to forge 150 weapons?''


    Seeing as the answer was the same no matter how many he calcted it over and over again, Valyr was eventually forced to ept the fact that his forging speed had undergone a far greater improvement than he thought it did.


    Though he was certain that a considerable portion of the improvement was due to both his ss ascension and his new species, most of it was undoubtedly due to the fact that he now had double the number of arm pairs than he had before.


    Seeing as it was impractical to use so many pairs of arms on one weapon, Valyr eventually prompted a few of the arm pairs to forge another weapon at the same time, only to then split off a few more arm pairs to forge another weapon after that.


    "In the end, each weapon had the attention of four pairs of arms, allowing me to forge three weapons at the same time," muttered Valyr to himself, only to bitterly smile soon after.


    "No wonder why this forging session felt more draining to the mind than ever before."


    Closing his status screen after that, Valyr then took a bit more time to give both his body and mind some rest, only to then realize that he was roughly forging two weapons every hour with the rate he was going at.


    ''And it''ll only get better now that I''ve gotten knack of handling so many arm pairs at once,'' thought Valyr to himself, briefly shuddering as he wonder how much time it would take him to do a simr quota in the future.


    Wanting to push his thoughts away from taking on another forging quota for the meantime, Valyr took a bit more time topose himself before bringing out his set of True Wyvern Armor from his spatial bracelet.


    Then, giving Julian a heads-up that his forging quota waspleted, he then went ahead and ced one of the pieces on the anvil before proceeding to upgrade it to match his level.


    After that, all of the pieces of armor were done, he then moved onto his spear and his two firearms, upgrading their levels to match his own.


    "Now that I think about it, I should really get some Refinement Jewels," said Valyr to himself as he put in the final touches on his own arquebus.


    Coincidentally, it was also at that moment that Julian finally entered the young man''s workshop.

 Chapter 1099: Due Upgrades (2)

    Chapter 1099: Due Upgrades (2)


    ?


    "I know the speed at which you forge weapons is incredibly absurd to the point that even I begin to wonder whether I''m actually dreaming... but seriously? You''re seriously telling me you only spent four days to forge 150 weap... ons...?"


    Before arriving at the private workshop Valyr upied, Julian could not help but briefly think to himself that the young man was ying a prank of some sort on him.


    Though, after pondering over it for a bit, the man eventually felt that there was the possibility of it being true. After all, thest time Valyrpleted a 100 weapon quota for him, it only took him less than a week to do so.


    Surely, taking even less time than that to forge 50% more weapons than that was possible, right?


    With such questions lingering in Julian''s mind as he made his way to where Valyr was, it went without saying that the man was left at aplete loss for words when he saw arge pile of weapons within the workshop.


    Taking some time topose himself, Julian watched what the young man was doing for a bit before making a beeline to the pile of weapons near thetter.


    Then, using his identification skill on each and every one of them, the shock and surprise on the man''s face continued to intensify until he eventually looked at Valyr in disbelief.


    "You... you seriously forged 150 weapons in half a week?" asked Julian as he wanted to know what Valyr had done to achieve such a feat.


    Looking at his upgraded arquebus with a nod of satisfaction, it was only after putting his arquebus and hammer back in his spatial bracelet did he respond to Julian''s question with a smile. "Well... the proof of my im is right in front of you."


    "I know that," replied Julian, only to feel at a loss for words once more. "But... how?"


    "You''ve already noticed back then that I ascended to Rank 4 before we arrived the assembly, right?" asked Valyr in response, to which the man nodded back. "That''s partly why I could do what I just did."


    "But for the most part..."


    "This would be your answer."


    Whoosh!


    Before Julian could even understand what was going on, multiple pairs of arms appeared behind the young man''s back all of a sudden, forming a wheel of translucent limbs that alternated between dark blue and bright white in color.


    Staring at this wheel of translucent limbs, Julian went ck-jawed as he recalled thest time the young man had shown him a simr sight.


    "Is it just me... or is that a lot more arms than thest time?"


    "I''ll have to thank Master for that," said Valyr with a chuckle, amused at Julian''s reaction. "If not for her, I probably wouldn''t have been able to achieve something like this."


    "The Imperial Alchemist, huh." Of course, Julian knew who he was talking about. "Well, if that''s the case, then I guess it only makes sense that you''ve drastically improved your forging speed... even if it''s already scaring me."


    "Speaking of which... have you slept yet?" asked the man after that, recalling the young man''s tendencies whenever he picked up a forging quota.


    "Nope." Valyr shook his head with a smile as if it was already the obvious answer. "Then again, it has been a while. I n on heading to bed after this."


    "But first, the rewards."


    "I know." Julian nodded, bringing up a screen in front of him before letting out a sigh. "But can you perhaps slow down a bit? We both know that I can give this much to you because of the war, but there''s a limit to how much I can give, you know."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," said Valyr in response, only to discard the thought not long after. After all, was there really a reason for him to slow down his forging speed?


    Realizing that his words hadn''t changed the young man''s mind in any way, Julian inwardly let out a sigh as he called a few staff members of the guild to collect all of the weapons Valyr forged.


    After that, he changed the contents of the screen in front of him before interacting with it, causing Valyr to receive a series of notifications from the system not long after.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted the quest: Forging Weapons for War. Remaining time...]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [You have received 225,000 Technology Points as a reward.]


    [You have received 225,000 merit points (cksmith Guild) as a reward.]


    [You currently own 480,000 merit points, which allows you to be promoted to the position of [Rank 4 Lesser Elder].]


    [Please contact a director of the cksmith Guild to apply this promotion.]


    [Your affinity with Julian has increased by 200 points. Current rtionship: Confidant.]


    [Your reputation in the cksmith Guild has increased by 150 points. Current reputation: Well-known.]


    [Your reputation in Algerie Kingdom has increased by 30 points. Current reputation: Barely known through hearsay.]


    Looking at the notifications he received, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise when he found out that Julian increased the amount of merit and Technology Points he got by 50%, causing him to look at the man for answers.


    "I already told you before, the reward has to match the effort given." Understanding what was going on in the young man''s mind, Julian already knew what he needed to say, shing a smile at him as he closed his screen.


    "In any case, aside from the fact that you now have enough merit points to afford the Elder Wyvern Core, you also now have enough merit points to ascend your position within the guild."


    "Honestly, with how much you''ve contributed to the cksmith Guild so far, I''m sure none of the other directors would be against me promoting you to an even higher position than what you currently have even back then," said Julian with a shrug. "But I wanted you to experience what it''s like for the other members of the guild to be promoted at least once."


    "Of course, now that I''m thinking about it again, I might probably follow through on giving you an even higher position because of your positions..."


    "Ah, whatever. Let''s head to the main hall for now."

 Chapter 1100: Windfall

    Chapter 1100: Windfall


    ?


    "Hey... isn''t that the guild master? Who''s the young man beside him?"


    "Let me take a look. Wait... you don''t recognize him?"


    "I... uh... I don''t. Just registered to the cksmith Guild recently."


    "Well, I guess it''s time for you to find out who he is. That right there is the cksmith Guild''s pride, Ylvar."


    "Ylvar... wait. That Ylvar?"


    As Julian and Valyr made their way to the guild''s main hall, it went without saying that their appearances caught the attention of all the cksmiths that passed by them, causing them to erupt in discussions all of a sudden.


    Hearing that most of the conversations were about Valyr and not about Julian, thetter looked at the young man with a slightly bitter smile. "Seems like you''ve be the talk of the guild. Then again, with all of the feats you''ve aplished, I would''ve been more surprised if you weren''t."


    At those words, Valyr could only smile in response as he made sure that [Thousand Polymorph] still remained active.


    Ignoring most of the cksmiths that talked about the two of them, the two arrived at one of the vacant counters a couple of minutester, causing the attendant on the other side to feel a bit intimidated from the thought of interacting with them.


    Noticing how the attendant became stiff all of a sudden, Julian gave the young woman a reassuring smile as he told her, "We''ll only take a bit of your time, don''t worry. Just gotta process Ylvar''s promotion here and we''ll be on our way."


    In response to those words, the attendant looked at Valyr, who nodded back at her to further confirm the man''s words.


    Taking a bit of time topose herself, she went ahead and did what she was tasked with great efficiency, prompting Valyr to bring out his identification badge for her sometimeter.


    "This is for a promotion, right?" asked the attendant as she looked the two, to which both Julian and Valyr nodded back in response.


    Getting the confirmation she needed, the attendant went ahead and interacted with the thin tablet she brought out, the contents of which eventually caused her to look at Valyr with a hint of surprise.


    "Your current position is that of an Honorary Lesser Elder," said the attendant after a bit of silence. "With the amount of merit points you currently have, you meet the conditions to be promoted to a Lesser Elder."


    Nodding in response to her words, Valyr watched as the attendant tapped a few more things on her tablet, only to stop as Julian caught her attention. "Before you do that, I''ll be using my authority as the guild master to take charge of Ylvar''s promotion."


    At this point, most of the cksmiths in the main hall were paying attention to the scene that was unfolding, their eyebrows raised as they were curious what Julian meant by that.


    Fortunately, the attendant did not take long to understand what Julian meant by his words, prompting her to nod as she asked, "You''ll be promoting him to an even higher rank, right?" "Correct." Julian grinned, d that she easily caught on. "With my power and authority as the guild master of the Algerie Kingdom cksmith Guild, I now promote Ylvar to the position of True Lesser Elder."


    "Whoa..."


    "A True Lesser Elder... isn''t this favoritism?"


    As Julian made his deration in the main hall, it went without saying that all of the cksmiths tuning in on the scene were left at a loss for words after that, not expecting their guild master to make such a decision.


    However, as they remembered the one getting the promotion, the cksmiths gradually began to warm up to the thought, recalling all of the contributions Valyr had made thus far. "A True Lesser Elder... I think he deserves an even higher position than that."


    "Ylvar''s contributed a lot to the guild already. Didn''t you know that most of the information packets given to us came from him?"


    "Not only that, but from what I''ve heard from my older brother, he''s even given our branch a lot of face in the recent meeting with the other directors of the cksmith Guild."


    "...And what''s your brother''s upation again to gain that information?"


    "The Imperial Production Guild''s head janitor, of course."


    Oblivious to the discussions that were going on around them, Valyr looked at Julian with a raised eyebrow, curious as to what prompted the man to promote him to that level.


    In response to the young man''s gaze, Julian merely grinned as he looked back at him before letting out a bit ofughter not long after. "This is just part one of two."


    Watching Valyr''s expression turn into that of slight confusion after that, the man returned his attention to the attendant, taking note of the fact that the young woman was almost finished processing the promotion.


    "Just to be sure, could you check how many months has Ylvar missed on iming his monthly stipend of Technology Points from the guild?"


    At this point, the initial nervousness the attendant had was gone, causing her to nod as she tapped a few things on her tablet. "If we also include this month, then he''s missed 11 months of the stipend, Guildmaster."


    "Use my authority to give him all of the Technology Points he missed," said Julian as he nodded at her words. "Of course, make sure that the payout matches his current rank and


    position."


    "Will do." The attendant nodded, letting out a long exhale before looking at Valyr. "Just to confirm, what rank are you currently at, Sir Ylvar?"


    "Rank 4," replied Valyr before briefly releasing his aura.


    Whoosh!


    For less than a moment, a great portion of the cksmiths within the hall could not help but pale at the aura Valyr exuded, with some of them even kneeling on the ground from the


    pressure.


    As for those that were barely able to endure the aura he briefly released, all of them began to look at Valyr in a new light as they asked themselves what kind of cksmith would have such


    a terrifying aura.


    With Julian protecting the attendant from most of the young man''s aura, thetter was able to do her job properly, allowing her to finalize everything as she tapped a few more times on


    her tablet.


    "Alright, I think that''s done." Stowing away her tablet, the attendant soon gave Valyr''s identification badge as she thanked both of them for the time. "Congrattions on your


    promotion, Sir Valyr."


    Ding!


    Receiving his updated identification badge with both hands, Valyr smiled back and thanked her for her time, only to be bombarded by the system with a couple of notifications not long


    after.


    [Your previous rank [Rank 4 ¡ª Honorary Lesser Elder] has been improved to [Rank 4 - True Lesser Elder]. Increase your rank or merit to improve your position.]


    [You have received 1,100,000 Technology Points.]


    "...Huh?"


    After reading the notification that confirmed his promotion to his new position, Valyr''s attention immediately shifted to the next notification he received, only to be left at a loss for


    words.


    "Am I... am I reading this correctly?" Faintly wondering whether he was dreaming, the young man briefly pinched himself on his inner thigh before looking at Julian for more information.


    "Did I just get...?"


    "Over a million Technology Points in one go? Yes." Julian nodded in response, grinning at Valyr''s reaction. "Just to clear up any confusion you have, remember that the amount of Technology Points you get from your position doubles whenever you ascend in ss rank." "If I remember correctly, thest time you got your stipend as a Honorary Lesser Elder was when you were Rank 2," the man continued, prompting the two of them to move back to the private workshops now that they''ve fulfilled their tasks.


    "If my math is correct, you got 10,000 Technology Points because of it," said Julian, to which Valyr nodded after a bit. "Inparison, a True Lesser Elder at Rank 2 would get 30,000 Technology Points as a stipend."


    "With that, at Rank 3, a True Lesser Elder would get 60,000 Technology Points, while a True Lesser Elder at your rank would get 100,000 Technology Points."


    "Of course, there''s a limit to how much the doubling of points goes, but it still increases every rank," said Julian as he noticed the change in Valyr''s expression, hastily exining himself with a wry smile. "The cksmith Guild can only give so much Technology Points, after all."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "So, with over 1.5 million Technology Points now under your belt, what do you n on using them on?" Returning to the private workshop Valyr was upying after some time, Julian went ahead and threw this question at him.


    "Hmm..." In response, Valyr fell into deep thought, rubbing his chin as he seriously pondered


    over it.


    Thanks to the [Herald of the New Era] title he got from being the first to bring back the arquebus to Veldanyr, not only was the efficacy of his Technology Points doubled when unlocking advancements, but the cost of unlocking said advancements was also reduced by


    30%.


    With that, Valyr effectively had over 4 million Technology Points to spend at this very moment, which was an amount that would undoubtedly make a ton of cksmiths envious.


    However, with the various ns he had in mind for the future, he knew that this massive amount was merely a small drop in the ocean, considering that the amount he had was just a


    bit more than enough to get the advancements he needed.


    Ding!


    ''Hmm?'' Just as Valyr more or less finalized what he nned on doing with all of the Technology Points he now had, the system sent him a notification out of nowhere, telling him


    that he''d received a message from someone.


    Curious as to what the message contained, he went ahead and took a look at what he received, only for his pupils to shrink in realization as a look of slight panic appeared on his face.


    ''Oh shit.''


    ''I forgot.''

 Chapter 1101: Leaving for the Frontlines

    Chapter 1101: Leaving for the Frontlines


    ?


    "Hey, Valyr. Where are you?"


    "Edward and I are about to leave."


    Reading the couple of messages he''d gotten from Wells, Valyr did not take long to understand what was going on, making him fall into a slight panic all of a sudden.


    ''Oh shit, I forgot,'' thought the young man to himself, whirring his thoughts into motion as he briefly calcted how long the two had been staying in the kingdom since their return.


    Coming to the conclusion that they''ve extended their stay in the kingdom by over a day, Valyr immediately had a feeling that he was the cause for their dy, causing him to feel guilty for doing so.


    Taking in a deep breath to regain hisposure, Valyr briefly looked at Julian before


    returning his attention to Wells'' message. "Sorry. I''m still at the cksmith Guild. Could you two wait at the kingdom for just a little bit longer?"


    As he sent this message to Wells, Julian noticed the sudden shift in his expression before asking in concern. "Did something bad happen?"


    "I almost ended up forgetting the promise I made to Wells and Edward," said Valyr as he looked at Julian with a bitter smile, giving him a brief exnation of what he nned on doing.


    "Heading to the frontlines, huh," murmured Julian as he was done listening to the young man''s exnation. "Well, I was expecting you to head to the frontlines sooner orter like the others... but are you really sure you want to head there right now?"


    Hearing the man''s words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Did the situation there change or something?"


    "Well... it''s not to the point of me persuading you to stay here," replied Julian as he tilted his head to and fro. "But the orcs have doubled down on their offensive because of the progress our side was making."


    "Not only that, but I''ve heard a few rumors here and there that they n to bring the elves into the war as well. At that point, I don''t even know if it''s a good thing to stay there."


    Listening to Julian''s exnation, Valyr realized at that moment that he was currently at the turning point where the war would soon turn into the War of the Three Sovereignties he knew in his past life.


    Understanding that it was bound to happen sooner orter, the young man took in another deep breath before looking at Julian with a calm expression. "If that''s the case, then all the more reason for me to head there now."


    "After all, it''ll be a while before the armor and the arquebus gets distributed to everyone in the frontlines. If anything, we haven''t even gotten an update from the guild on our proposals yet."


    "I was just about to say something about that," said Julian as he interrupted Valyr''s brief exnation. "The cksmith Guild is actually nning toe meet you in a couple of days to finalize the proposals, as well as the conditions that you n to set in exchange for the guild obtaining your blueprints."


    "Is that so?" At those words, Valyr went silent for a bit as he took a look at the reply Wells sent to him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Then, closing his eyes for a bit, the young man soon looked back at Julian as he firmly made up his mind. "Well, I guess they''ll have to hold that meeting at the frontlines, then."


    "... You really n on heading to the frontlines now?" Being left at a slight loss of words from Valyr''s response, it took a while for Julian to gather his thoughts. "I know you''re strong, Valyr. I wouldn''t even be surprised if your full strength is greater than I imagined."


    "But think about it a bit more, will you?"


    "And just now he said that he wasn''t persuading me to stay here," said Valyr in response with a slight chuckle. "If I won''t head to the frontlines now, then when? When the war already has the elves joining in? When the war is in an even worse state than now?"


    "I''m not mad, just so you know," the young man rified himself. "I''m just telling you... and I think this is the first time I''m telling you directly, that you''re underestimating what I''m capable of."


    For a while after that, Julian looked at Valyr in silence, the expressions on his face making it more than obvious to thetter that many thoughts were going through his mind at that moment.


    Yet, in the end, the man let out a sigh before looking back at him with a wry smile. "It kind of hurts when you put it that way... but I guess you''re right. I might have been underestimating you all this time."


    "I guess it just sank in that you''ve been achieving all of these feats that a normal person would take years, if not decades to do... which made me remember."


    "Even if it may not seem like it at times, you are undoubtedly a Zeihardt," said Julian, his expression showing the young man that he''de to a decision. "And I don''t mean this in a mocking way. Almost everyone knows that Zeihardts sometimes make the impossible possible."


    "With that being said, I guess I shouldn''t hold you up here any longer." At those words, Julian began to leave the workshop, bringing up a screen of his own as he began to send messages to some people he knew. "I''ll give the guild a heads-up that you''re heading to the frontlines." "Plus, I''ll also ask some of the people I know to help you out in the frontlines," continued the man with a grin. "Call it another gift for your contributions to the guild thus far." Seeing the man''s attitude take a 180 degree shift, the young man was stunned for a bit before letting out a bit ofughter in response.


    ''Who knew being straightforward and direct would help make things better?''


    After talking with Julian for a bit more regarding a couple of things, Valyr soon made his way out of the cksmith Guild as he headed to the gates where Edward and Wells were staying. For now, it was time for him to head to the frontlines.

 Chapter 1102: To the Frontlines

    Chapter 1102: To the Frontlines


    ?


    "And here I thought you''d take a bit longer."


    Waiting by one of the defense gates of the kingdom, both Wells and Edward donned their military uniforms as they greeted the young maning to see them with a smile.


    "Sorry, sorry," replied Valyr back at Wells'' words, his expression showing genuine remorse for his actions. "Got a bit too immersed while forging at the guild."


    "In any case, your extended stay here wouldn''t cause too much of a problem, no?" asked the young man soon after, to which Edward shook his head in response.


    "It won''t, but we''ll have to speed up our travel to the frontlines in exchange," said Edward as The gave Valyr a brief exnation of what he meant.


    "Though we told you we''ll only be staying in the kingdom for a week before leaving, in actuality, we''ve been given two weeks of rest away from the frontlines. We just factored in the amount of time we''ll take toe here and head back."


    Hearing those words as they left the defense gates, Valyr immediately understood. "So, you''re telling me that, if the two of you were fast enough, you could have extended your stay here for a few more days?"


    "Pretty much." Wells nodded in agreement, only to wryly smile soon after. "In fact, that''s also the reason why we n on investing on long-range movement skills in the future. The movement skills we have right now are more suited for close-rangebat."


    "I see," replied the young man, briefly checking to see if [Thousand Polymorph] was still active after Julian reminded him.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief after that, the three continued to walk beyond the kingdom''s defense gates for a while before Valyr went ahead and put on his newly upgraded set of True Wyvern Armor.


    Whoosh!


    Immediately feeling the boost to his attributes the moment he wore the entire set, the young man had a satisfied smile on his face as he thought about how he was now wearing a set of armor made for a Rank 5 ss holder.


    Making sure that Sana was properly affixed to his back after that, Valyr went ahead and gave the two a nod, signaling to the two that they could now focus on traveling back to the frontlines.


    Swoosh!


    With how both Wells and Edward were firmly at Rank 3, it went without saying that the speed they could muster at their limit was already far beyond what was possible when riding on a horse.


    However, whenpared to someone like Valyr, who was not only at the peak of Rank 4, but also had over 500 stat points he could reallocate at any time, their speeds far paled inparison.


    Whoosh!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Giving the two of them a brief taste of his full speed, Valyr reallocated all of his Points of Aspiration into AGI before pushing all of his strength into his feet, causing him to turn into a streak of faint crimson light in front of both Edward and Wells'' eyes.


    "Holy..." Seeing Valyr show off a speed that even they hadn''t seen in any of their superiors at the frontlines, the two of them immediately stopped in their tracks as their mouths went agape at the sight that unfolded.


    Watching the young man return to where they were not even a momentter, the mouths of the two went even more agape than before, making Valyrugh as he looked at their faces.


    "Is it really that surprising?" he asked the two of them, only for them to nod profusely in response.


    "We know you''re already at Rank 4," replied Wells after some time. "We also know that you''ll be faster than us by a great margin."


    "But a speed like that is..." Edward continued where Wells left off, though he took a while to find the term he was looking for. "Well, it''s definitely beyond our expectations."


    Feeling great amusement from the reactions he''d gotten, Valyr decided to take it up a notch as he looked at the two with a yful smile. "Now, what if I told you that I could move even faster than that? Not only that, but I could bring you along for the ride?"


    At those words, both Wells and Edward looked at him with both expectation and excitement, causing the young man to chuckle as he told them to take a step back.


    Then, without hesitation, he released a great amount of Prime Azure Energy into his surroundings, which he swiftly manipted to take on the form of an Azure Dragon.


    "[Azure Dragon Movement Arts]..."


    "[Flight of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Whoosh!


    Watching Valyr step on the head of the azure dragon, the two watched as the young man swiftly began to soar hundreds of meters into the air, causing them to be left at aplete loss for words.


    After all, it was at that moment that they realized that there was a lot that they didn''t know about the young man, prompting them to briefly wonder if they were even with the same person they knew.


    Though, such thoughts immediately disappeared from their minds the moment Valyr helped them onto the azure dragon, allowing them to swiftly zoom through the air at speeds that matched the top speed of supercars of the modern era.


    Swoosh!


    Allowing the strong winds to blow through their hair, Valyr went ahead and conjured a barrier of energy around the three of them after seeing both Wells and Edward try their best to hold onto the azure dragon.


    Apologizing to the two after that, he then asked the two how far the frontlines were in rtion to the kingdom.


    Hearing that their part of the frontlines was situated about 2,000 kilometers away from the kingdom, the young man looked at the two of them with surprise, finding it difficult to wrap his head around the thought of the two running for over 600 kilometers a day on end. Though, with a bit of exnation on their part, the young man more or less understood how they were able to do it, prompting Valyr to inwardly ask himself how much distance he could travel in a day if he were in their position.


    ''Considering how high my stats are, it won''t be a problem to cover double the distance they did in a day,'' thought the young man to himself.


    ''If I also factor in the speed I pulled off just now, as well as took into consideration therge number of potions I have in my bracelet, the speed-boosting skills I have and force myself to run for the whole day... 3,500? 4,000 kilometers, perhaps?''


    ''Man...'' Coming to that conclusion, Valyr briefly had a wry smile on his face. ''That puts a lot of things into perspective. Only now do I realize how much stronger and faster I''ve gotten since


    then.''


    ''... It''s far, far higher than I thought where I''d end up at first, that''s for sure.''


    After mulling over his thoughts for a bit more, the young man eventually spent his time


    talking with the two as they continued traveling through the air, only to arrive at the frontlines around six hourster.

 Chapter 1103: Enlistment

    Chapter 1103: Enlistment


    ?


    "Wait... we''re almost there?"


    Continuing to admire the sights their current mode of transport gave them, Wells'' happiness eventually became short-lived as a familiar set of buildings appeared before their vision.


    "How long has it been since we left the kingdom?" he asked soon after as he looked at Valyr. "It hasn''t been that long, no?"


    "It has not." Valyr nodded in agreement, smiling as he imagined the reactions the two would give him from his next words. "I''ve been keeping track for a while and uh... we''ve been traveling for six hours straight."


    "Six..." Edward''s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Wells.


    "Hours?" Unsurprisingly, Wells returned the gaze back, with the two eventually shifting their gazes towards the young man that was bringing them along for the ride.


    "Yep," replied Valyr as he briefly brought up his status screen for appearance. "Six hours."


    Taking a brief nce at the sky to make sure they were not hallucinating or something, both Edward and Wells eventually let out a long sigh filled with a mix of negative emotions after getting confirmation from their friend.


    "You know, you could''ve told us we would''ve reached this ce in six hours." Letting out yet another sigh topose his thoughts, Wells looked back at Valyr with a hint of remorse. "We could''ve stayed in the kingdom for a few days longer."


    "Well, you didn''t ask," said Valyr in response as he shrugged with a teasing smile. "Even if you didn''t ask, you could''ve told me how far the frontlines were in rtion to the kingdom as a heads-up."


    "Welp. That''s a few extra days of rest down the drain." Though Edward had more or less epted the current situation, the young teenager could not help but let out a regretful sigh, imagining himself and the two still back at the inn.


    Seeing how the two reacted to the speed at which they were heading to the frontlines, Valyr inwardly began to feel a bit guilty at some point, eventually asking them if they wanted to cover the remaining distance on foot to extend their "vacation" in a way.


    In response, the two shook their heads, telling them that there wasn''t really much difference if they were to travel the remainder on foot or not.


    "Sure, if we decided to trek the remainder on foot, we would''ve arrived farter, possibly a dayter if we took a few detours," said Wells to Valyr. "However, we would''ve arrived at the frontlines tired and exhausted."


    "On the other hand, we may have arrived at the frontlines early because of your movement skill. Though, at the very least, we''re all in our best condition to fight if the needes up for it."


    With Edward nodding in agreement at Wells'' words after that, Valyr eventually decided not to pursue the matter any further, deciding to make use of the remaining time they had to have the two give him a brief rundown of what to expect at the frontlines.


    ...


    "Whew... I''m tired. How are you holding up?"


    "Could be worse, but at least I''m not dead yet. I''m guessing this is ourst mission for the month?"


    "Yep. With this now done, we''re allowed to request a week leave from the frontlines." "Haah... those military guys are definitely squeezing every ounce of energy we have. Is it because we''ve decided to enlist ourselves as mercenaries instead of... wait. What''s that?" "What''s what?"


    "Up there."


    As a conversation between two exhausted men arose within the military base, the two stopped what they were doing as they noticed something dark blue flying up above them. Naturally, as they took note of the flying object, many others within the base took notice of it as well, with almost all of them curious as to what it was.


    Seeing as the dark blue object was heading for the base''s entrance, many of them decided to head there, only for the dark blue object in the sky to disappear not long after.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Just as a great portion of the people within the base arrived at the entrance to see what themotion was all about, a trio of people fell from the sky andnded near the base, sending out a gust of wind at thest minute to cushion their fall.


    "Is this how you usually stop your movement skill?" Feeling a hint of pain from having fallen from such a height, it took a while for Wells to muster up the words he wanted to say.


    "Yeah." Valyr looked back at the two with a slight grin as he nodded. "Well, I could always have the skill head to the ground first and stop the skill there... but that''s a ce where I could save some energy, no?"


    Unsurprisingly, the two began to look at the young man in slight anger after that, causing thetter to let out a chuckle as he took a look at the sight before them in greater detail.


    Though the vantage point the movement skill gave him made him think that the military base near the frontlines was considerably small at first, Valyr knew that reality would prove him otherwise the moment they got to the ground.


    After all, with what the two told him earlier, the three of them had ended up at one of thergest defensive lines humanity has created in the war against the orcs.


    Specifically, the defensive line that took most of the brunt of the orcs'' offensive.


    Pushing his perception to the limit, Valyr more or less surmised that the area upied by the military base lied somewhere between the area Danyhris Town and Clossbay City upied.


    ''Then again, from what I could see, there are tens of thousands of people here at the moment,'' said Valyr to himself inwardly, noting therge number of people that had arrived at the entrance to see them.


    Wryly smiling at the thought of their shy entrance, Valyr looked at both Edward and Wells, who immediately nodded back at him as they understood what he wanted to do next.


    However, before the three could even enter the military base...


    "Halt."


    All of a sudden, one of the people near the entrance made their way near the three, donning a military uniform that looked simr to what Edward and Wells currently wore.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though, unlike their military uniforms, the man had a few badges of honor affixed to his chest, which surprisinglyplemented both his head of neatly cut ck hair, as well as his


    pair of jet-ck eyes.


    Recognizing the man that appeared before them, both Edward and Wells immediately stood ramrod straight as they gave the man a military salute. "Captain Rahlberd!"


    Hearing his name be mentioned, the man raised his eyebrow in curiosity before recognizing the two that greeted him soon after.


    "Ah, Edward. Wells. d to see you two back so soon," said the man with a bit ofughter. "I suppose the two weeks of rest I''ve given you two was actually more than enough time for you two toe back early?"


    At those words, Edward and Wells looked at each other for a bit before returning a pair of bitter smiles back at the man.


    Surprisingly, the man took no offense at their response, letting out a bit ofughter as he told the two to head to the military base first. "If you don''t mind, I have something to discuss with


    your friend for a bit."


    Hearing that, Edward and Wells looked at each other once more, to which Valyr looked at


    them and gave them a nod.


    "Don''t worry about me," said the young man to the two with a faint yet reassuring smile.


    "Listen to the captain."


    Though the two were still hesitant to leave Valyr on his own, the two eventually decided to listen to the man''s words, prompting the two to head to the military base first as they also decided to disperse the audience that came because of their entrance earlier.


    Seeing Edward and Wells swiftly move the audience that was forming away from the


    entrance, the man looked at the two with a smile as he slightly shook his head. "Those two, really..." The man let out a content sigh before looking back at Valyr with a kind smile. "They really trust you that much to wait for your input first, huh?"


    At those words, Valyr could only wryly smile as he waited for the man to get to the point.


    "Don''t worry." Taking note of how tense the young man was at the moment, the man let out a chuckle as he gave Valyr a few reassuring words. "I was given a heads-up by Sir Julian that the three of you woulde here at some point."


    "Though, I definitely wasn''t expecting it to be this early."


    Hearing the name Juliane out of the man''s mouth, Valyr immediately understood what was going on, causing him to inwardly let out a wide sigh of relief as his body began to loosen


    up.


    Noticing how the young man''s body rxed after his words, the man could not help but shake his head as he chuckled yet again. "Well, before we get down to business, let me introduce


    myself first."


    "I''mmonly known here as Major Rahlberd, though with how Sir Julian personally vouched for your abilities, feel free to call me Eivann."


    "It''ll be a while before I get used to it," replied Valyr with a wry smile. "Can I call you Major


    Rahlberd for now?"


    "I don''t mind." Eivann nodded as he smiled. "This is the first time we''ve met each other, after


    all."


    "In any case, there''s no need for you to introduce yourself. Sir Julian already gave me a heads- up on who you are," continued the man.


    "Then again, even if he didn''t, the contributions you''ve already made while not being in the frontlines are more than enough for the higher-ups to take note of who you are."


    "Now that you''re in the frontlines..." Eivann looked at Valyr with a hint of expectation. "Who


    knows what kind of things you''ll do?"


    "Ah, crap. I''ve gone on a tangent." Realizing that he was going off-topic, the man caught himself at the veryst minute as he swiftly steered the conversation back to where it was supposed to be. "Now then... what was I going to say again? Ah, yes."


    "Now that we''ve gotten to know a bit more about each other, it''s now time to ask you quite


    the important question." "Would you like to enlist as a mercenary or as a military officer?"

 Chapter 1104: Freedom and Reward

    Chapter 1104: Freedom and Reward


    ?


    "Hmm..." Pondering over the question Eivann threw at him for a bit, Valyr eventually asked the man a question of his own. "What''s the difference between the two?"


    "The amount of freedom and the amount of rewards you get, really," said Eivann with a slight shrug, only to give the young man a longer exnation after that.


    "If you choose to be a mercenary, then you''ll have toplete a set number of missions per month. However, as long as youplete those missions, you''re free to do whatever you want after that."


    "Say you did end up choosing to be a mercenary," continued the man. "You''ll start off as a novice mercenary, where you''re required toplete five missions for your level before you''re promoted to a 1-star mercenary, which reduces that count by one."


    "With that being said, the more stars you get, obviously the less missions you have to do per month." Eivann looked at Valyr with a calm expression.


    "Then again, emergency and urgent missions don''t count since both mercenaries and military officers have to do them no matter what."


    "Of course, if you choose to be a military officer instead, then missions for you will work a bit differently," said the man, deciding to save the talk of rewardster.


    "You''ll start off at the lowest rank of private, just like how you''ll start as a novice mercenary. Though, unlike a novice mercenary, you only need toplete three missions per month."


    "However, there''s a catch." Eivann''s expression slightly turned serious. "Unlike the mercenaries, who could choose andplete whatever mission they want that matches their level, those that take on the path of military officers have toplete the mission they''re given."


    "Wait..." At those words, Valyr slightly frowned. "So, you''re saying, if I choose to be a military officer, I can''t reject the missions that''ll be given to me?"


    "Unfortunately, no." Eivann shook his head, sighing as he found it off-putting as well. "Of course, the military won''t give you a mandatory mission that''s not made for your level. They don''t want people to waste their lives for nothing, after all."


    "Then again, you could also choose to do a mission that''s above your level to speed up your promotion," added Eivann, to which Valyr nodded as if it were obvious. "Naturally, the same could be said if you were to be a mercenary."


    "How about the rewards?" asked the young man after that, feeling like he now had a rough idea of what Eivann meant by the difference in freedom. "I''m guessing the rewards for a military officer are better because there''s less freedom in missions?"


    "Thew of equivalent exchange, really," replied Eivann as he nodded with a bitter smile. "For a military officer, the rewards you get when youplete a mission is consistently high because of the fact that it''s mandatory."


    "On the other hand, the quality of the rewards for a mercenary are highly dependent on the mission you take."


    "Both types of missions would give one merit points, which they could use to exchange for various items," continued the man, only to have a wry smile on his face soon after. "However, the items avable for a military officer through there are significantly better because, as I''ve mentioned before..."


    "The missions are mandatory," said Valyr as he finished the man''s sentence, only to let out a faint sigh as he nodded soon after..


    "Anything else I should keep in mind before making my choice?" he asked Eivann after that, to which thetter went silent before responding.


    "Well, there''s a unified store that both mercenaries and military officers could spend their merit points on," said the man, waving his hands in slight uncertainty. "Then again, it''s mostly mercenaries that stop by that store."


    "Aside from that... I guess it''s the fact that although the names for the ranks are different, the positions of mercenaries and military officers are more or less equal."


    "A private is equivalent to a novice mercenary, a 1st ss private is equivalent to a 1-star mercenary, and so on and so forth."


    Feeling like he''d more or less exined everything Valyr needed to know about the two positions, Eivann decided to ask him once more. "So, what do you n on choosing between the two? Are you gonna be a mercenary?"


    "Or are you gonna be a military officer?"


    Hearing those words once more, Valyr began to rub his chin in thought, weighing the pros and cons of the two in his mind as he pondered over what he should choose.


    Though, just as he was in the midst ofing to a conclusion, Eivann blurted out something that made him change his mind at thest second.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Well, if you were to ask me, it''d be better if you were to pick up the path of a military officer, especially with your area of expertise as a cksmith, Ylvar," the man suggested to Valyr. "With the higher-ups knowing of your contributions very well, I''m sure they''ll make sure to give you missions that are easy toplete."


    "In fact, I wouldn''t even be surprised if the higher-ups only end up giving you missions that just has you forge a set number of weapons for the frontlines."


    "Is that so?" Staying silent as he listened to Eivann''s words, Valyr eventually took in a deep breath as he gave him a calm smile. "I guess I''vee to a decision, then."


    "You''ll be enlisting as a military officer, right?" said the man in response, his expression that of excitement as he thought he''d sessfully persuaded the young man.


    However, the response he got from him was the exact opposite of what he wanted.


    "I was nning to enlist as one at first," replied Valyr. "The fact that the items avable for military officers are of higher quality is definitely no small reason for that decision."


    "But?" Eivann asked back.


    "But I came to the frontlines to fight," said the young man in response. "I may head to the forge from time to time, but my purpose here is to ultimately help in the fight against the orcs


    in person.''


    Unsurprisingly, Eivann was briefly left at aplete loss for words after that, having to take a bit of time to regain his bearings.


    Then again, one couldn''t me him for his reaction. After all, out of all the cksmiths he''d interacted with in the past, almost none of them decided out of their own ord to leave the safety of the rear lines.


    If anything, the young man before him was the third cksmith he''d met to act that way.


    Taking a few deep breaths topose himself, Eivann eventually looked back at Valyr, recalling the words Julian sent to him before the two even met.


    Yet, just as the man was about to persuade Valyr again...


    Whoosh!


    The young man decided to unleash his aura in its entirety.


    ||||


    "...Yep."


    "That''s enough for me to understand why."

 Chapter 1105: Settling Down

    Chapter 1105: Settling Down


    ?


    "Alright, Sir Ylvar. Here is your identification token."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After thoroughly convincing Eivann of his decision to enlist as a mercenary, the two of them eventually headed inside the military base, unsurprisingly catching the attention of some of the people that had gathered near the entrance earlier.


    Though, with Eivann''s position as a major, it did not take long for those people to disperse as the two of them swiftly made their way to the registration area.


    "If possible, it would be great if you don''t lose your identification token," said the attendant as he gave an iron token to Valyr. "Not only is it a proof of identity, but it also tracks all of the missions you''vepleted, as well as the merit points you''ve earned."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Nodding in response, Valyr thanked the attendant in return as he looked at his identification token in detail.


    In a way, the identification token acted simrly to the identification badge he had in the cksmith Guild in that it kept track of a lot of things rted to him.


    However, unlike the cksmith Guild''s badge, the identification token was as simple as it could get, with only the name ''Ylvar'' engraved on its coin-like surface as proof that he was the one who owned it.


    Admiring it for a bit more, he eventually stowed the token into his spatial bracelet before giving Eivann a nod.


    Nodding back in response, the two of them soon left the registration area, only to arrive at the center of therge military base soon after.


    Looking around therge roundabout they were in, Valyr eventually looked back at Eivann after seeing the man point back to the registration area.


    "If you head there, you''ll find a lot of amodations to stay in while you''re not in the middle of the mission," said the man, to which Valyrmitted to memory. "There''s a lot of inns and restaurants there as well if you want to unwind, even."


    "Though, it does cost a couple merit points to get some of the really good stuff there." Eivann shrugged his shoulders, only to then point in front of them.


    "Up ahead would be the ce to get your missions," the man told him. "Aside from the main mission hall, there''s also smaller mission halls surrounding it that belong to the ss guilds."


    "All in all, expect all of the missions you get to have something to do with the ongoing war, even if some of them reward points that might make it seem otherwise."


    "To your left would be the general area for personal improvement," said Eivann as Valyr continued to admire the sight around them. "Aside from training areas and skill book shops, there''s also stores you could buy weapons and potions from, as well as a treasure pavilion that holds an auction roughly every two months."


    "Of course, just like the inns and restaurants, only merit points allow you to get the good stuff from the auction."


    "Last but not the least would be the area to your right, which more or less has every necessary building you''d expect from a hastily built city," said the man as he let out a bit ofughter at his own joke. "In any case, that''s where most of the rentable workshops could be found, though some missions you take do waive that rental fee."


    "Anyways, I think I''ve covered everything you need to know to get started in this ce," said Eivann as he took a bit of time to catch his breath. "As someone who''s already gone through the whole thing, I''d suggest you take a look at the main mission hall and finish enough missions to raise your rank to the next rank as soon as possible."


    Seeing the young man raise his eyebrow in response, the man continued to exin himself. "By raising your rank to the next rank within the month, you basically won''t have to do any missions for the month after that."


    "Of course, you didn''t hear this from me."


    Hearing the man dodge responsibility from his own words, Valyr let out a chuckle in response as he thanked Eivann for his time.


    In response, the man told him that it was no problem, telling him that he should thank Julian for his help if he really wanted to thank anyone.


    With Valyr more or less knowing everything he needed to know for the meantime, Eivann eventually decided to take his leave, wishing the young man good luck as he told him that he still had things to do.


    Though, before the man could even take a single step, Valyr immediately stopped him in his tracks, asking him if it was possible to add him to his friend list, to which Eivann thought for a bit before nodding.


    Ding!


    [Eivann Rahlberd (Lvl. 96) has epted to be your friend.]


    Smiling as he briefly looked at the new name on his friend list, Valyr stopped Eivann yet again, which surprisingly now made thetter a bit annoyed.


    "What is it?" asked the man, briefly taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I really am serious when I say I still have something else to do."


    "It won''t take up much of your time," said Valyr in response, swiftly apologizing not long after. "I just wanted to upgrade your equipment as a token of my gratitude."


    Hearing those words, Eivann''s expression immediately turned into that of slight excitement. After all, a well-known cksmith was upgrading his equipment for what seemed like no charge at all.


    Though, before he voiced out his suggestion, another thought popped up in Eivann''s mind, causing him to slightly frown at the young man as he asked, "Although I''vee to know of you as a good guy, you do know you wouldn''t buy my favor with this, right?"


    "Didn''t even cross my mind," said Valyr in response with a shake of his head, his expression showing the man that he didn''t think of it from that perspective at all. "I really just wanted to say thanks for the help."


    "Especially after how you treated Edward and Wells while I was away."


    "..." At those words, Eivann went silent for a bit, only to send Julian a couple of messages after that because of the young man''s words.


    Fortunately, with a few back-and-forth messages between them, the man eventually understood what was going on, causing him to let out a faint sigh as he looked back at Valyr


    with a faint smile.


    "Since you insist, then I won''t be shy," said Eivann after some time. "Let''s head to the workshops, then."


    "Wait a second... I thought you had something else to do?"


    "Eh. I could always do that some other time. It''s just a bit of paperwork, that''s all."


    "...Is that really why?"

 Chapter 1106: Starting Out

    Chapter 1106: Starting Out


    ?


    "...And done."


    Tapping a few more times on the pauldrons with the Hammer of Beginnings, Valyr eventually nodded in satisfaction after getting a notification from the system that the upgrade was a


    sess.


    Giving the pauldrons back to the man standing behind him, he went ahead and used his identification skill on it, telling the system to also bring up its stats from before the enhancement.


    Ding!


    [(+15) Reworked Dark Iron Pauldrons] (Level 96)


    Rarity: Rare+


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Defense: 128-214->267-445


    Forge Quality: Great


    Additional Attributes:


    >...


    ''I''ve basically doubled the performance of Eivann''s equipment,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself as he was reminded of all the other pieces of equipment he''d upgraded before this one.


    Once Eivann eventually epted Valyr''s suggestion of having his equipment be upgraded for free, the two did not take long to arrive at one of the workshops, with Eivann even footing the bill during their stay.


    Swiftly familiarizing himself with theyout, as well as the tools that were avable in the workshop that was temporarily lent to him, Valyr decided to work as quickly as he could, asking the man to bring all of his equipment so he could upgrade all of them in one go.


    From there, he was given a set of armor and a weapon that could be said to be decent for a Rank 4 ss holder, with all of them at Rare+ grade and at Level 75.


    Of course, if one were to take into consideration the fact that Eivann was already nearing the peak of Rank 5, then his current set of equipment did not match his level at all.


    With that, Valyr took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet before proceeding to enhance all of Eivann''s equipment to match the man''s current level.


    At the same time, he asked him why his equipment didn''t seem up to par to his current level of strength, to which the man replied that he did not have the merit points to ask a cksmith to do it for him.


    "Of course, we''re talking about quality upgrades here," Eivann told him. "If it was just the basics, then even 10 to 20 merit points is more than enough to bring my equipment up to spec."


    "But I haven''t saved up enough to swap to a better set of equipment yet," continued the man, only to wryly smile soon after. "Hence, I nned on having a more skilled cksmith do work on it so I could have itst longer."


    Nodding in understanding after that, Valyr then went ahead and refined all of the equipment to their maximum refinement level, feeling as if the heavens were aiding him during the process.


    Then, still feeling like the heavens were helping him out in upgrading Eivann''s equipment, the young man eventually decided to take it one step further and advanced all of it to the 1st


    Tier.


    Naturally, with all of Eivann''s equipment still at Rare + grade, there was a bit of hesitation in advancing its foundation since there was still a decent chance for him to fail and render the equipment useless.


    Fortunately, none of the man''s equipment failed during the advancement process, causing Eivann to be more and more wide-eyed the more of his equipment returned to him back in even greater form.


    "I... I don''t know what to say." Equipping all of the pieces of armor on himself, Eivann immediately felt a greater surge of strength course through his body, only for it to be more pronounced the moment he wielded his weapon.


    Biting on his lips as he felt a bit emotional, the man took some time to catch his breath before giving Valyr a look of gratitude. "Thank you."


    "No worries." Valyr smiled back, returning the Hammer of Beginnings to his spatial bracelet as he got ready to leave. "I did say it was a token of my gratitude, after all."


    "A token of your gratitude, huh?" Hearing those wordse out of the young man''s mouth, Eivann recalled the conversation they had beforeing the workshop, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face.


    "You really are a good guy, Ylvar," said the man after some time as he came to a decision. "I really don''t know how I''d repay you for this... so take it as if I owe you a favor in the future."


    Valyr could only let out a chuckle as he joked back," I thought I wouldn''t be able to buy your favor with this?"


    "That was then, and this is now," replied Eivann as the two of them left the workshop. "Who knew you''d do an amazing job of upgrading my equipment?"


    "Well... cksmithing is my area of expertise, after all."


    After Eivann paid the fees for renting the workshop, which caused Valyr to raise his eyebrow in slight surprise, the two soon returned to the center, with the two parting ways not long


    after.


    "Thank you once again, Ylvar," said Eivann as he bade farewell to the young man. "I''ll try to make it up to you someday."


    In response, Valyr smiled as he waved back. "I''m sure you will."


    Watching the man gradually disappear from his field of vision, the young man eventually let out a faint sigh as he began to look around.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Now, what should I do next?"


    Considering how early he and the other two left Algerie Kingdom, Valyr briefly look at the sky to see where the sun was, only to realize that there was still a lot of time left before sunset. Thinking about the advice Eivann gave him earlier, the young man eventually decided to head to the mission hall after catching a quick bite from one of the nearby inns. Recalling the entire upgrading process he did for Eivann''s equipment, Valyr could not help but smile by the time he was finished with his meal.


    "I should really get some Refinement Jewels and max out my equipment," murmured Valyr to himself, remembering that he had a simr thought back in the cksmith Guild.


    Faintly smiling at the thought, the young man eventually left the restaurant after making a quick mental note of checking the merit point store when he had the free time. Heading straight to the main mission hall now that his body was in the best condition it could be, Valyr brought up a chat screen to the side as a pair of people popped up in his mind all of a


    sudden.


    "I wonder how they''re doing?" Thinking about the time he and the others spent helping each other out back in the inheritance, the young man began to smile once more as he told them that he was now at the frontlines.


    Unsurprisingly, with both of them being at the frontlines, Hal and Vera were the first ones to reply back to his message, telling him that they were excited to meet him at the battlefield.


    After a bit more talking, the three of them confirmed that they''d meet up to do a small reunion in the near future, causing the young man to be a bit excited for what was to


    come.


    On the other hand, Loreina gave him a warmer messagepared to the two, telling him to stay safe while he was out in the battlefield. After all, she''d seen the young man fight before


    in the inheritance.


    With a bit of back-and-forth questioning, the young man was eventually able to find out that she was also at the frontlines just like the others.


    However, unlike the two, who were basically ying with their lives out in the battlefield, she remained at the rear lines as she utilized her skills as a tailor to the fullest.


    Seeing as the three responded to him fairly quickly, Valyr could not help but have a satisfied


    smile on his face.


    However, the same could not be said for thest person that also joined them in the


    inheritance.


    "Faulus..." Muttering the man''s name out as he arrived at the entrance to the main mission hall, a hint of concern appeared on Valyr''s face as he thought about the conversation they had


    back then before parting ways.


    Letting out a low sigh as he briefly wondered what the man was doing, Valyr eventually pushed his current train of thought to the side as he finally entered the main mission hall.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment he stepped foot into the hall, the young man was immediately greeted by a sight that reminded him of his past life. Watching a lot of peoplee and go through the mission hall as they grabbed a mission off the boards from time to time, the young man began to recall the days he would look around for easy missions to improve his rank as quickly as possible.


    Faintly smiling at the thought, the young man soon made his way to one of the mission boards, only to find out that the mission boards were arranged ording to one''s rank. Finding the mission board that corresponded to his current rank of novice mercenary, the young man immediately came face to face with a board that was about three times asrge as the other mission boards.


    Taking in a deep breath after being slightly overwhelmed by the number of missions that were avable for him to choose, Valyr was just about to choose a mission that he felt was


    suitable as his first mission...


    Only for someone toe up beside him all of a sudden and talk to him in a mocking tone.


    "Heh... this is the first time I''ve seen your face around these parts." "I''m guessing you haven''t taken Juba''sbat readiness test yet?"

 Chapter 1107: Combat Readiness

    Chapter 1107: Combat Readiness


    ?


    "Hmm?" Briefly left at a slight loss for words from having someone talk to him all of a sudden, Valyr took a bit of time to react to the question thrown at him, looking at the man that appeared beside him just now.


    Though the man couldn''t be said to be ugly by any means, the man''s appearance definitely gave one a feeling of repulsion whenever one looked at him.


    Then again, that feeling was mostly due to the various traces of food stains all over the man''s face and hands, as well as the overall condition of the man''s military uniform, which seemed to be barely hanging onto dear life at this point.


    Making it seem like he wasn''t holding his breath as he immediately got a whiff of the man''s pungent body odor, Valyr took a few steps back to distance himself from the man before asking, "Combat readiness test?"


    "You haven''t heard of it yet?" replied the man in the same mocking tone, which made Valyr begin to frown. "That confirms it, then. You really haven''t taken Juba''sbat readiness test yet."


    At those words, a number of thoughts began to swirl in Valyr''s mind, prompting him to wonder to himself what thebat readiness test was. Although the man''s appearance was unkempt, there was a reason why the man mentioned the same thing twice, right?


    ''Pretty sure Major Rahlberd didn''t mention anything like that to me earlier,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, only to then notice that his interaction with the man had caused a group of people to start gathering around them.


    Ignoring the small conversations those people were having in the meantime, Valyr briefly nced at the confident grin that appeared on the man''s face before deciding to contact Eivann through the system to obtain more information on the matter.


    Surprisingly, it did not take long for the man to reply back to his query. "Ah, thebat readiness test. Takes me back to my old days, to be honest."


    "That''s a thing?" Though Eivann''s words confirmed its existence, Valyr felt that there was more to the matter.


    "It''s a thing, but it''s not official, if that''s what you were wondering," wrote Eivann in his response message. "Consider the entire thing a way for those with higher ranks to boss around those with lower ranks."


    "A few have been sessful in ignoring it, a few have also been sessful in fighting back, but most of them ede to it and let themselves be bossed around." Reading this message from the man, Valyr imagined Eivann letting out a sigh.


    "Well, what could they do? The higher ranks aren''t higher ranks for nothing."


    "So, what do I do, then?" As Valyr sent this message to Eivann, he noticed that the people surrounding them had already grown into a sizable crowd.


    "Up to you," Eivann replied somewhatckadaisically. "You could ignore it, but you''d have to put up with the pestering for a while till they get tired. You could also ept it, but you wouldn''t have asked about the test if that was your n in the first ce."


    Going through the man''s words for a bit more, Valyr inwardly had a frown on his face, only for his expression to return to its original calm. "I think I have my answer now. Just to make sure, this bat readiness test'' thing is just a pretense for a fight, right?"


    "Yep." Obtaining this reply back to Eivann, the young man now imagined the man letting out an amused chuckle. "Well, good luck on whatever you end up doing."


    Whoosh!


    Closing the chat screen he brought up in his mind, Valyr briefly took in a deep breath as he returned his attention to the sight surrounding him.


    Watching the unkempt man in front of him continue to proim about thebat readiness test he was about to undertake, it was there that the young man understood why such a crowd had begun to surround them.


    At the same time, the small conversations among the crowd were enough to give him insight as to why they began to gather in the first ce.


    "Juba''s found another newbie to pick on, huh?"


    "Poor guy. Seems like it''s his first day in the military base, even."


    "I don''t even understand why Juba''s doing this. He''s already a sergeant, equivalent to a 4- star mercenary. Shouldn''t he focus on improving his rank instead of doing this?"


    "Anyone would be doing that if they were in his shoes. However, as far as I''ve heard, Juba''s lost the steam necessary to aim for an even higher rank than what he has. He''s already pushed both his sses and skills to his limit."


    "Why not buy a new set of equipment? Or some elixirs, then?"


    "Give him the merit points to buy those, then."


    ''So, the man who came up to me is named Juba.'' Valyr nodded in understanding after listening around for a while, now beginning to look at the man in front of him from a different perspective.


    Seeing the man still continue to advertise what seemed like entertainment to the others, Valyr decided to let him continue doing that for a bit more after hearing some of the people in the crowd talk about him.


    "Any idea on the newbie Juba targeted?"


    "None. Wouldn''t be surprised if he can''t handle Juba''s attacks. The man''s a sergeant, after all."


    "Shame. The armor the newbie''s got seems to be pretty good too."


    "Not just pretty good, they''re incredibly good, even. Haven''t you checked it out with your identification skill yet?"


    "...Damn. With a bit of upgrading, Juba''s gonna get his hands on a really good set of armor, then."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Hearing how all of them were expecting him to loseter on, Valyr inwardly had a wry smile on his face, though he wasn''t surprised why they were thinking that way.


    After all, aside from the world of cksmithing, where his name had already garnered a certain level of prestige thanks to his achievements, it was mostly limited to those that wielded a considerable level of power and authority.


    To those that weren''t part of that circle, such as themon popce, his name would not ring any bells up whatsoever.


    ''Then again, that''s one of the reasons why I came to the frontlines in the first ce,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''After all, there''s no better way to amass reputation other than to fight in the


    battlefield.''


    ''... Unless if I do something crazy.''


    With that in mind, the young man had a faint smile on his face as the unkempt man eventually returned his attention on him. ''Well, I guess this is already a good first step.''


    "Newbie." Calling for his attention, Juba continued to speak to him in a mocking tone. "Before I exin the rules of thebat readiness test, could you tell everyone your name


    first?"


    "It''s Ylvar," replied Valyr with a slight shrug as he prepared himself for what''s toe.


    "Ylvar, eh?" Juba gave a toothy grin. "Quite a nice name. Definitely fitting for someone taking


    on Juba''sbat readiness test."


    "In any case, the rules of thebat readiness test are simple. No lethal blows and no underhanded moves. The test only ends when someone admits defeat."


    "Is that clear?"


    "Loud and clear," said Valyr in response, causing the grin on Juba''s face to widen as a fierce


    glint briefly appeared in the man''s eyes.


    Taking in a deep breath as he readied himself, the young man continued to have a calm expression on his face, only for it to change as Juba charged towards him.


    "Still remaining calm, eh? Let''s see you remain calm after this!"


    Whoosh!


    ring the entirety of his aura out, Juba appeared in front of the young man in less than an


    instant before sending both of his palms outward.


    Seeing the young man remain standing, even though he''d already made a move, he was


    confident that this test of his would be over in no other time, causing him to inwardly let out a


    cackle in response.


    However, just as he was expecting his palms to collide with his opponent''s torso, Juba


    realized that what he hit instead was thin air.


    Confused as to what was going on, Juba''s eyes widened in surprise as he realized Valyr had already disappeared from where he once stood, relying on the reactions of the crowd to figure


    out where the young man went.


    Forcing the gears in his mind to turn as madly as they could, the man immediately put more of his weight into his palms, allowing himself to continue moving onward as he felt a breeze


    blow on his back.


    Swoosh!


    Understanding what was going on, Juba swiftly stabilized himself before turning around, only to be greeted by the sight of Valyr in the midst of kicking out.


    "Damn." Returning to his original position, Valyr slightly clicked his tongue as he noticed


    that his kick didn''t connect at all.


    Seeing Juba look back at him with a trace of surprise on his face, the calm expression on Valyr''s face soon had a smile on it as he faintly released a bit of his aura.


    "Surely thebat readiness test is just getting started, no?"


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 1108: Garnering Attention

    Chapter 1108: Garnering Attention


    ?


    "Wait... what did he say his name was again?"


    "Ylvar, if I remember correctly. Why do you ask?"


    "I just remembered what my cousin told me earlier. You know she works for Algerie Kingdom''s cksmith Guild as an attendant, right?"


    "Yeah? Did she meet someone named Ylvar there?"


    "Not just meet him, she interacted with Ylvar directly. She even got to interact with the guild master as well because of it!"


    "Holy shit, the cksmith Guild''s guild master? Wait... is the Ylvar you''re referring to the same Ylvar we''re looking at right now? Isn''t Algerie Kingdom far away?"


    "I don''t know how he got here this quick either, but there''s no doubt about it. My cousin and I talked about him for a long time, though it was mostly her talking about how he looked and what feats he did."


    "Feats? What feats did he do?"


    "A lot to be considered a big shot in the world of cksmithing. And from what we''re looking at so far, it seems like he ns to do the same thing with his personal strength."


    "Definitely stronger than meets the eye. Juba chose the wrong person to pick on today."


    "Well... at the very least he''ll get like 20 merit points by the end of it."


    At the very moment Valyr gave everyone in the crowd a taste of his true strength, many of them immediately became curious of his identity, seeing as how he was able to avoid all of Juba''s attacks with ease.


    Unsurprisingly, the first to speak out among the crowd were his fellow cksmiths, talking about the various contributions he''d made to the guild, as well as the various feats he''d achieved, such as the fact that he forged an artifact while he was still a Rank 2 ss holder. As more and more time passed, the more vocal these cksmiths became, talking about how he was the one to represent the cksmiths in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, as well as how he brought prestige to the guild branch he came from with his proposals.


    By the time the spar between Juba and Valyr hadsted for a few minutes already, almost everyone in the crowd were already looking at Valyr in a new light, their expressions showing their pity for Juba.


    Naturally, Juba felt pity for himself as well, inwardly admonishing himself for not doing at least a little background check on the newbie he chose to do abat readiness test on.


    As for Valyr, he remained more or lessposed as he and Juba seemingly exchanged attacks back and forth, allowing him to give everyone watching them an idea of what he was capable of.


    At times, he even felt himself be the target of a few identification skills, causing him to inwardly smile as he knew that their curiosities got the better of them.


    ''They''re in for a surprise when they find out I should have been losing from the start,'' thought the young man to himself, only for the reactions of the crowd to confirm his thoughts not long after.


    At first, it was only a couple of people letting out shocked gasps after identifying Valyr''s strength. However, as more and more people within the crowd found out that he was merely at the peak of Rank 4, many of them rewrote their impressions of the young man once more.


    After all, even though Juba had exhausted most of his means to aim for the next rank, he was still at the peak of Rank 5.


    That meant that, even though there was a disparity of 25 levels between the two, Valyr still had an advantage over him!


    "Haah... haah..." Feeling like thebat readiness test had already lost its purpose once 10 minutes had passed, Juba immediately stopped in his tracks as he raised both of his hands in surrender. "I concede!"


    Hearing those words, Valyr immediately stopped the attack he nned onnding, redirecting the force he''d built up straight to the ground.


    Bang!


    Feeling the ground slightly quake in response to his attack, many among the crowd looked at Valyr with wide eyes once more, with Juba''splexion even bing slightly pale because of it.


    "So, did I pass the test?" Taking in a deep breath to adjust his condition, Valyr looked at Juba with a smile before throwing a question at him.


    "You did, you did," Juba hurriedly replied with a smile of his own. Though, unlike the genuine smile on Valyr''s face, the smile on the man''s face was slightly forced.


    "Now if you''ll excuse me."


    Whoosh!


    Before the young man could continue the conversation, Juba went ahead and excused himself, squeezing into the crowd as he pushed his body to the limit to stay away from Valyr as much as possible.


    After all, nothing good would happen if he were to antagonize anyone like Valyr any further. With the instigator of the entire thing fleeing the premises the very moment he could, it did not take long for the crowd surrounding the two earlier to disperse.


    Unsurprisingly, some of themmended Valyr for showing Juba the consequences of his actions, finding catharsis in what the young man did just now.


    At the same time, some of them reached out to him to have him join their groups, seeing as he was still a novice mercenary.


    Though there were a couple among the offers he got that tempted him, Valyr eventually decided to decline all of their offers as he told them that he wanted to experience the entire thing for himself first.


    Surprisingly, many of them respected his decision, with almost all of them even telling him that it was fine if he were to change his mind in the future.


    With that, Valyr was eventually left on his own in the main mission hall once more, but now with a few pairs of eyes ncing his way every once in a while.


    Wryly smiling at the attention he was now getting, the young man returned to the mission board made for novice mercenaries as he chose a suitable mission once again.


    While that was happening, a pair of individuals near one of the mission hall''s exits were discussing what just happened earlier.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Ylvar, huh. From what he showed in that spar just now, it seems like there''s still a lot he''s yet


    to show us."


    "The fact that he easily turned what was a spar into a stalemate is enough proof for that. Though, that''s more amazing to think about if you remind yourself that his opponent is at the peak of Rank 5."


    "Well then, this is the first time I''ve seen you take this much interest in a guy. Did you decide to swing that way all of a sudden?"


    "You better watch what you''re saying, Major. Must I remind you that I could kick you out of the squad at any time?"


    "Hahaha. Ease up, will you? But seriously though, Colonel. You really think he has the


    potential?"


    "If he doesn''t, then who does? He''s definitely the first person I''ve seen that gave me the feeling he''s a perfect fit for the squad I''m making."


    "Well... you''re not wrong. He might just be the person we''ve been waiting for all this time."


    "He just needs to raise his rank to 3-Star Mercenary at the very least."


    "Yeah... I''m getting the feeling it wouldn''t take him that long."

 Chapter 1109 Going Through Protocol

    1109 Going Through Protocol


    "Now let''s see here¡­"


    Ignoring the gazes that were ncing his way every once in a while, the young man focused his attention on the mission board in front of him in the hopes of finding a mission that was suitable enough to be considered his first one.


    Recalling the mission he was about to choose before Juba interrupted him, Valyr went ahead and looked at the entire mission board for a while, eventually finding the mission that somewhat clicked with him earlier.


    Though, once he got another look at the description of the mission he chose, Valyr eventually changed his mind after pushing his perception to the limit, swiftly realizing that he''d chosen what was considered aparatively easy mission.


    ''I guess that''s why the board for novice mercenaries arerger than the other ones,'' thought the young man to himself, doing a once over on the entire mission board before choosing a mission.


    Through there, he soon realized that the difficulty of the missions for novice mercenaries varied quite a lot, with the easiest ones among them being made for those whose strengths hovered between Rank 2 and early Rank 3.


    On the other hand, the hardest missions he could find made for novice mercenaries were at the peak of Rank 3, which was undoubtedly a massive jump in difficulty whenpared to the easiest missions.


    Of course, such a mission was still considered to be incredibly easy for someone like Valyr. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Then again, whether I choose to go with an easy mission or a difficult mission, I''d only gain one point towards my promotion,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, slightly frowning as he looked through the rewards some of the missions gave.


    ''Huh. An easy missions around two merit points at most, while the most difficult one I''ve seen so fars around seven merit points.''


    ''Yeah¡­ even if I consider the fact thatpleting these missions also give some useful items, that amount still doesn''t feel like a lot.''


    Clicking his tongue at the thought, the young man decided to move onto the mission board made for 1-star mercenaries, recalling Eivann''s brief discussion of taking on higher-ranked missions during their first meeting.


    Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for him to find out that the strength needed toplete the missions were increased ordingly, with the minimum level of strength needed now being the middle levels of Rank 3.


    On the other hand, the hardest missions Valyr could find on the mission board for 1-star mercenaries were made for those in the early levels of Rank 4, prompting him to look at the rewards the missions gave not long after.


    ''Now we''re getting somewhere.'' Of course, with the difficulty being increased, the payout for the missions were also adjusted ordingly, with the minimum amount of merit points he could gain from a mission now being six points instead of two.


    Aside from that,pleting a mission made for a 1-star mercenaryted him three points towards his promotion, which definitely made Valyr ponder for a bit as to whether he should choose his first mission from the one-star mercenary mission board.


    In the end, he decided that the rewards attached to the missions still weren''t enough, prompting him to move onto the mission board made for 2-star mercenaries.


    At this point, the nature of some of the gazes Valyr was getting changed the moment he appeared in front of the two-star mercenary mission board, causing the young man to look back at them for a bit in slight curiosity.


    Sensing a hint of surprise and disbelief from the gazes that had changed, it did not take much for him to understand what was going on, eliciting a faint smile to appear on the edge of his lips as he looked at the board in front of him.


    Just like the 1-star mercenary board he''d scrubbed through earlier, the missions for 2-star mercenaries had also increased in difficulty. However, the minimum strength for the missions remained the same.


    If anything, it was the maximum difficulty of the missions that increased, needing one to be at the middle levels of Rank 4 to have a shot atpleting it.


    With that in mind, the young man immediately focused his sights on the hardest missions on the two-star mercenary mission board, feeling that those missions were more than suitable enough to be his first mission.


    ''Just hard enough to pose a slight challenge, but not hard enough to stop me from steamrolling over it if I wanted to,'' though Valyr to himself as he continued looking through the board.


    Eventually, after experiencing a bit of choice paralysis, the young man was finally able to choose his first mission, taking the mission off the board before heading to one of the counters.


    "Kill ten orcs at the early levels of Rank 4," murmured Valyr as he read through the mission''s description once more. "Must present parts from the in orcs once done as proof of the mission''spletion."


    "Reward: 3 Refinement Jewels, 100,000 XP, 14 merit points, as well as 5 Promotion Points for a Novice Mercenary."


    "A 2-star mercenary mission." Looking at the mission that was given to him, the attendant faintly nodded before extending his hand towards Valyr. "Identification token."


    22:54


    "Pretty decent if I do say so myself."


    Certain in his choice for his first mission, Valyr swiftly made his way to one of the counters, giving the mission to the attendant in front of him.


    "A 2-star mercenary mission." Looking at the mission that was given to him, the attendant faintly nodded before extending his hand towards Valyr. "Identification token."


    Nodding in response, Valyr pulled out the token from his spatial bracelet before giving it to the attendant.


    Receiving the token after that, the attendant went ahead and scanned it with the help of a thin tablet, only to be left at a slight loss for words as he looked back at Valyr. "Sir¡­ Ylvar, was it? You do know you chose a mission made for a 2-star mercenary, right?"


    "I do." Valyr nodded.


    "You also know that you''re currently a novice mercenary, right?"


    "Yep."


    "¡­I see. You chose it for a hasty promotion." Seeing the confidence in Valyr''s expression, it did not take long for the attendant to understand what was going on as he nodded.


    "Though there really isn''t much point in doing this since no rational person would choose a difficult mission unless if they were confident enough, we must still unfortunately go through protocol," said the attendant to him, faintly sighing near the end. "I must first confirm that you have the strength toplete the mission."


    "If you could please cooperate with me and follow me to the strength testing area, that would be great."


    "Alright." Nodding at the attendant''s words, Valyr soon followed behind the man as the two arrived at a different part of the mission hall not long after.


    An even weirder time to be posting another chapter. Is this considered too early? Or toote?


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1110 Strength Testing

    1110 Strength Testing


    Bang!


    Arriving at the mission hall''s strength testing area, both Valyr and the attendant were immediately greeted by the sight of people going all out as they struck the training dummies in front of them. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Staring at the training dummies for a bit, the young man was reminded of the training dummies Mystia brought out during the War Forge Assembly, briefly causing him to wryly smile as he inwardly shook his head.


    ''Yeah¡­ not gonna bring out the arquebus for this one.''


    "Here we are, Sir Ylvar," said the attendant as he looked at Valyr. "Since all of the training dummies are currently upied, we''ll have to wait for a bit before we can confirm that you have the strength toplete missions made for 2-star mercenaries."


    At those words, Valyr nodded, only to then ask the attendant a question that came to mind. "Say, is there a limit to how far of a mission I could get as a novice mercenary?"


    "Not necessarily," replied the attendant, briefly watching the strikes some of the peoplended on the training dummies. "As long as the person shows that they have the strength toplete it, then they could take on an extremely difficult mission if they wanted to?"


    Hearing those words, the young man thought for a bit before responding back. "So, let''s say I decide to grab a mission from the highest rank one could reach. As long as I prove that I have the strength toplete it, then I''ll be able to take it?"


    "Technically, that would be the case," said the attendant as he nodded, only give Valyr a more thorough exnation on how it worked.


    Giving Valyr a brief rundown on the ranking system that was currently in ce, the attendant exined to him that, for mercenaries, their ranksmonly ranged from Novice Mercenary to 10-Star Mercenary.


    After that, one would then go through Iron, Silver, Gold, tinum, Diamond, and Crimson, with Crimson Mercenary being the highest rank a mercenary could ever achieve on the frontlines.


    From what the attendant was telling him, Valyr was only able to do something simr to the question he had up to missions that were made for 10-star mercenaries.


    As for missions that were made for Iron Mercenaries and above, not only would he need to reach the rank that preceded the rank that was made for the mission, but he would also have to do a separate strength test after that.


    Sensing the confusion in Valyr''s expression during thest part of his exnation, the attendant rified himself. "In other words, if you want to take on the missions of an Iron Mercenary, you''ll have to reach the 10-Star Mercenary rank first."


    "To take on a Silver Mercenary mission, you''d have to be an Iron Mercenary, and so on, and so forth."


    "I see." Thanks to the man''s additional exnation, everything finally made sense to Valyr, prompting him to nod in understanding as he thanked the attendant after that.


    Using the time they had while waiting for a slot in the strength training area to free up, Valyr decided to build a bit of rapport with the attendant that apanied him, eventually finding out that his name was Aleos.


    "Ah. One of the slots finally freed up." Just as the topic of the conversation began to revolve around the ongoing war, Aleos noticed that one of the people upying the strength training area had finally left, urging Valyr to upy it to save both of their time.


    Letting out a chuckle in response, Valyr went ahead and did just that, standing in front of the vacant training dummy not long after.


    "Hey there." Just as Aleos had begun to make his way to where Valyr was, a young woman in her twenties appeared before Valyr, donning a set of clothes that looked simr to what a mechanic wore. "What can I do for you?"


    "Strength test, middle of Rank 4," responded Aleos to the young woman''s question as he faintly smiled. "Protocol."


    "Protocol, eh?" Hearing Aleos'' words, the young woman grinned as she nodded in understanding, only to then send out a few strands of energy towards the training dummy in front of Valyr.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Feeling the training dummy undergo all sorts of changes, Valyr eventually heard the young woman in front of him give him a go signal, telling him that the dummy was ready for the strength test.


    "Doesn''t matter how you attack ''em." The young woman gave him a piece of advice. "As long as you make the dummy''s head sh green, then you pass the strength test."


    "Got it." Committing her words to memory, Valyr took in a deep breath beforending a solid punch on the dummy''s torso.


    Bang!


    Putting all of his strength into the punch, it did not take long for the dummy to respond back, causing its head to immediately sh green.


    "Well then. I now have confirmation that you have the strength toplete the mission you''ve just chosen." ncing at the shing head in front of Valyr, Aleos took in a deep breath before beginning to infuse a bit of energy into the young man''s identification token.


    Whoosh!


    Watching a few additional lines being added to his identification token in real time, Valyr went ahead and focused his senses on it, only to realize that the man was just writing down the results of his strength test.


    "Alright." Letting out a faint sigh of relief by the time he was done, Aleos shed a smile at Valyr before asking, "I''m guessing you wanna take another strength test, right? You wouldn''t have asked those questions earlier for nothing, after all."


    Feeling like he''d been caught red-handed, Valyr shed a bitter smile back at Aleos before shifting his attention towards the young woman in front of him. "Would it be possible to set the training dummy to the peak of Rank 5?"


    "The peak of Rank 5?" Hearing that, both Aleos and the young woman were briefly taken aback. After all, although Valyr showed them how he cleared the test just now with ease, they weren''t sure if the same would apply to his request. "You sure about that?"


    "I''m sure." Valyr nodded with determination, eventually forcing the young woman let out a faint sigh as she adjusted the training dummy ordingly to his preferences.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "There''s no problem if I use stat-boosting skills, right?" After the training dummy had been adjusted to the peak of Rank 5, Valyr threw this question out at Aleos.


    "No." Aleos shook his head. "That''s also considered as one''s strength, after all. Why do you ask?"


    "Just making sure," said Valyr in response, only for him to re his aura out in its entirety soon after.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]!"


    Bang!


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    Quick heads-up

 Chapter 1111 New Qualifications

    1111 New Qualifications


    Back when Aleos received the mission from Ylvar, he merely thought of their interaction as slightly interesting. After all, it wasn''t umon for novice mercenaries to pick up missions that were made for 1-star mercenaries if they were in a rush.


    With that, it wasn''t all that surprising for him to find out that Ylvar went one step further than that. If the man had grabbed a 1-star mercenary mission just like the others, then he was certain he would''ve just ignored protocol and let the man do as he pleased.


    However, he was also certain that he would''ve regretted the decision if he were to ever do that, especially after witnessing the sight that unfolded before him.


    Bang!


    After activating what looked to be a considerably powerful stat-boosting skill, Valyr showed no hesitation in punching the training dummy in front of him, even though it was adjusted to be at the peak of Rank 5.


    To Aleos'' surprise, the head of the training dummy immediately shed green after that, showing both him and the young woman manning the training dummies that they''d underestimated Valyr''s strength to a great degree.


    Then again, they weren''t the only ones at a loss for words.


    "What the hell¡­" Hearing Valyr and the young woman talk about setting the training dummy to the peak of Rank 5 all of a sudden, almost all of the other people in the strength training area stopped what they were doing to see if Valyr indeed had that level of strength.


    Not only that, but some of the people who''d been keeping an eye on Valyr ever since the spar with Juba had alsoe to watch as well, curious as to where the young man''s limits lie.


    Of course, just like Aleos and the young woman, they were also dumbfounded when the head of the training dummy Valyr punched began to sh green.


    To those in the strength training area before his arrival, many of them began to wonder what kind of identity Valyr had, with some of them even thinking of forging a connection with him.


    As for those that witnessed how he turned Juba''s request for a spar into a source of entertainment for them, they had no doubt that the young man''s reputation would undergo a massive boost in the uing days, especially with them spreading the news.


    Then again, even if they didn''t, the young man before them would still be renowned for his strength either way.


    "You¡­" Staring at Valyr in shock, it took a while for Aleos to gather his bearings. "Is your true strength at the peak of Rank 5?"


    "Well, you could say so." Valyr faintly nodded after a bit of pondering. "With the help of the stat-boosting skill I activated, it''s pretty easy for me to unleash that sort of strength with my bare fists."


    "Though, I''d probably be able to show a higher level of strength if I wield a weapon," continued the young man, briefly ncing at the crimson spear behind his back.


    Hearing those words, Aleos briefly felt his blood chill as he also nced at the spear behind Valyr''s back.


    ''He could already unleash peak Rank 5 strength with his bare fists with just a single stat-boosting skill,'' inwardly muttered Aleos to himself, opening up his chat screen to send a message to the hall''s head attendant. ''If he were to use his weapon to attack the dummy¡­''


    ''Then doesn''t that mean he''d be able to unleash Legend-level strength?''


    ''Perhaps¡­ even Myth-level strength?''


    Oblivious to the thoughts that were going on in Aleos'' mind, Valyr left the strength training area after that, which prompted a couple of the passersby who''d witnessed what he''d just done toe up to him.


    Striking up a brief conversation with some of them, the young man eventually cut those conversations short as Aleos came up to him, telling him that he''d informed the head attendant of what transpired just now.


    "You might have to do the whole thing again once he arrives," the man told him. "Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to inscribe the qualifications you''ve shown just now on your identification token. If I did, I would''ve already done so."


    "It''s fine," said Valyr with a smile, telling Aleos that it was fine for him to do it again.


    And thus, while waiting for the head attendant to arrive, Aleos and Valyr talked about the ongoing war once more, discussing the various incidents that transpired just recently.


    Unfortunately, their conversation did notst long as the head attendant hurriedly appeared in front of them, mostly due to how Aleos phrased what Valyr had done to him.


    Asking Valyr to do the strength training test again, the head attendant watched the young man punch the peak Rank 5 training dummy once more, only to be left at aplete loss for words soon after.


    Thankfully, the head attendant''s disbelief onlysted for a short while as he began to look at Valyr with immense excitement.


    Grabbing the young man''s identification token from Aleos'' hands, the head attendant immediately inscribed Valyr''s new qualifications after having his strength verified, now giving him the ability to take on missions made for 10-star mercenaries if he wanted to.


    "Due to rules and protocol, you''d have to reach the 10-Star Mercenary rank first if you''d like to take on missions made for Iron Mercenaries," said the head attendant to Valyr, letting out a slightly mncholic sigh. "If that weren''t the case, I would''ve given you the go-ahead to take on missions made for Gold Mercenaries."


    Smiling at the man''s words, Valyr thanked the head attendant for his time before watching the man disappear from his vision soon after.


    ncing at Aleos after that, the two then made their way back to the main part of the mission hall, with Aleos returning to the counter he previously upied.


    "So, with your new qualifications, do you still want to take this 2-star mercenary mission¡­ or do you want to grab a mission made for 10-star mercenaries instead?" Aleos asked Valyr, looking at thetter with an amused smile on his face.


    Pondering over the question for a bit, it did not take long for Valyr toe to a decision. "Though I do like the fact that I could now take on those kinds of missions¡­ I''ll still be choosing this for the meantime."


    "Gotta gain a bit of experience at the very least. It''d be stupid if I took a 10-star mercenary mission right now and died for nothing."


    "Makes sense." Aleos nodded in agreement, giving the mission Valyr grabbed back to him. "Well, best of luck."


    "Thanks." Receiving the mission with both hands, Valyr smiled back at Aleos in response before proceeding to head out of the main mission hall.


    His next destination?


    Naturally, the frontlines itself.


    Well then. That''s a satisfying chapter number.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    Quick heads-up


    N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1112 First Mission

    1112 First Mission


    After leaving the main mission hall, Valyr swiftly made his way to one of the military base''s exits while asking a couple of passersby as to how he''d get to the frontlines.


    With the help of a few kind people, the young man was eventually able to get his answer, immediately activating one of his movement skills the moment he left the military base.


    "[Azure Dragon Soaring Skies]."


    Whoosh!


    Unlike [Flight of the Azure Dragon], the movement skill Valyr activated did not cause an azure dragon to manifest underneath his feet. Instead, the energy he released transformed into a shell that covered his entire body.


    Not long after, this shell began to morph on its own, taking on the shape of an azure dragon before allowing Valyr to hover a few meters off the ground.


    Imposing his thought on the skill after that, Valyr soon began to zoom through the air as he set the skill to head straight to the frontlines.


    Swoosh!


    Though the speed [Azure Dragon Soaring Skies] was able to muster paled inparison to what [Flight of the Azure Dragon] was capable of, Valyr still moved in the air at great speeds, causing a few people that were moving on the ground to look up at him in shock.


    Slightly grinning at the reactions he was getting amidst his travels, the young man eventually returned his attention to what was before him, prompting him to be greeted by a somewhat familiar sight not long after.


    Fwoosh!


    Deactivating his movement skill the moment he felt he was only a few hundred meters away from the sight that greeted him, Valyr deftlynded on the ground as he took in a deep breath, soon focusing his attention on the agglomeration of buildings in front of him.


    "The barracks," murmured the young man, taking note of how a couple of the various buildings looked simr to some that could be found back at the military base.


    However, unlike the military base, which looked like a small city of sorts, the barracks in front of the young man was undoubtedly militaristic in nature.


    "Judging by how long it took me to arrive here from the military base¡­ I''d say they''re separated by a couple dozen kilometers or so?" Muttering these words to himself, Valyr soon made his way to the barracks proper, only to be immediately given a taste of what the battlefield had to offer.


    The moment he entered the barracks, the young man was immediately greeted by the sight of many people covered in blood in varying degrees, most of them having blood on their bodies that weren''t their own.


    Shifting his gaze somewhere else for a bit, he was then greeted by the sight of people that had received grievous injuries on the battlefield, with some of the injuries even making him wonder how they were still alive.


    Shifting his gaze towards the other end of the barracks, Valyr could see from afar that the battlefield itself could be found there, faintly seeing therge number of humans and orcs pitting their lives against each other.


    Though, just as the young man was about to make his way to the other end to get a better look of the battlefield, a middle-aged man stopped him all of a sudden.


    "Halt." Giving off a slightly bloodthirsty air, a man donning a dusty military appeared in front of him, his expression looking as if he hadn''t gotten even a wink of sleep for days. "Identification token."


    Having been given a heads-up by Aleos beforehand, the young man immediately knew what he needed to do, nodding as he took out his identification token from his spatial bracelet.


    After that, he passed both his token and the mission he took to the man, prompting the man to nod back in response.


    "2-star mercenary mission, but the one taking it is a novice mercenary." The man slightly frowned as he looked back and forth between the two items, only for him to raise his eyebrow in curiosity soon after. "Oh? Strength verified to equal that of a 10-star mercenary?"


    With that discovery, it did not take long for the man to understand what was going on. "Ylvar, was it? This your first mission?"


    "Yes, sir." Valyr nodded in response.


    "Good, good." The man faintly smiled as he nodded back. "A good idea to get some experience first before taking on the harder missions."


    "The name''s Gerald. Captain Gerald," said the man soon after. "Just in case you might find it weird that a high-ranking military officer is doing this, this is just the job I chose."


    "In any case, good luck, and don''t bite off more than you can chew."


    "Thank you." Receiving his token and the mission back from the man, Valyr watched Gerald''s silhouette disappear from his vision for a bit before making his way towards the other end of the barracks.


    Once there, he pushed his perception to his limit to get a better idea of the situation, immediately noticing that there was another gap of a couple kilometers between the barracks and the actual battlefield.


    Realizing that one of the reasons why that was the case was due to the defensive line blocking most of the orcs'' more destructive offensives, Valyr went ahead and activated [sh of the Azure Dragon], temporarily increasing his movement speed as he began to run.


    Whoosh!


    ''It''d be incredibly stupid if I were to use that skill to head to the battlefield,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, getting the feeling that some people had undoubtedly done that before he arrived. ''If you do that, you''re just basically advertising yourself as a target to your enemies.'' The young man chuckled at the thought.


    Giving himself some time to gather his thoughts as he continued to run through the ins separating him from the battlefield, Valyr eventually felt himself to be in peak condition the moment he arrived at the battlefield proper.


    "Raaaghhh!!!"


    "Grrraaaggghhhh!!!"


    Hearing the sounds of fighting echo wherever his eyesnded on, Valyr immediately became vignt as he utilized his agility and dexterity to the fullest, swerving his way through the various fights happening around him.


    Considering that many of them were forced to focus all of their attention on their foes, it could be said that Valyr''s movements through the battlefield were close to bing untraceable.


    However, as the range of strength across the battlefield spanned from the early levels of Rank 3 to the peak of Rank 5, there were still a few that noticed what he was doing, their eyes slightly widening in response.


    ''Now then. Time to find targets to kill.'' Recalling the description of the mission he''d picked up, Valyr began to look for orcs at the early levels of Rank 4, pushing his perception to the limit to see if there were any nearby that were upied with fighting.


    Fortunately, just as he had set his eyes upon a small group of orcs at that rank, a couple of orcs from somewhere else began to make his way to where he was, madly dashing towards him with their weapons as they thought of the young man as easy pickings. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Sensing those two orcs charging towards him, the young man immediately used his identification skill on them, smiling as he confirmed that their levels met the criteria for his mission.


    Briefly pondering over which method he should use to fight against them, the young man decided to bring out a weapon from his spatial bracelet, specifically one that had seen itsst use back in the inheritance.


    "Been a while since I''ve used you," murmured the young man with a chuckle as he gazed at the Arcane Scepter of Redemption. "I should really upgrade you if I have the chance."


    "Raaaaaahhhh!!!"


    "Grraaaaggghhhh!!!"


    Continuing to keep an eye on the two orcs aiming to kill him, Valyr eventually made hismove as he began to charge towards them.


    Whoosh!


    Putting a bit more strength into his legs, it did not take long for the distance between them to shorten, prompting Valyr to conjure a bolt of Prime Azure Energy with the scepter.


    Swoosh!


    Just as a battle near Valyr finally reached its conclusion, one of the men making up that winning group noticed what Valyr was doing. ''A mana bolt?''


    ''He really thinks a mana bolt is enough to take care of them?'' The man scoffed at the thought, only to be left at a loss for words as he watched the young man manipte the bolt soon after.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Imbuing the element of Wind into the bolt, Valyr aimed the energy bolt straight for the orcs'' heads, acting as if it were the scythe of a death reaper.


    Then again, with Valyr''s INT stat already beyond 4,000 points, one could say that it wasn''t any different from an actual scythe, turning the heads of both orcs into pulp as their decapitated bodies soon fell lifeless to the ground.


    Thud! Thud!


    Watching the two orcs fall to the ground in response to his move, Valyr shed a slight smile before taking out a dagger from his spatial bracelet.


    Then, moving closer to the orcs he just killed, he went ahead and cut off one of their fingers with the dagger.


    "I suppose this is enough proof," murmured Valyr to himself as he nodded in satisfaction.


    Pocketing the fingers he cut off into one of his pockets after that, the young man returned the dagger back to his spatial bracelet before letting out a brief exhale.


    "Now then."


    "Two down¡­ eight more to go."


    And thus, the perfect number is broken.


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 Chapter 1113 Moving Up the Ranks

    1113 Moving Up the Ranks


    "¡­I''ve returned."


    "Hmm?" Just as he''d guided another novice mercenary to the battlefield, Gerald had a slight frown on his face as he heard someone talk to him all of a sudden.


    Turning around to look at the source of the voice, his expression immediately turned into that of surprise once he realized who he was talking to. "You''re the one that took the 2-star mercenary mission, right?"


    "That would be me, yes." Valyr nodded as he faintly smiled.


    Seeing the slightly carefree smile on the young man''s face, Gerald began to frown once more as he interpreted the smile somewhat differently, prompting him to think about how much time had passed since they first met.


    Coming to the conclusion that only an hour had passed since then, the frown on the man''s face became deeper as he began to inwardly scoff in his mind. ''For a novice mercenary like him toe back this early, he''s definitely realized he''s bit off more than he could chew.''


    ''Then again, he could''ve also realized that killing is not for him,'' thought Gerald as he continued his train of thought. ''I expected a bit more from him when I found out his strength allowed him to take on missions for 10-star mercenaries¡­ but where''s the point in that if he doesn''t even have the courage to kill in the first ce?''


    Inwardly letting out a sigh, the man nced at the young man once more before continuing his thoughts. ''Well, I''m not surprised to see that he''s realized that the battlefield isn''t the right ce for him. I can recall a few people who have done the same thing as him in the past.'' ''¡­But seriously. Do you really need toe to the battlefield first to realize something like that?''


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself after all that thinking, Gerald already expected the worst-case scenario to happen in the conversation between him and the young man as he looked back at thetter.


    Nevertheless, he still harbored a faint hope that the young man in front of him just bit off a bit more than he could chew.


    With those thoughts in mind, he went ahead and threw out a question at Valyr. "So, why did you return?"


    Expecting either of the two scenarios toe out of the young man''s mouth, it was no surprise that Gerald nked out for a bit when he heard the words that Valyr told him. "I''ve done the mission. Do I submit it here, or do I have to head back to the base to submit it?"


    "Wha¡­" Not expecting the exact opposite of his train of thought to be the final answer, it took a while for Gerald to regain his bearings as he asked Valyr once more. "You''re done with the mission?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded in response, only to then bring out the 10 orc fingers he''d cut off back in the battlefield for the man to see.


    Seeing as how the young man in front of him showed no signs of fear or aversion whatsoever as he held a set of bloody fingers, Gerald began to let out wryughter out of nowhere, causing Valyr to look back at him in slight confusion.


    "Haah¡­" Fortunately, the man''sughter stopped not long after as he let out a faint sigh of relief. "I definitely misjudged you."


    "¡­?" Though he was curious as to what Gerald meant by that, Valyr was left with no choice but to push the thought to the side as the man verified thepletion of the mission he took up.


    Grabbing the set of bloody fingers from the young man, as well as the document containing the mission he took, Gerald soon asked Valyr to bring out his identification token, only to infuse the token with his energy soon after.


    Whoosh!


    "With that, you''re just another mission away from bing a 1-star mercenary." Confirming that the points for promotion was sessfully attached to Valyr''s token, Gerald eventually gave the mission document back to Valyr after stamping it. "Given that you''ll take another 2-star mercenary mission, of course." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Taking a brief look at both the stamped document and the token, Valyr eventually thanked Gerald before heading back to the military base, prompting thetter to stare at the young man''s disappearing silhouette as he soon let out a sigh.


    "I should really stop looking at things so negatively," murmured Gerald to himself as he recalled the train of thought he had earlier. "The young man didn''t even say anything about backing out, yet you thought he was going to do just that."


    Donning a smile filled with self-ridicule, the man inwardly admonished himself for a bit to be a better person, only to let out a sigh soon after.


    "In any case,pleting a 2-star mercenary mission in that much time is definitely a sign that young man''s gonna go ces."


    "Ylvar, huh¡­ I wonder what rank he''s gonna be in a month''s time?"


    ¡­


    After Gerald confirmed thepletion of his mission, Valyr hastily made his way back to the military base with the help of [Azure Dragon Soaring Skies], heading straight for the main mission hall.


    Once he was there, Aleos gave him a weird look, asking him if he was having second thoughts about taking the mission in the end.


    In response to that, Valyr''s eyes shed with realization as he now understood the random words Gerald said to him back at the barracks.


    Briefly donning a bitter smile as he thought about how pessimistic the man was for him, Valyr shook his head at Aleos before giving him the stamped document.


    Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for Aleos to understand what was going on after receiving the stamped document, causing him to look at Valyr with both surprise and excitement.


    Talking a bit more after that with Aleos regarding the next mission he nned on taking, the young man eventually left the main mission hall as he headed straight for an inn.


    Renting himself a room with the merit points he''d received from the mission, Valyr did not take long to fall asleep as he calcted that he remained awake for the past two weeks.


    Waking up at noon the next day, the young man grabbed himself a quick meal from the restaurant next door before heading back to the mission hall to grab another mission.


    Then, once he was done, he would take a quick break before grabbing another one, allowing his rank to rise at great speeds.


    Eventually, an entire week passed in this manner.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    Quick heads-up

 Chapter 1114 A Weeks Effort

    1114 A Week''s Effort


    "Wells, on your right!"


    Whoosh!


    Whilst Valyr and the other two were entangled in their own fights against the orcs, the young man noticed another orc appear near Wells, seemingly aiming for a sneak attack.


    "Got it!" Heeding the warning ahead of time, Wells doubled down on his current opponent, lunging forward with his spear as he ducked down to avoid the attack that wasing for him.


    "Haah!" Seeing Wells move in response to his warning, Valyr wielded his spear with all of the strength he could muster, using it as a bat to fling his current opponent away.


    Then, making use of the momentum he generated, he closed the gap between him and the orc that nned on ambush Wells, directly piercing the spear through its head.


    Puchi!


    With how much force was contained behind Valyr''s spear, it went without saying that the orc was deprived of its life before it could evenprehend what was going on, causing the orcs fighting against Edward and Wells to pale in fear.


    With a great chunk of their morale lost thanks to how the young man handled the situation, it did not take long for the three to finish taking care of their remaining opponents.


    Though, with how massive the disparity in strength was between Valyr and the orcs he was fighting, the young man only made a few moves here and there, merely stalling the orcs that fought him for the two to killter.


    Whoosh!


    With a final thrust acting as the killing blow, Edward let out a wide sigh of relief as all of the orcs that previously ganged up on them had now fallen to the ground.


    Not wanting to give the orcs the opportunity of their current exhaustion, the three immediately left the battlefield after that, with Valyr following behind both Edward and Wells as a safety measure. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "If we knew bringing you along for our missions would make it this easy, we would''ve done so earlier." While he was in the midst of catching breath, Wells looked back at the young man and shed a thankful grin.


    "You could definitely say that again." Edward nodded in agreement, giving Valyr a thankful smile of his own. "Thanks again, Valyr. Because of you, we''re now only one mission away from bing Sergeants."


    "Not a problem," said Valyr as he smiled back at them. "Though, you two should really take the time to increase your levels first. After all, a higher level of strength allows you to take on higher-ranked missions."


    "Do you really think we aren''t already doing that?" Wells wryly smiled back at him. "After we got wind of the missions you''ve been doing this past week, we immediately decided to splurge a few of our merit points to rent some time at an Experience Pit!"


    At those words, Valyr raised his eyes in curiosity. "How many levels were you two able to get then?"


    Hearing that question, both Valyr and Edward had proud looks on their faces as they simultaneously replied, "Peak of Rank 3!"


    Being left at a slight loss for words after that, the young man soon shed a smile back at them as they arrived at the barracks a few minutester.


    Once there, they immediately appeared in front of Gerald, who seemed to be more than ready to greet them the moment they arrived.


    "Should''ve expected this oue as long as you''re included," said Gerald with a faint chuckle as he briefly nced at Valyr. "I presume the mission has beenpleted?"


    At those words, Wells nodded in response, prompting all three of them to bring out their identification tokens before giving them to him.


    With a mission document and a proof ofpletion being passed to the man after that, Gerald did not take long to verify the mission''spletion, immediately infusing bits of energy into both Edward and Wells'' identification tokens.


    As for Valyr''s identification token, he merely infuse a strand of energy into it before tossing it back to him. "Since the difficulty of this mission is at the level of 3-star mercenaries, you won''t be gaining any points for promotion from this. However, you''d still get the rewards frompleting it."


    "I understand." Valyr nodded in response as he received his identification token back from the man, only for him to nce at the two beside him who had looks of excitement on their faces.


    "Even though I''m the one confirming thepletion of all your missions so far, it still astounds me," said Gerald to Valyr after some time as he faintly shook his head. "To think that in just a week, you rose through the ranks of the mercenary path to be a 6-star mercenary."


    "Is it really that astounding? You did see all of the missions I''ve taken, after all," Valyr smiled as he responded back, only to think back to the routine he''d fallen into in the past week.


    Though Valyr thought to himself that the past week was possibly the most monotonous routine he''d fallen into, he still could not deny the fact that it was because of that monotony that he was able to be a 6-star mercenary within a week.


    After the two-star mercenary mission he took, Valyr went ahead and took up the hardest 5-star mercenary mission avable, which gave him six times more promotion points than the previous one.


    With how each promotion needed one to umte 10 points beforehand, it was no surprise that Valyr was able to be a 1-star mercenary the moment hepleted his next mission.


    In fact, the second mission also allowed him to be a 2-star mercenary.


    However, when it came to the points being allocated to his promotion to a 3-star mercenary, only a single promotion point had been allocated, which was mostly due to how the promotion points worked.


    For example, one had 20 promotion points under their name. With 10 of those points, one would then be promoted to the next rank.


    Though, for the 10 promotion points that remained, the effectiveness of those points would instead be halved, causing one to only be halfway towards reaching the next rank.


    With Valyr having a total of 35 promotion points as a novice mercenary, 10 of them allowed him to be a 1-star mercenary, while the remaining 20 allowed him to step onto the next rank due to the loss in efficacy.


    Then, with the halving of efficacy being rounded down, the two points that remained after his promotion to 2-star mercenary halved in efficacy even more, leaving the young man with one point.


    Naturally, with him now know the mechanics behind the promotion points, Valyr aimed himself with his third mission, going with an 8-star mercenary mission that yielded the same amount of promotion points as the one he took before.


    After that, he took on one more mission after his promotion to 4-star mercenary, which was also the same mission that allowed him to be a 6-star mercenary within a week.


    As for its difficulty level?


    Naturally, it was the hardest mission made for 10-star mercenaries. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1115 Obstruction

    1115 Obstruction


    "After grabbing a mission made for 10-star mercenaries, who knew the next mission you''d grab would be a mission made for 3-star mercenaries?"


    Receiving the stamped document that was given to him, Aleos looked at it for a bit before looking back at the young man in front of him with an amused smile.


    "Is there a problem with that?" said Valyr back with a wry smile. "Can''t I not take an easier mission from time to time?"


    "Also, just to let you know, I took up the mission since I wanted to help my friends out," continued the young man as he pointed at Edward and Wells behind him.


    "Heh? The so-called Azure de actually has friends?" joked Aleos in response, causing both Edward and Wells to look at Valyr with slightly confused expressions.


    On the other hand, Valyr frowned in response as he red at Aleos, prompting thetter to let out a chuckle as he retrieved the rewards for their missions.


    Noticing that the attendant helping them was away for some time, Wells took the opportunity to ask Valyr more about what he''d heard. "What did he mean by Azure de?"


    Seeing both Edward and Wells look at him with curiosity after that, Valyr inwardly let out a low sigh as he made a mental note to have Aleos treat him in the future.


    After that, he gave the two a brief exnation as to how the nickname came about, with many of them seeing him kill orcs with his Prime Azure Energy.


    Hearing that the young man continued to use that method ofbat even when he took up the mission made for 10-star mercenaries, both of them looked at Valyr in disbelief as they began to wonder whether they were even looking at the same person they knew.


    Fortunately, just before the two could doubt their friend''s identity even further, Aleos returned to give them all of their rewards, including the merit points that came with the mission.


    "Considering that you three worked together toplete it, the rewards shall be distributed evenly between the three of you," the man told them, to which the three nodded in response.


    "The item rewards aside, you earned 15 merit points from this mission¡­ so you get five merit points each."


    Whoosh!


    Infusing a bit of energy into their identification tokens, Aleos eventually returned the tokens back to them, only to then talk to Valyr for a bit about his next ns.


    Hearing that he nned on taking a break before taking on a new mission, Aleos nodded in response as he watched the three of them slowly leave his field of vision.


    Arriving at the entrance to the main mission hall, Valyr nced at Edward and Wells with an apologetic smile before asking, "So, I guess we''ll part ways for now?"


    Looking at each other for a bit, Edward and Wells eventually nodded in response to his question, but not before asking the young man if it was possible for him to help them in their next mission.


    Promising to help them out on the next mission they asked him to tag along on, it was only then did the three part ways for now, with Valyr staring off at the buildings in the distance.


    "Hmm¡­" At some point, his gazended at the rentable workshops found at the east section of the military base. "I suppose I could try my hand at making a better magic staff than the one I have now."


    "After all, I''ve stocked up on Refinement Jewels thanks to the missions," muttered the young man to himself, only to then cycle through the various magic staff blueprints he had in his mind after that.


    In the end, the young man decided to try his hand at it some other day, bitterly smiling as he realized he didn''t even have half of the materials that were needed to forge a new magic staff.


    Shifting his thoughts elsewhere for the meantime, Valyr began to walk through the streets of the military base before bringing up his chat screen in front of him to talk with Hal and Vera.


    After making contact with the two on his first day at the military base, it went without saying that the three maintaining constant contact with one another after that, talking about their various experiences in the battlefield among other things.


    Seeing that the two had finally confirmed their visit to his military base tomorrow, the young man began to grin as he told them that he''d be eagerly waiting for them.


    Heading to one of the nearby restaurants to grab a quick bite, Valyr then recalled another conversation he had in the past, prompting him to send a message to Julian in regards to the progress of the two proposals they pitched.


    ''It''s almost been two weeks since then. Surely, they''d have someone reach out to me by now,'' thought Valyr to himself, swiftly gorging down the food he ordered after receiving a reply from Julian a few minutester.


    Once the young man had finished his meal, it was only then did the young man open the message he got from Julian, only to bitterly smile once he was done reading.


    "The cksmith Guild has been trying to contact me for days already?" murmured Valyr as he read through the message, slightly shaking his head in disbelief. "And they want me to head to the guild''s mission hall in the base as soon as possible?"


    "Well, I don''t know about them, but I haven''t had anyonee up to me from the cksmith Guild this past week." As these words left his mouth, Valyr sent back a message to Julian, telling him that the cksmith Guild hadn''t reached out to him the past week whatsoever.


    Surprisingly, Julian was immediate in his reply, informing the young man in his message that the cksmith Guild had been constantly trying to reach out to him for the past week.


    "However, on all the times they were trying to reach out to me, I was either out in the battlefield, or I was either out cold in the inn." Coming to this part of the message, the young man could not help but bitterly smile. "What bad timing."


    "Guess I''ll pay a visit to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall, then." Muttering these words to himself, the young man faintly let out a sigh as he closed his chat screen. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though, just as he was about to start heading there, a pair of robust individuals appeared before him all of a sudden, staring at him with toothy grins on their faces.


    "Say, brother."


    "Mind sparing a bit of your time for us?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    Quick heads-up

 Chapter 1116 War Squad

    1116 War Squad


    "Hmm?" Unsurprisingly, Valyr immediately had a frown on his face the moment he heard the words the two said to him.


    After all, from the auras the two were giving him, the young man had a strong feeling that the current situation would turn out simrly to the bat readiness test'' he''d inadvertently gotten himself into on his first day at the base.


    Though, seeing as he sensed no hints of malicious intent in their gazes whatsoever, Valyr eventually decided to hear them out, letting out a faint sigh as he calmed himself down. "What can I do for you two?"


    Hearing the question that left Valyr''s mouth, the two men immediately let out faint sighs of relief, only for them to bicker at each other not long after. "I told you earlier that now wasn''t the right time. Didn''t you see he was frowning when we showed up in front of him?"


    "I know that." The other man frowned before sighing once more. "But if you think about it, there really isn''t much opportunity for us toe in contact with him, considering that all of us are constantly taking up missions to push our ranks."


    "It''s either we make the most out of the opportunity we have, or wait until an opportunityes," the man continued, only to let out a wry chuckle soon after. "Knowing the two of us, we''d rather take the former than thetter."


    "Uh¡­ may I ask why you two decided to stop me?" Listening to the conversation that unfolded between the two, Valyr was able to ascertain his thoughts that the two held no malicious thoughts whatsoever.


    With that, he looked at the two with slight curiosity as a question left his mouth.


    "You were nning to head to the mission halls, right?" asked one of the men with a kind smile, to which Valyr nodded in response. "We apologize for disturbing you, but we promise that we''ll only take up a bit of your time."


    "Before we begin, let us introduce ourselves." At these words, the man that was speaking took a couple steps forward before turning the smile on his face into a confident grin.


    "The name is Zuo. Zuo Shou," said the man, his jade green irises glinting under the rays of the sun, forming a harmonious contrast with his head of spiky ck hair.


    "You," replied the other man not long after, prompting Valyr to take notice of the man''sjade green hair. "The name''s You Shou."


    With both of them donning military uniforms that had a couple badges on their chests, the two gave off an awe-inspiring air, causing the young man to pay a bit more attention to what they had to say.


    "In terms of our ranks, I''m currently a Colonel," said You to Valyr, deciding to continue where he left off. "It''s equivalent to a 10-Star Mercenary."


    "As for me, I''m currently a Major," said Zuo after that, his next line eventually causing the young man to look at them with his mouth agape. "My rank''s equivalent to an 8-Star Mercenary."


    Though he''d gotten his strength verified to be able to handle missions that were made for 10-star mercenaries, Valyr''s current rank was still that of 6-star mercenary.


    With that, he found it odd that two people with high ranks decided to reach out to him all of a sudden, prompting him to wonder why they decided to obstruct him in the first ce.


    ''Then again, the fact that they''ve obstructed me in the first ce is already odd as is,'' thought Valyr to himself, deciding to remain silent as the two nned on continuing their exnation.


    "Now that we''ve introduced ourselves, let us tell you the main reason why we''ve stopped you." Seeing as the young man was remaining silent as they talked, Zuo understood what he needed as he stopped beating around the bush. "We n to invite you into our War Squad."


    "War Squad?" Unsurprisingly, Valyr raised his eyebrow as he looked at the two in curiosity. "What''s a War Squad?"


    "It is what the name says it is," replied You to the young man''s question. "A small group of people working as one on the battlefield." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    At those words, Valyr slightly frowned. "Wait¡­ I''m slightly confused. What differs a War Squad from a normal squad? Just so you know, I''ve gotten a lot of invites in the past to join people''s groups."


    "We know." The two nodded in response to his words, only for Zuo to shed light on the young man''s confusion soon after. "As for the difference, it''s the fact that a War Squad is officially recognized by the military, giving it ess to features and facilities that a single member wouldn''t normally have ess to."


    "How many people does one need at minimum to create a War Squad?" asked Valyr after that, his expression now returning to that of curiosity.


    Getting the feeling that the young man was purely asking the question out of curiosity, the two replied. "Three people. At most, you could only have 10 people in one War Squad."


    "I see." Valyr nodded in understanding. "And you''re inviting me into your War Squad for what reason, exactly?"


    "For the uing Elite War Squad Tournament," replied You, his eyes glistening with excitement. "Do I need to exin what the tournament entails?"


    "I think I have a good idea." Valyr shook his head in response. "So, basically, you two are recruiting me into your War Squad for the uing Elite War Squad Tournament because of my strength, I presume."


    "That would be correct." The two nodded in agreement. "We''re trying to recruit the best members we can into the War Squad to make sure we''d win first ce at the uing tournament."


    "With that being said, you''re definitely one of them," said Zuo with a grin. "In just a week, not only have you shown the strength one should expect from a 10-star mercenary, but you''ve even raised your rank to 6-Star Mercenary!"


    "Not to mention the nickname people have begun to give you on the battlefield," continued You. "A sh of azure is a signal for despair. The Azure de."


    "I''d like it if you don''t call me by that nickname," said Valyr in response, his expression clearly showing the two the disapproval he had.


    Taking in a deep breath after that, he then asked the two, "Anyways, if I join your War Squad, what''s gonna be in it for me?"


    "Aside from the features and facilities any War Squad has ess to, we''ll give you a decent amount of merit points and a set of special elixir," replied You with a confident smile. "However, considering your track record so far, those won''t really entice you."


    "Thus, if you join our War Squad, you''ll be able to ess missions made for Brigadier Generals," continued the man with a grin. "In other words, missions for Iron Mercenaries."


    "So¡­ how about it?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    Quick heads-up

 Chapter 1117 True Nature

    1117 True Nature


    Just like what You told him, Valyr''s interest really wasn''t piqued when the man told him about the things he''d get if he were to join their squad. After all, he wasn''t really someone whocked merit points at the moment, especially after considering his expenditure the past week.


    At the same time, he also wasn''t someone who was in dire need of a set of elixir. Sure, the elixirs would give him a slight power boost. However, his current level of strength was already more than enough to steamroll through 10-star mercenary missions if he wanted to.


    On top of that, if he really was in the need of some elixirs, he could just ask Mystia for some directly. Why bother taking a more roundabout method?


    ''Speaking of elixirs, I still haven''t consumed the set of Advanced-level Reinforcement Elixir she gave me,'' thought Valyr to himself, briefly donning a bitter smile at the thought.


    With that being said, although the things he''d gain from epting this offer wasn''t really much in his eyes, the same could not be said for thest thing You nned on offering them.


    ''ess to missions made for Iron Mercenaries, huh?''


    Pondering over it for a bit, it did not take long for him to understand why the two were able to guarantee such a thing. After all, You was a Colonel, a rank that was equivalent to a 10-Star Mercenary.


    From what Aleos told him before, only 10-star mercenaries were able to ess missions from Iron Mercenaries.


    Considering how even missions made for 10-star mercenaries couldn''t pose that much of a challenge for him with his current strength, it could be said that Valyr''s interest was piqued after hearing he could gain ess to those missions.


    However, after pondering over it for a bit more, the young man''s interest in the matter gradually disappeared. Instead, he began thinking of it as something simr to the other things the two wanted to give him.


    ''Though gaining ess to mission for Iron Mercenaries does sound tempting, it''s not like having ess to it would change much about what I''m doing right now,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, sooning to a decision.


    Letting out a faint sigh, Valyr gave both Zuo and You an apologetic smile as he shook his head. "I apologize. I appreciate the offer, but I''ll have to decline."


    "Decline?" Unsurprisingly, the two looked at him with slight surprise, only for them to look at each other soon after in slight confusion.


    "Yes," said Valyr in response, his turning turning bitter after noticing the greater confusion that appeared on their faces.


    Of course, it wasn''t as if Valyr nned on declining the offer of the two from the start. The things they were offering him were more than enough to entice any other person in joining their War Squad.


    Unfortunately for them, Valyr wasn''t just any other person.


    Though having ess to Iron Mercenary missions would definitely speed up his promotion to a higher rank, it wasn''t as if he was in a rush to get as high of a rank as possible. After all, he''d already be a 6-star mercenary within a week. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    With his strength verified to be more than enough to handle 10-star mercenary missions, Valyr surmised that he wouldn''t even need an entire month in the frontlines to reach the rank necessary to take on Iron Mercenary missions on his own.


    Whilst the young man was slightly engrossed in his thoughts, Zuo and You eventually recovered their countenances as they looked back at Valyr. "You sure you don''t want to join our War Squad? The Elite War Squad Tournament is about to start in a month, you know?"


    "Not only that, but they say that the winning prize for the War Squad that gets first ce is 3,000 merit points for each member," added Zuo in a bid to make Valyr change his mind. "Imagine how much you could do with 3,000 merit points!"


    Surprisingly, after hearing that he''d be able to get a windfall of merit points from participating in the tournament, Valyr''s expression briefly turned into that of hesitation as he had an idea on how many missions one would have to take in order to get that much merit points.


    However, just like what transpired earlier, the allure of therge sum of merit points gradually disappeared in Valyr''s mind, causing his decision to be more firm than ever before. "Although that does sound appealing, I''ll still have to decline your offer."


    "Are you really going to decline our offer, just like that?" asked You in response, his slightly arrogant tone causing Valyr to frown. "Even though we''vee all our way to appear in front of you? Even though both of us have higher ranks than you?"


    Whoosh!


    Just as You finished saying those words, the two immediately red their auras in their entirety, directing all of it towards Valyr in a bid to intimidate him. "We''ve already shown you so much goodwill, yet you''re going to throw it away just like that?"


    Seeing how forceful the two became just because he declined their offer, Valyr''s impression of the two immediately soured as he showed indifference to their auras. "Goodwill? In what world does interrupting a person seem like goodwill? In what world does intimidating a person for declining your offer seem like goodwill?"


    "I''ve already made myself clear." At this point, a small group of people had taken notice of what was going on between the three, wanting to see the situation unfold. "I reject your offer of joining your War Squad."


    "Also, do you really think that tactic would work on me?" Scoffing at the auras the two were sting at him, Valyr went ahead and red his entire aura in response, directing all of its force straight towards Zuo and You.


    Swoosh!


    In less than an instant, the two immediately felt like they were prey being stared at by a predator, causing their bodies to shudder all of a sudden.


    Though, just as they thought that the young man in front of them was about to make yet another move, the aura he red out disappeared in an instant, only for Valyr''s voice to echo far behind the two not long after.


    "Just in case you try to persuade me to join your War Squad again, let me tell you this now," said the young man, his words loud enough for everyone to hear.


    "No matter how many times you two try, I''ll reject it every time!"


    With that, the young man eventually made his way to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall, prompting many who''d watched the entire situation unfold to discuss it with one another.


    As for Zuo and You, the two had unsightly expressions on their faces after obtaining Valyr''s vehement disapproval. Recalling the aura the young man targeted at them, their expression turned even more unsightly, with Zuo even gritting his teeth.


    "Are we just gonna leave it like this?" Zuo looked at You beside him as the two decided to head to the barracks for the meantime. "I know we can find other people for the War Squad, but the way he treated us pisses me off."


    "It pisses me off as well, but don''t worry," said You back as he assured him. "We''ll focus on finding other members for the War Squad for the meantime. After all, that takes precedence."


    "However, that doesn''t mean we''ll forget about him."


    With a glint in his eye, he told Zuo with a furious expression. "As long as he hasn''t epted our offer of joining our War Squad, I''ll make sure his time here remains a living hell."


    "On the day he changes his mind and decides to ept¡­ we''ll surely return the humiliation he gave us back to him tenfold¡­ no."


    "A hundredfold."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1118 Discussing the Specifics

    1118 Discussing the Specifics


    Giving himself a bit of time to calm his emotions down after Zuo and You''s unnecessary show of force towards him, Valyr soon let out a long exhale as he arrived at the cksmith Guild''s mission hall.


    "Huh." Taking a look at the insides of the hall, the young man immediately stopped in his tracks as he felt as if he''d returned to a familiar ce all of a sudden.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to figure out why, realizing that the mission hall had emted the style of the cksmith Guilds within the various kingdoms to some extent.


    "If I were topare it with an actual branch of the cksmith Guild, the one in Danyhris Town would probably be the nearest," muttered Valyr to himself, briefly taking a deep breath after that before delving a bit deeper into it.


    Compared to the main mission hall situated within the base, the cksmith Guild''s mission hall was around a third to a half of its size. Not only that, but the number of mission boards it had were far lesser than the main mission hall, amounting to only five.


    However, unlike the main mission hall, a considerable portion of the cksmith Guild''s mission hall''s space went towards a series of workshops that lined the entire hall, all of them higher qualitypared to the workshops found outside.


    With that, Valyr wasn''t surprised to hear after a bit of asking around that the workshops within the cksmith Guild''s mission hall came at a higher cost than the ones outside.


    ''Then again, they aren''t charging a higher price for the workshops for nothing,'' thought Valyr to himself, noticing that a considerable portion of the forging hammers he saw in the workshops were Rare grade and above.


    Reminding himself that his main purpose ining to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall was due to his conversation with Julian, the young man immediately discarded all of the errant thoughts in his mind as he made his way to a vacant counter.


    "Wee to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall, how may I help you?" Arriving in front of one of the attendants, the young man faintly smiled as he listened to her question.


    "I''ve been told that the cksmith Guild has been looking for me," said Valyr in response, causing a look of confusion to appear on the young attendant''s face.


    Fortunately, the young man was already expecting to get such a reaction. With that, he took out his identification badge from the cksmith Guild before giving it to the attendant. "I suppose you could contact someone from the guild, no?"


    Though the attendant was still skeptical of the ims of the man before him, she still treated him with the utmost respect after seeing the identification badge he took out.


    However, as she took a better look at the identification badge that was given to her, the young attendant''s eyes widened in shock as she could not believe what she was seeing.


    Recalling what was briefed to her and all the other attendants in the past few days, the young attendant eventually connected the two together as she looked back at Valyr with a gaze of admiration. "You''re¡­ Sir Ylvar?"


    "That would indeed be me." Though he wasn''t expecting the question toe out of her mouth, the young man still nodded as he smiled.


    "I understand." The young attendant nodded back, only to then bringing out a thin tablet that reminded Valyr of the ones he saw in the cksmith Guild.


    Seeing the young woman in front of him interact with it for a bit, Valyr focused his attention on her the moment he noticed her let out a sigh of relief.


    "Alright, Sir Ylvar. We''ve notified someone from the cksmith Guild to meet up with you shortly," said the young attendant to him with a smile. "ording to them, it''s someone you''re familiar with." "Aside from that, they''ve also mentioned they''ve been waiting for your presence at this hall for a week now," continued the young woman, causing Valyr to look back at her with a bitter smile.


    "Tell them that I''ll exin everything to them once we meet," said the young man in response, to which the young attendant nodded as she interacted with the tablet for a bit more.


    After rying the young man''s words through the tablet, the young woman gave Valyr a heads-up on how much time he''d have to wait before they arrived.


    Naturally, after hearing from Julian that they''ve been waiting for him for a week now, the young man didn''t mind waiting for a while.


    Though, as he was waiting for the person that would meet up with him to arrive, he soon noticed the expression of the young attendant, staring at him as if he were a deity of some sort.


    Looking back at the young attendant because of it, Valyr soon watched the young woman slightly blush in response, only to then muster up the courage as she asked him, "Er¡­ would it be possible for you to sign something for me?"


    "With pleasure," replied Valyr with a kind smile, deciding to talk with the young attendant for a bit more after that to pass the time.


    ¡­


    "And here I thought I''d wait for another week just to see you."


    After waiting for around 10 more minutes at the counter, Valyr was eventually told that the person meeting up with him had arrived, prompting the young attendant serving him to lead him to a private room within the hall.


    Entering the room, he was then greeted by the sight of a familiar person, causing him to wryly smile as he heard the words that left the man''s mouth.


    "I apologize," said Valyr in response, his tone that of sincerity. "I was busy improving my rank this past week."


    Sitting down on the chair facing the man, the young man took in a deep breath before looking at the former with a faint smile. "In any case, I wasn''t expecting you to be the one to meet up with me, Elder Alvin."


    "You tter me, Herald," replied Alvin with a kind smile. "Then again, you aren''t wrong. If Elder Merahm wasn''t busy, he would''ve probably been the one meeting up with you right now."


    "You also mentioned that back in the recent War Forge Assembly," said Valyr, to which Alvin nodded in response. "Though I''m now slightly curious as to why he''s busy, that''s not what the two of us came here to discuss about."


    "Exactly." Elder Alvin nodded in agreement before grinning. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Let''s talk about the specifics of the two proposals, shall we?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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 Chapter 1119 Forging a New Weapon

    1119 Forging a New Weapon


    "Well then. That discussion turned out better than I thought it would.''


    As he bade farewell to Elder Alvin, who apanied him up to the entrance of the cksmith Guild''s mission hall, Valyr went through the discussion the two of them had earlier regarding the two proposals.


    Or more specifically, the conditions he set in exchange for those two proposals.


    ''If I''m recalling all of the conditions I mentioned to Julian back then correctly, I wanted ess to the guild''s blueprints, the guild''s hidden knowledge, a lot of Technology Points, and the ability to request materials from the guild for free,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself.


    ''Surprisingly, Elder Alvin did not hesitate to agree to the first condition. He was fine with me having ess to all of the guild''s blueprints.''


    ''ording to him, having ess to all of the guild''s blueprints would give me a higher chance of creating better blueprints in the future.'' Valyr wryly smiled at the thought. ''Or if I didn''t create better blueprints, he told me that I''d be able to innovate upon the existing blueprints.''


    ''As for the part about hidden knowledge, even I wasn''t too sure about what I meant by that at first.'' As he arrived at this thought, Valyr had already returned to his room.


    Lying down on his bed as he let out a faint exhale, his mind continued to ponder over the discussion he had with the elder. ''Fortunately, Elder Alvin had a good interpretation of what I meant by that.''


    "Though unlocking Advanced-level advancements through my Technology Tree is now considerably cheaper thanks to the titles and other things I did, getting it for free from the guild itself is still far better than using my hard-earned Technology Points on it."


    Voicing his thoughts out loud, the young man let out a bit ofughter as he swiftly went over thest two conditions he''d set for his proposals.


    In terms of his condition of getting a lot of Technology Points out of the entire thing, the two were eventually able toe to the agreement that he''d gain arge amount of Technology Points from the guild once everything was sorted out.


    Aside from that, Elder Alvin also agreed to increase the amount of Technology Points he''d get from his monthly stipend by 50%, which meant Valyr was now able to obtain 50,000 more Technology Points from the guild every month.


    As for his condition of being able to request for materials, the two surprisingly did not take long toe to an agreement on that.


    With Valyr agreeing with Elder Alvin on the fact that it would be difficult for the guild to procure every item he wanted, the two eventually came to the agreement that he was only able to request materials and items up to a certain level of rarity from the guild without charge.


    As for those that exceeded this rarity, he would have to pay a certain amount of merit points to the guild. However, the two agreed that the amount of merit points he''d have to pay for those items would be discounted to a certain extent.


    "Now that I think about it, I''ve gained a lot more than I thought I would from that," murmured Valyr to himself, only to then think about the concessions he made regarding the proposals themselves.


    With his conditions more or less satisfied, Valyr did not hesitate to be more amodating, immediately giving Elder Alvin the copies of the blueprints he nned on giving them in the first ce.


    Then, after having the elder take a look at the blueprints, he then told him that he nned on teaching a small group of cksmiths how to forge some of the more difficult parts that made up the arquebus blueprints he gave him.


    "Of course, I made sure to tell him that he''d have to pick the most talented cksmiths they had for that," said the young man to himself with a grin. "After all, if they tried forging the arquebuses from scratch, it''ll probably take them at least a month to get a barely working version out."


    "As for the armor, the only problem they''ll have would probably be the procurement of the scales." Valyr continued to think out loud, only to chuckle at the thought soon after. "On second thought, I think that wouldn''t really be a problem."


    "It''s the cksmith Guild I''m talking about, after all."


    "With the Imperial Production Guild also helping them out, I really don''t think that''d pose too much of a problem for them." As these words left the young man''s mouth, a thought suddenly popped up in his mind, prompting him to sit on the side of his bed.


    Then, gazing into his spatial bracelet, the young man could not help but smile as helooked at the materials Elder Alvin had given him after the meeting.


    "I''m surprised Elder Alvin was more than willing to give me these materials after hearing that I nned on making a new magic staff," muttered the young man to himself, taking note that some of the materials were considerably hard toe by.


    "I guess he decided to be more weing after seeing the capabilities of the blueprints firsthand." Valyr let out a bit ofughter at the thought, only to then head out of the room not long after.


    After having dinner at the restaurant next to the inn he was staying in, the young man then began to ponder over which workshop he should rent in order to forge his new magic staff.


    Though, considering the discussion he had with Elder Alvin earlier, it did not take long for him to obtain his answer.


    Whoosh!


    Pushing his agility to the limit, it did not take long for him to return to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall, immediately obtaining the attention of most, if not all of the attendants at the counters.


    Seeing one of the attendantse up to him with respect on their faces, Valyr went ahead and told them that he nned on forging something, prompting the attendant that came up to him to lead him towards one of the vacant workshops.


    Arriving at the vacant workshop, some of Valyr''s suspicions regarding the workshop''s higher quality were more or less confirmed the moment he stepped foot. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though, just as he asked the attendant how much he''d have to pay to rent the workshop for some time, the attendant immediately told him in return that Elder Alvin had already paid for his every use of the guild''s workshops from today onwards.


    Slightly left at a loss for words after hearing that, the young man let out a hearty chuckle after that as he asked the attendant to have him ry his gratitude to Elder Alvin.


    Then, once he was left on his own within the workshop, Valyr went ahead and familiarized himself with the tools he''ll be working with before proceeding to take out all of the materials Elder Alvin had given him earlier.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Gazing at the small pile of materials he brought out for a bit, the young man pondered over the type of magic staff he was gonna forge onest time before proceeding to light the furnace in front of him.


    Swoosh!


    Then, taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, Valyr took in a deep breath as he gradually entered a tranquil state. "Alright. Finally got an opportunity to forge a new weapon for myself again."


    "Before doing all of that, though¡­ I should unlock the necessary advancements first."

 Chapter 1120 Arcane Staff of Azure Primacy

    1120 Arcane Staff of Azure Primacy


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With his attention wholly focused on the new weapon he was working on, Valyr remained oblivious to the passage of time as he continued to refine the magic staff on his anvil.


    With both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [Vision of the First cksmith] activated during the forging process, it went without saying that all of the impurities that the young man found on the weapon were removed the moment they appeared.


    Because of that, the weapon transformed into one harmonious piece under his vision, only for it to now be elevated one step further with the refinement he was doing.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Ding!


    "¡­Sess." Hearing a notification resound in his mind the moment he was done, a relieved smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he disabled both [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [Vision of the First cksmith], finally allowing him to look at his new magic staff in greater detail.


    Unlike the magic scepter Hal gave him back at the inheritance, his current magic staff stood at a height that was only a couple decimeters lower than him.


    Other than that, the entire body of the staff seemed to be made out of one material, the seams that would''ve normally connected the shaft to the top nowhere to be seen.


    Because of that, the staff gave off a regal feeling when one looked at it, only for the feeling to be amplified once one noticed the dark blue crystal at the top.


    Sensing the destructive energies roiling within the dark blue crystal, it was only then one would realize that the staff, albeit seemingly made for royalty, was ultimately a weapon made for mass destruction.


    "It definitely wasn''t a mistake to use those Refinement Jewels on this weapon," said the young man with a slight chuckle. "Even though I''ve yet to look at its stats in detail, I already know for a fact that it''s way better than the Arcane Scepter of Redemption."


    With that in mind, he went ahead and used [Superior Analysis] on his new weapon, immediately bing pleasantly surprised the moment he took a look at its description.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [(+20) Arcane Staff of Azure Primacy] (Level 75)


    Rarity: Epic+


    Foundation Tier: 1st Tier


    Forge Quality: Transcendent


    Additional Attributes:


    > AGI +103


    > INT +191


    > WIS +60


    Initially the blueprint of a magic weapon that could be considered a nk te, the pioneer of cksmithing has breathed new life into it by infusing it with a domineering type of energy.


    Through this, the weapon has undergone rebirth, allowing it to¡­ most of the description has been omitted.


    <Innate Skill 1: Prime Azure Resonance - Increases the user''s Attack and INT stat by 5% when the user has Prime Azure Energy. Also increases the user''s Prime Azure Energy regeneration by 25% when equipped. The effects of this skill are doubled when the Prime Azure Origin uses this weapon.>


    <Innate Skill 2: Prime Azure Heavenfall - Allows the user to conjure a meteor of Prime Azure Energy that deals damage equivalent to 250% of the user''s Attack stat (scales off INT) to those hit by it. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Can be overcharged to increase the size of the meteor. Range: 5 to 100 meters. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 250 to 10,000 Prime Azure Energy.>


    <Innate Skill 3: Prime Azure Rebirth - Allows the user to restore a portion of their Prime Azure Energy at the cost of their health.


    Has a moderate chance to convert double of the health sacrificed to Prime Azure Energy. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 10% of the user''s HP.>


    Remarks: A weapon specifically made for those who wield Prime Azure Energy. As its Origin, it is only right for you to wield it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''If I were to talk about its Attack stat, it still pales inparison to the Azure Serpent Staff Sellifer gave me,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''Then again, that should''ve been a no-brainer. After all, it''s a Legendary+ grade weapon.''


    ''Plus, thest time I took a look at it, it was when I was at the peak of Rank 3.'' The young man faintly shuddered at the thought. ''Pretty sure the weapon would surpass the 10,000 mark if I take a look at it now.''


    "However¡­" As this word left his mouth, a grin gradually began to appear on his face. "If I were topare their innate skills, then this staff is far better for the current me."


    Taking a look at its innate skills once more, Valyr began to grin wider, only to recall the start where he was just about to begin forging his new magic staff.


    After entering a tranquil state as he prepared all of the tools and materials he would need, Valyr went ahead and opened up his Technology Tree to unlock all of the advancements that he felt were necessary.


    Of course, with how far the advancements on his Innovation branch went, it went without saying that the advancements he needed to unlock were found in the Combat and Production branches.


    Considering the amount of Technology Points he had, as well as the titles that made unlocking and upgrading them cheaper, the young man eventually decided to max out all of the advancements he could unlock at his current rank.


    With each Technology Point under his name being twice as effective thanks to [Herald of the New Era], the young man was able to unlock and max every advancement in both branches after only spending 100,000 Technology Points.


    Naturally, as he was forging a magic staff, that also included the advancements within the magic-focused sub-branches he unlocked in the past.


    With all of the necessary knowledge flowing through his mind, it did not take long for the young man to start forging the staff, utilizing [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith] to a certain extent to speed up some parts of the process.


    In the end, it only took him less than a day to forge the entire staff, though it would''ve taken less if he were to omit the removal of impurities through [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] and [Vision of the First cksmith].


    Then, once the staff was forged, he then imbued the staff with his Prime Azure Energy, allowing it to take on the energy''s properties.


    Of course, the reason why he needed to do this step was due to the magic staff blueprint he''d chosen, which sacrificed a bit of the staff''s inherent power in exchange for greater flexibility.


    Unsurprisingly, that flexibility came in the form ofpatibility with almost every type of energy in existence. Naturally, that included his own Prime Azure Energy.


    After the staff had sessfully taken in the properties of his Prime Azure Energy, it went without saying that he went all out in upgrading the weapon, immediately enhancing its level to match his own.


    Then, after he ascended its foundation to the 1st Tier, he went ahead and awakened its attributes with the help of his attribute awakening skill.


    With the skill''s efficacy being increased thanks to the special effect of using Prime Azure Energy through his current race, he was surprisingly able to achieve a near-perfect awakening on all three attributes in less than 30 tries.


    After that, he carried out refinement on the weapon, pushing its refinement level to +15 with the help of the same effect that allowed him to achieve a near-perfect awakening.


    With the aid of a couple Refinement Jewels, he was then able to push the weapon to +20, allowing the weapon to achieve its max refinement level for its current grade.


    "It''s a shame the skills on Sellifer''s weapon doesn''t affect Prime Azure Energy." Saying these words to himself, Valyr went ahead and stored all of the things he''d brought out back into his spatial bracelet.


    ncing at his new magic staff with a hint of excitement, the young man had thoughts of testing his new weapon out in the battlefield as he made his way out of the cksmith Guild''s mission hall.


    Waving goodbye to all of the attendants that came out to bid him farewell, Valyr went ahead and stored the staff in his spatial bracelet for the meantime, only to stop in his tracks soon after as he received a notification.


    Ding!


    Being informed that he''d received a new message, Valyr began to slightly frown as he wondered who would send him a message at this time.


    Letting out a sigh as he opened up the message, the slight frown on Valyr''s face gradually turned into an excited grin the more he read it.


    By the time he was done reading, the excitement he felt from the message became near tangible to the point he showed no hesitation in heading straight to the center of the military base.


    Whoosh!


    Enlisting the help of one of his movement skills, it only took less than a minute for the young man to arrive at the center of the base.


    Looking around for a bit, it did not take long for him to find the two individuals he was looking for, causing the grin on his face to turn wider as he came up to the two. "Hopefully I didn''t make the two wait that long."


    Hearing Valyr speak to them, the two turned around to look at him, only to be left at a slight loss for words the moment they saw him.


    Of course, with how much time the three of them spent together back in the inheritance, it did not take long for the two of them to realize what was going on.


    Smiling in response to his greeting, the man let out a chuckle as he replied back, "Well, well, well. Look who showed up."


    "After four months, we finally meet again¡­"


    "Ylvar."


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 Chapter 1121 Reunion of the Trio

    1121 Reunion of the Trio


    Briefly shooting a knowing nce at the two that greeted him, Valyr soon let out a bit ofughter as he replied back, "Has it really been that long since west met?"


    "In any case, I''m really d to see you two again. Hal. Vera."


    "So are we," said Vera in response, to which Hal nodded in agreement.


    Continuing to grin as he looked at the two of them, Valyr went ahead and looked at the two in greater detail,paring their current appearances to what they looked like thest time they were at the inheritance.


    Unsurprisingly, with how long they''ve been fighting at the frontlines, it went without saying that the two looked a bit worse for wear. Whether it was the expressions on their faces, or the pieces of armor they wore, both were affected by the vicissitudes of time, as well as the harshness of the battlefield itself.


    Nevertheless, underneath theyer of exhaustion seen on both their faces and bodies, Valyr also took note of the slightly mature air they were now giving off. From what he could sense, the two also gave a faint hint ofbat intent.


    ''I guess their experiences at the battlefield have made them primed to fight at any time,'' thought Valyr to himself, inwardly letting out a faint sigh as he could imagine the hardships the two had been through.


    Wanting to slightly alleviate a bit of their burdens, Valyr went ahead and led them to one of the nearby restaurants as he struck up a conversation with the two. "So, how have the two of you been these past few months?"


    "Pretty good, with all things considered," replied Hal with a slightly wry smile. "Then again, there have been a few incidents in the past where you could say we''ve had quite the close call."


    With that, Hal went ahead and exined what he meant by his words to Valyr, with Vera adding a few important bits of information here and there when necessary.


    By the time the three of them arrived at the restaurant, the two were forced to put their story on hold for a bit as Valyr asked them what meals they wanted to eat.


    Hearing that the young man was paying for their meals, it went without saying that the two thanked him for the kind gesture, to which Valyr smiled in response.


    Surprisingly, it was only after their meals arrived did the two continue their story, chuckling as they realized there was nothing that would stop them or interrupt them anymore.


    Seeing the two readily ignore the meals they ordered, Valyr could not help but wryly smile as he continued to listen to their story, only to be engrossed in it not even a few minutester.


    For a while after that, the three felt as if they were in a world of their own, with only the words that left their mouths being the things that connected them together.


    Fortunately, the three eventually realized that an hour had already passed since they arrived at the restaurant, eliciting embarrassed smiles to appear on their faces as they silently ate their meals.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop the three from forming a tacit agreement whilst they were eating their meals, their minds already wandering off to the ce they met up earlier.


    Because of that, it went without saying that the three of them soon finished their respective meals within a couple more minutes, only to beeline straight to the center of the military base after that.


    Whether it was the excitement of being able to see each other again or the curiosity of being able to find out what the other side was doing, the three surprisingly did not run out of things to tell each other.


    In the end, it was only after the sun had passed its zenith did the three finally run out of steam as all of them looked at each other with content smiles on their faces.


    "To think the two of you had gone through all of that while I was still in the inheritance," said Valyr with a wry smile as he looked at the two of them. "And that doesn''t even include the fact that the two of you decided to enter a rtionship because of it."


    "Hehe." Hal let out a chuckle in response, feeling immense pride at the fact that he''d be Vera''s boyfriend.


    On the other hand, Vera''s face slightly turned red because of Valyr''s words. Then again, the faint smile on her face showed him that she was also happy with how things turned out.


    "Enough about us, though," said Hal after some time, grinning as he recalled the things Valyr said to them during their conversation. "Who knew you were the Azure de everyone''s been talking about in the frontlinestely?"


    "Bing a 6-star mercenary in just a week¡­ even the people on our side of the frontlines have been talking about how nice it''d be to have a person like you on their group."


    "Please don''t call me that," replied Valyr with an exasperated sigh, briefly telling the two how his nickname came to be. "It would''ve been better if they stayed with the first nickname they came up for me." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Lightning Rookie?" asked Hal back. "Didn''t that onee about because of how quickly you rose through the ranks?"


    "Exactly." Valyr nodded in agreement. "I''d rather be called that, to be honest."


    "But Azure de as a nickname does fit for you," replied Hal, ignoring the frown that appeared on Valyr''s face. "After all, you''ve already showed us how powerful that dark blue energy is back in the inheritance."


    "Speaking of which, I''m now kind of curious." As these words left his mouth, Hal began to release a bit of hisbat intent into his surroundings, causing some of the passersby to look at him.


    Though, once they realized he was the one giving out that faintbat intent, many of them began to look at him with shock and surprise.


    In response to that, Valyr began to look at him with a raised eyebrow out of curiosity.


    However, before he could even voice his curiosity out, Hal''s next words caused him to push his thoughts to the side as he looked back at the man with a faint smile.


    "You know how nicknames on the battlefielde about. Is your nickname of Azure de just for show? Is death really the conclusion whenever one sees an azure light on the battlefield?"


    "What do you think?" Ignoring thest question Hal asked him, Valyr let out a chuckle as he immediately figured out what Hal wanted him to do. "Wanna head to the battlefield right now to see if my nickname is well-deserved?"


    "Surely you won''t mind, right?" Having his intentions seen through by the young man in front of him, Hal wryly smiled for a bit before giving the young man a slightlypetitive gaze.


    "Why do you think I''d mind?" With their conversation more or less confirming their next steps, the three of them eventually began to make their way to the main mission hall.


    "After all, if you think about it, we''ll be able to find out who among the three of us has grown the most since leaving the inheritance."


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    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1122 Ranks and Nicknames

    1122 Ranks and Nicknames


    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t the Azure de finally showing up on my counter." Seeing Valyr appear at his counter, Aleos had a slight grin on his face as he decided to tease the young man once more. "So, what mission are you gonna take on today?"


    "Is it gonna be a 10-star mercenary mission? Or is it gonna be¡ªurk¡­!"


    Just as the man nned on talking about the mission the young man took yesterday once more, Aleos'' words immediately got stuck in his throat once he noticed the couple standing behind Valyr.


    Being incredibly familiar with who the two of them were, the man was briefly left at a loss for words after seeing them look back at the young man in front of him with a curious expression.


    Unsurprisingly, with how much teasing Valyr had endured from Aleos during the past week, it went without saying that he took the current situation as an opportunity to tease the man in return. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I''ll be taking a 10-star mercenary mission this time around."


    "nning on using it to test the new weapon I forged," he continued as he showed Aleos the mission he took, briefly ncing at both Hal and Vera as he wondered what about the two made Aleos react that way.


    Fortunately, the two did not escte the situation any further after that, allowing the two to go through the procedures more or less smoothly.


    Though, by the time Aleos was finished verifying that all three of them had the ability to take on the 10-star mercenary mission, he told Valyr toe closer for a bit as he asked him in a whisper, "How the hell do you know those two?"


    Understanding that Aleos was purely asking him out of curiosity, Valyr decided to take it as onest opportunity to tease the man a bit more. "Well, let''s just say the three of us closely worked together on something back then."


    Knowing that there really wasn''t much point in discussing the Four Pirs'' Inheritance with the man in front of him, Valyr eventually left the main mission hall with both Hal and Vera as they soon made their way to the barracks.


    Whoosh!


    Deploying their movement speed boosting skills as they ran through the ins, the young man took it as an opportunity to ask the two a few more things they hadn''t discussed earlier. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Now that I think about, the two of you haven''t mentioned your current ranks to me yet," said Valyr, causing both to look back at him with smiles on their faces.


    "Is there really a need to know that?" asked Hal back, only to be left at a slight loss for words after seeing Valyr nod in response to his question.


    Letting out a chuckle after seeing how direct Valyr was, Vera decided to answer the young man''s question in Hal''s stead. "With all of us having gone through that inheritance, I guess it goes without saying that all of us have the strength to clear the hardest missions that are readily avable."


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded in agreement as he immediately figured out what she was trying to say. "Wait¡­ don''t tell me you two are already 10-star mercenaries?"


    "We aren''t." Vera shook his head, prompting Valyr to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    However, that sigh of relief was immediately cut short when he heard the next words that came out of her mouth.


    "We''re already beyond that, actually," continued Vera, beaming an amused smile after seeing Valyr''s reaction. "Since the two of us decided to be military officers, our ranks are actually that of Major Generals."


    "The equivalent to that would be uh¡­ Gold Mercenaries, if I remember correctly."


    "Gold Mercenaries¡­" Recalling the small exnation Aleos gave him back then on the ranks he''d have to go through, Valyr immediately looked at the two in disbelief after realizing how high their ranks were.


    Though, after reminding himself that he was able to be a 6-star mercenary in just a week, the shock he felt eventually died down.


    Nevertheless, that did not diminish the awe he felt, imagining the amount of hardships the two had to go through in order to attain their current ranks.


    At the same time, it made him think about the pair that wanted to invite him to their War Squad. Recalling how they thought their terms would easily entice him to join their War Squad, the young man inwardly scoffed at them as a few other ideas came to mind.


    Knowing that there wasn''t really much point in talking about rank after the bombshell Vera dropped, Valyr deftly moved their conversation away from the topic as he recalled the reaction Aleos gave after seeing the two of them.


    "What''s with that, actually?" Giving them a brief overview of what happened with Aleos back at the main mission hall, Valyr looked at the two with slight curiosity in his eyes.


    Thankfully, Hal''s response more or less confirmed the thoughts he had in mind when that happened. "Well, just like how you have a nickname in the battlefield, the two of us have a nickname as well."


    "If anything, it''s just because we''ve been at the frontlines for far longer than you, which is why more people recognize us," continued the man, to which Valyr nodded in response. "If you came out of the inheritance at the same time as us, perhaps Azure de would''ve been popr as our nicknames."


    "Yeah¡­ I''d rather not imagine that." Valyr shuddered at the thought Hal gave him, causing the two to let out a bit ofughter as the three of them finally arrived at the barracks.


    Once there, Valyr immediately made his way to where Gerald was, showing him the mission he picked out, as well as the people that would be apanying him.


    Unsurprisingly, just like Aleos, Gerald was left at a loss for words when he noticed both Hal and Vera behind Valyr, looking at them as if they were deities meant to be worshiped.


    Because of that, it took a bit longer than usual for their mission to be confirmed by the captain, causing him to directly apologize to the three of them.


    Of course, the three of them did not mind it much at all, considering that the mission they took was just so they could see how much each of them had grown since then.


    However, just as they were about to head to the battlefield, a pair of individuals Valyr was familiar with appeared in front of them to intentionally block their way.


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    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1123 Saint and Saintess

    1123 Saint and Saintess


    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t the Azure de," said Zuo, his voice intentionally loud enough for almost everyone in the barracks to hear. "nning to head out for a mission?"


    Taking note of the faint malicious glint underneath the man''s jade green eyes, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he frowned in response. "Are you seriously going to do this here?"


    "I''ve already told the two of you yesterday. No matter how much you pester me, I''ll reject it every time."


    "Valyr, what''s going on?" Seeing a considerable portion of the people in the barracks gathering around them, a slight frown appeared on Hal''s face as he decided to send Valyr a private message.


    Receiving this message not long after, Valyr went ahead and gave him a brief exnation of the entire situation, allowing the two to finally understand what was happening.


    With their brief conversation happening through the system''s chat feature, both Zuo and You remained oblivious to it as they looked at the young man with malicious smiles on their faces. "Just because you''ve be a 6-star mercenary in a week doesn''t mean the world revolves around you," said You, his expression and tone incredibly haughty. "Keep in mind that I''m a Colonel."


    "On the other hand, Zuo here''s a Major," continued the man, causing a few murmurs to arise from the crowd.


    "And?" Valyr merely raised his eyebrow in response. "What do you want me to do about that?"


    "What we''re trying to tell you is that, you''re either going to ept our offer of joining our War Squad¡­" Zuo replied to Valyr''s question, unleashing a bit of his aura at him. "¡­Or else."


    "Or else¡­ what?" asked Valyr back, deciding to unleash his aura in its entirety as a reminder to the two. "What do you n on doing with me if I don''t ept, huh?"


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr red out his aura, almost everyone in the barracks was left at a loss for words with how overbearing it was. Even Gerald, who''d taken notice of what was going at the side looked at the young man with surprise.


    As for Hal and Vera, the two did not have much of a reaction towards Valyr''s aura on the outside. After all, the two of them already knew what he was capable of back in the inheritance.


    However, that did not stop the two of them from looking at each other with disguised shock, only now realizing that Valyr had grown far more than they thought he did since thest time they saw each other.


    "Hmm?" Just as the situation seemed likely to escte even further, You eventually noticed the couple standing behind Valyr.


    Feeling as if he''d seen the two somewhere before, it did not take long for him to realize who they were, causing him to look like as if he''d seen a ghost all of a sudden. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hey, Major¡­" whispered You in Zuo''s ear as thetter still looked at Valyr with great ferocity. "I''d suggest you shift your attention to the two people behind Ylvar."


    "Hmm?" Knowing that his brother wouldn''t say things without reason, Zuo went ahead and did as told, only to react the same way You did the moment he realized who they were.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Of course, with how both Zuo and You acknowledged the presence of the two behind the young man, it went without saying that the crowd also began to take notice of both Hal and Vera.


    With that, gasps of shock and surprise soon erupted throughout the crowd as they began to mention the nicknames the two had earned during their time in the battlefield.


    "Isn''t that the Northern War Saint?"


    "Yeah¡­ yeah! That is the Northern War Saint! Wait¡­ then the girl beside him is¡­?"


    "Who else could it be? Obviously, that''s the Benevolent Saintess!"


    "Was she always called the Benevolent Saintess? Pretty sure she used to be called the Northern Arcane Saintess sometime ago."


    "That used to be the case¡­ but then she healed ten squads and empowered their stats to sessfully fend off against an onught of orcs!"


    "That''s¡­ uh¡­ doesn''t Puppeteer of the North sound better for something like that?"


    "Northern War Saint¡­ Benevolent Saintess¡­" Naturally, Valyr heard all of the conversations that were going on around him.


    Hearing the nicknames the two had gotten for themselves while at the battlefield, the young man could not help but inwardly let out a sigh as he thought to himself, ''When would I get a nickname like that?''


    "Er¡­ Major Shou, was it?" Whilst the crowd was still discussing about their appearance in their barracks, Hal decided to appear beside Valyr as he looked at the pair with a slight smile. "Mind if you two moved aside for us?"


    "After all, neither of us would want to see what will happen if you refuse, right?" asked the man to the two, his words carrying a domineering undertone.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing as the two intentionally deliberated on giving him a reply, Hal went ahead and red out his aura in its entirety in response, its presence not losing out to the aura Valyr was letting out.


    Because of that, the two were forced to move to the side after having two overbearing auras press down on their bodies.


    Though, it did not take long for them to realize that if they decided to stay where they were any longer, perhaps a third aura of the same type would have pressed down on them as well.


    With a hint of fear in their eyes, Zuo and You watched the three made their way to the battlefield as the crowd seemingly fawned over all of them.


    However, that fear immediately disappeared once the three left the barracks for good as the two decided to return to the military base after that.


    Ignoring the gazes they were receiving, as well as the words being spoken about them, Zuo looked at You beside him before asking, "At this point, we have to make a move, right?"


    "But of course." You nodded in agreement, his expression turning grim as he recalled what happened earlier. "Though it would be great to have him join our War Squad, I''m starting to not care whether or not he joins in the end."


    Gritting his teeth as anger gradually built up inside him, the man eventually let out a slight exhale as he came to a decision. "You know what? I''ve stopped thinking that he''ll join our War Squad. I don''t even care if he does join it anymore."


    "However, what I do care about is all the humiliation we''ve received because of him."


    "What you mean by that is¡­?" Hearing those words, it did not take long for Zuo to understand what was going on, a slight glint appearing in his eyes.


    "Naturally, he''ll pay the price for the humiliation he''s given us," said You with conviction. "I''ll make sure he pays for it in the end."


    "Even if it costs him his life."


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1124 Three Months in the Battlefield

    1124 Three Months in the Battlefield


    "So, what mission did you grab from the mission hall exactly?"


    Though the battlefield was only a couple of minutes away from the barracks, Valyr and the others decided to take a slight detour on their way there, each of them still having a lot of things to ask each other.


    "All in all, it''s a mission with a difficulty that''s right up our alley," said Valyr in response, letting out a sigh soon after as he looked at the two as if he''d been wronged. "But let''s not talk about that for the meantime."


    "Why didn''t you tell me the two of you had those kind of nicknames? What did you two even do to get those in the first ce?"


    Watching Valyr''s expression drastically change in less than an instant, it took both Hal and Vera almost the entirety of their willpower to not burst out intoughter there and then.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Hal let out a faint exhale before looking back at Valyr with a slight smile. "Well, just like the nickname you got, we''ve done feats that got us those nicknames."


    "In my case, I was eventually given the nickname War Saint since, as we all know, my expertise isn''t just in fighting," said the man, prompting the two to nod in response. "Whether it was in strategy, logistics, or any other area that brought an advantage of the battlefield, I was probably helping out in that area." Hal slightly shrugged his shoulders after that. "As for the Northern part, that just came about since I''m usually at the north defensive line."


    Seeing Valyr look at her the moment Hal was done exining the origins of his nickname, Vera let out a slight wry chuckle before taking in a deep breath of her own. "Unlike Hal, I used to have a different nickname before being called the Benevolent Saintess."


    "I don''t know if you''ve been listening to the crowd earlier, but someone mentioned something along the lines of the Northern Arcane Saintess." Hearing the nickname Vera mentioned, Valyr went silent for a bit before nodding as he recalled hearing that.


    With that, Vera continued with her exnation. "The Northern part is self-exnatory. On the other hand, the Arcane Saintess part came about because of how powerful my magic is."


    "I wouldn''t say I''m the greatest when ites to fighting one on one with magic, but in terms of supporting others from the rear lines with magic¡­ I''m sure you know very well how effective I am in that regard."


    Valyr nodded in agreement, knowing how flexible Mystic Energy was in that department. "How about the Benevolent Saintess one? Did you just heal a lot of people to get that?"


    "I did heal a lot of the injured back in our barracks as a way to improve my control over Mystic Energy," replied Vera with a slightly wry smile. "As Master''s new disciple, I''m sure you know how great Mystic Energy is."


    "However¡­ let''s just say that I might have gone a bit too far with it that caused me to earn that nickname."


    Though Valyr more or less understood what Vera was trying to say at first, the young man did not have even a single clue as to what she meant by her final statement.


    Fortunately, with a bit of imagination and creative thinking, it did not take much for him toe up with a few usible scenarios as to why she said that, causing him to slightly shudder in response.


    ''All the more reason to not underestimate the potential of Mystic Energy,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    "Wait¡­ Master''s new disciple?" Listening to the conversation between Valyr and Vera, there was a part in Vera''s words that caught Hal''s attention.


    Pondering over it for a bit, he eventually realized what she meant by that, causing him to look at Valyr with a surprised expression. "Wait¡­ if I''m understanding this correctly, you''ve be the disciple of the Imperial Alchemist?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Yep."


    Whoosh!


    Nodding with a slight smile, Valyr went ahead and conjured a wisp of bright white Mystic Energy for the two to see, with Vera staring at it as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.


    As for Hal, he was left at aplete loss for words at the man''s answer. In fact, it was only after they were only a couple hundred meters away from the battlefield did he finally regain his bearings.


    "Not only are you a Zeihardt, but you''re also a disciple of the Imperial Alchemist that wields both Mystic Energy and that terrifying dark blue energy." Muttering to himself as he went through every single thing he thought that made Valyr stand out, Hal soon let out a sigh of exasperation.


    "At times like these, it makes me wonder whether the three months I''ve spent in the battlefield has truly been worth it."


    "Honestly, I wouldn''t be surprised if it was," said Valyr with a slight chuckle, steering Hal''s thoughts away from the words thetter spoke just earlier. "In any case, the mission I took needs us to kill 20 orcs at the middle of Rank 5, as well as 3 orc leaders at the peak of Rank 5."


    "¡­Sounds like you chose the hardest mission you could get for a 10-star mercenary," said Vera after some thought, to which Hal nodded in agreement.


    "Surely a mission like this is a piece of cake for Gold Mercenaries like you two, no?" replied Valyr with a slight grin, prompting the three to stop in their tracks as they talked about their next steps.


    "Just to remind you two, we''re taking this mission just to see who among us has grown the most since leaving the inheritance," said the young man to the two, to which the two nodded back in response. "With that in mind¡­ kill all of the necessary orcs then leave the orc leaders as a gauge for our actual growth?"


    "Sounds good to me," answered Hal after giving it some thought, to which Vera voiced out that she had noints with it either.


    With the three having a rough idea of what they needed to do after that, the three went ahead and deployed their movement speed boosting skills, easily clearing the gap that separated them from the battlefield.


    Then, relying on their higher stats, they deftly moved through the battlefield like a slippery snake, rendering orcs lifeless one by one as they cut a small part of their bodies as proof of their kills.


    With the three of them more or less honed inbat thanks to both the inheritance and the battlefield, it only took less than 20 minutes for the three toplete the first objective of the mission.


    With both humans and orcs looking at the trio in fear as they returned to the battlefield, Hal and Vera both decided to give the parts they cut off from the orcs to Valyr for the meantime.


    Stuffing all of the orc parts they cut off in his pockets, the young man then looked at the two with an expectant smile as he asked, "So, who among the three of us is gonna go first?"


    Whoosh!


    "I''ll go first." Unsurprisingly, the one considered to be Valyr''s rival back then inbat power was the first to make the move, faintly giving off a killing intent as his expression turned cold.


    "Best of luck," said Valyr in response as both him and Vera decided to watch Hal fight against a peak Rank 5 orc leader from afar.


    This way, he''d clearly be able to find out what three months in the battlefield gave to the man named Vylhalteinn.


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1125 Sword and Magic

    1125 Sword and Magic


    "Hmph!"


    After taking the initiative to be the first among them to fight against an orc leader, Hal went ahead and applied his usual string of stat-boosting skills on himself before delving deep into the battlefield once more.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, the man moved at a speed and manner that was iparable to before, making it seem as if he were an artistic swimmer following the current of water.


    Nevertheless, that kind of image immediately disappeared as the orcs along his path sensed the amount of power he held, knowing how much trouble he''d bring if he were to attack the more important orcs.


    With that, a considerable portion of the orcs along his path decided to abandon their current fights as they focused all of their thoughts on obstructing the man before them.


    Yet, before those orcs could even think ofnding a hit on him¡­


    Schwing!


    Without hesitation, Hal unsheathed the de that had apanied him throughout the inheritance and the battlefield.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Then, putting all of his strength behind it, he began to slice through the orcs obstructing him, all of his attacks aiming for their vital parts.


    "Graaagh!!!"


    "Ghwek¡­!"


    To no surprise, many of the orcs that tried to obstruct him fell to the ground from just a single attack of his.


    However, rather than feel immense fear from the attack that ended theirrades'' lives, the orcs that lived through his first attack decided to double down and strike once more, their brush with death giving them greater realization that the man before them was no simple human.


    Swoosh!


    Unfortunately, just like the orcs that came before them, Hal took care of them as if he were cutting through butter, carving out a path that eventually put him in front of an orc leader that met the mission''s criteria.


    "Damn." Watching Hal carve out a path on the battlefield from afar, it took a while for Valyr to find the right words to say. "I guess him being called the War Saint definitely isn''t unfounded." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Wait till you see him fight against the orc leader," said Vera in response, causing the young man to be curious as he focused his gaze on Hal once more.


    "Grhgy''z! Grmssh grgeeegh!!!" Seeing how a great portion of the orcs making up his squad had fallen victim to the de of the man in front of him, it went without saying that the orc leader was incredibly furious when Hal appeared before him.


    Unfortunately for the orc leader, the man did not care what it felt, considering the number of human lives that had fallen victim to its strength.


    Being reminded of the sacrifices the human race had done to get to its current point, Hal tightly gripped onto the hilt of his de as he watched the orc leader charge at him.


    "[Intent of the Samsara de]."


    Whoosh!


    Channeling all of his strength into one attack, Hal went ahead and infused his de with the energy of his Intent, causing the de''s edge to turn a faint murky gray.


    Then, watching the orc leader swing down its massive war hammer at his head, Hal let out a slight exhale before swerving to the orc leader''s side.


    "[de of Six Paths]."


    "[Asura Tearing the Skies]!"


    Swoosh!


    Not wanting to miss the opening he''d given himself, Hal went ahead and struck at the side of the orc leader''s torso, immediately feeling his de go through a set of sturdy bones.


    Though, after putting a bit more pressure onto the hilt, the de eventually cut through its target in its entirety, bisecting the orc leader''s body before it even realized what was going on.


    Thud. Thud.


    As the two halves of the orc leader''s body fell to the ground, the surroundings around Hal temporarily fell into a lull as both orcs and humans looked at the man with incredulity.


    Briefly ncing at the people that were fighting against the orcs with him, Hal faintly nodded at them before cutting off a part from the orc leader, only to return to where both Valyr and Vera were soon after.


    Swoosh!


    Watching the humans fight with even greater ferocity after Hal''s domineering method of fighting, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as he looked at the man that returned.


    Considering the number of orcs he''d killed along the way, it went without saying that a great portion of Hal''s body was covered in blood.


    Then again, none of it came from his own body.


    "I suppose I''ll be going next, then?" With Hal tossing the part he''d cut off to Valyr, Vera looked at Valyr for a bit before asking him which among them would go first.


    "Go for it." Pocketing the part into his pocket, Valyr shed a bright smile at Vera, curious to see how much the young woman from before had grown after the inheritance.


    Swoosh!


    With Valyr giving her the go signal she needed, Vera went ahead and empowered herself with a number of stat-boosting skills that took the greater part of a minute to activate.


    Then, just as the young man thought she was done empowering herself, she went ahead and activated spells that did the same thing, only to follow it up with Mystic Energy that took on a simr effect after that.


    In the end, it took a few minutes for Vera to fully prepare herself, immediately moving through the battlefield at a high speed the moment she was ready.


    Whoosh!


    With a great number of skills and spells bolstering her stats, it went without saying that she moved through the various fights at a level of speed and finesse that surpassed Hal.


    With the aid of her greater speed, it did not take long for her to find an orc leader that met the mission criteria.


    However, unlike the overbearing approach Hal took while fighting the orc leader he targeted earlier, Vera took on an approach that could be said to be more¡­ insidious.


    Swoosh!


    Releasing arge amount of Mystic Energy into the surroundings, Vera used it to create a field around her that would allow her to fight the orc leader unobstructed.


    Utilizing the flexibility of Mystic Energy to its fullest, she went ahead and bound all of the orcs within the vicinity, as well as reduced theirbat strength with the help of the energy itself.


    Naturally, this included the orc leader, who began to look at Vera with rage the moment it realized she was the one behind the abrupt change in their current situation.


    Though, before it could even voice out its grievances at the young woman in front of it¡­


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Vera began to pelt the orc leader''s face with a barrage of magic bolts.

 Chapter 1126 Performance Test

    1126 Performance Test


    "¡­" As he watched Vera take care of the orc leader from afar, the young man was left at aplete loss for words. After all, never in his wildest dreams did he expect her to take such an approach in fighting the orc leader.


    Sucking in a breath of cold air as he noticed both humans and orcs looking at Vera in fear because of her actions, Valyr eventually turned his head to look at Hal, who watched everything unfold with a calm expression on his face.


    "Say, Hal," said the young man as he looked at him. "Was Vera''s fighting style like this back in the inheritance?"


    "In a way," replied Hal after a bit of thought. "She didn''t have that much control over Mystic Energy back then, so she relied mostly on the quantity of attacks she sent out."


    Slightly shuddering as he imagined the young woman pelt all of her foes to death with a barrage of magic bolts, the young man inwardly took in a deep breath as he asked Hal another question. "Do you know why she decided to take that approach in fighting? And have you asked her if she ever had ns to change it?"


    "Well, as far as I know, she chose that approach because it makes use of her greatest advantage," Hal said to Valyr after a bit of pondering. "Of course, with her being an alchemist, that would be her control over energy."


    "As for your second question, I already asked her about it back then, telling her that it kind of didn''t suit her personality." Hearing those words, Valyr nodded in agreement.


    After all, even before she started fighting the orc leader, though he knew she''d use magic to fight the orc leader, he thought she would use a series of magic spells that dealt a great amount of damage on their own.


    "What did she say?" asked Valyr in response to Hal''s words, looking at thetter with a hint of expectation.


    Though, after hearing the words that came out of the man''s mouth, that expectation turned into a wry chuckle at the end.


    "It was a long-winded exnation about efficiency and whatnot," Hal told Valyr. "But if I were to sum up, it''s basically¡­"


    "If it ain''t broke, then don''t fix it."


    "¡­"


    Trying his best to move on from the brief conversation he had with Hal, Valyr took in a few deep breaths as he returned his attention to the fight Vera was having.


    Unsurprisingly, with her empowered stats and the incessant number of magic bolts she was hurling, it did not take long for the orc leader to sumb to the umted damage.


    Letting out a final groan filled with anger and remorse, the orc leader''s body soon fell to the ground with a thud, its head a mere husk of what it looked just minutes before.


    As the orcs in her vicinity looked at the final state of the orc leader in immense fear, the humans surrounding Vera instead looked at her with slight confusion.


    After all, from what they could recall, she was called the Benevolent Saintess, no?


    Oblivious to what was going on in other people''s minds, Vera swiftly cut off a part from the orc leader she killed before utilizing the same strategy of pelting magic bolts on the orcs she trapped within her field of Mystic Energy.


    With that, she briefly alleviated the burdens that many of the groups were facing around each other, allowing them to gain a second wind as they fought against the orcs with even greater fervor.


    Deftly swerving through all of the fights she came across along the way, it did not take long for Vera to return in front of the two, beaming a smile at the two of them as she tossed the part she cut off to Valyr.


    "With the two of us having done our parts, it''s now your turn." As Valyr pocketed the orc leader part Vera cut off, Hal said something to him.


    "I know." Faintly sighing in response, the young man went ahead and did a few basicbat movements to make sure the parts he pocketed wouldn''t fall over all of a sudden.


    Then, taking in a deep breath, he gave the two a confident smile as he brought out the magic staff he''d just forged out of his spatial bracelet.


    Swoosh!


    Seeing as Valyr brought out a new weapon all of a sudden, both Hal and Vera did not hesitate to use their identification skills on it, wanting to see what the silver-gray staff he brought out was capable of.


    Unsurprisingly, the performance of the staff brought the two of them at a loss for words, causing them to recall thest weapon Valyr brought out to them to try back at the inheritance.


    ncing at each other for a bit after that, the young man took it as an opportunity to find the orc leader that wouldplete the mission they took, activating [Limit Break: Second Verse] with his Prime Azure Energy.


    Whoosh!


    After that, he went ahead and activated [Refined Offense Aura] before proceeding to empower one of his Intents through the Truth Weaver Scripture.


    Feeling like he''d done the minimum level of preparation for the fight he''d be undertaking, Valyr inwardly nodded as he pushed his body to the limit, swerving through the battlefield at a speed that surprisingly matched what Vera was able to aplish.


    Swoosh!


    Sparing a nce at all of the fights he''d pass by along the way, the young man went ahead and shot out an energy bolt or two at some of the groups that were in a more dire situation, giving them the leeway they needed to fight back.


    Nevertheless, that did not distract him from his main objective, which was to find an orc leader that met the mission criteria.


    "¡­Found one." Thankfully, it only took a couple more minutes of running through the battlefield for him to eventually find one that seemed to fit the criteria he had in mind.


    "Grhge''x¡­ grugar¡­ grmshhwxh!" Feeling a sense of danger from the young man that stood before it, the orc leader roared out with all of his strength, causing many of the orcs within their vicinity to abandon what they were doing.


    Then, without hesitation, they began to charge towards the young man, seemingly intent onnding a hit at the cost of their lives.


    "Hmm¡­" Keeping an eye on all of the orcs aiming to strike him down, Valyr briefly nced at the orc leader before releasing arge amount of blue-white energy into the surroundings.


    "I suppose I could learn a thing or two from Vera."


    Swoosh!


    Making use of the braid of mana and Mystic Energy to its fullest, the young man went ahead and channeled his thoughts into it, immediately binding all of the orcs within a certain radius in ce.


    Of course, that also included the orc leader, who immediately looked back at Valyr with surprise as it did not expect the sudden reversal. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Knowing that he could only bind so much orcs in ce for so long, Valyr hastily channeled Prime Azure Energy into the staff, causing the dark blue crystal at the top to give off a bright azure glow.


    "Everyone! Get away from me as quickly as possible!" Choosing to cast the second innate skill his new magic staff contained, the young man did not hesitate to warn all of the people in the vicinity.


    Though, it was only when an azure meteor appeared in the sky all of a sudden did they begin to heed his words, all of them briefly ncing at both the meteor and him in great fear as they ran for their lives.


    "[Prime Azure Heavenfall]!"


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    Infusing half of the maximum amount of Prime Azure Energy the skill could handle, an azure meteor around 50 meters in radius soon fell on the battlefield, with the orc leader standing at the center of it all.


    Considering the young man''s stats at that moment, it went without saying that the orc leader fell victim to the attack the very moment itnded, only for it to all go south once the meteor made contact with the ground.


    Boom!


    With his pupils shrinking in fear as he watched all of the orcs he bound with Mystic Energy earlier sumb to the meteor''s might, Valyr hastily used [sh of the Azure Dragon] to move away from its area of effect¡­


    Only to realize that he was still within its range before he could even make full use of the skill''s effect.


    "¡­Well shit."


    Boom!


    (1/2) Reward for reaching GT goal for August.


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1127 Azure Blade?

    1127 Azure de?


    In less than a blink of an eye, arge mass of earth was sent flying into the air by the meteor, causing many of the groups that weren''t initially affected by the attack to immediately abandon theirrades as they ran for their lives.


    Naturally, many of the orcs they were fighting against also had the same thoughts as them, not wanting to be affected by the aftermath of the attack Valyr unleashed.


    However, unlike the humans, some of the orcs made use of the opportunity caused by the meteor tond a couple of attacks on some of the humans that were near them.


    Unfortunately for them, before they could even swing their weapons against the vital parts of their foes, Valyr was already one step ahead of them.


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a multiyered barrier around him, the young man assured his safety amidst the aftermath of the meteor as he sent out bolts of Prime Azure Energy towards the orcs who wanted to take advantage of the situation.


    At the same time, he pushed his control over the braid of mana and Mystic Energy even further, expanding its range to pin more orcs to their ces.


    "Grghh¡­ grwxhsaah!" Immediately realizing that their efforts to run away from the aftermath was render futile by the young man that started it all, many of the orcs that fell victim to Valyr''s field began to throw profanities at him.


    Sadly for them, Valyr turned a deaf ear to all of these profanities due to thenguage barrier, instead focusing his attention on all of the humans that had yet to escape from the range of the meteor''s aftermath.


    Bang!


    Thankfully, by the time therge mass of earth had fallen to the ground once more, almost every human still within the range of the aftermath more or less had the capabilities to defend themselves.


    As for the orcs that were pinned in ce, a small portion of them were also able to survive the aftermath, relying on a mix of their stats and their defensive skills in order to do so.


    However, for the vast majority of the orcs affected by Valyr''s field, they had ultimately sumbed to the might of the aftermath, just like how the orc leader had sumbed to the might of the meteor.


    "Speaking of the orc leader¡­" After making sure that it was safe to move once more, the young man swiftly returned to the epicenter of the attack, hoping that there was still a part or two from the orc leader that remained intact.


    Though, after arriving where the orc leader previously stood, Valyr immediately let outughter filled with self-ridicule as he was greeted by the sight of arge crater covered in orc blood.


    22:40


    "¡­Man." Seeing as the bodies of the orcs that sumbed to the meteor had turned into one massive field of blood and chunks, Valyr let out a low sigh as he faintly shook his head.


    "Should''ve gone with the smallest size if I knew it was this overbearing."


    Whoosh!


    With none of the orc leader''s body remaining intact, the young man immediately set his sights on another part of the battlefield, swiftly crossing the distance in just a couple of minutes.


    Considering how massive Valyr''s attack was, it went without saying that all of the orcs and humans had their eyes on him, with almost all of them looking at immense fear.


    After all, the attack he unleashed earlier had already gone beyond the realm of what was considered possible for humans.


    If anything, thebat power he unleashed was already at the level that only Legends could achieve.


    With that, the orcs had surprisinglye to a decision to sacrifice one of their own for the benefit of many, pushing an orc leader that had epted its fate towards the young man.


    "Grmm¡­ gr-shh¡­" Listening to the faint words that came out of the orc leader that appeared in front of him, Valyr sensed the underlying tone beneath its words as he took a brief look at his surroundings.


    Noticing the expressions and bodynguage of most of the orcs surrounding him at that moment, it did not take long for him to understand what was going on, causing him to let out yet another sigh as he nodded in response.


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, he sent a bolt of Prime Azure Energy towards the orc leader''s head, which thetter unexpectedly met with a content smile as it slowly closed its eyes.


    Bang!


    Staring at the orc leader that did not hesitate to sacrifice its own life for the sake of itsrades, Valyr swiftly cut off the part he needed for the mission before giving a bow of respect to it.


    Then, amidst the silence surrounding both him and the decapitated orc leader, Valyr eventually turned around and made his way out of the battlefield, causing all of the people that witnessed his strength to fight with greater fervor.


    "¡­" Arriving in front of both Hal and Vera a few minutester, the young man adorned a solemn expression as he briefly thought back to the orc leader that showed him a glimpse of the battlefield''s selflessness.


    Letting out a low sigh after that, he then pushed all of his thoughts to the side as he looked at the two with a faint smile. "Now that you''ve seen me fight against an orc leader¡­ who among the three of us has grown the most since leaving the inheritance?"


    Hearing the question that left Valyr''s mouth, both Hal and Vera looked at each other for a bit before looking back at the young man with a wry smile.


    "To be honest, I thought it was going to be Vera at first," said Hal. "After all, if youpare her strength now to back then, she wouldn''t have the means to fight against a peak Rank 5 orc on her own, much less hold down a lot more Rank 5 orcs after that." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "But after seeing you fight against that orc leader¡­" At those words, Hal let out a resigned sigh. "How would we evenpare to that?"


    As Valyr bitterly smiled at Hal''s words, Vera said something to him that piqued his interest. "With what you showed in the battlefield just now, I''m sure the people wille up with a new nickname for you sooner orter."


    "Oh, definitely." Hal nodded in agreement as the three of them decided to head back to the barracks. "After all, in what way would that be called an Azure de?"


    "If you were to ask me, that''s a thing someone probably called Azure Catastrophe would do!"


    "Azure Catastrophe¡­" murmured Valyr to himself, only for his eyes to glisten with excitement soon after.


    "Huh. That actually doesn''t sound half bad."


    (2/2) Reward for reaching GT goal for July.


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1128 Recognized by the Battlefield

    1128 Recognized by the Battlefield


    By the time Valyr and the others returned to the barracks, they were immediately greeted by a crowd of people heading up to them with curiosity written all over their faces.


    However, once they recognized the identities of the trio in front of them, a great portion of them immediately distanced themselves out of respect for the feats the three achieved.


    Nevertheless, a few stubborn individuals still remained amongst the crowd, though some of them looked to havee forward in front of the three for a reason.


    "What''s going on?" Briefly ncing at the crowd that previously surrounded them, Valyr eventually shifted his gaze towards Gerald, who had appeared before them with a purpose in mind.


    "We''re asking those that just came back from the battlefield with regards to what happened earlier," said Gerald in response, prompting the trio to look at each other for a bit, only for Hal and Vera to look at the young man with a pair of knowing smiles.


    "By what happened earlier, do you mean¡­?" Ignoring the smiles they were giving him, Valyr acted oblivious as he asked in a way that made it seem like he only realized what Gerald meant there and then.


    Of course, not knowing that the culprit of what happened in the battlefield earlier was standing right in front of them, Gerald responded in a way that gave the trio more insight on what others saw from afar.


    "A dark blue meteor appeared above the battlefield all of a sudden," exined Gerald to the young man, causing both Hal and Vera to move a bit closer in curiosity.


    "Though I couldn''t see that much from here, I did notice that it was mostly our people that were able to escape from the aftermath of that attack."


    "With that, it doesn''t really take that much time to figure out the rest," said the man as he nced at the three. "If the three of you perhaps know who did it, the entire barracks sends them their regards."


    At those words, many among the dispersed crowd nodded in agreement, mustering up the courage to voice out how the person thatunched the azure meteor earlier had now be someone thatmanded their entire respect.


    Surprisingly, both Hal and Vera began to chuckle in response to those words, causing Gerald and the crowd to look at the two in slight confusion.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for them to notice the cause of theirughter as Valyr''s face began to turn a faint shade of red the more the crowd talked about what happened in the battlefield earlier.


    Feeling that the young man''s reaction was slightly suspicious, Gerald stared at Valyr for a bit more, only for his eyes to widen in shock as realization set in. "Wait a minute¡­ are you telling me¡­"


    Looking at both Hal and Vera, he eventually returned his gaze towards Valyr as he asked him, "You''re the one behind the azure meteor?"


    As that question left Gerald''s mouth, the entire crowd immediately went silent, all of them gazing at the young man with both expectation and curiosity written all over their faces. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    In the end, Valyr let out a long sigh as he raised his staff upward before conjuring a far smaller version of the azure meteor they saw on the battlefield before.


    "[Prime Azure Heavenfall]!"


    Whoosh!


    Though the meteor''s size was nowhere near the size of the meteor that appeared earlier, the might contained within the meteor still remained, causing many among the crowd to look at Valyr with their mouths agape as they watched him fling the meteor to who knows where.


    Lowering his staff after that, Valyr let out a slight exhale as he looked at the crowd that had turned silent.


    Then again, just as he was about to ask Hal and Vera behind him on what they should do next, the crowd soon erupted out into cheer for the young man, their gazes at him all filled with awe and admiration.


    As for Gerald, the sight of Valyr conjuring the small meteor briefly put him at a slight loss for words. However, after he regained his bearings, he immediately looked at the young man with both surprise and glee.


    ''Not only has he be a 6-star mercenary within a week, he''s also wiped out a great portion of our enemies on the battlefield with just a single move.'' Recalling the first time he interacted with the young man, Gerald let out a faint chuckle amidst the excitement as a thought came to mind.


    Though, as he mulled over it, a slight frown appeared on his face. ''Wait¡­ if I remember correctly, he took a 10-star mercenary mission before heading to the battlefield¡­''


    Thankfully, it did not take long for him to connect the dots, causing his smile from before to return. ''Heh. Guess my earlier words were wrong, then.''


    ''He didn''t just be a 6-star mercenary in a week¡­''


    ''He became a 7-star mercenary.''


    ¡­


    By the time the excitement brought about by Valyr''s feat finally died down, the trio were eventually able to verify thepletion of their mission through Gerald, who was left at a slight loss for words after seeing the parts Valyr brought out as proof.


    Nevertheless, the parts he brought out were more than enough to ssify their mission asplete, allowing the young man to finally be promoted to the rank of 7-star mercenary.


    After a round of congrattions from Gerald and some of the people that remained from the crowd, the trio eventually made their way back to the military base, faintly chuckling as they talked about what they did at the battlefield.


    However, what truly brought the three of themughter on their way back was their discussion of Valyr''s new nickname thanks to the incident, causing him to recall some of the nicknames the crowd had thrown out at random earlier.


    "I swear¡­ if those people decide that my new nickname is Lord of Death and Despair¡­" said Valyr to the two, which only made the twough even harder than before.


    "Well, it''s not like all of their suggestions are that bad." Taking a while to catch his breath, Hal eventually responded to Valyr''s words. "In fact, there was someone in the crowd who suggested that you should be called the Saint of Ruination."


    "Honestly, witnessing how much destruction you brought to the battlefield with that attack, that nickname really isn''t that far off."


    After talking about Valyr''s possible future nickname for a bit more, the three decided to shift the topic to something else.


    With that, Valyr decided to bring up the two proposals he pitched that were epted back at the recent War Forge Assembly, immediately piquing both Hal and Vera''s interest.


    Because of that, it took slightly longer than usual for the trio to arrive at the military base, taking a couple of detours along the way to extend the time Valyr had to talk about the topic.


    Nevertheless, even if they took slightly longer to arrive at the base, neither Hal nor Vera had anyints about it.


    If anything, they continued to look at Valyr with great excitement and anticipation.


    (1/2) Guessing we reached the GT goal for August, so here''s the reward for that.


    Enjoy the extra releases!


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1129 A New Nickname

    1129 A New Nickname


    "So, what you''re saying is that it''s only a matter of time before we finally get to see your arquebus in action on the battlefield?" Recalling everything Valyr told them earlier as they arrived at the center of the military base, both Hal and Vera continued to look at him with excitement.


    "Speaking of which, why didn''t you bring out your arquebus earlier?"


    "Well, it still takes a while to get it ready for firing, even if wepare it to the arquebus you''ve distributed across the battlefield so far," replied Valyr to Hal''s question with a slight shrug, only to then look at them with a slight knowing smile. "Aside from that, would the two of you have been thoroughly convinced of your conclusion from earlier if I had used the arquebus?"


    Knowing that Valyr was referring to their conclusion of who among them grew the most since leaving the inheritance, the two unsurprisingly shook their heads in response.


    Nodding back at them, Valyr then told them what they truly wanted to know. "In any case, if things turn out smoothly the next few days, the first few sets of armor would make their debut on the battlefield the following week."


    "Then again, considering your positions, I''d hazard a guess that the two of you don''t even care about such armor." The young man let out a bit ofughter at the thought. "But let me remind you."


    "Even if the armor was at a higher level, you could still equip it without issue. That''s the difference."


    Though the two seemed slightly confused as to what Valyr meant by that, the young man did not delve into the topic any further, having only told the two earlier that the armor''s performance was superbpared to the other types of armor readily avable.


    After all, if one were topare it to the other item the young man had gotten the green light on, it undoubtedly paled inparison.


    "As for the arquebus, I''d still have to teach a group of cksmiths on how to forge a couple of the more important parts that make up the weapon," continued the young man, which unsurprisingly caught the pair''s interest.


    "For that, I''d say that the earliest it might possiblye would be two weeks. But if you want an actually good arquebus, then wait until a month from now."


    "Got it." Having already experienced the power of the arquebus for themselves back at the inheritance, it went without saying that the twomitted Valyr''s words to memory, making a note to themselves to only check out the arquebus at that time.


    "So¡­ what now?"


    "To be honest, I don''t know either." Hearing Vera''s question, Valyr went silent for a bit before shrugging his shoulders. "I think we''ve done everything we could for now, honestly."


    ncing at the sky after that, the young man soon noticed that there was still a few hours before sunset.


    Wondering if there was anything else they could do to pass the time, Valyr''s gaze eventually fell onto a certain section of road, causing him to recall what he went through yesterday.


    Remembering how the pair obstructed the three of them just earlier after that, a thought soon surfaced in the young man''s mind, causing his expression to be serious. "Say, Hal. Vera."


    "Wanna create a War Squad with me?"


    "Hmm?" Turning to look at him, both Hal and Vera became silent in response as they faintly wondered where he got that idea from.


    Fortunately, with a bit of mulling over what happened earlier, it did not take long for them to understand why.


    "Is this because of the uing Elite War Squad Tournament?" asked Hal in response. "Or is this about the pair that pestered you earlier?"


    "More of thetter, really," Valyr told them the truth. "I''m pretty sure the two of you also noticed how they acted. It seems like they''ll stop at nothing to get me to join their War Squad."


    "They do seem like those kind of people." Hal nodded in agreement, only to give Valyr an apologetic smile soon after. "Unfortunately, we''ll have to decline your offer."


    Though Valyr was slightly surprised by his response, it wasn''t as if he wasn''t expecting it either. "I understand. I dide up with the idea on a whim, anyway."


    "It''s not that." Hal shook his head in response, ncing at Vera for a bit. "It''s just that¡­"


    "We already have a War Squad of our own." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "¡­Oh." Realizing that he''d been a bit hasty in his thought process, the young man went silent as the three of them stared at each other for a bit.


    Feeling the atmosphere around them gradually bing awkward, Valyr decided to break the ice as a simr thought eventually came to mind. "Well, since it seems like I''m not meant to create a War Squad¡­"


    "Mind if I join your War Squad instead?"


    "But of course." More or less expecting the current sequence of events after their refusal, Hal and Vera immediately showed their agreement to the idea, looking at Valyr with bright smiles on their faces.


    "Wee to the Heavenbreaker War Squad¡­ Lord of Death and Despair. Pfft."


    "Why you little¡­!"


    ¡­


    After formalizing Valyr''s joining into their War Squad, both Hal and Vera eventually decided to part ways with the young man, telling them that they still had returned to their own battlefield.


    With that, the three of them made promises to meet up every once in a while for the sake of their War Squad before truly parting ways, which seemingly lit a me of motivation deep within the young man.


    After getting some proper rest, Valyr opted to not focus on the battlefield for the meantime, instead heading to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall after hearing that Elder Alvin had brought a group of talented cksmiths over.


    Keeping in mind that this was one of the terms both sides had agreed to, the young man went ahead and taught them everything they needed to know in order to forge the arquebus.


    Naturally, that included the necessary advancements needed to forge the arquebus in the first ce, causing many of the cksmiths to praise the name Ylvar just like many have done so before.


    Then, after feeling like he''d done everything he could to prepare the cksmiths for the mass production of his arquebus, he returned to the battlefield with greater ferocity.


    Carrying out mission after mission, Valyr''s previous nickname of Azure de gradually faded in the minds of people as he showed his utter dominance in the battlefield.


    Instead, a new nickname gradually began to brew in the minds of people, eventually culminating into something that even the young man could not help but admire.


    The Warlord of the East.


    (2/2) Guessing we reached the GT goal for August, so here''s the reward for that.


    Enjoy the extra releases!


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1130 Another Week

    1130 Another Week


    "Well then. That was more productive than I thought it would be."


    Whoosh!


    Crossing through a rift that led him out of the Four Pirs'' Inheritance, Valyr returned to Veldanyr with a satisfied smile on his face as he took a brief look at his surroundings.


    "I should really find the time to actually work on this ce in the future," muttered the young man to himself as he took a look at the vast plot ofnd he owned.


    After taking care of everything that he needed to do back in the military base, Valyr decided to leave the frontlines for a while as he thought about upgrading and evolving all of his skills to the peak of Rare grade.


    Fortunately, as he''d chosen to be a mercenary, his level of freedom was far greater than what was given to those that had chosen to be military officers.


    Though the level of freedom given to him wasn''t to the point that he''d be able to leave the frontlines for as long as he wanted, Valyr was still given the right to leave the frontlines whenever he wanted, as long as he gave them a heads-up beforehand.


    With that, he gave them a notice that he''ll be away from the frontlines for the next few days, giving them the reason that he had something important to do.


    Whether it was his reputation or the speed at which he obtained his rank, those that verified his notice immediately gave him the green light on it, prompting him to use [Flight of the Azure Dragon] to head to his vast plot of emptynd as soon as possible. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Considering the amount of time it took to go from Algerie Kingdom to the military base in the past, it only took Valyr a few minutes longer than that to arrive at hisnd.


    Intentionally flying past the cksmith that guarded hisnd along the way, he then went ahead and opened up a rift that led to the Four Pirs'' Inheritance as he headed straight to a spot he hadn''t gone to in a long time.


    The Realm of Myriad Experiences.


    Whoosh!


    Now that he was the owner of the entire Four Pirs'' Inheritance, it went without saying that Valyr could stay at the Realm of Myriad Experiences for as long as he wanted.


    However, with the notice he gave, as well as the time difference between the inheritance and the outside world, the young man made sure to be mindful of the time, focusing all of his concentration on improving his skills as much as possible.


    In the end, Valyr was only able to max out all of the important skills that made up his currentbat style, alongside a couple misceneous skills that didn''t take much to improve.


    Though he did feel a hint of regret that he wasn''t able to improve a few more skills within the timespan he gave himself, the young man still felt more or less content with his progress.


    Ding!


    Briefly ncing at the early morning sky, Valyr brought up his status screen as he took a look at the timer found at the bottom.


    "In just a bit more than two weeks from now, the public version of Greater Beyond will finally arrive," muttered the young man to himself, letting out a faint sigh as his eyes were focused on the 15 days that remained on the timer.


    Sitting on the ground for a bit, Valyr thought back through all of the things he''d done to get to where he was today, causing a faint smile to appear on his face as many of them were things he considered to be positive memories.


    However, just as how there many positive memories in his current life, there were also many negative memories, such as the various times he risked his life, standing on the fine edge between life and death.


    Not wanting to think about those memories any further, the young man briefly shook his head as a thought came to mind all of a sudden.


    Whoosh!


    Taking out a nondescript satchel out of his spatial bracelet, Valyr had a slightly wry smile on his face as he took at the two sets of vials that were stored within.


    "I already thought about it back then, yet I still ended up forgetting about it in the end." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr briefly admonished himself in his mind as he began to consume the Advanced-level Reinforcement Elixirs Mystia concocted for him.


    Starting out with the Physical Reinforcement Elixirs, Valyr immediately felt a strong burning sensation course throughout the entirety of his body. To him, it was as if he''d eaten the hottest pepper in existence before gulping down a liter of gasoline and setting it on fire.


    Though, with there being times in the past where he''d put himself through so much more than what he was currently experiencing, the young man was easily able to endure the sensation brought about by 10 Physical Reinforcement Elixirs, letting out a brief exhale as he moved onto the Mental Reinforcement Elixirs.


    Whoosh!


    Unlike the Physical Reinforcement Elixirs, the Advanced-level Mental Reinforcement Elixirs caused him to feel a strong cooling sensation that made him wonder whether he''d been transported to an icy area for a while.


    Thankfully, a considerable portion of the burning sensation from before still lingered, allowing Valyr to easily tolerate the chill brought about by the Mental Reinforcement Elixirs.


    [After drinking vials of Advanced Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Advanced Mental Reinforcement Elixir, you have gained +30 VIT, +30 STR, +30 AGI, +30 DEX, +30 INT, +30 WIS, and +30 PER.]


    [As you have consumed 10 vials of both Advanced Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Advanced Mental Reinforcement Elixir, your body has finallypleted the initial stage of tempering, now progressing through the intermediate stage.] [You have achieved the stage of Advanced Reinforcement.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Advanced Reinforced Body and Soul''.]


    Reading through the notifications he received after the effects of the 10th Mental Reinforcement Elixir died down, a satisfied smile crept up on Valyr''s lips as he went ahead and took a look at the new skill''s description.


    "So, just to sum up my gains, I gained 60 points on each stat, except for LUK," said the young man to himself with a slight nod. "Inparison, I gained 15 points on each stat from the Basic-level Reinforcement Elixirs, while I gained 30 points on each stat from the Intermediate-level Reinforcement Elixirs."


    "With that, I guess it''s safe to assume that the amount of stats I''d get from the Expert-level Reinforcement Elixirs would be double that."


    "But wait¡­ as far as I remember, those that took the Expert-level Reinforcement Elixirs in my past life said that those elixirs give triple the total stats of the Advanced-level Reinforcement Elixirs," muttered Valyr to himself, deciding to rummage through some of the memories from his past life.


    Seeing as none of his memories talked about the next level of Reinforcement Elixirs in great detail, the young man could not help but frown, considering that his knowledge of Reinforcement Elixirs after the Advanced level was only in their names.


    "In any case, it''s not that easy to get one''s hands on Expert-level Reinforcement Elixirs," said Valyr to himself as he thought out loud. "It''s only avable once one bes a Myth, after all."


    "Not to mention the materials needed to concoct one, much less the Reinforcement Elixirs thate after that."


    Deciding not to think about Reinforcement Elixirs any further, Valyr eventually returned the now empty satchel back into his spatial bracelet as he thought about all of the things he''d done back in the military base.


    "If I also add in the time I spent in the Realm of Myriad Experiences, I basically spent a week in total doing all sorts of stuff," muttered Valyr to himself with a chuckle. "Who knew another week would pass by that quickly?"


    Ding!


    Just as he stood up to make his way back to the military base, a notification resounded in his mind all of a sudden, prompting him to stop in his tracks to take a look at what he received.


    Though, before he could even bring up his notification screen in front of him, his body suddenly disappeared without a trace, making it seem as if he wasn''t even there in the first ce.


    (1/2) A couple more chapters for your enjoyment.


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1131 Rise to Prominence

    1131 Rise to Prominence


    Darkness.


    Complete and utter darkness.


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr was about to take a look at the notification he received out of nowhere, the young man was immediately transported to this darkness, causing him immense confusion.


    After all, there was nothing he did within the past week that warranted him to be transported into darkness in the first ce.


    "Then again¡­ there are some possibilities," muttered Valyr to himself as he realized that he was actually moving through darkness at great speeds.


    Faintly wondering where he''d arrive once the darkness around him disappeared, the young man first thought of the Shadow ne. After all, he still had rewards from both the Saintess and the Overseer that he had yet to receive. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Another possibility that popped up in his mind was Vaughn, considering he''d asked the man toe up with a solution that allowed him to toggle the effects of the now Partial Mark of the Alltide on him.


    Though, after mulling over it for a bit, he felt that it wasn''t that likely.


    ''If I remember correctly, he''s still in a temporal realm,'' thought Valyr to himself, causing him to wonder whether Sellifer was the one calling for him.


    However, just like Vaughn, he felt that it was unlikely. After all, to those two, he would usually be the one to take the initiative in contacting them.


    With that, onest possibility remained in his mind, causing Valyr to slightly shudder in fear as he continued to zoom through the darkness.


    "Surely, the Alltide wouldn''t have found me, right?" murmured the young man to himself, deciding to bring up the description of the mark the Alltide put on him because of it.


    Seeing that he had indeed removed the tracking abilities of the mark when he infused it with his own energy back then, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief, only for the confusion he felt earlier to return.


    "If it''s not him¡­ then who brought me here, exactly?" As this question left his mouth, it did not take long for part of the answer to reveal itself as Valyr left the darkness a minute or soter.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing in what seemed to be an extremelyrgebat field, Valyr found himself staring directly at the void of space above him.


    Briefly ncing at the various stars and gxies that surrounded the field he was on, the young man inwardly panicked for a bit after realizing he was within the void of space.


    Though, that panic immediately disappeared once he noticed his ability to breathe hadn''t disappeared, prompting him to let out a wide sigh of relief as he shifted his gaze towards the field he was on.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Looking around for a bit, Valyr watched as the field gradually had more and more people appear on its surface, all of which had looks of confusion on their faces just like he did.


    After a bit more watching, he began to notice that there were a couple people among those on the field that he somewhat recognized from the kingdom.


    With that, it did not take much more for him to put two and two together, realizing that the entirebat field might have everyone in Veldanyr appear on it sooner orter.


    ''At this point, I''m certain none of the ones I had in mind did any of this.'' As this thought came to mind, Valyr went ahead and took a look at the notification he''d received all of a sudden.


    Or more specifically, notifications.


    Ding!


    [As 15 days remain before the end of Version 0.5d, the Apparatus has decided to hold a tournament for a select number ofs in preparation for the uing version.]


    [This tournament shall allow the Apparatus to choose a specific number of talented individuals that would pave the path for the uing version.]


    [For more information, please ask the Arbiter that shall be presiding and supervising over your tournament.]


    "Well then¡­ that doesn''t really answer much." Reading through the notifications a couple of times, Valyr eventually let out a faint sigh as he shook his head. "Sure, I now know the reason why I''m in this ce, but what''s the tournament for?"


    "What''s the reason behind the Apparatus choosing individuals before the next version?" muttered the young man to himself, knowing that there was no point in mulling over it any further. "Just as I obtain an answer to one question, I receive more questions in return."


    "Wait¡­ is that you, Valyr?" Just as the young man let out yet another sigh at the absurdity of the situation, a familiar voice called out for his name all of a sudden, prompting him to look at the direction of the voice.


    Seeing that the one calling for him was none other than Julian, a look of relief and happiness appeared on the young man''s face as he moved closer to the man.


    "Am I d to see you here, Julian," said Valyr, to which Julian nodded in agreement. "Have you seen anyone else nearby that you might know?"


    "I have, but they''ve already met other people they know themselves," replied Julian as he wryly smiled. "How about you? Have you found any other people you might perhaps know?"


    "To be honest, you''re the first person I''ve seen that I''ve recognized so far," said Valyr with a wry smile of his own. "Though, I don''t think it''ll take long to find¡­ aha!"


    Pushing his perception to the limit, Valyr soon noticed a few individuals that looked familiar to him. Informing Julian of their presence, the two went ahead and made their way to those people, only for Valyr to realize that they were more than just familiar.


    "Edward! Wells!" Knowing that the two of them were still at the frontlines, Valyr was both confused and happy that the two appeared near where he was.


    "Elder Noel." As for the old man near the two, the young man also greeted him. However, considering their rtionship thus far, one couldn''t really say that the two of them were close.


    "Valyr." Ignoring the way Valyr greeted him, Noel nodded at the young man before giving the middle-aged man beside him a nod as well. "Julian."


    "Elder Noel." Julian nodded back, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as the five of them were more or less familiar with one another. "Do you perhaps have an idea as to what''s going on?"


    "Honestly, I''m as clueless as all of you are," said Noel in response, noticing that the four were looking at him. "The notifications I received before being transported here gave me a rough idea, but I still have a lot of questions to ask."


    Hearing that, Wells looked at Valyr and asked, "Did you also get notifications regarding arge tournament of some sort?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded in response. "Something about choosing specific individuals for something."


    Just as both Julian and Noel seemed to have something to say about the matter, a terrifying aura began to wash over everyone on thergebat field all of a sudden, causing everyone to look in the direction of the aura''s source.


    With that, it did not take long for everyone on the field to take notice of a six-eyed man hovering high up in the air, donning what looked to be an embroidered white robe.


    With the man''s dark violet hair tied up into a low ponytail, the man gave off both a chivalrous and charismatic air, prompting everyone to pay attention to his next words. "Greetings, beings of Veldanyr."


    "My name is Scho''doxa. As mentioned by the notifications you have received, I shall be the Arbiter presiding and supervising over your tournament."


    "Though I know the current situation has caused a lot of you to have a lot of questions in your mind, please save all of those burning questions for ater time."


    "For now, let me give all of you a brief exnation on the tournament known as the Rise to Prominence."


    (2/2) A couple more chapters for your enjoyment.


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1132 Special Opportunity

    1132 Special Opportunity


    "Now hold on just for one moment!"


    Just as the man named Scho''doxa was about to proceed with his exnation, a boorish voice erupted from the field all of a sudden, causing the man to frown as his gaze shifted towards the person that spoke.


    Unsurprisingly, everyone on the field also shifted their gazes towards the person that spoke, with Valyr''s perception allowing him to find out that the person that spoke was a stocky man that stood over seven feet tall.


    Giving Scho''doxa a defiant gaze as he red at him, the boorish man asked him a question amidst everyone''s stares, his words faintly resonating with everyone on the field. "What is this tournament you''re speaking of?"


    "Also, from your tone, it seems like everyone here has no choice but to participate in it?"


    Looking as if he was trying to suppress the annoyance he felt, Scho''doxa took in a deep breath before letting out a faint sigh in response. "I suppose I do owe everyone here at least a short exnation of what''s going on."


    "Before I begin, I presume everyone here has already read through the notifications they''ve received?" Indirectly telling the boorish man with his gaze to be silent for a bit, the man swept his gaze over everyone with a raised eyebrow.


    After a while, everyone on therge field nodded in response to his question, prompting Scho''doxa to nod back. "Alright."


    "As mentioned in those notifications, there are only 15 days remaining before a new version begins," said the man. "I''m sure some of you don''t know what a new version entails, but keep in mind that it more or less means that something massive is about to arrive."


    "As for what that something massive is, that''ll be something I''ll exin in greater detailter." Seeing as everyone was intently listening to his words, Scho''doxa faintly nodded before continuing. "In any case, these final 15 days shall be allocated towards the tournament I''ve mentioned before, the Rise to Prominence."


    "During this time, almost everyone throughout the universe has been transported to a field simr to what you''re standing on at the moment for the sake of a certain purpose."


    "That purpose has already been mentioned in the notifications, which is to find certain individuals that would pave the path in the new version."


    At this point, almost everyone looked at Scho''doxa with various levels of surprise and shock, not expecting that the phenomenon they were experiencing right now was happening all throughout the universe. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Naturally, even Valyr was left at a loss for words after hearing it, only now realizing that there was more to the tournament than meets the eye.


    "To answer your question from before¡­" Shifting his gaze towards the boorish man from before, Scho''doxa nodded at him. "Yes, you are correct. Everyone on the field at this moment has to participate in the tournament no matter what."


    In response, a portion of the people on the field began to shudder, thinking that they would be forced to fight to the death beyond their own volition.


    Of course, the man already knew what they were thinking, giving them a faint reassuring smile. "However, as long as everyone cooperates with me on this tournament, I assure everyone here that all of you will return back to your safe and sound."


    Fortunately, those words were enough for many among those that reacted to be at ease, taking in deep breaths as they adjusted their minds for what was toe.


    "Now then¡­" Nodding after seeing everyone take his words well, Scho''doxa returned his gaze towards the boorish once more. "Although your question has definitely helped everyone here understand the current situation a bit better¡­"


    "The fact that you ignored my words from earlier still stands." At these words, the man''s expression turned slightly grim. "I don''t want anyone else getting the same ideas here, so me yourself for the consequences you''ll experience for going against my words."


    Whoosh!


    Just as everyone was slightly confused after hearing the man''s words, the boorish man let out a pained cry all of a sudden, causing everyone to nk out for a bit as they shifted their gaze towards him.


    At that moment, they instantly noticed the fact that the boorish man''s left arm had disappeared into existence, with the stump that remained there making it seem like he was handicapped in the first ce.


    With that, everyone sucked in a cold breath of air from the ruthlessness Scho''doxa showed him, prompting everyone to recall a snippet of the man''s words from before.


    "Please save all of your questions for ater time¡­" murmured Valyr to himself as he let out a long exhale.


    With Scho''doxa''s actions reminding him of the Arbiters back in Vaughn''s memories, the young man knew that it was best for him to stay silent for the meantime, lest he incurred the man''s wrath out of nowhere.


    Unsurprisingly, almost everyone in the field soon had the same idea as him, making it seem as if the voices that erupted throughout the field earlier was just a figment of one''s imagination.


    Even the boorish man from before stifled his cry after Scho''doxa''s show of power, prompting thetter to nod in satisfaction not long after. "Good."


    "Let us move on."


    16:10


    "The Rise to Prominence tournament isposed of five rounds in total," said the man to everyone. "The first round will be acting as a filter, eliminating almost the majority of the people here from proceeding onto the second round."


    "By elimination, that means I''ll be sending you back to your home of Veldanyr," continued the man, aying the worries that arose in some people from his earlier words.


    "As for the second to fifth round, that''s the actual tournament part of the entire thing, allowing us to find the certain individuals that would pave the path for the uing version."


    "At this point, I''m sure everyone is wondering why there''s so many rounds if the first round is merely acting as a filter." As these words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, a considerable portion of the people nodded in agreement to his question.


    "That is because, aside from finding certain individuals, the Rise to Prominence tournament also serves as a way for the system itself to figure out your cement in the uing version."


    "This cementes in the form of a title, which could be improved through certain means," said Scho''doxa to everyone. "I''ll talk more about it once the first round is done."


    "Aside from that, those that excel in this tournament shall be given a special opportunity that even beings like I would be envious to obtain." With these words, Scho''doxa had attracted the interest of everyone on the field.


    Being one of those interested in the special opportunity, Valyr perked up his ears to find out what the man was talking about, only to be left at a loss for words once he heard what Scho''doxa said next.


    "Now, you might ask yourself. What exactly is that special opportunity?"


    "Well, that would be to be one of the very lucky few among everyone here to visit an extraterrestrial that has just been discovered recently."


    "ording to its natives, that extraterrestrial is named Earth."


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1133 The First Round

    1133 The First Round


    "What''s Earth? What''s an extraterrestrial?"


    "Seriously, what''s a? Is that like a spatial realm or something?"


    Unsurprisingly, many of the people on the field became confused once Scho''doxa was finished talking about the special opportunity he was talking about. After all, the man made use of jargon that sounded like gibberish to them.


    Fortunately, there were a few that understood what the man was saying, their eyes glinting in excitement as they gave everyone else a brief exnation as to what a was.


    As for Valyr, he was still left at a loss for words from what he just heard, ignoring all of the discussions that were happening around him regardings and what they were.


    Thankfully, it only took a bit more time after that for him to finally regain his bearings, prompting him to let out a faint sigh as he looked at the four surrounding him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "To think Veldanyr was a¡­" Wells muttered, with Edward nodding in agreement. "I didn''t know that."


    "I''ve heard some of the guild''s senior members back then mention about there being others beyond ours," said Julian as he looked at Noel. "However, this is the first time I''ve heard of a that also has life in them."


    "It''s moremon than you''d think," replied Noel. "Though, only those that have broken through the Myth level are able to explore them, much less travel to them in the first ce."


    "ording to them, heading to one takes at least a century, sometimes even longer."


    Unintentionally listening in on the conversation between Julian and Noel, both Edward and Wells paled after hearing the words that left Noel''s mouth.


    As for Julian, the man frowned for a bit before ncing at Valyr, only to notice that the young man did not seem surprised by the information at all.


    ''Well¡­ he did enter the Four Pirs'' Inheritance back then.'' Just as Julian was about to ask him why he didn''t seem so surprised about it, a sudden thought allowed the man to answer his own question. ''He probably received knowledge ons from there.''


    Oblivious to what was going on in Julian''s mind, Valyr briefly pondered over the words Scho''doxa mentioned earlier, only to then realize what was going on as he put two and two together.


    ''Special opportunity¡­ uing version¡­'' inwardly murmured the young man to himself as his eyes gleamed with understanding not long after. ''Now I see what''s going on.''


    ''From the special opportunity alone, I should''ve figured out that this tournament had something to do with the public version of Greater Beyond,'' thought Valyr after that as he inwardly had a wry smile. ''Though I''m not sure what Scho''doxa means by finding certain individuals through the tournament, what I am sure of is the fact that this tournament is highly likely to be the system''s way of preparing everyone for the yers.''


    "Alright." After giving everyone on the field more than enough time to talk about the opportunity, Scho''doxa''s voice echoed throughout the area once more, causing everyone to immediately turn silent.


    "Now that I''ve roughly said everything I needed to say for now, let us move onto the first round of the tournament."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At the moment the man was finished saying those words, the man conjured a ball of energy on both hands before throwing them in the air.


    Then, within a matter of seconds, those balls of energy transformed into carbon copies of the man that hovered before them, causing many to look at Scho''doxa with widened eyes.


    Throwing a few more pairs of energy balls into the air after that, the man eventually made nine copies of himself in total, controlling them with his thoughts to stand on both of his sides.


    "As I''ve mentioned before, the first round shall act as a filter," said Scho''doxa, his words also echoing out from the nine copies at the same time. "In short, I''ll be checking to see if your strength is enough for the second round."


    "If you meet the minimum qualifications I have in mind, then you pass."


    "If you don''t, then I shall be returning you to your home."


    "Though, aside from returning you to your home, for those that don''t pass the first round, I shall also be giving you the title of Tier I Being before you leave," continued the man, causing everyone to raise their eyebrows in curiosity as to what the title meant.


    "This is the lowest title everyone here is guaranteed to obtain, which has something to do with the uing version."


    With that, Scho''doxa then began to exin to everyone that once the new version finally arrived, an influx of beings that looked like them would appear out of thin air all of a sudden, all of them having the ability to speak theirnguage.


    Hearing that all of these beings had the protection of the system, almost everyone on the field were left at a slight loss for words, with some of them even fearing that those beings would take over what they had.


    Thankfully, the man''s exnation after that, alleviated many of the people''s worries, telling them that those beings were more likely to aid them in their various problems rather than not.


    Other than that, those beings would also all start at Rank 0, which was more or less the same level of strength everyone on the field started with.


    Of course, as someone who had memories from his past life, Valyr knew that Scho''doxa was talking about none other than the yers of Greater Beyond, prompting him to be more certain of his hypothesis from earlier.


    ''I still don''t know what Tier I Being means, but I''ll be able to find that out sooner orter.''


    With that thought in mind, Valyr watched as Scho''doxa and his nine copiesnded to the ground before evenly distancing themselves from one another.


    Then, in unison, the ten of them told everyone on the fall in line in front of the nearest Scho''doxa to them, telling them that all they needed to do was to have him look at them before being informed whether they passed or failed.


    And with that, amidst the slight confusion, the first round began.


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1134 Attracting Attention

    1134 Attracting Attention


    "Middle of Rank 3. Epic grade ss and subss. Pass!"


    "Peak of Rank 4. Common grade ss and Umon grade subss. Fail!"


    "Early Rank 2. Epic grade ss and Legendary grade subss. Pass!"


    As those that stood near the ten Scho''doxas were the first to be examined, it did not take long for them to understand what was going on, seeing that the man''s words from earlier was all they exactly needed to do.


    With that, everyone on the field began to cooperate with the man, especially after seeing that Scho''doxa was true to his words.


    Whoosh!


    After checking to see if one fit the minimum qualifications he had in mind, Scho''doxa immediately transported those who were below his minimum qualifications back to Veldanyr after bestowing upon them the title he mentioned earlier.


    As for those that passed his minimum qualifications, Scho''doxa would ask them to head to a specific part of the field, telling them to rest for the meantime as they waited for the second round to start.


    Thankfully, with how simple the mechanics of the first round were, the man only took a few seconds to find out if a person was above or below the minimum qualifications he set.


    With him creating nine copies that would do the same thing as him, it went without saying that the number of people on the field continued to decrease at a consistently high speed.


    By the time half an hour had passed since the first round began, over a million people had already been checked by Scho''doxa, causing a considerable number among the people that remained to figure out how much longer the first round wouldst.


    ''I can''t see all of the people currently on the field right now, but a quick nce is enough for me to formte an educated guess.'' Inwardly muttering these words to himself, Valyr stayed in line as he pushed his perception to the limit.


    From the slice of the entire field he could see with his vision, the young man more or less calcted there to be over 100 million beings on the field at the moment, which briefly left him at a slight loss for words. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After all, if there were 100 million beings on the field in total, then the field they were on was farrger than he initially thought.


    Pushing those thoughts aside as he slightly shook his head, Valyr was soon able toe to the conclusion that it would take roughly 5 days for all of the beings on Veldanyr to go through the first round.


    15:18


    As for how many among those over 100 million beings would remain on the field after the first round, Valyr was unsure.


    ''In any case, I think I shouldn''t have to worry about passing the first round,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''From what I could tell through the people Scho''doxa passed, the minimum requirements to pass the first round would be to have a ss and subss of certain rarity for a specific rank.''


    ''For those at Rank 4, that rarity hovers around Rare.'' Arriving at this thought, Valyr briefly nced at both Edward and Wells behind him. ''As for those at Rank 3, that rarity is around Epic.''


    ''Yeah¡­ we''ll pass through the first round, no problem.''


    After hearing from Scho''doxa that a select few would obtain the opportunity to visit Earth, Valyr decided to make it his goal for the tournament to be one of those people.


    After all, even though he''d be able to meet the people from Earth through Greater Beyond once the public version was released, that was still different from what Scho''doxa told them, which was visiting Earth directly.


    ''Honestly, I''m quite curious as to how they''ll even do thetter,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''Although it''s shown itself to be way beyond that many times in this life and in my past life, Greater Beyond is ultimately still a game at this stage.''


    ''¡­Or at least, I''m still under the impression that it is.''


    Slightly shrugging his shoulders at his thoughts, the young man proceeded to spend the time waiting with Julian and the others, inwardly d that he hadn''t thrown out any of the items he used back then in the inheritance.


    With that, the five of them were able to more or less treat the first round of the tournament as an outing rather than an actual tournament, considering that the five of them more or less met all of their basic needs through the items in their spatial bracelets.


    Of course, with how many people there were on the field, it went without saying that many other groups of people eventually had the same idea as them, making the most of their time as the 100 million figure gradually decreased with every passing day.


    Eventually, by the time three days had passed since the first round began, the group of five was only a few more people away from being checked by one of the Scho''doxa copies, prompting them to look at each other with relieved yet expectant smiles.


    Once the few people among them were checked by Scho''doxa, the group of five went ahead and had themselves checked by the man to see if they met the minimum qualifications of the first round.


    Unsurprisingly, Julian and Noel passed the first round without issues, having both sses and subsses that were of higher rarity than the minimum required for their rank.


    As for Edward and Wells, they also passed without any problems, even eliciting a bit of surprise to appear in Scho''doxa''s eyes. After all, the two of them were considerably young, yet both of them had sses and subsses of significantly higher rarity.


    Eventually, once the four of them were done, it was finally Valyr''s turn.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr stepped forward as he gave Scho''doxa a faint nod.


    Nodding back in response, Scho''doxa focused his vision on the young man, causing thetter to feel as if a wave of energy washed over his body for a brief moment.


    "Hmm?" Retrieving the energy he briefly sent to scan Valyr, Scho''doxa''s eyes soon widened in surprise the moment he was done processing the information within the energy.


    "This is¡­" Looking at Valyr with widened eyes, the man''s gaze now contained a hint of excitement as he briefly let out chuckle. "And here I thought the best I''d get was a 4th Tier Seed. Who knew there''d actually be a 2nd Tier Seed on this?"


    Taking in a deep breath after that, Scho''doxa then spoke in a manner that caused many within his vicinity to look at the young man at the very front of the line.


    "Peak of Rank 4. Ancient grade ss and Epic grade subss. Pass!"


    "Not only that, but because of his extra set of qualifications, this person shall automatically pass the second and third round, only needing him to participate in thest two rounds!"


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1135 Person of Distinction

    1135 Person of Distinction


    "¡­Eh?"


    As he listened to Scho''doxa''s words, Valyr had a slightly proud smile on his face once the man listed down the rarities of both his ss and subss. After all, it was already difficult for one to obtain a Legendary grade ss, much less Mythic grade.


    However, for one to obtain an Ancient grade ss, one would have to do feats that were near impossible for the majority to achieve. With that, almost everyone within the vicinity looked at Valyr with both shock and admiration.


    Even Julian and the others were not spared from this reaction as all of them looked at the young man with their mouths agape.


    Considering how they knew the young man at certain stages of his strength, it went without saying that they were left at aplete loss for words once they found out his current level of strength through Scho''doxa.


    Then again, the reaction they had paled inparison to the next one they had, hearing that the young man in front of Scho''doxa was waived from having to participate in the second and third round.


    At those words, everyone within the vicinity began to look at Valyr in disbelief, with some of them even beginning to look at the man in slight fear.


    After all, from what they could recall, the second to fifth rounds of the tournament was considered the actual tournament.


    Since they were more certain that those rounds would undoubtedly involve fighting, that caused them to eventually ask themselves¡­


    What did the young man do exactly to have Scho''doxa automatically waive his participation in the second and third round?


    Of course, just like how there were people within the vicinity that began to look at Valyr in slight fear, there were also those who disagreed with how Scho''doxa handled things.


    "Now hold on for just one second!" Not long after Scho''doxa announced Valyr''s exemry qualifications for the first round, a different gruff-looking man from before squeezed his way towards the front, eventually appearing in front of both Scho''doxa and the young man.


    Initially flinching after having everyone stare at him, the gruff-looking man took in a deep breath before mustering up his courage to ask Scho''doxa a question.


    "What kind of extra qualifications are you talking about for this young man right here to not have to participate the second and third round?" "Are you just saying that as an excuse to show your favoritism towards some people?"continued the man, causing a few among the crowd to nod in agreement as they began to voice out theirints soon after.


    "Yeah! That''s just favoritism! I''ve seen him waive a couple people from participating the second round earlier!"


    "However, those people clearly had the qualifications and even showed them after being told they didn''t need to participate in the second round!"


    "On the other hand, what did this young man do to deserve such treatment? Not only that, but the man went above and beyond, telling him that he doesn''t even need to participate in the third round!"


    "We demand an exnation!"


    "We demand an exnation!"


    With the gruff-looking man''s words acting as a catalyst, the crowd surrounding both Valyr and Scho''doxa soon erupted in full force, with most of them bing incredibly vocal about the current situation.


    Of course, seeing as Valyr was about to be implicated in a situation he ultimately didn''t have a say in, Julian and the others began to look at the young man with a bit of worry.


    As for Scho''doxa, he took in a few statements from the crowd in silence before looking back at Valyr with a slightly apologetic expression.


    "Honestly, I wasn''t expecting this to happen. I presume you have an idea why I chose to waive your participation in the next two rounds, right?" the man asked Valyr after taking in a deep breath, his gaze that of slight respect after noticing that the young man seemed unperturbed by the situation.


    "Roughly," replied the young man with a nod after pondering over it for a bit. "It has something to do with the 2nd Tier Seed you mentioned, right?"


    "Yeah." Scho''doxa nodded, ncing at the vocal crowd once more before looking back at Valyr. "Though you don''t really have to, would you mind helping me out a bit? You just have to release the strongest aura you could possibly unleash and I''ll take care of the rest."


    "Uh¡­ sure." Valyr nodded after some time, prompting him to receive a look of gratitude from the man not long after.


    Seeing as the two were talking to one another in whispers all this time, the crowd surrounding them began to assume that the two wereing up with a usible excuse that would resolve the situation.


    However, before the crowd could even erupt with greater fury at the two, the crowd stared at the current situation with their mouths agape once the young man in front of them red out his aura all of a sudden.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, Valyr''s aura made the vocal crowd realize that their earlierints were ultimately baseless usations. In fact, some of them even began to have expressions of regret on their faces as they felt the young man''s aura wash over their bodies. Though, just as some thought the young man would stop there, since he''d been asked by Scho''doxa to showcase the strongest aura he could muster, the young man decided to oblige and take it one step further.


    ''[Limit Break: Second Verse].''


    ''[First Encore].''


    ''[Rage of the True Wyvern].''


    ''[Refined Offense Aura].''


    Swoosh!


    In just a few seconds, the aura Valyr gave off intensified to a level that made most of the people near him shudder in terror, with some even being on the verge of fainting because of it.


    As for the gruff-looking man that started it all, a grim expression swiftly appeared on his face once he felt the auraing from the young man. At that moment, he inwardly let out a long sigh as he realized he''d misjudged the situation.


    ''I''ve already been taught this before, but once again, I should never judge a book by its cover.''


    With the aura the young man was exuding, the gruff-looking man understood that there was no favoritism happening whatsoever.


    Instead, the young man truly deserved the treatment he was getting!


    "To everyone that voiced their dissent just now, I suppose this is more than enough proof for you to realize that my ims are not without reason." Whilst Valyr continued to re out his aura, Scho''doxa''s voice began to echo throughout the vicinity, his tone carrying an imposing presence.


    "However, to those who are still doubtful of my ims, have you tried fighting against an opponent that''s an entire ss rank above you?"


    "How about two entire ss ranks above you? Have you imagined fighting against such a foe and seeding?"


    "What if I told you that this young man before you not only did those two things, but he also fought against a Myth-level being at Rank 3, seeded, and lived to tell the tale?"


    At that moment, the entire crowd became pin-drop silent, all of them now looking at the young man with emotions that ranged between reverence and terror.


    As for Valyr, he remained silent through it all, giving Scho''doxa the opportunity to do his thing.


    "[yer of Ascendants]. [Apex Hunter]. [Myth-transcending Mortal]. [Surpassing Mortal Bounds]. The various titles he has under his belt are way beyond what the majority of you are able to achieve in your lifetime."


    "Yet, if all of you still have anyints after everything I''ve said¡­ then that''s not my problem anymore."


    "However, as long as I''m still here¡­ then you better shut the fuck up."


    "¡­Unless you want to die, that is." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


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 Chapter 1136 To Be Recognized

    1136 To Be Recognized


    Whoosh!


    At the moment Scho''doxa was done talking, he did not hesitate to release an aura that did not lose out to Valyr''s aura in terms of presence, causing those who''d been on the edge of fainting from Valyr''s aura all this time to finally sumb.


    However, for those who remained conscious even after that, they were soon greeted by the man''s aura intensifying not long after. At some point, it even reached a level that made most of the crowd feel like they were on the verge of fainting as well.


    Once Scho''doxa''s aura reached that level, it went without saying that Valyr''s aura far paled inparison to the aura he was exuding. Nevertheless, almost everyone near him now fully understood that they shouldn''t have messed with him in the first ce.


    With both Scho''doxa and Valyr retracting their aura a minute or soter, everyone surrounding them immediately let out wide sighs of relief as theymitted what had just transpired to memory.


    Because of that, almost everyone who''d vocalized theirints about Valyr''s treatment earlier shifted their gazes towards the gruff-looking man that spoke out, their expressions that of both anger and remorse.


    After all, he was the reason why things had unfolded as it did.


    Naturally, the gruff-looking man understood that as well, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face. At that moment, he was reminded of the outspoken man who''d receive a punishment from Scho''doxa just a few days ago.


    Expecting to receive a simr punishment from the man presiding over the entire tournament, Scho''doxa instead told the man to move to the end of the line as a punishment, making it seem as if the heavens had taken pity on him.


    Profusely thanking Scho''doxa for his kindness, the gruff-looking man swiftly did what he was told, with everything returning to the way it was a few minutester.


    With Scho''doxa thanking him after the entire thing finally calmed down, it was only then did Valyr head to the area made for those who passed the first round, immediately catching the attention of many who''d seen the entire thing unfold.


    Of course, the ones who approached him first were none other than Julian and the others, all of them eager to ask the young man questions regarding the words Scho''doxa spoke before.


    "I get the fact that you could fight against foes one ss rank above you," said Julian to the young man, prompting the others to nod in agreement. "I could also understand you having the ability to fight against foes two ss ranks above you. After all, you''re the guild''s representative in the Four Pirs'' Inheritance."


    "But is what he said true?" Julian looked at Valyr with an expectant gaze as he got to his main question. "While you were at Rank 3, you fought against a Myth-level being and won?"


    Hearing the question, Valyr let out a chuckle before looking at Noel to his right. "I think Elder Noel has a good idea why Scho''doxa said that."


    Unsurprisingly, Julian, Edward, and Wells immediately looked at the old man for rification, causing Noel to re at Valyr for a bit before letting out a wry chuckle.


    Whilst Noel eventually obliged to Valyr''s words and gave the trio a brief summary of what transpired back in the Shadow ne, Scho''doxa''s mind was still on Valyr even after he''d already gone through multiple people after him.


    Returning the person in front of him for failing to meet the first round''s qualifications, the man thought to himself, ''For a 2nd Tier Seed, it''s quite weird that I could only view a certain portion of his system.''


    ''His newly created energy and his second subss aside, it''s as if the Apparatus itself is stopping me from taking a look at those titles,'' inwardly muttered Scho''doxa, feeling his curiosity grow with every passing second. ''Seriously, what do those titles mean?''


    ''I guess I''ll never find those out even if I wanted to.''


    ¡­


    Though the entire situation involving Valyr and him passing through the second and third round could be considered a minor blip in the first round of the tournament, many of the people who were near him that time still talked about it over the passing days.


    In fact, the news of him obtaining preferential treatment from Scho''doxa, only to be followed up by the feats that made him deserving of such treatment, soon spread throughout the entirety of the field.


    Because of that, not only were the humans of Veldanyr now privy towards the existence of a prodigious entity within their race, but the other races within Veldanyr now knew of his identity as well.


    Of course, those other races also included the orcs.


    However, that''s a story saved forter.


    In the end, the first round of the tournament took an entire week to finish, with most of those who passed in the first round surprised to find out that the number of beings within Veldanyr actually amounted to over 150 million. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Hearing that only a sixth of them remained after the entire thing, many of them could not help but feel a hint of anticipation towards the next few rounds that were going toe.


    Though, there were also some who wanted nothing more than to return to Veldanyr and regain their peaceful lives once more.


    "Now that the first round is over, we shall now move onto the next round." Dispelling the nine copies of himself that he''d conjured, Scho''doxa soon rose to the skies once more as his words immediately caught the attention of everyone on the field.


    "But before that¡­"


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    Just as many were curious as to what the second round of the tournament entailed, the man waved his hands all of them, only for everyone to hear a couple notifications pop up in their system not long after.


    With that, everyone took a look at the notifications they received.


    Naturally, that included Valyr.


    [You have passed the first round of the Rise to Prominence tournament.]


    [As proof of your passing, you have obtained the title ''Tier I Being''.]


    ''¡­I see.'' Reading through the notifications, Valyr immediately understood what was going on. ''So, even if you fail the first round, you''re guaranteed to obtain the title either way.''


    ''Considering how this tournament has something to do with the yers arriving to Greater Beyond very soon, I''m pretty sure this title has something more to it.''


    Curious as to why everyone on Veldanyr had been given the title whether they passed or failed the first round, Valyr soon got his answer from the man that gave the title out in the first ce.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1137 Tier I Being

    1137 Tier I Being


    "Now, just before I answer the question that''s popped up in your minds at this moment, let me just see if everyone here has read through the notifications they''ve received?" As these words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, almost everyone nodded in response to his question.


    Nodding back after seeing a few more beings nod in confirmation to his question, the man inwardly let out a sigh of relief before beginning his exnation. "Alright." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "As I''ve mentioned before, those who fail to pass the first round would obtain the title of Tier I Being before being sent back to your home."


    "However, what I haven''t mentioned is that those who pass the first round would also obtain the title regardless," continued the man, causing many to perk up their ears in response. "Now the reason for that is quite simple."


    "It''s the system''s way of preparing everyone for the uing version." At these words, Scho''doxa soon went on a lengthy exnation, reminding everyone about the beings that would appear in the uing version.


    Mentioning once more that those beings would be protected by the system, the man told everyone that even though most of them would likely help them with their problems, there would still be a small portion of them who''d rathermit ughter and cause chaos instead.


    After all, they were beings protected by the system themselves.


    With that, Scho''doxa exined that the system created a safety measure that would deter these unscrupulous beings from attacking them, which was none other than the title they received from him.


    "Aside from nullifying the effectiveness of the first attack of those beings, the title also reduces the damage you take from their attacks by a certain percentage," said Scho''doxa, prompting some of them to take a look at their new title in their greater detail.


    "However, not only does the title reduce the damage you take from them, but it also increases the damage you deal to them while also increasing the punishment they receive from the system."


    Hearing those words, a look of enlightenment appeared on some of the peoples'' faces on the field, now getting a better idea of the beings that would appear once the new version arrived.


    Of course, that included Julian and Noel, who considered their positions as beings of authority and understood that they stood to gain more from the beings than lose out.


    After all, the title they received was just that, a safety measure.


    Then again, there were those who looked at Scho''doxa''s exnation from a different perspective.


    One of those people included Valyr.


    ''¡­I see.'' Listening to the man''s exnation, Valyr''s gaze glistened with understanding. ''So, that''s why it seemed borderline impossible to kill the important NPCs back in Greater Beyond.''


    Shifting his thoughts back to his past life, the young man soon recalled an experiment the yer base did when the War of the Three Sovereignties was at its peak.


    After information on the war''s prominent beings had been shared with the entire yer base through the forum, a few of them decided to look at the war from a different perspective,ing up with a radical solution that showed promise.


    Of course, that radical solution was none other than to kill the beings that caused the war in the first ce, hoping that their existence disappearing would end the war once and for all.


    With that, the top yers banded together to form a force that caused even the armies of the three sovereignties to tremble with fear.


    Though they were able to kill unimportant NPCs with rtive ease, that same level of ease began to apply less and less as they got closer to the beings that caused the war in the first ce.


    In the end, the radical idea the yers dissolved in a matter of days after realizing no amount of force they mustered would allow them to kill the beings that caused the war.


    At that moment, yersined in the forums that the developers were stifling their freedom, talking about how they had intentionally made those beings impossible to kill due to their relevance to the entire story.


    With Scho''doxa''s exnation now giving him greater insight to the matter, Valyr now understood that Greater Beyond did indeed make it intentionally difficult for yers to kill NPCs, with the system itself even going so far as to take initiative.


    However, the way they went about it was far moreplicated than he initially thought.


    ''I really don''t know how they''re doing it,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''Shouldn''t something like this take more than just a couple quantum supeputing servers topute?''


    ''Perhaps even all of the world''s strongest quantum supeputersbined wouldn''t be able to calcte something like this!''


    Understanding that pondering over the matter wouldn''t really amount to much, the young man pushed his thoughts to the side as Scho''doxa continued to exin the significance of the new title for a bit longer.


    By the time he was done, he then took in a deep breath before waving his arms outward, causing the field everyone was on to expand towards his direction in an instant.


    Whilst mostly everyone was left at a loss for words for his seemingly godlike feat, Scho''doxa continued to wave his arms here and there, eventually causing an immenselyrge arena to appear before everyone''s very eyes.


    Letting out a faint sigh of satisfaction as he took a look at handiwork, Scho''doxa soon nced at Valyr and the other beings that caught his fancy during the second round before sweeping his gaze over everyone.


    "Though there will be fighting involved in the second round, none of you shall be facing off against any other person for this one," said Scho''doxa, causing those who''d tensed up earlier from the sight of the arena to immediately rx.


    However, it did not take long for those same people to tense up again once the man continued where he left off. "For this second round, every one of you shall fight against a series of beasts that more or less match your current level of strength."


    "In total, all of you shall be fighting against ten beasts in a row, with each beast slightly stronger than the previous one."


    "To pass the second round, all you need to do is defeat the fifth beast, which has a level of strength equivalent to at least two small ss ranks higher than what you have currently."


    "To those whoplete the second round and defeat the tenth beast, a special reward would await them," said Scho''doxa with a faint smirk, arousing the interest of some of the people on the field. "As for what that special reward would be¡­"


    "Well¡­ you better defeat the tenth beast if you want to know, then."


    "With that out of the way, let the second round¡­ begin!"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1138 Preferential Treatment

    1138 Preferential Treatment


    Whoosh!


    As those words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, the man swiftly waved his arms onest time, causing everyone on the field to disappear from where they were.


    Not even an instantter, almost everyone appeared within the arena, with many among them looking at their current surroundings with slight bewilderment and confusion.


    "Roaaaarrrr!!!"


    However, before many of them could even adjust to their newfound surroundings, a cacophony of roars snapped them back to reality, prompting to recall the words that had been said to them just earlier.


    With that, a great majority of the people took in deep breaths as they faced the beasts that appeared in front of them, wanting to see whether they had what it takes to obtain the special reward.


    Or, at the very least, prove to themselves that they had the strength to remain in the second round.


    Swoosh!


    Whilst near everyone on the field earlier had been forced to face off against beasts before they could even adjust to their new surroundings, a small portion of those people instead appeared on the arena''s seating area.


    Slightly confused as to what was going on, those people eventually obtained their answer as Scho''doxa appeared in front of them, causing a few of them to shudder in fear as they recalled the show of force he''d shown earlier.


    Ignoring the fear some of them held towards him, the man briefly swept his gaze over everyone, though it faintly lingered on a certain being before moving on.


    "I''m sure most, if not all of you are slightly confused as to what''s going on," said Scho''doxa in a calm tone. "After all, with how long the first roundsted, I wouldn''t be surprised if a lot of you forgot what I said when I checked your qualifications."


    At those words, a look of enlightenment on some of the people''s faces, causing their expressions to light up as they now understood what was going on.


    However, to those who still could not put two and two together in their minds, their gaze remained on Scho''doxa, hoping that they would shed light on the confusion they were feeling.


    Faintly letting out a sigh after seeing that there was still a small portion of people who seemed clueless as to what was going on, Scho''doxa briefly shook his head as he told them, "In case you''ve forgotten, all of you have automatically passed through the second round of the tournament."


    "With that, there''s no need for you to fight ten beasts in a row, just like what the people below are doing."


    While those that weren''t in the know finally got the answer they sought, those who figured it out from the man''s earlier words looked down the arena, immediately seeing a plethora of people fight against the beasts before them.


    Seeing as some of the people within the arena were getting injured from the beasts they fought, a look of slight concern appeared on some of their faces, prompting one to eventually ask Scho''doxa, "What happens if they fail to pass the second round?"


    "I would be sending them back to your home," replied Scho''doxa after giving it some thought. "Speaking of which, thanks for reminding me."


    Whoosh!


    As he swiftly flew through the air, Scho''doxa''s voice soon began to echo throughout the arena, causing many of the fights to pause for a brief moment.


    "Simr to the first round, I''ll send you back to Veldanyr if you fail to kill the fifth beast," said the man. "However, unlike the first round, you''ll have to inform me of your forfeit by saying the words ''I surrender''."


    "Of course, if you forget to inform me of your forfeit beforehand, well¡­"


    "Your loss."


    At those words, a considerable portion of the people in the arena felt a chill up their spines as they knew Scho''doxa wasn''t joking around.


    With that, they pushed their concentrations beyond their natural limits, reminding themselves to not bite off more than they could chew.


    "Alright." Faintly nodding at the reactions he got from the people, the man soon returned his attention back to the people who''d automatically passed the second round. "With that out of the way, let''s get back to what I intentionally nned on doing after bringing you here."


    Whoosh!


    Saying those words, Scho''doxa went ahead and waved his arms as if he were a conductor, causing a cacophony of notification sounds to erupt within the people''s minds.


    Ding!


    Hearing the same notification sound resound throughout his mind at that moment, Valyr went ahead and opened up his notification screen, causing him to raise his eyebrow in slight interest as he read through it.


    [You have passed the second round of the Rise to Prominence tournament.]


    [As proof of your passing, your title ''Tier I Being'' has been upgraded to ''Tier II Being''.]


    ''[Tier II Being], huh?'' Having taken a brief look at the previous title before they were teleported to the arena, Valyr was quite curious as to what set his current title apart from the previous one.


    Ding!


    With that, hemanded the system to bring up its description, allowing him to easily identify the improvements the title hadpared to its Tier I counterpart.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tier II Being] (Title)


    Rarity: Epic


    The Apparatus appreciates your effort thus far. The Apparatus also hopes that you would wholly embrace the advent of a new era.


    However, as a safety measure¡­ most of the description has been omitted.


    Effects:


    > Nullification of damage received from the first two attacks of beings protected by the system


    > 20% reduction to damage received from beings protected by the system


    > 20% boost to damage dealt to beings protected by the system


    > 3% boost to Attack and Defense


    [Note: Some terms within the title''s description are subject to change once the new version of Greater Beyond arrives.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ignoring the note at the end of the title''s description, Valyr more or less understood that the title was just the same title from before, but twice as effective.


    Rather than nullify a single attack from a yer, [Tier II Being] would instead allow him to nullify two attacks from a yer before taking damage from their attacks.


    As for the decrease in damage received and increase in damage dealt, the new title doubled its efficacypared to before, which more or less meant he had the effects of an additional title like [Apex Hunter] if he were to fight against a yer.


    Of course, there was also the slight boost to his Attack and Defense stat. However, Valyr felt that it wasn''t muchpared to the other effects the title had.


    ¡­Unless if the title were to be upgraded again, that is.


    Satisfied with the upgraded title he received, Valyr swiftly closed the screen he brought up, only to see that everyone around him more or less satisfied expressions on their faces as well.


    With that, he shifted his gaze back to Scho''doxa, looking as if he''d been waiting for them to finish looking their new titles first before continuing to speak.


    "As all of you have automatically passed the second round, then it only makes sense that all of you would obtain the corresponding title thates with it," said Scho''doxa. "Just so you know, only 341 of you have received this kind of treatment."


    Hearing those words, many among them widened their eyes in surprise, not expecting their numbers to be anywhere near that low.


    After all, over 150 million of them went through the tournament''s first round.


    Even if one were topare that number of people to the over 25 million that were currently taking the second round, a single percent of that 25 million was far greater than that!


    With that, a look of pride appeared in some of the people''s eyes, while some looked up to the heavens in slight gratitude, thankful that they''d put into their current situation.


    As for Valyr, the young man faintly nodded in understanding, recalling the brief conversation he had with Scho''doxa during the first round.


    ''Considering how it has something to do with being a 2nd Tier Seed, I''m pretty sure the minimum requirements to get this treatment is no small feat,'' thought the young man to himself, only to put his thoughts on hold after noticing that Scho''doxa nned on telling them something else.


    "Aside from obtaining the general reward for the second round in advance, as all 341 of you have automatically passed the second round, that also means all of you are eligible to receive the special reward."


    Though Scho''doxa said those words in an unhurried manner, by the time he was finished talking, almost everyone began to look at him with both excitement and anticipation.


    After all, they''d obtained something that would''ve originally needed them to kill 10 beasts in a row without even moving a single muscle!


    Noticing the feverish gazes many of them were giving him, a slight smile of amusement appeared on Scho''doxa''s face before waving out his arms.


    Swoosh!


    In an instant, multiple bottles were distributed throughout the 341 people that received Scho''doxa''s treatment, a peculiar pill contained within each one of them.


    Gazing at the golden pill that was contained in his bottle, Valyr slightly raised his eyebrow once he noticed that the pill seemed to have roused something deep within his body.


    However, before he could figure out what the pill was exactly rousing within him, Scho''doxa told them something that caught their interests once more.


    "Although the golden pill you received may not seem like much, consuming it would allow you to gain ess to stats that extended far beyond the 8 general stats you have," said the man, only to pause as he noticed that some of them removed the stoppers on their bottles because of it.


    Watching those people consume the gold pills without hesitation, Scho''doxa briefly had a wry smile on his face as he continued, "However, I''d suggest you to consume the pill only after you''ve gone as far as you could within the tournament."


    "After all, just like how there''s a special reward forpleting the second round, there are also special rewards forpleting the other round."


    "If you were tobine those rewards with the pill you''ve just received, it wouldn''t be far-fetched to say that your strength would improve by leaps and bounds." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "In fact, it wouldn''t even be far-fetched to say that you''d turn into an entirely different person once you consume it!"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1139 Watching from the Sidelines

    1139 Watching from the Sidelines


    By the time Scho''doxa was finished with his exnation, those who did not hesitate to consume the pill after they heard his first statement instantly turned green with regret, doing whatever they could to stop the pill from being absorbed by their bodies.


    Unfortunately, before they even began their attempts of coughing up the golden pill they just took, the pill had already taken effect within their bodies, causing them to undergo a variety of changes not long after.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing as these people filled with regret earlier changed their expressions to that of surprise and delight after a bit of silence, most of the people there eventually began to look at them with curiosity, wondering what exactly made them react that way.


    With that, they decided to look at the pills they received for answers, activating their identification skills as they recalled Scho''doxa''s words from earlier.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Catalyst of Greater Potential] (Item)


    Rarity: Legendary


    An unassuming golden pill that would mostly attract one''s attention due to its appearance. However, one consumed, it would allow those that consumed it to tap into the depths of their slumbering potential.


    Once consumed, this pill has a high chance of improving the user''s already awakened hidden stats by 1 to 3 points.


    This pill also has a moderate chance of awakening one of the following hidden attributes within the user: Endurance, Dominance, Weightlessness, Defthand, Intellect, Acuity, Insight, Fortune.


    This pill also has a low chance of awakening one of the following hidden attributes within the user: Ferocity, Tolerance, Panacea.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Holy shit.'' By the time Valyr was done reading through the description he brought up, the young man was left at a loss for words as he stared at the golden pill he received.


    Looking around as he stored the pill within his spatial bracelet, it did not surprise him that many of the people who''d chosen to postpone their consumption had shocked expressions on their faces as well.


    After all, not only did the pill increase the hidden stats one''s already awakened by a couple of points, but it also gave one a chance at awakening a hidden stat that Valyr felt was the gateway to high-tier hidden stats.


    ''Yeah. The pill has a moderate chance of awakening that set of stats.'' Reading through the description once more, the young man was eventually able to confirm his suspicions. ''Even though one could consider them the most general among the high-tier hidden stats avable, they still boost one''s main stats to a far higher degree than the hidden stats I already have.''


    ''Not to mention the fact that each hidden stat focuses on a specific main stat,'' thought Valyr to himself, only to shift his attention towards thest couple of lines. ''Then again, those hidden stats are nothingpared to the Panacea stat.''


    Unlike the other hidden stats that the pill had a chance of awakening, Panacea was a hidden stat that one could say to be simr to Might and Tranquility in the way that they all gave the user ess to an ability.


    However, unlike Might and Tranquility, which gave Valyr ess to [True Rage] and [Zen], respectively, Panacea was a hidden stat that gave one ess to a considerably powerful passive skill.


    After all, not only would the passive skill render one immune to all sorts of debuffs, curses, and any negative effects, but it also significantly increased one''s health and the rate at which it regenerated. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Whether it was the immunity or the improvement it brought, the hidden stat eventually became so popr that some of the high-ranking yers in the past actively sought out those who had that hidden stat.


    It was to the point that even Valyr wanted that hidden stat for himself back then, recalling how those had that stat immediately became the main tankers for the high-ranking parties.


    ''Well, that''s all in the past.'' Bitterly smiling after unexpectedly reminiscing over a slightly embarrassing time in his life, Valyr eventually closed the screen he brought up after his curiosity was satiated.


    Taking in a deep breath topose himself after that, he then put the thought of the pill to the side, reminding himself of the words Scho''doxa told them about the pill bing better as more rounds passed.


    With that, the young man was able to return his attention to the arena below, even though a considerable portion of the people surrounding him continued to discuss the effects of the pill.


    In fact, some of them went ahead and consumed the pill even after Scho''doxa had advised them to save it forter.


    Briefly ncing at these people who made the decision to consume it after already doing all the research they possibly could, Valyr could only inwardly let out a sigh at them before returning his attention to the arena onest time.


    With his perception pushed to the very limit, the young man was only able to view a small portion of the over 25 million people that were going through the second round.


    Nevertheless, even a slight shift in angle was enough for him to view hundreds of people fighting the beasts as hard as they could, hoping that they''d kill the fifth beast and move onto the third round.


    However, as more and more time passed, some of the people in the arena eventually ended up making a mistake here and there, causing the momentum they built up to all crumble into nothing in front of the beast they were facing.


    To those who were sensible enough to realize their limits, they took this as a sign to surrender, allowing them to return to Veldanyr with their lives intact.


    Unfortunately, there were also those who took it as a sign to push even harder than before, only for them to realize their grave mistake once their injuries grew too severe.


    Yet, before they could even voice out their forfeit, the beasts they fought showed no mercy, taking advantage of their moment of weakness to end their opponents'' lives.


    And thus, the 341 people who automatically passed the second round watched as the 25 million figure gradually decreased with the passage of time.


    At the same time, they watched the ground gradually get more and more soaked with the blood of those that bit off more than they could chew, causing their expressions to turn cold by the time the entire arena ground turned blood red.


    Then again, it did not take long for their expressions to turn into that of slight relief, seeing as the second round took far less time to finish than the first round did.


    In just two days since the first round ended, the second round finally came to a close.

 Chapter 1140 Same but Different

    1140 Same but Different


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment thest person still fighting against their beast finally decided to surrender, Scho''doxa''s voice soon echoed throughout the entire arena, causing everyone fighting for their lives to let out wide sighs of relief.


    "The second round is now over."


    As the people in the arena heard those words, almost all of them ignored the fact that the ground below them was soaked in blood, sitting down as they slumped on the ground.


    After getting a bit of rest, those people stood up once more, grinning as they looked at their friends andrades who''d passed the second round just like them.


    However, for those who were slightly more unlucky in their cement, those people were instead ced within the center of carnage, with all of the people that used to surround them now turned into chunks of blood and gore.


    Then again, those people surrounded by such a sight instead felt even more relief that they lived to tell the tale, thanking both the heavens and themselves for having the ability to push their bodies as much as they did.


    With that, it did not take long for Scho''doxa to make his move once more, teleporting all of the people within the arena away with a sweep of his arms, returning them back to therge field they were in before.


    Swoosh! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As the 341 people that automatically passed the second round were teleported back to the field after that, everyone soon began to look up at the man that hovered above them, only now realizing that the man was far more terrifying than he initially seemed.


    Oblivious to the thoughts and impressions some of the people had towards him, Scho''doxa briefly nced over everyone before nodding with a satisfied expression.


    "Not bad."


    "Out of the 25 million of you that entered the second round, roughly 13 million of you decided to surrender," said the man. "A small portion of those 13 million surrendered just after fighting the first beast."


    "However, the majority of those that surrendered pushed themselves to their very limits, wanting to see how far they could go before realizing where their limits were."


    "Though all of them have been returned to your home as of this moment, I would like to say that those people have shown a level of courage that even I, Scho''doxa, would highly respect."


    "Unfortunately¡­" Just as those that remained after the second round thought that the man above them was going to continue talking about positive things, the man''s next words caused the expressions of many among them to turn grim.


    "Out of the over 12 million that remained on the arena, around half of that figure sumbed to the beasts they fought," Scho''doxa told everyone, taking on a neutral tone. "Of course, the reasons as to why they sumbed varied. It could be overconfidence, arrogance, fear, or any other reason that anyone here coulde up with."


    "Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that only over 6 million of you remain on the field as we speak."


    Whoosh!


    To no surprise, the entire field turned silent in response to Scho''doxa''s words. Whether it was grieving the fallen, giving their condolences, or inwardly crying their hearts out for the ones that lost their lives, they took the silence as an opportunity to recall and think about these people for some time.


    Yet, all of the people knew that those people that lost their lives to the beasts had made the choice that brought such a fate onto themselves.


    With that, it did not take long for them to remind themselves that, just like anything in life¡­


    They had to move on.


    Watching a considerable number of people let out collective sighs in response to their thoughts, Scho''doxa decided to break the silence as he spoke. "It''s quitemendable that all of you have decided to briefly take the time to mourn over those that lost their lives."


    "However, let me remind you that all of those people have chosen the paths that they did," continued the man, his words resonating with the earlier thoughts of the majority. "I have given everyone here a way out beforehand, even going so far as to remind everyone to not bite off more than they could chew."


    "But in the end, we are entirely responsible for our own choices. If they thought that they had the capability to fight against the beast even though they didn''t¡­ then so be it."


    "I hope their decisions serve as a good example to all of you," said Scho''doxa, sweeping his gaze over the 6 million people on the field. "A good example of what not to do in a situation where your lives at stake."


    "After all, even if you live to tell the tale now¡­ that doesn''t mean you''ll live to tell the tale forever."


    "All the advice aside, let me reward everyone for their efforts thus far."


    At those words, Scho''doxa waved his arms outward, prompting almost everyone on the field to receive notifications from their systems all of a sudden.


    Though, before they could even check on what notifications they received exactly, a set of bottles soon began to fly towards the crowd, all of which contained a golden pill that those excluded from the second round had be more than familiar with.


    "Now, before you take those pills, let me tell you something beforehand." Learning from his mistakes during the second round, Scho''doxa went ahead and took the initiative to exin the effects of the pills to everyone.


    Naturally, he also exined how the pill''s effects would grow better the more rounds they passed. However, that still did not stop some of them from consuming the pills within their bottles without hesitation.


    Bitterly smiling at how foolhardy some people were in the face of good advice, the man slightly shook his head before giving everyone a brief exnation regarding the notifications they received.


    Talking about the upgrade to their title in detail, even those that automatically passed the second round listened to what Scho''doxa had to say, curious as to whether the man would give tidbits of information that they didn''t do.


    Surprisingly, he did, causing not only them, but the entire crowd of 6 million people that remained on the field to be excited for the third round.


    "Though I''ll be giving you all some time to rest after the second round, it doesn''t hurt to tell you what the third round is going to be like beforehand." Realizing that he turned a negative into a positive, Scho''doxa faintly smiled as he introduced the next round of the tournament to everyone.


    "In short, the third round is the same as the second round, but also different in a way."


    "That''s because¡­ instead of fighting beasts¡­"


    "You''ll be fighting against human puppets!"

 Chapter 1141 An Offer

    1141 An Offer


    Whoosh!


    Without even giving anyone time to process what he just said, Scho''doxa went ahead and conjured a rift beside him, only for a being that looked just like a normal person to appear beside him in front of everyone.


    However, as everyone looked at the being for a bit longer, they gradually began to notice that the being wasn''t really an actual person.


    If anything, it only resembled one.


    Though its structure looked simr to the three races that were most prevalent in Veldanyr, almost all of the parts making up its body were more metallic and synthetic in nature, causing it to faintly give off a lifeless air. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "I see¡­" With that realization, almost a third of the over 6 million people on the field only took a little bit more time to understand what was going on, their eyes widening with both understanding and curiosity as they continued to nce at the being that stood beside Scho''doxa.


    Of course, because of their newfound understandings, some of the people near them began to ask them what they found out from looking at the being.


    However, most of them still continued to stare at the metallic being beside the man, hoping that the man himself would give them insight on what was going on.


    Bitterly smiling as he noticed the gazes he was receiving, Scho''doxa faintly let out a low sigh as he ced his hand over the being''s shoulder. "For reference, this is an example of the human puppets you''ll be fighting during the third round."


    "In others, these beings are generally known as androids or robots," said the man. "However, since your hasn''t reached that level of technology yet¡­ I guess the closest thing that could beparable to what I''ve shown just now is a humanoid energy construct."


    "What?!" Though almost everyone on the field was confused at first when they heard the terms Scho''doxa uttered out, that confusion immediately turned into shock when the man soon corrected himself.


    Most of the people on the field knew what an energy construct was. In essence, it was aplex structure made out of mana to fulfill a specific purpose.


    A good example of that would be the teleportation constructs used by the various guilds to teleport their members from one ce to another.


    With that in mind, almost all of them began to associate energy constructs as something soplex that only had the ability to fulfill a single purpose.


    Yet, at that moment, Scho''doxa was telling them something that went against what they knew.


    Of course, that was none other than the notion that there were energy constructs out there that had the ability to fulfill several purposes instead of just one.


    Because of that, a considerable portion of the crowd began to discuss what Scho''doxa told them, with most of them being those who''d devoted a great part of their lives towards the innovation of energy constructs.


    Seeing as the man hovering above them had given them a new goal to strive for, it went without saying that their voices gradually grew louder and louder, their words eventually nketing the entire crowd of over 6 million people.


    Surprisingly, no one told them to shut up. If anything, most, if not all of them were in support of their ns of attempting to emte what Scho''doxa just showed them.


    After all, if they were to be sessful in copying even a small portion of what the being beside Scho''doxa could do, they were more than certain that the innovations they made would possibly usher in a new era for Veldanyr.


    ''To think I''d see an android this early on.'' On the other hand, Valyr''s attention was still mostly focused on the being beside Scho''doxa, his eyes gleaming with interest.


    Though he did listen to the discussions that were happening around him every once in a while, the young man did not really pay mind to it much. After all, energy constructs weren''t really his field of expertise.


    With that, his mind instead thought about how long it''d take him to get to the point of being able to create an android himself, considering that his field of expertise was mostly in the world of technology.


    ''Yeah¡­'' In the end, Valyr was eventually forced to shelve the thought for the meantime, reminding himself that he was still nowhere nearpleting any of the goals he''d set for himself in his current life.


    ''Not only that, but if I were really adamant in creating an android right now, I''d need a ton more Technology Points, materials, and money than I currently have ess to,'' thought the young man to himself as he faintly shook his head. ''And even with that, I''d only be able to create a crude version of one.''


    By the time Valyr was finished with his train of thought, almost everyone had also finished their discussions as well, allowing Scho''doxa to continue his exnation of how the third round would work.


    After making sure that everyone had an idea of what their opponent was for the third round, the man then proceeded to exin that it was up to them on how hard of an opponent they would like to fight.


    Going through the four levels of difficulty he offered them in considerable detail, Scho''doxa then told them that they were guaranteed a reward no matter how difficult of an opponent they chose.


    Of course, he rified that the reward for the third round only got better if the opponent they chose was of a higher difficulty.


    "With that being said, even though I feel like a broken record for saying this again, don''t bite off more than you could chew," reminded Scho''doxa once more, prompting everyone to be silent as they nodded in response. "There''s nothing wrong with experimenting to find out your limits, but have the conscience to know when to retreat."


    "Aside from that, the way you forfeit from the third round is pretty simr to the second round," continued the man, recalling that he''d almost forgotten to mention it back in the previous round. "Just say the words ''I surrender'' and I''ll send you back to your home."


    After that, the man gave everyone a heads-up that the third round would start on the following day, finally allowing everyone on the field to get the well-needed rest they deserved.


    "So, how did you guys fare during the second round?" Having been separated from the four due to Scho''doxa''s actions during the previous round, it took a while for Valyr to find Julian and the others amongst the sea of people on the field.


    "Pretty good." Of course, all of them were d and relieved to see Valyr the moment he appeared, though Wells began to look at him with a hint of envy. "I was able to kill the eighth beast before I decided to forfeit."


    "On the other hand, Edward right here was able to kill the tenth beast!" continued the man, pointing at the young teenager resting beside him.


    In response to those words, Edward briefly shed a smile at Valyr before revealing the golden pill he''d gotten from Scho''doxa.


    Nodding back as he smiled at the young teenager''s achievement, Valyr congratted Edward for obtaining the special reward before shifting his attention towards Julian and Noel. "How did you guys do?"


    "Honestly, far better than I thought," said Julian with a big grin on his face. "I thought I''d only get up to the fifth beast and just barely pass the second round. Yet, against all expectations, my Intent transformed into Force!"


    As Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise at Julian''s words, thetter continued his narration of events. "Because of that, I was able to kill off the tenth beast and got the special reward."


    Briefly ncing at the small bottle Julian got from Scho''doxa, Valyr also congratted him before shifting his gaze towards Noel. "How about you, Elder Noel? How did you do?"


    "Did simrly to that friend of yours," replied the old man after a bit of thought as he pointed at Wells. "Killed the eighth beast before I thought I''d reached my limit."


    "Though, I think it won''t be long before my strength undergoes another improvement, if you know what I mean."


    "¡­Is that so?" Listening to Noel''s words, it did not take long for Valyr to put two and two together, understanding that the old man was talking about none other than Azure Energy.


    Curious as to how much progress the man had made since the two of them left the Shadow ne, the young man was just about to ask Noel about it¡­ only to be interrupted by a familiar voice behind him.


    "Excuse me." Feeling someone tap on his shoulder, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he turned around to see who it was.


    Immediately noticing the three pairs of eyes the man had, anyints he had in his mind disappeared at that moment as he looked at the man in front of him with a smile.


    "What can I do for you, Scho''doxa?"


    "I have something to discuss with you." Returning the smile back to him, Scho''doxa responded to his query before looking at the four that were with Valyr. "I suppose you four wouldn''t have any problems if I took him away for a while?"


    Receiving a series of shaking heads in response, the man faintly smiled at the four before snapping his fingers, causing both him and Valyr to disappear from their sights.


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, both Scho''doxa and Valyr appeared in a deste corner of the field, with the nearest being to them over a hundred kilometers away.


    "So¡­" Taking in a deep breath to adjust to his current surroundings, Valyr''s expression turned solemn as he looked at Scho''doxa. "What can I actually do for you?"


    "It''s not a request, if that''s what you''re thinking." The man got straight to the point. "If anything, it''s more of an offer."


    "What kind of offer are we talking?" asked Valyr back, his eyebrow raised in curiosity.


    "An offer where both of us will surely benefit," said Scho''doxa with a faint smile. "In any case, I think you know where this conversation is heading."


    "Have you ever heard of the Gctic Eminence tournament before?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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 Chapter 1142 Galactic Eminence

    1142 Gctic Eminence


    "¡­Nope." Slightly frowning for a bit, Valyr briefly rummaged through his memories from his past life before shaking his head at the man. "Haven''t heard of it."


    "Then again, the name of the tournament is giving me a rough idea as to what it could possibly be."


    "And you wouldn''t be wrong to think that way." Scho''doxa nodded in agreement. "Just like what the name implies, the Gctic Eminence tournament is more or less the Rise to Prominence tournament you''re currently a part of, but on a much greater scale."


    "And that scale being¡­?" asked Valyr for rification.


    "The gxy Veldanyr is in," replied the man. "The Zetaris Gxy."


    "I see." Valyr nodded, only to fall silent after that. "Why me, though?"


    "Take a guess." Scho''doxa slightly shrugged his shoulders at the question. "If not you, then who else?"


    Fortunately, those words were more than enough for the young man to figure out what was going on. "Wait¡­ does this also have to do with the 2nd Tier Seed thing?"


    "Would''ve only given you the same kind of preferential treatment as the others if that weren''t the case." The man faintly smiled as he nodded. "But yeah. Bing a 2nd Tier Seed means a lot more than you think it does."


    "After all, even the feat of killing a Myth-level being at Rank 5 is already insanely difficult to achieve, considering the difference in Concepts and the like," he continued, prompting Valyr to intently listen. "Which is why it''s incredibly surprising that you were able to kill a Myth while still being at Rank 3."


    "How did you do that anyway?"


    "Let''s just say it includes a bit of luck," said Valyr with a faint chuckle, even though he knew in reality that it was anything but.


    Pondering a bit more over their conversation, the young man eventually recalled the words Scho''doxa briefly mentioned to him during the first round involving 4th Tier Seeds.


    Feeling like he was onto something with the thought, Valyr eventually decided to delve deeper into it,ing to a conclusion that prompted him to ask Scho''doxa a question. "Say, does bing a Seed have something to do with killing a Myth before bing one?"


    "Didn''t the title''s description already mention that to you?" Scho''doxa looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, with Valyr not taking long to understand that he was referring to [Surpassing Mortal Bounds]. "In any case, if that wasn''t obvious, that is indeed the requirement."


    "Killing a Myth-level being at Rank 5 ssifies you as a 4th Tier Seed, while killing one at Rank 4 ssifies you as a 3rd Tier Seed."


    "Doing it at Rank 3 makes you a 2nd Tier Seed, doing it at Rank 2 makes you a 1st Tier Seed, while doing it at Rank 1 makes you an Eminent Seed," exined the man, causing Valyr''s eyes to widen in response.


    "Wait¡­ there''s people out there who''ve killed Myths at Rank 1?" Valyr found it unbelievable.


    Though, as he pondered over it for a bit more, he gradually began to realize that it wasn''t as unbelievable as he initially thought it would be.


    "There are many ways to do it," exined Scho''doxa with a shrug. "After all, all that matters is thest hit that finally ends the Myth''s life."


    "¡­Huh." For a while, Valyr nked out at the thought, recalling all of the titles he''d gotten from the past by making use of simr loopholes.


    With a shake of his head, he discarded those thoughts for the meantime as he realized they''ve veered off from their main topic. "So¡­ about the Gctic Eminence tournament."


    "How would that benefit both of us, exactly?"


    "If you enter the tournament, you''ll gain ess to various items and features that aren''t avable on your home," said Scho''doxa in a slightly persuading tone. "On the other hand, I''d gain a little something from the system itself with this referral."


    ''Wouldn''t be surprised if that little something was an increase to his Authority stat,'' thought Valyr to himself, being reminded that the man in front of him was an Arbiter.


    Scratching the back of his head as he mulled over the man''s offer, Valyr continued to ask thetter a couple more questions, his thoughts at a crossroads. "Will I have to enter the Gctic Eminence tournament once this one''s done? Is there any downsides to entering the tournament?"


    "The only downside I could think of is the amount of time you''ll be spending," replied Scho''doxa after mulling over Valyr''s questions for a bit. "As for your first question, the Gctic Eminence tournament only begins once all the Rise to Prominence tournaments are done."


    "Considering the speed at which we''re progressing here, I''d say the Gctic Eminence tournament would start a couple of years from now." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I see." With that, the young man easily knew what choice to make. "If that''s the case, then I guess you could say I''m willing to participate."


    "d to hear." Unsurprisingly, Scho''doxa donned a bright grin in response as he extended his hand out for a handshake.


    Though, just as he reciprocated the handshake in return, Valyr froze in his tracks as he heard the next words that came out of the man''s mouth.


    "Honestly, I thought I''d have to exin a bit more about the tournament to finally get the thought through. After all, the Legends and Myths of your usually tend to know more about such things."


    "Who knew you''d be so knowledgeable of the world beyond your home?"


    At those words, Valyr merely smiled as he remained silent, his mind in slight turmoil at that moment as he wondered whether he said something he shouldn''t have.


    Fortunately, he had done nothing of the sort, with Scho''doxa''s actions after that acting as proof of the im.


    Faintly letting out a sigh of relief as their conversation came to an end, the two eventually returned to the main portion of the field, causing them to appear in front of Julian and the others after some time.


    Waving farewell to Scho''doxa after that, Valyr was soon surrounded by the four as they were curious as to what the two of them talked about.


    Briefly ncing at the man''s fleeting silhouette, the young man merely smiled back at them in response as he told them that their conversation wasn''t anything that important.


    With a bit more misdirection here and there, the four eventually stopped talking about the conversation he and Scho''doxa had, allowing the five of them to get all the rest they needed before the third round began.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1143 Optional Challenge

    1143 Optional Challenge


    "Alright. Rest time''s over."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment an entire day had exactly passed since the end of the second round, Scho''doxa appeared in front of them once more, giving off an imposing presence the moment he appeared.


    Unsurprisingly, the aura he radiated was more than enough for everyone to get up on their feet, including Valyr and the others, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.


    Though their conversation was abruptly cut short, the five instead shifted their attention towards the man above them, slightly curious as to what he''d do next.


    Swoosh!


    Taking note of the various gazes he''d gotten in response to his sudden show of force, Scho''doxa went ahead and waved his arms as if he were conducting a band, sending out a myriad number of energy strands in the process.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Within seconds, all these energy strands hastily made their way towards the arena where the second round was held, causing almost everyone on the field to redirect their gaze towards the arena in response.


    "Hmm." Once Scho''doxa was certain that all of the energy strands he released were now surrounding the arena, he then proceeded to swipe one of his arms downward, causing a maelstrom of energy to rain down on the arena soon after.


    Crackle¡­ crunch!


    Hearing how the energy collided with the arena, a considerable portion of people on the field thought that the man was slowly demolishing it as a show of force, reminding everyone of the entity that was leading the tournament they were in.


    However, as more and more time passed, the people began to realize that what Scho''doxa was doing had nothing to do with demolition whatsoever.


    Instead, it would be more apt to call it renovation.


    Crackle¡­ crackle¡­ crack!


    As the sounds of something cracking from the arena began to increase in frequency, everyone watched as the outeryer of the arena gradually peeled off, revealing ayer that looked quite simr to the metallic material that made up the android from earlier.


    By the time a few minutes had passed, the weathered arena that everyone was in during the second round was all but gone.


    Taking its ce was an arena that seemed to be fully made out of metal from the inside out, causing many to recall the humanoid energy construct that stood beside Scho''doxa earlier.


    Though, just as everyone thought that it wouldn''t be long before all of them were transported into the new arena, a voice began to echo out from the field all of a sudden, causing all of them to look in the direction of its origin.


    Whoosh!


    "What the hell?" Whilst everyone was expecting to be teleported to the new arena the moment it was done, Valyr was instead expecting to be saved forst, considering how Scho''doxa told him that he''d passed the third round.


    Yet, against all expectations, he was instead the first one to be transported to the arena, having an invisible energy carry him there.


    Because of that, it went without saying that everyone on the field paid attention to him, causing a few who recognized Valyr''s appearance to recall what happened during the first round.


    With that, Valyr''s feats during the first round soon spread throughout the entire crowd once more as if it were a forest fire, eliciting a considerable portion of people to look at him with both fear and reverence.


    Of course, there were also those who had different expressions on their faces once they heard of Valyr''s feats.


    One of those examples would be the Shou brothers.


    "So, what if you killed a Myth-level being while you were still at Rank 3?" Hearing all of the discussions the people around them were having, You let out a snort as his expression turned grim. "In my eyes, you just got lucky!"


    "Colonel¡­" Though his expression was more or less simr to his brother, Zuo looked at the feats the people were talking about from a different perspective, prompting him to wonder whether there really was a need for their retaliation.


    Surprisingly, a few other people on the field had simr thoughts to Zuo, wondering whether it was the right thing to antagonize the young man Scho''doxa was bringing over.


    "I know it''s for the Empire¡­" muttered Meirat to himself, his expression a mix of various emotions. "But is war really the only way that''s avable for us to resolve this?"


    Being one of Khorza''an''s Chosen, Meirat knew that he was merely an extension of their Emperor''s decisions, having no say as to whether or not a decision of the Emperor was correct.


    In fact, it was because of that ideology that he and a few other orcs ambushed one of the Akashic Battlefields within the human kingdoms in the past, hoping to ughter humans with high-ranking sses in a bid to reduce humanity''s might.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop him from having his own thoughts in the matter, thinking of the entire war as something that only brought losses to both sides.


    ''Considering how the Emperor even ns to embroil the elves into the war¡­ I really wonder whether I''m doing the right thing,'' thought Meirat, only to correct himself soon after.


    ''¡­Or better yet, whether we''re doing the right thing.''


    Whoosh!


    Oblivious to the various thoughts people had due to his appearance, Valyr eventually arrived at a certain portion of the arena, appearing within what looked to be an audience box only made avable for the noble elite.


    Slightly confused as to why he''d been brought to the arena first, the young man soon got his answer the moment Scho''doxa appeared in front of him, with everyone else appearing on the field soon after.


    Briefly looking at the people that was nearest to him choose their opponents for the third round, Valyr shifted his gaze towards Scho''doxa before raising his eyebrow. "So?"


    "Hmm? Oh." Looking back at him in response, the man went silent for a bit before understanding what was going on. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Yeah, just wanted to change it up," the man told him, shrugging his shoulders soon after. "Whether you appear in the arena first orst doesn''t matter. After all, you''re the only person on the field at this moment to have passed the third round."


    "Really?" Hearing those words, Valyr paused for a bit before looking around, eventually confirming that he was the only one among them to be inside an audience box. "Wasn''t there 340 other people with me during the second round earlier, though?"


    "4th Tier Seeds," said Scho''doxa in response, which was enough for the young man to understand what was going on.


    With that, he returned his attention back to the arena below, only to be greeted by the sight of people finally fighting against the opponents they''ve chosen.


    "Say¡­" Whilst Valyr was in the midst of watching the few remaining people choose their opponents for the third round, Scho''doxa asked him a question all of a sudden. "Don''t you think it''s kind of boring just watching them fight?"


    "Do you want me to head down there and fight a human puppet as well?" asked Valyr in response, getting a rough idea of what the man wanted to say. "Or are you proposing something else?"


    "Just a small challenge, that''s all." Scho''doxa faintly smiled with amusement. "Of course, you''re free to refuse."


    Ignoring the man''stter statement, Valyr raised his eyebrow as he asked him, "What''s the challenge, exactly?"


    "Call it my curiosity wanting an answer to its questions," replied Scho''doxa as he maintained a faint smile. "I''m pretty sure the two of us know that the hardest opponent one could fight during the third round is a human puppet that''s one entire ss rank above them."


    "But what if I told you that I had a human puppet that''s two entire ss ranks above you?"


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1144 Proving Feats (1)

    1144 Proving Feats (1)


    "You wouldn''t be saying that for no reason." Raising his eyebrow in response to Scho''doxa''s words, Valyr instantly understood what the man wanted him to do. "I''m guessing you want me to fight against it?"


    "As I said, call it my curiosity wanting an answer to its questions." In response to the question, the man''s smile widened, only for him to nod soon after. "But yes. That''s indeed the case."


    Having his hypothesis be confirmed outright, the young man let out a faint sigh before briefly ncing at the people below.


    Thinking about how they were pushing themselves to the limits against the opponent they chose, Valyr went silent for a bit as he returned his gaze back to Scho''doxa.


    With a faint amused smile on his lips, he then asked him, "What do I get in exchange if I agree?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "A far better reward than the one I nned for the third round," replied the man as if it were a matter of fact. "Of course, I''m talking about a reward whose worth is way beyond the reward I n for those whoplete the hardest difficulty."


    "Oh?" At that point, Valyr raised his eyebrow once more. "I''m assuming you''re doing this because you want to know if I''m truly eligible to enter the Gctic Eminence tournament of yours?"


    "There''s that." Feeling as if he were found out, Scho''doxa let out a wry chuckle as he nodded. "But most of it is due to my own curiosity."


    "After all, even though I know you killed a Myth-level being while you were still at Rank 3 through your title, I still want to know how you exactly did it."


    "Think of it as a requesting from Scho''doxa, the person," the man continued. "Not as Scho''doxa, the Arbiter presiding over the Rise to Prominence tournament."


    "I don''t know." As he listened to Scho''doxa''s words, a faint smile crept up on the edge of Valyr''s lips as he found it slightly amusing to tease the man. "How much better would the reward bepared to the one you''d give to those who clear the hardest difficulty?"


    "As someone who automatically passed the third round, I''d also be able to get thetter, no?"


    "Believe me when I say it''s far better than the reward I initially nned on giving," replied Scho''doxa, seemingly having shed all pretenses as he allowed his curious side do all of the talking. "If you want, I could even give you the reward I nned on giving during the fourth round in advance," continued the man, his tone now containing a hint of desperation.


    Feeling as if he was talking to a different side of Scho''doxa at that very moment, the young man decided not to beat around the bush any longer, having already achieved what he wanted to happen. "Alright. However, you better be ready to rescue me when things go awry."


    "But of course." Letting out a wide sigh of relief after hearing Valyr agree to his small challenge, Scho''doxa took in a deep breath as he nodded at his words. "It''s a challenge that I personally proposed, after all."


    "Then again, I can''t believe how you had me at the palm of your hand just now," said the man, shaking his head at the thought as he wryly smiled.


    Valyr could only let out a slight chuckle in response. "Don''t me it on me. You''re the one who let his curiosity get the better of him."


    "Well, you''re not wrong." Slightly taken aback by Valyr''s words, Scho''doxa could only let out a bitter chuckle at the end.


    After talking about the small challenge for a bit more, both Scho''doxa and Valyr soon made their way to a part of the arena that looked awfully simr to the ce where the other people were taking the third round.


    However, unlike thetter, the ce where the two arrived looked more like a massive room created to test out various ideas.


    Arriving at the room, Valyr briefly nced at Scho''doxa, who pointed at an area of the room that seemed to have been intentionally made for spectators.


    Faintly nodding in response, the young man watched from afar as the man brought out a puppet that looked awfully simr to the one he brought out over a day ago.


    Activating his identification skill on the puppet, Valyr nced at Scho''doxa for a bit before asking, "When you said you had a puppet that''s two ss ranks higher than me, do you mean that in terms of stats¡­ or do you mean it''s literally two ss ranks higher than me?"


    "Thetter," rified the man. "Think Armaments, Legacies, Concepts, and so on. The puppet I brought out has all of that."


    "¡­I see." Receiving question marks from the system in response to his attempt at identifying the puppet''s stats, Valyr asked Scho''doxa if he could identify the puppet for him and show him its stats.


    Slightly confused at first, the man eventually understood why the young man made such a request.


    With that, he went ahead and used his own identification skill on the puppet, only to show its results to the young man not long after.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [MP-3 Training Android (Mythic Elite)] (Level 130)


    ss: Refined MP-3 Training Android (Epic)


    HP: 322,790/322,790


    MP: 111,270/111,270


    Attack: 39,111 - 39,111


    Defense: 38,280 - 38,280


    Stats: 5147 VIT, 5067 STR, 4926 AGI, 4992 DEX, 1701 INT, 1841 WIS, 2169 PER, 526 LUK


    Concepts: [Concept of Extended Combat], [Concept of Perseverance]


    Armaments: [Armament of Extended Combat (Stage 0)]


    Skills: [MP-3 Android Combat Style], [MP-3 Android Training Arts], [MP-3 Android Music yer], and 43 other skills.


    Remarks: An android built by an incredibly capable tinkerer, this training android is based off the general purpose training model of the Laine-Klein Corporation.


    Originally meant to go up to the peak of Rank 5 in terms of strength, this android exhibits a level of strength way beyond that due to the requests of its owner, allowing it to be a formidable opponent for those who yearn to polish their skill.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "The peak of Rank 6, huh¡­" Sucking in a breath of cold air as he finished reading through the puppet''s stats, Valyr immediately took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down.


    Then, ncing at the puppet he was about to fight against, the young man''s expression gradually turned solemn as he reminded himself that his strength had grown by leaps and boundspared to what it was back when he was at the peak of Rank 3.


    Though his physical stats paled inparison to the android''s stats, Valyr was confident that his strength was more than enough to take care of a peak Rank 6 puppet, especially if he were to go all out.


    Feeling like he''d prepared himself the best he could for the fight, the young man nced at Scho''doxa and gave him a nod, prompting thetter to start up the puppet in response.


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Scho''doxa activated the puppet, it immediately identified Valyr as its target for training, causing it to have no hesitation in charging towards the young man at great speeds.


    Although the puppet''s speed definitely surprised him at first, the young man forced himself to maintainposure, taking in deep breaths from time to time while keeping an eye on the puppet''s movements as best as he could.


    Conjuring a strand of blue-white energy as he thought about the n he''d formted to subdue the puppet just now, Valyr went ahead and took out a weapon from his spatial bracelet, knowing that pulling any punches at this moment might just cost him his life.


    After all, even though he was fighting against a puppet, it still had the strength of a bona fide peak Rank 6 being.


    However, what he did not know¡­ was that Scho''doxa recognized the weapon he was holding.


    Swoosh!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1145 Proving Feats (2)

    1145 Proving Feats (2)


    "Wait¡­" Noticing that Valyr brought out a new weapon all of a sudden, Scho''doxa went ahead and focused his attention on it, only to feel like he''d seen the weapon somewhere before.


    "What?!" Realizing the reason for the feeling he got a few secondster, the man''s eyes widened in disbelief as his mouth went agape. "How the hell did he get his hands on an arquebus?!"


    Before bing the Arbiter of Veldanyr''s Rise to Prominence tournament, Scho''doxa had to learn about Veldanyr''s culture and history in order to make sure that the five rounds of the tournament adapted well to the''s circumstances.


    Though there were some rounds where he really couldn''t change much, such as the third round that was currently going on, the man was more or less sessful in doing so, especially after he took the''s level of technology into consideration.


    Of course, it was because he knew the''s current level of technology that he was shocked and surprised when Valyr brought his arquebus out, causing him to nkly stare at it for quite some time.


    "Haah¡­" By the time he was able to snap back to reality, Scho''doxa took in a deep breath topose himself, only to then watch as Valyr began to arm his arquebus.


    ''The firing mechanism is definitely matchlock.'' Although most of his attention was still on the fight as a whole, the man still nced at the young man''s weapon from time to time. ''However, it''s been modified in a way that it looks more like theter firing mechanisms.''


    Watching as the young man teleported away from his current spot the moment the puppet aimed to strike at him, Scho''doxa faintly nodded in satisfaction as he continued on his current train of thought. ''If I were topare it to the arquebuses and other firearms found ons near Veldanyr, none of them resemble the one he''s currently wielding whatsoever¡­ which means the arquebus could only be forged on the itself.''


    "But isn''t Veldanyr''s level of technology still around the end of the Early Middle Ages?" muttered Scho''doxa to himself, recalling what he''d learned about the before bing the Arbiter of its tournament.


    "To create an arquebus, you''d need technology around the Late Middle Ages at the very least. Though, preferably, you''d want technology at the Renaissance Age for an effective arquebus."


    "That''s about three eras of technology more advanced than what Veldanyr currently has." Feeling that this part of his exnation was the main cause for his confusion, the man pushed his current train of thought to the side for the meantime, instead deciding to look at it from a more open perspective.


    With that, it did not take long for him toe up with a usible hypothesis involving a recluse being that had ess to technology far more advanced than what wasmonly avable on Veldanyr.


    "At that point, the only question that remains is who forged the arquebus he holding," said Scho''doxa to himself. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, what he didn''t know¡­ was the person who forged the arquebus was none other than the young man currently wielding it.


    ¡­


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]!"


    Whoosh!


    Having kept an eye on his opponent all this time, Valyr swiftly teleported away from where he previously stood, giving himself a bit more time to arm his arquebus for firing.


    Taking out the materials needed for the weapon to work from his spatial bracelet, the young man decided to enlist the help of a couple translucent arms, speeding up a bit of the preparation process.


    Swoosh!


    As for the puppet, after missing its target the first time, it hastily stopped its movements before turning around to look where its opponent went.


    Finding out that its opponent had appeared near where it initially stood, the puppet did not hesitate to charge once more, putting a bit more strength into its feet in the process.


    Because of that, it took far less time for it to appear in front of the young man, which would have caught Valyr unaware if it were its attempt from before.


    Unfortunately, having already loaded the arquebus for firing, Valyr proceeded onto his next step of the n, infusing the strand of blue-white energy with his thoughts before sending it towards the puppet.


    Thud!


    At the very instant the two-colored strand made contact with the puppet''s body, a plethora of blue-white vines swiftly began to bind its lower region in ce, causing the momentum it previously built up to instead force it to crash head first into the floor.


    Though the collision the puppet experienced was more than enough to render any other being in its ce unconscious, the puppet instead began to stand up in response, realizing that it had been caught unaware by its opponent at that moment.


    Reminding itself not to make the same mistake the next time, the puppet went ahead and attempted to cut the vines binding it down, only to then find out that the vines seemingly regenerated themselves the moment they were cut.


    Realizing that the vines pinning it down could not be cut at all, the puppet soon thought about escaping its current predicament through brute force, hoping that redirecting all of its strength towards one spot was enough for it to free itself.


    However, before the puppet could even enact its idea, Valyr had already made his move, empowering his stats as much as he could before pressing on the trigger.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Raging Azure Phoenix]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    Bang!


    With the aura he let out being far more tyrannical than the one he showed off back during the first round, Valyr aimed the arquebus directly at the puppet''s chest, where its only vital spot could be found.


    Its power core.


    ''-832,975!!!''


    Unsurprisingly, the bullet that shot out of the arquebus packed more than enough power to kill it almost twice over, causing the puppet to pause in its tracks as a dark red number began to hover above its head.


    Then, a few secondster, as if it finally realized what had happened, the puppet soon lost all signs of life as it crashed to the ground.


    Crash!


    Dispelling the field of blue-white energy that pinned the puppet to its ce, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief once he made sure the puppet had no ability to resurrect itself from death.


    ''Then again, I wouldn''t be surprised if it had an ability like that,'' thought the young man as he stored all of the items he brought out back into his spatial bracelet. ''It is an android, after all.''


    "In any case, that was really close," muttered Valyr to himself as he thought back to the fight just now. "If I took just a bit longer to arm the arquebus, perhaps the puppet would''ve been the victor of the fight."


    Briefly thinking back to the field that bound the puppet where it was, the young man recalled how quickly it siphoned his Mystic Energy before he could even infuse more mana into the blue-white strand.


    Because of that, he realized that he still had a ways to go if he wanted to say he was more than confident enough in fighting Myth-level beingsfortably.


    Though, if one were to ask him if he could fight Myth-level beings and defeat them¡­


    "¡­Honestly, I thought that the reason why you defeated the Myth-level being back then was because you had a powerful skill or had insanely high stats for your rank." While Valyr was still somewhat immersed in his own train of thought, Scho''doxa went ahead and left the spectator''s area as he made his way to where the young man was.


    Though he didn''t hear what the man said at first, Valyr was still able to fill in the gaps in Scho''doxa''s words the moment he snapped back to reality.


    "Well, you still have insanely high stats for your ss rank," the man said to him. "However, if we''re talking about its contribution to being able to fight a Myth-level being, I''d say its contributions are minuscule."


    "Especially if you think about how you have ess to an arquebus."


    With how Scho''doxa had the ability to bring out a Myth-level android as if it were nothing, Valyr wasn''t surprised to find out that he also knew what an arquebus was.


    After all, from what he could infer, the man had ess to far more advanced weaponry than just the arquebus.


    "Curious?" Of course, he also knew why Scho''doxa brought it up. "Wanna know why something like this is in Veldanyr?"


    "I would be lying if I said I wasn''t," replied the man with a slight chuckle.


    Retrieving the puppet he brought out, Scho''doxa looked at Valyr with a curious expression. "So, where''d ite from? A recluse being who has ess to advanced technology? I wouldn''t even be surprised if it came from an inheritance of sorts."


    Briefly opening up a screen in front of him, Scho''doxa interacted with it for a bit before tossing a couple of bottles to the young man.


    11:22


    Ding!


    Briefly pausing at the man''s spections, the young man could not help but bitterly smile as he replied, "I''d say it''s a mix of both."


    "A mix of both?" Scho''doxa had a look of slight confusion. "So¡­ a recluse being in an inheritance?"


    ''¡­Even that interpretation isn''t wrong.'' Though Valyr had such thoughts in response to the man''s words, he decided to remain silent, letting Scho''doxa interpret it however he liked.


    Fortunately, the man did not delve into the topic any deeper after that, knowing that there were just some things that were better left unsaid.


    Letting out a forced cough to alleviate a bit of the awkwardness, Scho''doxa then returned the topic of their conversation to what it should''ve been.


    "Anyways, since youpleted the challenge I gave you, here''s the rewards I promised."


    Whoosh!


    Briefly opening up a screen in front of him, Scho''doxa interacted with it for a bit before tossing a couple of bottles to the young man.


    Ding!


    Receiving the bottles with both hands, Valyr nced at their contents in curiosity, only to pause as he heard a series of notifications go off in his mind.


    cing the bottles in his spatial bracelet for the meantime, he then proceeded to bring up his notification screen. Whoosh!


    Reading through them with a solemn expression, the first few notifications he got were something he was already expecting to receive.


    However¡­ the same couldn''t be said for the ones that came after.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1146 Candidacy

    1146 Candidacy


    [You have passed the third round of the Rise to Prominence tournament.]


    [As proof of your passing, your title ''Tier II Being'' has been upgraded to ''Tier III Being''.]


    With him being the only one on the field to have automatically passed the third round, Valyr knew that it was only a matter of time before he''d be given the title he just received.


    Though he was slightly curious as to what was changed by the upgrade, the young man decided to push the thought aside for the meantime, considering he already had a good idea of what it could possibly be.


    Instead, he shifted his attention towards the notifications that came after, which pretty much confirmed the puppet''s death.


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in a Level 130 MP-3 Training Android (Mythic Elite). You have gained 15,116,513 XP.]


    [The Arbiter Scho''doxa has witnessed your feats and is astounded by them. The Arbiter has decided to increase the XP you''ve just earned by tenfold.]


    Although he was partly expecting to not receive a kill notification due to the nature of the opponent he fought, Valyr also thought that it was possible for him to obtain a kill notification due to the sheer strength of his opponent.


    However, what he did not expect was that Scho''doxa would increase the amount of XP he earned from killing the puppet, increasing it from 15 million XP to over 150 million.


    ''This reminds me of the time when I killed that amalgamation thing back in the Mystic ne,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself after calcting his final XP gain, causing him to let out a slight chuckle as he moved onto remaining notifications.


    Skipping over the notification that talked about the progress he made in improving [yer of Ascendants], the young man was eventually greeted by a pair of notifications that only made him question where it came from.


    [The Arbiter Scho''doxa has witnessed your feats and is astounded by them. You have gained their recognition, as well as the recognition of the system.]


    [The Arbiter has decided to bestow upon you the title ''Eminence Candidate''.]


    Of course, after going over the notifications for a bit, it did not take long for him to obtain the answers to his questions, prompting him to look at Scho''doxa with a raised eyebrow.


    Understanding what Valyr wanted to know from his gaze alone, the man gave a slightly wry smile as he exined, "Consider it a token of apology for potentially putting your life on the line. You did fight against a peak Rank 6 being, after all."


    Though the man''s words did answer the question he had in mind, Valyr felt that there was more to the matter, causing his expression to remain as he looked at Scho''doxa with greater intent.


    "You got me." Feeling like he''d been found out, the wry smile on Scho''doxa could only deepen. "If you want an actual answer as to why I gave you that title¡­ call it a small investment."


    "An investment¡­ how?" asked Valyr back,manding the system to bring up the description of his newly obtained title. "Also, what''s an Eminence? Is it rted to the Gctic Eminence tournament we talked about earlier?"


    Ding!


    Seeing as Scho''doxa was still pondering over how he''d phrase his exnation, Valyr decided to take a brief nce at the screen he brought up to get a slightly better idea of what he received. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Eminence Candidate] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary


    Though there are many beings throughout the universe whose strengths instill fear into the system they rely upon, only a small portion of these beings obtain the recognition of the system, allowing their strengths to affect even the system itself.


    Because of their unworldly strength, they aremonly known as Eminences.


    Having been recognized by an Arbiter, you have gained the recognition of the system by extension. However, to shed your position as a candidate and be a true Eminence, you must first fulfill a set of requirements and trials.


    Note that each fulfilled requirement and trial puts you one step closer to bing a true Eminence.


    Requirements to Eminence:


    - Reach the peak of Rank 5 (0/1)


    - Comprehend at least 3 Forces (0/3)


    - Form a Legacy that''s Epic grade or higher (0/1)


    Trials to Eminence:


    - Trial of Strength (0/1)


    - Trial of Wisdom (0/1)


    - Trial of Persistence (0/1)


    - Trial of Eminence (0/1)


    Effects:


    - 1% boost to all stats


    - 1% boost to max HP and MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So, to sum things up, an Eminence is pretty much an existence thatmands respect and honor from everyone." Just as Valyr was finished going through his new title, Scho''doxa began his exnation on what an Eminence was.


    "Though this is mostly due to the fact that Eminences are beings recognized by the system, it is also because they act as representatives of specific ces to varying degrees, the degree depending on their tier of Eminence."


    "The lowest tier would beary Eminences, who represent an entire, while one step above that would be Ster Eminences, who represent an entire star system."


    "After that would be the Gctic Eminences, who represent an entire gxy. Answering your question from earlier, it does have something to do with the tournament you agreed to participate in."


    "As for thest tier of Eminence, as well as the highest tier of Eminence, that would be the Cosmic Eminences. They''re existences that represent a supercluster of gxies."


    Closing up the screen he brought up, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before asking Scho''doxa a question. "And they represent these ces¡­ why?"


    "That''s more of a secondary effect to bing an Eminence, actually," replied Scho''doxa. "In short, bing an Eminence brings different kinds of benefits to those that reside in the same ce as where theye from. Greater lifespan, greater XP gain, and so on and so forth."


    "Though, bing an Eminence mainly allows you to have greater control over the system, generally speaking."


    "I see." Though there were still a couple parts where he found the exnation confusing, Valyr more or less understood what the man was trying to say. "Anyways, what do you mean by this being a small investment?"


    "It''d be correct to say that it''s more of a gamble rather than an investment," rified Scho''doxa with a slightly wry smile. "Though the reason why I say that is because of the uncertainty I have towards your growthter on."


    "If we''re talking about this tournament, I have no doubt whatsoever that you''d reach the final round and bag the bestbination of rewards possible." The man slightly chuckled at the thought. "On second thought, with the rewards I just gave you, you''ll bag abination that''s far better than what''s possible."


    "But yeah. If nothing goes wrong, I''d say you have a good shot at bing a true Eminence in the future."


    "If anything, I''m just speeding up the process by giving you the title in advance."


    "So¡­" Bing silent as he listened to the man''s exnation, Valyr eventually opened his mouth once more as he looked at Scho''doxa. "You''re giving me the title in advance in order for me to have a reason to return the favor if I do be one."


    "Is that correct?"


    At those words, Scho''doxa could only give the young man a bitter smile in response, which was more than enough for Valyr to know that he hit it right on the mark.


    Though he inwardly shook his head at the thought, Valyr also came to the conclusion that it was only a matter of time for him to be an Eminence on his own.


    After all, he was confident that he''d achieve the requirements written on the description sooner orter.


    ''If anything, the only thing stopping me from bing an Eminence would be the trials,'' thought Valyr to himself, eventually deciding to ask Scho''doxa more about it after that.


    With Scho''doxa giving him a brief exnation on what the four trials were, the two of them swiftly made their way back to the audience box, only to be greeted by the sight of the third round reaching its climax by the time they arrived.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1147 The Third Rounds Conclusion

    1147 The Third Round''s Conclusion


    Whoosh!


    Although the two had only been away from the audience box for a short while, a lot of changes had happened to the arena below while they were gone.


    For one, over half of the 6 million people that participated in the third round had already defeated their opponents. In fact, all of them were just resting up and recuperating for the fourth round that was toe, realizing that there were still some people on the arena fighting against their opponents.


    Being greeted by such a sight, Scho''doxa was slightly left at a loss for words as he did not expect for so much to happen during the time that they were gone.


    Nevertheless, as the tournament''s Arbiter, the man quickly adapted to the current situation and did a quick sweep of the arena to get an overall view of what was going on.


    After waving his arms here and there to teleport those who''d surrendered during the third round back to Veldanyr, Scho''doxa eventually let out a wide sigh of relief as he made his way back to the audience box.


    "How did it go?" Though he was still in the midst of processing the exnation Scho''doxa gave him on the four trials to be an Eminence, Valyr paused his train of thought for a bit as he looked at him with slight concern.


    "Far better than I thought it would," replied Scho''doxa after catching his breath. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Letting out a long exhale, he continued, "Over half of the people on the arena have already finished fighting against their opponents, while a sixth decided to surrender after realizing they bit off more than they could chew."


    "Fortunately, I made sure that the puppets recognize when their opponents surrender mid-fight," said Scho''doxa as he nced at Valyr. "If else¡­"


    "How many people?" asked the young man as he raised his eyebrow.


    "From what I could see, roughly a million," replied Scho''doxa with a sigh. "However, those people decided not to surrender even though they knew they would lose to their opponent."


    "As they say, you have to be responsible for your own actions."


    At those words, Valyr remained silent, giving Scho''doxa no hint as to what he thought about the matter.


    In response to that, thetter shrugged his shoulders before shifting his gaze towards the arena, while the former decided to take a look at the things he received from Scho''doxa in greater detail.


    Bringing out the two bottles he received after killing the Myth-level puppet, Valyr took note that one contained dark purple liquid, while the other one contained what looked to be shards of stone.


    Activating [Superior Analysis] on both of them, the young man eventually figured out what they exactly were.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tonic of Heavenly Potential] (Item)


    Rarity: Mythic


    A bottle of purple fluid that would usually catch one''s attention from its unique color. However, one consumed, it would allow those that consumed it to tap into the depths of their slumbering potential.


    Being a superior version of its general counterpart, the effects it has towards one''s slumbering potential is substantially increased.


    Once consumed, this tonic improves the user''s awakened hidden stats by 1 to 2 points.


    If the user has already consumed [Catalyst of Heavenly Potential] or any of its counterparts, this tonic improves the user''s awakened hidden stats by 3 to 5 points.


    If the userbines this tonic with [Catalyst of Heavenly Potential] or any of its counterparts before consuming it, the resultingbination will exhibit twice the original efficacy.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shards of Greater Potential] (Item)


    A set of broken shards that would mostly attract one''s attention due to its appearance. However, once consumed, it would allow those that consumed it to improve their current potential.


    Once consumed, these shards improves the user''s lowest stat by 10 points.


    If the user has already consumed [Catalyst of Greater Potential] and [Tonic of Greater Potential] or any of its counterparts, these shards improve the user''s lowest stat by 20 points.


    If the userbines these shards with [Catalyst of Greater Potential] and [Tonic of Greater Potential] or any of its counterparts, the resultingbination will exhibit 50% greater efficacy.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Now I see why Scho''doxa advised us to save the rewards forter.'' After reading through the descriptions of the two items a couple of times, Valyr let out a slight exhale as he closed the screens he brought up.


    ''To think the items'' effects would actually stack multiplicatively if they werebined.''


    Though Valyr found it a slight shame that only the tonic doubled the effects of the items whenbined, he reminded himself that he was only able to get it after killing a peak Rank 6 puppet.


    If not for that, then he would''ve only gotten items that only increased the potency of their effects by 50%.


    ''Then again, even that would add up to a lot more once they''rebined,'' thought Valyr with a slight shrug before storing the two bottles back in his spatial bracelet.


    Once that was done, he then shifted his attention to the arena below, wondering if there were any fights near the audience box that were still going on.


    Unfortunately, as if the heavens told him there was no point in watching any of them, Scho''doxa left the audience box a couple minutester as he hovered in the air.


    With a swipe of his arms, he then teleported all of the people that remained on the arena back to the field, with Valyr following suit not long after.


    Whoosh!


    Standing on the field once more, Valyr looked around for a bit to see where Julian and the others were, only to turn his gaze back to the man who supervised over the entire tournament.


    "I''ve got to say¡­ everyone did a far better job than I expected." As these words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, a stream of bottles began to whiz through the air, all of themnding within the hands of everyone that currently stood on the field.


    "Out of the over 6 million people that were previously standing here, almost 4 million of you heeded my advice and came out of the arena as victors," said the man, causing everyone to erupt into slight smiles.


    "On the other hand, over a million of you knew your limits and decided to surrender," he continued. "Though, most of the people that surrendered realized it just before it could be toote."


    "As for the remaining million or so¡­" Saying these words, Scho''doxa could only don a bitter smile. "Well, you know what happened."


    In response, everyone on the field became silent once more.


    Some let out sighs as they heard the words Scho''doxa told them, while some began to sob because of it.


    Though, whenpared to how everyone reacted after the second round, almost everyone after the third round only took a brief minute or two to mull over what happened, prompting Scho''doxa to nod at everyone in satisfaction.


    "So, just like what I did after the second round, everyone will get a day to rest before the fourth round starts." While he was giving everyone on the field the Tier III counterpart of their current title, Scho''doxa gave a reminder that everyone immediately paid attention to.


    Though, just as everyone let out a sigh of relief in response, the man continued his reminder with words that caused many people to tense up.


    "However, keep in mind that the fourth round is unlike thest two rounds you''ve gone through."


    "Let''s just say¡­ be prepared to kill people."


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1148 The Fourth Round

    1148 The Fourth Round


    "¡­People?" Unsurprisingly, a number of people on the field immediately paled the moment those words left Scho''doxa''s mouth.


    After all, with the rounds that they''ve gone through so far, they were led to believe that the two remaining rounds of the tournament would more or less have the same mechanics.


    However, with Scho''doxa giving them a grim reminder that the tournament would proceed differently to how they thought, some of them began to shudder in fear, asking themselves if they had what it took to kill other people.


    Fortunately, the majority of the people on the field were indifferent, perhaps even inclined towards the matter. With that, they used his words as a reminder of what was toe, preparing both their bodies and minds for the bloodshed that might greet them on the fourth round.


    Unlike those who thought that there wasn''t much risk to the tournament overall as long as they were careful, most of them recalled the words Scho''doxa said to them at the beginning involving how the five rounds worked.


    Though some of them were taken aback when the second and third round slightly veered away from their initial thoughts of bloodshed, the thought of possibly having to kill for their own gain never truly left their minds.


    Because of that, the entire field gave off a somewhat tense atmosphere after Scho''doxa was done talking, with a considerable portion of people looking at the people surrounding them.


    After all, who knew if the people surrounding them at that moment would be the opponent they had to kill in the next round.


    Then again, not all people were like that.


    For those who were confident in their own strength, they acted as if the next round was just like any other round that came before it.


    Of course, Valyr was one of them.


    "So, how did you guys do during the third round?" Having located where Julian and the others were after being teleported out of the arena, it did not take long for the young man to make his way to them.


    "We did alright, I guess." Looking at the three apanying him for a bit, Wells eventually looked back at Valyr with a slightly wry smile. "Was able to clear the medium difficulty during the third round. Though, I should''ve probably taken the hard difficulty with how easy it was."


    11:24


    Faintly nodding at Wells'' words, Valyr then looked at Edward, who beamed a wide smile at him. "Highest difficulty there is. Cleared it without a problem."


    "Had a feeling you''d say that," replied the young man with a slight chuckle. "After all, you did get the special reward during the second round."


    After asking Julian and Noel as to how they fared during the third round, he then asked the four if he could see the rewards they got for the difficulties they cleared.


    Considering that many other people on the field cleared the same difficulties they did, the four had no problems in doing so, allowing Valyr to take a look at the difference between his reward and theirs.


    With Edward getting the best reward during the third round, it went without saying that Valyr focused his attention on his tonic first, activating [Superior Analysis] the moment he could.


    Surprisingly, it did not take long for him to understand why Scho''doxa told him his reward was better, seeing that the tonic Edward got only increased the potency of the items'' effects by 50%.


    ''Basically, I got the best variant Scho''doxa could give for the fourth round.'' Recalling the shards he''d gotten as an extra forpleting the man''s challenge, Valyr then shifted his attention towards Julian and Noel''s tonics.


    With the two of them havingpleted the hard difficulty, their tonics boosted the potency of their items'' effects by 40%. On the other hand, Wells'' tonic only boosted the potency by 30% because of his decision to clear the medium difficulty.


    Having noticed the difference between the tonics, Wells'' expression soured whilst Valyr looked around to see if there was anyone near them who cleared the third round''s easy difficulty.


    Fortunately, it only took less than a minute for him to find one, confirming that the tonic one got from clearing the easy difficulty only boosted the potency by 20%.


    "Better go all out during the next round, Wells." Realizing that Wells was the one who fared the worst among the group, Valyr could not help but have a bitter smile on his face as he tried his best to console the man.


    In response, his friend merely nodded as he remained silent, stowing the tonic away as he seemingly prepared himself for the uing round.


    Watching Wells get into a cross-legged position after that, the young man shifted his attention towards the other three, who were more than happy to talk about other stuff while they took the time to rest.


    With that, it was as if only a few hours passed by when Scho''doxa appeared in front of everyone once more, causing many to realize that their period of rest was now over.


    "Let''s move onto the fourth round, shall we?"


    Whoosh!


    At those words, the man did not decide to wait whether everyone was ready or not. Without hesitation, he swung his arms in a cyclical manner, causing the arena during the third round to start shaking all of a sudden.


    Then, just as everyone thought that the arena would crumble down once more, the arena instead began to separate into chunks, causing many to look at the sight before them with their mouths agape.


    Though he would''ve been amused by their reactions if he were to see them, Scho''doxa instead focused his whole attention on transforming the arena into the venue for the fourth round.


    Infusing all of his energy in each movement he made, the separated chunks of the arena soon began to group up once more, eventually revealing a sight that caused many to gaze it at with widened eyes.


    In just a matter of minutes, Scho''doxa was able to transform therge arena into a thousand floating tforms, all of which looked to span a kilometer in diameter at the very least.


    Seeing that all of these materials were made with the same materials that made up the arena before, almost everyone began to wonder how such a transformation was possible, prompting many of them to look at Scho''doxa for answers.


    Unfortunately, the man had no ns on giving them one.


    "I''ve mentioned before that everyone should be prepared to kill during the fourth round." Instead, Scho''doxa began to exin the fourth round''s mechanics. "This is because the fourth round¡­"


    "¡­is a battle royale."


    Unsurprisingly, almost everyone on the field did not know what Scho''doxa meant by that, wondering if it was another one of his jargons that meant something different for them.


    However, there were still a couple on the field who knew exactly what the man was talking about.


    "A battle royale, huh," murmured Valyr to himself, taking in a deep breath as he prepared his mind for what was toe. "Now I see why he said that."


    "What''s wrong?" Seeing as Valyr''s expression turned grim the moment he heard Scho''doxa''s words, Julian immediately looked at him with slight concern.


    In response, Valyr gave the four a brief exnation as to what a battle royale was, with a couple people around them even listening in on their conversation.


    Of course, by the time he was done exining, almost everyone who listened in began to prepare for the fourth round as best as they could, with some even shuddering in fear because of it.


    As for Julian and the others, the four merely had grim expressions on their faces as they nodded, knowing that there wasn''t much they could do about it as long as they nned on continuing to participate in the tournament.


    While Valyr had just finished his exnation on what battle royales were, Scho''doxa exined the mechanics of the fourth round to everyone in detail, talking about how each tform would house a hundred people each.


    "The only goal is to be thest one standing on the tform," said the man. "As long as you push others away from your tform, that''s more than enough for them to be considered disqualified."


    "However, not all people within your tform might think that way," he continued, his eyes carrying a slightly ferocious glint. "After all, there are times in our lives where we have to be a bit aggressive to get what we want."


    At that point, everyone more or less knew why Scho''doxa told them to prepare for the fourth round, continuing to listen to the man''s words regarding how the fourth round worked.


    By the time the man was done with his exnation, he let out a slight exhale before giving the information a number of people wanted to hear.


    "Unlike the rounds that came before, forfeiting during the fourth round isn''t an option," said the man, immediately causing those people to pale in fear once more.


    Fortunately, the man''s next words were more than enough for their color to return. "However, any person who gets pushed off the tform or jumps off the tform is considered disqualified and is immediately sent back to your home." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Of course, for the sake of efficiency, I''ll be asking right now if any of you want to forfeit before the fourth round even begins."


    Unexpectedly, over a million people voiced out their forfeit the moment Scho''doxa was done talking, causing a wry smile to appear on the man''s face as he sent them back to Veldanyr.


    Letting out a faint sigh after that, he then swept his gaze over the 2 million people that remained. "I suppose none of you want to forfeit as well?"


    Receiving a shake of heads in response to his question, the man nodded back with a faint smile before hovering in the air once more.


    "If that''s the case, then let the fourth round begin!"


    Whoosh!


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1149 Opportunity at Retaliation

    1149 Opportunity at Retaliation


    Just as those words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, the man swept one of his arms to the side, causing a portion of the people on the field to teleport on the floating tforms.


    Surprisingly, one of those chosen was Valyr.


    Whoosh!


    Though he''d been caught unaware when he was teleported to one of the tforms, the young man immediately understood what was going on, reminding himself that he''d only gotten a pass up to the third round.


    Now that it was the fourth round, he had to participate in the tournament just like the others, especially if he wanted to obtain all of the best items the tournament could give him.


    ''ording to Scho''doxa earlier, there''s a hundred people on each tform.'' Recalling the exnation he gave to all of them, Valyr pushed his perception to the limit to see what kind of people he''d be fighting against.


    Of course, he reminded himself that his only goal was to push all of the other people off the tform while doing so, considering that none of them knew each other.


    By the time he was done looking around, he got the feeling that most of the people on the tform had a strength that hovered between the peak of Rank 3 to the peak of Rank 4.


    With that, the young man nodded to himself, more than confident that he''d be able to clear the fourth round without much problem.


    However, as he nced at his opponents once more, he soon noticed a couple of people staring at him.


    Raising his eyebrows in slight curiosity, the young man went ahead and activated [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to push his vision just a bit further, only to wryly smile once he realized who those people were.


    "Out of all the coincidences I thought might happen¡­ this isn''t one I was expecting."


    Unexpectedly, the other side took notice of him as well, their expressions changing once they realized he was on the same tform as them.


    "The heavens are truly just!" said You with rage-filled glee, his hands itching to return the humiliation Valyr gave them. "Haha¡­ to think we''d meet each other on the round where killing is permitted."


    "From this day onward, Ylvar will learn that the Shou brothers are not to be trifled with." As these words left his mouth, You nced at Zuo, receiving a firm nod from thetter in response.


    However, even though Zuo was also ncing at Valyr, his thoughts ran differently from his brother.


    At the same time, he thought back to the times he''d met the young man back at the frontlines, reminding himself that the young man had both individual power and connections.


    Unfortunately, seeing as his brother was hellbent on getting revenge for their image and reputation one way or another, Zuo could only let out a sigh in response as he nced at the other opponents surrounding them.


    As Valyr and the Shou brothers continued to nce at each other for a bit longer, the other people on their tform looked at their surroundings, assessing their chances at bing thest one standing on their tform.


    By the time a couple minutes had passed since Scho''doxa signaled the start of the fourth round, it was only then did one of the people on the tform finally make a move.


    However, it was not a move most of the people on the tform were expecting.


    Swoosh!


    Unexpectedly, rather than heading straight towards the center to take initiative and control over the entire tform, the first person to make a move instead beelined in the opposite direction before jumping off without hesitation.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that the person that jumped off was immediately teleported back to Veldanyr, most of the people that nned to make a move in response paused in their steps for a brief moment as they thought about their next course of action.


    Surprisingly, a third of the people on the tform swiftly decided to do what the first person did, jumping off the tform without hesitation as they were soon sent back to Veldanyr.


    With less than 70 people remaining on the tform after that, almost everyone looked at each other before heading towards the center,ing to a tacit agreement that they should earn the right to stay on the tform.


    Swoosh!


    Activating [sh of the Azure Dragon] to hasten his movement speed, Valyr became one of the first ones to arrive at the center of the tform, immediately turning him into the priority target for many people.


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    Bang!


    However, before those people could evennd an attack, the young man retaliated by brandishing his spear, sweeping out at them the moment he activated one of his stat-boosting skills.


    At the same time, he red out his aura in its entirety, causing those who thought he was easy pickings to immediately change their targets to someone else.


    Unfortunately for them¡­ that didn''t mean Valyr changed his targets as well.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Though he made sure to not severely injure those he hit with his spear, Valyr showed no hesitation in maneuvering his spear in various ways, sending a couple of people flying off the tform with every hit.


    Because of that, it did not take long for the number of the people on the tform to go below half, only for it to reach less than 20 not even 10 minutester.


    At that point, it turned into a game of chase as each person had more than enough space to roam about.


    Nevertheless, with his insanely high stats for his rank, coupled with his arsenal of stat-boosting skills, Valyr was still able to send one or two people off the tform every couple of minutes, slowly decreasing the remaining number of opponents he had to fight.


    By the time half an hour since the fourth round began, only 10 people remained on the tform Valyr was in, all of which had their own set of skills that allowed them to stay on the tform for so long.


    Taking a bit of time to catch his breath as he was the main culprit for sending the most people off his tform, the young man''s expression turned slightly grim when he noticed a few people appear in front of him.


    However, that expression immediately turned into a faint smile once he recognized who the people were.


    "Finally decided to make a move, huh?"


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1150 Without Much Fanfare

    1150 Without Much Fanfare


    "Never thought this time woulde, eh?" Responding to Valyr''s question, You gave the young man a grim smile as he began to re out his aura. "Call it your just deserts."


    "My just deserts? You two?" Taking out a stamina potion from his spatial bracelet, Valyr downed it in one gulp as he scoffed. "Do you really think I''d pay attention to you two if not for the fact that you two insisted me on joining your War Squad?"


    "You better be thankful we''re allowing you to join our War Squad!" eximed You, letting the fury and shame he felt do the talking. "If not, you''d just be some no-name guy who wouldn''t amount to much on the battlefield!"


    "Some no-name guy, huh?" Sensing the aura You was giving off, Valyr felt a hint of amusement at the man''s words as he affixed his spear behind his back.


    Then, taking out the magic staff he''d recently forged, he spared a nce at Zuo, who seemed to have different thoughts regarding the situation.


    Deciding to leave Zuo forter, Valyr returned his gaze back at You as he asked, "Do you really think I wouldn''t get anywhere without joining your War Squad or something?"


    "Isn''t that obvious?" You let out a scoff as he looked at Valyr with disdain. "I''m a Colonel, while my brother here''s a Major. With our ranks, it''s only a matter of time before we stand at the top!"


    "Since you don''t want to join us, then I guess you''re better off not joining any other War Squad at all!"


    Whoosh!


    With You''s anger finally reaching its peak, it was only then did the man make a move, infusing energy into his fists as he sent out a barrage of strikes at Valyr.


    In response to that, the young man took a couple steps back as he conjured a barrier in front of him.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, none of You''s strikes were able to pierce through the barrier Valyr made. Though, that only incensed the man even further.


    "Raaaggghhhh!!!"


    Seemingly activating a stat-boosting skill amidst his rage, You punched the barrier with far greater force, causing it to quake every once in a while in response.


    Nevertheless, the barrier continued to hold up against the man''s strikes, with Valyr only needing to infuse a bit more energy to do so.


    By the time a couple minutes had passed, it was only then did the young man decide to make a move in retaliation, dispelling the barrier the moment You had exhausted all of his energy.


    Shooting a nce at Zuo to not make a move, Valyr slowly made his way in front of You before pointing the tip of his staff on thetter''s chest.


    "You know¡­ I''ve been getting the feeling that there''s something off with your words earlier." As these words left the young man''s mouth, he began to circte Prime Azure Energy throughout his body.


    "It''s only a matter of time before you stand at the top? Sure, I guess that might happen at some point."


    Then, infusing the energy with the element of Wind, he then channeled it into the magic staff.


    "However, do you really think I''d let that happen?"


    Seeing You visibly shudder in response to his words, the young man immediately knew that he''d turned their rtionship from bad to worse, turning it into something irreconcble.


    Letting out a sigh because of it, Valyr went ahead and activated the skill he prepared beforehand without hesitation as he noticed that You was about to attack him once more.


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts]."


    "[Azure Dragon''s Breath]!"


    Fwoosh!


    In less than an instant, a beam of azure and green wind shot out from the tip of Valyr''s magic staff, immediately sending You flying off the tform before he could even ball his fists.


    Whoosh!


    Focusing his perception towards the space beyond the tform, it was only when Valyr got a sign that You returned to Veldanyr did he feel a bit of relief.


    Though, that immediately disappeared once he shifted his gaze towards the man who watched the entire situation unfold in front of him.


    As a wry smile crept up on his lips, Valyr asked Zuo, "Do you think I made the right choice?"


    In response, Zuo shed a wry smile of his own. "As his brother, I''d say you could''ve handled it differently." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "However, as a bystander to the situation, I''d say you were left with no choice but to do it, considering how adamant he was in his ways."


    "Don''t you me me for what I did?" asked Valyr after that, surprised that Zuo wasn''t all that mad with actions. "Don''t you feel the same way as your brother?"


    "At first, I did feel that way." Zuo nodded, only to wryly smile once more. "After all, you''re the first person to really do something like that to us."


    "But as time passed, I realized that there isn''t really a good reason to get mad at you," he continued. "So what if you rejected our invitation to our War Squad? It''s not like that would cause our ns toe to a grinding halt."


    "That just means we''d have to spend a bit more time, if not a lot more time than before." Zuo shrugged his shoulders after that. "If it wasn''t already obvious, I''m not that mad."


    "Annoyed at first? Sure. But mad? Nah."


    As these words left his mouth, Zuo looked at Valyr with a bitter smile. "¡­Though I''m pretty sure my brother isn''t going to take that lying down, especially after what you did."


    "I''ve already thought about that before I made a move," said Valyr with a slightly bitter smile. "Whatever happens, happens, I guess."


    After talking for a bit more, Zuo eventually decided to jump off the tform out of his own volition, wishing Valyr good luck before doing so.


    As for the seven other people that remained after the whole fiasco involving Zuo and You, all but one of them realized that it was better not to get on Valyr''s bad side, eventually choosing to make the same decision as Zuo did earlier.


    Of course, there wasn''t much fanfare when Valyr took care of the only other person on the tform, deciding to use the same skill he used on You to send the man off the tform.


    And with that, his participation in the fourth round came to a close.


    I mean... it was a one-sided rivalry, after all.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1151 Beyond Coincidence

    1151 Beyond Coincidence


    Whoosh!


    With him being the only person standing on his tform, it did not take long for Valyr to be teleported back to the field with the others that had yet to go through the fourth round.


    However, rather than appear where they were, the young man instead appeared at a part of the field that put quite a bit of distance from them.


    Realizing that this choice was intentional, Valyr faintly nodded in understanding as he sat down to take a rest, taking out a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet to hasten his return to peak condition.


    At the same time, he took a look at his current surroundings, only to see that there were only a few other people besides him that upied the separated part of the field.


    ''Huh. I''m part of the first hundred people to finish the fourth round,'' thought Valyr to himself in the midst of his recuperation. ''Would Scho''doxa possibly reward those who cleared the fourth round faster than the others?''


    Slightly shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the young man eventually tossed the thought at the back of his mind as he recalled that the rewards Scho''doxa gave out so far were all announced beforehand.


    Considering that he hadn''t given them a heads-up that anyone who finished faster would be rewarded, it only made sense that there was no difference whether a person came first orst to passing the fourth round.


    Not to mention the fact that there were still roughly two more batches of people that had yet to go through the fourth round.


    With that, Valyr more or less spent his time waiting staring at the floating tforms from afar, pushing his perception to its limits in a bid to see the fights that were happening on them.


    Though he could only barely make out the fights on the tforms at first, that all changed when the young man activated [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], allowing him to view the fights as clearly as he did when finding imperfections on the items he forged.


    Coming to the realization that he turned a skill initially made forbat into something that epassed utility and production, Valyr briefly donned a wry smile on his face as he let out a soft sigh.


    Then, discarding all of the errant thoughts in his mind, the young man continued to focus his attention on the fights that were happening on the tforms, wanting to see who remained on the tforms till the end.


    Sweeping his vision over all the tforms for a bit, Valyr''s gaze eventually focused on a certain tform, noticing that Wells had also been teleported by Scho''doxa to make up the fourth round''s first batch.


    Though the man was definitely capable on his own right, Wells eventually decided to forfeit early and jump off the tform, realizing that it was useless to fight till he was thest one standing.


    Especially after figuring out that there were Rank 5 ss holders on the tform he was on.


    Finding it a slight shame that Wells was brought back to Veldanyr before the entire tournament ended, Valyr continued to look at the tforms, wondering if any of the others had also be part of the first batch as well.


    Seeing that neither of the remaining three were on any of the tforms after looking at all of them for a couple minutes, the young man decided to shift his attention towards the field for those who''d yet to take the fourth round.


    Through there, he noticed that the three were still together, seemingly preparing their bodies and minds as much as they could for the moment they got up on the tforms.


    Letting out a faint sigh of relief after that, the young man returned his attention back on the tforms, watching as more and more tforms had only one person standing on them after some time.


    After a while, these people would then be teleported to where Valyr and the others were, signifying that they had passed the fourth round with flying colors. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After making sure that the floating tforms he conjured had no more people left on them, it was only then did Scho''doxa teleport the second batch of people onto the tforms, repeating the cycle all over again.


    From what Valyr could see, most people approached the fourth round in a non-violent way, merely pushing their opponents off the tform in order to be thest one standing.


    However, as Scho''doxa mentioned before, there were still those who took a more drastic approach towards the fourth round, killing anyone and everyone that approached them in order to make sure they were thest man standing.


    As he let out a slight hiss at the sheer brutality that he saw on some of the tforms, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief once he located Julian and Edward on their respective tforms, seeing that their opponents approached the fourth round simr to him.


    Surprisingly, Edward was able to whittle down the number of people down on his tform to less than 10, causing Valyr to feel a hint of excitement at the thought of the young teenager appearing where he was.


    Unfortunately, before that could even happen, a person that had been biding all their time on his tform finally made a move, pushing Edward and the others off to ascertain his victory.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling a hint of sadness after seeing Edward be teleported back to Veldanyr, the young man briefly shook his head as he shifted his attention towards the tform Julian was in, only to notice that his opponents were more or less simr in strength to him.


    Though, what truly surprised him was the fact that almost a fifth of the people on his tform were Legends, prompting Valyr to bitterly smile as he knew it wouldn''t be long before Julian returned to Veldanyr as well.


    Swoosh!


    After Julian was sent back to Veldanyr with the help of Scho''doxa''s powers, the young man idly watched the remaining fights on the various tforms as he watched the number of people on their field gradually reach 2,000.


    Then, repeating the same process onest time, Scho''doxa teleported the remaining people on the other side of the field onto the tforms, allowing the people to fight amongst themselves on who would be their tform''s victor.


    Considering that there was only over 2 million left on the field before the fourth round truly began, the young man did not find it surprising that the third batch of people only filled slightly over half of the floating tforms that Scho''doxa conjured.


    Nevertheless, such thoughts did not cause his gaze to move away from Noel''s tform, only for him to bitterly smile once more as he realized the old man''s situation was simr to Julian''s earlier.


    ''To think there''s even Myth-level beings on his tform.'' As he took note that half of the beings on Noel''s tform were all Legends, Valyr''s eyes widened in incredulity once he noticed that there were also a few among them who were solidly at the Myth level.


    Realizing that Noel wasn''t going to pass the fourth round either, the young man let out a bitter chuckle before letting out a long sigh, wondering whether there were still people he was familiar with that passed the fourth round.


    ''I suppose Mystia would have no problem passing the fourth round,'' thought Valyr to himself as he looked around, hoping to see her already on the part of the field he was on.


    Seeing that she wasn''t on the field, the young man shifted his gaze back onto the tforms, only to notice that she was still fighting against other people on her tform.


    Gauging the strengths of the people she was fighting, the young man soon let out a faint sigh of relief once she realized she was one of the strongest, if not the strongest person on her tform.


    After all, she was the only one among them who''d not only broken through the barrier of Myths, but was also at the peak of Rank 6.


    ''I wonder if there are other people I know who might pass this round.'' Finding sce in the fact that he''d meet up with Mystia on the field sooner or after, Valyr decided to rummage through his memories in a bid to recall other people he might know¡­


    ¡­Only to feel someone gazing at him.


    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrow as he slightly frowned, Valyr turned to look in the direction of where he felt the gaze from, immediatelying face to face with a man that looked to be in histe 30s to early 40s.


    Getting the feeling that he''d seen the man somewhere before, the young man knit his eyebrows as he continued rummaging through his treasure trove of memories.


    At the same time, the man he was looking at knitted his eyebrows as well, seemingly focusing most of his attention towards Valyr.


    Eventually, as if the heavens nned the current situation all along, both Valyr and the man soon realized who they were looking at, causing both to widen their eyes in disbelief as they eximed in unison. "You¡­!"


    "You''re the¡­!"


    "Back in the dungeon in that small vige!"


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1152 A Chance Encounter

    1152 A Chance Encounter


    Ever since Riekan was forcefully transported to the Rise to Prominence tournament, he thought his chances of seeing people he recognized was low.


    After finally being able to fulfill his side of a promise with an old friend that was long dead, the man decided to pay a visit to the n he came from after being away from it for over 200 years.


    Unsurprisingly, a lot about the n had changed after his departure, with the n now having a reputation on the continent that caused their presence and their words to have considerable sway amongst the general popce.


    Not only that, but all the people he knew from the n in the past now took up high positions both inside and outside the n. With him being the main ancestor of the n, it basically allowed him to rule over a certain territory if he wanted to.


    Then again, Riekan really didn''t have any aspirations nor thoughts of making use of that.


    After he was done checking in on his n, he then checked up on the other people he knew from the past. At some point, he eventually found out that a considerable portion of them had sumbed to the passage of time while he was away.


    Of course, it went without saying that the realization caused him quite a lot of grief. Even more so when he found out that some of them had died not long after he took the undertaking of fulfilling his promise to an old friend.


    Fortunately, most of the people he still knew were more or less there, making great strides in their path to power as they became ancestors, elders, or guardians within the respective factions they were a part of.


    Aside from that, he caught up with the Legends he''d be friends with over 200 years ago, with some of them bing Myths while he was away. Naturally, it went without saying that most of them were surprised that Riekan had not made much progress in his strength even though a lot of time passed since all of themst met.


    Thankfully, a quick exnation of what he''d done for the past 200 years was more than enough for them to understand theck in progress. To no surprise, many of them rescinded their initial thoughts as they began to look at Riekan with respect.


    After all, dedicating almost half of one''s life just to fulfill a promise to an old friend was definitely a level of dedication even they would think twice to partake in.


    By the time he''d finished catching up with the people he knew, he proceeded to continue where he left off on his path to power. Naturally, he spent most of his time honing his strength while learning about what happened while he was away for the past 200 years.


    23:10


    Surprisingly, it only took a few months after his return for great changes to his strength to happen, with Riekan finally obtaining thest piece necessary to take the next step on his path of power.


    With the protection of a couple people he knew he could trust, the man smoothly broke through the shackles of mortality only a couple weekster, bing a bona fide Myth that everyone in his n looked at with veneration.


    After that, he focused his attention towards increasing his strength as much as he could as a Myth. Fortunately, his new ss rank gave him ess to more avenues that would allow him to wield far more power than he ever could as a Legend.


    Sadly, his fast yet stable progression of power was interrupted at the veryst minute when he was transported to arge field all of a sudden. Once there, he found out that even people he vaguely knew was transported to the field as well.


    After learning that all of them were participating in a tournament that epassed the entire of Veldanyr from a man far stronger than him, Riekan decided to put in a bit of effort into it. Though, he only began to take it seriously once he heard they''d get rewards for doing well.


    And thus, making use of his highly enhanced strength now that he was a Myth, the man went through the first three rounds with great ease, allowing him to obtain the best rewards the tournament could give him.


    At the same time, he watched from afar as the number of people drastically reduced every time a round ended, prompting him to think to himself that this tournament was probably the most stringent tournament he''d been a part of.


    Then again, who could me him when a great portion of his friends that were Legends and Myths had been kicked out of the first round for not meeting a man''s criteria?


    By the time the fourth round began, Riekan felt that he''d only be able to encounter a handful of people by the time the round ended. That thought prevailed because each tform pitted a hundred of them in orer to only have one standing at the end.


    Unexpectedly, he was actually really close to being sent back to Veldanyr during the fourth round as almost half of the people on his tform were Myths just like him.


    Fortunately, most of them were those that had recently ascended to be one, or had not made much leeway into their new level of power, allowing him to clinch his position for the final round at the very end.


    Being part of the second batch of people to be transported back to the field after passing the fourth round, Riekan immediately raised his eyebrows when he felt a familiar aurae from somewhere all of a sudden.


    Moving around the field to pinpoint where the aura wasing from, the man eventually came face to face with a young man who did not look all that familiar to him.


    However, the same could not be said for the ne the young man was wearing.


    ''Hmm...'' With the gears in his mind turning, Riekan slightly frowned as he recalled seeing the ne somewhere before. ''I''m pretty sure I gave that to a young man before I returned to the n.''


    Continuing to stare at the young man, he eventually had the young man staring back at him, causing the two of them to stare at each other for quite some time as multiple thoughts went on in their minds.


    Fortunately, everything eventually clicked in Riekan''s mind as he recognized the young man''s aura in its entirety, prompting his eyes to widen in disbelief.


    Surprisingly, the young man also recognized who he was, his eyes widening in disbelief as he eximed, "You''re...!"


    "The one back in the dungeon in that small vige!" continued Riekan where the young man left off, eliciting grins to appear on their faces as they finally realized why they felt familiar to one another.


    Though, with how loud they shouted at their discovery, the grins on their faces instantly turned into wry smiles as everyone on the field began to look at them. With that, the two did not hesitate to head to a slightly more secluded spot for them to catch up.


    "To think the young man back in that vige would actually be able to get this far." After making sure that no one was listening on their conversation, Riekan beamed a smile at the young man in front of him as he initiated the topic.


    "Honestly, I never expected to see you here as well," replied Valyr as he let out a faint chuckle. "Then again, with how everyone in Veldanyr was teleported here, I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised."


    "It really is nice to see you again, Sir Riekan."


    "Likewise." Riekan nodded in agreement, only for him to turn silent soon after as he donned a slightly bitter smile. "Now that I think about it, I haven''t really gotten your name back then, did I?"


    Slightly pausing at the question, Valyr recalled his encounter with the man back in the dungeon, only to shake his head sometimeter.


    "My name is Ylvar," said the young man after that, which unexpectedly made the man narrow his eyes for a brief moment.


    Nevertheless, the man eventually nodded in response. "I''m slightly curious as to why you''ve decided to make use of a different identity, but that''s not that important."


    "Then again, I''m quite surprised at how effective your disguise skill is," Riekan continued. "It took a while for me to realize that you were the young man I talked to back in that dungeon I made."


    "Speaking of which, what happened to the vige that old friend of mine founded while I was gone?"


    Hearing that question, Valyr gave the man a brief overview of how the vige expanded into a town after the dungeon was removed, talking about how it was well on its way to be a city sooner orter.


    Of course, he also gave the man a brief idea of how he was doing after clearing the dungeon, considering that it was a natural extension of the man''s first question.


    "I see." After Valyr was done giving a rough exnation of everything that went on with Astarto and himself, Riekan slightly nodded in understanding before deciding to give the young man a brief overview of what he''d done in return.


    Naturally, both sides withheld from sharing a few important pieces of information with one another as their rtionship only amounted to their interaction back in the dungeon.


    Then again, that did not mean that they didn''t find sce in each other''s existence, finding someone they somewhat knew in a ce where it was more likely to find someone they didn''t.


    "Congrattions." Hearing that Riekan had sessfully ascended to be a Myth sometime after they parted ways, it went without saying that Valyr was happy for the man. Even more so when he remembered that the man had been a Legend for far longer than he''d been alive.


    Though, with a bit more thinking, he thought that it was only a matter of time before Riekan became a Myth. After all, over 300 years was more than enough time for one to consolidate one''s foundations as a Legend to ascend to the next rank.


    "Say, Ylvar." Catching Valyr''s attention with his words, Riekan pointed at the ne he was wearing. "Has the Ne of Enlightenment been helping you out so far?"


    "It definitely has." The young man nodded in agreement, only to wryly smile soon after. "Then again, it was bound to fall out of use after I maxed out every Basic-level advancement I could unlock for my rank."


    "Makes sense." Riekan nodded in understanding. "After all, I made the ne with the purpose of helping someone who was at Rank 1."


    "Now that you''re one step away from reaching the peak of mortality, though..."


    "Want me to upgrade that ne for you?"


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1153 The Caemelio Clan

    1153 The Caemelio n


    "Wait a second¡­" Though Valyr was more than willing to say yes to the question, Riekan''s words made him think back to the time they talked about the ne in the dungeon. "Didn''t you say back then that this ne would lead me back to you if I reached a high enough level so you could upgrade it?"


    "That it would. The ne would still do that, actually." Riekan nodded in agreement, only to notice the young man raising his eyebrow in response.


    Seeing the slight confusion on the young man''s face, it did not take long for him to understand the cause.


    "When I say a high enough level, I meant that the ne would lead you to me when you reached the peak of Rank 5," exined Riekan, only to ponder over the matter for a bit after that.


    "Then again, it probably would''ve been better if the ne also guided you to where I was when you reached Rank 3."


    "Either way, the final version of the ne would''ve been more or less the same," said the man at the end, slightly shrugging his shoulders at the thought. "So, do you want me to upgrade the ne or not?"


    "I do." After obtaining an exnation from Riekan as to why the ne hadn''t led him to the man all this time, Valyr had no more qualms in requesting the man''s aid.


    Though, just as he was about to take off the ne to give it to the man, Riekan stopped him at the veryst minute.


    "Now, hold on just a second." The man looked at Valyr with a bitter smile. "Although I did say I''d upgrade your ne, I didn''t say I''d upgrade it here."


    "Think about for a bit. All of us here have been caught unaware since we''ve been teleported to this ce all of a sudden. If I knew we''d be transported to this ce and knew that you''d show up at some point, I would''ve brought my tools and materials with me."


    "Unfortunately for you, all I''ve brought with me are the essentials I usually bring when I go outside," continued the man, the bitter smile on his face deepening. "And that''s only because I was traveling through the wilderness."


    "How would you upgrade the ne, then?" asked Valyr in response, briefly wondering whether he was weird for having always having all of the tools ready to set up a portable workshop in his spatial bracelet.


    "Back in Veldanyr, of course," replied Riekan as a matter-of-factly. "Then again, that''ll still depend on how we do on the fifth round of the tournament."


    "However, in the off chance I get sent back to Veldanyr first, look for the main branch of the Caemelio n the moment you get back." As these words left his mouth, Riekan took out a piece of flint from his spatial bracelet.


    23:11 N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "However, in the off chance I get sent back to Veldanyr first, look for the main branch of the Caemelio n the moment you get back." As these words left his mouth, Riekan took out a piece of flint from his spatial bracelet.


    Then, infusing it with his energy, he swiftly carved it into the shape of a gem that gave off a faint hint of his aura.


    Giving the flint gem to Valyr, he continued, "Once you''re there, give them this gem and tell them that I sent you. They''ll know what to do after that."


    "And if I were sent back to Veldanyr first?" asked Valyr as he stowed the flint gem into his spatial bracelet.


    "Same thing." Riekan faintly smiled. "Find the Caemelio n and give them the gem."


    "They''ll know what to do once they see it."


    Though Riekan said it in a way that made it seem like there was nothing else to think about, Valyr could not help but feel like there was more to the flint gem he received than meets the eye.


    However, with there being a great disparity in strength, the young man could not figure out what it could be, sensing at most from the gem that hints of Riekan''s aura was imbued into it.


    ''Perhaps he infused a message into the gem alongside his aura?'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling like such a setup was highly likely to be the case.


    Yet, as Riekan himself seemed to have moved on from the matter, the young man was left with no choice but to move on from the matter as well, returning his attention back to the floating tforms.


    Of course, even though he was keeping an eye on the fights that were happening, Valyr still talked with Riekan from time to time, finding out a few more things about the man that he wouldn''t have realized at first nce.


    For one, the man was actually one of, if not the best essory maker on Veldanyr.


    Most of the time, his essories boasted effects and stat bonuses that were a cut above the rest. However, what truly put him on the spotlight were the essories he crafted that boasted effects that could only be described as heaven-defying.


    A great example of that was none other than the Ne of Enlightenment Valyr had gotten from the man, which theoretically allowed him to unlock all Basic-level advancements on his Technology Tree without spending even a single Technology Points.


    Because of that, the young man donned a wry smile when he heard Riekan talk about how many people in the past woulde from various kingdoms and cities just to get their hands on even a single essory he made.


    Sadly for them, due to him needing to fulfill a promise to an old friend, he''d disappeared from the spotlight for centuries, causing people to instead shift their attention towards the n he made from scratch.


    The Caemelio n.


    "During my younger days, it was one of my goals to establish a n," said the man as Valyr listened intently.


    Feeling his eyes be slightly wet as various thoughts coursed through his mind, Riekan briefly took a deep breath before he continued. "That''s because I was born an orphan. In my youth, I had no one to rely on but myself."


    "With the help of a few important people in my life, I was able to establish a footing of sorts and settle down. At some point after that, I found the love of my life and started a family with her."


    "I taught all I could about the art of essories to my kids after they grew old enough. After all, it was the main reason why I could get to where I was at the time," said Riekan to Valyr. "Thankfully, they were able to transform what I taught them into their own abilities, allowing the n to find its footing once they became adults."


    After that, Riekan gave Valyr a rough overview of what happened to the n after that, such as how it became known throughout the continent as the n everyone should go to for their quality essories.


    Coincidentally, the final batch of people on the tforms finished their fights just as Riekan was finished exining, thus ending the fourth round for good.


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 Chapter 1154 The Final Round

    1154 The Final Round


    Whoosh!


    After Scho''doxa transported thest batch of people to where Valyr and the others were, he faintly nodded in satisfaction as he appeared before everyone, hovering high up in the air as he opened his mouth.


    "If you were to ask me which round was the harshest in terms of the number of people disqualified, as long as I exclude the first round, the fourth round would be considered the harshest."


    "After all, before the fourth round even began, the number of people on the field was a figure halfway to reaching 3 million," said Scho''doxa as he swept his gaze over everyone. "Yet, in just three batches, that value dropped to a tenth of a percent of what it originally was, with only over a couple thousand of you remaining."


    "Specifically, 2,564 of you remain on the field after going through the first four rounds of the tournament, with everyone else having already returned to your home." As these words left his mouth, almost everyone on the field turned solemn.


    Although everyone knew that they''d fought against 99 people on a tform for a chance to pass the fourth round and reach the final round of the tournament, it was only now did the gravity of that situation sink into the minds of many people.


    Of course, there were also those who already understood that would be the case the very moment Scho''doxa exined the mechanics of the fourth round, allowing their expressions to remain the same.


    However, that did not stop them from letting out sighs sometimeter, finding the entire situation somewhat bittersweet.


    Fortunately, just like what happened at the end of the second and third round, the people on the field did not take that long to move on from that matter.


    In fact, it took far less time than usual, considering that most of the remaining people on the field had reached their current level of strength by carving out a path of blood in the process.


    With that, Scho''doxa faintly nodded in satisfaction as he shifted everyone''s attention to the rewards one would get for clearing the fourth round.


    Swoosh!


    After giving everyone a brief heads-up that it was now time for him to reward everyone for their valiant efforts, the man immediately swung his arms outward, swiftly sending out bottles that looked more or less simr to what everyone got during the second and third round.


    Then again, unlike the bottles in those rounds, the bottle everyone received from clearing the fourth round contained shards that looked like ss at first.


    Thankfully, a quick activation of one''s identification skill was more than enough for everyone to find out that the shards were just as special as the other items they received, causing many to erupt in excitement as they imagined the effects of all the itemsbined.


    As he''d gotten the reward for the fourth round beforehand bypleting the challenge Scho''doxa gave him, Valyr thought that he wouldn''t be given another set of the shards since he''d already been given a copy. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Yet, contrary to his expectations, the man did not hesitate to send yet another batch of the shards to the young man, causing thetter to wonder whether the effects of the two would stack on top of one another.


    While the young man briefly engrossed himself in his own train of thoughts, Scho''doxa went ahead and brought up a screen in front of him after sending out the bottles to everyone.


    Ding!


    With him tapping on the screen a few times, it did not take long for everyone to receive a notification from the system, with everyone immediately understanding their titles had been upgraded yet again.


    Snapping back to reality because of it, Valyr went ahead and opened up his notification screen, easily finding out that his title of [Tier III Being] had been upgraded to [Tier IV Being].


    Though he already had a rough idea of what kind of upgrade the new title brought after experiencing it two times, the young man still went ahead andmanded the system to bring up its description.


    At the same time, Scho''doxa said something to everyone on the field as they continued to admire their newly upgraded titles. "Just so you know, to be ssified as a Tier IV being means that you''re now part of the''s most elite."


    "Of course, the reason why I could confidently say something like that is because of the strength you all wield. The strength you all wield allows you to stand far above your peers while also possibly matching the strengths from those at higher ranks," added the man, briefly ncing at Valyr before continuing.


    "Naturally, with there being five rounds to this tournament, there still exists onest rank above the current one you all have, signifying that your strength stands at the pinnacle of your."


    "As to how you''ll obtain that rank during the fifth round¡­" Intentionally talking in a mysterious tone, Scho''doxa let out a soft chuckle. "I suppose it''d be best to talk about it only after all of you have gotten sufficient rest."


    At those words, the man gave everyone a heads-up that they all had a few hours to rest before the fifth round began, disappearing in front of everyone''s field of view before everyone could get the chance to ask him what he meant by his earlier words.


    Whoosh!


    "Guess we''ll only find out after the few hours of rest are up." Donning a bitter smile as Scho''doxa disappeared in front of them all of a sudden, Riekan turned around to look at Valyr.


    "That may be the case." Valyr nodded as he slightly shrugged. "But honestly, I think I have a rough idea of what the fifth round would be, especially with how the past four rounds turned out."


    Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, it went without saying that the man asked Valyr after that, prompting thetter to briefly exin the possibilities he came up with after taking the entire tournament so far into consideration.


    Coincidentally, Mystia took notice of Valyr''s presence just as he was in the midst of exining his train of thought to Riekan.


    Making his way to where he was, the woman was left at a slight loss for words when she realized that Valyr was casually talking to none other than the main head of the well-renowned Caemelio n.


    At the same time, Riekan''s eyes widened in disbelief once he realized that the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court came up to greet Valyr, causing him to do a double take as he looked at the young man once more.


    Unsurprisingly, the young man was oblivious to the thoughts that were in both minds, continuing to exin the spections and thoughts he had regarding the final round of the tournament with Riekan and Mystia.


    After Valyrid out almost every possible way they could look at the tournament''s final round to the two, the three proceeded to spend the remainder of their rest time talking about various topics.


    Though, with how Riekan and Mystia both upied positions of high power and authority, it was no surprise that the topic of their conversation eventually shifted towards the ongoing war against the orcs.


    Fortunately, the two did not delve into the topic for that long as Scho''doxa appeared in front of everyone a minute or soter after time was up.


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 Chapter 1155 Stating the Obvious

    1155 Stating the Obvious


    "Alright." Seeing that everyone was more than eager to hear the continuation of his exnation from earlier, Scho''doxa faintly smiled as he opened his mouth. "I''m sure everyone here''s curious as to what I meant by my earlier words."


    Receiving a plethora of nods from almost everyone in response, the man nodded back as he let out a slight chuckle. "You might be wondering¡­ why did I deliberately act mysterious in regards to how the fifth round would work?"


    "Well, recall what you''re participating in," said the man, causing some to ponder over his words for a bit.


    Of course, Scho''doxa meant the question rhetorically. "If you''ve forgotten after being here for quite some time, I don''t me you. It has been a week and a half since the Rise to Prominence tournament began, after all."


    At the man''s mention of the tournament''s name, it was as if a switch had flicked on in some of the people''s minds, causing their eyes to widen as they had a rough idea of what was going on.


    As for Valyr, who talked about his spections on what the final round would be with Mystia and Riekan, he instead had a faint smile on his face after listening to Scho''doxa''s words.


    ''It seems like my thoughts were correct.''


    Just like what Valyr exined to the two while they were resting up for the fifth round, Scho''doxa went ahead and told everyone that the fifth and final round of the tournament was nothing more than an actual tournament.


    Unsurprisingly, many people reacted to that reveal, with a considerable number of them voicing out the fact that there were still over 2,000 people remaining on the field.


    With a such massive number of people participating in one tournament, it wouldn''t be surprising if the amount of time it took was far longer than it took for the first round of the tournament to finish.


    And that was considering the fact that all they had to do at the time was stand and get verified.


    Naturally, Scho''doxa thought about the fifth round from that perspective as well, even going so far as to tell everyone outright that it would take them over a week toplete the tournament if it all 2,000 plus people would participate.


    However¡­ what if the tournament was split up into smaller tournaments?


    "For the sake of efficiency and equality, I''ve eventuallye to the decision to split the fifth round into three smaller tournaments," said Scho''doxa, his words prompting everyone to listen to him.


    "Aside from that, I''ll be splitting up the small tournaments into three even smaller tournaments, with each tournament for each ss rank focusing on a certain level of strength."


    "To sum things up, there will be nine tournaments in total, with the first tournament being made for those at the early levels of Rank 4," said the man to everyone. "Then, the next tournament would go up by a stage, allowing thest tournament to be among those at the peak of Rank 6 and above."


    "I suppose we''re all clear on that?" As these words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, a great majority of the people on the field nodded in response, working under the notion that the tournaments would be more or less the tournaments they were familiar with.


    Then again, there were also those who asked the man for more rification on how the tournaments would work, whether it be to err on the side of caution, or because they hadn''t participated in an actual tournament yet.


    Surprisingly, Scho''doxa did not hesitate to answer the questions those people had, causing some people to recall about how the man would punish them for asking him questions before he''d given them the opportunity to ask.


    In response to those gazes, the man slightly shrugged his shoulders before telling everyone that with what everyone on the field had gone through so far, they''ve more than earned the right to freely ask him questions in regards to the tournament.


    Because of that, almost everyone on the field felt more confident and proud of themselves as the man began to set up the venue where the final round of the tournament would be held.


    Swoosh!


    Swinging his arms to and fro, Scho''doxa infused both of his arms with energy before beginning to move them in a way that resembled his movements in the previous round.


    However, rather than turn one massive arena into a thousand floating tforms, the man''s movements instead began to merge the tforms together, transforming them into nine massive tforms with such ease that many were left at a loss for words.


    Though, just as everyone thought Scho''doxa would start the fifth round the moment the nine tforms were made, he took his maniption of the ground one step further, curving the edges of the tforms upward to create walls that resembled that of an arena.


    And thus, by the time Scho''doxa was done, nine massive arenas began to hover from afar, prompting almost everyone on the field to stare at it with their mouths agape.


    Whoosh! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Feeling a bit of exhaustion from manipting a ton of mass for quite some time, Scho''doxa took a bit of time to catch his breath before announcing that the fifth round had officially begun.


    Waving one of his arms after that, he then teleported everyone on the field to their respective tournaments before summoning eight more copies of himself that would preside over the other arenas.


    Swoosh!


    Having prepared himself to fight the moment he was teleported into his arena, Valyr immediately stopped gathering momentum the moment he noticed that he wasn''t at the center of the arena.


    Instead, he and the other people that were at the same rank were instead teleported into a waiting area that led to the center of the arena.


    "Starting the first round of the Peak Rank 4 tournament." Just as everyone within the tournament looked around their surroundings to understand what was going on, Scho''doxa''s voice soon began to echo throughout the space.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    Then, without much dy, two of the people within the waiting area were teleported to the center of the arena, causing a hint of surprise to appear on the faces of those who weren''t chosen to do the first fight.


    At the same time, everyone now fully understood how the entire tournament would y out, prompting everyone to prepare their bodies and minds as much as possible in the off chance they''d be the next ones to appear at the center of the arena.


    And with that, the fifth round began in full swing.


    Bang!


    Whoosh!


    Crash!


    Knowing that one false move was more than enough to decide whether one would reach the end of the fifth round or not, it went without saying that almost everyone in the nine arenas gave it their all when they fought against their opponents.


    Of course, almost everyone within the arenas came to a tacit agreement that there would be no killings happening, considering that it was their circumstances that forced them to fight people they didn''t know in the first ce.


    Unfortunately, just like the fourth round, there were still those who had no qualms in killing other people, whether it be from the other races or from the same race as them.


    With those kinds of people, almost everyone within the arenas also came to a tacit agreement that should they fight against them and have more than enough strength to subdue them¡­


    Then it was only right for those people to receive their just deserts.


    Swoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, as someone whose level of strength far exceeded the peak of Rank 4, it was no surprise that Valyr easily cleared through all of the fights that he had go through, with most of them being settled within a few moves.


    Then again, there were also those who put up a longer fight against them due to the fact that their strengths also more or less transcended the peak of Rank 4.


    However,pared to Valyr, whose strength allowed him to deal even with beings at the peak of Rank 6, their greater strength only seemed like a slightly bigger resistance to the obvious conclusion of their tournament.


    Which was the fact that he became the final victor of the Peak Rank 4 tournament.


    "Say¡­" Just as Scho''doxa announced to everyone within his arena that he was the grand winner of the Peak Rank 4 tournament, the man leaned a bit closer to the young man as he asked him in a whisper, "Are you up for a bigger challenge?"


    At those words, Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Is this optional again?"


    "Of course it is." Scho''doxa nodded. "However, unlike thest time, I''ve also given this opportunity to the victors of the other tournaments."


    "Is that so?" Hearing that, the gears in the young man''s mind began to turn, prompting him toe up with a couple of ideas on what Scho''doxa was about to offer him.


    Fortunately, his ideas more or less lined up with what the man had to say. "So, how about it? Wanna try your hand at fighting against the victor of the Early Rank 5 tournament?"


    "In exchange, I''ll improve the reward you get from this round, simr to what I gave you to the third round."


    "Sure." Valyr immediately nodded without hesitation, more than confident that his strength would be able to bridge that gap. "Though, what would happen next if I were to defeat the person?"


    "Either you forfeit and I give you the reward," replied Scho''doxa. "Or you decide to continue on fighting the victor of Mid Rank 5 tournament and I increase the reward even further."


    "I see." Hearing those words, the young man briefly let out a chuckle as he began to grin.


    "Now that''s interesting."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1156 Punching Upwards

    1156 Punching Upwards


    Of course, it went without saying that Valyr agreed to the proposition after Scho''doxa brought it up once more, causing thetter to grin and chuckle on his own.


    Taking a bit of time topose himself, Scho''doxa went silent for a bit before looking back at the young man with a faint smile. "On second thought, I''m changing the mechanics on the rewards you''d get from this challenge."


    "For the meantime, have this." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr raised his eyebrow as he wondered what the man meant by that, thetter threw a bottle towards the young man, containing what looked to be a leaf that took on almost every color that existed on its surface.


    Faintly wondering whether what he got was some sort of unique psychedelic, the young man went ahead and brought up the item''s description, only to push the screen to the side as Scho''doxa talked to him.


    "Don''t get me wrong. I don''t n on changing the reward you''d get from beating the winner of the Early Rank 5 tournament," said Scho''doxa as he rified himself to the young man. "Instead, I''m changing the rewards you''d get if you n on challenging the winners of the other tournaments."


    With those words, Scho''doxa then exined to the young man that he was basically giving him an opportunity to obtain ess to the best version of the finalbined item. Specifically, it was a version that went one step above what was possible to obtain in the tournament.


    With that as a background, the man exined to Valyr that he''d get the best version of the fifth round''s item if he were to defeat the victor of the Early Rank 5 tournament.


    After that, if he nned on continuing the challenge and decided to fight the victor of the Mid Rank 5 tournament, as long as he won against them, he would obtain the best version of the second round''s item.


    "All in all, the challenge will end once you upgrade all of the items you got from the tournament into their Heavenly Potential versions," said Scho''doxa, prompting Valyr to nod in response. "I might change a couple of thingster on, but that''s more or less how it''ll work."


    After talking a bit more about the challenge with Scho''doxa, the two soon disappeared from the arena hosting the Peak Rank 4 tournament¡­


    Only to appear in the arena that was hosting the Mid Rank 4 tournament.


    Whoosh!


    Pushing all of his senses to their limits, Valyr immediately had a confused expression on his face when he noticed that the auras within the arena were weaker than what he expected.


    21:00


    Pondering whether the victor of the Early Rank 5 tournament had only be the victor through fluke, Scho''doxa immediately rified the confusion the young man had by exining that they were at the Mid Rank 4 tournament''s arena.


    Through there, it did not take long for Valyr to understand what was going on, recalling that the man had offered the same proposition to the other victors before him.


    With that, it did not take long for him and the victor of the Mid Rank 4 tournament to prepare themselves, heading to their own sides of the arena as they came to the agreement that they would notnd any lethal hits on one another.


    With Scho''doxa acting as their arbiter, the fight between the two soon began, with both of them charging towards one another in a bid to take the initiative.


    Swoosh!


    However, with his stats absurdly higher than one would expect from that of a peak Rank 4 ss holder, it was no surprise that Valyr was the first to take initiative, activating [Limit Break: Second Verse] to bolster his advantage even further.


    Whoosh!


    nting his feet firmly on the ground, the young man then got into a battle stance before punching out with great force, hoping to catch his opponent unaware as thetter continued to build up momentum.


    Unfortunately, just as he punched out to hit the man''s chest, Valyr''s eyes instead widened in surprise when the man forcefully maneuvered his body to dodge the punch as best as he could.


    With that, his punch barely missed the man''s torso.


    However¡­


    Fwoosh!


    As if it were an aftereffect of his punches, Valyr''s missed punch instead generate a strong wind that pushed his oddly postured opponent back, causing thetter to pale inplexion as he realized what he was up against with.


    Getting the feeling that the punch would have been fatal if itnded on his body, the opponent did not hesitate to surrender not long after, leaving Valyr with a slightly sour expression as he thought to himself.


    ''That''s it?''


    Letting out a faint sigh as he thought his opponent would put up more of a fight than what he saw, Valyr soon nodded at his opponent before turning to look at Scho''doxa.


    Seeing that thetter was talking to the man, he waited for a bit before voicing out his question. "So, am I going to start my challenge or¡­?"


    "Just one more fight," replied Scho''doxa, his expression slightly apologetic. "The winner of the Early Rank 4 tournament won against the opponent you just fought against, and they told me they want to continue with the challenge."


    At those words, the young man merely nodded in response as he waited for Scho''doxa to teleport the two of them to the arena hosting the Early Rank 4 tournament.


    Whoosh!


    Once there, it did not take long for the fight between him and the victor of the Early Rank 4 tournament to be set up, distancing themselves from one another as Scho''doxa announced the start of the match.


    Unsurprisingly, the first move each side made was more or less simr to the fight that Valyr fought in earlier, with both sides charging at one another to take initiative.


    However, his opponent decided to make use of a movement skill this time around, allowing her to gain an initiative against Valyr.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Without hesitation, the young woman sent out a barrage of energy bolts towards Valyr, forcing thetter to briefly stop as she conjured arge shield out of Prime Azure Energy.


    Seeing that the shield could endure the barrage of bolts without much issue, Valyr continued moving onward as he empowered his stats once more, only to then conjure his own attack in retaliation.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]¡­"


    "[Four Paths Azure Bolt]."


    Swoosh!


    Infusing the element of Water into the bolt, Valyr briefly moved his shield to the side as he shot the bolt directly at his opponent.


    With how quick it was, the young woman was forced to briefly stop her offensive as he conjured a couple of barriers in response to the attack.


    Thinking that those barriers would be enough to stop Valyr''s retaliation in its tracks, the young woman was instead left at a loss for words when the bolt began to curve around the barrier instead.


    Heading straight for what looked to be her blind spot, the young woman visibly became anxious as she hastily conjured barriers behind her back.


    In the end, the match more or less ended the same way the previous fight did¡­ though Valyr somewhat enjoyed the fight a bit more this time around.


    ''Definitely something to think about once I''m at the battlefield.''


    With him having beaten the only two people that were lower-ranked than him in this tournament, Valyr soon shifted his gaze towards Scho''doxa once more, donning a faint smile as his gaze told the man what he needed to know.


    In response, Scho''doxa looked back at him before beaming a slight smile in return, nodding as he indirectly told the young man that his attempt at the entire challenge was now about to begin.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing at the arena where he became the victor once more, the man told him to stay put for a bit before disappearing.


    Waiting for a while, Scho''doxa then returned to the arena with a man that boasted a physique that even the manliest of men would die to have for themselves.


    With such a unique appearance, Valyr soon realized that he was slightly familiar with the man in front of him, recalling that there was a small but unique event revolving around him during the first version of Greater Beyond.


    Exchanging some small talk with one another, the two soon got into their ces as Scho''doxa exined the rules of the fight for both sides.


    Only when both him and his opponent told Scho''doxa that they were ready did thetter announce the official start of their match.


    Whoosh!


    Though he knew he was only up against an opponent at the early levels of Rank 5, Valyr did not dare to underestimate him, charging towards the man while activating [Limit Break: Second Verse] from the get-go.


    With that, the young man was able to seize initiative from the man. Though, with how his opponent had also activated a stat-boosting skill of his own, it would''ve probably been the man who would''ve taken initiative first.


    Swoosh!


    Conjuring a barrier around him with Prime Azure Energy, Valyr watched as the man sent a fist at him, causing the barrier to warp in response.


    Seeing the barrier warp under a simple punch of his, the man felt immense pride, thinking that it wouldn''t take much time for him to defeat the young man in front of him and proceed with his own challenge.


    However, as if the world was making a mockery out of his move, the barrier bounced back as if his attack hadn''tnded at all, making the man''s eyes widen in slight surprise.


    Hoping tond yet another attack to break the barrier in front of him, the man decided to use a skill, only to stop when he felt something constrict around his legs.


    Then, just as he was about to look at what exactly wrapped around his legs, he then felt an ominous auraing from up above.


    Whoosh!


    In less than an instant, a maelstrom of azure phoenixes began to rain from the sky, all of them seemingly choosing the man himself as their target.


    Unsurprisingly, the man began to pale and shudder in response.

 Chapter 1157 Aiming for the Skies

    1157 Aiming for the Skies


    Swoosh!


    With him unable to flee from his current position due to Valyr''s obstruction, the man gritted his teeth as he hastily conjured a shield above his head,pleting it just before the phoenixes could strike him.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Feeling his arms quake whenever the phoenixes struck his shield, the man paled even further, briefly ncing at the young man beside him with fear as he infused more of his energy into the shield.


    With how consistent the phoenixes struck the shield he made, it went without saying that most, if not all of the man''s focus was on defending himself from the onught of attacks.


    Because of that, the man did not notice that at some point in his defense, the vines constricting him in ce disappeared without a trace, giving him the option to escape Valyr''s attack if he wanted.


    However, as the man''s focus was mostly on the phoenixes raining down above him, the realization of his regained freedom came quitete to him, only realizing that he could move once more after the phoenixes cracked his shield.


    With the newfound realization, it went without saying that the man escaped as fast as he could from the range of Valyr''s attack, even going so far as to activate another stat-boosting skill in order to do so.


    Unfortunately for him, it wasn''t as if Valyr didn''t have an idea of what was going on in the man''s mind. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Whoosh!


    Continuing to infuse Prime Azure Energy to continue raining down more phoenixes on his opponent, Valyr conjured yet another strand of blue-white energy in a bid to bind his opponent in ce once more.


    After all, just like his purpose in binding the man in ce the first time, he nned to bind the man in ce once more in order to control the tempo of the entire fight.


    Though, with how the man now seemed to act like a slippery snake, the chances of Valyr sessfullynding thebination of mana and Mystic Energy on the man was considerably lower than before.


    Then again, it wasn''t as if he didn''t have any ways to solve that.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Dragon''s Fang]."


    Swoosh!


    Imbued with the element of Wind, Valyr hastily conjured arge fang out of Prime Azure Energy in front of the man, causing thetter to immediately take a few steps back to avoid the attack.


    Though, in exchange, he''d opened himself to yet another attack from the young man, ultimately leading him to be bound in ce once more.


    Realizing that he''d been led around by the young man he was fighting all this time, it did not take another barrage of phoenixes raining down the sky for the man toe to the conclusion that his chances of winning were abysmally low.


    Thus, while ncing at Valyr with slight fear in his eyes, the man eventually voiced out his surrender, prompting the young man to swiftly dispel all of his ongoing attacks in response.


    Swoosh!


    Witnessing how all of the attacks that tormented him earlier simply disappeared without a trace in response to his surrender, the man slightly shuddered in terror as he gained a renewed impression of the young man in his mind.


    ''I don''t know if he''s revealed everything he''s got in this fight¡­''


    ''But he is definitely not someone I nor anyone at my level could mess with.''


    With Valyr''s opponent voicing out his surrender, it did not take long for Scho''doxa to make his move, swiftly transporting the winner of the Early Rank 5 tournament out of the arena with a snap of his fingers.


    After that, he moved to where Valyr was, briefly watching the young man take out a mana potion out of his spatial bracelet.


    "Here you go." Slightly shrugging at Valyr''s actions, the man then proceeded to toss a bottle towards Valyr that contained a leaf simr to what thetter had gotten before.


    However, unlike the leaf the young man got from Scho''doxa before the challenge, the leaf the man gave radiated more color than before, giving off the illusion that it was showing one colors that went beyond what was capable with the naked eye.


    Receiving the upgraded version of the fifth round item from Scho''doxa, Valyr went ahead and tossed back his original reward to the man after being told that the same rewards of differing tiers wouldn''t stack in effect.


    Hearing those words, the young man brought out the shards he''d gotten from the man''s challenge and the fourth round in response, asking the man after that if their effects would stack.


    Though slightly surprised to see the young man carry two of the same items, Scho''doxa soon had a bitter smile on his face as he realized what he''d done, overlooking the fact that he''d already given Valyr the shards before the fourth round began.


    In the end, the man made no move to confiscate the extra copy, instead telling Valyr that duplicate items of the same tier would stack in effect. However, the difference in its stacking effect was that the items would stack additively, rather than multiplicatively.


    21:01


    In the end, the man made no move to confiscate the extra copy, instead telling Valyr that duplicate items of the same tier would stack in effect. However, the difference in its stacking effect was that the items would stack additively, rather than multiplicatively.


    Nevertheless, that was more than enough for Valyr to be more driven to defeat all the other victors of the various tournaments, especially after Scho''doxa told him that there was the possibility of him upgrading both bottles.


    After getting a bit more rest, Scho''doxa disappeared from Valyr''s sight once after thetter told him that he was ready to continue with his challenge.


    Momentster, the winner of the Mid Rank 5 tournament appeared before the young man, which was a man that looked to be in his early thirties, wearing a set of dark clothing that made him resemble a ninja.


    Surprisingly, as the two gazed at each other to roughly assess what they were up against, the man''s eyes widened in slight surprise before donning a wry smile soon after..


    "To think I''d have to fight against you," said his soon-to-be opponent to him, which made Valyr look back at him with confusion on his face.


    "Have I done something wrong to you?" asked the young man back, to which the man shook his head in response.


    "Not at all," his opponent replied. "It''s just that I''ve heard of your feats during the first round."


    "Ah."


    Fortunately, the conversation did not continue down the rabbit hole of the man admitting defeat outright to Valyr before the fight even began.


    Instead, the man wanted to see the proof behind Valyr''s feats for himself, prompting the two to distance themselves from one another as Scho''doxa acted as their referee yet again.


    Swoosh!


    With the arbiter signaling the start of their fight, Valyr''s opponent went all out in charging towards the young man, employing both stat-boosting skills and movement skills in a bid to catch Valyr unaware with his first attack.


    However, rather than distance himself from the man in hopes of retaking the initiative, the young man instead remained where he was, only activating his oft-used stat-boosting skill as preparation.


    Noticing that, Valyr''s opponent let out a slight scoff, wondering whether the young man had let all of the attention he got throughout the tournament get his head.


    With that in mind, the man put in all of his strength in his first strike, unsheathing the sword behind his back before shing out in Valyr''s direction.


    Bang!


    With the incredible amount of strength the man put in to the attack, it went without saying that his attack kicked up a storm around the two, causing both sides to not see what the other side was doing.


    "Heh." Taking a couple steps back, the dark-clothed man faintly smirked as he thought to himself that the young man had received a grievous injury from his attack.


    Though, as the dust began to settle, he soon began to realize that reality took a different course from his train of thought.


    Whoosh!


    With a multiyered barrier, Valyr continued to look at his opponent with a calm expression, therge sh mark on the barrier gradually repairing itself by the second.


    Feeling a hint of fear creep into his body after seeing how calm his opponent was, the dark-clothed man soon shifted his attention upwards, only for his pupils to shrink as a maelstrom of azure phoenixes began to rain down where he stood.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Having fought against three victors in a row, Valyr eventually decided to stick with the approach he used against the victor of the Early Rank 5 tournament, which was to overwhelm his opponents with quantity instead of quality.


    Though, with how refined his Prime Azure Energy was thanks to his efforts, it could be said that he was leveraging both quantity and quality to their extremes, which was being supported by his immenselyrge energy pool.


    Unsurprisingly, his fight against the winner of the Mid Rank 5 tournament ended more or less the same way it did in the previous fight, with his opponent admitting defeat after realizing that anything within the young man''s vision was considered as his domain.


    After exchanging a few more words with the man before leaving, Valyr then moved onto his fight with the winner of the Peak Rank 5 tournament after Scho''doxa upgraded his item from the second round to its Heavenly Potential version.


    Whoosh!


    Assessing his opponent for the next fight, the young man''s eyes immediately narrowed after recognizing the demure-looking woman in front of her.


    Recalling that she was one of the few remaining duchesses of the Meltierre Empire after the War of the Three Sovereignties was over, Valyr knew that he shouldn''t treat the uing fight just like the ones that came before.


    With that, he brought out the magic staff he''d recently forged out of his spatial bracelet and began to channel his Prime Azure Energy into it.


    Whoosh!


    With Scho''doxa signaling the start of the fight the moment Valyr began to prepare his attack, his opponent began preparing her own attacks, carving multiple runes every second as she created an intricate magic circle in front of her.


    Though, just as she was a few runes away from unleashing her first attack¡­


    An azure meteor began to fall from the sky.


    "[Prime Azure Heavenfall]."

 Chapter 1158 Challenging the Heavens (1)

    1158 Challenging the Heavens (1)


    Whoosh!


    With a massive threat in the form of a meteor threatening to crash onto her head at any moment, Valyr''s opponent did not hesitate to dispel the magic circle she was creating, instead making use of the runes she''d already formed to hastily whip up a defensive spell.


    Bang!


    However, even though she''d infused almost all of her mana into it to make sure it could withstand against the initial force of the attack, the momentum of the meteor was more than enough to render her defense useless.


    With that, she hastily scrounged up all of the remaining mana in her body to cast a movement spell.


    Swoosh!


    Making sure that her body would not crumple under the might of the meteor, the woman teleported a fair distance away from where she initially stood, immediately letting out a wide sigh of relief after that.


    Though, when she noticed that the young man that conjured the meteor in the first ce was standing even farther away from the meteor than she did, it was there she knew¡­


    She fucked up.


    Boom!


    Although the aftereffects of the meteor crashing on the ground was not as exaggerated as therge meteor Valyr threw down back at the battlefield, the force behind the meteor was still more than enough to send the earth around it flying.


    Unfortunately, the earth the meteor covered also included the one Valyr''s opponent was standing on.


    "I surrender!" With almost all her options at both defense and escape unusable due to her current state, the woman did not hesitate to voice out her forfeit to Scho''doxa, herplexion paling as the flying earth got closer to her.


    With that, the arbiter did not hesitate to make a move in response, conjuring a sturdy barrier around the woman before the earth could even hit her.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Closing her eyes in slight fear that her surrender might have been toote, the woman was instead greeted by the sight of the earth stopping just a meter or so away from her the moment she opened her eyes.


    At that moment, she let out yet another wide sigh of relief before turning to look at the young man she fought, noting him in her mind as a person she shouldn''t mess with.


    Once the aftereffects of Valyr''s meteor eventually died down, the young man made his way to where the woman was, giving her an apology that he might have gone a bit too overboard with his attack.


    In response, the woman told him that it was fine, seeing as all of them were risking their lives just to gain greater individual rewards.


    After exchanging information with one another in the off chance the two would meet up back in Veldanyr, Scho''doxa soon brought the woman away from the arena with a snap of his fingers. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Whoosh!


    Then, after making sure that Valyr''s opponent just now was returned safe and sound to her own arena, the man let out a sigh before tossing a bottle containing shards towards Valyr.


    "Here you go, your reward for defeating the winner of the Peak Rank 5 tournament," said the man, prompting Valyr to toss one of the two bottles he got back to him. "With that, you now have a full set of what''s pretty much the best version of the final concoction you could get from this tournament."


    "Well, almost the best version," rified Valyr, showing Scho''doxa the other bottle of shards that had yet to be reced by the challenge. "You did say the effects of the duplicate items would stack, after all."


    "Right¡­ I did say that." Slightly frowning at Valyr''s words, the man soon recalled what he said to him earlier, prompting him to nod in response.


    Though, after that, he rified to the young man that when he said that the effects of the duplicates would stack additively, he meant so in a roundabout way.


    Of course, this made the young man frown back.


    Fortunately, both sides were able to smooth things out with a bit of exnation.


    "So, basically, what you''re saying is that I''d be able to consume two of the final concoctions."


    "You could consume as many of the concoctions as you want, really." Scho''doxa nodded in agreement. "However, the condition is that the concoctions all need to be of a simr rank." "Say you made two final concoctions, but one is made with Heavenly Potential items, while the other is made with Greater Potential items."


    "The effects of the concoction with Heavenly Potential items would overwrite the effects of the concoction with Greater Potential items, thus turning your efforts to obtain another set for naught."


    "And I assume you''d help me out with that?" asked Valyr back with a raised eyebrow, showing Scho''doxa the other bottle of shards once more.


    "If you decide to continue with the challenge." Scho''doxa nodded. "Aside from swapping your other bottle of shards to its Heavenly Potential version if you beat your next opponent, I''ll give you the items to make another set of the stuff if you beat the ones thate after that."


    "Of course, I''d only give you thest two items if you were to beat the winner of the Peak Rank 6 tournament," continued the man, briefly recalling how the young man in front of him defeated a peak Rank 6 puppet in one hit.


    "Sounds fine with me," said Valyr as he nodded, returning the bottles he brought out back into his spatial bracelet. "The only question is whether or not you''d stop me from using the arquebus on my opponents this time around."


    As those words left his mouth, the young man was under the impression that Scho''doxa would bar him from using the arquebus. After all, if he were to go out, then there was a high chance he''d kill his opponent before they could even react.


    With that in mind, Valyr persuaded the man as much as possible, talking about the various types of advantages Myth-level beings hadpared to them who hadn''t transcended the peak of mortality yet.


    Legacies, Concepts, Armaments, Domains¡­ all of those abilities were more than enough for a Myth''s strength to undergo rapid improvement that it wasn''t impossible for them to fight hundreds of peak Rank 5 ss holders without problems.


    In fact, it wouldn''t even be difficult for them to fight against a few Legends at once, even those that had already formed their Legacies before their ascension.


    However, what he didn''t realize before he even began his exnation was that¡­


    Scho''doxa did not stop him from using the arquebus at all.


    "Honestly, I was wondering when you''d bring out your arquebus during your fights." Stopping the young man from continuing his exnation any further, the man looked at him as he softly chuckled. "After all, the arquebus is an extension of your might."


    "It may be incredibly powerful considering the current state of your¡­ but it''s still ultimately a weapon."


    "Sure, if it was a consumable item or an item that instantly turns the fight to your favor, then I would''ve stopped you from using it in the first ce. This is a tournament, after all."


    "But the arquebus is a weapon, just like the staff you used against your opponent just now," said Scho''doxa, pointing at the magic staff Valyr was holding. "Was your staff so strong to the point I''d say it upset the bnce of the fight just now? I''d say yes."


    "Not all staffs have such skills like yours do, after all."


    "However¡­ did I stop you from using it?"


    "¡­No." At those words, Valyr went silent for a bit as his gaze swapped between his staff and Scho''doxa for a while.


    Then, seeminglying to a conclusion in his mind, the young man let out a soft sigh as he looked back at the man with a wry smile. "I could''ve finished the fights sooner, didn''t I?"


    21:05


    Then, seeminglying to a conclusion in his mind, the young man let out a soft sigh as he looked back at the man with a wry smile. "I could''ve finished the fights sooner, didn''t I?"


    "Would''ve even helped make sure your opponent didn''t die from your attacks," replied Scho''doxa as he let out a peal ofughter. "You may have all epted the challenge, but the cement portion of the tournament is now over."


    "There''s no need for more unnecessary casualties. I''m just giving all of you the opportunity to obtain more rewards for yourselves."


    "Speaking of which¡­ I forgot to mention this after you became the victor of the tournament." Slightly frowning as a thought came to mind, Scho''doxa soon looked back at Valyr with a slight grin.


    "Of course, I''m talking about the opportunity to visit the extraterrestrial named Earth."


    Feeling as if a bomb just went off in his mind, Valyr nkly stared at the man in response to those words.


    Thankfully, it did not take too long for the young man to regain his bearings, immediately looking at Scho''doxa with excitement all over his face as he thanked the man for the opportunity.


    With a chuckle, the man responded back that he''d earned the opportunity himself, only to then ask Valyr after that if he still wanted to proceed with the challenge.


    With everything cleared up, it went without saying that the young man agreed, prompting Scho''doxa to disappear for a bit before bringing back an orc that gave off an intimidating presence.


    Fortunately, as he''d already fought against multiple Myth-level beings in the past, Valyr was more than used to the aura they let out, immediately counteracting against the presence by ring out his aura in return.


    Swoosh!


    With the orc raising his eyebrow at him in slight interest, the two soon got to their ces as Scho''doxa stood at the center of the arena.


    "Are you the two of you ready?" ncing at both Valyr and the Myth-level orc, Scho''doxa faintly nodded back once the two gave him nods of approval.


    After that, the man let the two take center stage.


    "Fight!"


    Whoosh! For some reason, I''m kind of liking these longer chapters.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!

 Chapter 1159 Challenging the Heavens (2)

    1159 Challenging the Heavens (2)


    With Scho''doxa officially signaling the start of the match, the orc did not hesitate to charge towards Valyr, retrieving arge war axe from his spatial bracelet before empowering himself with a stat-boosting skill.


    Swoosh!


    "[Limit Break: Second Verse]."


    "[First Encore]."


    In response to the orc''s movements, Valyr went ahead and activated his own stat-boosting skills. After all, the only way he could even the ying field between the two of them was by empowering his stats as much as he could.


    "[Refined Offense Aura]."


    "[Refined Defense Aura]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Raging Azure Phoenix]."


    "[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Enduring Azure Turtle]."


    "[Rage of the True Wyvern]."


    Whoosh!


    With all of his go-to stat-boosting skills now activated, the young man immediately felt his confidence in fighting against the orc return, prompting him to take a few steps back as the orc struck out first.


    "Graaaaghh!!!"


    Bang!


    With the war axe''s edge glowing a faint crimson red, the orc aimed at Valyr as if he were cutting a piece of firewood in half, chopping straight down.


    Wanting to assess his chances at being able to make the opponent in front of him surrender, Valyr responded to the strike by casting multiple barriers and shields in front of him.


    ¡­Only for almost all of them to turn useless the moment the attacknded.


    Crash!


    Stacking five barriers and five shields on top of one another as his preliminary means of defense, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise when only a single barrier remained after the orc''s attack.


    Being reminded not to underestimate the might that a Myth-level being could unleash, the young man did not hesitate to activate [sh of the Azure Dragon], swiftly increasing the gap between the two of them.


    Whoosh!


    "I am definitely not gonna engage him in closebat," murmured Valyr to himself, briefly ncing behind him to see whether the orc was chasing after him.


    Surprisingly, the orc remained where it stood after the attack. Though, in exchange, he kept his eyes on the young man, making thetter feel as if the orc was staring daggers at him.


    After a bit more running around the arena, Valyr eventually understood why the orc stood in ce, raising its war axe once more as its edge turned a bloody crimson.


    Then, without hesitation¡­


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The orc swung the war axe as if he were mowing down his foes in the battlefield, sending de after de of crimson light towards the young man, all of them containing a level of lethality Valyr did not dare to endure.


    "Haah!"


    Keeping an eye on his energy reserves at all times, Valyr went ahead and conjured another barrier around him for safety before activating the Truth Weaver Scripture.


    Then, after empowering one of his stronger Intents to bolster his offensive power, the young man briefly stuck his magic staff to the ground before retrieving the spear behind his back.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]."


    "[Stampede of the Azure Tiger]!"


    Keeping an eye on all the energy des that were flying towards him, Valyr let out a short exhale before swinging his crimson spear upwards, swiftly conjuring a wave of dark blue energy that soon transformed into a bunch of azure tigers.


    Affixing the spear onto his back, the young man grabbed his magic staff before continuing to run once more, watching as the azure tigers began to fight against the energy des the orc shot out.


    "Roaaaarrrr!!!"


    Imbue with the element of Earth, the azure tigers struck at the des of crimson light with all their might, dispelling some of the orc''s attacks as the azure tigers gradually grew in number.


    At some point, the rate at which the orc sent out its energy des began to fall behind the rate at which the azure tigers multiplied, causing the orc''s expression to turn unsightly as the tables had been turned around. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "[Prime Azure Heavenfall]!"


    However, just as he was about to prepare an attack that would immediately render the stampede of the azure tigers as a thing of the past, the orc felt arge entity looming above his head.


    "Grxhsk¡­" Looking up in response, the orc was immediately greeted by the sight of an azure meteor threatening to crush him into a fine paste, prompting him to briefly nce at the young man that had cast the spell from afar.


    Then, briefly shifting his gaze between the two skills that were out to get him, the orc''s expression eventually turned solemn as it focused the attack it was preparing towards the meteor above it.


    "Grsh¡­ grahhhk!"


    Bang!


    As the orc threw his war axe towards the meteor, Valyr felt as if the move would end up bing futile. After all, even though the orc was at the Myth-level, he was still fighting against the momentum of an actual meteor.


    Yet, just as the young man thought the move was useless¡­


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    Boom!


    At the moment the war axe struck the azure meteor, it shot out a thin de of crimson light that caused the meteor to fracture.


    Then, continuing to send out des of crimson lights towards the meteor, the meteor eventually fractured on its own, exploding into a meteor shower that barely struck the orc.


    If anything, the ones struck by the meteor shower¡­ were the azure tigers.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Whether it was the fact that they were nearing the end of the skill''s duration, or the fact that Valyr had put more energy into forming the azure meteor, the azure tigers immediately sumbed to the remnants of the azure meteor, causingrge swathes of the wave to disappear in an instant.


    Because of that, the orc effectively struck two birds with one stone, reducing the threat of both of Valyr''s attacks to something that was more negligible.


    With that, the orc looked at the frowning young man with a grin, telling thetter through his expression that he would be the one winning the fight.


    In response to that, the young man''s expression turned grim, only for him to sh a yful smile at the orc not long after.


    Looking at the smile the young man returned to him, the orc could not help but slightly shudder in response, getting the feeling that the young man had only shown him a faint glimpse of what he was capable of.


    Though, after mulling over the thought for a bit, the orc shook his head as he discarded the thoughts from his mind.


    Sure, he thought it was impressive that the young man could utilize both magic and weapons in hisbat style, even more so after he found out from Scho''doxa that the young man was at the peak of Rank 4.


    ''Surely he doesn''t have more tricks up his sleeve, right?'' thought the orc to himself, gearing himself up for what he would consider a reversal in initiative.


    Unfortunately, what he did not know¡­


    ¡­was that Valyr truly did have more tricks up his sleeve.


    ¡­


    Bang!


    "Grrssh gr''shhh!!!" Watching as the young man in front of him conjured a maelstrom of attacks that involved the four elements, the battered and bruised orc thought that enough was enough, immediately voicing out his surrender towards Scho''doxa.


    "Valyr, stop!" However, as he did not understand thenguage of the orcs, Valyr continued with the attack he prepared, seeing the orc''s current condition as an opportunity for him tond a severe hit to render the orc unable to fight.


    Fortunately, before that could happen, Scho''doxa understood what was going on, directly telling Valyr what the orc said just now.


    With that, the young man dispelled his prepared attack before it could even hit the orc, causing thetter to let out a wide sigh of relief as he looked at Valyr with fear.


    Out of all the fights both Valyr and the orc have had so far, the two were more than confident that the fight they just had was possibly the longest.


    After all, the two exchanged over hundreds, if not thousands of attacks at each other for over half an hour, which would''ve been more than enough to kill every being on a battlefield if their attacks were directed there.


    Then again, the only reason why their fightsted for over half an hour was because both sides had a lot of ways to defend and evade against each other''s attacks, eventually turning the entire fight into a battle of endurance.


    With both sides battered, bruised, and beaten up from each other''s attacks, the two soon stood in front of one another, looking at each other with respect in their gazes.


    With the help of Scho''doxa acting as a trantor, Valyr and the orc were even able to hold a brief conversation about the fight, even talking a bit about the ongoing war that was happening between their races.


    In the end, the two came to a mutual understanding that if the war ever came to an end and they were still alive, they would share a drink and talk about their experiences even further, forging a bond of sorts through the fight they just had.


    "Grkh¡­ grshh'' grhk." As these words left the orc''s mouth, Valyr looked at Scho''doxa, who immediately tranted the message for him.


    "I also hope the war ends soon," said the young man as he nodded to the orc, prompting Scho''doxa to trante his message for thetter in return.


    With that, the two of them parted ways as Scho''doxa teleported the orc back to his arena with a snap of his fingers, prompting Valyr to take out a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet.


    "So¡­" Watching Valyr down the potions in one go, Scho''doxa paused for a bit before asking the question that came to his mind earlier. "Got any ns on changing your strategy for the next fight?"


    "Definitely." Feeling slightly rejuvenated after drinking the potions, the young man let out a sigh of relief before looking at Scho''doxa with a faint smile.


    "It''s time for me to bring out the arquebus."


    This is probably the fight chapter that I enjoyed writing the most so far. Then again... how would Valyr integrate the spear, his magic, and the arquebus together?


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1160 Challenging the Heavens (3)

    1160 Challenging the Heavens (3)


    Whoosh!


    After talking a bit more with Scho''doxa on what he nned to do on the next fight, Valyr decided to bring out all of his forging equipment from his spatial bracelet after taking a look at the state of his armor.


    Temporarily setting up a workshop at the center of the arena, he then took a couple of potions out of his spatial bracelet to top up both his health and energy reserves, causing him to let out a faint sigh of relief soon after. Taking off his whole set of armor after that, Valyr put one of the armor pieces on the anvil before swiftly getting to work.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Wielding the Hammer of Beginnings with a firm grip, Valyr activated [Advanced Repair] to its utmost limits, patching up the damage his opponent dealt to his armor earlier.


    At the same time, he conjured a couple of translucent arms with [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith], firing up the furnace in preparation for the heavier repairs he saw himself doing.


    Watching Valyr work on his armor from a distance, a thought eventually surfaced in Scho''doxa''s mind as he noticed the young man use all of the equipment he brought out as if they were on the back of his hand.


    Recalling a conversation he had with Valyr during an earlier part of the tournament, the man eventually decided to move closer to him before voicing out the suspicion he had in mind. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Say, Valyr¡­ are you a cksmith by chance?"


    "Well, I wouldn''t be wielding this forging hammer if I wasn''t," joked Valyr in response, raising the Hammer of Beginnings for a bit before shifting his attention back to the armor piece he was working on. "Why''d you ask?"


    "Well, watching you work on your armor made me think about the arquebus you brought out earlier," said Scho''doxa, prompting the young man to recall his fight against the peak Rank 6 puppet.


    "You and I both know that your arquebus isn''t really a weapon that should exist in Veldanyr," the man told him. "After all, the''s general level of technology at the moment is only nearing the end of the Early Middle Ages."


    "No point in beating around the bush." Feeling like the man was going about the matter in a roundabout manner, Valyr briefly looked at the man with a slight frown. "What are you really trying to ask me?"


    Scho''doxa could only smile in response. "Judging by your words, I''m sure you already know."


    Indeed, Valyr knew. "Are you asking me if I was the one who forged the arquebus?"


    Hearing those words, the man merely nodded.


    "Well¡­" Mulling over the question a bit, the young man eventually looked back at Scho''doxa with a teasing smile on his face. "What if I told you I did?"


    Though Valyr was talking in a hypothetical manner, Scho''doxa immediately understood at that moment that the young man in front of him was the one who made the arquebus he brought out.


    With that, it went without saying that the man asked him as to how he''de across the technology in the first ce, as well as the hardships he''d gone through to get the arquebus to its current state.


    In response, Valyr let out a low sigh as he briefly yet concisely answered all of Scho''doxa''s questions, attributing it all to the fact that he was lucky enough to enter an inheritance that taught him how to forge the arquebus in the first ce.


    Of course, in reality, the inheritance was just a small gear to the entire mechanism.


    Nevertheless, Valyr''s response was more than enough to enlighten Scho''doxa, causing thetter to beam a smile as he thought back to another conversation the two of them had.


    ''I think it was the right choice to give him that title,'' thought the man to himself, deciding to remain silent after that as he watched Valyr repair his armor back to peak condition.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Although the artifact he was wielding definitely aided him whenever he forged a new piece of equipment, with the experience he''d umted as a cksmith between two lives, it went without saying that it only took a while before Valyr was able to return his armor to how it was before.


    Making a few enhancements to his set of armor here and there, the young man eventually told Scho''doxa he was ready to continue with the challenge, swiftly storing all of the forging equipment he brought out back into his spatial bracelet.


    After that, he took out his arquebus, as well as the things he needed to fire the weapon from his spatial bracelet.


    Deciding to arm the weapon before the fight even began, the young man watched as Scho''doxa disappeared from his vision for a moment, only to return with the winner of the Mid Rank 6 tournament not even a minuteter.


    Swoosh!


    Surprisingly, simr to the winner of the Early Rank 6 tournament, the victor of the Mid Rank 6 tournament hailed from another race.


    Specifically, the winner was an elf.


    However, unlike the elves Valyr hade to recognize in his past life, the elf that stood beside Scho''doxa looked a bit different.


    "Half-elf?" Continuing to look at the being that stood beside the arbiter, the young man noticed that the elf looked more like a human than an actual elf.


    If anything, the only telltale sign that the woman was rted to the elves were her pointed ears.


    "Got any problem with that?" the half-elf asked Valyr with a frown, hearing the words thetter was murmuring to himself.


    Of course, the young man had no problem with that at all.


    "Just surprised." Valyr shook his head as he rified himself. "Never did I think I''d be fighting against a half-elf. You guys are rare, after all."


    "Hoh?" Unfortunately, the half-elf''s impression towards him only soured after hearing that. "Are you telling me half-elves aren''t worthy of fighting you? Is it because we can''t be as talented as humans or elves?"


    "I¡­ haah." At first, Valyr nned on refuting the woman''s words.


    However, getting the feeling that the woman would only misconstrue his words even further, the young man decided not to pursue the matter any further.


    With that, he nced at Scho''doxa, who nodded back with a calm expression as he told the two to get into their positions.


    Feeling as if the half-elf wouldn''t hold back on her attacks once the fight began, Valyr nced at her with a slight frown as he tightly gripped onto his arquebus, pondering over how he''d end the match as soon as possible.


    "Are you two ready?" While he was doing that, Scho''doxa briefly nced at the two of them to see if they were ready with their preparations.


    Obtaining a nod from the two in response to his question, the man faintly nodded as he took flight, signaling the start of the match not long after.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1161 Challenging the Heavens (4)

    1161 Challenging the Heavens (4)


    "¡­Fight!"


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment those words left Scho''doxa''s mouth, the half-elf swiftly activated all of the stat-boosting skills in her arsenal, causing her body to give off a faint green glow.


    Seeing that Valyr was also in the process of activating his stat-boosting skills, the woman went ahead and charged towards him without hesitation, ring out her aura in the process.


    Swoosh!


    "Considering that you''re at the peak of Rank 4, it''s quite surprising that you''ve gotten this far." Taking out a whip made out of vines from who knows where, the woman opened her mouth all of a sudden while her gaze was focused on Valyr''s movements.


    "After all, before you could even get the chance to fight against me, you''d have to fight against the winner of the Early Rank 6 tournament."


    "I don''t know whether your victory against him was a fluke or not, but I''m more than certain your streak of victories ends here," said the half-elf in a slightly arrogant tone, stopping a couple of meters away from the young man.


    After that, she redirected her aura towards the whip she held, infusing it with a great amount of energy in the process.


    In response, the whip seemingly gained a mind of its own, beginning to slither about as if it were a serpent waiting for her orders.


    "There is no winning against me." Just as Valyr had finished activating all of the stat-boosting skills he used in his earlier fight against the orc, the half-elf spoke up once more, her whip gradually moving closer towards him.


    "There is only losing."


    "¡­Is that so?" Getting the feeling that the woman would continue on the current topic, Valyr decided to take control of the current situation, interrupting her next words with a question of his own.


    "Do you really think I''d lose against you?"


    "How arrogant," scoffed the half-elf in response, the whip in her hands more than ready tounch an offensive against him. "Do you even have the means to bridge such a massive gap in strength? I''m more than certain you won your previous fight through sheer luck."


    At those words, a faint smile began to creep up onto Valyr''s lips. "Luck, huh? Do you really think I relied on luck?"


    "Oh?" At those words, the half-elf raised her eyebrows, her interest seemingly piqued.


    "Be my guest, then," replied the half-elf after that, crossing her arms as if she found his actionsughable. "Show me just how a peak Rank 4 ss holder like you would take on a mid Rank 6 ss holder like me."


    "With great pleasure." Briefly chuckling in response to her words, Valyr briefly took in a deep breath before proceeding to take action.


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    Activating one of his movement skills, Valyr immediately disappeared from the woman''s vision, causing thetter to briefly look around her surroundings to see where he went.


    Thinking that he used the movement skill to force her into closebat, the half-elf became disappointed when she noticed the young man appear a bit further away from her a couple of secondster.


    ''He''s just stalling for time,'' she thought to herself, finding the notion of surmounting such a massive gap in strength preposterous.


    However, just as she thought her opponent would begin to run around the arena to continue stalling for time, Valyr instead moved in a way that she did not expect.


    "Bind." Swiftly conjuring a strand of blue-white energy, the young man infused the strand with his thoughts, immediately transforming it into a field that pinned the half-elf in ce.


    Briefly wondering whether the field pinning her down was still part of the young man''s n of stalling for time, such thoughts immediately disappeared from the half-elf''s mind the moment Valyr released his aura in its entirety.


    Fwoosh!


    Though the young man gave off an aura that was inferior to the aura she unleashed, the might contained in it was more than enough for the half-elf to realize that his earlier ims weren''t baseless.


    With that in mind, the half-elf began to infuse energy into both the whip and the field surrounding her, attempting to break the bindings pinning her down as sheunched an offensive against Valyr.


    However, only one of actions ended up working out.


    "What?!" Confident that she''d be able to move once more thanks to her actions, the half-elf was taken by surprise when she found out she remained rooted in ce.


    Feeling a hint of fear from the fact that things weren''t working out the way it did in her mind, the half-elf decided to focus her attention on her whip for the meantime, watching it close the distance between her and Valyr in a matter of seconds.


    Unfortunately, just as the whip was about to strike the young man, thetter decided to use [Blink of the Azure Dragon] once more, appearing a few meters away from where he previously stood as he aimed his arquebus at her.


    "[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad]."


    "[Intent of Shadow Energy]."


    Not wanting to mess up his next move, Valyr decided to allocate some of the blue-white energy towards the whip chasing him, briefly stopping its movements as he activated his Intent with the Truth Weaver Scripture.


    "[Grand Burst]." Letting out a drawn-out exhale, he then infused the arquebus with Prime Azure Energy as he pulled on the trigger, sending out a bullet that directly headed straight for the half-elf''s head.


    Boom!


    Propelled by a level of strength that was close to transcending the peak of mortality, it went without saying that the bullet appeared in front of the half-elf in less than an instant, forcing thetter to hastily conjure a shield in front of her as ast-ditch effort.


    Sadly, the bullet pierced through the shield as if it wasn''t there at all.


    Bang!


    As if the current situation was a response to hercence from earlier, the bullet easily pierced through the half-elf''s forehead, boring a small hole that soon caused blood to spurt out from both sides.


    "Gasp!"


    Feeling remorse as a myriad number of thoughts coursed through her mind, the half-elf gradually felt both her body and mind begin to sumb to the damage she received, causing her to inwardly wonder why she made such a stupid decision.


    Fortunately, Scho''doxa made a move before she fully sumbed to the damage, activating a series of skills that swiftly returned her connection back to the waking world.


    Whoosh!


    Gradually feeling the strength she swiftly lost return to her body, the half-elf eventually let out a wide sigh of relief the moment she felt like she returned to her previous condition, giving Scho''doxa a look of gratitude in response.


    After that, she shifted her gaze towards Valyr, only to feel fear bubbling up within her body as he looked back at her with a solemn gaze.


    Knowing that this fear was a result of her decisions, the woman was about to tell Valyr she was in the wrong after taking a few deep breaths, only to notice the faint smirk that was hanging on the edge of the young man''s lips.


    ''You¡­'' Feeling as if the young man was mocking her for her arrogance andcence, the words she previously had in mind disappeared without a trace.


    In its ce was a barely suppressed anger that was directed towards the young man, the words he spoke to her before the start of the fight still echoing in her mind.


    "Alright then." Though he took note that the half-elf was clearly staring daggers at Valyr, Scho''doxa acted as if he was oblivious to all of that, teleporting the half-elf away with a snap of his fingers.


    Whoosh!


    "So, using the arquebus was the right choice, no?" Making sure that the half-elf returned to her arena, the man soon threw out a question at the young man, letting out a slight chuckle as he spoke.


    "The fight was definitely faster than before." In response, Valyr let out a chuckle of his own as he nodded back. "If I knew I could use it from the start, I would have used it in every fight." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Sure, you may have missed out on that," replied Scho''doxa as he nodded. "But at least you still have the opportunity to use it in your next and final fight."


    Valyr could only smile at those words.


    "Well¡­ you''re not wrong." Definitely gonna edit this chapterter. I feel like the chapter doesn''t flow that well.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1162 Challenging the Heavens (5)

    1162 Challenging the Heavens (5)


    "Ah, right."


    Just as Valyr responded to his words of advice, a thought surfaced in Scho''doxa''s mind all of a sudden, causing him to recall something he''d overlooked during the past couple of rounds.


    Taking out a couple of bottles that contained items Valyr was greatly interested in, the man shed an apologetic smile as he gave out a wry chuckle. "Almost forgot to give you your rewards."


    At those words, Valyr let out a chuckle of his own. "And here I thought I''d have to remind you sooner orter."


    "It might have definitelye to that point if we continued on with the next fight," replied Scho''doxa as his apologetic smile now contained a hint of self-ridicule. "Then again, your fight against the orc kind of made me put the thought of your rewards to the back of my head."


    With the man giving him the rewards he would''ve gotten from the two fights that passed, Valyr took out the other bottle of shards he had and tossed it back to Scho''doxa.


    "Now, all that''s left is for me to get another set of the bottles from the third and fifth round," said the young man as he put the bottles into his spatial bracelet.


    "I''m guessing you''ll give both if I were to win the next fight?"


    "You would''ve called me stingy if I didn''t." Scho''doxa let out a bit ofughter as he nodded in agreement. "But yeah. Being able to fight against a peak Rank 6 Myth at your level is no simple feat."


    After saying those words, the man asked Valyr if he wanted to proceed with the next fight, considering how thetter had not really expended that much energy during his fight against the half-elf.


    In response, the young man gave him a wry smile, telling him that he needed some time to recover the unique energy he used to keep the half-elf in response.


    Giving Scho''doxa a brief exnation on how he used the unique energy during the fight just now, Valyr watched as the man''s eyes widened in slight surprise.


    "At this point, I''m curious as to how much of your entire skill set have you shown throughout the fights so far," murmured Scho''doxa, deciding to give Valyr the time and space he needed to recuperate before the next fight.


    Though, just as he was about to head to another part of the arena to do so, another thought popped up in the man''s mind all of a sudden.


    With that, Scho''doxa stopped in his tracks as he looked at Valyr once more.


    "¡­Now that I think about it, I''ve also yet to upgrade your title to the final tier."


    Saying those words, the man gave the young man a quick exnation on what requirements one must meet in order to obtain the title corresponding to thepletion of the entire tournament.


    Hearing that all he needed to do to get it was be the victor of the tournament he participated in, it went without saying that Valyr urged Scho''doxa to give him the rightful title he deserved, causing thetter to wryly smile as he nodded in response.


    Ding!


    [You have passed the final round of the Rise to Prominence tournament.]


    [As proof of your passing, your title ''Tier IV Being'' has been upgraded to ''Tier V Being''.]


    Obtaining a couple of notifications from the system sometimeter, the young man went ahead and brought up its description to see if there would be any additional changes to what was considered the ultimate title.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tier V Being] (Title)


    Rarity: Legendary+


    The Apparatus appreciates your effort thus far. The Apparatus also hopes that you would wholly embrace the advent of a new era.


    However, as a safety measure¡­ most of the description has been omitted.


    Effects:


    > Nullification of damage received from the first five attacks of beings protected by the system


    > 50% reduction to damage received from beings protected by the system


    > 50% boost to damage dealt to beings protected by the system


    > 15% boost to Attack and Defense


    > 10% boost to max HP and MP


    > 5% boost to all stats


    [Note: Some terms within the title''s description are subject to change once the new version of Greater Beyond arrives.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Neat." Although most of the effects were just an upgraded version of the effects that the previous version of the title had, Valyr was quite surprised to see that the title now also increased his stats to a certain extent.


    Getting the feeling that there was more to the title than it seemed after reading through it a couple of times, he then asked Scho''doxa if there was an even better version of the title he currently had.


    Surprisingly, the man let out a bit ofughter in response, telling him that he''d obtain the answer to his question as long as he defeated his final opponent.


    And so, Valyr prepared.


    ¡­


    "Are you ready?"


    Feeling like he''d given Valyr enough time to get back to peak condition, Scho''doxa appeared in front of the young man as he asked him a question.


    "As ready as I could ever be." Nodding in response, the young man stood up with a calm smile on his face, having long prepared his arquebus for the fight that was about toe. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Alright then." Hearing Valyr''s words, Scho''doxa beamed a faint smile. "Time for me to do a bit of work."


    Whoosh!


    At those words, the man disappeared in front of the young man''s vision, prompting thetter to briefly wonder what kind of opponent he''d be up against.


    Seeing as his next fight was also the final fight in the entire challenge, Valyr thought that there was a high possibility for hisst opponent to be of a different race as well.


    "My opponent at the early Rank 6 level was an orc, while my opponent at the mid Rank 6 level was a half-elf," murmured the young man to himself, pondering what species in Veldanyr would be fitting as his final opponent.


    However, before he could even finish his train of thought, Scho''doxa appeared in front of Valyr once more.


    And beside the man was a person the young man was more than familiar with.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1163 Standing at the Pinnacle

    1163 Standing at the Pinnacle


    "¡­Mystia?"


    Rubbing his eyes a couple of times to make sure he wasn''t imagining things, Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise when he confirmed that the person standing beside Scho''doxa was none other than his master.


    "Wait¡­Valyr?" Naturally, Mystia had the same reaction as him, not expecting that the person she''d be fighting against with was none other than her third disciple.


    "You two know each other?" Noticing how the two reacted to each other''s appearance with both surprise and delight, Scho''doxa began to look at the two with slight curiosity, getting the feeling that the rtionship they had wasn''t all that simple.


    As far as he knew, the only times a Myth-level being would have a close connection to someone below that level could be one of the five following possibilities.


    One, the Myth-level being was an ancestor of thetter.


    Two, the Myth-level being and thetter already knew each other before the former ascended to the Myth level.


    Three, the Myth-level being was thetter''s master.


    Four, the Myth-level being was someone who owed a favor to thetter.


    And five, the Myth-level being and thetter had some sort of encounter that left them no choice but to forge a connection.


    Though his thoughts gradually wandered towards thest possibility as he wondered what answers they''d give him, Valyr and Mystia soon exined to the man that their rtionship was that of a master and a disciple.


    As Mystia began to exin that she taught Valyr the art of alchemy, Scho''doxa eventually looked at thetter in disbelief, expecting the woman beside him to have taught him the art of cksmithing.


    Yet, what left her mouth instead was a field that took just as much time and skill to get into as cksmithing.


    By the time Mystia was done talking, the man looked at Valyr with a solemn expression before asking him a question. "¡­You''re telling me you''re not only a cksmith¡­ but you''re an alchemist as well?"


    Seeing Valyr nod as if it was nothing to be surprised about, Scho''doxa let out a slightly exasperated sigh as he continued with his words. "Don''t tell me you''re also a schr or a tailor by chance?"


    Fortunately, the young man shook his head at the question, prompting the man to inwardly let out a long sigh as he thought about the feats he learned Valyr had achieved during the first round of the tournament.


    ''Not only did he kill a Myth-level being with what would normally be an overwhelming disadvantage, he also knows how to forge an arquebus, as well as concoct potions on top of that,'' thought Scho''doxa to himself, feeling himself be more and more disbelieving of the words in his head.


    ''The fact that he doesn''t even look like he''s reached 20 yet¡­''


    ''I really think I made the right choice in choosing him for the Gctic Eminence tournament.''


    Taking in a couple of deep breaths topose himself, Scho''doxa was soon greeted by the sight of the two talking to one another about their experiences in the tournament so far.


    Listening to their conversation on the side, the man eventually interrupted the two as he asked for Valyr''s identity, getting the feeling that he''d get his answers if he were to find out more than just the young man''s name.


    Unsurprisingly, as he heard the young man reveal his true identity as a Zeihardt to him, Scho''doxa felt as if all of the jigsaw pieces in his mind click into ce, finally allowing him to understand why the young man was able to do what he did.


    Of course, this left both Valyr and Mystia looking at him in slight confusion as the man began to absentmindedly nod all of a sudden.


    "Alright." Taking in yet another deep breath to calm his emotions, Scho''doxa eventually looked at the two once more with a calm smile. "Shall we proceed with your fight?"


    Briefly ncing at Mystia in response, Valyr nodded at her before looking back at the man. "Say, why''d you ask for my identity all of a sudden?"


    "I shared my true identity with you since I know you wouldn''t share it due to your position as the tournament''s arbiter¡­ but why the sudden question?"


    "Just needed a bit more information to answer the questions I had about you," replied Scho''doxa as he let out a faint chuckle. "Let''s just say hearing the surname Zeihardt directly from you made everything make sense in the end."


    At those words, Valyr looked at the man with confusion on his face, inwardly wondering what kind of questions thetter had in his mind for his identity as a Zeihardt to be its answer.


    Unfortunately, Scho''doxa had no desire to delve into the topic any further, swiftly brushing it aside as he told the two to get into their positions.


    However, while Valyr was making his way to what would be usually his side of the arena, Mystia remained rooted in ce, prompting the man to look at him with a raised eyebrow.


    "Is there a problem?" asked the man.


    "There''s no problem." Mystia shook her head in response, briefly ncing at Valyr before continuing with her words. "I just thought about admitting defeat before the fight even starts."


    "¡­Are you sure?" Whilst Valyr''s eyes widened in slight surprise at those words, Scho''doxa merely raised his eyebrow even further. "You do know you''re forfeiting the rewards you would''ve gotten if you beat all of the other victors, right?"


    "The rewards I''ve gotten throughout the tournament so far are plenty enough for me," said Mystia as she slightly shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, as an alchemist, it''s quite tempting to get my hands on a better version of the concoction."


    "But I wouldn''t go so far as to fight my disciple just to get it," she continued, giving Valyr a faint smile.


    Listening to the conversation that unfolded between the two, Valyr looked at the two in silence as a whirlwind of thoughts regarding the items swirled in his mind.


    On the other hand, Scho''doxa closed his eyes for a bit before looking back at Mystia with a calm expression. "Are you really sure you want to forfeit your rewards?" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I''m most certainly sure," said Mystia as she nodded with a calm smile.


    "¡­I must remind you that there''s no turning back from this decision. I''m giving you onest chance to change your mind."


    "No need to give one more chance. I''ve made up my mind to admit defeat."


    "¡­" Seeing as the woman was adamant in forfeiting her fight against Valyr, Scho''doxa eventually let out a long sigh as he announced what he considered as the most anticlimactic conclusion to a week and a half long tournament.


    "With the winner of the Peak Rank 6 and above tournament forfeiting their participation¡­"


    "Valyr, the winner of the Peak Rank 4 tournament, is now dered the ultimate winner of the Rise to Prominence tournament."


    "¡­"


    "¡­man."


    And thus, the tournament is now over.


    Time for more rewards.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1164 The Tournament Haul

    1164 The Tournament Haul


    Listening to the words that left Scho''doxa''s mouth just now, Valyr nkly stared at the two from where he stood for a bit as he scratched the back of his head.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to calm his thoughts, he then made his way back to where the two were, feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact that he was the only one to get ready for a potential fight.


    ''Does she really mean her words?'' thought Valyr to himself as he nced at Mystia, thinking back to the reasoning she gave Scho''doxa on why she decided to forfeit on the fight.


    In the end, he decided to ask her directly like Scho''doxa did, knowing that it would be the only way for his mind to be at ease.


    Unsurprisingly, Mystia responded more or less the same thing she did to Scho''doxa the moment Valyr asked his question, telling him that she didn''t really need to get her hands on the final rewards, even though it was quite alluring.


    However, unlike the brief answer she gave to the man earlier, Mystia expounded a bit more on her reasons, talking about how the concoction gave her insight on a new type of potions she could maketer down the road.


    "Of course, getting my hands on the best set of items that would make the final concoction would definitely help me out in my attempts to emte it," she told Valyr. "Then again, what I got is more than enough for me to work on for quite a long time."


    After that, she told Valyr that she really did not want to fight against him, even though she''d already seen a glimpse of what he was capable of back in the Mystic ne.


    Though she could havee up with various valid reasons as to why she decided not to do so, Mystia settled on the fact that he was her disciple, framing the fight from the perspective that she''d be bullying him.


    Naturally, with his blood fired up thanks to the fights he''d been through thus far, it went without saying that Valyr looked forward to fighting against a peak Rank 6 ss holder.


    After all, even though he already had experience defeating a puppet that had the stats of a peak Rank 6 ss holder, it was still vastly different from the experience one would get from fighting an actual peak Rank 6 ss holder.


    Of course, Valyr was slightly taken aback when he found out that Mystia would be the peak Rank 6 ss holder he''d fight against. Nevertheless, that did not diminish his battle intent whatsoever, initially hoping he could''ve persuaded her to a spar at least.


    Sadly for him, with the tournament now officially over since Scho''doxa dered his victory, there was no point in doing so.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ why are you the winner of the Peak Rank 6 and above tournament?" With his thoughts having more or less returned to what it was before, Valyr eventually nced at Mystia with a slight frown, realizing that the current situation was somewhat odd.


    Seeing his master raise her eyebrow in response to his words, the young man quickly rified himself. "It''s not that I''m skeptical of your strength. It''s just that¡­ every being in Veldanyr participated in this tournament, right?"


    "¡­Ah." Hearing the question that left Valyr''s mouth, it did not take long for Scho''doxa to understand what the young man was trying to ask. "Now I get what you''re trying to ask."


    Noticing that Mystia still looked a bit confused, the man decided to take Valyr''s ce in exining what was going on. "He''s talking about the rulers of your races. The potential top contenders for the tournament you were a part of."


    "Ahh¡­" Finally understanding the topic of their conversation, Mystia''s eyes widened in realization as she mulled over the question for a bit. "¡­Huh. Now that I think about it, you''re right."


    "As far as I can remember, the rulers of the three sovereignties are more or less at the same ss rank as me," murmured the woman as she thought out loud. "The leaders of the other misceneous races are around the same rank as well."


    "Considering their position¡­ I shouldn''t have won the tournament." At those words, Mystia looked at Scho''doxa, getting the feeling that he''d be able to rify their confusion.


    Unsurprisingly, he did.


    "Call it the greatest coincidence ever," replied Scho''doxa as he beamed a slightly bitter smile at the two. "As to why I say this, let''s focus our attention back to the fourth round of the tournament. Specifically, the battle royale."


    Proceeding with his exnation, the man exined that the opponents people were matched up with during the fourth round were more or less semi-random.


    As to what he meant by that, he told both Valyr and Mystia that the range of strength the opponents would face on their tforms would only deviate by one or two stages, while the people chosen at that level of strength would bepletely random.


    Pondering over the man''s words for a bit, it did not take long for the two toe to the conclusion themselves, causing them to eventually look at Scho''doxa with a hint of disbelief.


    "Surely¡­ that can''t be?" As Mystia uttered these words out, the bitter smile on Scho''doxa deepened as he let out a deep sigh.


    "That is indeed the case," said the man to the two, briefly shaking his head at the thought of it. "The rulers and leaders of the various races faced off against each other during the fourth round."


    "Unsurprisingly, they all came to the conclusion that none of them should continue onto the next round, lest they wanted to break the delicate bnce they''ve crafted thus far."


    16:32


    "So, none of them passed the fourth round, then?" asked Valyr in response.


    "Pretty much." Scho''doxa nodded as he slightly shrugged. "It''s not too much of a problem. They just have to raise their titles the other way once the new versiones out."


    "I see."


    After finding out why the beings that held the greatest power and authority in Veldanyr didn''t make an appearance during the final round of the tournament, Valyr decided to ask onest question, wanting to know more in-depth about the challenge Scho''doxa gave to Mystia.


    In response, Mystia exined to him that the challenge she got was more or less simr to him, which involved having to fight the other winners for rewards.


    However, as she was the winner of the Peak Rank 6 and above tournament, Scho''doxa told her that she would only get a reward if she defeated the winners of the other eight tournaments.


    Hearing that she would''ve gotten a set of items simr to what he currently owned, Valyr could not help but feel a bit guilty that he''d obstructed her path in some way. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After all, she decided to forfeit on the reward after finding out he was her opponent.


    Surprisingly, Mystia did not really mind it at all, reassuring the young man that the rewards she got was more than enough for her to make improvements in not only her strength, but also her skills in alchemy.


    "And if you still feel bad for me, you could just let me take a look at the rewards you got once we get back," she said at the end, letting out a chuckle as she saw the young man nod at her words soon after.


    Feeling like everything that could''ve been said was all said at that point, Scho''doxa decided to teleport Mystia back to her arena for the meantime, informing her that she and the others would be returned to Veldanyr shortly.


    Nodding in response to those words, she soon bade farewell to the young man, only for her eyes to widen in disbelief just as she disappeared from his field of vision.


    Whoosh!


    Noticing that she was staring at Scho''doxa just before she disappeared from his arena, Valyr shifted his gaze towards the man as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "Let''s just say I gave her a reward of sorts." Letting out a yful chuckle in response to his expression, Scho''doxa gave Valyr a meaningful smile before shifting the topic of their conversation to something else.


    "Well, enough about that. Let''s proceed with your rewards, shall we?"


    Whoosh!


    Opening up a screen in front of him, Scho''doxa interacted with it for a bit before looking back at Valyr. "You asked me earlier if there was a better version of the title you currently have."


    "Now, what if I told you that the title I just gave you is still nowhere near the best version possible?"


    Ding!


    Briefly staring back at the man in response to his words, Valyr immediately shifted his attention towards his notifications after receiving a response from the system, bringing up a screen in front of him not long after.


    [You are the ultimate winner of the Rise to Prominence tournament.]


    [As proof of your victory, the Arbiter Scho''doxa has decided to upgrade your title ''Tier V Being'' to ''Apex Being (Veldanyr)''.]


    [As proof of your victory, the Arbiter Scho''doxa has decided to bestow upon you the title ''Tier I True Being (Tennaril Star System).]


    [The Arbiter Scho''doxa wants to remind you that although you stand at the pinnacle of your, there is still the vast expanse that awaits you.]


    "Aside from that, there''s also this."


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr was about to bring up the description of the new titles he received, Scho''doxa threw a couple of bottles at him all of a sudden, forcing thetter to push his thoughts aside as he caught them.


    Seeing the young man stow away the two bottles he gave him into his spatial bracelet, the man nodded in satisfaction before shing a bright grin.


    "And I think that''s all."


    "I guess that concludes this entire tournament, then."


    With the tournament now over, we''re nearing the release of the first version of Greater Beyond even more.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1165 Returning to Veldanyr

    1165 Returning to Veldanyr


    Although he constantly reminded himself that he''d have to return to Veldanyr sooner orter, Valyr still felt a bit sad when he thought about how he''d have to separate ways with the man in front of him.


    Then again, after mulling over it for a bit, he knew that their separation was inevitable, considering that Scho''doxa was an Arbiter.


    Inwardly taking in a deep breath to calm his emotions, he looked back at the man before asking him a question. "So¡­ I guess you''ll be sending us back to Veldanyr now?"


    "Pretty much." Scho''doxa wryly smiled as he nodded. "Though I did say at the beginning that the 15 days that remain before the new version were allocated towards the tournament, I''m still obligated to return all of you back to your home as soon as possible."


    Listening to those words, it did not take much for Valyr to understand why. "I''m guessing it has something to do with those beings?"


    "Yep." The man nodded back. "I was told that if the tournament were to end earlier than the alloted time, I''d give everyone on the a reminder to prepare for the beings that would arrive once the new version arrived."


    "Of course, the same reminder goes for you, Valyr," continued the man as he smiled. "As a cksmith and an alchemist, I''m sure you know how to make the most out of that circumstance."


    Hearing those words, the young man merely smiled.


    After all, Valyr was waiting for this day to eventuallye.


    ''I''ll definitely prepare a lot for when theye,'' thought Valyr to himself as he inwardly chuckled. ''Might even finally take that first step towards making that alliance I''ve been reminding myself all this time.''


    ''Well, I''ll see what happens.''


    After talking about the uing version a bit more, Valyr eventually mentioned to Scho''doxa that he felt a bit of remorse at the thought of having to part ways with him.


    Surprisingly, the man told him that he felt the same way, telling Valyr that he appreciated the friendship they''d forged while the tournament was going on.


    Thankfully, neither of the two had any thoughts of cutting that friendship whatsoever, reminding themselves that they''d still meet up in the future for the Gctic Eminence tournament Scho''doxa invited Valyr to.


    With that, the two eventually decided to add each other as friends, prompting a new name to be added to Valyr''s friend list.


    [Scho''doxa Kr-khran''zar (Lvl. ???)]


    "Now, I really think we''ve done everything we needed to do to conclude this tournament." Looking at Valyr''s name at his own friend list, the man began to faintly smile as he looked back at the young man. "Let''s keep in contact."


    "Definitely." Smiling back, Valyr nodded as he told Scho''doxa he was ready to head back to Veldanyr.


    Whoosh!


    Nodding in response to his words, the man proceeded to conjure a cocoon of energy around the young man, deftly manipting the energy he sent out with a fewplex gestures.


    Seeing as the young man was watching himplete the cocoon he was making, Scho''doxa decided to make use of the opportunity to tell him something he forgot to tell earlier.


    "Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you that there''s another reward for the ultimate winner of the tournament."


    "It has something to do with the visit to the extraterrestrial."


    Unsurprisingly, Valyr raised his eyebrows in response, focusing all of his senses to what Scho''doxa had to say next. "And that would be¡­?"


    "Something about visiting the for a longer duration," replied the man with a slight shrug. "There''s a bit more to it as far as I''ve heard, but I haven''t really been given the specifics."


    "In any case, I''ll contact you and the other lucky winners when that opportunityes."


    "Alright then." Though he was curious as to what Scho''doxa meant by that, the young man was left with no choice but to keep it to himself for the meantime, seeing that the cocoon of energy around him was finallyplete. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Whoosh!


    Then, with a snap of Scho''doxa''s fingers, the young man soon disappeared from the arena, prompting the man to faintly smile as he nced at where Valyr once stood.


    "Zeihardt, huh¡­" Thinking about returning the other winners back to Veldanyr, the man began to murmur to himself. "To think he''s a descendant of that guy."


    "And from the looks of it¡­ it seems like he''s inherited a lot more than just his blood."


    "¡­I''ve definitely lucked out this time around."


    ¡­


    Swoosh!


    Appearing at the center of a vast ins, Valyr immediately let out a sigh of relief once he realized he''d been returned to the exact point he stood before being transported to the tournament.


    Taking a quick look at his surroundings to make sure his thoughts weren''t wrong, he then decided to make his way to the cksmith Guild for the meantime, hoping to obtain updates on the''s overall situation along the way.


    Whoosh!


    "Since not everyone on the was returned to Veldanyr at the same time, I''m sure a lot of drastic changes have urred while I was gone." Activating [sh of the Azure Dragon], Valyr went ahead and gave Julian a heads-up on his visit to the cksmith Guild.


    After that, he focused his attention on [Thousand Polymorph], manipting the skill to change his appearance once more.


    "I suppose this is enough." Feeling like he''d shifted his appearance away from the Ylvar identity he''d been using so far, the young man nodded in satisfaction as he briefly thought back to the attention he got back at the tournament.


    Thinking about how even the orcs and the elves knew of his identity as Ylvar thanks to what happened during the first round, Valyr could not help but shake his head as a wry and bitter smile appeared on his face.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for the smile to disappear, allowing him to maintain a calm expression the moment he arrived at the cksmith Guild''s entrance around half an hourter.


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Dispelling his movement skill just before arriving at the entrance, Valyr was immediately greeted by the sight of a serious and slightly imposing Julian, his appearance making many of the passersby hasten their footsteps in response.


    Getting the feeling that the current Julian had something to do with his message from earlier, the young man quickly gave him a heads-up through another message, which made the man''s serious visage instantly disappear.


    "You''re finally here." With Valyr also giving him a quick heads-up on his appearance, it did not take long for Julian to find the disguised Valyr, leading him into the guild before heading straight to his private workshop.


    Once there, the man let out a wide sigh of relief as he sat on a nearby chair, causing Valyr to let out a slight chuckle in response. "Was it really that nerve-wracking?"


    "If only you knew how much mor your identity has caused because of the tournament," replied Julian with a slightly concerned expression. "Though I wouldn''t say I''m confident that everyone on the knows of your identity, what I am confident about is that almost every human on the already knows of your identity as Ylvar."


    Hearing those words, Valyr''s expression turned solemn as he asked the man what he meant by that.


    In response, Julian gave him a brief overview of what happened, starting his exnation from the moment the man returned to Veldanyr.


    "When I failed to pass the fourth round, I was brought back to my workshop here in the guild," said the man, to which Valyr perked up his ears in response. "I think everyone was brought back the same way. Being returned to where they were before being transported, that is."


    "In any case, once I got back, I went ahead and asked everyone in the guild on updates regarding the overall situation. After all, you could say that the entire was brought to a standstill for at least a week."


    Seeing that Valyr nodded in agreement to his words, Julian continued. "Aside from a few updates that weren''t all that surprising because of the mass disappearance, there was one update that instantly caught my attention." "And that was the fact that a certain n is looking around for your current whereabouts."


    "Wait¡­" Valyr slightly frowned at those words. "Hasn''t the Zeihardt n already done this? Didn''t they stop doing it because of the war?"


    "They did." Julian nodded. "However, the n I''m talking about is not the Zeihardt n. It''s a different n altogether."


    Valyr frowned even more. "Are they looking for me? Or are they looking for Ylvar?"


    "Both," replied Julian, causing Valyr''s expression to turn grim. "They were constantly talking about how the prodigious young man during the first round of the tournament was connected to the man named Valyr Zeihardt."


    "There were also ims that the prodigious young man was Valyr Zeihardt himself, but the message was more or less along the same line."


    "Do we know which n that is?" Scratching the back of his head at Julian''s words, Valyr let out a faint sigh before asking his own set of questions. "Also, has the Zeihardt n made a move because of it?"


    "Answering your second question first, they''ve indeed made a move." Julian nodded. "They''re currently working in conjunction with the n that began to spread the news about the connection in the first ce."


    "As for your first question¡­ I''m sure you''re familiar with the Nichs n?"


    "The Nichs n¡­" Feeling that the name of the n was familiar to him, Valyr began to mull the name for a bit, only for his expression to turn even more grim once he realized what was going on.


    Though, just before he could voice out his spections to Julian, a familiar voice began to echo throughout the of Veldanyr.


    The mystery is totally intentional.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1166 Preparing for Whats to Come

    1166 Preparing for What''s to Come


    "To everyone on Veldanyr¡­ greetings yet again. My name is Scho''doxa."


    Hearing Scho''doxa''s voice echo throughout everywhere he looked all of a sudden, Valyr paused in his words for a bit before deciding to save his thoughts for after the man''s announcement.


    After all, with the conversation he and Scho''doxa had before he returned to Veldanyr, he already knew that the man would give everyone on the a heads-up regarding the uing version.


    Because of that, he had a faint smile on his face as the man''s voice continued to echo throughout the. "I''m sure all of you know me from the tournament you''ve been forced to participate in some time ago."


    "I would like to apologize for transporting you to another ce all of a sudden¡­ but I was merely following the orders of the system itself."


    "With that being said, these next few words I''ll be mentioning are also orders from the system."


    Although Valyr couldn''t see it, he was certain that a great portion of the people throughout the perked their ears up at that moment, curious as to what the man would say next.


    Briefly ncing at Julian, he was slightly surprised to see that the man was seemingly intent on listening to Scho''doxa''s next words as well.


    "Do keep in mind that the beings protected by the system shall arrive at your in the next few days." Returning his attention back to what Scho''doxa had to say, Valyr faintly nodded the moment he heard the man''s words. "Not only that, but the new version would arrive at around the same time."


    "Expect a lot of personal changes from the new version¡­ but at the same time, don''t expect too much," continued the man. "If anything, most of the new changes that the new version shall bring wille from the beings themselves."


    "Depending on your actions, they might be the ally of your races¡­ or the banes of your existence."


    "Thus, I would highly rmend everyone to prepare for their appearance one way or another¡­"


    "For their appearance shall undoubtedly start a new era for the entire universe."


    Whoosh!


    By the time Scho''doxa was finished with his announcement, a sound simr to something being sucked in echoed throughout the entire, which everyone btedly realized as a signal that his announcement had ended.


    Though the man''s announcement was brief, the information contained in his words, as well as what he implied between the lines, was more than enough for everyone on the to turn silent.


    And thus, just like the effect the tournament had on the had, Veldanyr hade to a standstill once more.


    Unsurprisingly, even Julian was not spared from Scho''doxa''s words, slightly frowning while looking at the ground as various thoughts began to linger in his mind.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for everything to return to how it was before the announcement, with everyone on the seemingly havinge to a tacit agreement to continue what they were doing at more or less the same time.


    Swoosh!


    "Where were we again?" Taking in a deep breath to recollect his thoughts, Julian shed a wry smile at Valyr as he asked a question. "Sorry. Still thinking about what the man said just now."


    "Don''t worry." Though he had a rough idea of what was going on in the man''s head, Valyr had no desire to delve into it. "Take as much time as you need, really."


    Instead, he made sure to shift their conversation back to the topic they had earlier.


    "In any case, we were talking about the Nichs n earlier."


    "¡­Right." Bing silent for a bit, Julian soon had a look of understanding on his face as he nodded back at Valyr''s words. "We were talking about the n that had been looking for your whereabouts earlier."


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but you seemed to have something to say on the matter earlier?"


    "I did." Valyr nodded, only for his expression to turn slightly grim as he posed a question to the man. "If I remember correctly, the Nichs n was the n that used to own Edward, right?"


    "That would be correct." Julian nodded in response, his expression bing slightly grim as well. "It''s quite odd, honestly."


    "Definitely." Valyr nodded in agreement, pondering over the matter in silence a bit further.


    Considering the fact that he spent a while in the kingdom without activating his disguise skill, the young man wasn''t surprised that people had eventually caught on to the fact that he and Edward had a rtionship of some sort.


    He also wasn''t surprised that people were eventually able to connect him to the Ylvar identity he began to use more often, realizing that it was only a matter of time when people would connect the two because of his carelessness.


    If one were to add the Nichs n into the mix, then the entire thing became even more understandable, seeing as they were the ones who used to own Edward in the past.


    However, what Valyr did not understand was why they dragged the Zeihardt n into the current situation. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Well, it doesn''t take much toe to the idea that the Zeihardt n would handsomely reward the Nichs n if they were to lead them to me,'' muttered Valyr to himself inwardly, only to then frown as he mulled over the matter a bit further.


    ''But for some reason¡­ I feel like that isn''t the reason why they''ve roped the Zeihardt n into this.''


    With his frown getting deeper the more he thought about it, the young man eventually let out a low sigh as he looked at Julian.


    Asking more about the situation involving the Nichs and the Zeihardt n, Valyr could only bitterly smile when the man told him everything he knew, prompting him to shift the topic of their conversation to the other changes brought about by the tournament.


    By the time they finished going through all of the changes their disappearance brought to the entire, the young man decided to enlist Julian''s help in obtaining information regarding the Nichs n, as well as Algerie Kingdom''s branch of the Zeihardt n.


    At the same time, he sent a message to Braum through chat, reminding the man of the promise he made before asking for the same information he asked Julian.


    Getting confirmation from both Julian and Braum that they''d obtain the information for him as soon as possible, Valyr thanked the two of them for their help before leaving the cksmith Guild.


    "¡­I suppose I should tie up some loose ends before the new version starts." Arriving at the entrance of the guild a few minutester, the young man soon made up his mind to head to the battlefield for the meantime.


    Whoosh!


    Activating both [sh of the Azure Dragon] and [Flight of the Azure Dragon], Valyr soon disappeared from Algerie Kingdom as he made his way to the frontlines at the greatest speed he could muster.


    Swoosh!


    Although the titles he''d obtained from the tournament improved his stats by a certain extent, which amplified the effects of [sh of the Azure Dragon] a bit further, the speed at which Valyr moved through the air was only a bit better whenpared to the first time he made his way to the battlefield.


    From what he could tell, he would arrive at the military base around an hour to an hour and a half earlier than he did in the past¡­


    Which eventually made Valyr realize that his speed had gone beyond bing a bit better.


    "I''ll use Noel''s request from back then as an excuse to teach the other cksmiths how to forge one from scratch." Deciding to make the most out of the time he was flying to the military base, Valyr began to n out his next moves before Greater Beyond was released to the public.


    "After that, I''ll forge a considerable number of basic weapons and armor for the yers to buy, as well as a set of basic potions that would allow their early game to be a bit more smooth sailing."


    "Hmm¡­ should I also give them ess to the Basic-level Reinforcement Elixirs?" Briefly pondering over which starter vige he''d temporarily set up shop in once the yers arrived, a random thought soon popped up in his mind.


    Scratching the back of his head as he mulled over the thought, the young man seemed to be at a crossroads on what to do regarding the matter. "On one hand, it''d speed up the rate at which yers improved in the game¡­ but at the same time, it would cause the foundations of the majority to be shaky."


    "After all, they''d rely more on the brute strength the elixirs would give them while fighting rather than the skills they should actually focus on."


    "Not only that, but the bullying incident from back then would probably just repeat itself if I were to make those elixirs readily avable from the start."


    "Hmm¡­"


    Slightly frowning as he delved deeper and deeper into the matter, in the end, Valyr came to the conclusion that there wasn''t any point in thinking about it, seeing as the yers had yet to appear in Veldanyr.


    "If anything, it''s probably in my best interest to tackle the topic of the Reinforcement Elixirs again only after Greater Beyond is released to the public."


    With that, it was no surprise that the young man focused his thoughts on something else after that.


    Specifically¡­ he focused his thoughts on the rewards he got from the tournament.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1167 Perks of the Tournament

    1167 Perks of the Tournament


    Ding!


    Feeling that now was probably the best time to take a look at his rewards from the tournament in detail, Valyr went ahead and brought up the descriptions of the two new titles he got.


    "Hopefully the changes are a bit beyond my expectations." Looking at the screens that appeared in his field of vision, the young man focused his attention on the first screen he brought up, which contained the recently upgraded version of [Tier V Being].


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Apex Being (Veldanyr)]


    Rarity: Mythic


    The Apparatus appreciates your effort thus far. The Apparatus also hopes that you would wholly embrace the advent of a new era.


    However, as a safety measure¡­ most of the description has been omitted.


    As the ultimate winner of the system''s sanctioned tournament in preparation for the new version, the Apparatus believes that you have what it takes to carve out a path for yourself in the new era.


    Effects:


    > Nullification of damage received from the first five attacks of beings protected by the system


    > 25% reduction to damage received from beings protected by the system


    > 25% boost to damage dealt to beings protected by the system


    > 5% reduction to all damage received while in Veldanyr


    > 5% boost to all damage dealt while in Veldanyr


    > 15% boost to Attack and Defense


    > 15% boost to max HP and MP


    > +15 points to all stats


    > 8% boost to all stats


    [Note: Some terms within the title''s description are subject to change once the new version of Greater Beyond arrives.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Huh." Before reading through the description of [Apex Being], Valyr expected the title to more or less function the same way it did before.


    If anything, the only difference would be how prominent its effects were, considering how [Tier V Being] was five times as powerfulpared to [Tier I Being] when it came to its effects on yers.


    However, [Apex Being] immediately broke that thought in his mind, instead halving the effectiveness of most of the title''s effects when it came to yers.


    For a brief moment, Valyr wondered why the title would take a massive step backwards when it seemed to be the best version of the title he just got.


    At first, he thought it had something to do with the fact that the title''s effects now went beyond yers, allowing him to deal more damage while also receiving less from all sorts of sources aside from yers.


    There were also the fact that the title boosted his stats a bit further than before, causing him to think that the title regressed in some ways due to equivalent exchange.


    Thankfully, his queries were immediately answered once he took a look at the description of the other title he got from Scho''doxa.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tier I True Being (Tennaril Star System)]


    The Apparatus appreciates your effort thus far. The Apparatus also hopes that you would wholly embrace the advent of a new era.


    The Apparatus is cognizant of the fact that there are cases when beings froms have the potential to go beyond their current confines; where their strength is more than enough for them to affect those beyond their own.


    In those cases, the Apparatus permits the Arbiters presiding over the system''s sanctioned tournaments to bestow upon them a title that would only be more prevalent during the advent of the new era.


    Then again, such a title is something the Apparatus thinks of as a mere formality, a mere recognition of the being''s ability and potential to go above and beyond.


    Nevertheless, the Apparatus still considers it a step in the right direction.


    Effects:


    > Nullification of damage received from the first attack of beings protected by the system while in the Tennaril Star System


    > 30% reduction to damage received from beings protected by the system while in the Tennaril Star System


    > 30% boost to damage dealt to beings protected by the system while in the Tennaril Star System


    > 3% boost to Attack and Defense


    [Note: Some terms within the title''s description are subject to change once the new version of Greater Beyond arrives.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Okay. That makes more sense now." With information from the second title filling his mind, it did not take long for Valyr to put the pieces together as he understood why the first title turned out that way.


    "If I were tobine the two titles'' effects together, I''d be able to deal 60% more damage to yers, while receiving 60% less from them," muttered the young man to himself as he thought out loud.


    "At the same time, I''d be able to nullify the damage I take from six attacks¡­ as long as it''s yers doing it."


    "¡­Considering the progression of the first title thus far, that all lines up." Valyr faintly nodded in understanding, only to wryly smile. "Then again, that would only take effect in the Tennaril Star System."


    "If I''m outside it, then the effects the titles have on yers would be halved."


    "And if I''m not fighting against a yer, I''d only take 5% less damage while dealing 5% more."


    "¡­Then again, it''s not that bad." Pondering over the titles'' effects for a bit more, the young man eventually shrugged his shoulders in slight indifference. "I wouldn''t even be able to head out of the Tennaril Star System any time soon, even if I make use of the knowledge I have to travel outer space in advance."


    "On top of that, yers would only be able to start freely exploring nearby outer space by Version 3.0."


    With that in mind, Valyr faintly let out a sigh of relief before closing the screens he brought up.


    Making sure that he was still heading in the right direction, it was only then did he take a set of bottles from his spatial bracelet, all of which contained items that people would''ve normally ignored at first nce.


    "Time to see what kind of effects this final concoction has." Removing the stopper on the bottle containing an iridescent gold pill, Valyr had a faint smile on his face as he tipped the contents of the other bottles into it.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    One by one, the young man made sure to pour all of the contents of the other bottles into the first bottle, with the pill surprisingly absorbing it all as if it were a ck hole.


    Because of that, it did not take long for the final concoction to appear before Valyr''s very eyes, leaving him with three empty bottles, as well as a bottle that contained viscous iridescent fluid.


    "Now¡­ what can this thing do, actually?" Putting the empty bottles back into his spatial bracelet, the young man let out a slight chuckle as he looked at the bottle that remained.


    Feeling as if his body was urging him to drink the bottle''s contents as soon as possible, Valyr tried his best to suppress the urge as he activated his identification skill on it.


    "¡­[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


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    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought


    N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1168 Heavenly Reconstruction

    1168 Heavenly Reconstruction


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction]


    Rarity: Ancient


    Catalyst, tonic, shard, and leaf. These four items are considered by many to be the most basic ingredients an alchemist coulde across in their journey to a higher realm of alchemy.


    However, for those who have already touched the higher realm of alchemy themselves, these four ingredients contain the purest essence of what alchemy truly is.


    Making use of the essence contained in these seemingly basic ingredients, these alchemist turn the mundane into divine, creating a tincture that would cause anyone who ingested it to feel as if they were reborn anew.


    Once consumed, this tincture improves all of the user''s already awakened hidden stats by 10 to 20 points each. Any hidden stat awakened by the tincture is improved by 5 to 10 points each.


    This tincture also improves the user''s lowest stat by 100 points, while also improving all of the user''s other stats by 10 points each.


    Aside from that, this tincture awakens four of the following hidden attributes within the user: Endurance, Dominance, Weightlessness, Defthand, Intellect, Acuity, Insight, Fortune.


    This tincture also has a high chance of awakening up to two of the following hidden attributes within the user: Ferocity, Tolerance, Panacea, Resurrection.


    Lastly, this tincture has a high chance of improving the user''s species. Though, the tincture also has a low chance of unconditionally ascending the user''s species to a higher tier.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­" Deciding to put the bottle containing the iridescent fluid into his spatial bracelet for the meantime, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief once he felt the primal urge consuming him earlier disappear without a trace.


    Focusing his attention on the screen he brought up after that, the young man eventually sucked in a breath of cold air as his eyes widened in immense disbelief.


    "This is¡­" Rubbing his eyes a couple times to make sure he wasn''t misreading the item''s description, Valyr read through the screen''s contents one more time after that, only to confirm that he hadn''t misread anything not long after.


    "¡­Wow." Looking slightly forward to experiencing the effects the final concoction would have on him once he consumed it, Valyr immediately took a couple of breaths topose himself, attempting to return to a state of tranquility for a while.


    Unfortunately, even if he focused his entire attention on maintaining calm, the various effects the concoction had still lingered in his mind, causing him to let out a low sigh as he wryly smiled.


    "I really want to take the concoction right now¡­" murmured the young man to himself, briefly pondering as to how much his strength would grow if he were to take the concoction at this very instant.


    Fortunately, rather than let his instincts and impulses take over, Valyr remained steadfast as he reminded himself of the other times he consumed miraculous elixirs in the past.


    ''Gotta wait till I get back to the military base at the very least,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling the times he consumed the elixirs Mystia gave to him.


    ''Although I was able to stay awake when I consumed the Constitution Refinement Elixir she gave me, the same couldn''t be said when I took the True Rebirth Pill and the Mystic Vial.''


    Faintly shuddering at the thought of falling unconscious after consuming the final concoction, the young man pushed the thought of the concoction to the back of his head for the meantime, allowing the remainder of his journey to the military base to be smooth-sailing.


    ¡­


    "Alright then." Giving the military base a heads-up the moment he returned, Valyr went ahead and made his way to the center of the military base as he brought up a screen in front of him.


    Pondering whether to head to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall or rent a room at one of the inns first, the young man eventually decided to go with thetter as he used the system''s chat feature to update those he worked with while at the frontlines.


    nning out what he was gonna do for thest few days before the new version began, Valyr contacted Elder Alvin, Hal, Vera, and many others he''de to know at the battlefield, giving them a rough idea of what he wanted to do.


    After that, he told them that he wouldn''t be able to respond to their replies in the next couple of days, assuring them that he wouldn''t be in any harm not long after.


    Fortunately, almost everyone he talked with got the feeling that it had something to do with the rewards from the tournament, allowing their conversations to be more smooth-sailing after that.


    Thus, with Valyr having prepared everything he would do in advance, it was only then did he make his way to one of the inns.


    m! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Feeling a hint of impatience as he rented a room for the next week, Valyr hastily headed to it the moment the deal was confirmed, mming the door in a way that made the people in the other rooms think he was being hasty for some other reason.


    Oblivious to the thoughts those people had, the young man doubly made sure that he wouldn''t be disturbed during the time the concoction took effect, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief as he sat on the bed.


    Taking out the bottle of iridescent fluid from his spatial bracelet, he then began to smile as the primal urge from before covered his entire body once more.


    Knowing that he''d prepared everything in advance for this very moment, Valyr went ahead and removed the stopper from the bottle, only to then consume the fluid in just a few gulps.


    Whoosh!


    Dropping the now-empty bottle to his side, the young man closed his eyes as he immediately felt the cells in his body start to devour the energy forming the concoction he just took.


    Feeling as if every cell in his body was expanding the more they consumed the energy, Valyr was eventually hit with a strong wave of pain as he soon felt all of the cells in his body burst at the same time.


    Bang!


    "¡­Grh!" Not wanting to know if the room he rented was now covered in ayer of blood because of his explosion, Valyr continued to close his eyes shut as he tightly gritted his teeth from the immense pain.


    Sensing that the cells that exploded just now were gradually being reconstructed a few secondster, the young man quickly prepared himself for what was toe, getting the feeling that the cells making up his body would explode once more.


    Fortunately, before he could experience yet another wave of pain wash over his body, he was soon hit with a wave of lethargy, causing him to fall unconscious not longter.

 Chapter 1169 The Imperial Alchemist Returns

    1169 The Imperial Alchemist Returns


    Meltierre Empire, within the Meltierre Heavenly Court.


    Whoosh!


    Appearing in her own room once more, Mystia took a while to realize that she''d returned, taking a bit more after that to readjust to her current surroundings. Considering the fact that she''d spent over a week and a half at some other ce besides her workspace, such a reaction was not too surprising.


    Then again, the same could be said for the other people that were just as ''unlucky'' as her, having gone through the Rise to Prominence to the very end.


    "In any case, I''ve gained more than I thought I would from that ce." Taking in a few deep breaths topose herself, Mystia then went through all of the gains she obtained during the tournament.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Conjuring a spatial rift above her table, she willed the rewards she got from the second to fifth round toe out, prompting four bottles containing ingredients of various shapes and sizes to appear not long after.


    Briefly taking a look at the items she received, a faint smile appeared on Mystia''s face as she found it both wondrous and peculiar that they had the ability to form a concoction thatbined the individual effects of the four items together.


    Though, she let out a chuckle not long after, certain that she''d spend the next few days or weeks attempting to make simr items from scratch.


    Then, once she got the knack behind the creation of those items, she''d try to incorporate the mechanics behind the items into some of the potions and elixirs she concocted.


    "Fortunately, I''ve been given the opportunity to jump through a couple of the necessary hoops in advance." As the thought came to mind, she then willed another item toe out of the spatial rift, prompting a few documents to appear beside the four bottles she brought out. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Looking at the multiple diagrams and annotations that were written on the documents, Mystia could not help but think back to the moment Scho''doxa transported her back to her arena after meeting Valyr.


    Whoosh!


    Although she''d long epted the fact that she sacrificed her chance at greater rewards for Valyr''s sake, there was still a small part of her that felt indignant towards the situation.


    After all, in a world where thew of the jungle was greatly prevalent, being able to swiftly one''s strength was always more than wee.


    Thankfully, just as she thought she''d actually leave the tournament empty-handed after getting so far into the challenge, Scho''doxa sent her a mental note just as she was being sent back.


    ''Unfortunately, I''ll be having you stay in this ce for just a bit longer.''


    ''That''s because I''vee up with a new reward for you.''


    With that, it went without saying that Mystia''s eyes widened in surprise, which Valyr quickly took note of just as she was sent back.


    Once back at her own arena, she began to ponder over what kind of reward he''d give to her, finding it somewhat odd that the man would go out of his way to keep her reward from Valyr a secret.


    Luckily, her question was more or less answered by the time Scho''doxa appeared in her arena a few minutester.


    "I''ll be teaching you how to make a more basic version of the final concoction."


    Hearing those words, Mystia could only look at the man with wide eyes in response, not expecting even in her wildest spections that she''d obtain something like that as a reward.


    Of course, she was more than eager to learn how to make such a peculiar concoction, even if the version that was being taught to her was far inferior to what she''d get from the items she received.


    With that, Mystia spent an extra day in the tournament, with Scho''doxa teaching her all she needed to know in order to create the concoction she eventually came to know as the Reconstruction Tincture series.


    From giving the four items the miraculous effects they had individually, to making sure that the four items wouldbine together into the final tincture, the man did not hide a single bit of information from her, knowing that she''d make great use of it once she returned.


    Aside from that, since she would be thest one to return to Veldanyr, Scho''doxa personally gave her a heads-up on the beings that would appear in the new version, talking about how it was a good idea to keep them in mind while making her next moves.


    "¡­" Closing her eyes for a bit as she thought about the things she learned from Scho''doxa during that time, Mystia let out a faint sigh as she looked at the items she brought once more, only to let out an amused chuckle not long after.


    Shaking her head at the thoughts currently lingering in her mind, she briefly reminded herself not to get too engrossed into the new field of alchemy that Scho''doxa introduced to her.


    With that, she took in a deep breath once more topose both her thoughts and emotions, only to bring up a chat screen in front of her after that.


    Then, as if she''d practiced her next movements for years on end, she swiftly sent out hundreds of messages to various people in a matter of seconds, all of them asking for updates on the current situation.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Looking through the responses people sent to her, arge image gradually formed in her mind, prompting Mystia to eventually nod in understanding some timeter.


    "Well, it''s natural that the mass disappearance of all the beings on the would cause multiple abrupt changes to appear," she said to herself, merely shrugging her shoulders at the things that were beyond her control.


    Continuing to look through the responses she was getting thanks to her questions, Mystia''s gaze soon focused on a couple of messages that immediately sparked her interest.


    "Due to the unforeseen circumstances brought about by the Rise to Prominence tournament, the Myriad Prodigies Tournament will be postponed to exactly a month after today?"


    Reading this message off her screen, it did not take long for Mystia to inform Valyr about it, recalling that she brought up the tournament with him back when they met up for the most recent War Forge Assembly.


    "¡­And I guess that''s that." Receiving a response from Valyr a couple minutester, it was only then did Mystia close her screen, allowing her to finally shift her whole focus onto the items and documents she brought out.


    Donning a smile akin to what a kid would show when they got their favorite toy, she ced the things she brought out into a nearby satchel before conjuring a rift in front of her that led to the Mystic ne.


    Whoosh!


    Then, after making sure the satchel wouldn''t snap midway, she then headed through the rift without hesitation, disappearing from the room without a trace.

 Chapter 1170 The Tinctures Effects

    1170 The Tincture''s Effects


    "Mngh¡­"


    Not knowing how much time had passed since he fell unconscious, Valyr gave his mind all the time it needed to adjust as he slowly woke up from his unexpected slumber.


    Briefly thinking back to what he experienced the moment he took the tincture, the young man eventually shook his head as he slowly opened his eyes, only to feel like something was blocking him from opening them.


    Slightly frowning in response, he then began to vigorously rub his eyes in a bid to remove them, which was apanied by the sound of something king off from his body a few secondster.


    Eventually, his vision was restored, allowing him to find out that the thing blocking his vision was now a bunch of ck debris that was on his bed.


    Curious as to where the ck debris came from, his curiosity immediately turned into shock once he found out that the source of the ck debris¡­ was actually covering his entire body. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Impurities¡­" Not taking long to realize what the dark solid substance covering his body was, the young man briefly had a bitter smile on his face as he slowly made his way to the bathroom.


    Once there, he did not hesitate to st his entire body with as much water as possible, enduring the bombardment of water he put himself into as he thoroughly scrubbed the dark impurities off his body.


    In fact, because he wanted to make sure there were no more impurities were left on his body, Valyr stayed in the bathroom for over half an hour, scrubbing his entire body with enough force that would cause other people''s bodies to start drawing blood.


    After double and triple checking that there were no more impurities on his body, it was only then did he let out a sigh of relief, swiftly drying himself with a new towel before changing into a new set of clothes.


    Finally leaving the bathroom after that, Valyr had a wry smile on his face as he tossed the clothes he wore while the tincture took effect into the garbage, faintly wondering whether it was even possible to remove the stench that now clung onto it.


    Shaking his head at the thought, he then made his way back to the bed, sweeping off the ck debris that chipped from his body earlier before sitting down.


    "Huu¡­" Letting out a long exhale as he closed his eyes, Valyr sorted out his thoughts for a bit before deciding to bring up his notification screen.


    Ding!


    "Now let''s see what the tincture exactly gave me¡­" Opening his eyes in response to the notification, the young man immediately suppressed the curiosity and excitement he had towards the tincture''s effects, constantly telling himself to set his expectations low.


    "¡­" Though, as he read through the benefits the tincture gave him in detail, he eventually realized that there was no need for him to have low expectations whatsoever¡­


    For the tincture went beyond even his greatest expectations.


    [The Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction is reforging all aspects of your body.]


    [The Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction has sessfully reforged your body.]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have awakened the following hidden stats: Endurance, Weightlessness, Intellect, Fortune.]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have awakened the following hidden stats: Tolerance.]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have gained 16 points of Vigor.]


    [¡­]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have gained 5 points of Endurance.]


    [¡­]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have gained the following stats: +10 VIT, +10 STR, +10 AGI, +10 DEX, +10 WIS, +10 PER, +100 LUK.]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, your current species has slightly improved.]


    [The racial skill ''Constitution of the Prime Azure Origin'' has been slightly improved.]


    "Hiss¡­" Sucking in a breath of cold air as he began to read through his notifications, Valyr''s eyes gradually grew wider the more he read through them.


    By the time he finished going through all of his notifications, the young man was briefly left at aplete loss for words, only snapping back to reality around a minute or soter.


    Shaking his head a couple of times to regain his bearings, he then went through all of his notifications once more, wanting to make sure he had a good idea of what he exactly gained after consuming the tincture.


    To sum up its effects, he gained five new hidden stats thanks to the tincture, which boosted his VIT, AGI, WIS, LUK, and Defense stat, respectively.


    Aside from that, the tincture greatly boosted the effects of the hidden stats he already had before consuming the tincture. Then again, it also boosted the effects of the hidden stats he got from the tincture itself, albeit to a lesser degree.


    The tincture also gave him a great amount of stats that faintly reminded him of the Constitution Refinement Elixir Mystia offered to him in the past. Though, with how most of it went towards LUK this time, the young man could only bitterly smile at the oue.


    Surprisingly, the tincture also improved his current species by a fair bit, upgrading one of its passive skills to a certain extent.


    Although it wasn''t as impressive when hepared it to the other benefits the tincture already gave him, Valyr still found it nice that the passive now gave an additional 5 points each to his eight main stats.


    "With such a massive change like this, the only logical step after this is to take a look at my new status." Feeling more than satisfied with the tincture''s effects, the young man went ahead and closed his notifications before equipping his set of True Wyvern Armor.


    Affixing his trusty blood-red spear behind his back after that, he then proceeded to bring up his status screen, briefly asking himself how much strength he now had at what he considered as his ''base state''.


    Though, once he did, it went without saying that the young man was eventually left at aplete loss for words yet again.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Valyr Zeihardt]


    ss: The First cksmith (Rank 4 | Ancient ¡ª Growth)


    Subss 1: Four Paths Azure Warlord (Epic ¡ª Growth)


    Subss 2: Mystic Rune Alchemist (Common ¡ª Growth)


    Species: Prime Azure Origin | True Defier of Fate (4th Unsealing)


    Level: 75


    Power Level: 296,412 (S++)


    Unused XP: 2,425,074,590


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 232,584/232,584


    Prime Azure Energy: 538,695/538,695


    Mystic Energy: 4,659/4,659


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attack: 66,808 - 68,176


    Defense: 37,270 - 42,098


    Stats: 2800(+69) VIT, 2209(+69) STR, 2546(+69) AGI, 4944(+70) DEX, 5238(+70) INT, 1735(+69) WIS, 2341(+69) PER, 723(+69) LUK


    Hidden Stats: 49 Mana Purity, 50 Vigor, 48 Might, 46 Tranquility, 5 Endurance,¡­ and 4 other hidden stats.


    Concepts: [Intent of Shadow Energy (6th Grade)], [Intent of the Four Elements (6th Grade)],¡­ and 4 other Intents.


    Remarks: Definitely the stats someone who could kill a Myth would have.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Goddamn."


    I should really post an auxiliary chapter containing Valyr''s stats and skills soon.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 1171: Making the Most of Ones Time

    Chapter 1171: Making the Most of One''s Time


    ?


    Though his stats hadn''t really improved that much when considering the fact that he''d more than doubled his total stats by just reaching the peak of Rank 4, Valyr still felt like he''d shored some of his shorings thanks to the tincture.


    Because of it, almost all of his important stats were now over 2,000 points each, with one of them even getting close to breaching through the 3,000 point mark.


    On the other hand, the main stats his Attack stat scaled upon now hovered around the 5,000 point mark, allowing his attacks to be more lethal than they already were.


    Feeling like it wouldn''t be long till he reached a point where one of his stats would break through the five-digit mark, Valyr let out a soft chuckle of excitement as he snapped back to reality.


    Taking in a few deep breaths to sort out his thoughts, he then moved his screen to the side before going through a few movements he had in mind, wanting to limate himself to his newfound strength as quickly as possible.


    While doing so, his thoughts gradually wandered towards the second set of items he obtained from the tournament, feeling a slight urge to consume the Tincture of Heavenly


    Reconstruction once more.


    However, by the time he was done limating to his strength, the young man did not hesitate to discard such thoughts from his mind.


    "I still need to give it to Mystia for her to study," murmured Valyr to himself, recalling the promise he made to himself around the end of the tournament.


    Considering that Mystia did not hesitate to sacrifice her chances at obtaining greater rewards in order for him to gain ess to his own, the young man had no qualms giving the remaining tincture for the meantime.


    After all, her ultimate aim with the item was to try and incorporate its properties into the items she would concoct from now on.


    Plus, even though he had no doubts his strength would greatly improve from consuming the second tincture, Valyr decided to save its consumption for another time.


    ''At the very least, I''ll consume it only after Greater Beyond is released to the public,'' thought the young man to himself, returning the status screen back to his field of vision as he nced at the timer at the bottom.


    Seeing that there were only roughly 4 days left before the new version would arrive, it was no surprise that he felt a bit of pressure, inwardly telling himself to make the most out of the remaining time he had.


    With that, he closed his screen before hastily heading out of the inn, only to then bring up yet another screen in front of him as he made his way to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall.


    Sending a message to Elder Alvin on his ns once he was there, Valyr eventually stumbled upon the message Mystia sent to him while he was unconscious, prompting him to take a look at it.


    Taking it as an opportunity to talk about the concoction he saved for her, the young man swiftly read through the message she sent to him, causing his eyebrow to raise in curiosity as it talked about the changes to the Myriad Prodigies Tournament.


    "So, they''re holding it a month from now, huh?" Briefly ncing at where he was walking, Valyr quickly whipped up a response to Mystia''s message while at the same time shifting the topic towards the concoction.


    Surprisingly, Mystia responded to his message just as he''d arrived at the mission hall, causing him to loiter around the entrance for a bit as the two sent messages back and forth between them for quite some time.


    Confirming that she wanted to get her hands on the concoction for her experiments at the end of their conversation, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a slight chuckle as he received a few words of gratitude from her.


    Finally entering the cksmith Guild''s mission hall after that, the young man was soon greeted by the attendants manning the hall, as well as the man he''d contacted earlier regarding his ns.


    "Are... are you serious in your message earlier?" Looking at the young man in front of him in slight disbelief, Elder Alvin decided to clear up his confusion by asking in rification.


    "You... you n on forging an arquebus from scratch?"


    "I do." Valyr nodded, only to pause for a bit as he recalled a certain person he had yet to message.


    Getting a quick response from the person just as he sent his message out, the young man faintly nodded in satisfaction before returning his attention to the old man before him. "Although I n on forging one arquebus, there''s also the possibility that I might forge two."


    "With that said, are the materials ready? How about the cksmiths who''ll be watching me go through the forging process?"


    "Both are already on their way." Elder Alvin faintly nodded, slightly curious as to why the young man decided to forge an arquebus all of a sudden. "At thetest, we''ll be able to start around 15 minutes from now."


    "Got it." Nodding at the old man''s words, Valyr then shifted the topic of their conversation in regards to the uing version a few days ago, wondering what the Imperial Production Guild was gonna do about it.


    Unexpectedly, Elder Alvin told him that the Imperial Production Guild''s stance on the matter was a bit more active than he thought it would be, being told that they''d investigate the demands of the beings as soon as they arrived.


    Though they did feel like mobilizing the entire workforce of the four production guilds for the beings was possibly a good idea, the guild ultimately erred on the side of caution.


    Of course, as Valyr was the one who brought up the question in the first ce, it went without saying that Elder Alvin asked in return, wondering why he would ask such a thing.


    In response, the young man told him that he nned on leaving the frontlines once more because of the heads-up Scho''doxa gave them, wanting to make use of the remaining time he had before the new version to prepare for their arrival.


    Curious, the old man asked Valyr a bit more about what he meant by that, to which the former responded that he''d be forging a few items and concocting a few potions for them.


    Although he felt that there was another reason behind the young man''s actions, Elder Alvin decided not to dwell on it any further. After all, Valyr had no obligation to share such information with someone like him.


    If anything, their Imperial Production Guild was the one obligated to share things with him due to his massive contributions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''I suppose I should talk with the council regarding this sometimeter.'' As this thought came to mind, Elder Alvin soon had a smile on his face once he saw that the materials had finally arrived at the hall during the conversation, with the cksmiths appearing a couple minutes


    later.


    However, aside from them, there was also something else that the old man wasn''t expecting


    to see.


    "Noel..."

 Chapter 1172 Striking Two Birds with One Stone

    1172 Striking Two Birds with One Stone


    "Long time no see, Alvin."


    Staring at the old man that stood in front of all the cksmiths that came to watch Valyr forge an arquebus, Alvin began to feel a bit of apprehension the moment he heard the words that came out of Noel''s mouth.


    "Long time no see, indeed." Of course, not wanting to let Noel know what he was feeling at that moment, the old man hurriedly responded to his words with a faint nod as he took control of the conversation.


    "So, what brings you to the cksmith Guild''s mission hall, Noel? As far as I''ve heard, you were busy training a few batches of recruits at one of the barracks."


    "That I am." Noel nodded, briefly ncing at Valyr beside Alvin before continuing. "However, I''ve decided to stop by this ce for a bit due to a couple of reasons."


    Though he began to feel like Noel''s appearance might have something to do with the young man beside him, the old man still continued to believe that wasn''t the case. "Are you gonna upgrade a few of your items, perhaps? Or do you n on getting some new items?"


    "A bit more of thetter." At this point, Noel began to grin, pointing at Valyr after that. "This brat right here told me that he was finally gonna forge the arquebus I requested him¡­ so here I came."


    Hearing those words, Alvin felt as if a massive explosion went off in his mind, bing silent for a short while as he tried to wrap his head around the current situation.


    Taking in a few deep breaths topose himself, he then looked at the young man beside him as he asked in a slight frown, "Is what he''s saying true?"


    Having already noticed the apprehension Elder Alvin felt towards Noel, Valyr could only wryly smile as he nodded back in response. "The arquebus that I''ll be forging is indeed his request."


    "I''ve decided to ask to have you bring some cksmiths here in order to strike two birds with one stone," continued the young man, knowing that the old man beside him would''ve immediately asked why if he hadn''t. "Not only would Elder Noel get his arquebus, a lot of cksmiths would also gain experience on how to forge an arquebus from scratch."


    "It''s also the reason why I mentioned earlier that I might forge two arquebuses instead of one." Seeing the old man''s expression, Valyr could only sh an apologetic smile, sending out a quick message through the system to him in the meantime.


    Thankfully, obtaining confirmation from Valyr himself that he''d surely forge another arquebus after Noel''s arquebus was done was more than enough for Alvin to calm down.


    With that, it did not take long after that for the entire thing to be set up, with the entire mission hall being temporarily closed for the meantime as the young man temporarily took over one of the guild''s rentable workshops.


    After giving Noel, Elder Alvin, as well as the cksmiths a heads-up that they were free to ask him questions during the forging process, it was only then did Valyr start his demonstration.


    Whoosh!


    Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, the young man went ahead and activated [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith], causing five additional pairs of arms to appear before everyone.


    Unsurprisingly, almost everyone witnessing this began to look at the young man in either shock or disbelief, not expecting that Valyr would use such a skill during the forging process.


    Even Noel and Alvin weren''t exempt from this reaction, with Noel widening his eyes in surprise at the sight of the extra pairs of arms.


    On the other hand, Alvin looked at the translucent arms with his mouth agape, recalling that there were a certain portion of cksmiths whose forging style involved the usage of more than two arms.


    He just didn''t expect that Valyr would be one of those people as well.


    Giving everyone a heads-up that he used such a skill for the sake of giving everyone a closer look at each step of the process while also increasing his efficiency at the same time, the young man soon fired up the furnace, throwing out a bunch of materials into it as he gave everyone a glimpse into his thought process.


    Waiting for the materials he chucked in to reach his desired temperature, he decided to make use of it as an opportunity for the people watching him, giving them the freedom to ask their questions about the forging process. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Fortunately, by the time the materials got up to temperature, most, if not all of the questions the people had were more or less answered by him.


    With that, he was able to focus most of his attention on creating the arquebus, causing a whirlwind of sights and sounds to soon appear before everyone''s very eyes.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Aside from not being able to use the other pairs of arms he could''ve conjured through Mystic Energy, Valyr was forced to slow down the speed at which he went through the forging process in order for those watching him to follow what he was doing.


    Yet, even though he took such things into consideration, almost everyone watching him could only barely follow through his actions, trying as best as they could tomit his movements to memory.


    Of course, as both of them were near or at the peak of Rank 5, Noel and Alvin found no issue following the young man''s movements as he proceeded through the forging process.


    Nevertheless, they still ended up bing surprised once they realized he was working on multiple parts at once while still maintaining a considerably high forging speed.


    ''Considering how it looks like he''s holding himself back for the sake of the cksmiths¡­''


    ''¡­How much time does it actually take him to forge a single arquebus?''


    As these thoughts lingered in their minds, the two briefly looked at each other in disbelief before returning their attention back to the sight in front of them.


    Remaining silent, the two watched as Valyrpleted the arquebus in just half a day, causing most of the cksmiths to be left at a loss for words once he was done.


    After all, from what they could tell, with how they would have to go out of their way while forging some of its parts, forging an arquebus themselves would take them over a day and a half at the very least... if not more.


    However, before they could even digest the knowledge Valyr shared with them just now, the young man did not hesitate to move onto forging the second arquebus, forcing all of the cksmiths to pay attention to his actions once more.


    Though they were slightly taken aback that the young man did not take a break before continuing with the second one, the cksmiths knew that Valyr was doing it for their sake.


    Thus, they redoubled their efforts onmitting his movements to their memories.


    Unfortunately, none of them were able to follow his movements in the end.


    In fact, even Noel and Alvin began to look at him in slight fear by the time he was done.


    Then again, that''s because¡­pared to the time he took to forge his first arquebus¡­


    Valyr only took a sixth of that time to finish the second.


    And that''s with him still holding back.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1173 A Gut Feeling

    1173 A Gut Feeling


    ''¡­Guess it''s time for me to head out of the battlefield again.''


    Digging into the food he ordered, Valyr had a slightly wry smile on his face as he thought about what happened after forging the two arquebuses back at the cksmith Guild''s main hall.


    Naturally, it went without saying that all of the cksmiths Elder Alvin brought in to learn from his demonstration were left at a loss for words, especially when they saw how fast hepleted his second arquebus.


    As for the two elders, they were eventually able to regain their bearings, giving them the opportunity to ask Valyr a few more questions regarding the forging process on behalf of the other cksmiths.


    Yet, just like the cksmiths themselves, they were also astounded by what Valyr was capable of.


    ''To think that many of them decided to make up their minds on that because of what I showed them,'' thought Valyr to himself, letting out a faint chuckle as he continued savoring every bite of food he took.


    ''A skill that would allow them to conjure extra arms¡­ it''ll be a while before they''d be able to make effective use of those things during the forging process.''


    ''Even more so if they try to make use of it while forging an arquebus.''


    Considering that the second arquebus he forged during the demonstration was a version based off the blueprint he''d contributed to the Imperial Production Guild, the young man felt confident that the cksmiths would be able to make up for lost time because of it.


    ''Then again, it''d probably take a week or so from now for the first batch of arquebuses to arrive at the frontlines with the arquebus I gave them,'' muttered the young man to himself, shrugging his shoulders at the thought.


    ''In any case, I''ve already done what I could to help them out. Surely there''s no way they''d ask me to churn out arquebuses for the frontlines as if I were a one-man factory, right?''


    Letting out a sigh at the thought, Valyr faintly murmured something to himself as he finished a meal.


    "If I didn''t hold back on my forging speed¡­ I''d probably be able to clear a couple missions before focusing on the uing version."


    Though he did tell himself that he nned on tying up some loose ends after meeting up with Julian, the main reason why he headed to the battlefield was to clear some missions and increase his rank.


    Pondering over other things he could do while he was there, the young man eventually recalled Noel''s request of wanting an arquebus of his own.


    Finding out that Noel was at the frontlines thanks to a couple of messages while he was making his way to the military base, the thought eventually grew to what it was today, turning the request into a demonstration for other cksmiths to learn how to forge an arquebus themselves.


    Briefly thinking about the amount of time he could''ve saved if he didn''t limit himself from working at his full speed, as well as the other sets of arms he could''ve conjured with Mystic Energy, Valyr eventually decided not to dwell on it any further.


    "After all, what''s done has been done."


    With that, he made his way out of the restaurant before heading straight to the entrance that was nearest to the Algerie Kingdom.


    Heading to the officers that kept track of who arrived and left the base, the young man did not hesitate to give them a heads-up on his ns of returning to the Algerie Kingdom again.


    Though they found it slightly weird that he was already nning to return to the kingdom after only staying in the battlefield for a few days, the officers eventually epted his request, considering the contributions he''d made to the frontlines thus far.


    Then again, it wouldn''t be wise for them to antagonize someone not only known by many as the Warlord of the East¡­


    But also as a being that had the ability to kill Myths.


    Swoosh!


    After thanking them for their cooperation, Valyr left the military base before activating both [sh of the Azure Dragon] and [Flight of the Azure Dragon].


    Then, once he began to hover in the air with an azure dragon under his feet, he then proceeded to activate a couple of his usual stat-boosting skills, allowing his agility to reach a level he had yet to use while traveling before.


    With his destination the cksmith Guild back at the Algerie Kingdom, the young man did not hesitate to push the azure dragon under him to its utmost limits, only to zoom through the air at a speed that immediately generated a sonic boom.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "I''ve definitely exceeded the speed of sound at this point." Having conjured a barrier of energy around his body beforehand, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise when he heard multiple small explosions go off around him with every passing second.


    Wondering if it was possible to stop these explosions from happening, the young man eventually figured out how to stop them, transforming the shape of the azure dragon beneath him into something that cut through the air more smoothly.


    Because of that, he was able to arrive at the kingdom in less than two hours, which left Julian at a slight loss for words after hearing him mention it.


    Thankfully, the discussion they had on it did notst that long, with the man being reminded that the young man that came to see him was none other than the person Scho''doxa praised as having killed a Myth-level being at Rank 3.


    With that out of the way, Julian eventually asked Valyr what brought him back to the cksmith Guild after leaving for the battlefield, considering that thetter only gave him a heads-up that he''d be returning soon.


    In response, Valyr gave the man a rough exnation of his ns, briefly mentioning the reminder Scho''doxa gave them about the version that woulde in a matter of days.


    "I n to head to a certain ce for a meantime in preparation for these new beings," said Valyr. "I also n to ask for a few materials from the guild before heading there."


    Of course, it was no surprise that Julian was slightly curious as to where he was going, considering that the young man in front of him had never gone to any random ce without a purpose in mind.


    Fortunately, after getting a list of materials from Valyr, he eventually got the answer he was looking for.


    Though¡­ it wasn''t what he was expecting.


    "Daffors Vige," the young man told him in a sinct tone. "I''ll be heading there for the meantime."


    Unsurprisingly, Julian asked Valyr for more information after that, curious as to why he''d head to a vige for the beings Scho''doxa mentioned. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    In his mind, if they were beings protected by the system, then it was more likely for them to appear in farrger settlements such as the cities or the kingdoms.


    However, just like the first response the young man gave him, the second response Valyr gave him was also something he wasn''t expecting.


    "Gut feeling."


    "Gut feeling¡­?" murmured Julian to himself, only to look at Valyr in slight confusion. "You''re heading to a far away vige¡­ because of a gut feeling?"


    Hearing those words, Valyr could only sh a wry smile, indirectly telling the man with his expression that he didn''t have any reason other than that.


    But of course, the young man indeed have his reasons, considering the knowledge he had from his past life as a yer.


    ''I could''ve chosen any vige out there, seeing as almost every vige would be swarmed by the yers at the start of the game''s release,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''But I''ve got a feeling that Daffors Vige will give me a surprise.''


    Not only was it because Daffors Vige was one of the viges where a few of the most prominent ranked yers would appear¡­


    It was also the vige where his past self first set foot in Greater Beyond.


    15:52


    "¡­Well, alright then." Seeing as the young man did not have anything else to say after that, Julian decided to move on from the topic as he sent out a few messages to the guild''s staff regarding the materials he requested.


    Considering his contributions to the cksmith Guild, as well as his contributions to the ongoing war with the orcs, it was no surprise that the logistics of the guild moved faster than ever before to amodate Valyr''s requests.


    In just half an hour, all of the materials Valyr asked for appear at the entrance of Julian''s workshop, with many of the material piles being mundane items that only beginner cksmiths would use for crafting.


    Nevertheless, the sight of it appearing in front of Julian''s workshop did cause the cksmiths in the other workshops to wonder what was going on, briefly asking themselves as to what n their guild leader had in mind.


    Oblivious to the other cksmiths'' thoughts, Valyr stashed all of the piles of materials into his spatial bracelet, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief that his spatial bracelet was able to carry them all.


    ''I''ve definitely lucked out finding this spatial bracelet back in the inheritance,'' thought the young man to himself, slightly chuckling soon after whilst Julian let out a low sigh.


    "To think you''ve gotten all of those items from the guild at no cost," said the man with a wry smile. "I guess you were able toe up with a far better deal with the Imperial Production Guild than I initially thought."


    "In any case, seeing as you''ve already gotten everything you need¡­ go. Have a safe trip."


    Hearing those words, Valyr beamed a bright smile at Julian and thanked him for his help before making his way to the guild''s Teleportation Hall.


    Once there, he quickly got into talks with the staff member manning the teleportation constructs, telling thetter the destination he had in mind.


    "If you could teleport me to Leivard Town, that would be great."


    And with that¡­


    Whoosh!


    He began his journey to Daffors Vige.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1174 Settling Down Yet Again

    1174 Settling Down Yet Again


    Whoosh!


    "Whew¡­ finally here."


    Standing a few dozen meters away from the entrance to Daffors Vige, a faint smile appeared on Valyr''s face as memories from his past life began surfacing in his mind.


    From the times he spent honing his strength for days on end just to be of greater help to the vige, to the times he spent forming connections with both NPCs and yers alike in preparation for his journey to the wider world of Greater Beyond.


    "Definitely good times," murmured the young man to himself with a chuckle before finally deciding to head inside.


    Swoosh!


    Reactivating [Thousand Polymorph] to change his appearance to that of his Ylvar identity, Valyr briefly thought about the journey he took to get to this exact vige.


    Considering that it was already deep into the night when he teleported to the town that was nearest to the vige, it went without saying that the staff member manning the Teleportation Hall of that cksmith Guild''s branch was surprised that someone like him would appear.


    Fortunately, when he briefly introduced himself to the man as Ylvar, the staff member''s energy took on a 180 degree turn, seemingly thanking the heavens for being able to interact with a living legend.


    With the man''s help, he was able to get a map of the settlements that were connected to the town he was in, including the vige that he nned to settle down in for a while.


    Giving the man a bit of money as thanks for his help, he then left town after grabbing a quick meal before activating [sh of the Azure Dragon] in order to reduce the travel time.


    Though it would''ve taken him less time to arrive at Daffors Vige if he were to activate [Flight of the Azure Dragon], the distance between Leivard Town and Daffors Vige wasn''t that far for him to warrant its usage.


    Then again, even if he were to use it, he would''ve still arrived at the vige prettyte at night.


    ''Now¡­ where does the vige leader reside again?'' Jogging his memory of the vige''syout from his past life, Valyr pushed his senses a bit more than usual as a rough idea of what he nned on doing popped up in his mind.


    Thankfully, it only took a couple more minutes of walking through the vige''s main street for him to find the ce he had in mind, arriving at the vige leader''s house a couple minutester.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    "Who is it?" With him looking for the vige leader at such ate time, it went without saying that Valyr had to knock on their door a few times to finally wake them up from their slumber.


    Fortunately, once the vige leader opened the door to see who was looking for him at such hours, the man''s eyes immediately widened in disbelief as he recognized who Valyr was.


    ''I knew it was the right call to use Ylvar here.'' Inwardly chuckling at the reaction the vige leader gave him, he faintly smiled at the man before introducing himself, only to then apologize to the man after that.


    Unsurprisingly, the man told him that it was fine, considering his identity, as well as the amount of prestige he now held thanks to the tournament.


    "To think the Ylvar would grace our humble vige," said the man with a wide smile on his face, prompting Valyr to briefly nce at his current surroundings.


    Though Daffors Vige was still considered a vige due to its poption, the territory it upied was more than enough for it to be considered a town. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''I guess therge territory it upies is one of the reasons why Greater Beyond chose yers to appear in this vige,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''Well, there''s also the fact the vige decided to embrace a more rustic style of architecture. That''s probably another reason why the game chose this ce.''


    "Ah, right. Where are my manners?" Shifting his attention back to the man in front of him, Valyr was greeted by the sight of the man giving him a half-bow as he introduced himself. "My name is William Daffors. I am the leader of this vige."


    "Though¡­ I''m sure you already know that, given how you decided to knock on my door," said William soon after as he let out a wry chuckle.


    Feeling like the atmosphere surrounding them grew more awkward by the second, the man let out a slight cough as he shifted the topic, asking Valyr what brought him to the vige all of a sudden.


    With that, just like the answers he gave both to Elder Alvin and Julian, the young man told William that he''de to the vige in preparation for the beings Scho''doxa reminded them to keep in mind.


    Though, rather than beating around the bush like he did with Julian, Valyr was a bit more straightforward when it came to talking with William.


    "The beings will be appearing at this vige once the new version arrives," he said to the man, leaving thetter at a slight loss for words. "I''d suggest the entire vige prepares for their arrival."


    "Wait¡­ huh?" Taking a bit of time to regain his bearings, William looked back at him with slight suspicion. "How do you know that?"


    "Let''s just say Scho''doxa gave me a heads-up before I returned," replied the young man, showing no hesitation to throw the arbiter of the recent tournament under the bus.


    "Hmm¡­ if it''s him, then¡­" Fortunately, that was more than enough for William to trust his words. "Is there anything specific that we need to do, then?"


    "Not really." Valyr shook his head, only to pause for a bit. "On second thought, it''d probably be for the best if you give all of the vige''s problems to those beings once they arrive."


    "Er¡­ and the reason for that is¡­?"


    "I can''t exin it just yet¡­" The young man bitterly smiled at him. "But you''ll see once the timees."


    "¡­Well, alright then."


    After giving the vige leader a heads-up on the appearance of the beings a few days from now, he then told William the reason why he was at the vige in the first ce, which was to set up a shop where he could sell the equipment and concoctions he created.


    Of course, considering that Ylvar''s identity as a cksmith was eventually found out by everyone during the tournament, it was no surprise that the man agreed to the idea, even going so far as to give him a plot ofnd for the shop he nned on making.


    Aftering to an agreement on a few other details regarding his idea of setting up a shop, Valyr eventually bade farewell to William as he made his way to the plot ofnd thetter gave to him.


    Seeing that thend not only covered a decentlyrge area, but was also situated near the vige''s main street, the young man inwardly thanked William for his help as he began to take things out of his spatial bracelet.


    "Alright. With Step 1 done¡­ time to move on to Step 2."


    "Which is¡­ to build the shop itself."


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 Chapter 1175 To Build a Shop

    1175 To Build a Shop


    Pak! Pak! Pak!


    "What''s with all that ruckus¡­?"


    "Who''s doing all that hammering so early in the morning¡­?"


    "Hmm¡­? Someone''s¡­ making a building?"


    As night eventually turned to day, the people living in Daffors Vige began to leave their houses one by one.


    However, rather than leave their houses to go through their usual routines in the vige, most of the people instead gathered around what was previously an empty plot ofnd.


    Watching the young man in front of them create such a ruckus at such an early time, many of them looked at the young man with frowns on their faces, thinking to themselves that they would''ve still been in bed if not for the noise he was creating.


    Though, as they continued to watch the young man move about through the empty plot ofnd, the frowns on their faces slowly turned into looks of interest.


    Then, as time continued to pass, their expressions eventually turned into disbelief.


    "What¡­?"


    "How in the¡­ in just that much time?"


    "What ss rank has he reached to construct a building that quickly?"


    Although he made his way to the plot ofnd not long after talking to William, Valyr spent a couple of hours bringing out the materials he''d be using for the building, while also thinking about the overallyout and design he''d use for the shop he had in mind.


    With that, it was only around an hour or so before the people in the vige woke up did he really begin to construct the building in earnest, thinking that he''d only be able to construct a somewhat decent building at best.


    However, to his surprise, his skills as a cksmith actually tranted over to the skills he needed to create the building, instilling him with the confidence he needed to fully realize the vision he needed. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    And thus, by the time almost everyone in the vige had gathered around the plot ofnd he upied, Valyr struck thest few blows necessary to put the supports in, finallypleting the shop he had in mind.


    "Wow¡­" While he moved to the side to take a short rest from his activities, a few people amongst the crowd decided to enter the shop he built, seeing that the young man in front of them was not rejecting their actions.


    With that, they were able to get a closer look at what he was capable of, leaving many among them at aplete loss for words.


    After all, even though it was impressive for the young man to construct a building on his own, the question of whether or not the building was sturdy enough still lingered in the people''s minds.


    Of course, now that they were able to see his handiwork from up close, they began to look at Valyr with a renewed gaze.


    "Say¡­ could you perhaps help me with building a house a couple of days from now?" Unsurprisingly, once the people realized Valyr was more than thorough in his work, many of them began to ask for his help, intentionally ignoring the fact that they did not know him.


    "Wait a minute¡­" Though, just like the shock William felt when he arrived at their vige, a couple of people among the crowd widened their eyes in immense disbelief as they eventually recognized who he was.


    "Is that Ylvar?"


    At those words, a cascade effect of sorts began to spread throughout the crowd, causing many to look at Valyr with a renewed gaze yet again.


    Then again, it couldn''t be helped, considering the fact that the feat of killing a Myth while still at a lower rank was just that shocking.


    With expressions ranging from excitement to shock, almost everyone in the crowd began to swarm Valyr, wanting to get closer to him for different reasons than before.


    Even those who had been kicked early during the first round of the tournament soon came to know of the young man''s feats, prompting some of them to try and move closer to him with just as much as fervor as the others.


    Fortunately, before the situation could escte to a point of no return, William appeared in front of everyone.


    Whoosh!


    Standing beside Valyr, the man looked at everyone with a solemn expression before exuding his aura to the fullest, causing the entire crowd to take a few steps back in response as a show of respect.


    Raising his eyebrow at the man''s actions, Valyr soon had a faint smile on his face as he had an idea of what the man was trying to do.


    With that, he decided to unleash a bit of his own aura as well, immediately enveloping everyone in the crowd, including William, in his presence.


    Swoosh!


    Of course, it went without saying that everyone in the crowd more or less snapped back to reality after Valyr released a bit of his aura, being reminded that the young man in front of them had more than enough strength to destroy their vige alone if he wanted to.


    Even William was not exempt from this train of thought, slightly shuddering in fear as he tried his best to make it seem like he was the least affected among them.


    Thankfully, the young man had no ns to release his aura for too long, letting out a slight chuckle the moment he retracted his aura.


    Then, making use of the opportunity he''d unknowingly given himself, Valyr decided to brief everyone in on the reason why he was in their vige in the first ce.


    Reminding everyone what Scho''doxa told them a couple of days ago, the young man more or less told the entire crowd the same thing he did to William when they first met a few hours earlier.


    However, on the part regarding the beings arriving at the vige a few days from now, Valyr decided to omit it, instead telling them in a roundabout way that there would be a way to resolve the problems that ailed them in a few days.


    After making sure that everyone was on the same page, he then talked about his ns of staying in the vige for the meantime, causing many among them to look at him in excitement.


    Though, that excitement more or less fizzled out once they heard that he''d be setting up a shop that exclusively sold goods he created.


    Then again, the vige still had a positive reaction to his ns, considering that they''d gain ess to the goods of a cksmith that had be recognized throughout Veldanyr.


    ¡­Even if his abilities as a cksmith weren''t the reason he''d be renowned.


    And so, with William continuing where Valyr left off by the time he was done, the entire crowd surrounding the building eventually left to do their own things, prompting the young man to let out a faint sigh of relief the moment they were gone.


    "With that taken care of¡­ I guess it''s time to move on to Step 3." Briefly ncing at the vigers that spared a nce at his building from time to time, Valyr faintly smiled at them before eventually entering the building himself.


    "Time to get to forging."


    "Again."


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 Chapter 1176 Two Days of Work

    1176 Two Days of Work


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Heading to the far end of the shop he built, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he briefly thought back to the idea he had to partition his shop into two areas during the building process.


    Thinking about how much time he''d be spending forging pieces of equipment for hours on end, the young man inwardly thanked his foresight as he went ahead and took out all of the forging equipment in his spatial bracelet.


    Then, arranging them in ayout that resembled the private workshop he often used back at the cksmith Guild, he then went ahead and cast a barrier of energy around it to muffle the noises people would hear from outside.


    "I should take the time to reinforce the walls for this part of the shop next time," muttered Valyr to himself as he thought out loud.


    "But for the meantime¡­ this will do." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Swoosh!


    Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, Valyr went ahead and took out a couple of the piles of materials he''d requested from the cksmith Guild and ced them near the furnace.


    After that, he went ahead and activated [Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith], deciding that the first few items he''d be forging were a few more extra anvils and forging hammers he could use during the forging process.


    "Honestly, the cksmith Guild probably wouldn''t have minded if I asked for some anvils and forging hammers," said Valyr to himself as he began to chuck items into the scorching hot furnace. "After all, Julian already knows why I''d need them."


    "Then again¡­" Gazing at the Hammer of Beginnings he wielded, the young man let out a slight chuckle soon after. "I guess it''s only right that I have to start matching the quality of items that I use."


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Taking out some of the materials that had gotten up to temperature with the help of the translucent arms, Valyr swiftly activated both [Vision of the First cksmith] and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] as he began molding the materials into his desired shapes.


    An anvil and a forging hammer.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Having no reason to hold back on his forging speed anymore, it went without saying that it did not take long for Valyr toplete the two items, even going so far as to find the additional steps he used on other equipment unnecessary for them.


    After all, with how simple the production method was for both the anvil and the forging hammer, it would only take him around half an hour in total to forge both of them.


    Yet, because of the skills he had active, that time had doubled.


    However, once he took a look at the items he''d created with [Superior Analysis], such dismissive thoughts immediately disappeared from his mind without a trace. "On second thought, I''ll keep forging those things this way."


    Though the stats of the two items were nothing to write home about, the passive abilities the items gained thanks to Valyr''s additional effort was more than enough to make it worth it.


    Then again, that didn''t mean the final rarity of the items weren''t anything substantial either.


    "Epic+ grade, huh¡­" cing the newly forged anvil and hammer to his side, the young man went ahead and split the translucent arms he created, deciding to have three pairs of arms work on each anvil.


    "Guess I still have a bit more work to do before actually getting started." Seeing that he still had to forge two more anvils and a lot more forging hammers to satisfy the needs he had in mind, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he controlled the arms to take out more materials from the furnace.


    At the same time, he went ahead and activated a skill he rarely used during forging, considering that thest time he used it was back when he was forging a lot of equipment for Astarto''s monster tide.


    "[Zen: First Lotus Step]."


    Whoosh!


    With his expression bing tranquil, the young man soon let out a drawn-out exhale as he ced the materials he brought out onto the two anvils he now had.


    Then, without hesitation, he got to work.


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Although Valyr conjured a barrier of energy around his shop at first, by the time he''d be engrossed in forging thanks to [Zen: First Lotus Step], the young man''s control over the barrier gradually waned over time.


    With that, the harsh sounds of metal banging against metal eventually began to echo throughout the entirety of Daffors Vige, causing many to pass by Valyr''s shop with frowns on their faces.


    Then again, just as there were those who became annoyed by the sound, there were also those who became curious because of it, wanting to know what the young man was doing exactly.


    "¡­As the vige''s cksmith, this is the first time I''ve heard a cksmith hammer this fast while forging." Standing at the forefront of the small crowd near the shop, a middle-aged man in a leather apron stared at the building with a slight frown on his face before looking at the man beside him.


    "Are you sure he''s not just making this much noise for show?"


    "Who knows?" At the man''s question, William could only shrug his shoulders. "You did tell me that cksmiths have their own ways and styles on how they approach forging equipment."


    "That''s true, but¡­" The man nodded before pointing at Valyr''s shop. "Do you really think there exists a forging method that creates this much noise?"


    "Well¡­ I do agree that the noise has been a nuisance for some of the people." Letting out a slight sigh at his words, William eventually mustered up the courage to enter the shop to see what was going on.


    Unsurprisingly, the cksmith also decided to apany William into the shop, curious as to whether or not the famed Ylvar he''d been hearing about was a person that lived up to his reputation.


    Seeing as the curiosity of the other people apanying them did not reach the same level as theirs, the two were forced to enter Valyr''s shop on their own, only to be greeted by a sight that immediately left the two of them at aplete loss for words.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Wielding what looked to be a dozen forging hammers of total, the young man in front of them maintained a tranquil expression as the multiple pairs of translucent arms surrounding him worked on various parts of a piece of equipment.


    Then again, even Valyr himself was in the midst of forging, seemingly taking on the step ofbining the parts that were created on the other anvils together while also removing the imperfections that arose.


    "This is¡­" Although they did not entirely understand what was going on, both William and the cksmith could tell that they were currently looking at a style of cksmithing that went far beyond what theymonly knew.


    In fact, the cksmith began to stand in ce due to the sight that was in front of them, realizing at some point that he was witnessing the work of a cksmith that had achieved a far higher level of cksmithing than he did.


    Because of that, all of theints he said earlier, as well as the ones he kept for himself, gradually vanished without a trace the more he watched Valyr forge items through his peculiar forging style.


    Though, before the man could further continue to appreciate the effort Valyr put into his craft, William forced him to snap back to reality.


    Looking back at him with a slight frown in response, the cksmith soon let out a faint sigh as he understood the actions of their vige leader.


    "I suppose we''ve gotten our answer." ncing at the young man before them forge items for just a bit more, both William and the cksmith eventually left Valyr''s shop, informing everyone in the vige of what they saw while there.


    As for Valyr, it was only after night fell did he stop to take a quick break, letting out a sigh of relief as he took a look at the pile of equipment he forged.


    "If Julian were to see this, I''d bet he''d be surprised." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr let out a slight chuckle.


    After that, he took out a stamina potion from his spatial bracelet before downing it in one gulp, immediately feeling part of the exhaustion that was building up in his body wash away because of it.


    Returning his gaze towards the pile of equipment he made, Valyr went ahead and identified them with his identification skill, noting down that the overall rarity of the items ranged between Common to Umon grade.


    Then again, thanks to the effects of the titles, skills, and items he used during the forging process, all of the equipment he forged had stats that were considerably higher than their ssified grade, causing a slight grin to gradually appear on his face.


    "I''m sure the yers would flock this shop because of it."


    Letting out a chuckle at the thought, Valyr eventually returned to forging more items, oblivious to what had transpired about half a day earlier.


    ¡­


    Having finished forging all of the anvils and forging hammers he''d need to work at his full potential, it went without saying that Valyr pushed himself to his very limits, not wanting to waste the remaining time he had left before the update.


    Spending almost all of his time on forging weapons and armors that would swarm the vige once the update arrived, it went without saying that the young man was able to amass an amount of equipment that would leave any cksmith at a loss for words.


    Then again, considering that he spent almost an entire two days forging equipment that would only take him at most 15 minutes each toplete, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he''d be able to rack up an absurd amount by the time he was done.


    Though, just as he thought that the final day was just him forging more equipment like before, he stopped in his tracks when a person appeared in his shop the moment the sun began to rise.


    A person¡­ he wasn''t expecting to see at this time.


    "Braum?"


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 Chapter 1177 An Unexpected Guest

    1177 An Unexpected Guest


    "You''ve really made it difficult for me to find you, Valyr." While Valyr continued to look at him with great surprise, Braum looked back at the young man with amusement, chuckling as he opened his mouth.


    In response to the question, the young man remained silent for a bit, giving himself some time to regain his bearings.


    "You¡­ what¡­?" Yet, even after giving himself a bit of time to think about things, Valyr was still left at a slight loss for words. After all, never did he ever think he''d meet Braum before the update arrived.


    Fortunately, it only took him a bit more time for everything in his mind to finally all into ce.


    "¡­Give me a second." Taking in a deep breath as heposed himself, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he briefly shook his head.


    Then, looking back at Braum with a calm expression, he then asked him the first question that came to mind. "I suppose you''vee here with the information I asked for?"


    "Wouldn''t havee looking for you if that weren''t the case." Nodding as he let out a bit ofughter, Braum moved closer to where Valyr was before bringing out a thin stack of documents from his spatial bracelet.


    "Just so you know, I''ve also attached the information Julian was able to gather in the document," he told Valyr, prompting thetter to nod in response.


    "Thanks." shing a look of gratitude at Braum, the young man quickly skimmed through the papers before looking back at the man in front of him with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Well, aside from the documents, what else brings you here?"


    While looking at the man, Valyr was getting the feeling that there was another reason to why the man decided to appear in his shop all of a sudden.


    Yet, rather than tell him the truth, Braum brushed off the feeling he got with a joke, letting out a bit ofughter as he replied. "What? Can''t I personally deliver the information you''re asking for?"


    Of course, that only made the young man frown.


    "Jeez¡­ it''s not that serious." Seeing that his joke only had the opposite effect on the young man, the man let out a faint sigh before telling Valyr what he wanted to know. "Well¡­ to sum things up, I decided to make a personal visit to make sure the two ns weren''t onto your tracks."


    "Though it would''ve been great if I were the only one to know about this, I guess you knowing about it isn''t a half-bad result either," continued Braum with a shrug, causing Valyr to raise his eyebrow in response.


    "I''ve heard that they''ve been looking for my whereabouts before eventually heading to this ce, but they''re still looking for me up to this day?"


    "Apparently so." Braum nodded, retrieving a couple of papers from his spatial bracelet before giving them to Valyr. "Since it didn''t take much that much time to collect the information you''re asking for, these are the other reports I''ve obtained on the two ns. The information is more general, but I think it''ll pique your interest."


    Briefly ncing back at Braum with a look of curiosity, Valyr eventually ced the stack of documents to the side for the meantime before receiving the reports the man was talking about.


    Making sure to not miss even a single detail, the young man''s expression gradually turned into that of a frown the more he read through the reports Braumpiled.


    "Last seen outside the Algerie Kingdom¡­"


    "Made his way to the cksmith Guild¡­"


    "Has made it to the east frontlines¡­" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Last update is his return to the Algerie Kingdom¡­ waiting for further updates?"


    Seeing as the reports contained all of the movements he made in the past few days before arriving at Daffors Vige, Valyr slightly shuddered at the thought of the two ns only being one step behind him.


    Reading through the reports a couple more times, the young man eventually looked back at Braum with a slightly hopeful expression. "I presume you have something to do with the reason why the updates stop here?"


    "The Imperial Production Guild did promise not to leak your whereabouts, after all," replied Braum with a nod, allowing Valyr to let out a wide sigh of relief in response. "Plus, it''s far simpler than you''d think to set up some false leads here and there."


    "I guess I should expect no less from the leader of one of the Imperial Production Guild''s Reconnaissance Teams," said Valyr as he let out a chuckle, to which Braum let out a slight chuckle as well.


    "What do you n on doing with the information, exactly?" After catching his breath, the man looked at Valyr with curiosity, wondering what moves he would make with the two ns looking for him.


    At those words, Valyr began to hesitate for a bit as to whether or not he should share the n he had regarding the two ns in mind.


    Though, with Braum more or less acting as his informant regarding various things, the young man eventually decided to let the man in on the situation, causing Braum to look at him with slight disbelief by the time he was finished with his exnation.


    "That''s¡­" For a while, the man was left at a slight loss for words. "I had a feeling you''d do something like that sooner orter, but I thought you''d do itter rather than sooner."


    "It had to happen eventually." Valyr could only wryly smile. "It was either them finding my whereabouts first, or me taking the initiative to meet them."


    "Then again, with how much strength I currently possess, I''d rather do thetter."


    Hearing those words, Braum was reminded of the feats Valyr had achieved through Scho''doxa during the first round of the tournament.


    Finally recalling how the young man in front of them had the strength to kill a Myth, the man could only let out a chuckle as he inwardly shuddered at the thought of what Valyr would possibly do.


    Seeing as he''d pretty much done everything he needed to do after meeting Valyr, it went without saying that Braum eventually decided to bid his farewells to him after talking for a bit more.


    Though, before the man could even take a step foot out of Valyr''s shop, thetter asked him if he had information on the Caemelio n all of a sudden, causing him to stop in his tracks for a bit as he looked at the young man in slight confusion.


    Fortunately, the young man told him that he only needed information on the n''s whereabouts and their general hierarchy, allowing him to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.


    With that, he then told Valyr that he already had information on them, retrieving another thin stack of documents from his spatial bracelet before giving it to him.


    Looking at the documents he received with surprise written all over his face, Valyr soon thanked the man once more, only to then head their separate ways once Braum confirmed with him that he had no need for any other piece of information.


    Being left alone on his own once more, the young man went through the documents Braum gave to him in detail, spending over an hour organizing and processing all of the information he read.


    "Man¡­" Letting out a low sigh by the time he was done, he then put all of the documents into his spatial bracelet before deciding to roam around the vige, giving his mind some time to rest for a bit.


    Unsurprisingly, while roaming around, a few of the vigers came up to himining about the noise he''d been making for the past couple of days.


    At those words, Valyr could only give them an apologetic smile, telling them that he''d make sure to create less noise from now on.


    Thus, by the time he returned, he reinforced the walls that made up the workshop portion of the shop, hoping that the added thickness would dampen more of the sound he created while forging.


    Entering the shop once more, Valyr thought about how he could reduce the amount of sound he generated while forging, eventually deciding to concoct a few sets of potions for the remaining time he had before the update.


    Feeling like he was hitting two birds with one stone yet again, the young man let out a slight chuckle as he took out the spare materials Mystia gave him back at the Mystic ne.


    Briefly pondering over what kind of potions he''d concoct in preparation for the yers, Valyr soon released Mystic Energy into the air, conjuring the rune that embodied Mystic Rune Alchemy before throwing a few batches of potion materials into the air not long after.


    Controlling the Mystic Energy with his thoughts, it did not take long for him to fall into a rhythm of sorts, continuously concocting potions in a way that resembled the concentration he showed whilst forging for the past couple of days.


    With that, it only seemed like a few hours had passed before Valyr obtained the notification he was waiting for.


    Ding!


    [Version 0.5d of Greater Beyond has finally ended!]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Version 1.0 of Greater Beyond has begun!]


    ¡­


    "Well then¡­" "That''s interesting."


    At the far-flung reaches of the universe, a small voice began to echo through the depths of the void.


    "To think that after over 5,000 years have passed, a simr type of energy would make an appearance in this forsaken universe."


    "I don''t know if the heavens above have anything to do this¡­ but no matter. With a bit of effort and time, this new energy shall be our new foundation. Our new power."


    "As long as we adapt to it, it''s only a matter of time until we return."


    "A matter of time¡­ until the Realm of Myths returns."


    And with that, Volume 2 is finallyplete. Took longer than I thought to get to this point, but now that we''re here, it''s only going to get more fun.


    I''m sure all of you would have a lot of questions as to what thest few lines might mean, but it''ll all make sense at some point. Perhaps, you might even already have theories as to what it might mean.


    In any case, Valyr has prepared as much as he could.


    It''s time for the yers to appear.


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 Chapter 1178 The Day of Release

    1178 The Day of Release


    Earth, Year 22XX.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    "Mmh¡­"


    Inside a small apartment, a young man began to toss and turn as the rm beside his bed went off.


    Frowning from the noise it was making, he eventually let out a sigh of relief after he was able to snooze the rm, allowing him to return to his rightful slumber not even a minuteter.


    ¡­Beep! Beep! Beep!


    Yet, as if the world was conspiring against the young man, the rm began to resound throughout the room once more, causing irritation to appear on his face.


    In the end, the young man got out of bed after snoozing the rm a few more times, being reminded that he was the one who made the rm go off that many times in the first ce.


    "Wait¡­ why did I set it so early again?" Muttering these words to himself, the young scratched the back of his head for a bit as he gave his mind the time it needed to fully rouse itself from slumber.


    After that, he opened his phone, only to pause as he took notice of the date that was written on the screen.


    "Ah¡­ right," said the young man to himself, deciding to finally go through his usual routine after being reminded of what prompted him to wake up so early.


    "Today''s the day Greater Beyond finally releases."


    ¡­


    "Now let''s see¡­" By the time he was done with his usual morning routine, the young man proceeded to head to the kitchen to fix up a bit of breakfast for himself.


    Opening up his refrigerator, a wry smile soon appeared on his face after noticing that there was not much left inside. "A few slices of bread and a couple of eggs¡­"


    "Well, definitely better than nothing."


    Grabbing the remaining items in his refrigerator, the young man went ahead and utilized his amateur cooking skills to its limits as he opened up hisptop on the side.


    Then, with a short voicemand, he opened up the TV, introducing a bit of noise into the previously quiet room.


    "Mr. Silvers! As the CEO of ckflower Company, what can you say about the excitement everyone is showing around yourpany''s new game?"


    "Hahaha. Well¡­ what can I say? I guess I''m really d that everyone is more than eager to hop into the world we''ve honed and polished all this time."


    "Indeed. Almost every store that has yourpany''s game in stock has people lining up at its entrances for minutes on end. We''ve even heard that some stores have lines that go on for hours!"


    "Hours? If that''s the case, I''d suggest they order it online, then. After all, Greater Beyond could also be bought through our official digital channels. There''s no need for a physical copy whatsoever."


    "That''s what I did, actually. However, I''ve heard that those who get a physical copy of the game would receive a small bag of goodies once they enter the game for the first time?"


    "But of course. We don''t want people to think that all the waiting they''ve done was for nothing, after all."


    "Well, you''ve heard it here, folks. This is Antoine Caelius from Second Reality News, keeping you up to date with information on Greater Beyond."


    "¡­I guess everyone''s waiting to get their hands on the game." By the time the show was finished with its current segment, the young man was finished fixing up a te for himself.


    Moving closer to where the TV was, he brought over the te of food, as well as theptop he opened before digging into his breakfast with great gusto.


    "As far as I know, there''s still an hour or so before Greater Beyond goes on sale." Finishing his breakfast within a matter of minutes, the young man soon went ahead and opened up his e-mail, only to open one up that brought a smile to his face.


    "I knew it was the right decision to sign up to their mailing list beforehand." Seeing that he received an e-mail from thepany itself in advance regarding the sale of the game, he went ahead and clicked on the link attached to it, changing the contents on his screen to that of a typical website for online shopping.


    However, unlike the other online shopping sites he''d gone through, the site in front of the young man only sold a single product to its customers.


    Of course, that product was none other than Greater Beyond.


    "¡­" Seeing that there was still over half an hour before Greater Beyond was avable to purchase on the site, the young man decided to pass the time by watching a bit more television, keeping himself up to date on information regarding the game.


    Considering the fact that there were those who were able to y the game during its closed beta, it was no surprise that a list of basic information waspiled by the various shows, telling those that were tuned in all they needed to know to get started.


    Switching through a few more channels after some time, the young man soon noticed that almost every channel was covering the release of the game, prompting him to return his attention to hisptop at some point.


    "There''s still a minute left." Letting out a wide sigh of relief after realizing he hadn''t missed the exact time the game went on sale, the young man decided to shift his attention away from the TV for a while.


    After all, seeing as almost everyone wanted to get their hands on the game as much as possible, it went without saying that he''d be fighting against thousands of other people to get his hands on the game itself.


    "3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­"


    "Now!"


    With the timer on the site finally gone, he went ahead and hastily refreshed the site, only to then furiously click on the Buy button as if his life highly depended on it.


    Seeing that the game had been added to his cart, the young man felt as if the heavens were finally shining down on him, letting out a heartyughter as he proceeded to checkout. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    However, just as he was about to input his credentials to finally secure his own copy of the game, a line of text appeared on the screen that immediately caused the young man''s excitement to fall to rock bottom.


    "Sold¡­ out?"


    "That can''t be¡­ right?" Skeptical of the text on his screen, the young man proceeded to return to the previous page before adding the game to his cart once more.


    Yet, just like before, he was met with the same line of text once he tried to head to checkout.


    Continuing to do the same thing a few more times after that, it was only then did the young man ept his current situation, spewing out a long string of profanities as a way to vent his anger.


    "Damn those shitty bot users¡­" As these words left his mouth, the young man soon took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down before proceeding to search for other ces where he could buy a copy of the game.


    "With the closest physical store being over an hour away from where I am, there''s no way I''m heading out right now," said the young man to himself as a slight frown began to appear on his face.


    "Let alone the wait times¡­ the chances of me heading there, only to find out they''ve run out of stock is incredibly high."


    With that in mind, the young man set his sights on the various online shopping sites, knowing that they''d cash in on the excitement Greater Beyond generated during the past couple months.


    "Sold out¡­ out of stock¡­ unavable¡­" Unfortunately, no matter how many online shopping sites he went through, the young man was unable to find one that still had a copy of the game in stock.


    Realizing that he had to get his hands dirty, the young man let out a low sigh before entering a site that he considered as the veryst site anyone like him would enter.


    "¡­Those goddamn scalpers."


    Trying his best to keep himselfposed, the young man went ahead and looked up if there were copies of Greater Beyond on sale, only to find multiple copies of the game by the hundreds.


    Seeing that many of them were charging a price that was at least three times as much as the original price, the young man gradually began to feel an urge to punch theptop in front of him.


    Though, in the end, he was able to calm himself down, allowing him to find a copy of the game that had the lowest price among them not long after.


    Getting a confirmation a minute or soter that the copy he ordered was finally on its way to him, the young man let out a wide sigh of relief, only to then rub his hands in excitement.


    "I made sure to pick the fastest delivery option so I could get my hands on it as quickly as possible." Checking on the receipt he received through e-mail, the young man began to wonder how much time it would take for him to get his hands on the copy.


    Fortunately, a bit of searching around was more than enough for him to find the answer to his question¡­ though he began to furiously scratch the back of his head because of it.


    "Tomorrow? The earliest time I''ll be able to get it is tomorrow?"


    At that realization, the young man let out a sigh once more.


    "I really hope there''s a way to earn money in this game," murmured the young man as he resigned himself to his fate.


    "¡­With how much money I spent on this copy alone, I don''t know if I''ll even be able to eat next month."


    "Now that I think about it... would I even be able to pay for utilities this month?"


    Shaking his head for a bit to discard the thoughts guing his mind for the meantime, the young man decided to shift his focus back to the TV in front of him.


    Going through a few of the channels that were doing a live broadcast of the game''s release, he eventually stopped on a channel that seemed to have gained early ess to the game itself.


    "This is Antoine Caelius from Second Reality News, bringing you live into Veldanyr, one of the starter worlds Greater Beyond has to offer."


    "Huh. They upgraded the graphic quality from the beta." Wanting to make the most of his time while waiting for the copy to arrive, the young man decided to collect a bit of information on the game, hoping to use it to get a head start once he arrived.


    "As you can see, all of the yers are in the process of familiarizing themselves with their current surroundings. The sight should be no surprise to all of you, considering the various True Immersion VRMMORPGs that have appeared through the years."


    "However, we won''t be focusing on any of that for today."


    "Instead, here at Second Reality News, we''ll be giving you firsthand ess to thetest information we''ve received on the game."


    "With that being said, we''ve received reports of a unique NPC staying in Daffors Vige, one of the starter viges yers of the game could choose."


    "But the question now is... why is the unique NPC staying in such a vige?"


    "Let''s find out, shall we?"


    And with this, Volume 3 has officially begun.


    Honestly, this is one of the longest chapters I''ve written for the novel so far. Nevertheless, it gives you a good idea of what to expect for the volume.


    As well as what not to expect, probably.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1179 The Update Arrives (1)

    1179 The Update Arrives (1)


    Ding!


    "¡­Ah."


    Hearing the system go off in his mind just as he finished concocting yet another batch of potions, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notification screen, only to be greeted by a notification he''d been waiting for a long time.


    [Version 0.5d of Greater Beyond has finally ended!]


    Unsurprisingly, he began to clench his fists in excitement the moment he finished reading the notification, briefly jumping for joy soon after.


    Thinking about how he was finally able to enact and proceed with the ns he had in mind ever since the heavens gave him a second chance in this world, the young man faintly let out a chuckle, feeling a bit expectant towards what''s toe.


    Though, just as he thought he''d receive another notification from the system regarding the version update, Valyr instead received a series of notifications that made him think otherwise.


    [Preparing for changes rted to Version 1.0¡­]


    [Initiating temporary shutdown¡­]


    Whoosh!


    For a brief moment, the young man felt as if he lost all of the strength coursing throughout his body, causing his pupils to shrink as he slightly trembled in fear.


    Feeling as if he returned to the very day he appeared in Veldanyr for the first time, Valyr soon felt that the current situation was simr to the time Vaughn deprived him of his connection to the system.


    ''Then again, I also felt that way when he reset my level back to 1,'' thought Valyr to himself, letting out a wide sigh of relief as he felt an ever familiar strength course through his body a minute after the system temporarily shut down.


    Hearing a notification sound echo in his mind the moment his strength returned to him, it went without saying that the young man redirected his attention towards the notification screen once more.


    Wanting to see the reasons why the system decided it was a good idea to temporarily shut down to apply its changes, Valyr was soon greeted by a long list of notifications that rivaled the ones he''d get whenever he obtained a lot of rewards from the system.


    Though, unlike those notifications that mostly talked about benefits, the notifications that appeared on his screen this time acted more like packets of information.


    [Applying changes¡­]


    [Changes sessfully applied.]


    [Version 1.0 of Greater Beyond has finally begun!]


    [The following changes have been applied due to the change in version.]


    [Beings protected by the system have been introduced to the world of Greater Beyond. For the sake of simplicity, these beings are also known by the term yers.]


    [Although they look the same as any other being and have ess to the same avenues of gaining power like anyone else, these yers have the ability to revive themselves from death.] N?v(el)B\\jnn


    [Of course, to revive themselves from death, they must pay an equivalent price. However, it could be said that there is no limit to how many times these yers can revive.]


    [Due to the massive impact these yers would bring to the world of Greater Beyond in the future, these yers currently only have ess to these followings: Veldanyr, Azgares, ¡­]


    [Depending on the they appear in, they shall take on the appearance of the natives that are most prevalent on that.]


    "And thus, they''ve finally appeared." Reading through the first chunk of notifications he obtained after regaining ess from the system, Valyr faintly nodded as the notifications more or less summed up the abilities a yer had.


    Thinking about what others would think after reading through the same notifications he got, the young man was soon reminded of a phenomenon that happened in his past life.


    "Sooner orter, the others will figure out how to use the revive ability of yers to their advantage," muttered Valyr to himself, slightly shuddering at the memories that surfaced because of it. "When that happens, yers taking up dangerous positions will be amon sight again."


    "¡­Well, at least the rewards greatly made up for it."


    Moving onto the next chunk of notifications he received from the version update, Valyr went ahead and read through them, only to then raise his eyebrows in interest.


    [With the advent of yers, the ability to create alliances has been added to the Apparatus.]


    [A certain number of requirements must be met beforehand in order to register an alliance through the Apparatus. In exchange, one gains the ability to manage an alliance through the Apparatus itself.]


    [To aid in the growth of yers, a few alliances on the chosens have been registered by the Apparatus beforehand, with the leaders of these alliances gaining ess to the functions mentioned.]


    "¡­Honestly, I didn''t think establishing alliances through the system would only be a thing once Greater Beyond was publicly released." Letting out a slight chuckle as he finished reading, Valyr felt a hint of excitement at the thought of finally being able to establish the alliance he was nning all this time.


    Going through his memories to recall the requirements the system briefly mentioned in his notifications, the young man soon let out yet another chuckle after realizing he''d already fulfilled half of the requirements necessary to establish an alliance.


    "At this point, I just need to grab a couple more items to establish my own alliance," muttered Valyr to himself with a slight grin on his face. "But I''ll have to hold on those thoughts for now."


    "After all, I gotta make sure I''m recognized by the yers first."


    Feeling like he''d gone through all of the notifications regarding alliances, Valyr then moved on to the next chunk of notifications on his screen, only to let out a faint sigh as he realized there were still a lot more notifications he had to go through.


    Fortunately, just like how the notifications regarding the alliances gave him a bit of surprise, the next chunk of notifications Valyr went through gave him quite the surprise as well.


    Though, if he were topare which chunk of notifications seemed more important to him, Valyr felt that the current chunk of notifications he was currently through would be the far more important one.


    As to why that was the case¡­


    Well, that was because the notifications all talked about dungeons and inheritances.


    Specifically, their appearance en masse.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1180 The Update Arrives (2)

    1180 The Update Arrives (2)


    Ding!


    [To aid in the growth of yers, various regenerating dungeons have been ced and distributed throughout thes chosen by the Apparatus.]


    [These dungeons contain enemies with varying levels of strength, offering considerable rewards in the chances all of the enemies in these dungeons are cleared.]


    [Due to how these dungeons are structured and distributed, it is highly rmended for both yers and non-yers to use the dungeons as a general guide to obtain strength.]


    [The following dungeons have been added to Veldanyr: Cave of Beginnings, Den of the Dark Forest, ¡­]


    [With the advent of yers, various inheritances have also been ced and distributed throughout thes chosen by the Apparatus.]


    [Unlike dungeons, these inheritances are considerably harder to find, with some needing to obtain a set of items beforehand in order to gain ess to them.]


    [Nevertheless, just like the dungeons, these inheritances contain rewards that would allow the being thaty im to it first to reach greater heights.]


    "Well then." Reading through the chunk of notifications he focused his attention on, Valyr briefly whistled as his eyebrows slightly rose in interest. "To think the dungeons and inheritances I came to know in the past would also only be a thing after Greater Beyond was publicly released."


    Briefly thinking back to the journey he took to get to where he currently was, it did not take long for Valyr to realize that he only frequented a couple of dungeons to get to his current point.


    As for the inheritance he entered and obtained rewards from, it was an inheritance that opened long before Greater Beyond was essible to the yers.


    Considering that it took a decade for the inheritance to gather enough energy for a group of people to enter, it made sense that the Four Pirs'' Inheritance wasn''t heard of in his past life.


    "Then again, I might be wrong," said Valyr to himself sometimeter. "Perhaps other yers entered the Four Pirs'' Inheritance during theter versions."


    Briefly shaking his head to discard the errant thoughts in his mind, the young man soon came to the realization that he didn''t really rely a lot on dungeons to obtain the strength he currently had.


    With the reality of inheritances usually giving more rewards aside, dungeons weren''t really known for allowing one''s strength to grow by leaps and bounds.


    If anything, dungeons only served to fortify one''s foundation, with the rewards the dungeons mentioned in the notification more or less amon method yers used in his past life to stably increase their strength.


    "If they were to obtain all of the rewards from the hardest mode of those dungeons, then I guess their strength would be able to match those at the pinnacle of their ss rank."


    "But if not, then their strength would just be slightly above average at best," said Valyr with a slight shrug. "After all, it''s been proven that forging your own path to power without relying on the dungeons yields greater strength in the long run."


    "But then again, it''s only slightly above average when I''mparing it to the strength other yers have." "If I also take the strength of NPCs into consideration, well¡­"


    "No point thinking about it." Briefly shaking his head at the thoughts lingering in his mind, Valyr stopped thinking about the what-ifs as he moved onto the next chunk of notifications the system threw at him.


    "¡­Huh." Surprisingly, the next chunk of notifications that appeared on his screen mostly talked about the changes the Apparatus had applied to skills due to the version update.


    Considering how each notification went through each change in detail, it went without saying that the current chunk was at least ten times longer than the chunks Valyr had gone through before.


    Because of that, he eventually let out a faint sigh as he decided to skip over all of the notifications regarding skill changes, seeing as the changes could be more or less summed up into a couple of sentences.


    "Defensive and support skills have been slightly buffed, while offensive skills have been slightly nerfed." "Well, in terms of cooldown and cost, anyway."


    Faintly wondering to himself whether it was a good thing that the system was thorough in its information or not, Valyr soon moved onto the next chunk of notifications on his screen, which actually answered one of the questions he had in mind back then.


    Ding!


    [With the advent of yers, those who have ess to the Non-yer Character Advancement System have gained additional features through the Extended NPC Feature Set.]


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, you have gained the right to ess the Greater Beyond Forum. This forum is currently only essible to those living within thes chosen by the Apparatus.] n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, those who have ess to the Non-yer Character Advancement System have gained the right to ess the local Greater Beyond Forum (Veldanyr).]


    [As part of the Extended NPC Feature Set, those who have ess to the Non-yer Character Advancement System have gained the right to ess the World Net (Basic).]


    "Wait¡­" Going over these notifications a couple of times, Valyr slowly began to frown as a bit of realization dawned upon him. "You''re telling me I was the only one who could ess both the forum and the World Net before the game''s public release?"


    Feeling as if he''d missed out on a massive opportunity to make use of the advantages given to him, Valyr inwardly admonished himself for not making greater use of the two features during the past year.


    Though, after mulling over the thought for a bit, the young man gradually began to calm down, letting out a low sigh as another realization dawned upon him.


    "Well, even if I did decide to constantly use the World Net and the forum during the past year, there wouldn''t be much point," the young man said to himself.


    "The forum would be useless since I''d be the only onemunicating there."


    "As for the World Net¡­ although it does give me insight as to what''s happening back on Earth, with everyone just focused on what the game would be like during that time, there really wasn''t much use for it either."


    With those thoughts lingering in his mind, Valyr soon took in a few deep breaths before letting out a drawn-out exhale.


    "At the very least, both features will actually see great use now." Muttering these words to himself, the young man soon moved on to the next chunk of notifications, only to then decide to save the remaining notifications for some other time.


    Feeling like he''d already spent a lot of time looking through the notifications the system threw at him, Valyr hastily scrolled to the bottom of his notification screen, reading thest few notifications the system had for him.


    [ess to the Greater Beyond Forum, Greater Beyond Forum (Veldanyr), World Net (Basic), Arena of Conferment, as well as the Star Ranking shall be avable once yers have begun entering the world of Greater Beyond.]


    [Remaining time before yers enter Greater Beyond: 2 hours, 49 minutes, 10 seconds.]


    "Considering the time difference between here and Earth, that''s like¡­ half an hour, roughly," muttered Valyr to himself by the time he was done reading. "Then again¡­ with many people having bought a copy of the game through digital stores¡­ it does make sense."


    "In any case, since the system itself has given me time to prepare for their arrival¡­"


    "I guess it''s time to set up shop."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!

 Chapter 1181 Before the Players Arrival

    Chapter 1181 Before the yers'' Arrival


    "¡­And with that, the shop''s more or less open for business."


    Wiping off the sweat dripping down his forehead, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the sight before him with a smile.


    Dispelling the skill he''d been using all this time to help him arrange all the equipment and items for the yers in advance, the young man soon let out a slight chuckle. "To think setting up shop would take me almost two hours just to finish."


    "In any case, I''ve pretty much done everything I could to prepare for their appearance."


    Recalling the smithy he used to own back in Clossbay City, Valyr began to walk around the shop portion of the building he constructed as he continued to smile.


    Thinking about how he pretty much copy and pasted theyout he used in the smithy back then for the current shop he was making, the young man soon let out a bit ofughter.


    "Well, I did change a couple of things," said the young man to himself as the thought came to mind. "Learning from my days of running the smithy, I made sure to arrange the items this time in a way that attracted all of the attention towards the important items."


    With that, he shifted his gaze towards the center portion of the shop, ncing at the equipment and potions he put a bit more effort into creating.


    "Though it''s not as great as the things I can make nowadays, it''s still more than enough to attract their attention," muttered Valyr to himself soon after, grinning at the thought of the yers eventually looking at those items with greed.


    Feeling like he''d done everything he could to get ready for the time the yers appeared in Greater Beyond, Valyr soon made his way out of the shop, deciding to reward himself with a bit of rest after working hard for the past few days.


    ''Then again, I have no choice but to get back to work after they arrive.'' Wryly smiling at the thought that popped up in his mind, the young man soon shrugged his shoulders at it before taking out a chair from his spatial bracelet.


    cing the chair near his shop''s entrance, Valyr went ahead and sat on it, making sure that the chair could hold his entire body weight as he began to rx.


    Watching the people within the vige move through the streets as if they were in a hurry, the young man briefly thought back to the time he''d been moving at a pace simr to them.


    ''Even though 3 hours may seem like a lot of time, it''s also not a lot of time considering the situation.''


    Making up his mind to set up shop in preparation for the yers, Valyr did not hold back whatsoever, using both his stats and skills to their very limits to make sure he had more than enough time to get ready for when the yers arrived.


    With that, he began to use some of his skills in unique ways, such as how he used the translucent arms to help move all of the equipment and potions in their rightful ces.


    Of course, with no racks, stands, or shelves to speak of, Valyr was also forced to craft multiples of them on the spot, thanking his past self for asking more than enough materials from the cksmith Guild before arriving at Daffors Vige.


    ''I guess that''s the closest I''ve ever been to embodying the essence of a one-man factory.'' As this thought came to mind, Valyr let out a bit ofughter once more as he continued to savor the idle time he''d given himself.


    Though, just before half an hour could pass with him doing nothing, a man appeared in front of him all of a sudden.


    "¡­Say, Ylvar." Initially hesitant to ask Valyr for more information, William eventually mustered up his courage for the sake of the vige.


    Twiddling his thumbs as he found the right words to say, the man eventually let out a faint sigh. "I appreciate that you''ve given us a heads-up in advance. Because of it, we''re able to roughly prepare for their arrival." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "However¡­"


    "However?" At that word, Valyr sat up straight as he looked at William with a raised eyebrow.


    "Well¡­ for theck of a better term, what should we do next?" asked William in response. "Do we really just have to give our problems for the yers to handle?"


    Feeling as if his previous advice to the vige leader might be dangerous, Valyr decided to rify a couple things as he replied, "Pretty much. Of course, that doesn''t mean you should give them every single problem you have."


    "As long as you could solve the problem on your own, then it''s better that you solve it that way," continued the young man. "However, for problems that may take more time or that might be beyond your means, then it''s better for the yers to handle it."


    "Aside from that, just treat them as you would anyone else." Valyr looked at William with a confident smile. "As the system itself said, these guys are pretty much us, but with abilities that make them just a bit more."


    "Treat them as you would anyone else¡­" Muttering a part of the words Valyr said to him, William eventually had a look of realization on his face, now having a greater idea of what the young man meant.


    With that, it was no surprise that the man thanked Valyr for his advice, to which thetter let out a slight chuckle in response.


    Seeing that their conversation was now over, the two soon decided to head their separate ways, with William thinking that it would be better for him to share the information Valyr gave him with the others.


    Though, just as he was about to head to another part of the vige to disseminate it, William was forced to stop in his tracks as the young man began to talk to him all of a sudden.


    "Oh, right." As if recalling something needed to do, Valyr gave William a look of brief contemtion before deciding to dispel [Thousand Polymorph].


    "While I''m in this vige, I''ll be adopting a different identity in order to not be recognized. We don''t want other people toe to this vige because of me, after all."


    Whoosh!


    Within seconds, any signs of Ylvar in front of William disappeared without a trace, instead being reced with Valyr''s original appearance.


    "Er¡­ what should I call you, then?" Taking in a deep breath after being briefly stunned by Valyr''s current appearance, William soon regained his bearings as he asked a question in return.


    "Valyr," replied Valyr with a slight smile. "You can just call me Valyr."


    "¡­Alright." Though he found it weird that the name the young man chose to use for his new identity sounded simr to his original one, William did not really dwell on it too much.


    After all, it was only a matter of time when the young man in front of him would leave their vige for greener pastures.


    With that, the man soon left Valyr to his own devices once more, telling thetter that he nned on sharing the information thetter gave him with the others.


    In response, Valyr merely smiled, watching as the man''s silhouette gradually disappeared from his field of vision.


    "¡­This might be a stupid move, but this will definitely spare me from a headacheter on." Rxing into his chair once again, Valyr decided to bring up the timer rted to the version update in front of him, wanting to see how much time he had left to rx.


    Though, he immediately changed his mind after seeing there were only 5 minutes left before the yers arrived, prompting him to get out of his chair as soon as possible.


    Letting out a faint sigh in response, Valyr briefly shook his head as he stored the chair back into his spatial bracelet, only to then smile as a couple of thoughts surfaced in his mind soon after.


    "Welp. I''ve pretty much done everything I could beforehand."


    "All that''s left now is for the yers to arrive."

 Chapter 1182 The Players Arrive

    Chapter 1182 The yers Arrive


    Whoosh!


    Feeling as if he''d been staring at a multitude of colors for minutes upon end, a man that had both dark brown hair and eyes immediately let out a wide sigh of relief the moment his surroundings changed¡­


    Only to feel a wave of nausea hit him a few secondster.


    "¡­Urgh." Trying his best to not let the nausea get the better of him, it took the greater part of a minute for the man to eventually recover from the sensation, letting out a low sigh after the feeling of nausea was gone. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Taking in a few deep breaths after that, the man then began to look at his current surroundings in earnest.


    "So, this is Greater Beyond, huh? They definitely improved the graphicspared to the beta."


    With the name ''Tianshen01'' hovering above his head, the man continued to admire the sights in front of him, only to then proceed moving his body ording to a few set movements he had in mind.


    "Not only that, but they''ve even improved the game''s controlspared to the beta," murmured the man in slight disbelief, gradually pushing his body to its utmost limits. "I don''t even feel anytency between my thoughts and my actions anymore."


    "I''ve heard that thepany got the most feedback on itstency." Just as those words left the man''s mouth, a familiar voice to the man began to sound from beside him, prompting him to turn around in response.


    "Belial!" Grinning at the sight of a familiar name, Tianshen let out a bit ofughter, only to then frown as a thought popped up in his mind. "Don''t tell me I was the only one who experienced nausea from that startup screen."


    "You''re not," replied Belial, slightly shuddering as he recalled the bombardment of colors he had to endure. "Pretty sure almost everyone felt nausea from that."


    "In fact, while I was making my way to where you were, I saw a few people sumb to it," continued the burly man, pointing at a ce slightly far away from where they stood.


    Looking at the ce Belial was pointing at, Tianshen was soon greeted by the sight of some people kneeling on the ground, with most of them retching from the nausea they felt.


    "You think thepany intentionally did it?" Watching those people for a bit more, Tianshen eventually returned his gaze back to Belial as he asked a question.


    "Probably not." Belial shook his head, sharing a piece of news he watched with him before entering the game. "The CEO himself said that it''s intentionally designed that way. He said it''s to make sure people perceive the game''s sense of time as reality."


    "Pretty sure we didn''t have to go through that during the closed beta," replied Tianshen, to which Belial could only shrug his shoulders in response.


    "Don''t ask me," said Belial. "I only know a bit more than you do."


    "We probably know just as much as everyone else." Tianshen faintly smiled at his words. "Speaking of which, Moonlight tried to bribe thepany for more information on the game, yet it was as if thepany''s lips were sealed shut."


    "In any case, I''m pretty sure this is just because it''s the first time," continued the man, watching as more and more yers entered Greater Beyond. "I''m getting the feeling it''s only a matter of time before everyone gets used to that startup screen."


    "Yeah." Belial nodded in agreement. "I''m getting the feeling that the nausea won''t be as severe the second time I log in."


    "Anyways, have the other three entered the game yet?"


    "Astra told me she''ll be running a bitte," replied Tianshen with a wry smile. "She still hasn''t gotten enough copies for her organization."


    "As for Moonlight and Avaris, they gave me a heads-up beforehand that they''ll be entering soon enough."


    "Gotcha." Belial nodded, only to then gaze at their surroundings for a brief moment.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, he then began to walk around the vige, leaving Tianshen with no choice but to follow beside him.


    "What are you thinking?" Noticing the pensive expression on Belial''s face, Tianshen asked him with a raised eyebrow.


    "Just taking a look at our surroundings for the meantime," said the man in response, taking note of how many yers had spawned in the same vige as them. "I''m getting the feeling we''ll be stuck here for a while."


    "Well, it''s not that surprising." Tianshen nodded in agreement. "We spawned in one of the cities during the closed beta, after all."


    "On the other hand, we''ve spawned in a vige this time around. I guess thepany wants to even out the ying field for those who went through the closed beta."


    "I guess so." As he responded to the man''s words, Belial went ahead and gave a fewmands to the game''s system, prompting a few screens to appear in his field of vision.


    Quickly going through them to obtain a bit more information regarding their current situation, Belial soon nodded in understanding as he closed all but one of his screens not long after.


    "I''m guessing you have a rough idea of what to do now?" ncing at the remaining screen Belial left open, Tianshen went ahead and asked him with both curiosity and excitement.


    "More or less," said the man in response with a slight shrug. "The we chose is the same as the closed beta. As for where we are¡­ we''re currently in a vige named Daffors Vige."


    "In terms of what it could offer us, it has all of the basics needed to get started."


    "As for enemies we could face to get XP, there''s the wilderness outside the vige, as well as a dungeon named Cave of Beginnings just a few hundred meters away from the vige."


    "What''s the minimum level to enter the dungeon?" asked Tianshen, reining in his excitement for the meantime.


    "Level 5," replied Belial. "But that''s just to unlock Easy."


    "Eh. We''ll save the higher difficulties forter," said Tianshen in response, to which Belial soon nodded in agreement.


    "So¡­ gear ourselves up first before heading out to the wilderness? Then, try the dungeon after that?"


    "Pretty much." Belial nodded, expanding the map he brought up for them to both look at. "Here''s the vige''s smithy."


    "...A bit of a journey, I see." Committing the part of the map Belial was pointing at to memory, Tianshen soon nodded at his words as the two began to make their way towards the smithy they''ve agreed to head to.


    Though, just as they had arrived at the end of the street they were on, an inconspicuous building soon caught both of their attention.


    "Say, Belial¡­"


    "Wasn''t the smithy that way?"


    "..."

 Chapter 1183 First Customers

    Chapter 1183 First Customers


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    By the time the remaining time they had to prepare was up, arge group of yers appeared within the confines of Daffors Vige all of a sudden, causing a hint of shock and surprise to many of the vigers minding about their days.


    Though, as everyone within the vige had already been given a heads-up on their appearance beforehand, it did not take long for these people to return to what they were doing, eliciting a chuckle to escape Valyr''s lips as he watched from afar.


    Standing by the entrance to his shop, the young man watched as a third of the yers began to kneel on the ground after some time, with many of them beginning to retch and vomit not even a few secondster.


    "Right. That used to be a thing." Witnessing this sight from afar, Valyr soon recalled a memory he''d buried deep into the recesses of his mind a long time ago, causing him to wryly smile.


    "The first login was a rough one for a lot of people," muttered the young man to himself. "The shing of various colors during the startup brought nausea and vertigo to a lot of people. Some people even had seizures because of it."


    Recalling how he''d almost fainted from the vertigo the first time he appeared in Veldanyr in his past life, Valyr let out a wry chuckle, only to then continue watching the yers gradually adapt to their current surroundings.


    Fortunately, it only took a couple more minutes for those hit with nausea to get back up their feet, immediately focusing their attention on the sights surrounding them the moment their nausea subsided.


    While that was happening, some of the more serious yers began to do a few basic movements with their bodies, wanting to gauge the level of fine control they had over every movement.


    Then again, it did not take long for them to realize that all of their thoughts were being sent to their bodies with perfect uracy, allowing their bodies to move just the way they imagined. With them also realizing soon after that there was next to notency in the thought to action process, many of these serious yers began to get excited, eager to explore the vast world Greater Beyond had to offer.


    Still watching the yers from afar, Valyr began to grin once some of the yers began to explore the vige they were in.


    Though most of them were exploring the vige to see what other things the game had to offer them, a couple of them explored the vige with a purpose, simr to Valyr when he arrived at Astarto for the first time. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''I''m guessing they''re part of the organizations,'' thought Valyr to himself as he watched those yers. ''After all, only they would think of increasing their strength as fast as possible.''


    As that thought came to mind, Valyr faintly let out a chuckle. ''Then again, that''s the reason why I built this shop in the first ce.''


    Whoosh!


    While Valyr was still slightly engrossed in his thoughts, a couple of yers soon arrived at his shop, prompting him to snap back to reality as he weed them in.


    Watching these yers begin to peruse through the items he had on disy, Valyr briefly thought about how NPCs would talk in such a situation, only to then discard the thought soon after.


    Then, inwardly taking in a deep breath, he decided to ask them a question. "Looking for equipment, I presume?" "Yeah." One of the two yers nodded at his question, their attention focused on a broadsword Valyr crafted.


    With a twinkle in his eyes, the yer focused more of his attention on the broadsword, only to start frowning as it looked like things weren''t going his way.


    Noticing the change in the yer''s expression, Valyr immediately understood what he was doing. "You need to obtain the [Analysis] skill first if you want more than just its name and description."


    "Hmm?" Hearing those words, both yers looked at each other for a bit before looking back at him with slight surprise. "You have to get a skill first to do that?"


    "Yeah. Had to learn it the hard way as well." Valyr nodded, maintaining an amiable smile on his face. "There are a couple of ways to get skills out there, but the mostmon one is through the shops selling skill books. I''m sure they have [Analysis] there."


    "¡­I see," replied one of the yers after some time with a nod. "That''s good to know."


    ncing at the other yer once more, the yer then returned to look at Valyr before asking with a hint of hesitation. "Er¡­ would it be possible for you to help us obtain more information on these items?"


    "New adventurers, huh?" Valyr let out a slight chuckle as he asked back.


    Getting a nod from the two in response, the young man nodded back as he went ahead and activated [Superior Analysis] on the broadsword the yer was looking at.


    Ding!


    Briefly taking a look at the screen that appeared in his vision, Valyr then moved the screen towards the yer looking at the broadsword, causing thetter to be left at a slight loss for words from the amount of information he got.


    "To think having [Analysis] would be this important¡­" At some point while the yer was reading through the screen''s contents, the other yer moved closer to take a look at the screen as well.


    "Alright. That''s enough." Faintly chuckling at the words that left the yer''s mouth, Valyr soon dispelled the screen in front of the two, prompting them to look back at him in response.


    Noticing the slight frowns on their faces, the young man slightly shrugged his shoulders. "Are you two telling me you''ll just be looking at that broadsword I made?"


    "Though, I don''t really mind, I do have more items in this ce that might suit new adventurers like you."


    "Well¡­" At those words, the yers looked at each other for a bit before letting out a wry chuckle. "This is our first time here. We''re sorry."


    "Oh, I''m not mad," rified Valyr. "I''m just telling you guys that it''d be a waste if you only stop to look at one thing."


    "After all, you two are my first customers in this ce," he added with a smile. "Think of me giving you information on my items as a bit of extra service."


    "We''ll have to thank you in advance, then," replied one of the yers with a slight chuckle. "As well as apologize in advance if we take too long to choose."


    "I hope you don''t mind, but what is this ce called?" Just as one of the yers was finished talking, the other yer went ahead and asked Valyr a question. "Also, if you don''t mind, could you tell us who you are?"


    "Well, the name''s Valyr," said the young man with a slight grin.


    "As for the ce, I haven''t really given it a name yet."


    "Hmm¡­ the Crimson¡­ no¡­ the Azure¡­ yeah, not that either¡­"


    "...Huh. Yeah. That fits."


    "Let''s go with the Forge of Beginnings, then."

 Chapter 1184 Little by Little

    Chapter 1184 Little by Little


    "¡­We''re sorry we didn''t buy anything in the end, Valyr."


    After going through about half of the items within the shop with Valyr''s help, the two yers eventually revealed to him that they didn''t have any money to buy any of the items he created.


    Feeling a bit guilty for dragging the young man around to get more information on the items they sought to obtain for themselves, the two looked at him with slightly apologetic expressions.


    "It''s fine. Don''t worry." Of course, Valyr did not mind. After all, he knew that it would take a while for the yers to start having enough money to buy items. "The fact that you decided to stop by my ce is more than enough, really."


    Though Valyr did not mean anything by his words, the two only felt even more guilty, thinking of the young man as someone who toiled day or night to set up his shop, only for his first set of customers to be a couple of people just looking around for things to buy.


    Inwardly promising to themselves that they''d buy an item from Valyr''s shop the moment they had enough money, the two yers soon bade farewell to the young man, thinking of heading back to where the other yers were for the meantime.


    However, just as they were about to leave the shop for good, Valyr''s words stopped them in their tracks as they began to look at him in confusion.


    "Say, I hope you don''t mind me asking, but is it possible to add you guys to my friend list? I might need the help of a couple people to do some errands for me in the future."


    "Er¡­" Not knowing how to reply, the two yers looked at each for a bit before looking back at Valyr. "Is there a reason why you need to add us to your friend list? You could just call for us, no?"


    "I could." Valyr nodded, only to smile soon after. "But contacting you through your friend list is way easier to do."


    Surprisingly, those words only caused further confusion to the two yers, causing the two to whisper to each other after that for quite some time.


    Thankfully, in the end, the two agreed to Valyr''s request, prompting thetter to smile as he taught them how to add him as a friend.


    Ding!


    [Belial (Lv. 1) has sent you a friend request.]


    [Tianshen01 (Lv. 1) has sent you a friend request.]


    Hearing the notifications that echoed in his mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notification screen, only for him to pause as he read the names of the two yers a couple of times.


    Fortunately, the two yers in front of him did not find anything amiss, continuing to smile as he told them that he''d epted their friend requests.


    Faintly surprised that they were able to add Valyr to their friend list, it took a bit longer than usual for the two to leave the young man''s shop for good.


    Though, by the time the young man was left to his own devices, Valyr let out a wide sigh as he bitterly smiled at the thought of the yers he interacted with just now.


    "Belial and Tianshen01, huh," muttered Valyr to himself, briefly thinking back to his time as a yer in his past life. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Even before Greater Beyond had be the massive worldwide hit it eventually turned out to be, Valyr was already more than familiar with the names Belial and Tianshen01.


    After all, those two names were the two leaders of what many people called the Five Leviathans of the VRMMORPG world.


    Having established their respective organizations by the time the second generation of VRMMO games rose to the scene, the Five Leviathans slowly but surely made their names renowned throughout all the games they yed, causing their reputation to soar as time passed.


    With that, it went without saying that the Five Leviathans were considered infallible by the time Greater Beyond came around, with many thinking that they''d lead the direction of the game as always.


    "Though they were still able to keep their reputation as the Five Leviathans, the massive scope of Greater Beyond meant that they weren''t able to im everything for themselves."


    "If anything, Greater Beyond only caused other organizations to reach the same level as them, with some even exceeding their strength and reputation near the end."


    At those words, Valyr could only let out a faint sigh, thinking back to his time in the final battle.


    Considering that the final battle had something to do with Greater Beyond, it went without saying that the Five Leviathans were involved in the massive fight as well.


    However, rather than aid Valyr''s side in making sure Earth would be able to avoid its untimely fate, the Five Leviathans instead chose to support the opposing side, bing one of the major reasons why their side ultimately lost.


    "Well, it''s only right to change that now that I''m in this position," said Valyr to himself, swiftly discarding all of the thoughts that continued lingering in his mind. "Then again, there''s only so much I can do with the power that I have."


    "Haah¡­" Letting out a sigh once more, Valyr soon noticed that more and more yers were now beginning to head towards the shop after the two paid a visit.


    Feeling like he''d be busy for the remainder of the busy, the young man decided to shelve his thoughts for the meantime, shrugging his shoulders as he let out a slight chuckle. "Well, you know what they say." "Little by little."


    ¡­


    "Moonlight and Avaris took longer than I thought." As both Belial and Tianshen made their way back to where they spawned, the two began to talk about what they saw in the shop they just entered.


    "Don''t forget the greater time dtion ratio," said Belial in response to Tianshen''s words. "They only entered the game 5 minutes after we did¡­ which is like around 40 minutes here."


    "40 minutes¡­ yeah, I think we spent around that much time in the shop." Tianshen went silent for a bit before nodding. "I''m guessing we''ll also take them to the shop as well?"


    "Yeah," replied Belial as he nodded. "But only after we head to the wilderness to get XP and money first. Our first goal is to enter the nearest dungeon as soon as possible, after all."


    "In any case, I didn''t know we could add NPCs to our friend lists."


    "Neither did I." Tianshen let out a chuckle, bringing up his near-barren friend list to the side. "The other three might have probably known about it during the closed beta, but I sure as hell didn''t." Shifting his gaze towards his friend list, the man took note of the level of the person managing the shop they entered. "Level 75¡­ quite a high level for someone in a vige."


    "Who knows? Maybe that''s actually the average level a person in a vige would have and we just didn''t know?" joked Belial, prompting both of them tough for a bit as they looked around for theirpanions.


    "Anyways, let''s save that forter."


    "For now, let''s focus on grinding."

 Chapter 1185 The Night After

    Chapter 1185 The Night After


    "¡­Haah."


    After sessfully making thest group of yers to visit the shop leave for the day, Valyr let out a wide sigh of relief as he decided to rest by the shop''s entrance.


    "Who knew managing a shop would get this hectic?" Muttering these words to himself, the young man let out a slight chuckle as he recounted what he went through for almost the entire day.


    Considering that it was the first day Greater Beyond was released to the yers, it went without saying that Valyr did not make any sales whatsoever.


    At most, the yers more or less did what Belial and Tianshen did when they visited his shop, which was perusing around the store for items and promising that they''d buy those items in the future.


    Then again, Valyr was already expecting that to happen, deciding to approach the yers from a long-term perspective.


    ''As long as word of this shop spreads throughout the yer base, then I''ve more or less achieved what I set out to do bying here,'' thought Valyr to himself, letting out a slight chuckle as he nced at the orange sky.


    With the sun beginning to set, the young man went ahead and began to close up the shop for the day, deciding to limit the amount of time the shop was open after his experience with the yers.


    "For about the first few hours, talking to them was fine," said Valyr to himself as he double-checked through all of the items on disy. "But after that, the number of yers in the store grew to a point where I couldn''t really interact with each and every person."


    "Fortunately, it didn''t seem like they minded," he continued with a faint smile, recalling how his usage of [Superior Analysis] caused most of the yers to focus their attention onto it.


    "Alright." After making sure that the shop wouldn''t be intruded during the night, Valyr let out a sigh of relief as he decided to make his way to the vige''s only restaurant. "Time to reward myself for today."


    ''Aside from that, I should probably use this time to tie up some loose ends here and there,'' thought the young man to himself as he walked along the vige''s streets. ''Though the yers have finally appeared in Veldanyr, there''s still a lot that''s left for me to do.''


    ''It''s one of the reasons why I decided to disable my disguise skill now that the yers are around.'' As this thought came to mind, Valyr took a brief look at his current appearance, recalling the conversation he had with William sometime earlier.


    Though he led William to believe that his current identity was a different identity he made to hide the fact that he was Ylvar, Valyr decided that he''d gradually stop relying on [Thousand Polymorph] due to the fact that it would confuse the yers.


    Although he could lean into the skill''s properties and make the yers think he was some mysterious and enigmatic NPC, the young man only picked up the skill in the first ce because of the issues that lingered around his original identity as Valyr Zeihardt.


    However, now that his level of strength even went so far as to allow him to fight against Myth-level beings one-on-one, he felt that now was the perfect time to make things right.


    As long as the opportunity arose, he would confront the Zeihardt n, as well as the Nichs n, and make sure they treated him not as the person they sought for their own goals¡­


    But as a person they should think twice before messing with.


    ''The supportive and the rebel faction¡­''


    Briefly thinking about how the two factions of the Zeihardt n looking for him became the main reason why his journey to power turned out as it did, a wry smile appeared on Valyr''s face, remaining there until he arrived at the vige''s only restaurant.


    Surprisingly, once he was there, the restaurant was filled to the brim with around half of the people living in the vige, causing his eyes to slightly widen in surprise.


    ''I wonder what brought them here?'' As this question popped up in his mind, the young man moved around the restaurant to find a vacant seat, listening to the conversations happening around him all the while.


    By the time he found a seat for himself, Valyr more or less got the gist of what the people were talking about, prompting a bitter smile to briefly appear on his face.


    "To think they gathered here because of the yers." Muttering these words to himself, the young man went ahead and ordered a hearty meal as he continued to listen to the discussions that were happening all around him.


    "You know, for beings protected by the system, I thought they''d be more¡­ unique. The system kind of made it seem that way to me."


    "Well, it seems like they''re still adjusting to their surroundings. From the looks of it, they''ve been thrown into this ce all of a sudden."


    "Imagine my surprise when I found out a lot of them began to vomit on the ground the moment they appeared. Old Michael is gonna have a field day keeping the vige clean."


    "Although it''s scary that a lot of them have appeared in our vige, I find the guys quite nice to work with. I gave them a quest that would''ve taken me over half a day for me to do on my own, but they epted it without hesitation."


    "Yeah, having those guys work on other things definitely frees up my time to do more things. The vige leader definitely has some sort of foresight for this."


    "Hahaha! He definitely does. Then again, I''m pretty sure he''s the one working the hardest out of all of us right now. After all, they''re now a part of the vige."


    ''¡­Guess they''re more receptive towards the yers than I thought.'' Faintly letting out a chuckle at the conversations people were having, Valyr eventually got the meal he ordered a couple minutester. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Continuing to eavesdrop into their conversations, the young man silently enjoyed the meal he ordered, only to be slightly taken aback by the explosion of vors the moment he took his first bite.


    With that, he ate the entire meal with gusto, leaving the restaurant more than satisfied with his meal around half an hourter.


    ''I should find the time to ask the chef how they cook the meals sometime.'' Deciding to make his way back to the shop before proceeding with other errands, Valyr watched from afar as more and more yers appeared in the vige.


    Seeing a portion of them continue to sumb to the nausea and vertigo caused by the first startup, the young man could only faintly smile as he began to roughly count the number of yers that appeared.


    "¡­Oh damn." Though, by the time he was done counting, the young man began to slightly shudder, realizing that opening the shop the following day would force him to interact with a lot more yers than he did earlier.


    Thinking about what he''d face tomorrow for a bit more, Valyr eventually shrugged his shoulders at the thought before continuing to make his way back to the shop.


    ''It''s bound to happen, anyway,'' thought the young man to himself.


    ''Especially with how I interacted with some of them.''


    Though Valyr decided to add Belial and Tianshen to his friend list in preparation for his ns to establish an organization, the young man eventually realized he could make greater use of the function, deciding to add each and every yer that caught his eye.


    With that, a considerable portion of his list was now filled with yers that would either grow to gain a reputation simr to the Five Leviathans, or reach a level of power that would put him at ease once he set his n in motion.


    "I guess it''s only a matter of time until I be a hot topic because of it," said Valyr to himself with a slight chuckle, briefly taking a look at the forums almost everyone now had ess to.


    Though some of the threads talked about his existence and how there were a chance for him to add them as a friend, the young man ignored them for the meantime, instead focusing on the other topics that were being talked about in the forums.


    "The Cave of Beginnings, huh¡­ not surprising that some yers have already gotten to that level."


    In the end, Valyr continued to go through the forums until he arrived at his shop, only to find a familiar face that looked to have been waiting for him all this time.


    "You''re finally back." Watching Valyr appear in his field of vision, William began to look at him with a relieved smile. "I was wondering where you went."


    "William?" Not expecting to see the man at this time, it took a while for Valyr to respond, closing the screen he brought up as he looked at him with a slightly curious expression. "What brings you here?"


    "Nothing much." William softlyughed. "Just wanted to thank you again for giving us a heads-up on the yers."


    "You don''t really have to." Seeing as the man was sitting by his shop''s entrance, Valyr decided to sit beside him as well. "Then again, I didn''t want the vige to be caught fully off guard."


    "Which is why I''m thanking you," replied William with a smile. "In any case, it seems like you''re not surprised at the number of yers that appeared in the vige. Were you expecting something like this to happen beforehand?"


    "More or less," said Valyr with a chuckle, deciding to use Scho''doxa yet again as an excuse as to why he knew. "Though, if I were you, I''d be prepared for the following day."


    "The following day?" Looking at the young man in slight confusion, William''s eyes soon widened in realization as he understood what he meant. "Wait¡­ are you''re telling me there''s more?"


    In response, Valyr could only nod at him with a bitter smile, causing the man to let out a long sigh as he looked at the ground.


    "Well then¡­ more work for me, I guess." Staying silent for a bit, William eventually decided to part ways with Valyr after that, wanting to make sure the vige was ready for the next influx of yers.


    With him thanking the young man once more, Valyr watched as William slowly disappeared from his field of vision, forcing the young man to briefly look up at the starry sky above him.


    Then, after a bit of silence, the young man stood up just like the man before, seemingly having made up his mind on something.


    "¡­I guess it''s only right that I work through the night if the vige leader''s working as well."


    With that in mind, he swiftly activated [sh of the Azure Dragon], allowing his body to be enveloped with the silhouette of an azure dragon as he flew out of the vige.


    Briefly taking a look at the various groups of yers continuing to fight against the beasts outside the vige''s walls, Valyr soon headed straight towards a certain direction, wanting to make sure he wouldn''t be disturbed whatsoever.


    "Next stop¡­"


    "The inheritance."

 Chapter 1186 Tying Up Loose Ends

    Chapter 1186 Tying Up Loose Ends


    "Hmm¡­"


    "I guess here is fine."


    After moving through the air for about half an hour, Valyr faintly nodded as he looked at his surroundings.


    Whoosh!


    Then, without hesitation, he deactivated his movement skill, only to conjure a small gust of wind under his feet just as he was a few meters away from hitting the ground.


    Thud.


    Although he felt a slight pain from having fallen from such a height, the young man endured through it as he took another look at his surroundings.


    "Yeah." Pushing his perception to its limits, Valyr eventually nodded once more as he made sure that a vast wilderness surrounded him.


    By the time he confirmed that neither yers nor other people would catch wind of what he was doing, it was only then did the young man faintly let out a sigh of relief, conjuring a rift in front of him soon after. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Swoosh!


    Seeing that the rift would directly lead him to the courtyard making up the Gates of Enlightenment, Valyr then went ahead and stepped through it, causing both him and the rift to disappear from the wilderness a few secondster.


    Fwoosh!


    Appearing at the center of the Gates of Enlightenment''s courtyard, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he brought up the information he got from Vaughn regarding the inheritance''syout.


    Bringing up theyout of the courtyard he was currently in, Valyr soon beelined towards the ce''s material cache, briefly recalling thest time he went into that ce.


    "Aside from the Shard of Defiance I got from the deepest parts of that cache, I''ve got to say that the spatial bracelet I have might be the best thing I got from there."


    ncing at the spatial bracelet he wore with a slight chuckle, the young man arrived at the entrance to the material cache a couple of minutester, going through all of the other things he took from the cache along the way.


    Once there, the barrier guarding the entrance disappeared before Valyr could move closer, causing him to chuckle for a bit before letting out a calming sigh.


    With hisposure regained, it was only then did the young man enter the cache, briefly reminding himself of the reason why he decided to enter the inheritance in the first ce.


    "Although I didn''t get a close look on the equipment thest time I came here, if my memory serves me correctly, the pieces of equipment near the end of the cache are more than enough to catch Julian''s eye."


    Back when he was stillpleting forging quotas for the war, the thought of the equipment in the Enlightenment Material Cache popped up in the young man''s mind.


    With that, by the time he finished one of these quotas, he went ahead and asked Julian in a roundabout way if it was possible to bring them over.


    Fortunately for him, Julian more or less approved it, considering that the only problem they had with the entire thing was cksmiths buying equipment from other cksmiths toplete their own forging quotas.


    And thus, Valyr reminded himself to head to the inheritance some time to grab those pieces of equipment and give them to Julian for him to distribute.


    However, with how there were many things going on or how he was upied by other things up to the point yers arrived in Veldanyr, the young man was left with no choice but to push the thought further and further down the line.


    Though, with his only remaining obligation nowadays being the management of the shop he built back in Daffors Vige, Valyr had pretty much given himself more than enough time to retrieve the equipment from the inheritance.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Skipping over the section that used to contain dry goods and rations while he and others explored the inheritance, the young man eventually arrived at the section containing all of the equipment he passed through, his eyes widening at the sheer number that was avable.


    Grinning at the thought that he''d be able to give Julian a surprise, Valyr soon went ahead and scanned all of the equipment surrounding him with [Superior Analysis], checking to see if they matched the criteria he''d been given in the past.


    Then, once he made sure the equipment matched the criteria, it was only then did he chuck it into his spatial bracelet.


    Then again, it also signaled the start of his equipment grabbing spree.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Like a steam lotive, the speed at which Valyr grabbed the equipment from the shelves was slow at first.


    However, as he slowly got into more and more of a rhythm, the speed at which equipment entered his spatial bracelet got faster and faster, causing his hands to gradually turn into a blur.


    Eventually, he reached a perfect bnce between speed and quality, which gave him the ability to deprive the shelves surrounding him of their equipment in just a matter of seconds.


    With that speed, it only took an hour or so for the section of basic equipment to have most of its contents disappear, allowing him to approach the section of more powerful equipment with the speed he built up through the process.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Then again, with how all of the equipment in the section met the criteria Julian gave him back then, it went without saying that the speed at which Valyr moved reached greater heights than ever before, turning himself into what others might call a miniature storm.


    Nevertheless, he still made sure to be gentle with the equipment he put into his spatial bracelet, reminding himself that tens of thousands of years had passed since they werest used by other people.


    "Phew." In the end, it took a bit over two hours for him to clean most of the equipment sections within the material cache, a time that Valyr was pretty satisfied with.


    "One cache down, two more caches to go."


    After giving himself some time to catch his breath, the young man thought about heading back to the entrance at the fastest speed he could muster.


    Though, before he could even push his legs to their very limits, another thought surfaced within the young man''s mind, prompting curiosity to appear on his face as he conjured a rift in front of him.


    "¡­Huh. That worked?" Seeing that the rift in front of him had the ability to send him directly to the entrance of the Gates of Ascension''s material cache, the young man inwardly let out a faint sigh before stepping forward, disappearing from where he stood not long after.


    "Who knew my authority in this ce was more powerful than I thought?"


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    By the time Valyr was finished going through all of the material caches the inheritance had to offer him, the young man did not hesitate to conjure a rift that would lead him back to where he stood.


    "¡­Had a feeling this would be the case." Though, by the time he got out, the hurried feeling Valyr felt when he got out disappeared without a trace once he saw the sun beginning to set.


    "¡­Damn." Bitterly smiling as he continued to watch the sky turn from blue to orange, the young man went ahead and brought up a screen in front of him to find out how much time had passed while he was in the inheritance.


    In the end, he found out that almost two days had passed by in Veldanyr while he was there.


    "Man." Letting out a low sigh at the answer he received, Valyr briefly thought back to how quickly he was moving by the end of his equipment grabbing spree.


    "Ah, whatever." Though, after reminding himself that the time ratio between Veldanyr and the inheritance was absurd the first time he was there, the young man decided not to think about it any further, finding the fact that he''d achieved what he set out to do more important.


    With that, he instead began to wonder whether or not the yers were swarming his shop by now, especially after being gone from the vige for two days in a row. Letting out a slight chuckle at the thought, Valyr decided to make the most of the time he unintentionally gave himself as he went ahead and activated [Flight of the Azure Dragon], heading straight to the nearest town that had a branch of the cksmith Guild.


    After making sure he was heading in the direction of a town with the help of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], it was only then did he bring up a screen in front of him to send a message to Julian.


    Getting the feeling that even Julian would have been updated on the fact that yers were appearing in droves in the viges by now, Valyr decided to stay away from the topic as much as possible, merely giving a heads-up that he was dropping by the guild for something special.


    Though Julian did ask him for more information on why he was dropping by after that, Valyr was able to let out a faint sigh of relief after seeing that the man did not continue their discussion any further.


    "Damn it." However, just as relief began to appear on Valyr''s face, annoyance began to rece it not even a minuteter as Julian sent back a message of his own, asking him a couple of questions as to what was going on back in Daffors Vige.


    After going back and forth between a few scenarios in his mind, the young man was forced to give a perfunctory response to him in the end before closing up his screen, letting out a long sigh the moment he did.


    "¡­I think I''m gonna have a headache after this."

 Chapter 1187 Giving A Massive Gift

    Chapter 1187 Giving A Massive Gift


    Whoosh!


    Although he made sure to distance himself as far as possible from both yers and other people when he entered the rift, Valyr surprisingly did not take too long to find a town that had a branch of the cksmith Guild.


    Making great use of his identity as Ylvar, it only took a few more minutes after entering the town he found for him to make use of the guild''s Teleportation Hall, with the leader of the branch even going so far as to help him out in the process.


    With that, it was around the start of nighttime when the young man had arrived at the Algerie Kingdom branch of the cksmith Guild, his appearance causing the staff member guarding the Teleportation Hall to widen his eyes in disbelief. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "You''re¡­ that¡­" For a brief moment, the staff member looked at Valyr with his mouth agape, his expression seemingly asking thetter as to whether or not he was dreaming.


    With a slight chuckle, Valyr responded back by telling the man to make sure his appearance within the guild would not leak out, only to then switch into the other identity he made to hide his identity as Ylvar.


    "I suppose I could trust you on this one, no?" Giving himself a bit of time to adjust to his current appearance, the young man was immediately greeted by a barrage of nods from the staff member in response to the question.


    Thanking the man after that, it was only then did Valyr make his way to Julian''s workshop, radiating a bit of his aura the moment he was there.


    "You''re finally here." Sensing a familiar aurae from the entrance of the workshop, the expression on Julian''s face quickly turned into a smile once he realized it was Valyr visiting him. "I thought you''d take a bit longer, actually."


    "I was actually near a town when I sent you that message," replied Valyr back with a smile of his own. "In any case, you already know the reason why I came here."


    At those words, Julian nodded. "You told me you had something special to give me?"


    "I do." Grinning as he nodded back, Valyr went ahead and tossed one of the spatial bracelets he was wearing to him. "Take a look inside."


    "Hmm?" Curious, Julian looked at the young man for a bit before shifting his focus towards the spatial bracelet, opening it.


    "Wait¡­ this is¡­?!" At the very moment the man opened up the spatial bracelet, he was instantly greeted by the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of weapons and armor, all of them more than ready to be distributed throughout the frontlines.


    "And that''s not all." Watching Julian''s eyes widen in disbelief from the contents of the spatial bracelet, Valyr let out a slight chuckle before tossing yet another spatial bracelet to him.


    Receiving the second spatial bracelet from the young man, the man only felt further disbelief once he found out that it was also filled to the brim with usable equipment.


    "This¡­" Giving himself some time to regain his bearings, Julian took in a deep breath before looking back at Valyr with great curiosity on his face. "How many pieces of equipment is this even in total?"


    "I''d say 500 pieces in total, give or take?" replied the young man back, which only made the man feel the urge to faint there and then.


    However, at the moment a slight chuckle escaped Valyr''s lips, Julian was forced to regain hisposure, getting the feeling that the young man in front of him still had more to show.


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Considering that he''d already received tons of equipment from the young man, it did not take much time for Julian toe up with his next question. "You still have more equipment?"


    In response, Valyr grinned at him, causing his urge to faint there and then to swiftly return at that very moment.


    Though, just like before, Julian was forced to maintainposure once more as he noticed that the young man still had something to say to him.


    In the end, he let out a faint sigh as he looked at Valyr. After that, he asked him the question that''s been nagging him at the back of his mind.


    "Where did you even get your hand on this much equipment?"


    As this question escaped his mouth, Julian thought Valyr got ess to some treasure trove or found some abandoned equipment cache near the outskirts of the vige he decided to stay in.


    Yet, the answer he got was neither of those.


    "The Four Pirs'' Inheritance," replied Valyr, giving Julian a brief exnation on the material cache that was inside the inheritance.


    "If that''s the case¡­" Though it wasn''t the answer he was expecting, such an answer was more than enough for Julian to understand what was going on.


    However¡­


    "But how did you ess the inheritance again even though you''ve already left? I thought the inheritance can only be essed once every decade?"


    At that question, Valyr exined to him that passing the trials of the inheritance gave them to opportunity to return to the ces where material caches were at any time.


    Unfortunately, it was only a one-time opportunity, the young man wanted to make the most out of that opportunity.


    "And a couple days was the time I made the most out of that only opportunity," said the young man, his expression that of slight sadness.


    "¡­" For a while after that, Julian went silent, looking at the two spatial bracelets Valyr gave to him.


    Then, with a low exhale, he looked at the young man with gratitude in his eyes, telling him that the cksmith Guild now owed them a great favor for his contribution.


    "Just so you know, the 500 pieces of equipment you''ve given me are enough to give all of the cksmiths within the various guild branches a couple days of rest," said Julian as he stood up, briefly asking Valyr about the remaining equipment he''d yet to give.


    In response, the young man told him that he had no more spare spatial bracelets with him, prompting the two of them to make their way to the guild storage as Julian gave him an extra spatial bracelet as thanks.


    "Say, Valyr¡­" While the young man wasparing the space within the spatial bracelet Julian gave him to the one he got from the inheritance, the man beside him looked at him with curiosity.


    "How many pieces of equipment did you get from the inheritance in total?"


    "Hmm¡­" Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr soon let out a faint chuckle. "If we include the 500 pieces of equipment I just gave you¡­"


    "Around 1,800 pieces of equipment, perhaps?"


    Thud!


    "¡­Julian? You good?"


    "¡­Did¡­ did he just faint from what I said?"

 Chapter 1188 Center of Attention

    Chapter 1188 Center of Attention


    Whoosh!


    "¡­Yeah. I think that''s thest of it."


    Retrieving what looked to be a metal shield from his spatial bracelet, Valyr tossed the shield into therge pile of items beside him before letting out a faint sigh of relief.


    Seeing Julian in front of him turn frozen from the sheer number of equipment he brought out, the young man faintly recalled the incident from earlier before giving him a light tap on the shoulder.


    "Hmm? Oh." Fortunately, that was more than enough to snap Julian back to reality, with the man looking at Valyr with a slightly apologetic smile. "That''s all of it, right?"


    "That''s all of it, yes." Valyr nodded back, briefly checking on the contents of his spatial bracelet to see if he missed anything.


    Though, after seeing that the only pieces of equipment left in his spatial bracelet were the ones he got from clearing the inheritance''s trials, the young man soon returned his attention back to Julian as he faintly smiled.


    With their purpose in the guild''s storage now fulfilled, the two soon made their way back to Julian''s private workshop, giving Valyr a bit of time to think about a couple of things as the man beside him was busymunicating with the guild''s staff.


    ''I''m surprised that I was able to gather almost 2,000 pieces of equipment from those two caches,'' thought Valyr to himself. ''After all, with how much time has passed, most of them should''ve turned to dust already.''


    ''Then again, if I also include the pieces of equipment I didn''t grab since they didn''t meet the criteria, the number of equipment would''ve definitely reached over 2,000.''


    By the time Valyr was finished gathering all of the equipment within the Gates of Enlightenment''s material cache, the number of equipment he''d gathered was around 1,400 pieces.


    On the other hand, the material cache within the Gates of Ascension only amounted to about 400 pieces, though it made up for it with the fact that all of the equipment there were of higher quality and rarity.


    Naturally, with the concept of the Triad Gates existing within the inheritance, it went without saying that Valyr also took a look at the Gates of Transcendence to see if it had a material cache.


    However, unlike the time when he grabbed skills from the Gates of Transcendence, there were no material cache to speak of, nor any pieces of equipment that could be found whatsoever.


    ''Well, Vaughn did say the Gates of Transcendence was just a ce in name,'' murmured Valyr to himself, only for a different thought to surface in his mind. ''Speaking of which¡­ should I grab the skills from the skill pavilions?''


    Recalling how most, if not all the yers that visited shop wanted to get their hands on [Analysis] after Valyr showed them how much more information the skill gave them, the young man was briefly reminded of the skill pavilions in the inheritance.


    ''Nah, there''s no need for that.'' However, after mulling over the thought for a bit, Valyr eventually decided not to pursue the matter any further. ''Though it would definitely put me into the good graces of the yers if I do it, I''d be worsening the rtionship I have with the vige in exchange.''


    ''Yeah¡­ it''s definitely better to entertain the idea after I establish my organization instead.''


    ¡­


    By the time the two returned to the workshop, it was no surprise that Julian began to talk about how Valyr was doing back in the vige he went to, especially with the appearance of the yers thanks to the version update.


    Though he had a feeling that the man was asking him such a question for a different reason, the young man decided to be oblivious to it, considering that the active aid of one of the ss guilds would definitely increase the speed at which yers got stronger.


    And thus, he gave Julian a brief but thorough overview of what the yers were like when they first appeared, talking about how they seemed more than eager to get stronger through any means possible.


    Of course, Valyr also noticed the man''s eyes widening in slight surprise when he heard from him that they had less of a need for sleep.


    "Well, they''d still need sleep after some time," said the young man, recalling how often he and other yers spent days without any sleep in the game back then. "But they definitely have more endurance in that regard."


    "¡­I see."


    Thankfully, that was more than enough to pique Julian''s interest, allowing Valyr to inwardly let out a wide sigh of relief the moment they decided to part ways.


    "You''ve really helped the cksmith Guild out with the equipment you''ve given us." Escorting Valyr to the guild''s Teleportation Hall, Julian gave the young man a few more words of gratitude.


    "If you ever need anything from the guild, just send me a message. We''ll try our best to fulfill it."


    "Anything, you say?" Hearing those words, a random thought popped up in Valyr''s mind, causing a faint smile to appear on his face.


    "If that''s the case, then¡­"


    Listening to the words that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Julian''s expression underwent various changes in a matter of seconds, going from shock to surprise before eventuallynding on disbelief.


    By the time Valyr was done listing down what he wanted, the man had a great urge to ask him in return as to what he wanted them for.


    Unfortunately, before the question could even leave his mouth¡­ The young man had already disappeared from his field of vision.


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    "With Julian taking care of those, I suppose it won''t be long before I can upgrade my True Wyvern Armor to the next tier."


    Appearing in Leivard Town once more through their cksmith Guild''s Teleportation Hall, Valyr activated both [sh of the Azure Dragon] and [Azure Dragon Soaring Skies] the moment he left, reminding himself that two days had passed while he was in the inheritance.


    Whoosh!


    "I wonder if they''ve forgotten about me." Moving through the skies at great speeds, Valyr thought out loud as he murmured to himself. "I''ve only met up with the yers for one day so far, after all."


    "Considering the difference in time between here and Earth, yers only had like three hours to find the shop and interact with me." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Add on the fact that I''ve spent the next two days after that in the inheritance, I wouldn''t be surprised if many of them changed their thoughts as to what kind of NPC I am."


    "Well, whatever their impression of me turns out to be, I''ll try to turn it into something positive."


    Letting out a long exhale at the thought, the young man soon focused all of his attention towards heading back to Daffors Vige as quickly as possible, allowing his speed to go up by one more notch because of it.


    With that, it took far less time for the young man than before to arrive at the entrance to the vige, immediately noticing therge number of yers moving around the outskirts of the vige for monsters to hunt.


    Moving past these groups of yers, Valyr began to make his way to his shop as he thought about preparing something special in order for yers to return their attention to him.


    Though, by the time he got there, those thoughts disappeared from his mind, especially after noticing that a lot of yers were loitering around the area, all of them seemingly waiting for his shop to open.


    "This is¡­"

 Chapter 1189 Word of Mouth

    Chapter 1189 Word of Mouth


    ''I wonder when it will open¡­''


    Having loitered around the Forge of Beginnings for almost the entire day already, impatience inevitably began to appear on Belial''s face, considering that the time they''ve spent waiting could''ve been used to obtain more XP and money instead.


    However, rather than submit to the urge he felt to head back to the wilderness with Tianshen and the others, he instead continued to wait for Valyr to appear, getting the feeling that it''ll happen at some point.


    ''I suppose Valyr was just an NPC made to catch our attention?'' Of course, with over two days having already passed with the shop still remaining closed, it went without saying that Belial slowly began to lose hope in the idea.


    Then again, that was because he wasn''t the only one waiting around the area for the Forge of Beginnings to open.


    "¡­Hey, Belial." Leaning on the walls of a nearby house, a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman looked at Belial with a hint of annoyance.


    "Hmm? What''s up, Moonlight?"


    "You sure waiting for this shop to open is worth spending most of our time?"


    Hearing the question that left her mouth, Belial wryly smiled in response, ncing at the others for a bit to see their opinions on the matter.


    Considering that he was the one who apanied him back when they entered the Forge of Beginnings the first time, it went without saying that Tianshen was more than ready to spend enough time waiting for Valyr to appear.


    However, as the only other person in their group to have not seen what kind of items Valyr sold in his shop, Avaris also began to feel a bit of impatience, even though he tried his best to not make it as obvious like Moonlight did.


    Briefly thinking back to the time when the four of them finally gathered together, Belial recalled how the four of them immediately made their way to the outskirts of the vige, fighting against both monsters and yers in order to rack up enough XP to level up.


    With all of them being part of the Five Leviathans, it was no surprise that many of the yers gave way to them, allowing them to umte both XP and money far faster than the other yers.


    Thus, by the end of the first day, the four of them were able to get their hands on a few pieces of basic equipment with the money they earned, buying them from the vige smithy that Belial and Tianshen nned to head to first.


    The routine they did on the second day wasn''t that much different from what they did during the first day, spending most of their time killing the monsters and beasts loitering around the vige to gain experience.


    With them showcasing the pinnacle talent of what yers had to offer, it was no surprise that the four of them were able to amass more than enough XP to reach the peak of Rank 0 in the span of the first two days.


    In fact, the amount of XP they amassed was enough for them to ascend to their Rank 1 sses if they so wanted to.


    Aside from that, they saved up more than enough money throughout the two days to outfit themselves head to toe with the equipment they would need.


    However, with the final member of their group, Astra_Aeterna, still not logged into the game due to logistic issues, the four postponed the idea of outfitting themselves with equipment, as well as tackling the only dungeon that was avable to them for the meantime.


    Because they wouldn''t have issues ascending to a Rank 1 ss within the first day of the game being opened to the public, the four decided to take it easy for a bit, which both Belial and Tianshen took as an opportunity to talk about the shop they visited while waiting for the other two to arrive.


    Of course, both Moonlight and Avaris'' interests were piqued after hearing how amazing the items in the shop were from the two of them. And so, the four of them decided to wait for the shop to open, thinking that it''d be best if they were to enter the dungeon fully outfitted with the equipment Valyr had to offer.


    ''Yet, even though we''ve been waiting here for the entire day, there are no traces of him to be found.'' Faintly letting out a sigh at the thought of their waiting being all for naught, Belial thought that now was probably the right time to shift their focus back to what was more important.


    After all, neither he nor the others were the leader of the group. If anything, any suggestion or decision they made had to keep the others in mind.


    Fortunately, as if the heavens had rewarded the four of them for their efforts, an ordinary-looking NPC began to make his way to the Forge of Beginnings all of a sudden, arousing the interest of a few yers within the vicinity.


    Wondering if the NPC was just like them and were hoping to buy some equipment from Valyr''s shop, those thoughts immediately disappeared when he began to let out a chuckle at the sight.


    "I apologize for having all of you wait for so long." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Whoosh!


    Before their very eyes, the NPC began to gradually change in appearance, slowly turning into someone that almost every yer within the vicinity had recognized by now.


    "Is that¡­"


    "That''s¡­ Valyr, right?"


    "He looks like the one in the forums¡­"


    "Am I¡­ dreaming¡­?"


    Simr to the reactions everyone else had towards Valyr''s appearance, Belial was also left at a loss for words when the young man appeared in front of them all of a sudden.


    Looking at the three that came along with him, it was no surprise that the three were shocked as well, not expecting Valyr to appear in such a manner.


    Though, before Belial and the others had the opportunity to calm themselves down and regain their bearings, the next words that came out of the young man''s mouth caused them to feel even greater shock.


    "I had to do some errands when I closed up shop for the first day, but who knew it''d end up taking longer than I thought it would?"


    "In any case, I really am sorry for making you all wait."


    "Because of that, I''ll be opening up shop for tonight."


    "But just this once."


    ¡­


    "Woooooooo!!!"


    "Yeah, baby!!! That''s what I''ve been waiting for!!! That''s what it''s all about!!!"


    "Let''s goooo!!!"


    Of course, with Valyr making such an announcement, it went without saying that all of the yers waiting for the shop to open reacted positively, causing cheers to erupt throughout the area for quite some time.


    Letting out a slight chuckle at the reactions he got, the young man thanked everyone for waiting for him before proceeding to open the shop for the yers.


    Telling everyone to wait near the entrance for the meantime, Valyr quickly tidied up the shop as he used the opportunity he gave himself to take a look at what was going on in the forums.


    ''The yers wouldn''t be loitering around here for no reason.'' As this thought popped up in his mind, the young man quickly scrolled through the forum posts, eventually finding his answer in the form of a popr thread.


    "There''s a unique NPC in Daffors Vige named Valyr¡­"


    Reading through the post, Valyr gradually understood how the yers interpreted his actions, specifically his actions of giving them more information on his items, as well as his actions of adding some of the yers.


    Surprisingly, the yer who made the post spected that he was some sort of guide NPC that would help yers adjust to the world of Greater Beyond more easily, causing a brief chuckle to escape his mouth once he came to that part.


    Reaching the end of the post, the yer even talked about how it was possible for NPCs to join them in their dungeon runs, reminding everyone about Valyr''s level when they had him on his friend list after that.


    With that part of the post beingid out in a way that made it easy to put two and two together, even Valyr understood what the yer was trying to say, shaking his head at the thought.


    "Unfortunately for them, they have to give me a good reason to join them first," said Valyr to himself with a faint smirk. "And even then, I have no intentions of epting any requests for the meantime."


    With him finally getting the answer to the current situation that appeared, the young man spent a bit more time cleaning up the shop for opening before finally allowing the yers to enter.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With Valyr acting as both the attendant and the guardian presiding over the shop, the yers began to enter the shop in an orderly manner, only to be greeted by the sight of various equipment and items wherever they looked.


    If it was still the first day, almost all of these yers would just be looking around to see what kind of items the shop offered, with some promising toe back when they had money to spend.


    Though, with almost three days having passed since yers first arrived at Greater Beyond, a good portion of them now had a bit of money saved up by fighting monsters, finally allowing them to purchase the items and equipment they sought to obtain.


    At the same time, Valyr was finally able to make his first sale.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Although he didn''t have much experience as an attendant back when he owned a smithy in Clossbay City, Valyr was still able to manage everything in the shop thanks to the experience he rued in his past life.


    Then again, the fact that some yers had picked up [Analysis] during the past couple of days also helped, reducing the need for him to use his own identification skill for the yers when they needed more information on the item.


    Like a well-oiled machine, Valyr continued to work throughout the night, only stopping by the time the sun peeked out of the horizon many hourster.

 Chapter 1190 Hierarchy of Purchases

    Chapter 1190 Hierarchy of Purchases


    "¡­Make sure to tell everyone what I just told you, okay?"


    "Don''t worry too much! I''ll tell them as soon as possible! Thanks again, Valyr!" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Whoosh!


    Watching the final group of yers leave his shop, Valyr continued to smile as their silhouettes slowly disappeared from his field of vision.


    "¡­Haah." Though, by the time they truly disappeared from the sight, the young man let out a long sigh, only now realizing how much he''d pushed himself throughout the night.


    "Well, it''s not all that bad," muttered Valyr to himself with a slight chuckle, returning to the shop as he decided to tidy up before closing. "I was able to add a lot more yers to my friend list than I thought."


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Making use of the translucent arms he always used while forging, the young man swiftly got to work, noting down the items that were more popr with the yers in preparation for his next opening.


    "Gotta hurry up a bit so I can get a bit more rest." Then again, as he did not want to miss out on an opportunity to further cement himself as the go-to NPC for yers when it came to items, Valyr decided that he''d open the shop againter in the afternoon.


    With multiple thoughts rted to the shop lingering in his mind, the young man slowly fell into a trance, allowing him to tidy up the shop far faster than he thought he would.


    At the same time, he went over all of the items that were sold more than usual in his mind, reminding himself to forge and concoct at least a few of them before he opened the shop sometimeter.


    "In any case, this might turn out to be more lucrative than I thought." Satisfied with the overall condition of the shop, Valyr began to make his way out of the shop with a faint smile, briefly thinking back to the sales he made throughout the night.


    Although the amount of money he earned was nowhere near the amount he used to earn back when he was still in Clossbay City, it was still more than enough for him to spend wantonly in the vige if he wanted to do so.


    ''All in all, I earned about 15 gold coins from these yers,'' thought Valyr to himself, slightly grinning as he locked the door to the shop. ''Pretty good, considering most of them only bought a couple things from the shop.''


    ''With the number of yers still increasing, as well as their average level, it won''t be long before I match the amount I used to make back at Clossbay.''


    ''Especially if I take the other services I offer into consideration.''


    After constantly interacting with the yers for the entire night, Valyr was able to ssify them down into five groups of spending.


    The first group to him would be those that acted simrly to Belial and Tianshen during the first day the shop was open. In other words, these people were window shoppers, merely looking around the shop to figure out what they''d buy in the future.


    On the other hand, the second and third group would be those that bought items from his shop. However, with the amount of money they''ve earned from the past few days, they were only able to buy either a couple pieces of equipment, or a few vials of potions.


    ''Doesn''t help that there''s a hierarchy forming around the yers based on one''s strength,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself, shrugging as he thought of it as a matter of course.


    Though most of the people that entered his shop were part of the second and third group, there were also yers who he ssified as those in the fourth and fifth group.


    Those in the fourth group all had the funds to buy an entire set of equipment from him. If they didn''t buy an entire set of equipment, then they would buy a mix of equipment and potions instead.


    From what Valyr could tell, almost all of these yers were part of organizations, with most of them being part of mid-sized organizations he knew from the other VRMMORPGs in the past.


    Then again, there were also solo yers who were able to enter this fourth group, prompting Valyr to show no hesitation in sending them the friend request he''d more or less be associated with.


    As for the fifth and final group of yers to enter his shop, only a single group was fitting for that ssification in Valyr''s mind.


    "The Five Leviathans¡­"


    Simr to the fourth group, the Five Leviathans all bought sets of equipment from him, reminding everyone that they did not obtain their current titles for nothing.


    However, aside from each of them buying a full set of equipment, they also bought a couple sets of vials, as well as made use of Valyr''s extra services of equipment enhancement.


    "It won''t be long until they make up a majority of the profits I earn from this shop," said the young man to himself with a slight chuckle.


    "Then again, with how the materials I use in the items are all free... I''m only making pure profit from this."


    Formting a rough idea of what he''d do after getting some rest, Valyr decided to make his way to the vige''s inn, hoping to rent a room there to get some rest for the night.


    Though, just as he was about to start heading in the direction of the vige''s only inn, a middle-aged man appeared in front of him all of a sudden.


    "Er¡­ can I talk with you for a bit, Ylvar?"


    "Hmm?" Raising his eyebrow in response to the question, Valyr remained silent as he looked at the man from head to toe.


    If he were toe up with a person that resembled the man in front of him the closest, the young man felt that Julian was the closest to the man in terms of structure and appearance.


    However, unlike Julian, the man''s hair was a strong dark brown rather than the red-orange Julian had. He also sported a long and scruffy beard that made him faintly give off a fatherly vibe.


    As for the man''s eyes, Valyr thought that they resembled amethysts in a way, glistening with wisdom under the rays of the sun.


    Taking into consideration the man''s callused hands, as well as the weathered leather apron the man wore, it did not take long for Valyr to realize who he was talking to, causing a wry smile to appear on his face as he nodded.


    "Is this about the situation with the smithy?" he asked in response, knowing that his shop redirected most, if not all of the attention away from the man''s smithy.


    Seeing the man nod in reply, Valyr felt his insides sink a bit, wondering if the man was mad at him.


    "Well, there is a bit of that¡­ but I have something else to talk about."


    Though, as the man continued to talk, he slowly began to realize that¡­


    The man was probably not as mad as he initially thought.


    "Can I¡­ can I learn cksmithing from you?"

 Chapter 1191 A Lucrative Deal

    Chapter 1191 A Lucrative Deal


    "Can you¡­ huh?" As the man looked at him with a slight twinkle in his eyes, Valyr gave a confused look to the man in response. "Where did thate from?"


    Hearing those words, the man looked back at him with a smile that made it seem as if he''d been caught red-handed. Of course, as he had no idea nor clue to the reason behind their current conversation, such a smile only left Valyr more confused than before.


    Fortunately, the man picked up on what Valyr was feeling, swiftly giving thetter an exnation behind the reason why he wanted to learn cksmithing from him.


    Though, by the time the man was done with his exnation, the young man still found it slightly absurd.


    "So, you''re saying that you want to learn cksmithing from me¡­ just because you watched me forge items one time? Haven''t you already learned cksmithing from someone else?"


    "I did." The man nodded, getting the feeling that Valyr was going to reject him from the tone he spoke. "But the way of cksmithing I learned pales inparison to the world you showed me that day."


    At those words, the man briefly thought back to the time both he and William entered Valyr''s shop, only to find thetter forging multiple items at the same time.


    Though most of it was a blur due to the massive difference in their stats, the man was more than certain that Valyr had touched upon a realm of cksmithing he dreamed of achieving in his entire life.


    Then again, that was also the reason why he requested to learn how to forge from the young man.


    "¡­Man." Getting the feeling that the middle-aged man in front of him wouldn''t stop until he got a yes from him, Valyr briefly pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a faint sigh.


    Then, returning his focus back to the man, the young man faintly let out yet another sigh. "And here I thought you came up to me to talk about the thing with the smithy."


    "After all, my shop has been taking away a lot of the attention your smithy would have been getting," continued Valyr, feeling a bit guilty that he was encroaching upon another person''s livelihood. "A lot of those guys need equipment, after all."


    "Well, you wouldn''t be wrong," replied the man, backpedaling for a bit as he continued on the topic Valyr brought up. "I would be lying if I said I was happy about the situation."


    "¡­Then again, I would also be lying if I said I was angry about the situation either."


    Saying those words, the man began to exin what happened at his smithy during the two days Valyr was out of the vige.


    Unsurprisingly, with the young man''s shop closed, most of the yers began to swarm the man''s smithy instead for equipment, wanting to use the money they''ve earned from doing various jobs to improve their individual strengths.


    Of course, this situation forced the man to interact with a customer base that was at least tens to hundreds of timesrger than he would usually deal with, allowing him to earn far more money than he would in a month in less than a day.


    However, although there was a part of him that felt satisfied and wanted the situation to continue, the man felt overwhelmed for the most part since he was not used to handling so many people at once.


    "I guess that''s also the reason why I came to meet you." The man looked at him with a wry smile. "From what I''ve heard beforeing here, you''ve been dealing with the yers for the entire night."


    At those words, Valyr faintly nodded, the gears in his mind turning as he pondered over everything he and the man talked about so far.


    ''First and foremost, he wants to learn how to forge from me. Although I don''t really mind, I still feel a bit guilty for cutting into the profits his smithy would''ve earned if I hadn''t set up shop in this vige.''


    ''I wonder if there''s some sort of middle ground we could agree upon¡­'' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr soon felt his thoughts click into ce all of a sudden, prompting him to look at the man with excitement.


    "Hmm?" Noticing how Valyr was looking at him, the man raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity, oblivious to the thoughts in the former''s mind.


    Fortunately, the young man did not take long to satiate the man''s curiosity, opening his mouth soon after. "You said you want to learn cksmithing from me, right?"


    "Yeah?" The man nodded, unsure of what Valyr was getting at. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Well, let''s say I agree," replied Valyr, causing the man to look at him in disbelief.


    Though, just before thetter could voice out his excitement, Valyr raised his hand to tell him that he wasn''t finished. "I teach you how to forge, but in exchange, you''ll be doing something for me."


    "And that something would be?" the man asked back.


    "Managing my shop with me," replied the young man with a serious expression, prompting the man to mull over it for a bit.


    Seeing the man in a pensive state, Valyr decided to strike while the iron was hot. "Of course, I''m not expecting you to always help me out in managing the shop. After all, you have your own smithy to take care of."


    "All I ask for is for you to manage the shop in my stead whenever I''m away," continued the young man, causing the man to look at him in response. "If possible, I''d also like to get your help whenever there''s more people in the shop than I can handle."


    "In exchange, not only will I teach you how to forge just like you asked, but also give you a share of the profits for the days you help me."


    "How much of a share are you nning on giving me?" asked the man in response, eliciting a faint smile to appear on Valyr''s face.


    "How much is fine for you?"


    "Is 80-20 too much? After all, you''d also be teaching me cksmithing."


    "Nah, that''s fine. 80-20 was actually a bit lower than I thought you''d ask for."


    "No need to give me more, I already feel guilty for asking this much from you out of the blue." The man shook his head.


    "Well, that settles it." Valyr nodded as he extended his hand out. "I teach you cksmithing and give you part of the profits, you help me tend to the shop from time to time."


    "Do we have a deal?"


    At the question, the man looked at Valyr for a bit, only to then shift his gaze towards his extended hand soon after.


    "We have a deal." Eventually, the man reciprocated the action, shaking Valyr''s hands as he began to grin.


    "I''m sure you know me more as Ylvar, but I''d like it if you were to call me Valyr from now on."


    "Juno. The name''s Juno. d to be working with you."


    "d to be working with you as well. To a fruitful partnership."


    "To a fruitful partnership, indeed."

 Chapter 1192 Doing What Shouldve Been Done

    Chapter 1192 Doing What Should''ve Been Done


    Although he initially nned on getting some rest before opening up shop, Valyr decided to postpone his rest toter in the day, considering that he still had enough energy to move about for the entire day.


    Other than that, with him establishing a partnership with Juno, he wanted to improve his rtionship with the man to a certain extent. After all, the man in front of him would be the one managing his shop while he was away.


    If anything, having another person take care of shop while he was away was the main reason why he epted Juno''s request of learning from him.


    Though he was more than certain that the yers came to his shop in order to forge connections with him, having his shop still be open without him being there added a bit of grandeur to his identity.


    ''Killing two birds with one stone, if I do say so myself,'' thought Valyr as he inwardly chuckled at the conclusion he came up with earlier.


    Briefly shaking his head after that, Valyr then led Juno into his shop, thinking that the best way to show his sincerity in their partnership was to fulfill his side of the bargain.


    With that, it went without saying that the two of them headed directly to the workshop portion of the building, theyout of which left Juno at a slight loss for words.


    Looking at the various forging tools Valyr used whenever he forged an item, Juno felt a slight greed to grab the items for himself after realizing they were of a far higher quality than the tools he used in his smithy.


    Of course, the man knowingly restrained himself, reminding himself that the man he was learning from was someone who''d reached a higher realm of cksmithing than him.


    And thus, with an eager spirit and an open mind, the man spent the next few hours with Valyr, attentively listening to everything thetter had to say about the world of cksmithing.


    Naturally, as cksmithing was mostly practical and empirical in nature, Valyr had him forge a couple of items here and there to gauge how far he was in the path of cksmithing.


    Though, because of that, Juno was eventually made to realize that although he had the skills and knowhow of the cksmith, his foundation as a cksmith was a bitcking inparison.


    Deciding to focus on shoring up the man''s weaknesses, Valyr earnestly taught Juno all he''d learned from cksmithing in both of his lives, even going so far as to forge a new anvil and forging hammer for the man.


    Although he had done that in order to make Juno realize that he still had a long way to go if he wanted to reach the level of cksmithing Valyr had achieved, Valyr also did it to show the man areas where he could readily improve.


    Fortunately for Valyr, Juno was more than open to listen to all suggestions he had, allowing the man to improve his forging skills to a level that allowed him to stand above normal vige cksmiths. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Then again,pared to the cksmiths he''d interacted with in the towns and cities, Valyr felt that Juno was still a fair distance away from reaching their level.


    Nevertheless, considering the amount of time he''d spent teaching Juno the foundations of cksmithing, the young man knew that it was only a matter of time before the man would reach that level on his own.


    In fact, he wouldn''t be surprised if the man went beyond that and became a renowned cksmith himself.


    ''¡­That would definitely make Daffors Vige all the more interesting.''


    By the time Valyr was done teaching Juno, it was already noon.


    Seeing that he only had an hour or so left before he had to open the shop for the yers once more, Valyr went to the restaurant with Juno to grab a quick bite, suggesting to thetter to manage the shop with him around.


    Thankfully, Juno was amenable to the idea, feeling that it was only right to return the goodwill the young man had shown him thus far.


    With that, for the next seven hours or so, both Juno and Valyr worked together to manage the massive influx of yers that entered thetter''s shop, slowly but surely raking up a profit that left Juno at a loss for words.


    At the same time, the number of items remaining in the shop began to dwindle the more yers entered, causing Valyr to bitterly smile as he thought about the conversation he had with thest group of yers from before.


    ''I suppose they made use of the forum to its fullest.''


    Though he knew the current situation left him no choice but to spend some time forging equipment and concocting potions to replenish his stock, Valyr still felt satisfied when he found out he made double the profit he did just earlier.


    After giving Juno his share of profit from the day, the two of them soon went on their separate ways, with Valyr heading to the vige''s inn for the night.


    "Now that I think about it, I should''ve made the building with a sleeping quarters in mind."


    Pushing the thought that popped up in his mind at the back of his head, Valyr soon dozed off into thend of sleep, feeling all of the exhaustion he''d built up over the past few days gradually disappear.


    ¡­


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    "¡­And I suppose that''s enough to replenish stock for today." Finishing up thest piece of equipment he nned on selling for today, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief as he looked at the man that was watching him work this whole time.


    Slightly grinning, he then asked him, "I suppose you learned a thing or two from that?"


    "I think?" Juno let out a slight chuckle, scratching his cheek in uncertainty. "Anyways, you said you''re gonna head out again?"


    "I am." Valyr nodded, storing all of his forging tools back into his spatial bracelet. "Which is why I made all of these items beforehand."


    "Would it take you as long as before for you toe back?" asked Juno to make sure, considering that there was a possibility for the previous incident to happen again.


    "It won''t take me that long." Of course, Valyr assured him otherwise. "Best case scenario, I return within the day. Worst case scenario, I return the next day."


    At those words, Juno could only let out a slight sigh. "You''re really making use of this partnership to its full potential."


    "As if you''re not," replied Valyr with a chuckle, beginning to head out of the shop soon after. "Keep an eye on the shop for me, will you?"


    "I will." Juno nodded.


    "Safe travels.

 Chapter 1193 Obtaining the Final Piece

    Chapter 1193 Obtaining the Final Piece


    "It''s been a long while since I''vest arrived at this ce."


    Whoosh!


    Appearing once more at the center of the cksmith Guild''s Teleportation Hall, Valyr looked around his surroundings for a bit before ncing at the staff member looking back at him.


    Seeing how she was staring at him ever since he appeared within the hall, the young man softly let out a chuckle as he shed a faint smile at her, causing the young woman''s legs to turn soft for a brief moment.


    Letting out yet another chuckle at her reaction, Valyr went ahead and changed his appearance to the other identity he began to use more often, telling the woman after that to keep it a secret from others.


    After making sure that any word of what he did would not leak outside the guild, it was only then did the young man leave the guild, allowing him to see the entirety of Anadhar City once more.


    "¡­Ahh." Taking in a deep breath of the air within the city, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he recalled the overallyout of the city within his mind.


    Then, hastening his movement speed by activating [sh of the Azure Dragon], he then went ahead and made his way to the city''s entertainment district, grinning at the thought of the man that appeared in his mind.


    "It''s been a while since Ist saw Jekyll," muttered Valyr to himself, thinking back to the couple times he''d met the man in the past.


    The first time he met the man was back when he apanied Wells to his family manor in the city.


    Though, after thinking about it for a bit more, he remembered that he nned on heading to Anadhar to meet with Jekyll first to obtain [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes]. It was only because Wells decided to tag along that he recalled more of thetter.


    As for the second time he met up with the man, it was sometime before entering the Four Pirs'' Inheritance. More specifically, it was around the time his identity as Ylvar became well-known in the cksmithing world as a Rank 2 prodigy who forged an artifact.


    During that time, Jekyll showed him the true version of the skill he''de to know and love, which was a skill that focused on finding and pinpointing the weaknesses of one''s enemies and using it to one''s advantage.


    ''I suppose it would only make sense for it to be taken one step further,'' thought Valyr to himself, feeling a hint of anticipation for what he felt would be the final version of the skill he''d obtained in his early days.


    ''After all, only a skill like that would be fitting for someone called the Northern Star to have.''


    ''Though, with the war still ongoing, I suppose it''d be better to call him the Silver Death from now on?''


    ¡­


    "Here we are. The Silver Gambling Den."


    Standing in front of the casino Jekyll was working in, Valyr felt a hint of nervousness at the thought of meeting the man after a long time had passed.


    ''Then again, almost a year has passed since we''vest met.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Fortunately, taking in a few deep breaths was more than enough for him to calm down, allowing him to ponder over his next steps as he eventually thought of heading into a nearby alleyway.


    Swoosh!


    ''This will help things go smoother.'' Deciding to make great use of his identity as Ylvar, Valyr changed his appearance before heading into the gambling den, immediately catching the attention of those who recognized him from the tournament.


    Thankfully, a brief release of his aura was more than enough for those within the casino to understand his intentions, which was to not spread the news that he was within the gambling den.


    Smiling at how almost everyone in the casino quickly understood what he implied, the young man then began to make his way to the back end of the casino, only to find a familiar man tending to the casino''s rear portion like before.


    "How may I help you, Ylvar?" Although he wasn''t the direct target of the aura Valyr let out earlier, the man with the light gray hair still felt a hint of fear as he talked with the young man in front of him.


    Though, seeing as how Valyr had no intentions of doing the same thing to him, the man eventually calmed down, allowing him to interact with the former like he did with the others.


    "I''m here to find Jekyll," replied Valyr to the question after giving the man in front of him the time he needed to calm down. "He has something that I need."


    "Er¡­ I''ll send a message to the boss, then. " Scratching the back of his head for a bit, the man briefly looked at Valyr with slight confusion before bringing up a screen in front of him. "Is there something else you want me to tell him?"


    "Tell him that the one who inherited his legacy has met his requirements," replied Valyr after some time, finding it slightly peculiar that the man in front of him was going to such lengths. "Tell him that I now have an Intent."


    "Okay¡­?" Though the man did not understand what Valyr meant by that, he still did as told, sending Jekyll a message containing all of the things the young man just told him, as well as a brief exnation of the situation in the casino.


    "Say¡­" Seeing how the man continued to interact with the screen he brought up, Valyr finally began to get the feeling that something odd was going on. "Where is Jekyll?"


    "He''s uh¡­ currently at the frontlines," replied the man after some time, causing Valyr to stare at the former in slight disbelief. "He left about a month ago. Told me it was his duty to fight for humanity."


    "Could you tell me where he is, exactly?" asked the young man in response, feeling a slight headacheing up the more he talked.


    "It was one of the defensive lines, but I''m not sure where¡­" said the man, only to pause as his expression brightened up from Jekyll''s reply.


    "The north defensive line. Jekyll is currently at the north defensive line." Shifting his gaze towards Valyr, the man began to talk with renewed confidence. "He told me that you should head to the north defensive line if you want to retrieve the remainder of his legacy."


    "The north defensive line, huh?" Seeing that his thoughts hade true, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a sigh as he faintly nodded in response. "Tell him that I''m on my way."


    After saying those words, the young man proceeded to leave the gambling den, heading out of the city at the fastest speed he could muster.


    "Well¡­ it''s ultimately my fault for waiting almost a year before meeting up with Jekyll again." "Haah¡­ I just hope Juno keeps his side of the deal until I get back."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "¡­Achoo!"


    "Is someone talking about me?"

 Chapter 1194 A Slight Detour

    Chapter 1194 A Slight Detour


    With Jekyll nowhere to be found in Anadhar City, Valyr had no reason to stay within the city any longer.


    "[sh of the Azure Dragon]."


    "[Flight of the Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    Hearing that the man he was looking for was currently at the north defensive line, the young man did not hesitate to use his best movement skill in the hopes of meeting him within the day.


    Boom!


    Feeling the sound barrier break as he whizzed through the air, Valyr swiftly conjured a barrier of energy around him as he brought up a screen in front of him.


    "Although I already know where the north defensive line is located thanks to my experience as a yer, it wouldn''t hurt to double check with the others."


    Sending out a few messages to a group of people, Valyr more or less sent them the same message, which was him asking for more information on where the north defensive line was specifically.


    Thankfully, the group of people he sent the message to were quick in their responses, with Julian, Noel, and Alvin being the first among the group to give him coordinates to the north defensive line''s military base.


    Though their responses were more than enough for Valyr to find his way through the system map, the other people he contacted took it one step further, with Hal and Vera asking him where he wasing from in response to his message.


    After telling them that he was heading to the north defensive line from Anadhar City, the two quickly gave him a route that would cut down his travel time by half. Then again, that was due to the route using the Teleportation Halls the branches of the cksmith Guild had.


    Unfortunately, even the route Hal and Vera gave him paled inparison to the route Braum hadpiled for him, his response fully reminding Valyr that he was the leader of the Imperial Production Guild''s 3rd Reconnaissance Team.


    Not only did Braum''s route to the north defensive line make use of the Teleportation Halls to the fullest, but he also showed Valyr the quickest path from the hall he''d appear in to the military base itself.


    Aside from that, Braum also gave him alternate routes in the off chance the first route was unusable along the way, promising Valyr that the other routes was only a bit slower than the first route he gave.


    Of course, it went without saying that the young man became curious as to how much more time the other routes would take inparison to the first one the man gave him.


    Though, after hearing that he''d only take 15 more minutes to arrive at the north defensive line in the worst case scenario, Valyr could only let out a wry chuckle.


    "Well, I guess I should expect that much from a renowned information broker."


    As he thanked the others for their help, the young man followed Braum''s route to the letter whilst he was in the midst of apologizing for disturbing the others all of a sudden.


    However, just as he was about to thank Braum for his timely help, a different thought popped up in the young man''s mind.


    And thus, rather than end their conversation then and there, Valyr instead continued his chat with Braum by following up with another question.


    "Say, Braum. Could you find the current whereabouts of a certain man for me?"


    "¡­His name is Jekyll Endheid."


    ¡­


    Swoosh!


    As the sight of the north defensive line''s military base gradually came to view, Valyr felt arge wave of relief wash over him the moment he took a brief nce up at the sky.


    "Only had to change my route once to get here." Getting confirmation that there was still plenty of time before the sun had to set, the young man decided to push his movement skill onest time.


    Boom!


    Having already gotten used to breaking the sound barrier after breaking it so often throughout the journey, it only took another minute or so for the military base toe into view, prompting him to dispel the skill just when he was a few hundred meters away. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Thud.


    Afternding safely on the ground by conjuring a gust of wind at the veryst moment, Valyr began to make his way to the military base in front of him, immediately taking note of the crowd that was gathering around the entrance.


    "I heard an explosion earlier. Are we under attack?"


    "No, someone was going over the speed of sound."


    "Wait, seriously? Is that even possible?"


    "I haven''t done it myself, but I''ve seen a couple of the higher ranks do it without a problem."


    "Well, that guying here doesn''t look like he''s capable of doing that. From what I could sense, his strength is nowhere near enough to pull that off."


    "¡­Hmm? Why is everyone ring at me all of a sudden?"


    "Look again, dipshit. Are you sure that guy can''t break the sound barrier?"


    "Huh? Why are you guys telling me to¡­ oh, fuck me sideways."


    Not wanting to make things difficult for himself as he made his way to the military base, Valyr did not change his appearance to the other identity he began to use. Instead, he continued using the identity he changed into back at Anadhar City.


    Because of that, he was more or less able to cut down the time he arrived at the north defensive line even further, his identity removing the need for unnecessary verification and background checks.


    After all, why would they stop someone who clearly had the power to kill a Myth?


    ''I''ve really got to thank Scho''doxa once we meet again.'' Seeing that arge crowd was forming around the entrance thanks to his appearance, Valyr briefly had a bitter smile on his face as he entered the base.


    Heading to the registration area after that, the young man soon made his way to the center of the base after his identity was confirmed, immediately noticing that the military base was around three-fourths asrge as the military base back in the east defensive line.


    ''Then again, most of the orcs wereing from the north and the east,'' thought Valyr to himself, faintly wondering how long he''d have to tolerate the crowd that began to surround him.


    "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Thankfully, he did not have to tolerate the crowd for too long.


    "If it isn''t the Warlord of the East." Only a few minutes after arriving at the center of the north military base, a pair of individuals appear in front of the young man, causing most, if not all of the crowd in the area to disperse the moment they appeared.


    "Hal. Vera." Of course, Valyr gave both of them looks of gratitude because of that, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at being able to avoid useless interaction with other people. "Am I d to see you two here."


    "As if we aren''t d to see you here, either." Hal let out a chuckle in response. "Anyways, what brings you here to the north defensive line? Is it to see us?"


    "Partly." Valyr wryly smiled, giving the two a brief exnation of his reasons foring to the north defensive line after that. "I''m actually looking for someone."


    "Jekyll Endheid?" Hearing the name that came out of Valyr''s mouth, Hal immediately raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "You''re looking for the Northern Star? Why? Did he do something wrong?"


    "It''s a long story," replied Valyr, continuing to don the wry smile he already had. "But to sum things up, I''ve inherited one of his skills due to circumstances."


    "I suppose I don''t need to tell you more other than that, no?"


    At those words, both Hal and Vera shook their heads, more or less having their own idea of what Valyr was hinting at.


    "Well, as far as I''ve heard, the Northern Star is currently out in the frontlines," said Hal to Valyr after some time, pondering over the young man''s words for a bit. "Depending on the mission he took up, you might be stuck waiting here until tonight."


    "Is that so?" Unsurprisingly, the man''s words quickly dampened Valyr''s hopes of achieving his goals within the same day.


    Though, as he took a nce at the path leading to the frontlines, the sight of the man he was looking for surprisingly came into view.


    "Fortunately for me, it seems I''ve arrived at just the right time."


    Letting out a chuckle as those words left his mouth, Valyr separated himself from the pair, causing the two to look at him with confusion on their faces.


    However, when they eventually realized what was going on, the two looked at each other for a bit before looking back at the young man.


    "What a lucky guy."


    "You must be Jekyll, I presume?" Appearing in front of the man he was looking for all of a sudden, Valyr decided to assume his identity as Ylvar to the fullest, acting as if the man in front of him was aplete stranger.


    "¡­That would be me." In response, Jekyll looked at him with a frown on his face, feeling slight confusion towards the situation. "You''re the one who asked for my whereabouts at the gambling den, no?"


    "Yes." Valyr nodded, noticing a small crowd forming around the two of them. "I hope I don''t need to exin myself any further."


    "Unfortunately, I think you''ll have to do just that," replied the man, now radiating a hint of killing intent as he looked at Valyr in front of him. "Ylvar¡­ what is your rtion to the one who inherited my legacy?"


    "My rtion?" Looking at Jekyll in front of him, a faint smile began to creep up on Valyr''s lips as he thought about how he''d go about revealing his true identity.


    Though, just before he could do that¡­


    "Ylvar, a Lesser Elder hailing from the Algerie Kingdom branch of the cksmith Guild."


    "We, the Zeihardt n, havee to arrest you under the suspicion of working with the traitor, Valyr Zeihardt!"

 Chapter 1195 Removing a Thorn

    Chapter 1195 Removing a Thorn


    Algerie Kingdom, in an alleyway near the Imperial Production Guild.


    "Are you really threatening me right now?" ring at the group that appeared in front of him, Braum had a slight frown on his face as he radiated a bit of killing intent.


    "You do know the consequences of doing something like this, right?"


    "I wouldn''t have done it if I didn''t," replied the man at the front, briefly letting out a cackle as he looked at Braum with malicious intent. "I know you know why we''vee here, Braum."


    "After all, you wouldn''t have left the guild if you didn''t."


    "¡­Tsk." Clicking his tongue in response to the man''s words, Braum''s frown deepened as he radiated a far stronger killing intent than before.


    As someone who led one of the Imperial Production Guild''s reconnaissance teams, aside from needing to have the superb ability to obtain and process information from anything and everything, he also needed to have the strength befitting of a leader.


    With that, it was no surprise that the people behind the man antagonizing him began to pale in fear, feeling as if they''d be swallowed whole if they were to take even a step forward.


    "Hmph." However, unlike those that apanied him, the man at the front acted as if Braum''s killing intent wasn''t there, looking at him in slight disdain. "Did you really think that would do something?"


    Bang!


    Without hesitation, the man directly threw a punch towards Braum''s abdomen, infusing it with the entirety of his strength in the process.


    Thinking that his strength was on par with the man, Braum decided to take the attack head-on, throwing out a punch of his own in response.


    However¡­


    Crash!


    Surprisingly, the man''s punch contained far more strength than Braum initially thought, causing his body to crumple up as he was sent flying for a couple of meters.


    "Eugh¡­" Forcing himself to stand up as waves of pain continued to radiate throughout his body, Braum gritted his teeth as he watched the group in front of him moved closer, their expressions now all containing malicious intent.


    "So¡­ are you going to tell us his whereabouts?" Finally deciding to radiate a killing intent of his own, the man looked at Braum with greater disdain as the question left his mouth.


    "Or¡­ do we have to force your hand first before doing so?"


    "¡­" Though he knew it wouldn''t be the best idea to acquiesce to the man''s requests, Braum knew very well that the man in front of him had both the intention and the means to follow through on his words.


    With that, he became silent, the thoughts in his mind a whir as he tried to piece a solution that would allow the side he supported to still have the advantage.


    ''¡­I''m going to have to trust what the arbiter said on this one.'' However, in the end, the solution he came up with threw caution to the wind, relying on information he couldn''t verify.


    Then again, as those words came from Scho''doxa himself¡­ was there even a need to verify such words?


    "You''ll regret doing this, Andersen," said Braum to the man in front of him with hateful eyes. "You don''t know what you''re messing with."


    "You don''t have to worry about that," replied Andersen back, his only working eye looking at Braum as if he were gloating. "All you need to do is just give us the information we need."


    In response, Braum remained silent, inwardly letting out a sigh as he sent the man a series of messages containing information on Ylvar''s current whereabouts.


    Wanting to make sure that he wasn''t being tricked, Andersen soon shared the information with the others, telling them to cross-reference the information he received with information they had.


    After obtaining confirmation that Braum''s information was correct, it was only then did Andersen look back at Braum. "I guess you aren''t unfilial, after all."


    "You''ve saved your family from the Zeihardt''s wrath with this one."


    "¡­Have those at the north defensive line apprehend Ylvar as soon as possible." Turning around after that, Andersen began to discuss their next course of action as they left Braum on his own.


    Staring at the back of the man whose left eye was scarred beyondprehension, Braum felt rage bubble up within him, being reminded that he still had a long way to go if he wanted to stand tall amongst those at the pinnacle of strength.


    ''¡­I''m really sorry, Valyr.'' Feeling tears brim around his eyes as the group finally left his field of vision, Braum took in a deep breath as he began to send a series of messages as fast as he could.


    ''Although you told me you were going to confront them sooner rather thanter¡­''


    ''It seems you''re going to have to face them sooner than I thought.''


    ¡­


    Watching arge group of people begin to surround him and Jekyll all of a sudden, Valyr began to look at the people surrounding them with a frown, especially after seeing them brandish their weapons at them.


    Though, after listening to the words that came from someone within the group, it did not take long for the frown on his face to be reced with that of shock, prompting him to look at Jekyll in slight disbelief.


    Unsurprisingly, Jekyll looked at Valyr in slight disbelief as well. However, the reasons behind his shock were different from what Valyr felt.


    "You¡­ were you protecting him?" As the group surrounding them continued their weapons at the two, Jekyll moved a bit closer to the young man as he asked in a whisper.


    "Well¡­" Feeling as if there wasn''t really any point in hiding his identity any further, Valyr decided to inform the man of the connection between Valyr and Ylvar.


    However, before he could even open his mouth to exin¡­


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    All of a sudden, a series of notification sounds went off in his mind, causing Valyr to nk out for a bit as he decided to check on what notifications he received.


    Seeing that all of them were messages from Braum, a look of curiosity and confusion briefly appeared on his face.


    After all, it was a weird time for the man to send him a message. Plus, it was usually him who took the initiative to send the message than the other way around.


    Fortunately, as he began to read through the messages he''d gotten, the young man quickly understood what was going on.


    ''The rebel faction of the Zeihardt n decided to make the first move, huh.'' Sporting a slightly grim expression the moment he was done reading through Braum''s messages, Valyr released a hint of his aura, causing those that surrounded him to take a couple steps back.


    After that, he looked at Jekyll, who nodded back at him after understanding the meaning behind his gaze.


    Nodding back at the man in response, Valyr took in a deep breath as he sent a couple of replies to Braum''s messages.


    "Thanks for the heads-up. Let''s meet up after I settle things on my end."


    "Also, if you could arrange a meeting between me and the leader of the supportive faction, that would be great." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Whoosh!


    Closing the screen he brought up in his mind after that, the young man went ahead and activated his usual set of stat-boosting skills before staring at the ones surrounding them once more.


    "I''m guessing you guys have enough proof to back up your ims?" asked Valyr to the group as he conjured a barrier of Prime Azure Energy around Jekyll.


    "There is no need for such things!" Unexpectedly, the response he got from the group in return was aggressive, all of them seemingly baring their fangs at him. "By asking for confirmation, you''re telling us that you''re guilty of your actions!"


    "Come with us, Ylvar. Or else¡­ prepare for the consequences!"


    "Consequences, eh?" Hearing those words, Valyr could not stop himself from letting out a chuckle. "What kind of consequences would there even be?"


    "Don''t test us!" replied the group, now radiating a hint of killing intent towards the young man. "You bettere with us peacefully, or else we won''t go easy on you!"


    "Honestly, I''m just waiting for you guys to make a move," said Valyr in response, extending his arms outward to show that he had no intentions of defending himself from attacks whatsoever.


    "However¡­" Then again¡­ there wasn''t really a need for him to defend against their attacks.


    "Did you really think the opposite wouldn''t apply?"


    Whoosh!


    Casting a barrier around himself, Valyr went ahead and grabbed his magic staff from his spatial bracelet before sending out a quick energy bolt towards one of the group.


    Bang!


    With him aiming for the man''s head, it was no surprise that the man he targeted was rendered dead before the man could even realize what was going on, forcing the others from therge group to finally make their move.


    "Attack!"


    Initially expecting the entire situation to end in a peaceful manner, the group was left with no choice but to retaliate after Valyr struck first, sending out a myriad of skills that struck Valyr''s barrier as if it were a bombardment.


    Unfortunately for them, the young man''s barrier remained standing even after all that, causing everyone to shudder in fear as Valyr prepared a counterattack of his own.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]."


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Keeping in mind that he was not in the battlefield at the moment, Valyr reduced the scale of the attack where it would only affect the group that decided to antagonize him all of a sudden.


    However, that did not mean that the strength behind it had gotten weaker inparison.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Showing the same level of lethality as it did in any of the other fights he used the skill in, the azure phoenixes wreaked havoc and terror amongst the group, forcing many of them to flee for their lives as theirrades showed the aftereffects of the attack''s might.


    Sadly, with Valyr now knowing their intentions for apprehending them, it went without saying that he left no stone unturned, even expending a bit more energy just to make sure none from the group escaped his wrath.


    And thus, as quickly as it all began, the fight swiftly ended in a matter of minutes, causing the crowd watching it unfold from afar to turn silent from the carnage.


    As for the young man, he stared at the aftermath of his attack in silence as Braum''s messages continued to linger in his mind.


    With the situation he just went through being a grim reminder of his current position, the young man knew that he''d have to make a move as soon as possible, especially if he didn''t want a repeat of what happened just now.


    After all,pared to the massive rose that was the Zeihardt n¡­


    All he did was just remove one of its thorns.

 Chapter 1196 Back to the Main Topic

    Chapter 1196 Back to the Main Topic


    "¡­Thanks."


    Watching both Hal and Vera handle the situation he ultimately caused, Valyr let out a sigh filled with regret as he admonished himself for not thinking even a few steps ahead of his actions.


    Filled with rage towards the rebel faction of the Zeihardt n after finding out what they did to Braum, the young man did not hesitate to show off his might, sending out a series of attacks that would''ve done great damage to the orcs if it were on the battlefield.


    Of course, with Braum giving him a heads-up that the group had arrived at the north defensive line to apprehend him, Valyr knew not to leave even a single one of them alive.


    After all, if one of them were to share information on how strong he really was, the chances of him escaping another situation like the one he just went through would reduce drastically.


    Then again, he knew that such information on his might would eventually make its way to the rebel faction of the Zeihardt n sooner orter. In fact, that was the reason why he decided to continue attacking the group using his identity as Ylvar.


    Although he wasn''t sure whether doing so would really deter them from attacking him some other time in the future, he was confident enough that the group would think twice before doing so.


    ''The situation would probably turn out worse if I had returned to my original appearance amidst the rage.''


    As this thought popped up in his mind, Valyr recalled what happened after the situation, with a group of military officials appearing before both him and Jekyll to talk about the consequences of murder within the military base.


    With everyone more or less knowing what Valyr was capable of thanks to the tournament, it went without saying that the military officials also knew that he had the might to finish off the entire group that antagonized him if he so wanted to.


    However, humanity needed all of the strength they could get in the war against the orcs, which meant that Valyr''s actions of killing a sizable group of individuals put a dent on the north defensive line''s capabilities.


    Thankfully, Hal and Vera were there to smoothen out the situation, as well as the crowd that watched the entire situation around Valyr unfold from start to finish.


    To no surprise, all of them talked about how the entire group was intent on doing the same thing to the young man if he didn''t acquiesce to their request.


    After that, the crowd asked the military officials if they would admonish the group the same way they did Valyr, which surprisingly caused the military officials to break out in a cold sweat in response.


    While the military officials were thinking about the reply they should give, Hal and Vera decided tond the final nail in the coffin, making use of the reputation they built up to give them a quick reality check.


    "Think about what you guys said just now." Hal looked at them before releasing the entirety of his aura.


    "Humanity needs all of the strength they could get in the war against the orcs, right?" Wrapping his aura around the military officials, the man looked at them with a cold smile. "Now, answer me. What would be a greater loss for humanity?"


    "A group of people that antagonized someone who wasn''t even doing anything wrong?"


    "Or a person who not only has the strength to fight against Myths, but also helped the frontlines through the equipment he forged, as well as the blueprints he contributed?"


    "¡­Did you not know he''s contributed over 2,000 pieces of equipment to the frontlines alone?"


    With everyone in great agreement with Hal''s words, it did not take long for the military officials to realize that they''d lost their ground, forcing them to step down as they left the premises.


    Of course, that was only after they asked Valyr to help defend the north part of the frontlines for the meantime in exchange, which the young man had no qualms with.


    "Thank you two. Really." Taking in a deep breath topose himself, Valyr gave the two looks of gratitude as he knew the situation would''ve worsened if they hadn''t intervened.


    "It''s the least we could do," replied Hal with a chuckle, with Vera nodding in agreement. "After all, you''ve given us far more help than we could offer back in the inheritance."


    "¡­Though, I suppose let''s talk some other time." ncing at the man behind Valyr, Hal gave the young man a knowing smile as he decided to excuse themselves on the spot.


    In response, Valyr returned a knowing smile of his own, quickly sending a message to the two through chat as he nodded. "I''ll have to thank the two of you again, then."


    With that, Hal and Vera soon left the premises to do their own things, while the crowd that gathered earlier to see what was going on slowly dispersed as well.


    In the end, both Jekyll and Valyr were the only ones left at the center of the military base, prompting the two to look at each other for a bit as both sides seemed to have something to say.


    "I¡­"


    "Mind if we head to a more private space first?" Just as Jekyll nned on starting their conversation anew, Valyr spoke up first, causing thetter to briefly fall silent in response.


    "¡­Sure." Fortunately, the man did not seem to mind that much, instead preferring to continue their conversation in private as well. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    With that, it did not take long for the two to rent a room in an inn, giving both of them the freedom to finally speak what was on their minds without hesitation.


    "Should I go first?" Sitting down on the bed, Jekyll let out a slight sigh of relief as he looked at the young man that apanied him.


    Getting a nod from Valyr in response, the man took in a deep breath as his expression turned serious. "Alright, then."


    "I''ve mentioned it earlier, but I was cut off by what happened just now."


    "What¡­ is your rtion to Valyr Zeihardt, exactly?"


    "You''re still asking me that question?" Valyr let out a chuckle, which only caused the man to look at him with a frown.


    Though, that frown immediately turned into a look of confusion once he heard the next words that left the young man''s mouth.


    "Then again, it has been almost a year since you''vest seen me this way."


    Whoosh!


    Without hesitation, Valyr undid [Thousand Polymorph] in its entirety, causing Jekyll''s eyes to widen in disbelief as his appearance transformed into someone the man knew very well.


    "Wait¡­ it''s been you all this time?"


    Seeing the man look at him from head to toe multiple times, the young man let out a bit ofughter as he nodded at the question. "Pretty much."


    "While I am Valyr, I am also Ylvar," continued Valyr. "Though, I''m pretty sure I might have to adopt another identity soon."


    "¡­" For a while after that, Jekyll went silent as the gears in his mind furiously turned in a bid to wrap his head around the current situation.


    "Haah." Thankfully, it only took him a couple more minutes to understand, causing him to let out a sigh as he looked at Valyr with a wry smile. "It really has been a while since I''ve seen that appearance of yours."


    "Anyways, Ylvar¡­ Valyr¡­ has anyone never really connected the two yet?"


    "Most of them won''t," said Valyr as he bitterly smiled. "Unfortunately, the Zeihardt n did."


    "Time toe up with an entirely different name for your next identity, I suppose," joked Jekyll in response, causing Valyr to let out a slight chuckle.


    "In any case, let''s not talk about it any further," continued the man with a wave of his hand. "That isn''t the reason why you came to see me, after all."


    "If anything, it''s time for us to continue where we left off."


    Valyr began to grin with excitement.

 Chapter 1197 True Nature

    Chapter 1197 True Nature


    "Now, I''m pretty sure I''ve already asked you this before you received the true beginning of my legacy."


    Closing his eyes for a bit to sort out his thoughts, Jekyll looked at Valyr with a calm expression as he asked, "What do you think is the true nature of the skill I gave you?"


    "The true nature of the skill?" asked Valyr in return, the gears in his mind turning as he thought about the skill Jekyll gave him in detail. "Back then, didn''t you say that the true nature of the skill lies in hunting?"


    "So, you do remember." At those words, Jekyll''s eyes slightly lit up as he nodded. "The true nature of [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] lies in hunting, allowing you to pinpoint weak spots and vital spots that would turn the tides ofbat to your advantage."


    "On the other hand, you could consider the true nature of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], the previous version of the current skill I gave you, as discernment." "After all, being able to discern things that others couldn''t on the table is pretty important when ites to gambling, especially if you want the odds to be in your favor."


    "Well¡­ yeah." Nodding in response to his words, Valyr decided to ask a question of his own. "Then again, what does the topic have anything to do with inheriting the final part of your legacy?"


    "It has a lot to do with it, actually," said Jekyll in response, only to rify a portion of Valyr''s words not long after. "Also, this isn''t the final part of my legacy. Not even close." "I''m pretty sure I told you back then that meeting the requirements I mentioned would allow you to obtain the next part of my legacy."


    "Is that so?" replied Valyr with a hint of confusion on his face, thinking back to the time the two of themst parted ways.


    Eventually, he recalled that Jekyll did tell him back then that he would obtain the next part of the legacy as long as heprehended an Intent.


    Though he felt a bit of embarrassment from the fact that he misconstrued the man''s words along the way into thinking that he was obtaining his remaining portion of the legacy, Valyr had no regrets in meeting up with Jekyll for the skill.


    Even more so now that he knew the stance the Zeihardt n''s rebel faction was taking.


    "So¡­" After briefly apologizing to Jekyll for misremembering what the man told him back then, Valyr pondered over their entire conversation for a bit beforeing up with another question to ask.


    "I''m guessing you want me to figure out the true nature of the skill you''re about to give me?"


    "Correct." Jekyll nodded with a smile. "As long as you can figure out what purpose the next version of the skill fulfills, I''ll give the skill to you."


    Nodding in response, Valyr immediately went silent as he pushed his mind to its limits, turning the gears as madly as possible as he thought about the man''s question in detail.


    ''Well, if I think about it, he wouldn''t have brought up the true natures of [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] for no reason,'' thought the young man to himself, only to think soon after that he was being misled by Jekyll.


    Briefly shaking his head to remove the discordant thoughts surfacing in his mind, Valyr felt that he was already on the right train of thought, thinking that the answer he sought lied in the true natures already mentioned.


    Thankfully for him, Jekyll seemed to notice that he was on the cusp of figuring out the answer he wanted to hear.


    With that, the man decided to give Valyr a small hint in the hopes that thetter would be able to connect the remaining parts on his own.


    "Think about what I''ve gone through for a bit," Jekyll told Valyr all of a sudden. "The answer I want could be found there."


    Though his train of thought was interrupted by the man''s words, Valyrmitted what Jekyll told him to memory, faintly nodding as he continued where he left off.


    ''Think about what Jekyll had gone through¡­''


    ''What he''d gone through¡­''


    As those words continued to echo in his mind, the young man soon felt as if he was onto something, prompting him to think of viewing the true natures of the other skills from another perspective.


    And with that, he finally obtained the answer he felt Jekyll was seeking.


    "ughter¡­"


    Hearing those words leave Valyr''s mouth all of a sudden, Jekyll''s eyes widened in surprise for a bit, only for his expression to turn into a slight grin as he noticed the expression on Valyr''s face continue to change.


    "The true nature of the next skill¡­ is ughter¡­" Then again, the changes did notst for long, with Valyr looking at Jekyll with confidence the moment he felt he''dpleted his train of thought.


    "Now, why do you think the skill''s true nature is ughter?" Although Jekyll was inwardly satisfied that Valyr had arrived at the answer he was looking for, the man decided to prod the young man a bit more to see if he was sure of his response.


    Fortunately, the young man had thought it all through.


    "When you told me to think about what you went through, it was there that I understood that the different versions of the skills you gave me corresponded to certain parts of your life."


    Looking at Jekyll with a slightly fervent gaze, he continued with his exnation. "[Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] made me think about how I met you the first time. The gambling den. The need to see through sleight of hand and other stuff."


    "On the other hand, [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] made me think of your early life. I''m not too sure about the specifics around that, but I feel like ''true beginning of your legacy'' sums it up."


    "After all, you had to start somewhere before you eventually became known as the Northern Star."


    "¡­And what do you think the next version of the skill would correspond to?" asked Jekyll, slightly amused by Valyr''s exnation.


    "Your participation in the war," said Valyr. "The pinnacle."


    "It is purely because of the war that you had to force your eyes to reach a higher level."


    "A level where you would be able to leverage your eyesight to decimate the opposition, a level where everywhere you look is just ck circles surrounding you¡­" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "¡­If it wasn''t for that, you probably wouldn''t have been able to turn the tides of that war to your favor."

 Chapter 1198 Gazing Beyond the Vital

    Chapter 1198 Gazing Beyond the Vital


    "So¡­"


    "Am I wrong?"


    Seeing Jekyll continue to remain silent in response to his words, Valyr began to feel a hint of anxiety, inwardly asking himself whether or not the train of thought he came up with from the man''s words was the correct one.


    "You''re not." Fortunately, Jekyll just needed to take a bit more time to internalize his exnation, nodding at Valyr the moment he did. "ughter is indeed the true nature of the next skill you''ll receive."


    "However, the way you exined it¡­" Continuing to look at the young man, the man soon let out a sigh as he bitterly smiled. "¡­Haah."


    "At moments like these, I begin to understand why others get infuriated whenever someone gets the answer they were looking for faster than they thought it would take them."


    Hearing those words, the young man slightly tilted his head in confusion, only to wryly smile in response as he felt that the man said something that was both apliment and an insult.


    ncing at the wry smile that appeared on Valyr''s face, Jekyll took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes, the exnation the young man gave him constantly echoing in his mind.


    Although he was greatly impressed by the fact that Valyr nailed both the answer, as well as his reasons behind the answer, the man was still left speechless when the young man began to discuss what kind of life he led.


    ''I might have given him too big of a hint on that one,'' thought Jekyll to himself, inwardly chuckling not long after. ''Then again, with all things considered, the hint I gave him was pretty vague.''


    If any other person were in Valyr''s shoes at that moment, the man was certain that the hint he gave would prompt them to follow down a path that would lead them to a dead end.


    And even if they were able to eventually deduce that Jekyll was telling them to focus on the trajectory of his life for the answer he was looking for, he was confident that it would take them at least a few hours to arrive to that conclusion.


    Inparison, Valyr took only like 5 minutes?


    "¡­Haah." Letting out a long exhale after some time, Jekyll looked back at Valyr with a calm gaze, only for a faint smile to appear on his face not long after.


    "I told you earlier that I''d give you the next version of the skill the moment you tell me its true purpose," said the man all of a sudden, prompting the young man to focus all of his attention on him. "Well, since you''ve done just that, it''s time for me to uphold my part of the deal."


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr had thoughts of asking Jekyll about the process of upgrading [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its next version, thetter red out his aura in its entirety, forcing the young man to release his own aura in a bid to resist against the pressure. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Unsurprisingly, the moment he regained a feeling of safety, Valyr began to look with Jekyll with confusion written all over his face.


    Though, rather than receive an exnation from the man on what was going on, the young man was instead greeted with a toothy grin from Jekyll.


    Whoosh!


    Then, out of nowhere, the aura Jekyll gave off intensified by a couple degrees, causing the pressure that Valyr sessfully resisted against earlier to envelop his body in an instant.


    Swoosh!


    However, not wanting to let the man''s aura get the better of him, the young man knew that he had to go all out, activating his usual set of stat-boosting skills in a bid to mitigate the pressure he felt from Jekyll.


    Swoosh!


    Though the course of action he took was sessful the most part, a small portion of Jekyll''s aura still overwhelmed him, even though his current stats were more than enough for him to fight against Myth-level beings to a standstill.


    ncing at Jekyll''s face, only to see a toothy grin looking back at him, Valyr began to sense a feeling of dread and despair from the man''s aura, a feeling that anything he did to resist would ultimately end up bing futile.


    ''Wait a second¡­'' Fortunately, the feeling he got did notst long as a random thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. ''Isn''t this¡­ just a stronger [Hunter''s Aura] from the skill?''


    As the thought came to mind, the gears in Valyr''s mind began to madly spin all of a sudden, getting the feeling that Jekyll''s actions so far was not without reason.


    ''Come on¡­'' Of course, the man also took notice of the young man''s change in demeanor, causing him to inwardly hope that Valyr would do something simr to what he did with the question earlier.


    Thankfully, Valyr showed him once more that his deduction abilities were not a fluke.


    "[Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]."


    Whoosh!


    Feeling as if he''d gotten a good idea of what Jekyll wanted him to do, Valyr briefly took in a calming breath as he activated the skill that connected them together, causing a crimson ring to appear around his pupils in a matter of seconds.


    ''Attaboy.'' Seeing the hallmark of his skill appear around the young man''s eyes, the grin on Jekyll''s face grew wider as he nodded at the young man, indirectly telling him that he was on the right track.


    ''Now¡­ let''s start the upgrade process.''


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr thought that Jekyll would finally give him instructions on what he needed to do next to upgrade the skill, the young man was instead greeted by a far stronger auraing from the man, its strength far eclipsing all the effort he put in to resist against it.


    Then again, the feeling of an unbeatable predator looking down at him did notst for long.


    Swoosh!


    After letting out a chuckle at the reaction Valyr gave in response to the aura he gave off, Jekyll went ahead and spread out his entire aura throughout the room as thinly as possible, slowly making it disappear from the young man''s senses.


    Of course, the young man was greatly confused by this, considering that the progression of events this time around had deviated from what he''d experienced thest time Jekyll helped him upgrade [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes].


    Fortunately for him, Jekyll finally decided to give him instructions after that, giving Valyr the small confidence boost he needed to see the process through the end.


    "The process to upgrade [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its next version is more or less the same as before," the man said, prompting Valyr to focus his attention on each and every word that left Jekyll''s mouth.


    "If anything, you could even say that the process is simpler whenpared to what you went through."


    "After all, the process to upgrade [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] to [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] needed you to use the skill from the perspective ofbat first before using it to pinpoint weak spots and vital spots."


    "On the other hand, this process only needs you to continue from the foundation you''ve built."


    "Find more vital spots," Jekyll said with emphasis. "And if there aren''t any, create one."


    "Once a fatal spot appears in your vision, that''s the moment you know you''ve seeded in upgrading your eyes to the next level."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Jekyll was finished talking, Valyr''s surroundings instantly underwent a massive change, transporting him into a battlefield that looked and felt simr to the frontlines of the ongoing war.


    However, unlike the ongoing war, the sight surrounding him was filled to the brim with dark entities that took on a shape that was between human and orc, all of them giving off a strong killing intent that would overwhelm any normal person if they were hit by it.


    Reminding himself that he wasn''t actually in a battlefield, the young man soon took in a deep breath topose himself as he began to gaze at the dark entities with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes].


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Within seconds, multiple weak spots appeared on these dark entities'' bodies, showing Valyr that his constant usage of the skill had pushed the skill''s performance to greater bodies.


    However, the speed at which vital spots appeared on their bodies was excruciatingly slow inparison, prompting Valyr to focus on increasing the speed at which he located these vital spots.


    After all, even though Jekyll did not mention it directly, the young man had a feeling that the true first step of the upgrade process was to have him point out vital spots at the same speed he pointed out weak spots.


    And thus, he pushed [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to a level far greater than ever before, recalling the long process of omission he underwent to quickly and consistently find weak spots on the training dummies Jekyll directed him to.


    Then again, with the dark entities giving off the feeling that they would kill him if he were to even make a misstep along the way, Valyr felt a bit of pressure and incentive to improve [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] as fast as possible.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    With time continuing to pass while in the battlefield Jekyll conjured for him, Valyr began to notice that his skill was undergoing a gradual transformation.


    From taking a couple seconds to find around tens of weak spots on the dark entities, it now only took him less than an instant to find hundreds.


    Then, as more time passed, the weak spots he saw began to number in the thousands, prompting many of them to disappear and coalesce into the vital spots Jekyll wanted him to find with greater consistency.


    Continuing to push both himself and the skill to the limit, his vision slowly transformed even further, eventually reaching a stage where all he saw on the dark entities'' bodies were pitch-ck circles.


    "This is¡­" Then, just as he felt like he''d reached the limit of what [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] was capable of, an ominous circle on one of the dark entities'' bodies unknowingly appeared in his field of vision.


    Taking on a shade of ck far darker and far more unsettling than the ck the vital spots took in his vision, Valyr instinctively knew that the circle he was looking at was none other than the fatal spot Jekyll told him earlier to find.


    Suppressing the excitement he felt at the discovery, he went ahead and resisted against the killing intent and pressure the dark entities were directing at him, mustering up the courage to take a couple steps closer to the ominous circle that appeared in his sight.


    Then, with a deep breath, he tapped it with his finger, only for a series of notification sounds to echo out in his mind not long after.


    Ding!

 Chapter 1199 Seeing the Fatal

    Chapter 1199 Seeing the Fatal


    [¡­]


    [You have gained insights in using ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes'' to a higher degree of proficiency.]


    [The skill ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes'' is starting to awaken.]


    [...]


    [Through effort, you have reached the limit of proficiency with ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes''.]


    [Your proficiency of ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes'' has gone beyond the limit, allowing you to use the skill in applications far greater than ever before.]


    [The skill ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes'' has transformed and awakened to its true and pinnacle form, evolving to Legendary grade.]


    [The skill ''Hunter''s Tracking Eyes'' has evolved to ''Warrior''s Eyes of ughter'' due to the change in grade.]


    Just as he took a look at the list of notifications he got after tapping on what he thought was a fatal spot, Valyr quickly felt a wave of disorientation hit him as his vision began to undergo a drastic change.


    For a brief moment, all of the colors in his vision had disappeared, causing him to view the battlefield surrounding him in various shades of ck and white.


    Then, after that, his vision went ahead and disappeared all of a sudden, making it seem as if he didn''t even have a sense of sight in the first ce.


    Thankfully, his vision gradually began to return after a few more minutes of waiting, slowly transitioning from a blurry mess surrounding him, to a level of rity that was more or less what he was used to before the transformation.


    However, just as he thought his vision had stopped changing, the rity of his vision began to improve even further, giving him the ability to spot the imperfections on the dark entities'' bodies without even using hyperfocus.


    Curious as to whether his sight would remain in its current state from now on, Valyr eventually got his answer once his vision began to return to normal a couple minutester, prompting him to inwardly let out the sigh of relief he was holding in all this time.


    At the same time, the crimson rings surrounding his pupils were reced with crimson trefoils. Though, the trefoils only appeared for a bit before disappearing entirely.


    "Haah." Closing his eyes for a bit, Valyr gave himself all the time he needed to limate to the vision the upgraded version of his previous skill gave him, deactivating the skill the very moment the system allowed him to.


    Surprisingly, it was only after five minutes had passed did the young man open his eyes once more, immediately noticing that the battlefield surrounding him earlier had disappeared during that time.


    Shifting his gaze towards the man that caused the transformation, Valyr raised his eyebrow as he noticed the slight grin on Jekyll''s face.


    "Congrattions," said the man. "With that version of the skill now under your belt, you could say that you now see the world in the same way I do."


    Whoosh!


    At those words, a pair of crimson trefoils appeared around Jekyll''s pupils, prompting Valyr to nod in response after looking at them for a bit.


    Briefly closing his eyes after that, the young man soon let out a short exhale as he looked back at the man in front of him with a calm expression.


    Then, without hesitation, he went ahead and activated the skill he''d just obtained, wanting to better familiarize himself with what the new skill was capable of.


    "[Warrior''s Eyes of ughter]."


    Swoosh!


    As his vision went through the various changes he''d gone through earlier in a span of a second, a pair of crimson trefoils soon appeared around Valyr''s pupils, causing the grin on Jekyll''s face to be wider than it already was.


    Deciding to ignore what was going on in the man''s mind for the meantime, Valyr began to look around the room to get used to the kind of vision the skill gave him, only to blurt out a couple of words not long after that Jekyll greatly resonated with.


    "Overwhelming¡­ no. Unlike [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes], this is already way beyond overwhelming."


    "It definitely takes some time getting used to," said Jekyll as he nodded in agreement. "After all, the skill shows you the world around you through a lens that goes beyond what even [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] at its limits could show."


    "If I were to describe it, it''s like seeing the world that''s invisible to the naked eye," continued the man, making the young man look at him for a brief moment before returning his focus to the room they were in.


    "I''m pretty sure I told you something like this back when you inherited [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] from me, but I feel like it''s better for me to repeat it again, lest you forget."


    "Using the hyperfocus ability that [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes], you''re able to see things from a lens that offers you greater detail. However, that only magnifies what could already be seen with enough effort. In other words, you''re looking at the pinnacle of the surface."


    "On the other hand, [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] goes one step beyond that, allowing you to pierce through that surface with ease and gaze into a realm that goes beyond what''s already there. In other words, you''re looking at the intangible."


    "As for the current set of eyes you have, you could say that it''s more or less the same as the previous version, giving you the ability to look at the intangible."


    "Though, aside from giving you greater ease when ites to peering into this realm, the skill also allows you to begin tackling the realm of the intangible from a perspective that you might have probably noticed by now."


    Hearing those words, Valyr nced at Jekyll with slight confusion before beginning to look around the room with the skill enabled.


    After that, he then closed his eyes for a while as his mind began to process andpare the view the current skill showed him to the view he''d gotten used to whenever he activated [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes].


    Aside from the obvious differences the two skills had in terms of capability, Valyr eventually had an answer in his mind that caused him to start looking at Jekyll in slight disbelief. "The skill¡­ creates its own vital spots?"


    "Exactly." Jekyll nodded in response to Valyr''s answer, only to then let out a peal ofughter before continuing with his exnation. "Remember the steps I told you so you could upgrade [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to its current form?"


    "Yeah?" Valyr nodded after some time, rummaging through his memories for a bit to recall the words Jekyll told him. "You told me that the skill was merely an extension of the foundation I''ve already built with [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes]."


    "Yes, and then¡­?" asked the man back.


    "You told me to find more vital spots since I assumed that was the core to the upgrade," replied the young man, to which Jekyll faintly nodded in agreement. "Then, you told me that if there weren''t enough vital spots appearing in my field of vision, I should¡­ create¡­ them¡­"


    "¡­Huh."


    "Although being able to pinpoint vital spots within seconds is definitely an important feature of the skill I''ve given you, what I truly consider as the core of the skill is that part," said Jekyll, making up his mind to give Valyr a firsthand example of what he meant.


    "The part where you create your own vital spots out of thin air."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Not even a second after Jekyll began to stare at Valyr, the young man began to feel as if the armor he wore had begun to rust all of a sudden, making him feel as if the lightest touch on his armor would cause it to break.


    Though, if he were to describe the feeling he got in greater detail, Valyr instead felt like Jekyll was looking at him as if he wasn''t wearing any armor whatsoever. For some reason, he had a feeling that any attack the man threw at him would pierce through his armor with great ease.


    However, just as the ufortable feeling of vulnerability washed over his entire body, that feeling was immediately reced with dread and despair as a couple of areas on his body began to give off the feeling that they would deal him massive damage if they were hit with Jekyll.


    "¡­Haah." Thankfully, the looming sensation of death did notst for too long as Jekyll recalled his gaze the moment he felt he was going a bit too overboard.


    Giving Valyr all of the time he needed to process the experience he just went through, it was only when the young man looked like he''d calmed down did he ask him a question. "I suppose you now understand what I mean?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded, slightly shuddering at the thought that he was pretty much at Jekyll''s beck and call earlier.


    Although he was confident that his strength was enough for him to fight against Jekyll to a standstill at the very least, the young man felt as if such thoughts had disappeared from his mind whenever the man gazed at him with those eyes.


    At that moment, he felt as if resistance was the worst thing he could do against the man.


    Taking in a few more deep breaths after that to calm himself down, Valyr eventually returned a calm expression to Jekyll, prompting thetter to nod in satisfaction as he continued his exnation.


    "If [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] gave you the ability to look at everything the world offered you from a passive standpoint, then [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] gives you the ability to look at everything the world offers you from both a passive and active standpoint."


    "Honestly, the fact that you could create vital spots from thin air is only the start of what the skill can offer you," said the man, causing Valyr to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "After all, there''s still the fatal spots you''ve yet to master pinpointing through your newfound vision."


    "¡­Now that I think about it, why don''t I show you a small glimpse of how far you can go with this skill?"


    "Then again, what should I show you, exactly...? Ah."


    "You know what? How about I show you precognition?"

 Chapter 1200 Glimpsing Ahead

    Chapter 1200 Glimpsing Ahead


    "Precognition?" Unsurprisingly, Valyr began to look at Jekyll with disbelief in response to those words. "Is that even possible with the skill?"


    As far as what he and Jekyll had discussed and confirmed, [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter], as well as the previous versions the man had given him, gave him the ability to pinpoint weak spots on anything heid his eyes upon.


    Aside from that, the skill also allowed him to give off an aura that would greatly intimidate those that were weaker than him, while also catching the attention of those that were stronger than him.


    Although he did not know how the second part of the skill actually worked, Valyr had a feeling that it had something to do with how the eyes made it seem like he was a predator gazing at its prey.


    Nevertheless, both of these abilitiesbined were more than enough for the young man to consider the skill as incredibly useful and powerful, even though all it did for the most part was augment his ocr senses.


    The fact that it gave him the ability to pinpoint spots that went beyond the level of weak spots alone made him consider it as a top-tier skill, much less the fact that he now had the ability to create these weak spots on his opponents'' bodies on a whim.


    With that in mind, the young man found it both surprising and confusing that Jekyll told him that he was able to take a brief glimpse into the future with the help of the skill.


    After all, how would a skill that only allowed him to view weak spots do just that?


    "It is." Fortunately for him, Jekyll nned on showing him the ability of precognition through the skill, causing a hint of excitement to appear on Valyr''s face when he mulled over the thought for a bit more.


    Though, just as he began to get excited at the fact that he might able to wield the same power Jekyll showed him at some point in the future, a thought soon crossed the young man''s mind, causing him to look at the man with a hint of fear.


    "Hmm?" Of course, Jekyll took notice of this change in expression, slightly confused at first as to why Valyr began to look at him in slight terror all of a sudden.


    "Ah." Luckily for him, it only took him a few seconds to put two and two together in his mind, prompting him to let out a slight chuckle in amusement as he gave Valyr a slight smile. "Don''t worry."


    ''Don''t worry?'' Hearing those words leave Jekyll''s mouth, the young man inwardly rolled his eyes in response. ''You''re really telling me not to worry?''


    ''¡­How can I not worry if I''m getting the feeling that you''re gonna do the same thing you did to me earlier?''


    Whoosh!


    Just as the thought popped up in his mind, Valyr watched as the pair of crimson trefoils in Jekyll''s eyes glowed for a bit, reminding him of the experience he''d gone through just a couple of minutes earlier.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Beginning to feel as if anything and everything he did against the man in front of him would end up bing futile, Valyr inwardly let out a low sigh as he partly counteracted against the sensation by activating a couple of his stat-boosting skills.


    Unfortunately, that decision only gave him a brief moment of respite just like before, causing him to grit his teeth as he continued to resist against the aura Jekyll gave off.


    "Try to attack me," said the man after some time, his gaze continuing to look at Valyr from head to toe while doing so. "We''ll only be doing this a couple of times to give you an idea of how precognition works with the skill."


    "So, give it all you got."


    ''How would you even¡­ haah.'' Thinking about what to say in response to the man''s words, Valyr decided not to entertain the thought any further, causing him to let out yet another low sigh as he thought of just getting the whole thing over with.


    Swoosh!


    With that, he resisted against the aura pressing down on him as he took a couple steps closer to where Jekyll stood.


    Feeling a hint of anger at the thought of bing a target dummy to the man''s skill, Valyr infused a hint ofbat intent in his attack as he sent a straight left jab towards Jekyll''s torso.


    Whoosh!


    Noticing that the man in front of him seemed to have no ns on making a move against the attack he sent out, a slight mocking smile hung on the young man''s face as he thought about how he could inflict some of the pain he felt while he was forced to endure the man''s aura.


    However, just as the punch was about tond on the man''s torso, Valyr felt as if the entire world was conspiring against the attack all of a sudden, briefly making it seem like he''d sent out a punch into quick sand.


    Step. Step. Step.


    Making use of the opportunity he''d given himself, Jekyll took a few steps to the side before the feeling Valyr got from his punch disappeared, a confident smile hanging on his face as he looked back at the young man.


    "Wanna try again?"


    Hearing the words that left the man''s mouth, Valyr felt a bit more anger bubble up within his body, only to then let out a faint sigh as he gave himself a bit of time to calm down.


    Briefly pondering over the exchange the two of them had just now, the gears in the young man''s mind turned as fast as they could go as he wondered how Jekyll was able to make his attack stop in ce all of a sudden.


    ''¡­Could that even be considered precognition?'' As this question echoed within his mind, Valyr decided to test out how exactly the ability of precognition would work under the skill, thinking that the best way to go about it would be to send a barrage of punches at Jekyll.


    And thus, as he slowly took in a deep breath topose himself, the young man soon sent a massive wave of punches heading Jekyll''s way, thinking that the man''s ability wouldn''t work against arge number of attacks at once.


    However¡­ N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As if the attacks were being canceled before they could evennd on the man, Valyr felt as if most of his punches were hitting some sort of cotton pillow, reminding him of the sensation that covered his first punch just earlier.


    As for the other attacks that were not affected by the change in sensation whatsoever, Jekyll avoided all of them with great ease, even going so far as to swat away some of them as a show of his great confidence.


    ''¡­''


    ''How the hell does he even do it?''

 Chapter 1201 Manipulating Outcomes

    Chapter 1201 Manipting Oues


    Of course, it went without saying that Valyr had gotten annoyed at the fact that none of his attacks went through. At the same time, he began to feel curiosity as to how Jekyll was able to do that.


    After all, the man directly told him that the skill he obtained would allow him to take a brief glimpse into the future as long as he pushed it to its utmost limits.


    With that in mind, the young man could not stop himself from asking a question that more or less summed up what he was feeling.


    ''With just a skill that pinpoints and creates weak spots, as well as intimidate others with one''s aura¡­ how would you go about obtaining the ability of precognition?''


    Wanting to find out the answer to this question, the young man reminded himself to not let his anger get the better of him, considering that Jekyll was giving him both a glimpse, as well as firsthand experience on how far he could improve [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] if he were to put in the effort.


    With that, he took a bit of time topose himself once more, changing the way he began to look at Jekyll as he decided to approach the current opportunity given to him from a more calcted perspective.


    Naturally, Jekyll took note of the change in the young man''s demeanor, finding it both slightly interesting and amusing that it only took Valyr a couple of exchanges to get an idea of what was going on.


    ''I''m sure he''ll figure it out sooner orter.''


    With those words lingering in his mind, the man stood in ce, waiting as he gave Valyr all the time he needed to prepare for his attacks.


    ¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "¡­Haah." Having already lost count of how many times he attacked Jekyll without any rhyme nor reason, it was only after a couple of hours had passed did Valyr finally get a rough idea of how the man was able to see through his attacks.


    ''I''m still not sure on the other parts thate into y,'' thought the young man to himself, briefly ncing at the man who sat on the bed without much care in the world.


    ''However, as long as the hypothesis I came up with is mostly correct, then I''ll finally be able tond a hit on Jekyll.''


    "Huu¡­" Letting out a long exhale as he closed his eyes for a bit, Valyr soon looked at Jekyll with a calm gaze, his expression a signal to thetter that this would be their final exchange.


    In response, the man faintly nodded as he stood up, enveloping the young man in the familiar oppressive aura he''d been exposed to for hours on end.


    "Make it count," said Jekyll, which made Valyr let out a chuckle in response.


    "Why should I?" asked Valyr back in a slightly yful tone. "With how many attacks we''ve exchanged so far, wouldn''t it be more urate you''d give me another chance after this?"


    "¡­Just make it count."


    "I will." Feeling like he''d finally won against Jekyll in some way, Valyr faintly smiled as he prepared what he considered as his final attack.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Thinking that prioritizing quantity over quality would give him higher chances of figuring out what was going on, it went without saying that the young man sent out yet another barrage of punches towards Jekyll.


    Getting the feeling that the other side hoped that one of them would luckilynd, the man inwardly shook his head and let out a sigh as he made use of his skill to the best of his abilities.


    Swoosh!


    ring out his aura to its limits, the man leveraged the main ability of the skill to its limits, allowing him to quickly cut down the number of attacks he had to face from Valyr in half.


    Seeing the young man frown in response to his actions, the man had a slight grin on his face as he continued to use the same technique on the other remaining attacks he''d yet to cancel out, going over them one by one.


    However, just as he thought that Valyr''s efforts would end up bing futile once more, an odd sensation began to cover his body all of a sudden, prompting him to look at the young man in front of him with slight surprise.


    "Oh?"


    Whoosh!


    Feeling as if he was being stared down by a predator, the grin on Jekyll''s face widened as he knew that Valyr had figured out the trick he''d been using in all of their exchanges so far.


    Of course, he had no ns of taking it lying down.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Pushing the skill a bit further than he ever did throughout their entire exchange, the crimson trefoils in Jekyll''s eyes glowed once more as he began to shoot down the barrage of punches at a faster rate.


    Unfortunately, with Valyr now having an idea of the concept behind his actions, it was no surprise that a few of the punches passed through his skill, all of themnding on his body with as much force as they contained at the start.


    "¡­You could''ve used less force in your attacks, you know?" Enduring all of the hits thatnded on his body, Jekyll soon looked at Valyr with a wry smile as the crimson trefoils in his eyes disappeared. "In any case, I presume you now have an idea of how precognition works with the skill?"


    "Well, you did tell me to give it all I got, so I did," said Valyr in response to the man''s question.


    After that, he let out a slightly exasperated sigh as he proceeded onto the next question. "Anyways, would you even really consider that precognition?"


    "In a way." Jekyll nodded, grinning at his ingenuity. "If you could limit the number of attacks you receive and defend or avoid against them with great ease, would that not be the same as precognition?"


    "I''d consider it more as a method that would allow you to better defend yourself, honestly," replied Valyr, telling Jekyll his perspective on the matter. "After all, precognition allows you to see the future in any scenario, not just inbat."


    "¡­No need to be so pedantic," answered Jekyll with a sigh, causing Valyr to let out a chuckle as he thought back to the final attack they exchanged.


    Fortunately, his hypothesis on how Jekyll''s ''precognition'' worked was correct, allowing him to nullify some of its effects to an extent in order for him tond a couple of attacks.


    Although he was still unsure on a couple of the specifics, the young man was certain that most of the work being done behind making ''precognition'' a reality was the aura one let out through the skill, letting fear and terror reign over their minds rather than logic and rationality.


    Then, with their decisions more limited thanks to the change in thought, one would then use the skill to create vital spots on the opponent''s bodies, which wouldbine with the aura to make them think twice while they were already attacking.


    ''Truly the essence of the skill taken to a greater level,'' thought Valyr to himself, slightly chuckling at the thought of how Jekyll''s ''precognition'' was just making use of the ability of creating vital spots from another perspective.


    Then again, if something like that was even possible¡­


    What was the limit?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 1202 Viewing from Another Lens

    Chapter 1202 Viewing from Another Lens


    After spending over quarter of a day showing Valyr how the mechanics behind his concept of precognition worked, Jekyll continued to teach the young man more things about the skill he''d obtained, specifically the other ways he was able to use the skill.


    Considering the ingenuity that went behind the first ability Jekyll showed him, it went without saying that Valyrmitted the information the man shared with him to memory.


    After all, as long as he continued to improve his control and proficiency over [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter], he would also be able to use the abilities Jekyll showed him.


    ''Then again, I''m pretty sure it''ll take me quite some time before I reach a simr level of proficiency to what he showed me.''


    Undeterred by the thought, Valyr continued to absorb the information Jekyll was giving him on the skill, only to then bring up the topic of applying the skill into cksmithing with Jekyll at some point.


    Of course, with how [Gambler''s Discerning Eyes] and [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] more or less became a staple skill he activated whenever he forged or modified equipment, the young man was more than confident that the upgraded version of the skill would also mesh well with his entire forging process.


    However, when he mulled over the fact that the skill now gave him the ability to create vital spots out of thin air, a couple of ideas rted to the concept forging began to pop up in his mind.


    With that, he thought that it would be a good idea to share those thoughts with Jekyll, hoping to obtain his insight on what he could possibly do or improve to make those ideas work.


    Though, in reality, once the topic came up, it was as if the two of them worked as equals, exchanging information back and forth between them as they slowly delved deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole they themselves created.


    Surprisingly, the amount of time they spent discussing the application of the skill from a forging perspectivested longer than the exchange they did for Jekyll''s concept of precognition, with the two finishing their discussion by the time the sun was its peak at once more.


    Then again, the only reason why they stopped was because they felt they''d already covered most, if not all of the things to keep in mind a couple of times. If not for that, then they would''ve probably continued their discussion until night fell once more.


    "¡­Honestly, I didn''t think it was possible to do something like that with the skill." Feeling a slight pang of hunger hit him, Jekyll decided to head down to the restaurant beside the inn they were staying, with Valyr following suit.


    "You''ve definitely opened my eyes to a wider world, Valyr," said the man with a slight chuckle. "In fact, you''re the first person I know to use the skill''s mechanics in a nonbat setting."


    Hearing those words, Valyr looked back at him with slight interest. "Are you saying other people have also inherited your skill?"


    "I only taught up to [Hunter''s Tracking Eyes] to the few people I decided to share the skill with," replied Jekyll, prompting the young man to raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity. "You know¡­ now that I think about it, you''re the only one so far that has fully inherited my skill."


    "As for the others, they used the skill I gave them as a foundation and made the skill fit ording to their own needs," continued the man. "As far as I know, some of them have even improved the skill to where it''s on par with [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter], if not better."


    "Is that so?" Valyr looked at Jekyll for a bit before nodding, pondering over the man''s words for a bit.


    Hearing that the others who inherited Jekyll''s skill used it to create a simr skill that suited their own needs, the young man began to wonder why he hadn''t done the same thing as them, considering that he''d been mostly using his skill from a forging perspective.


    Then again, it did not take long for him toe to a conclusion. After all, he wasn''t just using the skill he got from Jekyll to improve the quality of his works while forging.


    ''Honestly, that just makes me more excited to see how [Vision of the First cksmith] and [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] would synergize once I actually start forging new items,'' thought Valyr with a slight smile, eventually pushing the thought to the side.


    With that, the two of them eventually arrived at the restaurant, ordering meals that more than made up for the amount of time they spent in the room together.


    "So, what are you ns after this?" Receiving therge meal he ordered, Jekyll took a couple of bites before a random thought popped up in his mind. "After all, you''ve more or less gotten the skill already."


    "I''ll probably return to where I was staying beforeing here," replied Valyr after taking a few bites of his own, giving Jekyll a brief overview of what he was doing before meeting up with him. "Though, I might pay a visit to some other ce after that."


    "How about the issue involving what happened yesterday?" asked the man after some time, a look of slight concern on his face. "I could offer a bit of my help if you want."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," said Valyr in response, thanking Jekyll for his offer. "But I think I''ve got it all sorted out."


    Hearing those words, Jekyll briefly looked at the young man in confusion, only to then understand what thetter was hinting at. "Ah, right."


    "You do have the strength, after all."


    As Valyr faintly smiled in response to Jekyll''s words, the two continued to dig into their respective meals in silence, devouring what would normally feed a family of three in just a bit over ten minutes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After that, the two of them decided to add one another to each other''s friend lists, especially after Jekyll mentioned to Valyr that there was still one part of his legacy that he had yet to obtain.


    "Of course, that''ll only be avable once youprehend a Force," said the man to him, heading their separate ways after that.


    Watching Jekyll''s silhouette gradually disappear from his field of vision, a slight smile began to creep up on Valyr''s face as a familiar face appeared in front of him.


    "I''m guessing your talk with the Northern Star was fruitful?"


    "Definitely." Valyr nodded in agreement, letting out a chuckle soon after. "I''m guessing you''re here to talk about what happened yesterday?"


    "Was I that obvious?" asked Hal back, letting out a bit ofughter after that.


    However, not even a second after he was doneughing, the man looked at Valyr with a serious expression, his face containing a hint of concern. "But seriously though..."


    "What are you nning to do?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 1203 Taking Care of Business

    Chapter 1203 Taking Care of Business


    Briefly looking at the expression Hal was giving him, Valyr faintly let out a sigh as he told him, "Well, first off, don''t worry too much. It''s not like I haven''t thought about what I''d do next when I did that."


    Giving Hal a bit of time to process his words, it was only after the man gave him a slight nod did he continue. "As for what I n on doing next¡­ quite a lot of things, really."


    "However, if you were to ask me what I''d be doing the soonest out of all of them, then that would be paying a visit to the Caemelio n."


    "The Caemelio n?" Hearing those words, Hal looked at Valyr in slight confusion. "As far as I know, they''ve made sure to stay neutral even after both factions tried their best to woo them over. What do they have to do with your ns?"


    "In the grand scheme of things, not a lot," answered Valyr bluntly. "However, I did make a promise with Riekan to pay a visit to the n once the tournament we were all forced to participate in was over."


    "He told me he wanted to upgrade the ne he gave me after seeing how much I''ve improved," continued the young man, briefly showing Hal the ne he got from Riekan.


    ncing at the ne Valyr showed him, the gears in Hal''s mind began to turn after hearing the young man mention a name that he felt like he''d heard somewhere before.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to figure out where he heard it, causing him to look back at Valyr in shock as he asked back, "You¡­ you know the founder of the Caemelio n?"


    "¡­" Noticing that quite a few of the passersby began to look at the two in response to Hal''s question, Valyr began to slightly frown as he conjured a barrier of Prime Azure Energy that blocked any of their conversation from leaking out.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing a barrier appear around the two of them all of a sudden, Hal did not take long to understand what was going on as he looked at Valyr with a slightly apologetic expression. "Sorry."


    "No need to be," replied the young man with a wave of his hand. "After all, I should''ve conjured a barrier around us before we even started talking about it."


    "Anyways, to answer your question, I do know him." Valyr nodded after that. "I won''t go into the specifics of how we came to know each other, but to make a long story short, it has something to do with dungeons."


    "Dungeons, huh¡­" Hal briefly turned silent after hearing those words, the gears in his mind spinning once more. "Then again, that doesn''t have anything to do with the discussion."


    Shrugging his shoulders at the thought, the man closed his eyes for a bit before looking back at Valyr once more. "What''s next after that?"


    "Who knows?" replied Valyr back with a slight smile, shrugging his shoulders in the process. "It''s not like I need to n every step I take to achieve what I need to do anyway."


    Hearing those words, the veiled concern on Hal''s face became more obvious, which only made Valyr look back at the man with a slightly wry smile.


    "Do you not trust in my capabilities?" he asked him, to which Hal shook his head in response.


    "It''s not that," replied the man, his expression briefly showing the conflict going on in his mind. "I''m just¡­"


    "¡­Ah, to hell with it. It''s not like they couldin about it anyway."


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr was about to ask Hal why his demeanor changed all of a sudden, a badge of sorts appeared on thetter''s hands out of nowhere, faintly giving off an aura that exuded both nobility and power.


    "Here." Faintly wondering what the emblem Hal brought out was for, Valyr''s expression soon turned into that of confusion after the man decided to give the emblem to him all of a sudden.


    "It''s an emblem of the Impyris n." Fortunately for him, Hal looked like he''d already been expecting questions about the emblem he gave, deciding to take the initiative of giving Valyr more information about it before he could even ask.


    "Specifically, it''s an emblem only given to those that we consider distinguished guests of our n."


    Sadly, that did not diminish the level of confusion he felt whatsoever.


    "And you''re giving this emblem to me, why?"


    Hal could only let out a faint sigh in response as he slightly shook his head. "Although I know you have more than enough strength to kill even Myth-level beings, surely you aren''t thinking of solely relying on your strength to fight against the Zeihardt n, right?"


    "Er¡­ I actually was?"


    "¡­I think it''s for the better that I approached you." At those words, Hal let out yet another sigh. "Not all things have to be resolved through brute strength, you know? Sometimes, you can rely on reputation and backing to deal with matters."


    "Well¡­ you''re not wrong," replied Valyr after some time. "But¡­ if you think about it, even reputation and backing crumble upon an absurdly high level of strength, no?"


    "¡­Are you telling me you have an absurdly high level of strength?"


    "¡­Do I not?"


    "¡­"


    ¡­ N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After discussing his ns to deal with the Zeihardt n for a bit longer with Hal, the two of them eventually went their separate ways, with Valyr telling Hal that he''d return to the north defensive line after everything was said and done.


    Of course, Hal also left Valyr a few words of his own before leaving, informing him that the other reason he gave their n''s emblem to him was to help him out in his meeting with the Caemelio n.


    "From what I know, the Caemelio n has multiple internal factions that don''t get along with one another. As long as you show them that emblem, almost all of the factions there would be at your beck and call."


    ''Reputation and backing, huh¡­'' As Hal''s parting words continued to linger in his mind, Valyr took in a deep breath before proceeding to head in the direction that led him out of the military base.


    Briefly taking a detour into a nearby alleyway to change his appearance to that of his mostly unknown identity, the young man briefly pondered over what Hal told him during their conversation.


    Of course, Valyr agreed with him that there were things that could be settled without relying on strength. After all, even he relied on those means back in his previous life when he was faced with a couple of odd problems.


    However, as the Zeihardt n''s rebel faction themselves decided to take the initiative by having a group of people attack him all of a sudden, it only made sense that he would return the favor to them and amplify it by at least tenfold.


    ''Then again, even if he didn''t give me that emblem, it''s not like I don''t have people I could contact for their help,'' thought the young man to himself, slightly chuckling as he activated [Flight of the Azure Dragon] the moment he got out of the military base.


    If Hal hadn''t given him the emblem and needed to use someone else''s reputation and backing as his leverage, then he was certain he could ask for Julian''s help with no questions asked, especially with the amount of contributions he''s made for the cksmith Guild.


    Then, if Julian wasn''t avable, he would instead call Mystia. After all, not only was he her third disciple, he was also someone who brought the Mystic ne to the brink of bing a mid-sized ne in one fell swoop¡­ which would immediately regress if he were to disappear. However, if he couldn''t even contact Mystia for her help, then there was still the big red button he saved in case of emergencies.


    "In any case, since you''ve given me your n''s emblem out of your own ord¡­"


    "You wouldn''t mind if I use it to take care of other business, right?"


    At those words, Valyr let out a bit of yfulughter.

 Chapter 1204 Keeping Up to Date

    Chapter 1204 Keeping Up to Date


    "¡­Haah."


    "Where is he right now?"


    As these words left his mouth, Juno could not stop himself from letting out a low sigh, feeling a hint of regret over a decision he made while he continued to watch over Valyr''s shop.


    When Valyr first proposed to him that he''d be able to reach a higher level of cksmithing as long as he did a couple of things for the young man in exchange, the excitement of having his wishes fulfilled made him ept the deal in a heartbeat.


    In fact, Juno thought of it as a dreame true, considering that Valyr immediately taught him all he wanted to know in order to improve his cksmithing skills.


    Though it dide as a bit of surprise for him that he would be managing the shop alongside the young man after their learning session, the experience of learning from a master was more than enough for make up for it.


    Of course, therge sum of money he got for working by the end of the day also made for it, especially after he was made to interact with a lot more people than he usually did back in his smithy.


    With that positive experience in mind, Juno returned to Valyr''s shop the following day after thetter told him that he''d be teaching him how to improve his cksmithing once more.


    Ecstatic and eager to learn, the man came into the shop not long after that, only for the young man to ask for a favor from him to watch over the shop while he was gone.


    Seeing that Valyr''s shop would only be open for a simr amount of time to what he went through the previous day, Juno eventually agreed to the request, thinking that his experience would be more or less the same.


    After all, how bad would it be to manage Valyr''s shop while he was alone?


    The answer was bad.


    Very bad.


    Simr to what he experienced back in his smithy while Valyr was away, Juno was forced to interact with tens to hundreds of people over the entire span the shop was open, causing him to feel overwhelmed once more.


    However, considering that Valyr went out of his way to fulfill what he thought was an incredibly selfish request, the man endured the experience to the very end, letting out arge sigh of relief the moment the shop was considered closed.


    Naturally, the entire experience made him think about the brief conversation he had with Valyr before he left wherein he asked him as to when he''de back to the shop.


    At the same time, it made him think about how Valyr was more versatile than him, being able to interact with multiple people at once without much issues while also havinga mastery of cksmithing that he thought was out of this world.


    ''I really hope hees back before the shop opens again.'' With the thought in mind, Juno eventually got some rest, only to find out when he arrived at the shop the following day that Valyr had yet to return.


    Reminding himself that he was repaying Valyr by doing it, the man decided to open up Valyr''s shop once more, which unsurprisingly delighted the yers after the previous incident happened.


    Of course, the same couldn''t be said for Juno, who still felt greatly overwhelmed from having to interact with arge number of yers while managing the shop.


    Thankfully, just as he thought he''d have to soldier through yet another whole day of managing the shop on his lonesome, the person he wanted to pop up for a while finally appeared within the shop a couple of hours after he opened the shop.


    "Sorry for taking so long." Briefly ncing at the groups of yers perusing through the equipments and potions he had out on disy, Valyr looked at the frazzled Juno for a bit before giving him an apologetic smile.


    Hearing those words, the man looked back at him for a bit before letting out a low sigh. "¡­If you''re really sorry, then you better make up for itter on. You told me you''d only be away for a day, no?"


    "I did." Valyr nodded as he bitterly smiled. "Once again, I''m really sorry."


    "¡­" Though Juno still had a couple more things to say to Valyr about what he went through in the past couple of days thetter was gone, the man decided to keep those thoughts to himself, nodding at the young man''s words in response.


    Aside from the fact that things would only get worse if he were to antagonize Valyr for something like this, Juno was also made aware thanks to the current situation that there were still a couple of areas he could improve on.


    With that, the two worked together to manage the shop for the remaining time it was open, allowing the stress Juno had umted over the past day and half to gradually disappear the moment the shop closed.


    ¡­


    "¡­Haah." Watching Juno wave farewell at him as the man slowly disappeared from his field of vision, Valyr eventually let out a low sigh after making sure he was gone, feeling a bit of guilt at the thought of what he made the man go through.


    Of course, to lessen the guilt he felt, the young man did not hesitate to give him a greater share of the profits made while he was gone, as well as make an agreement to teach the man cksmithing for an entire day.


    "Then again, I should''ve stuck to the words I told him before I was gone," muttered Valyr to himself after some time, briefly admonishing himself to do better from now on.


    Closing his eyes for a while to briefly reflect on his actions, Valyr soon let out a long exhale the moment he opened his eyes.


    After that, he brought up a screen in front of him, wanting to see what the yers had been doing while he was away from the vige to obtain [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] from Jekyll.


    "Huh." Scrolling through the various posts made by the yers on the forum, Valyr raised his eyebrows in interest after seeing that a post containing an unofficial ranking of sorts had been made on the dungeons that were near the various starter viges.


    However, as he went through the post to see how well the yers in the other viges were doing inparison to the dungeons, the young man soon began to frown once his eyesnded on the list for Daffors Vige.


    "Well then." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "That''s not good."

 Chapter 1205 The Ceiling

    Chapter 1205 The Ceiling


    Whoosh!


    Going back and forth through the various lists on the post he was going through, Valyrpared the lists ranking all of the yers thatpleted the other vige dungeons to the list of yers that cleared the Cave of Beginnings near Daffors Vige.


    "Yeah¡­ that''s not good." Yet, even after going through all of these lists at least a couple of times, the young man could not stop the frown forming on his face after seeing the drastic difference between the two.


    "They''re going to shoot themselves in the foot at this rate."


    Although the dungeons that were near the other viges had different names, themes, andyouts, the Cave of Beginnings and those other dungeons were all simr in the fact that they were the first dungeons yers would experience going through.


    Because of that, they gave yers a rough idea of what they would expect from the dungeons they''d exploreter on, such as the types of enemies they might possibly fight against once they were inside.


    Aside from that, the first dungeons also gave the yers a rough idea of the various difficulties a dungeon might possibly have, with the Cave of Beginnings and the other first dungeons having five of them.


    Considering that the dungeons were a way for yers to get used to the mechanics governing Greater Beyond, the Easy difficulty of the first dungeons were only made avable after reaching Level 5, which meant that one would need to get used to the concept of fighting first.


    Then, once one reached Level 10, only then would one unlock the dungeon''s Medium difficulty, which introduced a couple of mechanics that slowly expanded a yer''s understanding of what they should expect in dungeons.


    After that, yers would then unlock the Hard difficulty of dungeon at Level 15, with the remaining two difficulties of Insane and Nightmare also being unlocked in increments of five levels.


    In other words, if one wanted to tackle the highest difficulty the Cave of Beginnings had to offer, one would first need to reach Level 25. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Which was also known as the peak of Rank 1.


    For reference, most of the lists Valyr went through that talked about the other dungeons all had yers that cleared the Normal difficulty at the top of their rankings.


    Though there were some outliers on the other lists that had yers that cleared the Hard difficulty of their respective dungeons, the young man still didn''t think too much of it.


    On the other hand, out of the 100 yers that were put on the list for the Cave of Beginnings, only thest 10 on the ranking cleared the Normal difficulty.


    As for the rest above that number?


    Hard difficulty.


    After going through the Cave of Beginnings'' list at least a dozen times, Valyr had counted that almost three-fourths of the yers on the dungeon''s unofficial rankings were able to clear the dungeon''s Hard difficulty.


    As for the remainder that had yet to mentioned, they took it one step further, cementing their reputation as the first group of yers that were able to clear the first dungeons'' Insane difficulty within the game''s first day.


    Of course, even though the yers thought of clearing higher difficulties as a good thing, Valyr thought of it as the opposite, especially after what he went through when he yed Greater Beyond in his past life.


    "I''m pretty sure I''m the cause of this," muttered the young man to himself, faintly letting out a sigh as he wondered whether he should be happy or sad for the yers.


    In the end, the young man decided to let out a sigh once more, closing the screen he brought up as he muttered a couple more words after that.


    "Well¡­ if their leveling speed is any benefit, I guess it''s the fact that they''ll be able to experience the ceiling far earlier than the others would."


    The ceiling.


    The pinnacle.


    The edge.


    These words were all used by the yers of Greater Beyond in his past life to ironically describe a certain phenomenon almost every yer would go through at least once.


    A phenomenon that meant the exact opposite of what the words usually meant.


    The limit of progression.


    Although it was not obvious to the yers at first, almost every action one did in Greater Beyond would have a slight effect to how their character would improveter on, whether it be in the form of the skills and titles they obtained, or the sses and species they could evolve into.


    With that, it went without saying that the level of strength a yer could reach within the game ranged from being slightly above averagepared to NPCs to a level that would cause one to be called a titan even among yers.


    ¡­As long as they weren''t afraid to experiment, that is.


    However, if one were to only focus on gaining levels as fast as possible in order to augment their strength, then the system would eventually intervene in their path to greater power at some point, informing them that theycked the qualifications to ascend to a higher ss rank.


    Once that happened, yers were told that they had hit ''the ceiling''.


    Of course, the ceiling wasn''t a permanent thing. There were a lot of options avable within the game that would allow one to circumvent it and keep progressing.


    Whether it be leveling and upgrading skills, obtaining titles,prehending Intents, consuming elixirs, or receiving better sses, all of it boiled down to fortifying and expanding one''s foundation.


    As long as one created a sturdy foundation that wouldn''t buckle under the strength they wieldedter on, then the system would greatly wee them with open arms, giving them all the support they needed to reach a level of power that even Valyr would have a hard time fathoming.


    Though, on the flip side, if one only focused on their levels and their equipment as a means of obtaining greater strength, even though it would be effective in the short term, the system would ultimately deem them unworthy of the path they''ve initially carved out.


    "I guess I''ll just let things take its course," said Valyr after some time, closing the screen he brought up as he let out a sigh.


    "It''s not like they''d believe me if I told them, anyway."


    "¡­Especially the Five Leviathans."

 Chapter 1206 An Impromptu Meeting (1)

    Chapter 1206 An Impromptu Meeting (1)


    Because of the experience and knowledge they''ve umted from ying multiple VRMMORPGs for the past couple of decades, the Five Leviathans, as well as the other organizations, formted a n that they used whenever they yed a game for the first time.


    Of course, that n was none other than to gain as much levels as possible within a short span of time, which would give them all the strength they needed to be considered heads and shoulders above the entire yer base.


    Once they established their dominance as yers with the reputation they had, they would then continue to maintain the gap of strength between them and the entire yer base, forming a hierarchy of sorts where they stood at the very top.


    Naturally, this kind of pattern did not ur in some of the games they yed, considering that there were outliers and entric people that had the means and the might within those games to break the status quo that was formed.


    Nevertheless, it was still a pattern that the Five Leviathans and the other organizations used. After all, it not only saved them a lot of time from fighting against the entire yer base in certain aspects, but it also allowed them to maintain their reputation as skilled individuals.


    With that, it was no surprise that these same people thought of utilizing the same tactic the moment Greater Beyond was released public, confident that the strategy they''ve used in all of the other games they yed would remain effective in this new game.


    Though it did work out for them at first, because they neglected to explore other avenues of gaining strength in exchange for maintaining leveling speed, they were also the first group of people within the game to be hit by the existence of the ceiling.


    Of course, a considerable portion of the yer base was also hit by the ceiling after that, seeing as most, if not all of them forged a simr path to therge organizations that came before them.


    Unsurprisingly, the existence of the ceiling brought chaos to Greater Beyond for quite some time, shaking up the hierarchy that everyone hade to ept in other VRMMORPGs.


    After all, with almost all of the yers hit by the ceiling forced to recreate their characters from scratch, the normal yers of the game were given an opportunity to have a taste of what it was like at the top.


    Because of that, thendscape of Greater Beyond that Valyr was familiar with near the end of his past life was created.


    All because those at the top in other games thought it was a good idea to apply the things they were doing there to Greater Beyond.


    "Then again, the change was for the better," muttered Valyr to himself, briefly reminiscing over the time the incident involving the existence of the ceiling broke out.


    Recalling that the event urred around thetter half of Greater Beyond''s first version, Valyr soon remembered that he was a bystander to the entire incident due to him having nowhere near the strength those at the top had at the time.


    Nevertheless, even though he wasn''t one of the yers that took the ceiling as an opportunity to change the so-called status quo, he consistently kept himself up to date with the entire event, writing down all of the names and organizations that decided to fight against the monopoly of the Five Leviathans and therge organizations.


    Then again, who wouldn''t take the opportunity if they were in their shoes?


    With that, the entirendscape of the VRMMORPG world changed because of the ceiling, gradually turning the once untouchable pinnacle of the Five Leviathans and therge organizations into something that was attainable with enough time and effort.


    All in all, though these organizations lost out in the short term because of the ceiling, the entire gaming world won in the end thanks to the introduction of more organizations and existences that people took notice of.


    Not only did the addition of these new organizations return the fiery sense ofpetition that the Five Leviathans and therge organizations had lost, but it also lit a spark within the entire yer base, showing that it was possible for the two sides to stand on equal grounds.


    Not only that, but yers in Greater Beyond were able to reach heights that would have been considered unattainable if not for the existence of the ceiling, introducing yet another wave of change to the entiremunity that Valyr made use of to establish a name for himselfter on.


    "Good times¡­ good times."


    Continuing to reminisce over all of the things he went through to get to where he was near the end of his past life, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he took in a deep breath from time to time.


    "¡­Huh." However, Valyr was forced to open his eyes after a sudden thought popped up in his mind, his expression containing both realization and excitement as he began to think out loud.


    "I guess there is a way for the Five Leviathans to avoid the existence of the ceiling."


    With the gears in his mind madly turning as he tried to get a better idea of what he came up with, Valyr faintly let out a long exhale topose himself.


    "At first, I thought it wouldn''t be possible to affect them since I''m just an NPC."


    "Sure, I may be considered unique in terms of my strength. The way they all interact with me is also somewhat different."


    "But ultimately, I''m still an NPC."


    "And I feel like¡­ that''s where the opportunity lies." As these words left his mouth, Valyr took a look at the equipment and potions he had out on disy in the shop, brieflyparing them to simr items he used in his past life during the early game.


    Being reminded once more that his items were borderline fraudulent inparison to those items he used, the young man let out a slight chuckle as he thought about how he''d use his items to his advantage.


    Specifically, making use of the allure his items held to make sure they would at least keep his reminder in their minds.


    "Aside from that, I''m the first NPC most yers have encountered to have this much strength," said Valyr to himself with a slight grin.


    "Surely they''d keep my words in mind if I used both to my leverage, right?"


    Letting out a peal ofughter in response to those words, Valyr soon made his way to the vige''s inn after listing down the things he needed to keep the shop running, ending off what he thought was a considerably long day.


    ¡­


    By the time he''d gotten a good night''s rest after going through all of the things he did in the past couple of days, Valyr faced the new day that greeted him with quite the positive energy.


    Deciding to manage the shop for some time before heading out to finish his personal tasks once more, the young man gradually made his way down the shop as he thought over the list of things he''dpiled the previous night.


    Coming up with a rough n of how he''d tackle all of the tasks he''d given himself before he even arrived at the shop, Valyr entered the shop with a faint smile on his face, only for it to change as a few notification sounds went off in his mind.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Knowing by now that he''d only receive notifications like that if someone sent him a message, Valyr began to wonder who would send him messages at such an early time, gradually narrowing the possibilities down to a couple of people he had in mind.


    "Well then¡­ I wasn''t expecting Braum to be the one contacting me." Surprisingly, the person that contacted him was one of the people he had in mind, causing a bit of interest to appear on his face whilst he recalled thest time they talked.


    Being reminded of the incident involving the Zeihardt n''s rebel faction back at the north defensive line, Valyr took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down before opening the messages Braum sent.


    Though, by the time he was done reading through them, only a single sound escaped his mouth. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "¡­Huh."


    ¡­


    "¡­I apologize for the sudden request," said Braum as he looked at Valyr with a hint of guilt on his face.


    "It''s fine," replied the young man as he waved his hands in slight nonchnce. "After all, you''re merely the messenger."


    Thinking back to the messages he received from Braum all of a sudden, a few expressions appeared on Valyr''s face when the man asked him if he could meet up with him to talk about something.


    Considering all of the information and help Braum gave him so far, it went without saying that the young man agreed to the request, finding no issue with it. After all, he was also curious about what happened to the man when the incident in the north defensive line was going on.


    Though, just as he thought that their conversation would end then and there, Braum followed up with a response that he would meet up with himter in the day alongside another person he was bringing along.


    Naturally, Valyr became curious as to who it was, going through a small list of people he had in mind that might talk to him.


    In the end, Braum told him that the person apanying him was none other than the person Valyr requested for while the incident was going on.


    "So¡­ how long do you think it''ll take for him toe here?" Having already waited for an hour after Braum arrived at his shop, the question eventually left Valyr''s mouth as he thought about how he could''ve used the time to make items to replenish his shop''s stock.


    Thankfully, the man the two of them were waiting for arrived around a couple of minutester, giving off a slight air of confidence as he appeared in front of both Braum and Valyr.

 Chapter 1207 An Impromptu Meeting (2)

    Chapter 1207 An Impromptu Meeting (2)


    "I apologize for taking longer than usual to arrive." Although the man outwardly showed confidence as he made his way to where the two were, that immediately turned into slight guilt once he began to look at Braum with an apologetic smile.


    "It''s fine," replied Braum with a slight nod, understanding the plight of the man before them. "After all, even I took a while to get here the first time."


    "I''ll have to do more research on routes to faraway ces like theseter on." Nodding in agreement to his words, the man soon shifted his gaze towards the young man beside Braum, his eyes lighting up the moment he noticed thetter''s silver irises.


    "You would be Valyr, I presume?" asked the man, his tone containing slight excitement.


    "That would be me." Valyr nodded in response, slightly surprised that the man leading the Zeihardt n''s supportive faction was more amiable than he initially thought.


    Earlier when Braum arrived at his shop for the meeting in advance, the man decided to give Valyr a slight briefing of the supportive faction''s leader in detail, giving the young man a heads-up of sorts as to what man he''d be talking toter on.


    From what Braum told him, Valyr imagined the leader of the supportive faction to be a calm and collected personality, forgoing the need for emotion in order to make sure all of his moves were done so with the greatest benefit in mind.


    With that, the two briefly discussed whether or not the young man should use one of his alternate identities. After all, doing the meeting in his original appearance was basically giving the Zeihardt n his current whereabouts.


    Then again, even though Braum listed down a number of simr reasons to persuade him to make use of a different appearance, Valyr remained adamant in using his original appearance, telling the man that it was inevitable for him to show his true face sooner orter.


    "Plus, doing so would bring me one step closer topleting the n I have," said Valyr, reminding Braum of the conversation they had thest time he arrived at the vige.


    Fortunately, that was more than enough to convince Braum not to try and persuade the young man any further, which allowed the current situation to happen.


    ''The supportive faction''s leader forgoes the need for emotion¡­ but it really doesn''t seem like it?'' Continuing to look at the man in front of him in silence, Valyr briefly thought back to the conversation he had with Braum earlier.


    Feeling a hint of doubt begin to creep up in his mind, the young man began to inwardly shake his head, deciding to trust a bit more in the information Braum gave him.


    ''He wouldn''t have told me that for no reason, after all.''


    "I''m greatly thankful that you epted the meeting I requested," said Valyr to the man after some time, gradually shifting the flow of the conversation to where he was the one in control. "Hopefully I didn''t encumber you?"


    "Not at all." The man shook his head with an amicable smile. "After all, who would pass up on an opportunity to talk with a Herald of the n?"


    "Though¡­" Just as Valyr got the feeling that there was something slightly off about the man''s words, thetter gave him a respectful half-bow before continuing to speak. "Before we proceed with our reasons for meeting up, let me first introduce myself."


    "As you''ve left the n many years ago, I more than understand that someone like me wouldn''t be familiar to you."


    "Sullivan Artis Zeihardt," the man told Valyr. "I hail from the same branch of the Zeihardt Royal n as you do, though I have a feeling you called me here more for my position as the leader of the n''s supportive faction."


    Taking in a slightly deep breath as he processed the words the man told him, the young man soon nodded in response as a sign for him to continue.


    "Aside from that, I also upy the position of chief adviser to the head of Algerie Kingdom''s Zeihardt Royal n¡­" said Sullivan, only to let out a wry chuckle as the young man began to look at him with slight disinterest. "But you don''t really seem to care about that."


    "Since that''s the case¡­ let us proceed with the main reason why we''ve decided to meet up, then."


    "Thank you." Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief after hearing the man''s words, Valyr took a bit of time to collect himself before taking the initiative to start the conversation. "You wouldn''t mind if I were the one asking questions first, no?"


    "Not at all." Sullivan shook his head. "Feel free to ask all the questions you need, and I shall answer to the best of my abilities."


    "Alright." Nodding in response to his words, Valyr pondered over the first question he should ask, only to recall a certain quest he had in mind. "For my first question¡­"


    "Where could you usually be found?"


    "Pardon?" Unsurprisingly, Sullivan looked a bit confused after hearing the question. "Am I wrong in hearing that you''re asking me for my usual whereabouts?"


    "That would be the question I''m asking, yes." Valyr nodded, only to notice greater confusion on the man''s face in response.


    Fortunately, the young man soon realized how weird it was for a question like that to be the first question he asked.


    So, he rified himself. "I''m asking this in the off chance I decide on nning a meeting with you in the future. After all, it would be somewhat rude if you were the one who always had to adjust to my whereabouts."


    "I¡­ see," replied Sullivan after a bit of silence, faintly nodding as Valyr''s words gradually began to make sense to him. "Well, I don''t usually go outside the n that much¡­ the answer you''d be looking for would be the Zeihardt Royal n estate, I guess?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Ding!


    Hearing a couple of notifications go off in his mind after the man replied to his question, Valyr felt a bit of smile creep up onto his lips.


    Stifling this smile before it could appear, the young man decided to ask a simr question to the one he just threw out, thinking that now was the best opportunity to finish the one quest he''d gotten almost a year ago.


    "Now for my second question," said Valyr, thanking the man for his earlier response. "Would you happen to know the usual whereabouts of the leader of the rebel faction?"


    As those words left his mouth, the young man thought about how he''d be able to smoothly proceed to the actual conversation he wanted to have with Sullivan after thetter answered his current question.


    Though, unlike the slight uncertainty Sullivan showed him in his first question, the man now began to look at him with suspicion.


    "Although I don''t mind answering your question¡­"


    "Could you perhaps enlighten me as to why you would need such information?"

 Chapter 1208 An Impromptu Meeting (3)

    Chapter 1208 An Impromptu Meeting (3)


    ''¡­Ah.''


    Noticing the frown that appeared on the man''s face, as well as the hostile intent the man was faintly giving off, Valyr knew that his eagerness to finally clear a long-unfinished quest had caused the situation to turn awry.


    Briefly ncing at Braum beside him, the young man noticed that a hint of panic on his face, asking him with his expression on how he was going to salvage the situation he''d caused.


    In response, Valyr briefly gave the man a look of reassurance, signaling through his gaze that he shouldn''t worry and that he''d be able to steer the conversation back to where it was supposed to be.


    Returning his gaze back to Sullivan after that, the young man took in a deep breath as he briefly closed his eyes.


    Feeling the hostile intenting from the man gradually intensify over time, the young man soon let out a soft exhale as he looked back at him with a slightly bitter smile.


    "Why the need to be hostile?" asked Valyr, immediately causing the hostile intent Sullivan was letting out to stop. "Were you under the impression that I was asking you such a question to intimidate you?"


    "Were you not?" asked Sullivan back as he let out a bit of hostile intent once more.


    "Why would I?" replied Valyr with a shake of his head, letting out a sigh as he looked at the man with a bit of disappointment. "I merely asked you the question because I was curious, not because I did so out of other reasons."


    "You could ask Braum beside me if you want to make sure," he continued, pointing at the man beside him. "He''ll tell you that you''re the first faction I''ve approached out of my own ord."


    "Then again, I have no reason to talk with the rebel faction after what they did to me."


    "¡­Is that true?" Giving himself some time to collect his thoughts, Sullivan donned a calm expression as he looked at Braum for answers. "Am I¡­ are we the first faction from the n he approached?"


    "Yes." Braum nodded as he began to expound upon the things Valyr mentioned in the words he uttered earlier.


    Of course, while doing so, he also began to wonder what the young man was nning exactly. After all, information like the ambush from the Zeihardt n''s rebel faction was basically showing the supportive n a vulnerability they could exploit.


    However, as Valyr decided to show trust towards him, it only made sense for him to reciprocate the trust given.


    "The rebel faction¡­" By the time Braum was finished exining what Valyr meant to the man, Sullivan''s expression immediately turned grim.


    "They really thought they''d get away with that?"


    Whoosh!


    Letting the anger he felt consume him, the man radiated a palpable killing intent that made Valyr raise his eyebrows in slight interest.


    ''It seems¡­ there''s more to him than what Braum told me,'' thought the young man to himself, feeling that Sullivan was only showing him one side of who he really was.


    After all, the killing intent he gave off was only possible if one had carved out their path to power through ughter.


    "Huu¡­" Feeling a pair of strong auras push on his body the moment he was about to let his anger consume him further, Sullivan quickly realized what he was doing and hastily suppressed it, taking in a few deep breaths topose himself in the process.


    "¡­Sorry." After that, he gave both Braum and Valyr an apology, as well as a few words of gratitude for bringing him out of that state. "I let my anger get the better of me."


    "No need to apologize." Valyr nodded in understanding. "Even I can''t help but be angry when I think about what they did."


    "Anyways, if you don''t feel like telling me the usual whereabouts of the rebel faction''s leader, then there''s no need to," he added. "Think of it as just a question in passing."


    "There really isn''t any reason for me to withhold such information from you," replied Sullivan as he shook his head. "He''s also usually found within the n estate. Though, in his case, he does so out of fear of his actions being caught."


    "And it seems that I now understand why."


    Ding!


    Hearing a series of notifications go off in his mind after that, Valyr inwardly felt ecstatic as he was finally able to make progress on a quest that was iplete for a long time.


    Briefly ncing at Braum beside him, the young man faintly smiled after seeing the look of shock that appeared on the man''s face.


    Giving him an expression that more or less said ''I told you so'', the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he began to tackle their conversation the way he initially intended.


    "Mind if I ask one more question?" As these words left his mouth, Valyr looked at Sullivan with a slightly apologetic expression. "I''ll let you ask the same number of questions I have in return." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I don''t mind." Fortunately, with the goodwill Valyr had shown through his words earlier, Sullivan was amenable to the idea. "¡­I presume it''s not yet another question on a certain person''s whereabouts, no?"


    "It''s not." Valyr let out a slight chuckle, only for his expression to turn serious after that. "Instead, I wanted to ask you."


    "Which faction did the Nichs n approach in the Zeihardt n?"


    "Both factions," replied the man after some time, faintly pondering over the words he nned on saying. "One day, they brought an envoy from their n to the Zeihardt Royal n estate in Algerie Kingdom, stating that they knew of your whereabouts."


    "At that point, we were pondering whether or not to give up searching for you, considering how your tracks have eluded us all this time," he continued, looking at Braum with a knowing nce.


    Receiving a knowing smile from Braum in return, Sullivan added, "In the end, the Nichs n''s appearance made us thought of giving it onest shot after finally giving up for good."


    "We just didn''t expect that the information they gave us would prove to be more effective than we thought." At these words, he looked at the young man.


    "Do you know why they decided to share that information with you?" asked Valyr after that, his curiosity on n the Nichs n''s reasons gnawing at him.


    "They didn''t really say why, no." Sullivan shook his head. "All the envoy told us at the time was that their mission would be fulfilled as long as they had a chance to meet with you."


    "Meet with me?" Hearing those words, Valyr had a slight frown on his face as he briefly thought back to the train of thought he had on the topic back then.


    ''Were my previous thoughts true? Is the Nichs n not doing it for the reward?''


    ''Wait¡­ Is the Nichs n moving with Edward in mind?''


    In the end, Valyr let out a sigh, getting the feeling that there was only a thin veil stopping him from finding out the actual reason the Nichs n made a move.


    Though, with no idea how he''d be able to pierce that veil, the young man eventually pushed the thought aside for the meantime.


    "My apologies," said Valyr to Sullivan with a slightly wry smile. "I was pondering over the things you''ve told me. Feel free to ask your questions now."


    "If you don''t mind." Sullivan nodded in response, contemting in silence for a bit as he wondered what the best question to ask first would be.


    "Well, I guess it''s only right that I should start with simple questions."


    "Would it be possible for you to tell me where you''ve been before this meeting of ours?"


    "What do you mean by that?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight confusion. "Like¡­ where I actually was before this?"


    "No, not that." Realizing that his question was misinterpreted, Sullivan quickly rified himself. "What I meant to say was¡­ where did you usually stay before you held this meeting? Surely this vige here is just a temporary venue, no?"


    "Well, I do n on staying in this vige for the meantime," replied Valyr, causing Sullivan to look back at him in slight surprise. "But that''s probably not the answer you''re looking for."


    "Algerie Kingdom."


    "¡­Huh?"


    "Beforeing here, I was at the kingdom."

 Chapter 1209 An Impromptu Meeting (4)

    Chapter 1209 An Impromptu Meeting (4)


    "Wait¡­ really?"


    Unsurprisingly, Sullivan looked at Valyr in disbelief after hearing those words.


    After all, if that were truly the case, then didn''t that mean the young man was living right under the Zeihardt n''s noses this entire time?


    Getting the feeling that there was a hint of falsehood in Valyr''s response, the man soon turned to look at Braum, asking him if he could verify the young man''s words as a renowned information broker.


    In response, Braum briefly nced at Valyr for his permission, only to nod back after obtaining the young man''s go ahead.


    Taking in a deep breath after that, the man then gave Sullivan a slightly lengthy exnation of the ces Valyr had stayed in up to the point before they held their meeting, causing thetter to slightly frown at how long-winded the exnation was.


    Nevertheless, after going over what Braum told him for some time, the man eventually came to the conclusion that the answer the young man was without any falsehood, prompting him to look at Valyr with slight shock.


    Knowing what was going on in Sullivan''s mind at that moment, the young man let out a bit ofughter. "I''m sure the Nichs n has already told you this, but¡­"


    "You do know I have that ability, right?"


    Whoosh!


    Deciding to show a bit more of his trust to the man in front of him, Valyr went ahead and changed his appearance through [Thousand Polymorph], taking on an identity that even Sullivan hade to recognize thanks to the Rise to Prominence tournament.


    "Ylvar?" asked the man in slight uncertainty, causing both Braum and Valyr to let out a bit ofughter in response to his shock. "Are you telling me¡­ you''re Ylvar?"


    "Don''t you think the name already gives it away?" said Valyr in response, deactivating [Thousand Polymorph] after that. "In any case, I suppose that answers some of the other questions you had in mind."


    "How¡­ many people know about this connection?" asked Sullivan, taking a bit of time to recover from the shock he felt.


    "There are a few who''ve heard or seen it from me directly," replied Valyr, bitterly smiling after that. "However, the Nichs n has only spected the connection between the two as far as I know."


    "Any other questions?"


    "I think¡­ I''ve gotten all of the answers I needed." Sullivan slowly shook his head, only for him toe up with another question not long after. "Though, I do think I have one more question to ask."


    "Go ahead." Valyr nodded.


    "Why did you arrange a meeting with me?" asked the man, only now realizing that this question should''ve been the question he started with. "After all, you haven''t interacted with any other person from the Zeihardt n all this time, so¡­ why now?"


    "Hmm¡­ if I were to tell you that I wanted to return to the Zeihardt n, what would you say?" Valyr asked a question of his own in response, which unsurprisingly made Sullivan look at him in excitement.


    "Are you truly nning to return to the Zeihardt n?!"


    "I''m thinking about it," rified Valyr. "Which is why I asked you what your thoughts were on my return."


    "If possible, you could also give me an idea of what the rebel faction would think if I were to return."


    "Well, it goes without saying that our faction would be more than d to wee you back to the n with open arms," replied Sullivan after a bit of thought, the smile on his face betraying the seriousness he was trying to show.


    "After all, as a Herald, you would be treated well even if you were in the main n."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if the head of our Zeihardt Royal n branch decides to step down from his position and give it to you if you return, especially with the might you possess as Ylvar."


    Valyr faintly nodded at those words. "And how do you think the rebel faction would react if I were to return?"


    "After you''ve informed me of their actions back at the north defensive line, I guess the rebel faction would respond to your return with violence," said Sullivan, expounding on his thoughts after that.


    "I''m pretty sure you already know about this, but the rebel faction wants to be the first to get their hands on you between the two factions."


    "The reason behind this is because they want to use your power and authority as a Herald to achieve the goals that they have in mind, pretty much turning you into a figurehead of their faction."


    "And your faction''s goal?" asked Valyr, briefly recalling the conversation he had with Aster Stelyra back at Clossbay City.


    "Simr, but of a different approach," replied Sullivan with a faint smile. "Unlike the rebel faction, we merely aim to give you suggestions on things to do as the future head of the n."


    "Of course, we shall respect your power and authority as a Herald, so you''re free to decline our suggestions at any time."


    "So, it''s a case of your faction just being the lesser evil, huh," replied Valyr after pondering over his words for a bit, causing the smile on Sullivan to turn slightly bitter.


    "I wouldn''t say it like that," the man told Valyr. "It would be better to phrase it as a fairer approach to the problem. It''s simr to how a council of elders or advisers would give suggestions to the main head of a n." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "But would I really be free to decline your suggestions at any time?" asked Valyr in return. "I know you just said that, but your faction would be losing out if I don''t agree to any of your terms, no?"


    At those words, Sullivan continued to look at Valyr with a bitter smile, his expression telling the young man all he needed to know.


    "Alright, I think I''ve gotten all of the answers I was looking for." Faintly letting out a sigh at the answers he got, Valyr decided to end the meeting between them then and there. "Now that I think about it, the two factions only exist within our branch of the n, right?"


    "Yes," replied Sullivan with a nod, knowing that it wasn''t worth persuading the young man any longer. "The main n has no inkling of this happening."


    "Then again, many of the smaller branch ns have sided themselves with either of the two factions."


    "And the other Royal n branches?" asked Valyr with a raised eyebrow.


    "They know of it, but they''ve decided to stay neutral."


    "I see." Nodding in response, Valyr allowed Sullivan to leave after that, prompting thetter to thank him for the time he spent before doing so.


    Though, before the man could even step foot out of the young man''s shop, thetter stopped him onest time.


    Only to make a request that made Sullivan frown.


    "Say, before you go¡­"


    "Mind if you swear a mana oath for me?"

 Chapter 1210 To Pass the Time

    Chapter 1210 To Pass the Time


    "¡­Did you really have to make him swear a mana oath?"


    As he watched Sullivan walk away from Valyr''s shop with a slightly sullen expression, Braum eventually shifted his gaze towards the young man as the question came to mind.


    "It''s always better to be safe than sorry," replied Valyr with a shrug of his shoulders, thinking back to the reaction the man gave him just earlier.


    Of course, it went without saying that Sullivan was against the idea of swearing a mana oath. After all, the man had gained a lot of information directly from Valyr that would help their side of the n win the young man over at some point.


    Unfortunately for him, Valyr already had an idea on how the man would make use of the information. Because of that, the young man decided to put a stop to it in advance by having him swear through a mana oath to not divulge the information he obtained from their meeting to anyone through any means.


    Unsurprisingly, it was as if a switch had been flicked within Sullivan''s mind after that, not hesitating to stop suppressing the aura and the hostile intent he''d shown earlier in a bid to discourage Valyr from continuing with his ideas.


    However, rather than forget the idea and imagine that he had never brought it up in the first ce, the young man instead retaliated against the man''s actions with his own, focusing all of his aura towards the man without hesitation.


    Whoosh!


    With him being able to kill Myth-level beings without issues, it was no surprise that Sullivan immediately crumpled under the sheer might of Valyr''s aura, being reminded once more that the young man in front of him was also Ylvar.


    Then again, even though he knew of what the young man was capable of, Sullivan still tried to stand his ground, showing Valyr through his actions that his position as chief adviser and head of the Zeihardt n''s supportive faction was not without reason.


    Sadly, that only made the young man double down on his current stance.


    Swoosh!


    With the current situation showing Valyr that Sullivan did not want to swear a mana oath at all costs, the young man eventually let out a faint sigh as a pair of crimson trefoils began to appear around his pupils.


    After that, all thoughts of resistance and opposition in Sullivan''s mind immediately disappeared, instead being reced with terror as he swore the mana oath with fear in his eyes.


    "Don''t you think you went a bit too far, though?" Though he agreed with Valyr''s statement that prevention was better than cure, Braum still found the young man''s actions to make the mana oath happen a bit over the top.


    "You tell me," replied the young man, reminding Braum that Sullivan was the first to bare his fangs back at Valyr. "If you were in my shoes, were you really going to take that lying down?"


    "Plus, with the information I gave him, I wouldn''t be surprised if their side made a move sooner orter," continued the young man. "In fact, I wouldn''t be surprised if their moves turn out to be more insidiouspared to what the rebel faction did."


    At those words, Braum began to slightly shudder as he pondered over it for a bit, realizing that the meeting between the two made him let his guard down in front of Sullivan.


    "Who says he forwent emotions?" muttered the man with a low sigh. "He merely turned it into a variable he could use to obtain even greater benefit."


    After talking a bit more about what Sullivan and the supportive faction would do now that he knew where Valyr would stay for the meantime, Valyr eventually shifted the topic of their conversation to Braum.


    Specifically, what happened to Braum that made him contact the young man just as thetter was ambushed at the north defensive line.


    "You told me that the rebel faction of the n ambushed you for my whereabouts," said Valyr as his expression turned grim. "If you don''t mind¡­ could you tell me the whole story?"


    "Well, I''ve already gotten over the incident¡­" replied Braum in a way that made it seem like he wanted to drop the matter. After all, if he were to tell Valyr the full story of what happened to him, he would just be giving the young man a greater burden to bear.


    Yet, with Valyr remaining adamant on knowing what he went through, the man eventually decided to give in, not withholding even a single word on the injustice he suffered that day.


    From the part where he''d been ambushed by the right hand of the rebel faction leader, to the threats that same person made on his parents just so he gave them what they wanted, Braum felt tears brim around his eyes the more he talked, recalling how useless he felt during that time.


    To no surprise, Valyr felt a greater sense of anger towards the Zeihardt n by the time the man was done talking, wanting nothing more than to head to Algerie Kingdom at that instant and demolish the entire n estate then and there.


    Fortunately, he did not let his anger get the better of himself, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down and collect his thoughts.


    After that, he made a promise to Braum that the n would eventually receive the retaliation they deserved for what they did to him, causing thetter to promise in return that he''d give him all of the information he need and more in order to make that happen.


    Part of the reason why he did that was because of all the trust Valyr had shown him thus far. Another part of the reason why he did that was because of the fear that the young man in front of him might go on a rampage.


    After all, from what he could tell, Valyr seemed like a volcano just waiting to erupt at any moment.


    ¡­


    After he and Braum parted ways, the young man took some time to cool down from the news Braum shared with him before deciding to open shop for the day.


    Although it wouldn''t be open for as long as the other days he had the shop open, a lot of yers still frequented the shop nevertheless, touting that the items he sold were the best a yer could get their hands-on in the early game.


    Naturally, Valyr was d to hear that, especially after he began to replenish stock while the shop was open.


    Giving yers a short glimpse of what kind of world cksmithing had to offer, it was no surprise that a couple of yers approached him at the end of the day if they could learn cksmithing from him.


    In the end, he decided to give them an opportunity in the form of a quest, thinking that the time it took for them to finish the quest was more than enough time for him to tie up the remaining loose ends he had.


    As he had made up his mind on spending more time working on his shop in between his outings for personal tasks, it went without saying that he spent most of his time in the shop for the next few days.


    Then again, he technically did head out once during those couple of days, having appeared in the Mystic ne for a short while to give Mystia his other copy of the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Fortunately, he asked her for her whereabouts first before he thought of heading to the Meltierre Empire. If not, he would have headed to the Meltierre Heavenly Court for nothing.


    In total, Valyr spent half a week in the vige doing nothing other than managing the shop he built, thinking that he''d spent more than enough time in the ce to head out for another of his personal tasks once more.


    Coincidentally, that time was also around the second day Greater Beyond was avable to the public.

 Chapter 1211 Entering the Game

    Chapter 1211 Entering the Game


    "Mr. Meyers? Are you there?"


    "Your package is here."


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Mngh¡­" Just as the young man was still savoring the warmth his bed brought during the early morning, the young man''s sleep was rudely interrupted by a series of loud knocks on his door.


    Wanting to sleep in just a bit more, the young man forced himself in a half-asleep state as he asked in the loudest voice he could muster, "Who is it?"


    "Delivery," said the person on the other side of his door. "The package has already been paid for. If you could receive the package for me, that would be great."


    "Just put the package by the side," replied the young man, turning around in a bid to finally return to his rightful slumber. "If you do that, I''ll tip your services handsomely."


    "Er¡­ if you say so."


    And thus, with the sound of boxes shuffling echoing from the outside, the young man soon fell asleep once more, only waking up a few hourster.


    ¡­


    "Man¡­ that was a good sleep."


    Letting out a long yawn as he got out of bed, the young man began to go through his daily routine, only to recall that a small incident had urred in the middle of his sleep.


    Wondering if he dreamed of the situation or not, he decided to make sure by checking the entrance to his apartment, recalling that it came from there.


    "If I remember correctly, I was told I got a package or something?" Muttering these words to himself, the young man immediately became wide awake when he saw a couple of boxes neatly stacked on the side of the door.


    Closing his eyes for a bit as he tried to recall more of what he said during that time, the young man soon let out a sigh as he eventually remembered what he said near the end.


    "Why did I have to say that when I''m already low on money¡­"


    Scratching the back of his head in slight frustration, the young man soon moved all of the boxes he got inside, only to then follow through on his words after that.


    "Yeah¡­ 50 Delta is big enough of a tip for something like this." Though he felt a bit annoyed that he said something like that just so he could continue sleeping in peace, the young man''s conscience would gnaw at him if he didn''t do it.


    Confirming that he''d sent the tip to the person that delivered the packages to him earlier, the young man soon began to rub his hands in excitement as he opened the boxes one by one.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    cing the items within the boxes on a nearby table, he then proceeded to neatly store the storage boxes for future use, making use of the experience he rued in box cutting and box folding.


    Removing the protectiveyers covering the items after that, the young man was soon greeted by the items he''d paid for, grinning from ear to ear as he clenched his fists in excitement.


    "Finally¡­ Greater Beyond¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths to maintain calm, the young man could not help but move at a slightly faster pace than before as he held the copy of Greater Beyond he bought.


    "Even though I paid a premium just to get this from the scalpers, it feels like all the troubles I went through are nothing after seeing this in person.


    Heading to the pod he used to y True Immersion VRMMORPGs, the young man went ahead and inserted his copy of Greater Beyond into it, only to get a prompt soon after that it needed to download a lot of files before it was yable.


    Considering that there was still a couple of things he needed to do before he could y the game in peace, the young man went ahead and epted the download, making use of the time given to him to do all the things he needed to do.


    By the time he was done, all of the files needed for Greater Beyond to run had all been downloaded, causing the excitement that died down while he was waiting to appear once more.


    "I should probably take a look at the manual thates along with it." Making himselffortable as heid down within the gaming pod, the young man grabbed the small pamphlet that came along with the copy and began to read through its contents.


    However, after going through the pamphlet for a minute or so, the young man decided to toss it aside after realizing that most of what he read was just legal gibberish that would save thepany''s ass if trouble arose.


    "I''ll figure it out along the way." Priding himself in the experience he umted from ying other True Immersion VRMMORPGs in the past, the young man soon booted up the game, causing his consciousness to be transported into the world of Greater Beyond not long after. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡­


    [Wee to Greater Beyond.]


    Feeling as if he''d just experienced a shbang from close range, the young man took a while to adjust to his current surroundings as he heard a feminine voice echo in front of him all ofa sudden.


    "Huh?" Closing his eyes for a bit to give himself some more time to adjust, he soon opened his eyes once more, only a pure white greeted him almost everywhere he looked.


    The only exception to that was the holographic screen that was situated in the forward direction, which contained the words that echoed throughout the white space just now.


    [Please select a world.]


    Hearing the voice echo throughout the space once more, the young man soon focused his attention on the holographic screen, taking note that a total of 8 worlds were avable for him to choose.


    "From what I recall, there are two worlds here that are considered goods to start on." Remembering all of the research he did the day before, the young man went over all of the choices he had before eventually choosing Veldanyr.


    [Please select your starter vige.]


    "Daffors Vige," responded the young man the moment the prompt popped up, recalling that the Five Leviathans had made it their spawn point.


    ''Not only that, but the unique NPC could only be found there.''


    After choosing where he would spawn, the young man then adjusted what his character would look like, leaving his height and facial features untouched to make sure he could adapt to his new body properly.


    "Light gray hair and a pair of golden eyes¡­ truly the bestbo of colors for someone like me."


    Satisfied with how he would look like once he spawned, the young man confirmed his choice, only to obtain one more prompt from the game.


    [Please write down your name.]


    "My name, huh?" Pondering over what name would fit for his current character, the young man eventually decided to go with the name he''d been using in other games.


    "Yeah, let''s go with Ataraxia."


    Ding!


    [Name confirmed.]


    [¡­]


    [Wee, Ataraxia.]

 Chapter 1212 Paying a Visit

    Chapter 1212 Paying a Visit


    "¡­I suppose I could leave this shop to you again?"


    As he wrapped up yet another learning session with Juno in preparation for the shop''s opening, Valyr had a faint apologetic smile on his face as he asked the man for a small favor.


    "Are you gonna make sure you''lle back on time this around, though?" Of course, recalling what happened thest time the young man asked such a request from him, Juno hesitated on epting.


    After all, the man still felt overwhelmed when he thought about the number of people he''d be talking and interacting with for the entire day, even if he''d gotten slightly more used to the thought over the past few days.


    "Now you''re making it sound like I intentionally do it to mess with you." Hearing Juno''s words, the apologetic smile on Valyr''s face slightly deepened, wryly chuckling at the thought before letting out a faint sigh soon after.


    "In any case, I''ll try my best to get back here before you have to open up shop the next day," he added, giving the man a look of reassurance. "Plus, even if I don''te back on time, I''m sure you''ll only have to man the shop for like a few more hours at most."


    "And if you take even longer than that toe back?" asked Juno back as an extreme what-if scenario, the hesitation on his face slightly intensifying. "After all, you did say youing backter than usual wasn''t intentional."


    "Then¡­ it is what it is, I guess." Valyr could only shrug his shoulders at those words. "At the very least, you''ll be able to learn cksmithing for another entire day from me."


    "Speaking of which, when do you n on doing that?"


    "¡­"


    Fortunately, after a bit more persuasion, Juno eventually epted Valyr''s request of managing the shop, allowing the young man to ease up a bit as he changed his appearance using [Thousand Polymorph].


    Swoosh!


    ''I should really give this second alternate identity of mine a name if I n on using it more often.'' Making use of his third identity in order to leave the vige without attracting the yers'' attention, Valyr let out a slight chuckle as the thought came up to mind.


    ''Then again, it''s not like I''d need toe up with a name for this identity any time soon. I can always save the thought forter.''


    ''For now, it''s time to head to the Caemelio n.''


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Whizzing through the air at great speeds, Valyr, donning his Ylvar identity, had a calm expression on his face as he went through the information Braum gave him back then on the Caemelio n.


    "If my calctions are correct, it''ll only take me a few more minutes of traveling north from the Audar Kingdom for me to arrive at the Caemelio n''s estate."


    As those words left his mouth, the young man let out a low sigh, briefly thinking back on the journey he''d gone through just to get to his current point.


    After leaving Daffors Vige using the third identity, Valyr swapped to his highly recognized identity as Ylvar before arriving at a nearby town, deciding to make use of the cksmith Guild''s Teleportation Halls to cut down on his travel time once more.


    However, unlike before, where he''d be able to get to where he wanted mostly unobstructed, a greater number of people began to block and interrupt him while he made his way to the town''s cksmith Guild branch.


    Although the entire thing did annoy him to some degree, the young man found it simple to deal with after making use of both [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] as well as his aura on full st, causing the people obstructing him to move aside as if he was cutting the sea in half.


    Unfortunately for him, the people obstructing him was not a one-time thing, with many other groups of people blocking his way whenever he arrived at a city or kingdom that brought him closer to where he needed to go.


    In fact, before he left Audar Kingdom in order to start making his way to the Caemelio n estate, Valyr was swarmed by a ton of people once more the moment he left the cksmith Guild.


    Of course, knowing what to do after having experienced it a couple of times, the young man swiftly activated thebo he made use of many times more, allowing him to leave the kingdom without causing too much fanfare.


    "I''m pretty sure Sullivan has something to do with this," muttered the young man to himself, briefly thinking back to the meeting the two held in his shop a few days ago.


    Recalling the eyes ring at him with hostile intent before the man left the vige for good, Valyr had a feeling that the man would make a move on him one way or another, acting as a reminder that he was basically one man fighting against the force of a faction.


    "But since I stopped him from divulging any information we shared during our conversation, he decided to focus on my identity as Ylvar instead."


    "Honestly, I thought it''d take longer for him to make a move, considering the n''s rebel faction only made a move not that long ago," said Valyr to himself with a wry smile, only to shrug his shoulders at the thought soon after.


    "Then again, it''s not like the mana oath is all-epassing or everything."


    Though he was confident that he shut down a lot of the loopholes Sullivan could have made use of by adding the phrase ''anyone through any means'' near the end of his oath, it wasn''t as if that phrase wouldpletely stop the man from sharing what they talked about with other people.


    With the scope of the mana oath only being limited to information the two of them shared during the meeting, Valyr knew Sullivan could create new pieces of information bybining the information he already knew with the information he got from the meeting, rendering the oath null and void.


    He also knew that the man could also use the connections he had with other people to slowly point the people he was talking with to the information he wanted them to figure out, considering that it was a loophole he often used back in his previous life.


    All in all, there were a myriad ways of bypassing the binding effect of a mana oath.


    In fact, there was even a method wherein it was possible to nullify the mana oath itself. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    However, one would need to be an Ancient Monarch at the very least.


    Though, one would only be an Ancient Monarch if they had reached the highest level of strength possible for a peak Rank 10 ss holder.


    Coming to the conclusion that the chaos Sullivan added to his life didn''t really hamper him from doing the things he needed to do, Valyr eventually pushed all of his thoughts on the matter to the side as he arrived near the entrance of the Caemelio n''s estate.


    Whoosh!


    Deactivating [Flight of the Azure Dragon] the moment he realized he was only a couple hundred meters away from arriving at the Caemelio n, Valyr decided to traverse the remaining distance on his two feet.


    Faintly releasing some of his aura into the surroundings in the hopes he''d get the attention of a couple of people from the n, a smile began to creep up onto the young man''s lips once he realized his actions had made his thoughts a reality.


    "Who goes there?!" Just as he was only a couple dozen meters away from arriving at the Caemelio n''s gates, a group of people from the Caemelio n stood in Valyr''s way, all of them looking at him with wariness and vignce in their eyes.


    "The name''s Ylvar." Not wanting to get on the n''s bad side before he could even enter, Valyr went ahead and retracted his aura as he looked at the group with a calm expression. "I''vee to your n to seek your n''s assistance."


    "Assistance?" Unsurprisingly, the group of people immediately had looks of bewilderment and shock on their faces after hearing that the young man in front of them was none other than the well-renowned Ylvar. Because of that, it took the group a bit of time to calm down, even though their bodynguage betrayed the amount of excitement they felt from meeting such a person up close. "What¡­ what help can the Caemelio n give you, exactly?"


    Whoosh!


    Hearing those words, Valyr took out the flint gem Riekan made for him out of his spatial bracelet, freely letting the aura it gave off envelop the group of people he was facing.


    "I would like the n''s help in upgrading an essory of mine," said the young man as he continued to show the flint gem in full view. "I was sent here by your n''s founder, telling me that the n would be able to upgrade it."


    "This gem I hold is proof of his words."


    "The n''s founder¡­" As the man at the front of the group murmured these words to himself, the man soon felt an otherworldly aurae from the flint gem Valyr was holding, causing his eyes to slightly widen in surprise as a string of words began to echo in his mind


    "¡­I see." Closing his eyes for a bit after that, the man eventually let out a brief exhale as he gave Valyr a firm nod. "Understood."


    "Follow us."

 Chapter 1213 Too Good to be True

    Chapter 1213 Too Good to be True


    ''Well, that was easier than I thought.''


    Following behind the group that was slightly hostile towards him at first, a faint smile gradually crept up on Valyr''s face as he thought about how the entire situation unfolded quite smoothly after he showed them the flint gem Riekan gave him.


    ''The entire situation really went the way he told me back then,'' thought the young man to himself, inwardly letting out a slight chuckle as he became slightly expectant towards the upgrade his ne would undergo once he arrived. Sadly, the happiness he felt was short-lived, especially after noticing that a few people from the group in front of him began to do something he thought of as quite peculiar.


    Or, at least, he thought of it as peculiar.


    ''I''m getting the feeling that things won''t go as smoothly as I think it would.'' As this thought came to mind, Valyr thought about how he''d been constantly feeling like he was being stared at ever since they made their way deeper into the Caemelio n''s estate.


    With that, he decided to look at the group of people for a short while, only to confirm that the feeling he''d been getting since the start was actually true.


    Recalling how the people taking a couple of nces at him immediately looked ahead once they noticed the young man looking at them, it did not take long for Valyr to conclude that the entire thing was indeed peculiar.


    ''Why are they doing that, though?'' asked the young man to himself, inwardly scratching the back of his head from the slight confusion he felt. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Is it because of the fact I showed the flint gem Riekan gave me?''


    As he came up with this question, Valyr immediately got the feeling that there was a possibility for his question to be the answer itself, especially once he considered some of the emotions behind the stares he was receiving.


    Of course, it went without saying that part of the group looked at him with both fear and terror whenever they looked back at him. After all, they were escorting someone who was known for his terrifying strength into their own n.


    Yet, aside from that, the young man also felt a sort of apprehension from their gazes whenever they looked back at him.


    As to what caused that apprehension they felt, he wouldn''t be surprised if it was due to his identity as Ylvar as well.


    However, from what he could tell, the apprehension he felt from their gazes stemmed from something else.


    ''I really hope it doesn''t turn out the way I think it would.'' Getting the feeling that he''d be in for a headacheter on, the young man inwardly let out a long sigh as he and the entire group arrived within the Caemelio n a few minutester.


    ¡­


    "¡­Wow."


    After passing through the various checks the n had done on him to confirm his identity, Valyr soon arrived at the Caemelio n proper, letting out a sigh of wonder after being greeted by the sight that soon surrounded him.


    Considering that Riekan built the n from scratch during his early days, the young man thought that the n wouldn''t be that massive. After all, only about 300 years had passed ever since he singlehandedly established it.


    Inparison to some of the other ns he visited in his past life, whose histories spanned thousands to tens of thousands of years, the few centuries the Caemelio n had to get to where they were now was just a drop in the bucket.


    Then again, it was because of that exact reason that Valyr was left at a slight loss for words, especially after he came to the conclusion that the n estate upied a piece ofnd that rivaled what the smaller towns upied in size.


    Not only that, but the buildings that surrounded him all looked to have been constructed with both elegance and opulence in mind, making it seem that the Caemelio n had existed for far longer than 300 years.


    ''In a way, it kind of reminds me of the courtyards from the Triad Gates,'' thought Valyr to himself after looking at the buildings for a bit more. ''If I were to choose which of the two courtyards the current sight resembles more, then I guess the closest would be the Gates of Enlightenment.''


    "¡­At ease." Just as Valyr was continuing to admire the sights surrounding him, the group of people in front of him stopped all of a sudden, prompting the young man to pay a bit more attention to what was going on.


    Making his way to the front of the group, the person that talked with him earlier soon gave off an aura filled with authority as he looked at everyone with a stern expression. "Inform everyone that Ylvar has arrived to pay a visit to the n."


    "If they ask why he''s arrived at the n, tell him that he came to request the n''s help in upgrading something," continued the man, to which the others faintly nodded after some time.


    "And if they ask more questions after that, tell them that it''s the founder''smands to follow Ylvar''s request. Do you understand?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Alright, then. Disperse."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With that, the group that apanied Valyr into the Caemelio n dispersed within a matter of seconds, leaving only the man that talked with him earlier after some time.


    Looking at Valyr with a slightly apologetic smile, the man gave him a respectful half-bow as he opened his mouth. "It''ll take a bit of time for everything to be sorted. We apologize for taking up your time."


    "I don''t mind." Valyr nodded in understanding. "After all, I did pay a visit to your n without giving a proper heads-up."


    "If you want, I could lead you to the area where the guests usually stay for requests like these," said the man in response, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at Valyr''s words. "Of course, we also wouldn''t mind if you decide on exploring the n''s premises while waiting."


    "How long do you think would it take for my request to be worked on?" Beginning to find the way the man talked slightly odd, Valyr took a while to ask in return. "Depending on how much time it takes, my answer would be one or the other."


    "If everything goes smoothly, then you''d only need to wait for a few hours at most," replied the man after a bit of silence, causing Valyr to raise his eyebrow in slight suspicion.


    "However, there''s also the possibility that it would take far longer than usual. In some cases, it would even take over a day for the request to be taken notice of."


    "¡­Not that your request would take over a day to be worked on, of course," added the man at the end, allowing Valyr to finally confirm his suspicions.


    "Lead me to the guest area, then," said Valyr with a slight nod, prompting the man to beam a slight grin at him as he nodded in return.


    And so, the two of them began to make their way to the n''s guest quarters, which gave the young man more than enough time to go over the things he''d confirmed throughout his interactions so far.


    ''I really jinxed myself,'' thought Valyr to himself with a slightly wry smile, inwardly letting out a long and exasperated sigh as he began to connect all the dots he gained from his interactions with the n so far.


    Though he had a feeling it all began ever since he showed the flint gem to the group, the young man only began to take notice of the peculiarity once he felt like he was being stared at by some of the people along the way.


    However, it was only after the conversation he had with the man did he somewhat confirm the suspicions he held.


    Even if most of it was still spection on his part.


    ''I should''ve known it was too good to be true,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, recalling his interaction with Riekan back at the tournament. ''After all, who would be willing to upgrade items for free for someone they only met once?''


    ''Well¡­ I definitely shouldn''t be the one asking questions like that, but I should''ve begun to feel skeptical the moment he decided to take the initiative to upgrade the ne he gave me.''


    ''¡­Not that it applies to all people, though.''


    Staring at the back of the man that was leading him to the guest quarters, various thoughts began to surface on the young man''s mind as he pondered over how he could at least benefit even more from the situation he''d gotten himself into.


    ''At this point, it would be stupid not to think that it would all stem from the flint gem Riekan gave me.'' While doing so, he pinpointed the cause of the entire situation he was undoubtedly going to get involved inter on.


    Though, just as this thought came to mind, Valyr''s eyes eventually widened in realization after realizing that the answer to his earlier question was right in front of him all this time.


    Both literally and figuratively.


    Whoosh!


    Continuing to make sense of the whirlwind of thoughts that appeared in his mind every second, Valyr did not hesitate to forcefully drag the man leading him into a nearby secluded area.


    Then, after conjuring a barrier that ensured none of their conversation would leak out, he then red his aura to its utmost limit, even going so far as to use [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] to bolster its pressure even more.


    After that, he red at the man with a ruthless expression.


    "Tell me." "What message did you receive from the flint gem, exactly?"

 Chapter 1214 An Internal Mess

    Chapter 1214 An Internal Mess


    "Hiiik¡­!!!"


    Unsurprisingly, the man began to crumble under the pressure Valyr directed at him, his actions at that moment making it seem for possible bystanders that he was either submitting or pledging allegiance to the young man.


    However, such thoughts did not pop up in the young man''s mind at all, his actions merely focused on obtaining the answers he sought. After all, if he wanted to know what Riekan wanted him to do in exchange for upgrading his ne, he would need to figure out the root cause of it all first, which would be the contents of the flint gem given to him.


    "So, you don''t n to speak, huh?" Seeing as the man in front of him turned mute all of a sudden, Valyr doubled down on the aura he directed, even going so far as to activate [Limit Break: Second Verse] in order to make it more imposing.


    Whoosh!


    "Hiiiiiiik¡­!!!"


    Yet, just like before, the man merely let out a shriek in response to the added pressure, his mental faculties having long sumbed to the terror the young man had instilled within him.


    Because of that, a myriad number of expressions soon began to appear on the man''s face, causing Valyr''s face to faintly light up with interest as he thought he''d finally get the answer he was looking for given enough time.


    Unfortunately, rather than be greeted by a string of words from the side he was coercing, he was instead greeted by an expression filled with immense fear and terror, prompting him to realize that he had messed up this time.


    Drip. Drip. Drip.


    Not long after that realization, the young man began to hear the faint sound of trickling watering from somewhere, causing his guiltden expression to show even more guilt as he quickly understood what was going on.


    "Hiiik¡­" By just slightly tilting his head downwards, Valyr was able to see that the man''s pants had been long-soaked with a foul-smelling liquid, to the point that it began to drip onto the ground they were standing on.


    "Man¡­" Tilting his head upwards after that, the young man was soon greeted by the man''s face, now covered to the brim in a mix of tears and mucus that had umted at some point.


    Briefly scratching the back of his head at how the man reacted to his show of intimidation, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh filled with guilt as a thought popped up in his mind not long after that.


    ''¡­I could''ve just talked it out with him like a normal person, no?''


    ¡­


    "Sniff¡­ sniff¡­"


    Thanks to Valyrforting him after realizing what he''d done, the man was gradually able to extricate himself from the terror and fear he was experiencing, allowing parts of his former self to return over time.


    Then again, even though he was now in a much better position than sometime earlier, the man was still prone to bing paralyzed in fear when Valyr directed even a bit of anger at him.


    ''I really went too far this time.'' Reminding himself that it was his own fault as to why the man was reduced to such a state, the young man let out a low sigh once more, deciding to give the man all the time he needed to recover from it.


    Fortunately for Valyr, it only took the man a few more minutes to regain a modicum ofposure, letting out a long exhale as he slowly turned around to look at the young man. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Although the man''s instincts told him to get away from him as quickly as possible after what he went through, the man tried his best to suppress the feeling as he took the initiative to start the conversation. "W¡­ why did you¡­ do that?"


    "I''m sorry." Seeing the man forcing himself to go against what his body felt, Valyr began to feel even more remorse for what he did, bowing to the man in apology. "I definitely went too far. I¡­ just wanted to know what message you received from your founder through the flint gem."


    "I¡­ is that¡­ so?" Though the man did feel a bit of anger at being the target of the young man''s aura for such a reason, the man did not show any of that at all, with his expression instead showing great relief the moment those words left Valyr''s mouth.


    After all, even if he did show Valyr the fury he felt at that moment, why would he bring doom that he could''ve avoided in the first ce?


    Sure, he may be a Rank 5 ss holder, allowing him to act with great confidence and pride with every move he made.


    But, inparison to the aura Valyr directed at him at those moments, he felt that the young man''s aura had gone beyond the realm of what was possible for a Legend to release.


    To him, he felt like he''d been cornered by a veteran Myth!


    With that in mind, the man became silent for a brief moment after that, taking some time topose himself even further as Valyr''s words faintly lingered in his mind.


    By the time he felt like he''d recovered a bit more of what he was like before, the man let out yet another exhale as he nodded at the young man, telling him that he was ready.


    "You¡­ wanted to know what message the founder sent us?" Swapping into a new set of pants as he swiftly cleaned himself up with a bit of elemental maniption, the man asked Valyr for his reasons once more to be certain.


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded, inwardly letting out a wide sigh of relief after seeing the man slowly return to how he was before. "I''ve been feeling like something was off with your group ever since I showed that gem."


    "There were a couple more things throughout that caused me to be more suspicious, but my suspicions were only confirmed to some extent when you started talking to me a lot more politely," he continued, causing the man''s eyes to widen in slight surprise as he looked back at him. "You noticed that?" asked the man, his bodynguage now showing no sense of fear or terror whatsoever. "Were¡­ were their actions that obvious in your eyes?"


    "No, not really." Valyr shook his head, only to give the man a wry smile soon after. "But¡­ if you have a group of people constantly looking in your direction from time to time for minutes on end, wouldn''t you also begin to notice that something was amiss?"


    "¡­That obvious, huh." Hearing those words, the man returned a bitter smile of his own, only for him to let out a long and drawn-out sigh after that. "I guess they received a different message from the founder when they looked at the gem."


    "Do you perhaps have any idea of what that would be?" asked the young man in response, finally feeling like the conversation was heading in the direction he wanted.


    "¡­I do." The man nodded after a bit of deliberation, recalling the words the founder told him the moment he focused his attention on the flint gem.


    Briefly feeling a hint of the fear he suppressed return without rhyme nor reason, the man quickly quelled the feeling as he looked at the young man with a calm expression. "There''s two messages contained within the gem, both of which have been made avable to me when I looked at it," he said, causing Valyr to raise his eyebrows in slight interest. "If my memory serves me correctly¡­ the message they got from the founder was thatwhile he''s absent from the n, you would act as his representative."


    At those words, Valyr looked back at the man with a hint of confusion, wondering what Riekan meant by that. "And the other message?"


    "To help you out in returning the n to the way it was before," replied the man after some time, causing the young man to close his eyes for a bit as he mulled over the two pieces of information he got.


    ''Man¡­'' Of course, with how the two messages were phrased, the intent Riekan held in the messages were more than obvious for Valyr to eventually discern.


    ''All that just to upgrade my ne?''


    ''I really hope the upgrade makes the effort more than worth it.'' Resigning himself to the current situation as obtaining the goodwill of a Myth-level being was possibly the greatest benefit he could get out of this, Valyr faintly let out a sigh as he decided to ask the man for more information.


    "So, if my interpretation of your founder''s words are correct, your n is currently having some internal problems, right?"


    "I wouldn''t really say some¡­ but yes." The man nodded after adding a bit of rification. "The n fractured into various factions ever since the founder left the n a couple of centuries ago for unknown reasons."


    "If you don''t mind me asking, how many factions are there in the n at the moment?" Knowing the exact reason why Riekan wasn''t at his n for that length of time, Valyr remained calm on the outside as he asked his next question.


    Only for the facade to break the moment he heard the man''s next words.


    "Uh¡­ nine, if I remember correctly."


    "¡­"


    "¡­How in the fuck?"

 Chapter 1215 The Nine Factions

    Chapter 1215 The Nine Factions


    "Nine factions?" Unsurprisingly, the calm expression on Valyr''s face was reced with a look of immense disbelief. After all, the man''s words were something he wasn''t expecting. "Are you seriously telling me the Caemelio n is split into nine factions?"


    "I would not dare lie to you." Though he did feel a hint of fear from the slight anger contained in every word Valyr uttered, the man seemingly ignored it and continued to act like before, gradually forgetting what he went through just moments earlier.


    "That is indeed the Caemelio n''s current state."


    "¡­How the hell did your n let it get this bad?" In the end, the young man let out a long and exasperated sigh in response to how direct the man was, shaking his head as he thought of the ordeal that had been given to him.


    When he heard from the man that Riekan had given them two different messages depending on who received the flint gem, Valyr thought that the situation he needed to resolve was quite simr to the situation that was currently going on in the Zeihardt n.


    Of course, depending on the circumstances, the problem with the Caemelio n might turn out to be simpler than what he was dealing with back in the Zeihardt n, only needing him to make sure that grievances on all sides were heard for order to be reestablished.


    Then again, if the problem with the Caemelio n turned out to be harder than the one involving the Zeihardt n, it wasn''t as if he didn''t have any options either.


    ¡­Even if the only option he had when push came to shove was him relying on his brute strength.


    Nevertheless, that entire thought process hinged on the thought that his assumption was correct, with the two messages Riekan sent to his n telling him that he only needed to reunify the two factions that were fighting against each other.


    In fact, his question to the man as to how many factions their n had was merely a formality of sorts. After all, from the Caemelio n''s perspective, he was still an outsider, even if their founder vouched for his abilities.


    Yet, who knew that a question he asked for mere formality would lead him to find out that things were not actually what he assumed it to be?


    "¡­I seriously hope the upgrade makes this effort more than worth it," murmured Valyr to himself, inwardly throwing out a string of curses towards Riekan as he pondered over how he''d go about resolving the differences between the nine factions of the Caemelio n.


    Inparison, the different approaches the two factions of the Zeihardt n had to get what they want seemed like child''s y to solve.


    "¡­Alright." Taking in a few deep breaths after sorting out his thoughts, Valyr let out a long exhale before looking at the man with renewedposure. "First and foremost, do you believe in the message your founder sent you?"


    Hearing those words, the man mulled over the question for a bit before responding. "Although it does seem quite far-fetched¡­ our faction greatly believes that the founder''s thoughts and actions are for the betterment of the entire n."


    "In other words, he really thinks that I have what it takes to solve his problem," said Valyr in response, scratching the back of his head before letting out a wide sigh.


    Whatpelled Riekan to believe that Valyr was the key in solving his n''s problem? What did he have for him to trust in a young man that he''d only met once before then?


    ''Was it the way I carried back in the dungeon?'' thought Valyr to himself as the question came up to mind. ''Or was it because of the performance I showed during the tournament that made him change his mind?''


    ''¡­Or maybe I''m just thinking too deeply into all of this and Riekan actually didn''t have anyone to ask help for in order to solve the problems his n was going through?''


    As the thought came to mind, the young man soon came up with another one. ''¡­Or maybe he did, but enlisting the help of a Legend or a fellow Myth would make him seem like aughingstock, considering he couldn''t solve what was basically his own problem?''


    ''Then again, with the level of strength I have, I''d presume thetter wouldn''t be the case.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Deciding to not dwell too deep over Riekan''s reasons for choosing him, Valyr faintly shook his head to discard the errant thoughts in his mind before looking back at the man. "Do you think I have what it takes to help your n out?"


    "¡­I would be lying if I didn''t say I was skeptical." Fortunately, the man had the same thought as him in regards to the way Riekan chose his helper. "After all, thanks to the tournament, the entire n knows that your prowess mostly lies inbat."


    "But as I''ve said, our faction greatly believes in the founder''s words," he continued. "If he says that you''re his representative and that you''ll help us return the n to the way it was before¡­ then so be it."


    "I see." Not knowing whether or not to be impressed by the man''s unwavering loyalty towards his n''s founder, Valyr took the current opportunity to give Juno a heads-up of his current situation, telling thetter that it was fine for him to close up shop for the next few days.


    Receiving a jubnt response from the middle-aged man in return, it was only then did Valyr return his focus to the current situation at hand.


    "Would I be wrong in assuming that you upy a high position within your faction?" Looking at the man in front of him once, the young man asked him a question that lingered in his mind ever since he and the man entered the Caemelio n''s territory.


    At first, Valyr thought of the man as a simple guard captain, considering the orders he sent out to the other people apanying him once their mission was done.


    However, when the man continued to talk with him after that, there was a hint of poise and elegance behind every movement he made and every word he spoke, reminding Valyr of the many nobles he interacted with in his past life.


    Thankfully, his assumptions this time around were correct.


    "You¡­ would not be wrong." The man shook his head. "I indeed upy a high position not only within the faction I serve, but also within the n itself."


    At those words, the man decided that now was the perfect opportunity to introduce himself. "My name is Romel Caemelio. I am one of the two elders within the founding faction¡­"


    "¡­As well as the 3rd Elder of the Caemelio n."


    "3rd Elder?" Valyr''s eyes widened in surprise after hearing those words. "You''re the 3rd Elder of the n, yet you were relegated to doing such simple tasks?"


    "Unfortunately." Romel could only bitterly smile. "That is what the majority of the n has agreed upon, after all."


    With those words, the man went ahead and exined the workings of the n to Valyr, continuing to believe in their founder''s words that the young man was the one who''d steer their n back in the right direction.


    Of course, although he was forced into his current position without him knowing, the young man intently listened to everything Romel told him,mitting every piece of information to memory in the process.


    After all, who knew when a random tidbit of information would prove to be the important key in solving a problem that seemed impossible at first?


    "So, if I''m getting this correctly, the major decisions your n makes is agreed upon through majority voting," said Valyr after sometime, summarizing what the man told him just now. "The ones included in this voting are the elders, the guardians, and the directors. Correct?"


    "Yes." Romel nodded in agreement. "However, the final decision can still be vetoed by the founder."


    "Though, with the founder not around, any decision approved through majority voting now bes final¡­ such as the task I''ve been relegated to." The man could only let out a faint sigh.


    Though he felt bad for the man''s current plight, Valyr knew that the only way he could help the man out was bypleting the task that had been given to him.


    With that, he shifted the topic of their conversation to what he initially nned on asking before the whole nine factions thing. "Do you mind telling me about the factions in greater detail?" Hearing those words, Romel faintly nodded in response, closing his eyes for a bit as he thought about the words he should say.


    Figuring out how he would be able to give the young man a brief but thorough overview of the n''s current state, it did not take long for Romel to begin his exnation. "I suppose I should start with the faction I''m in, which is the founding faction."


    "Just as the name implies, the founding faction is the faction of the founder. However, with how long the n has operated without him, the faction more so follows the ideology of the founder nowadays."


    "As for the eight other factions, each of them have their own goals and thoughts that sh with the ideologies of the founder," he continued, with Valyr continuing to listen to everything he had to say. "Then again, their thoughts are aligned with our faction in the fact that they''re doing it for the betterment of the n."


    "Though, unlike the founding faction, the approach they take in order to do it varies from the slightly unorthodox¡­ to the greatly radical."


    "If anything, most of the other eight factions within the n were formed because of slight differences in ideology and approach," said the man. "However, two out of the eight factions take on an approach that I believe even the founder wouldn''t like if he were to witness it firsthand."


    "Which two factions, exactly?" asked Valyr with a raised eyebrow.


    "The first one calls themselves the warfront faction."


    "¡­I see. And the other?"


    "The velvet faction," replied Romel, his expression quickly bing serious after that. "If you were to ask me to choose who to focus between the two¡­"


    "I''d suggest focusing on thetter a bit more."

 Chapter 1216 Underqualified

    Chapter 1216 Underqualified


    Although Valyr felt the urge to ask the man as to why he wanted him to pay more attention to the velvet faction, the young man continued to remain silent, getting the feeling that he''d receive the answer to his question sooner orter.


    Fortunately, his thoughts were soon proven to be correct, with Romel going a bit more into detail on what made each faction of the n different from one another.


    Considering the number of factions within the n, the man started with the ones that were easiest to exin, which were the majority of the factions that came about within the Caemelio n.


    Just like he had mentioned before, most of these factions hade about within the n due to the slight differences they had in either approach or ideology. Though, in the grand scheme of the entire Caemelio n, these slight differences were just variations of the ideology and the approach that the n''s founding faction followed.


    From what Romel told him, these differences could be summed into three archetypes: conservative,issez-faire, and true freedom.


    With the three archetypes in mind, as well as the two variables that separated the factions from one another, Valyr did not take long to understand why the man decided to focus on these factions first.


    Of course, such a thought also brought up another question.


    "Isn''t it normal for n members to have different interpretations on the n''s ideology and approach, though?" asked Valyr, reinforcing the barrier surrounding them. "Wouldn''t it be more urate to say there''s three factions within your n?"


    "In a way, that would be correct." Romel nodded in agreement. "After all, even the members of the founding faction have different interpretations on what they think of the founder''s ideology."


    "However, there is a reason as to why I say the n has nine factions." As these words left the man''s mouth, he then continued his exnation onto the two remaining factions.


    Starting off with the warfront faction, Romel exined to Valyr that the faction''s ideology and approach could be summed up as the militaristic archetype, believing that every decision made by the n should follow a set of established rules and guidelines.


    Hence its name.


    Slightly confused by this, Valyr asked the man for a bit more rification, prompting thetter to list down a couple of the rules and guidelines the warfront faction had created.


    By the time Romel was done listing down a couple of them, the young man slightly shuddered at the sheer absurdity of the things the man mentioned, wondering how the faction even came to the conclusion that their n would prosper under those limitations.


    In response, the man could only shrug his shoulders, informing Valyr that those rules and guidelines were also the reason why the warfront faction was considered the smallest faction within the Caemelio n.


    With the warfront faction out of the way, Romel moved onto the velvet faction.


    "If you consider the warfront faction as a greater extension of the conservative archetype, then the velvet faction would be considered a greater extension of the true freedom archetype," said the man.


    "I understand the warfront faction''s ideology as being bad, but the velvet faction''s ideology doesn''t seem that way to me?" said Valyr in response. "Wouldn''t having each member contribute to the n''s overall decisions be for the better?"


    In his mind, he thought of the velvet faction as a faction that advocated for true democracy wherein every member''s words were taken into consideration before making a massive decision.


    However, Romel''s next words would quell those thoughts in an instant.


    "I agree that such an approach would be great to an extent." The man nodded. "Even the founder thinks that taking in the opinions of other people within the n would lead to an overall positive."


    "Unfortunately, the velvet faction takes it one step further by introducing the influence of other ns into the Caemelio n''s decisions."


    As those words left his mouth, Romel continued by telling Valyr that the velvet faction prioritized the other ns'' opinions over the opinions of the other members within the n before making a decision.


    "These other ns are noble ns at the very least, hence the name," said the man to end his exnation.


    Unsurprisingly, it took a while for Valyr to wrap his head around the entire thing, even going so far as to close his eyes for a bit in order to give himself a bit of reprieve.


    By the time he felt like he had a decent understanding of the n''s nine factions, the young man went ahead and asked Romel a few more questions for rification. "I more or less get how the first eight factions work. There''s no need to exin that to me any further."


    "But the velvet faction¡­ would I be correct in understanding that the velvet faction is acting as a mouthpiece for the other ns?"


    "A mouthpiece that greatly influences the decisions the n makes, to be more exact," answered Romel with a bitter smile. "Unlike the warfront faction, the velvet faction is considered thergest faction within the n."


    "And the founding faction?" Valyr looked at the man with a raised eyebrow.


    "Somewhere in the middle," replied the man.


    "¡­I see." The young man nodded, only to pose another question to him not long after. "You mentioned earlier that there''s a reason why the n has nine factions instead of three. Am I wrong in thinking that it might have something to do with the velvet faction?"


    "You are not." Romel bitterly smiled once more. "It''s a very long story, but it ultimately has something to do with how the velvet faction has the most sway in terms of the n''s decisions."


    "Not surprised that it worked that way." Valyr nodded in response. "Do you know which ns the velvet faction gets their opinions from?"


    "That¡­ I unfortunately do not know," said Romel with a shake of his head.


    "That''s fine." Valyr nodded back, having more or less expected such an answer.


    With all of the information the man shared with him in mind, the gears in Valyr''s mind turned at great speeds, gathering his thoughts on the overall situation.


    By the time he was done pondering over the things Romel said to him, he then went ahead and dispelled the barrier surrounding the two of them all this time.


    "Now, if you could lead me to the guest area," said Valyr after that, implying between his words to the man that it wouldn''t take long for the other factions to catch wind of the private conversation between them.


    "¡­Understood." Thankfully, Romel was able to catch what the young man was implying, nodding in response as he proceeded with his original duties.


    ¡­


    "Just to remind you once more, there is a possibility that your request would take a bit longer than usual for it to be worked on." After guiding Valyr to the n''s guest area, Romel looked directly into the young man''s eyes for a bit, implying through his gaze that it would be best for both of them to now part ways.


    "In the worst-case scenario, you would have to wait until the next day¡­ but I don''t think the n would have you wait for that long."


    "Thanks for the reminder," said Valyr in response as he nodded back in agreement.


    With how much time the two had spent talking about the nine factions of the n in great detail, it wasn''t surprising if any of the other factions had already caught wind of it.


    With that, he decided to have Romel return and continue doing his usual tasks, even if he thought it would''ve been nice to have an insider from one of the n''s factions in order to resolve the problem faster.


    Receiving a respectful half-bow from the man not long after that, Valyr was soon left to his own devices, briefly looking around his current surroundings to get a rough idea of where he was within the n estate.


    ''Man¡­'' By the time he was done, he let out a long and exasperated sigh as he went over all of the information Romel gave him in his mind once more.


    ''I am seriously unqualified for this shit.''


    ''In what way is an upgrade to an essory I only use for its stats nowadays an equivalent exchange to me helping him solve a problem that he should really be the one solving?''


    ''If only I could talk to him about this entire situation,'' thought Valyr to himself as he let out yet another sigh, finding itmentable that he still hadn''t added Riekan to his friend list after encountering each other in his friend list.


    ''I don''t mind doing something in exchange for the upgrade. After all, I wasn''t even expecting to receive the upgrade without paying a price.''


    ''However, it would''ve been nice to get his help in solving his problem. Or, at the very least, get his input on what I need to do to start solving his problem if he wants me to do most of it.''


    ''Too bad I have no way to contact him.'' Continuing toment over the opportunity he missed in the past, a thought soon popped up in the young man''s mind, causing the gears in his mind to quickly spin for a bit as he began toe up with a rough n.


    ''On second thought¡­ there might just be a way for me to do that.'' Going over the n he came up with a couple of times in his head, Valyr soon let out a slight chuckle as he looked around his surroundings for a bit.


    Feeling confident that no one from the n would be looking for him anytime soon, the young man then went ahead and conjured a rift to the Mystic ne, making use of the authority he had as the Guardian of the Mystic ne. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Surely, Mystia would have a way to contact him, right?'' With this thought in mind, Valyr confidently took a step forward, disappearing from the Caemelio n''s estate not long after.

 Chapter 1217 Behind the Scenes (1)

    Chapter 1217 Behind the Scenes (1)


    "¡­Honestly, I thought it''d take him a few more hours to figure out my intentions."


    "But to think he''s already taken a step on the right track even before anything happens."


    "Quite amazing, really."


    Watching through a screen from a greatly secluded area within his n, Riekan had a faint smile on his face as he watched Valyr talk with one of his n members, interrogating them for more information.


    Although it might seem like the flint gem he''d given the young man was only imbued with just his aura, as a renowned essory maker, it went without saying that Riekan added a few more things to the gem, giving it abilities that made it function simrly to a tracker.


    In fact, it was because of these additions that made him able to sense the young man the moment he appeared a couple hundred meters away from his n''s estate, allowing him to follow Valyr''s journey deeper into the Caemelio n.


    From the conversation he had with the group, to the stares he got while they made their way to the insides of the n, Riekan saw all of that, watching it as if it were a show purely made for entertainment.


    But of course, the reason why he added such abilities to the flint gem was not purely just so he could stave his boredom.


    "I wonder how long it''ll take for him to figure out what I want him to do?"


    Considering how he''d been away from his n for about 300 years fulfilling his side of a promise with an old friend, it went without saying that the Caemelio n went through a lot of changes while he was away.


    Then again, it was natural, especially with the existence of the pir that held their n up in their ce stuck in what they thought was a state of limbo.


    Because of that, just like Valyr, Riekan was greeted by the existence of the Caemelio n''s nine factions, briefly making him wonder whether or not he returned to the n he''d founded over a few centuries ago.


    Of course, the reason as to why the nine factions came to be quickly unfolded in front of the man, mostly due to the strength and authority he held not only as its founder, but also as a Legend.


    Eventually, he realized the main reason why the n he founded turned out the way it did, prompting him to start nning out how he''d solve the problem at some point.


    Unsurprisingly, that n involved increasing his strength far beyond what he currently had at the time.


    Then again, a part of that n also involved hiding his return to the entirety of the Caemelio n, with only his closest family and kin having known that he''d been in their n the entire time.


    For months on end, he focused on improving his strength as much as possible, even going so far as to break through the shackles and ascend to the Myth level.


    Though, just as he was about to finally start making progress intopleting his n, the Rise to Prominence tournament came about, forcing him to push the thought to the side for the meantime.


    After all, with clearing the tournament rewarding him with greater strength, how could he not?


    "And then I bumped into him after finishing the fourth round," muttered Riekan to himself, continuing to watch Valyr question one of his n''s elders for more information.


    Naturally, it went without saying that the man wouldn''t expect a kid he only knew to be at the middle levels of Rank 1 back then to seed in clearing the fourth round of the tournament.


    However, as he began to sense the strength the young man had at the time, as well as the rumors that circted throughout the tournament rted to him, Riekan realized that Valyr had all rights to be there.


    Though, at the same time, the gears in his mind began to turn.


    "¡­I''m gonna give it my all to upgrade the essory I gave him," said the man to himself with a low sigh, feeling a hint of guilt at the fact that he implicated Valyr into a problem he should''ve solved on his own in the first ce.


    "Oh? He''s finally done." Briefly continuing to inwardly admonish himself for his actions, Riekan continued to watch Valyr''s actions through the screen, his expression tranquil as the young man made his way to the n''s guest area.


    Getting the feeling that the young man would only make a move once more sometimeter, the man went ahead and conjured a couple of screens around him, allowing him to view what was going on with the factions that made up the Caemelio n.


    "¡­Eh?" However, not even a few minutes into shifting his attention onto the other screens, a slight change had urred on the screen focused on Valyr, prompting Riekan to return his attention on it.


    Only for his eyes to widen in surprise soon after.


    "He''s¡­ going somewhere?" Watching the young man conjure a portal out of thin air all of a sudden, Riekan immediately became ck-jawed the moment he began to feel a familiar type of energy emanating from the portal. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "¡­It feels quite familiar to the energy the Imperial Alchemist gives off," muttered the man to himself, the gears in his mind madly turning as he tried to figure out where Valyr had gone all of a sudden.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him toe up with something, realizing that the current situation reminded him of a simr incident he''d gone through back then.


    "A concept ne¡­?"


    As this idea came to mind, Riekan''s demeanor shifted in less than an instant, his expression quickly turning serious.


    "If he''s really entered a concept ne¡­ then that changes things."


    Without hesitation, he closed all of the screens he brought up just now, only leaving the screen containing Valyr''sst whereabouts intact.


    Then, after making sure that the screen would continue to linger even if he were away for days on end, he then conjured a rift that led him exactly to where Valyr previously stood.


    "I hope he doesn''t stay in the concept ne for too long."

 Chapter 1218 Behind the Scenes (2)

    Chapter 1218 Behind the Scenes (2)


    Within the Mystic ne.


    Whoosh!


    "It''s been a while since Ist came here." Taking note of the faintyer of iridescent energy that covered everywhere heid his eyes upon, a faint smile hung on Valyr''s face as he felt a bit of nostalgia.


    Although not a lot of time had passed after he left the Mystic ne in the grand scheme of things, over a month and a half had already passed since he paid a visit to the Meltierre Empire to visit Mystia.


    Of course, that visit was more than fruitful, not only allowing him to be Mystia''s third disciple, but also allowed him to be the Guardian of the Mystic ne. At the same time, he improved his control over Mystic Energy by leaps and bounds while also learning both alchemy and Mystic Rune Alchemy from none other than the Imperial Alchemist herself.


    Naturally, the time he spent after leaving the Mystic ne was also fruitful, ranging from his proposal at the War Forge Assembly, to the time he spent ruing reputation as a renowned fighter at the frontlines, to the time his renown reached greater heights thanks to the tournament.


    "Now, where is Mystia?" Letting out a faint sigh as he was finished reminiscing over the things he''d gone through, Valyr looked around his surroundings once more in the hopes of getting a trace of Mystia''s whereabouts.


    After all, the main reason why he returned to the Mystic ne wasn''t because he wanted to further his prowess in the realm of Mystic Energy. It was purely to ask if Mystia had a way to contact Riekan.


    As the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Heavenly Court, surely she''d have a way to contact someone as renowned as him, right?


    Whoosh!


    "Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up in the Mystic ne."


    Just as Valyr was about to resign himself to picking a random direction before heading there at the fastest speed he could muster, a familiar being appeared in front of him, looking at him with crossed arms.


    "Long time no see, Marcus." Of course, it went without saying that the young man was more than d to see the man, especially since he knew the man would be able to lead him to where Mystia was.


    Though, when he heard the words that came out of Marcus'' mouth, such thoughts were tossed to the side for the meantime as he looked at him with a slightly apologetic smile. "Also, sorry for not being able toe back sooner."


    "Nine months have passed here since youst stepped foot in this ce," said Marcus in response to his apology, a slight frown adorning his face. "As the Guardian of the Mystic ne, shouldn''t you have at least made a conscious effort toe by this ce every once in a while?"


    At those words, Valyr subconsciously began to look at the ground, feeling a hint of shame and guilt as he thought about the meaning that lied beneath the man''s words.


    Apanied by the slight pressure that Marcus gave off due to him being the Overseer of the ne, it was no surprise that the young man remained silent after that, knowing that Marcus was right to berate him for not doing his job right.


    "¡­Eh?" However, rather than to continue to berate Valyr for not being a proper guardian for the Mystic ne, Marcus instead stopped the moment he felt the air around the young man change. "Did I¡­"


    "Did I go too far?"


    Hearing that, a bit of the guilt Valyr felt disappeared as he slowly turned to look at the man in confusion, only to be greeted by thetter feeling a bit of guilt himself.


    "Mystia did say he wasn''t the type of guy to be into that kind of humor," mumbled Marcus to himself. "But I should try it out on him at least once, right?"


    Realizing what was actually going on thanks to the man''s faint murmurs, a great portion of the shame and guilt Valyr felt instantly disappeared, instead being reced with a hint of rage as he asked him.


    "You know¡­ have you ever thought about asking me first before actually trying it out?"


    Hearing those words, Marcus paused his current train of thought before slowly gazing back to look at Valyr, whose eyes were brimming with rage.


    "I¡­ I can exin¡­" Feeling the aura surrounding the young man be more and more intimidating by the second, the man hurriedly exined himself, hoping that the young man would show even a bit of mercy in what he''d do next.


    Unfortunately for him, Valyr happened to be finding an outlet for his pent-up stress for quite some time.


    ¡­


    "So, what brought you to the Mystic ne all of a sudden?"


    Briefly ncing at an immensely bruised and battered Marcus, Mystia soon shifted her gaze towards Valyr as she looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.


    "Does it perhaps have something to do with the tincture you gave me?"


    "No." Valyr shook his head, only to then scratch the back of his head as he pondered over the best way to phrase his request. "Instead, I want to ask for a favor."


    Seeing Mystia fully raise her eyebrow in response, the young man quickly got to exining. "I was wondering if you had any way to contact Riekan from the Caemelio n. The two of you talked to one another back at the tournament while I was around, after all."


    "¡­I do have a way to contact him," replied Mystia after a bit of pondering. "However, why do you need to contact him?"


    "Well, it''s a slightly long story," said Valyr, giving both Mystia and Marcus a brief exnation of what happened in the tournament, as well as what he was going through at the moment.


    By the time he was done, the two looked at each other for a bit before looking back at Valyr with a slight frown.


    "He really wants you to solve his n''s problems just for a measly essory upgrade?" said Mystia, her impressions of the renowned essory maker slightly falling in her mind. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "It''s mostly my spection for now," rified Valyr as he slightly shrugged his shoulders. "But at the very least, I''m sure I have to do something rted to it in exchange for the upgrade I''m getting."


    "¡­Well, it wouldn''t make sense for him to do the upgrade for nothing, anyway." Hearing those words, Mystia could only let out a faint sigh. "I''ll send a message to him to meet up with you as soon as possible, then."


    "Thank you," said Valyr in response with a smile, deciding to try and attempt making contact with Riekan from his side as well.


    With that, he sent a couple of messages to Braum briefly exining the situation, only to then ask him soon after if there was any way to contact the man if possible.


    Unsurprisingly, as the well-renowned informant that he was, the young man soon received a response from him that he''d try to get a hold of Riekan as soon as possible.


    Seeing as there was nothing else he needed to do within the Mystic ne, Valyr went ahead and conjured a rift back to where he previously stood, much to the disappointment Marcus felt.


    Whoosh!


    "I suppose I should start finding out more information on the nine factions in detail." Stepping foot in the Caemelio n''s guest area once more, the young man had already formted a rough n of what he was going to do next.


    "Taking into consideration of the worst-case scenario, I''ll probably be here for over a day at the very least, if not more."


    "¡­Man." Valyr let out a sigh by the time he was done mulling over his n. "It would''ve been better if Riekan was here."


    "¡­You called?"

 Chapter 1219 The Actual Request

    Chapter 1219 The Actual Request


    "Ahh!"


    Hearing someone respond to his question from behind him all of a sudden, Valyr immediately went into fight or flight mode, releasing his aura in its entirety as he turned around to see who sneaked up on him.


    "Who¡­?" Clenching his fists in preparation for a potential fight, the young man''s expression was incredibly serious as the attire that the person wore was not something he was familiar with.


    "¡­Oh. It''s just you, Riekan." Fortunately, the tension he felt swiftly washed away the moment heid his eyes upon the person''s face, prompting him to let out a wide sigh of relief not even a secondter.


    Taking a bit of time to regain his bearings after that, the young man briefly let out an exhale before looking at the man in front of him with a hint of confusion. "How long have you been here?"


    "A few minutes, give or take," said Riekan in response, only for him to return a slightly confused look back at Valyr soon after. "Why do you ask?"


    "A few minutes¡­?" murmured Valyr the moment he heard that, the gears in his mind whirring as he felt that the response was slightly peculiar.


    ''If I remember correctly, I spent around half an hour in the Mystic ne,'' thought the young man to himself, ncing at the man''s face from time to time.


    ''Considering the difference in time between the Mystic ne and here¡­ that means he''s been waiting here ever since I headed to the Mystic ne?''


    As he came to this realization, Valyr felt a wave of greater confusion hit him. After all, he only began to ask Mystia if she could contact Riekan for him near thetter half of his brief stay within the Mystic ne.


    Even his conversation with Braum regarding the same thing was made around that time.


    ''In other words, Riekan had already expected that I''de looking for him even before I even started trying to look for him.'' With this thought in mind, the young man began to slightly frown.


    Briefly taking in a deep breath to retain hisposure, Valyr looked back at Riekan before asking him, "If you don''t mind, could you exin what''s going on?"


    "Huh?" In response, Riekan looked back at him with confusion, greatly oblivious to the thoughts that were running in the young man''s head.


    Though, the man wasn''t truly oblivious for much longer.


    Ding!


    Hearing a couple of notifications go off in his mind, the man quickly took a look at them, causing him to slightly raise his eyebrow as he realized he''d received messages from a couple people all of a sudden.


    After reading through the messages he got, Riekan did not take long to understand why Valyr asked that question out of nowhere, prompting a wry smile to appear on his face the moment he was done.


    "What bad timing," muttered the man with a slight shake of his head, only to nce at Valyr after that.


    Seeing that the young man in front of him now began to look at him with a hint of wariness, Riekan knew that he had to clear up their misunderstandings sooner orter, lest he wanted to make his efforts of having Valyre here go to waste.


    "So, here''s what''s going on." Letting out a sigh, he then called for Valyr''s attention, causing thetter to pause for a bit before nodding.


    With the young man now wholly focused on what he had to say, Riekan went ahead and exined the entire situation around the Caemelio n in detail, talking about how he nned on resolving the problem on his own in the first ce.


    After that, he talked about the tournament, Valyr''s appearance, and how the flint gem came to be.


    Naturally, such an exnation did not answer the peculiarity that was his appearance before Valyr even began his attempts at contacting him. With that, he told the young man about the additional features he added to the flint gem that allowed it to function as a tracker, as well as the thing that prompted the peculiarity to arise in the first ce.


    Unsurprisingly, it took a while for Valyr to process everything Riekan had to say, considering that the scope of the entire thing spanned over a far longer duration than he thought it would.


    Though, by the time he''d gotten the gist of what was going on, Valyr took in a calming breath as he asked the man, "So, if I''m getting this correctly, you wanted my help in resolving your n''s problem because of the prestige my identity held?"


    "Correct." Riekan nodded.


    "And the flint gem you gave me during the tournament was actually a tracker that allowed you to view every action I made the moment I arrived at the n?"


    "¡­Also correct."


    "And the reason you decided to appear where Ist stayed was because you saw me go through a portal?"


    "Yeah." Riekan nodded onest time. "How could I not? It''s a portal that leads to a concept ne, after all." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Hearing Riekan mention the term ''concept ne'' all of a sudden, it went without saying that Valyr was caught off guard. After all, the only people he knew in Veldanyr who had something to do with those ces were just two people: Mystia and Noel.


    Then again, even though he was surprised to hear such a term from someone like Riekan, the young man did not show that on the outside, merely nodding as he somewhat understood what the man meant by that.


    Making a mental note to ask Riekan more about what he knew on concept nester, Valyr decided to ask him the question that had been lingering in his mind even before the man appeared in front of him.


    "So¡­ from what I could infer through the messages you''ve put into the flint gem, you want my help in resolving the problem around your n''s nine factions in exchange for the essory upgrade."


    "Yes. It does have something to do with that."


    "Alright, I''m on the right track, then," replied Valyr with a nod. "If that''s the case, then am I correct in thinking that you want me to abolish the existence of the eight other factions and only have the founding faction remain?"


    "What?" Hearing that question, Riekan looked back at the young man in slight confusion before shaking his head "No?"


    "No?" This time, it was Valyr''s turn to be confused. "Are you telling me I misinterpreted the messages in the flint gem?"


    "To sum it up, yeah." Riekan nodded in agreement. "After all, a task like that would be too much just for a quick essory upgrade. Sure, you may have the strength, but we''re not that close to the point I''d ask you for such a favor."


    "Then¡­ what do you actually want me to do?" With the man himself telling him that he''d misinterpreted the messages behind the gem, Valyr looked back at Riekan with both curiosity and confusion, wondering what kind of request the man was actually asking from him.


    Though, once he heard the answer in full detail, he was immediately left at aplete loss for words.


    "What I want you to do in exchange for the upgrade¡­ is to kill a certain member of my n in my stead," said Riekan in response to the question, feeling as if a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders the moment he uttered those words.


    "¡­" On the other hand, Valyr remained silent even after the man was done talking, inwardly wondering to himself what kind of mental gymnastics Riekan had done for that message to be the takeaway from the flint gem''s messages.


    "Now¡­" By the time a couple minutes had passed after the man''s response, it was only then did the young man open his mouth once more, looking at Riekan with a frown. "Have you ever thought even just for a little bit that there was a chance I''d misinterpret your messages?"


    "Not really?" Riekan slightly tilted his head in confusion. "Pretty sure I made the underlying request clear when I wrote those messages¡­ even if the method to obtain those messages involved a bit of beating around the bush."


    "¡­Think of it from my perspective for just even a little bit." Valyr could only let out a faint sigh in response to the man''s confidence.


    "I really made it clear, though?" Adamant that he was in the right, Riekan continued to look at the young man as if he were the one who''s wrong. "I ced two messages in there that depended on the member that would see it."


    "It was either they''d read that you would be acting as my representative in my stead, or that you''d help bring the n back to the way it was¡­ huh."


    "Now that you say that, it does seem that way."


    "And that''s what I''ve been telling you all this time," replied Valyr with a sigh that had both exasperation and relief. "In any case, there''s no point in talking about it any further."


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a soundproof barrier out of Prime Azure Energy around them, it was only then did Valyr feel like it was right to continue the conversation. "So, which member of the n do you want me to kill exactly? Also, don''t you think it''s weird for the n''s founder to end one of their member''s lives?"


    "Not really?" Riekan slightly shook his head. "Although I say they''re a n member, it would be more urate to say that they married into the n, which only technically makes them a n member."


    "¡­And why do you want to kill them exactly?" Not wanting to get into the specifics of ns and rtionships and whatnot, Valyr did not hesitate to steer the conversation back to its intended direction.


    "That''s because they''re the reason the velvet faction was created in the first ce," replied Riekan, faintly letting out a bit of killing intent with every word. "If not for them, the Caemelio n wouldn''t have spiraled out of control to this extent."


    "I see." Finally hearing what he thought was the main reason behind the request, Valyr now had a better grasp of the mental gymnastics that went behind Riekan''s two messages.


    ¡­Even if it was still ultimately a stretch to get to such a conclusion.


    With that out of the way, Valyr then went ahead and asked what he now considered as the most important question.


    The identity of the person Riekan wanted him to kill.


    "If you don''t mind me asking, who would that person be?"


    "I have a feeling you might know her yourself," said Riekan in response, causing Valyr to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "Her name''s Cynthia Amerhearst. She hails from the Villen Kingdom''s Amerhearst Royal n."


    Though, his expression soon became serious the moment he heard the man''s next words.


    "¡­But from what I found out, she also used to go by the name Cynthia Zeihardt?"

 Chapter 1220 But Wait, Theres More

    Chapter 1220 But Wait, There''s More


    "Cynthia¡­ Zeihardt?" asked Valyr once more with a slight frown, wanting to make sure he didn''t hear him wrongly. "Are you really sure she used to go by the surname Zeihardt?"


    "Last time I checked, she did use to go by that surname back then." Riekan faintly nodded. "But of course, considering our current situation, she eventually changed her surname to something else."


    "Roughly around a century or so ago, she married into the n I mentioned earlier, which is the Villen Kingdom''s Amerhearst Royal n."


    "Due to the Amerhearst n''s rules, she was forced to adopt their surname after she married into the n," continued the man, to which Valyr faintly nodded in understanding. "This is the opposite of what usually happens whenever outsiders marry into other ns, where they retain their surnames from their birth ns."


    "Well, that answers the Zeihardt part," said Valyr in response. "But how did she end up in the Caemelio n?"


    "As far as I''ve heard, her husband from the Amerhearst n was killed around a couple decades ago," replied Riekan, causing the young man to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "Because of that, although she still bore the Amerhearst name, she was now free to do whatever she wanted again."


    "With that, she decided to pay a visit to the Caemelio n, only to fall in love with one of the n members while I was gone." As these words left his mouth, his tone carried a hint of anger. "Eventually, the two of them hit it off and got married. Then, somewhereter down the line, they established the velvet faction we both know today."


    "As well as the seven other factions that appeared not long after the faction''s inception."


    By the time Riekan was done with his exnation, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he briefly went over the information in his mind.


    At the same time, he sent a couple of messages to Braum through the system''s chat feature, requesting thetter''s help in obtaining detailed background information on the person named Cynthia Amerhearst.


    Even though Riekan had no reason to lie to him, considering that he was asking for his help in resolving the Caemelio n''s problem, the young man decided to err on the side of caution this time.


    Especially after his interpretation of the man''s request turned out to be wildly different from what the man actually intended him to do.


    Ding!


    Surprisingly, by the time Valyr felt like he had a couple of questions to ask Riekan regarding Cynthia, Braum had sent a couple of messages to him in return, containing all of the information the man could retrieve on her.


    Of course, as a well-renowned informant throughout Algerie Kingdom, it was no surprise that Braum was thorough in the information he gave to Valyr, even going so far as to include her origins as a Zeihardt n member of another branch.


    Briefly skimming through the information he received, Valyr did not take long to confirm the words Riekan told him earlier, such as her marrying into the Amerhearst n, as well as the incident that eventually caused her to be part of the Caemelio n.


    In fact, there were even a few bits of information on the inception of the velvet faction, prompting the young man to wonder as to how the man even got his hands on such detailed information.


    Though, rather than focus on that part, Valyr''s attention instead lingered around the part detailing her husband''s untimely death. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''There are rumors that say Cynthia''s husband, Jonathan Amerhearst, died of unnatural causes,'' inwardly murmured the young man, his expression that of great curiosity as he continued to read through it.


    ''ording to the findings of the Amerhearst Royal n, Jonathan Amerhearst''s corpse was found a few hundred kilometers away from the royal n''s estate, dumped haphazardly near argeke.''


    ''Looking through the various wounds that had been inflicted on Jonathan''s body before his death, the n noticed that the wounds on his body that might havee from wild beasts were quite recent in rtion to the time they discovered the body.'' ''On the other hand, wounds that looked to havee from various weapons were aplenty on his body, with the age of the wounds themselves showing them that Jonathan had possibly gone through a long duration of torture before eventually sumbing to blood loss.''


    ''After conducting further investigation, the Amerhearst Royal n eventually narrowed down the number of suspects that might have tortured Jonathan Amerhearst to death were two people.''


    ''The first is Mikalis Amerhearst, Jonathan''s younger brother. He''s been deemed as a suspect due to his antagonistic rtionship with Jonathan. At the same time, the n has found it odd that his time of disappearance matched up with Jonathan''s disappearance.''


    ''The second suspect is Cynthia Amerhearst, his wife.''


    ''She''s been deemed as a suspect due to her rtionship with Jonathan, as well as the simrities of the wounds that were inflicted on Jonathan''s body in rtion to the weapon she often uses.''


    ''¡­Further evidence concludes that the cause of Jonathan Amerhearst''s death is found to be unknown?'' As Valyr got to this part, the curiosity he felt quickly turned into confusion. After all, the information he just read through basicallyid out who the culprit behind Jonathan Amerhearst''s death could possibly be.


    In the end, the young man faintly let out a sigh at the whirlwind of thoughts that now gued his mind, thanking Braum not long after as hemitted all of the information he just went through to his memory.


    Returning his attention to Riekan after that, Valyr went ahead and asked him the first question that came to his mind. "You mentioned that the seven other factions only came about after the velvet faction was established."


    "So, does that mean she also established the other factions after the velvet faction was created?"


    "In a way, yes," replied Riekan after a bit of thinking, nodding in slight uncertainty. "From the information I gathered, she utilized the n''s rules to her advantage, rallying the support of the majority of the n to make sure the seven other factions could be created."


    "Do you know why she did that, though?" asked Valyr in response, finding it odd for someone like her to do something like that. After all, from what he just read through, Cynthia wasn''t that kind of person at all.


    "No clue either." Unfortunately, just like Valyr, Riekan also wasn''t in the know, shrugging his shoulders in response to the question.


    "But then again¡­ would that really stop me?"

 Chapter 1221 Karma and Fate

    Chapter 1221 Karma and Fate


    "So¡­ what you''re telling me is that you want to kill her off just because?" asked Valyr for rification, finding it slightly absurd that Riekan still thought about proceeding with his original idea without even having any solid reason as to why she should be killed.


    Sure, from Riekan''s perspective, she may have been the cause of the velvet faction''s existence. She may have also caused the Caemelio n to fracture into the nine factions both he and Riekan knew today. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    And from the Amerhearst n''s perspective, she may have possibly been the culprit that caused Jonathan Amerhearst''s untimely death.


    But was that really a good enough reason to warrant an unconditional kill order on her?


    What if there was actually a valid reason behind her actions in the Amerhearst n?


    What if the ultimate purpose behind the founding of the eight other factions was actually for the betterment of the Caemelio n?


    "¡­Well, in your case, you could see it as me wanting her gone just because I have the power and authority to do so." While Valyr was still trying to rationalize Riekan''s train of thought into something he could make sense of, the man answered his question with a look of firm conviction.


    "However, as someone who''s gone past the peak of mortality to be a Myth-level being, I''ve be somewhat acquainted with some mysterious forces that even I would have a hard time exining even a small portion of their existence to you."


    "But to make a long story short, these mysterious forces are the basis behind my reason for having her gone," said the man with a calm tone. "From what they''ve told me, as long as she remains within the n, it would only be a matter of time before the Caemelio n disappears from the world''s existence."


    Though Valyr was still a bit confused as to what the man meant by mysterious forces, he was at least relieved to hear that there was some logic applied to his reasoning.


    Slightly curious as to what mysterious forces Riekan was talking about, the young man went ahead and rummaged through his treasure trove of memories as he continued with their conversation.


    "Sure, let''s say these mysterious forces you''ve mentioned are correct in their predictions," said Valyr to Riekan with a slight nod. "Her continuing to stay within the n would eventually bring it to ruin."


    "But is it really necessary to kill her? Wouldn''t expelling and banning her from the n allow you to achieve the same thing?"


    "It would." Riekan nodded in agreement, which made Valyr immediately wonder why the man didn''t settle for that method to solve the problem instead.


    "But¡­" Fortunately, the man expounded on that answer not long after, making it seem as if he had read the thoughts that were going on in the young man''s mind. "What''s stopping her from having a different n fall under a simr fate?"


    At those words, Riekan decided to give Valyr a better idea of the thoughts going on in his mind, trying his best to exin the mysterious forces that he mentioned in a way that made sense.


    Thankfully, it did not take long for the young man to understand what the man was trying to say, especially once he began to hear terms like ''inauspicious omens'' and ''intangible threads and links''e out of Riekan''s mouth.


    ''Karma and fate,'' thought Valyr to himself, quickly finding the memories he had on the matter the moment he realized what Riekan''s basis was.


    ''If the basis for Riekan''s reason has something to do with that, then¡­''


    ''Even if it might seem nonsensical from an outsider''s perspective, I guess it''s only for the better that it should be done.''


    Simr to how one would be able to separate their souls from their bodies once one ascended to the Myth level, one would also be able to sense the existence of karma and fate once one became a Myth.


    However, unlike the ability to separate one''s soul from one''s body, the ability to sense karma and fate wasn''t really guaranteed after bing a Myth.


    From what Valyr could recall, only one out of ten newly ascended Myths would awaken to this ability from the get-go. Not only that, but these newly ascended Myths would only barely be able to sense their existence.


    Though, at some point, every Myth would gain this ability as they went through the ranks, considering how one''sprehension over those two concepts were more than crucial if one wanted to ascend past the Myth level.


    Even more so if one wanted to ascend past the Divine level.


    ''In any case, since Riekan says she''s an inauspicious omen, then that means the amount of negative karma she has is far beyond what any normal person could achieve in their life,'' thought Valyr to himself.


    ''Not only that, but it''s an amount that''s impossible to offset, even if she decides to just do charitable acts from now on.''


    ''¡­How did she even rue that much negative karma anyway?''


    Shaking his head to forget the question that surfaced in his mind just now, Valyr eventually looked back at Riekan, his understanding of the entire situation now far greater than ever before.


    With that, it was no surprise that the young man soon agreed to his request, causing Riekan to briefly let out a loud cackle as he looked back at the man with a toothy grin.


    Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief at the thought that he''d conjured a soundproof barrier around them way before reaching this point, Valyr went ahead and asked Riekan for more information on Cynthia, specifically the strength she wielded.


    Then again, such a question was mostly for the sake of keeping up appearances, with Braum having even included that piece of information in the message he sent the young man a few minutes earlier.


    But of course, there''s still a limit to what an informant like Braum could obtain, with Riekan informing Valyr of certain aspects and quirks Cynthia had that the informant hadn''t included.


    ''It does make sense, though,'' thought the young man to himself as he realized this. ''As a Myth, Riekan is naturally able to obtain far more information than him.''


    ''¡­Given enough time, that is.''


    Eventually, after going over Cynthia''s individual strength, the two then went over the possible obstacles that might hinder Valyr, such as the people that might be with her, or the ce that she might head to around a certain time.


    "So¡­" Feeling like he''d obtained all of the information he needed for the man''s request, Valyr went ahead and asked the most essential question. "When do you want me to make a move?"


    "Later tonight? Early tomorrow? Or do you want me to do it a few days from now?"


    "Now," replied Riekan, his expression serious.


    "¡­Now?"


    "Yeah, now."


    "¡­"


    "If you could also do it without leaving any traces, that would be great."

 Chapter 1222 Reasons for Choosing

    Chapter 1222 Reasons for Choosing


    "¡­" As he listened to the words that came out of Riekan''s mouth, Valyr remainedpletely silent as he asked himself how he was going to achieve the man''s request without even having done any preparation beforehand.


    After all, if he wanted to make sure that no one else knew who killed her, he would first have to make sure that the location was ideal, alongside many other things that might give him away if it weren''t perfect.


    "¡­Man." Though, as he thought about Cynthia being deemed an inauspicious omen by Riekan once more, that train of thought gradually disappeared from his mind as he let out a long sigh of exasperation in response.


    Closing his eyes for a bit, the gears in Valyr''s mind whirred as fast as they could before looking back at Riekan once more. "You know¡­ if you want me to kill her without leaving any traces, I''ll have to at least make a few preparations before doing so."


    "Also, did you ever ask yourself at least once whether or not I''m the right person to be stealthily killing someone?" he continued. "You do know that none of my attacks are anywhere close to being stealthy, right?"


    "Of course." Riekan nodded back, his expression that of understanding. "I did catch a glimpse of your fighting style back in the tournament, after all."


    "And yet, you''re still choosing me to do it?" asked Valyr with a raised eyebrow, wondering what kind of answer Riekan would give him that would make the current situation make sense once more.


    "Why wouldn''t I?" replied Riekan, looking at the young man with slight confusion. "For one, you have an ability to change every aspect of yourself to the point it''s near indistinguishable from your original self."


    "Aside from that, I''ve heard that you''ve forged a ranged weapon that delivers far more damage than even a fully-charged bow could do. I''ve also heard that you decided to share its blueprints for the sake of humanity." "I may not be at the battlefield often, but the feats Ylvar achieved there has even reached the n here."


    "¡­Is that all?" Though he did agree that the man''s reasons werepelling enough for him to be considered as the one who''d be doing the killing, Valyr felt like Riekan had misunderstood one of the things he used as a reason.


    Specifically, the ranged weapon he forged.


    "Don''t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly agree with the first reason you gave me," said the young man. "However, you do know that the ranged weapon you''re talking about makes a lot of sound when firing, right?"


    "I do." Riekan nodded in agreement. "I was lucky enough to use one of them when I visited the battlefield a few days ago. Packs a whole lot of punch, surprisingly."


    "Anyways, there is a reason as to why I took that into consideration."


    Whoosh!


    Just as Riekan said those words, the man went ahead and extended one of his arms outward, releasing a bit of his energy to conjure a small magic circle around Valyr''s mouth.


    Not expecting the man to conjure a magic circle on him, Valyr was about to ask Riekan what the magic circle was for, only to immediately notice that there was no sounding out of his mouth whatsoever.


    Naturally, that prompted the young man to start screaming to figure out how much sound the magic circle could handle, quickly finding out that even his attempts at screaming as loud as he possibly could was easily silenced by the magic circle Riekan conjured.


    "¡­I see what you mean now," said Valyr the moment Riekan dispelled the magic circle around his mouth. "With something like that, it would be easy to kill anyone in stealth."


    "Though, that also begs the question¡­ if you have something like that up your sleeve, then why haven''t you killed her yourself?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "That brings me to my third and final reason, actually," replied Riekan, looking at Valyr with a slightly bitter smile. "Your ability to surmount a massive gap in strength with ease."


    "Ites without surprise that it''d be easy for me to kill Cynthia with my current strength. However, not only would I be a prime suspect if I were to do that, I''d also be going against one of the n rules."


    "Then again, it''s not like there aren''t ways to get around that rule," added the man with a slight shrug. "In any case, with your ability to change appearances and surmount a massive gap of strength, it''s highly unlikely Cynthia''s death would be traced back to you."


    "Even more so if you also add in the fact that you''re not a part of the Caemelio n."


    "In fact, the request you gave the n behind your arrival is a solid alibi that excuses you from bing a suspect."


    "So, can you do it?"


    "¡­Alright." Although he got the feeling that there was the possibility of the entire thing turning into an even bigger mess, Valyr eventually agreed to help Riekan out with his request. "But only on a few conditions."


    "As long as it doesn''t involve something that goes against my morals, I''m all ears," replied Riekan with a nod, having more than expected something like this to happen.


    "For one, you have to help me out in the preparation," said Valyr with a calm expression. "After all, we have to make sure that no one else in the n catches wind of it happening."


    "I was already nning to do that in the first ce. What else?"


    "Second, you''ve got to upgrade my essory even further than what you were initially nning," replied the young man to the question. "I''m risking my life here, after all."


    "I could do that, sure." Riekan nodded in agreement. "However, if that''s what you want, then I''ll upgrade the essory to the peak of Rank 5 rather than the peak of Rank 4."


    "That''s fine by me." Valyr nodded in return. "I n on ascending to the next rank quite soon anyway."


    "Anything else?" asked Riekan onest time.


    "Well¡­ if I could add you to my friend list¡­ that would be great."


    "¡­"


    "¡­Really now?"

 Chapter 1223 A Covert Mission

    Chapter 1223 A Covert Mission


    With Riekan agreeing to the final condition Valyr set, it went without saying that the two immediately got started with their preparations, with the young man dispelling the soundproof barrier surrounding them as he continued to act as the Caemelio n''s guest.


    Considering that all he needed to do was tond the hit that would ultimately make Cynthia Amerhearst a thing of the past, the young man''s current task until he needed to fulfill his side of the deal was just to act normal.


    On the other hand, Riekan tasked himself with setting up the stage that would make sure Cynthia''s eventual disappearance would go unnoticed, deciding to make use of his power and authority as the n''s founder to have things moving faster than usual. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Of course, as the founder of the Caemelio n, it also went without saying that he tugged a couple of strings here and there to make the n pay more attention to the young man and treat him more nicely, making use of the n''s two Supreme Guardians in order to do so.


    "Say, Riekan." Though he more than weed the massive change in treatment he got from the n inparison to earlier, Valyr was slightly curious as to how the man was able to pull off something like that.


    With that, he made great use of the privilege he''d just obtained from their earlier conversation, quickly sending Riekan a question through the system''s chat feature.


    "I know you''re the founder and all, but didn''t you say only a few people in the n know of your return?"


    "Yeah, the two Supreme Guardians are included in those people that know I returned," replied Riekan not even a minuteter. "Aside from me, they wield the greatest authority within the n."


    "What''s your rtion to them?" asked Valyr in curiosity, recalling that Riekan singlehandedly founded the n he was in. "Your kids? Part of the third generation? Or somewhereter down the line?"


    "They''re my kids," wrote the man in his response, causing the young man to imagine Riekan typing out the message with a smile. "They''re my pride and joy."


    "I see." Feeling a faint smile creep up on his lips in response, the young man decided to end their conversation then and there, sending Riekan onest message to update him if all the preparations were ready.


    And with that, Valyr waited once more.


    ¡­


    "¡­So, is everything ready?"


    Making sure to adopt a vastly different appearance than the identity he entered the n with, Valyr slowly walked up to Riekan, who seemed to be gazing at a certain part of the n estate.


    "Yeah, everything''s all set up to make sure her disappearance goes unnoticed." The man looked back at him before nodding in agreement. "Even went so far as to enlist my sons'' help to move everyone else in the n as far as possible from her."


    "A meeting?" asked Valyr with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Also, if that is the case, wouldn''t she feel like something''s off if everyone but her was called?"


    "It''s more of a lesson from my sons than a meeting," rified Riekan. "After all, aside from me, they''re part of the small group within the n that''s broken through to the Myth level."


    "As for whether or not she''d find it suspicious, I had my sons more than take care of that." Saying these words, Riekan looked at Valyr with a confident smile. "You can rest at ease."


    "Alright then." With there not being much he could do to change the preparations that were already made, Valyr slightly shrugged his shoulders as he began to make preparations of his own.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Taking out the arquebus and the items needed to arm it from his spatial bracelet, the young man went ahead and prepared it for firing as he put all of his Points of Aspiration on his DEX.


    "Did you choose this spot because it was within the range of what the arquebus could hit?" Closing his eyes for a bit in response to the sudden change in stats, Valyr asked Riekan yet another question rted to their current situation.


    "Yep." Riekan nodded in agreement. "Though, with how inurate even bows could be if fired at long-range, I decided to choose a spot that was somewhat closer to where she currently is?"


    "Where is Cynthia, exactly?" asked Valyr, prompting Riekan to point at the building he was previously looking at.


    "She''s currently asleep, seeing as howte it is into the night," said the man. "Fortunately, her bed is positioned directly at the window you''ll be shooting through."


    "Already had someone open it beforehand to make it easier."


    "Her stats?" With the arquebus now more than ready for firing, Valyr went ahead and asked the man for what he considered to be the most vital piece of information. "Just to make sure I don''t put too much strength into the attack."


    "Here you go." In response, Riekan brought up a screen containing all sorts of numbers and texts in front of him, only to then move it towards Valyr for him to see.


    Whoosh!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Cynthia Amerhearst (Umon Elite)] (Level 100)


    ss: Spellde of the Veiled Night (Epic)


    Subss: Shadowbeast Acolyte (Umon)


    HP: 113,160/113,160


    MP: 173,860/173,860


    Attack: 12,183 - 13,537


    Defense: 10,403 - 11,559


    Stats: 1762 VIT, 2089 STR, 1821 AGI, 1392 DEX, 2511 INT, 2496 WIS, 1365 PER, 350 LUK


    Concepts: ???


    Skills: ??? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Huh." As he read through Cynthia''s stat sheet, Valyr immediately noticed something he didn''t usually see on other people''s status screens. "Umon Elite?"


    "It''s most likely due to her subss," replied Riekan, offering him a quick exnation. "I''ve heard of some subsses that allow one to gain ess to the monster tier system. This is the first time I''ve seen it in person, though."


    "Got it." Though he felt that it was weird for Cynthia to have ess to the monster tier system, even thinking that it might have something to do with her being an inauspicious omen, the young man quickly pushed all of those thoughts to the side as he readied himself.


    ''[Limit Break: Second Verse].''


    ''[Truth Weaver Scripture: Tetrad].''


    ''[Intent of Shadow Energy].''


    ''[Warrior''s Eyes of ughter].''


    Whoosh!


    Conjuring a barrier of energy around him to make sure his aura didn''t leak out, Valyr briefly nced at Cynthia from afar, only to let out a calming breath soon after as he nodded at Riekan.


    Nodding back in response, Riekan then went ahead and conjured the magic circle he showed Valyr earlier, making sure to wrap it entirely around the arquebus.


    "¡­Here goes nothing." With everything now ready to go, the young man confirmed his target onest time as he took in a deep breath before finally pulling on the trigger.


    Whoosh!


    ¡­


    Puchi!


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Rumble¡­

 Chapter 1224 Not So Covert Anymore

    Chapter 1224 Not So Covert Anymore


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment Valyr pulled on the trigger, he swiftly shifted his focus towards the ce where Cynthia was, pushing [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] to the utmost limit in order to make sure he could confirm the kill with great rity.


    Puchi!


    Unsurprisingly, with the help of all of the skills he activated, as well as the experience he''d honed wielding weapons simr to the arquebus in the past, it was no surprise that the bullet he shot pierced directly through her skull, its damage more than enough to kill her in one hit.


    Considering that she was already asleep before the two of them even began, the only telltale sign one would be able to notice at that moment was the bloody hole made by the bullet.


    Other than that, one would easily think she was still in the midst of a deep slumber.


    "It''s done." Finally letting out the breath he''d been unknowingly holding all this time, Valyr faintly smiled at the damage value that appeared above Cynthia''s head before looking back at Vaughn with a nod. "All that''s left now is to dispose her body."


    "I''ll be the one handling that." Though he nodded back in response, Riekan went ahead and used his own skills to confirm Cynthia''s death, his expression immediately turning jubnt the moment he did.


    To no surprise, the man profusely thanked Valyr for helping him out with the request, only to then apologize not long after for implicating him in a difficult situation.


    In response, Valyr told Riekan that it was fine, deeming it necessary for inauspicious omen like her to be removed as soon as possible lest more issues arose in the future.


    Seeing that the young man wasn''t affected by what he''d done in any way, Riekan decided to ask him if what he did just now weighed on his conscience. After all, without the basis of her negative karma, it looked like she was killed for no reason.


    Hearing that, Valyr replied that it did weigh on his conscience a bit, talking about how the only proof they had that deserved her death was something only Myths and above would have ess to.


    Though, not long after, he reassured Riekan that it won''t take long before he''d get over it, telling him that he''d been through simr scenarios in the past already.


    Of course, when the young man mentioned the past, that pretty much meant his past life as a yer.


    Although most of the quests he got that involved killing were done in the name of justice or for the sake of purging greater evil, Valyr still received a few kill quests from time to time that bordered between the fine line between what''s wrong and what''s right.


    In the end, he came to the conclusion that there was not really much point in thinking whether his actions were wrong or right.


    As long as a high enough price was paid, he wouldn''t mind turning a blind eye to requests that bordered between that fine line.


    Other than that, he''d rather stay on the side of good, especially after seeing how the yers that treaded the other path ended up.


    Continuing to nce at where Cynthia was every once in a while, Valyr soon joked to Riekan that he should put a lot of effort into making sure that the upgrade to his essory was as powerful as possible, making thetter let out a bit ofughter in response as he shook his head.


    However, just as the man was going to give Valyr a piece of his mind in return¡­


    Rumble¡­


    Out of nowhere, the ground they were standing on began to rumble, prompting both Valyr and Riekan to look around their surroundings to see where the rumbling wasing on.


    Though, when they eventually found out that the rumbling wasing from none other than where Cynthia was, the two began to look at each other with slightly grim expressions, not expecting such a thing to happen.


    "¡­At this point, I don''t think there''s any way to keep this hidden." Incredibly certain that the others from the n would soon begin to notice that something was amiss, Valyr let out a faint sigh as the gears in his mind furiously turned toe up with a n.


    "Conjure a massive barrier around where Cynthia is for the meantime," said the young man after a bit of silence, his skill-empowered gaze now affixed on Cynthia''s every movement. "You can do that, right?"


    "Just give me a couple of seconds." Nodding back at Valyr''s request, Riekan took in a deep breath to retainposure before releasing a great amount of energy into the air.


    Whoosh!


    "[Arcane Barrier]." Then, without hesitation, he swiftly went through multipleplex gestures in the span of a few seconds, causing an opaque barrier over a couple hundred meters in radius to surround both of them, as well as the building Cynthia is in.


    "¡­Now what?" Swiftly grabbing a mana potion from a spatial rift he opened to replenish his lost energy, Riekan looked at Valyr once more before asking what they should do next.


    "Now¡­" In response, Valyr''s gaze continued to remain fixed on Cynthia''s whereabouts, only for his expression to turn solemn not long after.


    "We''ll have to fight."


    "Together."


    Bang!


    Just as those words left his mouth, the roof above Cynthia''s building immediately exploded into a thousand pieces, forcing both Valyr and Riekan to move a few steps back to avoid the stray shrapnel that headed their way.


    Continuing to maintain vignce, the two of them eventually returned their focus back to where Cynthia previously was.


    However, rather than be greeted by the sight of a woman that had already passed on to the afterlife, they were instead greeted by a pitch-ck entity with red carvings all over its body that gave off an incredibly sinister aura.


    And that entity was looking directly at the two of them!


    "¡­So, who''s going to fight it?" Continuing to keep his gaze on the dark entity, Valyr stowed all of the items he brought out back into his spatial bracelet before grabbing the blood-red spear behind his back. "You or me?"


    "My skill set is more suited for rear-line support," replied Riekan, not wanting to waste even a single second on which among them did what. "However, I can also cast offensive magic from the rear."


    "¡­Guess I have no choice but to go all-out, then." Wryly smiling at the man''s words for a brief moment, Valyr soon let out a brief exhale as he activated all of the other stat-boosting skills he''d yet to use in his arsenal.


    ''[First Encore].''


    ''[Rage of the True Wyvern].''


    ''[Refined Offense Aura].''


    ''[Refined Defense Aura].''


    ''[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Raging Azure Phoenix].''


    ''[Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts: Enduring Azure Turtle].''


    ''[sh of the Azure Dragon].''


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Dispelling the barrier that was surrounding him earlier, Valyr did not hesitate to re his aura out in its entirety, prompting the dark entity that came from Cynthia''s building to focus its attention on him.


    Seeing that his actions had caught the entity''s attention, the young man had a faint confident smile on his face, even though the entity''s existence instilled both fear and terror into his bones.


    Suppressing the negative emotions he felt at that moment, Valyr went ahead and cast his identification skill on the entity in order to find out what exactly the two of them were up against.


    "[Superior Analysis]." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Vessel of Envy (Mythic Elite)] (Level 130 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Messenger of the Fifth Sin (Epic)


    Subss: Seed of Senseless Envy (Epic)


    HP: 1,706,830/1,706,830


    MP: 2,124,530/2,124,530


    Attack: 99,252 - 110,280


    Defense: 60,762 - 67,513


    Stats: 6055 VIT, 9600 STR, 9776 AGI, 6238 DEX, 9956 INT, 10,228 WIS, 6242 PER, 1083 LUK


    Concepts: [Concept of Envy (Stage 0)], ???, ???


    Armaments: [Armament of Envy (Stage 0)]


    Skills: [Sin of Envy], ???, ???, ???


    Note: You are super fucked.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Definitely an inauspicious omen." Deeply sucking in a cold breath of air the moment he was finished going through the status screen he received, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit before looking at Riekan.


    "Are you ready?" asked the young man as he tightly gripped on his spear. "We''re going to have to kill Cynthia Amerhearst one more time."


    Indeed, the pitch-ck entity standing before them was none other than Cynthia Amerhearst, the same person Valyr ended off with one hit just a few moments earlier.


    Ever since the ground surrounding them began to rumble, Valyr quickly noticed that Cynthia was going through some sort of transformation thanks to his decision of continuing to look at her.


    Watching her skin slowly turn pitch-ck as bloody grooves slowly carved themselves on her skin''s surface, the young man immediately prepared Riekan for the imminent fight beforehand.


    At the same time, he was reminded of all the information he''d obtained on Cynthia, such as the incident that urred in the Amerhearst n, as well as Riekan''s notes of her being an inauspicious omen to their n.


    Now that he was able to view what looked to be her true form in person, all of those thoughts quickly coalesced into a new thought, prompting him to think Riekan made the right call to kill her as soon as possible.


    "¡­A Seed of the Underworld, huh," said Valyr whilst Riekan was stilling to terms with what he''d said earlier. "And here I thought I''d only start to see them after the war ended."


    "Raaagghhhh!!!" In response to Valyr''s words, the dark entity let out a furious shriek containing multiple voices, only to then charge at him without hesitation.


    Swoosh!


    "Step back, Riekan!" Seeing that the entity nned on making the first move, Valyr quickly told Riekan to distance himself from him as far as possible.


    After that, he looked at the entity with a grim expression, imbuing his spear with Prime Azure Energy not long after before thrusting it outwards.


    "[Four Paths Azure War Arts]¡­"


    "[Four Paths Azure Liberation]."


    "¡­"


    "[Unfettered Spear]."

 Chapter 1225 Fighting the Vessel of Envy (1)

    Chapter 1225 Fighting the Vessel of Envy (1)


    Putting all of his strength into thrusting out his spear as fast as possible, Valyr immediately felt a great chunk of Prime Azure Energy disappear in response to the skill he activated, forcing him to grit his teeth as he continued to track the dark entity with his eyes.


    Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, the Vessel of Envy found dodging the young man''s attack a breeze, swerving to the side of the blood-red spear as if it were a leaf being blown by the wind.


    Bang!


    However, contrary to its rxed and fluid dodge, its counterattack was anything but, swiping down at Valyr''s chest with all the might it could muster.


    "[Turtle Parrying the Waves]!"


    Knowing that he would undoubtedly die even if the entity were to onlynd a single hit on him, Valyr did not hesitate to use the faux precognition skill he picked up from Jekyll, slowing down the entity''s attack long enough for him to take a step back.


    Then, without hesitation, he swung his spear upward, conjuring a massive wave of Prime Azure Energy that briefly showed an image of arge azure turtle.


    Bang!


    ''-716,012''


    "Hiss¡­" Watching the Vessel of Envy''s attack backfire on itself multiple times stronger than before, Valyr swiftly sucked in a cold breath of air at the damage value that appeared above its head.


    At the same time, he brought up the description of the parry skill he just used, wondering what changes Prime Azure Energy exactly brought to the techniques one of his strongest skills had.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <3rd Technique: Turtle Parrying the Waves - The turtle reigns supreme across the waters. Cataclysmic waves defer to the might of the turtle, especially at its strongest state.


    Allows the user to parry all attacks aimed at them within a 3 meter radius, reflecting them back to the user''s foes at 400% of their original power. Temporarily stuns foes affected by the parry for 2 seconds. Cost: 5% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Since it returns the attack at four times the power, then that''s¡­ over 120,000 damage?'' Doing a bit of math in his mind, it did not take long for Valyr to find out how much damage the entity would''ve dealt to him.


    ''You''re telling me a simple attack from it is enough to cut my HP in half?'' Naturally, the answer he got more than motivated him to keep a fair distance from the Vessel of Envy as much as possible, being reminded of the massive gap that existed between the two of them.


    Though he was able to make up for the difference in firepower with the help of his skills, the same couldn''t be said for his defense.


    Even if it was already far above what a normal peak Rank 4 ss holder would have.


    "Grrrrgghhh¡­" With a great chunk of its health lost before it could understand what was going on, it went without saying that the Vessel of Envy grew more incensed as it looked at Valyr, wanting nothing more than to charge at him and strike once again.


    Yet, just as it thought of summoning all of the strength in its body to close the gap between them, the dark entity quickly realized that it couldn''t move whatsoever, feeling as if a heavenly entity was pushing down on its body for it to stay in ce.


    "[Dragon Cutting the World]!" Of course, Valyr already knew to take as much advantage of its current state as possible, reminding himself that the opportunity in front of him was merely temporary.


    With that, he summoned a great portion of his Prime Azure Energy once more, swiftly closing the gap between them before shing down directly at the Vessel of Envy''s head.


    Bang! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''-1,610,286!!''


    "¡­Goddamn." Although he already knew what Valyr was capable of the moment he parried the Vessel of Envy''s attack, Riekan was left at aplete loss for words the moment he saw the blood red number above the entity''s head.


    "Holy shit." Of course, even Valyr was left at a loss for words at the amount of damage he dealt, not expecting that even the Damage Restriction System was helpless in stopping him from dealing over a million damage.


    Sure, he used [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] to ensure hended a hit that was guaranteed to deal triple the damage.


    But for that damage multiplier to deal over 1.5 million points of damage on someone like the Vessel of Envy, the skill Valyr needed to use had to be powerful enough to do so.


    Thankfully, the change brought by Prime Azure Energy allowed it go beyond even his wildest expectations.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <4th Technique: Dragon Cutting the World - The dragon reigns supreme across the heaven and earth. No space is safe when the dragon decides to unleash its might, a might that even instills fear to those that transcend mortality.


    Allows the user to sh their spear down with both unyielding power and speed, dealing damage equivalent to 1000% of the user''s Attack stat to all foes within a 3 meter radius around the conjured de. Cost: 10% of the user''s Azure Energy.>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''¡­I can only imagine how much damage I''d deal to someone at my level with this skill.'' Seeing that the Vessel of Envy became as stiff as a statue the moment his attack depleted the remainder of its HP, Valyr took the opportunity to bring up the skill he used in his mind once more, eventually going through the other skills he had yet to view as well.


    ''[Four Paths Azure Liberation] truly is the strongest skill in my arsenal.'' By the time he was done, the young man let out an awe-filled sigh as hepared the skill to the other powerful attacks he had yet to unleash.


    ''A shame I can''t use it as much as I want.''


    Rumble¡­


    As Valyr took the current opportunity to replenish his reserves of Prime Azure Energy, the ground surrounding them began to shake once more, with the Vessel of Envy acting as its origin.


    "What''s happening now?" At the very moment the dark entity''s health went below zero, Riekan immediately rxed as he thought the trouble was over. However, the sudden rumbling made him tense up all of a sudden.


    "¡­It''s about to resurrect." Considering that he was the nearest to the Vessel of Envy between the two of them, Valyr could clearly sense the threads of vitality gradually thrumming with greater and greater strength over time.


    Feeling that it wouldn''t be long before the entity made its move again, Valyr quickly shouted at Riekan, "Cast all your defensive skills on me!"


    However¡­


    Fwoosh!


    Bang!


    ''-170,402''


    Before Riekan could even snap out of the shock Valyr''s words brought him, the Vessel of Envy quickly made its move, shooting out a beam of dark energy from its mouth.


    Feeling a great sense of danger from the beam, the young man swiftly allocated all his Points of Aspiration onto AGI as he cast both [Refined Mana Shield] and [Refined Mana Barrier] around himself multiple times.


    Unfortunately, not even the stacking of the two skills was enough to block the entire attack, with half of the beam''s power still reaching Valyr.


    "Grh!" Gritting his teeth as he forced himself to endure the remaining part, Valyr eventually let out an inward sigh of relief the moment the attack stopped, only to feel a massive wave of pain radiate from his left side not long after.


    "[Phoenix Piercing the Skies]!" Realizing that his entire left arm had been vaporized to nothing due to the Vessel of Envy''s attack, Valyr gritted his teeth even harder as he thrust his spear outward with his remaining arm.


    Screech!


    With his Prime Azure Energy reserves now above more than half thanks to his timely decision, the young man felt quite confident that he''d be able to kill the Vessel of Envy yet again, especially with the amount of damage each of his attacks dealt.


    However, what he failed to take into consideration¡­ was that the dark entity had yet to reveal all of its abilities.


    Whoosh!


    Just as Valyr''s spear let out a sonorous cry, the Vessel of Envy disappeared from the young man''s sight without a trace, forcing the young man to preemptively cancel his attack in preparation for an ambush.


    Bang!


    Unsurprisingly, not even a secondter, the dark entity struck the young man at his blind spot, causing Valyr to feel a great sense of danger as he forced his body to move aside amidst the terror he felt.


    Crash!


    Thankfully, Riekan was more than ready to help Valyr out this time around, casting a series of defensive skills in front of the young man to nullify the dark entity''s attempts at ending his life.


    At the same time, he gave Valyr more than enough leeway to take out a health potion from his spatial bracelet while casting all of the healing spells he had in his arsenal.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    With that, just as the dark entity was about to attempt taking the young man''s life once more, Valyr was more than ready to confront its attacks, even going so far as to utilize the blue-white strands of Mystic Energy to shift the odds to their favor.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Due to the speed at which the Vessel of Envy attacked him, Valyr was unable to make use of the powerful techniques he unlocked through [Four Paths Azure Liberation], instead relying on the skill''s passive in order to match the entity in terms of might.


    Of course, the same went for the dark entity, with it unable to utilize its beam attack from earlier due to the fight now being in close-quarters.


    Then again, with therge disparity in stats that existed between the two of them, it was no surprise that the Vessel of Envy had already sent out multiple attacks at Valyr that aimed to take his life in one go.


    Unfortunately for the Vessel of Envy, Valyr had support in the form of Riekan, giving the young man timely assistance by conjuring defensive shields and barriers whenever needed.


    ''This is going nowhere.'' Although he was still able to keep up with the entity''s flurry of attacks for the meantime, Valyr knew that he''d be the first between them to run out of stamina.


    Once that happened, it went without saying that not only he and Riekan would be killed, but the entire Caemelio n as well.


    And if the Vessel of Envy decided to set its sights even further¡­ perhaps the entirety of Veldanyr.


    ''I''m definitely going to regret thister on,'' thought Valyr to himself with a wry chuckle as he activated a skill he''d been saving for a desperate situation.


    But then again¡­ wasn''t he currently in one?


    "¡­[Descent of the True Wyvern]."

 Chapter 1226 Fighting the Vessel of Envy (2)

    Chapter 1226 Fighting the Vessel of Envy (2)


    "Haah!"


    Though he felt both his health and energy reserves go down by a great chunk, a feeling of newfound strength soon enveloped Valyr''s entire body, causing him to think that the ying field between him and the Vessel of Envy had evened out once more.


    Catching the dark entity off guard, Valyr put all of his greatly increased strength into one of his thrusts, forcing the Vessel of Envy to take a few steps back as it did not expect his strength to undergo a massive increase all of a sudden.


    "[Phoenix Piercing the Skies]!"


    Screech!


    Bang!


    Making full use of the opportunity he''d given himself, the young man swiftly roused a part of the Prime Azure Energy before thrusting his spear outward, causing it to cry out like a phoenix as he aimed for one of the Vessel of Envy''s vital spots.


    However, just as his skill-empowered gaze thought that it would deal thrice the damage like his previous attack did, the dark entity quickly returned from the shock it felt, swerving its body at the veryst second.


    ''-349,336''


    "Damn." Though he brieflymented over the fact that he missed the chance to deal devastating damage to the entity, Valyr struck out at the Vessel of Envy once more.


    "[Tiger Sweeping the Mountains]!"


    Swoosh!


    Tightly gripping onto his blood-red spear, Valyr summoned all of his strength as he imbued Prime Azure Energy into it, briefly manifesting an image of an azure tiger as the tip made its way to where the Vessel of Envy stood.


    Whoosh! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Unfortunately, the young man''s previous attack reminded the dark entity that there was a chance it could be on the losing end.


    With that, it took a few steps back amidst the movement speed debuff Valyr''s previous attack on it, barely escaping a situation where it could''ve lost another chunk of its HP.


    "Haah!" Undeterred by the failure of his second attack, Valyr closed the gap between the two as he sent out a flurry of strikes with his increased strength.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    With its movement speed still affected by the debuff, the Vessel of Envy was forced to a defensive, nullifying the force behind all of the young man''s attacks with attacks of its own.


    Of course, the only reason why the entity was able to do so was due to the high disparity that existed in their stats.


    ''Surely the gap in our stats should''ve closed by now, right?'' Watching the Vessel of Envy defend against all of his strikes with rtive ease, a slight frown appeared on Valyr''s face as he used [Superior Analysis] on the entity once more.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Vessel of Envy (Ancient Elite)] (Level 130 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Messenger of the Fifth Sin (Epic)


    Subss: Seed of Senseless Envy (Epic)


    HP: 2,483,340/2,483,340


    MP: 3,499,590/3,499,590


    Attack: 108,815 - 120,906


    Defense: 66,331 - 73,701


    Stats: 6610 VIT, 10,525 STR, 10,723 AGI, 6824 DEX, 10,935 INT, 11,232 WIS, 6,838 PER, 1171 LUK


    Concepts: [Concept of Envy (Stage 0)], ???, ???


    Armaments: [Armament of Envy (Stage 0)]


    Skills: [Sin of Envy], ???, ???, ???


    Note: You''re still super fucked.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding me." As if the Vessel of Envy had already taken his ultimate stat-boosting skill into consideration, its resurrection caused its tier to go up by one, allowing most of its stats to break through the five-digit barrier.


    Though a single increase in tier may not seem like much in the lower ss ranks, it had allowed all of the Vessel of Envy''s most prominent stats to go up by a thousand points, while the others went up by a few hundred.


    For reference, if Valyr''s DEX or INT were to go up by a thousand points, without any additional modifiers, hisbat strength would go up by 20%.


    On the other hand, if those thousand points went towards his less prominent stats, his capabilities in that stat''s area would immediately go up by around 50%!


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Stats: 2731 (5631) VIT, 2140 (4413) STR, 2865 (5908) AGI, 4766 (9827) DEX, 5059 (10,432) INT, 1666 (3435) WIS, 2272 (4685) PER, 654 LUK


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Yeah¡­ there''s no way I''m gonna win with the spear.'' Briefly taking a look at his own stats through his mind, it did not take long for Valyr to begin feeling a hint of slight despair.


    After all, most of his stats still hovered around half of the entity''s strongest stats, even with all the stat-boosting skills he activated.


    Thankfully enough, the same could not be said for either DEX or AGI, with both of them only a thousand points away from matching the Vessel of Envy.


    Knowing that his current approach of relying on DEX would onlyst him for just a bit longer if he didn''t change things up, the young man did not hesitate to start putting distance between him and the entity.


    ''The Vessel of Envy is already adapting to the changes in my strength anyway.''


    ''However¡­ can it quickly adapt to a change inbat style?''


    "Haah!" Putting all of his strength into an attack once more, Valyr was able to force the dark entity to distance itself, giving him enough time to make use of one of his movement skills.


    "[Blink of the Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    Affixing the blood-red spear behind his back, the young man swiftly disappeared from the Vessel of Envy''s vision, only to appear around a hundred meters away from where he previously stood.


    "Expand the barrier, Riekan!" Taking out his magic staff from his spatial bracelet, Valyr quickly barked out a fewmands to the man assisting him, hoping to tip the scales to their favor just a little more.


    "Raaagh!" Nodding in response to Valyr''s request, Riekan hastily summoned a decent portion of the energy within his body, only to then infuse all of it into the barrier surrounding them.


    Continuing to keep an eye on both Valyr and the Vessel of Envy, the man was eventually able to expand the barrier to cover over 400 meters in radius, which he thought was more than enough space for the former to do what he needed.


    "Buff me up!" As the gears in Valyr''s mind worked on overdrive, the young man continued to keep an eye on the Vessel of Envy, seeing that it was still looking around its surroundings to find his traces.


    By the time it was able to figure out what had happened, Valyr was already preparing his attack, conjuring a cloud of Prime Azure Energy above the Vessel of Envy the moment Riekan''s buffsnded on his body.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]!"


    "[Azure Phoenix''s Lament]!"


    Screech!


    Just as the dark entity was about to swiftly close the gap that existed between it and Valyr, a loud cry of a phoenix began to resound from up above, causing it to stop in its tracks as it wondered what was going on.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Not long after, a maelstrom of azure phoenixes soon began to rain from the sky above it, most of which began to head straight for the Vessel of Envy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    ''-69,533''


    ''-145,518!''


    ''-68,487''


    "¡­Wow." Expecting the Vessel of Envy to start destroying the azure phoenixes the moment at least one of them hit its body, Valyr was instead left at a slight loss for words as the sight of dozens of azure phoenixes surrounding the entity greeted him.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    ''-138,364!''


    ''-69,454''


    ''-70,039''


    With the Vessel of Envy''s status screen still up in his mind to keep track of how much damage he still had to deal, the young man watched as the entity''s health plummeted down to a million within a matter of seconds.


    Naturally, this caused Valyr to feel immense shock and confusion, wondering why the Vessel of Envy would willingly take on his attacks all of a sudden.


    Fortunately for him, the answer to his question arrived not even a minuteter, with the entity finally making a move the moment it only had less than 500,000 HP remaining.


    Bang!


    At the same time, that answer unfortunately came in the form of dark phoenixes, with the Vessel of Envy conjuring them by the hundreds to fight back against the azure phoenixes.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "¡­Wow." Expecting the Vessel of Envy to start destroying the azure phoenixes the moment at least one of them hit its body, Valyr was instead left at a slight loss for words as the sight of dozens of azure phoenixes surrounding the entity greeted him.


    Bang!


    At the same time, that answer unfortunately came in the form of dark phoenixes, with the Vessel of Envy conjuring them by the hundreds to fight back against the azure phoenixes Valyr''s skill conjured.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    In a matter of seconds, the two sides fell into a stalemate, with each azure phoenix generated having to fight against a few dark phoenixes just so it could get through.


    However, with quantity also being a form of quantity, the number of dark phoenixes each azure phoenix had to fight eventually ballooned to a number it couldn''t withstand, causing the cloud up above to disappear on its own as it quickly ran out of energy.


    "¡­" Briefly staring at the spot where the cloud of Prime Azure Energy used to be, the Vessel of Envy soon shifted its gaze back at Valyr, its neutral face giving the young man the feeling that the entity was mocking its efforts.


    "[Four Paths Azure Magic Arts]¡­" Though, with the scenario just now giving him an idea on what he needed to do to defeat the Vessel of Envy, Valyr ignored the entity''s gaze, instead focusing all of his attention on casting yet another spell.


    "[Four Paths Azure Zenith]."


    Whoosh!


    Imbuing the spell with the element of Earth, Valyr watched as the Vessel of Envy stood frozen in ce as a great amount of Prime Azure Energy began to surround it.


    Then, within a matter of seconds, the energy wrapped around the entity in the form of a cocoon, only to then absorb even more energy from the surroundings as it took on a shade that constantly shifted between dark blue and brown.


    Bang!


    ''-674,883''


    Eventually, after absorbing enough energy from the surroundings, the cocoon exploded with as much might it could muster, destroying a great portion of the buildings that made up the Caemelio n estate.


    "¡­" Though he could not help but feel immense heartache from having a part of his n''s history be wiped out just like that, Riekan pushed such emotions to the side for the meantime as he nced at Valyr with curiosity.


    "Is it¡­ over?"


    "¡­I think so." Looking at the Vessel of Envy''s status screen in response, Valyr soon gave Riekan a faint nod after seeing its health bar go below zero once more.


    "However, there''s a chance that it might¡­"


    Rumble¡­


    "¡­Resurrect a third time."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    "¡­"


    "¡­You know what? Fuck this."


    "I''m calling Vaughn."

 Chapter 1227 Giving Up

    Chapter 1227 Giving Up


    "¡­"


    Destruction.


    Before Riekan could even understand what was going on, destruction swiftly filled his vision, with a great portion of his n''s estate turned to rubble in exchange for damage to the Vessel of Envy.


    Was he d that the dark entity received a lot of damage from the attack?


    Considering how it had already revived itself once from death, the man was more than happy to see the Vessel of Envy knocked down once more. After all, it would''ve been absurd if an attack like that deal negligible damage to the entity instead.


    However, was he d that the cost to do so caused arge part of the n''s estate to disappear?


    Of course not.


    With how he was the one who built the Caemelio n up to where it was now, it made a lot of sense that most, if not all of the buildings within the n estate were products of his efforts as well.


    With that, it was no surprise that Riekan felt a twinge of pain in his heart when he saw them crumble before his very eyes, the memories associated with them briefly shing within his mind.


    "¡­" Yet, even though he felt a bit of anger at how Valyr handled the situation, the man knew that the young man was just doing all he could to tip the scales of the fight to their favor.


    If anything, it should''ve been him that was supposed to be fighting the Vessel of Envy one-on-one. After all, between the two of them, he was a bona fide Myth. On the other hand, Valyr had to use a ton of skills just to push his strength to where it could match a Myth.


    Then again, from what he''d seen in their fights thus far, Riekan did not take long toe to the conclusion that Valyr was a far betterbatant than he was.


    Not only was the young man a far betterbatant in terms of close-quartersbat, but he was also a far betterbatant than Riekan was even from long-range, making use of magic spells that even the man understood would deal tons of damage on the battlefield.


    ''Well, he isn''t called the Warlord of the East for nothing,'' thought Riekan to himself, being reminded of the moniker Valyr''s alternate identity received on the battlefield.


    In the end, he pushed all of the negative thoughts lingering in his mind to the side for the meantime, focusing all of his attention on what was more important instead.


    "Is it¡­ over?" Seeing that the Vessel of Envy had stopped moving once again after receiving Valyr''s attack, Riekan looked at the young man with a hint of curiosity as he activated his identification skill on the entity.


    "¡­I think so," replied the young man after a while, faintly nodding only after he was certain that the Vessel of Envy''s health was below zero. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    But of course, with how the Vessel of Envy had already revived itself once from death, there was nothing that stopped it from reviving a second time.


    "However, there''s a chance that it might¡­" continued Valyr with this thought in mind, only to then gradually finish his sentence over the next few seconds as he felt vitality thrum within the Vessel of Envy once more.


    "¡­resurrect a third time."


    Rumble¡­


    "¡­When will this end?" Letting out an exasperated sigh as he felt the entity''s strengthslowly return to what it was before, Valyr briefly pinched the skin between his eyebrows as he wondered what skills he could use to catch the entity off guard.


    "Oh no¡­" As for Riekan, a feeling of terror gradually enveloped his entire body as he also began to feel the vitality growing within the Vessel of Envy.


    "Oh no, no, no, no¡­" However, that terror soon turned into resignation as he took a brief nce at the Vessel of Envy''s updated status screen, showing the strength it now wielded after reviving a second time.


    "¡­" Briefly dispelling the status screen he already had up in his mind, Valyr activated his identification skill to see how much the entity''s stats had improved after the second revival.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Vessel of Envy (Divine Elite)] (Level 165 | Mini-boss)


    ss: Messenger of the Fifth Sin (Epic)


    Subss: Seed of Senseless Envy (Epic)


    HP: 4,891,350/4,891,350


    MP: 6,801,130/6,801,130


    Attack: 204,794 - 227,549


    Defense: 126,717 - 140,797


    Stats: 10,523 VIT, 16,507 STR, 16,653 AGI, 10,909 DEX, 17,152 INT, 17,572 WIS, 11,119 PER, 1503 LUK


    Concepts: [Concept of Envy (Stage 0)], ???, ???


    Armaments: [Armament of Envy (Stage 0)]


    Skills: [Sin of Envy], ???, ???, ???


    Note: Honestly speaking¡­ how would you even surmount this gap?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Though, once he did, all thoughts of fighting back immediately disappeared without a trace in his mind.


    Instead, a strong feeling of annoyance welled up within him as he took out an ordinary-looking talisman from his spatial bracelet.


    "¡­You know what? Fuck this."


    "I''m calling Vaughn."


    Whoosh!


    Infusing a decent amount of Prime Azure Energy into the talisman, the young man kept his eyes on the Vessel of Envy as he felt his consciousness connect to some far-away ce.


    ''I''m gonna need your help, Vaughn.'' The moment he got that feeling, Valyr quickly took the initiative to start the conversation. ''I need you to kill the enemy we''re currently facing.''


    ''How much time do we have?'' asked Vaughn as his voice echoed in the young man''s mind. ''Also, what are you currently up against?''


    ''Peak Rank 7, has both a subss and a tier,'' responded Valyr the moment he could, getting the feeling that the Vessel of Envy could attack him at any second.


    ''We don''t have much time. It might attack me at any moment.''


    ''Rx. It''ll only take me a few seconds, tops,'' said Vaughn in response, to which Valyr immediately felt was a lot of time.


    After all, he was up against the strongest Myth-level being he''d encountered so far. From the strength it was giving, it could charge at him at any moment.


    With that, Valyr decided to give the man a bit more information.


    ''It''s a Vessel of Envy.''


    Fortunately for him¡­ that much information was enough.


    ''Well, why didn''t you tell me that the first time?''


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Bzzzzzzz!!!

 Chapter 1228 But Not Really

    Chapter 1228 But Not Really


    ''¡­We''re doomed.''


    ''There''s no escaping this.''


    Once he found out that the Vessel of Envy''s strength had ascended to a level that went beyond what a peak Rank 7 ss holder would normally have, all thoughts of fighting back against the entity disappeared from Riekan''s mind, just like Valyr.


    However, unlike Valyr, who looked at the current situation with great annoyance, the man instead felt defeated, briefly wondering why the heavens were rendering all of their efforts so far as useless.


    Closing his eyes as he continued to feel the Vessel of Envy''s strength slowly reach greater heights, a flurry of thoughts rted to what-ifs began to pop up in Riekan''s mind, already epting the fact that the two of them would be the first to die under the dark entity''s hands.


    ''After both of us are killed, there''s no doubt that it would target everyone within the n next,'' thought Riekan to himself. ''After that, it would proceed to attack the settlements nearest to the n then move on from there.''


    As a Myth-level being, it became second nature to him to consider therge-scale effects of his actions, considering the strength he wielded.


    With that, it was no surprise that he looked at the Vessel of Envy through the same lens, his expression worsening the more he thought about its actions after his n''s destruction.


    ''Considering its current level of strength, there''s almost no person in Veldanyr that would stop it from wreaking havoc,'' inwardly said the man to himself, the gears in his mind spinning as fast as they could possibly go.


    ''However, it''s possible that the rulers of the three sovereignties might be able to stop the Vessel of Envy in its tracks. Even more so if they got the help of the World Guardians.''


    ''¡­But what if it could revive a third time? What if its strength reached an even greater realm because of it?''


    ''Then¡­ Veldanyr, in its entirety, is doomed.''As he arrived at this thought, Riekan let out a long sigh, contained within it feelings such as regret, reluctance, anger, and so much more.


    Though, with both his and Valyr''s strength nowhere near the Vessel of Envy''s current strength, the only feeling that remained in the man''s sigh was that of eptance, inwardlymenting the fact that his journey would end here.


    "¡­You know what? Fuck this."


    "I''m calling Vaughn."


    However, just as he thought about giving up on the battle entirely and letting the Vessel of Envy do as it pleased, Riekan paused in his thoughts as he heard those words leave the young man''s mouth.


    Whoosh!


    Not long after, a talisman appeared in Valyr''s hand, only for him to infuse a great amount of his own energy into it after that.


    ''¡­Vaughn?'' Seeing the young man turn idle once more after doing those things, Riekan briefly focused on the name Valyr mentioned, wondering what the name had to do with their current situation.


    ''Surely he''s not calling for backup, right?'' thought the man after some time, finding it to be the most likely thing Valyr was doing at the moment.


    ''There''s no use.'' Of course, with the massive gap in strength between Valyr and the Vessel of Envy, Riekan did not hold too much hope in what he thought was the young man''sst-ditch effort. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''There''s no way that person would arrive that¡­"


    Bzzzzzzz!!!


    Before he could even finish what he was about to say, a massive ray of light fell from the heavens all of a sudden, swiftly piercing through the barrier he conjured as it directly hit the Vessel of Envy.


    Bzzzzzzz!!!


    Curious as to what the ray of light was doing, Riekan pushed his perception to its limits as he stared directly at it.


    Thanks to him being a Myth-level being, the light generated by the ray did not blind him at all, instead allowing him to peer through its externalyer as he soon found the Vessel of Envy standing at the very center of the ray.


    Bzzzzzzz!!!


    Surprisingly, the dark entity immediately sumbed to the might of the ray of light, its entire body broken down into pieces within a matter of seconds.


    However, just as it seemed like the entity would remain on the ground, a faint spark of vitality began to thrum within the pieces once more, seemingly intent on rebuilding its body in order to fight back against the ray of light.


    Unfortunately, as if the ray of light took notice of this, the might contained within it doubled in less than an instant, forcing the sparks of vitality within the Vessel of Envy to expend its own energy as they remained where they were.


    With the sheer power contained within the ray of light, it did not take long for the sparks of vitality contained within the pieces that previously made up the entity to disappear, turning the chunks that made up the Vessel of Envy into nothing more than charred flesh.


    Whoosh!


    Then, as if it realized that it hadpleted its purpose of ending the Vessel of Envy''s life for good, the massive ray of light soon disappeared, the only traces it left behind being the circle of charred ground surrounding the entity''s remains.


    "¡­" Although he was more than d that the worst-case scenario he came up with did not actuallye into fruition, Riekan instead focused on the ray of light that hit the Vessel of Envy just now, causing him to think over Valyr''s actions just earlier.


    ''Did he¡­ did he call for that ray of light just now?''


    As this thought came to mind, the man shifted his gaze towards the young man, only to see an expression that was a mix between confusion and amazement.


    Though, not long after, the young man''s expression soon turned into a wide grin, prompting Riekan to think that the answer to his question just now was a resounding yes.


    ''¡­I''m gonna have to give it more than my all when the time to upgrade his essoryes,'' thought the man to himself after he obtained his answer. ''Sure, there''s the possibility that the thing he used just now could only be used once.''


    ''¡­But that still doesn''t change the fact that he might have just saved the world from greater harm.''

 Chapter 1229 Wrapping It Up

    Chapter 1229 Wrapping It Up


    While Riekan''s attention was wholly focused on what was happening to the Vessel of Envy within the massive ray of light, Valyr looked at the massive ray of light with his mouth wide agape, feeling immense shock from the might it contained.


    Bzzzzzzz!!!


    Considering the fact that the ray of light struck the Vessel of Envy almost at the very instant Vaughn''s voice stopped echoing in his mind, it did not take long for the young man to understand that the ray of light came from none other than Vaughn himself.


    ''¡­If that doesn''t scream orbitalser strike, then I don''t know what does.'' Sensing that most of the power contained within the ray was focused at its very center, the young man was briefly reminded of a weapon from his past life that only existed in fiction.


    The orbitalser strike.


    Conjuring a massiveser beam from outer space, only for it to wreak havoc on the ground it touched, the orbitalser strike was what Valyr thought as the greatest weapon one could ever ask for,bining both maneuverability and power into one.


    Unfortunately, there were many existing variables that hindered the existence of the orbitalser strike in his past life, one of which being the atmosphere that surrounded Earth.


    Not only that, but there also existed ayer of man-made waste and space debris that orbited beyond the atmosphere, reducing the amount of power that would havee from theser if it ever reached the ground.


    Though all of the governments did work together at some point to clean up most of the debris that hovered beyond the Earth''s atmosphere, that still did not stop the atmosphere from nullifying most of the power contained within theser, prompting the governments to scrap the idea in the end.


    Of course, that didn''t mean that the existence of an orbitalser strike wasn''t feasible. With enough energy put into theser, it would be able to ignore the existence of the atmosphere and direct most of its energy into its intended target.


    Such as what Valyr was looking at right now.


    The only problem was that the amount of energy needed to render the existence of the atmosphere negligible was a couple of magnitudes greater than what Earth was able to produce at the time.


    At the very least, Earth would need to make use of Dyson swarms to generate enough energy to do so.


    However, from what Valyr could recall, Earth had only begun to enter the age ofmercial fusion reactors.


    Bzzzzzzz!!!


    As thoughts of the orbitalser strike and his past around it continued to linger within Valyr''s mind, the ray of light continued to focus most of its strength onto the Vessel of Envy, forcing the vitality contained within its body to expend its energy just to fight against it.


    Though he was not able to clearly see the vitality within the Vessel of Envy resist against the massive ray of light, with the help of [Warrior''s Eyes of ughter] and his heightened stats, Valyr was at least able to see that the entity had been thoroughly broken down into pieces because of it.


    And eventually, the ray of light disappeared from both Valyr and Riekan''s vision, only leaving behind the ground it charred beyond recognition, as well as the pieces of charred flesh that once made up the Vessel of Envy they were previously fighting against.


    Just as the young man felt the urge to move a bit closer to see whether or not the entity was truly dead, Vaughn''s voice began to resound within Valyr''s mind once more. ''¡­It took a bit longer than I thought it would, but the Vessel of Envy''s finally dead.''


    ''Thank you,'' said Valyr in response, knowing that he would have undoubtedly died even if he truly went all out against the further empowered Vessel of Envy. ''Also, I''m sorry.''


    ''For what, though?'' replied Vaughn as he faintly chuckled. ''Disturbing me? That''s not a problem at all. If I were actually irritated by that, then I shouldn''t have given you the talisman in the first ce.''


    ''For forcing you to move faster,'' answered Valyr, which only made Vaughn let out a chuckle once more.


    ''You shouldn''t be apologizing for that whatsoever,'' said the man. ''You used the talisman for its intended situation. You made the right choice. Even I would''ve used the talisman if I knew I was up against a Vessel of Envy.''


    ''¡­Or any other Sin Vessels for that matter,'' continued Vaughn, reminding Valyr of a few memories he had on the matter from the past. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Though, before he could begin to go over these memories in his mind, the man''s words echoed in his mind once more, immediately causing his expression to turn into that of confusion.


    ''In any case, although I did say the Vessel of Envy is dead, it''s not actually really dead,'' said Vaughn. ''Given enough time, the Vessel of Envy would return to Veldanyr through other forms.''


    ''After all, I''ve only destroyed the vessel part behind the Vessel of Envy. The soul part still lingers, albeit now at a weakened form.''


    Hearing those words, Valyr began to think back to the memories he had on the matter once more. However, this time, he looked at them with far greater understanding than before.


    Considering that he recognized the Vessel of Envy as a Seed of the Underworld, it went without saying that the young man had encountered a simr entity in his past life.


    In fact, it could be said that almost every yer in Greater Beyond had encountered one at some point, especially when the existence of the Underworld was the basis behind one of Greater Beyond''s version updates.


    Because of that, information on the Underworld and the existence of the Sin Vessels gradually spread among the yers and the NPCs, allowing them to be well-equipped when they dide across one at some point.


    From what Valyr could remember, he and his group were forced to fight against a Vessel of Pride, a Sin Vessel that was barely known throughout the yer base at the time.


    Knowing that even a small bit of information on the vessel would help everyone out in the long run, it went without saying that they fought against the Vessel of Pride, relying on the items and skills they had to kill it three times in a row.


    By the time it revived itself a third time, the Vessel of Pride looked at them for a bit before its body crumbled into pieces, prompting them to think that all Vessels of Pride would only be able to survive two deaths in a row before finally sumbing.


    ''Now that I think about it, each of them had differing mechanics based on the sin they had,'' thought the young man to himself, only now realizing it thanks to Vaughn''s words.


    ''In any case, I''m more than confident that you wouldn''t being across a being like that anytime soon,'' said the man to Valyr just as thetter finished going through his train of thought. ''¡­Unless if you actively seek it out, of course.''


    ''Does it look like I have a death wish?'' responded Valyr in return. ''I was only forced to fight it because of the circumstances.''


    ''I know,'' replied Vaughn, giving him the feeling that the man was nodding at his words. ''However, it doesn''t hurt to obtain more information on these Sin Vessels. More specifically, I''d suggest you obtain more information on the Underworld itself.''


    ''Also, in case you forget, you can only ask for my help onest time after this,'' continued the man. ''Even if you beg for my help after that final request, I won''t help you out.''


    ''I''ll keep that in mind,'' said the young man with a nod, getting the feeling that now was a good time to ascend to the next ss rank.


    After all, he didn''t know when he''d have to fight against another being like the Vessel of Envy in the future. It was always better to be prepared than to be pushed to dire straits.


    ''In any case, even though this entire thing has gone way out of proportion, I can finally have Riekan upgrade my essory.'' ''¡­Perhaps a bit more than that even.'' Talking with Vaughn for a bit more after that, the young man soon had a wide grin on his face after their conversation ended, thinking about how the fact he''d gone way above and beyond meant he could ask more from Riekan.


    Fortunately for him, it seemed that Riekan also had the same thought as him, thinking that it was only right that he upgraded Valyr''s essory further than he initially intended with how much he''d contributed to the overall fight.


    ''So¡­'' Seeing that Riekan was heading towards him, Valyr took out the Ne of Enlightenment from his neck with a slight smile. ''Now that the inauspicious omen is gone, what do you n on doing next?''


    ''Well, it goes without saying that I need to exin everything that happened to everyone in the n first,'' replied the man as he received the young man''s ne with a faint nod.


    ''After that, I''ll have to repair the damages to the n estate.''


    Hearing those words, Valyr immediately felt a sense of guilt, especially when he thought about how his attacks were the cause behind the destruction in the first ce.


    But of course, with how he was forced to use those attacks just to fight the Vessel of Envy on equal grounds, Riekan did not me the young man for his actions, instead just asking him toe back once he was finished upgrading the essory.


    With everything more or less settled on Riekan''s end after that, the two of them then talked about the specifics of the upgrade Valyr wanted to be done on the ne, which the man all took note of in his mind.


    It was only after that did the young man leave the Caemelio n for good, heading straight back to Daffors Vige under the veil of the night.

 Chapter 1230 After a Hard Days Work

    Chapter 1230 After a Hard Day''s Work


    "¡­There''s no doubt in my mind that Greater Beyond will eventually be the most yed True Immersion VRMMORPG in the world."


    Muttering these words to himself with an excited smile on his face, Ataraxia passed through the entrance to Daffors Vige under the rising sun, his mind briefly thinking back to everything he did during his first day in Greater Beyond.


    After going through the whole character creation process, the young man soon found himself in the world of Greater Beyond, arriving at Daffors Vige as a no-name, fledgling adventurer ready to make a mark for himself.


    Of course, since everyone who arrived before him was either hit with a wave of nausea or vertigo the first time they arrived at Greater Beyond, it was no surprise that he was hit with it as well, experiencing a great amount of vertigo the moment he spawned.


    In fact, the amount of vertigo was so great that he felt like he was on the verge of fainting.


    Yet, considering the amount of effort and money he invested just to be one of the yers who yed Greater Beyond from the start, Ataraxia forced himself to endure it, giving the vertigo all the time it needed to disappear.


    Thankfully, it only took a couple minutes for the young man to feel like he was back to the way he was before, finally allowing him to fully explore what Greater Beyond had to offer.


    With the experience he umted while ying other True Immersion VRMMORPGs in the past, Ataraxia went through a series of movements that every yer had made it a habit to go through, using it as a means to adjust and calibrate to the sensations the game offered them.


    Though, when he found out that thetency between his thoughts and his character''s actions were basically non-existent, the young man quickly shifted gears, heading straight to the outskirts of the vige he spawned in to fight against a couple of beasts.


    Unsurprisingly, even the fights he had against the beasts left him at a loss for words, with the level of reality Greater Beyond offered them only beginning to sink in at that moment.


    Because of that, it was no surprise that Ataraxia more or less focused all of his attention to just living in the moment, feeling as if he turned into a protagonist that had been reincarnated into a world of sorts.


    But of course, he still kept the goals he gave himself beforehand in mind, working to achieve them one by one as he continued to familiarize himself with what Greater Beyond had to offer.


    "I''m quite fortunate that I''ve gotten to Level 3 in just the first day," muttered Ataraxia to himself the further he went into the vige as he briefly nced at the drops he got from the beasts he killed.


    "Since there are still a ton of people entering Greater Beyond for the first time, I wouldn''t be surprised if I''ll only be able to freely hunt the beasts once a few more real days have passed."


    "Then again, I could join some other yers and fight against the beasts as a group," the young man continued to mutter, only for a couple people toe up to mind at the idea. "¡­But I feel like it won''t be long until they enter the game as well."


    "It won''t be toote to y as a group once theye."


    Finishing his train of thought then and there, it was only then did Ataraxia truly pay attention to his drops, examining them for a bit as he briefly took a look at the forums to see how much they usually sold for.


    After that, he entered the first shop he came across, talking with its owner for a bit before discussing about selling all of the drops in his inventory to them.


    With a bit of haggling and a bit of back-and-forth persuasion, the young man was eventually able to leave the shop with a decent chunk of change and a smile on his face, thinking that he was finally taking his first steps into getting somewhere in the world.


    ''I''ll save a quarter of it for basic necessities,'' thought Ataraxia to himself, briefly ncing at the small bunch of silver and copper coins he got before putting it in his right pocket. ''Then, I''ll save another quarter on the off chance I need to head to the inn.''


    ''As for the remaining half¡­'' Coming to this part of his train of thought, the young man soon stopped in his tracks as a particr building entered his field of vision.


    Noticing therge number of yers loitering around the building, all of them waiting for it to open, Ataraxia was reminded of the pieces of information he''d obtained on Greater Beyond the day before.


    Specifically, the existence of a unique NPC that became the reason for his choice of having Daffors Vige as his starter vige.


    ''Surely, the items sold inside wouldn''t be that expensive, right?'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    "Finally back at the vige."


    Deactivating the movement skill he was using all this time, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief afternding near the entrance to Daffors Vige, feeling as if all the weight pressing down on his shoulders were removed the moment he set his eyes on it.


    Closing his eyes for a bit to sort out his thoughts, the young man took a brief look at the sky to get an idea of the time, only for him to bring up the system''s chat feature in front of him not long after.


    Ding!


    Sending a message to Juno that he returned to the vige far earlier than he expected, he then began to make his way to his shop with the thought of preparing for the shop''s openingter that day.


    At the same time, he went over all of the things he experienced the previous night, prompting a bitter smile to creep up on his lips by the time he was done going through them.


    ''I still feel a bit guilty that I destroyed a part of Riekan''s n,'' thought the young man to himself, still vividly recalling the exact thing he did in order to do just that.


    Aside from the fact that [Four Paths Azure Zenith] was considered one of his ultimate skills, the young man''s stats were as high as they''d ever been for a long time, causing the skill to pack more of a punch than usual.


    With the fact that Valyr''s stats at that moment allowed him to fight a Myth-level being like the Vessel of Envy on a somewhat even ying field, it was no surprise that the Caemelio n''s buildings, albeit sturdy, sumbed to the might of the attack.


    Of course,pared to the possible repercussions that would have appeared if the Vessel of Envy had not died, the price both he and Riekan paid were more than negligible.


    Then again,pared to the material price Riekan paid in exchange for the entity''s death, the price Valyr paid in exchange was far more gruesome, expending not only a single use of the talisman Vaughn left him¡­


    ¡­But also temporarily leaving himself in what he thought was the weakest condition he''d ever been in so far.


    In exchange for ess to what he thought were the strongest techniques in his arsenal, [Four Paths Azure Liberation] reduced his stats by 50% either when he ran out of energy, or when the duration of the ethereal state was over.


    Under the same train of thought, [Descent of the True Wyvern] was his strongest stat-boosting skill, improving all of his stats by 50% for a certain amount of time. But in exchange, it also reduced his stats by 50% the moment its duration ran out.


    For a brief moment, Valyr thought that the debuffs of the two skills would stack additively, bringing all of his stats down to the lowest level it could ever possibly go.


    Thankfully, the debuffs of the two skills instead stacked multiplicatively, only reducing his stats down to a quarter of what it was before all of the stat boosts.


    ¡­Then again, that meant that, for a short amount of time, the greatest amount of strength he could muster was around the level he could muster back when he was at the peak of Rank 2.


    ''Well¡­ it could''ve been worse,'' Valyr inwardly consoled himself at the thought. ''I could''ve been forced to use the skill attached to the Supreme de of Primeval mes if I didn''t use Vaughn''s talisman.''


    ''If I did that, I wouldn''t just be temporarily suffering from bad stats, but I''d also be bncing my health between the boundary of life and death with potions and skills.''


    ''Honestly, that would have been a good opportunity to kill me then and there if Riekan were that kind of guy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself as he arrived at his shop. ''But Riekan was the one who invited me to his n. He''s also the one who made the request.''


    ''He also doesn''t seem like the type of guy who''d do something like that in those kinds of situations.''


    ''In any case, even if his true personality was something like that¡­''


    ''He still owes me far more than I owe him.''


    ''¡­Not like I owe him anything anyway.''

 Chapter 1231 Two Worlds Collide

    Chapter 1231 Two Worlds Collide


    "To be honest, when you sent me the message that you''d take a bit longer than expected toe back to the vige, I felt a great sense of relief after you told me it was fine to close the shop."


    Smoothly entering the shop he''d been managing yesterday, Juno had a faint smile on his face as he heard an incredibly familiar sound echo from the rear portion of the shop.


    Making his way to the building''s workshop portion, the man was soon greeted by the sight of the young man in the midst of forging equipment, seemingly for the sake of replenishing their depleted stock.


    Though his eyes were wholly fixated on Valyr''s movements, the man continued to speak with a slight chuckle. "Inparison, when you told me that you''d only be away for a day at most, I had to manage the shop for almost another half day on my own."


    "Who knew your promises would actually end up having an opposite effect?" said Juno at the end, finding the entire thing quite amusing.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Although Valyr had heard everything Juno told him from the very start, most of the young man''s focus was still on the piece of equipment he was forging, knowing that even a small slip in his concentration would cause the quality of his equipment at the end to plummet.


    With that, it was only when the equipment was finally finished did he turn to look at Juno with a slight smile, finding the man''s words amusing as well. "Should I tell you that I''d take a few days to finish the things I want to do from now on, then?"


    "That''s entirely up to you," replied Juno in a joking manner. "After all, you''ve only asked for my favor twice so far. Who knows if my words now would actually be a constantter on."


    "In any case, you sent me a message a few hours ago toe here early. Do you want my help on something?"


    "Not really." Valyr shook his head, briefly thinking back to the thoughts he had when he''d just returned to the vige earlier that night. "Just thought you wouldn''t refuse an offer to learn about cksmithing from me for a bit longer."


    "Why would I?" Just as the young man had mentioned, Juno immediately perked up at those words, his eyes zing with motivation as he aimed to improve his cksmithing skills as much as possible. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Though, just as he was more than eager to learn a few more tips and tricks about cksmithing, a nagging thought popped up in his mind all of a sudden, forcing him to tamper his excitement down as he asked, "Wait¡­ there''s no catch to this, is there?"


    "There''s none," said Valyr with a bright smile.


    "¡­If you think helping me outter for the entire day isn''t a catch, that is."


    ¡­


    "Urgh¡­"


    "I shouldn''t have epted your offer if I knew helping you today would turn out to be this hectic."


    Although Juno was incredibly d to have learned a lot of stuff from Valyr for a longer time than usual, that excitement immediately disappeared the moment the Forge of Beginnings was opened for the day.


    Initially, Juno thought that the number of people that would be entering the shop would be more or less the same as it was in the previous days. To him, it would be at a level that bordered between the fine line of manageable and overwhelming.


    Unfortunately, the number of people that entered the Forge of Beginnings this time around was at least double what Juno had to manage on his own in the previous days, making him feel like Valyr''s help wasn''t really any help at all.


    "Even I''m surprised a lot more people appeared today," said Valyr in agreement with Juno''s feelings. However, unlike the man, he exactly knew the reason why there were more people in his shop this time.


    ''It''s now the second day Greater Beyond has been released to the public,'' thought Valyr to himself as he continued to tend to the shop like he always did. ''From what I could recall, a lot more people were able to enter Greater Beyond on the second day rather than the first.''


    Rummaging through his memories from his past life, Valyr was soon able to remember that all copies of Greater Beyond during the first day had been sold, partly due to scalpers and resellers buying multiple copies for the sake of making a profit.


    With that in mind, thepany behind Greater Beyond understood that the audience that wanted to y the game was far greater than they''d imagined, prompting them to sell even more copies of the game on its second day of release.


    ''If I remember correctly, they were able to sell like 500,000 copies during the first day,'' inwardly muttered the young man as he briefly went down memoryne. ''Pretty sure they also broadcasted that number on the news that day.''


    ''Because of that, they made 2.5 million copies in preparation for the second day, thinking it was enough copies to meet demand.''


    ''But surprisingly, even though it took a couple more hours than it did the first day, all copies of the game were also sold out on the second day.''


    ''At the same time, those who bought the game from resellers during the first day more or less got their games on the second day,'' said Valyr to himself, faintly recalling what he felt was a far simpler time in his life.


    ''Of course, since I bought mine from resellers, that also includes me.''


    ''Speaking of which¡­'' As the thought came to mind, a wild question soon formed in Valyr''s head. ''Since I traveled back into the past, would it be possible for me to encounter my past self here?''


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt like the possibility was there.


    After all, instead of dying or being brought to his actual body a few years back in the past, Valyr was instead brought back to the past as a being within the world of Greater Beyond.


    ''But wouldn''t my existence technically render Valyr in the actual world as non-existent?'' asked the young man to himself as he mulled over the question for a bit more. ''Plus, if he does exist, wouldn''t it break some sort ofw of causality or something?'' In the end, Valyr pushed all of his thoughts on the matter to the side as he gradually found the entire thing confusing. Then again, he did find the idea of his past self still existing kind of cool, thinking of it as something like the future looking at the past.


    Shaking his head for a bit to sort out his thoughts, the young man refocused his attention on the task at hand, continuing to serve the yers that entered his shop like he always did alongside Juno.


    Offering a bit of help to the yers every once in a while on what piece of equipment or item suited them, Valyr soon fell into the usual sense of rhythm he relied on while manning the shop on his own.


    However, that sense of rhythm immediately stopped the moment a certain yer entered his shop, causing the question that lingered in his mind earlier to surface once more.


    ''Is that¡­ is that actually me?''


    As his eyesnded upon a young man that sported a head of light gray and a pair of golden eyes, Valyr seemingly froze like a statue all of a sudden, feeling as if it was difficult to process any of his thoughts at that very moment.


    But of course, as someone whose stats basically made him superhuman, that feeling onlysted for a short moment as the gears in his mind began to whir as fast as they possibly could.


    ''Surely that can''t be me, right?'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself as he forced himself to keep working.


    Faintly shaking his head, he eventually decided to check if the young man was his past self using his identification skill, bringing up all of the memories he had on his first day in Greater Beyond while doing so.


    ''[Superior Analysis].''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ataraxia] (Level 3)


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Power Level: 27 (C)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 30/30


    MP: 30/30


    Stats: 3 VIT, 3 STR, 3 AGI, 3 DEX, 3 INT, 3 WIS, 3 PER, 3 LUK (3 unassigned points)


    Skills: None


    Remarks: Nothing stands out. Incredibly normal.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­It really is me."


    As these words left his mouth, Valyr immediately felt a sudden urge to head towards his past self as soon as possible, briefly going through all his memories once more as a yer during his first day in Greater Beyond.


    Surprisingly, the gray-haired yer seemingly had the same thoughts as him, sporting a faint look of curiosity on his face as he gazed at Valyr from slightly afar.


    Seemingly recalling a few bits of information he came across before entering the game, the yer soon moved closer to the young man, eventually allowing the two of them to face one another as they looked at each other''s eyes.


    Then, as if the same thought ran through their minds at that moment¡­


    They shook hands.

 Chapter 1232 Paradox of Existence

    Chapter 1232 Paradox of Existence


    "¡­Woah."


    Just a few moments before their eventual encounter, Ataraxia entered the Forge of Beginnings with both awe and interest in his eyes.


    After all, he''d been waiting for the shop to open for quite some time now. Aside from that, he still had to wait around an hour or so before he was actually able to enter it.


    Pondering over the reason as to why the wait to enter the Forge of Beginnings was so long, the young man did not take long to obtain his answer as various items entered his view.


    From potions that boasted far stronger effects than the other ones he''de across, to weapons and pieces of armor that boasted stats far greater than even the ones worn by those he came across in the outskirts, Ataraxia immediately knew¡­


    That he''de to the right ce to spend his money.


    ''What should I get¡­?'' Asking this question to himself, the young man briefly looked at the money he had in his pocket before perusing around the shop to look at some of the items that were on disy.


    Considering that there were a lot of yers roaming around the shop aside from him, Ataraxia found it more than simple to obtain information on the items, with many of the other yers casting [Analysis] and other simr identification skills on them.


    Though, just as he''d roamed around the shop for long enough to figure out what he wanted to buy, he soon began to feel like someone was staring at him, causing him to feel like a strongser was being pointed at his head.


    Wondering who was staring at him to make him feel such a sensation, Ataraxia turned his head to look back at the person, only to find out not long after that the one staring at him was none other than Valyr.


    ''That''s the unique NPC!'' screamed the young man inwardly, his expression that of immense excitement as he knew what it meant when he was staring at a yer.


    ''With his attention focused on me, as long as I buy an item from the shop, I''ll be able to add him to my friend list!'' thought Ataraxia to himself with a slight grin as he stole nces at Valyr from time to time.


    However, as more and more time passed, the more the young man caught himself looking at Valyr for far longer durations.


    Surprisingly, it looked like the same went the other way as well.


    Feeling as if all the other thoughts in his mind had been ced far into the background of his mind, Ataraxia gradually moved closer to where Valyr was, getting the innate urge that something special would happen if he were to do so.


    Fortunately, Valyr looked to be moving in his direction as well, allowing the two of them to look at one another from up close as they stood at a certain part of the shop.


    Ignoring the stares the other yers were giving the two of them at that very moment, both Ataraxia and Valyr looked at each other with nk expressions, the thoughts in their minds differing from one another.


    Then again, even if their thoughts were different, the two of them still ended up doing the same thing in the end, extending both of their arms outward for a handshake.


    p!


    At the very moment he shook hands with Valyr, a whirlwind of thoughts and memories soon began to surface within Ataraxia''s mind.


    Although these thoughts and memories were entirely foreign to him at first, they gradually felt more and more familiar to him as more time passed as he went through them as best as he could.


    Because of that, even though it seemed like an instant had passed since they shook hands, the young man now understood why the two of them moved towards one another, looking at Valyr with shock written all over his face.


    "You¡­" Continuing to feel immense shock from the information he''d obtained, Ataraxia was about to ask Valyr a question for the sake of confirmation.


    Unfortunately, before he could even begin his question, a strong feeling of death enveloped the entirety of his body at that moment, rendering him unconscious in less than an instant.


    Then again, it was not like he was the only one who went through that¡­


    Since Valyr experienced that very same feeling at that moment as well.


    ¡­


    Eng! Eng! Eng! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Beyond the far-flung reaches of the vast space making up Greater Beyond''s universe, arge metal structure could be seen floating in the void, spanning over a thousand kilometers in both diameter and height.


    Within a part of thisrge metal structure was a quaint room where a young woman could be found going through a book in a rxed fashion.


    Eng! Eng! Eng!


    Though, as the noise she''d been hearing earlier continued to echo from outside the room, the young woman eventually put the book aside with a slight frown, wondering what was causing the sound she''d been hearing.


    Whoosh!


    Disappearing from her room in just a snap of her fingers, the young woman soon appeared within a farrger room that contained all sorts of machines and devices, their screens all showing various characters that would be iprehensible to the normal person.


    Looking at these characters in great detail, the frown on the young woman''s face deepened as she shifted her gaze to the young man that was already there.


    "What''s going on, Three?" asked the young woman as she nced at the machines in front of them. "The rm system wouldn''t go off for no reason."


    "Someone breached the 5th Primordial Edict," replied Three, instantly making the young woman''s eyes widen in shock. "To be more specific, someone broke thews of time paradox in the universe."


    "Have you found out who broke it?" asked the young woman in return, to which the young man swiftly nodded in response.


    "Already did," said Three, bringing up arge screen in front of him. "I was able to pinpoint it down to a within the Zetaris Gxy. Veldanyr, if I remember correctly."


    "Zetaris Gxy? Veldanyr?" Hearing these names at first, the young woman looked at the young man in front of her with slight confusion.


    Though, as more time passed, a look of realization soon appeared on her face.


    "Don''t tell me¡­"


    "If you''re thinking what I''m thinking, then you''d be correct, Five," said Three as he let out a low sigh. "The one who broke thews of time paradox¡­"


    "¡­Would be none other than the inheritor of the Sagacious One''s will."


    With Three''s words acting as confirmation, Five felt as if her entire world was crumbling at that very moment, briefly wondering whether she was hearing correctly.


    Fortunately, after going over her thoughts for a while, she was eventually able to calm herself down, letting out a long exhale before looking back at the young man with both curiosity and confusion.


    "How did he break thews of time paradox exactly, Three?" asked the young woman. "I know he''s a soul from the other universe''s future that reincarnated into our own universe, but that wouldn''t set off the rm due to time paradox."


    "It wouldn''t." Three nodded his head in agreement. "However, what if I told you that the fact that he reincarnated into our own universe is the exact reason why he broke thews of time paradox?"


    Whoosh!


    Just as Five was still in the midst of wrapping her head around what Three said, the young man changed the image on the screen in front of them.


    Zooming far closer into the of Veldanyr, the two soon found themselves looking at two guys who were in the middle of exchanging a handshake, their appearances a fair contrast from one another.


    However, if one were to look closer at the screen, one would eventually notice a small dot forming between the guys'' hands, giving off a feeling of palpable emptiness and destion that made both Three and Five to take a few steps back the moment they took note of it.


    Swoosh!


    Returning the focus of the screen to what it was before, the two soon looked at each other with solemn expressions on their faces, with Five eventually letting out a long sigh a few secondster.


    "To think thews of time paradox would be broken that way," said the young woman as she shook her head. "Because the future self regressed into another universe rather than its own universe, the past self in the other universe ends up continuing to exist, even though the future self would''ve most likely taken its ce if it didn''t happen."


    "It would''ve been fine if both the past and the future self continued to exist in the same timeline, given the condition that the two of them woulde across one another," said Three with a faint sigh. "But since they dide across one another in the end¡­"


    "Thews of time paradox ended up being broken," replied Five as she continued where the young man left off.


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    For a while after that, the two of them looked at each other in silence, the gears in their minds whirring as they wondered what they would do next.


    "Are we gonna let them cancel their existences out?" asked Three, returning the screen''s focus back to Valyr and Ataraxia before slowing down the flow of time there to its utmost limit. "Or do you have another idea in mind?"


    "You already know what I''d do in this situation, Three," replied Five after closing her eyes for a bit. "After all, it''s been a long time since a being who inherited one of the Grand Progenitors'' wills hase to existence."


    "Adding on the fact that he''s connected to that person, and the fact that he''s a key part to that project, we''d lose more than we''d gain if we were to let it happen."


    "So, that means you''re going with that route, then?" asked Three in response, to which Five nodded in agreement.


    "Pretty much. Either way, since the past and the future self themselves eventually met up in the end¡­"


    "Then it''s only makes sense tobine them to bring about the present, no?"

 Chapter 1233 The Past and the Future

    Chapter 1233 The Past and the Future


    "Mngh¡­"


    "I fell asleep all of a sudden."


    Feeling as if he''d been in a deep sleep for a very long time, it took a while for Valyr''s consciousness to fully return to the waking world.


    Though, by the time his consciousness was fully awake, the young man was immediately hit by a wave of confusion as he looked at his current surroundings.


    "Where¡­ am I?" Muttering these words to himself, Valyr quickly took note of the fact that he was in a ce that was filled to the brim withplex machines and devices.


    Aside from that, everything else seemed to be made out of a white metal, faintly reminding him of theb Vaughn used over a hundred or so thousand years ago to create the humans of Veldanyr today.


    Pondering over why he was brought to this sort of ce all of a sudden, the young man was soon reminded of the happenings that urred before he fell unconscious.


    "Now that I think about it¡­ I was in my shop before all of this."


    "While working as I used to, I soon came across a yer that looked exactly like me in my past life," murmured Valyr to himself, the gears in his mind turning as he tried his best to recall the matter. "Then, I found out that he was indeed the past me."


    "After that, we moved closer to one another¡­ and then¡­"


    Just as he was trying to recall this part of his memory in greater detail, a strong feeling of death swiftly enveloped his body once more, causing Valyr to freeze up in fear and terror as he recalled experiencing the same sensation just before he fell unconscious.


    Though, not long after experiencing the ghastly sensation all over again, a set of memories began to surface on the young man''s mind.


    Memories¡­ that belonged to the past him.


    "Wait¡­" Taking in a few deep breaths to regain his lostposure, the memories from his past self began to upy most of his mind, leaving Valyr no choice but to go through them one by one.


    From the exact part of the memory where the two of them shook hands and felt imminent death, the memories from his past self ran in reverse, showing Valyr everything Ataraxia did before arriving at his shop.


    The ns he had behind the money he earned from selling the drops he got, the experiences he''d umted during his first day in Greater Beyond, all of that shed through the young man''s mind in great detail.


    In fact, it even continued on to the time before the game was publicly released to the public.


    In fact, it even continued on to the time before the game was publicly released to the public.


    The mishaps he had with the scalpers, the excitement he felt when the beta to Greater Beyond was announced, the other True Immersion VRMMORPGs he yed in the past¡­


    If Valyr were to urately describe what was going on in his mind right now, the closest description that would embody most of it would be him vividly going through memoryne, but in reverse.


    In the end, the memories from his past self only stopped at the point where he gained self-awareness towards the world surrounding him, causing the young man to remain silent as he pondered over the thoughts that immediately popped up in his mind.


    "My name is Valyr Meyers¡­" said Valyr to himself at some point, feeling as if it was only right to call himself after going the memories that shed in his mind.


    "No¡­" Though, not long after, a feeling of conflict consumed his mind, causing him to focus on the memories he umted throughout his current life. "I''m¡­ Valyr Zeihardt¡­"


    "Meyers¡­"


    "Zeihardt¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Who¡­"


    "¡­Who am I, really?"


    As this question escaped his mouth, Valyr intuitively knew the answer to this question already. Considering the things he''d gone through to get where he was, there was no doubt in his mind that he was both of them.


    He was Valyr Zeihardt now, but he used to be Valyr Meyers in his past life.


    However, with him having coincidentally met his past self in the world of Greater Beyond, that intuitive answer became a bit hazy, even more so after the influx of memories from his past self entered his mind.


    At that moment, he felt as if there were two people inside his body, thinking that he was both Valyr Meyers and Valyr Zeihardt at the same time.


    "¡­It''s a sess." Just as he was about to mull over his thoughts as he aimed to answer the question that gued him, a young woman in white robes appeared in front of him, letting out a sigh of relief as she looked at him. "How do you feel?"


    "¡­Are you asking me?" replied Valyr after some time as he looked at the young woman with slight confusion.


    Seeing her nod in response to his question, the young man nodded back as he bitterly smiled. "Well¡­ I feel like utter shit right now, to be honest." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I guess that''s to be expected." Hearing Valyr''s words, the young woman sported a bitter smile of her own. "After all, I did fuse the two of you as one. Sorting out the memories between the two of you will definitely take quite some time."


    "Wait¡­ huh?" Not expecting that the question that gued him would be answered so quickly, the young man briefly looked back at the young woman with shock and disbelief in his eyes.


    Then, taking a deep breath topose himself, he then asked her with slight caution, "So, I really am both people at the same time?"


    "Pretty much." The young woman nodded in agreement. "Though it could be said that the two of you should be one and the same in essence, Valyr Meyers is still an existence from another universe."


    "Even if your memories up to that point match up, there would still be a feeling of conflict between you two, solely due to the fact that your existences are in two different universes."


    "¡­I see," said Valyr by the time the young woman was done, faintly nodding in understanding.


    But of course, in reality, he was still confused by it all.

 Chapter 1234 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (1)

    Chapter 1234 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (1)


    "Well, I wasn''t really expecting you to understand it from the get-go." Seeing that Valyr only looked to understand her words from the outside, the young woman let out a faint sigh as she shook her head.


    Closing her eyes for a bit as she mulled over the best way to exin the current situation to Valyr, the young woman soon looked back at him with a slightly wry smile. "I know this will make you both curious and suspicious as to who I am, but after thinking over it for a bit, there really is no easier way to go about exining it if I don''t talk about it."


    Looking at her in slight confusion at those words, Valyr''s eyes immediately widened in surprise the moment she asked him, "Youe from the future, right?"


    "Specifically, a future where your universe lost against to our universe in some sort of final battle, right?"


    "¡­" Feeling as if he''d beenid bare at that very moment, the young man kept his mouth shut as he began to feel immense fear towards the young woman in front of him.


    After all, the only person who knew that he was a regressor was none other than himself. The fact that their side lost the final battle, only for him to return to a time before Greater Beyond was open to the public was only something he knew.


    Even if other people were to think that were something off about him, none of them woulde to the conclusion that he was a regressor.


    At most, with the knowledge he had, people would think of him as someone who was well-read, or in Vaughn''s case, a reincarnator.


    "¡­I knew this was going to happen." Seeing that Valyr continued to remain silent after she was done asking her questions, the wry smile on the young woman''s face deepened as she shook her head once more.


    Then again, whether or not Valyr responded to her first couple questions, the young woman had already made up her mind to tell the young man the circumstances behind his current situation for various reasons.


    With that, she took in a deep breath before continuing where she left off. "Since you don''t have any ns on answering my questions, I guess you can consider my next words as hypotheticals, then." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I''m pretty sure you''ve alreadye to the conclusion that Greater Beyond isn''t an ordinary game after what you''ve gone through in your past life. After all, the final battle you went through wouldn''t have happened if it was."


    Although the young man opted not to respond to her questions, Valyr still nodded in agreement. After all, she was still going out of her way to exin his current situation to him.


    "Well, to cut a long story short, the world of Greater Beyond that you''ve known while ying this game is actually a separate universe from your own," said the young woman, causing Valyr''s eyes to widen in disbelief yet again. "Remember the log-in process that causes you to feel sick?"


    "That''s actually the process of your consciousness being transported to our universe."


    "Wait¡­ huh?" Hearing those words, Valyr decided not to remain silent anymore as her exnation caused a few doubts to arise in his mind. "You''re telling me¡­ that our consciousnesses are being transferred to the world of Greater Beyond whenever we log in?"


    "Correct." The young woman nodded, inwardly d that the young man in front of him stopped being silent.


    "How are you doing that, then?" asked Valyr in response.


    "You already know the answer to that," replied the young woman with a slight chuckle. "We use magic in order to transfer your consciousnesses here."


    "Magic?" Valyr became confused. He would''ve epted the answer if Earth had some esoteric energy of its own like mana.


    However, as far as he could recall, there was no such energy like that on Earth whatsoever, even up to the final battle.


    With that, he asked his next question. "Are you casting it from this world, then? I''m pretty sure Earth doesn''t have any energy that resembles mana in any way."


    "It doesn''t." The young woman nodded in agreement. "But it does have its own energy that we could convert to something like mana."


    "As far as I could tell, it''s also widespread throughout the entire."


    "Energy¡­" Wondering what kind of energy the young woman was talking about, Valyr soon looked back at her with a raised eyebrow as he threw out a guess. "Are you talking about¡­ electricity?"


    "Close." The young woman let out a bit ofughter. "It''s the more condensed form of it that could be converted to a rough form of mana."


    "sma?" asked the young man.


    "That one." The young woman nodded. "The entire conversion process is pretty convoluted, but to sum things up, we''re able to generate enough rough mana on your side to conjure a mark that would allow us to transfer your consciousness to this universe."


    "So, basically, you create an anchor from our end, then do most of the heavy lifting is on your end?"


    "Correct."


    "Alright." Valyr nodded, finding her exnation easier to understand than before.


    However, that did not mean he was going to take it at face value. "Let''s say that really is the process that allows us to y the game. As someone who''s been in this world for quite some time now, I have no doubts that it''s feasible, especially with a high ss rank."


    "But how are you going to make me believe that your words are true?" asked the young man. "You still haven''t given me proof that the world of Greater Beyond is a separate universe from where Earth is, after all."


    "I was just about to get to that, actually," replied the young woman with a slight smile, only to then snap her fingers soon after as she conjured a spatial rift beside her.


    Whoosh!


    Focusing his attention on the rift she created, Valyr was immediately left at a loss for words when he noticed that the destination on the other side of the rift was none other than a ce almost everyone on Earth knew very well.


    The Eiffel Tower.


    Though, just as he felt an urge rise up from within to jump through the rift and return to Earth, his danger senses began to re out in rm all of a sudden, making him feel like he was just a few steps away from meeting certain death.


    Wondering where the feeling wasing from, Valyr did not take long to pinpoint that the sensation originated from none other than the rift the young woman conjured, causing a slight frown to appear on his face the moment he arrived at that answer.


    "Just so you know, even I would die if I were to head to Earth without making any preparations beforehand." Closing the rift she conjured, the young woman gave Valyr a faint smile. "So, do you believe me now?"


    "A bit," replied Valyr with the frown still on his face. "After all, it''s a bit hard to believe in something like that for the first time, even more so with how grand its scope is."


    "Don''t worry," the young woman reassured him. "I''ll go through everything step by step to make sure you thoroughly understand what I''m talking about."


    "We''re notcking at all in time, anyway."

 Chapter 1235 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (2)

    Chapter 1235 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (2)


    Making sure to follow up on her words, the young woman quickly went ahead and gave Valyr a more detailed exnation of what she was talking about after that, giving the young man a foundation of sorts first before continuing with the moreplex concepts.


    Fortunately, the change in approach was more than enough for the young man to adjust, easily understanding all of the concepts the young woman was throwing at him as more and more time passed.


    With the help of a few examples here and there, as well as a few additional exnations that gave more context to the first exnation she gave beforehand, it did not take long for Valyr to finally understand what she was talking about.


    "So¡­" Closing his eyes for a bit as he went over everything he learned from the young woman once more in his mind, Valyr looked back at the young woman before summarizing everything she told him so far.


    "If I''m getting this correctly, the universe Earth is in, and the universe the world of Greater Beyond is set in are twopletely separate universes."


    "That is correct." The young woman nodded.


    "And the way you allow people from Earth to enter the universe we''re in is with the help of magic," continued Valyr as he faintly nodded back. "Specifically, a prettyplex transfer magic that only you and a few other people have the ability and authority to cast."


    "Also correct."


    "However, although the transfer magic is effective and can be used to return the consciousnesses back to where they were, due to howplex it is, you would need to set an anchor point first on the other universe."


    "Which is why we condense a bit of the electricity in the machines your people use to y games into sma before converting it into something like mana to conjure it," replied the young woman, inwardly d that her words were finally getting through to the young man.


    "And this anchor point is conjured during the login phase of the game?" asked Valyr for rification, to which the young woman nodded in response.


    Nodding back at her words, Valyr went silent for a bit as he mulled over everything he said just now. "Everything up to that point makes sense, but I still find it weird that the nauseous feeling we get only urs during the first login."


    "Don''t think too hard on it." The young woman faintly chuckled at those words. "Think of it from the perspective of teleportation constructs."


    "Teleportation constructs¡­?" As he muttered these words to himself, Valyr felt as if he had finally found the piece that connected all of his thoughts together, allowing everything to click into ce.


    "I see now," said the young man after his moment of realization. "Basically, with how often our consciousnesses get transferred to the world of Greater Beyond, we gain more resistance to the sensation, just like how one gets used to being teleported around."


    "Exactly." The young woman nodded in agreement. "Of course, we could''ve added a few extra bits here and there to make sure your consciousnesses wouldn''t feel any vertigo or nausea whatsoever, but that would increase the cost on your side of the universe."


    "How much of an increase would it be, though?" asked the young man in curiosity.


    "Enough to turn your machines into one-time use items," replied the young woman, which made Valyr suck in a cold breath of air in response. "After all, the conversion from sma to rough mana isn''t really one to one. It''s more like a 10 to 1."


    "In any case, you finally believe me when I say that the two are inpletely different universes, right?"


    "Yeah." Valyr faintly nodded. "The examples you''ve given me were more than enough to let me experience it firsthand."


    Considering that the rift the young woman conjured to show the Eiffel Tower was more than enough to elicit a feeling of imminent death into the young woman, the young woman merely opted to more of it for the young man, giving him enough time to understand what was actually going on.


    At the same time, she allowed Valyr to move closer towards the rifts, giving him opportunity to ascertain that she was truly letting him enter Earth through the rift and not merely showing him a mirage that looked like it.


    Through there, he found out that if someone like him from one universe were to enter another one, the second universe would immediately attempt to remove him from their universe through two methods.


    The first method would involve the expelling of the foreign being back to the universe where they came from. As long as the two universes were close enough to one another, this would be the go-to method of the second universe, with the being that dared to venture into the second universe only temporarily experiencing a feeling of imminent death.


    On the other hand, the second method was far harsher, with the foreign being''s existence being rejected entirely by the second universe, eliminating all of the foreign being''s traces before they could even be sent back.


    Of course, this would only happen if the two universes were so far apart that the first method couldn''t be used. Considering the proximity of the two universes where Earth and Greater Beyond lied, it was no surprise that the two universes went with the first method.


    Aside from that, it wasn''t as if it was impossible for a foreign being to remain on an another universe for an extended period of time.


    ording to what the young woman told him, as long as one paid a high enough price or expended enough energy, a foreign entity from one universe would be allowed to stay in another universe for quite some time.


    Naturally, this made him think about the opportunity Scho''doxa gave him and a few others near the end of the Rise to Prominence tournament.


    After all, with the exnation the young woman gave him in regards to cost and whatnot, then it made sense that only a few select people would be able to visit Earth in the future.


    00:59


    Fortunately, a couple of questions was more than enough for him to obtain the answer he sought regarding the matter, with the young woman confirming his thoughts that the visit would pretty much work that way.


    Because of that, although he still didn''t have too much of an idea as to who the young woman was and why she went out of the way to exin all of this for him, he at least knew that she was someone he couldn''t mess with.


    "I still have a couple more questions regarding the mechanics surrounding the transfer process, but I''ll save those questions for ater time," said the young man after some time, prompting the young woman to look at him.


    "However, what you''ve told me still doesn''t exin the fact that I''m feeling like there are two bodies inside me at the moment."


    "Also, where is Valyr Meyers?" asked the young man not long after, being reminded that only he had appeared within this white room when he woke up. Not a trace of his past self could even be found.


    "You know the answer to those questions already," replied the young woman with a wry smile. "I''ve already told you earlier. I''ve fused the two of you as one. It only feels like you''re two people in one body because of the conflict between your existences."


    "¡­Then again, it''s not like what you''re feeling is wrong either." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "What do you mean by that?" replied Valyr, the gears in his mind turning as he pondered over her words.


    Taking into consideration what he now understood thanks to her exnation, Valyr now understood the young woman''s words near the beginning of their conversation with immense rity.


    With him being an existence from Greater Beyond''s universe, his existence conflicted with Valyr Meyers, his past self from the universe where Earth resided, causing the ufortable feeling he was getting.


    However, in terms of their memories, the two of them more or less matched up to the point where they finally met up and interacted with one another, with the only difference between the two of them being the perspective they had at the time.


    "Wait¡­" Mulling over the young woman''s words for a bit more, an oundish thought soon surfaced within the young man''s mind, causing him to look at her with a bit of fear in his eyes.


    After all, wouldn''t an approach like that be a bit too much whenpared to what they went through?


    Yet, as more and more time passed, the more he felt like this oundish thought of his was the answer he''d been looking for all this time.


    Taking in a deep breath to prepare himself for the worst, Valyr eventually shared the thought he had in mind with the young woman. "Are you telling me that¡­ you fused everything?"


    Hearing those words, the young woman could only look back at him with a bitter smile.


    "Bingo.

 Chapter 1236 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (3)

    Chapter 1236 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (3)


    "¡­"


    For a while after that, Valyr was at a loss for words on what he should say in response to her brief yet concise answer. After all, even though he felt that his oundish thought grew more and more correct over time, it was still different from hearing that it was correct directly from the young woman.


    With that, it took a while for Valyr to regain his bearings once more, letting out a low sigh the moment he felt he was ready to continue their conversation. "When I said everything¡­ are you seriously saying¡­ everything?"


    "Everything." The young woman nodded in agreement.


    "Like just memories or¡­?"


    "Everything. Both your memories were fused into one, both your consciousnesses were fused into one¡­"


    "And both your bodies were fused into one."


    "Our bodies?" At those words, Valyr began to look at the young woman in confusion yet again. "Didn''t you tell me earlier that only the consciousnesses from Earth would be transferred to this universe?"


    "That I did," replied the young woman with a slight nod.


    "You also told me that the only reason why these consciousnesses could interact with the world of Greater Beyond is because you have these consciousnesses temporarily possess an empty vessel. You mentioned it was a part of the login process."


    "I also said that, yes. It also gives the character creator more reason to exist. Pretty proud of it, actually."


    "If that''s the case, then what do you mean by fusing our bodies together?" asked Valyr once more, which finally flicked a switch within the young woman''s mind. "I get the fusion of memories. I also get the fusion of consciousnesses."


    "But how did you fuse our bodies together if my past self''s body is in another universe?"


    "¡­I''ll be the one answering that question."


    Just as Valyr was expecting the young woman to answer his questions yet again, a person soon made himself known to the two as he appeared beside the young woman all of a sudden.


    Simr to the young woman, the man also wore a long white robe that allowed Valyr to quickly realize that his origins were pretty much simr to the young woman.


    However, unlike the young woman, he gave off a slightly detached aura that made him seem difficult to approach.


    Adding on his handsome appearance, as well as the fact that both his hair and irises were a light shade of gold, that aura instead made him seem like an angel of sorts that was detached from the world itself.


    "Have you introduced yourself to him yet?" With Valyr''s attention now focused on him, the man surprisingly asked a question to the young woman beside him first, causing thetter''s eyes to slightly widen in confusion as she recalled how he entered into their conversation.


    "Not yet." In the end, the young woman decided not to quibble with him over it, merely shaking her head in response. "I should, shouldn''t I?"


    "Well, considering that it''s highly likely we''ll be seeing him more oftenter on, I suppose it''s the right thing to do, no?" replied the man, which only made Valyr both curious and confused as to what he meant by that.


    Unfortunately, the man had no ns to satiate the curiosity he felt at that moment. Instead, he decided to follow through on his first idea¡­ which only made Valyr even more confused and curious once they were done.


    "Let me introduce myself first," said the yellow-haired man with a brief exhale. "I go by the name Adam. Nost name. I''m also known as the Third Administrator, which is also why I go by the nickname Three sometimes."


    "Eve," said the young woman with a smile the moment Adam was finished. "My name is Eve."


    "Just like Adam, I have nost name. Also, I go by the nickname Five, which has something to do with me being the Fifth Administrator."


    "Wait¡­ huh?" By the time the two of them were finished introducing themselves, Valyr looked at the two with his mouth agape,pletely left at a loss for words as the gears in his mind spun on overdrive in response.


    "Administrators?"


    "Adam? Eve?"


    "Huh?"


    "¡­" Fortunately, it only took a couple of minutes for the young man to regain his earlierposure, taking in a few deep breaths as the introductions the two gave him still lingered within his mind.


    Because he was able to calm down, Valyr was able to piece a couple of questions that struck the heart of the matter, asking them to the two without hesitation.


    "By Administrators, that means¡­ you have the greatest control over the Apparatus, right? How do you twopare to the Arbiters?"


    "Considering what you''ve gone through, I''m not that surprised that you called the system the Apparatus," replied Adam to the question with a slight nod of approval. "But yes. Us Administrators would be the ones with the highest control over the Apparatus."


    "As for the Arbiters, they''re at the lowest rung of the hierarchy," continued the man. "Of course, there are differences between the Arbiters depending on how much Authority they have, but that doesn''t change the fact that they''re still at the lowest rung."


    "Are there only Arbiters and Administrators, then?" asked Valyr in response to the question, to which Eve immediately shook her head.


    "There''s the Supervisors in between the two," said the young woman. "They usually deal with problems involving the Apparatus that are beyond what an Arbiter can do. Us Administrators only deal with major problems involving the Apparatus."


    "So, Arbiters, Supervisors, then Administrators?" asked the young man in response, to which both Adam and Eve nodded in agreement.


    "Wait a second¡­" Nodding back in response to the nods they gave him, Valyr was about to ask the other question he had in mind, only for another question rted to the Administrators to surface instead.


    "Now that I think about it, isn''t this kind of information ssified? Is it really fine for me to know about this stuff?"


    "It''s fine," Eve reassured him, with Adam nodding in agreement. "Though it may seem like something massive, Arbiters are well-known amongst Myths, while Supervisors and Administrators are well-known amongst Divines and Primordials."


    "With how much you know about Greater Beyond if we take what you went through into consideration, this much information is nothing inparison."


    "I see," said Valyr in response, even though he still felt like it was weird for someone at his level of strength to be privy to such information.


    In fact, he was getting the feeling that there was a reason the two of them knew that made them open up to him. Unfortunately, with them being Administrators, he knew there was no way he''d find that out anytime soon.


    With that, he moved onto the other question he had in mind. Specifically, the question he had involving their names.


    "So¡­ Adam and Eve, right?" asked the young man to the two. "Does that perhaps have anything to do with the Adam and Eve I know?"


    "What do you mean by that?" responded Adam, only to turn silent not long after as he pondered over Valyr''s words for a bit. "Wait¡­ are you talking about the divine creation myth?"


    "With you two being the first humans ever created? Yeah, that one," replied Valyr with a nod. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Well, I don''t have any idea on how the myth goes in your universe," said Adam with a shrug after some time. "But what I can say is that Eve and I are indeed part of the first few humans to be created in this universe."


    "It''s mostly the reason why we''re Administrators," added Eve at the end, prompting Valyr to nod in understanding.


    With his curiosity regarding their identities pretty much satiated, Valyr shifted the topic of their conversation back to what it originally was. "So, the fusion of the bodies?"


    "Ah, right." Adam nodded as he pped his forehead before giving the young man a slight apologetic smile in response. "You wanted to know how we fused the two of you together, right?"


    "Yeah." Valyr nodded, feeling as if their conversation had been going in circles at this point. "I asked earlier how it was possible for our bodies to be fused together, considering that the body of my past self is in another universe."


    "Simple." Adam looked at the young man with a slight grin. "We just transferred your past self''s body into this universe before fusing it with you."


    "You can do that?" asked Valyr with slightly widened eyes.


    "It''s easier than you''d think," replied Adam with a nod. "After all, with your past self logged into the game, we already have an anchor point linking us to him ready on the other universe."


    "All we need to do is just use the same magic to transport his body here, cover him up in energy to make sure he doesn''t get rejected by the universe, and with a bit more magic here and there, hey presto, the two of you are fused in every way possible."


    "Two questions," said Valyr after mulling over Adam''s words for a bit. "First, doesn''t that sound moreplicated than just transferring the consciousnesses into this universe?"


    "And second, why did you two even decide to fuse our bodies together?"


    "To answer your first question, the process does sound moreplicated than the process we use for Greater Beyond." Adam nodded in agreement. "However, in terms of difficulty, transporting a body here is simpler than transporting one''s consciousnesses."


    "After all, what''s more fragile? A body? Or what''s basically an unprotected soul?"


    "¡­Alright. How about the second question?"


    "Well, the answer to that''s pretty straightforward." The man let out a slight chuckle before snapping his fingers.


    "¡­In fact, how about we show you why instead?"

 Chapter 1237 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (4)

    Chapter 1237 The Truth Behind Greater Beyond (4)


    Whoosh!


    Before Valyr could even reply to Adam''s question, the young man felt as if all of the strength in his body had been siphoned all of a sudden, reminding him of the time he briefly lost connection with the system around the version update. It also reminded him of the time he regressed to the lowest level after Vaughn exchanged his previous main ss to what it was today.


    However, unlike those times where the loss in strength was temporary, the sensation that enveloped the young man''s body this time around felt more permanent. It was as if he innately knew that he had no way to return his strength to where it was before.


    Not only that, but he felt as if all of the parts making up his body were shifting into another form, reminding him of the times he swapped appearances with the help of [Thousand Polymorph].


    "There we go." By the time the changes were done, Adam looked at Valyr with a faint smile before conjuring a mirror in front of him. "Now, what do you see?"


    "That''s¡­" Looking at the mirror in response, Valyr''s eyes quickly widened in disbelief once he took note of the appearance he currently had.


    At the moment Adam snapped his fingers, the young man already had an idea that he''d change into the yer avatar his past self used. After all, whenpared to his current level of strength, his past self was still at the early levels of Rank 0.


    However, when the person that greeted him through the mirror was not a man with light gray hair and gold eyes, but instead a man with dark hair and hazel eyes, it was only then did he understand¡­


    That when the two of them told him that they fused everything¡­ N?v(el)B\\jnn


    They meant it literally.


    "That''s¡­ me¡­?" Continuing to stare at the mirror in front of him, Valyr went ahead and did a few basic movements with his body, only to find out that the man on the mirror did the same actions as him.


    Wanting to be incredibly sure that he''d taken on the appearance he was looking at, the young man continued to do a few more actions for a couple more minutes, only stopping once he began to feel a bit of exhaustion set in.


    "That''s¡­ me," uttered Valyr with certainty in his voice, not expecting that there would evere a day where he''d be in his actual body after everything he went through. "Well, this is me from before Greater Beyond started, but¡­"


    "That''s definitely me."


    Looking at his current appearance once more, the young man was reminded of the hardships and journeys he went through in his past life.


    The connections he made, the rtionships he formed, the friendships he broke, all of that shed in his mind at that moment as he thought about all of the time and effort he spent to get to where he was.


    By the time his train of thought reached the point where their side lost the final battle, Valyr had a feeling¡­ that he instinctively knew the reason why Adam and Eve decided to fuse him and his past self together.


    "So¡­ I suppose you have your answer already?" Seeing that Valyr had finally adjusted to his current appearance, it was only then did Adam ask him a question.


    "Does it have something to do with what I went through before?" asked the young man in response, to which Adam and Eve looked at each other for a bit before nodding back at him.


    "If that''s the case¡­" Seeing the two nod at his words, the young man nodded back as he began to smile. "Then I exactly know why you did this."


    "However, that brings up a lot more questions in my head," said Valyr after that, firing them off one by one to the two before they could even react.


    Fortunately, all of the questions he asked were more or less what Adam and Eve expected to hear from the young man, allowing them to tell him what he wanted to know with rtive ease.


    From the benefits a body that could exist in both universes had, to the possible problem he might face with his past self''s yer avatar, the two did not hold back while answering those questions. In fact, they even went so far as to show him a couple of examples in the process.


    However, amongst all of the questions Valyr threw at the two, there was one that made both Adam and Eve remain silent.


    "I know you two have been amodating to me all this time, but¡­ since you two seem to know what I went through before, why did you still fuse the two of us together?"


    "Wouldn''t it be better for your side if I died instead?"


    Through the questions he''d been asking all this time, Valyr eventually came to know the reason why he appeared in thisrge white room when he woke up, which involved him and his past self breaking thews of time paradox.


    Although the entire exnation around it was quite convoluted since it involved the existence of multiple universes and time lines and what not, the young man still more or less got the gist of it.


    Which was why he found their decision to fuse the two of them together more odd.


    "Well¡­" Scratching the back of her head as she thought about the best way to go about answering his question, Eve decided to keep their answer under wraps for just a bit more. "Let''s just say that it''s better for you to ask that question once you''re stronger."


    "We''re doing this for your sake," said Adam, to which Eve nodded in agreement. "This might just cause you even more confusion for the meantime, but believe us when we say that you''ll understand once the timees."


    "Of course, that doesn''t mean we won''t leave you fully hanging," said Eve as she looked at Adam for a bit.


    Receiving a nod from the man in response, it was only then did she continue. "This is a very vague answer, but¡­ let''s just say we''re on your side."


    "You''re on my side¡­" muttered Valyr to himself before eventually nodding in understanding.


    "Got it."


    "I''m d you understand," replied Eve with a smile. "Well, since we''ve pretty much told you everything you need to know for the meantime, I suppose it''s time to send you back."


    "To Veldanyr? Or Earth?" asked Valyr, his appearance still that of his actual self on Earth.


    "Earth," said Adam as he proceeded to conjure a magic circle around Valyr. "Just to remind you once again, you appearing here in your body from Earth will only happen this time because of the circumstances."


    "Once you enter Greater Beyond again through the machine, you''ll be taking on the form of your yer avatar."


    "And if I want to change back to Valyr Zeihardt?" asked Valyr with a raised eyebrow.


    "You''ll only be able to do so while in Greater Beyond," replied Adam as he reassured him. "Don''t worry, we''ll give you a couple of skills once you return to make sure you could swap between the two."


    "Any more questions? I don''t think I can keep you here for any longer."


    "Will I be able to contact you two in the future?" asked the young man, which instantly made the two look at him with smiles on their faces.


    "If time and fate permits," said Eve in response. "Farewell for now, Valyr."


    "We''ll surely see each other again."


    "For now¡­ make sure to be as strong as you possibly can."


    ¡­


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 1238 Where It All Began

    Chapter 1238 Where It All Began


    "¡­Huuu." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Feeling as if his entire body had been flung from one end of the universe to the other just now, Valyr could not help but let out a long exhale as he partly removed himself from his gaming pod.


    Closing his eyes for a bit after that to gather his thoughts, he then sat up on the gaming pod before taking a look at his current surroundings, causing a slightly nostalgic smile to appear on his face by the time he was done.


    "Well, this takes me back," muttered Valyr to himself, letting out a chuckle as he began to walk around the apartment he was in. "I remember staying in this apartment for a few years while I was still going back and forth multiple VRMMORPGs to earn money."


    ncing at all of the various items scattered all over the apartment, the nostalgic smile on the young man''s face grew deeper as he continued to recall memories from the past.


    "However, that all changed when Greater Beyond came out," said the young man as a couple memories came to mind. "Surprisingly, it only took me a year to save up enough money through the game to leave this ce and buy myself a house that I could actually call my own."


    "Then, it only got better and better after that."


    Just like the other VRMMORPGs he yed in the past, Greater Beyond had a feature that allowed yers to exchange the money they had in-game into currency they could use in their daily lives.


    However, whenparing the currency exchange models these various games used to Greater Beyond''s model, there was no doubt in anyone''s minds that the model thetter used was far more generous inparison.


    As long as one was able to amass 100 copper coins in the game, one would be able to convert it five Deltas, which was more than enough money for one person to make sure they would eat three meals in a day.


    On the other hand, the most generous VRMMORPG that came before Greater Beyond utilized a model that needed one to amass a gold coin first before being able to exchange it into real-life currency.


    Not only that, but the amount of Deltas one would get from the exchange would be less than half of what Greater Beyond offered!


    And so, it was no surprise that as more and more time passed, Greater Beyond garnered more and more people to y it, allowing them to take the majority of the market in just a matter of months.


    In fact, as far as Valyr could recall, by the time the new version of Greater Beyond came around, only 5% of the market was left for the other VRMMORPGs, causing their existences to eventually die down as Greater Beyond formed a monopoly.


    "If only the game''s existence didn''t lead to the final battle happening, then the world would''ve probably be a better ce in a way," said Valyr with a slight chuckle, only to let out a sigh soon after.


    Faintly shaking his head, he soon lied on his sofa as he went over all of the things he''d talked about with Adam and Eve, wondering if everything he''d done in Greater Beyond so far was just an incredibly long dream.


    Yet, with a few painful pinches here and there, the young man quickly reminded himself that what he''d gone through was not a dream at all. If anything, his identity as a being that now existed in both Earth and Greater Beyond was his new reality.


    ''Then again, I never even thought in my wildest dreams that Greater Beyond was actually a separate universe,'' thought the young man to himself, recalling all of the spections he had about Greater Beyond in the past.


    Naturally, as someone who''d been able to experience the final battle in his past life, it went without saying that Valyr already knew that Greater Beyond was something that extended far beyond just a mere game.


    However, it was only after talking to Adam and Eve did he finally realize the extent of how much it extended, prompting him to even think that looking at Greater Beyond as a gate to another universe wouldn''t be a wrong idea.


    Of course, such a thought only slightly differed from the theories and spections he and the others had in his past life, talking about how Greater Beyond was a game made by a more technologically advanced civilization than theirs.


    In that aspect, their theories were correct.


    The only difference was the location of that technologically advanced civilization itself.


    Then again, no one even expected the game to have something to do with another universe, not even Valyr himself. After all, there were still a lot of scientific mysteries Earth hadn''t solved yet. Proving the existence of multiple universes seemed like an incredibly far stretch to what Earth was capable of proving inparison.


    "In any case, to think that beings like them would be on our side¡­'' Continuing to think about the truths behind Greater Beyond that the twoid out in front of him, Valyr soon recalled thest few words Adam and Eve mentioned to him, faintly shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.


    Nevertheless, that did not stop a faint smile from appearing on his face, especially when he thought about how achieving his goals would be many times easier than before with the help of those two Administrators.


    ''Perhaps there really is a chance for our side to win the final battle this time around,'' thought Valyr to himself as he let out a slight chuckle. ''But of course, just like Eve said, I need to get stronger first. As strong as I can possibly can.''


    With that, even though it had only been around ten minutes or so since he''d returned to Earth, Valyr showed no hesitation in entering the gaming pod once more, using the memories he had to control it as if he''d been using the pod for years.


    Whoosh!


    "¡­Huh?" However, just as Valyr began to feel like his consciousness was being transported to the world of Greater Beyond, that process immediately grinded to a halt as a screen appeared before him not even a few secondster.


    "Seriously?"


    "The game''s in maintenance?"

 Chapter 1239 Passing the Time

    Chapter 1239 Passing the Time


    For a while, Valyr was left at a slight loss on what he should do next after reading the contents on the screen that appeared in front of him. After all, with him now being back to his original body from the time Greater Beyond had just been released to the public, it could be said that all of the progress he''d made as Valyr Zeihardt had been lost.


    With that, he wanted to see for himself if his identity as Valyr Zeihardt was still essible, even though both Adam and Eve had already assured him before they parted ways that he''d be able to do so.


    Aside from that, one of the other reasons why he wanted to return to Greater Beyond as soon as possible was because he wanted to improve his strength as his yer self.


    Sure, he was more than thankful to the two that he was finally able to return to Earth after spending a few years in the world of Greater Beyond.


    However, that came at the cost of basically starting all over again on a new profile, rendering all of the efforts and hardships he''d been through as Valyr Zeihardt useless.


    Plus, in regards to the final battle, there wasn''t really much he could do here at the moment that would be able to improve the chances of their side winning it. After all, he needed both the finances and the reputation to do that first.


    And that, unsurprisingly, would only starting about once he made a name for himself in Greater Beyond.


    ''Well¡­ Adam and Eve are Administrators.'' Thankfully, after a whirlwind of thoughts surfaced in his mind on what to do next, Valyr was eventually able to calm himself down, reminding himself of the kind of status the people he talked to earlier had.


    ''I should at least trust them that they''d follow through their words.''


    ''Then again, it''s not like the maintenance is that long,'' thought Valyr to himself, ncing at the screen in front of him once more before removing himself from the gaming pod. ''It''ll onlyst for three and a half hours, which is like a single day in Veldanyr.''


    ''Aside from that, I have a strong feeling that the reason behind the maintenance might have something to do with me,'' continued the young man with a slight shrug, letting out a slightly bitter chuckle soon after.


    After listening to everything Adam and Eve shared with him before being forced back to Earth, it did not surprise him that they spent a lot in order to fuse both him and his past self together.


    After all, from what they told him, their interaction had broken thews of time paradox in the universe of Greater Beyond, which would have greater implications if they were left unchecked.


    Hearing that, the young man imagined the two of them working together to stabilize the chaos their existences were causing before fusing both him and his past self together.


    Add on the fact that his body on Earth had appeared in the world of Greater Beyond thanks to Adam''s actions, the cost they incurred only grew greater. In fact, when Adam did that, Valyr immediately began to feel a sense of rejection from the universe, which he presumed was only being kept at bay by the two expending even more energy to let him stay there.


    "But to think that the cost they ended up ruing only amounted to a few hours of maintenance¡­ quite insane," said the young man at the end of his train of thought, only for a faint smile to appear on his face soon after.


    "Well, they are Administrators for a reason."


    Deciding not to think about the matter any further for now, Valyr swiftly made his way towards the sofa before turning on the television.


    Tuning into the channels that were focused on VRMMORPGs, the young man soon found himself watching almost every one of these channels talk about Greater Beyond going into maintenance all of a sudden.


    "This is Antoine Caelius from Second Reality News, keeping you up to date with thetest news on Greater Beyond." Stopping on the channel he used to often watch in the past, Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight curiosity as a pair of men appeared on the screen.


    On the left was a man in his thirties whose entire appearance immediately screamed he worked for the channel he was watching, donning a brown suit that made himself look like he was attending a formal partyter that day.


    As for the man on the right, he wore a dark blue business suit thatplemented his neatlybed hair. Adding on his serious expression and aura, there was no doubt that anyone watching would think that the man was a higher-up in the business industry.


    "We are here today with Mr. Azazel Silvers, the CEO of thepany behind Greater Beyond, ckflower Company," said Antoine with a kind smile. "Now, I suppose you already know the reason why we''ve asked for your appearance, right?"


    "Of course," replied Azazel through the microphone Antoine pointed at him, nodding as he let out a bit ofughter. "Even I''m curious as to why the game went on maintenance all of a sudden."


    "Eh?" Hearing those words, the news reporter looked back at him in confusion. "Are you telling me you don''t know either?"


    "In a way." Azazel faintly nodded. "After all, Greater Beyond runs on awork of quantum supeputing servers in order to give everyone the lifelike experience they''ve enjoyed so far."


    "With that, there''s next to no oversight from thepany while the game is running, leaving it up to the artificial intelligence we''ve tailor-made for this very purpose."


    "So, you''re telling us that this artificial intelligence is the one that caused the game to go into maintenance?" asked Antoine, to which the man nodded in agreement after a bit.


    "You could say that," rified Azazel. "After all, that artificial intelligence pretty much controls the entire game. Of course, if it decides that the game should go into maintenance, then I''m sure it did so for a very good reason."


    "I see." Antoine nodded in slight understanding before facing the camera once more.


    "Well, there you have it, folks. Since even the CEO of the gamepany doesn''t know the reason behind the maintenance, then I suppose all of you should make the most out of the time the maintenance gave you."


    "Whether it''s to grab some food, do some exercise, research on topics for when Greater Beyondes back up again, or talk with friends in advance to prepare for a dungeon run, I''m sure those three hours would pass by as if it were only ten minutes."


    Feeling like he''d gotten the point he wanted across, Antoine eventually beamed a smile. "Once again, I am Antoine Caelius from Second Reality News, bringing you thetest news on Greater Beyond."


    "¡­I guess I shouldn''t be surprised that I''d hear something different from this side." As the channel he was on continued to y in the background, Valyr found the news segment just now quite amusing.


    After all, the information shared by the man was a stark contrast to the information he obtained from Adam and Eve. Of course, it went without saying that the differing pieces of information between the two sides made him doubt what he knew for a bit, though such doubts onlyst for a short while.


    Instead, he thought about the man''s words from a more logical perspective, eventually concluding that sharing the information he did made a lot more sense.


    "It would sound incredibly absurd if the CEO of the gamepany began to talk about the existence of the two universes, after all," muttered the young man to himself with a slight chuckle. "I''m sure no one would take him seriously if that were the case."


    "Now then¡­ how am I going to pass the remaining time before Greater Beyond opens again?"


    Taking a quick look at the clock, Valyr noticed that half an hour had already passed since he found out that Greater Beyond was currently in maintenance.


    Slightly taken aback by how quickly that much time passed, the young man went ahead and fashioned himself something to eat, only to bitterly smile once he decided to take a look at what things were in his fridge. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "¡­I should really take the time to earn a bit of money for myself once Greater Beyond''s up again."


    Seeing that the remaining things in his fridge were what he felt was the bare minimum of keeping his thirst and hunger satiated, the young man inwardly made a promise to himself as he slowly ate and drank his fill, realizing at some point that the dining experience was different between the two universes.


    "¡­And with that, an hour has finally passed since the maintenance began." Meticulously washing all of the dishes and utensils he used while eating, Valyr thought about what he should next, wondering if he should watch one of the many movies avable on the World Net.


    After all, there was still two and a half hours before maintenance ended.


    However, at the end of his train of thought, a random thought instead surfaced in his mind, causing Valyr to realize that there was a way for him to improve their chances during the final battle in his current state.


    "They shouldn''t be busy around this time, right?" With this thought in mind, Valyr hastily grabbed his phone before dialing a number in excitement.

 Chapter 1240 Talking to an Old Friend

    Chapter 1240 Talking to an Old Friend


    Ring! Ring!


    "Hmm? Who would be calling me at this time?"


    Reading a news article on a high-endptop, a young man with fiery red hair slightly frowned in response to his phone ringing.


    However, once he found out who was calling him, the frown on his face was immediately reced with a look of slight surprise.


    "Valyr?" muttered the young man to himself as he scratched the back of his head in slight confusion. "I''m pretty sure he told usst night that he''d be grinding Greater Beyond for the whole day today. What made him stop all of a sudden?"


    "Eh. I''ll find that out once he tells me." Letting his phone ring for a bit more, the young man eventually epted the call, fixing his pair of sses as a familiar face appeared on the screen.


    "Thomas! Long time no see." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "What do you mean long time no see?" said Thomas with fake anger. "We just met upst week for drinks, no?"


    "Did we?" Valyrughed in response, knowing that the young man wasn''t actually mad at him. "Anyways, are you free to spare a bit of your time for me?"


    "I could." Thomas nodded, his expression bing slightly serious at his words. "What''s up? You don''t usually take the initiative to contact me or the others."


    "Well¡­" Looking back at the young man in contemtion, Valyr eventually found the right words to say as he told him, "I suppose it''d be better if I talked about it over some snacks."


    "Your treat?" asked Thomas, causing Valyr to chuckle in response.


    "As long as we get the same thing at that ce, then sure. My treat," he replied, which immediately made Thomas grin with excitement.


    "Alright then. I''ll head there right now," said the young man soon after, to which Valyr nodded. "But seriously. What do you want to talk about with me? Surely you can tell me even a little bit about it over the phone, no?"


    "Let''s just say it has something to do with Greater Beyond," answered Valyr in response, only to hang up after leaving him another message. "Message me if you''re already there, okay?"


    Beep.


    "¡­" Just as the young man still had questions to ask, Thomas'' expression went nk as he heard the call end all of a sudden.


    Then, after closing his eyes for a bit, he let out a faint sigh as he murmured, "Even though I already told him not to hang up before I say so, that habit of his still hasn''t changed one bit."


    "¡­" Just as the young man still had questions to ask, Thomas'' expression went nk as he heard the call end all of a sudden.


    Then, after closing his eyes for a bit, he let out a faint sigh as he murmured, "Even though I already told him not to hang up before I say so, that habit of his still hasn''t changed one bit."


    "In any case, why does he want to talk about Greater Beyond? Does it have something to do with why he called me out of nowhere?"


    Feeling curious as to what the answer was, Thomas eventually shut hisptop down before making his way out of his apartment.


    "Well, I''ll find out once I get there."


    ¡­


    "¡­I really can''t get enough of these burgers."


    Taking a bite out of a freshly-cooked hamburger, Valyr had a satisfied smile on his face as he loitered by the side of a local burger joint.


    "All the more reason to grind more money in the game, really," muttered the young man to himself after taking another bite, only to close his eyes soon after as he savored his taste.


    Coincidentally, just as he opened his eyes to take another bite, a familiar face appeared in front of him all of a sudden.


    "Gah!" Valyr quickly moved back in surprise, only to re at the young man soon after. "You almost made me drop my burger!"


    "Sorry, sorry." Thomas could onlyugh in response, prompting Valyr to take another bite of the burger he was eating.


    "So, why did you call me toe here?"


    "I told you already, it has something to do with Greater Beyond," replied Valyr, eventually finishing his burger in just a few more bites. "But first¡­"


    "Burger?"


    ¡­


    "¡­These burgers really don''t get old."


    "Even more so when you get them for free," added Thomas as he bit into his burger, only to chuckle soon after.


    "Of course, you''ll be the one treating me next time," said Valyr in response,ughing before biting down into his second burger.


    At this point, the two of them found a spot nearby to sit down and talk, allowing them to continue the conversation where their phone call left off.


    "So, about Greater Beyond?" asked Thomas, looking at Valyr with a serious expression. "What does that have to do with us meeting up?"


    "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to y with me," replied Valyr with a calm expression of his own. "I''m sure you already know, but Greater Beyond is currently in maintenance. I would probably still be ying if not for that."


    "I''ve heard." Thomas nodded, recalling the news articles he was browsing through earlier. "Anyways, you really called me out here just to ask me if I wanted to y Greater Beyond with you? You do know I have workter today, right?"


    "I know." Valyr nodded. "But I''m not telling you to ditch your work or anything like that. I just wanted to know if you could y with me after your shift is over."


    "You already bought it, right?"


    "Of course, I did. How could I not?" replied Thomas. "It''s the most trending VRMMO right now, after all."


    "In any case, why me?" he asked as he looked at Valyr with slight curiosity. "Did you not reach out to Meria or Lucques before this?"


    "Already did. Didn''t pick up." Valyr looked back at Thomas with a wry smile. "Even asked Nathan if he could y with me, but he said he was busy for the entire day."


    "I see." Hearing that, Thomas could only nod. "So, why do you want me to y Greater Beyond with you? You do know that I''ve yet to make an ount in the game, right?"


    "I''m not that stupid." Valyr let out a bit ofughter as he nodded. "But there is a reason why I need your help. After all, it only works when you''re in a party of two."


    "And that would be?" Thomas raised his eyebrow in curiosity.


    "A way to earn money," replied the young man with a slight grin.


    "Lots of money, if I might add."

 Chapter 1241 A Small Incentive

    Chapter 1241 A Small Incentive


    "¡­How much are we talking?" asked Thomas in a hushed tone in response, his interest and curiosity more than piqued.


    After all, even though the work he was doing wasn''t all thatbor-intensive, his sry was only enough to pay for the bills and fulfill the most basic of essentials. If he wanted to buy something for himself, he''d first have to cut costs elsewhere.


    Though, the only area he could costs to do so would be in his foodstuffs.


    Because of that, Thomas was more than eager to find other methods of earning money on the side, which made him a bit more inclined than before to ept Valyr''s request.


    "Even if we only earn like 5 Delta from that, that''s more than enough for me to be on board," said Thomas after seeing Valyr continue to remain silent.


    Although 5 Delta was just enough money for one person to not worry about eating three meals a day, Thomas already knew that VRMMORPGs were quite notorious when it came to their money-earning methods, needing one to earn tons of coins before one could exchange it for actual currency.


    With that in mind, he had a feeling that the difficulty of earning actual money from Greater Beyond would probably be on the same level as well. After all, Valyr wouldn''t have reached out to him if not for that.


    Then again, among all of the people in their friend group, only Valyr was able to eke out a living from solely ying VRMMORPGs. In fact, he would even ask for their help from time to time, allowing them to earn a bit of extra money on the side.


    Being one of the recipients of the young man''s kindness in the past, Thomas already had an idea of how much they''d earn from it, which only made him look at Valyr with even more disbelief once he heard the words that left the young man''s mouth.


    "25 Delta," said Valyr with slight uncertainty, only to nod soon after as his expression became firm. "Yeah. As long as we do it right, we''d be able to earn 25 Delta."


    "Are you serious?" asked Thomas after he''d gotten over the shock Valyr''s words brought him. "You''re really telling me we could earn 25 Delta a day from just doing this?"


    Realizing that his voice had gotten louder by the time he was finished asking, Thomas quickly took in a deep breath before giving Valyr a quick apology.


    In response, the young man merely chuckled as he nodded. "And that''s only if we''re unlucky. In the best-case scenario, we might even be able to earn 200 Delta in a single gaming session."


    "Two¡­ two hundred Delta?!" At those words, Thomas could not hide his shock anymore, his voice loud enough to the point that almost everyone within their surroundings looked at them with odd expressions on their faces.


    Of course, the stares he got was more than enough for him to remind himself of where he was, prompting him to look at everyone else with an apologetic smile before returning his attention to Valyr.


    "You''re not kidding when you say this, right? You''re really telling me that we could earn 200 Delta in just a few hours?"


    "In the best-case scenario, of course," reminded Valyr as he nodded. "If our luck is average, then it hovers around 80 to 100 Delta."


    "Also, keep in mind that when I say a few hours, that''s time here. In-game, that''s equivalent to an entire day."


    "Doesn''t matter. I''m on board," said Thomas, his eagerness to y the game at that moment more than obvious. "Heck, that''s like twice as much I make at thepany I''m working at."


    "Don''t even think about quitting," said Valyr. "At least¡­ not yet."


    "Yet?" Thomas raised his eyebrow at those words. "You got else something nned?"


    "I''ll have to raise enough funds first in order to do it." Valyr nodded. "Which is why I''m asking for your help in this matter."


    "Alright." At this point, there was no doubt that Thomas was more than ready to help Valyr out in whatever way he could. "Well, just tell me if you need my help in that n of yours, okay?"


    "Don''t worry. I will."


    ¡­


    Click.


    "Let''s goooooooo!!!" Softly closing the door behind him, Valyr immediately burst into great excitement as his ns of roping in Thomas had be a massive sess.


    "I should really thank my past self''s memories this time around," said the young man to himself with a bit ofughter as he sat down on the sofa once more. "Wouldn''t have thought of doing that if not for it."


    Although his reincarnation into Greater Beyond gave him the ability to go through all of the memories he''d created in his past life with great rity, Valyr still found it difficult to recall memories up to a certain point.


    Thankfully, that limit had been removed the moment Adam and Eve fused him and his past self together, allowing him to recall every single thing that happened to him before Greater Beyond came out with even greater detail than before.


    Of course, it was thanks to those renewed memories that he came up with a way to make the most out of the time the maintenance gave him, prompting him to contact the close friends he made in the various VRMMORPGs he yed in the past.


    Though it was partly because he wanted his friends to be able to live better lives now that he had a way to help them out, it was also because most of them would eventually turn out to be his closestrades during the final battle.


    Out of all of his friends, Thomas was the one he wanted to get close to the most, which was why he was more than thankful that the man had been the one to pick up his call.


    In terms of his experience with the man in the VRMMOs he yed in the past, Valyr knew Thomas as a guy who yed them as a way to unwind after work. In fact, it was because the man yedte at night that the two of them became good friends after some time.


    However, unlike his current self, the future Thomas was a person that many people looked up to as their idol, a person whose reputation in Greater Beyond was more than enough to instill fear into thousands of yers the moment they met him.


    That was because, from what Valyr could recall, the young man would eventually be the founder and leader of the Setting Sun.


    A yer organization that, near the start of the final battle, would rival one of the Five Leviathans in terms of might.N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1242 Returning to the Game

    Chapter 1242 Returning to the Game


    "Oh? Maintenance is finally over?"


    Just as Valyr brought out his phone to see if Thomas sent him a message or two after they parted ways, the young man instead found out that the two of them spent more than enough time for Greater Beyond to be open again.


    Because of that, the young man headed straight to the gaming pod, tossing all of the other thoughts he had for the meantime as his expression turned that of anticipation and excitement.


    "I really hope they follow through with their words." Muttering these words to himself, Valyr soon booted up Greater Beyond, allowing the gaming pod to do what it needed to do for him to enter the game.


    Whoosh!


    ''¡­Ah.'' After hearing a few slightly concerning sounds echo from the gaming pod, Valyr soon felt like he''d been detached from his body, only to then feel like he was being transported to some far-away ce not long after.


    ''So this is what she meant when she said they transfer our consciousnesses to another universe.'' Unsurprisingly, these sensations were more than enough for him to recall the conversation he had with Eve on the matter, even though a pure yet boundless white greeted him wherever he looked.


    Swoosh!


    Eventually, the young man was transported out of the world of white after a minute or so. At the same time, he felt his thoughts and consciousnesses reconnect with something, reminding him of the brief sensation he felt earlier during the start of the login process.


    Pushing the thoughts that popped up in his mind to the side for the meantime, Valyr was eventually greeted by the sight of Veldanyr once more as he appeared at the yers'' spawn point within Daffors Vige.


    "I''m finally back," muttered Valyr to himself with a faint smile on his face, only to then clench his fists not long after in excitement.


    Moving slightly away from the spawn point after noticing more and more yers appear where he stood, the young man went ahead and did a few basic movements as a way for him to adjust to his current body''s stats.


    ''It really feels like I''ve started all over again,'' thought Valyr to himself with a slightly wry smile.


    ''Then again, it''s not like I''m actually starting from scratch.''


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ataraxia] (Level 3)


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Power Level: 15 (C)


    Unused XP: 15


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 30/30


    MP: 30/30


    Stats: 3 VIT, 3 STR, 3 AGI, 3 DEX, 3 INT, 3 WIS, 3 PER, 3 LUK (3 unassigned points)


    Remarks: Nothing stands out. Incredibly normal.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Bringing up his current status screen, Valyr checked to see if his past self had obtained any skills or any other items to bolster his strength before their fateful strength.


    ''On second thought, I think I am starting from scratch.'' Unfortunately, after going through his pockets and the various system features, all he found was the small bit of money his past self had saved up.


    ''Then again¡­ it''s not really all that bad.'' Faintly letting out a sigh at the somewhat destitute state his past self was in, Valyr soon thought that his current state actually had more upsides to it than downsides.


    ''Although I do need to amass a bit of money to get the ball rolling, I already n on solving that bit once Thomas logs into the gameter.''


    ''Aside from that, not having skills nor having allocated my unassigned stat points means that I''m free to explore another path to power,'' inwardly said the young man to himself. ''But of course, that all hinges on whether or not Adam and Eve follows through with their words.''


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Coincidentally, as if the two were listening to his inner monologue this entire time, a string of notifications swiftly resounded in Valyr''s mind at the exact moment he finished his train of thought.


    Although he was slightly taken aback to receive such arge number of notifications in his current state, the young man was able to rpose himself as he had a rough understanding as to why he''d get them.


    ''I suppose I''d also get them once I''m able to return to Valyr Zeihardt?'' asked Valyr to himself with a hint of uncertainty, only to then bring up his notification screen in front of him not long after.


    Whoosh!


    [The Fifth Administrator looks at you with both delight and relief, more than d that the things you''ve went through hadn''t affected you.]


    [The Third Administrator looks at you with approval, seeing that you''vee to terms with your current identity.]


    ["I suppose now''s the time for us to fulfill the promises we''ve made," says the Third Administrator.]


    [Through the intervention of the Third Administrator, you have obtained the active skill ''Soul Shift''.]


    [Through the intervention of the Third Administrator, you have obtained the active skill ''Soul Fusion''.]


    [Through the intervention of the Third Administrator, you have obtained the active skill ''Soul Split''.]


    ["With these first skill, you now have the ability to change between Valyr Zeihardt and Valyr Meyers at any time," says the Third Administrator.]


    ["Of course, for you to swap between the two identities freely, you must first have your identity as Ataraxia reach the same level Valyr Zeihardt did, which is the peak of Rank 4."]


    ["On the other hand, the second skill allows you tobine the strengths of both Valyr Meyers and Valyr Zeihardt, gaining ess to both sides'' abilities while alsobining the stats of both sides."]


    ["As for thest skill, it allows your two identities to work separately while still being connected in thought," says the Third Administrator. "I''m sure you already know how to make great use of these three."]


    ["Aside from the skills you got from Adam, I''ll also be giving you a couple of skills, as well as a title to help your current identity out," says the Fifth Administrator.]


    [Through the intervention of the Fifth Administrator, you have obtained the title ''Recognition of the Administrator''.]


    [Through the intervention of the Fifth Administrator, you have obtained the passive skill ''Obscuration of True Fate''.]


    [Through the intervention of the Fifth Administrator, you have obtained the passive skill ''Mark of the Fifth Administrator''.]


    ["I''ll leave the title for you to check, but the first skill allows the ''True Defier of Fate'' your other identity has to remain separate from your current identity," says the Fifth Administrator.]


    ["If it wasn''t, then you''d probably have to bear the same tribtions your other identity is going through, making your goal of having both identities be at the same level significantly more difficult."]


    ["As for the other skill, it''s just a way for us to keep track of your whereabouts, as well as a way for us to contact you if the opportunity arises," says the Fifth Administrator.]


    ["If you can, make reaching the peak of Rank 4 with Ataraxia your first goal," says the Third Administrator. "Of course, don''t neglect improving your strength as much as possible as well."] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ["What Adam said," says the Fifth Administrator. "¡­And I guess that''s it for now." ["We wish you the best of luck."]


    Whoosh!

 Chapter 1243 Looking at Skills

    Chapter 1243 Looking at Skills


    ''¡­Although they didn''t say it outright, they definitely confirmed it.''


    By the time Valyr was done reading through all of the notifications he received from both Adam and Eve, the smile on his face turned into a grin. After all, the notifications he got were clear proof that the two didn''t renege on their promises.


    ''I''ll be able to ess these skills once I return to my identity as Valyr Zeihardt,'' thought Valyr to himself as he let out a faint chuckle, only to correct himself soon after as a thought came to mind.


    ''On second thought, I''ll only be able to ess most of these skills. I have a feeling [Obscuration of True Fate] won''t carry over since it only helps my current identity out.''


    ''¡­Aside from that, I also probably wouldn''t have ess to the boosts Eve''s title gave me when I''m in Greater Beyond as my other self,'' continued the young man in his mind, letting out a faint sigh as he felt a bit glum from the realization.


    ''Then again, it''s not like it''s impossible.'' Fortunately, it did not take too long for him tofort himself. ''Adam did give me a skill that would allow me to use the strengths of both identities at once, after all.''


    ''Speaking of which, I suppose I should take a look at these skills I got in greater detail.''


    With that in mind, the young man immediately made his way to a less frequented portion of the vige, hoping to reduce his chances of other yers or NPCs finding out his new secret.


    "¡­Alright." After checking a few more times to confirm that no people would be able to check in on what he was doing, it was only then did Valyrmand the system to bring up the descriptions of the new skills and titles he got, neatlyying all of them out in front of him.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Soul Shift] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    A skill created by the Third Administrator for a special being.


    This skill gives the user the ability to switch to another part of their soul, allowing them to swap to an identity that ispletely separate and different from the original.


    The duration of the skill depends on the difference in levels between the original identity and the alternate identity, wherein the user will be able to stay in their alternate identity for longer if they remain in their original identity for longer first.


    Of course, this limitation is removed once both the original and alternate identity are of the same level, allowing the user to swap between both identities at anytime at the cost of energy.


    Alternate identity: Valyr Zeihardt (Lv. 75)


    Maximum duration: 1 day


    [Note: The maximum duration increases by 1 minute for every 72 minutes the user stays in their original identity. Once the duration runs out, the user is forced to return to their original identity. The skill only bes usable once more after at least one hour of duration has been recharged.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Soul Fusion] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    A skill created by the Third Administrator for a special being.


    This skill gives the user the ability to tap into the strength contained within their entire souls, allowing them tobine the abilities and stats that have been cultivated by all of their identities.


    The duration, cost, and strength of the skill is dependent on the difference in levels between identities.


    Once all identities are at the same level, the duration, cost, and strength bes fixed.


    Duration: 30 seconds


    Strength: 10% of the other identities'' stats added to the weakest identity''s stats


    Cost: 1,000 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Soul Split] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    A skill created by the Third Administrator for a special being.


    This skill gives the user the ability to split their souls into different entities, allowing their identities to act independently from one another while sharing the same thoughts.


    The duration and cost of the skill is dependent on the difference in levels between identities.


    Once all identities are at the same level, the duration now bes dependent on a fixed cost shouldered by all identities.


    Duration: 10 minutes


    Cost: 10,000 MP


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''They''ve really made it convenient for me.'' Reading through all of the skills Adam gave him, Valyr''s eyebrows rose in interest as he felt that the three skills pretty much covered all of the problems he might face.


    Considering that he first needed to reach the peak of Rank 4 once again as Ataraxia, [Soul Shift] would solve the problem of having his other self pop up whenever the need arose for it, merely relying on the passage of time for it to work.


    By the time both of his identities were on equal levels, he would be able to use [Soul Shift] freely, or perhaps make use of [Soul Split] if he wanted to make it seem like the two identities had no connection with one another.


    As for [Soul Fusion], Valyr had a feeling that Adam gave the skill to him so he could use it as a trump card to turn the tides of battle in his favor while he was Ataraxia.


    After all, even if he only had ess to 10% of the stats his other self currently had, that was still more than enough to put him on par with a lot of peak Rank 2 ss holders.


    Add on the fact that he''d also gain ess to the various skills he amassed during the past few years he''d been in Veldanyr, he was certain he''d even give Rank 3 ss holders a run for their money with his current identity.


    ''I''m pretty sure he also gave it to me with the final battle in mind,'' briefly thought Valyr to himself, only to then close all of the screens he''d gone through so far.


    ''Now, time to check what Eve gave me.''


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Recognition of the Administrator] (Title)


    Rarity: Divine


    Congrats. You''ve been recognized by an Administrator.


    ¡­What? You thought there was more to it?


    Effects:


    > 20% boost to all stats


    > 20% boost to max HP and MP


    > 20% boost to Attack and Defense


    > 20% boost to HP and MP regeneration rate


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Obscuration of True Fate] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: ???


    A skill created by the Fifth Administrator for a special being.


    This skill allows the attention the Apparatus has towards the user to be separated to a different part of the soul, allowing the remaining portion of the soul to be unaffected.


    This skill nullifies the effects of ''Defier of Fate'' titles the user''s other identities might have on their original identity, allowing the user to improve their original identity''s strength unimpeded.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Mark of the Fifth Administrator] (Lv. MAX)


    Rarity: Divine n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Congrats. You''ve been marked by the Fifth Administrator.


    You have obtained the attention of the Fifth Administrator. You have also gained the rare opportunity to talk with the Fifth Administrator directly.


    ¡­What? You thought there was more to it?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''¡­Why do I feel like Adam gave me better skills for some reason?''

 Chapter 1244 A Rough Plan

    1244 A Rough n


    "¡­Did you really have to distribute the skills that way?"


    "Now he''s beginning to think I''m a miser or something."


    Beyond the far-flung reaches of Greater Beyond''s universe, a young woman and young man within arge white structure began to bicker with one another, their focus mostly on the screen in front of him.


    "Well, I did ask you if you wanted to be the one to give those skills to him," replied Adam to Eve''s words with a slight shrug. "Then again, you were the one who said that who gave what skills to him didn''t matter in the long run."


    "You could''ve talked me out of it, no?" Eve looked back at him with a slight pout. "Sure, it doesn''t matter in the long run, but between the two of us, I''ve been talking with him for far longer!"


    "And?" Adam slightly shook his head at the absurdity of her words. "It''s not like this would be the only time we''d talk with him. Remember that you gave him your mark."


    "Well, I did, but¡­" Just as Eve nned oning up with another counterargument to his words, the young woman decided not to pursue the matter any further, letting out a sigh in the process.


    "Ah, whatever."


    Taking a bit of time to rpose himself, she eventually looked back at Adam with a calm expression before ncing at the screen in front of her. "With all things said, I''m surprised he was able to quickly adapt to the fact that he now has to juggle between two identities."


    "It''s not really that surprising," replied Adam, bringing up a screen beside the one they were currently looking at. "Although it hasn''t been that long, Valyr''s already been juggling between two identities for the past couple of months."


    "In fact, before he and his past self broke thews of time paradox, he was even beginning to juggle through three identities at once."


    "Valyr, Ylvar, and another unnamed identity, huh," muttered Eve as she looked at the screen that was just brought up, nodding in understanding. "I guess you could say he unknowingly built a foundation for his current situation."


    "Then again¡­ do you think I¡­ we made the right choice here, Adam?" she asked not long after, looking at Adam with uncertainty on her face. "Do you think it''s a good idea to ce our hopes into him?"


    "I mean¡­ if not him, then who else?" answered Adam after giving it a bit of thought. "Not long did he inherit one of the Grand Progenitors'' wills, he also has an idea of what might befall their universe once the right momentes."


    "Considering that he''s epted his current situation rather than fall into despair because of it, I''d say sparing them from their inevitable death was undoubtedly the right choice this time."


    "¡­Thank you," said Eve the moment Adam was done exining, looking at the young man with gratitude. "I needed to hear that."


    "Don''t mention it." Adam faintly smiled in response. "It''s the least I can do as your older brother."


    "¡­You mean younger brother. I was the one who came first, no?"


    "Nope. Pretty sure I was the one who came first. The divine creation myth isn''t written that way for no reason."


    "Tch." Clicking her tongue in response to Adam''s words, Eve decided to shift the topic of their conversation back to something rted to Valyr, recalling a certain fear she had about the matter.


    "Now that I think about it, do you think Lilith would catch wind of this?"


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if she already did." Adam shrugged at the question. "She isn''t called One for a reason, after all."


    "Then, why hasn''t she said anything to us about it yet?" asked Eve with a look of slight concern. "Does that mean she supports what we''re doing?"


    "I wouldn''t be too sure about that." Adam shook his head in slight uncertainty. "After all, you know how she operates."


    "Yeah." Eve''s expression turned serious at those words. "Guess that means we need to make it difficult for her to catch onto what we''re doing for the meantime."


    "You''ll help me, right?"


    "I mean¡­ I did talk to Valyr, after all. If not me, then who else?"


    ¡­


    ''Well, there really isn''t much reason to think Adam gave me better skills.'' Just as the thought ofparing what skills the two gave them came to mind, Valyr immediately shut the train of thought down.


    ''After all, one way or another, they must''ve nned to give all of these skills to me.''


    ''With that being said¡­''


    Whoosh!


    Closing all of the screens he brought up, Valyr began to make his way back to where most of the people were as he asked himself, "What path should I choose?"


    As these words left his mouth, the young man thought back to when he appeared in Veldanyr for the first time, asking the same question to himself as he kept the final battle in mind.


    Although he still kept the final battle in mind as he mulled over the question this time around, it could be said that Valyr now had a more rxed approach to the matter, especially after confirming that he could still ess all of his progress in his other identity.


    ''¡­Well, one thing''s for sure.'' Loitering near the front of a random building, the gears in the young man''s mind began to turn as he eventually came up with answers to his own question.


    ''I won''t be choosing the path of a cksmith again.'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Of course, as he arrived at this answer, Valyr had a few good reasons in mind as to why he thought choosing a different path to power was better.


    For one, he''d already gone through the path of cksmithing in his other identity. In fact, with how much he''d experienced thus far, he brought the path of cksmithing to a realm that he thought was inconceivable at his ss rank.


    Although choosing the same path undoubtedly assured him stability in his new journey to higher power, it wouldn''t really offer him much overall.


    Aside from that, he also took the skill [Soul Fusion] into consideration, thinking that it would be redundant for him to pick up the path of cksmithing again if he''d have ess to abilities on both identities.


    "Hmm¡­" Softly closing his eyes as he continued to ponder over the question, the various starting sses gradually surfaced within the young man''s mind as he weighed the pros and cons of each ss.


    From the six startingbat sses to the four starting production sses, the young man eventually felt one of the sses resonate with him, prompting him to open his eyes as they gleamed with excitement.


    "I''ve got it," muttered Valyr to himself with a slight grin on his face.


    "I''m gonna be a mage."


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1245 Refining the Edges

    Chapter 1245 Refining the Edges


    "Yeah." Having made up his mind on what path he''d take this time around, Valyr felt both determination and excitement, wanting to see how far he''d go as a mage till the very end.


    Of course, just like how he''de to the conclusion that choosing to be a cksmith again would be a bad idea for his current self, he had a lot of reasons as to why he thought bing a mage was the best option.


    For one, mages were notoriously known throughout almost every VRMMORPG as the go-to ss if one wanted to earn lots of money. Considering the skills and knowledge they picked up as they grew stronger, it was easy for them to pick up either alchemy or runecrafting as a subss, both of which were professions that allowed one to earn money on the same level cksmithing could potentially achieve.


    Then again, even if a mage decided not to pursue the route of picking up a profession on the side, their AoE damage skills still allowed them to earn a simr level of wealth, giving them the ability to kill multiple enemies at the same time.


    Aside from that, with the fact that he could now prepare for the final battle from both the yer and NPC side, it went without saying that he needed to have both great finances and a great reputation as a yer if he wanted others to follow hismands.


    With that, bing a mage was the easiest path to take if he wanted to fulfill both criteria at the same time. After all, all he needed to do just that was to dish out as much damage as possible in every scenario that greeted him.


    ''Well, there''s also the fact that it would be a nice change of pace to thebat style I''ve gotten used to,'' thought Valyr to himself, briefly thinking back to thebat style he cultivated in his other identity.


    Even though it was to be expected for a cksmith to rely on weapons if they wanted to reach higher levels of power, Valyr''sbat style gradually evolved to extend beyond the spearmanship he grew to pride himself upon.


    With spearmanship as the foundation, he would use both magic and the various energies he had control over as support while fighting, giving himself all the confidence he needed to fight against enemies on his own.


    On the other hand, there wasn''t really much reason for him to trek a simr path now that he was a yer.


    After all, unlike when he started out in Veldanyr, he had a lot of people he could potentially rely on while progressing through the game, the sses and roles they chose filling all of the gaps and shorings his skills in his other identity filled.


    With that, it was possible for him to focus most of his attention on pure damage and firepower, slowly turning himself into what others would usually call a ss cannon.


    But of course, he had no ns to be an actual ss cannon. He''d still make the time to shore up shorings here and there with various skills.


    Other than those reasons, the reason why he chose to be a mage was because he wanted to maximize the synergy brought about by [Soul Fusion], which was one of the reasons he chose not to tread the path of a cksmith.


    ''If my train of thought is correct, with the abilities I would gain as a mage, I''d be able to push [Four Paths Azure Magic Arts] and [Four Paths Azure Elemental Arts] to a higher level,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself with a bit of excitement in his tone.


    ''Man¡­ only now that I think about bing a mage do I realized I haven''t been using those magic spells to their fullest potential.''


    ''Well, at least I now have the ability to change that from now on.''


    "Alright then." Closing his eyes for a bit as he consolidated all of his thoughts, Valyr soon pushed them to the side as another question came to mind. "Now that I''ve made up my mind on my ss¡­"


    "What should I do next?"


    Faintly rubbing his chin as he pondered over the question, the young man faintly nced at the gate that led to the outskirts of the vige, prompting him to think that it would be a nice idea to grind XP to improve his level.


    Though, after thinking about it for a bit more, he decided not to do so. After all, with how many people there were still entering the world of Greater Beyond for the first time, he''d have to fight against other yers for a limited number of monsters.


    ''Plus, I''d be able to do just that once Thomas and I meet upter,'' thought Valyr to himself, faintly nodding soon after.


    Continuing to mull over the question, Valyr soon thought that it would be a good idea to obtain a few basic skills as a mage, specifically the skills that allowed one to truly call one''s self a mage.


    However, just like the previous idea he had, he decided not to do it either.


    ''Yeah¡­ I''d also be able to do that once Thomas and I meet upter,'' echoed Valyr within his mind once more, a bitter smile adorning his face as he thought about how much money he currently have.


    ''So, grinding XP isn''t possible. Nor is getting skills,'' said Valyr to himself in his mind. ''Naturally, that also means buying equipment for myself would also be out of the question.''


    ''Hmm¡­ what should I do to give myself a head start, then?''


    ''Wait a second¡­'' Fortunately, just as he thought he ran out of options, Valyr''s perspective began to expand beyond what he as a yer was currently capable of.


    Because of that, it did not take him too long toe up with an idea that only caused him to be more excited than what he started.


    In fact, by the time he was finished polishing the rough n he had in mind, he unintentionally let out a peal ofughter from how good the n was.


    ''If all of it goes ording to how I imagine it¡­''


    ''Then I might just be able to give myself a massive head start.''


    ''¡­Let''s get started, then.'' With a grin on his face, Valyr made his way to one of the more secluded areas of the vige once more.


    Then, after making sure neither NPCs nor yers would see what he was doing, he went ahead and activated one of his new skills for the first time.


    "[Soul Shift]."N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1246 Confirming Suspicions

    Chapter 1246 Confirming Suspicions


    Whoosh!


    Simr to the sensation he experienced back when Adam changed his body to that of his actual self, Valyr felt as if all of the strength in his body was being siphoned to some far-away ce, making him think as if it was impossible for him to reim such strength in the future.


    Though, by the time he felt like there was no strength in his body left, waves upon waves of strength began to course throughout his body all of a sudden, each wave carrying a vor that he''d be more than familiar with over the past few years he was in Veldanyr.


    While that was happening, the various parts making up his entire body began to shift into another form, allowing more strength to surge out from the depths of his body as he eventually took on an appearance that he thought he wouldn''t be seeing in the near future.


    "¡­I''m back." Closing his eyes for a bit as he gave himself all the time he needed to limate and adjust to all of his strength returning, Valyr soon let out a low sigh as a smile appeared on his face.


    Doing a once-over on his entire body with the help of some Water-based magic, the young man was eventually able to confirm that he had truly returned as Valyr Zeihardt, allowing the slight doubt he had at the back of his mind to finally disappear once and for all.


    "The shifting between strengths will definitely take some getting used to," muttered Valyr to himself, briefly checking through his status screen to see if the fact that he now had two identities caused his current strength to drop one way or another.


    Seeing that nothing in his status screen seemed amiss, he then moved onto his list of skills, eventually finding four new ones that weren''t there back when he had yet to be fused with his past self.


    "As expected," said the young man to himself, letting out a slight chuckle after confirming that his earlier suspicions were correct. "[Soul Shift], [Soul Fusion], [Soul Split], and [Mark of the Fifth Administrator]."


    "I had a feeling those skills would be carried over."


    "It wouldn''t make much sense otherwise," he continued, letting out the breath he''d been subconsciously holding for quite some time.


    With him now having confirmed firsthand that he''d be able to switch back and forth between being an NPC and being a yer without issues, Valyr immediately felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders at that moment.


    Then again, that relief soon turned into excitement not long after as he recalled the idea he came up with earlier. Specifically, the idea he had that would allow his yer self to gain a massive head start over the other yers.


    ''Well, it''s not like I have all the time in the world in this form.'' Suppressing the excitement he felt at that moment, Valyr decided to bring up the remaining time he had in his current form before conjuring a spatial rift in front of him.


    ''Gotta make the most out of the limited time I have as possible.''


    ''With that¡­ time to head to the Mystic ne.''


    ¡­


    Whoosh!


    Closing the rift he opened behind him, Valyr soon found himself within the iridescentndscape of the Mystic ne, promptly reminding him of thest time he entered the concept ne.


    ''Last time I came here was when I asked Mystia to contact Riekan in my stead,'' thought Valyr to himself, only to let out a wry chuckle as he thought about the events that came soon after he left.


    ''Now that I think about it, if I include the fact that Veldanyr couldn''t be essed by the yers for a day, only two days have passed in Greater Beyond since the incident with the Vessel of Envy.''


    ''To think a lot has happened to me since then¡­''


    ''Welp. Time to find Mystia.''


    "[sh of the Azure Dragon]."


    "[Flight of the Azure Dragon]."


    Whoosh!


    Faintly letting out a sigh of amazement at the thought, the young man began to move through the Mystic ne at the fastest speed he could muster.


    At the same time, he took his time at the Mystic ne as an opportunity to see if the difference in time flow also affected how much time he had left before [Soul Shift] deactivated on his own.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for him to obtain the answer to that question, seeing that each second on his duration counter ticked down slower within the Mystic ne than it did back in Veldanyr. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Seeing that, it did not take long for him toe to a conclusion. ''In other words, I could theoretically stay as my NPC self forever, given that I''m in some sort of ce where the difference in time is high enough for it to be feasible.''


    Though, as he pondered over the matter a bit further, a bitter smile soon began to creep up onto his lips. ''But what''s the point of doing that if I wouldn''t be able to fulfill my goals in that ce?''


    Briefly shaking his head as he decided not to think about it any further, Valyr swiftly returned his focus to finding where Mystia was, eventually recalling where she was thest time they met up.


    Getting the feeling that she''d still be there even though over a week has passed in the Mystic ne, the young man decided to trust in his gut feeling, only to find out that they were correct the moment he found two familiar silhouettes appear in his view.


    "Oh?" Feeling a presence appear high above the air behind them, both Mystia and Marcus turned to look at who it was, causing their eyes to widen in slight surprise after realizing it was Valyr.


    "Back so soon, Valyr?" Watching the young mannd on the ground before her with a slight smile on his face, Mystia looked back at him with a raised eyebrow before returning to the work she was doing. "Didn''t you ask for my help looking for Riekan earlier?"


    "I did." Valyr nodded, briefly ncing at Marcus before returning his attention to Mystia. "Coincidentally, I was able to meet up with him the moment I left the Mystic ne."


    "So, you were able to fulfill his request, then?" asked the woman in response.


    "Let''s just say the scope of it extended far beyond what it originally was," replied Valyr with a slight chuckle before shifting the topic of the conversation to what he wanted to talk about. "Anyways, I didn''te here to update you on that."


    "Instead, I wanted to ask you for a favor."


    "What kind of favor?" asked Mystia, ncing back at the young man with a slightly raised eyebrow.


    "I just need a couple of elixirs and potions. That''s all," replied Valyr with a slight smile.


    "Though, it would be nice if I could also get the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction back."

 Chapter 1247 Preparing the Head Start

    Chapter 1247 Preparing the Head Start


    "Oh, sure." Hearing that Valyr wanted the tincture back, Mystia swiftly nodded, having no intention of continuing to keep the tincture for herself. "It''s on the rightmost table. You should recognize it once you see it."


    "Thanks." Nodding at her words in response, the young man made his way to her tables, eventually finding the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction at the ce she mentioned.


    Storing the tincture into his spatial bracelet after that, he then looked at what Mystia was doing for a bit, prompting a question on the matter to eventually pop up in his mind. "Now that I think about it, what did you do with the tincture, exactly?"


    "Used it as a reference," replied Mystia, causing Valyr''s eyes to widen in surprise as he immediately understood what she meant by that.


    "Wait¡­ are you trying to recreate the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction?" asked the young man, prompting the woman to look back at him with a faint smile before tilting her head in slight uncertainty.


    "Well¡­ I guess you could say I''m doing that," replied Mystia as she rified herself. "Though, if you want me to be more specific, I''m trying to create my own set of elixirs based on the various tinctures." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "After all, if you look at it from the perspective of maintaining efficacy, the approach it uses is quite handy."


    After saying those words, Mystia then gave Valyr a brief exnation of the rewards she got from Scho''doxa during the tournament, talking about how the man taught her the methods to concoct the elixir in exchange for having lost to him.


    "Although it would be a piece of cake for me to concoct the Tincture of Greater Reconstruction right now, I face the problem of sourcing the materials needed to concoct it in the first ce," said Mystia with a wry smile on her face. "In fact, it''s even worse for the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction. I''d need to head to five different gxies just to source out the materials needed to concoct it."


    "If the materials were at a near Veldanyr, then I might have risked it and made the trip." At those words, Mystia let out a faint sigh. "¡­But even the Tincture of Greater Reconstruction needs me to travel to the edges of our own gxy for the materials it needs."


    "And thus, I''m trying to adapt the format to create an elixir using local materials," concluded the woman before looking at Valyr with gratitude. "The fact that you allowed me to borrow your tincture for a while definitely helped a lot."


    "Honestly thought you''d ask for it thest time you came here, actually," said Mystia. "To be honest, most of the breakthroughs I''ve achieved so far have all urred during the past week you weren''t here."


    "I see." Valyr nodded, mostly d that Mystia was able to gain a lot from the Rise to Prominence tournament, even though she ended up surrendering to him at the end of the fifth round.


    Then again, he did find it odd that she mentioned that only a week had passed since thest time he came to the Mystic ne.


    After all, wasn''t it supposed to be almost two weeks with the time difference?


    "Aside from the tincture, is it fine if I could get a couple more elixirs and potions from you?" Deciding to think that she merely forgot the passage of time because of what she was working on, Valyr brought up his initial request once more.


    "What kind of elixirs, exactly?" asked Mystia, her focus still mostly on the work she was doing.


    "Something along the lines of Constitution Refinement Elixir, hopefully," replied Valyr after a bit of hesitation. "¡­Or something like the True Rebirth Pill you gave me."


    The first step of the n Valyr had in mind to give his yer a massive head start was to rely on the existence of elixirs that permanently boosted one''s stats.


    At first, he thought of concocting the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs in his current form. After all, with the teachings Mystia gave him in the past, he could be said to be well-aplished in the world of alchemy.


    With that, he''d be able to more or less match the strength he had in the past at Rank 0, though the focus this time around would lean more towards magic rather than strength.


    Though, just as he thought that the next step to his n was to forge mage equipment for his yer self, the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction he''d yet to use popped up in his mind, prompting him to expand on his n a bit further.


    Because of that, he decided to make it his goal to improve his stats as much as possible while still being at Rank 0, which would expand the selection of sses he had once the time to ascend to a higher ss rank came.


    After all, if he did all of the other steps he did in the past before he ascended to Rank 1, he was certain that he''d be able to obtain at least a ss at the same rarity as his first cksmith ss, if not rarer.


    However, with the fact that his horizons had been widened with the existence of Adam and Eve, as well as the existence of [Soul Fusion], Valyr felt that relying on the Reinforcement Elixir and Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction alone wouldn''t be enough.


    And so, he decided to try his luck, asking Mystia if she could spare some of the elixirs she''d given him back then. After all, a great portion of the reason why he could reach an absurd level of power was all thanks to her concoctions.


    Fortunately for him, it didn''t seem like his attempts at asking for more elixirs would be rejected from the get-go.


    "What would you need them for?" asked Mystia with a raised eyebrow, her focus now entirely on him. "You''ve consumed those elixirs already, no?"


    "Well¡­" Scratching the back of his head at those words, Valyr quickly came up with an excuse. "I was nning to give them to someone, actually."


    Seeing her frown at his words in response, it did not take long for him to realize that his words could be easily misinterpreted to mean something else.


    With that, the young man forced the gears in his mind to turn on overdrive as he continued to talk. "I''m sure I''ve already mentioned this to you before, but I''ve decided to stay in a vige for the meantime."


    "Of course, the reason behind that choice was due to the yers Scho''doxa mentioned during the tournament."


    "While there, I came across a yer that looked to be quite talented in mana control." Saying these words, Valyr made sure not to show his nervousness on the outside. "However, no one took notice of it as many yers were appearing in the vige every day."


    "No one¡­ except for me."


    With that as his basis, Valyr continued to expand on the excuse he came up with, talking about how there wasn''t much opportunity for the yer''s talents to shine due to the fact that the other yers were hogging up all of the beasts that existed on the outskirts of the vige.


    At some point, he even began to believe in his own lie as well, allowing his expression to remain calm by the time he was done expounding.


    "¡­And you''re telling me all of this, why?" Then again, even though he was already done exining, Mystia continued to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I see no benefit in doing so whatsoever."


    "Well, I thought about taking him under my wing," replied Valyr as he scratched his cheek. "I''ll support him with the elixirs you''ll give me so that his talents could fully shine. I''m sure that, with enough time, he''d be an exemry mage."


    "An exemry mage that¡­ might possibly be a part of the Mystic ne in the future? A good idea, no?"


    "¡­" In response to those words, Mystia remained silent before closing her eyes for a bit, pondering over all of the things Valyr told her as she thought about the right decision to make.


    In the end, she let out a long sigh as she looked back at him. "¡­As long as you swear under a mana oath that you''ll spare no cost to make sure he bes a part of the Mystic ne, then I''ll ede to your request."


    Hearing those words, Valyr merely smiled.


    "Deal."

 Chapter 1248 The Items Obtained

    Chapter 1248 The Items Obtained


    Whoosh!


    Crossing through the rift that led him out of the Mystic ne, Valyr immediately let out a cackle filled with excitement the moment he appeared in Daffors Vige once more.


    ''I definitely got more than I thought I would this time,'' thought the young man to himself,briefly thinking back on the various elixirs Mystia had given him after he epted her request to swear a mana oath.


    Surprisingly, just as he had requested from Mystia before he brought up the existence of the fictional yer, the alchemist went ahead and gave him a bottle of Constitution Refinement Elixir, which immediately prompted him to thank her with immense gratitude.


    Though, not long after, she also gave him a set of the True Rebirth Pill and the Mystic Vial he consumed in the past, which caused his eyes to widen in surprise as he looked at Mystia with his mouth slightly agape.


    Although he was incredibly d that Mystia had acquiesced to give him some of her elixirs, Valyr expected at most that he''d only be given one of the two.


    After all, the effects these items had on their own were already incredible enough for people to fight over in auctions. Aside from that, he had a strong feeling that Mystia toiled a lot just to concoct these elixirs.


    With that in mind, he decided to give back the pill and vial set to Mystia, telling her that only one of the two items was more than enough for him. At the same time, he asked her why she gave him the two items in the first ce.


    In response, she told him that she gave both items to him in the hopes that the yer that caught his eye would be able to improve at a faster rate. "In fact, there''s a slight synergistic effect between the two items," Mystia added after that. "One awakens hidden stats, while the other one improves upon it. It would definitely save that yer of yours quite a lot of trouble, no?"


    "Well, yes¡­ but doesn''t making these elixirs take a lot of time and effort to do so?" asked Valyr back, not hesitating to speak out his thoughts from earlier. "I appreciate the gesture, but having both seems a bit too much."


    "No? Who told you it takes me a lot of time and effort to concoct those items?" Hearing Valyr''s words, Mystia raised her eyebrows in slight confusion before opening a spatial rift in front of Valyr.


    Whoosh!


    Curious as to why she opened up a spatial rift before him, the young man decided to peer into it, only to be left at aplete loss for words when he noticed that there were multiple copies of Constitution Refinement Elixir on the other side.


    Not only that, but the True Rebirth Pills and Mystic Vials existed on the other side in droves, alongside many other elixirs that seemed to have miraculous effects in his eyes.


    "Remember, I have Mystic Rune Alchemy," said Mystia with a slight smile, closing the spatial rift before Valyr after feeling that she got her point across. "The only problem I face when concocting elixirs would be materials."


    "¡­You could create those elixirs with Mystic Rune Alchemy?" said Valyr in response, his expression and tone still in slight disbelief. After all, as far as his knowledge of alchemy extended, such elixirs needed hundreds of materials to be concocted. If not that, then they needed to bebined in certain ways in order for a specific effect to appear.


    Unexpectedly, Mystia''s off-handedment shone a light in Valyr''s mind of what Mystic Rune Alchemy was truly capable of, reminding him that his aplishments in alchemy could be considered as him only barely scratching the surface.


    Having no reason to refuse her goodwill any further after that, Valyr stowed both the elixir and the pill and vial set into his spatial bracelet, only for Mystia to give him what looked like a fruit, as well as an old skill book.


    ''ording to her, the fruit and the old skill book were items she kept in the off chance she ever epted a disciple that was highly talented in the world of mana control.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''However, since I was the disciple she ended up epting, she eventually deemed the items as having no use for her,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself as he made his way to an even more secluded part of the vige.


    Whoosh!


    Swiftly bringing out the fruit out of his spatial bracelet, the young man continued where his train of thought left off. ''And thus, she decided to give it to me¡­ telling me that the ''yer'' that caught my eye would greatly benefit from it.''


    ''Well¡­ she wouldn''t be wrong.''


    "[Superior Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Mana Essence Fruit] (Item)


    Rarity: Mythic


    There existed legends of a fruit that would only appear in environments with incredibly dense mana¡­ description has been omitted.


    Once consumed, this fruit reforges the user''s body, greatly attuning their mind and body to the existence of mana, increasing their INT and WIS by 25 points each. This fruit also gives the user the passive skill [Mana-forged Body], which gives the user the ability to manipte mana on a finer level, the ability to replenish mana at a faster rate, as well as the ability to overclock their mana circuits.


    This fruit also gives the user a small chance to awaken some of the potential slumbering within their bodies, attuning themselves even more to the existence of mana.


    It is said that almost all mages remembered throughout history have consumed this fruit during their youth.


    [Note: This fruit can only be consumed by a being at Rank 0.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Wow." Using his identification skill on the fruit, Valyr was soon left at a loss for words by the time he was done reading through its description.


    After all, the fruit''s effects were exactly what he needed to be an extremely powerful mage!


    "A boost to INT and WIS, greater mana control, greater mana regeneration, and even the ability to overclock mana circuits¡­" "Now I''m curious what the skill book has offer." Muttering these words to himself, the young man eventually felt his attention gravitate towards the other item he got from Mystia.


    Whoosh!


    Taking out the old skill book from his spatial bracelet, Valyr gave it a quick once-over before asking himself, "Surely, there''s a reason why she gave me this, right?"


    "[Superior Analysis]."

 Chapter 1249 Mana Circuit

    Chapter 1249 Mana Circuit


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles] (Skill)


    Rarity: Epic


    During ancient times, there was a being known by many as the Grand Sage. Having picked up almost every profession and style ofbat that could ever exist in the universe, it is said that there is no person wiser than him that exists in the universe.


    However, little did people know that the reason why the Grand Sage has picked up every profession was all for the sole purpose of his main goal.


    The goal to reach the pinnacle of power with pure magic.


    With the knowledge and experience he umted through various fields and professions, the Grand Sage was eventually able to formte a mana circuit that allowed his strength to transcend realms, rendering him nigh-invincible within the universe.


    Unfortunately, no recordings nor writings of this exact mana circuit was left by the Grand Sage before he ascended to an even higher realm of power. All people could find were his scribblings of ideas rted to the matter.


    Yet, even those scribblings were enough for the universe to work together and create a mana circuit so magnificent, it was touted by many to be the ideal mana circuit for those who aimed for the most power.


    There are some that say that this mana circuit is the key to recovering the full mana circuit of the Grand Sage that was lost to time, but only time will tell if that were the truth.


    This skill allows the user to form a mana circuit that would allow mana to cycle throughout their bodies at an incredibly fast rate, improving the rate at which they regain mana, the damage their magic spells deal, as well as the speed at which they could cast these spells again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­To think it was a mana circuit skill." By the time Valyr was done reading through the description of the skill book, he let out a slight chuckle. "It seems Mystia was nning to raise a disciple that would be a powerful mage."


    "Then again, considering that mages are basically made for alchemy¡­ it makes sense."


    Mana circuit, spellcasting, and incantation.


    These three skills were considered the bread and butter of what made a person a proper mage.


    Spellcasting was the skill one needed if one wanted to smoothly control the mana within their bodies to cast spells that contain unimaginable power. With a bit of time and effort, it was possible for one to cast multiple spells at the same time. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    On the other hand, incantations were needed if one wanted to transform thetent power contained within mana into the form that was necessary for the spell they activated.


    With enough time and effort, it was possible to omit them entirely, transforming one''s mana into the form they needed with just a single thought.


    Because of how intrinsic these skills were to the existence of magic, it could be said that both spellcasting and incantation were skills that almost every person picked up, especially if they wanted to cast magic.


    Even Valyr was no exemption to that, having picked up both spellcasting and incantation skills in the past to utilize the various magic skills and spells that he had in his arsenal.


    However, unlike spellcasting and incantation, mana circuits weren''t really amon skill for a person to obtain.


    After all, by having a mana circuit skill, it meant that your path lied in the world of magic, or mostly had something to do with magic.


    This was due to the fact that mana circuit skills increased the potency and purity of the mana within one''s body in various ways. There were some mana circuit skills that focused on improving the power in one''s spells as much as possible. There were also some mana circuit skills that focused on reducing the cooldown between spells as much as possible.


    Of course, there were also mana circuit skills that did both, such as the [Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles] Valyr had.


    "Some say that mana circuits are basically the magic version of weapon mastery skills," muttered Valyr to himself as he closed the screen he brought up. "Well, it''s not like that analogy is wrong."


    "But it''s not like that analogy is correct either."


    From what he could recall while talking about mana circuits with his mage friends in the past, mana circuits acted as both a stat-boosting skill and a weapon mastery skill, with each mana circuit usually focusing more on one or the other.


    "Judging from the name of the mana circuit skill I got¡­ I''ve got a feeling that it''s more of a stat-boosting skill," said Valyr to himself as he looked at the old skill book for a bit more.


    Eventually, he ced the skill book back into his spatial bracelet, letting out a slightly content sigh before making his way to the Forge of Beginnings.


    ''Now that I''ve got the elixirs and a surprisingly strong mana circuit skill, all that''s left is some mage gear, as well as some other misceneous skills I''d need to be all set up.''


    ''Speaking of which, I wonder how Juno is doing?'' asked the young man to himself, recalling that the moment he and his past self interacted with one another was when Juno was helping him manage the shop.


    ''Hopefully he''s still managing the shop on his own,'' thought the young man to himself, finding it a slight waste if the man were to close the shop after that incident happened.


    However, just as he thought he''d be greeted by the sight of the shop being swarmed by yers the moment he arrived, Valyr was instead greeted by the sight of Juno sitting by the side of the entrance, seemingly waiting for him to arrive.


    "¡­What are you doing here?" asked the young man the moment he arrived at the shop, his expression that of immense confusion.


    "What do you mean what am I doing here?" asked Juno as he looked back at Valyr, also confused. "Didn''t you send me a message a few hours ago toe to the shop early?"


    "Did I?" Valyr could only look back at the man in even more confusion. "I''m pretty sure I sent that message over a day¡­ ago¡­?"


    "No¡­ wait¡­"


    "Wait a second¡­"

 Chapter 1250 The Final Lesson

    Chapter 1250 The Final Lesson


    Mulling over the thoughts popping up in his mind for a bit, Valyr eventually looked back at Juno as he asked him, "Remind me¡­ when did I send you the message toe here again?"


    "A few hours ago," said Juno in response, the young man''s earlier words causing him greater confusion. "Are you feeling unwell or something? Did your personal task unintentionally make you misread the time?"


    "Perhaps," replied Valyr in a mutter, the gears in his mind whirring on overdrive as he nced at where the sun was from time to time. "Honestly, I still haven''t gotten a wink of sleep after I was done with it."


    "¡­You shouldn''t have asked me toe here, then." Hearing those words, the confusion Juno felt was immediately reced with concern. "As a fellow cksmith, I know there are days where we forgo sleep for the sake of the craft, but you should really take a rest when you have the opportunity to do so."


    "I¡­" Just as he was about to give a perfunctory reply to his concerns, Valyr felt as if he''d finally figured out what was going on, prompting him to look at Juno with a slight smile. "¡­Will do thatter."


    "After all, I didn''t ask you toe to the shop for no reason." He chuckled, the gears in his mind continuing to turn as he adjusted his n ordingly.


    At the same time, he thought about the conclusion he arrived at regarding his current situation. ''I thought there was something amiss back when I talked to Mystia, but this pretty much confirms it.''


    ''The entire day has been reset.'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After hearing from Mystia that only a week or so had passed in the Mystic ne while he''d been away, Valyr immediately found those words slightly odd, considering the fact that he spent the equivalent of an entire day in Veldanyr back on Earth.


    With that, it would''ve been more apt for her to say that almost two weeks had passed over a bit over two weeks had passed since thest time he appeared in the Mystic ne.


    Yet, for some reason, she did not.


    Of course, with the fact that he was there for her elixirs, Valyr did not pursue the peculiarity any further.


    Though, as if he was fated to take notice of it one way or another, Juno appeared beside the closed Forge of Beginnings, telling him about the message he sent him that would have technically been sent over a day ago by now.


    With those two things as his basis, the young man pushed all of his stats to their utmost limits as he focused his attention on his current surroundings, prompting him to eventuallye to the realization that the entire day had been reset.


    Specifically, the day where he and his past self interacted with one another.


    ''And here I thought the two would only do a few things here and there during the maintenance to return things back to how they were before,'' thought Valyr to himself, taking note of Juno''s curious look at him.


    ''Yet, to think that they actually brought the timeline back to the time before that fateful meeting unfolded¡­''


    ''I guess that would be the move to make, considering the power they wield as Administrators. Then again, it probably has something to do with thews of time paradox that caused me to end up in my current situation.'' ''¡­On second thought, it''s highly likely¡­ or mostly certain.''


    ''Well¡­ at least they didn''t bring the timeline back to the point where Riekan and I were still fighting against the Vessel of Envy,'' inwardly muttered the young man to himself with a slightly wry smile, only to shift his focus back to the man in front of him.


    "So, why did you ask me toe here so early?" Seeing that Valyr was finally finished pondering over what he had in mind, Juno took the opportunity to ask him the question that had been bugging him since he arrived.


    "Well, I was actually nning to give you an offer you probably wouldn''t resist," replied the young man with a smile. "Though, with how long I''ve taken toe here, I probably defeated the purpose of youing here early."


    "Were you nning to teach me the art of cksmithing?" asked Juno after giving it a bit of thought.


    "I was nning to teach you either way, but I was hoping I could teach you for a bit longer," said Valyr, only for his smile to soon turn bittersweet.


    "After all, this might be thest time I''d be able to teach you."


    "¡­What do you mean by that?" Unsurprisingly, the man''s eyes widened at those words, the gears in his mind swiftly turning as he continued to look at Valyr in slight confusion.


    "Wait¡­" Then again, it did not take long for him toe up with an answer, prompting the confusion on his face to be reced with slight sadness. "Are you¡­ leaving?"


    At those words, Valyr merely gave him an apologetic smile as he opened the shop.


    Seeing that the young man was making his way to where the workshop was, Juno took in a deep breath to quell the various thoughts lingering in his mind at that moment, only to follow behind him not long after.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Taking out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet, Valyr went ahead and took out a few more forging hammers from it before willing a few pairs of translucent arms to appear behind his back.


    "[Ephemeral Limbs of the First cksmith]."


    Infusing them with all of the Prime Azure Energy they could ask for, the young man then willed half of them to grab the forging hammers he brought out, only for him to then will the remaining half to start the furnace.


    "Just a bit of warm-up," said Valyr to Juno, giving the furnace all the time it needed to swiftlye up to temperature before chucking in a bunch of materials into it.


    Then, with the experience he umted after doing it over thousands of times at this point, the young man then proceeded to forge piece after piece of equipment with the help of his translucent arms, with all pairs moving as if they were doing an interpretative dance.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Although Valyr''s forging skills increased the amount of time he took to forge an item in exchange for greater quality, each piece of equipment he forged only took him 15 minutes at most due to how simple the pieces were.


    Nevertheless, each piece still contained a great amount of power, a testament of the time and effort Valyr had put in to bettering his craft as a cksmith.


    "Alright. I think I''m ready." As these words left Valyr''s mouth, Juno took notice that the young man had forged what looked to be an armor set, as well as a weapon made for a mage.


    Not thinking too much about it, he then watched as Valyr stowed all of those items into his spatial bracelet before looking at him with a slight grin.


    "Now then¡­"


    "Shall we start our final lesson?"

 Chapter 1251 The Final Touches

    Chapter 1251 The Final Touches


    "This is¡­"


    "Wow¡­"


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    As this was the young man''s final lesson to him, Valyr decided to forge an item at a pace that was easier for Juno to follow, even going so far as to forgo the usage of his translucent arms during the forging process.


    Because of that, it was as if the veil shrouding the young man''s methods from Juno had finally been removed, allowing him to view each and every step of his forging process with great rity.


    From the materials he selected for the equipment, to the hammering techniques he used to get the materials to his desired shape, the manmitted all of them to memory, not even taking his eyes off Valyr''s movements for even a second in fear of missing even a single detail.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Surprisingly, as Valyr continued to forge an item for Juno, thetter''s action ofmitting the young man''s movements to memory gradually became a part of his subconscious.


    With that, he began to peer beyond the movements Valyr did on the surface, seemingly tapping into a higher realm of cksmithing at that very moment.


    Then again, it was not as if only Juno was undergoing a bout of sudden enlightenment.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    Although his body continued to move ording to the forging process he''dpleted thousands of times already, Valyr also began to peer beyond his monotonous movements unknowingly, feeling as if he was taking a glimpse into the origins of cksmithing.


    Or better yet, its true essence.


    Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!


    With the fact that he decided to forgo using his translucent arms unlike before, almost all of Valyr''s attention was wholly undivided, allowing him to make the most of the opportunity he''d given himself as heprehended more and more about the art of cksmithing.


    Because of that, by the time he finished forging the item, the young man felt as if his connection with the world had be one level stronger, causing him to temporarily feel like he was filled to the brim with boundless energy.


    Ding!


    [In the world of cksmithing, many cksmiths seek greaterplexity in their techniques in order to achieve greater results.]


    [However, only those who are able to returnplexity into simplicity have the ability to allow their crafts to truly transcend beyond realms, their feats spreading across time and space.]


    [Your understanding of the concept of cksmithing has deepened and crystallized even further, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to tap into a greater portion of its nigh-infinite power.]


    [Your Intent of Forging has ascended to 5th Grade.]


    [Your Intent of the Forger''s mes has ascended to 5th Grade.]


    ''¡­Who knew I''d end up improving two of my Intents to the 5th Grade?'' Taking a bit of time to consolidate his gains and adjust to the newfound strength coursing throughout his body, it was only after a few minutes had passed did Valyr open his eyes, grinning the very moment he took a look at his notification screen.


    ''The Intent of Forging, as well as the Intent of the Forger''s mes.'' The young man inwardly let out a chuckle. ''Still got a long way to go before they reach the level of Forces, but at least it''s a step in the right direction.''


    ''I wonder how Juno is doing?'' asked Valyr to himself not long after, only to be greeted by the sight of the man with his closed eyes the moment he turned his head to look at him.


    Getting the feeling that Juno was experiencing something simr to what he went through just now, Valyr decided not to disturb the man, instead shifting his attention back to the item he finished crafting in the midst of his own enlightenment.


    "Quite the fine forging hammer," murmured the young man as he brought up its description in front of him. "If I didn''t have the Hammer of Beginnings, I''d probably keep it for myself."


    "But since this is probably thest time I''d be able to teach him¡­" ncing at Juno for a bit more, the young man eventually took out a piece of parchment from his spatial bracelet before writing down a lengthy paragraph on it.


    Faintly nodding in contentment by the time he was done, Valyr then went ahead and changed his appearance with [Thousand Polymorph] before silently making his way out of the shop.


    ''Although I may not be able to teach you anything else for now¡­''


    ''I hope all you''ve learned will make you be a renowned cksmith in the future, Juno.''


    ¡­


    "Mmh¡­"


    "¡­Mn?"


    Feeling like many hours had passed ever since he felt his eyes close, Juno took a while to rouse his consciousness, his thoughts still going over the various new insights he had about the art of cksmithing.


    "¡­Eh?" Because of that, by the time he was able to focus on his surroundings once more, the man was immediately left at a loss for words, noticing that Valyr was nowhere to be seen.


    "Where did he go?"


    Seeing that the young man had left the shop without a trace, Juno could not help but let out a slight sigh. "¡­And here I thought I could talk to him about the insights I had on cksmithing." Scratching the back of his head at what he thought was a missed opportunity, the man thought about looking for his whereabouts, only to take notice of the forging hammer Valyr made on the anvil, as well as the piece of parchment stuck underneath it.


    "Why did he leave these here?" asked the man to himself in a slight murmur, his minding up with various ideas that connected the items to Valyr''s sudden disappearance.


    Though, once he took a look at the parchment the young man left him, he decided not to think about those questions any further, instead focusing his attention on the words Valyr had written down. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "If you''re reading this, Juno¡­ then that means I have already left the vige."


    "With that, I''ve decided to give the ownership over the Forge of Beginnings to you."


    ¡­


    "Well, that was easier than I thought."


    Appearing at the edges of arge forest a few dozen kilometers away from Algerie Kingdom, Valyr swiftly made his way to one of its clearings before letting out a sigh of relief.


    "[Basic Spellcasting]¡­ [Basic Incantation]¡­ [Analysis]¡­ yeah. I think I''ve got everything I need."


    Sitting down on arge boulder, Valyr took a quick look at the skill books he just bought, most of which were the essential skills necessary for one to be considered a mage.


    "Alright. Looks good." After saying these words, the young man faintly nodded in satisfaction before cing all of the skill books he just bought on the ground.


    After that, he took out the elixirs, as well as the fruit and the mana circuit skill Mystia gave him from his spatial bracelet.


    Taking out a whole batch of Basic Reinforcement Elixirs, a spare spatial bracelet, as well as a small pouch of money filled with gold coins after that, it was only then did Valyr feel at ease, letting out yet another sigh of relief before grinning.


    "Since I''ve already prepared everything I needed to prepare¡­"


    "It''s time to get this show on the road."


    "[Soul Shift].

 Chapter 1252 The Strongest Player (1)

    1252 The Strongest yer (1)


    Whoosh! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "¡­This really does take some time getting used to."


    Feeling all of the strength coursing throughout his body earlier be reduced to next to nothing within a matter of seconds, Valyr began to wryly smile as his appearance returned to that of his yer avatar.


    Heading to a stream he found nearby to confirm that his hair had turned light gray and his eyes had turned gold, the young man let out a faint sigh of relief as he returned to where he ced all of the items he brought out.


    "Now then¡­ what should I start with first?" As this question left his mouth, Valyr briefly took a look at the remaining duration he had for [Soul Shift] to be usable, quickly finding out that he spent roughly a third of it just to prepare everything.


    Reminding himself to use the skill more sparingly from now on, it was only then did the young man fully focus his attention on the items he brought out, pondering as to which order he should use or consume all of them.


    "Well, it only makes sense that I should go for the set of Basic Reinforcement Elixir first." Fortunately, it did not take long for him toe up with a rough guide on what elixirs to use first.


    After all, almost all of the elixirs he brought out for his yer self to consume were items that he''d already consumed back then as his NPC self. With that, he already knew what kind of side effects he''d have to deal with in exchange for their effects.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [After drinking vials of Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, you have gained +10 VIT, +10 STR, +10 AGI, +10 DEX, +10 INT, +10 WIS, and +10 PER.]


    [As you have consumed 10 vials of both Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, your body has reached the initial state of tempering, achieving Basic Reinforcement.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Basic Reinforced Body and Soul''.]


    Swoosh!


    Downing the vials of Basic Reinforcement Elixir one by one, Valyr simultaneously began to feel both a cooling sensation, as well as a burning sensation spread throughout the entirety of his body.


    Although the areas where the two sensations shed briefly made him feel difort, by the time the sensations subsided, his body began to feel like it contained multiple times more strength than ever.


    "With this, I now have stats exceeding that of a peak Rank 0 ss holder." Taking a look at his status screen, Valyr let out a faint chuckle as he thought about how he was getting excited over such a minuscule improvement.


    Of course, it was only minuscule whenpared to the amount of stats he gained as an NPC.


    Allocating all of his unused stat points on INT for the meantime, the young man then returned his attention back to the remaining elixirs.


    "With the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs now done, I now have to choose between the tincture, the pill and the vial, the fruit, or the Constitution Refinement Elixir."


    "Considering how both items take into consideration the distribution of my stats, I suppose it would be better to save the tincture and the elixir near the end," muttered Valyr to himself, recalling their descriptions in detail.


    "With that, I have to choose either to take the pill and the vial first, or the fruit first."


    "Hmm¡­" Closing his eyes for a bit as the gears in his mind turned, Valyr eventually decided that he would take the pill and the vial first.


    After all, just like the set of Basic Reinforcement Elixir, the True Rebirth Pill and the Mystic Vial would raise all of his stats evenly.


    ¡­Although it dide at the cost of rendering him unconscious for a while.


    "Huuu¡­" Moving all of the remaining items he had yet to use closer to a nearby tree, Valyr let out a calming breath as he began to lean on the tree, preparing everything beforehand to make sure all of the items wouldn''t be stolen while he was unconscious.


    Giving himself all the time he needed to enter a tranquil state, the young man let out yet another calming breath as he covered the remaining items with his body.


    Then, as if he were eating a piece of chewing gum, he then ced the True Rebirth Pill into his mouth, causing it to melt as its effects gradually spread throughout the entirety of his body.


    "¡­Mmph!"


    However, rather than be greeted by a pleasant sensation or a sensation simr to what he experienced with the Basic Reinforcement Elixirs, Valyr was instead greeted by a sensation he''d forgotten he experienced when he consumed the True Rebirth Pill for the first time.


    "Bleeeerrrggh¡­" With nausea overwhelming all of his senses at the same time, it was no surprise that the young man was forced to vomit out the contents of his stomach on the side, briefly feeling as if he''d woken up from his worst hangover to date.


    ncing at the ck mass he''d been vomiting out, only to get a faint whiff of the stench it exuded, Valyr decided to close his eyes as he allowed the pill to continue doing its magic, which it eventually began to do so after a minute of vomiting had passed.


    Swoosh!


    Feeling a soothing sensation course throughout his body the moment he stopped feeling an intense bout of nausea, the young man inwardly let out a wide sigh of relief as he knew he''d endured the worst part of consuming the True Rebirth Pill.


    Allowing the soothing sensation to continue doing its work, a series of notification sounds soon echoed throughout Valyr''s mind the moment it began to disappear, bringing along with it a feeling of newfound strength welling up within his body.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the passive skill ''Enhanced Mana''.]


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the passive skill ''Enhanced Vitality''.]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the effects of the True Rebirth Pill, you have gained the following stats: +80 VIT, +80 STR, +80 AGI, +80 DEX, +80 INT, +80 WIS, +80 PER, and +80 LUK.]


    Reading through the notifications he received, Valyr had a wide grin on his face after seeing that the effects of the True Rebirth Pill were the same as before, giving him a massive 80 point boost to all of his stats.


    Aside from that, it gave him the same two skills that slightly boosted his HP and MP, as well as ess to the same two hidden stats he already had close to 50 points of as an NPC.


    "I was already expecting it, but the fact that I now have two hidden stats while still not having chosen a ss is¡­ insane," muttered the young man to himself, finding it unreal that his stats were already nearing the triple digit mark while still being at Rank 0.


    Then again, although this thought made him more curious as to how strong he''d be by the time he was done consuming all of the items he prepared, Valyr swiftly calmed himself down.


    "I''ve only consumed two of the items I''ve prepared so far. I still have a lot more to go through," reminded the young man to himself, closing his eyes for a bit before picking up the Mystic Vial.


    "¡­Bottoms up."


    I am reminded that Valyr is ridiculously overpowered.


    Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!


    Also, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/FU7fdYwaau


    Hope to see you there!


    TrueDawn

 Chapter 1253 The Strongest Player (2)

    Chapter 1253 The Strongest yer (2)


    "¡­"


    "Ugh¡­"


    Feeling like every inch of his body was battered and beaten to the point of exhaustion, Valyr took a while to rouse from his untimely slumber as he tried his best to recall what happened.


    "After consuming the True Rebirth Pill¡­ I decided to proceed with the Mystic Vial¡­" murmured the young man to himself, closing his eyes every once in a while to give his mind a slight breather.


    "Then, once I downed all of its contents¡­ a wave of coldness spread throughout my entire body¡­ and then¡­"


    "¡­Ah."


    "I remember now. The effects of the Mystic Vial strike again," said the young man with a bitter smile before letting out a low sigh. "Then again, from what I recall during thest time I consumed it, I was only hit by a wave of coldness."


    "Why the hell do I feel like I''ve been working my entire body out for hours on end until I ran out of energy?"


    Though curious as to why the vial also gave him severe exhaustion as a side effect, the young man eventually tossed the thought to the back of his head, giving his body and mind all the time it needed to recover from its current condition.


    Fortunately, with the effects the Mystic Vial brought him, it only took a couple of minutes before he began feeling like he''d returned to the way he was before.


    In fact, after a few more minutes had passed, he felt like he''d gained a second wind of sorts, an illusion brought about by the strength he just gained coursing throughout his body.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Though, just as he was about to check how much strength he''d gained rtive to the increase in stats he received, a series of notification sounds soon resounded within the young man''s mind.


    [Due to the effects of the Mystic Vial, the remnant energies from the True Rebirth Pill have been awakened, causing its effects to rise once more.]


    [You have gained the following stats: +20 VIT, +20 STR, +20 AGI, +20 DEX, +20 INT, +20 WIS, +20 PER, and +20 LUK.]


    [¡­]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Mystic Energy Empowerment''.]


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Mystic Energy Vessel''.]


    [You have gained the active skill ''Basic Mystic Energy Maniption''.]


    "¡­Now this makes me question how I''d get to the Mystic ne as a yer."


    Unsurprisingly, just like the True Rebirth Pill, the Mystic Vial he consumed pretty much gave him the same benefits as before.


    From the stat boosts, to the skills rted to the storage and control of Mystic Energy, it was as if Valyr had regained a part of the strength he had as an NPC.


    Because of that, the young man thought that now would be a good time to take a look at his stats, considering the fact that there was no doubt all of his stats had broken through the triple-digit mark already.


    However, in the end, Valyr decided to hold it off for now, thinking that it would be better if he were to look at it only after he was done consuming all of the elixirs.


    "Then again, there''s no doubt that I''m insanely strong for someone who hasn''t picked up a ss yet." Saying these words to himself with a grin on his face, the young man went ahead and grabbed the fruit next, devouring it whole in just a few bites.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [The energy of the Mana Essence Fruit has spread throughout your entire body, attuning every part of your mind and body closer to the existence of mana.]


    [Due to the effects of the Mana Essence Fruit, you have gained the following stats: +25 INT, +25 WIS.]


    [Due to the effects of the Mana Essence Fruit, you have gained the passive skill ''Mana-forged Body''.]


    "¡­Aww." Going through the notifications he received as the energy of the fruit continued to spread throughout his body, Valyr briefly had a sad expression on his face as he failed to trigger the final effect of the fruit.


    Nevertheless, as the fruit''s final effect only had a small chance to happen in the first ce, the young man quickly got over it, giving his body a bit of time to adjust to his new stats before proceeding with the next elixir.


    "The Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction."


    Grabbing the small bottle that was filled with iridescent liquid, a slight shudder ran through Valyr''s body as he thought about the first time he consumed the tincture.


    Recalling how it made him feel like his body was being destroyed and reconstructed tens of times before eventually falling unconscious, Valyr felt fear towards it, thinking that it was highly likely for him to die from its process before even being able to reap its benefits.


    After all, when he consumed the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction as an NPC, he already had over a thousand points on every stat.


    Inparison, he was going to consume the tincture while only having less than a tenth of that amount!


    "If all else fails¡­ I could always revive." Being reminded that he was now a yer and not an NPC, Valyr began to force himself to think positively as he pulled the stopper.


    Then again, with the experience of the tincture''s process still vivid in his mind, the young man continued to grit his teeth till the very end, only opening his mouth the moment his lips made contact with the bottle.


    Whoosh!


    Feeling the tincture''s energy work its magic on the cells making up his body, Valyr immediately began to steel himself for what was toe, reminding himself that he was able to push through a few of those destruction and reconstruction phases before falling unconscious.


    Fortunately, just as he felt like all of the cells in his body were filled to the brim with energy, a wave of lethargy washed over the young man''s mind, rendering him unconscious as the tincture began to reconstruct his body from head to toe.


    ¡­


    ''Urgh¡­'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Having fallen unconscious for what felt like the second time in a row, it was no surprise that Valyr felt like utter shit the moment he was brought back to the waking world.


    Knowing exactly what he did before he fell unconscious, the young man inwardly let out a sigh as he sat upright, only to hear faint crackling soundse from the surface of his body.


    ''¡­Ah.'' Realizing what was going on, Valyr went ahead and furiously rubbed his eyes to remove the gunk covering them, allowing him to see that his body was currently covered in ck debris that gave off a faint stench.


    Inwardly thanking his past self for also preparing a few sets of clothes in advance, the young man made his way to the stream he found earlier before washing himself in it, which temporarily made the stream look like it carried wastewater.


    Feeling like he''d thoroughly removed every bit of ck debris on his body, it was only then did he get out of the stream, inwardly apologizing to the nearby wildlife as he dried himself off.


    Changing into a new set of clothes after that, it was only then did he take a look at the notifications he received.


    ¡­Only to be left at a loss for words the moment he went through them in detail.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 1254 The Strongest Player (3)

    Chapter 1254 The Strongest yer (3)


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [The Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction is reforging all aspects of your body.]


    [The Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction has sessfully reforged your body.]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have awakened the following hidden stats: Weightlessness, Intellect, Acuity, Insight.] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have awakened the following hidden stats: Ferocity, Tolerance.]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have gained 14 points of Vigor.]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have gained 7 points of Weightlessness.]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, you have gained the following stats: +100 VIT, +10 STR, +10 DEX, +10 AGI, +10 INT, +10 WIS, +10 PER, +10 LUK.]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the Tincture of Heavenly Reconstruction, your current species has slightly improved.]


    [The racial skill ''Spirit of Fortitude'' has been awakened.]


    ''Honestly, I don''t really have anything to say about the stats I gained from the tincture,'' inwardly muttered Valyr to himself after regaining his bearings. ''After all, with how even it was, the 100 point boost was practically random.''


    ''However, the same couldn''t be said for the hidden stats I''ve awakened.'' As this thought came to mind, the young man''s eyes gleamed with excitement.


    ''The fact that I''ve awakened Intellect and Acuity will definitely help me out as a mage in the long run.''


    Considering that the first set of hidden stats awakened by the tincture corresponded to one of the eight main stats, Intellect and Acuity corresponded to INT and WIS, respectively.


    Of course, it went without saying that having higher INT allowed his spells to dish out more damage. Having higher INT also increased how much mana he had.


    On the other hand, the effects of WIS were not that noticeable at first nce.


    ¡­If one wasn''t a mage, that is.


    For a mage, a high WIS stat was equivalent to having a high AGI stat while one''s ss relied on STR for its attacks.


    As to why, it was because WIS worked a bit differently for mages.


    Specifically, a single point of WIS increased the amount of mana they could recover per second, as well as reduced the amount of mana needed to cast a spell to a certain degree.


    Although a couple points on WIS here and there only gave one nigh-unnoticeable benefits at the start, once one had an insane amount of WIS, as well as an absurdly powerful mana circuit skill, bing a magic-slinging turret was a foregone conclusion.


    In fact, that was what Valyr had in mind when he decided that he was going to trek the path of a mage as a yer.


    After all, the amount of effort he needed to put in to be a nigh-endless magic gatling gun took far less effortpared to the effort he put in to get to where he currently was as a cksmith.


    But of course, it was only rtively easier.


    "Aside from that, I also got Ferocity and Tolerance," murmured Valyr to himself, only for him to raise his eyebrow in curiosity as he reached the end of his notifications.


    "[Spirit of Fortitude]?"


    "¡­Was this a racial skill people could get early on?" asked the young man after some time, eventually deciding to bring up its description to get a better idea of what it was.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Spirit of Fortitude] (Racial Skill)


    Many consider the human race to be the most prolific race in the entire universe due to the fact that they continuously adapt and evolve to endure the environments surrounding them.


    However, what many don''t know is that the feat of adaptability is merely a side effect of the human race''s spirit. A spirit filled with great fortitude, conviction, and determination that it does not know when to give up.


    This skill increases the user''s INT, WIS, and PER by 5 points each. This skill also increases the user''s resistance to illusions and other mind-rted debuffs by 10%.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Neat." By the time Valyr was done reading through its description, the young man became certain that the only reason why he''d gotten the skill was due to the tincture''s effects of improving his species.


    After all, a racial skill that improves one''s resistance towards something was only something obtainable at the higher ranks.


    Feeling as if the racial skill made up for his failure to trigger the Mana Essence Fruit''s final effect, Valyr took in a deep breath as he nced at thest elixir he prepared for himself.


    "The Constitution Refinement Elixir." Briefly rubbing his hands in expectation, the young man swiftly removed the bottle''s stopper before downing its contents in just a few gulps.


    Whoosh!


    In just a matter of moments, Valyr began to feel a warm sensation spread to every inch of his body, briefly reminding him of the time he consumed the elixir back at Mystia''s ce.


    Though, just as the thought came to mind, the warm sensation gradually began to turn into a burning sensation, only to then turn into the sensation of him being ced over an open me.


    ''¡­Ah, fuck.'' Realizing that he had no Mystia to help soothe the agonizing pain he was going through, Valyr could not help but let out a string of profanities that would bring even keyboard warriors to shame from how varied and all-epassing it was.


    Yet, even that was not enough to make him forget the pain he was going through, forcing him to grit his teeth near the end as he tried his best to endure the hellish sensation through sheer willpower.


    Thankfully, the scalding sensation enveloping his entire body onlysted for a few more minutes after that, allowing him to let out a wide sigh of relief as he syed himself on the ground in exhaustion.


    "¡­At the very least the stats I get from the elixir make up for the pain I went through," muttered Valyr to himself with a wry smile.


    "With me consuming the elixir while still being at Rank 0, I get over twice the amount of stat and hidden stat pointspared to when I consumed it at the peak of Rank 4."


    "I definitely have no ns of doing it again, though," said the young man after that, eventually sitting upright as he brought up a notification screen in front of him.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [The Constitution Refinement Elixir has awakened your potential!]


    [Calcting awakened potential ording to the user''s current abilities¡­]


    [Allocating awakened potential with the priority of shoring up the user''s deficiencies and shorings¡­]


    [¡­]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained the following stats: +10 VIT, +70 STR, +70 AGI, +70 DEX, +70 INT, +70 WIS, +70 PER, +70 LUK.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 4 points of Vigor.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 5 points of Mana Purity.]


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, you have gained 6 points of Weightlessness.]


    ¡­


    [Due to the effects of the Constitution Refinement Elixir, your current species has slightly improved.]


    "Now then¡­" Seeing that all of his stats had significantly improved thanks to the Constitution Refinement Elixir, Valyr only became even more eager to see how much his stats had improved.


    "Can I now call myself the strongest yer of Greater Beyond?"


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ataraxia] (Level 3)


    ss: Civilian (Rank 0)


    Species: Human


    Power Level: 2,541 (B)


    Unused XP: 15


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    HP: 2,808/2,808


    MP: 2,985/2,985


    Stats: 234 VIT, 204 STR, 204 AGI, 204 DEX, 238 INT, 234 WIS, 209 PER, 194 LUK


    Remarks: How in the fuck¡­?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­Yes."


    "Yes, I fucking can."

 Chapter 1255 Absorbing Skills

    Chapter 1255 Absorbing Skills


    Seeing that all his stats aside from LUK had broken past the 200 point mark, a wide grin could be seen on Valyr''s face. After all, his strength far eclipsed the average strength yers currently had in the game.


    Not only that, but he had a strong feeling that he''d be able to give the Five Leviathans a run for their money with his current level of strength.


    After all, the Five Leviathans did not know the existence of the ceiling yet. Relying on the tactics and strategies they''ve used in the other VRMMORPGs they''ve yed, all of them were rushing through the levels like their lives depended on it.


    Of course, there was still a good chance they''d be able to beat him. Considering how the Five Leviathans had been able to beat the Insane difficulty of the Cave of Beginnings during the game''s first day, it wouldn''t be surprising to Valyr if the five had already ascended to Rank 2.


    In fact, he wouldn''t even be surprised if they''ve already ascended to Rank 3 at the speed of progress they were making.


    Although obtaining a Rank 3 ss at such speeds made for a shaky foundation, the increase in stat coefficients, as well as a good set of equipment would still give those who''ve taken their time going through the ranks a bit of danger.


    Then again, with how high Valyr''s stats already were while still not having chosen a ss, he was more than certain that, by the time he ascended to the peak of Rank 3, he''d be able to achieve the feats he did back then.


    Perhaps, even take it one step further than that.


    "As far as I remember, my stats are already higher than when I just ascended to Rank 2 as a cksmith," muttered Valyr to himself, only to let out a chuckle as he found the thought amusing. "And that''s with me already getting my hands on a pretty decent subss."


    "Considering that level of strength back then already allowed me to fight against those with higher levels, I''m sure I can even give slightly stronger Rank 3 ss holders a run for their money now," he continued, wryly smiling as a thought came to mind soon after.


    "Of course, that''s only when I finally have a couple of skills under my arsenal."


    Letting out a soft exhale as he sorted out his thoughts, Valyr soon shifted his focus towards the various skill books he''d gotten for his yer self, which he''d ssified beforehand into four categories.


    "The essentials." As these words left his mouth, the young man nced at the skill books that would give him ess to spellcasting and incantation. Naturally, he also nced at the mana circuit skill Mystia gave him.


    "Thebat skills." Moving his sights away from those skill books, he then spared a nce at the various offensive and defensive skills he got, which only numbered around seven in total.


    "The misceneous skills." Unlike the other categories, Valyr had only chosen one misceneous skill that he felt was incredibly important for him to obtain.


    Of course, that skill was none other than [Analysis].


    "And the passive skills." Lastly, he nced at the small pile of skill books that all contained passive skills, knowing that having all of them in his arsenal would significantly boost hisbat power.


    "Now then¡­ what should I learn first?"


    Being reminded of the various times in the past where he ended up absorbing more skill books than his mind could endure, the young man pondered over the order of how he would absorb the skills wisely.


    After all, there were skills that he felt were important to absorb sooner thanter, such as the various active skills he''d grabbed.


    "I suppose I should stop at 10 skill books for now?" asked Valyr to himself as he continued to ponder over it, only to then nod in agreement with his thoughts soon after.


    With the limit now set, it surprisingly did not take long for the young man to choose which one among the skill books he should absorb first, swiftly grabbing the skill book containing [Analysis] before allowing the system to do its thing.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the active skill ''Analysis''.]


    Obtaining confirmation that he''d sessfully obtained the skill, Valyr then moved onto the essential skills, absorbing the spellcasting and incantation skill book he grabbed before saving [Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles] forst.


    Ding!


    Giving his mind a bit of time to rest from havingprehended four skills in a row, the young man eventually proceeded to absorb thebat skills he had one by one, starting off with the most basic ones among them.


    Ding!


    [You have obtained the active skill ''Mana Bolt''.]


    [You have obtained the active skill ''Mana Barrier''.]


    Then, once he was finished absorbing the basicbat skills, he then moved onto the remainingbat skills he obtained, which included [Basic Mana Maniption] and the four basic elemental maniption skills.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [¡­]


    [You have obtained the active skill ''Basic Wind Maniption''.]


    "Yeah¡­ I think that''s enough for now." Realizing that he''d absorbed 11 skills in total rather than the 10 he limited himself to, Valyr decided to stop absorbing more skills for the meantime.


    Though his mind was telling him that it could still endure a couple more skills, the young man decided to err on the side of caution for now. After all, he wasn''t really in a rush to learn all of the skills he''d gotten.


    "Speaking of which¡­ how much time have I spent going through my preparations?"


    As the thought of taking things easy came to mind, Valyr soon wondered how much time had already passed since he entered Greater Beyond again.


    Considering the fact that he''d fallen unconscious twice while absorbing all of the elixirs, he had a strong feeling that at least an entire day had passed before he decided to give himself a breather for the meantime.


    Wanting to know how much time had exactly passed since he began, Valyr went ahead and gave the system a couple ofmands, prompting a screen to appear in front of his vision a few secondster. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "The server time says that it''s now the 10th day of the month," muttered the young man to himself, the gears in his mind turning as he calcted how much time he spent.


    "Taking into consideration that the server time said it was the 8th of the month back when I appeared in Greater Beyond again, then that means¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­Oh shit.

 Chapter 1256 How to Earn Money

    Chapter 1256 How to Earn Money


    "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"


    Whoosh!


    Redirecting all of his newfound strength towards his legs, Valyr dashed out of the forest at the fastest speed he could muster as he began to head back to Algerie Kingdom.


    "Two days¡­ two days have passed since I first appeared in Veldanyr again," muttered the young man to himself amidst his running, the gears in his mind spinning on overdrive.


    "Considering the time difference between Earth and here, over 7 hours have already passed on Earth, which means¡­"


    "Thomas is finally out of his work shift!"


    Indeed.


    The reason why the fact that he spent two days just to absorb elixirs and skills made him panic was due to the promise he made with Thomas while the game was still in maintenance.


    Although the purpose behind the promise was in order for the two of them to earn significant amounts of money they could use back on Earth, Valyr also nned to use it as a way to establish greater friendship with him.


    After all, if everything else went ording to how it did in his past life, the organization Thomas would end up creating in the future would be a massive boon to their side by the time the final battle arrived.


    ''Thank the heavens I had the foresight to leave a spatial bracelet for my yer self,'' thought Valyr as he briefly nced at the unassuming bracelet around his right wrist.


    With him having stored all of the remaining items he''d yet to use inside the bracelet, it went without saying that the young man would no hesitate to protect the bracelet with all his life.


    After all, some of the other items he''d prepared for his yer self were needed for the other ns he had in mind.


    Whoosh!


    Reminding himself that Thomas was undoubtedly waiting for him to appear at the vige at any minute now, Valyr pushed his body even further, allowing him to arrive at the kingdom''s gates around half an hourter.


    ¡­


    "Where could he be, I wonder?"


    Standing near the spawn point within Daffors Vige, Thomas waited by the side of one of the nearby buildings as he thought about his experiences of Greater Beyond so far.


    Although Valyr''s promise had made him more eager to y the game as soon as possible, he was already nning to y the game before the young man had even asked him.


    After all, with almost every gaming channel talking about how Greater Beyond was turning out to be the most realistic and most fun True Immersion VRMMORPG to date, Thomas wanted to see for himself whether the game could back those ims up.


    Thankfully, it did not take him too long to find out that it did.


    Being hit with a wave of nausea and vertigo a few moments after he was done creating his yer avatar, Thomas immediately noticed that there seemed to be notency between his thoughts and the actions his avatar made.


    Aside from that, unlike the various worlds the VRMMORPGs of the past yers were put into, the young man felt that there was no hint of artificiality to the world surrounding him whatsoever.


    With that in mind, it made him think about how much time thepany behind the game spent developing Greater Beyond, feeling that the world they were in was a good reason why the game took so long to release.


    "Now, if only Valyr could show up, I''d be able to explore more of what the game has to offer," muttered Thomas, letting out a faint sigh as he''d been waiting for over half an hour already.


    "¡­mas!"


    "¡­Thomas!"


    Fortunately, just as those words left his mouth, the young man soon heard a familiar voice screaming out for his name, prompting him to nce in the direction of the voice.


    Seeing that the man shouting his name out had a head of light gray hair and a pair of golden eyes, Thomas could not help but let out a slight chuckle the moment the man appeared in front of him.


    "What a shy appearance," said Thomas, his chuckles turning into full-onughter not long after. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Valyr rolled his eyes in response. "Not like you''re any better."


    "Well, you''re not wrong," replied Thomas with a slight smile.


    If Valyr''s light gray hair and golden eyes made him look like an aristocrat that seemed difficult to be friends with, then Thomas'' spiky red-orange hair and clear eyes made him look like a warrior that had gone utterly berserk.


    With the two standing side by side, the two had unsurprisingly caught the attention of some of the other yers, with a few even posting their pictures on the forum for a bit of augh.


    "Come with me for now." Oblivious to what the other yers thought about their appearances, Valyr asked Thomas to follow him for the meantime as he made his way to the other side of the vige.


    "Where are we going?" asked Thomas in response, his gaze shifting between all of the buildings they came across. "Does this have something to do with our promise?"


    "It does." Valyr nodded, having already used [Analysis] on Thomas as he began toe up with a n in his mind.


    "For it to work, we first have to raise our levels to the peak of Rank 0, which is Level 10."


    Saying these words, Valyr gave Thomas a brief overview of how getting stronger in Greater Beyond worked, going over the level, ss, and skill system in slight detail.


    By the time they''ve finally passed through the vige gates, the two of them went ahead and added themselves to each other''s friend lists, immediately causing to the two of them to let outughter at the names they chose.


    "Ataraxia? Seriously? What are you? An eighth-grader?"


    "Just so you know, there''s no way to change namester on," replied Valyr with a shrug, only to look at Thomas with a smug grin. "At the very least, Ataraxia sounds cool."


    "On the other hand, GodKingThomas is¡­"


    "Shut up" was all Thomas could say in response to his teasing, hisplexion slightly paling once he heard he wasn''t able to change his name in the future.


    Wanting to shift the topic of their conversation away from their names, Thomas decided to ask for more information from Valyr on how they''d earn a lot of money from Greater Beyond.


    "So, after we hit Level 10, what are we going to do next, exactly?"


    "We''ll be heading to a forest called the Verdant Woonds not far from the vige," replied the young man, eager to exin as they continued to move through the outskirts.


    "Although the beasts and monsters there are made for Rank 1 ss holders and above, we''re only going to roam around the outer region at most, which greatly reduces our chances of encountering those kinds of monsters."


    "And then?" asked Thomas, his eyebrow raised in curiosity.


    "We''re going to search for a specific nt and a specific monster," said Valyr in response.


    "That''ll be our ticket to earning lots of money."

 Chapter 1257 Hard Carrying

    Chapter 1257 Hard Carrying


    "¡­I guess this should be a good spot."


    Running across the outskirts surrounding Daffors Vige, the two of them stopped running around a couple of hourster, with Valyr briefly taking a look of their current surroundings.


    Activating [Analysis] every once in a while on the beasts and monsters that appeared within his vision, the young man soon nodded in satisfaction before looking at Thomas beside him.


    "Remember what I told you earlier?"


    "Yeah." Thomas nodded, gesturing to Valyr that he was just catching his breath. "Grind to Level 10 first before heading to the Verdant Woonds, right?"


    "This is where we''ll be grinding those levels," replied the young man as he nodded with a grin.


    "We''re about five kilometers away from the vige, which means there won''t be much people who''d fight us over the monsters."


    "However, that also means that the monsters and beasts we''ll be up against have considerably higher levels than the ones nearer to the vige," said Valyr, prompting Thomas'' expression to turn solemn.


    "How much of an increase are we talking?" asked Thomas in return, to which Valyr replied by using [Analysis] on one of the monsters.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Wolf] (Level 7)


    HP: 70/70


    MP: 70/70


    Stats: 7 VIT, 8 STR, 10 AGI, 10 DEX, 7 INT, 7 WIS, 7 PER, 7 LUK


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Oh. Well, that doesn''t seem too bad," said the man as he took a look at Valyr''s screen. "Looks doable."


    "If you were at the same level as the wolf, then probably." Valyr slightly tilted his head from side to side in response. "Speaking of which, have you checked your stats yet?"


    Hearing those words, Thomas slightly raised his eyebrow in curiosity before asking the system to bring up his status screen.


    Unsurprisingly, almost all of the color on his face disappeared the moment he took a look at it, which made him to look at Valyr with a hint of apprehension soon after.


    "¡­Were you waiting for me to fight it headfirst and use me as bait or something?" asked Thomas back, slightly shuddering at the thought. "With a strength disparity like that, even 10 of mebined would probably die to that wolf."


    Valyr let out a slight chuckle at those words. "You do know I wouldn''t have brought you here if I weren''t confident myself, no?"


    "Well, yeah¡­ but still," replied Thomas after giving it a bit of thought. "Are you telling me the two of us together could take on that wolf without any problems?"


    "Trust me, Thomas," replied Valyr with a grin.


    "I''ve got this."


    "¡­" Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Thomas eventually let out a sigh. "Well, if you say so."


    "Now that''s more like it." Adding Thomas to his party as he let out yet another chuckle, Valyr told the man to wait for his signal before slowly making his way towards the wolf.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing that the wolf seemed to be looking around for prey, Valyr took the opportunity to move in its blind spot, utilizing his high dexterity in the process to move as stealthily as possible.


    Keeping an eye on all of the wolf''s movements as he continued to move closer, the young man eventually appeared behind the wolf a minuteter, which caused Thomas'' eyes to widen in slight surprise as he saw it all unfold.


    "Haah!" Taking advantage of the fact that the wolf was still unaware, Valyr did not hesitate to pin the wolf to the ground, which prompted him to look at Thomas with a hint of urgency. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Now, Thomas!"


    "R-right!" Still dazed by the fact that Valyr easily handled what was a difficult foe for him on his own, it took a while for Thomas to snap back to reality.


    Nevertheless, once he did, he showed no hesitation in charging towards the wolf, relying on the experience he''d umted while ying other VRMMORPGs to deal as much damage to the wolf as possible.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Without any weapon to his name, the man was forced to rely on a series of kicks and punches, timing all of his attacks whenever the wolf stopped iling around.


    Of course, even if it did continue to il around, Valyr was there to keep the wolf in ce with his absurd strength, allowing the man to continue attacking as he saw fit.


    With that, after what felt like an eternity, Thomas was eventually able to whittle the wolf''s health down to 0.


    "I¡­ did it," murmured the man to himself in slight disbelief as he looked at his fists that had been punching the wolf this entire time.


    Hearing the notifications resound in his mind a few secondster, it was only then did his actions so far finally sink in, causing him to shake his fists with glee as he took a look at his notifications.


    "I¡­ did it!"


    Suppressing the excitement he was feeling, Thomas immediately took note of the fact that the system told him that he gained more experience due to him fighting above his level.


    Getting the feeling that Valyr brought him to this ce for that reason, the man went ahead and allocated the experience he gained from the wolf towards his level, bringing him up to Level 2.


    Swoosh!


    Feeling greater strength course throughout his body, Thomas then proceeded to allocate his unused stat points towards STR, briefly thinking about the path he''d take as he went through the levels.


    "Ready for another one?" Sensing that Thomas'' aura had gotten slightly stronger, Valyr looked at him with a slight grin as he released his grip over the previously alive wolf.


    "What level are you at, exactly?" Although he nodded in response to his question, Thomas threw a question of his own back at the young man.


    "Did you not check the party list?" said Valyr in response, prompting the man to immediately take a look at it in return.


    "¡­Level 3?" Unsurprisingly, Thomas looked at him in confusion the moment he obtained his answer, not understanding how Valyr was able to keep the wolf pinned to the ground with his current level.


    "I''ll answer thatter." Naturally, the young man already knew what was going on in his friend''s mind, inwardly letting out a chuckle at the reaction he got.


    "For now, let''s focus on getting our levels up, shall we?"

 Chapter 1258 The Money Making Scheme

    Chapter 1258 The Money Making Scheme


    "How close are you to Level 10, Thomas?"


    "Just a bit more¡­"


    After Thomas reached Level 2 and allocated his unused stat points, it went without saying that the speed at which the two of them killed the monsters practically tripled.


    Although Valyr still had to pin the monsters they chose to fight on the ground, the amount of damage Thomas was dealing to them was far greater than before, reducing the time they needed for each kill.


    Adding on the fact that there was still a slight disparity between his level and the levels of the monsters he killed, it only took around half a day for Thomas to be at the same level as the monsters, allocating his unused stat points between VIT, STR, and AGI evenly as a foundation for his future path.


    As for Valyr, once Thomas showed that he was more than capable of fighting against the monsters on his own, the young man decided to distance himself from him before fighting against some of the monsters on his own.


    Boom!


    Then again, with the massive disparity between his stats and the stats of the monsters, a single punch was pretty much all that was needed to kill the monsters he decided to target.


    Because of that, it took far less time for Valyr to amass enough XP to reach Level 10, having no need to raise his level just to tip the scales to his favor.


    After all, the scales were already tipped to his favor in the first ce.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Weaving through the desperate charges of the wild boar he was fighting, Thomas'' eyes glistened with determination as he finally found his opportunity tond a couple of strikes.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Putting all of his strength into his attacks, it did not take long for the wild boar to sumb to his might, letting out a loud squeal in defeat before the final vestiges of vitality disappeared from its body.


    "¡­And done." Briefly taking a look at his notifications he received, Thomas immediately began to grin as the aura he radiated slightly intensified in pressure, causing a slight smile to appear on Valyr''s face in response.


    "Congrats on finally reaching Level 10," said the young man to him. "How does it feel?"


    "Feels great." Thomas grinned, sending out a series of punches and kicks soon after that were far faster than the ones he sent out during his first fight. "Of course, I wouldn''t have gotten this far without your help at the start," the man continued. "I would''ve probably taken far longer to get to this point if not for your hard carry."


    "All I did was just pin the monsters to the ground, that''s all." Valyr chuckled as he slightly shrugged. "Aside from that, that was all you."


    "Oh, please." Thomas let out a bit ofughter at Valyr''s words, inwardly feeling a bit proud at what he achieved. "Anyways, are we gonna head to the Verdant Woonds now?"


    "Give me a second." ncing at the sky for a bit, Valyr then went ahead andmanded the system to allocate the XP he earned so far towards raising his level. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Ding!


    [33,397 XP has been allocated.]


    [Your level has increased by 7 levels.]


    [You are now Level 10.]


    Whoosh!


    Feeling the strength in his body undergo a slight increase, the young man had a faint smile on his face as he immediately suppressed the aura he was giving off.


    ''No need for Thomas to know my true strength.'' Doing a few basic movements after that, he then went ahead and evenly allocated the stat points he got between INT and WIS.


    "¡­Alright." Closing his eyes for a bit after that, he then looked at Thomas with a nod, signaling that he was ready. "Don''t you wanna take a break first or something?"


    Hearing this question, Thomas paused for a bit before ncing at the sky as well.


    "Huh. Now that I think about it, we''ve been grinding our levels for an entire day," murmured the man in slight realization, falling somewhat silent after that.


    "Feeling tired, Valyr?"


    "Not really." Valyr shook his head in response. "I was asking in case you were feeling tired."


    "Not at all." Thomas also shook his head, slightly chuckling soon after. "How could I when I feel like I''m still in top condition?"


    "Besides, only three hours or so have passed on Earth. I could y for at least 5 more hours before calling it a day."


    "¡­Right." Being reminded that he was now a yer and not an NPC, Valyr still decided to have the two of them take a short break, much to the refusal of Thomas.


    However, as a few more minutes passed, the exhaustion Thomas had been hiding all this time finally presented himself, eliciting a slight smirk to appear on Valyr''s lips soon after.


    ''Knew it.''


    With that, the two spent half an hour resting before making their way to the Verdant Woonds, talking about various topics involving Greater Beyond along the way.


    Unsurprisingly, with Thomas now at Level 10, it took far less time for them to traverse the remaining distance to the Verdant Woonds, with the two arriving at its outskirts around half an hourter.


    "We''re here."


    Staring at therge evergreen trees around the perimeter of the Verdant Woonds, Valyr briefly reminded himself of the n he came up with for the two of them to earn lots of money.


    Of course, it went without saying that Thomas was thinking about the n as well, his gaze also at the woonds. "So, now that we''re here, what nt and monster are we going to look for, exactly?


    "We''re going to look for Verdant Bluegrass and the Verdant Treeslug," said Valyr in response, prompting Thomas to raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity.


    "They don''t sound like they sell for a lot of money."


    "If you sold them on their own, sure." Valyr nodded in agreement. "You could easily get a couple kilograms of both with just a silver coin."


    "Why those items, then?" asked Thomas back.


    "That''s because these items could also be used as substitute ingredients for a rare elixir," replied Valyr with a grin.


    "Specifically, a beauty elixir."

 Chapter 1259 Enacting the Plan

    Chapter 1259 Enacting the n


    As those words left his mouth, the gears in Valyr''s mind continued to turn in an attempt to recall every bit of detail he could remember about the idea he was going to use for the n.


    Considering the fact that he mostly dabbled in the world of cksmithing in his past life, it went without saying that the idea he was nning to use did not originallye from him.


    Instead, the idea he was nning to use actually came from a fellow member of the guild he was a part of.


    Though Valyr did have a lot of ideas in mind to earn a lot of money through the world of cksmithing, most of them needed a lot of time and effort to be profitable. After all, one first needed to gain experience in the craft before getting somewhere.


    On the other hand, the current idea he had was far simpler inparison, needing only a clean water source and a couple of empty vials before one could start earning a considerable chunk of money.


    The reason as to why this idea came to be was due to the fellow member Valyr knew being an ambitious alchemist.


    To be more specific, he was ambitious in the fact that he wanted to push the art of alchemy to its utmost limits, wondering if it was possible to use alchemy in what would be considered other fields.


    Because of that, the person who originally came up with Valyr''s current idea dabbled in almost every field that existed, learning from the masters of that specific craft before trying to rece even a small portion of the process with alchemical methods.


    Although that person was only able to achieve a small level of sess by the time the average level amongst yers was around the peak of Rank 5, by the time most yers were Myths, the man was able to make a massive breakthrough, instantly bing sought after by many people overnight because of it.


    Amongst all of the various breakthroughs he had made in having alchemical methods be used in other fields, the idea Valyr was nning to use was considered one of the most basic discoveries among them.


    After all, what the person did to the concoction process was just simplify its ingredients and methods as much as possible, allowing even someone who did not dabble in alchemy to concoct what was considered by many to be a rare elixir.


    Yet, that simple discovery was more than enough for that person to rake in more than enough money for him to buy arge house within a matter of months.


    Then again, with how simple it was, it did not take long for others to crack the code and replicate the process themselves, effectively ending his opportunity to earn lots of money with the least amount of time and effort.


    ''I''m pretty sure he discovered it around the second year since Greater Beyond went public,'' thought Valyr to himself as he went over the concoction process in his mind.


    ''Even at that time, it took at least three months on Earth for the recipe and the process to be public.''


    ''As long as I keep the important steps from Thomas a secret for now, it wouldn''t be impossible for the two of us to consistently earn a lot of money.'' Valyr slightly grinned at the thought.


    Closing his eyes for a bit in order to consolidate his train of thought, the young man eventually looked back at Thomas, who was staring back at him in deafening silence.


    Getting the feeling that the man''s current expression had something to do with the words he uttered out, Valyr mulled over his thoughts for a bit before asking him, "You wondering how I got my hands on something like that?"


    "As if that wasn''t already obvious." Thomas nodded, his expression serious. "Think about it for a bit. It''s only the second day since Greater Beyond was released."


    "Factor in the time difference and over a week and a half has already passed here," said Valyr in response. "A week and a half is more than enough time for many things to happen."


    "Of course, with me only being ahead of you by a few hours, the amount of time I have to explore Greater Beyond only amounts to a couple of days," he continued.


    "¡­Then again, considering how we reached Level 10 in just a matter of a day, is it really that hard to believe that I discovered a recipe during the couple of days I was waiting for you to log in?"


    "Not really." Thomas shook his head in response. "However¡­"


    "Did you forget that you roped me into ying Greater Beyond with you by using what you just said as your reason?"


    "¡­" Hearing those words, it was as if a series of rms went off in Valyr''s mind, warning him that he should choose his next words wisely.


    ''Fucking shit¡­'' Inwardly cursing out various profanities in his mind as he thought about his next response, the young man soon looked back at Thomas with a slight smile, his tone still confident.


    "Does that mean you want to skip out on earning easy money, then?" asked Valyr back, causing Thomas to frown the moment he heard those words. "I don''t mind if you do."


    "Now, hold on just a second," said the man the moment Valyr was done talking. "I just wanted to know where you got your n from. I didn''t say I''m not taking part in it."


    "I don''t know about that, man¡­" Valyr slightly shrugged. "To me, those questions of yours makes it sound like you''re not confident that the n I have is going to work."


    "How in the¡­" Feeling a bit of a headache from trying to understand the young man''s mental gymnastics, Thomas eventually let out a low sigh as he conceded. "Alright, alright."


    "I won''t ask about where you got that n anymore. Happy?"


    "Very," replied Valyr with a grin, his attitude undergoing a 180-degree shift.


    "Now then, shall we begin?"


    Although Thomas was still incredibly curious as to where Valyr got his moneymaking idea from, the man decided to remain silent for now as he followed thetter into the Verdant Woonds.


    With Valyr taking the lead, he soon began to exin the n of concocting beauty elixirs for cheap in greater detail with Thomas, asking him beforehand to swear that he wouldn''t divulge the information he''d get from Valyr with others.


    From the physical characteristics of Verdant Bluegrass, to the various locations where Verdant Treeslugs could be found within the Verdant Woonds'' outer region, Valyr did not omit even a single bit of information from Thomas, confident in the oath that they both swore.


    Because of the young man''s openness to share such information, a bit of the skepticism Thomas felt towards the entire thing gradually disappeared, with eagerness taking its ce as the two began to look for the two items needed for their n to work.


    Unsurprisingly, with his PER being far beyond what a Level 10 yer could possibly achieve, it was no surprise that Valyr was the one who found the two items among them.


    Then again, as more and more time passed, Thomas also began to locate one of the two items every once in a while, eventually reaching a point where he''d be the one finding a fifth of the items they found in total.


    Making sure to stay away from the beasts and monsters that roamed the Verdant Woonds, the two of them ended up spending roughly half a day looking for Verdant Bluegrass and Verdant Treeslugs within the outer region.


    Fortunately, the time they spent was more than fruitful, with the final amount of the two items they ended up amassing being more than enough for them to concoct multiple batches of the beauty elixir Valyr mentioned at the beginning of their trip.


    "I suppose we could rest here for the meantime." Feeling that they''ve obtained enough materials for now, the two of them soon arrived at a smallke within the forest, allowing them to proceed onto the next step of the n.


    "Let''s start concocting some beauty elixirs, shall we?" Taking out therge bowl he bought from the kingdom out of his spatial bracelet, Valyr went ahead and scoop up a bit of water from the pond before cing it on the ground, giving the sediments in the water some time to reach the bottom of the bowl.


    After that, he took out a couple of empty vials he bought from his spatial bracelet, filling them up with the water from the bowl soon after.


    Glug¡­ glug¡­ glug¡­


    Faintly nodding at Thomas to see if he was still following along, he then proceeded to crush the Verdant Bluegrass with his hands, using all of his strength while doing so to squeeze out as much juice from them as possible.


    Then, once the juice from the Verdant Bluegrass mixed with the water inside the vials, he then shoved a Verdant Treeslug each into the vials before putting on the stopper, only to vigorously shake the vials not long after that.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Although the water within the vials was a murky brown color at first, the color gradually began to lighten the more Valyr shook it, causing it to slowly give it off an ethereal feeling of sorts.


    With that, by the time he felt like he''d shaken the vials for long enough, he then showed the vials to Thomas, who immediately took note that the murky brown from before was now reced with a coolvender color. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "And that''s two beauty elixirs done right there."

 Chapter 1260 Prepping the Goods

    Chapter 1260 Prepping the Goods


    "[Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Elixir of Beautification]


    Rarity: Rare


    Although the materials used to create this tonic could be easily found if one specifically looked for it, its current effects have onlye to be thanks to the ingenuity of its creator.


    Once this elixir is applied onto skin, this elixir removes all blemishes and other unsightly spots on the covered area, bringing it back to perfect condition.


    On the other hand, once this elixir is applied onto hair, the hair bes fuller in volume while also appearing more luscious and delicate.


    In fact, it is said that if this elixir is applied onto a bald person''s head, there is a high possibility that the person''s hair would magically grow back to how it was before.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Just as I remember it.''


    Nodding in satisfaction as he read through the description of the elixirs he concocted, Valyr soon stored one of the vials in his spatial bracelet before looking at Thomas with a wide grin on his face.


    "Sess?" asked Thomas, his expression curious.


    "Take a look for yourself," replied the young man as he showed him the screen he brought up just now.


    "¡­Damn." Unsurprisingly, the man was left at a slight loss for words after reading through its effects. After all, the items they grabbed did not have beautifying properties, nor did they have anything to do with it whatsoever.


    Telling Valyr that he was done reading through the elixir''s description, Thomas then asked him, "Is it really that simple to make?"


    "I mean¡­ you already saw it for yourself," answered Valyr back as he let out a chuckle. "It''s the reason why I was confident that we could pull it off at our current levels."


    "Now you''re making me want to try my hand at concocting it," said the man in response, to which the young man let out another chuckle before obliging.


    Taking out a couple more empty vials from his spatial bracelet, Valyr kept the spare elixir he hadn''t stored in his pocket for the meantime before scooping up some of the bowl water with the vials. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "You got the gist, right?" Valyr gave the two vials to Thomas, his expression slightly uncertain.


    "Somewhat," said Thomas as he tilted his head from side to side. "I gotta crush the Verdant Bluegrass first, right?"


    "Crush the Verdant Bluegrass to squeeze out the juice, yeah." Valyr nodded in agreement. "Then, swirl the vials around a bit for the juice to mix with the water."


    "After that, put in the Verdant Treeslugs into the vials, then shake them as vigorously as possible."


    "Got it." Now having an idea of what he needed to do, Thomas went ahead and grabbed a small amount of Verdant Bluegrass before putting all of his strength into squeezing it.


    Drip¡­ drip¡­ drip¡­


    One by one, he allowed the juice from the Verdant Bluegrass to drip into the vials before swirling them to have the water and the juice mix together.


    After making sure he squeezed out every drop of Verdant Bluegrass possible, he then went ahead and grabbed a couple of Verdant Treeslugs before cing one each into the two vials he had.


    Swish¡­swish¡­swish¡­


    Then, after putting the stoppers on the two vials, Thomas began to shake the vials as hard as he could, relying on the strength he had as a Level 10 yer to make sure the two elements he added into the vials were thoroughlybined.


    With that, the murky brown water within the vials began to lighten in color, bringing a hint of excitement to Thomas at the thought of being to craft the beauty elixirs himself.


    However, after a couple minutes of vigorous shaking had passed, the color of the elixirs had consistently stayed a murky purple color, causing him to slightly frown before looking at the young man for answers.


    "Is this normal?" he asked.


    "It is." Valyr nodded in agreement. "From what I know, that''s how the elixir usually turns out for those who don''t have much experience in making it."


    "If that''s the case, then how much experience do you have in concocting the elixir?" asked Thomas back.


    "Before you logged in, I spent an entire day working on getting the entire process down," replied Valyr, easilying up with an excuse that made sense. "It was kind of the reason why I took a bit of time to get to where you were."


    "In any case, just because this is your first time making the elixirs doesn''t mean it''s bad." As these words left his mouth, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on one of Thomas'' elixirs before showing thetter the screen he brought up.


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Elixir of Basic Beautification]


    Rarity: Umon


    Although the materials used to create this tonic could be easily found if one specifically looked for it, its current effects have onlye to be thanks to the ingenuity of its creator.


    Once this elixir is applied onto skin, this elixir gradually removes all blemishes and other unsightly spots on the covered area, taking at most a few hours for the skin to return to perfect condition.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "The only difference is that the elixir you made doesn''t affect the hair, while also taking some time for the elixir to take effect," said Valyr as Thomas continued to read through the item''s description. "It''s still a good elixir."


    "Are we going to sell this, though?" By the time he was done reading, Thomas looked back at Valyr with a raised eyebrow. "After all, if wepare the two elixirs, the one you made would sell for more, right?"


    "Obviously." Valyr slightly chuckled. "However, don''t you think it''s a good thing that there''s a slightly worse version of the elixir avable for people to buy?"


    "What are you trying to¡ª" Just as Thomas began to wonder what Valyr meant by that, a thought popped up in his mind all of a sudden, instantly shedding light on the young man''s words.


    "You''re going to advertise two types of elixir for sale to ensure that everyone whoes to take a look buy at least one of them, right?"


    "Bingo." Valyr grinned.


    "We''re going to attract their attention by first showing what the better elixir is capable of."


    "If they buy it, then that''s good. If they don''t, then we offer the lesser version of the elixir and talk a bit about its downsides."


    "At the very least, we''ll ensure that most people who stop to see what''s going on would buy our elixirs one way or another."


    "Got it." Imagining what would happenter on if they started selling the elixirs to other people, Thomas soon let out a chuckle in excitement as he decided to continue concocting more beauty elixirs.


    Of course, with his friend making all of the simpler beauty elixirs, it went without saying that Valyr took charge of the deluxe beauty elixirs, concocting them at a speed that allowed him to match Thomas'' pace.


    "Now that I think about it, I have a question." With the concoction process not really taking that much out of them, Thomas decided to ask Valyr a question that popped up in his mind.


    "Are we going to advertise these elixirs at the vige? Or somece else?"


    "The vige," replied Valyr, already having an idea of what they would do next. "Although it doesn''t seem like a good idea at first, remember that all of the yers spawn at the viges when they enter Greater Beyond for the first time."


    "As long as they spread the word while making sure to advertise on the forum from time to time, it won''t be long until we have a steady stream of customers ready to buy the elixirs off our hands."


    "I see." Thomas nodded in understanding. "How much are we going to sell these elixirs, then?"


    "I was nning 10 silver coins for the version I''m making," replied Valyr. "As for the version you''re making¡­ something like 2 silver coins."


    "Well, those don''t sound like a lot." Hearing those figures, Thomas slightly frowned. "Usually, things like these go for a lot higher than that, right?"


    "They do." Valyr nodded. "Usually, they go for a couple gold coins since they''re made from better materials. But remember, we''re catching their attention by selling what''s usually considered luxury goods at such a low price."


    "But isn''t that still a bit too low?" asked Thomas back. "Not in the sense of pricing, but rather the conversion from coins to Deltas."


    "From what I know, the most generous conversion rate for a VRMMO to have is like one gold coin for like a couple of Deltas."


    "There''s the possibility that Greater Beyond might use a more generous conversion rate than that, but wouldn''t we still need to amass around that much first?" he continued. "Plus, wouldn''t that mean we''d have to sell a lot of elixirs first before earning the amount of money you told me back then?"


    "Well¡­" Valyr merely smiled at Thomas before continuing to focus on concocting more elixirs. "Just take a look at the conversion rate through the system to get your answer."


    "Through the system?" Finishing up another batch of beauty elixirs, Thomas stopped for a bit as hemanded the system to bring up the information he wanted. "Surely, the conversion rate would be around the¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Huh¡­"


    For a while after that, Thomas remainedpletely silent, allowing Valyr to focus a bit more of his attention towards the elixirs he was making.


    Though, after a while, the man let out a loud scream before beginning to concoct elixirs once more.


    Seeing that Thomas now seemed to be putting more than 100% of his effort into making the elixirs, the young man let out a chuckle in amusement before returning his focus to the task at hand. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I''d highly appreciate it!

 Chapter 1261 Spreading the Word

    Chapter 1261 Spreading the Word


    "¡­And I think that''s thest of the Verdant Bluegrass and Verdant Treeslugs we have."


    Finishing up what looked to be the final batch of elixirs he''d concoct for the meantime, Valyr nodded in satisfaction as he noticed the liquid within the vials take on a coolvender color.


    Chucking the two elixirs into his spatial bracelet after that, he then moved a bit closer to where Thomas was, wanting to see how the man''s final batch of beauty elixirs would turn out.


    Considering that the two of them had spent an entire half day scouring the outer region of the Verdant Woonds for the materials they needed, it was no surprise that the two spent a lot of time using them up to concoct the elixirs.


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 Chapter 1262 Reaping the Rewards (1)

    Chapter 1262 Reaping the Rewards (1)


    "Hey, what''s going on? Why''s everyone gathered around here?"


    "Yeah, what''s going on? Is the Forge of Beginnings about to open again?"


    "If it was, then the number of people that would''vee would be enough to fill the entire vige. Anyways, have you seen that post on the forums yet?"


    "What post? What''s it about?"


    "Well¡­ let''s just say something crazy''s about to happen soon?"


    "Something crazy? What do you mean?"


    "Er¡­ hmm¡­ so, to put it bluntly, a couple of guys decided to ask everyone if they could beat them up."


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 Chapter 1263 Reaping the Rewards (2)

    Chapter 1263 Reaping the Rewards (2)


    While most of the people in the crowd watched Malutar swing his sword down on Valyr''s arm through syed fingers, Thomas looked at the entire thing with a hint of nonchnce.


    ''He''ll be fine,'' thought the man to himself as he had a calm expression on his face. After all, he could still remember the fact that his friend had pinned multiple monsters for him to the ground without even getting injured whatsoever.


    If that wasn''t a sign that he could take a beating¡­ then what other sign would there be?


    ''¡­For some reason, I kind of understand why he took this approach.''


    Bang!


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 Chapter 1264 Reaping the Rewards (3)

    Chapter 1264 Reaping the Rewards (3)


    "Unfortunately, that''s all of the vials we have for today."


    "We''ll let everyone know through the forums when we have enough stock to sell again. Also, we''d highly appreciate it if you share the word about this elixir with the others!"


    With Valyr showing no hesitation in having a volunteer at Rank 1nd a hit on his arm at full strength, the small gamble he made eventually paid off the moment he showed off the effects of the beauty elixir they made.


    Although the prices he advertised were considerably higher than what many in the crowd could afford at that time, many of them had a strong feeling that such an elixir would be more expensive as the yer economy grew over time.


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 Chapter 1265 Two Paths

    Chapter 1265 Two Paths


    Although earning over a thousand Deltas did not seem like much for the amount of time they spent, one must remember that time flowed 7 times faster within the world of Greater Beyond than it did on Earth.


    With that, even though it took the two of them over a couple of days to grind levels, grab materials, concoct elixirs, and then sell them, only a bit over 7 hours had passed back on Earth.


    In other words, they were basically able to earn over a hundred Deltas per hour!


    For reference, 5 Deltas was enough for one to eat three meals in a day. However, those three meals would only meet the minimum necessary for nutrition and sustenance.


    On the other hand, the usual amount of money one would spend in food every day hovered around 15 to 20 Deltas. After all, no one wanted to eat the same type of food three times a day for the rest of their life.


    Unsurprisingly, the same went for various wants such asputers, phones, gaming pods, and the like. Even if one were to choose a version that only had the most basic of functions avable, that would still set back someone around 100 Deltas at the very least.


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 Chapter 1266 Strength Check

    Chapter 1266 Strength Check


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Although there really wasn''t any point to what order Valyr absorbed the remaining skill books he had in his spatial bracelet, some of the skill books he had did affect how much further he could tolerate the mental pressure absorbing the books brought.


    With that, it was no surprise that he proceeded to absorb the skill books making up [Unearthed Innate Potential] first, going through them one by one before eventually fusing them with the help of the system.


    Ding!


    [You have gained the passive skill ''Unearthed Innate Potential''.]


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 Chapter 1267 How a Mage Fights

    Chapter 1267 How a Mage Fights


    Before the wolf could even swipe its paws at the one who trespassed its territory, Valyr''s incantation finished first, allowing him to send a bolt of pure mana that swiftly shed with one of the wolf''s eyes.


    Bang!


    ''-942!!''


    "Awoooo!!!" Unsurprisingly, a wave of pain quickly radiated from where the wolf was hit, causing it to let out a pained howl as the strength behind the mana sent it flying in the air for a couple meters.


    "Woah." ncing at the blood red number that briefly appeared above the wolf''s head, Valyr''s eyes slightly widened in surprise before eventually nodding in approval.


    "Considering the fact that there''s a 20 level gap between us, and the fact that I''ve yet to level up my skills to max level¡­"


    "That''s a lot of damage."


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 Chapter 1268 A Lucky Drop

    Chapter 1268 A Lucky Drop


    Timing his attack at the very moment the wolf tried tond an attack of its own, Valyr shot out his second mana bolt of the fight, aiming his magic staff directly at the wolf''s most vital spot.


    The head.


    Bang!


    ''-2,155!!!''


    Apanying a string of dark red numbers, the wolf''s head quickly exploded into chunks of flesh, blood, bone, and brain matter under the might of the mana bolt, causing the remaining sparks of vitality in its body to disappear in an instant.


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 Chapter 1269 Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles

    Chapter 1269 Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles


    With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and got himself into a morefortable position.


    Closing his eyes, he then took in a calming breath as he allowed all of his senses to better attune themselves with the existence of mana.


    "[Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles]."


    Whoosh!


    Activating his mana circuit skill without hesitation, Valyr soon felt a burning sensatione from the mana in his body, briefly reminding of the previous time he activated the skill.


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 Chapter 1270 Taking the First Step

    Chapter 1270 Taking the First Step


    Though one would have to go through 10 stages in order to fully master [Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles], it could be said that the steps needed to reach the pinnacle were quite simple in essence.


    Ultimately being a method that allowed one to uniquely circte mana throughout the body, [Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles] followed the assumption that there were various apertures inside the body that would allow one to house more mana within them than usual.


    Of course, just like the difference between arteries and veins in how much blood flowed through them, these apertures also came in various sizes, which the skill had decided to term as meridians and acupoints.


    With that, the skill worked by cycling mana through these acupoints and meridians in a specific order, allowing the mana within one''s body to gradually increase its potency the more it cycled through them.


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 Chapter 1271 The First Revolution

    Chapter 1271 The First Revolution


    "[Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles]."


    Giving himself a small break after sessfully achieving the first stage of mastery, Valyr soon activated his mana circuit, wanting to experience the differences between the two versions for himself.


    Whoosh!


    Unsurprisingly, just like what was contained in the skill''s details, the burning sensation from his mana disappeared without a trace after reaching the first stage. Instead, he felt most of the mana in his body head towards the nine acupoints he filled up earlier.


    Bang!


    Then, as if a switch was flicked on, all of the mana within the acupoints began to cycle simultaneously, forming a two-step cycle that allowed the mana to switch between the acupoints and the paths throughout his entire body.


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 Chapter 1272 The Fourth Day

    Chapter 1272 The Fourth Day


    "¡­Huh."


    "Never thought my previous session would end up as productive as I did."


    Appearing at Daffors Vige once more after getting a good night''s sleep, Valyr had a slight smile on his face as he briefly thought back to the things he did before his current session.


    After reaching the third stage of mastery with [Three Revolutions, Nine Cycles], it went without saying that the young man tested the skill''s effects once more, curious as to how much of an improvement the third stage was to the first stage.


    Thanks to a few trees nearby that served as his target dummies, Valyr was eventually able to confirm his earlier hypothesis that each stage of mastery only increased the efficacy of his magic spells by a further 5%, while reducing its cost and cooldown by half of that figure.


    Although it did not follow his other hypothesis, wherein each additional stage mastered would multiplicatively increase its effects by 50%, the young man was still more than satisfied with his mana circuit nevertheless.


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 Chapter 1273 The Cave of Beginnings

    Chapter 1273 The Cave of Beginnings


    With the knowledge he umted from his past life, as well as his absurdly high agility for his ss rank, it only took around 10 minutes or so for Valyr to arrive at the periphery of the Cave of Beginnings.


    "¡­Huh." Once there, the young man was slightly left at a loss for words at the sight that greeted him.


    Considering the fact that he''d been selling quite a lot of equipment and other helpful items during the first two days Greater Beyond was released, Valyr thought that the number of groups that would wait around the dungeon would be far smaller than before.


    After all, from what he read from the forums while he was still an NPC, it was only a matter of time before the yers would move on to dungeons that were far more difficult than the Cave of Beginnings.


    Yet, reality showed him that what happened instead was the exact opposite, with groups numbering in the dozens loitering around the entrance, all of them waiting to add a member that had at least one of his equipment into their party.


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 Chapter 1274 Steamrolling

    Chapter 1274 Steamrolling


    Step. Step. Step.


    "Ah." Continuing to walk through the corridor at a rxed pace, Valyr eventually found himself at the center of a stone room which acted as an intersection.


    Seeing that there were two paths for him to take, the young man faintly nodded with a smile as theyout of the dungeon so far more or less followed what he could remember.


    Getting the feeling that the dungeon would be pretty much the same all throughout, he decided to head towards the right corridor, recalling a certain path that would allow him to reach the boss at the shortest time possible.


    ''Aside from that, killing the boss in less than 10 minutes is a requirement if I want to fight against the secret super-boss,'' reminded Valyr to himself, slightly hastening his pace as he continued to move through the corridors.


    Whoosh!


    As the Cave of Beginnings was one of the first dungeons would tackle in the world of Greater Beyond, it was no surprise that its lowest difficulty pretty much eased yers into the concept of dungeons as a whole.


    Due to the fact that this difficulty is treated more as a tutorial rather than an actual dungeon, yers would only stumble upon a few monsters along their paths at most, with the boss at the end of the dungeon being the only monster guaranteed to appear.


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 Chapter 1275 Surprises and Offers

    Chapter 1275 Surprises and Offers


    "Definitely easier than I thought it would be."


    Whoosh!


    Appearing at the entrance to the Cave of Beginnings once more, Valyr had an amused smile on his face as he made his way to a nearby spot that wasn''t upied by any of the other groups.


    "Then again, that should''ve been expected with how much stronger I ampared to them," muttered the young man to himself soon after, letting out a bit ofughter as he recalled his fight against the super-boss.


    From the ssification that had been given to it, the super-boss did not disappoint Valyr at all. Compared to the ogre, it was at least thrice as strong when it came to its stats.


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 Chapter 1276 Differing Motives

    Chapter 1276 Differing Motives


    Hearing Valyr agree to their sudden request, it went without saying that SeventhShield and his friends immediately looked at him with smiles on their faces, thinking that they might have made a good choice this time around.


    However, those smiles were quickly frozen when they heard the words that came out of the young man''s mouth soon after, with almost all of them looking at Valyr either in shock or in disbelief because of it.


    "You''re¡­ Level 10?" asked SeventhShield after getting over the disbelief he felt. "Are you serious?"


    "I don''t really have any reason to lie to you guys," replied Valyr, his expression showing that he was already expecting such a reaction from them.


    Shrugging his shoulders, he continued, "Of course, if you don''t believe me, there''s an easy way to prove that I''m not lying."


    Ding!


    Hearing a notification sound go off in his mind, SeventhShield went ahead and brought up his notification screen, highly confident that the notification had something to do with the young man in front of him.


    Though, at the very moment he read through the notification he''d received, the man felt as if all of the color was removed from his face.


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 Chapter 1277 Heading to the Dungeon

    Chapter 1277 Heading to the Dungeon


    To no surprise, SeventhShield and his friends were more than d to hear Valyr agree to their request. Of course, it went without saying that Darklight was more than d to hear him agree to it as well.


    Even if his reasons for having Valyr join their party was different from the others.


    Nevertheless, with all of them looking at Valyr joining the party from a positive standpoint, the entire group did not hesitate to make their way to the dungeon, introducing themselves to one another in greater detail along the way.


    "Since we''ll be trusting each other''s backs while in the dungeon, I suppose I should give you a more detailed introduction." Chuckling with glee at the thought of Valyr joining him, SeventhShield went ahead and took the initiative of introducing himself once more.


    "I''ve already said it before, but I go by the name SeventhShield. I am currently Level 23, and my ss is that of the White Knight. Think of it as the more magic-focused version of the Defender ss."


    "So, your role in the party is the tank, then?" asked Valyr in response, even though he already knew the answer from the heavy te armor the man was wearing.


    "The tank, as well as the party leader," replied SeventhShield with a slightly proud grin. "After all, the person that makes the decisions for the party should be able to see the fight up close, no?"


    Hearing those words, the young man merely shrugged with a slight chuckle, being reminded of a few other tanks he worked with in the past that were the leaders of their parties as well.


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 Chapter 1278 The White Fortress

    Chapter 1278 The White Fortress


    The White Fortress.


    As far as Valyr could remember, the White Fortress was just like any other guild made at the start of the game. It was made by a small group of friends for the sake of making things easier for themselves while also making use of the various perks granted to those that were part of guilds.


    However, unlike the other guilds, where most of them remain under the radar even up to the final battle, the White Fortress rose to prominence all of a sudden thanks to one single event.


    The advent of Greater Beyond''s third update.


    During this update, the founding members of the White Fortress all underwent massive improvements in terms of individual power, which unsurprisingly caused both guilds and yers to pay attention to them.


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 Chapter 1279 Learning to Cooperate

    Chapter 1279 Learning to Cooperate


    ''¡­To think it would be this easy.''


    ncing at Valyr from time to time as they continued to move through the corridors, Darklight could not stop himself from inwardly grinning, feeling as if the heavens were listening to his every thought.


    ''I''m so gonna get rich by the end of this,'' thought the man to himself, already imagining himself selling off Valyr''s entire armor set for a massive profit.


    ''At first, I thought of joining SeventhShield''s party since they looked like they had a lot of money, especially with the equipment they''re using.''


    ''With my current ss at a far higher rarity than theirs, it''ll be mere child''s y to have the boss push them to the brink of defeat and use that as an opportunity to extort as much money out of them as possible.'' Darklight continued to grin at these words.


    Although he mentioned when he introduced himself to Valyr that his ss was that of a Light Archer, that ss was merely a facade he used to keep his actual ss hidden from the others.


    In reality, his current ss was that of a Dark Bow Lord, a ss whose mechanics felt simr to that of a Light Archer, but reached a level ofplexity and mastery that even ten Light Archers working together could not match.


    Aside from that, the Dark Bow Lord ss was a Legendary ss, a level of rarity that had already been epted by the majority of yers so far to be the pinnacle level of strength possible for them to achieve.


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 Chapter 1280 Facing the Mini-boss

    After agreeing on their roles for the uing fight, SeventhShield and Zack went ahead and took the lead as the group moved closer to the room where the mini-boss resided.


    Whoosh!


    Arriving there, the group was immediately greeted by the sight of arge space, promptly reminding everyone of the boss rooms they''d cleared thus far in the lower difficulties of the Cave of Beginnings.


    Grr¡­


    However, unlike the bosses they fought in the lower difficulties, the ogre that sat at the center of the room gave off a near-tyrannical aura, causing almost all of them think that their chances of winning were next to nothing from the very start.


    Adding on the fact that the ogre eventually revealed its true stature to the group as it stood up, it was impossible for any outsider to muster up the courage to fight something as ferocious as the mini-boss in front of them.


    "Stay calm!" Fortunately, even though most of them felt like their hopes had been quashed from the very start, SeventhShield kept hisposure, gazing at the ogre with a look of defiance.


    "We''ve already expected the bosses to pose a greater challenge to us the moment we decided to try out Insane!"


    "Are you guys really telling me that you''re backing out now? Even though we''ve already gotten this far?"


    "It''s not that, Seventh¡­" Zack replied, his voice somewhat shaky.


    Pointing at the ogre staring at them, he continued, "Take¡­ a look at its stats."


    "With how high its stats are¡­ do we really have a chance of winning here?"


    "¡­" Frowning in response to his friend''s words, SeventhShield gazed at the ogre for a bit.


    Noticing that the ogre seemed to have no intentions of attacking them before they were prepared to fight it, the man inwardly let out a faint sigh of relief as he decided to confirm Zack''s words for himself.


    "[Analysis]."


    Ding!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Junior Ogre Spellde (Umon Elite)] (Level 20 | Mini-boss)


    HP: 1,750/1,750


    MP: 1,130/1,130


    Stats: 91 VIT, 99 STR, 102 AGI, 78 DEX, 62 INT, 60 WIS, 79 PER, 52 LUK


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "¡­I already expected Insane to be our greatest challenge yet¡­ but to think it would be this much?"


    At first, when Zack informed him to look at the mini-boss'' stats, SeventhShield thought that its stats would only be higher than theirs by a few points, possibly around 10 points at most.


    After all, they were tackling the Cave of Beginnings at its Insane difficulty. The dungeon was intentionally made to be difficult to clear with its difficulty bearing such a name.


    However, when he found out that the gap between their stats exceeded 20 points, it was only then did he understand why his friends reacted that way.


    Then again, how would one even surmount a gap thatrge at their level?


    Their equipment? The armor and the weapons they had could only be considered slightly above average. Though some of them offered a few extra stat points here and there, that wasn''t enough to surmount the gap.


    Their skills? None of them had any powerful passive skills that boosted their stats to that extent. Plus, there really wasn''t any way for them to evolve their skills to the next rarity at their current ss rank.


    "Should we give up, then?" murmured the man to himself with a hint of slight indignance, finding it somewhat infuriating that all of their preparations thus far were still not enough to clear the Insane version of the dungeon in its entirety.


    With the gears in his mind turning as he weighed the pros and cons of each choice, SeventhShield eventually looked at the other members of the group with conviction as he made up his mind.


    Though, before he could even open his mouth¡­


    "May the power of mana hear my plea."


    "As the conductor¡ª!"


    "[Mana Bolt]!"


    Bang!


    ''-348''


    Seeing that almost everyone in the group seemed to have made up their minds to try the Insane dungeon at a future date, Valyr felt that it was a shame for them to give up just as it was getting better.


    Though he knew that the gap in stats between them and the mini-boss wouldn''t be surmounted that easily, there were still many ways avable for the group to even out the ying field aside from relying on buffs.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "There''s six of us and only one of them!" Slightly clicking his tongue at the amount of damage he dealt, Valyr began to move around the room as he had be the target of the ogre''s anger.


    "Are you seriously telling me we won''t be able to take this mini-boss down even if the six of us together?"


    "¡­" Hearing those words echo throughout the room, SeventhShield and the others began to slowly wake up from the pessimistic spiral of thoughts that consumed them after looking at the ogre''s stats.


    Then, after realizing that the first in their group to make a move was none other than the lowest-leveled member in their party, a me of slight indignance began to burn deep within the group.


    Thankfully, that indignance also awakened their motivation and ambition, reminding them the reason why they decided to attempt the dungeon''s Insane difficulty in the first ce.


    "[Taunt]!" Inwardly thanking Valyr for giving all of them a wake-up call, SeventhShield went ahead and cast a skill as he charged towards the ogre.


    "The light shall lead the way!"


    "[Morale Boost]!" At the same time, Lycana went ahead and activated a skill that increased all of the party''s stats, increasing their chances of turning the tides of battle to their favor.


    "Haah!" With the ogre''s attention forcefully shifted towards SeventhShield, Zack went ahead and followed it up with a set of dagger throws, all of which were aimed towards the ogre''s weak spots.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Though the daggers would have inflicted a good chunk of damage to the ogre if itnded, the ogre knew not to let those daggers touch its body, skillfully deflecting each and every one of them with the longsword it wielded.


    "May the mes listen to my will!"


    "[Fire Bolt]!" Continue your story on empire


    Bang!


    However, with the daggers upying most of the ogre''s attention, it had left itself wide open to an attack by Uzume, her spell causing mes to run up along the ogre''s side.


    "Graaaahhhh!!!" Feeling waves of pain course throughout its body from the attacks, the ogre began to look at the group with rage-filled eyes.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Wanting nothing more than to kill those that dared to attack him first, the ogre began to infuse its sword with mana before shing out with abandon, conjuring des of energy that all headed towards SeventhShield and the group.


    "May the power of mana hear my plea."


    "As the conductor of mana, protect me from harm."


    "[Mana Barrier]!"


    Unfortunately, with SeventhShield attracting the ogre''s aggro, Valyr was free to move about once more, allowing him to cast a spell that protected everyone from the des of energy aiming to kill them.


    "[Charged Shot]!" Using the opportunity Valyr had given to them, Darklight went ahead and let out an attack he''d been saving all this time.


    Whoosh!


    Bang!


    Firing an arrow filled to the brim with copious amounts of mana, his attack soon struck the ogre directly at its head, causing it to tumble in the air a couple of times as it took a massive amount of damage.


    "Haah!"


    With the ogre now more vulnerable than ever before, SeventhShield decided to double down on the offensive, faintly nodding at Zack as the two charged at the ogre together.


    "[Judgment Strike]!"


    "[Dual Cross]!"


    Bang! Bang!


    "Grraaahhh!!!" Just as the ogre had recovered from its untimely fall, it was forced to stumble back onto the ground once more after receiving powerful strikes on both arms at the same time.


    However, rather than distance themselves from it the moment their attacksnded on its body, the ogre instead watched as SeventhShield and Zack mustered up all the strength in their bodies as they aimed to cut both of its arms off.


    "Raaaggghhhh!!!" Knowing that it''d be amb to the ughter if that were to happen, the ogre immediately began to il around as it released a great chunk of its mana into the surroundings, sending the two flying back in response.


    Thud! Thud!


    With it now regaining the freedom to move about, the ogre hastily got up and looked at the group with even further fury than before.


    Tightening its grip on the longsword it wielded, it promised to itself that it would not show mercy to the group after going through all of the attacks it suffered.


    But before it could evennd another attack on the group¡­


    "Gotcha."


    "May the power of mes hear my p¡ª!"


    "[Fireball]!"


    Bang!


    ''-1,293!!''


    Seeing that the ogre had unintentionally left itself wide open, Valyr took the opportunity tond the final blow while it was distracted, aiming a fireball directly at its head.


    To no surprise, the fireball acted as the catalyst for the remaining vestiges of vitality within its body to fade away. Because of that, the battered corpse of the ogre eventually fell to the ground with a thud, its longsword following suit not long after.


    With everyone still focused on trying to whittle the ogre''s health down as much as possible, such a massive shift in the situation caused SeventhShield and the others to be left at a loss for words as they wondered what happened at the end.


    Fortunately, that silence was immediately broken not even a few secondster by a familiar sound.


    Ding!

 Chapter 1287: Honor and Notoriety

    Chapter 1287: Honor and Notoriety


    ?


    Staring as Darklight''s body gradually faded away from his sight as the man''sst few words lingered in his words, a mix of emotions swirled within Valyr''s body as he continued to look calm on the outside.


    Though, those emotions ultimately culminated into that of relief the moment the man''s body had fully disappeared, prompting him to dispel the barrier that had trapped Darklight in one spot all this time.


    "Whew."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    With them having sessfully escaped what could have possibly be a worst-case scenario for them, SeventhShield and the others audibly let out wide sighs of relief, only to fall silent once more as they looked at the back of the one who stopped that worst-case scenario from happening.


    "..." Continuing to stare at the spot where Darklightst stood, a whirlwind of thoughts lingered within the young man''s mind, causing him to ask himself soon after whether or not the things he''d done to Darklight were the right thing.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Unfortunately, before he coulde to a conclusion regarding his question, Valyr soon heard a cascade of notifications erupting from the system.


    Briefly ncing at the others as he thought about what they would do now that both Darklight and the boss had been taken care of, the young man soon brought up his notification screen in front of him.


    Ding!


    [With a 10+ level disparity between the user and the opponent, the amount of experience obtained shall be increased by 200%.]


    [You have in Darklight (Lv. 24).]


    [You have received 23,695 XP.]


    [You have in a being recognized by the system for having taken a step towards the world of sin.]


    [Due to the action of killing this being, you''ve obtained the title ''Junior Upholder of Order''.] ''Well, shit.'' Reading through the notifications he received from killing Darklight, Valyr''s expression immediately soured the moment he took a look at thest couple of notifications.


    ''To think yers like him already exist before Greater Beyond had been out to the public for a week.''


    With his attention focused on the title he obtained from the system, the young man briefly thought back to a feature Greater Beyond had that most yers often ignored while ying the game.


    The Honor system.


    Though neither the yers nor the NPCs knew exactly when the honor system was introduced, by the time Greater Beyond was released to the public back on Earth, both yers and NPCs noticed that they were gaining points of some sort while doing certain actions.


    Fortunately, it did not take long for them to understand the mechanics behind those points, with yers immediately understanding how the entire system worked the moment they figured it out.


    To sum up the discoveries of those people, as long as one did enough good deeds, one would be able to gain a point of Honor.


    Naturally, if one did enough bad deeds, then one would be able to gain a point of Notoriety. Of course, there were also ways thatted one more Honor or Notoriety, such aspleting quests that rewarded such points to the yer.


    However, the mostmon method yers used to gain these points en masse was none other than to kill yers, transforming the points those yers earned into the opposite set of points for themselves.


    Because of that, yers more or less found the Honor system as an interesting way to y the game, especially after considering the fact that one gained a title after amassing enough points on one side.


    Aside from that, most yers merely found it as an interesting gimmick to bring more life to the game. After all, it worked pretty simrly to the order and chaos systems other VRMMO games had at the time.


    Then again, those who thought that way immediately changed their minds after it was found out that a yer obtained an incredibly powerful title the moment they reached 500 points of Honor.


    Yes.


    Because of just one title... greater chaos began to ensue amongst the yers.


    ''[Junior Upholder of Order], huh...''


    ''To think someone would already amass over 10 points of Notoriety in the first four days of Greater Beyond being open to the public...''


    Valyr faintly shook his head at the thought.


    ''Killing Darklight was definitely the right choice this time.''


    ''However, only time will tell if doing so was truly a good idea.''


    Just as the young man began to ponder over the name of the organization Darklight mentioned, SeventhShield appeared beside him with a look of slight apprehension.


    "So... uh... what now?"


    "What do you mean what now?" asked Valyr back, pushing his train of thought to the side as he looked back in slight confusion.


    "Well..." Twiddling his thumbs together as he pondered over what to say next, SeventhShield eventually let out a low sigh as he briefly nced at the others in their group. "We''re asking for your opinion."


    "After all, you were the one who stopped Darklight from doing what he wanted to do. Plus, you also killed the boss on your own."


    "If you decide on keeping all of the items that dropped in this boss room, honestly, you have all the right to do so," continued the man with a slight shrug.


    "Hmm..."


    Getting the feeling that there was a hidden meaning underneath the words that left SeventhShield''s mouth, Valyr briefly scratched the back of his head before saying, "Well, I don''t really mind if you want the drops from the boss."


    "In fact, I also wouldn''t mind if you wanted the things Darklight gave me. After all, I''d have to ascend first if I wanted to make use of them."


    "You sure?" asked SeventhShield with slight suspicion. "You''re not gonna stab in the back like Darklight did, right?"


    "..." Feeling an immense urge to facepalm at that moment, Valyr was barely able to suppress himself as he let out a low sigh. "If I did, then I wouldn''t have killed Darklight in the first


    ce, would I?"


    Fortunately, that answer was more than enough to put Seventhshield and the others slightly


    at ease, finally allowing them to return to how they were before as they began to look at the


    drops in greater detail.